Recipes – Page 6

Marion’s Kitchen Thai Green Curry

November 22, 2011 Posted in Cooking, Recipes, ThaiLeave a comment

Masterchef’s Marion has her own selection of Thai meals you can cook up easily.

The one I attempted to cook was her Thai Green Curry. What I liked about what’s in the box, is how much is packed in!

1 x Marion’s Kitchen Thai Green Curry pack, includes:

Green Curry Paste
Coconut Milk
Dried Thai Herbs & Chilli
Fish Sauce
Bamboo Shoots

You basically just need your choice of protein and whatever vegetables you like! I’ve added chicken, eggplant and long beans. I also love that it comes with delicious bamboo shoots which are one of my favourite things to add to a Thai Green Curry, and to any stir fry. It’s just that good.

Method (from Marion’s Kitchen, and on the box)

1. Heat oil over medium heat and fry the Green Curry Paste for about a minute

2. Now’s the time to pour in the creamy Coconut Milk and 1 cup of water. Tip – if you want to make your curry less spicy, you can add an extra ½ cup water here.

3. Then add the packet of Dried Herbs & Chilli (leave the chilli out if you want a mild curry or chop it up if you want a spicier curry). Now add the fish sauce and wait for the curry to start simmering again.

4. Open up those tasty Bamboo Shoots, drain away the liquid and add the shoots into the curry. Now add your chicken (substitute your protein) and vegetables and simmer for about 2 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked through. Serve with steamed rice.
I’ve got to say it tasted pretty darn good, not too creamy, just enough spice and packed full of flavour. Although their pack is kinda on the pricier side compared to those Malaysian/Singaporean Prima packs.

It has it’s own coconut milk, herbs and bamboo shoots (which are quite expensive all things considering) so it still is value for money.

I would definitely use this if I wanted to cook up a quick and easy Thai Green Curry, and it basically has everything you need!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

October 5, 2011 Posted in Baking, Cooking, Desserts, Recipes2 Comments

My sister gave me a link to a Red Velvet Cupcake recipe from Amy’s Food Adventures, in which she has adapted her recipe from the Food Network Canada. Apparently, I’m her guinea pig for recipes she finds. We had a gathering coming up and I thought, why the hey.

I had Red Velvet cupcakes a couple of times, the most famous one being Magnolia’s in New York and that was pretty darn good actually.

I was pretty interested in this recipe because it lacks butter, I’m assuming that’s the case with all Red Velvet cupcakes but I was keen to try it out after I realised that.

This recipe uses a lot of red food colouring. A bit more than half of the food colouring bottle to give it that vibrant red colour.

I made a couple of tweaks to the recipe to my liking, with **. With the icing, I found it to bit a tad plain, so I added more lemon juice and zest to it to give it a really nice freshness to the whole cupcake and icing. The icing was pretty much a trial and error so I can’t remember the exact measurements, but if you want it slightly more lemony just keep adding some more juice until you feel it’s right.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes
Yield: 24

Ingredients
Red Velvet Cupcakes
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups of sugar (375 ml) *3/4 cup to 1 cup*
1 1/2 cups canola oil (375 ml)
1 cup of plain yogurt (250 ml)
2 tablespoons red food coloring (30 ml)
1 teaspoon vinegar (5 ml)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 ml)
2 1/2 cups of flour (625 ml) *plain flour for cakes*
1 tablespoon cocoa (15 ml)
1 teaspoon baking soda (5 ml)
1 teaspoon salt (5 ml)
Icing
2 cups mascarpone (500 ml) *can use cream cheese too*
1 cup icing sugar, sifted (250 ml) *1/2 cup to 3/4 cup*
1/2 cup 35% cream (125 ml)
Zest of 1 lemon and *lemon juice*

Directions

Red Velvet Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350 °F (180 °C).
In a food processor, mix the eggs with the sugar, oil, yoghurt, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla. Add flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Blend until just incorporated.
Place cupcake papers into a muffin pan, divide the batter in the cupcake papers, pour only halfway so batter doesn’t overflow, and bake, rotating half way through, for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove and let cool.
Icing
In a bowl, beat the mascarpone, icing sugar, cream and lemon zests together until the mixture is smooth.
Spoon a dollop of mascarpone cream on the cupcakes. *I piped mine onto the cupcakes so if the icing mixture is a bit too running or soft to pipe, just place it in the freezer or fridge until it hardens up a bit.*

I was extremely happy with this recipe. The cake was so moist. My first batch of small ones were a bit undercooked so it was a bit more ‘redder’ then I would have liked, but it tasted great. My second batch in the oven was slightly darker and looked great. This recipe is definitely a keeper.

Mocha Nut Cookies

August 31, 2011 Posted in Baking, RecipesLeave a comment

I was given this recipe from my sister who bought an entire book dedicated to cookies called The Golden Book of Cookies. Nuts, coffee and chocolate were an appealing combination so I asked her to send me the recipe so I could try it out.

We had to make some alterations to the recipe. One: all cookie recipes appear to be ridiculously sweet so we cut down on sugar and chocolate. My mother’s love of nuts and something crunchy knows no bounds, so of course extra nuts were added.

Makes: around 20 cookies

Preparation: 20 minutes

Cooking: 20-25 minutes

Original Recipe:

2/3 cup (100g) all-purpose (plain) flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

12 oz (350g) biitersweet (dark) chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup (125g) butter

3 large eggs

1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

1 tablespoon instant coffee granules

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (essence)

1 1/2 cups (150g) coarsely chopped pecans

1 1/2 cups (150g) coarsely chopped hazelnuts

1 cup (180g) semisweet (dark) chocolate chips

Altered Recipe:

2/3 cup (100g) all-purpose (plain) flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

300g biitersweet (dark) chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup (125g) butter

3 large eggs

1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

1 tablespoon instant coffee granules

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (essence)

1 1/2 cups (150g) coarsely chopped pecans

1 1/2 cups (150g) coarsely chopped hazelnuts

+ extra chopped nuts ~ 50g more

Method

1. Preheat oven to 325 Fahrenheight (170 degrees Celsius)

2. Set out two baking trays

3. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl

4. Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler over barely simmering water

5. Beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and thick

6. Beat in the chocolate mixture, coffee granules and vanilla

7. Mix in the dry ingredients, pecans, hazelnuts and chocolate chips (if you want an extra chocolate kick)

8. Drop tablespoons of the dough 3 inches (8cm) apart onto the trays

9. Bake until lightly cracked on top, 20-25 minutes. Transfer to cool racks

Impressions:

I found these to be quite good if you like crunchy chocolate and nuts cookies, with a hint of coffee. With less chocolates added, it still has a great chocolate flavour but it doesn’t overpower the whole cookie. Quite an easy recipe to follow too.

I only had a horrible time trying to make them look nice and round, and with all the nuts it was quite a challenge. As you can see, I didn’t seem to fulfill my goal but they taste great nonetheless.

Chocolate Souffle

July 18, 2011 Posted in Baking, Cooking, Desserts, RecipesLeave a comment

I’ve always wanted to eat souffle, and when we went to the Conservatory at Crown, their chocolate souffles were quite the popular dessert so I didn’t have a chance to taste it.

So at last, I tried making it myself. I found this recipe on Taste.com.au, and it’s the basic run of the mill type of recipe but since I had never made it before and it didn’t require that many eggs I chose this one

Chocolate Souffle (Taste.com.au)
Preparation Time
20 minutes

Cooking Time
20 minutes

Ingredients (serves 6)
Melted butter, to grease
4 1/2 tbscaster sugar
60g butter
2 tbs plain flour
160ml (2/3 cup) milk
210g good-quality dark chocolate, chopped
3 eggs, separated
125ml (1/2 cup) thin cream
2 tbs brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
Icing sugar, to dust

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush six 160ml (2/3-cup) ovenproof souffle dishes with melted butter to grease (using upward strokes on side). Sprinkle the inside with 1 1/2 tablespoons of caster sugar, shake out any excess.

2. Melt 30g of the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and use a wooden spoon to stir for 1 minute or until mixture is smooth and begins to bubble. Remove from heat, gradually add milk, stirring until smooth and combined. Return to medium heat, stir until mixture thickens and comes to the boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring. Remove from heat.

3. Stir in 125g of the chocolate and remaining caster sugar until combined. Transfer to a bowl. Add egg yolks and stir until well combined.

4. Use an electric beater to whisk egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until firm peaks form. Use a metal spoon to fold one-third of the egg whites into chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining egg whites until just combined.

5. Spoon the mixture evenly into prepared dishes. Place on a baking tray. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until well risen.

6. Meanwhile: combine remaining chocolate, remaining butter, brown sugar, cream and vanilla essence in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until chocolate melts and mixture is well combined. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Place in a jug.

7. To serve, place ramekins on plates. Dust with icing sugar. Use a spoon to make a hole in top of each souffle, pour in a little chocolate sauce.

Impressions:
I found it to be quite nice and moist on my first tasting, but I wasn’t too sure if I was doing it right since they seemed to sink after taking it out of the oven. You also kinda need to serve them all hot and fresh out of the oven otherwise it just doesn’t retain that moistness. Unless I was just doing it all wrong. I don’t know

Chocolate Mousse Torte

July 4, 2011 Posted in Cooking, Desserts, RecipesLeave a comment

I found this recipe in one of Coles free food magazines. It looked like a really nice mousse and I guess that’s how they get you! By having attractive and delicious looking pictures. I commend their photographer for making it look delectable.

I made a couple of alterations to the recipe. I substituted the Oreo cookies with just a packet of Arnott’s Chocolate cookies and 250g of Dark Chocolate. I also reduced the sugar to around half as well, and with the top layer I reduced the butter by just half and I used Crunchy Peanut Butter.

Here is the recipe below;
Chocolate Mousse Torte
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Serves 10

Chilling Overnight
150 g Oreo Cookies
40 g butter melted
250 g Coles Milk Chocolate chopped
50 g dark chocolate chopped
½ cup thickened cream

Chilling Overnight
4 Coles Free Range Eggs separated
10 g sachet powdered gelatine
¼ cup boiling water

Chilling Overnight
¾ cup caster sugar
small Easter eggs and white chocolate curls to decorate

Ganache Topping
¾ cup dark chocolate melts
½ cup Coles Smooth Peanut Butter (see tip)
40 g butter chopped

Method
1. Line base of 20cm springform pan with plastic wrap. Spray sides of pan with cooking oil and line with baking paper.

2. Place cookies in a food processor. Process until crushed. Add butter and process until combined. Press into base of prepared pan and refrigerate while preparing filling.

3. Melt milk and dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in cream. Whisk in egg yolks. Whisk together gelatine and boiling water until gelatine dissolves. Add to chocolate mixture and mix to combine.

4. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, beating constantly until thick and glossy. Carefully fold into chocolate mixture until just combined. Pour over biscuit base. Refrigerate overnight until firm.

5. To make ganache topping, combine chocolate, peanut butter, butter and ½ cup of water in a small saucepan. Stir on low heat until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool completely.

6. Pour ganache evenly over top of mousse and refrigerate for 2 hrs, or until ganache is firm. Unmould cake and place on a serving plate. Decorate with Easter eggs and choc curls.

Tip: You can replace the peanut butter in the Ganache ingredients with ½ cup cream and then omit the water added in the method.

Impressions
While the torte was pretty easy to make, I wasn’t too fond of the top layer. Either I over heated the chocolate or I probably should have used the correct amount of butter because it wasn’t as smooth as I would have liked. Also the nuts probably may have made a slight impact on the texture too.

The bottom layer wasn’t as rich and tasty as a Oreo base would have been, it didn’t taste like those cookies you find in a Cookies & Cream ice-cream or the bottom of ice-cream cakes. I was just confused on whether the filling of those Oreos were to be processed too so I opted for a different brand.

The mousse of the other hand, was light and fluffy. It was moist and smooth, and nicely aerated. So I deemed the whole cake a success because the mousse was just how I wanted it. Maybe my cake base was too big for the mixture, but I’d also prefer a higher mousse filling so maybe If were to make it another time, I’d use a smaller base.

Homemade Ice Cendol

April 22, 2011 Posted in Desserts, Food, Malaysian, Recipes6 Comments

After holidaying in Malaysia for around three weeks late last year, and after eating Ice Cendol and Ice Kacang nearly every single day. I wanted to make these green jellies myself.

So my mother found a recipe she wanted to try and it was on this website that I am unable to find now. Luckily, I saved the recipe but I cannot give my thanks to the Indonesian site for their recipe.

It’s actually quite simple but pushing out the dough to make the worms is quite tough if you don’t have a cendol mold. We just used a strainer and it didn’t work out too well and took ages to push it all through the pasta strainer but we just had to use what we had in the kitchen. Might have to go buy the cendol mold when I get the chance to go back to Malaysia because it looks much easier with it.

Here is the recipe:

Green Jellies Ice (Cendol)

Ingredients:

For Jellies:
50g mung bean flour (hunkwee)
40g rice flour
10g tapioca flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbs sugar
625ml pandan / screw-pine leaves water (by blending 100 gr chopped pandan / screwpine leaves with 650 ml water)
Half basin iced water
Cendol mold

For the coconut milk:
1000 ml coconut milk
1/4 tsp salt
3 pandan leaves

For the palm sugar syrup:
250g palm sugar (or coconut sugar)
250ml water
3 pandan leaves

Directions:
For jellies:
1. Bring 425 ml of the pandan leaves water to boil.

2. Meanwhile, mix mung bean flour, rice flour, tapioca flour, salt, sugar, and the rest (200 ml) of the pandan leaves water in a bowl.

3. Pour the mixture into the boiling pandan leaves water. Keep stirring until the mixture co-mixtures with the pandan water. Turn the heat off when the liquid thickens and forms a transparent colour.

4. Prepare a basin filled with iced water (1/2 basin). Put the mold on top of the basin. It is easier when the diameter of the basin is more or less the same with of the basin’s.

5. Pour the jellies liquid in the mold, press it. The liquid soon becomes jellies when it gets into the iced water. Continue pressing until no liquid is left.

6. Set aside. Let it for some time to give a sufficient firmness. When it is firm enough, drain it.

For coconut milk:
1. Meanwhile, bring the coconut milk, salt and the pandan leaves into boil. Do not leave unattended as over heated coconut milk will be ruined.

2. Immediately turn off the heat once the surface is starting to raise.

For palm sugar syrup:
1. Boil the palm sugar, water, and pandan leaves. Strain if necessary; sometimes they are not well strained in the making.

How to serve:
1. Pour the palm sugar in the bottom (approx. 5 tbs)

2. Add the jellies (approx. 5 tbs)

3. Add the coconut milk

4. Add ice cubes if desired

It was really tasty and you don’t really need shaved ice, ice cubes will do just fine. Homemade cendol is always nicer then those you can buy, they are usually a bit too sweet and too hard and stale. You can even have cendol warm since it’s getting colder and closer to winter.

Stay Fresh Scones

March 24, 2011 Posted in Baking, Food, Recipes1 Comment

After trying the scones at Pie In The Sky and the Strawberry Farm in Mornington, I wanted to try making scones again.
Last year, we went to Pie In The Sky and I did the same thing but they didn’t turn out that well. They were kinda fluffy but they didn’t seem to rise very much. Maybe I just made them too small, I don’t know. It was one of those lemonade scones that are apparently the fluffiest and lightest, but I wanted to try one without that this time.

Google is my best friend for recipes and I came across the Stay Fresh Scones on the BestRecipes.com website.
It looked simple and there was no kneading necessary! Just had to wait for the dough to rise.
When I was trying to roll the dough out, it was very sticky. Quite troublesome and difficult at times, had to put in some more flour even when the recipe states to limit the amount of extra flour used.

Made them too small the first time around so I had to re-roll them, possible making them harder or less fluffy but I’m not too sure.

End result:

Used the Raspberry Jam we bought at Pie In The Sky, with some store bought but still delicious whipped cream. With my mum as the taste tester, she approved! Alas, we had found a good scone recipe that was light, fluffy and overall just tasty that nearly matched the goodness of the Devonshire Tea (Tea + Scones) at Pie In The Sky the first time we ordered it.

A success and this will be my go to scones recipe for now on.

Recipe:

Stay Fresh Scones

Preparation time: 15 to 30 minutes
If you have trouble making good scones these might just do the trick. Extra baking powder and standing time helps to keep these light and fluffy.

Ingredients

500 g self-raising flour
1 egg
1½ cups milk
1 tablespoon icing sugar
2 rounded teaspoons baking powder
60 g melted butter

Method

Sift dry ingredients into a bowl.
Add beaten egg, milk and butter.
Quickly combine all ingredients into a dough.
Stand dough on a floured board for 20 minutes.
Gently roll out to required thickness (about 2 cm).
Cut out circles using the rim of a glass dipped in flour.
Stand scones close together on a lightly floured baking tray for a further 15 minutes.
Bake at 210°C for 10 minutes. (I think I baked it at around 170 because our oven gets extremely hot)

PS: Was going to post about macarons I’d attempted to make the last couple of weeks. I actually tried it twice but failed miserably both times. The first time I made them it looked good, had feet and all but was extremely sweet, even after cutting the icing sugar by half. I’ll try again when I’m not so depleted

ohdenny

Category: Recipes