Saffron Easter Bunny Buns

Kids will love those cute bunnies. This is addaptation of "Lussekatter" or Swedish Lucia buns from Call Me Cupcake. I think that they are perfect for Easter breakfast with orange marmolade ;)

Ingerdients:

• 1 1/3 cups whole milk, 
• 0,1 g saffron, 
• 2 1/2 tsp. dry active yeast, 
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut in cubes, 
• 1 lb 2 oz all-purpose flour, 
• 1 tsp. grounded cardamom, 
• 1/8 tsp. chinese five spice, 
• 4 Tbsp fine sugar, 
• 1/2 tsp. salt, 
• 1 large egg,
• 1 egg yolk whisked with 2 Tbsp milk, for brushing,
• 1/4 cup cranberries; 

Method:

1. In small pot simmer whole milk and saffron. Add butter in cubes and suggar. Stir until ingredients disolve. Cool down to just above body temperature (105 F). 
2. In large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment mix flour, dry yeast, cardamom, chinese five spice and cranberries. Pour half of milk mixture.
3. Add whole egg and salt to the remained milk and stir until combined.
4. Pour rest of a milk into the dough and mix until smooth. Place the dough onto a work surface and knead for additional 3 minutes.
5. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 90 minutes. At this moment you can also place dough in the refrigerator for 12 to 18 hours and bake later.
6. Cut dough into 12 equal portions about 4 oz. Take one portion and cut into 3 parts: 1 small ball (bunny tail), 1 medium ball (create pear shape and cut thiner end to make bunny ears), rest of the dough roll out into a rope and swirl aroud (bunny's torso). Put together all pices and make bunny. Brush with egg wash. Cover the tray with plastic wrap and let the buns rise for about 35-40 minutes, until almost doubled in size. 
7. Preheat an oven to 350 F. Brush one more time with egg wash and bake for 25 minutes or until a rich golden brown.
8. Cool on the cooling rack. The buns are best served warm, but can be re-heated for 5 minutes in a 300 F oven.

Ultimate Cracow Style Cheesecake

I like all kinds of cheesecakes, but Cracow Style Cheesecake is my favourite one. This recipe is base on Pierre Herme, found on White Plate.

Ingredients:

For crust pie:

• 250 g all purpose flour, 
• 125 g confectioners sugar, 
• vanilla beans from 1 pod (or 1 tsp. vanilla paste) 
• 125 g cold butter, 
• 1 large egg, 
• 1 hard boiled yolk, grounded;

For cheese batter:

• 1 kg cottage cheese or quark cheese,
• 8 large eggs, yolks and eggs whites separated,
• 100 g unsalted butter, at room temperature 
• 100 g confectioners sugar, 
• 1 tsp. vanilla paste, 
• 3 Tbsp potato or corn starch, 
• 1 egg yolk whisked with 2 Tbsp milk, for brushing,
• 100 g seedless raisins;

Method: 

1. Place all the ingredients into a bowl, mix until they are combined. Don't overwork the dough otherwise will be hard after baking. Wrap dough in the plastic foil and put into the refrigerator for 30-40 minutes. 
2. Take ⅔ of the dough and roll out to a thickness of one-fourth inch. Place into prepared baking pan. 
3. Bake in the oven preheated to 350°F for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. 
4. Beat butter with half of sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add yolks, waiting after each until previous completely incorporated. Then add cheese, slowly spoon by spoon until all ingredients will be well mixed. 
5. Beat eggs whites with remain sugar until stiff peaks. 
6. Add to the cheese batter raisins and starch. 
7. Put egg whites to the batter and gently fold. 
8. Roll out the second disk of pastry slightly thinner than the bottom crust, about one-eighth inch, but into more of a square shape. Use a knife or pastry wheel to cut long strips. Create lattice pattern on the top of cheesecake.
9. Brush lattice with egg wash. 
10. Bake in a bain marin (water bath-see in Cooking Techniques and Tips) for 60 minutes in the oven preheated to 325°F. 
11. When done turn off oven and leave a cheesecake additional one hour to cool down slowly.
12. Afert an hour take off from the oven and cool down to the temperature room. After that keep in the refrigerator until served. 

Dulce de leche cheescake

Easter is coming and I'm looking for a cheesecake inspiration. This time I've tried David Lebovitz recipe. Salty Philadelphia and sweet confiture de lait ;) for me perfect combination...

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs,
• 1½ tablespoons sugar,
• 6 tablespoons butter, salted or unsalted, melte,
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon.

For the cheesecake:

• 2 pounds cream cheese,
• ¾ cup sugar,
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature,
• 1 cup dulce de leche,
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract,
• generous pinch of salt.

For the glaze:

• ⅔ cup dulce de leche,
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream or whole milk.

For the garnish:
 
Flaky sea salt, such as fleur de sel or Maldon

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter and cinnamon, until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Press the buttered crumbs in the bottom of the springform pan and about one-third of the way up the sides
3. Bake the crust in 9" baking pan until it’s light brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, stopping the mixer between each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in 1 cup of dulce de leche, vanilla, and salt. 
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in a bain marie (instruction see here) for 60-70 minutes, until the cheesecake appears to be just set in the center. If you jiggle the pan, the outer part of the cake should not move but a small circle in the middle, about the side of a bracelet, should still quiver. 
6. Turn off the heat of the oven. Crack open the oven door 1-inch, and let the cake cool in the oven, as the oven cools, for another hour. This gentle cooling will help prevent the cheesecake surface from cracking.
7. Remove the cheesecake from the oven. Set on a cooling rack. Run a knife around the outside of the cake to loosen it from the pan, then let the cheesecake cool completely.
8. When the cake has cooled to room temperature, warm the dulce de leche and cream or milk is a small saucepan over very low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove the outside of the springform pan from around the cake. Spread the dulce de leche topping over the cheesecake, pushing it right to the edge of the cake. Just before serving, sprinkle the cake with flaky sea salt, just enough so that everyone gets a flake or two in each bite.

Note: The cheesecake can be made up to four days ahead, glazed, and refrigerated. The unglazed cheesecake can also be frozen, if well wrapped, for up to 2 weeks.