Day: July 19, 2016

For the bites:
2.5 cups warm water
1 packet instant yeast
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp melted butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
4 cups flour
3 eggs

For the baking soda bath:
9 cups of water
1/2 cup baking soda

For the cinnamon sugar coating:
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 tsp cinnamon

For the cream cheese dip:
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 cup icing sugar

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl. Stir together minute until mostly combined.

Combine salt, sugar, butter and stir. Add yeast mix. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough is thick and no longer sticky. Poke dough with finger. It should bounce back. Flour a surface and knead dough for 3 minutes until it forms a smooth ball. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425F/ 220C.

Bring 9 cups of water to a boil and add baking soda.

Pull bite sized pieces from large dough ball and drop into the baking soda bath. Boil 25 seconds. Remove dough bites from baking soda bath and place on a well oiled baking sheet

Beat together your eggs and brush over each pretzel bite.

Place in oven and bake 15 minutes or until pretzel tops are golden brown

Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Dip each pretzel bite into melted butter then roll in cinnamon sugar mixture.

To make the cream cheese dip, combine butter and cream cheese and blend until smooth. Add icing sugar and vanilla and stir.

To decorate
1 large, thin-skinned orange
50g caster sugar

For the cake
1 small, thin-skinned orange (such as Valencia)
275g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
275g caster sugar
275g baking spread, from the fridge
4 free-range eggs
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice

For the orange icing
50g butter, softened
175g icing sugar, sieved
250g full-fat mascarpone cheese
2 tbsp orange pulp, reserved from above

For the decoration, peel thick long strips of orange peel from the large orange. Place in a saucepan, cover with boiling water, add half of the sugar and boil for one minute, drain then place on non-stick paper. Scatter over the remaining sugar and toss together, leave in a warm place to dry out for as long as possible or overnight until crisp.

Grease and line the bases of two 20cm/8in sandwich tins with non-stick baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 (fan 160C).

For the cake, place the whole orange in a small saucepan, cover with boiling water and boil for 30 minutes, or until soft. Leave to cool. When the orange is cold, cut in half and remove any pips. Roughly chop the orange and blend, including the skin, in a food processor until medium-chunky in texture. Transfer to a bowl and set aside, reserving two tablespoons for the icing.

Add the remaining cake ingredients to the food processor and blend until just smooth (be careful not to over-beat the mixture). Remove the blade, carefully stir in the pulp that you have set aside, then divide between the two prepared tins and level the tops.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until well risen, lightly golden-brown and shrinking away from the sides of the tins. Leave to cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Peel off the baking paper.

For the icing, place the butter in a mixing bowl and, using an electric hand whisk, gradually beat in the icing sugar until smooth. Add the mascarpone and whisk together until smooth and creamy. Add the reserved orange pulp and mix until smooth.

Slice each cake in half to make four layers. Divide the icing into four and then stack the layers of cake – icing between each layer and finishing with icing on the top. Decorate the cake with the candied orange rind and serve.