helen_bakes

EDIT: clearly I didn't manage to finish this before 2013, so I'll just keep going until I'm done :)

Week 1 (29/10-4/11) - ALL DONE, BLOG POSTS HERE AND HERE.

potato gratin dauphinoise
blackforest heart cupcakes
ferrero rocher cupcakes

bonus: spiced apple cupcakes with brie frosting

( all the way till the end of decemberCollapse )

Two hits and one miss in this post! I haven't had the time to bake much recently because of work, which is a very sad thing. These were all baked over the past month or so and I finally have time to blog about them.

( First off I tried the Balzano apple cake.Collapse )

Two savoury recipes today! I'm not very big on meat, but when I do eat it I like chicken for its versatility and ease of cooking.

( First recipe is roasted drumsticks marinated in soy sauce, honey and garlic.Collapse )

I'm just going to start off with telling you that this recipe is a definite keeper. I rarely roast or bake fish because I always seem to end up with too-dry fish and a house smelling of seafood [yech]. However, this super simple recipe produces fish that is anything but dry and the only smells you'll have will be of delicious cream and herbs. Really easy to put together but impressive in how good it is, both taste- and nutrition-wise.

Taken from Nourished Kitchen, and I halved the portions using only one fillet of salmon.

( cut for recipe and picturesCollapse )

I love apples. I really do. I'll eat anything with apples in it even if it contains other ingredients I usually avoid - apple strudel is a good example of this. I carefully scrape out the custard and then attack the rest of it like there's no tomorrow. This is why every time I come across a recipe for apple cake or apple muffins I think I've found the best. recipe. ever.

( This time, however, I really, honestly, really have.Collapse )

I was so so excited about this - my very first order from my colleague's sister-in-law. My colleague loves Milo, and her sister-in-law had seen the pictures from the first time I'd tried the milo cupcakes. She ordered 12, and while I was so happy to have someone want to buy my baking, I was also terribly afraid the whole thing would come out awful :((

In any case, I forged ahead bravely. I adapted the recipe a bit from when I'd made it the first time - I lessened the amount of caster sugar to 100g, and increased the Milo to 200g in order to get a stronger Milo flavour.

My colleague's sis-in-law had wanted some kind of purple theme, so I decided to go with purple frosting - but then it wouldn't be me if there weren't any last-minute disasters.



Guys, this stuff is nasty. I tasted a bit of this just before I was going to actually frost the cupcakes and nearly fainted. It tastes, basically, like sweet chemicals. There was no way I was going to use this, so I quickly whipped up a simple buttercream which, even though it wasn't purple, wouldn't at least make people gag from the taste of it. I was a bit worried at this point because the only other purple thing I was going to add to the cupcakes were little purple sparkles, but beggars can't be choosers. See what I mean about last-minute disasters? At least now I know never to buy this frosting again.





The smell of the batter while it's being made and while it's baking is awesome. Just makes your entire house smell like childhood and happiness and cartoons. I added edible gold dust to some Milo that I was going to sprinkle on top of the cupcakes and omg, so pretty! I'm such a sucker for sparkly things.

Oh, and that batter? It was supposed to yield 10-12 cupcakes. I got twenty-five. /shakes head



The result! I was so immensely proud of myself for this, because the majority of my bakes never ever come out goodlooking. I put a milo nugget on top, and sprinkled tiny edible gold hearts and purple sparkles over the whole thing and ugh, so pretty. I completely take back what I've said before about cupcakes not needing to be pretty. How could I have been so wrong?



Another picture taken by my friend the next day. First order, done! :D

Two recipes today, one very asian and one very american. Let's start with the one that I preferred immensely, the pandan chiffon cake. I was really agonising over this one because it's not easy to get the right chiffon cake texture - really light and soft and fluffy. AND I DID IT. But god is fair, so the pandan taste and colour didn't come out very strongly. However, it was still lovely to eat and so satisfying to have achieved the right texture on the first try.

Recipe is from Almost Bourdain and makes about 16 servings [from a normal-sized bundt cake pan.]

( pandan chiffon cakeCollapse )

Now on to the american-style recipe. Be warned - this is very emphatically not for those who don't like sweet things. This is a Martha Stewart recipe, so it's quite foolproof. And sweet. I halved the recipe to give 6 (very sweet) cupcakes.

( coconut cupcakesCollapse )

Today I tackled a traditional Malay dessert called kuih dadar here in Singapore. It's basically a silky-soft crepe made from pandan juice, coconut milk and flour, with a wonderful gula melaka [palm sugar] and shredded coconut filling. It was very satisfying to make my own [misshapen] kuih dadar because it's something I've eaten since I was a child. Being able to make traditional food somehow makes me feel very grown-up :)

Recipe from Almost Bourdain, who predictably has much prettier pictures than I do. She also gives a step-by-step tutorial of how to fill and roll the crepes, which is really helpful.

Makes 8

Pandan crepes:
4 pandan leaves, cut into small pieces with kitchen scissors
200 ml water
100 ml coconut milk
1 egg
120 g plain flour, sieved
Pinch of salt

Coconut & Palm Sugar Filling:
70 g shredded coconut (note: you can use dessicated coconut but I prefer the texture of the shredded coconut)
60 g dark palm sugar (Gula Melaka)
1 pandan leaf, tied into a knot
3 tbsp water

Method:
To make the Coconut & Palm Sugar Filling: Heat the palm sugar with water in a small saucepan until the sugar is melted. Add pandan leaf and shredded coconut. Mix well and continue to cook under low heat for 2-3 minutes.

To make the Pandan Crepes: use a blender to blend pandan leaves and water together. Squeeze out all the juice through a fine sieve into a large bowl. Add coconut milk and egg in the pandan juice and mix well with a whisk. Add flour and whisk until lump free. Use a sieve if neccessary.

Heat a 6-inch non-stick fry pan with medium low heat. Spray a thin layer of oil. Pour 1/4 cup of the crepe batter to the pan and swirl to cover the pan. Cook for 1 minute and turn over for another minute or until cooked. Repeat until all the batter is finished. Lay a crepe on a plate surface, spoon 1 1/2 tbsp of the coconut and palm sugar filling and roll it up like the shape of spring roll. Repeat with the rest of the crepes.

Mine came out way too fat because I put too much filling in, but if you've tasted gula melaka then you'll know why. I also need to work on making the crepes more even. I found there was no need for oil in the pan as long as you have a really good non-stick pan, but if you are using oil, use sparingly! The crepes are not meant to be oily. Try to make them as thin as you can.

Tomorrow, pandan chiffon cake!

This week is off to a good start! Two delicious successes.

( apple pie muffinsCollapse )

( tiramisu cupcakesCollapse )