Sunday, January 29, 2012

Whipped Cream Cake



Salam to all,

The last 2 groceries shopping, I've been buying 500ml bottle pure cream.  I don't even know why I bought it.  The bottle from the last groceries shopping was dumped into the bin bcos it has expired.  This other one that I have in the fridge, expires tomorrow.  Next grocery shopping, I'll make sure that my hands won't grab any more cream.  Hmmmzzz maybe I should grab the 200ml one instead, just in case I need it ahaakkksss. 

Last night, I googled for recipes that requires heavy cream/pure cream as one of the ingredients.  I am glad that I stumbled upon this recipe.  It was an easy peasy recipe to follow and doesn't require much ingrdedients either.  In an attempt to finish whats left of the cream & also for the cake to finish quickly, I drizzled chocolate ganache on it.  The cake on its own tastes ordinary but with the dark chocolate ganache, it taste extra ordinary....ohhhh yummmzzz.  I can't stop eating it hellllpppppp!!!!

Ok nothing else to blog about.  I am gonna prepare my sambal for my nasi lemak.  Gonna have nasi lemak with sambal, grilled chicken, fried anchovies, peanuts and omelette on banana leaves for dinner tonight.  Oooppsss I have to do the dishes first, Jannah can help me dry them now....finally I have a helper ;)




Source : Angie Tee @ Sea Salt With Food

Ingredients

225 g (8oz/2 Cups) Cake Flour, sifted - I used all purpose flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
¾ tsp Sea Salt - I used table salt
348 g (12.3 oz/1 ½ Cups) Cold Heavy Cream - I used Anchor Pure Cream
3 Large Eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
225 g (8oz/ 1 Cup plus 2 Tbsp) Superfine Sugar




Method

Preheat the oven to 375˚F/190˚C. Coat a 10-cup fluted metal tube pan with baking spray and flour. Shake off the excess flour.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and sea salt.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk batter, whip the cream, starting on low speed, gradually raising the speed to medium-high as it thickens, until stiff peaks form.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla until just combined.

On medium-high speed, gradually beat the egg mixture into the whipped cream. The mixture will thicken into mayonnaise consistency. Gradually beat in the sugar. It should take about 30 seconds to incorporate it.

Then add half the flour mixture into the cream and, with a large spatula, stir and fold in the flour until most of it disappears. Add the rest of the flour and continue folding and mixing until all traces of flour have disappeared. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Run a small metal spatula through the batter to prevent large air bubbles, avoiding the bottom of the pan. Smooth the surface evenly.

Bake the cake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted between the tube and the side comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. With a small metal spatula, loosen the top edges of the cake and invert the cake onto a wire rack that has been coated lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Cool completely. Lightly dust the cake with icing sugar, if desired.






Chocolate Ganache (Optional)

125 ml cream
150g  dark chocolate, chopped

Place the cream and chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until melted and smooth. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.
Spread ganache over the cooled cake to serve.



Pssttt....Jannah had the cake with a fork and a knife.  Hmmmzzz macam-macam lah this little girl.  Enjoy the rest of ur Sunday peeps ;) TTFN....

Friday, January 27, 2012

Buttermilk Chocolate Muffins


Salam to all,

I really didn't plan to bake anything at all today.  We skipped lunch and was feeling very hungry at abt 4.30pm.  We had an easy dinner of fish and chips at abt 5 pm just now.  It's such a lazy day for us today as its last day of hb's off day.  Actually, it wasnt really lazy for me bcos I had to iron 3 sets of hb's uniform huhuhu :ppp We were watching 'Kingdom of Heaven' on cable tv while having our dinner.  It was the first movie me and hb watched when I first migrated to NZ.  I've totally forgotten abt the story line of this movie.  After clean up, we continued watching the movie and it ended abt 7pm ish.

At abt 7.30pm I told hb that I felt a little peckish ahakkksss.  Hb said it's bcos we didnt have any pudding after dinner thats why....doh!!  Opened up the pantry, no munchies for us.  There's roasted peanuts and chocolate bar but we are just sick of them.  Neither me nor hb wants to drive to the supermarket to get our usual dosage of potato chips and.......so, I baked these muffins.  I couldn't think of anything else that can be baked quickly before Jannah's bedtime.  They were ready by abt 8.20pm and I was so hoping that there'll still be a little daylight for me to photo these muffins.  As soon as they come out of the oven, I quickly remove them from the muffin tray using my incredible heat proof fingers and quickly took photo of them.  Oh well, I managed to get a few shots but I gave up after the camera's flash keeps on popping. 

On a positive note....I managed to bake them and clean up in less than an hour.  Also, I can pop a few of these into hb's lunch box tomorrow ;)  Ohhhh by the way....they are so yummy, we had the muffins while they were still warm.   Hb had 2 pieces with a cuppa coffee, Jannah had 1 with a cuppa milk and I had 1 with a cuppa plain icy cold water........



Source : Rima @ Bisousatoi

Ingredients
100g unsalted butter
125g dark cooking chocolate - I used 64% Callebaut chocolate
100ml buttermilk
2 eggs - whisk lightly with a fork
175g all purpose flour
15g cocoa powder - I used Valrhona
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
50g light brown sugar
50g caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
100g black cherry - I used chocolate chips




Method
Melt butter and pour into dark chocolate - set aside to warmish
Add buttermilk to ur butter/chocolate mixture and continue to stir.. add whisked eggs and stir again - set aside
In a big bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder.. add brown sugar, caster sugar and salt to ur flour... mix
Once mixed add ur "wet" (butter/chocolate) mixture into ur "dry" ingredients
Stir it lightly - DO NOT OVERMIX
Pour batter into ur fav muffin cups
Bake in a preheated oven of 175C for 20mins
Serve warm!



Have a great weekend peeps ;) TTFN

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Chocolate Caramel Weetbix



Salam to all,

Well well....the long awaited CNY weekend has gone in a pooffff.  How time really flies.  It's almost the end of January already.  Today I did what I have been avoiding to do since late last year.  Even though it doesn't cost me a cent to do it, I still rather not do it......cervical smear that is hehehez :D   Nurse Glenys of Te Awamutu Medical Centre finally got hold of me last week and growl me a little...just a little ok, saying that the smear is long overdue >.<  Oh well...I got to do what I've got to do...........

Another thing that me and hb did today was we enrolled Jannah to the local Primary School.  The school system here is not something I am quite familiar with like the one in Singapore.  Kids starts school at the age of 5 but school is only compulsory when they turned 6.  The school principal talked to us and we were informed that all kids, Jannah included, won't be able to attend school until they/she turn/s 5 this year.  That means she can only start school a day after her birthday which will fall on September this year.  Weird aye....Just imagine teachers have to accomodate new student every month, different days.  Just don't understand it.....haiz.  Anyway, we are still gonna send Jannah to a kindy or play centre before September, just to familiarise her with a learning environment ~ not bcos I want to but bcos hb is concerned that Jannah might get alienated as she can't speak English fluently.....doh!!

Before I went for my smear appointment, I managed to bake this Chocolate Caramel Weetbix for hb.  I am not a big fan of this kinda slices.  Luv Pandan Chiffon more than this kinda slices ahakkkksss.  Hb luvs them of course and told me how the Aussies tried to claim weetbix, pavlova, anzac bikkies, vegemite, Russel Crowe....bla bla bla as theirs :D  Whatever lah hb, just like Singapore & Malaysia have their love-hate relationship.  So does Australia & New Zealand......peace no war ;)



Source : Foodlovers @ foodlovers.co.nz

Ingredient
3 weetbix, crushed
1 cup flour
1 cup coconut
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
125g butter, melted - I used Anchor
200g (1/2 tin) sweetened condensed milk (use a little more if you like)
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup - I used Maple Syrup
1 cup dark chocolate melts (or use chocolate icing)  - I used Callebaut 64% Courveture





Method :
Preheat oven to 180 C. Place all dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix in melted butter and press into a lined slice tin. (I used a 10.5 inch x 6.5 inch brownie pan)
Bake for 15 minutes. Stir condensed milk, butter, golden syrup in a saucepan over a low heat until butter is melted. Pour caramel onto the base and return to oven for 5 minutes. Allow to sit for a couple of minutes and then cover with a layer of chocolate melts. Once melts have melted then gently smooth with a knife. Alternatively you can allow caramel to cool until just warm and then ice with chocolate icing. 
I sprinkled the top with dessicated coconut.



Kiwi kids are weetbix kids ;)


Friday, January 20, 2012

Really Perfect Shortbread


Salam everyone,

Jannah broke her toy pot handle a few weeks back and asked me to fix it and I finally fixed it yesterday hehehehez.  It's not that I didn't have the super glue supply at home, I do.  It's just that everytime I wanted to do it I got distracted LOLzz....another excuse.  Why is there a need for me to blog abt this??  Just bcos I am going to share a tip here on how to remove super glue if you got it stuck to any part of your skin. 

The story goes, while I was trying to glue the pot handle to the pot.  I must have squeezed the super glue tube extra hard thus excess glue must have flowed off the tube without me realising it.  The next second, my finger was stuck to the glue tube.  I tried as I might to peel it off but if i tried any harder the skin might just peeled off.  Suddenly, an idea bulb popped in my head *ting*!!  I was thinking, if I were to use nail polish remover on my finger, I might be able to remove my finger from the tube.  It works.....alhamdullilah.  I had to keep on pouring the solution on my stuck finger and remove the skin bit by bit.  Not even the glue residue was left on my finger after that.  Nope the nail polish doesn't belong to me at all. Belongs to.....the princess wanabe girl of course hehehez.

Anyway, hb been bugging me for awhile now for shortbread cos he's been craving for them.  This is my 2nd batch that I made this week.  The first batch was gone in 60 seconds.  These shorties must have really satisfied hb's craving lolzzzz......poor hb :D  Jannah luvs them too and keeps on asking for more and at the same time asked if I had photoed them.  They were gone before I can save them for photos hehehez.  This time round, I doubled the recipe.  Really love the recipe, not only it only requires 4 ingredients (5 for me bcos I added vanilla essence).....it definitely taste like the Walker's brand shortbread just like how Amber described it on her blog.



Monday, January 16, 2012

Mince And Potato Curry Pie



Salam everyone ;)

I made this pie for last night's dinner as I've got no idea what to cook.  Yes, no rice/bread/noodles, no side dishes and not even a main dish.  Hb is off for 5 days since last Saturday till this coming Wednesday.  I find that time is always not on my side whenever hb is not working and the day just ends too quickly too.  We will usually laze around in bed until after 10am even though we are wide awake.  Jannah will turn on the tv and watch her kid's programmes that usually ends at 10am.

We will than drag ourselves out of bed, have breakfast, have lunch...do a little clean up and laundry and without realising, it's time to prepare for dinner.  Time really flies too quickly that I don't even have time to do baking or will not be in the mood to cook or bake at all ahaaakkkkkss :D  It's either that or we are out and about and by the time we finished dinner and clean up, it's usally time to prepare for Jannah to go to bed.  I still accompanies her to sleep at night.  Sometimes emmmm actually most of the times :D, its me who fall asleep first instead of her.....*yawwwwnnnss*  wonders why its hard for her to go to sleep @_@

Back to the pie and a little conversation that I had with Jannah last night while I made them....

Jannah :  Mama...ni saper tu? (She still ask 'saper' insteads of 'apa')
Me : Pie lah
Jannah : Pie apa arh mama?
Me : Ka Pai (means good in Te Reo Maori)
Jannah : Ka Pai E Hoa??  (means good my friend?? in Te Reo Maori)

Me and hb had a laugh, she knows how to korero (speak) in Maori through watching her kid's programme.
She got shy when we laughed and start praising her for being able to speak in Maori and so she said "Ni bukan Ka Pai E Hoa lah....ini curry pie lah mama'  hahahahaz....tu lah dah tau still want to ask kan!!!




Ingredients for filling :
1 onion finely diced
2 garlic finely chopped
Abt 1 cm ginger finely chopped
1 stalk curry leaves (optional)
500gm prime beef steak mince
5-6 medium potatoes diced
1 tblsp curry powder
1 tblsp cumin powder
1 tblsp corriander powder
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
Enough water
Enough canola oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Method :
Preheat a large skillet on medium high heat and add oil (abt 2 turns of the pan)
Add onion, garlic, ginger & curry leaves and fry till fragrant.
Add curry, cumin, corriander & tumeric powder and some water until spices turn into paste consistency and fry until fragrant.
Add minced beef and cook until meat turns brown and are crumbly.
Add potatoes, season with salt and pepper and add enough water to cover potatoes.  Cover skillet.
Once potatoes are cooked thoroughly, remove cover and cook further until there's no excess water/moisture.
Remove from heat and let filling cools down.



Ingredients for pie :
Enough ready made puff pastry sheets
Egg Wash (1 egg lightly beaten with 1 tblsp milk)
Above cooled filling

Method :
Preheat oven to 180 deg C ~ fan forced
Cut pastry puff sheets into 4 squares.
Add filling and seal the sides using a fork.
Make a few slits on the pastry.
Brush pastry with egg wash.
Baked in a preheated oven for abt 15-20 mins.



Let see what tomorrow brings, insyaAllah.....TTFN ;)



Thursday, January 12, 2012

French Macaron With Lemon Cream



Salam to all,

This is my 2nd attempt at making these little beauties and this time round I am really proud of myself as they all turn out 100% perfect (in my eyes and taste buds lah) *ehemmmsss* :p  Giving my self a pat on the back and hopping on 1 leg, a star jump and errrr I am tired after all that excercises hehehehez.  Before u read further, do bear with me as this is gonna be 1 longggggggggg entry with heaps of photos.  I am entitled to this bragging rights......la la la la la la :D

The story goes.....I had 6 egg whites left over from making the custard sauce so I aged them.  Only made 1 batch, using approx 2.5 egg whites as I wasn't confident of the outcome of the macarons and how they will turn out.  This time round, I wanted to colour them red but was stopped by Jannah when I wanted to add more red colouring gel bcos she wanted them to be pink.  So, pink it is....in her eyes they are still pink but to me they look a little pinky orangy hehehehez.

For the filling, I used this lemon cream recipe which was highly recommended by Rima.  The lemon cream on its own is really not to my liking as I am not a lemonly/citrusy person but........There is a BUT ok.  When it's combined with the macaron shell!!!!  OMG!!!!!  It taste oh so yummmmmmzzzzz nesssssss.  The sourness of the cream really cuts the sweetness of the macaron shell.  Biting into 1 was just so perfect.  Thank u Rima for sharing these 2 wonderful recipes ;)





They all have feets.....


Not a single shell cracked...



No difference baking on a silpat or baking paper. Left - Silfpat, Right - Baking Paper.  They both came off easily.  I removed them from the tray to the cooling rack once they are out from the oven using just my bare, heatproof fingers...ahakkkksss


Source : Rima @ Bisousatoi
Ingredients
Swiss Meringue
80g egg white (at room temperature)
65g caster sugar
80g ground almond
140g icing sugar
1/2tsp lemon juice
yellow colouring powder (I used wilton red colouring gel)

Method
Swiss Meringue Macarons:
1. Line 3 to 4 baking trays with silicon sheet. (I used silpat & baking paper)
2. Use a round cookies cutter, press it into some cocoa powder or flour.
3. Use the cookies cutter to make some round imprint on the silicon sheet and set aside.
4. Sift icing sugar and almond together and set aside.
5. Pour sugar and egg white into a heatproof pan and place it over a saucepan of simmering water.
6. Stir constantly until sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch (about 50 to 55C).
7. Pour the egg white and lemon juice into the mixing bowl with the whisk attachment and beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks then add in the powder colouring.
8. Continue to beat until the egg white has cooled down and it look smooth and shiny. (medium peak but not dry)
9. Fold in the sifted mixture in 4 portions into the meringue. Do not over fold batter until it turn watery, batter should be slightly thicker than cake batter.(I hv tried dumping the sifted mixture all at once.. it works too)
10.Spoon batter into a piping bag and pipe it within the round imprint which had made earlier on.
11.Let the macarons to rest for 30mins.
12.Preheat oven to 150C.
13.Bake a tray at a time for 20-25mins, depend on individual oven. (I baked mine for 20 mins)
14.Remove macarons and cool on a wire rack. (if ur having difficulty removing shell, spray a little water (mist) under baking sheet.. let it sit for a few sec and peel it off)




Source : Rima @ Bisousatoi I only made half of the recipe ~~ For full recipe, pls click the link <-





Ingredients :
6 Tblsp Lemon Juice
Lemon Zest (As much as u want)
2 Eggs
120g Caster Sugar
125g Unsalted Butter - Room Temperature



Method :
To make the lemon cream, place the sugar in a large bowl.
Grate finely the zest of the lemons and add them to the sugar.
Mix with the tip of your fingers.
Add the eggs and lemon juice and whisk well.
Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water without touching, in order to thicken the cream. It is ready when it coats a wooden spoon.
Remove from the heat and let cool a little before adding the pieces of soft butter. Mix well by hand first until the butter is melted, then with a hand mixer to lighten the cream. It can take a few mins



Now, I am just itching to try out more macaron recipes....hehehez.....Ta Ta For Now ;)


Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Fruit Trifle 2012


Salam to all,

The weather here is still as gloomy with on and off heavy rain just like a few days before.  Lucky that I managed to get my washing dry yesterday when Mr Sun shines his ray for a few hours.  I luv the rain as it keeps the temperature down but its certainly isn't a good day for photos.

Anyway, as promised to hb, I finally made the fruit trifle yesterday nyehahahaz.  It was 8 days overdue bcos I actually promised to make it for him on New Year's day :D  When I came back from sg....hmmmmm let me see how long ago was that.  Like 2 mths ago....he also requested for roti john and curry puffs.  I've already made the roti john for dinner some time back and for now, I still owe hb curry puffs.  Addddeehhh, may Allah give me strength to make them ;)

This year, I didnt cheat 1 bit when I made this trifle.  No store bought sponge cake and I even made the custard sauce myself.....pheewwww that was hard work isn't it.  Hb loves them, he ate most it and took some for his lunch at work today.  Too much cream for my liking.  As for Jannah, she doesn't like this trifle at all cos she said that there's too much fruit in it.  She's still a picky eater when it comes to fruits and veggies....haiiizzz.



Source : Bro Rozzan

Swiss Roll/Sponge Cake Ingredients :

6 grade A eggs (I used 6 sized 7 eggs)
4 oz caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 tablespoon ovalet
3 oz plain flour
1 tablespoon milk powder
4 oz butter (melted)


Method :
1. Beat eggs, sugar, ovalet, baking powder, vanilla essence, flour and milk powder on high speed until thick and fluffy (5-7mins).
2. Add melted butter and mix / stir.
3. Pour batter into the pan and then just smooth the surface.
4. Bake for about 20 minutes with a temperature of 170 degrees Celsius.

Note : I baked the batter in a 32 x 24 cm swiss roll pan and got 2 pieces of cakes from the mixture above. One was rolled into swiss roll with strawberry jam filling. The other was cut into half for the trifle layer.



Source : Taste.com.au

Vanilla Custard Ingredients :
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthways
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup thickened cream
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons cornflour

Method :
Scrape seeds from vanilla bean. Place milk, cream, vanilla seeds and bean halves in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 10 to 12 minutes or until almost boiling. Set aside for 10 minutes to infuse. Strain into a heatproof jug. Discard vanilla bean halves. Wash and dry saucepan.

Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks, sugar and cornflour together in a bowl until thick and creamy. Gradually whisk in hot milk mixture. Return to pan. Cook, stirring, over medium-low heat for 12 to 15 minutes or until thick enough to coat back of a spoon. Serve.

Note : If not serving immediately, cover surface with plastic wrap to prevent skin forming.

Other Ingredients :
Strawberry or raspberry jam
2 Cans of canned fruits of your choice
500ml fresh cream


Garnish :

Grated Chocolate/Cherries or anything that fancies you ;)
Toasted slivered almonds



Fruit Trifle Method :

1. Cut the sponge into half and spread with jam and place in the base of a large serving bowl.
2. Pour over the fruit juice until the sponge cake is wet.
3. Spread the half canned fruits on top of sponge cake.
4. Whip the cream until soft peaks form and blend 2/3 the whipped cream with the custard. Spread half of the custard evenly over the fruit and sponge.
5. Spread jam on the remaining half of the sponge and place it on top of the custard.
6. Repeat step 2-5 for 2nd layer.. Spread the remaining whipped cream over the top of the custard and refrigerate one hour before serving.
8. Decorate with grated chocolate/cherries and toasted almonds before serving.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Wonderfully Soft Bread



Salam to all ;)

Yesterday morning, I had an early phone call from Aunty Eton.  She said she wanted to drop by my place on her way home from Tauranga to Hamilton.  Since it was raining crazily for summer this year, she decided to chill out at my crib....cheh cheh hehehez chill out....crib......siakss :ppp  Yup yup chill out while waiting for the rain to subside before continuing her journey home with her hb, uncle David.

She told me not to go through any trouble preparing lunch and will arrive here at abt 11am.  While waiting for her, I did a little clean up and forced Jannah to eat her breakfast which she took almost an hour to finish bcos she was so engrossed watching her kid's programme on tv.  I turned the tv off and in my mind thinking, what should I whip up for my guest.  Although Aunty Eton, said not to prepare anything for them, I just can't welcome my guest with plain water. 

So, I made this wonderfully soft bread.  True to its name, just like what Yat said....it is wonderfully soft alright.  Jannah had her lunch which consist of rice, fried fish & cabbage and still managed to eat 2 pieces before aunty and uncle came over and had another 1 when they arrived.  She wanted more when she saw I packed 3 pieces of the leftover bread for aunty.  She even asked me to make them again today....yikkesss next time ok my baby ~~ she doesn't like me calling her baby now.  She's a girl she said ;)

Well, I had lots of time to make the bread, proof it, baked it and even eat it while waiting for them to arrive.  Guess what time did they arrive....????  Jeng jeng jeng.......after 2.30pm!!!  Janji melayu betol!!!  What can I say abt the Malays when they make promises aye??  They are either 5 minutes early or 1 day late ;pppp Ooopppssiiiee, that includes me bcos I fall under the Malay category.....la la la la la la la *whistle* *whistle* *whistle*



Source : Yat @ Easybakes
Ingredients :
310g bread flour
60g cake plain flour (I used standard flour)

40g Nestle CoffeeMate powder (I used milk powder)
115ml skim milk (I used fresh milk)
20g condensed milk
55g caster sugar
3g salt
7g instant yeast
1 egg + 2 egg yolks (I used 2 large eggs)

40g butter (room temperature)

Egg Glaze : 1 egg lightly beaten with 1 tblsp fresh milk



Method :
1. Sieve flour mixture into a large mixing bowl.
2. Make a well in the middle of flour mixture and add in all the rest of ingredients except butter.
3. Mix till a dough is formed and knead in the butter till you get a smooth dough.
4. Proof dough for 50 minutes or till double in size.
5. Divide dough into 12 portions of 60g each and shape it or wrap in the filling. Proof for another 50 minutes or till double in size.
6. Brush with egg wash and bake at 190C for 15 minutes or till cooked.

Note :
I used my breadmaker to do the job for me and sprinkled sugar after glazing the buns.



10.18pm, lights and tv already off.  Jannah and hb already asleep *yawwwnnss* my turn to join them ZZZZzzzzzz.