Cook With No Books

Almond Brittle

2012-02-22T22:48:00.001+08:00

Almond in molten gold

Itfinally happened. At first, it was just a rattling sound which I mistook for its displeasure ofcooking nuts. I only realized theenormity of the situated when it coded. What is H98 anyway? A cry for help ?DNR ?

I tried to understand its final words but still, it refused to be revived. My13 month old Panasonic oven has flat-lined and died on me.

Thebreakdown of my microwave oven has suddenly rendered me powerless as though my identity as a homemaker reliedon it. I was like a tiger without fangs. I never knew how integral it was in my domestic life until now ; I could not cook my rice, grill mycheese, heat up my food and sanitize my dish cloth.

And likemost precious things suddenly ripped off my life, I reflected on the recipes I have yet to tryand 'lost opportunities'. You never know what you have until you lose them !

Thankfully,I rebounded from my 'temporary' loss and learnt to steam my food and rice, likein the days of old. Though I did not savor these tedious moments, I began toappreciate the resilience of those whomake do with little all their life.

With theoven out of my life for a week and the cooking itch bugging, I decided to makesomething exciting out of a batch of blanched almonds from a recent experiment on my stove. It was almostperfect except to my total dismay, I had not greased the parchment paper and mybeautiful brittle was glued to it without any intention of yielding. So, beware !

Now, Ihave to mull over two things : should I make a second batch of perfect brittleand how much 'cellulose enriched' brittle should I consume ?

Warning :

Handlethe hot sugar syrup with extreme care as boiling caramel can be as hot as 200C and can cause seriousburns.

Ingredients:

1 cupblanched almonds, toasted

2 Tbspwater

1/2 cupsugar

1/4 tspvanilla extract

Pinch ofsea salt

Method :

Prepare alarge piece of greased parchment .

In a widepot, cook water and sugar on medium high, stirring to dissolve the sugar in the heat. Once the sugar has dissolved,stop stirring. Reduce heat to medium.

Periodically,gently swirl the syrup gently about the pot.

Cook for8 minutes or until syrup turns amber. Remove pot from heat.

At thispoint, get all your other ingredients ready since the caramel sets veryquickly.

Addalmonds and vanilla extract. Stir with a long ladle. The caramel will spit and sizzle so take care notto burn yourself.

Pour hotbrittle onto the greased parchment. Spread the nuts with a wooden ladle.

Sprinklesea salt over the hot brittle.

Leaveparchment with brittle to cool, about 1 hour. Peel off parchment and break tobite size. Use as garnish over ice cream or peanut butter toast.

If youprefer less chunky brittle or wish to release your tension, bash the brittlebetween waxed papers with a handy hammer. The little crunchy bits goes wellwith all sorts of desserts.

Cheat's Pasta Gratin

2012-02-19T22:24:00.000+08:00

An eager tester waits for her turn to eat

Weekendsare baking experiment days. And when weeat in as well, the sink goes into overdrive mode and the washing personnel (that would have to be my long suffering hubby ) gets into a frenzy madlyclearing dirty utensils as fast as I generate them.

Thiscalls for an occasional cheating so that weekend would be an extra time at thejogging circuit or computer game for him ( mainly the latter ! ). This gratin was 'premeditated' as I had saved1/2 a chicken the day before for this. Almost every other ingredient can beobtained from my pantry or freezer. Although nothing was created from scratch,the folks attacked the gratin with gusto, which gave me the suspicion that theydo enjoy fast food sometimes.

The starof the dish was the Waitrose Stilton Blue which I had carted from London 2months ago. I love it for its mild and milky taste without the heavy accentedsaltiness. It helped that it was much cheaper than most fancy stilton gradeblues. If blue cheese is not your thing,a good substitute would be aged cheddar which would do the job beautifully aswell.

For 4

Ingredients:

250gpasta

1/2cooked chicken, deboned and fleshed

1/2 cancream of corn and chicken

1/2 cupfresh milk

1/2 cupstilton, broken up

2 cupspizza cheese

Method :

Oil abaking dish and set aside.

Preheatoven to 200C.

Cookpasta according to instructions on packet plus 1 more minute.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine cookedchicken, creamed soup, milk, stilton andstir.

Drainpasta and transfer hot pasta into mixing bowl. Stir quickly.

Transferpasta mixture to the baking tray. Top with pizza cheese and bake at 200C for 15 minutes or until the cheese surfaceis browned.

Banana Cake from a Banana-phobic

2012-02-17T14:37:00.000+08:00

Cake ingredients with baking flow chart

How goodcan a banana cake be when it is baked by a banana-phobic? Pretty much.

Eventhough I have a fear of eating bananas due to some irrelevant childhoodexperience , I can live with the smell of sweet overripe bananas in my kitchen.That is, as long as the lizards do not dance around to catch the flies hoveringover them .

When theother 2 banana lovers saw the deteriorating condition of the suffering fruit inthe pantry , their incessant complaints prompted an eureka moment anduncharacteristically of me, I decided to make a cake out of it.

I chosethis simple recipe, since I did not wish to make a big issue out of 4 suicidalbananas, and opted for cake flourinstead of plain flour for a lighter texture. The bananas were also mashed coarsely so that my caketasters can enjoy banana morsels. On the flip side, due to the above actions,the bananas sank to the bottom of the cake resulting in a more moist and denserbottom layer.

As anyrespectable cook would do, I tried my own creation, phobia or not. I could seewhy my folks liked it but I would snack sparingly on the crusty edges anytime, which attracted theleast bananas.

Credits :Greatly inspired by thelittleteochew.blogspot.com

Makes 1 6x6inch tray cake

A )

125g cakeflour

1/2 tspbaking powder

1/4 tspbaking soda

4 delmonte ( ripe ) bananas , peeled

25g freshmilk

1 tsp rum

90gcanola oil

1 egg,room temperature

70g finesugar

1 handfulwalnuts, toasted and crushed ( with the palm )

Method :

Prepare a6 inch baking tray. Grease and dust with flour. Set aside.

Preheatoven to 170C.

In bowlA, sift flours under (A). Set aside.

In bowlB, combine bananas , milk, rum and oil. Mash with a potato masher. Set aside.

In alarge mixing bowl, whisk on high speed egg , for 2 minutes, until it is paleand fluffy. Add sugar and whisk on high for another 2 minutes.

Addbanana mixture into egg mixture. Whisk briefly to combine.

Siftflour mixture over banana batter. Use a manual whisk to combine, in onedirection. Do not over whisk. Stop whenflour specks are not visible. Alternatively, use a spatula to do the job.

Transferbatter to the tray and top it with the walnuts.

Bakethe cake at 170C for 45-50 minutes oruntil cake is cooked. It is ready when skewer pierced into the center of thecake comes out clean.

Cool cakein tray on a rack for 5 minutes.

Removecake and cool further.

Blueberry Galette

2012-02-12T18:23:00.000+08:00

My familyhas been on the receiving end of many blessings in recent months and the creditis no less to the many friends who have rallied around to make the challengesaround us easier to bear. In my little way, food is one of the best ways tobridge differences and affirm friendships without the obscenities of lavishgifts and mushiness of thank you cards.

Thisgalette was made for one such friend, whose weekends in February had gone topsyturvy trying to accommodate my girl's schedule, which is constantly in flux.Though not sufficient to express my thanks, I hope this galette , with itslengthy planning, will go some way to show my gratitude to kind strangers whobecame friends , without any strings attached.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

Pastry

1 2/3 cups plainflour, chilled

3 tsp fine sugar

1/2 tsp salt

150g cold butter,cubed

2 to 4 tbsp icedwater

Filling

2/3 cup groundalmonds, lightly toasted

1 tbsp plain flour

1 box of ofblueberries

2 tbsp fine sugar

Icing sugar fordusting

Pastry :

Combine the flour,sugar and salt in the processor. Mix well.

Add the cold butterto the flour and process the mixture until crumbs forms.

Add the cold water,a tablespoon at a time, until a loose dough forms but not yet clumped togetherinto a ball. Do a pinch test - you knowyou are there when the dough holds when you pinch it.

Chill the dough in aplastic bag in the fridge for at least an hour.

Filling :

In bowl A, combinethe ground almonds and flour.

In bowl B, gentlycombine berries with sugar.

Preheat the oven at200C. Line a baking tray with a greased baking paper.

Roll the pastry outinto a 9 inch circle. Spoon the almond mixture ( bowl A ) into the centre ofthe pastry for waterproofing. Spread the almond mixture evenly, leaving a 3inch border.

Place the berries ( bowl B ) on top of the almondfilling. Wrap the pastry edges over the strawberries.

Bake the galette forabout 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.

Dust withicing sugar before serving.

Tips : Tomaintain a cool worktop, chill the dough on a glass chopping board or use theglass shelf of the fridge as a worktop instead.

Corn bread muffin

2012-02-11T14:47:00.000+08:00

This cornbread is a jazzed up version of Kenny Roger's corn bread. The addition ofparmesan cheese makes it a suitableaccompaniment with a bowl of chowder .Even better still, drench it with cheddar sauce and it will be the fastest mini meal in less thanan hour!

Makes 7big muffins

185gplain flour

1 1/2Tbsp baking powder

170g cornmeal

45ggrated parmesan cheese ( 45g is a bit weak in character. I recommend 90g ormore )

Chives (optional )

2 cupsfresh milk

2 eggs

1 Tbspcorn oil

Preheatoven to 190C.

Sieveflour and baking powder.

In amixing bowl, combine flours, cornmeal and cheese.

In amedium bowl, combine milk, eggs and oil.

Pourliquid component into the mixing bowl. Stir until just combined.

Spoonbatter to 7 big muffin cases, 3/4 full.

Bake at190C for 30 minutes. Muffins are cooked when skewer pierced into the centercomes out clean.

Coolbefore serving.

Coconut cheesecake

2012-02-07T21:24:00.000+08:00

I documented this because of the satisfactory reception by friends who normally would not care for cheese.

Thischeese cake was more coconut than cheese, as the shredded coconut dominated theoverall taste and texture of the cake. My friends like it, though I personallythink an addition of a tablespoon of yogurt would help moisten the cake more.

Myapologies about the lack of photos - it was in a hurry to be eaten and Itotally forgot to take photos.

Adaptedfrom cheesecake mania by Kevin Chai

Ingredients:

150gsoftened butter

150gcream cheese, room temperature

150g finesugar

2eggs,room temperature

150g allpurpose flour

1/2 tspbaking powder

25gpowdered coconut

20gdessicated coconut

1/2 tspcoconut flakes

Method :

Preheatoven to 180C

Siftflour, baking powder, coconut powder in a bowl. Set aside.

In amixing bowl, whisk butter and cream cheese until well mixed. Add sugar. Whiskuntil pale and fluffy, 2 minutes.

Add eggs,one at a time. Whisk for 1 minute for each egg.

In 3portions, sift flour mixture into the mixing bowl. Fold in the flour mix.

Transferbatter into a greased springform pan, 7-8 inches in diameter. Sprinkle coconutflakes.

Bake cakefor 35-40 minutes . Cake is cooked with a skewer pierced into the center of theake comes out clean.

Orange Passion Cake

2012-02-03T12:35:00.002+08:00

I bakedthis for a very nice lady who cannot tolerate sugar, hence the almond meal andreduced sugar. The passion fruit pulp gives a nice crunch , though to say itprovides fiber will be an overstatement. If passion fruit is not available, freshshredded pineapple will do just as nicely.

A )

150gplain flour

30galmond meal

1 tspbaking powder

1/8 tspsalt

B )

90gunsalted butter, unsalted

50g finesugar

2 tsporange zest

2 eggs,room temperature

Pulp of 1passion fruit

3 tbspplain yogurt

In amedium bowl, combine ingredients under (A). Mix and set aside.

Preheatoven to 180C.

In a bigmixing bowl, whisk to break up the butter .

Add sugarand zest, whisk on medium high, until sugar is incorporated and butter mix ispale, 2 minutes.

Add eggsand whisk, 1 minute.

Alternativelyadd flour mix , passion fruit andyogurt and whisk at low speed until justcombined.

Transferbatter to 2 medium sized tray, about1/2 full.

Bake at180C for 30 minutes. Cake is ready with skewer pierced into the center of thecake comes out clean.

To serve,dust with confectioner's sugar.

Crispy oat prawns

2012-01-25T11:52:00.000+08:00

Crispy oats , corn flakes and basil with prawns

Thefestive chinese new year season is one happy holiday for the other 2 members ofmy family. I make exceptions in my cooking and allow for the once in a yeardeep fried things which they love. And that could most likely be the reason whythey look forward to the clan's yearly reunion dinners where I hold court inthe kitchen. That way, they get to have their wish list of foods come true.

Thisyear, in lieu of price hikes, I had hoarded so much prawns that the end resultwas many variations of prawn dishes . But nothing beats this crispy version. Instead of curry leaves, I opted for basil which was thriving in my yard. Basil and prawns make a greatpartnership in whichever way you cook it and with the crispy oats andcornflakes, it was the icing on the cake.

Ingredients:

1/2 kgmedium sized prawns, shelled and deveined

2 cupsrice flour

2 cupsbasil leaves

1 cuprolled oats

1/2 cupcorn flakes

Method :

Shell anddevein the prawns. Toss them in rice flour.

Heat apot of oil until very hot. The temperature is about right with bubbles formaround a bamboo skewer dipped in the hot oil.

Pick upthe prawns with chopsticks and shake the flour off the prawns.

Drop intothe hot oil and fry the prawns. Avoid overcrowding the pot with too many prawnsat the same time, to maintain the temperature of the oil and prevent too muchsweating of the prawns.

Fryprawns until golden brown. Remove prawns from the pot and strain off oil.

Next,toss the basil leaves in the rice flour. Shake off flour and fry the basilleaves, 3 seconds.

Reduceoil to half, straining off residue flour with a sieve.

Reduceheat to medium, fry oats , 1 minute. Add the corn flakes , toss until themixture is golden brown and crispy. Drain oil.

Tossleaves, prawns and oats. Serve hot.

Hakka Yong Tofu

2012-01-23T15:58:00.000+08:00

Not just any yong tofu

This dishwas the de facto reunion dish. My dad, a bona fide hakka, would make pots ofthis which we ate from new year's eve into the new year. For days in a row, hewould scrape meat out of yellow tail fish, mince it with a hand held meatgrinder, blend it with fermented fish, minced pork and chopped water chestnuts andplaster it on tofu, bittergourds and bean puffs. Then he would cook a similarlyhuge vat of stock that comprised of leftover tofu meat, soya beans and fishbones. It was one of those dishes which we loved but hated by the third day.

We neverrealized how much we loved it until years later when he stopped making it ,after we were all married. The hassle of preparing such a feast tired him andhis yong tofu became a legend among his grandchildren. Based on my memories ofhow things were done, I 'resurrected' this culinary experience so that ourkids would know what hakka yong tofu islike.

To copewith changing times and healthier eating, the fermented fish was omitted whilethe proportion of fish, pork and chestnut was worked out for optimum texture and flavor. It came out to be about byweight, 3 portions fish : 1 portion pork : 1/2 portion water chestnut. However,I have to admit that I generally have a weakness for water chestnuts and someyears would go by when I made verycrunchy yong tofu fillings.

Forstock, I had no fish bones to talk aboutsince the fish paste was bought from the market. I used chicken instead for thestock, which removes the possibility of fishy smelling stock. Not very authentic, but conveniencesupersedes tradition in this aspect.

Fleshing out the tofu

Fillingbean puffs and tofu with the meat paste was one of the most time consuming partof the process, which I totally detested. I had recently found the joy ofpiping batter to make cookies and adopted this practice for piping meat pasteinto yong tofu ingredients. It was an interesting experience combining bakingtechniques for traditional food, therapeutic in fact.

Pipe the meat paste into tofu pocket

To sealthe fillings on vegetables or tofu, paint over with a layer of corn starchsolution. Dad used to fry everything so that they would keep well but I didthis only for the bittergourd. This helps attach the meat to the vegetable aswell as reduce the amount of bitter leeching into the soup later.

Ingredients:

900gminced fish meat ( I get this premade from Chinatown market )

300 porkminced pork

150g rawwater chestnuts

20 beanpuffs, halved to make 2 triangular blocks

10tofu,halved to make 2 rectangular blocks

1 smallbitter gourd, cut across to 1/2 inch thick, pith intact but deseeded

5 red andgreen chillis, deseeded and halved

Stock :

1 cupsoya beans, soaked overnight

1 kampongchicken, skinned

6 litresof water

Cornsolution for sealing meat

Preparemain ingredients. Remember to Not remove the pith of the bitter gourd so thatthe meat has something to anchor on.

Halvebean puffs and make a slit in the middle to make a pocket.

Halvetofu to 2 rectangular blocks . Flesh out the tofu on the cut surface to make apocket.

Preparechillis by deseeding the 2 halves.

Preparemeat paste. Peel and mince water chestnut. I like it chunky for texture andcrunch.

Mix andcombine fish, pork and chestnuts well. Since the fish comes seasoned with salt, I did not add any salt at thisstage.

To fillingredients with meat paste, transfer meat paste to a plastic bag and seal.

Snip offa corner of the bag and use it as you would like a piping bag.

Pipe meatpaste into the bean puffs, tofu, bitter gourd and chillis.

To sealmeat on bitter gourd, paint it with corn flour solution. Let dry.

Toprepare the stock, combine chicken, soya beans, water and leftover tofu andboil for about 2 hours.

Meanwhile,heat a pot of peanut oil and fry bitter gourd until seared and meat adheres tomain ingredient.

To cook,boil yong tofu before serving. Due to the presence of pork, always remember tocook the yong tofu well for safe consumption. Jazz up the final assembly withscallions or your favorite sauces.

Kuih talam talam

2012-01-22T22:57:00.001+08:00

There was a suddenmood for something peranakan and the attractive pink and white layers was soirresistable I had to bake it after spotting it at janechew's blog. I loved the subtle taste of coconut creamthat I ate a quarter of a tray, all by myself. This was a most dangerous thingto do, considering that more delectable snacks were out there waiting for me in the festive season.

The popularity ofthe kuih became evident when a group of friends who normally went for savouriesconsumed almost an entire tray, most going for seconds. The steps may look lengthy but aredeceptively simple. Definitely a good kuih experiment for nonya baking newbies.

Credits: Recipe from janechew.blogspot.com, originally from Homekreation

Makes two 4x4x2 inchtrays

Ingredients:

Bottom Layer

90g rice flour

1/2 tbsp green beanflour

50g sugar

225ml water

50g cooked red beans

120ml coconutmilk

pinch of salt

Top Layer:

75g plain flour

100g sugar

2 eggs

125ml coconut milk

250ml water

pinch of salt
1/4 tsp red food dye

Method:

Bottom Layer:

Set asidecooked red bean, drained.

Combine allingredients for the bottom layer exceptred bean . Strain into a pot.

Add red bean and cook over low heat, stirring slowly until it just thickens slightly to coat the sides of the pot.

Pourinto two 4x4x2 inch trays and steam on low heat for 20 minutes. It ensures a smooth surface.

Top Layer:

Combine allingredients for top layer and cook overlow heat. Stir until mixture thickensslightly to coat the sides of the pot. Remove pot from heat immediately to prevent overcooking.

Pour batter overready bottom layer. Steam on low heatfor 20 minutes or until the kuih is set.

Remove the steamercover and steam for another 10 minutes to dry up the surface.
I used kitchen towels to mop surplus condensed liquid prior to doing this.

Cool the kuihcompletely before cutting.

Pistachio mandelbrot

2012-01-14T16:00:00.002+08:00

It musthave been a long break from baking, judging from the recent less than stellaroutcome from my kitchen. Chinese New Year is merely a week away but there isnot a single decent cookie anywhere in sight to offer friends. It certainlydid not help when the mystery cook next door kept offering her baked goodieswhich I would not mind paying for.

I canchose to wallow in 'pity' and shrivel in the face of friendly contest from asuperior baker who also holds a full time job or kick myself back into thebaking orbit. I opted for option 2 and hoped that the bad cookie streak will not extend to the mandelbrot. Besidesthere is a bag of lovely, green pistachio from Dubai that I have been finding away to use them.

The logthat emerged from the first baking was good as a log cake itself and I almostabandon my original plan of mandelbrot nibbling on the light and airy sliceswhile I cut out the mandelbrot.

Was itgood enough to be given away? Certainly. With this little bag of airy crispy nibbles , I hope to please myhost at tomorrow's gathering.

Ingredients:

2 cupsless 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1tablespoon baking powder

3 eggs

1 cupfine sugar

1 cupcanola oil

1/4 cupchopped pistachio

Sieveflour and baking powder 3 times. Set aside.

In amixing bowl, beat eggs, 2 minutes.

Addsugar. Beat another 2 minutes. By now, you should get a pale yellow frothy eggmixture.

Add oilfrom the side. Whisk for another 1 minute.

Divideflour to 2 portions. Sieve the first portion over the mixing bowl.

Use amanual whisk and mix to combine batter. Do not overmix.

Sieveover the 2nd portion of flour over the batter. Mix to combine with the manual whisk.

Use aspatula and stir in the nuts.

Chillbatter for at least one hour or longeruntil batter is firmed up.

Preheatoven to 170C

Prepare2 long baking trays. Spoon chilledbatter to tray, using wet hands to shape the dough log if needed. Pat the logto compact it or else it will crumble when sliced.

Bake for25 minutes or until surface is set and light brown. Leave in the oven foranother 5 minutes with the door open.

Coolbefore cutting.

Use aserrated knife and cut across the log,making 1/2 inch slices . Place themandelbrot, cut side facing up.

Reducethe temperature to 160 C. Bake for 10 minutes on one side.

Turn overthe sliced biscotti. Bake again for another 10 minutes until the edges arebrown .

Cool inthe pans.

Thesecookies can be frozen.

Pork Floss Cake Sandwich

2012-01-14T01:22:00.000+08:00

Mum wasnever an enthusiastic cook. Festive foods such as dumplings, Madeline and loveletters were made out of ( festive ) need and she was always happy to let my dad take over the reigns in thekitchen.

She would celebrate all kinds of rituals with her steamed cake, which doubled up asoffering and joss stick stand . Other than having it freshly made forbreakfast, I dread having to eat 'recycled' steamed cakes with remnant specksof ashes.

My avatar,Mr G, has acquired a taste for pork floss cake

Now tothe soul of this cake. Pork floss was a childhood lunch condiment which I lovedvery much. I would find every opportunity to eat it - in my toast, rice, buns, porridge and now, my cake as well. By combining thememories and favorites of childhood, what I have here is a pork floss cakesandwich that reminds of snack andlunch. The combination of sweet and savory reduces the cloying feeling and allows me to pig out as much as I can.

Ingredients:

3 smalleggs

1/2teaspoon baking powder

70g finesugar ( 65g if you like it subtle )

1 .5 Tfresh milk

1 Tcondensed milk

100g cakeflour

1/2 cuppork floss, more if you wish

2 T blacksesame , finely grounded

Prepare asteamer and an aluminum tray, 5 x5 x 2 inches.

In a bigmixing bowl, whisk egg, baking powder,sugar,milk until thick and frothy.

Sievecake flour over the egg mixture and whisk until well combined. Rid big pocketsof air by tapping the bow of batter on the worktop.

Dividebatter to 2 equal portions. Over the second portion, sieve sesame powder intobatter and mix well. Set aside.

Pour thefirst portion of the batter ( withoutsesame ) into the steaming tray. Steam for 15 minutes.

Spreadpork floss over the steamed cake evenly.

Pour thesecond portion of batter ( with sesame powder ) over the pork floss. Steam for20 minutes.

Coolcompletely before removing and cutting the cake.

Kuih Bangkit

2012-01-07T21:30:00.001+08:00

Work in progress. The bangkit was consumed before photos were possible.

KuihBangkit was one of my baking demon, even though I have never tried baking it.But when I realized that my teenager has never eaten one ( horror ! )because it was not in my bakingrepertoire , I knew I had to dosomething about it. After all, in a family that treasures nostalgia, kuihbangkit should be a part of any kid's childhood memory, never mind she is nolonger a child !

This wasa second trial in a matter of hours, the first ending in disaster. That was tobe expected, bangkit being my demon. The end result of my persistence was stillnot 'melt-in-your-mouth' per se, but it gave a decent little crunch thatimproved the next day and could be handled without it disintegrating to tapiocapowder.

Credits: Little Corner ofMine

Kuih Bangkit Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 1/4cups tapioca flour + 1 cup for dusting

1/2 Tbp.butter, melted

1/2 egg yolk

1/2 cupicing sugar

60 ml thick coconut milk

Pinch of fine salt

Method:

Placetapioca flour on a paper towel lining amicrowave safe tray . On high power, microwave for 1 minute.

Remove 1 cup of flour meant for dusting.

Set flours aside and let it cool.

In a medium bowl, mix butter, coconut milk, salt and yolk. Whisk.

Sifttapioca flour , salt and icing sugar into a mixing bowl. Add yolk mix. Knead until the dough is pliable. (Adjust the amount of tapioca flour andmilk accordingly, 1 Tbp. at a time andknead until it becomes pliable. The texture should resemble a floppymarshmallow.)

Roll outthe dough on a lightly floured surface into a tube. Use a kuih bangkit mould to shape the cookies. Youmay need to dust the mould so that cookies will not stick. Alternatively tomake cookies instead, flatten the dough with a rolling pin and cut out using acookie cutter.

Arrangecookies on a lined baking tray and bake at 180C for 20 minutes. Cool wellbefore storing.

Pasta Carbonara

2012-01-01T15:32:00.000+08:00

The case of the missing pine nuts - now where is my Dubai stash ?

Duringour trip to Edinburgh, we ate one of the most incredible pasta carbonara inGordon's Trattoria (situated along HighStreet ). Until now, I still have flashback ( the good kind ! ) as I recall thecreaminess of the silky pasta with lashings of ham. It was so surreal that Idid not recall if pinenuts was used. But as the Iranian pine nuts (100g for 10 Dhm ! ) that I bought from Dubai's Spice Souq begs tobe eaten, I tossed some in as well.

Carbonarapasta may be a simple dish but requires lots of care in its preparation. Theyolk must be cooked by the hot pasta but too hot a pasta would scramble it. Onthe other hand, a lesser than hot pastawill make a runny sauce which would not coat the pasta well.

Theprocess of recreating Gordan's carbonara should be a well thought out processto maximize the possibility of creamy and surreal pasta strands.

Good Luck!

For 3

Ingredients:

250gsphagetti

5 tablespoons heavy cream ( I used Bulla,because it keeps better )

2 bigegg yolks, room temperature

1tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cupcubed ham shoulder

2tablespoons garlic

1 handfulof toasted pinenuts

Gratedcheese for garnish

Method :

In aheavy pot, bring water to a boil. Add atablespoon of salt.

Cookpasta according to instructions.

Meanwhile,heat oil.

Fry ham .

Addgarlic and fry until slightly charred.

Turn offheat and set aside.

I use only egg yolk in this recipe.Because bits of egg whites make contactwith the shell in the process of extracting the yolk, it is imperative to washthe egg and rid dirt off shell. Ensureyolk and cream are at room temperature so that the yolk-cream can be cookedeasily by the hot pasta

Combineyolks and cream.

Setaside.

Drainpasta and return it to pot.

Whilepasta is still steaming, pour egg-cream in a thin cream, tossing pasta with apair of chopsticks at the same time.

Add hamand garlic.

Toss todistribute ham ingredients evenly.

Servewarm with toasted pine nuts and cheese.

Jetlag scones

2011-12-31T13:00:00.000+08:00

Whateveramount of excitement I had for the past 2 weeks in the UK now has to take aback seat, as I get back into the humdrum of domestic life.

But firstthere is the problem of jetlag , hopefully recoverable in the foreseeable week or so. Tomake good use of the waking moments at unearthly hours, I embarked on abreakfast mission of scones. This recipe is most suitable because it does notcrank up too much noise in the kitchen, while the rest of the family get theirproper rest.

I havebeen dying to try this recipe for a longtime and this was the most appropriate moment. Within 30 minutes, hot pipingcrusty scones were ready before me.

Hubby washesitant at the scones made in my 'half-asleep' condition but the lightness ofthe scone drew a surprise response. Other than the supersized biscuits , due tothe use of a muffin cutter instead of a biscuit cutter, everything else wasperfect.

Togetherwith the Fortnum and Mason strawberry jam from London, the supersized sconeswere forgiven for their oddly shape.

Credits :http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2011/11/caramelized-mushrooms-and-dumplings/

Adaptedfrom joythebaker.com

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cupsall-purpose flour, sieved and chilled

1 tablespoon bakingpowder

1/4 teaspoon bakingsoda

2 tablespoons finesugar

3/4 cup unsaltedbutter, cold and cut into cubes

1 cold egg

3/4 cup buttermilk,cold ( I used a cup of milk and 1 T of vinegar, stand 5 minutes and used 3/4cup of it for the recipe )

Method :

Preheat oven to190C.

In a big bowl,combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar

Rubbutter into the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl,whisk together egg and buttermilk.

Make a well in thedry mix. Add the buttermilk mixture. Using a pair of chopstick, combinethe wet and dry ingredients, drawing the figure eight. Dough will be quiteshaggy.

Transfer the biscuitdough onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat down to 1 inch thick withfloured hands.

Cutout biscuits using a biscuit cutter . Keep biscuitschilled until ready to bake.

Bakebiscuits in the oven, preheated to 190C, for 20 minutes.

Cool oncookie racks.

Eat warmwith clotted cream and jam.

Scottish pub food at The Tass in Edinburgh

2011-12-30T09:00:00.001+08:00


Don't be deceived by the ordinary looking fish and chips. The beer batter is Amazingly crispy and stayed that way for a long time !

Steak and scottish ale pie with short crust is my favorite

Burger with no filler is something to chew on

Thesewere our first foody impressions of Edinburgh. The Tass is located opposite the'more famous ' pub ,'World's End' on the Royal Mile.

The Tass pub

Polenta dumpling with ham and cheese

2011-12-29T12:32:00.000+08:00

As far asI know, the nearest equivalent would be deep fried risotto balls with mozarella cheese. But risotta is a popular dish in my home andthere is never enough leftover to make these. Then came the idea of substituting polenta which has a similar sticky texturefor the wrapping job.

My familywas pleased with this because this meant a chance to try the farmhouse cheddarwhich we bought from London's Borough Market. The cheese was packed among ourclothes, to prevent squashing, but thetradeoff was a huge washing mission torid our clothes of the smell.

Judgingfrom the speed the dumplings were polished off the plate, the trouble was well worth it !

Makes 10medium polenta dumplings.

Ingredients:

1 cuppolenta, raw

3 cupswater

Pinch ofsalt

10 cubesof cheddar

10 cubesof ham

Rawpolenta for coating

Oil forfrying

Method :

Bringwater to a boil.

In asteady stream, pour the polenta into the boiling water.

Stirregularly. The polenta will spit and bubble, so take care not to burn yourself.I stirred with a pair of very long chopstick to avoid this.

Whenpolenta looks set , about 10-20 minutes, turn off heat. Set pot aside to cool.

Whenpolenta is cool enough to handle, scoop a generous tablespoon of polenta andmake a ball.

Wet yourhands for easy handling.

Push hamand cheese cubes into the polenta ball and roll to seal contents.

Rollballs on a bed of raw polenta to coat.

Fry ballsuntil golden brown and crispy.

Serve hotwith tomato salsa.

Italian food at Fifteen London

2011-12-18T07:42:00.001+08:00

Fifteen London

Afterwatching countless cook shows by Jamie Oliver, I thought I would try the realMccoy and also do my bit for his social enterprise for at risk kids inLondon. Without a doubt, Fifteen Londonwas the to-go place for checking out JM's creation and experience the work ofhis apprentices.

Therestaurant was located at Westland Place, off Old Street Station. It was quitea walk and not exactly easy to locate had it not been for the directions fromOpenTable.com , a portal for reservations of restaurants in London. Althoughthe table reservation was made weeks before the actual lunch , I was pleasantlysurprised when Fifteen London called meto remind me of the lunch reservation just before we departed for London.

It wasmeant to be a modest lunch on a Sunday, after our church service at the CrownCourt church of Scotland, an extended Presbyterian family in Covent Gardens. Perhaps it had todo with the uber friendly service of the waiter or the enthusiasm of the freshfaced waitress , because we enthusiastically made many orders .

Antipasti

Westarted off wth antipasti, a smorgasbord of appetisers . There was theobligatory cured meats and prosciutto, fresh mozzarella cheese that melt in themouth and kale in olive oil. My verdict: every morsel taste of fresh produce and were handled with a light touch ofseasoning.

Ragu and pasta

Spinach gnocchi

Hubbyordered lamb ragu with pasta, a generous portion even by his standard. Girl2had spinach gnocchi , of which the soft goat cheese accenting the vegetarian dish delighted herthe most. I personally thought a touch of crème fraise in the spinach saucewould make the dish perfect. I had fresh filled pasta, a beautiful plate ofpork filled packets with deep fried sageleaves. It would have loved it better ifthey had doubled the portion of this dish.

Filled pasta

By theend of the main course, we were full and could not handle more food. Apart fromthe long wait for the main course, service in the fully packed restaurant wasefficient and prompt. It was not a place for those in a hurry but for us, theadditional wait was a time to recap the blessings of our first Sunday inLondon.

Japanese chicken curry cornish pastie

2011-12-09T09:41:00.000+08:00

This is aseamen's all-in-one lunch, similar to the Japanese farmer's onigiri. Although I love all things wrapped, thisheavy duty lunch-in-a-pastry is achallenge because I have fingers thatare far from nimble. The other obstacle is that I am a greedy person whocannot help stuffing lots of filling into a pastry case that haslimited real estate.

It isrelief then that all my pasties emergednice and intact. If there's any reasonwhy the pasties are rather flattish, that's because of the copious amount ofchicken within.

Somehabits are simply hard to change.

Makes 4medium pasties.

Pastry :

300g plain flour

150gunsalted cold butter, cubed

1/4 tspfine salt

3 - 4tbsp cold water

Filling :

1 tbspoil

1 chickenbreast, cubed

1 largepotato, cubed

1 largecarrot, cubed

2Japanese curry cubes

1 cupwater

Seaflakes

4 tbspwheat germ, optional

1 egg,lightly beaten, to be used as egg wash

Method :

To makethe pastry :

Mix flourand salt, sieve.

Rubbutter into flour, until it resembles biscuit crumbs

Add coldwater , 1 tablespoon at a time, and gather the flour together.

Knead toform a ball.

Divide to4 equal portions. Wrap and chill, 15 minutes.

Meanwhile,heat oil, fry chicken and vegetables, until surfaces are seared on medium heat.

Addwater. Simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered.

Whenchicken and vegetables are tender to the bite, turn off heat.

Add currycubes. Cover and rest for 5 minutes.

Turn onheat again, medium low, and simmer for 10 minutes uncovered. This helps get ridof excess moisture.

It shouldyield a thick, gravy-like chicken curry.

Finalassembly :

Preheatoven to 220C.

Bringdough out from chiller.

Onfloured surface, use a roller pin and flatten dough to the size of a mediumplate.

Using aplate as template, trim the edges of the dough.

Sprinklea tablespoon of wheat germ in the center of the dough disk.

Spoon agenerous amount of chicken curry.

Brush eggwash all round the dough. This helps seal the pastie.

Bring upthe 2 halves of the dough and wrap the chicken. Pinch to seal edges.

Egg washthe surface of the pastie.

Repeatfor the other 3 pasties.

Transferpastie to a baking tray and bake at 220 C for 15-20 minutes , until the pastieis golden brown.

Enjoy !

British fruit cake

2011-12-07T20:57:00.000+08:00

Nothingis more intolerable than a baking itch that refuses to go away. I should bedoing anything but start the oven working, just days before my holidays. It wasnot a wise thing to do, baking a cake this big, without enough time to consumeall of it.

But the itch overcame me.

That washow I ended up with a British fruit cake. Just as well, as the cake keeps wellbeyond the holiday. It would be nice to have a British fruit cake waiting forus at home when we were back, a suitable close to a wintry English holiday.

Comingback to the recipe, since this would make a rather big cake, I divided it into 2 smaller cake loavesinstead, one for immediate consumption and the other to be frozen,a-la-sarahlee style. The amount of fruits looks like much, but thequintessential ingredient evens out well when the flour was incorporated intothe batter. I added toasted sunflower seeds ( in order to clear my pantry ) butfor a better crunch factor, stick to a 100% walnut version.

I havenever been a fruit cake enthusiast but it is hubby's favorite and I thought hedeserved a little treat for all the hard work this year. As for myself, I have started to become alittle partial to this cake because it was something I tried to perfect everyyear , mostly tweaked to my preference.

Withoutcinnamon and spices, this fruit cake smells more like a citrusy bouquet and didnot have the mind-numbing sugar content that comes with most recipes. With acup of earl grey, it would make the longing of England a bit easier to bear.

Makes 2medium cake loaves.

Ingredients:

100gunsalted butter, room temperature

100gbrown sugar

2 bigeggs, room temperature

1/4 tspoil of lemon

1/4 tspoil of orange

1 1/2tbsp cognac

35galmond meal

50gassorted chopped nuts and seeds ( sunflower, almond,walnut )

300gcandied peels ( candied peels , chopped apricot )

150gassorted raisins,cranberries, sultanas

130gplain flour

1/2 tbspbaking powder

1/8 tspfine salt

Cognacfor brushing

Method :

Preheatoven to 160 C.

Prepare 2medium sized aluminum trays, 4x8x2 inches, oiled . Set aside.

In amedium bowl, mix plain flour,baking powder and fine. Sieve and set aside.

In alarge mixing bowl, whisk butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add eggs,one at a time. Whisk well.

Add oilof lemon, orange and cognac. Whisk again.

Stir inalmond meal. Mix well.

Stir innuts. Mix well.

Stir inpeels and fruits. Mix well.

Finally,in 4 batches, stir in flour mixture. Combine well.

Divide to2 portions and transfer batter to the 2 prepared trays. Smoothen cake surfaces.

Bake the2 trays of cakes at 160C for 35 minutes.

Foil thecakes loosely.

Reducebaking temperature to 150C and bake for another 40 minutes.

Cake isready when a cake skewer pierced into the center of the cakes comes out with afew crumbs of moist crumbs.

Cool cakeon a rack thoroughly. Poke holes on the surface of the cakes and brushgenerously with cognac.

Wrap withaluminum and chill. Repeat the process of brushing the cake with liquor every 3days , until it is ripe to eat, about 2 weeks.

Inspiredby : joyofbaking.com

Of Japanese curry and curry cubes

2011-11-30T13:37:00.001+08:00

Sweet curry is serious food

There isalways a first in everything, even when the year is coming to an end. Such asmaking Japanese curry.

A friendin England has run out of her Japanesecurry stash and I am going over to replenish her stocks. The poor woman must have been deprived for a while, for she could not provide any details , other that it comes in cubes.

Curry, Iknow. In pastes and powders, yes, but cubes ? Eh ?

Iswept off a couple of boxes from ColdStorage, hotness ranging from mild to very hot . And to my dismay, they come inblister packs, not cubes. I had unwittingly landed myself with a year's supply of curry.

Meanwhile the search for curry cubes will continue until I leave for England.

If thereis any good that came out of this, it would be that I made my first everJapanese curry. Best of all, my daughter and I absolutely loved it ! Hubby prefers macho Indian hot but girlysweet curry is the new thing for us girls.

Thanks to my friend, I am now acquainted with a new ingredient. If anybody outthere knows where I can get Japanese curry that comes in real cubes, do drop mea note.

Meanwhile,here's what I did that transformed my curry outlook :

Japanesecurry for 2.

1 T oil

2 cupschicken breasts, cubed

1 Tonions, shredded

1 carrot,cut to wedges

1/2smallish pumpkin, deseeded and cut to chunks

1.5 cupswater

2 curryblisters

Heat oil.Fry onions until softened.

Lightlybrown chicken.

Addvegetables and fry.

Addwater. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Turn offheat.

Add curryblisters / cubes.

Turn onheat again and stir for 5 minutes.

Serveimmediately, with white rice. Avoid letting the curry stand for too longor it will congeal and the texture willbe unappetizing.

Baguette using biga

2011-11-27T22:43:00.001+08:00

Traditional lean baguette with thin,chewy crust

After theenthusiastic reception of the biga based focaccia, I ventured to bake my firstbaguette. Considering the number ofbreads I have baked, this one would have been a non event except that I bakedthis using a convection microwave oven that has a turntable. Because of theoven 'feature', the length of my baguette was neither here nor there.

Scoring ,the slitting of bread to enhance oven spring, is one of the final but importantstep to ensure a bread blooms under theoven heat. However, I do not own any sharp razors , and the result was a poor score and less than perfect bread.

Back tobaguette. The biga based dough was a dream to work with, neither too tacky oroverly dry. Like the previous focacciaproject, this bread offered an opentexture .My short baking time and high heat yielded a chewy but thin crustwhich is my preferred texture for arustic bread.

Eat fresh and enjoy the crackly thin crust

It was a luxury to have lunch made from freshly baked baguette. All the moreso, sharing the time with my daughter and trading stories of the day. Suddenly,problems with scoring and not-long-not-short bread took a back seat and did notreally matter any more.

Makes 2medium baguettes .

Baguette with wheat germ

Ingredients:

Biga :

64gwater,room temp

100gbread flour

Pinchinstant yeast

Finaldough :

140gwater,room temp

3g maltsyrup

All ofthe above biga

220gbread flour

1ginstant yeast

5g seasalt flakes,crushed

Topping :

Wheatgerm ( optional )

Method :

The nightbefore , biga preparation :

Mix flourand yeast in a bowl, stir in water tocombine. Knead to a ball. It will beslightly dry but manageable.

Transferball to an oiled bowl and let it rise to double in bulk, covered.

Chill for2-3 hours.

Removefrom the chiller and let it ferment for 10-12 hours at room temperature, after which it shouldyield a slack, bread like dough.

The nextday , making the final dough :

Combineall the dry ingredients in a medium bowl, minus salt. Set aside.

In amixer, combine water,malt and biga. Mix to break up the biga.

Add thebowl of flour, except water , to the broken up biga mix.

Knead for2 minutes. Add salt. Knead again, 8 minutes.

Doughshould have an improved gluten structure.

Transfer dough to an oiled bowl to ferment for 60minutes, covered.

On afloured surace,remove risen dough. Fold into thirds. Rest for 10 minutes.

Shapingthe bagette :

Dividedough to 2 portions.

For eachportion, elongate the dough on a floured surface, working from the middle tothe ends.

Bring theends to the middle, pinch ends to seal.

Elongateby rolling, from the middle outwards.

Transferto a well floured cloth.

Let itproof a second time, 60 minutes or until almost double in bulk, in awarm,enclosed place.

Coverdough with cloth.

Repeatthe same for the second portion.

Preparingfor baking :

Preheatoven to 250C.

Roll thedough with some wheat germ or flour , with the rocking movement of the cloth.

Transferdough from the cloth to a bagette holder. I do not own one and used a containerinstead.

Slash ,at 45 degrees, along the surface of the dough with a very sharp blade.

Mistspray the dough surface.

Justbefore baking, lightly sprinkle wheat germ if desired . Mist spray one moretime.

Repeatthe same for the other portion.

Baking :

Reducetemperature to 230 C.

Bake the2 loaves for 20 minutes. Bread is ready when is gives out a hollow sound whentapped.

Removefrom container immediately and cool on arack.

Focaccia using biga

2011-11-24T13:17:00.001+08:00

Pepper and onion focaccia

Onion focaccia

I made this, intending for two meals. That was my plan. Imagine to my surprise when the three of us actually managed to wolf down almost 300g of flour inone sitting. It was a good omen for my first attempt, and I already have plans for morefocaccia, seeing the popularity of this Italian bread.

Somewherealong the line, I did not stipple the dough enough and the focaccia wasn't asdimpled as I would like it to be. OK, actually, it totally lost all the dimples and I sort of gave up the stippling. Apartfrom this minor oversight, everything about it was great - from the thin crustto its moist center. Eaten with a heartybowl of rendang, it makes staying in on a weekend a very sensible decision.

2 big focaccias

Floating focaccia ?

Biga :

56g water

90g breadflour

Pinchinstant yeast

Finaldough :

220gwater

116g biga

21g oliveoil

2g maltsyrup

284gbread flour

1ginstant yeast

5g salt

Garnish :

Shreddedonions, peppers, sea flakes

Preparingthe biga :

The nightbefore , mix flour and yeast separately then add water ( biga ingredients) and knead for 5 minutes. Dough will bestiff and slightly dry. Put in an oiled bowl, covered, to double in size. Chillfor 2 hours then remove from chiller. Leave it to ferment overnight for 12hours.

Makingthe final dough, 12 hours later :

In amedium bowl, combine flour and yeast. Set aside.

Under thefinal dough ingredients, combine water,biga,oil and syrup. Break up the biga byhand to small bits.

Addflour-yeast mix to biga liquid. Knead for 3 minutes by hand, add salt and kneadfor another 2 minutes. The dough will appear shaggy.

Transferdough to oiled bowl , covered, and leave to ferment for 60 minutes.

On afloured worktop, transfer risen dough and fold into thirds. Cover, in situ, for10 minutes.

Using abread scrapper, divide dough into halves. Fold each half into thirds. Oil doughby hand and keep dough seam side down.

Rest 10minutes again, covered.

Oil 2baking trays and transfer the 2 pieces of dough to each tray. Use a scrapper totransfer the dough for ease of handling.

Usingoiled fingers, stipple the dough, spreading it to make a rectangle.

Leave toferment, 40 minutes.

Preheatoven to 250 C.

Meanwhile,julienne onions and peppers.

Justbefore baking, mist spray dough. Stipple it one more time, with oiled fingers.This helps prevent the focaccia from puffing too much.

Spreadgarnish evenly.

Reducetemperature to 230C.

Bakefocaccia at 230C for 20 minutes. Do not overbake.

Servewith spicy beef stew and garden salad, to make your masterpiece complete.

Adzuki milk buns

2011-11-23T21:45:00.003+08:00

Myapologies for another adzuki related bread. The only reason I am logging thisis because this bun is made with the milk bread recipe, which turned outwonderfully moist and fluffy.

I delayedremoving the bread from the tray for cooling, an oversight, causing condensation on the bottom of the bread. However, moisture wasreabsorbed back into the bread and what ended up was one of the fluffiest breadI ever baked. To remedy the soggy situation, I left it over a cookie rack to dry,with no major consequences.

As today is our 20thwedding anniversary, I made a pair of bread in a heart mould , nutella forhubby red bean for me. But girl2, abiology buff, commented that it looks more like a set of lungs , since the leftbun is smaller , just like the left lungin human anatomy. Aish ! Talk about romance!

Ingredients :

270 g Bread flour

30 g Cake flour

5 g instant yeast

15 g Milk powder

20 g Sugar

3 g Salt

1 tsp matcha powder

1 small Egg

200 g low fat freshmilk

1 TToasted sesame seeds

1 egg,lightly beaten, for egg wash

Method :

Makingthe dough -

Combinedry ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

Bringmilk to room temperature. Add egg, beating lightly. Set aside.

Divideadzuki beans, 8 portions. Chill to firm paste until needed.

Combine wet and dryingredients together and mix until a dough forms.

Knead to get asmooth, glossy dough , 20 minutes.

Cover and let doughferment for 1 hour or until nearly doubled.

Forming the buns -

Preheat oven to 180C. place rack in the center of the oven.

On a lightly flouredsurface, portion out dough rounds, 11 pieces, about 50g each. Restdough for 10-20 minutes.

Wrap adzuki bunspaste with dough. Pinch to seal bun.

Brush buns withmilk, then rest buns for 40 minute in awarm , moist place , seal side down on an oiled baking tray.

Sprinkle bunswith sesame seeds .

Baking -

Dab the bun surfacewith egg wash.

Bake for 20minutes or until bun is slightly browned.

Credits : Portions adapted from http://wendyinkk.blogspot.com/2011/11/hokkaido-milk-loaf-white-loaf-week-1.html

Cranberry almond cookie

2011-11-15T18:41:00.000+08:00

Friday is bakingday. It is also the day I meet up with people I like. And I show it by plyingthem with freshly baked cookies of the day.

Of course, in casesof a baking disaster , I dreamed of feeding my enemies instead.

Luckily, these arefar and few in between. The baking disaster and enemies, I mean.

What do I say aboutthis great looking cookie ? No need for tacky cookie cutters and no odd shaped dough leftovers. Best of all, Iget to use my sushi mat, because this is easier than making real sushi.

Plus, plus, I was so pleased with myself I wanted tostart a cookie business just making this.

If you want to enjoyFridays as much as I do, here's what to do :

Makes about 50cookies

Ingredients :

180g unsaltedbutter, softened

2/3cup confectioners’ sugar,sifted

2 egg yolks, at room temperature

Pinch of fine salt

1 teaspoonsvanilla extract

2 cups all-purposeflour

1/2 cup wholemealflour

1 cup of flour forground almonds

1/2 cup driedcranberries, finely chopped up

Method :

Combineflours and almond meal in a bowl. Mix well.

Finely mince thecranberries . This is very important, in order that the cookies can be cutcleanly and neatly.

Cream butter until smooth.

Add the siftedconfectioners’ sugar and beat again until the mixture is fluffy and silky.

Add items in thisorder, beating them one at a time : eggyolks, salt and cranberries.

Add the flours,beating until it just disappears. Do notovermix. You should end up with a loose playgdough texture sort of dough. Use aspatula, first to combine and a manual whisk to finish off the mixing.

Divide dough to 2equal portions. Wrap each piece of dough in parchment.

Roll up theparchment holding the dough to make a log. I used a sushi making bamboo mat to roll the parchment wrapped doughlike a sushi. The mat provides even pressure and ensures even thickness alongthe cookie log.

Repeat the above forthe other portion of dough.

Chill dough,parchment wrapper and all, for about 2hours. I froze it for 10 minutes and chill for another 30 minutes.

Preheat the ovento180°C, rack in center. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.

Forthe following, use a very sharp and slender knife. Slice each log into cookies, 1 cm thick. Leave 1 cm space between cookies, on the lined tray.

Bake thecookies at 180C for 12-14 minutes. I baked mine for 13 minutes.Cookies should be set, brown around the rim but not completely browned.

Let cookies rest for5 minutes and then transfer them to a cookie rack to cool thoroughly.

Keeps 5 days.

Note :

This is avery low sugar recipe, the main sweetness provided by the berries. Do not tweakthe sugar anymore downwards unless 'plain' is your preferred taste.

Loosely adapted from smittenkitchen.com/2007/12/a-slice-and-bake-cookie-palette,original adapted from Dorie Greenspan.

Peasant bread - wholemeal flour and rye

2011-11-14T15:24:00.000+08:00

A biga is a type of bread starter, used often for Italian breads. One example of the biga-based bread is the Italian ciabatta.

Biga normally has a hydration of 60%, that is, it contains 6 parts water to 10 parts flour. This composition is the reason for its light, open texture with a moist crumb.

Unlike other normal breads, biga takes longer to rise, but the end result is totally worth the wait. The unusually long fermentation helps form lactic acid, which not only enhances the keeping quality of the bread, but also gives it a nutty aroma and a complex flavour.

Like its cousin sourdoughs, biga -based bread is sturdy and robust, making it a good sandwich base to hold gamey meat, strong cheeses and heavy sauces.

My perfect sandwich out of this is to spread a thin layer of blue cheese, slap on some sliced avocado, chicken breast and German sausage, throw a picnic mat on a grassy patch, bring out the champagne and watch the world go by.

Makes 1 loaf.

Ingredients :

Biga ( overnight ) :

Water- lukewarm	85g
Bread flour	95g
Whole wheat flour	27g
Rye flour	14g
Instant yeast	1 pinch

Final dough :

Water ( lukewarm )	221g
Malt syrup	2g
Overnight biga	221g
Bread flour	136g
Whole wheat flour	82
Rye flour	54g
Instant yeast	3g
Salt	5g

To prepare overnight biga :

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.

Create a hollow in the center of the flour.

Add water. Mix and knead. 2 minutes.

The dough will start off rather dry but becomes more knead-able and holds together after some kneading.

Transfer the dough into an oiled bowl, covered.

Chill for 2 hours.

Remove the biga dough and leave it at room temperature, 12 hours.

After 12 hours, the bida will loosen up and look more like bread dough.

Final dough :

Break up biga manually.

Combine dry ingredients of final dough, except salt , in a separate bowl. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, add water, malt and biga. Mix , 2 minutes.

Add dry ingredients into biga mix and knead, 3 minutes.

Cover dough and let rest for 15 minutes.

Add salt to the rested dough. Knead again, 3 minutes.

By now, you should expect gluten formation in the dough.

Transfer dough to an oiled bowl and let it ferment for 1 hour, covered.

Dough is ready for the next stage when it springs back when lightly touched.

Shaping your loaf :

Transfer dough from bowl to a floured worktop.

Make into a round mound.

Line a bowl with a floured cloth.

Transfer dough to cloth, seam side up.

Cover and let it ferment again, about 40 minutes.

It is ready when springs back when lightly touched.

Baking preparation :

Preheat oven to 250C, with a shallow tray of water to create steam.

Invert dough from cloth to a baking tray, seam side down.

Mist spray with water.

Wait for 5 minutes.

Score the bread with a very sharp knife.

Mist spray again.

Bake the bread at 230C for 20 minutes.

Bread is ready when it doesn't yield when pressed.

Cool thoroughly before cutting.

Credits : from 'Artisans Breads' by Eric Kastel

Matcha shortbread

2011-11-11T21:09:00.005+08:00

Shortbread squares

As Iditched packaged tours and experienced the world on my own terms, I experiencedmany things outside the protective cocoon of the tour bus. The world opened upbefore me, and I realized how unsophisticated and uninformed I was in thethings of the world.

Especiallyfood. Shortbread, to be precise.

Take Scottish shortbread, for example. Ihave no idea how the Scots got involved with this delicious biscuit. Norwhy it is 'short' when it is rather longish. How could it be a breadwhen it is more biscuit instead ?

Luckily,not all things need to go through a serious academic discourse in order toenjoy it, all thanks to my food loving intrepid better half.

Now, tome, shortbread will always be the Lake District, longish bars of butterybiscuits and hot English tea and running brooks.

Makes 64 cookies

1 tablespoon matchapowder

1 tablespoon boilingwater

200g unsaltedbutter, at room temperature. Microwave at high for 10s if it is chilled.

2/3cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon purevanilla extract

2 cups all-purposeflour

Stir matcha powderwith the boiling water, and set aside to cool.

Beat the butter. Addconfectioners’ sugar and beat until the mixture is smooth. Beat in the vanilla and matcha. About5 minutes.

Add the flour to thebutter, mixing only until it disappears into the dough. Do not overwork thedough.

Prepare abig sheet of parchment paper and lay it on a glass chopping board, 12x16 inches. This will become your worktop.

Transferthe sticky dough to the side of the parchment that is on board.

Fold theother side of the parchment over the dough, like a book. Using another flatboard ( I used another chopping board ), depress the dough for even thickness.The dough should be about 1/4 inch thick.

Even outany kinks created by the parchment by pulling the paper outwards.

Transferparchment wrapping the dough, together with the chopping board, into thefridge.

Chillovernight.

Preheat the oven at160C . Line a baking tray with a freshparchment.

Peel open theparchment covering the dough. Use the chilled glass chopping board as your worktop. This helps keep the work surface cold while you cut out the cookies.

Using a very long knife and cut squares out of the dough with the aid ofa ruler.

Prick eachcookie with the tines of a small forkall the way to the tray. You may need to flour your fork and fingers for easy handling. Chill them again if the cookiesget too soft to handle.

Transfer the squaresto the baking sheets, using the blade of your knife. This reduces handling byhand which warms up the cookies and causing unwanted finger prints.

Bake for 18 minutes . The shortbreads should be palecoloured. Cool the cookies on a cookie rack.

Credits: Inspired by <http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/12/espresso-chocolate-shortbread-cookies/>

Cinnamon cake bun

2011-11-10T20:48:00.000+08:00

Alien looking buns


Cake in a bun

Read on,if you like cinnamon rolls that are more cake than buns.

If youhappened to drop in as I was halfway into this recipe, you would never havefigured out that it was 12 cinnamon cakebuns concocted in the secrecy of the kitchen.

For allthe bread recipes that I have made, this was one of the strangest recipe with nothing resembling the endproduct. It started with a watery foamy blob unlike any bread dough spillingout of the mixing bowl, like an experiment gone wrong and finally, a wobbly, floury python engorged withcinnamon sugar.

Even whenit was cut out and laid on the baking tray, my uninformed daughter was quiteclueless as to what I was going to endup with.

What turned out was a pan of spineless dismembered snakelike buns. I could not reconcile a cinnamon tasting cake in a bun, sugar suffused into the spiral twirls of dough.

But if itis cake in the form of a cinnamon roll that you prefer, then this one is foryou.

Credits: http://happyhomebaking.blogspot.com/2011/09/magical-rolls.html

This makes a good tea break item

Makes 12rolls.

Ingredients:

Dough:

250ml fresh milk

50g brown sugar

1/4 cup canolaoil

1 teaspoon Instantyeast

250g plain flour

30g plain flour (for addition after first rise )

1/4 teaspoon bakingpowder

1/4 teaspoon (scant)baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:

1 tablespoon cinnamon powder ( I used 5-spice powder )

50g brown sugar

50g unsalted butter , melted

Scaldmilk with oil and sugar , but do notbring to a boil. Let cool completely, 1hour.

In a bigbowl, mix 250g of flour with yeast.

Create ahollow in the center of the flour, add milk mixture and stir thoroughly to mixwell. I used a pair of chopstick for the job.

Coverbowl and let it rise to double its bulk, 1 hour.

Meanwhile,mix cinnamon and sugar. Set aside.

In asmall bowl, mix 30g plain, baking powder and soda and mix well.

Add tothe main dough that has now risen.

Incorporatenew batch of flour and risen dough well.

For easeof handling, chill for at least 15 minutes.

On a wellfloured worktop, shape dough to a rectangular shape, as thin as possible.

Doughwill be tacky so flour your hands and both sides of the dough while handlingthe dough. Use a pastry cutter to handle the very sticky dough surfaces as muchas possible.

Drizzlethe dough with melted butter, as evenly as possible.

Sprinklethe cinnamon sugar evenly on the dough.

From thefarthest end of the rectangular, roll the dough tightly towards you.

Pinch toseal the ends.

Cut out12 portions and arrange the rolls on an oiled baking tray.

Let itrise until double in bulk, about 40 minutes.

Preheatoven to 180 C.

Bake therolls at 180C for 20 mins until golden brown. Brush with melted butter ifdesired.

Carrot cupcake

2011-11-09T10:48:00.002+08:00

Little things can make or break a cupcake, like an tilted baking surface in the oven.

I am on an ambitiousplan to empty my pantry before going off for my year end holiday. It will bequite a feat because a recent expeditionto Phoon Huat has turned me into a frightening shopaholic. Surrounded by wonderfulbaking goods, I envisioned making a long list of to-bake cakes a reality just before we scoot for Europe.

A small gathering offriends tonight has given me cause to bake these cupcakes, and might as well ,since smallsmallbaker hasalso called for a cupcake cyber meet.

( Due to this cook'swriter's block, the following short text is contributed by the carrot cake monster in thehouse )

(: And of course,carrot cake is a perennial favourite in the family. This batch of carrotcupcakes, I fear, will not last long enough to warrant me posting instructionsfor storing them :)

What Ilike about this recipe is the use of canola oil instead of butter, which yieldsa more resilient and less crumbly dough. The crunch of walnut is always a pleasurable sensation and what isa little addiction when the cupcake is heart friendly.

Fruit mix :

200 g grated carrot

1/2 C raisins,soaked in orange juice for 30 minutes and drained

1 C walnuts, toastedand coarsely chopped

Dry ingredients (well mixed, set aside) :

2 cups plain flour (or whole wheat )

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp bakingpowder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon ( I used 5-spice powder )

Wet ingredients :

4 eggs, roomtemperature

1 C fine sugar

1 C canola oil

1 tsp vanillaessence

1 tsp oilof orange

Method :

Preheatthe oven to 180 C, with a baking rack.

Prepare12 medium cups.

In amedium bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix well. Set aside.

Beat theeggs until fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Whisk in sugar, adding in batches.

Add oil ,essence and oil of orange. Beat until the egg mixture is frothy with very finebubbles.

In 4batches, sift flour mixture over eggbatter, whisking in between sift until just combined. Do not overmix.

Using apair of chopstick or spatula to stir in fruit and nuts. Do this in 3 batches.

Spoonbatter into the cups, about 3/4 cup full.

Bake for20 - 25 minutes. Cakes are ready when a skewer pierced in the center of thecake comes out clean.

Thisrecipe will be submitted to Aspiring Bakers #13: EnjoyCupcakes! (November 2011 ) hosted by Min of Min's blog

Ayam Pongteh

2011-11-07T16:00:00.001+08:00

Incredible tasting chicken with gula melaka and fermented beans

I have never in myconscious memory eaten this Peranakan dish, be it in the form of pork orchicken. But a recent trip to Malacca cranked up my awareness of this dish.Besides being told that it is a must-eat item by forummers, this dish is saidto be uniquely Malaccan because of an iconic ingredient : Gula Melaka.

My girl too, who isindifferent to Chinese food, fell in love with the ayam pongteh and unabashedlyraved about it , from the Jonker Street restaurant all the way back toSingapore.

To reproduce this delicious chicken treat, I trawledthe internet and consolidated a recipe made from an amalgam of recipes. The end result ofthis recipe was a sort of eureka moment, so much so I wondered why I did notcook it earlier. One cannot dismiss the smoky flavor of gula melaka andmulti-dimension saltiness of the fermented beans .

From the speed atwhich the dish was demolished, it seems like the recipe will go into the annals of the Experimental kitchen.

For 4.

Ingredients :

3 shallots, peeledand chopped

3 cloves garlic,peeled and chopped

1 kampong chicken,cut into12 parts.

5 new potatoes,skinned

4 teaspoonsfermented beans, mashed

6 teaspoons gulamelaka

1 T black soya sauce

1 cup water

Heat a frying panwith 2 T of canola oil.

Saute garlic andonions, taking care not to burn it.

Add chicken partsand fry on medium high heat.

Add potatoes. Tosswell.

Add fermented beans,gula , soya sauce and mix well.

Add water. Braise onmedium heat for 30 minutes, covered.

Adjust the level ofsweetness and color of the braised chicken according to your preference.Peranakan food is biased towards the sweet side, so tweak the amount of gulamelaka according to your dietary preference.

Pork floss bread roll with wasabi furikake

2011-11-06T20:49:00.000+08:00

Pork floss and bread is a marriage in heaven

Istumbled upon this delicious bread snack in the streets of Taiwan many yearsago which quickly became a must-eat whenever I was there.

It isincredible how pork floss, a common porridge condiment can marry so well with abread baked with spring onions. The texture of stringy pork floss, sweet breadand crunchy spring onions remains one of my favorite sensation . It never failsto bring back memories of bygone days.

Whiletrawling through one of my favorite blog, Happy Homebaking forinspiration, I was delighted to see thisrecipe,with detailed instructions that even a haphazard cook like me can do. Itwas a tacky task, with the mayonaise smeared on everything I laid my hands onbut I was more than pleased with the result.

Inconsideration for hubby who does not eat spring onions, I made this rollwithout the vegetable. It lacks the omph but I compensated for it by sprinklingwasabi furikake into the pork floss, for some fire.

Since Iam not able to write any better instructions than HHB, do hop over to her blogto check out this fantastic recipe.

Vinegar pork trotters with black beans

2011-11-03T07:50:00.000+08:00

Okay, I overdo the beans but nobody's complaining

Vinegarpork trotters are a must have for many Chinese women recuperating afterchildbirth. It is said to be nourishing and helps the new mother in nursing her child.

The key to a mean bowl of trotters is good quality rice vinegar. That said, itwould never do to have only lean meat, but a mixture of fat and gelatinous porkwhich keeps the acidity in check. The sharp tang of the vinegar is a greatappetite booster and is good on its own, with a bowl of hot,fluffy rice. I know of some guys wholove this dish as well, and must have gladly eaten it together with their wivesduring the 'confinement'.

I waspondering what to cook for a group of mostly old ladies, living under the careof a welfare group, when I thought this dish would be a treat for them.They deemed it a delicacy and most weretransported to the happier days when they had it .

Vinegarhas the ability to tenderize meat which makes for relatively easy cooking .Simply choose the best black vinegar you can afford and the rest will fall inplace on their own. Black beans is a new addition for me, but hubby said he hadseen his Cantonese mum adding this. Ineither case, both beans and pork provide good textural contrast and makes acompletely black looking dish more interesting.

There's no better way to eat the skin of pork than this

Ingredients:

250gblack beans

2 fronthock, split and chopped to chunks

1 kgtweebak / hind meat, cut to bite size

500g veryyoung ginger, cut to bite size

4 T blackmolasses

1 bigbottle sweet black rice vinegar

1 Tcanola oil

3 Tsesame oil

1.5 cupof water

Method :

Toprepare the beans :

Heat apot on medium high heat.

Fry thebeans, tossing continuously.

The shellof the black beans will split, about 10 minutes. Take care not to burn them.

Turn offheat and pour enough water to cover the beans.

Cover thepot and wait for 30 minutes.

Rub thebeans to remove the shells. Drain the (floating ) shells by draining off the water.

Repeatuntil only the beans are left behind, without shell.

Setaside.

Preparethe trotters :

Bring apot of water to the boil.

Blanchpork and hock chunks. Drain off bloody water.

Heat apressure pot, with canola oil and sesame oil.

Add porkand ginger, tossing well for 5 minutes.

Addginger chunks, vinegar, water, molasses.

Pressurecook for 1 hour.

Removepot cover and cook for another 15-30 minutes, to reduce the liquid content.

Serve hotwith white rice.

Chocolate and orange cake

2011-11-01T11:27:00.001+08:00

This chocolateorange cake was a last minute bake for a evening gathering of friends. I likeit for its simplicity and yet sophistication, bearing 2 different layers in onecake.

While the chocolatelayer did well with the addition of choc chips for sweetness, It would havebeen perfect if the orange portion was a notch sweeter as well. Still, it makes for a light breakfast withoutthe heaviness of fats and sugars.

Adaptedfrom http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2008/04/chocolate-orange-bundt-cake and the Gourmet Cookbook

Ingredients :

Makes 2small ( tray ) cakes.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cakeflour

1/2Tablespoon bakingpowder

1/4 teaspoon bakingsoda

1/2 teaspoon salt

100g unsalted butter at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanillaextract

1 cup low fat yogurt

zest of 1 largeorange

2 tablespoons cocoapowder

1/2 cup chocolatechips

Method :

Preheat oven to 180C, with a rack in the center.

Butter and flour 2small ( 7 inch ) sized trays and set aside.

Sift together flour,baking powder, baking soda and salt . Set aside.

Beat together butterand sugar at medium speed until pale and fluffy, 3 minutes.

Add eggs one at atime, then beat in vanilla.

In 2 batches,add flour mixture , alternating withyogurt and mix until just blended, at low speed. Mix till batter is smooth.

The finalmixing process was done using a manual balloon whisk.

Divide the batterevenly into two portions . In one , add the orange zest , stir tocombine.

In the other, addsifted cocoa powder and chocolate chips and stir to combine.

First pour theorange batter into the buttered tray, spreading it evenly. Top the orangebatter with the chocolate batter on top. Level off with a spatula.

Bakeat 180C for 40- 45 minutes . Cake isready when a skewer pierced into the center comes out clean.

Adaptedfrom <http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2008/04/chocolate-orange-bundt-cake/>

Oatmeal bread

2011-10-30T23:26:00.000+08:00

After a fortnight of feasting on coconut laced kuihs to test out variousrecipes, I decided that, for my health's sake, all good things must come to an end.

It istime for some 'detox'.

And soout comes the oatmeal bread, lean and healthy without added fat, to undo all the calorie laden kuihs circling in my system. This feelgood bread pick me up bread is suitable for breakfast, given its low GIproperties and robust enough to go with a chowder for dinner. Slap some ham andwild greens and there you have it - a rustic lunch.

If you like a mildly sweet , moist and nutty bread with an interesting texture, this should be one on your to-bakelist.

Ingredients:

Oatsoaker :

70g water

48grolled oats

Finaldough :

180gwater

118g oatsoaker

34g honey

286gbread flour

4ginstant yeast

1/4 tfine salt

50grolled oats, lightly toasted

Oats forcoating

Combineingedients for oat soaker. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Combinewater , oat soaker, honey and stir to break up oats.

In aseparate bowl, whisk flour, yeast and salt.

Transferflour mix to liquid component. Knead 7 minutes. Dough will be quite wet withgluten formation.

Addtoasted oats. Knead another 1 minutes.

Let thedough ferment, 60 minutes until almost double on bulk or when poked, the doughsprings halfway back.

Prepare abread tin, oiled and floured.

Transferrisen dough to a lightly floured worktop.

Fold thedough into thirds, like a letter.

Mist spray dough and roll it to coat with rolledoats.

Transferoat coated dough to tin. Let it proof for 60 minutes, in a moist, enclosedspace.

Preheatoven to 250C, with a dish of water under the baking rack.

10minutes before baking, mist spray dough, sprinkle some more oats .

Use avery sharp knife to make a deep cut along the middle of the dough, at 45degrees.

Justbefore baking, mist spray again.

Bake at220C for 20 minutes.

Removebread from tin to cool completely before serving.

Rye and wholewheat sourdough

2011-10-28T10:57:00.003+08:00

Rye bread

The starter hibernating in the fridge has begun to produce hooch, a yeast alcohol. It is a sign that food for the residing yeast is running low. And so a 4 day process began because it's feeding time for my starter and there's always excess after feeding. Without fail, the excess fed starter would become food for us instead.

A forage at PH caused me to cart back 2 packs of rye flour, which will go with the fed starter. Hubby and girl2 love rye and it would be the most natural thing to bake them a rye loaf, in 4 days' time.

Here goes :

Ingredients :

Water	234g
Sourdough starterq	136 g
Malt syrup	3g
Bread flour	241g
Rye flour	54g
Whole wheat flour	54g
Salt	5g

Day 1 :

Bring the starter to room temperature, overnight.

Day 2 :

Feed the starter : 1 part sour, 2 parts water, 3 parts bread flour. Stir well.

Cover. Leave to let yeast grow overnight.

Day 3:

Combine day 2's starter, water and malt. Mix to break up starter. 3 minutes.

Add flours. Knead on low speed, 2 minutes. Dough is sticky but you should see gluten formation. Rest dough for 15 minutes.

Add salt. Knead to incorporate salt. 2 minutes.

Transfer dough to oiled bowl , cover and let ferment. Dough should almost double in bulk and springs back halfway with poked. 60 minutes.

Transfer dough to floured worktop. Fold dough to thirds, like a letter. Rest 10 minutes.

Flour well a cotton cloth. Transfer rested dough to cloth.

Lift dough into a bread tray. Drape cloth over floured dough.

Proof 60 minutes.

Transfer dough to fridge, still in tray and cloth. Leave it overnight.

Day 4 :

Bring dough back to room temperature. 60 minutes.

20 minutes before baking, transfer risen dough to baking tray. Remove cloth and proofing tin.

Preheat oven to 250C, with a tray of water.

Mist spray dough. Rest 5 minutes.

With a very, very sharp knife, make a deep score on the dough. Mist spray again.

Transfer to oven. Bake on 230C for 12 minutes.

Remove water tray. Bake on 230 C for 18 minutes.

Cool sourdough well before serving.

Adapted from Eric Kastel's "Artisan Breads at Home" with the Culinary Inst. Of America

Pandan layered cake

2011-10-27T15:15:00.000+08:00

I have new respect for those bakers who cut their cakes evenly !

From India to the Philippines, the coconut tree, is said to be thetree that provides all that is needed for living. Every single part is usefulfor basic sustenance ; from shelter to food to fuel.

As a denizen living in thetropics, coconut is undoubtedly one of my favorite ingredient in local cuisine,be it in curry or snacks. The layered pandan cake , pumped with cream ofcoconut , comes out tops in my list of favorite traditional cakes ( kuih ) .The richness of coconut and intoxicating fragrance of pandan smacks ofdecadence in an otherwise ordinary snack.

No other western ingredient smells quite like it. The pandan-coconutpartnership is uniquely tropical and never fails to remind me of home inSingapore and the happy treats of childhood.

Credits: Adapted from http://li-shuan.blogspot.com/2011/10/pandan-layer-cake.html

Makes one skinny pandan layered cake for 4.

Removing the cake out of its mould is the most difficult part of the baking process !

Ingredients A :

2 egg whites

1/4 t cream of tartar

30g fine sugar

Ingredients B :

2 egg yolks

25g fine sugar

62 ml oil

40 ml coconut milk

1/4 t salt

1/4 t pandan paste

Ingredients C :

60g cake flour

Method :

Butter and flour a cake pan 10x3x3 inches.

Whisk ingredients A until it forms stiff peaks.

Whisk ingredients B in this order : yolks, sugar , salt ,oil, paste,coconut cream.

Add 1/3 meringue into yolk mix. Add 1/3 of cake flour. Stir manuallywith a balloon whisk.

Repeat until all the meringue and cake flour is combined with theyolk mix.

Pour batter into 10x 3x3 inch pan.

Bake 180C for 15-18 min. I baked mine for 16 minutes.

Cool cake.

Remove cake from mould and cool further. and slice into 3 layers (Here is where my amateur skill shows, with wobbly and evenly layers. Poof ! )

Pandan sauce :

275g coconut cream

225g water

1/4t pandan paste

35g fine sugar

50g green hoon kuay powder

1/4 t salt

1 t agar powder

Combine cream,paste,sugar,hoon kuay powder, agar. Cook over low heatuntil sauce thickens, stirring continuously.

Divide sauce to 4 equal portions. Mine works out to be about 140g,not including losses.

In a mould slightly bigger than the cake, mist spray mould withwater.

Pour 1st portion of sauce.

Place the 1st layer of cake in the mould.

Pour 2nd portion of sauce.

Place 2nd layer of cake.

Pour 3rd portion of sauce.

Place 3rd layer of cake.

Pour the last layer of sauce to cover the cake. Level off the surface with a spatula.

Chill for 3 hours. Remove cake and cut to serve.

Verdict : For a maiden effort, the cake turned out better thanexpected, not too sweet and very rich. The custard is brittle and soft and I managed to damage quite a bit of the cake just by removing it fromthe mould.

Macadamia chocolate sandies

2011-10-25T22:42:00.000+08:00

Bakingcookies when so many varieties are readily available in the market makes nosense until we lamented that there is no one cookie that is customized tocontain each of our favorite ingredients .

And sostarted an earnest search for a suitablecookie recipe that has the robust structure to contain girl2's favorite darkchocolate, hubby's must-have peanut butter and my favorite macadamia nut snack.

The finalproduct took the form of a chocolate macadamia sandie with peanut butterovertones. I scaled back on the sugar,since the peanut butter and chocolate will lend some of its sweetness. As forthe butter, it was also reduced but compensated by an additional egg, formoisture and holding power for thebatter. The overall effect was a thin crusted sandie with a mildly cakeycenter.

What is attractiveabout the production process is its relative ease in making it and the veryshort baking time. In under an hour, thecookies materialized from 2 1/2 cups of flour, providing a happy pre-midnight snack.

Makes 48 macadamiachocolate sandies.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cupsall-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon bakingsoda

1/2 teaspoon bakingpowder

1/4 teaspoon salt

pinch of freshlygrated nutmeg

160g unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup peanut butter-crunchy

1/2 cup molasses,organic

1/4 cup caster sugar

3 small eggs

1 1/2 cup darkchocolate, shaved with a sharp knife

1 cup granulated sugar for rolling cookies

Method :

Preheat oven to 180 C . Line 3 baking trays with parchmentpaper ( I baked in 3 batches )

Whisk together theflour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.

Beat the butter onmedium spee until fluffy and creamy, 3 minutes.

Add the peanutbutter . Whisk well.

Add the sugars .Whisk 3 minutes .

Add the eggs one ata time, beating 1 minute after eachaddition.

Whisk in the dryingredients, on low speed. Stop immediately when they are justincorporated. Do not over mix.

Mix in the chocolatechips and nuts. Dough should be soft andpliable.

Pour 1 cup sugar into a small bowl.

Spoon a leveltablespoonful of dough for each cookie and knock it into the sugar. Roll thedough to coat with sugar.

Lay the cookies onthe tray, leaving 1-2 inches betweenthem.

Press the tines ofthe fork against the cookie. It shouldbe flattened with crisscrossindentations.

Chill the cookiesfor 10 minutes.

Bake the dough for13-14 minutes, the longer time yieldinga firmer cookie.

The cookies will besandy coloured and slightly soft. Letcool on the baking tray for 5 minutes, to firm up, before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Cool to roomtemperature before storing them in an airtight container.

Inspiredby http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2008/03/peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies/>

Fruit and nut butter cake

2011-10-22T15:00:00.001+08:00

Crumbly cakes are best eaten with a spoon !

It has been a whilesince I made either a butter or fruit cake. Both recipes call for copious amount of butter. However, theamount of butter in any butter cake isdisturbing, but a necessary evil.

In the end, I hadthe best of 3 worlds by baking myself a fruit and butter cake with reducedbutter and sugar.

This I did by fluffing up the butter, literally, by whisking the daylight out ofit, so as to provide lift for the fruits, nuts and flour. The end result is alight, less oily kind of tea snack.

I omitted darkmolasses , instead opting for white sugar powder ( which incorporates well inthe batter ) , so that the coloured fruits can be visible. Since the use ofsugar in the batter was minimal , it made the cake hard to caramelize. This was overcome by a longer bake time.

For a darker,plumped up cake, use at least 50g of caster sugar instead.

What I like mostabout the cake was its crumb, thepockets of mealy almond and crunchy walnuts and jolts of sweet fruits amidst mild tasting butter cake.

As a sign of itspopularity ( never mind the butter and all ), it was 'demolished' in 2 days.

This cake is adapted from thelittleteochew.com

Recipe

72g all-purposeflour

25g almond meal

1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp baking powder

pinch fine salt

70g butter, cubedand softened

30g powdered sugar

1 small egg

1/2 T vanillaextract

6 tbsp low fat milk

Fruits :

1/4 cupsultanas

1/4 cupraisins

1/4 cupdried cranberries

2 T plainflour

3 Torange juice

2 handfulwalnut, crushed coarsely

Method :

Preheatoven to 190 C. Butter and flour a cake pan , 10 x 3 inches long

Soak sultanas andraisin in the orange juice, 1 hour. If you are in a hurry, warm up the juicebefore soaking it for 30 minutes.

Drain juice and coatfruits with flour.

In a big bowl,whisk flour, almond meal, baking powderand salt.

On medium speed,whisk cream butter and sugar until fluffy , 3 minutes.

Beat in eggs,vanilla until well-combined, 2 minutes.

Add flour mixtureand milk, in 3 parts. Mix until batter is homogenous.

Add floured raisins,sultanas, cranberries, walnuts and lightly stir into the batter.

Pour batter intoprepared pan. Smooth top with spatula.

Bake for about 30-35minutes, or until cake turns golden brown and an inserted cake tester comes outclean.

Let cake rest in panfor 5 minutes . Remove cake from the pan and transfer cake to cool on a rack.

Due to the low sugarcontent, it would be prudent to fridge the cake after the first day.

Kuih Tutu

2011-10-21T10:16:00.000+08:00

'Deep dish' Tutu gives me more of the good stuff

Mygirl loves this, but I have boycotted all the kuih tutu sellers since theexorbitant price increase a year ago.

Imagineher joy when she learnt that I would be trying this recipe. I used mini pietins, which she approved, because the deeper the mould ( to hold all the yummybits ) the better.

Ifthere was any part that I did not enjoy doing, it would be pressing the wetflour through the sieve. The original recipe called for too much water, whichcaused a soggy clump of flour. I remedied it by adding more rice flour andpulsing it in a processor to 'revive' coarse crumbs. To add insult to injury, Ihad flour everywhere struggling to push it through the sieve. I almost gave upand took photos of a near disaster, ending up with 3 steamed tutu kuih withcoarse crumbs ( which was only fit to be consumed by the incorrigible cook )

Still,diligence won, if rarely, and the rest of the tutus were cooked with finelysieved moist flour. For novices like me, it would be better to reduce theamount of water ( starting from 100 ml ). Also, waiting for the flour to dry out a little beforepressing through the sieve will help reduce the sieving process.

Ps. Ifthere is any deviance from the qualityof photos, that is because my residence photographers are too busy to take/process pictures ( which they like themtaken raw ). But like any instant food or photos, my point and shoot offersinstant gratification, if you ignore the less than perfect picture quality.

Ingredients:

Kuih:

2 cupsof rice flour

120 ml( adjustable ) water dissolved with a generous pinch of fine salt

6pandan leaves

Filling:

1/2cup of desiccated coconut with 1/2 tsp of salt

150 ggula melaka, grated

Serving :

Pandanleaves strips, microwaved 30 sec and cooled

Method：

On abig wok, dry fry rice flour with pandan leaves over medium high heat, 3-4minutes. Discard leaves and cool the flour.

Microwavethe coconut and salt, 1 minute. Cool well before combining grated gula melaka.

Drizzlewater evenly over the roasted flour, stirring with a fork. The flourshould just be moistened and not soggy, forming big crumbs.

Press the crumbs through a sieve, with the back of a ladle. It should yield a fine crumb texture. For ease , do in very smallbatches.

Spoonrice crumble into the mould. Add 1 tsp of gula melaka-coconut mix. Do not allowthe gula to touch the base of the mould.

Topwith another spoon of rice crumbs. Press gently with palm for a smooth finish.

Steam , 15 minutes, with a cloth cover.

Credits: adapted from http://li-shuan.blogspot.com

I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #12: Traditional Kueh (October 2011) hosted by SSB of Small Small Baker.

Kuih Talam

2011-10-21T10:12:00.000+08:00

A lack of proper sized tray led to the extra wide kuih talam

KuihTalam is one of my favorites. I never fail to order this whenever I gave myselfa Bengawan Solo treat. I would have loved it even more had it not been for thebitter layer , due to the alkaline water ingredient.

And here,while I crank up the kuih momentum, I decided to fix the bitterness once andfor all. Baking soda was used in place of alkaline water and the addition ofgula malaka erased all un-yummy experiences I had with all the kuih talams in the world.

After theoutcry of the less than generous coconut custard top of the previous project (seri muka ), I wanted to do right by this one.

Needlessto say, I was pleased with the end result ; earthy gula without the bitteraftertaste and a generous amount of coconut layer with sugar tweaked low tosatisfy my craving without adding on the carbo guilt.

There isalways areas to improve in the looks department, but for now, I am taking babysteps while celebrating the success of my first kuih talam.

Ingredients for bottom layer:

25g rice flour

6g tapioca flour

1/2 tbsp hoonkueh flour

70g gula malaka , melted

1/2 t pandan paste ( fromPhoon Huat )

120g water

1 tbsp coconut milk,

1/8 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1/8 tsp of water

Ingredientsfor top layer:

2 tbsp rice flour

2 tbsp hoonkueh flour

1 tbsp sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

250 g coconut milk

Preparingbottom layer :

Microwaveto melt gula malaka in a cup, 20 sec with 1/2 T water.

Combine flours in a pot.

Mixpandan paste , water with the flours until well combined.

Add soda water.

Drizzlea steady but thin stream of gula into the batter, whisking constantly.

Pourmixture over a low fire until batter becomes fairly thick and translucent butstill runny.

Pourbatter into a steaming tray ( I use an aluminium tray, 7x3x2 inches ) .

Steambottom layer of the kuih until batter is firm and cooked, 15 minutes.

Prepare the top layer :

Combine flour, sugar and salt into a mixing bowl; gradually pour incoconut milk, stir well until smooth.

Cook onlow heat until mixture thickensslightly.

Strainthe coconut cream batter on to bottom layer. Steam on medium heat , foilcovered,15-20 minutes.

Coolthoroughly. Chill at least 4 hours.

Toserve, cut with a very sharp knife.

Credits : http://janechew.blogspot.com/2011/04/nyonya-kuih-talam.html

I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #12: Traditional Kueh (October 2011) hosted by SSB of Small Small Baker.

Seri Muka Kuih - glutinous rice bottom and custard top

2011-10-18T17:48:00.001+08:00

Seri Muka Kuih was declared by the Malaysian Department of National Heritage as one of 100 Malaysian heritage foods

My hubbyhas this love affair with all things glutinous ; lormaikai, lormaifun and all the nonya kuihs that come with a bottomlayer of glutinous rice. As with mostthings, we 'complimented' each other in the preference for kuih. I have yet to seek his opinion about hispreference for the custard layer ( which I suspected he loves just as much but always 'surrenders' it to me ) , but toomuch knowledge can bring about confusion.

Meanwhile,for the rare Bengawan Solo treats, the poor man gets to eat the bottom ricelayer while I take over the presumably 'less popular ' yummy bits.

There maybe a gross misunderstanding of his love for the rice only part of the kuih .Therefore, after much soul-searching, Ithought I would make him this kuih, with allthe bells and whistles.

This kuihis a maiden effort, which explains for the less than generous custard top andcrinkly surface. My hope is to one day make a super -sized custard layer seri muka kuihwith ridiculous amount of custard and a paper thin layer of rice , which is myleast favorite. I am sure hubby will love the next revision, in its entirety.

For 8.

Bottom :

125gglutinous / sweet rice, soaked overnight and drained

50 mlmilk

25 gcoconut milk

Pinchsalt

Custardlayer :

2 whole eggs, 1 eggyolk

110ml coconut milk,100ml fresh milk

80g powdered sugar

3 t corn flour

2 t plain flour

2 dropspandan paste

Method :

Toprepare bottom layer, steam rice, milk (s), salt until rice is cooked.

Transferice to a tray, compact it and steam again, 10 minutes.

Toprepare top layer, combine custard ingredients in a pot and cook over low heat.Custard is ready when it thickens slightly.

Pourcustard onto prepared rice, over a sieve.

Foilcover the top and steam combined kuih again, 30 minutes.

Coolcompletely before cutting to 8 or 10 portions with a very sharp knife.

Credits : This recipe is adapted from http://janechew.blogspot.com/2011/10/seri-muka-talam-gula-melaka.html

I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #12: Traditional Kueh (October 2011) hosted by SSB of Small Small Baker.

Soft multigrain rolls

2011-10-14T13:00:00.001+08:00

Thismultigrain roll has the thinnest crust that I have made so far, most likely dueto the rather high baking temperature ,copious amount of honey and double layered egg wash. In fact, the thin, sweet crust was such adelight to eat, the family threwmoderation into thin air and devoured the entire loaf. It was a strange case ofhaving the rolls take centerstage instead of a cleverly crafted meat stew.

Despiteits multigrain nature, it is hardlyrustic or 'artisan'. I considered it more boutique, given its delicate textureand crust and mildly sweet , light center. It came as a nice surprise, becauseI was not expecting a multigrain roll to qualify for a fluffy, light breakfast item as well.

My littlegirl made a guest appearance, portioning it to 12 rolls. As I was tied up witha pesky online transaction that left me on a cliffhanger, she single-handedly cajoled the rollsto take shape. Her hands work better on the piano and viola, though she showspromise as a budding baker. Herenjoyment of the task was evident as she hummed a happy, little tune whileworking the dough.

Whichsums up the whole baking experience : the journey to baking is just asimportant as the finished product itself.

Makes 12rolls.

Ingredients:

Grainsoaker :

75g water

50gmultigrain mix

Finaldough :

200g milk

50g honey

35gvegetable oil

3g maltsyrup

210gbread flour

120gwhole wheat flour

4ginstant yeast

5g finesalt

125g Grain soaker

Eggwash

Method :

The nightbefore, soak the multigrain mix with water at room temperature, covered.

The nextday,

Mixflours and yeast in a bowl. Set aside.

In amixing bowl,mix milk, honey,oil, syrup.

Addflours yeast mix to liquid mixture in the mixing bowl.

Knead forabout 10 minutes.

Add salt,knead for another 2 minutes.

Finally,add the grain soaker, in 2 batches, kneading 1 minute between addition.

Leavedough to ferment, 1 hour, at roomtemperature, covered.

Whendough is able tp spring halfway when pressed, transfer it to a lightly flouredworktop.

Divideinto 12 portions.

Shape torolls. Brush with egg wash.

Let doughrolls to ferment or proof, on an oiledtray, a second time, 60 minutes.

Preheatoven to 230 C.

Justbefore baking, brush with egg wash again.

Bake at areduced temperature of 190C, 16 minutes.

Cool wellbefore consuming.

Adapted from "Artisan Breads At Home with the Culinary Institute of America" by Eric Kastel

Multigrain bread

2011-10-13T22:40:00.000+08:00

If youare , like me, the owner of at least 10 different grains in the pantry ( anddon’t know what to do with them ), this bread is one good way to 'consolidate' the grainy odds and ends and make somethingimpressive with it.

First ofall, prepare the homemade multigrain mix. I opt for equal portions of grains.You pretty much dump whatever is considered healthful into the mix. It'sartisan bread, after all, and the outcome is all up to your interpretation. Setaside 56g of the multigrain mix. Freeze the rest for a cookie or smoothieproject the next day.

Ipersonally try not to buy pre-packed multigrain mix, since some seeds go rancidvery fast once milled. If you own a coffee grinder or such, you can just aboutgrind any whole grains and seeds to the size you prefer.

Iincluded a process called " autolyse" , which is the fancy name foradding salt last, after the dough iskneaded for at least 15 minutes. Thisprevents the salt , which is hydroscopic, from competing for moisture with theflours. As such, autolyse allows for better gluten formation in the early stage of kneading. Its late entryalso allows the yeast to kick start its work quickly, without the salt'sinterference. All these trouble translates to better hydration , greaterelasticity and better volume for the final product.

A finalnote : being a rather muddle headed person as I always am, I discovered to myhorror that I ran out of rye flour. Dire situation demands optimism andthrowing caution into the wind, so I substituted rye flour with plain flour (Tsk! Tsk ! ). Fermentation is actually improved , a pity about the rye flavorthough the nutty seeds contributed to its robustness. Still, for an experiment, it is one pretty decent loaf.

Tip :Wonder how to get rid of the sticky bits of dough that clings on almosteverything ? Instead of 'washing down ' with water and risk clogging yourplumbing, let the dough bits dry a little and scrap off with a pastry cutter,before discarding it in the bin.

Makes oneloaf.

Ingredients:

Multigrainmix :

Equalportions of ( 1 Tablespoons ) -

Quickcooking oats

Couscous

Brownrice powder

Sunflowerseeds

Oat bran

Wholerolled oats

Groundflax seed

Brokenwheat

Pearlbarley , crushed or milled

etc

Grainsoaker :

56 gmultigrain mix

149glukewarm water

43g wholeflax seeds

21gsunflower seeds

Finaldough :

269ggrain soaker

113gSourdough starter

90g water

2g maltsyrup or honey

153gbread flour

97g ryeflour

3ginstant yeast

5g finesalt ( I used ground up sea flakes )

2 cupsuntoasted sesame seeds - for coating

Addedlogistics :

Mixerwith dough hook or bread machine , Water mister, bread box or pullman w/ocover, sharp razor, clean towel

Theprevious night :

Bring thesourdough starter out of the fridge. Bring 113 g starter to room temperature, in a covered bowl,overnight.

Make themultigrain soaker. Soak themultigrain,seeds and water overnight, in a covered bowl.

The nextday :

Yourstarter should have turned bubbly, as it warmed up overnight.

In aseparate bowl, mix flours and yeast. Set aside.

Addstarter, soaker, water, malt and mix ,10 minutes.

Addflour-yeast and mix well. Knead for 15minutes.

Add saltto the dough. Knead for another 5 minutes.

The firstrise :

Let doughrise, covered in an oiled bowl. 40 minutes . Dough is ready for the next stagewhen it springs back halfway when lightly touched.

Prepare awater mister, a bread box, towel and some sesame seeds.

Noticethat I did not 'punch down', fold or knead the dough after the firstfermentation. Redundant movement of the multigrain cuts the gluten , so thisstep is omitted , for better texture of the final product.

Transferto a lightly floured worktop.

Shape itto an oblong.

Mist thedough. Coat it with sesame seeds.

Transferdough to floured towel and lift it into the box. The confines helps shape theloaf as it rises.

Pull theends of the towel over the dough. Let the dough ferment , 40 minutes. It isready when it springs halfway back when lightly touched.

Bakingthe loaf :

Place arack and 3 cups of water in the oven. Preheat oven to the highest settingpossible. I preheat to 250 C. The high temperature encourages oven spring.

Meanwhile,transfer the risen dough to a baking tray or peel.

Mistspray the dough. Rest 5 minutes.

With asharp razor, score deeply, at 45 degrees to the dough.

Spraywater again. Transfer dough , with tray or peel, into the oven.

Bake at230C, 15 minutes.

Removewater.

Bake foranother 15-17 minutes. Loaf is ready when the crust is dark and it doesn’tyield when pressed.

The breadis still gelatinous when hot. Cool bread thoroughly before consuming.

Adaptedfrom "Artisan Breads At Home withthe Culinary Institute of America " by Eric Kastel.

Chicken biscuits ( without the chicken )

2011-10-12T08:00:00.028+08:00

Savory chicken biscuit

This week, my food evoked strong emotions in a couple of people.

It started with the premature demolition of the one and only pack of Sanshugong chicken biscuit that we bought from Malacca. There was great regret that I had exercised self control during the Malacca shopping trip. The biscuits were gone all too soon; now all of us suffer from Chicken biscuit withdrawal syndromes.

Chicken biscuit and I went a long way. Though I never thought much of the heavily spiced, chewy biscuit puff, my mum loved it and so it became a tribute whenever I made pit stops at the little town of Air Hitam , on the way to Malacca. Those were the days before the Malaysian North South Highway.

Fast forward a decade.

Chicken biscuit has now been given an image upgrade and shaken off its dowdy red paper packaging. Swopping crispiness for chewiness , it now comes in sleek individual packets with a super cute box that makes itself a collector's item. At least that was how my girl felt about it.

To resolve the crisis of the inadequate biscuits, I attempted to bake some, calling on the spirit of Sanshugong. Although I had over processed the ingredients, reducing the dough to a very fine texture, girl2's music teachers perked up when they caught the waft of the spices.

It was the smell of their childhood and special treats. Needless to say, girl2 and the teachers had extended lessons because their topic of discussion went beyond that of music.

Adapted from belachan2.blogspot.com/2009/06/kai-chai-beng-chicken-biscuits.html

Makes a huge mountain of biscuits.

Dry ingredients :

150 g self rising flour

55 g powdered sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. white pepper

1/4 tsp. five spice powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. chicken granules

1/4 Tbsp. minced garlic / garlic powder

40 g white sesame seeds

55 g candied winter melon strips, finely processed.

Wet ingredients :

1/2 egg

1/2 Tbsp. honey

1 piece Nam Yee (red fermented bean curd), mashed

2 drops dark soy sauce

50ml. Canola oil

Method :

Preheat oven to 180 C

In a food processor, pulse all the dry ingredients , until winter melon is finely chopped.

Whisk the wet ingredients in a mixing bowl. Combine it to the contents in the food processor and pulse again, until well combined . Stop when the dough forms a ball.

Get ready 2 pieces of parchment paper.

Roll the dough into a rope. Cut up dough to portions, about half the length of thumb.

Roll cut dough into balls and flatten to a very thin disc, between the 2 pieces of parchment.

Bake on a non stick pan for 10 minutes.

Cool thoroughly before storing in an air tight container.

LouPorPeang, Wife's biscuit

2011-10-11T09:08:00.021+08:00

This pastry snack is only called by its Cantonese name. Translate its name to any dialect and it will still not be quite the same. Had it not been for my Cantonese husband, I would never have known its existence. As if by genetic memory, my pseudo Cantonese daughter loves this, despite my lukewarm attitude to it ( being Teochew, I only cared about TauSarPiah ! )

But with the exam grind getting to her, I thought it would bring much cheer to surprise her with this, after a grueling day of geography and biology papers. Making it is no walk in the park, this being my first attempt, though the pastry procedure bear similarities to that of making Shanghai moon cake.

Perhaps it was the work of my labor, but I wasn't even comparing it to Hong Kong's Hung Heong's LouPorPeang. There is something very seductive about sinking your teeth in fresh, warm LouPorPeang with its still oozy winter melon filling. The experience is indescribable.

Thanks to this talented lady at mykitchensnippets.com , I am able to look at LouPorPeang with renewed favor.

Makes 14.

Ingredients :

Water dough -

140g flour

21g caster sugar

53g shortening

65ml water

Oil dough-

70g cake flour

33g shortening

Filling -

200g candied winter melon cubes

3 tbsp roasted white sesame seeds

40g cooked glutinous rice flour (goufen)

Pinch of fine salt

1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil

55ml water

Egg wash, sesame seeds, untoasted

Method :

To prepare the water dough, put all the ingredients in a food processor, except water. Pulse to cut shortening into flour.

Pour water in a steady stream, processor pulsing, until the dough comes into a ball. Remove dough.

Knead on a lightly floured surface until dough is elastic, non sticky and pliable. Set aside for 30 minutes, so full moisture absorption and gluten formation to take place.

To make oil dough , pulse ingredients for oil dough in the processor until crumbly. Transfer crumbly mixture to a worktop and knead until it becomes a ball.

For both oil and water dough, divide into 14 portions equally.

Meanwhile, mix filling ingredients until it comes together. It will be easier to work with oiled hands.

Divide into 14 equal portions.

On an oiled worktop, flatten the water dough into a disc. Place the oil dough in the center of the water dough-disc. Encase.

This will be your combined dough. Set aside to rest the dough.

Repeat this for the remaining 13 portions of oil and water dough.

To make a flaky pastry dough, place combined dough on an oiled worktop.

With a rolling pin,GENTLY elongate the dough, working from the middle.

Roll up the dough to form a tight cigar roll.

Turn roll 90 degrees.

Again, with a rolling pin, GENTLY elongate the dough, working from the middle.

Roll up the dough to form a tight cigar roll.

Bring up the 2 ends of the roll together, pinch them and flatten with your palm.

Gently roll out a disc.

Encase filling with the flattened combined dough.

Turn pastry, smooth , pretty side facing up.

Flatten with oiled palm, gently, until the size of your palm.

Transfer to an oiled baking tray.

Repeat the rolling and wrapping for the remaining 13 portions.

Brush pastry with egg wash. Sprinkle sesame seeds. Do the same for the rest of the pastry.

Preheat oven to 200 C.

Bake for 17 minutes, until pastry turns golden brown.

Remove from the oven, rest 5 minutes and transfer pastry to a cookie rack.

Cool thoroughly before devouring / storing in an airtight container.

Recipe slightly adapted from www.mykitchensnippets.com/2010/07/wife-biscuitsweetheart-cakelao-por-peng.html

Matcha bun with Aduki bean filling

2011-10-10T08:00:00.000+08:00

This bun felt like a 'been there done that' kind of bun. Yet when my girl decided to 'hoard' all the buns for breakfast, I knew this was different from previous buns.

It probably had to do with the Daiso Aduki Bean ( 200g , made in Japan). The bean paste was not creamy smooth, but has pockets of aduki skins among the cream. It provided texture and interest with every bite.

My favorite part is that its sweetness is tweaked towards the Singaporean palate and is a perfect marriage with the mildly bitter matcha bun. The addition of xanthum also made the task of forming aduki balls a breeze, without leaving a sticky mess on the hands.

At a convenient size of 200g, I managed to use up everything for just 10 buns.

Girl2 has almost outgrown her Japanese bun craze but this little gem has reminded her how much she still loves matcha and aduki.

Makes 10 buns.

Preparing water roux or tang zhong :

Mix 20g bread flour in 100g water ( 5 parts water : 1 part flour ) till it reaches 65C. Alternatively, keep stirring the flour liquid until it thickens, forming 'lines' or ridges when stirred with a whisk.

Remove from heat . Cover roux to prevent a skin from forming.

Cool to room temperature for further use.

Ingredients:

(A) 210g bread flour / 56g plain flour /40g powdered sugar / 1/4 teaspoon salt / 11g instant yeast or 1 satchet

(B) 1 small egg beaten / 85g water / 84g water roux

Filling :

Daiso aduki bean paste , 200g ( Made in Japan pack ), divided to 10 portions

Method :

Put A,B and C in the bread machine. Set to dough function. Retrieve dough after 40 mins.

Divide the dough into 10 portions using a pastry cutter. Flour work surface to make kneading manageable. Divide to 10 portions. Make 10 small balls and rest the dough for 10 minutes.

Flatten the dough with the palm. Place 1 portion of red bean paste in the middle of the dough. Seal the bun, sealed side down on baking tray .

Proof for 40 minutes.

Mist the dome of the bun and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Preheat oven to 180C

Just before baking, mist spray buns again.

Bake for 18 mins.

Japanese cucumber pickles

2011-10-09T11:00:00.000+08:00

A crunchy side dish for a hot day

A true blue cucumber pickle is dry, tossed in an emulsion of sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar and garlic.

The secret is to remove the seedy center of the cucumber. Wrap it in a plastic bag and whack its entire length until it is all cracked up , with a rolling pin. This way , the seeds would be easily separated from the firm flesh.

And you also end up with 'rustic' bits of Japanese cucumbers.

That was no-brainer recipe. However, for reasons beyond me, I missed out this vital step. Instead, I used a spoon to scoop out the seeds, which will never be as clean as removing them using the rolling pin.

I forgot about rustic sized cucumber bits and used an agar-agar cutter to carve out cucumber chunks instead. What was I thinking ?

So, don’t do what I did, do what I say. Here goes :

Add a dash of chilli oil for color and heat

Makes pickles enough for 5.

Ingredients :

2 Japanese cucumbers, washed and ends cut off.

1 dash of sesame oil

1 dash of olive oil

1 pinch of chilli flakes

5 cloves of crushed garlic

1 dash of chilli oil ( optional )

1 pinch of fine sugar

1 T toasted sesame seeds

Method :

Remove seeds in the of the cucumber by placing the cucumber in a plastic bag . Use a rolling pin to whack along the entire length.

Remove seeds and transfer broken up cucumber bits to a serving bowl.

Combine all the marinade except sesame seeds.

Toss well and chill until ready for use.

Just before serving, sprinkle with a generous amount of toasted sesame seeds.

Goes well with Korean or Sichuan dishes.