Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

I saw a recipe on Woman´s Day about making your own vanilla ice cream.. thank goodness for my instinct, i reduced the amount of condensed milk! Else I´ll have a toothache today!

This is the original link:

http://www.womansday.com/recipefinder/vanilla-ice-cream-recipe-wdy0812

All you need are 3 ingredients... 

2 cups heavy cream

10 oz condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla essence or in my case vanilla bean pods so that i get those lovely black speckles

Add all the ingredients in a mixer bowl and whisk until stiff. Pop it in your freezer and you get vanilla ice cream! Simple and so cost effective!!

Mille Crepe Cake

Before I left for Jakarta 2 weeks back, I attempted at making Mille Crepe Cake... a no-bake cake filled with custard layers... it was a feat alright! It took me 24 hours from making the batter, the filling, letting the batter rest, cooking the crepes, layering it, chilling it and finally after all that I can taste the fruit of my loom!

Firstly you need to make the crepe batter. You have to rest the batter for at least 8 hours or overnight preferably. Resting the batter somehow makes a more pliable and tender batter.

90g butter (melted until it turns into a soft brown colour and set aside)
3 cups milk (heat until steaming not boiling and then set aside to cool)

In a mixer, add the following ingredients and mix on medium speed:-

6 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
a pinch of salt
100g sugar

Slowly add the cooled milk and melted butter into the mixture. Store in a container and chill overnight or for at least 8 hours. Start making the crepes the next day by brushing a little oil and about 1/3 cup of batter each time ( I started with 1/4 cup but it didn´t cover my pan completely). You will get approximately about 20 crepes. Set aside. Some people layer each crepe with parchment paper but mine didn´t stick to one another.

Now... time to make the cream du jour... homemade pastry cream that I had to make doubled the amount because the kids kept coming in and asking if they could ´try´a spoonful! A spoonful ended up being a bowl and next thing I knew my custard cream is gone!

2 cups milk (bring to a simmer)
1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean pod (scraped and boil with the milk)

Cool the milk for 10 minutes before adding to the eggs

In a saucepan, whisk the following:-

6 egg yolks
1/2 cup cugar
1/3 cup sifted cornflour

50g butter (soften to add in LATER after the mixture cooled down)

Then whisk in the warm milk vigourously and place pan over low heat and continue whisking until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and cool. Add butter and mix throughly and chill.

2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar

Whisk until stiff peaks and fold into the custard cream. I popped it in and out of the fridge as it was a warm morning and i could feel the custard cream melting. Assemble your cake layer by layer... one layer of crepe, a layer of cream until all is gone... maybe next time i shall make 1.5 times the custard because i like thick layers of cream... thats just me though... once the last layer of crepe is set, i sprinkled some sugar and caramalized it with a torch, piped some cream and strawberries and dust with icing sugar.. voila... bon appetit!

Yangnyeom Tongdak or Korean Spicy Sticky Chicken

I was craving all things Korean lately! I dream of eating ssam with grilled garlic, kimchi and all the variety of banchan and galbi guee .... aarrggghhhhh

So yesterday I felt like having some fried chicken wings and what better way to appease my cravings than to make the sticky spicy and sweet Yangnyeom Tongdak.. like any pre frying mis-en-place.. just season your raw wings / drummets with salt and pepper... this recipe calls for about 1kg of wings.. so if you are frying more, make double batter and sauce...

Once your seasoned chicken is salted and peppered, add the following ingredients onto the chicken and mix with your hand...don´t be afraid to get it dirty.. thats the only way you can get it well coated.

Ingredients:-

1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sweet rice flour (chapssal) or if its hard to find, use plain rice flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
1 egg

Make sure every piece of chicken in well coated and deep fry for 5 minutes, remove and let it rest. Continue frying your other batches. These chicken needs to be fried TWICE!!

Once the earlier batch of chicken has cooled down, refried them until golden brown. The purpose is to ´harden´ the batter so that it is ultra crispy. You may not know this but in Indonesia, most of the fried chicken recipes call for double frying.. sometimes tripled for cripy paru or fried lungs!!

What you can do while waiting for the re-fried chicken to be done is to do the sauce.. it is simple... in case you have no clue what is gochujang, its a spicy fermented chilli paste thats used in kimchi and most banchan (side dishes). Its even used in cooking bibimbap.

4 cloves of garlic (minced)
1/3 cup tomato ketchup
1/3 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup gochujang (hot pepper paste)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Sesame seeds
Oil

Sautee the minced garlic in oil, ad once golden, add in the ketchup, syrup, gochujang and vinegar. Simmer until thick and bubbly. Add in your twice fried chicken and coat it with the sauce. Sprinkle sesame seeds and enjoy while its hot.. You can eat it as a side dish or for me, hot steaming rice, some kimchi is enjoy to make me happy... 맛있게 드세요 ..mas-issge deuseyo !!

Cheesy Turkey Ham Soft Rolls

These are supposed to be a recipe for just simple plain soft rolls but since the kids love cheese and turkey ham, i stuffed the middle with it.. of course the options are endless, hotdogs, tuna, cheese with sugar ...

Ingredients are :-

1 cup warm water
1/3 cup milk powder

Mix warm water with milk powder in a mixing bowl.

1 packet of instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter (softened)
1 egg (small)
1 cup flour

Add the yeast in the warm milk , stir and add the rest of the ingredients and knead on low speed using a dough hook for about 2 minutes.

1 cup flour - 1.5 cup flour

Fillings - slices of turkey ham and shredded cheddar or mozzarella 

Add another 1 cup flour  and knead with the dough hook for another 5 minutes. If the dough is still wet, add the balance flour bit by bit but not more than that half cup.

Pull out the dough hook and grease the sides of the bowl with oil so that it doesn´t stick when the dough rises. Cover and let it rise until dough is doubled.

Once dough has risen, dust your working area with flour and punch down the dough and roll out your dough into a circle. If you have a pizza cutter, cut the dough into even slices.

Take each slice of dough, add the ham and cheese and roll inwards starting from the edge to the pointy part of the triangle.

don´t worry if you triangles aren´t perfect... mine wasn´t ! ha ha Place them on greased tray or you could use parchment paper.. let it rise for another 30 minutes (i only let it rise for another 10 minutes because it was a hot day yesterday!) and bake in the oven for 15 minutes on 170 degrees .Once the top is golden brown, remove from the oven and glaze it with melted butter.

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!

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