Fudgy Chocolate Almond Brownie

Basically, for those who are a newbie in baking like me, you may ask what is exactly the difference between a brownie and a cake?  Well to start it off, a brownie is a cross between a cake and a cookie.  To put it simply, it is flatter, denser and fudgier as compared to a cake which is taller and fluffier.

Brownies comes in a variety of forms, depending on its density.  Primarily, they are either the cakey type or the fudgy type.  Again, it all depends on personal preference.   For me?  I would choose the latter, and the gooier, the better.

Interestingly, there are some myths leading to the creation of this version of cake dessert. The first, that a chef accidentally added melted chocolate to biscuit dough.  The second, a cook forgot to add flour to the batter.  And the third, also the most popular belief, that a housewife who was baking a chocolate cake forgot to add baking powder.  When her cake did not rise, instead of tossing it out, she went on to serve the flat pieces to her guests.  This became a beloved treat of today.  Whatever may be the case, all three myths have lead to the 'birth' of this sweetie which eventually gained its very own popularity among cake lovers.

So, based on these myths, they sort of self-explain the distinct texture of a brownie: 

1. The higher ratio of butter to flour - makes the dessert
     fudgier and denser. 

2. The absence of baking powder - makes the cake flat.

3. The higher ratio of sugar used - makes the brownie gooier. 

4. The extra melted chocolate - makes it devilishly and sinfully chocolatey

This is my first time baking a brownie.  Personally, I find baking this treat relatively simple as compared to a cake.  Thank God, for once I don't have to bother whether the mixture is over beaten or under beaten.  I also need not care whether the ingredients are at room temperature or not, or whether the eggs are soft peak, stiff peak, hard peak or no peak!  The best part is, there is no mixer required, be it the stand one or the hand one.  It's pretty straightforward, just add and mix.

I adapted this recipe from Wendy of Table for 2....or more.  I deliberately added 20g of coffee powder to give the dessert the extra kick.  Indeed, the coffee gave a tinge of sweet-bitter taste.  Generally, I am quite pleased (though not totally satisfied) with the outcome considering this is my first time trying my hands out at this bake.  The only setback is the whole thing was not dark, gooey, fudgy and moist enough. 

After making the cake, I went on to scour through the net about the perfect brownie and incidentally this blog here from Eva Bakes piqued my interest.  It seems that she has made quite a few variations of brownies and all of them looked so amazingly tempting - dark, moist, gooey and fudgy! 

Anyway, here's the recipe I used.....

The Recipe:

250gm dark chocolate

100gm butter
100gm sugar (I find it a little tad too sweet, so pls reduce accordingly)
1 tsp vanilla extract

20g coffee/espresso powder
3 eggs
60gm all purpose flour
100gm chocolate chips
100gm white chocolate chips (I do not have any, so I use the chocolate one, so altogether 200g of chocolate chips)

Small handful of almond (optional)

Method:
1. Preheat oven at 140/160C. Line an 8 inch shallow
    square pan.
2. Place dark chocolate and butter into a mixing bowl.
    Place mixing bowl over another bowl of hot water and let the butter and chocolate melt,
    stirring gently.

3. Remove mixing bowl from hot water and mix in sugar, vanilla extract and coffee powder.
4. Put in eggs and mix.
5. Sift in flour and mix.
6. Put in 2/3 of both choc chips and nuts and mix.
7. Pour batter into pan and sprinkle balance of almond nuts and choc chips.
8. Bake for 35- 40 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.
 

Happy Trying!!

Melt-in-the-mouth Pineapple Tarts - Enclosed Version

Barely two months after I last blog about pineapple tarts, here I come again, with another version of this glorious sweetie!  This time round, it is the enclosed type.

Having grown  up eating loads and loads of homemade traditional Nyonya pineapple tarts which characteristically has its filling exposed, this bull-headed soul was just too dogged to recognize any other variations of the tart.  He was just too arrogant to even try them and to him, as though the open type was the ONLY one existed in this whole wide world. 

Thus, it comes to no surprise if I say this is my first time eating this version of pineapple tarts, apart from the Taiwanese Pineapple Cake which coincidentally also has its filling enclosed.

Taiwan Pineapple Cake

Malaysia Pineapple Balls

Thanks to Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover, whose excellent and insightful posting on the enclosed version of the tart finally tamed down my arrogance and brought me a step closer into the realm of pineapple world.

What drew me into reading her posting and experimenting the tarts myself were basically because of these two factors:

  a) it is super-duper straightforward which only calls for four ingredients, yes ONLY 4, and they 

      are bu---, con----, f----- and e---.

  b) it is the best melt-in-the-mouth pineapple tart version though you may have your melt-in-

      the-mouth recipe

Huh?? Sure or not, Sonia??  Well, after taking my first bite, I would have to take my hat off.  You are absolutely correct!  The tarts are freaking melty!  Unquestionably, it is by far the best that I have ever tasted, too!

So, here it is, the secret reveals.....

Ingredients:

350g butter

100g condensed milk or sweetened creamer

510 plain flour

2 egg yolks

700g pineapple filling (homemade or store-bought).

You may find the recipe in my previous post here if you intend to make your own.

1 egg yolk + 1 tsp milk, for egg wash

Method:

1. Cream butter and condensed milk till light.

2. Add in egg yolk one at a time, and beat until combine.

3. Mix in flour to make a dough. Make sure it's not sticky.

4. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, roll pineapple filling into balls

6. Flatten a piece of dough and place a ball of the rolled pineapple 

    filling in the middle.  Bring the edges of the dough together and 

    press lightly to seal.  Gently roll the ball on the surface of your
    table top so that the surface of the ball is smooth and neat.

7. Glaze the rolled balls with egg wash.

8. Bake in the preheated oven at 165C (fan forced) for about
    20 mins or till golden brown.

9. Cool completely before storing.

Happy baking!

Raisin-Almond-Orange Streusel Cake

This is my first time baking a streusel cake.  Obviously, the word itself was so alien to me when I first heard it.  It sounded so English that I thought it was some kind of a candy or even a name of a branded shoe. Or could it a type of gardening tool or some dog breed? Oh my God! There goes my apish ignorance!

I bet that most of us have eaten a streusel or at a very least seen it before but not knowing what it is called.  After some read-ups, I came to know that basically streusel is a crumblike topping for coffee cakes and rich breads, consisting of flour, sugar, butter, cinnamon, and sometimes chopped nutmeats.  Streusel is indeed a German word which means 'something scattered or sprinkled'.  True enough, this sugary crumbs are generously scattered on top of the cake giving the whole cake a tinge of sweetness.  If you have weakness for butter, then this little something will without fail pamper your taste buds to the max. 

Surprisingly, my son who normally has no craving for cakes sort of like this bake a lot.  Personally, I find this cake so-so as I do not like the sourish zing from the raisins.  Probably, I have over-soaked the raisins causing it to lose its sweetness.  The only thing that has made up for the flaw is the streusel topping.  The buttery and sugary crunch from the topping is simply satisfying and indeed completes everything. 

This cake will be perfect to go with a cuppa hot coffee on a hot afternoon in a private garden enjoyed together with a bunch of close friends or family members.  Aaahhh.....heavenly! 

For those who want to give this dessert a shot, here's the secret......

The Recipe

A) Batter
     55g unsalted butter, at room temperature
     100g brown sugar (1/2 cup)
     1 large egg, at room temperature
     125g all-purpose flour (1 cup)
     1/8 teaspoon salt
     1 tsp baking powder
     1/2 cup orange juice
     1/2 cup raisins, soaked and drained
     small handful almond flakes


B) Streusel
      60g all-purpose flour (1/2 cup)
      55g cold, unsalted butter, chopped into small pieces
      55g caster sugar (1/4 cup)

Method:

Preheat your oven at 175C degrees and butter a 8-inch square pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir to blend. 

In another, larger bowl, beat the sugar and butter together until they become creamy and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat well. 

Add half of the flour mix into the egg-butter-sugar mix, bit well, then add half the orange juice and beat again.

Do the same with the remaining half flour mix and orange juice (and zest if you are using it). Beat the mixture until it is smooth. Stir in the raisins. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan.

Make the Streusel

In a small bowl combine the flour, sugar, butter pieces and mix it with your fingers until it becomes crumbly.

Sprinkle evenly over the batter in the pan and stud with the almond flakes. 

Bake the cake for 20-30 minutes or until it is golden brown. Test with a toothpick to see if it is ready, if the toothpick comes out clean it is ready. 

Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then unmold and serve warm or at room temperature.


Enjoy!!

 

Ayam Buah Keras (Candlenut Chicken)

I never know that candlenuts can become one of the main ingredients in a dish.  As far as I know, candlenuts (or in Malay it is called buah keras) are used in traditional Asian dishes (mainly in Malaysia and Indonesia) to thicken sauces ie satay and sambal.  The nut is similar in flavour (though much bitter) and texture to a macadamia nut, which similarly has a high oil content.

Buah Keras / Candlenuts

The other day, I was browsing through for a nyonya chicken curry recipe that my late mother used to cook for me and incidentally I stumbled upon this one over here from My Kitchen Snippets.  At one glance, it looked similar to the recipe that I was looking for.  I clicked, went in and instantly had my heart set on cooking this dish, of course still assuming that it was THE recipe I was looking for.

However, in the midst of preparing the dish, I realized that I was cooking something else.  While dishing out onto the plate, I knew that it's gonna be a good one, based on the texture, consistency, color and aroma.

Then came the moment of truth!  My wife took her first bite..........mmm, okay-lah, cukup rasa (tasty enough)!  As her usual self, always stingy with her compliments, I still could not assume the dish had convinced her.........U-N-T-I-L she took the second piece.  PHEW!!  I gave out a small sheepish smile.

In the evening, on the dining table, my eldest who had just come back from school tried the dish together with steamed rice.  After his last spoon, he went up straight to my wife and blurted out..........."mummy, can you please ask papa to cook some more?"   

So, here it is, two 'likes' from two of the most important people in my family.  Humbly, I have somehow succeeded in this dish that I feel it's worth trying if you are looking for a nyonya chicken dish.....yes, Ayam Buah Keras/Candlenut Chicken.

The Recipe:

The ingredients:

Kaffir Lime Leaves

600g chicken, cleaned and cut into small pieces
Candlenut paste (please refer to the recipe below)
1 Lemongrass, slightly smashed
2 pcs Kaffir lime leaves
3/4 cup of water
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste


Method:
1. Heat about 4-5 tablespoon of oil and put in the candlenut paste and fry
     until fragrant (this normally take about 10 minutes).  Use low to medium
     heat and be careful not to burn the paste.
2. Add in the chicken pieces, kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass  Coat the chicken
    with the paste and keep stirring until the chicken turns opaque.
3. Add in salt, sugar, and some water and stir every now and then.
4. Cook until the chicken is done and gravy thickens slightly.  If the chicken is not
    cooked but the gravy is starting to dry up, you can add more water.
5. Dish out and serve.

Preparing the Candlenut Paste:
   100g fresh chilies (about 10 pcs)
   5 candlenuts
   100g shallots (about 10-12 pcs)
    8g fresh turmeric/kunyit hidup (about 2 inches)
    10g shrimp paste/belacan
    oil
    water

Method:
1. De-seed the fresh chillies if you do not like the paste to be too spicy.
    Cut the chillies, shallots and turmeric for easy blending.
2. Put all the ingredients into a blender and add a little water.  Blend
    into fine paste and set it aside.

BON APPETITE!

The nut is similar (though “rougher”) in flavor and texture to the macadamia nut, which has a similarly high oil content. - See more at: http://theepicentre.com/spice/candlenut/#sthash.cVQyqKJU.dpuf

The nut is similar (though “rougher”) in flavor and texture to the macadamia nut, which has a similarly high oil content. It is mildly toxic when raw. - See more at: http://theepicentre.com/spice/candlenut/#sthash.cVQyqKJU.dpuf

The nut is similar (though “rougher”) in flavor and texture to the macadamia nut, which has a similarly high oil content. It is mildly toxic when raw. - See more at: http://theepicentre.com/spice/candlenut/#sthash.cVQyqKJU.dpuf

The nut is similar (though “rougher”) in flavor and texture to the macadamia nut, which has a similarly high oil content. It is mildly toxic when raw. - See more at: http://theepicentre.com/spice/candlenut/#sthash.cVQyqKJU.dpuf

The nut is similar (though “rougher”) in flavor and texture to the macadamia nut, which has a similarly high oil content. It is mildly toxic when raw. - See more at: http://theepicentre.com/spice/candlenut/#sthash.cVQyqKJU.dpuf

Nyonya Pulut Inti

My brother in-law gave us a packet of uncooked glutinous rice, specially brought back from Singapore.  He reckoned that it was of a high graded one.  As a matter of fact, we have never had any glutinous rice in the house ever since we shifted in 5 years back.  Besides, we have never cooked it either and certainly none of us knows how to exploit it.  So, whether it is high graded or low graded, it does not matter to us even a wee bit. Anyway, thanks to you, bro!

Not knowing what to do with it, my wife, again gave another of her brilliant suggestion.

"Why don't we make pulut inti!"  

"Yeer, so simple" was my only response.

Uninterested, I did not bother to ask her any further and just walked away.  After a few reminders, I finally gave in.  Hesitatingly, I googled search for the recipe and did a little bit of reading.  Little did I realize that I began to lurve and appreciate this classic Nyonya  kuih.

As a Melaka-born Baba, I used to eat this kuih when I was young.  It has been quite some time since my mom and tuah ee (aunt) last made this kuih.  As a kid (even till now), I did not quite crave for this delicacy simply because I was just too lazy to unwrap the banana leaf which would always make my fingers sticky and messy. 

Basically, pulut inti is made of steamed glutinous rice with coconut milk and eaten with dessicated coconut filling caramelized with palm sugar and it's all wrapped in a banana leaf.  "Pulut" means glutinous rice and "inti" means the filling.  The original version of pulut inti will have its pulut soaked with bunga telang (or Blue Pea flower in English) to give the rice a sweet pastel blue hue.  Since I had totally forgotten to hunt some, I would have to settle for the plain colorless rice.

 Bunga Telang (Blue pea flower)

Generally, I find making this legendary kuih so much fun and most importantly, it's so nyonya......

Pulut Inti Recipe
(I adapted this recipe from nyonya food -
http://nyonyafood.rasamalaysia.com)

A) The Pulut

15 dried Blue Pea Flowers
1/4 cup of hot water
300 g glutinous rice
230 g thick coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt

Method:

1. Soak blue pea flower in hot water for 15 minutes till water turn blue. Sieve the water out.
2. Soak the glutinous rice in blue pea flower overnight or about 6 hours.
3. Steam glutinous rice in steamer for about 25 minutes or till rice is soft.
4. Mix coconut milk and salt. Add into steamed glutinous rice and continue to steam for another 10 minutes.
5. Remove and leave to cool.
6. Serve with coconut filling.

 B) Coconut Filling
     150 g brown sugar / palm sugar
     3 Tbsp sugar
     1 pandan leave (knotted)
     1 grated coconut (white part only)
     80ml water
     1Tbsp cornflour mix with 1Tbsp water

Method:

1. Break the brown sugar/palm sugar into small pieces. Combine with the sugar, pandan leave and water. Cover over a medium flame until sugar dissolves.
2. Add in grated coconut and stir till fragrant.
3. Add conflour mixture and stir for 2 minutes. Leave to cool.

Hope you will like this recipe!

Happy Trying!!

Traditional Chicken Rendang

On our way hunting for breakfast two days ago, my wife suddenly craved to eat rendang ayam (or chicken rendang) and asked me to cook.  Any particular reason? I have no idea.  What I could think of, it's probably due to the Ramadan month fever (fasting month for the Muslims) where food bazaars, displaying all kinds of traditional Malay food and snacks are prominent at almost every nook and cranny of the town.  As the Hari Raya Aidilfitri festival (a new year festival celebrated by the Muslims after observing a-month long of fasting period) is fast approaching, the smell of ketupats and rendangs, which are synonymous to the celebration begins to fill the festive air.   

So, immediately after breakfast we headed to the nearby market to get the ingredients needed.  As soon as wife got down from the car, I remained in and started googling for the recipe on my mobile phone.  After just a few clicks, I caught sight on this particular one here and bingo!  Barely 10 minutes, we were already in the car heading back home. 

Basically, rendang is a caramelized curry cooked with either chicken, beef or mutton.  This is a spicy meat dish originated from the Minangkabau ethnic group of Indonesia to serve at ceremonial occasions and now a popular Malay staple in Malaysia.  Rendang is often served with steamed rice, ketupat (a compressed rice cake), or lemang (glutinous rice barbecued in bamboo tubes).  It is a must-have dish in every Malay house during Hari Raya Aidilfitri festival.

Interestingly, in 2011, an online poll by 35,000 people held by CNN International chose Rendang as the number one dish of their 'World's 50 Most Delicious Food' list.  Wow, what a revelation!

Cooking rendang is time-consuming and requires patience.  The meat pieces are slowly cooked in coconut milk and spices at precisely the right temperature until almost all the liquid is gone.  The slow cooking process allows the meat to absorb all the spices and to become tender.   The generous use of numerous spices makes rendang to have a complex and unique taste.

So, here it goes.......

The Recipe:

500g chicken, chopped (or mutton, beef, cubed)
3 potatoes, quartered
10 shallots
4 cloves garlic
2 stalks lemon grass/serai, smashed for flavour
1 cm ginger
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
sugar to taste
lots of pepper
1 tsp chili paste or 3 fresh chilies
1/2 tsp turmeric

1 cup coconut milk
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 turmeric leaf

1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup pounded kerisik (dry roasted dessicated coconut that is golden brown and very fragrant)


Method :-
1) Blend onion, garlic, ginger, salt, turmeric and chili paste until smooth.
2) Heat oil in wok and add blended mixture. Stir fry for 5 minutes or until paste separates from the oil.
3) Add chicken and potatoes.  Then, stir fry for 5 minutes.
4) Add kaffir lime leaves and turmeric leaf together with coconut milk and allow to simmer for about 45 minutes or until meat is tender, adding a bit more coconut milk as necessary to keep sauce from drying and burning.
5) Add the coconut kerisik when the meat is almost tender, like 10 minutes before finish.

Hope this recipe will fire your taste bud, just like how it did on mine!

Bon Appetite!

Nyonya Pineapple Tarts, The Crispy Type

 
I started making pineapple tarts about 2 years ago.  Seriously, pineapple tart making is utterly labour-intensive and time-consuming.  Nevertheless, it is indeed a labour of love.  For those who have attempted making this Nyonya staple, you should know what I mean!

The work includes cutting the pineapples, removing all the eyes (gosh, I hate this the most), grating the fruits, slow-cooking it under low heat until it turns jammy (well, this itself takes about 1-2 hours), preparing the dough, assembling everything and finally baking the tarts.  I usually spend about 3-4 hours just on the assembling part and just to make a batch consisting of a mere 50 bite-sized pieces.

Well, I have to say that the whole family: my wife, my kids, including my in-laws really have a weakness for pineapple tarts.  However, as a matter of fact, not only that the price of a box (of tarts) sold outside is escalating like nobody's business but getting one that is nice and authentic is indeed hard to come by nowadays.  Hence, I feel it is high time that I get my hands dirty and learn to make my own.  Well, before getting down to business, I did my homework ie doing lots of reading from the net including seeking advice from my septuagenarian aunt (I affectionately call her Tuah Ee) whom we, among the relatives recognize her as the sifu of pineapple tart.  So, this could be the reason why when I made my very first batch of tarts, I did not encounter much hiccups and the outcome was fairly good and far from being disastrous.  I have made pineapple tarts for umpteen times and am now still fine-tuning it.

Basically, there are two types of pineapple tarts ie the hard crispy type and the soft melt-in-the mouth type, the latter being more preferable.  Actually, it all boils down to the pastry.  Personally, I prefer the hard crispy pastry.  I do not like it too hard though but most importantly, the pastry must be crissppy.  When you make a cross section to the tart, you can see layers forming the pastry.  This is what I mean......

Well, it all depends on the butter and the duration of baking.  To get this result, you must use the rub-in method.  While rubbing the butter with flour, it is important that you do not allow chance for the butter to melt.  That is the reason you need to work using your finger tips (as this is the coolest part of the hand) and everything needs to be done fast.  Secondly, you must never knead the dough.  Next, to make the pastry crispier, you just need to bake the pastry a little longer (about 5-10 minutes longer).

If you like the crispy type, nah....here you go :

Recipe
(this yields about 50 pcs depending on how thick is your pastry and the size of your pastry cutter)

A) For the pineapple jam:
        - 500g grated or chopped pineapple flesh (I always chopped)
        - 125g caster sugar
        - 125g rock sugar
        - 5 cloves
        - 2 cinnamon sticks

        Method
        1. In a heavy based saucepan, place the grated pineapple and spices and stir
            to dry the pineapple before adding the sugar.
        2. Once the sugar is added, reduce heat to low and stir regularly for about
            1 hour or until pineapple jam is relative dry. (remember that when you
            bake the tarts, the jam will further dry out)
        3. Make sure you stir it frequently as the bottom will burn easily.  Once it's
            thick and jammy, take it off the heat, remove the spices and allow to cool
            completely.
        4. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.  This makes it easier for us to
            shape it into balls later.


B) For the pastry:
     - 500g plain flour
     - 300g unsalted butter (slightly softened)
     - 2 eggs
     - 1 tsp salt
     - 2 tbsp icing sugar
     - 1 egg yolk (for brushing over pastry to create golden hue)

      Method
      1. With your fingertips, rub together the flour and butter until it resembles
          bread crumbs.
      2. Add the egg and gently coax all the crumb until it binds together.
      3. Bring it together and shape it into a disc (remember, DO NOT knead)
      4. Wrap it in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least half an hour. 

C) The Assembling Process:
        1. Pre-roll the pineapple jam into small balls.
        2. Roll out the pastry dough to desired thickness.  Cut out dough using cutter.
            Arrange neatly onto the baking tray.
        3. Once you have arranged the tart shells on your tray, pop them into the
            pre-heated oven.  Bake at 175 degree Celsius for aboiut 10 minutes or until
            the shells are about to turn brown.  Note that at this point, the tart shells will
            expand.
        4. Take out from the oven and glaze the rims with egg wash.
        5. Place the pre-rolled pineapple jam balls onto the centre of each tart shell.
        6. Make a criss-cross pattern on the jam.  Then, glaze the patterns.
        7. Pop into the oven for the 2nd time.  Bake for another 10 minutes or until
            the tarts turn golden brown.

HAPPY TRYING!!