Pan-fried Snapper with thai chilli sauce

I cant remember how long I have known this recipe or how often I have made this dish, truth is, it has been served on our table too many times even for our own good. Lol!

What more can I say about this dish but it is really good and just like going back to basics.

Just like when the odds are against us when we go through the motions in our so-called life, or your cooking and baking don't seem to agree with you right this moment, right now or perhaps you just want  things nice and easy then there's nothing like going back to basics.

Bear with me, I am typing the words for this recipe from my memory. :)

What you need:

Red Snapper or any big fish good for frying. :))
2 tablespoons of oil (of your choice, I used olive oil since its healthier)

3 red chillies (those biggies), minced, you can also leave some seeds if you want the sauce hotter

2 teaspoons (or more to taste, just start with 2 teaspoons) Fish sauce

1 tablespoon (or more to taste, just start with 1 tbsp.) Tamarind puree or 100-150g of tamarind fruit soaked in 1 cup of hot water, sieved with seeds removed

3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons (or more to taste, just start with 2 tablespoons) of sugar (  I opted to use honey since its healthier)
1 cup water
few stems of coriander and flat-leaf parsley for garnish

What you need to do:

Deep fry your fish until crunchy. Set aside
While deep frying your fish you can start preparing your thai chilli sauce, oil your pan with 2 tbsps. of oil. When oil is already hot, fry the chillies and brown the garlic. Make sure you don't burn the garlic otherwise the sauce will have a bitter taste. Add fish sauce, sugar (or honey), tamarind puree and 1cup water . If you opted for the real tamarind fruit instead, then add in sieved 1 cup of tamarind juice (tamarind fruits soaked in 1 cup of hot water).  Let sauce boil them remove.

Drizzle your sauce over your deep fried fish then garnish with coriander and flat-leaf parsley.

What's even better is that you have cucumber herbs salad and hot jasmine rice for the company. :))

THESE Coffee Macarons with Caramel Coffee Ganache (different technique)

As you maybe aware now, the flavour of the month is macarons. Lol! And to remain true to that promise, I needed to find other means - the latest and greatest techniques at that - to make and bake this much celebrated, or if I may say so,  overrated meringue sandwiches of sugar rush. I chanced upon the blog of dailydelicious a long time ago but didnt have the time to go over her creations but when she posted  some photos of her macarons in her blog, it piqued my interest and awaken my senses. :))

Let's put the spotlight on the Italian Meringue this time.  The recipe below uses this technique. I must say, its more tedious and process intensive but the macarons are less sweet, smoother and glosser. I like using the swiss meringue technique (click here) since its way simpler.

And to draw analogy in the world of macarons; Swiss meringue is Laduree as Italian meringue is to Pierre Hermé. Just my analogy. :))

That said, I like baking macarons than eating them. They're too sweet for my liking. But the recipe below just might be the saving grace, to finally fall in love with macarons for real. :)

Make about 20-25

*Snagged from http://dailydelicious.blogspot.com, Macaron by Pierre Hermé

For the macaron base

75 g ............................ almond powder

75 g ........................... icing sugar

28 g ........................... egg whites

4g ............................... Coffee extract

2g ................................ instant coffee

..................................... yellow food coloring (optional)

For Italian Meringue

75 g ............................. caster sugar

18 g ............................. water

28 g ............................ egg whites

Caramel coffee ganache

70g ............................. Sugar

30g ............................. Whipping cream

¾ tsp ......................... Instant coffee

⅛ tsp ......................... Salt

30g ............................. Unsalted butter

30g ............................. White chocolate

For decoration:

.................................... Edible copper effect paint

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

 Put almond powder, icing sugar and instant coffee into a bowl of food processor, process until very powdery. Sift into a bowl, put egg white, coffee extract and color into the bowl. Use a pastry scrap to bring everything together. Set aside.

Make the Italian meringue:

In a sauce pan, put the sugar and water and bring to boil over medium low heat.

When the syrup reaches 100°C, start whisking the egg whites.

The syrup is ready when it reaches 118°C; pour it over the egg whites and continue whisking until cold.

 Mix together the base and Italian meringue.

The mixture should be softer and very glossy, a little stiffer then cake batter.

 Spoon mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm nozzle. Pipe or spoon mixture into 3.5 cm rounds onto baking paper-lined (or Silpat) oven trays. When you’ve pipe out all the macarons lift each baking sheet with both hands and then bang it down on the counter (you need to get the air out of the batter).

Leave the macarons to set for at least 30 minutes before baking

Bake for 9 minutes to 15 minutes depend on your oven. Remove from oven and cool on trays. Slide a knife under each macaron to release.

Caramel Coffee Ganache: Put whipping cream, instant coffee and salt in microwavable container, microwave it for 30 seconds or until hot and instant coffee and salt melt. 

Put the sugar in a heavy saucepan, place the pan on medium heat and cook undisturbed until the sugar begins to melt and caramelize-you’ll see a few wisps of smoke coming out of the sugar. Reduce the heat to low and stir occasionally so that the sugar melts and caramelizes evenly. While the caramel is still very pale add cream to the caramel at arm’s length, averting your face the caramel will boil up and may splatter out of the pan.

Add the butter and white chocolate, and stir slowly until smooth.

Spoon the filling into a piping bag fitted with a 5mm nozzle. Pipe the filling into the macorons

Sandwich macarons together.

Good reliable SCONES

If you want to have an easy breezy time in the kitchen, at the same time razzle dazzle your friends and loved ones, scones might be the answer for you.

If you want something out of your oven in 20 minutes tops, including preparations then scones are going to be your friend from now on. Dependable and faithful. 

As for the baking process, just sit them closely side by side without any space in between and you'll end up having the best scones in the world. That's not rocket science is it?  :))

I know scones are traditionally eaten during breakfast but it has become very versatile over time - you can have it anytime you want. Usually, scones are served with butter and jam - and washed down by tea with milk like the English do, I like mine, "au naturel" - without anything on it. Either way, its nice and easy.

The recipe is given to me by my Mummy Joan (my gorgeous Mother in law). She showed me how its done the first time. The next thing I knew, I was baking it like a pro. Hmmm, I thought of including in my resume; scones expert. Lol!

I know the recipe like the back of my hand. I can bake this now with my eyes wide shut. So, bake along with me, eyes wide open or eyes closed. Either way. :))

You can also mix any dry fruits you like, for creative purposes. But for me, dates scones are the best. Plain and simple. 

Ingredients:

Makes 12-14 scones

4 cups of Self Raising Flour (SRF)

2 tablespoons of sugar

2 tablespoons of margarine or butter

pinch of salt

1 cup of pitted dates (snip them into bits size)

1 1/2 cups = milk and 1 egg

Preheat your oven at 210C.

Put SRF, sugar, margarine or butter and salt together in a big bowl. Mix them using your finger tips until the mixture becomes grainy like bread crumbs - dry mixture.

Add dates then set aside.

Mix milk and lightly whisked eggs to come up with 1 1/2 cups mixture - wet mixture.

Make a well in the middle of your dry mixture then pour your wet mixture while mixing the dry mixture with the help of a bread knife.

Make a ball dough. The mixture should be wet enough to make a ball dough. If the dough is very dry then just add 1/2 teaspoon of milk and increase the amount, if needed, until you get the right consistency. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface then knead it lightly just to make sure that the ingredients are well combined. Roll out your dough ( I just flatten it using my hands) into a size good enough to make 12-14 scones.

Using a cookie or scone cutter,  cut the dough into 12 -14 pieces.

Put them together closely (no space between them)  on your lightly oiled baking sheet 

Brush lightly the top of scones with milk

Bake them for 12-15 minutes

SECRET NO MORE: I usually bake my scones at 160 degrees (conventional oven) for 15 minutes then increase the temperature to 210C for additional 5 minutes of baking. I found this trick by accident. :)) And I find the scones' texture and browning of their top more consistent.

What ever works for you best. Either way! :)

My favorite Brownies

I dont know about you, but this is my favourite brownies recipe, thus far. I have made these brownies countless times for countless friends and loved ones and they have nothing but oohs and aaahs about  them. In fact the photos posted here are from my latest bake. 

I have tried and tested more than three (3) different recipes but this one always takes the cake, eerm, brownies! :)) I keep coming back to it. At the end of the day, I'd rather be with the best.

I know some of you have recipes bequeathed by your mothers and grandmothers but it wouldn't hurt to include this recipe into your repertoire of sweets recipes. 

*Inspired by http://cafefernando.com/hazelnut-brownies/

Ingredients

10 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter

1 cup sugar

1+1/2 cups (8 oz) hazelnuts, blanched & toasted (divided)

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

6 ounces (170 grams) milk (%40 cacao) chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup pistachios, slivered

Method

Center a rack in the oven and preheat your oven to 350F.

Line bottom and sides of a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper and set aside.

Place one cup of the toasted hazelnuts into a food processor and process until finely ground.

Chop the rest of the hazelnuts roughly.

Melt butter and chocolate in a bowl over simmering water and let cool for 5 minutes.

Add sugar and whisk until combined.

Add the eggs, one at a time, and whisk until combined.

Stir in the vanilla extract.

Fold in flour, ground hazelnuts (1 cup) and salt into the batter.

Fold in roughly chopped hazelnuts (1/2 cup) into the batter.

Pour the mixture into the baking pan, smooth the top with a spatula and bake for 35 minutes.

Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into squares

Melt the milk chocolate in a bowl over simmering water. Let cool for 5 minutes and pour over cooled brownie.
Smooth the top with a spatula and sprinkle with pistachios.
Place in the refrigerator and let the milk chocolate set. Serve it cold.

THOSE French Macarons

I failed at my first attempt, because I over whipped my egg whites. So off my first batch of peach macarons into the rubbish bin. And so I wonder, is it really that difficult? What is it about these french macarons that make lovers love in Paris. What is it about french macarons that embody chichood - for lack of better term -  of the city of light. A lot had been said about macarons, even creating that of long standing rivalry between Laduree and Pierre Herme. I dont know who has the better world view because I haven't tried both. I created my own instead.

Mindful of the warning of no over whipping of egg whites this time, I started anew. Endeavouring on 2nd and 3rd attempts, I came out the better man with my flashy, shiny, gooey and frenchy macarons. And so I hung up my apron and put my mixer to rest for the night, because, I made them well and good.  And so - pardon my french, I whistled my way out of kitchen because I made these bloody good macarons. And so with modesty, I pat my back - I have done good my dear friends and sigh my ineffable relief.

*Snagged from http://www.bisousatoi.com with some tweaks along the way

Ingredients

Swiss Meringue (I know its French Macarons but use the swiss, its the easiest. Hehehe!)

80g egg white (at room temperature)

65g caster sugar

80g ground almond

140g icing sugar

1/2tsp lemon juice

colouring powder (of your choice), you can use concentrate or powder, but don't use the liquid type to avoid runny mixture 

Filling

Chocolate Ganache

100g dark chocolate 

50g whipping cream

Method

Swiss Meringue Macarons:

1. Line 2-3 baking trays with baking sheet  

2. Use a round cookie cutter, press it into some cocoa powder or flour.

3. Use the cookies cutter to make some round imprint on the silicon sheet and set aside.

4. Sift icing sugar and almond together and set aside.

5. Pour sugar and egg white into a heatproof pan and place it over a saucepan of simmering water.

6. Stir constantly until sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch (about 50 to 55C).

7. Pour the egg white and lemon juice into the mixing bowl with the whisk attachment and beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks then add in the powder colouring.

8. Continue to beat until the egg white has cooled down and it look smooth and shiny. (medium peak but not dry) DO NOT OVER WHIP. 

9. Fold in the sifted mixture in 4 portions into the meringue. Do not over fold batter until it turn watery, batter should be slightly thicker than cake batter.

10.Spoon batter into a piping bag and pipe it within the round imprint which had made earlier on.

11.Let the macarons to rest for at least 30mins. I rested mine for an hour and they came out fine.

12.Preheat oven to 150C.

13.Bake a tray at a time for 20-25mins, depend on individual oven. 

14.Let macarons rest on the tray for at least 5 minutes before removing them from the baking sheet. Let cool on a wire rack. 

Chocolate Ganache:

1. Heat up the whipping cream.

2. Pour it into the dark chocolate and stir until it melted and smooth (I used toblerone since I have some bars left from my Double Chocolate Bundt Cake)

3. Leave it aside to set. (Slightly thicken for piping.)

Green Chicken Curry

This dish is definitely not for the faint hearted. 

With 8 green chillies, its literally mouth-watering, molten lava hot and sweat glands tumping kind of dish of the brave hearts. Be that as it may, the temperature mellows down, and the warmth leaves your body - and soon you will not remember that at one point you were sucking you breath - when you pair this dish off with a cup or two of fragrant jasmine rice.

Or you can just simply cut down the chillies. :))

On the day that I was about to make the green chicken curry, I found out, much to my chagrin, that my hand blender wasn't working. Since I am not fond of reading equipment manuals, I inadvertently used my hand blender to mix my dough the day before. Note to self: Read the manual before using the equipment. A hand blender is obviously for blending (or milling) and not a kneading machine. Hahaha! No wonder I  smelled burning wires while I was mixing my dough. My hand blender apparently died on me due to my ____ (fill in the blank with whatever word you think suits my action. Lol!). Good thing, the equipment was still under warranty so I was able to return it a day after I made this dish. I think the sales personnel just plainly pretended oblivious and completely ignored the truth that it was really my fault. Nice one, Myer! :))

What with all the ingredients needed to be crushed, my little boy came to the rescue. We were left with no choice but to pound the ingredients with the ever reliable mortar and pestle. And so huff and puff and pound and pound my little boy went. Whew!

But if the philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli were to describe the whole process, then he will surely say: The end justifies the means. Lol!

After all the crushing, grinding and pounding, this dish is worth the wait. Yummy!

(A)

750gm chicken pieces, chopped into smaller pieces and marinate with 1 tsp salt for 30 minutes (my little boy loves chicken drumsticks so I used 750g of chicken drumsticks.)

1 russet potato or any other floury potatoes, peeled and cubed

(B)

8 green chillies (seeds partially removed, if you want more heat)

2 lemon grass (4 inches from the base) 

3-4 shallots

2 cloves garlic

Thumb sized ginger

Pinkie sized belacan/shrimp paste

1 Tbsp oil

(C )

1 tbsp coriander seeds

½ Tbsp cumin seeds

1 tsp black pepper

(D)

200ml thick coconut milk

Salt to taste

Oil for cooking

Handful of Thai basil

1. Blend (B) plus 3 Tbsp coconut cream (skim the top of the 200ml coconut milk) until it becomes a smooth paste

2. Mill (C ) until fine (If you have a blender, use it to liquify your ingredients)

3. Heat wok and put in 1 tbsp oil and fry (c ) until fragrant, put in (B) and cook until it is very fragrant.

4. Put in chicken and potatoes. Cook for 2 minutes

5. Put in water to cover chicken and cook until potato turns tender.

6. Reduce gravy to desired amount and put in coconut milk. Season with salt.

7. When curry has come to a boil, put in basil leaves and give it a toss and dish up. Serve hot with rice.

Stromboli

Or Savoury Roulade

I have lost count of the number of cookbooks I have.  I cut out recipes from newspapers, plastic packages and even from the back of tomato sauce cans. I still do this to this day and age. I also have a moleskine notebook with all my favourite recipes and a tiny notebook with my old recipes and recipes I have memorised from TV cooking shows tucked away somewhere. My beautiful Mom used to do these as well. She was the original sentimental queen. But hey, I am proud to wear on my sleeve and take to heart that I'm a chip off the old block indeed. 

This beautiful, delicious and savoury roulade is lifted from "Mama's Italian Cookbook, Just like mama used to make" cookbook and truly channels the Italian ragazza in me.


Buon appetito!

Makes 1 loaf

675g/1 lb 8 oz strong white flour

2 1/2 tsp easy-blend dried yeast

2 tsp sea salt flakes

3 tbsp olive oil, plus water for greasing

350 ml/ 12 fl oz lukewarm water

Filling

85g/ 3 oz thinly sliced Italian salami

300g/10 1/2 oz diced mozzarella cheese

handful of basil leaves

2 red peppers, roasted, peeled, deseeded and sliced pepper

Combine the flour, yeast and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, then stir in the oil with enough water to make a soft dough.

Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface and knead for about 10 minutes. Cover and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour, until doubled in sized (I suggest keep it inside your cooled, dark and lurky (hahaha!) oven).

Knead lightly for 2-3 minutes, until smooth. Cover and leave to stand for a further 10 minutes. Roll out the dough to a rectangle about 38x25 cm/15x10 inches, and 1 cm/1/2 inch thick

Preheat the over to 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7.

Grease a baking sheet. Spread the salami over the dough and top with the cheese, basil and red peppers. Season with pepper. Roll up firmly from the long side, pinch the ends and put on the prepared baking sheet. Join underneath, cover and leave to stand for 10 minutes

Pierce the roll deeply several times with a skewer. Brush with oil and sprinkle with the remaining salt. Bake in the preheated over for 30-35 minutes, until firm and golden. Leave to cool on a wire rack. Serve fresh and warm, cut into thick slices.

Glazed Fruit Tart

"I do not know what it is about you that closes

and opens. Only something in me understands

the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses.

Nobody, not even the rain has such small COLD hands.” - E.E.Cummings

I dont know why this poem keeps reverberating throughout the hollow corners of my kitchen every time I do playtimes with pies and tarts. Its not because Im hallucinating or something. I don't intend to bastardise such eloquence that is E.E. Cumming's poem by changing a word or two either.

But this poem reminds me of what Ada told me about my small cold hands, working to my advantage, doing magic on doughs and crusts. My pies and tarts turn out almost perfect in all occasions; and kneading is nothing short of bliss.  

Ada is a former colleague of my little boy from work and she is Italian. I have to put stress on Italian because if you truly knew me, anything Italian is my kryptonite. I go weak at the knees about Italy. I soaked in their culture, people, language, music and especially their food. In my past and next lives, I am an Italian ragazza (woman). Lol! And so anything that Ada says about food is gold. At least to me. She used to say while munching on my food," I can feel the love from those small hands". I always looked forward to my little boy's accounts after a day's worth in the office especially about Ada. Such an animated, quintessential Italian woman she definitely is.

Anyway, going back to my cold hands, Ada said that cold hands keep the dough intact. Thus, making your dough perfectly moulded on your pie/tart tin. You have to work on the dough very quickly lest your dough becomes very sticky and difficult to mould and a pair of cold hands gives you more air time to craft and mould without ruining the intactness of the dough . The trick of the trade is that when the dough gets very sticky, pop it quickly in your freezer for 10 minutes then work on it again. A stone benchtop helps too - since it doesn't trap heat. 

It doesn't mean that you can no longer make pies and tarts if you aint got a pair of cold hands. Run them through cold water or hold a pack of ice, then you are off to a good start.

Ingredients:

1 recipe basic sweet crust

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 recipe basic pastry cream

680g (1 1/2 lb) assorted fresh fruits, such as thinly sliced pears, plums, peaches, kiwis, berries and grapes (you can also use tropical fruits but make sure they are not the soggy type) Stone fruits are still the best.

55g (2 oz) apricot jelly or strained apricot jam

1 tsp water

Preheat the over to 200C (400F/ Gas mark 6). Roll out the pastry and line a 23 cm (9-in) tart tin. Prick the surface with a fork and chill for 10 minutes in the freezer. Bake blind for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the base of the tart with lightly beaten egg.

Return to the over for 10 to 5 minutes until the edges are brown and the base of the crust is golden. Transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Assemble the tart as close to serving time as possible.

Whisk the cooled pastry cream and fill the tart shell, smoothing the top with a spatula. Carefully arrange the fruit in a decorative pattern over the pastry cream

Warm apricot jelly in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the water and stir until smooth. Using a pastry brush, glaze the fruit.

Basic sweet crust:

140g (5 oz) plain flour

1/4 tsp salt

55g (4 oz) caster sugar

115g (4 oz) unsalted butter

1 large egg yolk

1-2 tbsp ice-cold water

Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into small chunks and add to the flour mixture. Using a pastry blender or two knives in a criss-crossing motion, blend the butter into the flour mixture until it has the consistency of damp sand, with a few pea-sized pieces remaining.

Using a fork or wire whisk, beat the egg yolk with the cold water. Slowly pour the egg mixture over the flour, stirring only until the mixture has become moistened. The dough should stick together and be able to hold the form of a ball. Cover the ball with plastic wrap. Smooth the ball of the dough with a rolling pin so it forms a flat disc that fills the corners of the plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of half an hour. (If it has been chilled for a long time, it may need to soften slightly at room temperature before use.)

To roll out the piecrust, unwrap the disc and place on a lightly floured rolling surface. Roll the dough from the center of the disc to the edge, until the crust is the desired thickness and 2.5 cm (1 in) wider than the pie tin by rolling it onto the rolling pin and then positioning it over the pie tin. Carefully press the dough into the pie tin. If any cracks appear during the transfer, use lightly floured fingers to push the seams back together. If you cannot transfer the entire piece of dough at once, do not panic - this dough patches easily. Simply cover the base of the tart tin with the main portion of the dough, and use the scraps to cover the sides. Trim the excess from the edge of the tart crust.

Basic pastry cream:

This useful pastry cream can be made up to 1 day ahead

115g (4 oz) sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

2 tbsp cornflour

235 ml (8 fl oz) whole milk

120 ml (4 fl oz) whipping cream

2 tsp vanilla essence

Combine the sugar, eggs, egg yolk and cornflour in a medium bowl. Set aside. Place the milk and cream in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, or in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over low heat. Bring to a simmer and remove from the heat. Slowly whisk the hot milk and cream into the sugar mixture. When smooth, return to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken. Bring the thickened mixture to the boil and cook for 1 minute, still whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Place plastic wrap or parchment paper on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and chill in the refrigerator until needed, or for a minimum of 3 hours.

Egg in a cup

Note: For non-pork eaters, use pastirma or cured beef

It is in my humble opinion that Australia has the best bacon in the world; crispy, only a tad salty and tastes how real bacon should. Australia uses the loin in the middle of the back of the pig which is a lean meaty cut of bacon, with less fat compared to other cuts.  This recipe is a fitting celebration of that.

My little boy treated me like I was the food goddess when I served him this dish the first time one morning. Lol! It  was as if I have moved the famed El Bulli restaurant into our humble abode. When in fact this dish is simply about thinking outside the box or shall I say, pun included, thinking inside a cup.

Enjoy!

*Adapted from http://cafefernando.com

Serves 2

Ingredients

5-6 slices of pastirma (or bacon or ham)

1 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil

1 large tomato

2 eggs, separated

2 tbsp grated cheese

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat your oven to 350F.

To prepare the three minute tomato sauce, peel the tomato and squeeze to remove juice and seeds (if you do this in a bowl, you can use the juice and seeds later in a salad). Chop the tomato finely and cook with 1 tbsp of olive oil for about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and put aside.

Take a muffin tin (if you don’t have one, you can use soufflé cups instead) and oil the cups with 1 tsp of olive oil, place the slices of pastirma inside, leaving a quarter inch overhang from the edge of the cup (be careful not to leave any gaps between or beneath the slices, though). Cook in the oven until crispy, for about 3 minutes.

Take the muffin tin out of the oven, add one teaspoon of tomato sauce on the bottom and place the egg whites on the top. Cook until the whites are slightly stiff (the upper part should still be somewhat transparent, again 2-3 minutes at most).

Take the muffin tin out of the oven again, add one more teaspoon of tomato sauce and place the egg yolks very carefully in the middle. At this point, I recommend to use the lower shelf of the oven (egg yolks cook very quickly and the tops get wrinkled with direct heat). Cook until the egg yolks gently wobble when you shake the muffin cups, for about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle grated cheese on the top and serve hot.

Sweet buns

These buns remind me of Asian countries for some reason. I have had the opportunity to travel around Asia in the past and I would often see these sweet buns in patisseries. While their buns look more sensational, these buns are otherwise at par in terms of taste, perhaps even better. They are soft, spongy, and sweet (but doesn't seem overwhelming). I actually didn't sweat over them, I was a tad lazy to knead so I used my mixer with a dough hook all the way. 

These buns also remind me of home, perhaps its the whiff of goodness that is hard to come by these days, or the promise of a nice meal ahead (Filipinos looove to eat! and Im no exception; I know my food. I love my food).

I was so chuffed when I was removing the buns from the oven - and with a thought bubble to end my adventure: these buns really made me. I am a baker. Finally. Lol!

Please try this recipe out. It will not disappoint. 

*Adapted from http://wendyinkk.blogspot.com

Ingredients:

500gm bread flour/high protein flour

100gm sugar

50gm milk powder 

11gm yeast (1 sachet)

220ml water

1 big pinch of sugar

1 egg

85gm butter

1/2 tsp salt

1. Proof yeast with water and pinch of sugar until mixture turns frothy.

2. Mix bread flour, sugar and milk powder together. Make a well in the centre.

3. When (1) is ready, beat in 1 egg and pour into (2).

4. Knead dough for 10 minutes (15 by hand) Dough should be smooth by now.

5. Knead in butter and salt. It feels very oily.Continue to knead for another 10 minutes (15 by hand) or until dough is very stretchable.

6. Shape dough into a ball and cover with cling wrap, leaving a small hole by the side. Or you can place it in a pot and cover with a lid.

7. Leave to proof for 45 mins or until almost triple ), or until you can make a dent in the dough that doesn't spring back.

8. Punch down and knead for 1 minute. Divide into desired sizes and shape. Do not put toppings at this stage.

9. After shaping let proof for another hour or until more than double. Brush with egg white. Put on desired topppings.

10. Preheat oven. Bake buns at 160C for 12 minutes, or loaves at 150C for 20 minutes.

Varieties:

- just add moistened raisins to the dough, made into 6 80gm buns and put in a tube pan. Egg white glaze. 

- cheddar and sugar topping. Mix together and drizzle on top 60gm buns
- grated cheddar mixed with some egg and sugar. Spread on top of plaited 60gm buns

Double Chocolate Bundt Cake

If the mixed paella can almost make you forget your name, this double chocolate bundt cake will definitely bring back your childhood memories. And you know why? 7 ounces of Toblerone gooey giddy childish goodness, baby!

No Valentine's Day is complete without a chocolate package on the side. This Double Chocolate Bundt cake is your chocolate package on Valentine's Day, two times bigger. 

This cake is seemingly the key to help you lock away the Mixed Paella dish well and truly into your good memories trove.

I got the recipe from http://cafefernando.com. And if you happened to be in the know, Cafe Fernando is a well known blogsite to all the foodies and food bloggers out there. I only have utmost respect to the author. I have tried one recipe to the other, and the recipes never fail to amaze me. The prolific blogger/author's sweet creations seem fool proofed  from mediocrity. 

This cake, albeit the overflowing lava chocolate goodness, will not make you umay (translation: fed up, tired). Hahaha! I was trying to find a proper english word for it but umay (its a filipino word) seems quite unique a word to best describe the "fed-up on chocolate goodness". May I repeat, this cake is not umay. And despite the butter overload (200 grams and a bit more), the cake still tastes light and fluffy. And don't forget, the cake is easy to make. :)

One more thing, I actually assumed that Toblerone has plain milk and dark chocolate flavours and vaguely recall that I tasted those in the past. Hmmm. I also assumed that the recipe requires for a bar of 'plain' milk or dark chocolate but we can only find milk chocolate 'with honey and almond nougat' on the grocery shelves. I was really confused. Lol! With faith in my heart, I made the cake nonetheless with my bar of Toblerone milk chocolate with honey and almond nougat. The result speaks for itself; this is got to be my favorite chocolate cake. Ever.

You only have one problem about this cake though: you keep coming back for more. 

  

*Adapted from http://cafefernando.com

CHOCOLATE BUNDT CAKE RECIPE

Ingredients

• 2+1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 7 ounces Toblerone milk chocolate (or bittersweet), chopped (Honey and almond nougat toblerone will do as well)
• 8 ounces butter, plus more for pan
• 1 + 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 eggs + 1 egg white
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 325F (170C).
2. Butter a 14-cup Bundt cake pan and set aside.
3. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl. Whisk and set aside.
4. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Place chopped chocolate in a small bowl and pour hot cream, through a sieve, over the chopped chocolate. Stir until smooth and creamy in texture.
5. Add buttermilk and place in the refrigerator until cool (room temperature is enough).
6. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until fluffy.
7. Add the eggs (and the egg white) and beat until combined.
8. Stir in vanilla extract.
9. On low speed, add the flour mixture in three equal amounts alternating with the chocolate batter, ending with flour.
10. Pour the batter into the Bundt pan and bake for 55-60 minutes (or until a wooden toothpick insterted in center comes out clean). If the toothpick is wet, bake 5 more minutes and check again.
11. Let cool in pan, invert onto a serving plate and start preparing the chocolate ganache glaze.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE GLAZE RECIPE

Ingredients

• 4.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (%70), chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp light corn syrup (optional)

Method 

In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Place chopped chocolate, butter and corn syrup in a small bowl and pour hot cream, through a sieve, over the chopped chocolate. Stir until smooth and creamy in texture. Let stand, stirring occasionally until slightly thickened.

Pour over the cooled cake, slice and serve.