For some people Baking is a relaxing way to cook. It is also one of those cooking

methods that require precision and the exact amounts listed in a recipe. You can be

creative and adventurous but you have to treat baking like a science and follow the

instructions to the letter.

Welcome

I N S I D E

T H I S I S S U E :

What Librarians Eat! N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 I S S U E 1 1

A Brief History of

Baking

2

Simple Chocolate

Chip Cookies

4

Caramel Fudge 4

Festive Macaroons 5

Chocolate Mousse

Tart with

Chocolate Chip

Cookie Crust

6

Apple And

Cinnamon Malted

Muffins

7

Mocha Mousse

Sponge Roll

8

Rainbow cake 9

Ask Us

Something!

10

As most of you know, this month the Library will be hosting a Bake sale in aid of Puttinu

Cares so we decided to give you some inspiration by dedicating a whole issue to baked

desserts.

P A G E 2

A Brief History of Baking

The first breads produced, around 4000 BC, were

unleavened flat breads, though there was usually some

natural leavening due to the fermentation of noble rot,

wild yeast or steam. The Egyptians are credited with

inventing grinding materials, enclosed earthenware

baking containers, crude ovens, and the use of the levain

process which utilizes a piece of day old dough to

introduce fermentation. The Greeks expanded on these

baking concepts and became specialists in baking cakes

and pastries. The Romans ere the first to promote the

training and refining of baking skills and established the

first corps of bakers in the western world. The United

Kingdom established the first guild that set standards of

baking and an apprenticeship of 7 years leading to a

master baker certification.

In the Americas, Native Americans cultivated corn. The Pilgrims wanted to get in on the act and developed

what is known as Johnnycakes. Wheat grasses were grown and cultivated as settlers moved West and built

grist mills near streams and rivers to grind the grain into a fine meal. Steam engines allowed the grain to be

ground closer to where it was grown. Out on the range, cowboys made bread with flour and potato water

which was fermented by bacteria and wild yeast. If they felt like something a little different, they also used a

mix of cornmeal, water, and sugar.

Aside from the steam engine, there were other improvements in baking. In 1856 baking powder was

introduced and a mere 12 years later, in 1868, commercial yeast was sold which made life a lot easier for

bread bakers as they didn’t have to wrangle those rascally little wild yeasties. Life got even better for bakers

and pastry chefs in the 1930s when the first mechanical mixers were developed.

Baking utilizes carefully balanced formulas. What goes into a flour based baked good either

strengthens/toughens (proteins and starches), weakens/tenderizes (fats and sugars), moistens (any water con-

taining ingredient), dries, or leavens it, but not by themselves. Without heat and water, the important

chemical and physical reactions wouldn’t take place. Hence the boom the cavemen experienced after the

invention of fire.

P A G E 3

Staff members are encouraged to participate in the event by either baking

something themselves or buy pre-baked goods and donate them to the library staff

who will be in charge of the event so that it can be sold to the public on the 10th

November. All proceeding will be donated to Puttinu Cares. Staff members who will

be participating can either bring the baked goods on Friday 8th November or Satur-

day 9th November and leave them at the library. Also those who would like to be

present on Sunday just let Ryan know so that the event can be planned accordingly.

P A G E 4

Simple Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

180g butter, softened

1/3 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup Sweetened Condensed

Milk

1 1/2 cups self raising flour

250g Dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup White chocolate chips

This is one of the simplest baking recipes ever! And they taste incredible too! Also the recipes allows

for different flavours to be added in the cookie dough. Instead of chocolate you might want to try

different combinations and see which one you prefer.

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line 2 oven trays

with baking paper.

Cream the butter and sugar together then beat in

the Sweetened Condensed Milk.

Add the flour then the dark and white chocolate

chips, mix well.

Roll heaped teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls.

Place on the prepared trays, allowing plenty of

room for spreading, and press gently with a fork.

Bake in batches for 15 minutes until golden.

Grease and line the base and two long sides of a 25cm

x 7cm bar pan.

In a medium saucepan, stir the butter, sweetened

condensed milk, golden syrup and sugar together over

low heat until simmering; stir constantly for 10 minutes

until it thickens slightly and becomes golden brown.

Remove from the heat, add the white chocolate chips, stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is

smooth.

Pour into the prepared pan and refrigerate until

set. Using a hot knife cut into thin slices.

Caramel Fudge

Ingredients

125g butter, chopped

395g can Sweetened Con-

densed Milk

2 tbsp golden syrup

1 cup (220g) brown sugar

¾ cup (110g) White

chocolate chips

P A G E 5

Preheat the oven to 170/C/325F/Gas 5 and line a large

baking tray with baking paper.

Put the icing sugar, ground almonds and 40g/1½oz egg

whites together in a large bowl and mix to a paste.

Put the water and caster sugar in a small pan and heat gently

to melt the sugar, then turn up the heat and boil until the

mixture starts to go syrupy and thickens.

Whisk the remaining 50g/2oz egg whites in a small bowl

until medium-stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed

from the bowl, then pour in the sugar syrup, whisking until

the mixture becomes stiff and shiny. For coloured macaroons,

add a few drops of food colouring. Tip this meringue mixture

into the almond paste mixture and stir gently until the

becomes stiff and shiny again.

Festive Macaroons

Ingredients

125g/4½oz icing sugar

125g/4½oz ground almonds

90g/3½oz free-range egg whites

2 tbsp water

110g/4oz caster sugar

food colouring (optional)

desiccated coconut, for sprinkling

(optional)

150ml/5fl oz double or whipped cream,

whipped

Beautiful macaroons are one of the current ‘sweet’ crazes. Make a batch, put them in a pretty box tied up with

ribbon, and give them to a friend as a dazzling gift or you can have them all to yourself, prefect for breakfast, lunch

and dinner.

Spoon into the piping bag. Pipe a little mixture under each

corner of the baking paper to stop it sliding around. With the

bag held vertically, pipe 4cm/1½in flat circles onto the lined

tray, about 2cm/¾in apart, twisting the bag after each one.

The mixture should be quite loose to give a smooth finish.

The piping will leave a small ‘tip’ on each circle so, when

they’re all piped, give the tray 2–3 slams on a flat surface to

flatten them. At this stage, sprinkle with desiccated coconut

if you want.

Leave to stand for 30 minutes to form a skin then bake in the

oven for 12–15 minutes with the door slightly ajar until firm.

Remove from the oven, lift the paper off the baking tray and

leave the macaroons to cool on the paper.

When cool, sandwich the macaroons together with whipped

cream. They can be kept for a couple of days, if they hang

around that long!

P A G E 6

In a large heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt

the chocolate and butter, stirring. Remove from the heat and whisk

until smooth. Return to the heat and add the yolks, 1 at a time,

whisking after the addition of each. Remove from the heat and set

aside.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks start to form.

Gradually add only half (1/8th cup) of the sugar and beat until stiff

peaks form.

In a separate bowl, beat the cream until it becomes frothy. Add the

remaining sugar (1/8th cup) and continue beating until it holds soft

peaks.

Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture until no white specks

appear. Using only half of the whipped cream, gradually fold in

until smooth.

Spoon the mousse into the pre-baked tart shell and smooth the top

with a rubber spatula. Refrigerate until well chilled, tart is best

served after being chilled overnight.

To serve, spoon the remaining whipped cream on top and garnish

with extra chocolate chips. Cut into wedges and serve. Leftover tart

can be stored in an airtight container (even with the extra cream on

top) in the fridge for up to two days.

Ingredients

225g (8 oz) bittersweet or semisweet

chocolate, chopped

55g (4 tbsp) butter

3 large eggs, separated (Note this recipe

uses raw/slightly cooked eggs, ensure they

are fresh and be aware of any risks)

55g (1/4 cup) caster/superfine sugar

375ml (about 1.5 cups) cold thickened/

heavy cream

Extra chocolate chips to top

Chocolate Mousse Tart with

Chocolate Chip Cookie Crust

In this recipe you can use the chocolate chip recipe for

a base. Just shape the cookie mixture into a tart shape

or use a tart dish and bake like you would to make

cookies.

P A G E 7

Apple And Cinnamon Malted

Muffins

Ingredients

3/4 cup Malted Milk Powder

2 cups self raising flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 cup brown sugar

425g unsweetened pie apple

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup water

90g polyunsaturated margarine, melted

1 tbsp honey

Preheat the oven to 200°C and Grease 12 cups of a muffin tin.

Sift together the Malted Milk Powder, flour, bicarbonate of soda, and cinnamon.

Add the sugar, apple and walnuts and mix well.

Combine the eggs, water, margarine and honey.

Make a well in the centre of the apple mixture, add the egg mixture, stir until just combined.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin tins, bake for 25 minutes until golden. If desired, when cool, dust with

sifted icing sugar.

P A G E 8

Mocha Mousse Sponge Roll

Ingredients

SPONGE:

3 eggs, separated

1/3 cup caster sugar

3/4 cup self raising flour, sifted

2 tbsp hot water

MOUSSE:

2 tsp gelatine

1 tbsp boiling water

3 tsp instant coffee

300ml cream

180g chocolate chips, melted

2 tbsp Tia Maria liqueur

Sponge Preheat oven to 200°C and line a 25cm x 30cm Swiss roll tin with

baking paper.

Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and

beat until dissolved. Beat in the egg yolks then fold in the flour and

water.

Spoon evenly into the prepared tin and bake for 8-10 minutes. Turn out

onto the baking paper, remove the lining from the base of the cake and

carefully roll up the cake with the paper. Stand for 30 minutes until

completely cool.

Mousse Whilst the sponge is cooling, dissolve the gelatine in water, add the

instant coffee and cool slightly.

Beat the cream until thick, fold in the melted chocolate chips, gelatine

and liqueur. Refrigerate until firm.

Carefully unroll the cake and discard the paper. Spread 3/4 of the

mousse over the sponge then re-roll.

Spread the remaining mousse over the sponge and decorate as desired.

NOTE: Allow refrigeration

time.

Rainbow cake A stunning celebration cake of six or seven colourful layers and a buttercream icing - an impressive showstopper.

Ingredients

You'll need 3 x these ingredients for six

sponges

125g butter, softened, plus a little extra for

greasing

225g plain flour

150g golden caster sugar

3 medium eggs (very important to use the

correct size)

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

edible food colouring - red, orange, yellow,

green, blue and purple, plus optional pink

For the icing

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 x 250g tubs cream cheese or mascarpone

350g icing sugar

Heat oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Grease 2 x 20cm round sandwich tins and line the bases with baking parchment.

Tip all the sponge ingredients, apart from the food colouring, into a mixing bowl, then beat with an electric whisk until

smooth.

Working quickly, weigh the mixture into another bowl to work out the total weight, then weigh exactly half the mix-

ture back into the mixing bowl. Pick 2 of your colours and stir a little into each mix. Keep going until you are happy

with the colour – the colour of the batter now will be very similar to the finished cake, so be brave! Scrape the different

batters into the tins, trying to spread and smooth as much as possible – but try not to waste a drop of the batter – a

rubber spatula will help you. Bake on the same oven shelf for 12 mins until a skewer poked into the middle comes out

clean. Gently turn the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool.

Wash the tins and bowls thoroughly, and start again, this time using another 2 colours. Unless you’re making the

optional pink layer, repeat one more time to get 6 sponges, all of different colours. Leave them all to cool.

To make the icing, very briefly beat the vanilla and cream cheese or mascarpone with an electric whisk until smooth.

Sift in the icing sugar and gently fold in with a spatula. Be careful – the more you work it, the runnier it will get,

increasing the chance of splitting.

Smear a little icing on your cake stand or plate – just a splodge to stick the first sponge. Start with the red, then spread

with some icing right to the very edge. Repeat, sandwiching on top the orange, yellow, green, blue and finally purple

sponges. Spread the remaining icing thickly all over the sides and on top of the cake.

Black Forest Cake

“Ask Us Something!” Since this month we did not have any questions we are going to show you how to do a classic Black Forest Cake! A

super rich cake with syrupy cherries, dollops of fresh cream filling and lashings of chocolate glaze.

Ingredients

250g butter, softened

1¼ cups (275g) caster sugar

3 eggs

¾ cup (75g) Baking Cocoa

2 cups (300g) self-raising flour

1¾ cups (440mL) milk

50g (1/3 cup) Dark Melts

680g jar morello cherries, drained,

reserving ½ cup (125mL) syrup

Cream Filling:

600mL thickened cream

¼ cup (55g) caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Chocolate Glaze:

1 1/3 cups (200g) Dark Melts

½ cup (125mL) thickened cream

Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan forced. Grease and base line

two 20cm round cake pans.

Using an electric mixer; beat the butter and sugar in a medium

bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating

well after each addition.

Sift the Baking Cocoa and flour; add half to the butter mixture

with half the milk; mix well; repeat with remaining flour and

milk.

Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for

40 minutes or until cakes springs back when touched in the

centre. Stand the cakes in pans for 10 minutes; turn out onto

wire racks lined with baking paper to cool completely. Cut each

cake in half horizontally.

Place the Dark Melts and reserved syrup in a small microwave

proof bowl; microwave on MEDIUM (50%) for 2 minutes or

until melted. Set cherries aside.

To make cream filling:

Use an electric mixer to beat the cream, sugar and vanilla until

firm peaks form.

Place one of the cake layers on a cake stand or serving plate;

brush with chocolate syrup; spread with 1/3 of the cream; top

with 1/3 of the cherries. Repeat with remaining cake layers,

syrup, cream and cherries. Refrigerate while making the glaze.

To make Chocolate Glaze:

Place the Dark Melts and cream in a microwave proof bowl; microwave on MEDIUM (50%) for 2 minutes; stir;

continue to microwave at 30 second intervals until melted and smooth. Spread over the top of the cake.

Transport will be organised as follows.

We will have 3 pick up points from Valletta (in front of Phoenicia Hotel), Msida (University Campus) and Mosta (Near the Parish Church).

On the way to Paradise Bay Hotel we will go by coach.

On the way back from Paradise Bay Hotel we will have mini vans sorted by region that will take you to your home!

Those who will make use of transport will have to pay 25 Euro instead of 23 Euro

(2 Euro for the transport, includes both ways)

(Optional), Also for those interested, we have been offered special rates for anyone who would like to book a room and spend the night at the Hotel.

Remember the following day is going to be a public holiday. A room on Bed and Breakfast will only cost 24.50 Euro per person. This is only

optional and if we book 5 rooms we will also receive and extra discount of 10% on each room.

It is important to start letting me know who is coming and pay for the event. Are going to use transport and from which pick up point? And also inform me if you

want to book a room or not?

The deadline for confirmations and payments is Friday 29th November, 2013.