Tiramisu (Eggless with Alcohol)

Recently there was a rave about Tiramisu making on facebook and that sparks my interest to give it a go as well.

I've been hesitant to venture into Tiramisu as I'm not comfortable adding eggs which are kind of cook over simmering water bath. Anything close to raw egg is a no go for me personally.

So, I was really happy to chance upon this Eggless Tiramisu recipe which taste as good as the originals that are made with eggs! We shared a piece of Tiramisu over lunch with our friends last Sunday and hubby said that this version tasted better! :)

Do give it a try!

Tiramisu (Eggless with Alcohol)
Serves 8

Ingredients
500g Mascarpone Cheese, softened
75g Caster Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
355 ml Really Strong Coffe or Espresso, cooled
3 Tbsps Dark Rum / Bailey Irish Cream
2 Tbsps Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
30 Savogliardi Ladyfingers (do not get those cake like spongy type)

Whipped Cream (Do this 1 hour ahead to firm up the whipped cream)

400 ml Heavy Cream / Dairy Whipping Cream (chilled)
2½ Tbsps Icing Sugar

1. Using the whisk attachment, beat the cream with low speed (no.2) until it gets thick and starts to form peaks. Gradually increase to high speed.
2. Gradually add in the icicng sugar & whisk until stiff peak. Do not over mix.
3. Set aside in the fridge to firm up a little more for use later.

Making the Mascapone Filling

1. Using a spatula, cream together the mascarpone, vanilla and sugar.
   
2. Once the mascarpone is well mixed, fold in half of the whipped cream into mascarpone mixture first to lighten it.
   
3. Once that is done, fold in remaining whipped cream being careful not to over mix.
   

To assemble

1. In a large bowl mix together the coffee and rum and set aside.
   
2. Get ready the cocoa powder and ladyfingers.Dip each ladyfinger into the coffee rum mixture and lay it in the bottom of your pan.
   
3. Once you’ve completely cover the whole bottom of the pan with the coffee and rum soaked ladyfingers, pour over half of the mascarpone and cream mixture.
   
4. Spread the cream evenly over ladyfingers and sprinkle the top with 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder.
   
5. Arrange the remaining coffee soaked ladyfingers on top of the cream & cocoa powder layers and spread over the remaining filling.
   
6. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder.
   
7. Cover & Chill for 6 - 8 hours before serving.
   
8. Garnish each serving with some fresh raspberries & chocolate shavings.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today is definitely cookies day!

I finished a batch of Snickerdoodle Cinnamon Coated Cookies early this morning and now I just finished a batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies!

It has been a while since I'm going nuts about baking but ever since I started working from home, I've the privilege of time to manage work and my passion for baking & cooking.

These chocolate chip cookies are crunchy. I do not have any nice nuts to add into the cookie today so I just dumped as much chocolate chips as I can squeese into the batter :P

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yields 48 Small Size Cookies (4-5cm in diameter)

Ingredients

125g Unsalted Butter, softened to room temperature
75g Caster Sugar
60g Brown Sugar
1 Egg

1 tsp Vanilla Extract
150g All Purpose Flour
45g Corn Flour
1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
pinch of Salt
60g Chopped Nuts (Pecans, Macadamia etc)
125g Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips (use 170g Choco chips if not using nuts)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
   
2. Sift plain flour, cornflour, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl. Stir to ensure they are evenly distributed.
   
3. In a mixing bowl with paddle attachment, cream butter with caster sugar and brown sugar until light, pale and fluffy.
   
4. Add egg and vanilla to butter mixture. Mix to get an even mixture.
   
5. Next, add in the dry ingredients. Mix and stop once the flour are combined.. A soft dough should be obtained. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl with spatula
   
6. Stir in the chocolate chips & nuts to ensure a well distribution.
   
7. The dough is very soft and sticky and if you find it hard to handle, chill it for 30-45mins. I did not chill my dough.
   
8. Spoon heaped Teaspoon of dough onto lined cookies trays, leaving some space between each cookie dough.
   
9. The cookie size is about 4-5cm in diameter so do leave enough space in-between cookies.
   
10. Bake cookies for 13 minutes or until medium browned.

Cooling and storing:

Allow cookies to cool on their trays for 2 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Cool cookies completely on wire rack before storing in air-tight containers.

Notes:

If the cookies do soften for some reasons, bake them for 10 minutes at 180°C and allow to cool. The crunch will return.

Snickerdoodle Cinnamon Coated Cookies

I've been wanting to bake some cookies for a while and today, I decided to try this recipe call Snickerdoodle Cinnamon Coated Cookies. The name itself is already interesting so I can't wait to taste it!.

The recipe calls for 1 tablespoonful of mixture to be baked but as you can see from the picture, it yields a pretty large cookie measuring 9 cm in diameter! After looking at my first batch of LARGE cookies, I decided to make slightly smaller ones using 1/2 tablespoonful and these cookies came out just a nice size of 7cm in diameter.

I really like the combination and the cookies are really crispy on the edges and chewy in the centre. I just can't stopped myself from having one after another :P

Snickerdoodle Cinnamon Coated Cookies

24 Medium Size Cookies (7cm in diameter)

Ingredients

(A)
150g All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cream of Tartar

(B)
113g Unsalted Butter, cool to room temperature
170g Caster Sugar

(C)
1 Egg

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

For the Cinnamon Sugar
55g Caster Sugar
1 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 175°C. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
   In a small bowl, combine (A) and set aside.
   
2. In a large bowl, using the paddle attachment, cream together (B) until fluffy
   
3. Add the (C) & mix until creamy and combined.
   
4. Add (A) & just mix enough to incorporate all of the ingredients & stop the mixer. Do not over mix!
   
5. In a small bowl, mix together the remaining Caster Sugar & the Ground Cinnamon. Set side.
   
6. Drop by 1/2 tablespoonful or using a very small ice cream scooper into the cinnamon sugar mixture.
   
7. Roll them around to coat and place them on your prepared baking sheets.
   
8. Bake for about 15 minutes
   
9. Rotate the baking sheets half way through for even baking.
   
10. Cool in the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely
    

Beef with Asparagus in Oyster Sauce

Since I started planning weekly menu, I've made a note to incorporate at least one dish of red meat per week. Thus, today we are going to have Beef with Asaparagus in Oyster Sauce :)

Too bad hubby is going to miss it today as he loves anything with beef BUT I have already put aside some beef to cook this again for him maybe over the weekend.

I don't fancy eating meat much but somehow this dish just makes me want to take a bite the moment it was cooked! For those of you who knows me, you'll know how I tend to make faces whenever I'm told to eat meat and my mum used to crack her head just trying to find ways to get me to eat teeny weeny bit of meat every meal! So Yes, you heard me well, I want to eat this dish!

The beef is nicely marinated and the combination of spring onion and Asparagus just simply does wonders for me. I want my dinner now! hahaha

Beef with Asparagus in Oyster Sauce

Serves 2 (double the recipe if you need to feed 4)

(A)
225g Beef Flank Slices
1 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Corn Flour
½ Tbsp Spring Onion, Minced

(B)
Aspargus

(C)
1 Tbsp Light Soya Sauce
1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
½ Tbsp Shao Xing Wine
½ Tbsp Sugar
½ Tbsp Corn Flour
Dash Pepper
4 Tbsp Water
1 Tsp Sesame Oil
½ Tbsp Toasted White Sesame Seeds (optional)

Methods

1. Cut beef into 2 inch wide strips along grain. Slice across the grain & mix in (A).
   
2. Heat 2 Tsps of cooking oil & stir-fry beef until medium well by closing the pan for about 2 mins. Set aside.
   
3. Stir fry spring onions & asparagus until fragrant by closing the pan for about 3 mins
   
4. Add (C) and beef. Close pan and cook for 3 mins or until steam starts coming out from the vent. Open the pan and lightly stir-fry to mix well.
   
5. Remove dish from pan and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
   
6. Serve & Enjoy!

Chicken, Mushroom Pumpkin Rice

I've started to plan a weekly menu to ease the load of having to figure out what to cook for the day:) Since we will have at least 3 dishes per meal time, I've decided to dedicate simple One Pot cooking for every Wednesday!

It has been a while since I last made Pumpkin Rice and so I've penned it down as one of the One Pot meals for Wednesday.

My mum used to cook such one pot meals for us such as Pumpkin Rice, Yam Rice & Cabbage Rice whenever she ran out of ideas for the day:) Eating this dish today simply brings back fond memories of childhood home comfort and my mummy's love.

I still missed my mum a lot even thought she had passed on closed to 8 years now. She'll be amazed that I actually managed to pick up cooking after all! hahahahahaa...... I used to be the one to run out of the kitchen the minute I heard a "ping" sound coming from the heated oil in the wok and my mum used to shake her head and wonder out loud why I chose to climb trees instead of learning the art of cooking :P

So, here is my favourite one Pot Rice Meal :D


Chicken, Mushroom & Pumpkin Rice
Servings - 4 persons (2 helpings each)

Ingredients:

3 cups Rice, rinsed and soaked for 20 mins
½ Pumpkin, cut into cubes
2 pkts Chicken fillet, cut into small cubes
5 - 8 Dried medium size shitake mushroom, soaked in hot water for 1 hour (washed with running water, cut into small chunks & keep the soaking water)
25g Dried prawns (pre-soaked for 15 mins, retained water for cooking later)
1 Small Onion, minced
2 tsps Shallots, thinly sliced
1 tsp Sugar
3 tbsps Cooking Oil
3-4 Cups Water/Chicken Stock for cooking (depending on the type of rice used)
Spring onions (for garnishing)

Seasonings for rice (mix all in a bowl)
2 tbsps Light Soya Sauce
3 tbsps Dark Soya Sauce
1 tsp Salt
2 tsps Oyster Sauce
Dash of Sesame Oil & Pepper

Marinate for Chicken
1 tbsp Light Soya Sauce
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Sesame Oil
3 tsps Corn flour

Methods:

1. Marinate the chicken with light soya sauce, sugar, sesame oil & corn flour for at least half an hour.
   
2. Fried onions until golden brown. Add fried shallots and move to the side of the wok.
   
3. Add in dried prawns and stir fry under low heat until fragrant. Add in mushrooms and 1 tsp of sugar, stir-fry for a while.Push the dried prawns and mushrooms to the side of the wok, add in chicken and stir-fry until the chicken cubes turn pale (half-cooked).
   
4. Add in pumpkin and continue to stir-fry for a while.
   
5. Add in a little oil if the mixture looks dried.
   
6. Add in pre-soaked rice, fried shallots followed by seasoning and stir until all the ingredients are well-combined.
   
7. Transfer all the ingredients to a rice cooker, add 1 cup of Mushroomwater and 3- 4 cups water/chicken stock to cover ¾ of the rice mixture.
   
8. Cook under low heat and stir occasionally until the rice is cooked thoroughly.
   

Cinnamon Swirl Buttermilk Pound Cake

Wonderful hubby recently bought me The Cake Book by Tish Boyle and ever since receiving the book, I've been oogling at the numerous mouth watering recipes in that book.

Thus without further ado, I decided to pick on Cinnamon Swirl Buttermilk Tea Cake as my first bake using the book's recipe :)

The thing that drew me to this recipe was Tish Boyle's description "A sure-fire bake sale hit..." She was not joking when she said that as the cake was really moist, fluffy and the crumbs are really fine. The cinnamon scented brown sugar streusel swirls added an extra OOmph despite the unassuming appearance of the cake. One bite into the cake and I went "mmmmmm WOW!" hahahahaha

I'm not a fan of pound cake...don't asked me why I chose a pound cake recipe to start off ... anyway, this recipe really changed my view and a definite keeper for sure!

I really love anything that has spices in them especially Cinnamon. This recipe not only has Cinnamon, it contains wee bit of Cardamom as well!

I think hubby must be rolling his eyes when I sms him right after my first bite on the cake! hahahahaaha....

Ok, one down and many more recipes from the book to try! Woohoo!! I can't wait to bake more of those!

Cinnamon Swirl Buttermilk Pound Cake
Recipe : (From Tish Boyle's The Cake Book)

Cinnamon Streusel Swirl
60g All Purpose Flour
72g Firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ tsp Ground Cinnamon
42g Unsalted Butter, Melted
Pinch of salt

Buttermilk Pound Cake
242g All Purpose Flour
57g Cake Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
¼ tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Ground Cardamon
227g Unsalted Butter, softened
400g Castor Sugar
3 Large Eggs
2 tsps Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Finely grated Orange Zest
240ml Butter Milk

Methods
1. Preheat oven to 170°C. If using a bundt pan, grease the inside of a 10inch bundt pan with butter and dust it with flour. You can also use a 12-cup size loaf pan and lined it with baking paper.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients of the Cinnamon swirl. Add the melted butter and stir until blended and crumbly. Set aside

3. Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cardamom into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.

4. Using a paddle attachment, cream butter for 2 mins at medium speed in a mixer until very creamy.

5. Gradually add in the sugar and continue beating at medium high speed until pale and light. (4mins)

6. At medium speed, add in eggs one at a time and mix to incorporate eggs well.

7. Add vanilla extract and orange zest. Add in the flour in 3 portions, alternating it with milk (2 additions). Mix until just combined.

8. Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it into an even layer. Sprinkle the streusel mixture evenly over the batter. Scrape the remaining batter on top and smooth it into
an even layer.

9. Bake the cake for 65 to 75mins on medium shelf, until the cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

10. Cool the cake for 15 mins before turing out the cake to cool completely. Serve & Enjoy!

Gong Pao Ji Ting 宫保鸡丁

Ingredients:

(A)
400g Boneless Chicken Breast, cubed
1 Tbsp Shao Xing Wine
1 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce
½ tsp Salt

1½ Tbsp Corn Flour
Dash of Pepper
1 Tsp Cooking Oil

(B)
1 Dried Chilli, soaked in water to soften & cut into ½ inch long. Remove all seeds
3 cloves Garlic, minced
2 tsps Sesame Oil

(C)
1 Japanese Cucumber, removed seeds
2 pkts Unsalted Roasted Cashew Nuts

(D)
5 Tbsps Light Soya Sauce
5 Tbsps Water
1 ¼ Tbsps Sugar
1 Tbsp Shao Xing Wine
2 tsps White Vinegar
2 tsps Corn Flour

Methods

1. Mix (A) together except cooking oil & Marinate for at least 30 mins.

2. Add 1 tsp of Cooking Oil just before stir-frying into the marinated chicken so that chicken will separate easily during the frying process.

3. Heat 1 Tbsp of cooking oil and stir fry (A). Close the pan for 2 mins until the chicken pieces are medium well then move to the side of the pan.

4. Use remaining oil to stir-fry (B) until fragrant by closing the pan for 2 mins.

5. Add and stir (C) briefly.

6. Mix and add (D). Cover the pan and cook for 3 mins. Open the pan, stir to mix well

7. Serve & Enjoy!