No Oil Strawberry Swiss Roll

We love Swiss rolls as they are lighter compared to the regular butter or cheese cakes I often bake. Found this easy to follow no oil roll cake with fruits by Ochikeron which is quite refreshing. It only uses 2 eggs so it is not too much and great for afternoon tea.
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Ingredients

For Sponge Cake

• 2 egg
• 50gm Castor Sugar
• 35gm Cake Flour
• 20gm Milk (room temperature)

For Filling

• 200ml Fresh Cream (heavy whipping cream)
• 1 tbsp Castor Sugar
• Strawberries

Methods

1. Preheat the oven to 180C
2. Line baking pan with baking paper.
3. Beat eggs and sugar with wire whisk in a metal bowl. Placed it over the pan of hot water and melt the sugar and warm them up to 40C.
4. Then with a handheld mixer, beat the batter on high speed for about 5 minutes until white and fluffy.
5. Switch to low speed, beat for about 2 minutes to set the texture.
6. Sift in flour and fold together with spatula till mixed well.
7. Add milk and fold together with spatula until combined.
8. Spread the batter into baking pan and drop the pan lightly on the counter to raise the air bubbles out of the batter.
9. Bake at 180C for 11-12 minutes till top turns light brown.
10. When it's done, drop the pan lightly on the counter to prevent shrinking. Remove the cake from the pan by lifting the baking paper and place it on a wire rack to cool.
11. Once cooled, remove the baking paper and place the sponge cake on the baking paper with the brown side up.
12. For the filling, combine fresh cream and castor sugar in a dry, clean bowl. Float the bottom of the bowl in ice water, whisk the cream until it forms a soft peak.
13. Cut strawberries to preferred size.
14. Coat the surface of the sponge cake evenly with the cream. Place the strawberries over the creamed surface and leave and inch on both ends.
15. Roll the sponge cake and wrap with baking paper by twisting both ends to set. Put it in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour to set.
16. To cut the cake, dip knife in hot water, wipe, and cut. Repeat this each time you cut to get a clean cut.

Bento Fun in Print!

My pet project, Bento Fun - Making Cute & Creative Meals in Boxes was recently published by MPH. This 178 pages print book is my first print book with MPH Malaysia. It has been on sale since mid of November 2016. It is currently available in all MPH and Kinokuniya book stores across Malaysia and Singapore.

In this book, you will find 32 variations of bento with 21 simple side dishes and 8 finger food recipes. There are also easy step-by-step instructions to guide you along to make some cute bento for your loved ones.

Check out Bento Fun Book Review on Mumsgather.

Join Bento Fun Book Club for exciting news.

You can purchase online at MPHOnline

Title : Bento Fun - Making Cute & Creative Meals in Boxes
ISBN : 978-967-415-392-2
ISBN : 967-415-392-6
Price : RM39.90*
Price : SGD$21.40


Get a copy now!

Salted Egg Yolk Cookies

I was not prepared to bake any other CNY cookies this year except some pineapple tarts since I still have half a box of pineapple jam left. The past few weeks have been seeing so many people in the cooking forums and Air Fryer forums churning out all the CNY goodies somehow tempted me to bake too!

The one cookies which I was so curious about this year was this Salted Egg Yolk Cookies that almost everyone is baking! Since I still have a few home made salted eggs that I made for the bak chang (glutinous rice dumplings) last November, I decided to try baking some and I must say I fell in love instantly!

These cookies just melt in the mouth! Seriously, you won't be able to stop once you popped one into your mouth as you will want to keep eating! Even my youngest girl can't get enough! I made a total of 2 batches. Adapted the recipe from here but I added an extra salted egg yolk as I used unsalted butter.


Ingredients

• 5 Cooked salted duck egg yolks - mashed
• 120 gm Butter - room temperature
• 140 gm Plain flour or all purpose flour
• 60 gm Milk powder
• 60 gm Potatoes starch/powder
• 60 gm Icing sugar
• 1 egg yolk + a few drops of milk for egg wash
• Black sesame seeds for decorating

Method

1. Cream butter, icing sugar and mashed salted duck egg yolks in the mixer.
2. Add in sifted plain flour, milk powder and potato starch and beat till it forms a dough.
3. Wrap with cling wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.
4. Take a portion out on lightly floured surface, using a piece of cling wrap, gently flatten with rolling pin to about 5mm thick.
5. Use a cookie cutter to cut out and arrange on lined tray.
6. Glaze with egg wash and sprinkle some black sesame seeds in the centre (for floral designs).
7. Baked in preheated oven at 160C for about 18 minutes.

Ang Koo Kuih with Mung Beans filling

Gosh! It has been the longest time since I last posted here! I did not stop cooking but life have been really busy with kids' school, kids' activities and also mother's duties! Cleaning is never ending!!!

Anyway, I have been experimenting with some Nyonya desserts the previous few months. One of them is the Nyonya Ang Koo kuih which is one of my favorite. I managed to eat some when I was back in Penang last September. Then when I got back to Melbourne, I thought I'll just try my hand making some.

Well, it has been a success so I am sharing with all!

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I have made some and shared with friends here and all of them like it very much. For the recipe, I adapted it from The Star's Nyonya Flavours recipe book which you can get from major book stores in Malaysia.

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Ingredients

A. Filling

• 300gm Mung beans (washed and soaked over night)
• 2 Pandan leaves (washed and knotted)
• 280 gm Castor sugar (I cut down from 300gm and used raw sugar)
• 4 tbsp Oil

B. Skin

• 1/8 tsp Orange-red coloring (I used Wilton color paste)
• 300ml Water
• 400gm Glutinous rice flour
• 150gm Sweet potato (peeled, steamed and mashed)
• 4 tbsp Castor sugar
• 2 tbsp Oil
• Banana leaves cut to sized
• Oil to glaze
• Extra glutinous rice flour for dusting

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Methods

1. Steamed the mung beans with pandan leaves over boiling water for 30 minutes or until soft and mushy. Discard the pandan leaves and leave it to cool. Blend in the blender if you find the beans are not broken up and soft.
2. Heat up wok with oil and add in the steamed beans and sugar. Stir till everything combined under low fire and not sticky to the hands.
3. Cool and shaped the filling into small balls (depending on the size of your mould). I measured mine around 24 gm each ball to fit into my medium ang koo mould. Keep covered so they will not dry out.
4. To make the skin, first add in the coloring into the water.
5. In another bowl, place the glutinous rice flour, mashed sweet potato, sugar and oil then slowly bring them together to form a dough. Knead till everything is well combined. Divide into small balls (I weight mine to 26 gm each) and covered with damn cloth.
6. To assemble, flour the ang koo mould with some glutinous rice flour, take one dough and flatten into about 3-5mm thick and wrap the filling. Closed all seams, rolled into a ball and dust lightly with some glutinous rice flour and press into ang koo mould.
7. Press lightly with your palm to make sure the whole ball fit into the ang koo mould before knocking the mould lightly on the table to loosen the ball and dislodge from the mould.
8. Place completed ang koo onto cut and lightly greased banana leaf.
9. Steam ang koo in bamboo steamer over high heat for 6-7 minutes and open the lid every 5 mins to check. Lightly brush steamed ang koo with oil and leave it to cool.

Speedy Rice Cooker Chicken Rice

For everyone of us who loves to cook too have lazy days when we just don't feel like labouring in the kitchen. Sometimes when I have too much too do, but still have to put food on the table, I will pick my speedy menus and one of it is this all time favourite, Chicken Rice in the rice cooker!

I used to cook Hainanese Chicken rice which has quite a few steps but taste wise is much better. However, my kids don't really complain if the same ingredients are there so mommy do cheat a little once in a while! :lol:

The rice cooker can be so versatile these days especially those labelled as Smart Cooker. You can bake, slow cook and do a whole lot more in it but they don't come cheap. For me, a rice cooker is just to cook rice :P

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I so love this speedy chicken rice recipe that I cook at least once a week! Limited ingredients but packed a punch :)

My 10 cups rice cooker was in the 'hospital' so I have to use my 5 cups rice cooker hence I can only cook 3 cups of rice with half of a medium chicken.

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Ingredients

• 3 cups Rice + Water


• ½ medium Chicken


• 2 Pandan leaves (screwpine)


• Ginger - thumb size (slightly smashed)


• 3 cloves garlic (slightly smashed with skin on) - optional


• 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine


• Salt to taste


• Sliced cucumber for garnishing

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Methods

1. Wash rice and fill with water per your regular white rice recipe (depending on your rice cooker) but remove about 2 tablespoon as the chicken meat will release juice into the rice.


2. Marinade chicken with some salt and Chinese rice wine.


3. Sprinkle some salt, add in the pandan leaves, ginger and garlic and mix inside the rice and cook per normal.


4. When the water starts to bubbles, place chicken piece on top of the bubbling rice, cover.


5. Once the rice is cooked, leave it for 10 more minutes before you remove the chicken pieces and stir the rice.


6. Chicken rice is ready to go with cucumber and vinaigrette chilies paste!

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Bamboo Charcoal Walnut Loaf

Black bread? Gosh! It is such a turn-off! Some of the reactions from friends when I first posted my first loaf of Bamboo Charcoal Loaf on my FB page. :lol:

Bamboo Charcoal bread is nothing new especially in Asia. I first tasted it a few years back in KL which I bought from Lavender Bakery in Pavilion. I fell in love with their Bamboo Charcoal Mochi bread instantly! These black gems don't come cheap! If I remember correctly, it cost RM3.40 a piece. It was so yummy that I must have it each time I am in KL.

Do you know that Bamboo Charcoal has some health properties? Though it don't look that appealing but it's functions is definitely what we need! Check it out here if you want to know more about this dark looking ingredient!

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So, my parents will be visiting (that was in March!) and I took the chance to ask them to look for the Bamboo Charcoal powder since I can't find it here in Melbourne. Well, probably I did not look hard enough. I did tried looking online but can't seems to find the food grade ones. Was lucky that a baking supplies shop near my parents' place sells it. It came in a few sizes but mom only bought the smallest bottle thinking I won't be using much. Guess what? I only baked twice and I've already used up half a bottle!

It took me a while before I decided to bake my first loaf and I was glad I did as it was really soft and fluffy and believe or not, the kids love it! I first got a recipe from here but find that it is too small to fit my bread tin so I went to modified the entire recipe and it turned out even better and I have a tall loaf! :D

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Ingredients

• 500 gm Bread flour


• 35 gm Cake flour


• 75 gm Sugar


• ¾ tsp Salt


• 8 gm Instant yeast


• 320 Warm milk


• 2 tsp Bamboo charcoal powder


• 50 gm Butter (room temperature)


• 30 gm Walnuts (break into small pieces)

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Methods

1. Pour warm milk and all dry ingredients into stand mixer bowl and using the hook attachment, knead all ingredient into soft dough on medium speed.


2. Add in butter chunks and let it knead till all butter are absorb into dough which takes about 5-7 minutes.


3. Let it continue to knead in the mixer for a further 5 minutes before you removed it onto a floured surface and knead with hands till smooth and shiny.


4. Flatten the dough and spread the walnut pieces and wrap it up and knead a further 5-7 minutes. Once done, shape the dough into a ball and let it proof in a greased plastic or glass bowl for 1-1.5 hours covered with a piece of wet cloth in a warm place. (Iused my heated oven for this since it is winter here)


5. Once the dough has doubled in size, removed from bowl and onto floured surface and punch the air out.


6. Divide dough into 2 or 3 equal portions. Roll with a rolling pin into a rectangular shape. Fold the right into the centre and press in to seal then fold the left into the centre of the right and seal it by pressing the dough.


7. Using the rolling pin, roll out again and make a roulette before putting into greased baking pan.


8. Spray some water on the surface and let proof for a second time for another hour. Spray again just before you bake it.


9. Bake in pre-heated oven of 200°C for the first 5 minutes and turn down to 160°C for another 25 minutes.


10. Removed from oven and let it cool for a few minutes before you removed it out from the tin and continue to cool on wire rack.

Butter Cake

Everyone loves a few good slices of butter cake once in a while. Though I am not a great fan of butter cakes but I have family members who do. Recently, my uncle came to Melbourne with my parents and knowing I love baking, requested that I bake him some.

It has been a long time since I bake the traditional butter cake. I do have some old recipes but wanted to try something new so I decided to try the famous Mrs SK Ng's butter cake which is quite popular among some baking and cooking forums.

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I adapted the recipe from here.

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Ingredients

A

• 230 gm Pure butter


• 130 gm Castor sugar


• 4 no. Egg yolks (large eggs)


• 200 gm Self raising flour (sifted)


• 60 ml Milk


• 1 tsp Vanilla extract

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B

• 4 no. Egg white


• 50 gm Castor Sugar

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Methods

1. Pre-heat oven to 170ºC with middle rack.


2. Cream butter with sugar till pale and fluffy with a mixer. Add in egg yolks one by one (still using mixer) till all well mixed. Add in vanilla.


3. Slowly fold in sifted flour (the batter tends to be quite dry at this stage but don't worry) using a spatula. When all flour is well combined, add in the milk little by little.


4. In another bowl, beat egg whites till fluffy before adding in the sugar and beat till soft peak.


5. Fold in egg white till well combined. Make sure there is no egg white lumps else there will be air bubbles inside when the cake is baked.


6. Pour in lined cake tin (7" or 8" square tine preferred) and bake for 40-45 minutes or till cake tester comes out clean.