Almond Butter Slices
Saturday, November 14, 2009Recipe Source: Dr. Oetker A-Z Backen
Almonds are high in monounsaturated fats, the same type of health-promoting fats as are found in olive oil, which have been associated with reduced risk of heart disease.
In addition to their cholesterol-lowering effects, almonds' ability to reduce heart disease risk may also be partly due to the antioxidant action of the vitamin E found in the almonds, as well as to the LDL-lowering effect of almonds' monounsaturated fats. (LDL is the form of cholesterol that has been linked to atherosclerosis and heart disease). When almonds are substituted for more traditional fats in human feeding trials, LDL cholesterol can be reduced from 8 to 12%.
In addition to healthy fats and vitamin E, a quarter-cup of almonds contains almost 99 mg of magnesium (that's 24.7% of the daily value for this important mineral), plus 257 mg of potassium. World's Healthiest Foods
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- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a 30x40cm baking tray with paper. Combine the sugar, vanilla sugar and almond slices for the topping in a bowl. Set aside.
- Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add in Quark, milk, oil, sugar and salt. Mix all the ingredients with a hand mixer fitted with dough hooks for 1 minute on high speed. Don’t over stir the dough or it will become sticky.
- Place the dough onto the prepared tray and roll it out. Spread the softened butter all over the surface of the dough. Spead the topping mixture evenly onto the dough. Bake on the upper rack of the hot oven for about 20 minutes until golden crispy.
Rice Honey Bread adapted from Dan Lepard
Friday, November 13, 2009Recipe Source:The Handmade Loaf by Dan Lepard
Left-over rice, even if it's over-cooked but with the grains still separate, can be mixed into dough to make a sturdy, simple, white loaf. This loaf , which I enjoy toasted in the morning, uses milk and a little honey to slightly sweeten and help colour the crumb when toasted. This is important as the rice doesn't take colour very quickly.
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- Whisk together the rice, milk, yeast and honey in a bowl. In another bowl, combine the flour and salt, then pour the liquid in and mix until you have a soft sticky dough. Cover and leave for 10 minutes.
- Rub 1 teaspoon of olive oil on the work surface and knead the dough on the oiled surface for 10 seconds, ending with the dough in a smooth, round ball. Clean and dry the bowl, then rub lightly with a teaspoon of olive oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover, and leave for an additional 10 minutes. Remove the dough and knead once more on the oiled surface, returning the shape of the dough to a smooth round ball. Place it back in the bowl, cover, and leave for 1 hour in a warm place.
- Grease a 27x10 cm loaf tin. Shape the dough into a roll and place it into the tin seam-side down. Cover the dough with a cling film and leave for 1 hour or until doubled. Dust the top with flour. Preheat the oven to 210C/410F. Bake the bread for 25 minutes, then reduce the heat to 190C/375F and bake for a further 20 minutes until the loaf has pulled away slightly from the sides of the tin and is a golden-brown. Remove from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.
Pan-fried Beaten Eggs with Preserved Radish / 菜脯煎蛋
Wednesday, November 11, 2009This dish (Cai Pu Jian Dan/菜脯煎蛋 in Chinese)is prepared with beaten eggs, perserved radish and spring onions, very much like "Egg Fu Yung",which is a Chinese American dish based on a Shanghai classic dish called fu yung egg slices. However, the "Cai Pu Jian Dan" does not include a gravy or sauce, as "Egg Fu Yung" always does.
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- Rinse and finely chop pickles. Crack eggs into a bowl and whisk until well-combined. Blend in chopped preserved radish and scallion. Season it with chicken bouillon.
- Heat up a skillet with oil. Slowly pour in the mixture and give it 20 seconds to turn a nice golden brown over medium-low heat. Turn over and cook until it turns golden as well. Serve immediately.
Rosemary Roast Chicken
Sunday, November 08, 2009Roasting is a simple and easy way to cook a chicken, and the result is delicious. The flavourings used to prepare and the method to roast a whole chicken can vary in any way you prefer. The time varies depending on the crispness and colour you desire.
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- Peel potatoes and cut into cubes. Place them in a large bowl. Cut carrots into diagonal chunks and onion into wedges. Add vegetables in the bowl of potatoes along with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
- Wipe the chicken dry inside and out with paper towels. Rub the chicken inside and out with a generous amount of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the lemon halves into the body cavity. Gently loose the skin on the breast by gently easing it away from the flesh with the fingers and place garlic cloves under the skin.
- Tuck wing tips under back of chicken; tie ends of drumsticks together with twine. Set the chicken breast side up in a pan. Surround the chicken with prepared vegetables. Sprinkle with rosemary, scallion, crushed black peppercorns. Pour the melted butter over the chicken.
- Roast in 190C/375F oven, basting 2-3 times with pan juice, turn the chicken and continue to bake until meat thermometer inserted in thigh reads 85C/185F and vegetables are tender and golden brown, about 90 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before carving.
Hazelnut Macarons + Matcha and Cappuccino Variations
Tuesday, November 03, 2009Recipe Source: Skybake
Dating back to the 18th century, the macaron is a traditional French pastry, made of egg whites, almond powder, icing sugar and sugar. This sweet pastry came out of the French courts' baker's oven as round meringue-like domes with a flat base.
Macarons, also anglicized "macaroons", are not to be confused with a similar pastry also called macaroons. Macarons are sandwich-like pastries made with two thin cookies and a cream or ganache between the cookies. Macaroons are dense cookies made either with coconut or with a coarse almond paste.
Macarons come in a wide variety of flavors varying by store and season; ranging from traditional to exotic. Wikipedia
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- In a mixing bowl whisk together the ground hazelnut and powdered sugar until completely blended. Line 3 baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In your stand mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the egg whites and pinch of salt until foamy, gradually add the sugar and continue beating until soft peaks appear.
- Fold in the ground hazelnut mixture in two additions until your get a slow moving batter. Fill a pastry bag with the batter and pipe small amounts of batter 3 cm in diameter, 2 cm apart. Leave to rest for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 170C/340F and bake for 15 minutes. Remove and cool completelyt on rack. Spoon the filling on one shell and sandwich with another one.
Lunjiao Yeasted White Sugar Cake / 伦教白糖糕
Sunday, November 01, 2009"Lunjiao Cake" or "White sugar cake", or "Pak Tong Koh" is made from rice flour, white sugar, water, yeast and baking powder. It was created during the Ming Dynasty in Lunjiao district Shunde Guangdong province. The creator was a hawker named Liang who sells steamed sponge. One day he made a mistake with the proportion of water and flour while making sponge cakes, and the steamed sponge failed to raise and instead it was flat. Surprisingly, the new cake sold better because it's more tasty and refreshing. Hence the Chinese name "Lunjiao Cake".
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- Whisk rice flour, water and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Cook over low heat until the mixture has become thick, but still runny. Keep stirring to avoid any lump during cooking. Press the mixture through a sieve and leave to cool.
- Mix the yeast and warm water and add in the cooled rice mixture together with the baking powder. Stir to combine. Let rest for 6 or 8 hours at the room temperature. Grease a 6 inch steamer lined with foil and pour in the rice mixture. Steam over the high heat with boiled water for about 20 minutes.