Back but not for long

So I'm back after a long hiatus. Events transpired over the past year include us taking a big trip to Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda, moving from polluted Causeway Bay to Mid-Levels (where the PSI index is noticeably lower) and even making a baby! 

Many had asked me what food I craved most during my pregnancy. I'd say dessert. I was constantly dreaming of the New York cheesecake from Ruth's Chris Steak House, chilled durian soup with black sticky rice and yam from Honeymoon Dessert, red velvet cupcake from Sift and even McDonald's humble apple pie.

I've been wanting to get back to the swing of baking for a long time now, but morning sickness, backaches and long hours at work had prevented me from doing so. I'm currently on maternity leave and waiting for Baby Joshua to pop right out of my oven. And instead of sitting around twiddling my thumbs, I thought I'd bake! And since I no longer have to contend with morning sickness and long hours at work, the only thing that stands in the way of me baking my own New York cheesecake is my backache - not a big price to pay to satisfy my itchy fingers.

New York Cheesecake

Adapted from Taliesen

Makes 1 8-inch cake

For the cake:

8 graham crackers, crushed

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 packages cream cheese

3/4 cups white sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/8 cup all-purpose flour

Prepare the cake: 

Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. Grease an 8 inch springform pan. 

In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press onto bottom of springform pan. 

In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth. Pour filling into prepared crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours; this prevents cracking. 

Chill in refrigerator until serving. 

Time off from baking

I've been taking some time off from baking, for a multitude of reasons.

Alvin and I have decided to treat ourselves to a big trip to Africa later in the year, and since we will be going in the peak season, I feel the impetuous to do my research/bookings during any spare time I can get in order to secure whatever camps/permits necessary for our travel dates.

Work has been pretty grueling and has been taking a toll on my body and mind. And since baking can be physically tiring as I have to stand on my feet for a couple of hours straight, I feel even more fatigued after a session.

I've noticed that over the course of these past few months, I've lost sight of the macro picture. I need to work harder on the values I hold dear to me - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self control. I'm thankful for Alvin - he always reminds me of the verse from Luke that John F. Kennedy used in his presidential inauguration speech: To whom much is given, much is expected. Which makes me question, what have I given back of late? So I shall be taking some time off to work on myself.  

修身，养家，治国，平天下

Finally, time to share a treasured recipe

I am uber worn out from work. My team works closely with the London and DC offices, so it's not incorrect to say that we're on global shift work. We're a couple of people down in the team and not to mention, there's been an influx of new business. So we have been overwhelmed. In fact, last week, my back ached so badly from fatigue, I had to book myself into a spa to get a massage (note: this is not an excuse). 

I'm still really weary, so shall keep this post real short. Today, I would like to share my precious sticky date pudding secret recipe here. I've made this numerous times for gatherings and parties and have even sold a couple of them and have received rave reviews, but all I've done, actually, is to improvise upon an already excellent recipe.

Sticky Date Pudding

Adapted from Simmone Logue

Makes 6

For the cake:

90g dried medjool dates, pitted and chopped into small pieces (note: use only good quality medjool dates as they make up the entire flavour of the cake!)

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 cup boiling water

25g unsalted butter

75g brown sugar

1 egg

90g self raising flour, sifted

Prepare the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.

Combine the dates and bicarbonate of soda in a heatproof bowl.

Pour over 1/2 cup boiling water.

Set dates for 30 minutes until room temperature.

Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating until smooth. 

Use a metal spoon to gently fold in the flour, then stir in the date mixture.

Pour the mixture into a greased muffin pan - the mixture should fill 6 muffin cups. Bake for 30-35 minutes until cooked through. Set aside for 5 minutes before turning out. 

For the toffee sauce:

75g brown sugar

1/2 cup thin cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

10g unsalted butter

Prepare the toffee sauce:

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, stirring, until the butter has melted.

Simmer for 5 minutes.

Assemble the pudding:

Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of the pudding and generously pour over the hot toffee sauce.

Very proud to be Singaporean

The content of this post was triggered by a cab ride. This evening, on my way to Lung King Heen for dinner with my parents and Alvin, the cabby asked which country I hailed from and when I said "Singapore", he immediately alluded to the fact that Singaporeans and Hong Kongers were the same - at the end of the day, we're all (mainland) Chinese. I corrected him immediately to say that I am Singaporean, and that Singaporeans are not (mainland) Chinese.

So. I haven't baked in quite a while. The past couple of weeks have been kind of busy, with Alvin and I being back in Singapore over the Ching Ming holiday weekend and with my parents in town this week. And then next week we return to Singapore again for the Easter long weekend. 

I always enjoy my visits back to Singapore, albeit them being really packed with meet-up sessions with friends and family. Alvin and my first priority is to spend time with our 8 year old maltese-silky terrier pooch, Sasha. Then comes family, followed by close friends. 

These days, the media in Singapore is abuzz with coverage about the upcoming General Elections. There has been alot of debate about the quality of candidates that the ruling party (PAP) will be fielding this time round, and as usual, alot of talk about political freedom and democracy in Singapore. Having lived abroad, I do not deny the fact that there is certainly room for improvement in turns of the implementation of certain government policies, but by and large, the PAP have done a pretty good job for the nation. Unfortunately, in a tiny country (also known as the 'Little Red Dot', a disparaging term coined by a former leader of a neighbouring country) such as Singapore which has absolutely no natural resources, a certain kind of governance may be a 'necessary evil' as a means for speedy economic development. In this sense, the tradeoff between political freedom and economic prosperity is portrayed as a cruel choice.  I personally see that as a small price to pay. 

Anyway, what is the common denominator of majority of the content of this post and what I baked the other day? To the less informed, the colours on the Singapore flag are red and white. How apt.

Strawberry And Meyer Lemon Mousse Cake

Adapted from Helen Dujardin

Makes 4

For the cake base:

120g all purpose flour

140g sugar

½ tablespoon baking powder

3 egg whites

120ml fresh milk

45ml lemon juice

75g butter, melted

Prepare the cake base:

Preheat oven at 300°F/150°C.

In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the egg whites and the milk.

Make a well in the center of the flour mix and slowly add in the egg white mixture while stirring with a whisk.

Add in the butter and lemon juice.

Mix with a whisk until smooth.

Line a 9x13 inch pan with parchment paper and pour in the batter. 

Bake for 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes back clean. Let cook and cut out 4 3-inch cake rounds. 

For the soaking syrup:

45ml lemon juice

45ml water

1 tablespoon of sugar

Prepare the soaking syrup:

In a small saucepan set over low heat, dissolve tablespoon of sugar in lemon juice and water. Let cool and bring to room temperature.

For the lemon mousse:

2 sheets gelatin

20ml cold water

200ml fresh milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 egg yolks

35g sugar

30g corn starch

45ml lemon juice

180ml heavy cream

Prepare the lemon mousse:

In a small bowl, place the gelatin sheets in the cold water. 

In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar and egg yolks together, add the cornstarch and mix until you get a smooth paste.

Meanwhile, combine the vanilla extract and milk in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and add slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling. Place the egg mixture back into the saucepan and cook until thick under medium heat. Keep close watch and stir constantly to prevent curdling. Add the lemon juice and cook for another 30 seconds and remove from the heat. Immediately add in the gelatin and stir until completely dissolved. Cool to room temperature.

Whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form and gently fold it into the pastry cream. 

For Assembly:

1 punnett of strawberries

Line cake rounds with parchment paper. Dip cake base into soaking syrup. Fit the cake bases at the bottom of the cake round. Cut strawberries into half and line the cake rounds with them. Spoon the mousse immediately into the cake rounds, level the top with an offset spatula and refrigerate. 

2 very poor encounters in the past week

I know this blog is supposed to chronicle my baking adventures, but I can't help but express my anger at a brief encounter I had today with a stranger I met at dinner. D and I were in a Vietnamese joint for some good old pho when this dude (let's call him "Obnoxious") strutted in with a companion in tow. Turns out that D and "Obnoxious" were ex-colleagues back in Singapore. D introduced me to him and this is how the rest of the conversation went:

Obnoxious: So how long have you been in Hong Kong for? 

Me: Since last July

Obnoxious: Oh, so what do you do?

Me: I'm in the media industry

Obnoxious: Oh! Pass me your name card!

Me: What line are you in? (I then proceed to offer Obnoxious my name card)

Obnoxious: I'm in advertising. At a bank (D chirped in and said that Obnoxious is working for UBS)

Me: Ah!

Obnoxious: (After looking at my name card) So, is it your job that brought you to Hong Kong?

Me: No. I moved here for my husband. He found a job here

Obnoxious: Ah! No wonder. I was wondering why you would come all the way to Hong Kong to be an __________ (He then continues to name the position printed on my name card). Yes, I'm the client. Are you going to try to sell me something? 

Actually, I'm not sure if I'm angry with him. I suppose angry could be the wrong word to use here. I'm more flabbergasted at his lack of sensitivity and the fact that he thinks that just because I'm in ad sales, I'm trying to sell him something. He can take his company's money and stuff it up his sorry whatever. Tonight's encounter left me with a fire in my belly. And I think good things could potentially come out of it. 

Then let me tell you about the lady I met on Saturday at E's baby shower. Let's call her "Mrs Fake Humility". She dropped in on us briefly and this is part of the conversation which transpired with E and "Mrs Fake Humility":

Mrs Fake Humility: We can't stay long, we're going to a charity thing later in the evening. By the way, any of you want to go? We've got lots of free tickets.

E: Oh! Is it the ball that costs $350 a seat?

Mrs Fake Humility: I don't know. We just gave them a wad (Mrs Fake Humility then catches herself in time and corrects her statement), a belt of cash.

That was a jaw dropping moment. As much as E explained (after Mrs Fake Humility cleared the scene) how nice her friend was, I could not comprehend why someone would say something like that. A wad of cash to the needy? I really think this quote from the bible is so wise: When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. This, to me, is true humility and generosity.

My long-suffering Alvin

Each time I encounter an unsuccessful bake, Alvin always reminds me of this proverb - 失败是成攻之母 (failure is the mother of success). And surprisingly, I have been taking my baking failures pretty well. Though I am heart broken each time my macarons fail to rise gloriously, or when my creme brulee fails to curdle sufficiently, I always take it in my stride and vow to improve my skills with time, albeit some complaining and frustration. 

Anand commented the other day about my FB post. He said that Alvin was a lucky guy because he gets to feast first hand, on the baked goods that are produced straight from the oven. However, I would be the first to say that the more accurate term to use here is long-suffering than lucky. He has to put up with my reckless abandon to satisfy a sudden baking impetuous (in turn, the state of the house suffers). He only gets to eat imperfectly shaped cookies or cracked macarons or cupcakes that hadn't been iced prettily enough to see the light of day. In short, he really gets the crumbs. But he has never complained. He's always been supportive. He says he hopes that one day, I will establish my own equivalent of the Martha Stewart empire and earn so much money that he can quit his job and live off me. Well, we shall see ;p 

So anyway, after 4 tries, here are a batch of macarons that I baked successfully. I had originally intended to make them for Ji-Ye's farewell party. But unfortunately, because the eclairs took up so much time, I didn't actually have the time to work on the filling of the macaron, so I didn't manage to complete them in time for the party. As a result, my colleagues were the beneficiaries of my poor time management.

 

Green Tea Macarons with White Chocolate Green Tea Ganache

Makes 30

For the macaron shells:

120g powdered sugar

90g ground almonds

2 egg whites

30g sugar

½ teaspoon matcha powder

A dash of green food coloring/gel

For the white chocolate green tea ganache:

100g white chocolate 

95g cream

½ teaspoon matcha powder

Prepare the macaron shells:

Preheat oven at 300°F/150°C.

Line a baking tray with 2 layers of baking paper.

Sift the powdered sugar together with the matcha powder and ground almond in a bowl. Mix well.

Add green coloring to the electric mixer and simultaneously whisk egg whites until foamy and white. Add the sugar and continue whisking until meringue is and soft peaks are formed.

Add dry ingredients to whisked egg whites and gently fold with a spatula. When dry ingredients have been fully incorporated, transfer it into a piping bag with a 10mm piping tip.

Pipe circles of 3.5 cm diameter, spacing them every 3 cm on baking paper. Once done, let the shells rest, preferably in an air-conditioned room for at least an hr.

Bake for 12-15 mins.

Prepare the white chocolate green tea ganache:

Heat cream to a boil then pour over the chocolate. Let chocolate melt on its own for a while then stir with a spatula until smooth and even. Add in matcha powder and stir.

Transfer to piping bag and place in fridge to cool before using.

Prepare the macaron:

Pipe white chocolate ganache onto cooled maracon shell. Sandwich with another shell.

Feeling French

This weekend, I suffered from an overdose of baking. I was asked by May to bake something for Ji-Ye's farewell party (she invited about 80 folks from SP) and so I excitedly set out to bake 40 chocolate eclairs and an assortment of macarons. 

I started out early on Saturday and followed a recipe from a pastry cookbook to make eclair shells. After 1 hour of cracking eggs and melting butter and mixing ingredients, I was so disappointed to find that the eclair shells that came out of the oven were too soft. They had no body to them, and could not, for sure, be cut open to sandwich whipped cream. So I thought I'd give myself a break and make macarons instead. I proceeded with trepidation. I have only ever succeeded once (out of 9 tries) in baking macarons, so you can understand how nervous I was. So no surprises here - the first batch of 30 shells that came out of the oven didn't rise properly. So into the bin they went. 

I was so cheesed off (with I don't even know what) when I left to meet John and Alvin (who had been playing soccer earlier in the morning) for brunch at Soho. I had accomplished nothing the entire morning. Thank goodness brunch was yummy. I love hanging out at the Supper Club. I mentioned to John that perhaps the reason why I love it so much is because it feels as though I've just stepped out of Hong Kong, into New York or Sydney. The casual, laid back atmosphere strikes a chord with me. 

When we came home from brunch, I started baking in a frenzy. I decided to try out Pierre Herme's recipe and thank goodness that was a success. I like how he assures readers that certain outcomes of certain actions are natural, and that we need not panic. For instance, when adding eggs into batter, he mentions in his book that the batter will separate and coagulate into a weird form, but that's okay, it will come together after the addition of the forth egg. I baked till 11pm that evening. 

Chocolate Eclairs

Adapted from Pierre Herme & Catherine Atkinson

Makes 15

For the cream puff dough:

½ cup whole milk

½ cup water

115g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

¼ teaspoon sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 large eggs

Prepare the cream puff dough:

Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and keep them close at hand.

Bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the boil in a saucepan. When the mixture is boiling rapidly, add the flour all at once, reduce the heat to medium, and start stirring the mixture like mad with a wooden spoon immediately. The dough will come together very quickly and a slight crust will form on the bottom of the pan, but you need to keep stirring vigorously for another 3 minutes to dry the dough. At the end of this time, the dough will be very smooth.

Turn the dough into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

One by one, add in the eggs to the dough, beating until each egg is thoroughly incorporated. Don't be discouraged - as soon as you add the first egg, the dough will separate. Keep working and by the time the third egg is added, the batter will start coming together again. When all the eggs are incorporated, the dough will be thick and shiny and when you lift some of it up, it will fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.

Spoon the warm dough into a large pastry bag fitted with a 2cm plain tip. Pipe out the dough onto the baking sheets in chubby fingers, about 10cm long. Make sure to leave about 5cm of puff space between each strip of dough.

Slide the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes, then slip the handle of a wooden spoon into the door so that it remains slightly ajar. Continue to bake for another 13 minutes. 

Keep the eclair shells in a cool dry room for several hours before filling.

For the chocolate sauce:

115g dark chocolate

2 tbs water

25g unsalted butter

Prepare the chocolate sauce:

Place the chocolate and water in a small bowl set over a pan of hot water. Melt, stirring until smooth.

Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the butter.

For the whipped cream:
300ml double cream

2 tsp icing sugar, sifted

½ tsp vanilla essence

Prepare the whipped cream:

Whip the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla essence until it just holds its shape.

Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm plain tip.

To assemble:

Cut each eclair shell horizontally into two using a serrated knife.

Carefully dip the top of each eclair shell in the melted chocolate. Cool in fridge until chocolate is set. 

Pipe the whipped cream to fill the eclairs.