Steamed Rice Cake

Another one of my “hop back to traditional goodies” post These certainly brings back memories! Yum! Was suppose to purchase Glutinous rice flour to make more Ang Koo Kueh, but by mistake, Mummy bought 2 packets of Rice Flour!

Since i have 2 packets on hand to play with, i started to hunt and for recipes, and spotted this on <Chow Times>

1st thought >> “Must make!”

2nd thought >> “Must eat them with that orange-colored sugar”

LOL, i seriously dunnoe what is the name of this sugar. =X anyone able to help here?

I had mine together with some sweet coconut fillings as well =D

Verdict?
Only regret is that……….

i should have made some in pink! :X

Buttermilk Country Cake

Ran out of cereals this week, and yet to purchase more for breakfast with a 2Litre bottle of fresh milk sitting in the fridge, i decided to make use of it to make something~ *wink*  Ran through the list, and set my heart to bake this cake by Aunty Yochana! the name of this cake makes me hungry~ country-style cake? must be something traditional and yummy!

Supposed to bake this in round cake pan, however with my chiffon pan just within reach, i decide to be lazy for now. Comparing mine and aunty yochana’s, mine seems to have a darker crust. same temperature and time, i guess either my oven temperature is higher than it supposed to be or baking in a chiffon pan caused the cake to brown ahead of time. :X But surprisingly, the cake turned out really soft and moist! love it this way, nice crumbs on the outside, soft and moist on the inside. DELICIOUS!

Made my own buttermilk, by adding 1 tablespoon of freshly squeeze lemon juice to the milk. added the lemon zest to the cake as well gives a refreshing taste in every bite. Interested in getting the recipe? Visit <aunty yochana’s> wonderful blog! or here~

Ingredients:
80g egg yolks (about 4 small sized egg yolks)
160g buttermilk (i used, 160g low fat fresh milk + 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, set it aside for 10mins before use)
5g vanilla (1 tsp) (replaced with 1 tsp of vanilla extract)
200g sifted cake flour
200g sugar (reduced to 100g)
15g baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
120g butter

1 whole lemon zest (optional)

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 175 Degree C.
2. In a bowl, lightly combine the yolks with 40 ml. of the buttermilk.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 secs to blend.
4. Add the butter and remaining buttermilk. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase to medium speed and beat for 2 mins. to aerate and develop the cake’s structure.
5. Gradually add in the egg yolk mixture and beat for another min.
6. Pour batter into an 8″ round pan and bake for about 50 to 60 mins. or till skewer inserted comes out clean.
7. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 10 mins then invert the cake onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.

Verdict?
GOooooooood! I am so satisfied after baking this cake~ Thanks Aunty Yochana!  *munch* i am glad i tried this recipe + adding the lemon zest makes this cake so refreshing~ KEEPER!

- .: Baker Lee :.

Paper-Lined Sponge Cake

Typically found in traditional Chinese bakery, paper-Lined sponge cake is a Chinese style sponge cake which have a rich egg taste, baked in a paper cup/ muffin cup lined with baking/greaseproof paper.

Spotted this wonderful Recipe from Baking Mum/HugBear’s Blog and has been on my to-do list for a long time For this period of time, i’m in a “Retro/oldies” mood, been doing alot of traditional bakes, kuehs and all… Therefore i decided to make these…. I’m really AMAZED by the results! such simple ingredients…. simple steps…. and best of all AMAZING results! Check out the texture of the cake!

*float around* i love the texture of this cake! so yummy, taste really good on its own. Lined in paper makes it really easy for consumption as well. U should all try this! Visit <HugBear’s Blog> for the recipe and all her yummy goodies or get it here!

Ingredients:
4 eggs
100g cake flour
100g castor sugar
12g spongecake stabliser
25g milk
90g melted butter (reduced to 50g, As i ran out of butter )

Steps:

1. Put all the ingredients except the melted butter into a mixing bowl.
2. Beat everything on high for at least 7 mins until ribbon stage. This means that if you use your whisk with batter to write an “8″ on the batter won’t sink in but will appear visible for a while. This will be the right constitency for your batter.
3. Add in melted butter at this stage and mix in thoroughly.
4. Line some waxed papercups with baking paper.
5. Pour batter into the lined cups abt 3/4 full and bake it in a preheated oven at 190C for about 20 mins. When done, remove the cake from the cup immediately and leave it on wire rack to cool.

Verdict?
Even with the fats reduction, the cake still turns out really soft and YUMMILICIOUS! KEEEEEEEPER! Thanks HugBear! Loved it!

- .: Baker Lee :.

Ang Koo Kueh

*grin* Yes, Mid-Autumn Festival is offically over~ For about 2+ weeks, but it doesnt mean that we cant have mooncakes! Alright~~ Let’s not confused all of u out there~ these are NOT snowskin mooncakes! *shake head* They are in fact the popular Nonya Kueh, Ang Koo Kueh!

When i did <Snowskin mooncakes> with mummy sometime back, she was pretty impressed with how easy it is to use the mooncake mould bought from <Elyn> and did mention that i should get a bigger sized square and circular mould next year. I love the mould, but however the thought of packing them away and only pulling them out once a year, doesnt justify for the need to have more than 1 mould, especially when i already have 4 cool interchangeable plates pattern to play with!

Mum strikes with the idea that we could make kuehs with them, and she went on about how simple it would be to make kueh without the all the knocking. *blink blink* woah!! brilliant idea~ so i went to do some research and decided to experiment making Ang Koo Kueh using mooncake mould instead. =) Landed at Florence’s Blog and Tada!

Pretty simple ingredients, u need glutinous rice flour, water and sweet potato for the skin, and the fillings will be based on what u fancy, traditional ones contains mung bean fillings, which has a sweet and salty taste.

I am a lover for Peanut filling Ang Koo Kueh, therefore based on Agar-ation (estimation) i did a simple peanut filling =) 100g Roasted Peanuts grounded with 40g fine sugar, mixed together with enough water to form a soft dough.

Based on my mooncake mould which was 5.2cm in diameter, the recipe yields 34 ang koo kuehs. With 30g Skin dough + 40g fillings.

Verdict?
It is really good!! the skin stays soft even after it was cooled! unlike those commerically produced! =X I am so making it again! Interested in trying out the recipe? Hop on to <Florence’s blog> now! It is worth the try!

- .: Amanda :.

Mid Autumn Gifts From Ling

It is a joyful and exciting to receive gifts! and exceptionally lovely to receive gifts from the heart =) As i aged matured, i realized that the good and precious things cant be bought, they are given uncalled for. Totally understood why parents would be so over the moon to receive a handmade b.day card from their lil one. It is the love the kids bring forth in making it that matters. Gives a warming feeling to the heart to know that someone is putting effort into making you something unique, special, one and only. (^^,)

Received some really lovely and worth mentioning Mid Autumn Festival gifts this year! Really nice of Ling to specially made these despite all the heavy school workload she is facing at the moment. =) appreciate it girl! and they are simply delicious! i have to show it off to the world, what you offered me! 1st up, Agar Agar Mooncakes –>

Comes in 4 flavors! Bandung, chendol, durian and peach! =) I love the chendol one! so gonna force this girl to impart skills on making this soon! let’s check out the interior!

Pretty Aint they? and not only do they look good, they tasted really good! Chendol was my favorite among them, and i’m craving for more…. *hint* that’s not all… next up! chocolate coated cereals~ comes in delicious black forest, green tea and strawberry flavors! Yum Yum…

Since it is mid autumn, how can the gift not include mooncakes? tada~~ Snow skin mooncakes! made with my mooncake mould! *grin* loan her the mould and i get rewarded in return! not a bad investment yea? creative flavors by Ling, red wine, durian, pandan, chocolate, sarsi… and i cant remember about the pink one =X is it bandung or strawberry? O.o well… wait till i try it out myself!

I’m not paid but am gonna advertise for Elyn again…. The mooncake mould is really a breeze to use! even Ling agrees… so get them next year! Visit <<Elyn’s Site>> for more information!

-.: Amanda :.

Rainbow Ice-cream soda Snow Skin Mooncake

This <<recipe>> is shared by <aunty yochana>, take a look at hers! very defined colors and neat lovely shaped mooncakes. The name of this recipe sounds delicious doesnt it? Colorful and cheerful! Tried this recipe last weekend with Ling, Yani and Yani’s sister. =) three of them came over to my lil home, and we had fun making our DIY Snow skin mooncakes. Was indeed enjoyable to spend time with close pals, and with 4 pairs of hands, we managed to complete over a 100pieces of these in a very short time frame.

with no tang mien flour on hand, it was substituted with kao fen. Skin was really soft on the day it was made, and stay soft for 2days. =)

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! *clap* OH… i so must say this again! I love my mooncake mould!

- .: Amanda :.

Tau Sar Piah

This recipe was posted in Kitchen Capers a year and a half ago, finally i “gathered” the courage to try this After my success with lao po bing/wife biscuits, i am now more adventurous and keen to try out traditional chinese pastries. Preparation for the pastry skin is the same as lao po bing’s, wrap, flatten, roll, flatten, roll. (>.<) imagine doing tat for 100 pieces! *gasp* tiring!! But however, it is all worth the effort! =)

The above are the fillings for the tau sar piah, i added in toasted sesame seeds for some extra bite and fragrance. Did the tau sar piah 2 weeks back, a total of 100 pieces, specially for my mum’s friends, the adults loved it! brother took 18 pieces to school to share with his mates and mentioned that they are craving for more! *ponder* These folks are too polite! But all the credits should go to tthksy for sharing this recipe! Recipe as follows…

Ingredients:

Dough A
230g Flour
130g oil (reduced it to 100g)

Dough B
460 g Flour
250g Oil (reduced to 200g)
180g water
1 tsp vinegar

Filling
180g oil
10 – 15 shallots – thinly sliced
300g sugar (reduced to 200g)
3 tsp salt
3 tsp white pepper
600g mung beans

Steps:

Fillings

1. Soak the beans for at least 2 hours, steamed and mashed.
2. Add sugar, salt & white pepper to the mashed beans.
3. Heat oil, fry the shallots till brown and fragrant
4. Pour in the bean mixture. Fry till mixture dry and you are able to form balls with it.
5. Divide filling into 100 pieces. (instead of dividing into a 100 pieces, i measured 15g filling portion for each tau sar piah)

Pastry Skin

1. Mix ingredients for dough A together.
2. Wrap dough with cling wrap and set it aside for 30mins.
3. Divide into 100 pieces
4. Mix Ingredients for dough B together
5. Wrap dough with cling wrap and set it aside for 30mins.
6. Divide into 100 pieces

Assemble

1. Take a portion of Dough B and wrap it around Dough A.
2. Flatten it and roll it up. (same steps as lao po bing/wife biscuits, for step by step visual instructions refer to <<Florence’s guide>>)
   
3. Flatten again and roll up.
4. Flatten and wrap the filling in it.
5. Brush with egg wash and top with sesame seed.
6. Bake for 25-30mins in 175 degrees oven or till golden brown.

Verdict?
Delicious! but tedious! =X I am so exhausted after repeating the rolling and flatten for 100 pieces! (-_-||) and they are so small… bite size.

- .:Baker Lee:.

Lao Po Bing / Wife’s Biscuit

YUM YUM!! I have a love for all the traditional Chinese pastries, but never i have i considered making them myself. =X chanced upon this <recipe> at Florence’s blog, and hey! high reviews rating and it calls for koh fun (glutinous rice flour)! recently got a big bag for my snow skin mooncake making and since i have all the ingredients called for on hand, there’s no reason to reject making these yea? oh, and i Used the mooncake mould’s plates to do the prints on the pastries.

I’m SUPER DUPER glad that i did these. *grin* it tasted sooooooooooooo good! Check out the nice flaky pastry crust! Many thanks to Florence for the detailed step by step picture instructions and also this yummy recipe! This recipe yields 12 pieces, >.< NOT enough! i made another 3 batch immediately after dinner. for my mum to share with her friends. These are most certainly worth the effort! so what are you waiting for? hope on over to Florence’s blog and bake these!

*UPDATES* the flaky skin stays crispy for 2 days in an air tight container.

- .: Baker Lee :.

Steamed Glutinous Rice

Ingredients:

1 tbsp chopped garlic
3-4 small shallots (sliced)
50g dried shrimps (washed)
250g Glutinous Rice (soaked overnight)
5 pcs preserved Chinese mushrooms (washed and soak overnight to soften, discard stems and sliced)
1 chinese/taiwan sausage (sliced)
50g meat of your choice (i used cubed pork belly)
1/2 cup water (i used the water which i soaked the mushrooms with)

Seasonings:
1 tbsp Dark Soya sauce
1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
1/2 tbsp Dark Sweet Sauce
1 tbsp Sesame oil 1/2 tbsp Chinese Rice Wine
1 tbsp chinese cooking wine

Garnishes:
Toasted peanuts, spring onions (chopped), red chili (sliced)

Steps:

1. Wash and drained the soaked glutinous rice.
   
2. Heat up a wok, add in oil, followed by garlic and shallots. Fry for about 2minutes till fragrant.
3. Add in dried shrimps, fry for another 3minutes till nicely golden brown.
4. Add in th meat, sausage and mushroom.
5. Add in Seasoning, followed by rice. Mix.
6. lastly, add in water, Mix and remove wok from the flame.
7. Scoop rice mix into a dish for steaming.
8. Steam over high heat for 20-30 mins, depending on how u prefer your rice, (soft or chewy)
   
9. Garnish and serve.

Verdict?
I always believe when it comes to cooking, it is more of a personal preference. one may prefer to have more or less of a certain ingredient in a particular dish, one may opt to be more creative by introducing additional ingredients. =X and it is even more true when it comes to seasoning, there is no definite “perfect” seasoning as it is all up to your taste buds and preferences, more salt? less salt?

This recipe, is whipped up all according to how i prefer my steamed glutinous rice to taste like. So feel free to play around and whipped up your own version of steamed rice *wink* that’s the fun of cooking!

This should serve 4-6 *laugh* but it all depends on the portion size and the crowd u are serving to, (adults, children, big eater, small eater) In my place, it serves 3, Dad helped himself to 3 serving, mum 2 and me with 1. How does it tasted like? well… My family loved it! We munched up everything *gasp*

- .: Amanda :.

Snow Skin Lotus Paste Mooncake

*Drum Roll* Introducing my very 1^st homemade moon cakes! 100% homemade! Homemade snow skin with <homemade lotus paste>! I must say, it is pretty fun to make these lil ones! The only fuss will be the cooking of lotus paste, other than that, the rest is like ABC.

Ordered this mooncake mould from Elyn of Shop and Bake sometime back… received them in May and have been wanting to try them out! Been putting the thought on hold as It just seems too early to welcome Mid-Autumn Festival!

Recently, both Ling and I have been doing some “research” for recipes to try out, Yummy recipes from Aunty Yochana such as <this> , <this> , <this> and <this> really excites me! Before venturing into these “high level” recipes, i decided to start simple… so here it is… a simple plain snow skin with lotus paste.

Ingredients: (makes 10 x 5.2cm diameter mooncakes)

Snow Skin
100g Koh fun (commercial fried glutinous rice flour)
70g Icing sugar
30g Shortening
120g Cold water

Fillings
300g Lotus Paste
50g Melon Seeds

Steps:

Snow skin

1. Sift Koh Fun and Icing sugar into a mixing bowl.
2. Rub shortening into the flour mixture.
3. Gradually mix in cold water till a soft dough forms.
4. Scale and weigh 30g per portion for each mooncake. (According to the size of your mooncake mould.)

Fillings

1. Mix together lotus paste with melon seeds
2. Scale and weigh 40g per portion for each mooncake filling. (According to the size of your mooncake mould.)

Assemble

1. Wrap each portion of filling with a portion of snow skin.
2. Press into mooncake mould.
3. Knock out and chill before serving.

Verdict?
Pretty impressed with the soft texture of the snow skin *yum yum* shall update on the texture of the snow skin after a few days. And for the mould… just like what Elyn promised! It is sooooo easy to use! no knocking or banging… 1 Word, NICE!

*UPDATES* the snow skin stays soft for up to 5 days! i stored mine in a container and pop it into the fridge. the skin tasted soft even after chilling. can be consumed immediately out of the fridge unlike some snow skin which tasted kind of hard.

- .: Amanda :.

Homemade Lotus Paste

Homemade Lotus Paste

Ingredients:

200g Lotus Seeds
180g Sugar (personally not a fan of paste that’s overly sweet, reduced it to 120g)
160ml Peanut oil (I Opt for healthier option, reduced to 100ml of Olive Oil)
1 Tbsp Honey
1 Tbsp Condense milk
1/8 Tsp salt

Steps:

1. Soak Lotus Seeds with water and allow it to rest for 20 mins.
2. Drain and discard water from Lotus seeds. Pour in hot boiling water and cover it for 30 mins.
3. Wash away lotus seeds skin and remove green centre then cook seeds with water till soft and tender.
4. Blend the lotus seeds till smooth.
5. Heat up a wok/pan, melt half the sugar until it turns golden brown in color.
6. Pour in blended lotus seeds, remaining sugar, oil and salt.
7. Cook over medium flame, stirring all the time until the lotus seed paste thickens.
8. Stir in honey and condense milk. Continue stirring till paste leaves the side of the wok/pan.
9. Cool before use.

Orange Chiffon Cake

Time flies indeed… so quickly… that it seems impossible… okie~ This is my 100th post! and yes, i have not been posting… cant seem to find enough time for myself, let alone bake or cook! =/ somehow i’m enjoying this buzzing around and unknowingly…. it has been 5 weeks since i started work! yea… no longer the University Undergrad with the privilege to skip or be late for lectures *cover mouth* But a responsible young working adult, that reports to work On time (i try to!) and leave NOT on time. >.<

Decided on making a chiffon cake for my 100th post, they might seem plain and simple…. and may seem boring and standard, but inside, it can be flavorful. To make a successful chiffon cake it is not that easy as well! This orange chiffon cake is a recipe shared by Florence of <Do What I Like> and Florence claims that this recipe tasted better than the ones Bengawan Solo sells!

Ingredients:
(21cm Tube pan)
115g Cake Flour
3/4 tsp Baking powder

85ml Warm orange juice
Finely grated zest of 1.5 large orange

5 egg yolks + 30g castor sugar + Salt 1/4 tsp
5 egg whites + 50g castor sugar + 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

60ml Corn oil
1/2 tsp Vanilla essence or 2 tsp Rum

Steps:

1. Sieve flour and baking powder.
2. Whisk egg yolk, sugar and salt until creamy and light in colour.
3. Add in corn oil, warm orange juice and rum. Mixed well.
4. Fold in Flour mixture, followed by Orange zest.
5. In another mixing bowl, Beat egg white with electric beater until big bubbles formed.
6. Add in Sugar gradually and beat till soft peak.
7. Add in cream of tartar and beat till stiff peak.
8. Fold 1/2 of the egg white mixture into egg yolk and flour mixture. Gently fold till combined.
9. Fold in the remaining egg white mixture and gently combine.
10. Bake at 175C for 45 minutes or until cooked.
11. Invert the cooked cake during cooling process.

Verdict?

Never tasted Bengawan Solo Orange chiffon cake, therefore i’m in no position to judge! but… it is indeed soft, fluffy and delicious! My mum loves it! I personally felt that is something healthier compared to pandan chiffon cake :p and yes… the whole cake was consumed in 3hrs! =X

- .: Baker Lee :.