Sunday 30 September 2012

Silken Rainbow Cake



Hi There As usual I haven't touch my blog since almost 4 months now because I work and then gone holidays for a month and just back for almost 2 weeks...I feel I want to have more and more holidays since Back from Malaysia, my beautiful home.....anyway..this is my latest photo that I shoot this morning for my dearest shaqira...I promise her so for her fav rainbow cake..

Sunday 24 June 2012

Spiderman Cake





Barbie cake again!!!


Children Novelty Cake 

Chocolate Moist Cake


MY CHOCOLATE MOIST NOVELTY CAKE.......

Rose Macaron adapted From Pierre Herme

Rose Macaron  :- Original Recipe From Pierre Herme
Macaron everyone?? I starting to do macaron since I was in first year working in Pangkor Laut Resort but what I learn basically is coconut macaron. I don't really enjoy to eat it as per se, because it is so sweet until one day one my old friend requested me to do macaron IF I want to make house warming, and so that was the time I intend to create the masterpiece for my friend  in Limerick. I enjoy making it but not enjoy it that much because maybe I was baking that alots of time..so let me share with you what I have during my whole year of baking. :))


Rose Macarons – Pierre Herme
300g Ground Almonds
300g Icing Sugar
110g Egg Whites, aged
5g Red Food Colouring
300g Granulated Sugar
75g Water
110 Egg Whites, aged
Rose Buttercream
200g Granulated Sugar
75g Water
150g Eggs
90g Egg Yolks
400g Butter, very soft
4g Rose Essence (I used rose water)
50g Rose Syrup (natco brand)
1. Mix the ground almonds and icing sugar together. Sieve into a large bowl. Mix the colouring into the first portion of egg whites and pour this onto the sugar/almond mixture but don’t mix in.
2. Pour the water and sugar into a saucepan and swirl together. Add the second portion of egg whites to a mixer fitted with the whisk. Cook the syrup to 118C. Once the mixture reaches 115C start the mixer on high. Once the syrup reaches 118C take straight of the heat and pour in a thin stream down the side of the mixer bowl continuing to whisk on high.
3. Continue to whisk the meringue on high until the side of the bowl is no longer hot. You still want it a little warm, around 50C. Add all of the meringue to the bowl with the almond sugar mixture.
4. Using a large spatula fold the mixture together until it starts to shine and forms a ribbon that stays visible for about 30 seconds.


5. Add the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a plain tip and pipe into alternating lines onto parchment lined baking sheets. Set aside for about 30 minutes or until the macarons have formed a skin that doesn’t stick to your finger.

6. Whilst the macarons are drying preheat your oven to 140C. Once ready bake the macarons for around 13 mintues. Remove the baking trays and immediately slide off the macarons and the parchment onto the work surface and let cool completely before removing the shells.


Rose Buttercream
1. Add the sugar and water to a saucepan and cook over medium heat to 120C. Whilst the syrup is coming to temperature add the eggs and egg yolks to the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk and whisk until the thicken and lighten in colour.

2. With the mixer still on slowly pour the syrup down the side of the bowl and continue to whisk until cooled.
3. Switch to the beater begin to beat in the butter at medium/high speed one or two pieces at a time. Once all the butter is beaten in and the buttercream is smooth beat in the rose syrup and essence.

Tips:
I have got into the habit of blitzing the almond/icing sugar in a food processor for a short while, to try and make the store bought ground almond more finely ground.
If you overcook the syrup for the macarons you will end up with thick and hard shells so I always take the sugar off the heat one or two degrees early (it will reach the right temp off the heat).
If by the time you have piped one row you still have peaks, the batter needs more folding so put the batter back in the bowl and give a few (maybe 5) more folds.
If your butter isn’t warm enough your buttercream will look like scrambled eggs but persevere just beat on high for a couple of minutes until it smoothes out.




Herbal Tea Eggs





I guess many of you have seen this herbal egg at local chinese drug shop...especialy they normally cook it in slow cooker, the longer it brew in the tea and herbal the more tastier!! if in Johor normally our malay traditions will do using all the young fresh herbal leaves from cloves, and so on...











HERBAL TEA EGGS
preparation  time :15 minute  Cooking time : 3-3hrs 30 minute  Makes 12
Ingredinets
Eggs                                                 12, at room temperature
Chinese tea leaves                           4 tbsp
Dark Soy Sauce                               3 tbsp
Salt                                                  1 tbsp
Sugar                                               1/2 tsp
Chinese angelica root (tong kwai)  15 g
Codonopsis pilosula (dong sum)     10 g
Astragalus (pak kei)                        10g
Polyconattum ( yok chok)               10g
Medlar seed/wolfberries (kei chi)      5g


METHOD
1) Put eggs in a large pot and add water to cover. Bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer for    15 minutes.
2)Drain egg and allow to cool. gently tap eggs with the back of a spoon to crack shells, but do not remove shells.
3) Return eggs to pot and add water to cover egg completely.
4) Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Either reduce heat to very low and simmer for 3 hours or place in a crock pot for 31/2 hours.
5) Drain and leave to cool. Shell eggs and serve whole or cut in wedges.


After 2nd attempt of making this herbal egg...I was fully amazed on how it look and the taste not quite I assumed it should be...but anyway my husband is the one who can judge wheather or not I 'PASS' my  herbal tea this time...but as he said, the best result is I keep further up to 5 hrs slow cook...well there you go...


Steam Bun or "Pau"


PAU...PAU...PAU....


The day I was start making the pau using the Bluekey's Brand pau Flour it take me an hour to find a perfect pau bun recipe...I been eating the pau since I was 5 yrs old age...I remember during my trip to KL, my parent always drop down to Tanjung Malim and they are famous with pau making...I still remember every bite of the pau the taste, the aroma, the smell of fermentation of yeast of the pau is like tapai...that's make me feel amazed and appetite. I also sell the pau here in ireland just for fun. People keep asking me the recipes for my pau...I been doing the recipe's of pau myself..and I hope it will come out nice...Alhamdulillah...is nice and tasty...and look what I got in the photo shot...I'm using Hong Kong Flour as well for pau...so don't be afraid to use those flour...Good Luck!!

Here are my simple creation!!

Basic Pau Bun Recipes
** estimate 28-32 bun of 40gm each dough***

1 kg              Pau Flour (any brand)
100 gm         vegetable shortening
4 tbsp           baking powder
1 tsp             salt
12gm            Instant Yeast (24gm for fresh yeast)
200gm          sugar
400-460ml   water
2 tsp             vinegar



    Combine water, sugar and vinegar in a jug. Stir well to mix. Pour the mixture into the mixing bowl.
    Add in the sifted flour, yeast, baking powder, salt, sugar and shortening.
    Press the start button . At the end of the mixing, take the dough out and use it as required. Leave the dough to rise at about 1-1 1/2 hours until double in size (depending on room temp, the warmer the faster result).  Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface, knock back and knead lightly. Divide into a ball, and filled out a filling that u desired.
    After the pau has been filled with filling and shaped, place on a small piece of greaseproof paper and set aside to rise for 15  minutes.
    Steam the pau in a steamer over rapid boiling water for 11-12 minute.




Sunday 17 June 2012

Oishi Desu



OISHI DESU 

One of my favourite dishes!! I found simple and traditional. Simple food always have descent taste and value for money...above of all is a healthy food as well!! So ladies..if you want to slim...get this for your simple dinner in your menu. 

Monday 26 March 2012

Yaw char kwai

Yau Char Kwai 

Let me tell you the actual story what happen when I was making the first time of yau char kwai or malay people called cakoi. I have every ingredients accept ammonia powder or cantonese called  'chow fun'..and it looks nice the shape and colour, but as I have a first bite, I knew there is a missing  something with the texture. Is suppose to be chewy as you bite it and you can see the air hole in the cakoi itself. Mine don't have for the first attemp of making it!! ;((  But thank god that one my closest friend have the ammonia powder that her mum send it all over from malaysia. And she didn't know it was an ammonia powder. So she let me try some of the powder to experiment again with the same recipe I have and ....walllaaaaaaa....finally is come true!!!! so here the recipe that I would like to share with you guys!! Don't be afraid to see if the dough very sticky...

Yau Char Kwai (Chinese Crullers)

Ingredients
      (A) Sift:
    • 300g high protein flour
    • 50g flour
    • 1/2 tsp baking powder
    (B):
    • 1/2 tsp sugar
    • 2 Tbsp lukewarm water
    • 2 tsp instant yeast
    (C):
    • 250ml water ( I don't put exactly the amount stated, estimate 210-220, depend on the flour)
    • 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
    • 1/8 tsp alum (pak fun)
    • 1/8 tsp ammonia powder (chow fun)
    • 1 tsp salt
Method
    Put (A) in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix (B) and leave aside to froth for 10 minutes. Combine (C) together.
    Pour (B) into (A) and mix well, then add in (C) and beat for five minutes until a soft dough is formed. Cover and leave aside to rise to double its size.
    Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Roll out into a long rectangle, then cut into strips.
    Place two strips one on top of the other and allow to rest for five to 10 minutes.
    Heat a wok with oil till hot. Press lightly on the two strips of dough with a satay stick. Stretch the strips a little and lower into hot oil. Deep fry, turning constantly until each cruller turns puffy and golden brown.

Japanese Cottonsoft Cheesecake


This is my first time doing the Japanese cottonsoft cheesecake, the texture, the moist and the method of doing it is the same like making the Angle Food cake or for fellow asian friend is Chiffon Cake. I been telling you the truth I has eaten it first time when I bought it frozen from Asian Market at Drury Street, Dublin City Centre. I bought 2 of them, thinking to left for my daughters, I don't expect the taste is so yummy and I end up eating all of them....what a selfish am I... ;(( Thank god I keep the wrapper and I know the cake name and finally I got the recipe from net. Very easy if you follow the method properly...

Japanese Cotton Cheesecake
Ingredients:
140g/5 oz. fine granulated sugar
6 egg whites
6 egg yolks
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
50g/2 oz. butter
250g/9 oz. cream cheese
100 ml/3 fluid oz. fresh milk
1 tbsp. lemon juice
60g/2 oz. cake flour /superfine flour
20g/1 oz. cornflour (cornstarch)
1/4 tsp. salt
Instructions:
(Preheat oven to 160deg)
1. Melt cream cheese, butter and milk over a double boiler. (Softening the cream cheese WITHOUT its foil, in a microwave helps speed up this step. Should take 15-20s depending on your microwave)
2.Cool the mixture. Mix in lemon juice, egg yolks and then fold in the flour and cornflour.
3. Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add in the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form.
4. Fold egg white mixture 1/3 at a time, to the cheese mixture until the batter is even.
5. Pour into a 8-inch round cake pan (Lightly grease and line the bottom and sides of the pan with greaseproof baking paper or parchment paper).
4. Bake cheesecake in a water bath for 1 hours 10 minutes or until set and golden brown. (I left mine to cool for half an hour in the oven with the doors ajar as advised from other bloggers cos I was afraid that it would collapse suddenly if there was too big a change in temp)

Pierre Herme Mint macarons

My 2nd Attemp is Duo Mint Chocolate Macaron
This Mint chocolate macaron recipe is basically the same with rose only I change it to mint green colour gel (normally I bought the wilton gel food colouring because is much more nicer and brighter, only a 1/4 tsp already make the batter nice and radiant) and don't forget to dust it slightly with cocoa powder. ( I do it after piping all the macaron batter to the baking paper). Then as usual you have to wait to dry up the macaron in room temperature at about almost 45 minute to 1 hours in order to get nice and glossy shine at the surface of the macaron. While you wait the mixture to dry up, you can now start to do the Chocolate Ganache for the filling. I normally start with white because I'm short off whisk at home..so lazy to clean up the whisk, I reuse the whisk for dark chocolate ganache. Safe my time!!!!hehe..here are the recipe for the ganache.


Whipped White Chocolate and Mint Ganache

8 Ounces / 226g white chocolate
1/2 Cup / 120ml heavy cream
1 tsp peppermint extract
1. Place the chopped up chocolate into a medium bowl, set aside. Bring the cream just to a boil then pour over the chocolate. Stirring from the centre outwards mix until you have a smooth ganache. It will be much thinner than usual but thats how you want it.
2. Chill the ganache in the fridge until chilled then whisk until thickened and is in a pipeable consistency.
Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache
8 ounces / 230g bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup / 250g heavy cream
4 tblsp / 60g unsalted butter, room temperature
1. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl, set aside. Bring the cram to a full boil in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Whilst the cream is coming to a boil beat the butter with a rubber spatula untilvery soft and creamy, set aside.
2. Once the cream reaches a boil take off the heat and gently stir into the chocolate using a spatula. Continue to stir, gently so as not to incorporate any air, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Let the ganache cool for a minute or two.
3. Add half the butter and stir with a spatula until smooth, repeat with the rest of the butter. Once fully incorporated the ganache will be smooth and glossy. Let the ganache cool on the counter until thickened and pipeable.