Curry Puffs

Curry Puffs or karipap or even epok-epok...that's what this little delicious snack is called in my household. If you venture to Malaysia or Singapore, curry puffs are sold every where.  One can say its similar to a little pie and it is filled with curry chicken, potatoes and sometimes even a piece of hard boiled egg.  Most of the time, curry puffs are being deep fried. Besides curry chicken, you can also find chilli sardine puffs and even vegetarian curry puffs.  However, I still prefer my Grandma's good old chicken curry puffs.

Hubby and I were watching a cooking show and curry puff was one of the snacks which the Chef tried in travels to South East Asia.  We just had to have some and so, hubby and I made this together.  We made it, deep fried it and ate it in the same day...haha!

Here's a photo of our humble curry puffs.

One word....delicious!!!

Apple Crumble, Lemon Curd Tart and Chocolate Fleur de Sel Caramel Tart...what else can one want more...

Someone once commented that my Brown Betty was beautiful. There I was thinking who is this beautiful Betty?  Silly old me...I asked my Chef and he informed me that Brown Betty is a dessert in US and in the UK, its called the Crumble. Oh...I see, I said and we had a good laugh.  So, here's my Apple & Raisin Crumble which I made to share with a friend of ours and he loved it. :)  Here's a photo of my Apple & Raisin Crumble.

Besides Apple & Raisin Crumble, here's another 2 desserts which I just love ~ Lemon Curd Tart and  Chocolate Fleur de Sel Caramel Tart.  I have heard stories about how the lemon curd came about from my Chef and one of them is that Lemon Curd was called Lemon Cheese back in the good old days in Britian. Another story is about Lemon Curd are made for the rich to serve at tea parties and such.

Who would have thought that a hint of salt could enhance something sweet so much? Well, from what I know, my Chef told me that this trend started in France. It seems that it all started in Brittany where they were into salted butter caramels. So, I guess Chocolate Fleur de Sel Caramel Tart is a spin-off from salted butter caramels.  Here's a photo of my humble Lemon Curd Tart and  Chocolate Fleur de Sel Caramel Tart.

That's all for this post....happy baking everyone!!!

Danish Pastry, Mango Cheesecake & Cupcakes

Danish pastry....this is one pastry which I can eat time and time again...I love it more when its straight out from the oven..yummy!  Where is it from? Denmark, one may think. However, its from Vienna, Austria. Over here, we will have custard and jam in the middle or inside of the danish, and we will decorate it with fruits. I often bake these babies, however, it seems that not many people likes it here though....maybe I am not getting the local flavours right...hmmm??!!??

Mangoes are pretty cheap now and its goes nicely with cheesecake. Its also full of Vitamin A and C. Hence, I decided to whip-up mango cheesecake at my workplace and wanted to see if its a hit.  I am happy to say that its has been selling pretty well....I am indeed delighted.  Here's a photo of my mango cheesecake.

And lastly...here's something for the children...cupcakes or patty cakes.  From the stories I heard from my Chef, cupcakes were already in existance since the 19th century, believe it or not.  I have been using a basic cupcake recipe but I found out that the children prefers it when I use the chocolate cake recipe.  Hence, I decided to make chocolate cupcakes and am pleased to say that its pretty popular...wohoo! Here's a photo of my cupcakes.

That's all for now...till next time...happy baking!!!

Quiche...

Quiche.....my kiddos think I am saying "Kiss".....haha!  So, what is quiche? Its a savoury open face pie with egg custard filling, cheese, veggies, meat, etc.  Some people told me that quiche comes from Germany and others state that its from France. What I can say is...who ever created this, quiche is AWESOME!!!!

I was thinking of making small individual pies but the lazybum in me shouted, just a big one will do...save time, save energy.... So, here's how my quiche turned out...

That's all for now....

Happy quiche.....ing!!!

Raisin Buns and Scrolls

My little darling Princess was asking for raisin buns when we walked passed Bread Top yesterday and I told her that we will try and make some today.  Since we have a good old breadmaker, we should put it into good use. My little Princess got all excited and we can out with 2 different types of raisin buns.  In between waiting for the dough to double in bulk, we also tried to make some Danish scrolls. As I do not have a laminator / dough-breaker, I had to do it by myself with a rolling pin.

Here's some photos of our little project today...

Raisin Buns 

Raisin Buns

Danish Scrolls

I am pretty happy with the end results as my 2 kids ate at least 1/3 of the buns and my DH ate 1/2 of the danish scrolls...wohoo!!!

Long Time No See...

It has been ages since I last wrote on this blog. I have been so busy...completing my last semester, working oh the days which I do not attend classes, trying to spend time with my kids, etc, etc, etc...golly! Its pretty hard work...no I understand why some people say that 24 hours is just ain't enough. I totally get it even though lots of my friends said that if I have better time management, I will not be like so.  However, with 2 kids who need your attention when you get home throw all your "time management" skills out of the window...that's how I feel as I want to catch-up with my kids, watch them grow, the milestones, etc, etc, etc.

I have not been doing much cake decorating lately....I wish I had more time but I will surely do one for my lovely princess on her birthday which is next month.  She requested for Strawberry Short Cake...hmm. That will be a challenge to me. Fingers cross!!!

Here's some of the photos which I took when I was working during the long school holidays in December 2011. I really enjoyed myself as I made so many different types of desserts for the dessert buffet counter.  Had an awesome time there!

We had a small family reunion dinner during Chinese New Year and then rushed to the temple for prayers and blessings. My 2 precious wanted to watch the lion dance and fire crackers.  Here's some photos of our simple reunion dinner.

I finally made frittata for my DH and he loved it ever since...ha!ha! Frittata is just an egg-based dish. I have been asking my Chef where frittata comes from and he said its from Italy and the meaning is "to fry". However, we do not fry frittata...not the version which I am using though, I bake it in the oven.  I enrich the frittata with mushrooms, bacon, sausages, veggies, potatoes and whatever I can find in the fridge.  Here's one of the frittata photos which I took.

In February, one of my friends asked if I could do a cake for her. She wanted to surprise her darling BF. I am so glad to hear that both of them loved it. Here's a photo I took before I delivered it to her house.

Lastly, here's a photo of one of the items which I made at my current workplace. My Chef is just awesome as he wants me to better myself and sharpen my skills. Eclairs is made from choux pastry filled with cream and decorated with chocolate and icing sugar. According to my Chef, eclairs originated from France.

Last but not least, we went to the temple to celebrate Lord Buddha's birthday. This is the day where we can bathe the little baby Buddha.  We will bathe him 3 times to improve harmony and inner balance in our lives.

That's the end of this post. Made baked pasta for tomorrow's potluck.  Can't wait to savour my friends' dishes...yummy-yum-yum.

Mooncakes...

I am on a roll today...ha!ha! Its another post about my rumblings..my nonsense as my DH calls it. The mooncake festival has gone..its over. So, why in the world am I writing about it?  My little Prince was given a piece of mooncake at the temple and he said that the old uncle told him that this mooncake comes from the moon and there is a story behind it. My little Prince kept pestering me to tell him the story about the mooncake and I told him this version and it goes like this (my version, anyway):

There's a beautiful Goddess named Chang-Er who lives on the moon. That's why when the moon is full, if you try hard enough, you will see this beautiful Goddess. She lives there with her only companion which is the Jade Rabbit. Whenever you see the full moon, you know that Chang-Er has visitors and she is doing a wonderful dance for them and chatting with them. During the mid-Autumn festival, a lot of families will set up an altar facing the full moon and worship Chang-Er. Mooncakes are placed on the altar for her blessings and she will blessed her worshippers with good health.  That's why we have mooncakes during the mid-Autumn festival as these mooncakes resembles the moon, in honor of her.  I am not a good storyteller...I just wanted him to associate the moon with Chang-Er and the Jade Rabbit. When he is bigger, I will tell him the real version.

I wanted to make some mooncakes this year but since DH's friends were giving us boxes of it, I decided not to. We tried several brands and I must say that this brand tastes like Kum Lun Tai (our all time favourite)...yummylicious!!!

Here's a photo or two of the mooncakes which we really love eating this year. Its from Hong Kong Elegant Flower. This is called the double yolk mooncake.

Here's the real version of the Chang-Er story from http://www.travelchinaguide.com/essential/holidays/mid-autumn.htm

The story of Chang E is the most widely accepted tale regarding the origins of the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is said that in ancient times, ten suns existed and the extreme heat made people's lives very difficult. It was the hero Hou Yi who, owing to his great strength, shot down the nine of the ten suns. On hearing of this amazing feat and the hero who performed it, people came from far and wide to learn from him. Peng Meng was among these people. Later, Hou Yi married a beautiful and kind woman named Chang E and lived a happy life.

One day, Hou Yi came upon Wangmu (the queen of heaven) on the way to meet his old friend. Wangmu presented him an elixir which, if drunk, would cause him to ascend immediately to heaven and become an immortal. Instead of drinking the potion himself, Hou Yi took it home and presented it to Chang E to keep. Unfortunately, Peng Meng secretly saw Hou Yi give the potion to his wife and three days later, while Hou Yi was out hunting, Peng Meng rushed into the backyard and demanded that Chang E hand over the elixir. Knowing that she could not win, she took out the elixir and swallowed it immediately. The moment she drank it, she flew out of the window and up into the sky. Chang E's great love for her husband drew her towards the Moon, which is the nearest heavenly body to the earth.

On realising what happened to his wife, Hou Yi was so grief stricken that he shouted Chang E' s name to the sky. He was amazed to see a figure which looked just like his wife appeared in the Moon. He took the food liked by Chang E to an altar and offered it as a sacrifice for her. Hou Yi's neighbours also burned incense and prepared food to express their good wishes to the kind Chang E. This became a custom later every year.

Till next time....take care, folks!!!

Almond Meal Egg Tarts

A friend of mine was dying to have some egg tarts but she is gluten intolerance. We were talking about how she could tahan for so long, etc, etc... I did some research and came out with a recipe using almond meal. Called her to ask if almond meal is OK with her and she said, do the egg tarts please!!!  So, that's what I did and she was all ready to drive to my house..ha!ha!

Almond meal flour is totally different from our usual flour. Its made from ground almonds and it feels like corn meal flour.  Firstly, I made the tart casings with the almond meal, butter and egg yolk and place it in the fridge for 30 mins. I then made the egg custard with eggs, sugar, evaporated milk and vanilla essence. When its ready, I took out the almond meal dough, roll the pieces into a ball and flatten it on my palm. I then slowly, place it into the moulds and lightly flatten it with my fingers. Mind you, the dough is soft and crumbly. Then I poured the egg custard and baked at 200 degrees C for 15 mins.

The tart casing turned out very crumbly but it tasted really nice. Here's a photo or two of the almond meal egg tarts.  My friend came over and had 3 pieces... :)

Mission accomplish! Wohoo!!!

Hong Kong Egg Tarts

Egg tarts....now, this is something which my whole household love.  When I made it for my friends, one of my Caucasian friends told me that they call it custard tarts in her homeland. For us, we call it "dan tart".  Its a really simple tart to do...just a pastry crust and fill it with egg custard. Plonk it into the oven and bake till golden brown. Most of the time, you will find these babies in dim sum places.

Here's a photo of the dan tarts....

Frangipane Tarts

Frangipane...sounds like a word from fairyland... Actually frangipane is a filling made from almonds.  I never made frangipane tarts before but I must say that its one tart which I will make again. Its just plain delicious. Even Junior Master Chef here has a recipe for it....ha!ha! 

Its quite easy to do...
Firstly, make the pastry - add in flour, sugar and butter until resembles breadcrumbs.  Add in egg. Do not over mix the dough. Cling wrap it and let it rest in the fridge.
Secondly, make the frangipane - cream the butter and sugar, add in eggs and lastly the almond meal and a little bit of rum.
Next, take out the dough and line the moulds. Brush some strawberry jam onto the bottom of the tart and pour in 3/4 of the frangipane.  Do not fill it to the top as the frangipane will raise up. Scatter almonds on top of the frangipane and bake @ 180 degrees C till golden brown.
Some people will brush some apricot jam after post baking it.  Other will just sprinkle icing sugar on top before serving it.
For us...not time for all that....just waiting to eat it...ha!ha!

Managed to take a few photos before the whole batch entered our tummy...

Fresh from the oven...

From the plate and soon into our tummies....

Sausage Rolls

In our pastry class, we made sausage rolls out of puff pastry.  Its a common pastry here. Sometimes you will find just a sausage being rolled with a sheet of puff pastry. However, in school, we made the sausage itself using minced beef. Seriously...its just plain delicious. So much better than the commercial sausages....yum!!!

Sausage Rolls with freshly made minced beef rolls before we popped it into the oven.

Freshly out of the oven and we were drooling.....yum!!!

We also made apple strudel too on the same day. We had lots of fun making the Filo Dough. We had to stretch and stretch the dough till its paper thin but it was so fun.... we looked like Mohammad Ali...ha!ha!

Apple strudels before these babies goes into the oven...

Yummylicious apple strudels....delicious!!!

Danish Pastry

Our lecturer was so good to us...brought half a dozen of these babies home after making it in school and boy oh boy...it was finished within an hour. My other half said that its from Denmark but after doing my research, I discovered that it is originated from Vienna. But I am sure, others will have other versions too.

Danish pastry is another variation of Puff Pastry. I found out that the most important thing is to keep the dough cold. We made pinwheels, envelopes, pockets and bear claws.

 Envelope 

Pinwheel

 

Pocket

 

Bear Claw

Assorted Danish Pastries

Quiche - Bacon & Mushroom Quiche

Quiche is an oven-baked product. We have to blind bake the shell first and then add in the custard and other ingredients and bake it again the second time. This is an open pie and the only covering is the set custard.  For our pastry class this time, we made bacon and mushroom quiche.  Do you know that quiche is not French either. It originated from Germany. We use the short-crust pastry for the shell. Some people who does not have time can actually buy the short-crust pastry from the supermarket. If you want to keep these quiches in the freezer, just take it out 5 mins before the ending time of the baking, allow it to cool and then freeze it accordingly. Here's a photo of the bacon & mushroom quiches that we made in school.

Puff Pastry... Apple and Blueberry Strudel

Puff pastry and croissants... both uses the "laminated dough" technique. However, it is NOT the same. Croissant uses yeast, therefore, it need to be proofed. But...the amount of fats that being used in these two...really have to think twice before I bite into one of these babies again...ha!ha!

Had another wonderful time at my pastry class. We made puff pastry and this is where silly me found out that puff pastry and croissants are NOT the same. My lecturer even cut off one side of the dough on each turn to show us the lamination of it. Here's some photos.

This is how it looks like after we did our 1st turn.

This is how it looks like after we did our 2nd turn.

This is how it looks like after we did our 3rd turn.

This is how it looks like after we complete all four turns.
We use the dough after this turn to make our strudels.

Here's a photo of the apple and blueberry strudel which my lecturer did. It was delicious. Our puff pastry is in the freezer waiting for us to come in and continue next week.

Apple and Blueberry Strudel