Piped Coffee Butter Cookies

Been a while since I make this.  It's fairly easy to make.  I'm really tired from the spring cleaning today and my girl wanted to do some piping, so here we have it tonight.

Ingredients

*yields around 30 cookies

200g cake flour

130g butter - softened

30g caster sugar

70g icing sugar

1 egg

1 tsp coffee oil (alternatively, you can add 1tbsp coffee powder to sieved together with the flour instead)

Method

1. Lined baking tray with baking sheets and preheat oven to 180C.
2. Beat butter with sugar and icing sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add coffee oil in egg and add to the mixture, and continue beating until well combined.
4. Add in cake flour and mix until well combined.
5. Pipe into desired patterns.
6. Chill the dough in the fridge for 15 mins after piping.
7. Send to bake for 12 mins or until the cookies turn golden brown. 

Beat eggs and sugar until mixture turns light and fluffy.

Final consistency of the batter.

Pipe into desired patterns.

Fresh from the oven!

Banana Chocolate Chips Muffin

My girl received a lots of birthday presents from her classmates so I made her some muffins to share with them!

This recipe was adapted from a really good home baker, who is also a member of Baking's Corner group in Facebook.  Another sure-keeper recipe!

Ingredients

*Makes 14 muffins

57g butter - melted

1tsp vanilla extract

120g milk + 1/2 tbsp white vinegar (i used apple cider vinegar) - mix together and set aside for 10min

125g brown sugar

1 egg

1 ripe banana - mashed

145g plain flour

1/2tsp baking powder

1/2tsp baking soda

Pinch of salt

65g chocolate chips

Method

1.  Prepare muffin tins and preheat oven to 190C.

2.  Sieve flour, baking powder, baking soda together, then add salt.  Set aside.

3.  Beat banana, egg and brown sugar until well combine, then add in melted butter and vanilla extract.

4.  Add in milk mixture and flour mixture alternately to the batter.

5.  When done, fold in chocolate chips ( leave some to sprinkle).

6.  Fill batter into muffin cases till 80% full, then sprinkle some chocolate chips on top.

7.  Send to bake for 20mins.

Original recipe

These muffins look so awesome!

Soft and moist texture!

Pack nicely for my girl to bring to school!

Another batch made as our breakfast :)

Spongy Banana Cake by Richard Goh

My girl and I share the same birthday, and this year I made us (more for her actually) a Spongy Banana Cake, coated with Chocolate Ganache and Ferraro Rocher Chocolates!

The cake recipe was adapted from the famous Mr. Richard Goh and ganache recipe from somewhere in Facebook but I can't remembered from who exactly..

Ingredients

3 Eggs
120g castor sugar
200g Banana (Ripe & cut into small pcs)
150g Top Flour (can use cake flour too)
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp Baking soda
100g canola oil

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160 degree C.
2. Grease & line a 6" round tin.
3. Sieve flour, baking powder & soda together. Sieve twice & set aside.
4. Whisk eggs, sugar & banana at high speed until reach ribbon stage (around 10mins).
5. Fold in flour mixture.

6. Fold in oil and mix well until batter should look smooth and shiny.

7. Pour the batter from 30cm height into baking tin.  Tap few times on table top to release air bubbles.

8.  Send to bake for 50min.

9.  Once done, remove from oven, drop the tin from 30cm height (shock treatment- to prevent shrinkage).  Leave to cool completely.

Original recipe for cake

Chocolate Ganache recipe 

Egg yolk mixture should reach ribbon like stage.

Final consistency of the batter should be smooth and shiny.

Nice and fluffy!

My end product! :)

Soft Bread Dough

I was reading through some articles online on bread making, got a bit of inspiration, mixed & matched a bit and came up with this dough recipe :)  I think I'm a bit mad (Baking addiction....is OMG!!), but I'm really proud of myself!  Anyway, the taste of the bread is not too bad (not fabulously good but passable lah) and it's really soft!  I'm putting the bread to a 3-day ageing test (see below for the video) to see how long the bread will stay soft!

Cinnamon Bread, Nutella Buns, Sugar Buns & Cheese Bread :)

Ingredients
100ml warm water (around 45C)
125ml warm milk  (around 45C)
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp active dry yeast - If you are using instant yeast, skip the water activation process in step#1.  Create a little wall in the flour (after you add transfer to BM) and leave the instant yeast in it.
1 tsp lemon juice - I specially added this to the recipe because it  will acts as a natural bread improver, enhance the flavour, and the ascorbic acid gives a better texture and rise to the dough 
1/2 beaten egg
4 tbsp olive oil - I specifically used this oil because it contains Vitamin E, which helps to maintain the freshness of baked goods and also gives a subtle flavour
200g plain flour - sieved
200g bread flour - sieved
1 tsp salt

Eggwash:  add 1tbsp milk to the balance beaten egg

Method

1. Put water, milk, sugar and yeast in the pan of the bread machine. Let the yeast dissolve and foam for 10 minutes.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients in this sequence: egg, lemon juice, add oil, flour and salt.
3. Select menu 8 on BM (dough menu).  The entire process will take 1h30min.  Once it is complete, leave the dough in the BM for another 30min.
4. When done, remove from BM, punch down to release built up air.
5. Weight and shape the dough into balls of 50g each.  Let them rest for 10min (keep them covered to prevent the dough from drying up).
6. Start shaping the buns accordingly to your preferences.
7. When done, spray with some water, cover the breads with a cloth and leave it for the final proofing, 45min.
8. Apply eggwash and preferred toppings and sent to bake at 180C for 15-20min.
9. Once done, leave to cool in room temperature.  then store the bread in air-tight containers.

The braiding that I used for the Sugar Buns and Cinnamon Bread.

1st proofing done!

Only bakers will understand the joy!  

Leave dough to rest for 10min, keep covered.

All ready to sent to the oven!

Sugar buns for son :)

Cinnamon bread for myself :)

Nutella buns for daughter :)
Very messy during braiding!

The family all time favourite - Good old Cheese bread!

I really like the texture!

The Ageing/Softness Test!

Day 1

 Day 2

Day 3

Honey Soyabean Steamed Cake

My neighbor makes the best steamed cake and my kids absolutely adored them!  They would literally gobbled up everything whenever she sent over some!  Today I chanced upon Aunty Shuzhen and she briefly told me her recipe, so I decided to gave it a try tonight, with a slight modification on the flavour :)

This is my first steamed cake!  It's so easy to make them (all done within 30mins!) and they taste great!  Light fragrance of soyabean milk and honey!   Sweetness is just right!

Ingredients

2 eggs

3tbsp sugar

2tbsp soyabean milk

2tbsp canola oil

3tbsp condensed milk

1tsp honey

2/3 cup plain flour (ard 130ml/cc in a measuring cup) - sieved

2tsp baking powder

Method

1.  Prepare steamer (heat up in medium heat and tie a towel on the steamer cover) and 7 muffin cases in seperate ramekin/small muffin baking tins. 

2.  Beat egg, sugar and milk until well combined.

3.  Add oil, condensed milk and honey.  Mix until well combined.

4.  Combined flour and baking powder, mix them well with a fork.  Then mix into egg mixture until smooth.

5. Transfer batter into muffin case.  Fill them up to almost close to the brim (this is my first try, so I thought i should fill them up 80% full like baked muffins.  But I was wrong, hence you can still see the cases edge around my cakes!).

6.  Send to steam for 10-13min.  Once done, remove to cool.

I made the mistake of filling them 80% full!  Fill it up close to the cases brim!

Wonderful dome!

Soft and spongey texture!

Another separate batch that I made with my new silicon moulds :)

Nutella Condensed Milk Cake

My girl likes Nutella and the baking bug hit me again this evening.. So here is my baby for the night :)

Got quite a bit of air bubbles on top but texture and aroma is superb!

Modified from Kat Kat's Condensed Milk Cheesecake recipe :)

Ingredients

3 egg yolks

1 egg

50g condensed milk

50g plain flour - sieved

50g nutella

30ml milk

35ml canola oil

3 egg whites

45g castor sugar 

1 tsp lemon juice

Method

1.  Greased and lined the bottom of a 6" round tin.  Lightly grease the sides too.

2.  Preheat oven at 150C.

3.  Heat milk in microwave and pour over nutella, stir to dissolve and to a smooth consistency.  Set aside.

4.  Mix yolks, 1 egg and condensed milk until well combined.  Set aside.

5.  Heat oil over stove.  Once done, drizzle over sieved flour and quickly mix to a smooth paste.  Set aside.

6.  Pour yolk mixture into the nutella, mix well, then add in flour mixture, whisk until well combined.  Set aside.

7.  Beat egg whites untill foamy, add in lemon juice, then add sugar in 3 batches.  Continue beating until attain stiff peak.

8.  Fold in meringue to the yolk mixture by several batches.  Be sure to fold till you don't see any streaks of meringue.

9.  Pour in batter to baking tin, tap few times on table top to release air bubbles.

10.  Send to bake by waterbath method. 150C for 30min, then 130C for another 75min.

11.  Once done, invert to cool for 5min and remove mould.  Then revert back upright to cool completely.

Mint Yoghurt No-Baked Cheesecake

Been a while since I made this dessert, and my girl asked for a jelly layer, so here it is...

Adapt & modified this recipe from The Baking Biatch.

Ingredients

*6" round tin or 7" square tin

• 200g digestive biscuits → pound into fine grains
• 75g castor sugar
• 80g unsalted butter 
• 250g plain yoghurt (can be replaced with thickened cream)
• 250g cream cheese → room temperature
• 2.5 tablespoon gelatin -> → to be dissolve with 100ml hot boiling water (keep stirring until gelatine dissolved)
• 1/2 Konnyaku jelly powder
• 1/2tsp mint essence
• 1-2 drop green coloring
• Small pieces of chocolate

Method

1. Lined the base and side of the baking tin with aluminium foil. May omit this step if using removable base tin.
2. Melt butter in microwave.  Pour and mix into biscuit grains. 
3. Spoon mixture into the base of tin, firm with the underneath of the spoon, leave to set in fridge.
4. Pour hot booling water into the gelatin.  Stir to dissolve and set aside.
5. Whisk cream cheese with sugar till smooth, add in dissolved & cooled gelatin, continue whisking, adding lastly, the yoghurt.  
6. Pour mixture on top of the biscuit crust and leave to set in fridge for at least 3hrs.
7. Place small pieces of chocolate on top on the half set cream cheese mixture.
8. Boil 250g of water, add in jelly powder, stirring continually throughout.  Add in mint essence and coloring.  Leave to cool for around 5min (continue to stir to prevent the mixture from solidifying).  Then using a landle, transfer the mixture on top of the cream cheese  mixture.
9. Bring back to fridge to set overnight. 

Another one that I made without the jelly layer, but with multiple colours and kolam drawing :)