Monday, July 23, 2012

Steamed Cheddar Cheese Cake



































I was craving for cheese cake and the feeling got stronger when my eyes set sight on Honeybee's fluffy cheese cake  looked nice and yummy, so I decided to give it a try as well. Alas, realised that my oven was down so I had to re-think. With reference to XXXX's recipe, instead of baking in the oven, the cheese cake would be steamed over fire.

To my surprise, the end product turned out to be not as expected. Upon cutting, I realised that the cake has many big pores. This could be due to the introduction of air when folding the flour . It tastes more like traditional Chinese steamed egg cake, and saturated with the taste of Cheddar cheese. I think I still prefer the creamy cheese cake as compared to cheddar cheese ones.

I would not recommend this recipe.





Friday, July 20, 2012

Thailand Pandan Cream Cake - 泰式香兰蛋糕



If I would have added in more green colouring, the cake should look more attractive.

Ingredients:

Sponge Cake: ( you can make your own desired sponge cake)
A) 160g sugar
~~15g cake emulsifier
B)  5 eggs
~~ 120g plain flour
~~ 1 teaspoon baking powder
C)  40 ml water
D)  75g melted butter

Method:
1) Pour ingredients A into the mixing bowl and mix well.
2) Add ingredient B and beat till thick.
3) Stir in ingredients C
4) Beat the batter till light and fluffy.
5) Mix ingredient (D) till well blended.. Pour the mixture into a 10" round cakes mould. Bake at 180 degree C for 30 minutes.
6)  When the cake is cool, slice horizontally into 2 equal pieces.  Cut away the top and bottom crust.  Cut and trim the cake into 9" round cake. Leave aside for use later.

Pandan Cream:
80g castor sugar
7 pieces of gelatine leaves  (soak in tap water for a while, drain)
3 egg yolks
275g thick coconut milk (santan)
100ml fresh milk
50g pandan juice (extract from 6 pandan leaves)
300g whipped fresh cream
green colouring

1 no. 9" round cake ring or a 9" round springform  pan.

Method:
1)  Boil milk, coconut milk and sugar over medium heat till sugar dissolves.
2)  Add in soaked gelatine and continue boil till dissolve.
3)  Add in beaten egg yolks and pandan leaves till boil.  Take out and discard pandan leaves.
4)  Add in green colouring, leave to cool completely.
5)  Fold in whipped fresh cream, mix well.
6)  Place a piece of cake onto a springform cake pan, pour half of the pandan cream on top, then place the 2nd half of the sponge cake, and top with the remaining pandan cream.  
7)  Chill the cake in the fridge until the pandan cream is completely set. Cut into pieces, serve.


Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Orange Sweet Potato And Yam Cake -



Recipe: Adapted from "Aromas of Kuih" by Amy Wong

Ingredients A ( Mixed and filtered):
100g     rice flour
80g       tapioca flour
40g       flour
200ml   coconut milk

Ingredients B:
180g      sugar
300ml     water
4 pieces   pandan leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Ingredients C:
250g orange sweet potato > steamed and mashed
150g shredded yam (steamed)


Ingredients D (Mixed and filtered)
120g   rice flour
15 g    sugar
250ml  water
200ml  coconut milk

Ingredients E:
150g    sugar
250ml   water
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method:
1)  Boil ingredients B and pour it into Ingredients A, stir well.  Add mashed sweet potato and mix till smooth.  Filter the mixture and boil over low heat, keep stirring all the time. Remove from heat when it is slightly thickened. Divide the mixture into two portions.

2)  Boil ingredients E and pour in ingredients D, stir well. Boil over low heat (Keep stirring all the time)  till slightly thickened.

3)  Lightly grease an 8" x 8" square baking mould/pan.  Pour a portion of  sweet potato mixture and steam for 18 minutes.

4)  Pour yam  mixture (I added purple colouring) and arrange shredded yam on top.  Steam for 18 minutes.

5)  Pour the remaining sweet potato mixture in and steam for another 20 minutes and cooked.

6) Leave it to cool, cut into pieces with a plastic knife, serve.

材料A:
沾米粉        100克
木薯粉        80克
面粉           40克
椰浆           200毫升

材料B:
白糖            180克
水                300克
香兰叶        4 片
盐                1/4 茶匙


材料C:
橙色肉番薯  250克  (蒸熟后压烂)
芋头丝          150克 (蒸熟)

材料D:(拌匀后过滤)
沾米粉          120克
玉米粉          15克
木薯粉          20克
椰浆              200毫升


材料E:
白糖         150克
水             250毫升
盐             1/2 茶匙

做发:
1) 把材料B煮滚,冲入材料A拌匀。加入蕃薯泥搅拌至滑,过滤后煮至稍微浓稠,分成两    份。
2) 把材料E煮滚,冲入材料D拌匀,煮至稍微浓周稠。(随意可加上紫色)
3) 先将8寸方盘涂上少许油,倒入一份番薯粉浆(做法1),蒸18分钟。
4) 倒入紫色粉浆(做法2),然后放入芋头丝,蒸18分钟。
5) 倒入剩余的蕃薯粉粉浆,再蒸20分钟即可。
6)  待冷后,用朔胶刀切成块状。

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Roast Pork 脆皮烧腩肉(1)







This is another recipe which makes my family drool for more. It can compete with any restaurant's standard. Believe me and give it a try if you are meat lovers. Do you have the same feeling as me? Some food you eat with feeling or with emotion or give you memory. I am having this emotional feeling whenever I cook this dish. Let me touch on this.

Three years ago, the author of this recipe book and her friend came to visit my sister's hometown. At the request of her fans, the author conducted a cooking class just for them. And this is one of the dishes she demonstrated and my sister was one of the fans. At that time, my sister had already been diagnosed with final stage of lung cancer. I visited her and also had short stay with her. She was very optimistic, cheerful and active. During my stay at her place, she prepared this roast pork for me to try. The skin was sooo..... crispy and you can hear the sound "popopo,crak... crak....crak..." when you bite into the skin. The meat was tender and moist. It was really awesome. But now sigh, she cooks no more for me, because she had lost the battle with lung cancer two and the half years ago, and joined my parents in the other universe.

I've passed this recipe to my friends, they all gave me the thumbs up. It is simple to prepare and you should give it a try.

 Pardon me if the photos are not well taken. They were taken with my HTC mobile phone. 

Recipe: Adapted from "Delicacies of China Town" by Lin Yong Hao 林永好

Ingredients:
(A)
1 kg pork belly (with skin)

(B)
2 pieces fermented red bean curd (南乳) - I used 1 piece only
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon "Shaoxing" wine - Chinese cooking wine
1 tablespoon fine salt
1/2 tablespoon five spice powder
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon caster sugar

(C) some salt - to cover the skin

Method: 
1) Wash and rinse the pork belly. Use kitchen tissue to pat dry. Slit the meat repeatedly with a knife about 2-3cm depth (See picture 1 and 2) .
2) Mix ingredients (B) and rub on the meat only (not the skin, see picture 3 and 4).
3) Place the meat, skin side up on a plate. Allow to chill in the fridge (in the chiller compartment) for 2-3 days until the skin is dry. do not cover the meat so the skin will dry up.
4) Transfer pork belly directly from the chiller onto a wire rack, and sit on the roasting pan, add some water to the roasting pan. Skin face upwards.
5) Cover the skin with salt generously (see picture 6 and 7). Bake in a preheated oven at 250 degree C for 20 minutes, remove from the oven when the bubbles appear on the surface of the skin (seen from the side of the meat). Carefully discard all the salt from the skin.
6) Return the pork belly to the oven (skin face upwards), continue to roast for 20-25 minutes until cooked and the skin is crispy. Take out from the oven, leave to cool and cut into pieces. Serve.

NOTE: I USE SHARP MICROWAVE CONVENTION OVEN AND PLACED THE PORK ON LOWER RACK.
   

食谱取自“吃在茨厂街” 作者:林永好

材料:
1 公斤 带皮五层花腩肉

 腌料:(拌均匀)
2块 南乳 (我用一块)
1大匙 蚝油
1小匙 黑酱油/嗮油
1大匙 绍兴酒
1大匙 幼盐
1/2大匙 五香粉
1小匙 胡椒粉
1/2小匙 幼糖

适量盐巴 - 涂皮用

做法:
1)五花肉洗净后抹干水分,然后用刀在肉面上直切数劃如图1和2。约2-3公分深度)
2)把腌料充分的涂抹在肉面上和切开的空穴内 如图3和4。
3)把肉块翻覆放在盘子上(皮朝上),盛放在冰箱内(冰格下层, 不必加盖)。冷藏2-3天,待皮风干。
4)准备烤箱,盘内注入适量清水,加上烤架,并把肉块从冰箱拿出直接铺在铐架上(皮朝上)。
5)在肉皮上铺上适量盐巴(如图6),涂抹均匀,然后盛入预热烤箱以250度先烤20分钟,让皮面出现少许泡泡时再将肉块取出,把表面的盐巴去除。
6)把肉再盛入烤箱内,继续以250度C 烤约20-25分钟至熟透及表面长满金黄泡泡及香脆,取出,待冷卻后即可切块食用。

Friday, July 6, 2012

Moscovisch Cake (6 layers cake)




I don't know what is Moscovisch.  It is in Dutch.  I got this recipe more than 15 years ago.  I can't really recall where and how I got this recipe.  That is not important.


As you read through the recipe, you will find it is actually very similar to the Indonesia Layer Cake (Kuih Lapis).  I believe it was because Indonesia was once colonized by the Dutch.  So it could be due to the influence by the Netherlands( Dutch), or vice versa.

This cake is really awesome, it is fragrant, and the strong taste of butter lingers even after some time after eating.

 

Recipe:

Ingredients:

5 egg whites
1 tsp baking powder
10 egg yolks
250g salted butter
100g plain flour (shifted)
200g castor sugar
70g raisins or black currants (sliced and dusted with flour)
50g roasted almonds (sliced thinly)
¼ tsp vanilla essence

 Method:

1)      Beat butter and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Leave aside.

2)      Beat egg whites and baking powder for 5 minutes before adding in sugar.  Continue
beating for another 5 minutes, and then add in egg yolks.

3)      Add in butter, fold in flour and mix well.

4)      Divide batter into 6 equal portions. Bake in preheated oven at 180 degree C for 10 -11 minutes per layer.

5)      After baking the first layer, sprinkle with raisins and almonds, and pour the batter on top, level with a rubber spatula> Put in the oven and bake at top heat at 180 C ( or grill, no bottom heat ) for 10-11 minutes.  Repeat the process until 5th layer.

6)      For the 6th layer bake for 10-11 minutes until cooked. (Use top heat and bottom heat).



Note: For a higher cake, use 7 x 7” square baking pan.