Captain Jaxe's Treasure Island

Bolognese

2011-12-25T21:31:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
(for 500g of pasta)

2 garlic cloves
1 large onion
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk of celery
500g minced beef
500ml beef stock
375ml (1 1/2 cups) red wine
800g tomato, blanched and chopped
2 tbsp tomate puree
1 tsp sugar

50g pancetta, chopped (from original recipe, but I never add that)

Method
1. Heat pan with some olive oil.
Saute garlic, onion.

2. Add carrot, celery, pancetta and cook over medium heat until soft (roughly 5 mins)

3. Add minced beef, breaking up lumps.
Stir till browned.

4. Add stock, wine, tomatoes, puree and sugar.
Bring to boil, then reduce heat.

5. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally .

6. Season with pepper and salt.

Pesto

2011-12-25T21:16:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts

3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Equipment

A food processor

Method

1. Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If

you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped,

pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.)

2. Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

3. Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on.

Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula.

4. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended.

5. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Serve with pasta, or over baked potatoes, or spread over toasted baguette slices.

Makes 1 cup.

adapted from http://simplyrecipes.com

Creamy Chicken Macaroni Soup

2011-12-22T01:03:00.001-08:00

Ingredients

500 g chicken breast
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 onions, sliced
1 large bell pepper, sliced.
2 carrots, diced.
350 g macaroni
1/2 to 1 cup evaporated milk
2 Tbsp margarine
5 big prawns

Method
1. Boil the chicken in 4 cups water to make broth or use ready made chicken stock.

2. Slice the chicken into strips.

3. Saute garlic and onion in oil over medium heat.
Add the bell pepper and cook till aromatic. Stir in the shredded chicken.
Season lightly with ground black pepper.
Add the carrots, a quick sauté then the macaroni. Give it a stir to get the fat all around the pasta.

4.Pour in the chicken broth and additional 5 cups water.
Simmer.

5. Pour in the milk, stirring gently.

6. Add the margarine.

7. Season with salt and pepper.

(recipe adapted from http://www.pinoyrecipe.net/ )

Jamie Oliver's Beef Stew

2011-12-22T00:52:00.001-08:00

Ingredients
• olive oil
• a knob of butter
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• a handful of fresh sage leaves
• 800g/1¾lb stewing steak or beef skirt, cut into 5cm/2 inch pieces
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• flour, to dust
• 2 parsnips, peeled and quartered
• 4 carrots, peeled and halved
• ½ a butternut squash, halved, deseeded and roughly diced
• optional: a handful of Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and halved
• 500g/1lb 2oz small potatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato purée
• ½ a bottle of red wine
• 285ml/½ pint beef or vegetable stock
• zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
• a handful of rosemary, leaves picked
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 160ºC.

2.Put a little oil and your knob of butter into an appropriately sized pot or casserole pan.
Add your onion and all the sage leaves and fry for 3 or 4 minutes.

3.Toss the meat in a little seasoned flour, then add it to the pan with all the vegetables, the tomato purée, wine and stock, and gently stir together.
Season generously with freshly ground black pepper and just a little salt.
Bring to the boil, place a lid on top.

4. Then cook in the preheated oven until the meat is tender.
Sometimes this takes 3 hours, sometimes 4 – it depends on what cut of meat you’re using and how fresh it is. The only way to test is to mash up a piece of meat and if it falls apart easily it’s ready.

5. Once it’s cooked, you can turn the oven down to about 110°C and just hold it there until you’re ready to eat.
The best way to serve this is by ladling big spoonfuls into bowls, accompanied by a glass of French red wine and some really fresh, warmed bread.

6. Mix the lemon zest, chopped rosemary and garlic together and sprinkle over the stew before eating. Just the smallest amount will make a world of difference – as soon as it hits the hot stew it will release an amazing fragrance.

Nonya Kaya (Coconut Egg Jam)

2011-10-07T23:37:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
11 medium sized eggs
500g caster sugar
250ml fresh coconut milk (squeezed from fresh shredded coconut)
16 pieces of pandan leaves, washed

Method

1. Cut the pandan leaves into pieces and blend it in a blender until completely shredded.
Drain out pandan juice and set aside. (DO NOT add water to the pandan juice)

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs slightly until yolk and eggs combined. (Do not overbeat till eggs froth)

3. Gradually add in sugar while beating till all the sugar has dissolved.

4. Add in coconut milk and pandan juice and beat slightly till well combined.

There are serveral ways to do this part.
5A. Cook over simmering water until kaya thickens. You'll have to stir it constantly.

5B. If you are experienced in cooking custard, cook directly over low heat on a pot until kaya thickens. Stir constantly to prevent burning.

5C. (if you are lazy to stir, do this) Steam over a double boiler for 2 hours. Kaya should form a curd-like substance. Cool, then blend in blended to achieve smooth consistency.

Some FAQ for this method on this site: http://thelazychef.wordpress.com/2006/09/02/nonya-kaya/

However, I didn't have much luck with method 5C as my kaya was still VERY watery after blending. If this happens, you can always resort to 5B, for about 10 mins to achieve thickenss.

6. Cool, and store.

Storage
Stores in airtight container for 1 week. Stores longer in refrigerator.

If you prefer the brown version of Kaya, cook the pandan leaves directly in the egg mixture without blending, thus only fragrance of pandan goes in, but not the colour. You may refer to these 2 sites for advice:

http://www.simpledishonline.info/?p=60
http://www.asianfreerecipes.com/asian-recipes/desserts/kaya.php

Durian Cream Puffs

2011-07-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

The months of June/July are awesome for two things. Great Singapore Sale and the Durian season!

Ingredients

Choux Pastry

185g plain flour

100g unsalted butter

6 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups (375ml) water

Durian Filling

fresh durian paste, scrap from seed and sift through metal mesh.

add 1 tbsp of coconut cream if desired.

chill until ready to use

Equipment

1 wooden spoon

1 large saucepan

1 medium saucepan

1 satay stick (or small skewer)

1 piping bag with the smallest nozzle you can find.

1 electric mixer

Method

Prepare the choux pastry.

1. To do this, you need to weigh and prepare all the ingredients before you start.

2. Sift the flour 3 times and set aside.

Chop the butter into smaller pieces.

3. Place the butter in a large, heavy saucepan with the water.

Stir over medium heat until the butter melts.

Increase the heat to bring the water to boil.

Remove from heat IMMEDIATELY and pour in all of the flour.

Quickly beat in the flour with a wooden spoon.

Return to heat and continue beating until the mixture forms a ball and leaves the side of the pan.

Transfer to a large, clean bowl and leave to cool slightly.

4. Preheat oven at 210 degrees C at this point.

5. Beat the mixture to release any heat. Gradually add in the beaten eggs, about 3 tsp at a time.

Beat well after each addition, until all the egg has been added and the mixture is thick enough for a wooden spoon to stand upright in it.

6. Sprinkle the baking tray with water.

Spoon roughly 1 heaped tbsp of dough each time onto the tray, leaving plenty of room for spreading. (Dough will increase 2-3 times in size)

7. Sprinkle the heaped dough lightly with some water.

8. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until browned. Try not to open your oven until the puffs are done.

9. Remove the puffs from the oven and use a satay stick to make a small hole at the size to release the steam inside.

Reduce heat to 180 degrees C and bake for another 5 minutes so they dry out.

10. When puffs are completely cooled, pipe durian filling into puffs.

Serves best when chilled.

Milo Dinosaur Cupcakes

2011-07-30T21:34:00.000-07:00

Milo cupcakes topped with extra milo powder, and condensed milk oozing out from the inside. Enough said.

Ingredients (makes 10-12 cupcakes)
The Cupcake

200g plain flour

50g caster sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

200g Milo

1 tsp vanilla extract

180g sour cream

200g unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

Filling

100g butter unsalted (softened)

1 tsp vanilla extract

150ml condensed milk

Milo Frosting

100g unsalted butter (softened)

100g icing sugar

150g Milo

40ml milk

Method

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.

1. Sift flour, bicarb and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.

2. Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large mixing bowl and then beat in eggs one at a time until combine. Add sour cream, vanilla and milo and beat until just combined.

3. Fold in flour mixture.

4. Fill cupcake liners until 3/4 full.

Bake for approx 15-20 mins until dark golden brown on top and a skewer inserted comes out clean.

5. To make the filling, beat butter, condensed milk and vanilla together until combined. Chill in the fridge.

When cupcakes are completely cooled, spoon out a small portion of the cupcake (approx 1 tsp) using a melon scoop or similar and pour in the condensed milk filling.

Level the scooped out portion of the cupcake using a knife and put it back on the cupcake.

6. To make frosting, beat butter until light and fluffy, then add in the rest of the ingredients. Beat till well combined.

Spoon over the top of cupcakes. Top generously with Milo powder.

Serves best when chilled.

You might also want to check out this excellent recipe from RaspberriCupcakes.com for Milo Cupcakes with condensed milk icing, which was the base recipe for my cupcake.

Almond Cupcakes

2011-07-09T21:59:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

Cupcakes
1 3/4 cups sour cream (separated into 1 cup and 3/4 cup)
250g unsalted butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup caster sugar
2/3 cup almonds, toast and grounded

4 eggs
2 tsp amaretto (or other almond liqueur)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Icing
3 cups icing sugar
6 tbsp heavy cream
3 tbsp amaretto
almonds, chopped and toasted* (optional)

*I preferably to chop them myself, as opposed to buying chopped pieces, so each piece comes differently, giving it a nice texture.

*Best way to toast nuts is to put a little oil on a skillet, then saute them for 5 minutes till golden, and not literally in a toaster.

Method

Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.

1. Cream together 1 cup of sour cream, the butter and oil.

2. Sift flour, baking powder, soda and salt.
Stir in sugar and almonds.

3. Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture in 3 batches, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

4. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, remaining 3/4 cup of sour cream, amaretto and vanilla extract.
Add the egg mixture to the batter in 3 batches, beating thoroughly after each addition.

5. Fill cupcake liners to 3/4 full with batter.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Cool completely before applying frosting.

Icing
Beat sugar, cream and liqueur together at low speed until smooth.

Be careful not to over beat the heavy cream.
Add additional liqueur or sugar to reach spreading consistency. Note that icing is not as thick as frosting, and can be spread thinly with a knife. If all else fails, cover your cupcakes generously with chopped almonds (:

Swedish Wholemeal Pancakes

2011-07-09T21:35:00.000-07:00

Yes! I got it. Tried adding some wholemeal flour into the recipe, and it turned out quite similar to the IKEA version. Here's an updated recipe for the wholemeal version.

Ingredients

3 eggs, yolks and whites separated

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar

1 cup milk
3 tablespoon wholemeal flour
(soak the wholemeal flour in the milk 2 hrs ahead of cooking. or maybe, though I haven't try this, soak overnight in the fridge so you wouldn't need to wake up 2 hrs earlier to prepare.)

3 tablespoons sour cream

some butter for cooking

The rest of instructions remained the same.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wanted to try recreate the pancakes from IKEA which I really liked, and a goggle search led me to this recipe. I made some this morning, and was a little disappointed that it wasn't the exact taste I was looking for (I'm suspecting some kind of wholewheat flour is involved), but it was delicious nonetheless. Most importantly, everyone loved it.

Ingredients
4 eggs, yolks and whites separated

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar

1 cup milk
3 tablespoons sour cream

some butter for cooking

Method

1. Beat yolks until thick, set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, sift flour, salt and sugar

3. Mix flour mixture into yolks, followed by milk. Stir until well combined.

Stir in sour cream.

4. In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry.

Fold into batter.

5. Heat pan to a high temperature and place a small amount of butter.

Swedish pancakes are nice and thin, a bit crepe-like, so pour roughly 2-4 tablespoon of batter and spread it out evenly on the pan.

Flip when bubbles appear on the surface, and cook until nice and brown.

Fold into quarters if necessary.

I made them nice and fluffy here as that's the way my family enjoys them. I love how swedish pancakes goes beautifully with fresh whipped cream, some icing sugar, and a dollop of the sweet-sour lingoberry jam from IKEA.

Sticky Date Toffee Pudding

2011-06-15T09:39:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

(makes 8)

(pudding)

200g whole dates, pitted, chopped (I use the large kind)

200ml water

75g brown sugar (try substituting with gula melaka)

125g unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs

175g self-raising flour

(toffee sauce)

300ml double cream

175g light muscovado sugar

50g butter

Equipment

Blender

8 pudding moulds (or extra large muffin/cupcake mould)

Mixer

Method

1. Bring the dates to boil with the water in a small saucepan.

Let simmer for 5 minutes until dates are soften.

Blend using a blender or food processor.

Leave to cool.

(I attempted to sieve away the date skin at this stage, though none of the recipe I've seen calls for it)

2. Preheat oven at 180 degrees C.

3. Beat the unsalted butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, eggs and flour for 2 minutes until pale and creamy.

Stir in the date puree until well-combined.

4. Grease the pudding moulds and line the bottoms with circles of greaseproof paper.

Divide the pudding mixture evenly between the moulds (each one should be 3/4 full or less)

Level the tops.

5. Bake for 30 minutes until risen and firm to touch.

(I tried baking in a water bath, covering the top with foil and the pudding turned out very soft, like steamed cakes, but it was not like the really dense type you eat at restaurants)

6. To make sauce, heat half the cream, the muscovado sugar and butter in a saucepan until sugar dissolves.

Bring to boil, then let sauce bubble for 5 minutes until it turns a rich, dark caramel.

Stir in the remaining cream and leave a side.

7. To serve, invert the pudding onto serving plates and cover generously with toffee sauce.

Amaretto Roulade with Fresh Strawberries and Mascarpone

2011-05-16T22:06:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

(for a 14x11x2 inch swiss roll tin)

(adapted from Deserts, Hamlyn)

(sponge)

30g blanched and sliced almonds

5 eggs (yolks and whites separated)

75g caster sugar

some icing sugar, for dusting

3 tbsp plain flour

2 tbsp Amaretto, or any almond liqueur

(filling)

5-8 ripe strawberries, hulled and sliced along the long side

200g mascarpone

100g whipping cream
1 tbsp icing sugar

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

2. Lightly grease a swiss roll thin, line with baking paper on bottom and sides and grease the paper (generously) again. (greasing tin first keeps paper in place)

3. Beat the yokes and caster sugar at high speed till thick and pale (approx. 5 mins).

Add in most of the sliced almonds (leaving a handful to sprinkle on the batter later) and beat for another 2 mins.

Add in flour and whisk till just combined.

4. In a clean separate bowl, whisk the egg whites at high speed till firm peaks are formed.

Fold this into the batter until just combined.

5. Spread evenly onto tin and sprinkle the remaining sliced almonds on top.

6. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cake should be just slightly browned and springs back when touched. (It's okay if surface is uneven at this point)

7. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.
Beat whipping cream and icing sugar until stiff peaks form.

Whisk the mascarpone slightly, then stir into whipping cream.

8. Let the cake cool for a minute. (and don't cheat!)

9. Place a clean tea towel on work surface, cover with baking paper and lightly sprinkle with icing sugar. Let cake cool for a minute, then turn it out onto the sugar. Remove top sheet of paper.

Using the tea towel as a guide (this means you use the towel to help push the cake tightly together as you roll), roll the cake carefully from the short side with the paper inside the roll. Stand for 5 minutes, then unroll and allow cake to cool completely.

10. Drizzle the liqueur over the sponge.

Spread the cream and scatter with strawberries.

Using the baking paper as a guide, re-roll the cake, but not as tightly this time to prevent cream from flowing out.
Place seam side down, cover with cling wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

9. Dust the top with some icing sugar before cutting into slices to serve.

Mrs Wong's Amazing Chocolate Brownies

2011-03-12T22:41:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
100g unsweetened cooking chocolate, chopped
50g unsalted butter, in smal pieces
2 eggs
175g caster sugar
5ml vanilla essence
75g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
50g raisins

Method
1. Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl, over hot water and melt. Cool a little

2. Stir in butter until melted and blended with chocolate.

3. Beat the eggs until fluffy, and blend into the chocolate and butter mixture

4. Sift flour and fold into mixture.

5. Mix in nuts.

6. Pour batter into a greased 20cm square baking tin.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Allow to cool, then cut into squares - they will turn fudgy as they cool.

Chinese New Year Peanut Cookies

2011-02-08T06:33:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
200g ground peanut powder
(approx. 300g peanuts still in shell, unshell them, remove the thin brown membrane and blend in juice blender)

200g flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
75g icing sugar
1/4 tsp FINE salt
120g peanut oil or corn oil
1 egg yolk lightly beaten with 1 tsp water

Method
1. Mix flour, baking powder, ground peanut powder, icing sugar and salt in a big mixing bowl till well combined.

2. Add in oil in 3 batches, using less or more as required until a dough is formed. (Peanut flour mixture should be soft and come together in a dough when pressed. The consistence should be somewhere between loose bread crumbs and a sticky bread dough)

3. Cut the dough into desired shape and lay on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

4. Apply a thin layer of egg yolk over the top.

5. Baked at 160 degrees C for 20-25 minutes till golden brown.

Recipe modified from http://www.wlteef.blogspot.com/

Voila! Just watch those ulcers.

Churros!

2010-12-29T05:27:00.000-08:00

(recipe scaled and modified from AllRecipes.com)

Ingredients
(makes about 10 finger-size churros for 1-2 persons. Double the recipe but not the dip to serve more than 3)

Churros
1 cup water
2 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 litres oil for frying

Dip
1/2 cup white sugar, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Equipment
Deep fryer/ wok
Piping bag with star-shaped nozzle
(I recommend a cloth one. The dough was too hot and it split my plastic piping bag)

Method

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine water, sugar, salt and oil.
Bring to boil and remove from heat.

2. Stir in flour until mixture forms a ball

3. Heat oil for frying to 190 degrees C.
Pipe strips of dough into hot oil using the pastry bag.

4. Fry until slightly golden.
(Do not wait until the churros are totally golden, if not they will be too tough when cooled)

5. Drain on paper towel.

6. Roll drained churros in sugar+cinnamon dip.
Enjoy!

*great with melted chocolate or ice-cream!

A birthday spent in Bikini Bottom

2010-12-21T01:16:00.000-08:00

Something I made for Josianne's third birthday.

With matching cupcakes as take-home presents!

Queen of Hearts

2010-12-21T00:57:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

Pastry
140g cold butter, chopped
65g dark brown sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder
200g plain flour
1 egg white

Custard
2 tsp vanilla essence
630ml milk
4 egg yolks
5 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp plain flour

Toppings
Strawberries, sliced into halves, with leaves intact
Blueberries
2 tbsp jam (berry-favoured)
1 tbsp lemon juice

Method
1. Prepare the pastry.
Combine butter, brown sugar over low heat and stir till sugar dissolves.
Remove from heat and sift over cocoa powder and stir till well mixed.
Sift over the flour and blend just until well combined.
Add egg white to bind the mixture.
Gather into a ball and wrap in greaseproof paper.
Chill for 40 minutes.

2. Prepare the custard.
Put the milk in a saucepan and add vanilla.
Slowly bring to boil, then remove from heat immediately and leave to cool slightly.

Cover the top of the custard with a plastic cling wrap while cooling to prevent a crust from forming.

3. Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until thick.
Add plain flour, then gradually whisk in the vanilla milk.
Return mixture to a clean pan and stir over low heat until it boils and thickens (5-10 mins).
Leave to cool.

4. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

5. Grease the tart tin. Roll out pastry between 2 sheets of greaseproof paper to abt 3mm thick. (Do not use flour here! Unless u want to have spotted tarts)

Lift pastry gently and slowly with a sharp blade knife and place over tin.
Chill again for 15 mins to prevent pastry from shrinking during baking.

*There will be some left over pastry, I use them to make heart-shaped biscuits to place on the tart with the fruits. To do so, simply cut the pastry with heart-shaped cutters, place them on baking paper, and bake them together with the shell.

6.Prick the base of the crust with a fork to create little holes all over.
Line the base with greaseproof paper and fill with a thin layer of uncooked rice. The weight will prevent the crust from rising, or you'll end up with an unsightly and uneven base.
Bake for 20 mins until firm.
Leave to cool before pouring the custard.

7. Spoon the cooled custard into the cooled tart shell.
Line the strawberry halves in rings on top of the custard, choosing equally-sized ones for the same rings. Leave the larger ones for the outer ring and the smaller ones for the inner rings.

8. When all is ready, prepare the glaze (will hardened if prepared too early).
To do this, simply melt the jam with the lemon juice, and brush on top of fruits.

9. Leave in the refrigerator to chill for at least a couple of hours.

Heart-shaped biscuit made from leftover pastry

Alternative arrangement for tart I made on a previous occasion

Cobblers, Pies or Tarts?

2009-09-18T23:04:00.000-07:00

Pies and tarts are similar, except that pies are deeper, and have sloping sides. Tarts are usually thin (about 3-4 cm) and baked in a straight-walled tart tin. Pies can be open or covered, while tarts are usually opened. Cobblers are baked in a deep dish with toppings sprinkled on top (like the apple crumble). Cobblers are fruit-based while pies and tarts can contain fruit, custard or chocolate.

Got it?

Apple Cranberry Lattice Pie

2009-09-18T22:56:00.000-07:00

Finally, a new post! Been real busy the past few months. Finally got the chance to bake something yesterday. Not that it is particularly creative though, but since I've been craving pie all month from the 22 episodes of Pushing Daisies, something simple and instant-craving-fixing like an apple cranberry lattice pie should do the trick. Technically, this is more of a tart than a pie, but I'd like to call it a pie, since I started out wanting to do a pie but I only had a tart dish. Not that it really matters, but if you'll like to know the difference between a pie and a tart, read here.

I couldn't take any decent photos as I didn't have a proper camera, relying instead on my iphone. Hopefully I will be able to upload a nicer photo when I do can a new camera and baked a new pie.

This is similar to the apple crumble tart I made earlier. I added some ground cloves this time, which gave it a rather nice, wholesome favor. But do be cautious though, as cloves can be upsetting to the Chinese palate, or very young children. A really amount is suffice, or you may omit it altogether.

Ingredients
(for the crust)
Prepare a DOUBLE portion of the sweet pastry crust according the to Shortcrust Pastry Recipe
some caster sugar for sprinkling
1 egg, beaten, to coat

(for the filling)
3 big apples, sliced to thin wedges
100g cranberries (if dried, soak in water first)
2 tbsp cornflour
1/8 tsp salt
grated grind of 1 lemon
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 - 1 tsp of ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon

Method
1. Using HALF portion of the dough, prepare the crust accordingly to the Shortcrust Pastry recipe. Keep the remaining half portion for the lattice.
(Always keep the dough in the fridge if you are not working with it immediately.)

To prepare the lattice top, roll out dough into a circle, slightly larger than the radius of the tart tin.
Cut the flat dough into thick strips (approx 1.5 cm) using a flutted cutter to give the jagged edges or a sharp knife for straight edges.
Make the lattice top over a piece of baking paper. Start by placing half the strips on the baking paper, with a small gap (approx 1 cm) between each strip. Interweave the remaining strips to form the lattice grid.
Cover the lattice top with a plastic wrap and chill, flat, in the fridge for 20 minutes.

2. Preheat oven at 200 degrees C.

3. Mix the cranberries, sugar, lemon, corn flour, salt, cinnamon, cloves with the apples well in a bowl.
Let apples sit in mixture.

4. Spoon apple filling into pastry crust and smooth the surface.

5. Place the lattice top over the filling.
Coat the lattice top with egg and sprinkle some sugar on it.

7. Bake for 15 minutes at 200 degrees C.
Reduce heat to 180 degrees C and continue baking for another 15-20 minutes till golden brown.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

2009-06-19T14:29:00.000-07:00

merry christmas (:

mini ones with crushed walnuts

I was never a fan of cupcakes, but this has become an all-time favourite of mine. I have made these at least 3 times within the course of a month, and they are always snapped up fast. The reason why these pumpkin spice cupcakes are so deliciously is that it has this lightly sweet, wholesome taste of pumpkin (a vegetable!) without being too 'heavy' like its chocolate counterparts. They are also unbelievably soft and moist, and absolutely simply to whip up. You have to try it to believe it!

I've been trying out variations of this recipe from the Chef of Paisely and Cream Cafe which I got from a magazine some time ago. They were pretty good, but I never seem to get it exactly the way I want. By coincidence, I chance upon another recipe from Crazy About Cupcakes by Krystina Castella . I would never look at cupcakes the same way again.

adapted recipe from Crazy About Cupcakes by Krystina Castella

Ingredients

100g unsalted butter, at room temp
140g firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temp

230g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

1 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
1. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees C. Insert cupcake liners into your muffin or cupcake pan.

2. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy (about 3-5 minutes).

3. Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time.
Mix well after each addition.

4. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, the baking powder, the baking soda, the ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt.
Mix well.

5. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in 3 batches, alternating with the milk, stirring after each addition.
Mix until smooth.

6. Fold in the pumpkin puree and the vanilla extract until just combined.

7. Fill the cupcake liners to 3/4 full.
Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Suggested frosting: Cream Cheese or Mixed Spice Buttercream

Cream Cheese Buttercream
225g cold cream cheese
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar

1. Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract until smooth.
2. Sift in sugar in 2-3 batches until well combined.

UPDATE

29 December 2010

(forget the buttercream. go with the cream cheese frosting. you won't regret it)

Mixed Spice Buttercream
250g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
250g powdered sugar
1/4 mixed spice

1. Beat all the ingredients together until creamy.

That's it!

Fresh out of the oven without frosting

Banana Walnut Cake

2009-06-19T02:12:00.000-07:00

UPDATE

19 May 2009

I tried this recipe again, this time with a bigger baking pan, and I made sure I was diligent enough to mash the bananas properly. I also remembered reading somewhere that butter cakes should be baked at a lower temperature than sponge cakes (which you could bake at 180 degrees C) so I tried putting the batter in at 160 degrees C. The shape of the cake came out much better than the previous attempt, the only short-coming being I ran out of lemon juice, and the cake turned out too dark due to the oxidized bananas.

I also cut out the process of separating the egg whites and yolks, and the cake turned out fine. My guess was right!

Best served warm.

_______________________________________________

9 August 2008

I bought a really tiny loaf pan which I am very keen to use. My family aren't great fans of my cakes (nor any other 'fattening' food for that matter) so I bought the tiniest one I could find to make tini-tiny-puny cakes. Anyway, I decided to make a simple banana cake with some walnuts as fillings. I halved my usual recipe, hoping it will fit nicely into the pan and give the batter ample space to rise so the top of the cake wouldn't crack like it always does. But, but, but...I underestimated the size of the pan, and my batter could only fill 1/2 of it! Although it rise to almost 3/4 height, the cooled cake quickly shrunk back to its original height. And it still cracked! Why? Hmm..probably it rose too much? I have no idea. I thought cakes crack because they didn't have enough room to rise. Shall go and do some research on that.

Anyway, I ended up with a very 'short' cake, in both ways. I am really happy that I decided to add toasted walnuts in it. The crunchy walnuts were a good contrast to the otherwise soft and moist cake.

I usually don't keep my butter cakes in the refrigerator (you are not supposed to!), but my brother left a few pieces there as our dining table has been attracting a lot of ants these days. Surprisingly, the chilled banana cake tasted really good too. Although the texture was firmer, it wasn't too dry, somewhat like those 'Sarah Lee' cakes you find at the supermarket. I thought the chilled cake would go really good with vanilla ice-cream and some chocolate sauce, but the whole cake was gone by the time I wanted to eat it the next day! Well, no more delicious bananacakewithvanillaicecreamandchocolatesauce for me, but at least it proved that buying the tini-tiny-puny loaf pan was a good idea!

Ingredients
(full recipe)
170g plain flour
150g unsalted butter
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
4 eggs - yolks and whites separated
80g sugar - divided into 2 portions
3 medium bananas, mashed
2 tsp lemon juice to prevent your cake from turning black the next day! (if you still have any left that is)
60ml milk
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
80g walnuts, slightly chopped and toasted

Method
1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees C.

2. With an electric mixer, cream butter and 40g sugar together until pale and fluffy.
Then whisk egg yolk and remaining 40g sugar in a separate bowl until pale and thick.
Slowly add this into the butter mixture, mixing well after each addition.

3. Mix mashed banana with lemon juice and milk.
Stir into the mixture.

4. Mix flour well with baking powder and soda.
Fold in the sifted flour in 3 batches.
Stir in walnuts.

**5. Beat egg whites slightly, add cream of tartar, and beat again until stiff.
Fold into batter.

6. Pour batter into greased tin and bake for 45-50 minutes.

Remember to test with a skewer at the center! Banana cakes are cunning, deceiving cakes. The external surface browns easily to due the bananas, and a crust forms quickly due to high sugar and butter content. BUT! this does not necessary mean interior is cook! If u find the outside already burning, cover loosely with foil and continue baking.

7. Remove from oven, unmold and let cool.

** I have this feeling that it is not necessary to separate the eggs at all, and going through all the trouble of doing so makes the cake rise too much, and you end up with an erupted volcano surface. Let me know what you think.

Strawberry Cupcakes

2009-02-27T08:40:00.000-08:00

I finally got the recipe book 'Crazy About Cupcakes' by Krystina Castella and I really like it. There are tons of recipe for every imaginable flavor of cupcakes and frosting, as well as a list of which cupcake goes best with which frosting. There are also many suggestions and diagrams to show you how to decorate a cupcake, which is great for beginners like me. For a start, I attempted the Strawberry Cupcake with Lemon Icing for a friend's birthday today. Initially, I attempted to make a strawberry cream cheese frosting as well, but I added caster sugar on my first attempt (never EVER do that, as there is no way to rescue your frosting, at least not that I know of. Caster sugar is almost impossible to dissolve completely.) and on my second attempt, somehow it turned out to be too watery. I didn't have enough cream cheese to rescue it and had to throw both portions away! I resorted to the lemon icing in the end, as it was also listed as one of the 'compatible' frosting in the book, and I liked it very much. The sourness was a good compliment to the sweet cupcake. I made a few changes to the recipe, but basically it goes something like this:

The taste of summer.

Ingredients
Cupcake
(makes 12)

110g unsalted butter
140g caster sugar *use more if your strawberries are tart
2 large eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g fresh strawberries, sliced into round pieces
6 pieces strawberries, sliced horizontally in half to place on cupcakes

Lemon Icing
(This is 1/4 of the original recipe, as I don't really fancy having a whole wallop of butter on my cakes. I simply piped some small stars around the edges of the cake)

1 cup icing sugar
50g unsalted butter
1-2 tbsp lemon zest
1-2 tbsp lemon juice

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees C. Insert cupcake liners into your muffin or cupcake pan.

2. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy (about 3-5 minutes).

3. Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time.
Mix well after each addition.

4. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, the baking powder, and salt.
Mix well.

5. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in 2 batches, alternating with the milk, stirring after each addition.
Mix for approx. 3 minutes.

6. Fold in the strawberries and the vanilla extract until just combined.

7. Fill the cupcake liners to 3/4 full.
Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

8. Cool completely before icing.

9. Prepare icing
In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter with a mixer till smooth.
Mix in lemon zest, juice until well combined.

10. Frost and decorate!

*I found a great substitute for a cloth or paper piping bag - ziplock bags! Simply snip a small corner off, insert the nozzle, pour the icing into it and pipe. No mess, no washing oily, greasing cloth bags and easy to handle. Remember to choose a ziplock bag with an appropriate size for the amount of icing you are going to use.

Happy Birthday Wing!

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

2009-02-22T20:21:00.000-08:00

There are three variations of the apple muffin that you may like to try:

1. Apple + Walnut topping
2. Apple Crumble topping
3. Apple + Raisins

recipe adapted from The Essential Baking Cookbook, as I realised this apple muffins cannot be made with my usual muffin recipe.
Ingredients
(makes 12 medium muffins)

(A)
240g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon

(B)
260g milk
1 tsp vanilla essence

100g soft brown sugar
110g unsalted butter, melted and COOLED COMPLETELY
200g apples, chopped

(C) depending on which kind of muffin you want, choose one of the following:

45g walnuts, finely chopped

OR

100g raisins

OR

Crumble
45g plain flour
30g cold butter, chopped
2 1/2 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

(For crumble, combine flour and sugar and cinnamon.
Rub in butter until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Set aside.)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.

2. Boil the chopped apples for 5 minutes with 1-2 tbsp of water. If your apples are sweet enough, you can add 1 tbsp of brown sugar. Leave to cool.

3. Sift (A) in one bowl, add the brown sugar and mix evenly.

4. Whisk (B) in another bowl until well combined.

5. Make a well in the center of bowl with (A) and pour in (B) until just combined, keeping mixing to a minimum.

6. Add in melted butter and apples and stir till just combined, again avoid over-mixing as it will make your muffins tough.
Batter should be lumpy.
Add in raisins together with the apples at this stage if you like.

7. Grease muffin tins or line with paper cups.

8. For muffins without topping, fill the to 3/4 full. For muffins with walnut/crumble topping, fill almost to the brim.
Sprinkle the toppings on top of the muffins.

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 180 degrees C until muffins are risen, golden and come away slightly from the sides of the tin.

Pineapple Tarts

2009-02-22T08:49:00.000-08:00

Traditional Chinese New Year goodie in Singapore. The only other reason I look forward to CNY, besides angbaos of course.

Ingredients
For the pastry
1200g plain flour
750g cold salted butter (cubed)
2 tbsp milk powder
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 pinch salt

1 egg, slightly beaten

For the filling
6 Pineapples
420g caster sugar
some rock sugar
1-2 tsp ground cloves

*Alternatively, you may use 1kg of ready-made pineapple fillings and add 1 tsp of ground cloves. This can be bought easily during the CNY period. I always find the homemade ones tastier though.

Method

Prepare the filling

1. Grate pineapples

2. Squeeze and remove excess juice.

3. Fry grated pineapples until slightly dry.

4. Add in sugar and rock sugar.

Mix well then add in ground cloves.

5. Stir until dry and slightly brown.

6. When cooled, roll the filling into little balls, about 1/2 tsp for each ball.

Prepare the pastry

1. Sieve flour, salt and milk powder.

2. Rub in butter.

3. Add in eggs + vanilla

4. Add a little water if it's too dry

5. Cover dough with damp cloth

6. Measure 12g of dough (or slightly less than 1 tbsp) for 1 round pineapple tart and set aside.

To make the tarts
These tarts can be made in a variety of shapes. We made the simplest, round type this year.

Simply take each ball of dough, flatten it slightly and wrap the pineapple filling inside.
Brush the top with the beaten egg before baking.
Bake at 220 degrees C for 20-25 minutes.

Chocolate Swiss Roll

2009-02-22T08:32:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
(for a 14x11x2 inch swiss roll tin)
4 eggs
100g caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp
40g cake/plain flour
16g cocoa powder
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp icing sugar

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.

2. Lightly grease a swiss roll thin, line with baking paper on bottom and sides and grease the paper (generously)again. (greasing tin first keeps paper in place)

3. Beat eggs lightly in mixer then add 100g caster sugar and beat for 5 minutes at high speed till thick and pale. Beat for another 2 minutes at low speed. Batter should have increased 3-4 times in volume and leave a trail of ribbon behind when lifted.

4. Combine flour and cocoa powder.
Sift mixture over the batter and fold lightly to combine. Keep movements light and minimum to avoid breaking the air cells.

5. Spread onto tin and bake immediately for 8-10 minutes. Cake should be just slightly browned and springs back when touched. (It's okay if surface is uneven at this point)

6. While cake is baking, place a clean tea towel on work surface, cover with baking paper and lightly sprinkle remaining 1 tbsp of sugar on it. Let cake cool for a minute, then turn it out onto the sugar. (the sugar crystals will make indentations on the cake surface and prevents it from cracking when rolled). Remove top sheet of paper.

Using the tea towel as a guide (this means you use the towel to help push the cake tightly together as you roll), roll the cake carefully from the short side with the paper inside the roll. Stand for 5 minutes, then unroll and allow cake to cool.

7. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.
Beat whipping cream, icing sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form.

8. Spread the cream onto the the cooled cake. Using the baking paper as a guide, re-roll the cake, but not as tightly this time to prevent cream from flowing out.
Place seam side down, cover with cling wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

9. Dust the top with some icing sugar before cutting into slices to serve.
Alternatively, you may prepare extra cream and spread on top of the roll, then sprinkle chocolate rice all over.

Storage
As whipped-cream filled cake has to be stored in the fridge, almost wrap it up during chilling to prevent moisture lost, rendering the texture dry and hard, which is the biggest problem with sponge cakes btw. Let chilled cake sit for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Strawberries and Cream Layered Sponge

2009-02-21T19:09:00.000-08:00

Strawberries and cream for a lazy Sunday afternoon. What more can I say?

Ingredients

Sponge Layer I
80g cake flour
3 eggs
40g sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

Sponge Layer II
40g cake flour
1 1/2 eggs
20g sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/16 tsp salt

Filling
*750-1000ml whipping cream
500g strawberries, hulled and sliced horizonally into three/four slices**, leaving about 10 whole ones for the top of the cake
2 tbsp icing sugar
Kirsch/Cointreau or Strawberry Jam (optional)

*it's always good to have more cream especially if you are amateur to piping like me. I tested out the shapes of the patterns on a plate before actually piping them on the cake.
**the thicker the slices, the more cream you will have between your sponge layers. Make sure all slices are around the same width.

Others
200g almond slices, toasted lightly and cooled
Some additional decorations for the top if you like

Method
1. Prepare the sponge layers. You can either bake the first 2 layers together (using Sponge Layer Recipe I) then slice it and bake the last layer separately (Sponge Layer Recipe II), or just bake all three layers separately by doing Recipe II thrice.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Grease 2 deep 22cm round cake tins and line the base with baking paper. Dust the tins lightly with flour.

Bake the first layer using Sponge Layer I.
Sift the flour, baking powder and soda thrice and set aside.
Beat the eggs with sugar until thick and pale and a ribbon trail forms, about 7 minutes.
Gradually fold in the flour until just combined.
Pour into tin and bake for 18-20 minutes, until sponge layer is lightly golden and shrink lightly from the sides of the tin.
Let cake cool and slice horizontally in half.
Repeat for Sponge Layer II but bake at a shorter time.

Let the sponges cool completely before spreading the cream.

2. Prepare the filling

Whipped the cream and icing sugar into stiff peaks.
Place one layer of cake on a serving plate or board, and brush lightly with liqueur or jam.
(I used jam softened slightly with a little hot water)
Line the layer with the strawberry slices.

Spread the cream in between the strawberries until it is level as the height of the strawberries.

Repeat with the next layer.

Place the remaining cake layer on top and spread the some cream over the top and sides of the cake.
(You may need a special palette knife to do it well, but this recipe is always good for beginners coz the almond slices cover your mistakes!)

3. Finish up

Arrange the almond slices around the sides of the cake.
(They should be completely cooled or they will start to melt the cream)
Pipe the remaining cream onto the top and sides of the cake if you wish, in any pattern you like.

I piped some crests along the sides of the cake on both the top and bottom. This helps to neaten up the edges.
I also used a star-shaped nozzle to pipe this big whirls (I don't know the technical word) and placed a red heart on top of it.
The design is really up to you, I just tried it imitate what I saw at the cake shops since it's the first time I'm making something like this.

(I realised I really enjoyed the piping part coz it's kindda like drawing on the cake or adding the final touches to my architectural models)

Chill the cake for at least 4 hours before serving.

Longan Almond Mousse Cake

2009-02-21T05:16:00.000-08:00

My aunt wanted me to make a cake for my late grandmother's birthday. She said that my grandmother loved longans, so and ask if I could make a cake with longan toppings but I thought it would be better to actually put the longans into the cake. Coincidentally, I saw a Longan Almond Mousse Cake at Rive Gauche and hence decided to make something similar. I combined 2 recipes off the internet and modified it and made a cake consisting of three tiers of sponge layered with longan and cream, topped with a thin layer of almond mousse.

I took the recipes from these sites:
Food Network
Cherry's Kitchen

The combination of almond and longan turned out amazing. Those guys at Rive Gauche really know what they are doing. I particularly liked the subtle taste of the longan cream though I couldn't say I enjoyed biting into the pieces of chopped longans which I felt was too tough compared with the rest of the cake.

Ingredients

Sponge Layer I
80g cake flour
3 eggs
40g sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

Sponge Layer II
40g cake flour
1 1/2 eggs
20g sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/16 tsp salt

Longan and Cream
160g canned longan (cut into pieces),
180g longan syrup from the can
50g fresh milk
1 tsp instant jelly powder

220g whipping cream

Almond Mousse
140g almonds powder, lightly toasted and cooled
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons warm water
3 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons Amaretto liqueur (optional)
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method
1. Prepare the sponge layers. You can either bake the first 2 layers together (using Sponge Layer Recipe I) then slice it and bake the last layer separately (Sponge Layer Recipe II), or just bake all three layers separately by doing Recipe II thrice.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Grease 2 deep 22cm round cake tins and line the base with baking paper. Dust the tins lightly with flour.

Bake the first layer using Sponge Layer I.
Sift the flour, baking powder and soda thrice and set aside.
Beat the eggs with sugar until thick and pale and a ribbon trail forms, about 7 minutes.
Gradually fold in the flour until just combined.
Pour into tin and bake for 18-20 minutes, until sponge layer is lightly golden and shrink lightly from the sides of the tin.
Let cake cool and slice horizontally in half.
Repeat for Sponge Layer II but bake at a shorter time.

Let the sponges cool completely before spreading the cream.

2. Prepare the longan and cream.

Combine the jelly powder, milk, syrup and longan and bring to boil.
Once boiled, remove from heat and immediately start on the whipping cream.
Whip the cream with a mixer until very stiff.
Add the first longan mixture (while still hot) into the beater and mix well, about 10 seconds.

3. Arrange the cake.

Prepare a round cake tin with removable sides (e.g a springform tin)
Cut a thin strip of clear plastic slightly wider than the height of the tin and line it around the inner border of the tin. The top of the plastic should stick out from the tin.
Use 3/4 of the cream to line between the sponge and 1/4 for the sides of the cake.

Place the first layer of sponge back into the tin, and spread a thin layer of cream on top.
Repeat for the next layer.
Carefully pour the remaining 1/4 of cream around the sides of the cake until it's level with the top sponge layer.

4. Prepare the almond mousse.

Beat the cream and 2 tablespoon of granulated sugar until soft peaks form. Set aside.
Mix the honey and warm water in a bowl until smooth.
Add the egg yolks and Amaretto.
Place mixture over a pot of simmering water and beat with an electric mixer until thick and a ribbon trail forms.
Remove from the heat and continue to beat until cool.
Sift in the almond powder and beat until smooth.
Fold in the vanilla and whipped cream until just blended.

Spread on top of cake.

5. Chill the cake until completely set before serving. (at least 4-5 hrs)

Serve immediately.

Croquembouche

2008-12-23T08:09:00.000-08:00

Croquembouche is a traditional French dessert which literally means 'crunch in the mouth' (croque en bouche). It is often served at weddings or first communions. It is made up of a tower of choux pastry (cream puffs) stuck together with caramel, then surrounded with spun caramel threads.

The choux pastry, as compared to shortcrust and fluff pastry, is actually much simpler to make. The harder part in this dessert is actually filling the puffs with the cream, which even though with the help of 2 of my friends, created quite a mess in the kitchen. The nozzle of my piping bag was too big, and it was extremely tricky to pipe with one hand while holding the puff in the other.

Although the croquembouche I made this time was not prefect, I think it was a good first attempt. I made the puffs 2 days in advance and froze them, then warm them up on the actual day, so they were still pretty crispy. The only disappointment I had in this recipe is the cream filling. It wasn't bad, just that I was expecting the Beard Papa custard-flavour kindda standard, but the result after adding the whipping cream was more like those cheaper alternatives found at neighbourhood bakeries. The recipe I left here is the one from the book, but I will experiment again with the filling and update if I manage to make something more to my liking.
A real croquembouche wedding 'cake'.

In Ukraine, pastry chef Valentyn Shtefano created his fiancee's gown out of cream puffs so that she looks like a croquembouche:

(recipe from The Essential Baking Cookbook)
Ingredients
Choux Pastry
185g plain flour
100g unsalted butter
6 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups (375ml) water
*you may need to prepare and cook the pastry in 2 batches if your oven can only hold 1 baking tray

Filling
1 1/2 cups (375ml) milk
1 vanilla bean (I used 2 tsp vanilla extract)
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup (60g) caster sugar
2 tbsp plain flour
1/4 cup (60ml) Grand Marnier
1 1/2 cups (375ml) whipping cream (I only used 3/4 cups)

You can make other variations like chocolate, coffee or plain vanilla.

Caramel Spin
2 cups sugar
1 cup water

Equipment
1 wooden spoon
1 large saucepan
1 medium saucepan
1 satay stick (or small skewer)
1 piping bag with the smallest nozzle you can find.
1 electric mixer
some additional decoration like flowers, chocolate etc.

Method
Prepare the choux pastry.
1. To do this, you need to weigh and prepare all the ingredients before you start.

2. Sift the flour 3 times and set aside.
Chop the butter into smaller pieces.

3. Place the butter in a large, heavy saucepan with the water.
Stir over medium heat until the butter melts.
Increase the heat to bring the water to boil.
Remove from heat IMMEDIATELY and pour in all of the flour.*1
Quickly beat in the flour with a wooden spoon.
Return to heat and continue beating until the mixture forms a ball and leaves the side of the pan.
Transfer to a large, clean bowl and leave to cool slightly.

4. Preheat oven at 210 degrees C at this point.

5. Beat the mixture to release any heat. Gradually add in the beaten eggs, about 3 tsp at a time.
Beat well after each addition, until all the egg has been added and the mixture is thick enough for a wooden spoon to stand upright in it. *2

6. Sprinkle the baking tray with water.*3
Spoon the mixture onto the tray, leaving plenty of room for spreading. (Dough will increase 2-3 times in size)
You will need about 8 large puffs (2 heaped tbsp of dough), then vary the remainder, gradually reducing in size until the smallest puff which is about 1 heaped tsp of mixture.

7. Sprinkle the heaped dough lightly with some water.

8. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until browned. Try not to open your oven until the puffs are done.

9. Remove the puffs from the oven and use a satay stick to make a small hole at the size to release the steam inside.
Reduce heat to 180 degrees C and bake for another 5 minutes so they dry out.

Prepare the filling
1. Gently heat the milk with the vanilla bean in a medium saucepan until almost boiling. *4
Remove from heat and cool slightly.

2. Beat the yolks, sugar, flour in a bowl until thick and pale.

3. Whisk in warm milk gradually.

4. Return to a clean saucepan.
Stir slowly over medium heat until custard boils and thickens.

5. Remove from heat and stir in the liqueur.
Discard the vanilla bean.

6. Cover the surface of the custard with clingwrap, lightly pressing the plastic against the surface to prevent a skin from forming.
Leave to cool completely.

7. Whip the cream into stiff peaks and fold into the cold custard.

8. Put into piping bag, poke a small hole at the base of each puff and fill with the custard cream.

Prepare the Caramel Spin
1. Put 2 cups of sugar in a pan with 1 cup of water.

2. Stir over low heat without boiling until dissolved.

3. Simmer over low heat without stirring until the caramel is light gold. *5

4. Caramel is ready to be spun when it has cooled enough so that it doesn't drip when you rub the back of 2 fork together, then pull the forks apart.

Assemble the Croquembouche
1.You may assemble the Croquembouche while waiting for the caramel to cool.
Begin with the large puffs, dipping the base of each in enough caramel to coat it.
Arrange in a large circle, with the sides touching. It is not necessary to have any in the centre.
Build up onto a cone shape, using smaller puffs nearer the top.

2. Spin the caramel around the puffs to make a decorate pattern.

I think my caramel was too thick and slightly too brown, so I adding another photo I found online to show you how it should be. From:

*1. Prolong boiling will evaporate enough water to alter the proportions of the ingredients.
*2. If it is too runny, the egg has been added to quickly. Beat for several more minutes until thickened.
*3. This creates steam in the oven to help the pastry to rise.
*4. Be careful not to let the milk boil, or it will foam and overflow.
*5 Remove from heat immediate when the caramel is lightly brown, as it can turn to a dark brown and burn very quickly.

Storage
Puffs can be made a month ahead and store in the freezer.
Custard can be made a day in advance and stored, covered, in a refrigerator.
The caramel should only be added a few hours ahead of serving time.

Honey Baked Ham with Coke Marinate

2008-12-23T07:57:00.000-08:00

If you are feeling adventurous this Christmas, try this recipe for guaranteed success!

Ingredients
1kg Christmas ham
1/2 bottle coke (750ml)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
whole cloves

Method
1. Soak ham in coke overnight in a big pan.

2. Using a sharp knife, make 5mm diagonal cuts on the surface of the ham in a grid like manner.
Instead the whole cloves in the intersection of the grids.

3. Using a roasting oven bag, put the ham in the bag together with the coke and bake at 180 degrees for 1 hour.
If you don't have the bag, wrap the ham in 2 sheets of aluminum foil arranged perpendicular of each other so they form somewhat a bowl-like shape to hold the ham and coke.

4. Remove from oven, unwrap the ham and sprinkle the surface of the ham with brown sugar.
Then glaze the surface with the honey.

5. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes and browned.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Log Cake

2008-12-23T04:39:00.000-08:00

Time of the year for the pumpkin cream cheese log again!

Clearly, I reused last year's decorations (;

**********

This is a great alternative to the common chocolate fudge log cake. It was also a hit to my older relatives who find chocolate desserts simply too sweet and heavy. It's not too difficult to make, but timing is quite important when baking the sponge layer. Some recipes make use a cream-based filling and a butter-based frosting, but for simplicity sake, I use the same cream as both the filling and the frosting. It can also be serve as a swiss roll if you omit the outer layer of frosting.

(recipe scaled and modified from Good Eats N Sweet Treats)
Ingredients
Sponge Cake
(for a 14x11x2 inch baking tray)
120g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
4 large eggs
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 tbsp caster sugar (for sprinkling)
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
160g pumpkin puree (I used Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin)

Filling
225g cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 tbsp margarine/butter

Equipment
Electric Mixer
Swiss Roll Tin
Whisk
Baking Paper
Tea Towel

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C.

2. Lightly grease a swiss roll thin, line with baking paper on bottom and sides and grease the paper (generously) again. (greasing tin first keeps paper in place)

3. Beat eggs lightly in mixer then add in 3/4 cup sugar and beat for 5 minutes at high speed till thick and pale. Beat for another 2 minutes at low speed. Batter should have increased 3-4 times in volume and leave a trail of ribbon behind when lifted. If batter is still watery, continue beating at low speed until ribbon trail appears.

4. Beat in pumpkin puree until just combined.

5. Combine dry ingredients and mix well.
Sift flour mixture over the batter in 3 batches and whisk lightly to combine. Keep movements light and minimum to avoid breaking the air cells.

6. Spread onto tin and level the batter.
Sprinkle the chopped walnuts over the batter.

(as demonstrated by olivia)

7. Bake immediately for 8-12 minutes depending on your oven. Cake should be just slightly browned and springs back when touched.

6. While cake is baking, place a clean tea towel on work surface, cover with baking paper and lightly sprinkle remaining 10g of sugar on it. Let cake cool for a minute, then turn it out onto the sugar. (the sugar crystals will make indentations on the cake surface and prevents it from cracking when rolled). Remove top sheet of paper.

Using the tea towel as a guide (this means you use the towel to help push the cake tightly together as you roll), roll the cake carefully from the short side with the paper inside the roll.

Stand for 5 minutes, then unroll and allow cake to cool.

7. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.
Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth.
Whipped the cream until stiff and fold into cream cheese.
Wait for the cake to be completely cooled before spreading the filling.

8. Spread the 3/4 of the cream onto the the cooled cake. Using the baking paper as a guide, re-roll the cake, but not as tightly this time to prevent cream from flowing out.

9. Slice a piece of cake from the edge, about 1-2 cm thick, and place on top of the roll, slightly off-center.

10. Spread the remaining cream on top of the cake, covering the top and sides. Do not smooth out the cream, rather use the flat-bladed knife to make sweeping strokes on the cake in a single direction.

11. Finally, use a fork, make lines resembling tree bark.

12. Leave the cake in the fridge until completely chill.

Gingerbread Man

2008-12-23T00:42:00.000-08:00

This recipe is great to make for Christmas parties if you are inviting older children. Get a couple of tubes of ready-made icing and let their imagination run wild!

Ingredients

125g unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup unsulfured molasses (available at Cold Storage)
1 egg, slightly beaten
280g plain flour
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/3 tsp baking powder

Method

1. Cream the butter, sugar and molasses in a mixer until light and fluffy.
Add in the egg gradually, beating well after each addition.

2. Combine the dry ingredients, mix well, then sift into the butter mixture.
Mix with a spatula until just combined.

3. Knead the dough lightly with your hands until smooth (1-2 minutes).
Rough out the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper to 5mm thickness.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour until slightly firm.

4. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

5. Line baking tray with baking paper.

6. Cut the dough with a gingerbread man cutter and place shapes on the baking tray.
Gather the remaining dough, and reroll, then cut.

7. Bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned.
Leave to cool completely.

Storage
Stores in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

To make your own icing
Beat 1 egg white with electric mixer until foamy.
Gradually add in 1/2 tsp of lemon juice and 155g icing sugar until thick and creamy.
Divide icing in several bowls and tint with food colourings.
Wait till icing is completely dry before storage.

Orange Muffins

2008-10-18T22:03:00.000-07:00

I only had one free day to bake something so I wanted to make some simple, really simple, which didn't require the mixer and more than 3 different bowls. Boonie was also coming over and I wanted to make something for her since she is buying dinner, so I wasn't feeling particularly adventurous to try a new recipe. I had my eyes on the banana-expresso muffins and I attempted it by substituting the premium expresso which I used previously with cheap Indocafe instant coffee. The muffins came out really bland, as the Indocafe was just not strong enough even after I doubled the portion.

I wouldn't let myself live with that, so I made another batch. I remember reading about someone making orange-apricot muffins, so I twitted the Perfect Muffin recipe by combining some orange juice with the dried cranberries that I had. I thought I could have 2 flavors in a tray of 12, so I added some chocolate in the second half-dozen and ended up with chocolate orange muffins! Both turned out great, though my favourite would be the chocolate version. I think if I had a little orange liquor like Cointreau it would have been even better. The orange-cranberry one was a little less flavorful in comparison...I think it still needs a little more orange flavor, and I could have skipped the vanilla essence.

I wrote the recipe according to how I would have preferred to make it the next time:

Orange-Cranberries Muffins

Ingredients
(makes 12 medium sized muffins)
220g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
80g unsalted butter
50g milk
150g fresh orange juice
grated zest of 1 orange
2 eggs
80g sugar
160g dry cranberries, soaked in hot water until soft, then drained

Method
Prepare according to Captain Jaxe's Perfect Muffins recipe

Chocolate-Orange Muffins

Ingredients
(makes 12 medium sized muffins)
220g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
80g unsalted butter
100g milk
100g fresh orange juice
grated zest of 1 orange
2 eggs
80g sugar
160g Van Houten chocolate buttons (do only use good quality chocolate)

Method
Prepare according to Captain Jaxe's Perfect Muffins recipe

I thought the muffins would simply look like plain chocolate ones without some kind of indication, so I sliced some orange skin (without the white part), twist and tie them together to form a ribbon and placed them on top of the muffins before baking.

Asian Style Honey Baked Spare Ribs

2008-09-12T21:31:00.000-07:00

I didn't cook this recently. Since ~~school~~ studio started, I don't even have sufficient time to sleep, let alone cook. But I can't possibly let this blog freeze until my vacation, so here's something I made during my exchange in Paris. This dish is not too hard to conjure, and you don't need to use the stove, i.e no reason not to try it for those who fear burning your kitchen down!

What you need to do is to prepare the marinate sauce and let the pork ribs sit inside overnight. When it's time to cook them the next day, preheat the microwave and bake them for abt an hour. That's it!

Since I last made this over a year ago, I don't remember the proportion of the marinate exactly, but it goes something like this:

2 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup finely minced garlic

So what you do is prepare 1kg of pork spareribs, coat them evenly and generously with the marinate and leave them for at least 6 hrs (overnight is even better). The next day, preheat your oven at 180 degrees. Drain the sauce and set aside. Then place the ribs on a shallow pan, cover them with foil and bake them for 45-60 minutes until they are cooked.

Remove the foil, pour the remaining marinate over the ribs and continue baking for about 30 minutes, until they turn golden dark brown. Some of the meat near the bone around should be slightly charred for a nicer flavour.

To serve, place cut slices of lemon and/or orange between the ribs and some salad on the side.

What is Hoisin Sauce?

Some of you may wonder what exactly is Hoisin Sauce? In bottle, it looks like this:
From Wikipedia, "Hoisin sauce, also called suckling pig sauce, is a Chinese dipping sauce. The word Hoisin is a romanization of the Chinese word "海鮮" as pronounced in Cantonese. Mandarin-style Hoisin sauce ingredients include water, sugar, soybeans, white distilled vinegar, rice, salt, wheat flour, garlic, and red chili peppers, and several preservatives and coloring agents. Traditionally, Hoisin sauce is made using sweet potato. Despite the literal meaning of "seafood," Hoisin sauce does not contain fish. It is similar to the sweet noodle sauce made from fermented soybeans, but has the added ingredients of garlic, vinegar, and chili peppers. Additionally, it tastes less pungent than sweet noodle sauce.

For a number of Chinese cuisine dishes, it is used for Peking duck, spring rolls, mu shu pork, popiah and barbecued pork. In Vietnam, Hoisin sauce is also a popular condiment for phở, and for glazing broiled chicken."

Bread and Butter Pudding

2008-08-29T03:22:00.000-07:00

The first time I tried bread pudding was at Marche when I was 17. The strong, delightful smell of butter, the sweetness of milk, the softness of the warm custard and the crispy crust of bread. I fell in love instantly. I thought, 'wow, such a heavenly delight must take a whole lot of effort to produce'. Being inexperience with food (and a little dumb now that I think about it), I had no inkling that the name 'Bread Pudding' implies that the delectable dessert is made from, well, bread. Obviously, neither did I know that I would only need to combine milk, eggs and sugar to recreate my heavenly experience. If only! And bread pudding wasn't a particularly popular dessert at that time.

Well, now many years later, I've discovered the genius recipe of this simple pleasure, bakable by absolutely anyone and everyone. I hope you'll enjoy making and eating it as much as I do.

Ingredient
4 slices of bread
1 cup milk
1 cup evaporated milk
2 eggs
4 tbsp castor sugar (or 3 tbsp brown sugar)
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup silvered almonds
1 tsp vanilla essence
some butter

Equipment
1 mixing bowl
4 baking tins or bowls
1 whisk

Method
1. Butter both sides of the bread.
Slice them into 2x2cm cubes, then place into baking tins.

2. In bowl, beat eggs, the gradually whisk in milk, vanilla and 3 tbsp sugar until smooth and pale.
Pour into tins over bread.

3. Sprinkle raisins, almonds and remaining 1 tbsp sugar over mixture.

4. Bake at 180 degrees C for 20 minutes until golden brown.

*Bread Pudding goes best with chilled Vanilla Sauce.

See recipe here.

Variations:
1. Top with strawberries
2. Sprinkle with cinnamon
3. Add apple cubes into filling

Ham and Mushroom Baked Pasta

2008-08-25T06:41:00.000-07:00

Making baked pasta or rice is not as difficult as it looks. You simply cook the pasta and sauce like how you normally do (or you can also use can sauces), then add mozzarella cheese on both inside and on the top, put it in the oven at 180 degrees C for 15-20 minutes and you're done! I think the baked pasta at NYDC also has some mayo and/or sugar in it so it's sweet, so you can try that too. Simple variations can be mushroom cream sauce+ham/chicken/bacon (my favourite!), cream sauce+prawns+seafood, tomato sauce+minced beef or tomato sauce+seafood. I blog the recipe of cream and tomato sauces when I cook them next time. Nowadays, I'm just so busy that I only have time to play with fabric!

Pandan Loaf

2008-08-09T09:49:00.000-07:00

This is a variation of the Milk Loaf recipe, as thought of by the Happy Home Baker. I used a slightly different proportion of ingredients from her however, substituting 130g of milk with 80g coconut milk and 40g water. The remaining 10g of water was added to melted Gula Melaka, or palm sugar, which replaced the caster sugar.

The resulting dough was much easier to handle, as the coconut milk was also oily, hence the dough didn't stick to my hands as much, and required less time to knead. I also omitted the salt, as coconut milk itself is already slightly salty. When the bread was baking, the sweet aroma of the Gula Melaka could be smelt well all the way from the living room.

I thought the much oilier dough would mean that the tin requires less greasing, but I was wrong. As I only greased the tin a little, the sides of the loaf remained stuck to the tin when I unmoulded the bread. I am glad I was diligent enough to make three 'rolled' up dough as per recipe instead of just one. This is the first time I tried this recipe I just dumped the whole dough into the tin without dividing it into 3, and I ended up with a lopsided loaf. During the 2nd proofing, I waited until the dough almost touched the cover of the tin. The loaf came out nicely angled.

I added chocolate chips to the pandan loaf, as requested by my sister who said the brand Bonjour had a loaf with this flavor. Unfortunately, she didn't get to try it as they were all snapped up by my brother and father! Good thing I had anticipated this, and took some photos of the loaf the night before when it just came out of the oven. My maid kept one last slice for me.

open sesame!

The texture was very soft, but I felt that the pandan flavor was not very strong. Also, despite adding 50g of Gula Melaka, the bread wasn't sweet like I thought it would be. In fact, I could hardly taste the gula melaka. Adding the chocolate chips was a good combination though.

Ingredients
 80g milk
40g water
35g egg
 50g gula melaka (1 piece)
250g bread flour
 4g instant yeast 
38g butter (unsalted, cubed)
  2 tsp pandan flavor
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Method
refer to the Milk Loaf recipe

Blueberry Tart

2008-08-09T09:46:00.000-07:00

Blueberries are in season! The perfect reason to make a pretty tart!

I was already familiar with the pastry crust, so I did a little research on the different choices of fillings I had. In summary, there were 3 basic categories: custard (yolk+milk), non-bake cheesecake (cream cheese + heavy cream) and blueberry jam (blueberry+sugar+gelatin). I thought the cheesecake version would be good, but sadly I did not have any cream cheese in the fridge. I also did not want an overwhelming blueberry flavor, so I decided upon the custard version.

I had wanted to make little swirls of blueberry coulis inside the custard, but I made the mistake of not covering the cooked custard with plastic, so in the end the custard was too thick to swirl anything in. I ended up with a nasty-looking purplish custard instead! On the hindsight, I also realised that with the shallow tart filling, it was quite pointless to make swirls anyway.

If you are wondering why the pastry crust is so shallow, it's because I rolled it out too thin the first round, and I didn't let it rest before attempting to roll it again. I also started out with softened butter, which was not cold enough, as I originally intended to make a cake and had already moved the butter from the freezer to the refrigerator.

I did not glaze the blueberries this time round, as I really like how they look in this photo. Josi had eaten a huge amount of the berries by the time my tart was done, so I did not have enough to line the whole tart tin, and was left with a huge hole in the centre. I put some blueberry coulis in the centre, and asked my maid to make a little rosette from the skin of lemon. She's really skillful in this as she often makes them out of tomato skin (I would imagine it to be much harder than lemons!) to decorate her dishes.

close-up of the rosette

Ingredients
(makes a 23cm tart)
(for the pastry)
(for the crust)
refer to Shortcrust Pastry Recipe

(for the filling)
3 egg yolks
2 tbsp caster sugar
2tbsp cornflour
250ml milk
1 tsp vanilla essence

(for the topping)
350g fresh blueberries

Method
1. Prepare the crust accordingly to the Shortcrust Pastry recipe.
Blind bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees C, then remove paper and beads and continue baking for another 15 minutes till lightly golden.

2. While waiting for crust to cool, prepare the custard.
Heat the milk with vanilla until almost boiling, the remove from heat and leave to cool slightly.
Whisk egg yolks, sugar and cornflour until pale.
Gradually whisk the milk into the egg mixture.

3. Place over low heat, stiring constantly until custard thickens. This should not take longer than 3-5 minutes.
Cover with plastic and leave to cool.

4. Spoon custard into completely cooled pastry crust.
Topped with blueberries.

5. Serve with vanilla Ice-cream or whipped cream, and drizzled over with blueberry coulis.

To make blueberry coulis,
Heat 50g blueberries, 1/4 cup castor sugar, 1 tsp lemon juice and 1/4 tsp cream of tartar over low heat until blueberries melt and sauce thickens. Strain, and stored in fridge until ready to use.

Beer Pancakes

2008-08-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

Nothing beats a good cup of beer to start your day...but in your pancakes of course!

If you imagine beer pancakes to taste..erm.. bitter and foamy, you are terribly wrong! Only the sweetness of beer goes to these pancakes, and their foam yield the softest, fluffiest pancakes you'll ever imagine. Don't worry about getting high, as the alcoholic content is evaporated once cooked. The best part is that it only takes 10 minutes to prepare and the ingredients are really easy to remember. Who likes to lug out an entire cookbook early in the morning just for a 10 minutes breakfast? It's time to throw away those awful pancake mixes filled with hydrogenated vegetable oils (do you regret not reading the labels now?). Even if you don't like pancakes, I'm sure someone in your family does, and this will be a good excuse to store a few extra cans of beer in your fridge!

My favourite type of pancakes, crispy at the edges, soft and fluffy inside!

Ingredients
(makes 12 pancakes)
2 cups plain flour
2 cups beer
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tbsp honey/maple syrup
some butter
(easy right?)

Method
1. Mix all the wet ingredients (i.e beer, eggs, honey)

2. Sift in the flour and mix well with a whisk. Batter should be thin and lumpy.

3. Heat a little butter in a pan, spoon some batter and cook over medium heat.
Turn when bubbles appear on surface and the edge of pancake is firm (center will still be a little wet).
*If you have a big pan, cook them with a pancake ring to make them thick and fluffy

Voila! It is that simple!
For some simple variation,
1. beer can be replaced with milk or buttermilk if you don't like beer
2. you can also make wholemeal pancakes by replacing 1/2 plain flour with wholemeal flour (i.e 1/2 wholemeal flour + 1 1/2 cup plain flour)
3. add blueberries, chocolate chips, bananas if you like!

Nasi Lemak

2008-08-03T07:56:00.000-07:00

For those unfamiliar with the dish, Nasi Lemak, or fatty/creamy rice to be exact in translation, is a dish common in Malaysia and Singapore. Its name comes about because the rice is soaked in rich coconut cream, giving the rice a unique, distinctive fragrant. Nasi Lemak is originally a Halal dish as it is Malay in origin and the simplest version is usually served with cucumber slices, ikan bilis (small dried anchovies), roasted peanuts, fried omelet and sambal chilli sauce.

"Nasi lemak is traditionally a breakfast dish, and it is sold early in the morning at roadside stalls in Malaysia, where it is often sold packed in newspaper, brown paper or banana leaf. However, there are restaurants which serve it on a plate as noon or evening meals, making it possible for the dish to be treated as a delicacy." - WIkipedia

This dish is highly popular in Singapore, being sold in hawker centres, food courts to even restaurants. My favourite stall is at one of the coffeeshops in Toa Payoh Central, just opposite to Courts. For just $2, you can a plate of the most delicious, sweetest coconut rice, one crispy chicken wing, one sunny-side up, cucumber slices and ikan bilis/peanuts (if the auntie feels generous that day). How good a deal is that?

Preparing nasi lemak is really simple. For around 2 1/2-3 cups of rice, all you need is to replace 1/2 cup of water with coconut cream, throw in some knotted pandan leaves and a pinch of salt, then steam them in your rice cooker as you would usually do when you cook rice.

Ikan bilis and roasted peanuts can be bought from the supermarket, then you can fry them with some sambal balachan chilli. To do this, fry the chilli paste first until slightly dry, then pour in the ikan bilis and peanuts and stir for a few minutes until the chilli paste is almost totally dry. Alternatively, you can just serve the chilli and ikan bilis/peanuts on their own.

Best drink to go along is a glass of ice-cold grass jelly!

Weetbix Coconut Cookies

2008-08-03T06:50:00.000-07:00

What do you do when your entire family hates Weet-bix because it is utterly tasteless, but it is too expensive to be thrown away? Make cookies out of it of course!

Although these highly nutritious breakfast cereal bars are too bland for our palate, their crunchy and flaky texture makes a good coating on cookies. I adapted a recipe that was meant for cornflake cookies from The Essential Baking Cookbook and it turned out great. However, I did overbaked them a little, as weetbix, being already brown in colour, bakes much faster than cornflakes.

The crunchier outer skin was a good contrast with the soft, light interior. I was quite surprised that the inside of this cookie turned out to be rather light and fluffy (in a cookie sorta way, not as compared to a cake of course!) rather than dense and crunchy as compared to say, Famous Amos cookies. It had quite a 'healthy' taste, and was a hit with my family members.

Ingredients
(makes 18-19 cookies)
60g unsalted butter, softened
50g sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp jam (blueberry/red current), softened
60g desiccated coconut
125g self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 weetbix bars, lightly crushed

Equipment
Electric Mixer
Baking Tray

Method
1. Line baking tray with baking paper.

2. Cream butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Butter should turn off-white in colour.
Mix in egg thoroughly.
Add in vanilla and jam until combined.

3. Stir in coconut.
Mix soda and flour well, then sift into batter in 3 batches, folding to combine.
Stir until mixture is almost smooth.

4. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

5. Put crushed weetbix on a shallow dish and roll levelled tablespoons of batter onto the weetbix, coating evenly.
Arrange on tray, with space of 1/2 a cookie in between to allow for expansion.

5. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until lightly browned.
Allow to cook on wire rack, then store in air-tight container.

Monkey's Favourite Cake

2008-07-29T20:22:00.000-07:00

Coconut The Monkey, with his favourite cake

We bought quite a lot of bananas from the supermarket this weekend, so I wanted to make a nice cake with it, but not the usual banana butter cake recipe, that's too easy. I wanted something to practise with. I happen to come across this recipe from one of the food blogs I visit often, Happy Home Baking (link on the left of this page), and I thought a banana cake with a simple filling is brilliant variation to the recipe.

I didn't have an 18cm cake tin, so I decided to bake the cake in my loaf tin.....which turned out to be disaster! The cake was okay just after baking, but it began to sink within a few hours, which I suspect is the resultant combination of an extremely dense cake and the narrow but tall shape of the rectangular cake.

The texture of the cake was very soft and dense, my favourite part about a banana cake, and the outer crust was brown and crispy. It was also a little too sweet for my liking, as bananas themselves are sweet, and the inclusion of a sugary filling made it even sweeter. I modified the recipe according to how I'll like to bake it the next time.

When I was working with the bananas, I was being lazy and didn't mash them up beforehand, but instead dump pieces into the mixer together with the batter. I guess the banana pieces didn't mix well, so when I slice the cake in half, to my horror, there was a portion of the cake in the center still uncooked! The top was already very brown, so I slide the two halves back into the oven, but after 20 minutes of baking, it still wouldn't cook. It was probably a huge piece of banana with some batter. Oh well, moral of the lesson, a lazy baker never makes good cakes.

I will definitely try this recipe again, but I will make it according to how I usually make butter cakes. Here's a version of my modified recipe. Original recipe can be found at the HHB's blog here.

Ingredients
(make one 18cm cake)

125g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
80g caster sugar, divided into 2 portions of 40g each.
125g self-raising flour
2 eggs, yolks and white separated
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
2 large bananas, mashed!
icing sugar for dusting
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

(Filling)
50g ground almonds (toasted)*
50g icing sugar, sifted
3/4 of a large banana, mashed
1/2 tsp lemon juice

*to toast, place on a plate and toast in toasted for a minute. Stir to mix the toasted and untoasted portion and toast again for another minute. be careful! almonds burn very easily and I actually burned them the first time! luckily I had 2 portions.

Method
1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.

2. With an electric mixer, cream butter and 40g sugar together until pale and fluffy.
Then whisk egg yolk and remaining 40g sugar in a separate bowl until pale and thick.
Slowly add this into the butter mixture, mixing well after each addition.

3. Mix mashed banana with lemon juice and stir into the mixture.

4. Fold in the sifted flour in 3 batches.

5. Beat egg whites slightly, add cream of tartar, and beat again until stiff.
Fold into batter.

6. Pour batter into greased tin and bake for 40-60 minutes.
Remember to test with a skewer at the center! Banana cakes are cunning, deceiving cakes. The external surface browns easily to due the bananas, and a crust forms quickly due to high sugar and butter content. BUT! this does not necessary mean interior is cook! If u find the outside already burning, cover loosely with foil and continue baking.

7. Remove from oven, unmold and let cool.

8. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.
With an electric mixer, beat icing sugar and banana until smooth.
Mix in ground almonds and lemon juice well until a smooth paste forms.

9. Slice the completely cooled cake horizontally into 2 layers.
Sandwich the layers with the filling.
Dust with icing sugar.

Coconut The Monkey testing his cake

Voila! C'est bon! Bon appetit!

Coconut The Monkey says enjoy your cake!

Salmon Quiche

2008-07-28T04:25:00.000-07:00

What we had for lunch today:

I think my shortcrust pastry making skills have improved as the base both tastes and looks much better than my previous attempts. The crust was just the right thickness and crispy, and it wasn't too hard or dry. I tried to do some variation to the crust design by putting a thin, long dough along the circumference of the quiche, but it was so difficult to roll the dough evenly!

I used a mixture of parmesan, for taste, and slice cheddar cheese, for texture (as this would melt but not totally dissolve in the filling). However, I thought the salmon was a little dry compared to the filling, and I should have placed each cheddar slice on top of the salmon pieces so it will melt nicely on top.

Ingredients
(for the crust)
refer to Shortcrust Pastry Recipe

(for the filling)
250g salmon, sliced
3 eggs
30g grated parmesan
2 pieces of cheddar slice, in pieces
125g milk
125g whipping cream
2 tbsp spring onion
2 tbsp spinach, chopped
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
(it is not necessary to add salt. you may use a little pepper if you wish)

Method
1. Prepare the crust accordingly to the Shortcrust Pastry recipe.
Line base with baking paper and blind bake for 12 minutes at 190 degrees C.

2. Remove paper and bake for another 7 minutes.

3. Cool the pastry, but leave oven heated.

4. Prepare the filling.
Beat eggs slightly, then whisk in milk, cream, parmesan and veggies.

5. Lined the salmon slices on the completely cooled pastry crust and placed the cheddar slice on top of the salmon.

6. Pour cream filling on top of salmon into crust.

7. Bake at 190 degrees for 22-25 minutes until set. Top will be slightly brown and puffed up, but it should shrink back down when cooled.

Cheese Gyoza

2008-07-28T03:03:00.000-07:00

When I saw the MediaCorp programme, Instant Chef, showing how to make one of these, I thought I definitely need to try to make some to see how they taste like. Although I would like to make everything from scratch, I remember that my mom told me that it is not easy to make the dumpling skin on your own, so I decided to get ready-made ones from the supermarket instead. It proved to be a wise decision, as it made everything so much simpler and I didn't have to end up with flour all over the kitchen.

In the programme, the chef used chopped english sausages as the main ingredient, but I felt that they were too pricy and ntuc doesn't carry them (only cold storage), so I simply used normal minced pork. As this is supposed to be a fusion dish, instead of soya sauce, I seasoned the meat with grated parmesan cheese and some basil and thyme. I then wrap each gyoza with 1/8 of a slice of cheddar together with the pork.

Ingredients
(makes 12-14)
500g minced pork
1/4 cup grated parmesan
basil
thyme
1/2 packet ready-made dumpling skin (these are white and circular in shape, and different from wanton skins which are yellow and square)
slices of cheddar cheese
olive oil
1 tbsp plain flour
1/2 cup water

To cook:
1. Grease flat pan slightly with olive oil. On low heat, place the gyoza on the pan and fry till side is lightly brown. Turn and repeat for 2 other sides.

2. Stir flour in water, then pour into pan. Turn up to high heat, cover pan, and cook until most of the water has evaporated.

3. Serve with chopped ginger and dark vinegar. (If you used sausages, serve with french mustard)

Durian Swiss Roll

2008-07-28T00:26:00.000-07:00

Update (3aug08):I thought that the swiss roll I gave oli and jerm was still a bit too hard (sorry guys!) so I made another today, modifying the recipe again. I reduced the amount of flour to only 60g (instead of 100g), and the results were amazing! The sponge came out really really soft! In fact, it was so soft that it became a little tricky to slice it. However, it was still slightly dry, but I thought that was okay as the dryness is more by well compensated by the generous portion of moist durian filling. I've modified the recipe I've given below:

It's the season of the King of Fruits and we've been eating durians almost every day. I love them most of the time, but you can't eat too much of a good thing either. So I decided a good way to get rid of the remaining ones in the fridge would be to make a nice cake and give it away! I've been trying out swiss roll recipes lately and i thought a durian combination would be a novelty.

As it turns out, filling a swiss roll with durian was even better than making a cake with it! There are 2 types of durian cakes I've come across, one puts the durian directly in the cake, which I feel doesn't do the rich, creamy texture justice as both are lost, and the other is mixing durian paste in the cream filling and sandwich it in between the cake, but the problem with this is that I find the thin durian cream layer unsatisfying when eaten with the much larger proportion of the cake. What I like most about the Durian Swiss Roll is that you get a nice mouthful of durian cream and cake in every single bite, as the cream is neatly rolled into the cake in a good proportion. And a small slice of roll doesn't feel as heavy as devouring an entire slice of cake.

*NB: I also read about a certain Durian Mousse Cake, which sounds equally good too. I shall aim to make one before the season is over.

Did you know that durians are actually choke full of vitamins? They are a good source of carbs, proteins and fats according to Wiki, which sounds almost like a complete meal to me. I also recently read about a new line of skincare products made from the essence of durian. I just hope they don't feel like durians too. My favourite durian quote, by Anthony Bourdain, "Its taste can only be described as...indescribable, something you will either love or despise. ...Your breath will smell as if you'd been French-kissing your dead grandmother."

A swiss roll is essentially a thin layer of sponge cake, filled with the cream of your choice, rolled up and sprinkled with some topping for decoration. Making a swiss roll is really easy, I manage to make one for Peiyun's birthday within an hour, including the chilling time (30 minutes) and cleaning, i.e the preparation + cooking time is really only 30 minutes. As usual, I combined a few recipes into what made the most sense to me, then later made some modifications on my own according to the flour I used and my oven temperature.

Ingredients
(for a 14x11x2 inch swiss roll tin)
60g cake flour
180g eggs*
90g castor sugar (divided into 80g and 10g portions)
1 tsp baking powder

150ml whipping cream
120g durian puree**
1 tsp coconut milk

some desiccated coconut (dry grated coconut, can be found in supermarkets)

* or 4 eggs. The reason why i put it in grams is that I realised the eggs I am getting from ntuc are shrinking! Usually an egg is about 45g, but the ones I had were really puny that I needed 5 to get 180g. As the swiss roll using eggs as the main ingredient for rising and moisture, it is important that the proportion be exact.
** to make durian puree, unseed the durian and mash through a metal sieve to strain out the fiber. use slightly more durian puree if durian is of poor grade.

Equipment
Electric Mixer
Swiss Roll Tin
Whisk
Baking Paper
Tea Towel

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C.

2. Lightly grease a swiss roll thin, line with baking paper on bottom and sides and grease the paper (generously)again. (greasing tin first keeps paper in place)

3. Beat eggs lightly in mixer then add in 80g of sugar and beat for 5 minutes at high speed till thick and pale. Beat for another 2 minutes at low speed. Batter should have increased 3-4 times in volume and leave a trail of ribbon behind when lifted.

4. Sift flour over the batter in 3 batches, folding lightly to combine. Keep movements light and minimum to avoid breaking the air cells.

5. Spread onto tin and bake immediately for 8 minutes. Cake should be just slightly browned and springs back when touched. (It's okay if surface is uneven at this point)

It should look something like this!

6. While cake is baking, place a clean tea towel on work surface, cover with baking paper and lightly sprinkle remaining 10g of sugar on it. Let cake cool for a minute, then turn it out onto the sugar. (the sugar crystals will make indentations on the cake surface and prevents it from cracking when rolled). Remove top sheet of paper.

Using the tea towel as a guide (this means you use the towel to help push the cake tightly together as you roll), roll the cake carefully from the short side with the paper inside the roll. Stand for 5 minutes, then unroll and allow cake to cool.

7. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.
Mix coconut milk with durian puree.
Beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form and stir in durian mixture.

8. Spread the cream onto the the cooled cake. Using the baking paper as a guide, re-roll the cake, but not as tightly this time to prevent cream from flowing out.
Place seam side down, cover with cling wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

9. Sprinkle top with desiccated coconut before cutting into slices to serve.

Storage
As whipped-cream filled cake has to be stored in the fridge, almost wrap it up during chilling to prevent moisture lost, rendering the texture dry and hard, which is the biggest problem with sponge cakes btw. Let chilled cake sit for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Grilled Salmon with Butter Rice

2008-07-16T23:13:00.000-07:00

My dad bought one whole salmon over the weekend as it was on a promotion price, so I decided to make some grilled salmon with butter rice for dinner. I first tried making butter rice the day before at my aunt's place when we had german sausages as my aunt wanted to serve it with plain rice and I thought why not flavour it up a little. I used whatever ingredients I could find there, which wasn't much, but the fragrant of garlic and butter were enough to make it delicious nonetheless.

I grilled the salmon slightly with my favourite grill pan which I bought at ikea, seasoning with just a little pepper and salt. I thought the rice+grilled fish combi was a little dry, so I made a little cream sauce to go along. It was a pity we didn't have any veggies for a salad, or it would have looked perfect.

For the butter rice, I used:
butter
raisins
chopped garlic
turmeric
mixed spice

For the cream sauce, I used:
whipping cream
marjoram leaves
grated parmesan

garnish with parsley flakes and lemon

Mini Banana Muffins

2008-07-16T06:19:00.000-07:00

For this muffin, I did not add any sugar as I wanted to make it for Jo. Instead, I used the natural sweetness of banana to enhance the flavour. 1 medium muffin = 3 mini muffins, so I also scaled the recipe accordingly.

Ingredients
(makes 12 mini muffins)
50g flour
15g butter
30g egg
25g milk
1 medium banana (75g)
some chocolate chips if you like

Prepare according to Captain Jaxe's Perfect Muffin recipe.

Banana Expresso Muffins

2008-07-16T05:45:00.000-07:00

Following my Great Muffin Experiment, I decided to try my new concocted recipe and give it a little twist. I had some bananas at home and instead of the boring chocolate banana combination, I decided to try Banana Expresso with the Instant Expresso Powder left over from the Chocolate Expresso Pudding.

I reduced the amount of milk as bananas themselves will make the muffin moist. I also increased the amount of sugar to balance the bitterness of expresso.

Ingredients
(makes 6)
110g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 vanilla essence
40g unsalted butter
50g milk
1 egg
75g sugar
1 large banana, chopped (~110g)
2 tbsp instant expresso powder
1 tbsp hot water

Method
1. Preheat oven at 200 degrees C.

2. Melt butter and leave to cool.

3. Dissolve the expresso powder in the hot water and leave to cool.

4. Sift all the dry ingredients in one bowl and mix evenly.

5. Mix all the wet ingredients in another and add in expresso.

6. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and whisk in wet ones until just combined, keeping mixing to a minimum.

7. Stir in banana.

8. Grease muffin tins and fill 3/4 full.

9. Bake for 14 minutes at 180 degrees C.

When the muffins were baking, the strong aroma of coffee that drifted from the oven was really alluring for any coffee lovers. The taste was great, I enjoyed the bitterness of expresso paired with the sweetness of banana. However, I felt that the muffins were a little too dark in colour and reduced the amount of expresso to 2 tbsp (as above) instead of the 3 that I used. These muffins are best served warm or with ice-cream!

In fact, I loved these so much that I made more the following day. I tried making swirls but I did not like the flavour as much. The taste of expresso became hardly noticeable, but the muffins did look pretty interesting. To make them:

1. Prepare the muffin batter using 30g of sugar only and spoon into the tins, filling slightly less than 3/4 full.
2. Mix 1 tbsp expresso with 1/2 tbsp water and 35g sugar.
3. Pour a little expresso mixture on top of each muffin and swirl lightly with a chopstick.

I also tried making the expresso part a separate layer by filling the tins to only 1/2 full, then adding the expresso/water/sugar combination to the remaining batter, then top the tins up to 3/4 full.

It didn't look very appealing. I still like the original ones best.

The Great Muffin Experiment

2008-07-15T23:51:00.000-07:00

Muffins are really easy to make, however, the results vary greatly with different ingredients and recipes. I seldom making muffins as I'm not a great fan, however when I do, I hate it when it doesn't come out as I expected it to be due to the recipe. So, since I happen to have 3 different recipes, all claiming to be the 'perfect' proportion for muffins, I decided to embark on The Great Muffin Experiment to find The Perfect Muffin.

I did not want to make 3 dozens muffins and risking most of them to be bad, so I quartered the recipes so that I get 3 muffins per recipe. I did all the measurements on my electronic weighing scale so it was pretty easy to get those odd measurements. However, I'm not sure if scaling down is going to affect my result. Anyway, the 3 recipes are as follows

Recipe A
60g flour
30g oil
40g milk
30g sugar
1/2 egg

Recipe B
45g flour
14g unsalted butter
45g milk
15g sugar
1/2 egg

Recipe C
78g flour
37 unsalted butter
90g milk
30g sugar
1/2 egg

I also added 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 bicarbonate of soda, 1/4 tsp vanilla essence and 30g chocolate chips to all three recipes. I prepared all the ingredients in bowls before any mixing, to reduce the time the batter stands as much as possible.

I prepared all 3 batters in the same way.

1. Melt butter and let cool.
2. Sift all the dry ingredients in one bowl and mix evenly.
3. Mix all the wet ingredients in another.
4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and whisk in wet ones until just combined, keeping mixing to a minimum.
5. Grease muffin tins and fill 3/4 full.

The resulting batters:

Batter A: The amount was just nice to fill 3 tins 3/4 full. It was also lumpy.
Batter B: The mixture from batter B was too little and I could only fill each tin 1/2 full. The batter also looked thinner.
Batter C: I had too much of batter C and it filled 4 muffin tins. The mixture was very smooth despite the fact that I hardly mixed it much.

I arranged the tins randomly in the oven, and let the extra tin with Batter C stand on the bottom rack as I was curiously to see how different it would turn out if I didnt bake it in the middle rack as supposed to.

I preheat the oven at 200 degrees C, but baked them at 180 degrees C, as the initial high temperature would let the muffins spring up nicely and quickly. After 15 minutes, the results are out!

I realised I overcooked all of them a little, as they were a tad too brown. Muffins A peaked nicely and evenly, with some nice cracks on the top. Muffins B didn't rise enough and although Muffins C also peaked quite well, there were no cracks as I guess the batter were too smooth. A was also more brown than the other two and had a thicker and harder crust, probably due to fact that it had oil instead of butter.

The forgotten muffin that I baked at the bottom of the rack also didn't rise as well as the others made out of the same batter. I expected the bottom to be soggier than the rest, but i forgot to check that before i mixed them all up! oh well...

(the one on the right was baked on the bottom rack)

Texture and taste-wise, the Bs were not sweet enough and a little too dense, but it was too difficult to tell the difference between the As and the Cs. As I didn't want to spend too much on the ingredients, I bought cheapo (i.e inferior) chocolate chips which had the horrible taste of all cheap chocolates. I was too distraught and distracted to properly analyse the difference between Muffin A and C.

My aim was to find my perfect muffin, and I was obviously unsatisfied with the results I got. So I tried baking Recipe A and Recipe C again, this time without the chocolate chips.

I should have done this right at the start! (But I didn't cause I was afraid nobody would eat my plain muffins). Making them plain made it so much easier to taste the difference due to the proportion. And I was glad because by then I was getting a little disgusted from trying so many muffins (so was my mother who kindly agreed to be my guinea pig). Muffin A rose higher and nicer than C but was a little too lumpy and had little 'craters' on the surface. It was also too dry inside. My mom thought Muffin C was good, but I found it a little too moist. Batter C also made 1 more muffin than A.

Some conclusions I had so far are:
1. more milk makes the batter smoother, less lumpy, but can also make the peak of baked muffin too even
2. using oil instead of butter makes the muffin burn more easily. I had expected the butter muffins to have a stronger flavour, but it was hardly noticeable.
3. muffins bake better without paper cups as these prevent the sides from browning thoroughly.

BUT! I was still not satisfied. I had not found my perfect muffin! So I decided to come up with a proportion of my own that was something in between A and C. This was what I came up with:

70g flour
30g butter
60g milk
30g sugar
1/2 egg

The result? PERFECT!

The exterior was slightly crispy, it rose evenly and had just enough cracks on the peaks to show the soft texture on the inside. I baked them for 14 minutes until they were lightly browned and the muffins came away a little from the sides of the tins.

However, I think the interior could be a little more evenly risen, perhaps it's because I didn't mix the dry ingredients thoroughly before adding the wet ones. I had a little fun with the plain muffins by putting a bit of icing on them. Muffins with filling don't taste so good with icing as it would make them too sweet.

Having discovered a good recipe that worked for me, I happily proceeded to make some Banana Expresso Muffins. I double the recipe to make 6 but I ended up with 8 muffins instead. That was when I discovered I had forgotten that I included fillings in my plain muffins proportion, the volume of batter increased! Standard recipes cater for a dozen, and so do muffin trays, and I did not want to have left over batter each time! Sigh sigh sigh!

So....I scaled the proportions again and make more muffins. If ever I develop phobia of muffins it will be from this experiment. Thankfully they turned out good. I decided to call it a day.

And here, finally, I present to you,

Captain Jaxe's Perfect Muffins

220g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp vanilla essence
80g butter
200g milk
2 eggs
80g sugar (adjust according to topping variety)
160g dry toppings (e.g chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Bake as per instructions above for 14 minutes at 180 degrees C.