Madeleines

i finally put my madeleine pans to good use. it has been kept in the store ever since i brought it back from the US. i was really happy to have found these made in italy pans as i got them at a very good deal - just 2.99 USD!!!


over here in singapore, a pan like this is probably selling at S$20? btw, i bought this pan from a shop called ross; the things they sell are cheaper than the retail prices by quite a fair bit.

for the first attempt, i would say i wasn't really satisfied with the results. the madeleines didn't turn out looking good (i think there were air bubbles?) and mama commented that they were a tad too hard. so well, i've gotta try baking them another time. i'll prob pay more attention to the oven temperature the next time round.

i made them into little cupcakes as well haha cos i was too impatient to have to wait for the 1st batch of madeleines to bake before i can re-use the pan. surprisingly, they turned out beautiful :)



Madeleines
Taken from Bon Appétit, Jan 2000 issue. Available from www.epicurious.com

Ingredients:
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
Pinch of salt
1 cup all purpose flour
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
Powdered sugar (i omitted this)

Method:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously butter and flour pan for large madeleines (about 3x1 1/4 inches).* Using electric mixer, beat eggs and 2/3 cup sugar in large bowl just to blend. Beat in vanilla, lemon peel and salt. Add flour; beat just until blended. Gradually add cooled melted butter in steady stream, beating just until blended.

Spoon 1 tablespoon batter into each indentation in pan. Bake until puffed and brown, about 16 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Gently remove from pan. Repeat process, buttering and flouring pan before each batch. (Can be made 1 day ahead.)

Dust cookies with powdered sugar.(i omitted this)

*A metal mold with scallop-shaped indentations, sold at cookware stores.

Steamed Matcha Red Bean Cupcakes

i finally tried making wf's azuki bean paste. see her recipe here. i soaked the azuki beans overnight then prepared them in the morning. soaking them for a longer period of time helps to shorten the cooking process. i didn't mash the beans cos i like mine crunchy with bits of azuki beans in them.

and what did i do with these azuki beans?

haha the title says it all.


yupp another steamed cupcake. this is an adaptation of the steamed banana recipe i tried the last time. i like the matcha colour! and azuki beans goes really well with matcha.

in fact this recipe is so versatile. see amanda's latest version of steamed mango and orange cupcakes! haha there's more to experiment with ;p

the batter

fresh from the steamer

what's inside!

Steamed Matcha Red Bean Cupcakes
Adapted from Amanda's Steamed Banana Cake.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
90g sugar
170g of cooked azuki beans
1 to 1.5 tsp of matcha (green tea) powder
150g plain/AP flour
8g of baking powder
4g salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
75g of olive oil

Method:

1. Sift together plain flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

2. Whisk together eggs and sugar till ribbon stage. See the link for what a ribbon stage looks like.

3. Mix in azuki beans and matcha powder, beat till well-combined.

4. Gently fold in flour mixture and oil, taking care not to deflate the air in the eggs and sugar mixture. (that's what helps the cake rise!)

5. Pour batter into muffin pan, lined with muffin cups.

6. Steam over high heat for 15mins or till an inserted skewer comes out clean

Egg White Pandan Cupcakes

these little egg white pandan cuppies were made in an attempt to use up the remaining egg whites i had in the freezer! i adapted the recipe from aunty yochana's egg white cheese cupcakes. replaced the 100 mL of fresh milk with 25 mL of pandan juice and 75 mL of coconut milk and added 1/2 tsp of pandan paste.

but mine sank a little after i took them out of the oven.


it tasted very light and soft, and i loved the pandan fragrance. you could make them in a larger size. i think these are a little too mini. haha.


the recipe uses a little amount of butter and no yolks. so i guess it's a rather healthy one :) do try it!

the exams are drawing near. so i won't be blogging for sometime. will be back after my papers end. yay i can't wait man :)

till then, take care :)

i'll be leaving for wyoming, yellowstone during the 3 months break this coming may for a work and travel program! really excited and looking forward to it. basically i'll be working in yellowstone for 2 months at xanterra national park and resort, then we'll be travelling for the remaining one month :) heh. any must go places anyone? please let me know okay :)

here's the modified recipe..

Egg White Pandan Cupcakes
Adapted from Aunty Yochana's Egg White Cheese Cupcakes

Ingredients:

25mL pandan juice
75mL coconut milk
1/2 tsp pandan paste
200 gm. egg white
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
80 gm. sugar
80 gm. cake flour
20 gm. cornflour
30 gm. melted butter

Method:

1. Mix the coconut milk, pandan juice and pandan paste together.
2. Whisk egg white, salt and cream of tartar till fluffy and pour in sugar gradually. Continue to whisk till thick.
3. Fold in coconut milk mixture, butter and flour using a spatula.
4. Spoon into muffin cups.
5. Bake at 180C for about 25 mins.

Cream Cheese Cup Cakes

i had left over cream cheese after making yesterday's cream cheese bread. so i had to use it up since it doesn't keep for long after it's been opened. decided to use it up today to make something new - cream cheese cup cakes.

the original recipe was taken from aunty yochana. she made hers in mini loaves but since i don't have one, i made them in cup cakes.

for this one i added in generous amounts of cream cheese :) haha didn't want to keep the remaining cream cheese. the cream cheese filling is actually sandwiched in between the batter. so you've got to bite into it to find the treasure haha. i like the toasted ground almonds added into the batter and it was yummy!

the batter

the cream cheese filling

the cup cakes

what's inside! still hot from the oven - cream cheese oozing out!

he said it was delicious :p

here's the recipe:

Cream Cheese Cup Cakes
Adapted from Aunty Yochana's Cream Cheese Mini Loaf

Ingredients:

230 gm. butter
75 gm. caster sugar
1 egg
200 self-raising flour
40 gm. toasted ground almond
100 ml. fresh milk

Filling: Mix all the fillings together till smooth.

150 gm. cream cheese
2 .5 Tbsp. caster sugar
90 gm. mixed fruits
30 gm. whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla essence

Method:

1. Cream butter with sugar till creamy.
2. Add in egg and cream till well mixed.
3. Add in self raising flour, ground almond and fresh milk alternately till finished.
4. Prepare cupcake holders. Scoop some batter into cupcake holder then scoop some filling in the center and top up with some batter.
5. Bake at 175C for about 20 mins. or till cooked.
6. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.

**Mine yielded about 9 cup cakes.

Mandarin Orange Butter Cup Cakes

i made these cup cakes with the two korean sisters - jenda and victoria! they came over to my house to play and wanted to bake something! they call my home the mini bakery haha. yupp so i found this simple recipe from alex goh's "creative making of cakes" but modified it a little. haha more importantly i had all the ingredients for it :p i definitely had fun baking with the kids!

little princess victoria is helping me sieve the flour :)

say "cheese'! i love her to bits; she's soooo adorable!

jenda the elder sister helping to spoon the batter into the cup cake mould.

there you go! it's ready..

haha she was so eager to try the cup cakes. and she gave them thumbs up!

Here's the recipe if you want to have a go at it yourself. And if you have too many left over mandarin oranges from CNY, this is a good recipe to try :)

Ingredients:
200g flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tbsp milk powder
250g butter
5 eggs
150g sugar (original was 175g)
2 tbsps of mandarin orange juice
zest of one mandarin orange

Method:
1) sieve flour and baking powder together.
2) cream flour mixture, milk powder and butter till smooth and fluffy.
3) whip eggs and sugar till light and thick.
4) add mandarin orange juice and zest into egg mixture and mix till evenly blended.
5) then finally add the flour mixture into it and mix till well incorporated.
6) Place batter into cup cake moulds.
7) Bake at 190 deg C for 20-25mins.