I Failed To Do Proper Make Up For My Santa–Santa Bread (圣诞老人面包）

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INTRODUCTION

I said before that my Christmas 2014 series has came to an end 2 weeks ago… After seeing Facebook members preparing Christmas bakes, I cannot help but to lay my hand on making this Santa Bread…

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I decided to bake this cute bread also because I have plenty of free times since my kids was on holiday. I have more time to prepare bakes that need full concentration and more laborious recipes..

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Hmmm, I am not going to eat the bread… Hold on.. Not the bread is not edible, it is because I want to sun dry it and show it to my kids when they are back from Holidays after Christmas.. This is not a recipe sharing but a shaping sharing. It will definitely be a centrepiece on your Christmas table .. Again, the bread is edible if you are using an edible recipes.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

  • About 350 grams of bread dough (Please refer to this post: Basic Bread Dough Recipe )
  • Some red colouring gel.
  • 1 egg yolk for egg glazing (mix one tablespoon of water with one egg yolk, sift before application)
  • 2 currants or black raisins

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

  • For edible bread dough please refer Basic Bread Dough Recipe . The shaping shall be done after the first proofing of double in size.

  • For non edible bread dough, mixed 250 grams of plain flour, 1 teaspoon of yeast and 120 grams of lukewarm water. Knead until it form a pliable dough. Let it rest for 10 minutes before shaping.

  • Pre-heat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.

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  • Divide the dough into 4 portions. Portion 1 for face, portion 2 for beard, portion 3 for hat and portion 4 for all the other smaller items such as nose, hat collar, moustache,  etc.. Additional left over dough will be used for the shaping of moustache.

  • Take one dough, shape round, and roll it thin in the shape of a face.

  • Take the second portion, roll it like a semi circle, use a knife or scissor to cut into 1 cm broad strips resembling the beard. Do not cut too near the straight edges and stop the cutting at about 1cm from the edge. Slightly twist it to make curly beard. Attach the beard portion to the chin of the face.

  • Take the 3rd portion, leave about 20%, use the remaining 80% of the dough to make it into triangular shape. Attached to the head. Use the remaining 20% of the 3rd portion to make a collar for the hat. Slightly fold the top of the hat towards the hat collar.

  • For the fourth portion, pinch a small dough, shape round and attached to the tip of the hat. Pinch another slightly bigger dough, shape round and make the nose. Pinch another 2 small dough, roll like shape of leaves to make the moustaches. For all the remaining dough, if any, make it into thin strips, slightly twisted and attached to the beard portion.

  • Use a small scissors to cut two small cavities for the eyes. Put 2 dark currants or raisins as eyes.

  • Use a brush to brush some some red colouring gel on the hat.. Dilute the gel with a bit of water and brush on the nose and cheeks resembling rosy cheeks.

  • Egg wash the bread thoroughly before baking in the pre-heated oven of 180  degree Celsius for 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the bread. If it brown too soon, off the the top heat of the oven..

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CONCLUSION

It is fun and a self achievement to prepare this bread for me to share with readers. I do hope readers can try preparing this too..

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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  • For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 26 November 2014)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts.  

 

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Almond Biscuits – 杏仁饼干

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INTRODUCTION

I have to say that I am a bit disappointed with the appearance of these almond biscuits after baking…

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The moulding imprint was still there but was not as sharp as I wanted it to be.. Well, I should have expected that most cookies will expand after cooking and imprints will be blurred..

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Do not ask me what is my cookies cutter? It is just a simple snow flake pattern and when I want to dislodge it from the mould, I use a chopstick to push it out those created this petal pattern.

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You can always used your creativity to get the pattern you want. As a word of advise, simpler pattern will create a more elegant cookie design.

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I also did not do well in taking images for this batch of cookies or biscuits. The biscuit looked much better physically then what you seen in the picture. I found the angle of taking the photo is not very satisfactory and the complex patterns overlapped each other and become a stack of cookies with odd design… Sigh

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Nothing much to write about this cookie. It is a simple cookie well liked by many especially during Chinese New Year or other festivals..  It is made of ground almond and some people do sprinkle almond nibs or almond flakes on top of the cookies. As for shape wise, it can be of any shape and feel free to choose your favourite cookies cutter.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Recipe adapted from: Almond Biscuits

Servings: Depending on size of mould  60-80 cookies

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  • 200 grams of plain flour
  • 150 grams of butter soften at room temperature
  • 80 grams of castor sugar
  • 80 grams of ground almond or almond meal
  • 1 tablespoon of potatoes starches
  • 1 tablespoon of mung bean flour (can be substitute with potatoes starches)
  • 1 egg yolk

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk, beat until well combined. Add the ground almond followed by sifted plain flour, potatoes starches and mung bean flour. Fold until well mixed. You can also use the standing mixer’s lowest speed to do the mixing.

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  • Transfer to a lightly floured surface, put the dough on top of a clingy wrap. Cover the dough with another clingy wrap, roll the dough until it is about 2-3 mm thick. Take out the clingy wrap on the top, use your preferred cookie cutter to cut into your desired shape. Transfer to the baking tray, egg wash the cookies and bake in the preheated oven of 160 degree Celsius for 12-15 minutes. or until golden brown. For egg washing, crack one egg yolk and mixed with 2 drops of oil and 1 tablespoon of water, stir well, sift before applying the egg glazing.

  • After the cookies were baked, let it rest in the baking tray before transferring to a cooling rack for cooling. Cooled completely before store in an air tight container.

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CONCLUSION

Quite a simple recipe to try out.. In fact there are many almond related cookies recipes and this is one of them. Rest be assured that this is a delicious light cookie and I especially like the buttery fragrance and crumbly texture of the biscuit..

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This recipe was included in Page 28 and Page 29 of the following E-book. 

For more Chinese New Year related cookies, snack and steamed cake recipes, you can have a copy of “Easy Chinese New Year Recipes – A step by step guide” that was packed with 30 recipes, 60 pages at a reasonable convenience fee of USD3.50. The recipes covered various recipes from auspicious radish cake to nian gao to traditional kuih bangkit to trendy London almond cookies. Of course not forgetting both type of pineapple tarts. You can purchase by clicking the link above. You can either pay using Pay Pal or Credit card account. Please ensure that you have an PDF reader like Acrobat or iBooks in your mobile phone or iPad if you intended to read it in your ipad or mobile phone. Should there be any problems of purchasing, feel free to contact me at kengls@singnet.com.sg and separate arrangement can be made.

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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  • For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 26 November 2014)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts.  

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Thanksgiving and Christmas 2015 Special Compilation (2015 圣诞节特别汇编）

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INTRODUCTION

I promised readers that I will do a simple compilation for Christmas 2015. Here it is with about 45 recipes on  selected appetizers, main course, breads, desserts and gift ideas. Hope this will provide readers some home cooked choices and I wish to take this opportunity to wish my readers an advance Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

STARTERS, APPETIZERS AND SNACKS

 

 Baked Hassel back Potatoes With Bacon And Mozzarella Cheeses..

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Kiwi Tuna Salad 

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Devilled Eggs

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Bacon/Tuna Tortilla Cups and Pizza Snack

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BREADS AND SOUPS

Individual Panettone (意大利圣诞面包）

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Quick And Easy Yeast Free Stollen (德国圣诞面包 – 史多伦）

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Christmas Wreath Bread (圣诞花环面包）

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Santa Bread (圣诞老人面包）

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Cranberry Wholemeal Spoon Rolls

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Yorkshire Puddings (约克郡布丁)

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Wholemeal Fruit Loaf

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MAIN COURSE

Tony Romas BBQ Baked Ribs Copycat （烤排骨)

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Crispy Roast Chicken

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DESSERTS

Steamed Fruit Cake or Kek Kukus Buah (杂果蒸糕）

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Golden Fruit Cake (黄金杂果蛋糕）

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Light Fruit Cake (轻杂果蛋糕）

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Quick and Easy Christmas Fruit Cake With Royal Icing

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Light Rummy Fruit Cake

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Boiled Christmas Fruit Cake 

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Chocolate Yule Log Cake With Coffee Cream (Bûche de Noël, 巧克力树桐蛋糕）

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Christmas croquembouche

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Christmas Trifles  – Used up your balanced fruit cake making this..

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Quick And Easy Christmas Puddings With Brandy Sauce (圣诞布丁）

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Pecan Pie (胡桃派）

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Pumpkin Pie (南瓜派)

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Baileys Chocolate Cheese Tarts (巧克力芝士挞）

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Meringue Nests With Rich Chocolate Mousse Fillings (蛋白酥皮巢)

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Double Chocolate Bavarian Cream or Bavarois (双巧克力慕斯杯）

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Molten Chocolate Lava Cake (心太软）

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Fruit Tart

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Horlicks Lapis (好力克千层蛋糕）

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Authentic Lapis Legit (Spekkoek 印尼千层蛋糕）

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Baked New York Cheesecake

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White Chocolate Cheesecake (白巧克力免烤芝士蛋糕）

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Chilled Honey Cheesecake (免烤蜜糖芝士蛋糕）

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GIFTS AND BISCUITS

Chocolate Crinkles Cookies (巧克力皱纹曲奇）

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Gingerbread Man Biscuits

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Cranberry Orange Christmas Star Cookies

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Christmas Candy Cane Peppermint Shortbread (圣诞薄荷牛油饼干）

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Macadamia Russian Tea Cakes

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Yin Yang Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

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Chocolate Truffles

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Homemade Macadamia Chocolates

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Peanut Butter Balls

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Christmas Marshmallows (棉花糖)

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  • For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 26 November 2014)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts.  

 

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Uppåkra (Swedish Butter Potato Starch Cookies) (瑞典马铃薯粉牛油饼干）

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INTRODUCTION

I do not have a recipe of the popular trendy so called “German” cookies because I can’t find reasonable linkage of such cookie with real authentic German cookies be in terms of look or in terms of ingredients.. I did my part to trace the source to any German recipes but in vain .. I asked around friends who have German friends and apparently German never seen this cookie before..I find it is rather odd to blog something that I am not able to be convinced.

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I have done many searches over a period of half year until I found a recipe named: Uppåkra (Swedish Butter Cookies with Potato Starch ). I am very happy to have at least some Western recipe that justify the use of potatoes starch.(Uppakra is a village situated at the Southernmost Sweden) . In fact, continue searches Uppakra yields a number of Western bloggers that have this recipe. For example:

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Reviewing the ingredients in these recipes shows rather similar ingredients to the “German?” cookies using potatoes starch, butter, sugar and flour. One recipe do use eggs at a binding agent.

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Further review shows that the ingredients that they used may not suit the current Asian taste buds. The sugar level are rather high and they have use castor sugar and plain flour. For Asian they have always asked for cookies that “melt in the mouth”, as such, I have modified rather materially to come to this recipes:

  • Reduction of sugar level
  • Use of top flour (cake flour) instead of plain flour
  • Use of icing sugar instead of castor sugar

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As for the ratio, I have decided to use back the traditional British short bread recipe ratio of 1 sugar: 2 butter : 3 flour as it is not overly sweet. The result is melt in the mouth cookies and I am happy that I have document down the justification of this recipe ..

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Recipe adapted from: Potato Flour Cookies from my Swedish Grandmother

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  • 80 grams of butter – softened
  • 40 grams of icing sugar
  • 80 grams of potatoes starches
  • 40 grams of top flour or cake flour
  • Drops of vanilla essence (optional)

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • In a standing mixer, beat the butter and icing sugar until light and pale. Add vanilla essence if desired. Sift in the potatoes starch and top flour, use the machine lowest speed to beat for 30 seconds. Transfer the dough out to a clingy wrap. 

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  • Wrap the dough and chill the dough for 10-20 minutes until you are able to handle it.  Divide the dough equally (about 10 grams per cookie), shape it into a ball, lightly pressed using your thumb. Use a fork to make your preferred patterns. If the dough is very sticky, dust your hand with some more potatoes starch or top flour and continue shaping. There is a possibility that you need to dust your hand with every ball you shaped.

  • Bake in the pre-heated oven of 150 degree Celsius for 12-15 minutes. Once the cookies is out from the oven, let it rest in the baking tin for 5 minutes before transferring to the cooling rack for further cooling. Once completely cooled, store in an air tight container .

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CONCLUSION

This is a delicious cookie. If you want beautiful shape, at 10% more flour, it will yields an easier to mould cookie. Members are asking me the difference between German cookies and this Swedish cookies. I do not wish to answer and let reader’s decide yourself. At least the name of this recipe is substantiated by some Western recipes.. If you ever try this recipe, just my sincere hope that as a respect to this traditional cookie , you named it Uppåkra Swedish Butter Cookies  Or Swedish Butter cookies for short.

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This recipe was included in Page 16 and Page 17 of the following E-book. 

For more Chinese New Year related cookies, snack and steamed cake recipes, you can have a copy of “Easy Chinese New Year Recipes – A step by step guide” that was packed with 30 recipes, 60 pages at a reasonable convenience fee of USD3.50. The recipes covered various recipes from auspicious radish cake to nian gao to traditional kuih bangkit to trendy London almond cookies. Of course not forgetting both type of pineapple tarts. You can purchase by clicking the link above. You can either pay using Pay Pal or Credit card account. Please ensure that you have an PDF reader like Acrobat or iBooks in your mobile phone or iPad if you intended to read it in your ipad or mobile phone. Should there be any problems of purchasing, feel free to contact me at kengls@singnet.com.sg and separate arrangement can be made.

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Hope  you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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  • For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 20 November 2014)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts.  

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Individual Panettone (意大利圣诞面包）

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INTRODUCTION

Panettone will be my last recipe for Christmas 2014.. This is an Italian famous bread which had become a  common imported Christmas item in high end Singapore and Malaysia supermarkets

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Per Wikipedia:

“Panettone (pronounced /ˌpænəˈtoʊni/, Italian: [panetˈtoːne]) is a type of sweet bread loaf originally from Milan (in Milanese dialect it is called paneton /paneˈtuŋ/),[1] usually prepared and enjoyed for Christmas and New Year in Italy,south eastern France, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Peru, Malta, Germany and Switzerland, and is one of the symbols of the city of Milan. In recent years it has become a popular addition to the Christmas table in the United Kingdom. In South America, especially in Peru, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, and Chile, it is a Christmas dinner staple and in some places replaces roscón de reyes/bolo rei (King cake).

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It has a cupola shape, which extends from a cylindrical base and is usually about 12–15 cm high for a panettone weighing 1 kg. Other bases may be used, such as an octagon, or a frustum with star section shape more common topandoro. It is made during a long process that involves the curing of the dough, which is acidic, similar to sourdough. The proofing process alone takes several days, giving the cake its distinctive fluffy characteristics. It contains candied orange, citron, and lemon zest, as well as raisins, which are added dry and not soaked. Many other variations are available such as plain or with chocolate. It is served in slices, vertically cut, accompanied with sweet hot beverages or a sweet wine, such as Asti or Moscato d’Asti.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panettone)”

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Looking at the definitions of Panettone above, one will know that traditional Panettone will requires long hours or even days of proofing. It is a huge but tasty and rich bread.. In fact, it is rather difficult to prepare the traditional or commercial version of Panettone if we do not have a special big mould designed for the preparation of big Panettone.

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Don’t worry, this recipe is the individual Panettone recipe that is easy and fast and requires no special baking equipment. It is about 12 cm tall and the taste and texture are equally awesome. For such a size, it is just nice for a small family of 3-4 and not to mention it can be prepared at a fraction of cost as compared to store purchased…The only think that you might need is to search for some tall muffin cups and I get mine rather easily in Singapore bakery. If you are not concerned about the height, feel free to use the normal muffin cups in the preparation.

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Remember that if you can’t finished the Panettone, keep it until Christmas is over, use these stale Panettone to make some delicious bread puddings. It is an excellent choice for bread puddings because the bread in itself is already tasty and aromatic..

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Recipe adapted from: Individual Panettone,The Essential Baking Cookbook Page 266., Murdoch Books 2000

Servings: About 4 twelve cm tall Panettones

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  • 250 grams of bread flour
  • 125 grams of mixed fruit (can be substituted with equal quantities of dried apricots, currants and sultanas)
  • 90 grams or ml of lukewarm milk
  • 90 grams of butter – softened
  • 60 grams or ml of Marsala wine or other fruity wine such as rum, red cherry etc.
  • 60 grams of castor sugar
  • 7g of instant dried yeast
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
  • 1/2 teaspoon of aniseed or mixed spice

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • In a bowl, put the mixed fruits and Marsala (or other fruit based wine) together. Let it soak for at least 1 hour.

  • In another bowl, put the yeast, one teaspoon of sugar and milk. Stir until well mixed, leave it in a warm place until the mixture is frothy and slightly increase in volume.

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  • Cream the butter and the remaining sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg one by one and beat until well mixed. In another mixer bowl, put the bread flour and mixed spice, make a well in the centre.

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  • Add in the yeast solution, the butter batter, the soaked mixed fruits and mix with a flat bladed knife until it forms a soft sticky dough. Cover with some clingy wrap and let it proved until the dough have double in size. As this is a very rich dough loaded with eggs and butter, the proofing time can be rather long (about 1.5 hours) and it also depends on the day’s temperature. In colder countries, you may want to proof the dough in the oven at 35 degree Celsius with a bowl of plain water)

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  • After the dough have doubled in size, transfer to a lightly floured surface, knead a few minutes until it is not sticky. If it is still very sticky, add spoon gradually (one tablespoon by tablespoon) until it did not stick to your hand. Divide into 4 portions and transfer to the 10 cm tall muffin cups for second proofing.

  • Pre-heat the oven to 200 degree Celsius. Once the dough have double in size or reach about 90% of muffin cup’s height, bake in the pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes or when a skewer inserts into the centre of the bread comes out clean. Can be served warm or cold if preferred.

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CONCLUSION

Christmas is a joyous seasons where there are lots of delicious food available for choices. You may not be able to finish this bread during the dinner. You can always keep it and prepare bread puddings few days later… This is one of the simplest and fastest recipe.. Why pay more where you can easily prepared at home?

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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  • For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 20 November 2014)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts.  

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Christmas Candy Cane Peppermint Shortbread (圣诞薄荷牛油饼干）

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INTRODUCTION

My Christmas recipe this year is coming to an end. I still have a Panettone recipe yet to issue and thereafter I will do a compilation to facilitate readers to locate the recipes.

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Cookies is common during Christmas for Western bloggers… In fact, cookies recipe are not popular throughout the year until the period of about 1 month from Thanksgiving Day to Christmas Day itself. There are cookies exchange programs and household prepared their homemade delicious cookies, nicely packed and presented it as gifts for relatives and guests. As an Asian blogger, I also want to join in the fun, prepare some uniquely Christmas cookies..

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This is not a new recipe. It is a very simple recipe modified from one of the top posts of this blog : One, Two, Three…….Let’s Start Making Traditional Short Bread Biscuits (英式传统牛油饼干）.

However, the design is from Aunty Yochana blog’s recipe: Yochana’s Cake Delight! : Christmas Cane Cookies.. She always command my due respect as a pioneer blogger.. I like to search her blog for ideas.

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If I tell you shaping this is quick and easy, I think I am telling a lie … It is rather laborious.. If you have a domestic helper at home, I am sure it could be rather fast.. If your kids are on holiday, they can also chip in to help..

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Considering that readers may give up in the preparation, I have decided to change it to the common round shape cookies..That will really be easy and fast…

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There are a slight Typo error in my images. It was supposed to be Candy Cane cookies and instead of joystick cookies. I was given the wrong information that this is called a Christmas joystick, ha-ha. It is rather laborious to change all the images and therefore I have decided to leave it as it is. Pardon me for that.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: Prepare about 20-30 Candy Cane Shortbread

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  • 150 grams of plain flour
  • 100 grams of  butter, at room temperature
  • 50 grams of icing sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint essence
  • Some permitted red food colouring
  • Some permitted green food colouring

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

  • Pre-heat the oven to 160 degree Celsius.

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  • Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Sift in the flour and lightly fold until well mixed. Divide into 2 equal portions. For one portion, add some permitted red colouring and for the other portion, add the peppermint essence and some permitted green colouring.

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  • Lightly knead until the colour is consistent. Pinch some dough of each colour and shape it into a long thin stripes. Braid the two stripes to become one . Use your hand to roll in one single direction until the design are well incorporated. Cut the stripes into about 6 cm long. Fold 2 cm of one end towards the other end resembling the letter “J”. Perform the same for all the others.

  • For the round cookies. Pinch some green dough and red batter (about 10 grams). Shape it round and use a fork to lightly press on the centre.

  • Bake in the pre-heated oven of 160 degree Celsius for about 12-15 minutes. When taken out from the oven, let it rest in the tray for about 5 minutes before transferring to a rack for cooling.

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CONCLUSION

Definitely a presentable gift for those who look for gift ideas. Of course packaging is of prime importance. You will be surprised that peppermint blends extremely well with the shortbread. ..

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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  • For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 20 November 2014)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts.  

 

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Preparing Your Own Log Cake? Chocolate Yule Log Cake With Coffee Cream (Bûche de Noël, 巧克力树桐蛋糕）

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INTRODUCTION

I never believed that I am able to prepare a log cake…It looks difficult and I took out my courage to prepare one today. Readers, rest be assured, if I can, you can..and let me share with you some points in an attempt to convince you to put your hands on to have your first log cake.

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However, this recipe is not designed for more experienced bakers… There are much better recipes out there requiring more ingredients and many additional steps of preparation…. I have censored off many recipes and decide to share with all one which is easy and fast and that bakers like me who are not good at frosting and cake decoration also have the courage to do so…

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The sponge cake is a very simple and basic recipe… The filling and the frosting are basically the same… And overall, it need less than 10 ingredients to have this log cake. The most it will cost me will be SGD 5….Saves me lots of money ..For taste, it is definitely acceptable though not the best or the finest log cakes compare to those purchased from 5 stars hotel.. However, who really cares after a big feast that were spoilt of many choices of meat dishes, snacks and desserts..

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If you think preparing a log cake is very difficult, you have to reconsider again.. You need not to have the softest and finest sponge cake prepared using egg separation method..In my humble opinion, the centre point of the cake will be on the overall mix between the delicious creams and the sponge cake. Therefore what you required is just a basic simple sponge cake that are reasonable soft.

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You don’t need to possess very good cake decoration technique or complicated baking equipment.. You need to select a frosting of your choice, spread on the cake, there is not even a need to level it because you are going to create a visual effect of tree barks… Any imperfections will be deemed to be natural defect on that piece of wood….In addition, as it “snows” heavily, you can easily covered any imperfections….Therefore, instead of paying 30-40 SGD for a log cake.. why not prepare your own?

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As per Wikipedia,

“A Yule log or bûche de Noël (French pronunciation: ​[byʃ də nɔɛl]) is a traditional dessert served near Christmas, especially in France, Quebec and several other francophone countries and former French colonies. It can be considered a type of sweet roulade. The traditional bûche is made from a genoise or other sponge cake, generally baked in a large, shallow Swiss roll pan, frosted, rolled to form a cylinder, and frosted again on the outside. The most common combination is a basic yellow sponge cake, frosted and filled with chocolate buttercream; however, many variations on the traditional recipe exist, possibly including chocolate cakes, ganache and espresso or otherwise-flavoured frostings and fillings.” (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule_log_%28cake%29)

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Sponge cake recipe adapted from: Yummy chocolate log | BBC Good Food

Servings: a 9” log cake

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Sponge cakes:

  • 90 grams of self raising flour
  • 90 grams of brown sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon of instant coffee granules

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Fillings and frostings

  • 1 cup of fresh whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup of icing sugar
  • 1.5 teaspoons of instant coffee granules.
  • 50 grams of melted dark chocolate (not in picture)

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

  • Pre-heat the oven to 180 degree Celsius and line the a 6” x 9” Swiss roll baking tin with baking paper.

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  • Beat the eggs and brown sugar at high speed until volume expands to at least twice and become light and pale.  Sift in the coffee granules, cocoa powder and self raising flour. Fold lightly and quickly until it is well mixed. Transfer the batter to the lined baking tin. Lightly knock the tin on the table top three times to force out any air trapped inside. Bake in the pre-heat oven of 180 degree Celsius for 10-15 minutes or until the top is dry.

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  • After taking out from the oven, take out from the baking tin. Use something to level the cake if necessary.  Quickly turn the cake with the bottom of the cake facing you and placed the cake on top of the piece of baking paper dusted with icing sugar (optional to dust with icing sugar).. Tear off the first piece of baking paper. Take the width of the cake and roll the cake (like the way of rolling the Sushi) and make sure that the ending portion is facing downwards. Let it cool completely in this position. (Note that it is important that you do this as soon as the cake is out of oven and as soon as your hand can handle the heat from the cake. You can use a towel to roll together if you want. When the cake dries up, it will be difficult to roll.)

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  • While the cake is resting, prepare the fillings and frosting. Mix one to two tablespoons of fresh whipping cream with the instant coffee granules. Stir until dissolved. Beat the cold whipping cream until it starts to thicken and volumes starts to expand. Add icing sugar tablespoon by tablespoon, followed by the dissolved coffee cream . Beat until the cream reached a stiff peak. (Please keep an eye on the beating process and in the event that you have overbeaten the cream (whereby the fats separated and floated on some water), try adding some more cold cream and continue to whip so as to salvage the situation. Unroll the cool sponge cake and spread generously a thick layer (about 1/2 of the beaten cream) of beaten coffee cream on it.

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  • Carefully roll back the sponge such that it is in a log shape. For the remaining cream, add the melted chocolate (melted chocolate should be cool but yet to harden and you can melt the chocolate by microwave for 30 seconds or over the stove over a pot of hot boiling water), quickly use a spatula to fold it until well mixed. Spread generously the chocolate cream on both sides of the log ends and log trunks. Use a fork to lightly make some horizontal lines on the trunks and circular lines on the log ends.

  • Decorated your cake with your desired Christmas ornaments such as Santa Clause, pine tree, mushrooms, reindeer etc.. and dust sparingly with icing sugar resembling snowfall.  Chilled the cake if the frosting is too soft and cut into 2 cm thick pieces for servings.

Note:

  • It does not matter if your basic sponge cake is ugly as it will be fully covered with coffee cream. It also does not matter if you cream and frosting is smooth as after drawing lines with forks, it will have a natural tree bark look… I have used less chocolate in this illustration so the colour is a bit light. You final log cake should have a darker and more appealing colour.

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CONCLUSION

Trust me, I can do it, you can do it… If you think that it is a miracle that you can prepare a log cake, the miracle is going to happen. Remember that the beauty of a log cake is that it need not be perfect, be it your decoration or sponge cake… New bakers, do take a step to make this simple Yule chocolate log cake and impress your guests.

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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  • For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 20 November 2014)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts.  

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Crispy Crabstick Snack (酥脆蟹肉小吃）

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INTRODUCTION

My family members except me loves this crab sticks commonly sold in Singapore and Malaysia supermarket. It was usually sold in the frozen department and they were used to cook with vegetable dish or noodle dish…

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My East Malaysian relatives visited me last week and gave me a plastic bottles of these crispy crab meat that she bought from her Malay colleagues.. It was RM 3 per bottle, kids loved them and can’t have enough of them… They are fighting for the very last piece they have.. I gave it a try and promised them that I will replicate this for them..

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I knew that their version is the deep fried version, in fact slightly more fragrant that what I have prepared. However, I have chose to use oven baked in view of the current trend of healthier life style… I presumed air fryer will work extremely well for this snack too…

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

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  • One packet of crabsticks
  • 1/2 teaspoon of curry powder (optional)
  • Few curry leaves (fresh or dried) (optional)

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

  • Pre-heat the oven to 100 degree Celsius

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  • Cut the crab sticks into about 2 cm length..Roll it out and use a knife to slice it as thinly and as EVENLY as you can. (Uneven crabstick will make some of the crabstick become crispy but some are chewy). Put it in a plastic box, add the curry powder and add in chopped curry leaves. Close the lid of the plastic box and shake until the chopped crabstick are evenly coated with curry powder. Transfer to the baking tray as evenly as possible. Bake in the pre-heat oven of 100 degree Celsius until your desired crispiness. Occasionally, give it a stir to ensure even baking. Baking time will depend on the size of the chopped crabstick. For this illustration, it took about 30 minutes.  Store in an air tight container when cooled completely.

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CONCLUSION

This is a nice snack and I will endorse an occasional indulgence. It is especially good to serve to house guest during Chinese New Year or other major festivals. Remember that you can always do it using air fryer but I can assure all that deep frying using low to medium heat is the fastest and the most aromatic.. It is up to readers to decide base on your health objectives.

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This recipe was included in Page 45 and Page 46 of the following E-book. 

For more Chinese New Year related cookies, snack and steamed cake recipes, you can have a copy of “Easy Chinese New Year Recipes – A step by step guide” that was packed with 30 recipes, 60 pages at a reasonable convenience fee of USD3.50. The recipes covered various recipes from auspicious radish cake to nian gao to traditional kuih bangkit to trendy London almond cookies. Of course not forgetting both type of pineapple tarts. You can purchase by clicking the link above. You can either pay using Pay Pal or Credit card account. Please ensure that you have an PDF reader like Acrobat or iBooks in your mobile phone or iPad if you intended to read it in your ipad or mobile phone. Should there be any problems of purchasing, feel free to contact me at kengls@singnet.com.sg and separate arrangement can be made.

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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  • For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 15 October 2014)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts.  

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Yorkshire Puddings (约克郡布丁)

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INTRODUCTION

I know it is still early but keep this post and you will be able to prepare Yorkshire puddings for your Christmas feasts.

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What is Yorkshire pudding? Yorkshire pudding in essence is a pancake that was baked at high temperature to obtain a special tall pancake that have a cavity… It was usually served during Christmas dinner together with main dish as a substitute to bread rolls  to absorb the meat juices in the Christmas feast…

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However, it can also be served as as dessert to go with ice cream. A good Yorkshire pudding should be rather light and thin, slightly chewy an a good absorbent of meat or sweet sauces..

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Per Wikipedia:

“Yorkshire pudding is an English dish made from batter consisting of eggs, flour, and milk. The dish is usually served with roast meat and gravy and is a staple of the traditional British Sunday roast. It may also be served as a dessert.The exact origin of the Yorkshire pudding is, as yet, unknown. The first ever recorded recipe appears in a book in 1737. Yorkshire pudding is cooked by pouring a batter made from milk (or water), flour and eggs into preheated, oiled, baking pans, ramekins or muffin tins (in the case of miniature puddings). A basic formula uses 1⁄3 cup flour and 1⁄3 cup liquid per egg.” (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire_pudding)

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This recipe was prepared based on the definition of Wikipedia above. As Christmas dinner is yet to come, I have decided to prepare some mushroom soup for the kids to go with Yorkshire pudding as lunch… They love it.. and I do love it as well..

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: about 6 medium size Yorkshire Puddings

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  • 1 cup of milk
  • 1 cup of plain flour
  • 3 eggs
  • Pinches of salt
  • Adequate cooking oil for well greasing the tin (Lard can be used but not butter due to different boiling point of the fats)

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

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  • In a whisking bowl of standing mixer, add eggs, flour, milk . Mix until well combined with no lumps noted. Chill the batter in the refrigerator until the oven is ready.

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  • Grease a muffin tray adequately with cooking oil . Grease the connecting part as well Put one tablespoon of oil in each muffin cup.

  • Pre-heat the oven to 220 degree Celsius together with the greased muffin tray. Once the muffin tray is ready (most likely you will see some smoke from the hot oil), take out the batter, use the mixer to beat again for 1 minutes. Take out the muffin tray and pour the batter on the hot muffin cups as full as possible. Transfer carefully to the oven, close the door and reduce the temperature to 200 degree Celsius. Bake for about 15 minutes and reduce the temperature to 180 degree Celsius. Continue baking for about 10 minutes or until the pudding puff up and turn golden brown. Off the heat, keep the oven door ajar by placing a chopstick in between the oven door and the oven. Leave it as such until the Yorkshire Pudding is cooled. The main purpose of the step is to prevent a certain drop in temperature that causes the Yorkshire pudding to deflate. Best serve warm as a side item with meat dishes.

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CONCLUSION

This is a nice pancake to go with meat juices. One thing that I can think off is to eat with curry chicken.. It sure is a delicious treat. Hope this post will benefit those readers who are looking for this recipe. Remember that It can be eaten with ice cream as well..

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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  • For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 15 October 2014)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts.  

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Quick And Easy Christmas Puddings With Brandy Sauce (圣诞布丁）

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INTRODUCTION

“Christmas, Christmas time is near, time for “food” and time for cheer, We’ve been good, but we can’t last……..”

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Yes, Christmas is around the corner though Thanksgiving 2014 is not over yet.. This year I will have 3-4 new Christmas recipes to add to my list of recipes last year….

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I shall start with this simple Christmas Pudding and it is time for reader to get ready NOW and let it “mature” until the day of Christmas…By then, you will have a tasty and aromatic Christmas Pudding at your Christmas dinner table…

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Per Wikipedia:

“Christmas pudding is a type of pudding traditionally served as part of the Christmas dinner. It has its origins in medieval England, and is sometimes known as plum pudding or Christmas Pudding or just “pud”, though this can also refer to other kinds of boiled pudding involving dried fruit. Despite the name “plum pudding,” the pudding contains no actual plums due to the pre-Victorian use of the word “plums” as a term for raisins. The pudding is composed of many dried fruits held together by egg and suet, sometimes moistened by treacle or molasses and flavoured with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and other spices. The pudding is aged for a month or even a year; the high alcohol content of the pudding prevents it from spoiling during this time.” (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_pudding)

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Traditionally, preparing Christmas Pudding is no easy matter, many ingredients will need to be assembled and it was usually steamed over the stove for 4-5 hours to get cooked..Many special precautions need to be done including covering the puddings with cloth during the steaming.

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But this recipe that I am sharing today is a fast and easy recipe…. If you are running of time, you may want to try microwave version of Christmas pudding. It took only 5 minutes to microwave the pudding …Of course if you do not have a microwave oven, you can always steamed the pudding until it is cooked…

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Traditionally, Christmas pudding usually served with sauces such as custard sauces and in recent year, some have served the pudding with ice cream. But the sauces that I have selected in this illustration is brandy sauce. I found that it blends especially well with the Christmas pudding..

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Recipe adapted from: The perfect Christmas Pudding

Servings : About 4 

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  • 250 grams of mixed fruits (Note a)
  • 25 grams of butter
  • 25 grams of plain flour
  • 40 grams of fresh bread crumbs or biscuit crumbs
  • 12 grams of chopped lemon peel or orange peel
  • 50 grams of castor sugar or brown sugar
  • 50 grams of cherry wine or orange juices
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon of treacle or molasses
  • 1/2 tablespoon of golden syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon of mixed spice

Note a – You can use equal weight of sultanas, dates, raisins, cherries and currants.

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  • 20 grams of butter
  • 20 grams of plain flour
  • 20 grams of castor sugar (not in picture)
  • 200 grams of ml of milk
  • 2 tablespoons of brandy or cognac or rum

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

  • Lightly greased a microwaveable container of about 500 ml volume of your choice.

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  • Melt the butter in the microwave oven or over the stove. When cooled, add the egg, molasses, golden syrup, orange juice or cherry wine. Stir until well mixed.  In another mixing bowl, put all the dry ingredients on the bowl (mixed spices, sugar, mixed fruits, orange peel, plain flour and bread crumbs or biscuit crumbs). Stir until well mixed.

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  • Add the liquid mixture and stir the ingredients until well combined. Remember to make a wish when you make your first stir… Transfer the ingredients to the greased microwave container, cover with the container lid or loosely with some clingy wrap and cook in the microwave container for 4-5 minutes. Please do not over microwave the pudding as it will make the pudding very dry and you must position the pudding in the centre of the microwave oven to ensure even cooking. (It is considered as cooked when a skewer inserted comes out clean)

  • Leave it in the container for at least 10 minutes before dislodge from the container. You can sprinkle brandy or other preferred alcohol periodically (say once a week) to moisten the pudding and the pudding will develop a lovely flavour after a few weeks. Reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes before serving.

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  • Melt the butter in a pan over the stove. Add the plain flour and stir until it form a thick paste. Gradually add the milk and use a hand whisk to whisk until it form a sticky sauce. Add the alcohol and sugar, stir until the sugar have dissolved. Pour on top of the Christmas Pudding before before serving.

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CONCLUSION

If you run out of time, this will be a suitable recipe for you… I have not prepared Christmas puddings in previous year because of the timing of traditional method of steaming that need special care and long hours of steaming. This simple recipe will also yield a reasonable impressive pudding. The brandy sauce is definitely delicious and feel free to add more alcohol to suit your taste bud. Remember that you can prepare the pudding now and sprinkle the pudding with alcohol once a week to let it “ mature” and become tastier.. Lastly, don’t forget to make a Christmas wish when you first stir the batter.. Ha-ha

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Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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  • For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 15 October 2014)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts.  

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