Peanut Butter Buns

I still feel that this water roux recipe is great! With the same recipe, it could makes different kind of sweet buns including this peanut butter buns. There turn out real soft! I used my homemade sugar free peanut butter so I find it not sweet enough. Please use a good peanut butter like the brand of PLANTERS (oh..I love it) or any organic 100% pure peanut butter for better texture.


Ingredients:
(A) 210g bread flour / 56g plain flour / 20g milk powder / 42g sugar / 1/2 teaspoon salt / 6g instant yeast
(B) 30g eggs / 85g water / 84g water roux (refer to water roux recipe)
(C) 22g butter
(D) some peanut butter and chopped peanut

Recipe for the water dough "water roux": Cook 125 water with 25g bread flour at medium low heat, keep stirring until it become thicken and no lumps left (please don't over cooked it!). If you've a candy thermometer, measure it until the temperature turn to 65C then turn of the heat. I didn't measure it with thermometer, so I cook it until like a baby porridge. Transfer to a clean bowl and cover with a cling wrap to avoid skin forming. The amount of water roux here would be more than a recipe required, please according to the amount of the recipe required and do not add more or less.

How I made it:

  1. Put all the ingredients (A) and (B) for kneading until it form a dough. Add the butter (C) little by little and continue the kneading process until smooth and elastic and the dough no more sticking at the side of the mixing bowl (this method for dough hook kneading mixer, if using bread machine, add all the ingredients (A)(B) and (C) together. Let it proof for 40 minutes in a clean bowl cover with cling wrap.

  2. Divide the dough into 9 portions. Round them into small balls and rest for 10 minutes.

  3. Flatten the dough with your a rolling pin and roll it out in longish shape. Spread some peanut butter jam and use a sharp knife to cut 4 to 5 lines then twist it and tight them up. Place them into muffin cups and proof for 40 minutes.

  4. Egg wash the top of the doughs and sprinkle some chopped peanuts.

  5. Bake at a 180C preheated oven for 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Durian Butter Cake

I seldom bake recently, life without baking is just so boring and dull. I found an excuse to bake a butter cake last week that had shared with my cousin and family. Although it's just a simple cake, it makes me feel better touching the kitchen stuffs.
After the first attempt on berries butter cake, I would like to give it another try on durian flavour, and also took this opportunity to use a new cake mould. I'm not sure it's called bundt mould or something else, correct me if I'm wrong. Beside berries, durian is also one of my favorite fruit. So, I came out with this durian butter cake. The taste is very flavourful indeed with the slightly moist and rich texture. I feel the bundt cake mould make it looks prettier rather than just baking in a flat baking tray. Hope you will like this recipe of Kevin Chai. His recipes is quite simple and nice. Don't forget to use the sweet and flavourful durian and you will get the result.

Recipe:
250g butter
170g caster sugar
4 eggs
250g durian flesh
230g self raising flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  1. Grease a baking mould. Preheat oven to 170C.
  2. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
  3. Stir in durian flesh. Fold in sifted flour, baking powder and soda. Mix until well blended.
  4. Spoon batter into prepared mould. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until cooked.

Pork Floss Bun

I've seen many blogger make this roll up bun that looks really interesting and some of the bakery shops are selling it too! It's just happened that I've some left over pork floss, so why not give it a try from the recipe 65度汤肿面包.


The buns was topped with lots of sesame that taste really good. Not to forget the pork floss, it's absolutely a great combo with the mayo spreading on the buns. I find that rolling up the bun like a swiss roll makes it looks prettier and very appetizing!

Recipe for a roll makes 5 buns: 195g bread flour / 90g plain flour / 12g milk powder / 30g caster sugar / 6g salt / 6g yeast / 60g beaten eggs / 65g water / 75g water dough / 45g unsalted butter
** some mayo, sesame and chopped spring onion

Recipe for the water dough "water roux": Cook 125g water with 25g bread flour at medium low heat, keep stirring until it become thicken and no lumps left. If you've a candy thermometer, measure it until the temperature turn to 65C then turn of the heat. I didn't measure it with thermometer, so I cook it until like a baby porridge. Transfer to a clean bowl and cover with a cling wrap to avoid skin forming. You will not use up all, measure 75g for the recipe.
How I make it:
  1. Put all the dough ingredients together for kneading except butter until it become a dough. Add in butter and continue the kneading process until it become smooth and elastic and the dough no more sticky or sticking at the side of the mixing bowl. Let it proof for 40 minutes in a clean bowl cover with cling wrap.

  2. Roll out the dough into a rectangular shape and place on a baking tray. Use a fork to poke some holes on the dough and let it proof for 15 minutes.
  3. Egg wash the dough and sprinkle some sesame and chopped spring onion. Continue to proof for 15 minutes.

  4. Bake at 180C for 15 minutes. Don't over cook it, otherwise the dough will become tough not soft.

  5. Spread some mayo on the bread and top with the pork floss evenly. Roll it up like a swiss roll tightly. Cut out 5 portions and spread some mayo at both side of each bread. Coated the side with lots of pork floss. Enjoy!

Berries Butter Cake

Mum bought me another recipe book named "I Love Butter Cake". Oppsss! that's not me, I don't really fancy about butter cake, but I've got to make it to show my appreciation to mum and of course it could be served to someone who is a big fan of butter cake. After read through the whole recipe book, I choose this Berries Butter Cake just because I love berries.
It's actually a recipe of "Apple Blueberry Butter Cake" but I feel like adding some leftover berries from my freezer. I used blueberry, raspberry and blackberry for this butter cake. For those who don't like the bit of seeds from the raspberries, better use apple and blueberry. I believe it will taste good too! For me, the soury and the bit of sweetness and juicy of the berries make the butter cake light and refreshing. Finally, I find myself quite like butter cake. Thanks Mum!

Recipes:
250g butter
200g caster sugar
5 eggs
200g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 green apple (peel, cored, diced)
100g blueberry
** 1 orange zest or lemon zest

Greese and line 20cm (8inch) baking tin. Preheat oven to 180C. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Fold in shifted flour and baking powder, mix well. Spread batter into prepared tin. Sprinkle apples over the batter and spoon blueberry filling over the apples. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until cooked.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2010 ! My first baking of the year got nothing special to share but just a simple cookie recipe that came with some compliments from my family members and friends during the Xmas season. This is a very simple recipe which you could make the dough in advance and bake it whenever you want to refill your cookie jar. It could be shaped in any fancy patterns before frozen. I've no idea how to name this frozen cookie, please give it a good name if you can. Here are two type of flavours, plain and cocoa that go with some pecans and chocolate chips. People who had tasted love the texture and it serve well with a cup of coffee or tea. Freeze more doughs and make it as a little gift in a rush in NO TIME!!

Beat 110g butter with 50g icing sugar until lightly pale and fluffy. Add in the 150g shifted flour and 25g cocoa powder if you like to make cocoa flavour, otherwise replace the 25g with plain flour. Add some pecan, walnut or chocolate chips but not too little or too much. You want to taste the crunchiness and also easy to cut out in pieces once the dough harden from the freezer. I added 30g pecan and 30g chocolate chips into the mixture. Using a wooden spoon to mix until everything come together. Place half the cookie dough on a piece of cling film. For square shape, I used a 1 1/2 inches height baking tray to make an even square shape. Wrap the cookie dough with the cling film in a longish shape about 1 1/2 inches even size then pushing it to the side of the baking tray, press it and pushing another side again until you've got an even size of square loaf of cookie dough. Place in the freezer until harden. Cut out the cookie with your desirable thickness and bake in the oven at 170C for about 15 minutes. Keep in the cookie jar when it completely cool. Place a piece or two at the side of your coffee or tea, enjoy!

Happy Christmas!


This will be my last posting of the year 2009. Year end normally would be the most busiest time for me. I really have no time to think a new log cake this year, however manage to made a log cake last night which is exactly the same log as last year. Hope you don't feel bored with this old log.
Wishing everyone have a blessed Christmas and thank you for all your comments and encouragement to help me go on with this food blog. Look forward to seeing all the lovely post on you all. Happy New Year!

Stollen

Last year, I made Panettone for X'mas but did not manage to try out any Stollen recipes. So, this year I got to try a Stollen recipe first before Panettone. It's something new to me and I think the texture is something like Panettone. Again, Stollen is also one of the bread that Italian will have during the X'mas but now everywhere having it for this lovely season.
I'm not sure why Stollen had its unique shape, anyway I just followed the recipe. The texture is soft on the day it's baked and taste quite good with some dried apricot, cranberries, raisin and the crunchy pecan had given it extra texture. Not to forget, my favorite ingredients "cinnamon" make this bread taste better. My hubby and I very much prefer Stollen and Panettone instead of Fruit Cake.
The bread wasn't that soft the next day. So, I tuck it back to the oven at 200C losely wrapped with aluminium foil to warm it back, then it's turn soft again and it's nice to serve warm I feel. My first experiment told me that I should make it again to give away as a gift very soon.

Recipe from 65度汤肿面包 (make two loafs)
(A) 270g bread flour / 30g plain flour / 1 tsp cinammon powder / 30g sugar / 3g salt / 6g yeast
(B) 135g milk / 30g beaten egg
(C) 90g unsalted butter
(D) 130g dried fruits (apricot, raisin, cranberries) / 50g pecan nuts (toasted and chopped)
  1. With a dough hook mixer, mix ingredients (A) and (B) at low speed unitl a crumbly consistency.
  2. Gradually add in the unsalted butter until everything combine. Change to a medium low speed continue the kneading process until it become smooth and elastic.
  3. Add in ingredients (D) until everything stick with the dough. Take out the dough from the machine, add in any dried fruits or nuts that didn't stick to it. Make the dough into a smooth round shape and let it proof for 40 minutes in a clean bowl cover with cling wrap.
  4. Divide the dough into two portions and shape them into smooth round dough. Let it rest for 15 minutes.
  5. Roll out the dough to a flat round shape, fold 2/3 of the dough from left to right. Use a rolling pin press all the way down at the other 1/3 of the dough. So here you've got three paddle stollen.
  6. Let the doughs sit at the baking tray proof for 40 minutes cover with cling wrap.
  7. Bake at 180C for 30 minutes until golden brown. When the bread out from the oven, immediate brush some melted butter on the dough and sprinkle over lots of sugar powder.