My Food Safari

Chocolate Cake

2011-06-13T17:10:00.010+10:00

The original recipe did not have flour or almond meal in the cake which would
result in a very light cake. I have tried adding a little flour or almond meal and like it this way as well.

190 g butter
300 g dark chocolate
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 eggs, separated
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cup self raising flour or almond meal

Cream
2 tbsp cocoa
5 tbsp hot water
200g semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cup cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
1/8 tsp salt

1. Melt butter and chocolate over water.

2. Add vanilla extract and 6 egg yolks into chocolate mixture. Fold in flour or almond meal.

3. Whisk egg whisk adding sugar and cream of tartar gradually to stiff peak. Fold 1/3 into chocolate mixture and then the rest.

4. Divide mixture into 2 or 3 round baking tins. Bake for 30-40 minutes until cooked through. Cool before icing.

5. For icing, Mix cocoa with hot water. Melt chocolate over hot water. Mix cocoa into chocolate. Whip cream with icing sugar until soft peaks. Fold cream into chocolate. Use to layer and around cake.

Flaky Curry Puffs

2011-05-27T22:10:00.022+10:00

These curry puffs are made with two types of dough and results in flaky puffs. The original and most recipes normally divide the two dough in 12 or 24 equal portions and wrapping one dough with another and individually roll each one, which I normally do and this is very time consuming. But, one time when I was going to do that, had a aha moment and thought to myself why not roll it like puff pastry. I did and the result is the same and saves me time.

For water dough

* 200 g plain flour
* 100 ml water, mixed with
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 tablespoon butter

For butter dough

* 100 g plain flour
* 75 g butter

For filling

* 220 g potatoes (cubed and par-boiled in some water, drained)
* 100 g big onions (cubed)
* 2 tablespoons curry powder, mixed with some water
* 1 sprig curry leaf (optional)
* 1 tablespoon oyster sauce (optional)
* salt, to taste
* sugar, to taste
* light soy sauce, to taste
* 1 dash pepper

1. To make WATER DOUGH, place flour in a mixing bowl.
2. Rub in butter and add in the water.
3. Knead into a smooth dough and leave aside to rest for 10 minutes.
5. To make BUTTER DOUGH, rub butter into the flour to form an oily dough.
6. Or like me, use the food processor to make both dough.
7. To make FILLING, heat pan with 3 tbsp oil.
8. Fry onions until soft and add curry powder until fragrant.
9. Add the other ingredients and add water and fry till dry.
10. If potatoes are not soft, add water again and fry till dry and potato become soft.
11. Cover the pan once in a while so that the potato will be cooked faster.
12. Leave to cool.
13. Roll the water dough into a rectangle.
14. Flatten the butter dough on.
15. Add filling and seal the sides.
16. Pinch the edges to form a scallop design or any design Deep fry puffs in medium hot oil.
17. *Note: You can make the filling a bit more saltier because when you eat it with the puff it will make the filling taste blander.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/malay-style-curry-puff-108903#ixzz1NYQkvZDu

Two types of dough

Rol1 the water dough bigger (about 32 * 32 cm) than the butter dough(30 cm * 15 cm).

Wrap the butter dough by folding the water dough.

Roll the wrapped dough to a square and fold again similar way and roll again.

Then roll it into a sausage

Depending on the diameter of the "sausage" and how big you want your curry puffs, how thick to cut each dough. Try one, and then cut the rest.

Put a dough on the cut side and roll into a circle.

Wrap the potato mixture and fold.

Lemon yoghurt cake

2011-01-03T18:49:00.002+11:00

I've baked this cake twice. I like the lemony and yoghurty taste.
I've not made the syrup because I do not like too sweet cakes.

125g unsalted butter
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup plain low fat yoghurt
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
2 1/2 cups self raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
For syrup
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp lemon zest, julienned
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup water
For serving
1 cup plain low fat yoghurt (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Oil a 23 cm cake tin.
2. Beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar in a large bowl until light and creamy.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the yoghurt, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, lemon zest, flour and bicarbonate of soda.
4. Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 45 minutes or until baked.

5. Combine 1/3 cup sugar, lemon juice and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan. Cook, stirring over low heat until the sugar has dissolved, then add the julienned lemon zest and simmer for 4 minutes.

6. Remove the cake from the oven and pour the zest and syrup over the top while the cake is hot and still in the tin. Let the cake stand for at least 5 minutes before serving in slices and some extra yoghurt, if desired.

Best Ever Chocolate Brownie

2011-01-01T21:12:00.000+11:00

These brownies came out quite delicious (rich and moist).

Ingredients:-
150 g butter
300 g dark chocolate
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Method:-
1. Line a greased baking tin with baking paper
2. Melt butter and chocolate over low heat, and transfer to a mixing bowl.
3. Add brown sugar and mix together, then mix in the eggs.
4. Add sifted flour and mix.
5. Add sour cream and nuts and combine thoroughly.
6. Pour mixture into the baking tin and bake at 180C for 30 mins.

Food that use pesticides

2010-12-21T08:10:00.004+11:00

It is costly to buy organic fruits and vegetables. So instead, buy organic for those fruits and vegetables that use more pesticides and normal for those that do not use that much. According to whfoods.org the dirty dozen is the list with heavy pesticide use and clean fifteen is the one with less.

Dirty Dozen:
1. Celery
2. Peaches
3. Strawberries
4. Apples
5. Blueberries
6. Nectarines
7. Bell Peppers or Capsicum
8. Spinach
9. Cherries
10. Potatoes
11. Grapes

Clean Fifteen:
1. Onion
2. Avacado
3. Sweet Corn
4. Pineapple
5. Mango
6. Sweet Peas
7. Asparagus
8. Kiwifruit
9. Cabbage
10. Eggplant
11. Cantalope
12. Watermelon
13. Grapefruit
14. Sweet Potato
15. Honeydew Melon

Swiss Roll

2009-03-10T21:14:00.005+11:00

My 10 y.o. son likes cooking. He has been using my new cake mixer to bake a few cakes lately. This is a swiss roll that he baked and rolled with some whipped cream and icing sugar. This recipe is also good for cupcakes.

Ingredients:-
3 egg whites
sugar

3 eggs
3 egg yolks
sugar

1 cup flour

More Christmas Cakes

2008-12-10T19:21:00.013+11:00

These are a few more fondant Christmas cake. They are all fruit cake and for the recipe click here.

The teddy bear and dog measures about 4 cm or 1.5 inch. All are made from gum paste or sugar paste.

Christmas Cakes

2008-11-29T21:20:00.009+11:00

Here's a season to be jolly...la..la..la..la. Christmas is just around the corner. I started taking an interest in cake decorating last year and made some Christmas cakes for my kids' teachers last year. So this year, I'm doing it again. I'm still in the process of baking and making the decorations. These are two of my completed cakes. I still have 7 to complete. That's why these cakes are only 6 inches in diameter.

Daring Bakers Challenge

2008-11-29T00:57:00.012+11:00

After two savoury challenges, we're back to cakes again. I'm missing the savoury challenges already. This month's challenge is Caramel cake and it is hosted by Dolores from culinarycuriosity.blogspot.com
. When I read this month's challenge, I knew that this was going to be a very very sweet cake. I normally reduce the sugar specified in cake recipes and I did the same here.
My cake turned out dense and heavy. But it tasted good because of the caramel flavour. Not sure where I went wrong. When it first came out from the oven, it seem okay but after frosting and putting it in the fridge, it became heavy. I was going to try baking it again. But because I'm also baking and decorating all my Christmas cakes, I do not have the time. I'll be posting some Christmas cakes soon.

I had no problems with making the caramel required for the cake and icing.

Last Minute Again - Pizza

2008-10-29T22:33:00.012+11:00

Since I've started working, I've left all the Daring Bakers' Challenges till last minute. I only started my a day before it was suppose to be posted and the dough needs 1 day to rest in the fridge. This month's challenge is hosted by Rosa's Yummy Yums and the challenge is pizza. This is the brief version of the recipe. For more detail, visit Rosa's site. The topping was up to our imagination. These are the pizza I came up with for dinner.
This pizza has tomato paste, roasted capcicum, mushrooms, fresh tomatoes and fetta cheese. I sprinkled some basil before eating.

This pizza has tomato paste, salami and cheese.

This is a sweet pizza with mascarpone cheese and yohurt mixed with some icing sugar and apples and some brown sugar on the top.

~ BASIC PIZZA DOUGH ~
Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.

Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).

Ingredients:
4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) Unbleached high-gluten (%14) bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled
1 3/4 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Instant yeast
1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) Olive oil or vegetable oil (both optional, but it’s better with)
1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) Water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)
1 Tb sugar - FOR GF use agave syrup
Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

Day 1
1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).

2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

3. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).

NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.

4. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.

NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.

5. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.

6. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to three days.

Day 2

7. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

8. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).

NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.

9. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Flatten and toss it.

10. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.

11. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.

12. Place the garnished pizza on the parchment paper onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for about 5-8 minutes.

13. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

Happy Birthday

2008-09-28T12:39:00.013+10:00

My husband's birthday is this week. So I've made him this birthday cake this week end. It's a Chocolate Almond Cake. It turned out almost like a chocolate mud cake. But it's lighter and moist but still rich. The recipe required 250 grams of chocolate and I've reduced it to 180 grams. This is the recipe :-
125 grams unsalted butter
250 grams semi sweet chocolate
1/2 cup orange juice
6 eggs, separated
200 grams almond meal
1 cup castor sugar

1. Line 20 cm round tine and preheat oven to 170 degrees Celcius.
2. Put the butter and orange juice in a saucepan and heat over low heat until the butter has melted. Take of the heat and add chocolate. Stir until all the chocolate has melted.
3. Beat the egg whites and gradually add 1/2 cup of the castor sugar until soft peak. Leave this for later.
4. Beat the egg yolks with the other 1/2 cup of castor sugar until light and creamy. Beat in the cooled chocolate & butter mixture.
5. Fold in the almond meal. Fold in the beaten egg white.
6. Pour in tin and bake for about 45 - 50 minutes.

I decorated it with dark chocolate ganache and white chocolate ganache. The ganache is chocolate melted in hot cream. I do not have the exact measurement of cream to chocolate. I agak-agak (estimate).

Avacado, Mango, Tango

2008-09-28T10:58:00.013+10:00

I've just started work recently and I do not get the time to surf the net as often as before. For September's Daring Bakers' challenge, I assumed that posting date is the last day of the month. So I was going to do it this week end. OMG, I found out yesterday after visiting FBB's website that it was yesterday. So, I made my lavash about 2 hours ago. This month's challenge was hosted by Shellyfish . These are the short description of steps to make lavash (to view the full description, I'm sure shellyfish would post it on her site) :-
Makes 1 sheet pan of crackers

* 1 1/2 cups (6.75 oz) unbleached bread flour or gluten free flour blend (If you use a blend without xanthan gum, add 1 tsp xanthan or guar gum to the recipe)
* 1/2 tsp (.13 oz) salt
* 1/2 tsp (.055 oz) instant yeast
* 1 Tb (.75 oz) agave syrup or sugar
* 1 Tb (.5 oz) vegetable oil
* 1/3 to 1/2 cup + 2 Tb (3 to 4 oz) water, at room temperature
* Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, or kosher salt for toppings.

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt yeast, sugar, oil, and just enough water to bring everything together into a ball. You may not need the full 1/2 cup + 2 Tb of water, but be prepared to use it all if needed.

2. Sprinkle some flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead for about 10 minutes. The dough should not be tacky.

3. Ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size. (You can also retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator immediately after kneading or mixing).

4. Roll the dough to about 15 inches by 12 inches. But I manage to roll into 1 1/2 sheets. One thicker and the other thinner. You might need to rest it every 5 minutes so that it relaxes and does not shrink back. Dust the top with some flour.
Transfer onto tray.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit(I used 180 degrees Celcius) with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Mist the top of the dough with water and sprinkle a covering of seeds or spices on the dough. I used sesame seeds on the thin dough and cumin seeds, sesame seeds and cracked pepper on the thick dough. I cut the dough using a pizza cutter. You can leave it in one piece and break it after baking.

6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown evenly across the top (the time will depend on how thinly and evenly you rolled the dough).

7. When the crackers are baked, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. You can then snap them apart or snap off shards and serve.

These lavash can be served with dips or salsa. Mangoes are starting to get into season. So I've made 2 salsa to go with it. I've used mango and avacado in one and avacado, seeded tomato and capsicum in another. Mixed it with some olive oil, squeeze of lemon juice and salt. Could add some red onions, herbs and chilli too. Tasty, healthy and yummy. Big hit with the kids.

Ingredients used for my salsa.

Daring Bakers Challenge #3

2008-08-30T07:36:00.013+10:00

This month the challenge was host by Tony & Meeta of http://whatsforlunchhoney.blogspot.com/ and this month's challenge was Chocolate Éclairs by Pierre Hermé. The recipe can be found on Meeta's blog.
After the first 2 challenges, it is a relief to get something that I am familiar with. I have baked choux pasty many times so it was nothing new to me. Except the convoluted way of making way of making the chocolate glaze. It was a 2 part process and I've always made it all in one. Anyway it tasted the same as the one part process that I always make. The other thing this recipe is different to the one that I use is that the oven door is set ajar after 10 minutes which I did not follow. Instead, when the eclairs are nearly done (say another 5-10 minutes to go), I take them out and make a small slit on the side and put them back in the oven for the last 5-10 minutes. And mine always comes out nicely puffed up and crisp and no problem of deflating.
I waited till the last minute to make these because I made a big batch of round choux pasty just 1 week before the challenge was announced.
This is my result of the challenge :-

Daring Bakers Challenge #2

2008-07-31T01:00:00.007+10:00

My second Daring Bakers challenge is Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream. When I first read it, I did not know what Filbert is... sounds like a person's name. I let my fingers do the walking (ie. google) and found out that filbert is hazelnut. This recipe has as many steps as the first challenge.

It require us to layer a two inch cake into 3 layers. That is a challenge for me. So I decided to make a thin layer, cut and stack them on top of each other. Then cut them into mini round cakes using round cutters. The challenge with that is getting a smooth finish around the sides which I could not do(as you can see from the photos). I also omitted the butter in the praline buttercream and it turned out the way I like it.

I like the cake but next time I might use ready bought almond meal to save time and effort. The recipe can be found on this link.

Fresh versus Frozen

2008-07-24T17:05:00.010+10:00

Do fresh vegetables and fruits contain more minerals and vitamins compared to frozen ones? Lately, there has been reports to state that frozen is just as good if not better than fresh because it is snap frozen quite soon after harvesting. Is it true or are the reports conducted by the frozen food companies? I don't know.

I normally buy fresh. But I saw these frozen blueberries and mixed berries at the supermarket for AUD$3.90 for 450 grams. Much cheaper than the fresh ones even when berries are in season. And it's winter so I cannot even get fresh blueberries.

So, I've made some blueberry muffins following the recipe on the packet. Normally, I reduce the sugar in recipes but not this time. And it turned out to be just the right sweetness for me. I omitted white chocolate bits as I did not have any in the pantry. I think if I added white chocolate bits then I might reduce the sugar. It turned out moist and soft. I might try with wholemeal flour next time.

Ingredients :
1 cup frozen berries
2 cups self raising flour
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white chocolate bits
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celcius.
Sift all dry ingredients into a large bowl.
Stir in everything else.
Spoon mixture into muffin trays.
Depending on the size of the muffins, bake from 20-30 minutes.

Sushi

2008-07-22T18:40:00.007+10:00

Sushi is one of our favourite food. My kids can go through lots of it which I am happy about since it is healthy and full of Omega 3(salmon). My son's homework this week was to cook a healthy meal with the family and document the process and he suggested sushi. I have made sushi a few times and I've always made the normal ones with the nori sheet on the outside. Have you ever wondered how they make the inside out sushi? I have and this is my first time making the inside out sushi. I learned this from the Nintendo DS game, Cooking Guide. Far out, eh?

The way to do this is putting a cling wrap on the bamboo roller and then spread the rice on it. Roll the ingredient with the nori sheet and place this on top of the rice and roll like normal sushi. Remove the cling wrap after the sushi is cut. Ta da! I use the packet sushi powder to flavour the rice instead of making my own vinegar and sugar mixture.

Phillip Island

2008-07-09T14:05:00.013+10:00

The kids are having their term holidays. Initially, we were going to go skiing but there has not been good snow falls. Last week, no lifts were operating which means not enough snow for skiing. So we went to Phillip Island instead which is just 1.5 hours away from Melbourne. What's in Phillip Island? There's the penquin parade, fishing, seals colony, grand prix circuit(for motorbike), koala conservation park and other attractions.

On the way there, we visited the Australian Garden in Cranbourne. These are pictures of it.

The peligans at San Remo, before crossing the bridge over to Phillip Island. They are creatures of habit, arriving everyday at 12 noon to be fed.

The views from our hotel. So serene and peaceful.

The jetty where we tried to fish from. We did not catch any fish. My oldest son is keen on fishing and prefers the jetty to a fish farm where the only way not to catch a fish is if your fishing rod is out of the water.

Some excitement for the day. Go kart racing. This was fun. We went round the circuit for 10 minutes and going at a speed of 45kph. That might seem slow in a normal car but on these go karts, it feels fast.

This is an amazing place(Amaze N Things), full of interesting things and illussions.

My First Daring Bakers Challenge

2008-06-20T06:40:00.015+10:00

I have seen quite a few bloggers that are members of The Daring Bakers. Initially, I did not know what it was. Curiousity got the better of me and I found out that they(now we) are a group that bakes. There's a challenge every month to complete. This month's challenge was a Danish Pastry Braid.

I was excited when I received the email. But as I was reading the recipe, I started dreading it. I doubted myself. I have not baked such elaborate pastry before. Imagine, the pastry involved making it, put it in the fridge for 30 minutes. Then rolling and folding and back in the fridge for another 30 minutes. Repeat the last step another 3 times. Then back in the fridge for 5 hours. Then rolling it and make the braid and other pastries. Then proof it for 2 hours before baking. But I suppose that is why it is call a challenge. And I suppose I'll learn something new. Da..da..da.. always look at the bright side of life da..da..da.

As it turns out, I surprised myself. The braid turned out delicious and no drama making the pastry except the long process.

The challenge was to make a braid which is I filled with apple filling. Then with the rest of the pastry I made a assorted Danish Pastry. The other two fillings are custard and black sesame seed paste. They are all delicious.

This is the recipe (you have been warned):-

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough

Ingredients
For the dough (Detrempe)
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks or 225 grams) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

DOUGH
1. Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk.
2. Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well.
3. Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain.
4. Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges.
5. When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.
6. Put it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

BUTTER BLOCK
1. Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.
2. After the dough has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour.
3. Spread the butter evenly over two thirds of the dough, the left side (ie 12 x 13 inches). Fold the left dough to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. The dough now measures roughly 6 x 13 inches.
4. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Repeat the rolling and folding 3 more times but without the butter. The 6 x 13 inches dough should be rolled to 18 x 13 inches dough. So the width becomes the length. After every rolling and folding, the dough has to be refrigerated for 30 minutes.
6. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

APPLE FILLING
Makes enough for two braids

Ingredients
4 Fuji or other apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch pieces, I used granny smith
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat until slightly nutty in color, about 6 - 8 minutes.
2. Then add the all the other ingredients and sauté until apples are softened and caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes. If you’ve chosen Fujis, the apples will be caramelized, but have still retained their shape.
3. Cool completely before forming the braid. (If making ahead, cool to room temperature, seal, and refrigerate.) They will cool faster when spread in a thin layer over the surface of the sheet. After they have cooled, the filling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Left over filling can be used as an ice cream topping, for muffins, cheesecake, or other pastries.

DANISH BRAID
Makes enough for 2 large braids

Ingredients
1 recipe Danish Dough (see below)
2 cups apple filling, jam, or preserves (see below)

For the egg wash: 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.
2. Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.
3. Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.

Egg Wash
Whisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.

Proofing and Baking
1. Spray cooking oil (Pam…) onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.
2. Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.

Be patient if you want to try this recipe.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-06-16T11:10:00.017+10:00

I baked some chocolate chip cookies yesterday. This recipe appears on a wrapper of a can of condensed milk and I have baked it many times. It's my favourite chocolate chip cookies. This recipe does not contain egg for people allergic to eggs. I normally double the quantity as my bunch finishes it so quickly. The quantity here yields about 35 average size cookies.

Ingredients:-
180 grams butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cup self raising flour
250 grams dark choc bits (choc chips)

1. Preheat oven to 180 Celcius.
2. Beat butter and sugar until creamy, beat in condensed milk.
3. Add flour and choc chips and stir until combined.
4. Roll spoonfuls into small balls and flatten slightly.
5. Bake for 15 minutes until golden.

They comes out nice and chewy from the oven. It does crisp up a little when it is cool. How much it crisp up depend on how golden it is baked.

If you have a small ice cream scoop that will make forming the balls so much easier and you will get even shapes and size. I have not been able to find a small ice cream scoop so I use 2 spoons to avoid getting my hands messy.

Mario Brother's Cake

2008-06-11T13:15:00.009+10:00

My son just celebrated his 10th birthday recently. Most boys his age likes video and computer games and he is no different in that regards. He loves playing Pokemon and Mario Brothers' games on his Nintendo DS and WII. So, he was so thrilled when he saw his birthday cake and he was so proud that I made it for him.

It's a chocolate mud cake layered with chocolate ganache. Mario is made out of modelling sugar paste and so are all of the small items.

Mother's Day Cake

2008-05-10T23:33:00.013+10:00

I don't get a lot of chances to fully decorate a cake. Unless it is for a celebration, I prefer to eat my cake plain and simple. So of course, for Mother's Day, I took the opportunity to use my newly acquired cake decoration knowledge. Remember the sugar paste roses that I made, I've used them here. I've made a variation of what I've been taught, ie covering whole cake with fondant. You see, all of us do not like the taste of fondant. Too sweet for my taste! Even my kids who like sweet things find that fondant is too sweet. So what can I cover my cake with and still use sugar paste decoration? Well, I layered and covered the cake with white chocolate ganache. Only layering the top with a very very thin fondant to form a base for the cake topper. When I say very very thin, I mean like one mm thin.

After a long search for a chocolate cake recipe that I like, I've finally found it. It's a personal thing. Some might like it, some might not. For example, chocolate mud cake is too heavy for me. I like sponge cake and chiffon cake but that is too light and fluffy to decorate it with a topper. This is the recipe that I used. It is lighter than a chocolate mud cake. What's the verdict? Well, it was a hit with everyone.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mums around the world.

Sugar Paste Roses

2008-04-25T07:06:00.016+10:00

I am making some roses for the topper for a Mother's Day cake. This was inspired by a cake made by my cake decorator teacher. My cake decorator class is taught by an 80 years old woman. Yeah, you have read correctly. She is an amazing woman. She takes only 2 classes per week. She still makes cakes for customers whilst looking after her 90 years old husband who just recently has an operation. She has a perfect eye sight and a very good memory. I am just a bit more than half her age but my eye sight is deteriorating and memory is not as good as hers. That is why I need to document these steps.

Start of with coloring some sugar paste. The center of the rose is normally darker than the outer petals. So as you work your way to the outer petals, lighten the color of the sugar paste.

Start off with this and pinch the sides of the sugar paste to make a shape of a flag. This process is call flagging. Use a roller to thin the edges.

What just happened? It was pink and now it's white? This photo turned out to be the best. That's why I'm using it. There is no magic.

Then roll the "flags" to get this result. This has to dry for at least a day before proceeding.

For the next layer, use a cutter and cut three petals. Use modelling tool to shape the petals. Turn the tip of each petal slightly and glue it onto the center of the rose. Let this dry for at least 30 minutes before proceeding.

For the next layer use a bigger cutter and cut five petals. A spoons is useful to shape these petals. Glue the petals around the rose and slip the last petal inside the first petal on this layer.

Let the rose dry for at least 1 hour before putting on the calyx. Dust some color powder on the calyx to bring out the color. Steam the the flowers to bring it to live.

My Favourite Red Meat - Lamb Chops

2008-04-05T22:57:00.008+11:00

If I have to choose between steak and lamb, I would choose lamb. I like the flavour and I find it more tender than steak. I saw this recipe for lamb chops on Better Homes and Garden show on TV and thought it was worth trying. My son prefers this to my normal lamb chops (which is simple squeeze of lemon juice and sprinkle of salt).

12 lamb chops
a clove of garlic
1 level tsp cummin powder
1 level tsp paprika powder
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
a handful coriander
a handful parsley
juice from 1/3 of lemon
a pinch of salt
3 tbsp olive oil

Blend all the ingredients together until herbs are fine, except lamb chops of course(I used the hand stab). Season the lamb chops with this mixture for at least 2 hours. Then pan fry in some oil. Depending on the thickness of the chops. Mine took about 3 minutes on each side and it came out medium. Serve with mashed potatoes and peas.

Macarons

2008-03-25T12:25:00.000+11:00

I have been reading about the famous macarons craze in Singapore and Malaysia. So I have to try making macarons and see what all the fuzz was about. After researching some recipes, I've decided to use this recipe.

The first important thing about whisking egg whites is that the bowl must not have any oil, fat or any egg yolk at all. The other is the egg whites must be at room temperature.

120 gms almond meal
150 gms icing sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
3 egg whites
4 tablespoon castor sugar
a pinch of cream of tartar

Sieve the first three ingredients together.
Add a pinch of cream of tartar into the egg whites and beat at medium speed.
Gradually add caster sugar while beating the egg whites until medium peaks and glossy.
Gently fold in the sifted ingredients in two batches.
Pipe them on baking sheets. I made mine about 3-4 cms in diameter.
Let it rest for about 20 minutes while pre-heating oven to 170Celcius.
Bake for about 13 minutes depending on oven.
Cool down before sandwiching with chocolate ganache.

I read that after piping, you have to drop the tray onto the bench to get rid of any trapped air. I did that, but I don't think it got rid of any trapped air. Time to prepare the ganache.

100 grams dark chocolate
50mls thickened cream

Heat up the cream in a double boil. When it is hot enough to melt the chocolate, take it of the double boil and pour in the chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted. Put it in the refrigerator until thickened before using it to sandwich two macarons together.

The macarons tasted so good and I now understand what all the fuzz is about. As I do not have very sweet tooth, I still found this a bit sweet eventhough I have reduced the sugar. Next time, I'll reduce the icing sugar to 120 grams instead. And my macarons did have feet.

Easter Frogs?

2008-03-22T09:55:00.001+11:00

It's Easter and I have a surprise for my kids. They've been very supportive and excited about my cake decoration journey. I'm making Easter eggs for them. I'm not make the chocolate eggs. I made the sugar paste boat and Easter frogs. They were full of praises when they saw them today. The frog is made from modelling paste and a pinch of gum tragacanth. This is to make it dry faster. For this amount of modelling paste, I added 1 quarter teaspoon of gum tragacanth. The color paste was added and kneaded in before modelling. After it is dry, I glazed the frog with edible glaze (gum arabic - 1 part gum arabic with 1 part water).

My first Blog

2008-03-21T03:06:00.000+11:00

I have been reading other peoples blogs for a long time. I've always found them interesting and found useful information from it. This is my first blog to keep a journal of my food safari.

Chocolate Mud Cake

2008-03-15T08:23:00.002+11:00

I have made mud cakes before and it used to turned out dry. Now I will take the cake out of the oven when the skewer comes out moist but not wet. An also Lindt chocolate makes a difference. It taste much better. This cake can also be covered with marzipan and fondant. It is very rich, I like it just as it is or serve with some cream.

1 cup (250 mls) water
250 grams butter
250 grams dark chocolate
150 grams self raising flour
150 grams plain flour
60 grams cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
450 grams caster sugar
4 eggs
2 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
125 mls buttermilk

Preheat oven to 160C.
Put butter, chocolate and water into pan. Stir over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Cool.
Sift flours, cocoa and bicarbonate soda into a large bowl. Stir in sugar and make a well in the centre.
Add combined eggs, oil and buttermilk and using a metal spoon slowly stir to start incorporating to dry ingredients. Gradually stir in the melted chocolate mixture.
Pour into greased line tin.
Bake for 1 3/4 hours. Test centre with a skewer. It is ready when moist but not wet.

My First Chritmas Cake

2008-03-15T07:27:00.004+11:00

I started cake decorating classes 5 week before Christmas last year. I didn't know what I wanted to learn but was inspired by looking at pictures and wished that I could make cakes like those. This cake classes only do sugar paste (aka fondant). I wanted to learn piping and buttercream. That will be next. So this is my first complete decorated cake I've ever made. It's a fruit cake covered with marzipan(almond paste) and fondant (sugar paste). I made the flowers and leaves out of modelling paste which is similar to sugar paste but it dries hard.

First, this is the recipe for the fruit cake. I have made modifications to the original recipes. I've reduced the sugar and also the amount of fruits because I do not like my fruit cake too sweet. And I omitted peel because I don't like them.

230 grams plain flour

60 grams self raising flour

200 grams dark brown sugar

230 grams butter

5 (size 55 gram) eggs

800 grams mixed fruit

60 grams almonds

1 teaspoon cinnomon powder

1 teaspoon all spice

1 teaspoon nutmeg powder

1 teaspoon ginger powder

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

6 tablespoon brandy (or substitute with what you like)

1/4 teaspoon bicarb-soda

Mix fruit, essence, spices and brandy and leave overnight.
When ready to begin, mix bicarb-soda with 1 tablespoon of boiling water and pour over fruit.
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Mix well after each addition.
Then add alternatively flour and fruit into the creamed butter.
Wrap 3-4 layers of paper aroung the sides of the tray. This prevents the sides from getting burnt.
Pour into a greased lined tray at 160C for about 2-3 hours.

Leave it to cool for at least one day before decorating. If your cake is not flat at the top, cut it flat and make that the bottom. For covering the cake, the first layer is almond paste or marzipan and the top layer is sugar paste or fondant. I did not take any pictures of the process but this is the process.

Fill the cake with marzipan. If there is fruit on the surface, press it down. If it sinks, fill it.
Roll some marzipan to about 3 mm thickness, dust with icing sugar to prevent from sticking.
Put the cake on top of marzipan and cut around it( about 3 mm from the edges).
Take the cake off and brush the marzipan with egg white or sugar syrup so that it sticks to the cake.
Put the cake back and using a cake leveler, push the marzipan around the edges until inline with the cake edge.
Roll a strip of marzipan for the side. Cut the length equals to the circumference of the cake. The height can be slightly taller than the cake.
Brush marzipan with egg white or syrup and cover around the cake.
Turn the cake with the cover top on the work bench and cut the excess off the side (cutting inwards).
Then cover the bottom the same way as the top.
Leave this for at least 2 days before covering with fondant.
Roll the fondant to about 3 mm, dust with some icing sugar. Make sure that it can cover the top and the sides too. It is better to be slightly under(1 cm from the measurement required) than over (bigger than what is required). Because it stretches.
Brush cake with egg white or syrup. Put fondant over cake.
Level the top and the sides.
Once it is all sticking nicely, cut off the excess.
Put on a board and the cake is ready to be decorated.

I did not take any pictures while in the process of making it. But next time, I will.