Sweet Pandan Buns

I've got some concentrated pandan juice left from making pandan chiffon cake, then I had an idea of making a bread version which I ended up with my own creation in a bun form !

The recipe :

Ingredients:

285 g plus few tbsp bread flour
50 g sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
85 g concentrated pandan juice
85 g Tangzhong water roux ( made from 25 g flour + 125 g water )
one sachet ( 7g) instant yeast
50 g butter, softened and cut into small pieces
some demerara sugar and slivered almonds for topping
1 egg + a tbsp milk for egg wash

Directions:

Combine the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a bowl of a stand mixer. Make a well in the center. Add all wet ingredients (milk, egg, Tangzhong and pandan juice). Fit the dough hook attachment on your stand mixer and begin mixing on low speed and knead until your dough comes together. Add butter and continue kneading until the dough is smooth, not too sticky on the surface and elastic (about 25 minutes with mixer and the last 5 minutes by hands).

When the dough is ready, you should be able to take a chunk and stretch it to a very thin membrane before it breaks. When it does break, the break should form a circle. Knead the dough into a ball shape. Take a large bowl and grease with oil. Place dough into the bowl and cover with wet towel. Let the dough rise in a warm place until it's doubled in size, about 45-60 minutes.

Transfer to a clean surface. Divide dough into 16 equal portions. Shape each into a ball. Place the balls into 9" square tin. Cover with cling wrap, let rest for 30 minutes. Brush the top with egg wash. Sprinkle with sugar and almonds. Bake in the preheat oven ( 180c ) for 20 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

Pandan Chiffon Cake

I'd been wanting to make this pandan cake for ages but somehow, didn't manage to do it until now! And to my surprise, there wasn't any recipe on google that I felt comfortable with..so, for the record, I bravely made my own version!!

The recipe :

Ingredients:
(for 7" tube pan)

3 xl egg yolks
45g caster sugar
70g coconut milk
35g canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pandan essence
40g concentrated pandan juice
pinch of salt
100g cake flour
1/4 tsp baking powder

4 xl egg whites
1/4 cream of tar tar
40g caster sugar

Method:

Sieve flour, baking powder and salt together twice, then set aside.

In a mixing bowl. With a manual hand whisk, whisk the yolks, sugar, coconut milk, oil, vanilla extract, pandan essence, pandan juice to combine. Sieve over the flour and whisk till the flour is fully incorporated. Do not over mix. Set aside.

In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tar tar with a handheld electric mixer on low speed until mixture becomes frothy and foamy.  Add half of the sugar amount 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. (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 white into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, each time folding gently with a spatula until just blended.

Pour batter into a 17cm 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.

Semolina Wholewheat Pumpkin Seed Crackers

I was tempted to make rye & pumpkin seed crackers that I've found in the latest issue of BBCgoodfood magazine but because that I didn't have or, in fact, never have rye flour stocked in my cupboard, so it kind of made me have second thoughts and came up with an idea of making something different, yet similar which I ended up with these crackers !


The recipe :

100g semolina flour
100g wholewheat flour
60g pumpkin seeds
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 scant tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup water  

Mix all ingredients in a bowl to form the dough, then knwad briefly until smooth. Wrap the dough with cling film and let to rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 140c. Divide the dough into 2 pieces, roll each out as thinly as possible and cut into squares or any shape you want..Bake for 45 minutes, then remove the tray and flip each cracker over and returen to the oven for a further 30-45 minutes until crispy. Cool on wire rack and store in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.

 
 

Torcettini ( Italian Sugar Crusted Twisted Cookies )

Honestly speaking, the only reason why I decided to give these cookies a try is beacuse of a yeast called for in the recipe! However, I was tempted at the first glance by its look & shape that somehow reminded me of taralli , one of my favourite Italain savory snacks/biscuits , although they are obviously different in a few ways..


The recipe could be found here. ( Note : I weighed the dough and divided into the same size pieces,15 g. each before rolling and baked a bit longer ( 30 minutes ) than the original recipe states..)

  

Browned Butter Yogurt Raisin Oatmeal Bars

These bars caught my attention with all ingredients called for..and this is the first time I've used yogurt- covered raisins for baking..:) it went along well with other things and incredibly made the bars so delicious !!


The recipe ( slightly adapted from here. )


Ingredients:

145 g unsalted butter, browned
1 large egg
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned whole rolled oats (not instant or quick cook)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yogurt-covered raisins)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving overhang. Spray with cooking spray; set aside.

Place butter in medium-sized heavy saucepan and heat over medium-low to medium heat. Butter will melt, begin to bubble, foam, hiss, sputter, and brown specks will form in the bottom of the pan; this takes approximately 2 to 4 minutes. During the process, whisk or swirl the pan frequently and keep an extremely watchful eye on the butter. Brown it long enough to see browned bits and specks, but don't burn it. Butter can go from browned and nutty-smelling to burnt and inedible in less than one minute. Watch for the brown specks and once you see them, remove the pan from the burner, continuing to whisk or swirl for another 30 seconds or so.Transfer butter into large mixing bowl and add the sugars, then mix until blended , allow it to cool for a few minutes (so you don't scramble the egg).

To the slightly cooled melted butter, add the egg,vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and whisk to combine. Add the oats, flour, and stir until just combined. Fold in the raisins and white chocolate chips. Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing it lightly with a spatula.

Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until top surface of bars has just set and edges have firmed up. Don't overbake or bars will set up on the crunchy and crumbly side. Allow bars to cool for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving. Bars can be stored airtight at room temperature for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Pork Bafat

Another good dish that shouldn't be ignored or left unposted...thanks my husband for choosing this over the other choices I offered !

I kind of mixed and matched the two recipes that I've found interesting on the net..The recipe could be found from here and here.