I'm Back, with Matcha and Cocoa Snowballs!

It's been a month. A month since school started, meaning a long lonely month without any baking done. I miss my spatula dearly. I miss carefully weighing out ingredients. I miss the familiar 'ding' sound the oven makes when the baking time is over. I miss taking photos of the end product and then munching it away with satisfaction.

Being a Year 13 student is not easy, the work just comes crashing on us like waves and never stops. Even baking has to step aside as I prioritise university applications, personal statements, tests and internal assessments first.

The list is endless.


But thankfully, I finally got the chance to breathe, take a break and bake something last week. My friend C., whom I've known since kindergarten, keeps on reminding me during our French lessons to bake and update my blog. She's one of the few people that reads my blog (she even showed her mum!), and it's always nice to know that other people appreciate what I do. So a shout out here to C. - Thank you for all the encouragement! :D

The name of these little treats might be a little confusing - the snowballs, in fact are just matcha and cocoa cookies dusted in icing sugar, so they resemble snowballs. But texture wise, they resemble snow too - because they melt in your mouth. They are so addictive it's hard not to pop these small little cookies into your mouth one by one until they're all gone!


They are incredibly easy to make, and I really enjoyed making them as I weighed the dough out equally and rolled them in my palms until each was a perfect sphere. Unfortunately, maybe the oven temperature was not correct or maybe because I didn't chill the dough overnight, they flattened out a bit so they are more like, snow domes. The dough is quite versatile too - I'd imagine that the matcha and cocoa powder can be swapped with espresso powder to create a coffee flavour.


Once they were properly cool and well dusted with icing sugar, I packaged them into small plastic bags as (extremely belated) birthday gifts - one for C., and the other for A., whom I chat to every single Biology lesson. So, Happy 17th to those girls!

Right, so back to work for now. I hope that I'll get to do some more baking soon!

Matcha and Cocoa Snowball Cookies
Adapted from Vanlily Sweetie Life (original recipe in Chinese)

Makes 25-30 (both flavours combined)

90g Butter, at room temperature
Pinch salt
30g Icing sugar
50g Ground almonds
100g Cake flour
6g Matcha powder
10g Cocoa powder
Icing sugar, for dusting

1. Using a wooden spoon, beat the softened butter and icing sugar until well combined.
2. Sift in the ground almonds and cake flour, mix well.
3. Spilt the dough in half. Gently knead the matcha powder into one portion, and the cocoa powder into the other portion.
4. Wrap the two doughs separately with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes. (original recipe says to chill overnight)
5. Preheat oven to 170 C.
6. Working with one dough at a time, take 10g of dough and shape into balls. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat until all the dough is shaped.
7. Bake for 15-30 minutes until lightly coloured.
8. Let cool for a while, and transfer them to a cooling rack. Whilst the cookies are still warm, dust them with icing sugar.
9. When thoroughly cool, dust again with icing sugar and store in an airtight container.

Matcha Shortbreads + 7 Things

I'm back to school! Year 13, my last year of high school. We started school on Friday (strange, eh?) and on Thursday I was so sick of writing my extended essay I decided to ditch it and went to bake instead. I think I definitely deserved that baking session because I was working non-stop for the last week already!


I digress. Back to these shortbreads, these wonderful shortbreads. I know that they were all the rage around two years ago amongst many food bloggers, and I am the extremely untrendy latecomer that chose to bake these two years later on a whim. But I'm glad I did, because after the first bite, the recipe went straight to my keepers list. And of course I'm talking about the famous Kelli's Green Tea Sweets!

They are buttery and crumbly, and the green tea flavour was prominent enough to be noticed, but not overpowering that the whole thing tastes bitter. And the texture is lovely too - delicate and melt-in your mouth, but surprisingly both the dough and baked cookie held up really well. The shade of green came out perfectly - I thought that the matcha might have lost its colour after baking - I think the colour is very pretty! Along with the teeny crunch from the granulated sugar, it's currently ranking high in my favourite cookie list.

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I also recieved the 'Kreativ Blogger' award from 17 and Baking (another teenage baker - yay!). Thanks Elissa!

I'm supposed to write 7 things about myself...

1. I'm planning to study Biochemistry. Yeah, that's what I want to study at uni. Wish my luck in my uni applications (which are starting like....now!) - I am currently working through my personal statement.

2. I wish I could write better. I wish I was able to write more enticing posts, describe food better, but unfortunately, writing is not my forte at all!

3. I have a younger sister. Her name is Venus, and she eats alot of the stuff I make. We laugh at silly things together.

4. The thing I really hate in the world now is IB. Yes, I cannot express my hatred for this thing enough. The workload is so high it's incomprehensible. Normally on a school day, I sleep at 12 at the earliest, and the worst so far - I've stayed up until 3am, working.

5. I'm a Scout! Yep, I am currently a member of my Venture Scout troop, in a Scouts group I've been at since I was 10. I really love camping, because it's just so relaxing and fun when you go crazy with your friends in the middle of nowhere.

6. I really, really, really want to learn how to make macarons. I've only had 3 macarons before in my whole life, and I want to try making them. Unfortunately, after years of thinking 'I'll make it during the holidays' I still haven't gotten round to making them. - Sigh -

7. I love The Pioneer Woman. Pioneer Woman Cooks! was the first food blog I read, I still remember that the post was the Chocolate Sheet cake. Now, I read all the sections of her site, and I secretly wish I can live at a her ranch too.

Aaaand, I'm passing this along to Happy Home Baker, Florence of Do What I Like, Elyn of e's joie and Doreen of Desserts. Yum.
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Have you tried these matcha shorbreads yet? If not, I think you should go make them now!
Alright, I'm going back to work - I'll try to squish in a few posts about some of my other bakes/makes from summer soon!

Matcha Shortbreads
From Lovescool

3/4 cup (2.25 oz; 90g) Confectioners sugar
5 oz (142g) Unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 3/4 cup (8.5 oz; 219g) All-purpose flour (I used cake flour because I ran out of All purpose)
3 Large egg yolks
1.5 TBS Matcha (powdered green tea)
1 cup (200g) Granulated sugar (for coating)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (175 C). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. Whisk the confectioner’s sugar and green tea together in a bowl. Add the butter and green tea/sugar mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix until smooth and light in color.
3. Add the flour and mix until well combined.
4. Add the egg yolks and mix just until the eggs are fully incorporated and a mass forms.
5. Form the dough into a disk and chill in the refrigerator until firm (about 30 minutes).
6. Roll the dough out to ½” (around 1cm) thickness.
7. Cut the dough with a leaf cookie cutter.
8. Toss each cut cookie in a bowl of granulated sugar to coat.
9. Place the sugar-coated cookie on a parchment lined pan. Bake at 350F (175 C) for 12-15 minutes, or until slightly golden around the edges.

Chocolate Espresso Mousse Cake

This cake was made for a dear friend, that I've known since I was 10. I got to know her in Scouts. We see each other once a week, hangout on Saturday afternoons before our weekly Scout meeting, experienced hikes and camps together and it's been the same for 7 years! And, a few weeks ago it was her 18th birthday.


We just hanged out at her house with our normal group of friends, played some crazy twister and the UNO stacking tower, where the losers had to pick out a punishment from a bag. One of them involved kissing a plant, and I won't mention the crazier and disgusting ones here! We cut the cake at midnight, left a few slices for her parents and polished off the remaining next morning.


The recipe is from Tartlette, but I made a few modifications and additions to it. This chocolate cake is really a keeper, because it's moist and chocolaty, but also with a lovely soft texture that's not too dense. It would work really well with many other cakes. Maybe it's just the clumsy me, but I think its a bit fragile because I always tend to break it a bit when handling it! I brushed on some simple syrup spiked with rum to keep it moist because I made the cake layers one day in advance before assembling it.

The mousse is really nice too, albeit a bit rich for our palates. I think I'd cut down on the butter next time. However, it is again simple to make - no need to whip any egg whites and such. It also had a great silky and airy texture that accompanied the cake well. Because I was really scared that the mousse would melt or something in the sweltering heat whilst I was transporting it, I added some gelatine to set it a bit. I added some Varlhona crunchy perles for a bit of contrast, and a simple chocolate ganache glaze to top everything off.


And sorry for the lack of posts recently - in less than two weeks time I'm back at school, and I've got way too much stuff I haven't done. In fact, I'm writing this at the Central Libary right now, where I'm supposed to be working hard on my EE. (Hi Peter!)

Anyhow, I have been baking and making things - so I will eventually get around to posting those, so more will be coming soon!

Chocolate Espresso Mousse Cake
adapted from Tartlette

Serves 12

Cake:
1 stick (113gr) butter
1 cup (200gr) sugar
1/2 cup (45gr) natural cocoa powder
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups (185gr) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon (5gr) baking powder
1 teaspoon (5gr) espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon (2.5gr) baking soda
1 cup (250ml) warm water

Preheat oven to 325F. Butter two 8-inch round baking pans, sprinkle some flour into the pans, shake it around and tap the excess off. Line the bottoms with two 8 inch circles of parchment paper. Set aside.
In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugar until light and creamy. On low speed, add the cocoa and mix until incorporated. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape the bowl with a spatula to make sure they are properly mixed in. Add the flour, baking powder, espresso powder and baking soda and mix on medium-low speed while slowly adding the warm water and mix until smooth. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool to room temperature and unmold the cakes.

Soaking syrup:
15g sugar
15g water
1 tsp rum

Heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Let cool, stir in the rum and set aside.

Mousse:
6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup (62.5ml) whole milk
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1/2 stick (55gr) butter
1 egg yolk
1 cup (250ml) heavy cream, cold
1 tbsp kahlua
8g gelatine powder
15g water
30g Varlhona crunchy perles (optional)

In a bowl set over a pan of simmering water (make sure that the bowl fits snuggly over the pan and does not touch the water), melt together the chocolate, milk, espresso powder and butter. Remove from the heat and let cool to lukewarm. Meanwhile, sprinkle the gelatine over the water in a small bowl and let it bloom. Heat the bowl in a microwave for 10 seconds to liquefy the gelatine, stir until gelatine is dissolved. Whisk in the egg yolk, kahlua and cool gelatine mixture. In a mixer, whip the cream to medium peaks and fold it into the chocolate mixture. Lightly fold in the crunchy perles.
Ganache glaze:
70g semisweet chocolate, chopped
100g heavy cream
5g butter

Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Scald the cream and immediately pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit alone for 30 seconds, then stir until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the butter.

Assembly:
Prepare an 8-inch mousse ring (I don't have a mousse ring so I used a pan with a removable bottom). Place a cake layer on the bottom and soak the surface with the soaking syrup. Pour in the mousse and let it set for 10 minutes or so in the refridgerator. Soak both sides of the second layer with syrup and place it on the mousse. Pour over the ganache glaze and let the whole cake set, for at least 2-3 hours. Decorate as desired.

- I've actually made this cake before way way back in March for another friend. Last time, I added a crispy chocolate feuilltine layer to the mousse to add some extra texture, so you might want to add that if you make this cake.

Corn, of the Popped Variety

I'm not a huge fan of popcorn. I don't buy it at the movies, because I think it's always just slightly warm, and the freezing air conditioning in cinemas the cools the whole tub of popcorn before the movie even starts. And I believe that popcorn must be eaten fresh and hot, when the caramel is still slightly soft.


Now, but this popcorn - it's the real good stuff. Freshly popped. Nice, warm and crunchy. Just sweet enough so it's not cloying, with a sprinkling of salt to add an extra something to your taste buds. Lightly coated with butter to make it even more tempting to gobble up the whole bowl.

(Random point: Hmm my fingers look really dark here. And short. And stubby...)

And, it takes less than 10 minutes to whip up. (But it also disappears in 10 minutes.)

I think I've found the perfect homemade snack for homework sessions. Heck, it's so good and easy to make, I might actually pop my own corn for the movies!

Homemade Popcorn
Adapted from Joy the Baker

1/2 cup popcorn
1/8 cup vegetable or grapeseed oil
Knob of butter
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt (adjust according to your own taste)

1. Heat oil and butter in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Make sure that it’s a pan that you can easily lift and shake in the air. Yea… you’ll also want to have two pot holders on hand.
2. Once the oil is hot, pour in the popcorn, sprinkle sugar on top and cover.
3. It will take a few minutes for the first pops, but once the popcorn starts popping, shake continuously until the popcorn is popped. This means that, once the popcorn really starts going, you’ll want to grab the pot with your pot holders, securing the lid, and shake the pot above the flame of the stove for a few seconds, return to the heat, and repeat this process several times throughout the popping process. This will prevent the popcorn from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning.
4. Transfer to a serving bowl and salt lightly. Mix with a big spoon. The sugar will still be hot, and the popcorn may be sticky. Don’t burn your hands on hot sugar. The popcorn will dry as it cools. Makes 8-10 cups.

Ice Cream Dorayaki

Wow. It's been three weeks since I've updated My Buttery Fingers! Although it's summer, I haven't been baking much. Here are some excuses: It's too hot. I have too much school work to do - EE, university applications, homework, revision and more revision. And work experience (for me, that's two weeks at a lab. It's really fun though!)

I might have not been in the mood to bake, but I was definitely in the mood for ice cream. More ice cream, I should say - but that's the only thing I've been churning out, so I apologise for the bombardment of posts about ice cream on my blog! But again, everyone screams for ice cream...right?


But this post isn't just about ice cream. It's about a twist on Dorayaki, a Japanese snack which is basically two pancakes sandwiched with a slather of red bean paste (anko). Here, its been transformed to an ice cream sandwich of some sorts - I've made Dorayaki filled with Matcha (green tea) and Red Bean Ice Cream.

Matcha ice cream is already a family favourite after making it a few times last summer. It's really refreshing, and the subtle bitter aftertaste is a great match with the creamy base, making it popular with the adults too.

Red bean, however, was a new attempt. And I was glad I made that attempt, because the ice cream is SO GOOD. I understand that beans in ice cream may not be something everyone would like, but please please please let me tell you about it: it's creamy, it has a great texture with the soft beans contrasting with the smooth, red bean infused ice cream base, and the rich milky flavour is just the perfect match with the mild sweetness of the red beans.


The fluffy and fragrant little pancakes are also great with the ice cream. I think the final product looks really cute! Maybe I'll try making mini ones next time. These can be made ahead so they are ready when you are craving for a refreshing afternoon snack or dessert - just wrap them individually in cling film and store in the freezer. I'm sure that other Japanese ice cream flavours would be a great pairing too - black sugar, tofu or black sesame.

But of course, the ice creams are also wonderful eaten on its own. A quote from FoodWishes.com:
"Stop Screaming for Ice Cream and Start Making Some." Enjoy! :D


Matcha (green tea) Ice Cream
Adapted from Ice Cream Book, by Junko Fukuda (original recipe in Chinese)

3tbsp Matcha powder
150ml Milk
2 Egg yolks
70g + 3tbsp sugar (measure separately)
120ml Whipping cream

1. In a small bowl, whisk together 3 tbsp of sugar with the matcha powder until smooth.
2. In a separate large bowl, whisk together 70g sugar and the egg yolks until pale yellow.
3. Heat the milk in a small saucepan until just about to boil.
4. Mix the yolks and the milk, adding the milk in small portions (so you don't end up with scrambled eggs!)
5. Pour the rest of the mixture (the custard) back into the pan. Heat the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens - it should coat the back of a wooden spoon.
6. Take a few tbsp of the custard and mix it with the matcha-sugar mixture. Dissolve it into the rest of the custard base. Strain the custard.
7. Place the bowl over an ice bath to cool, stirring occasionally. Chill the mixture until thoroughly cold.
8. Mix the cream into the cold ice cream mixture.
9. Churn the ice cream in an ice cream maker, for around 20 minutes (time may differ according to your machine).
10. Transfer to an air tight container and chill until ice cream sets.

Red Bean Ice Cream
Adapted from Ice Cream Book, by Junko Fukuda (original recipe in Chinese)

100ml Milk
2 Egg yolks
55g sugar
150g Red bean paste (anko) (tsubushian - the type that still has some whole beans in it)
150ml Whipping cream

1. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and egg yolks until pale yellow.
2. Heat the milk in a small saucepan until just about to boil.
3. Mix the yolks and the milk, adding the milk in small portions (so you don't end up with scrambled eggs!)
4. Pour the rest of the mixture (the custard) back into the pan. Heat the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens - it should coat the back of a wooden spoon.
5. Strain the custard. Place the red bean paste in a large bowl, and mix in the custard.
7. Place the bowl over an ice bath to cool, stirring occasionally. Chill the mixture until thoroughly cold.
8. Mix the cream into the cold ice cream mixture.
9. Churn the ice cream in an ice cream maker, for around 20 minutes (time may differ according to your machine).
10. Transfer to an air tight container and chill until ice cream sets.

Ice Cream Dorayaki
Adapted from Ice Cream Book, by Junko Fukuda (original recipe in Chinese)

Makes 10 pancakes/5 sanwiches
2 eggs
80g sugar
1tbsp honey
2tbsp water
100g cake flour
1/2tsp baking powder
Oil for greasing pan (something mild like vegetable oil, NOT butter - it think it's too rich)
Ice cream of your choice

1. Beat eggs and sugar together until pale in colour. Mix in the honey and water.
2. Sift in the flour and baking powder, mix together gently until no lumps remain.
3. Chill mixture for one hour.
4. Before frying the pancakes, mix the batter thoughrougly again. Have a wet cotton towel ready. Heat a non stick frying pan over medium heat and brush on a thin layer of oil. Remove the pan from heat and place on the wet towel to cool down the pan.
5. Using a ladle or measuring cup, pour in some batter to form a 10cm circle. Put on a lid, and cook the pancake over extreme low heat.
6. When bubbles appear on the pancake, flip it and cook until slightly brown. Cool on a wire rack. Repeat with rest of the batter.
7. Leave the ice cream to soften for a bit. Sandwich the ice cream in between two pancakes of similar size and shape, shaping it with your hand to even out the ice cream. Freeze again to harden the ice cream.
8. If not consuming immediately, wrap each dorayaki individually in plastic wrap and store in freezer.