Teddy Bear Bread


Hello! I have to say that I am very happy with the emails and photos I have received from readers that have made the Mandarin cake. I am so glad that you liked it and that it was a success in many of your homes. Thank you all for you your wonderful and grateful emails. Today I baked a TEDDY BEAR BREAD. I’ve had this bread recipe for a while and I finally got to taste it. This bread has a good crumb and great taste.

Different from what it is customary to give around this time, I think this particular homemade bread is a good alternative to show some love to a dear one or friend. The following recipe's yield is two breads, so you can give one and eat the other. This bread recipe is also ideal to serve on children birthdays or in baby showers. I hope you like this idea and make it with great success. If you do I would LOVE to see your photos on our facebook wall.




I thank my husband for helping me knead this bread. He makes every bread we make taste better :)  Enjoy this very short video of the process.


Teddy Bear Bread
(Taste of Home's Breads)

Ingredients:
1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
1 ½ cups warm water (110˚F 115˚F)
½ cup warm milk (110˚F 115˚F)
3 teaspoons butter or margarine, softened
3 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
5 ¼ to 5 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
12 raisins
1 egg
1 tablespoon cold water
Ribbon, optional


Preparation:
1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, butter, sugar, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form stiff dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

2. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into four portions. Cut one portion in half; shape into balls. Cut another portion into 14 pieces; shape into balls. Shape remaining two portions into balls. To form bear body, place each large ball in the center of a greased baking sheet. Place a medium ball above body for head; flatten slightly. Place two small balls on each side of head for ears. Place one small ball in the center of head for nose, and four small balls around body arms and legs. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

3. With a sharp knife or scissors, cut slits for ears, eyes, nose and belly button. Insert raisins into slits. Beat egg and cold water; brush over dough. Bake at 375˚F (190˚C) for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. If desired, tie a bow around bear`s neck with ribbon.

Yield: 2 loaves.


Sent to Yeastspotting.

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear. ~ 1 John 4:18
by Mari Nuñez
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Mandarin Orange Cake Recipe, Bizcocho de Mandarina



Start the year off right with a delicious Mandarin Cake recipe! 

Made with natural mandarin juice syrup, this cake is a perfect fusion of citrus and nutty flavors. I love to bake this cake during mandarin season, as the fresh citrus adds a delightful twist to the recipe. If you've tried my previous cake recipes, you'll notice that I often incorporate nuts for their unique taste and texture. I believe that nuts add an extra layer of flavor to cakes, making them even more enjoyable. 


Give this simple and delicious cake recipe a try and let me know how much you love it! Your feedback is always appreciated.

Finca Campos


Check out the beautiful mandarin trees on our farm! We're thrilled to announce that this year's harvest has been exceptional, and we're grateful to God for this blessing.


finca Campos

Dominican Mandarins, Our farm 2012




This recipe yields one 7" cake, on this occasion I doubled the recipe to make two cakes.




Mandarin Orange Cake

Wonderful citrus cake with almonds and freshly squeezed mandarin juice syrup.

Ingredients:
3 mandarins
¾ cup unsalted butter or margarine, softened
1 cup superfine sugar (I used powdered sugar)
3 eggs, beaten
1½ cup all-purpose flour
2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup ground almonds Mandarin 

GLAZE Topping:
½ cup freshly squeezed mandarin juice
6-8 Tablespoons granulated sugar
powdered sugar to sprinkle on top


Follow these simple instructions to make a delicious Mandarin Cake:
1. Grease a 7-inch round pan and line the base with wax paper or parchment paper.

2. Finely chop the rind of one mandarin and cream it together with butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually add beaten eggs to the mixture, beating well after each addition.

3. Gently fold in a mixture of flour, baking powder, salt, and ground almonds. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake in a preheated oven (350ºF) for 30-45 minutes, or until the center comes out clean. Once baked, leave to cool slightly.

4. While the cake cools, make the glaze. Put the mandarin juice and sugar into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes and drizzle the warm glaze over the cake until it has been absorbed. Once cooled completely, sprinkle with powdered sugar.


Notes:
a) For an alternative method in step #2, you can chop the mandarin rind in a food processor with ¼ cup of extra powdered sugar.

b) To achieve a chunky sugar appearance on top of the cake, use your thumb and index finger to sprinkle the sugar instead of a sieve.


This recipe yields 8-10 servings of one layer  7" cake. Enjoy!






If you liked this recipe, you would also love these:











For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”- Romans 1:17


Thank you for reading and remember to follow us on Tik Tok and Instagram.
by Mari Nuñez
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Top 10 recipes for 2011 and Roast Pork in Dominican Republic


"Puerco asado" is the typical meat eaten on holidays in the Dominican Republic. The pigs are roasted on a spit, called "puya" that spins over burning firewood. Not much seasoning is used because  their flavor comes mainly from the smoked wood. I ask a friend that always roasts for us how they season it and he told me they just use a garlic- oregano rub and kosher salt. Pork roasted on a spit has a superb taste!

An amazing amount of pigs are roasted in many street stands in the rural areas the day before Christmas and New Years Eve. My hubby and I drived by a few stands and enjoyed watching hundreds of pigs being roasted.  I manage to get a few pictures, but since it was late night I couldn't get a picture that showed all of them roasting at once.

En español: AQUÍ


If you do not have access to a local stand that roasts pig like these or if you prefer to roast your own pork ham at home I recommend this post:

Here is my "pernil" pork ham in brine:


I made some deep cuts with a knife and filled each of them with a little of the following mixture: 5 Tablespoons of oregano, 2 heads of crushed garlic, 2 sachets of Goya seasoning with annatto (achiote), 3 tablespoons onion powder or ADOBO and 2 teaspoons of salt. I then left it in brine with all other ingredients as indicated in the brine recipe. This ham is 15 pounds (6.5 kg) so it will bake for some 4-6 hours.  Let me know how GREAT you pork ham tasted when you do this :)



Mari's Cakes 2011
Some recipes of  2011 en Mari's Cakes
They were many favorites this year, these are the Top 10 I selected:


MORO de GUANDULES (Rice and Pigeon Peas)



CINNAMON Cookies



Chocolate EGGNOG



Bizcocho de TRES LECHES de CHOCOLATE



CHALLAH



CHOW FAN



Lemon Chicken with Thyme and Garlic



YANIQUEQUES



OATMEAL COOKIES



CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES with CHOCOLATE CHIPS



I would also like to take this opportunity to wish you a happy New Year full of blessings for all. Thank you all for your support, the wonderful comments and emails that I receive constantly. THANK YOU for making me feel like family and for being part of this blog.

En español: AQUÍ

Strengthen the hands of those who are weak. Help those whose knees give way. Say to those whose hearts are afraid,"Be strong. Do not fear. Your God will come.
He will pay your enemies back. He will come to save you." - Isaiah 35:3-4

Happy and Blessed 2012!


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by Mari Nuñez
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