My Maiden Macaron Attempt ~ Matcha Macaron 抹茶马卡龙

To support this month’s Aspiring Bakers theme, I gathered all ingredients and baked maracon for the first time on 11th March 2012. Since I just bought a pack of matcha powder while shopping for the ground almond so naturally matcha macaron came into my mind.

I was lucky to get the signature “feet” on my first trial but my macarons were over baked. I should have baked at lower temperature instead of 175C as suggested in the recipe. Also, I got to blame myself for not monitoring closely (I was busy drawing on my Iphone actually; those who play the game should know what I am talking about).

The over-baked macarons were not wasted; they were very delicious in my opinion, tasted just like meringue cookies. I finished all by myself. Hehe.

This batch of macarons is from my second attempt. I learnt my lesson. I lowered the oven temperature and stayed close to the oven to observe throughout the process. I was so happy to see the macarons came out green (no more brown top) and in shape. After maturing, the crust is slight crunchy whereas the inside is slight chewy. Though I like it chewy I think it can be more tender.

Recipe adapted from here. I have actually made slight changes to the amount of ingredient in my two attempts. That’s why there are two sets of ingredient amount in the recipe below. The first set yields dryer batter (which is easier to pipe) and more intense matcha flavour whereas the batter from second set is slightly runnier and the match flavour is quite mild. Personally I prefer more intense matcha flavour so I will use 5g of matcha powder next time.

 Matcha Macaron

Ingredients: (make 24-26 individual macaron shells of 35mm diameter)

(A)
35g/37g ground almond (sifted weight)
5g/ 3g matcha (green tea) powder
40g/40g icing sugar
(B)
33g/35g Egg white
40g/40g icing sugar

Method:

1) Sieve ground almond (my ground almond is not fine enough, so I grind it again before sieving). Do not use the ground almond which does not pass through the sieve. Combine sifted ground almond with matcha powder and icing sugar in (A), sieve together into a large mixing bowl.

2) Beat egg white until foamy and add icing sugar in 3 batches, continue to beat till soft peak.

Picture credit to http://blog.yam.com/homeeconomics/article/33251341

3) Fold in egg white to ground almond mixture with a rubber spatula till a uniform and glossy batter is formed.

4) Fit piping bag with a 1cm plain nozzle tip (Wilton #2A) and fill in the batter. Pipe small circles on non-stick baking sheet (I get my template from here).

5) Prick any air bubbles with a toothpick. Let macarons rest on the baking sheet at room temperature for at least 20 mins till the shell is no longer as sticky (will still be a bit sticky when touched). This step will “dry” the caps and help them rise later when they cook. Meanwhile, preheat oven at 150C, upper heat only.

6) Bake macaron shells at centre rack with upper heat only until “feet” appear (it takes about 3-5 mins) then move the pan to lower rack, switch to lower heat only and place a cool empty tray on upper rack (this is to prevent remaining heat from the upper heating element to further brown the top of macaron shells), continue to bake for another 8-10 mins (depending on individual oven) (I tried using double tray when baking, it helps to prevent the bottom of the shells to turn brown before the shells are fully cooked).

7) Remove the baking paper with maracon shells from baking tray and cool on wire rack. Remove macaron shell from baking paper. Pair them according to size, pipe your preferred filling (I used Nutella here) on cooled shell and assemble. Keep in airtight container in fridge and let them rest for another 24 hours. The humidity of the icing will get into the crispy caps and that’s what will make them crisp on the outside and so tender on the inside. Take out macarons from fridge 20-25 mins to thaw before serving.


In pairs


My friends, Esther and Ann, also use the same recipe source for their macarons. Check up their beautiful macarons here and here.

I'm submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #17 - March Macaron Madness! (Mar 2012) hosted by Alan of Travelling Foodies.

Reference:
http://foodnouveau.com/macarons/
http://foodnouveau.com/2010/03/29/paris-france/how-to-make-macarons-a-detailed-illustrated-step-by-step-recipe/
http://foodnouveau.com/2011/12/16/france/a-macaron-troubleshooting-guide-useful-tips-and-advice-to-master-the-french-delicacy/
http://blog.yam.com/homeeconomics/article/33251341
http://blog.yam.com/homeeconomics/article/12709186

豆花风之简易冷冻豆花 Easy Chilled Soya Beancurd

昨天Lucius满25个月。时间过得真快，不久前才刚刚分享Lucius的两岁生日蛋糕，转眼间一个月就过去了。两岁多一点点的Lucius还是一样调皮好动，但几乎又更听得懂“人话”了，会说的词汇越来越多，已经能用几个字窜成短句来表达自己了，所以比起从前现在的Lucius的确比较好带。比较让妈咪烦心的是toilet train的问题，Lucius很抗拒坐potty，托儿所方面又不配合，我担心要是错过了黄金时间到时就更加难toilet train了。各位妈咪欢迎你和我分享你的心得。

最近网络吹起一阵豆花风，我也跟风做了一些。这是之前很多中文格友做过的冷冻豆花，吃法和传统豆花一样需要加糖浆。另一阵强风，简直可以说是风球就是最近在新加坡兴起的豆花布丁，吃时不需加糖浆。这股冷冻豆花风让我想起了两年前做过的这个豆奶布丁，当时我的标题就打着比豆花还好吃的“豆花”。

后者我还真的没吃过，不过听说和传统的豆花口感和味道不同，问过吃过的人刚好听到的评语是太creamy/milky，吃了一点就感觉很饱。当然当中也不乏它的粉丝。有机会我一定要品尝看看。 
 

我做了网上流传的配方，对我来说真的有点太creamy的感觉，因为加入了不少coffee creamer。我陆陆续续都有在做实验，上星期还做了一些加入奶粉的，等我实验出自己满意的配方才和大家分享吧！今天就请大家吃这个清淡的豆花。
 
豆花是用照片里的豆浆机出产的豆浆做的，用的是有机黄豆。我的小白已经一岁了，今天还是第一次曝光。当时我以非常优惠的价格购得小白，要谢谢来自中国的同事的推荐和帮忙购买。开始拥有它时常常用来打豆浆，在妈妈生病期间每天都拿来打十谷米糊，最近则常用来打薏米水和白木耳水让家人润一润。小白的确是个好帮手。

豆花不是故意做成粉红色的啦。其实是历史重演，买燕菜粉时随手一拿，开封时才发现买到了红色的。不过，看看成品粉嫩粉嫩的，配搭新买的厨房用巾，还蛮赏心悦目的，你觉得呢？

上面淋上的是来自台湾的“黑糖红枣桂圆”，取一块加点水去煮溶就行了，我擅自加了片姜，但家人不爱那味道，下次记得不要假厉害。豆花配上这黑糖红枣桂圆水多了份层次感，非常搭。

豆花很滑很嫩，谢谢Lee Wan Theng的分享。

简易冷冻豆花

材料：
自制豆奶 1公升，室温 （或市售豆奶1.2公升）
燕菜粉 1茶匙

做法：
1）倒入一半豆奶到锅里，用小火加热（我还加入几片班兰叶）。同时，把燕菜粉加入另一半的豆奶里，拌至溶解。
2）豆奶加热到温热时加入另一半混合了燕菜粉的豆奶，用小火边煮边搅拌，直到冒出气泡（约5分钟），熄火（不要煮到大滚）。
3）轻轻舀入碗里以避免大气泡，如有气泡可用汤匙舀掉。待豆奶冷却后收入冰箱至少3-4个小时直到豆奶凝固即可淋上自己喜欢的糖浆享用。

注：
原食谱的比例为1茶匙燕菜粉对1.2公升，但是我用的自制豆奶比较稀，所以我只用了1公升豆奶，成果恰恰好，豆花入口即化但又不至于软趴趴。

Easy Chilled Soya Beancurd

Ingredients：
1L home-made soya milk, room temperature (or 1.2L store bought soya milk)
1 tsp agar-agar powder

Method:
1) Heat up half soya milk in a saucepan over low heat (I also added some pandan leaves). Meanwhile, dissolve agar-agar powder in the remaining soya milk.
2) When the soya milk becomes slightly hot, add the soya milk/agar-agar powder mixture, cook over low heat, stir from time to time till you see bubble on top (take about 5 mins, do not cook till boiling). Turn off heat.
3) Pour the soya milk into bowls gently to avoid air bubbles. Scoop away bubbles on top (if any). Cool down to room temperature and refrigerate till set (about 3- 4 hours). Serve with your preferred syrup.

Note:
The original ratio for agar-agar powder and soya milk is 1 tsp to 1.2 L (or ½ tsp to 600ml), because my home-made soya milk is more diluted so I reduce the amount to 1L and the texture came out just nice.

Sonia (Nasi Lemak Lover) has shared her experiences in making this chilled bean curd in detail, do check out her blog post here if you want to find out more.

妈妈生日快乐之芋头蛋糕 (法式海绵蛋糕) Yam Layer Cake (French Sponge Cake)

Yesterday was my mum’s birthday. We had a mini celebration on Sunday as D was not in town yesterday.

Last year I made mum a mango cake and this year I made her a yam cake as mum likes to eat yam.

This cake is actually very similar to the popular pandan kaya cake but it’s with yam paste added. I can only get hold of Thailand yam here which is very fluffy (in Teochew/ Hokkien we call it “sang”) but lack of the yam fragrance. Therefore, I got to use some yam flavoring to enhance the taste. In case you are interested to get the flavoring, I bought my yam colour flavored paste from Phoon Huat, Redman brand (there is also another type without colour added).

For the cake base I choose French Sponge Cake this time which is using separated egg method. As compared to the Traditional Sponge Cake (whole egg method, see here), French Sponge Cake is softer and moister. It remains soft and moist even just out from the fridge. Therefore, I think it worth the effort to make French Sponge Cake although it involves more works and washing. The yam layer is very smooth and I find that the softness is just nice.

The step of making this cake seems long but with proper planning it is actually not difficult to make at all.

Original recipe is meant for 10” round tin with 9” sponge cake but I only have 8” round tin, so I made an 8” cake and trimmed it to about 7”. The excess cake and yam pudding were not wasted; I layered them in paper cups (like making tiramisu), made 3 cups.

Yam Layer Cake

French Sponge Cake
(Recipe adapted from Alex Goh’s Fruity Cakes)

Ingredients:
(A)
4 egg yolks
20g sugar
¼ tsp vanilla extract (I used yam flavoring)
(B)
4 egg white
(C)
100g sugar (I used 70g)
(D)
110g plain flour (I used cake flour)
(E)
70g melted butter

Method:
1) Whip (A) until light and fluffy.
2) Whip (B) till soft peak form. Add (C) and continue whipping until stiff.
3) Fold the meringue into (A) until well blended.
4) Sieve (D) and fold until well combined.
5) Fold in (E) and mix until well incorporated.
6) Pour the batter into a greased and lined 8” round tin. Bake in preheated oven at 180C for 25 mins. Remove cake from pan immediately when done. Slice into 3pcs horizontally after cooling down (you may make this in advance and keep in fridge).

Yam Layer
(Recipe adapted from Alex Goh’s Creative Making of Cakes)

Ingredients:
(A)
800ml water
200g sugar (I used 150g)
Pinch of salt
2tsp agar-agar powder
(B)
300ml coconut milk (I used the box type, Kara brand)
300g yam, steamed (mash it while it is still hot)
(C)
200ml coconut milk (I used 100ml Kara brand coconut milk + 100ml water)
85g cornflour
(D)
1 tsp yam colour flavored paste (optional)

Method:
1) Cook (A) till boiling.
2) Combine (B), mix well. Add it into (A), mix till well blended. Sieve to obtain a finer and smoother texture (optional).
3) Continue to cook the above mixture till boil, then add (C) and (D) to cook till thicken.
4) Place one layer of cake into an 8” springform pan or cake ring. Pour some yam pudding over and smooth it, then top with anther layer of cake. Repeat this step and finish the last layer with yam pudding on top.
5) Let it cool to room temperature and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
6) Unmould, decorate with desiccated coconut as desired.

Note:
1) I used medium low heat throughout while cooking the yam pudding except after adding (C), I switched to low heat.
2) After adding (B) and (C) need to stir constantly to avoid burning at the bottom.
3) In step 1 and 3, I only cooked till very gentle boil.
4) Prepare (B) and (C) in separate bowls before start cooking (A).

Grilled Marmite Chicken Wings (Using Happycall Pan) 香煎妈蜜鸡翼

 

I notice more and more people around me including friends and colleagues are catching the craze of Happycall pan.

I particularly like to use this kitchen gadget for grilling, ever since I owned the Happycall pan I hardly use oven for grilling, this pan make grilling fast and easy.

Chicken wing is our all times favourite. This is another grilled chicken wings dish that I created other than our usual Char Siew chicken wings, Teriyaki chicken wings and 4321 chicken wings.

Grilled Marmite Chicken Wings (Using Happycall Pan)

Ingredients:
6 chicken wings or 12 mid-joint wing
1 tbsp Marmite
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp dark soy sauce (for colouring)

Method:
1) Wash and pat dry chicken wings. Marinate with all seasonings and minced garlic for at least one hour, best is to marinate overnight.
2) Arrange chicken wings (without the marinade) in Happycall pan, close with magnet locked. Cook for 1 min over medium low heat, flip the wings manually and cook for another 1 min with magnet locked.
3) Add some marinade on chicken wings, with pan opened, let it caramelize before adding the balance bit by bit. Flip the chicken wings manually in between. Repeat the same until all marinade is finished.

Surabaya Cake (Indonesia Egg Yolk Sponge Cake) 全蛋黄海绵蛋糕

准备Lucius的第二个生日蛋糕时一不小心打翻了整碗蛋白，就这样多出了7颗蛋黄。蛋黄的保鲜时间比蛋白短，我马上想到了Surabaya Layer Cake (Lapis Surabaya)。

Lapis Surabaya是印尼著名的蛋糕，口感类似千层糕（Kek Lapis）但是只有三层，两层原味（黄色）夹着一层巧克力味，传统的夹层为草莓酱。我因为不想再敲鸡蛋，所以只做了一片原味蛋糕（加了香草精），一分为二叠起来变成两层。少了巧克力蛋糕，夹层就用巧克力酱来代替。

蛋糕的组织和我吃过外面卖的有点不同，有点松散（是因为用自发粉吗？原食谱还另外加发粉但我都省略了），不如外面卖的密实和湿软，但是蛋糕非常的柔软轻盈，有点入口即化的感觉（其实外面卖的我也只吃过一家，给我的感觉是蛋糕里肯定加入了不少乳化剂）。

把蛋糕包装了送人，自己只留下修饰后剩下的蛋糕。

This is my simplified version of the famous Indonesia Subaraya Cake.

Surabaya Cake (Indonesia Egg Yolk Sponge Cake)

Ingredients:
7 egg yolks
50g castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
90g butter (melted)
¼ tsp salt
45g self-raising Flour (sifted)

Filling: chocolate ganache (or any fruit jam, kaya etc)

Method:
1) Whisk egg yolks together with sugar until thick and creamy. Add vanilla extract salt. Give it a gentle thorough stir. Gently fold in sifted flour, alternating with melted butter until there are no more lumps of flour.
2) Pour into a lined and greased 9" square baking pan and bake at 175°C for 20 minutes or turns golden. Cool on wire rack.
3) Cut the cake into half equally. Spread chocolate ganache (or your preferred fillings) on one piece of cake. Top with another piece of cake. Trim the sides if needed.

(Recipe adapted and modified from http://www.best-dessert-recipes.com/surabaya-layer-cake.html)

Lucius 两岁生日蛋糕 Part 2：Roary The Racing Car Cake (Vanilla Chiffon with Blueberry Oreo Fillings)

这是Lucius生日当天和家人一起庆生的生日蛋糕。

Lucius基本上是个车痴，所以当爹地把Roary The Racing Car的卡通动画片介绍给他看时，他马上就着了迷。所以，除Barney外这是Lucius的第二个偶像。虽然妈咪不鼓励孩子看动画，但无可否认当孩子闹别扭时给他看他喜欢的动画确实是让他静下来的有效方法。

这个蛋糕做得很随性，就家里有什么就用什么。本来蛋糕体想做可可口味，但是家里的可可粉不够就换成香草口味。用Nielsen-Massey的pure vanilla extract来做戚风或海绵蛋糕我觉得特别香，如果用在重口味的蛋糕，例如牛油蛋糕或巧克力蛋糕我觉得香味就不明显。

选了《孟老师的美味蛋糕卷》里的食谱，做了一片12”x16”大的薄蛋糕，这个尺寸是我的41L老牙烤箱的顶限了。把蛋糕切半叠起刚好是edible image的尺寸。

夹层涂上加入了蓝莓酱和新鲜蓝莓的鲜奶油，再盖上厚厚的一层Oreo饼干碎，外层整个涂上鲜奶油然后在周边挤花。蛋糕完成后我觉得有点单调，于是用剩下的Oreo饼干铺在周围就大功告成了。

在运送蛋糕到叔叔家为Lucius庆生时Lucius频频要求打开蛋糕的盒子要看蛋糕，看到是Roary他很开心，比起之前的Barney蛋糕Lucius几乎对这个Roary蛋糕比较有感觉。但是到了最重要关头唱生日歌切蛋糕时Lucius又不知何故闹了起来，一听到生日歌就发脾气，非常不合作，把大人们搞到一头雾水。

加入新鲜蓝莓家人似乎不是很爱，下回还是做可可口味的比较保险。

The ingredients amount below is for 10”x14” or 12”x12” swiss roll pan, the amount in bracket is for my 12”x16” swiss roll pan with slight deduction of sugar.


Vanilla Chiffon with Blueberry Oreo Fillings

Ingredients:

Vanilla Chiffon Cake
(Adapted from 《孟老师的美味蛋糕卷》）
(A)
80g (110g) egg yolks, room temperature
25g (30g) castor sugar
2 tbsp + 1 tsp (60ml) corn oil
2 tbsp + 1 tsp (60ml) milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
(B)
75g (100g) cake flour
(C)
160g (220g) egg whites
60g (75g) castor sugar

Blueberry Oreo Fillings
Whipped fresh cream (adequate)
Blueberry jam (to taste)
Some fresh/frozen blueberries
1 pack Oreo biscuit, remove the cream (reverse 10pcs individual biscuits and cut into half, crush the rest)
*Mix first 3 ingredients together

Frosting
Whipped fresh cream (adequate) (see note)

Method:
1) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together (A) until combined. Sift in (B) and mix until smooth and well combined.
2) In another bowl, beat eggs whites starting with low speed. When the egg whites turn frothy, slowly add in the sugar and increase the speed to high and beat until egg whites are nearly stiff but still moist and not dry.
3) Fold one third of beaten egg whites with a balloon whisk into egg yolk mixture to lighten and mix well. Incorporate another one third of the whites. Lastly, add the rest of the egg whites and fold gently to obtain a smooth uniformly coloured foamy batter. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl with a spatula to ensure batter is well mixed.
4) Pour batter into lined swiss roll pan. Level the batter and bake in preheated oven for 8 - 12 minutes for 180C. Start checking for doneness at 8 mins. Cake is done when inserted toothpick comes out clean. Tear away the baking paper and allow sheet cake to cool on wire rack.
5) To assemble, cut the cake into half, spread fillings on top (avoid 1cm from the edges), add crushed Oreo biscuits, place another piece of cake on top, press down gently. Frost the whole cake with whipped fresh cream, pipe shells at the upper and lower edges and arrange Oreo biscuits at four sides.

Note:
The fresh cream used here is non-dairy whip topping cream from Phoon Huat (Redman brand). Just pour the cream and whip till stiff. For two birthday cakes I whipped 3 cups of cream (measured when it is still in liquid form) and still left about 1 cup of whipped cream.

生日当天拍的-25.02.2012

Lucius 两岁生日蛋糕 Part 1: Barney Cake (Bananas Cake with Nutella Filling)

当当当，我们家的小宝贝两岁了！Lucius 在2012年2月25日满两岁。

话说Lucius在妈咪肚子里头时爹地就在一次出差途中买了一只我觉得很丑的Barney玩偶和BJ（Barney的好朋友之一）玩偶给还没出生的Lucius。从此Lucius就和Barney结下了不解之缘。

忘了什么时候开始（应该是一岁以后），Barney成为了Lucius生活中不可或缺的玩伴，所以每次出门都得带着Barney一起出去。或者该这么说，Lucius入睡时可以没有妈咪在身边陪伴但是不能没有Barney。Lucius叫Barney的发音和叫妈咪很像，有好几次他在吵着要Barney时还让我以为他要找妈咪（搞不清楚状况的我）。

今年妈咪做了两个生日蛋糕给Lucius，这是生日的前一天在childcare centre庆祝的生日蛋糕。

一开始我就锁定用edible image来做Lucius的生日蛋糕，对于不善于蛋糕装饰的我edible image确实是帮了我一大把，还能唬唬外行人。当然，这招不能年年用，今年过了关明年再说吧！

本来以为Lucius看到Barney的生日蛋糕会很兴奋，但是一切都不在我的估计中。在托儿所庆祝生日时Lucius闹别扭，看到蛋糕非但没有兴奋，扭扭捏捏地窝在爹地怀里，只差没有哭出来。他的同学们看到Barney蛋糕时反而比他更兴奋。妈咪心里是有点失望地。

Barney的糖衣底下是香蕉蛋糕，本来没打算做两层但是我估计错误，蛋糕做出来太矮了，所以只好做多一次把两个蛋糕叠起来，夹层我只涂上了一层薄薄的Nuttela。我觉得这样的蛋糕比较适合小朋友食用。

香蕉蛋糕我用了最爱的这个香蕉蛋糕食谱 (Ultra Soft & Easy Banana Rum Cake), 把rum换成vanilla extract，烤盘的尺寸是11”x11”，一份蛋糕我用了食谱三倍的份量，烤出来大概只有一寸厚或多一点。所以，整个蛋糕我用了食谱六倍的份量，可想而知蛋糕组合起来有多重。

蛋糕组合前我有稍微把表面切平，整个蛋糕涂上鲜奶油后把Barney糖衣放上去，然后用手轻轻抹平就行了。我的蛋糕板和盒子是12”的，在这里要提醒自己下次要买大两寸的因为板子太小很难挤花，而且收入盒子后周围有些挤花都被盒子压到了。

蛋糕内部只拍到一张照片。两层的颜色不一样，做第一层时用了熟透的香蕉还加了把巧克力米，所以颜色比较深。第二层用了颜色较浅的香蕉品种，而且做时才发现发粉不够，所以蛋糕颜色比较浅之余蛋糕组织也比较实。

小朋友们对这蛋糕非常捧场，吃完一片后还一直向老师ask for more，好逗趣，Lucius吃不够时也是more more more的叫。有些小朋友吃完第二片后还想要。

同时也为Lucius准备了小朋友生日少不了的goodies bags。我想明年Lucius应该会帮妈咪准备goodies bags了吧。