Snow Skin Mooncake

My first attempt on making mooncake. Everyone recommend to me to start with snow skin as it's quite simple to make. So, just give it a try.

I cooked the lotus paste, it's hard work but at the end it's nice to know that all made by myself although it's not as tasty as the one I bought and the appearance could tell it's definately a homemade one.

I like to play with the mould more than eating the mooncake. It's fun wrapping the lotus paste with the snow skin and stuff it into the mold and pushing it out. Playing the mooncake mold is really FUN! It's a good try. I'll not share the recipe here as I feel that this batch of mooncake still not the good one. I'll try again next year or may be I shall try out the bake version next year :)

| HT | 7:04 PM No comments Read More

Plain White Bread

Quite satisfiy with this shape of square white bread. With 90 minutes proofing sponge dough method of 孟老师的100道面包, I must say "worth it"! The crumb is soft but I've no idea how long it can stay soft as it's finished in two days.

Recipes: (A) 220g bread flour / 3g yeast / 130g water

(B) 60g bread flour / 15g sugar / 1/2 tsp salt / 10g milk /

powder / 40g water

(C) unsalted butter 15g

Method:

1. Knead ingredients (A) together until it's well combine and become a dough ball. Let it sit in a clean bowl cover with cling wrap proof for 90 minutes at room temperature.
2. Mix in the ingredients (B) to (A) and knead until a smooth dough then add butter.
3. Continue to knead the dough until it's smooth and elastic. Proof for 60 minutes.
4. Divide the dough in to 3 portions and rest for 10 minutes.
5. Roll out each doughs into a longish shape and roll up like a swiss roll. Place the doughs in a grease bread tin cover with lid and proof for 50 - 60 minutes until the dough fill up 90% of the bread tin.
6. Bake at 200'C for 30 minutes. Remove the bread from the bread tin and cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!

Bread Corner | HT | 7:03 PM No comments Read More

Grissini II

I baked a similar bread stick (grissini) nearly a year ago which was topped with sesame seeds that had given a super crunchy texture. This time, I try to use cheddar cheese and it smell very good when it's almost ready from the oven. There are two types of texture for grissini which is a crisp texture outside and a soft crumbs. Another texture is crisp and crunch from the outside to the crumbs. According to the recipe from 孟老师的100道面包, leaving the grissini in the oven for few minutes after the required baking period to make the entire stick much crunchier. If you don't like a crunchy crumbs, remove from it from the oven after bake. It's such a simple yet delicious craving snacks!

Mixture (A)

Bread flour 150g

Plain flour 50g

Sugar 15g

Salt 1/2 teaspoon

Water 100g

Instant yeast 1/4 teaspoon (1g)

Parmesan cheese powder 20g

Mixture (B)

Unsalted butter 15g

Egg whites 20g

Shredded cheddar cheese

1. Mix all the mixture (A) in a mixing bowl with a dough hook at low speed then medium speed until everything well combine and become a smooth dough.
2. Add in unsalted butter continue kneading with a low speed until the butter mix with the dough then change to medium speed until it become a very smooth dough.
3. Proof it in a large bowl cover with cling wrap for 50 minutes.
4. Roll the dough out at 0.3 cm thick in rectangular shape. Brush egg whites on the roll out dough and generously sprinkle with cheddar cheese to cover the whole piece of dough. Use the hand to gently press the cheese to stick at the dough.
5. Using a roller cutter to cut longish shape at 1cm thic then twist it with your hand by holding each side of the end of the dough.
6. Place on a baking tray and bake for about 15 - 20 minutes at 150'C until it golden brown color. For crunchier texture, switch off the oven and let the grissini sit in the oven for 15 minutes before transfer to a wire rack to cool down. Otherwise, take it out after 15 or 20 minutes of baking to get a soft crumbs. Enjoy!

Craving Corner | HT | 5:00 AM No comments Read More

Ang Ku Kueh

My first attempt on making nyonya kuih which I never think of doing it before as I could easily get a better texture kuih from Bangawan Solo. Anway, all because I've leftover some coconot fillings for the honey coconut buns, so I was struggling how to finished it until I've got the idea from some of the bloggers.

At first, I would like to make Ang Ku Kueh, but I don't have the mold so I used a mooncake mold. Secondly, I found out that coconut fillings actually is use for Kueh Koh Chi. Finally, I came out with a combination with three different things. Chinese said "不三不四" or "四不像". The first glance look like snow skin mooncake, but the real skin actually is Ang Ku Kueh then the fillings is Kueh Koh Chi fillings hahaha... very confuse. Anyway, when I eat it, it's more like Ang Ku Kueh.
I couldn't believe that is my first kueh making and the skin turn out so soft and stayed soft on the next day. The orange color from the sweet potato is quite pretty for me.
That's nice when we could get the natural color in baking. The fillings of course go so well with the skin, it's yummy! All thanks to Florence sharing the fantastic recipe. I can't wait to make more for my friends and family.After the first attempt, I tried the second batch using plain color sweet potato with pandan juice for the green color. It's turn out as nice as the first batch. Very satisfy!


Recipe for 10 small pieces (4.6cm diameter)
Sweet Potato Skin: 50 g sweet potatoes /75 g glutinous rice flour / 1 tsp oil / 40 ml water
Gula Melaka Coconut Fillings: 1 tbsp cooking oil / 60g raw sugar / 100g gula melaka / 100g coconut water / 2 tbsp plain flour / 4 tbsp water / 300g shredded coconut (half the portions of these ingredient to yield 10 kueh)

1. For the fillings. Heat the oil in a wok at low heat, add in raw sugar, coconut sugar until it nearly melted then add the coconut water to prevent sticking. Add three or four pandan leaves. Cook until everything melt then add shredded coconut. Make sure the shredded coconut coated with the melted sugar. Keep stirring to prevent it burn. Mix the water with flour then add into the coconut mixture. Keep stirring until everything well combine and you could smell the fragrant of coconut mixture. It'll start become dry and you'll know it has done. Discard the pandan leaves. Let it cool down on a plate before use.
2. For the skin. Steam the sweet potatoes until soft. In a bowl, mash the sweet potatoes with a fork. Add glutinous rice, oil and water and mix well to obtain a smooth dough. Cover with a damp cloth and leave aside. You can add a little more water if the dough is too dry.
3. Brush the ang ku kueh mould with a little oil to ease removal of the kueh from the mould.
4. Take a small lump of sweet potato dough about 20g for my 4.6cm mold and using your palm or a rolling pin, flatten it, into a round shape with the centre thicker than the sides.
5. Spoon some filling approximately 20g into the dough, pinch the sides of the dough together, and using the palm of your hand, roll it into a balls.
6. Press the ball into the mould firmly, to obtain the design and shape of the mould. Tap the mould gently on the table to remove the ang koo kueh from the mould. Place the ang ku kueh on a square piece of oiled banana leaf.
7. When all the ang ku kuehs are shaped, steam them in a wok over high fire for 3 minutes covered. After 3 minutes, remove the cover to release steam, then re-cover and steam for another 3 minutes over a medium fire, until the kuehs are cooked. Remove the kuehs from the wok and brush them with a little oil to prevent them from sticking to each other. Serve when cool.

Craving Corner | HT | 4:45 PM No comments Read More

Honey Coconut Buns

Here is a combination of two recipes from honey buns and coconut buns. At my first attempt on the honey bun, I felt the texture might goes well with coconut fillings so I've just got an experiments yesterday and it's really a good combination.

The texture better than the first coconut buns I've made months ago. I'll stick on this recipe next time. May be red bean paste will goes well with this bun too! My friends and family loves it. There is no reason for me to buy coconut buns from the bakery shop anymore :P


For the Coconut Filling:
1 tbsp cooking oil
60g raw sugar
100g coconut sugar (gula melaka)
100g coconut water
2 tbsp plain flour
4 tbsp water
300g shredded coconut




For the Honey Buns: (recipe fron HHB)
300g bread flour
4g (about 2/3 tsp) salt
4g (1 tsp) instant yeast
1 egg lightly beaten plus enough milk to make 200g
50g honey
30g unsalted butter

How I made it:

1. Heat the oil in a wok at low heat, add in raw sugar, coconut sugar until it nearly melted then add the coconut water to prevent sticking. Cook until everything melt then add shredded coconut. Make sure the shredded coconut coated with the melted sugar. Keep stirring to prevent it burn.
2. Mix the water with flour then add into the coconut mixture. Keep stirring until everything well combine and you could smell the fragrant of coconut mixture. It'll start become dry and you'll know it has done. Let it cool down on a plate before use.
3. For the honey bun, place all ingredients except butter in the dough hook mixer. Knead at low speed until everything come together. Add in the butter and let the machine continue to knead the dough at medium speed until smooth and elastic about 30 minutes.
4. Shape the dough into a smooth round and place in a lightly greased mixing bowl , cover bowl with cling wrap and let it rise till double in volume for about 60 ~ 90 minutes.
5. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces of doughs and roll to form 'ball' shapes. Then, cover with cling film let it rest for 15 minutes.
6. Flatten each dough and wrap in the coconut filling and shape it into smooth round shape. Prepare some water on a clean plate and place a kitchen towel on the top. Damp the surface of each dough and run the damp surface around a bowl of desiccated coconut.
7. Place the doughs on a baking tray with baking paper for 60 minute proofing. Bake approximately 20 minutes at 200'C preheated oven until nice and light golden brown.

Bread Corner | HT | 6:12 PM No comments Read More

Chocolate Cupcakes

Here my first attempt on making cupcakes. I would normally make muffins however I was tempted by Piggy's cupcakes as it looks very pretty and yummy! I didn't manage to make it pretty due to my poor decoration and piping skills. I should buy some ready decoration fondant next time.

Anyway, I'm very surprise with the texture, it's very soft and fluffy. I reduced 3/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar, it taste just nice for me. Thanks Piggy's sharing the recipe and tips. I like this cupcakes very much and definitely will make it as a gift for my friends and love ones.

INGREDIENTS (recipe from CB's blog)
Makes 12 cupcakes (I make 9 cupcakes)
For the cupcake:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk (I used milk)
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

For the glaze:
3 oz bittersweet chocolate
1 tbsp confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Fit the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan with paper muffin cups, or butter them with flour and tap out the excess.
2. To make the cupcakes—Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for about 2 minutes, until it is blended into the butter. Add the egg, then the yolk, beating 1 minute after each addition and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Beat in the vanilla, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear. Scrape down the bowl and add the buttermilk, mixing until incorporated, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Scrape down the bowl, add the melted chocolate and mix it in with the rubber spatula. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin molds.
3. Bake for 22 minutes, or until the tops of the cakes are dry and springy to the touch and a knife inserted into their centers comes out clean. Transfer the muffin pan to a rack and let the cakes cool for 5 minutes before unmolding. Cool to room temperature on the rack before glazing.
4. To make the glaze—Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of shimmering water. Transfer the bowl to the counter and let stand for 5 minutes.
   Using a small whisk or rubber spatula, stir the confectioners’ sugar into the chocolate, followed by the pieces of cold butter. The glaze may be very thin at this point or may be perfectly spreadable. If it is too thin to spread or use as a dip (I often dip the tops of the cakes into the ganache, then give the cakes a little twirl as I pull them out, so they have a squiggle of glaze in the center), stir it over ice water for a few seconds – really less than a minute. With a small metal icing spatula, give each cupcake a crown of shiny ganache, and let the glaze set at room temperature (or in the fridge if you are in a hurry). If the ganache loses its gloss and you miss it, give the tops of the cakes a puff of hot air from a hairdryer right before serving.

Cakes Corner | HT | 2:30 AM No comments Read More

Graham Whole Wheat Bread

This is one of my all time favorite bread. It's been long time didn't bake this loaf of bread as I was trying out many water roux recipes last month. I miss this whole wheat bread a lot.

Normally I'd use the Prima whole wheat flour for this recipe. However, it just happened that I've got this Bob's Red Mill graham whole wheat flour at cold storage, so I'd like to give it a try and hope the bread will turn out as nice as the prima whole wheat flour.

The result was good! As the graham whole wheat had a very fine texture, it make the bread softer and the wheat taste is just nice for me.I purposely let the dough rise without cover it with a lid so the top is slightly burnt but taste good!

Bread Corner | HT | 7:00 PM No comments Read More

Wheat Loaf

After explored some recipes of water roux dough, I'm quite miss the 孟老师的100道面包. So, I choose to make this wheat bread after flipped on the recipe book. I followed the recipe except adding ground almond into the dough. Anyway it still turn out quite nice. I think the Parmesan makes the bread very tasty which the bit of saltiness and the smell of wheat that is so nice to serve with a bowl of creamy soup or sandwich or even have it straight.

1. Mix all the ingredients except butter at low speed using a dough hook mixer, then turn to medium speed until it become a smooth dough. Add in the unsalted butter and knead with low speed until the butter combine with the dough. Turn to medium speed continue the kneading process until it become a smooth and elastic dough. Place the dough into a big bowl and cover with cling wrap to proof for 80 minutes.


2. Divide the dough to 2 portions and round them into small balls. Let it rest for about 10 minutes. Roll out each doughs into a longish shape about 35cm and roll in into a sausage shape.


3. Cut 12 portions at each rolls but not cut through and pull each one of the cut dough to the left and another to the right alternately. Proof for 30 minutes. Egg wash the doughs and sprinkle some sesame seeds.


4. Bake at 180'C preheated oven for 18 minutes until golden brown.

Bread Corner | HT | 6:58 PM No comments Read More