I didn't think I was able to complete this challenge. But here it is...2 days late. These are some of the things I have been doing for the past 2 weeks (besides the regular routine) --- getting the house ready for my best friend's visit (the last time we met up, Yesmin was only 2 months old...so that's almost 10 years ago!!!)...I had to get the crap room, a.k.a guest room cleared!!! I was also trying to prep some food that I wanted to make for her. Then the worst of all...a call from the school 3 days before my friend's arrival. I thought Yesmin was sick again...but this was worst. She fell on the school's play structure during recess and hurt herself. We end up spending 5 hours plus in the emergency room!!! Thankfully, she didn't break any bone, there was no internal injuries, no stitches. *phew*
Back to the challenge...
The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.
If you haven't heard of suet.... suet is raw beef or mutton fat!!! Yikkeesss....oh, and by the way, the English pudding isn't the custard base pudding we have here in U.S. It has a totally whole different texture and taste. For more detail information, go to Daring Kitchen, Esther did a fantastic job in describing.
Then one day, this is what a friend posted on her Facebook page --- she found THIS in our local Safeway store!!!
We all had a good laugh (those of us with a "gutter brain") --- at the name, of course. Some suggested it'd be great stocking stuffer!!! :P Can you imagine when the cashier announcing "Price check on Spotted Dick on register 9, please!" I had to pick one up....especially since THIS IS what we're doing for the month's challenge!! :)
So, for this challenge, I didn't open up the can and call it done, of course! :) We had the choice of making it sweet or savory; with or without a suet crust. I chose to make the Spotted Dick. I added to the given recipe, raisins, cranberries, apricot and toasted pecans. I also soaked the dried fruits with Myers rum for 10 minutes. One thing I didn't have was a regular bread crumbs. I used my left over panko whole wheat breadcrumbs instead. And instead of suet, I used butter flavored Crisco that was in my pantry. This is what mine looks like.
Not bad looking. Since it is traditionally serve with a custard sauce, I made Francois Payard's creme anglaise.
My version of Spotted Dick
I took a scoop....it's ok...took another....ok, I think that's it....I'm NOT having anymore...I wonder if it's the after taste of the Crisco?? It just didn't work....doesn't taste good at all! Kinda disappointed. Maybe it'd taste better with the REAL SUET?! I'm sure there are other Daring Bakers out there who made a delicious steamed pudding. So, don't let mine stop you....check out the other blogs here and they might be able to convince you otherwise. HOWEVER....by all means, DON'T torture yourself trying the canned Spotty!! Look at THIS!!!
Just that, should already tell you something....but I HAD to try it... So...I dress it up with my custard sauce....
Heinz's canned Spotted Dick
....and I took a bite....I spit it out right away!!! YUK!!! :P After this, I really don't know if I have the guts to try Spotted Dick again. Nonetheless, it has been an interesting experience. Thank you Esther, for the experience. :)
I am late, I am late, I am so-so-so, very, very LATE!!! :( It's been a busy month with 2 cake orders --- oh ya, it's a BIG deal to me...we'll talk about that later. Also, March has always been the month where we take a turn on getting SICK in the family!! *sigh* Anyhow, I am so glad to have gotten this month's challenge down!!! :)
The 2010 March Daring Baker’s challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse’s Cooking School in Paris.
I've never had or heard of Orange Tian before this...but there's always the first time...and it was a GOOD one!!! I LOVE marmalade for one... if I can only have ONE jelly/jam for the rest of my life, it will be marmalade. So, it was exciting to know we HAVE to make homemade marmalade for the challenge...however, I'm not into canning(YET --- cos' I'm a sucker...easily persuaded)...otherwise I might just get hooked on!
In the recipe, it says to weigh the oranges of you have blanched, then weight the same amount of sugar to cook the marmalade. I cut the sugar in half...and it was already too sweet for me!! I'm glad I changed that part of the recipe.
1st time making homemade marmalade --- yum!
Lucas sniffing at it... trying hard to be patience before the whole dessert comes together! :P
We also had to make a pate sablee. I'm used to making pate sucree, and have never made a sablee...and apparently there's a difference. So, I tried the Pate Sablee recipe provided! LOVED IT!! :) Yesmin could just eat the baked sablees by itself!! I didn't want to go out and buy a dozen of medium size eggs...so I used the large egg yolks I had in hand.
Pate Sablee
Initially I had plan to make it family style --- in one big pan...then I decided to make them bite size...so I used some 2" muffin cups I bought back in Malaysia. I think it was just the right size. I serve mine with the caramel and a chocolate sauce/glaze I have from left over. It was DELICIOUS!!! :)
So, if you are interested in the recipe, just click here for details. And stop by our blogroll to check out what other DB-ers' version of Orange Tian.
It's end of January, can you believe that?? And I'm a day late in posting my Daring Bakers challenge....so, nothing new here.
January has been especially challenging for me. It's the month after ALL the busy baking and celebrating (holidays AND birthdays in our family). Kinda feel BLAH - don't want to do anything, you know what I mean?! And having a untrustworthy oven doesn't help at all ( my oven problem still isn't fixed, if you're interested to know what's the problem, just click HERE). I was contemplating if I wanted to go on with this challenge for a longest time. I was interested to try a gluten free recipe, cos' it wasn't long ago that I have come to realized that there are many people who are allergic to wheat! Anyway, I obviously made my last minute decision.
The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.
It wasn't a smooth sailing challenge for me this time around. Maybe it's the bad karma for being lazy! :P The graham cracker challenge was fine. I didn't have Sorghum Flour but was able to substitute it with rice flour. To my surprise, the gluten free graham cracker tasted really good...so much better than the store bought ones. They are a little too sweet though. I'd cut down the sugar in the future.
However, when it came to making the Nanaimo Bar, it was a nightmare! First, when I added the egg to the bottom layer mixture, the whole thing curdle up. I figured I must have done something wrong. Was it because I whisked it, instead of stirred it, as mentioned in the recipe? I dump the whole thing out, and start all over again. Second time around, I used a wooden spoon to stir it, still, it curdle, and worst of all, stirring wasn't enough to prevent the egg from cooking, so I end up having bits and pieces of CHOCOLATE SCRAMBLE EGGS! Yikkkeeesss!!! I didn't want to start over again, so, I did my best to scoop out whatever I can. Still the mixture didn't look right at all...there was a layer of oil (from the butter) that just would NOT bind...nothing like Lauren's. So, I dump the grind up graham crackers, finely chopped almonds and coconut flakes (I used fresh coconut cos' I have THIS cool gadget! ;) ). I pressed some into a ring mold, and the rest to a 8x8 pan. Again, there was oil sitting on top of the chocolate/graham cracker mixture. I had to use some paper towel to soak 'em up. The second layer IS indeed THICK. It was kinda difficult to spread, and tasted to me like eating a stick of butter. So, instead of finishing the top layer, I made only a small amount of the chocolate ganache layer, just enough to cover the Nanaimo bar I had in the small ring. I knew it was something too rich...and I DO MEAN RICH! ...that we won't eat. I did take a small wedge to try. It was ok, better than I thought it would be, but NOT something I'd make again. I had my doubts about the coconut...it's really funny that I haven't been a fan of coconut in Western desserts...maybe because the ones I've tasted are all made with sweeten coconut flakes we get from the stores. There are a lot of coconut in Asian, especially Southeast Asian desserts, but we usually use freshly grated coconut. Anyway, if not for the greasy taste, I might just like it more.
Now, doesn't mean I didn't like it, it means we should toss this recipe out. I have to say that, many of the devoted DB members, have created stunning and interesting "modified"Nanaimo bars. The come up with all sorts of variations in flavors, I wished I could try theirs instead of mine! :P So, do stop by to check them out here.
Here's the recipe and some tips:
Notes for gluten-free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars:
Glutinous rice flour does not contain any gluten, as it is made from a type of rice called glutinous (or sweet) rice.
The graham wafer dough is very sticky. Make sure you are flouring (with sweet rice flour) well, or the dough will be difficult to remove from the surface you roll it out on. Also be sure to keep it cold. You do not want the butter to melt.
I chose these flours because of their availability. Tapioca starch/flour and sweet rice flour can often be found in Asian grocery stores, or in the Asian section of you grocery store. Sorghum can be slightly more difficult to find, but it can be replaced with brown rice flour, millet flour or other alternatives.
In the Nanaimo Bars, it is very important that the chocolate be cool but still a liquid, otherwise the custard layer will melt, and it will mix with the chocolate, being difficult to spread. Allow the chocolate mixture to come to room temperature but not solidify before spreading the top layer on.
Preparation time:
Graham Wafers: 30 to 45 minutes total active prep, 2 ½ hours to overnight and 45 minutes inactive prep.
Nanaimo Bars: 30 minutes.
For Gluten-Free Graham Wafers
Ingredients
1 cup (138 g) (4.9 ounces) Sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour) 3/4 cup (100 g) (3.5 ounces) Tapioca Starch/Flour 1/2 cup (65 g) (2.3 ounces) Sorghum Flour (I substitute with rice flour) 1 cup (200 g) (7.1 ounces) Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly packed (I'd cut down the sugar, though I'm not sure it'd alter the sturture) 1 teaspoon (5 mL) Baking soda 3/4 teaspoon (4 mL ) Kosher Salt 7 tablespoons (100 g) (3 ½ ounces) Unsalted Butter (Cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen) 1/3 cup (80 mL) Honey, Mild-flavoured such as clover. 5 tablespoons (75 mL) Whole Milk 2 tablespoons (30 mL) Pure Vanilla Extract
Directions:
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.
In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.
Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with sweet rice flour and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight.
Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of sweet rice flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.
Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.
Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.
Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take less, and the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.
When cooled completely, place enough wafers in food processor to make 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) of crumbs. Another way to do this is to place in a large ziplock bag, force all air out and smash with a rolling pin until wafers are crumbs.
My note: The dough IS very sticky, and the trick is to make sure the surface you roll out onto, your hands and the rolling pin is well floured.
Nanaimo Bars
Ingredients:
For Nanaimo Bars — Bottom Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter (I'd cut down to maybe 1/3 C instead?) 1/4 cup (50 g) (1.8 ounces) Granulated Sugar 5 tablespoons (75 mL) Unsweetened Cocoa 1 Large Egg, Beaten 1 1/4 cups (300 mL) (160 g) (5.6 ounces) Gluten Free Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe) 1/2 cup (55 g) (1.9 ounces) Almonds (Any type, Finely chopped) 1 cup (130 g) (4.5 ounces) Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)
For Nanaimo Bars — Middle Layer (I'm not crazy over this layer, like I mentioned before, it tasted like licking a stick of butter. However, there are some DB members who made with a mascapone layer, marshmallow layer or adding/flavored with fruits..etc. which I think it's a great idea...having something light for this layer might balance out the richness of this dessert)
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons (40 mL) Heavy Cream 2 tablespoons (30 mL) Vanilla Custard Powder (Such as Bird’s. Vanilla pudding mix may be substituted.) 2 cups (254 g) (8.9 ounces) Icing Sugar
For bottom Layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8 inch pan.
For Middle Layer: Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light in colour. Spread over bottom layer.
For Top Layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.
These bars freeze very well, so don’t be afraid to pop some into the freezer.
The graham wafers may be kept in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Mine lasted about that long.
If making the graham crackers with wheat, replace the gluten-free flours (tapioca starch, sweet rice flour, and sorghum flour) with 2 ½ cups plus 2 tbsp of all-purpose wheat flour, or wheat pastry flour. Watch the wheat-based graham wafers very closely in the oven, as they bake faster than the gluten-free ones, sometimes only 12 minutes.
For the Nanaimo Bars, if making with wheat, replace the gluten-free graham wafer crumbs with equal parts wheat graham wafer crumbs!
Nevertheless, a BIG thank you to Lauren for this challenge. I am glad to have completed this challenge!
UPDATE: Hubby and kiddos tried the bars today. I cut a small section of the one in the small ring mold for each of them. Hubby said it's the best challenge I've made by far - and ask if that was it. I told him I was gonna toss the one in the 8x8 pan out, and he says NNNNOOOO!! So, I've just finish up the last layer on the 8x8, so that he can have more and will bring some to his co-workers.
As for the kiddos, they too thought that there was just the little serving they were gonna get. Lucas told me to go "make MORE"!!! :)
It's been a crazy and hectic month! Time seems to fly at HIGH SPEED when it comes to year end, doesn't it? Well, I'm once again late for posting my Christmas wishes to all of you AND for my Daring Bakers challenge (don't think THIS is ever gonna change! :P) Anyhow, I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Holiday!! =)
This year, I didn't feel as excited as I usually did....I think mainly because Nd (Lee) had to travel to Taiwan for work for the first 2 weeks of December. However, I have also notice that usually by the time we get to Christmas, I am already so exhausted with the kids' and Nd's birthdays, Thanksgiving and all the school parties. However, I am glad that, at least this time I wasn't late in the holiday baking. I managed to deliver all the treats to friends and neighbors the weekend before Christmas! Woohooo!!
Before I forget... The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.
So, Gingerbread House made from scratch was the challenge, and boy, was THAT a TRUE challenge for me. We have only made gingerbread house ONCE, and from A KIT. At first, I was all excited, thinking of all the possibilities to decorate the gingerbread house, and that I would make a house for each of the kids, so they can decorate their own, and not mess with MINE! :P I started off by reserving gingerbread house books from the library. It was a little overwhelming ~ what design should I choose? Should I copy from one of the books, or should I make one of my own?? Then came the busy schedule that keeps building up, while I kept on pushing off the challenge. There was a week where we were forecast to have snow (we don't get a lot of snow fall in Portland, Oregon, some years, we don't even get ANY snow), and after last year's Arctic Blast, I was worried we were gonna get snowed-in and nothing to do. So I picked up all the candies --- but which candies to buy? How much do I need? I end up spending twenty something dollars JUST on candies itself, and we didn't even have ANY snow!!! Argghhh!
In short, I end up making the dough 3 days before Christmas ( I used Y's recipe)....thinking I could maybe have it done by Christmas. NOPE ~ THAT was just a thought! I only started rolling and cutting them out on Christmas night. I knew I was late, so I just picked a classic template from Gingerbread Houses: Baking & Building Memories by Nonnie Cargas.
I have read a lot of comments in the DB forum that the dough seems very dry. Mine seems ok, at least that's what I thought...until I started rolling them out. It cracks and tears like crazy! I added water, try to pinch them back together. Sometimes that help, but still it wasn't easy to work with.
Doesn't look too dry, right?
See how it cracks like crazy?
Anyway, I was ready to get it done...I cut out the template, planed on having one house for myself and one house for the 2 monkeys to share. As I was putting up the walls of my house, I realized I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT THE ROOF!!!! %$#*&#@!!!!! Talk about Challenge!!~ No problem, no problem, I CAN be Bob Villa .I can fix THAT ~ the kids just have to sacrifice THEIR walls! ;P I trimmed the sides of my walls, and two of them cracked - no problem, just a little royal icing will fix it, and using the kiddos side walls, with 2 windows on each wall, WHICH could be the skylight for my gingerbread house! ;) Pretty proud of myself, I have to say.
See the two "holes" on the roof?? That's the skylight! ;)
However, there's still A problem. The walls weren't tall enough to fully cover the whole roof, so I had to patch the roofs with licorice. BUT before that, my other problem was...I had left the empty jar that I had used to support the walls while the royal icing dries, INSIDE the gingerbread house...and the roofs are already on!!! D-U-H!!!! So, I removed the roofs, take out the JAR, replace the roof, then patched the roof! Hmmm.... I wonder why I don't care about making gingerbread houses...especially from scratch??!!
See the jelly jar in there??? Bet you can tell which brand and what flavor huh?! :P
Anyway, that was really THE challenging parts of building a gingerbread house from scratch. The rest was the fun part, and was up to your imagination :)
Front view
Details on door
Side of house
Back of house
Top of house
Side of house
Despite all the interesting challenges I had, I was glad to have participated. Visit the Daring Kitchen for the recipes and other details in this challenge. And don't forget to stop by HERE to see how other Daring Bakers gingerbread turned out! You might get inspired and make one too! :)
Oh, by the way, there's always the question of to eat or not to eat the gingerbread house. And Nonnie Cargas has included in her book this poem for eating your gingerbread house, which I think is so funny and appropriate...
New Year's Poem for Eating Your Gingerbread House by Nonnie Cargas
Eating this house so fair and sweet Brings insight to the year you'll meet For every bite has a tale to tell, So eat for luck and wish you well.
If the front door is your choice to eat, Far-flung visitors soon you'll greet. But if on the pathway you choose to dine, A trip afar will soon be thine.
Consume the roof if you want security, For love and shelter will be a surety. Tho' if it's adventure to which you aspire, Devour the windows to achieve your desire.
From the warmth of the chimney true love will come; A taste of it and a pair you'll become. Or if, by chance, you're already a pair, Eating the chimney will recharge the air.
Trees and buses bring money your way, While lawn decorations bring laughter and play. Fences bring projects at which you'll succeed, And people bring kindness and help when there's need.
But indulge in some pieces that aren't mentioned here, You'll have special surprises throughout the New Year!
Thanks Anna and Y for the challenge and thanks Nonnie Cargas for the great book and poem! :)
P/S Since I have LOTS of left over candies, I MIGHT, try another recipe and make up for the kids.
This month's challenge is Cannoli...And I thought I was able to handle this in time...looks like it's even worst than other months.... I hope to have the post up by tomorrow, so please check back later. In the mean time, check out our hostess, Lisa Michele's blog for more yummy cannoli.
........
Ok, finally...I've made my Cannoli!!! It's bad enough that I've always been a procrastinator, this month I gotten even worst! I'm two days late!!! Gosh, I hope Santa's not gonna drop be a bag of coal instead! ;P Nonetheless, I did what I can, and I was glad it didn't require using an oven, cos' I have not gotten a new oven YET! --- Wonder how long THAT is gonna take??!! Lisa Michele from Parsley, Sage, Desserts and line Drives was our lovely November hostess. There was A LOT of leniency allowed this time! Thanks Lisa!
The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.
Here's the recipe with my notes in RED
Lidisano’s Cannoli as noted by Lisa, the name Lidisano is a combination of Lidia, Lisa and Saprano!!! :)
Makes 22-24 4-inch cannoli Prep time: Dough – 2 hours and 10-20 minutes, including resting time, and depending on whether you do it by hand or machine. Filling – 5-10 minutes plus chilling time (about 2 hours or more) Frying – 1-2 minutes per cannoli Assemble – 20–30 minutes
CANNOLI SHELLS 2 cups (250 grams/8.82 ounces) all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons(28 grams/1 ounce) sugar 1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.06 ounces) unsweetened baking cocoa powder (I opt out the cocoa powder and replaced it with all purpose) 1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon (approx. 3 grams/0.11 ounces) salt 3 tablespoons (42 grams/1.5 ounces) vegetable or olive oil 1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.18 ounces) white wine vinegar ( I didn't have it, so I used e cider vinegar I had instead) Approximately 1/2 cup (approx. 59 grams/approx. 4 fluid ounces/approx. 125 ml) sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand 1 large egg, separated (you will need the egg white but not the yolk) Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying – about 2 quarts (8 cups/approx. 2 litres) 1/2 cup (approx. 62 grams/2 ounces) toasted, chopped pistachio nuts, mini chocolate chips/grated chocolate and/or candied or plain zests, fruits etc.. for garnish Confectioners' sugar
Note - If you want a chocolate cannoli dough, substitute a few tablespoons of the flour (about 25%) with a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process) and a little more wine until you have a workable dough (Thanks to Audax)
DIRECTIONS FOR SHELLS: 1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the wine to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended, about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge from 2 hours to overnight.
2 Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 3 to 5-inch circles (3-inch – small/medium; 4-inch – medium/large; 5-inch;- large. Your choice). Roll the cut out circle into an oval, rolling it larger and thinner if it’s shrunk a little.
3 Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes (You only have to do this once, as the oil from the deep fry will keep them well, uhh, oiled..lol). Roll a dough oval from the long side (If square, position like a diamond, and place tube/form on the corner closest to you, then roll) around each tube/form and dab a little egg white on the dough where the edges overlap. (Avoid getting egg white on the tube, or the pastry will stick to it.) Press well to seal. Set aside to let the egg white seal dry a little. (I tried letting the egg white seal dry a little, but found that my dough loves to shrink a lot. So while it was drying, the dough just kept pulling back that by the time I drop 'em in the oil, the dough aren't sticking together anymore. So instead, once I seal the dough up, I immediately drop them in the hot oil seam side down)
4. In a deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 3 inches, or if using an electric deep-fryer, follow the manufacturer's directions. Heat the oil to 375°F (190 °C) on a deep fry thermometer, or until a small piece of the dough or bread cube placed in the oil sizzles and browns in 1 minute. Have ready a tray or sheet pan lined with paper towels or paper bags.
5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.
8. Lift a cannoli tube with a wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, out of the oil. Using tongs, grasp the cannoli tube at one end. Very carefully remove the cannoli tube with the open sides straight up and down so that the oil flows back into the pan. Place the tube on paper towels or bags to drain. Repeat with the remaining tubes. While they are still hot, grasp the tubes with a potholder and pull the cannoli shells off the tubes with a pair of tongs, or with your hand protected by an oven mitt or towel. Let the shells cool completely on the paper towels. Place shells on cooling rack until ready to fill.
9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.
Once again, I needed the help from the step stool. I'm just too short to roll our doughs on my counter!! In fact, I found out the other day when I was at my physician office that I am NOT 5' 2", I'm ONLY 5' 1.75" --- and that was with my sneakers on!!! SOOO SAD!
No deep fryer for me... just the typical wok and the handy extra long chop sticks!
Letting the sealed dough dry a little as suggested...
but it didn't work for me...the ones that got dried out most opened up immediately, as my dough was like an elastic band!! They would stretched when you roll it, but the moment you leave them alone....pop, they'd spring back!!!
These were the bits and pieces of dough. I fried them up, sprinkle with some powdered sugar and cinnamon ~ yummy! :) I filled my cannoli with marscapone flavored with mango puree and chopped mango pieces.. tasted very refreshing...however, the "dessert king" in the house, a.k.a. Lucas --- DID NOT like it!!! :/ Wonder why? He took 2 bites and ran away from it??!!! Wonder if he was just too full from dinner?? Will try it on him again tomorrow and see if we get the same reaction! Cos' it's just NOT like him to not like a dessert! He DID like bits and pieces ones though. Other that HIM, all of us liked it! :)
For the full page on this challenge, just click HERE. Thanks again Lisa for this great challenge!! :)
After living here in Beaverton for about 7 years, we have finally discover that there are a lot of Malaysians/Singaporeans living in the area too!! We have been invited to the Singaporeans/Malaysian potluck, which held about twice a year. This is the time when we all get to savor the many delicious food that we all miss so much. Everyone do their best to bring along a dish or two of the common food that most of us crave for --- like rendang, laksa, hokkian mee, nasi lemak etc. etc. etc.
As someone who likes to make desserts, I usually try to bring a dish AND a dessert. However, there aren't many so called dessert in our cuisine. We have what it's called "Kuih". They are the equivalent of the western pastries and cakes. But, it is not necessary eaten after a meal, instead, we sometimes eat them during breakfast, or more commonly, we eat it during tea time, or as a snack. And back home in Malaysia, we are able to get kuih just about anywhere. But it's not easy to fine those really good- traditional- fine kuihs these days.
So, when my mother-in-law bought me this book called "Nonya Flavors: A Complete Guide to Penang Straits Chinese Cuisine" I was salivating all over the place, while flipping through the book!! I was determine to learn to make some traditional Nonya food. After all, there is some Nonya gene in my family, and I would like for my kids to learn to eat our traditional food.
During one of the Singaporean/Malaysian potluck, I decided to make Kuih Dadar. This is a coconut flavored crepe, essence with pandan leaf, wrap with freshly grated coconut cooked in gula melaka syrup.
The tricky part of making this kuih is the grated coconut. Over here in America, we can only get the desiccated coconut (dried grated coconut), most of the time, already sweetened. Back home, I remember walking to the kedai runcit (a grocery store, usually the mom and pop style - where everyone knows everyone there) to get freshly grated coconut for my mom. All they need was 1-2 minutes to grate the fresh coconut. You see, back home, every grocery store HAS a coconut grated machine (coconut is a common ingredient in the Southeast Asia cuisine). Crack the coconut in half, and flip the switch. Hold on the shell and make sure your fingers don't get too close to the spinning blades...and ta-da!!! You'll get freshly grated coconut!
For many years, I have tried to find a coconut grating tool...and I did. I found this hand held tool in a Vietnamese grocery store here in Beaverton.
When I decided to make kuih dadar for the potluck, I bought 3 whole coconuts. It took me 20 minutes each to crack open the coconuts with my Chinese cleaver --- coconut shell bits flew everywhere. Then it took me about 3 hours to grate the 3 whole coconuts with this tiny tool! By the time I was done...I feel like it wasn't worth the torture to make this kuih! You see, we're so used to buying from the food stalls back home, it's so convenient. The only kuih I don't buy from the food stall is Kuih Talam, cos' I have a aunt who spoils us with her homemade ones :)
However, how can I go through all this and NOT make them? So of course, I did. And man, it tasted SO GOOD, if I have to say so myself! :P Everyone loved it! ~ they better do, cos' my hands were shaking after grating those coconuts!
After a couple of weeks/months, hubby and friends asked for it again. I told them, NO WAY, unless THEY are going to grate the coconut. Then, it sparks me to go search for a more efficient grater. I googled found this clip on Youtube.
So, I was determined to find THAT coconut grater!!! And guess what?! I found 2 places selling them here in U.S.!!! Wooohhooo.... Culinary Exoticain Olympia, Washington, and Niwasa at Simi Valley in California. Gosh, I was SO happy I was dancing with joy! My first find was Culinary Exotica. However, during that time, they were out of stock. I send them an e-mail asking when will they have in stock, I was told the Homeland Security was holding them. 2 months later, they were still held by Homeland Security - whatever the reason is! Gosh! I couldn't wait any longer...so I went out searching again. It was then I found Niwasa. Few days after that, I received my very own hand cranking coconut grated! Phew! The blades is the same as the ones we have back home, except those, you just need to flip the switch! ;P
So, last Friday, I invited 2 of my friends A and M over. It was my 1st trial on this "baby." Oh, by the way, this time around, it took me less time to crack open the coconuts. I must be getting GOOD at it, huh?! haha. I was kinda nervous when I tried the coconut grater...after all, there are a lot of very very very sharp blades there. I told Lucas to stay far away from it. Took me a few turns to get the hang of it. But I tell ya...once you have the feel, it took me about 5-7 minutes to grate one half of the coconut...which means, it took me at most 45 minutes to grate all 3 whole coconuts! Can you believe how much time and energy I saved???!! Boy, I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone who uses fresh coconut in their cooking/baking! The taste of the desiccated coconuts is nothing compared to freshly grated coconut in this case....ahhhhh....
Combine the pandan leaves and water in an electric blender.Blend till the leaves are pretty chopped up.
Wrap the pulverised pandan in a muslin cloth and squeeze to extract the juice, or strain through a fine sieve. Set aside.
Crepe batter 120g all purpose flour 1 large egg 300 ml coconut milk (from 1/2 grated coconut --- I used canned light coconut milk) mixed with 1/4tsp salt 3Tbs pandan juice (I added pandan paste which you can get at most Asian grocery stores, for more flavor and color)
Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl. Mix in the egg, and the salted coconut milk and pandan juice.
Leave the batter to rest while cooking the filling.
Filling 90g palm sugar (gula Melaka) 1Tbs sugar 1 pandan leaf, knotted 50 ml water 1/2 coconut, grated, white part only 1 tsp cornflour
To cook the filling, break up the palm sugar (I roughly chopped them up first), and combine with the sugar, pandan leaf and water in a pot.
Cook over medium flame until sugar dissolved. Strain the syrup and return it to the pot.
Combine the cornflour with the coconut, then add them into the syrup and continue to cook for a few more minutes. Dish out and let cool.
Assemble the crepe
Heat up a shallow frying pan or crepe pan over low flame and grease lightly with oil. Pour 2 Tbs of the batter in the center and swirl the pan to coat it to form a thin crepe of about 13cm diameter.
When the crepe is cooked, turn out onto a board (coarse surface facing down).
Place 2 heaped tsp. of filling on the crepe and roll up spring roll-style.
Coconut sauce (I did not make this ) 150ml coconut milk (from 1/2 grated coconut) 50g sugar 2tsp cornflour
Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small pot and mix well. Cook over a slow fire until mixture thickens and boils. Serve with the kuih
Note: I did not follow the recipe to the T. I used all of the ingredient for the filling and crepe, and just made the crepe like I would a western style crepe. I did not serve mine with the coconut sauce.
It's reveal day for the Daring Bakers. Our challenge for this month is the French Macarons...not the macarons that many of us in America come to know of -- clumps of coconut flakes... this is the ones that's kinda like the meringue kisses without the pointy tips and are usually sandwiched with a filling. And guess what?! I did not start my challenge till this morning. Ya, ya, I know...you're not surprised. In fact, for the next 2 months, I will, without a doubt, be the same! Besides being a procrastinator, the last 3 months of the year, is the craziest time. I'm not just talking about holiday seasons...that's just a little part of it. The biggest issue here is BIRTHDAYS! There are AT LEAST 10 birth dates I can remember off hand in October alone. Lucas' is one of them.
Anyhow, I should continue with THIS issue in my later post (if I will ever be able to get to it). I am here to talk about the DISASTER.
The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macaroon from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.
Macarons have been popping out everywhere lately. Probably another "trend" like the cupcakes?? Before this challenge, I have made it once - I did not like it. I probably didn't do it well too, that time. So, I was hoping that this time, with the guidance from the other Daring Bakers members, maybe I'll do better??? Nah...not me...not when I am making 'em on the day of posting! I logged on to check all the Q & A every now and then...but did not "complied" them, and make use of all the good advice you can't get in a book. However, I will link some of them for your sake :) ... Audax Artifex, Tartelette, David Lebovitz
Anyway, I manage to make two flavors ~ Greentea (macha) with chocolate ganache and pumpkin pie. Sounds good doesn't it? NOPE! My disaster started with my homemade almond flour. I toasted my almonds, let it cool, and grind them with powdered sugar. I don't think I put enough powdered sugar in it, so some of them clump together. Same goes with the toasted pecan I used for the pumpkin pie macarons. And you're supposed to sieve the almond/pecan flour...I was thinking --- how am I supposed to sieve them, if they aren't fine to begin with? So, being a stubborn person that I am, I DID NOT sieve the almond flour for the greentea macarons...guess what happens?? You get clumpy meringue like THIS --->
So, when I made my pumpkin pie macarons, I decided to behave...I sieve the almond/pecan flour...it wasn't easy like sieving the regular flours... I kinda have to "smashed" them through with the back of a spoon.
See the difference??!!! The nut flour is still coarse, but much better...at least, NOT clumpy :)
Next, I used fresh eggs, at room temperature, for the macha macarons. Many have advised to "aged" the egg whites - meaning separate the eggs, cover the egg whites with cling wrap, and place it in the fridge for 3 - 5 days. You want to have as little moisture as possible in the meringue. I did aged the other set of egg whites for just one day, and here, in the picture below, you can see how much moisture has accumulated on the cling wrap!
Another problem??? "Drying" time. Some recipes calls for drying the pipped macarons on the counter for 30 minutes to an hour before baking. The recipe we used requires us to bake them in a low temperature for 5 minutes, remove, pump up the temperature, and bake for another 7-8 minutes....which wasn't quite enough for my case. I don't know if the rainy weather did not help...but 7-8 minutes later, mine was still moist and soft. So I kept them in for another 10 minutes, at a lower temperature. This drying time is supposed to ensure your macarons has the trade mark "feet" on the bottom... I like to call it the "tutu" like a ballerina's costume :) My macarons have no feet, nor hands, tutus, what so ever! Looks more like the surface of the moon, BUMPY, don't you agree??!! *sigh*
None the less...it was still a good challenge. I learn a lot taking part as a Daring Baker. I am not sure I'd wanna try making macarons again in the future...maybe I should taste some of the true French macarons before I'd put on a tutu and dance around with egg whites and almond flour. (hint, hint: any other Daring Bakers wanna ship some of your beautiful and delicious macarons?? Drop me a note, and I'll contact you with my address!!! hahhahaa.... :P) Thanks Ami for this challenge! :D
If you're interested to try making these macarons, click here for the recipe. And you can visit other Daring Bakers' version of the Macarons here.
Have fun! :) xoxoxo
Macha (green tea powder) macaron with chocolate ganache
If you had stopped by my September DB challenge, you will understand that I was facing some problems with my oven temperature. So, yesterday I went and pick up a oven thermometer in the store. I was making granola bars, adapted from Donna Hay's Kids' Magazine.
The recipe calls for 320F preheated oven. I preheated to 325F. However, I forgot to stick the thermometer in the oven, so half way through, I place it in. The needle moved slowly. I waited for a while to check on it. and by the time the timer for the bars went off, which was a good 20-30 minutes later, the needle on the thermometer was at 250F!!! I couldn't believe that the temperature was SO off! I thought it was maybe off by 10-20 degrees! No wonder I had so much problem with my banana chocolate bread and my puff pastry challenge! Hmmm...I am hoping that this would lead to a new oven/stove some time soon?! :) Don't think my husband would be please with the news! :P
Anyway, the granola bar still turned out fine. I really like the homemade ones. For one, it doesn't have corn syrup in it. Secondly, I like my granola bars like how I like my fried rice, loaded with ingredients, in this case - dried fruits (I know for sure some of them do not have corn syrup in. I wanted to have dried cherries, but they contained cs, so I went for dried cranberries). They aren't too sweet at all. Here's the recipe:
Homemade Fruity Granola Bars
4-1/2 C rolled oats (I half regular rolled oats and red oats) 3/4 C unbleached all purpose flour, sifted 3 Tbs. brown sugar (loosely packed) 2 1/2 C dried fruits, chopped into 1/4" pieces (I used dried mangoes, apricots, apples and cranberries) 1 C slivered or sliced almond, optional (or any nuts of your choice) 1/3 C wheat germ 1/2 C sunflower seeds, optional 2/3 C combination of honey and maple syrup (I suggest that you lightly spray your cup with cooking oil for easy pouring) 2/3 C canola oil
Preheat the oven to 325F. Grease and line a 17"x12" rimmed baking sheet (or a 12"x 8" pan) with parchment paper. ( The baking sheet will give you a flatter bar, while the 12"x 8" will give you a thicker bar)
Place all of the dry ingredient in a big bowl. Mix well to combine.
Place the honey and maple syrup in small saucepan over medium heat, and cook until it is very runny, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the canola oil. Carefully pour it into the dry oats mixture and mix until well combined.
Spoon onto the baking sheet/pan. Use the back of your spoon the press it down and flatten with the back of your spoon. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden in color. Cool on a rack, and cut into your desire size.
If you haven't tried making your own granola bar, I urge you to do so. The combination of the ingredient is really up to you. If you don' t fancy dried fruit, replace them with nuts, and or chocolate chips, or add unsweetened coconut flakes for a tropical twist. It's all up to your personal palette, and the best thing about making homemade granola bars, it's EZ!!! --- Especially if you don't have an oven where the temperature is WAY OFF! :)
Ever since I've exchanged my Cuisinart bread machine for a Zojirushi bread machine, I've been a little crazy about making homemade bread. When I was back in Malaysia, we had a lot of buns/bread from Bread Story, especially during our trip to Langkawi.
Anyway, whenever I go back home, I'd look for local recipe books to purchase. I saw this book in a cake decorating supply store in USJ 1 area, called Magic Bread by Alex Goh. There are some really good recipes in there. Here are the two that I have tried so far - almond and raisin bread and the ham and cheese buns. They both start with the same basic sweet bread dough.
Basic Sweet Bread Dough
A - 100g bread flour 70ml boiling water
B - 300 g bread flour 100g all purpose flour 80g sugar 6g salt 20g milk powder 9g instant yeast
C - 175ml cold water 60g cold eggs
D- 60g butter
Add the boiling water from A into flour, mix until combined to form dough. Cover and set aside to cool. Keep it in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, with the hook attachment, mix B until well-blended. Add in C and knead to form a rough dough. Add in A and knead until well-blended.
Add in D and knead to form elastic dough. Let it proof for 40 minutes.
Divide the dough into required weight and mold it round. Let it rest for 10 minutes and read to be use. Makes about 2lbs of dough.
If you're using a bread machine, just dump everything in there. You can use the dough program, or set your own if you have a "home made setting". I have set mine as below:
The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.
After being gone for 2 months, and another half a month to recover from jet lag and a horrible cough... I'm FINALLY back to participate in my Daring Bakers Challenge!!! And what do you know, when you have missed out so much, this is what you get - PUFF PASTRY DOUGH!!! (yikes)
This is NOT something I have on my "wish to try" list. There's always the convenience of going to the frozen isle in the grocery store and just pick it up. Plus, the fact that you have to wrap the whole chunk of butter in the dough, and making sure the butter doesn't get too soft or it'd oozed out, and folding the dough "this way and that way" for X amount of times --- ai-ya-ya...definitely not for the lazy person that I am, and not for someone who, without fail, get distracted by the kids every 5 minutes ONLY WHEN I'm cooking/baking, cos' by the end I'd really be Huffing and PUFFING on the dough! :P
However, I AM A DARING BAKER! :P (LOL) and a procrastinator, in case you forgot. So I didn't start until 2 days before the dateline. I didn't think much about what I was gonna fill them with. Instead I was worrying about how will the puff pastry turn out! :P
Anyhow, I started with whacking the sticks of butter down, before I prepare the dough, so that the butter can stay cool in the fridge while I prepare the dough. However, I have to warn you that, if you have your kids' pet fishes' bowl(s) sitting on your kitchen counter top, like ME...do give them a warning that you'll be smacking something on the counter top, so that they don't get a heart attack and die. Not to worry...no fish were harm in the process of making this puff pastry...just 3 fishes puffing and huffing out of fear of the crazy mom with a giant rolling pin whacking the hell out of the butter! I did thought about moving them away...but by the time I realized they (especially the 2 gold fish) were "scurrying" about in the bowl, I was almost done with the butter! I think the beta could careless!
The frighten fishes!
I have to say, I was surprise how easy the dough was to work with! It doesn't tear, it just stretches wherever you want it to go! :)
Now, if you're short like me and has a counter top for the average Americans, you'd need your kid's step stool to roll this dough!
The good old Ikea step stool!
I was really happy when none of the butter oozed out in between the turns. I was planning on having it for dinner, so time was sorta short. Occasionally, instead of placing the dough in the fridge in between turns, I've put it in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes --- and the dough was still soft and really nice to work with. When it came to splitting the dough, I was so excited to see the layers actually forming... :)
According to the instruction, right before you place the cut out doughs into the preheated oven, you should place a silicon baking mat or parchment on top of the doughs to help even rising. That was what I did. However, mine was a mess! See how my dough was D-R-A-G-E-D along as I tried to lift up the top mat??!!! *sigh*
Thank goodness I still had left over dough in the fridge, and I still had time to go on the DB forum to ask for help. Steph was quick to come to the rescue --- my oven was probably not hot enough. Hmm....this is a wonderful excuse for me to get a oven thermometer! ;P I also managed to skim through some other members' Q&A. And I came across Audax's suggestion on preheating the oven 20 degrees hotter than what it calls for in the recipe, as the dough needed the hot temperature to create the steam to puff the layers.
I did managed to salvage one decent looking Vols-au-Vent shell for the photo taking purpose. I made scrambled eggs with chives and bacon for the filling, and serve with a side of salad. That was our dinner.
Then yesterday afternoon, I rolled out my left over dough. This time, I raised the oven temperature to 420F. I did leave the mat sitting on top of the dough longer than the 15 minutes as suggested in the recipe. I waited until the dough started to brown lightly, only then I carefully remove the mat. However, for some reason, I had forgotten to placed the cut rings on top of the base to create the well for the fillings!!!! What an idiot!!! *shaking my head*
Oh well, so this morning we had our Vols-au-Vent (without a well) with brie and seasoned lox, and the other also with brie, with marmalade (Yesmin and I gobbled it down before I could take a photo! :P).
The vols-au-vent without the well!! : |
They really filled us up, so, even though I made a dessert Vols-au-Vent with mascarpone and blackberries on a bed of raspberry sauce, we haven't actually tried it YET. None of us could put another bite in, and I didn't wanna keep it till dinner as the pastry might get soggy...so I tried calling my neighbor :) Glad she was home. We shall be trying ours tomorrow night.
Mascarpone with Blackberries and raspberry sauce... you can't really see the base of the vols-au-vent here, but there's the BIG ring that I had forgotten to place on top of the base before baking! :P
So, in case you are interested in giving a try on puff pastry, click HERE for the recipe. I would encourage you to give it a try, because, there's a BIG difference between the TASTE of the homemade puff pastry, and the store bought ones!!
Thanks Steph, for this challenge that I NEVER thought I could achieve.
My version of Spotted Dick
Heinz's canned Spotted Dick 
