Classic Bread Pudding

4 cups dry bread, cubed small
1 cup fruit, fresh or dried, in small pieces (I used raisins)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used sliced almonds)
2 1/2 cups milk, cream, half & half, or a combination
3 eggs
1/3 cup sugar or brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grease a 9"x13" baking pan ( I believe I actually used an 8"-12" or slightly smaller size). Put the fruit in an even layer in the dish, then the bread cubes, then sprinkle the nuts evenly over it.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Heat the milk until just before the boiling point. Allow to cool slightly.

In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the warm milk into the egg mixture. Then pour it evenly over the bread in the baking pan.

Baked 25-30 minutes, until puffed and a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean. Allow to repose for another 5 minutes.

Gooseberry Preserve Scones

1 1/2 cup flour (whole wheat, white whole wheat, or whole wheat pastry)
1/2 cup almond meal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
1 egg
1/2 cup gooseberry jam
1/2 cup cold buttermilk
Spiced sugar to garnish

Preheat oven to 375°.

Stir together the flour, almond meal, salt, and baking powder.

Cut in the butter until it  thoroughly mixed, no chunks of butter.

Stir in the buttermilk, egg, and jam. It will be a very soft and wet dough. Turn it out onto a floured counter and knead it, very gently, adding in enough flour to make the dough cohesive. Roll it out to about 1/2"-3/4" thick and cut out rounds.

Sprinkle spiced sugar on the top of each round, place them on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment, and bake for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown.

Peaches & Cream Crumb Cake

4 cups peaches, sliced thin and pit removed
1 1/2 Tbls sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbls unflavored gelatin or collagen
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup corn meal or masa harina
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup cream or half & half
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8" square or circular cake pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together the peaches, 1 1/2 Tbls sugar, gelatin, and ground ginger. If the fruit is frozen, it needs to be thawed.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into small cubes, then cut it into the flour mixture until the butter is all small pieces. Stir in the eggs and cream to make a thick, clumpy dough. Add more liquid if necessary, so there is no loose powder in the dough.

Put 1/2 of the crumb mixture into the bottom on the cake pan, in an even layer. Put the peach mixture in an even layer over the crumbs. Top with a layer of the remaining crumb mixture, sprinkling it in large clumps.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until lightly golden on top.

Spiced Almond Biscuits

1/2 cup cold butter

1/4 cup coconut oil or lard

1/2 cup raw sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

3 cups almond meal

about 1/2 cup cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or grease it.

Cut the butter into small cubes. In a medium bowl, put in the butter, coconut oil/lard, and sugars. Use a pastry cutter to mix the butter and shortening into the sugar. When it is somewhat creamy, a beater can be used to mix it to a smooth, creamy texture. 

Beat in the vanilla and eggs until creamy again. Then stir in the baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

Stir in the almond meal one cup at a time. It will create a very soft, sticky dough.

Form the dough into small balls, the volume of about 2 tablespoons. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar until they are completely coated. Place the balls on the baking sheet at least 2" apart, as they spread quite a bit while baking. Gently compress the top of each ball, so it is just barely flat.

Bake for 11-13 minutes, until they are golden-brown around the edges.

Makes about 20 cookies.

Variations:

Use other spices or a mixture of spices.

Use other nut flours or a mixture of nut flours. I can sometimes find a mix of almond, coconut, pecan, and walnut, which is delicious.

Raspberry Seedcake

1/2 cup cream
8 oz. butter (1/2 cup)
6 Tbls. honey
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground mace
1 Tbls. caraway seeds
3 eggs
1/4 cup elderflower cordial (or 1 Tbls. elderflower syrup + 3 Tbls. water or carbonated water)
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup raspberries

Put the cream in a small pan over med-high heat. Stir it every 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat when it reaches a boil, turn the heat to med-low, and return the cream to heat. Stir gently but constantly until it scrapes clean from the bottom of the pan and is thickened--about 15 minutes from the start. Remove from heat and let cool.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cream together the butter, honey, and cream. Stir in the spices and seeds. Add the eggs and cordial, beating to combine. Gently break the raspberries into several pieces, and coat them all with flour.  Add the 2 cups flour gradually to the batter, mixing it in completely before adding more. Add the baking powder with the flour. Then gently stir in the raspberries.  The batter will be very thick.

Line a bread pan with buttered baking paper. Pour in the batter and spread to smooth. Bake it for 1 hour, or until it tests done (probe comes out clean).

Moroccan Harchas

Period: 1200s, Spain, Morocco
Sources: About Morrocan Food, Medieval Spanish Chef

2 cups fine semola flour
3 tablespoons coarse raw sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup soft or melted butter
1/2 - 3/4 cup milk

In a mixing bowl, stir together the semola, sugar, and salt. Stir in the melted butter until the mixture is like damp sand. Stir in 1/2 cup milk. The dough needs to be very soft, like very wet cookie dough. Add more milk if necessary. It will look too wet to a baker's eye.

Let the dough rest for a few minutes. It will stiffen as the semolina absorbs moisture.

Meanwhile, preheat the frying pan over high heat, then turn heat to medium-low.

Prepare a pressing folder by cutting open 3 edges of a plastic storage bag, or cutting a rectangle of baking parchment and folding in half into a square.

Form a small ball of dough, place on one half of the pressing folder, fold over the other half, and use a flat-bottomed plate to press the dough into a circle about 1/4" thick. Peel off the top half, flip the dough onto one hand and peel off the other half of the folder.

Cook them over medium-low heat for several minutes on each side until each side has patches of deep golden brown. try to flip it only once.

Serve with toppings as with pancakes or scones, such as butter, syrup, jam, cream, or savory with cheese and meat.

Cecina (Farinata de Ceci)

Period: 1200s Italy
Sources: Chickpea Flour on Wikipedia, A Tuscan Foodie in America

1 1/2 cup chickpea flour
2 1/2 cup water
6 Tbls. olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Stir together the chickpea flour and water. Put in a covered container and let sit for 2-6 hours. It will start out very lumpy, but as it sits, the lumps will absorb water and dissolve.

Preheat oven to 450 F. Coat a 9"x13" baking pan with 2 Tbls. olive oil.

Stir the batter and mix in the salt and pepper. Pour the batter into the pan. Fold 4 Tbls. olive oil into the batter.

Bake for 15 minutes, then broil the top for 5 minutes.

Grape Scones

3 1/2 cups flour (I used whole wheat flour)
6 Tbls. butter
3 Tbls. honey
1 cup grapes, halved
2 eggs
5 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Put the flour into a large bowl and add the butter and honey. Mix with a pastry cutter to create a breadcrumb-like mixture. Gently stir in the grape halves. Add the eggs and baking powder and use a wooden spoon to turn the mixture gently. Add half of the milk and keep turning the mixture gently with the spoon to combine. Then add the remaining milk a little at a time and bring everything together to form a very soft, wet dough. 

Sprinkle flour onto a clean counter. Put the soft dough onto the floured counter and sprinkle some flour on top. Chaff the dough by folding the dough in half, then turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat. Do this a few times until you’ve formed a smooth dough. Sprinkle more flour onto the work surface and on top of the dough if necessary. Roll the dough out to about 1" thick. 

Use a cookie cutter to cut out scones. Place them on a baking tray lined with baking parchment paper. Leftover dough can be rolled again for more scones. Just don't work the dough too much. Let the scones rest for a few minutes. You can glaze the top with egg, milk, or sugar, or leave them plain. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the scones are risen and golden-brown.

I got 32 small scones from this recipe.