Wednesday 22 May 2013

Making a macaron shell.....at last!

Today's weather is so so hot and dry ! How I wish I have a 24hr aircond on and I don't need to pay a single cent for the electricity bill ! 

Kat dalam fridge I have aged an egg white for few days, I think 3 days!? I decided to give it a try, making macaron shell today. Apa salahnya kan? Tak jadi tak apa next time you know what went wrong.

Berdebar-debar juga dalam hati bila bab beating the egg white tu and folding it with the almond and sugar. In the middle of doing it, sedar2 dah almost 1.30pm, oh my oh my..... Have to pick my children from school. Sempat la piped the batter on the tray and I leave it dry. Almost an hour plus I leaved it to dry. By the time I came home, straight away I heat the oven and put it in. After a few minutes I saw the pretty feet emerged and I'm so damned happy!!!! Woohoooo!!!!

So here is the photo of my mac shell, I'll do the fillings tomorrow coz penat la sangat hari ni. But I think there is still some improvement to be done



Monday 20 May 2013

Florentine Cookies.....can't stop munching it!

Weather nowadays so unpredictable. Nak pergi gym pun malas betul rasanya. Hehehehe.....alasan kannnnn!!!!While clearing things from my cupboard i found one recipe that i printed from one of the blog quite sometime ago. Laaaaaa....kat sini rupanya...!!!! Patut le satu rumah carik tak jumpa, bukan cari dengan mata tapi dengan mulut, like my mak always said.

I memang suka makan kacang, any kind of nuts. When i was flying with MAS dulu, if we have Dubai trip, mesti akan beli kacang di sana especially pistachio. Murah and they have different size. Yang besar, sederhana dan kecil at a different pricelah!! Berkilo crew bawak balik sampai bagi sepaket dua to abang and kakak custom....hehehehe baik hatikan as a crew!?

This recipe is from Azlita

FLORENTINE COOKIES / KRUNCHY KARAMEL ALMOND
Rujukan : Kak Patmah Aspar 

200 gm tepung Florenta
200 gm badam keping
100 gm kuaci hitam( i guna pumpkin seed)
20 gm bijan hitam( i tak ada bijan hitam, guna bijan putih)

Badam dan kuaci di bakar sebentar dalam oven pada suhu 160 C selama 5 minit
Satukan semua bahan dalam bekas
Gaul rata, hingga semuanya bersalut sempurna

Sediakan loyang 14x14 inc, alas loyang dengan kertas kek sahaja
Panaskan oven pada suhu 160C
Tuangkan adunan tadi dalam loyang dan ratakan nipis
Bakar dalam oven selama 10 minit
Sejurus keluar dari oven terus potong kepada kepingan
Simpan dalam bekas kedap udara.


Senangkan! Cubalah....

Sedia mengambil tempahan. Sebarang pertanyaan sila email reyna2423@gmail.com atau hubungi/whatsapp 019-219 3124


Sunday 19 May 2013

Birthday Dinner....Queen of Sheba

Yesterday was my brother in law's birthday....nak keluar dinner malas pulak rasanya, so i decided to cook dinner for them. Mulanya tak tau apa nak masak, setelah baca a few blog one of it from Azian Hasan, terus dapat idea. Recipenya pulak simple.

Pagi-pagi lagi, we went to the supermarket to buy the ingredient. Decided to make Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu (recipe is here). Salad i beli je prepacked from Cold Storage and add cherry tomato and Avocado.
Birthday cake pulak, i bake Reine de Saba or Queen of Sheba's cake......Kelassssss nama kek tu kak Timahhhhh!!!! hehehehe.....Actually it's Chocolate almond cake from Julia Child recipe. Hubby pulak suruh make it two layer. So i baked twice and layer with chcolate and coat it with chocolate and slivered almond. Menarik juga!!!

This is the recipe for the cake

Source Food.com

Ingredients:

Servings:

3 ounces semisweet chocolate, plus
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons dark rum or 2 tablespoons strong coffee
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (I omit this)
1 pinch salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup blanched almond (pulverized in blender or food processor with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup cake flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set the oven rack in lower middle level.
In a saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate in the rum or coffee. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, cut butter into.
pieces and cream it. When soft and fluffy, add sugar and beat 1 minute. Beat in egg yolks until well blended.
In another bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Beat in cream of tartar and salt and continue beating until soft peaks are formed. Gradually beat in 2 tablespoons sugar and continue beating until stiff, shiny peaks are formed. Blend melted chocolate and coffee or rum into yolk mixture, then add almonds and almond extract.
Stir a quarter of the egg whites into the chocolate using a rubber spatula. Scoop the rest of the whites over chocolate and, alternating with sprinkles of flour, rapidly and delicately fold in the egg whites. Turn batter into buttered and floured 8-by-1 1/2-inch round cake pan, tilting it in all directions up to the rim all around. Set in preheated oven. Bake 25 minutes.
Cake is done when puffed to the top and a toothpick inserted 2 to 3 inches from edge comes out clean. The center should move slightly when the pan is gently shaken. Remove pan to a rack and let cool 15 minutes. Unmold onto rack. Let cool 2 hours before storing or icing.

 For frosting Recipe from here

For Frosting:
2 tablespoons bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons brewed coffee, or dark rum
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
For Frosting:
  1. Place the chocolate and coffee/rum in a medium heat-proof bowl and set atop a pan of simmering water. Melt, stirring occasionally, until smooth.
  2. Off the heat, beat in the butter, one tablespoon at a time, with a wooden spoon. Once the butter is thoroughly incorporated, and no lumps remain, place the mixing bowl inside a larger mixing bowl that is filled partway with ice.
  3. Mix the frosting over the ice bath, until it has chilled down to a spreadable consistency.
  4. Spread the frosting over the top and sides of the cake.
  5. Decorate with the slivered almonds (bonus: this helps hide any imperfections in the frosting job!) For the creme anglaise just heat up 200 ml heavy cream, 1 tsp vanilla, boil till bubbling on the side. Beat 4egg yolk with 1/2 cup castor sugar. Put half of the hot cream into the egg mixture, continue whisking, don't stop and put the mixture back into the pan with half of the cream just now and stir till it stick at the back if your spoon. sebab dah prepare lama the creme anglaise jadi pekat coz agaknya I put it in a fridge, if not it will be a bit runny but not watery. Next time I know what to do:)
I do take orders, any enquiries please email me at reyna2423@gmail.com or contact/whatsapp 019-219 3124






Sibuk semua nak meniup candle sebatang...hehehe

Birthday Boy

Monday 13 May 2013

Rendang Ayam Resepi Bonda Tersayang

Today as usual after sending my kids to school, I have to think what to cook for lunch. My son don't really like pasta, unlike the sister. Well, I think it's better for me to cook rendang. Dah lama tak makan rendang, the last time makan rendang masa Mak Ada di rumah dulu.

Masakan Mak memang tak disangkal memang sedap, walaupun Mak memang amat cerewet tentang cara memasak, tak dapat nak kata masakan dia tak sedap. Rugi besar kalau tak makan bila Mak masak! Kalau Mak masak boleh makan 3 pinggan! Hehehehehe....... 

Rendang ayam Mak is my all time favourite, especially during raya. Mak selalu guna ayam 'telur' . Ayam ni kalau dimasak isinya tak cepat lembik , jadi daging ayam ni masih lagi sedap dan tak cepat  basi.

Ini dia bahan untuk rendang ayam Mak  

7 ketul ayam sederhana besar potongnya
3 batang serai
2 helai daun kunyit
6 biji bawang kecil 
Halia dalam 3 inci
Kerisik dalam 3-4 sudu makan
Santan dalam $1
Asam keping saya letak 2keping
Garam secukup rasa
Cili mesin-2 sudu makan

Hiris nipis bawang, halia, daun kunyit, serai kemudian campur sekali dengan ayam. Panas kan dalam kuali, masukkan kerisik, santan dan garam Serta cili mesin tadi. Bila mendidih, perlahan kan api. Biar seketika, kalau suka berkuah, angkat segera lepas mendidih, kalau suka kering biarkan lama sedikit atas kuali. Dah siap!




Sunday 12 May 2013

Devil's Food Chocolate Cake

My family memang suka chocolate cake, even my hubby loves chocolate, macam arwah Papa my hubby. Usually i baked the chocolate cake yang dah biasa buat tu but today rasa nak buat this cake called Devil's Food Chocolate Cake. Bukan apa, i always blog walking, suka tengok kek yang cantik-cantik di decorate by the great baker. One of the food blogger that i admire is Bisousatoi and Kitchen Guardian. I always showed it to my daughter how nice and the cake look so delicious.

Today, kebetulan Mother's Day, she ask me to bake this cake and she want me to do the same like the one in the picture!!! Alahai....mummy tak pandai nak decorate kek ni anak oiiiii...tapi tak nak kecewakan dia, i try aje lah!!!

This afternoon i went to TMC in Bangsar to get all the ingredient. First time baking this cake and first time using Valrhona chocolate for the cake and ganache. Tak tau le apa rasa coz i'm fasting today. Have to wait lepas berbuka baru tau. Thanks to Kitchen Guardian, jangan marah ye i ikut cara mendekorasi kek tu, coz my daughter nak yang sama gak macam dalam gambar katanya.Tak sabar tunggu 18 May nak jumpa and belajar ilmu dari Kitchen Guardian aka Osmayani Osman. She's one of the great baker i would love to meet and get all the useful tips in baking.Same with Rima from Bisousatoi, tak kedekut ilmu, semoga tuhan membalas orang2 sebegini dengan rezeki melimpah ruah!



Here is the recipe

Source Bisousatoi

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder (i used valrhona)
3/4 tsp bicarbonate soda
1/4 tsp salt (i used 1/2 tsp)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
65 gram butter
1 large egg - size A
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk (i used fresh milk and added 1tbsp vinegar)
1/2 cup warm water


Methods
Preheat oven at 170C .. greased cake tin
Sieve flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate soda, salt, and set aside.
Beat butter with sugars until light and fluffy, add egg.
Add dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder etc) alternately with liquid ingredients (buttermilk + warm water) in three portions
Add vanilla extract and continue to mix till well blended
Bake for about 30 minutes or until just cooked


Cream Cheese Frosting
250 g cream cheese (room temp)
125 g butter (room temp)
1 cup icing sugar - sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
juice of a squeezed slice of lemon, to rid the cheese taste

Beat cream cheese and butter, just until creamy, add the icing sugar, vanilla and lemon juice.


Chocolate Ganache
200 ml double cream with at least 30% fat content
250 g dark chocolate, chopped finely (i used valrhona)
a pinch of salt

In a double boiler, warm double cream until just at boiling point, add chopped chocolate and salt and stir, when all chocolate is melted, remove from the heat and continue stirring until all well mixed.

Cool cake completely, spread the cream cheese frosting and pour cool ganache on top.

I layered the cake with cream cheese and coat with chocolate ganache, top it up with maltesers .










Saturday 4 May 2013

Orange Breakfast Muffin

Today is our country big day! The day that everybody's been waiting for.....well, as for me and family, we will have a good breakfast before we head out.Got up this morning and feel like making something that is a bit of the English Breakfast...perasan sikit!!!Kakakakakakaka.............

I love Nigella books and i have a chance to buy her books at a cheaper price during the Big Bad Wolf sale last year at the Mines in Sg Besi. It was worth buying.Can't explain how happy i was masa tu! Hehehehehe...dear hubby you don't have to worry ya! Buku tu takkan collect habuk le, for sure i will use it not just to fill up the book shelves aje! Don't worry, dear!

Ok ok, here is the recipe. Malas nak do the typing so i link it with this page from

Source Food Network UK
From the book Nigella Bites by Nigella Lawson


Ingredients



  • 75 g unsalted butter
  • 250 g self-raising flour
  • 25 g ground almonds
  • 0.50 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 75 g caster sugar
  • 1 oranges, zest of
  • 100 ml orange juice
  • 100 ml full-fat milk
  • 1 eggs
Method

  • Preheat the oven to 200?C/gas mark 6.
  • Melt the butter and set aside.
  • Combine the flour, ground almonds, bicarb, baking powder, sugar and orange zest in a large bowl.
  • Measure the orange juice and milk into a jug and whisk in the egg and then the cooled, melted butter.
  • Now pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing with a fork as you go. The batter will be lumpy but that's as it should be: you want everything to be no more than barely combined. The whole point of muffin mixture is that it must never be
  • Spoon out the mixture equally into the muffin cases and cook for 20 minutes.
  • Remove, in their paper cases, to a wire rack and let cool slightly (but not completely) before devouring.







Sorry, gambar kurang memuaskan, my eyes is blurry lah!


Siap letak on my lap lagi buku ni....hehehehe

Chocolate Brownie Cookies With White Chocolate and Roasted Walnut

Sedang hati berdebar-debar waiting for what will happen tomorrow 050513 and the day after, sempat juga menenangkan hati ni buat cookie. Bukan apa, we hope for the best, no matter who win tapi kena jalankan tanggungjawab seperti yang dah dijanjikan. Jangan janji tinggal janji saja.

Enough said. We talk about this cookie. I saw it from the book i bought in Kinokuniya KLCC. It's from Joy Wilson or she is best known as Joy The Baker from her famous blog. I found this recipe also from this blog call Eats well with others.Actually she used macadamia nut but i don't have it in hand so i replaced it with walnut.Well, the next time i bake this cookie i will use macadamia nut and roast it first.



Here is the recipe
Source Eats well with others

Chocolate Brownie Cookies with White Chocolate and Roasted Macadamia Nuts
Makes 2 dozen cookies, adapted from The Joy the Baker Cookbook

Ingredients
  • 8 oz bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks ( i used Valrhona)
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 cup AP flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp instant espresso
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup macadamia nuts, roasted and salted

Instructions
  1. Place racks in the upper third and middle of the oven and preheat oven to 325.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Gently simmer 2 inches of water in a medium saucepan.  Place bittersweet chocolate and butter in a medium-sized heatproof bowl and place the bowl over, not touching, the simmering water, creating a double boiler.  Melt the chocolate and butter together until butter is melted.  Remove from the simmering water and stir until chocolate is completely melted.  Allow the chocolate to cool.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.
  4. Whisk the granulated sugar, espresso powder, and vanilla extract into the warm chocolate mixture.  Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated.  Add the chocolate mixture, all at once, to the flour mixture.  Fold to incorporate.  When flour just begins to disappear into the chocolate mixture, add the white chocolate and macadamia nuts.  Fold thoroughly.  Batter will be THICK.
  5. Dollop batter by the tablespoonful (or use a medium cookie scoop) onto prepared baking sheets.  Bake for 11 minutes (the cookies are best slightly undercooked).  Let rest for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before removing to a cooling rack.
If you want you can use Sicao barry or other brands of chocolate but i prefer either Sicao Barry or if i have Valrhona, i will use it, a bit pricey lah in KL but for family why not? The taste....Voila!!! Sedapppp....very chocolatey! Tambah2 guna Valrhona sedap banget! Cubalah!









Friday 3 May 2013

Pasta All'uovo Per Pizze......

Fuhhhhhh tengok nama semacam je. Sebenarnya gempak je lebih! Bosan dengan pizza base yg biasa buat tu, I decided to try the enriched pizza based.

Resepinya biasa saja cuma tambah butter, milk and egg. So the pizza base is quite filling for me and the kids. Makan sekeping dua dah penuh perutku.

The recipe I got it from The Pizza Express Cookbook by Peter Boizot yang my hubby beli masa dia belajar Kat UK dulu.

This is the recipe

2 level tsp dried yeast
4 tbsp milk
1 tsp sugar
224g plain flour
11/2 tsp salt
1 egg
28g unsalted butter

Dissolve the yeast in 4 tbsp of tepid milk. Dissolve the sugar in the liquid. Sift the flour and salt together. Add the dissolved yeast mixture and begin to mix the dough. Add more milk, half a teaspoon at a time if necessary . Beat the egg and add it to the mixture . Smear the soft butter on the dough, place on a lightly floured work surface and knead till all the butter is worked into the dough. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise for an hour in a warm spot. This dough makes a soft, light crust. I baked mine at 180C for 15 minutes, depending on your oven, you should know better.Nampak dah masak ok lah tu, tak payah lah tunggu sampai hangus ekkkkk.

For the topping, macam biasa lah I put the red sauce( can use the prego sauce kalau malas and nak cepat), sprinkle generously cheese topping, I use mozzarella, Parmesan and cheddar . Lastly I topped it up with salami and beef bacon (koyak-koyakkan). Siapppp!



Sebelah kiri tu dah siap dan sebelah kanan tu sebelum siap di bakar


Wednesday 1 May 2013

Healthy Italian Bread

Italian bread ini selalu ya tak pakai butter, they used olive oil instead. That's the best part, my Mak pun 'sudi' makan sebab she don't like the buttery taste yg kadang-kadang tu agak kuat rasa lemaknya. But I always use Anchor or Tatura butter. For cakes sometimes I used SCS or Golden Churn since ianya dah di declare halal.

Suka tengok choice of Italian bread ni, macam-macam ada. But bread is good if it is eaten fresh from the oven!

This is one that I have tried and its from Christine Darrock from allrecipe.com

Mama D's Italian Bread

3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 tablespoon salt

7 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

Add the sugar and yeast to the warm water and let proof.
Stir in 4 cups of flour and beat until smooth. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
Beat in the salt and then add enough remaining flour to make a stiff dough. Knead until as soft and smooth as a bambino's behind. Turn in a greased bowl, cover, and let double in size. (I put it in the oven with the light on - perfect rising temperature.)
Once doubled, punch down and divide into three. Place back in the bowl, cover, and let rise.
Once doubled again, punch down and form into three fat "footballs." Grease heavy cookie sheets and sprinkle with corn meal. Place the bread on the sheets, cover with a towel, and let rise.
Once risen, mist with water and place in a preheated 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) oven. Mist loaves with water and turn occasionally while they bake. Bread is done when golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

I added 1 tsp bread softener(i used Format, i get it from Pastry Pro made from plants and does not contain chemical) and 2 tbsp olive oil according to the blog I followed which she use half of the recipe.

To all my friends and relatives....i would like to wish you have a good polling week! Vote wisely!:)

Source : Mamafami