Tested & Tasted

Stuffed Lotus Root with Mushrooms

Frankly speaking, I’m not good in cooking, so I usually only preparing steamboat during CNY. When Che-Cheh shared this recipe, it looked easy … and decided to cook it last night. I added extra ingredients (steamboat ingredients left from previous night ) …. and the results … simply wonderful & delicious :)

Here is the recipe with minor modification.

Source : Flavours magazine Jan-Feb 2009 via Messy Witchen

Ingredients:

100 g fish paste (I bought ready made)
120 g lotus root, thinly sliced

4 Garlic cloves
6 Dried Chinese mushroom, soaked and sliced
6 Medium size Prawns, without skin
3 Imitation crabs, cut into 2cm lengths and deep fried
1 Spring onion, cut into 2.5cm lengths
1 Red chilli, cut in diamond/long shapes

Seasonings:

1 tablespoon Oyster sauce
1 teaspoon “Hau Chi”/Chicken stock powder
1/2 teaspoon Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Cornflour
1/8 teaspoon Sesame oil
1/8 teaspoon Ground white pepper
1/3 teaspoon Hua Tiao rice wine (Shaoxing wine)
3 tablespoons Chicken stock / Water

Method :

- Stuff fish paste between 2 slices of lotus root sandwich slightly less than 1cm thick. Deep fried until golden brown, set aside.
- Drain remaining oil in the wok, leaving just a tablespoon of oil in the wok.
- Add garlic, fried until light brown, add prawns (wait until half cook), add mushroom, crabs, onion, chilli and fried lotus root sandwiches, stir-fry on high heat.
- Finally add seasonings and stir-fry until fragrant.
- Remove and serve immediately.

Serves : 2-3 pax

I am submitting this delicious dish to Aspiring Bakers #15:Auspicious Dishes for CNY (January 2012) hosted by Wen's Delight.

Melt-in-mouth German Cookies

I guess I no need to explain further about these German cookies anymore :) as they are so popular and well-rated since last year. But what a pity that I just got chance to bake this year. It’s never too late for you that have not tried it, you will love it as it really melted-in when you pop into you mouth :) and can’t stop just eating only one :D

Source : Min’s Blog and SSB

Ingredients:

125 gr Butter (I used SCS Butter)

40 gr Icing sugar, sifted

125 gr Potato starch

80 gr Superfine flour / Plain Flour

Chocolate rice (optional)

Method:

- Beat butter and icing sugar till fluffy and lighter in colour.

- Sift in potato starch and flour, mix to form a soft dough.

- Pinch a bit of dough and roll into small balls. (I had my 1/3 dough mix with the chocolate rice)

- Arrange on lined baking pan and press lightly with a fork (dip the fork in water after each press to prevent cookie dough from sticking to the fork).

- Bake in preheated oven at 170 deg C for 15 mins, upper rack (need not bake till cookies turn brown).

Yields : 60 pcs

Here's wishing all of you a Happy Chinese Lunar New Year!

Cashew Nuts Cookies

This year, beside pineapple tarts, I didn’t have chance to bake more for CNY cookies, only extra 2 more varieties. The first one are these cashew nuts cookies, which I had been on my baking list since last year, but only this year I got chance to try this. Thanks Wen for her generous of sharing her Auntie’s yummy recipe.

Ingredients:

250 gr Butter (used quality butter and chilled)
190 gr Icing Sugar

420 gr Plain flour (I reduced to 320 gr)
1 Tbsp Milk powder

1 tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Salt

1 no Egg
2 tsp Vanilla Extract

200 gr Ground roasted Cashew nuts (I used 300 gr)
300gr Cashew nuts (Halves it, bake until half cooked for topping)

Extra egg for egg wash

Method:
- Sift flour, milk powder, soda and salt together, set aside.
- Cream butter and icing sugar till light and fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla till well mix.
- Lastly add sifted flour & ground cashew nut, mix well with the low speed.

- Form a soft dough and chill till firm (min. 2 hours)
- Roll the form and cut into the preference shape using cookies cutter

- Egg wash a layer first, place cashew nut on it, slighlty press. Egg wash again on top of the cashew nut too, to make the nuts look shiny.
- Bake at preheated oven of 180 degree C for 15-25 mins.

Yields : approx 100 pcs for half recipe.

Christmas Fruit Cake

I know this a bit too late to post, so sorry not to be able to update the blog, and I was actually baking this fruit cake at the last minute of Christmas day. Just hope that I never too late to submit to Aspiring Bakers #14 : Creative Christmas Bakes (December 2011) hosted by Hankerie :)

Ingredients:

250 gr Mixed Fruits

50 gr Apricot

50 gr Cranberries

3 Tbsp Rum

250 gr Butter

130 gr Sugar

1 tsp Orange zest

4 Eggs

210 gr Plain Flour

½ tsp Baking Powder

40 gr Orange juice

40 gr Ground Almonds

Method:

- Soak mixed fruits, apricot and cranberries with rum over the night.

- Cream butter and sugar until pale & fluffy, add in orange zest.

- Add eggs one at a time till thoroughly mixed before adding in the next egg.

- Mix 2 Tbsp of flour to soaked fruits.

- Fold in shifted Plain Flour+Baking Powder, orange juice and ground almonds alternately to the butter batter, lastly add in soaked fruits, mix well.

- Pour into 8 inch square cake tin.

- Bake at 160C for 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hour or until cook.

- Let the cake cool in tin for 20 mins, then remove and leave it to cool completely.

PS : Dizzle some drop of rum onto cake once a while (every 2-3 days) to keep cake moist in the fridge.

Here, I would like to wish everyone HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!

Black Glutinous Steam Cake

I brought two cakes for our recent bloggers’ gathering using the same basic ingredients (black glutinous flour) and this is the steam version. I prefer steam one cause you can really taste the fragrant of black glutinous in the cake compare to chiffon. It is soft and has chewy texture too. If you prefer soft & fluffy texture, then you should try this chiffon version.

Source : NCC - Fatmah Bahalwan with modification

Ingredients :
2 Eggs
50 gr Caster Sugar

75 gr Black Glutinous Flour

25 gr Cake Flour

40 gr Oil

60 gr Instant Coconut Milk
1 Tbsp Condensed Milk
Pinch of salt

Method:
- Preheat the steamer.
- Beat eggs, sugar until pale & thick.
- Add in mixed flour, stir a while.
- Add in mixed oil, coconut milk and salt, stir until well incorporated.
- Pour in small pan, steam for 40 mins or cook.

Black Glutinous Chiffon Cake II

I got chance to go back Jakarta just before gathering, and brought back this black glutinous flour. Since it is hardly found here, then I was thinking to bake some cakes for the bloggers’ gathering. Just hope they may like it.

The first time I made few years back, I could taste a bit of sawdust in the cake. However, with this brand, quite okay, there was no sawdust taste in the cake (agreeable with fellow bloggers during last week gathering).

Here, I made half of the recipe with modification.

Source : NCC – Fatmah Bahalwan

Ingredients:
A:
80 gr Egg yolks
35 gr Caster sugar

B:
120 gr Egg whites
50 gr Caster sugar
1/4 tsp salt

C:
25 gr Plain flour
50 gr Black Glutinous flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder Double Acting

D:
75 ml Instant coconut milk (I used KARA)
1-1/5 tbsp Oil

Method:
- Use hand whisk A until creamy.
- Then by using mixer beat B until stiff.
- Add C and D to A creamy mixture, then mixed with B.
- Pour into tube pan, then bake into preheated oven of 150C for 50 minutes or until cook.
- Invert the cake for cool down process.
- Remove the cake once cool down and serve.

Bloggers' Gathering (NOV 2011)

Thanks Bakertan to be an initiator and Eelin for being a great host that we all were enjoying this wonderful gathering. I found this time we had quite balance between sweet and savoury of the buffet spread this time.

Let’s look at the spread details :)

The Batter Baker : Green Tea and Pina Colada Cuppies