The Goodness Of Homemade Yoghurt

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From a glance at the supermarket dairy section you would see many different varieties of Yoghurt from either plain to those with fruit flavour and toppings such as jam, nuts and etc. Yoghurt is so wholesome and yet easy to make without any secret in the recipe. So with a foolproof recipe anyone can start making their own yoghurt at home.

Just for a note, the bacteria used to make yogurt are known as "yogurt cultures" and from fermentation of lactose, these bacteria produces lactic acid which acts on milk protein to give yogurt its creamy texture and characteristic.

HOMEMADE YOGHURT

I used to make yoghurt years back when my boy was around 8 months old during the period when he started mashed food and puree. And I still remember his favourite choice are "Yogurt with Peach and Banana" and "Yogurt with Mashed Avocado".

A few months back after a brunch treat over at Sherie's (maameemoomoo a 1/2 food blog) house where she prepared  her yummy Banana Pancakes and irresistible homemade yoghurt(stay tune for her recipe too) for us, I can't held thinking about it till I started making homemade Yoghurt again.

(Serves: 2-3 | Preparation: 15 minutes | Fermentation: 8 - 10 hours)

Ingredients:
500ml Fresh Full Cream Milk
1 Tablespoon Plain Yoghurt with Live Culture

Method:-

1. Heat the milk over low heat, stirring gently until bubbles and steam begin to appear on the surface (82°C), remove from heat.

2. Cool the milk to lukewarm or until your finger can comfortable dip in the milk for a few seconds. (preferably around 42°C)

3. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of the yoghurt cultures in a bowl, add in about 50ml of the lukewarm milk and mix well. Next pour the mixture back into the remaining milk and stir well.

4. Next pour the cultured milk into a clean sterilized glass jar or any non-reactive container and cover the lid on.

5. Lastly set the jar on the counter top in your kitchen and wait for the culture to convert the natural sugar in milk to lactic acid before it turns into yoghurt. The whole process takes about 8 - 10 hours depends on the weather. (I usually make the yoghurt at night and let is set at the counter top overnight and it would be ready in the morning around 7am)

6. Put the jar in the refrigerator immediately to slow down fermentation and as well as firm the texture of the yoghurt. It will last for about 1 - 2 weeks in the fridge.

Note:-

These are some of the plain yoghurts that are available in major supermarkets.

There are so many ways you can enjoy the wholesome goodness of homemade yoghurt such as eating it plain on it's own or drizzle with of Honey or Gula Melaka Syrup to sweeten its taste. If you want something more cafe style or with bits of crunch, you could also add in cut fruits or Muesli like what I did from the photos shown above.

Important Note(s):-

~ Do not add in the live yoghurt cultures if the warm milk is above 42°C or else the heat will killed the live cultures and effect the texture and overall result of the homemade yoghurt.

~ Different brands of plain yoghurt might produce different results so you have to take note and check the labels to ensure they contain yoghurt making bacteria such as Lactobacillus aci-dophilus, Streptococcus thermophilus.

BLUEBERRY COMPOTE

(Preview)

To make something more impressive for your guests, you could served it with some quick fruit compote on the homemade yoghurt. Here is a quick recipe on 5 minutes Blueberry Compote.

Mixed Fruit Cake

Follow from the previous Double Chocolate Banana Cake post, here is the related post on a simple Mixed Fruit Cake which I made especially for Uncle James as he is a big fan of mixed fruit cake. And since I am baking two cakes on the same day using Happy Call Double-sided Pressure Pan (HCP) for demonstration to my aunties; who are all keen in learning how to bake using this new gadget, I have modify the usual traditional fruit cakes recipes to a simplify one.

Compared to the traditional Christmas Mixed Fruit Cake, this one is much easier in term of ingredients preparation and shorter baking time.You can prepared ahead by soaking the mixed fruit with RUM and orange juice the night before to achieve a better flavour or if you are running out of time like me, just make sure you have soaked them at least 10 - 15 minutes.

MIXED FRUIT CAKE

Here I have adapted a similar recipe from the previous Banana Chocolate Cake with Cranberry which I have shared. And instead of using caster sugar, I have replaced it with brown sugar for its natural brown and taste that enhance the appearance and taste of the mixed fruit cake. As for the type of dried fruit you can either purchase those ready-mixed packed available from baking section or you can DIY your own by mixing a few of your favourite fruits such as tangerine peel, apricot, raisin, cherry, ginger and etc together.

(Serves: 30 x 25cm | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 30 minutes)

Ingredients:
225g All-Purpose Flour(plain flour)
170g Brown Sugar
170g Unsalted Butter, room temperature
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Salt
3 Eggs(55g each)
60ml Orange Juice
Rind of 1 Orange
200g Dried Mixed Fruit
2 Tablespoons of RUM/Grand Marnier

Method:-

1. Soak dried mixed fruit with RUM, Orange Juice and Rind for about 10 minutes. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl and set aside.

2. Cream soft butter and brown sugar using a electric beater or hand whisk till pale and creamy.

3. Add one egg at a time, beat till combined before adding in the flour mixture.

4. Using a spatula, fold in sifted flours in 3 batches alternatively with the mixed fruit mixture(add in the liquid as well) till well combined.

5. Slowly scrap mixture into the lightly greased Happy Call Pan(grease 1 teaspoon of oil on both side of the pan using hand or paper towel).

6. Bake on low heat for 12 minutes, slowly shift the pan towards right side so that left side (1/2 of the HCP) of the pan is on the heat, bake for another 6 minutes. Next shift the pan back towards the left side so that right side(1/2 of the HCP) of the pan is on the heat. (the purpose of doing this is to even out the baking as well as give the cake a nice brown colour on the surface when flip over)

7. Lastly, flip the HCP over and bake for another 6 minutes(3 minutes left, 3 minutes right) to have a nice brown top.

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FOR OVEN METHOD:-

1. Follow steps 1 - 4, pour cake batter into a greased 7" square or round tin.

2. Bake in preheated 180° Celsius oven for about 40 - 50 minutes or when a skewer inserted in the center and comes out clean.

BLUEBERRY LEMON BUTTER CAKE

(Preview)

This is another snack preview of my HCP bake cake; Blueberry Lemon Butter Cake made using fresh blueberry. Simply love this light and fluffy lemon taste cake with my favourite blueberry in it. Will update more on the related recipe soon. Stay tune.

CP Ready Meals In 5 Minutes

Even though I might appear to be cooking often over at my recipe blog, I do have time where I just wanted to have some quick and easy meal while enjoying ME TIME watching my favourite TV programs or etc. Hence in order to have some ready meals that resemble home-style cooking, often I would pick up a few varieties of CP Ready Meal from the supermarkets.

As we know, CP ready Meal is with no preservatives added and they are ready for consumption just by simply popping the package into the microwave and cook for about 4 - 5 minutes. So for a chance from the usual hawker food, sometime we do enjoy having this quick dish especially during raining day or supper time.

CP READY MEALS

This is the new CP Chicken Green Curry With Rice which Thai food lover can now enjoy their favourite green curry anytime of the day with minimal fuss. This dish is prepared in an authentic home-cooked style with generous chunks of tender chicken meat, eggplants and fragrant Jasmine rice.

Although this "ready meal" cannot be compared with served in Thai restaurant but for the retail price at S$4.50, this could be something that you would like to stock-up in freezer for a hearty quick lunch/supper.

(Serves: 1 | Preparation: 30 seconds | Cooking: 4-5 minutes)

Cooking Instructions:
1. Remove the outer wrapper before reheating.

2. Using a fork, pierce the clear film on the food container for 3 - 4 times.

3. Cook in microwave for 3.5 minutes at 1,300 watt or 5 minutes at 800 watt.

Note:-

~ You do not need to defrost item before cooking.

If you prefer noodles than rice, perhaps you can try their hearty spaghetti. CP Spaghetti with Chicken Sauce will satisfy your palate with delicious al dente spaghetti enriched with flavorsome tomato-based sauce which includes lean minced chicken. I love the way it separate the sauce and noodles so as the texture of the noodles would not be affected by the sauce and we also can mix in the sauce base on our preference.

Other than this two new products mentioned above, there is also "Teriyaki Chicken with Rice" and "Stir-fried Chicken and Basil with Rice" all available at major supermarkets, Cheers or 7-11 outlets.

{Lunchbox} Aglio e Olio and Homemade Teriyaki Chicken

Since this week is the March School Holiday break, I have more control over the timing and presentation while preparing our lunch menu. Here we have something different from our usual school day lunch where I spent an extra 15 minutes plating up the dish in cute lunchbox with appealing decorations.

I think most of the kids might not like green vegetables, sweetcorn or even root vegetables such as carrot or onion. So in order to get kid's enjoy their meal, as a parent we can make something appealing for their eyes using simple tools and decorations. With a flower food cutter and cute food picks I managed to come out with this quick and simple lunchbox which I am sure even the adults can't resists having some for themselves too.

Caramel Chicken with Potato

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This Caramel Chicken with Potato dish is one of our family all-time favourite. It was infused with sweet and savory taste from the sauce and it's definitely perfect for a one dish meal. I was first introduce to this dish by one of my neighbour, Tarron during my stay in Brisbane many years back.

Instead of using sugar which is normal called in most Caramel Chicken recipe, here we are using Sweet Soy Sauce which is also known as "Kecap Manis" to sweeten the dish as well as giving it an unique fragrant and taste.

CARAMEL CHICKEN WITH POTATO

Although this dish might not look good as it is due to it's colour but I can assured you that you would love it's delicious sauce and taste which makes you having at least 2 bowl of rice to go with this dish.

(Serves: 4 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 20 minutes)

Ingredients:
1/2 Portion of Chicken(600g), cut into bite size pieces
1.5 Tablespoons Sesame/Cooking Oil
2 Medium Potato, peeled and cut into thick strips
2 Stalks of Spring Onion, cut into sections
1 Medium Red Onion, thinly sliced
4 Slices Ginger, thinly sliced
2 Garlic Cloves, lightly pound
2-3 Dried Chilli, optional
1 - 1.5 Tablespoon Sweet Soy Sauce(Kecap Manis)
1 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
Steamed Rice, to serve

Method:-

1. Trim and clean the chicken, pat dry and marinated it with 1 teaspoon of cornflour, light and dark soy sauce, ground pepper for at least 15 minutes before cooking time.

2. Lightly coat the potato strips with some cornflour and fry it with 1 teaspoon of oil till slightly golden brown, remove and set aside.

3. Heat up 1.5 tablespoons of sesame oil over medium low heat, saute ginger, garlic, onion, spring onion and dried chilli(soak in hot water to soften, remove seeds before use) till fragrant.

4. Add in chicken pieces and stir-fry until slightly golden in colour, stir in sweet and light soy sauce, return potatoes into pan, covered and cook for about 8 minutes with Happy Call Pan(pan locked) or until chicken is cooked through.

5. Check the taste and add extra sweet/light soy sauce according to your preference. Cook, stirring, for another 1 minute or until sauce thickens. Serve with steamed rice.

Note:-

~ You can use 4 chicken Maryland/breast meat for this recipe instead of 1/2 portion of chicken.

~ If you don't have dried chilli, you can replace it with red capsicum or red chilli.

Other than this Caramel Chicken dish, I have another similar dish using Sweet Soy Sauce(Kecap Manis) which is known as "Kaffir Lime Leave Chicken". You can read more about this post and it's recipe HERE.

{Photo Friday} Homemade Banana Fritters

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I fell in love with this Banana Fritters during one of my brunch invite over at Maameemoomoo's place.  Indeed Sherie is a fabulous cook plus baker who can turn simple ingredients into restaurant standard and styling food. And if you remember she is also the one who inspired and taught me quick and simple method on making homemade bread. (you can read more on my homemade bread ideas and recipes HERE)

You cannot imagine how delicious these fluffy banana treat taste like until you sank your teeth into one of these. I still remember vividly that I had about 5 pieces of these over at Sherie's place. It's simple so irresistible with the extra honey, butter and banana slices. And both of us agreed that these banana fritters taste quite similar to Kueh Kodok (Deep-Fried Banana Balls)

HOMEMADE BANANA FRITTERS

Finally, Sherie posted her recipe last week and now I am able to make this yummy treat on my own whenever I have some extra banana in the pantry. Moreover this recipe also makes a great idea as snack anytime of the day.

Recipe adapted from Sherie of Maameemoomoo, HERE.

(Serves: 2-3 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 20 minutes)

Ingredients:
150g Plain Flour
1.5 Teaspoon Baking Powder
60g Brown Sugar
125ml Buttermilk
1 eggs
2 Ripe Bananas, mashed

Toppings:
2 Ripe Banana, sliced lengthways
Unsalted Butter
Honey
Fresh Berries, optional

You can refer the steps on making these yummy banana fritters from Sherie's post HERE.

OUR FAVOURITE BANANA RECIPES

Banana and Oreo Muffin	Blueberry Banana Jam	Double Chocolate Banana Cake

Have a great weekend everyone!

My First Brioche

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Brioche is made using similar method as compared to bread doughs. It is make from enriched French pastry with high egg and butter content that give it a rich and tender crumb. The texture is "light and slightly puffy" with a dark, golden and flaky crust achieved from the egg wash applied after proofing.

Although I have seen and read up different brioche recipes from baking books but it has never trigger me to work on it until I saw how easy Bryan Wong made his brioche on last Wednesday, Knock ! Knock ! who's there? (Episode 10) cooking variety show.

MY FIRST BRIOCHE

Since I cannot find any related recipe that Byran (on episode 10) used, I decided to Google the most suitable and foolproof recipe to try it myself. So from the lists that I searched, I finally set my eyes on this Quick Brioche Braid by Nick Malgieri from his book The Modern Baker.

This recipe is done using a food processor and the steps are quite easy to follow plus it's bonus point is; it required zero to a few kneading of the dough depending on it's texture and weather. So if you like crusty bread with soft and buttery texture, this brioche recipe is  definitely to be added to your "Must-do-list". And for those who do not have a food processor, you can use a heavy duty mixer with dough hook attached for this recipe too.

Recipe adapted from The Modern Baker, Quick Brioche Braid.

(Make: 2 Standard Loaf | Preparation: 10 mins | Waiting: 1.5 hours | Baking: 20 mins)

Ingredients:
1/4 Cup(60 ml) Lukewarm(43°C) Milk
1 1/2 Cup Unbleach Plain Flour
1 1/4 Teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
56g Cold Unsalted Butter, cut into small cubes
28g Caster Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Large Egg
1 Egg Yolk

Egg Wash:
1 Egg + Pinch of Salt, lightly beaten

Method:-

1. Pour lukewarm(43°C) milk in a bowl and whisk in yeast till well-mixed. Next with a whisk stir in 1/2 cup of flour till it became a sticky dough.

2. Loosely cover the bowl with cling wrap and set aside until the dough slightly risen (about 20 minutes).

3. In a food processor fitted with dough blade, add in butter cubes, sugar, salt, egg and extra yolk.

4. Pulse the mixture until butter is finely chopped and well mixed throughout the mixture.

5. Scrape yeast mixture into the food processor and pulse about 5 - 6 times to till well mixed.

6. Add 1/2 cup of flour and pulse till the mixture is smooth(refer to the photo above).

7. Scrape down mixture in the bowl, add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour and pulse again until the mixture is well blended. Rest dough in food processor for about 10 minutes.

8. Start the processor and let it run continuously for 10 seconds till dough leaves the side of the processor.

9. Turn dough out on floured surface and give it a quick knead. Divide dough into half portion to make 2 loves of brioche.

10. Cut each dough into 3 equal pieces and roll each pieces into a thick rope (if the dough is too sticky, keep in the fridge for 20 minutes before plaiting).

11. Line baking tray with greaseproof paper, plait the dough and shown above and let it rise till dough in size (about 60 - 90 minutes, depending on the weather and room temperature)

12. Just before baking, lightly brush the dough with egg wash and bake in preheated 180°C oven for about 20 - 30 minutes(i bake mine for 22 minutes) or till golden and glossy in colour. Cool bread before slicing.

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For ME: I ate it with some Orange Marmalade where the tangy taste of the marmalade blends well with the rich buttery pastry. 

For My Boy: He loves his Brioche with his favourite Nutella and since he has set his heart for this he don't even agreed to share the very last slice of the loaf  with anyone of us.

For FRIENDS: I have packed a few slices in each bags to share with friends on what's our new love for this month. Thankfully for those who tried loves these brioche to bits.

Double Chocolate Banana Cake

Continue from my previous post on the Banana Chocolate Cake With Cranberry this double chocolate version is definitely with excitement! I made this Double Chocolate Banana Cake because it consists two of my boy's favourite ingredients which are "Banana" and "Dark Chocolate" and they definitely pairs well. If you want to impress your guests with something rich, soft and moist and quick for afternoon tea perhaps you can try baking this using either oven method or my super Happy Call Pan!

Banana Chocolate Cake With Cranberry

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Banana Cake is always an old-fashioned family favourite when comes to tea-time or gatherings. I love it's unique fragrant release from the cake that kept lingering in your mouth after eating as well it also contribute extra points to the texture of the cake.

We also have quite a few of our favourite banana cake recipes such as "Banana And Oreo Muffin ", "Spongy Banana Cake" and "Cranberry And Banana Walnut Cake" which you might be interested to take a look too. 

BANANA CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CRANBERRY

(using Happy Call Pan)

After the two cake recipes that I have tested using Happy Call Pan(HCP), I decided to try whether I could apply normal cake recipe using this pan instead of oven. So I made this Banana Chocolate Cake with Cranberry which inspired from the latest banana cake recipe(HERE) that I have shared a few weeks back. Although the cake did not rise as high as what I expected compared to oven bake but the overall texture and taste of this cake is very well-received. Many who tried (during the blind taste test) didn't even realise that this cake is actually bake using HCP instead of oven.

(Makes: 30 x 25cm | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 30 minutes)

Ingredients:
225g All-Purpose Flour(plain flour)
170g Unsalted Butter, room temperature
170g Caster Sugar
2 Eggs(55g each)
2 Large Ripe Banana, mashed
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Salt
30ml of Milk
100g Dark Chocolate, chopped
60g Dried Cranberry
2 Tablespoons of RUM
1 Extra Banana for topping, optional

Method:-

1. Soak Cranberry(roughly chopped) with 2 Tablespoons of RUM for about 10 minutes. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl and set aside.

2. Cream soft butter and caster sugar using a electric beater or hand whisk till pale and creamy.

3. Add one egg at a time together with vanilla extract, beat till combined before stirring in the mashed banana and cranberry mixture. Mix well.

4. Using a spatula, fold in sifted flours in 3 batches alternatively with milk till well combined. Lastly stir in the chopped chocolate.

5. Slowly scrap mixture into the lightly greased Happy Call Pan(grease 1 teaspoon of oil on both side of the pan using hand or paper towel). You can also add some banana slices on top of the batter before baking to enhance the look and taste.

6. Bake on low heat for 12 minutes, slowly shift the pan towards right side so that left side (1/2 of the HCP) of the pan is on the heat, bake for another 6 minutes. Next shift the pan back towards the left side so that right side(1/2 of the HCP) of the pan is on the heat. (the purpose of doing this is to even out the baking as well as give the cake a nice brown colour on the surface when flip over)

7. Lastly, flip the HCP over and bake for another 6 minutes(3 minutes left, 3 minutes right) to have a nice brown top.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FOR OVEN METHOD:-
1. Follow steps 1 - 4, pour cake batter into a greased 7" square or round tin.

2. Bake in preheated 180° Celsius oven for about 40 - 50 minutes or when a skewer inserted in the center and comes out clean.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BANANA CAKE

(Preview)

Lastly here is a snack preview of the Double Chocolate Banana Cake made using similar recipe above with a slight twist.Will update more recipes on my HCP bakes and dishes soon. Stay tune.