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FRESH MINT CHOCOLATE RUSTIC SPONGE – Vegan Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie

Ingredients:

  • 188g Plain/All Purpose Flour
  • 288g Caster Sugar
  • 50g Cocoa Powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • 330ml Non-Dairy Milk of Choice (I used soy)
  • 80ml Light Oil (such as canola or vegetable)
  • 1 Tablespoons Fresh Lime/Lemon Juice
  • 1 + 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
  • 1 Bundle of Fresh Mint Leaves, Finely Chopped

METHOD:

  1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Line a 23cm (9″) round pan with baking paper.
  2. Simply place all ingredients into processor and process till well combine (will chop leaves finely for you too, yet won’t over develop the gluten).
  3. Otherwise, in one bowl combine all the wet ingredients & add the mint.
  4. Sift cocoa powder into another bowl, add in rest of the dry ingredients.
  5. Whisk till combined, add in the wet mix and whisk till no pockets of flour left.
  6. Pour into pan and bake for 35-40 minutes until a knife or skewer inserted at centre comes out with moist crumbs.
  7. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before turning out & flipping back upright onto serving board or plate.
  8. Dust with icing sugar or serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream.
  9. Enjoy warm or cold. You can store for few days at room temperature, but best to keep in fridge airtight when hot and humid.

MATCHA MARBLE CARAMEL CANDY – CHRISTMAS SPECIAL Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie

MATCHA SWIRL CARAMEL CANDY Ingredients:

  • 60g (1/4 Cup) Unsalted Butter
  • 115g (1/2 Cup) Caster Sugar
  • 100g (1/2 Cup) Dark Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed
  • 150ml (1/2 Cup) Glucose/Corn Syrup
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
  • 150ml (1/2 Cup) Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • 1 + 1/2 Teaspoon Matcha Powder

 

METHOD:

  1. Place matcha powder in a separate small bowl or container, and prepare two spoons & 1 skewer or knife.
  2. Butter a 9 x 6″ (23 x 15cm) glass dish, line with baking paper and butter again with softened butter. You can also use non-stick vegetable oil spray.
  3. Mix all ingredients in a large microwave safe bowl as the mixture will bubble up plenty and will need ample room to prevent spillage.
  4. Cover 3/4 of the way the top of the bowl with cling wrap.
  5. Microwave on high for 6-7 minutes, stirring every 90 seconds. About 4-5 times.
  6. You’re looking for the first time it bubbles up, then you’ll need one more round after that.
  7. Pour into a small buttered dish and allow to cool completely.
  8. Pour a couple tablespoons or so of caramel into the matcha dish and whisk to combine well.
  9. Pour the rest into the dish as fast as possible.
  10. Quickly using the two spoons disperse the matcha caramel all over randomly.
  11. Use the knife or skewer to make bold swirls that reach all over the caramel so that when cut each bite will have some matcha flavour.
  12. Allow to chill and set in fridge until solid. Use a hot, sharp knife cut into bite size pieces.
  13. To wrap for gifts I suggest using baking paper, lightly greased or buttered to wrap these caramels & keep them frozen for lengthier transports, or chilled until serving.
  14. They taste firmer and chewier cold but really nice, and much softer and pliable at room temperature.
  15. Store chilled.

CHAI, APRICOT & CARAMEL FESTIVE LOAVES – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie

CHAI, APRICOT & CARAMEL FESTIVE LOAVES Ingredients:

  • 100g (1/2 Cup) Dried Apricots
  • Boiling Water, As Needed
  • 180ml (3/4 Cup) Milk
  • 5 Vanilla Chai Tea Bags
  • 50g (1/4 Cup) Caster Sugar Plus a Pinch
  • 2 Teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
  • 1 Large Egg, Room Temp.
  • 250g Plain Flour (2 Cups)
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • 45g (3 Tablespoons) Unsalted Butter, Room Temp.
  • 300g (1 + 1/4 Cup) Thick Caramel
  • Pink Salt, Optional
  • Chai Sugar or Demerara
  • 1 Egg for Egg Wash

 

METHOD:

  1. Start by soaking dried apricots in a medium bowl of boiling water and 2 tea bags.
  2. Submerge the apricots until they are plump at least a few hours or overnight.
  3. Use kitchen scissors to cut the apricots into bite sizes and set aside in a bowl.
  4. Bring 3 teabags and milk in a pot to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 10 minutes.
  5. Cool for 15 minutes then measure the how much infused milk you have, top up with the apricot soaked tea, extra milk as necessary to reach 120ml of milk.
  6. Warm the mix until just warm to the touch, sprinkle over the yeast and stir it in well.
  7. Set aside to activate for 5 minutes.
  8. Whisk together egg and sugar until combined.
  9. In mixer bowl, add the flour and salt.
  10. Using the dough hook attachment on low, stir the dry mix together.
  11. Add the yeast and egg mix whilst kneading on low speed.
  12. Add the softened butter and half the amount of apricots and continue to knead until just combined.
  13. Turn the speed up to medium and knead for 10 minutes. The dough will be a bit stringy and really sticky – that’s how it is meant to be.
  14. Oil or butter a large bowl and transfer the dough into it with an oiled spatula.
  15. Cover with cling wrap loosely and leave at a warm place to prove until it doubles in size.
  16. Meanwhile line mini loaf pans with overhanging baking paper lengthwise for easier removal. Cupcake pan can be lined with cupcake liners too or left as is it should not really stick. The loaf pans are longer and harder to lift, hence the paper.
  17. Lay a large cling wrap over your work surface and dust with flour generously.
  18. Place the dough onto the surface and dust with flour. Using your hands push and pat down the dough to spread out into a rectangular shape about 1/2 cm thick.
  19. Warm the caramel just enough to easily drizzle and spread out over the dough, leaving 1 cm border around the edges.
  20. Scatter the rest of the apricot all over.
  21. Starting from one end, using the cling wrap start to roll up the dough tightly whilst peeling the cling wrap away.
  22. Once the dough is as tightly wrapped up as a roll as you can, use an oiled knife or metal spatula to slice golf ball sized dough and place into the cupcake moulds. For mini loaf pans I did about double that. You are looking at 3/4 full moulds regardless of what you choose to fill in.
  23. Use fingers to flatten the tops, then cover in cling wrap loosely and prove until it rises 1/3 of the pan height above the brim.
  24. Mean while, preheat the oven to 180C (350F).
  25. Egg wash the breads & sprinkle generously with chai sugar or demerara if you don’t have any.
  26. At this point you can crack some pink rock salt or sea salt just to lift the flavours a little. But it is optional.
  27. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is crispy and springy to the touch, and golden brown.
  28. Cool for 10 minutes before running a knife around the edges & gently lifting out the breads with the overhanging baking paper.
  29. Breads stay very fresh and soft if stored airtight after cooling.

 

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.

 

 

SNEEKY BIRTHDAY CAKE BARS – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie


PASTEL MINI SWISS MERINGUE Ingredients:

  • 90g Caster Sugar
  • 56g Egg Whites, Room Temperature
  • Selection of Food Colouring

 

METHOD:

  1. Preheat oven to 100C (210F)
  2. Bring a pot of water to slow simmer.
  3. In mixing bowl combine the egg whites and sugar.
  4. Whisk continuously to combine over the simmering water.
  5. Check by dipping finger into the mix once in a while until mix is warm. It should be more than luke warm, but not too hot or you’ll cook the eggs.
  6. Now whisk on high just until stiff but glossy. The whisk when removed should have a curved bird beak shape for the meringue left on the whisk. If you make it even stiffer, it may be harder to create nice peaked piping for your meringue, so don’t go too far.
  7. On a large piece of cling wrap, use a brush to brush a bright streak of food colour on the cling wrap. Repeat with some space in between with other colours for as many as you like lengthwise, as these meringue won’t be too big in my version, I won’t use too many.
  8. Now very carefully scoop and lay the meringue in a long mound over but off centre of the cling wrap to one side more. Pat it down gently with a palette knife. Now fold over the cling wrap, and then wrap the other over. Tighten both ends by twisting together.
  9. Snip one end of the cling wrap and slide into a piping bag fitted with piping tip if preferred, and then pipe some until colours come through on lined baking trays. They can be quite close as they do not spread.
  10. Make small or large meringue to your liking just be aware of baking time differences. Average small 2-3cm meringues generally take at least 1 hour to bake through.
  11. Bake until the meringue look matte and come off the baking paper when lifted gently, the meringue should not brown (indicating temperature is too high). Use the lowest rack.
  12. Set aside to cool before using as garnish. If not using that day, store in airtight container away from moisture.

 

SNEAKY WHITE CHOC BIRTHDAY MUD CAKE BARS Ingredients:

  • 200g Plain Flour
  • 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 115g Unsalted Butter, Room Temp
  • 150g Caster Sugar
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 110ml Milk
  • 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
  • 125g White chocolate, melted
  • 160g (1 Cup) Confetti Quin Sprinkles

 

METHOD:

  1. Preheat oven t0 150C (300F). Spray the cake bar pan with non-stick vegetable spray.
  2. Combine butter and sugar and mix until pale and fluffy, stopping halfway to scrape down side and base.
  3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well in between each to incorporate.
  4. Melt the white chocolate just until warm but not hot, add to the mix and beat in.
  5. Add the flour, confetti, milk & vanilla extract, beat to combine.
  6. Pipe into 8-10 cake bar molds 1/2 full.
  7. Bake until moist crumbs cling onto skewer when inserted into cakes.
  8. Inver the cakes whilst hot and flip back upright to cool completely on the rack.
  9. If there is caramelisation on the sides of the cake, freeze the cake till firm then use serrated knife to gently trim off enough to see the colourful cake hiding inside.
  10. Cool completely before frosting with whipped ganache.

 

 

Simple Nutella Mousse Ingredients:

  • 50ml (1/4 Cup) Thickened Cream
  • 20g Unsalted Butter, Room Temp
  • 100g (1/3 Cup) Nutella

 

METHOD:

  1. Beat butter until fluffy.
  2. Add Nutella and chilled cream, whip until stiff.
  3. Pipe straight away or the frosting will go soft.
  4. Keep chilled if not using and soften with mixer again before piping.

 

TO ASSEMBLE:

  1. On trimmed cake bars, pipe frosting on the top to your liking.
  2. Sprinkle with some confetti, garnish with 3 meringues or however many you like.
  3. Keep chilled in airtight container.
  4. If serving at a later date, keep meringue separate until then. Allow cake to come to room temperature a little so that the frosting softens a bit so you can adhere the meringue before serving.
  5. Frosting will soften the longer it stays out, so don’t keep it out of the fridge for too long.

 

 

 

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.

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).

 

 

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.

 

 

DUTCH LAYERED BERRY CHEESECAKE BROWNIE (BOSVRUCHTEN) – Recipe

Posted on by misterbowtie

FUDGY BROWNIE Ingredients:

  • 60g Unsalted Butter, Melted
  • 150g Caster Sugar
  • 75g Dark Brown Sugar
  • 125g Bittersweet Chocolate, Melted
  • 1 Tablespoon Maple/Golden Syrup/Molasses/Treacle el stroop
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 100g Plain Flour
  • 20g Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • Pinch of Salt

 

CHEESECAKE LAYER Ingredients:

  • 200g Cream Cheese, Room Temp
  • 1 Large Egg
  • 80g Caster Sugar
  • 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 100g Frozen Raspberries or Mixed Blue/Rasp

 

METHOD:

  1. Preheat the oven to 190C, line the base of a 20 x 30cm pan with baking paper with overhanging length for easy removal.
  2. Stir together baking powder, flour, salt and sifted cocoa powder.
  3. In another bowl, melt the butter and chocolate gradually and stir to combine.
  4. Add the sugars and stir till well combined. Add the eggs, syrup and vanilla extract, mix until evenly combined.
  5. Stir in the dry ingredients until well combined.
  6. Add cream cheese to processor and blitz, stopping to scrape down a few times in between until very smooth.
  7. Add the sugar, egg and vanilla and process until evenly combined.
  8. Pour the chocolate brownie mix into the pan and tap the pan a few times to even the mix out. You can spread with palette knife to help with this step.
  9. Now carefully spoon the cheese mix over the base layer to cover completely.
  10. Haphazardly place the frozen berries over the top cheese layer.
  11. Bake at 190C for 40 minutes until moist crumbs cling to skewer when inserted.
  12. Cool before unmolding and slicing.
  13. Keep chilled in airtight container when not serving.

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.