Halloween 2008

After a successful & fun Halloween party last year, I organized another one this year with a Black & Orange theme.
Will let the pix below do the talking now!

The Invitation Card

The Menu

The Pumpkin Adults & Kids

The Spread

Dried Longan Steamed Cake

Dried Longan Steamed Cake

What U need:

• 4 Eggs
• 80g Brown sugar
• 150g Flour – sifted with 1 tsp of double action baking powder
• 3 tbsp Corn oil
• 100g Dried longans – soaked in ½ cup rice wine & ¼ tsp salt for 1hr & save the wine for use later

Method:

1. Whisk eggs till doubled in size.
2. Add brown sugar slowly & beat till stiff.
3. Add flour to eggs mixture & mix well.
4. Add corn oil & stir till mixed.
5. Add dried longans & 1 tbsp wine & stir well.
6. Pour batter into lined cups & steam at high heat for 15mins or until cooked, when tested with a skewer, it comes out clean.

Note:

• This recipe can be baked as well, just pop them into a 180°C oven for 20-25mins.

Coconut Macaroons

These sweet & fragrant gems must be eaten still warm from the oven.
U'll love the crispy exterior & soft chewy interior.
A pleasurable indulgent indeed…

Coconut Macaroons

What U need:

• 2 large Egg whites
• 100g Sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 30g Ground almond
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 250g Shredded coconut - sweetened
• 30g Flour

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170 °C and line tray with baking paper.
2. Place a stainless steel bowl, over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and salt.
3. When the mixture is warm to the touch, remove from heat and stir in the ground almond, vanilla extract, shredded coconut & flour.
4. Cover and refrigerate for about one hour or until firm.
5. Place small mounds (about 1 tablespoon) of the dough on the baking paper, spacing several inches apart.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes before consuming or cool them completely before storing in an air tight box for up to a week.
   
   
   

The Ultimate Banoffee Pie

Banoffee pie, a name derived from the combination of bananas & toffee.
It’s an English dessert made from condensed milk, bananas and cream set on a biscuit base or pastry crust.

I have eaten it once when I was in London and it did not take my fancy then.
Yet, I made 2 today; cuz girlfriend’s back from her 4 years stint in the UK & she is dying for some.
Girlfriend had been bugging me for weeks to fulfill her cravings.
I finally succumbed to her pleadings in exchange for a bottle of Rose essential oil from her very protected collection (as I am writing this, my room is filled with the heavenly aroma of sweet rose…..bliss!!!).

The recipe I attempted is not by the traditional method, cuz the traditional way, *at least to me*, sounded like a very scary process from what I read while searching for the recipe.
It involved boiling unopened cans of condensed milk in a pot of water for at least 3-4 hours and explosions may occur if one is not careful in monitoring the water level, once the water evaporates, I think U can imagine the scenario *ka-boom*.
Not a pretty sight & if human traffic is around the vicinity, need I say more???
Me being the ever cautious one (read Kia Si), definitely have no guts to undertake this.
The version I made is way easier, fuss free & ridiculously easy to make, see recipe below.

Anyhow, I sliced a piece of the pie to snap a pix for this entry & elf became the happy recipient of it .
The boy was all thumbs up & full of praise, well, anything sweet goes for him.
I took only a tinny weenie bite from his share & I surrendered.
*Too sweet, waay toooo, toooo sweet*.

Girlfriend had a huge slab & took one whole pie home, that's to be devoured at the comfort of her home slowly (I doubt it!!!).
Left with another half, I sent it next door & to my surprise, thy neighbors enjoyed it too.

I think for this dessert, U either love or hate it…..I chose the latter. Try making one soon & let me know, which side U're on.

Banoffee Pie
(Source: Nestlé)

Ingredients:

For the base:

• 100g Butter - melted
• 250g Digestive biscuits

For the caramel:

• 100g Butter
• 100g Dark brown soft sugar
• 397g can Carnation Condensed Milk

Topping:

• 4 small bananas
• 284ml Double cream - lightly whipped
• Cocoa powder - for dusting

You will also need:

• 20cm (8”) loose-bottomed cake tin, greased and based lined

Method:

To make the base:

1. Process the biscuits until like fine crumbs then tip into a bowl.
2. Stir in the melted butter.
3. Press the mixture into the base and 4cm (1½in) up the sides of the tin.
4. Chill the base while you make the filling.

To make the filling:

1. Place the butter and sugar into a non-stick saucepan over a low heat, stirring until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.
2. Add the condensed milk and bring gently to the boil, stirring continuously to make the caramel (10-15 mins).
3. As soon as it thickens, remove from the heat.
4. Spread the filling over the biscuit base, cool, and then leave to chill for about 1 hour, until firm.

To serve:

1. Remove the pie from the tin and place on a serving plate.
2. Slice the bananas; fold half of them into the softly whipped cream and spoon over the toffee base.
3. Decorate with the remaining bananas and dust liberally with the cocoa.

Spring Rolls

Its spring rolls for dinner tonight.
This is something I usually prepare whenever I am sick of having rice & noods.
And the best part, its oven baked, no oily kitchen @ the end of the day.

All U need are spring roll wrappers & whatever U have in your fridge.
Do a simple stir-fry & bake them in a moderate high oven for 20 mins or till they achieve a golden hue.
I would recommend using wrappers made with eggs.
The normal white sheets tend to harden immediately after their hot sauna.
It’s like biting into rubber…..not a good sign right!

The ingredients I used today are: (In the order as the above pix)

• Wong bok - cut in to small pieces
• Dried mushroom - soaked till soft & julienned
• Enoki mushrooms - washed & seperated into smaller strips
• Diced chicken - marinated with Japanese soy, sesame oil & white pepper
• Onions - julienned
• Bean sprouts - tails off
• Water chestnuts - julienned (must add - for the crunch)
• Coriander - chopped finely
• Garlic - minced
• I forgot the carrots this time…so no splashes of orangey red in the rolls

Condiments: (Pls gauge them yourself)

• Chicken seasoning powder
• Oyster sauce
• Sugar
• White pepper
• Chinese cooking wine

How to:

1. Start off with a hot, hot wok. Swill the whole wok with oil & let the heat build up.
2. Fry the garlic for a few mins & add onions, cook the onions till soft. Then add the chicken seasoning powder to flavour the onions.
3. Add the chicken & fry for a couple of mins till chicken meat turned white.
4. Dried mushrooms next and stir a while.
5. Followed by wong bok, then add the oyster sauce, sugar & white pepper…allow everything to simmer for a few minutes until the wong bok are cooked but not mushy.
6. Add the bean sprouts, enoki mushrooms & water chestnuts….stir for a few minutes till everything are well mixed.
7. As for the Chinese cooking wine, pour in along the edge of the wok…(around twice).
8. A final stir & the ingredients are ready.
9. U will find a lot of broth, *here’s the hardest step*, U gotta sieve it.
   Allow the broth to drain & the ingredients to cool slightly before rolling them. Mix in the coriander just before wrapping.
10. Pop them in the oven & dinner’s ready in 20 mins.

Coconut Swiss Roll

Was in an experimenting mood this morning & I picked this recipe to try.
The main reason is my love for anything made with coconut.

This is a relatively straight forward recipe similar to all other swiss rolls with only one exception, that’s the use of egg whites instead of whole eggs.

I did have a little difficulty when spreading the mixture on to the baking tin.
Well, if U know egg whites, U’ll know that after beating them to a stiff peak, they are not easily tamed.
It was quite hard smoothing them nice & flat on the tin.
Resulting uneven surface upon baking.
Nevertheless, the cake is soft & airy, just a little lacking in the looks department.

Coconut Swiss Roll
(Adapted from Elegant Swiss Roll by Kevin Chai)

What U need:

• 8 Egg whites
• ½ tsp Cream of tartar
• 100g Sugar
• 50g Flour
• 30g SR-flour
• 10g Coconut powder
• 150g Butter cream
• 50g Sweetened shredded coconut

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C, grease a 10x14 inch baking tin & line with baking paper.
2. Beat egg whites on high together with cream of tartar till soft peaks form.
3. Add sugar gradually & beat till all sugar are dissolved & mixture form stiff peaks.
4. Fold in flours & coconut powder.
5. Spread mixture onto tin & bake for 8 mins. Leave to cool.
6. Turn cake onto a paper & spread butter cream evenly.
7. Roll the cake into a log.
8. Spread some butter cream on the top portion of the roll & scatter shredded coconut for decoration.
9. Slice & serve.

Pineapple Butter Cake

Early this morning, I received a call from a friend living close by.
She asked me to help bake a butter cake as she needed one for her daughter’s play date in the afternoon. She was far too busy to bake one herself as she has tons of stuff to do at home.

Naturally, I was more than delighted to help.

I mixed chopped pineapple to the batter, just to add some texture and Oh! how I love the outcome of the sliced pineapple I placed on top.

The cake was ready & boxed to go by 2pm…right on time.

Butter Cake

What U need:

• 250 g Butter
• 210 g Sugar
• 6 Eggs
• 1tsp Vanilla extract
• 1tsp Lemon oil – (optional)
• ¾ cup Heavy cream
• 300 g Self raising flour

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease and flour a 8 inch pan.
2. Cream butter and sugar until white & fluffy.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, until combined.
4. Add the vanilla, lemon oil & cream and beat well.
5. Fold in flour & mix well.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan & only fill half the pan not more (if U have extra batter, bake them into cupcakes).
7. Bake for 1 hour or until center springs back from small amount of pressure.
8. Stand cake for 5 mins in pan & then turn onto cake rack to cool.

Variations:

• Almond cake – Add 200g ground almonds & ½ tsp almond essence.
• Fruit cake – Add 170g mixed fruit, 30g sultanas, 100g slivered almonds & ½ tsp almond essence.
• Pineapple cake – Add 250g chopped & drained canned pineapple.