Cherry Clafoutis

Saw this very interesting cherries recipe from Obachan's Kitchen. Since cherries are in season now, I decided to get some and try out this recipe. In the original recipe, they called for 1kg of cherries, but I only used about 500g and I already think that it's a lot.


As like what she had mention, she soaked her pitted cherries in Sherry. But for my case, I soaked them in Grand Mariner(orange liqueur) to make enhance the cherries favour in a better way.

Overall, this cake is very moist and soft. It had a slightly light almond scent fragrant because of the added almond essence. But for those who is not an almond fan, then I think you should omit it or else you won't like the scent of the cake.

In the recipe itself, it said used 1 cup of milk for the flour batter, but I only used about 1/2 cup because I found that my flour batter is already quite watery. So if you do want to try out this recipe, please add in the milk slowly and stir until an pouring cake batter consistency.

Double Boil Herbal Chicken Essence

For those who had went thru the traditional confinement food, you might have try this Herbal/DOM Chicken Essence before. This soup contains pure chicken juice with herbs and DOM instead of water soup. It's a very "PU(朴)" herbal soup that not only suitable for confinement mum but also can be taken about once a month after the menstruation period.


The way I did my double boil is by placing another pot into the slow-cooker and switch to auto heat to cook. Because I am too lazy to stood by the side on and off to check the heat and water level for normal stove double-boil.

Ingredients: (serve 1 or 2)
I Black Chicken,黑鸡
1 Tablespoon Gou Qizi(枸杞子), reserve 1/2 tablespoon
4 Red Dates(红枣), reserve 2 red dates
1 Slice Of BeiQi(北耆), cut into 3 small pieces
3 Slices Of Dang Gui(当归)
1 Small Stalk Of Dang Shen(当参), cut into small 1"
1 Slice Of Huai Shan(淮山), break into 3 sections
40ml Of DOM Wine(法国廊酒), pour in after cooking 2.5 hrs

Methods:
1. Wash and trim all the fast and skin away from the chicken.
2. Cut into 4 sections and pound finely with the back of the knife. Keep aside.
3. Rinse and drain all the herbs then place it in the middle of the double-boil pot. Use a medium saucer or rice bowl to cover the herbs.
4. Place the pounded chicken pieces over the top of the sauce(refer to the picture above).
5. Lastly sprinkler the reserved qou qizi and red dates on top, covered and place it in the slow cooker.
6. Add enough boiling water to cover almost 3/4 or more of the double-boil pot then cook over low heat for approximately 2.5 hrs then open and drizzle the DOM evenly on the chicken.
7. Continue to cook for another 30 - 45 minutes. Serve immediately.

Notes: You can used either Kampung Chicken or Black Chicken for this soup.

Pumpkin & Ricotta Cheese Pizza

Haha.. Another recipe using Ricotta Cheese..... You bet I love this Homemade Ricotta Cheese so much. It's really easy to make and taste great with all kinds of combination. This Pumpkin & Ricotta Pizza really taste something different from those usual cheese pizza. The texture of the crumb cheese is still visible after baking and it's taste just as good with those pizza filling, especially the sweet pumpkin.


Other than the Pumpkin Ricotta Pizza, I also made the ham, pineapple and Mozzarella Hawaiian pizza. This pizza base was abit different from what I had made before. This one is more thinner and with a very crispy crust.

Ingredients For Pizza Base:(makes 4 small pizza)
1 Teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
160ml(2/3 Cup) Warm Water
1 Teaspoon Of Sugar
270g(2 Cups) Plain Flour
Pinch Of Salt
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Methods:
1. Place the yeast, sugar and water in a bowl and set side until bubbles form.(about 5 - 10 minutes)
2. Add the flour, salt in a big mixing bowl, then slowly add in the yeast water and stir till water used up.
3. Next add in the olive oil and mix to form a dough and knead for about 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic.
4. Place dough in a clean, oiled bowl, cover with cling wrap and allow to stand in a warm place for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Assemble:
Semolina For Dusting
1. Lay non-stick baking paper on the baking tray and dust evenly with some semolina(about half tablespoons).
2. Divide the pizza dough into 4 portion and roll out 2 – 3mm thick and place on the baking paper that dust with semolina.
3. Spread some base sauce and top with desire ingredients and bake in preheat 200 degree oven for about 15 minutes or till golden brown.

Notes:
I tried to use 200g Plain Flour and 70g Bread Flour instead of 270g plain flour from the original recipe.

Recipe from Donna Hay, Modern Classics 1

Assorted Ricotta Crepes

Crepe is a thin pancake, a meal made of wheat popular throughout Europe and elsewhere. The common ingredients include flour, eggs, milk, butter and a pinch of salt. Crepes are usually of two types: sweet crepe made with wheat flour, and savory galettes made with buckwheat flour.

So for dinner, I decided to make both savory and Sweet Crepe using the Ricotta Cheese that I made. For the savory type, I wrapped honey ham with some ricotta and serve with some cherry tomato and avocado slices over some Caesar Dressing. While for the sweet dessert crepes, I used the filling with the mixture of some lemon juice, lemon rind, icing sugar, blueberries and some ricotta. Then I serve it with some melted dark chocolate and icing sugar.



Ingredients For Crepe: (make 8)
1 Cup Plain Flour
2 Medium Eggs
Pinch Of Salt
1 1/2 Cup Buttermilk/Fresh Milk
1 Tablespoon Cooking Oil/Olive Oil

Methods:
1. Lightly whisk the egg in a mixing bowl, then slowly whisk in the buttermilk till combine.
2. Add the salt and slowly add in the flour and whisk till all the flour had used all and the mixture is smooth without any dry ingredients.
3. Add in the oil and stir well.
4. Or you can blend all the ingredients in a food processor till combined.
5. Chill for at least 1 hour or you can prepare up to 1 day ahead.
6. Preheat and grease the pan, then stir the batter a while and scoop about 1/3 cup each time and swirl to fry into a thin crepe.