Green tea and durian filled buyer free cupcakes

These are greentea flavored

These are with durian filling

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Ingredients:

Pumpkin Muffin

Last weekend when I was at my mom's place, I saw her bought a big pumpkin and asked her for a slice of it. After some googling, I found this nice steamed pumpkin muffin recipe and thought of giving it a try. Due to preference of taste, there are some modification to the recipe.

Make: roughly 8 normal cupcakes mould size

Ingredients:
125g pumpkin (I'm not sure how much I used coz I didnt weight mine)
1 egg (large) – i think mine not big enough
85g castor sugar, I reduced mine to 65g
½ tsp salt
100g thick coconut milk (canned or fresh) – I used normal cream instead and add bout 10g of milk
30g salad oil (I used extra virgin olive oil)
200g cake flour (which is roughly 185g flour with 15g of corn flour)
1.5 tsp double acting baking powder 

Methods:

1. Mix cake flour and baking powder together. Sieve and set aside.
2. De-skin pumpkin, cut into small cubes, steam and mash with a fork. Set aside.
3. Preheat steamer – Fill a cooking pot/ wok with water and bring water to a boil. Place a steaming rack (it’s optional).  For half the portion, I actually try steaming them in the oven to test the different and I think it is better tasting.
4. In a mixing bowl, beat egg until foamy with a hand whisk.
5. Add in sugar and salt. Continue beating until well combined and the sugar and salt are dissolved.
6. Add in cream, milk, oil and pumpkin in sequence. Mix until well combined for each addition.
7. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture from step (2). Pour the wet mixture from step (6) into it in 2-3 batches. Use a spatula to fold in the wet mixture until blended and no traces of flour.
8. Spoon the batter into the lined pudding moulds until 80% full.
9. Steam on high heat for about 15 minutes.
10. Once it’s done, remove the pudding moulds from the cooking pot/ wok and transfer to a cooling rack.
11. Best to serve warm.

Hokkaido Chiffon

I had gotten the recipe from: http://yummykoh.blogspot.com/2012/05/hokkaido-chiffon-cupcakes.html with a little modification. Since no one likes the cream, we do without it... :D

Ingredients:

4 Yolks
70g Sugar (reduced to 65g)
1 tsp of Vanilla Essence
80ml Fresh Milk
60ml Corn oil (I used Olive oil)
135g Cake Flour
4g Baking powder
6 Whites
50g sugar (reduced to 40g)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven at 100 degree celcius.
2. Arrange paper liners on baking tray
3. Hand whisk yolks with sugar until pale in colour.
4. Add drops of vanilla essence
5. Add in Milk, follow by oil, manually whisk till combined.
6. Sieve in Cake flour and baking powder (this I had presieved and stir well). Stir till well-mixed.
7. Whisk whites till foamy, add sugar. Whisk till medium peak.
8. Take 1/3 whites fold in with yolk mixture.
9. follow by folding in the rest of white
10. scope batter into pre-arranged paper cups about 80% filled.

Baking time: 20-25 minutes, bake at 180 degree celcius for the first 15mins and reduced to 150 degrees for another 5mins and then reduce to 100 degree celcius for another 5mins. Leave the cakes in the oven for about 2-3mins before removing to cool it down (this is my modification that I notice the cakes do not shrink).

Note from the original blog: This cake will shrink after cooled. However, do not overfilled up the liners as batter will over flow. Since I uses paper cups instead of any cupcake liners or the hokkaido chiffon liners, that is the reason I adjusted the temperature that way to ensure the whole cake cooks properly and it renders good result, no shrinking.. :D

Savoury scones with Rosemary flavor

Ingredients:

2½ to 3 cups organic all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoons baking powder (i only uses 1 tablespoon coz no more stock)

1 teaspoon salt (need to buy some fine salt, mine are coarse and still bite it... hehehe.. though i like it tat way)

4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled 

4 ounces cream cheese, softened in the microwave 15-30 seconds (you want it very soft)

4 scallions (green onions), green & white parts, chopped - I mixed it with some rosemary too... fresh from my potted garden

1 cup whole milk or half and half

1 large egg

Steps

1. Heat the oven to 400°.

2. Combine 2½ cups of the flour, the baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

3. Add the cheeses & toss gently with a fork until combined.

4. Add the scallions & toss gently with a fork until combined.

5. Beat the milk (or half and half) with the egg and gently it fold into the dry ingredients, mixing lightly until a soft dough forms. Add up to 1/2 cup additional flour if the dough is too sticky.

6. On a floured surface, gently pat the dough into a circle approximately 1-inch thick (or into two smaller circles for 12 scones). The key to tender scones is to handle the dough as little as possible and with a light touch.

For this part, i did not follow the recipe, coz I try to minimize handling. So what I did, i transfer the dough to a plastic and flatten it there (dont even touch when i transfer, just use stainless steel spoon) and cut from there too.

With a sharp knife cut the dough into 8 or 12 wedges and place them on a lined parchment paper.

7. Brush the tops and sides of the scones with the milk if desired, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm, or cool completely and refrigerate or freeze in a heavy zipper bag or airtight container.

My yoghurt carrot cashew nut cup cakes

Ingredients:
200g egg white
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar powder
56g butter, room temperature
25g sugar
25g yoghurt
100g flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
8 teaspoon shredded carrot
8 teaspoon of chopped cashew nut

Steps:
1. Beat the egg white till fluffy and stiff. Add cream of tartar powder and continue beating till stiff peak.
2. Cream butter with sugar till soft and fluffy. Add in yogurt and beat for another 2 mins.
3. Slowly add in bit by bit of the flour (sifted) and mix till even.
4. Fold in the egg whites till even.
5. Preheat oven at 200 degree celsius.
6. Scoop in 45g to each of the paper cups.
7. Add in 1 teaspoon of carrot and chopped cashew nut to the mixture. Shake to let the carrots sink in.
8. Bake the cake at 180 degrees for 13 mins.

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Chocolate Tarts

Ingredients
200 g butter
50 g confectioners' sugar (original request, I reduced to 40g)
40 g powdered milk (I dont have this, so used creamer powder instead)
280 g flour, low gluten or all purpose (mixture of 110g low protein with 170g of all purpose)
20 g cornflour
2 egg yolks
Lots of chocolate balls
Another 2 egg yolks with 1tbsp of milk to glaze


Steps:
1. Sieve the flour and cornflour first, leave aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugar till white and fluffy.

3. Slowly add on the egg yolk, one at a time (that's two only, not four).

4. While mixing, slowly fold in a little by little of the flour mixture.

5. Once down, use the hand to pinch out (I use the weighing scale for this, 10g for small chocolate balls and 15g for bigger ones) the dough and flatten it, wrapped the chocolate balls in it.

6. Pre heat oven at 150 degree celcius for bout 10mins.

7. Greased the baking tray with butter and flour.

8. Placed the shaped balls on the tray, with approximately 1" distance for each.

9. Glazed the dough before baking. 

10. Bake for 15mins at 150 degree. I open up every 5mins to glazed again.. :P

Carrot Cupcakes

Using the same recipe for Sweet potato recipe: http://myfoodies.blogspot.com/2012/07/sweet-potato-cupcakes.html, I switched the sweet potato with 2 cups of shredded carrot.