BREAD

Caribbean: Corn Bread

¼ cup wheat flour
cup cornmeal
tsp. salt
pound unsalted butter, room temperature
cup sugar
large eggs
14¾ oz can creamed corn
8¼ oz crushed pineapple, well drained
cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
Preheat oven to 325 f. Grease and flour an 8 x 13″ baking pan.
Mix all dry ingredients.
Beat butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until mixture is pale yellow and forms a ribbon, add eggs one at a time mixing well, then add corn, pineapple and cheese, last stir in the mixed flours, salt and baking powder.
bake about one hour until golden brown
Yields: 12 Servings

Caribbean: Banana Coconut Tarts

For the crust:
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. table salt
1/2 cup chilled vegetable shortening
3 Tbs. ice-cold heavy cream or evaporated milk, more or less as needed
For the filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 ripe banana, peeled and mashed
1-1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
Make the dough:
Sift the flour, sugar, and salt together in a medium-size to large bowl. Using a pastry blender, a big serving fork, or the tips of your fingers, cut in or pinch or squeeze the shortening until the mixture resembles a bowl of sweet peas. Tossing the mixture quickly and lightly with a fork, sprinkle in the cream or milk 1 tablespoon at a time. (It’s better to err on the side of not having enough liquid than to have too much; you don’t want a soupy crust.) Continue tossing until the dough holds together when lightly pressed.
With lightly floured hands, loosely gather up the dough into a flat ball, place it in a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until you are ready to roll out the crust. I try to chill at least 30 minutes but not too much longer than overnight.
Fill and bake the tarts:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a medium-size bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Beat in the egg, milk, and banana until smooth. Stir in 1 cup of the coconut.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough until 1/8 inch thick. Cut the dough into 12 circles about 1 inch larger than the mini tart pans you will be using (or you can use a muffin tin). Line the pans or tins with the circles of dough and trim the edges even with the top of the pan.
Spoon the filling into the shells and bake until the tarts are a light toasty brown, about 20 minutes. Start checking for doneness after 10 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of baking time, sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup coconut on a cookie sheet, put it in the oven with the tarts, and let brown, watching so it doesn’t burn. When the coconut is toasted, about 5 minutes, take it out of the oven. Take the tarts out of the oven and sprinkle the coconut on top of each one. Let cool completely on a wire rack before serving.
Yields twelve 3- to 4-inch tarts.

Caribbean smuggler’s haitian bungle rum cake

 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 (16 ounce) package brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
5 large eggs
3/4 cups milk
1/4 cups dark Meyer’s rum
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer about 2 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add sugars, beating 5 to 7 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears.
Combine milk, rum and vanilla extract.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Fold in pecans. Next, pour batter into a greased and floured 13 cup Bundt pan and bake for one hour and 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes; remove cake from pan and let cool completely on wire rack. May drizzle with over lightly with a confectioner’s sugar icing, if desired.

Caribbean Chocolate Cake

 

1 1/2 c  Self-rising flour
1 1/2 ts Baking powder
1 ts Mixed Spice
3/4 c  Butter; softened
3/4 c  Superfine sugar
3 Eggs
2 tb Unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tb Hot water
1/2 c  Granulated sugar
2/3 c  Water
2 Cinnamon sticks (2″)
1/4 c  Dark rum
2 tb Slivered almonds
6 oz Semisweet chocolate; broken
-in bits
Whipped cream
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Generously grease a 5-cup
fluted or plain tube pan and dust lightly with flour. Sift
flour, baking powder and Mixed Spice into a bowl. Add
butter, superfine sugar and eggs. Blend cocoa powder with
hot water and add to flour mixture. Beat well with a wooden
spoon 2 minutes or 1 minute if using an electric mixer. Turn
mixture into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven 1-1/4
hours or until well risen and cake begins to shrink from
edges of pan. Carefully turn out cake onto a wire rack and
cool. Combine granulated sugar and 2/3 cup water in a saucepan.
Add cinnamon and heat gently, stirring to dissolve sugar.
Boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add rum and discard
cinnamon. Place cake on a plate. Spoon syrup over cake and
let stand 2 hours. Stud top of cake with almonds. Melt
chocolate; carefully spooon over cake, spreading to give a
smooth even coating. Let stand several hours. Pipe (with a
pastry bag) whipped cream around bottom of cake.
- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -
Cinnamon sticks (2″)
1/4 c  Dark rum
2 tb Slivered almonds
6 oz Semisweet chocolate; broken
-in bits
Whipped cream
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Generously grease a 5-cup
fluted or plain tube pan and dust lightly with flour. Sift
flour, baking powder and Mixed Spice into a bowl. Add
butter, superfine sugar and eggs. Blend cocoa powder with
hot water and add to flour mixture. Beat well with a wooden
spoon 2 minutes or 1 minute if using an electric mixer. Turn
mixture into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven 1-1/4
hours or until well risen and cake begins to shrink from
edges of pan. Carefully turn out cake onto a wire rack and
cool. Combine granulated sugar and 2/3 cup water in a saucepan.
Add cinnamon and heat gently, stirring to dissolve sugar.
Boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add rum and discard
cinnamon. Place cake on a plate. Spoon syrup over cake and
let stand 2 hours. Stud top of cake with almonds. Melt
chocolate; carefully spooon over cake, spreading to give a
smooth even coating. Let stand several hours. Pipe (with a
pastry bag) whipped cream around bottom of cake.
Yield 12 Servings

Caribbean: Molasses Cake

120ml/4fl.oz. Water
75g/3oz Margarine
50g/2oz Brown Sugar
120ml/4fl.oz. Molasses
100g/4oz Raisins
450g/1lb Plain Flour
¼ teasp Ground Ginger
¼ tbsp Salt
¼ tbsp Baking Soda
1 tbsp Baking Powder
¼ teasp Ground Cinnamon
1 Egg

Instructions

1. Preheat the  oven to 180C, 350F Gas Mark 4 and lightly grease a loaf tin.

2. Place the water in a small saucepan, bring to the boil then remove from the heat.

3. Add the margarine to the water and stir to melt then add the sugar and molasses mixing well then stir in the raisins. Set aside.

4. Sift the flour, ginger, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon together into a large mixing bowl.

5. Add the beaten egg and and liquid in the saucepan to the flour and mix well. This will produce a thin batter.

6. Transfer to the prepared loaf tin and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Makes 1 loaf

Caribbean: Trinidad and Tobago: Currant Rolls

Flaky Pastry
1 lb Flour – sifted
12 oz Shortening at room temp
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 tsp. Granulated Sugar
9 oz Water
Juice from 1/2 Lime
METHOD / DIRECTIONS:
Crumble 3 oz of the shortening in the flour using finger tips until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. Mix in the salt and sugar and make a dough with the water and lime juice mixture. Do not over-knead, just enough to form a dough. Let it rest for 20 min. Dust board or table top with just enough flour to prevent sticking. Open dough with finger tips in an oblong shape about 12″ x 7″ on table top or board. Spread the balance of the shortening (9oz) evenly on 2/3 of the dough. Then, starting at one end, fold the blank 1/3 over 1/2 of the other part of the dough, then fold that over the other 1/2. Altogether 2 folds. Roll out pastry with a pin to about 1/2″ thickness, maintaining the oblong shape at all times. Fold again the same way and roll again. Let it rest for another 20 min. Roll and fold again two more times and rest for 20 min. Roll and fold again one more time. That will make 5 rolls and folds – (2 + 2+1).
Let pastry rest overnight in a chiller.
Filling the Currant Rolls
INGREDIENTS
12 oz Currants
3 to 4 oz Granulated Sugar
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Vanilla
METHOD / DIRECTIONS:
Mix the above ingredients together. Cut pastry in two strips, length ways – (about 18″ x 7″ each). Spread currants evenly over each strip, except for a 1″ edge, closer to you. Wet that skirt with a little water, using a pastry brush (or just by dipping your finger in a little water). Roll from far end towards you in 1″ folds. The wet end will keep it stuck. Place rolls on a greased baking sheet with sealed end resting on the sheet. Brush with egg wash or water. Punch about 5 holes, approx. 3″ apart. Skewer top center of each stick. Bake at 350 for 45 min. or until done.

Caribbean: Mango Puff Pastry Turnovers – Pastelillos de Mangos

1 pound frozen puff pastry (thawed and cut into 4 inch squares)
Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves to taste
1 cup mango preserves or jam
1/4 cup cashews (chopped)
1 egg beaten
confectioner sugar for dusting baked turnovers
butter to grease the cookie sheet
parchment paper
Preparation:
Grease a cookie sheet and line with parchment paper.
In a bowl, mix the mango preservers (or jam if you can’t find preserves) with the chopped cashews. Set aside.
Lightly sprinkle each pastry square with spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves to taste).
Put 1 1/2 tablespoons of mango mix in the middle of each pastry square.
Brush the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg. Then fold over to form a triangle, enclosing the mango mix.
Place the pastries about 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
After 30 minutes, take out the cookie sheet with turnovers. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly golden.
Remove from the oven. Dust with confectioner sugar. Allow to cool before serving.
Makes 8 to 10 turnovers.

source:http://recipeisland.com