Nuvolone - (Cloud Soufflé)

Souffle for breakfast? Yup, you bet! But don't be surprised how easy it is to whip up this impressive and yet delicious dish.

Nuvolone - (Cloud Soufflé)

I was attracted to the picture of this souffle on the cover of the 'Winter In The Alps' Cookbook. I knew I just had to make this for breakfast as soon as I brought home this book.

Winter In The Alps - "This is similar to a traditional souffle, but the eggs remain separated. It is the simplest dish to make and looks very impressive. I've called it Nuvolone, which literally translates as 'big cloud', because when it comes out of the oven it looks like a big cumulus in a sunset."

Nuvolone (Cloud Souffle) Recipe (Serve 1)

(Adapted from Winter In The Alps Cookbook by Manuela Darling-Gansser)

Ingredients

• 2 eggs, separated
• Sea salt
• 50 ml (2 fl oz) cream
• 40 g (1 1 /2 oz) grated Gruyere cheese
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 15 g (1/2 oz) unsalted butter

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C (400F). Butter an individual ramekin per person (about 15 cm / 6" in diameter). Beat the egg whites. When they start to become stiff, add salt to taste. Continue beating until they hold their peaks well.
2. Spoon the egg whites into the ramekin. With the back of a soup spoon, make a well in the middle of the egg whites, pushing the egg whites up the sides of the ramekin. Carefully drop the 2 egg yolks into the well.
3. Then add the cream and Gruyere. Grind over some black pepper and add the knob of butter. Smooth the egg whites back over the hole.
4. Bake in the oven for 4 to 5 minutes. The top should be lightly golden, and when you break the crust, the yolks and cream should be soft and hot.
5. Serve with crusty bread to dip into the yolks and cream.

Julia Child's Popovers

It's love at first sight when I saw these cuties at Muffins Are Ugly Cupcakes. Mix 5 ingredients together, into the oven and wait for them to Pop! So easy and yet so pretty!

Julia Child's Popovers

I made them for breakfast yesterday. I like them with jam and butter. Muffins Are Ugly Cupcakes suggested to drizzle them with honey or dust them with icing sugar or even melt some cheese over. I had a few leftovers from breakfast and I used them to mop up the sauce from our chicken stew dinner. Mega YUM!

Julia Child's Popovers Recipe

(Adapted from Baking with Julia and Muffins Are Ugly Cupcakes)

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole milk or 2% milk, at room temperature
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Method

1. Preheat oven to 210C (425F).
2. Mix all ingredients together with a whisk to form a thin batter. Sieve the batter if it's lumpy.
3. Pour the batter into individual greased muffin cups or ramekins, about 3/4 full.
4. Bake them in the oven for 25 minutes.
5. Turn down the oven temperature to 180C (350F) for 15-20 minutes.

Cinnamon Churros with Real Hot Chocolate

Rick's Stein's "Mediterranean Escapes" is the first cookbook Mr J ever bought for me. He never bought me a cookbook before because I have the expensive habit of buying cookbooks as soon as I "need" them! A nice little Christmas surprise from him, two years ago. He bought this cookbook for me because he genuinely likes the recipes in it. He hoped I would like the recipes and cook some for him.

Cinnamon Churros with Real Hot Chocolate

Yes, I like this cookbook very much indeed. Rick Stein's recipes are always workable, very reliable and the end results are often picture perfect. I have made Sicilian Orange Cake, Greek Style Pot-Roasted Chicken, Kefta Mkaouara (Spicy Egg, Meatball and Tomato Tagine), Blakava and I made this Cinnamon Churros with Real Hot Chocolate today.

Rick Stein has written a nice piece of story to accompany this recipe:

In the mid-sixties I spent about a week in a youth hotel in Seville just by the railway station. I shared a room with a Swedish chap called Jonas. He had the best pair of worn patched Levi's I'd ever seen, brown cowboy boots, a blue striped cotton shirt, a cool beard, a battered leather Gladstone bag and a tobacco pouch. I swear he did his rollies with one hand. He must have been all of 19 at the time. I had not a whisker of a chance with any of the girls in the hostel. Life just ain't fair. And the make matters even worse, as well as being so cool he was also very nice and introduced me to churros with chocolate sauce. You had to be up sort of early for a 19-year old to get the first of the day when the oil was clean and fresh. But I never forgot them, any more than I forgot about him. You don't, do you?

Cinnamon Churros with Real Hot Chocolate Recipe (Serves 4)

(Adapted from Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escapes)

For the Churros:

• Sunflower oil, for deep-frying
• 100 g plain flour
• 150 ml full-cream milk
• 2 medium eggs, beaten
• 50 g golden caster sugar
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

For the Hot Chocolate:

• 225 g good quality plain chocolate with at least 60% cocoa solids
• 200 ml full-cream milk

Method

1. For the churros, heat some oil for deep-frying to 190C and preheat the oven to 150C.
2. Sift the flour onto a creased sheet of greaseproof paper and set to one side. Bring the milk and 150 ml water to the boil in a pan, take the pan off the heat and add the flour all at once, beating vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a thick paste - but don't worry about any small lumps. Leave to cool slightly and then gradually beat in enough of the eggs to make a smooth but still stiff, glossy mixture that drops reluctantly off the wooden spoon. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle.
3. Hold the bag over the hot oil and gently squeeze out a few 10-cm lengths of the mixture. Leave them to fry for 4 minutes, turning them oven halfway through, until crisp and richly golden brown. Lift them out with a slotted spoon onto a baking tray lined with lots of kitchen paper and keep warm in the oven while you cook the remainder.
4. For the hot chocolate, break the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and rest it over a pan containing about 2.5 cm just-simmering water. Lave until completely melted. Bring the milk to the boil in a small pan. Remove the bowl of chocolate from the heat and whisk in the hot milk. Pour into tall, narrow pots.
5. Mix the caster sugar and cinnamon together in a shallow dish, add the churros a few at a time, and toss them gently until lightly coated. Pile alongside each pot of hot chocolate and serve while still warm.

Marmalade and Whisky Ice Cream

Feeling bored with the usual pancakes with maple syrup? If you run out of ideas for pancakes, try topping them with your choice of fresh or poached fruits and a scoop of the marmalade and whisky ice cream. Drizzle with more warmed marmalade and serve with freshly brewed coffee. A perfect start to a weekend morning!

Marmalade and Whisky Ice Cream

Marmalade and Whisky Ice Cream Recipe (Makes 400ml)

(Adapted from Delicious Magazine April 2008)

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup (115 g) orange marmalade
• 150 g creme fraiche
• 250 ml thick Greek-style yoghurt
• 1 tbsp whisky (optional)

Method

• Place the marmalade, creme fraiche, yoghurt and whisky, if using, in a bowl. Beat with a wooden spoon to combine, then churn in an ice-cream machine following manufacturer's directions.

Ricotta Hotcakes with Honeycomb Butter

Bill Granger: "Born in America, the hotcake has assimilated well into Australian breakfast society. Take it back to its roots by substituting maple syrup for the golden-flecked crunch-sensation butter."

Ricotta Hotcakes with Honeycomb Butter

Ricotta Hotcakes with Honeycomb Butter (Serves 6-8)

(Adapted from Bill Granger's Bills Sydney Food)

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups ricotta
• 3/4 cup (6 fl oz) milk
• 4 eggs, separated
• 1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• 50 g (1 1/2 oz) butter

To Serve

• Banana
• Honeycomb butter, sliced (below)
• Icing (cofectioners') sugar for dusting

Honeycomb Butter

• 250 g (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 100 g (3 1/3 oz) sugar honeycomb, crushed with a rolling pin
• 2 tbsp honey

Method

1. Place ricotta, milk and egg yolks in a mixing bowl and mix to combine.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add to the ricotta mixture and mix until just combined.
3. Place egg whites in a clean dry bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites through batter in two batches, with a large metal spoon.
4. Lightly grease a large non-stick frying pan with a small portion of the butter and drop 2 tbsp of batter per hotcake into the pan (don't cook more than 3 per batch). Cook over low to medium heat for 2 minutes, or until hotcakes have golden undersides. Turn hotcakes and cook on the other side until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and quickly assemble with other ingredients.
5. Slice one banana lengthways onto a plate, stack 3 hotcakes on top with a slice of honeycomb butter. Dust with icing sugar.
6. Honeycomb Butter: Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Shape into a log on plastic wrap, roll, seal and chill in a refrigerator for 2 hours. Store leftover honeycomb butter in the freezer - it's great on toast.

Note: Hotcake batter can be stored for up to 24 hours, covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator.

Greek Yogurt with Blueberries and Honey

So I heard...

His food obsession is Greek yogurt with blueberries. - ROBsessedpattinson.com. "It is reported that Rob loved Greek yogurt while filming 'Remember Me'." - Twilightseries.co.za. So I made one for myself.... I like it drizzled with honey.

Greek yogurt with blueberries is a healthy obsession.

Greek Yogurt with Blueberries and Honey

Greek Yogurt with Blueberries and Honey Recipe

Ingredients

• 3/4 glass of Greek Yogurt
• A handful of Blueberries
• Honey

Method

1. Fill 3/4 glass with your favourite brand of Greek yogurt. Top it with a handful of blueberries.
2. Drizzle with honey.

Appel Pannenkoeken (Dutch Apple Pancakes with Caramelised Sugar)

Pannenkoek / Pannekoek is a Dutch pancake. Unlike the fluffy American pancakes that we know and serve, Pannenkoeken are usually larger and thinner (slightly thicken than crepes) and may incorporate slices of smoked bacon, apples or other fruits, or raisins. Plain ones are often eaten with white or brown sugar. The ingredients are flour, milk, and eggs. Beer may also be added to the mixture in order to give it a better flavour, but most of all it helps the batter rise.

The size and taste of a Pannenkoek can vary depending upon who is doing the cooking and what method they use. It can be as large as 12" in diameter, rolled out thin with most of the ingredients baked right into the batter. The thinner Pannenkoek can be rolled up to eat but most can be eaten just as they are.

Apel Pannenkoeken (Dutch Apple Pancakes with Caramelised Sugar)

Pannenkoeken Huis (Pancake house) is an institution in Holland. If pizza is to the Italians, pancake is to the Dutch. There are more than 250 Pannenkoeken Huizen in Holland. Many of these restaurants are found in historical city centres, nature reserves, historic buildings, windmills or farmhouses - part of the fun when visiting Holland! You do not go to a pancake house in Holland for breakfast. You are very lucky if you find one that operates in the morning. Instead Pannekoek is served as a main dish for lunch or dinner at a Pannenkoeken Huis. It's meal by itself.

Almost all of the pancake houses in Holland offer over 100 varieties of savory and sweet original Dutch pancakes. Every time I visit one, I struggle to decide on what to order. From apple with sugar and cinnamon, raisin with rum, pineapple with icing sugar, ham and cheese, mushroom ragout, chicken with satay sauce to bacon with stroop (a dark, thick syrup common in The Netherlands)..... there are endless combinations and toppings to go with your pancake. Just imagine if a crepe and a pizza had a baby.

Applepannenkoeken (Dutch Apple Pancakes with Caramelised Sugar) Recipe

Serves 2 (Makes 2 large pancakes or 4 small pancakes)

Ingredients

• 1 cup (200 g) flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 apples (I use Granny Smith)
• Lemon juice
• Caster sugar
• Cinnamon sugar
• Butter

Method

1. Peel and core the apples and slice them thinly. Turn them in lemon juice so they retain their color.
2. Combine the flour with the baking powder and salt, and add enough cold water to make a thick batter. Stir in the eggs. Heat a little butter in a skillet and spoon in the batter.
3. Immediately arrange the apple slices like tiles on top of the pancakes. Sprinkle with sugar and cook until the pancake is brown.
4. Using a dinner plate or pot lid, carefully turn the pancake over so that the apples cook and the sugar caramelizes.
5. Turn once again, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and serve hot.

Eggs Baked in Tomatoes with Crisp Prosciutto and Basil

Baked egg is my favourite breakfast. It's quick to make and doesn't require a long list of ingredients. The last thing I want to do is to spend hours in the kitchen to cook breakfast on a lazy weekend morning. So this is the perfect breakfast to kick start your morning. There are many baked eggs recipes out there but I love this particular recipe because it uses tomato as an eatable base to hold the egg in shape. Try it for your next weekend breakfast or brunch!

Eggs Baked in Tomatoes with Crisp Prosciutto and Basil Recipe (Serves 6)

(Adapted from Delicious Magazine August 2008 by Tobie Puttock)

Eggs Baked in Tomatoes with Crisp Prosciutto and Basil

Ingredients

• 6 large tomatoes
• A handful of basil leaves, plus extra whole and finely chopped to serve
• Extra virgin olive oil, for cooking
• 6 slices of prosciutto (or pancetta)
• 6 large eggs

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Remove the tomato tops with a sharp knife. Scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon and discard, them place the tomatoes upside-down on paper towel for about 15 minutes to drain.
3. Smash the basil with a pinch of salt with a mortar and pestle until it becomes a paste, then add a little extra virgin olive oil to loosen it. Season with black pepper and smear the oil inside the tomatoes.
4. Wrap a slice of prosciutto around each tomato and secure with a toothpick.
5. Place the tomatoes on a greased baking tray or in an ovenproof fry pan and cook in the oven for 15 minutes until the tomatoes soften slightly and the prosciutto is beginning to crisp around the edges.
6. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and carefully break an egg into each one. Bake for about 5 minutes or until the eggs are cooked but the yolks are still runny.
7. Scatter with extra basil and serve immediately with toast soldiers.

Kaya (Coconut Custard Spread / Coconut Jam)

Kaya (Coconut Custard Spread / Coconut Jam)

Kaya is Malaysia's favorite spread, usually serves at breakfast with toast, or as filling for pastry, bun, or even made as part of popular kuih (Nyonya desserts) including pulut taitai or pulut tekan, a dessert of sweet glutinous rice coloured blue with butterfly pea flowers (bunga telang), and pulut seri muka, a similar dessert but coloured green with pandan leaves (screwpine leaves).

Kaya means 'rich' in Malay language because of its golden colour. What makes kaya so wonderfully delicious is the richness of coconut cream combining with the distinctive taste of the caramelised sugar. It's also common to enhance the flavour further by adding pandan (screwpine) leaves or honey.

A typical Malaysian Kopitiam (a traditional Malaysian coffee shop) breakfast consists of Kopi-O (black strong coffee), soft boiled eggs and roti baker (thick soft white bread toasted on charcoal burner) with thick layer of butter and kaya spread.

Cooking kaya is like making custard the Malaysian way with 3 basic ingredients: coconut cream, egg and sugar. It's then steamed or boiled in low heat. It sounds easy but all the risk factors associated with failed custard are there. It may 'burnt' and it may 'turn' (overcook and curdle).

There are many ways of making kaya. Google it and you will find many different recipes. What I have here may not be the best but it provides a simple, no fuss way of making kaya.

Kaya (Coconut Custard Spread / Coconut Jam) Recipe

Ingredient

• 4 eggs, beaten and sieved
• 250 g sugar
• 50 ml pandan / screwpine water (blend 5 pandan/screwpine leaves with 50 ml water in a blender and sieve the mixture)
• 250ml coconut cream (or thick coconut milk), sieved

Method:

1. Put sugar and pandan water in a heavy-based pan and boil until sugar dissolved and caramelised.
2. Remove from heat and pour in coconut cream / milk and eggs.
3. Cook and stir constantly in low heat for 25-30 minutes until the mixture is smooth and thicken.
4. Remove from heat and leave to cool.
5. Serve with toast.

Note: If you'd like to can your jam: Simply place three clean jam jars and lids on the middle rack of your oven. Turn oven to 225F (110C). Leave the jars there until your kaya is ready (the heat will sterilize the jars).

Shanghai Pancake

Shanghai Pancake

This Shanghai Pancake is usually served as after dinner dessert. It's usually paired with Tong Sui such as sago pudding, black sesame paste soup or peanut paste soup.

Shanghai Pancake Recipe

Ingredients

• 90 g flour, sifted
• 30 g rice flour, sifted
• 1/2 tsp baking powder, sifted
• 1 tbsp castor sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten lightly
• 180 ml water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup oil for frying

Filling:

• 500 g red bean paste

Method

1. To make the batter: Mix flour, rice flour, baking powder, castor sugar, eggs, water and salt together until smooth. Strain.
2. Pour some batter into a non-stick pan, swirl to form into a pancake.
3. Remove and spread with red bean paste filling, brush sides with batter, fold into half and seal.
4. Prick with a tooth-pick and press out air.
5. Heat up the oil, fry pancake until golden brown on both sides.
6. Drain on paper towel.
7. Cut into pieces and serve hot.

Beer Bread with Cheese and Sunflower Seed Crust

I have never thought of making my own bread when one can buy all sorts of fresh bread from the bakery. Not until I saw this recipe.

Beer + 4 other simple ingredients. No electric mixer is needed. Simply mix the ingredients together & into the oven for 45 minutes. I couldn't resist to give it a go. The results are fantabolous!

Beer Bread with Cheese and Sunflower Seed Crust Recipe (Serves 6-8)

(Recipe adapted from Delicious Magazine by Valli Little and Amanda Biffin)

Ingredients

• 3 cups (450g) self-raising flour
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 450 ml chilled lager (beer)
• 1/2 cup (80g) sunflower seeds
• 1 cup (120g) grated tasty (cheddar) cheese

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Grease and line a 7cm-deep, 10cm x 26cm loaf pan.
2. Combined flour, sugar and 1 tsp salt in a bowl. Add beer and stir until combined.
3. Spoon mixture into pan and sprinkle with seeds and cheese.
4. Bake for 45 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when base is tapped.

Spicy Omelette Sandwiches

It's Bill Granger's time again. I have the entire collection of his cookbooks. When I run out of ideas on weekend lunches, I just flip through them and check what ingredients I have in my pantry.

Once you have tasted Bill Granger's food, you will always come back for more. His secret? Simple food, superbly cooked - Bills Open Kitchen

Bill Granger's Spicy Omelette Sandwiches Recipe (Serves 2)

(Recipe adapted from Bills Open Kitchen)

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• A large pinch of cumin
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

To Serve

• 2 soft bap rolls (I use 4 thick slices of Pane De Casa Loaf)
• Tomato Salsa (I use marinated chargrilled capsicum and rocket leaves)

Method

1. Break the eggs into a bowl. Add a tbsp of water and the cumin. Beat lightly with a fork until just combined.
2. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium to high heat, add the oil and swirl to coat the base of pan.
3. Pour in the egg mixture and, as the mixture begins to cook, use a wooden spoon to carefully drag the cooked egg to the centre, allowing the uncooked mixture to flow towards the edges.
4. Repeat a second time - this will only take a minute. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. When the omelette is nearly cooked, fold in half and slide out onto a board before cutting in half, lengthways.
5. Butter the bread slices if desired, and fill with half an omelette, marinated chargrilled capsicum and rocket leaves. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Croque Monsieur à la Bill Granger

I love using this recipes for Sunday breakfast, brunch or lunch because they are so simple to make. This recipes are also very well liked by my friends and family members.

Croque Monsieur à la Bill Granger Recipe (Serves 4)

(Recipe adapted from Bill s Open Kitchen: Ham and Gruyere French Toast)

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 185ml (3/4 cup) milk
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 slices white bread, 3cm (1 1/4 inch) thick
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 4 slices leg ham, trimmed to fit bread* (see note at bottom of post)
• 4 slices Gruyere cheese, trimmed to fit bread* (see note at bottom of post)
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F / Gas 4). Place the eggs and milk into a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
2. With a sharp, thin-bladed knife, carefully slit open one side of each slice of bread to form a pocket, leaving 1 cm (1/2 inch) around the edges. Spread the mustard on one side of the pocket and place a slice of ham and cheese inside. Put the pockets into a shallow dish. Pour over the egg mixture and leave for 5 minutes, turning once.
3. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium to high heat, add half of the olive oil and swirl to coat the base of the pan. Add two bread pockets, cook on one side for about 2 minutes until golden brown, turn and cook for another minute. Remove from the pan and place on a baking tray. Repeat with the remaining oil and bread pockets. Place the baking tray in the oven and cook for 10 minutes, or until cooked in the centre.

Note: I always try to use ingredients that are available in my pantry and fridge. For this recipe, I replaced the ham and Gruyere cheese with shaved Silverside (beef) and Dutch Gouda cheese.

Custard Apple (Cherimoyas) Honey Yoghurt

Custard Apple (Cherimoyas) is now in season in Australia. Growing up as a child in Malaysia where custard apple is easily available, I enjoyed the sweetness and creaminess of the flesh and I had plenty of fun spitting the black seeds in a big bowl handed to me by my mum.

I haven't thought about using custard apple in any recipes until I saw a pamphlet in my local Woolworths Supermarket promoting custard apples. Ideas were brewing in my mind after reading the 'Tips and Hints' section and I made this healthy and yet delicious yoghurt for breakfast.

Custard Apple Honey Yoghurt Recipe (Serve 2)

Ingredients

• 1 custard apple
• 2 cups Greek yoghurt
• Handful of flaked almonds
• Honey

Method

1. Remove the black seeds from custard apple flesh then puree flesh until smooth.
2. Swirl through your yoghurt and sprinkle with flaked almond.
3. Drizzle with honey to add extra sweetness.
4. Serve immediately.

Note: This recipe is great for breakfast or after dinner dessert.

More on Custard Apple:

1. Look for plump fruit with no splits or skin discolouration. Pale green custard apples are ready to eat straight away, whilst dark green fruit will need a few day to ripen.
2. Dark green custard apple should be allowed to ripen at room temperature until pale green. When ripe, they will yield slightly to gentle pressure (similar to an avocado). Once at this stage, they're best stored in the fridge and used within 2 days.
3. A custard apple's creamy flavours are complemented by dishes which combine them with cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon, orange, honey and vanilla.

Baked Eggs with Ham and Cheese

I have just returned from a two-week holiday in Malaysia. We had a short break at an island resort and visited my family. It was a good break for all of us.

We arrived in Sydney early this morning after an overnight flight from Kuala Lumpur. Bone-chilling weather and gusty wind greeted us at the airport. When we reached home, I decided to make this simple hot breakfast before heading to bed for a quick nap to catch some much needed sleep.

Baked Eggs with Ham and Cheese Recipe

Ingredients

• 50 g shaved ham, chopped coarsely
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup (40 g) coarsely grated cheddar cheese

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F).
2. Grease four 1/2-cup (125 ml) ovenproof dishes.
3. Divide ham among dishes.
4. One at a time, break eggs into small bowl, carefully sliding egg from bowl over ham into each dish.
5. Sprinkle equal amounts of cheese.
6. Place dishes on oven tray; bake, uncovered, in oven about 10 minutes or until yolk is just set.
7. Serve with toasts.

Norwegian Cinnamon Buns

Adapted from Nigella Lawson's How To Be A Domestic Goddess)

Ingredients

• For the dough:
• 600 g flour
• 100 g sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 21 g (3 sachets - yes, really) of easy-blend yeast or 45 g fresh yeast
• 100 g butter
• 400 ml milk
• 2 eggs

For the fillings:

• 150 g soft, unsalted butter
• 150 g sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 egg, beaten, to glaze

Roasting tin approximately 33 cm x 24 cm or large brownie tin, lined with baking parchment bottom and sides

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 230C.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Melt the butter and whisk it into the milk and eggs, then stir it into the flour mixture. Mix to combine and then knead the dough either by hand or using the dough hook of a food mixer until its smooth and springy. Form into a ball, place in an oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave it to rise for about 25 minutes.
3. Take one-third of the dough and roll it or stretch it to fit your tin; this will form the bottom of each bun when it has cooked. Roil out the rest of the dough on a lightly floured surface, aiming to get a rectangle of roughly 50 x 25 cm. Mix the filling ingredients in a small bowl and then spread the rectangle with the buttery cinnamon mixture. Try to get even coverage on the whole of the dough. Roll it up from the longest side until you have a giant sausage. Cut the roll into 2 cm slices which should make about 20 rounds. Sit the founds in lines on top of the dough in the tin, swirly cut-side up. Don't worry if they don't fit snugly together as they will swell and become puffy when they prove. Brush them with egg and then let them rise again for about 15 minutes to let them get duly puffy.
4. Put in the hot oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, bu which time the buns will have risen and will be golden-brown in colour.
5. Don't worry if they catch in places. Remove them from the tin and leave to cool slightly on a rack - it's easy just to pick up the whole sheet of parchment and transfer them like that - before letting people tear them off, to eat warm.

Note: I reckon the oven temperature recommended by Nigella is a little too high. So I would suggest to turn to 210C and bake for 20-25 minutes or 230C and bake for 15 minutes.

Nuvolone - (Cloud Soufflé)

Souffle for breakfast? Yup, you bet! But don't be surprised how easy it is to whip up this impressive and yet delicious dish.

I was attracted to the picture of this souffle on the cover of the 'Winter In The Alps' Cookbook. I knew I just had to make this for breakfast as soon as I brought home this book.

We love the Alps in Europe. Every home trip we make to visit Mr J's family in Holland, we always include a detour to the Alps. Inevitably, I fell in love with this cookbook with all the beautiful pictures of the Alps and the food by the fireside.

Mont Blanc from Chamonix

Winter In The Alps - "This is similar to a traditional souffle, but the eggs remain separated. It is the simplest dish to make and looks very impressive. I've called it Nuvolone, which literally translates as 'big cloud', because when it comes out of the oven it looks like a big cumulus in a sunset."

Nuvolone (Cloud Souffle) Recipe

(Adapted from Winter In The Alps Cookbook by Manuela Darling-Gansser)

Ingredients

• 2 eggs, separated
• Sea salt
• 50 ml (2 fl oz) cream
• 40 g (1 1 /2 oz) grated Gruyere cheese
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 15 g (1/2 oz) unsalted butter

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C (400F). Butter an individual ramekin per person (about 15 cm / 6" in diameter). Beat the egg whites. When they start to become stiff, add salt to taste. Continue beating until they hold their peaks well.
2. Spoon the egg whites into the ramekin. With the back of a soup spoon, make a well in the middle of the egg whites, pushing the egg whites up the sides of the ramekin. Carefully drop the 2 egg yolks into the well.
3. Then add the cream and Gruyere. Grind over some black pepper and add the knob of butter. Smooth the egg whites back over the hole.
4. Bake in the oven for 4 to 5 minutes. The top should be lightly golden, and when you break the crust, the yolks and cream should be soft and hot.
5. Serve with crusty bread to dip into the yolks and cream.