Ciabatta

Like I said in the previous post, I made some kaya and needed wanted some bread, so I made ciabatta. Ciabatta and kaya? Well, I have some passion fruit curd too, so it'll go with ciabatta right? So here! Recipe from the bread expert, Paul Hollyhood. Here'e the link:

Paul Hollywood's Ciabatta

(Makes 4 Ciabattas)

They're really nice, healthy and versatile. Fill them with tuna, egg mayonnaise, jams, anything, because they are mild in flavours and are great to make sandwiches with. 

Tuna Puff Pillows

This is easy peasy and takes less than an hour. I did this because I needed a few savouries and I needed this is to be baked in a jiffy. So here you go, a quick fix party finger food.

(Makes 16 mini puffs)

2 sheets of store bought puff pastries
a can of tuna mayonnaise
egg wash of an egg and a tablespoon of milk

1. Line 2 baking trays and preheat oven at 180 degrees.

2. Prepare puff pastry by rolling them slightly and cut them into 8 rectangles as shown. I leave it to you to do your calculation.

3. Egg wash the pastry and spoon the tuna onto the sheet, you want just enough tuna and still have enough space to seal the puff properly.

4. Crimp the sides to seal the puffs with a fork.

5. Egg wash the puffs before baking in a preheated oven of 180 degrees for about 20 minutes or golden brown.

I call these Tuna Puff Pillows because they look so cute and puffed up when baked. This is also very easy and fast. Perfect when you are rushed for time or when you realised last minute that you may not have enough food for the guests.

Kaya

So I am on a baking spree and I just went on and on and on and on.... you get the idea. I have been watching a lot of baking shows and topping my favourite list is Anna Olson's 'Bake with Anna Olson' and I bookmarked so many recipes I want to try. This interest me because kaya is so local and Anna Olson was making this on her show! So I gave it a try since she made it seem so easy and it was indeed very easy. Here's the recipe.

(Makes 2 small jars of kaya jam)

150g caster sugar

135g gula melaka (cut into small pieces)

200 ml of coconut milk

5 large eggs

3 pandan leaves, tied into knot (I used about 6 because I love the aroma from it)

1. Whisk the coconut milk briefly to ensure there are no lumps.

2. Add the eggs, gula melaka and caster sugar and whisk to combine.

3. Add the pandan leaves and heat over a pot of simmering water.

4. For the first 20 minutes, you only need to whisk regularly but not continuously. Keep a close watch on the mixture though, you don't want to end up with a lumpy mixture.

5. After the mixture thickens slightly, you want to whisk continuously for about 20 more minutes. When the whisk is lifted, the thickened mixture will run down back into the bowl in 'ribbons'.

6. Take the mixture off the heat and pour into prepared jars and leave to cool to room temperature with a cling wrap touching the surface of the jam. I held a sift over the jar to make the jam extra smooth. Chill in fridge till ready to use.

The kaya will really nice, but the next time I try this again, I may add 1 more egg to make it thicker. Otherwise, it is great on bread and for this jam, I baked ciabatta. I know, I know, I promise to stop baking for a while after this. I hope.....

Passionfruit Curd Cupcakes

I have been contemplating on working with passion fruit because I really love the unique aroma and the slight sour tang passion fruit provides to anything it is added to. So instead of Vanilla Cupcake with Lemon Curd Core done in previous bake, I went with passion fruit curd instead. So here's the recipe.

(Makes 12 standard muffin size)

To make the vanilla cupcakes

125g self-raising flour

125g caster sugar

125g unsalted butter at room temperature

2 eggs

0.5 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp plain yogurt

Zest of 1 lemon

a pinch of salt

To make the passion fruit curd

3 large eggs

125g caster sugar

125g passion fruit puree

200g unsalted butter

To make the frosting

125g cream cheese

75ml whipping cream

50g icing sugar

For the cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees and line the muffin tin.

2. Sift together the flour and the baking powder and set aside.



3. Beat the sugar and butter till light and fluffy.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to combine before adding the next.

5. Add the yogurt and mix till fully incorporated.

6. Add the sifted flour and baking powder mix as well as the zest and mix to combine.

7. Spoon the batter into the lined tray, filling to three quarter of each cup.

8. Bake in preheated oven of 180 degrees for about 20 minutes. Insert a skewer into the center of a cake and if the skewer comes out clean, the cake is cooked. (Mine was a bit dark because I left it in the oven for about 24 minutes, so 20 minutes should be adequate.) Remove the cakes from the tray and leave the cupcakes to cool completely on a cooling rack.

For the passion fruit curd

*This can be made a few days in advance.*

9. Mix all the ingredients except the butter in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.

10. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisk continuously till the mixture thickens. To do a quick test, coat the back of a wooden spoon with the thickened mixture and run your finger across the spoon. If the 'finger path' remains, your mixture is ready.

11. Take the mixture off the heat and add in the butter (cut into cubes) and whisk to incorporate.

12. Pour into a container, cling wrap the mixture, with the cling wrap touching the surface of the curd, and chill in the fridge to set and until ready to use.

For the cream cheese frosting

13. Cream the cheese and icing sugar till soft and smooth. 

14. Whisk the whipping cream till soft peak. 

15. Fold the whipped cream into the cheese mixture till smooth. 

To assemble

16. Core the cupcakes to fill with the passion fruit curd.

17. Fill the core with passion fruit curd. I used a piping bag to make it neater and easier.

18. Use a star nozzle tip to pipe the cream cheese on top and decorate as desired.

This was really good and I love how the tangy passion fruit curd balances the sweetness from the cupcakes. This was also well received by the group I specially baked for.

Torrone

Intrigued by Anna Olson's amazing bakes, I bookmarked so many of her recipes to try and the one recipe that stands out is torrone, which essentially is Nougats. This recipe calls for focus on the temperature and so you'll need a candy thermometer.

2 cups almonds

1 cup shelled pistachios

400g + 50g caster sugar

90g egg whites

400ml honey

1 tsp vanilla extract 

Zest of 1 lemon

A pinch of salt

Cornstarch for dusting 

1. Line a 23cm by 33cm tray and set aside. 

2. Lightly toast the almonds.

3. Mix the nuts, lemon zest and vanilla extract and set aside.

4. Whisk the egg white and salt till foamy and add the 50g caster sugar gradually and beat till soft peak.

5. Boil the honey and 400g of sugar, stirring continuously till 138 degrees, after  that you can stop stirring because after 138 degrees, the honey mixture will not be in danger of boiling over.

6. Leave the mixture to heat up to 157 degrees and take it off the heat. 

7. Allow the mixture to cool to 149 degrees and pour the mixture down the side of the mixing bowl where the softly whipped egg white is, mixing on high speed. The egg white will inflate, then collapse again. 

8. Beat the mixture till cool enough that your hand can touch the mixing bowl. 

9. Fold in the nut mixture and pour the mixture into the tray.

10. Spread the nougat mixture evenly on the tray and with hand coated with corn starch, press the mixture to even the nougat out. 

11. Cool the mixture completely for about 3 hours before cutting into bite sized Nougats.

12. Wipe the knife with a thin layer of oil and cut the big block nougat into bite sized ones.

13. To store, place the Nougats a distance apart and use baking papers before stacking a second layer. 

I stored them in the fridge and discovered that the Nougats hardened after being put in the fridge. They're really delicious and they do not stick to the teeth. 

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

2 Corinthians 9:15 NIV

http://bible.com/111/2co.9.15.niv