Beef Hand Pies

Dough

2 cups flour
1 cup butter / shortening
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup - 1 cup iced water

Sift yhe baking powder into the flour, add salt & rub the butter / shortening into the flour until you get a sandy texture . Add ice water bit by bit just enough to bind the dough together. Let the dough rest.

Filling

1 onion, chopped
2 garlic , minced
1 carrot, diced
1 potato, diced
100g minced beef
Broccoli florets , chopped

2 tablespoon flour
water
Beef stock cube
salt, pepper to taste

1 egg (for egg wash)

sautee the garlic and onion in olive oil and then add the minced beef. Once the beef is browned, add the rest of the ingredients. Add flour to the mixture and stir. Add water, beef stock, salt & pepper to taste. Simmer until the carrots and potatoes are tender and the water has evaporated and becomes a thick gravy. Set aside and cool.

Roll the dough and cut into circles, place 2 tablespoon of filling, brush the edges with eggwash, close the pie and pinch using a fork. Brush the top with egg wash, sprinkle with black sesame seeds (optional) and bake at 180deg for 35-45min or until the pies are golden.

Nutella Babka

Dough:
1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon instant dry yeast
1 large egg
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add yeast, sugar & water into your mixing bowl. Once the yeast is frothy, add the rest of the ingredients. Using a dough hook, knead for 5 min. Cover the dough rest until doubled for an hour.

Filling:
1/2 cup Nutella
1/3 cup chocolate chips or chunks

Roll into a rectangle. Spread nutella & sprinkle chocolate chips. Roll and cut across lengthwise. Braid the loaf. Place in a loaf pan and rest until doubled again and bake for 30 min on 180degrees oven. Brush sugar syrup over the babka

Sugar Syrup:
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar

Fool proof bun recipe

I cannot live without bread... and because im usually too lazy to go down to buy some i always end up making ...

A.
1 cup warm water
3 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon instant yeast

B.
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups bread flour
3 tablespoon milk powder
2 tablespoon softened butter

very simply add ingredients A in your mixing bowl. Wait for the yeast to froth and add all the B ingredients. Knead with a dough hook for 6-8 minutes. Add a bit of flour if the dough is still sticky. Cover and rest until doubled for an hour.

Punch the dough down and make rolls and hotdog buns with it. Or fill it with coconut filling or curry filling. Whatever you fancy. Arrange on your baking tray, brush with egg wash and rest until doubled. Bake for 25-30 min on 160-170 degrees until golden. Brush the buns with melted butter once you take it out from the oven .

Apple Cinnamon Roll

Okayyy i give up!! After attempting to load this blog 5 times with pictures and crashed.. im posting this without pics!

Basic cinnamon roll recipe

1/2 cup full cream milk
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 tablespoons instant yeast
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 and 1/4 cups flour
1/4 melted butter

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
Cinnamon powder

Warm up the milk and add in sugar & yeast... let it bubble up after 2-3 min .. add in the rest of the ingredients and knead for 5-6 min .. Use a mixer with the dough hook. Cover and let the dough rise until double around 45min-1 hour ..

Apple Filling

2-3 apples, chopped into small cubes
1/3 cup Brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon corn starch

Cook the apples with the rest of the ingredients for 5-10min until all water evaporate and apples are coated with caramel. Set aside to cool.

Roll into a rectangle and spread the 1/4 cup of softened butter. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon powder. Spread the apple filling and roll into a log. Cut into 12 equal pieces and arrange on a buttered baking dish. Cover and let rise for another 30 minutes. Bake at 190 deg for 25min.

After removing from the oven, brush with melted butter.

Glaze
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 Tablespoon milk
2 tablespoon softened butter

Mix together and drizzle over the warm rolls

Chwee Kueh

The only dim sum item i cannot find here!!

Filling
100g of dried radish (soaked and chopped)
3 shallots (diced)
2 garlic (minced)
5 dried shrimp (soaked and pounded)
1 tablespoon dark soya sauce
1 tablesoon soya sauce
salt / sugar to taste
a dash of white pepper

Sautee garlic & onion with oil until fragrant. Add the dried shrimp. Stir for awhile and add the dried radish. Season accordingly. Do not cook the radish for too long. Remove from fire.

Batter
150g rice flour
12g all purpose flour
12g corn flour
1 tsp salt
1 tablespoon oil

200ml water
500ml boiling water

Mixx the above ingredients with 200ml water. Once throughly mixed, add in the boiling water. Fill 3/4 amount of batter into each greased mould and steam for 20 min. Make sure you whisk before pouring the batter into the mould as the rice flour tend to separate from the water.

Shrimp Sambal

Blend a handful of dried chilli & dried shrimps in a food processor. Dry with no water.
1 minced garlic

Sautee the minced garlic in 1 cup oil. Once golden add the chilli and shrimp flakes. Stir for about 1 minute as you dont want to burn and crisp the chilli too much. Season with salt and sugar

Kuih Jongkong Mini

I love traditional desserts but i prefer it when its small and bite sized.. today i made Kuih Jongkong which is traditionally wrapped in banana leaves and steamed.

Firstly chopped some gula melaka and fill the base of the container. I used 3 round blocks This recipe yields 10 small container (yoghurt sized ones) so theres 3 layer.. gula melaka layer, pandan layer & the very lemak yellow layer

1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 tablespoon starch flour
a pinch of salt
2.5 cups coconut milk ( 50ml coconut cream and the rest is water)
1 teaspoon pandan paste
1 teaspoon alkaline water
1 pandan leaf

Mix all the ingredients in a pot and cook until thickened. Spread equally over the chopped gula melaka. Steam for 10 min.

1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 tablespoon starch flour
1 teaspoon salt
2.5 cups coconut milk ( 200ml coconut cream and the rest is water)
1 teaspoon alkaline water
Yellow food colouring

Mix all the ingredients in a pot and cook until thickened. Spread equally over the pandan layer. Steam for 15-20 min. I prefer eating this dessert warm or in room temperature. You can chill it if you prefer. Enjoy!

Nona Manis

Didn't get a chance to take a proper pic because i was rushing to pack this for Mr Hubs yesterday morning!

Green part *
3/4 Cup sugar
1 egg
1.5 cup santan
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup pandan juice
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Pandan paste
Green food colouring

Blend everything in a blender and cook over Low heat until slightly thickened. But soft enough to pipe. Set aside to cool down.

White part *
1.5 cups Santan
1.5 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

Cook over Low heat until really thickened. Cool down & place inside piping bag.

Oil the mould and then pipe the green mixture until 3/4 then pipe the white mixture in the middle. Steam for 15min.

yields 35 kuih

Puteri Ayu

First we grease the mould and spoon the coconut mixture in.

30g grated coconut
1/2 tsp corn flour
A pinch of salt

Mix the above ingredients and press down into the mould. The recipe yields about 9 kuih.

Whisk the egg, ovalette and sugar until really fluffy. Then add the coconut milk

1 egg
1/2 tsp ovalette
50g sugar

60ml coconut milk
Add 1/2 tsp Pandan paste

Sift 75g cake flour & 1/4 tsp baking powder in the mixture. Whisk until well mixed
Spoon the mixture over the coconut and steam for 15-20 minutes. Cool the kuih down and unmould

Pandan Chiffon Cake

Recipe

6 egg yolks
60g sugar
1/4 tsp salt
75ml santan
40g corn oil

30g Pandan Juice (blend 3 Pandan leaves with 1 tablespoon water)
1/2 tsp Pandan paste

Whisk the yolks with sugar until light and fluffy. Add the rest of the ingredients until well mixed.

110g all purpose flour (sifted)
1/2 tsp baking powder

Add the sifted flour into the egg yolk mixture. Fold in the meringue.

6 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
80g Sugar

Do NOT grease the chiffon cake tin. You need it ungreased so that the Chiffon will stay light and grip the sides of the tin. Pour the mixture in and bake at 190 degree celcius for 35 min . Remove from
Oven and flip the cake upside down without removing from the cake tin until slightly cooled. Remove from tin and enjoy your light fluffy cake!

Qatayef ( Arabic Pancakes)

Qatayef or Atayef is an Arabic pancake filled with cheese and nuts. Usually served during ramadhan. The authentic recipe calls for Akkawi cheese which is non existent here so I used Belcube cheese (that was in my fridge this morning) :-)

1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm water

Mix the above ingredients set aside until frothy for 5 min. Then add the flour and the rest of the ingredients, mix well, cover and let it rise for 30 min.

1 cup All purpose flour
1/4 cup sugi (semolina)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Pour batter onto ungreased nonstick pan just like how you would make a pancake.

So not cook the other side of the pancake. Remove from pan once the TOP part is dry with no wet mixture

For the filling I used Belcube cheese, sugar and cashew nibs. You can always use any other nuts , cream cheese, feta or even ricotta.

Pinch the edges.

Deep fry until golden. Pour sugar syrup on both sides.

Orange Blossom Syrup

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp orange blossom water

Simmer sugar and water until thickened and all sugar is melted.
Add orange blossom water. Alternatively u can use rose water

Jalebis (deep fried squiggly fritters)

Jalebis, Jalebis, Zulabia, Zalabiya is an Indian / Middle Eastern dessert or snack made from Gram flour and soaked lightly in saffron infused syrup.

Firstly, you need a squirt bottle to make squiggles of batter.

Make the sugar syrup.

160g sugar
125ml water
A few saffron threads

Simmer the sugar & water for 5 minutes until the mixture becomes thicker. Add the saffron or alternatively a drop of rose water or rose Essence. Set aside

For the batter you need gram flour or lentil flour. You can buy ready packaged gram flour but I just grind chana dhal into a fine powder.

1/4 cup gram flour
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cups water
1/8 tsp baking soda
A pinch of baking powder
1/8 tsp tumeric powder
A few drops of yellow food colouring

Mix all the ingredients and whisk for a min so aerate the batter. Pour into the squirt bottle and deep fry around 2 inches of batter in spiral design. Or you can just make squiggles.

I used Ghee to deep fry the batter for an authentic taste but Ghee is really expensive so I fry in small batches. Or you can just use vegetable cooking oil.

The batter makes about 2 dozen Jalebis. Fry until golden brown, place on kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil and dip into the sugar syrup. I usually dip and remove so that the Jalebis don't get too cloyingly sweet.