Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls

Baking bread is a kind of therapy i need with the kneading,punching and rolling indeed a stress reliever. I do really enjoy baking my own bread..too tempted with the smell of freshly baked bread fill the every corner of the house. Same feeling goes when i baked this gorgeous looking red velvet cinnamon roll. Unlike ordinary cinnamon roll, this beautiful roll comes in vibrant red as the name suggested. It has all the elements of red velvet..cocoa powder,beet for the tantalizing red and cream cheese frosting.

Instead of using food coluring, i opted to go natural with beet. Healthier option for tummy and definitely a great choice of red dye.  Now u may enjoy your favourite red velvet without guilt. The rolls itself are soft and fluffy with the hint of cinnamon sugar. The kids can't get enough of the creaminess of the rich cream cheese frosting. I personally enjoyed the deliciousness of soft roll with eye catching colur topped with snowy tempting frosting.

Ingredients

4 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup butter,room temperature
1 large egg,room temperature
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 large beet
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1 tsp salt

For The Filling

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon powder
3 tbsp butter,melted
1/4 cup granulated white sugar

For The Frosting

1 1/2 cups cream cheese,room temperature
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter,room temperature
2 tbsp milk

Methods

Preheat oven at 400'F or 200'C. Wrap the beet with aluminium foil and roast for 1 hour till tender. Remove f from oven and let it cool. Remove the skin and cut into cubes.

In a blender, add beet pieces and buttermilk. Grind into a smooth mixture. Keep aside.

Greased a 9x13"inch baking pan. Keep aside.

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water and let it sit for 3-5 minutes or till the yeast foamy.

In a stand mixer bowl, add the cocoa powder,flour,butter,egg,buttermilk mixture,sugar,salt, and the yeast mixture. Beat with low speed till and scraping down the sides of the bowl. The dough should be sticky and springy to a touch.

Lightly dust a clean working surface with flour and knead the dough for about 5 minutes. Shape the dough into a large greased bowl and cover with kitchen towel. Place the bowl in a warm place for about 1 hour.

Transfer the dough onto lightly floured work surface and roll the dough using a rolling pin into 10x15 inch rectangle.

In a bowl combine all tge ingredients listed under "For The Filling" eccept the melted butter.

Brush the melted butter evenly and sprinkle with prepared cinnamon mixture. Tightly roll up the dough and cut into 14 even rolls. Arrange them on the prepared baking tray and cover them with kitchen towel. Let them sit in a warm place for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven at 375'F or 190'C and bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes or till a skewer inserted in a middle of the rolls comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool them on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes.

For The Frosting

In a bowl, combine together the confectioners sugar,cream cheese,vanilla extract and butter till combine. Add the milk and beat for another 1 minute.  Spread the frosting on the rolls.

Serve along a cuppa

Bibingka-Filipino Rice Cake

I had some leftover rice flour sitting in my pantry for the past few weeks. The only thing i can come up are to put it in good use into making some Malaysian kuih or snack for tea time. While scrolling the net, i came across of Bibingka Filipino rice cake. I was drawn to the simplicity of the preparation and could somehow literally savour the beautiful dessert. True enough, it's easy to prepare and absolutely wonderful in flavor. Light and moist in texture with a hint of sweetness this is a must try cake for everyone. You may sprinkle with cheese while the cake is still hot from the oven for variation but, i prefer to stick to the basic for my first trial. Serve along with a hot cup of tea and enjoy the bliss of Bibingka

Ingredients

2 cups rice flour
1/2 cup glutinious rice flour
3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
5 tbsp butter (melted)+ 1 tbsp
1 can coconut milk
Banana leaves (cut into a size fit your muffin tin)
3 tbsp grated coconut

Methods

Preheat oven to 350'F or 180'C. Line the muffin tin with banana leaves.

In a bowl, whisk eggs and sugar. Add melted butter and beat till combined.

In another bowl, combined rice flour,glutinious rice flour,salt and baking powder.

Add the flour mixture into the egg mixture and stir just till the ingredients are well combined. Do not overmixed.

Fill the prepared muffin tin 3/4 full and bake for 15 minutes till golden.

Remove from oven and brush with the remaining 1 tbsp butter.

Transfer to wire rack to cool and sprinkle with grated coconut

Serve along with tea

Turkish Pide

Baking bread has always been my passion. I love home baked bread knowing the hardwork that went into making something from scratch that smells wonderful in the oven. One of those are this lovely baked Turkish famous bread...Pide. Bread are a staple for Middle East just like rice for Asians. Almost all household in Turkey will have their basic Pide recepi hand down from their ancestors. Pide is an unsweetened,soft and fluffy bread serves along with savoury gravy or meat dish. The pungent flavor of nigella seeds and mild flavor of sesame seeds bursting on every bite. The method of baking a beautiful Pide are similar like any other bread but what i enjoyed baking them is the shaping and carving part of it.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 cup lukewarm milk
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp granulated sugar
2 1/2 tsp active yeast
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Topping

1 tsp nigella seeds
1 egg yolk
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp milk
1 tsp vegetable oil

Methods

Line a baking tray with parchment paper slightly dusted with flour. Keep aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine together milk,water,yeast and sugar and stir till yeast completely dissolved.

Add half of the flour,oil and salt. Mix to combine. Add remaining flour amd knead till the dough soft and smooth.

Place the dough in a greased bowl cover with cling form. Rest the dough for an hour on warm place to rise.

Transfer the dough onto a clean working surface dusted with flour. Punch the dough to remove air bubbles.

With your hands, flatten the dough to a round shaped dough. Place the dough onto a prepared baking tray. Use a blund knife to create line along the edges pf the dough. Make a criss cross lines on the surface of the dough. Cover the dough with clean kitchen towel and let it rise for another 30 minutes.

In a small bowl  combine egg yolk,oil and milk. Brush the mixture over the dough and sprinkle with sesame seeds and nigella seeds.

Bake on preheated oveb at 200'F for 22-25 minutes or till golden.

Remove from oven an cool on wire rack.

Slice and serve

Custard Powder Halwa

Making halwa at home, might sounds tricky and requires hard labour but it's not always true. There are few halwa recepis can be prepared in an easy quick method. That's what custard powder halwa is all about. Just like corn flour halwa which i blogged few years ago, custard flour halwa can be prepared in a jiffy without much hassles. The key for any halwa is the constant stirring. That's the art of making a delicious mouth watering halwa. A good halwa shall slide thru your throat at ease that's what my father's idea for a perfect halwa and he was very much happy with this super glossy halwa. The beautiful yellow colur derived from the natural colur of the custard powder. I did not add any kesari or food coluring into them. Don't be taken aback with the amount of the ghee used in the recepi. I guarantee you the more ghee goes into the making, the tastier it will be. Oozing with ghee, loaded with cashews and the flavor of custard do anyone dare to say no to them??


Ingredients

1 cup custard powder
4 cups water
3 cups granulated white sugar
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp ghee
1/3 cup chopped cashews


Methods

Greased a 8"inch pan with ghee and keep aside.

Heat a frying pan and melt the 1 tbsp ghee. Fry the chopped cashews over a medium-low flame till golden. Keep aside.

In a heavy bottomed pan, add custard powder,sugar and water. Stir till till no lumps.

Place the pan over a high heat flame and stir well till the mixture thickened and glossy. Reduce heat to medium.

Gradually add ghee (approximately a couple of tablespoon each time every 2-3 minutes) and keep stirring till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.

Add fried cashews and stir to combine. Now the mixture will start to form a mass ball by leaving all the sides of the pan. It will be super glossy and ghee started to ooze out.

Transfer the halwa into the prepared pan and gently pat with the back of ghe spoon to smooth the surface.

Let the halwa cool completely for 1 -2 hours before slicing.

Braised Brocolli With Button Mushroom

Brocolli has been one of my kids favourite vegetable other than mushroom. That's the reason why i'm always on a look out for recepis that has this two delicious vegetables. On my search, i tumbled into this easy stir fry greens.  I just love the vibrant green of the brocolli...thanks to the blanched technique. Water boiled with salt and oil used to blanched the brocolli florets to retain the green colur of the vegetable. You may use the same technique with other greens too. Shitake mushroom goes very well with the recepi but, i'm using button mushroom here. Lightly seasoned with basic soy sauce the vegetables are tender,crunchy and absolutely appetising.

Ingredients

1 medium brocolli floret
100 gm button mushroom
1/3 tsp salt
1 tsp vegetable oil
1"inch ginger,julienned
1 tsp corn starch
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 cup water

Methods

Boil water and add salt and vegetable oil. Blanched the brocolli florets for 1 minutes. Keep aside.

Blanched the mushroom for 1 minute and transfer to the same plate with the blanched brocolli.

In a bowl, combine oyster sauce,light soy sauce,dark soy sauce and corn starch. Stir well without any clumps. Keep aside.

In a frying pan, add oil and saute the ginger till fragrant. Add the prepared sauce and cook till the sauce thickened.

Pour the sauce over the blanched vegetables and serve immediately.

Creamy Salted Egg Prawns

Dishes with salted egg has become a hit recently and many devour the rich and creamy taste of the vibrant orangy yolk. There were times i boiled the eggs, removed the yolk and mashed them to get it ready for my salted egg dishes. Now it comes ready made in packages for easy use. You may find raw salted eggs in most of the hypermarket ir supermarket in Malaysia, if you are in overseas they can be found in Asian groceries. Dishes stir fry with salted egg has an amazing aroma and finger licking goodness. I used prawn for my recepi today, you may use squid,crab or clams for variations.

Ingredients

300g prawns
5 salted eggs
1 tbsp butter
1/3 cup evaporated milk
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs curry leaves
3 pcs bird eye chillies
Oil for frying

Methods

Deveined the prawns making sure the shells are intact. Trim off the tentatives. Wash the prawns and keep aside.

Wash and boiled the eggs. Separate the boiled yolks and mash them finely.

In a frying pan, add oil for deep frying. Fry the prawn for 1 minute till turns pinkish. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen towel to drain excess oil.

In another pan, melt butter over medium heat and saute the minced garlic till fragrant. Add the curry leaves and saute for 15 seconds.

Add the bird eye chilly and mashed salted egg yolks. Stir to combined.

Add evaporated milk and stir. Cook for 10 seconds and add fried prawns. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Transfer to a serving plate and serve immediately.

Dutch Baby

There are times you feel the urge to prepare something different than usual. I shall say i the same thought when kids asking for pancake for the breakfast. I have tried so many varities of pancakes for them, till i lost count. When request came in for pancake again i was like "oh! Not again" and that's how i stumbled upon Dutch baby aka German pancake. Using the same ingredients like ordinary pancake and what making them unique is the method combining all those ingredients in creating a fluffy, soft and spongy pancake that collapsed the moments they are out of the hot oven. Yes! All those nicely puffed out Dutch baby will shrink after few seconds in front of your own eyes but, that's the beauty of it. Enjoy them hot or warm with dusted sugar,fruit jam,fruit coulis or simply drizzle with honey or maple syrup.

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup milk
4 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
8 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Confectioners sugar, for dusting

Methods

Preheat oven to 425'F or 220'C

In a blender, add milk,sugar,flour,eggs and vanilla extract. Blend into a frothy and smooth batter without no clumps.

Melt butter till bubbly in a 9"inch cast iron pan or skillet. Make sure the butter coats the bottom and sides of the pan.

Pour the batter into the pan and cook for a minute. Do not stir.

Bake the Dutch baby for 15 minutes till it's golden and fluffy.

Remove from oven and dust with confectioners sugar. Serve immediately.


Notes

• Once out from the oven the pancake tend to shrink/collapsed which is normal. 

Fu Chuk And Tang Hoon Soup

A simple soup with an easy base which is sure to keep you warm and refreshing. Dried beancurds and tang hoon can be found in Asian groceries. Allow ample time for the tang goon snd beancurd sticks to soften to avoid additional boiling time. Beancurd sticks and soft tang hoon compliment the broth very well. Light and warm comfort food for the gloomy day.

Ingredients

3 pcs fu chuk/dried beancurd sticks
2 tbsp anchovies, washed
2 tbsp dried prawns,washed
Handful of tang hoon/suhun
700ml water
1/4 tsp light soya sauce
Salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp chopped spring onion

Methods

Soak dried beancurds for 1 hour till soften. Cut into pieces

Soak tang hoon for 15-20 minutes

In a pan, heat oil and saute the anchovies & prawns till fragrant.

Add water and bring it to boil. Add the beancurd and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 6-8 minutes

Add the tanghoon and cook for 5 minutes

Season with light soy sauce. Taste for salt. Add salt if needed.

Transfer to a serving bowl and serve hot

Shamali Cake

When it comes to dessert, i'm a huge fan of celebrity chef Anna Olson and Paul Hollywood. This gorgeous shamali cake is an inspiration from Paul Hollywood's city bakes series on Cyprus's food adventure. I was hooked to the simple recepi and determined to give it a try. My only problem is where to find the mastic? Thank goodness found them in a Middle Eastern grocery. Mastic gum like in texture to enhance the flavor of the cake. Shamali reminds me of Basbousa, a Middle Eastern popular semolina cake. The preparations and ingredients are almost the same. Coarse and grainy texture, enhanced citrus flavor frm the orange infused syrup...Shamali is definitely easy to bake and light to the palette. Credit goes to chef Paul Hollywood for the beautiful recepi.

Ingredients

For The Cake

400g fine semolina
190g castor sugar
2 medium eggs, room temperature
1 tsp mastic
1 tbsp baking powder
170g natural yogurt
120ml sunflower oil
1 tbsp orange zest

For The Syrup

300ml water
250g castor sugar
Juice of an orange
2 tbsp chopped pistachios

Methods

Line a 20cm spring form cake pan with parchment paper.

Preheat oven at 190'C.

In a large bowl, add all the ingredients "For The Cake" and beat with wooden spoon till well combined.

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan and bake for 40 or till a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

For The Syrup

Add all the ingredients listed under "For The Syrup". Boil till sugar dissolved. Simmer the syrup for 3 minutes.

Remove cake from oven and place on the cooling rack. Pour over the hot syrup and sprinkle with chopped pistachios.

Cool the cake for 1 hour and cut into slices.

Stir Fry French Beans With Potato Crunch

Stir fry French beans with potato crush is definitely not your usual stir fry recepi. That's the reason why i gave it a try after watching cooking program by Molly Yeh. I was instantly hooked with the simplicity of the recepi and tons of flavours that goes into making them. What's more? Potato chips to sprinkle over on your vegetable which i hope made me a little guilty everytime getting a bite of it. The recepi calls for Allepo chilly but since, i don't have access to the fiery guy substited with chilly flakes instead which goes well in the recepi. The toasted almond,crushed potato chips,with a hint of chilly over simple stir fry French beans definitely brought it to the next level with a citrusy tang.


Ingredients

250g French beans,washed
1/2 yellow onion,sliced
3 cloves garlic,sliced
1/3 cup crushed potato chips
1/4 almond flakes
1 tsp chilly flakes
1 tbsp sesame seeds
Salt to taste
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp coriander seeds
Pinch of black pepper powder
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp chopped parsley

Methods

Add olive oil in a frying pan over a low heat. Saute the onion and garlic till golden brown. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen towel to drain excess oil. Reserve the garlic onion oil

In a skillet, over a low-medium heat toast almond, coriander seeds and sesame seeds till golden brown. Transfer to a bowl.

In a bowl, combine with potato chips,chilly flakes,fried garlic,onion,black pepper powder and salt.

Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat an saute the French beans with reserved garlic onion oil for 5-6 minutes. Add the lemon juice and zest. Stir to combine. Season with salt and stir. Remove from heat

Pile up on serving plate and sprinkle with prepared potato chips mixture and parsley

Serve hot or warm

Masala Chai

I'm a beverage lover, be it tea or coffee i simply love both. Recently, when i went to Kerala for year end holiday, managed to grabbed few packets of tea and coffee powder. Yes! That's me..whenever i travel to India i always bring back their beverage mixture home. Somehow, i feel India has the best tea and coffee powder especially when brewed with fresh milk. Vagamon in Kerala are known for their vast tea plantations. The lushiest green hills are perfect for a good quality tea. Tea shops are to be found in every hook and nook and they served the best tea. We had countless hot steaming milky cuppa throught our holiday. Since, i love the their tea so much, brought back few packets of their precious tea. Back home i boiled the tea leaves with assorted Indian spices to make a perfect cuppa of masala chai...most probably, one of the famous tea in the world. We all know spices are good or various health reason and most of us loath the taste of spices in our food but when it comes in the form of masala chai, no more refusal. Infused with aromatic spices with strong tea decoction and frothy fresh milk, there's no better way to enjoy your cuppa.



Ingredients

1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tbsp loose tea leaves
2 cups water
1"inch ginger,washed & peeled
1/2" inch cinnamon stick
5-6 pods cardamom
4 cloves
1 star anise
1 1/2 tbsp sugar

Methods

Using a spice grinder, grind cardamom pods,cinnamon stick,star anise and cloves into a fine powder

Using a mortar, crushed the ginger.

Boil water and add ground spices and crushed ginger. Boil for 2  minutes. Add the tea leaves and boil another minute. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer the concoction for 4-5 minutes.

Add milk and sugar. Stir till sugar dissolved. Increase heat and boil for 1 minute.

Using a strainer, strain the tea into a mug.

Serve hot immediately