Rhubarb Crisp

I must admit that crisps aren’t the prettiest of desserts but they are reasonably healthy and undeniably delicious. Warm rhubarb crisp paired with cold, creamy vanilla ice cream is blissful. Leftovers (if you’re so lucky) make a pretty great breakfast.

Rhubarb Bottom:

3 cups chopped rhubarb
½ cup sugar
¼ cup Partially Sifted Flour
1 tsp vanilla

Topping:

½ cup brown sugar
½ cup Partially Sifted or Whole Wheat Flour
¼ cup oats (I used steel cut oats in a pinch but rolled would be much nicer)
¼ cup butter

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix together the rhubarb, sugar, flour and vanilla and place it in the bottom of your dish. Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle it on top of the rhubarb mixture. Bake for 25 minutes.

Baguette

I’m in love with these baguettes! So infatuated that I’m actually going to buy the special baguette pans. These baguettes are crusty on the outside but so fluffy and moist inside. We ate an entire loaf at lunch smeared with garden fresh chives and butter. 

4 cups Partially Sifted Flour (you could also play with Whole Wheat)
½ tbsp. salt
1 tbsp yeast
1 ½ cups warm water
extra flour for dusting
That’s it!

Dissolve the yeast into the warm water and let it begin to bubble. Mix the flour and salt together. Add in the yeasty water and knead for about 10 minutes. You will be able to feel the dough become elasticy. Let it rise for an hour or two.

Next, punch down the dough (my favourite part) and split it in half. Flatten each ball into an oval and fold the dough into thirds like a letter sealing in the edges each time. Roll out the dough to the desired length and lightly flour. Let the baguettes rise a second time for about an hour.

Once risen, add a few shallow diagonal slices to the top of the loaves. Brush them with water and bake at 425°F for 25 minutes. I just baked them on a parchment lined cookie sheet but I now want to try actual baguette pans. Do let it cool enough so you don’t burn your fingers before eating!

If you would like more details and photos on the process follow this link: http://wholewheatsweets.com/recipe/bread/whole_wheat_baguette 

Maple Walnut Scones

This past Saturday the friendly folks from Mountain Maple Products were selling their maple syrup at the market and I got a bit carried away leaving with a 4L bottle! Needless to say maple syrup will be a popular theme in our home for the next few weeks. The first maple inspired treat was an easy play on our Scone Mix.

BCF Scone Mix
¾ cup cold, cubed butter
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 egg
>1 cup milk
1 cup chopped walnuts

Maple Glaze:
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp milk
1 cup icing sugar

Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine cold butter into the mix until it resembles coarse oatmeal (the butter chunks make the end scone nice and flaky). In a measuring cup beat the egg, maple syrup and just enough milk to bring the mixture to 1 cup. Add it to the batter and mix just until combined. Fold in the walnuts. Split the dough into 2 flattened balls and cut each into 8 wedges. Bake on a couple of parchment lined baking sheets for 15 minutes.

While scones cook mix the three glaze ingredients and drizzle over the scones once they have cooled. It’s also perfectly acceptable to dip your scone into the leftover glaze.

Whole Wheat Pitas

We love pitas. We use them as buns with lamb burgers (tonight’s dinner), make them into wraps or just bake them crisp for dipping. I’m not sure how it works, but these even have the beloved pita pocket! Once you have a homemade pita you won’t want to go back.

1 BCF Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
3 tbsp oil, divided
1 ¼ cup warm water
flour for dusting

Mix the BCF Whole Wheat Pizza Dough, 2 tbsp of oil and water together. Knead the mixture together for 5 minutes. Roll it into a ball, cover in the remaining tablespoon of oil and put it back into the bowl with a tea towel on top. Let it rise for a couple of hours or until doubled in size.

Once the dough is risen preheat the oven to 400°F, punch down the dough and split it into 6 equal balls. Lightly flour your surface and roll out each ball to about a 10 inch diameter. Let them sit for 5-10 minutes before baking. Place up to 2 pitas on a baking sheet and bake for 7 minutes. Once they come out of the oven, cover with tea towel until cooled. 

Butter Pecan Cake

Butter pecan is one of our all-time favourite cakes. It’s buttery, rich and perfect with a cup of tea.  

Cake

¼ cup butter
2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk
2 ½ cups BCF Partially Sifted Flour

In a frying pan, melt the 1/4 cup butter on medium-low heat. Add the pecans and toast just until fragrant (about 3 minutes). Set aside to cool. Beat the 1 cup of butter until fluffy. Add in the sugar and beat again. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition. Add in the vanilla, baking powder and milk and beat once again. Finally, add the flour and mix just until combined. Fold in the pecans. Pour the batter into two 9 inch cake pans that have been greased and floured. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.

Brown Sugar Buttercream

1 cup butter
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups icing sugar

Beat the butter until fluffy. Add in the brown sugar and vanilla and beat again. Slowly add in the icing sugar and beat until you have a spreadable consistency. Frost the cake once is has cooled