Baking Tips For Beginner : Ichi Ban

I have started this #BakingTipsForBeginner on my Facebook post a few days ago. Then, I thought why not sharing these tips in my blog so that everyone can gain knowledge from this sharing. There are several cooking websites and blog I used throughout my amateur baking lesson and I put the links in each post so that you guys look up for more details later.

Watching Yumeiro Patissiere really make me feel motivated. How much each character in the anime loves baking and everyone wanted to become a great patissier badly. I even have the thought about opening my cake shop in future. One day. Hopefully.

Anyway, today Baking tip would be:

Egg & Cake

a) Separate yolk and egg white.
First, cream the butter and sugar until combined. Then, add the yolks into the batter. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until you get soft peak meringue. This meringue will be added into the cake batter at the end before you bake the cake. This technique will give you a nice fluffy cake.

b) Combined yolk and egg white (ie not separating them)
Adding whole eggs into the creamed butter and sugar mixture will give you a moist cake.

‪#‎AmateurBaker‬
‪#‎SehariSatuTip‬

For Those with Sweet Tooth (and those who aren't as well)

Open for Order! 
(Area Kota Bharu & Pasir Mas, MALAYSIA only)

Lots of people have suggested me to take order for biscuits and cakes. Since I am currently unemployed (penanam anggur tidak bertauliah),  I have decided to give a try. Yes I know there are lots of bakeries in the town already, plus, individuals who are taking orders for cakes and biscuits. Still, I want to give chance to try my hardwork. 

My elder sister is on sugar-diet at the moment and she is successfully prohibiting herself from eating my brownie and cookies up to today. So, I need new people to eat my works. Bhahaha! To me, baking is more like a self-rewarding exercise and a test for my patience.

Okay, back to the main topic. Here is a big collage of collections of biscuits, brownies and cakes:

Biscuits: 

a) Biskut Lidah Kucing / Rainbow Langues de Chat Biscuits - RM 20/ 50 pieces

    

b) Almond Slices - RM40/ 50 pieces 

-Ps: harga pasaran almond mahal..

c) Tart Nanas / Pineapple Tart - RM 30/ 50 pieces

d) Biskut Red Velvet / Red Velvet Biscuit  -RM 25/ 50 pieces

Tarts:

a) Mini Chocolate Fruit Tarts 

- RM 0.60/ per piece (discounted price if purchase more than 100 pieces)

b) Mini Custard Fruit Tarts 

 - RM 0.50 / per pieces (discounted price if purchase more than 100 pieces)

Brownies: Tray size: 8 inch x 8 inch

a)  Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

   -RM 30 per tray

b)  Chocolate Gooey Brownies

  - RM 28 per tray

  - RM 32 per tray (with your selected choice of nuts)

c) Salted Caramel Chocolate Brownies

  - RM 32 per tray (8 inch x 8 inch)
  

d) Marble Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies 

- RM 32 per tray

*will upload the picture soon 

Cakes:

a) Fruit cakes (My mom secret recipe hiiiihii)

- RM 30 per kg

 

 b) Kek Lapis Kukus Asam Manis

- RM 35 per kg

c) Kek Lapis Pelangi with Cheese Frosting

- RM50 per kg

- Setiap lapisan kek disapu cheese

 

Although rainbows got 7 colours, I managed to layer up 6 colours only.

d) Fruit Flan Cake

- RM 30 per kg

With fresh whipped cream frosting and toasted almond flakes

 How To Order:

Just text/ Whatsapp me at +60148477916 or email me at zayana.mahmood@gmail.com

Payment: Cash On Delivery

Locations: Kelantan only (Kota Bharu & Pasir Mas) - for now

Happy tummy, Happy Mind....

Almond Slices

Two words to describe the perfect Almond Slices; Crunchy & Nutty. Baked at the right temperature for the right amount time. My fourth times of baking this biscuit. I have to admit that it will be quite costly to bake this biscuit in Malaysia. Because of the almonds flakes. Here, 200 grams of almond flakes would cost me Euro 1.99, the most expensive, yet important, ingredient for this biscuit.
However, satisfying the crave for its bitterness, crunchy nutty biscuit comes first. I loves nuts and that explains the 'nutty'. I used Bournville cocoa powder, hence explained the bitterness.

Ingredients:

260 g butter
185 g icing sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon of coffee paste
400 g plain flour (to be sifted)
1 tablespoon milk powder (to be sifted)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (to be sifted)
15 g cocoa powder (to be sifted)
180 g almond flakes

Methods:

1. Cream the butter and icing sugar until the mixture becomes white and fluffy.
2. Add egg and coffee paste. Whisk again.
3. Add flour, milk powder, baking powder and cocoa powder into the mixture gradually. Mix well.
4. Divide the dough to 8 parts. Roll each small part of dough until it becomes like a cylinder with approximately 3 cm in diameter. Put all rolled dough on a baking tray (lined with baking paper) and then store them in the freezer for 1-2 hours.
5. After 1-2 hours, take out the dough and slice them thin. Arrange the sliced dough on baking tray. Bake at 175 degree Celsius for 20-25 minutes.

Red Velvet Cookies

Sashibouri desune..

Here I am..craving for cookies. I tried to bake this cookie last year but it was only half success (which also meant HALF-FAILURE). But to my surprise, my aunts and uncle liked them a lot. I decided to try it again today. It turned out nicely this time. Personally, I do think this cookie is too sweet. So, if you are not a sweet-tooth type of person, try to reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of plain flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon corn flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1 cup castor sugar
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 egg Grade A
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons red colouring
3/4 cup white chocolate chip

Methods:


1.       Sift all plain flour, corn flour, cocoa powder and baking powder.
2.       Cream the butter and castor sugar until the mixture becomes white and fluffy using medium speed whisk.
3.       Add egg, vanilla extract and red colouring. Mix well.
4.       Add the sifted ingredients and half of chocolate chips. Mix again using spatula.
5.       Refrigerate the dough in the fridge for 15-30 minutes.
6.    Use an ice cream scoop to scoop the cookie dough and arrange it on the baking tray (line the tray with baking paper first or grease it using butter). 
7.       Bake the cookies at 160°C for 15-20 minutes or until the surface of the cookie is no longer stick to your finger when you touch it. 
8.    The cookies will be soft once you take them out from the oven but they will become harden as they are allowed to cool. Keep the cookies in airtight container.

Chicken with Spicy Creamy Coconut Milk / Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Padi

Fancy something spicy, authentic Asian food? This menu is one of my favourite Malay dishes. Unlike curry, it doesn't require spices like cinnamon, star anise etc, so it is quite easy to prepare. Just make sure you have enough turmeric, onions, lemongrass and coconut milk.
I made extra effort to translate the recipe to Malay language (in Red italic font), in case someone needs it.

Resepi dalam Bahasa Melayu ditulis menggunakan warna Merah, font Italic.

Ingredients : Serves for 4 people

500g chicken parts                                                
200ml thick coconut milk                           
2 yellow onions                                                       
4 cloves of garlic                                               
1 inch ginger                                                                     
2 lemongrass                                                                              
10 finger chilies (add extra for more spicy dish)        
10 baby potatoes                                      
1 tablespoon of turmeric powder @ 1 inch of fresh turmeric
Salt (enough for seasoning)                                                
1 cup of water      
1/3 cup of cooking oil                                                             

Methods/ : 
1. Clean the chicken parts. Cut into smaller sizes if you like.
2. Blend onions, ginger, garlic, lemongrass, finger chilies, turmeric and half cup of water until smooth.
3. Pour the cooking oil into the pot and allow it to become hot before pouring the whole blended ingredients into the pot. Cook it until it becomes slightly drier and you can see the oil bubbling.
4. Add chickens and potatoes (cut into about an inch size) and mix them well.
5. Pour in the coconut milk and half cup of water and then reduce the temperature to allow slow cooking.
6. Let it simmer until the chickens are properly cooked and the potatoes are soft. Keep stirring once awhile. Add salt to season.


 Bahan-bahan:

500g ketul ayam (mana-mana bahagian)
200ml santan pekat
2 labu bawang besar 
4 ulas bawang putih 
1 inci halia 
2 batang serai    
10 cili padi (tambah lagi kalau nak pedas)
10 ketul ubi kentang kecil
1 sb serbuk kunyit @1 inci kunyit hidup
Garam secukupnya
1 cawan air 
1/3 cawan minyak masak


Cara-cara:
1. Bersihkan ayam. Potong kecil jika suka.
2. Kisar halus bawang besar, bawang putih, halia, kunyit, serai dan setengah cawan air.
3. Panaskan minyak masak dalam periuk dan tumis bahan yang telah dikisar sehingga pecah minyak dan bahan tumis sedikit kering.
4. Masukkan ayam dan kentang.
5. Masukkan santan dan lebihan air tadi. Kacau rata dan kurang suhu (kecilkan api) dan masak perlahan.
6. Biarkan mendidih sehingga ayam masak dan kentang menjadi lembut. Sekali sekala, kacau kuah santan. Tambahkan garam secukupnya sebagai perasa.


There you go! Chicken with Spicy, Creamy Coconut Milk for meal. This dish is suitable to be served with plain rice or naan bread.

Biskut Buah-buahan

Biskut buah-buahan ini antara biskut favourite. Kalau masa kecil-kecil dulu, rajin la tolong mama susun paper cups dalam baking tray. Boleh kata selang setahun, mama buat biskut ini. Nowadays, it is my turn. Pernah dulu satu tahun tu, bangun pagi sakit bahu sebab salah posisi tidur. Tapi sebab bahan-bahan untuk buat biskut ni dah dikeluarkan malam sebelum, gigih jugak buat. Takdir Allah masa tengah menguli adunan biskut ni, tetiba je bahu jadi elok dan tak sakit. Hewhew. Okay, done with unnecessary story.

Biskut Buah-buahan

Bahan-bahan:

6 oz                   Mentega
6 oz                   Tepung gandum
2 oz                   Tepung kastad
4 oz                   Tepung jagung
4 oz                    Gula halus
2 biji                  Kuning telur
1/2 camca teh    Serbuk penaik (baking powder la ni hehee)
2 oz                   Kacang tumbuk (atau kisar kasar)
6 oz                   Buah-buahan kering (hiris nipis sebelum dimasukan dalam adunan. Kalau masuk
                          sebijik-sebijik, nanti biskut pecah )


Cara-cara:

1. Ayak semua tepung dan serbuk penaik.
2. Gaul buah-buahan kering dengan sedikit tepung.
3. Pukul kuning telur dan gula sehingga putih dan kemudian, campurkan mentega.
4. Masukkan buah-buahan, kacang dan tepung sedikit demi sedikit. Gaul sebati.
5. Ambil sedikit doh dan bulatkan kecil. Tekan doh yang telah dibulatkan dengan menggunakan garfu. Kalau nak lagi cantik, doh yang dibulatkan tu boleh dimasukkan dalam paper cups mini.
6. Sapu kuning telur di atas permukaan biskut sebelum dibakar dalam oven pada suhu 175 celcius selama 15 minit atau sehingga perang.

Selamat mencuba!

Spaghetti with Tomatoes- Mushrooms Sauce

I say this recipe is quite easy to prepare. It is healthy, fresh and suitable for vegetarian diet. To me, the combination of tomatoes and mushrooms are perfect. Especially when you eat it while it is still hot.

It has been a long time since the last time I had spaghetti. I am looking forward to make fresh, homemade pasta but I know I would create a messy kitchen rather than a good, yummy pasta.  

Serve: 6-8 persons

Skill level: Easy

Ingredients

12 fresh, ripe tomatoes

4   mushrooms (sliced)

1   yellow onion (sliced)

4   garlic (sliced)

2 tablespoons     butter

2 tablespoons     extra virgin olive oil

water

500g dried spaghetti
Salt

fresh, chopped parsley or basil

Methods

1. Put tomatoes in boiling water for 5 minutes, then put them in ice-cold water for another 5 minutes to soften them.

2. Cut the tomatoes into four.

3. Bring the butter and olive oil to simmer in a pot and then fry the garlic and onion until they turn yellow.

4. Pour all the tomatoes into the pot, stir and then cover the pot. Let them cooked for 10 minutes. While waiting for the sauce, boil half pot of water and dried spaghetti.

5. Blend the hot tomatoes mix until smooth and then cook until it boils.

6. Pour the sliced mushrooms into the pot before you turn off the gas and let them blend in for 5 minutes. Season with salt.

7. Pour the sauce on the spaghetti and mix them well. Garnish your spaghetti with chopped parsley or basil before you serve it.

P/s: You can add 2 tablespoons of tomato ketchup if you want to bring out the tomatoes taste even more.