Kirsch-Rohrnudeln

A german version of the popular Pull Apart Buns but with a slight twist - they have fresh pitted cherries in them.  With its soft, springy texture, I am sure that they will be a hit with the kids.

Ingredients (yields 16 buns):
600 g flour (type 550) or plain flour (type 405)
80 g fine sugar
1 egg white
1 tsp salt
40 g butter, to be gently melted
250 ml warm water (straight from the tap)
1 cube à 42 g fresh yeast, to be crumbled

32 fresh cherries, to be washed, dried & pitted
2 tbsp castor sugar
1 egg yolk to be mixed with 1 tbsp fresh cream (for brushing top)
2 x 24 cm diameter pans

Glaze Ingredients (to be mixed together):
100 g icing sugar
about 1-2 tbsp water

Method:
In a mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, egg white, salt and melted butter.  In a small jug, mix warm water and crumbled yeast together.  Stir until yeast is dissolved and add to mixing bowl.  Knead dough until it leaves the sides of bowl.  Cover bowl with a damp cloth and leave aside to let dough rise to double its volume - it takes about an hour.

Punch dough down and divide into 16 portions of about 64 g each.  Flatten each portion and place two cherries on it.  Enclose cherries with dough and twist the top. Sprinkle castor sugar on the base of pan and arrange dough with pinch side down as shown.  You can also arrange them on a baking tray if preferred.

Leave to rise for about 30 minutes.  Then, glaze top of buns with egg yolk/cream mixture.

Bake in a preheated fan oven at 170° C for 25 minutes.  Once done, brush top with icing sugar/water mixture while still hot.  This is how the cross-section of a bun looks like:

Serve buns as they are or just sprinkled with icing sugar on top and serve with vanilla sauce.

Happy Baking!

Agar-Agar Oreo & Ovaltine

A simple dessert to make for those who are crazy of Oreo cookies.  This time, I added Ovaltine to the ingredients.  Of course, one can also use Milo or cocoa instead. The following recipe fits nicely into the jelly mould from Tupperware.  Otherwise, small individual moulds can be used.

Ingredients (for a 1.3 litre mould):
1 packet (12 g) clear agar-agar powder
150 ml sugar
800 ml water
340 ml evaporated milk
8 tbsp ovaltine (milo or cocoa can be used)
8 Oreo cookies, to be quartered

Method:
In a medium-sized pot, add agar-agar powder, sugar and water.  Cook over medium heat and stir until sugar is dissolved.  Add in evaporated milk.  Stir well and bring to a slight boil.  Divide mixture into two portions (about 600 ml each) into two saucepans. Add ovaltine to one portion and leave the other portion white.  Leave both saucepans over low heat in order that the mixtures do not set.

Rinse mould with cold water.  Pour 300 ml (half) ovaltine mixture into mould and allow it to almost set. You may store the mould in the fridge for a few minutes to quicken the process.

Once the ovaltine layer is almost set, pour all white mixture into mould.  Add the Oreo cookies on top and push them down a little by using the tip of a teaspoon.  All mixture to set again.

Once the white layer is almost set, pour the remaining ovaltine mixture into mould.  Leave to set in the fridge.

The photo below shows a cross-section of the agar-agar.

Bon Appetit!