Happy Halloween Week!

I know I'm a few days ahead of Halloween but hey, I'm in the mood!!  I'm excited. I feel like a kid. I can't wait to showcase my creations.. and after today - it's Sunday today, I'm back to work tomorrow and will not have time to post anything during weekdays.  Since Halloween falls on Friday, yeah well, that's why I'm early this year.

Halloween is a time for one to have fun and be creative. Unfortunately, Halloween is not popular in this part of the world. Although some toy stores and costume stores do sell all kinds of scary and ghoulish items, not many will make a purchase unless someone throws a Halloween party.

We don't have kids going around 'treat or trick' in the neighborhood especially since kidnapping cases are on the rise. Parents will not usually allow their young children to be out of the house unattended. However, this does not stop one from being in the mood to be creative, rite.. Err hmm!

I look forward to Halloween each year as I have a different agenda.. that is to bake, to create and to share. This year I got my kids to put on their creative hat and be artistic. They simply love doing this as much as I.. So here, as promised in my earlier post, sharing our colorful creations and wishing you a wonderful and a very Happy Halloween!!

                                         

                             

       

                    

 

                    

                   

 

H A P P Y    H A L L O W E E N !

Nyonya Pineapple Tarts

G O N G   X I   F A   C A I ,    E V E R Y O N E!

It's time to wish everyone a very happy and prosperous Chinese New Year! May the year of the Horse brings you an abundance of good luck, good fortune, good health and much joy.

The first cookie to be eaten for this auspicious celebration should be this authentic Nyonya Pineapple Tarts.  Why?  Because pineapple is called 'Ong Lai' in Hokkien dialect which means luck has come.  In Chinese community, everything and anything that is considered 'good' will be largely consumed or celebrated on such auspicious occasion.

Here, I present to you the authentic Nyonya Pineapple Tarts.  My family and I love to eat this tart.  Some would call this a cookie but actually it's not.  The pineapple jam should not be too sweet.  If too much sugar is used in cooking the jam, you will not get the taste of sweet-sourness of the pineapple.  That slight sourness of the pineapple that compliments the pastry.  The store bought jam is usually loaded with sugar and they thicken it with cornflour so that less pineapple is used.  Pineapples are not that cheap.  So for commercially processed jam, all that matters is the profit and not the taste.  That's why I don't buy commercialized pineapple tarts.  I'd prefer to make them although it is a very tedious process at making them.  So, I only do this once in every few years.. :) - provided I'm in the mood to be 'hardworking'! lol

The secret to making this tart is in the kneading of the pastry.  I don't exactly have the right measurement of the margarine used.  My late mom thought my sisters and I when we were younger on how to 'feel' the dough when making this tart.  The dough should not be too dry or too wet.  That's why most people who do not have the 'right' method or tricks in kneading the dough but rather follow the recipe book, may not get the right texture or taste for this tart.  So, I guess my siblings and I are rather lucky to have learned the tricks first hand.

There's really nothing to it if you know how.. wink! wink!

So, here's the recipe for the ingredients and I try to give you the exact measurement as I can...

Pineapple Jam:
3-4 large pineapple (try to get the ripe ones)
Granulated Sugar to taste (approx. 500g, depending on the natural sweetness of the pineapples)
(I know that some families use spices like the star anise or cinnamon sticks when prepare this jam.  My family prefer not to use the spices.  We like the natural taste of the pineapple that is not being overwhelmed by the spices)

1. Cut the pineapple and cut out the 'eyes'.  Chopped into bite sizes.
2. Blend the pineapple and strain.  Run it over clean water and leave to strain for an hour or so.
3. Cook the pineapple in a wok, keep stirring for about 45 mins, then add sugar.  Cook until pineapple is almost dry and the color changes to darker golden yellow.  Leave to cool before use.  Can be frozen for a couple of months.

Pastry:
600gm wheat flour
250gm margarine (has to be margarine.  Do not use butter) - add more as needed
1/2 cup hot salted water (hot water mix with 1/2 tsp salt)
3 egg yolks
1 egg white

1. Rub flour with margarine.  Texture should not be too sandy or too 'wet'.  When you pinch the dough together, it should be able to hold the shape.
2. Add the egg yolks and the egg white.  Knead well and add the salted water.
3. Roll out the dough and use the tart mould to cut out the tart discs.  Fill the center with pineapple jam.
4. Use the same dough to make the center pattern.  However, the original version, for the pattern dough, do the same for the pastry dough but add more egg whites to it so that it'll be stiffer and stretchable.
5. Brush egg wash on the pastry and bake at 160d C until the pastry is golden brown.

Apple Pie

Let's welcome the New Year with good old Apple Pie and a new look for 2013!  Hopefully this year will be full of good surprises just like the apple pie with its flavorful spices and softness in the inside and crispiness on the outside.. in the end, a very satisfying bite!

4 extra large green apples, cored and diced

1 cup raisins

1 lemon, zest and juice

1/2 cup brown sugar (add more to suit your taste)

30g butter

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 packet of frozen ready-rolled pastry puff (6 pieces in a pack)

1 egg, for the egg wash

Mix all together and cook over medium heat till half soft.  Take off heat and let cool.

Dust cutting board with some flour so that the pastry will not stick on the board and cut pastry puff into 4 squares.  

Place a spoonful of apple filling into the center and fold over. Using a fork, seal the sides. Transfer to a baking tray with parchment paper.

Brush egg wash all over and bake in pre-heated oven at 190dC for 20 mins or until golden.

My kids are already grunting about going back to school tomorrow.. and I follow suit! sigh!  Vacation's over!

Have a great year ahead, everyone!

Gingerbread House, Gingerbread Man & Black Russian Brownies

Ooo yeah!  The time has come for me to try my hands at making the Gingerbread House!  I thought it was a simple task.  All I need to do is just make the dough house structure, bake it, construct it, decorate it, and voila!  Well, I'm in for a big surprise.

At least, the steps are all so simple until the assembling part!  It took me 3 hours or more to finally complete the assembling and decoration.  It took a lot of planning.  Good thing I baked the house structure a day ahead together with the gingerbread man.

                   

 

                 

 

My daughters helped out with the decoration on the gingerbread cookies.  They are very good at it and enjoyed doing it very much!  The 'dress-up' are all their creations.  Nice huh!

                 

 

                 

 

Ooo..my walls are up..but wait.  The 'fun' part was the roof and the chimney!  That's where the disappointment and despair begins and I'm not one to give up that easily. Muaahhahhah!

Okay, the roof and chimney looks good... but don't be fooled.  The 'glue' doesn't hold and the roof gave way.  Oh! I'm in desperation.  I tried various ways to keep them together.  Add more frosting and pray hard it will stick but failed!  Tried using the satay stick by supporting the roof from bottom and planted it to the 'ground' but the roof was too heavy.  So, that idea didn't work either.  Now what?

Thought of making a hole through the top of the roof and tie through with a string but dough is too hard to poke through.  So, bad idea.  I'm not gonna put my hours and hours of work to waste.  Being the so-called 'creative' person, tried hard to think of salvaging my house.

Then, yes, the idea came.  The only problem I'm having is the roof, right?  All I need to do is to keep it together - logically, it has to be connected at the top and stay as a 'triangle'.  Since the 'glue frosting' doesn't work, well, I could use ribbon to hold it together and yet make it look like a present!  Oh yes, that might work and it did!  Phew!  Next year, if I want to make this again, got to search for a better 'sticking frosting' than this one.  Anyway, please click this link on how to make this.

There you go... my first ever Gingerbread house.  It is surrounded by Black Russian Brownies.  Scroll down to the bottom for the recipe.

Dinner's done, and now all set to go at tearing down the house and pop it into the mouth.  The kids having fun at 'destroying' the house..that's what this is all about.  FUN!

 Oh! My poor chimney chin chin!

Next, the roof... they don't have a problem at tearing that down!.... kakakkaka

My nephew is such a joker.  He told me that I have to make a 'double storey gingerbread house'  for next Christmas! Yeah rite.. you are so funny, my 'bigger than me' nephew.. wakakak kakak akaka!  Errr.. you are joking right??

Black Russian Brownies
115g bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
115g unsalted butter
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
4 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cup superfine sugar (I used 1 cup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp Kahlua liqueur
2 tbsp vodka
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chopped walnut

1. Pre-heat oven to 180dC.  Prepare pan with parchment paper.
2. Melt the choc and butter with the peppercorns in small pan over low heat. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
3. Beat together the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract in large bowl and stir in the choc mixture, Kahlua and vodka.
4. Sift the flour and baking powder and stir evenly into the choc mixture.  Stir in the walnut, pour into pan and bake for 20-25 mins or until done.
5. Let cool and cut into pieces.

We celebrated our daughter's birthday together with Christmas.  This will be featured in my next post on her Durian Little Pony Unicorn Cake theme.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!