It's ham N cheese

It's been sometime since I last posted something on bread buns. I have been making bread, albeit less frequent, but I didn't get around to post them.

After giving up on baking a nice Japanese souffle cheesecake, that doesn't sink like the titanic, I seek comfort by making a batch of bread rolls.

These are ordinary bread buns made with tangzhong or water roux method. The only difference is the way of shaping them to look like roses. I wrapped in ham and cheese slices to turn them into wonderful breakfast items. I tried two different method of shaping and only one of them worked well for me.

These rose buns are made by wrapping the ham and cheese slices with 3 separate pieces of dough, one after another. The texture of the bread was not affected by the layers of dough. They tasted so delicious freshly baked that I gobbled down two in a row, lol!

Care to join me for some tea? No dainty desserts and high quality tea, but I can always offer you a slice of homemade cake or a fat rose bun over a cup of lipton ;)




Ham and Cheese Rose Buns
(makes 12 buns)

tang zhong (water-roux):
20g bread flour
100ml water

bread dough:
195g bread flour
90g cake flour
12g milk powder
30g caster sugar
6g salt
6g instant yeast

60g egg, lightly beaten
65g water
75g tang zhong (water-roux)

45g unsalted butter

6 slices of breakfast ham (round shape)
6 slices of sandwich cheese

to make tang zhong:
Place 20g bread flour in a saucepan. Add 100ml water, mix till smooth, making sure there are no lumps of flour. Cook over medium to low heat, stirring constantly with a hand whisk to prevent it from burning. Within 1 to 2 mins, the mixture will start to thicken, stop when you see traces in the mixture for every stir you make with the hand whisk. (Take a look at the video clip here.) The 65degC tang zhong is ready. Immediately transfer the hot tang zhong into a bowl and cover it with a cling wrap, making sure the cling wrap sticks onto the surface of the mixture. This is to prevent a film from forming on the surface. Leave to cool completely before using it.

to knead dough by bread machine:
* Place water, egg, tang zhong (use 75g), sugar, salt, bread flour, cake flour, milk powder in the pan of the bread machine (according to the sequence as stated in the instruction manual of your bread machine). Make an indentation on the flour and add in the instant yeast. Select the Dough function of the bread machine and press start. Leave the lid of the machine open (this is to prevent over heating). After about 10mins of kneading, add in the 45g of butter. Let the machine continue to knead the dough. After the kneading cycle has stopped (20mins), Stop and Restart the machine. Continue to let the machine knead for another 15~20mins. Remove dough from the bread pan.

* Place dough in a lightly greased (use vegetable oil or butter) mixing bowl, cover with cling wrap or a damp cloth and let proof in room temperature (around 28 to 30 degC) for about one hour, or until double in bulk.

* Remove the dough from the bowl and give a few light kneading to press out the gas in the dough. Divide the dough into 18 equal portions (30g each). Roll each dough into smooth rounds, cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap and let the doughs rest for 10mins.

* On a lightly floured work surface, flatten each dough into a round disc about the size of the ham. Press out any trapped air as you flatten the dough.

* Place a slice of ham followed by a piece of cheese on a flattened dough. Roll up. Place the rolled dough, seam side down on another piece of flattened dough. Roll up again. Repeat with another piece of dough. Pinch and seal the seams and cut the roll into two equal halves. Place cut-side down on a greased (or lined with parchment paper) baking tray. Space doughs two inches apart to allow them to expand. Repeat with the rest of the doughs.

* Cover doughs with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave to proof for the second time for about 40mins, or until double in size.

* Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for 12 mins or until golden brown (tent with a foil if the top browns too quickly closer to end of the baking time). Remove from oven and transfer to wire track to let cool. Once cool, store immediately in an airtight container.

Recipe source: adapted from 65度C汤种面包, 陈郁芬

square cake

After months of procrastination, I finally gave myself a good kick and got down to bake this beautiful square cake.

I got hooked when I first saw this almond and apricot tray bake from a cookbook dedicated to baking square cakes. I bookmarked several recipes from this cookbook and even went all out to get a 18cm square pan...that was months ago. The next thing I needed to get was the canned apricots. I didn't manage to get it until several months later when I finally spotted it on the supermarket shelves.

The method of preparing the cake batter is quite unique to me. Instead of the usual creaming of butter and sugar batter, followed by eggs...for this recipe, only the yolks are added to the butter mixture while the whites are beaten separately before the two are combined together. The flour is added last. I felt I was switching from creaming method, to chiffon cake making method then to sponge cake method through out the preparation process.

Guess I am too familiar with baking chiffon cakes, instead of adding the flour last, I added in right after mixing the yolks to the butter mixture. I didn't realise my mistake until when I was about to fold the whites to the yolk batter. I was wondering how not to deflate the beaten egg whites if the yolk batter was so dry and thick?

However, it was too late to do anything. I went ahead and surprisingly, I could blend the whites into the batter quite easily. I was expecting the cake to fall flat like a piece of flatbread, but to my delight, it manage to rise and puff up upon baking :)

Even with the mistake I made, the cake still tasted soft and tender, although it appeared to be slightly more crumbly than my usual bakes. The texture was light and not dense as pound cake. I find the cake on the sweet side, but it went well with the canned apricots which tasted tangy! The ground almonds and almond flakes greatly enhances both the texture and aroma, making it a delicious and delightful homemade cake which I will bake again and again.




Apricot Tray Bake

Ingredients:
(makes nine 6cm squares)

100g unsalted butter (softened at room temperature)
30g caster sugar
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 egg whites
60g caster sugar

80g cake flour
40g + 30g ground almond (almond powder)

9 apricot halves (canned apricots)
some almond flakes


Method:

1. Wash the canned apricots to remove the syrup, drain, pat dry with paper towel and set aside.
2. Place butter in a mixing bowl, beat with a wooden spoon or a balloon whisk till smooth. Add the sugar and continue to beat until the mixture turns pale, light and fluffy.
3. Gradually add in the egg yolks (a teaspoon at a time), whisking after each addition.
4. Add in the vanilla extract, whisk to combine. Set aside.
5. In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites with a handheld electric mixer on low speed until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Add half of the sugar and turn to high speed and beat the mixture. Continue to add in the remaining sugar and beat until the egg whites reaches the soft peak stage. The soft peak stage is reached when the peaks of the whites curl over and droop slightly. The egg whites should appear smooth and glossy.
6. Add the beaten egg whites into the butter and egg yolk batter in 2 separate additions, each time folding gently with a spatula until just blended.
7. Sieve over the flour and 40g of ground almond (almond powder). Fold with the spatula until just combined.
8. Spoon half of the batter into a 18cm square pan (lined with parchment paper). Spread and smooth out the batter evenly. Arrange the apricots, cut side down.
9. Add 30g of ground almond into the remaining batter. Fold with a spatula until just combined. Place batter into a piping bag (I used a plastic grocery bag). Snip off the tip of the piping bag and pipe the batter horizontally and vertically along the edges of the pan and in between the apricots. Sprinkle almond flakes on the surface of the piped batter. 
10. Bake in preheated oven at 180 degC for about 30-35mins or until the surface turns golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
11. Remove from oven, leave to cool for about 5 mins. Unmould and transfer to wire rack, leave to cool completely.

Recipe source: 爱上我的手作蛋糕 by 福岡直子

muffins with a little power

I have not been consistent in keeping up with my blog lately. As much as I wanted to put up a blog post at least once a week, somehow life gets in the way. I am more than happy that the one month school holidays is finally over, I am able to do a lot more when the kids are in school :)

I don't want to bore you with yet another post on muffins, but pardon my lack of skills and creativity, I do not have talents to go beyond baking the usual muffins and simple cakes!

These plain jane muffins are neither eye catching or looks mouth watering...but, they certainly are worthy of my calories...

Sometime back, my baking friend has kindly given me a pack of Chia Seeds...something which I have not heard of before I hit the search button. These tiny seeds is packed with a wealth of nutrients and minerals and is also a great source of healthy omega-3 fats and fibre. When combined with water, the fiber in chia seed will cause it to swell up to form a layer of gel around it, which is known as chia gel. So if you eat chia seeds or chia gel (chia seeds soaked in liquid or any beverage), it will keep you full (so that you will eat less) making it very nutritious and healthy for your diet. Because of this gel-like property in chia seeds, it can easily be used in baking to act as a binder or thickener and can be used as a good substitute for eggs. The nutritional value of any meals, beverage or baked goods can be easily enhanced with just a sprinkle of chia seed.

Hope you are convinced by now that these plain-janes are worth a lot more than their appearance. Besides chia seed, I have also packed in banana and walnuts into each of these little cuppies.

These wholesome muffins are soft and tender with just the right sweetness. I really like the interesting combination of texture of the soft, fluffy crumbs with the walnuts and nutty chia seeds. Chia seed is actually tasteless, but I like the crunch it offers when each bite. Besides vanilla extract, I have also added some rum (it was the first time I am using rum in baking), but guess the amount was too little (only half a teaspoon) for me to be able to detect its presence. I was really hesitant as I wasn't sure whether it would be too strong a flavour for my kids, will be more generous the next time.



Banana Walnut Chia Seeds Muffins

Ingredients:
(makes 8 muffins)

150g cake flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
50g caster sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
50g vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large over ripped bananas, roughly mashed
50g walnuts, coarsely chopped, lightly toasted
1 tablespoon chia seeds


Method:

1. Sieve flour and baking powder, set aside.
2. Roughly mash bananas with a fork.
3. Place sugar, eggs in a mixing bowl. Whisk with a balloon whisk to combine.
4. Add in oil, vanilla extract, whisk to combine.
5. Add in mashed banana, stir with a spatula to combine.
6. Add in chopped walnuts, chia seeds and sieve over the flour mixture, stir with spatula until just incorporated. DO NOT Overmix. The batter should appear lumpy.
7. Spoon batter into paper muffin cups, fill to ¾ full.
8. Bake in preheated oven at180degC for 25mins until golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Transfer to wire rack, leave to cool completely.

breakfast or tea time

I couldn't keep them off my mind when I first saw these banana scones over at 小小米桶的寫食廚房. A quick run through the ingredients and I was convinced that it was going to be my next to-bake!

I had wanted to make these banana walnut scones for our weekend breakfast, but I woke up a tad too late (^^")

Since we were camping at home the entire weekend as my kids were cramming for their mid year exams...I baked the scones for our tea time treat instead.

It was an extremely hot and humid afternoon, not exactly a good weather for making scones since the butter has to be cold...nevertheless, everything went well and surprisingly, I was able to keep cool even in a hot kitchen.

The original recipe from the cookbook calls for sprinkling the top with vanilla sugar but 小小米桶 replaced it with lemon glaze. I had opted to skip the glaze and since I didn't have vanilla sugar either, I took the liberty to sprinkle the top with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar instead.

My sweat (no tears) did pay off...and really well indeed :)

I was rewarded with a kitchen filled with the wonderful aroma of banana, vanilla and cinnamon while the scones were baking. I must be grinning from ear to ear when I took the tray of scones out from the oven. I love the golden browned scones, all nicely puffed up, quite close to what I had in mind...albeit not as gorgeous as those shared by 小小米桶的寫食廚房.

My younger son kept hovering around the scones while they were cooling on the wire rack ;) I had to serve the scones once they were not too hot to touch. The banana, walnut plus hint of cinnamon was a great combo. The scones were so full of flavours and texture...you get everything in one bite...lovely sweet banana morsels, crunchy roasted walnut bits, buttery and fluffy crumbs, and the scent of cinnamon was really a nice touch...pretty much the icing on the cake...or rather scones!

I kept the leftovers in an air tight container for my mid morning tea break the next day. I warm them in the oven before serving and they taste just as good, although, really, nothing beats freshly baked scones, served straight from the oven!



Banana Walnut Scones

Ingredients:
(makes 12)

200g cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
30g brown sugar (I used white caster sugar)
1/4 teaspoons salt
80g unsalted butter, Cold, cut into small cubes
80ml fresh milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
50g walnuts, coarsely chopped
135g banana (skin removed), diced into small cubes

extra 1 tablespoon milk for brushing

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
2 teaspoons granulated sugar (optional)


Method:

1. Lightly toast the chopped walnuts in a frying pan over low heat. Set aside to cool completely. 
2. Sieve cake flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add in caster sugar, salt, whisk to combine.
3. Place cold, diced unsalted butter into mixing bowl. With a fork or a dough scraper, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. (It is important that the butter be cold so when it is cut into the flour mixture it becomes small, flour-coated crumbs. If the butter starts to melt away during this process, stop and place the mixture in the freezer for 10-15 mins to prevent the butter from melting further. Continue the process when the mixture is well chilled.)
4. Make a well in the centre and add in milk and vanilla extract. Give a few quick stir with a spatula. Add in the chopped walnuts and diced banana. Fold with a spatula just a few times to make the mixture comes together to form a shaggy mass.
5. Gather up the mixture and place it on a lightly floured surface. Divide the mixture roughly into two portions. Dust hands with some flour. For each portion, gather and pat the mixture to form a combined dough. The dough will be soft, sticky and appear shaggy and lumpy. Do Not over work the dough. (Over handling the dough will cause gluten to develop, and the resulting scones will turn hard.)
6. Place the two doughs (at least 2 inch apart) on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Pat down each dough to form a disk, with a thickness of at least 1 inch. Cut each dough into 6 portions (I used a dough scraper). Move each portions slightly apart leaving a small narrow gap in between each portion.
7. Brush top with milk. Mix together ground cinnamon and sugar, sprinkle the top of the scones with the cinnamon sugar mixture (this is optional). 
8. Bake in preheated oven at 180degC for 28mins or until lightly browned. Transfer to wire rack to cool, serve warm.

Note:
*Scones are best served freshly baked. Any leftovers can be kept in airtight container. Brush or spray some water over the scones and warm them in the oven before serving.
*To enjoy freshly baked scones for breakfast and to save some time, Steps 1 to 3 can be prepared the night before, cover the mixture and leave to chill in the fridge. The following morning, preheat the oven and continue from Step 4 onwards.

Recipe source: adapted from here

Green Tea Chiffon

I doubt I'll ever get tired of baking and eating chiffon cakes. Inspired by my baking friend's matcha chiffon cake, I couldn't help but crave for one ;)

I followed the same recipe as what my friend did, which she has taken from the book Okashi Treats: Sweet Treats Made With Love by Keiko Ishida. Although I don't own this book I have seen the recipe posted by fellow blogger pal, Small Small Baker. It seems like a very popular recipe as I have also come across another beautiful creation by 鲸鱼蓝蓝蓝. As I am writing this post, another blogger pal, the Baking Scientist has also shared her matcha chiffon cake baked in cupcakes :)

I went ahead to adopt SSB's recipe since I am also using a 17cm or 7" tube pan. I guess I have over-beaten the egg whites a litte, the cake didn't rise as tall as my usual chiffon cakes. In fact, it started to shrink even before the baking time was up. By the time I took it out from the oven, the dome had already flattened...as flat as the horizon! Either I have over-beaten the whites(which I thought I didn't) or it could be the existence of corn flour(which I doubt so), I had difficulties trying to fold and blend the meringue to the yolk batter. The finished batter was not as thick and voluminous as I have expected. Maybe it was the number of whites used...this recipe uses equal number of yolks and whites whereas the usual chiffon cake recipes I have followed call for an extra white.

Nevertheless, the texture was still soft and cottony. When I asked my younger child whether he liked it, he commented "好吃，不过没有味道"（loosely translated as, nice but not much flavour). How frank and yet very diplomatic! Either our taste buds were not functioning well or I should have used more matcha powder, the green tea flavour was not particularly prominent. The next time I were to make this, I will certainly add more matcha powder...but that has to wait, as I am now itching to try the same Kinako (Japanese soya bean powder) chiffon cake my baking friend has baked!

我一向来都不爱跟风，不过这次抵挡不住一股从四面飘来的绿茶戚风蛋糕香，也跟着做了一个‘绿油油’的戚风。不过我的功夫不到家, 蛋糕还没出炉就开始缩了。看来务必要花时间磨一磨刀子。还好蛋糕还是超绵，只是我嫌绿茶味不够浓，下次出手要重一点。可是现在又心痒痒想买包黃豆粉來玩玩 (^^")

Green Tea Chiffon Cake

Ingredients:
(makes one 7" cake)

3 egg yolks (use large eggs)
10g caster sugar
35g vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
50g fresh milk (original recipe calls for water)
45g cake flour
6g matcha green tea powder

3 egg whites (use large eggs)
45g caster sugar
6g corn flour

Method:

• Place egg yolks in a mixing bowl. With a manual hand whisk, whisk the yolks a little. Add in sugar and whisk to combine. Add in vegetable oil gradually, whisk to combine. Add the fresh milk, whisk to combine. Sieve over the flour and matcha powder, whisk till the flour is fully incorporated. Do not over mix. Set aside.
• Mix the 45g caster sugar with the corn flour.
• In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites with a handheld electric mixer on low speed until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Add half of the sugar and corn flour mixture and turn to high speed and beat the mixture. Continue to add in the remaining sugar mixture and beat until the egg whites reaches the soft peak stage.The soft peak stage is reached when the peaks of the whites curl over and droop slightly. The egg whites should appear smooth and glossy. (Do not over beat the whites still stiff, it is better to beat the whites still soft peaks for easy folding with the yolk batter.)
• Add the beaten egg whites into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, each time folding gently with a spatula until just blended.
• Pour batter into a 7" chiffon tube pan(do not grease the pan). Tap the pan lightly on a table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.
• Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 degC for 30 mins, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, when lightly pressed the cake will spring back. Invert the pan immediately and let cool completely before unmould. To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife around the inside of the pan and the center core. Release the cake and run the knife along the base of the pan to remove the cake.

Recipe source: adapted from here.