Catching up to do

It has been three months since we moved in. My study cum guest room is still a mess, mainly recipes that I have clipped from news papers, magazines and from the internet.

Just imagine the accumulation over these few years. I tried to be orderly and systematic. Thus each time I tried and tested a recipe, I will reprint or retype it so that it is on a fresh and clean sheet of paper and then filed into a ring binder. Yes, normally after my round in the kitchen, the recipe will have so many markings on it!!

For those clippings, initially I tried to put it in a L shaped folder, then it grew to a box folder and now I needed a big container box to hold all these precious!!!

When will this stop or should I re-assess my habit of wanting to clip every nice recipe that comes my way? I wonder am I the only one with such quaint habit. Since my aunties are coming over in a week's time, I better get the room in spick and span condition. So while cleaning up, I got distracted again.... I saw this recipe posted in the Sunday Times some time back.

The big picture of a chocolate cupcake seems hard to resist..... Anyway, it was a good excuse to bake too. As I am have a little gathering with PW and CY. I have known PW when we were working together.

From a gathering, PW and CY got to know each other and from there, they too formed a friendship. Since we haven't catch up for quite some time and they have yet to visit my "new" home.

We took this opportunity to have a lunch and tea session. Anyway, since I won't have time to cook for them but I definitely can make time to bake something. So what better way to test out this Chocolate cupcake recipe right?

There was a little blunder along the way. I got the steps mixed up. I was a little apprehensive as to whether the cake will turned out well. When I saw it rising nicely in the oven, I breathe a sense of relief.

As usual, I am totally hopeless with ganache. It didn’t thicken as I wanted it to be but the cake is moist and soft. My guests like it so does my family who wanted more than a serving each.



CY was also very sweet, she baked a kueh lapis for us to try too. See how nicely those layers looks. Perfect if you asked me.



Adapted from Sunday Times by Chris Tan

What you need:

150g unsalted butter
½ tsp salt
150ml water
35g cocoa powder
170g cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
200g castor sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Combine butter, salt and water in a small pot. Cover and cook over low heat till the butter has melted and the mixture is about to boil.

Add in cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Let it cool completely.

Preheat oven to 180˚C.

Sift cake flour and baking powder.

Add in sugar and mix very well. Stir for at least a min.

Add in eggs and vanilla to the cocoa mixture and beat until smooth.

Scrape this mixture into the flour.

Stir with a whisk until smooth, then spoon batter into a 12 cupcake tins. Filling it 2/3 full.

Bake for 22 to 25 mins.

Easter Sunday

This morning when I opened up my email, I received a nice surprise for Easter. I didn't bake anything special for this Easter. In fact, I just completed a project from Cupcake Fantasies and was getting ready for the delivery when I saw a message from All that Matters. Didn't have a chance to respond to that till now. I like reading Rei's blog, All that Matters for her unpretentious narrative of her life, her passion and her kids. She has multi talents that she doesn't flaunt. Especially when she completes her fondant cake projects, it always left me in awe how she does it considering she works and spend her precious time bonding with her kids. Yes her two little ones are really lovely and my daughter does miss this playmate. Her creativity and workmanship is really good. Now, let me forward this blog to the following bloggers who are now part of my daily blog reading. Jo from Sugar and Everything Nice. I have an opportunity to get to know her in person. She is so calm and her blog is really great. Good food and beautiful pictures. Lots to learn from her. Peng from Peng's Kitchen for her home styled cooking and endless of delicious bakes. Her dishes always reminds me of my mommy's home cooked food. Nancy of Nancy Ho. Her dedication to her children and family. Grace from Kitchen Corner. Another great baker with plenty of her baking experiences that I wish I have the same energy as hers. Piggy from Piggy's Journal. Yet another multi talent lady who can cook, bake and sew so well and I love her personality too. Happy Easter everyone.

Har Kow, Siew Mai

I love Dim Sum. Talking about it makes me realised that we haven't been to one for a long time. Don't ask me why, but somehow we are always so busy on a weekend with other activities.

We loved this particular restaurant in Chinatown which has been serving dim sum since I was a little kid and they still do. The ambience is totally different from those you found in the main shopping belt. The spacious and huge dinning hall and the crowd is pretty comparable to Hong Kong ones and I LOVE Hong Kong dim sum for their vast varieties and good qualities.

Well, we don't have time for dim sum session this weekend and we definitely can't fly to Hong Kong for dim sum. So let's have some right at home.

My two all time favourites are Char Siew Pau and Har Kow.

Yes, I have to try making pau again. My last experience didn't yield the standard that I wanted. Thus I went back to the drawing board. This time round, the dough isn't that sticky and wrapping is much easier. Though my family said it tasted just like those commercial ones but I still think I need to work on it some more.



I also attempted another recipe that I found here.

The texture is pretty good but somehow, mine like the blogger also yield brownish spots. Though I read how she overcome her problem but I guess I didn't knead that long enough to distribute the baking powder solution. Anyway, my baking powder solution was more paste like than liquid. Well, more experience needed.



I have read that ammonia is all part of pau making. It is supposed to make it soft. To get rid of the strong and pungent smell, vendors kept their pau steaming for hours.

Of course I am not going to do that, if not my gas bills will be rocket high. I resorted to making them hours before I served so that I can re-steam it again.

What you need for the pau skin:
Makes: 18~20 petite buns

(A)
4 g instant yeast
70 g warm water

(B)
140 g cake flour - 低筋面粉
60 g wheat starch - 澄面粉- normally used for cai kuih skin
60 g sugar
20 g oil

(C)
7 g baking powder
10 g water

Method:

Mix yeast in warm water.

Sieve cake flour and wheat starch together. Slowly add in the yeast water into ingredient (B) and knead to mix well, this will take about 20mins.

Let the dough rest for 90 minutes. The dough will be a bit dry at this stage.

There will be another 10g water to be added in (C)

After 90 minutes, mix the dough with baking powder mix in 10g water.

Slowly pour the baking powder mixture into the rested dough and knead the dough to mix well.

Rest for another 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into 25g balls (for petite size bun).

Dust your working surface, hands and rolling pin with some flour.

Roll the ball to a 1.5" diameter skin (the middle should be thinner than the edge).

Spoon the BBQ pork mixture in the middle of the skin, fold and seal with your fingers. Do not let the fillings touch on the edge as this will make your buns not cracked/smiled.

Steam at high heat for 10 minutes (petite size), 12~15 minutes for bigger size baos.

I simply adores Har Kow too. This is one that I will never pass when having dim sum. To determine whether the restaurant is giving good quality food, I usually judge by their prawns. I love the texture of the chewy skin and the crunchiness of the sweet prawns. Then again, there are some who soak the prawns in soda to give them that crunch and I wonder what makes them think that the customer won't taste it. duh.



This time, I have a hard time pleating the Har Kow. It is much harder to pleat than my Ku Chye Kueh the last time.

Guess I will have to use the same dough recipe as that one. At least, these satisfy me for the time being till my next Dim Sum session and God knows when.

Spice

I have been getting a fair bit of emails asking about my health as many of you know that I had an operation done last Dec. Actually I haven't fully recovered. I am still on pain killer on certain days when I spent too long a day outside the house. Despite starting on my swimming to strengthen my back muscles that needed to support my quite "useless" spine now. It is not enough. Thus today, I begin my first physiotherapy. To learn the tactics of strengthening other part of my body muscles so that my hip won't be that strenuous. It seems like it is a long process and there are certain days I swear that I really regretted going for it. Then again, I wouldn't be so careful in my movements now than before. After the session, at least now I am a little more optimistic about my condition. The physiotherapist is really good with what she does. I pray hard that by the 6th month, the numbness on my right toes will be gone. For if it doesn't happened, it is for life that I will feel that way. Though it doesn't give me pain for that part, I do feel that life is not normal. Since my daughter has an early dismissal today and we are home early. I decided to cook. Apples are basic staple fruit in our fridge. Though I love oranges more, my son and hubby adore apples. Today, we are going for white meat as it is much easier to cook than red. It can whip up a dish instantly. Flipping through my cookbooks, looking for inspiration, I spotted a recipe with chicken and mango. I decided to do a switch up on the recipe. I thought since cinnamon goes so well with apple, I can’t be too wrong here. So here is my Chicken with Apple. If you are feeling adventurous, try it out. What you need: 2 tbsp oil 2 tsp grated ginger 1 tsp ground cinnamon 2 large chicken breast, cut into shreds spring onions, sliced diagonally 2 tbsp light soya sauce (low salt version) 1 tbsp dark soya sauce 1 tsp corn starch 1 cup of chicken stock salt and pepper to taste 1 apple, peel and sliced Method Marinate chicken with light soya sauce, a dash of pepper and cornstarch. Heat wok and add oil. Sautee ginger and cinnamon till fragrant. Add in chicken and spring onion. Stir fry for 5 mins. Add in the chicken stock, dark soya sauce and bring to boil. Season with salt and pepper. Add in apples and simmer for another 15 mins till sauce is thickened.

In the mood for ....

I am finally done with my sugar crafting. Thus I am in the mood for some baking.

I have been craving for tarts for quite some time. Each time I hold up a recipe, I put it down again. Making tarts really test your patience.

If you wanted something quick, tarts are definitely not for you. I have yet to come by a tart recipe that don't have to pre baked. Have you?

I have yearned for a tart with bananas for nearly a week. After seeing Piggy's Banana Cream Pie, my interest renewed.

Guess now I have a little time to spare after since I completed my sugar dough projects. With a bunch of banana calling out to finish up and a packet of puff pastry that needed my attention.

Yes, puff pastry is something I have yet to master thus I have no choice but to buy pre-packed.

This wonderful Banana and Chocolate Tarte Tatin looks easy to do and I can whip it out just in time for our dessert for tonight.

How can you go wrong with banana and chocolate? It never failed to taste absolutely delicious, don't they?

My photo definitely didn’t do justice.



Note: Go for the ripest banana you can get your hands on. Also once the toffee has come together, do not cook further. I did wrap my springform pan with foil to prevent leaking.

Fats or no fats

Yesterday, DC and AY was telling me about a Roast Pork Stall that they patronised. How finger licking good the roast was and how they love theirs as fatty ones.

For us, perhaps it is a cultivated habit, our meat must be as lean as possible. Even when I cooked pork belly, I usually opt for the leanest that the butcher can select for me. Even my son who is only 12 will cut out the fats and leave it on the plate. In fact, my kids doesn't really like fatty meat.

Thus when I was down at the supermarket yesterday, I saw some customers going for the pork belly. Remembering a recipe that I clipped from the Newspaper a few weeks ago, I decided to get some pork belly to try it out. Old habit die hard, I opted once again the leanest of the lot.

This dish, Shanghai Style Braised Pork Belly is relatively easy to prepare. I added in another 2 tbsp of soya sauce as I find it not salty enough. The vinegar does give the meat some tang. If I were to make this again, I will definitely go for a fattier meat.



What you need:

500g pork belly, cut into 3cm cubes
2 tsp black rice vinegar
1 tsp shao xing wine
3 tsp dark soya sauce
3 tsp sugar
2 tbsp light soya sauce (mine is the less salty version)
0.5tsp ground white pepper
1.5 tsp five spice powder
2 cloves garlic, halved
6cm ginger, cut into thick slices
400ml water


Method

Scald the pork belly in a pot of boiling water for a min. Drain and place it in a medium sized saucepan.

Add black rice vinegar, shao xing wine, dark and light soya sauces, sugar, garlic, ginger and 250ml water or just cover the meat. Cook over medium heat until it reaches to a gentle simmer.

Lower the heat and cook for another 20 mins. Add more water if necessary to ensure that the pork belly is covered by the sauce.

Lower the heat further and continue braising for 30 mins or until meat is tender.

Serve 6

A change

I always have friends over for dinner but never been one for breakfast. When J rang yesterday to say they are coming over for a visit. I invited her and her daughter, S for breakfast instead.

S and my daughter had been playmates since their kinder days. Though S is a year older than my daughter, they got on extremely well.

S being the youngest with grown up siblings, she finds joy in playing with my little one. I guess a chance to be big sister. I think my daughter also like the idea of having a big sister to look out for her.

Next year, it will be really good because then both of them will be in the same morning session. I guess more time to get together to play.

Getting up early is no issue for me. No matter how late I get into bed the night before, my body clock always ring around 7. Of course, getting up at 6ish for my morning swim always post a little obstacle to get out of bed. hahaha.

Anyway, I decided to bake my White Bread Loaf as my starter dough already ready in the fridge for me. As usual, this 17 hours proofing is really heavenly for me. The loaf turned out perfect. Just imagine a loaf of soft and fluffy bread waiting for you at the breakfast table, freshly baked. Really love it. Definitely this is going to be my daily fix of home made bread in the future.



I was getting a little more experimental and used up half the dough to make cheese buns. Unfortunately it didn't yield a satisfactory result.

Guess my mistake is to "wrap" cheese into the dough. I should have just sprinkled it. Well, don't we learn from mistake?



What you need:

480g bread flour
274g water
7g dry yeast
7g sea salt
14g milk powder

Method

Prepare the starter dough the same way as the multi nuts bread.

Dough

206g bread flour
7g sea salt
80g sugar
199g water
2g dry yeast
58g unsalted butter

Method

Kneading method same as multi nuts bread.

Put dough into bowl and cover with cling wrap.

Prove for 25 - 30 mins.

Divide dough into 6 equal portion.

Flatten and hand square them. Set aside to rest for 20 mins.

Flatten the dough and roll out into a recangle.

Fold both sides towards the centre and roll again. Roll it out until its wideth is similar to that of the loaf tin.

Place it into the tin and cling wrap.

Prove for about 45min or more or 80% of the depth of the loaf tin.

Close the lid.

Baked at 170 - 180 degree for 30 - 30 mins.

I also wanted to try churros. I always wanted to try this. For just dough, I wasn't really willing to pay the price when I saw it in Australia.

The recipe didn't turn out to my satisfaction, thus after frying the first batch. I added in another egg just to soften the dough for easy piping. I am glad that J said it tasted actually like the one she tried in Australia.

This goes so well with a Spanish Hot Chocolate that I prepared. Absolutely delicious.



Churros

What you need:

400g plain flour
300ml milk
300ml water
3 large eggs, beaten
vegetable oil, for frying
castor sugar, to dust

Method:

Bring to boil the milk and water in a big pot.

Sift flour and add in flour to milk mixture at one go and beat vigorously till the dough leaves the side. Set aside to cool a little.

Put dough into mixer, with a K beater, beaten in egg little by little till you get a smooth and silky mixture.

Put into piping bag with a star tip and pipe into the piping hot oil.

Fry till golden brown.

Dust with sugar and serve immediately.

Recipe adapted from Chocolate by Maxine Clark

Spanish Hot Chocolate

What you need:

400ml milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon as I don't have all spice
115g dark chocolate, grated
2 egg yolks

Method:

Bring to boil the milk and cinnamon.

Add in the chocolate and whisk till the chocolate melted.

Whisk in the egg yolks.

Stir over gentle heat until thickened.

Whisk till frothy and serve hot.

Note: this drink is thick and some might want to use it as a dipping.

Both way is delicious.

A change

I always have friends over for dinner but never been one for breakfast. When J rang yesterday to say they are coming over for a visit. I invited her and her daughter, S for breakfast instead. S and my daughter had been playmates since their kinder days. Though S is a year older than my daughter, they got on extremely well. I guess S being the youngest with grown up siblings, she finds joy in playing with my little one. I guess a chance to be big sister. I think my daughter also like the idea of having a big sister to look out for her. Next year, it will be really good because then both of them will be in the same morning session. I guess more time to get together to play. Getting up early is no issue for me. No matter how late I get into bed the night before, my body clock always ring around 7. Of course, getting up at 6ish for my morning swim always post a little obstacle to get out of bed. hahaha. Anyway, I decided to bake my White Bread Loafas my starter dough already ready in the fridge for me. As usual, this 17 hours proofing is really heavenly for me. The loaf turned out perfect. Just imagine a loaf of soft and fluffy bread waiting for you at the breakfast table, freshly baked. Really love it. Definitely this is going to be my daily fix of home made bread in the future. I was getting a little more experimental and used up half the dough to make cheese buns. Unfortunately it didn't yield a satisfactory result. Guess my mistake is to "wrap" cheese into the dough. I should have just sprinkled it. Well, don't we learn from mistake? What you need: 480g bread flour 274g water 7g dry yeast 7g sea salt 14g milk powder Method Prepare the starter dough the same way as the multi nuts bread. Dough 206g bread flour 7g sea salt 80g sugar 199g water 2g dry yeast 58g unsalted butter Method Kneading method same as multi nuts bread. Put dough into bowl and cover with cling wrap. Prove for 25 - 30 mins. Divide dough into 6 equal portion. Flatten and hand square them. Set aside to rest for 20 mins. Flatten the dough and roll out into a recangle. Fold both sides towards the centre and roll again. Roll it out until its wideth is similar to that of the loaf tin. Place it into the tin and cling wrap. Prove for about 45min or more or 80% of the depth of the loaf tin. Close the lid. Baked at 170 - 180 degree for 30 - 30 mins. I also wanted to try churros. I always wanted to try this. For just dough, I wasn't really willing to pay the price when I saw it in Australia. The recipe didn't turn out to my satisfaction, thus after frying the first batch. I added in another egg just to soften the dough for easy piping. I am glad that J said it tasted actually like the one she tried in Australia. This goes so well with a Spanish Hot Chocolate that I prepared. Absolutely delicious. Churros What you need: 400g plain flour 300ml milk 300ml water 3 large eggs, beaten vegetable oil, for frying castor sugar, to dust Method: Bring to boil the milk and water in a big pot. Sift flour and add in flour to milk mixture at one go and beat vigorously till the dough leaves the side. Set aside to cool a little. Put dough into mixer, with a K beater, beaten in egg little by little till you get a smooth and silky mixture. Put into piping bag with a star tip and pipe into the piping hot oil. Fry till golden brown. Dust with sugar and serve immediately. Recipe adapted from Chocolate by Maxine Clark Spanish Hot Chocolate What you need: 400ml milk 1/2 tsp cinnamon as I don't have all spice 115g dark chocolate, grated 2 egg yolks Method: Bring to boil the milk and cinnamon. Add in the chocolate and whisk till the chocolate melted. Whisk in the egg yolks. Stir over gentle heat until thickened. Whisk till frothy and serve hot. Note: this drink is thick and some might want to use it as a dipping. Both way is delicious.

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?

I started the month of April with a challenge. The cookie jars have been left empty for quite some time. Though I longed to bake cookies but I am just too lazy to roll and cut. As most of the dough that I know needed a chill period. This breaks my momentum for baking. Thus my kids have been feeding off the commercial ones. It is not easy to find one that is low in sugar and fats and yet taste delicious. With my younger ones munching so much these days, her little thighs and butt are showing sign of "prospers". Thus mommy better do something about it to create a healthy diet. After seeing how Jamie Oliver prepared a bowl of muesli that my hubby adores, I decided I will grab a bag of rolled oats to start a healthy breakfast routine for him. Yes, he too is showing sign of a near middle aged man. Enough said, I take this opportunity to join in the fun from Sweet & Simple Bakes Monthly Challenge. It sure been a long time that I last participated in challenges even though it is not that many. Perhaps it is sign that my life is slowly falling into places. I love this cookies, it definitely tasted a wholesome goodness in them. I cut down just a little sugar as I added in more fruits than chocolate chips, the sweetness is just right for us. Thanks Rosie and Maria for sharing this wonderful recipe. Thumbs up. What you need: 110g (4oz) butter, softened 100g caster sugar 110g (4oz) soft brown sugar 1 egg 2 tbsp water 1 tsp vanilla extract 250g (9oz) porridge oats (rolled oats) 110g (4oz) self-raising flour 1 level tsp salt 110g (4oz) chocolate chips, raisins or chopped nuts Method: Preheat the oven to 180 degree. Cream the butter in a large bowl or in an electric food mixer until soft. Add the sugars and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg, water and vanilla extract while still beating. Reduce the speed and gently mix in the oats, flour, salt and raisins to form a dough. Using your hands, roll the dough into walnut sized balls and place slightly apart on two baking trays. Bake in the oven for 12-25 minutes or until light golden brown but still slightly soft in the centre. Allow to cool on the trays for a minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool.