Bingka Durian

I saw Yatie's post for her Bingka Durian this morning. The bingka looks sooo delicious. The only way to taste it is of course, bake it! All the ingredients, including  the durian, are in hand. So, in just over an hour, the kuih was ready! The taste & texture are just amazing! No kidding!

Binka Durian

Recipe by Yatie @ Sinar Kehidupanku.

(makes a 10-cup mixture)

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 cup thick coconut milk (I used freshly-squeezed coconut milk.)

2 1/4 cup water

2 cups plain flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp butter

1 1/2 cups durian flesh

yellow colouring

sesame seeds for topping

Method:

1. Preheat ove at 200 deg C. Grease a 9 x 9 baking pan.
2. Combine all ingredients except durian & mix with a hand whisk until well blended.
3. Add in durian & mix well.
4. Heat up greased pan in the oven. Take it out from oven & pour mixture into the pan. Sprinkle sesame seeds. Bake for about 1 hour or until cooked.
5. Remove from pan & leave aside to cool. Cut into small pieces & serve.

What I did: I combined all ingredients, except sesame seeds, in a blender bowl & blend mixture until well mixed. Then I strained the mixture. I used NordicWare bundt pan & baked for half an hour. (I didn't preheat the pan.)

Chocolate-Glazed Shortbread Cookies

On Christmas Day holiday, my sister & her kids gathered at my place to bake. My 4- & 3-year old nieces had requested their mum to bake some cookies. Since all the ingredients & equipment for baking are available at my place, naturally my kitchen was the place of choice. I got to choose the recipe but it must meet 2 criteria. The cookies must be chocolate covered & have topping. So I chose a very simple recipe yet very delicious & addictive! When you start munching on one, you can't stop at one, two or even three.

The mixing, cutting, baking & decorating were all done by my sis & her girls & their bibik, of course. I just took out all the ingredients & utensils needed. I took out a few types of toppings. Not surprisingly, the girls chose the pink & colourful sprinkles. The recipe yielded quite a lot of cookies. I was quite surprised the girls actually stayed on to finish up the dough. I thought they would leave halfway through. They must have enjoyed themselves.

The girls hard at work... They chose 6 cookie cutters! They're really spoilt for choice.

'Ain & Izzati posing with their cookies. On the right is Izzati sprinkling the topping on the chocolate-covered shortbread.

Chocolate-Glazed Shortbread Cookies
Recipe from Mrs Fields Best Cookie Book Ever!

Shortbread:

1 1/2 cups salted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (We used 1 tsp pure vanilla paste.)
3 cups flour (We used top flour.)

Chocolate glaze:
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

2 tsp. light corn syrup

(We didn't use the chocolate glaze recipe. We just melted compound chocolate (Selbourne brand) over double boiler.)

1. Preheat oven to 325 deg F.
2. Blend butter until smooth in large electric mixer at medium speed. Slowly blend in confectioner's sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add vanilla extract. Combine thoroughly. Add flour and mix at low speed until well blended.
3. Divide dough into two roughly equal pieces, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 1/2 hours.
4. On floured board using floured rolling pin, roll out disks to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into shapes. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets for 16-18 min. Don't let cookies brown. Transfer to cool flat surface

To prepare glaze:

Heat cream in small sauce pan until scalded:remove from heat. Stir in chocolate chips and corn syrup, cover and let stand for 15 minutes. With a small wire whisk or wooden spoon, gently mix until smooth being careful not to create bubbles. Dip whole or half of each cookie into glaze and transfer to a tray or cool cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Chill in refrigerator 10 min to set. ( sprinkle with coconut before refrigerating if desired)

Madeleines.... again.

I was pleasantly surprised  when I saw madeleine pans at Daiso, Petaling Jaya Bukit Indah in Johore.  I don't remember seeing it in any of the stores in Singapore. Come to think of it, I don't often go to Daiso because most of the things there are so pretty and cheap that I'm always afraid that I'll put too many things in the basket..... Usually, I would enter the store with something in mine & just focus on what  I need to buy. Otherwise, I would find myself overwhelmed ( & get headache, literally!) by the amazing range of stuff. Anyway, the pan looked pretty & it's made in Japan! Just look at it here if you've not seen it before. Besides, it's only RM5! That's peanut compared to the madeleine pans I've ever seen before. 

Actually, at first, I was hesitant to buy it as I was skeptical if such a cheap pan could do a good job, considering that, as I've mentioned in my previous entry,  they don't normally come cheap. But since it's just RM5, I decided to just grab 2 of them. And I'm not disappointed.... they are not too bad. I like the petite size of my madeleines when using the pan compared to the bigger gula melaka madeleines produced when using the moulds  from Sun Lik. Besides, the madeleines slid out quite easily from the moulds. My only complain is, the groove in the cavity is not deep enough. So the clam-shell pattern on the little cakes is not as distinct as I would like it to be. Well, am I allowed to complain for such a bargain pan....?

Lemon Madeleines

Recipe by Martha Stewart. 

Ingredients:
3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted, plus more for pans
1 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted (not self-rising) - I used top flour.
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (2 to 3 lemons total)
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter two madeleine pans; set aside. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl; set aside.
2. Put eggs, egg yolks, granulated sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest and juice in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and thickened, about 5 minutes. Mix in butter.  Using a spatula, fold flour mixture into egg mixture. Let rest 30 minutes.
3. Pour batter into buttered pans, filling the molds 3/4 full. Bake cookies, rotating pans halfway through, until edges are crisp and golden, 7 to 8 minutes.
4. Let cookies cool slightly in pans on wire racks. Invert, and unmold. Dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Cook's Note:

Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to one day.

I'm submitting this entry to Cook Like A Star (December 2012, Martha Steward) organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo of Eat your heart out and Riceball of Riceball Eats.

                                                       

Chocolate Eclairs

It's been a long time since I participated in a blogger baking event. So far, I've only joined Aspiring Bakers. I think it's a good idea to be part of such event. Not only does it introduce me to more blogger friends,  it also  gives me direction to my next baking  project. Unfortunately, I've not been able to follow the event closely. I think I should resume...

Recently I saw Lena baked chocolate eclairs for Free & Easy Bake Along, an event she co-hosted. I thought this would be a good time for me to participate in this event since I also wanted to try Chef Yamashita's chocolate eclair recipe. It took me two days to prepare this sweet treat. I prepared the custard cream on Thursday, mixed the dough & baked the shells on Friday morning and finally assembled the eclairs after lunch. I know it can be quite overwhelming when you look at the recipe, but I can tell you that it's really worth it! The eclairs are just superb! 

Chocolate Eclairs

Recipe by Chef Yamashita Masataka in Tanoshii, Joy of Making Japanese-style Cake & Desserts.

1 portion (250g) pate a choux dough (see recipe below)

1 egg , lighly beaten

CHOCOLATE CREAM - I doubled this up.

30g dark chocolate buttons - I used Valrhona Equatoriale 55%.

100g custard cream (see recipe below)

Place chocolate buttons  in a microwave-safe bowl & heat in a microwave oven on High at 20-second bursts, stirring & checking each time, so chocolate does not burn. (Alternatively, the chocolate buttons can also be melted over double-boiler.) When chocolate is smooth & melted, fold it into custard cream & mix well. Transfer chocolate cream to a piping bag fitted with a 0.8-cm round tip. Set aside.

GANACHE

70g dark chocolate buttons

70g heavy cream

Place dark chocolate in a bowl. In a saucepan, bring heavy cream to a simmer until it reaches 90deg C. Pour over dark chocolate & whisk to combine.

CHANTILLY CREAM

100g heavy cream

Using a hand whisk, whisk heavy cream until soft peaks form. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 0.8-cm round tip. (I placed the bag of cream in the freezer while waiting to be used.)

PATE A CHOUX DOUGH

72g pastry flour (top flour) - sifted

60g milk

60g water

60g unsalted butter

2g salt

4g sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten

1 egg white, if needed

1. Preheat oven to 200 deg C. Line a baking tray.
2. In a saucepan, stir milk, water, unsalted butter, salt & sugar over medium heat until mixture starts to boil. Remove from heat. Whisk in pastry flour until fully incorporated.
3. Return saucepan to medium heat. Using a heatproof rubber spatula, stir until dough starts to stick together & pulls away from sides of saucepan. Transfer dough to a medium bowl.
4. Using a spatula, fold in beaten eggs half portion at a time, ensuring full incorporation after each addition. The dough will be thick & elastic.
5. Test by lifting half of dough with the spatula. It should fall off in 3 seconds. If it does not, mix in 1 tbsp egg white & test again. Repeat if necessary.
6. Transfer choux dough to a piping bag fitted with a 1-cm round tip & pipe dough into logs about 10cm long & 1 cm high, spacing them 4cm apart. 
7. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush dough with beaten egg. Using a wet fork, lightly shape dough to smoothen surface. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until dough has risen slightly.
8. Lower oven temperature to 180deg C & bake for 20-30 minutes until puffs are risen & golden brown.
9. Remove from oven & leave to cool on a wire rack before filling puffs. (Unfilled choux puffs will keep for up to 1 day in an airtight container.)

CUSTARD CREAM (makes about 260g)

10g cornflour

10g pastry flour (top flour)

200g milk

1/2 pod vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped (I used 1 tsp pure vanilla paste.)

10g sugar

30g unsalted butter

7g salted butter

45g egg yolks, at room temperature

43g sugar

50g milk

1. Sift together cornflour & pastry flour. Set aside.. In a saucepan, simmer 200g milk, vanilla seeds & pod, 10g sugar & butters over medium heat until butter is melted & sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks with 43g sugar until pale. Add sifted flours & whisk until fully incorporated. Add 50g milk & mix well. Add mixture from saucepan & mix until uniform.
3. Strain into another saucepan & place over high heat, whisking vigorously until mixture is thickened. The mixture will bubble at the centre throughout. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
4. Prepare a large bowl of iced water & palce mixing bowl over it. Using a rubber spatula, scrape base & sides of bowl until custard cream is cold to the touch & the surface is shiny.
5. Cover cream with plasticwrap, pressing down onto surface of cream. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using. Custard cream will keep refrigerated for up to 2 days.

ASSEMBLING THE ECLAIRS:

1. Slice cooled choux pastry logs into half horizontally.
2. Dip top layer of logs in ganache & arrange on a baking tray. Refrigerate for 10 minutes until ganache is set.
3. Pipe a thick layer of chocolate cream onto choux bases, then pipe a layer of Chantilly cream over. Sandwich with top layer & serve. Consume within the day.

I'm submitting this entry to Free & Easy Bake Along event #37 (Chocolate Eclairs),  hosted by  Joyce from Kitchen Flavours, Lena from Frozen Wings and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids.

Madeleines..... with a Southeast Asian twist.

It's hard to  believe that I've not tasted madeleines until recently. I've always been tempted to buy some from the Delifrance express outlet everytime I drop by the petrol station. But the price tag just turned me off! I thought it couldn't be so difficult to bake them. Hence the urge to bake them & the start of the search for the madeleine pan. But I realized that madeleine pan is quite pricy.... maybe that's partly why madeleines are expensive. I was quite reluctant to spend so much for something that I wasn't sure if I was going to use more than once. So I shelved the idea of buying the pan & baking madeleines. 

Then, recently, when my cousin visited my father at the hospital, she brought some madeleines! And guess where she bought them from... yes, Delifrance! I love them. They were delicious! I decided that I would definitely want to bake some myself. I'm resigned to the fact I have  to spend quite a bit on the pan. So two weeks ago, I went to Sun Lik & when I saw the moulds, I decided to buy them. No more buts....

Instead of  a regular madeleine, my maiden madeleine is Coconut Gula Melaka Madeleine, a recipe by Chef Yamashita whose book I just bought on Friday. The madelines are so delicious!! You must try this recipe if you like madeleines & especially if you already have the pan.

Coconut Gula Melaka Madeleines
Recipe by Chef Yamashita Masataka from Tanoshii, Joy of Making Japanese-style Cake and Desserts.

Ingredients:
120g pastry flour (aka Top flour)
2g baking powder - I used double-acting.
15g almond powder
5g cornflour
7g milk powder
35g desiccated coconut
17g honey
46g heavy cream
46g salted butter
46g unsalted butter
70g gula melaka (palm sugar), roughly chopped - I sliced thinly.
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
80g brown sugar
melted unsalted butter for greasing mould

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 170 deg C. Lightly grease a madeleine mould with melted butter. Sift together pastry flour, baking powder,almond powder, cornflour & milk powder. Whisk in desiccated coconut. Set aside.
2. Combine honey, heavy cream, both types of butter & gula melaka in a saucepan over medium  heat. Using a wooden spoon, stir until butter & sugar are melted & mixture reachers 80deg C. Set aside. (I also strained the mixture twice to remove debris usually found in the gula Melaka.)
3. Using a handheld mixer, whisk eggs, egg yolks & brown sugar at high speed for 3 minutes until mixture doubles in volume & is pale. Using a rubber spatula, fold in dry ingredients.
4. Lastly, fold in warm butter mixture. Scrape base & sides of bowl thoroughly. Pour batter into prepared mould & bake for 20-25 minutes or until top of cakes are golden brown.
5. Remove from oven. Unmould cakes & leave on a wire rack to cool before serving or storing. These cakes will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Makes about 20 madeleines.

Notes:

1. According to Chef Yamashita, pastry flour is also known as top flour & is similar to cake flour or Hong Kong flour. They have low protein content, hence they produce light-textured cakes & cookies.
2. I used the gula Melaka imported from Indonesia. It's dark brown in colour & when left in room temperature for a long period of time, it will turn very soft & melt. It's also more flavourful than the hard & light-coloured ones. It's also more expensive. I often buy mine from Geylang Serai market. Recently, I bought it from Larkin market in JB.

Bingka Ubi Kayu Jagung (Adapted version.)

As promised, I'm posting the adjusted recipe of the Bingka Ubi Kayu Jagung. In case you have not read my previous entry on this kuih, I wanted to make adjustment to the top layer of the original recipe. So a week after my first attempt, I made the kuih again, making some adjustments. I'm happy with the outcome. This time the  sweet corn flavour was more intense, the way I like it.

Changes I made this time:
1. I used 1 cup of whole-kernel sweet corn instead of 3/4 cup.
2. I added 100g cream-style sweet corn & a tsp of sweet corn flavour, just like what I did for my  Sweet
Corn Chiffon Cake. Since I added the cream-style corn, I reduced the coconut milk by 45g. I think I'm not  going to reduce it the next time I make this kuih.
4. I  used my Nordicware quartet pan instead of a round pan. The mixture fits perfectly in the NW pan.

Bingka Ubi Kayu Jagung (Adapted version.)

(Sweet Corn Tapioca Traditional Cake)

Adapted from recipe by a Bruneian from 'Cooking from the Hearts'.

Source: Rezwati @ Wind of Change.

Bottom layer:

225 ml coconut milk (This time I used  Matahari coconut cream.)

5-10 pandan leaves

150g palm sugar (gula melaka)

1 egg

450g  fresh tapioca (grated)

30g plain flour

18g butter (I melted it.)

dash of salt

brown colouring

Combine coconut milk, pandan leaves & palm sugar in a pot & heat up until it boils. Strain & leave aside. Combine the rest of ingredients & pour in coconut mixture & mix thoroughly. Pour mixture into a greased 8 inch pan. Bake at 200 deg C for 15 minutes.

Top layer:

180 ml coconut milk 

5-10 pandan leaves

200g castor sugar 

1 egg

450g fresh tapioca (grated)

30g plain flour

1 cup canned whole-kernel sweet corn

100g cream-style sweet corn

1 tsp corn flavour

dash of salt

yellow colouring

Combine coconut milk, pandan leaves & sugar in a pot & heat up until it boils. Strain & leave aside. Combine the rest of ingredients & pour in coconut mixture & mix thoroughly. Pour mixture onto bottom layer. Bake at 200 deg C for 20-30 minutes.

Ferrero Rocher Brownies

My friend had a craving for this Ferrero Rocher Brownies. She liked it after tasting it when I first shared it with my colleagues a few months ago. I first baked this brownies after seeing Jamie's of My Baking Addiction post but didn't manage to take any pictures, hence no entry for this yummy dessert until now.

                              

This is one expensive brownies. Just the ingredients cost me $20! And that doesn't include the Nutella used for the frosting, which I decided to omit. But it's worth it because the taste is just amazing. The ingredients were costly mainly becauseI used the ones imported from Europe: Belgium butter, French chocolate & Italian rocher! It's all about quality ingredients.... Since I omitted the Nutella frosting, I call this brownies Ferrero Rocher Brownies instead of  Nutella Brownies.

Ferrero Rocher Brownies

Recipe by My Baking Addiction.

Ingredients:

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used Valrhona Equatoriale 55%)
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
12 Ferrero Rocher candies, sliced in half

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 deg C). Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2.  Microwave chocolate and butter in a large bowl microwave-safe bowl at medium (50% power) for 3-4 minutes or until butter is melted.
3. Stir until chocolate is melted. Whisk in sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt. Gradually add in flour; stir until just combined.
4. Spread 1/2 the batter into prepared pan. Add an even layer of Ferrero Rocher candies and cover with remaining 1/2 of brownie batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes; do not over bake.
5. Remove from pan & transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Bingka Ubi Kayu Jagung

Hi everyone. Another long break from blogging for me.... I've been super busy.... not only did I have no time to blog, I didn't even have time to bake! Besides busy at work as the end of school semester was drawing nearer, I was also busy going to the hospital visiting my father. He was admitted to the hospital for infection of the neck area in early October. He underwent 2 surgeries & was recovering. But things took a sudden turn... he went into coma.. His condition has since stablilised although he's not able to wake up... It's been hard for my family. My heart wrenches whenever I'm by his bedside, looking at him lying down, helpless, unable to  move his body. He couldn't even open his eyes.... It's been very challenging for my family, physically & especially emotionally. But I believe that things happen for a reason, a good one. So we'll keep praying my father would recover & that Allah bestows on us the strength & patience to go through this challenging period. Ameen.

Now that it's school holidays, I managed  to start baking again last week. I've baked a few times ... hope to post the pictures & recipes as soon as I can. I made Bingka Ubi Kayu Jagung last weekend & yesterday.  When Ayu posted the picture & recipe, I couldn't wait to try baking & eating it! For one, I just love any tapioca-based kuih.  The humble root tastes so good when it's used to make traditional Malay kuih. This kuih is also interesting because there's sweet corn & gula malaka in it. As expected, the kuih was awesome. I like! So do my tasters.. hehe. So this is one kuih I'll be making again & again... Thanks Ayu for sharing this wonderful recipe.

The recipe & pictures for this entry are from my first attempt last week. I used 450g of grated tapioca for each layer, so I adjusted the other ingredients accordingly, except for the eggs which I retained. I also reduced the sugar for the top layer by 50%. As you can see, the texture was good, it's moist & soft. But I thought the corn flavour for the top layer was lacking.  So the second time I made this kuih,  I made some adjustments to the ingredients to enhance the sweet corn flavour. You may refer to the adapted version here.

Bingka Ubi Kayu Jagung 
(Sweet Corn  Tapioca Traditional Cake)

Inspired by Ayu @ Curlybabe's Satisfaction.
Recipe by a Bruneian from 'Cooking from the Hearts'.
Source: Rezwati @ Wind of Change.

Bottom layer:
225 ml coconut milk (I used freshly-squeezed coconut milk.)
5-10 pandan leaves
150g palm sugar ( gula melaka)
1 egg
450g fresh tapioca (grated) - I blended (See notes below.)
30g plain flour
18g butter (I melted it.)
brown colouring

Combine coconut milk, pandan leaves & palm sugar in a pot & heat up until it boils. Strain & leave aside. Combine the rest of  ingredients & pour in coconut  mixture & mix thoroughly. Pour mixture into a greased baking pan (I used 8- inch round pan.). Bake at 200 deg C for  15 minutes.

Top layer:
225 ml coconut milk
5-10 pandan leaves
200g castor sugar ( This is 50% of original proportion.)
1 egg
450g fresh tapioca ( grated)
30g plain flour
3/4 cup canned whole kernel sweet corn
yellow colouring
salt (I added.)

Combine coconut milk, pandan leaves & sugar in a pot & heat up until it boils. Strain & leave aside. Combine the rest of  ingredients & pour in coconut  mixture & mix thoroughly. Pour mixture onto bottom layer. Bake at 200 deg C for  20-30 minutes.

Notes:
1. To blend tapioca, cut tapioca into small pieces. Place in the blender bowl & add enough water. Blend until become smooth paste. Strain blended tapioca & leave aside for about half an hour until the starch sinks at the bottom. Then pour away the water & pour back the starch residue to the strained blended tapioca.
2. I did not follow the direction for making this kuih closely. Instead, I mixed all the ingredients & stir thoroughly.
3.There was some leftover sweet corn mixture, so I baked it in muffin pan.

Sweet Corn Chiffon Cake

I'm  quite amazed by the variety of chiffon cake flavours created today. We can bake just about any flavour. Besides the traditional pandan & chocolate, there are now pumpkin, yam, oreo, lychee, etc, etc. Then there is sweet corn.... When I saw Sonia made sweet corn chiffon cake, I knew I would definitely make it!

This is my second time baking this cake. I love it so much!  It's so soft & moist & besides, I love sweet corn. However, the first time I tasted it,  I thought the sweet corn flavour was not intense enough. My friend who ate it asked me what flavour it was. So this time, I added a teaspoon of sweet corn flavour & some canned whole kernel corn. If you like chiffon cake & sweet corn, then you must try this! Thanks for sharing Sonia!

Sweet Corn Chiffon Cake
Source: Nasi Lemak Lover.

4 egg yolks
20g sugar
50g corn oil
85g self- raising flour
75g sweet corn cream
1 tsp corn flavour - I added

4 egg whites
70g sugar

30g canned whole kernel corn (Drained & patted dry with  paper towel.) - I added.

Method:

1. Hand whisk egg yolk and sugar till sugar dissolved.
2. Add in corn oil and sweet corn cream, mix well.
3. Add in flour and combine well, set aside.
4. Beat egg white over high speed till foamy ( 1min for KA mixer at speed 8). - I beat for 30 seconds at speed 3 using my Kenwood Major.
5. Slowly add in sugar, beat till soft peak form (2-3mins for KA mixer at speed 6). - I beat for 1 1/2 minute at speed 3.
6. Take 1/3 portion of egg white mixture and use hand whisk to mix with egg yolk mixture till light.
7. Fold the balance of egg white mixture into egg yolk mixture, combine well.
8. Pour cake mixture into a 20cm (7 inch) chiffon cake baking pan (I used an 18 cm & 16cm pan. I poured half the mixture, then sprinkled some whole kernel corn. Then I poured the rest of the mixture & sprinkled the rest of whole kernel corn on top.)
9. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 160 deg C for 40minutes. Adjust your oven accordingly as every oven is different.
10. Once cooked, remove from oven & immediately invert pan until completely cool. To remove cake, run a spatula or knive around the side & bottom of pan.

Chicken Floss Buns

Kenwood sevice centre called yesterday to inform me that my mixer could be repaired & it would cost me $105. Hurray! That's less than 10% of the price of a new similar set! But more important, I get to keep my 30-year-old Kenwood mixer! When you have something for that long, it sure   has some sentimental value... don't you think? Besides, it's a hand-me-down from my mum. In fact,  I was the only one who has been using the machine ever since my mum bought it. This is only the second time I've sent it for repair. Even then, it's because it had a bad fall... . It happened about two weeks ago when I was mixing the dough for my cinnamon roll. It's normal for the machine to move about when mixing dough. But I didn't learn my lesson .... as I turned my back to wash my hands, suddenly, ....the loud thud! I was dumb with disbelief.  I did it again! Yup, that was the second time it fell from the cabinet top! Previously, the machine was still working after the fall. But this time, it went kaput. Anyway, I'm happy it's ready for collection, but I don't think I'm going to use it to mix any bread dough again. Don't think I want to take the chance.

I sent the mixer on Saturday, so on Sunday, I mixed the dough for my chicken floss buns using my bread machine. This time I used a recipe by Alex Goh. The method to prepare the dough is quite different from the ones that I've ever tried before. We've heard of the Tanzhong method. Now we have the gelatinized method. You can refer to Miss B's blog  for more details about this method.

Chicken Floss Buns
Recipe by Alex Goh of Magic Bread & The World of Bread.
Source: Everybody Eats Well in Flanders.

Basic Sweet Bread Dough
[Makes about 1000-1100 grams of sweet bread dough]

INGREDIENTS A - this is for the scalded or gelatinized dough.
100g bread flour
70g boiling water

INGREDIENTS B
300g bread flour
100g plain flour
80g sugar
6g salt (about 1 tsp)
20g milk powder (about 2 tbsp)
9g instant yeast (about 1 tbsp)

INGREDIENTS C
175g cold water
60g cold eggs (1 large egg)

INGREDIENTS D
60g butter (diced)

Topping:
Egg - beaten
Mayonnaise
Chicken floss

Method:

1. Add the boiling water from A into the flour and mix until well blended to form dough. Cover and set aside to cool. Keep in the fridge for at least 12 hours. (Scalding the dough with boiling water increases the water-binding capacity of the dough, so that less moisture is lost during and after baking. Resting and chilling the dough overnight helps to make the dough stronger and more extensible, and hence easier to stretch and form into different shapes. ) 
2. After 12 hours, mix B until well-blended. Add in C and knead to form rough dough. Add in A (cut into small pieces) and knead until well-blended. 
3. Add in D (cut into small pieces) and knead to form an elastic dough. 
4. Leave dough, covered, to rise for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. 
5. Divide dough into 60g portion, shape into balls & leave to rest for about 10 minutes. 
6. Shape dough into round or oval shape & place them on a greased baking tray. (I line my baking tray with silicone paper.) Leave to prove for 45 minutes. 
7. Brush with egg wash & bake on the center rack of the oven at 190 deg C for about 12 minutes or until cooked & buns turn golden brown. 
8. Transfer buns to a wire rack & leave to cool. 
9. To make Chicken Floss Buns: Once cooled, spread some mayonnaise on top of buns. Then top buns generously with meat floss. Serve. 

PS:  I used my breadmaker to mix the dough. I threw in all ingredients B & C into the bowl, except salt. Once a dough is formed, I threw in the butter. Once well mixed, I added the salt. (Salt has a retarding effect on the yeast, so always add it last whenever mixing bread dough. We practised this during the bread-making course at BITC.)

Lapis Chocolate Mint

Lapis Chocolate Mint
Souce: Bro Rozzan

Ingredients:
300g butter
120g fine sugar
6 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
80g kaya
250g sweetened condensed milk
80g malt powder (Horlicks)
160g Hongkong flour (I used cake flour.)
2 tbsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp hot water - mixed with cocoa powder
2 tsp peppermint essence
green colouring

Directions:

1. Line & grease bottom of a 7 x 7 inch pan. Set aside. (I doubled the recipe & baked in a 10x7 pan.)
2. In a large bowl, cream butter & sugar on high speed until light & fluffy. 
3. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each addition.
4. Reduce speed & beat in vanilla essence, condensed milk, malt powder & kaya. Mix until well blended.
5. Stop machine & fold in flour.
6. Divide mixture into two parts. Add cocoa into one & peppermint & green colour into the other. Mix well.
7. Preheat oven at about 180-190 deg C, top & bottom heat. Pour 2 ladles of cocoa mixture into baking pan & spread mixture evenly. Bake for about 6-7 minutes or until cooked. Once cooked, remove pan from oven & press top of cake gently using a lapis presser or bottom   flat  surface of glass. 
8. Then adjust oven setting to grill (top heat only) at temperature of about 200-210 deg C.
9. Pour 2 ladles of peppermint mixture into baking pan & spread evenly. Bake untill cook. Continure baking alternate layers until finish. (I baked 2 layers of cocoa mixture followed by 2 layers of  peppermint mixture.) 

Cashew Nut Chocolate Cookies

It feels like it's been ages since I last posted an entry in this blog. That's because it's been more than a month since my last entry, the longest break I've had. The month of Ramadhan is traditionally a very busy month for me. Work  & family commitments, coupled with Ramadhan activities & lots of baking during the weekends, left me hardly any time to keep up with my blog...... Likewise, the Eid celebrations had kept me busy during the weekends with visits to our relatives & friends' & guests who came over to my place. 

I'll be sharing with you the recipes of my Eid bakings, especially those I've  not shared yet, in the next coming entries. For a start, I'm posting a Hari Raya cookie recipe that was hugely popular in Singapore about 30 years ago. Remember Chocolate Chip Cookies? Not the American version, I think it's the Asian version...  I remember making them every year for Hari Raya. It was so popular that there was nothing left by the second day of Eid, Back then, during the pre-internet era, one way to get hold of this prized recipe was to attend the weekend baking classes. I was lucky, there were a few generous people who shared the recipe with me, all from different instructors. Amazingly, the recipes were all identical! I wonder who created the recipe...

Anyway, my source of  this recipe is Mdm Zaleha Osman, the name printed next to the recipe. It was given to me by my best friend then.  I've decided to change the name of this recipe to Cashew Nut Chocolate Cookies so as not to be confused with the Chocolate Chip Cookies that we all know.

Cashew Nut Chocolate Cookies
Recipe by Zaleha Osman.

Cookies:
4 oz butter
2 oz powder sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
3 oz ground cashew nut (I toasted it lightly & left to cool before adding to mixture.))
4 oz top flour (I used plain flour.)
2 oz chocolate block - grated

Topping:
renchoco / mohrenglanz chocolate or any compound chocolate - chopped  (I used Selbourne.)

Place chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Place bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir chocolate until melted. Ensure that bottom of bowl doesn't touch the water. Also, ensure that not a drop of water goes into the chocolate as that will affect the consistency of the chocolate. Once melted, remove bowl from pot & wipe bottom of bowl dry.

Method:

1. Combine butter, sugar & vanilla in a bowl & mix until mixture turned pale. 
2. Add groud cashew nut,  flour & grated chocolate. Mix until just incorporated. 
3. Cover bowl with plastic & leave aside to allow dough to rest for half an hour. 
4. Shape dough into  balls. Place each ball into a mini foil cake liner & press slightly. (Note:  the size of the balls should be such that, after baking, the cookie will fill up about 3/4 full. The cookie will rise slightly after baking.) Bake at 180 deg C for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven & leave to cool.
5. Pour melted chocolate over cookie & leave aside until chocolate hardens. If you wish, you may sprinkle colourful jimmies or chopped toasted cashew nut on the chocolate. You may also place the cookies in the fridge for about 5 minutes, but not more than 10 minutes,  to accelerate the hardening process. 
6. Store cookies in an air-tight container in room temperature.

Tart Teratai

Time really flies... tomorrow will be the 14th day of Ramadhan. I'm feeling a bit anxious... there's a long list of things to do as Eid is approaching. And at work, the pace is also picking up as the term assessments are around the corner & before long, it's the end of the school term... I'm glad next weekend will be a long one in view of Singapore's National Day. I hope to do my shopping & lots of baking!

Anyway, I've started my baking for the Eid celebration. I made the must-have pineapple tarts last Tuesday. I used the same recipe that I've been using for the last decade or so... You may refer to my post last year for this Lotus-shaped Pineapple Tart, aka Tart Teratai, recipe.

Have a good weekend! I'm sure I'll have a busy one!

Danish Butter Cookies

I love butter cookies. They are no-fuss cookies yet taste so good! My first encounter with butter cookies was when I was young when my father bought the Royal Dansk Danish Butter Cookies, the ones in the round, blue container. I think that was the only brand we knew as far as butter cookies were concerned. Of course, today, there are so many brands available but they can't beat the Royal Dansk. 

I made some butter cookies before the fasting month. I used a recipe that claims to be the world's best butter cookies. I also used Danish butter. The dough was quite soft & since I planned to shape my cookies using the cookie cutter, I added 8 tbsp more flour. I still couldn't keep the shape even after placing the rolled-out dough in the fridge. So in the end, I decided to follow the recipe, I wrapped the dough into a log & sliced it after putting it in the freezer for a while.

Although the shape of my cookies cake out uneven, the taste was perfect! It tasted just like the Royal Dansk cookies! I like!

Danish Butter Cookies
Source: Food.com

Ingredients:
8 ounces unsalted butter (I used Danish butter.)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
2 cups all-purpose flour (I added 8 tbsps more as my dough was so soft.)

Directions:

1. Beat the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla together until smooth and creamy.
2. Mix in the egg yolk until well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl at least once.
3. Add the flour and mix just until incorporated.
4. Scrape onto a lightly floured board and knead a few times, just until the dough smooths out.
5. Turn onto a sheet of plastic wrap and roll into a log, wrap up and refrigerate for several hours or freeze.
6. Before baking, preheat the oven to 325°F.
7. Line your baking sheets with parchment.
8. Slice the dough into slices about 1/8" thick and place them on the sheets about an inch apart (they won't be spreading very much, but they need air room around each cookie).

Bingka Suji

First of all, I would like to wish all Muslim readers a blessed Ramadan. May this Ramadan bring joy, health, peace and prosperity to all of us. My family will be breaking our fast later at my mum's place. So I baked Bingka Suji this afternoon using the recipe shared by Mat Gebu.

It's quite easy to prepare & it's healthier too. Instead of using coconut milk like many traditional Malay cakes, this bingka uses evaporated & condensed milk. Smells good  but I'm not sure how it tastes. I'll update this post  to let you know the taste.

Update @ 11.40 pm:
I tasted this bingka during iftar this evening. This kuih is really very good. I like it. So does my family. I know because there were only a few pieces left. I heard my father commented that this tasted better than bingka ubi.
Although there was no coconut in it, it’s still rich & the sweetness is just nice. I highly recommend you to make this especially if you liked eating kuih. :))

Instead of baking the bingka in a 8x8 baking pan, I used a Nordic Ware bundt quartet pan & baked for 30 minutes. Even though I did not grease the pan or line it with aluminium foil, it was easy to release it from the pan. The kuih turned out very nice too. I really like using NW pans even when baking traditional cakes!

Bingka Suji
Source: Mat Gebu

Ingredients:
3 whole eggs
140g fine sugar
1/4 tsp salt
150 g semolina
100g sweetened condensed milk
125g evaporated milk
575 ml water
80g plain flour
1 tsp yellow colour
1 tsp vanilla essence
125g butter
Sesame  seeds - for topping (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oven up at 180 deg C. Grease 8x8-inch baking pan with butter. Line with aluminium foil & grease foil as well.
2. Combine egg, salt & sugar in a mixing bowl & mix thoroughly using a hand whisk.
3. Add condensed milk & semolina & mix until well blended. Then add evaporated milk, water & colouring & mix  well. Then add flour & mix thoroughly.
4. Pour mixture into a saucepan & heat up on a stove, stirring continuously until mixture thickens slightly. Turn off fire. Finally, add butter & vanilla essence & mix until well blended.
5. Pour into baking pan & sprinkle sesame seeds. Bake for about 1 hour. Then bake for 5-7 minutes using top fire only. Remove pan from oven. Leave to cool completely before cutting & serving.