Happy Lunar New Year!

It's Lunar New Year tomorrow!

This year, I'm at home and was able to make things! Yey~

I started off making kueh bangkit.. which turned out as a bit of a fail because I ran out of tapioca starch. So instead of my usual little men, this was all I made:


Pineapple tarts again:


Agar goldfish, using the fish mould I got 1.5years ago in Singapore :)


And my attempt at Zumbo's macarons. I didn't realise his recipe was in bulk.. so I made a bit too many. I made pandan macarons with white pandan chocolate ganache/pandan custard! :) I used pandan paste, that's why they're that colour. I don't really like it though. I should've made them more green.. :/


Oh. And I also made some ice creams (not really Lunar New Year related). Yam and green tea. :D


Anywho, this will pretty much be the last amount of baking/cooking I'd be doing for a while.. (apart from M's cupcakes which I'll make tomorrow night). Then I'm off to HK and South Korea! Weee~ Hello Winter #1 of 2012! Glad to escape the burning sun for 3 weeks. :) And can't can't wait to get to Korea! :D

Random baking

Here's some random baking photos for the past month. I don't have recipes to show you. These were just 'bake by feel'.. because I was too lazy to get my measuring tools out. Hehe.. :P

Childish vanilla cupcakes. For GK. A pre-birth celebration for the little one inside. :)

Happy cupcakes (Chocolate cupcakes with white chocolate coconut ganache). For JK. Happy cupcakes for a happy person :P

Rustic jam tarts (Apricot jam and Apple, rhubarb + cinnamon jam). Well, I was making cookie dough.. then couldn't be bothered making cut out cookies anymore. So I decided to make jam drop cookies. These are a bit larger, so I guess you can call them tarts! Haha.

Baking is therapeutic. Decorating is fun.
I have so much that I want to make.. but I can't seem to find enough time or energy.. :(

Tea time

I know, it's been a while since I've last posted. I've been and come back from overseas. I've started full time work for over 2 months. But it feels like time has gone by so fast! It feels like only yesterday I was in HK. Oh, I miss HK. I miss travelling. I can't wait to go on my next trip! :D


So I had a tea party today. Planned, rescheduled.. and was going to reschedule/cancel again. But whatever. I'm tired. Work drains me, then I spend all this time baking/preparing... which makes me just plain tired and in not a very good mood. I've realised that I'm not very good at organising and prioritising time.. Things seem to go rush rush fail for me.

Anywho, here's what I made:

Lemon cupcakes with mascarpone frosting


Dark and white chocolate chip mudcake cupcakes


Egg tarts


Black sesame macarons with white chocolate ganache

Makes approx 36 macarons

150g almond meal
50g black sesame powder
300g icing sugar
190g egg whites
60g caster sugar

Sift almond meal, black sesame and icing sugar twice.
Beat egg whites until soft peaks. Add caster sugar slowly and beat until smooth and glossy.
Fold egg whites into almond mixture.
Pipe onto lined baking trays.
Leave uncovered for 1 hour in order for a skin to form.
Bake in a preheated oven at 120C for 15-20mins.
Remove from oven and allow to cool.
If macaron halves are hard to remove, place the baking paper on top of some water.
Sandwich two macaron halves together with white chocolate ganache.


Vanilla macarons with chocolate ganache


Chicken and mayo sandwiches


Smoked trout and cucumber sandwiches


Hommus dip

Tzatziki dip

Anyway, thanks to all those that came! :) I'm sorry that I didn't have the time to make more or anything better..

Shoooo!

My first attempt at choux. I used to call it 'chox' before I knew it was pronounced as 'shoo'. I like to read things in English, the way it's spelt. Haha.

Anyway, it was a success! Very tedious, but I had a lot of fun along the way. Next time, when I don't have ganache and cream that I really wanted to use up, I'm going to make a croquembouche! One made of mini choux balls. :D Then I can have fun spinning sugar~ Hehe.


My mini chocolate eclairs and standard profiteroles. (The 2 mini profiteroles were devoured before a photo could be taken.. :P They were quite adorable actually!)


The ones that aren't covered in chocolate ganache are just filled with chantilly cream. I have to admit that I actually ran out of creme patissiere because I over pipped my first few choux out of excitement. -__-

Choux pastry
Makes about 24 standard

150g plain flour
16g sugar
100g butter
250ml water
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Sift flour with sugar.

In a large saucepan, melt butter in water over low heat. Bring up to a boil when the butter has completely melted. Turn off the stove.

Add the flour to the butter, mixing to form a paste. The paste should start looking like a dough and the edges should come off cleanly from the sides of the pan. Leave to cool slightly for about 15mins.

Preheat oven to 220C.

Make sure the mixture is slightly cooled before adding eggs. Slowly add eggs while beating the mixture. Beat until smooth and glossy.

Pipe mixture onto lined baking trays.

Bake for 10 minutes at 220C, then for another 10mins or so at 180C.

Remove from oven and allow to cool.

My choux babies grew! I'm so proud of them!

And then there's the odd one that likes to deflate after cooling. -__- No problem here though, as when you end up filling it, it grows again! Weeeee~ :)

I piped 24 small choux cases. Then couldn't be bothered anymore. So I tried making some mini eclairs and ultra mini choux balls. I guess I would have been able to make about 3-4 more small choux casings if I wanted to, if I had been bothered. I actually quite prefer these instead of the normal choux. Miniature things are always yummier! :P


Creme Patissiere
Makes enough to fill 24 choux cases

5 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
25g corn flour
25g plain flour
125g sugar
500ml milk
chantilly cream (i just hand whisked together about 250ml of thickened cream, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 4 tsp sugar, but that made way too much!), about 4 tbsp

Whisk egg yolks with sugar until pale and thick.
Heat milk on low until just boiling. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
Add egg sugar mix to the milk, then stir in the flours.
Beat over low heat until mixture thickens.
Cover with clingwrap and allow to cool before using.


When cooled, beat whipped cream through for a lighter smoother paste.


Pipe into choux pastry cases.
Cover with chocolate ganache if desired. (I had ganache left over from last time)
Or cover with toffee to give it a crunch. ;)

Refrigerate when not serving.


Placing each profiterole in a cupcake casing prevents the chocolate ganache from sticking to each other. That, and it's easier to pick up and eat from. :)


And my mini eclairs are filled with creme chantilly. :)

Monkey business

Chocolate cake covered in chocolate ganache.. monkey shaped.


Two tones of chocolate ganache. The lighter tone has added white chocolate and icing to lighten the colour.


Chocolate cake
Makes a 20cm diameter cake (head), plus a 8cm diameter cake (ears)

200g self raising flour
150g sugar
34g cocoa
2 eggs
175ml milk
125g butter, melted

Preheat oven to 160C.

Blend on low to combine all ingredients.
When combined, mix on medium speed for a few minutes.

Line a 20cm diameter and a 8cm diameter springform pan.
Pour mixture into both springforms.

Bake larger springform for about 40mins or until cooked.
Bake smaller springform for about 15mins or until cooked.

Leave both cakes to cool before decorating.

Cut the small cake into 2 crescent moons. This will form the ears.

Make a sugar syrup. (Heat 2tbsp water and 2 tsbp sugar to form a syrup).

Make the ganache (Heat 150ml cream, and pour over 375g cooking chocolate. Mix until chocolate is melted. Set aside to cool and thicken).

Brush all cake pieces gently with sugar syrup. Apply some ganache to the ears and attach to the larger cake. Make sure the ears are stable before you continue ganaching the rest of the cake.

Decorate as required. Refrigerate and allow to set.


It didn't turn out as I had hoped, but at least it resembles a monkey right? :)

Sarah, I hope you had a marvelous birthday @ the zoo!

Lemon cupcakes

I had egg yolks and ganache left over from making macarons. So I decided to make cupcakes! :D


Lemon cupcakes with white chocolate ganache
Makes 12 cupcakes and 1 mini loaf

zest of 1 large lemon
1 1/4 cup plain flour
1/3 cup self raising flour
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
2/3 cup milk
62.5g butter, melted

white chocolate ganache (see macarons)

Sift flours, sugar and baking powder in a bowl.
Create a well and add lemon zest, milk, 2 egg yolks, melted butter and vanilla extract. Combine.
Add whole egg and gently fold through, being careful not to over mix.
Scoop into lined muffin pans and bake in a preheated oven at 170C for about 12mins or until cooked.
Cool completely before applying ganache and decorations.

Macarons!

Last time I tried making them, it didn't quite work out. This time.. it worked! But only after a few tweaks with the oven temperature. Too high of a temperature will make the macarons crack and you won't get the 'foot' or they won't 'pop' (as some people call it).

The macarons are chewy on the outside and soft on the inside with a very slight hint of green tea flavour amongst the almond.


My only disappointment was that I wasted 2 trays (out of 3) and they're not green enough! :(

Green tea macarons with white chocolate ganache
Makes about 25-30 or so (50-60 pieces)

Italian meringue:
55g egg white
150g caster sugar
40g water

Tant pour tant:
110g almond meal
110g pure icing sugar
55g egg white
1 tsp matcha powder
few drops of green food colouring

Ganache:
150g thickened cream
300g white cooking chocolate
(I had a lot of ganache left over.. so you might want to cut this down)

Draw circles of about 1.5cm diameter onto the back of the baking paper that you will be using. You may need 2-3 sheets depending on the size of your baking tray.

Sift almond meal, icing sugar and green tea powder twice. Add in 55g egg white and combine. Add a few drops of food colouring

Heat water with caster sugar until 116C using a candy thermometer.
In another bowl, whisk 55g egg whites until soft peaks are formed. On low speed, pour the hot syrup slowly down the sides of the bowl. Whisk until combined and thick and smooth in consistency.

Mix 1/3 of the meringue into the almond meal mixture. Then gently fold the rest of the meringue into the mixture within 20 strokes.

Place into a piping bag and pipe circles out onto baking paper lined trays. Sprinkle with remaining almond pieces that were sieved out earlier. Allow to dry out for at least 1hr or until a skin is formed.

While this is happening, you can make your ganache. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler. Remove and add cream. Mix to combine and then allow to cool. Refrigerate until use. The mixture should be smooth and not runny. Should be spreadable like.. peanut butter? (It will usually harden when cooled)

Bake macarons at 180C for 3 minutes, then down to 150C for another 5 minutes or until cooked. Bake one tray at a time.

Allow to cool for a few minutes before removing from baking paper. Then allow to cool completely before applying ganache.

Allow to set before serving.

Refrigerate when storing.

Soft chocolate, cinnamon and apricot cookies

Remember the macaroons I tried making? .. and how I had a lot of ganache? Well, it's been sitting in a ball (about the size of a slightly large golf ball) in the fridge. I had this inkling to use it up because it bothered me every time I opened the fridge.

So, I decided to make cookies with them. Just then. With whatever ingredients I could find and thought would go nice together. A mixture of chocolate, cinnamon and apricots. I've never tried that before, but it's quite a nice mixture! The dough was yummy.. :D


Soft chocolate, cinnamon and apricot cookies
Makes about 58 small cookies

2 cups self raising flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
50gm butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup (about 100-150gm) dried apricots, diced
1 golf size ball of ganache, melted (Haha. You can just use about 75gm of chocolate, melted. I melted on high in a microwave for about 10secs. Do not microwave for long otherwise the chocolate will burnnn!)

In a mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and sugar. Mix with a wooden spoon.
Add milk, egg, melted butter and melted ganache (or melted chocolate, cooled).
Mix well, then add in the dried apricots.
Mix until everything in the mixture looks even.
Preheat oven to 170C.
Roll into little balls about 1.5-2cm in diameter. Leave 2cm between each ball.


Press gently down on the balls to flatten slightly.


Bake in the oven for 12 mins. (Note: the longer you bake them for, the less soft they will be. If you prefer crispy cookies, bake for longer)
Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack.

Chocolate macarons

02.01.09

My first attempt.
Failed. -__-

So, I shall call these 'Chocolate kisses' instead.

I decided to use my Avanti cookie press/icing set (that I got for my birthday last year) to pipe the macarons, but the pressure was too high most of the time and so I couldn't control it. I think it also deflated my mixture too :(

Look at the mess!! Horrible. Horrible. Horrible. I will never try making macarons with this ever again. Sigh.

Then to sandwich them with ganache. And what better to make ganache with than Lindt 70% dark chocolate?! :D

Ganache.. too much ganache that I had so much left over!

Okay, they were a tad sticky on the outside.. so here comes the icing! It snowed~ :P

I will try macarons once more. And this time, they will be macarons! They'll be crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. Not like these cake like kisses. :(