Baker's Hideout

Daring Bakers' Croissants

2011-09-28T05:59:00.000+08:00

I've always been a little bit in love with Julia Child, especially after the movie, Julie and Julia.. So when I realised this month's challenge's recipe is from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I swooned a little.

The Daring Bakers go retro this month! Thanks to one of our very talented non-blogging members, Sarah, the Daring Bakers were challenged to make Croissants using a recipe from the Queen of French Cooking, none other than Julia Child!

This croissant took sometime to prepare, what with a total prep time of 12 hours. But, trust me, it's worth it.

I made mine dairy free by replacing the milk with soy milk, and the butter with magarine. It still tastes surprisingly buttery!

Ingredients
¼ oz (7 gm) of fresh yeast, or 1¼ teaspoon (6¼ ml/4 gm) of dry-active yeast (about ½ sachet)
3 tablespoons (45 ml) warm water (less than 100°F/38°C)
1 teaspoon (5 ml/4½ gm) sugar
1 ¾ cups (225 gm/½ lb) of strong plain flour (I used Polish all-purpose flour, which is 13% protein)
2 teaspoons (10 ml/9 gm) sugar
1½ teaspoon (7½ ml/9 gm) salt
½ cup (120 ml/¼ pint) milk (I am not sure if the fat content matters. I used 2%)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) tasteless oil (I used generic vegetable oil)
½ cup (120 ml/1 stick/115 gm/¼ lb) chilled, unsalted butter
1 egg, for egg wash

1. Mix the yeast, warm water, and first teaspoon of sugar in a small bowl. Leave aside for the yeast and sugar to dissolve and the yeast to foam up a little.
2. Measure out the other ingredients
3. Heat the milk until tepid (either in the microwave or a saucepan), and dissolve in the salt and remaining sugar
4. Place the flour in a large bowl.
5. Add the oil, yeast mixture, and milk mixture to the flour
6. Mix all the ingredients together using the rubber spatula, just until all the flour is incorporated

7. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and let it rest a minute while you wash out the bowl
8. Knead the dough eight to ten times only. The best way is as Julia Child does it in the video (see below). It’s a little difficult to explain, but essentially involves smacking the dough on the counter (lots of fun if you are mad at someone) and removing it from the counter using the pastry scraper.
9. Place the dough back in the bowl, and place the bowl in the plastic bag.
10. Leave the bowl at approximately 75°F/24°C for three hours, or until the dough has tripled in size.
11. After the dough has tripled in size, remove it gently from the bowl, pulling it away from the sides of the bowl with your fingertips.
12. Place the dough on a lightly floured board or countertop, and use your hands to press it out into a rectangle about 8 by 12 inches (20cm by 30cm).
13. Fold the dough rectangle in three, like a letter (fold the top third down, and then the bottom third up)
14. Place the dough letter back in the bowl, and the bowl back in the plastic bag.
15. Leave the dough to rise for another 1.5 hours, or until it has doubled in size. This second rise can be done overnight in the fridge
16. Place the double-risen dough onto a plate and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place the plate in the fridge while you prepare the butter.
17. Once the dough has doubled, it’s time to incorporate the butter
18. Place the block of chilled butter on a chopping board.
19. Using the rolling pin, beat the butter down a little, till it is quite flat.
20. Use the heel of your hand to continue to spread the butter until it is smooth. You want the butter to stay cool, but spread easily.
21. Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured board or counter. Let it rest for a minute or two.
22. Spread the dough using your hands into a rectangle about 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).
23. Remove the butter from the board, and place it on the top half of the dough rectangle
24. Spread the butter all across the top two-thirds of the dough rectangle, but keep it ¼ inch (6 mm) across from all the edges.
25. Fold the top third of the dough down, and the bottom third of the dough up.
26. Turn the dough package 90 degrees, so that the top flap is to your right (like a book).
27. Roll out the dough package (gently, so you don’t push the butter out of the dough) until it is again about 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).
28. Again, fold the top third down and the bottom third up.
29. Wrap the dough package in plastic wrap, and place it in the fridge for 2 hours.
30. After two hours have passed, take the dough out of the fridge and place it again on the lightly floured board or counter.
31. Tap the dough with the rolling pin, to deflate it a little
32. Let the dough rest for 8 to 10 minutes
33. Roll the dough package out till it is 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).
34. Fold in three, as before
35. Turn 90 degrees, and roll out again to 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).
36. Fold in three for the last time, wrap in plastic, and return the dough package to the fridge for two more hours (or overnight, with something heavy on top to stop it from rising)
37. It’s now time to cut the dough and shape the croissants
38. First, lightly butter your baking sheet so that it is ready
39. Take the dough out of the fridge and let it rest for ten minutes on the lightly floured board or counter
40. Roll the dough out into a 20 by 5 inch rectangle (51 cm by 12½ cm).
41. Cut the dough into two rectangles (each 10 by 5 inches (25½ cm by 12½ cm))
42. Place one of the rectangles in the fridge, to keep the butter cold
43. Roll the second rectangle out until it is 15 by 5 inches (38 cm by 12½ cm).
44. Cut the rectangle into three squares (each 5 by 5 inches (12½ cm by 12½ cm))
45. Place two of the squares in the fridge
46. The remaining square may have shrunk up a little bit in the meantime. Roll it out again till it is nearly square
47. Cut the square diagonally into two triangles.
48. Stretch the triangle out a little, so it is not a right-angle triangle, but more of an isosceles.
49. Starting at the wide end, roll the triangle up towards the point, and curve into a crescent shape.
50. Place the unbaked croissant on the baking sheet
51. Repeat the process with the remaining squares of dough, creating 12 croissants in total.
52. Leave the tray of croissants, covered lightly with plastic wrap, to rise for 1 hour
53. Preheat the oven to very hot 475°F/240°C/gas mark 9.
54. Mix the egg with a teaspoon of water
55. Spread the egg wash across the tops of the croissants.
56. Put the croissants in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the tops are browned nicely
57. Take the croissants out of the oven, and place them on a rack to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

You can watch Julia Child make it here. She also has some pretty good kneading technique (great for venting out your frustrations.)

See that fluffiness? =D

Daring Bakers - Candylicious!!!

2011-09-12T02:53:00.001+08:00

The August 2011 Daring Bakers’ Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?!. These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies! This was a special challenge for the Daring Bakers because the good folks at http://www.chocoley.com offered an amazing prize for the winner of the most creative and delicious candy!

This month's challenge was so fun! And sweet! Very much so!

I made a whole lot of sweets, from Sponge-candy (Honeycombs), to truffles, to coconut fudge, to soft caramel candy, to praline.

The recipes for the sponge candy, truffles and praline can be found here. As well as instructions as to how to temper chocolate.
I failed the first time I tried it, considering room temperature was 31C and I needed my chocolate to go down to 27C.. so it was so not happening. but some angel told me a new method involving ice, which I will try when I get a weekend free again. =)

As for the coconut fudge, recipe is from Smitten Kitchen. Can be seen here.

Hazelnut Praline!

Sponge Candy. I covered some with chocolate to make Crunchie!

Chocolate Truffle with Praline

Ferero Rocher Box comes in handy for storing truffles!

Coconut Fudge

Dark Chocolate Truffles

Daring Bakers' From Phyllo to Baklava...Rolls!

2011-06-27T23:57:00.001+08:00

I've been MIA-ing for the past 2 months. Finally started my new course in Communicative Designs, and I've been swarmed! The art school is called The One Academy, TOA, which, rightly-so also stands for Tons Of Assignments.

But here I am! On what I call a 'none-holiday'. Because we only get 2 days off out of the supposed week. *sigh* and I have to spend this time doing what is a mountain of work.

Enough rant.

BAKLAVA!!

Erica of Erica’s Edibles was our host for the Daring Baker’s June challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly DARING by making homemade phyllo dough and then to use that homemade dough to make Baklava.

I've never even tasted these before. I have, however seen them on menus at some middle-eastern restaurants, and i have a friend who swears they are the best tasting dessert on earth. So imagine my delight when I found out we had to make these.

Phyllo Pastry

Ingredients
1 1/3 cups (320 ml) (185 gm/6½ oz) unbleached all purpose (plain) flour
1/8 teaspoon (2/3 ml) (¾ gm) salt
1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) cider vinegar (I actually use red wine vinegar.)

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer combine flour and salt
2. Mix with paddle attachment
3. Combine water, oil and vinegar in a small bowl.
4. Add water & oil mixture with mixer on low speed, mix until you get a soft dough, if it appears dry add a little more water.

5. Change to the dough hook and let knead approximately 10 minutes. You will end up with beautiful smooth dough. If you are kneading by hand, knead approx. 20 minutes.
6. Remove the dough from mixer and continue to knead for 2 more minutes. Pick up the dough and through it down hard on the counter a few times during the kneading process.(Note: Good de-stresser; mental note: must make this more often.)
7. Shape the dough into a ball and lightly cover with oil.
8. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest 30-90 minutes, longer is best ( I let mine rest for just over 2 hours)

9. After resting, flour the heck out of everything, because you canNOT over-flour this dough. And cut off a chunk about the size of a golf ball and start rolling.
Looky here for how. =)

Filling

Ingredients
Zest of an orange
1 cup Almond
1/2 cup Hazelnut
8 tbsp sugar
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon

1. Using a processor crush the almond and hazelnut with 2 tbsp of sugar.
2. Mix everything together.

Baklava Making!
(Makes enough rolls to fit an 8" square baking dish)

1/2 cup oil (original recipe says clarified butter, but I'm lactose intolerant, hence the oil.)

1. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4.
2. Butter your baking dish.
3. Take a sheet of phyllo pastry and oil the top, sprinkle with the nut mixture liberally, and using a thin dower or, like I did, by using a long chopstick, roll up the pastry.
4. Oil a second sheet, and place this rolled up pastry, with the chopstick still intact, and roll up in the second sheet.
5. Push down into the pan, releasing the chopstick.
I know this sound so confusing, I don't even understand that myself, so please do watch this.
6. Repeat until you have used up all the pastry. and oil the top of them.
7. Using scissors, snipped half way through the rolls, and bake for 30 mins.
8. Snipped the whole way down and bake for another 30 minutes, until golden brown.
9. Pour the syrup, mostly into the gaps, and some on top. (You will hear a sizzle, this is the pastry drinking up that juice)
10. Leave overnight to let it absorb and develop this amazing texture.

Cinnamon Citrus Syrup

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup sugar
1 2-inch slice of citrus peel (I used a lemon)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon

When you put your baklava in the oven start making your syrup. When you combine the two, one of them needs to be hot, I find it better when the baklava is hot and the syrup has cooled.

1. Put everything except the nutmeg and the cinnamon powder into a pot, and boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Strain the the syrup, and mix in the nutmeg and cinnamon.
3. Let it cool.

*Just outta ze oven*

*Slurping up the syrup*

Aren't they a thing of beauty?
Taste oh-so-nice!!

Daring Bakers' Dairy Free Filled Meringe Coffee Cake

2011-03-27T18:31:00.000+08:00

I got to say, when I saw the name "coffee cake"; I really thought there was coffee inside. Then I read the recipe and my brain went, "Oh? So this is coffee cake."

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

Make 2 round cakes, 6 inches in diameter
Yeast Coffee Cake Dough

300 g flour
20 g sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3.5 g active dried yeast
90 ml soya milk
30 ml water
67.5 g vegetable oil
1 large eggs at room temperature

Meringue
2 medium sized egg whites at room temperature
Pinch of Salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
55g sugar

Pumpkin Puree Filling
Around 500g pumpkin
2 tablespoon soya milk
2 tablespoon sugar (to taste)

Chocolate Cinnamon Nut
55 g chopped nuts
15 g granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
50 g semisweet chocolate chips

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 115g of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast.
2. In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and oil and heat over medium heat until just above room temperature.
3. With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended.

4.Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add the eggs and 75 g flour and beat for 2 more minutes.

5. Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the remaining flour) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed.
(But try to avoid this, more flour means tougher cake in the end.)
6. Place the dough in a lightly greased (I use vegetable oil) bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes. The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use.

7. Prepare your filling. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar for the filling. I found it easier to sprinkle on both the nuts and the chocolate separately.
8. Grate the pumpkin finely (remember, the finer they are, the greater the surface area, and the faster it'll be cooked through.) Put into a saucepan over low heat. Stirring occasionally. Add the sugar. Put into a blender with the milk and pureed.

9. Once the dough has doubled, make the meringue: In a clean mixing bowl – ideally a plastic or metal bowl so the egg whites adhere to the side (they slip on glass) and you don’t end up with liquid remaining in the bottom – beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla then start adding the sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.

PHail

PERFECT PEAK

Assemble the Coffee Cakes
1. Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Punch down the dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 15 x 8-inch rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch (3/4 cm) from the edges.
3. Sprinkle the filling evenly over the meringue.
4. Roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down. Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.
5. Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife (although scissors are easier), make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch (2 ½ cm) intervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring.
6. Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings. Cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Brush the tops of the coffee cakes with egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.

8. Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool.
Just before serving, dust the tops of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar as well as cocoa powder if using chocolate in the filling. These are best eaten fresh, the same day or the next day.

The bottom is so ugly! But, the pumpkin filled one so soft and tasty!

For Japan With Love

2011-03-17T12:34:00.000+08:00

I'm sure by now, we've all seen it.
Seen devastating photographs. Watched heart-wrenching footages.
And have thought, how helpless we are all.

But we can help.

For Japan With Love is also encouraging donations to ShelterBox. ShelterBox was one of THE first organizations asked by Japan to help and were on hand on the Saturday after the quake. Each large, green ShelterBox is tailored to a disaster but typically contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, water storage and purification equipment, cooking utensils, a stove, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other vital items.

Please check it out and whatever you can contribute will be so appreciated.

As part of a college Rotaract Club, I've raised funds to donate to ShelterBox to help children in a third world country. Now, Japan needs our help.

Head on over to For Japan With Love for more information.

Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread

2011-03-12T22:47:00.000+08:00

Imagine this: every morning, you wake up in bed and smell that freshly baked loaf of bread.
Oh wait, I think I might have to move above a bakery for that.

I've never really had much luck when it comes to bread. All sorts of problems arise: they don't rise, they are too dry, etc.

But I'm not discouraged. In fact it made me all the more determined to get it right.
And I think I might have found my saviour in this recipe.

Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread
Makes one 1/2 pound loaf
recipe on page 147 of The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhardt.

For the dough:

226g unbleached bread flour
2 tsp sugar
a scant 3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast
1 1/8 tsp cinnamon
less than 1 egg, slightly beaten / .825 ounces
1 tbsp shortening, melted or at room temperature
1/4 cup (60ml) buttermilk at room temperature
1/4 cup (60ml) plus 2 tbsp water, at room temperature
3/4 cup raisins - rinsed and drained

For the cinnamon swirl:

40g sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

1. Stir together the flour, sugar, salt, yeast and cinnamon in a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer. Add the egg, shortening, buttermilk, and water.
2. Stir together with a wooden spoon or the paddle attachment until the ingredients come together and form a ball. Adjust with flour or water if the dough seems too sticky or too dry and stiff. (I'm no expert, but I think it's better if you start with a drier dough, then slowly work in water bit by bit)
3. Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter and begin kneading (or mixing on medium speed, switching to the dough hook). The dough should be soft and pliable, tacky but not sticky. Add flour as you knead (or mix), if necessary, to achieve this texture. Knead by hand for approximately 10 minutes (or by machine for 6 - 8 minutes). The dough should pass the window pane test.
4. Once it passes the test, knead in the raisins by hand to ensure even distribution. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

3. Proof at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size. This only took about 1.5 hour for me.

4. Pat the dough into a 5 inch wide by 8 inch long rectangle about 1/3 inch thick. Sprinkle a generous amount of cinnamon sugar over the dough. Then working from the short side of the dough, roll up the length of the dough one section at a time, pinching the crease with each rotation to strengthen the surface tension. The loaf will spread out as you roll it up, eventually extending to a full 8-9 inches long. Pinch the final seam closed with your thumbs. Rock the loaf around to even it out and push the ends in so that they are not tapered. Keep the surface of the loaf even across the top. Place the loaf in a lightly oiled 8 1/2 - 4 1/2 inch pan, mist the top with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel.

5. Proof for 60 - 90 minutes or until the dough crests above the lips of the pan and is nearly doubled in size.
6. Preheat oven to 350F. Once the loaf is proofed, place loaf pan on a rack in the middle of the oven. Bake the loaf for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees and bake for another 20-30 minutes. The finished bread should register at 190F in the center and be golden brown on the top. It should make a hollow sound when thumped on the bottom.
7. Immediately remove from the pan. If desired, spread 1 tbsp of melted butter on the top and sprinkle some more cinnamon sugar to create a sugary crust.

8. Cool for at least 1 hour before slicing or serving.

Four Layers of Heaven

2011-03-03T23:20:00.001+08:00

The other night my sister attempted the Four Tier Chocolate Layer Cake from Junior Masterchef Australia. It didn't quite work out. I'm not sure what happened, all I know was that when I came home from yoga class, the cakes were in the oven, struggling very hard to rise.

I decided to try a recipe I came across before at Smitten Kitchen.

It was gorgeous. It instantly became my go-to chocolate recipe.

The recipe from SK is for 2 10-inch layers filled with raspberry filling and coated in chocolate ganache. Hop over there for those recipes. For mine, I made 2 6-inch layers (each was then cut into 2 layers making 4 in total) and I had enough for about 30 cupcakes. I say about because I think a few disappeared the second they came out the oven; I kinda lost track. I used a chocolate cream cheese frosting with mine.

Double Chocolate Layer Cake

For cake layers
3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
3 cups sugar (I only used 1 3/4 cup of sugar for a dark chocolate flavour)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

1) Preheat oven to 150°C. Grease two 10- by 2- inch round cake pans (6- by 2- if you want a smaller cake with cupcakes). Line bottoms with rounds of wax paper and grease paper.

2) Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

3) Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well.

4) Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. The cupcakes took around 20 minutes.

5) Cool layers completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper and cool layers completely. Cake layers may be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
50g butter, softened
250g cream cheese
160g icing sugar mixture, sifted
25g cocoa, sifted

While the cake is baking, make the cream cheese frosting. Place the butter and cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 6–8 minutes or until pale and creamy. Add the icing sugar and cocoa and beat for a further 6–8 minutes or until light and fluffy.

Hmm.. I actually measured how much frosting had to go in between each layer, but for some weird and wonderful reason, the bottom-most layer seems to be... disappearing. It was still nice though.

Daring Bakers' Panna Cotta & Florentine Cookies

2011-02-27T20:29:00.002+08:00

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

This month has been a tad hectic. With Chinese New Year at the start of the month, the preparation for that was chaotic, but fun.

The second half of the month freed up a lil'. But I have an excuse! It was my birthday! teehee.. So yeah, I slacked off until now..

Florentine Cookies
Ingredients

150 g unsalted butter
160 g quick oats
230 g granulated sugar (I only used 30g, and it still turned out pretty sweet to me)
95 g plain (all purpose) flour
60 ml dark corn syrup (I replaced this with 1/4 molasses and 3/4 honey)
60 ml whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
250 gm dark or milk chocolate (I only used half of this to drizzle ontop)

1) Preheat oven to moderately hot 190°C. Prepare your baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper.
2) Melt butter in a medium saucepan, then remove from the heat.
3) To the melted butter add oats, sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla, and salt. Mix well.
4)Drop a tablespoon full, three inches (75 mm) apart, onto your prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the back of your tablespoon, or use a spatula.
5) Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool completely on the baking sheets.
6) While the cookies are cooling melt your chocolate until smooth either in the microwave, or stove top (in a double boiler, or a bowl that fits atop a saucepan filled with a bit of water, being sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl).
7) Peel the cookies from the silpat or parchment and place face down on a wire rack set over a sheet of wax/parchment paper (to keep counters clean).
8)Either spread on the bottom flat side of the cookies and sandwich them together. Or just put the chocolate in a piping bag and drizzle on top. Or you could do both, which is always good. =)

Chocolate Panna Cotta

Ingredients
240 ml whole milk
1 tablespoon unflavored powdered gelatin
480 ml whipping cream (30+% butterfat)
115 g sugar
145 g bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1) Pour milk into a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the top, set aside for 2-5 minutes.
2) Place a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir in cream, sugar and vanilla. Bring to a low boil.
3) Add chocolate and whisk until melted. Whisk the milk/gelatin mixture into chocolate cream mixture. Whisk until gelatin has dissolved.
4) Transfer to ramekins, or nice glasses for serving.
5) Cover and chill at least 8 hours, or overnight

Coffee Gelée
Ingredients
480 ml good quality brewed coffee
60 ml hot water + 2 tablespoons
30 ml cold water
115 g granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1) Place granulated sugar and 1/4 c. hot water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir until the sugar has dissolved.
2) Sprinkle gelatin over 2 Tablespoons cold water and let it soften 2 minutes or so.
3) Stir the coffee, sugar, hot water, and vanilla into a small metal bowl, add gelatin mixture and stir well until gelatin has dissolved. If pouring over Panna Cotta, be sure that this mixture is no longer hot, it will melt Panna Cotta if it is, let it come to room temperature.

The Panna Cotta set beautifully, but the gelee were horrible. They didn't set right and was still liquid-ish.

I also made a Vanilla Panna Cotta with lemon gelee, again the gelee didn't set. I have no idea why.

I wanted to make a dairy free version, but I didn't have time to try them out. Maybe I'll try that sometime soon.

Pepperidge Farm Sausalito Cookies COPYCAT~~

2011-02-24T22:43:00.000+08:00

And so I was walking in the hypermarket with my brother. He abruptly stopped in the middle of the biscuit/cookie aisle. Turned around and said, 'Let's make these cookies.'

"These cookies" refer to Pepperidge Farm Sausalito Cookies.

After some digging, we found something that looked pleasing. I made some changes to it, and voila... Here is the results:

Ingredients
226g softened unsalted butter
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
100g brown sugar
30g granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
255g macadamia nuts, chopped
283g white chocolate, chopped (I used chocolate chips)

1) Preheat over to 180°C.
2) Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
3) In the bowl of a mixer, beat butter, sugars, egg until creamy.
4) Add vanilla.
5) Scrape down the sides of bowl occasionally.
6) Add dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.
7) Fold in nuts and chocolate.
8) Line baking trays with parchment paper.
9) Form 1 inch balls. (Being the control freak that I am, I weighed each ball - 14g yields a good size cookie)
10) Remember they spread, so give them space to breath.
11) Bake about 13-15 minutes.
12) Makes about 40 cookies. (Which you can keep to yourself, or you can give to your family. Maybe.)

Just a random question, though.
Why do people love it when they receive homemade goodies?

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-15T13:39:00.000+08:00

I choose to wish everyone today, and not yesterday.

Because I think love should not be defined by what day it is.
I'm one of those anti-valentine's people, who condone everything about the day.
Sure, overpriced flowers and jewelries can be a bit too much, but what girl doesn't like to be romanced a little.

So.. all couples out there, hope you had a lovely day.

Those who are single, be happy. Give yourself a treat. =)
Mr/Ms Right is just around the corner.

Joconde Imprime / entremets~~ (Dairy Free French Dessert)

2011-01-27T17:52:00.046+08:00

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.

Okay, first, a vocab lesson:
A joconde imprime (French Baking term) is a decorative design baked into a light sponge cake providing an elegant finish to desserts/torts/entremets/ formed in ring molds. A joconde batter is used because it bakes into a moist, flexible cake. The cake batter may be tinted or marbleized for a further decorative effect.

Entremets (French baking term)- an ornate dessert with many different layers of cake and pastry creams in a mold, usually served cold. Think Trifle in a mold vs. a glass bowl.
A joconde imprime is the outside cake wrapper of the Entremets dessert.

This is a pretty challenging cake to make, and more so, because I want to make it dairy-free. All in all, mine turned out okay. I didn't (still don't) have a small cake ring, so had to use a 9" one. *gasps* That's massive, therefore, I didn't have enough fillings to fill it right to the top. =(
I wanted to make another one after that first attempt, but it's just been too hectic. I will definitely try a green tea flavour one some time soon.

So here it is.

Dairy Free Hazelnut and Chocolate Joconde Entrement

Patterned Joconde-Décor Paste

Ingredients
200g vegetable shortening
200g Confectioners' (icing) sugar
7 large egg whites (about 200g)
170g cake flour
60 g cocoa powder.

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (use stand mixer with blade, hand held mixer, or by hand)
2. Gradually add egg whites. Beat continuously.
3. Sift the flour and cocoa powder together. Fold into the mixture.
4. Tint batter with coloring to desired color, if not making cocoa variation.

(Note: The quantity given here makes a LOT of batter. I do mean a lot. I made half of that and I ended up using only 1/3 of the mixture.)

To make the pattern:
1) Prepare the tray first: place a silicone baking mat on an upside down baking sheet. This makes it easier to spread. If you don't have a silicone mat, like myself, I used parchment paper. I wouldn't recommend waxed paper since it runs the risk of melting under such high temperature.
2) Pipe the paste onto the sheet. Or you could spread a thin layer on, then pattern it.
3) Freeze this for at least 20 minutes to give it time to freeze hard. In the meantime, move onto your sponge batter.

Joconde Sponge

Ingredients
85g hazelnut flour (original recipe called for almond flour)
75g confectioners' (icing) sugar
25g cake flour
3 large eggs (about 150g)
3 large egg whites (about 90g)
10g white granulated sugar or superfine (caster) sugar

1) Preheat the oven to 250ºC.
2) In a clean mixing bowl whip the egg whites and white granulated sugar to firm, glossy peeks. Reserve in a separate clean bowl to use later.
3) Sift hazelnut flour, confectioner’s sugar, cake flour. (This can be done into your dirty egg white bowl)
3. On medium speed, add the eggs a little at a time. Mix well after each addition. Mix until smooth and light. (If using a stand mixer use blade attachment. If hand held a whisk attachment is fine, or by hand. )
5) Fold in one third reserved whipped egg whites to almond mixture to lighten the batter. Fold in remaining whipped egg whites. Do not over mix.
6) If using almond meal, fold in 30g melted unsalted butter. (I omitted this, not just because it's not dairy-free, but mainly that hazelnut contain more oil than almond)

(Note: I would make the paste then the sponge, because the sponge batter doesn't seem to sit well for long)

7) Take the frozen pattern out of the freezer, spread the sponge batter over it.
8) Bake for 15 minutes until the joconde bounces back when slightly pressed. I only baked it for 4 minutes! Yes, FOUR! So PLEASE, keep an eye on the oven the whole time it's inside.

The mold I used is just a spring form pan ring with the bottom removed. Place a large piece of clingfilm over a sheet of parchment paper, then place the ring on top. Line the ring with clingfilm. (Original recipe says to pull the clingfilm tightly up the outside of the mold, line the inside with parchment paper.)

That's the outside (and bottom) of the cake done. Now for the filling. =)
I've put two types of mousses in. Now, take note, they are made of tofu. Yes, Tofu. Weird, but hey, don't knock it till you've tried it. Because they just taste so amazing; and it's healthy! Well, kind of.

Chocolate Mousse
300g silken tofu
300g bittersweet chocolate (dairy-free)
1 tbsp vanilla extract (optional)

1) Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Set aside.
2) Process the tofu until it's smooth and creamy.
3) Add in the chocolate and vanilla.
4) Blend until fully incorporating.
5) Pour into the molded cake. Set in refrigerator.

Hazelnut Mousse
116g hazelnut butter (I made this just by processing hazelnut until the oils inside are released)
50g superfine sugar
300g silken tofu

1) Process the tofu until it's smooth and creamy.
2) Mix the hazelnut butter and the sugar, before adding into the tofu.
3) Process until well blended.
4) Pour on top of the chocolate mousse.
5) Leave to set inside the fridge for a few hours.

Yes, I know my cutting skills sucks in this. I should have wiped the knife first.
Well, we all learn from our mistakes. =)

MasterChef

2011-01-26T16:23:00.002+08:00

I'm absolutely addicted to MasterChef. First saw Junior MasterChef Australia on Astro. And it was just great.

You don't get the drama and falsity that you would be expected to get from the average reality TV shows.
The junior version is filled with encouragements.

It puts me to shame that these kids can cook so well, yet I know some adults who can barely fry an egg properly.

I can't wait for the next season of it to arrive sometime this year.

Then we move onto the adult, seemingly more matured, version of MasterChef.
I started off with the USA version, with Gordon Ramsay as one of the judges. As we all know, with Ramsay there, we can't go without swearing. And I have to say, MasterChef USA is a total rip-off.

It was a pure competition, with no coaching, not much guidance along the way. It says they were out to find "The Best Amateur Chef in the country"; well, possibly that's true. But weren't they supposed to be coached to become better chefs? To elevate to a different level?

Compare that to the Australia version, they are worlds apart.

The Australia version actually gives MasterClasses to the contestants, who were also sent to restaurants to gain work experience. They have more than just a mere handful of challenges.

And, I like the judges better.. =)

I'm only onto season 1; and I'm learning so much from it.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

2011-01-26T10:20:00.001+08:00

There's something about lemony, citrus-y things that appeals to me.
The bright colour?
The refreshing fragrance?
The sour-yet-sweet flavour?

And what is it that makes lemon and poppy seed such a perfect match?
Whatever it is; these cupcakes are yummeh.

The recipe is actually from Joy the Baker, one of my favourite food blogger. I just find her funny; and of course, I torture myself by looking at her photographs while at work. Including these muffins.

Ingredients
2/3 cup granulated sugar
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk or sour cream (I made my buttermilk using milk and a couple tablespoon of lemon juice)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) butter, melted until browned and cooled
2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar (for topping the batter before baking)

For the Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar whisked together with 2 or 3 Tablespoons of lemon juice

1) Preheat oven to 195°C. Line a 12 mold, regular sized muffin tray with paper muffin liners, place the muffin pan on a baking sheet and set aside.

2) In a large bowl, rub the granulated sugar with the lemon zest until the sugar is lightly colored and scented with lemon. (Note: this rubbing releases the essential oil inside the lemon zest.)

3) Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla extract, melted butter and lemon juice.

4) Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold together. When almost thoroughly mixed, add the poppy seeds.

5) Divide batter between muffin cups. (I'm so meticulous, I measured each cup.)

6) Sprinkle each would be muffin with granulated sugar.

7) Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until the tops are golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.

8) Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.

Somehow mine were a bit sticky; and the muffin case stuck to the cake. I think I'll try this recipe again.

Changes for the new year~~

2011-01-05T10:52:00.000+08:00

Well, as I set in my 2011 goals, I had to join a yoga class.

I went to the dance studio (owned by my sister's friend) and had my first class last night.

One word of the outcome. Stiff.

*grins*

Heck, now I'm sitting here, body-aching. Yet, I'm excited. I think this yoga is going to do me a lot of good. *yay*

Now let me go grab a coffee... =)

New Year's Resolution(s)~~

2011-01-02T10:30:00.000+08:00

In keeping with many people, I've set myself some goals for 2011.
Posting here would make it easier to motivate myself since I will review these goals by the end of the year here!
I have myself and this blog to answer to!

So here they are:
1) Eat healthily - Already started a pescetarian diet 3 months ago, my goal is to keep this up. And slowly shift to a full vegetarian, (if my family allows.. =/)

2) Keep this blog alive and well... trying new things on it each month.. target is to reach at least 50 recipes by 2012. (that's at an average of 4 1/6 recipes per month; very VERY manageable as long as I don't slack!)

3) Give More - Volunteer more at shelters. (Setting a mere target of twice per month.)

4) Join a yoga and dance class.

5) Start swimming again. I need to find a suitable, clean pool around here. (Speaking of which, anyone knows any clean and safe pool in and around Klang or Shah Alam?)

Happy New Year~~

2011-01-01T12:56:00.000+08:00

Happy New Decade..

May the new year bring new and exciting things for everyone out there..

Leave the past behind, and head forth into the bright year ahead.. =)

Bells are ringing~~ (Dairy-Free Stollen)

2010-12-27T23:00:00.001+08:00

Tis the season..

Christmas is my favourite celebration.

Not 'one of the favourite', but The Favourite. With capitals. With Bells. Loud ones.

It can't even lose to my own birthday.

Even though I'm in Malaysia. With no snow. With no holiday.

I can't do my favourite thing, which is to cuddle up near the fireplace, with a cup of steaming hot-chocolate, and an amazing book.

But I won't let that bring me down. I can BAKE! =)

The 2010 December Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Penny of Sweet Sadie’s Baking. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make Stollen. She adapted a friend’s family recipe and combined it with information from friends, techniques from Peter Reinhart’s book.........and Martha Stewart’s demonstration.

~ My new toy - Soya bean blender.. =D ~

Ingredients
60ml lukewarm water (think baby's bottle)
2 packages (14 grams) active dry yeast
240 ml soya milk (I blended the beans myself)
140 grams vegetable shortenings (or other dairy-free butter)
770 grams all-purpose flour
90grams sugar
¾ teaspoon sal
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice (original recipe called for lemon extract)
135 grams mixed peel
170 gms firmly packed raisins
3 tablespoons rum (I replaced this with lemon juice)
100 grams flaked almonds (I omitted this, as my sister can't eat almond)
Vegetable oil for coating the wreath
Handful of Dairy-Free Chocolate Chips
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting wreath

1) Soak the raisins in rum, or lemon juice.
2) Pour the warm water into a small bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Leave to stand for 5 minutes.

3) In a small saucepan, combine the milk and the vegetable shortening over medium - low heat until it is melted. Let stand until lukewarm, about 5 minutes.

4) Lightly beat eggs in a small bowl and add lemon juice and vanilla extracts.
5) In a large mixing bowl stir together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, orange and lemon zests.
6) Then stir in (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment) the yeast/water mixture, eggs and the lukewarm milk/shortening mixture. This should take about 2 minutes. It should be a soft, but not sticky ball.

7) When the dough comes together, cover the bowl with either plastic or a tea cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.

8) Add in the mixed peel, soaked fruit and gently mix with your hands.
9) Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading to distribute the fruit evenly, adding additional flour if needed.
10) The dough should be soft and satiny, tacky but not sticky. Knead for approximately 8 minutes until a reasonable bread-dough consistency is reached. You can tell when the dough is kneaded enough – a few raisins will start to fall off the dough onto the counter because at the beginning of the kneading process the dough is very sticky and the raisins will be held into the dough but when the dough is done it is tacky which isn't enough to bind the outside raisins onto the dough ball.
11) Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling around to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

Put it in the fridge overnight. The dough becomes very firm in the fridge (since the butter goes firm) but it does rise slowly… the raw dough can be kept in the refrigerator up to a week and then baked on the day you want.

Shaping the Dough and Baking the Wreath
1) Let the dough rest for 2 hours after taking out of the fridge in order to warm slightly.
2) Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
3) Preheat oven to moderate 180°C with the oven rack on the middle shelf.
4) Punch dough down, roll into a rectangle about 16 x 24 inches and ¼ inch thick.

5)Sprinkle with chocolate chips, if using.

6)Starting with a long side, roll up tightly, forming a long, thin cylinder.

Transfer the cylinder roll to the sheet pan. Join the ends together, trying to overlap the layers to make the seam stronger and pinch with your fingers to make it stick, forming a large circle. You can form it around a bowl to keep the shape.

7) Using kitchen scissors, make cuts along outside of circle, in 2-inch intervals, cutting 2/3 of the way through the dough.

8) Twist each segment outward, forming a wreath shape. Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

9) Proof for approximately 2 hours at room temperature, or until about 1½ times its original size.
10) Bake the stollen for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees for even baking and continue to bake for 20 to 30 minutes. The bread will bake to a dark mahogany color, and should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.

11) Transfer to a cooling rack and brush the top with the oil while still hot.
12) Immediately tap a layer of powdered sugar over the top through a sieve or sifter.
13) Wait for 1 minute, then tap another layer over the first.

14) The bread should be coated generously with the powdered sugar.

Nutty Brownies~~

2010-12-09T10:52:00.000+08:00

What can go wrong with brownies? Especially those with NUTS!

(Yeah yeah, I'm crazy about nuts. So, keep note. I might give up a lot of things for nutty goodness.)

Sadly, I can't eat these. Since they have butter. But my friends and family seem to drool over the sight of them. I'll experiment with a dairy-free version soon. =)

Ingredients
3/4cup Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
3/4cup Unsalted Butter
2tbsp Strong Coffee
1cup Sugar
2 Eggs
2tsp Vanilla Essence
1 1/3cup All Purpose Flour
1/2tsp Baking Powder
1/4tsp Salt
3/4cup Walnuts/Pecan Nuts
1/4cup Chocolate Chips

(Sorry about the picture quality here, I left my big chunky camera upstairs while I was baking, didn't want to leave the melting butter/whisking eggs etc.)

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Butter a 8x8inch baking tin.
2. Melt the butter and cocoa powder over medium heat. When melted, mix in coffee. Leave to cool.
3. In a separate bowls, whisk together the sugar and the eggs. (eyap, give it a good whisk, it will turn to a lighter yellow). Add in the vanilla essence.
4. Whisk together the dry ingredient, i.e. flour, baking powder and salt.
5. Add the butter/cocoa mix to the egg mixture, then stir in the flour.
6. Save about 7 walnuts/pecan nuts (to decorate later). Stir in the rest of the nuts.
7. Pour in the buttered baking tin. Sprinkle the walnuts and chocolate chips on top.
8. Shove it in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
9. Let it cool in the tin for about 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.
10. Take a big whiff. Grab knife/fork/spoon. Dig In.

I hear tarts~~ (Dairy Free Crostata)

2010-11-27T09:00:00.093+08:00

The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

Crostata.. what a beautiful word...
It reminds me of something rough, and traditional, and most of all, the name itself sounds delish.

Crostata is basically Italian tarts. One that's traditionally made without the tart tin. And are often filled with pastry cream and fruits; but it can really be filled with anything you fancy.

Dairy-Free Pasta Frolla

Ingredients
90 g Powdered Sugar
235 g All-purpose flour
A pinch of salt
115 g Vegetable Shortening (Cold)
Grated zest of half a lemon
1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten in a small bowl

Making Pastry by hand:

1. Whisk together sugar, flour and salt in a bowl.
2. Rub the shortening into the flour until the mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs. You can do this in the bowl or on your work surface, using your fingertips or an implement of choice.
3. Make a well in the center of the mounded flour and butter mixture and pour the beaten eggs into it (reserve about a teaspoon of the egg mixture for glazing purposes later on – place in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to use).
4. Add the lemon zest to your flour/butter/egg mixture.
5. Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into the solid ingredients, and then use your fingertips.
6. Knead lightly just until the dough comes together into a ball.
7. Shape the dough into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours. You can refrigerate the dough overnight.

Filling (Plums)

Ingredients
3 Small Plums, stoned and sliced
Zest of Half a lemon
Juice of Half a lemon
1 tbsp Sugar

Mix all the ingredients together. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until ready to use.

Filling (Cinnamon Apple)

Ingredients
2 Apples, peeled and sliced
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tbsp Sugar

Mix all together. (I would not recommend making this too far ahead of time, to prevent the apples from browning before they're ready to be used.)

Assembling Crostata

(Makes 8 small (palm-sized) crostata)
1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Divide the dough evenly into eight (8).
3. To help roll the crostata dough, keep the dough in between two plastic wrap, or a large enough plastic bag. This can help rolling the dough and can seriously reduce the mess (and save flour. =P)
4. Roll the dough into roughly a circle.
5. Transfer to baking sheet.
6. Brush with eggwash.
7. Scoop in some of the filling, making sure there's at least 1 inch margin to allow the dough to be folded over.
8. Fold in the edges to create a pocket-like look. (This not only looks pretty, but keeps the juice in as well.)
9. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. (Do keep an eye on the oven, you don't want to burn them.>.<)
10. Breath in the gorgeous smell of your crostata.
11. Tuck in using your fingers. (If you want to appear at least a bit civilised, I'd say use a fork.)

Chocolate Cookies, revisited~~

2010-11-21T19:32:00.000+08:00

For the people around me, one of my favourite things to make is Chocolate Cookies . I can make a huge batch of the dough, wrap them up nicely in clingfilm, and whenever someone comes around, in they go into the oven, and voila.... Freshly baked heaven.

The last time I made these, I omitted the chips and made their shape more uniform...

This time, in go the chips with no reservation. And they look......friendlier to me, in their weird funky shapes.

Sugar Cookies~~

2010-11-21T19:24:00.001+08:00

I've always wanted to try making sugar cookies. But the name of them scared me, believe it or not.

"Sugar" Cookies...... does that mean, they're incredibly sweet? Does that mean they have an abundance of sugar? Just like how butter is the dominant ingredient in butter cookies?

And I've always been afraid to decorate, because half the time I feel that my decoration ruins the look. >.<

But here it is.I finally made it. The recipe I used is from Bake at 350 here:

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

3 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
2 sticks (salted) butter, cold
1 egg
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

2. Combine the flour and baking powder, set aside.

3. Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix.

4. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined.

5. Roll onto a floured surface and cut into shapes. Place on parchment lined baking sheets (I stuck the cut-out cookies on the baking sheet into the freezer for about 5-10 minutes before baking, I think this helped hold the shape) and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

6. Then decorate.

I melted down chocolate and just dipped them in.

And mixed some icing sugar and water with some colouring to make basic shapes on the cookie. (I was too preoccupied with the icing at this point to take photos. And I totally forgot until I gave them away. o.0)

Nutty about Doughnuts~~

2010-10-27T09:00:00.068+08:00

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

Finally! It's the day to post up about this month's challenge. October. My. First. Challenge.

*jumps* *hops* *turns around in circles*

I wouldn't say it went brilliantly, but then again, I'm a perfectionist. Hardly anything can pass my test of being "the best it could EVER be".

Out of the four recipes, I went with the yeast doughnuts, with some minor modifications.

Yeast Doughnuts

Ingredients

180ml Milk
35g Butter
1pkg/7g Active Dry Yeast
40 ml Warm Water
1 Large egg, beaten
22.5g White Granulated Sugar
1/2 tsp Table Salt
2 1/3 cups All Purpose Flour

1. Place the milk in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat just until warm enough to melt the butter.

2. Place the butter in a bowl and pour warmed milk over. Make sure the butter is melted. Set aside.

3. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let dissolve for 5 minutes. It should get foamy. After 5 minutes, pour the yeast mixture into the large bowl of a stand mixer and add the milk and shortening mixture, first making sure the milk and butter mixture has cooled to lukewarm.

4. Add the eggs, sugar, salt, and half of the flour. Using the paddle attachment of your mixer (if you have one), combine the ingredients on low speed until flour is incorporated and then turn the speed up to medium and beat until well combined.

5. Add the remaining flour, combining on low speed at first, and then increase the speed to medium and beat well.

6. Change to the dough hook attachment of the mixer and beat on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl and becomes smooth, approximately 3 to 4 minutes (for me this only took about two minutes). If you do not have a dough hook/stand mixer – knead until the dough is smooth and not sticky.

7. Transfer to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

8. On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to 3/8-inch (9 mm)thick. (Make sure the surface really is well-floured otherwise your doughnuts will stick to the counter).

9. Cut out dough using a 2 1/2-inch (65 mm) doughnut cutter or pastry ring or drinking glass and using a 7/8-inch (22 mm) ring for the center whole. Set on floured baking sheet, cover lightly with a tea towel, and let rise for 30 minutes. *I used a smaller doughnut cutter, as I wanted mini doughnuts.

10. Preheat the oven to 190°C.

11. Bake for 10-15 minutes under golden brown.

12. Transfer to a cooling rack. Allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes prior to glazing, if desired.

You can choose to fry these in oil heated to about 350°F, but I decided to go with the healthier option of baking them instead. Turned out great!

I made some doughnut sticks as well as those adorable mini ones.

I went a little crazy when it came to icing them. A lot of flavours came out:

Toasted Almond Glaze and Green Tea

Cinnamon Sugar

Chocolate & Chocolate Almond

Yummy~~!!!

Pop it goes~~

2010-10-24T23:53:00.001+08:00

It's been a few years since I last had pop-tarts.

Commercial bought ones, mind you.
And you might find it shocking to hear that I've never had homemade ones.. *gasps*

Yeah yeah.. I know what you're thinking. That I've been living under the rock. That I've not experience life.

But.... as of now, I've officially made pop-tarts!
These are probably going on my all-time-favourite things to make; I can have them for dessert, or breakfast, or lunch, or every other meal and snack in between.

You can find the original recipe here.

Homemade Pop Tarts

Pastry
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pats
1 large egg
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) milk
1 additional large egg (to brush on pastry)

Cinnamon Filling (enough for 9 tarts)
1/2 cup (3 3/4 ounces) brown sugar
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, to taste
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 large egg, to brush on pastry before filling

To make cinnamon filling: Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and flour.

Make the dough:
1) Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt.

2) Work in the butter with your fingers or pastry blender until the mixture holds together when you squeeze it.

3) Whisk the first egg and milk together and stir them into the dough, mixing just until everything is cohesive, kneading briefly on a well-floured counter if necessary.
*you might need to refrigerate it for a while at this point, if your kitchen is on the warm side, that is*

4) Divide the dough in half, shape each half into a smooth rectangle, about 3×5 inches. You can roll this out immediately or wrap each half in plastic and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

5) If the dough has been chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to soften and become workable, about 15 to 30 minutes.

6) Place one piece on a lightly floured work surface, and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8″ thick, large enough that you can trim it to an even 9″ x 12″. [You can use a 9" x 13" pan, laid on top, as guidance.] Repeat with the second piece of dough. Set trimmings aside. Cut each piece of dough into thirds – you’ll form nine 3″ x 4″ rectangles.

7) Beat the additional egg and brush it over the entire surface of the first dough. This will be the “inside” of the tart; the egg is to help glue the lid on.

8) Place a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each rectangle, keeping a bare 1/2-inch perimeter around it. Place a second rectangle of dough atop the first, using your fingertips to press firmly around the pocket of filling, sealing the dough well on all sides. Press the tines of a fork all around the edge of the rectangle. Repeat with remaining tarts.

9) Gently place the tarts on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick the top of each tart multiple times with a fork; you want to make sure steam can escape, or the tarts will become puffy pillows rather than flat toaster pastries.

10) Refrigerate the tarts (they don’t need to be covered) for 30 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 180°C.

Bake the tarts: Remove the tarts form the fridge, and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown. Cool in pan on rack.

Makes 12 pop-tarts

The ones on the left are brushed with egg before entering the oven; the ones on the right, are the "non-eggy" ones. Which one do you think looks better? I think i might go with the egg wash on the outside next time. =)

There were some egg left, so rather than wasting it, I made some custard. nice~~~

Going bananas~~

2010-10-09T18:35:00.003+08:00

What exactly does one do when she has been feeling under the weather?
Finally able to move past the gloom that a foul creature has set upon her, but still not quite fully bouncing around in the happy clouds yet.

Why, she bakes!

Someone who has once declared that he has no intention of ever doing anything to hurt me has done exactly that. And furthermore, he doesn't seem to give a *tooot* about me anymore.
But that's all whiney-ranty gibberish now. I've moved past that.

Men will be men. (Please don't throw bananas at me if you're one of them, I mean no harm. Serious.)

Now sometime alone in the kitchen, elbows deep in flour and butter is the way to complete the...therapy, would you have it.

I've been eyeing those lovely bunch of bananas sitting on the counter-top ever since their arrival two nights ago. And this morning with no one at home to disturb my peace. I grabbed several of those awesome creatures. Ventured into my get-away haven. Closed the doors. Took a deep breath. And went to my happy place.

Banana Cookies
from Simply Recipes

Ingredients
1/2 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup of sugar Original recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, I halved this, and it was still a tad too sweet for me..
1 egg, room temperature
1 cup of mashed bananas (about 2 ½ large bananas)
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 cups of flour
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 cup of pecans (walnuts and chocolate chips are fine alternatives) I used choc chips. =)

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and continue to beat.

2 In a bowl, mix the mashed bananas and baking soda. Let sit for 2 minutes. The baking soda will react with the acid in the bananas which in turn will give the cookies their lift and rise.

3 Mix the banana mixture into the butter mixture. Mix together the flour, salt, and spices and sift into the butter and banana mixture and mix until just combined.

4 Fold into the batter the pecans or chocolate chips if using. Drop in dollops onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until nicely golden brown. Let cool on wire racks.

Makes about 30 cookies.

These cookies look heavenly. Smell heavenly. Taste heavenly.
I do apologise, they seem to have left me devoid of my normal set of vocabulary.

That, or I've simply gone to heaven.

Bring On the Challenge

2010-10-01T15:59:00.000+08:00

Okay, I'll admit it..
I'm not a very hard-working blogger..

Not at all..

I read a lot of blogs though..

But when it comes me actually typing them out...

Urgh.. The lazy bugs do bite me hard...

But I promise, like the little angel that I am (not), to post regularly from now on. Bring on the challenge!

Now the more important thing, I've decided to join Daring Baker's Monthly Challenge.
I've spent endless hours reading about them on other blogs, and have always found the idea intriguing.

So yes. I now sit in wait as to what the October Challenge is. Whatever it is, I think I'm up for it.
No wait. I AM up for it.. =)