Bacon and brie quiche

Not too long ago, during a period of "uninspiredness", I asked my muse, big pig, to give me something, anything.. off his mind. He said, "bacon and brie".

Bacon and brie (and spinach) quiche
Pastry (recipe from Dean Brettschneider's Sausage, Sun-dried Tomato & Potato Tart)
160g flour
120g butter, diced
a pinch of salt
2-3 tbsp fresh milk

Filling
150-180g bacon, sliced thinly
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
a handful of spinach (fresh or frozen)
125-200g brie, chopped roughly (use more! ^^)
5 eggs
1 1/2 cup fresh milk (or heavy cream, if not on diet ^^)
salt and pepper, to season

1. Prepare pastry. Blitz flour, butter and salt together with an electric mixer or processor, till they resemble breadcrumbs. Add fresh milk and mix till a dough is formed. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 mins or overnight. Or shortcut by rolling out pastry immediately and place on greased 22-cm round or rectangular tart tin, prick the base and then cover and refrigerate ^^.

2. Bake-blind pastry shell at 200C for 15-20 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake for another 5 mins. Or just use as it is, straight from the refrigerator, no baking required.. it works too! ^^

3. In a non-stick pan, cook sliced bacon till brown and fragrant. Remove and leave to cool.

4. In the same pan, saute onions for at least 40 minutes on medium heat for caramelized onions. Add a bit of water to soften onions if you wish. When it's nicely softened, remove and set aside to cool.

5. Wilt spinach quickly in a pot of boiling water. Drain and squeeze out the water from the spinach. Leave to cool.

6. In a bowl, mix eggs, fresh milk, salt and pepper till well blended.

7. To assemble, place spinach evenly on the pastry shell, followed by caramelized onions. Then add cooked bacon. Dot chopped brie all over. Gently pour the egg mixture over.

8. Bake in a preheated oven of 200C for 40 minutes, or 220C for 30 minutes, till golden.

This is another fabulous quiche that had big pig "wincing" deliriously ~ yes, it's that good! ^^ You'll just have to believe it as I didn't have any.. I didn't want to take any "joy" off big and baby who really dig this!

Of course, I had another quiche made just for me ^^!

Some tomatoes, some leftover bacon and minced chicken meat.. a big sprinkling of grated cheddar cheese ^^ ~ and voila! a baby quiche just for me.. and fatty. ^^

It feels really good to be baking like this ^^. Now, what should I do next? ^^

Deliciousness ~ kuih akok ^^

I've been a bad girl! Not cooking nor baking for the past few weeks..

Well, I just couldn't resist all the deliciousness at the pasar ramadans! I've been having a whopping good time pasar ramadan hopping, checking and bingeing (of course! ^^) on all the yummies on offer! ^^ A whole month of bliss, aah...! ^^

Of course my happy run had to come to an end.. but there's the long weekend hols to look forward to ^^ Yay!

So to celebrate the first day of the long hols and to make up for lost time, I decided on a marathon cook and bake-out! ^^

Kuih Akok Kelantan (recipe from aziejaya, original from myresipi)
~ makes 12 pcs
5 eggs
200ml coconut milk (I like Kara coconut milk ^^)
100ml water
120g gula melaka, chopped roughly (I used gula melaka from Terengganu which comes in discs)
30g all purpose flour
3 pandan leaves, tear/cut into smaller pieces
a pinch of salt

1. In a pan, bring water, gula melaka and pandan leaves to a boil, or till gula melaka has dissolved. Remove from stove.

2. Add coconut milk to the gula melaka water.

3. When mixture is cooled, add eggs and flour. Mix well. Sieve mixture into a bowl/pouring jug.

4. Preheat oven at 200C and place WELL-OILED (more is necessary to ensure cakes doesn't stick to bottoms) muffin tin into oven as well.

5. Divide mixture and fill up muffin tins evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes for a nicely browned kuih ^^.  

This is my current favorite malay kuih ~ I just love the browned/burnt crust and moist, pudding-like insides (note the holey, crumpled, ultra-soft texture in the pix above) ~ overtaking my all-time kuih bakar by a whisker ^^

I had to make this kuih because I missed out on it the last weekend at the pasar ramadan in tg lumpur when I was back home in kuantan. To appease my craving, I decided to have a go at this kuih during the hols. And believe me, this tastes as lusciously good as the stall-bought ones! ^^

They say the best akok is sold in Kelantan, so I guess a trip to Kota Bahru is in order. But till I get there, this recipe works just as well! ^^

A celebration tart ^^

This started out as a spinach and capers tart. But along the way, it got sidetracked with the addition of bacon, caramelized onions and cherry tomatoes!

And became celebration tart ^^ since it was a mouthful to name all the yummy ingredients ^^||, plus it was indeed made in celebration of big pig's good results in his AP World History. ^^

Celebration tart (recipe adapted from Dean Brettschneider's PIE and strandsofmylife)
Pastry (recipe from Dean Brettschneider's Sausage, Sun-dried Tomato & Potato Tart)
160g flour
120g butter, diced
a pinch of salt
2-3 tbsp fresh milk

Filling
100-150g bacon, sliced thinly
2 medium onions, sliced thinly
2 handsful of spinach (fresh or frozen)
2 tbsp capers
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup fresh milk (or heavy cream, if not on diet ^^)
cherry tomatoes, halved (as many as you like ~ put lots, yums ^^)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (or a handful, or 2 ^^)
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese (a handful, or 2)
salt and pepper, to season

1. Prepare pastry. Blitz flour, butter and salt together with an electric mixer or processor, till they resemble breadcrumbs. Add fresh milk and mix till a dough is formed. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 mins or overnight. Or shortcut by rolling out pastry immediately and place on greased 22-cm round or rectangular tart tin, prick the base and then cover and refrigerate ^^.

2. Bake-blind pastry shell at 200C for 15-20 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake for another 5 mins. Or just use as it is, straight from the refrigerator, no baking required.. it works too! ^^

3. In a non-stick pan, cook sliced bacon till brown and fragrant. Remove and leave to cool.

4. In the same pan, saute onions for at least 40 minutes on medium heat for caramelized onions. Add a bit of water to soften onions if you wish. When it's nicely softened, remove and set aside to cool.

5. Wilt spinach quickly in a pot of boiling water. Drain and squeeze out the water from the spinach. Leave to cool.

6. In a bowl, mix beaten eggs, fresh milk, salt and pepper till well blended.

7. To assemble, place spinach evenly on the pastry shell, followed by caramelized onions. Then add capers and cooked bacon. Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese all over filling. Gently pour the egg mixture over. Dot the halved tomatoes all over the filling and top with some grated cheddar cheese.

8. Bake in a preheated oven of 200C for 40 minutes, or 220C for 30 minutes, till golden.

This tart may be made with big pig in mind, but this just became my favorite tart! And all because of the cherry tomatoes! I love its sweetness and flavor that perfectly balances the savory of this tart.

Well, I'm happy to report that big pig loves this. Well, all of us did! My carnivorous baby pig couldn't even taste the spinach at all ^^. Neither could we of the capers! And my spinach stayed very much green even post-baking! ^^

This is a delish tart I'll be making again ~ a keeper! ^^

Tiramisu for you?

I had a request for tiramisu last week.

But I couldn't quite bring myself to do it immediately. I procrastinated because I had major reservations about making tiramisu. More so when it came from a friend's son who was recovering from a bout of viral infection. I was worried about the use of raw eggs! ^^||

Besides, I just don't have the best/perfect recipe for tiramisu yet ^^||!

The few times I made tiramisu, my piggies didn't exactly "ooh-and-aah-ed" over it, so I knew the quest continues.. Nevertheless, they still wiped it clean each time ^^!

Anyways, after much googling and using pasteurized eggs, I decided to have another go at tiramisu ^^

Tiramisu (recipe adapted from browneyedbaker)
~ makes 12 servings 
2 cups espresso
4 tbsps rum
4 egg yolks (use pasteurized eggs ^^)
1/2 cup sugar
1 pound mascarpone (I used 500g ^^ since a tub came in 250g)
3/4 cup whipping cream
36 savoiardi / ladyfingers / sponge biscuits
some cocoa powder
grated dark chocolate

1. Mix in 2 tbsps rum to the 2 cups of espresso.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat egg yolks at low speed till combined. Add sugar and beat till pale yellow at medium speed for about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Add remaining 2 tbsps of rum and mix till well blended. Fold in mascarpone and beat till smooth, around 45 seconds.

3. In another bowl, beat whipping cream till firm and soft peaks form.

4. Put 1/3 of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture and mix till well blended. Fold in the rest, and set aside mixture.

5. Dip ladyfingers one at a time into the coffee mixture, flip over and remove. Do not submerge ladyfingers in the coffee mixture. Arrange the soaked ladyfingers in a single layer into a 9x13inch glass dish (I arranged them into 3 medium rectangular tubs and 1 freestyle on a plate ^^).

6. Next, spread half the mascarpone mixture over. Dust with some cocoa powder (use a strainer/sieve). Repeat the same steps with layering on soaked ladyfingers, mascarpone mixture and cocoa powder. Cover and refrigerate for 6-24 hours before serving. And if you like, sprinkle with grated chocolate before serving. ^^

The result? "It's horrible.. just horrible! You can't take them to your friend or even chubby pig!", says baby pig.. "But you can leave them all here with us! We'll have them!" *evil laugh*

Ooh, that conniving little pig! My heart totally sank when I heard "horrible" and then soared with joy when I knew he enjoyed it.. A LOT! Big pig thinks it's very good too ^^ So does mama pig! I reckon it must be the rum.. they are suckers for anything with rum! ^^

Well, I just had some and I think they're DIVINE! Fatty hubby loves it too! I think I just might have hit gold with this recipe! ^^

Hope my friend's boys.. and chubby pig (+ chubby big brother + chubby mama) enjoy the tiramisu too! This delicious recipe makes a lot for sharing! ^^

p.s. I made yummy financiers with the leftover egg whites ^^  

Boston cheesecake for Big ^^

After a dry baking spell, it feels really good to be in full swing again this weekend. And it's so therapeutic (^^) after a long week. ^^

For that I'm really grateful for the new silicone bundt moulds (zebra cake), chubby's birthday (vanilla sponge cake with blueberry filling) and big's excellent SAT results ~ all good REASONs to bake! Yay!!! ^^

But that's all done by last night. ^^

Well, you know how much I've been whining and complaining about the scorching hot weather.. guess what, the bad weather has been overtaken by a cloud of haze all over the country (and a neighbouring country ~ which have it so much worse!). Now it's not only hot and stuffy, it's also smoky and hazy ~ even indoors! And I had plans for retail therapy today ~ sigh! ^^||

So sadly, I'm stuck at home.. writing this post.

Boston cheesecake (recipe from Alex Goh, Creative Making of Cakes)
A
150ml fresh milk
20g sugar
3 egg yolks
20g cornflour
B
250g cream cheese
C
zest of 1/2 lemon (make it a whole lemon if you like a zesty lemon scent ^^)
130ml whipping cream
D
2 tbsps flour (I used only 1 tbsp, hence the crack on the surface ~ oops ^^||)
60g sultanas (add more if you like raisins ^^)
E
3 egg whites
60g sugar
1 tsp lemon juice

* 1- 20mm/thin slice of 8" round vanilla sponge cake

1. Bring 100ml of fresh milk and sugar from A to a boil. Add remaining milk, egg yolks and cornflour. Whisk and continue to cook till it thickens. Leave to cool and set aside. It may look lumpy, but it's ok.

2. Beat cream cheese till light and smooth, around 8-10 minutes on medium speed. Add cooled A till well blended.

3. Add C and mix well.

4. Fold in D till well combined.

5. Whip egg whites till foamy. Add sugar and lemon juice, and whip till firm and soft peaks form. Do not overbeat.

6. Gently fold in egg whites mixture into cheese batter.

7. Place sponge cake slice on greased/lined (bottom and sides) 8-inch cake tin. Pour cake mixture over. Even out cake surface and give cake tin a good tap against the table to remove air bubbles.

8. Bake in water bath (prep beforehand) at 150C for 2 hours till centre is set and top turns golden. Remove and brush with apricot gel if preferred. Can be served immediately.. but I prefer to refrigerate and let the flavors develop overnight  ^^

I've not made big's favorite cheesecake in years because I've been too lazy to prepare sponge cake (^^||)! But since I was making a sponge cake for chubby's birthday cake, I conveniently cut off a thin slice  to make this cheesecake ^^.

And the end result ~ a soft, dreamy creamy cheesecake ^^ not as rich and dense as american cheesecakes, also not as light and fluffy as a cotton/souffle japanese cheesecake.. It's a perfect in-between ~ you can easily eat more than a slice, or two.. or three.. or all, in one sitting ^^

Anyway, this cheesecake is one of my very first bakes that turned out perfect every time I made it, which was a real booster during my early baking days! And created my all-time favorite cake fan/critic.. and a cheese monster/connoisseur in big pig! ^^

Well, time flies ~ SAT was aeons from anyone's thoughts then! Look at you now, big.. all grown up and ready to fly the nest (almost! ^^).. Not too sure if I can bear/reconcile the thought of you leaving in a year.. or two ^^||

But meantime, congrats, big! I'm always proud of you! ^^

Chubby's 11 today ^^

Time flies ~ And chubby pig's another year older and heftier ^^||! Doesn't seem that long ago when I baked him cupcakes for his last birthday ^^.

This year I decided I wanted to bake him a proper cake ~ with all the trimmings aka cream frosting! ^^ And I came up with a vanilla sponge cake with blueberry filling ~ and lots of whipped cream! Fingers crossed that this cake works and chubby likes ^^..

Vanilla sponge cake with blueberry filling (recipe adapted from mamawandiha)
1 vanilla sponge cake, cut horizontal into 3 slices (cheat with ready mix ^^)
250g blueberry pie filling
Lemon syrup (juice of 1 lemon + 30g sugar + 150ml water)
500ml whipping cream, whipped till soft peaks form

1. Place 1 slice of cake on a cake board/stand. Generously brush and wet cake surface with lemon syrup. Top with a thin layer of whipped cream.

2. Place another cake slice on top. Repeat the same steps.

3. For the last/top slice, brush with lemon syrup and spread whipped cream all over cake. Spread till even and smooth. Decorate as you like ^^.

Well, I certainly know I can do with lots of practise on frosting.. ^^|| I can't quite spread out the cream totally smooth still, lots of jagged edges everywhere.. but I'd like to think of it as character lines, haha ^^. Cake looks quite nice when I think of it that way. ^^

Now we pray.. that the cake is edible! ^^ Happy Birthday, chubby! Love you buckets! ^^

p.s  the cake does look a little adult-ish and girly, right? Oops-sie, sorry chubby ^^ this is what happens when lots of cream (and an amateur baker! ^^||) is involved! definitely no rosettes (eeks!) and maybe some coloring in the frosting next time.. ^^

Zebra bundt cake

It feels great to wake up to cake.. and coffee! And it's finally the weekend too! ^^ ^^ ^^

This is a cake I've always wanted to make ever since I caught sight of it on bakersroyale. The reason I never got round to it was not having a bundt tin. For some strange reason, I only wanted to bake this cake in a bundt tin.. a nordicware to be exact (^^).. no other mould would do! ^^||

But I've come to my senses and finally settled for a silicone bundt mould. And made my first bundt cake last night ^^

Zebra bundt butter cake (inspired by bakersroyale, recipe adapted from my best butter cake recipe)
340g salted butter
140g sugar
6 egg yolks
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
320g self-raising flour, sifted
125-150ml milk
6 egg whites
140g sugar
25g cocoa powder, sifted

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Make sure bundt tin is well greased.

2. Beat butter and 140g sugar till light and fluffy. Don't over beat. Just till it turns a shade lighter/paler and the sugar is still slightly grainy. I beat mine around 3-4 minutes on high with my electric mixer.

3. Add egg YOLKs one at time and mix in well. On slow speed. Batter should turn creamy and kinda stiff.

4. Mix in vanilla extract.

5. Quickly fold in self-raising flour in 2 batches.

6. Add in milk and combine gently. Batter should be soft now. 

7. In a clean bowl, beat egg WHITES till frothy and then add in the 140g sugar in batches/bit by bit. Beat till firm and soft peaks form. When you flip bowl over, the meringue doesn't fall over. ^^ 

8. Add egg whites mixture to butter batter in 2 batches. Fold in quickly but GENTLY. 

9. Remove between 1/3 to 1/2 cake mixture into another bowl and fold in sifted cocoa powder.

10. Using an ice cream scoop, place 2 scoops of plain batter in the bundt cake mould, flatten batter a little with the back of the scoop. Then place 1 scoop of chocolate batter on top of the plain batter. See bakersroyale step by step here. Continue doing this till batter finishes. Tap mould occasionally to even out batter. If there's extra plain batter, make mini bundt cakes ^^ 

11. Bake for 50 minutes. Leave to cool before removing from mould. ^^

I really like how easy it is to make a zebra cake. And it turned out quite pretty too ~ though not as pretty as bakersroyale's.. but good enough for amateur me ^^! Bliss ^^