Strawberry Strawberry Swiss Roll

Really awwww by this when my friend show me the link on how to bake this!! But I really do not like to make swiss roll, always got the phobia to roll it up >.< Not a perfect swiss roll, 'cos of the patchy surface . But should be able to bring a smile to my boy :D

Recipe adapted from 小本廚房實錄

Swiss Roll:

• 6 egg yolk
• 20gm castor sugar
• 60gm fresh milk
• 45gm corn oil
  
• 100gm cake flour
• 15gm cornflour (if anvailable, can be replaced with same amt of cake flour)
• 5.5 egg whites (abt 210gm)
  
• 70gm castor sugar

Strawberry Patterns Batter :

• 1/2 egg whites (20gm)
• 10gm castor sugar
• strawberry paste
• 1/4 tsp matcha powder
• 1/4 tsp cocoa powder

Filling :
200gm Whipped Non- Dairy Cream, Fresh Strawberries

Method

1. Whisk 6 egg yolks with 20gm sugar till sugar dissolves, stir in milk & corn oil.
2. Sift over cake flour & corn flour and stir till batter formed.
3. Scoop 30gm of the cake batter into a small bowl. Stir in strawberry paste to form red colour batter. Set aside.
4. In a clean dry bowl, whisk 20gm egg whites till foamy, beat in sugar gradually till stiff peak formed. Fold into the red colour cake batter. Transfer batter into a piping bag.
5. Line a swiss roll pan with baking paper, pipe small strawberry shapes onto the baking paper randomly. Bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 1.5mins. Remove from oven.
6. In a clean dry bowl, whisk the 210gm egg whites till foamy, add in the 70gm sugar gradually and beat till stiff peak formed. Fold the egg white form into the balance cake batter and mix evenly.
7. Pour the batter over the baked strawberry patterns and spread evenly to cover. Bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 12-13 mins till golden brown. Remove and cool on wire rack.
8. Transfer cake onto a clingwrap pattern facing down. Spread cream filling and strawberries slices over the unpatterned side. Roll up the cake and chill in fridge for 30mins.
9. Mix the matcha powder & cocoa powder with 1/2 tsp water each. Use a small brush, paint leaves using the matcha liquid & dot the seeds using the cocoa liquid.
   

雪梨雪耳清汤

Ingredient

• 250gm lean pork
• 10gm white fungus, softened
• 125gm carrots, sliced thinly
  
• 1 large chinese pear, cored and sliced thinly
• 2 tbsp chinese almonds
• 1 large honey date
• salt to taste

Method

1. Blanch pork in boiling water for 1 min. Drain away water.
2. Place pork, white fungus, carrots, chinese almonds & honey date in a pot with 2 liters water. Bring to boil and simmer for 1hr.
3. Add sliced chinese pear and simmer for another 30mins. Add salt to taste.
   

Baked Macaroni

Ingredients

• 2 cups dry, shelled macaroni, cooked and drained
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 300ml unsweetened soy milk
• 200ml water
  
• 25gm butter
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 200gm cherry tomatoes, halves
  

Method

1. Combine cornstarch, salt, mustard and pepper in medium saucepan. Stir in soymilk, water, and butter. Cook over medium-heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted. Add macaroni; mix well. Pour into prepared casserole dish.
   
2. Arrange cherry tomatoes, cut side up, over macaroni, top with remaining cheese.
3. Bake in preheated oven at 200 deg cel for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and light brown.

蒟蒻焖鸡块

My boy has been coughing for almost over 3 weeks! After seeing 2 rounds of western doctor still not really recover, sigh....so back to traditional chinese medicine! manage to see some improvement after 3 course of chinese herbs, hopefully can fully recover after another 4 packets of herb! Coughing for so long also affecting his appetite therefore this few weeks no fanciful cooking from me. This dish is actually done 2 months ago but lazy to post it up!! I adore this dish which I intend to cook it again! :D

Ingredient

• 1/2 chicken, chop
• 250gm konnyaku bean paste (蒟蒻)
• 6 dried shitake mushroom, soften
• 1 spring onion
• 3 slices ginger
• 1 red chilli, sliced
• 1/2 tbsp bean paste
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp chinese wine
• 1 tbsp dark soya sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
  
• 1 tbsp light soya sauce
• cornstarch water

Method

1. Marinate chicken pieces with 1 tbsp dark soya sauce & 1 tbsp chinese wine.
   
2. Slice konnyaku bean paste into 1cm thick. Blanch in boiling water for 1 min. Set aside.
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in pan, add ginger, bean paste & chilli. Fry till fragrant. Add mushroom and fry for another min.
4. Add in chicken and mix evenly and fry for 2 min. Add in water, chinese wine, sesame oil and soya sauce. Bring to boil. Simmer for 25mins till chicken is cooked through and liquid reduce. Add cornstarch water to thicken the gravy. Stir in spring onion.
   

Orange Chocolate Swirl Cake

Soft & moist orange & chocolate flavoured butter cake! these 2 flavours matched very well indeed! You see the deep yellow section of the cake? You must be thinking I've added a lot of yellow colouring to the batter! heee but is not! It is actually Turmeric Powder!! Initially I've added only 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder to the batter, I find it not deep enough therefore added another 1/2 tsp to it. No worries at all as it does not affect the taste of the cake , the orange flavour is still very distintive. So why not use turmeric powder as natural colouring instead of artificial food colouring in your bakes next time? :D

Ingredients

• 175gm butter
  
• 110gm sugar
  
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 175gm plain flour
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
  
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
• 2 tbsp soymilk
• 3 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tsp turmeric powder (optional)
  
• 1 orange zests

Method

1. Beat the sugar and butter together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Sift flour, baking powder & salt over and fold in gently.
2. Divide the mixture in half. Add the cocoa and milk to one half, stirring until well combined. Flavour the other half with the orange juice, turmeric powder (if using) and grated orange zests.
3. Place spoonfuls of each mixture into a lined 9" x 5" loaf panand swirl together with a skewer, to create a marbled effect. Bake in a preheated oven at 160 deg cel 35mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool in the tin for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Homemade Fruit Muesli

Ever try making fruit muesli yourself? fast & simple if you have all the ingredients readily available in the pantry! :D so very healthy breakfast!!

Ingredient

• 200gm rolled oats
• 30gm almonds
• 30gm walnuts
• 50gm raisins
• 50gm dried apricots, chopped*
• 50gm dried cranberries

Method

1. Placed rolled oats, almonds & walnuts in a baking pan and spread evenly. Toast at 130 deg cel for 15mins. Cool completely.
2. Chop almonds & walnuts coarsely.
3. Combine all ingredients and store in airtight container.
4. Serve with chilled milk or soy milk.

* Use a pair of scissors to cut into small pieces.

Oat Crunch

really full of crunch!! :)




Ingredient (30 cookies)

• 150gm plain flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 175gm rolled oats
• 125gm butter
• 90gm light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 tbsp water

Method

1. Sift plain flour & soda into a mixing bowl. Stir in rolled oats. Make a well in the center.
2. Place butter, sugar, golden syrup & water in a saucepan. Melt over low heat. Cool down slightly.
3. Pour the butter mixture into flour mixture. Stir to combine.
4. Scoop 1 tbsp batter and shape into round shape. Place on baking sheet and flatten slightly. Bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 16-18mins until golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack before storing.

Unusual Pasta Sauce!

Misadventure in the kitchen?! I'm actually preparing a normal pot of soup, but in the end turn out to be a pot of thick soup :D Since the texture is like tomato paste, I named it Papaya Pasta Sauce hahaha.... lucky the kids accept the taste very well and finished their bowl of pasta :D

Ingredient

• 1 papaya, peeled & deseeded
• 2 russet potatoes, peeled
• 1 large carrots, peeled
• 3 large tomatoes
• 250gm lean pork
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
• 1 tsp pepper
• salt to taste (optional)

Method

1. Cut papaya, potatoes, carrots & tomatoes into chunks.
2. Blanch lean pork in boiling water for 1 min. Drain away away.
3. Place all ingredient except salt with 2000ml water in a pot, bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 1.5hrs.
4. Add salt to taste. Can be served immediately or blend into smooth puree as thick soup (remove pork before puree).
   

Animal Shape Pasta for dear son served with fish dumpling (store bought) and enoki mushroom...

Brown Rice Star Pasta for dear daughter served with hard-boiled egg....

Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake

Been eyeing this recipe from Bakericious very long! :D Finally got the chance to bake this as I want to clear the balance cheese on hand :D Indeed very moist and sinful cheesecake! Luckily I use Splenda (substitute sweetener) to cut down the calories!!

Recipe modified from Bakericious
Ingredients (7" x 7" cake pan)

Mixture ‘A’

• 300gm cream cheese, softened
• 25gm Splenda Sugar Blend
• 1 egg
  

Method

1. Beat cream cheese with sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in egg until well incorporated and set it aside.
   

Mixture ‘B’

• 250gm butter, softened
• 100gm Splenda Sugar Blend
• 4 eggs
• 4 tbsp cocoa powder
• 160gm self-raising flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/4 tbsp soy milk
  

Method

1. Sieve flour, baking powder and cocoa together and put aside.
2. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add egg, one at a time and beat until well incorporated into mixture.
4. Fold flour mixture and soy milk alternatively into egg mixture.
5. To assemble, pour half of mixture ‘B’, then all of mixture ‘A’, then followed by the remaining mixture ‘B’.
6. Bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 45-50 min or until skewer comes out clean.

I am submitting this recipe to Aspiring Bakers #6: Say Cheese! (April 2011)

East meet West...

I never buy these sprouts before, they are always given by my mother-in-law! :D I do not really know how to cook this vegetable to make it tastier as it really got a very strong taste, either you love it or hate it! Yesterday night I sit in front my PC and search on information on these mini cabbage :D

Then I know that they are an autumn & winter vegetable cultivated in the European regions. They are packed with nutrients like Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Folic Acid & Dietary Fibre. They also contain sulforaphane, a chemical believed to have potent anti-cancer properties, similar to broccoli, another love-hate vegetable hahaha!! and the most informative discovery I've found out is that they only smell when OVERCOOKED!! Therefore I bear that in mind when I cook this batch of brussel sprouts. They also do not keep well in fridge, the most 2-3 days and will start to wilt and turn yellowish. I steamed the sprouts for 6mins and set aside some for cooking and the rest I store into the freezer for future use :)

Sprouts with Shitake Mushroom & Chinese Sausage

Ingredient

• 200gm brussel sprouts
• 50gm chinese sausage
• 5 pc dried shitake mushroom
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp light soya sauce
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  

Method

1. Soak shitake mushroom till soften. Retain liquid and slice.
   
2. Trim the sprouts and steam over boiling water for 6min. Cut into halves and set aside.
   
3. Blanch chinese sausage in boiling water for a min. Remove casing and slice thinly.
4. In a dry and clean pan (do not add oil), stir fry sausage until crisp and lightly brown. Remove from fire.
5. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in pan, add garlic & shitake mushroom, stir fry till fragrant.
6. Toss in brussel sprouts and chinese sausage, mix evenly. Drizzle in retained liquid and light soya sauce. Stir to combine. Remove from fire.
   

Steamed Radish Cake

Compare to the previous Radish Cake I've made previously, I actually prefer this current one. This present steamed radish cake uses 3 types of flour instead of only rice flour. The texture is soft but not sticky to the teeth :D Taste even wonder after pan-fried!!...

Ingredient

• 30gm dried shrimps
• 5pc dried shitake mushroom
  
• 100gm chinese sausages
• 5 shallots, peeled & sliced
• 550gm radish
• 850ml water
• 1 ikan bilis stock cube, non msg
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp pepper
• 200gm rice flour
• 35gm starch flour, 澄粉
• 55gm corn flour

Method

1. Soak dried shrimps & mushroom till soften and dice finely.
2. Blanched sausages in boiling water for 1min. Drain away water and remove the casing. Slice and dice finely.
3. Peel radish and shred coarsely.
   
4. Dissolve stock cube in 350ml boiling water. Set aside and cool completely.
5. Combine all the flour together, stir in stock liquid and seasoning.
6. Heat 1 tbsp spoon oil in wok. Add shallots, dried shrimps, mushroom & sausages. Fry till fragrant.
   
7. Add shredded radish and mix evenly. Add in 50oml and bring to boil.
   
8. Add in flour batter mixture and mix evenly (takes less than a min). The mixture will be sticky. Transfer mixture into a greased 7" x 7" pan and spread evenly.
   
9. Steamed over boiling water for 1 hour until fully set. Turn off heat and cool completely before slicing.
   

Steamed Cheese Cake

Not melt-in-mouth as Japanese Cheesecake, not as fluffy as normal sponge cake, texture almost like kuih kuih but yet not...me confuse also >.<...maybe I've got the steps wrong somewhere. The lemon juice should be added after mixing the cheese mixture with the beaten egg whites. But I act smart by adding during the process of beating the egg whites, resulting the egg whites not getting soft peak.

Ingredient

• 150ml milk
• 200gm cream cheese
• 60gm butter
• 60gm corn flour
• 60gm cake flour
• 4 eggs, separated
• 120gm sugar
• 30gm lemon juice

Method

1. Double boil milk, cream cheese & butter until dissolve. Set aside & cool.
2. Sift flour over cream cheese mixture and mix evenly. Stir in egg yolks.
3. In a clean & dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites until light & fluffy. Add in sugar gradually and beat till soft peaks form.
4. Fold 1/3 egg whites foam into #2, pour batter into balanced egg white foam and mix till fully combined. Stir in lemon juice.
5. Pour batter into a lined 7" cake pan and steamed over boiling water for 50mins on low heat till cook.
   

Aspiring Bakers #6: Say Cheese! (April 2011)

Pack with Love 2

Are most kids very stress nowadays? I do not remember I have spelling test in kindergarten 1!! Since the start of K1 Term 1, the school will give them spelling test every week of 7-8 words per test >o<...so besides coaching his homework, every week I've to nag him to study his spelling test which he usually do not cooperate with me...So everyday I will prepare nice snack box for him hopefully the good food will nourish his brain and make him smarter !! hahaha....

Chicken Curry

These few days the weather is so hot hot hot!! but still craving for spicy food hehehe ‘以毒攻毒'. Actually this is my first time cooking curry!! can't believe right? :D I want a simple & fast process, therefore I bought a pack of curry paste during one of my grocery shopping days..do not expect me to grind & cook the spices from scratch, simply do not have that energy & time! :D

But I do not follow exactly the cooking procedure on the package. The cooking instructions simply instruct to put all the ingredients and simmer for 25mins. I've to use some common sense when comes to cooking hahaha...I marinate the chicken with some curry powder follow then stir fry a while for more flavour. I also separate the cooking time for the chicken & potatoes as the latter cook faster. The result....not too bad...actually is taste good to me! :D

Ingredient

• 1 small chicken, cut into chunks
• 1.5 tbsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• 120gm curry paste (I used New Moon Brand)
• 2 russet potato, peel & cut into chunks
• 800ml water
• 200ml coconut milk

Method

1. Marinate chicken pieces with curry powder & salt for 30mins.
2. Mix curry paste with water. Set aside.
   
3. Heat up 1 tbsp spoon in pot, add chicken and stir-fry for 3mins.
4. Add curry paste sauce. Bring to boil. Lowe heat & simmer for 10mins.
5. Add potatoes & simmer for another 10mins till potatoes and chicken are cooked through.
6. Stir in coconut milk and cook for another min. Remove from fire. Serve.
   

Steamed Strawberry Cake

hmmm this steamed strawberry cake texture is good, firm and moist but strawberry flavour is very light. Have to take a huge bite then manage to taste the flavour....heee....

Ingredient

• 2 eggs
• 80gm sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 130gm strawberry puree
• 65gm corn oil
• 165gm plain flour
• 1 tsp double action baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 45gm dried cranberries

Method

1. Using a electric whisk, beat egg, sugar & salt on high speed for 8mins till thick & fluffy.
   
2. Beat in strawberry puree until combined.
3. Sift in plain flour, double action baking powder and baking soda, fold lightly. Fold in oil.
4. Stir in cranberries.
5. Pour batter into a lined 7" cake pan and steam over boiling water for 40mins.
   

Pancakes with Custard Filling

Recipe adapted from No-Frills Recipes
Sweet Corn Custard
Ingredient

• 2 tbsp custard powder
• 8 tbsp cream corn
• 1/2 cup soymilk
• 70gm sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 50gm cornflour + 1 cup water

Method

1. Mix all the above ingredients except for the cornflour mixture, cook under low heat, keep stirring.
2. Taste for sweetness, then add in the cornflour mixture, cook till it thickens.
3. Dish out, cool and keep refrigerated before use.

Recipe adapted from Good Food Mar 2011
Classic Pancakes
Ingredient

• 140gm plain flour, sifted
• pinch of salt
• 200ml milk
• 100ml water
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 25gm butter, melted

Method

1. Sift flour with salt into a medium bowl. Make a well in the middle.
2. Pour eggs into the middle and whisk at the same time.
3. Whisk in milk & water and combine till the batter is smooth and lump free. Set aside for 30mins. Whisk in melted butter.
4. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Scoop about 2-3 tbsp spoon of batter into the pan and swirl it around. Cook the pancake for about 40 secs on one side until golden brown, flip the pancake over and cook the other side for a while until freckles.
5. Slide the pancake out of the pan and repeat with the rest of the batter.