#54 - Fruity Swiss Roll

Start of a new year, 2017!

I know I was not baking much for last year and this year, I hope to set things right! I really hope to keep to my resolution of uploading one recipe a week. Baking and sharing recipes are things I do to keep myself sane amidst my work and other chores. It is like a personal me-time. Since I enjoy these times so much, I promised myself that I shall work much harder to keep to this resolution of mine this year. I hope, I really hope so.

This is the second week of the year and I am starting my year with a Fruity Swiss Roll bake. I bought some really fresh good eggs from the wet market the other day and I was excited to use them in my bakes. Considering the fact that most of the eggs I used in my baking/cooking were bought from supermarket, this batch from the wet market was indeed different. They were much larger in size and the yolks were of a much fresher and brighter colour. It also gives the cake a really fragrant eggy smell when it is done. Love it! Nothing beats fresh and premium ingredients.

Will be trying out more versions of the Swiss Roll next. I think they make pretty good breakfast items as well as after-dinner dessert.

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Recipe: Adapted & modified from Ochikeron.
Free printable version of recipe - Click here 

Ingredients

Sponge Cake
Eggs (separate the yolks from the whites) - 4 nos
Milk - 40g
Corn Oil - 40g
Vanilla Bean Paste - 1/4 tsp
Flour (sifted) - 60g
Castor Sugar - 80g

Filling
Whipping Cream - 200ml
Castor Sugar - 1 tbsp
Assorted fruits of your choice (diced)
* I used kiwi, strawberries, raspberries and mangoes

Method

Sponge Cake

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line baking tray with baking paper.

2. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks together with milk, oil and vanilla. Mix well.

3. Add in flour and fold it into the yolk mixture using a spatula. Ensure mixture is well combined and smooth. Once combined yolk mixture is done, set aside for later use.

4. In a separate mixer bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy using an electric mixer.

5. Then gradually add in sugar and continue mixing until thick and stiff peak.

6. Once it is done, fold in egg white mixture, one-third portion at a time, into yolk mixture until a well-combined batter is obtained.

7. Pour combined batter into baking tray and ensures that it is evenly spread out.

8. Tap baking tray against tabletop to remove air bubbles from batter.

9. Bake in oven at 180C for about 12 mins or until cake is lightly browned.

10. When cake is done, remove from oven and tap baking tap against tabletop to prevent shrinkage.

11. Remove sponge cake from tray and allow it to cool on cooling rack. Ensure cake is completely cooled before adding filling on the browned side of the cake.

Filling

12. To prepare the filling, combine whipped cream with sugar using electric mixer. Beat until soft peak.

13. Spread cream filling over the browned surface of the cake.

14. Top with diced fruits over the creamed surface. Leave a one-inch gap around the border.

15. Roll the cake in baking paper and cover with a layer of cling wrap. Rest the cake in fridge for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving. Best served chilled.

#51 - Rainbow Popsicles

You know that it is summer time when you are craving for something icy cold and refreshing like these homemade popsicles! Yay to homemade goodies! Don't you just love homemade food like I do? The beauty of these homemade goodies are that they are free from sugars and artificial flavourings. You don't even have to worry about additional colourings or chemicals being added. These rainbow popsicles are made with just fruits and nothing else! Isn't it just great!

These popsicles are so easy to make that I am sure you will enjoy making them as much as you enjoy eating them!

I simply love how pretty these little things look! To make these pretty yummies, you need nothing more than different types of fresh fruits and a blender. That's it! You can also get creative by arranging the layers of fruits puree in any order you prefer. 

What are you waiting for? Head straight into your kitchen and make some of these pretty rainbow popsicles now! 

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Recipe: Adapted and modified from here

Free printable version of recipe - Click here

Servings

8 Popsicles (depending on size of the mould)

Ingredients
Strawberries (blended) - 200g

Oranges (blended) - 200g

Pineapples (blended) - 200g

Kiwis (blended) - 200g

Blueberries (blended) - 200g

(Optional)

Coconut Water -1 to 2 Tbsp

Method

1. For each of the different coloured fruits layers (red - strawberries, orange - oranges, yellow - pineapples, green - kiwis, blue - blueberries), place the fruits in the blender and blend until a smooth puree is obtained. Remember to wash the blender thoroughly before blending the next layer. 

2. For fruits like the pineapples and blueberries, you may wish to add in 1 to 2 tbsp of coconut water to allow smoother blending of the puree. 

3. Distribute the different coloured fruits puree evenly into the popsicles mould, layer by layer. 

4. Freeze the popsicles for at least 6 hours (or overnight) until the popsicles are firm. 

5. To remove popsicles from their moulds, dip moulds in glass of water for 10 seconds. This will ensure the popsicles come out smoothly from the moulds. Serve while popsicles are firm. 

#39 - Honey Lemonade Popsicles

Just what I need to beat the heat outside! Are you frustrated with the recent hot weather like I am? I am sure we are all craving for something cold, cooling and yummy to bring the heat down a little. Try this! This is one of my favourite popsicle flavour so far. Sweet & tangy all at the same time! 

My hubby loves this recipe so much that he is constantly bugging me to make more these beautiful little things. The only thing he hates about them is the waiting time. Having to wait overnight while they freeze up is such a torture. What can I say? Good things are worth waiting for, aren't they?

The best part of this popsicle is that you are not restricted by the choice of fruits. You do not have to use the fruits I recommended. You may replace it with other fruits that you preferred (eg. oranges, peaches, mangoes etc). It is the magical blend between the honey and the lemonade that gives you the sweet yet tangy taste that is so addictive! 

I am so heading into my kitchen and making another batch of this NOW!  

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Recipe: Adapted and modified from here

Servings

6 Popsicles (depending on size of the mould)

Ingredients

3/4 cups Water

4 Tbsp Honey

1/2 cup Lemon Juice

Zest of 2 Lemons

1 Kiwi, sliced

2 - 4 Strawberries, sliced

12 Blueberries

Method

1. Combine water, honey, lemon juice and lemon zest in a liquid measuring cup. Stir well to ensure that the honey is fully dissolved into the lemonade. 

2. Distribute the fruits (kiwi, strawberries and blueberries) among the popsicles moulds. 

3. Pour lemonade mixture into the popsicles moulds. 

4. Freeze popsicles for at least 6 hours (or overnight) until the popsicles are firm. 

5. To remove popsicles from their moulds, dip moulds in glass of water for 10 seconds. This will ensure the popsicles come out smoothly from the moulds. Serve while popsicles are firm. 

#38 - Nutella Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

It is the strawberries season lately and these pretty red beauties are really big, juicy and sweet at this time of the year! Don't they just look really gorgeous? Such vibrant colours and sweet flavour are just perfect as gifts to friends.

 

As for the cake base, this is probably one of the most tasty yet simplest cake base I have made among all other cupcakes. With just 3 basic ingredients, you get a rich, moist and fudgy nutella cake base that is most certain to wow your mind. How delightful is that! 

As if this wasn't enough, the absolute reason why I love this recipe is because of the  … FROSTING. 

Couple of months back, I learnt this trick from a fellow baker and ever since then, I have fallen in love with it. This trick does not require you to go through the whole process of whipping up the cream with powdered sugar to get a firm icing (which we all know can be challenging at times if your cream is not at the right temperature or fats content). Let's be honest, even if you are a seasoned cupcakes decorating professional, you wouldn't turn down a trick like this where you are have a perfectly pretty looking cupcake without going through the hassle of frosting. Would you? The magic is just to make use of toasted marshmallows instead. Not only do they look like actual frosting (and hence, making the cupcakes looking close to perfection),  the toasted marshmallows are pretty yummy too! 

As for the toppings of the cupcakes, you can make use of any fruits you like (e.g. strawberries, blueberries) or even chocolate balls. As long as they are yummy, anything goes! 

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Recipe: Adapted & modified from here.

Servings
10 cupcakes

Ingredients
100g Self Raising Flour, sifted
2 Eggs
375g Nutella

(Optional)
Nuts, chopped (eg. macadamia, almond or hazelnuts)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Line muffin tray with paper liners and set aside for later use.

3. Combine all ingredients together and mix well until batter is smooth. Do not over mix.

4. Using an ice-cream scoop, divide the batter evenly into muffins tray (with paper liners) prepared. Each muffin cup should be filled up to 1/2 to 2/3 of the way.

5. Tap muffin tray on tabletop gently to ensure that the batter is level and evenly spread out. This also help to make sure that any excess air is removed from the batter.

6. If you would like to, sprinkle chopped nuts on the batter before baking it.

7. Bake for 20 - 22 minutes until top of the cupcakes are firm. Remove from oven.

8. Top each cupcake with a marshmallow and return tray back to oven to toast it for 2 - 3 minutes until marshmallow is melted. 

9. Lastly, remove cupcakes from oven and top with a strawberry before transferring to wire rack to allow cupcakes to cool completely before serving.

#10 - White Chocolate Brownies with Strawberry Glaze

Also know as Blondies, white chocolate brownies are the sweeter version of their sister, Brownies. If you are kind of sick and tired of our usual brown/milk chocolate (like I am), then you may want to play around with white chocolate instead.

I have recently expanded my baking collection with some new baking pans from Wiltshire! Yeah! Non-stick pans are my favourite! But the problem arises when I was preparing to bake these little darlings. Because I do not have a square baking tin as required in the recipe, I have to make use of what I have. Being the indecisive me, I could not make up my mind whether to use the Slice Pan (273 x 175 x 32mm) or the Oblong Cake Pan (335 x 230 x 45mm). On one hand, i did not want my blondies to be too thick and dense, but on the other hand, I wasn't sure whether the batter was enough to spread through the cake pan. Haha! Talking about being indecisive, I must be the classic of the classic! 

Anyway, I was greedy as I wanted to be able to bake as many of these blondies as possible as I have friends coming over. So, I decided to use the Cake Pan. WRONG decision! Haha! It caused my blondies to be too thin and it turned out that they were kind of overcooked (don't worry, they were not burnt) and the texture became somewhat in between a brownie and a soft cookie. 

Hubby called them the white chocolate cookies (not brownies) and he finished all of them in just 2 days. What can I say? I am so grateful to have my hubby as my all-time supporter and he makes my life that much easier by being the easy-eater who he is. Thank god he is not that much of a fussy eater.

Not to worry, I will be trying out this recipe again, once I get my hands on a new batch of white chocolate. 

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Recipe: Adapted & modified from here.

Servings

Make approximately 30 brownies

Ingredients

1C All Purpose Flour, sieved

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Salt

1C White Chocolate Chips

76g Unsalted Butter, at room temperature

1/2C Brown Sugar

1/4C Fine Sugar

1 Egg

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 tbs Sour Cream

Strawberry Icing

28g White Chocolate Chips

1tbs Unsalted Butter

50g Strawberry, pureed with blender/ food processor

1C Icing Sugar

2tbs milk, if necessary

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Grease baking pan by spraying a layer of non-stick spray on it before lining the base with non-stick baking paper. Set aside for later use.

3. Sieve the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) and set aside. 

4. Add 2 tbs of flour to the white chocolate chips and mix well, making sure that all the chocolate chips are well-coated with a layer of flour. This will ensure that the chocolate chips will not sink to the bottom of the batter. 

5. In a mixing bowl, cream the soft butter and sugar together using a whisk. When a creamy mixture is obtained, add in the egg, vanilla extract and sour cream. Mix well to get a smooth mixture. 

6. Using a spatula, fold in the flour mixture (1/3 portion at a time) into the wet mixture in Step (5) and make sure that the combined mixture is well-mixed, with no trace of flour. 

7. Add in the white chocolate chips and fold it into the mixture. 

8. Spread the batter evenly in the baking pan. Shake it gently to ensure that the batter is level. 

9. Bake for 25 minutes. Set aside for it to cool completely before cutting into bars.

10. To make the strawberry icing, melt the white chocolate chips and butter in the microwave/ oven. Once melted, add in pureed strawberries and icing sugar. Whisk well until mixture is smooth and well combined. Add in milk, if necessary, to get the correct consistency of the icing. Set aside.

11. After cooling and cutting up the brownies into small bars, brush a thin layer of the strawberry icing on top of each pieces, to get a glossy glaze. Garnish with a few white chocolate chips before serving. 

#Note - 

It will take some time to melt the white chocolate chips for the icing. Be careful to check and stir the butter & chocolate mixture when they are in the microwave/ oven. The white chocolate chips tends to burn a little instead of melting well (unlike milk chocolate chips).

In addition, you may also add in some macadamia nuts in the brownies if you like the nutty texture! 

#09 - Mixed Berry Souffle

Looks like I am on a berries hype isn't it? Actually, not so. It is just that these berries (raspberries, strawberries and a couple others) are so pretty when they sit in the fridge but they don't last that long for me to wonder how I should play around with them. Hence, in my attempt to finish up the last few raspberries in the box, here comes my version of Mixed Berry Soufflé. 

#P/S: Yes, I still have another box of strawberries and those will be for another time, another recipe. 

As you can see from the photos, the rise of the soufflé isn't that perfect, but still, compared to my last attempt of Nutella Soufflé, this batch of Mixed Berry Soufflés has given a better height and they do look pretty nice right? However, I have to be very honest to say that the taste of the soufflés isn't really what I was looking forward to. It was a little too mushy and eggy and I presumed this is due to the egg yolk in the batter. After making this batch of Mixed Berry Soufflés, I have managed to find another recipe which does not require the use of egg yolks and I am planning to give that a shot soon. 

But still, I do enjoy sharing my recipes, whether they are excellent, good or just plainly average. I believe that it is the joy in sharing which motivates one to continue trying and experimenting. This is also the exact reason why I enjoy teaching as well. So, here we go with the recipe for Mixed Berry Soufflé. 

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Recipe: Adapted & modified from here.

Servings

Serves 8

Ingredients

(Mixed berries jam)

165g fresh strawberries

97g fresh raspberries

50g sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

150ml milk

100ml of whipping cream

20g all purpose flour

15g corn flour

3 eggs, separated

90g sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190C.

2. Spray the base and insides of 8 small ramekins with non-stick spray and dust them with cocoa power. Chilled the ramekins in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them.

3. Blend the raspberries and strawberries together using a blender / food processor until a smooth puree is formed.

4. In a saucepan, place the berries with the sugar and vanilla extract and heat them up slowly. Using low heat, stir the mixture until the sugar has dissolved. When the mixture is well-mixed, has thicken and starts to boil, remove from the heat. You should get a smooth puree.

5. Sieve this puree through a sieve to remove the seeds from the berries. You will need to push the puree through the sieve using a spatula to get a nice and rich jam mixture. Cool the jam in the fridge. 

6. Heat the milk and whipping cream in a saucepan until it is almost boiling and set aside.

7. Sieve the all purpose flour and corn flour together and set aside.

8. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks with sugar (40g) to get a creamy mixture. Mix in the flour mixture and combine them well. The flour will helps to thicken the mixture and you should a creamy and smooth texture. 

9. Add 1/4 cup of the heated creamy milk to the mixture and whisk well until the mixture is smooth. Gradually mix in the rest of the creamy milk and continue whisking. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and whisk over low heat for 5 minutes to get a thick and smooth creamy mixture. Cool the mixture in the fridge. 

10. After both the jam and cream mixture has cooled down, add the jam to the cream mixture and mix well to get a nice and smooth texture. 

11. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites using a stand mixer, until soft peak formed. Gradually add in the sugar (50g) while whisking to get a thick, glossy and firm meringue.

12. Once the meringue is done, fold it in with the jam & cream mixture in Step (9) a third at a time. Make sure folding is done gently so as the air in the meringue is not knocked out of the mixture. 

13. Fill the ramekins with the soufflé mixture. Tap the ramekins gently on the tabletop to ensure that the mixture is evenly spread through the ramekins and air pockets within the mixture is removed. This will helps the soufflés to rise up evenly. 

14. To help the soufflés to rise better, smooth the top of the ramekins using the back of a butter knife and run a circle around the edge of the ramekins using your thumb. 

15. Bake the soufflés in the oven for 10-12minutes or until well risen with a light golden brown top. Serve immediately. 

#Note - 

If you would like to, you may dust with icing sugar and garnish with berries before serving. I did not do that because I felt that a good amount of sugar has already been used in the recipe as well as I do not have any extra raspberries for garnishing. 

As mentioned earlier, I also did not quite like the eggy taste in the soufflés itself which I believed was due to the egg yolks in the mixture. So I will be trying another recipe which does not require egg yolks in it. Hopefully that will cater to my tastebud better.

Other than that, I'm pretty happy with the appearance of the soufflés. They are pretty well risen (compared to my previous Nutella soufflés) and the texture of the light golden brown top was really chewy and nice. Got to keep improving!