Jamaican Easter Spiced Bun #SundaySupper

Mar 24, 2013 by lovelypantry

Spring is here and slowly, the weather is coming around. The snow is almost melted and I’m excited for what the new season has to offer. Today for #SundaySupper, we are sharing Easter and Passover recipes and our wonderful host is Carla from Chocolate Moosey! You will find lots of Easter and Passover inspiration from the #SundaySupper bloggers at the end of the post. Be sure to check them out. We have a terrific line  up for you, as always.

It’s funny how you can have the worst week, yet there is always something that can help raise your spirits, or take your mind off things for a while. Stealing time to prepare my Easter Spiced Bun for #SundaySupper did just that for me this week. Out of nowhere, my routine got disrupted and I found myself riding a wave of change that I was just not expecting. Life throws things your way and you just have to swim. Sinking is not an option. Decisions have to be made and sometimes what you have to do, is essentially taking one for the team. I’m a true team player, especially for my family. So this past week was not for me at all. I sacrificed sleep, blogging and good nutrition so that I was able to get things done. My children have been absolute troopers! Waking up at 6am was unusual for them however, they managed to join me as I started my day like the wonderful little soldiers that they are. I can see this disruption coming to an end hopefully by the end of this week. I’m sure I will need time to recuperate. But I’m embracing the experience and summing it up to preparation for when the kids start school in the fall. Chances are, I still won’t be a morning person by then.

So on to this awesome Jamaican Easter Spiced Bun. I’ve made a few buns and I must say, I’m impressed by the variety that is out there. I’m not sure if people are just tired of a standard Easter Bun or are just willing to embrace change and experiment a little. I said to a friend of mine recently, who wasn’t so happy that I coined my Jamaican Zucchini Spiced Bun as being “Jamaican”, we can’t have just one variety of bun! Personally, I love that the main Jamaican publications are issuing Easter Cookbooks with many Easter Bun recipes. If there was only one recipe, I wouldn’t have a bun recipe to share with everyone on my blog this year. It is safe to say that as long as everyone is willing to get creative, I will have something wonderful to bake and share for Easter.

Wouldn’t you like to try this? A wonderful variation of a Jamaican Easter Bun … made with Red Label Wine.

 

 

Here are the other Jamaican Easter Buns that I have made:

My very first Jamaican Easter Bun, made from a very old recipe that my Mom gave to me. I also added a brief history of the Jamaican Easter Bun

An absolute favourite of mine, Sweet Potato Bun

A moist and awesome twist on an Easter staple, Zucchini Spiced Bun 

 

 

I turned to my favourite cookbook for this recipe. None other than Enid Donaldson’s The Real Taste Of Jamaica. I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen a recipe and decided that you were not going to make it that way. That is what happened with me. The original recipe called for 2 cups of brown sugar. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. So I just used a cup. I was also sure to use Mixed Spice, which I posted recently. I decided to increase the butter from 1 tablespoon to 1/3 Cup. I know, big difference – but it came out just great!

 

 

The batter was quite firm, but I believe soaking the raisins and having the extra liquid helped to loosen it up while folding the raisins in.

 

 

Glazing a bun is totally optional. However I prefer the texture of the bun after it has been glazed. That little extra added sweetness is really something wonderful.

 

 

I should note something about a Jamaican Bun. It is not a bread that is light and fluffy. It is a heavy, dense bread that is rich in flavours. In Jamaica, I enjoyed bun with Jamaican cheese. Since it can be quite pricey to get that type of cheese in North America, the next best thing (and probably better for you) is Cheddar Cheese. The cheddar that is closest in taste and texture is a sharp cheddar. We enjoyed ours with a mild cheddar that complimented the bun very well. Bun can be enjoyed as an open-faced sandwich as well as a sandwich type snack. I enjoy my cheese well secured between two slices of bun, with just a little butter to seal the deal.

 

 

Here are some Easter and Passover recipes to inspire you for this upcoming season!

Easter

• How To Color Easter Eggs Naturally from Shockingly Delicious

Breakfast, Breads, and Buns

• Bunny Rabbit Bread from In The Kitchen With Audrey and Maurene
• Easter Brunch Creme Brulee Baked Oatmeal from In The Kitchen With KP
• Fresh Blueberries Hot Cross Buns from My Cute Bride
• Jamaican Easter Spice Bun from The Lovely Pantry
• Paska – Ukranian Easter Bread from Cupcakes and Kale Chips
• Portuguese Easter Bread | Folar de Pascoa from Family Foodie
• Resurrection Rolls from Neighbor Food

Appetizers and Sides

• Asparagus, Brie & Ham Crostini from Daily Dish Recipes
• French Gratin Potatoes (Dauphinoise) from Simply Gourmet
• Lemon Glazed Carrots from Curious Cuisiniere
• Not So Deviled Eggs from Country Girl in the Village
• Orange Raisin Couscous from Vintage Kitchen Notes
• Potato and Leek Gratin from Webicurean
• Spinach Spaetzle (Spinat Spaetzle) from The Not So Cheesy Kitchen

Main Dishes

• Roast Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary from Small Wallet Big Appetite
• Slow Cooker Honey Glazed Ham from The Meltaways
• Sicilian “Enchiladas” from The Cooking Actress

Dessert

• Alebele – Goan Coconut filled Pancake from Masala Herb
• Bunny-Approved Baked Easter Doughnuts from The Weekend Gourmet
• Carrot Cake Cheesecake from Chocolate Moosey
• Carrots in Dirt from The Urban Mrs
• Coconut and M&M’s Cookie from Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Coconut Cake with Coconut Buttercream from Juanita’s Cocina
• Coconut Cupcakes from Magnolia Days
• Cream Cheese Candies from Cravings of a Lunatic
• Easter Egg Cookies from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Easter Simnel Cake from Happy Baking Days
• Exotic Walnut Cookies from What Smells So Good?
• Honey Panna Cotta with Grand Marnier Mixed Berries from Gourmet Drizzles
• Japanese Easter Petit Fours and Flowers from Ninja Baking
• Nutella Easter Egg Candy from The Messy Baker
• Old-Fashioned Peanut Rolled Eggs from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Painted Sugar Cookies from Ruffles and Truffles
• Strawberry Bundt Cake from Basic N Delicious

Passover

• Homemade Matzo from The Foodie Army Wife
• Mock Gefilte Fish from Fast Food to Fresh Food

Dessert

• Apple and Cranberry Charoset from The Little Ferraro Kitchen
• Flourless Chocolate Torte from Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
• Moroccan Haroset from MarocMama
• Pavlova with Red Berries, Lime and Hibiscus from YinMom YangMom

Wine Pairing Recommendations for #SundaySupper Religious Feasts from ENOFYLZ Wine Blog

 

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Join the #SundaySupper conversation on Twitter on Sunday, March 24 to talk all about Easter and Passover recipes!

We’ll tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world.

Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm EST. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag, and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat.

Check out our #SundaySupper Pinterest board for more delicious recipes and food photos.

 

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Jamaican Zucchini Spiced Bun #Easter #TwelveLoaves

Mar 1, 2013 by lovelypantry

Welcome to March! So long February and hopefully spring weather will be right around the corner. With a new month comes a special season – Easter, for those who celebrate. We also have St. Patrick’s Day coming up too.  Today I’m sharing a very interesting recipe that caught my eye. I saw Zucchini as the main ingredient and wondered how on earth would that work with a bun recipe? I was pleasantly surprised with the result.

In Jamaica during the Easter season, Jamaicans enjoy a cake/bread called “bun”, usually served with a local cheese. I made my very first Jamaican Easter Bun last year using a recipe my Mom used to use while we were living in England. When you are living outside of Jamaica, it is very hard to find a real authentic bun that tastes like those from home. So I decided to try different recipes and save the really good ones. Soon I realized that there are quite a few variations being used these days. I’m not sure if these variations are being sold at the supermarkets in Jamaica – I haven’t heard of that yet. I’m happy to see the creativity by those who choose to deviate slightly from a traditional tasting bun. My first deviation from the norm, was a Sweet Potato Bun. I was delighted at how lovely it was! I’m sure I will be making it again this season.

Now, a bun made with zucchini is bound to raise some eyebrows. I’ve never heard of such a thing 🙂

 

 

 

I found this recipe in the Jamaica Observer’s Easter Cookbook 2012. I probably overlooked it before because it used yeast. I adapted this recipe by using half the ingredients,  omitting rum and replacing it with orange juice. I also substituted mixed peel for golden raisins. I’m just not a mixed peel kind of lady. I think the Chefs that came up with this recipe did a great job. I’m glad that my adapted version came out well.

 

 

Zucchini added such wonderful moisture to this loaf. I felt good knowing that this vegetable was present. The raisins added a familiar burst of sweetness. A great combination!

 

 

Look at all those raisins! No doubt, this bun smelled marvellous while it was baking.

 

 

And there you have it. A twist on a traditional Easter staple, using fresh zucchini and raisins. This is my contribution to this month’s #TwelveLoaves challenge. We will be focusing on holiday themed bread for the holidays celebrated during the month of March . Bake a bread (yeast or quick bread), loaf or individual. Do you have a favorite Easter or St. Patrick’s Day Bread? We would love to see it. Let’s get baking!

 

 

 

Look at what our very talented #TwelveLoaves bakers have created this March!

• Grammy’s Italian Easter Bread by Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious
• Hot Cross Buns by Holly at A Baker’s House
• Almond and Ginger Kulich by Paula at Vintage Kitchen
• American Irish Soda Bread by Renee at Magnolia Days
• Hot Cross Buns by Lora at Cake Duchess
• Pinca: Croatian Easter Bread by Sherron at Simply Gourmet
• Jamaican Zucchini Spiced Bun by Lyn at The Lovely Pantry
• Plaited Easter Bread with Cream Cheese Filling by Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Greek Easter Bread by Alice at Hip Foodie Mom

We would love to have you join our #TwelveLoaves group! It’s easy!

1. When you post your Twelve Loaves bread on your blog, make sure that you mention the Twelve Loaves challenge in your blog post; this helps us to get more members as well as share everyone’s posts. Please make sure that your Bread is inspired by the theme!
2. Please link your post to the linky tool at the bottom of my blog. It must be a bread baked to the Twelve Loaves theme.
3. Have your Twelve Loaves bread that you baked this March, 2013 posted on your blog by March 31, 2013.

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Rum & Raisin Cinnamon Muffins for #MuffinMonday

Nov 26, 2012 by lovelypantry

These muffins were destined to be baked. I’ve been wanting to make Rum & Raisins muffins for a while now. The time just didn’t seem to be right, until now. I was so determined to make these muffins that I made 2 batches before I actually got to the one you see here.

 

Determined.

 

 

You see, the first batch I made was…well, lets just say I didn’t want to eat them. I realized afterwards that I had too many ingredients, or not enough moisture. Either way, it just was a disaster. I had a good laugh at myself. I don’t often throw anything away but I’m well aware that it can happen. I was a little bit annoyed though, as I don’t like to waste food/ingredients. I couldn’t save them. When I realized where I went wrong, I had renewed confidence and proceeded with a big grin.

And then as soon as I carefully placed the muffins into the oven – I saw a main ingredient on the counter. I forgot to fold in the raisins!!!!! Argh!!!!! Ok, now I was MAD! How could I have forgotten to add the raisins!!!???? I could have continued and called the muffins something else. But I really REALLY wanted raisins! So…I proceeded for the third time to make my muffins.

Has this ever happened to you? A bad baking day that turned out great?

Today’s #MuffinMonday recipe comes from King Arthur Flour – Simply Sinful Cinnamon Muffins. Of course, my own spin made it a tad bit risqué. I think I may have created a filling. Butter, sugar, cinnamon and Jamaican Appleton Rum. I’m going to call it Rum Butter. How’s that for festive?

 

 

 

 

The rum butter oozing out of the muffin. The aroma in my kitchen. Just lovely.

 

 

A sweet and crunchy topping, for your Monday morning delight.

 

 

Moist muffins with a hint of rum.

 

 

Happy Monday!

 

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week. 

Muffin Monday http://bakerstreet.tv/muffin-monday/

Muffin 101: http://bakerstreet.tv/muffin-monday/muffin-101/

 

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Buttermilk Quick Bread

Mar 7, 2012 by lovelypantry

I’m quite fond of quick breads. I love how easy they are to make and the wide variety and variations of each recipe that I come across. I have yet to make a quick bread that I did not like. Granted, I scrutinize the ingredients very carefully before I decide to make it. Please allow me to formally introduce you to Buttermilk Quick Bread. A very simple bread that I have been making on the weekends if I have any buttermilk in the fridge. I found this recipe on one of my daily sources of inspiration: The Kitchn, and knew as soon as I saw it, that I was going to make it. I’ve made it 4 times already – twice plain, once with raisins and this past weekend, with blueberries. Versatile little quick bread, isn’t it? The original post, has a few other variations that look interesting to try too – like Pesto Loaf. (Are you imagining a green quick bread?)

I love that this plain bread is like a canvas. You can tweak it to your liking and chances are, it will turn out great.

 

The consistency of the batter is quite thick, so you have to gently spread into the corners with a spatula.

 

 

Ah! Perfection!

 

 

It’s best to use a serrated knife to cut this bread since it is a bit delicate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like that because the batter was so thick, the raisins didn’t have the chance to sink to the bottom of the pan 🙂 For some recipes with a batter of thinner consistency, like the Ginger Carrot Bread, you have to toss the raisins (or small fruit like blueberries) in flour before folding them into the batter. So nice that I was able to skip that step.

 

 

Finally, with Blueberries. I wanted to cut the loaf to take a quick photograph however, I was entertaining so I did not want to cut it before we were ready to eat it. Everyone loved it!

 

 

Happy Wednesday! I hope the week has been off to an awesome start! I’ll be back soon.

Cheers for now.

Lyn

 

 

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Irish Soda Bread

May 22, 2011 by lovelypantry

This recipe was made out of sheer curiosity. I found this recipe in Healthy Eating magazine. It went down well in no time at all! Enjoy.

 

Ingredients:

3/4 Cup Raisins

1 Cup boiling water

2 Cups All Purpose Flour

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

1/3 Cup sugar

3 Tsp Baking Powder

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp Salt

1 Egg

2 Cups Buttermilk

1/4 Cup Butter, melted

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F

Place Raisins in a small bowl. Cover with boiling water; let stand for 5 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, buttermilk and butter. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in raisins.

Transfer to a 9 X 5 inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350F for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

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