B8KING NEWS

Mini Pão de Queijo (brazilian cheese buns)

noreply@blogger.com (B8KE with JOY) — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 14:38:00 +0000

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp salt
2 cups tapioca flour
2 medium eggs (beaten)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used cheddar slices in this recipe, but yields good results too!)

1) Heat water, milk, oil, butter and salt in medium pan till boil and remove from stove.

2) Sieve & stir in tapioca flour quickly. Mix till bread dough-like texture. (Add a bit more flour if too runny)

Let dough cool just warm (approx 10 mins)

3) Add beaten eggs bit by bit while stirring.

4) Add cheese, mix till smooth. (Consistency will be of mashed-potato) Chill dough for few hours.

5) Roll into balls onto baking sheet on tray. (You may sprinkle some coarse sugar/powdered sugar on top)
Preheat 190°C (375°F), bake for 12mins-15mins.

Carrot Cake (with Cheese Frosting)

noreply@blogger.com (B8KE with JOY) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:51:00 +0000

Here's a very easy-to-make tasty carrot cake that I made for someone's birthday.
The only tough part is preparing the ingredients as the grating of carrots takes pretty much efforts and time.
Other steps are basically just whipping all together with an electric mixer XD

If you want a healthier choice, omit the cheese frosting and it will still taste as good!

In this demo, I baked 2 times for this measurement as I only have 1 square pan. And I actually used 1 part of the cake, halve it & create a rectangular cake rather than a square one as a birthday cake. The other part that I baked second time was "topless", without the cream frosting and my family loves it too! :)

Carrot Cake Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for pan)
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1½ cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 cups grated carrots
½ cup mashed pineapple
1½ cup walnuts (chopped)

Cheese Frosting Ingredients:

16 oz cream cheese
½ cup unsalted butter (plus more for pan)
25g powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Line the bottom of the 7" pans with parchment paper. Then grease the paper and dust it with flour.
Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Step 1: Combine the sugar, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

Step 2: Beat the eggs and vegetable oil in another mixing bowl, using a mixer, whisk till smooth & fluffy.

Step 3: Sift in all the pre-mixed dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Continue to whisk well.

Step 4: Add in grated carrots, mashed pineapples and chopped walnuts. Mix thoroughly.

Step 5: Pour batter into baking tray, bake for 30mins. When done, cool the cake for 10mins before removing.

I trimmed the edges of the cake before proceeding...

Steps to make Cream Frosting
1) Set cream cheese at room temperature and whisk it in a mixing bowl. Add lemon juice and vanilla extract and whisk till creamy.

2) Gradually add in tablespoon by tablespoon of the powdered sugar till the consistency of a frosting cream has reached.

3) Spread the cream onto one side of each piece of the halved cake. Sandwiched them together and cover the entire cake with more cream cheese frosting. And you are done!

Well, because it is meant to be a birthday cake for someone ^^, so I combined my other recipe - the langue de chat for the decorations. Kinda a little messy, still trying to improve on my cake decorating skills though. HAHA!

Almond London Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (B8KE with JOY) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 18:38:00 +0000

Almond London Cookies

Chinese New Year is here again! And yes, as usual will be busy in the kitchen whipping up goodies for this festive. This year, can't miss out Kuih Bangkit, I made a slight variation in aesthetic-wise by adding green coloring to highlight the presence of pandan in the cookies. :)
And this year, a NEW recipe I tried as well, the Almond London Cookies! These cookies can be an all-time-favorite for all due to the mouth-watering chocolate coating and especially the nibble-size cupcake look. Yet, super duper easy to make! Here's how~!

Ingredients: (Recipe yearns approx 50-60)

125g unsalted butter
75g icing sugar (sifted)
1 egg yolk (you can use the whites for royal icing or macarons!)
225g plain flour (sifted)
150g ground almonds / *Variation: plus 200g chopped almonds
1 teaspoon almond essence
450g dark chocolate

Steps:

Preheat oven to 170°C.

1) Using an electric whisk, cream butter and sugar till light ad fluffy.

2) Beat egg yolk and almond essence into batter till light pale yellow.

3) Add in sifted plain flour, fold well into a dough. (if too wet, may add in a bit more flour)

*Variation: May add chopped almonds into batter for a crunchier texture.

4) Pinch marble-size dough and roll into balls. Line balls of dough onto baking sheet on baking tray.

5) Bake 170°C for 20mins-25mins. Place baked cookies on tray to cool.

6) While cooling the cookies, line paper cups & melt dark chocolate in microwave. Divide each sessions to 20secs so that you won't burn the chocolate. I did an approx 2-3 sessions to melt the dark chocolates.

TIPS: I also added little coating milk chocolate (ratio of 1:5) to yearn a smoother flowing chocolate for easy pouring.

7) Using a teaspoon, drizzle some chocolate into base of each paper cases. Next, place each paper cases with a cookie.

8) Cover the cookies with more chocolate and sprinkle ground almonds on top.

9) Let chocolate sit to harden or you may chill in refrigerator for 5mins.

TADA! SERVE!

HAPPY PROSPEROUS RABBIT YEAR 2011!!!

Chocolate Eclairs (with Baileys Buttercream filling)

noreply@blogger.com (B8KE with JOY) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 04:37:00 +0000

Bailey's buttercream eclairs

Using the same Choux Puff recipe, accompanied with ideas of interesting flavors, created a variation of the similar dessert - Baileys Buttercream Eclairs.

Choux Puff Ingredients:

1/2 cup all-purpose-flour
1/2 tsp caster white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup water (slightly lesser by 1/4 cup)
2 eggs (beaten)

Steps:
1) In a bowl, sift flour + sugar + salt. Set aside.

2) Melt and boil butter + water in a pot over medium flame. Remove from heat.

3) Quickly but gently add the sifted flour mixture in, keep stirring with a wooden spoon/spatula. Return pot to low heat, keep stirring will dough comes away from sides.

4) When dough turns into thick smooth ball, off the flame. Slowly pour in egg 1 tbsp by tbsp. Mix well till mash-potato-like paste.

5) Spoon into piping bag (DIY piping bag, click here to learn how to DIY). Pipe out long stripes of dough about 2 inches each.

6) Dip a fork into water and use it to create line-patterns on each dough. (This is the classic elcair look ^^)

7) Bake 15mins at 200°C, then reduce oven temperature to 170°C and bake another 30mins-40mins.

8) Once baked, let air out by slitting a tiny pocket at sides with a butter knife and cool 15mins.

Bailey's Buttercream Ingredients:

4 tbsp unsalted butter
30ml baileys (approx 2 tbsp)
2 cups powdered sugar (add amount till right consistency)
1/4 tsp salt

Steps:
1) Cream butter with mixer till smooth.
2) Add salt & whisk well blended.
3) Add a bit of Baileys, whisk and add a bit more till complete.
4) Slowly add in tablespoon of powdered sugar bit by bit till cream consistency.

Completing Steps:
1) Use piping bag to fill the eclairs with the bailey's buttercream.
2) Melt some coating chocolate (my favorite is the dark chocolate!), use a spoon and coat the top of each elcairs with chocolate.
3) Best is to chill the eclairs first before serving!

ENJOY!

Halloween No-Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (B8KE with JOY) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 15:18:00 +0000

This is a very very very easy no-bake fudge-like cookies that is chewy and chocolaty, not forgetting, rich in peanut flavor. And you can make in various shapes to welcome the Halloween! Great for a last-minute-prep on some trick-or-treat with your family & friends or Halloween party!

Ingredients

- 3 1/2 cups dry quick-cooking oats, divided

- 1/2 cup peanut butter

- 2 teaspoons vanilla

- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, cut into pieces

- 2 cups sugar

- 1/2 cup milk

- 4 tablespoons cocoa
- Almond flakes (for decoration purpose)

1. Place the butter, sugar, milk and cocoa in a small saucepan. Give them a quick stir. Turn the heat on high, and leave the mixture alone.

2. Bring mixture to a full, rolling boil, and let it boil for exactly 1 minute. Remove immediately from the heat, and pour the chocolate mixture over the oats and peanut butter.
3. Use a large fork, quickly stir the ingredients together. (if mixture is wet, add in more oats)

5. Scoop & drop the mixture by tablespoons onto the wax paper or using the hands, roll into tomb-shapes or finger-shapes. (as shown in picture)

6. Let the cookies cool until set or chill in the fridge for 30mins before serving.

Egg Tarts

noreply@blogger.com (B8KE with JOY) — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 15:09:00 +0000

This is a very simple recipe to make delicious egg tarts at your very own kitchen. Though I am still in love with the Portuguese style egg tarts, sometimes I do still crave for these classic ones as they are still as fragrant, crispy and yet soft & runny in the center. Also, not to forget, it's definitely of a much lower calories compared to the Portuguese egg tarts since the absence of double cream in the egg filling. XD

So here's the recipe, it is really simple and yet fun to make especially the tart part!

INGREDIENTS:

Pastry Tart

- 50g butter (chopped into small pieces)

- 100g plain flour

- 1/2 of a beaten egg (keep the other half for filling)

- 25g caster white sugar

Filling

- 1 1/2 eggs

- 40g caster white sugar

- 50ml water

- 50ml milk

Preheat over to 160°C.

1) Mix flour and sugar in a big bowl.

2) Use fingertips, rub the butter into the flour and sugar mixture, lifting it high to incorporate more air into mixture till crumbs-texture. Here's a video showing the butter & flour rubbing technique.

3) Slowly add in the 1/2 egg mixture while using hands to mix well.

4) Knead the dough on a floured table till smooth. (you may add 1 tsp of water if dough is still crumby)

5) Prepare the tart moulds and divide dough into equal size balls first.

6) Press dough into the small tart mould. Punch holes at the bottom with a fork to prevent center from raising while baking.

7) Whisk all filling ingredients together & strain the filling with a sieve into (preferably) a jug.

8) Pour the egg filling mixture into the tarts.

9) Bake at 160°C for 20-25mins. Remove from oven, cool for 5mins before removing tarts from the mould.

ENJOY!

Some equipments you may need for this recipe:

Milo Mantou (Milo Buns)

noreply@blogger.com (B8KE with JOY) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 15:41:00 +0000

Milo Mantou (Milo Buns)

My favourite is the fried Mantou, that is either dipped into chili crab sauce or simply the sweetened condesed milk. Sometimes, I will have this craving for a hot, soft Mantou, especially for breakfast. So, after many attempts in the various baking, this time round, I am to try making buns! (no more baking, but steaming plus lotsa "hands-on"!)

Here in this post, I ventured into a little twist, adding a special taste to the normal Mantou. Apart from my experiment with the milo cookies, this time, yes milo Mantou. And the key ingredient for buns? - Yeast.

INGREDIENTS:

- 350ml warm water

- 3 tbsp white sugar

- 3 tbsp milo powder

- A dash of salt

- 2 tsp instant yeast

- 1 1/2 tbsp oil

- 600g white bread flour/all purpose flour

1) Mix salt, yeast and oil in the warm water.

2) Stir in milo powder and sugar. Blend well and let the mixture sit for 5-10mins

3) In a large bowl, sift in flour and create a "crater" in the middle.

4) Slowly pour in the wet mixture into the center, bit by bit while mixing with hand.
(Do not pour in the wet mixture all at once but bit by bit till the pliable consistency. Stop adding if you feel that it is getting too soft and moist to knead on.)

5) Continue kneading the dough till it forms elastic smooth ball. (Approx 15mins & dough should not stick to hands and should be stretchy)

6) Cut square pieces of baking sheet.

7) Roll dough to a tube shape. (5cm diameter). Slice into 16-18 loaves & lay each onto a piece of baking sheet.

8) Set dough aside, wait 20mins for them to rise (best to cover with plastic wrap). Dough till be almost doubled in size and look puffy.

9) Steam the dough for 15mins in a steamer and enjoy your Hot fluffy Milo Mantou!

Equipments or ingredients for this recipe that you may need:

Famous Amos Cookies (recipe with dessicated coconut)

noreply@blogger.com (B8KE with JOY) — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 19:31:00 +0000

This is the second attempt in baking a so-called, replica of the famous Famous Amos Cookies (erm, do I see doubles? lol).

Well, it isn't the original recipe, which of course Famous Amos wouldn't allow any recipe leaks to happen. But result of this recipe is really very close to the real thing.

I mentioned the "second" is because in my first attempt, it was a different recipe but it didn't state the essence that I feel is it in the original, i.e. coconut. I always think that there is coconut in every bites on the Famous Amos cookies, as they get stuck in my teeth at times. (^o^) But it still tastes as good for my first attempt which you can find the recipe here.

Alright, that's for the first attempt and now the second as follows...

Ingredients:

- 125g butter

- 3/4 cup brown sugar

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 1 egg

- 1 cup plain flour

- 1/2 cup cornflour

- 1/4 cup dessicated coconut

- 2 tbsp cocoa powder

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 500g dark chocolate chips

- 250g milk chocolate chips

Tips: Chocolate bars chopped into chunks would yearn a better texture.

Recipe:

[ Preheat oven to 180°C ]

1) Cream butter and brown sugar till pale yellow & fluffy with an electric mixer.

2) Add vanilla and egg gradually, mix well.

3) Sift in flour, cornflour, baking powder, cocoa powder and dessicated coconut.

4) Mix together thoroughly.

5) Add in dark chocolate chips & milk chocolate chips. Stir well.

6) Roll into balls onto baking sheet on baking tray.

7) Place in oven to bake for 10mins - 12mins on 180°C. Allow cookies to cool on rack for 10mins and remove to serve!

Milo Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (B8KE with JOY) — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 10:12:00 +0000

One day, I was wondering what special dessert I could make out of our usual food or ingredients we can find from the very usual humble kitchen of ours. Then my sister exclaimed - "Milo!".

She is a milo addict for sure, and hmm... that reminds me of a colleague too. (LOL)

Well, I finally managed to get a recipe on hand, with twist on the normal chocolate cookies as I replaced the cocoa powder with milo powder. But they tasted great!

I had made these cookies quite sometime back, had already finished savoring the rich and flavorful cookies.

This is a very very very simple recipe. So here's your to have a chance to taste 'em!!!

Ingredients:

- 125g butter

- 1 cup caster sugar

- 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour (sifted)

- 1/2 cup milo powder (Not the 3-in-1)

- 1 egg (beaten)

- 1/2 cup Sultanas (optional)
Preheat oven on 180°C.

1) Cream butter & sugar together.

2) Add egg & milo. Mix well.

3) Add self-rising flour in slowly while blending to prevent clumps forming.

4) Bake 180°C for 15mins. Cookies will doubled in size whilst baking (No worries!). It will fall back after cooled.

5) Allow cookies to cool on rack for 10mins before removing & Serve!

Items for used for this baking can be purchase here:

Langue De Chat (Cat's Tongue)

noreply@blogger.com (B8KE with JOY) — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:17:00 +0000

Ever tasted a light brittle biscuit sandwiched with either white chocolate or milk chocolate?

The texture is grainy and the crispy layer will soon melts in your mouth upon just a few munching.

Believed anyone would have tasted the infamous Hokkaido Shiroi Koibito (白い恋人) .

Yes, these kind of biscuits are known as the Langue De Chat that was possibly date to the 17th Century where at that period was the time where refined white sugar and piping bags were popular with the wealthy classes of Northern Europe. In Europe, they are sometimes known as "cat's tongue" as it is usually baked in long, flat and with rounded ends shape.

These biscuits are crisp, dry and brittle as the key ingredients includes cornflour and mainly of egg whites rather than whole egg. Because of the dry nature and ingredients used, these biscuits can be kept for quite a long time and are usually served with certain liqueurs and sparkling wines. =)

Alright, enough of the introduction.

Here's the recipe on how simple these biscuits can be made!

125g butter
100g caster white sugar
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
100g flour
25g cornflour

Recipe can make approximately 12-15 sandwiched biscuits.
Preheat oven to 150°C.

1) Cream butter + sugar till fluffy. Sugar should melt into the butter.

2) Gradually add egg whites bit by bit while blending. Mix in vanilla extract.

3) Sift in flour + cornflour. Fold well. Mixture should turn into a paste-like texture.

4) Place mixture into piping bag. (You may use a plastic/ziploc bag, put it into a tall glass as shown & pour in the mixture. This is my best mess-free method.)

5) Pipe 2" strips onto tray that is lined with baking sheet.

6) Bake on 150°C for 20mins or until the edges turn slightly brownish.

7) Melt some coating chocolates under the double-boiler. Spread on the biscuit and sandwich another biscuit together. Serve!

Some ingredients you may need to purchase:

Chocolate Mousse Choux Puff

noreply@blogger.com (B8KE with JOY) — Mon, 03 May 2010 15:40:00 +0000

(Make about 16 puffs of approx 4-5cm diameter each)

Chocolate Mousse:

3oz (85g) bittersweet chocolate
1/4 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
1 egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

(1) Chop chocolates in pieces. Melt chocolates over a double-boiler.

(2) While chocolates are melting, using an electric mixer, beat butter + sugar till fluffy.

(3) Add egg yolk in and beat till smooth.

(4) Gradually beat in melted chocolate & add vanilla extract.

(5) In a separate bowl with clean electric mixer, beat egg whites till stiff peak.

Tip: You must beat egg white with cleaned mixer that is grease-free.

(6) Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture & chill the mousse first.

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

Choux Puff:

1/2 cup all-purpose-flour
1/2 tsp white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup water (slightly lesser, minus 1 tbsp)
2 eggs (lightly beaten)

[Preheat oven 200°C]

(1) Boil butter + water in a pot. On other hand, in a bowl, mix [flour + sugar + salt] (A).

(2) Stir till butter melted & starts to boil. Remove pot from heat.

(3) Immediately sift in all flour mixture (A) at one go & stir quickly with an wooden spatula/spoon.

(4) Return to heat on low flame, stir till dough becomes smooth & comes away from sides of the pot. Remove from heat.

(5) Add in egg bit by bit (tbsp by tbsp), stir upon each addition till mashed potato-like paste consistency.

Tip: Even if eggs were not fully used up, stop adding when consistency has reached.

(6) Pour paste into piping bag to pipe out puff OR use a spoon to drop a dome shape mold onto baking sheet on pan.

(7) Bake 15mins on 200°C. Take out & slit a hole with fruit knife at the side of each puff to let out air.

(8) Put puffs back to oven and bake for another 30mins-40mins at 177°C.

Assemble:

- Use fruit knife, cut the slits of each puff wider to fill the mousse.

- For me, I used a butter knife to spread the chocolate mousse into the puff.

You may skip the above step & pipe the chocolate mousse from the bottom of each puff (poke a hole at the bottom & squeeze in mousse).

- Finally... Serve!

Tip:
You may use ziploc/plastic bag. Get a tall glass & put the bag over the glass.
Make sure one corner of the bag is in the center & at the bottom of the glass.
Scoop the mousse into the bag while in the glass.
Remove bag from the glass & push the mousse downward and twist the top opening to lock the bag.
Snap off the bottom corner with scissors & being piping!

ENJOY!~!~!

Chocolate Brownies

noreply@blogger.com (B8KE with JOY) — Sun, 02 May 2010 20:39:00 +0000

The Baked Method - More moist, more intense taste..

- 175g (6oz) plain chocolate

- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

- 55g (2oz) unsalted butter

- 2 eggs

- 175g (6oz) caster sugar

- 65g (2.5oz) plain flour

- 55g (2oz) self-rising flour

- 1/2 tsp almond extract (I used almond essence which you may add lesser about 1/4 tsp)

[* Preheat oven 175.]

[* Grease & flour an 8" pan.]

1) Melt chocolate & unsalted butter over double-boiler / Bain Marie.

2) Beat eggs & sugar in a mixing bowl with a mixer till creamy & increase in volume.

3) Stir in sifted (plain flour + self-rising flour).

4) Add in almond extract & melted chocolate. Mix well.

5) Spread batter into pan, sprinkle chocolate chips over the top.

6) Bake for 30mins. When done, let cake cool in tin for 10mins before cutting & serve.

TADAH~! Freshly baked brownies~!

Honey Cake

noreply@blogger.com (B8KE with JOY) — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 08:01:00 +0000

Lately whenever I opened my refrigerator, I will see a few bees staring at me - bottles of honey.

Honey is actually very good in many ways.

Especially when my throat starts to get cranky, I will take some plain honey water or pop a couple of teaspoons of it into my coffee or chocolate drinks (they taste good!).

When we needed honey, there isn't any avail. anywhere in the house.

It was when my sister needed some, she bought a bottle.

Before we get to finish that bottle, I received a bottle from my boyfriend's mom as they claimed a few bottles via some points redemption. Then, my dad went Thailand and bought back a huge bottle of honey.

(=_=) man.. when will we get to finish all these honey?

So my baking bugs started digging into my ears and suggest me the idea of making honey dessert!

So, I went to flip through some recipe books that my friends & colleagues bought me as birthday present for last year.

Spotted this easy recipe that uses honey and i.e. Honey Cake (^,^)

It's really easy but because it was my 1st time baking Honey Cake, and also my 1st time trying out recipe from this particular book, I did not want to venture my risk too far. I cut the portions by half but ended up, I had a slightly flat cake. But no worries, I believe if you follow the exact quantity, it will make a perfect height of the cake! :)

Ingredients: (Original Recipe)

- 85g Flour (sifted)

- 175g Egg

- 60g Caster Sugar

- 60g Honey

- 25g Milk

- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder (Optional - I believe adding some of it will bring up the taste more (: )

* Pan size: 4.5 inch x 4.5 inch (11.25cm) .

* Preheat oven to 160°C.

1) Whisk egg, sugar, honey and cinnamon (optional) until soft peak.
Whisk in milk till creamy texture.

2) Fold in flour thoroughly till creamy batter-like texture.

3) Pour batter through a sieve into a bowl to remove lumps.

4) Pour sifted batter into cake pan. Bake 160°C for 30mins.

5) Remove from oven, allow to cool in tin for 10mins before turning it out on wire rack to cool further.

** Wrap cake in plastic wrapper and chill 1 day to enhance the flavor.

ENJOY~~~~~~ :D

Chocolate Coated Popcorn

noreply@blogger.com (B8KE with JOY) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 18:08:00 +0000

Chocolate Coated Popcorn

(A variation to DIY popcorn)

It was the mood of movie night again.

I just need a little ease for my craving for munchies.

After looking around, I found my left over packet of raw corns that I bought sometime back to try out caramelized popcorn.

And, accompanied it in the cupboard is a box that I stored a block of coating chocolate I bought recently.

So suddenly recalled seeing videos of people making chocolate coating popcorn~

So here it is, it is very simple, and all you need are just raw corns, some oil and coating chocolate!

Ingredients: (For one person serving)

4 tbsp raw corns
3 tbsp vegetable oil
Coating/Dipping chocolate
(Either in block/buttons/morsels, amount depends on how much you want your popcorn to be coating, some like whole coating, some just a drizzle of the chocolate)

Steps:

Place a pot on a low flame, pour oil in.
Add 1 raw corn in first, let it heat up, cover with lid.
Once it popped, pour the rest of the corns in and cover with lid.
Shake the pot back and forth to prevent burnt corns.
Once there is no more popping sound, pour popcorn into a big bowl.
On double-boiler, melt the coating chocolate. (Learn about double-boiler here)
When almost all pieces of chocolate melts, remove from heat.
Stir further to let the remaining chocolates to melt completely.
Using a spoon, drizzle melted chocolate over the popcorn.
Mix the chocolate and the popcorn well and set it to harden.

Enjoy the Chocolate Coated Popcorn!

Coconuty Lamingtons

noreply@blogger.com (B8KE with JOY) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:23:00 +0000

_________________________________

WHAT IS LAMINGTONS?
Lamingtons are a sponge cake (or, more traditionally, butter cake) in the shape of a cuboid, coated in a layer of traditionally chocolate icing and then desiccated coconut. They are sometimes served as two halves with a layer of cream and/or strawberry jam between. The chocolate lamington is as Australian as meat pies, kangaroos and Holden cars. So called the culinary icon of Australia.

HISTORY
The documented history about the creation of lamingtons is from the "accident" where Baron Lamington's (a popular governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901) cook accidentally dropped his favourite sponge cake into a dish of melted chocolate and being not a wasteful person, Lord Lamington suggested the cook to coat the chocolate cake in desiccated coconut so as to prevent messy hands from the chocolate when eating the cake. From there, it was greatly loved by the guests and all started asking for the recipe.

HOW I KNOW?
For me, I get to know about lamingtons from my oversea studies in Perth, Australia. Staying in the hostel did not only allow me to experience different cultures from the different natives like me, but also get to taste some of the very traditional food and desserts of Australia. For lamingtons, I don't used to like desserts related to coconuts but to my surprise, my last Australia trip to Brisbane for vacation, and it is many years after I graduated, I get to eat the cake again during the trip. I came back and one day, I actually missed the dessert!

So being a passionate in baking, I decided to find the recipe and try making it! A little tweak in my recipe as I still have quite a bit of coconut milk left, so I made a coconut twist sponge cake than the ordinary butter one. :)
___________________________________
THE MAKING OF LAMINGTONS
So here's the recipe and steps:

Cake Recipe:

- 2 cups self-rising flour

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)

- 3/4 cup sugar

- 2 eggs

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 1/2 cup milk (I tried using 1/4 cup milk + 1/4 cup coconut cream)

Assembling Recipe (Filling/Chocolate Frosting):

- 1/3 cup cocoa powder

- 3 cups powdered sugar

- 3 tbsp unsalted butter

- 1/2 cup milk

- Strawberry jam (for cake filling, you may choose other jams)

- 2 cups Desiccated Coconut

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

Cake:

(Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius.)

1) Grease & flour bottom & sides of an 8" (20cm) square cake pan.

2) In a large bowl, sift in flour + salt. Set aside.

3) In electric mixer bowl, beat butter & sugar till light & fluffy (2-3mins).

4) Add in one egg at a time, beat well after each addition. (Scrape down the sides of the bowl). Add in vanilla extract, beat till combined.

5) With mixer on low speed, alternatively add flour mixture & milk, in 3 additions, begin & end with flour.
(For the milk, I had already mixed the milk & coconut cream together)

6) Pour the batter into the pan, smoothing the top with offset spatula. Bake 25-30mins.

7) Cool cake in pan for 10mins then remove from oven. Poke a toothpick into the center of cake. If toothpick comes out clean, it is done.

8) Place a wire rack on top of pan & invert, lifting cake off the pan onto the wire rack. Re-invert the cake.

9) Using a cake knife, trim off the uneven top of the cake. Cut the cake into 4cm squares. Wrap cakes in plastic wrap & chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

10) For each squares, cut horizontally into half. Spread strawberry jam onto the center and sandwich the cakes.

11) Chocolate Frosting: Place powdered sugar + cocoa powder + butter + milk over a double-boiler.

12) Stir mixture till smooth and of pouring consistency.

* Put the sandwiched cakes onto a wire rack and place a baking sheet/pan below to catch the drips.

* Pour the desiccated coconut onto a shallow pan or a plate.

13) Use a fork to hold the cake, slowly dip into the chocolate while using a spoon to pour some chocolate over the top till they are fully coated.

With a knife, transfer the chocolate coated cakes onto the plate of desiccated coconut & sprinkle to cover all sides.

14) Place done lamingtons back onto the wire rack & let it set.

* You may put in airtight containers & chill overnight before serving.

ENJOY!!!

Items you may need for this recipe:

Homemade Caramelized Popcorns for Movie Nights?

noreply@blogger.com (B8KE with JOY) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:49:00 +0000

I always have this query which I myself also get confused at times.

Is watching movies really my favorite hobby?
Is it the cushioned chair, enclosed dark room, sound-proof environment that made me frequent the theater often? Or.. it is the fragrance of the piping hot POPCORNS that pops frequently at the back of the food counter whenever I passes the movie theater? The slight burnt candy aroma that oozes out of the small gap of the transparent box when the person tried to stir & mix the popcorns evenly with the sugar coating.

Erm... I guess answer is pretty obvious the latter. ( 'x')

So wondering why am I so attracted to it, willing to pay 7bucks for the combo, yet when I knew, a packet of raw corns cost only about 2bucks???
But I also did wondered, I do know how to pop the corns, but.. how do I do it with the yellow crispy sugary coat?

Many of you might already knew the proper method to do candied popcorn. But well..there might be some amateurs like me who likes popcorn, not sure how to do it and subconsciously hitting the theater only for the craves?
So here's the fast & easy method to do a homemade caramelized popcorn that you can enjoy it with your favorite TV show, dramas or dvds at home too!

(2-3 person serving)

1. POPCORNS
Ingredients:

    - 2 tbsp canola oil
    - 1/4 cup raw corns

Method:
1) Pour oil into a pot with a lid.

2) On med flame, put 1-2 corns in first. (on-hand prepare 1/4 cup of corns).
When the corns popped, pour the rest of corns in & cover pot with lid.

3) The corns will start to pop. Shove pot back & forth to prevent corns at the bottom to get burnt. When there is no more popping sound, off the flame.

4) Scoop popcorns into a large bowl (I did not use, but preferably metal ones).

5) Set 2 large metal spoons aside (I realized metal ones are better choice)

Done 1st phase (u can enjoy the original taste first!)~
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. CARAMEL COATING
Ingredients:

    - 1 cup sugar
    - 1/2 cup water
    - 1 tbsp unsalted butter
    - 1 tsp salt
    - 2 tsp baking soda

Method:
(Prepare a 2 inch deep saucepan on stove, place a damp cloth & 2tsp baking soda ready at a side)

1) On low flame, melt butter. Then add in water.

2) Followed by sugar & salt.

3) Put on med flame. When sugar melted, set to high flame.

4) Cook till sugar water starts turning brownish.

5) Remove from stove & set it on the damp cloth.
6) Get a whisk, pour in baking soda slowly as foaming will occur & careful to avoid spilling of caramel.

7) Quickly pour over the bowl of popcorns.
8) Use the 2 large spoons, stir & mix well so that almost all popcorns are coated.
9) Pour the coated popcorn onto a baking tray, set to cool. The coat will harden.

Break them up into pieces, serve in your own bowl & get ready to couch in front of your TV show :)

ENJOY!!!

Items you may need for this recipe:

Chinese New Year Cookie - Kueh Bangkit

noreply@blogger.com (B8KE with JOY) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:08:00 +0000

Its another time of the year - Chinese New Year and of cos it is cookie baking time again.

Since the last few cookies batches I had tried baking, this one is quite a success in terms of texture which I failed slightly in my previous batches of cookies. There's still room for improvement in terms of taste though. I guess instead of the instant packet-ed coconut milk, the ones squeezed directly from the real grated coconuts might bring out stronger taste.

2 weeks before Chinese New Year, I've been browsing recipes. Spotted the "Durian Cookies" but the ingredient for the filling suggested the "durian paste" from supermarkets. I saw such paste before and it's not like how we think of those fresh yellow puree. It is sold in packets (usually next to pineapple tarts paste) & look nothing more than a "Durian Dodol" (a durian flavored chewy cake that looks like "Nonya Kueh"). I imagined sinking my teeth into the fluffy cookie crumbs, like that of the pineapple tarts, but when the teeth sinks into the gooey thick "candy" without rich durian fragrace, it's really not a "marriage". Hence, my nature of experimenting, I wanted to use the fresh durian puree.

I even researched on how to make the puree into a thicker pliable paste so that it can be easily wrapped in the dough.

But later, I realized its not the good season for durians anymore. My dad, who is good in buying durians, claimed that it won't be nice. Too bad. :(

So I ended up with an "easier-to-get" recipe, i.e. the "Kuih Bangkit" as most of the ingredient I already had, just top-up a few stuff items only.

So here it is, just to share as an amateur in cookie-making, the recipe of the "Kuih Bangkit" :)

INGREDIENTS:
* 300g tapioca flour
* 3-4 pandan leaves
* 20g magerine/unsalted butter
* 1 egg yolk
* 140g icing sugar
* 120ml coconut milk
* 1/4 tsp vanilla powder

METHOD:
Step 1
Wash & clean the pandan leaves dry. Cut them with scissors into about 4cm long pieces.

Step 2
Turn on the stove to low flame.

Sift tapioca flour into a pot/saucepan. (I used pot so as to minimize flour from spurting out as you stir fry)

Put the pieces of pandan leaves together into the pot.

Dry fry the flour & pandan leaves for minimum 30mins or more.

(I heard from a friend that the usual method is to fry for 2hours!!)

The longer the better as the pandan fragrance will infuse into the flour.
As you fry, the flour will become more "fluffy" and "light". You will realize the density & moisture of the flour slowly lightens.

Tipped by a friend: After frying, I set the flour with pandan leaves aside with a lid covered to cool overnight. (This may let the fragrance get stronger)

Step 3
Next day, take out the flour & sift it again into a mixing bowl.
Together, sift icing sugar & vanilla powder into the same mixing bowl.

Step 4
In another bowl, mix the liquid ingredients together.
Mix the coconut milk, egg yolk & margarine/unsalted butter (melted would be better but without melting may do as well)

Step 5
Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture & knead 'em into dough.
If you realize the dough is still a little crumby and does not hold into a shape as you knead, you may add little coconut milk & knead again to the consistency that is pliable.

Step 6 (Preheat oven to 165°C / 329°F)
Sprinkle some flour onto the table.
Put the dough onto it & roll it flat about 1/2cm thick.
Use a cookie cutter, cut out the desired shapes.

Step 7
Place baking sheet onto the baking tray/pan.
Put the cut dough onto the baking sheet.
Bake at 165°C / 329°F for 15mins.

DONE!

Because this year's Chinese New Year crashes with the Valentines' Day, I did something slightly special~ Heart-Shaped Kuih Bangkit.

Well, when I was baking the first batch, my mom kept coming into the kitchen exclaiming that it smells very nice.

She kinda loves these cookies. My dad finally said at least the cookies are crispy for the texture (Melts in your mouth~). My sis asked me to bake a small tub of 'em for her to bring to office to munch. My boyfriend, erm.. well he munched off almost 1/3 of a tub!

But there were some who said it's not nice, and some said the coconut fragrance isn't strong enough which I guess it is because I used the packet coconut milk instead of the real grated coconut to extract the milk out of it.

But I guess, it is not a bad success for the first time baking this cookie with the proper tools in hands!

You may get items here for this recipe (TOTAL BELOW $50!):