Sweet baked treats

IT’S the weekend, we still have a few more weeks of semi-lockdown to go and children remain at home. I hope that you have enjoyed all the cooking and baking these past few weeks, and that you appreciate all the good taste that comes from home-made!

Here are some mouth-watering treats for you to bake up this weekend.

Sugared cinnamon baked doughnuts

4½ to 5 cups flour

¼ cup sugar

2 packages instant yeast

1½ cups milk

⅓ cup shortening

2 tsp nutmeg

2 eggs lightly beaten

Topping

½ cup butter melted

1 tsp cinnamon

⅔ cup sugar

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast sugar, and nutmeg.

Warm milk with shortening to 115F, add eggs and add to flour mixture, stir well to form a wet batter, add as much of the remaining flour as you can to make a very soft dough.

Cover and let rise until doubled in volume, 45 to 50 minutes.

Press dough with your hands, on a well- floured board, to about ½-inch thickness.

Stamp out doughnuts with a 3-inch cutter.

Place on a greased baking tray and let rise for 20 to 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400F

Bake doughnuts for 10-15 minutes until golden.

Remove, brush with melted butter and dip into cinnamon sugar.

Makes about 24

Upside down caramelised apple cake

Topping

4 apples, peeled and sliced

¼ cup unsalted butter

⅓ cup brown sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

Cake

⅓ cup butter

½ cup sugar

2 eggs

1⅔ cups cake flour, sifted

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

½ cup apple juice or milk

Preheat oven to 350F

Make the topping, melt butter in frying pan, add sugar and cook for a few minutes, add apples and cinnamon and cook until apples are soft, 3-5 mins.

Grease and flour a 10-inch spring-form pan.

Arrange apples in bottom of pan.

Cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy, add eggs one at a time beating well between additions.

Combine flour with cinnamon and baking powder.

Add vanilla to apple juice

Add flour and baking powder alternately with apple juice.

Spoon batter on top of apples and bake for 30 to 35 mins.

Cool for 5 mins then remove from tin.

Serve warm.

Makes 1 10-inch cake.

Cinnamon pecan rolls

For the dough

4 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup butter or margarine

1 tbs instant yeast

2 tbs sugar

1 tsp salt

½ cup milk

4 eggs

For the cinnamon pecan filling

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup chopped toasted pecans or walnuts

1 tbs cinnamon

3 tbs melted butter

For the sticky syrup

⅔ cup sugar

¼ cup butter

2 tbs corn syrup

In a mixer bowl or food processor, combine 2 cups flour, sugar and salt and the yeast.

Add the butter and pulse to break into small pieces.

Heat milk, to 115-120 F add to flour mixture.

Add eggs and beat slowly until incorporated.

Add enough of the remaining flour as you can then turn onto a floured surface and knead to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic about 6 to 8 minutes.

Place in a greased bowl and cover and rise until doubled in bulk. (45 minutes)

Meanwhile combine the brown sugar with cinnamon and pecans. Set aside.

Make the sticky syrup by combining ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil, divide sauce into two 9-inch round cake pans.

Divide dough into half and roll each into a rectangle 12 inches by 8 inches.

Brush one rectangle with 1½ tablespoons. Melted butter.

Sprinkle half of the nut mixture over top of dough.

Roll up jellyroll style, starting from the longest side. Cut into 12 equal pieces.

Place in prepared cake pans. Repeat for remaining dough.

Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes until doubled in size.

Bake in preheated 375F oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

Invert.

Makes about 24