Rosemary and Cornmeal Grissini

I had proscuitto served with grissini at a restaurant in St.Kilda beach when we were on Christmas holiday and what bothered me is a taste of grissini which I thought it's far too salty when paired with the cured ham and thought it would have been more delicious if it got less salt in the breadsticks!

Anyway, strangely yet truely,  I kept thinking about those salty grissini even when I got back to HK. And when I saw these grissini posted by Susan of wildyeast , the first thing come through my mind is those grissini and proscuitto I had in Melbourne !

No doubt that I was completely convinced to make this one, not only because I've got some rosemary and cornmeal to use up while they are reaching their expiry dates but also I wanted to serve it the same way we had before to see what my hubby would think about it..

To make sure that the grissini wouldn't be too salty,  I, therefore, reduced a bit amount of salt called for in the original recipe and also added some sugar ( 2 tsp ) to the dough (while it's not required in the original version). As for the outcome, the grissini were slightly crispy and chewy while rosemary made its being tangy in the bread quite well..they could totally be a great snack themselves but when served with proscuitto as hors d'œuvre, my husband who was served with the dish and then was asked if it's better than the one we had in Melbourne said 'infinitely' which is much more than I expected!! :)

The recipe could be found here and I'd like to thank Susan for a great recipe! This post has also been sent to yeastspotting hosted by the same Susan of wildyeast.

 

Cream Cheese Pecan Cookies

I got some pecans left in my storing box which were about to pass its expiry date ! Fortunately and coincidentally, I happened to see these cookies posted on simplyrecipes at the right time. So I undoubtedly decided to give it a try without second thoughts!

I didn't make any change to the recipe except to reduce amount of sugar.. And it turned out to match my taste beautifully! These cookies are richy nutty and buttery! Paired with a cup of tea or coffee then I'm sure they couldn't be more perfect match!!

The recipe could be found here.

Spiced and Mixed Dried Fruits Rolls

After more than 10 days of being away from my kitchen and oven, I felt really really like spending some time with them and I chose to do so on the first day of the new year !

I've found these rolls in delicious magazine (Jan 2011 issue) which I bought from a newsagent's shop in Melbourne where we went for Christmas holiday...I spotted the picture while I was flipping through the magazine and once I read through the whole recipe I knew what's the first thing I'm gonna bake when I get back from holiday!

The original title is called 'Christmas Morning Crown' but since I didn't serve it on Chirstmas morning so I thought I'd rather call it differently. Hence, it became 'spiced and mixed dried fruits rolls' as you've seen !

Christmas Morning Crown (makes 9 scrolls)

1 1/2 c (225g) strong (bread flour) ( I added
7g sachet dried instant yeast
125g unsalted butter, chopped (plus extra to grease)
1/2c warm milk
1 egg, beaten
50g brown sugar
2 tbsp chopped hazelnuts
1 tsp mixed spice
1/3 c (55g) chopped mixed peel
1/3 c (55g) sultanas
1/4c (50g) glace cherries, chopped
1/2 c icing sugar, sifted
lemon juice

1. Grease a large baking tray and dust with flour.

2. Sift flour into a large bowl, add yeast and 1/2 tsp salt. Rub in 40g of the butter to form coarse breadcrumbs. Form a well in the centre and mix in the milk and egg to form a dough. Place in a greased bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave for 1 hour in a warm place until doubled in size.

3. Meanwhile, beat remaining butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until combined. Add nuts, spice, peel, sultanas and cherries and stir to combine.

4. Punch down dough to expel air, knead briefly then roll out on a floured surface to form a 30cm x 23 cm rectangle. Spread the fruit mixture over the dough with a spatula, leaving a 2cm border along the sides. Roll up along the long side to form a log, then cut into 9 equal size pieces.

5. Place slices, cut side up, on the floured tray so it forms a circle with the slices just touching. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until slightly risen. (Once risen, you can cover the crown and chill overnight, then bring back to room temperature before baking).

6. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius and bake the crown for 20 minutes or until golden. Meanwhile, mix the icing sugar with enough lemon juice to form an icing thin enough for drizzling, then drizzle over the slightly cooled crown. Serve warm or at room temperature.


  

 
Ps. this post has been sent to yeastspotting hosted by Susan of Wildyeast..

Black Forest Cake

It's my husband's birthday and I let him choose what cake he'd like to eat on his special day like I always do and no surprise when he told me that he wanted a black forest cake ( like he does every year! ).

Nothing's complicated but the cake requires a few steps of preparation..I made the cherry filling and syrup in advance..then prepared the cake base and the whipped cream topping on the day I made and assembled the cake and I left the cake set overnight in the fridge, then served him the next day when he was back from his trip!

The recipe ( adapted from here )

The cake base..

80 g self raising flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
30 g cocoa powder
90 g caster sugar
50 g water
25 g evaporated milk
65 g canola oil
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 egg white
40 g caster sugar
1/4 cream of tartar

Method :

1. Preheat the oven to 180c. Line the base of 8 inch cake tin with parchment paper. Sift the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and cocoa powder together into a mixing bowl and set aside.

2.  Combine the 90g sugar, yolks, water, oil, milk and vanilla in another bowl. Stir until incorperated and pour overthe flour mixture. Gently mix the dry and wet ingredients with a whisk until smooth. Set aside.

3. Beat the white and cream of tartar with electric mixer until foamy, then gradually add the remaining sugar one tablespoon at a time and continue beat on high speed until reach the soft-medium peak ( more than soft but not hard peak). Gently fold the white into the cake mixture until blended.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted from center comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before turning the cake out and leave the cake to cool at room temperature before assemble.

Syrup ( for brushing top of layers ):


1/4 cup sugar
1/3cup water
2 tbsp Kirsch

1. Heat the water and sugar until boiled and a bit thick. Take off the heat and set aside until cool , then add kirch into the syrup.

Kirsch Whipped cream:

3 cups whipping cream
60 g caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp Kirsch
1 tbsp gelatin dissolved with 2 tbsp hot water ( leave to cool )

Method :

Beat the cream, sugar, vanilla and kirsch together until soft peak then add gelatin and continue to beat until combined and set.

Cherry Filling:

1.5 cans dark cherry in syrup
3 tbsp corn stratch dissolved with 3 tbsp hot water
3 tbsp Kirsch

1. Put cherry along with the syrup into a saucepan. Heat until warm then gradually add the corn stratch mixture. Keep stirring until thick then take off the heat and leave to cool before adding the kirsch.

Assemble the cake :

1. Slice the cake into 2 layers. Brush top of each layer with the syrup. Spread the whipped cream over the bottom layer and top with most of the cherry filling ( leave fews for the topping) , then spread more whipped cream to cover the filling. Put the other layer on top and cover the whole cake with the whipped cream. Decorate the cake as desired ( I used chocolate shavings as seen in the photos!)..

Cheesy Crispy Cornflake Cookies

Cookie is normally not a thing that I'm really keen to make for some (strange) reasons which even myself still couldn't figure it out ! But on the other hand, whenever I come across an interesting cookie recipe, I could never resist giving it a try..:)

As for a verdict, to my surprise, it turned out to be a flavorful cookie which I was totally pleased with the outcome..

The recipe could be found here.

 

 

Cornmeal Biscuits with Honey Butter

I always couldn't resist giving a recipe a try when it's about cornmeal because it's one of my favorite ingredients. When I found this cornmeal biscuit posted on Serious Eats, I knew straight away what I'm gonna make for my husband as an afternoon teatime snack on the weekend!!

Anyway, my husband is not a big fan of cornmeal..so, I didn't really expect to get a good feedback back when I served him the biscuits along with the honey butter. But surprisingly, he responded positively and even my daughter, who is not really interested in this kind of baked good, also liked it !

As for myself, I couldn't agree more with what it's said on the post...and it would be a big mistake if  you decide to skip the honey butter!    

  

Vanilla Custard Cake

This cake has been a hit not only among Thai food bloggers but also my friends who have tasted it...and I never fail to get compliments every single time I make it ! Please give it a try and you will find out how gorgeous the cake is.. 


The recipe could be found here.