Green Tea Mochi with Red Bean Filling

I have heard of mochi before, but don't really fancy eating it, as I seldom like food that is coated with cornstarch. Anyway, why do I google all the way to find this Mochi recipe is because, my SIL (Emily) asked me if I know how to make this yummy thing called "MOCHI". Hmm, I was tempted to try anything new as you know , I have just started baking and cooking, and will just try everything and anything I see or hear. OK, I know it sounds crazy. Well, let's just say, it's the fun of making something with your own bare hands, and seeing it turn out to be something that is wonderfully nice and yummy, and most important edible hahaha....that's the biggest achievement and satisfaction.
So I googled through my few favourites bloggers, who are well experienced in baking and cooking , and 'YES' I managed to find some postings on Mochi-making. I studied it for a while and find it very interesting, it's kinda like making the Chinese 'tang yuen' or Glutinous Rice Balls, as it uses 'glutinous rice flour' too and the only difference is you have to mould the dough while it's still warm....or else it will turn stiff. As Mochi is supposed to be smooth and soft when you bite on it, while the filling stay gooey inside and oozes out when you bite them..........OK,  this description does not come from me but my SiL.......she says the reason why she loves this 'MOCHI' thingy is because, it reminded her of her first love........for Mochi, that is........LOL
Not wanting to bore you anymore, here's the recipe that I extracted from My Kitchen Snippets. Oh yes, some useful tips, Tip #1: Don't be too worried that the dough will become tough and stiff if you don't start moulding it right out of the microwave,as i can tell you, it's really HOT!! argh....silly me for being an amateur, I 'kelam –kabut' mould it and put filling while it's quite hot when it came out of the microwave, and .........I burned my thumb and was awarded with a tiny 'water bubble'.....lesson learned :(  *sob, sob* So, don't fold it when it's hot, warm would do...........:P

GREEN TEA MOCHI WITH RED BEAN FILLING
(yields about 4-5 balls, or 6-8 balls if you make it smaller like I did)

Ingredients
1 cup of Mochiko (I think you can only get this Mochiko flour in Japanese stores) / Glutinous Rice flour

2 tbsp of sugar

1 tsp of green tea powder (or if you prefer plain Mochi, then just opt this green tea powder out in Step 2)

2/3 cup of water

Some sweet red bean paste (or any paste that you prefer; lotus paste, peanut paste etc)

Some cornstarch, for dusting

Method:

1. With wet hands, take 1 tbsp of red bean paste and roll it into a ball. Make about 4-5 balls.
   
2. In a microwave safe bowl, mix together mochiko / glutinous rice flour, sugar, green tea powder and water. Mix well.
   
3. Microwave the mixture on 'High' for 2 minutes. Remove and stir quickly. Return it to the microwave and cook for another 2 minutes. The dough will bubble up and inflate, but be careful not to overcook or the dough will be too tough. (I used only 1 minute and 50 seconds overall on my microwave oven on High, adjust according to our own microwave).
   
4. Divide the dough into 4-5 equal portions by using a tablespoon. Make sure the plate or counter top is dusted with cornstarch as the dough is very sticky.
   
5. Dust your fingers and palms with cornstarch and flatten a piece of the dough (it will be quite hot, so be careful) and put in the filling, then wrap the dough up and seal the opening with a tight pinch. Repeat until all the dough is used up.
   
6. Chill the mochi before serving.

CHOCOLATE CHEESE BUTTER CAKE

I love anything in chocolate, and I love anything in cheese....so, when the Twins (Daniel & Dylan) picked this cake recipe from my cookbook (I Love Butter Cake by Kevin Chai) and ask me to bake for them to bring go school, I willingly nodded with a smile and knew it sounds good and it should taste good too.........what can be 'not' good when a chocolate and cheese comes together in one? Moreover this recipe calls for white chocolate....hmm, from the sound of it already makes me salivating.....LOL ^-^
So, to cut it short,  the cake turn out really good, I meant "really GOOD" , I say it again :)
I would really encourage you to try it if you love chocolate and cheese combination like I do.......it's really delicious, and you know what? ............from the moment you put the cake into the oven to bake.....the whole kitchen is perfumed with 'White Chocolate and Butter' aroma.............suprisingly, not cheese though, and when you slice the cake, you can still see the white chocolate chunks in almost every piece of the cake....the cheese and butter blended in so well, each piece is rich and moist and very filling too, so what are you waiting for... ..hahaha, Happy 'Chocolate Cheese Butter Cake Baking!

CHOCOLATE CHEESE BUTTER CAKE

Ingredients

200gm butter, softened at room temperatue

175gm caster sugar ( I used only 120gm, but still finds it a bit sweet, maybe 80 -100gm will be just nice)

3 eggs

180gm plain flour (I used Self-raising flour, therefore I omitted the baking powder)

20gm milk powder

½ tsp baking powder

100gm white chocolate – diced

100gm cream cheese – diced

50gm white chocolate chips – for topping

Method:

1. Grease and line baking pan; pre-heat oven to 180~C.
   
2. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
   
3. Fold in sifted flour, milk powder and baking. Then add in white chocolate and cream cheese, mix until well blended.
   
4. Spoon batter into prepared baking pan. Sprinkle white chocolate chips on top. Bake in oven for 30 minutes – 40 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cake. Enjoy!

Happy Baking!

ASSORTED DOUGHNUTS

Yes, it's Doughnut Day......a day that I decided to make nothing but just doughnuts ^-^  As the kids just love to eat the "Big Apple" Donuts, I decided to try and make some myself.  My MiL also suggested I try making it as she said if I can make bread or buns, doughnuts are in the same category......only difference is instead of baking, it's deep fried in oil. Well, since I just bought a new cookbook , that's all about doughnuts.....of course by flipping through the pages already it increases my urge to try it :P
OK, so the kitchen is where I'm heading to, weighed out my ingredients, kneading and proving and then frying the donuts........it sure is not much difference when compares to bread-making. The amount of time needed for proving and resting is just the same, and in fact the ingredients are pretty much the same too. oh yes, of course you have to stand-by a 'doughnut-cutter' ......another difference :)
Well, the end result is.......this doughnut's texture of the donuts are very bread-like, and with all sorts of topping that you can think of......the kids will love it...even I like it too ^-^

Here it is.......this recipe is extracted from my new cookbook - "Donuts and Bagels Up Close" by You Chun-Hsiung. Happy Doughnuts Making!

PLAIN BREAD DONUTS (yields about 19 @ 50gm donuts)
Ingredients for Dough
(A) 15gm dry yeast, 200gm water
(B) 500gm Bread flour, 100gm whole eggs, 75gm fine granulated sugar, 15gm milk powder, 7gm salt
(C) 50gm butter

Method

1. Beat ingredient (A) with egg beater until yeast dissolves completely.
2. Place ingredient (B) in stainless steel bowl, add 3/4 of ingredient (A), beat at low speed until well-blended, scrape sides constantly until it forms dough, add rest of ingredient (A).
3. Beat until there are no lumps in dough, add butter, beat until smooth and elastic.
4. Remove a small piece of the dough, pull out with fingers (stretch test) to see if the dough can stretch into a fine membrane without tearing, if there it tears, continue to knead for a few more minutes and try again until you get it (But, to tell you the truth, I didn't pass that test, but the doughnuts are fine, as I find that hand-knead method are quite hard to achieve that result, so don't despair).
5. Test again by pulling a small piece of dough out with fingers, if it is not torn and forms a thin silk-like membrane, the dough is ready.
6. Set the dough aside to rise in the mixing bowl for the first time about 40-45 minutes depends on the room temperature, normally a warmer place lets it ferment faster.(Lightly flour the bowl to avoid the dough sticking to the side)
7. The risen dough should be 2-3 times bigger than the usual dough, to test if the dough is ready, lightly dip your finger into some flour and insert it into the centre of the dough, the hole of the finger should stay there and rise up very slowly.
8. Remove dough from the bowl and lightly punch down the dough to release the air bubbles trapped inside, then let rise for another 5 minutes longer.
9. Remove dough to floured work surface, with a rolling pin, lightly roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1cm thickness.
10. Use the doughnut-cutter (any size) and cut out the doughnut pattern.
11. Flour baking paper, arrange bread donuts on it, set 2cm apart and let rise for second time for about 20 minutes.
12. Heat the oil in the frying pan in medium heat, and deep-fry the doughnuts in oil until golden on both sides.
13. Remove and drain the excess oil with kitchen towels, let cool on the rack, and decorate with as you like, for example sprinkle or dip with fine granulated sugar, dipped into chocolate ganache, topped with chocolate chips, nibbed almonds, hundreds and thousands sprinkle and other.

Happy Doughnuts Baking! ~

Tiramisu (2 of 4)

"Pick me Up" this phrase is so true for Tiramisu.......as the temptation of picking up a piece of this cake is really hard to resist. I have fell in love with Tiramisu the very first time I tasted a piece in one of the 5 –star resort in Kota Kinabalu, and from then on........I just can't stop having a bite of it each time I saw a piece of Tiramisu being served. I used to begged my Hubby to make me a Tiramisu cake when he was still working in the hotel industry, as he has all the utensils and ingredients he needed. But........he never did , as his main excuse is "it's very tedious and a lot of work lah"......huh!

So, I finally get to really put my hands to making this cake now , all on my own, and I wanted to proved to him, that it's not as tedious as he used to say it is. Hahaha, but deep down, I am quite scared too that it will not turn out right, and he will laugh at me for my stubbornness........as he has already branded me as the 'most stubborn person he has ever known'.......:P

Tiramisu, here I come, and guessed what? IT turned out in perfect shape, perfect taste and I got praised by those who have tasted a piece of it..........thanks guys, for giving me that boost of confidence.....xoxo

Here's the recipe for "Pick Me Up' Tiramisu.....this recipe is a sure-keeper! Happy baking!

'PICK ME UP' TIRAMISU

Ingredient

A pot of strong coffee (Espresso preferably) but I used Nescafe ....:P

3 tbsp Brandy , I don't have Brandy at home so I used coffee liquor - Kahlua

2 large eggs

3 tbsp castor sugar

250gm Mascarpone Cheese , I substituted with 250gm Philadelphia Cream Cheese

250ml thickened cream

150gm dark Cocoa powder

500gm Savoiardi (lady fingers/ sponge biscuits)

Method:

1. Make a pot of strong coffee, pour into a dish or bowl and allow to cool before adding the Brandy / Kahlua in.
   
2. Seperate the eggs, and set aside the whites.
   
3. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and the castor sugar together until pale and thick.
   
4. Add in the mascarpone / cream cheese and mix until combined.
   
5. In another bowl, whip the cream and then fold in to the egg, sugar and cheese mixture.
   
6. In the third bowl, beat the egg whites into soft peaks and then quickly fold into the cake mix.
   
7. Sprinkle a thin layer of cocoa powder into a large serving dish.
   
8. Dip the biscuits into the coffee mixture, taking care not to over soak them for too long, before placing in the serving dish.
   
9. Continue dipping biscuits and placing in the dish, creating a layer of soaked biscuits. Dust with a sprinkling of cocoa powder.
   
10. Spread a thick layer of the cake mixture over the layer of biscuits before dusting with another sprinkling of cocoa powder.
    
11. Place another layer of soaked biscuits in the dish, again sprinkling with cocoa powder.
    
12. Smooth the rest of the cake mixture in a thick layer over the second biscuit layer. Again, sprinkle with cocoa powder.
    
13. Place in the refrigerator and allow to set. Do not serve for at least 3 hours, for the best flavour, leave it for 24 hours. Enjoy!

Non-Bake OREO Cheesecake ( 1 of 4)

I know it's crazy to make 2 creamy rich cheese cakes in a day and topped it up with a main course that is creamy and rich , and not forgetting cheesy as well - that's "Chicken Pie".....whoa!!! LOL

Yeap, I did that exactly in a day.....one fine Sunday ^-^, hey, let's just say, I'm celebrating Deepavali , OK?!! hehe...... I was so insane to choose these two cheesecakes, as both of these are extremely 'RICH' and well , what can I say, it's YUMMY from the top of my voice. I haven't make cheesecake before since I started baking, so why not, NOW. Like my boys advice me, "Mummy, practice makes perfect"....yeap, boys, Mummy totally agrees ;)

The other when i was shopping for cake ingredients in Bake with Me (the local cake ingredient store), I asked for 2 blocks of 250gm Philly Cream Cheese , but too bad, they ran out of stock, and only has the 4kg packing left. As I knew the next few days would be Public Holidays due to Deepavali, I wouldn't want to suit at home doing nothing, and since I'm so determine that I'm going to make cheesecakes this round, ........so without hesitation, I just grabbed that 4kg box of cream cheese home.
Mind you, I will be baking a lot of things with cheese in the following weeks to come.....LOL ^_^ OK, who cares....let's hit into my today's menu, I'm going to make :-

1. Non-Baked OREO Cheesecake
   
2. Tiramisu
   
3. My version of "DOME" Chicken Pie
   
4. And last but not least......Jasmine Green Tea Konnyaku Jelly
   

Thank goodness that these two cakes does not requires baking, that's why I can managed to add item (3) and (4) on the menu. Not to waste anymore time, as I have promised a few friends to have these 2 cheesecakes and the chicken pie recipes posted ASAP....hehe, sorry for the delay ya....:P Happy 'Crazy' Baking like me........cheers ^-^

NON-BAKED OREO CHEESECAKE
This recipe was extracted from Kraft website.
Ingredient

1 cup crushed OREO Original cookies

50gm butter, melted

500gm block of Philadelphia Cream cheese, softened

¾ cup castor sugar

3 tsp gelatine, dissolved in ¼ cup of boiling water

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 cup Dairy whipping cream, lightly whipped

100gm OREO Chocolate Creme cookies, crushed

50gm OREO Chocolate Creme Cookies, extra, roughly chopped

Method:

1. Combine the crumbs and butter and press into lined 20cm springform cake pan. Chill in the fridge for later use.
   
2. Beat the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. (you might like to add in the cream that is scraped off from the OREO cookies). Fold in the gelatine mixture, lemon juice, whipped cream and lastly the roughly chopped OREO Chocolate Creme Cookies.
   
3. Pour the filling into the prepared crust, refrigerate for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with extra OREOs crushed cookies crumbs on top and refrigerate for another 2 hours or until set.