By Libbie Summers
Assisted by David Dempsey
Photography by Chia Chong
When I first dipped my finger into a small pot of Chinese Five Spice, my mind started spinning. The blend of star anise, fennel, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper and clove is warm and sweet and just begging to be put in places that it never thought of going. Check out these five “American Hacks” using my new favorite spice.
1.
Chinese Five Spice Ice Cream
(vanilla ice cream with a hint of the orient)
makes 1 pint
What you need:
1 pint high quality vanilla ice cream
2 teaspoons Chinese Five Spice
Ice cream cones (optional)
What to do:
Remove ice cream from container into a bowl and allow to soften slightly. Add Chinese five spice and stir JUST to combine (do not thoroughly mix in). Scoop back into container and freeze completely before scooping into ice cream cones (optional).
2.
Chocolate Chinese Spice Bread
(Chinese five spiced chocolate quick bread, green tea frosting)
makes 1 loaf
What you need:
1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
1⁄4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
1 tablespoon Chinese five spice powder
1 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1⁄2 cups packed light brown sugar
1⁄2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup apple butter (can substitute apple sauce)
1 teaspoon vanilla paste (can substitute extract)
1⁄4 cup milk
3 ounces chopped dark chocolate (your favorite brand)
Green Tea Frosting, recipe to follow
What to do:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and line with a strip of parchment paper the width of your pan and long enough to hang over both sides by a couple of inches if draped across the middle (this method gives you two handles to pull the finished bread out). Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, Chinese 5 spice, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar and butter and blend until just combined. Add the eggs, apple butter, vanilla paste, and milk. Stir gently with a wooden spoon to combine. Stir in the flour mixture, mixing gently until combined. Fold in 1⁄2 cup of the chocolate pieces.
Divide the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1⁄2 cup dark chocolate pieces down the center of each loaf lengthwise and pat them down into the batter to just below the surface. Bake for 60-90 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of each loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes before turning out. To turn out, grab each side of the parchment paper and lift. Let cool completely. Spoon Green Tea Frosting over, slice and serve.
Green Tea Frosting
3 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon matcha powder
1 cup confectioners sugar
Stir together all ingredients.
3.
Five Spice Bugles
makes five cups
What you need:
5 cups plain Bugles Snacks®
¼ cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon Chinese five spice
What to do:
Preheat oven to 250ºF. Line a baking sheet with foil.
Whisk Chinese five spice into butter. Spread Bugles onto baking sheet and pour butter mixture over. Toss with hands to coat. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes, for one hour. Cool and serve.
4.
Chinese Five Spicerdoodles
makes 40ish cookies
- What you need:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla paste (can substitute vanilla extract)
3 teaspoons ground Chinese five spiceWhat to do:
Preheat oven to 400º F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. - In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Set aside.In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment add the butter, shortening and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Cream together. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until combined. Add the vanilla paste and mix until combined.
- Add dry ingredients to the mixer and mix until just combined.
- In a small bowl, stir together the remaining sugar and Chinese five spice. Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls and roll in the sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet and bake until just set (about 8-10 minutes).
5.
Chinese Five Spice Donut Holes
(small and spicy donut poppers)
makes 100
What You Need:
2 tablespoons plus 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted, plus more for greasing
1 1⁄3 cups warm milk
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1⁄3 cup plus 1 1⁄2 cups granulated sugar
5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon Chinese five spice, divided
What to do:
Grease a large mixing bowl with butter and set aside. In the bowl of a standing mixer, stir together the milk, yeast, 1⁄3 cup granulated sugar, and 2 tablespoons melted butter with a spoon. Let the mixture rest for about 5 minutes, until the yeast starts to foam.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and nutmeg.
Fit a dough hook on the standing mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice, and the flour mixture and beat for 3 minutes, until the dough is smooth and tacky and pulls away from the side of the bowl. At this point, you can adjust the dough’s texture if needed. Add a little more milk if it is too dry, or a little more flour if it is too wet; the goal is for it to be smooth and tacky. Continue mixing the dough for 5 minutes more, until it becomes smooth and shiny. Transfer the dough to the prepared mixing bowl and turn over so both sides of the dough are buttered. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for about 1 hour, until it has doubled in size.
Line two or three baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Punch the dough down and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to 1⁄2 inch thick. Using a donut-hole cutter or a small (1-inch) ring mold, cut out circles of dough and transfer them to the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between the circles. Cover the tray with lightly greased plastic wrap. (At this point, you can refrigerate the donuts overnight then let them rise in the morning before baking.) Let the donuts rise for about 45 minutes, until they are puffed and nearly doubled.
Preheat the oven to 375° F. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the remaining 11⁄2 cups granulated sugar and remaining Chinese five spice and set aside. Pour the remaining 1 cup butter into a separate bowl.
Bake the donut holes for 5 to 7 minutes, until the bottoms of the donuts are just golden brown. The donuts should be pale on the top, and the insides just barely baked through. They will continue to bake after they are removed from the oven. Cool for 2 minutes, then dip them into the melted butter just to moisten and roll them in the Chinese five spice-sugar mixture to coat. Serve immediately.
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