Pumpkin loaf with Cheese and Walnuts

I made this soft pumpkin loaf quite some time ago, using water roux starter. It was quite soft and fluffy. This recipe is from Tangzhong Pumpkin Loaf. However, instead of pepitas, I garnished with cheddar cheese. I have also added some toasted walnuts in. 

Recipe

Ingredients:

110ml milk
50g whisked egg
120g tangzhong starter dough, my previous post on how to make this starter dough can be found here
100g pumpkin puree
40g honey
12g milk powder
1/2 tsp salt
350g high protein flour
2 tsp instant yeast
25g melted butter

A handful of toasted walnuts

3 pcs of cheddar cheese for garnish

Method:

1. Add all ingredients, except for melted butter and cheddar cheese according to the above sequence into the breadmaker.

2. Select the dough function. When all the ingredients has come together, add in the melted butter.

3. At the end of the first cycle, add in the toasted walnuts. Once the bradmaker has complete its full cycle, remove the dough into a clean surface and divide it into 3 equal portions. Cover and let it rest in room temperature for 15 minutes.

4.Roll out each dough into an oval shape. Fold 1/3 from top to the middle and press. Then fold another 1/3 from bottom to the middle and press to seal.

5. Turn seal downwards and roll flat. Then turn the seal upwards and roll it into a cylinder.

6. Once done, place it into a greased Pullman tin with the seal facing downwards. Repeat step 4 to 6 for the remaining dough.

7. Let it proof for another 45 minutes, till it is double in size.

8. Brush with egg wash and garnish with cheddar cheese strips.

9. Bake in preheated oven at 170ºC for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer onto wire rack to cool.

10. Store in airtight container.

Lunch with My 3 Little Girls

This is a very old post. It was drafted earlier but I have yet to post it. These were taken beginning of this year, around mid of January. I brought the girls out for lunch by myself for the first time. We had pizza, baked rice and spaghetti. We had really enjoyable time together. :-D

Baked Honey Chicken Wings

I made these succulent chicken wings for dinner back in January but didn't manage to post this up until today. The taste was awesome. The children love them. So does dearest hubby.

The chicken wings were marinated overnight with honey, oyster sauce, sesame oil, light soy sauce, ginger juice and pounded shallots. Then, they were baked in the preheated oven for roughly 25 to 30 minutes. I basted them 3 times with the remaining marinates over the duration of the baking time. The result? Very flavourful chicken wings!!

Big Bowl Ice ....Again?

I find it quite hard to find time to update my blog lately. There are still many outstanding posts in my draft which I have yet to complete. I think I must really set aside some time to clear off all these drafts. Since today is a holiday, I will be updating as much posts as possible. The first to go on a hot and sunny day like this would be a post on some icy cold desserts.

We have been frequenting this place called Big Bowl Ice recently. One feature that attracted us to this place is the fresh fruits used especially mangoes. Every time we are here, the  crispy spring onion pancake is a must-have item that we will order.

Lychee Prawn

Before I start with this post, I just want to share this photo that I took from my backyard. I was intrigued by these ladybirds on my lime leaves. They were like forming a formation on the back of the leaves. I have never seen anything like this before.

Oh, by the way, I have some additional thing to share. I have not been to Pizza Hut for a very long time. My friends suggested for us to meet over lunch and we thought Pizza Hut would be a great place. I just found out that other than pizza and spaghetti, Pizza Hut had started to offer other variety of meals that is not just confined to pizza or pasta. I ordered this Flaming Prawn Rice and it was quite nice. 

OK, it is time to go back to our intended subject matter. We shouldn't wander too far away . Hahaha!! This is the lychee prawn that I made back in January. I used 12 shrimps, seasoning, some egg, cornflour, breadcrumbs and a can of lychee for this. It is very easy and fuss-free to make. First of all, mince the shrimps till it turn into a paste. Add some pepper, shaoxing wine and salt to taste. Then stuff the paste into the lychee. Coat the stuffed lychees with cornflour, followed by beaten egg and finally the breadcrumbs. Then fry till golden brown. I served this with some mayonnaise-based sauce. I feel that as snacks, these are nice but not so suitable as a dish in any main meal. 

This is how it looks like on the inside.

Night Out with Friends

It has been quite a while since I last had any outing with friends. After having children, my priority just like any other mother is on my kids. Being a mother is a full time job, requiring 24/7 of our time. Going out with friends is considered as luxury. So, it was great that I get to spent some time with friends during the beginning of the year. We went for dinner at Al Dente in Taman Merdeka Permai and followed by coffee at That's Coffee.

I ordered set dinner which consists of pork loin in some kind of tangy orange sauce, a bun, creamy pumpkin soup and apple juice. 

A friend ordered this quite unique-looking Chicken Cordon Bleu.

After our dinner, we went over to That's Coffee for more chatting. 

I ordered hot chocolate.

Some of them ordered this lava cake.

It was definitely an enjoyable night for me. At least I am able to have some "Me" time away from the children. I hope I can slot in more social activities like this in the future.

Winter Solstice Festival 2014

This is supposed to be an entry on 2014's Winter Solstice Festival but I only manage to post this up almost towards the end of January 2015. At least I post it up -*wink* *wink* Better late than never....

No recipe is provided in this entry as I think everyone should know how to make tangyuan as it is so easy. Basically you just need glutinous rice flour and water for the dumpling's skin and some colouring, either artificial or natural. As for me, I always prefer to use natural colouring. For the fillings, there are so many varieties to choose from, be it the more traditional type or the more recently developed flavours like chocolate paste and fruit jam. The fillings does not necessarily need to be sweet. It can be savoury as well. 

This year, I decided to make something different from the normal colourful tangyuans that I have been making all these while. I started off with these cute pandas in brown sugar syrup.

Then I moved on to these marble-look-alike tangyuans.

Finally, I ended the tangyuan making marathon with these cute little beauties. I like this soup base the most. This time, I made a ginger-palm sugar soup base with some dried longans. As the weather was quite cold during the end of the year, eating this definitely provided some comfort. 

Pandan Chiffon Cupcakes

After eating the Pandan Layer cake the other day, I just can't get enough of the bouncy, springy chiffon layer. So, yesterday I purposely bake the Pandan Chiffon cake base again but this time I bake it in individual cupcake cups. Yummy !!! They are so spongy, bouncy, springy and soft. Very velvety soft. The feeling was like jumping on a candy cloud. However, the top does not look as nice as there were some minor cracks. Nevertheless, the crack is no longer a concern when you have your first bite on the cake. One is definitely not enough. They are soooo addictive. 

Pandan Chiffon Cupcakes

Make 16

Ingredients: 

A

4 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

50g caster sugar

B

4 egg yolks

30g sugar

60ml full cream milk

60ml corn oil

25ml pandan juice

90g Hong Kong flour

Method:

1. Whip ingredients A till stiff peak.

2. In another bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar till pale.

3. Mix in milk, corn oil and pandan juice.

4. Gradually add in flour.

5. Gently fold in 1/3 of the whipped egg whites till well mixed. Gently fold in another 1/3 and once well mixed, fold in the remaining egg whites.

6. Scoop batter into cupcake cups and bake in preheated oven at 150ºC for 15 minutes till the skewer inserted comes out clean.

7. Once baked, remove from oven and quickly invert the cupcakes over the wire rack at an elevated position.    

8. Once cool, move them back to upright position.