Tuesday 22 September 2015

Carrot Cake

(A) 
4 eggs
200g Brown sugar
10g Vanilla Essence

(B)
Pinch Salt 
260g Self Raising Flour
2g Cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp Baking powder if using plain flour
1/4 tsp Baking soda

(C) 
260g Carrot Shredded
80g Walnut
190g coconut oil or any cooking oil 
 
Method
1.  Whisk (A) to light and fluffy at high speed about 10 min.
2.   Add (B) slowly into (A) 
3.   Fold in (C)
4. Pour into tray or cups. Bake at 180 for 30 to 35 mins


Cream Cheese Topping 
(A)
250g cream cheese
100g Icing sugar
(B)
40g Butter (soften)
2 tsp Lemon Juice

Method
1.  Cream cheese till soft and smooth, add sugar mix well.
2. Add butter and flavour.
3. Spread on cake.









Friday 14 August 2015

Choux Pastry:


1 cup (130 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) salt

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter

1/2 cup (120 grams) whole (full fat) milk

1/2 cup (120 grams) water

1 teaspoon (5 grams) granulated white sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature (lightly beaten) (total weight 220 grams (without the shells))

Egg Wash:

1 large egg (55 grams without the shell)

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (50 grams) shaved almonds

Whipped Cream (Chantilly Cream):

1 1/2 cups (360 ml) cold heavy whipping cream

3/4 teaspoon (3 grams) pure vanilla extract

2 - 3 tablespoon (25 - 40 grams) granulated white sugar, or to taste

Garnish:

Powdered (Confectioners or icing) sugar


Paris Brest: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw an eight inch (20 cm) circle on the parchment paper to use as a guide when piping the choux pastry.

In a bowl sift or whisk together the flour and salt.

Place the butter, milk, water, and sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and, with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula, quickly stir in the flour mixture. Place your saucepan back over medium-low heat and stir constantly until the dough comes away from the sides of the pan and forms a thick smooth ball (about 3 minutes). Transfer the dough to your electric mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment), or you can use a hand mixer, and beat on low speed a minute or two to release the steam from the dough. Once the dough is lukewarm, start adding the lightly beaten eggs, in small additions, and continue to mix until you have a smooth thick shiny paste. (You will notice that the dough will separate and then come together. Continue to mix until you have a smooth thick paste that will fall from a spoon in a thick ribbon).

Transfer the dough to a large piping bag fitted with a large plain tip (#4). Pipe a 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick ring of dough just inside the 8 inch (20 cm) circle that is drawn on the parchment paper. Pipe another 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick ring inside the first ring, making sure the rings of dough are touching. Pipe a final ring of dough on top, along the center seam between the first two rings of dough.

Egg Wash: In a small bowl whisk the egg with the salt. With a pastry brush, brush the glaze gently on the top and sides of the dough, smoothing the rings of dough. Sprinkle with the shaved almonds. 

Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Bake for a further 40-45 minutes or until the choux pastry is a golden brown color, puffed, and crisp. (Do not open the oven door while the choux pastry bakes or it might deflate.) Turn the oven off, leave the oven door slightly ajar, and leave the choux pastry in the oven so the shell can further dry out (about 30-45 minutes). Remove from oven and finish cooling on a wire rack.

Whipped Cream: In a large mixing bowl, with the whisk attachment, beat the whipping cream with the vanilla extract and sugar until stiff peaks form.

To Assemble: Split the pastry shell in half horizontally and remove any wet pieces of dough. Then spoon (or pipe) the whipped cream into the hollow center of the shell. Place the top half of the pastry shell on the whipped cream and dust the top of the Paris Brest with powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar.

Serves about 8-10 people.




Tuesday 11 August 2015

Blackberry ice cream with yogurt

Blackberry-Lemon Ice Cream Pie

Ingredients

Crust

  • 2 cups coarsely crumbled gingersnap cookies 
  • 3 tablespoons canola oil

Filling & Topping

  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 cup nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt
  • 3 cups blackberries, divided
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  1. To prepare the crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray.
  2. Process cookies in a food processor until finely ground. Add oil and process until well combined. Using your fingertips or the back of a spoon, press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake until just set, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
  3. To make the filling: Whip cream in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until starting to thicken. Add sugar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in yogurt.
  4. Clean out the bowl of the food processor and puree 2 cups blackberries. Pour the puree through a sieve into the yogurt-cream mixture, pressing on the solids to strain out as much of the puree as possible. Add lemon zest and gently fold the flavorings into the yogurt-cream mixture.
  5. Spread the flavored yogurt-cream mixture into the cooled crust. Top with the remaining 1 cup blackberries. Freeze until very firm, at least 5 hours. To serve, let the pie stand at room temperature until softened slightly, about 15 minutes, before slicing.

Tips & Notes

  • Make Ahead Tip: Once frozen, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 1 week. Let stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes before serving.
  • For a healthier cookie crust, choose cookie brands without any partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats). We like Mi-Del ginger and chocolate snaps. Look for them in the natural-foods section of well-stocked supermarkets and at natural-foods stores.
  • Storage smarts: For long-term freezer storage, wrap your food in a layer of plastic wrap followed by a layer of foil. The plastic will help prevent freezer burn while the foil will help keep off-odors from seeping into the food.

Nutrition

Nutrition Per Serving

calories279
fat16 g (6 g sat, 7 g mono)
cholesterol31 mg
carbohydrates31 g
protein5 g
fiber3 g
sodium117 mg
potassium213 mg


Wednesday 11 March 2015

How to make your own cake flour using plain flour and corn flour

DIRECTIONS

  1. 1. Measure out the flour that you'll need for your recipe.
  2. 2. For every cup of flour you use, take out two tablespoons of flour and return it to the flour bin. Put the cup of flour (minus the two tablespoons) into a sifter set over a bowl.
  3. 3. Replace the two tablespoons of flour that you removed with two tablespoons of cornstarch.
  4. 4. Sift the flour and cornstarch together. Sift it again, and again and again. The cornstarch and flour need to be well incorporated and the flour aerated. Sift the flour and cornstarch mixture about five times.
  5. And now you have cake flour!

Wednesday 18 February 2015

Simple pancake

Pancake Recipe:

1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons (28 grams) granulated sugar 

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 cup (240 ml) milk

2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, melted

Pancake Recipe: In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, milk, and melted butter. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and then pour in the egg mixture, all at once, and stir (with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon) just until combined. The batter should have some small lumps. (Do not over mix the batter or the pancakes will be tough.) 

Heat a frying pan or griddle over medium high heat until a few sprinkles of water dropped on the pan or griddle splatter.  Adjust the temperature as needed. Can also use an electric griddle with the temperature set at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Using a piece of paper towel or a pastry brush, lightly brush the pan with melted butter or oil (or spray with a non stick vegetable spray.)

Using a small ladle or scoop, pour about 1/4 cup (60 ml) of pancake batter onto the hot pan, spacing the pancakes a few inches apart. When the bottoms of the pancakes are brown and bubbles start to appear on the top surfaces of the pancakes (2-3 minutes), turn over. Cook until lightly browned (about 1-2 minutes). 

Repeat with remaining batter, brushing the pan with melted butter or oil between batches.

Serve immediately with butter and maple syrup.

Makes about 8 - 4 inch (10 cm) pancakes.  Serves 3-4 people.

For Blueberry Pancakes: Sprinkle fresh or frozen blueberries (prefer wild blueberries) on the tops of the pancakes just as bubbles start to appear on the top surface of the frying batter. Preparation time 15 minutes.

 




Wednesday 9 July 2014

饮料瓶底部可怕的秘密, 一定要看!

PET聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇脂

  常见矿泉水瓶、碳酸饮料瓶等。耐热至70℃易变形,有对人体有害的物质融出。1号塑料品用了10个月后,可能释放出致癌物DEHP。不能放在汽车内晒太阳;不要装酒、油等物质!

HDPE高密度聚乙烯

  常见白色药瓶、清洁用品、沐浴产品。不要再用来做为水杯,或者用来做储物容器装其他物品。清洁不彻底,不要循环使用。

★聚氯乙烯

  常见雨衣、建材、塑料膜、塑料盒等。可塑性优良,价钱便宜,故使用很普遍,只能耐热81.高温时容易有不好的物质产生,很少被用于食品包装。难清洗易残留,不要循环使用。若装饮品不要购买。

PE聚乙烯

  常见保鲜膜、塑料膜等高温时有有害物质产生,有毒物随食物进入人体后,可能引起乳腺癌、新生儿先天缺陷等疾病。保鲜膜别进微波炉。

PP聚丙烯

  常见豆浆瓶、优酪乳瓶、果汁饮料瓶、微波炉餐盒。熔点高达167℃,是唯一可以放进微波炉的塑料盒,可在小心清洁后重复使用。需要注意,有些微波炉餐盒,盒体以5PP制造,但盒盖却以1PE制造,由于PE不能抵受高温,故不能与盒体一并放进微波炉。

PC聚苯乙烯

  常见碗装泡面盒、快餐盒。不能放进微波炉中,以免因温度过高而释出化学物。装酸(如柳橙汁)、碱性物质后,会分解出致癌物质。避免用快餐盒打包滚烫的食物。别用微波炉煮碗装方便面。

PC其它类

  常见水壶、太空杯、奶瓶。百货公司常用这样材质的水杯当赠品。很容易释放出有毒的物质双酚A,对人体有害。使用时不要加热,不要在阳光下直晒。

Monday 14 April 2014

chicken Tikka Masala

INGREDIENTS

1kg of boneless skinless chicken cut into chunks

Marinade for Chicken:

  • 200g non-fat greek yogurt
  • Juice from ½ lemon
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper 
  • ¼ tsp black peppe
  • a pinch of salt

Ingredients for the sauce 

  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 3 cardamom pods, smashed lightly
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 inch stick of cinnamon
  • 1 large onion, blended into paste
  • 1 tsp salt 
  • 1 tbs grated ginger
  • 1 tbs crushed garlic
  • 1 tbs ground cumin
  • ½ tbs ground coriander
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
  • 4 plum tomatoes, puréed
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 tbs brown sugar
  • 2-4 tbs heavy cream
  • small handful of coriander, chopped for garnish

METHOD

  1. Combine ingredients for marinade in a large glass bowl, add chicken and allow to marinate while you get on with the sauce.
  2. In a large pot, heat oil and butter over medium heat and add the cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. Cook for 20-30 seconds or until lightly fragrant.
  3. Add the onion and salt. Cook over medium heat and stir frequently. Cook until the onions are a light to medium brown color.
  4. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 1 minute over medium heat, or until lightly fragrant.
  5. Add the coriander, cumin, cayenne, tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook until the fat starts to leave the spice paste (you will see little pools of liquid on the top or on the sides). Some of the liquid from the tomatoes should have evaporated leaving a thick mixture.
  6. Add the chicken to the same pot and cook until the outside is no longer opaque. Add brown sugar and enough water to cover the chicken. Cook covered on medium low for 20-25 minutes, until the chicken is meltingly tender. The sauce should be the consistency of a pasta sauce. Add water or turn up the heat to reduce the sauce as necessary before going to the next step.
  7. Turn heat to low and add cream. Check the seasoning. If it is flat, add more salt, brown sugar or cayenne.
  8. Remove cardamom, cinnamon stick and cloves.
  9. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with Basmati rice.