Crepes with Cameralised Bananas, Ice-cream and Granola

I made some crepes on Saturday for our afternoon tea time treat. the warm crepe filled with sweet caramelised bananas, topped with a ball of cold yummy vanilla-chocolate ice-cream and sprinkled with home-made granola, this is the best dessert to us in a hot afternoon.

The crepes recipe below yield about 12 pieces of thin crepes. We finished up half of them on Saturday. I store the remaining half in the fridge (wrapped with cling film) and had another round of crepes dessert on Sunday afternoon, this time with fresh strawberries added too :).  







Home-made Crepes Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk (I used soya milk)
• 1/2 cup water
• 45g unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1/2 tsp salt

Methods:

1. Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl, whisk until smooth (if there are small little flour lumps in the batter, use a sieve to filter them away)
2. Heat a lightly buttered non-stick pan over medium heat.
3. Pour about 1/4 cup of the batter into the centre of the pan. Lightly move the pan in circular movement to let the batter spread evenly over the pan to form a thin layer of crepe.
4. Cook for a few minutes until the crepe is set and can be flip over without breaking. Flip over and cook until both sides are lightly browned.
5. Stack cooked crepes over each other on a plate .

Caramelised Bananas

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe bananas, peel off the skin and cut into slices
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 tablespoon of caster sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Methods:

1. In a small pot, melt the butter over low heat.
2. Add in the bananas and sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over the bananas
3. Stir lightly to allow the bananas to be coated evenly with the caramel.

To assemble:

Place a piece of the crepe on a serving plate, fill about one tablespoon of caramelised bananas over the crepe, fold up 2 sides of the crepes. Top with one scoop of ice-cream and sprinkle crispy granola over it. Enjoy!

To heat up the crepes:

1. Heat up a non-stick pan on low heat.
2. Please one piece of cold crepe into the pan to warm it up. Flip to the other side once the first side is warmed up. Be careful not to burn the crepes.  

Granola with Mixed Nuts and Dried Fruit

My elder girl likes rolled oats very much. But this is not the case for the rest of us in the family. To satisfy her cravings while not making the rest of us to consume plain rolled oats against our liking, I incorporate rolled oats in my bakings.

I made Oat-baked Loaf with Blueberries and Chocolate Chips last week (posting up soon) and this delicious and healthy Home-made Granola with Mixed Nuts and Dried Fruit yesterday. We enjoyed the crispy granola as toppings for our after-dinner yogurts last evening and my daughter was looking forward to have granola with milk as breakfast for the morning.

Easy Recipe for Granola with Mixed Nuts and Dried Fruit

(adapted from Yummymummykitchen)

Ingredients:

3 cups organic rolled oats

1/2 cup assorted nuts (I used walnuts, pecans and almonds)

2 tbsp raw sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey)

2 tbsp cooking oil

1/2 cup assorted dried fruits (I used cranberries and raisins)

Methods:

1. Preheat oven to 135 degree C.
2. Combine rolled oats, nuts, sugar, salt and ground nutmeg in a large bowl. Mix well.
3. Combine oil and maple syrup and pour it over the oats and nuts mixture. Stir with spatula to ensure the oats and nuts are evenly coated with the syrup.
4. Pour the mixture over to a baking tray (lined with baking paper). Spread out the mixture evenly.
5. Baked for 25 minutes. Give the mixture a good stir and bake for another 25 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and let the granola cool completely before stiring in the dried fruits. Once cooled down, the granola will be crispy. Store the granola in air-tight container.

Nutty Tartelettes - Gateau au Noix

Gateau au Noix is a traditional French nut tart. I made these nutty tartelettes on Sunday night for 2 close friends who came to meet me for lunch at my workplace on Monday. Both of them love nuts.

The recipe came from The Australian Women's Weekly - Home Baked which I picked up from the Library. It yields four small (10-cm) tarts. As neither me nor my family like nuts, I did not intend to make extra for us. As I used smaller tart tins (8-cm), I got an extra tart for me to do taste testing. And to my surprise, it tasted delightfully nice. The nuts are crunchy and have the perfect-toasted taste. The maple syrup fillings are not as sweet as I was worried of initially. The Hubby and the 2 girls also took a bite each. And all of them also agreed that it tasted good. My elder girl who initially "warned" me not to bake extra for her (as she is averse to walnut), even whatapps me these messages - “Nut Tart = AWESOMENESS” “Superyummy” “Awesomely Awesome”, “To put it simply” I WANT MORE!!”  This is my girl, the drama-queen. :)

I will make the tarts again soon but will definitely reduce the quantity of maple syrup and add in more nuts. The original filling has too much liquid and not enough nuts.

Gateau au Noix (Nut Tart with maple syrup)

Ingredients

For the tart shells:

• 185g plain flour
• 55g icing sugar (I reduced to 40g)
• 30g ground almond
• 125g chilled butter, chopped
• 1 egg yolk

For the filling:

• 130g of assorted nuts, toasted*
• 2 tbsp brown sugar (I reduced to 1 tbsp)*
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 40g butter, melted
• 2 eggs, beaten lightly
• 3/4 cup (180ml) maple syrup (I reduced to slightly less than ½ a cup)*

* I used pecans, walnuts, almonds and cut them into smaller bit size pieces before toasting them in the oven for about 15 minutes at 120 degree C.  Or you can simply place the nuts in a plastic bag and crush them with rolling pin before/after toasting them. I will increase the quantity of nuts to 150g and reduce the maple syrup to 1/4 cup the next time when I make them. I think there is no harm to totally omit the brown sugar in the filling since the nuts will already will fully soaped with maple syrup.

 

Methods

1. Place flour, icing sugar, ground almonds and butter in a mixing bowl. Using a pastry cutter, mixed them into bread-crumb alike mixture (or you can use a food processor for this step).
2. Add egg yolk, continue to mix them with the pastry cutter until all ingredients just come together. Knead dough on lightly floured surface. Wrap in cling film, refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Divide pastry dough into 4 parts. Roll each pieces between 2 sheets of baking paper / cling wraps, into flat disc, large enough to line into a 10-cm round loose-base tart tin. Press pastry into the sides, trim edges. Repeat for the next 3 pieces. Cover, refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, combine all filling ingredients and mix well. Set aside for later use.
5. Preheat oven to 180 degree C. Place tart shells on oven tray. Line each shells with baking paper, fill with dried beans or uncooked rice. Bake for 10 minutes.
6. Remove paper and beans/rice. Baked, uncovered, for further 7 minutes or until tart shells are browned lightly.
7. Reduce oven temperature to 160 degree C.
8. Divide filling among the baked tart shells. Baked 25 minutes or until set (when the centre of the tart puffed up).

Chocolate Chip & Walnut Blondies

I baked these Blondies with Chocolate Chips and Walnuts together with my elder girl as birthday present for her senior in the school's band.

These squary cookie/bar are very crunchy and chewy. Daughter shared the leftovers with her classmates who liked them very much.

The recipe as given below is adapted from Martha Stewart site. 

Blondies with Chocolate Chips and Walnuts

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar (I omitted this)
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt (i reduced to 1/2 teaspoon)
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used a mixture of dark and white chocolate chips)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (I used less than this amount)

1. Preheat oven to 175 degree C. Brush an 8-inch square baking pan with butter; line pan with buttered baking paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides for easy lifting later.
2. In a large bowl, whisk butter and sugar until smooth. Whisk in egg and vanilla. Add flour and salt; mix just until moistened but do not over mix.
3. Fold in 1/2 of the chocolate chips and walnuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan and smoothen the top with a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips and walnuts on top.
4. Bake until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. 
5. Let cool completely in the pan. Using the overhanging baking paper, lift the blondies from the pan and transfer to a cutting board; cut into 16 squares.

Apple Muffins with Walnut Streusel

This is another baking recipe using apples. J

It is my second time baking these muffins. They are moist in the inside and crunchy on the outside, fitting all the criteria for a yummy muffin.

I adapted the recipe from Baking Bites but made some variations.

Apple Muffins with Walnut Streusel

Streusel Topping:

• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup walnuts (crushed with rolling pin to little pieces)

Batter:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2/3 cup brown sugar ( I reduced to 1/2 cup)
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (I used plain yogurts)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup grated apple (I used 3 apples, peeled and diced them. Yield about 1 cup)
• 1/2 tsp salt
  

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 175 degree C. Line 12 muffin cups in the muffin tin.
2. For the topping: Mix all ingredients to resemble coarse crumbs. Set aside.
3. For the batter: Mix together all dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
4. Whisk together all wet ingredients in a large bowl, including the diced apples. I kept about ¼ cup for later use.
5. Fold flour mixture into wet ingredients until just combined.
6. Divide batter evenly into tins and top with the remaining apples and sprinkle with the streusel mixture.
7. Bake for 18 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.
8. Cool on a wire rack before serving.

Cinnamon Walnut Swirl Cake

This simple, nutty and aromatic Cinnamon Walnut Swirl Cake was baked in mid October for a colleague who loves cinnamon as well as walnut. She was so delighted with this cake - a combination of her 2  favourites into one cake :)

Cinnamon Walnut Swirl Cake
(Source: Double Batch)

Ingredients:

* 1/3 cup sugar (I used golden castor sugar)

* 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted (I used walnut)

* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

* 1 cup sugar (I used only 1/2 cup golden castor sugar)

* 2 cups all-purpose flour

* 1 teaspoon baking powder

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 1 egg

* 1 cup milk

* 1 teaspoon vanilla

* 1/3 cup cooking oil

Baking Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 175 degree C. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 loaf pan.
2. Combine 1/3 cup of sugar, walnut, and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. Combine 1/2 cup of sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat egg. Then, stir in milk, vanilla and oil. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the egg mixture. Stir just until mixed. Do not over mix.
4. Pour half of the batter into loaf pan. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon walnut mixture. Pour the remaining half of the batter on top, followed by the rest of the cinnamon walnut mixture. Use a fork or knife, swirl the batter & cinnamon-walnut mixtures together with a zip-zap and and circular motion.
5. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until done. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes. Then, cool completely on a wire rack.

Swedish Ring Bread

This is a very pretty, tasty and moist bread that I will definitely make again. It is a ring bread with ground almond and dried fruit mixture filling in it. I am sure it will be equally delicious with other fillings that the baker's fancy. I already planned to bake this again next week, with ham and cheese filling to turn it into a savoury bread. Is the original sweet version better or will the ham-cheese version win more support? I will  let my residential food tasters to be the judge. :)

This recipe came from "The Essential Baking Cookbook" that I brought from the book store few months back at a very good discount. Given that this first recipe that I have tried from this book turned out so well-received, I will definitely refer to this book more often and put it into good use.

Recipe for Swedish Ring Bread

For the bread:

• 7g dried yeast
• 2 tbsp warm water
• 170ml milk
• 60g unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups plain flour (I used a mixture of bread and plain flour)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 egg yolk, mixed with 1 tbsp water (for egg wash)

For the filling:

• 30g unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 100g ground almond
• 95g mixed dried fruit
• 100g glace cherries, cut in halves ( I replaced this with another 100g of dried mixed fruit)

Methods:

1. Dissolve yeast in 2 tablespoons of warm water in a bowl. Leave aside for 10 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface and the mixture is frothy.
2. Heat the milk, butter, sugar and 1/2 tsp salt in a saucepan until just warmed.
3. Sift 250g of the flour into a large bowl. Add the yeast and milk mixture and beaten egg and mix to a smooth batter.
4. Add the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
5. Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl and brush the dough with oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for 1 hour, or until well risen.
6. Meanwhile, to make the filling, cream the butter and sugar, then mix in the almonds and mixed fruits. Set aside.
7. Punch the dough down and give it a knead for 1 minute. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a 10 x 18 inch (25 x 45 cm) rectangle. Spread the filling over the dough, leaving 2 cm border.
8. Roll up into a log and carefully bend it to form a ring with the seam underneath. use a little egg wash mixture to seal the ends together.
9. Place the ring on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Use a scissors to snip the outside edge of the ring at about 4 cm intervals. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 45 minutes or until well risen.
10. Preheat oven at 175 degree C. Brush the ring with some egg wash mixture. Bake for 25 minutes or until film and golden. Cover with foil if the ring is browning too much.
11. Remove from oven leave it to cool down (this is the moment when all of us in the house could not resist the sweet and fresh aroma from the bead, especially my daughter who was doing her homework at the dinning table, right in front of the bread)

The bread is still so soft and aromatic in the next morning when we had it for breakfast. Brought a section to share with my fellow colleagues during afternoon tea time. They like it very much too.One of them even ask for a slice to bring home for her mum to try. This is how good it tasted :) 

Almond Cookies

Baked these Almond Cookies after dinner tonight. Verdict: the almond scent is so nice and the cookies are yummy. Rachel said the texture is not as crumbly as they look. They are "biscuity" instead. LOL. I like the soft and melt in the mouth texture. 

Both girls helped me to lay the little paper cups on the baking tray. And while I was rolling the dough into cookies, Reann kept me company by helping me to arrange the cookies orderly in the tray and counting them. She tried counting several times but still couldn't get the number right :P But I think she had great fun rendering her assistance, especially the last part after I applied egg wash on each of the cookies. She helped me to drop some almond bites on the cookies to decorate them :)

The recipe for the Almond Cookies comes from j3sskitch3n and I yielded 51 cookies (Reann counted them again after they came out from the oven and managed to get the number correct, finally!) :)

Ingredients:
150g self raising flour (Note 1)
60g icing sugar
80g ground almond
80g diced almonds (Note 2)
100g canola oil
1/2 tsp almond essence
Egg yolk for egg-wash

some diced almonds for decoration

Method:
1. Sift together flour and icing sugar, add in ground almond and diced almonds, mix well.

2. Mix almond essence into  oil and stir well.

3. Mix both ingredients together to form a soft dough. 

4. Shape into small round balls and place into small paper casing and press it slightly.

5. Brush with egg yolk and decorate with diced almonds and bake in a preheated oven at 170°C for 15-20 mins or until slightly brown. (Mine took only 13 mins at 165°C) 

6. Cool completely on wire rack before storing into airtight containers. 

Agnes' Notes:

1. I realised that my self-raising flour had expired. Hence, googled for substitution and followed the instructions as follow: For every 1 cup (100g) of all-purpose flour, mix with 1.5 tsps baking powder and 0.5 tsp salt. I needed 150g i.e. 1.5 cup. Hence, multiplied the baking power and salt by 1.5Xs to get the self-raising flour needed for these cookies.

2. I roasted the diced almond for 10 mins at 120°C in advance and let cool before using.

Cashew Nut Cookies

Baked these cashew nut cookies this afternoon. Pretty happy with the results. Aren’t they looked nice like those we see in bakery shops? :P

 

The cashew nuts are from Vietnam, bought specially by hubby in his last business trip there. In order to put these nuts into good use, I search for cashew nut cookies recipe in the net. There are many recipes posted by food bloggers and I picked this one by baking mum.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients A:
210g butter
80g icing sugar (I used 60g)
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Ingredients B:
250g plain flour
60g corn flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp cinnamon powder

Ingredients C:
300g cashew nuts (I needed slightly less than 200g only)
1 egg yolk (beaten for egg wash)

Methods:

1. Bake 100g of cashew nuts in oven at 180C for 10 minutes. Chopped up half of them into small pieces in a chopper and further ground the remaining 50g finely into fine powder. Set aside the remaining 100g of cashew nuts for later use.
2. Cream butter and icing sugar lightly at low speed. Add in egg yolk and vanilla essence. Mix well.
3. Stir in Ingredients B, grounded and chopped cashew nuts. Mix well into a dough.

4. Chill dough in fridge for 40 minutes.
4. Remove dough from fridge and roll into small balls. Arrange on a lined baking tray. Brush with beaten egg yolk and place half piece of cashew nut on top of each cookie and press slightly to flatten it.
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 175C for 14 minutes or until it is nicely brown. Cool and keep in airtight container.

Need to thanks my little girl for helping me with the rolling of half of the balls :)

Will be giving one box of the cookies to a dear colleague and friend who will be leaving the company next week. A little token from me, hope she will have a blessed endeavor ahead of her in her career and family.