baby rambutan

[YIKES! i forgot the atbp. part of this post! check out aling kikay....20 March]
i took a little break from this blog…in fact, to be honest, my blog and i broke up . we’ve since kissed and made up and here are my recent experiments:
blackberry and apple bread:
this recipe has been winking at me “bake me! bake me!” ever since i stumbled upon it and i must say, it’s very easy and delicious, with a brioche-like-bready-hearty crust and Golden Delicious apple and studs of fresh blackberries on top. i told the kids, it’s a fruit pizza. and they really loved it. wonderful for breakfast!


after baking, with streusel topping.
the recipe is from the joy of baking. next time i’m going to use a proper smaller baking pan to get it more cake-like.

special request for this time of the year when we are gifted with bags and bags of fresh oranges:
gulao rou or sweet and sour pork with fresh fruit juice.

this time i added fresh pineapple and red and green sweet peppers. i missed my little sous chef though–he likes to help peel the tiny little shallots– who was at school during the March nor’easter. our school system just never ever cancels school ever! kids come home looking like little snow people.

to think that just this past Wednesday, a full two days before, it was 70F and i wore flip flop tsinelas and we went to the playground and broke out in a sweat.

this is my nod to the St. Patrick’s day celebrations this weekend, a recipe based on Ben O’Donoghue’s, via olive magazine. i’ve seen many recipes for stews enriched by Guinness stout so Sunday dinner was just the perfect time. i added aromatics to the stew (carrot, celery, bella mushrooms) and ahem quite a lot more lashings of sea salt and pepper to the broth. i also skipped the Stilton cheese supposed to be incorporated into the puff pastry crust (to increase the likelihood my children will eat it; their tastebuds aren’t ready for blue cheese yet). nothing leftover–the kids had it with boiled buttered new red potatoes.

recipe follows… (more…)

when i feel like a tightly wound-up coil (cobra?) i like to mix and stir and roll out dough and bake to unwind. after a day of dodging jittery motorists and distracted pedestrians and trips to the pediatrician and schools and a beautiful middle school concert, i decided to bake. but i didn’t want to make Christmas cookies yet, i just really had to try out this new recipe from the New York Times’ dining section, December 13 issue.

we used to enjoy this famous grocery-store brand frozen cheese danish which they sadly discontinued. i read through this recipe and thought, it sounds the same and it looks easy. i’m glad i did try, for the filling is  nearly identical in taste (maybe just missing a bit of transfat badness?).  i was a bit apprehensive at first because it doesn’t call for any rising time for the dough, just resting and chilling times, but it did turn out tender and tasty. i might try neufchatel (light cream cheese) next time, and i might even try for a home-made Danish pastry dough. maybehhh:fryingpan.

(more…)

i finally acted on my obsession–nay, it was a challenge!? me versus me? me versus dough?–, and made croissants.

(more…)

from Baking with Julia, with baker Leslie Mackie.  to use up some of the half bushel of tart apples we picked.  at least the kids love munching on fresh apples, whew.
it’s easy! first make a flaky pastry, chill, then make the apple mush compote, slice even more apples for topping while you melt the butter, then assemble everything. recipes follow!
(more…)

i truly pushed myself to make these for the kids’ breakfast. my baking-with-yeast phobia from numerous failed childhood experiments sometimes prevails but…it’s just that i really detest the long list of (mostly unpronounceable) ingredients in the commercial baked goods from the grocery.

anyway, now i think it is fun to work with dough. this is from Betty Crocker: the recipe yields two 8-inch pans of rolls, one using up the extra honey nut filling from the empanaditas, and the other frosted with a tart-sweet orange icing.

the recipe:

(more…)

whew! i had just finished typing up the post when a blinding earsplitting bolt of lightning zapped our power off, pow! luckily the WP saved the photos i’d just uploaded…:opera: (und ja, ja, i over baked it. bleh.) (more…)

just to give the kids a little treat…i found some beautifully plump blueberries at the farmers’ market. now i myself am not fond of these little gems but my kids are, so i took it as the golden opportunity to make them Beatrice Ojakangas’ coffee cake from her “Great Holiday Baking Book.” (i have prepared this before using raspberry jam and the recipe is here.

sprinkling the blueberries over the cream cheese filling which is on top of a sour cream-based pastry, then topped with a streusel of reserved crumb mixture and sliced almonds, baked at 350F for 50-55 minutes….

hot, just out of the oven!

from Suzanne Goin’s Sunday Suppers at Lucques.

it’s supposed to be made with blackberries but i couldn’t find any. we do have a lovely glut of strawberries everywhere. i tried to follow the recipe to the letter but found it browning too quickly–so made a mental note to lower the temperature next time. also, my loaf pan was not big enough hence the incredible rise! i breathed a sigh of relief that it didn’t overflow into my (newly cleaned!) oven…
i also must say, i made a mistake but i don’t think it is totally my fault. listen cookbook writers! when writing a recipe out, please don’t say 4 eggs when you mean that the 3 eggs are used first, then the 4th egg is for later. a multi-tasking mommy of three gets too harried sometimes and dumps all four eggs into the batter before yelling “yikes!” and realizing the last one’s for brushing over the finished batter. (i solemnly swear to be very aware of this as i type out future recipes to share:yes:)
ok ok i should have read the recipe through ten times first, like i normally would. but it’s summer vacation! my kids are all over the kitchen and house!

first make the strawberry compote:

1 lb. of strawberries, washed, rinsed and dried; hulled and quartered
1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 tsp.vanilla

2 tbsps. brandy (i used cachaca, Brazilian cane sugar liquor, w/c i am currently “testing” ehehem)

1 tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsps. water

caramelize the sugar with 1/3 cup water and vanilla, until it reaches the amber-colored stage. stir in half of the prepared strawberries and the brandy or liquor. the syrup will instantly harden, but leave it on the stove over medium heat 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly until the strawberries release their juices and the sugar dissolves into a syrup. remove from the heat. add the other half of strawberries.

strain the berries over a bowl, and pour the liquid back into the pot. transfer cooked strawberries to the bowl, and stir in the remaining uncooked fruits. bring the berry caramel back to a boil over medium heat, and slowly whisk in the cornstarch solution (“slurry”) a little at a time, stirring constantly until thickened. pour the thickened juices over the berries, and stir to combine well.

for the batter:

2 &1/4 cups plus 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3 extra large eggs

1 cup plus 1 tbsp. sugar

14 tbsps. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 tbsps. dark rum

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

for topping the batter:

1 extra large egg

a sprinkling of sugar

sift the flour and baking powder together. add the salt. whisk 3 eggs together in a large bowl. whisk in the sugar, melted butter, rum, extracts, and orange juice. fold in the dry ingredients and let the batter rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

preheat the oven to 350F. lightly butter a loaf pan. pour three-quarters of the batter into the pan, and spoon 3/4 cup compote over it. top with the remaining batter, letting some of the berries show through.

beat the 4th egg, and brush it over the batter. sprinkle a handful of sugar over the top. bake about 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

let the cake cool completely on a rack. serve as is, or for the next as breakfast, sliced and toasted, buttered, then poured with reserved compote and a plop of heavy cream…

this i recommend for a leisurely planned weekend breakfast/brunch, for when you want to wake up your beloveds with the scent of freshly cooked hot waffles. i always swore by buttermilk recipes, having tried just once with raised (yeasted) waffles but this one from the Boston Globe food section was touted as THE ONE to try…

so i did, and it’s a keeper. (didn’t tell the kids it has beer in the batter.)
i used Dr. Oetker’s instant yeast–the kind that you add to the dry ingredients without need for proofing. so i had to change the procedure. (proof in warm–110F–cup of water first if you have active dry yeast)

this recipe makes 12 waffles but they freeze well! just ask E-g-g-o.

start this the night before you intend to serve.

1 cup water

2 &1/2 cups whole milk

1 cup unsalted butter

2 tsps. instant yeast, such as Dr. Oetker or SAF

1 & 1/2 tsps. salt

2 tsps. sugar

4 cups flour

8 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup brown ale

stir water, milk, butter in saucepan until warmed up to about 110F.

mix yeast, flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. stir in liquid ingredients. (or proof active dry yeast in 1 cup water, mix to dissolve, then let stand for 5 minutes. mix milk and butter in saucepan to warm, then add flour, sugar, salt). cover with plastic wrap and let sit overnight at room temperature.

turn on the waffle iron. set the oven at 200F.

in a bowl, whisk together the eggs, baking soda, and ale. stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix just until all ingredients are incorporated. do not overbeat.

when the iron is hot pour about 3/4 cup batter onto the iron. lower the lid, and cook the waffles for 3-6 minutes or until they are crisp, golden and cooked through.

transfer to a baking sheet, keep warm in the oven until the remaining waffles are cooked.

–original recipe from The Culinary Institute of America Breakfasts and Brunches, tested by the Boston Globe.

serve with whipped cream and sliced strawberries or strawberry jam, or chocolate syrup, or like i did, with mustard and sliced hot dogs, or as thess of eet smakelijk suggested, a scoop of vanilla ice cream.