631: I baked a…
Carrot cake again this morning! Second time baking this weekend. It’s easy but just that the part when you have to manually grate all the carrots is a bit tiring. I put lotsa carrots, lotsa CINNAMON, pineapple, lotsa walnuts and raisins. 🙂 awesome mix!
630: Om-nom-nom!
Haven’t been updating this blog for a while! Just had the random inspiration to do so after manually grating six carrots, *phew* tiring. Thought I’ll just show evidences of my kitchen endeavours! Mostly lunches I prepare for work and the occasional baking! (:
614: berry blissed
Baked a birthday cake for my lil cousin’s 4th birthday today! It’s gonna be my present for her.
Oreo base, lemon-zest vanilla beans cheesecake with hidden blueberries, sour cream layer and raspberries/blueberries toppings! I’m really pleased with how it turned out to be.
580: Hijiki Nimono (Simmered Hijiki)
I’m taking a break from a full day of studying yesterday and today so I’m here! I know the whole world’s panicking over the upcoming board exams (THE EXAM) on Monday. But well, as usual, I’m not going to let the fluster affect me. It’s something I’ve learnt through the years (and especially through the four years in university). I’ve just got to believe I can do it. I’m doing my best, I really am and that is what’s most important! So calm and steady, face the world, just smile, take a bow and embrace everything that comes my way.
It’s been a while since I’ve documented anything food-related in this humble blog of mine. I was quite upset in the morning because I didn’t go running in the morning and I didn’t feel motivated enough to get down to studying. But I got back on my tiny feets and I’m back and kicking! Just went running at around 6pm and it was good. 4.5km this time round and I improved on my timing. Wheeee (: But the only bothersome thing is that I probably just exacerbated my old injury. I have a terribly weak ankle from the terrible crippling fracture in primary school and I often have regular twists and sprains. The best part is that I just sprained my right ankle last Thursday two times at work in a short span of 3 hours (how nice!). And after today’s run, my right ankle was so terribly painful. ):
I just wanted to share a simple recipe here and my dinners for the past two days. I’ve been all home alone the past two days because everybody (at home) is so busy. Mum’s back at work at her usual temporary job invigilating university kids because it’s the exam season! Dad’s back at his old job because his new one was unsuitable for him! And just yesterday, the parents went out drinking with their friends again! The sis has been busy with school, exams and dating. Oh wells, it’s just me, myself and I at home right now. It’s sad and lonely. And the silence can be a bit scary at times, so it’s time to blast some music.
Anyway, I’ve been dying to make some simmered hijiki since I ate it at the japanese restaurant Ootoya last time. It was (I think) $5 for a tiny portion! Hijiki is a kind of seaweed.
So here goes.
HIJIKI NIMONO (Simmered HIJIKI)
Ingredients
1) 40g hijiki
2) 4 pieces of japanese beancurd puff
3) 50g carrot (I used one medium carrot)
4) 1 tbsp sesame oil
5) 200ml dashi stock
6) 2 tbsp mirin
7) 2 tbsp sake
8) 1 tbsp sugar
9) 1 tbsp japanese shoyu (I just used the normal light soy sauce)
Soak the hijiki in hot water for 20 minutes. The dried hijiki will balloon and expand in size (it’s pretty scary a transformation). Rinse and drain.
Scald the beancurd puff in hot water. Squeeze dry and cut into fine strip. Cut the carrot into thick strips.
Heat up the sesame oil in a pot and fry hijiki until fragrant. Add the dashi, mirin, sake, sugar and soy sauce and bring to boil over medium heat. Switch to low hear and continue stewing for 10 minutes. Add beancurd puff and carrot strips. Continue stewing until the gravy is thickened (about 20 minutes).
Set to cool and refrigerate. Can be served cold or hot and it’s terrific with plain white rice!
Here’s how I ate my hijiki himono.
For dinner yesteday, I had it on top of a tiny bowl of japanese white rice and topped it with some dried shrimps (sakura ebi). And of course, my usual bowl of greens (arugula/wild rocket with alfalfa sprouts with japanese sesame dressing).
And today, I needed something to make myself happy after a day of studying. What better than to run in the evening followed by a nice homemade dinner! So I decided to use the cold hijiki I made yesterday (and stored in the refrigerator) and make something with it! This is totally Rina’s own concoction! It’s a tofu patty! I’ve seen recipes online making tofu patties with hijiki but they have been using the firm tofu (tau kwa) since it has a lower water content. But I only have silken tofu at home! Oh wells, I’m going ahead with it so I mashed it up and mixed in the simmered hijiki. Then, grease a small loaf tin with a bit of oil. Flatten the tofu mixture and bake it in the oven at 180 degree Celsius for 40 minutes. It was really really good! I’m pretty amazed myself (: And of course, served with greens! Yays I’ve finished (FINALLY) my stock of alfalfa sprouts and wild rocket!
Simple homecooked meals are such comfort food and make me a happy girl! And yes, it’s even better when you know they’re healthier, haha! (:
566: Strawberry Crumble Bars
Because I was feeling so empty and helpless and down inside on a Saturday after a day of lectures, I headed home with a cup of pearl-less, 10% sugar gongcha milk green tea and strawberries to bake some strawberry crumble.
I feel strange inside me, I feel sadly empty and restless. I should be glad. I’m long done with my project report and slides after many sleepless nights and thoughts-filled days. And I managed to turn my deemed “clinically-insignificant” project around into something miraculously significant! There is much hope in this world afterall. 🙂 Learning log is almost done, short of the case reviews I have yet to do because I’m only starting my new rotation to a new section tomorrow. The only thing bugging me now is my case presentation for oncology which I have to do soon soon! But Rina can do it so no worries about it!
Made strawberry crumble just last evening! They turned out pretty and surprise surprise! The parents (even Daddy) and sis ate them for breakfast today! I used the recipe I wrote about in my previous entry!
I am so emo now. 内心的无奈无语言说！I have work later and I end at an unearthly time of 930pm. My Sunday’s gone gone gone. And then, it’s back to work on Monday morning at 9am again. SIGH emo emo emo!
519: Spiced Pumpkin Patty sandwich!
I love the vegetarian burgers at Cedele! Especially my favourite beetroot avocado burger! I never liked beetroot because Daddy used to make raw beetroot juice that tasted like soil (ewwwww!). But the beetroot patty was omg just so heavenly! It’s the wonderful Indian spices that go into the burger. Love indian food (:
So today, on impulse, I decided to make a pumpkin patty with the leftover pumpkin in the fridge. I’ve been on a sandwich craze lately, bringing sandwich for lunch to work everyday. Pumpkin patty just sounds so good (and vegetarian)!
It smells really good now. Made four patties and one will be for my lunch tomorrow. One will be for Mummy’s sandwich tomorrow. And the other two will be frozen and stored for my lunch on Tuesday.
I’ve no proper recipe. But here’s what I did.
I steamed the pumpkin (about 400g) and chickpeas (greater proportion of pumpkin to chickpeas) and mashed them. I toasted a slice of wholemeal bread to get breadcrumbs. After the bread is well-toasted, I chopped and mashed the bread into fine crumbs. Into a bowl, I added in the fine toasted bread crumbs, a bit of chopped fresh onions, 1/2 – 1 tsp of ground cinammon, 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of garlic powder, about 1 tbsp of dried parsley, 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper each, 1/2 tsp of manuka honey, 1/2 tsp of peanut butter and 1/2 tsp of canola oil. Mix them really well.
Add the mixture in the bowl to the mashed steamed pumpkin and chickpeas and mix well. Then add about 1/3 cup of plain flour and mix well. Shape into patties. Pan-fry on medium heat, about 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown.
Serve with bread or burger bun or panini bread or ciabatta. The options are unlimited! You can add in cheese, tomato, cucumber, lettuce, avocado…
Mine was just a simple mediterranean panini sandwich with the spiced pumpkin patty and cheese slices with cucumber! So looking forward to my lunch tomorrow(:
Here’s the pumpkin “mash” before shaping into patties!
Pan-frying the patties until golden brown on each side!
Tah-dah! My lovely VEGETARIAN sandwich! So proud of it (:
479: Baileys Irish Cream Ice Cream
It’s been at least 4-5 months since I’ve churned or made any ice-cream. Sis brought a bottle of Baileys home and she has been bugging me to make Baileys Irish Cream ice cream. So I’ve decided to please her by making her a tub of it since I know that the parents (especially Daddy) like Baileys Irish Cream too. I was a little apprehensive about making this ice-cream because I know that alcoholic ice-cream is particularly hard to freeze. They are often pretty ‘soft’ ice cream. But well, the fears were unfounded. Here’s a pretty good Bailey Irish Cream ice cream. My first alcoholic ice-cream! Another small step in conquering ice cream making! (:
The recipe was pretty much trial and error. The base is in the usual proportions, as always. I just reduce it to make up to about 500ml volume. I find that making my ice-cream in smaller proportion is easier to churn in my maker! Hence so!
Freshly churned, still 80% soft ice-cream!
The ice cream nicely churned and froze well (YAYS!)
The spirit!
“My precious” (as what Gollum will say) – pure vanilla bean paste!
Baileys Irish Cream Ice Cream
Base
2/3 cup fresh milk
1/8 cup sugar
1 and 1/3 cups heavy cream
3 egg yolks
1 tsp pure vanilla bean paste
1/2 tsp pure vanilla bean extract
Add-Ons
1/2 cup Baileys Ice Cream (adjust to preference)
1. Warm milk, sugar, vanilla bean paste and vanilla bean extract and heavy cream in saucepan until tiny bubbles appear at the sides of the saucepan.
2. Whisk together the egg yolks in a separate bowl.
3. Pour warm milk-sugar-cream mixture into the whisked egg yolks and mix ontinuously to warm the egg yolk and prevent the egg yolks from becoming cooked (aka scrambled eggs). Then transfer the mixture into the saucepan.
5. Stir the mixture constantly over low-medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scooping the bottom as your stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer.
6. Pour in the Baileys Irish Cream and mix it well.
7. Stir until cool over an ice bath and chill the mixture in a refrigerator for at least 4 hours. After 4 hours, the custard becomes slightly more viscous.
8. When ready to churn, freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
464: Dried Apricots and Currants Scones
As promised, I baked some dried apricots and currants scones, using the recipe adapted from a blog, Treats. The scones are so tall and pretty! These are one of the tallest and prettiest scones I’ve baked! OMG I cannot wait to eat them for breakfast tomorrow! Imagine them warm or hot with strawberry or raspbery jam spread in between the scone layers! These are going to be breakfast for the next few days! Yay so happy because I’m so productive today.
Okay! Now it’s time for some episodes of The Big Bang Theory before I call it a day! (:
The recipe from Treats. I pretty much just had dried apricots and currants in 1:1 ratio to make up 3/4 cups for the scones. Otherwise, I followed really closely to the recipe.
463: A Typical Saturday!
Just a typical Saturday today! It’s October already!
Woke up early today, headed to work early as always! I’m always an hour early for work! Hadn’t realised that it’s Saturday today and traffic was ultra good. So I had more time to bum around before work. For some reason, I love the hospital on a Saturday morning. Everyone feels not-quite-awake yet. It’s probably cause’ everyone’s in a weekend mode.
Work on a Saturday was good. I had time to do my stuff, catch up on some work and do some readings. Dilly-dallied, fiddled with my documents in my laptop, did some random food surfing, fiddled with my notes and casenotes before leaving the hospital at around 2 plus! Decided to head down to town to roam around alone for a teeny tiny while. I couldn’t resist the beautiful display of macarons at TWG Tea Salon at the basement food hall of Takashimaya. They were so beauuuuutifuuuul! So exquisite looking! And I read from many food blogs that the macarons at TWG were pretty good. So I got a box of six! I’m spending money unnecessarily on food again. Anyway, this box of 6 macarons will last me for a week or two. It’s too pricey and exquisite to gulp them down all at one shot. Got to savour them slowly! The last time my box of Canele macaroons lasted me two weeks!
Anyway, I got two earl grey with chocolate (the brown ones), napoleon black tea with caramel (the black one), 1837 black tea with blackcurrant (dark pink), moroccan mint tea (white) and bain de rose tea (light pink). I should have gotten another different flavour to try instead of getting two earl grey ones! Oh wells, I wasn’t thinking right then! Never mind, another time.
I want to get down to baking macarons/macaroons soon! Mark my words! (:
And after the little town adventure, I headed home before heading out right away for a run! I’ve been craving for a run soooo badly. So I had to make sure I run! I feel good. Oh yeah! (: I’m going running again tomorrow!
Didn’t feel like going out with the parents and the uncle and aunties for dinner so I decided to stay home with sis. She cooked her usual hiyashi chukka ramen with her same old favourite flowy egg and edamame. So boring! I decided to cook myself some good old homemade pumpkin soup. Hot homemade soup warms my soul (:
Digged out some leftover pumpkin and baby carrots from the fridge. Boiled the pumpkin and carrots until soft before blending them in the blender with some good chicken stock. Added extra virgin olive oil to the pan and caramelised some onions and garlic. Throw in the onions and garlic into the blender and blend until slightly viscous and homogeneous. Transfer the blended mixture into a pot and stir until it bubbles and boils. Meanwhile, add in herbs and spices as you wish. I added in some black pepper, oregano flakes and rosemary leaves. Once it bubbles and boils, it’s ready to be served. Add a dash of dried basil on the soup and tah-dah! It’s good to eat! (:
Warms my soul and makes me a happy girl (: This crazy girl is off to bake some tall dried apricots scones (for breakfasts for the next few days) now before retiring off with some episodes of The Big Bang Theory and perhaps, some work. Alright, maybe no work. Saturday will be a R&R day and I’m NOT doing any work today! The work shall wait. Tomorrow it shall be (:
Tata (:
438: Walnut Moontarts
Having runner’s high after the run in the evening! So therapeutic! I felt really really good and happy! It must be the endorphins! I ran alone so it’s just me myself and some really good music! It is so important to have the right kind of music when running to get you through the run! Me thinks some light rock/rock music helps! Haha I’ve been listening to Neon Tree’s Animal on repeat while running (Love the Glee Warblers version too) ! I love the guitar in the background! It’s been a while since I’ve ran (oh my gosh, way more than 12 weeks ago, before pre-reg actually started)! Felt soooooooo unhealthy! I’m sooooooooo going to do more running from now onwards and it starts today! Yeah!:)
Anyway, my walnut moontarts were successful! LEAPS OF JOY! Haha the recipe yielded about 40 moontarts and basically 24 (3 boxes of 8) will go to the grandparents, Aunt Jenny and family and Uncle Peter and family. I hope they’ll like it! I did everything all by myself, right from sourcing the recipe to physically making the pastry dough etc. I thought my Mum would be helping me but she was soooo evil. She happily left everything for me to do while she happily watched her Hong Kong dramas! Daddy did help me weigh out the white lotus paste and placed the walnuts on the tarts! Anyway, they look so pretty! I’m so proud of these little babies but I’m so biased. So please ignore me. 😦
Recipe is from Baking Mum.
Anyway, I love this acoustic live version of Neon Tree’s Animal.
And also, the version from the Warblers!
433: Colours and Love!
Another very very impromptu baking attempt today again. Simple and fuss-free because I have so much I needed to do today! Work work work work. 😦 The cousins (Wen Xi, Felicia and Jovan) came over together with the aunts, uncle and grandparents today for dinner. the parents cooked up a simple dinner of fried sotong bee hoon and baked chicken wings. But because I was stuck with work, I barely had time to spend with the family, having to lock myself up in the room to do work! How reclusive! ):
It’s Teachers’ Day on Thursday and I was tasked to make cupcakes at the request of the mum and aunt for my cousins for their teachers. Haha! Kids these days are just so fortunate. But I had no choice since I wanted to make the kids happy. So I took an hour off work to do some baking! I made some vanilla cupcakes (with a hidden slab of Hershey’s Cookies and Cream chocolate) and did up a simple cream cheese frosting. I left the decorations part to the two girls and they just adorned the cupcake with so much of those colourful dots thingy and chopped nuts. And yes, the table was in a huge mess! And I had to clean up all the mess after that. But I think the kids had fun, which was good (:
I thought that the cupcake looked really pretty after all the decoration! Pretty colours! (:
I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.
I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.
– What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
420: Chocolate – White Chocolate Chunks Muffin
I’m really really pleased with how this muffin turned out to be! Hehe! Took a few pinches and there were quite the chocolatey muffin. Yay!
And because (from the previous post), I had the whole house and kitchen all to myself this afternoon. So I wreaked havoc in the kitchen and I baked some chocolate-white chocolate chunks muffin! They mushroomed! And I love how the white chocolate chunks on the top of the muffins turned out to be, they were so random and scattered! I love everything random and messy! Baked eight muffins and I am going to give them all away to my colleagues at work tomorrow to thank them for all their help these past 10 weeks! I’m evil because I don’t think my throat can take these chocolatey babies as well! Oh my gosh, it’s Week 11 starting tomorrow! It’s pretty scary how fast time flies.
Recipe is adapted from Nigella’s Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins. I didn’t have chocolate chips so I chopped up my Cadbury white chocolate bar into chunks and mixed them into the batter. Read some reviews that the 2 tbsp of cocoa powder weren’t chocolatey enough for the muffin and a baker even suggested the addition of another tablespoon of cocoa powder plus 1/3 cup of melted semi-sweet chocolate. And that was precisely what I added! Ooh chocolate overload! But I somehow think I prefer my baked goods more chocolatey than less. Hmm?
Alright, it’s back to studying for now! Nice music and english breakfast tea – perfect study companion!
386: Super Vanilla Cheesecake
My original plans for the holidays were to bake, cook and play hard but things didn’t turn out that way in the end. Time flies! 5 weeks have flown past and (yes it’s currently 2am, Sunday) and I’m finally going to start work tomorrow (Monday). I’m dreading it. I’ve been dreading it since the start of the holidays. Alright, I’ve been dreading this since 4 years ago. I cannot believe I’ve graduated (officially in July) and I’m entering the workforce. The jitters!
I need to play hard today (Sunday)! Will be joining the family to Sentosa (yes, again! I just went on Friday!) later today because the aunt booked a deluxe (sounds pretty huge) hotel room at Festive Hotel at Resorts World Sentosa. I want to eat Garett’s Caramel Crisp popcorn! Haha but it’s ultra fattening and terribly sinful. Oh wells. I think reality will only set in tonight (Sunday night) when I start worrying and get all nervous and scared.
It was the birthday celebration for two of my close friends yesterday (in fact, it was just 3 hours ago when we went our separate ways home). I baked them a super vanilla cheesecake from Keiko Ishida’s Okashi. It’s a really good cheesecake, something I will definitely bake again and again!
The friends loved it. Haha! I’m glad they did. One of them (who’s earning really really really well now) suggested I start a business and he’s willing to chip in. Say, a cake shop/cafe/bakery/online business? Haha that sounds very very distant right now. I’ve never thought about it because I don’t think I’m good at all. I’m still learning along the way. I’m still a very amateur baker. But I love baking and cooking and experimenting! Baking”s something I will not give up anytime soon. In fact, I joked that since he’s earning so well, it would be wonderful if I get a scholarship from him to study a basic Pattiserie or Pastry course at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris to better myself!!! Haha or even Le Cordon Bleu in London, Seoul, Kobe or Tokyo! Haha that sounds very cool right? Alright, maybe sometime in the near distant future, I may decide to fly to Paris to learn a skill or two! That’ll wait. For now, pre-reg training awaits me! ):
You know, I had wanted to get an iPad 2. I’ve been lusting over one since before its release. But after seeing how similar the functions are to the iPhone (just that it’s larger), I’ve decided I’m not getting one. In fact, I’m thinking of getting a Kitchenaid Artisan Mixer instead. I believe a younger me (say, the 18 year old me) will not believe that 5 years down the road, I’m giving up my iPad for a Kitchenaid. I cannot believe that instead of lusting over branded bags and shoes like a normal 23 year old female, I’m lusting over kitchen appliances like the gorgeous Kitchenaid Artisan mixer. I sound very old, don’t I?
I realised I’ve digressed. Back to the super vanilla cheesecake, it’s just awesome! I used the beans from a vanilla pod and pure vanilla extract for the cheesecake. And the cheesecake layer was quite awesome, it was perfect. Not too dense and adequately moist. Just like those sold at Bakerzin! It’s a cake that I wouldn’t mind eating if I didn’t have to count my daily calories. The blueberries added the really beautiful purple tinge and slight tartness that complemented the cheesecake layer. I love this recipe, it’s a keeper! I added on some white and dark chocolate shavings (just shred the chocolates!) for garnishes.
I’m sharing the recipe from the book, but I adapted it since I didn’t have a compact food processor, I used my hand mixer but the key is NOT TO OVERMIX the cheese batter mixture. Just mix until it is well combined. Avoid introducing air in as it would cause cracks in the cake when baking. Other than using a hand mixer, a powerful arm to do some light manual mixing works fine too!
Super Vanilla Cheesecake (for a 20cm Springform cake pan)
Adapted from Keiko Ishida’s Okashi
Ingredients
195g wheat crackers (or Digestive biscuits)
75g melted unsalted butter
330g cream cheese
75g castor sugar
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 TBSP whipping cream (35% fat)
1 vanilla pod + 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 pack (125g) fresh blueberries
195g sour cream (I used the light sour cream, for obvious reasons)
30g icing sugar
Instructions
1) Make cheesecake a day in advance. Preheat oven to 170 degree Celsiu. Prepare a 20cm round springform cake pan. Lightly grease with butter.
2) Mash wheat crackers (or Digestive biscuits) into fine crumbs (I used a mortar). Add melted butter and mix well.
3) Transfer crumbs to cake pan and spread evenly. Press down to pack crumbs tightly, using the base of a glass cup, then place pan in the refrigerator to set.
4) Place cream cheese in microwave oven and heat at 600W (medium) for about 15 seconds or until softened. Mix in sugar, egg yolks, cream and vanilla. Mix well. (I used the hand mixer and mixed in VERY lightly at low speed until just evenly combined).
5) Arrange blueberries over cracker base, then pour cream cheese mixture over and bake for 25-30 minutes until top of cheesecake is light brown and centre feels springy to the touch. Remove cheesecake from the oven.
6) Increase oven temperature to 200 degree Celsius.
7) Mix together sour cream and icing sugar. Heat in the microwave oven at 600W (Medium) for about 30 seconds until mixture becomes fluid. Pour over baked cheesecake and return to the oven to bake for another 2-3 minutes for sour cream layer to set.
8) Remove cheesecake from oven and leave to cool on a wire rack. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate overnight.
9) To unmould cheesecake, warm sides of cake pan with a warm towel or blowtorch. (I used a warm knife to gently slide along the inner sides of the springform pan to release the cakes from the sides). To slice cake, use a warm knife. Garnish as desired. Serve.
Alrights, it’s terribly past my bedtime! It’s 3am already! Turning in soon, goodnight world.
383: Paper Sponge Cake
I’m thankful that the angioedema due to my allergic response to aspirin subsided pretty quickly. When I woke up this morning, the swelling in the right lower eyelid was gone. Thankfully! It was pretty uncomfortable having this tiny bump under my right eye. No more puffy goldfish. As for now, the next time someone asks if I’ve any drug allergy, it’ll be Aspirin. Daddy is allergic to Aspirin and NSAIDS too. At least, I’m putting what I’ve learnt in school to good use now. Haha! (:
Anyway, with just 1 and a half weeks left before work officially starts, I have to play to my heart’s content. The irritating thing is that I’ve to attend a 3 full day First Aid course next week so that means with 3 days gone, I’ve only 1 week left to the start of work (and yes, downhill from then on).
I’ve decided to bake paper sponge cake today, using the recipe from Happy Flour.
The sponge cake was lovely, it was really light and fluffy within. And cheap thrill! I love the top browned crust, that’s a little crispy. This is a very light cake! If not for my personal self-restraint, I believe anyone can devour a few at a go. It’s healthy too, since there’s no use of butter at all.
Head over to Happy Flour for the recipe!
379: Cheesecake Cocoa Brownies
I saw these cheesecake brownies on The Way It Crumbles and was instantly drawn to it! They were so beautiful and so fudgey! It’s actually my first attempt at this recipe and also, a cocoa brownies (no chocolates involved). The cocoa brownies recipe was from the Best Cocoa Brownies recipe, adapted from Alice Mendrich’s Bittersweet. It’s the famous recipe that many bloggers online stand by! It’s really really awesome! I tried one tiny slice and oh my god, it’s so sticky, chewy, fudgey, rich and chocolatey! It’s my definition of the perfect brownie texture! Who knows that even without chocolates, you can have such rich chocolatey goodness! I was a little afraid that the amount of sugar used would be crazily too much but I guess you need some of those sweetness to counter the bitter cocoa powder. The brownie wasn’t overly sweet and the sweetness was just perfect. The cheesecake layer was adequately ‘tart’ and my tastebuds think the sweetness was just nice as well. This is definitely the recipe to keep! Alright, it’s currently my favourite brownie recipe because it’s so yummy plus I have all the ingredients ever ready in my kitchen so it’s really convenient to just bake them!
So head over to The Way It Crumbles for the full recipe of the cheesecake brownies and admire those beautiful pictures! I was in a rush so I merely took some photos with the iPhone and I think they’re presentable enough (?). Haha! I actually baked the brownies a tad longer because even after 20-25 minutes (as stipulated by the recipe), my brownies weren’t set yet. So I actually baked the brownies for 35 minutes and left them in the oven (with door ajar) for about 10 minutes. So the baking time will depend on the oven! My oven’s getting a little cranky with age! I will love to own one of those Borsch conventional ovens with those beautiful stainless steel rims, clear shiny extra large glass window and those cool electronic display! Haha but that’s a distant dream because one of those would costs a few thousands.
Anyway, I’m going to bring them for the chalet later! (: Hope the friends will like them! ARGHHH the weather is so so so so so hot, the sun is just awful and terrible and I really don’t wish to leave the house in such a weather. But I have to. ARGHHH!
Edit: The friends really liked the brownies a lot! I am so so glad! They finished quite a lot! And I brought some for the cousins and the aunt too. The cute little one ate it so well and even told me that it’s really nice! The aunt even praised that the brownies were really nice! I’m so happy! Lalalalaaa~ Haha!
376: Inarizushi いなり寿司
Prepared this for lunch! Inarizushi! Sushi rice in tofu pouches!
Prepared an ugly rilakkuma version of Inarizushi for the younger sister who loves rilakkuma. Haha it’s kind of my first attempt at making character bentos.
But other than that, I thought the Inarizushi was really yummy! I followed the recipe from my favourite youtube cooking channel “Cooking With Dog”. Mixed the seasoned sushi rice with carrot, dried shitake mushrooms and sesame seeds before stuffing them into the tofu pouches!
Anyway, I’m going to attempt the agedashi tofu recipe also from “Cooking With Dog” for dinner today because I’m tasked to prepare two dishes for dinner today. Of which, I have to finish using the celery and the tofu. So it’s stir-fry celery (with carrot and shrimps) and agedashi tofu!
369: French Apple Tart (Tarte Aux Pommes)
French apple tart has been on my to-bake list for the longest time. Ever since I got the metal tart mould from Daiso, I haven’t baked any tarts with it (except for using it to bake my scottish shortbread cookies). Anyway, I bought a bunch of Granny Smith green apples just last week just for this attempt of the french apple tart.
And I must say that the french apple tart is really good! I’m really amazed as well. I had a really good apple tart slice years ago someplace which I can’t seem to remember and I’ve been wanting to bake something similar!
The french apple tart is really really simple and it’s worth giving it a try! I adapted the recipe from Baking Library. The pastry was really as described, buttery flaky and crumbly. The perfect tart pastry, in my opinion. The apple slices were crisp at the edges but juicy and mildly firm. I love that there was a slightly tartness to the Granny Smith green apples and the slight sweetness of the cinammon-sugar mixture and the apple syrup glaze complements the tartness.
BEFORE BAKING
AFTER BAKING
I’m lazy to type out the recipe but head over to Baking Library for the step-by-step tutorial for making the pastry (Pâte Brisée) for the apple tart. My little improvisation was that after laying out the apple slices on the tart, I melted 2 tbsp of butter and spread the melted butter thinly over the apple slices and also a little on the crust sides. Then instead of just using 2 tbsp of sugar, I mixed in 1/4 tsp of cinammon powder with the sugar to form the cinammon-sugar mixture. I then sprinkled the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the apple slices to coat them.
As for the glaze, I didn’t exactly use the apricot jam glaze in the recipe as I was lazy to head down to the supermarket near my place just to get a jar of apricot jam (I have only blueberry jam at home). So I made an apple syrup glaze. It’s pretty simple and you can make full use of the entire apple! Basically, I throw in 1/2 cup of castor sugar and all the peels and cores from the 4 apples that I have into a medium saucepan. I then fill it with water (not too much) until it covers the mixture and allow it to simmer over low-medium heat for about 25 minutes. I then strain the peels and the cores and you should get a slight-viscous apple syrup glaze!
So after baking the tart and allowing it to cool for at least 15 minutes, you can brush on the apple syrup glaze thinly (or generously) to coat each apple slice!
Then you get your delicious french apple tart! (: My tart mould was pretty small so I actually used 2 to 2 1/2 apples for the large tart. As for the leftover tart dough and apples, I used them to make 12 mini apple tarts!
366: Arugula Walnut Pesto
With the leftover Arugula, I decided to make some Arugula Walnut Pesto. I had originally wanted to add in pine nuts since I recalled that Mummy had a stash of pine nuts available. But I couldn’t find them. So I resorted to using baked walnuts. Pretty simple recipe, you just need a blender and blend everything together!
The pesto smelt really lovely as I blended all the ingredients in. The texture of my pesto is a little coarse but you can definitely blend it for a longer time. They would be perfect with spaghetti for lunch next week! For now, the pesto goes into the freezer, to be stored until use. Hehe I just bought a block of Parmigiano-Reggiano and I think grated Parmigiano-Reggiano together with the pesto spaghetti would be perfect!
Arugula Walnut Pesto
Ingredients
2 cups arugula (wild rocket)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup toasted or baked walnuts, crushed
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
dash of ground black pepper
Juice from 2 small limes (only because I had no lemons at home)
Instructions
Just blend all the ingredients together in the blender until the desired texture.
365: Oven Baked Teriyaki Chicken Thigh
And so, with the chicken thigh meat and wild arugula, I set out this morning to prepare for my lunch today. Oven baked teriyaki chicken thigh on a bed of wild arugula with japanese sesame dressing.
The teriyaki sauce was made from scratch using the recipe from AllRecipes.com. I thought it was not bad, but just a tad salty. I’ll probably cut down on the soy sauce the next time round. And yes, a generous amount of toasted white sesame seeds, only because I love sesame seeds.
Baked Teriyaki Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon cold water
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 12 skinless chicken thighs
- In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the cornstarch, cold water, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger and ground black pepper. Let simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and bubbles.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
- Place chicken pieces in a lightly greased 9×13 inch baking dish. Brush chicken with the sauce. Turn pieces over, and brush again.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn pieces over, and bake for another 30 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear. Brush with sauce every 10 minutes during cooking.
362: More Scones Love (Perfect Scones!)
I did it! I just met my Mr (Scones) Right! Okay, that’s apparently not funny! But I made some fine scones this afternoon! They were tall, split right across the centre, lovely browned and so fluffy! It’s like meeting my perfect match, after many rounds of match-making. After so many rounds of experimentation, I found you! (:
Don’t feel like blogging so much about this batch of scones because I think the pictures speak a thousand words. I am so in love.
Golden Cranberry Scones Recipe
(Makes about 8 round 2.5″ diameter scones)
225g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
50g butter (soft, at room tempature)
25g brown sugar
1 tbsp of honey
1 egg, beaten (made up to 150mL with cold fresh milk)
Cranberries (about 40-50g) –> Raisins or chocolate chips are good too!
Preheat oven to 220 degree Celsius. Mix the self-raising flour and baking powder in a bowl, add butter and rub it in with your fingertips untill the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
In a measure, crack egg and lightly beat it. Makeup to 150ml volume with fresh milk. Add in the brown sugar and honey and then mix until well-blended.
Stir in the egg-milk mixture into the dry ingredients (you can add in the cranberries in two additions here too) until a soft dough is formed (At this stage, the dough may be very sticky and moist). Turn the dough onto a lightly floured table, knead lightly and then roll out to 2cm thickness.
Refrigerate the dough until slightly firm, for at least an hour.
Cut into rounds with a cutter. Place them, spaced apart, onto a large baking sheet.
Brush the tops with a little fresh milk and bake for about 10 minutes or till golden brown.
Serve warm with jam! (or butter, or clotted cream with jam)
347: Craisin Scones
I’m scones crazy! My attempts at baking the scones the past year(s) or so haven’t been really successful. Haven’t attempted many recipes but they all fall short of my ‘ideal’ scone. So I resorted to satisfying my scones cravings with store bought scones from the local bakeries (like Oishii Bakery or Four Leaves) and Cedele. I’ve thrown out flat scones, scones that taste disgustingly flour-y/dough-y and just weird scones.
I decided to try this recipe by Gregoire Michaud because the scones are so beautifully tall and they look just like my ‘ideal’ scone. I’m so glad I haven’t given up on my search for the perfect scones recipe or in trying to perfect my scones making/baking skills. I’ll just need to perfect the way I cut out the scones to get those perfect round scones!
My scones were not as beautifully tall (with those lovely caps!) or pretty or perfectly round just like those featured in the blog of Gregoire Michaud but they smell and taste absolutely wonderful! I’m not kidding! The scones still smell so lovely 7 hours after baking them, in the container I’ve stored them in. I can’t help just lifting off the lid to take in a few whiffs of the lovely fragrances of the scones while studying.
Scones Recipe from Gregoire Michaud
Ingredients
- 500g flour
- 95g sugar
- 25g baking powder
- 125g butter
- 2 eggs
- 100ml milk (or cream if you dare!) —> I added cream because I’m brave! Haha! (:
- 60g sultanas (optional) –> I added a mixture of cranberries and sultanas/raisins!
Method
- Mix the flour, sugar and baking powder together with the butter until it resembles a crumble mixture
- Add the eggs and milk (and the sultanas last if required and mix in quickly)
- Leave the dough to rest for 10 minutes, then roll out to about 15mm high
- Cut into rounds and brush egg over the tops
- Bake at 200°C for approximately 20 minutes, until nicely golden brown
And NOW, I cannot wait for my breakfast tomorow. It’s scones for breakfast on Wednesday (and possibly, Thursday and Friday too)! Warm scones with orange preserve! I love 🙂
339: Good Old Pound Cake
I’m currently in a pound cake baking frenzy! After the really good, delicious and popular condensed milk pound cake (which I discovered to my disappointment that they disappeared from the cake box on Monday! I’ve pound cake thieves at home!), I told myself that I needed to bake another to satisfy those pound cake cravings of mine!
I was lazy to leave home today (under the super hot sun, please!) just to get a can of condensed milk. And yes, condensed milk is ultra sinful as well. So I’ve decided to just experiment with a simple pound cake. Just some flour, milk, eggs and most importantly, butter and my precious bottle of pure vanilla extract.
I’m using the recipe from Joy Of Baking. The recipe is adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Cake Bible. I did a simple google search on Rose Levy Beranbaum’s pound cake and the reviews were pretty good. There were people who mentioned that the pound cake was moist and dense. And most importantly, what’s so different about this recipe is that it does not use the usual creaming method.
I’m quoting from Joy Of Baking.
Instead of the more common ‘creaming’ method where the butter and sugar are creamed together first and then the eggs, followed by the the flour and milk are added, this recipe was what we call the ‘one bowl’ or ‘quick method’. This means all the dry ingredients are first put into a mixing bowl and then room temperature butter, together with the liquid ingredients are beaten into the batter. This method reduces the gluten formation in the flour and produces a cake that literally seems to melt-in-your-mouth and it has a very moist, dense and velvety texture.
Sounds so interesting right? But make sure all ingredients are at room temperature and that you follow the exact instructions (especially the time and speed of the mixing)! You do not want to overmix the batter!
True enough, this recipe yielded a really gorgeous pound cake! Really cottony and moist! It’s super light and fluffy too! I feel like I’m describing the clouds in the sky. But hey no, I’m loving this recipe too. But It’ll have to be placed #2 in my heart for now until I found something else to displace the #1 in my heart (which is the condensed milk pound cake). I’m thinking that the key to my heart is the condensed milk. Haha oh gosh, fat and sugary and all things unhealthy!
Recipe from Joy Of Baking
Ingredients
3 large eggs, room temperature
3 tablespoons milk, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (150 grams) sifted cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
13 tablespoons (185 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and butter the paper.
In a medium bowl lightly combine the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract.
In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar) and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds or until blended. Add the butter and half of the egg mixture. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about one minute to aerate and develop the cake’s structure. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Gradually add the remaining egg mixture, in 2 additions, beating about 30 seconds after each addition to incorporate the egg and strengthen the cake’s structure.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake for about 55 to 65 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the cake browning too much as it bakes, cover with a piece of lightly buttered aluminum foil after about 30 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack.
336: Condensed Milk Pound Cake
Foodgawker is a terribly evil site but I love it. I introduced a friend to that site on msn one day and she told me that her expression went from -_- to O_O when the site loaded on her web browser. When I’m bored and have nothing to do online, Foodgawker is the site to visit.
I had the leftovers of the can of sweetened condensed milk from making the teh tarik ice-cream and this recipe came in handy. Condensed milk pound cake! The pictures of the blogger’s pound cake were really gorgeous and I was already sold when I saw the pictures. I told myself then that I had to make the pound cake and bookmarked the recipe. And this was the perfect time to do so since I have leftover condensed milk!
I have absolutely NO regrets making this pound cake because this is the BEST pound cake I’ve ever BAKED. The texture of the cake is unbelievably soft and moist and fluffy! The combination of the condensed milk, vanilla extract and butter is a lethal combination! I love this cake!
I adapted the recipe from the blog, Honest Vanilla. I was a little uncomfortable adding my eggs last to the batter so I added in the eggs right after beating the butter and sugar. I’m not sure what the difference it makes. It could probably be to prevent overbeating of the eggs since overbeating will result in a tough cake (that is not as light and fluffy). Perhaps I’ll try the right ‘documented’ way the next time round I bake this pound cake.
Condensed Milk Pound Cake
Adapted from: The Sweet Spot: Asian-Inspired Desserts by Pichet Ong and Genevieve Ko
Ingredients
- 1⅓ cup plain flour
- 226 grams of unsalted butter
- ¾ cup condensed milk
- ½ cup sugar
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 160°C and generously butter the loaf pan.
- Sift flour and baking powder and set aside.
- Whisk sugar, pure vanilla extract, butter and salt until light and fluffy.
- Pour in condensed milk and mix until well combined
- Add eggs (beaten) slowly, preferably in 3-4 additions into the mixture and mix well.
- Add sifted flour and baking powder bit by bit while continue whisking until completely incorporated. Scrap down the sides if necessary
- Pour batter to the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.
- Cake is ready when the top is dark golden brown and a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cake.
Sliced thinly and packed away neatly in a tupperware! Possibly breakfast for the coming week, the occasional afternoon tea with Earl Gray and maybe a few slices as gifts for the cousin/aunt.
334: Teh Tarik Ice Cream
At the request of the sister, I made her teh tarik ice-cream. Got inspired from the recipe from Almost Bourdain.
Adapted the recipe and this is my version of teh tarik ice-cream! The ice-cream is REALLY good and creamy. The exact same taste and flavour as Island Creamery’s and I’m not kidding or praising my own ice cream. Used a 2:1 cream/milk ratio as this has worked perfectly well for me the past many times with David Lebovitz’s ice-cream recipes! Sorry for the ugly blobs/lumps on the ice-cream. I’m not too particular about the surface being ultra smooth as all I wanted to do at the moment was to FREEZE the ice-cream!
Teh Tarik Ice Cream
Makes 1 quart
Ingredients
500 ml cream
250 ml milk
9 Lipton tea bags (or any red/black tea)
5 egg yolks
6 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
Method
- Add cream, milk and tea bags in a saucepan and gently heat until just below boiling point.
- Remove from heat and let tea leaves infused for 30 minutes.
- Beat egg and sweetened condensed milk with an electric mixer until color turned pale.
- Add the milk mixture and whisk until combined.
- Pour the mixture into a double boiler and simmer slowly under the mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
- Cool the custard mixture and churn in ice cream maker.
Maybe the next time round, I’ll infuse the tea for a longer period and add in just 1 more tea bag!
Rina's Silly Musings 