Final Products

These are what I had bake for today. Eh I missed out the Almond Butter Crisp pic. Damn tiring, I’ve had been baking non-stop for the past 3 days and I haven’t finished my baking lists yet!

But then again, not so bad lah, on the first day itself I had baked 200 over of pineapple tarts. Then second day itself I had baked 100 over of pineapple tarts, 100 over of the peanut oat cookies and 50 plus of melting moments.

And today no time to count but then I had baked Ching’s (Belachan) Kuih Bangkit, Edith’s (smallcookies) Cornflakes Cookies, Almond Melting Moments and Almond Butter Crisp.

You might wonder how come I baked so much especially the pineapple tarts? At first Mom told me she going to give some to her manager then later my aunties and finally her mahjong kaki! *Eyes Rolling*

Hey, I only bought 2 packets of pineapple filling and some leftover filling when I first tried out Josh’s pineapple tarts. So I had to rush down to PH to buy more filling, butter and some baking needs. I had lingering in PH, thinking should I buy the baking pan/tray although it cost $6.10 but... but... I had overspent! And yet I always wanted to buy a digital weighting scale. Aiyah buy lah buy lah!

I’m glad I had bought the baking pan/tray. LOL $6.10 really damn worth! Look, I can bake 50 – 60 pieces of cookies and tarts plus I don’t have to worry about getting the kuih bangkit stuck onto the pan. Compare to with my others rectangle tray either they are too big and the 4 sides of the cookies will get burnt or I could only baked 35 pieces of cookies with the smaller tray.

*Hops around happily* I wonder, I got such good stamina to do so much baking this CNY. Did you notice I added 1 recipe into my baking list every one day? LOL *Look at the clock* gosh coming to 5am and I have yet sleep! _((@))_((@))_ Look like erm... Tara Panda?

Cornflakes Cookies

Baked Cornflakes Cookies, I got this recipe from Precious Moments (Edith). I love the extra crunchy bite of the cornflakes.




Cornflakes Cookies
Ingredients:
225g butter (room temperature)
300g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
100g castor sugar
1 medium pack unsweetened cornflakes (crushed)
A pinch of salt

Method:
1. Cream the butter with the sugar till creamy and pale white
2. Add the beaten egg and mix well
3. Sieve flour and baking powder. Then add the salt and fold into the batter.
4. Mix well into a soft pastry dough.
5. Make small balls of dough with a two spoons.
6. Roll and coat evenly with cornflakes.
7. Bake on un-greased trays at 180 degree in a preheated oven till brown.

Note By Me (Jas):
I’m lazy to coat the dough with crushed cornflakes so I had mixed crushed about 100 – 120g cornflakes into the dough mixture and roll into balls.

Almond Melting Moments

I had baked some Melting Moments yesterday and they melt in second! Mh loves the cookies very much and so do I.

So I decided to bake more Melting Moment today. I had added some almond essence instead of the vanilla essence and added more almond bits and flakes for decoration. And here are my Almond Melting Moments.

I thought of adding the ground almond into the recipe but I’m afraid they don’t turns out melting. Perhaps I should have tried them out next time.




Almond Melting Moments
Ingredients:
227g unsalted butter, room temperature
175g all-purpose flour
90g cornstarch (corn flour)
¼ tsp salt
35g icing sugar
1 – 1½ tsp almond essence
Almond bits or flakes for decoration

1. Sieves flour, cornstarch and salt together. Set aside.
2. Use electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the almond essence.
4. Add the flour mixture and beat until incorporated. Do not over mix.
5. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least one hour or until dough is firm.
6. Floured your hands with all purpose flour and roll dough into small balls and place on a lined tray.
7. Flatten the dough slightly with a floured fork.
8. Decorate the dough by added some almond bits or flakes on top.
9. Bake at 190C for about 10 minutes or until the edges start to brown.
10. Cool and store in a airtight container.

Almond Butter Crisp

More almond cookies and here are my Almond Butter Crisp. I had added the almond bits for extra crunchy bite.




Almond Butter Crisp
Makes 100

Ingredients:
360g butter
300g castor sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 tp almond essence
180g self-raising flour
300g plain flour
Almond slices for decoration

Method:
1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, vanilla and almond essence and salt. Sift in flours and mix well.
2. Shape teasponful of mixture into small ballls and place on greased trats. Press sliced almond into the centre and bake in preheated 175C for 15 minutes or until light golden brown in colour.
3. Cool on wire rackbefore storing in airtight containers.

CNY Cheddar Cheese Pineapple Tart

I thought giving the Pineapple Tart that pack in the Hello Kitty tin to a friend. But I find the Hello Kitty tin seems too “Niang” for a guy. LOL plus I could only pack 20 pieces of tarts seems too little too aiyah I end up unpack them.

Peanut Oat Cookies

Peanut Oat Cookies
Ingredients:
300g Plain flour
60g Qiuck cooking oats
100g chucky peanut butter
50g honey
100g butter
1/4 tsp salt
120g castor sugar
More quck cooking oats for sprinkling

Method:
1. Cream butter with honey, peanut butter, sugar and salt until smooth and creamy.
2. Fold in flour and oats and mix until well combined. Roll out dough to 4mm thickness and cut with a floured fluted cutter.
3. Place cut dough onto greased trays. Brush lightly with beaten egg and sprinkle with some oats.
4. Bake in preheated 170C oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Remove cookies onto a wire rack to cool before soring in airtight containers.

Melting Moments

I’m kind of curious why does they name these cookies as Melting Moments. YES! Now I know why they name these cookies as melting moments. They do live up their names and they melt in second!




Ingredients:
227g unsalted butter, room temperature
175g all-purpose flour
90g cornstarch (corn flour)
¼ tsp salt
35g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:
1. Sieves flour, cornstarch and salt together. Set aside.
2. Use electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the vanilla.
4. Add the flour mixture and beat until incorporated. Do not over mix.
5. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least one hour or until dough is firm.
6. Roll dough into small balls and place on a lined tray.
7. Flatten the dough slightly with a fork.
8. Bake at 190C for about 10 minutes or until the edges start to brown.
9. Cool and store in a airtight container.

Pork Floss Roll

Spent couple of hours to roll these tiny “Popiah” with pork floss. I got to be TLC (tender loving care) while rolling them up cause the skin torn easily and with my fat fingers it more difficult to roll.

Though I don’t make the pork floss myself but my cousin’s girlfriend make those pork floss herself and give it to my aunt.

CNY Pineapple Tart

Joshua's 2005 Version Pineapple Tart

MH's Chilli Chicken

Cheddar Cheese Pineapple Tart

I got plenty of pineapple tart recipes in hand. I guess if I had to try one recipe everyday I guess it going to take me 2 weeks plus to finish trying them. LOL

I had picked this pineapple tart recipe, which had cheddar cheese in it. I got the recipe “Here” unfortunately the recipe is in malay and I could understand is contributed by Shangri La Indonesia thing like that. Zu, she is so helpful and had translated the recipe into English for me.

Actually I don’t mind waste some of the ingredients to try them out. And I had halved the recipe so the recipe you see is only “half”.

Verdict: The pastries had very good aroma of dairy products. It melts in mouth too but again they break into crumbles easily and they easily stick onto the fingers.

Mom said, too soft they breaks easily, slightly salty and either too buttery or milky. Hmm... I wonder is because the cheddar cheese too milky for the elderly ones?

DH & I said, we like the buttery and milky taste. I could feel the extra bite of the cheddar cheese but dh said don’t have. But I felt the pastries was a bit dry when swallow them down the throat.




Pastry:
200g butter
25g icing sugar (I had omitted the sugar)
1 egg yolk
12.5g milk powder (But I use 25g cream cheese)
25g shredded cheddar cheese (I use 50g shredded cheddar cheese)
162.5g flour (I use about 200g top flour and 20g corn flour)

Method:
1. Cream butter and cream cheese till light and fluffy.
2. Add in the egg yolk mix until well incorporated.
3. Add in the sieves top flour and corn flour and shredded cheddar cheese and form into soft dough.

Note:
The dough it “Super” wet that I had to flour my hands while wrapping the pineapple filling. I’m not sure it is because I had extra cream cheese and cheddar cheese added. Or I had omitted too much dry ingredients like icing sugar and milk powder. Or it because the “Flour” as it stated “Flour” I assume it should be multi-purpose plain flour but I had use “Top Flour”. And it might be partly one of the reasons, as the adsorption might be different.

Meme - You Are What You Eat

Eh suay arh tio tagged by Evelyn. Opsss... I’m just kidding I welcome ALL tags! Evelyn tagged me for this Meme – “you are what you eat” since last year and I had yet completed my task. *Blush* inspector Eve said, she will check on me. Guess it time for me to complete my task. You are what you eat hmm... sounds kind of chim-logy to me aiyah I BTC (Bo Ta Cek).

*Goes around and peep* aiyoh favorites foods huh, must be 10 items some more last time only 5 items. You guys, better don’t let me come out a Meme I make sure you guys name me 20 items. LOL!

*Scratching head*

Cheesecake – I loves cheesecakes, no matter they are Baked or Chilled. I started to bake my own cheesecake last year and I’m more interested into Baked Cheesecake. I love Chicago Cheesecake from Coffeebean.

Chicken – I like my chicken cooked in either way. Deep-fried chicken wings, grilled chicken chop and pandan chicken they are my favorites.

Coffee – A beverage that I must had everyday. I could take up to 4 - 5 cups per day.

Desserts – I love traditionally desserts especially the cantonese gruels. Used to visited “Er Gu” quite often while I works in Chinatown. But now I heard they are closed.

Dim Sum – Called me spoiled brat cause I love my table filled up with foods. Heehee

Durian – I loves durian! I love foods that make with durian.

Japanese Cuisine – I love Japanese foods!

Kow Kee Soup – I’m not sure did I pronouns them correctly in hokkien. I heard the “kow kee” are good for the eyes.

Pork – I prefer to braise them in soy sauce or deep-fried just like Ku Ru Yoke (sweet and sour pork).

Soya Bean – I love foods that are make from yellow beans. Especially the egg tofu I like them either boil or deep-fried.

Okay I’m done. I guess I got no one to sabo most of them had already completed the Meme. Argh...

CNY Pineapple Tarts

Waken up 6:00 am in the morning to roll the pineapple filling into balls. Darn just to roll the pineapple filling into balls! And I finished baking 100 plus pieces of pineapple tarts at 1:00 pm in the afternoon! What de hell took me so long to finish baking? *Yawn*

I’ve baked these Pineapple Tarts yesterday morning. Using Josh (gan55) 2005 version pineapple tart recipe again. LOL we’re crazy in love with these tarts. I guess I had added too much thickened cream and cream cheese cause the dough is quite “wet” this time.

Hmm... I think the first batch of Pineapple Tarts look better than this batch. The first batch seems more rounded tarts and this batch pretty flattens huh. Don't you think so?

Kuih Bangkit

Baked Kuih Bangkit yesterday morning. Using Belachan’s (Ching) Kuih Bangkit recipe. Firstly had to thanks Ching for sharing and her step-by-step Kuih Bangkit guide! These kuih bangkit are absolutely worth trying!

But then again I’m damn frustrated with these kuih bangkit. To get the right consistency of the dough, I’ve been kneading the dough over and over again it totally impossible to shape them no matter how much flour I had added in. I end up rolling them into balls and send it to the oven and bake.

Geez... feel like throwing the dough away *sniff* *sniff* wait a minute. The kuih bangkit smells so good. I’m so eager to try them out. Hmm... I wonder the temperature of the oven was a bit too high? The cookies have lost it shape heck I didn’t expect them come out nicely too, cause when I cut the dough with a cookie cutter they are not in shape too.

I swear these kuih bangkit tastes damn good, very light & crispy and it melts in mouth! Phew ~ I did not dump the dough away earlier. I guessed the dough gets better after resting them for 30 minutes they are much easily to handle this time. Second batch, still the shapes are out but at least better than the first batch. Heehee

Deep Fried Japanese Mushroom

Deep-Fry Japanese Mushroom. Using Jingle’s Deep Fried Golden Mushroom recipe. Hmm… I know the Japanese deep fry the mushroom and serve it as “Tempera” but then I haven’t come across this kind of mushroom. They called it “Jin Zhen Gu” in mandarin.

This deep fry mushroom are easily make all u need is to coat these mushroom with potato flour and deep fry. I did some changes by added in some salt and pepper into the potato flour and serve it with some chilies flakes. I love these deep-fry mushroom very much but damn oily stuff!

Phoon Huat Demo Class

Afternoon went phoon huat attend their demo class on the Crunchy Pineapple Tart, Red dates & Seaweed Cookies and Chilled Mandarin Orange & Lemon Cheesecake.

To attend their class, I got to pay $10 but then they issue me a $10 voucher back. So it likes free, why not joining them. Plus there a chance to tried out their cake and cookies. LOL I’ve taken some of the pictures back and here they are....

Dim Sum Buffet At "Yum Cha"

Went to Chinatown yum cha early morning on Monday. We went to “Yum Cha” for Breakfast Dim Sum buffet. Didn’t know they serve breakfast buffet until I saw their poster in Chinatown MRT station. For adults only $9.80 eats until you drop. Hahaha

Ate half way and all the sudden I remember to take pictures with my newest baby toy. Eh I forgot to adjust the size of the photo. Wasn’t so clear huh?

Variety choices of dim sum, service wise not so bad. Taste wise rather disappointed. I would said they taste “normal” of course there are some which is good, like the steamed ginseng chicken, steamed spare rib and egg tart etc...

Steamed Spare Rib. One of my favorite!


Mango Prawn Roll. Can feel the prawn is swimming inside your mouth and the mango is sweet. But the paper wafer skin was not crispy.


Prawn Ball. Average.


Century Egg & Lean Meat Congee. Look good huh? But then it taste pretty bland.


Zhu Cheong Fen With Char Siew. Average lor.


Steamed Ginseng Chicken. I love this chicken, though I hate the ginseng smell but this doesn’t smell that bad. *Thumb up*


Lor Mai Kai. It has a very good aroma of the lotus leave. Taste wise average too.


Taro Puff. Wasn’t so oily but wasn’t much taro taste almost zero.


Egg tart. (No Photo) I like the egg filling but then their pastries are too thick.

Char Siew Bao. (No Photo) I still prefer the “PAUS” at jurong point, the one facing the NTWU coffee shop.

Phoenix Claw. (No Photo) Darn I miss that out. Meaning? Didn’t eat lah.

Dessert time! They got Guiling Gao (herbal jelly), Red Bean Paste and Mango Pudding. I saw other table (also 2 person) order all 3 kinds of desserts. Darn if I know can order all 3 I would have done so too. Argh… anyway we had the mango pudding. Eh damn good too.

Kow Yoke With Taro / Pau

For those who are looking for Kow Yoke, these two recipes are from Y3K. However I haven’t tried it myself yet but I hope you guys will love it.



Kow Yoke With Taro

Ingredients:
600g belly pork
600g taro, cut into thick slices
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 stem spring inions (white part)

Seasoning:
½ tbsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp chicken stock granules
1 cube nam yee / red fermented beancurd
2 tsp sesame oil
Dash of pepper
600 ml water

Thicken: (mix together)
½ tbsp tapioca flour
1 tbsp water

Method:
1. Parboil belly pork in boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove wash well and pat dry.
2. Heat up two rice bowls of oil. Deep-fry the belly pork (step 1) till light golden. Remove, rinses under tap water to wash off oil.
3. Deep fry taro slices till golden. Remove and drain well.
4. Heat up a clean wok with a spoon of oil. Sauté garlic, add in seasoning and water. let it come to a boil. Add in pork and braise for 10 minutes. Remove, slice pork into pieces.
5. Place a piece of pork slice and sandwich with a piece of fried taro. Alternate in this manner in a deep bowl.
6. Thicken the gravy (step 4) and pour over (step 5).
7. Steam the bowl of (step 5) in a wok for two hours to soften contents.



Kow Yoke Served Wit Paus

Ingredents:
400g belly pork (approx 8 x 4)
6 pips garlice
4 stem spring onion (use only white part)
1 liters of water
Lotus leaf shaped paus

Sesoning:
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp salt
80g rock sugar
1 cube of nan yee / red fermented beancurd
¼ tsp pepper
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
¼ tsp five spice powder

Thickening:
1 tsp tapioca flour
1 tbsp water

Method:
1. Parboil belly pork in half wok of boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove and cut each pieces to a chunk of 1cm. Marinate meat with nam yee for 25 minutes.
2. Heat up a wok with a tablespoon of oil. sauté garlic and spring onion. Add in seasoning and meat of (step 1). Pour in water and cook.
3. When (step 2) come to a quick boil, turn heat to low. Cook till meat is soft. Taste and thicken. Turn off heat.
4. Steam hot paus in a steaming basket. Sandwich pau with a piece of braised meat and topped in some coriander leaves.

Jin Dui (Sesame Glutinous Ball)

Made Jin Dui (Sesame Glutinous Ball) today. Using Florence’s recipe. Thanks for sharing Florence! Very nice but too oily I guess my cooking method goes wrong. I wonder why mine Jin Dui doesn’t puff up nicely like hers. Eh never mind it will look better the next time. LOL




Jin Dui (Sesame Glutinous Ball)

Ingredients:
75g glutinous rice flour
75ml water
25g sugar
sesame seeds

Method:
1. Put water and sugar in a saucepan and cook till sugar dissolved. Leave aside to cool.
2. Pour cooled sugar solution into glutinous rice flour and knead till a piable dough is formed.
3. Divide dough into 8 equal portions of about 20g - 22g each.
4. Damp your palms and shape the dough pieces round and coat it with sesame seeds.
5. Heat a wok with sufficient oil until oil is about 70% hot.
Turn off the heat and slide in the dumplings. Once the dumplings start to float,
turn on the heat again and flatten the dumplings constantly with a ladle.
6. Deep fry until dumplings are crispy and golden in colour. Drain well and serve hot.

Cheddar Cream Cheese Cake

Baked Cheddar Cream Cheese Cake yesterday. Using Alex Goh’s updated Cheddar Cheese Loaf recipe in his Fantastic Cheesecake cookbook. In his Fanatics Cheesecake, he re-named it as Butter Cream Cheese Loaf.

And why am call it Cheddar Cream Cheese “Cake” instead of “Loaf”? Cause I’m using a round cake tin instead of a rectangle cake tin! LOL *bo liao* I guess the 7” cake tin I use it too small as the cake seems to be too high. And the side of the cake is over bake and the center of the cake is still “wet”.





Cheddar Cream Cheese Cake

Ingredients:
(A)
250g butter
220g sugar
150g cream cheese

(B)
4 eggs

(C)
80g cheddar cheese, granted

(D)
50g milk

(E)
200g flour
50g corn flour/starch
1 tsp baking powder

Method:
1. Cream (A) until light and fluffy. Add (B) and cream until light and smooth.
2. Add (C) and mix until well combined.
3. Sieve (E) together. Add part of (D) and then part of sieved (E) alternately with stirring in between each addition. Mix until well incorporated.
4. Pour into greased and line loaf tin. Sprinkle more granted cheddar cheese on top. Bake at 180C for 50 minutes or until it cooked.

Note:
I had use a 7” round cake tin, which seems too small. I guess a 8” or 9” would be ideal.

Asian Delights By Betty Saw

Jingle, she went to the book fair at Singapore Expo last few days ago. She bought me this Asian Delights by Betty Saw. There are 250 recipes for only 10 buck! Aiseh, really cheap!

Supposedly meeting Jingle next week and collect the cookbook from her. Itchy mouth, asked her what’s the contents is. The contents make me real excited supposedly meeting Jingle next Monday to collect the cookbook from her. But then I was so eager eh can’t wait and I gone down to collected the cookbook from Jingle. LOL

Okay back to the list of recipes let see what it has. Chinese snacks, Dim Sum, Malay Delights, Kuih Muih, Indian Fare, Sugar and Spice, Cake and Bakes, Cookies, Buns & Pastries, Jelly and Miscellaneous. LOL excited?

First published in 1989 and reprinted 1992, 1994, 1997 and 2001. Hmm... 1989 sounds old huh? Who cares, definitely not me. Heehee

Jingle, she so sweet to shares and shows me what she had learnt in the CC. She printed the recipes and noted down the notes and makes it into a book. And she carries it to the MRT station to show me!!! Sweet right? Thanks Jingle for all the works. ^^

Joshua’s (Gan55) 2005 Version Pineapple Tart

Pretty busy lately haven’t been logging into my blog. I didn’t know Evelyn she had tagged me for Meme “You Are What You Eat” I just found out last 2 – 3 days ago. Let me see hmmm... I could accomplish it? No idea yet. LOL :P

I had baked some Pineapple Tarts last few days ago. Using Joshua’s (gan55) 2005 version Pineapple Tarts. The pastries are very soft and it melts in mouth and it has a very good buttery aroma too. DH thinks the tarts taste better with “clove” on it.





Pineapple Tarts 2005 Version
Credit By Joshua (gan55)

Ingredients:
250g golden churn butter
170g cream (I'm using fresh dairy cream, UHT will also do)
75g caster sugar
400g Top flour or Cake flour
30g Corn flour
50g cream cheese
3 egg yolks
1 additional egg yolk + 1 tsp caster sugar (for glazing)

Method:
1. Sift Top flour and corn flour together
2. Using a cake mixer, blend the cream, butter, cream cheese and sugar together till you get a creamy mixture. (10 minutes on speed 2)
3. Add the 3 egg yolks and sifted flour into the creamed butter mixture.
using the cake mixer's dough mixer, mix till it becomes a smooth dough that is oily enough to not stick to your hand
4. Allow the dough to stand for 10 minutes. (Chilling helps if you are making the pineapple on top kind)
5. Divide dough into small balls and the pineapple filling into balls roughly 1/2 the size of the dough.
6. Wrap filling ball with dough ball and shape as desired. Glaze with the glazing mix.
7. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes in a oven. (If using convection oven with turbo fan, lower temperature to 160 degrees Celsius)
8. Remove from oven and re-glaze again before baking for another 5 minutes till golden brown on top.

Pineapple Filling:
4 pineapples
9 cloves
Caster sugar

Method:
1. Peel the pineapple.
2. Grate the pineapple using a grater or using a juicer (grater better)
3. Squeeze out the juice from the grated pineapple fiber.
4. In a frying pan, put the pineapple fiber and heat using low flame.
5. Add cloves and fry till water has dried up halfway.
6. Add sugar to taste. (Amount depending on how sweet pineapple was originally and how sweet u want filling to be)
7. Continue frying till filling starts to dry and turns golden in colour (about 1 hr later)

Note: While frying, you have to stir continuously and remember to keep the flame small. It’s easier to add sugar by dissolving it in some of the unwanted pineapple juice and adding this to the grated pineapple.

Note By Me:
1. Okay I cheat I used ready-made pineapple filling.
2. As for melts in mouth pastries: after mixing all the ingredients, try not to knead the dough too much.
3. I had omitted the sugar, cause I’m using ready-made pineapple filling, as they are usually very sweet.