Friday 29 July 2011

Happy Birthday, Singapore! - Part I

Today I am very excited to have WaiFong from "Fong's Kitchen Journal" to share with us her National Day Special Cookies as her guest post. I get to know Wai Fong about a year ago through a giveaway event from my blog and since then I always pop-by her blog, drooling over her delicious "Fong's 三菜一汤 - 3-plus-1" that she whipped up for her family. On top of that, she is also one of our regular supporters for the monthly "S$20 Budget Meal" event. So let's put our hands together and welcome WaiFong to share with us her icing cookie recipe as well as thoughts on coming National Day. Enjoy!


Happy Birthday, Singapore!

This is a very special post for me. First, as you can see, I have made some National Day Cookies here as a pre-National Day celebration. Tomorrow, I will be going down to Marina Bay to watch the NDP preview. And I am equally thrilled to be sharing this post with one of my favorite food bloggers, Ellena, at Cuisine Paradise.

With about a week more to our National Day, I decided to make these cookies for my little girl and her pre-school classmates. I zoom in on two colours - red and white, the colours of our National Flag. And, what's better way to pack these cookies than having them in this NDP Fun Box! For those who have attended last year's NDP ("National Day Parade") celebration, you might remember having this Fun Box inside the goodies bag.

I thought this is also a great time for me, as a Singaporean and a young parent, to engage our little ones in some National Education. I design a simple quiz of 20 questions on Singapore, from "what is our National Anthem", " What does the crescent moon on our flag represents" to "Name 5 MRT stations on the East West Line". These questions are printed and glued on small little tags and taped behind each cookie pack. I hope while the children are enjoying the cookies, they will also get to learn something about Singapore.

I used the same cookie recipe as my earlier Valentine's Day cookies. This cookie recipe yields very crispy cookies, but is extremely sticky to work with. If you prefer more manageable cookies, you may want to add a little more flour to it or cut down the butter to 200g.

Ingredients For Cookie dough: (makes about 28 to 30 cookies)
220g butter
100g caster sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla essence
300g plain flour
60g corn flour

Royal icing:
4 tsp meringue powder
4 tbsp water
300g icing sugar
4 tsp lemon juice
Red, black colour gel

Method:
1) Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy (pale white).

2) Add egg yolk and vanilla essence, beat for another minute or two.

3) Sift plain flour and corn flour together. Add into butter mixture and mix well to form a dough

4) Divide dough to 2 portions, cover with clingwrap and rest dough in fridge for an hour.

5) Roll each dough between baking paper and clingwrap to about 2 to 3mm thick.

6) Rest the dough sheet back in fridge for 30 minutes (or 10 minutes in the freezer).

7) Stamp the cookies using cookie cutter and transfer them to a baking tray lined with baking paper.

8) Bake in preheated oven at 175C for 15 to 20 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely on rack before decorating.


Decorating the cookies:

1) Whisk meringue powder and water till foamy.

2) Add icing sugar gradually and continue to whisk till stiff and fluffy.

3) Add lemon juice and whisk for another 2 minutes. Add a little water (1/4 tsp each time) if the icing is too stiff and dry.

4) Divide into portions and mix in desired coloured gel.

5) For each icing colour, save a portion for piping the outlines (i.e. stiff icing); and then add more water (1/4 tsp each time) to get thinner icing consistency for flooding the cookies.




NOTES:


1) Working with red and black colours are the most tricky, as the red and black coloured gels will turn "pink" and "grey" when mixed together with the white icing. You could try preparing the icing a day ahead, as icing color will darken slightly with time (whisk it slightly before using). If you're preparing your icing ahead, do not make it too thin as it tends to be a little diluted the next day. Alternatively, some websites suggested adding a little cocoa powder to darken the shades. I have not tried this method.

2) Transfer the royal icing to piping bag(s) and use immediately. Else, cover the royal icing with cling wrap to prevent it from drying out.

3) I used a piping tip #2 for piping the lines. For flooding, I just cut a small tip off the disposable piping bag.

4) Click here for a detailed explanation on getting the right icing consistency.

5) Let the icing fully set and dry before transferring them to cookie bag. I left them in a air-con room for about 5 hours to set. Some websites recommend leaving them overnight, but I am concern that the cookies might turn soft.


To know more about WaiFong and her blog, you can cross over to this link HERE to find out more about her cooking and baking recipes. Till then have a great weekend and stay tune for PART 2 of our National Day Special post which is done by me.


Happy Birthday, Singapore!

Thursday 28 July 2011

Herbal And Rose Chicken Soup

I tried making this soup a few weeks back when I saw a photo tag of these ingredients in one of my friends, Alice facebook. Immediately it caught my attention because of one of the ingredients; "rose petals" which makes me very curious about the taste of this soup. So without hesitate, I gathered all the necessary ingredients and try it out on the following day and it was very well-received by my family members including my small boy.

As you can see from the ingredients, lily bulbs are used to calm the nerves and easy sleeping difficulty where else lotus seeds strengthen the Heart, Liver, Spleen and Kidneys and also energize the Qi and promote blood cell formation.

Recipe adapted from Joyce Wong

Ingredients: (serves 4)
4 Skinless Chicken Drumsticks
50g Dried Lily Bulbs
50g Lotus Seeds
30g Dried Longan
15g White Fungus, soak till soften
10g Dried Rose Petals
1/4 Dried Tangerine Peel
6 - 8 Medium Red Dates
1.8 Liter Water


Method:-
1. Blanched chicken drumsticks in boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove, rinse and set aside.(for individual preference you could also replace drumsticks with 1 black chicken for better nutrition value)

2. Next put the dried rose petals in stock bag; soak dried tangerine peel in water till soften then scrap out the white pith to avoid bitterness taste when cooked.

3. Bring 1.8 liter of water to boil in a soup pot before adding in all the ingredients.

4. When the mixture comes to boil again, lower the heat and simmer on very low heat for at least an hour or more. Or else transfer the mixture to a slow-cooker and cook on AUTO for at least 3 hours.

5. Season with/without salt to taste, serve it warm.


The adding of Rose Petals act as a health supplement as well as provides a nice fragrance. And if consumed regularly it will also help in blood circulation and ease digestion too. Furthermore some research provides that it also reduces fats, whitening the skin and helps to relive discomforts that arise from menstruation. But most important it can actually helps you to maintain a youthful image. So this soup is a "must keep" recipe for all ladies who wish to maintain a youthful and fairer skin.


Tuesday 26 July 2011

Cotton Bleu - Bistro.Bar.Tapas

The Cotton Family, winner of last year FairPrice Family CookOff Season 1 has fulfill their dream of owning a restaurant whereby they setup a French-style family restaurant known as "Cotton Bleu". Their restaurant is located along Upper Thomson Road with varieties of choices from Appetizer, Main Course to Dessert. Below are some of their dishes that we have tried during the Press Conference of this year, FairPrice Family CookOff Season 2.

FOR APPETIZER:

Marinated Duck wrapped in French Crêpe is one of the finale signature dishes cook up by the Cotton Family, during last year FairPrice Family Cook Off Season 1. The slices of flavorsome duck are wrapped in thin layer of freshly made French Crepe, give it a juicy and smooth combination which is quite different from those popular Asian Peking duck wrapped in pancake wrapper.

Fresh Mozzarella Salad with Tomato, Prosciutto and Oriental Pears in balsamic vinaigrette with Mint serves as a great option for weight watcher as well as customers on vegetarian option. This is indeed a refreshing dish to start off before the main course.

Half Dozen baked Escargots with Fresh herbs, Tomato and Garlic Butter suits those who love the combination of herbs, garlic and butter. The texture of the escargots are nicely done and infused with the aroma from the seasonings. And if you prefer you can even dip the bread roll into the butter herbs sauce which gives it with a great finishing taste .

FOR MAIN COURSE:
Roasted Spring Chicken in Beer and Juniper Berries, on a bed of Tagliatelle is my choice for the day. I love the roasted chicken which is wrapped with a layer of bacon which adds an extra flavour to the moist and tender roast which sits on a bed of tagliatelle.

Grilled Codfish with French Beans in Provencal Sauce taste great with its special tangy Provencal sauce that help to ease out the greasy feel of Cod. But perhaps the french beans can be slightly under cooked to retain it's crunch bites which will be better in taste.

Rosemary Lamb Racks with Pommes au Gratin and Red Kidney Beans might sounds tough if the rack is not properly cooked. But to our surprise the lamb was juicy and tender pairing with an unusual addition of kidney beans that release a sweet flavour when eaten with the lamb. Overall this dish received quite a number of thumbs up for that day too.

FOR DESSERT:
Cotton Bleu FairPrice CookOff Winning Dessert: Floating Icebergs suits those with sweet tooth especially kids. I love the thick and creamy homemade custard base which top with generous scoop of poached egg white and drizzle of caramel sauce which give it 3 different layers of taste and texture. Indeed this is a very special homemade dessert which is pretty easy to make and it will definitely received well comments from most of guest. If you are interested to put your hand in trying out this dessert you can take a look at their recipe at FairPrice CookOff Official website Here.

Accordingly to Herve and Susan(owners of the restaurant), during some of the days or special occasions they do prepared limited set of "Special" menu to surprise their guest. So if you want to find out more about their menu or make any reservation, you can either ring up the restaurant directly or drop-by their official facebook page to check their updates on the daily menu too.

Cotton Bleu - Bistro.Bar.Tapas
205, Upper Thomson Rd
Singapore 574345
Reservation: +65 6252 5525
Facebook Page: Cotton Bleu - Bistro | Bar | Tapas

Opening Hours:
Mon - Fri: 12:00pm - 2:30pm(lunch); 6:00pm - 10:30pm(dinner)
Sat - Sun: 11:30am - 3:00pm (lunch); 5:00pm - 12:00am(dinner)


Monday 25 July 2011

Mixed Berry Cake with Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

As you can see from most of my "bakes" I seldom do cake with frosting because my skill level of frosting is totally unbearable. I can't seems to frost a whole cake evenly with smooth finishing or at least something presentable. But after seeing Celes's mouthwatering "Blueberry Cake with Cheesecake Frosting" photo on twitter and facebook I decided to give her recipe a try.

So with a twist to her recipe, I have made a Mixed Berry Cake together with some Cupcakes frosted with fresh Raspberry Cream Cheese.

Recipe adapted from Celes @ Celestial Delish

Ingredients: (make one 7" size cake and 6 medium cupcakes)
180g Butter, soften
170g Caster Sugar
3 Large Eggs
225g Self Raising Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Vanilla essence
250g Sour Cream
200g Blueberries
125g Raspberries, reserve 1/4 for cream frosting and decoration



Mixed Berry Cupcakes made with half portion of the batter resting on the cooling rack.

Method:-
1. Preheat the oven to 170 degree.

2. Cream butter and sugar for 1 minute, add in flour, baking powder and vanilla and continue to beat for another 2 minutes on low speed until thick and creamy.

3. Next beat in 4 heap tablespoons of sour cream then stir in the mixed-berry using a spatula or wooden spoon till well mixed.

4. Scoop the mixture evenly into a 7" disposal round case and the remaining batter into 6 holes muffins tray line with paper cups liner.

5. Bake the cake for 50 minutes or until skewer insert and comes out clean; OR

* Bake the 6 holes muffins tray batch at 20 minutes or till skewer insert and comes out clean.

6. Cool for cake/cupcake on the cooling rack till completely cold when touch before proceeding to the frosting.


The Original recipe calls only cream cheese, icing sugar and sour cream but in order to make the frosting more colourful and presentable. I added about 10 raspberries into the beaten cream to enhance the taste, texture as well as visual effect to the frosting.

RASPBERRY CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Ingredients:
200g tub Philadelphia cheese
100g icing sugar
Remaining Sour Cream, leftover from the cake batter
10 Raspberry, roughly chopped

Method:-
1. Beat the soft cream cheese with the icing sugar and the remaining soured cream in a bowl until smooth and creamy.

2. Add in chopped raspberries and give it a quick stir or two till mixture is well combined.

3. Spread cheese mixture over the top of the completely cooled cake and scatter with some extra berries on top as decoration. OR

* Spoon a few tablespoons of prepared cream mixture into a pipping bag with a "Wilton 2D" pipping nozzle attached and pipe rose design starting from the middle of the cupcake in clockwise direction.

Mixed Berry Cake with Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting on FoodistaMixed Berry Cake with Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Overall this is a very soft, light and moist cake made with fresh berries that makes you feel irresistible with its fruity flavour cream cheese topping. And according to Celes, these frosted cake can keep well in the fridge for a couple of days. But before serving, it will be best to bring it to room temperature so that the texture will be soft and moist instead of harden and dry due to storing in the fridge.

Lastly I would like to thanks Celes for sharing this wonderful recipe as well as her patience in walking through the steps and sharing of handy tips in the baking process.


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