Curry Puffs

We were going to a Midsummer party at my BIL's place and we couldn't go empty-handed, could we? So, I brought some curry puffs for their indulgence. They weren't that nice in shapes as there was something wrong with my dough. A tad too soft. I didn't know what was the cause, really. That was the first flop I had in making curry puffs. Hmmmmm.........But luckily, they were still edible. ;)

Spicy potatoes

Eggs

Roll out the dough

Fill each piece with potatoes and shape them as you want
Egg glaze before putting them into the oven

Ready to go!

Sedapppp

Ingredients

Dough

400g plain flour- sifted

1/2 tsp salt

175g butter

180ml cold water

Filling

1 onion - diced into small cubes

200g potatoes - diced into small cubes

2 tbsp meat curry powder - mixed with enough water to form a paste

1 stalk curry leaves - use leaves only

2cm cinnamon stick

1 star anise

100ml water

Salt and sugar to taste

1 cube of chicken stock

Method

Filling

1. Heat up a little oil and fry onions till soft.
2. Add curry leaves, cinnamon stick, star anise and curry powder and fry for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add potatoes and fry for 2-3 minutes.
4. Pour in water and mix in salt, sugar and chicken cube.
5. Cover and cook until potatoes turn soft and filling is dry. 
6. Dish out and cool the filling thoroughly.

Dough

1. Put sifted flour and salt into a mixing bowl. 
2. Rub butter into flour with your fingertips, until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Make a well in the centre and add in cold water to bind and form into a dough.
4. Turn the pastry onto a floured tabletop and roll out to 1/4cm thickness. 
5. Cut into a round with a 5cm round pastry cutter. 
6. Put a dessertspoon of filling in the centre of each pastry round. 
7. Fold pastry into half to enclose the filling. 
8. Seal by pinching the edges and you can use a fork to make the patterns or fold it with your fingers. 
9. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.
10. Glaze the curry puffs with egg wash and bake for 15-20 minutes or till golden brown.
11. Serve warm and let them cool slightly before serving.
12. Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Swirls

My hands were itching to bake and the thought of buns came to mind. I wanted to try my hands with my best friend again and thought, why not something like cinnamon buns since my precious ones love them. But, this time, I will use nutella and chocolate. I was right. It was a hit with my munchkins. Yeahhhh!!

Growing well!

Chopped dark and milk chocolate

Time to do some hand exercises

After 1 minute

Fill it with your goodies!

Egg-glazed and ready for baking

Done!

This looks better... ;)

Ingredients

2 tsp of butter-diced and some extra for greasing the baking pan and bowl

225g of flour and a little extra for dusting

1/2 tsp of salt

7g of dried instant yeast

125ml of warm milk

1 egg - lightly beaten

Filling
6 tbsps of nutella 

150g of chopped dark and milk chocolate (mine was a little too big, you can have them in smaller bits)

Glazing
1 beated egg

Note: This recipe yields about 12-15 pieces (depending on your desired sizes) 

* I have doubled this recipe as I wanted to keep some for the weekend. 

Method

1. Lightly oil a baking sheet in a baking pan.
2. Sift flour and salt together into a warmed bowl. (I leave the bowl in the sun)
3. Stir in the yeast.
4. Rub in the butter into the flour with your fingertips till the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. 
5. Add the warm milk and egg, mix to form a dough.
6. Shape the dough into a ball and put into a greased bowl. 
7. Cover with a clingwrap and leave to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes or till double in size. 
8. Turn out the dough on a slightly floured work surface and knead lightly for about 1 minute.
9. Roll out into a rectangle.
10. Spread nutella and sprinkle chopped chocolate on it.
11. Roll it up like a swiss roll, then cut into desired sizes. About 12-15 pieces, depending on the size you want.
12. Transfer each swirl to the prepared baking sheet and leave to rest for another 30 minutes.
13. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
14. Brush each swirl with the beaten egg. (for glazing)
15. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or till golden brown.
16. Leave to cool slightly and indulge!
17. Soooo sinful! ;)  

Salmon and Pumpkin Curry

My very first time of buying a pumpkin and using it. I remember that hubby told me that he liked a 'sauce pumpkin dish' when he was working at the branch office in KL. He couldn't say more of the dish when I probed further. So, I thought why not try curry (sauce?) as it is sweet in taste and with a combination of curry, it should be quite good. Perhaps that was something similar to what he said? The verdict.
He: I like it, quite similar but not SOO spicy. Hmm..next time, I will use only 30g of red curry paste.

I like the colour

Remember to use coconut milk or cream

Looks good?

Ingredients

1 butterscotch pumpkin - cut into cubes of your desired size

2 blocks of salmon (about 200g)- cut into cubes

1 onion- cut into quarters

a handful of curry leaves and Thai basil* (I didn't have the Thai basil, so I have used the Italian type) 

150g of red curry paste (I have used Mae Ploy's brand but found it to be VERY salty AND spicy so, please do adjust accordingly and add more sugar/coconut milk if needed)

1/2 a piece of brown sugar

300 ml of coconut milk

150 ml of water

1 tsp of oil

Method

1. Heat up your oil in the pan and stir fry the onions and curry leaves till soft and fragrant.
2. Add in coconut milk and boil it briefly.
3. Add in water, red curry paste, brown sugar and stir them well. 
4. Add in pumpkin and cook till soft but not mushy. (About 15-20 mins at medium heat)
5. PLEASE adjust the taste to your liking. Add in sugar or more coconut milk if needed.
6. Add in the salmon pieces and cook for about 3 mins and switch off the heat.
7. Dish up, garnish with basil and serve warm with rice.
8. Enjoy!

My MIL's Cake

I call it my MIL's cake as it's a recipe from her (I have changed it by putting raisins and omitted the topping) and my boss loves it. He: It's simple and nice, why do you always want to make funny cakes? Yes, he calls my other bakery stuff as funny cakes. Hmmmmm......

Pretty smooth batter

My sister: Sultana cake! (sent this pic to my sis via LINE)

Fresh from the oven

Joanne Dong: Show me a picture of it when you have cut it (a request from my friend in watsapp)

Would you like  a piece?

Ingredients

100g of butter

70g sugar

2 eggs

100 ml of milk

100g of flour

2 tsps of baking powder

A handful of raisins

If you like other toppings like chocolate chips, grated coconut or dried fruits, you can use them

Method

1. Preheat your oven at 200 degrees. 
2. Grease your baking pan. You can use a rectangle pan (like mine) or a round pan-6 inch. It's not a cake that rises high up.
3. Melt butter in a pot. Set aside. 
4. Sift flour n baking powder. Set aside. 
5. Whisk sugar n eggs till mixed.
6. Pour melted butter and milk into egg mixture and whisk till combined. 
7. Whisk in sifted flour & baking powder till batter is smooth. 
8. Sprinkle raisins all over. You can coat them with a little flour, to prevent sinking too much into the bottom.
9. Pour into the baking pan.
10. Put the pan in the middle of the oven and bake for 20-30mins or till golden brown or till a skewer comes out clean. 
11. If temp is too high and cake starts to crack, you have to reduce temperature or put at lower shelf. Take it out n leave to cool completely before slicing.
12. Enjoy!

A Splendid Weekend in London

I had a great weekend escapade in London, thanks to hubby. Met up with cousins and friends, ate, shopped, walked and watched Wicked. It was truly a good break after some months of burying in my books. Weather was perfect albeit a little chilly in the morning and evening but otherwise, it was a marvellous trip! Some pictures for you to drool and perhaps, it's time to send in your applications for your summer break. ;)

Slurping good ramen

I was a child again!

Liberty

SOOOOO pretty

A great view from Darwin Brasserie (level 36)

What a view! Do you agree with me?

Camden Town

I want all of them!

Liquid Nitrogen Made Ice-cream- melts my heart

You can't miss this

Indulge and get some M&M's

I was mesmerised and spellbound

Dainty and pretty

A luxurious Frenchie breakfast

Pineapple Polo Buns

Grow! Grow!

Dough is divided into 12 portions-about 50g each

Topping is divided into 12 portions - about 25g each

A tsp of pineapple filling

Topping is flattened and placed on top of each bun

Fresh from the oven

I didn't have enough pineapple filling. :D

A tinge of sour and sweet in combination

These buns have been in my longest to-bake-list and I have done it today! Yippee! But they were left too long in the oven (I was doing the laundry and forgot the time!) as such, they were not as soft as they should be. A sweet and crunchy top, topped with a sourish pineapple filling, fluffy in the middle and crispy bottom. What a great combination! Taste wise is still not too bad. Just remember to keep an eye on the baking time. :) 

Ingredients

Dough

300g of flour

40g of caster sugar

1/2 tsp of salt

6g of instant yeast

1 egg

170ml of warm water

30g of butter

Topping (Mixed well)

150 of flour

50g of butter

60g of icing sugar

1 egg

Filling

1 can of pineapple, drained and stir-fried

Method

1. Filling: Blend the pineapple till fine and stir fry the paste over low heat until dry. Remove from the heat and set aside.
2. Dough: Mix all the ingredients well. 
3. Add in butter and beat at medium speed till dough is smooth and stretchable. It takes about 15 mins.
4. Cover the dough with a wet kitchen towel and leave to rise for 1 hour.
5. Divide the dough into 12 portions (about 50g each) and roll them like a ball. Leave to rest for another 5 minutes.
6. Divide the topping into 12 portions (about 25g each)
7. Use a teaspoon of pineapple filling and wrap it into each piece of dough.
8. Flatten the topping ( I use the back of a spoon) and place each topping on one portion of the dough. 
9. Use a butter knife and 'cut' lines on the top.
10. Cover all the buns with a wet towel and leave to rest for another 1 hour.
11. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.
12. Bake the buns (in the middle rack) for about 15-18 minutes. 
13. Remove and leave to cool on a rack.
14. Serve warm with a cup of your favourite drink. :)