Exchange program at UCLA June 20, 2006
Posted by thelazychef in Uncategorized.add a comment
Hello my dears…
I'm going away tmr, to the States for a 6 weeks Summer Exchange Program at UCLA. Doubt I'll have any chance to bake while I'm there… But I'll be cooking for my group of friends though, so I'll post up any recipes that I've tried and are nice. But yes, unfortunately, I'll miss my oven lots when I'm away!
I've been busy packing and getting ready for my trip, sorry I've not been updating as regularly! I may not be able to blog as much when I'm the States too, but I'll update as often as I can!
So, till I blog again, eat lots of local Singapore food for me!!! 
(PS: You can check out my 'adventures in US' in my personal blog… I'll be posting many pics, so hop over there when you're free!)
Blueberry Baby Cakes June 7, 2006
Posted by thelazychef in Muffins, Cupcakes and Scones.6 comments
Ooo…
Baby cakes…
The sound of it just sounds so cute doesn't it?
Okok, they are just cupcakes with a cuter name… Hehehehe…
I got this recipe from Gina from KC…Her version was made of cranberries but I had a pack of dried blueberries and decided to have a blueberry one instead…
This recipe uses a tub of natural yogurt, making it moist and soft.
Once again, I cut the sugar down cos my mum doesn't like cakes to be too sweet…
Overall, I like the texture… it was fluffy and had a nice crust when it was eaten warm. (I baked it yesterday night… I just had one for breakfast this morn… the crust is no longer there but the smell of the muffin is sweeter and more fragrant!)
The sweetness complemented the slight sourness of the blueberries. So overall, it was a good recipe. Would definately try the cranberry version soon… 
Makes 24 baby cakes
Ingredients:
110g butter
200g castor sugar(I reduced this to 180g)
200g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
100g dried blueberries
200ml plain white yoghurt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
What to do!
1. In a small bowl, add yoghurt and blueberries to mix together.
2. Let it stand for 30 mins(room temperature).
3. In a cake mixer bowl, add butter and sugar to beat till creamy.
4. Add eggs, 1 at a time to mix.
5. Add vanilla essence to mix.
6. Turn off cake mixer.
7. Add blueberry yoghurt mixture and mix with a spoon till evenly mixed.
8. Fold in sifted flour/baking powder till well blended.
9. Put paper cups into muffin tray.
10. Spoon mix into each cup.
11. Baked in preheated oven 180C for 20 mins till golden brown.
12. Serve warm.
Enjoy!
Kai Chai Pang June 3, 2006
Posted by thelazychef in Cookies.9 comments
Made this last night…
Its also called Chicken Kampar Biscuits… BUT BUT BUT… there are no traces of chicken in it! hahaha…
For those who don't know, this biscuit originated from Kampar in Perak, Malaysia. It's original recipe has lard in it! Yes! Very unhealthy!
This recipe that I tried is adapted from Amy Beh's version of this crispy savoury biscuit.
Its easy to do because all you need to do it to mix everything up and you can do it all in one bowl!
And yes, its much healthier than the original one cos it has no animal fat in it!
Ingredients:
300g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 ammonia powder/baking ammonia
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp five spice powder
1 tbsp icing sugar
60g sesame seed
100g candied wintermelon(chopped finely)
1/2 tbsp garlic(minced very finely)
30g cooking oil
2 pieces nam yue(red fermented beancurd)
1 egg(lightly beaten)
30g maltose(mai tang)
What to do:
1. Preheat oven to 160 degree C. Line baking trays with parchment paper because the cookies will stick to the baking pan.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients and mix well.
3. Mash the nam yue and combine this and all the other wet ingredients together with the dry ones.
4. Mix and knead gently into a soft dough.
5. Roll dough into small marble size pieces.
6. Place each marble sized dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper and flatten with rolling pin.
7. Transfer to baking tray and bake for 15-25 min or till golden brown and crispy(time taken depends on how thick and big your biscuit is).
8. Cool on wire rack and store in an airtight container.
Notes:
1. I added 2 1/2 pieces of nam yue because I read up from the other ladies in KC that the original recipe called for 1 piece and it wasn't enough.
2. I used 1 1/2 eggs to combine the dry and wet mixture because it seemed far too dry when i used 1 egg. You can judge for yourself on how dry/wet the dough is and if you need more egg…
3. I did a research on ammonia powder since I didn't have it in my kitchen and didn't want to buy it just for this recipe… ammonia powder was very popular in the olden days. It yield a very light , airy product, but can impart an ammonia flavour to baked goods, though this can be prevented if the cookies are thin and allows the ammonia smell to evaporate. It is best used in cookies which are flat enough to allow the ammonia to dissipate during cooking because ammonia is heat activated.
You may substitute one teaspoon of ammonia powder = one teaspoon of baking soda PLUS one teaspoon of baking powder.
You will not get the exact same texture using ammonia powder but its good enough…
