Carrot and Almond Buttercream Bread

I've been fascinated by the Japanese's skill of pastry-making recently, and ever since I found out that Kinokuniya actually stocks in a huge series of Japanese cookbooks that are translated in Chinese, the Chinese book section of this sinful bookstore has been my favourite since.

During a recent trip to the store, I got hold of a copy of "Real Homemade Recipes for Bread-making", a book by Heart Bakery 21 Club. Incidentally, I've found out from the Introduction that Heart Bakery 21 Club consists of a group of professional bakers that constantly try out recipes by using kitchen utensils for home use. From there, they've developed a series of recipes that are suitable for home bakers.

One recipe that caught my eyes was Carrot and Almond Buttercream Bread. The key ingredient, minced carrot was mixed into the dough, after kneading, it was left to rise for 1 hour. In the mean time, prepared almond buttercream by mixing almond meal, butter, sugar and vanilla essence together until it formed a smooth texture. When the bread dough was ready, divide the dough into 5 equal portions. Using a rolling pin, rolled out one of the doughs into a rectangle and spread the almond buttercream over it. Rolled up the dough and placed it in a greased baking tin. Repeat the process with the other 4 doughs. Let the dough sit in the baking tin for another 50 minutes, just before popping it into the oven, brush the dough with egg and decorate with orange slices.


The bread looked funny in the baking tin with orange slices facing in different directions. But it tastes really good and it was a yummy treat for the TV-watching session in the afternoon.