recipes

CANDIED ORANGE – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie


Ingredients:

  • 200g (2/3 + 1/4 Cups) Caster Sugar
  • 133ml (1/2 Cup + 1 TBSP) Water
  • 1 Orange (I used Navel Orange)

METHOD:

  1. Wash & dry the orange.
  2. Slice into thin 4 mm or so slices with a large, sharp knife from stem end to end.
  3. You could also do them in halves by slicing the orange in half to a dome shape, then just thinly slice each half.
  4. Bring the water and sugar to boil on high heat.
  5. Once it is at a rolling boil, add in the orange slices. Move them around so the syrup coats all the orange slices.
  6. Boil for 10 minutes, turning them from time to time.
  7. Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook until the orange slices become translucent at the flesh. Remember to turn once in a while.
  8. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the syrup.
  9. Over a wire rack with baking paper under, set the slices to drain excess over the rack.
  10. They can be eaten or stored in airtight container right after cooling, with baking paper between layers to prevent sticking. Or, you can allow them to dry a day or so longer to make them chewier.
  11. Don’t throw the syrup away – You can use it to moisten sponge cakes, or even add them to iced teas etc to sweeten and flavor. So just keep it in an airtight container in a cool place for a few days or even in the fridge for longer storage (may need to warm it a bit before using as it thickens in the cold).

 

 

NUTELLA CINNAMON BUNS – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie

RICH, COFFEE DOUGH Ingredients:

  • 1 + 1/8 Teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
  • 125ml (1/2 Cup) Milk, Warmed
  • 1 Sachet of Strong Coffee Powder
  • 50g (1/4 Cup) Caster Sugar
  • 38g Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Large Egg
  • Extra Egg For Egg Wash, Beaten
  • 250g (2 Cups) Plain/All-Purpose Flour

 

METHOD:

  1. Preheat oven to 150C (302F).
  2. Whisk in a sachet of strong coffee powder (use more if you want the flavour even more) into the warm milk.
  3. Make sure the temperature is tepid (feels neither hot or cold but about body temperature – should feel neutral to you) before whisking in the active dry yeast.
  4. Set it aside while you prepare the other ingredients, so that it has time to activate and froth up.
  5. In your mixer bowl, combine butter, sugar, salt & egg.
  6. Begin to mix with dough hook on med-low speed, while you stream in the activated yeast mix.
  7. Now begin to sprinkle in the flour.
  8. Once the flour is completely incorporated, begin to add 2 tablespoons worth flour at a time, mixing it in completely before adding more.
  9. Be careful not to add too much or your dough becomes tough and chewy, rather than soft and fluffy – it also affects the level of proving you can get.
  10. What you are looking for is enough flour to get the majority of the dough to come away from the sides and gather in the hook. BUT, you want a film of dough still clinging on the sides of the bowl.
  11. Check with your hands, scraping off the dough to gather into a bowl. It should feel like it is tacky, but leaves almost no residue or mess on your hands.
  12. Tuck the dough downwards to form a smooth surface of a ball on top.
  13. Place it back into the bowl, cover with a cling wrap or damp kitchen towel.
  14. Switch off the oven and place the bowl inside to prove in the closed oven till it is double in volume.

 

CINNAMON NUTELLA FILLING Ingredients:

  • 100g (1/2 Cup, Packed) Dark Brown Sugar
  • 25g Ground Cinnamon
  • 40g Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
  • 375g (1 + 1/4 Cups) Nutella

 

METHOD:

  1. Stir together the sugar, cinnamon and butter until a smooth paste is formed.
  2. Take the proved dough and press down to deflate the air inside.
  3. Place on a lightly floured surface, form it into a level, long rectangle shape.
  4. Roll it out so it is about 3-4mm thick, shaping it as you go to keep it neat.
  5. I prefer my hands, you can use a spatula to spread the cinnamon paste evenly all over the dough till it is well covered.
  6. Dollop the nutella all over and then gently drag or spread it with a spatula so that the majority of the surface is covered. Then use the tip of the rubber spatula to level it out.
  7. Now rolling the bun from short end gives you many rings and it is great for a jumbo sized bun – which is what I was after. Lengthier side gives more rolls but less rings but are both just equally delicious.
  8. Start by rolling a tiny roll as tightly as possible, then working half a roll at a time begin to roll it up until you have an entire roll.
  9. Use your hands to stretch and smooth the roll so that it is even in thickness.
  10. Use dental floss to loop around the desired thickness of your jumbo buns, and then pull until it cuts through a clean slice.
  11. Gently using both hands hover the bun above the muffin tin or silicon mold (I actually liked the silicon mold results better, they didn’t stick as much so didn’t damage my buns, and also have a slight different texture.) and gently drop it into place. The aim is to keep the nice swirl and shape of the bun 🙂
  12. Use the same method of proving to prove in the off oven until doubled in volume.
  13. Egg wash with beaten egg all over and bake for 20 minutes or so in a preheated oven at 180C (350F) until golden brown. It will be really nice and dark, crispy but fluffy and soft full of gooey goodness inside.
  14. I recommend always heating these up before serving, even just nuking in the microwave 🙂

CARAMEL SUGAR SPONGE – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie

Read this article to find out more about this crazy thing called Caramel sugar that is super easy to make! 😀

http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/05/how-to-make-caramel-without-melting-sugar.html

 

CARAMEL SUGAR Ingredients:

  • A thin layer of caster sugar on a large tray, evenly spread.

 

METHOD:

  1. Preheat the oven to 150C (300F) and bake the sugar, checking every hour or so until it has gone a golden colour. It should take about 5 hours according to article guideline. If too thick of a layer of sugar may take much longer like mine and runs risk of some parts melting which make those parts unusable.
  2. Allow to cool completely, then break into chunks and process until fine powder.
  3. Sieve out the chunky granules and you can re-process but any left over large granules can be set aside to coat the pans with.
  4. Store these sugar airtight or they will clump/harden.

 

CARAMEL SUGAR SPONGE Ingredients:

  • 1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter, Softened to Coat Pan
  • Extra Caramel Sugar to Coat Pan
  • 3 Large Eggs
  • 120g 3/4 Cup Plain Flour
  • 115g 1/2 Cup Caramel Sugar
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

 

METHOD:

  1. Preheat oven to 200C (400F). Butter the pan well with brush & coat with caramel sugar, empty out the extra.
  2. Sieve the flour three times.
  3. Whisk eggs and sugar until ribbon stage, doubled in volume.
  4. Beat in the vanilla essence.
  5. Gently fold in the flour just until combined.
  6. Pour into coated pan, sprinkle more caramel sugar over if you like and bake for 10-15 minutes.
  7. The cake is ready when it is leaving the sides of the pan and is springy to the touch.
  8. Invert the cake out onto wire rack whilst hot, gently massage the base of the pan and tap firmly on rack to unmold the sponge.
  9. Allow to cool completely.

 

 

YOGURT FROSTING PEANUT BUTTER DONUTS – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie

YOGURT PEANUT BUTTER CAKE DONUTS Ingredients:

  • 85g 1/3 cup peanut butter
  • 3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 115g 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 125ml 1/2 cup Milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 120g 3/4 cup Plain flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 Large egg

 

METHOD:

  1. Preheat oven to 180 350F
  2. Mix all ingredients together until smooth.
  3. Fill donut pan just shy of 2/3 full by piping two times around the molds close to the base.
  4. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden and springy to the touch.

 

GREEK YOGURT PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING Ingredients:

  • 260g 1 cup greek yogurt
  • 265g 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 4 Tablespoons icing sugar
  • 4 Tablespoons milk (didn’t use)
  • Chocolate shavings

 

METHOD:

  1. Whisk all ingredients until combined. Add milk if in need of adjusting consistency to more of a stiff whipped cream consistency.
  2. You can beat the cream after chilling to get a smoother and airy texture.
  3. Snip the piping bag and pipe over cooled donuts in an up and down bouncing motion as you move around the ring of the donut, sprinkle with chocolate shavings.
  4. You can also dust lightly with icing sugar before serving.
  5. Can be served at room temperature for a day, then store chilled and in an airtight container.

FIZZY BLACKBERRY ICED TEA – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie

FIZZY BLACKBERRY ICED TEA Ingredients:

  • 260ml (1.1 Cups) Boiling Water
  • 5 Teaspoons Loose Leaf Tea of Choice (Mint based tea, or the apricot elderflower tea I used in this video – i.e. fruity choices are all great)
  • 2 Teaspoons Honey, to taste
  • 50g (1/2 Cup) Frozen or Fresh Blackberries, Mashed
  • Extra Sparkling or Regular Chilled Water
  • Ice Cubes, Handful
  • 2-3 Mint Leaves

 

METHOD:

  1. Steep the loose leaf tea with honey in boiling water for 10-15 minutes depending on preferred strength.
  2. Allow to cool completely.
  3. Mash frozen berries in a small dash of hot water (1 Tablespoon at most), or just mash by itself if using fresh berries. Break it down fine so that the flesh is fine or soft enough to suck up with the regular straw.
  4. Add the strained tea to serving glass, add ice cubes, mashed berries/juice.
  5. Smack the mint leaves to release oil and aroma, add to the iced tea as is or rip into smaller pieces (mostly aesthetic preferences).
  6. Top up the iced tea with 100ml or so of sparkling or regular chilled water (depending on whether you want it fizzy or not).
  7. Garnish with some blackberries & sprig of mint, and a fancy straw if you so wish 🙂
  8. This iced tea works great with the variation of raspberries and mint, which is actually how I first started making this recipe.

Dutch Pink Cakes Gone Pandan (Roze koeken) – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie

 

  • Generous Handful of Dried Rose Petals
  • 300ml (1 + 1/4 Cups) Water
  • 300ml (1 + 1/3 Cups) Caster Sugar

 

METHOD:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a pot, bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the roses become transparent.
  2. Set aside to cool before use.

 

PANDAN PINK CAKE Ingredients:

  • 200g (1 + 1/3 Cups) Plain Flour
  • 200g (1 Cup) Caster Sugar
  • 200g (7/8 Cup) Unsalted Butter, room temp
  • 4 Large Eggs
  • 1 Teaspoons Pandan Extract
  • 2 Heaped Tablespoons Candied Rose Petals, Strained

 

METHOD:

  1. Preheat oven to 165C (330F), lightly spray cake bar pan with non-stick vegetable oil spray.
  2. Cream butter and sugar until creamy smooth & pale.
  3. Crack all the eggs into a cup, stream the eggs in bit by bit, giving time in between to beat until smoothly combined again before adding more.
  4. Add the pandan extract, sifted flour and candied rose petals (strained of excess liquid).
  5. Fold on low speed until combined.
  6. Scrape the bowl down the sides and base and fold briefly to ensure everything is combined.
  7. Pipe or scoop the batter into the cake bar mold and fill 2/3 full.
  8. Bake for 15 min or so just until moist crumbs stick to your skewer after being inserted. Be careful not to overbake.
  9. Brush over some rose syrup whilst hot if you like to have a stronger rose flavour as the pandan is very strong, but be careful using too much also sweetens the cake more.
  10. Flip over onto baking paper lined cake rack, flip the cakes back up after they are free from the mold.
  11. Cool before frosting.

 

RASPBERRY (PINK/RED GLAZE) Ingredients:

  • Small handful Raspberries (frozen, thawed)
  • 200g (2 Cups) Pure Icing Sugar
  • Fresh Raspberries (Garnish)
  • Candied Rose Petals (Garnish)

 

METHOD:

  1. Use a fine sift, press small amount of raspberries through to get the puree or juice, then stir together with sifted pure icing sugar until the desired consistency or colour.
  2. For traditional kind it should be pastel pink but flavour will be less tart, and consistency will be a thick glaze icing much like ones on donuts.
  3. Allow the frosting to sit briefly until it thickens a little.
  4. Put each cake into the bowl of icing upside down, lightly shake and turn cake to remove excess and distribute the frosting evenly.
  5. Spoon more if any parts are absorbed by the cake, then garnish with raspberries and candied roses as you like.
  6. Dust with icing sugar and allow icing to set or eat it as is!
  7. The cake keeps well but you’ll have to be aware of how perishable the fresh fruit and the look of the icing (becomes crusty over time).

 

 

GRANNY CAKE (GATEAUX DE MAMIE) – Dairy Free Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie


GRANNY CAKE (GATEAUX DE MAMIE) Ingredients:

  • 125g (1/2 Cup) Coconut Yogurt Alternative (1 Jar)
  • 220g (1 Cup) Caster Sugar (2 Jars)
  • 3 Large Eggs
  • 225g (1 + 1/2 Cup) Plain Flour (3 Jars)
  • 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • Zest of 1 Medium Sized Lemon
  • 125ml (1/2 Cup) Sunflower, canola, or grapeseed oil (1 Jar)
  • 80g (3/8 Cup) Dried Apricot
  • Boiling Water

*** 1 Yogurt Jar measurement traditionally is 120ml

METHOD:

  1. Cover the dried apricots with boiling water until submerged 1 inch below surface. Allow to rehydrate overnight until all plump, then chop into quarters.
  2. Preheat oven to 180C (350F).
  3. Grease base and sides of 8″ pan with non-stick vegetable spray and line base with baking paper. Lightly grease the baking paper as well.
  4. In a bowl combine yogurt substitute (or yogurt if not dairy free), sugar and eggs, whisking until well combined.
  5. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and zest.
  6. Add the oil and stir together until the mixture comes back together uniformly.
  7. Pour into pan and spread evenly. Add the chopped, rehydrated dried apricots.
  8. Bake for 30-40 until cake is light and springy to the touch, a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
  9. Cool the cake for 10 minutes before inverting out onto serving board or plate. To prevent sticking especially if I’m moving the cake onto something else to serve, I prefer to place baking paper on top before placing plate on it to flip.

 

LEMON GLAZE Ingredients:

  • 60ml (1/4 Cup) Fresh Lemon Juice
  • 135g (3/4 Cup) Pure Icing Sugar (1 + 1/2 Jars)

 

METHOD:

  1. Combine lemon juice with the sifted icing sugar gradually until smooth. Brush all over cake whilst the cake is still warm until you use up all the glaze. Allow the cake to cool off completely before dusting with icing sugar (if preferred).

CITRUS & PLUM TEACAKE – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie

FRENCH EARL GREY SYRUP Ingredients:

  • Juice of Tangelo or Orange
  • Equal Part Caster Sugar
  • 2 Teaspoons French Earl Grey Loose Leaf Tea

 

METHOD:

  1. Zest the tangelo or preferred citrus before using the juice for this syrup recipe.
  2. Combine juice, equal weight in sugar, and 2 teaspoons of French earl grey loose leaf tea or regular earl grey tea in a pot.
  3. Over medium heat on a stove bring to a rolling boil.
  4. Drop the heat down to simmer and simmer the mix for 10 minutes.
  5. Set aside to cool until it thickens up.

 

CITRUS & PLUM TEACAKE Ingredients:

  • 250g (1 Cup) Unsalted Butter, Room Temp
  • 250g ( 1 + 1/4 Cup) Dark Brown Sugar
  • 4 Large Eggs
  • 200g ( 1 + 1/3 Cup) Plain flour
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 80g (2/3 Cup) Hazelnut Meal
  • Zest of a Tangelo or Orange
  • Pinch of salt
  • Sprinkle of Demerara Sugar
  • Can of whole Plums (15 Plums)

 

METHOD:

  1. Drain out the plums from the can well.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F) and line a round 8″ tray with baking paper. If your pan is shallow like mine, it would be best to line extra length up the sides to prevent spillage when baking.
  3. Beat the butter and sugar until it is pale and fluffy.
  4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating very well after each addition so that mixture doesn’t separate.
  5. Whisk together the flour, zest, baking powder, hazelnut meal and salt in bowl.
  6. Now on low speed add the flour mix and beat just until almost incorporated.
  7. Use spatula to fold in the few pockets of flour by hand.
  8. Transfer batter to the pan and smooth out evenly.
  9. Arrange the 15 plums onto the cake, but just place them atop of the mix, do not press it in as the batter will end up rising and covering all the plums.
  10. Sprinkle lightly with demerara sugar all over.
  11. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
  12. Strain the syrup and brush all over the hot cake until used up.
  13. Allow to cool completely before flipping out and inverting the cake back onto serving board or plate.
  14. The cake keeps for a couple days at room temperature, but for long term storage keep it airtight and chilled as the cake is very moist and full of fruits.

 

 

KINOKO NO YAMA (MUSHROOM MOUNTAIN) – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie


BISCUIT STICKS Ingredients:

  • 55g 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 60g 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 150g 1 cup Plain flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 teaspoons water, at room temperature

 

  1. Preheat the oven to 150C 300F. Line a large tray with baking paper.
  2. Beat together butter and sugar until creamy and smooth.
  3. Beat in the egg and extract till well combined.
  4. Whisk together in a separate bowl, the flour, baking powder, and salt.
  5. Beat in the flour on low speed, then the water until well combined.
  6. Transfer the batter to a small round nozzle fitted piping bag.
  7. Pipe 2cm long tubes, a little shy of 1cm in thickness and plumber, rounded on both ends. Repeat until batter is used up and you can pipe them relatively close as they do not expand sideways too much.
  8. Bake for 15-18 minutes, rotating the tray half way through or until the sticks are lightly golden brown and set.
  9. Cool completely before inserting into ganache filled molds.

 

DARK/WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE Ingredients:

  • 325g dark chocolate
  • 125ml thickened cream (For milk choc)
  • 75ml thickened cream (35% fat)
  • 275g white chocolate, finely chopped (For White Choc)
  1. In two separate bowl, add one type of chocolate to each, and respective amount of cream to them.
  2. Nuke in microwave gradually, stirring in between every 20-30 seconds until smoothly melted.
  3. Transfer to a squeeze bottle or jug for easier pouring and make different coloured chocolate ‘mushrooms’.
  4. Set your silicone molds on a tray for stability, and fill them a few mm shy from the brim and allow to set at room temperature just until firm enough to hold a biscuit stick in place.
  5. Freeze the mushrooms until very solid and firm.
  6. Unmold by peeling all edges of each mushroom outwards carefully, then invert and pop them out.
  7. Store them in an airtight container, at room temperature or chilled after 2 days – or if it is exceptionally hot.
  8. NOTE: If you were hoping to make layered colours, simply set your first layer just until it holds the second chocolate layer and you can warm it briefly in an oven at 100C for a minute or two so both layered melt. This way you can monitor the setting this round and insert the sticks to the depth necessary.
  9. piping tip

DUTCH BUTTERCAKE (BOTERKOEK) – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie

DUTCH BUTTERCAKE Ingredients:

  • 310g (1 1/4 Cups) Unsalted Butter
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 165g (3/4 Cup) Caster Sugar
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • Zest of Lemon (Optional)
  • 1 Large Egg, Beaten
  • 312g (2 1/2 Cups) Plain Flour
  • 1 Tablespoon Milk
  • Handfuls Flaked Almonds (Optional)

 

METHODS:

  1. Preheat oven to 200C (400F)
  2. Grease and line 8″ pan (loose base preferable).
  3. Whisk together baking powder and flour.
  4. Beat butter, vanilla, sugar and lemon zest in mixer with paddle attachment until smooth.
  5. Mix in the flour mixture until a dough forms.
  6. Press the dough into the tin so it is level and smooth.
  7. Brush with milk and freeze for 30 minutes.
  8. Score diamond shapes over the top of the cake 1/2 cm deep.
  9. Bake until golden brown on top and somewhat soft still in the middle but evenly risen, about 35-45 minutes.
  10. Check about 10-15 in you may need to dab with a sharp knife over the lines to recut them as they do tend to melt and become vague with the batter.
  11. Allow to cool before cutting into squares.