I Can Do That!

Dundee Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 Nov 2022 19:34:00 +0000

I've seen this cake before but haven't baked it until I saw Enola Holmes biting on a large chunk. She is eating it while sitting on a bench in a park and holding it like it's a piece of bread. BTW, Enola Holmes 2 movie is streaming on Netflix.

I don't have Dundee Marmalade but I have homemade sour orange marmalade and the rest of the ingredients. It is delicious but I find it too dry. Maybe I need to let it age a little bit more. I left the baked cake in the baking pan and covered it with tin foil for 2 days before trying it. I reduced the sugar to just ½ cup and it is still too sweet for me.

Dundee Cake

adapted from Scottish Scran blog

1¼ cups all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons

1 teaspoon baking powder

¾ cup room temperature butter plus extra for greasing pan

¾ cup dark brown sugar

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cups dried sultanas

1 cup dried currants

5 tablespoons Seville Orange marmalade

zest of 1 orange

blanched almonds for decoration

Pre-heat oven to 300°F.
Lightly butter bottom and sides of a 7-inch springform pan. Line with parchment paper; set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together 1¼ cups flour and baking powder; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with a hand held beater.
Add the eggs and 2 tablespoons flour. Beat on low.
Add in the dried fruits, marmalade, and orange zest. Mix just until blended. Do not overmix.
Spoon into the prepared pan, smooth top, and decorate top with blanched almonds.
Bake for 1½ to 2 hours. Cover with aluminum foil after 1 hour to prevent over browning.
Remove foil and discard.
Cool cake in the pan on a wire rack.
When completely cooled, cover with 2 layers of foil and leave for 2 days before slicing.

Indonesian-style Noodles

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 20:15:00 +0000

Gordon Ramsay's 2021 cookbook, Ramsay In 10, has a fried noodle recipe he calls Warung Style Noodles. Warung, I think, is a small neighborhood eatery in Indonesia which offers cheap yummy food. I watched an Indonesian movie on Netflix that has similar ingredients and procedure for fried rice, Nasi Goreng. I followed the rice dish from the movie and used thin precooked rice noodles instead. I have smoked pork jowl and used that in place of bacon, because fatty pork jowl is simply delicious. For Nasi Goreng, use 2 cups cooked rice that has been refrigerated, uncovered, until very dry.

Indonesian-style Noodles

2 rashers bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 well beaten egg

½ teaspoon garlic paste

½ teaspoon ginger paste

½ teaspoon shrimp paste (belachan, optional)

1 tablespoon kecap manis plus extra for drizzling

1 cup baby bokchoy, cut into 1 inch pieces, blanched and drained

sea salt, to taste

2 - 3 ounces precooked flat rice noodles

1 tablespoon water, optional

1 cup mung bean sprouts, blanched and drained

Cook bacon in a skillet or wok until fat is rendered.
Add the egg and stir fry for a few seconds.
Add the pastes, kecap manis, and bokchoy.
Stir fry until bokchoy is fully cooked but still crunchy. Taste and add salt, if necessary.
Add the noodles and stir fry until well combined and noodles are heated through. Drizzle water if mixture is too dry. Turn heat off.
Add mung bean sprouts and stir gently to combine.
Transfer into a serving plate and drizzle top with kecap manis, if desired.

Tip: Make a garlic and ginger paste by processing equal amounts of garlic and ginger with a little distilled water or peanut oil. Keep a portion in a tiny jar in the refrigerator for 2 weeks and freeze some in 1 teaspoon portions. This combination is handy for preparing Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Indonesian, Malaysian, Singaporean, and other Asian dishes.

Kecap Manis is an Indonesian condiment staple. It is sweetened soy sauce that is thick although not as thick as molasses. You can either buy from Asian grocery stores but why buy when you probably have soy sauce and brown sugar in the pantry. Just boil them until thick, et voila! homemade kecap manis. BTW, ketchup got its name from Asian kecap.

Kecap Manis

½ cup Kikkoman soy sauce

½ cup + 2 tablespoons coconut sugar or dark brown sugar

Boil ingredients over medium low heat until the sauce has the consistency of maple syrup.

Let cool then transfer into a squeeze bottle for easier dispensing. The sauce will thicken some more as it cools. Refrigeration is not necessary.

Homemade Ube Powder

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 03 Jan 2022 23:40:00 +0000

For people obsessed with ube like myself, it gets frustrating buying ube powder that turns out to be half fake. I got a few Filipino ube powder packages from Amazon and the ube powder doesn't soften even when soaked overnight in water. The finished product tastes a bit of real ube but is grainy even after using an immersion blender. I suspect the powder has peels included to increase the weight. There is no other explanation for the bits that never soften. I used it to make ube buns.

I sometimes prefer powdered ube for longer storage and they don't take up a lot of space in the pantry. Powdered ube also is good for mixing in bread doughs. I have a pound of already cooked and frozen ube paste in the freezer but I can only store a little at a time before it develops freezer burn.

The procedure is a bit tedious. The ube tubers have to be steamed, peeled, grated, dehydrated, powdered using a dedicated coffee grinder, and sifted. 24 ounces of fresh ube will yield a very small amount of powder, ¾ cup (½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of fine powder plus 2 tablespoons of slightly coarse powder). I put the portions in individual parchment pouches. It is time consuming for very little amount but I am satisfied because I know the powder is the real thing and pure without nasty ingredients.

dehydrated grated cooked ube

I cooked the 2 tablespoons coarse ground powder into ube spread. I like the jam a bit runny so I can spread it on toast or pandesal.

The 2 tablespoons powder was soaked in 1 cup warm water for 3 hours then cooked in 2 cups whole milk, 3 tablespoons sugar, and 1½ tablespoons salted butter until of spreadable consistency. Yield is 8 ounces of ube spread.

Brown Butter Ice Cream

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 02 Jan 2022 17:00:00 +0000

I've been searching for the Filipino mantecado ice cream since forever. I can't find any from my tons of Filipino and Spanish cookbooks and online too. Mantecado ice cream was available from ice cream makers in the Philippines eons ago but they stopped making for some reason. The flavor is now being revived by a few ice cream producers and is making a comeback as Filipinos discover how good the ice cream flavor is.

Of course, it is another dessert or ice cream flavor inherited by the Filipinos from the Spanish. Mantecado is from the Spanish manteca which means lard. The Spanish have several sweets and breads using lard - polvorones, ensaimada, mantecados, mantecadas, and mantecado ice cream. I find it amusing that mantecados are different from matecadas. I'm imagining one is for men and the other is for girls. Mantecados are cookies and mantecadas are small square pound cakes.

Searching for original Spanish mantecado ice cream recipe is kinda futile. The ones available on the web are Cuban and Puerto Rican recipes but IMHO they do not come close to the ice cream flavor we know back in the Philippines because they don't have butter in their recipes. The Cuban recipe uses evaporated milk (yuck!) and flour (double yuck!!) while Puerto Rican has coconut milk but still no butter nor lard. Why they call it mantecado ice cream is a head scratcher. I guess the phrase "to each his own" applies here.

We found a recipe in Spanish language that has beurre noisette (brown butter) and the writer says the recipe is not Spanish in origin and is not common in Spain either, but is a favorite in Scotland. Scotland??? Searching for brown butter ice cream, I found several on the web and the custard based recipe sounds like the ones Filipinos are familiar with. I chose the one with white sugar because brown sugar will alter the flavor to butterscotch. I think I found my ice cream favorite for 2022. Yummy, scoopable even after a night stay in the freezer, and sooo creamy as though I'm eating ice cold pudding. The high fat content makes it so creamy like store-bought gelato but without any thickening additives. Pure bliss. 😋

Brown Butter Ice Cream

1 stick salted butter, cubed

2 large egg yolks

2 tablespoons sugar

½ cup whole milk

¼ cup sugar

1½ cups very cold heavy cream

Make brown butter: Melt butter over medium low heat in a medium stainless steel saucepan. Turn down heat to low and let simmer until golden brown, occasionally scraping the bottom to prevent solids from getting too brown. Strain into a glass measuring cup and let cool for 10 minutes; discard solids.

While brown butter is cooling, blend egg yolks and 2 tablespoons sugar in a tall quart plastic container using an immersion blender until mixture is smooth. Slowly pour still warm brown butter while blending.
Heat milk and remaining ¼ cup sugar until just starting to simmer and sugar is completely melted. Slowly pour into the egg yolk and butter mixture, blending until fully incorporated.

Stir with a spatula scraping egg mixture from the bottom and sides of container. Stir cold heavy cream until evenly mixed. Place in the freezer for 1 hour. Churn in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream in a quart ice cream container and enjoy soft serve or freeze for a few hours.

Instant Pot Duo Crisp

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 19:57:00 +0000

My son gifted us with an Instant Pot Duo Crisp 8 Quarts for Christmas. I never owned nor cooked with a pressure cooker before but of course I know there is an IP "cult" and they swear by the convenience of this kitchen appliance. I now understand why. It is versatile except maybe to make toast and bake a large cake. I've used the steamer, pressure cooker, air fryer, and sous vide. So far, they have worked very well. Boiling eggs and cooking rice are particularly great. The eggs are easier to peel with no shells stuck on the eggs. Sticky rice, sushi rice, and jasmine rice are cooked perfectly in the Instant Pot. It won't replace my gas, toaster, and microwave ovens though.

Pressure cooked on high for 30 minutes; natural release - easy to remove skins and perfectly cooked Ube (Purple Yam)

Baked Sweet Potatoes

25 minutes at 350 F

Air Fried Sweet Potato Chips drizzled with honey butter - crispy yummy!

Eggs

Eggs should be at room temperature; leave eggs on kitchen counter at least 5 hours before cooking. Add ice cubes in a bowl of cold water. Cooked eggs should be immediately plunged in iced water for 4 minutes to stop further cooking.
Pour 2 cups water in inner pot. Place steamer rack with handles up, carefully put eggs in one layer.
Hard - pressure cook for 4 minutes on low, release after 3 minutes
Semi-soft - pressure cook for 2 minutes on low, release after 2 minutes
Soft - pressure cook for 2 minutes on low, quick release

Air Fried Chicken

I was not too happy because the chicken didn't have the golden brown color of deep fried. The chicken were soft and moist.

Champorado

Filipino breakfast porridge made with glutinous rice cooked with cocoa powder and sugar. Serve hot with milk. Pressure cook on high for 10 minutes 1 cup glutinous rice, 6 tablespoons cocoa powder, sugar to taste, and 3 cups water. Natural release.

Jasmine Rice

Wash 2 cups of jasmine rice several times until water becomes clear. You can skip this but I prefer to wash rice before cooking. Drain rice and place in the pot. Add 1 and 3/4 cups water and make sure rice is evenly distributed in the pot. Pressure cook on high for 0 minute. Yes, zero minute. Turn off Keep Warm button to make sure no crust will form on the bottom of the pot. Natural release, about 20 minutes. Make sure the tiny metal button is completely down before removing lid. Immediately spoon cooked rice with a plastic spatula into a container.

Arancini - Italian Rice Balls

Mix 1 cup risotto with grated mozzarella, finely chopped Italian parsley, and 1 egg white. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Form into 1 inch balls, dip in beaten egg yolk then roll in fine bread crumbs. Air fry at 400 F until golden brown.

Japchae - Korean glass noodles with mixed vegetables

Semi fail because I added too much liquid but the noodles were still chewy. There's always a next time.

Cinnamon Buns

Tiny cinnamon buns made with just a cup of flour. Not bad. At least I know I can bake bread using the air fryer function in the Instant Pot.

Verdict - Sold!!! 😘😘😘

Paul Hollywood's Ciabatta Breadsticks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 14:23:00 +0000

Paul Hollywood's Ciabatta Breadsticks got my attention on last Friday's The Great British Baking Show. Ciabatta should be flat as the name means slippers. What makes this ciabatta recipe not an authentic ciabatta is the method and lack of biga. Ciabatta recipe normally requires a biga and therefore 2 days to complete. But...whatever.

The fillings are also interesting - green olives, Spanish Manchego cheese, chopped red onions, and coriander leaves - then dipped in tzatziki. It's a mash-up of Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Greek cuisines. I included Portuguese because the other 3 European countries rarely use or maybe never use coriander leaves in their food. Portuguese cuisine uses coriander leaves, maybe influenced by Brazil and Macao.

Paul's recipe is quite large so I reduced it to just a third, making only 6 breadsticks. The breadsticks have crunchy crusts and soft crumbs. I thought the flavor will be weird because of the coriander leaves (cilantro) but it's actually good. The salty olives and cheese dominate the flavor anyway. The tzatziki is not really necessary but is an okay addition to the flavor mix. I suggest you use store bought or eat them without tzatziki.

Ciabatta Breadsticks

adapted from Paul Hollywood's recipe

750 grams bread flour

1 tablespoon kosher salt

14 grams instant yeast

600 ml lukewarm water

3 tablespoons olive oil

350 grams pitted green olive, halved

200 grams manchego cheese, cut into small cubes

1 onion, finely chopped

a handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped

semolina flour for dusting

Cover 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper and dust with flour, set aside.
Place the flour into a standing mixer bowl with dough hook attached; put salt on one side and yeast on another side.
Pour 2/3 of the water and mix on low speed. When the dough starts to come together, gradually add the rest of water and mix on medium speed for 6 minutes until dough stretches easily. It should be very wet.
Add the olive oil and knead for another 3 minutes.
Add olives, cheese, onion, and coriander leaves and gently mix to evenly distribute.
Transfer dough in a lightly oiled rectangular container, cover with plastic wrap, and leave to ferment on the kitchen counter for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 240 C/475 F.
Dust the work surface with semolina flour and carefully tip the dough over. It will be soft and flowing. Handle the dough gently to keep the air in as much as possible.
Dust the top with semolina flour and gently stretch the dough into a 12 inches long rectangle.
Cut into 18 strips. Place 6 strips on each of the cookie sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and leave for 20 minutes.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until tops are golden brown. Serve with or without Tzatziki.

Prue Leith's Malt Loaf

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 20:06:00 +0000

I've never heard of Malt Loaf until Friday last week when it was presented as the technical challenge on the 9th Season of The Great British Baking Show, currently streaming on Netflix. My reaction of course is Must Bake A Loaf. But the recipe needs a small amount of black treacle and I didn't want to spend $9.00 for a 16-ounces tin of treacle that I know will end up in the cupboard unused for millennia. I made half a recipe that is available from food bloggers and it was disastrous. I slightly burnt the caramel so I made a second one which was a success. I adapted TGBBS Prue Leith's recipe and the loaf is surprisingly moist, malty, and delicious. Nice with a smear of salted butter. The recipe has flame raisins but I used ordinary dark raisins because raisins are raisins and both of them are dark as opposed to golden raisins.

Malt Loaf

1 PG Tips tea bag steeped in 150 grams boiling water

200 grams flame or dark raisins

100 grams soft pitted prunes, chopped

½ teaspoon baking soda

150 grams malt syrup or extract

40 grams black treacle

80 grams dark muscovado sugar

250 grams all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 335° F.
Line bottom and all sides of an 8 x 4 baking loaf pan with parchment paper; set aside.
Place the dried fruits in a glass container and pour the tea over. Cover with cling film and microwave for 2 minutes. Remove film and mix in the baking soda; leave for 10 minutes.
In a saucepan, heat over medium low heat the malt syrup and black treacle. Add sugar and cook until sugar is dissolved. Turn heat off and leave to cool for 5 minutes.
Place flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Make a well in the center and pour the warm syrup mixture and add the fruits and liquid if any. Gently fold together then add the eggs; mix well.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Remove loaf from pan and transfer on a wire rack; let cool completely.
Slice when cooled and serve with butter.

Black Treacle

¼ cup sugar

2 tablespoons water

¼ cup boiling water

1 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon citric acid or ½ tablespoon lemon juice

Place ¼ cup sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a heavy bottomed stainless steel saucepan.
Let sugar dissolve over low medium heat without stirring. Cook to golden brown.
Turn heat to low and cook until syrup turns deep brown.
Slowly and carefully add boiling water then add the remaining sugar.
Boil on low medium heat until syrup has thickened a little.
Add citric acid or lemon juice and continue boiling for 5 more minutes.
Transfer into a wide mouth jar and let cool completely before putting a lid on it.
Store at room temperature.
Reheat in microwave oven for 15 seconds to soften.

Mini Waffles

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 18:13:00 +0000

Milo mini waffle topped with a small scoop of malted milk ice cream

As usual, I'm late for the party. Mini waffles have been around for years already but I only made them recently. The Dash mini waffle maker makes 4-inch waffles, same size as Eggo waffles and perfect for chaffles.

Chaffles are low carb waffles made with just egg and cheese. Some people add almond or coconut flour but I don't care for both. Almond is tolerable once in a while but coconut flour is a no for me. The chaffles are perfect for low carb hamburger sandwiches or ~~the much mocked~~ avocado toast.

Simple Mini Chaffles

makes two 4-inch chaffles

1 egg, beaten and equally divided (use a 1-ounce measuring cup)

½ cup shredded cheese, mozzarella or sharp cheddar

crispy bacon chips or chopped ham, optional

Place waffle maker on a piece of aluminum foil (for easy clean-up) and plug in to preheat. When the light turns on, the maker is ready.
Place 2 tablespoons of cheese evenly on bottom of waffle maker, pour half of the egg, half a tablespoon of bacon or ham, if using, then sprinkle 2 tablespoons shredded cheese evenly on top.
Close the lid and bake until the light comes off, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Repeat with the remaining cheese and egg.
Leave for a minute before serving to make the chaffles crispy. I like them slightly soft for burgers.

chaffle burger with sauteed onions and mushrooms

I've been reading about avocado toast but have never tried it. I only make ice cream, milk shake, and guacamole with avocado. Older people like myself make fun of millennials who pay incredibly steep price for avocado toast at restaurants. Well, there comes a the time to finally find out what the fuss is about although I made them with chaffles instead of sliced bread. The verdict: it is very nice with or without adding anything except sea salt. The avocado is smooth and feels like you are eating a stick of butter over bread. Really.

Avocado Chaffle Toast

1 recipe plain chaffles

1 small ripe avocado

extra virgin olive oil

fine sea salt

roasted sesame seeds

dried red pepper flakes

Halve the avocado, remove the skin, and thinly slice.
Arrange avocado slices on top of each chaffle, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with a few grains of salt, sesame seeds, and dried red pepper flakes.
Enjoy for breakfast or light lunch.

I have to finish the large tin of Milo before it gets clumpy. Milo mini waffles is the answer. It is not low carb but so good specially with fresh strawberries or frozen yogurt covered blueberries. These are soft waffles because of the cream cheese. If you want them a little crispy, use shredded low moisture mozzarella cheese.

Milo Mini Waffles

makes 3 mini waffles

1 egg, room temperature

1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon no added sugar malted milk powder

1 tablespoon almond flour

3 tablespoons Milo

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat mini waffle maker.
Mix everything in a small bowl until well blended.
Divide into 3 equal portions.
Pour one portion into prepared waffle maker and bake for 4 minutes or until light goes off.
Bake the remaining dough.
Fill or top with whipped cream, whipped lightly sweetened cream cheese, or a scoop of malted milk ice cream, a few frozen yogurt covered blueberries. Or serve with fresh fruits.

Malted Milk Ice Cream

1½ cups chilled whole milk

1½ cups chilled heavy cream

5 tablespoons sugar or erythritol

2 tablespoons golden malt syrup

6 tablespoons no added sugar malted milk powder

Mix all ingredients until sugar is dissolved.
Process in ice cream maker for 25 minutes to soft serve.
Transfer into an ice cream container with lid.
Freeze for 4 hours.

Cheese Ice Cream

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 25 Jul 2021 19:21:00 +0000

homemade cheese ice cream

Kraft has recently introduced for a limited time Macaroni & Cheese Ice Cream flavor. Here are the ingredients from the ice cream maker VanLeeuen which they label GOOD INGREDIENTS 😏😏😏

cream, milk, cane sugar, egg yolks, Kraft cheese sauce mix (whey, milkfat, salt, milk protein concentrate, sodium triphosphate, contains less than 2% of tapioca flour, citric acid, lactic acid, sodium phosphate, calcium phosphate, with paprika, turmeric, and annatto added for color, enzymes, cheese culture)Contains: milk, eggs

I have no intention of buying it just to have a taste because all the ice cream in the US are overly sweet. Cheese ice cream has been a favorite flavor of mine and many people in the Philippines. Ice cream in carts, usually parked outside schools, sell this flavor along with perennial favorites mango, ube, and jackfruit. The cheese flavor became very popular in the country that the big dairy companies started making and selling the flavor at grocery stores for many years now. The ice cream is labeled either Keso, the Tagalog spelling of Spanish Queso (cheese) or Queso Ice Cream.

I loved the ice cream sandwiched between soft buns called monay. I have made cheese ice cream several times with just whole milk, cream, sugar, and shredded cheddar cheese. I don't like it with egg yolk or any flavorings like vanilla extract. The flavor of just salty cheddar cheese and sweet cream is the best IMHO. I don't use thickeners and colorants in my homemade ice cream either, although the cheese I use has annatto coloring. If you have cheese powder in your pantry, you can use that instead of shredded cheese. I prefer the salty little bits of cheese on my tongue when I eat this ice cream.

Cheese Ice Cream

makes approximately 1 quart

1 cup whole milk

1 cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup chilled heavy cream

6 - 8 tablespoons sugar

½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Heat milk and 1 cup of cheese just until cheese is melted.
Beat until smooth.
Transfer into a tall plastic container with a lid and add heavy cream and 6 tablespoons sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Taste and adjust sweetness if needed.
Put the lid on and store in the freezer for 45 minutes.
Transfer into an ice cream maker and churn for 20 minutes. Add the remaining ½ cup of cheese and churn for another 2 minutes to soft serve.

Transfer into ice cream container and store in the freezer.
Try it with butter cookies or as filling for sweet rolls and chaffles.

Challah Buns With Tofu Cream Filling

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 13:00:00 +0000

I never liked caramel-topped cream puffs made with Pâte à Choux but could tolerate eclair because of its chocolate topping. I find it dry, flavorless, and cardboard-y. I made faces whenever the snack cart where I used to work passed by and I couldn't understand why anyone would eat it. But day after day twice a day, the cart came with them without fail. Needless to say, I never made the pastries, ever. Oh, and don't make me start with that horrible croquembouche (croque-en-bouche). Yikes!😵

I recently finished watching a Japanese dorama, EdoMoiselle. The female lead is a high ranking courtesan in Edo, now Tokyo, who time travelled to present day Reiwa period. She started working in the coffee shop owned by a father and his daughter. They also gave her a room in their house. Senka, the Edo courtesan, loves the shop's Cream Puffs filled with Tofu Pastry Cream. The tofu surely piqued my interest but I can't stand the cardboard treat puff pastry so I baked half a recipe of challah and formed the dough into round buns. The tofu cream filling I made has no egg yolk nor flour and the end result is yummy, light, and not too cloying. If you are a fan of cream puff, try this tofu cream filling. It can also be used to fill Scottish Cream Buns or mini Chocolate Waffles instead of sweetened whipped cream.

Senka and her favorite cream puff with tofu cream filling

Challah Buns With Tofu Cream Filling

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon instant yeast
2 tablespoons sugar

¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
4 ounces filtered water

2 eggs, room temperature
3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 egg and ½ tablespoon water for egg wash

confectioner's sugar for dusting

In a stand mixer bowl with the paddle attachment, stir together flour and yeast. Add the rest of ingredients except butter, egg for egg wash, and confectioner's sugar.
Mix on low speed until well combined. Leave for 5 minutes.
Remove paddle and replace with dough hook. Knead on medium speed for 5 minutes. Add water if too dry, half a tablespoon at a time.
Add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated, and knead on low for 3 minutes until dough is smooth and springy to the touch; shape dough into a ball.
Transfer the ball into a lightly oiled container with a lid and turn to coat the surface. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let sit on the kitchen counter for 30 minutes.
Deflate dough and refrigerate overnight.
Remove dough from refrigerator and let rest for 30 minutes.
Transfer into a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly to remove bubbles.
Divide dough into 3 ounce pieces. Shape into round dough and flatten like hamburger buns.
Transfer buns into a parchment-lined baking sheet 3 inches apart. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in bulk and slightly puffy, about 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat the remaining egg with water. Brush tops with egg wash. Bake for 15 minutes until tops are golden brown. Transfer into a rack to cool completely.
Split and fill with Tofu Cream or custard cream of your choice.
Dust tops lightly with confectioner's sugar before serving.

Tofu Cream

½ cup silken tofu

1 tablespoon rum or brandy or preferred flavoring

2 tablespoons sugar, more or less to taste

½ cup whipped heavy cream

Blend silken tofu, sugar, and rum or brandy using a hand blender until tofu is creamy.
Gently fold in whipped heavy cream until well combined.
Refrigerate until ready to fill the buns.

***********************************************************************************

Photos from the Japanese dorama EdoMoiselle

reciting poetry

with her benevolent landlord and his daughter

going back home to Edo

Milo Polvoron

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 21:59:00 +0000

I bought a large tin of "Original Version" Milo made in Singapore. The previous tin of Milo I bought years ago was made in Malaysia. I remember it was grainy and crunchy just like the Milo I grew up eating, sometimes by the spoonful. It's perfect to top Milo shake - you scoop up the crunchy Milo on top before drinking the rest.

This new tin of Milo is powdery, tastes very little of malted powder, and not as chocolaty either. It's a huge disappointment. I cannot return it so I might as well use it but I always add at least 2 tablespoons each of malted milk powder and homemade chocolate sauce in shaved ice treat called Milo Scramble in the Philippines. I recommend the small tins from Colombia which has more chocolate and malt flavor although a tad sweeter. In other words, not all Milo are the same. Ovaltine is out because I find it too medicine-y and tastes even worse. Maybe I'll try Horlicks next time when I finish this tin of Milo.

The polvorones I made today is similar to the Spanish polvorones because I used fine almond flour instead of all wheat flour although I didn't bake them. Filipino polvorones are never baked.

Milo Polvoron

makes about 40 pieces

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup fine almond flour

½ cup whole milk powder

¼ cup sifted powdered sugar or homemade powdered birch erythritol (do not use Chinese erythritol)

4 tablespoons malted milk powder, optional

1 cup Milo

½ cup very soft salted butter

Toast flour over low heat in a stainless steel skillet until golden brown. Transfer into a shallow bowl to cool.
Toast almond flour over low heat in the same skillet until golden brown. Add to the toasted flour in the bowl.
Let both flours cool completely.

Add the rest of ingredients except butter. Mix thoroughly with gloved hand.
Work in soft butter with gloved hand.
Shape using polvoron mold.
Wrap individually in wax paper cut into 4 x 4 inch square.
Refrigerate polvorones. These are best eaten when cold.

Homemade Silky Tofu For Taho

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 21:10:00 +0000

The Korean grocery store stopped selling pudding-like super soft silky tofu to make into sweet Filipino taho. I never thought of making my own taho from soy milk until I sprouted soy beans, the result of which I didn't like at all. I didn't know what to do with the dried beans and decided to make it into bean curd. Searching for recipes, I found lots for making taho just like the ones sold by ambulant peddlers in the Philippines, at the wet markets in Hong Kong, and in Dim Sum restaurants.

It is not too complicated but it needs the correct coagulant for a silky smooth taho that is almost like almond gelatin. I used GDL coagulant that I found at Amazon. My first try in making it is a success. I made the soymilk which takes just 1 day or in my case, 4 days because I sprouted the beans first. The result is super silky soft taho exactly like the ones in restaurants and from peddlers. There is no hint of acidic flavor as others have described. I find the result superior to the store-bought tofu. I also recommend making your own soymilk instead of using store-bought because there may be added ingredients in ready made soymilk like sugar and thickener.

GDL coagulant makes the softest smoothest silken tofu pudding taho. For firm tofu, use magnesium chloride (nigari) or calcium sulfate (food grade gypsum). These coagulants won't make tofu that is smooth and soft as the ones made with GDL.

Homemade Silky Soft Tofu For Taho

3 cups homemade or store-bought plain soymilk

¼ teaspoon GDL coagulant

½ tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

In a tall 4 cup plastic container mix GDL, cornstarch, and water; set aside.
Heat soymilk over low medium heat to 85°C.
From 2 feet above, if possible, carefully pour hot soymilk into the container with the coagulant mixture.
Leave for 45 minutes until set.
Remove the skin that forms on the top. Keep the skin for other use like this one.

Use a flattish large serving spoon to scoop out thin layers of taho into small individual bowls.
Enjoy while still warm either with coconut sugar syrup or syrup flavored with fresh ginger, or both in separate serving cups.

I also followed a method of cooking soft taho from Serious Eats. It's more complicated because the soymilk has to be chilled before mixing in the coagulant mixture which doesn't have cornstarch. The soymilk is poured in individual serving containers and steamed in water bath (bain marie) for 20 to 30 minutes. I read that steaming in a steamer is better. I don't recommend it. The taho is also smooth but why add unnecessary steps of chilling first then boiling when you can go straight from boiling to mixing with coagulant.

Peanut Tikoy Rolls

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 16:44:00 +0000

I've been reading about tikoy rolls or balls filled with peanut butter which is similar to mochi and Filipino mache. They're all cousins and each Asian country has its own version of filled glutinous rice flour steamed cakes. Chinese New Year starts in 2 days so I might as well make some. The peanut butter filled tikoy is addicting. Delicious!

Peanut Butter Tikoy Roll

1 cup glutinous rice flour

6 tablespoons sugar

¾ cup water

1 cup ground roasted peanuts

4 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

Mix rice flour, sugar, and water.
Pour into an 8 x 8 inch silicone pan.
Steam for 1 hour or until translucent.
While rice is cooking, transfer peanut butter into a Ziploc or icing bag and set aside.
Sprinkle or spread ground peanuts evenly on top of cooked rice cake.

Cover rice cake with 2 layers of plastic wrap.
Invert silicone pan on kitchen counter and carefully peel the rice cake from silicone.
Snip a corner of the Ziploc bag and squeeze a half inch thick line of peanut butter at one end of the cake.
Roll cake with plastic wrap until peanut butter is completely covered and formed into a roll.
Cut the covered portion and pinch seams. Repeat filling and rolling the rest of rice cake.
Cut into 1½ inch pieces or desired length.

Brown Tikoy

1 cup glutinous rice flour

6 tablespoons coconut sugar

¾ cup water

¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

banana leaves softened in hot water

Line 4 ramekins with 2 layers of banana leaves. Set aside.

In a small bowl, stir sugar into water until sugar dissolves; add vanilla extract.
Stir in flour and mix until fully blended.
Pour rice mixture equally into the ramekins.

Or line a 6 inch pan with 2 layers of banana leaves and pour all the rice mixture.
Steam for 2½ hours.
Enjoy while soft and still sticky.
Refrigerate leftover; microwave to soften or slice, dip in beaten egg, and shallow fry in butter.

Homemade Ube Butter

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 20:22:00 +0000

I bought from an online Filipino store a few items and they gave me a small jar of Ube Butter for free. The ube butter is similar to Biscoff spread because it is also made with cookies and butter. The cookies have ube flavoring, most likely unnatural and not real ube (purple yam from the Philippines). I didn't like it because it is too sweet for my taste and I was put off by the violent color. Yes, violent is not a typo.

Ube is not supposed to be this dark violet. Real ube yam is a lighter shade of purple and when cooked in milk and sugar should be light purple or very dark lilac. I also didn't like the artificial flavor of the store-bought ube butter so I made my own with homemade Ube Jam and butter plus a little powdered xylitol. Needless to say I prefer homemade Ube Butter because it is made with just Ube Jam and salted butter and the color is very very light lilac. I prefer salted butter because IMHO, salt enhances the flavor of sweets.

If you are using store-bought ube jam, make sure the color is not very dark purple because it will taste of fake ube flavoring that comes in a small bottle. If you don't mind the artificial flavor, then go ahead and use it.

The recipe for homemade Ube Jam is here.

Homemade Ube Butter

1 cup salted or unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup ube jam, room temperature

2 tablespoons powdered sugar, or to taste

In a medium size bowl, beat butter and jam on medium speed until light.
Add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and beat well until sugar is fully incorporated. Taste and adjust sweetness.
Continue beating until fluffy.
Transfer into sterilized jars and refrigerate until ready to use.
Remove from refrigerator a few minutes to soften before spreading on warm buns.

which one would you prefer: the light colored ube butter or extreme purple ube butter

Burnt Cheesecake

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 17 Oct 2020 02:10:00 +0000

Searching for the recipe for the Basque Sobao cake, I came across another cake that is supposed to be from the same region of Spain, the Burnt Cheesecake. The cake can be found in several food blogs and on YouTube so I think I'm late for the party. I like the recipe because it doesn't have Graham cracker or Oreo cookie crust, making it keto friendly if you use sugar substitute. Most recipes don't have flavorings so I added a little orange and lemon extracts to give it a little oomph. The cheesecake is easy to prepare and really really good.

Burnt Cheesecake

for a 7 inch round springform pan

1 pound cream cheese, softened

¾ cup sugar

3 large eggs

3 ounces heavy cream

¼ teaspoon lemon extract, optional

¼ teaspoon orange extract, optional

Line the springform pan with parchment paper.
Preheat oven to 420°F.
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and beat until smooth.
Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until top is dark brown.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack.
When completely cooled, refrigerate cake still in the pan overnight.
Slice into wedges and enjoy.

Spanish Basque Sobao

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 19:54:00 +0000

Watching too many Spanish Basque shows on Netflix is bad for my waistline. There are so many sweet treats that I never heard before are mentioned in these shows and I just have to try them. I have cooked a few Basque recipes but can't recall the sweet bread sobao. I looked for it in my Spanish cookbooks with lots of Basque recipes; didn't find one. I had to rely on Wikipedia as well as Spanish recipe websites and was only able to get descriptions, ingredients and amounts, but not an actual recipe. I experimented and made just a quarter of the ingredients written on Wiki. It's actually pound cake but with a little less flour and has a little yeast. I don't know what the yeast is for. The finished bread/cake looks like cornbread, is dense, buttery, sweet, and not bad. I'll increase the anise or rum next time I make it.

from Wikipedia

The recipe includes one kilo of sugar, one of butter, 900 grams of flour, 12 eggs, a pinch of salt, lemon zest, a spoon of rum or anise liquor and a bit of dry yeast. The butter and sugar are mixed together, then salt and lemon are added under continuous stirring. One by one the eggs are added with the spoonful of liquor and finally, flour and yeast are incorporated. As soon as all ingredients are thoroughly mixed the dough is ready, filled into a baking dish and baked in the oven.

Sobao Spanish Basque (Inauthentic)

1 cup sugar

2 sticks salted butter, room temperature

½ teaspoon lemon zest

¼ tablespoon anise liqueur

3 large eggs

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour mixed with 1/16 teaspoon yeast

Line on all sides a 6 x 6 square pan with parchment paper; set aside.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, beat butter and sugar together until creamy and pale yellow in color.
Add eggs one at a time together with the anise liqueur. Sprinkle a little of the flour if mixture separates. Beat until smooth.
Slowly add flour and yeast; mix with spatula until fully incorporated.
Transfer into the prepared pan and bake until top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before cutting into 2-inch squares.

If someone has an authentic recipe for Sobao, please email me. I'll appreciate it. 😊

Cacao Butter Chocolate Candy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 16 May 2020 23:51:00 +0000

The food grade cacao butter wafers which I used eons ago for homemade lotions and other facial stuff had been sitting in the pantry and already passed the best by date. The wafers looked good so I experimented with making candies. The recipes online seem simple enough to make. Unfortunately, making chocolate candies from scratch using cacao butter is definitely not a piece of cake. It's complicated and frustrating because powdered sugar, powdered erythritol, and powdered milk don't melt that easily. You can whisk it until the end of time and you'll still end up with gritty candy that has cacao butter sitting at the bottom and sugar/milk on top because it needs an emulsifier. Yes, the much maligned lecithin emulsifier.

I had an ancient, maybe 5 years old, small package of soy lecithin granules in the fridge. I threw that away and got sunflower lecithin powder. I didn't know that health nuts take this powder as a supplement. So why not add lecithin if it is not harmful and may even be helpful, if true. It helped bigly in emulsifying specially the white chocolate candy. Also, instead of powdered sugar and milk, I made sweet condensed milk with erythritol and a little white cane sugar 3:1. The sweet milk with the help of lecithin made the candy smooth. For the dark chocolate I added chipotle powder in half of the mixture and chopped homemade candied orange fruit in the other half. Both flavors are delicious!

Cacao Butter Dark Chocolate Candy

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon sunflower lecithin powder
2 ounces cacao butter wafers
3 tablespoons natural (not raw) cocoa powder
finely chopped candied orange, optional
¼ teaspoon chipotle powder, optional

In a small bowl, stir together maple syrup and vanilla extract. Sprinkle lecithin powder evenly on top of syrup mixture and stir lightly; set aside.
Melt cacao butter over low heat in a double boiler. It will be thin and transparent like vegetable oil.
Remove from heat and place bowl or pan on a kitchen towel. Wipe the outside of the bowl to prevent water getting inside the bowl.
Stir maple syrup mixture and add to the melted cacao butter.
Add cocoa powder and stir all together until chocolate mixture is smooth and fully emulsified, checking if cacao butter does not separate to the top.
Pour half into one mold. Add chopped candied orange evenly on chocolate candy. Use a toothpick to push them down.

Stir the chipotle powder into the remaining chocolate and pour into the chocolate mold. [If you don't have molds, line 2 small pans with plastic wrap.]
Let set on the kitchen counter for 4 to 5 hours. Unmold and wrap in unwaxed or parchment paper. Enjoy.

Fruits And Peanuts White Chocolate Candy

2 tablespoons sweet condensed milk
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, optional
½ teaspoon sunflower lecithin powder
lightly salted dry roasted peanuts
chopped homemade candied orange peels
reduced sugar Craisins™
2 ounces cacao butter wafers

Stir together sweet milk and vanilla extract, if using.
Sprinkle lecithin powder on milk mixture. Leave for 5 minutes then stir to combine; set aside.
Spread fruits and peanuts evenly on two 3 ounce candy molds; set aside. [Or line an 8 x 8 inch pan with plastic wrap. Spread fruits, nuts, and peels evenly on the lined pan; set aside.]
Melt cacao butter over low heat in a double boiler.
Remove from heat and place bowl or pan on a kitchen towel. Wipe the outside of the bowl to prevent water getting inside the bowl.
Stir condensed milk mixture again then add to melted cacao butter. Stir vigorously with a rubber spatula or wire whisk; let cool for a few minutes. Repeat stirring and cooling until candy mixture is fully emulsified but still liquid and pourable.
Pour evenly in the prepared molds or pan of fruits and nuts.

Leave on kitchen counter until set, about 4 to 5 hours.
Unmold carefully and wrap in unwaxed or parchment paper.
If set on a pan, cut into squares with a sharp knife or break into pieces.

Ñora Pepper Flan

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 19:14:00 +0000

This Spanish flan using the pulp of hydrated dried mild red peppers called ñora is a bit odd but it is quite good with a teensy bit of bite. The flavor as a dessert flan is a combination of chocolate, prunes, and coffee. Ñora pepper is used to flavor Spanish sausages, savory dishes, and Romesco sauce. One of the recipes I found in a Spanish website is flan. Yes, sweet dessert flan. I couldn't find the link to the recipe anymore but I still remember it has no milk just like Flan de Naranja which is in one of my Spanish cookbooks. I followed that recipe substituting the pepper pulp and the soaking water. I believe you can also use the more widely available, cheaper, and also mild ancho dried pepper which has a very similar chocolate-y and prune-y flavor.

Ñora Pepper Flan
4 tablespoons sugar for caramel
4 pieces dried ñora pepper
3 cups warm water
4 tablespoons sugar
4 whole eggs

Caramelize 4 tablespoons sugar and coat bottom of 4 to 5 small ramekins; set aside.
With a small bowl on top to weight down, soak ñora peppers in water until fully hydrated, about 3 hours; reserve soaking liquid.
Remove stems and seeds and discard. Gently scrape the pulp with a small knife; set aside.
Place the skins in a small saucepan. Pour the soaking water into the saucepan and simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes. Pour over a fine sieve into a measuring bowl.
Return the liquid to the saucepan and add 4 tablespoons sugar; boil for 20 minutes. Transfer into a measuring cup. You should have 2 cups. Let cool completely.
Scrape remaining pulp if any from the boiled skins; discard skins and add pulp to the reserved pulp.

Beat the eggs in a small bowl and strain into a 4-cup measuring cup; set aside.
When syrup has cooled, add the pepper pulp and blend using a stick blender. Pour over a fine sieve into the beaten eggs and gently mix together.
Fill the caramel-coated ramekins and place in a pan with 2-inch tall sides. Carefully pour 1 inch of hot water into the pan.
Bake in a preheated 300°F oven for 40 minutes.

Transfer flans and let cool on wire rack for 30 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight in refrigerator.
Loosen flan by running a small offset spatula all around. Turn over onto a dessert plate letting all the syrup to drain on top.

No-Knead Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 21:41:00 +0000

No-knead bread became popular in 2012, if I remember correctly, when Jim Lahey made a demo and published a cookbook. I've never made it until today to know if it really makes flavorful bread. The Jim Lahey method leaves the dough to ferment for 12 hours at room temperature then the dough is shaped and baked in a covered preheated cast iron Dutch oven. He updated it to shorten the fermentation to 3 or 4 hours by using very hot water, about 130°F, and adding ¼ teaspoon red wine vinegar.

I didn't want to waste bread flour so I made only half a recipe adding a few drops of apple cider vinegar to the dough in place of red wine. The recipe below is a full recipe for one boule. Total time from preparation to baking is less than 5 hours. I baked it in a cast iron loaf pan and used a second cast iron loaf pan as cover. The result is surprisingly good. Crust is crunchy and crumb is chewy and flavorful, almost like breads made with preferment or sourdough starter. I didn't expect to like it but I do. I think the small amount of acid made a difference in flavor.

No-Knead Bread
3 cups bread flour
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons kosher salt
1½ teaspoons sugar
1½ cups very hot water, 130°F
¼ teaspoon red wine vinegar
extra flour for dusting

In a glass bowl, stir together dry ingredients with a wire whisk. Add water and red wine vinegar; mix with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until all the flour is moistened and incorporated. It will be sticky. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and leave on the kitchen counter for 3 hours.
Transfer dough onto a lightly floured surface. With a dough scraper, fold several times until dough is smooth, adding more flour if too sticky. Form into a ball.
Line a bowl with parchment paper; dust with a little flour. Place the dough ball seam side up on the parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
Place a 6 quart cast iron Dutch oven and lid in the cold oven. Preheat oven to 450°F.
Remove plastic wrap from bowl and wear oven gloves. Lift parchment paper and dough and carefully plop into the preheated Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover and parchment paper and continue baking for another 15 minutes until crust is golden brown.
Transfer bread into a wire rack. Cool for 1 hour before slicing.

*********************************************************************************

A rant
In this age of Chinese virus pandemic ~~lite~~, it seems I'm always behind in knowing the latest items being hoarded by certifiable crazy and absolutely greedy people - flour and yeast being the latest items. It started in the UK, I learned, and hoarders in the US followed suit and it's been going on the past 2 or 3 weeks. I never understood toilet paper hoarding and now friggin' flour. Not one grocery store has flour and yeast in their shelves. Costco still has 50 pound bags of flour but who the heck buys 50 pounds of flour??!! Stupid unscrupulous people looking for a quick buck started buying all the $3.00/5-pound bags of flour and all brands of yeast that they resell at Amazon and eBay for 10 times the price. There is a special place in hell for these idiots!

I gave up looking for bread flour and instead bought vital wheat gluten which by the way is also out of stock in stores and being sold at astronomical price by price gougers. Fortunately, South Korean all purpose flour are in shelves in the Korean grocery store which insane people haven't discovered yet because they are in a different section of the supermarket. At least for now I have a 5-pound bag of AP flour that should last me until this insanity is over. I have a small quantity of SAF instant yeast that is expiring very very soon. I used to have sourdough starter in the refrigerator but I let it die a few year ago when I took a break from baking our daily bread. I started a new one which will take at least 1 week to be usable, if successful.

I hate China. All they make are crap, deadly viruses, and chaos!

Key Lime Mousse

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 20:18:00 +0000

I love the flavor of Key limes more than the regular limes either to flavor desserts or as a dip and marinade for fish or meats. I was craving for pie but was too lazy to bake and also didn't want extra carbs. I made mousse instead with whipped cream, cream cheese, and homemade sweetened condensed milk. The light as feather dessert whips up in no time. It's tart and not too sweet. I love it!

Key Lime Mousse
4 ounces softened cream cheese
4 ounces sweetened condensed milk
a pinch of fine sea salt
4 ounces heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
4 tablespoons key lime juice
1½ teaspoons key lime zest
candied key lime for garnish, optional

In a small bowl, beat together softened cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and salt until smooth.
Beat in juice and zest until fully combined.
Stir in whipped cream with a rubber spatula. Spoon into 4 ramekin dishes. Smooth tops. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Garnish with candied Key limes before serving, if desired.

Korean-Style Egg Sandwich

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 05 Apr 2020 19:00:00 +0000

I'm a fan of Korean dramas and movies and I also love their food.The Koreans are not well-known for Western style food but lately their sandwiches are becoming popular street food. One of them is the tamagoyaki sandwiches on trimmed white bread. The most recent street food fad in Korea is Egg Drop sandwich. Some have ham and cheese or fried bacon and cheese before topping with fluffy scrambled egg on grilled in butter thick slices of brioche loaf bread. Singapore has its own Egg Stop sandwich shops with similar ingredients.

In the Korean drama Hospital Playlist, currently streaming on Netflix, a father and son are eating their Egg Drop sandwiches. I wanted one after watching the episode. I opted for the simplest ingredients - chopped broccoli slaw mix, chopped green onion, and spicy ketchup. I didn't add mayo mixed with honey because it would be too sweet for me as the bread is already a bit sweet. Also, the spicy ketchup is sweet enough but with a bit of kick. If you can't find the Malaysian spicy sauce, you can make your own. Recipe of sos cili is here.

I like the simplicity of the meatless sandwich specially with thick slices of homemade challah baked in a loaf pan. Perfect for meatless Holy Week for those who are still observing.

Korean-Style Egg Drop Sandwich
1 tablespoon butter, divided
2 thick slices challah or brioche loaf bread
1 jumbo size egg, well beaten
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon broccoli or cabbage slaw mix
½ tablespoon chopped green onion
1 tablespoon Malaysian spicy ketchup
mayonnaise mixed with honey 1:1, optional

In a small skillet, heat ½ tablespoon butter and fry both slices of bread only on one side. Set aside; keep warm.
Mix egg, salt, cabbage slaw mix, and green onion.
Add the other half tablespoon of butter on the same skillet then add the egg mixture. Cook on medium low heat, stirring, just until egg is set; takes less than a minute. Do not let it get brown and crusty.

Smear the untoasted side of bread slices with ketchup/sos cili. Fill with egg mixture. Wrap the bottom of the sandwich with waxed paper. Drizzle honey mayo on top if desired. Enjoy!

Coffee Butter Spread

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 04 Apr 2020 21:23:00 +0000

If food blogs are to be believed, it's the Japanese who "invented" coffee butter spread. I wanted to try it ASAP when I saw it on an online food article. There are teeny tiny jars at the grocery stores but they have corn syrup and the usual unpronounceable preservatives. The easy to prepare recipes available online are similar to each other and those who made it at home seem to love it. Well, who doesn't like sweet coffee butter on toast while drinking a mug of morning espresso?

I always have a 2-ounce jar of Ferrara instant espresso that I use exclusively for baking and cooking. I get it from either Harris Teeter or Wegmans for less than $4.00. It's very dark, strong, and has good coffee flavor. It's better for baking and making candies than the King Arthur coffee powder IMHO.

The spread is actually just a thicker caramel sauce flavored with coffee. It's easy to cook and there are only 4 ingredients: sugar, salted butter, heavy cream, and espresso powder. I only used ¾ cup sugar but you may increase to 1 cup for a sweeter spread if preferred.

Coffee Butter Spread

½ cup heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon espresso powder

12 tablespoons sugar

8 tablespoons salted butter at room temperature

Heat heavy cream in the microwave until almost boiling. Stir in coffee granules until dissolved completely. Cover with plastic wrap to keep warm; set aside.
Place sugar in a heavy medium stainless steel saucepan. Turn heat to medium low and let sugar caramelize to medium brown, stirring with a wooden spoon to prevent burning and uneven browning. Stir in butter 1 tablespoon at a time. It will bubble so be careful. Stir until butter is fully incorporated. Slowly add warm cream and coffee mixture. Continue cooking over low heat for about 2 minutes while constantly stirring.

Transfer into a measuring cup; let cool completely. Once cool, stir vigorously with a rubber spatula or with a hand mixer. Transfer into a sterilized jar and keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Honey Layer Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Jan 2020 02:46:00 +0000

I saw on YouTube someone making Russian Honey Cake. The cake looks delicious but preparation is tedious. I like the idea of the cake and decided to make it but with an easier recipe and also lower carb. Layering almond flour pancakes and slightly tart and sweet whipped cream was the answer. The cake, although not as light as chiffon cake, is delicious and moist and I really love the flavor of the burnt honey. I will make a proper burnt honey cake for sure.

Burnt Honey Almond Flour Layer (Pan)Cake
burnt honey
¾ cup honey

pancakes
1 cup fine almond flour
¼ cup cake flour, sifted
2 tablespoons powdered sugar or birch xylitol
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ cup melted butter
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup milk
6 tablespoons burnt honey
extra butter for skillet

frosting
2 cups heavy cream
¼ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons burnt honey

Burnt honey: In a small stainless steel pan, simmer honey for 10 to 12 minutes or until deep amber in color. Remove from heat, stir in a teaspoon of water. Set aside to cool.
Pancakes: In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Whisk in butter, eggs, milk, and honey. Stir with a spatula until mixture is smooth. Heat a 7 inch cast iron skillet on medium low. Grease with a little butter. Pour and level ¾ cup batter and cook for 2 minutes; flip and cook the other side for 1 to 2 minutes until golden brown. Cook the rest and leave to cool completely. The recipe makes approximately 6 to 7 pancakes.
Frosting:Whip the heavy cream to soft peaks; add sour cream and honey and continue whipping until stiff.
Assemble the cake: Place one pancake on a platter. With a small offset spatula, spread ½ cup frosting up to the edges. Continue layering pancakes and frosting. Frost the sides and smooth all over with the spatula. Chill for 4 hours before serving.

Seville (Sour) Orange Marmalade

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 00:17:00 +0000

Sour oranges or Seville oranges have been appearing in the Korean grocery stores for many years already but I ignored them not knowing they are the sour or bitter or Seville oranges that are best for marmalade. I only found out this variety when I went to visit my daughter in Savannah, GA. She has a "mystery" sour orange tree on her backyard. I brought home 2 fruits when they were still green. I looked online for similar oranges and discovered they are actually Seville/bitter/sour oranges when I sliced the fruits. They have lots and lots of pips which are rich in pectin that helps in the setting/thickening of orange marmalade without store-bought pectin. The sour juice has a very pleasant smell and mild flavor.

2 weeks ago, I bought a few Seville oranges from the Korean grocery store. They are only available the last week of February until middle of March. I made a few jars of Seville orange marmalade to last the whole year. I love its flavor and the slight bitterness. No store-bought marmalade can compare with the flavor. It's worth all the time and hard work.

Seville Orange Marmalade
2 sour or Seville oranges
3½ cups water
2 cups sugar
10 x 10 inch piece of clean muslin or cheesecloth
a foot of kitchen twine
3 small saucers
3 sterilized half pint wide-mouth jars

Place the muslin on a shallow bowl; set aside.
Scrub the oranges clean and cut in half taking care not to cut the pips. Juice the halves. Scrape the pulp with a spoon and place on the muslin.
Pour the juice over a fine sieve into a medium size stainless steel pan. Scrape the sieve and add the pips and pulp into the muslin. Gather muslin corners to form a bag; tie securely with the string making sure there are no holes. Add muslin bag to the pan of juice together with the water. Tie the muslin on the handle of pan.
Cut the rinds into 3 pieces and thinly slice; add to the juice mixture.
Leave to soak overnight. This will help soften the orange rind and the pectin to be released.
The next day, place the saucers in the freezer.
Heat mixture to boiling and cook on medium heat, uncovered, for 2 hours.
Remove the muslin bag into a plate and let cool.
Measure cooked rind. You should have about 27 ounces; add water if necessary or cook some more.
When cool enough to handle, squeeze muslin bag using a pair of gloves. Add the juices from the squeezed muslin into the orange rind mixture. Discard muslin.
Turn on heat to medium, add sugar, and stir until sugar is dissolved.
Increase heat to medium high and cook for 10 minutes without stirring.
Remove one of the saucers from freezer and put a tablespoon of the marmalade. Leave for 1 minute in the freezer. If already set, it should have a crinkly skin and does not flow freely. If not, cook another 5 minutes and do a second and third tests until set.
Leave the marmalade to cool completely, stirring once to evenly distribute the rind. Spoon into jars and store in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

Chantilly Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 20:30:00 +0000

I have never heard of Chantilly cake which I read about recently. The most popular apparently is the one that Whole Foods Market bakes and sells. Well, I hardly go to that store anymore. I used to more than 20 years ago when it opened in Reston, VA.

The cake got its name from the frosting, not the style of cake, which is just ordinary yellow cake or sponge, and frosted with sweetened whipped cream. The recipe from Whole Foods Market uses yellow cake recipe and frosted with a combination of heavy cream, mascarpone cheese, and cream cheese. The website claims it's healthy. I laughed so hard because the recipe has a whopping 3½ cups of sugar. The link to their recipe is here.

For my experimental Chantilly cake, I opted for a sponge cake recipe without any baking powder. I baked a very small cake using 2 whole eggs and half cup of cake flour, plus 1 cup of whipped heavy cream. I baked the cake in an 8 x 8 inch square pan and divided it into 4 to make a 4-layer mini cake. I'm not keen on putting fruits or anything bulky in between layers because IMHO they make the cake look messy.

The verdict: meh.

My Chantilly Cake
4 layer 8 inch cake

optional
simple syrup
mixed berry extract

sponge cake
2 cups cake flour, sifted twice
pinch of fine sea salt
8 large eggs
1 cup sugar (I used ¾ cup mixture of xylitol and white sugar)

frosting
3 cups cold heavy cream
½ to ¾ cup very fine white sugar

garnish
whole strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries

Make simple syrup, if using: Heat ½ cup water until it boils; add ½ sugar and cook over low heat until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Add ¼ teaspoon extract. .
Line two 8 inch round cake pans with parchment paper; set aside.
Preheat oven to 325°F.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat eggs and sugar on medium high for 20 minutes until very thick and pale in color.
Sift and fold a third of the flour into the egg mixture; add the salt. Repeat with the remaining flour, a third at a time.
Divide into the prepared pans.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
Transfer cakes onto a wire rack and let cool in the pans.
In a standing mixer with a wire whisk, beat heavy cream until foamy. Slowly add sugar and beat to peaks but not dry.
To assemble cake: Divide frosting into 6 equal parts. Remove cooled cakes from pans; remove parchment paper and discard. Split each into 2 layers, 4 layers total. Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate; sprinkle with 1½ tablespoons flavored syrup, if using. Frost top. Repeat with the remaining 3 layers. Frost the sides with the remaining frosting. Decorate top of cake with fruits, or you can layer them inside the cake. Chill the cake for 4 hours or overnight before serving.