Tuna Buns

Today will be my last bake in 2014. A simple Tuna Buns for today's lunch! I'm not really in the mood of baking or cooking these few days as it keeps raining everyday and floods everywhere near east coast of Malaysia. So sad to hear that the numbers of victims increasing everyday and we, those who stay west can't do much for them. I'll pray hard and may god bless the victims and their families.

School holidays have been extended to another week due to the rain and floods here. That means my daughter will be resuming school only on the 12th of January 2015. Hmm....another week huh....I'll take that week to boost up my energy for baking and cooking!! So stay tune, there might be something coming up then...^^"

Tuna Buns

Recipe makes 7-8 buns
Starter dough:
230g Bread flour / High protein flour
5g instant yeast
160-170g water

~ Mix them well with a mixer then let proof for 1.5 hours

Bread dough:
20g egg (beaten)
60g castor sugar
1/4 tsp salt
25g cold water
2.5g instant yeast
100g bread flour / High protein flour

30g butter

Fillings:
1 small can of tuna mayonnaise

~ Add in the above ingredients (except butter) into the starter dough
~ Mix well till a dough form then add in butter, continue kneading to form a smooth and elastic dough
~ Divide into 60g each, knead into long strip, then fold into desire shape.
~ Place them onto prepared tin or paper cups. Let proof for another 10-15 mins or until double in size
~ Brush with egg wash and put filling on top
~ Bake at 190'C for 15 minutes.

 The texture are super soft as you can see the picture I've shown above. You can make this with other fillings for example sardines or even chicken curry. Good to serve for breakfast, lunch or tea!

Lastly, I'll like to wish everyone here a very Happy New Year and lots lots more interesting bakes to come in 2015!!

Happy New Year!

Cheers!

My Christmas Bakes

Hi! Christmas is around the corner, and this year I've baked some cookies and cakes that my family requested to celebrate with. What's more....the most delicious homemade Chocolate Bars and my not-to-miss Brandy Fruit Cakes!! These 2 recipes are the MUST in the menu. With only 2 recipes are not enough to serve my wonderful guess this year so I've added a cut-out Icing Cookies from Nigella Lawson and a simple yet yummy cooling Beer look alike Apple Juice Jelly from Anncoo Journal. Thanks Ann for sharing this simple and yummy dessert..:))

First, the cut-out Cookies (Recipe by Nigella Lawson) Here I've posted for my own reference.

 Ingredients for cookies dough:
90g butter
100g castor sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
200g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine salt

 Ingredients for icing:
150g icing sugar
food colouring
1-2 tbsps warm water

Method:
~ Cream butter and sugar together until light and pale
~ Add in egg and vanilla and beat well.
~ Add in flour, baking powder and salt and form into a soft dough.
(If dough is too sticky, may add alittle more flour but take note that too much flour may cause the dough tough)
~ Wrap with clingfilm and fridge for at least 1 hour.
~ Sprinkle some flour on surface and roll out dough to a thickness about 0.5cm
~ Cut into shapes with a cookie cutter and place them on to the prepared tin lined with parchment paper.
~ Bake at 180'C for 8-12 mins or until the edge of the cookies turn alittle brown.
~ Cool the cookies completely on a wire rack.
~ Add 1 -2 tbsps water slowly (may not need all) to the icing sugar and mix well until gets a thick paste.
~ Add in desire colour and mix well. Pipe onto cooled cookies and let it set.

I've used colour paste instead of liquid for the icing, for it has mentioned that paste colours don't dilute the icing as they tint.

Secondly, the Brandy Fruit Cake that I've always baked for the Chinese New Year. Please find the recipe here.

It has been my must-bake recipe every year. You can always ignore the brandy if you don't take alchohol.

It's such a wonderful gift for friends and relatives during any festive. And it can be kept in the fridge for few months if wrap properly with aluminium foil and store in an airtight container.

Third, the Chocolate and Nuts Bars. It has been quite some time since I made this. This is 1 of the top recipes in my list. Want it, get it here.

This bars can be kept in the fridge for many months but I'm sure they cannot stay long in your fridge..haha!

Last but not least, the bear look alike Apple Juice Jelly (recipe from Anncoo Journal)
please refer to her blog for recipes.
Thank you again, Ann, for this wonderful recipe!

They do look like beer and I've fooled my sister when she came visit just now..LOL!!
They are so tasty and my daughter has requested it again on Christmas day..:))

Cheers!

Spicy and Sour Trotter

Here comes a dish that I've longed for. Trying many times cooked by my mother but I never try it out myself. Until I saw my sister's post last week that drolled me out from the screen...haha! I've cooked mine the next day then...super yummy!! You'll never believe it...I almost walloped up the whole trotter...LOL!! Well, a tough jog the next day to burn those calories..;p

With a twist from my mom's recipe, I've done a good job I can say. Love this to bit!
Here...I'll share mine with you...:))

Ingredients:
1 medium trotter (chopped in big pieces)
2-3 Chilli Padi (bird's eye chilli)
1 small bowl dried chilli (wash and drained)
4-5 pieces old ginger (sliced thinned)
3 cloves black garlic
30g rock sugar
about 500ml assam water (I used 3 tbsps assam paste melted in 450ml water)
** can be substitute to black vinegar
a little salt to taste
a little light soy sauce to taste
some spring onions for decoration

Method:
~ Wash the trotter and bring to boil in clear water for 5 mins. Wash with running cool water, drain and set aside.
~ In a claypot or a wok, saute the garlic, ginger, dried chilli and chilli padi with a little oil till fragnant.
~ Add in the trotter and stir for a while.
~ Add in assam water and rock sugar, cover with lid and bring to boil.
~ Once boiling, lower the heat and simmer for 1.5 hrs or until trotter is tender.
~ Add in some light soy sauce and salt to taste.
~ Decorate with some spring onions and serve hot.

This is even tastier when serve overnight as the trotter has the flavor observed with the thick gravy.
I will definitely cook this again very soon！

Cheers!

Soft Buns

Breads...Buns..they are so delicious and yet satisfying especially when they came just right out from the oven. I like the process of making though...by pressing and kneading the dough...hehe! Difficult to explain here but once you try it you'll know...kind of addicted..LOL!!

Here a super soft dough recipe that my sister had share it with me lately. Love it so much and I'll like to repost it and share it with you!

Yeah, bread making is fun but the time consuming is...Urgh!! But when you see the result of your making, you will say.."Yes! I'll make this again tomorrow"!..haha! Am I right? ^^"

Here's the link below that my sister had shared....

http://mymindpatch.blogspot.com/2014/11/sweet-milk-buns.html?m=1

Have fun!!

Red bean Buns

Sardine Buns

Mini Sausages Buns

Cheers!

Almond Brittles

Hi all, it's weekend again! School holidays have just started and I bet everyone is so busy with their holiday schedules. Hmm....where are you planning to go this year? I have no idea yet in fact my daughter is enjoying her playtime with her schoolmates everyday. Early this morning I've sent her to ice skating nearby and she had so much fun playing with her friends even though they meet up everyday. Sometimes I just wonder what's their conversations are besides school..;p

Well, besides all the repeated recipe I'm trying to cook for these few days, here's a not-so-special snacks that I'll like to share. I found this recipe from one of the old magazine when I'm trying to rearrange my bookshelf that day. A very simple non-bake snack that I think everyone will adore.

Ingredients:
200g castor sugar
6 tbsps water
60g butter (salted)
200g almond flakes (lightly toast and keep warm)

Method:
~ Prepare a swissroll tray and lined with parchment paper
~ Toast the almond flakes until lightly brown and keep warm
~ Cook the sugar and water in a pot until sugar caramelized
~ Add in butter into sugar syrup and cook until turns to dark caramel color. Be careful not to burn the syrup.
~ Remove the syrup from heat and add in almond flakes. Stir well.
~ Then spread the mixture onto prepared lined tray. Remember to spread until even and thin. (shown above)
~ Then quickly make lines on the spread brittles with a plastic knife so that it's easy to break into small pieces when it turns hard. (shown below)
~ Cool nicely then break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

It is so easy and delicious. My daughter has requested another batch of it. It was so yummy when goes with my favourite long black. Guess this is one of the best to give away during X'mas or Chinese New Year!

Have A Nice Weekend!

Macadamia Chocolate Chips Cookies

Chocolates! Bet everyone can't resist this sweet and tasty snacks huh! I love chocolates as much as my daughter. We can both wallop up few bars of chocolates in a day..haha! 

I have alot chocolate cookies recipes and all are so yummy and tasty and just can't finish to try out all of them. Here, one of the yummilicious one that I'll like to share. Recipe adapted from one of my collection books, with some changes as I can't get some of the ingredients from my nearby bakery store. 

Anyway it turned out super delicious and they never stay long in my cookie jar..;p

I think you can judge how delicious they were from the pictures below...(even though they were badly captured)...haha!

Ingredients:

115g butter

115g brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla essence

115g dark chocolate (roughly chopped)

50g raisins

100g macadamia nuts (roughly chopped)

Method:
~ Preheat oven at 190'C
~ Cream butter with sugar until pale and fluffy
~ Add in egg and vanilla and beat well
~ Stir in flour into the mixture and fold in lightly with a metal spoon
~ Add in chopped chocolate, chopped nuts and raisins and stir well
~ Spoon small spoonful of the mixture onto prepared tin and leaving space for spreading
~ Bake for 15-20 minutes until beginning to turn pale golden
~ Cool for 2-3 minutes and transfer to wire rack to cool completely

Look at the chocolate!! It melted when you bite them and the crunch of the nuts just come so well with the cookies. Trust me...its heaven!
If you like chocolates.....please try this!!

Cheers!

Fried Pumpkin Kueh 南瓜饼

I love pumpkin, its a cultivar of the squash plant, love the deep yellow to orange color. 

I've tried to make some kueh with this beautiful squash long time ago, the colors turned out so beautifully and the sweetness of the squash is so tasteful. 

Here a simple recipe that I'll like to share....Fried Pumpkin Kueh (南瓜饼) which is very famous

Recipe adapted from the web and I've made some changes to suit our own taste. 

I've tried this natural kueh at one of the Chinese restaurant near Kuala Lumpur but when I went back last 2 weeks, the restaurant has closed down. The food were really nice and tasty there, I'm wondering why they closed down without any notice. Anyhow, I've tried out some of their recipes myself and this was one of them.

I'm very satisfied with the outcome and of course when my family love them as much as I do.
Crispy at the outside and chewy inside, very tasty!
Here's the recipe....

Ingredients:
200g pumpkin (cut into small cubes)
200g Glutinous flour
50g castor sugar
alittle salt
alittle water (not neccesary)

Method:
~ Steamed the pumpkin till soft then mashed.
~ Mix all ingredients in a large bowl except water until well mixed.
~ Add alittle water if the dough doesn't form.
~ Round up dough into a small ball (about 20g) and flatten.
~ Heat up alittle cooking oil (about 2-3 tbsps ), panfry the kueh at medium heat until both sides are golden brown.
~ Place cooked kueh on greasing paper to remove some extra oil and serve hot.

Cheers!

Grilled Paprika Chicken with Baked Cheesy Potatoes and Mushrooms

So lately I've been baking and cooking all the old recipes, craving for all the old stuffs. My family has been asking why am I not baking or cook any delicious food that they like last time, so I just bake whatever they ordered..hehe! I'm not lazy but no new recipes lately..haha! 

Anyway, here is one of the old ones which I grilled long time ago for a Christmas party, but with a new side dish which I think I should share with you. A delicious and simple side dish which you should try.

Baked potatoes and brown mushrooms with pizza topping cheese. At the beginning I just thought of baked the potatoes but my daughter requested some mushrooms. So I just mixed all these 3 ingredients together and guess what!....They loved it!!

Ingredients:
4 Soft potatoes, cubed
1 pck Brown mushrooms, halved
salt, black pepper, olive oil (to taste)
Pizza topping cheese (as desire)

~ Mixed all ingredients together then spread the cheese topping over the potatoes and mushrooms.
~ Bake at 200'C for 20-30 minutes or until golden and crispy. Served hot!

*served 4

For the grilled chicken recipe, please refer to my old post, Paprika Grilled Chicken.
This grilled chicken was my best among the others. The chicken drumsticks were bursting with flavors!

Oh the side dish, please remember not to add too much salt as it will be too salty when served with the yummy grilled chicken. Try try try!!! I'll like to know about your comments...:))

Cheers!

Shepherd's Pie @ my way

Hi my dear readers, how are you doing and how do you spend the whole last week? Me?! I'm quite busy with the daily routine and I've been out for almost the whole week for some personal stuffs. Back home to my kitchen, found my old oven has almost dying after accompanied me for all these years. Guess I got to look for a new one now. Any suggestions?

Meanwhile I'm using the portable air cooker for my daily recipes. Still can be done for those simple ones. 

Here, the 1st from the portable air cooker, Shepherd's Pie for our Festive dinner (Mid Autumn Festival) few days ago. Still goes well, and it did not dissapoint me...:) I did twist and turn the recipe to suite my taste, and I love it!

Ingredients:

2 tbsps olive oil

1 large onions (chopped)

1 carrot, finely diced

some green beans (as desire)

250g minced lamb ( I used the Australian Lamb)

1 tbsp dried thyme

1 tbsp dried bazil leafs

5 tbsps tomato paste

2 tbsps brown sugar

a pinch of salt

Marinate Ingredients:

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 tbsps A1 steak sauce

a little black pepper

a little salt and sugar

* marinate the minced lamb with the sauces above for at least 2 hours.

Topping:

600g fluffy potatoes, peeled and quartered

30g butter

1/3 cup fresh milk

a dash of black pepper

~ Steamed the quartered potatotoes for about 5-10 minutes or until potatoes are soft. 

~ Transfered softened potatoes into a tray, add in milk, butter and pepper and mash until smooth and fluffy.

~ Set aside.

Method:

~ Preheat wok and add in 2 tbsps olive oil, saute the chopped onions till fragnant.

~ Add in marinated meat, at medium heat stir fry awhile. Then add in the rest of the ingredients into the meat and keep stirring for few minutes. If the tomato paste is too sour, may add some sugar to adjust the sweetness. Total cook time is about 15-20 minutes.

~ Transfer the meat to a 1.25 litre overproof casserole dish.

~ Preheat oven to moderate 180'C.

~ Spoon the mashed potatoes evenly over the meat and fluff up into peaks with a fork.

~ Bake for about35-40 minutes, or until the top is golden.

Serve hot with a glass of red wine, the wine really brings out the dish quite well.
This was my 1st attempt making a Shepherd's Pie, and i'm very satisfied with the outcome!
I will definitely put this recipe in my top list menu...hehe!

Happy Baking!

Brandy Mixed Fruits Biscotti

Time flies, it's September now! Getting busier towards year end. What is your plan end of this year's holidays? We, Chinese will celebrate the lantern festival (mid autumn festival) in a week time then our Indian friends will be celebrating their Deepavali soon, and then Christmas! Well, school term break is going to start in November and I bet all parents are planning to go somewhere for this holidays. I'm planning to go somewhere relaxing, out from the city life...haha!

Back to the post, here's the biscuits I always love to bite with my cup of coffee. These crunchy Italian cookie has been my all time favourite since many years ago. I've searched for the recipes from many bloggers, books and finally got this from the web (improved). I've done this before (almost similar) long time ago but this time I've added some liqueur to enrich the flavour.

Ingredients:
1.5 cup dried mixed fruits (such as raisins / cherries / orange peels)
*soaked in 2 cups brandy for at least 1 day
3 cups plain flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsps butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs

Method:
~ Drained the mixed fruits. Set aside.
~ Preheat oven at 180'C.
~ Sift flour, baking powder and salt together.
~ In an electric mixer at medium speed, beat butter with sugar till fluffy.
~ Mix in eggs, one at a time.
~ Reduced speed to low, slowly add in mixed flour then follow by the mixed fruits.
~ On a lightly floured surface, halve the dough and shape each dough into logs (flatten logs to 1/2 inch thick)
~ Brush logs with beaten eggs .
~ Bake for 35 minutes at 180'C. Transfer to wire rack to cool for about 20 minutes.
~ Cut each log on the diagonal into 16 to 18 pieces (shown above)
~ Transfer pieces to prepared tin laying them on sides. Bake for 8 minutes; flip.
~ Bake further (for another side of cookies) for another 8 minutes.
~ let cool until crisp.

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week. Or kept in the fridge to restore the crisp.
These crunchy cookies can be served with some melted chocolate. Finely chopped 120g semi sweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place it over a saucepan of simmering water. Once the chocolate has melted, remove from heat. Add another 60g chocolate and stir until it has completely melted and is smooth and glossy. Slightly cool the melted chocolate and dip in the biscotti and served.

Cheers!

Super Moist Chocolate Cake

Back to my cake post...;p

If you are a chocolate lover, this is a good one for you. Smooth and rich with chocolate cream...VOILA! A super moist chocolate cake for the beginning of the week. 

A fudge cake covered with chocolate cream and mouth watering moist texture of the cake, this is so far a good one after all the chocolate cake I've tried.

It has occupied the first position in my top 10 best chocolate cake now!

 Ingredients for the cake:

1 1/3 cups warm water
3/4 cup Belgium cocoa powder

1 3/4 cup cake flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp fine salt

3/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cup castor sugar
3 eggs (size B)

Method:
~ Combine cocoa powder with warm water. Set aside.
~ Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
~ Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
~ Add in eggs, one at a time.
~ Add dry ingredients mixture alternately with cocoa mixture. Always start and end with dry ingredients.
~ Pour into prepared tin. (3 small rectangular loaf tins or a 9" round pan)
~ Bake at 180'C for 30 minutes or until done.

Ingredients for the frosting:
110g Hersley's cooking chocolate bar (semi-sweet with 65% cocoa)
4 tbsps cornflour
1 tbsp condensed milk
1 1/2 cup fresh milk
2 tbsps butter

Method:
~ Mix the above ingredients in a saucepan and cook over a double boiler till spreading consistency.

Cool the cake and cover with frosting. Best serve with a cup of long black (my favourite)..haha!
Don't worry about the sugar or the condensed milk used here, the sweetness of the cake is just nice.

Cheers!