Mennonite Relief Sale Cream Buns

Posted by Olga 6:11:10pm 2/15/03

Source: Canadian Back Roads and Country Cooking

Some Mennonite bakers fill these light buns with sweetened whipped cream; others use the filling that follows.
You can fill them with homemade preserves and a final dusting of icing sugar. Without the cream filling, the buns make great dinner rolls.

Makes 24 buns.

Buns
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup warm water (105 degrees F)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 egg, well beaten
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Cream Filling
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons milk
2 egg whites
1/2 cup softened shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Strawberry or other fruit preserves
Confectioners’ sugar

Buns: In heavy saucepan, heat milk over medium heat.
Add 1/3 cup sugar, the shortening and salt, stirring until sugar is dissolved and shortening melted.
Pour into large bowl; let cool until lukewarm.

In small bowl, stir together water and remaining sugar, stirring to dissolve sugar; sprinkle yeast over surface.
let stand in warm place for 10 minutes, until puffy.
Whisk egg and yeast mixture into milk mixture.
Beat in flour 1 cup at a time until smooth dough forms.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface; knead in remaining flour until soft but not sticky dough forms.
Knead for 8 to 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.
Form dough into ball; place in lightly oiled bowl, turning dough to coat with oil.
Cover loosely with plastic wrap; let rise in warm, draft-free place for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.

Punch dough down; let dough rest for 10 minutes.
Divide dough into 24 even-size pieces; shape into buns.
Place on greased or parchment-paper lined baking sheets.
Cover with damp towel; let rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bake buns for 12 to 15 minutes until well risen and golden brown, and buns sound hollow when tapped on bases.
Let buns cool on wire racks.

Cream Filling: In large bowl, beat together sugar, milk and egg whites until smooth.
Beat in shortening and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
Split cooled buns, spread with filling and preserves and sift confectioners’ sugar over tops.

Mennonite German Summer Salad

Source: The Canadiana Cookbook/Mme Jehane Benoit/1970

2 cupsraw spinach, finely chopped
1 thinly sliced peeled cucumber
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup sliced radishes
2 cups cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons fresh or bottled lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Paprika, to taste
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

Wash the spinach the day before, then wrap it in a cloth and refrigerate it overnight.

Chop the spinach, add the cucumber, onions and radishes, then toss lightly.
Arrange in a wooden salad bowl and place a mound of cottage cheese in the middle.

Blend the sour cream with the lemon juice, salt and pepper and pour over the salad.
Sprinkle the paprika in the middle and the parsley all around.
Toss when ready to serve.

This is a very good meal in itself, but it’s even better when served with thin slices of lightly buttered black bread.

Canadian Mennonite Plum Custard Kuchen

Posted by Olga 8/30/02 5:51:13 pm

A tea-biscuit base with neat rows of plums surrounded by custard - this is a delicious dessert.

1 1/3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup margarine or shortening
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
Plums, pitted and halved

Topping
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Custard
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk or yogurt
1/3 cup sugar

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
Cut in margarine.
Beat egg and milk and stir into mixture.
Pat the dough over the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan.
Arrange nicely in rows enough pitted plums to completely cover the dough.
Sprinkle topping over the plums.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile mix custard ingredients.
Take the kuchen out of the oven, drizzle the custard mixture over the plums, and return it to the oven.
Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for another 30 minutes.

Serve warm.

Mennonite Maple Walnut Cake

Posted by Olga 8/30/02 4:06:07 pm

No milk in this quick flavorful cake, just yummy maple syrup.

1/3 cup soft butter or regular margarine
2 eggs
1 cup maple syrup
1 1/4 cups all-purpose white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch salt
1 cup walnuts, chopped not too fine

Beat together butter, eggs, and syrup.
This will look curdled don’t worry.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir in gradually.
Beat with whisk until smooth fold in walnuts.

Pour into a greased square pan and bake at 350 degrees F for about 25 to 30 minutes or until done.
Let cool before icing with a maple butter icing.

Maple Butter Icing

Melt 2 tablespoons butter, blend in a cupful of sifted icing sugar and moisten to a spreading consistency with maple syrup.

Mennonite Caramel Frosting

3 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup top milk or thin cream
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix ingredients together in a saucepan.
Stir until sugar is dissolved; cook syrup until it forms a soft ball when dropped in cold water (238 degrees F).
Cool until you can hold your hand on the bottom of the pan.
Beat until creamy and spread on cake.

Mennonite Brown Flour Potato Soup

6 medium potatoes
3 cups water
3 cups milk
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons butter
Salt, pepper and parsley

Peel and cut potatoes in slices.
Boil them in salted water until tender.
Add the milk and let simmer.

Meanwhile brown the flour in the melted butter, stirring all the time over low heat; add it to the soup, stirring until the mixture thickens.
Sprinkle with parsley and pepper.

Serve with buttered crumbs, or squares of fried bread, or pretzels on top.
You might boil some sliced onion with the potatoes, if you like.

Mennonite Apple Strudel

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons shortening
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup warm water
5 cups sliced apples
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup seedless raisins
1/2 cup chopped nuts
5 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Grated rind of 1 lemon

Sift the flour and salt together.
Cut in the shortening and add the eggs and water.
Knead well, then throw or beat the dough against a board until it blisters.
Stand the dough in a warm place under a cloth for 20 minutes.

Cover the kitchen table with a small white cloth and flour it. Put the dough on it and pull it out with your hands very carefully to the thickness of tissue paper.
Spread with a mixture of the fruits, sugar, melted butter, cinnamon and lemon rind.
Fold in the outer edges of the dough and roll like a jellyroll - about 4 inches wide.
Bake in a very hot oven (450 degrees F) for 10 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees F and bake about 20 minutes longer.
Let cool.
Cut into slices about 2 inches wide.
It should be flaky and moist.

Mennonite Caramel Apples

6 red baking apples
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Wash and pare apples one-third of the way down from stem end. Leave whole.
Remove cores and cook in syrup made of sugar and water.
When apples are tender, remove to serving dish.
Combine cornstarch and milk to make a smooth paste.
Bring cornstarch to the boiling point and then add syrup in which apples were cooked.
Cook for 10 minutes or until cornstarch is thoroughly cooked.
Remove from heat and add butter, salt and vanilla extract.
Pour over apples and serve.

Mennonite Apple Dumplings

2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons shortening
1 cup milk
4 or 5 apples pared, cored and cut in half
Sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Sift the dry ingredients, cut in shortening, add milk and mix to a smooth dough.
Turn onto a floured board and divide into 8 or 10 portions; roll out each portion large enough to cover 1/2 apple. Place apple on each piece of dough, fill core hollow with sugar and cinnamon.
Wet edges of dough and press together over apple.
Place on greased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F until the apples are tender - about 1/2 hour.
Serve with boiled Brown Sugar Sauce or put the dumplings into a baking dish, pour the uncooked ingredients for Brown Sugar Sauce into the pan around them and bake until the dumplings are done and the sauce is thick.

Brown Sugar Sauce
2 cups water
2 cups brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter

Combine and cook together for 5 minutes; or simply pour uncooked sauce around dumplings and bake.

Mennonite Bread Pudding

2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
4 cups day old bread (1/2-inch slices), cubed
1/4 cup raisins

Beat eggs.
Add sugar, milk and nutmeg.
Butter a 1 1/2-quart baking dish.
Put bread cubes into dish and pour egg mixture over the bread.
Let the bread cubes become soaked by the mixture.
Mix in the raisins.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.

Serve warm.