Assortment of Pineapple Tarts Recipes

Chinese New Year won’t be complete without these little morsels. Pineapple tarts are usually available during CNY. So, what makes a good pineapple tart? For me it have to be bite size so that you won’t feel too guilty eating too many of it. The pastry has to be buttery, sturdy enough to hold the jam but soft enough to melt in your mouth. The jam is flavored with cinnamon and I like the jam to have a hint of sourness in it. I like my tarts to have plenty of jam on it so I do not skims on the pineapple jam. When the flavor of the buttery tart and the jam comes together, it should strike a blissful balance. I don’t think anyone can stop at just eating one or two. Forget about your diet. Start your diet only after CNY ha ha...

Since most of you already have your favorite recipes for the tarts so I am not going to post it here but if you want it you can always check my previous posting here . I am just showing some pictures of the tarts I made using different design. There are so many designs and patterns out there now compare to years ago which only have one. Enjoy and let me know which one is your favorite design for the tarts.

I am submitting this cookie to Aspiring-Bakers # 3 My Favourite CNY Cookies hosted by j3ss kitch3n

This is the most traditional looking ones

This design has been around for some time now. To make this the dough have to be pretty soft.

This mould do not have an indentation at the center so it is quite difficult to put the pineapple jam.

I like the design of this one. Great for Valentine's Day but not easy to put the jam either.

I like this new mould the best. Great indentation in the center to hold the jam.

I love the design of this one but the mould is not so easy to work with.

This is the design that you can make even without the pineapple tart mould. Just take a round cookie cutter, cut the pastry, put the pastry in a small muffin tray, filling it up with jam and voila!!! Pineapple Tarts

Here are some enclosed ones. These involves more work and longer time to make.

Last but not least all the moulds and tool that I used to made these. Making pineapple tarts is hard work. No wonder people bake this once a year ;)

Osmanthus Cookies Recipes

CNY is just around the corner and I see a lot of cookies popping up from fellow blogger’s blogs. It is making me very nervous as I’ve just started to bake mine. This is the very first cookie that I made for CNY using dried Osmanthus flowers. I only used the Osmanthus once to cook this chicken dish and I still have a big jar of it. I think the Osmanthus gives a really nice fragrant to the cookies and it is just the perfect fit for CNY celebration. If you’re looking for something different to bake for the CNY I hope you will try this out. I am submitting this cookie to Aspiring-Bakers # 3 My Favourite CNY Cookies hosted by j3ss kitch3n .

Ingredients:

180 gram unsalted butter – room temperature
140 gram icing sugar
1 egg yolk
260 gram flour
40 gram cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp dried Osmanthus flowers
1 egg – for egg wash

1. Sieve flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt together. Set it aside. Get ready a sheet pan and line it with parchment paper.
2. Beat sugar and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the egg yolk and continue to beat until combined. Add in the osmanthus flowers. Mix well.
3. Lower down the speed of the mixer and slowly add in the flour mixture until the dough comes together.
4. Transfer the dough to a work surface that is lightly floured, roll out the dough to about ¼”, cut into desired shapes and transfer it to the baking sheet.
5. Brush the top of the cookies with egg wash and bake in a pre-heated 325 degree oven until the edges are lightly brown. Transfer to cooling rack and store in an airtight container when it is cool.

Note: If the dough is too soft, wrap it up and let it rest in the fridge for an hour before rolling it out.

Kaya Balls/Coconut Jam Balls Recipes

I always wanted an electric Takoyaki pan but can’t bring myself to buy it because it cost way too much money for a small gadget. I was so happy when Diana gave me that for Christmas. I promise her that we will make Takoyaki together when she comes home the next time. In the meantime I can’t just let the pan sitting in the kitchen counter without making anything out of it so I decided to try my hand in making Kaya Balls.

These little bite sized delights are commonly sold in Malaysia shopping center food courts. . They are basically little dome-shaped buns filled with kaya (coconut egg jam), chocolate or peanut butter. I tried goggling for the recipe but can’t seem to find the one I want. So this recipe is something I come up with and it turn out pretty good.

Ingredients:

150 gram cake flour
30 gram cornstarch
1 tbsp custard powder
70 gram sugar
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 eggs
180 ml milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp oil
5 tbsp kaya/coconut jam
Some oil for greasing

1. Combined flour, cornstarch, custard powder, salt and baking powder. Mix well and set it aside.
2. Whisk eggs and sugar until well corporate, add in the milk and stir well. Stir in the flour mixture until you get a smooth batter. Add in the vanilla and oil. Set the batter aside to rest for half an hour.
3. Pour the batter into measuring cup for easy pouring. Turn on the Takoyaki pan; brush it lightly with some oil. Pour some batter into each holes about ¾ full, add a little dollop of kaya in the middle of the batter.

4. Once bubbles appear on top of the balls and the bottoms are lightly brown, use a wooden skewer and flip the balls over to cook the other side.
5. Once it is brown, remove the balls and transfer it to serving plate. Repeat the same to the rest of the batter.

Note: This Takoyaki pan does not come with a heat control, so I burned the very first batch of the batter. I have to switch on and off a few times just to control the heat.

I am entering this post in the Muhibbah Malaysian Monday roundup, created and hosted by Sharon of Test with a Skewer and Suresh of 3 Hungry Tummies.

Sugar Cookies/Christmas Wishes Recipes

I baked these sugar cookies at the very last minutes for my nephew Eu-Xin in Malaysia. My friend is going back end of this month and she is taking these back for me. Thank you so much Choy and I am sure my nephew will be very grateful. I am not good at frosting it and in fact this is the first time I am doing sugar cookies. I hope I will do a better job the next time when I have more time to decorate it.

Ingredients:

1 stick/113 gram butter
¾ cup sugar
2 cups flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla
2 tbsp milk

1. Prepare and line baking sheet pan with parchment paper. Sift flour, baking powder and salt and set it aside.
2. Cream soft butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the egg, milk and vanilla. Mix well. Slow down the mixer and slowly add in the flour in two batches. Mix until just combined.
3. Transfer the dough to a work surface. Shape into two discs, wrap the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for an hour.
4. Pre-heat oven to 350 degree F. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to 1/8” thickness. Cut into desired shape and transfer to baking sheets pan, leaving an inch in between.
5. Bake until lightly golden, about 12-15 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
6. Decorate with Royal Icing if desired.

I am submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #2: Christmas! (Dec 2010) hosted by Passionate About Baking

To my family, friends and blog readers

May the spirit of Christmas bring you peace,

The gladness of Christmas give you hope

And the warmth of Christmas grants you love and joy.

Have a Blessed Christmas and A Happy New Year Everyone!!

Coconut Cookies Recipes

It has been a long busy week for me. I have been baking non-stop for the past 5 days. There were dozens and dozens of cookies being baked and tons of butter, sugar, flour and eggs used. I am so glad that I am finally done with it and it is going to some happy recipients before Christmas. The cookies I baked are mostly repeats like Walnut Cookies/Hup Toh Sow, Macadamia Chocolate Chips, Festive Meringue Kisses and this Coconut Cookies. Do come back for the Macadamia Chocoloate Chips cookies recipe later.

Ingredients:

250 grm flour
40 grm cornstarch
½ tsp salt
70 grm of dried coconut
180 grm soft butter
130 grm sugar
½ tsp vanilla

1. In a mixing bowl, sift flour, cornstarch and salt together and set it aside. Mix in the dried coconut. Line two baking sheet with some parchment paper.
2. Cream butter and sugar until well combined and light. Add in the vanilla and mix well. Fold in the flour mixture and mix well.
3. Roll the cookie dough into a small balls, arrange on the baking sheet and bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 20-25 min or until lightly brown. Cool down completely before storing it in airtight containers.

Note: If the dough is too soft to handle, let it rest in the fridge for half an hour before shaping it.

I am submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #2: Christmas! (Dec 2010) hosted by Passionate About Baking

Festive Meringue Kisses Recipes

Christmas is just around the corner and it is time to do some baking. Like usual I will have to bake 3-4 types of cookies to be given away to friends, neighbors, mailman and a few others. This is the first time I am baking meringue kisses because I am not a fan of it as I find it to be a bit too sweet for my taste. This cookie is not difficult to make but it took a long time to bake so you have to be very patience. Baking it low and slow is the key to a perfect crispy and light kisses. It took me over 3 hours to bake these whole lots cookies.

Ingredients:

5 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
¼ tsp cream of tartar
½ tsp vanilla
Some red and green coloring

1. Prepare 2 large baking sheet pans, line it with parchment paper. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degree F.
2. In an electric mixer beat egg white and cream of tartar for 30 second over high speed. Gradually add in the sugar and vanilla. Beat until meringue holds stiff, glossy peaks.
3. Using a small spatula paint a red and green stripes inside the pastry bag fitted with star shapes piping tip. Fill the bag with meringue. Pipe small star shapes onto the baking sheet.
4. Refill bag as necessary, adding food coloring each time. Bake cookies rotating halfway through until crisp but not brown about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes.
5. Let it cool completely on wire rack before storing it in an air tight container.

Note: You can change it to other flavors like lemon, peppermint, coffee, chocolate, strawberry, etc.

I am submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #2: Christmas! (Dec 2010) hosted by Passionate About Baking .

Almond Pandan Cookies Recipes

It has been a long while since I bake any cookies. The last cookies I baked were Chocolate Chips, Cranberry and Macadamia Nut Cookies and that was in May. I baked this batch this batch of traditional pandan flavor cookies during our Hari Raya celebration and gave some to Zue.

Ingredients:

200 grm butter
120 grm sugar
200 grm flour
50 grm ground almond
80 grm cornflour
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp of pandan paste

1. Sieve flour, cornstarch and salt together. Add in the ground almond, mix well and set it aside.
2. Cream butter, sugar and pandan paste until soft and well combined. Add in the flour mixture and mix till well combined. Roll out to about 0.5cm thick and cut into your favorite design.
3. Place the cookies in a lined baking sheet and bake in a pre-heated 325 degree F oven until lightly brown on the edges.
4. Keep in airtight container once it is cool.

Note: If the dough is too soft keep it in the fridge for half an hour before rolling it.

Baklava Recipes

Baklava is a delicious phyllo pastry popular in Middle Eastern countries. Its supposed origins are Turkish, dating to the Byzantine Empire (or even further), though many cultures claim it for their own. Many Greek and Lebanese restaurants do serve this. Baklava is usually layer with crispy phyllo dough alternate with sugary spiced nut mixture, and the whole thing is then soaked in fragrant sweet syrup made with honey, lemon and cinnamon.

The baklava I made is a bit different from the traditional kind. Instead of the layering kind I made it into rolls and didn’t bath it with sugar syrup or honey. I cut down the amount of sugar in the filling and replace it with some dried apricots. Making this is a bit time consuming and handling the tissue paper-thin phyllo dough can be tricky at times as they break easily. But the end results were all worthwhile. You will be rewarded with exotic, flaky, crunchy, sweet and decadent dessert.If you can get phyllo dough do try this out as I am sure you are going to love it as much as we do.

Ingredients:

½ cup toasted almonds
1 cup toasted walnuts
½ cup chopped dried apricots
3 tbsp sugar
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp honey
Zest of one orange
Juice of half orange or more

18 sheets of phyllo dough
1 ½ stick/3/4 cup tbsp of melted butter

1. Place all the ingredients except the phyllo dough and melted butter in the food processor. Run the machine until the mixture is finely chopped, sticky and comes together in a ball. If it is too dry add a bit more orange juice. Set it aside while you prepare the dough.
2. On a dry work surface place 1 sheet of phyllo. Using a pastry brush, lightly cover the entire sheet of phyllo with melted butter. Cover the first sheet with a second sheet of phyllo and brush with melted butter. Continue until there is a stack of 6 sheets of phyllo.

3. Cut the stacked phyllo rectangle into 6 equal pieces and then cut each strip into two. You will get 12 equal pieces all together.  Put about 1 tbsp of filling at one end of the pastry strip and then roll it up. Continue doing the same to the rest of the pastry.

4. Brush each roll with some melted butter and bake in a pre-heated 375 degree F oven until lightly brown.
5. Remove the baklava and let it cool on a wire rack before serving.

Cranberry Orange Glazed Scones Recipes

I like baking scones for our weekend breakfast or for afternoon tea. This is one basic recipe that I used over and over again. I tried many different additions by adding toasted nuts, different dried fruits and fresh berries to it and each time it come out perfect. These scones are soft, moist, and scrumptious especially like the chewiness of the dried cranberries and sweet orange glaze. There's nothing better than serving these remarkable scones warm with a cup of tea or coffee.

Ingredients:

2 cups of flour
1 stick/1/2 cup/113 grms cold butter
3 tbsp sugar
11/2 tbsp grated orange zest
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried cranberries
2 eggs
¼ cup + 3 tbsp milk

For egg wash

1 egg + 2 tbsp milk – beat together
some sugar for sprinkle

For Glaze

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoon orange juice

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line the baking pan with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, the baking powder, salt and orange zest together. Add the cold butter and mix at the lowest speed until the butter is the size of peas.
3. Combine the eggs and milk and, with the mixer on low speed, slowly pour into the flour and butter mixture. Mix until just blended. If the dough is too dry add a bit more milk.  Add in the dried cranberries the dough, and mix on low speed until blended.
4. Pour the dough out to a well-flour work surface. Knead lightly to form a ball. Flour your hand and rolling pin and roll out the dough to ¾” thick.
5. Using a knife or a cookie cutter cut into desired shapes. Place the scones on the baking pan. Collect the scraps of dough and roll it out and cut into shapes again.
6. Brush the top of the scones with egg wash, sprinkle it with a bit of sugar and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly brown and the insides are fully baked. The scones will be firm to touch.
7. Allow the scones to cool for 15 minutes and then whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and orange juice and drizzle over the scones. Serve with some jam and butter.

Soft Sponge Cake Recipes

I’ve bookmarked so many recipes to try and the list is getting longer and longer. For the past few weeks I’ve been trying a few of the recipes out and some turn out pretty well and some didn’t. When I saw this little sponge cake from Little Teochew I know I have to try it out. Ju baked it in a little cup cakes form but I did mine on a shell pan and sandwich it with some kaya and strawberry jam. Like she said these little morsels are really light and pillow soft. This recipe is definitely a keeper.

(A)
3 egg yolks
1 whole egg
50g corn oil (I used vegetable oil)


(B)
50g cake flour

(C)
3 egg whites

(D)
50g sugar
a pinch of salt

1. Beat (A) with a hand whisk until well mixed. Sift in (B) and mix well. Set it aside.
2. Whisk (C) until frothy and then in (D) and beat until stiff peaks.
3. Fold in egg white mixture into egg yolk in 3 additions. Mix well until combined. Scoop the batter into paper cups till 60% full.
4. Baked in a pre-heated 325 degree F for 18-20 minutes.

Note: I baked mine for only 15 minutes since the shell pan is pretty shallow and when it is cool I spread some jam and kaya and sandwich it together. I added a bit of pandan paste to half of the cake batter. The cake will shrink a bit once you take it out of the oven.