Wednesday 30 October 2013

Cold Tofu with preserved egg and pork flakes 肉鬆皮蛋凍豆腐

This is a no-cook easy to do appetizer for any occasion. All you need is Tofu, preserved egg and pork flakes (optional). Served cold


Here is the recipe:
Ingredient:
Tofu (Soft) 凍豆腐(drained)
3 preserved egg皮蛋 (Cut and diced)
3 Tbsp dried pork flakes肉鬆
green onion蔥 (for garnish) ~ I forgot to add this time
Bonito flakes 柴魚 (for garnish)

Sauce:
Soy sauce paste 醬油膏 (or home made recipe below) or sweet soya sauce 2-3 tbsp (according to taste)
Soy Sauce paste
Sesame oil or garlic oil 1 tbsp (According to taste)

Direction:
  1. Place tofu on bottom (You can cut in pieces or serve as-is)
  2. Place preserved egg pieces on top of tofu
  3. Add2-3 tbsp soya sauce paste all over the tofu and egg
  4. Add 1 tbsp sesame oil or garlic oil all over the tofu and egg
  5. Place dried pork flakes on top.
  6. Garnish with green onion and bonito flakes
It is better to served cold. 

Recipe for home made Soy Sauce paste 醬油膏

Ingredients:
Soy Sauce 4 Tbsp, Sugar 2 Tbsp, Coke 1 can, water 1 cup, potato flour 2 tbsp, salt

Directions:
Add all ingredients in saucepan and stir well. Turn on heat to boil, stir continuously. Cool down.


材料:
醬油4大匙-糖2大匙-可樂1杯-水1杯-太白粉2大匙-鹽適量。

做法
醬油-糖-可樂-水-太白粉-鹽放入鍋中,開火邊煮邊攪拌至沸騰,熄火放涼即可。







Royal Icing Canucks Jersey and logo


This week, 3 friends of mine are having their birthday over the weekend. 2 on Sundays and 1 on coming Monday. We will have hotpot party dinner for one of them. I am planning on making a napoleon cake. I did not have much idea on the decorations yet. What I can do ahead is to make some decorations that can place on any kind of cakes or cupcakes that I will going to make in the next few days. I make royal icing decorations this time. One of my friends like racquet sports, one of them like hockey especially Canucks! And one of them is an elegant lady. In this case, I pipe some tennis, badminton and squash racquets. Some Canucks jerseys and logos. And also some flowers. 




I place my galaxy tab under the parchment with picture of the jersey and logo.
Royal Icing crown recipe:

(makes 3 cups)
2 large (60g) pasteurized egg white
2 tsp fresh lemon juice (Pic 1)
3 cups (330g) icing sugar, sifted

Direction
In a bowl, beat egg whites with lemon juice until combined(Pic 2,3). Beat egg white until foam formed (Pic 4). Add the sifted icing sugar (Pic 5) and beat on low speed until combined and smooth (Pic 6). If icing is too thick, add a little water. If icing is too runny, add some icing sugar until the right consistency.

You can add food colour to icing now (Pic 7) or apply colour with airbrush later.

Tips: The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with plastic wrap when not in use.

After air dry, my jerseys are all broken! x_x  The layer of royal icing is too thin. I will need to make it thicker next time!  

Saturday 26 October 2013

Cold salted duck 鹽水鴨

It is a very easy recipe to try. This salted duck is a very good appetizer that can prepare ahead of time!



Ingredients:
One Young duck (~2.5Kg), washed and discard the fat)

3 Tbsp Sea salt , 1 Tbsp Chinese pepper powder(Flower pepper/Prickly/Pricklyash)
Green onion, 5 ginger slices, 1 pcs Star anise, 2 Cloves, 1 Tbsp salt

Directions.
  1. Mix sea salt and Chinese pepper powder, then rub the mixture inside and outside the whole duck. Put in container and refrigerate 24 hours.
  2. Take out the marinated duck from fridge, wash duck with cold water.
  3. Prepare pot of boiling water, add in green onion, ginger slices, star anise, cloves and salt. Put duck in. Make sure water should cover up the whole duck. Turn heat to low for 30 minutes. The water should keep boiling in low heat.
  4. After 30 minutes, take pot away from heat. Once water cool down to room temperature, take duck out. 
  5. Put duck in container and refrigerate it for 4 hours until cold. Cut and serve in cold.

用料:
1:鸭子一只2500克,洗净去掉多余的肥油。
2:海盐3大匙,花椒粉1大匙。
3:葱一条,姜片5片,八角一粒,丁香2粒,盐1大匙。

做法:
先将海盐和花椒粉拌匀,把花椒盐均匀里外涂抹鸭子,密封冰箱里腌24小时。将鸭子里外用水冲洗干净备用。大锅放入大半锅水加入所有3料,置炉上开大火,水滚放入腌好的鸭子,水要没过鸭子,等水将要滚,调小火盖盖焖煮30分钟,一定要保持水微沸。离火等水温自然降到室温,拿出煮好的鸭子,放入干净盒里密封,冰箱里冰4小时后斩块食用。

Wednesday 23 October 2013

Apple Strudel served with Vanilla Ice cream 蘋果酥卷

This week, my younger daughter is making apple crisp at school. I brought her a few apples to bring back to school for making the apple crisp project on Tuesday. I also volunteer to help out the class to make apple crisp as I am very interested in baking stuff. And I am sure Nicole will love to see her mom participate in her class activity! Therefore, I brought some extra apples for myself too! I am also ready to make some apple dessert! I am going to challenge myself a bit. Apple crisp is too easy to make, therefore I chose Apple Strudel (actually this is not hard ^_^). There are many simple recipe out there. I chose this complicated one because I think adding cinnamon sugar and breadcrumbs in each pastry layer sound more crunchy and stronger cinnamon taste overall.




Ingredients for Pastry:
4 filo pastry sheets
80g / 2.8 oz bread crumbs
70g / 2.5 oz sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
100g / 3.5 oz butter melted

Ingredients For fillings
110g / 3.9 oz sugar
0.5 tbsp cinnamon
35g / 1.2 oz butter
50g / 1.8oz raisins (I omit it this time)
2 tbsp sliced almonds
Juice and zest from half lemon
7g/0.2 oz corn flour
5 granny Smith apple peeled and sliced
Powered sugar for garnish

Directions: Filling

  1. Heat pan with 35g of butter
  2. When butter melts, pour in apple slices and stir until all apple coated with butter (Pic 2)
  3. Add in 110g sugar and continue mixing until all sugar melted (Pic 3)
  4. Continue cooking the apple for another 10-15 minutes until the apples are all soften
  5. Add in cinnamon (Pic 4), raisins and almonds (Pic 5). Stir and mix well
  6. In a small bowl, mix lemon juice and zest and stir in corn flour (Pic 6)
  7. Then pour the flour mixture to the cooked apples and the apple sauce become thickened. (Pic 7)
  8. Turn off heat and pour the apple fillings to a container and let it cool down.
Now prepare the pastry

Directions for making pastry and assembling

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C)
  2. Mix cinnamon, sugar and breadcrumbs in one bowl (Pic 8)
  3. Take out one of the defrost filo pastry sheet (Pic 9)
  4. Brush both side of sheet with butter (Pic 10)
  5. Sprinkle with cinnamon mixture (Pic 11)
  6. Take the second sheet and brush both side with butter. Place it on top of the first sheet.
  7. Apply cinnamon mixture. (Pic 12)
  8. Repeat the third layer as the same as 2nd layer
  9. For the last layer, just need to apply one side of butter and place the butter side on top of the 3rd layer
  10. Grab the whole thing and flip it over. So the buttered side of 1st layer is now facing up
  11. Apply the apple filling horizontally on lower side of the pastry. (Pic 13)
  12. Roll it all the way
  13. Put in preheating oven and bake for 20 minutes (Pic 14)
  14. Cut into pieces.
  15. Sprinkle powder sugar before serving. 
  16. Serve hot with vanilla ice cream
 Recipe source from youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GvJ4tA8uhc&list=WL8D054E0164461ED6

Tuesday 22 October 2013

Cheese stuffed Curry Meatloaf 咖哩芝士焗肉卷

For last week's weekly party, my husband did some BBQ with big squid, wings and pork chop. And I needed to make a soup, a veggie dish and a main course + dessert as always. I chose to make shrimp and crab soup, salad and baked potato nuggets. And I picked this new main dish to work on- Curry meatloaf. All my friends including myself love curry very much. And this is a good dish to serve with rice or noodle.




Serves 6-8

for the meatloaf
  • 1 1/4 pound ground beef
  • 1 1/4 pound ground pork
  • 3/4 onion, minced
  • 8 ounces fresh mozzarella
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/8 cup mirin
  • 1 1/4 cup panko
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder
  • 1 tablespoon dashi
  • 1/2 large red bell pepper
for the curry sauce 
(I double the amount of sauce recipe, my guests love more sauces)
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/4 onion, minced
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon dashi
  • 1/2 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 box curry roux
  1. Preheat your oven to 350.
  2. Start off by mincing the onion finely. Sautee half the onion in ½ tbsp of butter and 1 tsp of low sodium soy sauce until nicely caramelized, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a dish and let cool to room temp.(Pic 3)
  3. Meanwhile, separate the remaining minced onion. ½ will go into the burger, and ½ will be used for the curry sauce. I like using a mix of caramelized and raw onions in the meatloaf because the cooked onions will essentially melt and make the meatloaf soft and juicy, while the raw onions will cook just enough to provide a bit of texture. NICE.
  4. Mince the bell pepper (Pic 4) and cube the mozzarella into ½ inch cubes or so.
  5. LET’S BEGIN MIXING. In a small bowl, mix your wet ingredients first. The egg, the ¼ tsp nutmeg, the ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce, the 1 tbsp dashi, the 1/8 cup mirin, 1 tsp curry powder, and the 1 tsp salt (Pic 2)
  6. NOW THE DRY… -ish, well MOIST INGREDIENTS. In your large mixing bowl, first mix together the beef and pork (Pic 1), then add the remaining ¼ of minced onion (remember to leave the other ¼ for the curry sauce), the bell pepper, the mozzarella, and the cooled caramelized onions.(Pic 5) Mix well.
  7. Add the egg mixture into the meat mixture, and incorporate well (Pic 6).  Then add ½ cup of the panko breadcrumbs (the remaining ¾ cup is for the crust) (Pic 7). The mixture should be soft but still moldable into a loaf. If you find a mix a little too loose, just add more panko.
  8. Mold this into a loaf pan sprayed with non-stick spray and compact well, getting out any huge air bubbles (Pic 8).
  9. Then invert this onto a large baking dish (one with a lip), and mold into a nice round loaf like thing. Be sure to poke in any exposed mozzarella cubes and mold the loaf around them. We want the cheese to be a surprise.
  10. Cover with plastic wrap and park it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. You can bypass this if you’d like, but it does help all the flavors meld.
  11. MEANWHILE, begin the curry sauce. Saute the remaining ¼ minced onion in ½ tbsp butter and ½ tbsp of vegetable oil until translucent.
  12. Sprinkle on the tsp of curry, tsp of dashi and ½ tbsp of soy. Let sauté for a minute, GET THINGS AROMATIC.
  13. Then add the 1 ½ cups of water and bring to a boil.
  14. When it’s at a boil, add the curry roux blocks (you can find these at most Japanese grocery stores, see the picture above!) ¼ of a box is usually two blocks.
  15. Dissolve in completely and lower the heat to a simmer.
  16. For the panko crust, melt 1 tbsp of butter in the microwave, and then mix in the remaining ¾ cup of panko (Pic 9) and 1 tsp of curry powder (Pic 10 - 11).
  17. Take the meatloaf out of the fridge, and pat the crust on (Pic 12).
  18. Bake for 60 minutes at 350, and then turn it up to 425 for another 20. As per usual, these are general times. Ovens are weird and never cook the same way, so after 20 minutes at 425, take it out and poke it. If the juices run clear, you’re good.
  19. When you take it out, let rest uncovered for 5 minutes.
  20. ENJOY, atop a bed of white rice and a ladle of the curry sauce.(Pic 13)


Recipe source: http://food52.com/recipes/3578-panko-crusted-mozzarella-stuffed-japanese-curry-meatloaf

Thursday 17 October 2013

Maple Syrup Cashew Shortbread 楓/蜂蜜腰果酥



蜂蜜腰果酥(参考分量:9块)
配料:
饼底:低筋面粉50克,黄油30克,细砂糖12克,鸡蛋12克
蜂蜜腰果馅:烤熟的腰果仁60克,细砂糖35克,楓/蜂蜜15克,黄油25克,动物性鲜奶油35克
烘焙:烤箱中层,175℃,25分钟 8分钟

制作过程
1、首先制作饼底,低筋面粉、软化的黄油、细砂糖倒入碗里。(pic 1)
2、用手揉搓面粉、黄油和糖,使它们彻底的混合在一起。
3、倒入打散的鸡蛋液。(pic 2)
4、用刮刀翻拌至均匀,成为面糊。(pic 3)
5、在底部边长约为12cm*12cm的方形烤碗内壁涂上一层黄油。把面糊铺在烤碗底部,用勺子背压平。将烤碗放在烤架上,放入预热好175℃的烤箱中层,烤25分钟左右,直到表面浅金黄色。(pic. 4)
6、烤饼底的时候,可以准备蜂蜜腰果馅。将熟腰果仁用刀切碎。(pic. 6&7)
7、细砂糖、蜂蜜、黄油、鲜奶油倒入奶锅里。(pic 5)
8、饼底烤好以后从烤箱里取出来。
9、取出饼底后,将奶锅放在火上,中火加热,并不断搅拌,使黄油和糖完全溶化。
10、煮沸后,转小火继续加热3-4分钟,直到混合物颜色稍稍变深,呈轻微的焦糖色。
11、关火,立刻将腰果碎倒入煮好的糖浆里,趁热搅拌均匀。(pic. 8)
12、将蜂蜜腰果馅倒在烤好的饼底上,用勺子背压平。重新放入烤箱,中层,175℃烤8分钟左右即可出炉。出炉后。完全冷却,用小刀沿着烤碗内壁小心地将腰果馅和烤碗壁分离,然后倒扣出来即可。切成9小块。

Recipe source:  http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4a5089ff0102eu8b.html

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Maple walnut cheesecake 楓蜜核(合)桃芝士蛋糕




Ingredients

Base:

  • 1 cup (250 mL) walnut halfwalnut halves
  • 3 tbsp (45 mL) packed dark brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp (30 mL) butter, melted

Filling:

  • 1pkg (8 oz/250 g) cream cheese, softened
  • 1/3 cup (75 mL) medium maple syrup or amber maple_syrup
  • 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp (30 mL) all-purpose flour

Preparation

Base:In food processor, finely chop walnuts with brown sugar; pulse in butter. Press over bottoms of 4-oz (125 mL) mini-cheesecake cups. Bake in centre of 350°F (180°C) oven until golden at edges, about 12 minutes; let cool on rack.

Filling: Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy; gradually beat in syrup and vanilla until smooth. Beat in egg and flour, scraping down bowl as necessary. Pour about 3 tbsp (50 mL) over each base.
Bake in centre of 325°F (160°C) oven until edges are set but centres still jiggle slightly, about 15 minutes. Let cool on rack. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until set. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 2 days.)

Maple Walnut Cheesecake Squares:
Bake base as directed in parchment paper-lined 8-inch (2 L) square metal cake pan for 18 minutes. Pour filling over cooled base and bake as directed for 35 minutes. Let cool; score into 12 pieces and top each with nut. To serve, cut into squares, wiping knife between each cut.


Recipe adapted from Canadian Living

Flower Pot Pudding (Sawdust Pudding) 盆栽甜品(木槺布甸)

There are many version of flower pot dessert you can make. Some people will make it as a cake and decorate it as flower pot. I chose to use a all time favorite dessert that my friends like, that is Sawdust pudding. It is a pudding make with layers of biscuit powder and whipped cream+condensed milk. A very easy to make dessert. I actually make this pudding many times. I tried to make it a little more interesting by putting the top layer of biscuits powder as Oreo cookies layer. It does look like clay! And put a mint leaf on top. Does it look like a flower pot to you?

Recipe from my previous blog (in Chinese): 
http://winniemsfong.blogspot.ca/2011/12/sawdust-pudding.html

Recipe:

6杯份量 (每杯80ml) Serve 6 cups (80ml each)

Ingredients:
馬利餅 Marie Biscuit 100g (20)
Oreo cookies 30g
      淡忌廉 (whipping cream)  250ml
      煉奶 Condensed milk 60ml
      雲呢拿油 Vanilla extract 1/2tsp
Mint leaves


Steps:
1. Grind Marie and oreo biscuits seperately in food processor into powder
2. Whisk cream into soft peak form by hand/stand mixer.
3. Add in condensed milk and vanilla extract. Whisk in medium until mixed.
4. Put a thin layer of biscuit powder in bottom

5. Then add 1 cm of whipped cream mixture on top of biscuit layer. 
(I put cream into piping bag to pipe the cream layer, it is much easier)
6. Repeat the above step one to two more times (depend on how deep your cup is)
7. Cover top layer with oreo biscuit powder to look like clay in pot.
8. Apply mint leave.



Curry Chicken Samosa 咖喱雞角


Ingredients (Serve 2-4)
1 boneless and skinless chicken thigh (minced)
1 tbsp oil
2 shallot (minced)
1 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp curry powder (I put 2 tbsp)
pinch of sea salt
pinch of sugar
2 tsp coconut milk
2 pcs spring roll wrapper (cut lengthwise)
Egg yolk for sealing
250ml oil for deep frying

Steps:
  1. Heat oil in pan and fry shallots until fragrant. Add minced chicken and stir fry for 2 mins. Add curry powder and season with salt and sugar. Add spring onion and coconut milk. Fry for another 1 min. Cool and set aside.Put 1 tbsp cooled chicken mixture into wrapper. Wrap it into triangle shape. Seal with egg yolk.
  2. Heat oil in wok till about 80% hot. Deep fry samosa until golden about 1 min. Drain on kitchen towel and serve.
Tips: you can substitute chicken with pork or beef.

Recipe source: May姐三步Cook (book)

Monday 14 October 2013

Herbal Jelly with Lychee and Dragon Fruit Dessert 荔枝火龍果涼粉


This is a dessert similar to the one I made in Hong Kong. Just play around with different ingredients and make it a new kind of dessert. It is also using herbal jelly as base, then add fruits to it. This time I use canned lychee and fresh dragon fruit. 

How to do:
 Cut canned herbal jelly into cubes.
Open canned lychee,  pour lychee syrup from can to herbal jelly and let the jelly soak in syrup for a while. 
Cut lychee into small pieces. 
Cut dragon fruit into pieces as well.
Place them separately in container. Put in refrigerator until use. 
Add 3-4 tbsp of coconut cream to decorate ( add according to taste)
→Serve with shaved ice or vanilla ice-cream←

Sunday 6 October 2013

Tofu black sesame pudding 豆腐黑芝麻布丁(甸)

Ingredients:

Milk 180ml, whipping cream 50ml, silken tofu 100g, gelatin powder 1/2 tbsp (1/2 envelop Knox), sugar 25g, black sesame powder 2 Tbsp

Direction

1. Heat milk, whipping creams, black sesame and sugar in saucepan. Once boil, turn off heat.

2. Mash tofu by using a spoon pressing tofu through a sieve. Add to the milk mixture and mix well.

3. Add gelatin to milk mixture. Turn on heat to low. Keep stirring until all gelatin dissolved.

4. Pour mixture into ramekins or pudding cup. Put in fridge for at least 4 hours.



主要食材:鲜牛乳(180毫升),动物鲜奶油50毫升(雀巢),豆腐100克,鱼胶粉5克(也可用吉利丁片)细白砂糖25克, 黑芝麻粉2Tbsp

豆腐布丁的做法

(1)将牛奶,动物性鲜奶油,黑芝麻粉,细砂糖放入锅中,加热至糖融化且沸腾后熄火。

(2)将豆腐放入细网上,不断用小勺按压过筛到牛奶混合物中,并搅拌均匀。

(3)用小量勺量取5克鱼胶粉,放入锅中,开小火慢慢煮至鱼胶全部融化。

(4)最后倒入所有模具容器中,放凉些,再放入冰箱冷藏3——4小时,凝固即可。



Saturday 5 October 2013

Coffee Panna Cotta with Mocha sauce 咖啡奶凍


1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
2 Tbsp unflavored powdered gelatin
3 cups (750 ml) whipping cream (whole fat heavy cream)
1/3 cup (80 ml) honey ( I use maple syrup)
1 tablespoon (15 gm) granulated sugar
pinch of salt
2 tsps instant espresso powder or more to taste (I put 4 tsp)

Prepare 6 to 8 ramekins or individual bowls or demitasse cups. If you want to be able to turn the Panna Cotta out of the bowl or ramekin, run the bowl under cold running water, pour and shake the water out but do not dry.

Pour the milk into a medium-sized saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin over the milk. Whisk quickly and lightly just so it is all wet and then allow to sit for 5 minutes. This softens the gelatin. Place the saucepan over medium heat and, whisking gently, allow the milk to heat until it is hot but not boiling, 5 more minutes. The yellow shiny splotches of gelatin floating on the surface will disappear when the gelatin is completely melted/dissolved.

Add the cream, honey, sugar, pinch of salt and 4 teaspoons instant espresso powder to the hot milk and continue to heat, stirring, until the honey, sugar and espresso have dissolved. Taste and add more espresso powder if you desire a stronger coffee flavor.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow to cool for several minutes. Whisk to combine well before pouring into the glasses, bowls, cups or ramekins. I always find it much easier to pour the liquid into a glass or Pyrex measuring cup with a spout and pour from that instead of directly from the saucepan.

Cover each bowl or ramekin with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or, ideally, overnight.

A half hour or so before serving, prepare the Bittersweet Mocha Sauce. Once the Sauce has been made and chilled, serve the Panna Cotta, each drizzled with the Sauce.

BITTERSWEET MOCHA SAUCE

2 ounces (60 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, or more to taste
¾ cup (200 ml) heavy whipping cream
2 tsps instant espresso powder
1 Tbs to ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar to taste

Coarsely chop the chocolate and place it in a small saucepan with the heavy cream, the espresso powder and 1 tablespoon sugar. Heat very gently over medium-low heat, whisking or stirring, until the chocolate, sugar and espresso have all melted and dissolved. Taste, adding sugar until desired sweetness. Remove from the heat, allow to cool for a few minutes, stir again and pour into a glass measuring cup, bowl or jar and refrigerate until just cool enough to serve over the chilled Panna Cotta.

Recipe source:http://lifesafeast.blogspot.ca/2011/03/coffee-panna-cotta-with-bittersweet.html


Friday 4 October 2013

"Dusty" the Planes Fondant cake 迪士尼之飛機總動員蛋糕


 It is a very challenging cake making for myself. I always think that the wings for a plane are hard to make. When I received this cake order from my friend, I was excited but worried. I need to take time to do the thinking process. Usually I need to take a few days to brain storm the cake decoration and how to make the figure. But time is limited here. I received the cake order just a week ago. I need to think fast!

I usually make my figure by using 100% Marshmallow fondant. But for this plane, I also add Gum Paste to it to make the texture harden, especially the wings and tires. I mixed 50/50 gum paste and fondant for the wings and tires. The remaining parts of the plane, I use 100% fondant! It tastes a lots better compare to gum paste. Will some one eat the entire plane? I wonder .............

This is a 7" 2 layers chocolate cake with a theme of Disney's movie "Planes". My friend's son Lukas loves "Dusty the plane". The mother requested a figure of any kind of airplane, but Dusty the plane will be most ideal!

Chocolate Cake (7" pan)

Ingredients

6 Egg white
80g  sugar
6 Egg yolk
80g cake flour
2g baking soda
24g cocoa powder
1g salt
20g milk
40g vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lined square pan with parchment paper
2. Whisk Egg white until stiff peak
3. Sift Cake flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt and mix together. Set aside.
4. Cream Egg yolk and sugar until puffy creamy white color.
5. Add half the flour mix and mixed then add half the milk (10g) and mixed until combine.
6. Add the remaining half flour mix and mixed until combine. Add the remaining half of the milk and then mix until combine and form a batter.
7. Fold in half the egg white to the batter. Gently fold until well combined. Add in the remaining egg white and fold. Finally add in oil and gently fold until mix. Do not over fold.
8. Pour batter to lined square pan. Tab the pan to let some air from batter to come out.
9. Place pan in oven and bake for 30 mins.

Making the birthday boy's name logo. And you can see my working station there!
Flour Frosting:
Makes enough to frost 24 medium cupcakes
(I doubled the recipe to have enough to frost a 3 layers 7" square cake and 6 large cupcakes)

Ingredients:

5 Tbsp Flour
1 cup Milk
1 tsp Vanilla
1 cup Butter
3/4 cup Caster Sugar (Not coarse sugar, not brown sugar, not icing sugar)

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk.
2. Turn on the heat to medium and continously stir until it thickens in order to avoid lumps. DO NOT STOP STIRRING.
3. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. Please make sure that the mixture is cooled complete or it will melt the butter. When it's cool, stir in vanilla. I put a cling wrap on top of flour mixture and put in refrigerator to speed up the cooling process.
4. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy for approximately 7 minutes.
5. Then add the completely cooled flour mixture and continue beating until the frosting combines perfectly. It took me about 2-3 minutes. Just beat it until it resembles smooth whipped cream and looks pipeable. You can now add colouring if you like.
 And you are done! You will get the most perfect vanilla frosting, not too sweet, light to the taste and can stand for outdoor temperature.

Cake view on different angles
Marshmallow fondant(MMF):

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces miniature marshmallows (4 cups not packed, or half of a 16-ounce bag)
  • 1 pound powdered sugar (4 cups), plus extra for dusting
  • 2 tbsp water
  • Food coloring or flavored extracts, optional

Preparation:

1. Dust your counter or a large cutting board with powdered sugar. Place the marshmallows and the water in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute, until the marshmallows are puffy and expanded.
2. Stir the marshmallows with a rubber spatula until they are melted and smooth. If some unmelted marshmallow pieces remain, return to the microwave for 30-45 seconds, until the marshmallow mixture is entirely smooth and free of lumps. If you want colored or flavored fondant, you can add several drops of food coloring or extracts at this point and stir until incorporated. If you want to create multiple colors or flavors from one batch of fondant, do not add the colors or flavors now. Instead, refer to step 6 below for instructions.
3. Add the powdered sugar and begin to stir with the spatula. Stir until the sugar begins to incorporate and it becomes impossible to stir anymore.
4. Scrape the marshmallow-sugar mixture out onto the prepared work surface. It will be sticky and lumpy, with lots of sugar that has not been incorporated yet--this is normal. Dust your hands with powdered sugar, and begin to knead the fondant mixture like bread dough, working the sugar into the marshmallow with your hands.
5. Continue to knead the fondant until it smoothes out and loses its stickiness. Add more sugar if necessary, but stop adding sugar once it is smooth--too much sugar will make it stiff and difficult to work with. Once the fondant is a smooth ball, it is ready to be used. You can now roll it out, shape it, or wrap it in cling wrap to use later. Well-wrapped fondant can be stored in a cool room or in the refrigerator, and needs to be kneaded until supple before later use.
6. If you want to add coloring or flavoring to your fondant, flatten it into a round disc. You might want to wear gloves to avoid getting food coloring on your hands during this step. Add your desired amount of coloring or flavoring to the center of the disc, and fold the disc over on itself so that the color or flavor is enclosed in the center of the fondant ball.
7. Begin to knead the ball of fondant just like you did before. As you work it, you will begin to see streaks of color coming through from the center. Continue to knead until the streaks are gone and the fondant is a uniform color. Your fondant is now ready to be used or stored as outlined above.

Storage:
Wrap the fondant in plastic wrap and store it in airtight container in room temperature.
 
Birthday boy Lukas!

Pokemon Chocolate Cake and cupcakes with Flour Frosting

Pokemon Cake is my coming birthday cake project for my friend's son birthday. Athan, the birthday boy, gave me 4 special characters that he likes from his pokemon card collection. They are: Squirtle, Aron, Ninetales and Emolga. I need to do a research again!!!! 

My friend wants a square chocolate cake with 6 other chocolate cupcakes on side. Athan wants grassy background with an overall green colour cake!

Chocolate Cupcakes recipe: (makes 12-16 large cupcakes)

Ingredients:

- 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 7.5 ml (1 1/2 teaspoon) baking powder
- 2.5 ml (1/2 teaspoon) baking soda
- 1 ml (1/4 teaspoon) salt
- 250 ml (1 cup) sugar
- 180 ml (3/4 cup) cocoa
- 180 ml (3/4 cup) vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 5 ml (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
- 250 ml (1 cup) milk

Preparation

1. With the rack in middle position, preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F). Line a 12 cavity muffin tray with paper liners.
2. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, combine the sugar and cocoa. Add the oil, eggs, vanilla and beat with an electric mixer at high speed or until mixture is smooth. At low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk. Scoop the batter into the molds
4. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Chocolate Cake (7" square pan)

Ingredients

6 Egg white
80g  sugar
6 Egg yolk
80g cake flour
2g baking soda
24g cocoa powder
1g salt
20g milk
40g vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lined square pan with parchment paper
2. Whisk Egg white until stiff peak
3. Sift Cake flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt and mix together. Set aside.
4. Cream Egg yolk and sugar until puffy creamy white color.
5. Add half the flour mix and mixed then add half the milk (10g) and mixed until combine.
6. Add the remaining half flour mix and mixed until combine. Add the remaining half of the milk and then mix until combine and form a batter.
7. Fold in half the egg white to the batter. Gently fold until well combined. Add in the remaining egg white and fold. Finally add in oil and gently fold until mix. Do not over fold.
8. Pour batter to lined square pan. Tab the pan to let some air from batter to come out.
9. Place pan in oven and bake for 30 mins.

Flour Frosting:
Makes enough to frost 24 medium cupcakes
(I doubled the recipe to have enough to frost a 3 layers 7" square cake and 6 large cupcakes)

Ingredients:

5 Tbsp Flour
1 cup Milk
1 tsp Vanilla
1 cup Butter
3/4 cup Caster Sugar (Not coarse sugar, not brown sugar, not icing sugar)

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk.
2. Turn on the heat to medium and continously stir until it thickens in order to avoid lumps. DO NOT STOP STIRRING.
3. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. Please make sure that the mixture is cooled complete or it will melt the butter. When it's cool, stir in vanilla. I put a cling wrap on top of flour mixture and put in refrigerator to speed up the cooling process.
4. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy for approximately 7 minutes.
5. Then add the completely cooled flour mixture and continue beating until the frosting combines perfectly. It took me about 2-3 minutes. Just beat it until it resembles smooth whipped cream and looks pipeable. You can now add colouring if you like.
 And you are done! You will get the most perfect vanilla frosting, not too sweet, light to the taste and can stand for outdoor temperature.

Marshmallow fondant(MMF):

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces miniature marshmallows (4 cups not packed, or half of a 16-ounce bag)
  • 1 pound powdered sugar (4 cups), plus extra for dusting
  • 2 tbsp water
  • Food coloring or flavored extracts, optional

Preparation:

1. Dust your counter or a large cutting board with powdered sugar. Place the marshmallows and the water in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute, until the marshmallows are puffy and expanded.
2. Stir the marshmallows with a rubber spatula until they are melted and smooth. If some unmelted marshmallow pieces remain, return to the microwave for 30-45 seconds, until the marshmallow mixture is entirely smooth and free of lumps. If you want colored or flavored fondant, you can add several drops of food coloring or extracts at this point and stir until incorporated. If you want to create multiple colors or flavors from one batch of fondant, do not add the colors or flavors now. Instead, refer to step 6 below for instructions.
3. Add the powdered sugar and begin to stir with the spatula. Stir until the sugar begins to incorporate and it becomes impossible to stir anymore.
4. Scrape the marshmallow-sugar mixture out onto the prepared work surface. It will be sticky and lumpy, with lots of sugar that has not been incorporated yet--this is normal. Dust your hands with powdered sugar, and begin to knead the fondant mixture like bread dough, working the sugar into the marshmallow with your hands.
5. Continue to knead the fondant until it smoothes out and loses its stickiness. Add more sugar if necessary, but stop adding sugar once it is smooth--too much sugar will make it stiff and difficult to work with. Once the fondant is a smooth ball, it is ready to be used. You can now roll it out, shape it, or wrap it in cling wrap to use later. Well-wrapped fondant can be stored in a cool room or in the refrigerator, and needs to be kneaded until supple before later use.
6. If you want to add coloring or flavoring to your fondant, flatten it into a round disc. You might want to wear gloves to avoid getting food coloring on your hands during this step. Add your desired amount of coloring or flavoring to the center of the disc, and fold the disc over on itself so that the color or flavor is enclosed in the center of the fondant ball.
7. Begin to knead the ball of fondant just like you did before. As you work it, you will begin to see streaks of color coming through from the center. Continue to knead until the streaks are gone and the fondant is a uniform color. Your fondant is now ready to be used or stored as outlined above.

Storage:
Wrap the fondant in plastic wrap and store it in airtight container in room temperature.