Wright's Parmesan Sun Dried Tomato Bread

The Wright's bread mix is so easy to use and yields a really good and tasty bread!

I made this bread today and it tasted really good. Wish I have some nice soup to go with it though :)

Ingredients
1 Pack of Wright's Parmesan Sun Dried Tomato Bread Mix
320ml Lukewarm Water

Method:
1. Place bread mix in the mixing bowl.
2. Add water and mix together for 5 mins to form a ball of dough
3. Place the dough on a floured surface and let it rise for 5 mins
4. Knead and stretch the dough for 2 mins and mould it into a ball
5. Shape the dough and place it into a large greased loaft tin. Mine loaft tin is about L10” x W4” by H4.5".
6. Cover with cling wrap and leave it in a warm place to rise for about 45 mins or until the dough has doubled in size.
7. Pre-heat oven to 230C
8. Uncover the bread dough and bake it in the over for about 30 mins for a loaf. 15 mins for rolls
9. Bake until it is golden brown and sounds hollow when you tab the base.
10. Turn out and cool on a wire rack

Cinnamon Rolls

I have been wanting to try baking bread for a long time but whenever I looked at the amount of time required just to prove the dough, I postpone my ideas :P

Today, I have managed to pluck up the courage to dive in and try my very first bread making. I choose the "simplest" dough making method that I can find from my recipe books and decided to make my favourite Cinnamon Rolls!

I have not even made my first swiss rolls and here I am trying to roll bread! I was practically laughing at myself for that!

The recipe calls for two eggs and there is no mention if it was supposed to be large eggs or regular eggs. I have two large eggs in my fridge and so I decided to use it and see how it will turn out.

Well, the dough was wet and not manageable at all, so I added in at least 3 tablespoonfuls fo flour just to get a good texture dough. In future, I will just stick to regular eggs for this recipe.

It was really a fun experience and when the rolls were baking in the oven, the aroma of the cinnamon was just insanely wonderful. It makes my house smell so lovely that my mouth watered just thinking of sinking my teeth into the rolls!

This recipe is a keeper for me. The rolls are so soft and fluffy and the cinnamon almond fillings are just heavenly. I really like the idea of adding ground almond to the cinnamon sugar. It just added the necessary Oomphs to the rolls.

Cinnamon Rolls
Yields about 12 Rolls

Ingredients A
300g Bread Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
50g Castor Sugar
1 tsp Instant Yeast
2 Regular Eggs, beaten slightly
75ml Milk
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
60g Unsalted Butter, soften

Filling
60g Unsalted Butter, soften
50g Soft Brown Sugar
2 tsp Cinnamon Powder
50g Ground Almond

Methods

1. In a mixing bowl using a dough hook, mix A thoroughly , add eggs and milk and knead to form a soft and pliable dough. (About 3 mins).
2. Add butter and continue to knead till smooth and elastic (about 5-8 mins).
3. Cover and prove till double in bulk (about 1 hour).
4. Knead again till smooth. Rest for 15 mins to let it prove again.
5. Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon powder and ground almond together and set aside.
6. Roll into a square shape (use your baking pan for measurement)
7. Spread soft butter on the dough and generously sprinkle the cinnamon mixture on top of the buttered area.
8. Roll up, from the long side, like a swiss roll.
9. Shape the log to get a nice even width.
10. First cut the log into halve, and cut the rest of the pieces into halve again until you can achieve about 12 rolls.
11. Place the rolls close together (cut side up) on a greased 9 inch square tin.
12. Cover and let it prove till double in bulk (about 30-45 mins)

13. Bake at 190°C till golden brown (about 12-15 mins)

Lavender Lemon Pound Cake

I found this recipe some times back, and I have been wanting to try baking with dried flowers! I have seen cake & cookies baked with rose petals, etc. and more recently I kept hearing about lavenders!

I chanced upon a bottle of dried lavender flowers during my usual supermarket trip and I have decided to buy it and aimed to bake it soon.....hahahaha my soon turned out to be 3 months later.

This cake uses quite a lot of flour and I was rather uncomfortable with it as I was afraid that the cake may be really dense and hard. However, since I only found this receipe with Lavender, I have decided to just give it a go and see how it will turn out.... If you never try, you will never know.

It was getting exciting as the aroma started to rise and I cannot wait to taste the cake!

The cake was really dense as I expected and heavy. However, the aroma from the lavender and the wonderful lemon zests gave it a nice lift. I can only describe the experience after a bite as sensory wonders....savoring the wonderful aromatherapy session to my taste buds!

The cake tasted a lot better the next day but became a little harder the following day.

I will definitely bake with lavender again. However, I will use my favourite pound cake recipe and tweak it instead :)

I won't be posting the recipe this time as I only want to post recipes that, in my opinion, is good...hahahahaha... perfectionist lah... However, if you are still keen on having the current recipe, you can drop me a comment and if I gather enough request, I will definitely post it :)

Red Velvet Cupcake

I tasted my first Red Velvet Cake at NYDC and it was love at first bite! The texture of the cake was soft and moist and the cream cheese frosting was simply delicious.

After that, I would find myself scouting through restaurant or cafe to see if they have a piece of this lovely cake listed.

I found one that looked pretty at a cafe but the taste was a complete anti-climate. The cake was super dry and it tasted as though I have poured one tablespoonful of baking soda directly on my tongue. For those of you who bake, you would know what i meant when after a bite of the cake you can feel as though your tongue is coated with this static dryness. It was simply ultra yuckiness to the max!

After that encounter, I have decided to bake the cake myself but first, I must find the recipe! hahaha. Searching for the "perfect" red velvet recipe was not an easy task as you will not know if that is perfect for you until you try baking it.

It was quite a turn-off for me when I realised the alarming amount of red food colouring that goes into making this cake! However, I was determined to find the one recipe that will not use too much of the red colouring.

After searching through numerous recipe sites and looking at various comments, I have decided to give Martha Stewart's recipe a go.

This recipe is almost perfect for me! The cupcake was moist with fine tender crumbs and because it uses oil instead of butter, the texture of the cupcakes was light. The fluffy cream cheese frosting is just THE PERFECT topping for this cupcake.

The recipe still calls for red food colouring but only half teaspoon was required. The cupcake colour is more towards redish brown rather than red, but I am happy with the outcome.

The cream cheese frosting was really fluffy and heavenly. However, it was rather soft and hard to pipe so I had to place it in the fridge for about 15 minutes to make it easier for piping.


Here is the recipe that I have used with reduced amount of Oil and sugar.


Red Velvet Cupcakes
Yields 20 regular size cupcakes

Ingredients
240g Cake flour
2 tbsps Unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 tsp Salt
225g Caster Sugar (original 340g)
1 1/3 cups Vegetable Oil (original 1 1/2 cups)
2 Large Eggs at room temperature
½ tsp Red Gel Paste food colour
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 cup Buttermilk
1½ tsps. Baking Soda
2 tsps Distilled White Vinegar

Cream cheese frosting
225g Unsalted Butter
340g Cream Cheese
300g Powder Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract (original 3/4 tsp)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 175°C. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together cake flour, cocoa and salt.



2. With an electric mixer on medium high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla.



3. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 3 batches alternating with 2 additions of buttermilk and whisking well after each addition.



4. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl and add the mixture to the batter and mix on medium speed for 10 seconds.



5. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each 3/4 full.



6. Bake for 18-20mins until a skewer inserted comes out clean with just a little bit of crumbs sticking to the stick.



7. Transfer tin to wire rack to cool before frosting with Cream Cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Whisk together cream cheese and butter until creamy and fluffy.


2. Add sugar in 3 batches and continue to whisk until pale.


3. Add vanilla extract and mix to combine.
   

P. S. - I took some cupcakes to my office on Monday and my colleagues gave me 100 Marks for it! Yippee!! This recipe is a definite keeper !! :)

Oatmeal Butterscotch / Chocolate Chips Cookies

Makes about 48 medium cookies (approx. 5 cm in diameter)

This cookie is chewy in the mddile and slight cripiness at the edges and the best part of it is that you can make the dough, use what you need and keep the rest in the freezer for up to a month! Simply leave it to room temperature and bake!

Try not to skip or replace the shortening part as it is the key to achieve the lightness and slight crispiness of these cookies

Ingredients
140g Plain Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
3/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
200g Unsalted Butter,at room temperature
1 tbsp Vegetable Shortening, at room temperature
150g Brown Sugar
125g Caster Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 cups Quick Cooking or Old Fashioned Oats
1 cup Butterscotch chips
1 cup Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

Method
1. Preheat your oven to 190°C.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, brown sugar and regular sugar.
4. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix for just a few seconds.
5. Add the dry ingredients and mix together to combine but do not over mix.
6. Add the oats and divide the dough into 2 portions.
7. Add butterscotch chips to one of the portion and Chocolate Chips to the other portion.
use a spatula and mix everything together.
8. Using a small ice cream scoop or 1/2 Tablespoon, drop the dough on to a non-stick baking sheet, a couple inches apart. The cookie will spread.
9. Bake for approximately 9 – 11 mins or until lightly golden.
10. Let it cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely
11. Store baked cookies in airtight containers.

Paper Wrapped Chicken

I have not posted on my blog for a good four months!

Well, the reason is because I have started a wonderful new job and have been really busy with work lately :)

Here is to start off my first posting after four months.

I have always loved paper wrapped chicken but the amount of oil used to fry it plus the way the oil swims around the wrapped packages just makes me put this dish to the furthest end of my list :P

Ever since I have started using Happycall pans, it makes a lot of oily dishes suddenly seems healthy enough to give it a go again due to the low amount of oil used!

Thus, I decided to see how the paper wrapped chicken dish would turn out using Happycall pan to fry. The results - taste as good minus the oil! Yeah!!!

Here is the recipe and we will definitely be making more of this as my dear hubby finished more than 8 packages at a go and wanted more!

Ingredients:
½ Chicken, approx. 1/2 kg (1 lb)
Oil for frying
Grease-proof paper (baking paper)

Marinade For Chicken
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Light soya sauce
1 tbsp Dark soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
1 tbsp Ginger juice
1 tbsp Cornflour
1 tbsp Sesame oil

Directions:
1. Cut, clean and wash the chicken. Cut into approximately 12 -15 serving pieces.
Marinate and cover with cling wrap and placed it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

2. Cut the grease-proof paper into approx. 17cm (7 in) squares.

3. Take a sheet of paper and brush one side with oil. Turn a corner towards you and place a piece of chicken at the corner nearest you. Fold up this corner to cover the chicken, then fold the left and right corners to cover the chicken also. Bring the remaining corner down and tuck in to make a neat package. Repeat with the remaining chicken and paper.

4. Heat the oil in the happycall pan. When the oil is hot, bring the heat to medium-low. Put the packages into the oil and deep-fry for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Scoop the packages out.

6. Place the packages on a serving platter and serve immediately.

Wednesday's Simple Meal - Black Hokkien Mee

The weeks just fly by so quickly and once again, it is my simple meal day!

We have cooked this dish before but at that point I was using the regular Dark Soya Sauce and the taste & colour was not up to my expectation. I find it hard to get good quality thick dark soya sauce in our local NTUC and after searching the shelves for like 15 mins, I decided to purchase this bottle of Dark Soya Sauce. It looks really thick but the only concern I had then while reading the label was "Red Date Dark Soya Sauce". However, my doubts were unfounded as this soya sauce Rocks!!

I used it for my Black Hokkien Mee and the end results are excellent. It was as dark as I like my Black Hokkien Mee to be and the taste is better than what I've tasted at a well known food court that supposed to have great Black Hokkien Mee :P

Here is the recipe and do give it a try :)

Black Hokkien Mee

Serves 3

Ingredients

500g Fat Yellow Hokkien
200g Meat (pork or chicken) - cut into thin slices
20 Prawns, shell and devein
2 medium Squid - cut into bite size
100g Bok Choy, wash and cut into 1 inch pieces
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
2 cups Stock/water

Seasoning
2 tsps Light Soy Sauce
3 Tbps Dark Soy Sauce(add more if not dark enough)
2 Tbsps Oyster Sauce
2 Tsps Sugar
Salt to taste
½ tsp Pepper

Preparing the Noddles.

• Soak noodles in cold water for 30 mins to get rid of some of the potassium carbonate & sodium bi-carbonate solution used to make these noodles.
• Next, place noodles in a heatproof bowl and pour boiling water over the noodles. Let them stand for 1 to 2 minutes and drain.

Methods

1. Season the prawns and squid with a dash of salt, sugar and pepper.
   
2. Heat 2 tsps oil and saute the squid and prawns. Dish out and leave aside.
   
3. Add in another tsps oil and fry garlic till fragrant but not brown.
   
4. Place meat into the pan for browning, sprinkle in a pinch of salt and pepper to the meat before turning over to brown the other side.
   
5. Add in stock/water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes before adding in
   the choy sum.
   
6. Then add in the noodles and the seasoning, mix well, cover wok with lid or if using Happycall, close the pan and simmer until noodles is tender.
   
7. Add more dark soy sauce if the color is not black enough and simmer noodles till gravy is thick.
   
8. Add in the cooked prawns and squid.
   
9. Turn the heat to high again and give noodles a quick stir
   
10. Serve with sambal belacan