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Saturday 20 October 2018

要吃要吃好,  大家一起

Contributed By: Yuliana
deluxe
Baking kaki Yu finally returned from Jakarta after two month hiatus with this fully ripe cempedak abroad Garuda Airlines.  I welcomed her with open arms to my kitchen, along with the strong sweet aroma of the fruit ( which is a combination of jackfruit and durian smell ) .  This smell of which unbelievably permeated into kitchen walls  and lingered for hours. The fruit was about a foot long and certainly too much for baking of a kueh lapis. In glee and armed with a sharpened chopper, we planned to set aside the top quarter for a friend. Oh..oh, she got ripped - kosong in the top quarter and the  total harvest was only 130g of aromatic flesh after removal of seeds and the inedibles!!! 

a foot long
a bad harvest
dismay...dismay...boo-hoo....boo-hoo
meagre
Blend the 130g chepedak puree with 50g sugar and 2 tablespoons water to a smoother paste. Heat it in microwave oven for 3 minutes and set aside. Using a hand blender does d job easier.


Next cream 400g salted butter with 4 tablespoons condensed milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 3/4 tsp chepedak essence at high speed till light and fluffy. Set aside.


Whisked 5 eggs and 15 yolks with 220g fine sugar and a tablespoon ovalette at high speed till Very thick .


Mix the butter mixture into the egg mixture, followed by sieved 150g top flour with 1/2 tsp baking powder. You may substitute 20g of milk powder in flour. Finally fold in the cempedak paste. Press the cempedak paste against the sides of bowl to prevent a lumpy mixture.


Divide the batter into 8 portions or more. Weigh each portion in a bowl for consistent layers.


Grease a 8"by8" tin. Spread a portion of batter evenly at bottom of tin and baked at 150 degrees till golden color.


Poke the baked layer with fork all over and them press it down lightly to prevent puffing . Grill 2nd layer to 8th layer till beautiful golden. Repeat the poking and pressing for the rest of layers. Ensure each layer is well-browned otherwise the layer is not visible when the lapis is cut.


Lastly bake the cake 150 degrees for 15 mins. If top is too brown, cover with a foil. Test with skewer to ensure it is cooked. Cut the cake when it is thoroughly cooled.

do not despair....not the end of the world yet
Baking again soon to get better layering. Not happy at all with this final finishes though tasted sooooo goooood.

Ingredients:
  • 130g chepedak flesh
  • 50g sugar
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 400g salted butter  ( the killer)
  • 4 tbsp condensed milk
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
  • 5 whole eggs
  • 15 egg yolks  (d killer)
  • 1 tbsp ovalette
  • 150g top flour ( means premium plain flour )
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder



Ultra-induglent and a burgeoning waistline


food quote:  I've been on a diet for two weeks and all I've lost is fourteen days. ~Totie Fields
Cook as to how you like to eat it, join me if we share the same taste. PaulaCookingFingers
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Thursday 11 January 2018

a feast for the eyes
A new kind of dough making I've just explored - wagashi.  Lots patience and full concentration of the mind are the keys of success in creating these intricate and elegant desserts.

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Friday 20 October 2017

Bread aren't just to be eaten as bread alone. There're far more to it . Here is one such- roll the bread dough to fit small tart baking tins and drop a dollop of almond cream before topping it with fruit. Hundreds of calories lesser, guarantee !


Workshop @ Palate Sensations Singapore - 65 64789746
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Tuesday 17 October 2017


Treat yourself to a slice of  this maple flavoured mistletoe on Xmas morning with a cup of English Breakfast and let the sweetness salut to another year of blessings . The texture is pillowy soft with a gentle chew and buttery smooth.



Workshop @ Palate Sensations Singapore - 65 64789746


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Tuesday 10 October 2017

rustic golden top
Even when an early bird wakes up before dawn light to knead dough with a cake mixer, and serves freshly baked bread on the breakfast table by 7am, she'll still be loathed by household members. You'd say "of course lah" . 

Earlier on before bedtime, I read of a dough glaze from Savour magazine which is a mixture of egg white and almond flour. With immediate, I prepared a simple preferment for the next morning final mixing of the dough. By 4am , my eyes were wide opened and wasted no time to test out the new glaze. 300g flours would fit in perfectly into two loaf pans. One loaf is leaving the house in exchange for a loonie fridge magnet from a friend who has returned from New Brunswick Canada.
Mix preferment and all the rest of ingredients into a dough and knead with a cake mixer for 12 mins. Proof till double. After proofing, degas the dough and cut into two. Roll each dough into a smooth ball and bench time 10 mins.

Flatten rested dough into a rectangle (length same as loaf pan) , spread with nutella and roll up slight tightly. Pinch the longer edge hard. Make a long cut in the middle of roll keeping the both ends intact. Twist it and place in baking pan. Mix the egg white and almond flour and spread it on the white part of the dough. 
almond glaze
Toss generously chopped almonds on the top. Leave them to proof till double. Bake in hot oven 180 degrees for 12 mins.
before the break of dawn


Recipe:

Dough Starter:

50g bread flour
1/4 tsp instant yeast
60g water

Main Dough:

50g cake flour
190g bread flour
10g milk powder
1 1/4 tsp instant yeast
30g sugar
45g water
1 egg plus a yolk
1 tsp rum
40g chilled butter 

1 egg white beaten
2 tsp almond flour

Nutella for spreading
Almonds for topping

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Friday 6 October 2017

You'll dive for these cookies! If you've eaten a barazek, you know I'm not wrong about it. Sweets from the Mediterranean region  are amazingly crazy delicious. The well-known baklava is second to a barazek, patiently hand-crafted from a blend of semolina, flour, pistachio and sesame seeds flavoured with orange blossom water.  Interestingly, the combination of yeast with baking powder in pastry making is found in this cookie. By the way, this cookie isn't for new-hands baker. The coating of the pitachio and sticky sesame seeds of this cookie isn't a play play thing of baking chocolate chips cookies. My both hands were in a big mess of sticky sesame seeds and had to use my two elbows to lift up baking sheet from one location to another. 
I decided to change the recipe to make my life easier after shaping 20 pieces of barazek in my first batch, and so this one in picture isn't a barazek but taste as good as one , or if not better with a teaspoon of rum and some of my favourite spices added to the dough...totally violating the original.

Recipe:
Ingredients

80g very soft ghee or butter
20g extra virgin olive oil
100g white sugar
1 medium size egg
¼ tsp vanilla                                                  
¼ tsp orange blossom water
2 drops rose flavor
1 tsp rum

150g fine plain flour
150g semolina flour
¼ tsp cardamom powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp instant yeast
½ tsp salt
50g crushed raw pistachios

100g untoasted white sesame seeds
30g honey

Method

·      Cream Ghee, oil  and sugar till well blend.
·      Add in egg and continue blending with wooden spoon till smooth.
·      Flavour it with orange blossom water, vanilla and rose flavor / essence
·      Add in semolina, flour , cardamom powder, nutmeg, baking powder, yeast and salt.
·      Add in crushed pitachio last.
·      Use hands to mix till a very soft dough is formed.  The dough will get less soft after an hour rest.
·      Place sesame seeds and honey in bowl  and warm it in microwave oven for 30 seconds for easier mixing
·      Use melon baller to scoop dough into small balls.
·      Place some sticky sesame seeds at center of palm.
·      Take a small dough and press hard on the sesame seeds, then slide the flatten dough inwards and lift it up . Place it on baking sheet. Press the cookie again .
·      Bake in preheated oven at 160 degrees in five minutes, 130 degrees till light golden. Turn off oven and dry them till deeper golden . This will also make cookies crunchier.
·      Store in airtight container after cool.



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Thursday 5 October 2017


Olive nuts with yolk n white lotus

The celebration of Autumn Festival was wrapped up yesterday - 4 October 17. Vendors were off loading their balance mooncakes at super low prices at major malls while my six chilled salted yolks were soaking in chinese wine waiting for me to get into action. Instead, the tired body flopped on the bed and enjoyed a good sleep. 

The batch just got out of the oven and cannot be enjoyed till Sunday. I'm in no hurry to eat them as the fridge is filled up with the commercial kinds with excessive sugar. I may put them all in a bag and pass over to the daily cleaner and her friends. Eating these super sweet mooncakes is an agony. 

I had mixed grade A white lotus paste with lots of dearly expensive olive nuts and so  the sweetness would be perfect. The recipe is from blogger Christine with extra 10g flour for easier handling.

Some pointers: 

  • Do Not use anymore flour , the dough is oily enough and won't stick to plastic mould. If using wooden mould , use 100g flour in dough and use as little as possible during the moulding process. 
  • Toast nuts before mixing into Lotus paste.
  • Buy the best grade of lotus paste.
  • Use walnuts or pinenuts if olive nuts are unavailable. 

Recipe: - Six mooncakes ( Total weight  about 88g each )

Dough:

110g  Hongkong flour - sieved
60g mooncake syrup
28g oil
1/2 tsp lye water

6 salted yolks
1 tbsp chinese wine

20g olive nuts
180g grade A white lotus paste
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Gorgeous Danish pastries baked in small pastry rings. A delicious pastry cream spooned over the top and decorated withs raspberries, blueberries or canned fruits. The danish dough can be cut into different shapes and filled with same cream and fruits.
danish pastries
tomato stick
soft pizza
olive dinner buns
olive sandwish loaf


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Thursday 28 September 2017

I'm in bliss again! Waking up in the morning to these heavenly Japanese sweet dough buns and chomp them with a good cup kaffe diverted my attention away from a new neighbour's non-stop screaming baby. I was so stressed by these new noise invaders so much so I rolled down from bed in my sleep two nights ago . Three-quarters of my body touched d hard ground and the rest landed on a full laundry basket. God always watching over me, Amen!
I'm into my 16th weeks' training of baking Japanese bread. This morning I woke up much earlier than usual while Baby Boo Boo is still in Neverland, and so quickly embraced this perfect time to carry out some kitchen tests on Japanese sweet dough. I used strong European bread flour instead and these Olive Rock Salt buns were unbelievably outstanding. Light crusted and pillowy soft interior. Total preparation and baking time within two hours only. Japanese bread making techniques are just too amazing...a gateway to enjoying western breads without an aching jaw.


Workshop available @ Palate Sensations Singapore 
- tel 65 64789746

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Friday 21 July 2017

Sagrada Familia
This year our globe jetting travels explored into the Mediterranean region and basked under the blazing Spanish sun for 12 days in the month of July. With Trafarlgar Tour Director Krista on board the coach, the history of the country was clearly narrated starting  from the year of the Roman invasion, followed by the Moorish Army aggression and, eventually handed back to the Catholic Monarchy. The journey of sight seeing from Madrid to Seville, Cordoba and Granada would be meaningless without the knowledge of its past ruling empires.


Purullena@Granada


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authorTan Paula