Every year, I make dumplings with my mum. It's a wonderful bonding experience and it is lots of fun cooking with mum. No recipes today but just some pictures to share. I wish everyone could try out our delicious dumplings! :)
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Wednesday, June 20
Sunday, June 10
Matcha swiss roll
My baking groove is back in action. For now.
I've always been a sucker for green tea. And because for the past week I've been craving for some green tea flavours on my palate, I decided to try out a matcha swiss roll recipe that I found on RasaMalaysia. The contributor of this recipe happens to be a friend of my SIL, and she's the one who taught me the art of fondant many years ago! :)
Swiss rolls are easy to prepare once one gets the hang of it. The preparation time is short but I took a bit longer because I beat my egg yolks and whites by hand. It's tiring but the amount was a wee bit too little to use the mixer. So about half hour to prepare, 10 minutes to bake, about an hour to chill ... and my swiss roll is ready just in time for tea time.
This recipe bakes one swiss roll log, but the filling ingredients are enough for two logs. Just nice for me because this was my second swiss roll attempt. I baked my first roll yesterday; it turned out quite disastrous and I wasn't very satisfied. Thankfully I had some remaining filling left which meant that I could try again today. Yays! I'm getting there!
Ingredients:
For the cake:
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
1/4 cup fine sugar
1/2 cup cake flour plus 2 tsp matcha powder
2 tablespoons melted butter
For the filling:
1/2 cups whipping cream (I used 200ml of whipping cream and found that it was double the amount needed for one swiss roll)
1 tablespoon sugar
Canned red bean filling (I bought the S&W brand red kidney beans soaked in syrup - the ones used for ice kacang)
Directions:
Preparing the filling:
Whip the cream with sugar until creamy and thick. Chill in the refrigerator until cake is ready to be assembled.
Baking the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 230C. Line and grease a rectangle cake pan. Prepare another piece of parchment paper the same size as the rectangle cake pan.
2. Beat the egg yolks and half the sugar until thick and pale.
3. In another bowl, beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar until stiff. Fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg white.
4. Fold in the flour mixture and the melted butter. Make sure that the egg white mixture is not deflated while folding in the flour and butter.
5. Pour batter into pan and bake for 10 minutes.
6. Remove from oven, let it cool for about a minute and then turn the cake on to the prepared piece of parchment paper and roll (to get the shape).
7. After a few minutes, unroll the cake. Spread an even layer of cream onto the cake and top with red beans. Roll the cake up from the long end firmly, wrap it up again with the parchment paper and chill for at least an hour before serving.
It definitely takes a few trial and errors to bake swiss rolls. As my mum says, one needs to be fast because else it becomes a wasted effort. So learning from my mistakes, here are three takeaway tips:
1. My first try yesterday resulted in really ugly and coarse swiss rolls. And as we all know, swiss rolls are supposed to look and taste delicate. So even though it tasted alright (I say alright because it was just okay), I found that there was too much red bean filling because the ones I bought were too big. This time, I sliced them up into smaller pieces. Note of the day, always do things in moderation!
2. Have everything prepared beforehand, especially the parchment paper. It only takes 10 minutes to bake, a minute to cool, and then you've gotta start rolling away else the cake cracks. No damage control can be done to save it, unfortunately.
3. Fold in everything carefully! With this, I'm talking about the egg yolk mixture into the egg white, and the flour and butter into the egg mixtures. The end mixture amount should be about the same as the initial egg white amount. Swiss rolls is all about air in the cake for that light texture. One wouldn't want to be eating chewy and dry cakes, right? :)
I definitely need some practice on neat slicing. Such pretty rolls ended up with whipped cream filling all over ... tsk tsk tsk :p
I've always been a sucker for green tea. And because for the past week I've been craving for some green tea flavours on my palate, I decided to try out a matcha swiss roll recipe that I found on RasaMalaysia. The contributor of this recipe happens to be a friend of my SIL, and she's the one who taught me the art of fondant many years ago! :)
Swiss rolls are easy to prepare once one gets the hang of it. The preparation time is short but I took a bit longer because I beat my egg yolks and whites by hand. It's tiring but the amount was a wee bit too little to use the mixer. So about half hour to prepare, 10 minutes to bake, about an hour to chill ... and my swiss roll is ready just in time for tea time.
Ingredients:
For the cake:
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
1/4 cup fine sugar
1/2 cup cake flour plus 2 tsp matcha powder
2 tablespoons melted butter
For the filling:
1/2 cups whipping cream (I used 200ml of whipping cream and found that it was double the amount needed for one swiss roll)
1 tablespoon sugar
Canned red bean filling (I bought the S&W brand red kidney beans soaked in syrup - the ones used for ice kacang)
Directions:
Preparing the filling:
Whip the cream with sugar until creamy and thick. Chill in the refrigerator until cake is ready to be assembled.
Baking the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 230C. Line and grease a rectangle cake pan. Prepare another piece of parchment paper the same size as the rectangle cake pan.
2. Beat the egg yolks and half the sugar until thick and pale.
3. In another bowl, beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar until stiff. Fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg white.
4. Fold in the flour mixture and the melted butter. Make sure that the egg white mixture is not deflated while folding in the flour and butter.
5. Pour batter into pan and bake for 10 minutes.
6. Remove from oven, let it cool for about a minute and then turn the cake on to the prepared piece of parchment paper and roll (to get the shape).
7. After a few minutes, unroll the cake. Spread an even layer of cream onto the cake and top with red beans. Roll the cake up from the long end firmly, wrap it up again with the parchment paper and chill for at least an hour before serving.
It definitely takes a few trial and errors to bake swiss rolls. As my mum says, one needs to be fast because else it becomes a wasted effort. So learning from my mistakes, here are three takeaway tips:
1. My first try yesterday resulted in really ugly and coarse swiss rolls. And as we all know, swiss rolls are supposed to look and taste delicate. So even though it tasted alright (I say alright because it was just okay), I found that there was too much red bean filling because the ones I bought were too big. This time, I sliced them up into smaller pieces. Note of the day, always do things in moderation!
2. Have everything prepared beforehand, especially the parchment paper. It only takes 10 minutes to bake, a minute to cool, and then you've gotta start rolling away else the cake cracks. No damage control can be done to save it, unfortunately.
3. Fold in everything carefully! With this, I'm talking about the egg yolk mixture into the egg white, and the flour and butter into the egg mixtures. The end mixture amount should be about the same as the initial egg white amount. Swiss rolls is all about air in the cake for that light texture. One wouldn't want to be eating chewy and dry cakes, right? :)
Tuesday, June 5
Japanese cotton cheesecake
I love long weekends, I really do!
And I love it especially when I have a lot of time on my hands to dabble in the kitchen.
While grocery shopping with mum today, I happened to walk pass the dairy section and came across cream cheese. Call me weird but I felt like it was calling out to me. :p I am weak and I succumbed to temptation, so today I attempted my very first Japanese cotton cheesecake. I love a good cheesecake (well, ANY kind of cheesecake really), and Japanese cotton cheesecakes are very different from other kinds of cheesecakes. They taste very light - almost like chiffon cakes, with a light whiff of cheese, and you don't feel too grossed out if you eat too much at one go.
I used The Little Teochew's recipe and my cheesecake turned out quite alright. One thing I like about this recipe, is that everything is in moderation (except for the eggs because this is supposed to be somewhat of a souffle). Not too much cheese, not too much sugar, and hardly any butter. It helps me feel less guilty about eating too much of this yummy cake. :p
Ingredients:
5oz (140g) fine granulated sugar
6 egg whites
6 egg yolks
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1.8oz (50g) butter
250g cream cheese
100ml fresh milk
2.11oz (60g) cake flour
0.7oz (20g) corn flour - I didn't have any so I substituted with tapioca flour, not sure if it made any difference
1/4 tsp salt
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven at 160C. Put four tart molds filled with water at four corners of the oven to provide the sauna effect. This is a substitute method for a water bath.
2. Use a double boiler to melt the cream cheese, butter and milk.
3. Fold in the flour, cornflour, salt, and egg yolk into the cooled mixture. Mix well.
4. Strain the mixture to ensure that there are no lumpy bits.
5. Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add in the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form.
6. Fold in the egg whites into the cheese mixture.
7. Line springform cake pan (bottom and sides) and lightly grease. Pour mixture into cake pan, and cover loosely with aluminum foil. This prevents the top of the cake from browning.
8. Bake cheesecake for 1 hour 10 minutes, and then remove the aluminum foil and bake another few minutes until top of the cake is golden brown.
9. Leave cheesecake to cool in oven with door ajar for about 30 minutes to an hour. Sudden changes in temperature may cause the cake to cool too quickly and collapse, although the cake will sink regardless. This just slows down the process and the cheesecake won't sink so drastically.
My cheesecake was a hit. I know this because my dad, who isn't much of a cheesecake fan, proclaimed that it was good. :)
I'll need a few more practices to perfect this cake, and perhaps over-bake it a little more to get a more golden top. I'll also have to remember to use a larger springform cake pan. I used my medium-sized one this time around, but the cake rose too high over the top.
And I love it especially when I have a lot of time on my hands to dabble in the kitchen.
While grocery shopping with mum today, I happened to walk pass the dairy section and came across cream cheese. Call me weird but I felt like it was calling out to me. :p I am weak and I succumbed to temptation, so today I attempted my very first Japanese cotton cheesecake. I love a good cheesecake (well, ANY kind of cheesecake really), and Japanese cotton cheesecakes are very different from other kinds of cheesecakes. They taste very light - almost like chiffon cakes, with a light whiff of cheese, and you don't feel too grossed out if you eat too much at one go.
I used The Little Teochew's recipe and my cheesecake turned out quite alright. One thing I like about this recipe, is that everything is in moderation (except for the eggs because this is supposed to be somewhat of a souffle). Not too much cheese, not too much sugar, and hardly any butter. It helps me feel less guilty about eating too much of this yummy cake. :p
5oz (140g) fine granulated sugar
6 egg whites
6 egg yolks
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1.8oz (50g) butter
250g cream cheese
100ml fresh milk
2.11oz (60g) cake flour
0.7oz (20g) corn flour - I didn't have any so I substituted with tapioca flour, not sure if it made any difference
1/4 tsp salt
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven at 160C. Put four tart molds filled with water at four corners of the oven to provide the sauna effect. This is a substitute method for a water bath.
2. Use a double boiler to melt the cream cheese, butter and milk.
3. Fold in the flour, cornflour, salt, and egg yolk into the cooled mixture. Mix well.
4. Strain the mixture to ensure that there are no lumpy bits.
5. Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add in the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form.
6. Fold in the egg whites into the cheese mixture.
7. Line springform cake pan (bottom and sides) and lightly grease. Pour mixture into cake pan, and cover loosely with aluminum foil. This prevents the top of the cake from browning.
8. Bake cheesecake for 1 hour 10 minutes, and then remove the aluminum foil and bake another few minutes until top of the cake is golden brown.
9. Leave cheesecake to cool in oven with door ajar for about 30 minutes to an hour. Sudden changes in temperature may cause the cake to cool too quickly and collapse, although the cake will sink regardless. This just slows down the process and the cheesecake won't sink so drastically.
I'll need a few more practices to perfect this cake, and perhaps over-bake it a little more to get a more golden top. I'll also have to remember to use a larger springform cake pan. I used my medium-sized one this time around, but the cake rose too high over the top.
Saturday, June 2
Zucchini salad
It's been a while since I last updated this blog. :p
It's not that I haven't been cooking but some things that I cook are repeat recipes, so I don't quite see the point of repeating my posts.
I have a BBQ party to attend tonight, and I wasn't really planning on bringing anything else other than konnyaku jelly (which requires minimal effort to prepare because I've been so busy with work lately). At the last minute, I had some free time on my hands so it's a pretty impulsive last minute decision. I made a quick spree to the market to grab some ingredients.
I'm not a big fan of cucumbers, but I'll eat zucchinis. I was first introduced to this awesome dish by my SIL when she prepared this for dinner one night. Since then, I've been meaning to try this out but haven't had the chance. Until now. :)
Ingredients:
3 medium-sized zucchinis
1 small bunch of Chinese parsley
1 large yellow onion
1 lemon
A handful of dried shrimp
A handful of peanuts
1 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp sugar
Directions:
1. Saute the dried shrimp till dry and crispy. Put aside to cool.
2. Saute the peanuts till fragrant. Put aside to cool. When cool, remove the shell off the peanuts.
3. Wash the vegetables properly. Grate the skin off the zucchini and slice thinly.
4. Thinly slice the onions. Cut up the Chinese parsley. Mix the vegetables together and toss.
5. Pour in the fish sauce, squeeze the lemon and add sugar to taste.
6. Use a pestle to pound the dried shrimp until fine texture, and add into the vegetable mix.
7. Pound the peanuts till moderately fine. Add into the vegetable mix.
8. Toss again and taste. Chill the salad till ready to serve.
I love the tangy taste of the lemon/fish sauce mixture. That, combined with the crunchiness of the zucchini and onions, and the fragrance of the peanuts and dried shrimp, makes this an extremely delicious salad. Easy to prepare, healthy and yummy!
It's not that I haven't been cooking but some things that I cook are repeat recipes, so I don't quite see the point of repeating my posts.
I have a BBQ party to attend tonight, and I wasn't really planning on bringing anything else other than konnyaku jelly (which requires minimal effort to prepare because I've been so busy with work lately). At the last minute, I had some free time on my hands so it's a pretty impulsive last minute decision. I made a quick spree to the market to grab some ingredients.
I'm not a big fan of cucumbers, but I'll eat zucchinis. I was first introduced to this awesome dish by my SIL when she prepared this for dinner one night. Since then, I've been meaning to try this out but haven't had the chance. Until now. :)
3 medium-sized zucchinis
1 small bunch of Chinese parsley
1 large yellow onion
1 lemon
A handful of dried shrimp
A handful of peanuts
1 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp sugar
Directions:
1. Saute the dried shrimp till dry and crispy. Put aside to cool.
2. Saute the peanuts till fragrant. Put aside to cool. When cool, remove the shell off the peanuts.
3. Wash the vegetables properly. Grate the skin off the zucchini and slice thinly.
4. Thinly slice the onions. Cut up the Chinese parsley. Mix the vegetables together and toss.
5. Pour in the fish sauce, squeeze the lemon and add sugar to taste.
6. Use a pestle to pound the dried shrimp until fine texture, and add into the vegetable mix.
7. Pound the peanuts till moderately fine. Add into the vegetable mix.
8. Toss again and taste. Chill the salad till ready to serve.
Friday, June 1
Konnyaku jelly
I love a good jelly, especially on a hot day. Lately I've been having a konnyaku craze phase so good thing that there's a BBQ party coming up tomorrow night. I volunteered to bring konnyaku over.
And me being me, I had to scour the internet for konnyaku ideas and that is how I came across this recipe by the Blessed Homemaker. I love how Tesco is just a short drive away for me, so off I went to buy konnyaku powder. Tried out the preserved sour plum konnyaku jelly last night and it turned out so good. I'd have liked the sweet and sour tastes to be stronger though.
Ingredients:
8 preserved sour plums
250ml water
1 packet konnyaku jelly powder (10g)
3.5oz sugar
800ml water
Directions:
And me being me, I had to scour the internet for konnyaku ideas and that is how I came across this recipe by the Blessed Homemaker. I love how Tesco is just a short drive away for me, so off I went to buy konnyaku powder. Tried out the preserved sour plum konnyaku jelly last night and it turned out so good. I'd have liked the sweet and sour tastes to be stronger though.
8 preserved sour plums
250ml water
1 packet konnyaku jelly powder (10g)
3.5oz sugar
800ml water
Directions:
1. Boil 250ml water and add in the preserved sour plums. Leave to stand for at least an hour then remove seeds of the sour plums.
2. In a small bowl, mix the konnyaku powder and sugar together.
3. Boil 800ml water in another pot and pour in the konnyaku mixture. Keep stirring until sugar has dissolved.
4. Add in the sour plum mixture and stir well. Scoop into moulds and leave to cool. Chill in fridge.
However in the end, I played safe and made another batch of lychee flavoured ones instead. Not everyone will be so adventurous. :p
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