BUY CUTE APRONS AND SOME JAM DROPS

A designer apron was just what I needed to give me a renewed vigour to cook something-worth-blogging-about. 

Buycuteaprons.com is an online store from the UK that sells a range of designer aprons. Kirsteen, owner of buycuteaprons.com had been kind enough to send me this elegant vintage inspired Ulster Weaver's apron which I had chosen. Although the red was less vibrant than I expected it did look very pretty once I had put it on. Very Audrey Hepburn-ish. Very vintage. Very hostess with the mostest-ish. 

Buycuteaprons.com is stocked with all the top UK and American apron designs. With new styles being added regularly. Mostly feminine, some of them being vintage inspired, some retro, some sexy and some just plain cute-adorable. Designer brands include Cupcake Provocateur, Jessie Steele, Sugar Baby Aprons, Ulster Weavers and many more. They also have cute aprons for children and manly ones for men. 


But what took me by surprise was that Jessie Steele aprons have been featured in Desperate Housewives and Oprah. And in the a scene from the recent Sex and the City 2 movie a Cherry Cupcakes apron was used  by Charlotte.  Talk about celebrity status!


If that has piqued your interest in Jessie Steele's apron creations you'll be sure to find them at buycuteaprons.com. 


However, to go with the vintage inspired Ulster Weavers apron which was totally responsible for this renewed burst of energy I made some jam drops from a recipe by Ellice Handy. Her recipe book was first published in the 1950's in the then Malaya. That makes this recipe a vintage cookie recipe. And yes, I actually used the apron while fiddling with the dough. It's cotton, very comfortable, very, very light and of course it made me feel very pretty. The apron I mean. 

Here's the recipe that I made while donning this apron which had a pretty flower brooch on one side and 2 cute pockets to boot ~ I think pockets on aprons are so important. 

The Recipe ~

This recipe was so tiny I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Measuring butter by tablespoons is just not my thing. 


I have made these before when i was a dreamy newly wed but I've never made them again since because filling a small ball of dough with gloppy jam and sealing it up into a ball was not that much fun. It's no wonder that Ms. Ellice Handy made such a small recipe. 


As I had expected the jam seeped through which wasn't a bad thing because I thought it added character. I decided to crown them all with a quarter of a glace cherry so they would look a little more photogenic. All in all they do look quite vintage. Just like the apron that came all the way from buycuteaprons.com



I have to say that this cookie isn't fantastic. Mediocre at best. It would have been better if the dough had more butter in it. Apart from that the overall taste would depend on the quality of jam you used. But it does satisfy your sweet tooth if you have a craving but don't want to ruin your diet.


Jam Drops ~


1 1/2 T butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cup SR Flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
some jam


Grease or line a baking sheet with baking paper. Set aside. Sift flour into a bowl. Set aside. In a seperate bowl cream butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg and beat until well combined and smooth.


Fold in flour and mix well until you get a soft dough. You may refrigerate the dough for  a 1/2 hour to firm it up if necessary.


Divide the dough into 16 balls. Make a hole in each ball and fill with some jam of your choice. Seal and roll up into a ball again. Arrange them on the baking sheet and bake for about 10-15 minute until lightly golden at the edges. Enjoy.

STEAMED CHOCOLATE CAKE ~

First of all I wish all my friends from blog land and the real world and my dear blog visitors who celebrate Christmas a Merry Christmas. 

This cake was made for N's birthday today and as always most times I end up making a chocolate cake. This is a steamed chocolate cake that I got from San's Blessed Moments.

Chocolate has always been a favourite in this house with everyone and also because ~ 

" Every time I hear that dirty word exercise I wash my mouth out with chocolate." Unknown

This was a moist and chocolatey cake with the perfect amount of sweetness ...meaning not too sweet at all. I covered it with fresh whipped cream because ...

I had taken out the butter from the fridge, looked at it then put it back in.

Since we had only cut the cake this evening I could not take a photo of a sliced piece. I hope to take a picture tomorrow. Do take note of the word "hope" though. 

The recipe...

200 gm sugar

200 ml evaporated milk

180 gm butter

2 eggs

100 gm plain flour

50 gm cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

Butter and line an 8 inch pan with greaseproof paper. Prepare the steamer and let the steamer heat and come to a boil while you make the cake. 

In a medium pot simmer over low heat the sugar, milk and butter until the butter has melted. Let cool until almost cool then beat in the eggs. I used a whisk. 

Sift the flour , cocoa, baking powder and baking soda into a bowl. Pour the butter/milk/egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix well. I used the whisk again to do this. I find that a whisk mixes the dry and wet ingredients faster and better than a wooden spoon would.

Pour mixture into the cake pan and when the steamer water is on a rolling boil place the cake pan into the steamer. Steam for about 45 mins . I divided the mixture into two 8 inch pans and steamed each for 30 minutes.

the cake is done when it feels firm when gently pressed in the centre. Let cool before turning out.

It is quite difficult to over bake a cake that is being steamed. Steamed cakes are moist and does not dry out while being steamed. 

I had used a bamboo steamer and the one challenge I often encounter with a bamboo steamer (placed over a wok) is to have the cake pan level and not dipping more to one side. But often the cake comes out thinner on one side and thicker on the other because of the imbalance. I would have used a pan rather than a wok if I had one large enough to accommodate the bamboo steamer. 

SWEET POTATO, CRANBERRY & STRAWBERRY BUNS

I have tried very hard to like strawberries because they are such pretty little things but I can't. That's why you will find few recipes with strawberries on this blog. I always find them tart and not at all sweet.

Having said that, they were at the least ..juicy. I bought strawberries with the original intention of making financiers with sliced strawberries on the top like here. I thought they would look very pretty. But that didn't happen. This did. Because I did not want the strawberries to go to rot. 

I used the same recipe as Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls but added dried cranberries and fresh strawberries instead. Then I placed the dough into cupcake liners and 3 mini loaf liners, scattered flaked almonds and sugar nibs that Sarah from Siliconemoulds had given me sometime ago on the tops. I made buns. They were very moist because of the sweet potatoes and fruity because of the cranberries and strawberries. Strawberries out.... next time. 

The recipe is here. Just add a large handful of dried cranberries that have been softened in a  little warm water for about 5 minutes then drained and patted dry, some chopped strawberries if you will just after the flour dough has been brought together with the egg and warm water. Knead gently as in the recipe instructions and let rise once before dividing the dough into cupcake or loaf tins. Then sprinkle some flaked almonds  and sugar nibs if you have them over the top just before you put them into the oven.

I baked the "muffins" for about 20 minutes depending on the size you make of course and the mini loaves for about 35 minutes. Than I dripped over their tops in zig-zaggy lines some glace icing (I mixed icing sugar with some water to a flowing consistency). However, R did not like that. Alternatively you could brush some honey over the top just after it comes out of the oven. 


They actually taste like a cross between bread and very moist muffins. You cold add more sugar for sweetness. These only had a hint of sweetness...mostly coming from the sweet potatoes. 

They would make a lovely gift for your mama. 

CAKE CONNECTION'S ANGRY BIRDS CUPCAKE CLASS

Angry Birds. I know not what they are all about. But there I was taking an Angry Bird Cupcake class by invitation from Cake Connection. After a pleasant email from Shyamala and Nancy, the co-owners of Cake Connection, six other food bloggers and I came together for a long morning to afternoon session of sculpting 6 angry sugar paste figurines. We had so much fun, a little bit of pain and most definitely laughs. Nancy was the perfect instructor....extremely patient, kind, generous and forthcoming and Shyamala was very welcoming.


This is what the Cake Connection looks like as you enter. I have come here several times to get my sugar paste supplies. Cool, cozy and inviting.

Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover, Veron of Quay Po Cooks, Jocelyn of Petite Nyonya, Ivy of My Story, Chris of Pure Glutton and Tomoko of Caramel Factory were there......my fellow bloggers. 


In the workshop.... the tools of the trade and the materials like fondant, cupcakes and buttercream were all set out for us..  

There were notes and super colourful playdough.....yummm...also known as fondant and sugar paste.

We were more than ready. Nancy started by explaining clearly and logically the difference between fondant aka sugar paste and gum paste aka modelling paste. Fondant is soft and used for covering cakes and/or making 2D shapes, it may also be used for simple flowers while gum paste is the more pliable and therefore wonderful for sculpting fine sugar art work like intricate flowers, 3D figures and other delicate pieces. It's an ingredient that is added called CMC powder ( a man-made gum) or gum tragacanth (natural) that makes the diffrence in the paste's pliability and elasticity and to how hard it sets. Both CMC and Gum Tragacanth are available at the Cake Connection. Nancy also gave us invaluable tips which is what a good and worthwhile class is all about. Tips that you can never learn from a book but only from  the experienced. 


Tips on how to knead colours into fondant more quickly and evenly. Tricks on how to make small amounts of fondant more workable, how to work clean and neat, how to make edible glue, how to secure your figurines, how to get an evenly flat and not floppy fondant covered cupcake, how to make lifting minuscule cutouts easy, how to colour fondant a really deep red or black, which brands are better for this or that.......and all the whys and why nots...She also let us in on the secrets on making fondant taste like strawberry bubble gum. Oh My YUM...Invaluable lessons learnt.  So I came home armed not only with six angry looking birds in my pink box but with mental ammunition for my next sugar paste project. Now that's an excellent class no? Yes.


The angry birds ~ that I made....mmhm ~ so fun ~ so tiring ~ my eyes crossed a few times when I rolled out their tiny pupils and cut out their fierce eyebrows ~ the beaks were somewhat tricky. And must they have feathers and tails too!? These may look like child's play but believe me they are not. We heard Sonia heave a big, fat sigh .....now that made us laugh.....not angry ~ 

Do they growl or twitter ? Don't be angry little black bird ~ I made you ~ 


It wasn't easy rolling out a perfect round (perfection is the keyword in sugar paste class I find)....and Nancy said "Not too much pressure." The eyes are 'simply' 3 tiny circles of fondant, one larger than the other, each pressed flat and all glued one on top of the other. Easy? No.

He reminds me a little bit of the Simpson's don't you think?

Oohh la la here they come ~ the angry birds ~ owwww ~


The 3D figurines were secured with spaghetti poked into the cupcake and the angry bird figure poked over the end sticking up. Yes it secured them alright. The easiest part was making the nest. 

When pigs fly ~ 


God ...those nostrils gave me problems. One had to be bigger than the other....and I like the way all the dark 'inside' parts of the noses and ears merged and looked like they were one. Very clever Nancy.

Could they be partners in crime? These very angry birds ~

Hey Mr. Red Bird !.....your beak drove me crazy ~ duh

Finally ~ Sweet success ~ Tweet ~ No wonder figurine-d cupcakes are so expensive! ~ We spent almost 5 hours decorating...just decorating (not baking) six cupcakes! Never more shall I wonder why. 

Thank you to Nancy and Shyamala from Cake Connection. T'was wonderful :)


The Cake Connection also makes beautiful wedding cakes to order, conducts various levels and varieties of sugar paste/fondant and baking classes for adults and children in addition to having an abundant supply of ready made sugar paste flowers, an array of sugar craft tools, food colours in regular and fluorescent shades, gold, silver and pearl edible dust, ready made fondant both white and coloured and so much more and finally, of course, experienced, warm and friendly instructors. You would do well to give them a visit for your supplies and consider taking classes too. I have taken their World of Roses class and it was worth every sen :) True.


PS:


Sonia has shared Nancy's yummy chocolate cupcake recipe from the class. Hop over to Sonia's if you would like the recipe. It was YUM and chocolatey and moist. 


Perhaps you can guess how I ate the cupcake. I lifted the fondant pieces including the blue base carefully, preserving everything whole and in perfect order. I placed it on a flat plate....then ate the cupcake while looking at the angry birds being angry at me. I know.....I'm weird.

BROWNIES

 

Forgive me for the long silence. Things have been a little hectic. But I'm back and there is no better way to start off a-blogging than with these moist, scrummy and fudgy brownies.

These are the most delicious brownies ever! They're chocolatey, fudgy, slightly chewy, with that shiny crackly skin on the top. They are addictive. You can't stop at one. Swear to god. They are even better cold straight from the fridge and I've even had them half frozen from the freezer.

I had kept them in the freezer so we would not gorge on them in one sitting but apparently frozen brownies were even more engaging to eat. I don't think these brownies would ever get dry.

They were born from a small home business run by a young man who is an engineer by day and brownie baker by night. How more intriguing could that get? And they have crossed the seas to Singapore, Sri Lanka and Brunei.

They are baked in a 10 inch by 10 inch tray.

Yum!

DOBOS TORTE

Seeing that I have only one one rack in my oven a Dobos Torte was not something I was keen to attempt. But I did it. In 4 hours.

The sponge layers took only 5 minutes to bake but must be watched and baking those thin layers should never be paired with accidental naps in between.

The chocolate frosting made me falter and I almost went for another recipe because 3 raw egg yolks could mean salmonella attacks, hospitalization and doctor's bills en masse. I decided to be brave and went ahead. We are all well, alive and hungering for more Dobos Torte. Thanks be to God.

I had cut the last piece of sponge layer into 8 wedges and seperated them a little before pouring the amber caramel over. One thing I learnt was that you only need to cut through the caramel when the caramel has hardened. With a very sharp knife. It is much easier than having sticky caramel globbing up your knife and gooey caramel threads stretching between your fingers endlessly.

A Dobos Torte looks much harder to make than it really is. And it is very very delicious and beautiful to look at. Maida Heatter's recipe is a winner. The birthday boys yummied it. 

The recipe ~ taken from Smitten Kitchen ~ a Maida Heatter recipe.

Serves 12

Cake :


7 egg, seperated
3 egg yolks, additional
455 gm (1 lb) confectionaer's sugar (icing sugar)
94 gm all purpose flour
1 T lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt


Frosting :


227 (8 oz) bittersweet chocolate ( I used 60 per cent cacao)
226 (8 oz) gm butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 large egg yolks
2 T confectioner's sugar (icing sugar)


Caramel :


1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 T water


Make cake ~


Line, butter and flour well 8 8 inch round pans or 7 9 inch round pans. I only had 3 8 inch round pans so I had some relining and buttering and flouring to do.


Pre-heat oven to 450 F


Beat 10 yolks on high of an electric mixer for a few minutes until it turns pale and lemon coloured. Reduce speed, add sugar gradually and increase speed again and continue likewise until sugar is finished., and mixture is thick and glossy.


Reduce speed again and add flour gradually and then increase speed and mix for about 5 minutes. Add lemon juice and mix a few seconds more.


In a seperate bowl that is clean and dry beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. 


Stir in a few tablespoons of the egg white  into the egg yolk mixture to loosen the yolk mixture up. Then add the rest of the whites in 3 batches until the whole mixture is smooth. I used a wire whisk to do this.


Divide the batter into 8 or 7 portions depending on the size of your pan ( I weighed my batter) and pour into tins, leveling the batter and baking each layer for 5 minutes.


Keep the baked sponges aside and if you stack them please make sure you have baking paper in between. 


Make frosting  ~


Melt chocolate until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature. In a bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter till soft and smooth. Add vanilla and 3 egg yolks. Add sugar and cooled chocolate beating well until thoroughly mixed. 


Spread this frosting thinly on each layer on cake leaving one layer unused.

Cover the whole cake with the chocolate frosting and chill in fridge while making the caramel layer.


Make Caramel Layer ~


Place the unused layer of sponge on baking paper. Cut the into 8 wedges. Seperate them a little. 
Meanwhile place sugar and water in a small pan and heat on high until the sugar melts and turns amber. Immediately take off heat and pour the caramel over the cut sponge cake.Let teh caramel cool and harden somewhat before cutting with a very sharp knife seperating teh wedges and neatening the edges if necessary. 

Arrange on top of the frosted cake. 

BAKED FINNISH PANCAKES

Sometimes when you dig deep enough you will uncover little jewels in unexpected places ~ like blogresepi and this beautifully simple Finnish pancake that I spied on her blog. It was so smooth and so creamy and buttery. I paired it with slices of orange segments in an orange juice reduction and it became even more refreshing with bursts of orange globules in my mouth.

Imagine ~ I did not need to stand in front of a stove turning pancake after pancake. After pancake........

 ~after pancake ~

The batter is poured into a lined rectangular baking pan, sprinkled with sugar and left to bake for about 20- 25 minutes in a hot oven until it puffed up and became hideously glorious, browned on the top in places (in this case only one place) and looked likely to burst along the edges. Whoa-waaa...

PS: As you can see I need a new oven ........this present one has hot spots like the punctures in our planet's ozone layer :(~

Then I cut it up into squares, dusted it with some cinnamon powder and dribbled the orange segments in an orange juice reduction over the slices. Yes ~

You must ~ try this ~

The recipe ~ From blogresepi ~

500 ml milk ( I used fresh whole milk)

2 eggs

1 cup plain flour

1/4 cup melted butter or olive oil ( I used butter)

2 T sugar

a pinch of salt

Extra sugar for sprinkling

Pre-heat oven at 220 C

Line a rectangular baking pan, 10" by 81/2 "

Mix all ingredients except extra sugar in a bowl and mix with a  whisk until a smooth batter.

Pour into lined baking pan, sprinkle with extra sugar and bake for about 20 - 25 minutes.

Orange reduction ~

3 oranges

1/4 cup sugar

Peel one orange and cut into segments carefully leaving out the fibres and white pith. Keep aside.

Juice the other 2 oranges and put juice into a small pan. Add 1/4 cup sugar and stir and place over medium heat and let simmer until it reduces to thickish syrup, Add the orange segments and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Leave aside or let cool.

Serve pancakes by cutting into squares, dust with cinnamon powder and top with the orange syrup either warm or cold.

FRESH FRUIT TARTLETS

It's at Daiso where my little insignificant, pointless, niggling and  piddling dreams come true. Thus these tartlets were born.

We all know that there are mama melon ballers but dare we dream that there baby melon ballers? I did. And my melon baller dream came true. Now....dare you tell me that that baby isn't cute!

Because fresh fruit tartlets are prettiest when topped with small dainty fruits like berries (in my book), but which are ridiculously priced if you're living right smack on the equator, I have never bothered to make fresh fruit tartlets. Until I found this baby melon baller. Now I can make my own tropical 'berries' for tartlets anytime. From baby mango balls , baby bright red water melons balls to baby jade honey dew melon balls. 

Angie from Angie's recipe had this Fresh Fruit Tartlets recipe that had a filling of a ground hazelnuts-butter-sugar paste instead of custard. I thought the moist, rich, nutty paste was a brilliant change from the usual custard filling...a filling that I was never inspired to make for fresh fruit tartlets. 

So I am glad I made these because both the subtley sweet, crusty pastry and the moist hazelnut filling is to die for. And the squishy, spurty and juicy mango and baby grapes on the top made a perfect finish. Truly...quite a remarkable recipe. Thanks to Angie. I would make these if I were you. 

True ~

The recipe ~ adapted wholly from Angie's Recipes

Sweet Pastry Crust ~

250n gm pastry flour ( I used AP flour)

60 g castor sugar

1/4 tsp salt

125 g butter, cut into small cubes

1 egg yolk

2-3 T cold water

Put everything in one bowl and work in the butter until the mixture resembles corse breadcrumbs. Then bring everything together with your fingers until it becomes a soft dough. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes before rolling out to line the baking tart tins. Angie used 4, 12 cm tart moulds. I used 4 egg rings and 2, 12 cm tart moulds. 

I rolled the pastry between two sheets of baking paper for easier lifting of the pastry. The pastry is quite soft and rich. Roll out to 1/4 inch thick and line the tart moulds right up to the sides. Prick the base with a fork. Refrigerate while you make the filling.

Filling ~

85 gm butter, softened

85 gm icing sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

85 gm ground hazelnuts

Beat butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until thick and creamy and soft. Add egg and beat again until well combined. Add in the ground hazelnuts and fold in. Fill the pastry lined moulds until 3/4 full. Do not fill right up because the filling will puff up a little upon baking. The little space between the top of the baked filling and the rim of the cooked pastry allows the fruits berries or balls of fruit to stay within especially if like me you do not use a whipped cream topping for the fruit to rest on.

Topping ~

8 tsp Chantilly cream (I did not use any kind of cream for the topping)

Small berries or 'berries' melon balled tropical fruits or small seedless grapes

CHOCOLATE CREAM FINGERS

I blog in spurts.

I keep telling myself that I will never blog in spurts again. It's bad. As bad as gorging on chocolate cream filled chocolatey biscuits when you're trying to be healthy. Or trying to walk in a straight line.

Sorry for the an unplanned absence. I have been uninspired and distracted. For many reasons. The heat, mega sales, the heat, friends, the heat and family. And mainly mega sales. And the heat.

Nevertheless, these English chocolate cream filled chocolate biscuits are reminiscent of the chocolate bourbons from Marks and Spencer that I gorged on thirty years ago. So busy was I that I got yelled at by a man with a heavy load on his shoulders. I almost walked into him. I jumped out of his way in the nick of time. I'm sure he would have hit me on my head if he could.

Thank god Mary Berry had a recipe for it. Thank god I bought her Fast Cakes recipe book thirty years ago. And thank god they taste just like my memory of it. The biscuits I mean.

These are very, very chocolatey, and although they are sandwiched with chocolate icing the sweetness is cut down very much by the use of cocoa powder in the recipe. I urge you to try them if you are a chocoholic like me. Best chocolate biscuits ever. Ever, ever, ever. 

No these are not at all like our Asian KGB version of chocolate cream fingers. Never liked those...very very very bland and tasteless.

These are traditionally made in the finger shape with the required ten holes and a filling of simple chocolate butter icing. Like the Oreos they are good for dunking, for taking apart, for scraping the filling off with your two front teeth or just biting into it whole.

These are not short or buttery like shortbread of which you can tire of quickly because of its buttery richness. They are crunchy and doesn't give in as easily because there is no egg in the recipe to give it lightness nor too much butter to make it tender. It's very much like a sugar cookie. But a dark chocolate one. And definitely not as sweet. The most delicious.


The dough may seem a little dry when you mix it in and are trying to bring it together but persevere and don't be tempted to add more butter or an egg. It's meant to be. And once you roll it out it will come together rich, dark, chocolatey and neat.

The recipe ~ by Mary Berry

Makes about 12 chocolate cream fingers



4 oz plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 T cocoa powder
2 oz soft magarine or butter
2 oz castor sugar
1 T golden syrup


Filling


1 oz soft magarine or butter
2 oz icing sugar
2 tsp cocoa
a few drops of vanilla essence


Place all biscuit ingredients together in a bowl and using a wooden spoon first work them together until they are evenly distributed. The mixture will be crumbly and sort of dry. Don't despair. Turn the mixture onto a slightly sugared table and using your hands press and knead gently to warm the butter in the dough and until it just all comes together nicely and is a ball of dough. Press with hands to form into a firmer ball of dough. The dough will still be somewhat loosely held together but once you roll it out it will come together better from the pressure of the rolling pin. If the dough breaks up while rolling out just stop and patch it up and then roll again.


Roll out the dough until about 1/4 inch thickness between 2 sheets of baking paper. Remove the top baking paper and cut the rolled dough into fingers about 1 inch by 21/2 inches. Prick each finger with a fork two or three or four times. Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Lift off ot cool on a wire rack.


For the filling, put all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. until smooth and creamy. Use to sandwich the biscuits together in pairs.