Day: August 12, 2009

Kenny Rogers corn muffins

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saw this recipe on Maria’s blog recently.
and really got very bad craving for the corn muffins from Kenny Rogers.
use to be one of the reasons why I dined at Kenny Rogers last time. haha.
so I decided to give it a shot! and I’m so glad I did!
cause they were very very similar to the ones in Singapore
and they were super yum! hehe

so thank you Maria for posting this recipe! (:

try it! cos it’s super easy to make
and you will be super glad with the turn out!
cos it’s super duper yummy. really awesome!

so here’s the recipe and step by step photos!

Ingredients :

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup polenta
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup frozen yellow corn ( I used a can of corn kernels )

Steps :

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (200 degrees celcius).

2. Cream together butter, sugar, honey, eggs and salt in a large bowl.

3. Combine the polenta with the flour and baking powder until well combined.
Alternate this mixture with the milk into the creamed mixture.

4. Add corn to mixture and combine by hand until corn is worked in.

5. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan and fill each cup with batter.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until muffins begin to turn brown on top.

fresh from the oven! (:
I baked it a little longer cause I wanted the sides to be crispy.
baby likes it that way and requested it to be crispy haha.
so it’s really up to you and ur loved ones how you guys like it!

it’s super duper YUM! (: hehe
give it a shot!
you won’t regret it!
especially those who are away and are craving it!

ENJOY!

Mug Cake

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I made this super easy
2 mins chocolate cake
for a quick chocolate craving fix! hehe
i know. not the conventional kind to make a cake.
but its the best i could come up with
in the shortest time! (:

it’s called Mug Cake!
and it’s exactly what it looks like.
making a cake in your mug!
and in the microwave.
I followed all the instructions. and it said on high for 3mins.
and mine came out a bit overdone.
so I would say. 2 mins and it would be nice, and almost lava cake-ish. hehe

can tell it’s pretty dry and stuff.
but it was still yummy! (: hehe
just need to shorten the time in the microwave.
and it would be perfect.
so give it a try if you need a quick choc fix! hehe

4 tablespoon of plain flour
4 tablespoon of sugar
2 tablespoon of cocoa powder
1 egg
3 tablespoon of milk
3 tablespoon of oil
3 tablespoon of chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract

Methods :

1. Add dry ingredients into a bowl
2. Add the egg and mix well. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well again.
Add the chocolate chips and vanilla and mix again.
3. Pour mixture into your mug, and put in in the microwave for 2 mins at HIGH.

PS: the cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don’t worry. it will be fine! (:
Let it cool and sprinkle some icing sugar to make it look pretty!

EAT!
*slurp*

Enjoy dearies. It’s all good and easy and fun!

Three Emperor Egg

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Did a few things that was my first try today.
just felt like doing something new (:
and i did.

been looking and reading blogs.
both cooking and baking ones.
and found quite a number of things i wanna make and bake!
just gets my stress or like emotions away.
away from myself.
which is good. and therapeutic (:

SO! hehe
today i made this dish for dinner called
Three Emporer Egg. haha.
sounds profound. but it’s super easy! hehe
and it has everything my baby likes.
so i thought of giving it a try.

4 normal chicken eggs
1 century egg
1 salted egg
1/2 cup water
1 pinch of white pepper

Methods :

1. Fill a large pot of water and bring it to boil (or if you have your own methods of steaming, please use it!)
2. Beat all the chicken eggs with the water in a bowl. (water makes the egg smoother and lighter)
3. Add the century egg, salted egg and pepper and stir well.
4. Steam is for about 15 mins and shake the bowl to see if it’s ready.
If the egg is wobbly but firm, then it’s ready to be served. If not, put it in for 5 mins intervals.
5. Before serving, drizzle a bit of sesame oil and a good dash of soy sauce.
Sprinkle some fried shallots (or very fine fried ginger).

it turned out pretty good! i must say. hehe
Lester really likes it. so I am really glad (:

love from my boy

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Baby cooked dinner tonight
and it was awesome! hehe
been really long since we had Paella.
and because I saw Gordan Ramsay cooking it on the F word.
(yes, yet again)
I wanted to have it! hehe

thank you for cooking it for me (:
i love you!

how good does that look? hehe
prawns, squid, chorizo, chicken, fresh basil, saffron
all the wonderful and aromatic ingredients.
was just super yumms!

baby cooked one whole big pan of it! hehe
was super duper good! (:
i know I’ve said it many times.
but really was yummy

perfect. just perfect. (:

and just in case you guys wanna give it a go
here’s the recipe!

Ingredients :

1.25L (5 cups) of chicken stock
Pinch of saffron threads
2 chorizo sausages, thinly sliced (I only used one)
400g chicken fillets, cut into 3 cm pieces
8 green(mediums) prawns (we used 10 king prawns, and left all the shells intact)
200g of squid cut into rings
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red capsicum, deseeded, thinly sliced (we left this out)
1 tsp paprika
440g (2 cups) medium-grain rice (we used aborio rice)
2 tomatoes, finely chopped (we used 1 1/2)

Steps :

1. Place the stock, saffron and water in a large saucepan.
Cover and bring to the boil. Remove from heat.

2. Cook the chorizo in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat,
turning once, for 3 mins or until crisp. Transfer to a plate.

3. Add the chicken to the pan and cook,
turning occasionally for 5 mins or until golden.
Transfer to the plate.

4. Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring often for about 4 mins.
Add the garlic, capsicum and paprika and cook,
stirring for 1 minute. Add rice and stir to coat.
Stir in tomato. Add stock mixture and bring to boil.
Reduce heat and cook for 15 mins or until liquid is almost absorbed.

5. Add the chorizo, chicken, prawns and squid.
Cook, covered, for 5-10 mins or until all the liquid is absorbed.
Serve immediately.

ENJOY!

Brooklyn Blackout Cake

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Since Peggy was going to be away for her birthday.
and she invited us over for dinner at their place.
I decided to bake a birthday cake for her.
and also a gesture to thank the both of them
cause they always invite us to join them for dinners or day adventures! hehe
so it was a must to bake her a cake.
was a bit worried. cause i decided to bake something I’ve never tried before.
seriously daring.
and maybe seriously OUT OF MY MIND. hahaha.
but yes. it turned out pretty well!
and hopefully she enjoyed it (:

it was my first three layer cake! (:
i kinda suck at baking big cakes.
more of a cupcake person.
but i think it doesnt look half bad! right? haha

i was quite happy with how it looks after we cut out a piece! (:

success! (:

im a happy girl. hehe

Recipe:
(From The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook)

ingredients:

100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
260g caster sugar
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
45g cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
a pinch of salt
170g plain flour
160 ml whole milk

chocolate custard:

500g caster sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
125g cocoa powder
200g cornflour
85g unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

also need:
3 20cm cake tins, base-lined with greaseproof paper

Steps :

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees celcius (Gas 3)

2. Put the butter and sugar in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or a handheld electric whisk)
and cream until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl
with a rubber spatula after each addition.
Turn the mixer down down to slow speed and beat in the vanilla extract, cocoa powder,
baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt until well mixed.
Add half the flour, then all the milk, and finish with the remaining flour.
Mix well until everything is well combined.

3. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tins and smooth over with a palette knife.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 mins.
Leave the cakes to cool slightly in the tins
before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

4. For the chocolate custard: Put the sugar, golden syrup, cocoa powder and 600ml of water
into a large saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat, whisking occasionally.

5. Mix in the cornflour with 120ml of water, then whisk into the cocoa mixture in the saucepan.
Bring back to boil , whisking constantly.
Cook until very thick, about 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract.
Pour the custard into a bowl, cover with clingfilm and chill until very firm.

6. When the cakes are cold, using a serrated knife, slice a thin layer off one of the cakes.
Put this layer into a food processor and process to make fine crumbs.
Put one cake on a cake stand and spread about one-quarter of the chocolate custard over it with a palette knife.
Place a second cake on top and spread another quarter of the custard over it.
Top with the last cake and spread the remaining custard over the top and sides.
Cover with the cake crumbs and chill for about 2 hours.

crazy about puffs.

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well a few weeks back I’ve tried baking durian puffs back home.
now that I’m back.
and it’s just the start of uni.
I’ve got a bit of time to do some baking!
and I’m still in this cream puff stage. haha
so i decided to make some cream puffs filled with home-made vanilla custard! (:
and they were super yum! hehe
baby enjoyed them alot. hehe
and they were super shiok when it’s chilled.

made one batch of choux pastry and initially one batch of custard.
but the choux pastry was taken from one recipe
and the custard another.
so I didn’t quite know how many puffs I would get
and how much the custard would be able to fill.
so I ended up making another 2 batches of custard. haha
yes. custard crazy!
but worth the hard work.
really enjoy making them. (:
though I think the puffs I made back home were a bit better. hehe
this one didn’t lose out much!

ps: if you have the ingredients from the baking mum website for the choux pastry
give that one a try.
the pastry is a little better in texture.
I didn’t have the different flours so I used the recipe from masterchef instead.

YUMI-NESS! (:


Ingredients :

Choux Pastry
(Adapted from Masterchef)

212g water
265g milk
10g sugar
10g salt
200g butter
265g flour
8 eggs

Pastry cream
(Adapted from Baking Mum)

720ml skim milk
15 tbsp caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
3 egg + 6 yolks
6 tbsp cornstarch

Steps :

For the Pastry Cream

1. Mix 180ml of milk with the cornstarch till smooth.
2. Add the beaten egg and yolks into the cornstarch mixture.
3. Boil the remaining milk with sugar and vanilla essence in a saucepan till bubbling hot.
Pour 1/3 of this hot milk into the egg cornstarch mixture. Stirring all the time.
4. Now pour the egg cornstarch mixture through a strainer into the rest of the boiling milk.
Stirring constantly till mixture thicken. Do not burn the custard.
5. Cling wrap custard with glad wrap with the wrap touching the surface of the custard
(this is to prevent a hard film forming on surface of the custard) and chill till ready to use.

For the Choux Pastry

1. Preheat the oven to 210°c convection. Lightly grease 4 oven trays and set aside. Combine
the butter with water, sugar, milk & salt in a large heavy-based saucepan and bring to the
boil. Remove from the heat and using a wooden spoon quickly beat in the flour. Return to the
heat and continue beating until the mixture comes together and leaves the side of the pan.
Cook, beating over low heat for 1-2 minutes to cook flour. Remove from heat and allow to
cool slightly.

2. Transfer to a large bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat the mixture to release any more heat.
Gradually add the eggs, one at a time. Beat well between each addition until all the eggs
have been added and the mixture is thick and glossy. Beat for a few more minutes, or until
thickened.

3. Spoon the mixture, in batches, into a piping bag fitted with a 1.25-1.5cm nozzle. Cover
remaining pastry with cling film. Pipe mixture onto trays about 3cm x 2cm high leaving room
for spreading.
Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 180°c and bake for another 10 mins,
in batches, or until firm and hollow when tapped.
Transfer puffs to wire racks.

4.Put custard into a piping bag with a nozzle less than 1cm. Poke a small hole in the base of
each puff and fill with custard.

DONE! (:

Sounds like alot of work.
but I promise you the effort is worth it!
cause it’s super duper yummy! hehe

ENJOY!

Durian Puffs

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Mummy told me there were leftover durians in the fridge
which she already took the flesh out.
so I decided to make durian puffs! hehe
for the first time!
and it was a HUGE success! hehe
everyone loved it.
which made me happy. cos I dun eat durian
and I wouldn’t know how it tasted. haha
took a huge risk! (: but was a good one to take. hehe

how yummy do they look? hehe
i was super happy! hehe

everyone had a lot of creamed durian in it. haha
my grandma loved it! hehe
wheeee! (:

and cheok came over that night.
and he had to try some as well haha

hopefully that expression meant he liked it. haha.

Ingredients:

Choux Pastry:
(I doubled this recipe)
85ml water
50g butter
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
50g bread flour
20g cake flour
2 eggs (lightly beaten)

Durian Fillings:
200 or 250 ml of non-diary whipping cream
equivalent amount of durian pulps
10 gm of gelatine powder
3 tbsp of hot water to dissolve gelatine powder

Steps:

Choux Pastry:
1. Cook water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan till bubbling hot. Turn the heat to low.

2. Add in the flour mixture in one go and mix with a wooden spoon till a dough is formed.

3. Still on low heat, cook the dough for 1 – 2 minutes till a thin white film is formed at the bottom of the saucepan.

4. Transfer dough to a mixing bowl and beat till it is lukewarm.

5. Add in egg by thirds and mix till well blended and smooth.

6. Place batter into piping bag and pipe it onto a lined pan in rounds of about 5cm in diameter.
Spray some water on it.

7. Bake at 200C for 25 minutes then 180C for 8 – 10 minutes or till dry and golden brown in color.
Turn off the oven and let it cool in the oven for 30 minutes.

8. For the durian filling, whip up whipping cream to a soft peak.
Add in durian pulps and melted gelatine powder and mix well.
Put fillings in a piping bag and pipe it out into the baked choux pastry.
If you like, you can just spoon the fillings into the pastry too.
Dust the top of the pastry with some snow powder and leave it in fridge to chill before serving.

YUMSSSS! (:
I’m a happy girl!
Super good to be home. hehe

Raisins and Lemon Scones

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I have been back in Singapore for the last 2 weeks.
Can’t post it public cause I had a few surprises planned (:
one failed. and one was a super good success! hehe
happiness. hehe

when i came back.
I stayed home for 5 days
just to make sure I wasn’t infected by the H1N1 nonsense. haha
so what could I do during the time back home?
BAKE OF COURSE! hehe
with my beloved mixer. hehe
oh. how i miss you so! hahaha.



in Melbourne.
all I have is a hand held mixer. haha
and I am seriously not a big fan
cause everything flies all over the place! haha
but yes. was good to be able to use my mixer again! (:

since my mummy is a HUGE fan of scones
I decided to make the scones they made during MasterClass.
and it was goood! hehe
loved it.
cos normally i make scones in weird shapes. haha
they dough tend to be a tad bit sticky
but this one. is pretty! (:

before it went into the oven

AFTER! hehe nice and golden brown hehe (:
LOVE MY OVEN! haha

the lemony taste of the scones made it kinda refreshing.
besides the usual plain or just raisins scones. hehe

Ingredients:

150ml-175ml milk
150ml cream
1 egg
3 cups self-raising flour
2 tbs caster sugar
1 cup chopped, dried dates
Finely grated rind 1 lemon
Cream & jam, to serve

Steps:

1. Preheat oven 200°C fan forced. Line large flat oven tray with baking paper.

2. Whisk 150ml milk, cream and egg together until well combined. Combine
flour, sugar, dates and lemon rind in a large bowl. Add milk mixture and stir
gently to a soft dough, adding remaining milk if necessary. Turn onto a lightly
floured surface and knead gently until dough comes together.

3. Press dough out to 2cm-thick. Cut scones from dough and place onto tray
flat-side up. Press dough together gently and repeat using the remaining
dough. Brush the tops with milk and sprinkle with a little sugar. Bake 12-15
minutes until golden and well risen. Serve hot with jam and cream.

Honey soy Salmon with ginger dressing

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coming back to Melbourne.
Zhenghan was still at our place.
so we decided to cook for him. hehe
for the first time I think (:
and i must say
I am super happy with how it turned out! (:

we decided to splurge and got salmon
to try Gordan Ramsay’s dish that he demonstrated during the Food and Wine Show! hehe

suppose to use smoked salmon fillets.
but we just used the normal one.
and it turned out yummy as well! hehe

it was easy to cook
and quick as well! (: everyone should give it a try!
hoped Zhenghan enjoyed it. hehe
we sure did haha

it was our first time having radish this way
and it was really good.
and refreshing as well.
absolutely love it!

the ginger dressing complimented the dish so well.
i can’t wait to go back home and cook this for my family
cos I’m so sure they would love it! hehe

so give it a try! hehe

Ingredients :

3 skinless salmon fillets
100g baby spinach, washed and dried
8-10 radishes, washed, trimmed and finely sliced

honey soy marinade

1/4 cup honey
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 ts grated ginger

Ginger dressing

1 tbsp grated ginger
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp tahini

Steps :

1. Check salmon for pin-bones, using tweezers to remove if necessary.
Place in a shallow dish or a tupperware

2. To make marinade,  mix ingredients together in a bowl.
Pour over salmon to coat.
Cover with plastic wrap or with the cover of the tupperware and marinate in the fridge for 30 mins,
allowing the flavours to permeate.

3. Preheat oven to 230C or 210C fan. To make dressing, whisk together ingredients.

4. Lift salmon from marinade and place on a lightly greased baking tray.
Discard marinade.
Bake for 4-6mins, basting after 2 mins, until medium rare and slightly springy to touch.

5. Meanwhile, arrange spinach on plates and top with radish.
Place a salmon fillet in centre of each plate.
Drizzle over dressing to serve.

6. Glazed Salmon with spinach and radish. DONE! (:

Porcini and Salami Risotto

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been having a risotto craving
but can’t find any that sells really good and creamy risotto.
if you have recommendations,
please feel free to let me know!
whether it’s here in Melbourne, Sydney or in Singapore! hehe

so here’s the recipe to this super yums dish.
the flavour of the procini mushrooms are just awesome.
soaking them in hot water
just gave me a chance to use the water as part of the stock
and trust me.
it was a good move! (:

Recipe from Delicious Magazine

Ingredients :

100g piece salami, roughly chopped ( I used hot pepperoni instead)
1 tsp of olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
25g dried porcini mushrooms, soaked and drained after
125g arborio risotto rice
500-600ml chicken or vegetable stock, hot (and the water from the porcini mushrooms)
40g Parmesan, grated, plus shavings to serve

Steps :

1. Heat a large, deep saucepan over a high heat.
Add the salami and cook for 2-3 minutes, until turning golden and the oil has been released from the meat.
Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the oil and then the onion to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, to soften.
Add the mushrooms, cook for 2 minutes, then stir in the rice and make sure the rice is coated with the oil.

3. Add two big ladles of the hot stock and cook, stirring, until absorbed.
Continue to add the stock (1 ladle at the time), stirring occasionally, until the rice is cooked but still al dente.
This should take about 20 minutes.

4. Stir the salami and Parmesan into the risotto and season to taste.
Divide between bowls and top with Parmesan shavings and extra parsley to serve.

DONE! (: