Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

Down with flu today and weirdly I always crave for something sweet... and of all things i watched on youtube today was the Undercover Boss - Cinnabon edition... so cook while inspired right??

• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 1/4 cups flour
• 1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 egg

• 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup butter, softened

Heat the milk and butter (i used the microwave)...in a mixing bowl, add 2 cups and 1/4 cup flour, yeast, salt, sugar, water, egg and the heated milk and butter mixture.. knead (i use a normal mixer attachment) until well blended for about 5 minutes. Mixture will still be sticky. Add in the balance 1 cup flour and knead (i change to a dough hook) and knead for another 5 minutes.

Let it rest for 10 min and then roll on a floured surface to about 5mm thin. Mix the cinnamon mixture and spread across the rolled dough.

Leave some cinnamon mixture for topping. Roll as tight as possible and cut into 1 inch rolls.

Grease the baking container (you can use baking tin but i prefer to use a square brownies tray) and arrange the rolls loosely apart as rolls will rise and expand.

Spread more cinnamon mixture over the top IF YOU ARE NOT USING CREAM CHEESE FROSTING. 

Let it rest for another 10 minutes before popping it in the over for 20-25 minutes on 160 degress oven or until lightly golden.

• 1/2 package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the frosting, just mix everything in a bowl with a spoon. I like that rough edge look of the cheese... serve it with cafe au lait or tea... bon appetite! This recipe make about a dozen medium size rolls!

Sugee Cookies / Cashew Sugee Cookies

I´ve never understood why some people makes sugee biscuits or cookies without the semolina? Why call it sugee cookies then... weird.. anyway here´s mine.. i like it crisp but the almond sugee is more melt in the mouth kind..

Sugee Cookies

225g flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup dry roasted semolina
1 tablespoon bicarbonate soda

and then lastly add in 120g ghee. Mix throughly and let the mixture rest for half an hour before shaping it into balls and baking it at 160 degrees for 20 minutes.

Cashew Sugee

100g ground cashews
125g flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup semolina
1 tablespoon bicarbonate soda
120g ghee

Same method as above and you can replace the cashews with ground almonds or whatever nut you desire.

Chawanmushi

Its weird that I do not like eggs but I lurrvvee chawanmushi... its very simple.. all you need is :-

1.5 cups of dashi or chicken stock
2 tsp light soya sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp white pepper

Do a taste test that its salty enough before adding the eggs... alternatively if you do not have any chicken stock, use 1.5 cups water with 2 tsp chicken stock powder.

whisk 2 eggs lightly and add in to the stock mix.

You can add in chopped chicken, shrimps, sliced shiitake mushrooms, crabmeat or crabsticks, japanese fish cake.. well the world is your oyster.. be creative... pour the egg mixture in chinese teacups or small bowls and steam for 20 minute. voila...  of course this is the halal version... the traditional one uses sake so feel free to add that in if you want!

Cafe Du Monde Beignet Recipe

Cafe Du Monde Beignet Recipe

1 Envelope Active Dry Yeast
3/4 Cup Water (110 degrees F)
1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Beaten Egg
1/2 Cup Evaporated Milk
3 1/2 - 3 3/4 Cups A.P. Flour
1/8 Cup Shortening
Vegetable Oil for Frying
Powdered Sugar in a shaker or sifter


Combine the Yeast, Water, and Sugar in the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (You could also make this in a food processor, or the old fashioned way, by hand). Let this sit until frothy, about 5 minutes, then add the Salt, Egg, and Evaporated Milk. Mix on low speed, then add half of the flour until it starts to come together, then add the shortening. When the shortening is incorporated start adding the remaining flour, a little at a time until most of it is incorporated. At this time I always turn the dough onto a floured bench to finish by hand, just like when I make bread; it’s a touch thing. Knead the dough adding just enough flour as necessary to make a non-sticky, smooth dough. Place the dough into a large oiled bowl, loosely cover and let rise (I made mine last night and let it rise overnight in the refrigerator).

After the dough has doubled in bulk, punch it down and turn it onto a floured surface and roll out into a rectangle that is about 1/2″ thick. With a very sharp knife working at a diagonal to the rectangle, cut into 2″ wide strips. Now cut into diamond shapes by making diagonal cuts in the opposite direction. Place the Beignets on a floured baking sheet to let rise about 40 minutes in a warm place (I place them in a barely warm oven).

When the Beignets have risen, heat 2-3 inches of vegetable oil in a large saucepan to 350-360 degrees. Place 2-3 Beignets into the hot oil at a time, being careful not to smash or deflate them. When they are golden brown, flip them over until golden brown on the other side (They go pretty quickly so start checking them right after they go into the oil). Remove to paper towel lined plates to drain.

Serve hot topped with plenty of powdered sugar (because the dough doesn’t contain much sugar, you will want a lot!). Best served with Cafe au Lait. Enjoy!

Makes about 2 dozen.

Almond Croissant or Croissants Aux Amandes

I absolutely loveeeeeeee Almond Croissants but it can be painful for pay $3.80 each at Gontran Cherrier or $4.20 at Mayson Kaiser for a croissant that they can´t sell! So I decided, just make it and I can eat Almond Croissants all day for a fraction of the cost! Its super simple too!

Use day old croissants so I usually buy it a day ahead. Fresh croissants are soft so its not ideal.

Some recipes call for soaking the croissants in sugar syrup but I tried that and totally hate it because its too sweet ! Dislike!

So all you do is slice the croissants in half like how you would make a sandwich, set the oven to 180 degrees and make the filling

Filling Recipe:-

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup ground almonds

a pinch of salt

100g butter (softened)

2 eggs

Mix everything in until creamy and lastly add the eggs 1 by 1. Spread about 2 tablespoons in between the croissants. Cover and spread about 1 tablespoons over the croissants and sprinkle sliced almonds. Bake for 15-18 minutes until croissants are golden and firm. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy!!!

Homemade Blueberry Pie

Rainy day calls for a slice of homemade pie.. my little guy has been bugging me for a blueberry pie because Jake from Adventure Time likes them! sigghh

This recipe is for a large 8 inch pie so for a 5 inch pie dish, just half the recipe with 1 tin of blueberry filling. The dough is also enough when you halve it.

So I bought 2 cans of blueberries in light syrup and made my own fillings (that way I can adjust the sweetness) totally hate ultra sweet fillings that can gives you diabetes!! Each can is $5.10 at Phoon Huat or you can pay $7.95 for a Del Monte ones at Cold Storage! *rolls eyes*

Making the filling:-

Drain the 2 cans of blueberries but reserve 1 can of syrup and pour in a pot.
Add 3 tablespoons on sugar & 3 tablespoons of cornflour and heat until thickened.
Add the blueberries and 3 more tablespoons of sugar. At this stage you can taste and adjust if you like it sweeter or as is. You can also add more syrup in if the mixture is too thick.

Pastry shell :-

I find making short crust is easier by using a food processor than a mixer. It gets less mushy and easier to work with. Or you can just rub it in between your fingers until it turns into rough crumbs. So process -

2.5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3 tablespoons sugar
225g butter chopped in small pieces

Process until it looks like course crumbs and then add in 1/4 cup iced water. Roll the dough and lay it on the pie dish (10 inches) or you can make small cute tartlets.

I like to chill my crust first before adding the topping. So what I do is chill for half hour in the fridge then add the topping and top it up with pastry designs. You can cut circles, stars or the traditional lattice strips but & brush the topping with egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon milk to give that nice glossy brown look. Bake for 30-35 minuts on 180 degrees. Cool for a couple of hours in the fridge and serve with cream or ice cream!

Cheesy Mediterranean Muffins

Craving for these again... Give me a savoury muffins anyday than a sweet one...pheewww thank goodness I have all the ingredients in the pantry!

In a bowl, add the following ingredients :-

1.5 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper or chilli powder
1 cup cheese of your choice (I love a combination of red & white cheddar)

In a jug, melt 80g butter. Add 2/3 cups milk and stir in 2 eggs. Set aside.

Items to be sauteed - 

1 medium size onion (chopped)
Beef / turkey bacon or i love using chilli beef frankfurters chopped into small chunks
Sundried tomatoes (I use pomodoro) chopped into small pieces as well
Black kalamata olives sliced

Sautee the onions with some olive oil until soft and all the meat and sundried tomatoes and just toss in the sliced olives.

Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and just quickly mix it well with the sauteed items. Spoon into muffin cups and bake for 25 minutes on 180 degrees. I like to top my muffins with extra olives and tomatoes! I love the salty taste!! As you can see i only added 1/4 tsp of salt only because sundried tomatoes gets saltier upon baking and the cheese is salty as well.. so don´t go overboard! Mom likes her muffins spicy so I usually sprinkle some more arrabiata spice mix on top or you can just sprinkle chili flakes !

Dutch Apple Cake

After a filling ¨Thanksgiving Dinner¨.. i´m craving for a dessert thats light and yummy and fast to make (and even easier clean up!) These yummy delight has a light sponge underneath and a light cinnamon apple taste thats so festive!

Sponge Base
2 Eggs
160g sugar
1 tsp vanilla

 Whisk the above for 5 minutes until really thick and fluffy

 Melt 85g butter with 80ml milk and add slowly into the egg mix while whisking

150g flour
1 tsp cinnamon powder
2 teaspoon baking powder 

4 granny smiths or red delicious apples (peeled, cored and sliced), dust with cinnamon powder and sugar and mixed.

Add the dry ingredients to the mixture and mix throughly. Pour onto 6 x 6 inch lined tin and arranged the sliced appled on top. Sprinkled a bit of sugar on top. Bake at 180 degrees for 30 minutes or until raised and golden. Serve warm with custard or vanilla sauce

Talam Keledek

Wanted to make kacau keledek which is like kaya but unfortunately I didn´t have enough! So settled for a talam instead. Very simple. I prefer it a tad sweeter for malay kuehs but then again thats just me...so for those who likes their kueh sweeter maybe add 20g more sugar per batter. This is exactly as what I made which most people prefer... heh..

Batter A (The base and the top part)
100g sugar
60g rice flour
25g hoon kueh flour
30g all purpose flour
425ml coconut milk (santan)
a drop of pandan essence
a pinch of salt
yellow & red food colouring
Blend all the ingredients for a smooth batter and place it in a measuring jug.

Batter B (The white middle part with grated sweet potato)
 100g sugar
60g rice flour
25g hoon kueh flour
30g all purpose flour
425ml coconut milk (santan)
a pinch of salt
 100-1500g of grated sweet potato (1 used 1 large sweet potato)

Same thing, blend all the ingredients together EXCEPT the sweet potato. Heat over low fire for a few minute just to get the mixture warm. Then add the grated sweet potato and stir for awhile just to warm it up. Set aside.

Prepare your steamer and grease a round 6 inch container with oil. (you can use an 8 inch but then the kueh will be shorter).We not start to layer the kueh. Pour half of Batter A and steam for 10 minutes. Pour all of Batter B and steam for another 10 mins. Lastly pour the last of Batter A and steam for 25 minutes. Remove from steamer and let cool before cutting.

Kueh Raya for Sale - 2012

Order closes on 31 July 2012!

Pecan Nuts 50 pieces – $17 100 pieces – $31 Cornflake Cookies 50 pieces –$15 100 pieces –$28 Pistachio Logs 50 pieces – $16 100 pieces – $30 Coffee Rosettes 50 pieces – $16 100 pieces –$30 Tart Gulung 50 pieces – $17 100 pieces –$31 Pineapple Tarts 50 pieces –$17 100 pieces –$31 Blueberry Shortbread with Almond Nibs 50 pieces – $16 100 pieces –$30 Savoury Cheese 50 pieces – $16 100 pieces –$30 Almond London (original or assorted) 50 pieces – $18 100 pieces –$32 Chocolate Chip Cookies (with or without walnut) 50 pieces – $16 100 pieces –$29 Sarang Semut 50 pieces – $15 100 pieces - $28 Cheese Semut 50 pieces – $16 100 pieces –$29 Brazilnut Shortbread 50 pieces – $16 100 pieces –$30 Cashew Cookies 50 pieces – $16 100 pieces –$30 Moist Fruit Cake $25 Sugee Cake $24 Batik Cake $18 Fudge Brownies $12

Kole Kole Recipe

First attempt at kole kole is a success... to me anyway.. now i know why the ones they sell at the shop is usually hard.. they probably mix plain or rice flour in it rather than using 100% green bean flour... Surprisingly green bean flour was pricy! Plain flour goes for $1.60 per kilo .. green bean was $2.55 for a miserable 250g! Anyway here goes the recipe Tahi Minyak 500ml fresh coconut milk (low fire and continue stirring for 1 hour and 45 minutes to be exact) .. yes.. thats the super tiring part! Drain and mix the excess oil to the cooked base mixture later.

Kole Kole Boil the following and set aside to cool 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup chopped gula melaka 1 cup water 2 pieces pandan leaves Once the above is cooled, add 2 cups santan (1 used 1 packet Kara 200ml plus water) 1 cup green bean flour a pinch of salt

I blend everything in the blender for a smooth paste and cooked on low heat again until bubbling. Add the excess coconut oil from the tahi minyak. Recipe yields a 5-6 inch round baking tin. Grease the tin before smoothing the mixture in and spread all of the tahi minyak and set to cool in room temperature for 3 hours until firm.

Chwee Kueh

It was raining today and I just feel like having something warm from the steamer so I made Chwee Kueh instead... Its so hard to find halal dim sum apart from Hara´s at Arab Street..Singapore is not Jakarta afterall. I blended the following item in the blender for a smooth lumpless paste... 180g rice flour 25g corn flour 300ml water In a pot heat the following until boiling then add the above mixture 60ml of coconut cream (I use the mini packet from Kara if fresh coconut milk use about 100ml and 400ml water) 440ml water 2 tablespoon oil 1/2 tsp salt

Stir the mixture until thicken and fill the oiled chwee kueh mould. In my case, i just used those alluminium disposable tart case. Steam for 15 minutes until translucent. De-mould and spread topping with extra chilli (i buy those bottled ikan bilis sambal) Chai Po topping There´s no hard and fast rules on the topping seasoning... i´ve tried the simple ones to the dark soya ones. So far I like this one best,just sautee the garlic until golden add the shrimp and chilli and then season..the end 4 cloves of garlic minced, sauteed in oil (1/2 cup oil) soak and blend 30g of dried shrimp until it turns to floss 4-6 stalks of dried chili (blend it dry until it becomes flake) 200g chai po (salted turnips) 1 tablespoon dark soya sauce 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon chilli sauce 1/2 cup water 1/2 tsp fish sauce toasted sesame seed for sprinkling