Kumquat Tea Bread

make the kumquat tea bread

Place quartered kumquats in processor; puree 3 minutes. Reserve 1/3 cup puree for glaze.

Preheat to 350 degrees. Spray two loaf pans with nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, tea powder, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Using an electric mixer, blend 1 1/4 cups sugar and oil. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl after each addition. Then, mix in vanilla, 2/3 cup kumquat puree and pineapple with juice. Gradually add dry ingredients, beating just until blended. Do not over mix. Fold in walnuts. Divide batter between loaf pans.

Bake bread until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes-1 hour. Cool 5 minutes, then turn bread out on rack, top side up. Cool completely.

make the kumquat glaze

Place reserved 1/3 cup puree in large bowl. Whisk in butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt. If glaze is too thick, thin by whisking in a little water. Drizzle glaze over bread loaves. Top with kumquat slices. Let stand until icing sets. Store at room temperature.

Orange Marmalade Rolls

make the rolls

Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a saucepan over medium to high heat. Heat until just before boiling. Remove from heat and let cool for 1 hour until the mixture is warm. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add the active dry yeast and let it sit for a few minutes. In increments, mix in 8 cups of flour. Cover and let the dough rise for 1 hour.

Mix 1 cup of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix with risen dough. If desired, cover dough and refrigerate until you are ready to make the rolls.

Butter two 9-inch pans. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Divide the dough in two. On a large, floured surface, begin to roll out half the dough in a long rectangle. Dough should be rolled out about 1/4 inch thick. Then, leaving about 1/2 inch on the edge, spread half of the marmalade on the dough. Using a brush, add half the butter. Then sprinkle the dough with half the brown sugar. You could also add pecan pieces at this point.

Begin to roll the dough toward you on the long side in a long cylinder shape. Roll tightly, tucking the dough as you go. Once the dough is rolled, cut it in rolls about 1-inch thick. Place in a buttered pan leaving room for the rolls to expand. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 30 minutes. Sometimes I put them under a lamp to help them along. Bake the rolls for 20-24 minutes until they are golden.

make the glaze

Make the glaze by mixing all of the ingredients. The glaze won’t have a strong orange flavor but it will be a bit sweet.

Once the rolls are done baking. Let them sit for 2-3 minutes. Then add the glaze to the tops of the rolls.

cranberry pumpkin bread

*I like to make my own puree. But, you can easily buy the canned kind, just make sure it’s not the kind for pies that already has spices.
**If you have made your own puree and it’s watery (hasn’t been strained with cheesecloth) you may not need all of this additional water.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two loaf pans. In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, water, oil and eggs until just combined. In another bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients.

If using frozen cranberries, place them in a strainer and run them under water for a few minutes until mostly thawed. Also, if you prefer a more subtle cranberry taste, roughly chop the cranberries, although I prefer mine whole in this recipe.

Then, add cranberries and walnuts to the dry ingredient mixture. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix with a wooden spoon by hand. Mix until the batter is combined, but don’t over mix. Distribute the batter equally in the pans, which should fill each about half way. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean in the center. Cool on a wire rack. It works well to eat one loaf and wrap the second loaf up and freeze it for later.