Crispy Nian Gao Waffle (1)

A few weeks ago, I tried out this Nian Gao Waffle and I like it.   The waffle place is always crowded and the chairs are really uncomfortable, definitely not a place whereby you can hang out with friends to chat.

At long last, the new waffle iron that I bought many years ago is put to use.  I have since retired from the thinner version.

Also, decided to use the TM to prepare the batter mix.  Unfortunately, my first attempt using 125g plain flour and 70g milk with 2 eggs failed.   Wasted so much of my effort as the texture is hard and dry.  I should have read some reviews on it but I overlooked it.  (somehow that advisor does not have any comments in her blog - haiz a mistake on my part).

Since I have nian gao left, I did another try.   

Learning: I should not bother to use TM for this recipe.   Way too many transfers as I have only one bowl.  

The texture for this is so much better.  It is light and fluffy but I will fine-tune it further to a texture that I prefer.   Family like it.

What you need:

3 egg white

3 egg yolks

1 tsp sugar

85g unsalted butter, softened

285g milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp salt

195g plain flour

30g cornstarch

½ tsp baking powder

Method:

Sift plain flour, baking powder, corn flour, and salt.  Set aside.

Whisk egg white until soft peak.  (butterfly whisk 40 sec/Sp 4)

Place egg yolks, and sugar in TM bowl.  10 sec/Sp 3.

Add in butter, milk, and vanilla. 10 sec/Sp 3.

Add in flour mixture. 20 sec/sp 3.

Scoop the batter onto the waffle iron (according to your iron size) and cook until golden brown.  

Dust with icing sugar and serve with fruits and ice cream.

Enjoy!

Rilette with cracker

I learned this Rilette not too long ago and loved it.  I shall make some for our year-end gathering.   This is a good finger food or even a bread spread as I can make it in advance.

Though I am in no condition to make the bread to go with it as in the class so I replaced it with some Table water crackers.

Am glad that my guests liked it and my family enjoyed the leftovers too.

What you need:

120g ham

180g cream cheese

3 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp oregano dried

3 tsp parsley dried

6 tsp extra virgin olive oil

3/4 tsp black pepper

Method:

Chop ham finely.

Beat cream cheese and lemon juice until fluffy.  Beat in the extra virgin olive oil and black pepper.

Mix in chopped ham, oregano and parsley.

Serve with crackers

Enjoy!

Chocolate Canelé 巧克力可麗露 Air fryer

A few years ago, my friend H, helped me to buy these beautiful Canelé molds from France and it has been sitting in my drawers all this while.  Finally, I brought them out to shine.

Since I am not confident baking Canelé, decided to just try a small batch of Chocolate Canelé 巧克力可麗露 first.  Baking in the air fryer seems like a good idea as the temperature is more reliable and since I only have 9 molds and it is not enough for a full recipe.

These looks burnt but it is not.  In fact, it is full of chocolatey taste and it was nice and not too sweet.  Also, it has a crusty coat which I thought I was heading to success but .....

I was sooooo wrong!  The inside was not baked properly.  I reckon because I forgot to set back the timer and walked away to do another errand.

Learnings: I failed in my mission.  Though I get a crust but the inner was not baked well. The taste is actually not bad, and also not too sweet.

I must also think of a way to wrap the foil more tightly.  Tricky as the mould was really too hot to handle.

Will try again.

What you need:

Yield: 8 pcs

250g milk  

30g butter

60g chocolate (70%)

1 tsp vanilla bean

125g sugar

45g cake flour

3g cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

25g rum

Method:

Bring milk, butter, and vanilla beans to a light boil.

Pour into the chocolate, and wait for a while before stirring to melt the chocolate.

In a bowl, sift cake flour, and cocoa powder and mix with the sugar and salt.  

Pour the warm milk mixture slowly into the flour mixture, whisking slowly.

Whisk in the egg until the batter is smooth.

Add in the rum.

Sieve into a clean container, clingwrap, and chill for a night.

Bring mixture to room temperature.  

Grease the mold well with oil or butter.  

Pour batter to 90% full.  

Bake at 200℃ for 20 mins, then individually wrapped with aluminum foil.

Lower heat to 180℃ and bake for 40 mins.

Remove from mold immediately and let it cool completely.

Enjoy!

Baked banana oatmeal

Hubby is down with suspected covid and though I tested negative, we decided to stay home.   Prepared this as Baked Banana Oatmeal for breakfast.  Moving forward, we need to relook at our diet after our health screening report especially the nearly nightly ice cream treat we have been giving ourselves.

What you need:

Serve: 6 

4 medium ripe bananas, sliced into ½" pieces, leave 1 to garnish

1½ blueberries, leave some for garnish

¼ cup agave

100g rolled oats

100g chopped walnuts, leave some for garnish

½ tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

1 cup milk

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat oven to 180℃.  Grease an 8X8” square pan.

Arrange banana slices in a single layer, scatter ½ of the blueberries on top of the bananas, and sprinkle ¼ tsp of the cinnamon and 1 tbsp of the agave.  Cover with foil and let it bake for 15 mins.

In another bowl combine oats, ½ of the walnuts, baking powder, and remaining cinnamon and salt, and stir to mix.

In another bowl, whisk agave, milk, egg, and vanilla extract.

Remove the bananas from the oven, and pour the oat mixture over the banana mixture.

Pour the milk mixture over the oat’s mixtures, and spread as evenly as possible.

Sprinkle the remaining banana, blueberries, and walnuts over the top.

Bake for 30 mins or until golden brown.  

Serve warm.

Enjoy!

Croissant Pudding with rum ice cream sauce

Tried out this Croissant Pudding with Rum ice cream sauce and received good feedback during our Christmas dinner.   Didn't have a chance to document this so decided to serve this once again for my family.

What you need:

110g unsalted butter 

100g sugar

1½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 large eggs, lightly beaten 

2½ cup heavy cream 

12 croissants 

80g raisins

120g bittersweet chocolate chip

Method:

Preheat oven to 180℃.   Lightly butter a 9X13” baking dish.  Cut the croissants into 1” pieces.

In a food processor, combine butter and sugar and blitz until well blended.

Add in cinnamon and vanilla and pulse.

Pour in the eggs and blend.

Add in heavy cream and pulse.

Lightly butter the baking dish.  Layer the croissants into the pan.

Scatter the raisins and chocolate chips.  Gently mix to incorporate.

Pour the egg mixture over the croissant.  Let it soak for 10 mins.  (Push down every 3 mins to soak the croissants to soak the croissant evenly).

Cover with foil and bake for 35 mins.

Remove foil and bake for another 10 mins until the top is brown and the custard set.

Allow to cool and serve with Bourbon Ice Cream Sauce.

Rum ice cream sauce

What you need:

3 cups of vanilla ice cream

24g rum

Method:

Soften ice cream in the fridge.

Stir in bourbon and serve with the bread pudding.

Enjoy!

Cheese Roll

I have a slab of frozen puff pastry and some hard cheddar cheeses that I needed to clear.

So this Cheese Roll will be just nice as snack. 

Learning experience: 

This is so easy to prepare and it is definitely hardy if you needed a quick snack.  Very yummy.

What you need:

Frozen puff pastry

Butter, softened

Hard cheese of your choice (I used hard cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese)

Black pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 200°C.  Lined baking sheet.

Brush a layer of butter over the puff pastry.

Spread a layer of cheese evenly.

Sprinkle ground black pepper over it.

Roll the pastry tightly.

Cut into 1 cm thick.

Bake for 10 - 15 mins or until golden.

Remove and cool completely on rack.

 Enjoy!

  

Hasselback Potato

My family enjoy potatoes in all forms and this time around, I bought a big bag of it as my girl is home most of the days and it is easy to prepare as a snack.

Been practising my knife skill for this Hasselback Potato and I truly enjoy the whole process and it tasted so delicious too.

What you need:

2 - 4 Russet potatoes
2 tbsp garlic, minced
3 tbsp olive oil
10g olive 
20g butter
Salt and pepper to taste
a sprig of Rosemary, minced

Method:

Scrub and dry potatoes.

Combine butter, oil, minced garlic and rosemary into a bowl and microwave until butter melted.  Let it sit to infuse.

Place the potato onto a wooden spoon and slit thinly.

Place potatoes onto a baking sheet and bake at 180°C for 10 mins.

Remove transfer into a bowl, pour butter mixture and mix them evenly.

Bake at 180°C for another 15 - 20 mins or until potatoes are cooked.

Note: I added cheese for my girl and she loves it.



Enjoy!

Brazilian Cheese Balls (pão de queijo) 5

Years ago, I was totally crazy about Brazilian Cheese Balls (pão de queijo).  A group of us in a baking interest group was trying to replicate those that sold in a bakery in Shaw House.   

After an exhibition, I realised that they are baked using a premix.  Of course, I was disappointed as I never was able to match that texture.

Nevertheless, I am not into premix so I rather short change a little to have a healthier version.

Thanks TT for sharing the source.

Learning experience: 

Since I have arrowroot flour on hand, I decided to use that instead of tapioca flour.

These did not deflat quickly.  It did sustain its shape even after I finished washing up.

The taste is good and I strongly recommend using hard cheese for this recipe.

Definitely a keeper.

Adapted

What you need:

100g Gruyere cheese, cut into small squares

160g fresh milk
60g grapeseed oil
1 egg
170g arrowroot starch or tapioca starch

1 tsp salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 220°C. Grease a mini muffin tray generously.

Grate cheese

(Place cheese in a bowl and grate 10 sec/speed 9)

Combine all ingredients together.  Mix until incorporated.

(Add all remaining ingredients blend 20 sec/Sp 6)

(Scrape down mixing bowl, blend further 5 sec/Sp 8)

Using an ice cream scoop, fill ¾ full on each mould.

Bake for 12-15 min until golden and puffed up.

Crème caramel

A recent sudden death of a very dear friend left some regrets in my hub and myself.  So have been reminiscing old times, old friends and old activities.

When I was young, I really love Crème caramel and I think we learn this in school home economic too.  Anyway, been a long while I last make these at home.   Took this opportunity since I have bought a tray of eggs.

What you need:

caramel

200g castor sugar

2 tbsp water

2 tsp lemon juice

100g hot water

Pudding

500g fresh milk

4 eggs

130g castor sugar

Method:

Prepare a steamer of boiling water, 6 ramekins.

To prepare the caramel, in a small pot, melt castor sugar with water and lemon juice.  DO NOT STIR.  Once it reached a light amber, very carefully add in the hot water (BE CAREFUL OF SPLATTER).  Stir until sugar is melted and liquefy and then starts to thickens slightly.

Spoon 2 tbsp of caramel and add into ramekin.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine milk, eggs and sugar.  Whisk until sugar dissolved.

Slowly fill the ramekin with milk mixture.  Cover with foil.

Lower heat to med and steam egg mixture for 10 - 15 mins or until set.

Let it cool completely before chilling.

Serve cold.

Enjoy!

Kale Chips

Kale was called the "Queen of greens".  Kale is low in calorie, high in fiber and has zero fat.  It is also:

- high in iron (better than eating beef)

- high in Vitamin K (helps people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease)
- powerful antioxidants (protect against various cancers)

- great anti-inflammatory food (fight or help again arthritis, asthma and autoimmune disorders)
- great for cardiovascular support (help lower cholesterol levels)
- high in Vitamin A (for vision, skin)

- high in Vitamin C (for immune system, metabolism and hydration)
- high in calcium (aids in preventing bone loss, preventing osteoporosis and maintaining a healthy metabolism. Vitamin C is also helpful to maintain cartilage and joint flexibility

- great detox food.

I have never eaten Kale Chips before and was curious how it taste like.  Since I only used up a small amount of kale for another recipe, thus I wanted to try this out.

Looking at the recipe, this seems so easy to achieve.  A pity my air fryer went dead.  If not, I think I can have this weekly as I don't have to churn out a big batch using the oven.

Time to shop for a new air fryer when I next visit the home appliances dept?  We shall see whether this is beyond repair first.

Findings: After trying both (the big bunch variety that I bought) and tasted the smaller organic variety.  I must say that the big bunch is more bitter as compared to the organic variety.

I shall look out for the organic ones next trip.

What you need:

Kale
Salt
Olive oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Wash and cut kale into small pieces.

Drain and dry thoroughly.

Spread the kales onto a non stick baking pan.

Drizzle in olive oil and sprinkle salt.

Bake for 20 mins or until kale is crisp on the lowest rack and place a baking tray just above it.

Cool on rack and store in air tight container.



In the meantime, with so much benefit for this leafy greens, it is time to load up with such goodness!

Don't you agree?

Strawberry and cream

Lately we have been eating lots of Strawberry and Cream.  We love Korean strawberries as it is sweet, unfortunately it is only in March you get to have good ones.

Those from Australia and US are not as sweet and sometime you get sourish ones.  Since now it is on sales and I found a way to make it acceptable to my fussy daughter who simply refused anything sour.

I served this during my recent gathering with some friends.  Even a friend who does not like cream stuff, asked for second helping.

Glad that this tasted really yummy and you just can't resist having a second round.

I found that this is the fastest and quickest way to serve dessert if you have not enough time for make any fanciful dessert.

What you need:

2 punnet Strawberries
250g Whipping Cream
50g icing sugar
2 tbsp Honey

Method:

Wash and removed stem from strawberries.  Dry with kitchen towel.  Place in serving bowl and chill.

Whip up the whipped cream frothy.

Add in icing sugar and whip until it is stiff.

Add in honey and continue to whip to combine.

Scoop cream onto strawberries and serve immediately.


Want some?

Bacon with scallop

This was a throw back that I have done last week.

My kids love bacon especially my son so on their birthday, I actually prepared these for them which is their favourite.  They will not touch scallop on its own especially stir fry with vegetable but if I made it this way, they will be readily munching these away.

I was teaching my son how to do this in case next time I am not around, they are still able to cook this for themselves.  This time, I have it pan fried instead of baking it.

It is also extremely easy to prepare and very good for a party I must say.

What you need:

Streaky bacon
Scallop, med to large size, rinse and drain
Toothpick.

Method:

Pat dry bacon and scallop with a kitchen towel.

Wrap bacon round the scallop.  Making sure end side of the bacon is at the side of the scallop.

Using a toothpick, secure the end.

Heat pan and let the bacon brown in pan.  Turn and continue to brown the other side until crispy.

Remove and drain off oil.

Serve

Quick and Easy Smore

Though it is so hot and humid, I am glad that it has been raining nearly every day and the dry spell seems to be over.

I bought a packet of marshmallow on impulse the other day.  Perhaps I was thinking how my girl used to stuff her two cheeks with marshmallows and call herself a bunny. 

This was so easy and I love the idea of not having to scrub my plate after this treat.

A quick and easy treat to serve on impromptu.

Now let's dig into this Quick and Easy Smore treat. 

What you need:

Marshmallow

Chocolate (any chocolate of your choice)

Graham biscuit

Method:

Preheat airfryer to 170°C.

Crush Graham biscuit and coat the bottom of the serving dish evenly.  

Pour a layer of chocolate onto the cookie layer.  Spread it out evenly.

Place marshmallow over it as show.

Bake for 4 - 5 mins or until golden brown.

Serve immediately.

Fried Banana

The weather is turning cool and it is nice and chilly these past two days.  I really love year end weather.  Though it is wet, the temperature is not so humid and it is nice.  

For some reason, my house feel really good when it rain, so I enjoy staying home, curled up with my ipad to do some reading or watching Kdrama.

Saw this recipe on Facebook and I have some ripe bananas waiting for me to finish it up.  Immediately I went on to try it out for our tea time snack.

Findings: This is really good especially if you team it up with either whipped cream or ice cream.

Source: here

What you need:

4 over ripe bananas

2 tbsp coconut sugar

1 tsp cinnamon powder

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 tbsp coconut oil

Method:

Cut banana into thick slices

Mix coconut sugar, cinnamon powder, nutmeg together.  Set aside.

Heat pan with coconut oil

Toss in banana and let it cook for 2 – 3 mins.

Add in half of the cinnamon/nutmeg mixture.

Flip banana around.

Add in the remaining cinnamon/nutmeg mixture and cook for 2 -3 mins until banana is nice and soft.

Serve immediately with either whipped cream or ice cream.

Easy Cherry Crumble

I bought a bag of cherry during the season and it was cheap, well at least cheaper than most of the time.  Waited for my son to be home so that we can enjoy it as a family but that didn't happened.

By then, the cherry was beginning to turn soft and I quickly went on to cook it.  At least I can extend the life span by doing so.  Subsequently son requested for a Cherry Crumble.

I was asking whether the family prefer a hot or a cold dessert and all opted for a cold one.

So here is my Easy Cherry Crumble.  Totally love it especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream which we later on add to it.

What you need:

500g fresh cherry
100g water
Sugar to taste

Crumble

3 tbsp brown sugar
150g plain flour
50g butter

Method:

Using a pit remover, remove the pit from the cherry.  Keep the pits.

Add pits and water and bring to boil.

Add in sugar and stir until sugar dissolved.

Sieve out the pit and pour this syrup into the cherry.

Bring to boil and let it simmer for 20 mins.  Stirring occasionally.  Remove and set aside to cool before chilling in the fridge.

In a bowl, add brown sugar to flour.

Rub in the butter to form crumbs.

Bake for 10 - 15 mins at 180°C or until brown.  Remove.

Distribute the cherries into serving dish, top it off with the crumbles.  

Serve as it is or with a serving of ice cream on top. 

Taco

Bought some Taco shells and decided to try making Taco on my own.   I can't recall when was the last time we had this but I am sure it is long ago.  There are many version online so I guess there isn't any hard and fast rule how a REAL Taco should be.

So here is my take on it.

I couldn't find guacamole in the supermarket.  I think if taco has no guacamole, the taste will be different and I am not taking the chance.  So I had to made it my own.  Luckily I was able to get my hand on some ready to eat avocado out of that whole fruit station.  

Overall, I am happy how it turned out and I think this will be such a great dish for party.




Cheers

The mousetrap

Last year, after our month long campervan holiday in New Zealand, I had a chance to sample The mousetrap in the airport lounge, it was so delicious that I ate a couple of it at one go and so did my daughter.

I have been having this crave for a few months now and finally I put my act together.

Since I have pepperoni in the fridge, I used that.  You can also add in minced beef.  In fact, you can add anything to your fancy and topped it off with cheese. 

For me, I think Marmit is the x factor for this recipe.  

Here is something that is quick, tasty and yet easy to prepare for your kids.  As I was told by a Kiwi, that mozzies don't attack them because of the Marmite that they ate.  True or false, I have yet to find out.

What you need:

White toast
Marmite
Cheddar Cheese
Pepperoni

Method

Spread marmite thinnly on toast

Lay pepperoni nicely

Sprinkle with cheese

Toast in toaster for 10 mins or until golden brown.

Happy Weekend!

Brie Bites

In 1993, I got to know this German family while backpacking in Europe.   They welcomed me into their home and I got to experience the German culture whole-heartedly.  

I also took the opportunity to help out in one of their 3 days catering event in Bruges and that was an eye opener for me.

I used to pair wine with Brie and crackers but I got to find out how beautifully Brie paired off with fruits as well.  I also got to sample fried Camembert which was so delicious!

Since I have a slice of Brie in the fridge, I decided I shall serve Brie Bites for breakfast and present it differently to my family.  

What you need:

4 flour tortillas

1 pcs of Brie

Bananas

Nutella

Method:

Method:

Cut Brie thinly.

Slice Bananas

Heat up a non stick pan and then place a pcs of tortilla in it under low heat.  Brown one side and flip over.

On the browned side, spread the Nutella on it and place brie and bananas.  (your choice of toppings)

Fold into halves and continue to brown the tortilla and flip over the other half.

Fold it into quarter and browned the remaining side.  By now your cheese already melted and banana soften.

Serve hot.

Salted Caramel Popcorn

This is the first time I am participating Cook like a Star and hopefully, I can follow through the whole series.

We love popcorn and thus corn kernel is always in the pantry and when I went into Curtis Stone's website, I spotted this Salted Caramel Popcorn and knew right away that this is what I wanted to submit.

This post is linked to the blog hop event, Cook like a Star, organised by Bake for Happy Kids, Eat your heart out and Life can be simple. Wanna cook or bake like Curtis Stone? 

To join, simply cook or bake any recipe from Curtis Stone website, his recipe collection at Coles website or his cookbooks and blog hop with us for the whole month of July 2013. For more details, please see this.

Here are those blogging friends that have joined this event. Please visit their blogs for more of their 5-stars cooking. 

What you need:

Nonstick cooking spray
2 tbsp canola oil
160g popcorn kernels

2 cups sugar (I reduce this to 160g)
1¼ tsp sea salt (I reduce this to 1 tsp)

¼ cup water

Method

Spray 2 large rimmed baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray.

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat until it is hot, but not smoking.

Add the popcorn kernels and cover the pot.

Using pot holders, shake the pot constantly over the heat as the kernels pop for about 5 minutes, or until the kernels stop popping.

Immediately spread the popcorn out on the prepared baking sheets.

Stir the sugar, salt, and 1/4 cup of water in a small heavy saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves, occasionally brushing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush.

Increase the heat and boil without stirring, occasionally brushing down the sides and swirling the pan until the syrup is a deep amber color - about 8 minutes.

Working quickly, drizzle the hot caramel over the popcorn and toss with two wooden spoons to coat the popcorn lightly.

Be careful not to get hot caramel on your skin.

Allow the caramel corn to cool completely before storing in air tight container.

Source: Curtis Stone


Cheers

Strawberry in Balsamic Vinegar

My punnet of strawberry got pinched by someone in the house and I can't use it to make a swiss roll as intended.

Thus I have turn the remaining strawberry into something else.   Heard so much about Strawberry with Balsamic Vinegar but yet never get to try it before.

This is definitely not family's favourite!  All took a small bite and refuse to eat the rest and it was only half a cup!

Personally I think this is okay as long as it is well sweeten.  At least something different for a change.

How was your Monday?

Mine was really busy.

What you need:

1 big punnet of strawberry
1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp of castor sugar

Method:

Mix sugar into balsamic vinegar.  Stir till sugar dissolved.

Cut strawberries into quarters.

Drizzle in the vinegar and give it a gentle stir.

Let it sit in the fridge for half hour before serving.


Cheers