Basic Pastry Cream

Pastry cream is very versatile, they can be filling for tarts, choux buns and the list goes on. The flavours can also be easily modified from one basic cream. So here you go, pastry cream or Creme patisserie  for that special tart or that choux bun.

240ml full cream milk

60g sugar

30g unsalted butter

15g corn starch

1 egg

1tsp vanilla bean paste

a pinch of salt

1. Heat the milk over medium heat until almost boiling. 

2. Whisk the egg, starch, sugar, vanilla bean paste and salt in a heavy stainless steel pan. 

3. Pour the milk into the egg mixture, whisking all the time until combined.

4. Return the mixture to low heat, whisking all the time.

5. Continue to heat till the mixture becomes thicker and difficult to stir.

6. Remove from heat and stir in the butter.

7. Place a cling foil over the surface of the cream and fridge for about 30 minutes before use. 

8. You can add flavours to the basic cream like coffee or chocolate.

I added coffee emulco and it tasted great! 

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. (Isaiah 58:9-10 NIV)

Vanilla Cupcake with Lemon Curd Core

I have the tendency to go overboard with my bakes because I reckoned I might as well bake more since I already made the effort to bake. I really should exercise some prudence. I have used the lemon curd cooked earlier in 2 types of tarts and some cookies and still have quite a bit left, vanilla cupcakes with lemon curd core it shall be.

(Makes 12 standard muffin sizes)

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 frosting

125g cream cheese

75ml whipping cream

50g icing sugar

(For me, I needed to use up buttercream, whipped cream and a bit of cream cheese, so I only used 60g cream cheese) I'm proud to say I used up all the buttercream, cream cheese and whipped cream, no wastage! Yea! 

To assemble

Lemon Curd

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

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

3. Beat the butter, salt and sugar together till light and fluffy. 

2. Add the eggs one at a time, beating the mixture till combined. 

3. Add the yogurt and beat again till combined. 

4. Add the zest and the sifted flour mix, fold to combine.

5. Spoon the mix into the lines tray, filling three quarter of each cup. 

6. Bake in preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes. Insert a skewer into a muffin to check if they are ready. The muffins are ready if the skewer comes out clean. 

7. While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the frosting. Cream the cheese and icing sugar till soft and smooth. 

8. Whisk the whipping cream till soft peak. 

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

10. Core the center of the muffin using a corer or a knife. I bought a cupcake corer, yes, I'm a bit obessed with baking equipments. 

11. Pipe lemon curd into the center. 

12. Pipe the frosting on top of the cupcakes using a star nozzle. 

You see different colours because mine has cheese frosting, buttercream frosting and even whipped cream. Reduce wastage! 

And because I really really am convicted to reduce wastage, I assembled another dessert using the cored centre from the cake, some lemon curd and whipped cream. I used up ALL the leftover! :)

There, the completed cupcakes with the lemon curd surprise when you cut through the center. 

谢谢祢用生命将我赎回, 我是天父永远最爱宝贝

Dark Chocolate Cookies

It was Friday night and I really wanted to bake, I decided on trying a cookies revipe from Mary Berry's book. I tried it before and it didn't turn out like hers, I thought it could be the light brown sugar I used instead of the caster sugar, so I tried again. The dough was still very wet, however, the taste was good. It was better to let the dough rest in the fridge before cutting them into rounds and then again before they are placed in the oven.

(Makes about twenty 6.5 cm rounds)

Ingredients 

140g plain flour

75g semolina

75g caster sugar

25g Cocoa powder

100g dark chocolate chips

175g cold unsalted butter cubed 

1. Preheat the oven at 160 degrees fan. Sift the flour and cocoa powder together and mix in the sugar and semolina till combined. 

2. Add the cold cubed unsalted butter and use your finger tips to run the butter into the dry mix. 

3. Once the soft dough comes together, stir in the chocolate chips. 

4. Roll the dough into a round disc and wrap in cling foil and fridge for about 30 minutes. 

5. Once chilled, roll the dough to 0.5 cm in between 2 baking papers and chill in fridge for about 30 minutes before cutting into 6.5 cm rounds.

6. Cut the dough into 6.5 cm rounds and leave to rest in fridge for about another 30 minutes.

7. Bake in preheated oven of 160 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. 

There, dark chocolate cookies. 

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (Luke 6:27-28 NIV)

Lemon Surprise Almond Cookies

My new year resolution for my baking adventure is to reduce wastage as much as possible, so I'm going to use all the lemon curds I have made previously. I was browsing the net for some inspiration and found this interesting recipe on bbcgoodfood. The lemon curd will be a surprise in the seemingly regular cookie. I call it lemon surprise! :)

(Makes twenty 6.5 cm round cookies)

To make the cookies

300g plain flour
140g caster sugar
100g round almond
250g unsalted butter at room temperature
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
Zest of 1 lemon

To assemble

3 tbsp Lemon Curd
3 tbsp milk for sealing
3 tbsp flaked almonds

1. Preheat the oven at 170 degrees, fan. Beat the butter and sugar till light and fluffy.

2. Add the egg, zest, salt and vanilla extract and beat to combine.

3. Sift the flour and ground almond over the egg mixture and fold to combine.

4. Divide the dough into 2, shape into discs, wrap in cling wraps and fridge for about 30 minutes.

5. Roll the dough to about 0.2 cm in between 2 baking papers and cut into 6.5 cm rounds.

6. On 1 round, brush with milk, place a dollop of lemon curd in the middle, place another round over and seal the sides. Sprinkle with caster sugar and flaked almonds and bake in preheated oven of 170 degrees fan for about 20 minutes.

7. Leave to cool completely.

8. I forgot the sugar and almonds for 1 batch and decorated them with leftover chocolate ganache.

There! The final product!

I would put more lemon curd for the next batch. I still have quite a lot of lemon curd left, what do I bake next? Cupcakes with lemon center core, maybe? 

Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. (Matthew 22:37-38 NIV)

Lemon Curd Tarts

After all the festive feastings, I thought I'll just bake an unconventional birthday 'cake', a strawberries tart instead. I hope the girls like it. :) Unfortunately, I was rushing between meetings and completing the cake and the best I could was take the final product. I thought the strawberry lemon curd tart could do with a few more strawberries. A few days later, I did another tart, this time, leaving the lemon curd as the star of the dessert. I like how the sharpness of the lemon curd cut through the mildly sweet crust. I used the Pate Sablee recipe.

(Makes about 10 standard muffins)

1 recipe of Pate Sablee

1 recipe of Lemon Curd

100ml whipping cream

1 tbsp icing sugar

1. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees, fan mode. Roll the Pate Sablee into a round.
*(I rolled it in between 2 sheets of baking paper so that I don't have to wash the rolling pin and the table top. Yes, I'm lazy like that, hahaha.)*

2. Cut into rounds, I used 6.5cm cutter.

3. To make sure the tarts don't get stuck to the muffin tins, I lined the base of the tin with a strip of baking paper.

4. Ease the cut out dough into the muffin tins and weigh the dough down with baking beans. You can use any beans if you don't have the baking beans.

5. Bake in the preheated oven of 180 degrees for about 20 minutes. Leave to cool completely before assembling.

6. Pipe or spoon lemon curd into the tart cases.

7. Whip the cream and the icing sugar together till soft peak.

8. Pipe on top of the tarts to decorate.

9. Sprinkle lemon zest on top of the tarts to finish.

There.. Love these tarts and the simple decoration.

Happy 2015!!

but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31 NIV)