Cranberry Swiss Roll

Happy New Year

2012

This is my last post of the year 2011. 2012  will be arriving in a few minutes time. May you have a blissful, lovely year. May 2012 mark the beginning of a Tidal Wave of Love.. Happiness and Bright Future.

RECIPE:

Ingredients for the candles:
25g butter  (room temperature)
25g icing sugar
25g egg whites
25 g Hong Kong flour
a few drop of  red, blue, purple and orange colouring.


Method:   Prepare a 21cm x 36 cm baking tray. Line with baking paper and lightly grease.
1) Beat butter and icing sugar till creamy and light.
2) Add egg whites  in 3  stages. Beat well after each addition.
3) Gently fold in flour, mix until well combined.
4) Spoon mixture into 4 different bowls, add in colouring. Fill the coloured  mixture to the small piping bags respectively.
5) Pipe the pattens onto the greased baking tray carefully.
6) Pour Swiss Roll batter over 5) and using a rubber spatula  gently spread evenly. Gently tab the tray 2-3 time to minimise bubbles.
7) Bake in  preheated oven (190 degree C) for12 -15m minutes.


Swiss Roll:
A)
73g egg yolk
21g caster sugar
38g corn oil
38g fresh milk
73g  low protein flour
(B)
146g egg white
73g caster sugar

 Method: ( Chiffon cake method)
1) Mix  ingredients A together.
2) In another big bowl, beat B ingredients until stiff peak form but not dry.
3) Mix 1) and 2) ingredients together.

Cranberry cream:
100 g fresh Cream - Whip cream with 1 tbsp of caster sugar, add in 2 tbsp cranberry sauce, mix well. Ready to use.

Cupcakes with Orange n Cheese Frosting

Recipe:  (adapted from 美味糕点新主张)

Ingredients:
(A)
120g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
65g icing sugar
120g egg yolk

(B):
120g egg whites
65g fine sugar
120g low protein flour

Frosting:
30g cream cheese (at room temperature)
50g u unsalted butter (at room temperature)
15g icing sugar
1tsp orange juice
1/2 orange rind


Methods:  Preheat oven to 170 degree C.
1)  Beat butter and sugar till fluffy and its colour turns white.. Add in yolks and beat until all well mixed.
2)  In a clean bowl, beat egg whites with sugar till thick but not hard.
3)  Take 1/3 of egg white mixture (meringue) mix to the mixture 2, use a rubber spatula to stir well,  then fold in 1/3 of the flour, scrap gently  from bottom and mix evenly.
4)  Lastly, add in the remaining meringue and flour, mix until mixture is all well blended.
5)  Deposit mixture into paper cupcakes or baking moulds till 3/4 full.
6)  Bake for 20 minutes or till cooked. Leave to cool.
7)  Decorate cake with cheese frosting to your liking.

Making Frosting:
Beat cream cheese, butter and sugar till smooth and its colour turns white.  Add in orange juice and zest.
Ready to use.

Dhall Cakes

I made some square and triangular shaped dhall cakes.

This Indian snack reminds me of my Secondary school days. I learnt of this little savoury snack when I was in Secondary 2. I still can remember my Home Science teacher’s name. She is Miss Sinamah (at that time she was still single), we girls gave her a nickname that translates directly to mean “死老妈“in Chinese, or “dead old mother” in English. I knew we were very bad to label her with that nickname. Miss Sinamah was also our P.E teacher. She was fit  and  loud, and liked to command us to run around the badminton court for a few rounds before we start playing netball. The reason we gave her the name is because she liked to scold us and would nag, nag and nag….for small matters! Oh yes, she has a gold tooth too. Hahaha… A few years after we graduated, I gathered the news that she got married and lived in Kuala Lumpur. I wonder if I would still recognize her if I chanced upon her. Sigh….... those were the days. I missed the laughters of my classmates and the memories from schooling days.

This dhall cake is so easy to prepare and nice to eat. Like a typical Indian snack, a dhall cake is saturated with fragrant ingredients including curry leaves, onion and chilli. Dhall is a healthy alternative as it is protein-rich and can replace meat or fish in one’s diet. Give it a try.

Recipes:

Ingredients:

8 tablespoons broken black peas

1 Bombay onions

2-3 spring curry leaves

2-4 green chillies

salt, oil for deep-fat frying

Method:

1) Wash and soak the peas for 4 hours

2) Grind or pound the peas to a paste.

3) Wash and dice the onion, chillies and curry leaves.

4) Mix all the ingredients together with enough salt to taste.

5) Shape dhall cakes into neat, even rounds and fry slowly in deep-fat till brown and well cooked.

6) Drain well and serve with green chillies.

Dumplings in Red Bean Soup

Recipe:

 A: Dumpling ingredients:

~240g glutinous rice flour

~20g rice flour

~120g warm water

~80g  either water or coconut milk

~ 2 tsp sugar

few drops of  red, yellow, green and purple colouring.

 B: Red Bean Soup :

300g red beans – soaked overnight or at least 4 hours.

5 pandan leaves

200g sugar ( adjust to your liking)

1500g water  (adjust amount to get  the thickness of the soup base to your liking).

Some corn starch  water mixture to thicken the soup.

Cook the beans until soft with the pandan leaves. Discard the pandan leaves and add in sugar . after the sugar is dissolved,  blend the mixture with electric blender until fine and smooth .

C: Peanut  filling. Mix filling, shape them into small balls and keep them in the fridge for 30 minutes.

60g peanuts (roasted and pounded)

3 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp peanut butter

1 tbsp peanut oil

D: Black sesame filling.  Mix filling, shape them into small balls, and keep in the fridge for 30 minutes.

35g black sesame powder (roast  black sesame seeds and pounded into powder)

5g icing sugar

15g softened butter or peanut oil.

Method:

1) Knead dumpling ingredients into smooth dough, then separate into 4 equal portions and add in red, yellow, green and purple colour respectively. Each colour dough makes 8 balls, each ball is about 15g, shape roundly, flatten and wrap in the filling,  set aside.

2) Boil small pot of water and pour in the dumplings, cook until they are afloat.

3)  Dish out and add into the hot  red bean paste soup . Serve while hot.

ENJOY!

Fried Chicken with Salted Black beans

Recipe:

Broad bean chilli paste and salted black beans

Ingredients:

A:

550 g chicken, cut into bite pieces

½ tbsp light soy sauce

½ tsp white pepper powder

½ tsp sesame oil

¼ tsp sugar

½ tbsp corn flour

B:

1 big onion – cut into 4 halves

1 tbsp salted black beans

½ tsp ginger-chopped

½ tsp garlic –chopped

3 chilli padi

4 big green chillies – cut into pieces

C:

2 tbsp water

½ tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp broad bean chilli paste (辣豆瓣酱)

salt and sugar to taste

½ tsp sesame oil

1 tsp Chinese cooking wine

Method:

1)  Marinate chicken with ingredients A for 20 – 30 minutes.

2)  Deep fried chicken until just cooked and tender.  Dish up and drain.

3)  Fry ingredients B until aromatic, dash in Chinese cooking wine and the rest of ingredients C and chicken. Stir fry for few minutes till the chicken has absorbed all the gravy.

4)  Dish up and serve.

My mistake at Panettone that turned out nice

If  I ask you what is this,  your answer could be that it is a either a sponge cake or a chiffon cake. But both are incorrect.

And what is this? A mushroom? No. it is a panettone. The recipe asked for 6" round tin. However I used a 7" but it looks like it still requires a bigger one.

This is my panettone which was tore into halves. hahaha...

There was nothing wrong when I made my started dough (Ingredients A) until i came to mix my ingredients B. The recipe calls for 3 grade A eggs. Once I added eggs in my mixture , I knew straightaway there was something wrong. The dough was very wet and sticky , so I added more flour into the mixture for easy handling and kneaded until a pliable dough was formed. As I had no confidence whether the bread would be a successful one, I did not add in mixed fruits as I do not want to waste anymore ingredients. At this stage I had forgotten to add in  yeast, and by the time I  realized, it was already too late. The amazing thing is after 3 proving stages, the dough still rose up very well. I  baked  it at 180 degree C for 40 minutes.

The finished product was surprising.  It grew so big and tall.  What a relieve that it is edible and yet the texture is very fluffy and soft like cake.

Here, it is the recipe, I would appreciate if anyone can comment and tell me if 3 eggs as advised by the recipe is a mistake.

Recipe: (adapted from Yum Yum No.75)
Ingredients A:
150g plain flour
5g instant dry yeast
1/2 grade A egg
80g milk


Ingredients B:
350g plain flour
5 g instant dry yeast
7g salt
200g caster sugar
3 grade A eggs
80g milk

Method:
1) Combine ingredients A and mix well.  Place into mixing bowl and cover with a piece of wet towel.  Leave to prove  for 1 hour.

2)  Add in ingredients B and mix well.  Add butter and beat into a smooth and elastic dough.  Lastly mix in mixed fruits.

3)  Leave dough to prove for 1 hour.  Round out the dough and rest for 5 minutes.

4)  Flatten and round up the dough.  Place into a 6" round baking tin.  Cover with a piece of wet towel and leave to rove for 40-50 minutes or until it doubles in bulk.

5)  Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree C for 35-40 minutes or until cooked.  Remove and leave to cool on the rack. Cut into pieces and serve.

Note: Soak mixed dried mixed fruits in hot water for 10 minutes and drain.  Soak them in a little extra   brandy overnight and proceed with the recipe next day.

Black Sesame Seed Bread-黑芝麻面包

Recipe:

Ingredients: (yields 10 buns)

250g bread flour

120g cold water

50g sugar

10g milk powder

7.5g instant yeast (1.1/2 tsp+1/4tsp+1/8tsp)

1/2 egg

20g soft butter

5g salt

30g black sesame seed (roast and grind into powder)

Method:

1) Mix yeast and egg together. Put all the ingredients except butter in a mixing bowl, using a hook whisk to beat the dough appears roughly and dense, or the dough attaches on hook. Add in butter continue to beat until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a piece of damp cloth or cover with clingwrap to rest for 30 minutes.

2) Beat for 2 minutes. Divide dough into 50 g per portion. Wrap in your favourite filling (30 g each) and shape into your desired pattens. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Leave to prove for 45 minutes.

3) Spray water on the buns, and bake in preheated oven at 200 degree C for 12 minutes.

D.I.Y Handy Pot Carrier

I wanted to post about my DIY pot carrier for very long time. However, I was held up because my profile pictures had gone missing. It is until today that I received help from my husband to retake the pictures. My DIY carrier is very useful, unique and presentable, handy and practical.

With this carrier, you will find ease and convenience at carrying your pot around very steadily. The ideal cloth for the carrier should be a thicker one, for it has to withstand a certain amount of heat (you would not want to be burnt by your piping hot food) as well as take the loading from your heavy hot of food! What better way to carry a pot of hot food?

The best thing about DIY is that you can customize your own carrier. It comes in 3 sizes to fit different pot - the largest fits a 5L pot; the medium is for 23cm/9” pot/container while the small one is for the 7” pot/container. Besides, you can also choose your favourite cloth and colours for different settings like picnic, gathering or potluck.

Braised Pork Trotter with Assam Keping-阿三皮酸猪手

My husband and my son kept nodding their heads while eating assam pork trotters. You can imagine how delicious the dish is. Compared to my previous post 'Spicy, Sweet & Sour Trotter', I will prefer this dish. no doubt both of them have a somewhat similar taste, the sourness of assam and vinegar brings out a different class of sourness. It is tough to use words to describe the awesomeness of food so you will have to give it a try to understand the supremacy of this popular dish.

Recipe: Adapted from Yum Yum No.67

(I have slightly modified the original recipe)

Ingredients:

1 pork trotter, cut into pieces

1 tbsp oil

1500ml water

6 shallots, peeled

8 dried chillies

10 pieces assam keping ( dried tamarind slices)

Seasoning:

1 tsp salt

3 tbsp sugar

Method:

1) Blanch pork trotter in boiling water for 5 minutes. Dish and drain.

2) Heat up oil, stir-fry shallots and dried chillies until aromatic.

3) Add in the remaining ingredients and bring to boil over high heat. Lower the heat and cook until trotter is tender. Dish up and serve.

ENJOY!

Almond and Seaweed Jelly Beancurds -杏仁海藻豆腐

Ingredients:

1 packet agar- agar powder -seaweed flavour (7g)

500ml Magnolia fresh milk or evaporated milk

700ml - 750ml water

350g sugar

1 tbsp almond essence

3 pandan leaves

1 tsp green colouring

Method:

1) Bring water and agar-agar powder, sugar, pandan leaves together to boil. Add in milk, mix well.

2) Add almond essence, mix well. Pour mixture into moulds, when cool, chill in the fridge until completely set. Remove from moulds and serve with your favourite fruit, or canned longan syrup.