Showing posts with label Cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cooking. Show all posts

Pineapple Tarts

Just like an artist, a sudden inspirational spike is needed before the arty hands can synch with the colours to produce a masterpiece of art. To me, cookery is an art too! With an inspirational spike, I took out my baking tools, combined my ingredients and folded them into a dough!

 

The day’s rainy weather caused the ambient temperature to be somewhat warm and humid. This caused the butter to melt quicker than usual, and resulted the dough to be damp. I had to hasten the pastry making process in order to prevent over moistening of the dough. During this sticky and oily pineapple tart baking business, my oily hands did not pass my camera’s hygiene standards; and sadly no pastry making moments were captured. Above is a picture of the Pineapple Tarts in the bake.

 

Being my first baking attempt with our new Oven, I had to sit by it and constantly monitor the entire baking process. With the oven’s built in element, the browning and baking was done fairly evenly I would say. As soon as the Pineapple Tarts’ pastry turned gold brown, they were relieved of the baking heat and was brought out to be aired prior to bottling. Above is a picture of the finished product!

Christmas Day Cooking

 

To celebrate Christmas, we hosted a Christmas eve dinner on the 24th of December. Having been given the privilege to be the Chef for the night’s dinner, I came up with a very Christmas-ly menu.

1. Roast Turkey

2. Pumpkin Soup

3. Braised Broccoli and Cauliflower with Carrots

4. Ginger Bread Man Cookies

5. Anzac Biscuits

Off course, apart from the above listed dishes, our relatives who were the guests of our dinner pot-lucked some tit-bits and desserts too.

Due to the lack of time and chaos caused in the kitchen, I only managed to capture pictures of the Roast turkey’s “aftermath” (seen above) and the process of the Ginger Bread Man Cookies.

 

Ginger Bread Man Cookies

After making and chilling the dough, it was cut into ginger bread man shapes using the dough cutter.

 

The cut dough are set into the baking oven with a temperature of 40 minutes.

 

In midst of the baking, you can see how the dough rises. The ginger bread man gets puffy!

As soon as the edges turn slightly golden brown (approx 15 minutes), my final produce were an army of GINGER BREAD MEN!

Without the availability of decorative icing sugar, I was compelled to creating faceless Ginger Bread Men…

Mooncake FRENZY II

As I'm still developing my photography skills, I will never let loose any opportunity of capturing any memorable moments! 

Bernard and my dear dog, Chinno

Below are the some frozen moments of Bernard's first attempt of making mooncakes! Enoy~








Mooncake FRENZY~~

As preplanned, after uni Bernard came over to mine to make moon cakes. He was determined to mug some of my amateur mooncake skills.

I was up for a new challenge today, making Shanghai Mooncakes.

Shanghai Mooncakes are basically mooncakes with either lotus or red bean fillings. However, it niches on its exterior flaky, crispy texture instead of a "bready", chewy texture.

Having Chef Meng working alongside Chef Juin, we practically ruled the kitchen! =D


The lotus fillings were rolled into equal portions.

Mixture was thoroughly combined to form a dough

Pastry with dough engulfed in it.

In HOT oven!

VOILA! Final product!



Call me Chef Juin!

Today was yet another of marking an achievement in my baking record!

I downloaded the recipe for PingPei Mooncake (Snow skin mooncake) off the internet, sorta altered it to be slightly healthier (ie less sugar, less shorterning etc); and took myself up for the challenge of making my first ever Mooncake.

It was rather difficult for me to snap pics of the process of making the mooncake, as my hands were constantly preoccupied with kneading the oily dough. So I had to make pauses in between, wash my hands thoroughly clean and snap pics!

Enjoy the wonderful moments (:


The armies are formed in lign!


The machineries are all gered up


My first attempt was a disaster! Dough was lumpy! 
Abort and reform!


It's time for the reinfocements (lotus fillings)
to come into action with the dough!

When 2 becomes 1

My 1st completed piece of mooncake!


One by one, they were shaped into beauties!


Voila! MISSION ACCOMPLISH!

COMING SOON..... Shanghai Mooncake!

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