Alfajores

One more week to Christmas! I'm really getting into the mood now. Christmas wish lists going all round the office, dinner prepartions and festive wishes in the plan. This is going to be fun!

I love giving presents, somehow it beats buying things for myself. There's a peculiar joy about giving that makes one feel so blessed. And the season of giving is coming, we are able to give because we have more than enough, with more to spare.

Made Alfajores today, cute little cookies aren't they?

I filled these with nutella instead of Dulce de leche cos I don't have any at home. These were delicious! Soft, buttery, definitely the perfect tea time treat for a lazy afternoon like this. I did, however, have a problem with the cookies spreading too much. I prefer my cookies small and petite, easier on the eye and palate. I couldn't resist using the red and white background for this, really gets me in the Christmas mood! So looking forward to the holidays!

Alfajores

Ingredients:

165g all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

85g butter

140g sugar

1 large egg

90 ml milk

30 ml orange juice

filling of your choice : dulce de leche, jam, nutella, chocolate ganache

Preparation:

1.  Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line the baking sheet with silicon paper.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Using a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix till well combined. Add in the flour in two separate additions and mix till well combined. Add in the milk, orange juice and vanilla extract and mix till incorporated.

3. Drop tablespoonfuls of dough onto the lined baking sheet, with 2 inches of space in between the dough. Baking for 9-11 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway in between to ensure even browning. Transfer to wire rack and cool.

4. Spread the filling onto the cooled cookies and sandwich with another. Dust with confectioner's sugar as desired.

Yields 15 sandwich cookies.

French Chocolate Madeleines

Whew! It's the weekend finally! I can almost hear the sound of the jingling bells by now. I'm in a mild panic mode as I've been so busy I hardly had time to sit down and plan my Christmas bakes. Japanese classes are starting again next week and I haven't done my revision. Plus, my Christmas shopping's not done either. Help...

On the bright side, this is going to be a fairly relaxing weekend. I'm toying with the idea of spending some quiet time at a cafe to do up my Japanese notes while watching people pass by. I love people-watching, there's something calming about seeing people whiz by while you're stationary at your seat. Ooh...I'm dreaming about sipping tea and having sandwiches already...

My first encounter with madeleines was at a new local bread/pastry shop. I'm a later bloomer, I know, cos that wasn't that long ago. It wasn't a great experience as the cakes I tried was oily, dense and buttery, very unlike the reviews I've read online. Determined to try making them myself, I pulled out a recipe from Dorie Greenspan's Baking from my home to yours and made these cute french chocolate madeleines. As I wasn't sure how I'd fare, I used a cheap madeleine pan from Daiso to try this out.

The results turned out lovely. The cakes were light, fluffy and extremely chocolaty. I love it! However, the scalloped lines weren't too obvious as the indentations weren't very pronounced. Well, looks like I have a reason to invest in a proper madeleine pan after all :).

Recipe can be found here.

Blueberry Crumble Muffins - Butter vs Oil

It's been a hectic week, a rollercoaster week, but it ended really well. I'm heartened, encouraged and very thankful that it did. Looking forward to more good things coming my way :).

Reading through Okashi once again, the blueberry muffin recipe caught my eye. Most likely because of the delicious looking picture, but also because of its lovely brown hue spotted with cream coloured crumble topping. Honestly, I'd always preferred muffins made with oil, as they tend to yield softer, fluffier muffins that I can keep for days without turning hard. I also tend to prefer the muffin method of mixing which blends the wet and dry ingredients separately before combining them together. This particular muffin recipe goes against all of that, using butter in place of oil, and the creaming method instead of the muffin method. It was easy enough to put together and the recipe made just the right amount for 6 muffins.

This recipe yields denser muffins which taste best warm. I love the buttery crumble topping with the added ground almounds cos it gave the muffins a nice crunch. Taste wise, I still prefer my muffins made with oil and the muffin method.

Nevertheless, blueberry muffins are always great for breakfast!

Banana Caramel Swiss Roll - Test of Patience

I was a little hesitant to post this up for a variety of reasons. Firstly, I made this sponge a number of times, and each time, it left me with an airy, rough sponge. Secondly, I'm tired of the multiple tries, hence the lack of energy. Thirdly, I'm not sure if I want to see this anymore. Oh well, I've decided against it and share this anyway. The result you see above is from my fifth and final try. I think this experience is enough to put me off from making swiss rolls for a good period of time. As much as I knew making swiss rolls was a tricky task, I never expected it to be this tricky.

The first time I saw the recipe in Okashi, I knew it was the recipe I had to try. I love Japanese-styled swiss rolls and the various flavour combinations that never fail to get me hooked. Plus, after trying the banana caramel tart from Fruit Paradise (which I totally adored), I had to try this combination out myself somehow!

The recipe for the sponge was simple, using just eggs, pastry flour and castor sugar. The key to achieving a soft, fluffy cake was the right mixing of these three ingredients to form a batter with a ribbon consistency, which, till now, I still can't quite grasp. Hence, my first, second, third and fourth tries yielded me an airy, rough sponge.

I liked the taste of the eggy sponge together with the whipped cream, caramel and banana. But somehow, the texture was wrong, at least to me. Made it a couple more times using the same recipe but varied the beating time for the  batter, yet the results were the same. Disappointed but at the same time determined to get a more cake-like sponge, I tweaked the recipe, added more flour and a little oil. This time round, the sponge's texture was much finer and softer than before.

Alas, a cake-like sponge that's soft and fluffy! The rolling was a breeze and I'm glad, that there were no breaks or cracks. When I feel adventurous enough again, I shall try another flavour combination. I wonder when that day will come...

Banana Caramel Swiss Roll

Ingredients for Sponge:

3 eggs

60g castor sugar

80g cake flour (sifted twice)

20g vegetable oil

for Caramel:

50g whipping cream

50g sugar

for Whipped Cream:

100g whipping cream

1 tsp sugar

2 large bananas

Preparation:

1. Whisk together the eggs and the sugar. Warm the mixture over a double boiler, whisking continuously.

2. Beat the mixture with a stand mixer until light and fluffy. This might take some time, about 10 minutes or so, depending on your mixer. Gently fold in the sifted cake flour with a rubber spatula until well incorporated, then mix in the oil.

3. Pour the batter onto a cake pan lined with parchment. Bake at 180 degrees C for 10-13 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the caramel. Heat the sugar in a saucepan until it caramelises. Carefully pour the whipping cream into the saucepan, stirring until well blended. Set aside to cool.

5. Whip the whipped cream in a stand mixer until soft peak form. Add the sugar and whip till stiff peaks.

6. To assemble, peel the cooled sponge from the parchment and place it on a sheet of clean parchment. Spread a layer of whipped cream on the browned side. Place bananas on one end of the sponge and drizzle the cool caramel over it. Roll up the sponge carefully to avoid any cracks.

7. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before slicing to serve.

Yields a 9' by 12' sponge.

Matcha Chiffon Cakes - The Love for Chiffons

Chiffon, yet again, yes! I know this ain't the most appetising looking cake around, even my mum commented on its lack of attractiveness. But trust me, matcha is great for chiffons. After getting the hang of making my favourite everyday cake, it's only natural that I experiment with a couple more flavours right? So many flavours to try, leaving me spoilt for choice. My recent trip to the bookstore yielded me yet another book - Okashi by Keiko Ishida. I've had my eye on this ever since I saw it at Shermay's Cooking School. I have not attended her classes before but this caught my attention as i've been looking for a book on japanese-french pastries that's written in English and this fits the bill perfectly!

I love this book - love the clean look and layout, the simple yet elegant recipes and the useful tips that provides little snippets of baking advice. It's a no-fuss, straightforward book with a unique, quiet charm really. I couldn't wait to try out the recipes and hence chose to start with one of the chiffon cake recipes - Matcha Chiffon Cake. I love matcha on its own, love its sweet fragrance and how it complements simple Japanese food with an understated elegance. This is my first time using matcha in my bakes and the results did not disappoint. 

                                 

I was a little worried about overbeaten egg whites as it ended up as medium peaks rather than stiff peaks, but the cake turned out beautifully well - soft, fluffy and moist. The rich matcha flavour was pleasant, complemented by just the right level of sweetness. I do wish the colour was a little darker like Keiko's cake in the book though. Oh well, until I find a darker-coloured green tea powder!

Reading through the rest of the book now...can't wait to try the rest of the recipes!

Kueh Bahlu - The Childhood Favourite

When I was a child, I love these lovely lil' cakes called Kueh Bahlu. Everytime I walk past a bakery and caught sight of them, I would squeal in delight and linger a little longer, refusing to go until my mum buys these little cakes for me. Every New Year, grandma would offer these cakes to me without fail, round after round, each time with a sweet, loving smile on her face. She'll always pack some for me and insist I take them home, knowing how much I love them. These cakes brought me many sweet memories...sweet memories of a loving, caring grandmother. Memories that never fail to bring a smile to my face.

Years later, I'm all grown up...grandma has aged significantly too. Yet whenever I see these cakes, the first thing I think of is still my dear grandma...though with a hint of sadness. Visiting her in hospital, she looks a little frail... I really hope she'll get well soon. This New Year, I shall be the one offering these to her. Hopefully it will bring a smile to her face just like how it did to mine.

There's still a couple of months to go before New Year arrives...time to perfect the recipe for these cute little cakes before presenting them to my dear grandma. I can't wait....*smiles*

Marble Chiffon Cake - The Cake That Never Served Its Purpose

I had a purpose in mind when I made this cake. Made for a special day, for a special person. Somehow all that has changed in the past month. I grew up with chiffons. I love chiffons. So much so I can't resist whenever I come across one, yet at the same time, I never dared to make them. This time, I succeeded. My Marble Chiffon Cake turned out beautifully well. And the first person I wanted to share this with was that special someone. Which, unfortunately, didn't happen. Though my love for chiffons waned over the years, it was rekindled again at a special moment, one that I will not forget, one that will be with me for life. You can probably imagine my disappointment, my sadness, when I was unable to share this.

The chiffon turned out light and fluffy, with a nice chocolatey taste. I hesitated at cutting it, pondering for a moment whether I should even try to deliver it...and resisted that thought. Now that the whole cake has been eaten up, I finally had the courage to pen this down. This cake will always go down as the cake that never served its purpose.

Still, I love chiffons. I'm glad this time round it turned out well. Feels bitter...yet sweet...

Marble Chiffon Cake

adapted from Cooking Crave

Ingredients:

(A)

95g egg yolks
25g caster sugar
pinch of salt
1 tbsp honey

(B)
80g vegetable oil
80g water

(C)
95g cake flour

(D)
10g cocoa powder
10g cake flour

(E)
240g egg whites
120g caster sugar
15g corn flour

Preparation:
1. Whisk together A in a medium bowl until the sugar dissolves.

2. Add in (B) in their respective order and mix well at each addition.

3. Fold in (C) and incorporate till the mixture is smooth.

4. Divide the egg yolks mixture into two equal portions in two separate mixing bowls.

5. Mix 10g cake flour into one of the egg yolks mixture and 10g cocoa powder into the other bowl of egg yolks mixture. Whisk the mixture till well incorporated.

6. Beat egg whites in a clean large bowl until foamy. Gradually add in sugar, one tablespoon at a time and finally add in corn flour. Beat till stiff peak form, the mixture should be glossy.

7. Gently fold in half of the egg whites mixture into the cocoa egg yolk mixture and the other half into the plain mixture. Mix till there are no traces of egg whites.

8. Spoon in the plain batter into three or four different corners of the tube pan, then cover with cocoa batter, layer by layer till all the batter has been used. Bake in a preheated oven at 170c for 35-45 minutes or until a skewer is inserted and comes out clean.

9. Invert the cake immediately on a wire rack until it's completely cool before unmoulding the cake.
 
Yields one 23 cm cake.