Cream Puff

Dah lama tak update my humble blog ni, today baru Ada kelapangan sikit. I noticed that every year at this time around, haze mesti melanda , betul tak? Don't know what is going on with human being nowadays, money is more important than health.

Well, enough said. I'm making cream puff this week for my lil' ones at home since they can't go out to school. They love it very much, and I keep some for my daughter's lovely piano teacher.😃

Here's the recipe

Source Joy of Baking 

Ingredients:

Choux Pastry:

1/2 cup (65 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon granulated white sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) (57 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/2 cup (120 ml) water

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Glaze:

1 large egg

Whipped Cream:

1 cup (240 ml) heavy whipping cream (double cream) (35-40% butterfat)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated white sugar, or to taste

Garnish:

Powdered (Confectioners or icing) sugar

Instructions:

Choux Pastry: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly butter or spray the pan with a non stick vegetable spray.
In a bowl sift or whisk together the flour, sugar and salt.
Place the butter and water in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. (Make sure that the butter melts before the water boils to reduce the amount of evaporation.) Remove from heat and, with a wooden spoon, add the flour mixture, all at once, and stir until combined. Return saucepan to the heat and stir constantly until the dough comes away from the sides of the pan and forms a thick smooth ball (about 1-2 minutes). Transfer the dough to your electric mixer, or use a hand mixer, and beat on low speed to release the steam from the dough (about a minute). Once the dough is lukewarm start adding the lightly beaten eggs (dough will separate and then come together) and continue to mix until you have a smooth thick paste (dough will fall from a spoon in a thick ribbon). Spoon or pipe 12 small mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. With a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the dough with a lightly beaten egg.
Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Continue to bake for a further 30 to 35 minutes or until the shells are a nice amber color and when split, are almost dry inside. Turn the oven off, poke a couple of holes in each puff and, with the oven door slightly ajar, let the shells completely cool (and dry out).
Whipped Cream: In a large mixing bowl place the whipping cream, vanilla extract, and sugar and stir to combine. Cover and chill the bowl and whisk in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. When chilled, whip the cream just until stiff peaks form.
To Assemble: Split the pastry shells in half and fill (or pipe) with whipped cream. Place the top half of the pastry shell on the whipped cream and dust with powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar. Leftover Cream Puffs can be stored in the refrigerator.

Makes 12 cream puff

I saja je put chocolate ganache, tak letak pun tak pe.
To make Profiteroles, just put chocolate ganache on top or you can make chcolate sauce and pour over the cream puff.

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

Crepe.......Nutella or Jam?

Pagi ni ingat kan nak rehat.... Maklumlah public holiday . Labourer macam saya ni hehehehehe kena lah cuti kann? Baru berangan ingat nak pergi makan roti canai Mr Hubby dah bagi tau hari ni banyak kerja nak siap kan . Adoiiiiiii!


Tetiba rasa nak buat crepe, Teringat masa flying dulu, kat Europe dulu mesti ada small kiosk selling crepe, tapi dia letak Pisang dengan Nutella, sedap makan sambil jalan-jalan especially winter time perut asyik lapar je.

Ok here is the recipe
Source : Periuk Belanga Zarin
Original recipe makes 8 crepes

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter, melted



Directions

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot

Kalau rajin buat lah apple filling macam apple pie tu tapi I malas!

2 biji apple – diced

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp butter

a pinch of nutmeg powder n a pinch of cinnamon powder

put everything in non stick pan until the apple pieces are soft.

Pumpkin Bread

Petang-petang je hujan. Lately almost everyday hujan petang, kilat dentam-dentum. Banjir kilat. Exactly around the time that i've to pick up my little girl from her agama school. Adoiiiiii....driving during heavy rain is quite challenging, tambah pulak mata pun tak berapa nampak because of the rain.

Mak dah balik kampung semalam. Thought of asking her to cook gulai labu for me....maklum lah air tangan mak, sambal belacan ikan goreng pun boleh tambah nasi 3 kali...hehehehehe!!!! So, ada labu yang tak masak lagi dlm fridge tu might as well i bake pumpkin bread for the family. At least my little girl can bring it to school tomorrow.

Well, here is the recipe.
Source: Bobby Flay at Epicurious

Ingredient

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• Scant 1 cup canned pumpkin puree, not flavored pie filling
• 2 large eggs

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch loaf pan.

2. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves in a small bowl.

3. Beat the butter, sugar, and oil on high speed in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl a few times, until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

4. Add the pumpkin puree and mix until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until just incorporated. Mixing on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture and 2/3 cup water and mix until just combined. Spread the batter into the prepared panand bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool completely.

Crumpets and Pikelets

Don't know why I suddenly feel like having a traditional English Tea and also the accompaniment. Yesterday, we ate English Muffin, and today I decided to make crumpet.

Fuhhhhhhh..... Perasan Le plak kan! Tetiba rasa macam kat England! Actually, rindu nak pergi sana lagi, entah bila boleh sampai agaknya ye! Well, enough said!

M two lil' kids enjoy eating it, simple and easy for your tea time.

Crumpets are made from a thickish, yeasty batter and poured into rings. If you don't have rings, make thinner pancakes, or pikelets. Whether they are thick or thin, crumpets or pikelets, toast on the flattened bottom first and then on the holey side, so that maximum butter will melt into the crisp toasted holes. Now all you need is a big pot of tea, a fire and, possibly, a clean shirt standing by.

Crumpets
Source: The Guardian
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalls tea time treat recipe

Hugely satisfying to make. Makes 12.

450g plain white flour
350ml warm milk
350ml warm water (approximately)
5g powdered dried yeast
10g salt
1 tsp baking powder
A little sunflower or vegetable oil

In a bowl, whisk the flour, milk, water and yeast into a rather runny batter the consistency of single cream. Cover with cling-film and leave for an hour until really bubbly (or three to four hours, if need be).

Heat a heavy-based frying pan or flat griddle over a medium-high heat. Whisk the salt and baking powder into the batter. Lightly grease the crumpet rings and pan. Put one ring in the pan, fill to just below the top – the batter should stay in the ring and lots of holes should appear on the surface after a minute or two. (If it dribbles out underneath, it is too thin, so whisk a little more flour into your batter mix. If lots of holes don't form, it's too thick, so whisk in some water.) Assuming your test crumpet is OK, after five minutes or so, when the surface is just set, flip it over, ring and all. (If the cooked base seems too dark, turn down the heat.) Cook for two to three minutes, until golden on the other side. Repeat with the remaining batter in batches. Butter and eat at once, or cool on a wire rack for toasting later.

A pikelet variation If you don't have rings, whisk an extra 50g flour into the batter, to stiffen it, dollop spoonfuls into a greased, warmed pan and cook for a couple of minutes a side.

I don't have rings so I make a Pikelets ! Eat it with butter and jam, but my kids love to have it with peanut butter and Nutella.

Oven baked donuts

This morning I woke up early to check out what's the latest update on Sabah. Quite sad, really. I hope and pray for the safety of all those armies and police during this period and also to Sabah.

Kelam kabut siapkan breakfast coz melayan Internet. Thinking of what to cook for breakfast ahhhhh...... Suddenly bayang2 donut masuk dalam kepala.

Apa lagi, masuk dapur I grabbed all the tools lah. Within 10 min dah siap batter for making the donut. Bake it for 13 min and tadaaaaaa......!!!! Siapppppp!Recipe is from
Rima
Ingredient

Ingredients (makes 24 donuts)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
150g plain yogurt( I don't have it in my fridge, I use fresh milk) tapi kalau Ada please use yogurt hehehehe.......
1 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients
Combine the egg, yogurt, oil, lemon juice and vanilla.. mix well (handwhisk)
Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened
Coat the tube pans with nonstick cooking spray and dust with 1 tsp confectioners' sugar. divide batter among pans
Bake at 180C for 13mins or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean

Chocolate Cheese Muffin

Sunday
7.40am
20 Jan 2013

It has been quite a long time I didn't bake any muffin. Used to make a simple chocolate muffin before but lately because of the 'laziness ' in me, I don't bother to have a peep at other muffin recipe to try.......

It's an easy recipe. Give it a try. Since my two kiddos still haven't got their appetite yet, mummy's gonna bake you something!
Here's the recipe, and it's from Rima

Ingredient

140g cooking chocolate
100 cream cheese
80g butter
2 grade A eggs*
1 tsp vanilla essence (stir together with eggs)
60g sugar
100g All purpose flour
2tsp baking powder


Method
Preheat oven 180C for 15 mins
Using double boiler method.. add in cooking chocolate, butter and cream cheese
Once melt..add in sugar and egg mixture.
Add in sifted flour and continue to stir till theres no lump
Pour batter into muffin case making sure its 3/4 full..
Top with almond slice and bake it for 20mins


Tips; make sure the cheese is at room temperature and stir it using a whisk

To order email at reyna2423@gmail.com or whatsapp/call 019-2193124

Banana brownie

I decided to try this recipe after baking my Sicilian Orange Cake just now. Since my baking mood is still 'on', I better keep it going!!!!

My two kids are having chicken pox since Wednesday and with them around at home I better bake something for them. Both lost their appetite , I tried to cook Chinese fried rice for them this evening and seems they like it. At the moment, my boy is a bit too choosy with food.

This recipe I got it also from Rima's blog. Quite simple but need to steam the brownie. First time for me to steam any cake, but I give it a try. Don't really like the outcome but my girl like it, maybe I'll try it again some other day.

Here's the recipe

Ingredients
150g banana
4 eggs
125g caster sugar
1/4 tsp salt
120g flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
25g butter
75g dark cooking chocolate
1/4 tsp chocolate paste

Method
Mashed the banana and put aside. Melt the butter and chocolate, add in chocolate paste. Add the mixture to the mashed banana and stir till well mixed. Sift the flour and baking soda. Beat the egg and sugar till fluffy and add the flour. Add in the banana and chocolate mixture. Pour in 24x12x4cm pan but before that line the pan with baking paper . Steam for 25 min or till cooked .

Chocolate Madeleine

Saturday
8pm

First time trying this Madeleine I fall in love with it. They have a few types lemon Madeleine or just a plain one.

Well last night after going through a few recipe I've found this one from Martha Stewart, easy and simple actually, no hassle and the most important thing all the ingredient need already there, in my so called pantry.....hehehehe.

Here's the recipe from the Kitchen Diva Ms Martha Stewart!


Ingredients

1/2 cup, plus 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened, for buttering madeleine molds
3 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons packed dark-brown sugar
1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
1/4 cup cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brush madeleine pans well with 4 tablespoons softened butter; refrigerate 5 minutes.

In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt remaining 1/2 cup butter over medium heat. Continue to cook until butter turns golden brown, being careful not to let the butter burn. Remove from heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve into a small bowl; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip eggs with granulated and brown sugars until light and thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt, and stir on low speed until combined. Add vanilla and reserved browned butter; mix just until blended.

Insert a 1/2-inch plain tip into a pastry bag and fill with batter. Pipe mounds of batter into prepared pans until each mold is full, mounding batter in the center of the molds but not filling to the edge. Alternatively, you can use a teaspoon to fill the molds with batter. Bake until madeleines are firm and a little mound is puffed up in the middle, 10 to 12 minutes. Madeleines are best eaten the same day they are baked.

Sweet Potato Donut

Sunday
3.30 pm
Fine day with a little sunshine


I bought sweet potato last few days coz I thought that I will be on diet, no carbo but a bit is fine, but I've failed my test ......hehehehehe ........in my dreammmmm!!!!!
I can't figure out what to do with this potato but after browsing and visiting other blogs, I've found one quite easy and I'm sure my kids love it.

Thanks Rima for sharing the recipe, very easy and taste like 'Kuih Gelang' they called it in Perak :D

Here's the recipe

Ingredients
320g flour
2 tsp instant yeast
60g sugar
180g sweet potato - boiled and mashed
1 egg
90ml water
1 tbsp condense milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter

Method
You can use breadmaker to do the job or do it manually, i do it using my helper 'kitchenaid' mixer :) once done, leave it to prove till double the size. give it a light punch and start to divide your dough into balls.. each ball at 40g.. roll your ball.. press it a little and take your round cutter to cut a hole in the middle.. place your donut on your tray.. cover it with a cloth and let it rise for the second time.. once it has doubled in size.. prepare your oil.. heat it up and start to fry.. If you want, can coat it with castor sugar once it's cooled
I prefer mine without sugar..... so called diet!!!! Yeah .....right!!!!! Hehehehehe .......

Chicks in a blanket

Hahahaha.....tengok namanya saja dah lain macam
...actually this is a recipe by Nigella called Pigs in a blanket but i changed it to chicken coz i'm using chicken sausage instead of pork sausage. A favourite among kids, especially if having a party or picnic, this is easy to prepare. Untuk minum petang pun ok juga jika dihidangkan. Untuk resepi sila pergi ke Nigella.com dan boleh dapatkannya di situ


Ingredients
2 cups plus 5 tablespoons self-rising flour
1 heaping teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons grated Red Leicester or Cheddar
1 cup whole milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
50 pork cocktail sausages (mini hot dogs)
For glazing:
1 egg, mixed with a splash milk and 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Measure 2 cups of flour into a bowl, add the salt and grated cheese and mix lightly with a fork. Pour the milk into a measuring cup to come up to 1-cup mark and then crack in the egg and add the oil. Beat to combine, then pour into the dry ingredients, forking to mix as you go. You may, at the end, feel the dough's either too dry or too damp: add either more milk or more flour and fork together again until you've got a soft dough that's not too sticky to be rolled out.
Break the dough into 2 pieces and roll 1 piece on a lightly floured surface. Scone dough is a dream to work with; in fact, I find it deeply pleasurable. Just roll as clumsily and heavy handedly as you like: no harm will come to it. You want a thin, but not exaggeratedly so, rectangle. A square wouldn't be the end of the world either, so don't start getting out the geometry set: this is the roughest of instructions.
Cut the dough into approximately 1 3/4-inch strips, and then cut each strip at approximately 2 1/2-inch intervals so that you end up with a collection of small, raggedy oblongs (I just cut each strip as I go, but it's probably more efficient to do the whole batch of dough at 1 time).
Take a cocktail sausage and put it at 1 end of an oblong at a slight diagonal and then roll up, pressing on the infinitely compliant dough to squeeze it shut, and then place on a nonstick baking sheet, or 1 lined with parchment. Carry on until you've finished all your strips and then get to work with the remaining dough. Three baking sheets should do it.
Now, dip a pastry brush into the beaten egg mixture and paint on the pastry for a golden glaze. Put in the oven and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, by which time they should be puffy and burnished. Remove from the oven and let cool a little before giving them to the children.

Baked Doughnut

This doughnut is my favourite, tak payah nak goreng2. Masuk dalam oven, bakar
sekejap dah siap. Rasa pun sedap, i used the mini bundt punya acuan beli di Pastry Pro. Used to eat doughnut yang goreng bila makan this doughnut ada rasa kelainan. Tomorrow is my brother's engagement, sekarang ni tengah tunggu train ETS nak balik kampung. Kereta rosak, hubby pening kepala, anak2 nak balik kampung, dah excited. Stressnya........!!!! Nasib baik ada lagi tiket for tonight's train at 2230 hrs. Arrival will be at 0030hrs. Sure penat esok kena bangun awal2....tapi tak apalah. Ada doughnut hati pun sejuk kejap...Thanks Rima for the recipe.

1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
150g plain yogurt
1 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine dry ingredient in a small bowl.Combine egg, yogurt, oil,lemon juice and vanilla, can use hand whisk.Stir into dry ingredient till moist.Coat the non stick tube pan and dust with icing sugar, divide batter among pans.Bake at 180c for 13 minutes or till the tooth pick insert comes out clean.

English Scones

Scones with cream and strawberry jam

This is my hubby favourite especially when having his tea. Tapi tak lah

Pizza

Baru balik kerja hari ni, my daughter dah mintak buatkan Pepperoni Pizza
....alahai...Mummy baru sampai rumah! She loves pizza so much so i have no choice but to make her favourite pepperoni pizza. I saw in Yahoo news the other day about how easy it is to make pizza, so i decided to follow Chef Fabrizio tips ( if i'm not mistaken) to make the pizza. According to him, pizza doesn't have to be round! Wah!!!! ini orang Itali sendiri cakap pizza tak semestinya berbentuk bulat! Quite interesting juga cara dia buat pizza, so i followed his method. Memang simple dan mudah.

Source: The Pizza Express Cook book by Peter Boizot
basic dough

150 ml water
1 level tsp sugar
14 gm fresh yeast or 2 level tsp dried yeast
224 gm plain flour
11/2  level tsp salt

Measure the tepid water about 27C into a bowl. Add sugar. Squeeze the fresh yeast in the liquid with your finger and swirl the liquid till sugar and yeast dissolved. If using dried yeast, sprinkle it into the liquid and allow to stand for 10-15 minutes in a warm place till froth develops. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Pour in the yeast liquid. Lightly oil the or flour your hands. Work the flour and liquid together till it becomes coherrent mass. Sprinkle your work surface generously with flour. Tip the dough on to the work surface and scrape out any which is sticking to the bowl. Begin kneading. Leave it to prove for an hour. Punch down the inflated dough to release the air and roll out the dough. preheat oven to 230C.