Christine's Recipes Printable Version: Western Recipes

Showing posts with label Western Recipes. Show all posts

Butter Pound Cake

This traditional butter pound cake is suitable for bringing along to any parties as finger food.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 45 mins
Yield: a rectangular baking pan, sized 11.5cm x 22cm x 5.5cm

Ingredients:

200 gm cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
200 gm unsalted butter, room temperature
170 gm caster sugar
3 eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract
50 ml milk

Method:

Prepare oven to 180C / 356F. Place the butter at room temperature until softened.
Sift the cake flour together with baking powder and salt. Set aside. Line the pan with baking paper or spray the bottom and sides with oil. Beat the eggs and drain through a fine sieve to remove the foam.
Beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer at low speed until smooth. Add the sugar and beat at medium speed. Then increase to high speed and continue to beat until very pale and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
Add the beaten eggs, in 3 additions. Beat well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.
Sift in the flour mixture, in 3 batches, and gently fold to combine with a spatula, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
Add milk and quickly combine into a smooth batter. Make sure not to over-mix because you don’t want your cake turns tough. Scrape the batter into the lined pan. Level the surface with a spatula. Immediately transfer into the preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes. When the sides start to set, remove the cake from the oven. Use a sharp knife to draw a line in the middle. Put it back into the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 170C / 335F. Bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until the cake turns golden brown. Insert a needle in the center. If it comes out clean, it’s done. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for about 5 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and let it cool completely on the wire rack.

Notes：

Cake flour is a kind of low-protein flour, available at Asian grocers or bakery shops.
If the surface of your cake turns brown too quickly, loosely place a foil on top.

Madeleines Recipe

Prep time: 20 mins + chilling dough time
Cook time: 9 mins
Yield: 12 (Prepare a 12 cup Madeleine baking pan)

Ingredients:

100 gm cake flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 eggs
¼ tsp vanilla extract
1 lemon zest, only yellow part
70 gm caster sugar
80 gm unsalted butter, melted, cooled at room temperature, plus some to grease pan
icing sugar, for garnish

Method:

Lightly coat the madeleine pan with butter and flour. Shake off the excess flour. Chill in fridge for later use.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.
Beat the eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-low speed until foamy. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest. Increase the speed to high. Add the sugar in batches. Continue to beat until the mixture thickens and lightens in colour, for about 5 minutes. The drips from the whisk can draw lines on the surface of egg mixture.
Sift in the flour mixture in three batches. Switch to use a rubber spatula and gently fold in the dry ingredients. Make sure not to over mix it.
Take a few tablespoons of the batter and mix with the melted butter. Pour the butter mixture back into the batter. Combine well. Cover the batter with plastic wrap. Chill in fridge for about an hour.
Preheat oven to 180C / 356F. Place a rack in the upper third of your oven.
Remove the madeleine pan and batter from fridge. Use an ice-cream scoop or a large spoon to divide the batter among the moulds, filling about ¾ full. Bake in the preheated oven for about 9 minutes, or until the cakes are puffed and lightly brown on edges and spring back when touched. Remove the pan from the oven. Tap the madeleines out of the pan onto a rack to cool briefly. Serve immediately. Or let cool completely and garnish with icing sugar.

Notes：

The texture of these cakes is wonderfully soft inside and crispy on edges. To get the best results, make sure to beat the eggs with sugar long enough until really fluffy and pale in colour. When folding in the dry ingredients, don’t ever over mix it.
I found the non-stick madeleine pan made with metal is the best. You can easily get the shell prints on cakes.
As the bottom of the cakes get burnt easily, don’t leave the cakes unattended, especially approaching the final 2 to 3 minutes. Also, I like to position the baking rack in the upper third of my oven so that they will not get burnt so quickly.
By chilling the batter in fridge, you can produce nice-looking hump at the back of each cake. When scooping batter in mould, no need to level the surface.
The batter can be prepared one or two days ahead. Simply follow the instructions in the recipe to bake them in your oven.
The leftover can be stored in an air-tight container for up to 3 to 4 days at room temperature.

Roasted Almonds

You can use roasted almonds for convenience. But raw almonds are best for this recipe, available at supermarkets.
After coating with sugar, the almonds can be burnt easily within minutes. Thus, don’t leave them unattended. The power of every oven is very different. Please adjust accordingly.

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Yield: 300 grams

Ingredients:

300 gm raw almonds
100 gm caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat oven to 170C / 340F. Place the almonds on a lined baking tray in a single layer. After baking for about 3 minutes, stir the almonds to help bake evenly. Continue to bake for another 3 minutes, or until aromatic. Remove from the oven. Let them cool on a wire rack.
Combine the sugar and salt.
Mix the egg white with vanilla extract well. Stir in the sugar and salt. Add the almonds and coat well.
Transfer the almonds onto the lined tray. Bake in the oven at 160C / 320F, about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat. Let the almonds stay inside the oven until almost dried. Remove the tray from oven. Let the almonds cool on a wire rack completely. They can be stored in an air-tight container for up to 3 weeks or so.

Mini Blueberry Cheesecakes

If you don’t have a removable based cheesecake pan, you can use a muffin pan lined with muffin / cupcake cases, and follow the above instructions. The top of cheesecakes will fall a bit when they cool down. The concave surface can help to hold the blueberry coulis nicely.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Yield: 12-cup mini cheesecake pan - each cavity sized 5cm (surface diameter) x 4.5cm (bottom diameter) x 3.5cm (height)

Ingredients:

1 packet (150 gm) Oreo sandwich cookies, cream fillings removed
50 gm melted butter
250 gm cream cheese block
60 gm caster sugar
1 large egg, about 65 gm
100 ml thickened cream
20 ml lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
fresh blueberries, for garnish

Blueberry coulis ingredients:

100 gm blueberries
20 gm caster sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp cornflour / corn starch
1 Tbsp water

Method:

Preheat oven to 170C/335F.
Put Oreo cookies into a food processor and pulse to fine. Add melted butter and process a few seconds until well combined.
Divide the Oreo mixture evenly. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of cookie mixture into each greased cavity of the cheesecake pan. Use the flat end of a rolling pin, the back of a spoon, or your finger tip to press lightly and level the surface. Set aside.
Use an electric mixer to beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. You might need to scrape down the sides of the bowl to mix completely. Add the egg and mix well, followed by thickened cream, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Beat until well combined and smooth. Spoon the cream cheese mixture over each Oreo base. Bake in the preheated oven, for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare blueberry coulis: Use a small sauce pan, cook the blueberries, sugar and lemon juice over medium-low heat, until the blueberries starts to turn soft and break down. Combine cornflour and water well. Pour over the blueberries bit by bit, stir constantly, until you get the desired consistency. Remove from the heat and let it cool down. You might like to chill it in fridge, covered with plastic film until you need it.
Remove the cheesecake pan from the oven. Let it cool on a wire rack. Carefully remove the cheesecakes (as the above picture shown) and take disc off of the bottom of the cheesecakes using a butter knife. Store in an air-tight container and chill in fridge until completely set. When serving, drizzle blueberry coulis on top of each cheesecake and place a fresh blueberry, or as many as you like.

Lemon Almond Cookies (Chinese New Year)

These crunchy cookies with lemon fragrance tasted like heaven, yet not too sweet.

Prep time: 30 mins + chilling time
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: about 45 pieces

Ingredients:

100 gm unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
65 gm caster sugar
1 egg
175 gm plain flour / all-purpose flour
35 gm cornflour
zest (only yellow part) of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
20 gm ground almond
2 Tbsp demerara sugar

Method:

Use an electric mixer to beat the butter and caster sugar until creamy. Mix in the egg and beat until light and fluffy.
Sift in the plain flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt. Stir in the lemon zest and almond. Just get all the ingredients combine until you get a ball of dough. Don't over knead though. Use a plastic film to help roll out the dough into a long tube shape, about 4 to 5cm in diameter. Wrap the dough and chill in fridge for at least 2 hours, or until firm.
Preheat oven to 170C/335F.
Remove the dough from fridge. Cut into thin pieces, about 1/2cm in thickness. Transfer to a lined baking tray. Sprinkle with demerara sugar and bake in preheated oven for about 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges are lightly brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies can be stored in an air-tight container or plastic bag for a few weeks.
Notes：
If the weather is too warm, you might feel the dough too soft or becomes oily while rolling out. Don’t panic. Simply refrigerate the dough until it’s firm and workable again. Or put it in your freezer to speed up the chilling process if you can’t wait too long.
Cut the dough into 2 portions and work on one at a time. It’s much easier to handle the rolling part.
Grease your knife in order to avoiding from sticking.
It’s better to use unsalted butter because you can control the saltiness of the end products. If you don’t have any, you can use regular butter.

Gingerbread Men Recipe

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 15 mins + 60 mins for chilling dough
Yield: 55 cookies (cookie cutter size: 4cmx5cm）

Ingredients:

300 gm plain flour / all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
100 gm soften butter, at room temperature
75 gm brown sugar
45 gm golden syrup
1 egg
70 ml milk

Icing ingredients:

1 egg white
1/2 tsp lemon juice
150 gm pure icing sugar, sifted

Method:

Combine the flour, baking powder, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
Use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
Add golden syrup, egg and milk. Continue to beat well until creamy.
Sift in the flour mixture in three batches. Use a spatula to mix all ingredients until just combined. Use a hand if necessary to combine the dough thoroughly.
Divide the dough into two portions. Lightly flatten each into a disc. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 60 minutes.
Preheat oven to 170C/340F.
Remove a dough disc from fridge. Roll it out between two pieces of plastic wrap to about 0.3cm in thickness. Use a gingerbread man cutter to cut out the dough. Transfer onto a lined baking tray, leaving about 3cm between each to allow spreading. Repeat this step for the remaining dough disc. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes.
To make the icing (frosting):
Use electric mix to beat the egg white and lemon juice at slow speed until foamy.
Gradually whisk in the icing sugar in three batches, whisking well between each addition, until thick and creamy.

Notes：

If the weather is too warm and you find the dough is too soft, you can put it back into the fridge until it’s workable.
The baking time depends on the size and thickness of cookies. Every oven is very different. Please adjust accordingly if you use different size of cookie cutter.
You can add more ground ginger if you’re into stronger ginger flavour. The amount yielded in this recipe should be accepted by younger kids.
Don’t leave your cookies in oven unattended, especially approaching to the final 5 minutes. The cookies will be burnt very quickly.
I used light brown sugar this time. Use dark brown sugar if you want your cookies darker.
The beaten icing should be covered with plastic wrap if you’re not ready to do frosting as it turns hard and dry very quickly.
If you’re concerned with using raw egg white, you might like to use 1 to 1½ tablespoon of water to dissolve the icing sugar until you get a thick paste. It doesn't look as snowy white as those made by egg white though. You might like to add some edible colourings. Here's another creative way of decorating gingerbread men by my fan.

Tangzhong Wholemeal Loaf

Please refer to the instructions for making the Tangzhong. Just measure out the quantity you need.
As wholemeal flour is added, it’s very hard to knead the dough until it passes windowpane test. Just knead it until it’s very elastic. When you try to stretch the dough into a thin translucent membrane (i.e. a windowpane), it’d be broken into an irregular hole. It’s done. Don’t ever over-knead it.

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 170 mins
Yield: 1 loaf（one loaf tin sized 20.5cmx10.5cmx9.5cm）

Ingredients:

110 gm milk
45 gm whisked egg
100 gm Tangzhong (refer to this recipe)
40 gm sugar
5 gm salt
200 gm bread flour
150 gm wholemeal / whole wheat flour
6 gm instant dry yeast
40 gm unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

Method:

Add all ingredients (except butter) into a breadmaker, first the wet ingredients (milk, egg, tangzhong), then followed by the dry ingredients (sugar, salt, bread flour, wholemeal flour, yeast). (Note: I used to make a small well in the flour, then add the yeast into it.)
Select the “dough” mode (refer to the manual of your breadmaker to select the kneading dough programme). When all ingredients come together, add the butter (see picture 1). Knead until the dough becomes elastic.
Let the dough complete the 1st round of proofing, until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a clean floured surface. Deflate and divide into 3 equal portions. Knead into ball shapes (see picture 2). Cover with plastic wrap, let rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.
Roll out each dough ball with a rolling pin into an oval shape. Roll up the dough and seal tightly (see picture 3 & 4). Seal faces downward. Roll out each portion to 30cm in length with your rolling pin (picture 5). Seal faces upward and roll into a cylinder shape (see picture 6 & 7). The seal faces down (see picture 8). Arrange the rolled-up dough in a greased or non-stick loaf tin. Repeat this step for the other two portions. Leave it for the 2nd round of proofing, about 40 minutes, or until the dough rises up to 4/5 of the height of the tin inside (see picture 9). Close the loaf lid. (Remark: If your tin doesn’t have a lid, just brush a bit of whisked egg on surface.)
Bake in a pre-heated 170C / 335F oven for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the loaf from the oven and tin. Transfer onto a wire rack and let cool completely. Slice to serve or place in an airtight plastic bag or container once it's thoroughly cooled.

Ingredients of tangzhong (湯種 The amount is enough to make two loafs):

50gm/ 1/3 cup bread flour
250ml/ 1cup water (could be replaced by milk, or 50/50 water and milk)

Method of making tangzhong:

Mix flour in water well without any lumps. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring consistently with a wooden spoon, whisk or spatula to prevent burning and sticking while you cook along the way.
The mixture becomes thicker and thicker. Once you notice some “lines” appear in the mixture for every stir you make with the spoon. It’s done. You get the tangzhong. (Some people might like to use a thermometer to check the temperature. After a few trials, I found this simple method works every time.) Remove from heat.
Transfer into a clean bowl. Cover with a cling wrap sticking onto the surface of tangzhong to prevent from drying up. Let cool. The tangzhong can be used straight away once it cools down to room temperature. Just measure out the amount you need. The leftover tangzhong can be stored in fridge up to a few days as long as it doesn't turn grey. If so, you need to discard and cook some more. (Note: The chilled tangzhong should return to room temperature before adding into other ingredients. )

Brownies (Light Version)

These brownies are one of the popular finger foods in any bring-a-plate gatherings, easy to make on the go. This is a light version, perfect to be served after a meal even with a full stomach, goes perfectly with whipped cream or ice-cream. Add some nuts into the batter, Macadamia nuts or hazelnuts if you like.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Yield: 16 pieces（a lined 19cmx19cmx4cm square baking tin）

Ingredients:

200 gm unsweetened black chocolate, diced
100 gm unsalted butter, diced
4 eggs, room temperature
80 gm caster sugar
30 gm brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
50 gm plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
15 gm cocoa powder, plus a handful for garnish
1/8 tsp salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 170C / 325F. Line a square baking tin with baking paper and grease the sides.
Place chocolate and butter in a large, clean mixing bowl over simmering water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Stir the chocolate and butter occasionally until completely melted (as shown picture 1 and 2 above). Remove from heat.
Use an electric mixer to beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract until pale and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Use a balloon whisk to mix in the chocolate mixture (as the above picture shown). Sift in flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Make sure not to over mix. Just to combine all the ingredients.
Pour the batter into the lined baking tin. Level the surface with a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 to 30 minutes. It’s cooked through if an inserted skewer or needle comes out clean. Let it cool on a wire rack.
Sprinkle with cocoa powder and cut into squares. Served with fresh whipped cream or ice cream.

Creamy Fish Vegetable Soup

Use any white fish fillet you like, for example cod, snapper or ling filet. Whipping cream (pouring cream) is available at supermarkets. Thickened cream is good. But if using light cream, it easily becomes curdle when it boils. Make sure not to boil the soup after adding the cream.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredients:

200 gm white fish fillet
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 thumb-sized cube butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 streaks bacon, diced
1 potato, diced
1 to 2 stalks celery, diced
80 ml dry white wine, optional
2 Tbsp plain flour
3 cups fish stock (or chicken stock or water)
120 ml whipping cream
1 tsp dried thyme

Method:

Rinse the fish and wipe dry with kitchen papers. Cut into chunks. Season with salt and pepper.
Heat vegetable oil and butter in a large pot over medium heat until the butter is melted. Saute garlic and onion until the onion is translucent. Add bacon, carrot and potato. Cook for a while. Pour wine over the vegetables. Increase heat to high. Continue to cook until the sauce reduced by half. Add celery and thyme. Sprinkle flour and stir to combine well. Pour stock. Bring it to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and cook until the potato is softened, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add fish and cook until turned opaque. Stir in cream and cook until close to boil. Remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with crusty bread or garlic bread.

Homemade Chicken Stock

To make this real unsalted stock with rich flavours is very simple. All you need is to make use of some leftover chicken bones (carcass) and vegetables. You can use a whole chicken if you like of course. Put all ingredients in a large pot for several hours of slow cooking. Refrigerate or freeze it until you’re ready to use them. You might pour the chicken stock into an ice-cube tray. Freeze the iced stock cubes in a sealed plastic bag for up to 3 months.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 3 hrs
Yield: makes about 2 liters

Ingredients:

1.5 kg chicken bones
3 liters water
1 to 2 carrots
1 onion
2 stalks celery
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme, optional

Method:

Rinse the chicken bones. Chop into smaller pieces if necessary. Blanch in boiling water to remove blood and impurities, for about 3 minutes. Drain up the bones. Set aside.
Put the chicken bones, water and all other ingredients into a large deep pot. Cook over high heat. Bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 3 hours, until about 2 liters of water left in the pot. Strain the stock through a fine sieve placed over a large bowl. Don’t press on the vegetables when straining. The soup won’t be clear otherwise. Let it cool down. Refrigerate and the fat will solidify on top of the stock, that can be easily removed with a spoon. The stock can be stored in an air-tight container in fridge for up to a week.

Butter Cookies (Melt-in-mouth Goodies)

If you don’t have two baking trays or your oven is not big enough, you can bake in two batches. Keep the rest of the dough in refrigerator. If the weather is too warm, you find the dough is too greasy. Don’t worry. Just chill the dough for awhile until workable. I love simple cookies with a rustic look. You might like to use a cookies cutter or any moulds to make some delicate patterns on your cookies.

Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: 25 pieces

Ingredients:

150 gm plain flour / all-purpose flour
30 gm corn flour / corn starch
20 gm custard powder
160 gm butter, softened at room temperature
50 gm icing sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder

Method:

Combine the plain flour, corn flour, custard powder and baking powder and sift through a sieve. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and icing sugar until fluffy and pale. Mix in the vanilla extract.
Sift in the flour mixture. Beat at low speed with an electric mixer. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Lightly knead into a dough. Wrap with a plastic film and roll into a tube in 3½cm thickness. Wrap it up and refrigerate for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until it’s workable.
Preheat oven to 180C / 356F. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Remove the dough from refrigerator. Slice into 1½cm-thick portions. Place each portion in single layer on the lined trays, each at least 3cm apart. Use a lightly greased fork to gently press the small dough. Bake in preheated oven, for about 15 minutes, or until lightly brown. Remove from oven and let them sit for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack until completely cool down.

Paella (Simple One-Pan Rice)

Traditionally, saffron threads are used as a key ingredient that helps add fragrance and a beautiful colour to the rice. Simply soak a few saffron threads in a few tablespoons of hot water (or hot chicken broth). Then put it into the rice to cook with the chicken broth in step 4. If not using Aboriso rice, you can replace it with short-grain rice. Due to different absorption of different rice and different power levels of utensils used, please adjust the amount of chicken broth accordingly.

Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 35 mins
Yield: 3 to 4 serves

Ingredients:

1 (about 125 gm) chorizo, roughly chopped
120 gm chicken breast, diced
1 onion, onion, diced
1 red capsicum, diced
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp ground paprika
200 gm Aboriso rice
4½ cups salt-reduced chicken broth, heated in a separate bowl
1 bay leaf
8 medium prawns / shrimps, shelled and deveined
100 gm fish meat, diced
1 calamari / squid, sliced into rings
8 mussels
8 cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
parsley, for garnish
lemon wedges, to serve

Method:

Season chicken, fish and prawns with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Heat oil in a large frying pan. Cook chorizo over medium heat until lightly brown. Add chicken and cook until the surface turns white, no need to be cooked through at this stage. Set aside.
Add a little oil to sauté onion until translucent. Add capsicum. Stir to combine and push vegetables to the sides of your pan. Add garlic in the middle and cook until fragrant, yet don’t burn it. Add turmeric powder, cayenne powder and ground paprika and cook until aromatic.
Add rice and stir to combine. Pour chicken broth into the pan. Add bay leaf. Toss back the chorizo and chicken. Bring it to a boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes with cover until the rice is almost done.
Add prawns, fish, calamari and mussels. Cook for another 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle parsley on top. Serve immediately with lemon wedges and salad.

Mushroom Chicken Pie

You can skip the steps for making pastry from scratch if you don’t have time. Simply use the ready-made short crust pastry from supermarkets. All you have to do is to cook the fillings and pop it into your oven.

Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 60 mins
Yield: 3 to 4 servings (7-inch round removable bottom mould)

Ingredients of pie shell:

160 gm plain flour / all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
90 gm chilled unsalted butter, diced
1/4 tsp lemon zest
3 Tbsp iced water
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Ingredients of fillings:

1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
50 gm bacon, diced
6 button mushrooms, about 85 gm
100 gm cooked chicken breast, diced
3 tsp corn flour / corn starch
160 ml chicken stock
85 ml whipping cream
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 egg, whisked

To make pastry:

Sift flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add diced butter and stir with a knife. Rub the butter into the flour with your finger tips, lifting the flour from the bottom up on top, until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Mix in lemon zest.
Add 2 tablespoons of the chilled water and lemon juice to flour mixture. Add the rest of the chilled water bit by bit until the mixture comes together into a ball. The dough should leave bowl clean.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and lightly knead by hand until smooth. Don’t over knead the dough. Divide into two balls, one larger in size for making the base, with another one smaller for making the top. Roll into two disc shapes. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in fridge for about 25 to 30 minutes.

To make fillings:

Heat oil over medium-high heat. Saute onion until softened. Add bacon and cook until oil is released. Saute garlic and cook until aromatic. Add mushroom and chicken. Sprinkle thyme and combine well. Cook until the mushroom turns soft.
In the meantime, mix 2 tablespoons of chicken stock with 3 teaspoons of cornflour. Set aside.
Pour the rest of chicken stock into the mushroom and chicken mixture. Bring it to a boil. Continue to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the cornflour mixture and cook to your preferred consistency. Add whipping cream. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat. Transfer the fillings into a large bowl and let it cool for a while.

To assemble and bake the pie:

Preheat oven to 200C/395F.
Remove the larger dough disc from fridge. Place on a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll out into a circle slightly larger than the mould. Carefully line the mould. Trim the edge. Save the trimmed dough for decoration. Prick the base with a fork. Line with baking paper and place ceramic beads, or beans, or rice on top. Transfer to the preheated oven for blind-baking, about 15 to 20 minutes, until the edge becomes lightly brown.
Remove the pie shell from oven. Put away the beads. Roll out the smaller dough disc into a circle similar to the size of the mould. Spoon the fillings into the shell and cover with the dough disc. Crimp the edges to seal and score the top pastry. Cut two slits in the middle of the pie. Use the trimmed dough for decoration. Egg wash the pie.
Bake in the preheated oven, for about 20 to 25 minutes, until golden. Serve hot.

Roast Pork Belly with Apple Puree and Cider Vinegar Vinaigrette

This recipe is adapted from Audra Morrice, contestant of MasterChef Australia, season 4.

Prep time: 40 mins
Cook time: 60 mins
Yield: 4 serves

Ingredients:

600 gm roast pork belly (refer to this previous recipe)
Apple puree:
2 granny smith apples, cored, peeled and chopped
Juice of half a lime
1 tsp sugar
1 to 2 Tbsp water
Honey cider vinegar glaze:
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup cider vinegar
Cider vinaigrette:
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sugar
Pinch salt
2 Tbsp water
1½ tsp cider vinegar
100ml grapeseed oil
Watercress and baby mache, to serve

Method:

To make the roast pork belly, I used my previous recipe. (Note: For those who are interested in Audra Morrice’s original recipe, please hop over to MasterChef Australia’s official site.) You have to half all the ingredients and skip the five spices powder or just sprinkle a pinch of it if you like an extra fragrance.
For apple puree, place apples in a saucepan with lime juice, sugar and 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and simmer until tender. Blend in a thermomix or blender until smooth. Check for seasoning.
For glaze, bring both the honey and cider vinegar to a boil over medium heat, simmer until syrup thickens.
For vinaigrette, mix all ingredients and whisk well until emulsified.
To serve, place pork on a serving plate and drizzle with glaze. Add a dollop of apple puree next to pork. Add watercress, top with baby mache and lightly dress with vinaigrette.

Apple Raspberry Crumble

The crumble is one of the popular, simple baked desserts. It perfectly goes with any fresh or frozen fruits you like.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: 3 to 4serves

Ingredients:

2 apple, green or red as you like, diced
2 Tbsp caster sugar, or to taste
4 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon, optional

Sauce ingredients:

100 gm raspberry, fresh or frozen
1 Tbsp caster sugar
Crumble ingredients：
100 gm plain flour
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 Tbsp rolled oats
60 gm butter, chilled and diced
yoghurt, to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 180C/356F.
Use a small saucepan, put diced apple, sugar, water, lemon juice and cinnamon and mix well. Cook over low heat until the sugar is dissolved completely and the apple turns soft. Transfer into a bowl. Let it cool down.
Put raspberry and sugar into the saucepan. Cook over low heat until sugar is completely dissolved and raspberry starts to break down. Remove from heat. Let cool. Pass raspberry mixture through a sieve to strain the seeds if you like.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder and oats well. Use your fingertips to rub butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Transfer the mixture on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Spread evenly. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Loosen it up with a fork. Carefully transfer the crumbles with baking paper onto a wire rack and let cool completely.
To serve, spoon raspberry sauce, cooked apple dices into individual glasses. Add yoghurt, Sprinkle the crumble mixture over. Enjoy!

Molten Chocolate Cakes (Easter Dessert)

These molten chocolate cakes are suitable for all occasions. The chocolate batter can be prepared well in advance and chilled in fridge, wrapped by plastic film. Bake in a preheated oven just before serving. The cold batter takes a minute or so longer to bake. As the power and temperature of every oven is so different, adjust the time accordingly.

By Christine's Recipes
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 9 mins
Yield: 3 serves（3x150ml-capacity ramekins）

Ingredients:

100 gm unsweetened black chocolate
100 gm unsalted butter, diced, plus more to brush ramekins
2 eggs
60 gm caster sugar
20 gm plain flour/ all-purpose flour
cocoa powder,
to sprinkle the ramekins
icing sugar, for garnish

Method:

Preheat oven to 180C/356F.
Brush ramekins with butter. Evenly sprinkle cocoa powder at the bottom and sides of ramekins, then line with baking paper. You’d find it’s much easier to remove the cakes from the ramekins after baking.
In a clean bowl, melt the chocolate and butter, over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat. Set aside.
Use an electric mixer to beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl, until the mixture turns pale, thick and fluffy.
Fold in the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and combine well.
Sift in the flour and lightly combine well. Do not over mix. The batter will deflate otherwise.
Divide the batter into ramekins. Bake in the preheated oven for 9 to 10 minutes, until the outside edges are set, yet with wobbly inside. Remove from oven and let them rest for a minute or two on a wire rack. Run a sharp knife around the edge of each cake. Invert each cake onto a serving plate. Carefully remove the ramekin. Served warm with strawberry or any fruit you like, or with whipped cream.

Simple Scones Recipe

Scones are well-known and most popular treat for accompanying a cup of tea or coffee. It's best served when warm with jam and cream.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: Makes 12

Ingredients:

180 gm self-raising flour
1/8 tsp salt
20 gm butter, cubed
105 ml milk

Method:

Preheat oven to 220C/425F.
Sift flour and salt into a food processor or a bowl. Add the butter and process a few seconds. (If not using a food processor, rub in butter with your fingertips in quick motion.)
Add about 100ml of milk and pulse the food processor for a few seconds. (Note: Don’t stir too long, otherwise gluten generated inside the flour will make the scones turn hard.) Turn onto a clean, floured surface. Lightly knead by hands into a dough. Add remaining milk only if necessary to mix to a soft dough.
Use a rolling pin to roll out into a round 2cm thick and cut into 5cm dough discs with a cookie cutter. Place the dough discs on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Brush tops with a little milk and bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until well risen and lightly brown. Remove from oven. Let them cool for a while on a wire rack. Serve warm with favourite jam and cream. Enjoy!
To make best scones, here are two simple tips:
Use fingertips to rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Butter will give the scones a tender texture and add more flavour. A food processor can bring a better result as you don’t need to worry about that the warmth of your hands will melt the butter along the way of incorporating the butter and flour. So, using a food processor is quick and handy. After adding the milk, don’t stir too long because you don’t want to generate gluten and harden your scones.
By the same token, when kneading all the ingredients into a soft dough, don’t knead too long either.

Blessing Cookies (Fortune Cookies) for Chinese New Year

These blessing cookies (aka fortune cookies) are fantastic as snacks enjoyed during the Chinese New Year as an alternative to the traditional butter cookies, that are often presented to relatives and friends. You can place your hand-written blessing notes inside. What a meaningful gift to your loved ones.

Blessing Cookies (Printable recipe)
By Christine's Recipes
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 60 mins
Yield: Makes 24

Ingredients:

2 egg whites
30 gm vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extra
1 Tbsp water
50 gm caster sugar
60 gm plain flour/all purpose flour
1½ Tbsp cornflour
1/8 tsp salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 180C/356F.
In a mixing bowl, lightly beat the egg whites, oil, vanilla extract, sugar and water until the sugar is completed dissolved, and the mixture becomes frothy, yet not stiff.
Sift in the flour, cornflour (cornstarch), and salt into the egg white mixture. Combine well until you get a smooth batter, that can easily drop off a balloon whisk or wooden spoon.
Place two spoonful of batter onto a baking paper. Use the bottom of the tablespoon to spread the batter around until each forms into a circle 8cm in diameter. Bake in the preheated oven until the edge of each cookie turns golden brown, about 6 to 7 minutes. Carefully remove with a spatula. Quickly place a blessing note in the middle of a cookie. Fold the cookie in half. Place the bottom of the cookie onto the rim of a mug, glass or wooden spoon, and pull the edges downward to form a blessing cookie. Transfer into the hole of a small muffin tin so that it keeps its shape while cooling down. Repeat this step with the rest of the batter.

Notes:

Tip on spreading the batter into even circles: You can use an 8cm-sized cookie cutter as a guide and draw two circles on the baking paper beforehand. Turn the baking paper over to the other side. Then you can place and spread the spoonful batter on it at ease.
Billy Law, a contestant on MasterChef Australia 2011, has drawn some pictures, clearly showing how to fold a fortune cookie.
As for the blessing note: You might be interested in knowing how my notes look like. You might download my blessing notes in order to have a close look, or take it as an example, then fill in any words you like.

Banana Apple Muffins

Happy New Year, everyone! Before the new year’s eve, I finally uploaded the last batch of recipes and photos to my publisher. Right at the moment I hit the “upload” button, I started feeling like over the moon, so released. I can’t wait to see my first cookbook in print. Thanks so much for all your support and leaving encouraging words on my fan page and blog.

Here comes one of my favourite snacks, cup cakes, as the first blog post in 2012. They are easy to whip up in the last minute. This time I tried the new muffin tray bought from Ikea. It got deeper holes, so the cup cakes took a bit longer baking time. I was very pleased with the tall, and gorgeous looking of these cup cakes as much as I love their taste. The banana and apple are perfect partners to make me an enjoyable and delicious snack as a reward to myself whenever I finish a project.

Banana Apple Muffins (Printable recipe)
By Christine's Recipes
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Yield: Makes 12（prepare a lined 12-hole muffin tray）

Ingredients:

1 apple, about 125 gm
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
2 large ripe bananas, about 320 gm
60 gm melted butter
100 gm sugar
1 egg, beaten
125 ml milk
240 gm cake flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

Method:

Prepare oven at 175C/350F.
Peel and deseed the apple. Cut into about 1cm dices. Mix with the cinnamon powder. Set aside.
Use a large spoon or a food processor to mash the banana into paste. Add the melted butter, sugar and egg. Combine well. Stir in the milk.
Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt well. Sift into the banana mixture in 3 batches. Lightly combine all ingredients with a spatula or balloon whisk between each addition. Don’t over stir the batter because you don’t want your cup cakes turn hard as gluten forms inside. Mix in the diced apples.
Spoon and divide the batter into the lined muffin trays. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until cooked through. Test with an inserted needle that comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack. Enjoy while the cup cakes are still warm.

Notes:

The holes of my muffin tray are deep that helps make high, slim cup cakes. The baking time is a bit longer than those with wider holes. But I like the tall, gorgeous looking cup cakes.
If you use wide and flat muffin tray, adjust the baking time accordingly.

Chocolate Crackle Cookies (Christmas treats)

We’re going to enjoy a very hot Christmas festive season as usual in a few more days. Although I still haven’t got myself used to celebrate Christmas in summer, I’ve learned to create imagery pictures of snowing scenes in my mind by enjoying some cold desserts or something look like snow. What I like about these cookies is their snowy look with natural cracks produced by both of the magic of baking powder and icing sugar, giving me more of a Christmas feel. Best of all, the crunchy outside and the fluffy, soft inside make these cookies so enjoyable.

Chocolate Crackle Cookies (Printable recipe)
By Christine's Recipes
Prep time: 20 mins + chilling at least 3 hrs
Cook time: 20 mins
Yield: makes 12 to 14

Ingredients:

40 gm unsalted butter, softened
3 Tbsp icing sugar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
50 gm dark chocolate, melted
25 ml milk
100 gm cake flour
3 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

For coating：

3 Tbsp icing sugar/confectioners’ sugar

Method:

Beat the butter, icing sugar and brown sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy and creamy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.
Stir in the melted chocolate and milk.
Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into the chocolate mixture and mix well. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight, until the dough becomes workable.
Preheat the oven to 180C/356F. Place about 3 tablespoons of icing sugar in a small bowl. Line a baking tray with a baking paper or baking matt.
Spoon out the chocolate mixture and roll each into a small ball. Coat each ball in the icing sugar. Place well apart on the baking tray. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the surface turns crunchy and brown. Let them cool in a wire rack. Enjoy !

Notes:

When rolling the dough into small balls, the action has to be quick especially in warm weather. The chocolate mixture will melt in your hands otherwise.
If the chocolate balls start to melt, you might return them into the fridge and chill until they are workable again. Then roll in the icing sugar to coat before placing them into the oven.