Happy Birthday To My Big Boy

Eleven years old today!

I made him a chocolate sponge with fresh whipped cream. The recipe for the chocolate sponge is from Kitchen Tigress. Delicious!

Three Layered Sponge Cake

This cake caused me a lot of anguish. I started two days earlier before the birthday celebration of a close friend and mentor, with previously successful recipes, but batch after batch failed (thick fatty layer on bottom of cake) till I was at my wits' end. Up till now, I still don't know what I did in the last batch that magically resulted in these almost perfect sponge cakes.

Anyway, here it is. A three layered sponge cake, filled between layers with cream and sliced fresh strawberries and kiwi, then topped with more fresh dairy whipped cream and fruits.

Happy Birthday Yvonne!

Inaugural Christmas Hampers 2014

I have always been attracted by gift hampers, ever since I was a little girl. The food ones on display on supermarket shelves are (usually) beautifully wrapped with cellophane and seem to contain the most delicious goodies anyone could want -- chocolates, cookies... I remember watching a commercial on TV by this gift hamper company called Noel. The scene of the delivery person arriving at a house to present the gorgeous hamper to the recipient family and their pleased and surprised expressions (okay, I now know it's all acting) left a strong impression on my little girl mind.

I think I received my first gift hamper after I had my first baby. Can't remember who it was but it was sent to the hospital. The contents were all baby-related, so hmm... I guess it wasn't for me but for my baby, haha. Nevertheless, thanks to those young childhood memories, I was immensely happy at receiving that hamper. I still keep the box that was used as the, er, hamper. It's a little mildewy though, probably from sitting in my wardrobe for years, hehe.

Nine years later, after I had my third baby, a Noel hamper arrived from a close Uncle and Aunt who were regretful that they couldn't attend the baby shower, which is actually known as the Full Month Birthday Celebration among Chinese people. A NOEL hamper!!! The brand I'd always seen on TV as a little girl! The child in me was so over the moon, I immediately telephoned them to express my gratitude. Needless to say, that box hasn't left my ownership.

Moving on, this year, I was cracking my brains as to what food gift to prepare for Christmas for my close friends and family (a yearly brain-cracking occurrence). I couldn't decide, so the lightbulb that finally light up suggested a little bit of each type. Aaaaaaand of course I had to give them in hampers! What fun! My chance to pass on a little of that warmth that I had received, first from the TV so many years ago, and then in recent years from the love and support of my family and friends.

I found three suitably-sized cardboard shoeboxes with lids that I could use as the "hamper". The lids were stuck on the bottom of the boxes to provide additional support for the base, as I knew that my items were going to be rather dense and heavy.

Next I lined the boxes with what I call bouquet paper cos I really dunno the official name for it, but it's what most professionally-wrapped bouquets in Singapore are wrapped in. Not cheap, this kind of paper, say at least $2 a sheet at any florist? I saved mine from all the bouquets I've received in the last thirteen years, not, alas, from dear hubby but from my ex-boss, who is also my close friend cum mentor. She gives me a bouquet of flowers every year when we meet to celebrate my birthday, and I save every sheet of paper from them. DH last gave me flowers when he proposed. I still have the wrapping papers from that bouquet d:)

This is the part I like best -- stuffing the hampers with goodies! I made fruitcake, brownies, chocolate syrup and granola, all properly packed, labelled and shelf-life stated. On a bed of colourful shredded paper.

Then I hit a snag. It was late at night and I don't keep cellophane paper on hand. HOW on earth was I going to wrap these hampers? I hit on the roll of plastic leftover from wrapping my kids' school books. Not the right kind but as long as it works, right?

At the end, I slipped into each box a Christmas card to add to the festiveness and they were done! 

I must say I enjoyed the process, although I do wish I'd planned this earlier so I could have prepared and bought all the materials for it. Majulah Lulu!

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake

After the relative failure of the Devil's Food Cake last month, I really wanted to bring my family's opinion of my cake-baking skills up again, so I set my heart on this Strawberry Shortcake that I'd heard so much about. Especially since it was for the birthday celebration of my sister.

Strange. The first few recipes on Google seemed to be making something like a scone or choux pastry, instead of a cake. I was getting increasingly befuddled.

Finally, I saw the words "Japanese Strawberry Shortcake" and THIS really seemed to be a kind of sponge cake. Later, I did more researching and realised that the "western" Strawberry Shortcake and "Japanese" Strawberry Shortcake are actually very different things. Perhaps the only similarity is that they both use whipped cream and sliced strawberries for filling.

It was an undisputed success! All loved it, okay, maybe except for the fussy Roast Meat of a son who doesn't eat strawberries. I regret forgetting to take a pic of the cut sides, so I can show how beautiful the cake looks with all the layers. Well, there are countless pics available online, as long as you search for "japanese strawberry shortcake".

Happy Birthday Jie!

Devil's Food Cake - First Try

It's my Dad's birthday, and we are having a family celebration tonight. Technically, it should be the combined celebration that includes my birthday celebration, the anniversary of my first cry being a few days later, but we usually only sing for my Dad.

Now that I've become the official family baker, it was a given that I should again be the supplier of the cake. I decided to try something new -- Devil's Food Cake. Sounds incredibly easy from all the various versions -- just cream the butter, sugar and eggs, then pretty much beat everything else in. No need to fold, no need to worry about deflating eggs, and assured dense chocolatey flavour. Bring it on!

The top few hits on Google yielded Nigella Lawson, Martha Stewart and a few others. I read them all (including the reviews where available) and then found David Lebovitz's recipe on the next page. I read it through and decided to go for this one because I've had success with his Madeleines (every single time) and like reading his blog.

Unfortunately, as everyone could tell after taking a couple of bites, it was a little too dry. I suspect it was the baking time, but it was weird because everyone's recipe says to bake for about that length of time. If I try this again, (and I will for sure, because my big boy loves it and is requesting it for his birthday next year) I shall have to decrease the baking time by 5 mins and test for doneness, something which I didn't do this time because of blind faith.

This has turned out to be my best and most cooperative chocolate ganache icing, though. Smooth, glossy, easy to spread, delicious.

Check out that sheen in the ganache.

Recipe for Steamed Chicken

This dish has become one of our family's favourite chicken dishes, because it's tasty, healthy and (for me) so easy to cook.

Lulu's Steamed Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken 1.5kg+-, neck and feet trimmed off (you can keep the bishop's nose if you want)

1/2 tsp salt

1 clove garlic, smashed

1 small piece of ginger, smashed

1/4 cup shaoxing 绍兴 or huadiao 花雕 wine

Method:

Get the steamer going on medium heat (ensure it's big enough to contain the whole chicken plus it's plate)

Rub the cleaned chicken with salt all over, inside and outside. Place the garlic and ginger in the cavity and place the chicken in a deep, heatproof dish.

Pour the wine over the chicken and place the whole dish in the steamer.

Set the timer for 30min.

After 30 min, remove chicken and plate from steamer and let cool on table for at least 15min before carving.

Leftovers are perfect for overnight bentos, as long as they are uncontaminated by saliva.

Cheese cupcakes

I first fell in love with cheesecake years ago when I tried out (for fun) this recipe on Allrecipes called Chantal's New York Cheesecake. It took some time to make (and get right) but the final product was incredibly delicious. My daughter likes it too, and over the years often begged me to make it, which I seldom acquiesced because it takes some work, quite some cost and most of all, lots of TIME to complete (including leaving it to cool in the oven for at least FIVE hours and THEN chilling overnight in the fridge, ye gods).

A slice of New York Cheesecake

Then recently, I came across a recipe that made mini-cupcakes out of cheesecakes. It seemed so easy - just beat, pour and bake. Really? I had to try. The result of that recipe was passable cheese cupcakes (I didn't have mini muffin pans at that time) that were a tad hard and dry. However, it was fast to make, lower in cost (only half a kilo of cream cheese whereas a whole 9 inch cake required 1 kg at one go, that's not cheap!) and simple to complete, which meant I could do up a batch easily anytime we wanted a cheesecake fix. Best of all, I can double the recipe or halve it to my requirements. I wanted my cake and eat it! (Oh dear, this last sentence was bad grammar but I'm too sleepy to figure the right structure out).

I brought out my trusty Chantal's recipe to compare and decided to give it another go, this time using the ingredients ratio for Chantal's recipe but baking it the cupcakes way. The results? I don't think I've ever made more delectable cupcakes or cheesecakes in my life.

Cheese cupcakes

In the pic above, two cakes are topped with some chopped strawberries that have been mixed with sugar, and the others  are just topped with grated dark chocolate. A few members of my family prefer another topping - strawberries mixed with passionfruit.

And here are some I made for a family friend's birthday. All topped with only the strawberry-sugar mixture (ran out of dark choc).

Totoro Cookies

Thanks to my neighbour's craze over Totoro, we made a batch of these together this morning. If you're wondering where I found or bought the Totoro cookie cutter, it was made by My Neighbour (pun intended) d:)

My Neighbour (and our) Totoro

Ugh, my dough was way too sticky. It wasn't like this the last time I used this recipe (4 years ago), so I must have done something wrong. But it was fun, especially letting my almost 12yo use the leftover dough to cut out cherry blossom cookies.

All that are left of the cherry blossoms

Nobody heard the timer ring, so they're a little *ahem* overbaked. But still yummy! And soooo suitable for using in bentos.

The Ugliest Loaves You've Ever Seen

I haven't finished reading the Jamie Oliver cookbook I received for Valentine's Day yet, but one good thing that came out of it so far is that I've gotten interested in baking bread again. I'm especially hung up on the Coconut Buns in the very first recipe, but I have to get my head around the way that he made them.

Yesterday, I was inspired to make some loaves suitable for panini, the Italian sandwiches that are more like American subs. Unfortunately, I had very little time to shape them as my 2.5yo tot was konked out on his father's shoulder and waiting for me to takeover, so they're ugly as... *insert appropriate word*.

They looked and felt really light and holey when I slit them for today's bentos for my children though, so I think they'll pass. Because the loaves turned out much bigger than expected (hahaha), I sliced one loaf in half before splitting and filling. So each kid brought half to school.

Recipe for Panini loaves
Ingredients:
4 cups bread flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano OR 1 tsp dried oregano
Pinch ground black pepper
2 tsp instant yeast
1-1/2 tbsp olive oil
1-1/4 cups warm water (40deg C)

Method:
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir with a large spoon till all ingredients are moistened. Dough will be sticky.

With well-floured hands, knead dough in the bowl about 5min, till dough is elastic but still rather sticky, and sides of bowl are clear of flour, flouring your hands when necessary. Resist the urge to add more flour to the dough.

Drizzle about 2 tbsp olive oil around the sides of the bowl and toss dough to coat. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and stick bowl in the fridge for 4-5 hours.

Turn dough out onto work surface and punch out all the air. Divide into 4 equal pieces, roll each piece into a round tight ball. Let rest 5 min.

Roll out and shape each piece into a rectangle about 12cmX5cmX1cm thick.  (I did this by hand)

Place loaves on silicone mat or parchment paper on a large baking tray, about 2 inches apart. Let rise uncovered in a warm place for about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 220C. Dust loaves with flour and bake in the middle of the oven at 200C for 15min, rotating pan halfway through, till loaves are brown on top and bottom.

Remove and cool on cake rack at least 30min before slitting and filling.

Meringue Kisses

Over the weekend, I finally found something else to do with my 30+ eggwhites leftover from making kueh lapis legit, other than macarons (which I've failed at and do not intend to try again, yet) and steamed milk custard (which I love but am not in the mood to make). 

Meringue Kisses are new to our family, but I have seen them outside at some specialty bakery, think it was some stall at Raffles City. All those huge brightly-coloured round shapes.

I followed Laura Vitale's recipe and got the following results.

They're a little browner than what I've seen in photos online, but after two tries in which I varied the temperature and oven settings, I'm guessing this is the desired result of her recipe. In any case, they are really yummy, crispy on the outside yet melt-in-the-mouth inside. A little sweet, yes, but the descriptions online say that the sugar is necessary for the meringue to hold its shape while baking.

So I can continue to churn out more of these to use up more of those egg whites. I've already found one eager "receiver".

V Day gift from Hubby

Was supposed to be Christmas gift last year, but it arrived later than that d:)

Lunar New Year equals FOOD

I made a total of three batches oh kueh lapis. Oh goodness. I'd say the third try was the best, as batch #2 was wayyyy undercooked. Even after the portions I gave away, we still have lots left, maybe to keep till next year. Haha!

On the second last day of the old year of the Dragon, my dear kind neighbour blessed us with this lovely dish. And oh, what a glorious, delicious, good to the last drop dish of pen cai 盆菜! It tasted better than any I've eaten at Chinese restaurants.

Pen cai

For the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Snake when we went visiting, my 11yo girl who was born in the Year of the Snake sported a snakey Dutch braid which started from the front of her head to the nape of her neck.

 

And I have to share that one of my absolute favourite LNY dishes has to be what Singaporeans call "lohei" 捞起 (Cantonese) or yusheng 鱼生. A family (or group of colleagues, friends, etc) stand around this huge plate of vegetables on the table and, after all the blessings are called out by the serving waitresses (during which some ingredients such as raw salmon and all the wet dressings are added), everyone uses their chopsticks to stir and toss up the dish, all the while callling out more blessings. The higher the ingredients are lifted, the more auspicious.

Lohei with fellow PVs

 This dish is only available commercially once a year, at LNY time, and I can never get enough. So far this year I've had it twice, once with my family and once with my fellow Parent Volunteers of our school. I believe I shall have at least one more to go, hurray!

Wishing everyone a blessed and prosperous Year of the Snake!

Kueh Lapis Legit Attempt #1

Only just passed. The bottom two layers are almost cookie-like (crispy, because somewhere in the middle I turned the oven off and accidentally put it to convection oven), and the layers are way too thin and uneven. Some of the middle layers are rather wet-looking, not sure what caused this. But the worst thing (to me) is - it's only half the height of the 10 inch square pan (not enough batter).

Well, it's still edible, and tastes quite good, once I've shaved away the sides and bottom two layers. The spices really came through, and so did the cognac (shiok!).

I'm aiming to try again next weekend. Never say die, right? And Lulu will never say "give up" when it comes to baking!

Culinary exploration - Kueh lapis legit or Spek koek

I have been thinking about this for a long time and I think I have psyched myself enough - I am going to make kueh lapis! Not the Chinese kind aka 九层糕, but a many-layered cake made with lots and lots of egg yolk and butter, and lots of TIME.

If I pull this off, it shall be one of my greatest achievements in the universe of baking.

After picking a suitable auspicious day to carry out the deed (the DH must not be working so he can help handle the tot while I labour in the kitchen), I bought the equipment, and today I got all the last of the ingredients, namely the eggs, which must be as fresh as possible. Tomorrow will be the day!

I think I shall be too excited to sleep tonight.

10 Superfoods to eat

Thank you Dr Mercola for the condensed list. We will eat more of these:

1. Avocado
2. Broccoli
3. Spinach
4. Berries
5. Wild salmon
6. Coconut oil
7. Bone broth such as chicken, beef, pork stock
8. Fermented vegetables (I just made a new batch of kimchi!)
9. Raw macadamia nuts
10. Green tea (unsweetened)

And try to avoid:
1. Beans
2. Unfermented soy
3. Dried fruits

We're already eating homemade, full fat yogurt.

Maccha ice cream

We saw this at FairPrice on Monday, in the ice cream section. $6.11
for a box of 6 cups, great taste, value for money!

The Kimchi Dragon

Behold, this lovely urn has henceforth been christened The Kimchi Dragon. There are two dragons on it, facing a golden ball (you can just see it at the left side of the urn), or as Ray described it, "they're playing together, with the sun." I needed a large clay, glass or ceramic jar (no plastic containers please) to hold the kimchi for the first 3 days before portioning it and putting into the fridge. This urn is the perfect size and look for 1 large head of Napa cabbage, but I do wish it had a lid.

Kimchi 韩国泡菜

This has been perfuming the house since this afternoon. Wow... can't wait the 3 days to taste it. Right now it's still rather sweet. Accepting orders d:)

No Knead Bread Recipe

Especially for Barbs d:)

Ingredients:
3 cups bread / plain flour
1/4 tsp yeast
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 cup water
wheat bran for dusting teatowel

Method:
Combine 1st 3 ingredients in medium mixing bowl and mix well.
Add water and stir (abt 10 secs). Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temp for 18 hours.
Heavily dust a work surface with flour and scrape dough (will be watery but bubbly) onto it. Sprinkle more flour (just so it won't stick to your hands) onto it and fold like popiah couple of times. Helps to use a scraper.
Generously flour or sprinkle wheat bran on a cotton teatowel (no Terry cloth) and working quickly, shape dough into a round ball with your hands. Place dough seam side down on teatowel.
Sprinkle more wheat bran on top and cover with another teatowel (if you have a long enough one you can just fold the other half over on top). Let rest 2 hours.
About 1.5hr into rising time, preheat oven to 230 degC and put in your cast iron, Pyrex or ceramic dutch oven (any pot with lid that can tahan this heat will do actually) to heat together WITH THE LID OFF BUT ALSO IN THE OVEN.
After 2 hrs of rising, take the pot out carefully and throw the dough in with seam side up, put the lid on and bake 30 min in hot hot oven. Then remove lid and bake another 15 min for a beautiful crust. Cool on rack unless you cannot tahan and want to burn your tongue and hands d:)
TA-DAH!!!

UPDATE: I've tried using a normal loaf pan (no lid) for this as well, works! Just make sure you have a pan of water in the oven and/or spritz water every 10 min.

麻油鸭 "Ma You Ya" aka Sesame Oil Duck

This warms us up during cold and rainy weather (end of the year), and we've had it twice in as many weeks. Kids love it too, and leftovers can be eaten with noodles the next day or bread. But man! Duck is costly. This dish is very 补, good for confinement as well (if you're sick of 麻油鸡). I threw in some duck gizzards, courtesy of the auntie at the market.

Ingredients:
1 duck, chopped into bite size pieces
1/4 cup roasted sesame oil aka 麻油
1/3 cup old ginger, peeled and finely minced
1 cup wolfberries aka 枸杞子
1 bottle (ca. 350ml) chinese rice wine, about 20% alc content
Half a head of cabbage or napa cabbage aka Chinese wong bok, with biggest leaves cut in half
Salt to taste

Method:
In a large wok, heat sesame oil over medium heat for a few seconds before adding ginger. Stir fry ginger till fragrant, add wolfberries, fry for about 1 min.
Add duck pieces, turning till evenly browned. Add rice wine, cover and bring to boil for about 5 min. Add a little water so duck pieces are almost completely submerged, bring to boil then lower heat to low-medium and simmer for about 1 hour.
Add cabbage and salt, cover for about 5 min (for crunchier cabbage, just bring to boil).
Serve hot with rice.