Gula Melaka Huat Kueh （椰糖发糕）

Gula Melaka, as we Singaporeans and Malaysians call it, is also called coconut sugar.  It is widely used in the South-East Asia region, mainly in desserts as it has a strong coconut and caramel taste.

 

Huat Kueh (发糕）is a type of traditional steamed Chinese cake, was primarily used for paying respects to the Chinese deities during the festive seasons, as it symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

 

The huat kueh sold in stores are normally with added preservatives, tough and has a strong gluten smell.  This receipe will give you a soft huat kueh without any preservatives nor gluten smell.  After trying this, you will not want to buy huat kueh from stores.  :)

 

Gula Melaka Huat Kueh （椰糖发糕）

 

Ingredients

200g          Self-Rising Flour

200ml       Coconut Milk

140g          Gula Melaka

75ml          Water

1 tsp           Baking Powder

4-5 strips  Pandan Leaves

 

Directions

1. Add the pandan leaves, coconut milk, water and gula melaka in a pan and cook with low heat till gula melaka dissolves.
2. Stir continuously during cooking to prevent the sugar from burning.
3. Preheat a large wok for steaming.
4. Sift the self-rising flour and baking powder.  Add the gula melaka mixture and stir to combine.
5. Line muffin tray with liners and fill them 90% with batter.
6. Steam for about 25 mins with sufficient water.
7. Leave in the steamer for another 1 min before removing the huat kueh.

 

 

Cat Paw Marshmallow

Homemade marshmallows are very soft, like clouds, and melt in your mouth.  Instead of making the squarish marshmallows, tried the famed cat paw marshmallows....they are so cute!! :)  Children were crazy over this cutie pie candy!

 

Packed as gifts

 

Cat Paw Marshmallows

 

Ingredients

5g           Gelatine

30g         Ice Cold water

30g         Water

75g         Sugar

50g         Light Corn Syrup

1 Tbsp    Lemon Juice (optional)
A bit of Red colouring

1 cup      Corn Starch
1 cup      Powdered Sugar
 

Directions

 

1. Mix the corn starch and powdered sugar and pour into a pan and cover the pan entirely with the mixture.
2. Use a spoon to press round indentations onto the mixture.  Set aside.
3. Bloom gelatine in a bowl with the ice cold water.  Set aside.
4. Mix water, sugar and light corn syrup in a saucepan.  Boil till soft ball stage (approx. 120°C).
5. Pour the boiled sugar syrup into the bloomed gelatine and use a hand mixer and mix on high speed, till the mixture thickens.
6. Add the lemon juice and continue to mix for around 30 seconds.
7. Scoop out around 2 tbsp of the white mixture and add a bit of red colouring, then put into piping bag.
8. Pour the rest of the white mixture into another piping bag.
9. Pipe the white mixture into the round indentations to make round marshmallows.
10. Using the pink coloured mixture, pipe the paws onto the white marshmallows.
11. Sift corn starch and powdered sugar mixture onto the marshmallows.
12. Leave them to air dry for around 15 mins.

 

 

 

 

 





Marble Butter Cake

This marble cake uses the basic butter cake receipe from Agnes Chang's Baking Made Easy, but as usual, I tweaked the receipe slightly.  It is important to beat the batter for a longer period of time in order to yield an extremely soft cake.

Marble Butter Cake



Ingredients

250g           Butter
250g           Self-Raising Flour
220g           Sugar
4                  Eggs
5 tbsp         Milk
1 tsp            Vanilla Extract
1 tsp            Cocoa Powder
2 tsp            Hot Water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C.
2. Prepare a lined 9" or 10" square pan.
3. Sift the flour, set aside.
4. In an mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar till pale and fluffy.
5. Scrape the mixing bowl, add in the 1st egg and beat till sugar has totally melted.
6. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating thoroughly and scraping the mixing bowl in between till all eggs have been added.
7. Mix in the flour in 3 portions.
8. Add in the milk, and finally the vanilla extract.
9. Mix the cocoa powder and hot water till all cocoa powder dissolves.
10. Add in 3 tbsp of the cake batter into the cocoa powder paste.
11. Pour in half the cake batter, followed by drizzling half of the cocoa batter.
12. Pour in the rest of the cake batter and cocoa batter.
13. Use a chopstick to mix both the batters slightly.
14. Bake in the oven for approximately 15-20 mins.

100% Wholemeal Mantou (100%全麦馒头）

For those who prefer a healthier option of Mantou, you may use wholemeal flour instead of plain flour to make mantou.  There is a new type of flour sold by Prima Flour - superfine wholegrain flour.  As this flour is really fine, I use 100% of it to make my wholemeal mantou.  Taste good!

 

 

This is the texture of the mantou.  The layers you see is the result of the foldings in my instructions below.

100% Wholemeal Mantou (100%全麦馒头）

230-240g    Prima Superfine Wholegrain Flour
¾ cup          Warm Milk
80g               Sugar
1 tsp              Baking Powder
2 tsp             Instant Yeast
¼ cup            Oil                       

Directions

1. Mix the warm milk, sugar and yeast in a bowl and let the yeast blooms, around 5-10 mins
2. Sift the flour together with the baking powder.
3. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients (milk mixture and oil) and form a soft dough.
4. Knead the dough till smooth, around 5 mins. 
5. Put the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with clean moist towel or cling wrap and let it rise till double - around 1½ hours.
6. Punch down the dough to remove any air bubbles.
7. Knead the dough for another 10 mins till smooth.  You may add food colourings at this point when you are kneading.
8. Roll the dough out into rectangle.  Fold the top and bottom into the centre.  Turn another direction, roll the dough into a rectangle again.  Fold the top and bottom into the centre.
9. Roll the final dough into a log and cut into even pieces.
10. Cover your final product with clean mist towel or cling wrap and let them rise again for around 20-30 mins.
11. Prepare your steamer and bring the water to a boil.  To prevent the buns from sticking, line it with parchment paper or cheese cloth.
12. Steam the buns on medium heat for 15 mins.  Open the lid slightly for 5 mins before removing the buns from the steamer.

RMB5,000 Bread

This receipe has a funny name as it has a story behind it.  There was a chef who spent a long time searching for this receipe, and in the end, he spent RMB5,000 just to find this receipe.  So the story is interesting and I should try making it to see how good it is! ;)  But as usual, I always adjust the original receipe.   I have adapted this receipe from Victoria Bakes.

With this receipe, I have made 3 types of bread - Plain, Cheese and Sugar Butter.  You may refer to my posts on bread dough shaping techniques - rosette and 3-braiding. 

 

Last proofing process

In the oven!

 

RMB5,000 Bread

Ingredients

 

Starter Dough

210g    Bread Flour
90g      Cake Flour
24g      Sugar
6g        Instant Yeast
280g    Milk

Main Dough

210g       Bread Flour
90g         Cake Flour
100g       Sugar
1½ tsp   Salt
24g         Milk Powder
2             Eggs
54g         Milk
85g         Butter, softened

Directions

1. Mix all starter dough ingredients together and allow to sit in a warm environment to rise till it looks like “honeycomb”.
2. Mix the starter dough with main dough ingredients, except butter, and knead till it is soft and non-sticky.  Incorporate butter and knead till it is shiny and pliable.
3. Allow dough to rise till double in size.
4. Punch dough down, divide the dough into 45g each and make a 15cm rope and do braiding or make rosettes.  Alternatively, you could shape it into a ball.
5. Place shaped buns into greased baking pan.  Cover with cling wrap and allow to rise till double, around 30-45 mins.
6. Bake in 180°C preheated oven on lower rack for 20 mins.
7. Brush baked rolls with melted butter.

Bread Dough Shaping Technique - How to Do 3-Braiding



3-Braiding is easy.  It is like plaiting your hair. ;)  I will show you how to braid using dough.

 

 

Step 1 : Roll out 3 same weight dough into a long rope with same length.

 

 Step 2 : Line the rope as below, pinch the top ends together.

 

Step 3 : Bring the left rope over the middle rope, followed by the right rope to the middle rope.  Continue till you reach the end of the rope.

 

Step 4 : When you are done, tuck both ends behind the dough and you will have neat and nice braid!

Bread Dough Shaping Technique - How to Shape Rosette

Making rosette is not very difficult.  It is like tying a knot.

Step 1 : Roll the dough into a rope.

Step2 : Tie a knot.

Step 3 : Pull the left end over the dough to the middle and tuck it inside.  Then pull the right end under the dough to the middle and tuck it inside.  Voila!  You have made your rosette!