Rainbow Swiss Roll

It's pretty. It's easy to make. it's butter-less. It's oil-less. Only 3 ingredients needed for the batter! Eggs, sugar and flour. Of course it's aside from the colors used :)
A good choice to make rainbow cake which is not so troublesome and not feel too guilty indulging in :)

Okay, this is not the best in texture. But it's not bad, either. It's pretty good, in fact. And it's delicious! It's soft and fluffy even though a little too chewy to my liking. Nonetheless, my family enjoyed this cake so much

 

 

Recipe is from Cathy's Joy

What you need:

60g egg yolks, lightly beaten
120g egg whites
80g plain flour, sifted
80g caster sugar

Filling:
I used buttercream

Method:

1. Beat egg whites til foamy. Add in sugar gradually til egg whites is nearly stiff peak
2. Scoop about 3 heaped tbsp of egg whites and mix with egg yolks
3. Pour back into the egg mixture. Add in sifted flour and gently fold in til evenly mixed
4. Divide batter into 6 in separate bowls and color accordingly
5. Spoon or pipe them into lined baking tray. Bake in preheated oven of 180degC for 15 minutes
6. Let cool and spread buttercream. Roll tight

 

 

I'm submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #40: Rainbow and Ombre Party! (March 2014) hosted by Cynthia of The Baking Biatch

It's a pity that this will be the last month of Aspiring Bakers events. It's been a fruitful 3 over years. I've been so much inspired by the wonderful creations from all the participants each month. My big tank you to Small Small Baker for the initiative :)

 

It's Korean & Thai Dishes In A Day

Yes. Today I had Korean green onion pancakes (Pajeon) for lunch and Thai fried chicken (Gai Thod) for dinner LOL

My lunch...

 

Recipe for this delicious savoury pancake - Korean Green Onion Pancake (Pajeon) -  can be found HERE

 

What you need:

 

For the pancake:

10 stalks green onion, cut into 5 inches long

1/2 cup plain flour

1/2 cup water

1 tsp salted soya bean paste

1/2 tsp sugar

3 tbsp vegetable oil

 

Method:

1. Mix plain flour, water, soya bean paste, and sugar in a bowl, mix well til smooth
2. Heat oil in a frying pan. Arrange green onion parallel to each other, in the shape of rectangle
3. Pour batter over the green onion evenly
4. While cooked, keep patting, press slightly and keep it in nice shape with spatula
5. A few minutes later, when the bottom turns crispy and golden brown, flip it
6. Cook another 1 minute and transfer to serving plate
7. Serve with dipping sauce

 

The dipping sauce...

 

Dipping sauce:

Mix 2 tbsp soya sauce, 1 tbsp vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, chopped shallot, chopped red chilli, chopped green onion (the green part), 1 tsp chopped garlic
(original recipe used roasted sesame seeds but I didn't use)

My dinner...

 

Recipe for this finger licking scrumptious, crispy yet succulent Thai Fried Chicken (Gai Thod) is from HERE

What you need: (modified)

600g chicken cut of your choice (I used chicken drumlettes)
3 coriander roots, cleaned and chopped
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp white pepper powder
1/2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp oyster sauce
dash of soya sauce
dash of fish sauce
3 tbsp water
1/4 cup rice flour

Method:

1. Blend pepper, garlic, coriander roots, salt to a paste
2. Mix the paste with the rest of the ingredients
3. Marinate chicken with the paste mixture, leave it overnight in the fridge
4. Deep fry chicken just before serving and serve immediately with homemade thai sweet chilli sauce

Thai sweet chilli sauce

Source: SheSimmers

 

What you need:

 

3 large garlic cloves, peeled

2 red chillis, desseded

1/4 cup vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

1/2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp cornflour

2 tbsp water

 

Method:

1. Puree garlic, chillis, vinegar, sugar, water and salt
2. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to medium and simmer until the mixture thickens up a bit and the garlic-pepper bits begin to soften, about 3 mins
3. Combine the cornflour and water. Whisk in the cornflour mixture and continue to simmer one more min. The cornflour will help the sauce to thicken slightly thereby causing nice suspension of the garlic-pepper bits, otherwise you get a thin sauce with all the little pieces floating on the surface
4. Let cool completely, store in a glass jar and refrigerate

The best way to eat the chicken...

 

Slurp! :)

 

My lunch is posted here for Aspiring Bakers #37:Korean-Feast of Hansik (Nov 2013) hosted by Grace of Life Can Be Simple

And my dinner is posted for  Asian Food Fest November 2013: Thailand hosted by Lena from Frozen Wings

Thai Lemongrass Tea - Nam Tak Rai (AFF Thailand) & Korean Sweet Pancakes with Brown Sugar Syrup Filling - Hotteok (AB)

Two in one post today :)
The drink is from Thailand. The snack is from Korea. Two different countries. But they go really well together :)


Thai Lemongrass Tea (Nam Tak Rai)

 

 

Really simple to make. Taste so good. And great for body, too :)

 

Recipe is from HERE

 

What you need:

(with some modification)

 

3 litre water

3 lemongrass (discard the root) - pound lightly

thumb size of old ginger - peel and pound lightly

honey rock sugar (as desired)

 

Method:

1. Bring all the ingredients to a boil (except rock sugar)
2. Simmer for 15 minutes
3. Add in rock sugar and simmer for another 5 minutes
4. Discard lemongrass and ginger
5. Serve hot

 

Now, the companion: Korean Sweet Pancakes

This popular street snack in Korea. Served hot and folded in a paper container, every bite will burst with melted brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. Chew it together with the chewy dough, it's just so yummy!

 

 

 

 

Recipe is from HERE

 

What you need:

 

1 cup lukewarm water

2 tbsp. sugar

2 tsp instant yeast

1 tbsp. oil

2 cups plain flour, plus 1/2 cup for kneading, filling and shaping

1/2 tsp salt

 

 

Filling:

(to mix well)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon powder

2 tbsp chopped walnut (I didn't use)

 

Method:

1. Mix lukewarm water, sugar, yeast and oil. Stir well
2. In another bowl, mix plain flour and salt
3. Add in the flour mixture into the yeast mixture, mix with rice scoop or hand (I used rice scoop)
4. Let the dough sit for an hour (I let it sit for I 1/2 hour), then knead for awhile to let the gas bubble out
5. Spread about 1/2 cup of plain flour on cutting board (this is a lot of flour, but it's necessary since the dough is real sticky)
6. Knead dough for awhile, cut into 8 equal sized balls
7. Flatten, put filling at the centre (about 1 heaped tbsp), seal to make a ball
8. Place on a heated non stick pan with about 2 tbsp of oil (medium fire)
9. Let cook for about 30 seconds til bottom turned light brown, turn over and press the dough with spatula til thin and wide (about the size of a CD). Let cook til golden brown at the bottom
10. Turn over again and turn heat very low. Cover pan and cook another 1 minute (to let the sugar filling melts)
11. Serve immediately

 

Note:

*This snack won't taste so nice after cooling down - in my opinion (DH didn't mind eating it cold LOL). The best is to serve it immediately

*This recipe makes 8 pancakes. I made 4 pancakes and I froze the other 4 dough balls (in separate plastic wrap). After thawing, it worked just as good as the first 4 pancakes I made :)

*Another great filling recommended is mozzarella cheese. I shall try it next time :)

 

 

The tea is for  Asian Food Fest November 2013: Thailand hosted by Lena from Frozen Wings

 The green strange-looking dog at the back is clay modelling done by Ian, and he's so proud of it he wanted me to use it as prop :)


And this yummy snack is for Aspiring Bakers #37:Korean-Feast of Hansik (Nov 2013) hosted by Grace of Life Can Be Simple

 

 

I just realized that this post is my 100th post for Aspiring Bakers :)

 

Milo Chocolate Chips Cookies

If you like crisp, crunchy and crumbly kind of cookies, you'll love these. If you love Milo, you'll love these even more :)
I myself is a die hard fan of soft chewy cookies, but I don't mind having them
They taste delicious and the taste developed even more after a few hours. Yum

Recipe is from Melly from Masakan Melly

What you need:

200g butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tsp chocolate emulco
2 1/2 cup self raising flour
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 cup milo

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170degC
2. Beat butter and sugar til creamy. Add in egg yolks and chocolate emulco
3. Add in flour in a few addition in low speed, followed by milo and chocolate chips
4. Drop a tbsp of dough each into lined baking sheets and bake for 18-20mins

Real easy, isn't it? :)
I made full recipe and I got 75 cookies!

 

 

I'm submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #36 Choc-a-Cookie (October 2013) hosted by Genie from Honeybee916 Food

 

Easy Flatbread Pizza (Ree Drummond)

The word 'easy' in a recipe always excites me
Hence my pick on this recipe by The Pioneer Woman
Thanks to Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids for choosing Ree Drummond as the star chef of this month. I always like Ree, but by end of this month, the word 'like' has turned to 'love' Now she's in my top favourite chefs list :)

Okay, now back to pizza :)

I wanted to use naan bread for this recipe - just like Ree, but DH was craving for wraps, so wrap it is, it made super flat bread pizza LOL

This is really delicious! My first vegetarian pizza. It's gonna be a routine topping for my pizza I am sure! :)

 

Even though this is great, but I think using naan bread would be better, at least I would taste some fluffy bread beneath those yummy cheesy roasted veggies...

What you need:

any flatbread you like
jarred marinara sauce (I used Prego mushroom tomato pasta sauce)
jarred pesto sauce (I used Leggo's)
roasted vegetables (I used sliced yellow capsicum, halved cherry tomatoes, sliced shitake mushroom and sliced Japanese cucumber)
sliced mozzarella (I used grated)
grated parmesan cheese (my addition)

Method:

1. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in the preheated oven of 230degC til well roasted
2. Spread bread with your preferred sauce (I made one with tomato pasta sauce and another one with pesto sauce)
3. Arrange sliced mozzarella on top (I sprinkled grated mozzarella)
4. Arrange roasted vegetables on top of the cheese
5. Sprinkle grated parmesan on top of the vegetables (my addition)
6. Bake for 15 minutes til cheese melted

Here's another version for my kids. They did not fancy vegetarian pizza haha...
I used tomato pasta sauce with sliced ham and button mushroom

I'm submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #35: A Palate for Pizza (September 2013) hosted by Joey of Little Accidents in the Kitchen

This post is also linked to Cook like a Star, organised by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, Yen from Eat your heart out and Mich from Piece of Cake

Rolled Chocolate Cream Puff with Custard Filling

Another way to make cream puff :)
Recipe is from Hestí's site

 

Rolling choux is officially not easy for me, hence the not so round roll LOL

 

 

 

What you need:

For the choux:
150g butter
120g plain flour
30g cocoa powder
250ml fresh milk
2 tbsp fine sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4 large eggs

For the filling:
200g sweet condensed milk
600ml water
3 tsp fine sugar (original recipe 6 tbsp but I found 3 tsp is enough)
35g corn flour
35g plain flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter

Method:

Choux:

1. Cook butter, milk, sugar and salt over medium low heat, stir continuously til boiling
2. Add in flour, stir vigorously til smooth. Off heat and let cool
3. Add in egg one by one, beat well each time
4. Scoop batter into piping bag, and pipe in lines on a lined baking sheet (give about half a cm gap)
5. Bake in preheated oven of 200degC for 20-25 minutes (do not open the oven door during baking)

Filling:

1. Bring all ingredients to the boil in a pot (except butter). Keep stirring throughout the process
2. After boiling, off heat. Add in butter and stir well
3. Let cool by covering the custard with cling wrap (do not leave space between the custard and the pot)

How to assemble:

1. After the choux cooled, flip and spread the filling on it
2. Roll just like when you make swiss roll using baking paper
3. Tighten and keep in the fridge for 30 minutes
4. Cut and serve

What I did with the remaining choux dough...

I'm submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #34: Choux Party (August 2013) hosted by Jasline of Foodie Baker

 

I'm also submitting this post to  Little Thumbs up (Egg) organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Yen from Eat your heart out, at this post

 

 

 

 

A friendly reminder:

The giveaway is now opened. Closing date is 5 September 2013

Please view HERE for details :)

Durian Pengat

I LOVE DURIAN! And so is my family (except my kids)

I remember, long time ago when I was still teenager, my dad bought a lot of durian we had a feast and I had too much till all came out at the end of everything! And the best part is, the next day I still craved for more LOL

Another time, recently somewhere in 2011, I had quite a lot of durian and I ended up with a very severe throat inflammation I had high fever for 4 days! And it's really high, between 38.5 to 39.8 consistenly!

Still, I love durian :)
But since the throat inflammation incident, I somehow feel that my throat is more sensitive to any heaty stuff, in particular durian! :(

So, when Aspiring Bakers announced the theme for this month, Tropical Spiky Month, hosted by Mimi from MiMi Bakery House, I was like.. oh dear, hopefully I can contribute at least one, cos for me, it's impossible to make without eating them LOL Yeah...greedy me :))

I wanted to bake durian mousse cake, durian crepes, durian cream puff, durian cendol, durian egg tart, durian ice cream, oh to name just a few!
But in the end, I only can choose one, and I chose durian pengat, the simplest of all LOL
Also out of my curiousity at the same time, to taste how good this is

Oh my, this is heaven!
One scoop and that's it - you just can't stop! Especially when it's chilled!

The taste is not as plain as it looks, trust me!

Recipe is from Edith from Precious Moments. Thank you for this great recipe!

What you need:

175g durian puree
175g durian pulp
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup fresh milk
80g palm sugar (shaved)
4 pandan leaves, knotted

Method:

1. Put milk, palm sugar and pandan leaves in a pot, simmer til sugar melted
2. Add durian pulp and durian puree and simmer gently for 15 minutes
3. Put in 1/2 cup coconut milk
4. When mixture boils, add in the remaining coconut milk and bring back to boil
5. Serve chilled

This post is for Aspiring Bakers #33 (July 2013) - Tropical Spiky Month hosted by Charmaine of MiMi Bakery House

 

 

Oh btw, true enough, I did have sore throat after eating this dessert, and now sore throat is gone and turned to cough >.<

This dessert is too good to miss out!

I guess my throat has zero tolerance towards durian now :(

 

 

Steamed Buns with Pork & Salted Egg Filling

Another recipe I tried using straight dough method
The result was similar to my first baos, soft but didn't stay soft the next day and it had chewy texture. And somehow I couldn't get smooth looking skin this time, not sure why
I used pork and salted egg filling. It's yummy but I found the pork is a little too dry

Recipe for pork filling:

What you need:

300g pork loin, pounded with meat tenderizer and then slice thinly
7 cloves of garlic, minced
vegetable oil, water, dark sweet soya sauce, salt, pepper

Method:
Heat oil in a pan, sautee minced garlic til fragrant
Add in pork, and stir fry til cooked
Add in water, dark sweet soya sauce, simmer over low heat til the meat is soft (I simmered for an hour til the water only a little bit left)
Adjust the taste with salt and pepper, mix well

Note:
I reckon that I should have added some thickening sauce into the pork mixture to get a more moist filling

Additional for filling: salted egg yolk, cut each egg into 8

Recipe for bao skin is from Vivian Pang Kitchen

What you need:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup low protein flour

(I used 3 cups Hong Kong flour)

2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp instant yeast
190 ml water

1/2 tsp double acting baking powder
1 tbsp water

Method:

1. I used bread maker to knead the dough
2. Pour water followed by Hong Kong flour, sugar and yeast into the bread maker pan
3. Let it knead for 30 minutes
4. Take the dough out of the pan and let it proof in slightly oiled bowl til doubled in size about 1 hour
5. Punch the dough on lightly floured surface and knead for awhile to release air bubbles
6. Mix double acting baking powder with water and stir til bubbles
7. Flatten the dough and pour baking powder mixture on it, knead for awhile
8. Divide dough, each 40g (I got 11 pieces)
9. Flatten each dough and spoon pork filling and place 1/8 piece of salted egg at the centre
10. Shape oval (I did seal down, my mum did seal up LOL), place on square banana leaves
11. Leave to proof for another half an hour
12. Place in a steamer (make sure the water is already boiling) and steam for 15 minutes

 

 

 

 

This post is for Aspiring Bakers #31 Bao Ho-Chiak (May 2013) hosted by Miss B of Everybody Eats Well in Flanders

  

 

Chocolate & Cheese Steamed Buns - My First Baos

Finally I did my first steamed buns
I love eating them, but somehow I haven't made them myself, even when I have a long list of steamed bun recipes waiting LOL
For this, I must thank Aspiring Bakers event this month which encourages home bakers to give a try to make homemade steamed buns.
I thought I would miss it, luckily I did not. So happy, especially after I missed two of the earlier Aspiring Bakers recently in February and April this year :)

So many recipes I was confused which one to try first
I decided on straight dough method by Happy Home Baking
Why the filling choice? Just my curiosity. I have never tasted steamed buns with chocolate or cheese. I saw many of my Indonesian home bakers friends make them. I just wanted to know the taste. And I wasn't disappointed at all. Steamed buns with chocolate or cheese filling are not bad at all, in fact they're real good :)

I found the recipe for the steamed buns is pretty good, soft and fluffy, but somehow I and my family found the texture was a little more like bread. And they weren't so soft anymore the next day
I reckoned that I have over proofing the dough during the first proofing
It said to proof til doubled in size about an hour, but I did for 1 hour 45 minutes, cos I had to fetch my girl from school. When I saw the dough, it's about tripled in size :-|

What you need - straight dough method:
(makes 12)

300g Hong Kong pau flour

3g baking powder

3g instant yeast

30g caster sugar

160ml water

15g vegetable oil

enough chocolate chips and grated cheddar cheese for filling

Method:

1. Sieve Hong Kong pau flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add yeast, caster sugar and mix well
2. Pour in water and oil into the breadmaker pan, followed by the flour mixture. Let it knead for 45 minutes. You may continue to do the first proofing in the machine, but I took out and put the dough in lightly oiled bowl and proof til doubled in size (about an hour)
3. Punch down the dough and give a few light kneading to release the trapped air bubbles. Divide the dough into 12 portions (about 40g each). Roll each portion into a smooth round
4. Flatten each dough into a small disc with your palm, make the edges thinner and the centre portion thicker. Wrap each dough with 20g of filling. Pinch and seal the seams. Place dough seam side down on a square piece of banana leaf. Cover loosely with cling wrap and leave buns to proof for 25 minutes
5. Place buns in a steamer and space them apart so that they do not touch one another. Steam at medium to high heat for 15mins (make sure the water is already boiling before steaming). Remove immediately and serve warm. Keep any leftovers in fridge (covered with cling wrap or store in airtight containers) and re-steam till hot before serving

This post is for Aspiring Bakers #31 Bao Ho-Chiak (May 2013) hosted by Miss B of Everybody Eats Well in Flanders

 

Stewed Meatballs

Another simple dish from my mum which she got from her mum, my grandma :)

 

What you need:

For the meatballs:
200g minced pork
1 tbsp fried onion, processed til smooth
1 egg
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
dark sweet soya sauce (kecap manis)
salt, pepper to taste

For the soup:
3 cloves of garlic, minced
a little oil
dark sweet soya sauce (kecap manis)
salt, pepper to taste
a little sugar
a pot of water

Method:

Mix all ingredients for meatballs. Shape into balls. Set aside
Bring a pot of water to a boil
Heat oil in the non stick pan, sautee garlic til fragrant and pour into the boiling water
Add in meatballs one by one into the soup til all floating up
Add in seasonings and adjust the taste, simmer for about 15 minutes
Remove from heat

I love to eat this dish with a bowl of rice and sambal belachan (chilli paste with shrimp paste)


I'm submitting this post to:  Aspiring Bakers #29：Heirloom and Local Dialect Recipes 家传菜/ 籍贯菜 (March 2013 ) hosted by FHL of Faith Hope Love