BAKING CLASSES & OTHER FUN STUFF

June 25 

Decided to sign up for a baking course with Catherine (who I fondly nicknamed 小猫 or Little Cat).  We've known each other since, like 1990 (or thereabouts).  Now, we'll be stuck in the same class for three consecutive Wednesdays.  We're making use of our SkillsFuture credits supported by the Singapore government so the entire course is free!

In the first class, we learnt to make two emerald-coloured cakes - Pandan Chiffon Cake, and Ondeh Ondeh Cake.

We started by working together one cake batter, then split it into two to bake and decorate invididually.

We were supposed to whip the egg whites to a medium peak.  Instead, we beat it to a stiff peak!

July 2

Learnt to make Chocolate Cupcake with Choc Buttercream, and Lychee Rose Cheesecake.  It eez very French (think Ispahan by Pierre Hermé).  I thought the cheesecake looked quite stunning.  Unfortunately, Little Cat said it looked like an Onion Cake!

July 3

Ate French-Alsatian  food with Joycelyn at the homey La Table d’Emma.  Ooooh such fine quality food.  The food is very rich so I'd probably only come back in another five months or so.  One cannot have too much of a good thing.

July 9

Exam Day in SSA Culinary Institute.  Revisited recipes for Ondeh Ondeh Cake, and Choc Cupcake with Buttercream.  

I don't get this.

**

Our neighbourhoods are now overrun with chickens.  

I had feared that sparrows might have become extinct.  I'm so pleased to still spot a number of them during my morning walks these past weeks.  

Fav pics:

 

SLUGGISH SUNDAY

 

A Sunday just the way I like it.  Nowhere to rush to.  Took my time to bake a cake.

I've made this French-style lemon yogurt cake countless times.  The recipe is incredibly easy and totally foolproof.  Everyone loves the addition of unblanched almond flour, and Greek yogurt.  

Today, I purposely baked the cakes for a tiny bit more time so the tops have more colour.  Dorie Greenspan says that when you’re baking, color equals flavor and I totally agree. :D

Once the cake is completely cool, you may like to drizzle a lemon glaze over it using a tablespoon.  Today I've omitted the glaze.

FALLING SHORT ON HAPPINESS

Here's my photo of a much-too-sweet banana bread that I won't be making again.

Today as I was making this banana bread, I suddenly recalled something that happened years ago.  It was a Saturday and I had just removed a tray of freshly baked mini banana muffins from the oven.  When I offered them to my dad, he smiled coldly and pushed them away without uttering a word.  “But why?” I remember asking but he refused to speak.  He never touched that tray of muffins.  A cold shoulder was his way of telling me, “I’m mad about something you said/did.  Now go reflect.”

I get that a lot from my dad.  I’m expected to figure out what his problem with me was without him actually telling me what it was.  

He is in a nursing home now but some days my mind involuntarily plays back all the heartache, emotional blackmail, and endless mental abuse that he inflicted upon me for over 30 years.  On such days, I fall short on happiness.

Today is such a day.

BAKING AGAIN

Happy birthday to me.  You can now follow Chilli Crab on Instagram !

I had friends over on Sunday afternoon and because I had promised to produce a cake for tea, I got off my butt and started baking again.  I baked one on Sunday, a second yesterday, and one more today.

I've made this Lemon Yogurt Cake again and again for almost a decade.  Usually I use blanched almond flour that is readily available in the local supermarket.  Today I'm using unblanched Australian Almond Meal for the first time.  It's not as fine and I do like the reddish tone that the almond skin brings to the cake.  "Grainy," my mum commented after her first bite.  "Rustic," I decided.

Australian Almond Meal

Chilli Crab Kitchen is on IG.

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NOTHING LIKE HOMEMADE

Other than arthritis of the neck, Dad has weakness in the legs which means that he would have to undergo physiotherapy to strengthen those muscles. Basically he is deemed Fall Risk and there's no telling whether he would fall again at home so he will have to remain in the hospital for another week or so.  When I visited him last evening the staff informed me that Dad was caught trying to sneak into the washroom unsupervised. Bad boy! 

The hospital ward came alive with visitors yesterday.  Even his brother came, family in tow.  I'v never seen Dad smiled so much.  Like a kid, Dad loves being fussed over.

Some weeks ago I brought home a small butter loaf from a neighbourhood bakery.  According to Mum, Dad ate it over a span of several days, saving whatever he could not finish in the fridge. He even commented that the cake remained “smooth as silk” throughout.  That got me worried about what actually went into that cake!  

Nothing compares to homemade. At least I know what's in it!  I baked this for Dad who is still in the hospital.

POUND CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS

The Pound Cake refers to a type of cake traditionally made with a pound each of four ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar.  The French call it "Quatre quarts" (literally "4 fourths"), which again reflects the equal amounts of the 4 ingredients.  

I used a 14-cm (5-1/2 inch) mini Bundt pan (chanced upon it while shopping in Taipei some years ago) but a foil loaf pan that measures 20.5cm x 10cm at the rim would also work.  You can find it in SKP. 

100 grams all-purpose flour 

2/3 teaspoon baking powder 

100 grams egg 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

100 grams salted butter 

100 grams caster sugar 

50 grams semi-sweet chocolate chips 

Place a rack in the centre of your oven and preheat the oven at 180 degrees C. 

Lightly butter and flour a 2-cup (14-cm) Bundt pan. Have all ingredients at room temperature. 

Sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Set aside. 

In a small bowl, lightly beat together the egg and vanilla extract. 

In a mixing bowl, beat butter until creamy and smooth then add sugar. Continue to beat until the mixture is very light in colour and texture. Add the egg very slowly, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat until mixture is fluffy and pale ivory in colour. Add flour mixture in 3 - 4 additions, then stir in the chocolate chips. 

Spoon the batter into prepared pan, and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake the cake until the top springs back when pressed lightly and a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out free of batter, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 10 – 15 minutes before turning the cake out of the pan. 

Enjoy it with black coffee.

分享

上週日做了简单的 double chocolate muffin，备受好评。马来族同事 Z向我讨食谱，她看不懂中文，我把书中的食谱译成英文，让她也可以做出适合自己口味的点心。能与朋友分享好事物，往往胜过独自拥有。

 

小时候家中不富裕，生日时母亲不曾为我煮面线鸡蛋，更别想买蛋糕了。有一年母亲竟然带了个蛋糕回来，那是一个圆形的牛油蛋糕，直径6、7寸左右吧，上面有几颗 红色的glaced cherries 点缀。没插上蜡烛，也没有特别喜庆的感觉。

今天翻出大理石磅蛋糕的食谱，回忆当年那段朴实的庆生。40年后的今天，所用的材料比从前讲究多了。日本面粉、法国奶油、Valrhona 巧克力、来自Madagascar的香草精、有机鸡蛋一一随手可取。蛋糕不论在味道还是外观都比从前更具魅力。

吃大理石磅蛋糕能同时享受两种口味，你会与谁分享？

MARBLE POUND CAKE 大理石磅蛋糕

Adapted from 我的幸福烘焙廚房: 205道經典烘焙食譜, 完整收藏!

Makes one 14-cm bundt

Cake (divide into 2 portions)

100 grams butter

100 grams caster sugar

100 grams egg

Pure vanilla extract

Vanilla portion

50 grams cake flour

1/3 teaspoon baking powder

Chocolate portion

40 grams cake flour

10 grams Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/3 teaspoon baking powder

20 grams chocolate, melted

Method: Creaming

Oven temperature: 170 - 180ºC

Baking duration: 40 - 50 minutes

简单就是幸福

昨天应朋友MS 邀请到她家里小聚。因工作的关系MS的先生将在今年低携着一家四口到印尼生活一段时期。

天气持续闷热好多天，前晚拜托老天爷赐点雨水。昨天早上当真下起豪雨， 只好撑伞出门。走在湿答答的路上心里直埋冤：雨就不能聚餐后才下吗？忽然不知怎的 脚下一滑，回过神来已是四脚朝天地躺在行人道上！是老天爷在骂我：没雨水的时候你 complain；雨下了你又嫌下的早啦，到底是想怎样?!

今天是 bank holiday，所以明天（週一）不用去上班 ，真的好开心喔!  将上个週日晚秤好的材料从冰箱里取出，做简单的 double chocolate muffin。能和年迈的父母围着餐桌，看着他们品尝着我亲手做的小点心，也算是一种幸福吧？

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE MUFFINS 巧克力玛芬

Adapted from 我的幸福烘焙廚房: 205道經典烘焙食譜, 完整收藏!

Makes 12 standard-size muffins

140 grams butter

120 grams sugar

Salt

2 eggs

140 grams milk

220 grams cake flour

40 grams Dutch-process cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

100 grams chocolate chips + more for decor

Method: Creaming

Oven temperature: 180ºC / 350ºF

Baking duration: 20 minutes

GIFT FROM MAKI: EMERALD MATCHA

It's been over a month since Ken Hsu brought books back from Taipei.  I've only just started browsing 《東京麵包屋: 職人嚴選60款日式手感私家麵包》and the first recipe that caught my eye is the Matcha Pound Cake (page 162). I had asked Maki whether she could buy some matcha powder from Japan. She did so, picking a matcha that was meant specially for baking. I'm holding the cup next to the window so you can check out its gorgeous shade of emerald.

The recipe makes three 8 x 15.5cm cakes.  The smallest tins I own measure 8.5 x 17cm.  As a result my cakes didn't achieve the height I was expecting.  Frankly, I didn't think they looked appealing.  The tops were a dull brown and I felt that the emerald hardly came through. 

I gingerly cut into one and it was velvety. My father bit into a still-warm slice, grinned and said the texture was light and that he loved the crust. My mother pointed out that the insides has many tiny holes.  I wonder if holes are a good thing?

I brough the cake to work and left it at the usual "sharing" table in the centre of the office.  At the end of the day, a coworker approached me in the pantry, "Were you the one who brought in the matcha cake?  I'm a huge matcha fan and your cake is gorgeous!"

CHRISTMAS BAKING: CRANBERRY-ORANGE WALNUT BREAD

  

I recently rediscovered the recipe for this Cranberry-Orange Walnut Tea Bread. I had it scribbled in an old diary. I don't remember where the recipe came from. I do remember, however, the person who gave me the diary. I also remember that I bought the Christmas linen (featured in the photo above) during a day trip to the Blue Mountains, NSW in 1999. Three days ago, I retrieved it from my cupboard and put it up on a hanger to air it. Yesterday, it wasn't on the hanger anymore. I searched high and low only to find that I had already returned it to the drawer myself. 

They say that people with dementia can remember things from long ago, but not things from a few minutes ago. So if you ask me what I had for lunch today, my answer is "I can't recall it now but check back with me again in ten years and I'll tell you."

CRANBERRY-ORANGE WALNUT TEA BREAD
Makes one 7" x 7" cake

75 grams butter, softened
150 grams sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
110 grams fresh orange juice
110 grams buttermilk
260 grams all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
65 grams dried fruit (I used a mixture of chopped dried cranberries, glazed cherries, orange peel and raisins)
65 grams chopped walnuts

Preheat your oven at 180 degrees C.  Line a 7" x 7" pan with parchment paper. (In the original recipe, the bread is baked in a 9" x 5" pan.)

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter until creamy and smooth then add sugar, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Continue to beat until the mixture is very light in colour and texture.

Add the egg very slowly, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until mixture is fluffy and pale ivory in colour. Stir in the vanilla extract, orange juice, then buttermilk.  Add flour mixture in 3 - 4 additions until incorporated.  Fold in the dried fruits and walnuts.

Spoon batter into prepared pan, and spread evenly with a rubber spatula.

Bake the cake until the top springs back when pressed lightly and a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out free of batter, 50 - 55 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 10 – 15 minutes before turning the cake out of the pan.

Enjoy!

MULTI-TASKING

It has been hard to juggle between work and elderly parents, and still find time for photo trips and baking. I really need to put in more effort in time management.

On Saturday I paid a visit to Little India and came home with some great shots.

My parents wanted to have fish porridge in Chinatown yesterday.  On the way we stopped by to shop at two Chinese medical halls which my mother frequents but they were both closed!  I know it's Hari Raya but I had expected the Chinese shops to stay open.  I guess everyone needed a holiday.

At the Zhen Zhen (真真) Porridge stall in Maxwell Road Food Market, I was in the queue for 32 minutes!!! Arghh!  If it wasn't because Dad likes the fish porridge, I swear wouldn't stay in line for more than 10.

The good thing about this Swedish Visiting Cake by Dorie Greenspan is how little effort it takes to put together. Such a easy recipe.  It doesn't involve creaming the butter or whisking egg yolks until thick.  Dorie says to bake it in a oven-proof skillet or 9-inch cake tin.  I used a 8-inch square tin.  As you can see, the cake isn't very tall so it didn't take long to bake.