black sesame milk

I usually don't try to use blending machine to make my own drink or dessert, thinking that cleaning up is a chore... Hubby has bought the vitamix machine awhile ago. Seriously, it is an excellent machine for mixing and blending. He uses it for making sauces mainly, and always, the sauce turns out beautifully. But I had yet to try until now.

Last weekend, while clearing the dry goods containers, I realised there were quite some stock left.. nuts, seeds, dried mushroom, barley...  Then, I saw the sesame seeds and suddenly, I got a craving for sesame paste/milk. I recalled seeing an almond milk recipe recently... so I thought it was a good chance for me to try out the machine. The sesame amount I had was just nice for making black sesame milk.

Black Sesame Milk

80g black sesame seeds
450g fresh milk (I used low fat since that was all I got)
30g glutinous rice flour (I used glutinous rice to grind)
sugar to taste

1. Put black sesame seeds, glutinous rice and milk into vitamix blender and blend until resemble liquid paste form. (alternatively, blend the sesame seeds first, then add glutinous rice flour and milk to mix if blender does not allow blender and mixing)
2. Sift the liquid paste.
3. Heat up the sifted sesame milk on a pan over medium heat. Stirring until liquid starting to bubble.
4. When the desired consistency is reached, turn off heat, add in sugar to taste.
5. Serve warm or chilled.

Recipe modified from 君之's almond milk recipe.

I tried 2 versions, one without sifting and one with... thinking that the unsifted one will have more texture and flavour. How wrong! The sifted one was silky smooth and rich and the taste was just right with enough punch of the sesame taste without any bitter or burned flavour.  The unsifted one was too 'sandy' to glide down the throat and has a bitter aftertaste. So step 2 cannot be skipped.

From the picture above and below, one can tell the distinct difference between the unsifted (above) and the sifted one (below). I ended up sifting the one above too.

If there is any complain, the sesame milk has a slightly raw taste compared to the ready made ones in dessert houses. So the next time I make,  I will probably try lightly toasting the sesame seeds first.

I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #20 Asian Dessert Buffet (June 2012) hosted by Moon of Food Playground.

Earl grey tea cake with lemon syrup

Earl Grey tea is one of my favourite scent, not drink. I love love love the smell of it, whether raw or freshly brewed, but I am a coffee person, period. Baking with tea, especially with Earl Grey tea, has always been on my to do list.

Last weekend, I finally got down to try experimenting with it. It went a slightly more winded route than I originally planned...

When I was making the cake batter, I felt something was amiss but couldn't make out what was it. The moment I mixed everything together in the final step, put baking pan into the oven and close the oven door, it struck me: I forgot the sugar!!

Too late to do anything but in order to salvage my effort, I thought glazing may be the answer if the cake batter can hold it's shape. So I frantically searched the Internet for glazing recipe that goes well with Earl Grey tea cake while the cake was baking in the oven.

Having found quite a few recommendations that lemon syrup compliments Earl grey tea cake, I set out to work, my heart wishing hard that the cake will not collapse or be too tough since it lacks sugar to hold the structure. According to Ask The Experts, sugar plays multiple roles in the science of baking.

In the mean time, from the window of the oven, I can see that the cake has risen well but that doesn't guarantee it will not collapse after being taken out from oven. When the baking time was up and toothpick inserted confirmed it was done, I took the cake out and poured all the syrup on the cake. 30 mins later and realizing that the cake was still holding strong, with all the syrup absorbed, my heart jumped with joy...

But wait, how about the taste?? Slicing one slice for myself, I almost couldn't believe that it was simply awesome! It was soft, fluffy and moist, with just enough sweetness and lots of flavours. Seriously, I think it was the most memorable cake I ever made, mainly bcoz I was expecting it to fail.

Too bad that the cranberries and chocolate chips all sank to the bottom, I should have floured them slightly, but the overall taste was good. As for the Earl grey taste, it was really mild. The next time I make it again, I will either increase the tea leaves amount or cut down on the cranberries, since I find it overpowering the tea taste.

So cake without sugar?? Not that I will go down that route often, but maybe for this recipe, I will try again :)

Earl Grey Tea Cake with Lemon Syrup

2 Earl Grey tea bags
1/4 cup boiling water
1/3 cup milk
100g unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs
2/3 cup caster sugar (totally missed out in my case)
1 1/4 cups self-raising flour (I use cake flour + 1 tsp salt + 1 tsp baking powder)
1 cup cranberries (optional)
1/4 cup chocolate chips

juice of 1 lemon
zest of 1 lemon
3 tbsp icing sugar

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree C, grease pan.
2. Empty tea leaves from tea bags into a cup and add the boiling water.
3. Set aside for 3-5 mins
4. Stir in the milk and transfer to a mixing bowl
5. Add the butter, sugar, eggs and flour.
6.  Use electric beater on low to beat until just combined.
7. Increase the speed to medium and beat until mixture is pale and creamy (may look slightly curdled)
8. Bake in a preheated oven for 20-22 mins or until toothpick inserted comes out clean

9. While cake is baking, add the juice, zest and icing sugar in a bowl.
10. Mix until the sugar fully dissolved.

11. Pour the lemon syrup onto the cake once it's out of the oven
12. Wait until syrup fully absorbed by the cake before turing the cake out from the pan

recipe adapted from nigella lawson's community recipe and flick your food for the lemon syrup.

Since I have done the cake without the sugar, I am not too sure if the cake will be too sweet  if full sugar amount is used. Unless if you have a really sweet tooth, I would recommend cutting down the 2/3 cup of sugar to maybe 1/2 or even 1/4 cup. And if you really have moderate capacity for sweetness like me (I like my dessert/cake/muffin mildly sweet but full of flavours), you may even try omitting the sugar? Well, part of the fun of baking is experimenting to suit your own taste right?

black bottom cheesecakes

I would like to think that cheesecake is one of the easier treats to make... well, there may be lots of people out there begging to differ. I can only say what works easier for me.

Some people claim that cookies are easy, but it's hard for me to get a consistent result for different recipes, sometimes they are too soft / too cakelike, sometimes they are off the taste slightly... they hardly turn out too hard for my case though. So, I can't claim cookies are easy for me.

Some people claim that cupcakes are easy, but for me, I tend to cut down the sugar too much (I seem to have this problem, bcoz I like my cake to be less sweet) and the cupcakes turn out not fitting the taste of people around me.

For cheesecakes, most of the times (well, most), they turn out delectable and they go down well with most  of the people around me, so I don't have to end up finishing most by myself :).

This black bottom cheesecake recipe is a nice twist from conventional crusted cheeseke. The chocolate taste from the bottom compliments the cheesecake portion well. The cake texture also goes well with the smoother texture of the cheesecake. 

Black Bottom Cheesecake

cream cheese filling:

8 ounce cream cheese, room temperature

1/3 granulated white sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract
chocolate chips (optional)

chocolate bottom:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup granulated white sugar (I used 1/2 cup)

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp white vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven at 175 degree C, line muffin pan.

2. With electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, egg, and vanilla extract and beat until creamy. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix together sifted flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In a seperate bowl, mix together water, oil, vinegar and vanilla extract. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients until smooth. 

4. Divide the chocolate batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups. Top each with cheesecake batter evenly. Sprinkler chocolate chips on top of each muffin.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 mins. The cheesecake should have set and chocolate cake portion springy to touch. 

6. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.

This recipe is adapted from Joy Of Baking

I really like to simplicity of this recipe. Yes, there are 2 portions to make but both are not complicated. The result is mouthfuls of rich wholesome taste - wonderful mix of chocolate and cheese, goes really well with coffee too.

handmade bow brooch

This is not a baking related post, but I am quite fond of the result, so just decided to share it here.

I like browsing the web for handmade item ideas (other than baking recipes :) ), esp those done using recycled items and are simple enough for someone without much DIY skills. I always think that turning something old or unusable into something beautiful and useful again is a cool and responsible act, which we busy concrete jungle dwellers on this island state have almost no time for. It is more time efficient to just pack up those unusable/unwanted stuff, toss them down the chute and go shopping again. No?

I personally find a beautiful mess a gem, a full of interesting ideas and most are practical too. Plus point, her blog is so pretty to look at.This bow brooch is adapted from her bow tie idea.

To make the bow brooch, I used a top which doesn't fit me anymore but I kept all these while bcoz I like the colours and the fabric. Instead of a blow clip, I used a small safety pin since I didn't want to purposely go shopping for a brooch pin for this purpose.

The step-to-step photo explanation of a beautiful mess's blog is easy to follow but I have to make some simple adjustment along the process due the fact that the fabric I used is quite thick and the thread from the fabric kept falling off. I couldn't just iron and hand fold it for the bow to take shape but have to sew it from step to step. But all in all, it took me less than 45 mins to finish the job.

This is how it looks on me, and I wore it to work that particular week right after I finished it. Of course, some colleagues noticed it and commented how unique it is :).

layered mini cheesecakes

Have you ever bit into a cheesecake that has a delicious thin bottom crust and secretly hoped that you can have more of that crunchy texture mixed with the cheesecake in every bite? No? Well, I know I did and I have been tinkling with the idea of having multi-layered crust cheesecake for awhile. When I saw that the theme for Aspiring Bakers April 2012 is Layers of Love, I decided to make some.

Layered Mini Cheesecakes

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (I used digestive biscuits)
2 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp butter or margarine (I used butter)

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tsp orange juice
1/2 tsp grated orange zest
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
fruity preserve or jam of choice (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 165 degree C. Line muffin pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the cracker crumbs, sugar and margarine with a fork until combined. Measure a rounded teaspoon of the mixture into the bottom or the muffin cup, pressing firmly. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 5 minuted, then remove to cool. Keep the oven on.
3. Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, juice, zest and vanilla until fluffy. Mix in the egg.
4. Pour the cream cheese mixture into 6 of the muffin cups, filling about 1/2 full. Transfer the crusts from the other 6 unfilled cups into the filled ones. Top up with the remaining cream cheese mixture. Bake at 165 degree C for 25 mins. Cool completely in pan before removing. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
5. Top with preserve or jam of choice before serving.

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.

One great thing about these mini cheesecakes is the controllable portion. Seriously, how many of us, urban cubicle dwellers with hardly any weekly exercise, will ever whoop down a giant piece of cheesecake without feeling a single ounce of guilt?

Another great thing, they are absolutely tasty and so easy to make. I am the sort of baker that will be happy to try any interesting recipe as long as it does not take up too much of my free time. My baking philosophy is always - simple, tasty and sustainable (to let me have to energy to keep on baking), period :).

Oh, these cheesecakes actually have a small indent on them after being baked, which will hold the preserve/jam topping nicely as well.

One complain I have of them is that the crust crumbles ever so easily... I tried to google whether there is any solution to it, some people suggested chilling the base. Well, maybe next time I will try it.

I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #18 Layers of Love (April 2012) hosted by Sam of Sweet Samsations.

cupcake in a cone

These cute little sweet treats are not something that I would dream of making but when I saw those cupcake cones on House of Hepworths, I just thought I have to try it.

Why? Bcoz they are just so adorable, bcoz they may come in handy if I need to bring some goodies to some kids functions, bcoz I am curious how the cone will taste.. and most importantly, there is this little kid in me that was just begging to eat one.

So, I got to work, and did a toned down version using cupcake recipe from awfully easy chocolate cake (minus the cocoa powder) that I posted last year, topped with icing from sugar cookies frosting from allrecipes. I happened to have some leftover pineapple paste, so I put some into the cone as filling, and some into the frosting for variation.

The cone itself became soft after the baking process and really feels like part of the cupcake. The feeling of eating one is like eating a cupcake together with the container/wrapper.

While I don't really fancy the taste, it leaves me with a childlike euphoric each time I ate one. So I reckon, with some additional touches, e.g. some choco chips or M&M or colourful sprinkers and some colourful frosting, the recipe has potential to be a hit in any family or children occasion. So, I really think the concept is a brilliant one. Good point is, you can use any recipe you are most comfortable for the cupcake. You can even steer the cones to a 'gourmet' direction. Dark chocolate cupcake in a cone with white chocolate ganache anyone??

absolutely hearty breakfast quick bread

This is one easy to put together, time efficient, delicious, flexible and absolutely hearty quick bread recipe. I have repeatedly tried a few variations (depending on ingredients I have at that point of time), baked them in loft tin or muffin pan (with some time adjustment), and each time, it turned out well.

So nowadays, whenever I feel like incorporating more fibre into my breakfast, this is one recipe I can always fall back on :).

Absolutely Hearty Breakfast Quick Bread

1 and 1/2 cup of all purpose flour (I tried with cake flour, fine too)

3/4 cup of flax seed

3/4 oat bran (I usually use quick cooking oat)

1/2 cup brown sugar (original recipe called for 1 cup)

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 cup low fat milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp vegetable oil (I usually use olive oil)

2 cups shredded carrots

2 cups apples, peeled, shredded

1/2 cup raisin

1 cup chopped mixed nuts

1. Preheat oven to 175 degree C. Line muffin pan with paper or grease loft tin.

2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, flax seed, oat bran, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the milk, eggs, vanilla and oil; mix until just blended. Stir in the carrots, apples, raisins and nuts. Pour batter into pan or tin.

3. Bake for 15 to 20 mins, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

This recipe is adapted from allrecipes app titled Bran Flax Muffins submitted by Jane Massey.

I have tried substituting 1/2 cup honey in place of the brown sugar and wholemeal flour in place of flax seed but I still prefer the original recipe.

The last flour ingredients are the really flexible ones. I have tried omitting, replacing, doubling 1 of the items and even adding others and every time I was rewarded with yummy treats. It is definitely a recipe that allows the baker to be creative. And best of all, the recipe is low fat -mere 2 tbsp of oil and you get really moist, flavourful result, amazing!