Thursday 29 March 2012

Soy Milk Beancurd Pudding


Lately there is a soy milk beancurd craze in Munch Ministry facebook page where some of the members shared and upload their homemade beancurd pudding. I really admired those ladies with innovative ideas in creating different types of flavour from the original recipes. And you just can't imagine how easy it is to make your own soy milk pudding with just 3 ingredients.

This type of Soy Milk Beancurd Pudding is different from the traditional soy milk beancurd that we used to purchase from the hawker center, foodcourt or Mr Bean. The recipe below is quite close to the popular "Lao Ban (老伴豆花)" beancurd pudding which has branches located at Old Airport Road and Maxwell Market.


SOY MILK BEANCURD PUDDING


Although there are quite a few version of this beancurd pudding recipes when you do a Google search. But if you want to read up for some information and try out different methods to suit your taste buds, you can read up more details over at Anncoo's "Soya Bean Beancurd Pudding" and  Misstamchiak's "Best Chilled Beancurd Pudding Recipe" where they used instant jelly powder instead of gelatine stated in the recipe shown below.

I have tried a a few combination on this recipe by either omitting the creamer or reduce the amount of gelatine used in order to find a perfect texture that suits our liking. So after a few experiment, we preferred those that is without creamer as we find the taste is already good enough even without the additional creamer. Whereas I also reduce the amount of gelatine from the original 2.5 teaspoons to 2 teaspoons as we prefer a wobbly and melt in mouth texture type of beancurd pudding. So it's all up to individual to twist and swap with the ingredients to make something that suits their preference.


Recipe adapted from Munch Ministry, Soft and Tender Chilled Beancurd, HERE.

(Serves: 2 | Preparation: 5 minutes | Chilling Time: 3 - 4 Hours)

Ingredients:
500ml Vitasoy/Soy Bean Milk
2 Teaspoons of Gelatine Powder
15g of Creamer, optional

Method:-
1. Heat up Vitasoy/Soy bean milk in a saucepan over low heat(do not let it boil).

2. Put gelatine powder in a small bowl, ladle about 50ml of the warm soy milk in it and stir till gelatine powder melt and well mixed.

3. Next pour the gelatine mixture into the remaining warm soy milk, stir stir in creamer if using and let it simmer for another 30 seconds(careful not to let it boil).

4. Off the heat. Let mixture cool off slightly before sieving it into prepared containers to cool completely.

5. Chilled mixture for at least 3 - 4 hours in the fridge before serving.

For other flavour such as:-

Almond ~ Use 15g of Almond Powder - 杏仁粉 (those instant almond powder that used to make almond drink) instead of creamer



BLACK SOY MILK BEANCURD PUDDING
(using YEO's Black Soy Milk)


When compared the above Vitasoy version with this Black Soy Milk Pudding, I personally prefer the taste and texture of the latest as I felt 2 teaspoons of gelatine work well with 500ml of soy milk to give that wobbly and smooth texture that I am looking for.


(Serves: 2 | Preparation: 5 minutes | Chilling Time: 3 - 4 Hours)

Ingredients:
500ml YEO's Black Soy Milk
2 Teaspoons of Gelatine Powder
15g of Creamer

Method:-
~ Refer to the steps above on the "Soy Milk Beancurd Pudding".

So if you are a fan that likes smooth and silky beancurd pudding such as those from "Lao Ban (老伴豆花)" or 51 Soya Bean then perhaps you could gather these easy ingredients to make your own beancurd puddings at home. Cheers!

Thursday 22 March 2012

Blueberry Lemon Butter Cake


Nothing beats a slice of fragrant Butter Cake which is infused with lemon aroma together with bits of bursting blueberries in your mouth. To be honest, among all the different types of tea-cake, I simply adore butter cake especially those that are lightly infused with lemon fragrant.

If you still remember, a few months back I have shared two recipes on these "Lemon Yoghurt Butter Cake" and  "Chocolate Yoghurt Butter Cake" which is a hit for our family and friends. We love both version of the cake despite of either plain or chocolate.

Monday 19 March 2012

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.

Saturday 17 March 2012

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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.

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