Jewish Honey cake by Claudia Roden.

- Jewish new year recipes | Claudia Roden | Life and style | The Guardian:
Honey cake has been a favourite Jewish cake since the early Middle Ages.
It is mentioned in 12th-century records in Germany, when it was the custom for young boys attending heder (Jewish school) to bring a piece on the first day.

It is the traditional cake of Rosh Hashanah, symbolising the hope that the new year will be sweet.
This version is moist and delicious with a great richness of flavour.
It should be made at least three days before you want to eat it.

Makes 1 cake
large eggs 2
sugar 200g
light vegetable oil 125ml
dark liquid honey 250g
rum or brandy 2 tbsp
warm strong black coffee 125ml
baking powder 2 tsp
baking soda ½tsp
salt a pinch
ground cinnamon 1 tsp
ground cloves ¼ tsp
orange grated zest of 1
plain flour 300g, plus extra to dust the dried fruit and nuts
sultanas 40g
walnuts or slivered almonds 50g, coarsely chopped

Beat the eggs with the sugar until pale and creamy.
Then beat in the oil, honey, rum and coffee.

Mix the baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and orange zest with the flour.
Add gradually to the egg and honey mixture, beating vigorously to a smooth batter.

Dust the sultanas and the walnuts or almonds with flour to prevent them from dropping to the bottom of the cake and stir them into the batter.

Line a 24cm cake tin with greaseproof paper or with foil, brushed with oil and dusted with flour, and pour in the batter.
Or divide between two 24cm x 13cm loaf tins.

Bake the large cake in a preheated oven 180C/gas mark 4 for 1 hours 15 min, or longer, until firm and brown on top, and the smaller ones for 1 hour.

OR:
- majestic and moist honey cake – smitten kitchen:

'via Blog this'

Pears.

- vanilla roasted pears – smitten kitchen:

- Red Wine Poached Pear Tart - David Lebovitz:

- How to Poach Pears - David Lebovitz:

'via Blog this'

Zucchini fritters.

Zucchini fritters from smitten kitchen.

Yield: About 10 2 1/2 inch fritters

1 pound (about 2 medium) zucchini
1 teaspoon coarse or Kosher salt, plus extra to taste
2 scallions, split lengthwise and sliced thin
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Olive or another oil of your choice, for frying

To serve (optional)
1 cup sour cream or plain, full-fat yogurt
1 to 2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
Pinches of salt
1 small minced or crushed clove of garlic

Preheat oven to 200C.
Have a baking sheet ready.

Trim ends off zucchini and grate them either on the large holes of a box grater or, if you have one, using the shredding blade of a food processor.
The latter is my favorite as I’m convinced it creates the coarsest and most rope-like strands and frankly, I like my fritters to look like mops.

In a large bowl, toss zucchini with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and set aside for 10 minutes.
Wring out the zucchini in one of the following ways: pressing it against the holes of a colander with a wooden spoon to extract the water, squeezing out small handfuls at a time, or wrapping it up in a clean dishtowel or piece of cheese cloth and wringing away.
You’ll be shocked (I was!) by the amount of liquid you’ll lose, but this is a good thing as it will save the fritters from sogginess.

Return deflated mass of zucchini shreds to bowl.
Taste and if you think it could benefit from more salt (most rinses down the drain), add a little bit more; we found 1/4 teaspoon more just right.
Stir in scallions, egg and some freshly ground black pepper.
In a tiny dish, stir together flour and baking powder, then stir the mixture into the zucchini batter.

In a large heavy skillet — cast iron is dreamy here — heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering.
Drop small bunches of the zucchini mixture onto the skillet only a few at a time so they don’t become crowded and lightly nudge them flatter with the back of your spatula.
Cook the fritters over moderately high heat until the edges underneath are golden, about 3 to 4 minutes.
If you find this happening too quickly, reduce the heat to medium.
Flip the fritters and fry them on the other side until browned underneath again, about 2 to 3 minutes more.
Drain briefly on paper towels then transfer to baking sheet and then into the warm oven until needed.
Repeat process, keeping the pan well-oiled, with remaining batter.
I like to make sure that the fritters have at least 10 minutes in the oven to finish setting and getting extra crisp.

For the topping, if using, stir together the sour cream, lemon juice, zest, salt and garlic and adjust the flavors to your taste.
Dollop on each fritter before serving.
These fritters are also delicious with a poached or fried egg on top, trust me.

Do ahead: These fritters keep well, either chilled in the fridge for the better part of a week and or frozen in a well-sealed package for months.
When you’re ready to use them, simply spread them out on a tray in a oven until they’re hot and crisp again.

Breakfast buns. Cranberry-orange.

cranberry-orange breakfast buns – smitten kitchen:


Dough:
4 large egg yolks
1 large whole egg
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
6 tablespoons (85 grams) butter, melted, plus additional to grease pan
3/4 cup (175 ml) buttermilk
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated (to be used in dough and filling, below)
3 3/4 cups (470 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting counter
1 packet (7 grams or 2 1/4 teaspoons) instant dry yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse or kosher salt, or more to taste
1 teaspoon oil for bowl

Make the dough:
In the bottom of the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, buttermilk and 3/4 of the orange zest together (saving the rest for the filling).
Add 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; stir until evenly moistened.
Switch to the dough hook and add the remaining 1 3/4 cups flour and let the dough hook knead the mixture on low speed for 5 to 7 minutes.
The dough should be soft and moist, but not overly sticky.
Scrape the dough into a large, lightly oiled bowl (I usually scrape my dough briefly onto the counter, oil the mixing bowl, and scrape the dough back into it) and cover it with plastic wrap.
Let dough rise at room temperature until doubled, which will take between 2 and 2 1/2 hours.

Prepare the filling:
Filling:
1 1/2 tablespoons (20 grams) butter
1 cup (190 grams) packed light brown sugar
1 cup (115 grams) fresh cranberries
Orange zest leftover from above
Melt the butter and set it aside.
In a food processor, pulse the whole cranberries until they’re ground to a coarse rubble, but not fully pureed.
You’ll need to scrape the machine down once or twice. Set them aside.

Assemble the buns: Butter a 23x33cm/9×13-inch baking dish, a heavier ceramic or glass dish is ideal here.
Turn the risen dough out onto a floured work surface and roll it into a rectangle that is 45cm/18 inches wide (the side nearest to you) and 30cm/12 inches long. (It’s okay if it goes longer/thinner.)
Brush the dough with the melted butter.
Sprinkle it with the brown sugar.
Scatter the ground cranberries over it, then the remaining orange zest.

Roll the dough into a tight, 45cm/18-inch long spiral.
Using a sharp serrated knife, very, very gently saw the log into 4cm/1 1/2-inch sections; you should get 12.
Arrange the buns evenly spread out in your baking dish.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or up to 16 hours.


The next morning, bake the buns: Take your buns out of the fridge 30 minutes before you’d like to bake them, to allow them to warm up slightly.
Heat your oven to 176-180C/350F.
Bake your buns until they’re puffed and golden (the internal temperature should read 87-90C/190F), approximately 30 minutes.

Icing:
3 1/2 tablespoons (55 ml) orange juice
2 cups (240 grams) powdered sugar

Transfer pan to a cooling rack and let cool slightly.
Make the icing by whisking the orange juice and powdered sugar together.
Spread a little on each bun, or drizzle it over the whole pan.
Serve immediately.

Related Recipes and Links:

- Make your own buttermilk – smitten kitchen.

- Too many egg whites? – smitten kitchen.
- Egg White Cake - great ways to use up leftover egg whites!