French Apple Cake

Baked this French Apple Cake last night using the heart shaped spring form pan but the result is not very satisfying. Taste wise, this cake is as good as how David Lebovitz has described in his blog. But as you can see from the photo at the bottom below, it probably need less than the 45 minutes which I have taken to bake it. The top was a bit over-baked.

This cake is featured in Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan.  She named it French Apple Cake simply because it was her French friend who first made for her. It is a relatively easy to assemble cake and the most distinctive character of this cake is it uses little flour, only slightly more than 100g, barely enough to coat the apple cubes. The whole house was filled with rum-vanilla scent while the cake was still being baked in the oven. I was so afraid the kids will wake up from their sleep because of the delicious smell :P

We had the cake for our breakfast this morning. It was so moist and yummy despite it un-appetising appearance. The texture is less cakey but more custardy and you get to chew of loads of soft, moist  apple in every bite. I will certainly bake this again. And since this cake is so yummy, I am gonna to submit this post to "Aspring Bakers #4: Love in the air! (Feb 2011)" hosted by Cuisine Paradise at this link HERE

Recipe for French Apple Cake

Ingredients:

110g all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

4 large apples of any choice

2 large eggs, at room temperature

85g fruit sugar (original: 150g sugar)

3/4 teaspoon rum paste (original: 3 tablespoons dark rum)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

115g unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

a handful of berries (blueberries and blackberries)

Methods:

1. Preheat oven at 180 degree C.  Butter an 8-inch spring form pan and put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
2. Sift and whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together.
3. Peel the apples, core and cut them into small cubes.
4. In a clean mixing bowl, beat the eggs with until they’re foamy. Pour in the sugar and whisk to blend.
5. Whisk in the rum and vanilla. Whisk in half the flour and when it is incorporated, add half the melted butter, followed by the rest of the flour and the remaining butter, mixing gently after each addition so that the batter is thick but smooth. (you can either use a hand whisk or mixer up till this steps).
6. Use a rubber spatula and fold in the apples, gently turn them so that they are all coated with batter. I also throw in some blueberries and blackberries that I didn't use up in my last bake (Berry Friands).
7. Scrape the mix into the pan and use the spatula to spread evenly.
8. Bake the cake for 45 minutes, or until you can see that the top of the cake is golden brown, test the doneness by inserting a knife deep into the centre. It should come out clean and the cake should pull away slightly from the sides of the pan too.
9. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes then gently transfer the cake out from the pan to the cooling rake.

Berry Friands

These were for our breakfast this morning. I baked these Berry Friands last evening as I finally bought my blueberries and blackberries after several supermarket visits over the last few days. I guess the season for blueberries is now over as I don't see supermarkets piling up with them recently, like they used to few months back when I was hooked on baking Blueberry Buckles :)

  

Friand  is a French dessert which is a small cake baked using grounded almonds and little flour. I googled for its pronunciation and this is what I found:  free ya(n) . I am not sure if traditionally it is supposed to use just egg whites or is it just this recipe that I followed called for egg whites instead of whole eggs as a lighter and healthier variation. Anyway, I set my eyes on this recipe as it uses ground almond, berries and  the friands in the photo are so pretty looking, as if they are all smiling at me :). The recipe can be found in this baking book titled "Everyday Easy Cupcakes and Cakes" which I found during my usual weekly library visit.

The original recipe yields 6 muffin-cup sized friands but as I intended to bring some to the office to share with the colleagues, I doubled the portion and gotten 12 friands. My girls like them very much and their daddy ate 2 last night and 1 this morning. I brought the remaining 5 to the office and all of them said the friands are yummy and they like the texture of the baked ground almond.

Ingredients for 12 muffin-cup Berry Friands:

• 165g icing sugar (original: 200g)
• 90g plain flour
• 150g ground almonds
• 6 large egg whites
• 150g unsalted butter, melted
• 300g fresh / frozen berries (I used blueberries, blackberries)

 Methods:

1. Preheat over at 200 degree C
2. Sift flour and icing sugar in the mixing bowl and add in ground almond, mix well
3. In a separate clean mixing bowl, whisk egg whites until it forms soft peaks. Careful not to overbeat. It should be frothy and foamy but not stiff.
4. Add in the melted butter into the  flour mixture, mix until well-combined
5. Gently fold in the flour mixture into the egg whites to form a smooth batter
6. Spoon batter into the muffin cups
7. Scatter the berries over each cups, gently press the berries down into the batter so that they all fit in
8. Baked for 30 mins or until golden brown and risen
9. Leave to cool

 Hmmm, now I need to think of what to do with the 6 egg yolks which are now resting in my fridge.....

Peach flognarde

This is a simple and yummy dessert I made few nights back as next day’s breakfast because the daughters said they are sick of having cereal + milk as breakfast and it was near 10pm and too late to go out to get bread. Hence, I browsed through my KIV list and picked this relatively straight forward and easy to prepare dessert.

Flognarde is a French dessert that has a pudding-like texture. To me, it makes quite a good choice for breakfast.


I got the original recipe  Mango and Coconut Milk flognarde from flagrantedelicia. However, I baked a peach flognarde instead since I only have canned peach and milk instead of mango & coconut milk on hand. 


Here is my adapted recipe for the Peach flognarde:

• 60 g sugar
• 60 g all purpose flour
• 15 g butter, melted
• 250 ml low fat milk
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 eggs, whisked
• 400 g peach (canned), diced

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180º C
2. Grease with melted butter a pie pan (22 cm diameter)
3. Combine flour and sugar in a mixing bowl
4. Add in milk, vanilla, melted butter and the whisked eggs
5. Stirring until mixture is uniform before adding in diced peach
6. Pour the batter into the pan
7. Bake for 45 minutes

Easy, isn’t it? :)

Bread-Making: Sweet Potato & Sausage Buns

Recently, I bought a bread-making book “一种面团做60种排队面包" by a Taiwanese lady 陈明里. 

The dough making process is quite straight forward and it yields just the right quantity of buns that I needed.  For the previous batch of milk custard buns which I baked 2 weeks ago (picture below), the buns were soft and tasty and do not get hardened when we ate them the next day.

Today is my 2^nd attempt in baking  buns using the same basic dough recipe which yielded me 10 buns with 2 different kinds of fillings: chicken sausage and sweet potato.

  

 Here is the translated recipe for the basic bread dough:

Basic Dough ingredients:

• 323g bread flour
• 58g caster sugar (I used 40g of fruit sugar instead)
• 6g milk powder
• 5g salt
• 6g instant yeast
• 168g water
• 26g egg (I used 1 whole small egg instead, as it is difficult to divide out the egg to the required weight accurately)
• 32g unsalted butter

1. Mix the dry ingredients(1^st 5 listed above)  together in a mixing bowl
2. Add in water and egg
3. Mix at low speed (I used my hand-held mixer with the dough hood fixed on) until all dry ingredients are well blended with the liquid ingredient
4. Turn to medium speed and continue to mix until the dough no long stick on to the bowl and is smooth and not sticky
5. Add in butter and continue to mix on medium until the dough is smooth and shinning (To test readiness, stretch the dough into thin layer. It should not break/tear)
6. Add a little olive oil into the bowl to grease the dough so that it can be taken out without sticking to the hand (I simply rub both hands with olive oil)
7. Smoothed the surface of the dough by “tuck-in” the uneven parts to form a dome-like smooth dough
8. Place the dough back into the mixing bowl
9. Let rise for about 90 minutes until the size doubled (I left it in the oven (power off) and cover it with  plastic bag though out  the rising process)
10. Once doubled, take out the dough, press down and repeat step 7 to form a smooth dome and return it to the bowl to rise further till it double again, about 30 minutes
11. Take out the dough, flatten and roll it into long stripe. Cut the dough into 10 small dough, each weigh about 60g
12. Lightly knead each dough to form small individual ball Leave them on lined baking tray to rest for 10-15 min
13. Ready for use

To make sweet potato fillings, I cut sweet potato into small pieces and steam them until soft. Add in some butter, mash them thoroughly and leave the mashed potato in the fridge until ready for use.

To make Sausage Buns: Roll the bun dough into long stripe, place one sausage at one end of the stripe and roll the dough over the sausage

To make Sweet Potato Buns: Roll about one tablespoon of  mashed sweet potato into small individual ball, flatten the bun dough and place the sweet potato ball in the centre of the flatten dough, wrap it up with the dough to form a ball. To get the petal shape, slightly flatten the dough (with filling inside) and use kitchen scissors to make 6 cuts around the flattened dough.

Leave the buns on the lined tray and let rest until the buns doubled in size (I waited about 30 minutes)

Bake in pre-heated over at 200 degree C for 10 minutes (I baked mine at 180 degree C). Brush the top of each bun with melted butter while they are still hot. This is to give the buns a shinny look.

Matcha & Sago Jelly Cake

I made this in late January after reading a dessert book that I borrowed from the Library.

It started with my intention of making a simple Matcha & Sago pudding which was featured in the book. After I placed the pudding in the fridge for it to be firmed up, I have the sudden thought of turning it into a jelly cake by adding a crystal jelly on top of the pudding, And, the picture posted below is the end-product. It was quite a eye-pleasing piece of dessert, isn’t it?

It is also light and refreshing to the taste bud. My elder girl ate most of it and has been pestering me to make another one since then. I promised her that I will make another one, this time, with fresh mango puree instead of green tea as I could imagine the fresh bright yellow mango below the crystal-like jelly will be equally eye-pleasing. Moreover, all of us at home like mango. Instead of using peach slices to create the rosette, I will probably use fresh kiwi slices to make another rosette as the center-piece under the jelly. Hmm…. I can clearly visualize this Mango & Sago Jelly Cake in my head now :)





  

OK, back to the Matcha & Sago Jelly Cake. below is the tranlated recipe, which I’ve adapted from “美味糕点“ / Pudding:

Ingredients:

For the bottom layer

• 5g matcha powder
• 100g milk
• 40g sugar
• 100g whipping cream
• 4 tbsp sago
• 8g gelatine powder
• 40g water

For the top layer:

• 5g konnyaku jelly powder (ie half a packet)
• 100g sugar
• 450ml water
• 1 piece of canned peach halve
• strawberry to decorate

Methods:

For the bottom layer

• Sprinkle gelatine powder over the water in a bowl, melt it above a saucepan of simmering water, until the liquid become clear.
• Soap sago in water for 30 minutes then boil with water until they become clear in color. Rinse them with cold water and set aside.
• Whisk whipping cream until soft peak.
• Place milk, sugar and matcha powder in a saucepan and cook for 5-8 minutes. Strain and mix with gelatine solution.
• Leave matcha mixture to cool down until thicken. Add in whipped cream and sago, mix well.
• Pour the mixture into a mould and leave in the fridge overnight to set.

For the top layer:

• mix konnayaku powder with sugar.Pour the mixture into 450ml water and bring to boil in a saucepan.
• stir constantly to dissolve the mixture
• leave to cool down
• slice peach halve into thin slices, and arrange them into a rosette in the center of the matcha pudding.
• carefully pour the slightly cooled clear jelly mixture over the matcha pudding layer.
• Leave in fridge overnight to set. Place the strawberry on top as decoration.

Strawberry Yogurt Tart - A Birthday Surprise!

I made this Strawberry Yogurt Tart just before the CNY holiday for a surprise birthday celebration in the office for my boss. She was delighted with it.

Instead of cake, I chose to make her a fruit yogurt tart as she is trying to control her high cholesterol. Hence, I wanted to make something healthy for her. Since the sweet Korea strawberries are in season now, I decided on this Strawberry Yogurt Tart in the end.

Recipe for Strawberry Yogurt Tart

Ingredients for the tart shell:

• 1 large egg white
• 1 1/2 cups digestive biscuit crumbs
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon canola oil

Ingredients for the filling:

• 1 1/2 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (I used 1 tsp but the filling was not very firm. So I think it will be better to increase the portion to 1 1/2 tsps) 
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten, to brush over the tart shell base
• 3 tablespoons apricot preserves / jelly, for glaze (optional)
• 1 tub strawberries, sliced, 1/2 peach (canned), sliced

Preparation:

1. To make crust: Preheat oven to 150°C. Coat a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom with butter.
2. Lightly beat egg white in a small mixing bowl. Add biscuit crumbs, butter and oil; blend with a fork to thoroughly combine. Press the mixture evenly into the prepared tart pan, extending the crust 1 inch up the pan sides. Bake until the crust is dry and crisp to the touch, about 10 minutes. About 3 minutes before it is done, brush the tart base with lightly beaten egg white. This is for the tart base to form a protective layer, so that the crust will remain crisp instead of soggy after the filling is added. Cool on a wire rack.
3. To make filling: Pour orange juice into a large heatproof bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over the surface and allow to soften for 2 minutes. Set the bowl in a saucepan filled with simmering water and stir the orange juice to completely dissolve the gelatin.  Beat the whipping cream and sugar to soft peaks in another bowl.
4. Fold the yogurt into the gelatin mixture with a rubber spatula. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Pour the filling into the cooled tart shell and chill in refrigerator until partially set, 20 to 30 minutes.
5. To assemble tart: melt apricot preserves in a small saucepan over low heat. Set aside to cool slightly.
6. Trim or slice fruits as necessary and arrange on the chilled filling. Brush the fruits with the apricot glaze. Return the tart to the refrigerator to chill until the filling has set completely, at least 4 hours.

Hakka Abacus Beads 客家算盘子

Cooked this traditional Hakka's snack 算盘子 yesterday for lunch. This snack gets its name as the little yam balls are intentionally indented with the fingers to resemble small little abacus beads. Look at the picture below, they do look like little abacus beads that little kids used in 珠算 class, agree? :)

Hubby is from the Hakka dialect group and MIL used to make this as a snack years back. I missed the snack ever since she stopped making it due to old age as it is a time consuming process to make it. Although on and off, I still come across some hawker stalls that sell this snack but some how they do not taste as good as home-made. Hence, about 1.5 years ago, I started searching for recipes to make this snacks by my own. Besides being able to eat it as a home-cooked snack as and when I crave for it, it is also a mean to  preserve some traditional custom of my hubby and daughters' Hakka root.

The 2 girls love this snack very much and will pester me to make it for them on and off. I also remember the first time when I brought the snack to my MIL's place for a family gathering, my MIL was impressed with it and praised the look and taste of my abacus beads. FYI, my MIL is one who does not praise her DIL's cookings. Hence, I can still remember that in that particular evening, I was in cloud nine :P

As usual, Reann loves to render her assistance to me whenever she can. Hence, she was so excited when I told her I am making Abacuses. She helped me to make all the indentations with her little fingers after I rolled them into small balls. She also helped me to drops the raw abacus beads into the boiling water to pre-cook them. before I further cook them with black fungus (黑木耳）and minced pork.

Other than this Hakka Abacus Beads, there is also another traditional Hakka snack that my MIL used to make them, that is, 客家菜板. I have attempted once but did not manage to do it well yet. I will definitely try again so that my daughters get to eat this authentic Hakka's snack.