Counting Down Christmas with ........(4) The Cookie Tree, Cookie Bouquet & Rice Crispie Treats

How do you like this Cookie Tree? I do like it so much. I don't think anyone would want to dismantle it and eat it, piece by piece. It would be the cruelest thing to do on earth.

As mentioned earlier, the November/December 2008 issue of Flavours Magazine will be featuring my Christmas Cookie Tree, Sugar Cookie Treats (which can be assembled into a Cookie Bouquet) and Rice Crispie Treats; the recipes and ways of decorating them. Remember to grab a copy of it if you like these treats.


In fact, I am still in the midst of making thousands of cookies for an order, rushing to get them out of the door by end of this month. Brain is still pretty occupied by the smell and taste of cookies. I just hope my love for cookies will not die out because of this recent constant baking and decorating of cookies. With a blank mind, I will just leave you all with some of the photographs I took on the treats. Will sure hope to talk more about the treats after this.......

Love,


You may also like to read:
1. Counting Down Christmas with ....... (1) The Preparation
2. Counting Down Christmas with ........(2) The Gingerbread House
3. Counting Down Christmas with ....... (3) The Christmas Cupcakes

Peanut Butter Muffins

I guess this will be the last post of this month. A couple of projects are lining up and will keep me busy until first week of November. Of course, I am hoping to be able to steal time out to share with you some of the recipes I tried recently. Let end today's short post with this simple muffin recipe which you could quickly whip up for a good breakfast.

Peanut Butter Muffins

Makes 7

Ingredients:

225g all purpose flour

100g castor sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 egg

180g milk

70g melted butter

5 tbsp peanut butter (creamy type)

Method:

1. Preheat oven at 190 degC. Arrange muffin cups on baking tray.

2. Sift flours and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add sugar into the flour mixture. Use a whisk to lightly blend the mixture.
3. In another microwavable bowl, combine egg, milk, melted butter and peanut butter. Warm the wet mixture in microwave to melt the peanut butter. Stir to aid the melting.
4. Make a well in the middle of dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon or large spatula just until all the flour is moistened. The batter should look lumpy. Do not overmix.
5. Divide batter into muffin cups. Bake muffins for 25-30 minutes or until well risen. Transfer to wire racks to let cool.

Notes:

1. Chewy texture is undesirable in the preparation of muffins. Therefore, only minimum mixing is required to produce tender products. There are two methods in the preparation of muffins, namely the muffin method and the creaming method.

a) The muffin method - Dry ingredients and wet ingredients are prepared separately in two mixing bowls. They are then mixed until the dry ingredients are just moistened by the wet ones. This method is easier and faster than the creaming method. However, there is a tendency of overmixing the batter which results in tough texture.

b) The creaming method - Fat, sugar and salt are creamed until light and fluffy. Eggs are than added, one at a time. Add liquids and finally fold in flour and baking powder. Mix until just smooth. Although this method is time consuming, possibility of overmixing is actually low.

Basic baker's percentage of muffins:

Flour 100%
Sugar 60%
Baking powder 6%
Salt 1.25%
Egg 20%
Milk 80%
Fat 30%


Love,

Steamed Moist Chocolate Cake

I love chocolate cakes, especially the really moist, fudgy rich ones. They are simply irresistible. I have to thank Anita, or Lady Vanilla for sharing this recipe at Cuisine Asia. This recipe has been a hot discussion topic at the MCDC forum so I couldn't help but to start participating in the steaming too.

As expected for all steamed cake, texture of this cake was soft and moist. The softness basically lasts for 3 days although I doubt this cake can ever take that long to disappear from your dining area. The only modification I made to the original recipe was the amount of sugar which was reduced to 180g. I may cut another 10g in my future attempt.

Love,

Counting Down Christmas with ...... (3) The Christmas Cupcakes

It's the time of the year again when mommies are busy planning for their baking; cookies, cakes, cupcakes and the big menu. Malaysia has been blessed with loads of food options and great eat outs that many families choose to eat out during the big festive days. But, a little of simple baking and decorating at home involving the kids, will somewhat keep the spirit alive. Don't you think so too? It's the involvement of the whole family in the same assingment that really counts.......


Here are two simple cupcake designs, yet elegant enough to put a smile on every face who receive them. They are projects fast enough to put up. If you are interested in learning how the above Christmas Tree is made, please head over to the MCDC forum for a detailed How-To Tutorial. I would like to see your comments too. Do let me know if you have any question, or how your love ones find about the cupcakes, if you happpened to get your hands on the decorating. Happy Baking & Decorating!

Love,



You may also like to read:
Counting Down Christmas with ....... (1) The Preparation
Counting Down Christmas with ........(2) The Gingerbread House

Counting Down Christmas with ...... (2) The Gingerbread House

Don't you think time flies? It was just like yesterday when I was preparing for the series of last year's Christmas classes, and a couple of weeks ago, I was already preparing for this year's.

My mom was and still is a great cook, but baking is really not something she is after. We didn't grow up with gingerbread houses, gingerbread men and fancy Christmas cookies. So naturally, to us, gingerbread houses were something which only appeared on kids programs and story books.

I felt like I was a kid again when I was assembling this gingerbread house kit. How enjoyable it was to be able to put those gingerbread cookie pieces together an decorated as I wished with the icing and candies. It didn't matter if it was something really easy for an instructor to decorate, it was the Christmas spirit that counted.

The November 2008 issue of Flavours Magazine will be featuring my Christmas Gingerbread Tree, Sugar Cookie Treats and Rice Cripspie Treats; the recipes and ways of decorating them. So, remember to grab a copy when it is out by end of October. You could make use of my Gingerbread Cookie recipe featured in this issue to make your own gingerbread hourse, otherwise these pre-baked gingerbread house kits are not too bad of an option to consider.


Love,



You may also like to read:

Counting Down Christmas with ....... (1) The Preparation

Aubergines in Hot Bean Sauce (辣酱茄子）

The meat and vegetable supplies were running low before the Hari Raya holiday but I couldn't drag myself to the fresh market or Carrefour (my usual grocery shopping place). I was simply lethargic. This happened to me pretty frequently indeed. I could get really lagging in shopping for food at times.

So, I was looking at the vegetable tray of the refrigerator for inspiration, or rather what ingredients could be put together for just another dish. There it was, the mini aubergines. I like aubergines but prefer to deep fry them to get rid of the 'green' smell. Sauces like yellow bean sauce, sambal or hot bean sauce are normally what I opt to go with the deep fried aubergines. Today's recipe is a typical way of how I like to cook aubergines.


Aubergines in Hot Bean Sauce (辣酱茄子）
Serves 2

Ingredients:
5 mini aubergines, cut lengthwise into 4
1-2 tsp salt for coating

2 tbsp dried shrimps, soaked till soft, chopped
3 shallots, chopped

Oil for deep frying

Seasoning:
2 tbsp hot bean sauce
3 tbsp water
1 tsp sugar or to taste


Method:

1. Put all aubergine slices into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle salt, give them a rough mix to make sure all aubergine slices are coated with salt. Set aside for 10 minutes. Drain juice of aubergines. Pat dry with kitchen towels.
2. Heat oil in wok. Deep fry aubergines until soft and golden brown. Dish up and drain oil well.
3. Saute chopped shallots and chopped dried shrimps in 1 tbsp oil until fragrant. Add in bean sauce, water and taste with sugar. Bring it to a boil.
4. Add in aubergines. Give contents a quick stir to make sure all aubergines are coated with sauce. Dish up and serve hot.

Easy Sweet & Sour Chicken (简易糖醋鸡）

The first time I came across chicken popcorns was at a dinner at my brother-in-law's place. My sister-in-law cooked them the simple way; just deep fried without having any sauce to go with them. First bite and I liked it straight away. There were not as meaty as chicken nuggets neither they were too battery with just flour.

I have always liked to pair these chicken popcorns with sweet and sour sauce. This dish has never failed to be the winner on our dining table. I hope it will the same case on yours too :)

Easy Sweet & Sour Chicken (简易糖醋鸡)

Ingredients:

1 packet (400g) chicken popcorns

Sauce:

2 medium size onions, cut into wedges

1 tomato, cut into wedges

3-4 tbsp cooking oil for stir frying

2-3 tbsp tomato sauce

100ml water

1/2 tsp rice vinegar (optional)

2 tsp sugar

Cornstarch + water, as thickener

Method:

1. Deep fry chicken popcorns according to direction on packaging.

2. Heat oil in a work/pan till smoky hot. Fry onion till fragrant, add in tomato wedges and continue to fry for about half a minute.

3. Add water, bring to a boil. Cook until tomato is soft. Taste with vinegar and sugar.

4. Add in cornstach solution to thicken the sauce. Return fried chicken popcorns to wok and give it a quick stir such that all chicken popcorns are coated with sauce.

5. Serve hot with white rice or fried noodles.

Notes:

1. To enhance flavour and color of sauce, add in canned pineapple slices, red and green capcicums instead of just tomatoes and onions.

Chicken popcorns