Blueberry Cherry Crumble Pie

September 1, 2012, 8:42 pm

≫ Next: Traditional Baked Mooncake ~ Trial Run 2012

Nana (domestic helper) who has gone for her home vocation after helping me for the past 4 years is finally home after a month long home break. Yes, this is home to her too! She has been very attached to the 3 of you and I don't think she could bear to just go back and not return. Now it is time for mummy to catch up with updating the blog and fulfilling mummy's long "Do to list". Seriously, it so long that I couldn't even decide what to do first. The entire of this week has been lined up with lots of goodies ready to be tried out.

This is one that I've made 3 times and have yet to blog it down. It seemed there's a good harvest this year and the cherries were big and very cheap. The latest buy was $9.90 for a kilogram of cherries, how would I missed it?

1 kilogram of Red Cherries for SGD 9.90

Blueberries and Pitted Red Cherries

Pie Crust

Ingredients for a 9 inch pie crust

140g Plain flour

20g Ground almond

80g Sugar

60g Chilled butter (cubed)

1 Egg (medium)

In a stand mixer, add plain flour, ground almond, sugar and chilled butter. Using a paddle hook, mix until the mixture resembles crumbs form. If you are using manual method, rub with finger tips or use a butter slicer to mix the mixture.
Slightly beat the egg and pour into the flour mixture and form a smooth dough. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Roll out dough in between 2 sheets of parchment or baking papers and fit into the tart pan. (you many dust with a little plain flour if it's to soft to handle)
Trim the ends. Return to refrigerator for another 15 mins

Cinnamon Crumbs

Ingredients for Cinnamon Crumbs

120g Plain flour

120g Sugar

1/4 tsp Salt

90g Chilled butter (cubed)

1/2 tbsp Ground Cinnamon

In a stand mixer, add plain flour, ground cinnamon, sugar, salt and chilled butter. Using a paddle hook, mix until the mixture resembles crumbs form. If you are using manual method, rub with finger tips or use a butter slicer to mix the mixture. Set aside for topping.

Ingredients for Fillings

2 cups Red Cherries

1 cup Blueberries

70g Sugar

60g Brown sugar

2 tbsp Plain flour

30g Butter

80ml Water

In a small saucepan, add sugar, brown sugar, flour and water. Mix well and stir over low heat until thickened.
Add butter and cook for a minute. Remove from heat and add in the berries. Mix well and aside aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 175 degrees.
Pour fillings into the tart pan and scatter the cinnamon crumbles over the fillings. Bake in the oven for 45 mins or until the crumbles and tart shell turned golden brown.

Pie before baking

Pie after baking

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Traditional Baked Mooncake ~ Trial Run 2012

September 2, 2012, 9:28 pm

≫ Next: Nespresso Roma Coffee Swiss Roll

≪ Previous: Blueberry Cherry Crumble Pie

This was an early trial run for this year's mooncake festival. Just made a few for self consumption and for my domestic helper who's going back for home leave. And surprisingly, her family members love it and said it wasn't sweet. Here are some pictures of what I've briefly made, of which 2 of them are made with new moulds that I've acquired ~ Goldfish and the one with chinese wordings. Was a little worried that the imprints for the flowers may not turn out well and it's still pretty okay to me.

Traditional Baked Mooncakes

Single Yolk Lotus Paste ~ Cut just after 2 hours from the oven

It is recommended that the mooncake cut 3 to 4 days after baking.

2 days after baking, which is already very soft

Before baking

After baking

Goldfish mooncake ~ before baking

Goldfish mooncake ~ After baking

Ingredients for Pastry

200gGolden syrup

1/8 tspBaking soda

1/2 tbspAkaline water

50gPeanut oil

270g to 290g Hong Kong Flour

2 to 3 dropsDark Brown Food Colouring (optional) *

* this is dependent on how dark the color of the golden syrup is.

Directions for Pastry

Mix syrup, baking soda, alkaline water and oil together. Set aside for 4 hours.
Add in flour, brown coloring and mix into a smooth dough. Set aside for 1 hour.
On a lightly floured table roll dough into a long strip and divide into 45g portion.

Moulding of Mooncake

Preheat oven to 180 C.
Divide ready made lotus paste into 120g portion. (usually it's best to test the amount by moulding one sample, because there are different mould size around and not all are standard)
Roll pastry into a round ball and flatten it. Wrap with lotus paste and roll into a ball. Flatten a little and press into the mould. Gently knock out the mooncake and place on a slight greased or lined tray.
Brush with egg wash ( 1 egg, 1 1/2 tbsp water and 1/2 tbsp golden syrup)
Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with egg wash. Leave aside for 15 minutes before popping into the oven again at 150C for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and apply with mooncake glaze. Leave to cool completely before storing.

It is best to let the mooncake to rest for 4 days before serving.

Mooncake dough ~ after resting for 1 hour

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Nespresso Roma Coffee Swiss Roll

September 3, 2012, 9:07 pm

≫ Next: Assorted Snowskin Mooncake ~ Mid Autumn Festival 2012

≪ Previous: Traditional Baked Mooncake ~ Trial Run 2012

Why is this called Nespresso Roma Coffee Swiss Roll, because this is one of your daddy's favourite espresso coffee flavour. You can always substitute with any other coffee flavour, just as long as you like it. Most importantly a freshly brewed cup of 40ml espresso will yield a very aromatic roll. If you wished, you can always add Kahlua or Baileys.

The recipe is rather similar to that of Chocolate Swiss Roll but with a twist.

Ingredients

40ml Espresso coffee (any flavour)

30ml Water (or 2 tbsp instant coffee granular with 50ml hot water) **

35g Castor sugar

5 Egg yolk (medium size)

50g Corn oil

70g Cake flour (sifted)

4 Egg whites (medium size)

50g Sugar

Feathering lines on skin

1/4 tsp Dark Chocolate Powder or cocoa powder

Toothpick

1 tbsp Dark Chocolate Powder for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven at 200 degree celsius. Line a 12" by 12" by 1" or 14" by 11" by 1" tray with parchment or baking paper.
In a small bowl, mix coffee and water to yield a total of 70ml liquid, combine well.
In a separate bowl, combine egg yolks and sugar together. Using a hand whisk, whisk the mixture until slightly pale. Add in oil and coffee mixture and combine well.
Fold in cake flour and mix well.
In a stand mixer, whisk egg white until foamy, gradually add in sugar and whisk until stiff peak.
Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the egg yolk batter and mixed well. Subsequently, pour this mixture into the rest of the meringue and fold quickly to combine well. Do not over fold or the batter will deflate.
Pour mixture into the lined tray and tap the tray on tabletop to remove air pockets.
Scale about 3 tbsp of batter and add 1/4 tsp cocoa powder, mix quickly at pour into a small piping bag. Snip a small hole and pipe evenly spaced parallel lines over the batter. Draw the tip of the toothpick through the cocoa lines. First on one direction and then in the other direction.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Remove from oven and flip cake onto a cooling rack lined with parchment paper. Peel the parchment paper that is attached to the cake and place over it again. Leave to cool.
When cake is still slightly warm (not completely cold), spread Coffee flavoured swiss meringue buttercream dust a layer of Dark Chocolate Powder and roll the cake. Lift the parchment paper from below as you roll the cake.
Chill for at least an hour before serving.

Ingredients for Coffee Swiss Meringue Buttercream

3 Egg whites (medium size)
1/2 cup Castor sugar
150g Butter (soften in room temperature) ***
1 tspCoffee extracts / essence
*** I used Buttercup butter spread because it's cheaper and it does not have a overly strong butter taste.

Directions

Heat water in a small pot and bring it to simmer.

In a metal bowl, mix sugar and egg white together. Place on top of the small pot and stir egg mixture over low fire until the sugar dissolve. (Double boil method) Making sure not to over heat the egg mixture or the egg white will be cooked. (Should be about 45 degree) Set aside to let it cool slightly.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter until fluffy. (I actually skipped this step because it still works for me if I just add the butter a little at a time) But for a start, it's better to cream the butter until you are very familiar with making the buttercream

Whisk the egg white in a stand mixer until stiff peak.

Add softened butter over 3 to 4 batch while still whisking at stir speed. Meringue will starts to deflate and looks like curd.

Change to paddle and beat at medium high speed until thoroughly combined. Buttercream will start to form after beating for about 1 to 2 minutes. (May require more time if using hand mixer). Add coffee extract and beat for 10 seconds or until well combined.

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Assorted Snowskin Mooncake ~ Mid Autumn Festival 2012

September 30, 2012, 11:40 pm

≫ Next: Butter Cake with a Twist

≪ Previous: Nespresso Roma Coffee Swiss Roll

It's been a busy month with 2 birthdays cake and lots of mooncakes to make. Mummy is so preoccupied with so many things that I've totally forgotten about our 10th Customary Wedding Anniversary. But at least yesterday was the Lunar Calendar Valentine's Day and anniversary, I did managed to do a little celebration.

Aside from the usual traditional baked moon cakes, this year I've managed to venture more into the Snowskin varieties. It was a fruitful experiment with Mango Pomelo Mousse filling, Fresh Durian Filling and Cookie n Cream with dark Chocolate Truffle Snowskin moon cakes. However, I still need to fine tune the recipes, so I would skip them until next year. Nevertheless, I'm more than willing to offer the Snowskin recipe gotten from Kwong Cheong Thye, that suits my taste buds perfectly.

With about 300g of White Lotus Paste that I've have left with, I've decided to make these 4 little Cute Angry Birds and Bad Piggy. I've never imagine it was so fun to play with. In fact, I find it much easier to handle than Fondant, apart from the greasy feel.

Here's the recipe for the Snowskin obtained from Kwong Cheong Thye. If you have googled, you'll probably find different proportions of Fried Glutinous Rice Flour and Icing sugar combination. It could come in form of 1:2, half/half or 1.5 : 1 and many more combinations. If you are not certain, just get the premix and follow the instructions.

I've purchased the Fried Glutinous Rice Flour (Kou Fen) from Kwong Cheong Thye (KCT) and Redman brand from Phoon Huat (both local baking supplies in Singapore). Personally, find that the dough made with KCT's Flour is easier to handle.

Adapted and modified from Kwong Cheong Thye:

Serving: 9 large (120gm filling plus 60gm snowskin) or

20 small (60gm filling plus 30gm snowskin)

Ingredients:

150g Fried Glutinous Rice Flour

200g Icing Sugar ***

65g Shortening (I used 50g)

150g Cold Drinking water

1/2 tsp Esscence or flavouring

Directions:

Sieve flour and icing sugar into a bowl
Add shortening followed by water and essence
Mix until well combined and a soft dough is form
Set dough aside for about 20 minutes
Divide dough accordingly
Flatten or roll out dough into a flat disc and wrap up the filling
Seal dough to enclose fillings completely and shape into a ball
Dust generously and ensure the ball is evenly coated with Fried Glutinous Rice Flour
Press into mould and knock gently to remove.

*** Recommended to use pure icing sugar, I used SIS brand which I find it more refine as compared to other brands with have higher content of corn starch.

Batch of different Traditional Baked Mooncakes for family, friends and relatives. For recipe on Traditional Baked Mooncakes, clickHere

Angry Birds and Bad Piggy Snowskin with White Lotus Paste

Cherilynn's favourite Bad Piggy

Clarissa's favourite blue angry bird

Mummy's favourite Mango Pomelo Snowskin ~ very refreshing

Everyone's favourite ~ Fresh Durian Snowskin (just like eating fresh durian)

Clarabelle's favourite ~ Cookie n cream dark chocolate truffle Snowskin

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Butter Cake with a Twist

October 14, 2012, 11:35 pm

≫ Next: Kueh Puteri Sarlat II

≪ Previous: Assorted Snowskin Mooncake ~ Mid Autumn Festival 2012

With my recent trip to malaysia, I've bought several books and "Butter Cake" by Kevin Chai caught my attention. So I've decided to trying out the technique used by him using my own recipe. This concept is very similar to Wendy's Topo Map Cake and I've even noticed the same Topo cake in Kevin's book, but titled differently. Exactly who to credit? One credited her source while the other simply published under a different name.

Have adapted the idea from Kevin's book. Not as I've expected but still happy with the colours. As you can see from the cover page of this book, it supposed to look like scallop pattern. I guessed they might have had the cake was turned upside down for photography. The book had suggested spooning the batter, leaving space in between and dust with cocoa powder before spooning another batch. I've piped the batter instead. Because I was worried that the egg whites might deflate by the time I've finished, I decided to quickly pipe without systematically arranging the colours. This is how it ended up to be.

If you like to play around with this concept, by all means! Do it with a butter cake recipe you are comfortable with. Understand most of you may have loved Mrs Ng Sk's recipe. Give it a try if you'll like to but I've not tried it so I can't comment much. I've used my own Old Fashioned Butter Cake recipe:

Ingredients for a 8" round or square pan

250g Chilled butter (cut into small cube size)

130g Castor sugar

8 Medium size egg yolk (65g each with shell)

240g Cake flour (sifted together with double acting baking powder)

1 tsp Double acting baking powder

40ml Milk

1 tsp Vanilla essence

2 tsp Cocoa powder

1 tsp each of desired food colouring

8 medium size egg white

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

60g sugar

Directions

Preheat oven at 160 C to 170 C. Lightly grease the base of a 8" square or round cake pan and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
In a stand mixer, cream butter and 130g of sugar until light and fluffy, scraping the side of the bowl occasionally.
Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla essence.
Fold in the flour mixture and milk in 2 or 3 batches.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with Cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually add the remainder 60g of sugar and whisk until stiff peak.
Fold butter mixture into the white eggs until well-blended. Do not over fold or the egg will deflate.
Divide batter into 3 portion, leaving one portion plain and the other 2 for your desired colour.
Spoon one colour of the batter into cake pan (leaving space for the other colours). Dust with cocoa powder before spooning the other colours. Repeat for a second layer until batter is completed. Use a palette spatula to level the cake.
Bake for 45 mins at 170C and lower to 150 C for another 15 mins or until wooden skewer comes out clean after piercing into the middle of the cake.
Remove cake from oven and let it cool for 5 minutes before inverting (pan still intact) onto a cooling rack.

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Kueh Puteri Sarlat II

April 14, 2013, 9:56 pm

≫ Next: Tau Sa Piah

≪ Previous: Butter Cake with a Twist

Another version that I've tried experimenting using the previous recipe that I've made sometimes ago. In fact, this is really the lazy method which some experts may find it ridiculous and not proper. Well! I tried, I made it and everyone at home loves it! What more can I ask for.

As compared to the previous recipe, this is more firm with a smoother texture.

Recipe yields a 6" square pan cake

For the Glutinous Rice (Bottom layer)

350g Glutinous Rice (washed and soaked for 2 hours)

100ml Coconut cream ( I use Kara brand UHT cream)

100ml Water (approximately)

1/4 tsp Salt

2 blades of Pandan Leaves (washed and tie into a knot)

Banana leave (cut to fit the base of the pan)

For Coconut Custard Pudding (Top layer)

150g Egg (slight beaten)

350ml Coconut Cream (I use Kara Brand UHT cream)

100g Sugar

1 tsp Pandan paste (I used Baking King, cos the green coloring is already included)

60g Plain flour

2 tsp Tapioca flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 Green food colouring ( if you are using pandan which is colorless)

Directions

Drain the water from the rice. In a deep casserole dish or bowl, mix coconut cream, water (use sufficient water to cover about 1 cm above the rice), salt and blend well.
Place the pandan leave at the bottom of the rice mixture and steam for 25 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
When cooked, remove from heat and remove the pandan leave and slightly stir the rice to make sure the coconut is evenly coated the rice.
Place the banana leave at the base of the 6 "square pan and oil the banana leave. Put the rice into the pan and press the rice firmly.
In a mixing bowl, dissolve sugar and salt in the coconut cream.
Lightly beat the eggs and strain the egg mixture into the coconut mixture.
Add the tapioca flour, plain flour and combine well. Add the pandan paste and food colouring. Stir until a smooth texture.
Double boil over shimmering water. Stir until the mixture thickens slightly (You can cook over direct low heat but make sure it does not curd too quickly)
Pour the thicken mixture over the rice and steam over medium low heat for about 30 to 40 minutes.
Leave to cool completely (at least 4 hours ) before slicing. It is recommended to keep in the refrigerator overnight for a better texture.

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Tau Sa Piah

April 15, 2013, 11:05 pm

≫ Next: Baked Doughnuts

≪ Previous: Kueh Puteri Sarlat II

It's been a long time since I last blogged, time do flies very fast and I'm way behind on my updates. 2012 had been a very busy and fruitful year for me. With one helper down, I'm left with more chores and lesser time to bake and try out new recipes. This is one of those post where I've been wanting to upload for the longest time. Finally I've got a little extra time to upload this even when there's many "To Do" things kept flashing at the back of my mind.

Penang has been famous for many of the local food and Tau Sa Piah is one of those that many will lug home everytime when they go to Penang. It used to be only available in Penang but over the years as more bakeries starts to open up and sell, it became competitive and they have got not choice but to export to other states and out of the country. Now, I could simply buy it from the bakery shop which is across the street. Somehow, it just taste different when it's commercialized product. Quality is usually compromised when Quantity takes up.

Yearning for a more aromatic and tasty Tau Sa Piah, I've decided to give it a shot and here's my version of Tau Sa Piah which I've adapted and modified from Nasi Lemak Lover.

For Mung Beans Filling

300g Mung Beans (Soak overnight)
120g Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Salt
8 pcs Shallots (finely minced)
100g Vegetable oil

Wash the mung beans thoroughly and steam on medium heat until the beans splits (takes about 15 to 20 mins)
Place the beans in a blender and blend till fine (I mashed it manually through strainer)
In a wok or frying pan, heat up oil and cook minced shallots until slightly golden brown, add mashed bean, salt and sugar and combine well with the Shallot oil. Cook over low heat until the paste become a dough form and does not stick to the pan. Remove from heat and set aside until it is completely cooled.
Roll paste into 15g balls

For Water Dough

300g Plain flour
100g Oil
90g water
1/4 tsp white vinegar

For Oil Dough

150g Plain Flour
20g Shortening
40g Oil

Combine the respective dough ingredients together, knead and form a smooth dough for each of them. Set aside for 20 mins. Divide each the oil and water dough into 30 portions each.
Wrap the oil dough with water dough. Roll out the dough into a rectangular form and roll into the shape of a swiss roll. Flatten and roll out again. Repeat this step twice.
Flatten into a circular disc and wrap the mung bean filling. Gather the edge, pinch and seal the dough. Roll into a ball form.
Brush with egg yolk and bake in a preheated oven at 175 to 180 degree for 20 minutes or until golden brown

Pictorial Guides

Mung Beans Mashed through a strainer

Mashed Mung Beans

Oil Dough and Water dough

Mung bean filling rolled into ball form

Egg washed Tau sa piah ready to be baked

Interior of the Tau Sa Piah

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Baked Doughnuts

July 5, 2013, 10:04 pm

≫ Next: Kueh Koo (Ang Koo Kueh)

≪ Previous: Tau Sa Piah

My kids love doughnuts especially those from Donut Factory, unfortunately the outlet that we frequent has closed down and the remaining locations doesn't seemed feasible for me to struggle all the way to get it. Well, for a treat maybe but for breakfast - no way!

In fact, I have tried making some from a Taiwan recipe book that was translated from a Japanese book - Doughnuts. Seriously, it didn't work for me for the first time and I gave up completely. I dislike the idea of having to deep fry the doughnuts, baking them would probably be faster and less messy.

Thanks to a nice mummy Tiffany from a baking group I follow, for sharing this wonderful baked version of the doughnuts. The recipe is adapted from Culinary Kitchenette posted by Sharron Wee, and I've modified to my preference.

I find the modified version has a light muffin like texture but not entirely bouncy like the muffin. However, if you prefer a bread-like texture, you probably have to head for the yeast version that is deep fried.

Serving : 12 medium side pan or 24 mini cupcake pan

Ingredients for doughnuts

1 cup Cake flour (120g)

1/3 cup Bread flour (40g)

2 tsp Baking powder

1/4 tsp Salt

1 Large egg (75g including weight of shell, probably work out to 60g)

1/2 cup Castor sugar

3/4 cup Milk (180ml)

3 tbsp Vegetable oil (45ml)

2 tsp Vanilla extract

Frosting (any of you choice but in small quantity)

Castor sugar with cinnamon

Snow powder

White compound chocolate melted in microwave or double boil method

Chocolate compound chocolate melted in microwave or double boiled method

Oreo crumbs

Fruit flavouring

Color gel

Any fanciful ideas you may think of .....

Directions

Preheat oven to 175 degree Celsius. Grease doughnut pans.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk egg and sugar together. Add milk, oil, and vanilla extract, mix well until thoroughly combined.
Gently pour into flour mixture and combine until smooth. (should be runny)
Pour each hole with batter until 3/4 filled.
Bake for 10 minutes (mini cupcakes) or 18 - 20 minutes (medium side) or till toothpick inserted into doughnut comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and cool for 5 minutes. (Original recipe suggested a shorter baking time which I find it still soggy, probably my oven works differently, you got to gauge the baking time based on your oven)
Cool completely before decorating.

If you do not have doughnut baking pan, another alternative is to use the mini cupcake pan. Works perfectly!

Another option is to make it into doughnut pops!

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Kueh Koo (Ang Koo Kueh)

August 16, 2013, 5:59 am

≫ Next: Ombre Snowskin Mooncake 2013

≪ Previous: Baked Doughnuts

Decades ago when one receives some Ang Koo Kueh (红龟粿）, that would usually means there's special occasion such as a baby's full month celebration, an elder's birthday, wedding or any auspicious event anyone would take the opportunity to give away to friends and relatives. Following one of a Hokkien ritual, my youngest had to step on the Kueh Koo on her first lunar birthday, I seriously do not know what it signify but finds it rather interesting.

These days, if you suddenly have a craving for it, just stop by Bengawan Solo or any kueh kueh shop and you can savor into one of these, if fact you'll probably buy a selections of Nonya Kuehs along with this.

This recipe I'm using is slightly different from the typical hokkien version that you may find. It's the Nonya version where coconut milk is used in the half cooked dough method. I've adapted and modified from The Best of Singapore Cookbook by Mrs Leong Yee Soo.

Serving : 16 pieces (large size)

Ingredients for fillings

200g Mung Beans (Wash and soaked overnight or at least 4 hours)

130g Fine sugar

40ml Water

2 blades Pandan leaves (tie into knot)

Steam the mung beans for about 20 minutes or until the beans split. Set aside to let it cool slightly. Once it's slightly cooled, grind it with a food processor or mash it through a wired mesh strainer.
In a saucepan, add 40ml of water, 130g fine sugar and pandan leaves. Stir until the sugar dissolved and add the mashed mung beans. Mix well and cook mixture until almost dry.
Remove Pandan leaves and let the paste to cool .

Ingredients for Kueh Koo Dough

(A)

110g   Japanese Sweet Potato (measure after it is being mashed) **
185g    Glutinous Rice Flour

(B)
200ml   Coconut milk ***
1 tbsp     Sugar
1 tbsp     Oil
1/4 tsp   Salt
2 blades Pandan leaves (tie into knot)
75g         Glutinous Rice Flour
Red food colouring (I used the powdered form)

Directions

Steam sweet potato for about 15-20 mins. Remove and mash them while it is still warm.
Rub in the mashed sweet potato together with 185g glutinous rice flour until crumbs like texture. Set aside.

In a sauce pan, combine coconut milk, sugar, oil, salt and pandan leaves and bring to boil. Once it boils, remove from heat and add red food colouring and mix well.
Add the remaining 75g glutinous rice flour and quickly stir with a wooden spoon until a soft dough is formed.
Pour the soft dough into the sweet potato mixture and combine well.
When it is slightly cooled, remove the dough mixture onto a working table top, knead until a smooth dough is formed (dust with glutinous rice flour if necessary)

Divide the dough into 30g portion
Divide the fillings into 35g portion

Oil palm generously and flatten the dough with fingers. The purpose of this is to ensure that the dough does not dry up too fast, and it is also easier to handle.
Wrap the filling with dough and seal the kueh
Place in the middle of the mould and press firmly
Gently knock the sides of the mould (left and right side) to remove the kueh
Place on a banana leaf and place on steaming rack

Steam over medium heat for 7 to 10 mins. The temperature cannot be too hot or the kueh will not retain it's pattern.
Once steamed, remove from steamer and brush a little oil over the kueh. Serve when it is completely cooled.

*** Due to the use of coconut milk in the dough, it is best to consume the kueh within a day. In the event that they could not be consume within the day, store in a airtight container and leave it in the fridge for the night. Steam for a little while the next morning before consuming.

** If Japanese sweet potato (usually imported from Vietnam) is not available, use the Indonesian or Australian sweet potato, however these 2 are more moist after steaming and you may find that you have to add more glutinous flour to make it more pliable

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Ombre Snowskin Mooncake 2013

September 14, 2013, 8:11 am

≫ Next: Kueh Makmur (Non-Ghee method)

≪ Previous: Kueh Koo (Ang Koo Kueh)

This year I've started my mooncake making a little too late and my "To-do" list is getting long as I see more friends introducing me more new mooncakes to try. I ended up having too many things on my agenda and too little time to make. Nonetheless. I've managed to try out several new treats.

My most satisfied product will be the 'Ombre snowkin bauble mooncake', it was supposed to look like a bauble on the christmas tree but someone told me it looked more like custard apple which I totally agree with. Well! they were so pretty that I couldn't bring myself to cut and eat them. After all, I've spent 2 hours making 5 different colours, I really have to think twice before I decide which one to eat first.

Making these are pretty straight forward. I've used low sugar lotus paste with melon seeds as my filling. Roll into round balls and wrap the bottom quarter of the ball with the darkest colour. Using a tear-drop shaped cutter, cut many pieces that is sufficient to go round the ball. Attach each and every pieces, layer by layer, from darkest to the lightest colour.

Snowskin recipe is adapted and modified from Kwong Cheong Thye:

Ingredients:

150g Fried Glutinous Rice Flour

200g Icing Sugar ***

65g Shortening (I used 50g)

150g Cold Drinking water

1/2 tsp Lychee flavouring

Directions:

Sieve flour and icing sugar into a bowl
Add shortening followed by water and essence
Mix until well combined and a soft dough is form
Set dough aside for about 20 minutes
Roll out the dough and cut out tear drop shapes (from darkest to lightest tone)
Attach one by one until you complete one round.
Repeat every layer until you reach the top

*** Recommended to use pure icing sugar, I used SIS brand which I find it more refine as compared to other brands with have higher content of corn starch.

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Kueh Makmur (Non-Ghee method)

January 20, 2014, 9:25 pm

≫ Next: Shredded Scallop, Fish with Egg Whites 赛螃蟹

≪ Previous: Ombre Snowskin Mooncake 2013

With 2 peanut lovers in the house, this has always been a must have in our Chinese New Year cookies making list. And it will usually be the first to finish, even way before the Pineapple tarts. This cookie traditionally uses Ghee but unfortunately my elder twin does not like the smell of ghee, so I have to switch to butter instead.

Thanks to a nice lady, Phua Hui Yin who's willing to share her beautifully taken picture, She'd tried the recipe and done it more perfectly then I could manage. Check out Hui Yin's FB page for more of her wonderful creations, in particular her Bento meals.

Ingredients

300g       Plain Flour
150g        Cake Flour
1 tsp        Baking powder
250g       Chilled unsalted butter (cubed)
2              Egg yolks
1 tsp        Vanilla essence
Few drops Green food coloring
¼ tsp      Salt
1 tbsp      Full cream milk powder
1 tsp         Emplex (Can be omitted if you do not want preservative to be included in your bakes)
4 ~ 6 tbsp Cold water

Fillings:

200g Chopped roasted peanuts
80g Castor sugar
2 tbsp Shortening

Directions

Sift flour, baking powder, emplex and full cream milk powder together. Add salt and sugar.
Cut butter into cubes and rub into the flour
Mix egg yolk, vanilla, green food coloring and water together. Beat well.
Gradually pour the egg solution into the flour mixture and mix well into soft dough.
Leave in refrigerator for 30 mins before use.
Wrap 10g of dough with ½ tsp mixed fillings and shape into a leaf-shape, pinch with a saw edge clipper to get the leaf veins
Bake at 150 °C for 30 mins. Cool completely before dusting with icing sugar.

** Emplex is an emulsifier to increase the strength of the dough. It keeps the cookies crispy and last longer.

This is what I used for pinching the leaf veins, this is also used to pinch the top of the Petal shaped Kueh Bangkit

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Shredded Scallop, Fish with Egg Whites 赛螃蟹

January 26, 2014, 7:05 am

≫ Next: Caramel Treats (Egg Crisps Cake) 沙琪玛

≪ Previous: Kueh Makmur (Non-Ghee method)

Usually when Chinese New Year is round the corner, I'll be busy baking and Kueh Lapis will be one of them. This will result in excessive quantity of Egg whites. Instead of baking other cakes, macaron or cookies, I would rather cook is into a hearty dish ~ 赛螃蟹 which is a signature dish in Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant. It took me several tries before I could figure out what's the ingredients in this dish. This is the best that I could gather.

Here's a quick recipe:

· 400g egg white

· 1 tbsp Finely chopped ginger

· 1/2 tsp salt

· 1 tsp sugar

· 150ml chicken stock

· 4 large pieces scallop (steamed until cooked and shredded)

· 1 large piece Conpoy (soaked until soften, steamed for 10 minutes and shredded)

Lightly beat the egg and add all the above ingredients together and set aside

· 50g Red Grouper (cubed)

· 1 tsp Corn Starch

· 1 tbsp Good Quality Shao Xing Wine

Marinated the fish with the above seasoning

· 150ml Cooking Oil

· One Egg yolk

· Balsamic vinegar or Yong Chun Black Vinegar

Heat oil and deep fry the fish till almost cooked

Pour in the egg white and cook for 20 to 30 sec (depending how hot is your frying pan) , or until almost cooked (If dish is getting to dry, add more chicken stock)

Garnish with egg yolk and serve immediately

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Caramel Treats (Egg Crisps Cake) 沙琪玛

March 24, 2014, 6:14 am

≪ Previous: Shredded Scallop, Fish with Egg Whites 赛螃蟹

Caramel Treats also known as Manchu candied fritters was originated from China's Manchu ethnic group. In ancient times, they was used as a sacrificial offerings, but now it's a snack not just popular in cities in China but also in other Asian countries.

Made from simple ingredients like eggs, flour, maltose and some other optional ingredients such as melon seeds, sesame seeds or raisins. The texture is soft and chewy and the strong egg flavour will linger in your mouth for some time.

Recipe is adapted from here and modified due to the fact that I did not have the recommended ingredients on hand. Nonetheless, I'm very happy with the result even it was my first attempt.

Ingredients A

250g Plain Flour
160g Eggs (slightly beaten)
1 tsp Instant yeast

Ingredients B

150g Maltose
80g Water
110g Sugar

Ingredient C

1/2 tsp Toasted Sesame seeds
30g Raisins (may adjust to your preference)

Extra Plain flour for dusting
Oil for deep frying

Directions

Combine all ingredients in A and knead until a smooth dough. Divide into 2 portions, cling wrap and set aside for 30 mins.
Dust the dough generously with flour and roll out into a rectangular shape about 25cm by 15 cm (just an estimation). Dust more flour if you find it stick to handle.
Cut into thin strips and set aside.
Heat the wok with oil and deep fry in small batches until golden brown
Combine all ingredients in B in a wok and cook at low heat until the mixture thickens slightly. About 8-10 minutes (Do not over simmer, mixture will harden after it cool down and will be difficult to toss the crisps)
Once thicken off the heat, pour the crispy strips and raisins into the wok and toss.
Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds in 2-3 batches and toss mixture until everything is evenly coated.
Pouring into a 8" square pan (any side as you prefer, depending on how thick you like the candy cake to be) and press the mixture as tight as you can. Set aside to cool.
Cut into small square piece and store in air tight container.

* It is best to serve on a second day when the maltose soften a little and the candy treats are more softer and chewy to bite.

Cut strip and dust generously with flour

Deep fry until golden brown

Toss crispy strips evenly with caramel

Press coated crispy strips into a large square cake.

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