Mango Pudding 芒果布甸

Today I found case of mango on sale. 18 mangoes per case. $11.99 each case. I can't wait to use them for tonight's dinner dessert. But I believed it will be better if they are more ripened  . They are not sweet enough yet. 

Ingredients: Serve 8
1 box of mango jelly powder
1 envelop of Knox gelatin powder (or 1Tbsp Gelatin powder)
3 mangoes (pureed)
2/3 cup boiling water
1 can of evaporated milk (370ml)

1/2 tbsp sugar (optional - add only if Mango is not ripe or sweet enough) 

1 mango diced for garnish
1/2 cup coconut milk (optional)

Directions:
Combine jelly powder, gelatin, sugar (if needed) and boiling water in medium sized bowl. Mixed with egg whisk until all powder dissolved. Mix in evaporated milk and pureed mango. Pour in container and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours. Put some diced mango and coconut milk on top before serving.

TIPS:
• Use pineapple or orange jelly in place of mango jelly. Do not use fresh pineapple as it will prevent jelly from setting.

Japanese Style Sukiyaki Beef Hotpot

I always love hotpot. And most of the time, I am justing making the Hong Kong Style hotpot. Tonight, I want simple dinner with my girls. So I decided to transform my ordinary hotpot into something more tastier and more presentable. All I need is to make a special sauce to make it done. Sukiyaki sauce is what I need to prepare here.

Hotpot ingredients:
Sukiyaki Beef
Vegetables
Assorted Kind of mushrooms
Immitation crab stick

tofu

Fish cake

Egg

Sukiyaki Sauce (serves 2-4)
100ml (1/3 cup) Light soya sauce
100ml Mirin
100ml Sake
3 Tbsp Sugar ( I reduced to 2 Tbsp)

Direction:
Boil all ingredients in small pot until the sugar melt.
Put vegetable on base of pot.
Then place all other ingredients on top.
Pour sukiyaki sauce into the pot.
Cover pot and bring to boil. Open cover and let all ingredients simmer in the sauce until they are cooked. Serve with rice or udon.

Green Tea Waffle 綠茶窩夫(格仔餅)

I recently got a free electric waffle machine from Airmiles points redemption. And I usually like to make something other than original flavor. I was thinking about chocolate waffle and green tea waffle. I chose to make green tea waffle first. And will try the chocolate flavor next time. 

 

Recipe: 10 servings

Ingredients:

2 cups of self-raising cake flour

2 tbsp Matcha green tea powder

3 tbsp sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

3 tbsp vegetable oil

To serve:

 2 tbsp sweetened red bean (canned)

1 scoop of vanilla ice-cream

Icing sugar (sieve on waffle for garnish)

Some chocolate syrup (optional)

Directions:

Mix together flour, green tea powder and sugar in a medium bowl.

In another small bowl, mix together milk, oil and eggs. Add to the bowl of mixed flour. Use a whisk to mix well until it is lumps free and smooth.

Preheat waffle machine. Pour half cup of batter to machine. Cook according to your machine instructions.

 

 Serve warm with ice cream and red bean or other fruits.

 

You can always make more. You can freeze the waffles and reheat it with toaster or microwave for future breakfast or snack.

Avocado Crab Salad 牛油果蟹肉沙律

This is a very easy salad or appetizer. 

Recipe:

Crab meat 1 can

One ripe avocado 

mayonnaise 2 Tbsp or according to taste

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp fresh dill (chopped)

Direction:

Cut avocado in slices

Mix crab meat, mayo, salt, pepper, lime juice and dill together. Serve cold.

My Little Pony Rarity Rainbow Cake "彩虹小馬/小馬寶莉" 彩虹蛋糕

Big time! I need to make cake for my daughter's birthday. This year, my younger daughter is going to invite 4 of her best friends in class for her birthday play date. She chose My Little Pony (her favorite toys/character) as party theme. I bought her My little pony party stuffs like candles, plates, napkins, goody bag toys and a big poster for her birthday photos session!!! And the theme of the cake will be My Little Pony too. I will make her a rainbow cake with a 2D My Little Pony "Rarity" as cake topper. It will be a fun cake to make! For the cupcakes, I ordered My Little Pony Premium Rice Paper topper from ebay. The cupcakes are prepared for Nicole's class celebration.

White Layer Cake

• 2 3/4 cups (380 g) cake flour
• 1 3/4 cups (380 g) sugar (I use 1 cup)
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp (18 g) baking powder
• 1 1/8 tsp salt
• 7 ounces (200 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 5 large whites, room temperature
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups (366 g) whole milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

• 1 1/4 cups (250 g) sugar
• 5 large egg whites
• 15 ounces (425 g) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1-in pieces
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

For the cake:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour five 6" round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper.
• Combine cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
• Add the butter and beat until a crumbly mixture forms, just starting to come together.
• Add the egg whites one at a time, and beat to combine. Add the egg and beat to combine.
• Combine milk and vanilla extract together in a measuring cup. Add to the mixer in three additions, beating well after each addition.
• If you want to be precise, weigh the batter so you know how much to put in each pan.
• Pour one-fifth of the batter into one of the prepared pans. Add Red, Orange, Yellow, Green and blue food colours to the pans.
• Bake for about 24-28 minutes, rotating halfway. The cakes should be set and a skewer inserted in the center should come out with a few crumbs on it.
• Remove and place on wire racks. Run a knife around the edges for easier removal. Let cool for about 20 minutes and then invert pans to remove cakes. Let them finish cooling before decorating.

For the buttercream:

• Combine the sugar and egg whites in a medium metal bowl and place over a pan of simmering water.
• Whisk the sugar mixture constantly over heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture looks smooth and shiny. Continue whisking until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F.
• Remove mixture from heat and pour into a stand mixer bowl. Whisk on medium speed for about 5 minutes until the mixture has cooled.
• Switch to the paddle attachment and with the speed on low, add the butter a few pieces at a time, beating until smooth. Do not add the butter too quickly or beat too quickly or the buttercream may break.
• When all the butter has been added, beat the buttercream on medium-high speed for about 6-10 minutes until it is very thick and smooth. It may appear to separate briefly but continue beating and it should come back together.
• Add in the vanilla and almond extracts and beat to combine.
• The buttercream is ready to be used. Place a piece of plastic wrap against the surface until you are ready to use it to prevent it from drying out.

To assemble the cake:

• Level off cake layers if necessary. Place one cake layer on a cake board or cake decorating stand.
• Spread some of the buttercream over the cake layer evenly. Place a second cake layer on top and spread some more buttercream over the cake layer. Repeat with the remaining cake layers.
• Spread a crumb coat of buttercream over the top and sides of cake (see here for tips on doing a crumb coat). Refrigerate for about an hour to let the frosting set.
• Spread the rest of the buttercream over the top and sides of cake with an offset spatula.

Recipe adapted from Dessert First Blog's Pink Ombre Cake Recipe