Daikon... to dai or not to dai?

Daikon (だいこん, Daikon^?) (from Japanese daikon (大根), literally "large root") is a mild-flavored East Asian giant white radish.
Although there are many varieties of daikon, the most common in Japan, the Aokubi Daikon, has the shape of a giant carrot, approximately 20 to 35 cm (8 to 14 inches) long and 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) in diameter. One of the most unlikely shaped daikon is Sakurajima daikon from Kagoshima Prefecture that is shaped like an oversized turnip with white outside and bright pink inside.
The flavor is generally rather mild compared to other small radishes.
(Above information including image, is credited fully to Wikipedia)

A friend's mom just returned from Hokkaido lugging 6 huge daikons.
This blessed bud of mine hauled it to office for me... I have just written to an esteemed Japanese Food Blogger (whom I refer to for Japanese woes) asking for advice on how to cook this giant white radish.

Stay tuned...
Woot!

The Cure To My Parisian Batard Woes!!

People who know me... know that I spend a good part of my time back in Singapore, suffering from Parisian Bread Withdrawals. And the later part of the year, is usually spent scurrying to my favourite bakery in town to get my Batard fix for the following week.

I wanted to try my hand at making a passable Batard to tide me over, but after watching Julia Child / Danielle Forestier's video, I balked at the thought of having to slap the dough 850 times in the humid tropical weather of Singapore.

Last night, I decided to try sussing out another recipe as a comparison and if push comes to shove... by jove I will slap the darn dough 850 times.

Through this determined attempt, I came across Andrea's website . In it, she mentioned about a book called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day. I could literally kiss Andrea's blog for this is the first time I've heard of the book, that is apparently the toast of the bread world.

I was skeptical of a recipe that was a no knead method and involved minimal handling. All I had to do was throw in Yeast, Water, Salt and Flour, stir, refrigerate and pull out a handful whenever I needed a loaf of Batard, bake and enjoy.

I tried it today, with Andrea's reduced amount of Yeast... and it was as good as any Batard I've tasted. True, there is a 2 hour resting period, true, you need to refrigerate it for some time before complexities in the dough developes. But anything that doesn't require me sweating in the humid heat of a 33 degree celsius kitchen, is a good recipe.

I halved Andrea's version as I wasn't sure how well it would work in my tropical humidity.
Here is my adaptation then:

3 1/4 Cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 3/4 Cups Water (recently cooled)
3/4 Tablespoon Salt (I used Fleur de Sel just for kicks)
1/8 Tablespoon Pepper + Coarse Sea Salt
(Coz my batard was meant for a Honey Baked Ham/Cheese Breakfast Sandwich)
1/2 Tablespoon Instant Yeast

1. Mix everything together in a huge tub. Ensure that the tub can accommodate three times of original dough quantity.

2. Refrigerate the tub. Remember that 14 days is the recommended maximum length of time to keep the bread dough. This refrigeration is recommended as dough complexities start to develop over time (I've got another batch waiting to be baked in approximately 3 days)

3. Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour, before pulling apart a chunk that you require for a loaf. Drop it in flour, covering the top as well as the bottom. Work the dough into a ball, and then start folding the tops slowly into the bottom, as though trying to create a creaseless dome top.
Do this for about 5 minutes in order to create a gluten cloak.

4. Shape the dough as desired, placing the finished dough onto a sheet of baking paper.

5. In a pre-heated oven, of about 230 degrees celsius, I placed a stainless steel bowl.
Just before baking, throw in a few cubes of ice into this stainless steel bowl in order to create the steam required to bake/steam the bread.

6. Bake this for approximately 20 minutes. (I had to do mine for about 30 mins total as I wasted too much time getting it into my mini oven because I had to do space apportionment between steel bowl, oven thermometer and dough. Temperature of oven dropped as a result)

7. Take your first bite of the crumbly crisp bread before doing anything else with it.

Grandma VanDoren's White Bread (Part II)

Following my success with yeast, I was so curious about how bread made with Bread Flour might taste, that I had to sneak to the basement supermarket before running up to the fourth level of the mall to meet C. We made just in time to watch Iron Man. I digress.... (pretty good movie if you are feeling brainless too!)

Ok, this time, I decided to try making a white bread to see if the taste of chewy white might be more pronounced, even though it is homemade.

I got another recipe off Allrecipes. It seemed relatively simple and for sooth, it was pretty hassle-free. The only problem though, was that it required the gradual adding of flour after the initial proofing stage. This was waaaay harder than adding everything in at once and kneading all the kinks out. The resulting dough wasn't very smooth and if you pulled it in all directions, it could be pulled apart with some persuasion.

In a fit of pique, I decided to stop kneading and left the dough in a dark corner to reflect upon its mistakes (otherwise known as first fermentation).

After an hour, it seemed to have calmed down slightly and seemed more smooth instead of its earlier lumpy sulky self. I gave it another knead and tried to form a smooth looking log but that proved harder than I had thought.

In the end, I just dumped it into my pan, re-wrapped the saran wrap over it and left it there to rise a little more (although this wasnt stated in the recipe).

I wasn't too pleased with the results though, it tasted like the local baguettes available in our local ma & pa bakeries. But overall... I'm just superbly pleased that I can finally declare that bread making isn't something that's beyond me. Woot! Given enough time, I might even attempt Julia Child's Batard... loads of time...

Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Yeast? (Part I)

Simple Whole Wheat Bread

It has been some time since I deemed it fit to step into the kitchen once again. This is getting to be a norm since I have spent most of February and/or March of the past 3 years, in Europe. The time from when I am back in town to when I step into the kitchen is spent in winter withdrawals and missing the many bread meals I've had.

The biggest reason I dislike making any sort of bread in Singapore is because I live in the tropics and humidity and heat and the texture of flours stored in this weather is a real killer. The other reason is that I don't care much for the smell of the yeast even after baking.

Having done a little reading on DARING BAKERS Feb 2008 challenge of French Bread by Julia Child and Obachan's Simple Whole Wheat Bread from ALLRECIPES, I found myself in a quandary.

The video of French Bread by Julia Child and Danielle Forestier showed a kneading process where I had to slap the dough 850 times. Hell... after 100 times, I won't be able to tell if I am slapping dough or my dog against the counter. That being said, I don't think Ms Forestier was kidding about slapping the dough 850 times.

With a relayed recipe of Julia Child's French Bread, from The Sour Dough, there is a fermentation process of at least 7-9hours with a final origami-like folding of the dough before shaping and a second fermentation.

I decided at close to 9pm that I would attempt Obachan's Simple White Bread from Allrecipes. Trying to decide on the proofing method of the different types of yeast, the conversation from Active Dry Yeast and Instant Dry Yeast and the difference between Baker's Yeast and Instant Dry Yeast (in my case, it seems to be the same) made me wanna take up a hobby like Cardiac Surgery. The explanations available online were relatively comprehensive but what I wanted to know was if the Instant Dry Yeast required the same proofing method or if I should just add the tepid liquid into the main dough without proofing, and move onto the next step. Arrrggghh!

I then discovered I didn't have Bread Flour but so set was I in making this bread that I decided go ahead with my new pack of Unbleached All Purpose Flour from Gold Medal. I went in knowing full well that my bread might not turn out well because the protein content in AP flour was 12% at best and regular Bread Flour has a protein content of between 13% - 14%. I figured what the heck, it's just 1%, let's try it anyway.

This is what emerged after almost 2 hours of double fermentation, several loving punches and almost 40 minutes in the oven at 175 celsius:

After my first bite of piping hot bread... I wanted to kiss the floors and thank the kitchen fairies! There was absolutely no smell of yeast! The next bite made me want to do the bread dance of joy at 1am in the morning because it doesn't taste cake-like (Thank you Bread fairy!).

I love that it resembles a decent loaf of bread and the texture is a tad chewy with an added flavour from the whole wheat flour. The added swirl on top on Pic 1 is my fancy origami attempt because I dislike breads with smooth dome tops. I can't really taste the honey though I suspect the real reason for the honey is to feed the yeast.

I can't wait to try it tomorrow after it has had time to cool down. I need to know how the crust will behave even with its light brushing of butter.

Conclusion: I must try this with actual bread flour to taste the difference between the two but this is definitely a bread I will be adding to my repertoire regularly. Thanks for the blog Obachan!

Uncle Lim's Strawberry & Chocolate Chip Birthday Cake

I was invited to my Uncle's birthday dinner at King's Copthorne, and in return asked to bake a cake for 15 pax. This being my extended family, that is non-blood related, whenever I'm asked to make something, I always feel compelled to ensure it's my showman bestest. Maybe I'm competitive, maybe I've long treated them as family whom I can and will give two hoots to, or perhaps they are just a harsh public. hehe (For sooth, they are not. They are full of compliments, sincere or otherwise)

Being as stressed as I am at work, I decided to use a standard recipe off Family Circle instead of fiddling around with something I like. And foolishly, I used a non-tested recipe for this attempt.

I had to let the cake burn because even after the prescribed time, the batter wasn't fully baked. I did damage control by assuring myself that all major hotels bake regular sheet cakes that they cut into shape before icing anyway, so I am not really cheating.
(Yes, I can be quite delusional on occasion!)
I did cut off the entire base portion and circumference of the cake and comforted self that a thick icing as shown in the picture would remedy all that didn't look so good.

I then piped some chocolate curls on a baking sheet and the darn chocolate refused to dry even after 3 hours, so I brought them all to my room to spend the night.

The following day? Most of my piped curls broke off in terror when I tried to gently coax them away from the baking sheet. Sensing that bad things come in 3s, I made the icing with much trepidation.

Well, in my recipe book, the cake is displayed with icing that is akin to Chocolate Buttercream. The actual recipe? Produced a runny consistency that is closer to a very diluted cream of chicken. Great! Two flops in one sitting! What is the moral of the story? The old adage of NEVER trying something new when it comes to the crux? I even used my treasured 70% Guanjara chocolate for this, hoping it would salvage whatever was left of my baker's pride.

In the end, I decided I was out of time and would just slather on the icing, and decorate it with loads of strawberries, as well as whatever chocolate curls that haven't crumbled in fear. I took out my super duper expensive gold dust and started painting just the tip of each chocolate curl.

I must say, despite the number of times I've used quality chocolate for icing, I have almost always been disappointed. Quality chocolate somehow just never seems to rid itself of the sour aftertaste if no sugar is added to it. This gave the cake a sourish feel whenever one bit into the top of the cake. Sigh... well at the very least, I would unabashedly give myself and "A" for presentation effort. If it tastes bad, just slap on loads of decor designed to make the crowd go wow.

Needless to say, no one was brave enough to tell me what they really thought aside from the coo-ing of admiration.

Ah well... I know better now and will henceforth, stick with regular 'inferior' chocolates for icing or buttercreams.

Macaron Trials - Strawberry, Black Sesame & Matcha with Roasted Chestnut

I went crazy after awhile, about macarons. The flavours, the texture, the precociousness of a mini labour of love...

These are the efforts of my trial run with flavours improvised on the spot: Strawberry, Black Sesame & Matcha.

Everyone loves the strawberry because nothing about it is artificially flavoured.

The problem with using sweet strawberry puree though, is that it makes the shells superbly watery and that in turn, gives me a flatter shell. The flavouring was my version of a strawberry buttercream, which surprisingly, didn't cream up as it should. But it was still the tastiest of them all. The wet butter cream though, would sometimes soak through the shell... affecting its visual impact.

The Black Sesame requires the addition of liquid in order to stop it from being so drying on the overall Macaron batter. The filling could do with a touch of liquid as well.
The more dry the ingredients, the stiffer my shell batter, meaning I have more control over the spread of my shells when baked. See the difference in the 'puffiness' of my shells across the different flavours? Matcha is equally 'drying'. The roasted chestnut came about because I couldn't be arsed to hunt around quality grocers for chestnuts - pureed or whole.


Also, I finally found the Marrons previously researched, at Jones The Grocer.
Can't wait to try it out on Matcha shells!

p.s. The copious sieving of almond flour through a fine mesh sieve is still a pain in the butt. I usually end up chucking the bits that are too large for my fine sieve with the rest of the dry ingredients, after 45 minutes of sieving. This is my sorry excuse for pimply shells.

Eric Kayser's Matcha Tarts Round 2!

Eric Kayers Matcha Financiers went over soooo well with colleagues that I've had a few asking me for more. So instead of experimenting with what's already a good recipe, I decided to just try out variations of different moulds.

I have a friend who tells me that she is immensely jealous of the baking pans, tins, cutters, etc. Yay!

Something about Matcha anything always gives me the zen feel even though Financiers contain a substantial amount of Butter and whites.

I love the leaf veins seen above.

An experiment went awry. Matcha Financier-Muffins with baked raspberries. The tart raspberry tartness just about did me in.

The big round one resembles so much like a 大饼 Da Bing
(sorta like a big cookie, chinese style)

The limit to my 'creativity'.
I didn't find that many moulds to have fun with.

Raspberry & Blueberry Charlotte

So inspired was I by beautiful Charlottes, seemingly held together with a dainty ribbon that I decided I would make one just for the visual impact.

Thankfully I was not stupid enough to make the sponge fingers for the outside as well for if I did, I might have had to throw the entire cake away.

The base and height buildup, is achieved by 2 sponge finger bases, based as a piped circular spiral. In between, you have to lather on either creme of chocolate mousse.

I winged it with the chocolate mousse, and it didn't turn out as fluffly as I wouldav liked.
The baked sponge bases came out as a cross between a biscuit that wasn't kept in an airtight container, and a bad version of the Japanese, fish-shaped sponges, filled with anko beans.

I spent so much time resting this darn thing that I didn't have excess energy to run to the shops and get a ribbon to tie round its middle. In retrospect, I believe the whole point of a Charlotte (in my warped mind) is the ribbon it has around its 'waist' to resemble the summer hats that English ladies of yore wore in their teenage days.

The raspberry and blueberries were so sour... it couldav turned milk into cheese with just one glance. I lament once again on how fruits have to be plucked when unripe and then shipped to Asia. Sigh..

I will attempt this someday again, when I've found a better version of chocolate mousse and sponge fingers. Wait for me.. I will perfect it someday!

Chai Cupcakes - My First and Last In Awhile

What does one do with a blend of Chai spices? Aside from the obvious of making Chai tea, I decided I had to try making Chai cupcakes at least once.

Perhaps age is really the neutralizer of all things icky.
I remember how I refused to touch the major aromatics such as garlic, ginger, chives. Needless to say, chai spices are on that banned list of foods as well.

However, as one grows older, it seems spices and such, are the indicators of a person's culinary skills. Knowing how to blend them together so that it isn't overly pungent, being able to control the strength of each herb/spice and ultimately, blending them in such a way that a whole different taste / scent emerges.

The indicators are the smells that waft through the kitchen into the living room, tantalizing awaiting guests, creating the hunger and anticipation. Now that I think about what I've just typed, it seems very much like a marriage. Finding the perfect partner, merging with our individual characters and finally, the wedding night where all is revealed. Ok Ok... shoot the writer, I've never been very prolific with descriptive writing. Perhaps it's the rain as well... hmmm yes. It must be the rain... haha!

With the Chai Cupcake... I've discovered that blending of spices to create a finished product, has very much to do with the individual tastes and risk appetite. What one perceives as just right, might be a little too choking for me.

In reality, the cupcakes tasted great to spice enthusiasts. albeit a little too sweet for the icing. Different but good. To me the closet spice-disliker, the pungency of the cupcakes were a little overpowering so much so that I cannot eat more than 1 chai cupcake in a month. I appreciate the experience, but I would think really hard before serving these to guests for there are only so many spice enthusiasts I know.

I now have bags and bags of spices stored away in the darkest recesses of my kitchen cabinet, where they will hopefully grow mold and I will be 'forced' to throw them away.

Here is my take on the Spice Cupcake and yes I do realise that a little more practice is needed for my piping skills. Perhaps like A, I'm just not cut out for delicate work:

Kuidaore's Eric Kayser's Matcha Tart

Being utterly in lust with Kuidaore's website for now, my eyes very nearly popped when I saw Kuidaore's take on Eric Kayer's Matcha Tart. Her rectangular fluted pie tin, her little fluted leaf molds, her presentation of the most perfect financier I've seen to date. I knew I had to make this soonest possible.

The other thing that got me salivating was the way J described the financier. It is also the first time I've read the words 'closely knit crumb'. I do understand the word, but the moment that was used to describe the base, there could be no disillusionment of how the base should be. Closely knit also indicates that this would be is a heavy cake-like base, much like the butter laden Pound Cake. And I would say a clean crisp tea would go great as an accompaniment.

I went around hunting for her rectangular fluted tin and was extremely disappointed. It seems pie tins have to be circular in shape and I had an even tougher time searching for a fluted leaf mold. Determined as I was, I went ahead with a rather large and oaf-ish square cake tin that had large curvy sides and decided I could wait no longer. I had to make Eric Kayser's Matcha Tart. I am glad that I did.
I halved the mixture except for the key catalysts such as the salt and the Matcha. Whilst using the 10 egg whites as dictated by the original recipe, seemed like a good way to please any cholesterol-laden body, it would also mean the risk of an imminent cardiac arrest, as well as having to decide on near-future recipes utilizing all 16 yolks. And because I tend to bake more whenever I'm stressed, I already had 6 yolks, eagerly anticipating their fate, in deep freeze. In addition, I didn't have a vanilla bean on hand so after preparing the beurre noisette, I added a generous splosh of good vanilla extract and left the browned butter to cool.

I love everything about the financier. The moist yet clean taste of matcha sans the bitterness. The hints of sweetness in the cake, especially the now much-longed 'closely knit crumb'. And as hard as this is to fathom, seeing how I am terribly intolerant of sour tarty foods, I even love the way it's paired with the crisp tart raspberries. Again, the pairing of raspberries instead of red currents, was decided by J. I was just following her flog, in a semi-lust trance.

I wanted to experiment a little, so I decided to use up the remainder of my Japanese Champagne grapes for the other half of the cake. Aesthetically, I'm sure the grapes didn't do much for my picture. As for taste, I think the grapes would taste better had they been peeled but sitting around for half a day, peeling grape by grape, is just too much for a good picture, even for me. Moreover, I was pretty sure, adding peeled grapes would just quicken the deterioration of the base without refrigeration, in our humid weather.

Aside from a few scrunched up shocked faces in the morning, almost every colleague who tasted this, loved it minus the tarty raspberries. More importantly, this financier got the approval of Dad, who doesn't have as sweet a tooth as most of my colleagues.

In retrospect, I did a little flip through of Eric Kayser's Sweet and Savoury Tarts and as much as I dislike sounding like a crazed Kuidaore fan, J's pic of the Matcha Tart actually looks waaaay better than the one in Eric Kayser's book!

But J is right on one count, "it's one of those effortless recipes requiring labour no more arduous than some unhurried stirring". Simple enough an investment for a resounding Wow! on returns. This is going to be a keeper in my books, times when I am too lazy to make anything for a house party or pot luck but am obliged to nonetheless.I will be experimenting a little on the flavouring. I see futures of lemon zest, orange, and perhaps even earl grey if it can withstand the heat from the aromatic beurre noisette. Mmmm...!

A Tale of Betrayal

It has finally happened... I knew it would happen sooner or later. I knew we couldn't last forever but I never allowed myself to dwell on it for long. I never wanted to think of the inevitable.
We have finally parted ways. All I have are memories now...

For my birthday this year, my thoughtful colleagues left a homemade card shaped like an oven with a little angbao within, on my desk. (The mighty red angbao is a tiny little envelope Chinese use to contain money as a wellwishing offer in place of a present.) This was their gift to me this year ever since I yakked non-stop about having to get a new oven sooner or later before my old one exploded in my face. It has been smoking on several occasions with no provocation and one some days, everything seemed fine.

So I finally got round to shopping for another and well... I selected one. All I cared about was the capacity. I needed something bigger so I could dump my oven thermometer alongside my 12- muffin tray within. It was delivered today and I found I was strangely un-enthusiastic about it.
I just pointed at the biggest 43 litres from a brand I recognized and paid. I didn't even get to see how it looked like considering they didn't have any of that capacity on display.

My old table oven is now sitting on the floor and in its glorious place? My spanking new oven. The newbie has an ebony facade and is encased in an sleek metal of opaque white. It also has a rotisserie function, along with grilling. The glass reinforced door does not close into a sealed space, it merely covers. I suppose this is to enable the grilling function, where the glass door is to be kept open. All 42 litres of this honking metal looks ... foreign somehow. I can almost feel its snooty metallic nose looking over my old puny table oven, in disdain. Flashbacks of me and oldie run through my head, against the overcast sky (see? the heavens are crying too). Scenes of how oldie regurgitated baked and roasted wonders with a giggle, while I coo-ed at her achievement. Scenes of how oldie pumped up its temperatures instantaneously when I was stressing over preparations for dinner parties, of how oldie played nanny over the turkey, watching it like a hawk, during Christmas.

I am a traitor. Oldie gets old and cranky and for her loyal service to me throughout the past 9 years, I reward by discarding it. I am a louse. I have no regard for loyalty and if anything should age on me, I reward them by throwing them into the nearest dumpster. I haven't thrown oldie yet. I need some grieving time.

I am bereft.


(Decorum insists that I display pictures of newbie as an appreciation of the gift from others)

Let's Do the Macaron Baby

I know this must have been going on for quite some time now, but the Macaron conspiracy finally got to me. After having read so much about Laduree's Macarons, especially the ones by Pierre Herme, every fibre in my being pleaded that I try baking this at least once. I envisioned grandiose kitchen mastery where I would be whipping up Macarons of varied flavours: Chocolate with a deep velvety smooth dark Ganache, Rose scented to conjure illusions of romance, Matcha's bittersweet fill for stark zen, Lavender infused to bring forth the clarity of spirtual wellbeing. Very simply, rainbow-coloured gerbet Macarons began thumping the good march across my visions , beckoning, cajoling, taunting me to creation.

I'm beginning to understand why I term myself the experimental one. I adore prolific words used when describing baked confections and I salivate over a great visual. I experiment to see how far short I fall of the visually stunning or scrumptious product. I am usually in the kitchen within a week or two after scoffing down or reading a great confectionery description. With the inborn competitive nature, I crave the exultations when something works. And these Macarons, presented me with multitudes of accolades, namely from family and colleagues. People who are familiar with my experiments, know honest opinions are the only price for tasting my re-creations. I think one of my colleagues even teared when she saw my Macarons because she never thought I would make something she had tasted and thought delicious, years ago.

I started doing extensive homework because even the most successful (in my opinion) flog Macaron connoisseurs seem to go in depth of what can and will go wrong for novices. Yet others who are professional cooking instructors (again, in my opinion), raise woes on times where the Macaron Goddess was displeased with them, thus churning out a disappointing batch.

Then I chanced upon NicoleKaplan's simplistic approach in an eGullet thread. She gives a 'show and tell' process that very simply guarantees success. Her Italian meringue method of the recipe gave me the very lifeline I needed. I wrote to her for some advice and promised, if successful, to name my firstborn batch of macarons in her honour.

So with ingredients, a fine mesh sieve and a prayer, I embarked on this. I must have been dropped on the head one time too many by the birthing nurse.

Problem #1
I gather Almond Flour is not actually a white flour but is actually ground almonds. That being said, even after 1 hour of copious sifting, I could not get the almond flour through my fine mesh sieve. After much dainty cussing and swearing, I chucked the entire lot in with the sifted icing sugar & cocoa.

Problem #2
I did not know how much Ghirardelli cocoa to add to my Chocolate Maracons so I just winged and eyeballed it, with much fear, as Nicole instructed.

Problem #3
My Silpat birthday presents could not fit into my tiny little oven and hence I resorted to wax paper. Surprisingly, this seems to assist in lifting the delicate little crisps off the tray, with some careful maneuvering of course. I did read somewhere that Macarons were never meant for the home convection oven and this had me quaking in my boots for all of 12 minutes when my babies were in the oven.

Problem #4
She who forgets she is in the tropics, shall die a terrible Ganache-y death.
I really wanted a bitterish sweet filling to counter the achingly sweet Macarons, so I resorted to Ganache once again (refer to failed piping in my previous post on Cupcake). Obviously I wasn't using my head because once it is piped...
- Do I refrigerate the entire Macaron so the Ganache doesn't ooze out pathetically in our heat?
- Will the Macaron go soft with the moisture in the fridge?
- Will the chewy bits harden? Argh!

Problem #5 (upon cross examination after the deed)
Someone scaled down the recipe by 1/8 but I just realised something AFTER I baked the macs that the proportions don't seem right. Eeps! Actually all is not lost, my recipe below still tastes pretty decent. Crunchy on the outside, moist and chewy on the inside. However, I reserve my rights to reverse this judgement till I have actually tasted one of Pierre Herme's.

Anyway, this is the re-produced recipe from NicoleKaplan's eGullet thread:

Basic Macaron Recipe
2 kgs TPT (tant pour tant)
1 kgs Sugar
750 gms Egg Whites

1. Sieve dry ingredients at least once
2. Next start an Italian meringue, bring your sugar syrup to soft ball stage (235-240 F / 118-120 C), and slowly add to your soft peak whites. Whip until lukewarm.
Water to sugar ratio: 25% the weight in water to the sugar (62.50 gms water and yes, I disallow failure). I used a candy thermometer that had a nifty marking that read 'Softball Stage' so I didn't really fret over when would be a good time to stop the cooking process.
3. Then slowly fold the dry ingredients into your meringue in about 3 batches. You do not need to be super careful in fact you want to keep mixing until the batter takes on a kind of shine.
4. Next with a large round tip pipe your macarons onto a silpat and let air dry for 10-20 minutes until a crust forms on top of them.
5. Then bake at 275 degrees (130 C) until they puff up and when you grab the tops and jiggle them a bit they are almost set but still offer a little movement. Let cool and then flip them over and brush the undersides with the syrup of your choice. Fill, stick together and enjoy.

Note: I managed to yield approx. 104 macarons (meaning you can expect 52 filled macarons)

Ganache Recipe (Doubled from what I originally used)
120 gms Unsweetened Chocolate
255 gms Valrhona 64% cacao Manjuri
58 gms Unsalted Butter
360 gm Heavy Cream - abv 36% fat

1. Melt chopped chocolate with butter over a water bath
2. Boil cream over small-medium heat till it boils.
3. Add cream to chocolate butter mixture.
4. Whisk till well mixed. I used Thick cream instead because I bought that by mistake.
Difference being that thick / whipping cream contains at most 36% fat, whilst heavy cream has to contain at least 36% fat. Whipped cream whips faster but loses form more quickly. Heavy cream conversely, takes a longer time to whip and doesn't gather as much volume as whipped cream. Of course, heavy cream doesn't lose its whipped shape as quickly either. From my trial, the thick cream that I bought doesn't seem to whip into any volume at all.
5. Cool and then pipe when the cream can hold form

- The Ganache I originally made is half the fore-mentioned recipe, thus, I still have at least 13 unfilled Macarons leftover. I might try out an Italian Buttercream with no added flavouring.

During the entire process, I was in a constant state of fright from start to finish.
I fretted over the unsifted almond flour causing huge craters.
I fussed that I folded too much and too little.
I felt faint when I didn't see any skins form during the airing stage.
I stressed if my Macarons would be handicapped (without pretty little feet) of if my little divas would develop 'dainty' Size 0 or Size 12 feet.
I worried if the Maracons would keep in an airtight container in my humid weather.

In retrospect after all the calculations and fears are done, I think I managed a fairly decent attempt on my virgin foray into the Macaron dance. True, it may not be the best looking Macs in town... and the piping could have been done more generously. But I would give myself a pat on the back nonetheless and name these... My NicKap's Macarons. Again, excuse the poor excuse of a photographer... me.
.








(Listen up soldiers!)










(We have Nicole to thank for our nifty feet)










Ready to roll?









Do we look like The Leaning Tower of Pisa... huh? Do we? Do we?

I'm a Tomato Racist

Tell me if this doesn't look like some lusciously plump sweet fruit? Something along the lines of Persimmons, oranges, nectarines?

Why the fuss over the simple tomato? Reason is simple. I dislike em.
I can't take the mushy squishy-ness of this. To me, this vegetable doesn't make sense. It's neither flavourful nor tasty, nor does it have a unique distinct-ness that appeals. Perhaps the problem doesn't begin with the tomato, perhaps it really is the fault of hamburgers. Since time eternal, burgers are known to be married with tomatoes and lettuce as a natural pairing. The weird thing about me is that I tend to keep re-trying foods I dislike, hoping to discover that little secret that makes others go gaga over them. Things like Ladyfingers, Aubergines, Onion, Chinese Parsley, Tomatoes, etc.

My myopic view of the mighty tomato changed when I had my first taste of a real Caprese Salad in Da Paolo, amidst lush greenery in Cluny Court and then again in Italy. The simplicity of a mouthful of thick, fresh mozzarella cheese with equally thick robust and firm buffalo tomatoes. The drizzle of olive oil causing these foods with almost opposing tastes, meld into a medley that just makes it seem... right.

And I had air flown Japanese tomatoes when I was in a Japanese Restaurant lately. The shockingly ice cold gush at the first bite, the sweetness that followed. Surreal.

And then my old memory bank jolted, realising that back when I was working regionally, I used to love the Chinese Restaurants' appetizers of ice cold tomato chunks, dabbed daintily with granulated sugar.

So, when I came across a tomato that was bigger than my fist at a local grocer, I couldn't resist. I had to know why these darn tomatoes cost approximately USD 3.80 each. Will update when I finally sink teeth into it. By the way, mommie dearest, commented that at almost USD4.00 per pop, I had better lick the entire tomato and space out the pieces throughout the week. I also got some Japanese tomatoes which I ate as is, these cost USD4.00 per bag of 3 and they are absolutely sweet and firm with a touch of squish. Mmmm I am in lurrrrve.

Conclusion? Perhaps it really isn't the mighty tomatoes fault that caused emotional scarring since my jaunty youthful days. Perhaps it was the locally grown or neighbouring tomatoes that gave cause to the fear *wags finger at those baaaaad tomatoes*. Perhaps I'm 'aging' in taste as I mature. Or perhaps... it's the difference between a to-mah-to and a to-may-do.

Nigella's Snickers and Peanut-Butter Muffins

There are times when things are there for a reason. Just like Nigella's: How To Be A Domestic Goddess' Children Section. I'm now rather certain that the baked goods in that section are targeted at and ONLY at children.

I thought it would be fun to try out her recipe calling for peanut-butter and snickers bars. Yes, actual snickers bars. What could go wrong? Chunky Peanut Butter and Chocolate Caramel and nuts.

Well... perhaps Children are the only ones who can appreciate this... with immature blatant taste buds... wait what am I saying? Perhaps only American and English kids would love this. Afterall, they seem to enjoy having spoonfuls of peanut butter much more than Asian kids. Or perhaps it's me the 'adult' whose tastes are a little too sensitive to this much peanut butter at one go.

Anyways, the recipe isn't a flop. It did what it was supposed to do, it rose and it bubbled where the chopped snicker bars lay. It was just... too much peanut butter at a go. It's muffin-like, meaning not too sweet but the peanut butter just packs a punch. Even if I reduced the peanut butter further, erm... maybe I should wait overnight to see how the muffins go with colleagues and over a cup of coffee at least. Her recipe is as follows:

(Adapted from Nigella Lawson's: How To Be A Domestic Goddess)
Snickers and Peanut-Butter Muffins
250 gms plain flour
160 gms Crunchy Peanut Butter
140 gms chopped Snicker Bars (Original Recipe: 3 x 64gms bar)
85 gms Golden Castor Sugar
60 gms melted unsalted butter
180 gms Milk
1 Large Egg
1.5 tsp Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt

1) Mix flour, sugar, baking power and salt
2) Incorporate Peanut Butter till crumb-like
3) Pour slightly cooled melted butter into egg and milk, mix.
4) Pour wet ingredients to dry and gently incorporate together
5) Add chopped snicker bars
6) Pour into muffin cases and bake at 200 Degree Celsius (I baked at 170-185 degree celsius because my oven seems to burn most things if I follow most temperatures to the T)

Yields 12.

I Love My Silicones

I really do love my silicones, NOT the ones in stuffed into a body, rather, I am referring to silicone bakeware that will probably be the most useful invention after the zipper, for bakers' and enthusiasts only of course. Silicone bakeware have been flooding the culinary world of late, causing much hype. It is more expensive than traditional tins but I suspect the prices would drop drastically once patent rights expire.

Silicone wares are non-stick and heat tolerant with the flexibility to be molded into more friendly shapes as compared to the traditional metal tins. They come in a variety of shapes, such as cookie baking sheets (or tray liners), traditional and animated cake / loaf tins as well as brushes. The greatest advantage of silicone bakeware to me, seems to be the non-stick properties and storage (Non-stick pans have not always been known to do its job). I have always held a secret fear that my concoctions would not un-mould whole, and similarly, have always developed migraines trying to organise bulky tin storage. The silicone baking sheet itself is kept rolled and takes up relatively little storage space.

I spent many a sleepless night, browsing the tons of Silpats advertised in American online bake stores. I wondered whether they were truly non-stick and if they would burn. I wondered how easy it would be to wash off the remnants of baked confections.

Imagine my surprise when I finally found a couple of local bake stores carrying these precious goods! Experimentation being my middle name, I went ahead and bought a decent sized Silpat loaf tray along with an 8pc regular muffin tray (Silpat is the brand name of the silicone invention by French Chemist, Guy Demarle). I remember thinking to myself how I would refer to a silicone 'Loaf Tin' from now on... Loaf Silicone? Loaf Tray? Loaf Thingamjig?

I have however, read a few flogs claiming that the silicone mat wasn't as non-stick as claimed and they would never use another again. My dense chocolate loaf baked beautifully and I had no trouble at all when it was time to un-mould. Needless to say, I am in baking lust with my silicones.

I recently found yet another treasure trove of a bakestore, and the thing that caught my eye within minutes of stepping into the shop? Cupcake silicones in a variety of pastels! How absolutely sweet is that?

Conversely or ironically, I also found a traditional item that was never available on the shores of Singapore (at least as far as I know)... Cake Release. I read that Pam had the grease/flour spray but never found it in the local supermarkets. Cake Release greases and flours tins for especially sticky recipes but obviously this would not be necessary in silicone moulds. I bought it anyway just because it is almost like realising childhood dream.

A Month of Celebrations

Have been a little busy this month even though I told myself I would like to bake and decorate a little cake for myself as a mark of wanting to celebrate a birthday alone. Ok... so I was inspired by Obachan's blog and truthfully? A tad curious of how it would feel, celebrating by myself for myself.

I know that no matter how I articulate this, it would sound sad but it really isn't! I take the stance that instead of turning up to celebrate a good friend's birthday, I would be turning up to celebrate for myself.

I have had previous occasions where I just want to crawl into bed and pray that the day goes away for fear of aging, fear of embarrassing Happy Birthday serenades, fear of saying Thank You and having to look surprised at receiving and dusting yet another gift on the shelf, fear that friends get into arguments and develop bad vibes over how to celebrate my birthday, etc..

I didn't manage to celebrate it alone this year but I hold myself to the promise that I will bake a belated birthday cake for myself soon enough.

However, I did manage to remember to bring a camera for one of the birthday celebrations held in my honour. This was something that is just up my alley... a home cooked meal in a home. Good company, good conversations, good laughs. What can I say? I am aging and I relish in peaceful non-embarrasing celebrations. Heck! I even got my desired gift... silicon bakeware! Woot! I ADORE getting what I asked for. Surprises have never really worked for me. Maybe it is the control freak in me.

Anyway... this photo may not say much but it will be a memory I will cherish. The thought that everyone made an effort to get together, and make me feel special. Now if I can only bring myself to remember everyone ELSE's birthday... I would be on my way to groovy street of showing everyone how I appreciate them =P

A Kiss From The Ethereal Fairy

Growing up in an asian household, fairycakes never made it as one of the birthday party items. If anything, cupcakes became a deadly fascination only after I watched 'Sex And The City'. The one where Miranda and Carrie were having yet another tete-a-tete over a large fuschia frosted cupcake each. I have since dreamed of this pink cupcake endlessly. I may not like the sickeningly sweet fuschia frosting but I would like to have one in my hand, smearing my lips just a little as I take a gigantic bite off one.

So when I finally got Nigella's 'How To Be A Domestic Goddess' book, her Fairycakes was earmarked almost immediately when I leafed through it. And since I have a little get together tomorrow, I made a batch of these today.

What I love most of this recipe is that it makes exactly 12 large cupcakes without excess leftovers. What I disliked was that it called for Royal Icing which is not sold in Singapore. I surfed quite a few sites before 'inventing' this frosting myself. Whilst I will not repeat Nigella's recipe for the basic cupcake (you can get it off her website anyway), I will list the recipe for the self invented icing.

Chaos' Instant Icing for Fairycakes
30ml unsalted butter
250gm Icing sugar Dash of Good Vanilla Essence
3-4 Tbsps of Cold Milk

- Melt unsalted butter over a boiling water bath, removing when melted
- Add vanilla essence & unsifted icing sugar. Whisk till mixed
- Whisk like the wind over heat
- It will be lumpy but as you whisk over very gentle heat, the butter starts to get runny, incorporating the icing sugar well. This is when you start to drizzle the milk in, aiming for a dripping consistency (i.e. be able to drip from a spoon onto each cupcake)
- Remove from heat and whisk till it is bubble-less and smooth.
- Divide the icing sugar into batches, dependant on the number of colours you wish to create. I used 2 gel paste colours, white and red (trying for fuschia).
- Take a dollop of coloured icing and drip it into each cupcake.
- The batch made will sufficiently ice 12 cupcakes.

Hint: I didn't really want to lop the tops of the cupcakes off (truthfully? I can't bear to throw away lopped cupcake tops), so I used large muffin cases and molds when baking the cakes. This ensured that my cupcake was fairly well spread and minimal rising occurred. I still had cute round little mounds but nothing that required lopping of any kind.

After icing the cakes, I would place each into a small wide rimmed bowl, swirl it firmly a couple of times and voila! The icing would be well spread around the sides (remembering that each cupcake still had mounds and thus more icing is required along the edges of the cupcakes) after such swirls.

I misplaced my wafer roses and sugar daisies so I used whole lavender sugar roses, attached with sugar leaves. These are the same sugar flowers that one would use when decorating a whole cake or even a wedding cake.
Yes... I realise no one would wanna risk losing a tooth or two eating into these decorations but I just can't resist the end result.

Tell me if you think it was worth putting these over-the-top flowers on!