The cornucopia is a beautiful symbol denoting wealth and fertility. It is usually filled with a variety of fruits or precious coins. This mythical image is used, as a rule, in architecture, for example, in eaves or when decorating windows. But you can make a cornucopia with your own hands. Today you will learn how to create this elegant symbol of wealth from dough and fruit yourself. It will take you 1.5-2 hours to do all the work. However, the time spent in this creative activity will fly by you completely unnoticed.
What does cornucopia mean?
The idea of this unusual subject came to us from ancient Greek mythology. There are several legends associated with this bright and beautiful way. According to legend, the horn belonged to Plutos - the owner of the myriad wealth of the underworld. This god granted people a good harvest and fertility. In the Middle Ages, the myth of the horn was associated with the image of the Holy Cup - the Grail. It was believed that one who drank from it would be gifted with immortality and cleansing from all sins.
Today, in many countries of the world, the horn is a cult image. For the most part, this applies to eastern countries such as Turkey, for example. The cornucopia is depicted on the arms of some states and cities: Peru, Colombia, New Jersey, Kharkov, etc. Let us try to bake an original dough product, a symbol of fertility, which can be an excellent decoration for a wedding or festive table.
Ingredients
You can make this dessert very quickly using regular dough, which is sold in any store in the pastry department. You can use a bread base or for baking pies. If you have a bread machine, knead a quick yeast dough. If you prefer to cook only at home and on your own, you will have to work hard.
For a sweet dough, you will need 250 grams of flour, 100 ml of nonfat milk, 100 g of butter, a pack of dried yeast, 2 tablespoons of sugar and two eggs. Add a little turmeric to give the item a beautiful yellow tint . Leave one more egg to grease the finished product. Prepare also vegetable oil to lubricate the mold. You will also need baking foil and various fruits or nuts for decoration. Use grapes, apples, tangerines and walnuts. You can make a horn with sweets and pistachios. It all depends on your abilities and creative abilities. So, let's get to work.
Cooking dough
Prepare a bowl or pan in which you will knead the dough. First you need to warm up the milk a little and pour yeast into it. Beat eggs at this time, add softened butter and sugar. Mix the mass with milk. Then, in small portions, start adding flour, continuing to stir the dough with a spoon. It should turn out soft. Leave it for an hour, remembering to cover the dishes with a towel. It is better to put the dough in a warm place so that it comes faster.
How to make cornucopia?
While the dough is coming, do not waste time in vain. Start making the “shape" of the future product. To do this, use ordinary foil. Try to make a cone. Crumple the foil so that one side of the horn is wide, and the other is narrow, pointed. Use several sheets for work at once, turning them around its axis. All sides of the model should be smooth so that after baking the product can easily be removed from its shape. Also, the foil must be lubricated with a thin layer of vegetable oil.
Next, when the dough comes up, you can proceed to the next step. Divide the finished base into 2-3 parts. Depending on what size you want to receive the product, you can create more than one “masterpiece” from the resulting mixture. Roll one piece of dough on a cutting board previously sprinkled with flour. Lubricate your hands with vegetable oil so that the product does not stick. Roll a thin layer of dough. The layer should be only 2-3 millimeters. Next, cut it lengthwise into thin lines (approximately 1-1.5 centimeters wide).
Weave a "basket"
Now comes the most difficult moment. We begin to design our cornucopia. Take one strip and start wrapping it around the sharpest edge of the foil horn. Next, take another strip, wrap the horn with it, and put the tips on top of each other in the form of the letter “V”. Add the following strip. Follow the same procedure with her. Only now will you have to thread the tips under the previous stripes in a checkerboard pattern. Carefully raise the dough so as not to spoil the entire product. Continue to add new strips, forming a “basket”. Do not worry if the tip breaks somewhere. It can always be covered with a new stripe.
Of course, in the end it will be very difficult, because you will need to skip several bands under each other at once. Therefore, here you have to be patient. Nothing if there are small gaps between the bands. Keep in mind that the dough will still rise, and all the "voids" will be filled. Decorate the entire side of the foil in this way. At the very end, trim the remaining ends of the strips. Twist three long plaits of dough and weave a braid. Wrap it around the wide side of the horn, slightly pressing the dough with your fingers. Use some water to brush the braid to the base of the product.
Bake the form
Now you can proceed to the most important part of our procedure - baking. To do this, beat the egg in a bowl with a fork. Then brush the surface of the product with a brush so that the cornucopia becomes rosy and shiny. We put it in the oven, heated to 200 degrees. You need to bake for about 20 minutes, so that the horn is covered with a beautiful golden-brown crust. Of course, depending on the capabilities of your oven, the production time may be longer or shorter, so check your masterpiece every five minutes so that it does not burn out.
We decorate the work
Next, we take the finished dough out of the oven and leave it to cool for 10-15 minutes. Then carefully remove it from the mold, gently unbending the structure. Keep in mind that the dough is still susceptible to breakage. Therefore, it is better to leave it to cool completely by putting it back into shape. And then comes the most fun part of the procedure.
Wash pre-cooked fruits, nuts, or sweets. The cornucopia, the meaning of which is reduced to the idea of fertility and wealth, should be beautifully and originally decorated. Put it on a large plate, pre-decorated with bright autumn leaves. Add various fruits inside: grapes, apples, tangerines. Use nuts for decoration: walnuts, almonds. Create a fun composition by adding beautiful leaves or branches of greenery. Sprinkle the loose parts of the plate with nuts. Your product should look rich and original. Thus, absolutely all components of the horn will be very tasty.
We treat home
Now that our masterpiece is completely ready, it can be safely put on the most prominent place of the festive table. Such a product will be a great decoration for the New Year or wedding. This beautiful, light and tasty dish can also be tasted with your family. You can just tear off pieces of sweet dough, dip it in butter and snack on your favorite fruits. If you make a cornucopia of sweets, your culinary masterpiece can be a great birthday present or birthday present.
Elegant, delicious craft filled with sweets will definitely appeal to your family or friends. Many will probably be surprised to see such an unusual product, and will ask you to arrange a master class for them. A cornucopia in this way will help your family members have a wonderful evening with their friends. Just pre-cook the dough and buy some fruit. If there are a lot of baskets, and you do not have time to eat them, then do not worry. Cover them in the evening with plastic wrap and refrigerate. This will help you keep your pastries fresh until the next morning.
Conclusion
Only the most daring and creative people are not afraid to experiment and create unusual and original products. Such a cornucopia of dough can become not only a delicious treat, but also an excellent decoration of a festive table or an original gift. To prepare such a dish, it is not necessary to have special culinary abilities. It is more important to have patience and a sense of taste. Indeed, designing a beautiful fruit composition is an important stage in the process of creating this bizarre culinary masterpiece. Bon Appetit!