My Daddy Made This Cake–Strawberry Mille Crepe Cake

INTRODUCTION

Firstly, I have to tell readers that the appearance of this mille crepe is not really what I have expected. The mille crepe cake should have more creams in between the layers but somehow for health conscious reasons, I have reduced the usage of cream and to make it “worst”(?), I have substituted part of the cream with strawberry non fat yogurt. As yogurt is not cream, it is harder to even the layers, the yoghurt in between the layers can leak out making the crepe cake to slide and with thinner layers. However, if you like fresh cream, go ahead to use it and you will be able to get a nicer mille crepe cake…

Though less creamy, the taste of course will not be compromised and the mille crepe cake was full of strawberry fragrance.  The crepes were made from strawberry milk; in between the crepes there were strawberry yogurt and fresh slices of strawberries, the sauces used was ready made strawberries sauces. In addition, it was served with additional fresh strawberries.  

Both mille and crepe are in fact French words. “Mille” basically means million and “crepe” is a type of thin pancakes originated from France. As usual, lets learn something about this cake from Wikipedia:

“A crêpe or crepe is a type of very thin pancake, usually made from wheat flour (crêpes de Froment) or buckwheat flour (galettes). The word is of French origin, deriving from the Latin crispa, meaning “curled”. While crêpes are often associated with Brittany, a region in the northwest of France, their consumption is widespread in France, Belgium and Quebec. Crêpes are served with a variety of fillings, from the most simple with only sugar to flambéed crêpes Suzette or elaborate savoury galettes.

Mille crêpe is a French cake made of many crêpe layers. The word mille means “a thousand”, implying the many layers of crêpe. “ (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cr%C3%AApe)

I have decided to make this mille crepe after I read another daddy blogger in Malaysia who make a mille crepe for his family. In my Google Plus timeline, I have written:

“There are not many daddy who cooks. This daddy prepared some fabulous crepe cake and I think I will be the copy cat. Thanks +Tan Kuan Yoon for sharing”

Inspired by this daddy, I have prepared my mille crepe cake yesterday. However, I have modified from a recipe from another Japanese blogger who lived in New York since when I Google mille crepe cake, his recipe tops the others. His post is very detail and offers a lot of tips and advises on the preparation of crepes including caramelizing the top layer of mille crepe cake that is popular in New York. However, this was not cover in my post here.

My intention of the post is to prepare a STRAWBERRY MILLE CREPE CAKE. Therefore, most of the cake decorations and ingredients will have strawberries in it. But readers should be aware that mille crepe cake can easily be tailored to suit your family’s taste buds. The fillings can have full flexibility. If you like peanut butter, you can use it. You can even have chocolate cream or pandanus coconut jam (“kaya”) to replace cream in between the crepes.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Recipe Adapted From: Marc Masumoto’s Mille Crepe Cake (Make about 20 six inches diameter crepes)

For crêpes

• 80 grams of unsalted butter, melted, cooled and set aside

• 150 grams of plain flour

• 250 grams of strawberry milk

• 80 grams of honey or maple syrup

• 250 grams of eggs

• 1/4 teaspoon of salt

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For Creams

• 150 gram of strawberry yogurt (optional)

• 10 large strawberries cut in slices (optional)

• 1 cup of whipping cream (whipped and set aside)

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

Preparing the crepes

• In a machine mixing bowl, put melted butters and eggs together. Use the machine whisk to whisk the eggs and butter until the eggs and butter start to emulsify. Sifted in the flours, strawberry milk and honey (or maple syrup) and use the whisk to whisk until well mixed.  You can also use manual whisking if you prefer.

• Chilled in the refrigerator for at least 1-2 hours. If you do not have the time to chill, put it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. Some recipes will call for overnight chilling. However, I personally found that there is no such a need. The chilling is to make the batter slightly harder (stickier) so that when you put in your frying pan, it is easier to shape it evenly.

• After chilling, take the batter out from the refrigerator.

• Heat a 6” non stick frying pan using medium heat. Pour 1/8 cups of the batter into the pan. Try to spread it as even as possible by taking up the pan and swirling it one or two times. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the bottom of the batter is not runny.

• You should be able to tell if the crepe is ready when you sight the edges start to curl up. Use a spoon to lift up the edge and take the crepe out quickly and put the other side back to the pan, Cooked for about 30 seconds – 1 minute. Continue to do the same for the rest of the batters. (I have managed to make 20 crepes from this recipe). Let the crepe cool and set aside.

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Preparing the cream and assembly of the cake,

• Beat the cream until firm peak. Fold in strawberries yoghurt and ensure that it is well mixed. If the cream is too watery, put the cream in the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes before proceed to assemble the cake.

• In a serving plate, place a piece of crepe. Put 1-2 tablespoon of strawberry yoghurt cream, spread as evenly possible. Put in a few slices of sliced strawberry. Place another new piece of crepe on top. Repeat the same procedures until all the crepes are used up.

• Chilled in the refrigerator for about half an hour before serving or cutting. This is because the cream may melt in Singapore hot environment and some chilling will help to keep the cake in shape.

Notes

Note that you will not need to put slice strawberries for all the levels, otherwise, your mille crepe cake will be very high and difficult to balance. You can consider to have strawberries in say crepe 1, crepe 3, crepe 6, crepe 9…. In between the crepes, just fill in with the cream.

 

• Top with additional strawberries, strawberries sauces or whipped cream if desired.

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CONCLUSION

This mille crepe cake is not that difficult to prepare. This is a strawberry version that I have created. Similarly, readers can always create your very own version. How about chocolate mille crepe cake prepared using chocolate milk and with Ferraro Rocher chocolates bits? Or durian mille crepe cake with fresh durian flesh in between the crepes? The possibilities are endless and you should try to explore and come out with one unique mille crepe cake that will definitely impress your guest.

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

How About An Eggless, Butter Less, Milk Less Chocolate Almond Cup Cakes?

UPDATED POST ON 5-11-2014

I will include in this post another recipe that I have developed this morning, it is gluten free, dairy free, egg less and fatless. It is a rather healthy moist and aromatic snack.  I hope this post will benefit those who are on a certain diet.

It is the same recipe for both cookies and cupcakes. For cookies just make it in smaller size and bake slightly longer.. It can be crispy or chewy. It will not be as crispy as those using flour.

Taste wise is satisfactory. You can imagine taking some almond meal, add some cocoa powder, water and sugar.. It is definitely acceptable to most. Please scroll down for the second recipe.

 

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INTRODUCTION

Seriously, when I looked at the recipe, I was curious how it would turn out to be. When I prepared the batter and baking, I am even more doubtful about its outcome.. I did not have any picture to compare and I did not know whether what I have prepared and baked was correct or not. Not until I took the first bite this morning that I am confident to issue this post…

This is an eggless, butter less and milk less cup cake that I have adapted from a 2003 recipe. I have printed out this recipe as early as year 2005 when I just started to have interest in doing some baking. Then, I have been cracking my head to look for recipes that were suitable for niche markets like health conscious people or people that are less fortunate like diabetes . While flipping my recipe file yesterday, I saw this piece of printed paper and I thought I might wanted to give it a try.

While I am writing this post, I try searching this recipe in All Recipes Cake Recipes website, I am rather happy that the recipe is still there but with no picture, that proves that it is a very old recipe. The recipe was submitted by Ms. Kathy Thurston and some body named Ms. Bernadette Beaupre had gave some explanation of this cake:

“This cake comes in handy when all you have left in the cupboard is the tin soups just before shopping day. It really was a treat served warm when we came in from the cold. And it was c-o-l-l-l-d-d-d, North of 53′. Sprinkle brown sugar or dust confectioner’s sugar over the top.” — Bernadette Beaupre (Source: All Recipes Cake Recipes website,)

Since it is an eggless, butter less and milk less, what should be the structure liked. If you looked at the recipe in detail in later part of the post, you will note that there are some shortening and water. Butter less can be substituted with cooking oil or vegetable shortening (as in this recipe) and milk less can be substituted with any liquids (be it eggs or water). Therefore, the crucial element that determine the outcome of the cup cake will be eggs.

Eggs have the role of supporting the structure of the cup cake or in general any baked products. They are binder which help to hold the ingredients together. In addition, it contributed to the liquid component in a cake recipe. Therefore, it is expected that without eggs, the cake will be dense and the rising of the cake will depend entirely with the leavening agents such as baking powder and baking soda. 

I am worry about whether the dense cake will be dry and difficult to swallow. The conclusion is not, as the recipe have minimal vegetable shortenings and some liquids which is adequate to make the cake moist.

In this recipe, I have increased the amount of water, addition of cocoa powder and some almonds chunks. The final baked products were well beyond my expectations and I concurred it was some form of good snacks. As I was experimenting with this recipe, I have reduced the volumes and managed to make 4 small cup cakes. As with any other cakes, serving with additional sauces and whipped cream will heighten the palate to another level.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Recipes adapted from: Eggless, Butter less and Milk less Recipe by Kathy Thurston (make 8 cup cakes)

• 2 cups plain four

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 cup almond chunks

• 2 cups water

• 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon of baking powder

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius and get ready some cup cake moulds.

• In a sauce pan under medium heat, bring  the vegetable shortenings, water and sugar to boil and continue boiling for about 2 minutes.

• Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda together into the liquid.

• Use a spatula to stir the batter until it is well mixed.

• Stir in the almond chunks and ensure it is well mixed.

• Scoop into the paper cups for cup cakes and baked in the oven for about 20 minutes or when the skewer inserted come out clean.

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CONCLUSION

This is a rather unusual cake. So who should prepare this? In fact this cake is very suitable for people who are vegetarian in accordance with Buddhist principles.

In my circle of friends, I have a few friends who are vegetarians. However, though all are  vegetarians, there are certain ingredients that fell into “grey area” and subject to arguments.

One of the ingredients is eggs. Some of my vegetarian friends do not eat eggs as they believed there may be an embryo attached to the eggs. However, other Buddhist vegetarians believed that current eggs are commercially “produced”, therefore , it is impossible to have any embryos in the eggs.  Even if you hatch the eggs, no chicks will be born,

Another two special ingredients are two diary products, milks and butters. Some vegetarian will not touch any food “produced” by an animals, therefore milks and butters were excluded in their diets. Whereas some choose to believe that as there is no need to kill a cow to get milks and butters, therefore, these can be included in the vegetarian diets.

These belies have an impact in pastry terms. Every year, when I baked my pineapple tarts for my relatives and friends, I will have to bake two types, the normal with milk, eggs and butter and another version, which is rather hard to prepare that is eggless, milk less and butter less! Of course the onus will lie on me to find relevant substitute for the ingredients.

Hope you like this rather strange post today. But, I have to admit that looking at the picture, you may not be convinced until you take a bite of it. Have a nice day and cheers.

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RECIPE 2 – GLUTEN FREE, DAIRY FREE, EGG LESS AND FATLESS CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE AND COOKIES

 

WHAT IS REQUIRED

• 1 cup of almond meal or almond flour
• 3/4 cup of water
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder

STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Pre-heat the oven to 160 degree Celsius
• Mix all the ingredients above until well combined
• Transfer to cup cakes cup .
• Baked in the pre-heated oven at 160 degree Celsius for about 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean

• For cookies, add about 1/8 teaspoon of baking powder to the batter, bake at 160 degree Celsius for about 20 minutes. Let it sit in the tray for 5 minutes before transfer to the rack for cooling. If you want it to be crispier, can extend baking time by another 5-10 minutes.

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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.  

• You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP  to see more recipes. Currently there are about 11,500 members sharing various food photos . I am posting my daily home cooked food in the above Facebook Group daily. I would be more than happy if you can  post in the Group for the recipes that you tried from my blog.

• If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.

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Let Try Something New–Red Dragon Fruits Pie Bar And Blueberry Pie Bar

UPDATED POST ON 5-12-2014

Saw some blueberry in the supermarket and I have decided to update this post with some new pictures. Decided to prepare blueberry pie pars.. I have always loved pie bars especially its crumbly top.. Unlike normal pie, pie bars have more short crust pastry than its fillings. If you like short crust pastry of any sort, you shall try this..No major changes in the recipe, just torn down the sugar content to suit Asian taste buds..Changes are highlighted in red.

INTRODUCTION

I have been challenged that most of my recipes that I have written are very “colourful”. If you think that I like permitted food colouring, that is not entirely true. You may have seen a few post that uses food colouring, but that essentially was because I am doing it more for illustration and picture taking purposes. If you read my post on Rainbow Loaf, you will understand how I justified the usage of permitted food colouring and struggling whether such a post should be issued. While I don’t encourage the use of food colouring, but we have to be realistic in our daily lives. I strongly believed the usage of permitted food colouring are all over the food outlets. What about Angkukueh? Do you think all mango puddings are consistently as yellow as what you saw every time your bought it? How about various type of tapioca pearls, milk teas, pasta sauces or even moon cakes? Well that is up to individual and I tend to choose to believe that NOT all the green colour in the Pandan Kaya or Kueh Srimuka/Salat that are sold in eating outlets  are all from the Pandanus leaves….

This post is  using a natural colour. A colour that I am very hesitant to touch. I even hate it when it stained my cloth! It is one of the very strong natural colour – Purplish Red dragon fruits. There is an influx of purplish red dragon fruits in Singapore supermarkets in current year. Though I do not really like to touch the colour by itself, but I do believed it will help to create a visual effect in pastry’s presentation.

In last week’s marketing, these dragon fruits were on sale and I managed to get 2 big red dragon fruits for S$2.50.. I think that it is a deal and I think I should made use of its natural colour to make some pastries. Then it reminded me of some blueberries pie bar that I read while browsing the internet. therefore, I have decided to use these dragon fruits to prepare some dragon fruits pie bars..

Pie bar is a type of short crust pastry usually loaded with seasonal fruits and served as desserts. Fruits that are usually used include strawberries, blueberries and blackberries.

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WHAT IS NEEDED

Pie Pastry for crust and toppings

• 400 grams of plain flour

• 330 grams of butter (cold and cut into cubes)

• 300 （200） grams of sugar

• Pinches of salt

Dragon Fruit Fillings

• 4 eggs (about 200 grams)

• 400 （250 ） grams of sugar

• 100 grams of plain flour

• 150 grams of sour cream or whipped cream

• Pinches of salt

• 200 grams of dragon fruit (meshed) or mashed blueberries

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

Meshing Of Dragon Fruits

• Use some kitchen utensils or sharp objects such as forks or knifes or potatoes mashers to mesh the dragon fruits.

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Preparing the short crust pastry

• Get ready a baking tray of 12” x 15” baking tray.

• Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius

• In the big mixing bowl, put cold cut butter, flour and sugar. Use finger tips to rub the butter and flours mixtures together until resemble some crumbs.

• Divide the crumbs into two portion, one for the bottom layer and another portion for the toppings.

• Press half of the pastry against the bottoms of the baking tray. Use a fork to make a few holes in the pastry and set aside for later use. 

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Preparing the fillings

• In another mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, and cream together. Add flour and followed by mesh dragon fruits and mixed well.

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Assembling And Baking The Pastry

• Pour the dragon fruits fillings on top of the pastry. Sprinkle the remaining flour mixture evenly over the fillings.

• Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes at 180 degree Celsius.

• Cool at least one hour before cutting your desired sizes.

• Best served with some whipped creams, ice creams, additional fresh fruits or on its own.

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CONCLUSION

• It is a dessert that is not that tough to prepare. I believed it is still relatively uncommon in Singapore and Malaysia. For a person with sweet tooth like me, I definitely wouldn’t object such a treat. The crispy and crunchy toppings resembles a bit of the biscuits with some mild fruity flavour of the red dragon fruits.

• I have hold up this post for one day as I am unsure about the colour combination and the acceptability of this desserts in this area of the world. When I posted up to one international communities in Google Plus, I was being encourage to proceed with the post as the pie bars looks appetizing.. Thanks to those members who have encouraged me to have this post.

• I have quite a number of posts in the past one month, this is due to the assistance from my mother in law who is visiting me and able to help me to “nag” my kids performs some household chores. In addition, Singapore was having a school holiday last week.  In the next few days, as my mother in law will be back to her home town, I will have to slow down my posting as I need my energies to nag and cooked for normal household meals. She has been a great helper in the house and I really appreciate and thankful for her presence and I know I am going to miss her like her grandsons and grand daughters…

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.  

• You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP  to see more recipes. Currently there are about 11,500 members sharing various food photos . I am posting my daily home cooked food in the above Facebook Group daily. I would be more than happy if you can  post in the Group for the recipes that you tried from my blog.

• If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.

Don’t “Gaduh” over “Gado Gado”–Indonesian One Dish Salad, Gado Gado

INTRODUCTION

I used to travel a lot when I am in the corporate world. Most of the time, I need to travel and stay in the hotel by myself and at times, the trips will stretch to weeks or months. I still remember my 2 years secondment to Hong Kong and Shanghai, more than 80% of my stay was in the hotel. Room services was very common and cafes at the hotel become my “dining hall”. During these times, one of my favourite order was the “look-alike” home cooked was gado gado since the food was served with peanut aka satay sauce. Of course, other favourites in the hotel will include Singapore Hainanese Chicken rice and Singapore Fried Bee Hoon (新洲炒米粉）。

That is how I first got in touch with gado gado. Gado gado in essence is Indonesian’s salad with peanut sauce. However, unlike Western salad, it is a one pot dish, meaning one can have gado gado as the main meal.

Gado gado in Indonesia means plural for “mixing” action and it shall not be confused with “gaduh gaduh” in Malaysia which means heated arguments.

There are a few versions of Gado gado in Indonesia depending on which part of Indonesia you are in and this version is called “Gado Gado Siram” which was what I usually have in hotels and Indonesian Restaurants. Essentially, vegetables were cooked separately, put together in one plate and add some peanut sauce were poured on top, mixed and served.

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PREPARING OF PEANUT SUACE (Serving of about 5-6 adults) 

What is required

Ingredients A

• 50 grams of chilli powder (or dry chilli)

• 100 grams of garlics

• 40 grams of galangal (blue ginger)

• 40 grams of lemon grass

• 1 tablespoon of cumin powder

• 1 tablespoon of coriander powder

(You can either use the powder form of the above ingredients or use its original form of raw ingredients)

Ingredients B

• 500 grams of peanuts (coarsely ground)

• 10 tablespoons of castor sugar or gula melaka (coconut palm sugar)

• 5 tablespoons of cooking oils

• Pinches of salt

• Pinches of turmeric powder (optional)

• 3 big tablespoons of tamarind paste (assam)

• 5 cups of water

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Steps of Preparation

• Use a food processor to blend all the ingredients (except powder ingredients) in “A” until fine. Alternatively, you can use a mortar and pestle to pound the non-powder ingredients until fine as in the picture. 

• In  a big frying pan, add the cooking oil and stir fried the ingredients as in A until fragrance. Add in tamarind, water and remaining ingredients B (coarsely chopped peanut, sugar, salt) and bring to boil.

• Reduce heat and simmer until the sauce thickens and oil start to appear on top of the peanut sauce. Off the heat and stir in pinches of turmeric powder (optional) and add some hot water if the peanut sauce is too thick. Set aside for later use.

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PREPARING THE SIDE INGREDIENTS

No quantities will be stated here as it is very much depends on your personal preferences.  Most ingredients are substitutable except the most common and must have are long beans, fried tau kwa). I did not prepare all the ingredients as I am having it by myself  and I will not be able to  finish if I used all the ingredients. However, I will list out the other side ingredients.

• Peanut sauce (as mentioned above)

• Some long beans (cut into 4-5 cm) – blanched

• Some bean sprouts – blanched

• Some kangkong (convolvulus) – blanched

• Some hard boiled eggs – cut into half

• Some taukwa – deep fried and cut into slices – See below

• Some cucumbers _ julienned into small chunks

• Some lettuce – chopped

• Some Empiring/Melinjo crackers (Indonesian padi oats crackers)-optional

Not in the pictures above

• Some cabbages – blanched

• Some potatoes – boiled and cut into cubes

• Some lontong (rice cakes) – cut into small pieces

• Some prawn crackers  (keropok udang)

• Some tempeh (soya bean cakes) – cut into small pieces – optional

• Fried Shallot.

Deep Frying the Taukwa

• Marinate the taukwa (drier version of bean curd) with some salt, white pepper and coriander sauces. Deep fried under medium heat until the skin is crispy yet the inside is soft. Cut into small pieces and set aside for future use.

Blanching The Vegetables

• In a wok or frying pan, put some water, drizzles of oil and some salt and bring the water to boil. Add in beansprouts, green beans and kangkong (convolvulus) in this order. Take out and set aside for later use.

 

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ASSEMBLING THE INGREDIENTS AND SERVINGS

• Arrange the lettuce on the serving plate and place all blanched vegetables , taukwa, eggs on top of it.

• Pour the warm peanut sauce over and garnish with Melinjo or prawn crackers and additional fried shallots, if desired.

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CONCLUSION

• This is a rather simple dish to prepare except a bit laborious. However, it is a healthy dish as it is packed with vegetables and I like to eat it as a one dish meal.

• Only pour sauce over the vegetables before serving otherwise, the peanut sauce may become watery due to the water excreted from the vegetables. If the sauce is too thick, add in some hot water and heat it up. Warm sauce is always preferred. For left over sauces, you can freeze it and used for other noodles dish (Satay Bee Hoon) or as dips for Satay.

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

• For more recipes, you can refer to myRE CIPE INDEX (updated as at 13 March 2015)  here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts. Also follow me at INSTAGRAM or TSU, a new social network for some more personal sharing other than recipes.

• You can also join the FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED FACEBOOK GROUP  to see more recipes. Currently there are about 21,500 members sharing various food photos . I am posting my daily home cooked food in the above Facebook Group daily. I would be more than happy if you can  post in the Group for the recipes that you tried from my blog.

• If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.

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Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Ice Cream–Another Crazy Adventure

INTRODUCTION

I swore do not know there is such type of ice cream in advance. It just another crazy adventure of Guaishushu.

I have prepared a few cheesecakes (Ferrero Rocher Oreo cheesecakes and durian cheesecakes) and I have ever froze those cheesecakes in the freezer since we can’t finish the cheesecake that few days. What I have discovered is that though frozen, there were not much changes to the texture of the cheesecake if it were defrosted at the room temperature. That make me wanted to try making ice creams using cream cheese.

Today, based on this belief, I toyed with 250 grams of cream cheese to make the ice creams. Only after I have made the ice creams, I searched for the recipes and realized there are quite a number of cream cheese ice creams recipes. However, this ice cream is made using my lazy theory of one number baking ratio (of course there is no baking but all ingredients were in the same ratio). In the event that there is any recipe on the net that is the same as this recipe, it is pure a coincidence.

This is an extremely easy recipe and there is only one sentence to describe how to make the ice cream! If you like cheesy peanut butter flavour, you will not regret making this.

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WHAT IS NEEDED

• 250 grams of cream cheese (at room temperature)

• 250 grams of peanut butter (at room temperature) (either chunky or smooth type of peanut butter)

• 250 grams of icing sugar

• 250 grams of double cream or normal cream.

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• In a big mixing bowl, place all ingredients together, used a mixer to beat until well mixed,

• Scoop the ice cream into a box and freeze for at least 3-4 hours. You may consider adding chocolate sauce in between the “stacking” of ice creams.

• Alternatively, you can use some dessert cups to serve the ice cream.

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CONCLUSION

I really did not have much more to share about this ice cream.

It is rich, tasty and tasty. Drizzle with chocolate sauces and topped with some almonds or brazil nuts will heighten your palate and bring the diner to another level of enjoyment.

Pardon me to say that “ you never try, you will never know”! Do not lose confidence for its simplicity in preparation. A single scoop may not be enough for one… it will lead to another…

Variations are many. With the same logic, I can’t see why strawberry and other fruits cannot be added.. Use your own creativity and create one that suits your family’s taste buds.

Hope you like the post and cheers.

Vegetarian Pizza Is Just As Tasty ! Simple And Basic Vegetarian Pizza Preparation

INTRODUCTION

I loved pizza. Pizza is one of the most common food that I ordered when I have meals in Western Restaurants. I love pizza for its dough and cheese. It is a comfort food that I can easily eat an 6 inches diameter pizza. However. I have never really ever prepare pizza since I start my baking 15 years ago. I am thinking that since I have made bread, cakes, muffins cupcakes etc., why don’t I make my own pizza?

In my Facebook group : Food Bloggers and Foodies United, one of the bloggers Ms Ainy Wajahat from Pakistan have posted some pizza recipes and I promised here that I will bake some pizza. Therefore, I have based on her recipes to make the dough. For the toppings, since I am still on the vegetarian diet, I have used mostly vegetables found in my fridge.

Initially, I intended to make my own pasta sauce. Somehow, as I am too tired that afternoon, I rushed to a provision store nearby and bought a can of ready made pasta sauce. You can read the making of Pasta Sauce from fresh tomatoes HERE.

Instead of preparing it  in the traditional round shape pizza, I have opted to make a rectangular shape pizza which is easier for me to bake and cut for later serving. I made the dough in the morning and intended to have the pizza for lunch, somehow, the family members decided to go out for lunch, therefore, I froze my dough in the fridge and only made the pizza during dinner time.

Making pizza is really simple and at times, I just wonder why shall I pay so much for pizzas that were sold in the eating outlets.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Dough – Recipe adapted from Ainy Cooks

• 500 grams plain flour

• 30 grams butter (at room temperature) or olive oil or ghee or normal cooking oil

• 300 ml of water

• 1 egg

• 1 teaspoon of salt

• 1 tablespoon of instant yeast

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Toppings

• Some Enoki mushrooms (cut into half)

• Some fresh mutton mushrooms (shredded)

• Some fresh sweet corns

• Some green capsicums (shredded)

• Some sausages (for my kids portion)

• 1 tin of pasta sauce about –about 500 grams

• Abundant of mozzarella cheeses or cheddar cheeses or goat cheese or other cheeses of your choice. 

The ingredients here are for reference only. You can add a whole range of your preferred vegetable such as tomatoes, pineapples, preserved olives, celeries and etc..

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• In a big mixing bowl, place all materials except butter/ghee/cooking oil/olive oil and use a dough hook to mix until well mix. Add in butter and continue to beat until the dough is smooth. Let it proof for at least 1 hour or until the dough size double. Use a cling wrap or a wet towel to cover the top.

• Lightly grease a baking tin and pre-heat your oven to 200 degree Celsius.

• Punch your dough in the centre to let the air escape. Lightly knead and use a roller pin to roll into  a flat piece resembling the shape of the baking tin. It will be about 0.5-1 cm thick for the dough to cover all the tin area. Make it as even as possible.

• Use a fork to lightly make some holes on top of the dough. As this is a big piece of pizza, this is to let the air to have some holes to escape.

• Spread some pasta sauce on top of the dough

• Fill the top with your choice of vegetables  and meats, if desired. sprinkle some Italian herbs mix such as basil, oregano etc..

• Sprinkle sparingly with mozzarella cheese or other cheeses with your choice.

I have make half of the pizza as vegetarian and another half into ham and sausage pizzas for my kids.

• Bake your pizza in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the bases are cooked and cheeses have melt.

 

• Cur into your desired size and shape and best serve hot with your choice of additional sauces such as Tabasco sauces, mayonnaise or just plain.

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CONCLUSION

This was one of my very first basic vegetarian pizza that I have made  with great success. The post was very short because it deals with basic pizza preparation. More variations will come and Guaishushu will tailor the taste to the very Asian taste such as curry and etc.. However, that shall have to wait after Guaishushu finishes his vegetarian diet.

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

What? Baked Your Rice? Yes, Try Carbonara Cheesy Bacon Baked Rice

INTRODUCTION

The main staple food for Asians are rice. We have porridges, fried rice, plain white rice, steamed rice, braised rice ….. But we seldom have baked rice.

Bake is usually associated with oven which is rather uncommon to Asians until the last 5 decades (pardon me if I am wrong)….Baking rice is still something not really common especially in Malaysian and Singaporean Chinese household cooking. One could easily have baked rice especially in Portuguese restaurants particularly in Malacca, Malaysia and Macau SAR in Peoples Republic of China.

Is baked rice nice? If you are a generation who get use to Western cuisines, I presumed you will concur with me that it is another good way of appreciating cooked rice! Children who are exposed to Western numerous fast food chains such as Kentucky, McDonalds, Pizza Huts etc. will definitely like this simple comfort food that is packed with milks and cheeses.

Creamy, cheesy and soft are the words to describe the textures of this baked rice.

Of course there are many different types of baked rice, as an Asian, I will definitely prepare using ingredients that are well liked by the kids here.

This post is  about CARBONARA CHEESY BACON BAKED RICE. It is prepared using Carbonara sauce with lots of bacons, kernel corns, canned button mushrooms and etc.… In addition, sensing not many households may have a conventional oven, this recipe called for a mini oven that is movable .. Of course you can used an oven if you wish to!

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

• 500 grams of cooked rice (overnight rice is acceptable)
• 50 grams of bacon – small pieces
• 100 grams of onion– chopped
• 100 grams of canned button mushrooms – slices
• 100 grams of canned creamy sweet corns
• 30 grams of Japanese “crab meat” (optional)
• 200 ml of cream + fresh milk (preferred 50% cream : 50% fresh milk)
• 150 grams of mozzarella cheeses
• 2 teaspoons of dried/fresh herbs (basil, dill, oregano etc.) (Optional)
• 1 cup of water
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil/butter

Note:

This is a good way to get rid of your overnight rice. Of course you can cook with fresh rice for the dish.

This is a dish with full flexibility, except rice, cream+milk and cheeses, almost other ingredients can be substituted.

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Get ready an 8”x8” inches baking tin or any casserole that are able to withstand high heat.

• Put the rice in a big mixing bowl and set aside for later use.

• In a sauce pan, put in the olive oil and bacon and stir fry until the bacon were fully fried and the aroma of bacon starts to emit.

• Add in the chopped onion, stir fried until the onion is soft.

• Add in 1 cup of water, add in chopped mushrooms, creamy sweet corns and bring to boil under medium heat.

• Once boiled, add in the cream and herbs and off the heat. Stir and mixed well.

• Pour on top of the rice and use spoon to mix well.

• Transfer the well mixed rice to the baking tin. Add in more milk if possible.

• Place in more creamy sweet corns or other side ingredients such as crab sticks if desired.

• Sprinkled sparingly with mozzarella cheeses and more herbs.

• Bake the rice in the mini oven for about 30 minutes or until all the cheeses have become soft and melted. It should be noted all ingredients are cooked ingredients. Therefore, baking the rice is only to ensure that all the cheeses have melted and  speed up the process of sauces absorbed by the rice.

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VARIATIONS

Of course, if you want to cut short the preparation process, you can used the ready made carbonara sauces or cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup. The end results will be equally tasty.

You can also substituted with fresh corns, baby corns, even Asian fish cake if your kids like it and anything that will wake up your families palates!

 

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CONCLUSION

An easy to make comfort food good when you runs out of time to cook a decent meal. It’s full flexibility make it easy to tailor your family taste buds. Try this way to get rid of your overnight rice.

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

I am submitting this to Welcome To All My Bloggy Friends and Recipe of the Week.

 

Vege Vege Vegetable Fritters–Indonesian’s Bakwan Sayuran

 

INTRODUCTION

Vegetable fritter is  rather international. Almost all international cuisines will have some form of vegetable fritters. It is a  very common food item in South East Asian countries. Be it called bakwan sayuran (Indonesia), vegetable tempura (Japan), parkosa (India) or just vegetable fritters. Packed with vegetables, it can be as healthy as you want it. You can oven baked, pan fried or deep fried. Depending on which cuisine’s vegetable fritters, the dips can also be significantly different.

WHY THIS DISH

I am having my yearly vegetarian 1-1.5 months and I am looking for some vegetarian dishes. In addition, I am preparing this dish in response to the monthly challenge organized by a Google plus food community.

This recipe is not my household recipe but an Indonesian vegetable fritter recipe obtained from Ms Karin’s blog on bakwan sayuran However, I have modified to suit my family’s taste buds.

I concurred with Ms Karin that vegetable fritter recipe has lots of flexibility especially the choice of vegetables. Ms Karin had written in Google communities that “We can make fritters out of everything. Sometimes with something as lame as cabbage and a bunch of leftover vegetables (just avoid wet ones like tomatoes)”.

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

Recipes adopted from  Ms. Karin’s blog on bakwan sayuran.

• 150 g of jicama (shredded)

• 150 g of French beans (cut into small pieces)

• 100 g of bean sprouts

• 50 g of red carrots (shredded)

• 50 g of peanuts

• 2 tablespoons of coriander powder

• 2 tablespoons of white pepper

• 1 tablespoon of salts

• 2 tablespoons of sugar

• 125 g of rice flour

• 125 g of wheat flour

• 200 ml of plain water

• 5 cups of cooking oil for frying

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• In a big bowl, assemble all ingredients together;

• Add in coriander powder, sugar, salt, white pepper. Stir until well mixed.

• Add in flour (rice flour and wheat flour) and water. Stir until all the ingredients are coated with the batter.

• In a big pan, heat the cooking oil. The oil is considered as ready when you insert a chopstick or other wooden object into the hot oil, bubbles started to emit.

• Put few tablespoons of batter at a time and deep fried until golden brown. You will have to keep a close eye during your frying process to ensure that your batter is not too big (otherwise it will be difficult to get cooked) and your oil temperature should not be overly hot (meaning exterior to start to get burnt and inside may not be cooked). In that case, you have to turn the heat to medium or small, it make take a bit longer but once you note that the colour start to turn golden, switched to high heat for high heat and immediately take it out. This will prevent the oil from going back to the batter!

• Drain the fritters in oil absorbing paper.

• Let it cool and serve with your preferred dips.

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VARIATIONS

There are many variations to this dish. You can add in any vegetables of your choice such as Entoki mushrooms, cauliflowers and the list is endless.

Method of cooking, beside deep frying, can also be pan fried or oven baked. Though oven baked and pan fried version will not be that crispy, it is healthier and equally delicious.

Spices used can also change to include cardamom, cumin seeds, turmeric powder if you preferred.

Dips and garnishes have lots of flexibility. For my kids, I have some mayonnaise and tomato sauces which become thousand island dressings. For adults we have like to home made chilli sauce. Original Indonesian fried fritters like to go with fresh chilli or cabit as they called it. You can also garnish with cucumber or tomato slices to negate the slight greasiness of the dish!

 

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CONCLUSIONS

• A simple and easy to do dish that is packed with vegetables and can be as healthy as you want it to be . It is a vegetarian dish suitable for all age groups.

• A full flexibility dish that can be tailored to meet your family taste buds including types of vegetables, spices used, method of cooking dips and garnishes.

Hope you like the post today. Cheers.

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I am submitting this post to the Monthly Challenge organized by Google Plus Singapore, Malaysia & Indonesia – Cuisine Communities in response of Ms. Karin’s Bakwan Sayuran (Vegetable Fritters)  post in her Karin’s Recipe blog. 

For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX here and you can follow me at PINTERESTor visit this blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE .

 

If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me  where there are more than 1000 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD. You can also join the Food Bloggers and Foodies United Group Facebook Group to see more recipes.

Tempeh Revisited – Sweet And Spicy Tempeh And Oven Baked Honey Tempeh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tempeh_tempe.jpg

INTRODUCTION

I never cooked tempeh before. I have tempeh in some Malay restaurants but I did not like it. However, after joining various Facebook Food Groups, I noted that tempeh is becoming popular in Singapore and I have decided to relook at this special fermented soya beans products. Like bean curd, taukwa, miso paste and etc, tempeh also uses soya beans as its ingredients, however, it’s nutritional benefits is much higher than the the above mentioned products due to differences in production methods.

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TEMPEH DEFINED..

As per Wikipedia:

“Tempeh (/ˈtɛmpeɪ/; Javanese: témpé, IPA: [tempe]), is a traditional soy product that is originally from Indonesia. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form, similar to a very firm vegetarian burger patty. Tempeh is unique among major traditional soy foods in that it is the only one that did not originate from the Sinosphere cuisine.

It originated in today’s Indonesia, and is especially popular on the island of Java, where it is a staple source of protein. Like tofu, tempeh is made from soybeans, but it is a whole soybean product with different nutritional characteristics and textural qualities.^[1] Tempeh’s fermentation process and its retention of the whole bean give it a higher content of protein, dietary fiber, and vitamins. It has a firm texture and an earthy flavor which becomes more pronounced as it ages. Because of its nutritional value, tempeh is used worldwide in vegetarian cuisine, where it is used as a meat analogue.” (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempeh)

pic source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tempeh_tempe.jpg

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WHY THIS DISH

As I was doing my weekly marketing in one of the supermarkets in Singapore, there was a sale of fresh tempehs. 5 packets of fresh tempeh of 6 inches x 2 inches cost only SGD 2. I think that is a bargain and I want to take this opportunity to explore more about tempeh.

I knew I will not like tempeh if I just deep fried it and pan fried with belachan (shrimp paste) sauces, That is what I usually saw in the Malay food stalls. I knew if I am going to like it, the sizes have to be bite size with rich flavour to cover its original special flavour.

I decided to use half of the tempeh I bought by following the recipes published in Loft 48’s Sweet, Spicy Crunchy Tempeh. I told the blogger that sweet and spicy is something that I can’t resist. However, instead of crunchy, I prefer mine to be chewy, Therefore I have chose to oven bake instead of using deep fried. 

For the other half, I have make it into honey “roasted” tempeh where it become a sweet and chewy tempeh!

Note that these 2 recipes are VEGETARIAN friendly, therefore, you can adjust to include other spices or herbs such as shallots, onions, garlics and etc..

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RECIPE 1 – SWEET AND SPICY TEMPEH

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

• 250 g of fresh tempeh

• 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar

• 1.5 tablespoons of chilli sauce

• 1.5 tablespoons of dark soya sauce

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Cut the tempeh into cubes.

• Place it in a baking tray and put in a cold oven.

• Set the oven temperature to 180 degree Celsius and bake for 15 minutes. For ever 5 minutes, open the oven door and stir it to ensure consistent baking.

• After the 15 minutes, take it out and set aside.

Note that your tempeh will shrink quite significantly due to water loss. Every oven temperature will slightly differs. The error tolerance level is quite high for this recipe. Therefore, if you find the oven is too hot (sides to start to get burnt) or too cold (no changes in appearance), you can adjust your temperature accordingly by plus or minus 15 degree Celsius.

• In a pot, put the water, chili sauce, dark soya sauce and sugar and bring to boil under high  heat.

• Let it boil until the mixture become sticky and glossy or caramelized.

• Add in the baked tempeh and stir it until the all the tempeh were coated with the sweet and spicy sauce.

I have opted to use my own home made chilli sauce and you can understand more about chilli and chilli sauce HERE, When you read my post on chilli, you will know how spicy is my tempeh!

 

• Add additional red cut chilli if desired. Sprinkle some finely chopped coriander leaves as garnish.

• Dish is best served with white rice

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RECIPE 2 – OVEN BAKED HONEY TEMPEH

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WHAT IS REQUIRED

• 250 g of fresh tempeh cut into thin slices

• 3 tablespoon of honey

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

• 3 tablespoon of water

• 1/4 cups of sugar

• 1 teaspoon of salt

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STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Cut the tempeh into thin slices.

• Line the tempeh in a baking tray and put in a cold oven.

• Set the oven temperature to 180 degree Celsius and bake for 10 minutes. For ever 5 minutes, open the oven door and stir it to ensure consistent baking.

• After the 1o minutes, take it out and set aside.

NOTE

If you want it to be crispy, you will have to bake for additional 10 minutes.

• Put the honey, water and olive oil in a pot and bring to boil.

• Let it boil for 2 minutes and add in the baked tempeh slices

• Stir well until it is well mixed and the tempeh slices have absorbed all the sugar syrup.

• In a big plate, put the sugar and salt and stir until it is well mixed.

• Add the honey coated tempeh slices, stir and ensure all the tempeh were coated with sugar and salt mixture.

• Take out the tempeh, shake of the sugar and transfer to  another plate.

• Good to be served as party snack.

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CONCLUSIONS

• Tempeh is full of nutritional values. It is the only soya bean related dish that do not originated from Greater China Region but from the Island of Java. It is fermented soya bean and consumption of tempeh will provide more nutrition (especially vitamin B12) than other soya beans products.

• Tempeh is also called vegetarian burger patties. These two ways of preparation have masked the special soy flavour of tempeh yet provide some chewy texture of tempeh. Be it snack or side dish, it will definitely be welcome by your guest.

• With these two ways of cooking, I have changed my perception of tempeh. My kids aged 7 and 9 who tried the oven baked honey tempeh have give his thumb up ! Personally, I prefer the sweet and spicy tempeh which is rather addictive and can’t go without  a class of icy cold water!

Hope you enjoy my post and feel free to LIKE me at this blog’s sister page Guaishushu Facebook Page. Have a nice day!

 

What I cooked today (家常便饭系列）- 31-7-2013

 

On 31 July 2013, white rice served with

1	Indonesian Ginger Chicken	印尼姜鸡
2	Japanese Fried Ginger Chicken	日本炸姜鸡
3	Blanched White Stem Pak Choy with Japanese Salad Dressing	日式沙拉酱奶白
4	Bok Choy Meat and Fish Ball Soup	贸白菜肉丸鱼丸汤

Today, this menu was a rather unusual combination with two ginger chicken dishes called Indonesian Ginger Chicken and Japanese Fried Ginger Chicken. One of the my blogger friends from http://eatapieceofcake.blogspot.hk have posted this Indonesian Ginger Chicken Recipe into a Facebook Group that I have recently created called Food Bloggers and Foodies United.

The picture in her post looks  really nice and she explicitly highlighted that only 4 ingredients were needed (ginger, garlic, honey and dark soya sauce). Based on these 4 ingredients, I have no doubt that it will taste nice because all the ingredients are common ingredients used in Chinese cooking and I am especially fond of ginger. I also noted that these ingredients were almost the same as Japanese  style fried chicken where chicken were marinated in ginger juices. Therefore I have decided to marinate the chickens together using ginger juices. After one hour, I took some marinated chicken out for Japanese fried chicken whereas for the portion remaining, I added the required honey and dark soya sauce.  I baked for about an hour. I did not let the juice dries up because I knew my kids would like to have some gravy to go with the rice which is sweet and aromatic. That was the reasons why what I cooked is different from the original blogger’s picture.

For the Japanese ginger chicken portion, instead of adding the dark soya sauce, I have added some Japanese light soya sauces and deep fried it. After I fried it, I drip soe honey on top of the fried chicken and served with shredded pineapple. Fried chicken is a bit oily and shredded pineapple will have the effects of negating the oiliness of the dish. Slice cucumber is another good way of garnishing.

The verdict of these two ginger chickens  competition : the Indonesian Ginger Chicken dish won because it was softer and go with sweet sauce. This was expected because of the kids’ taste buds. However, they were complaining a bit spicy because of the ginger sauce.

For the blanched vegetables, i have resorted to the use of Japanese salad dressings and sprinkled with fried shallots. This whole bottle of dressing were given by my neighbour who complained that she don’t know how to use it after she brought it. It is a nice dressing in fact and goes relatively well with the white stem pak choi.

Well, that is my cooking adventures to day and the submission of this report will consider that my daily kitchen duties as complete. Ha ha

Yes, before I end my post, I am thinking of cooking something with these combinations tomorrow. Can you guess what noodle dish is it?

Have a nice day ahead and cheers.

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