Chocolate macarons

Ingredients

57g egg white (room temp)

50g almond flour

100g icing sugar 

7g cocoa powder

28g sugar

1/8 tsp cream of tar tar

A pinch of salt 

Chocolate ganache

40g whipping cream

80g semisweet chocolate

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

A little salt

Steps

Sift almond flour, cocoa powder, icing sugar and mix well. 

Whip egg white with sugar until stiff peak. 

Fold in the egg white to the flour mixture. The batter falls from the spatula in a ribbon, try and draw a figure 8. If batter doesn’t break, it is ready.  The mixture looks glossy.

Pour into a piping bag and pipe small rounds about 1 inch diameter onto parchment paper. 

Dry the macarons for about 1 hour 20 min before put into oven for baking. There should be a skin formed on the macaron shells. 

Bake for 15 min at 160 degree. 

mantou with pork floss

Pau wheat flour - 166.7 g

Sugar - 20 g

Instant Yeast - 1/2 tsp

Salt - a pinch 

Ice water - 46.7 g

Milk - 40 g 

Butter - 10 g

Dark Cocoa powder - 2 g

Steps:

1. Add flour, sugar, yeast and salt into a mixing bowl. 
2. Use a stand mixer to knead, using slow speed, add in water and milk to form a rough dough. 
3. Add in butter and continue knead at medium speed.
4. Divide dough into two portions. Put one portion of the dough to mixer. Continue knead the white dough to get smooth elastic dough. Take out of mixer. 
5. Add cocoa powder to the second dough, and continue knead to smooth dough. 
6. Shape the dough accordingly. Put the white dough on top of cocoa dough, press together, and roll using the rolling pin to a long shape. Roll the dough together with white facing out, then fold together, cut the dough. Open up and can get the stripes. Later roll flat again. Put mayo and pork floss, roll it up. 
7. Place the dough in oven, bake at 50 degrees (top heat) for 10 min to smooth the skin. 
8. Take out of the oven and leave to rest for 15 to 20 min. 
9. Steam for 10 minute using medium fire. 

 

Cartoon Butter Cookies

Ingredients 

Butter dough
80 g butter (unsalted)(soften at room temp)
40g icing sugar
10g fresh milk
½ tsp vanilla essence
130g cake flour
40g potato starch

 

Steps:
1. Cream the butter and icing sugar until pale in colour.
2. Add in milk and vanilla essence. Mix well.
3. Add in the cake flour and potato starch, mix to form a dough.
4. Cling wrap and put the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.
 

Painting paste (draw eyes and brows)
1 tsp butter dough
1 tsp cocoa powder
some drinking water or milk
1 small piping bag 

Steps:

1. Mix the butter dough, cocoa powder, water/milk to form a thick paste.
2. Transfer the paste into a piping bag.
 

Cookies

1. Use food colouring gel to make the dough into the colour you want.
2. Use a measuring soon (1 tsp size) to scoop the dough.
It should be the size of dough that is in the spoon, no overflow on top the spoon.
3. Add one M&M chocolate in the middle of the dough and roll the dough between your palms to shape into a ball.
4. Take a bit of dough to roll into round balls to make the ears.
5. Use a small brush and dip into egg white to stick the ears onto the main ball.
6. Use the painting paste to draw the eyes and brows.
7. Repeat the steps to make more characters.
8. Put the cookies on the tray and bake for about 20 min at 120 degree.
(Check the bottom of the cookie, if see slight brown, means is cooked)

 

Cheese Tart

This recipe can make 6 tarts.

Ingredients:

Crust

50g unsalted butter
12g caster sugar
75g plain flour
1/2 egg (beaten)

 

Cheese filling
170g cream cheese
15g unsalted butter
1/2tsp vanilla essence
60g plain yogurt
18g caster sugar
1 egg white

Egg wash

1 egg yolk

 

Steps for Cheese filling:

1. Put cream cheese, butter and sugar into the pot and cook until all well mixed and smooth. Keep stirring to ensure no lumps.

2. Take the pot away from fire. Stir in the egg white and vanilla essence.

3. On the fire, continue to stir the mixture until thicken.

4. Once the mixture is of the thickness you want, keep in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours.

 

Steps for Crust:

1. Make sure butter is soften after leaving at room temperature.

2. Add sugar and mix with butter until light yellow.

3. Add in the flour and mix well.

4. Add in half an egg and mix, to get a dough. (Do not overmix)

5. Put the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

 

Assembly stage:

1. Divide the dough into 6 equal portions.

2. Press the dough into the tart moulds.

3. Put them in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

4. Preheat Oven.

5. Bake the crust for about 20 min at 180 degree (depend on your oven).

6. Take out from oven and cool the crust.

7. Take the cheese filling out from fridge.

8. Fill up to the top of the crust with the cheese filling.

9. Use a brush to do egg wash on the cheese filling.

10. Bake the cheese tarts for about 5 to 8 min at 230 degree.

 

*if overmix when making the crust, the crust will be hard and dry.

*if cheese mixture is watery, the tart will look flat like egg tart. if mixture is too thick, the texture of the cheese will be very hard.

*if bake too long, the cheese filling will be harder, not gooey.

Chocolate Chiffon Cake

Ingredients

4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
96g caster sugar
68ml canola oil
104ml fresh milk
24g unsweetened cocoa powder - valrhona
128g cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
72g caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 

Baking Time: 30 minutes

1. In a mixing bowl, beat the yolks and sugar until the mixture turns light and fluffy.
2. Add the oil, continue mixing. 
3. Add the milk, continue mixing.
4. Add the sifted dry ingredients in two batches and mix to combine. Set this aside.
5. In a clean mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue whisking.
6. Gradually add the sugar, and keep whisking until stiff peaks form.
7. Fold 1/3 of the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture. 
8. Fold the remaining 1/3 egg white mixture into the yolk mixture gently. Then fold in the last 1/3 mixture until you don’t see the white strands. 
9. Pour the batter into a tube pan.
10. Bake at 160°C for about 30 min. If the top gets too brown, place a piece of aluminium foil over the cake and continue baking.
11. Once baked, cool the cake upside down until it is completely cool down. Unmould and ready to eat.

Soft buns using sponge dough method

Sponge Dough

• 180g bread flour
• 120g water
• 3/4 tsp yeast

Main dough

• 85g bread flour
• 1/2 egg (25g)
• 40g condensed milk
• 15g sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 25g butter
• 10g water (optional, if dough is dry)

1. Mix sponge dough roughly together with a fork, till no dry bits. Cover with cling wrap. Proof at room temperature for 3-4 hours OR proof at room temperature for 1 hour followed by in the fridge for 12 hours. Proof till dough is all bubbly, with many gluten strands underneath.

2. Tear sponge dough into small pieces. Add in main dough ingredients except butter. Knead with stand mixer till a rough dough forms, then add in butter and knead till smooth and elastic. Proof for 20-30 min.

3. Divide into 16 portions, roll into round doughs. Proof for 30 min in a warm oven. 

4. Egg wash. Add butter and sprinkle sugar if you like. 

5. Bake at 170 deg for 20-25 min. Remove from tray and cool on wire rack completely till cool before eating.

Mini Butter Sugar Buns

Ingredients

260g bread flour
55g caster sugar
4g instant dry yeast
30g unsalted butter
120ml fresh milk
1 egg, a pinch of salt

Topping:
1 egg for egg wash
butter cubes (cut from big piece of salted butter)
coarse sugar to sprinkle

Steps
1. Place all ingredients except butter in a mixing bowl and mix at speed 1 for about 1 minute.
2. When a rough dough is formed, adjust speed to 3 for 6 minutes. Stop intermittently to scrape down sides and turn dough around. 
3. After 6 minutes, add in butter and salt and mix at speed 1 for 1 minute. Adjust to speed 3 and knead for 8 minutes. Check for window pane. 

4. Shape into a smooth round dough. Cover and rest for 15 min.

5. Place dough on flat surface. Flatten and squeeze out air bubbles with palm. Divide into 16 portions and shape into balls. Do this by pulling down the sides of the dough, tucking it below and pinch to close the seams. Then roll on counter top to make it round. Place in lined baking tin.

6. Proof for 1 hour (with a cup of hot water in closed, SWITCHED OFF oven) till about 2 times in size. (I on the oven for a few minutes, then off it. Put dough inside while the oven is warm)

7. Take the baking tin out of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 170 deg C.

8. Egg wash the dough with beaten egg. Using a pair of scissors, make slits on top and insert butter. Lastly sprinkle generously with coarse sugar.

9. Put in the oven for 20 min at 170 degree. Take out and cool the buns. Ready to serve.