Brioche Hamburger Buns, Or Let’s Get That Grill Fired Up
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always viewed hamburger buns as purely functional things. They’re receptacles, carb-wrappers, so you don’t get your hands dirty while eating the truly desirable bits within. Cheese, for instance, and grilled onions, and sauteed mushrooms. Oh right, and the patty too.
Buns are integral to the entire structure of the burger, yet they’ve done little to niggle my desire, warrant my enthusiasm, or raise lustful thoughts (and shouldn’t they? Given their namesake and all). Until now, that is.
These buns—blogged about by Deb and later Sara—are dreamy: as in, they bake like a dream, come together in a cinch, and their ingredients can be found in most anyone’s pantry. They’re also versatile: I chose all-purpose, whole wheat, and rye flour to go in mine, and they came out hearty but light, soft but complex. But most importantly, they raise the hamburger bun to a higher echelon, one that will no longer be left until the end as an afterthought. And is there anything worse than forcing yourself to eat afterthoughts?
You’ll be ready to fire up your grill after making these.
BRIOCHE HAMBURGER BUNS
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Sprouted Kitchen
Makes 8 regular-sized buns
Ingredients:
3 Tbsp warm milk
2 tsp active dry yeast
2-1/2 Tbsp sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rye flour
2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp salt
2-1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
sesame seeds (if desired)
Directions:
In a glass measuring cup, combine one cup warm water, milk, yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about five minutes. Meanwhile, beat one egg.
In a large bowl, whisk the flours with the salt. Add the butter by rubbing it into the flour between your fingers, making crumbs. Stir in the yeast mixture and beaten egg until a dough forms. Scrape onto a clean, well-floured counter and knead (by scooping it, slapping it onto the counter, and turning) until smooth and elastic (8 to 10 minutes). It should be sticky, so try not to knead in too much flour.
Shape the dough into a ball and return it to the bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled (1 to 2 hours).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 8 equal balls. Gently roll each ball and arrange them 2 to 3 inches apart. Cover the baking sheet loosely and let the dough rise until doubled (1 to 2 hours).
Set a shallow pan with water in it on your oven floor or lower rack. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Beat the other egg with 1 Tbsp of water and brush the egg wash onto the buns. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top, if using. Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes (turning halfway through), until the buns are golden-brown. Transfer to a rack and cool.
Note: I kept them in the fridge for about a week after I baked them and they still tasted good. Just heat them up on the grill or toast them right before eating.
Better Than S’Mores Mini Cupcakes
I have been wanting to try Biscoff cupcakes for that past week. But I wanted to see what would happen if I tried to turn them into s’mores. The Biscoff is a bit sweeter than a graham cracker, but I though if I used a dark chocolate ganache to fill them, it might balance out the sweetness. What?? Me, make something less sweet?? Ask anyone who knows me and they would think something was wrong. But have no fear, sometimes it’s all worth it in the end. And these absolutely were. Topped with a marshmallow fluff frosting, these puppies came out better than expected, better than a s’mores!
Don’t mind my upside down flour bag. It had a hole in the bottom, so I had put it that way, otherwise that kitchen would look like a snowstorm had passed through.
| For the ganache filling |
filled cupcakes
At this point feel free to take any defect cupcake and pop it into your mouth. It is for quality control purposes only. Since it was late at night when I made the frosting, I forgot to take any pictures.
Of course before I went to bed I had to try one and gave one to my husband to try so I wouldn’t feel so guilty. Oh god, they were delicious. I am glad I made them bite size, the blend of tastes it just perfect. Unfortunately, that just means I will eat more.
Better Than S’Mores Mini Cupcakes
by The Sweet Chick
Prep Time: 20-30 minutes
Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
Keywords: bake dessert biscoff marshmallow fluff chocolate ganache cupcake
Ingredients (24 mini cupcakes)
For the Biscoff Cupcakes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup Biscoff spread
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the Chocolate Ganache Filling
- 12 ounces chocolate, chopped into small pieces (I used a 3.5oz bar of Lindt dark chocolate and about 3/4 of a 12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips)
- 1 cup heavy cream
For the Marshmallow Fluff Frosting
- 1/2 stick butter, softened
- 2 cups marshmallow fluff
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon Wilton meringue powder
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
For the Biscoff Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350º F and fill muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Place flour, sugar, salt and baking soda into a large bowl, mix to combine. Set aside.
In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, place oil, sour cream, Biscoff spread, eggs and vanilla into the bowl and mix on medium speed until well incorporated. Slowly add dry ingredients and mix thoroughly, about 30 seconds. Spoon batter into prepared mini cupcake liners about 3/4 full. Bake for 10-15 or until toothpick inserted in center comes out dry. Remove and let cool completely.
(For regular sized cupcakes, bake 18-22 minutes).
Recipe by healthyfoodforliving.com/recipes
For the Chocolate Ganache Filling
Place chocolate pieces in a large bowl.
Heat heavy cream on medium high until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour cream over chocolate and stir until completely mixed and glossy.
Allow ganache to cool. The longer you allow the ganache to cool, the thicker it will set. You can place it in the fridge to cool faster. The ganache needs to be completely cooled before piping it in the cupcakes.
While the ganache is cooling cut a hole in the middle of each cupcake and scoop out the center (not all the way to the bottom). I used a vegetable peeler, but you can also try a apple corer.
With a frosting piping bag or a plastic freezer bag with tip cut off, pipe the ganache filling into each cupcake and place back in the fridge.
Recipe by https://www.healthyfoodforliving.com/recipes/
For the Marshmallow Fluff Frosting
In a stand up mixer or using a hand mixer, blend butter and marshmallow fluff until smooth.
Sift in confectioners’ sugar and meringue powder and beat on low speed.
Add vanilla and milk and increase speed to high. Beat for 1 minute.
Using a frosting piping bag and your favorite tip, frost each cupcake and place back in fridge to set.
Recipe by The Sweet Chick