Thursday, April 28, 2011

40% Wholemeal Little Lemon Curd Tarts

This is my first attempt in making lemon curd, so glad that everything turned out well.
I tried to alter the tart shell's recipe by replacing 40% of all purpose flour with wholemeal flour.
& I succeeded!
I love the way how the wholemeal flour adds a kind of 'nutty' taste to the tart!
The crust is really solid and crispy..
I think I've made the right choice..!
I would recommend this recipe to everybody!
But we feel that the curd is still a bit too sweet although I've reduced the sugar by 40g,
so you might wanna further reduce the sugar...



 The tart looks just like the sun and I bet it will brighten up anyone's day!



This is my latest buy..
A cake tray..! It can be used as a fruit tray too.
I've seen cake trays everywhere, but to get a one reasonably priced is not so easy =)
This costs me $16 only! Isn't it a good buy!?
Now I have a proper place to keep my cakes! Yippie!



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40% Wholemeal Little Lemon Curd Tarts


Lemon Curd:

3 Large Eggs
150g Granulated White Sugar (reduced to 110g Demura Sugar)
80ml Fresh Lemon Juice (2-3 lemons)
56g Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
1 Tbsp Lemon Zest


Sweet Pastry Crust:

110g All Purpose Flour
80 g Wholemeal Flour
1/8 tsp Salt
113g Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
50 grams Granulated White Sugar
1 Large Egg, Lightly Beaten
1 tsp Vanilla Essence (My own addition)


How to make Lemon Curd:  
In a stainless steel bowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended.

Cook, whisking or stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes pale in color and quite thick (like a hollandaise sauce or sour cream) (160 degrees F or 71 degrees C on a thermometer). This will take about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest, cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming, and let cool to room temperature before filling the pastry crust. Can be made and stored in the refrigerator for about a week.


How to make Sweet Pastry Crust: 
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour with the salt. Place the butter in the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, and beat until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten egg, beating just until incorporated, followed by vanilla essence. Add the flour mixture all at once and mix just until it forms a ball. Flatten the pastry into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes or just until firm (can place in freezer for about 10-15 minutes.)

Lightly butter and flour, or spray with a non-stick vegetable/flour cooking spray, an 8 - 9 inch (20 - 23 cm) tart pan with a removable bottom or individual tart moulds. Once the pastry has chilled sufficiently, evenly pat onto the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 205 degrees and place rack in center of oven. Lightly prick bottom of pastry crust with the tines of a fork (this will prevent the dough from puffing up as it bakes). Place tart pan on a larger baking pan and bake crust for 5 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 180 degrees and continue to bake the crust for about 15 minutes or until crust is dry and lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Once the pastry shell has cooled, evenly fill with the lemon curd. The tart can be served immediately or covered and placed in the refrigerator until serving time. Serve plain or with softly whipped cream and fresh berries.

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Recipe Source From : Joy of Baking

Monday, April 25, 2011

5 Recipes to Celebrate Easter!

What will you bring along with you for an Easter party?!
I was invited by Cooking Gallery..to share what will I be bringing for the virtual party...
I have to suggest 5 - 10 recipes with pictures plus the links and then tag another 10 bloggers to do the same.

So here I am..joining in the fun!


To dip into the thick soup...

The main course...

A side dish!



  to end the meal with a chocolaty moist cake!

That's my 5 recipes..~
How I wish I can join the blogger's potluck in reality!  =)


I have no idea who to tag for the time being..ermm..CG..can I just leave it as like this? HEHE..!!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Cheesy Savoury Muffins

I'm always thinking of savoury muffins,
as I'm not really interested in sweet ones.
 Finally had an opportunity to try it!
A few months ago, I chanced upon a website here,
I used it as a guideline and made modifications.

It's my first time baking and tasting these non-sugary muffins...
It's a whole new experience!
I baked 2 batches, because I've mistaken top flour for self raising flour for my 1st batch!
 So I used top flour without adding any baking powder! 


this is the outcome of muffins baked with no baking powder...

I thought it would be as hard as rocks! 
But I was wrong..it's was still soft and moist while warm..
and take note that there's no oil used in this recipe.



It's really nice to be eaten warm..
while the melted cheese in the muffin is still oozy~~



This is my 2nd batch, made with self raising flour...
I did not top it with any tomato or cheese...



Somehow, the first batch is nicer!!
So if you wanna bake this, you may wanna consider using top/cake flour!
It's texture is finer and softer~~


I gave 10 to my family..
I love to share all my bakes..
and hope people around me appreciate them   =)


I'm submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #6: Say Cheese! (April 2011) 
hosted by Jean from Noms I Must  again!



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Cheesy Savoury Muffins
(Makes 12 medium muffins)


180g Cake flour + 1 tsp Baking Powder or Self Raising Flour
1 Tbsp Grounded Black Pepper
1 tsp Sea Salt
2 Medium Carrots, Shredded
1 Corn, Remove kernels
4 Slices Cheddar Cheese, Cut into 1 inch pieces or 200g Grated Cheddar Cheese
6 Slices Picnic Ham, Cut into 1 inch pieces
1 Egg, Beaten
240ml Milk ( I used non-fat milk)
1 Tomato, Sliced
More cheese for toppings


1. Combine flour+baking powder, black pepper and salt in a large bowl.
2. Add shredded carrot, corn kernels, cheedar cheese, ham to flour mixture. Mix well.
3. For wet ingredients, add beaten egg into milk and beat lightly.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix till just combined. Do not overmix.
5. Spoon into oiled muffin tins/pan until 3/4 full. 
Top each muffin with a slice of tomato and sprinkle with more cheese and grounded black pepper.
6. Bake at 190 degrees preheated oven for 25 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.

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Friday, April 22, 2011

Rustic Herbs 50% Wholemeal Bread


First of all...Happy Easter to all! =)
It's a holiday for most of the people..and same for me..
although I got to work on Saturday and Sunday...today is a bonus for me!
I get to spend time with my man and mummy! 
We went for brunch...lazed around in my house and while chatting, I actually baked this bread~
I asked my mummy to guess what was I doing....after knowing that I'm making a bread,
she said I'm crazy! HEHE...!

Instead of making a plain wholemeal bread, 
I added oregano, basil and black pepper to make it fragrant....
I love to make my breads without any recipe!
I love rustic and country bread a lot..
So old school...but the western kind =p



I did not mould the bread nicely before sending for 2nd proofing.
Regret...see how messy it is!
 Regardless of that, the oregano and basil really adds a nice fragrant & taste to every bite!



This is the one that I've used.
Besides the fragrance, both oregano and basil are herbs packed with antioxidants!
Try to add these in your cooks/bakes and spice them up!
But if you are pregnant, please take it cautiously...
I will choose to avoid totally if I am...



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Rustic Herbs 50% Wholemeal Bread


130g High Protein Flour

130g Wholemeal Flour

1 1/2 Tbsp Honey

1 tsp Yeast

1/2 tsp Salt

2 Tsp Spice Blend(Oregano, Basil & Tomato)

1 tsp Grounded Black Pepper

190ml Water



1. Mix high protein flour, wholemeal flour, honey, yeast, salt, basil and black pepper in a large bowl.
2. Make a well in the middle and pour water in slowly while mixing until it forms a wet dough.
3. Knead dough with hand for 20 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic.
4. Form into a round dough and proof for 1 hour or till it has doubled in size.(cover with cling wrap or put into the oven)
5. After first proofing, punch the dough down and roll the dough flat to a rectangular shape. Roll it up like a swiss roll, pinch the seams down and mould into an oval shape.
6. Send for final proofing for approximately 45 minutes. (cover with cling wrap or put into the oven)
7. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
8. Make a few slashes on the bread with a sharp nice carefully, brush bread with water and bake for 30 minutes.
9. Let cool on wire rack completely before slicing.

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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Thumbprint Cookies


I seldom bake cookies~as I feel that unlike bread/cake, I can't eat them as a meal.
So it's just a sugar loaded snack for me =p
I decided to bake this because of the low sugar content in the recipe. 
Presenting my thumbprint cookies...!
the recipe only uses 50g of caster sugar!
And I substituted them with demura sugar~ 



 
& the jam that I used is healthier.. I hope..  =)
It only uses 100% fruits and no additional sugar..



Filled with real berries!



They tasted nice, with a hint of butter...
Very crunchy too...!



I used the leftover dough to make some without almonds.
It's another kind of bite, crispy!

The weather is pretty warm these 2 days,
remember to drink more water and rest well!  =)


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Thumbprint Cookies


 113g Unsalted Butter

50g Caster Sugar

1 Egg

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract ( I used 1tsp vanilla essence)

1/8 tsp Salt

130g All Purpose Flour

100g Chopped Almonds (toasted and cooled)




1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the flour mixture to the batter and beat just until combined. If the batter is too soft to roll into balls, refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy. Place the chopped nuts on a plate. Roll the dough into 1 inch (2.5 cm) balls. Taking one ball of dough at a time, dip first into the egg white and then lightly roll in the nuts. Place on the prepared baking sheet spacing about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart. Using your thumb or end of a wooden spoon, make a indentation into the center of each cookie and fill with about 1/2 teaspoon of jam.
5. Bake for about 13 - 15 minutes, or until cookies are set and the nuts have nicely browned. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on pan for 5 minutes then place them on wire rack to cool completely.


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Recipe source from : Joy of Baking

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Lemon Chiffon Cake


Another healthier choice....
Lemon Chiffon Cake!
 Who doesn't want a slice of fluffy and soft cake?
I'm a fan of baking chiffon cakes, 
because they are not that sweet and not as sinful too, so its better for my family too =p
Actually I don't really like sweet stuffs,
I will just take a bite/slice for my bakes and that's all.



A closer look at the texture...
Actually the cake slipped out of the chiffon pan when I inverted it,
I guess it was under baked. 
Despite this, it still tasted pretty good and moist too..



My man's breakfast for consecutively 2 days~
8/10 slices of the cake was wiped out by him...!
My all time loyal supporter...   =)



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Lemon Chiffon Cake


90g cake flour
5 egg yolks
20g caster sugar
60g canola oil
50g water
1 tbsp lemon juice (I used 1 1/2 Tbsp)
1 lemon's zest


5 egg whites
90g caster sugar
10g corn flour





1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Sift flour twice.
2. Place egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and beat well. Add water, canola oil, lemon juice and zest and stir to incorporate. Add flour and mix well until the batter becomes sticky.
3. To make meringue, combine sugar and corn flour. Beat egg whites until foamy. Add half the sugar and continue beating for a few minutes, then add remaining sugar and beat until egg whites are glossy and stiff peaks form.
4. Add one-third of meringue into egg yolk mixture and fold in lightly, then add remaining meringue and fold to incorporate completely.
5. Pour batter into an ungreased chiffon cake tube pan. Bake for 40 mins.
6. When cake is done, remove from oven and turn it over, leaving it to cool.
7. Once cake has cooled completely, carefully run a knife or spatula around the sides of the cake to loosen it before inverting onto a wire rack.

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Recipe Source from : Noms I Must

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Almost Instant Cheesy Baked Rice


One day, I ran out of idea what to cook for dinner..
I cooked some Japanese short grain rice, it's already very near to dinner time,
so this came into my mind...
Baked rice! It's actually very simple and fast to make...


Here's how i made mine...
1. Slice 250g swiss brown mushrooms.
2. Mince 4 cloves of garlic.
3. Sauteed garlic with 1 Tbsp of oil/butter in a pot.
4. Add sliced mushrooms and cook briefly.
5. Pour a can of Marks & Spencer minestrone soup and 2 of rice into the pot.
6. Season with salt and black pepper to taste, mix well. Remove from heat.
7. Spoon into 2 individual bake ware and top with cheese (preferably mozzarella).
8. Bake in 180 degrees preheated oven for approximately 15-20 minutes.
9. Top with chopped parsley before serving. 


Done!  =)  Isn't it easy to make?
It's a kind of comfort food for me!
I seldom indulge in cheesy stuffs...
My choice is Marks and Spencer canned minestrone soup because it's not so salty.



A virtual baked rice for all my readers! =p


I'm submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #6: Say Cheese! (April 2011) hosted by Jean from Noms I Must

Monday, April 11, 2011

Orange Chiffon Cake

I've been wanting to bake so much..
looked around for recipes which are healthier.

Here's my choice for today's bake..
Orange Chiffon Cake!



A slice prepared for my man so he can taste it once he's home..
He said it was moist and soft/fluffy, 
only that it's not sweet enough, because I used Demura Sugar instead of caster sugar.



This is one of my favourite fork =)




 I hope you will be able to see the fluffy texture of the cake.
The sky was gloomy for the entire day and it started to rain when I started to click on my shutter button...
Therefore, I was not satisfied with my photographs..
I hope that my next bake will be on a sunny day! =)

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Orange Chiffon Cake

 5 Egg Yolks + 30g Castor Sugar + Salt 1/4 tsp
60ml Corn Oil
85ml Orange Juice
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
115g Cake Flour
3/4 tsp Baking Powder
Finely Grated Zest from 1 1/2 Large Orange

5 Egg Whites + 50g Caster Sugar + 1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar


1. Sieve flour and baking powder.
2. Use hand whisk to beat egg yolk until creamy and light in colour.
Add in corn oil, orange juice and vanilla essence. Mix after each addition.
3. Add in flour mixture into yolk mixture lightly. 
Add in orange zest. Mix again.
4. Beat egg white with electric beater until big bubbles are formed. 
Sprinkle in cream of tartar and beat until it is white in colour.
Add in 50g sugar in 3 additions (a little at a time) and beat till stiff peak.
5. Pour 1/2 egg white mixture into flour mixture in (3) and blend well.
6. Pour flour mixture into the rest of the egg white and blend well.
7. Bake at 175 degrees for 45 minutes.
8. Invert cooked cake for cooling and unmould when it has completely cooled down.

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Recipe Source from : Do What I Like

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Hokkien Mee 福建面

I cooked this for my mum last weekend..!
And she commented something like,
some people like it drier and some with more gravy.
I guess I love dry ones with a bit of gravy  =)
I always go easy with all seasonings, 
so if you wanna try this recipe,
taste it first, if it's not salty enough, just add more soy sauce.


My choice of flat hokkien noodle is Sakura!
After comparing other brands with this, 
it's really much lower in sodium.
I had doubts before cooking it, 
but after trying, there's not much of a difference!

Try cooking it! It's a very simple recipe!


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Hokkien Mee 福建面
(Serves 4)

1 1/2 Tbsp Oil
6 Clove Minced Garlic
3 Large Fishcakes
700ml Water
25ml Best Dark Soy Sauce
900g Flat Hokkien Noodles
1 Packet Chye Sim, Washed and cut in 1 inch pieces
12 Prawns, Marinate with 1tsp soy sauce, sesame oil, sprinkle of white pepper and 1 tsp corn flour)
Batang Fish Slices
Sliced Pork, Marinate with 1tsp soy sauce, sesame oil, sprinkle of white pepper and 1 tsp corn flour) (Optional)




1. Heat oil in a wok and stir fry minced garlic till fragrant.
2. Add fishcakes and pork. Stir fry for 2 minutes.
3. Pour water and dark soy sauce into the wok and mix well.
4. Bring to boil and add noodles, chye sim, prawns, fish and cover with lid.
5. Bring to boil again, remove lid and mix it thoroughly, and make sure that noodles are all separated.
6. Keep stirring until gravy has nearly dried up.
7. Serve hot.

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Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Weight Loss Update : 2kg in a Week

1 week passed so quickly...
now I've increased my exercising time from 25 to 30 minutes.
I don't feel that tired anymore.
And no more huff and puffs after crossing a overhead bridge! HAHA!
My blood pressure has gone down a little too,
keep my fingers crossed.


I did not control my diet that strictly this time round,
For some dinners, I had pizzas, hokkien mee and roast chicken!
I think it's the exercising part which helped more. 
I realised that if I only eat healthy, without exercising,
my metabolism rate will still be low! So my weight's always stuck.
Now that I've triggered it, things are getting easier.


My way of exercising is very simple,
just jog on the spot while watching tv!
I may look a bit dumb doing that, but it really works!
And I don't need to get out of my house at all...
So..no excuse for rain or anything else!


I've lost 2kg in a week..
hope that this will continue!
Previously, I've lost 15kg by eating right and exercising.
and wasted all my efforts by putting on 11kg back!

Now..here I am to continue this journey...
to achieve a better health for myself!!

Monday, April 4, 2011

这一碗饺子汤叫做幸福 (Dumplings Filled with Happiness)


I told my man this bowl of dumpling soup is called 幸福 (Happiness)
Why did i name it as 幸福?
Because we made the dumplings together, and it's actually late at night =)
I made the skin from scratch and he wrapped it with fillings.
think I'll make this kind of session a twice a month affair..
it really gave us some "together time".
We don't get to spend a single entire day in the week together, 
because of our working time.
And when we are back at home, we will be busy with our own stuffs.
So this will be a really nice activity for us! =D



This time round I made the skin much thinner.
It's a lot softer and I used lean grounded meat totally instead of mixing with oily ones, 
plus added some freshly chopped prawn paste.
It still yielded great dumplings!

For the dumpling's recipe, click HERE

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Honey Jelly with Fresh Strawberries

Another low calorie refreshing dessert to introduce...
There are quite a few recipes to follow in the mini recipe book in the Kanten Box..
But it's all in Japanese! 
So I tried my best to figure out what are they trying to say~


Here's the honey jelly with fresh strawberries

I made this because I will always feel not that full after my meals.
This is one healthy and non-sinful dessert for me!


Look at the jelly cubes..
bite on to them while they are cold and eat as much as you want! 
It's made with only water, honey and 0 calorie kanten!

There's a Taiwanese girl, who've lost 40+kg by eating Kanten Jelly for her snacks.
Plus her 5 meals each day, not exceeding 300 calories for every meal.
 She looks super good now! 

I hope to be like her, 
but I know there's lots of hard work involved.
So I must keep up my diet!!

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Honey Jelly with Fresh Strawberries

500g Water
3 Tbsp Honey (Increase amount if you want it to be sweeter)
4g Kanten, (1 Sachet)


1. Bring water to boil, add honey and mix.
2. Sprinkle kanten into the water and stir well. Boil for at least 2 minutes.
3. Sieve and pour into a rectangular container/bowl, let it cool in room temperature.
4. After it has cooled down, transfer into refrigerator.
5. When it's cold enough to be served, remove from container/bowl and cut into cubes.
6. Serve with fruits.

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