French yogurt cupcakes with blueberry topping

This recipes makes 12 cupcakes, really pretty and really yummy. The cupcake itself can taste rather bland but the topping goes really well with it and gives it an almost whimsical look. 

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup ground almonds (or, if you'd prefer, omit and use another 1/2 cup all-purpose flour)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
• Grated zest of 2 lemons, divided
• 2 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt, divided
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract, divided
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 package (7g) unflavored gelatin, bloomed according to directions
• 1 (16-ounce) can blueberry pie filling

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°(175C). Line muffin tin with paper liners.

Whisk together the flour, ground almonds (if using), baking powder, and salt.

Put 1 cup sugar and zest of 1 lemon in a medium bowl and, with your fingertips, rub the zest into the sugar. Add 1/2 cup yogurt, eggs, and 1/2 tsp. vanilla and whisk until the mixture is well blended. Whisk in the dry ingredients. Fold in the oil. 

Pour batter into cupcake tin, filling cups about 2/3 of the way.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the cupcakes begin to come away from the sides of pan; they should be golden brown, and a thin knife inserted in the center should come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes, then run a butter knife between the cupcakes and the sides of the pan. Turn out cupcakes and cool to room temperature.

To make the glaze:

 In a medium bowl, mix together 1/4 cup sugar, zest of 1 lemon, 1 tsp. vanilla, 2 cups Greek yogurt, and gelatin. (easier to mix gelatin with some yogurt first to "temper" it otherwise gelatin might clump up due to temperature difference)

Slice off top of cupcakes along top of liner to produce a flat top. Spoon slightly chilled glaze over cupcakes and chill. Top each with a spoonful of pie filling. .

Adapted by Joel Brown from Dorie Greenspan's French yogurt cake with marmalade glaze in Baking: From My Home to Yours 

Carrot cupcake with orange cream cheese frosting

Attempted this recipe by Martha recently. This makes a moist and fluffy cupcake hitch tastes even better the next day. I've made some minor changes to the spices, sugars and frosting.

Carrot Cupcakes (12 cupcakes)

42g walnuts toasted and finely chopped
213g plain flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2  teaspoon ground cinnamon
225g carrots, peeled and grated
75g (1.5) eggs, room temperature
40ml buttermilk (= 40ml milk + 1 1/2tsp white vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
100g sugar
100g brown sugar
180ml canola oil
1/4 tsp ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Line your muffin pans with muffin paper liners. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside.

Mix grated carrots with the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, sugar, oil and ginger in a large bowl; whisk until combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold the flour mixture into the carrot mixture until combined. Then fold in the walnuts.

Divide batter into the muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer muffins to a wire rack and allow to cool. Spread frosting (below) on the cupcakes and either eat or store in an airtight container in the fridge (will last up to 3 days).

Orange Cream-Cheese Frosting

40g unsalted butter, room temperature
240g cream cheese, room temperature
70g confectioner’s sugar, sifted
3/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

In the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese, and beat until combined and fluffy, another 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add remaining ingredients and beat for 5 minutes. Frosting can be kept at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 hours.

Flour' bakery's famous banana bread

Monday blues and craving for banana walnut bread. Found this recipe and it was relatively easy to put together. Soon enough, the kitchen smells of bananas, a touch of vanilla and a hint of cinnamon. The bread was soft and flavorful as promised. Heavenly! Flour’s Famous Banana Bread adapted from Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Cafe by Joanne Chang | makes one 9×5-inch loaf 1 2/3 cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt / seasalt 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (230 grams) sugar 2 eggs (120g) 1/2 cup (100 grams) canola or other flavourless oil 3 1/2 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed (about 1 1/2 cups or 340 grams mashed bananas) 2 tablespoons creme fraiche or sour cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2/3 to 3/4 cup (75g) walnuts, toasted and chopped* 1. Position the rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 325°F (165°C). Either line the pan bottom and sides with patchment or Butter and flour the pan. 2. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. 3. Using a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, or a handheld mixer, beat together the sugar and eggs on medium speed for about 10 minutes for the stand mixer, until light and fluffy. 4. With the machine on low speed, slowly drizzle in the oil. Do not pour the oil in all at once. Add it slowly so it has time to incorporate into the eggs and doesn’t deflate the air you have just beaten into the batter. Adding the oil should take about 1 minute. 5. Add the bananas, creme fraiche/sour cream, and vanilla, then continue to mix on low speed just until combined. 6. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour mixture and nuts just until thoroughly combined. No flour streaks should be visible and the nuts should be evenly distributed. 7. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. 8. Bake for 45-60mins for a 9×5-inch loaf or until golden brown on top and the cake springs back when you press it. If your finger sinks when you poke the bread, it needs to bake a little longer.** 9. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes, and the pop it out of the pan to finish cooling. Storage: The banana bread can be stored tightly wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days. Or it can be well-wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 2 weeks. Make sure to thaw overnight at room temperature before serving.

Deep dark chocolate cupcake with peanut butter mousse

Yields 12 Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350F/175C  or 325F/162C for non-stick pan

Deep dark chocolate cupcakes: 
 8 tablespoons (113g)unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces 
2 ounces (56g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
 ½ cup (42g) Dutch-processed cocoa powder 
¾ cup (90g) all-purpose flour 
½ teaspoon baking soda 
¾ teaspoon baking powder 
2 eggs 
¾ cup (148g) granulated sugar 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
½ teaspoon table salt 
½ cup sour cream 

 1. Place butter, chocolate, and cocoa in a heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan with two inches of simmering water.  Gently stir butter and chocolate until melted and combined. Set aside until mixture is warm to touch. (alt: microwave)
 2. Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder in small bowl to combine. 
3. Whisk eggs in second bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla, and salt until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is homogeneous and thick.
 4. Fill cupcake line 2/3 full. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. 
5. Cool cupcakes to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes. 
**if using smaller cupcake liner (90x45mm), use 1scoop & bake for 15mins

Recipe adapted from Cook’s Illustrated 

 Peanut Butter Mousse Frosting: 
3/4 cup (80g) confectioners’ sugar
 1 cup (240g)creamy peanut butter 
5 tablespoons (70g) unsalted butter, at room temperature 
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract 
¼ teaspoon kosher salt 
100ml heavy cream 

 1. Place all ingredients except heavy cream in a bowl fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-low speed until creamy. 
2. Add in the cream and continue beating at medium speed till light and creamy.

 Yummy! But I'll probably cut down the sugar to the frosting further

mango mouuse cake 2

Same cake, different sponge

Sponge cake by Alex Goh (from Crummb)
4 eggs, separated (each egg to weigh 60g without shells)
120g castor sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
110g plain flour
70g melted butter (must be hot when added to batter)

1. Using a hand-held mixer, whisk egg yolks till smooth. Add 20g of the sugar and vanilla and continue whisking until yolks puff up and the colour turns very pale - like the lightest shade of peach – and doesn’t turn any paler (about 2 mins).
2. In another bowl, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 100g of sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form.
3. Fold egg whites into egg yolks until just combined. Just use a rubber spatula.
4. Sieve in flour and fold in gently. Add in hot melted butter (to be safe, pour down the side of the bowl so it won’t agitate too many air bubbles) and fold in gently and quickly.
5. Pour into 8-inch round pan and bake at 190 deg C for 30 minutes. When done, cake will shrink by a few mm but still stand at a beautiful 2 inches.

Mango mousse (re-invented)
750ml mango puree / puree 2 large sweet mangoes in blender
2 tbsp orange liqueur
1 tsp lime juice
5 tsp unflavoured gelatin
50ml water
500ml of whipping cream

In bowl, combine mango puree, sugar, orange liqueur and lime juice; set aside.
In small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over water. Let stand for 5 minutes and dissolve over medium-low heat.Stir gelatin into puree mixture.Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
Whip cream till soft peaks and fold one-third into remaining puree.
Fold in remaining whipped cream.

Mango Gelee
150g mango puree
1 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp gelatin
4 Tbsp water

Dissolve gelatin and mix it in mango puree.
Pour over set mousse in cake ring and allow it to set in the fridge. (takes aound 1-2hr)

Tasting notes and learning points: I love the texture of the gelee and the lemon helps cut thru the sweetness of the cake and keeps the mango from being oxidised. The mousse turned out better than before, full of mango flavor and yet light on the palate. Adding mango cubes in the mousse helped with the flavor and texture. However, the sponge was a denser and drier than the genoise. (I'm not sure if it's because I overbaked it.) I still suck at estimating proportions, ended up with a lot of extra mousse.

Bulot Hitam

For 10-12 pax

2 packets (~400g) of black glutinous rice
2 packets (400g) of dried lotus seed
1 packet of dried longan
pandan leaves
gula melaka to taste

Fry black glutinous rice in dry wok till the husk splits.
Rinse and soak in water overnight.
Remove the bitter centre part of lotus seed and soak it in water till soft. (about 1 hr)
Place rice and lotus seed in large pot of water and bring it to a boil. Turn heat down to a simmer for 1-2 hr till required texture is achieved.
Add pandan leaves to pot but remove after 15mins.
Add longan after 1 hr
Add gula melaka at the end to taste.

Serve warm with coconut milk
OR even better cold with coconut ice cream.

Yu sheng

Ingredients (6-8 pax)

1 radish shredded

2 cucumber shredded

3 carrots shredded

1 yam shredded and deep-fried

Handful of fried vermicelli

Handful of fried wanton skin

Diced dried roselle flower

1/2 pomelo

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Toasted sesame seeds

Sashimi of choice

Sauce

Special sauce

1 tbsp grated radish

• 5 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 6 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp plum paste/honey
• Pinch of fine sea salt
• Pinch of freshly ground pepper
• 3 -4 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 
  
• In a small bowl, whisk to combine, drained onion, soy sauce, rice vinegar, juices, radish, sugar, salt, mustard, and pepper.
• Taste and adjust accordingly. (may need more sugar)
• When the sugar has dissolved, whisk in the sesame oil.
• Store refrigerated, in an airtight container, for up to 2 days.

Cashew nut cookies

Nutty, crumbly cookies with melt-in-your-mouth qualities. Cashew Nut on top is essential to provide crunch and nutty flavor.

Makes 80-100 cookies (2-3 small red top containers)

• 250g butter
• 180g icing sugar
• 400g plain flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 180g grounded cashew nuts
• 1tbsp vanilla essence
• 1 egg yolk
• Leave whole cashew nuts for garnishing
• 1 egg wash (sieved)

1. Preheat oven to 160C. Sift plain flour and baking powder together
2. Cream butter and icing sugar. Add in 1 egg yolk and vanilla essence
3. Add in flour and grounded cashew nuts. Mix well until it forms a soft dough
4. Roll dough to 1/4inch thickness and cut into shapes using a cutter
5. Brush with egg wash and decorate cookies with half of whole cashew nuts
6. Bake at 150C for 20-25mins or till golden brown

Earl gray tea cookies

• Yummilisous, melt-in-your-mouth cookies which fills your mouth with the fragrance of Earl Gray.
• Adapted from Martha Stewart (yields 100-120)
• 
  
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons finely ground Earl Grey tea leaves (from about 4 bags)
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup (8oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest

1. Whisk flour, tea, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.

2. Put butter, sugar, and orange zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture until just combined.

3. Chill dough in freezer for 30-60mins till firm. Roll out between 2 pieces of patchment paper to 1/8inch thick. Chill for 3-5mins in freezer before cutting out using cookie cutter.

4. Preheat oven to 350F/175C.

5. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden,8-10 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.