Vanilla Cupcakes

Vanilla Cupcakes 

I searched everywhere for a light, moist vanilla cupcake that could be easily converted to the Tefal Cuisine Companion. These are perfect and can be decorated with buttercream or ganache or a cream cheese frosting as I have done in the photo below. 

Note: Australian cup and spoon measurements used. 1 cup =250mls. 1 tablespoon =20mls

Vanilla Cupcakes 

140 gms milk

2 eggs room temperature 
1 tspn vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract 

100 gms butter softened and diced

160 gms caster sugar

200 gms Self Raising flour 

Insert Kneading Blade. Stopper out. 

Add all ingredients in order listed

Sp6:30sec scraping bowl after 15 sec. Turbo 20-30 sec or until smooth scraping bowl with spatula as required.

Bake 160 deg fan forced for 20-25 mins or until done.

Cream Cheese Frosting

60 gms butter chilled and diced

160 gms cream cheese chilled and diced

1 tspn strawberry essence or to taste 

420 gms icing sugar 

1-2 drops red food gel colouring 

Insert Kneading Blade. Stopper out. 

Sp10 until mixture is spreadable, scraping bowl with spatula as required. Mixture may form ball at first but will become smooth and creamy.

Shortbread

Shortbread

Rich, buttery shortbread, so easy in the Tefal Cuisine Companion. This shortbread mixture can be piped, rolled into a log and sliced or patted out on a generously floured board or silicone sheet and cut out with cookie cutters using a small metal spatula to transfer to paper lined baking trays. Heat and humidity will affect the consistency of the dough because of the high quantity of butter, you may need to refrigerate the dough briefly before slicing or patting out. For rolling into a log to slice for biscuits you will need to use chilled butter. For piping the shortbread dough you will need softened butter. This dough freezes beautifully, just roll into a log, place in a zip lock bag and freeze until required.

250 gms Butter diced (chilled if you are rolling the dough into a log to slice for biscuits), (softened but firm enough to dice if piping the dough).
50 gms Icing Sugar
250 gms Plain Flour
50 gms Cornflour
1/2 tspn Vanilla Extract
Insert Kneading Blade, Stopper in.
Add all ingredients

For shaping into a log and slicing using chilled butter

Sp10:30sec or until mixture comes together and forms a ball. Pulse after 30sec if necessary.
The shortbread mixture can now be rolled into a log and sliced or patted out on floured board and cut out with cookie cutters. Place on paper lined oven trays and bake 160 deg 10-15 mins or until edges start turning a light golden brown. Leave on trays 10 mins before transferring to cooling racks.
Decorate as desired.

For Piping using softened butter

Sp10: until mixture is combined and very soft.
Place biscuit mixture into piping bag fitted with large open star nozzle. Pipe fingers onto paper lined baking trays.
Bake 160 deg for 10-15 mins or until edges start turning light golden. Leave for 10 mins on baking tray before transferring to cooling racks.
Melt 200 gms white chocolate and dip one end of biscuit into melted white chocolate.  Leave to dry on lightly oiled wire cooling tray. Melt 200 gms dark chocolate and dip opposite end of biscuit into melted dark chocolate. Leave to dry on lightly oiled wire cooling tray. 

Curried Sausages

Curried Sausages

Old fashioned curried sausages made with curry powder.  Great on a cold winters day served with rice or mashed potatoes and some crusty bread. So simple to make in the Tefal Cuisine Companion. 

Note: Australian cup and spoon measurements used: 1 cup = 250 mls, 1 tablespoon = 20mls.
          1 teaspoon = 5mls

750 to 800 grams thin sausages

1 tblspn olive oil

1 large onion peeled and cut into quarters

1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic

1&1/2 tablespoons curry powder or to taste

1& 1/2 tablespoons plain flour

3/4 cup celery sliced

1 large or 2 small carrots sliced

1&1/2 cup beans sliced

450 mls beef or vegetable stock 

Place sausages in internal steamer. Stopper in Maxi position. Add 700 mls water. Steam P1

Set aside sausages and empty water. 

Rinse bowl with hot water and dry with paper towelling. 

Remove sausage skins and slice. 

Insert Ultrablade blade. Stopper in. 

Add onion and garlic Sp11 for 10 sec. scrape bowl and repeat.
Insert Mixing Blade. Stopper out. 

Add olive oil

Slow Cook P1 for 4 mins

Add sausages. Stir through with spatula. Slow Cook P1 for 8 mins. Scraping bowl with spatula as required. 

Add curry powder and flour. Stir through. 

Slow Cook P1 for 2 mins. Stir with spatula. 

Add all other ingredients. Stir through with spatula. Stopper in on mini setting. 

Slow Cook P2 for 50 to 55 mins or until veggies are cooked, stirring occasionally.

Sponge

Sponge

There is nothing so delicious as a light and airy sponge filled with home made jam and cream. The Cuisine Companion makes light work of beating and aerating the eggs. One thing to remember is to warm the eggs. Place 4 fridge cold eggs in warm water for 7 minutes before cracking and placing in bowl. I use eggs from an 800 gm carton of 12.

20gms butter
80 gms milk
4 eggs. Put in warm water for 8 mins if straight from the fridge or 4 mins if room temperature.
160gms caster sugar
150gms S.R. flour
Place butter and milk In heatproof bowl. Microwave on low heat setting until butter is almost melted. Stir until melted. Set aside stirring every now and then whilst preparing sponge batter.
Insert whisk in CC, stopper out.
Add eggs and caster sugar. S8:14mins.
Sift S.R. flour into CC bowl. S4:5sec. Use silicone pastry brush to brush flour off whisk.
Select S4:15sec pouring butter/milk mixture through hole in lid. Remove blade and gently fold through with spatula any unmixed flour or butter/milk mixture.
Divide mixture between 2x20cm bottom paper lined sandwich tins. Bake 160 deg for 15-20mins or until done when tested. Do not open oven door for the first 10mins.

Baguettes

Baguettes 

 There's nothing like the smell of fresh bread baking and the taste of bread straight from the oven. These baguettes are perfect, crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. They are started with a poolish made the night before which gives them a slight sourdough taste. 

Note: I use active dry yeast.
Note: Best to mix poolish in the evening to develop overnight.

Poolish

245 gms bread flour

230 gms water

Pinch yeast

Mix all together with a round bladed knife,  cover with cling wrap and place a hand towel over the top if your kitchen will be chilly overnight and leave for 12 to 18 hours or until poolish has risen and bubbles appear. 

Dough

3 gms yeast

550 gms plain flour

15 gms salt

270 gms lukewarm water

Insert Kneading Blade. Stopper out

Add poolish

Add dough ingredients 

Pastry P1:2 mins 30 sec. Do not allow to continue to prove function. 

Knead on lightly floured surface for 10 sec or until smooth

Rest for 45 mins at room temperature in lightly oiled lidded plastic container.

Fold dough in half and rest for a further 45 mins or until dough weighs about 1125 gms (mine weighed 1250 gms after 1 hour resting).

Cut into 3 pieces weighing 360 to 380 gms each. Shape into cylinders. Cover with tea towel and rest for 20 mins.

On lightly floured surface flatten each piece with your hands into small oblong shape (approx. 15x12cm). Fold top third from the short end towards middle gently patting out any air then fold this thicker bit over the remaining third gently patting out air and shaping into small oblong shape again. Roll tightly from the short side like a Swiss roll. Roll dough back and forth until 40cm long. 

Place on lightly oiled baking tray seam side down, cover with tea towel and rest for 45 mins. Cut one long line down the length of each baguette with sharp serrated knife. 

Steam bake 220deg for 25 mins or until brown and crispy.

Black Forest Gateau

One of the classic cakes of all time and rightly so. The delicious mix of chocolate cake, cream and cherries all brought together with Kirsch generously brushed on to each cake layer. An absolute delight and so easy to make in the Tefal Cuisine Companion.  I use tinned black cherries (not morello cherries). You can use fresh cherries when in season. Dark chocolate can be grated with the grater/shredder attachment.

2 x 400 gms tins black cherries drained (reserve 2 tablespoons of syrup) 

200 gms dark chocolate chilled

150 gms unsalted butter melted and at room temperature 

6 eggs (placed in warm water for 8 mins if chilled)

250 gms caster sugar

1 tspn vanilla extract 

100 gms plain flour

50 gms cocoa 

Kirsch or Cherry Brandy

2 tblspn raspberry jam

2 x 600 ml thickened cream

Grease and bottom paper line 3 x 22 cm cake tins

Insert whisk, stopper out. 

Add eggs, caster sugar and vanilla extract

Sp8:16 mins

Sift flour and cocoa into bowl. 

Sp4:10 sec
Start Sp5:20sec pouring melted butter through hole in lid. 

Remove blade and gently fold through any unmixed flour with spatula. 

Bake 160 deg fan forced for 20 mins or until done when tested.  Leave in tins 5 mins then cool on wire rack. 

Whip cream until stiff peaks form. 

Mix Kirsch to taste with reserved syrup. You can use just Kirsch without the syrup if desired. 

Brush 1st sponge layer with Kirsch mixture, spread jam and a little cream on top. 

Top with 2nd sponge, brush with Kirsch mixture, a little cream and well drained cherries (reserving 8 cherries for decoration), add more cream on top of cherries. 

Top with 3rd sponge. 

Reserve some whipped cream for decoration and spread remaining cream over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate.

Using vegetable peeler make some chocolate curls from the chilled chocolate and grate the rest. Press the grated chocolate over sides of cake. 

Pipe decorative border with reserved cream around top of cake. Pipe 8 rosettes and top with reserved cherries. Add chocolate curls.

Chocolate Royals

These are divine and keep in an airtight container in the fridge for a week or so. The biscuit bases and marshmallow are so easy in the Tefal Cuisine Companion. 

Note: To dissolve gelatine in boiling water . Start stirring boiling water vigorously with a fork in a small bowl, keep stirring whilst adding gelatine powder and continue stirring for 10 seconds or until gelatine has dissolved. If there are any tiny lumps you will need to strain through a fine mesh sieve when adding to mixture in the Cuisine Companion bowl.

Chocolate Royals. This makes 48 biscuits. I only made 24. I froze half the dough and spread half the marshmallow in a slice tin. 

Biscuit Base 

250 gms Butter softened 

50 gms Icing Sugar 

250 gms Plain Flour

50 gms Cornflour 

1/2 tspn Vanilla Extract

Insert Kneading Blade 

Add all ingredients 

Sp9:30sec or until mixture comes together. Pulse after 30 sec if necessary. 

Knead lightly, and form into 2 logs 3 & 1/2 cm diameter. Rest in fridge 30 mins. 

Cut 1 cm slices and bake 160 deg 12-15 mins or until edges turn light golden. Leave on trays for 5 mins before transferring to cooling racks. 

When cold spoon 1/4 tspn jam in middle of biscuits 

Marshmallow 

475 gms Caster Sugar 

185 gms Cold Water

1 tspn milk

30 gms Gelatine 

115 gms Boiling Water 

1/4 tspn Rosewater Essence or to taste

1-2 drops Red Food Colouring 

Insert Whisk. Stopper out. 

Add caster sugar, milk and water. Sp6:5mins

Dissolve gelatine in boiling water. See note above. 

Start Sp4:20sec adding dissolved gelatine through hole in lid. 

Sp6:7min adding essence and colouring through hole in lid.
Rest 2-3 minutes until piping consistency 

Place in piping bag fitted with large plain piping tip (I used a Wilton 2A). Pipe marshmallow onto biscuits. 

Dip in melted chocolate. I used 400 gms melted chocolate for 24 biscuits.

Egg Free Chocolate Cupcakes

These egg free chocolate cupcakes are so moist, fudge and delicious they're now my go to chocolate cake/cupcake recipe. The Tefal Cuisine Companion mixes this batter effortlessly in a few minutes.

Note:Australian cup and spoon measurements used. 1 cup=250mls. 1 tablespoon =20mls.
         1 teaspoon =5mls.

Line muffin tins with patty papers. 

Insert whisk, stopper in, then add
1 cup vegetable oil (I used Canola)
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/2 cup unsweetened plain yoghurt
1/2 tspn vanilla extract
2 cups S. R. flour sifted into bowl
3/4 cup unsweetened Cocoa sifted into bowl
1 and 1/2 cups Caster Sugar
Speed 8 for 30 sec scraping down bowl twice, Making sure there's no pockets of flour in mixture.
Speed 7 for 2 mins 30 sec, scraping down bowl as necessary.
Mixture will be runny.
Bake at 160 deg for 20-25 mins. Or until baked when tested.
This makes 18 cupcakes.