Oreo Cupcakes

Finally i having my school break, it times to spend my weekend time on baking. How i wish i can graduate soon, it really tough quite working full time and studying part time. I will not ever try this again in my life.  

Anyway yesterday finally get to meet up with YL, so i plan to make some Oreo cupcake for her. It's been month since we meet up again.

We when to Itacro Sushi have our lunch, this is my first time visit the restaurant. I would highly recommend this restaurant, the sushi is Oishii and the price is reasonable. I would definitely be back again for more.

I bought two roll of the Oreo cookies, one roll is combine with the batter and the other i blend into fine powder for the decoration. By the way Christmas is getting nearer, hope you enjoy your Christmas season too.. Ho Ho Ho..

Ingredients:

• Oreo Cookies (1 Roll) *More or less Oreo up to individual.
• 175g unsalted butter (softened)
• 150g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 175g self-raising flour (sifted)
• 1/2 tsp baking power
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Icing:

• 75gm unsalted butter (softened)
• 150gm icing sugar (sifted)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Oreo Cookies (1 Roll) (Blend into fine powder for the decoration)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan oven. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cases
2. Roughly chop the oreo cookies
3. Using a hand-held electric whisk, whisk the butter and caster sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy
4. Gradually whisk in the eggs until just combines
5. Using a spatula fold in the flour, baking power, milk vanilla extract and chopped oreo cookies until combined
6. Use a ice cream scoop and divide the batter into the paper cases
7. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until golden and risen or insert the toothpick come out clean
8. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely
9. For the decoration, put the butter into a bowl and whisk until fluffy
10. Gradually add the icing sugar and vanilla extract and whisk until light and fluffy
11. Using a small palette knife, spread the buttercream over the top of each cake
12. Sift the oreo cookies power on the top of each cake

Sesame Cookies

Do you enjoy sesame paste (芝麻糊) ?
Honestly i don't in the past but now i enjoy my sesame paste very much.

Have ever heard from your older generation said that black sesame helps to restore, grow thick and darken your black hair. This is truth from what i research from it, as black sesame contain the nourishes which are required for black hair (Asian people like me).

Recently I bought a book, name "Okashi" during the Popular bookfair. I love this book very much as it suit my ideal of baking recipe. Since the packet of black sesame seed have been sitting in my kitchen for month and i think i should do something to it. Flipping through my baking book and tadah, i found this sesame cookies from Okashi book.

The recipe call for white and black sesame but i only have black sesame so i omit the white sesame. If you want to have a black, shiny, healthy black hair remember to consume black sesame.

*I was wondering if consume white sesame will it produce more white hair? >.<

Black Sesame Ingredient:

• Pastry flour or Top flour 220g
• White sesame seeds 50g
• Black sesame seeds 50g
• Unsalted butter 100g (Softened)
• Icing (confectioner's) sugar 100g
• Salt 1/8tsp
• Egg yolks 40g (About 2 eggs)

Method:

1. Sift flour. Without preheating oven, bake white and black sesame seeds at 150°C for 10-15minutes, Set aside to cool.
2. Beat butter, icing sugar and salt until soft and creamy. Add egg yolk and mix well.
3. Add flour and sesame seeds and fold in with a spatula.
4. Divide dough in half. Transfer each half to a piece of parchment paper. Wrap dough in cling firm and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hour or overnight.
5. Preheat oven to 160°C.
6. Shape your desired cookies shape. Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
7. Bake for about 12 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Let cool on a wire rack.
9. Store cookies in an airtight container to keep them crisp.  

Butter Cream Swiss Roll

It's been a stressful and busy month for me. On Tuesday, just finish my IOB exam paper but i still have another round of exam on next week is my statistics paper.

After next week, i will have more time for my baking session. What more Christmas is coming! This year there will a celebration at my 二 姐 (Second Sis) house, i can't for that day to arrive. It been so many year since i celebrate Christmas, every year Christmas is just a normal day at home. But this year definitely not and i was wondering what to bake for this coming special day. ^^

Yesterday i managed to squeezed some of my time, so i decided to bake a swiss roll cake. Luckily this time i success, the previous experience is totally distorted and i threw away.

I bought a book is all about making swiss roll cake, is a pretty awesome book. It come with 2 VCD inside the book, the VCD show the step by step procedure on making the swiss roll. This is a very good book for the beginner like me. The only thing is that this Chinese book the word they used is 繁體中文 (Traditional Chinese) which is slightly different from 简体中文 (Simplified Chinese) and i take up a long time to search word by word to find out the pronunciation.

I didn't did a good roll on the cake as you can see from the picture. I believe this require a few practice on rolling the cake. Practice make perfect ^0^

Chiffon Cake Ingredient:

• 4 egg yolk
• 20gm caster sugar
• 40ml oil
• 40ml milk
• 80gm cake flour
• 4 egg white
• 80gm caster sugar

Butter Creme:

• 80gm unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 20gm icing sugar
• 50ml whipping cream

Method -
Chiffon Cake:
(Mixing Egg Yolk)

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C with fan)
2. In a clean bowl, place the egg yolk and sugar together and beat with a hand mixer until the sugar dissolve
3. First slowly add in the oil while continue beating the batter
4. Secondly slowly add in the milk while continue beating the batter
5. Pour the cake flour into the batter and beat in the same direction (clockwise or anti), beat gently until the flour is incorporate. (After done, place one side)

(Beating Egg white)

1. Place the egg white in a clean and dry bowl, use a electric hand mixer and beat the egg white until big bubble appear
2. Continue beat the egg white until the portion become more, divide the sugar 3 to 4 times add in at a time
3. Change the speed to high, beat the egg white until stiff peak form.
4. Place 1/3 of the egg white into the egg yolk batter and mix gently till combine
5. Pour the remaining egg white into the batter and mix until combine
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan
7. Bake in the oven for 12 minute or until when insert the toothpick come out clean

Butter Creme:

1. Combine the butter and icing sugar in a mixing bowl and blends both well with a spatula
2. Use a electric hand mixer, beat the icing sugar and butter become soft and fluffy
3. While beating the icing sugar and butter, slowly add in the whipping cream and continue to beat until everything combine

Roll the Cake:

1. While the cake has cool, spread the butter creme all over the cake and roll into a log.
2. Keep inside the fridge for 30 to 60 minute to let it set into a swiss roll.  

Kueh Puteri Sarlat

Actually i plan to make this Glutinous Rice Sarlat on last Monday as I need the pandan leave but i forgot that market are off on every monday. Too bad, so i change to yesterday and make my first kueh. 

The weather keep raining on and off during this season. Yesterday the rain is horrible heavy and weather is very dark, the photo i took is really bad even though after edited. How i wish i own an DSLR camera. *So greedy =p

The day before i told my mum that i want to make this kueh on the next day morning and she ask me about the ingredient. On the book, the recipe they use for the top layer (kaya layer) is rice flour and my mum said no, don't use rice flour because the top layer will be very hard. So alright i ask her what about tapioca flour and she said yes, tapioca flour is better and the top layer will not be so hard.

I glad that i listen to her, choosing tapioca flour instead of rice flour. (Listen to mama is right)
The top layer is soft and this is the texture we wanted to make. And for the rice is not soft enough to me, even though i have already soaked the rice overnight. 

My mum mahjong kaki friend said the kueh is marvelous (I so happy when people enjoy the food i make but also quite bashful >.<  when they praise me.. hehehe..) and they ate alot. Weeee.. and this time my mum said the kueh is yummy too! Anyway she also got help me out with the kueh making.

Guess what I nearly burn the kitchen as i forgotten to add water to the pot when the kueh is still steaming and my mum smell something chao ta and i got a scolding from her. Thanks to my mum if not the kueh will become chao ta kueh. Hahaha..

Recipe from With love from the Little Nyonya Book
*I half the portion
Bottom Layer:

• 250gm Glutinous rice (soaked for 2 hours)
• 75ml coconut milk
• 200ml water
• 1/4 tsp salt

Top Layer:

• 3 Eggs
• 250ml coconut milk
• 100gm sugar
• 25ml pandan juice (About 10 to 15 pandan leave)
• 25gm rice flour or tapioca flour
• 1 tsp corn flour
• 1/4 tsp salt

Method:

1. Bottom layer: Drain glutinous rice, add coconut milk, water, salt and stir. Place it in a cake tin with a bed of pandan leaves. 
2. Steam it for 45 minutes till cooked. Allow to cool slightly, then press the warm glutinous rice using a banana leaf to make it compacts. (I omit this step)

How to extract the pandan juice from the leave? I found a blogger who explain in step and easy to read.
http://wendyinkk.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-to-get-concentrated-pandan-juice.html

1. Top layer: In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar till dissolved. 
2. Add the coconut milk, pandan juice and continue to whisk, gradually add the rice flour and corn flour bit by bit till completely well mixed. Add salt.
3. Pour the mixture by sifting on the warm steamed cooked glutinous rice.
4. Steam it for 25 to 30 minutes till set.
5. Leave to cool completely before cutting into pieces.

Butter Cake

I would prefer eating mable cake than butter cake, but somehow i bake an butter cake. If you would ask me, which brand of marble cake you like and i will definitely vote for bengawan solo marble cake!

I so naive, thought that i might be able to bake a cake similar to the same as bengawan solo but fail. Hahaha.. I obtain the recipe from a food blogger but i decide not to name out because i might spoil his/her name as my cake turn out pretty bad.

The instruction given to bake at 190 degrees celsius for 40 minutes. The moment after 20 minute, my cake start to turn dark on the surface and i knew the degree must be too high but stupid me, still continue to bake at 190 degrees for 40 minute. When i insert a toothpick in and the toothpick out is watery. Oh gosh, the cake inside is uncook so i turn down the degree to 150 and bake for another 10 minute.

And finally is cook after the 10 minute, however after tasting realise the cake is too wet and the top is burn. Overall is still eatable. Comment are the same from my aunt, mum and ah ma that the cake is too wet.. I'm so sorry about that but i appreciate at least they try and eat down rather than throw it out.. Hahaha!! My 2nd brother-in-law feed the little cutie and they like it, they said is yummy. >.<

The recipe where i took from the blogger, he/she bake the cake wonderful beautiful, is like how i saw in bangawan solo version. But somehow in my hand and i bake until chao ta. I will to bake again until i success in baking one! ^.^