Boston Fruit Bun

I love a fruit bun, especially sliced and spread with butter which perfectly compliments the delicious buttercream icing which has been sprinkled with coconut. The Tefal Cuisine Companion quickly mixes the dough and whips the buttercream to perfection.

Dough

190 gms Milk
130 gms Water
12 gms Active Dry Yeast
500 gms Bread Flour
100 gms Dried Fruit mixed with 10 gms extra Bread Flour
5 gms Salt
30 gms Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar

Glaze

1 tablespoon Caster Sugar 

1 tablespoon boiling Water 

Place caster sugar in heatproof bowl, add boiling water and stir with teaspoon until sugar dissolves.
Do the glaze immediately after buns are baked and removed from oven.

Icing

300 gms Icing Sugar mixture 

150 gms chilled Butter diced 

40 gms Milk

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract 

3-4 drops liquid Food Colouring 

Dessicated Coconut 

Insert Kneading Blade. Stopper in.

Add all ingredients.

Sp10:2-3mins until icing is smooth and creamy scraping sides of bowl with spatula as required 

Method

Insert Kneading Blade. Stopper Maxi.

Add milk, water and yeast.
Sp3:35deg:2min30sec.
Remove Stopper.
Add all other dough ingredients.
Pastry P1:2min30sec. Do not allow to proceed to proving function.
Place dough in lightly oiled glass bowl, cover with cling wrap and place in warm place until doubled in volume.
Punch down dough in bowl, divide in two and shape into two rounds.
Place both rounds onto paper lined baking tray, place in large plastic bag and prove until almost doubled in volume.
Bake 170 degrees 25-30 minutes or until done.
Place on wire cooling rack and brush with glaze.
Allow to cool to barely warm before thickly spreading with icing and sprinkling dessicated coconut  over icing.
Slice and serve with butter if desired.

Mozzarella

One of the easiest cheeses to make in the Tefal Cuisine Companion is Mozzarella. All that is required is milk, citric acid, rennet and salt. A thermometer is handy to make sure the cheese has reached the right temperature before the curds are cut and again before stretching the cheese. A bowl of iced water is needed to set the cheese and you will also need a clean tea towel lining a metal sieve placed over a large heatproof bowl. A microwave is also required to melt the cheese before stretching.

Stretching the Mozzarella 

After microwaving and folding through with spatula.

After Draining

Curds after heating.

Cutting the curds.

2 litres full cream Milk
5 gms Citric Acid
5 gms liquid Rennet
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Insert Stirring Blade. Stopper out.
Pour 30 gms milk into small glass or ceramic bowl, add citric acid and stir with teaspoon 1 minute or until dissolved.
Add remaining milk into Cuisine Companion bowl.
Add dissolved citric acid and milk mixture.
Sp3:40deg:20mins. Or until temperature reaches 32 degrees Celsius.
Add rennet.
Sp4:20sec.
Remove lid and stirring blade.
Rest 30 minutes.
Using a large knife or metal spatula cut the curd right through to the bottom in a grid pattern.
Let rest 10 minutes.
Replace lid. Stopper out. No blade is needed for the next stage.
50deg:12mins. Or until temperature reaches 42 degrees Celsius.
Spoon curds into tea towel lined sieve and let drain 30 minutes. Reserve whey.
Place curds into heatproof bowl, add salt and fold through with silicone spatula.
Microwave curds 40-50 seconds or until cheese starts to look like it's melting.
Rest for a few seconds then fold the cheese with spatula until it starts forming a ball.
Stretch the cheese then knead into a ball shape and place in iced water for 5 minutes.
Drain on paper towel lined plate for 5 minutes and shape into a ball again if needed.
Place in large jar or container, cover with whey and refrigerate until needed.

Amazing Flaky Pastry

This is a buttery flaky pastry not made in the traditional way, in fact it uses butter that is almost melted instead of the traditional chilled butter. The result is a rich buttery flaky pastry which is perfect for both sweet and savoury dishes. The dough after mixing in The Tefal Cuisine Companion must be refrigerated for at least 12 hours before use. I refrigerated mine for 18 hours before using.

Pastry rounds topped with bocconcini, diced chorizo and halved cherry tomatoes.

Chilled diced butter after adding boiling water. 

Note: You will need a generously floured surface to roll out the dough as it tends to be sticky, I find a well floured silicone sheet ideal. I also keep a pastry brush at hand to brush off excess flour from the dough after cutting out.
Note: This recipe makes a lot of dough, you can use half and freeze the other half.

500 gms Butter chilled
550 gms Plain Flour
5 gms Cream of Tartar
250 mls Boiling Water

Dice chilled butter into 1&1/2 cm cubes and refrigerate.
Insert Kneading Blade. Stopper in.
Add flour and cream of tartar
Sp10:15 sec
Remove stopper
In heatproof bowl add chilled diced butter, add boiling water and set aside for 2-3 mins stirring occasionally, there should still be small chunks of butter visible. (See photo above).
Add the butter and boiling water mixture to the flour in the Cuisine Companion bowl.
Select Pastry P1 and mix for 45 seconds.
Scrape dough onto a large plate, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate 12-18 hours. (I changed my cling wrap with a new piece after a couple of hours).
Take out of the fridge 15 mins before using.
Cut dough in half (place remaing half in fridge until ready to use) and roll out 1/2 cm thick on generously floured surface.
Use as desired.

Chocolate Cake

This delicious chocolate cake takes minutes to prepare in the Tefal Cuisine Companion. I have creamed the butter and sugar first then added all the other ingredients to make a rich, moist chocolate cake which can be decorated as desired. I have filled in between the two layers of the cake with a homemade seedless raspberry jam and whipped cream then iced the sides with Creme de Cacao buttercream and topped with a sour cream chocolate ganache and Creme de Cacao buttercream swirls.

Note: Seedless Raspberry Jam and Creme de Cacao Buttercream  recipes can be found on this blog by using the search function.

125 gms chilled Butter diced
250 gms Caster Sugar
2 Eggs
190 gms Self Raising Flour
65 gms Cocoa
165 gms Water
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven 160 deg. Grease and bottom paper line 2 x 20cm round cake tins.

Insert Kneading Blade. Stopper in.
Add butter and caster sugar.
Sp10:4mins or until well combined and creamy,  scraping  sides of bowl with spatula as required.
Mixture will form a ball at first then become soft and creamy in texture.
Add eggs, flour, cocoa, water and vanilla extract.
Sp6:30sec or until mixture is combined scraping sides of bowl with spatula as required.
Pulse 20sec or until mixture is smooth.
Divide mixture evenly into prepared baking tins and bake 30-35mins or until done when tested.
Cool on wire rack then decorate as desired.

Chicken, Bacon and Mushroom stuffed Conchiglie

I love any sort of pasta dish especially if it can be prepared ahead then sprinkled with Parmesan and baked in the oven for 20 minutes before serving. These jumbo shells (conchiglie shells) have been stuffed with two fillings one is a cheese filling and that is topped with a chicken, bacon, mushroom and tomato filling. I have used the Mini Bowl for most of the chopping but you can use the Tefal Cuisine Companion main bowl with the Ultrablade and internal steam basket inserted to do the chopping

Note: I have used minced chicken but you can mince your own chicken in the Mini Bowl or the main bowl with the Ultrablade inserted.
Note: Mushrooms pulsed in the Mini Bowl can resemble a paste which won't affect the flavour of the dish, you can finely chop the mushrooms by hand if preferred.

125 gms Mushrooms halved
60 gms short cut Bacon sliced in half
1 brown Onion quartered
1 Garlic Clove
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
250 gms Chicken minced
400 gms Passata
1 teaspoon dried Italian Herbs or 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs of choice
Salt and Pepper to taste
Pinch of Brown Sugar (optional)
20 Jumbo Shells (Conchiglie Shells)
1 tablespoon Olive Oil extra
170 gms smooth Ricotta
5 gms Parmesan freshly grated
100 gms Mozzarella finely grated
1 tablespoon Parley chopped
Extra Parmesan cheese grated

Insert Mini Bowl
Add mushrooms
Pulse 10 seconds, scrape down bowl with spatula and Pulse a further 5 seconds or until finely chopped.
Remove mushrooms from Mini Bowl and set aside.
Add bacon to Mini Bowl
Pulse 5 seconds
Remove bacon and set aside with chopped mushrooms.
Add onion and garlic clove to Mini Bowl
Pulse 5 seconds, scrape down bowl with spatula and Pulse a further 5 seconds or until finely chopped.
Remove Mini Bowl
Insert Stirring Blade. Stopper out.
Add olive oil, chopped onion, garlic, mushrooms and bacon. Slow Cook P1:5mins
Add minced chicken
Slow Cook P1:5mins breaking down chicken with spatula as required.
Add passata, herbs, brown sugar and salt and pepper.
Slow Cook P2:100deg:45mins placing some paper towelling over hole in lid to prevent splattering.
Set aside to cool.
Cook 18-20 conchiglie shells in plenty of boiling water with 1 tablespoon of olive oil added until al dente. Mine took about10 minutes.
Drain and set aside.
Combine smooth Ricotta, grated Mozzarella, 5 gms grated Parmesan and parsley in small mixing bowl.

Assembly 

Pre heat oven to 160 degrees

Spoon 3 tablespoons of the chicken sauce mixture onto base of casserole dish.
Add 1 heaped teaspoon of the combined cheese mixture into each shell and place the shells into casserole dish.
Spoon in enough chicken sauce mixture to fill each shell.
Any remaining sauce can be spooned between the shells if desired.
Top with remaining grated Parmesan.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until cheese is golden.
Garnish as desired.

Creme de Menthe Cheesecake

I love anything that's chocolate and mint flavoured. I especially love using Creme de Menthe because it imparts a delicate mint flavour and a gorgeous colour to anything I make. I find the Tefal Cuisine Companion perfect for making cheesecakes, you can make the cream cheese (recipe can be found by typing cream cheese in the search function) and the chocolate biscuits for this cheesecake as well as crushing the biscuits and mixing the cheesecake mixture in your Tefal Cuisine Companion.

Note: You can add some peppermint essence if you prefer a stronger mint taste.
Note: After combining Creme de Menthe and gelatine keep stirring regurlarly to prevent mixture    from setting. You can place in microwave on low setting for a few seconds if it starts to set and stir until it's at room temperature before adding to cheesecake mixture.

Biscuit base

150 gms Plain Chocolate Biscuits
75 gms Dark Chocolate, melted (I melted in microwave)
1 teaspoon Vegetable Oil (I used Canola oil)
Insert Ultrablade. Stopper in.
Crush biscuits using pulse button until done with internal steam basket inserted.
Place biscuit crumbs in separate bowl, add melted chocolate and oil, stir to combine.
Press into base of  20cm springform cake tin (you may not use all the crumb mixture, it depends on how thick you like your biscuit base) and refrigerate.

Cheesecake layer:

70 gms Creme de Menthe
10 gms gelatine powder
250 gms cream cheese softened
395gm condensed milk
300 mls thickened cream
1/4 teaspoon peppermint essence or to taste (optional)
Pour Creme de Menthe into a small heatproof bowl, microwave on medium high until boiling (this will only take a few seconds) remove from microwave and start stirring vigorously with fork, add gelatine quickly and keep stirring until gelatine dissolves. Set aside stirring regularly until cooled to room temperature.
Insert Kneading Blade
Add cream cheese, Speed 11 until smooth, scraping down sides with spatula every 10 seconds.
Add condensed milk, Speed 10 until fully combined, scraping down sides and around blade with spatula every 10 seconds.
Insert Whisk.
Add cream.
Speed 7 for 1 min 30 sec or until mixture thickens, scraping down sides of bowl with spatula every 20 seconds.
Add combined Creme de Menthe and gelatine mixture.
Speed 6 for 15 seconds.
Taste and add peppermint essence if using,
Speed 6 for 5 seconds
Remove whisk, give a light stir with spatula and pour onto biscuit base.
Refrigerate until set.

Decorate as desired.

Chocolate Cranberry Shortbread

The combination of craisins (dried cranberries) and chocolate in these buttery shortbread biscuits is delightful and so easy to make in the Tefal Cuisine Companion. You can chop the craisins in the Mini Bowl using the Pulse function if you like but I would advise to add at least 100 gms of craisins to the mini bowl to chop evenly.  The extra chopped craisins can be stored in a small zip lock bag for future use.

Pre heat oven 160 deg. Line 2 biscuit trays with baking paper.

250 gms Butter slightly softened but firm enough to dice. In hot or humid weather use chilled butter.
50 gms Icing Sugar
250 gms Plain Flour
50 gms Cornflour
1/2 tspn Vanilla Extract
50 gms dried Craisins finely chopped
200 gms Chocolate
Insert Kneading Blade, Stopper in.
Add all ingredients EXCEPT cranberries and chocolate.
Sp10:30sec or until mixture comes together and starts to form a smooth ball. Pulse after 30 sec if necessary.
Pat dough out to 1 cm thick.
Sprinkle chopped cranberries over top of dough and gently press into dough.
Cut out rounds with small cookie cutter and place onto baking paper lined trays.
Bake 160 deg for 10-12 mins or until edges start turning light golden. Leave for 5 mins on baking tray before transferring to cooling racks to cool.
Melt 200 gms chocolate and using a teaspoon or small metal spatula spread evenly over the bottom of each biscuit.  Place biscuits with chocolate side facing up on baking paper lined trays and place in refrigerator until set.