BAKED - Dean Brettschneider shares the recipes and tricks of the trade

Penguin Books - $45.00

 On a typical day at one of Dean Brettschneider’s many bakeries, you will find freshly baked

croissants, American-style muffins, chocolate cakes, Danish rye bread, hazelnut biscotti,

Turkish pide and a selection of homemade jams and chutneys. In Baked, Dean shares the

recipes and tricks of the trade you need to recreate these baked goods and more in your own kitchen – because nothing beats enjoying a delectable treat straight out of the oven.

Good baking caters to every eating occasion – and so too do the recipes in this cookbook.

Taking inspiration from all around the globe, the recipes in Baked encompass what Dean’s baking is all about – simple but stylish fare that will have you and your family and friends scrambling for seconds.

Here is a recipe from the book for you to try:

farmhouse carrot cake

makes one 20cm cake

This has to be my all-time favourite cake. I know it is the best carrot cake ever as everyone

tells me so! The cake is moist and flavoursome and the cream cheese icing is smooth and creamy.Serve it with a dollop of unsweetened yoghurt. You will find it hard to stop at one slice.

200g plain flour

1½ tsp baking soda

¾ tsp salt

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp ground cinnamon

3 eggs

170g granulated sugar

170g light or dark brown sugar

275ml vegetable oil

150g grated carrot

90g walnuts, chopped

70g canned pineapple, crushed

cream cheese icing

105g cream cheese

90g butter, softened

190g icing sugar, sifted

1 tsp lemon zest

topping

70g dried apricots, chopped

50g pumpkin seeds

¼ tsp poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 150°C. Grease and line a 20cm round loose-bottomed cake tin with non-stick baking paper. This is necessary to avoid overbaking due to the long baking time required.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, mixed spice and cinnamon into the bowl of an electric mixer. Add eggs, both types of sugar, oil, carrot, walnuts and pineapple and mix for 1 minute on slow speed. Scrape down the sides and mix for another 2 minutes on medium speed.

Pour batter into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 1. hours. A skewer inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean.

Remove from the oven and leave cake in the tin for 30 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cake is cooling, prepare the cream cheese icing. Place cream cheese, butter, icing sugar and lemon zest into the bowl of an electric mixer and beat at medium speed until the icing is white and fluffy. Use immediately.

Using a palette knife, spread the cream cheese icing evenly over the top of the cake and decorate with dried apricots, pumpkin seeds and poppy seeds, as desired. Cut into wedges and serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt.

Copyright line

Reproduced with permission from Baked  by Dean Brettschneider. Published by Penguin Group NZ. RRP $45.00. Copyright © 2013 Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Pte Ltd.