Panela Sugar Shortbread + How to Make Homemade Vanilla Extract

Kath October 27, 2017

Now that I am well accustomed to using Panela Sugar, I am testing it out in almost every tried and tested recipe I have! And my latest discovering is that Panela Sugar Shortbread is like making a super easy version of a caramel shortbread! The bigger crystals of Panela stay whole within each biscuit, and once cooked they caramelise even more and taste like small pieces of caramel in each bite.

And as Panela sugar is unrefined, it makes me feel a little less guilty about eating a few of these! Other unrefined sugars, such as rapadura, would probably work well too and give a similar caramel flavour to the shortbread.

I made these a little while ago as my contribution for an afternoon tea, and the leftovers were eaten at the host’s work the next day. I am told they went down really well, with one person commenting that they tasted like Irish Shortbread. Now, I had no idea the Irish had their own version of shortbread, so now I think I need to do a little research and brush up on my shortbread knowledge!

How to Make Vanilla Extract

If using vanilla beans for this recipe (or any other!), don’t throw out the pods after the seeds have been used. Fill a small/medium jar or bottle with vodka and add the pods to it as you use them.
Shake the bottle now and then, and keep stored at room temperature. The more pods you add to the vodka the deeper the colour and the better the flavour you will get.
Depending on how many pods are infusing, expect to wait at least two-three months before using the vanilla extract. You can judge it by the colour of the extract and the aroma. I think the deeper the colour the better - I’d rather wait longer to use it and have a more intense vanilla flavour. See below for progress shots of making vanilla extract from day one to four months.
I have mentioned before that vanilla pods can also be used for vanilla sugar, and now that I am using my vanilla sugar I have been rinsing the pods off from that and adding them to the extract too - they still have lots of flavour and it would be such a shame to waste them!
If you are looking for a good bought vanilla extract, I would of course recommend the one made by Grounded Pleasures! It has a rich colour and really wonderful intense flavour, and each tube comes with a vanilla pod inside - and you don’t have to wait a few months to use it!

Homemade Vanilla Extract and Vanilla Sugar

Panela Sugar Shortbread

Ingredients:

160g unsalted butter, at room temperature

60g Grounded Pleasures Organic Panela Sugar

1 Grounded Pleasures Organic Vanilla Bean, seeds scraped

250g plain flour

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 150 degrees Celsius and line two large baking trays with baking paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, place the butter (135g), Panela sugar and the vanilla bean seeds. Beat until well combined.

Add the flour and mix on low speed until the flour has incorporated. Mix on a low-medium speed until a dough starts to form. If the mixture remains too crumbly, add the remaining butter and mix well.

Sprinkle some flour on your work surface, bring the dough together with your hands, then turn onto the floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out, dusting with more flour as needed, so it is flat and and about 2mm thick.

Cut the biscuits out using a small round biscuit cutter (mine is 4.5cm), using a small spatula to lift them over to the prepared tray.

Bake biscuits for about 15 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden. I like the check the underneath of a couple of biscuits too, if that is a little golden then the biscuits are definitely cooked.

Cool the biscuits on the trays and store in an airtight container.

Makes about 45 small biscuits.

Thanks to Grounded Pleasures for sponsoring this post and providing the yummy Panela Sugar & Vanilla Beans!

Baked Vanilla Doughnuts with Blood Orange Icing

Kath September 22, 2017

Since I really enjoy reading other people’s favourites lists, I thought I would start my own and post some here on the blog or in my newsletter now and then. I find I discover new blogs, recipes, books and podcasts through other bloggers lists, or through similar round ups on podcasts, so I hope you can find the same here!

This new blog post from Beth Kirby of Local Milk - I love Beth’s honesty, and acceptance around the fluidity of her blog and it’s changing focuses over time, and her talk of slow living as “deciding what really matters to you and saying no to everything else”.
This Carrot Cake from My Name is Yeh - I made this (sans tahini) for my Dad’s birthday last month. It is now my favourite carrot cake, as the combination of the hawaij spices, carrot and caramel were just perfect!
A Bookish Baker’s blog post on why she is no longer niching her blog - In all the noise around monetising blogs, being an expert on one thing and there only being one path to follow for all this to be successful, sentiment such as that expressed in this post are so welcome and necessary.
Courage & Spice Podcast: The Podcast for Humans with Self-Doubt - This is a fairly new podcast from Sas Petherick, who has done extensive research on self-doubt. I am loving hearing Sas’ advice and interviews so far, they often feel like they are great personal pep talks letting me know that self doubt isn’t just something I experience, and there are things I can do to alleviate these feelings and start to boost my confidence.
‘Not Just Lucky’ by Jamila Rizvi - I can’t stop recommending this book (sorry to those who have already heard my insistent arguments on why they should read it!). If you are female you will probably be able to relate to this book. Jamila focuses on women and the work environment, and I can honestly say I related to so much more than I ever thought I would. There were so many moments where I thought, ‘Oh other women feel this way too?’, ‘I’m not the only one?’, and ‘OMG it’s like Jamila knows me’. It’s good to know you aren’t alone in how you feel, particularly in the work environment, and Jamila gives some great advice on how to deal with the gender inequalities that plague our workplaces.

But now on to the doughnuts (or donuts? 🤔I never know which). They are extremely simple to make - they take about 10 minutes to cook, which makes them not only slightly healthier than the traditional fried doughnuts but also much quicker to make. To intensify the vanilla flavour a little, you could use some vanilla sugar instead of the white sugar. I used blood orange juice in the icing, because I love the colour, and I still have lots of blood orange juice frozen from last season!

Baked Vanilla Doughnuts with Blood Orange Icing

Ingredients:

135g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp bicarb soda

65g white sugar

60ml milk

60g Greek yoghurt

1 egg

40g margarine/unsalted butter, melted

2 tsp vanilla bean paste

canola oil spray

For the Icing:

200-250g icing sugar

2 tbsp blood orange juice, approx.

selection of sprinkles, 100s & 1000s, dried edible flowers etc, to decorate

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius, and spray a 12 hole doughnut pan with canola oil spray.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, bicarb soda and sugar. If your bicarb soda is a bit lumpy, sift to remove the lumps - there’s nothing worse than biting into a baked good to find a lump of baking soda in there!

In a jug, whisk together the milk, yoghurt and the egg. Ensure the egg has been fully mixed into the other ingredients. Add the melted margarine and the vanilla bean paste and whisk until combined. Pour this into the flour mixture and mix until just combined - don’t over mix. Similar to muffins, these will toughen up if over mixed.

Place a medium/large piping bag or zip-lock bag over a large glass to it is easy to fill. Spoon in the batter, then pipe into the donut pan, ensuring you only fill each about three quarters the way up - there is plenty of raising agent in the batter so they will rise and expand, and if each doughnut is overfilled the hole in the centre will disappear!

Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the doughnuts are slightly golden and spring back to the touch.

Allow the doughnuts to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack, using a small icing spatula to gently prise the out if necessary (don’t use a knife as you may scratch your tin in the process).

Once the doughnuts have cooled, make the icing by mixing the 200g of the icing sugar and 1 tbsp of the blood orange juice together. If the icing is too runny add more icing sugar, if it is too dry add a little more blood orange juice. You don’t want to the icing to be very runny or it will all run off the donuts, and take any decoration with it!

To ice the doughnuts, dip the top side of each (the side that was facing down in doughnut pan), into the icing and twist to ensure it is evenly coated. Remove and allow any excess icing to drip off. Leave each doughnut to sit with the icing on for a minute or two, then decorate with the sprinkles etc.

Reference: ‘Sally’s Baking Addiction’ by Sally McKenney (Race Point Publishing, 2014), p.27.

Vanilla Sugar Madeleines + How to Make Vanilla Sugar

Kath April 25, 2017

I love madeleines, and nothing beats a warm madeleine fresh from the oven in my opinion. While they are still great the next day, there is something so wonderful about a freshly baked madeleine.

When I was in Paris a few years ago, I was determined to find a lovely freshly baked madeleine in one of the many patisseries I planned on going to. While I did try one at Ladurée, I distinctly remember thinking it wasn’t bad, but wasn’t as good as I had expected and sort of wished I had of ordered one the rose réligieuse my Mum was eating. Strangely I also saw packets of pre-made madeleines in the small supermarkets we stopped into to get milk, and felt quite surprised to see such a thing being sold.

I did however find some lovely very tiny madeleine tins from the cooking supply shop E. Dehillerin. They wrapped them up in brown paper, and I have to admit I didn’t unwrap them for quite a while as it looked so pretty just like that. The shop looked as if it hadn’t changed since it opened in 1820, and buying something from there felt like stepping back in time. I oddly only bought one tray, I think I was overawed by all the baking goods and worried about luggage space, but since the madeleine moulds are so so small, you would need at least four trays to cook a whole batch at once! Hopefully one day I will return to Paris and add to my madeleine tray collection.

How to make Vanilla Sugar

Use the left over vanilla bean pods - add one or two used vanilla bean pods to 1-2 cups of caster sugar and leave to infuse in a airtight container or glass jar. The longer you leave the sugar and vanilla to infuse, the deeper the flavour you will get. I would recommend leaving it to infuse for about a month before you use it for maximum flavour. The vanilla sugar can then be used in baking or as a garnish.

Vanilla Sugar Madeleines

Ingredients:

80g unsalted butter, softened

100g vanilla sugar, plus extra

2 eggs

seeds of one vanilla pod (or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste)

100g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

Method:

The day before you wish to bake the madeleines prepare the batter. Cream the butter with one tablespoon of the vanilla sugar. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, remaining vanilla sugar and vanilla until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Whisk the flour and baking powder in a separate bowl to remove any lumps, then gently fold in to the whisked eggs.

Add one third of the batter to the creamed butter and mix well. Add the remaining batter to the creamed butter and fold in very gently.

Place a medium-large plastic piping bag over a large glass or jug so it is easy to fill. Transfer the batter into the piping bag and seal the top end with an elastic band. Leave in the fridge overnight (or for at least 3 hours).

When you are ready to bake the madeleines, preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius and prepare two twelve hole madeline trays by greasing them lightly with butter then dusting with flour (if your trays are non stick this isn’t 100% necessary, I forgot one of the times I made these and I didn’t notice any difference).

Snip a small hole at the piping end of the piping bag containing your madeleine batter and pipe the batter into the prepared tins, filling each hole about 3/4 the way up.

Reduce the oven temperature to 180 degrees Celsius and bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are lightly golden in colour. Leave in the tins for a few minutes to cool, then cool completely on a wire rack.

Madeleines are best eaten the day of baking and can be served as they are, with a dusting of icing sugar or a sprinkling of vanilla sugar.

Reference: Fanny Zanotti ‘Paris Pastry Club’ (Hardie Grant Books, 2014) p.15.

How to Make Vanilla Extract

Panela Sugar Shortbread

Baked Vanilla Doughnuts with Blood Orange Icing

How to make Vanilla Sugar

Vanilla Sugar Madeleines

Kulinary Adventures of Kath

Food Photography, Recipes & Baking