Bunga Telang ~ Blue-pea Flower Snow Skin Mooncakes ~ 2013

For a change, I tried  using a premix to make these Snow skin mooncakes and for colour opted to go natural and use the Bunga Telang or Blue-pea flower.  Indeed the purple colour from the flowers was very distinct on its own but once mixed with the flour, I was rather disappointed. It turned out to be blue instead of purple.  Well, the consolation is that the colour is natural.   Taste wise, I would still prefer to make the Snow skin from scratch rather than use a premix.

Recipe for Bunga Telang ~ Blue-pea Flower Snow Skin Mooncakes

Ingredients


• 250 gm of QQ Snow mooncake premix (1 packet is 500 gm) 
• 14 gm shortening
• Bunga Telang/Blue pea flower
• 220 ml water
• Pandan and Lotus mooncake paste
• 25 gm melon seeds, lightly toasted to be mixed into the paste
Method (as per instructions on the packet)
1. Wash the Bunga Telang and boil with 220 ml water, once boiled, discard the flowers and measure out 195 ml.  Dissolve 14 gm of shortening into the water, mix well.
2. Add 250 gm premix into the boiled water.
3. Beat the mixture for 30 sec. @ low speed.  Then beat @ high speed for 3 min. to form a smooth and soft dough.
4. Wrap with cling film and keep in the fridge to chill for 1 hour.
5. Scale 25 gm of dough.  Roll into balls.
6. Flatten each portion and wrap around 1 piece of  35 gm filling.
7. Press the ball of dough into a mooncake mould.  Press out.
8. Keep mooncakes in an air-tight container and place a piece of paper towel on top of the mooncakes to prevent moisture from the cover dripping over.  Cover and keep refrigerated before serving.






I'll be going for a short vacation and will take a break from blogging.  See you later!

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Mixed Fruits and Nuts Mooncake ~ 2013

The annual Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival which is the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar falls on Thursday, 19th September this year.  Again, around this time of the year, one can see a variety of  mooncake recipes posted  in many food blogs.  Mooncakes make elegant gifts to family and friends at this time of the year and homemade ones are certainly more meaningful and of course much more economical.

Recipe for Mixed Fruits and Nuts Mooncake 
(adapted from Anncoo Journal but made half the recipe for the filling)

Ingredients
(A) Dough

• 150 gm superfine or plain flour
• 90 ml golden syrup
• 38 ml vegetable oil
• 2 ml alkaline water
(B)  Filling

• 40 gm walnuts, lightly toasted, coarsely chopped
• 40 gm almonds, lightly toasted, corsely chopped
• 30 gm melon seeds, lightly toasted
• 60 gm white sesame seeds, lightly toasted
• 30 gm dried kiwi, chopped
• 30 gm cranberry, chopped
• 30 gm raisins, chopped
• 30 gm dried pineapple, chopped
• 30 gm dates, chopped
(C)

• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1.1/2 Tbsp marmalade/apricot jam
• 1.1/4 Tbsp  cornoil/canola oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 50 gm koh fun
• 3 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp Cointreau (optional)
Egg wash - 1 whole egg + 1 tsp water, mix well and strain

Method (For Dough)

1. Mix golden syrup, vegetable oil and alkaline water with a handwhisk till well combined.
2. Sift in flour, mix to form a piece of dough.
3. Let dough  rest for @ least 2 hours or more till dough is not sticky.
4. Lightly knead on a floured surface, weigh out 50 to 55 gm of dough, roll into a ball, set aside.
For the Filling

1. Mix sugar, koh fun and salt to (B),  mix well.  Then add in the marmalade, oil and water, mix well.  Shape the filling into balls of 150 gm.
To assemble the mooncake

1. Flatten the piece of dough and wrap around a ball of filling.  Shape prepared dough into a ball and press into a lightly floured mooncake mould.  Shake off any excess flour from the mould.
2. Press the prepared portion of dough into the mooncake mould, press out to dislodge the mooncake.
3. Place mooncakes onto a parchment lined baking tray.
4. Lightly spray some water onto the mooncakes.
5. Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 deg C for 15 to 20 mins.  Remove from oven, let mooncakes cool for 15 min.  Apply egg wash once.  Return the mooncakes to the oven and bake again for 7 to 9 mins.  until golden brown.
6. Keep mooncakes uncovered for 3 to 4 days before consuming.  The colour of the mooncakes will darken as they mature.
7. Yield :  3 mooncakes using the 200 gm peach mooncake mould.
 
Note :  Balance dough can be kept refrigerated for other mooncakes.

 

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Cherry Almond Loaf

 
This cherry loaf is rather simple, fairly dense but enriched with ground almonds. Turns out nice and moist and keeps well too. One good tip that I picked up from  Nigella Lawson is to rinse the cut glace cherries with water, pat dry and toss in some flour to minimise the cherries from sinking.  What I would normally do is just to cut up the glace cherries and dust them with flour.  It never crossed my mind to rinse them.  As I prefer to have a not too sweet cake, I reduced the sugar and halved the amount of cherries called for in the recipe.

Recipe for Cherry Almond Loaf  (adapted from Nigella Lawson's recipe with slight modification)

Ingredients

• 225 gm butter
• 100 gm glace cherries (reduced from 200 gm)
• 250 gm self-raising flour
• 100 gm ground almonds/almond meal
• 3 eggs
• 140 gm caster sugar (reduced from 175 gm)
• 1  tsp vanilla
• 8 Tbsp milk (originally 6 Tbsp)
Method

1. Cut up the glace cherries, rinse with water, pat dry, toss in some flour from the recipe. Set aside
2. Sift the self-raising flour.
3. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy, thick.  
4. Add in eggs one @ a time, mix well.
5. Fold in sifted flour, mix well.
6. Fold in almond meal alternatively with the milk.  Add in vanilla.
7. Mix in the flour dusted glace cherries.
8. Pour batter into a greased and floured oval pan.  (I made 2 Oval shape loaves).
9. Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 deg.C for 40 mins. till golden brown.  Test with a skewer till it comes out clean.
10. Cool in pan for 15 mins. before unmoulding onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Note:  You can bake this in a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.







This post is linked to  Cook like a Star, organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids,
 Joyce from Kitchen Flavours and Anuja from Simple Baking.









I'm also linking this post to the Little Thumbs Up 'Eggs' event, organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids,
my little favourite DIY and hosted by  Baby Sumo of Eat your Heart Out.

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Orange Blueberry Tea Cake

This not too sweet  tea cake is complimented with a crispy, sweet fruity crust and it tastes wonderful when served warm.  Heat up any leftovers if any,  to regain the warm and crispy crust.  Great for breakfast or something to snack on!  It may taste better with fresh blueberries.

 

 

 Recipe for Orange Blueberry Tea Cake (adapted from a Woolworths magazine with modifications)

Ingredients

• 6 oz self-raising flour
• 3.1/2 oz almond meal/ground almonds
• 3 oz caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 2/3  cup milk
• 2 oz melted butter
• 40 gm fresh blueberries (I used dried ones)
• 1 lemon rind (I used orange)
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1  Tbsp caster sugar
• Icing sugar to decorate (optional)
Method

1. Prepare a 22cm springform pan, line the base, grease and dust the sides with flour.
2. Sift flour, add in the almond meal, mix well.
3. Using a handheld whisk, whisk the egg and sugar till well blended.  Add in the milk and melted butter, whisk to combine.
4. Fold in the sifted flour almond meal mixture, mix well.  Mix in the orange juice.
5. Pour batter into the prepared cake pan and scatter on the blueberries.
6. Combine the orange rind with the tablespoon of sugar and sprinkle over the blueberries.
7.  Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 deg. C for 25 to 30 mins., test with a skewer till it comes out clean.
8. Leave in pan to cool for about 10 mins., before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
9. Dust with icing sugar before serving.






I'm linking this post to  Cook Your Books #3 hosted by Kitchen Flavours.
and also


 to the Little Thumbs Up "Egg" event organized
by Bake for Happy Kids, my little favourite DIY and hosted by 
(Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out)

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Wordless Wednesday ~ Black Swans nesting in Lagoon Park, Rockingham, Perth

During my recent holiday in Perth, I was delighted to stumble upon a pair of Black Swans nesting in this Lagoon Park.  I hope you'll enjoy these pictures of the park as well as the pictures of the nesting Black Swans.

To All my Muslim readers, 'Selamat Hari Raya' and to Non-Muslim readers, 'Happy Holidays'!

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Rum and Raisin Ice Cream

One of my family's favourite dessert is Rum and Raisin ice cream.  However, this flavour is not always readily available in the stores.  So I had to spend some time surfing the internet to hunt for recipes and after taking some tips from here and there, came out with this recipe which was easy to prepare and most importantly, it yielded good result.

Recipe for Rum and Raisin Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp raisins
• 1/4 cup Rum
• 1 cup cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2  tsp vanilla
•  6 oz. brown sugar
• 4 egg yolks

Method

1. Soak the raisins in Rum, overnight.  Strain, set aside the raisins and Rum.
2. Heat the cream, milk and vanilla on low heat.  Once the milk foams up, remove from heat.
3. Whisk brown sugar and egg yolks till pale and thick, gradually add in the warm milk, whisking continously.  Pour the mixture back into the saucepan, with a wooden spoon cook over low heat, stirring continuously until the mixture coats the back of the wooden spoon.
4. Add Rum into the mixture.  Cover with cling wrap, once cool, refrigerate overnight.
5. Churn the mixture in an ice cream maker for 30 mins. and add in the raisins at the end of churning.

I am submitting this to the Little Thumbs Up "Egg" event organized

by Bake for Happy Kids, my little favourite DIY and hosted by (Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out)

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