The Power of Poppy Pendle (23 page)
Read The Power of Poppy Pendle Online
Authors: Natasha Lowe
3. Otherwise, put the butter in a large mixing bowl. Make sure it’s nice
and soft. Add the confectioners’ sugar. Using a handheld mixer, beat the butter and
sugar together. Now mix in the vanilla extract. Add the salt, flour, and cornstarch, and
blend it all together.
4. Place the bowl of cookie dough in the fridge, and chill it for about 15
minutes.
5. Scoop out teaspoonful-size nuggets of cookie dough and roll them into
balls. Place the balls on cookie pans (flat baking sheets), leaving a little room
between the cookies.
6. Now dip your thumb in flour and make a nice wide thumbprint in the
center of each cookie. Pat your thumb around. What you are aiming for is a wide, shallow
indent with a thin border of dough around the outside. This is so you will have plenty
of room for the jam.
7. Take a little scoop of jam (use the
1
/
4
teaspoon measuring spoon) and fill
the middle of the cookie with delicious raspberry jam.
8. Put the tray of filled cookies back in the fridge to chill, for about 10
minutes.
9. Bake the cookies for 18 to 21 minutes, or until the outside crust is a
light golden color. You might want to ask an adult to help you get the cookies into and
out of the oven.
10. Cool the cookies on a wire tray. Store at room temperature in an
airtight container. These cookies also freeze well.
Makes 14 to 16 cupcakes
These are absolutely delicious! They are moist, coconutty sponge cakes
covered in creamy frosting, with a crunch of toasted coconut flakes sprinkled on top.
They are Mr. Pendle’s favorite.
~ INGREDIENTS ~
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
1
1
/
3
cups all-purpose flour
1
/
2
teaspoon baking powder
1
/
4
teaspoon baking soda
1
/
4
teaspoon salt
1
/
2
cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3
/
4
cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3
/
4
cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
~ METHOD ~
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda,
and salt.
3. Now put the butter and sugar into another bowl. You can do this in a
standing mixer (ask an adult to help you set it up) or use a handheld mixer. Cream
together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. (“Cream” is a fancy word for beat
or mix.)
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing in well. Then add the vanilla.
5. Now take turns adding some of the flour mixture, some of the coconut
milk, some of the flour mixture, some of the coconut milk, and so on until they have
both been used up. Gently stir in the shredded coconut.
6. Line 14 to 16 muffin molds with paper cupcake wrappers and pour in the
batter, about
1
/
2
to
2
/
3
full, depending on how big you like your cupcakes. Bake for 22 to
28 minutes, until very light golden and spongy. (When you press the top gently, it will
bounce back.) There should be no liquid visible. Remove from the tin and cool on a wire
rack.
7. Frost with Coconut Buttercream Frosting when cool.
~ INGREDIENTS ~
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
1
/
2
cup shredded, sweetened coconut
1
/
2
cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1
1
/
4
cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons coconut milk, or more, to mix
~ METHOD ~
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Spread sweetened coconut on a baking tray and bake for 7 to 10 minutes,
until lightly golden. You might want to ask an adult to help you take the tray out of
the oven. Let the coconut flakes cool.
3. Put the butter and powdered sugar into a bowl, and using a handheld
mixer, cream together until smooth and light. Make sure your butter is really soft, and
go slowly at first; otherwise, you will have powdered sugar flying about all over the
place! Mix in the vanilla extract and coconut milk, slowly adding more coconut milk
until a lovely creamy texture is reached. Dip in a clean spoon and give it a taste.
4. Swirl on top of cooled cupcakes.
5. Sprinkle the toasted coconut flakes on top.
6. If there are any cupcakes left, store in an airtight container at room
temperature.
Makes 1 Bundt cake
Marie Claire makes this only on Wednesdays, because in her experience
Wednesdays are often days when people need something special to eat. One buttery,
chocolaty mouthful, and the gloomiest Wednesday will be transformed by happy smiles.
This is a little bit more complicated than the other recipes but worth
trying because it is simply so delicious. It is definitely best eaten warm from the
oven!
~ INGREDIENTS ~
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
2 teaspoons dried yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour (plus about another
1
/
4
to
1
/
2
cup)
1
/
4
cup sugar
2
/
3
cup lukewarm milk (Just warm in a microwave for about twenty seconds,
but be careful because you want the milk only slightly warm and not hot.)
1
/
2
teaspoon salt
1
/
2
cup (1 stick) butter
2 large eggs
1
1
/
2
teaspoons vanilla extract
5
1
/
2
to 6 ounces of good dark chocolate (The better the chocolate you use,
the more delicious your bread will taste. Marie Claire is a big fan of Callebaut and
Lindt.)
~ METHOD ~
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
1. In a small bowl, mix together the yeast,
1
/
2
cup of the flour, the sugar,
and the lukewarm milk. Let this mixture sit for about 10 minutes, until it gets all
foamy and bubbly.
2. While you are waiting for the yeast mixture to bubble up, take a large
bowl, or if your home has one, the bowl of a standing mixer. Most standing mixers come
with dough hook attachments, and this is the easiest way to make chocolate butter bread.
If you don’t have a standing mixer, don’t worry; you can knead the dough by hand. It
just takes a bit longer, but it’s also quite fun. So, into your big bowl put 2
1
/
2
cups
flour and
1
/
2
teaspoon salt. Chop in one stick of butter, cutting the butter into smallish
pieces. Then using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until it looks like bread
crumbs and there are no big clumps of butter left.
3. Now add 2 eggs, the vanilla, and the small bowl of bubbly yeast mixture.
If you are using a standing mixer with a dough hook, gently mix the ingredients around
at low speed. If you are using a regular bowl, stir the ingredients together with a
wooden spoon. What you are aiming for is a soft but not sticky dough. If your dough is
very sticky, take the remaining
1
/
4
cup of flour and slowly shake some of it into the
bowl, mixing it around until the dough no longer sticks to the bottom and sides. You may
need a bit more, but add slowly.
4. Keep the standing mixer running for about three minutes while it kneads
the dough. To do this part by hand, simply tip the dough onto a clean, floured table.
Using the heel of your hands, push the dough forward, then fold it back over and push
forward again. This is called kneading, and it can be quite hard work. Keep going,
turning the ball of dough, pushing it forward, and folding it over again and again for
about three minutes. You don’t want to overwork this dough. Too much kneading will make
the bread tough.
5. Put the dough into a clean bowl. Cover the bowl with a dry dishcloth or
a piece of plastic wrap, and leave it to rise in a warm place. The kitchen counter is
usually good. Now you need to wait until your dough is double its size. This can take
anywhere from 1
1
/
2
to 4 hours, so just forget it’s there and go off and do something fun.
You don’t have to hang around the house while it’s rising.
6. Chop up the dark chocolate on a chopping board that HAS NOT been used to
chop onions (otherwise, your bread will taste oniony). Try not to eat all the chocolate
while you are waiting for your dough to rise. Once the dough has puffed up to double its
original size, punch it down and stir in the chocolate. Use your hands for this. It’s
much easier than trying to mix the dough with a spoon.
7. Butter around the inside of a pretty 7- or 8-cup Bundt cake pan. Pat the
dough into a circle the width of the pan, and using your fingers, make a hole in the
middle so it looks a bit like a giant, flattish doughnut. Carefully lower the dough ring
into the cake pan, enlarging the hole if necessary so that it fits over the tube in the
center of the pan. Now cover with plastic wrap or a dishcloth, and leave it to rise in a
warm place until it has doubled in size again. This should take about 1 to 1
1
/
2
hours, but
don’t worry if it takes longer. Time doesn’t matter here. Making sure it rises properly
is what’s important. It should rise almost to the top of the pan.
8. Preheat the oven to 375°F. When your dough has risen, bake it in the
middle of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Check the bread after about 20 minutes. If it
looks like it’s getting too brown on top, cover the pan loosely with foil. As it bakes,
your house will smell fabulous, just like Marie Claire’s bakery. You can tell the bread
is done because it will be a lovely golden color on top and sound hollow inside when you
tap it. Ask an adult to help you take the pan out of the oven and place it on a wire
rack. Loosen the edges with a kitchen knife and then turn it out of the pan to cool. If
you want to add a fancy touch, feel free to sprinkle some confectioners’ sugar on top of
the bread, when it has cooled.
9. Try to wait a bit before cutting off a slice. This is almost impossible
to do, and even though Marie Claire lets her bread cool down before slicing into it,
Poppy always has a big, steaming piece, warm and chocolate speckled, with her morning
caffe latte.
10. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Makes about 20 2-inch bars
Whenever Poppy makes these, Charlie will share a bag of them with her
goose. He loves the crumbly cookie crust, while Charlie adores the zingy lemon
filling.
~ Ingredients for the Crust ~
(You will need to bake these in a 9 x 13 pan
*
)
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
1
3
/
4
cups flour
1
/
4
cup cornstarch
1
/
2
cup confectioners’ sugar
1
/
4
teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
~ Ingredients for the Filling ~
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind
2
/
3
cup lemon juice (You will probably need four to five lemons, depending
on how juicy they are.)
1
1
/
2
cups sugar
1
/
4
cup flour
1
/
8
teaspoon salt
~ METHOD ~
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
1. The easiest way to make the crust is in a food processor. If you have
one in your house, ask an adult to set it up for you, then simply put in all the crust
ingredients and whiz together until a smooth dough forms. If you don’t have a food
processor, don’t worry. Simply put the flour, cornstarch, confectioners’ sugar, and salt
into a big bowl. Stir around with a fork to blend. Chop the cold butter up into small
pieces and tip it in. Then using your thumb and fingers, rub the butter into the flour
mixture until it resembles fine crumbs. When you reach this point, squish it all
together until it forms a soft dough. Taste a little to make sure it’s yummy.
2. Now press the dough into your pan. Try to make the layer as even as
possible.
3. Put the pan in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes before baking. This
step is important. It will give you a crisper, flakier cookie crust.
While the crust is chilling, you can make the filling.
4. Crack the eggs into a bowl. (You don’t want bits of shell in the
filling, so you might want to ask an adult to help you with this part.) Beat the eggs
with a whisk, and then add the rest of the filling ingredients. This makes a very lemony
bar, which Charlie loves.
5. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
6. Once the crust has chilled for half an hour, bake it in the oven
(without the filling) for 20 minutes. Don’t take the pan out, but turn the oven
temperature down to 300°F. Bake the crust for another five to ten minutes, until it’s a
nice pale golden color.
7. Now ask an adult to help you take the pan out of the oven and let it
cool for two or three minutes on a wire rack before pouring on your topping. You do want
the crust to be warm when the filling goes on.
8. Carefully pour the lemony filling all over the cookie crust. Then ask an
adult to help you put the pan back in the oven.