Dalgona Coffee

COVID - 11


With this circuit breaker (CB) in place, many people started to share easy recipes on social media platform which I find it's GREAT! We also have more time to try out the various recipes. AFter various tries, we finally conquer the "Dalgona Coffee"

Ingredients:
(for 1 cup)

2 tbsp of instant coffee
2 tbsp of sugar
2 tbsp of water
Milk


Method :
1) Put all ingredients (except milk) into a bowl. Stir till everything is dissolved.
2) Whisk the mixture in a quick manner till the mixture becomes thick and turns to light brown. This will take approximately 10 min using a hand whisk manually.
3) Pour the desired milk amount into a cup and then spoon the whisked mixture in step (2) onto of the milk

After thoughts :
1) We had tried using instant 3-in-1 coffee mix in the earlier times and it does not work! So, get the fine granules-type of instant coffee.

Rock Buns

COVID - 10

If I don't remember wrongly, Rock Buns was the first practical lesson that we had during Home Economics class (aka FCE nowadays). When I saw this recipe, I thought, Hey! I can get my daughter to start baking with this easy cookie....

Ingredients
(makes about 20 cookies of dia 5cm)

(A)
200g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
100g butter

(B) 
100g sugar
100g raisins

(C)
1 egg
3 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla essence


Method :
1) Preheat the oven to 185deg.
2) Cut the butter into small cubes. After finishing, put the butter back into the fridge to let the butter harden up a little while preparing the other items.
3) Mix the ingredients in (C)
4) Sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Place the butter in. Use the rub-in method till the mixture resemble breadcrumbs
5) Stir in (B) followed by (C)
6) Scoop a tsp of batter onto lined baking tray.
7) Bake in oven for about 20 - 25 min or till cookie turns golden brown.


After thoughts :
1) For my oven, 170deg

Pandan Chiffon Cake

COVID - 9

I can certainly say that this is my favourite cake! And it has to be baked by me!
My family as well as the extended family also love this very much, especially the old folks. It is soft and fragrant.

I learnt this from Creative Culinaire in one of the baking courses that I took with them many years ago. The course was informative and well conducted as the instructor explained some basic concepts well and also demonstrated the "stiff peak" egg-white status required for a successful chiffon cake.

Ingredients :
(7" inch cake from chiffon tin)

3 eggs (separate the yolks from the whites)
70g sugar
1/8 tsp salt
20g corn oil
36g coconut milk
54g cake flour
1/4tsp pandan paste
1/8tsp cream of tartar


Method :
1) Pre-heat oven at 190deg
2) Place yolks in mixing bowl. Pour in sugar (30g out of the total 70g) gradually while beating the mixture till a light yellow stage.
3) Mix in the coconut milk, corn oil and pandan paste at low speed. Mix till smooth.
4) Sieve the flour and salt.
5) Combine the flour with yolk mixture and mix till smooth.
5) Whisk the egg whites till frothy and then add in the sugar (remaining 40g) over 2-3times. Add in  cream of tartar. Whisk till mixture reaches stiff peaks.
6) Take 1/3 of the egg-white mixture and fold into the flour mixture.
7) Transfer the mixed mixture in step (6) into the remaining 2/3 egg white mixture. Continue to fold till well combined.
8) Pour the mixture in a tube pan. Drop the pan above table top for a few times to release any trapped bubbles. Bake till cooked at 190deg for about 30 minutes.


After thoughts :
1) I use store-bought pandan paste. Thus, to let the cake have more pandan flavour, I will add in some pandan essence.
2) I use 170deg for my oven
3) I also add in 1/4tsp baking powder in step (4). Sieving it with the mixture

Min Chiang Kueh

COVID - 8

Tea snacks were also part of the meal planning.
This was recommended by my sister-in-law and executed by her brother and nephew. Whew! I finally take a break in preparing the meals !

 


Ingredients :
For Batter :
150g self raising flour
40g sugar
160ml water
1 egg
1tsp baking powder

For stuffing :
Coarse sugar
Crushed peanuts
Melted butter

Method :
1)  Mix all the ingredients (except egg) of the batter evenly.
2) After that, add in the egg. Mix till combine.
3) Rest the mixture for an hour.
4) After an hour, heat up a flat frying pan. Coat minimal oil on the pan.
5) Stir the batter and use a ladle to scoop the batter onto the pan.
6) Swirl the batter around the pan so that the batter could evenly coat the bottom and sides of the pan.
7) Wait for the batter to bubble and then generously sprinkle the sugar-peanut mixture on. Wait for another 2-3 min or till the bottom has browned.
8) Spoon the melted butter and swirl it around.
9) With a thin spatula and/ thongs, scrape the sides and loosen the pancake. Fold the pancake into half.
10) Serve.

Traditional Baked Egg Cake

COVID - 7

With many mouths to feed, breakfast was also a headache.

I came across this recipe on Miki's Food Archives - traditional baked egg cake. nice and fragrant. Brings back some old memories.

The following is her full recipe. Do visit the page as it has step-by-step pictorial instructions for beginners.


Ingredients :
(makes about 8)

2 eggs
70g caster sugar
Pinch of salt
70g cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
18g oil
1 tbsp milk

Method :
1) In a mixer bowl, put in the eggs, caster sugar and salt.
2) Beat until light and fluffy. Add in vanilla extract and mix well at low speed.
3) Sift in flour and baking powder. Use a spatula, fold to combine. Add in oil and milk. Stir to combine. Do not overmix the batter.
4) Prepare muffin cups and pour in batter evenly. Gently tap the baking tray on the tap to release any trapped air in the muffin mix.
5) Bake in a preheated oven at 180deg for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Another Fluffy Pancake

COVID - 6


Hey! I found another recipe for Fluffy Pancakes on Adam Liaw's webpage. It sounded so easy .... so I got to try it out too....
Oh, by the way, do visit his webpage as he has also prepared an informative instructional video.

I repeat his recipe here below.

Ingredients :
(makes 12)

600g self raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
875 ml milk
3 eggs
125g sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract


Method :

For Batter
1) Sift the flour and baking powder together into a large bowl.
2) Stir through the sugar to combine.
3) Make a well in the flour-mixture centre.
4) Mix the egg, milk and vanilla together and pour into the well.
5) Whisk to slowly incorporate the dry ingredients together with the wet until just combined.
6) Then stir to a smooth mixture. Pour the mixture through a sieve to get rid of any lumps.
7) Cover with plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours (preferably overnight).

To cook
1) Heat a non-stick pan over low-medium heat.
2) Add a half cup of batter and allow to cook for 4-5 minutes.
3) When the pancake is golden brown and the uncooked surface is covered with bubbles, flip the pancake and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, wiggling the top of the pancake with your fingers to see if the batter inside is cooked.
4) Repeat for the remaining batter.


Some of his tips which I applied

• Do not add butter or oil to the pan when frying. Butter and oil will just form beads in a non-stick pan and make the heat from the pan uneven.
• Don't cook the pancakes too fast. Low-medium heat is best as they are so thick that they will take a little time to cook. On induction stove, he set the stove to 6 (out of 12), dropping it to 5 after he has cooked a few pancakes.
• Can substitute 600g self raising flour + 2 tsp baking powder with 600g plain flour + 3 tbps of baking powder   

After thoughts :

1) I couldn't do without oil on the pan .... The first few which I did not use oil -- the pancakes turned out flat and stuck to the pan. So to overcome the problem, I oiled a piece of kitchen napkin and used that to apply the minimal oil onto the surface of the pan. The pancakes turned out fine after that. 

(P/s the problem might also lie with my pan ?!)

2) Though my pancakes turned out tasty, it did not appear as thick as Adam's. It became something like the McDonald's Hotcakes. I will need to re-look at my processes. Hopefully, the next time, I can achieve fluffy pancakes....