Passionate About Baking: 2020

Meyer Lemon Tartlets

Tis the Meyer lemons season.

Cannot resist Meyer lemons when I see them at the supermarket. Whether how I would use it, it doesn't matter to me. I'll just buy them then decide.

I made a meyer lemon pound cake and it was so moist and fragrant. With the extra lemons on hand, I decided to make into lemon curd so as to slowly savour it. Nudged by a friend to make tarts, and so, Lemon tarts were made. I can actually eat the lemon curd on its own. Meyer lemons has a very special taste. The curd was tarty and sourish. People I gave to, finds it nice and very refreshing. It is my favourite. And I think I can just simply use it as a bread spread. The curd is so versatile!

Recipe for Meyer Lemon Tarts

Meyer Lemon Curd, modified from Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients:

2 Egg yolks + 1 whole egg

75g Granulated sugar

2 Lemon zest

84g Lemon juice (from 2 Meyer lemons)

80g salted butter

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Method:

1. Put all ingredients in a bowl, except for butter, over a pot of simmering hot water.

2. Double boil till thicken then remove from heat and add butter in.

3. Stir well to melt the butter.

4. Cover with cling wrap till ready to use. Otherwise, pour into a glass jar immediately and capped it. Cool it before placing in the fridge.

Tart Shells, adapted from Lust by Audrey Tan

(Makes 30 mini tartlets)

Ingredients:

63g Butter, salted

45g Granulated sugar

25g Egg white, or half a beaten egg

125g Plain flour, sifted

Method:

1. To mix by hand, cream butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy.

2. Then add in egg and mix well.

3. Add flour to form the dough. (Added more liquid, the dough was difficult to gather)

4. Flatten the dough into a disc and cover with a plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30mins.

5. On a floured surface, roll dough out into a 0.3mm thick sheet. Use a small round cutter to press out circles.

6. Place dough into prepared tartlet tins, ensuring that dough is well pressed into sides and bottom of tins. Prick bottom of each tart with a fork. (As mine was soft, I placed it into the fridge first before baking).

7. Blind bake at 180C for 14-15mins until browned at the sides.

8. Remove from the oven. The shells will harden when cooled.

Assembly:

1. In the cooled tart shells, scoop the lemon curd.

2. Decorate with toasted pistachio nuts.

3. Chilled and serve, or can serve immediately.

Quiche with flaky crust

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With the current situation of COVID-19 affecting the whole world, many of us were "forced" to work from home (wfh). Shops, malls, restaurants were all shut. It was a pitiful sight. Many business had to close because of this pandemic. All of us can't wait to resume our normal life of retail therapy and dining out. Meeting friends and attending workshops.

On the other hand, it's a new experience to be able to work from home. What seems not possible previously, has become part of our life now. I enjoyed the new work arrangement because that means I have more time to myself having saved that from traveling to and fro work daily. However, it's a mixed feeling that being at home means I can't communicate with my colleagues and I so missed that lunch time bonding with them too.

During this period of locked-down, ours termed as Circuit Breaker or commonly known as CB, many of us have turned to home cooking/baking. Flours, cheese and what nots that are used for cooking or baking, are out of stock. Soon, we will see many master chefs emerged from this CB. Although we have exited from our CB on 2 June, things have not resumed. And first time in history, June becomes a school term whereas previously, it will have been a school holiday.

I don't cook or bake as much as I wanted because I was diligent to do my exercise everyday after work. Therefore, I don't have the luxury of time to cook dinner for the family, although I really would like to. The initial wfh, I was still enthusiastic to prepare my own healthy lunch. Subsequently, I just ate whatever my helper prepares.

There was a day where I had an extra on hand, so I decided to make quiche. It was easy to prepare, and it tastes wholesome too! The pastry was flaky and buttery good.

Recipe for Quiche
(Makes 2 8" round pans)

Ingredients:

Flaky Pastry Crust, adapted from Bake! by Nick Malgieri
260g Plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt
170g Unsalted butter, cold, diced (I used salted butter and added a pinch of salt instead)
2 small eggs, beaten

Method:
1. Add all the ingredients in a bowl except eggs.
2. Use finger tips to gently rub-in the flour with the butter till powdery .

3. Then add in eggs and use a fork to mix well.

4. Divide dough into 2 and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour.

Fillings
Corns
Broccoli, cut into small pieces
1 large onion, diced
1 pkt Shimeiji Mushrooms
1 pkt back bacon (approx 10 pcs)
Knot of butter for frying
Ground pepper
Some mixed herbs
Ground garlic

Method:
1. In a non-stick sauce pan, fry the bacon whole till slightly brown.
2. Remove and add butter and fry the onions followed by the rest.

3. Cut the bacon to smaller pieces and add to the mix.

Eggs Mixture
200g whipping cream
5 large eggs
70g milk
300g Cheddar cheese, shredded

Assembly & bake:
1. Remove the pastry from the fridge and round out into two pan moulds.
2. Prick with a fork.
3. Divide the fillings into the two pastry pans.
4. Egg Mixture: In a separate bowl, whisk whipping cream, eggs and milk together.
5. Arrange the cheddar cheese onto the fillings.
6. Fill the pans with the eggs mixture. Make sure the vegetables are all covered.

7. Bake at 200C for 40mins.
8. Remove from the oven, and let it rest before cutting.

Three Ingredients Flourless Chocolate Cake

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After my detox and wellness programme two years back, I have cut back on my baking, in particular, normal baking that requires flour and sugar. I searched for recipes that don't require sugar or can replace with low GI sugar, or use similar flours.

I decided to surprise my sister for her birthday by baking this flourless chocolate cake, which was rich but light. This recipe is a keeper, easy to make and satisfying to the palate.

Recipe for Flourless Chocolate Cake, adapted from Gimme Some Oven.
(Makes a 8"round cake)

Ingredients:
8 Large eggs
450g Dark, semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
227g Unsalted butter
Zest of one orange (optional)

Method:

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 180°C. Line the bottom of an 8-inch pan with parchment paper.
Wrap the outside of the pan with 2 sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil and set it in a large roasting pan.
In a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, beat the eggs at high speed until the volume doubles. This usually takes about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and butter together by placing the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl, set over a pan of almost-simmering water, and stirring until melted and smooth. Add in orange zest if using.

Then fold about a third of the beaten eggs into the chocolate mixture using a large rubber spatula until only a few streaks of egg are visible. Fold in half of the remaining egg foam, and then the last half of the foam, until the mixture is totally homogenous.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula. Place the roasting pan on the oven rack and VERY carefully pour in enough boiling water to come about halfway up the sides of the pan.

Bake until the cake has risen slightly, the edges are just beginning to set, a thin-glazed crust (like a brownie) has formed on the surface, about 30-35mins.
Remove the cake pan from the water bath and set on a wire rack; cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until cool. (The cake can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.)
About 30 minutes prior to serving, carefully remove the sides of the pan, invert the cake onto a sheet of waxed paper, peel off the parchment paper, and reinvert the cake onto a serving platter. If desired, lightly dust the cake with powdered sugar and top with berries.
To slice, use a sharp, thin-bladed knife, dipping the knife into a pitcher of hot water and wiping the blade before each cut.