COOK FROM THE BOOK...

Cinnabon and my homemade cinnamon rolls...

Spending RM16 on 4 small pieces of cinnamon roll at Cinnabon is worth every bite. Unfortunately, they don't run a franchise here in the East Coast and I needed help with my intense craving for the fluffiest and moist cinnamon rolls with generous creamy topping, sprinkled with the crunchiest toasted pecans. But since Cinnabon wasn't within 100 km drive I had to head into my kitchen and start whipping up things to soothe my desperate craving. The rolls turned out to be awesomely tender and tasty! And I'm sharing this with all you bread-cravers out there!
In a mixing bowl, put 500g of bread flour, 10g salt, 15g yeast, 60f sugar, 150g milk and 2 large eggs. Use a dough hook and knead until a ball of dough is formed. Then add in 100g butter. Knead again and when all of the butter is incorporated cover the bowl with a cling wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.
On a flour-dusted work surface, knock back the dough and roll it into a cylinder. Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough into a rectangular shape. Spread the cinnamon filling generously onto the dough and start rolling. Cut into the desired thickness and let proof for at least 45 minutes. Glaze with egg wash and bake at 190C for 15-18 minutes.
While it's still hot, glaze it with cinnamon topping- beat 100g butter, 100g cream cheese (room temperature), 300g sifted icing sugar and few drops of vanilla. Sprinkle with the nuts that you like (walnuts will do for me) and there you go...tender, warm and delicious homemade cinnamon rolls!

Bread Pudding

One of the best warm desserts that goes perfectly well with a cup of steaming hot coffee is bread pudding. Preparing this old-fashioned dessert means your leftover bread slices will not go to waste. In fact, if you find it hard to finish a loaf of bread before it's expiry date, freeze it until you are ready to make this scrumptious bread pudding.

Ingredients and Preparation

Bread pudding :

1 loaf of bread (or any bread of the same weight. If you're using baguettes, slice thinly)

Butter to spread on bread

125g butter (cold and cut into small cubes)

2 tbsp flour

500ml fresh milk

1 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp of brown/muscovado sugar

Raisins (if desired)

Toast each slices of bread until light brown. Butter each slice of bread. Then tear them into medium-sized pieces. Place half of the amount of bread (no need to arrange in any order) in a baking dish. Sprinkle some raisins and place the rest of the bread pieces. Whisk all other ingredients except butter, then pour onto the bread. Top with raisins and butter. Sprinkle brown sugar on top. Bake for 40 minutes or until the middle part is not wobbly.

Sauce :

1 can of evaporated milk

3 cups fresh milk

2 cups water

3 eggs

1/3 cup corn flour

few drops vanilla essence

Whisk or blend all ingredients in a blender and heat in a pot while stirring at all times. When the sauce thickens, turn heat off. Cool and chill.

Serve the pudding warm with the chilled sauce. Topped with fresh/whip cream and fresh strawberries. Heaven!

THE INDIAN MENU PLANNER

A dear friend of mine got this book during her visit to New Delhi. She knew that of all the things that people normally buy as gifts for others - key chains, clothes, handicrafts, decorations - I would be a million times thrilled to receive a local recipe book. I fell in love with this book at the very first sight. It comes in a button pack which includes 3 sections - Tandoor & Dry Dishes, Curries & Simmering Pot, Vegetarian Dishes & Desserts. 12 celebrated chefs lend themselves amazingly well to producing this easy-to-follow recipe book of traditional Indian cuisine but with a modern twist. The first item I tried was the Tandoori Chicken and it turned out yummy and I didn't need a 'tandoor' (clay oven) after all!

Choco-berry layer

This was totally accidental. I had a few friends over and had to make a dessert (never been happier seeing guests plunge their fork into it till the very last bit). My initial plan was to make a cream cheese-based dessert but sadly, there was no cheese left in the chiller. So with cream, leftover cakes and fruits, I had to whip up something. I grabbed my trifle bowl and began making what I had in mind...layers and layers of creamy fruitty cool dessert.

What you need:
1. Any leftover cakes or sponge cakes. I used chocolate swiss rolls. Slice them.

2. Fresh strawberries

3. Chocolate cream :
1 egg yolk, 40g caster sugar, 100g cooking chocolate/bittersweet finely chopped, 50ml water, 1 1/2 tsp gelatin powder, 250g whip cream (I normally used Rich brand)
- Sprinkle gelatin over water.
- Whisk 1 egg yolk + 40g caster sugar until pale and creamy. Double boil and keep whisking.
- Add chocolate and gelatin mixture to the bowl and stir until all is melted. Let cool a bit.
- Whip cream until slightly firm. Fold chocolate mixture into it. Set aside.

4. Strawberry cream
250g strawberry, 60 g caster sugar, 2tbsp orange juice, 2tsp powdered gelatin, 300g whip cream
- Mash strawberries with sugar. Add orange juice to it. Put in a pot.
- Sprinkle gelatin over it. Heat pot. Stir until mixture thickens a bit. Let cool for a while.
- Whip cream to medium peak. Fold strawberry mixture into it. Set aside.

Assembling the dessert,
Layer 1 - cake + fresh strawberries
Layer 2 - Chocolate cream
Layer 3 - Cake
Layer 4 - Strawberry cream
Layer 5 - Cake
Layer 6 - Strawberry cream
Topping - fresh strawberries and grated chocolate

All done!

Arrange sliced cakes for the bottom layer.

Arrange halved strawberries in any way you desire

Pour in all the chocolate cream

After the chocolate cream, another layer of cake, strawberry cream, cake , strawberry cream. Topped with fresh strawberries and grated chocolate.

SIMPLE BUTTER CAKE

If you're looking for the simplest, easiest recipe for a butter cake, look no further. This effortless recipe (from Peggy Porschen book) is suitable for any wedding or celebration cakes. Flavourings and nuts can be added to create a more variety of tastes. The texture of the cake is moist and tender yet it can still support layers of fondant and marzipan. The equal amount of each ingredient reminds me of my mom's pound cake recipe but this is not as dense and firm as a pound cake. This recipe will make fabulous cakes for any occasion.

Ingredients:
400g butter
400g caster sugar
8 eggs (lightly beaten)
400g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon vanilla essence or butter vanilla

Method:
Preheat oven to 170C. Beat butter and sugar using s flat beater until fluffy. Add vanilla then slowly pour beaten egg in portion and continue beating at medium speed. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to ensure the mixture is beaten evenly. Using a spatula, fold in flour until well mixed. Pour mixture into a 9" square or round tin. Bake for about 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool before frosting. If you're covering the cake with fondant, chill it first till firm.

PUTRI AYU

Kuih Putri Ayu yang gebu dan lemak manis sangat sesuai untuk dijadikan juadah minum petang. Kuih ini berperisa pandan dan dihiasi dengan kelapa parut yang telah dicampur dengan sedikit garam. Tekstur kuih ini hampir serupa seperti kuih apam yang lembut dan gebu. Resipi dan cara-caranya:

Bahan-bahan:

3 biji telur (gred B)

125g tepung gandum

150g gula

1 cam teh ovalette

1/2 camca teh baking powder

100ml santan

pewarna hijau

1 camca teh paste pandan + 30ml air pandan

kelapa secukupnya + sedikit garam (gaulkan)

* air pandan - blend 5 helai daun pandan + air 30ml dan tapis dan sukat semula untuk dapatkan 30ml air pandan

Cara-cara:

1. Panaskan kukusan

2. Pukul telur, gula dan ovalette hingga kembang dan gebu

3. Masukkan santan, tepung gandum, baking powder, pandan paste dan air pandan, pewarna. Kacau hingga sebati. Gunakan spatula atau senduk. Kaup dan ratakan tetapi jangan pukul terlalu kuat.

4. Sapu sedikit minyak dalam acuan (lihat acuan di bawah). Masukkan kelapa sedikit dan tekankan.

5. Masukkan adunan dan kukus selama 5 minit.

6. Tunggu hingga sejuk sedikit supaya senang dikeluarkan dari acuan.

DOUGH SHEETER - BREAD AND PASTRIES

Sheeter and croissants for myself. A very useful machine indeed.

RED VELVET CAKE

Today is one of the busiest days of my life. Having arrived in Dungun at 2 am last night, I had to then type out the recipes for my class for the next morning. It was a demonstration and lucky enough, no one noticed the tremendous exhaustion I felt (not even a yawn) that made even the wall seemed comfy enough for me to lean on relaxingly. It was a 'special cakes' class and one of the items was 'Red Velvet Cake' (I reckon that words and fashion reach across this part of the country pretty fast these days, hence, this cake has made its name here as well). Whether you see it as a stale version of chocolate cake or a cake with a bitter aftertaste (due to the beetroot juice), this cake has its own distinctive class and has made its way to the best bakery boutiques in town.

Ingredients:
Cake: preheat oven to 170C

A : 280g self-raising flour + 20g cocoa powder (sifted)

B : In a jug, pour 135g milk + 2tsp lemon juice/vinegar + 80 g red dragon fruit/beet root juice + red colour (I use the Wilton deep red gel colour) + vanilla + yellow

C : 200g butter + 180g sugar + 50g oil (the oil helps to produce a moist cake)

D : 2 eggs (A grade)

Method:
1. Beat (C) until light and fluffy

2. Add the eggs one by one and mix well (mixer at medium speed)

3. While mixer is on slow speed, add in A and B alternately in 3 or 4 portions.

4. When mixture is combined well, pour onto a 14X14 inch tin. Bake for 12 minutes first and check whether the cake springs back when touched. If it does, then the cake is ready. Cool the cake in chiller.

4. Divide the cake into 4 equal layers. Line a 7-inch removable-base cake tin with one cake sheet and spread 1/4 of the filling. Layer with another sheet of cake. Spread filling and repeat the procedure until the last layer.

5. Cool the cake for at least 4 hours before unmoulding it.

The filling:
400g whipping cream

300g cream cheese (soften at room temperature)

100g icing sugar

Method:

1. Beat cream cheese until mixture is smooth.

2. Add cream and sugar and beat medium speed until it becomes spreadable.

The cake does not need to be heavily decorated as it is normally served as it is. Enjoy!

SUGAR ROSES - Tombi Peck, Alan Dunn, Tony Warren

One of the best sugarcraft artists in the world is none other than Alan Dunn. To attend any of his classes would be a dream come true for me. But for now, I would have to settle for his books.

This is one of my references when making roses (as there are dozens of roses and I sometimes keep forgetting the variety that exist). And if you're into sugar flowers, especially roses, get this one. Very useful indeed. The clear instructions with photos make rose-making a fun and possible attempt for any amateur. Following are some of the pages in the book, to share.