Madeleines

Ingredients:
160g castor sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
3 eggs
50ml milk
170g plain  flour
30g corn flour
11/2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
200g salted butter, melted


Method:

1. Sift flour and baking powder set aside.
2. Mix the sugar with lemon zest and set it aside for 1 hour for the smell to be infused into the sugar.
3. Then add the eggs into the sugar mixture and beat until mixture is slightly thick and add in milk and mix well.
4. Add in sifted flour and mix well.
5. Add in melted butter and mix until batter is glossy. Cover with a cling wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
6. Oil the madeleines moulds with butter and lightly flour it. Tap away excess flour from the moulds.
7. Fill the moulds with batter just slightly more than ½ full.
8. Preheat oven at 190C and bake the madeleines for 15 to 20 minutes or until brown. Unmould and leave on rack to cool. You can sift some icing sugar or snow powder on the madeleines when it has cool down completely.

Adapted from: http://bakingmum.blogspot.com/2009/08/another-medeleines-recipe-for-you-to.html

Chocolate Hazelnut praline cake

It my birthday tomorrow. But somehow felt so deserted from the world outside. Anyway bake a cake for myself with lots of chocolates hoping that it helps.

Ugly looking cake, just like my feeling right now

Left over mousse, use it to sandwich the chocolate cake.

I used my same chocolate cake, hazelnut praline, chocolate hazelnut mousse and chocolate coating. Those bump on the mousse are the hazelnut. A lot of step in the process and left with no time for me to do a proper decorating. I had always wanted to do a proper piping on cake, but unable to do so :(  Excuses due to poor piping skill !

Piping Gel

Recently have been busying searching and planning cakes for myself and my daughter. Anyone out there please share chocolate praline royale mousse cake (Four leaves coco exotic cake)? Trying to do for my birthday on 25 Nov. Nothing beats a favorite and lovely cake bake by myself on my birthday. PLSSSS!!!

Prepare this gel for my daughter birthday cake decoration.

Ingredients:
2 tbsps gelatine
2 tbsps cold water
2 cups light corn syrup

Methods:

• Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a small saucepan and let set for about 5 minutes.
• Double boil or microwave on low until the gelatin has become dissolved - DO NOT BOIL.
•  Add the syrup and heat thoroughly. Cool and store, refrigerated, for up to 2 months.

TO COLOR: Add coloring paste/gel or food coloring drops to get desired color.
TO USE: Put in icing bag or plastic squeeze bottle and decorate.




Adapted from www.dianasdesserts.com

Mango Yogurt Sponge Cake

Another overdue posting on May 2010.  I find it so difficult to to express my feeling in words and I'm so afraid that i might make a fool of myself by posting error here and there :( Anyway who cares, i am what i am. Blur Blur queen!!!

This is my another first attempt of sponge cake. I always find it so difficult to bake a sponge cake, as compare to chiffon. Don't understand why? This is a mini mould cake, but i was too lazy to grease the mini mould one by one. Hence, i did it into a "8 inch" cake square mould. Look ugly but delicious and not too sickening

Ingredients:
(A)
3 eggs
280g sponge mix
(B)
100g mango yogurt drink
(C)
120g melted butter
60g Mango yogurt

Methods:

1. Whip (A) until light. Stir in (B) and continue whipping until light and fluffy.
2. Fold in (C) and mix until well blended.
3. Pour the batter into a greased square mould. Bake at 180C 40 minutes remove foil and bake for 10 minutes to brown the surface.

Adapted from: Alex Goh baking book (Fruity Cakes)

Chocolate biscuit cake

Feeling so exhausted recently i decided to do some chocolaty stuff to boost my energy level and clear some stock in my cupboard. Here is a quick post of the recipes.

Ingredients: ("8 inch" square tin)

18 pieces of  Marie biscuits

140ml UHT whipping cream

350g cooking chocolate

1 tbsp butter

Methods:

1. Heat cream in double-boiler and add in chocolate and butter. Stir until chocolate has melted.
2. Leave to cool slightly before pouring in the cake tin.
3. Divide into 3 portion.
4. Spread evenly on the base of a fully grease and lined cake tin.
5. Place the Marie biscuit 3 by 3, total 9 pieces.
6. Using the 2nd portion of chocolate spread evenly on the biscuit.
7. Then repeat step 5 method. Lastly use the 3rd portion chocolate pour and spread properly.
8. Cover tin and put into the fridge until set.

This taste abit like kit Kat to me. Slice and wipe your knife after each cut. Warning don't attempt to stack the layer thick. It's better to watch your waistline :)

Dragon Fruit Chiffon

This was done long time ago during July. I was so hooked on cafe world at that time, that i did not post in my blog. Hee!!! So lazy of me :< My MIL like to buy dragon fruits alot and my family do not like to eat and instead of waiting for it to serve the bin. I use it to bake chiffon cake, at the same time i can practice my skill.( Kill two bird at one time)

Ingredients:

(I)

4 large egg yolks
40g sugar
180g mashed dragon fruit
40g vegetable oil
1/4 tsp salt

(II)

120g plain flour ( i remove 2 tbsp of plain flour and replace with 2 tbsp corn flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

(III)
5 large egg whites
40g sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Methods:

1. Hand whisk egg yolks with sugar until dissolves.
2. Add salt, oil, banana essence and mashed banana mix until combined.
3. Then add in the sifted flour, mix until no lump form.
4. In another bowl whisk egg whites at a high speed until frothy, add in the cream of tartar whisk till soft peaks. Add in the sugar in patches and whisk till stiff peaks.
5. Fold 1/3 of the meringue and mix with the egg yolk until combined. Add the remaining meringue and mix well.
6. Pour the batter into 21cm chiffon tin. Bake at 180c for 50 mins.
7. Remove the foil and bake for 5-10 mins for browning the surface.

I used my banana chiffon recipes for this. I will not bake this again, it taste normal and nobody in my family wants to eat. Because it dragon fruit i think.

Dengue Fever

Firstly, i not too sure if this helps. But personally my hubby caught dengue this year on Jan 2010 and discharge 4 days before Chinese new year. It was so scary his blood count was below 28 and have to infuse a packet of blood early in the morning. Then go around asking and seeking advise on what Chinese herbal to brew for him.

At the same time i have to bring my son to school and preparing for coming new year. Phew so tiring!!! I hardly have any sleep. So if anyone out there, whoever have loved ones that caught this virus, please try this method it seem to work for me and it brings up his blood platelets.

I even shared with my sis in law and she pass this recipes to her friend son who just caught dengue fever. He was admitted to hospital and that very night his mum bought this soup for him and surprising doctor said he can be discharge on that day. As his blood count was better. His mum was so happy and thank me continuously.

Ingredients:

1. 3 whole frogs (tian chi skin remove), chopped slightly
2. 8 small bitter gourd (can put the whole bitter gourd or remove the seed inside)
3. 10g of wolf berries
4. 20g of seedless red dates

Method:

• Wash clean put everything into the slow cooker and double boil until all the juices come out. (About 2 hours)
• Do not add anything. If you are going to use it as normal drink, try adding a bottle of chicken essence or any bottle of herbal. (such as tong Cong char). This is to help to speed up, the immune system. Coz during recovering process, the body structure is still very weak. You will need to boil tonic, just like doing confinement.

If suffer for more then 2 weeks. Try using grounded 8 papaya leaf soup. If got any enquires, pls leave a message in my blog. I can share more with you. I'm plain too lazy to type everything out. Lol!

Hope it helps for those with loved one suffering from this horrible mosquitoes virus.

M&M Shortbread Cookies

Some cookies for my son to bring to school Christmas party celebration. His school holiday starts at 19 Nov, so the school decided to bring forward their Christmas celebration and was requested to bring some finger food to school on that day to share with their friends. I guess all kids will be thrill to have chocolate treats.

Ingredients
210g plain flour, sifted
50g cornflour, sifted
100g chocolate chips
226g butter (room temperature)
60g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Some M&M chocolate for deco

Method

• Whisk butter until smooth and creamy. (i use hand whisk)
• Add sugar beat until smooth, then add vanilla essence.
• Gently, fold in flour mixture until incorporated. (Do not over mix)
• Flatten the dough to the thickness as desired and freeze for 2 hours.
• Using any cookies cutter of your preferences and cut.
• Place it on a baking sheet freeze another 20 minutes.
• Put into a preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly brown.
• Cookies must be completely cool to be store in an air-tight container.

Left over dough can be freeze up for weeks, if wrapped properly. Optional you can add chopped nuts to enhance the taste. I prefer thicker cookies. I like this cookies very much as i do like hard cookies and the taste wise is very crunchy and not hard.

Noted: The dough is very sticky, flour the work surface and cookies cutter. Can be spoon drop on baking sheet.

Extracted from: joyofbaking