I uploaded the photos and recipe of this addictive cookie, with, I swear, every intention of writing the post and publishing it during my travels. I was counting on the sleepless jet lagged nights to get those brain juice to flow again… Alas, unfortunately (or fortunately), this time I adapted to the wild swings in time zone quite effortlessly. I slumbered easily at bed time and woke up at reasonably normal time in the morning. Perhaps it was the undisciplined odd dose of Melatonin or (it was) tiredness finally setting in after a month of mental and physical challenges at the home front….

In any case, I baked these a week before I left for my month-long business trip and they were a real hit among my sisters and friends. I have long wanted to bake a cookie with ground peanut – an addictive fragrant snack that would snap with fresh crispness…. I am NOT a fan of chewy cookies.

Encrusted with a generous spray of toasted sesame seeds, I envision this eggless cookie formula (from Alex Goh’s Cookies )to be a crowd pleaser at bake sell and gatherings.  Spiked generously with ground peanuts and ground sesame seeds, every mouthful turns into an indulgent burst of buttery nuttiness that is totally addictive. The copious amount of butter used in the recipe is , I believe the secret to the super crispiness of the cookie.  I have taken this with milk and with coffee and both combinations were equally sensational.

If you are searching for a crisp and fragrant cookie, look no further – this, I classify as a MUST TRY.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Peanut Sesame Cookie

 

Author:

atKøkken

Recipe type: Cookies, Sweets

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Another trusted recipe from Alex Goh’s Cookies

Ingredients

• (A)
• 250g Butter
• 50g Shortening
• 220g Sugar
• ¼ tsp Salt
• ¼ tsp Vanilla Extract
• (B)
• 140g Ground peanut
• 60g Ground sesame seeds
• (C)
• 280g Flour
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 60g Corn flour
• (D)
• Extra sesame seeds for tossing

Instructions

1. Cream (A) till light. Add (B) and mix till well blended.
2. Add in sieved (C) and mix till well incorporated.
3. Shape 1 teaspoon of the cookie dough into a round ball and toss in sesame seeds.
4. Place shaped dough on a lined baking tray and flatten with a fork.
5. Bake at 180C for 15-20 mins.

3.2.1753

As the last pineapple tart gets depleted from the ubiquitous red lidded plastic tub, it becomes official, Chinese New Year is over. There will be some who are still working off the CNY left overs but for me, I am eager to stash away my pineapple tart molds and return to something more fundamental. When you are sick and tired of eating the sweet fare day after day for almost a month, you yearn for something more basic, something from good old Tish Boyle’s cake bible.

It doesn’t surprise me at all when I instinctively reached out for Tish Boyle – after all, I have had happy results with her various pound cake recipes. As I perused over this recipe, I couldn’t understand why I had not tried this before. It is extremely basic and can definitely become the base of many interesting variations to follow. I am always delighted when I discover a good basic recipe which I can potentially work into a cup cake or a frosted layer cake just like Isabella’s Lemon Meringue Cupcake base and Alex Goh’s Jam Topping Sponge Cake base. This one is unique for me as it falls somewhere in between the spectrum of a pound and a sponge cake. With the use of unbeaten egg white, the cake turns out lighter than your typical butter cake but considerably more fulfilling in texture than the airy sponge.

Yielding the fine crumbed cake that I have come to associate so easily with Tish Boyle’s recipe , this one turned out to be even more velvety than the Plainly Perfect Sponge Cake.

The clean white finish makes this a perfect base for layering and frosting. Imagine how pretty this would look in a white on white frosted wedding layer cake!

I am certain you will see me use more of this in my future cake postings. For now, I encourage you to give this a try and am sure you will be as delighted as I have been with it.

5.0 from 2 reviews

Tish Boyle’s Basic White Butter Cake

 

Author:

Tish Boyle

Recipe type: Cake, Sweets

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Ingredients

• 31/2 cups (325g) sifted cake flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp salt
• 2 sticks (227g) unsalted butter
• 1 cup (300g) granulated sugar
• 6 large egg whites (about 150g)
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest (optional)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ cup (320ml) whole milk

Instructions

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 350F or 175C.
2. Grease the bottom and sides of 2 9-inch round cake pans and dust with flour. (You can use any cake mold but beware -this cake bakes best as a thin layer. Baking it to full height in a 9-inch or 6-inch pan will require longer baking time and you will get a browned cake)
3. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
4. In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter at medium high speed until creamy (30seconds). Add sugar and continue to beat at high speed until light . (about 2 mins)
5. Reduce speed to low and add in egg whites one at a time and mix until homogenous.
6. Add in lemon zest and vanilla extract and mix well.
7. Add the flour mixture in alternating with milk. (add flour in 3 additions and milk in 2 additions)
8. Divide the cake batter evenly into the 2 9 inch cake tins and smooth the tops.
9. Bake the cake for 25 to 30mins until an inserted cake tester comes out clean.
10. ( You can also bake them in cup cake liners or muffin pans- they will work with the baking timing suggested above to yield a snowy white cake.)

3.2.1753

To many, January often feels like a dreary Monday as we drag ourselves back to work after a month of  dreamy, year-end holiday bliss and festive celebrations . The Chinese population in Asia however, are prepping themselves to usher in another bout of celebrations and binging. Christmas decorations in the stores are briskly replaced by banners and ornaments in bright crimson and gold. Christmas puddings, logcakes and cookies make way for traditional tarts, cookies and cakes.

I have celebrated Chinese New Year on this blog with my fellow readers over the last 3 years. I recall how I would judiciously stay away from traditional CNY goodies as I had believed that I could never hold a candle to the myriads of heirloom creations by the many ‘Patriachs Of  The Family Kitchens’…. With that, I had always tried to work with something a little different, like the Kinako Polvorones and the Mandarin Friands. Subsequently, I found myself unable to stay away from my favourite pineapple tarts and went ahead to bake these for family and friends over the last 2 years. Common place and non-differentiating, you would see these everywhere. In the profession of marketing, we are constantly challenged to be innovative, to ‘think out of the box’  and to build enough differentiator into our product to sustain our work and profitability. Hence to be quite quite honest, as much as I enjoy eating the pineapple tarts and making them, I was beginning to feel a tad bored. I had looked at the tarts that came out of the oven and had thought, these could be anybody’s tarts… and that was when I started to dream and conceptualise…

Without veering too far away from the taste and texture, I thought it would be interesting to experiment with a different form. A presentation that is new and unique only to me – such that when friends see these when they visit each other, they would know immediately that these tarts had come from me!  Yes, vanity got the better of me.

I rummaged through my stash of cookie molds and found an odd little polvorone mold which I believed I had bought out of curiosity  in the Philippinnes. I also found 2 curious  little wooden chinese stamps which I had forgotten about. Using a soft melt-in- the mouth tart dough, I started to experiment with my concept. There was quite a few experiments with the amount of dough and pineapple jam to use for my mold. Then, there was the challenge of getting a clean stamp without the chinese character smudging over. It was tedious primarily because I was experimenting with it but once the routine and rythmn has been established, the process should not be anymore complex than the making of the traditional forms.

Resembling miniature Tausar Piah (traditional green bean biscuits), these are delightful and taste just as good as the traditional closed tarts. So yes, I think this year, I can truly claim that I have made my own signature pineapple tarts. So if you spot them anywhere, they just might have been mine!

I share with you here, the dough recipe and for the pineapple jam recipe, please refer to here.

Signature Pineapple Tarts 2013!

 

Author:

atKøkken

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Ingredients

• Tart Dough
• 140g Salted butter
• 1 Egg yolk
• 180g Plain flour
• 20g Corn flour
• 18g Milk powder

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in mixing bowl fitted with a paddle mixer and mix at medium speed until dough comes together and is smooth.
2. Wrap tart dough with plastic sheet and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (12 hours preferred)
3. Preheat oven to 160C.
4. Remove tart dough from refrigerator and portion dough into 5-6g pieces.
5. Portion pineapple jam to 4-5g portion.
6. Wrap the pineapple jam in dough and shape the wrapped dough into a round ball.
7. Lightly dust (6) with flour and shape it using a polvorone press.
8. Brush a chinese character stamp mold with red colouring. Stamp each shaped cookie (from 7) with stamping mold. (you can either brush cookie with egg wash first before stamping but stamping the cookie without egg wash will prevent the stamped character from smudging)
9. Bake cookies at 160C for 15-20mins or until cookie turns golden brown.
10. Remove cookie from oven cool completely on a cooling rack.

3.2.1753

HELLO ALL ! It’s been a long while since I last updated this space. I thank all who had messaged and emailed me with well wishes for my father. He has made gradual progress and is getting stronger. We are doing all we can to help him elevate his spirits and enhance his immunity against infections. The whole episode has been a life changing albeit tiring experience – one from which we have learnt not to take good health for granted , realised that good healthcare in Singapore can be expensive and become more aware how government’s incessant stress on preparing for an aging population rings so true and wise….

Work commitments have also taken me away to the US and Europe for a whole month, making it practically impossible for me to keep up with my blogging hobby.  I did however, managed to steal some time off to attend Joycelyn Shu’s Fabulous Fall Desserts at Shermay’s Cooking School.

This recipe yields one of the best fruit cakes I have ever tasted and it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise when you have a cake that is laden with luscious tart Italian Amarena cherries, Valrhona chocolate chips and fresh crunchy walnuts. I had known instantly that I would want to bake this for Christmas when I had first tasted this. Hence,2 of the items on my thankfully short shopping list during my business trip last month was a monolithic tin of Amarena Cherries and a bottle of Kirsch.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to share the recipe here but imagine a fine crumbed chocolate cake filled with dark chocolate chips ,accented with sour cherries and bathed in a thin veil of Kirsch glaze, you could probably formulate something close to this.

I hope I will be back again really soon and I promise the next time, there will be goodies to share…. Have a Great Holiday and Be Well! 

Things haven’t been that great lately. My father had a fall a couple of weeks ago and hurt his spinal chord. This impaired his fine motor functions and bed binds him now at a rehabilitation hospital where he is showing gradual improvement through physiotherapy.For a 75 year old, mild mannered man who had conscientiously devoted his life to work so that he could provide the best for his family, the episode left him distraught, wondering often why this had happened to him.  At times, he would lose his appetite and would ask for things which we did not  know he liked…. while he would sometimes stubbornly refuse to eat his meal, he would never turn down a sweet treat. A little slice of mooncake, a bite of pandan chiffon cake and just yesterday this coffee butter cream sponge cupcake….

Between work commitments and rounds at the hospital, I managed to find a little time to whip up this easy but surprisingly good cupcake combination. Originally intended as a thank you treat for the outstanding nursing team at Tan Tock Seng Rehabilitation Hospital, I was glad that it offered some comfort to my father. It was also because I knew that I would be feeding this to him, so I had deliberately chosen a lighter base, with less sugar and fat. The sponge is not a common choice for cupcakes which are typically based on richer and more substantial cake varieties such as butter cake. With lower sugar content and a small amount of Canola oil, this sponge recipe adapted from Alex Goh’s recipe relies solely on the leavening action of egg white meringue. The pillowy softness of the cupcake went really well with the slightly salty coffee butter cream and is perfect for the Asian palate’s preference for  softer and lighter cake/bread.  The butter cream frosting is not necessarily a good idea for an aged sick patient but I have the option of feeding my father with just the plain cake or coat it with a smidgen of the delicious buttery cream.

Till my next post, enjoy the recipe and live well.

5.0 from 3 reviews

Coffee Sponge Cupcake

 

Author:

Adapted From Alex Goh’s Recipe

Serves: 9

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Ingredients

• Egg Whites 3 (from 3 large eggs (60g with shell))
• Sugar 60g
• Egg Yolk 3(from 3 large eggs (60g with shell))
• Vanilla extract ¼ tsp
• Coffee extract 1 tsp
• Plain flour 65g
• Oil 30g (I used canola oil)
• Milk 20g
• Butter Cream
• 75g Egg white
• 60g Castor sugar
• 225g Unsalted butter
• 1tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1tsp Mocha/ coffee paste

Instructions

1. Whip the egg whites until foamy then add sugar in 3 additions and whip until egg white forms soft peaks form.
2. Add egg yolks one at a time, mixing well before adding more egg yolks.
3. Add in vanilla and coffee extract and mix until combined.
4. Add in plain flour and fold to mix well with a spatula.
5. Add oil and mix well with spatula. Repeat the same with milk – taking care not to over deflate the foam.
6. Spoon batter into a lined muffin mold. (filled to ¾ of the cupcake mold)
7. In an oven preheated to 170C, bake the cupcakes for 25mins.
8. Set aside to cool completely.
9. Swiss Meringue Butter Cream
10. Place egg whites, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk egg whites over a water bath until sugar and salt completely dissolves.
11. Remove from heat and continue whisking the egg whites using a stand mixer.
12. Whisk at low speed and gradually increase speed. Whisk the egg whites until glossy and firm peaks are formed. (The meringue should cool down by then)
13. Lower mixing speed and add butter in spoonfuls until well mixed.
14. Add in vanilla extract and coffee paste.
15. Change balloon whisk to paddle and continue mixing for another 10mins at low speed until smooth and fluffy.
16. Decorate cupcakes by frosting with butter cream using a open star piping tip.

3.2.1753

Ngoh Hiang or Five Spice Meat Roll, I have discovered, is a staple home cooked specialty dish for many of us here in Singapore during festive occasions like Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year for me as a kid was a frenzy of quick visitations at relatives and friends’ houses. During those days, efficient highways that appears to link one end of Singapore to the other in 40mins were nowhere to be found. Hence the commute from household to household was always a dread for us. One of the most dreaded compulsory stops we had to make was at my father’s cousin’s place. Beidei’s (Hainanese for uncle)  flat was far away at Telok Blangah and with his big household, his flat was always crowded with people during Chinese New Year. Lunch was served in the crammed kitchen featuring boring homecooked dishes like boiled chicken, roast duck etc… dishes that kids generally do not appreciate or enjoy. The one dish that saved the meal was the Ngoh Hiang which had somewhat become their Chinese New Year signature dish. So much so that when Beidei’s eldest daughter, Siew Ying, who was responsible for the meal, got married, the dish would continue to be featured when the his eldest daughter-in-law took over the helm in the kitchen.

The traditional Ngoh Hiang is a minced meat roll wrapped in beancurd skin in the form of an egg roll or spring roll. This is then deep fried until the meat is cooked and the beancurd wrap takes on a golden crisp. These rolls were then sliced to bite size and when these are served, everyone would be eyeing the 2 slices at the end of each roll simply because the folded ends would pack in more crispy beancurd punch. As the years went by, we began to figure out that if we would prepare these as mini-rolls then, every bite would be a crispy experience for everyone.

I made these 2 weeks ago when a group of bloggers decided to gather at Edith’s new place for a gathering. Using a recipe from Shermay Lee’s The New Mrs Lee’s Cookbook, I have made this numerous times to good response. One of my friends even commented that this could compete with her mother’s Ngoh Hiang. (to whom I shall remember not to serve) If you look at the recipe, you would be quick to notice that it does not contain any of the namesake 5 spice powder. Peculiar indeed and on several occasions I had just decided to add a pinch or two of the spices on my own to give it authenticity. What I do like about this recipe is the well balanced use of prawn, lean and belly pork with crab meat to give it the natural sweet juiciness with minimal seasoning. The incorporation of water chestnut also added texture to every bite.

Scrumptious good taste is what I am after and this simple recipe works for me and I hope, for you too.

If you are curious about the other scrumptious good eats we had at the gathering, here’s a glimpse…

Frittatas and Creamy prawns and mushrooms canapés - Passionate about Baking
Chicken Kebabs - Honey Bee Sweets
Beans Salad, Lemon Coconut Cupcakes - The Batter Baker
Ngoh Hiang - Kokken
Chicken Pies - Baking Library
Cherry Cake - Peng’s Kitchen
Roselle Macarons, Ikan Gerang Assam, Apam Balik Durian - Travelling Foodies
Chocolate pudding with mocha sauce, pandan steamed brownies - I Love, I cook, I bake
Tiramisu - Annielicious Food
Lemon Curd Cupcakes - Dreamers Loft
Korean Style Sushi - Wen’s Delight
Chicken Stew, Puff Biscuits - All That Matters

Ngoh Hiang – 5 Spice Meat Roll

 

Author:

Adapted from Shermay Lee’s The New Mrs Lee’s Cookbook

Recipe type: Savoury, Asian

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Ingredients

• Beancurd Skin 2 sheets (available from Asian Grocery Stores)
• Oil for deep frying
• Water Chestnut 8
• Egg 1
• Prawn meat 160g
• Minced Pork Belly 100g
• Lean minced pork 200g
• Crab Meat 100g
• Salt ½ tsp
• Pepper 2 dashes
• All purpose flour 1tbsp
• Water 1 tbsp
• Water

Instructions

1. Cut the beancurd skin to about 10cm by 12 cm rectangles.
2. Wipe down the beancurd skin with a damp clean towel to remove excess salt.
3. Wash the water chestnuts and peel. Dice the water chestnut and set aside.
4. Light beat egg and set aside.
5. In a mixing bowl, mix together pork, prawn, crab meat, diced water chestnut, beaten egg, salt and pepper and mix well. (you can add a ¼ tsp of 5 spice powder here if desired)
6. Mix the flour with water to form a paste. This will be used as a ‘glue’ to seal the folded edged of the roll.
7. Place roughly a tablespoon of (5) in the center of one sheet of the cut beancurd skin (1). Fold one side of the beancurd skin over the filling and fold the roll over to meet the other side of the beancurd skin (it will look more like a pillow than an egg roll)
8. Apply some flour paste along the edges and flatten the ends of the beancurd skin to seal.
9. Repeat until all filling / beancurd skin has been used up.
10. Set up a boiling water bath to steam (9) for about 5-10mins.
11. Cool down (10) and deep fry the cooked rolls in oil to golden brown.
12. Drain and serve with sweet chili sauce.

2.2.6

I was first introduced to Gianduja when we were traveling from Chamonix to Torino. During our 2 hour drive to Torino, our driver had enthusiastically recommended us to try the gelato at Gelateria Fiorio where, in his opinion, the best gelato in Torino can be found.  He had also specifically suggested that I try the Gianduja gelato…’a chocolate with some kind of nuts’ – he struggled to find the exact word  as he rattled on in his animated Italian accented English. I sat next to him, with my furrowed brows trying to catch every word he was saying, remembering every street, every restaurant he was recommending… while all my friends were napping away in the back seat. I marvel that I could still grasp the word Gianduja and I recall the image of Nutella flashing through my mind as he spoke about chocolate and nuts… And I wasn’t far off, for Gianduja is indeed a sweet chocolate mixed with 30% hazelnut paste

Italy is one of the top 5 producers of Hazelnuts in the world. The Piedmonte region,of which Torino is the capital, is the 4th largest Hazelnut producing region in Italy. The lore of Gianduja narrates that this candy evolved due to the shortage of cocoa and the abundance of Hazelnut in the Piedmonte region. Typically shaped like a triangular trough and wrapped in gold /silver foil, these candies are super smooth and melt in your mouth. I especially like the dark chocolate versions I tried from Venchi ,the dark chocolate intensity of which, balances the sweetness of the Gianduja perfectly.

So imagine my delight when I spotted this Gianduja Chocolate Chunk Cookies Recipe in Tish Boyle’s The Good Cookie. It was perfect as I still have a packet of Gianduja in the fridge and have been craving for cookies to go with my morning coffee.

What you get is the subtle flavour of milk chocolate and roasted hazelnuts. The clever incorporation of ground rolled oats further augmented the nutty texture of the cookies. For those who are keen to try this recipe but are not able to get Gianduja, I am imagining that chopped up Ferraro Rocher (refrigerate before chopping) would probably work beautifully. Otherwise, as Tish Boyle had referenced in her book, Callebaut supplies a good Gianduja for baking.

From Torino, we then moved on to Milan where we were just in time to take advantage of the sales season and to take in the breathtaking sights of the Duomo. What was also memorable for me is a lovely boutique hotel, The Yard Suite & Dependence. An luxurious and chic property occupying 2 floors of a private apartment building, The Yard is run and managed like an exclusive and stylish guest house, comprising of 6 suites and 2 dependances (bigger rooms) – each spotting a unique sports deco theme. I had chosen the Hunting Suite, where deer antler plagues adorn walls and soft furnishings bore motifs of forest deers. The owner who is in the entertainment business (he organises concerts featuring Madonna and the likes) clearly has impeccable taste and a penchant for  beautiful things. I felt a little out of place when I learnt that the rest of the guests  there were from the modeling and fashion industry (it is Milan, after all) but the staff there were really friendly and had made me feel at home. I would highly recommend The Yard and will not hesitate to go back again… maybe next time, I will pick the Tennis room ?….

Duomo…

More scenes from Duomo

Magnificient sculptures at Duomo.

Inside Leonardo Da Vinci Museum…

Hunting Suite where I stayed at The Yard, Milan.

Hunting Suite, The Yard, Milan

Car Racing Suite, The Yard, Milan

Doorway to Horse Riding Suite…

Chill out area at reception, The Yard, Milan.

Patio at The Yard

The Yard

Kitchen at The Yard, Milan

Dining area, The Yard, Milan

Tish Boyle’s Gianduja Cookies & Milan Trip Update

 

Author:

atKøkken

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Ingredients

• ¾ cup all purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1½ cup rolled oats
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter softened
• 5 tbsp vegetable shortening
• ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1½ tsp light corn syrup
• 1 large egg
• ¾ tsp vanilla extract
• 7 ounces (198g) gianduja chocolate cut into ½ inch pieces

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F or 170C.
2. Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda and set aside.
3. In a electric mixer bowl, mix butter, shortening, sugars and corn syrup until creamy (about 2 mins).
4. Add lightly beaten egg and mix until well blended. Add vanilla extract.
5. At low speed, add the sifted dry ingredients.
6. Fold in Gianduja chips until evenly distributed.
7. Measure out rounded tablespoonfuls of the dough and using wet hands roll each portion into a round ball. Arrange the balls 2 inch apart on a baking sheet. Bake the cookies at 350F/170C for 10 -12 mins until just golden brown.
8. Cool down cookies completely and store in air tight cookie jars.

3.2.1753

Italy inspired me to incorporate a new ritual into my daily routine – one which have me sip through a frothy cup of cafe latte every morning while reading my electronic papers.

I have never been a serious coffee drinker. I patronise Starbucks once in a blue moon because I love the social coolness associated with Howard Schultz’s business concept. I bought my Nespresso machine years ago, not because I take my coffee seriously but  because I was sold by the sleek and chic design of the machine and the coffee capsules. Unlike many of my colleagues who can’t seem to function without that important morning cuppa, I am one of those who can drink coffee at 10pm at night and still sleep like a baby. I have no idea what constitutes a good coffee but I know that if I drink, I prefer my coffee strong and full bodied…. and for the longest time, I would just take it black.

It began in Torino, the capital of Piedmonte region surrounded by the Alps and 2 hours from Chamonix and Courmayeur. Torino excites for different reasons. Torino is Ferrari, Lamborghini and Fiat to the boys, birthplace of Italian cinematography to the movie fanatics and Chocolates, Gianduja and Slow Food Movement to the foodies. It was here in Torino that I happily ate 6 scoops of gelato every day, gorged myself silly with Venchi chocolates and  was first introduced to this chocolate coffee drink known as Il Bicerin.

A more indulgent and stimulating version of the Cafe Mocha, this is the perfect blend for chocolate and coffee lovers. Originating from Torino where some of the best chocolates in Italy are produced, this drink first caught my eyes when we were scanning through the breakfast menu at a cafe one morning. Fascinated and addicted, we continued to order the same in Cioccolatitaliani in Milan.

Made up of a deposit of melted dark chocolate, a shot of full bodied expresso and a layer of velvety milk froth, this is possibly the most luxurious coffee I have ever consumed. I would imagine that this would go perfectly with any biscotti, muffin or buttercream cupcakes. A good chocolate and a good brew  go a long way to make this beverage memorable but equally important is the velvety texture of the milk froth. I have to confess that I love my Nespresso Aeroccino more than the coffee machine itself. The Aeroccino churns out the most silky and velvety milk foam I have ever seen. However, I have seen my sister get pretty good froth with a simple milk frother with warm milk as well. Otherwise, the most primitive method I know of involves twirling a small whisk between palms over warm milk to generate foam.

I invite you to indulge in this decadent beverage with me and while you do so, here’s reliving some of the Torino moments with you through these photos…

The original Il Bicerin that inspired….

Served at this cosy neighbourhood cafe…

And when you are in Torino, do not miss Eataly, I felt like I was wandering in Ikea except this place is filled with great quality food stuff and restaurants….

I wish I could lugged back all the different types of flour for pasta, pizza and bread…

We had some of our best meals of our trip in Torino….

Fritto Misto – an assortment of seafood tempura….

Prosciutto di Parma With Melon…we liked this so much, we ordered this for almost every meal…

The simple pesto spaghetti never tasted so good….

Il Bicerin – My Coffee Experience In Italy

 

Author:

atKøkken

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Ingredients

• Bitter sweet chocolate 25g (I used Valrhona’s Equatorial 55%)
• Expresso 1 shot (40ml, I used Nepresso’s Roma)
• Milk 100ml

Instructions

1. Melt chocolate over a water bath or in a microwave oven.
2. Place the melted chocolate in a short glass. (my glass is slightly taller than an expresso glass)
3. Brew expresso and pour it over the chocolate.The coffee, being lighter will not mix with the chocolate.
4. Warm the milk and froth with a milk frother or whisk. (read post)
5. Carefully scoop the milk froth over the coffee. Add chocolate shavings if desired.

3.2.1753

For the benefit of those whose familarity with Mont Blanc resides only with the German luxury writing tools brand, Mont Blanc is the highest peak among the Alps in Western Europe. Lying in the range of Graian Alps between the Aosta Valley of Italy and Haute Savoy,France the mountain is 4810m high and wears a perennial snow cap at its summit. The best towns to see the Mont Blanc without trekking through the mountains are Chamonix, France and Courmayeur, Italy – both countries share the summit of the White Mountain.

Flanked by the massive peaks of Aiguilles Rouge, Chamonix is a small town that bustles with activities. With enough restaurants and shops to woo holiday makers, Chamonix town was a perfect place to begin and end our hike. The biggest draw for most visitors to Chamonix has to be the Aiguille du Midi Cable car ride. Touted as the highest cable car ride in Europe, a 20 mins ride takes one to the high Alps of 3800m – You board the car in the sunny valleys of Chamonix and emerge in the Snowy peaks of the Aiguilles du Midi with a view of Mont Blanc. Unfortunately, the 2 days I was in Chamonix, the weather conditions were too windy and the cable car service was closed.

There are plenty of great restaurants, gelato joints and pastry shops to reward those who has slogged their way up and down the Alps.

There is also a wide range of accommodation in Chamonix to suit different budgets, ranging from backpack joints to luxurious hotels. We were placed in Chalet Pele, a delightful budget bed and breakfast accommodation converted from a renovated old farmhouse. Situated 5 minutes away from central chamonix and 2 mins away from the cable car station, the chalet has 5 bedrooms with attached bathroom and toilet. As we are a relatively big group of 11, we had the whole cottage to ourselves – complete with TV chill out room, dining room, kitchen and sauna. For about 60 euro per day, I would gladly stay there again!

my room…

more rooms….

If you do plan to be in Chamonix, visit this website and plan your trip around the many activities that take place there. I only wish that the Cosmo Jazz festival would be 2 weeks earlier. It would have been amazing to watch a world class jazz concert against a backdrop of the Alpine landscape!

First, I need to apologise to all those who had left comments and inquiries at  @kokken the last few weeks. I had been out on business trip followed by my hiking vacation in the Alps and had limited access to wifi or internet.

Anyhow, as you can see, I am back and although I had to abandon the trek during the last couple of days due to bad knees and swollen toes, I have earned the bragging rights to  have 1) hiked for the first time in my life and 2) trekked the European Alps and seen Mont Blanc!

On hindsight, I think I was a little foolhardy to have signed up for the 7 day expedition. I jumped onto the bandwagon because I had wanted to see the sceneries from the mountains and because I had naively believed that it would be like a stroll in nature. Little was I prepared for days that start with 4 continuous hours of uphill strive where at certain points of time, I swear I could hear my own heart beating in my ear drums and had thought I would just collapse. Just as I thought I would get a reprieve when the downhill trek began, my knees started to ache and inflame…. making me wish I could trade the downhill jaunt for the uphill huffing and puffing all over again. The first day was the worst but it got better over the days as I got more accustomed to the thin air climate and the breathing rhythm. At times, it felt like I had paid good money to buy torture but now, I kind of miss the daily morning routine of huffing and puffing up the hills. The sceneries were gorgeous and many would claim that it was totally worth slogging for but I will just stop at saying that the views were breathtaking and the hike was quite an experience…. Will I hike again? Sure, I think I would but next time, I will go for a shorter stint and make sure that I don’t start off the trek with bad knees.

This soup is inspired by what we ate in Switzerland at the end of the first 2 days of our hike. Hearty legumes soup with crusty bread and a chunk of soft cheese which we would shave into our soup. The whole famished group thoroughly enjoyed our bowls of soup and were surprised by the texture of the softened cheese in the soup. I wasted no time in sourcing for the cheese at the end of the hike. The Reblochon is a French cheese from the Alps region of Haute Savoie. A soft -medium hard cow cheese that melds well with a hearty soup. The Legumes I am using here is a combination of lentils, barley and white bean but one can practically use any kind of grains/beans to make this. Extremely easy to prepare, this is an insanely delicious and comforting soup especially on a cold fall or winter’s eve. (We were in the mountains so temperature was a cool 12-15C)

When we were hiking, our diet was primarily energy giving food like beans, bread, pasta and cheese. Dinners were wholesome but lunches tend to be quick and simple… and expensive. Stopping at the mountain restaurants during lunch breaks was always our highlight. It was a delightful break after all the hard work and the notion that we would be walking downhill after lunch lifted everyone’s spirit. On our first day, our lunch was a baguette sandwich with ham and cheese with water from the tap. As pathetic as it may sound, I swear, the simple ham and cheese sandwich lunch has never tasted better.

My most expensive and indulgent lunch in the mountains was this 16 euro mushroom and cheese omelette at my favourite lunch stop, Bovine on the Swiss side of the hike. Scenic and rustic with friendly staff, the Swiss are significantly more gracious and patient than the French. If you are tempted to accuse them of daylight robbing with a 16euro omelette, I was told by our guide that getting supplies in the mountains is expensive. They often need to rely on helicopters to drop in their supplies and take out their garbage – hence the high operating cost.

I am still sorting through my photos but it will not be long before I share them with you. Stay tuned!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Legumes Soup With Reblochon

 

Recipe type: Entree, Savoury, Soup

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Ingredients

• 2 Celery Sticks
• 4 Whole garlic cloves
• 1 Big onion, chopped
• 250g Mixed Legumes
• Salt and Pepper
• 3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive oil
• 2.5 liters Chicken stock

Instructions

1. Soak mixed legumes overnight in plenty of water.
2. Rinse legumes in water and decant water.
3. In a big pot, sweat onion, celery and garlic with olive oil. When the chopped vegetables start to turn golden brown, add legumes. Add Chicken stock.
4. Bring mixture to boil and then lower heat and simmer for 45mins – 60mins. Season with salt and pepper.
5. When done, you can either blend the soup to a fine pulp or serve it as it is. I blend a part of the soup.
6. Serve with shavings of Reblochon and crusty bread.

2.2.6