Passionate About Baking

Chinese New Year Goodies

2012-01-23T09:38:00.002+08:00

This year, as Chinese New Year (CNY) was just right after Christmas, I didn't have the luxury to do many bakings. Therefore, I chose to bake the ~~easier~~ better ones. These were what I baked.

Pineapple Tarts
The recipe for the crust were from Zu's Kitchen. The pineapple paste were bought from PH, our local baking supplier. This year, their "premium" pineapple paste was really good, not too sweet, moist and tasty.

Bak Kwa Cookies
I decided to try this after seeing some online. Unfortunately, there was no recipe. So I came out with my own. Recipe can be found here.

Peanut Cookies
Last year, when I tried this, it didn't turn out to be melt in the mouth. However, this year's texture was good. It was really melt in the mouth kind. The recipe was taken from Wendy's blog.

Green Tea Almond Cookies
This almond cookies is a must every year. The recipe was extracted from my professional baking school previously. This year, I decided to add green tea to the taste. I think I have over baked it a little.

Fruit Cake
I'm not a big fan of fruit cakes. However, since I started baking it some two years ago, I have started eating mine! I baked this for my in-laws and my spouse. The recipe was taken from Wen's Delight.

Kueh Lapis
Since I started making this, I've been making this every year for CNY. Sometimes, I make it into different flavours. This time, I decided to stick to the original flavour. The recipe was adapted from Do What I Like blog.

祝贺大家

新年快乐,

心想事成，

万事如意，

身体健康。

发啊！！

Bak Kwa Cookies

2012-01-15T21:59:00.001+08:00

I've read and saw many bak kwa cookies and was very tempted to try it. When Doris recommended me the pineapple tart crust from Zu's kitchen, I reckon I could use the dough, modified it and turn it into Bak Kwa Cookies. So here it is. The cookies is crispy with chewy bak kwa bits. Trust me, it gets very addictive! Be sure to control yourself!

Recipe for Bak Kwa (肉干)Cookies
Makes approximately 122 mini cookies
(fill 2 canister containers)

Ingredients:

250g SCS Salted butter, soften

70g Icing sugar

1 Whole egg

1 tsp Vanilla extract

400g Plain flour

130g Bak kwa, mini diced

Method:

Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
Add the egg and beat till well incorporated.
Add vanilla extract and mix.
Add the flour and bak kwa, and mix thoroughly.
Put the dough in a plastic bag, roll it out evenly.
Refrigerate it for at least 30mins until firm.
Use a scrapper to cut out into small sizes, and shape it accordingly.
Placed it on a baking tray, spacing out evenly.
Bake at 180C for 16-18mins, or until it turned slightly brown.

Tangy Prawn Canapés

2012-01-07T18:09:00.001+08:00

This is a simple dish to make as appetizer for your Chinese New Year (CNY) celebrations. It contains prawns (哈哈大笑), and orange (大吉大利) which is very suitable for CNY. I also added shredded lettuce to make it more colourful. You can add more ingredients like carrots or some finely chopped nuts.

I'm submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #15: Auspicious Dishes for CNY (January 2012) hosted by Wen of Wen's Delight.

Recipe for Tangy Prawn Canapés

(Serves at least 6 persons)

Ingredients:

24pcs Wanton Skin (square)

24pcs Cooked Shrimps (I used medium size prawns and had to cut them into smaller pieces. If used small shrimps, you can use the whole shrimps)

2 big lettuce leaves, shred very thinly

Tangy Sauce

200g Orange juice

2 tbsp Corn flour

2 tsp Sugar (optional)

Method:

To prepare the wanton skin. Place the wanton skin in mini muffin tray. Open up the corners.
Bake in a preheat oven of 180C for 8-10mins, or till browned and crispy.
Leave it to cool before keeping them in an air-tight container (if not used immediately. This can be prepared a day or two in advance.)
To cook the tangy sauce. Place all the ingredients in a saucepan. Stir to mix well before bringing it to a boil. Leave it to cool till tepid.
To assemble. Place some shredded lettuce in the wanton skin cup. Push them in.
Put the cooked shrimp on top, then spoon the tangy sauce into the wanton skin cup.
Served immediately and enjoy!

Chocolate Tartlets

2012-01-01T18:12:00.000+08:00

We have this group of family friends whom we usually meet up once a year, either year end, or during Chinese New Year period. This year, I volunteered to be the host. As usual, when it comes to guest that I don't meet often, I usually fall back on foods that I'm confident it will not go wrong.

For this gathering, I made Baked Bolognase Pasta, Smoked Ham Gratin, and Chocolate Tartlets. We also ordered a Turkey from the local supermarket. When my spouse collected it, we realised it was not cooked! I had to hurry through my bakings so as to roast the turkey. Fortunately, the turkey wasn't too tough!

Overall, my guests were happy with the food I served. Thank goodness! :)

Baked Bolognase Pasta

Mini Dark Chocolate Tarts

The chocolate tartlets were very nice. I used a mixture of 55% and 72% dark chocolates for the filling. As I had some leftover chocolate swiss meringue buttercream (SMB), I piped some SMB on the tartlets and it was really "sinfully" good! In fact, one of my friend preferred the tart with just SMB fillings! I like the chocolate tartlet with some SMB frosting. Try it, I'm sure you'll agree!

Recipe for Chocolate Tartlets, modified from Lust by Audrey Tan

Makes about 60 mini tarts

Tart Crusts

Ingredients:

125g Unsalted butter, soften at room temperature

40g Caster sugar

1 Egg

225g Plain flour

25g Cocoa powder

Method:

In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add egg and mix till well blended.
Sift flour and cocoa powder into the batter.
Gather them into a dough.
Flatten dough into a disc and cover with plastic cover.
Refrigerate for 30mins.
On a floured work surface, roll the dough into a 0.3cm thick sheet.
Use a round cutter to press out the dough.
Place dough into prepared tartlet tins, ensuring that dough is well pressed into sides and bottom of the tin. (I used a 12 mini muffin tray for the tarts).
Bake the crust at 180C for 12-15mins.
Let it cool completely before filling.

Chocolate Ganache

100g Dark chocolate buttons, 72% cacao

200g Dark chocolate buttons, 55% cacao

250g Whipping cream

Method:

Bring the cream to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
Add the hot cream into the chocolate and let it stand for 1 min.
Whisk until smooth.
Spoon the ganache into the tartlets.
Refrigerate till firm before consuming.

Happy new 2012 everyone! Hope we bake more tempting treats in the new year!

Christmas Tree Cookies

2011-12-25T10:41:00.001+08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!
Here's sharing a Christmas Tree Cookies with you.

I adapted the recipe for the cut out cookies from Martha Stewart's Citrus Cookie Dough and the Chocolate Cookie Dough. Chill it, and roll it out in a floured surface. The cookie dough can be quite soft at times, I had to rub in more flour. Using star cookie cutter of various sizes, cut out according to your preference. Bake it at 190C for 15-18mins depending on the size of the cookies. Place the same size cookie doughs together. Do not mix various sizes as the cooking time is different.

To Assemble:
Chocolate Ganache
Colour Dragees
Crunchy Valrhona Chocolate Pearls
Chocolate Coffee Beans
White Chocolate Shavings
Cupcake Plastic Containers

Alternate the cookies from biggest (at the bottom) to the smallest (at the top) with citrus and the chocolate.
Put some chocolate ganache on the cupcake base and place the biggest star cookie on it to stabilise it.
Sandwich the cookies together using chocolate ganache. I used dark chocolate ganache. You may use white chocolate.
Alternating the colour dragees and chocolate pearls on the tip of the stars.
Topped the last star with chocolate coffee beans (or any other toppers you can find).
Lastly, sprinkle white chocolate shavings on the X'mas tree cookies.
Wrapped it up, and give it away!

Notes:

You can use any cut out cookie recipe to create the X'mas Tree.
I'm limited by the size of my cupcake plastic container. Your X'mas tree can be as high as you like.
Toppers can be anything, including a vertical star.
The design and creation is unlimited, be creative!

I'm submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #14: Creative Christmas Bakes (Dec 2011) hosted by Hankerie.

A winner for my homemade vanilla extract

2011-12-09T15:36:00.001+08:00

Thank you to those who put in their comments, and their congratulation notes to me.

The winner* for my Homemade Vanilla Extract is:

Khim

Congratulations Khim! I shall email you and see how we can meet up for me to pass the vanilla extract to you. I hope you will like it!

*Note: I only include comments which mentioned how they intend to use the vanilla extract. I'll take the rest as a congratulation note to me. And I know most of you are happy with your own vanilla extracts. :)

Celebrating 600th Posts & A Giveaway

2011-11-24T15:49:00.000+08:00

Since I started blogging three and a half years ago, I have made many friends, learn more about baking and cooking, and formed genuine friendships. I started the blog to record my baking (and cooking) journey. I didn't think it would last that long. However, when readers and bloggers started leaving comments in my blog, I was more encouraged. Even though my blog is not popular, I'm not disheartened. I'm happy as it is. I know my objectives of being here, and I'm contented that I'm able to share my experience with others!

To celebrate my 600th post (YAY), I'm giving away my homemade vanilla extract (double YAY!!) Those of you who have made their own vanilla extract will definitely agree with me that after using it, you'll NEVER use any vanilla essence again, NEVER! Homemade vanilla extract can be kept for a long time, aging it made it even more intense too!

This is how you can get yourself a chance to win this homemade vanilla extract (approx. 20ml).

Leave a comment and your email address in my post and tell me how do you intend to use it if you win.
Only one chance per person regardless of entries.
I'll use a random number organiser to pick the winner.
Closing date for the comments : 9 December 2011.
Applicable for Singapore residents only.
I will meet you to pass you the vanilla extract at our convenience. However, self-collection is much welcome. :)

Once again, thank you very much, my friends, my blogger friends and my readers, for your past support and encouragement. Passionate About Baking is very happy to share more baking and cooking experience with you!

Happy holidays!

Pilaf Rice

2011-11-24T08:41:00.001+08:00

"Pilaf (or pilau) is a dish in which rice is cooked in a seasoned broth." - Wikipedia

There are many variations of pilaf rice, some cooked in the wok, some cooked in rice cooker, while others baked them. Wanting to try out something new with rice, I decided to cook mine in the oven.

It was one of those rare days when my house was in a total mess due to re-painting works. My helper was busy clearing, cleaning and packing the stuff. So as a good employer (ahem!) I decided to prepare dinner instead.

And so, I decided to make Pilaf Rice. Unfortunately, I didn't stir them to the right stage and some of the rice was not totally cooked. Fortunately, the taste was not too bad. No complaints received from the diners though. I shall try it again, it's not too difficult and the mixture of the nuts and raisins gave it a good mix of texture!

Recipe for Pilaf Rice, modified from Cooking-Ez.com
(Makes for 6 people)

Ingredients:
1 large Onion, chopped
2 cups Rice
2 1/2 cups Chicken stock
2 tbsp Olive oil
Some salt
Some pepper
Some paprika
50g Raisins
50g Cashew nuts, coarsely chopped

Method:

In a large saucepan, put in the olive oil over moderate heat. When the oil is hot, add the chopped onion, mix well. Add in salt, pepper and paprika and stir well.

Add in the rice all at once and stir continuously until the rice turned translucent.That will take about 5 minutes or more.

Then transfer them to a baking dish.

Add chicken stock in one go and mix thoroughly.

Add in the cashew nuts and raisins on top.
Cover with a lid or aluminium foil, and put into the preheat oven of 190C for 30 minutes or until cooked.

Serve hot with vegetables or fish or meat of your choice.

Before I end, here's the before and after of my living room.

Homemade Goodness at Bloggers' Gathering

2011-11-20T09:12:00.001+08:00

Zhuoyuan initiated this gathering and I wasted no time in agreeing. Very often, we view and comment on each other's posts, share ideas or opinions offline, but seldom get a chance to meet up. Therefore, this is a good opportunity to meet my blogger friends and catch up on the bakes and buys and what's nots!

This time round, Eelin was our wonderful host. It seemed like with each gathering, the standard gets higher and higher! It was a brilliant idea to tag our foods so that we don't have to repeat ourselves to everyone else! And better still, I don't have to tag them in my blog post too!

In such a conducive environment, with wonderful homemade foods and great company, I was totally relaxed and stuffed. Thanks again to my blogger friends for a wonderful afternoon!

Here comes the buffet spread.

Host - Eelin

Initiator - Zhuoyuan

And mine.

Beautiful lunch set up, like a real buffet table.

You can find my Roti John recipe here, however, for this time, I added grated cheddar and mozzarella cheese. The recipe for Oriental Salad is here. I hope my friends like my food. :)

Chocolate Cupcakes

2011-11-13T20:41:00.001+08:00

I've made chocolate cupcakes at least twice this month. Since I didn't have a chance to frost it, I've decided not to post them up. My sister loves her cupcakes to be frosted with buttercreams. Therefore, to make her happy, I finally have the time to make frosted cupcakes for her. It was her favourite - chocolate cupcakes with chocolate swiss meringue buttercream.

Recipe for Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Cupcake recipe modified from "Rose's Heavenly Cakes".

(Makes 16 regular cupcakes)

Ingredients:

42g Cocoa Powder (alkalised)

118g Boiling water

2 Large eggs (approx. 100g)

44g Whole milk

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

166g Top flour (or cake flour)

110g Caster sugar

2 tsp Baking powder

1/8 tsp Baking soda

1/2 tsp Fine salt

170g Unsalted butter, soften

Method:

In a medium bowl, whisk the cocoa and boiling water until smooth.
Let it cook to room temperature, about 30mins.
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, milk and the vanilla just until lightly combined.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, mix the sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt on low speed for 30 secs.
Add the butter and chocolate mixture and mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened.
Raise the speed to medium and beat for 1 1/2 mins. Scape down the sides of the bowl regularly.
Starting on medium low speed, gradually add the egg mixture in two parts, beating on medium speed for 30 secs after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Scoop the batter into the prepared paper cupcakes.
Bake in a preheated oven of 180C for 15 mins or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream, modified from Batter Baker and Baking Library.

Ingredients:

2 Egg whites

80g Caster sugar

150g Unsalted butter, soft but still cold

25g Cocoa powder

Method:

Whisk the egg whites and sugar over a double boiler until sugar has dissolved.
Remove from heat and whisk continuously until it's cooled and the peaks are stiff and glossy.
Add the butter in 3 batches, ensuring that it is well incorporated before adding another batch.
Continue beating until it becomes creamy and fluffy.
Lastly, sift in the cocoa powder and continue beating until the buttercream is uniformly smooth and chocky.

Pipe the buttercream on the cooled cupcake and topped it with Chocolate Maltese balls.

I'm submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #13 - Enjoy Cupcakes! (November 2011) hosted by Min of Min's blog.

Povitica Buns

2011-11-07T14:35:00.002+08:00

I was memerised by the Povitica from Wilde in the Kitchen! The swirls from the loaf looked so pretty! I googled for Povitica and found this in Wikipedia:

"The povitica, a traditional Croatian and Slovenian pastry, is made from buttery pastry dough rolled into very thin layers and covered with a layer of brown sugar, spices, and walnuts."

Doesn't that sounds nice? When I looked at the recipe, the ingredients looked very similar for cinnamon rolls too! I don't mind having cinnamon rolls everyday! However, what I did differently was that I didn't baked it as a loaf, even though I would like to. I divided the dough and baked them separately as buns to giveaway.

The buns turned out to be soft and delicious. The ground walnuts dominated the paste. It will be better if more cinnamon powder or chocolate powder were added to enhance the flavour. The sweetness was just right for me. The paste really compliment the softness of the bread well. I will definitely try this again... Next time, I'll bake them in loaves as I would love to see the swirls they create!

Recipe for Povitica, modified slightly from Wilde in the Kitchen.
(Makes 20 buns or 2 loaves)

Ingredients:
(A)
1 tsp Fine sugar
1/2 tsp Plain flour
4 tsp warm water
3 tsp Instant yeast

(B)
256g Whole milk
88g Fine sugar
1 1/2 tsp Fine salt
2 Eggs, large
30g Unsalted butter, melted
287g Bread flour
275g Plain flour

(C)
250g Walnuts, measure first, then grind in a food processor
70g Whole milk
80g Unsalted butter, melted
2 Egg yolks
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
120g Fine sugar
1/2 tsp Cocoa powder
1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder

Method:

In a small bowl, mix together the (A) ingredients and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 5 minutes. Make sure that your mixture is frothy.
In a small saucepan, heat milk to 80C, remove from the heat and allow to cool to 43C. (I didn't use a thermometer, I just go by the feel.)
In a large bowl, mix warm milk from #2 above, sugar and salt from (B) until dissolved.
Add egg, yeast mixture, melted butter and 1/2 cup flour.
Add the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough comes together. Use a k-beater to do the mixing.
Switch to the dough hook, and knead until smooth.
Coat a bowl with cooking oil and add dough, roll the dough around to coat in oil.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise for an hour, or until doubled in size.
Just before the dough is doubled, grind the walnuts from (C) in a food processor and add the remaining ingredients.
Mix all the ingredients from C together. You'll get a thick but spreadable mixture.
Spread flour on your worktop. Add the bread dough, and divide into two portions. Let it rest for 10mins.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough thinly into a rectangular shape.
Add the prepared topping and spread it thoroughly to cover the entire dough.
Then gently lift up the dough and rolled it tightly towards you.
Fold it in half and twist it. Then cut it evenly and place it in paper cup. (This step can be very messy. Might become difficult to manage. Skip the twist and just cut it and place it in a paper cup.)
Do the same for the other dough.
Let it proof for another 45mins.
Brush them with milk.
Bake it in a preheat oven at 180C for 14mins. (If baking loaves, bake it for 15mins at 180C, then continue baking at 150C for 30-45mins. Cover the bread with foil after 30mins to prevent being burnt.)

Don't ask me how I got those patterns. They were the result of the messy twists and turns!

Cinnamon Rolls

2011-11-06T08:12:00.003+08:00

Over the past few weeks, I've seen so many bloggers baking the no-knead cinnamon rolls. It really tempted me to try this. There were so many good reviews about this recipe and the rolls.

Being a cinnamon roll lover, I attempted this recipe. Even though the rolls turned out to be really soft and good, the handling of the dough was rather messy. I also thought it wasn't easy to add walnuts to it. I love my cinnamon rolls loaded with walnuts too! Therefore, I squeezed some miserable walnut bits to the rolled dough. Quite ~~unsightly~~ uneven as you can see.

Overall, this recipe is definitely good though. I might attempt this again, only if I want my cinnamon rolls without walnuts! :p

Coconut Cupcakes

2011-10-30T10:39:00.001+08:00

I have been wanting to bake this coconut cupcakes for the longest time! I have bought the coconut powder and left it in the cupboard...awaiting to use it. The right time came when my sister gave me some organic coconut oil. I thought using coconut oil to bake coconut cupcakes will truly enhance the coconut taste.

This cupcake truly lives up to its name! It was very soft and moist. The coconut oil did bring out the fragrant coconut smell and it was really nice, especially when it was warm! The sweetness was just perfect! Coconut lovers must really try this cupcake, I'm sure you will be sold!

Recipe for Coconut Cupcakes, modified from Bakericious.
(Makes 30 regular cupcakes)

Ingredients:
200g butter (soften)
100g caster sugar
4 eggs
6 tbsp milk
200g cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
50g coconut powder (1 packet)
1 tsp Coconut oil
Some coconut flakes to top the cake

Method :

1. Using a whisk, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add in egg, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
4. Add in milk and mix well. Add in coconut oil and incorporate.
5. Add in sifted flour and coconut powder, mix well.
6. Scope the batter into the cupcake case, topped with some coconut flakes on top.
7. Bake in pre-heated oven at 190C for 15 mins.

After note: I realised that the coconut taste wasn't too prominent after one day. I will add more coconut oil and upped the coconut powder to the original 100g to give it more omph! However, the cupcake did have a very fragrant buttery taste.

Black Gold Pizza

2011-10-28T08:14:00.001+08:00

[Backdated to early Sep.] During one of my off days, I decided to make pizza for our dinner. Wanting to make something special, I tried the black gold pizza from "Pockets of Happiness" by Chef Judy, owner of Creative Culinaire. The pizza turns out to be soft and nice. There was a slight hint of charcoal taste on the palate after eating. Nice for a change.

Recipe for Black Gold Pizzas, modified from "Pockets of Happiness" by Judy Koh.
Makes two 9" Pizzas

Ingredients:
190g Plain flour
60g Bread flour
50g Wholemeal flour
8g Charcoal powder
4g Instant yeast
4g Sea salt
4g Fine sugar
180g Water
20g Olive oil

For topping: (you may add anything you like)
2 tbsp Olive oil
2 tbsp mayonnaise
20 slices of Cheddar cheese (half should suffice. My children like it cheesy!)
1 punnet Cherry tomatoes, sliced half
1 punnet White button mushrooms (using this will cause the pizza to be watery. Avoid this if you like it dry and cheesy. Mine turned creamy, but we liked it! :p)
Some fresh dills

Method:

Knead all the ingredients for the dough together in a mixer till a smooth and developed dough is formed.
Round the dough, cover and allow it to ferment for about 1 hour before punching the dough down and stretching it to fit into a 9" pizza pan.
Brush the surface with olive oil, spread the mayonnaise on it and arrange the cheese, tomatoes and mushrooms nicely.
Topped them up with the remaining cheese.
Proof for another 15mins before baking in a preheated oven at 200C for about 15mins or until cooked.

New York Part 3 - New York City

2011-10-26T13:31:00.000+08:00

Final leg of our trip was New York City (NYC). Half of our NY trip was spent in this beautiful city. Even though it has rows and rows of buildings, each building has its own unique structure. The city has a mixture of new and old buildings too! At every turn of a corner, there seems to have a construction going on. It seems that the city is never free from constructions!

We spent most of the time going for sight-seeing. There were just too many places, but too little time. Commuting from one place to another wasn't difficult at all! New Yorkers are generally quite friendly. Even though I didn't have a physical map with me, I was able to move from one place to another by asking directions. The Metro subway lines can be very confusing, but very comprehensive and convenient. On the last day when my spouse was supposed to take a domestic flight for his business trip, he took the wrong train and missed his flight!

When you're in New York City, don't forget to book a day trip to Woodbury Premium Outlet where they sell premium brands at a discount. Brands like Kate Spade, Coach, Kenneth Cole, Nike, Nine West, Osh Gosh etc are good American brand buys. Actually, one full day for us wasn't enough! I covered barely 50% of the shops!

We stayed in Hampton Inn Madison Square. It was one of the cheaper accommodation I found in NYC. You know how expensive it is to live in cities like this. So you can expect the room to be very small, but comfortable.

These were the places we covered - Empire State Observatory, Cruise to view Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller, Woodbury Premium Outlet, Charging Bull, 9/11 Memorial, Wall Street, Times Square and Grand Central Terminal. Of course, more shopping in Macy's and JC Penny.

I would love to go back there again...some day. However, before I do, I'll have to be well prepared mentally and physically to go through at least 20hours of flight time and transit.

Overcast in New York City

9/11 Memorial

Memorial Pool

Original lower level structure of the previous World Trade Center

Hampton Inn Madison Square Hotel

Our hotel room

Hampton Inn in-house cafe - whole day beverages available

Woodbury Premium Outlet

Empire State Building

View from 86th floor Empire State Observatory - Lower Manhattan

View from 86th floor Empire State Observatory - Statue of Liberty

View from 86th floor Empire State Observatory - Central Park

View from 86th floor Empire State Observatory - Chrysler Building

View from 86th floor Empire State Observatory - United Nation Headquarters

View from 86th floor Empire State Observatory - zoomed to street level

View from 86th floor Empire State Observatory - upclose with Chrysler Building

View from 86th floor Empire State Observatory - Panoramic view

Times Square

Bubba Gump Restaurant

Circle Line cruise

Cruise to view Statue of Liberty

Brooklyn Bridge

Rockefeller Center

Lego Shop

Europa Cafe

Famous Fifth Ave

Chrylser Building at night

NYPD cars around Times Square. Stand by for "Occupy Wall Street" march at Times Square.

Times Square Subway

Subway train

Charging Bull

Wall Street

New York Stock Exchange

Grand Central Terminal

Famous Dave's BBQ

M&M's boutique - 3 storey high

Hershey's shop

Martinique Cafe

Empire State Building

New York Part 2 - Niagara Falls

2011-10-23T15:20:00.002+08:00

Second part of the trip was Niagara Falls. We took a flight from JFK airport to Buffalo, which is in New York state. From there, we engaged a private transport to bring us over to Ontario, Canadian side of Niagara Falls. We were given the highest floor in Embassy Suites which overlooked the Horseshoe Falls. The view was simply gorgeous! And the room was simply exhilarating!

The tour to the "Journey behind the Falls" and the "Maid of the Mist" were truly unforgettable! You can really feel the the thunderous and fury of the falls. This was truly an experience of a lifetime!

JetBlue over Manhattan skyline.

Mist from the falls seen from afar.

Niagara Falls, New York.

Embassy Suite bedroom - 2 king beds.

Embassy Suite - jacuzzi pool in the bathroom.

View of Horseshoe Falls from 42nd hotel room.

American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls.

Horseshoe Falls illuminiated at night.

Horseshoe Falls at dawn.

Horseshoe Falls from 9th floor The Keg restaurant.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Horseshoe Falls.

Journey through the falls.

Viewing portal.

Tunnel to the portal.

Fast rapid waters.

Horseshoe Falls.

Embassy Suites Hotel.

Whirlpool Rapids.

Floral Clock.

Butterfly Conservatory.

Maid of the Mist ride.

Getting real close to the mist, and getting wet.

American Falls.

Manager's reception at the hotel. Free flow of drinks and snacks.

Chocolate fudges.

Along Clifton Hill street.

At daybreak.

American Falls.

Fast and furious Horseshoe Falls.

Click here to hear the thunderous roar of the water falls!

Journey through the falls.

Next up, New York City. Sight-seeing, eat and shop!

New York Part 1 - Washington DC

2011-10-21T15:57:00.002+08:00

I'm back ~~unwillingly~~!! Almost immediately after my son's PSLE, my hubby, my eldest son and I flew off to New York. Why New York? Because my hubby was to transit there for a business trip sometime in mid-Oct. So I thought we might as well make use of this opportunity (to save on his airfare) to visit the lovely place.

It was more like an incentive trip for both my son and I...actually more for me! Heehee... I did most of the planning for the whole trip, occasionally asking my hubby for his opinion and also checking with NEL and Kokken69 for more information. Thanks ladies!

We started our trip in Washington DC, then Niagara Falls and back to New York City. Here's the first part of our trip-Washington, District of Columbia.

Bolt Bus from New York City (NYC) to Washington DC.

Our hotel - Embassy Row Hotel along Massachusetts Ave.

Outside Union Station.

Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

(Don't know what) Memorial

Washington Memorial.

Road towards Arlington National Cemetery.

Rows and rows of tombstones for their servicemen.

JFK's Eternal Flame.

One of the tombstone for Space Shuttle Columbia astronauts.

Pentagon from afar.

White House

Capitol Hill

Escalator to Dupont Circle Metro

Washington DC is full of ancient traditional buildings. Many of the buildings are like the Bureau with pillars. It's full of history, stories and memorials. There are a lot of (free) museums in the city. It's not enough to cover for a day.

In terms of eateries, there wasn't many along the places which we cover. However, near to our hotel, around Dupont Circle area, there are quite a number of eateries, and a nice mini park.

Stay tuned for my next part - Niagara Falls.

PSLE is finally over!

2011-10-05T16:08:00.001+08:00

After mugging extra hard for the past few ~~months~~ days, I'm so glad PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) is finally over! Since my son didn't take Higher Chinese, he enjoyed his "off day" today! It was truly a cause for celebration! Thank you to all my (blogger) friends who has sent your well wishes to us him!

My son and I had been waiting for this day. It also meant that my part-time work schedule has come to an end! For the past six months when I was working part-time, I enjoyed my day off very much. Mornings were spent baking, whereas afternoons were spent on coaching my son. Despite getting scolded by me often, he was very appreciate of me taking part time to coach him, and preparing him for the exams. He thanked me numerous times for teaching him. It just showed that he has really grown up, become more sensible and matured now.

For those who has gone through PSLE with their child(ren), would have known the standard of our PSLE. It was truly a struggle for both of us. Through this experience, I have learnt my lesson. I have to start preparing my twins for their PSLE!! I'd rather be the usual kiasu parent now, then to regret not coaching them well for their PSLE!

After working hard for the past few months, it's time to rest & relax! We'll be going for our well-deserved holiday end of this week, just the three of us! Hope to catch up on my baking again after I return! My hands are "itchy" already!

Here's a sneak preview of where I'll be heading... Till then, see you again when I'm back!

Here's wishing our young generation

A Happy Children's Day!

A Bloggers' Preview - McDonald's Open Doors Kitchen Tour

2011-09-11T10:49:00.001+08:00

I was invited by omy, together with 19 other bloggers to tour McDonald's kitchen at King Albert Park. Extracted from McDonald's Open Door Media Release dated 10 September 2011.

"Knownas McDonald’s Open Doors, this annual global initiative is back forthe third year in Singapore. In Singapore, 5,000 customers have alsoparticipated in Open Doors since 2009. A free guided kitchen tour atselect McDonald’s restaurants, participants will learn aboutMcDonald’s food from “farm to fork” including:

how raw ingredients are sourced from a global supply chain with world-class standards for quality, value and sustainability;
how food is prepared and served to customers hot and fresh with our revolutionary “Made-For-You” kitchen system;
how we keep our world-famous fries crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside and packed;
the ingredients that go into their favourite McDonald’s foods such as 100% beef, whole-muscle chicken and ocean-caught white fish; and
the numerous safety and quality checks in our restaurant kitchens.

Thisyear’s Open Doors in Singapore will see 300 sessions of kitchentours, conducted between 18 September 2011 to 19 February 2012, at 25McDonald’s restaurants island-wide. About 3,000 people are expectedto participate. The kitchen tours will take place every 3^rdSunday of the month. Members of the public can now register online atwww.mcdonalds.com.sg/opendoors."

Without further ado, let me give you a preview of what is behind the scenes of the world famous yellow arcs.

Our Open Doors Ambassador - Linda

We started with a tour to their storeroom. It was huge and spacious and well organised. The heavier foods are placed in the lower racks and the lighter packagings are placed in the higher racks. They also leave gaps between the shelves and wall to allow air flow.

King Albert Park's dry storeroom

Ting, our group host, showing us the storeroom. Can you guess what is in the black bottles at the bottom of the rack?

Can you recognise which buns for which burger?

Next, we moved on to the chiller and freezer section where all the meat patties, fries and other dairy products are kept respectively.

Then we went to the crew resting area, where we saw a few crew resting and having their (McDonald's) meals! There was a LCD television which played their training videos. In the crew resting area, there were noticeboards which displays the latest promotions, staff memos, and other information.

We were brought to the front counter to see how they organise themselves. In a team of two, one takes orders, and the other is a runner where he/she will bring the prepared food to the counter.

Now you know where they got all those sauces when you request for them!

The kitchen tour is the most important and interesting. They are very systematic and organised. The frying section are in one section, separating them from the assembling of the burgers. I was pleasantly surprised that the kitchen was very clean and spacious! I used to think there are many crews working in the kitchen, producing the food for us. However, I realised that it was actually lean and mean for the kitchen crews. Many automation were deployed in the kitchen.

Fries dispensing machine. From the freezer to the fryer to the counter

Frying of nuggets and apple pies

Don't you just love the blisters??

Sauces, colourful boxes for packaging and "special order" stickers

In the assembling of the burgers, there will be an initiator who upon reading from the screen for new orders, will start the process by toasting the buns. After that, it was passed on to the next crew who will topped the buns with salads and sauces. The following person will placed the warm patties on the buns, wrapped it up and placed on the counter to be served. In this station, I noticed that there are only three crews. One of the crew will also cook the meat patties when they run out of them!

The initiator started the process by toasting the buns after she reads from the screen for new orders.

Instructions on the bun-toasting machine. Next time, we can check our buns for this consistency!

The second person in the process, he topped up the buns with sauces and vegetables

The last person, who placed the meat patties on the bun and finished the workflow for the burger

Warmer for the meats. Once the green lights go off, it means the meat has "expired". On the left side, the different coloured tongs are used for picking different meat - blue for fish, green for chicken and red for beef patties!

The griller where the meat patties are cooked. Fully automated

Other facts which might interest you:

The kitchen floor is cleaned at least every hour to keep them greasefree.
Crews have to wash their hands every 15mins.
When handling raw and cooked food, different gloves have to be used. Blue glove for raw food, and transparent glove for cooked food.
100% vegetable oil is used to cook their famous fries. They filter the oil everyday. The oil is changed at least four times a week.
The food is now made-to-order. Only after you order, they will assemble the burger for you. Therefore, you can always ask for more lettuce, more pickles in your food!

After the tour, we were given a big treat! It was like a mini Mc-buffet. As we eat, we also mingle with other bloggers. It was a wonderful session!

Special thanks to these two wonderful staff who served us endlessly

Our communication package, which include three free treats

I asked for water, and they served me Evian! Isn't that wonderful?

Warm buttery corns in a cup

Spicy drumlets and nuggets - drumlet is not too spicy, crispy and oily

Cheese McShaker Fries - cheddar cheese powder gives a different taste to the fries

Cinnamon melts - Ooh! This is to die-for. First time I tried it and I really love it! Hot mini buns soaked in cinnamon caramel sauce

Holicks Mcfluffy - New item on the menu. Holicks were a bit sweet. Overall, the crunchy bits made it a wonderful experience!

Many thanks to Janet from omy, and Kevin from McDonald's for the insightful and tasty invitation! I'll definitely be back for more!

Are you lovin' it yet? I'm lovin' it!

The Final Lap

2011-09-04T08:54:00.001+08:00

This is the final lap that my eldest son will be going through. I'll be coaching and giving him all the support that he needs. Afterall, that was the reason why I had to work part-time just so that he gets the moral and physical support that he needs.

Therefore, I will not be putting up any blog post from now until after his PSLE "war". Once a while, I'll still take a peep at those wonderful bakes from those talented bloggers. I'll leave you with the bakes that I had done last month...

Till then,
happy baking,
happy school holidays
and happy mid-autumn festival!
And wishing all those taking PSLE, all the very very BEST!

Homemade Orange Extract

2011-08-28T21:08:00.000+08:00

Naturally when you make your own Lemon Extract, you will have make... Orange Extract too!

Recipe for Orange Extract

Ingredients:
2 large oranges (yield 13g zests)
90g (Absolut) Vodka

Method:

Prepare a clean small bottle with cork stopper.
Zest the organge well.
Put the zest into the clean bottle.
Pour the vodka into the bottle. Make sure that all the zest are submerged in vodka.
Store for at least 1 week before using.

Don't tell me you're still hesitating...

I am experimenting another extract. If it's successful, I'll share with you... Meanwhile, stay tuned.

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

2011-08-26T13:50:00.003+08:00

When blueberries go on sale, what do bakers do? Buy them in abundance, then decide what to bake with them! Hahaha... This was what I did last weekend.

Besides baking blueberry chiffon cake, I also baked Blueberry Lemon Muffins.

Recipe for Blueberry Lemon Muffins, modified from "500 Cupcakes & Muffins" by Fergal Connolly.
Makes 12 regular muffins

Ingredients:
115g Unsalted butter, softened
95g Caster sugar
265g Plain flour
1 tbsp Baking powder
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
225g Whole milk
1 tsp Lemon Extract
125g Fresh blueberries

Method:

In a mixing bowl fitted with K-beater, beat butter with sugar.
Add eggs one at time, mix till incorporated.
Add lemon extract. Mix well.
Add sifted flour and baking powder, alternate with milk, ending with flour.
Fold in fresh blueberries.
Spoon them into prepared cupcake papers.
Bake at 180C for 22mins, or until golden brown.
Remove muffins from the tray and served hot.
Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Note:

I used my homemade lemon extract and found that the lemon smell wasn't too prominent. I will add 2 tsps in future.
I also found that one punnet of blueberries was not enough. Two punnets should be nice. Unless you don't mind the buttery muffin taste, then you can safely use one punnet. :)

Homemade Lemon Extract

2011-08-22T19:54:00.000+08:00

I'm hooked. Hooked on making my own extracts! Since I first made my Madagascar Vanilla Extract, I've been making them on and off, trying to use up my vanilla beans! I have enough Vanilla Extract to last me a lifetime!! I still have some vanilla beans in my freezer, keeping them well ~~and secretly~~.

Using the same method as I made my vanilla extracts, I made a small bottle of lemon extract.

Recipe for Lemon Extract

Ingredients:
3 Lemons
90g (Absolut) Vodka

Method:

Prepare a clean small bottle with cork stopper.
Zest the lemons well.
Put the zest into the clean bottle.
Pour the vodka into the bottle. Make sure that all the zest are submerged in vodka.
Store for at least 2 weeks before using.

You may refer to another recipe here.

So are you convinced of making your own extract now?

Heritage Food Trail - Hokkien Alkaline Rice Cake

2011-08-20T14:55:00.005+08:00

When Edith first mentioned about Heritage Food Trail, I thought it was a good idea to learn more about my heritage foods. By the way, I'm a true blue Hokkien. However, I only know how to eat and don't really know how to make my own dialect foods.

As far as I know, both sides of my grandparents came from China. The Hokkien group which I belong to is known as "Ang Kui". Both of my parents are of Hokkien heritage too! When I married my husband, I learnt from my parents in law that they belonged to this same group too! However, when it comes to speaking Hokkien, I'm not as proficient as my husband. Many times, when my parents-in-laws and my spouse spoke Hokkien, I'll give them a blank look!

When I was younger, my parents spoke to us in Hokkien and Mandarin. Therefore, I didn't get to learn Hokkien dialect as much as I have to. It was just enough to converse with them and the elderly.

Hokkien dialect has a wide variety of foods, ranging from the most popular Hokkien Mee, Lor Mee, Prawn Rolls to Ang Ku Kuehs. As I didn't have the time to prepare these delicious Hokkien dishes, I decided on making Hokkien Alkaline Rice Cake instead.

I will be submitting this to Precious Moments' Heritage Food Trail.

Recipe for Hokkien Alkaline Rice Cake, extracted from "Delightful Snacks & Dim Sum" by Agnes Chang.
Makes a 9" pan.

Ingredients:
300g Rice flour
2 tbsp Corn flour
1200ml Water
1 tsp Alkaline Water
1 tsp Salt
2 tbsp Oil

Method:

Mix rice flour, corn flour and water together in a saucepan. Stir well to mix.
Add alkaline water, salt and oil. Stir well.
Cook over medium heat until half cooked.
Pour the batter into a greased 9" round steaming tray (or cake pan).
Steam on high heat for about 45mins until cooked.
Leave to cool completely before serving.
Best to serve with stewed meat gravy. Or served with any other salty sauce.

Note:

For step #1 above, you may strained the mixture if you like. I strained and found that the step was unnecessary.
The rice cake is very soft when it's cooked. After it has cooled down, it will become tougher. So do not over-steamed, 45mins will be more than enough.
The rice cake on its own taste terrible! It must be eaten with savoury gravy. I had mine with the "Yong Tau Foo" brown sauce and HK "chilli oil" and it was very tasty.
You can served this chilled alkaline rice cake with gula melaka syrup as a nice sweet temptation.

Do join us for this Heritage Food Trail. I hope to learn more about other dialect groups and races too!

Durian Tarts

2011-08-19T11:07:00.000+08:00

With the leftover puff pastries after making the Portuguese egg tarts, and the leftover durian fillings from the durian puffs I made for the bloggers POP, I decided to do a combination of both! I knew that if I did not use them up quickly, I'll probably keep them until they turned mouldy!

I must admit that the initial durian fillings baking in the oven really stink the kitchen! However, after a while, when the puff pastry started baking, the nice aroma filled the kitchen instead. Ummph...

The verdict? The durian filling tasted really good in the puff pastry crust! The durian fillings were still soft and moist. In fact, it's even better than the egg tarts!

My durian fillings were made for the durian puffs previously. Through my previous experience of making durian fillings, I realised that the most ideal ratio will be 5:1 durian to whipping cream. Measure the whipping cream before whipping. Having this ratio means you get to taste more of the durian pulps, at the same time, the whipped cream makes it creamy. Previously, I used to add honey to the fillings too. However, I found that keeping the real and original taste of the good durians were very important.

These were the durian puffs which I made for my dad's party two weeks ago. There were 160 mini puffs in all! They were "sold out" within minutes after I brought them out!

Portuguese Egg Tarts for POP

2011-08-16T15:47:00.001+08:00

This is my second attempt at making Portuguese Egg Tarts. If it were not for some requests by my blogger friends for our bloggers POP, I don't think I will make this so soon. :) The reason was because much efforts were required to make the puff pastry, and I'm not very good at making them!

Anyway, I was glad I made them again and my friends gave good comments too!

I'll be submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #10: Easy as Pie (August 2011), hosted by Janine of Not the Kitchen Sink.

The recipe can be found here.

At Singapore Flyer

2011-08-15T08:20:00.000+08:00

My dear father helped me to get some Singapore Flyer tickets at some corporate rates. So I decided to bring my children and my parents-in-law to Singapore Flyer since they have never been before. I've been there once about three years ago for my organisation's function. The young and the old alike, enjoyed the ride very much. As for me, I was busy snapping pictures away!

After the ride, we explored the surrounding in vicinity before adjourning for our dinner. I brought my parents in law to Orchard Central to take the long escalator ride up to the 11^th floor. It was quite an experience for them. My children felt that it was fun to take the rides, they enjoyed it too!

Actually the purpose for bringing them to Orchard Central was to go for the dinner at Tung Lok Seafood. I love their food very much, especially their salted fried salmon skins. As the children were hungry, I ordered two plates of the fried salmon for them, and in no time, the plates were empty!

These were the foods we ordered.

After dinner, we proceeded to their roof top garden. We took some pictures before going home. I'm glad that my parents in law and children enjoyed the ride and the dinner.

A Pig Out Party (POP)

2011-08-14T10:44:00.002+08:00

Few months back, Eelin and myself discussed about having a bloggers' party again. It was quite a while back since we had our last gathering. It is always fun having all the food bloggers meet up, baking and cooking, and finally enjoying the wonderful homemade food, plus chit-chatting. I always look forward to meeting up with my blogger friends as I learn from them on the hows, dos and don'ts of baking and cooking!

Jo has gracefully allowed us to her beautiful abode as the gathering venue. We usually prefer our gatherings to be at some lovely home as it'll be more conducive, and allowed us to laugh and mingle without restrictions. With the confirmation of the venue, the guests and the food, let the party begin!

Esther's Tau Suan

Edith's Chwee Kueh

Jess' Madeleines and Chocolate Friands

Doris' Green Tea Almond Blondies and Chocolate Cake

Jo's Malaysian Fried Fritters

Bee Bee's Hawaiian Pizza

Cathy's Red Velvet Cakes

Zhuoyuan's Salsa with Taco chips and Devil's Cake

Eelin's Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce

Grace's Potato Tuna. Check out her Bailey's ice cream too!

And from my kitchen, durian puffs and Portuguese egg tarts!

I want to thank Eelin for initiating this, and all my blogger friends for being so supportive! It's good to catch up with "old" blogger friends, and to get to know new faces too! When it comes to food, nobody knows better than the food bloggers! :)

D Day...Durians and Dining

2011-08-09T08:58:00.004+08:00

We had previously wanted to dine out on 6 Aug, which was quite rare as we usually dine in my mum's place. However, I suggested to my sisters to go JB for durians instead. After much discussions and arrangements, the date, the venue and the programme were confirmed!

So, on 6 Aug early morning, a group of 13 of us, in two MPVs, headed to JB, to Dad's friend's place for durians. Dad's friend, Ah Tee, was very kind to wait for us after the Tua's Checkpoint and lead us to his house.

At his place, the durians were already waiting for us. He had bought Mao Shan Wang (MSW), D101 and D13 durians for us the day before. He told us that the durian season was coming to an end, therefore, he could only get us these durians. Ah Tee used to be a durian seller in Singapore. Even though he doesn't sell durians now, he has friends who has durian plantation in Johor. As he pried the durians for us, he shared about his durian experience with us.

A few tips we learned from him about durians:

Durians are best eaten in the day, latest by noon. This is because the sugar content in durian is very high. It needs time to be digested. Eating at night do not allow sufficient time for the durian sugars to be digested.
Durians are not suitable for those with high blood pressure and diabetic. Refer to #1. Eat with lots of moderation required.
The commercial durians have been added fertilisers, which are no good for us. The durians that Malaysians like are "Zhu Jiao" (I don't know if he meant "Pig" 猪 zhu or "Bamboo" 竹 zhu). He mentioned that MSW has a lot of fertilsers.
One of the best durians are actually "shan ba" durians. "Shan ba" 山把 means kampong.
Do not place durians directly on the floor if you do not intend to eat it immediately. The humility of the floor will cause the durians to crack, and make the durians watery. Best to place them either in a plastic bag, or in a carton box like what he did, at least a layer between the floor and durians. Also, he used rubber bands to tie up the base of the durians to prevent them from cracking up.
You can recognise durians' season end when you see small durians instead of huge ones. He called it "liu lian wei" (榴莲尾) durians.

No wonder I've been putting on weight lately, because I've been eating durians at night! Now I know!

After our durian feast at his place, he brought us to "Restoran Kah Kah Loke" for some bittergourd soup. Frankly, I don't really like the dishes. :p The porks served there tasted very porky, which is totally out of my diet! Hahaha... Therefore, I didn't eat much.

After lunch, he left us to go for our shopping at Aeon Tebrau City. Luckily for that, otherwise we would have imposed on him for the whole day! Since I've been to Tebrau almost monthly, we didn't really bother to shop. We ended up in Lavender cafe, spending a leisure afternoon having tea and snacks. I call this pure pleasure! Spending time with my family, drinking tea/coffee, having snacks, and building bonds!

Clockwise from top left: Blueberry cheese cake RM6.00, Seaweed Tuna Spicy Chicken RM3.50, 2C RM2.50, Mascarpone Cheese Mango RM5.80, Almond Peanut Roll RM2.50 and Tiramisu Cake RM5.80.

After our afternoon tea, we proceeded to go to the last stop, grocery shopping before heading back to Ah Tee's place in late afternoon. He brought his family of four, and us to "Yi Jia Restoran" for a good seafood dinner. Ah, this is what I like to have in JB! As we were not familiar in JB (except for Aeon Tebrau City & Aeon Bukit Indah), we didn't dare to venture out anywhere. Afterall, it's not as safe as Singapore! I find that it's always good to know a local person where ever you go. At least, you won't get cheated so easily!

I noticed that the sky was really pretty, with three distinct layers - dark clouds, clear blue sky at the background and white clouds at the foreground.

My twins were playing with their young children. My twins really like younger children!

Clockwise from top left: Yang Chou Fried Rice (big) RM12.00, Salted egg yolk crabs (1.2kg) RM72.00, Vegetable (big) RM16.00 and Shaopi Chicken (big) RM21.00.

There were many other dishes which we ordered, I didn't take pictures because I was busy eating!

Steamed fish (2 plates) RM60.00, Cheese big prawns (big) RM36.00, Fried toufu (big) RM18.50, Three-cup chicken (med) RM15.00, Honey crabs (1.2kg) RM72.00. White rice (big) RM1.00 each, 1 pot of tea RM7.00.

My personal favourite was the cheese prawns and the salted egg yolk crabs! Yummilicious!!

After a satisfying dinner, we went back to his place to pick up the remaining durians that he had bought for us. We requested that he helped to open up all the durians and packed them into containers for us. He obliged readily! Such kind person. Unbelievable, after clearing the durians, there were four big tubs of durians to bring home! After thanking Ah Tee, we left his place and finally head home. It had been a long day for all of us, we were tired but we had a FRUIT-FULL day!

Guess what, I actually brought home all the tubs of durians as my sisters didn't want them! I already have in mind what to do with those durians. Stay tuned.

Yi Jia Restoran Sdn Bhd
No. 17,19,21,23, Jalan Setia 9/17,
Taman Setia India 81100 J.Bahru
Tel: 07-3597782/012-7187782

Happy 46th National Day, my Singapore!

Apple Tart with Walnut Cream

2011-08-07T10:07:00.007+08:00

I was half relieved when my son's PSLE Prelim was over this week! I had planned the week before, to visit my dear friend, Grace. She has been so busy with her baby since February that we didn't have the chance to meet up! I was also busy with the preparation for my son's exams during this period too!

I wanted to make something nice for her. I believe she must've missed baking for a long time! After going through a few recipe books, I decided on an "Apple tart with Walnut Cream" as I found it to be very special. Coincidentally, this month's Aspiring Bakers' theme was Easy as Pie.

I'll be submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #10: Easy as Pie (August 2011), hosted by Janine of Not the Kitchen Sink.

Recipe for Apple Tart with Walnut Cream, extracted from "The Pie and Pastry Bible" by Rose Levy Beranbaum with modification.
Makes a 9" Tart

Shortcrust Pastry, extracted from "Irresistable Pastry" by Alex Goh

Ingredients:
250g Plain flour
150g Butter
2 tbsps Sugar
1 Egg yolk
40g Water

Method:

Mix the butter with the flour until crumbly.
Add in egg and sugar first. Then add in water and mix to form a dough.
Shape it into ball and press it flat.
Wrap with plastic sheet and refrigerate for 30 mins.
When ready to bake, floured a worktop, and roll out the dough to 3mm thickness.

* Note: The weight of the pastry is 480g. After using it for a 9" tart, I was left with some dough. Therefore, I made them into a few smaller tart base and kept them.

Poached Apples
3 Green apples (or any other cooking apples)
450g Water
12g Freshly squeeze lemon juice
4 Tbsps Sugar
1 Cinnamon stick

Method:

Halved and core the apples before you poach them. (Original instructions was to remove the skin, but I didn't.)
In a pan large enough to hold the apples in a single layer, combine the water, lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon stick and stir to dissolve the sugar.
Add the apples, and bring the liquid to a boil. Simmer over low heat.
Turn the apples and continue simmering for another 4 to 6 mins, or until a cake tester inserted in the thickest part of an apple enters easily.
The apples should still be slightly firm. Remove the pan from the heat and cool completely.
The apples can be used immediately, but they develop more flavour if allowed to sit in the poaching liquid for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days.
Transfer the apples and their liquid to a bowl small enough so that the apples are covered by the liquid.
Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to use.

* Note:

I used four apples, but left 2 halves. So three apples will be sufficient for a 9" tart.
The original recipe use a vanilla bean. I omit this totally.
I estimated the water, as long as the apples can lay out nicely in a single layer, half covered, it's alright.
Do not overcook the apples, otherwise, it won't be crunchy.
I made a day before and kept it in the fridge for at least 24hours. It made a lot of difference to the apple as it has a very rich cinnamon taste!

Walnut Cream Fillings
100g Walnuts halves, lightly toasted
60g Fine sugar
18g Plain flour
1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon
100g Unsalted butter, softened
2 large Eggs
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

Method:

In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, place the walnuts, sugar, flour and cinnamon and process until the walnuts are very fine.
Empty the mixture into a bowl and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy.
Beat in about 1/2 cup of the nut mixture until incorporated.
Beat in 1 egg along with another 1/2 cup of the nut mixture.
Then beat in the second egg with the remaining nut mixture, together with the vanilla extract.
Refrigerate until about 10mins before assembling the tart.

* Note:

After mixing all together, the walnut cream was liquid.

Place them in the fridge to firm up. Take them out of the fridge 10mins before you start assembling the tart. When it firm up, it's easier to spread. The cream will be thicker and easier to handle.

Assemble the tart

Drain the apples well on paper towels. Reserved the poaching syrup.
Using a sharp thin knife, slice each apple crosswise into thin slices.
Spread the walnut cream evenly in the cooled baked tart shell.
Arrange the apples neatly on the walnut cream.
Bake in the oven of 180C for 30mins, or until the walnut cream puffs slightly, surrounding the apples and turns golden brown.

Glaze

1/2 cup Reserved syrup from poaching

1/2 tsp Cornstarch

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

Method:

In a small saucepan, add in all the ingredients. Stir to incorporate.
Heat the mixture till it boils. Stir constantly.
Simmer for a few seconds, then remove from the heat.
Pour into a small cup.
Use a brush to coat the apples and the walnut fillings well.
Unmould the tart and serve immediately.
It can store in room temperature up to 1 day, or refrigerated up to 3 days. Allow the tart to come to room temperature before serving.

The tart truly delivered what it promised. The apple was still crunchy and developed a full cinnamon flavour. The walnut tart was very fragrant from the ground walnut, and creamy. The sweetness of the overall tart actually came from the walnut cream. However, as I had already reduced the sugar, the sweetness was acceptable. The tart crust was very crispy. Both of us loved the crust very much too! I was glad the tart turns out to be delectable! I would definitely make this again, however, this time, I will use the original tart crust from Rose!

The Roti Prata Woman

2011-07-31T14:04:00.002+08:00

After viewing Dr Leslie Tay, famously known as ieatishootipost, on Channel U Ladies Nite, making the roti pratas, I can't help to drool over it! Being convinced by Dr Tay that this is actually very easy to do, I decided to attempt this ~~(only to realise it wasn't as it seems!)~~

Extracting the recipe from ieatishootipost, I increased the recipe to meet the demands from my household. From his post, there were tonnes of information, and one need to read it carefully to understand them. I had always thought roti prata dough is not so difficult, it's the skill in flipping them. I was proven wrong. Even the dough itself need to be made carefully.

You can find the recipe from Channel U Ladies Nite, or from his blog post. Or watch the video from Ladies Nite.

Here's sharing how I made it, though quite a fair bit of work, but the result was satisfactory, considering this was the first time I made roti prata!

Reposting the recipe for Roti Prata, extracted from ieatishootipost.
(Makes approx 16 pcs)

Ingredients:
1000g Prima Plain flour
450g Water
130g Condensed milk
25g Oil (or melted butter)
2tsp Salt
83g Eggs

Method:

Mix all the liquid ingredients together - water, condensed milk, oil, eggs and salt.
Pour the flour into a large mixing bowl. Then add in the liquid mixture into the mixing bowl.
Using a dough hook, start mixing at low for 5mins. Rest for 5mins. Then repeat it for another 2 times. (So total 15mins kneading time, 10mins rest time)
Using a cling wrap, let the dough rest for 30mins.
After the resting time, floured a worktop, and knead the dough till smooth.
Divide the dough equally, weighing approx. 100g per dough ball.
Shaped it round, then oil it and place into a container.
Leave it in the refrigerator overnight, or at least 8 hours.

Fillings (your personal preference)

Variations of what I made:

Egg only
Cheese only
Egg, cheese and onions
Shredded roast chicken (leftover from the night before) and onions
Plain

Making pratas:

Bring out the dough from the fridge one hour before making.
Oil your worktop well. Prepare your frying pan.
Refer to the below video for the novice way to make the stretched dough. If you want to try flipping like a pro, refer to this video link.

One of my nicer membrane dough (limited by the space I have!!)

Once you have expanded your dough into a thin membrane, you can start adding the fillings in the centre.

Then fold up the dough and fried it until brown.

Enjoy while hot!

I thought that since I have fillings in my pratas, I can omit the curry gravy. However, when I tasted it, I found something amiss. Curry gravy is still needed somehow! The prata was thin, sweet and crispy, even though the folded sides were a bit chewy and thick though. As I only tried it after I finished frying all, they had turned cold. I believe when consumed hot, it will be even nicer!

Have enough oil in the pan when frying the prata, otherwise, it can get charred pretty fast. Also, when stretching the dough, try to stretch it as thin as possible. Don't worry about the pockets of breakages. As long as the breakages are not in the centre, you can safely fold it and cover them.

My favourite combination was the egg, cheese and onion prata. The egg was moist, and the onion was sweet. It was very appetising. My children had their plain pratas with chocolate syrup, and they loved it!

Durian Swiss Rolls

2011-07-24T14:55:00.001+08:00

I completely agree with Jean! It's truly a month of durians, durians and more durians! I have been eating durians non-stop, at least twice a week since two weeks ago! Even the $2/pc tasted good, don't need to indulge too much on MSW (猫山王), even though I will still yearn to have some during its season!
After my failed attempt on the durian chiffon cake, I still have some durians pulps left over. I decided to make durian swiss rolls. It seems that, there are endless options of using durians nowadays, compared to previously, where only durian puffs, durian swiss rolls and durian crepes were available ~~commercially~~! Nowadays, you can still bake durian cheesecake with it!

I made my durian swiss roll using Pook's soft sponge cake recipe. The sponge cake is really very soft, however, I found that it's a bit "rough" for swiss rolls. Perhaps, this recipe wasn't meant for swiss rolls, more suitable for trifles or other whole cakes! Somehow, I found that using whole eggs and separating eggs really made a lot of difference to the texture of the cakes, especially swiss rolls. I still prefer swiss rolls using the traditional chiffon method, followed by separating the egg yolks and egg whites method, and finally the whole eggs method. The whole eggs method is less cumbersome though.

I hope you can try out this sponge cake recipe for swiss rolls and see if you agree with me!

Recipe for Durian Swiss Rolls

Soft Sponge Cake, extracted from Daily Delicious
Makes approximately 13" x 11" sheet pan

Ingredients:
4 nos Eggs
85g Fine sugar
80g Cake flour, sift
A pinch of salt
40g Whipping cream (warm)
Method:

Whisk the eggs until lighten, then add the sugar gradually and beat till thick and lighten (Thick ribbon stage).
Sprinkle the sifted flour and salt over the egg batter and fold to combine.
Take 1/4 cup of batter and mix with the warm whipping cream, fold to combine. Pour the batter back, and fold to combine.
The batter will be smooth and thick.
Pour into a lined sheet pan, and bake it at preheated oven of 180C for about 12mins.
Let it cool completely before frosting.

Fillings:

200g Fresh durian pulps

200g Whipping cream

20g Caster sugar

Assembly:

Beat whipping cream with caster sugar till thick (soft peak).
Place the cooled cake on a silicon paper. (I merely used back the lined sheet which was used to bake the cake).
Spread the durian pulps on the cake evenly and thorougly.
Then spread the whipping cream on the cake evenly.
Roll it up tightly.
Let it chill in the fridge before slicing. (I omitted this part and found they were very messy!)
Consume within 2-3 days as fresh durian pulps are perishable, unless it is frozen.

I'm submitting this entry to the Aspiring Bakers #9 - Swiss Rolling Good Times hosted by Obessedly Involved with Food.

Durian Chiffon Cake with a T...

2011-07-22T09:06:00.001+08:00

What do you think of the outlook of the durian chiffon that I made? Looked pretty on the outside right? Right! When I overturned it to cool, it stayed nicely and neatly on the tube pan too! Never did I expect it to have flaws! I tried this recipe some years back, and it failed. I wanted to give it a try again, thinking that it was perhaps I didn't do it well. I've been successful in chiffons, and I don't think it was due to my skills! *grin*

Anyway, back to this recipe from Kevin Chai's book, I suspected the recipe might not be that good. The last time, it was too watery, so this time, I added slightly less milk to the batter. Still the chiffon didn't work.

On one side of the chiffon...

Any veteran chiffon bakers that can help to advise on what caused the tunnel in the chiffon? Partly also because the pan I used was slightly too small for it to expand. Even so, I believe that was not the reason for the big deep tunnel to form...

on the other side.

Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Bread

2011-07-17T14:09:00.001+08:00

Roasted Garlic & Rosemary Loaf
When Laureen said it's very very good, I really believe it had to be very very good! Bake with one of my two favourite ingredients - garlic and rosemary, it definitely cannot go wrong! I've never explored roasted garlics before. All I had tried was just sauteed garlic or fried garlic as garnish. Roasted garlic? It is truly heaven sent!

I've been baking sweet buns since the day I found the perfect recipe for it! So it's time to cut down on sugars...I just couldn't wait to try the Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Bread when I saw it! Now, it says two heads of garlic...hmm, what does two heads means? Two small cloves? Or two big garlic cloves? Ah...luckily I still have sanity check. Looking at the ingredients of using 560g of flour, how would two small cloves provide enough taste? So I decided to use two large garlic cloves, unpeeled. Through that, I've learnt two new things - heads of garlic, and roasting garlic.

I'm a lover for herbs, especially rosemary. I like to buy them too! However, because I know I don't usually use them up fast enough, I will just keep them in the freezer. And I'm happy to just do that so that I can have fresh herbs as and when I want. Well, it might not be as good as freshly plucked ones, but who can tell the difference? :p

You can find the original recipe at Eat and Be Happy. For me, I used a mixture of wholemeal wheat flour, bread flour and plain flour. It turned out to be perfect. I like wholemeal wheat flour in my breads, it made me feel less guilty when eating them! And yes, the recipe really made a HUGE enormous loaf! I will make it into two loaves the next time I baked. It's a rustic dense soft loaf!

*~*.................................................................*~*

Roasted Chicken & Wrap
If you asked me, I have no inspirations lately. However, my love for eating never dies. So what happens when my inspirations are out? Well, just check out other bloggers' and follow them. That was what happened on Friday when I made the Crispy Roast Chicken from Happy Home Baking. Thanks to her detailed explanation, I was able to make wonderfully roasted herbed chicken. Since I used rosemary in my rustic bread bake above, I decided to use fresh thyme for the chicken instead. It turned out to be truly good.

Instead of having roast chicken with the usual rice, I decided to have it with wholemeal tortilla wraps (as suggested by HHB too!) As I've not tried making tortillas, I decided to buy them instead. Just in case it didn't turn out good. Slice out the chicken pieces, place them on the wrap with lettuce, cheese and button mushrooms, then wrapped them up... Hmm, you'll have a wonderfully satisfied healthy meal! Enjoy!

Gastromania Feast @ Far East Square

2011-07-10T22:11:00.018+08:00

Few weeks back, I received an email from OMY inviting bloggers to join in one of their three feasts. I was really happy to be invited for the Gastromania Feast. I shall spare the details...Let the feast begin!

1. Zhou’s Kitchen

www.zhouskitchen.com

"Zhou’s Kitchen is a casual Chinese dining concept, catering to the palates and pockets of diners from all walks of life. 周 (Zhou) is the family name of Andrew Tjioe, TungLok Group’s founder and Executive Chairman, and Zhou’s Kitchen as the name suggests, offers all-time Chinese favourites, as well as well-loved private recipes of the Zhou family. Definitely the place for the discerning and time-starved local diners."

Zhou's Kitchen Braised Pork Shank - $24++

Even though I usually don't take porks, I liked the way the pork shank was cooked. The meat was juicy and tender. There was no porky taste. The sauce was light and not starchy. It went very well with the fried and steamed buns. The pickled vegetables were very appetising. Ginseng Chrysanthemum tea served complimented the dish well.

The meat were swiftly and skilfully removed from its bones.

Overall rating - 4.5/5

2. SPRING JuChunYuan 聚春园

www.juchunyuan.com.sg

"Since 1865, “JuChunYuan” has stood for the finest in Fuzhou cuisine. The famous “Buddha Jumps Over the Wall” was birthed in JuChunYuan restaurant in 1876 and has continued to set the standard for fine Chinese restaurants around the world. Now, SPRING JuChunYuan is the only restaurant in Singapore that exclusively serves traditional Min cuisine and carries the remarkable legacy of the original JuChunYuan Fuzhou restaurant."

Floral tea of chrysanthemum, rose and lavender were served in a beautiful tea set.

Buddha Jumps over the wall - $1,288++

This is the delicacy of the whole feast! Each of us were served a bowl of their famous Buddha jumps over the wall. Four days effort just to prepare the soup. A 8-year-old Fujian wine was part of the ingredients in the final preparation. The dish is being steamed, not cooked over fire, to retain the right concentration of the soup. Actually, I don't really fancy the wine in soup, therefore, I didn't finish the soup even though I would like to!

Our individual portion of the delicacy.

Xing Hwa Bee Hoon

The noodles were specially imported from overseas. It was only slightly thicker than my hair strand! It tasted good even though it was a bit dry. I liked it better with their special sauce which added a slight sweet flavour to the noodles. The sauce was made using red vinegar wine, garlic and sugar. The vinegar taste was not signicant, instead, garlic dominated the sweet sauce.

Overall rating: 4/5

3. Garuda Padang Cuisine

www.garudapadang.com

"Garuda, established in 1976, is the most successful and one of the largest Padang Cuisine restaurant chains in Indonesia. Today, in a partnership with TungLok Group, Garuda in Singapore is the only franchised Padang Cuisine restaurant outside Indonesia, offering nothing but the most authentic fare at three locations."

Fried Chicken with Blue Ginger Floss - $5.30++

We were served with Lime Soda. In such a hot weather, this really was refreshing and cooling! The impression I have about fried chicken is usually dry. However, I can't say so for this fried chicken! If I can even say that the chicken breast meat I had was juicy and tender, you can be assured it'll be equally good about drumsticks or chicken thighs! The blue ginger floss was very tasty, crispy and salty. They were deep fried, but it wasn't that oily as in, you can feel the oil oozing out in the mouth! I love the blue ginger floss so much I just finished them all!

Yummy fried chicken breast with crispy blue ginger floss

Overall rating: 3.5/5

4. Shin Kushiya

www.shinkushiya.com

"Shin Kushiya was established in October 2006 to introduce the Kushiyaki dining concept. ‘Kushiyaki’ is the Japanese term for ‘Charcoal-grilled skewers’. At Shin Kushiya, the freshest meat, seafood and vegetables are arranged artfully on bamboo skewers and grilled with care over Bincho charcoal from Japan to provide a crisp smokiness while sealing the natural flavours within. Paired with freshly-ground sea salt, cracked black pepper and homemade tare sauce, Kushiyaki is a simple and satisfying pleasure."

The chef hard at work, grillling the kushiyaki for us

Yuzu Cooler

This had to be my favourite drink for the day! Yuzu fruit was added to the cooler, gave it a good stir and you can feel the hint of sourness from the yuzu blended into the sweetness of the soda. Without hesitation, I scooped up the yuzu fruit and ate them! (Don't waste it!)

Kushiyaki: Tomato maki, Ebi Shiso Maki, Buta Bara Yaki Miso and Black pepper yakitori.

I liked the tomato maki even though it was wrapped in thin pork meat. The warmth and sweetness of the cherry tomato that exploded in the mouth gave the palate a wonderful sensation! The ebi maki (prawn) was very fresh and juicy. The black pepper yakitori was also juicy and full of coarse black peppers! There were also plum salt and curry salt to complement the kushiyakis. However, the kushiyakis were already so good on its own, you won't want to dip them in anything!

Kuro Goma Heaven (Black Sesame ice cream)

The rich and creamy black sesame compliments the charcoal grilled skewers very much! The thick black sesame paste at the side was so good on its own, although it was supposed to be a dip for our ice cream! Two thumbs up for this wonderful rich black sesame ice cream!

Overall rating : 5/5 (Must go!)

5. Mont Calzone Pizza & Pasta

www.montcalzone.com.sg

"Enjoy hearty Italian cuisine at reasonable prices in this cosy and laid-back pizzeria. Popular dishes include Fried Calamari, Polpa di Granchio (crab meat pasta) and Rucola Mozzarella Pizza. Be sure to leave room for their homemade tiramisu, a scrumptious Italian dessert not to be missed. All pizza selections can be made into calzone."

By the time we went to Mont, all of us were really filled to the brim! We were jokingly said that we could just fall asleep any time due to the over-supply of food! Even though the portions served to us were already halved or much lesser than the original portion, there were still a lot of food consumed!

Pizzas & Pastas

You'll be spoilt for choice with their variety of pizza and pastas! The quality of the ingredients used were fresh and of high standard.

As I was already filled all up, I decided just to go for two pizzas and give the carbos a miss! The pizza's thin crust were crispy. The toppings were quite generous as there were lots of salad and pieces of thick smoked salmon on the smoked salmon pizza! The black truffle "dots" were flavourful on its own. However, when eaten with the crust, the flavour was very faint.

Overall rating: 4/5

6. Mirchi – Taste of India

www.harrys.com.sg

"Mirchi –Taste of India offers an extensive range of delectable and authentic Northern Indian cuisine, with both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes to choose from. Favourite specialties include “Tandoori Non-Vegetarian Kebab Platter” an assortment of fish tikka, chicken tikka, seekh kebab and prawns spiced with tandoori masala. “Kadhai Prawn”, marinated prawns with capsicum in onion & tomato gravy. “Rogan Josh”, a traditional lamb curry, an all time favourite from Kashmir. Also, not to be missed is the selection of chicken, lamb, seafood and vegetable Biryani served with Raita."

Mango Lassi

Mango Lassi had to be the one drink you order from a North India cuisine! We were fortunate to be served this popular drink before our meal. The mango lassi was a bit sourish, wasn't overly sweet, and the mango wasn't too strong. However, it was pretty light and I like the taste nevertheless.

Tandoori Non-Vegetarian Kebab Platter: Fish tikka, chicken tikka, seekh kebab and prawns spiced with tandoori masala - $29++

All the bloggers unanimously agreed that the seekh kebab, which was made up of lamb, was a bit dry and too spicy. Otherwise, their tikkas tasted really good. The kind of charred taste on the meat was nice. The spices on the tikka were not overly strong. Dip them in the mint sauce tasted even better! ~~I should have secretly ask them to serve their naans too!~~

Full serving platter

Our sampling platter - a very good & generous portion!

Overall rating: 4/5

7. Hock Lam Beef

hocklambeef.com

"Hock Lam Beef has been serving the highest quality Teochew beef kway teow in Singapore. The business spans over 98 years, across 4 generations of the Tan family, and is run today by the original founder’s great-grandchild. Till today, they prepare everything, from the 24-hour boiled gourmet soup with herb base to the homemade 13-ingredient chilli sauce, by hand in-house."

The third generation of the Tan family, and the boss of the group. He is being supported in his business by his daughter, Tina.

Third generation boss...

His daughter Tina on the right. David (I don't know who he is) on the left, who gave us a history and brief of the place

Original Mixed Beef Kway Teow with soup.

The herb base soup was very tasty and flavourful. The beef briskets were freed from "fishy" smell and were very soft. Except for the noodles, all the ingredients were prepared freshly and within the shops. Even the chilli taste fresh and nice too. The shredded "kiam chye" added a little crunchiness and saltiness to the noodles' taste. This used to be my favourite noodles, until I decided to forgo eating beef!

Overall rating: 4/5

8. Oni Cupcakes

www.onicupcakes.com

"This boutique cupcake bakery uses only the finest quality ingredients, their top-selling cupcakes include Chocolate Lover (Valrhona dark chocolate), Mango Tango (Valrhona chocolate cake with Mango butter cream), along with specialty cupcakes like Healthy Bunny (carrot cake with cream cheese frosting) and The King (Mao Shan Wang durian). With a wide range of flavours, designs and sizes, their custom-made cupcakes will delight both adults and kids."

Assorted Mini Cupcakes

Even though the cupcakes were moist, the buttercream were too rich. Fortunately, it was only a mini cupcake, therefore, eating the buttercream wasn't too guilty. I also tried the chocolate lover. The dark chocolate cream is nice though.

Don't you just love the high-class feeling from the lighting above?

Overall rating: 3.5/5

My favourite amongst the places had to be.... Shin Kushiya!! Actually I've been to the branch in Vivo City, and I like it very much!

I really had a lot of fun feasting, and getting to know other bloggers. Through my conversation with them, I realised that, most of them, or all of them, were actually much younger than me! They must be the Y-generation bloggers!

Thanks to Janet Ong and Alvin Lim from OMY for inviting me to this wonderful event! I don't know how they got my name, but it doesn't matter anyway! Thank you, omy!

By the way, please vote for me in omy, 5 lucky voters will also be chosen to win a $50 voucher! Contest will close on 8 August 2011!

Don't forget to check out the "Let the feast begin" promotions!
Check out the OMY's blog post, and its vodcast.