Baguette Pizza

Me and hubby got a small fight because he disagreed that I had slice the whole baguette in pieces without eating them and also leave them uncovered in a dish while I was out for a moment, therefore I thought of a way to settle all the cut baguette. luckily I had my reminding half jar of tomato spaghetti sauce and some white button mushrooms.

Ok let me share with you this simple baguette pizza :)

Ingredients :

• One long baguette (slice them in half length wise)
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic clove, minced
• 10 baby carrots, slice thin
• 1 stalk celery, slice thin
• 1cup white button mushroom, slice thin
• 1cup tomato pasta sauce or pizza sauce
• Bacon or ham, cut in small pieces
• 1cup shredded mozzarella cheese 
• Italian Herbs to sprinkle 
• Pinch of salt

Method :

1. Preheat oven in 200c
2. Saute garlic in olive oil till slightly golden, add in carrots, celery and continue to saute for 5mins, lastly add in mushrooms and sprinkle salt saute until tender set aside.
3. Placed aluminum foil on a large baking tray and put all slice baguette on it, spread tomato sauce evenly on each baguette, top with cooked mushrooms, celery and carrots, add in ham or bacon, sprinkle Italian herbs and lastly covered mozzerella cheese on each baguette.
4. Bake for 15mins or until cheese are melted and golden.

Raisins Muffins

It was a nice evening after dinner at home with mom and out of a sudden I feel like baking and realize that I have not been baking muffins for quite some time and luckily I still have a packet of chocolate chips and raisins but I had decided to make raisins muffins instead because Scott don't like chocolate chips, he told me last time that he will pick all chips out of those pastries.. haha.

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Self raising flour
• Pinch of salt
• 50g Melt unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup castor sugar
• 100ml fresh milk
• 1 egg
• Raisins a handfull

Method

1. Preheat oven 180c
2. Mix flour, salt and sugar together in a large bowl
3. Add egg and melt butter
4. Add fresh milk and mix altogether
5. bake for 20 to 25mins

Key Lime Pie

Key Lime pie is a very refreshing dessert, is citrus and always served cool, so it really goes well after dinner dessert or tea break in the afternoon :)

This recipe was from Women's Weekly magazine.

preparation 20mins (Exclude 2hours refrigeration time)

Ingredients

• 150g wheat flake biscuits with crumbly texture (I used digestive biscuit)
• 80g unsalted butter, melt
• 4 egg yolks
• 400g sweetened condensed milk
• 1tbsp finely grated lime rind
• 125ml lime juice (fresh)
• 300ml thick whipped cream - optional

Method

1. Preheat oven 180c
2. Crush biscuits until fine, transfer to a bowl, stir in butter then press mixture over base and side of a 23cm pie plate.
3. Place plate in oven and bake for about 10mins or until brown lightly. Cool
4. Beat egg yolks in a small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. On low speed, add condensed milk, grated lime rind and lime juice.
5. Pour the mixture onto crust. Bake for 12mins or until just set. Cool to room temp, then refrigerate until required. Remove pie from from fridge 30mins before serve.
6. Cut into wedges. Serve with whipped cream on top.

Tip : to crush biscuits, place the in a Ziplock bag and pound with a rolling pin.

Fried Nian Gao

Ingredients:

For every 100g nian gao - Buy during Chinese New Year
50g flour
1 egg
a pinch salt
oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Cut the nain gao into ½ cm slices. (I used a knife cut nian gao into thin slices).
2. Mix flour, egg, salt together and mix till smooth batter.
3. Heat oil to about 150°C
4. Dip the nian gao into the batter and fry over medium heat for 1 - 2 minutes until golden.
5. Drain on paper towels.

A little too late for Shortbread?

I had tried to bake some shortbread before christmas last year and it was my 1st attempt and it doesn't turn out too nice, the dough was too soft and after molding all become out of shape, maybe is lack of flour.Nevertheless it wont stop me from trying again, I read some other baking website and realise that it can be also be done by baking the shortbread into a bar type.

So I tried out some Cranberries Shortbread as I still have some Cranberries left at my shelf.

The recipe source was taken from Joyofbaking.com, I personally loves this website because they have detail explanation for each recipe and sometimes the story behind those pastry, interesting :)

Cranberries Shortbread

Recipe

• 2 Cups (260grams) all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 Cup (2 sticks) (226grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 Cup (60 grams) powdered icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Basically shortbread cookies just made with 4 ingredients, Butter, Sugar, Vanilla Extract and Flour.

Steps

1. In a bowl, whisk flour with salt set aside
2. Cream butter until smooth (about 1 min)
3. Add in sugar and beat till smooth, beat in Vanilla then add in flour mixture
4. Flaten dough, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour
5. preheat oven to 180c and bake 8 to 10mins, if in bar shape, bake it for 12mins.

Small Pound cake

This was my first attempt to bake a cake after I bought my oven, so I choose the easiest cake of all, it turn out not bad but texture abit too rough, nevertheless still taste nice :)

Here's a short understanding of Pound cake, The name "Pound" was given to this cake because the original recipes contained one pound each of butter, sugar, eggs and flour.

Slice of this cake can be eaten with dusting sugar or with fresh berries or some whipped cream during tea break.

As my baking tin was a small one, so I had deduct the percentage of the ingredients into half, but I am still generously in adding the butter.

Recipe

• 1 Cup flour (I used Top Flour, prefer cake flour)
• 1 tsps baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup butter - around 80g
• 1/2 cup castor sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Zest orange or lemon (optional)

Steps

• Preheat oven 170c
• Mix butter and sugar together, beat till light and fluffy
• Add in eggs one at the time in butter mixture
• mix well
• Add in sift flour salt and baking powder
• Add in vanilla extract and lemon or Orange
• mix well
• Bake for 50 to 60 mins, insert toothpick and if it's comes out clean.

Cereal Raisin Crunch

This is a typical Chinese New Year Snack, is simple to make and is nice and crunchy.. Traditionally cereal are eat together with milk and also you can add some cut fruits, and now there is a alternative way to eat it, all you need is...

One Big Bowl
500 gm Cereal
80gm Raisins

80gm cranberries (optional)
4 tbsp Honey

15gm Unsalted Butter

Cake paper cases
Toaster

Mix the Honey and Butter together, add in cereal and raisins, once every thing is mix well together, place the mix cereal into the paper case and bring to toast for 4mins.

Finished work :)

Not a normal cake - try it!

Is really a hard time to find a good Millie crepe cake.. I had tried it before at a cafe near Ueno park in Japan Tokyo and I really love it! It totally goes well with a nice cup of coffee :)  So once back home I try to find recipes and check if there's anyone selling Millie crepe in town and happen that I came across this website, LadyM... www.ladymconfections.com  Their Signature cake is the Millie crepe and I thought it will be really nice if I have a chance to go New York and taste it on my own, I hope this is what I am looking for. But unfortunately I still can't find a good one in town...

Lady M Millie Crepe

Japan Millie Crepe :)

Bread making lesson

Is always difficult to enrol for this bread making lesson, they will put you in waiting list for 2months ahead. There are total of 4 lessons from 1pm to 6pm, every Sunday for 4 weeks, you will progress slowly with more complicated kind of bread, donuts and pizza, you will also be awarded with a attendee certificate after completion.
Initially I always think that baking bread from stretch is very difficult because of the recipe must always get it right and accurate, the dough must be just nice, not too soft not too hard.. but I am wrong, is not difficult at all.. is simple then what you think! trust me.. not to denied that you also need constance practice to upkeep your baking skills too. At least for now, I can bake my own bread after attending this course, not very fantastic I can say at least it looks like a bread :) and of cause edible.
I woke up in the morin and prepare my lunch before I took the train to the school. The night before I had prepared my apron and containers to keep the bread, so I don't have to rush the next day. I had a fun afternoon, there are total of 20 students in the kitchen and 4 are sharing a baking table, today we learn to make dough and red bean bun, pork floss bun.. the buns are the same, you only add the desire ingredients to your bun then you will have a total different kinda bread.

fresh baked bun

Red Bean Bun

BaguetteDonuts

Pizza (before)

Pizza (after)

I love to make the pizza most, looks abit out of shape but is really delicious..