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Francijn of Koken in de Brouwerij was our January 2013 Daring Bakers’ Hostess and she challenged us to make the traditional Dutch pastry, Gevulda Speculaas, from scratch! That includes making our own spice mix, almond paste and dough! Delicious!

Now, freshly ground spice is my thing. So I got all excited about this challenge as it meant I would get to take out my spice grinder and mix a batch of Speculaas spice. Aromatic goodness. I couldn’t wait to try this month’s challenge.

I knew this was going to be one delicious treat to make. What I did not know how enjoyable the whole process would be and how much I would love it. My home smelled delicious while the baking was going on and as soon as it cooled down a bit, I cut a slice. Tasted a bit and then made coffee to drink and eat the whole slice. It was 1 am here in Denver. And I should have been fast asleep. But here I was, enjoying my baked piece of heaven. My friend, Swati, the bubbly, happy blogger at Chatkhor, is witness to the unfolding drama and knows that I baked this at midnight. How and Why ? Well you see, I made the dough and the almond mix and put them in the fridge to make this on the weekend. And then I forgot. Completely!

Posts on Facebook started to trickle in as they did on Pinterest. And then it hit me! OMG ! I was supposed to bake the Speculaas. And it was 10 pm. The husband declared he was off to bed. The child was already tucked in and fast asleep. But I had to do this. He tried to reason, that I could make it in the morning. But he had no idea, what effect the beautiful Speculaas posted in daring bakers had had on me, and how much I was beyond saving.

So, with a strange look, he went off and I got to work and baked the Speculaas . And am glad I did. Eating a whole slice of freshly baked Gevulda Speculaas with a cup of Turkish coffee at 1 am, and checking all the Daring baker’s blogs was way more relaxing than sleeping. Sleep started to take over in the wee hours of the morning, with a deep realization that despite baking it just in the nick of time, I am still going to be late in posting it.

So here is my very late posting of the Daring Baker’s challenge. I loved making this and shared a couple of slices with my neighbor across the street and got an immediate feedback that the flavors and texture were both exquisite.

Recipe adapted from the Daring Baker’s challenge

Gevulde Speculaas – Daring Baker’s Challenge

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 4 hours

Ingredients

Speculaas spices

2 tbs ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp whole cloves
1/2 tsp mace
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cardamom pods
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ginger powder

Almond Paste

1 1/3 C almond flour
2/3 C sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp lemon zest

Speculaas Dough

1 3/4 C all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 C brown sugar
pinch of salt
2 Tbs speculaas spices
3/4 C unsalted butter room temperature

Assemble and Bake

speculaas dough
almond paste
whole almonds without skins for decoration
1 large egg
shallow baking pan, 8x10 in, round with of diameter 10 inch (26 cm)

Instructions

Speculaas spices

Grind all the spices together and keep aside.

Almond Paste

Mix the almond flour and sugar and add in the egg. Combine until you get a thick mixture. Cover and keep in the fridge for up to two days.

Speculaas dough

Mix the flour , baking powder, sugar, salt and spices in a bowl.
Add in diced butter.
Knead until smooth.
Using your hands knead the dough until it comes together. Add in some milk, if the dough looks too dry.
Form into tow balls and Wrap in clingfilm and put in the refrigerator for two hours

Directions:

Grease the pan.
Preheat the oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas 4
Divide the dough into two portions.
Roll out both portions on a lightly floured surface, until they are exactly as big as the baking pan
Put one of the layers in the pan and press it lightly to fill the bottom.
Lightly beat the egg with a teaspoon cold water.
Brush 1/3rd of the egg over the dough in the pan.
Roll out the almond paste between two sheets of clingfilm, until it is exactly as big as the pan, and put it on the dough in the pan. (If you chose to make the paste soft, you can smear the paste instead of rolling it.)
Press the paste lightly down to fit in the pan, and brush half of the remaining egg over it.
Now put the second layer of dough on top of the paste, press it lightly, and make as smooth as possible.
Brush the last 1/3 of the egg over the dough.
Decorate the pastry with the almonds.
Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven. ( keep and eye on it)
Let cool completely before cutting. It will be difficult to wait, but do it anyway.

http://www.spiceroots.com/2013/01/gevulde-speculaas-daring-bakers-challenge/

Gauri Patil Shirke liked this post

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It was one of those cold winter evenings, when you are casually strolling in a cute little town that has deliciously inviting cafes lined up and you can’t help but end up in one of them and ask for a Latte. And suddenly, your eyes wander to the cleverly placed confections and cakes and other goodies and you think, why not! You ask the better half if he would be willing to share a bite of the goodies with you and you go ahead and order it with the Latte.

You dig into the lemony, sugary goodness and despite your promise of sharing, you end up stealing more bites of the thing than the guy and he is smiling amusingly at you. And why not! After all you are the one to declare to the whole world that you don’t have a sweet tooth. But here you are, eating copious amounts of a lemon bar and not even sharing. So you let the guy smile his amusing smile and keep noshing. Yes! It was one of those days – the ones on which you wonder how you had been living on this planet without ever having indulged in a lemon bar.

Lemon bars

The day turned into the night, and the lemon bar was justly and completely consumed. But the thought of how it was made consumed me for a few days. A few Internet searches later, I zeroed in on a couple of recipes to try. After a few trials, I still had not found THE one. Oh ! Was it a slippery One!!

Then I tried Ina Garten’s recipe from the Food network. A few adjustments later, I had finally found the magic called lemon bars. The birds were chirping again and the sun was shining. Everything was right with the world.

The Lemony Lemon Bars

Ingredients

For the crust

200 gms unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar [ fine sugar]
2 cups flour- white
a pinch of salt

For the filling-

6 large eggs
2 ½ cups sugar
3 Tbs lemon zest
1 cup lemon juice
1 cup flour
powder sugar, for dusting on top

Instructions

Make the Crust

Preheat the oven to 350 F
While the oven is heating, Cream the butter and sugar, until light and mixed thoroughly.
Mix in the flour and salt and add to the butter and sugar mix. Mix it until it looks crumbly. Do not over mix.
Bring the dough together into a ball and place onto a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet lined with parchment.
Flatten the dough until it covers the entire sheet and builds up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides.
Chill the pan along with the dough for15 minutes
then Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack before filling

Make the Filling -

Whisk the eggs with sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour.
Pour this mix over the now cooled crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Remove and let it cool completely before cutting.
Cut into desired shape and dust with powdered sugar.

http://www.spiceroots.com/2012/12/lemon-bars/

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It took me a few years to warm up to the idea of baking cookies. It’s not that I don’t like to bake cookies. I do, but I bake the usual suspects – oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip, shortbread, …. and that’s it. That my friends was the scope of my cookie baking. I would admire the beautifully decorated holiday cookies, the ginger bread house that my daughter made with her girl scout troop, and the cookies my neighbors sent in during Holidays. But I would still stick to my list of three tried and tested cookies and bake them with my daughter. After all, you could just buy Oreo or pepperdige farm cookies off the shelf and enjoy the goodness.

This year was not going to be any different. I was ready with my plan of what to cook for whom and bring over for Christmas gatherings. Breads, cakes, casseroles, jams, home made vanilla and spice rubs – all planned – well in advance. But then my friend Peggy called up and asked if I would like to bake cookies together. Would I? Absolutely!

Baking together with a friend is the most soulful thing. The whipping of eggs, beating of sugar and butter, the constant chit chat and the sharing of the work load, especially the washing. We shortlisted a few recipes from books and got to work. One of the recipes was Russian Tea Cookies – Mrs Fields Way.

This recipe is adapted from Mrs Fields Cookie Book.

Jam Filled Butter Cookies

Ingredients

For the cookies

1C Butter
1/2 C Confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 C all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

For the toppings

powdered sugar for dusting on top
Any kind of fruit jams or preserves
Featured are : Raspberry and Apricot

Instructions

Start by heating up the oven to a 325* F
In your stand mixer - cream the butter and sugar together, until light and fluffy
Add in the salt, mix
Slowly add in the flour and mix until combined well and the dough shapes into a ball
Line up a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Roll the dough into equal sized small balls and place on the parchment covered cookie sheet, and flatten them slightly
Press down the center with your thumb, or a melon baller and form a small well in the cookie dough discs
Ensure you do not press all the way down
Fill each well with preserve or jam of your choice
Bake for 15 - minutes. Keep an eye on them after the first 10 minutes
When they brown on the bottom and look lightly browned on top, they are ready to be taken out
Allow to cool on a baking rack and dust with confectioners sugar

http://www.spiceroots.com/2012/12/russian-tea-cookies/

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