white truffles - Filed under 'truffles in the kitchen'

November 25, 2009

truffles in the kitchen with a kid: corn flakes chicken fillet

i'm quite pleased with this.

marissa has been eating too much fish and is not keen to eat any other meat.

but she seems to like this!

easy, quick and yummy.

easy enough to involve my 3 yr old lizzie, who helped to crush the corn flakes!

ingredients:

5 chicken fillet, marinate with slice of ginger,salt, pepper and a bit of soya sauce for more flavour

1 egg lightly beaten

1 cup of corn flakes

butter and olive oil for frying

method:

put the corn flakes in a plastic bag and crush them with your hands

pour crushed corn flakes into a plate

coat one marinated chicken fillet in egg, then coat it well with the crushed corn flakes

lightly flatten the fillet with your hand as you coat it with corn flakes (alternatively you can lightly flatten the fillet with the back of the knife before coating it)

repeat the process till you have coated all fillets with the crushed corn flakes

shallow fry the fillets in a non-stick pan with butter and olive oil over medium heat

take care not to over cook it if not the fillet will be very tough and not tender

roughly 1 min on each side if you have flatten the meat

serve with ketchup or any favourite sauce

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November 9, 2009

truffles in the kitchen: beet velvet cupcakes!

i finally got down to trying this we like it wild recipe today.

i used 1 cup of natural demerara unrefined cane sugar instead of 1 and 1/2 cup of white caster sugar.

this led to some imperfections or distortions:

1. colour imperfect - the cupcake turned out to be purple and brown with more purple on top and more brown at the bottom

2. taste - it seems sweeter at the bottom of the cupcake and it didn't taste very earthy as described in the small stump + studio choo blog. instead the brown sugar kind of covers the earthy flavour of the beetroot!

despite the imperfections, the cake is really moist and yummy.

i didn't have buttermilk so i use regular whole milk with cream of tartar. see recipe for homemade buttermilk here. the result was great! :)

but it's quite troublesome to puree the beetroot.

i don't have a steam oven so i baked the beetroot in a baking dish with one inch of water, covered with foil, at 160 degrees oven for 1 hr or until the beetroot is cooked through.

for the cream cheese icing, i used blueberry and thyme leaves! the taste is interesting and pleasant! :)

recipe from we like it wild recipe

beetroot velvet cupcakes:

1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c. buttermilk
1c. beets, pureed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. vinegar (whatever you have on hand)
1 tsp. baking soda

1.prepare your beet puree first because they take a good while to cook. i like to oven steam beets by putting them in a loaf pan with about an inch of water, then I cover it with tin foil and bake at 400 for 40 minutes to an hour depending on the size of the beet. when they’re tender, you should be able to smoothly insert a dinner knife all the way through the beet without much effort. Take your beets out of the oven, let them cool until they’re not too hot to handle, and then slide the skin off with your fingers. it should be quite easy to remove. puree in a food processor or blender.
2.preheat your oven (or bring the temp down if you just cooked your beets) to 350 and prepare your cupcake tins with paper liners or grease the pan with butter or oil and dust with flour.
3.cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs and mix well.
4.sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt directly into the mixture and loosely mix.
5.add the butter milk, vanilla, and beet puree and mix just until everything is incorporated.
6.in a small bowl, mix the baking soda and vinegar and fold this into your batter. try not to beat it at this point.
7.bake at 350 for around 17 minutes (my oven is 19 minutes) or until the cake is springy and a fork or toothpick comes out clean when poked into the middle.
8.let cool, frost with cream cheese frosting!

cream cheese frosting
1 8oz. package cream cheese (room temperature)
1/2 c. unsalted butter (softened)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1.cream together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and salt. add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. refrigerate for about an hour to stiffen, then frost away and enjoy!

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November 4, 2009

truffles in the kitchen: two kinds of muffins: blueberry and raspberry

i love the way blueberries and raspberries melt in the muffins when cooked!

this is the second time i made these from carole bloom's "the essential baker".

as usual, i adapted the recipe by cutting sugar and using only brown and natural demerara unrefined cane sugar instead of white caster sugar.

thanks to my friend S, i used organic plain flour too!

this recipe is simple and yummy.

my husband enjoys it best when i heat up the muffins at oven 200 degrees for 10 minutes (without preheating), then break up the muffins with my hands and add one or two scoops of dairy farmers thick and creamy bush honey yogurt, topped with muffin crumbs and fresh fruits (see picture)!

this is a great dessert or breakfast! :)

recipe:

ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour (i use organic plain flour) sifted

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

(i used 1/4 cup of natural demerara unrefined cane sugar and 1 tbsp of fine light brown sugar)

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1cup milk

4 ounces unsalted butter (i used 115g) melted and cooled

1 extra-large egg, at room temperature, lightly beaten with a fork

1 cup of fresh blueberries ( you may substitute with other berries such as blackberries or raspberries or mix the berries to make one cup)

finely grated zest of 1 large lemon

method:

1. combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stir together well.

2. In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, combine milk, butter and egg. Add to the dry ingredients and stir together just until combined. this batter should be a little lumpy. if the batter us overmixed, the muffins may crumble instead or rising as they bake.

3. fold the blueberries and lemon zest into the batter.

4. use a spoon to divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, filling them to the top. (i only fill up to 3/4 for 12 muffins)

5. bake for about 20mins, until they are light golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. remove from oven and cool muffins on a rack.

serve warm or at room temp.

to rewarm, place muffins in the oven and rewarm for 8 to 10 mins at 180 degrees.

store muffins in an airtight container between layers of waxed paper at room temp up to 3 days. to freeze up to 2 months, wrap the container tightly in several layers of plastic wrap and aluminium foil.

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October 26, 2009

truffles in the kitchen: Ginger Chicken with peaches and onion

this is lizzie's favourite!

a good friend of mine cooked this for my family when i just gave birth to marissa.

according to her, it's a martha steward's recipe!

it's super easy and delicious!!!

best if you marinate overnight!

hope you'll like it too!

i use canned peaches and other parts of the chicken such as drumsticks and thighs instead of breast.

to get more crispy skin, bake at oven 180 degrees for about 30 - 45min depending on how large the cut is and your oven too.

alternatively turn up the heat to 200 degrees for the last ten mins.

for convenience i also marinate both chicken and peaches together and i find that this doesn't affect the taste!

in fact marinating the peaches with the chicken makes the chicken sweeter and more tender.

if you have thyme or rosemary herbs, put them in too!

if you like you can also toss in fresh spinach or rocket leaves just before serving.

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 bag peaches, frozen unthawed
2 red onions halved and sliced 1/4 inch
coarse salt
ground pepper
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
4 chicken breasts

Directions:

1: The frozen peaches go straight into the oven without thawing; cooked with onions, ginger, and chicken, they turn into a flavorful compote.

2: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place peaches and onions on a large rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with ginger, soy sauce, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, sesame oil, and red-pepper flakes; toss to coat.

3: Rub chicken with remaining teaspoon vegetable oil; season with salt and pepper. Arrange chicken skin side up among peaches and onions.

4: Roast until chicken is opaque throughout and registers 160 degrees.on an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of breast (avoiding bone), 25 to 30 minutes. Serve chicken with white rice, peaches, and onions.

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October 19, 2009

truffles in the kitchen: Red Velvet Cupcakes

Hi friends, how's your first day of the week? Hope that it had been good!

I tried making these lovely cakes again and i think i've got it finally.

Here's the secret:

Ingredients for 8 cupcakes:

55g of dark chocolate, you should have 1/4 cup after melting (i tried with cadbury dark 70% cocoa)

60g of softened butter (use good pure butter)

1/4 cup of unrefined raw sugar or brown sugar (about 35g only)

2 large eggs at room temperature

4 tbsp of sour cream

6 tbsp (not level but with small heaps) of unsifted self-raising flour (about 60g)

1 tsp of double acting baking powder

pinch of salt

a handful of dried cranberries tossed in a little self-raising flour

2 tsp of noel red food colouring

1 tsp of vanilla extract

method:

Preheat oven at 160 degrees fan

1) cream the butter and sugar till pale in colour

2) add egg one at a time, making sure that it is well combined after each addition

3) add the sour cream, vanilla, and colouring and mix well

4) add sifted flour, baking powder and salt and mix well

5) fold in cranberries

6) fold in the melted chocolate

7) spoon mixture into cupcake cases 2/3 full

8) bake for 25mins

This time i use a different frosting.

ingredients:

100g of softened butter

100g of icing sugar

2 tbsp heaps of cream

1 tsp of vanilla essence

2 tbsp of strawberry jam

sweets to decorate

method:

1) whisk the butter till soft and smooth then add cream and vanilla essence.

2) Blend butter mixture well before adding sifted icing sugar and blend well.

3) add jam and mix well.

4) pipe the strawberry cream onto cooled cupcakes just before serving.

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October 15, 2009

Truffles in the kitchen: Red velvet cupcakes AGAIN!!

I've tried the annabel Karmel's recipe several times but i have not gotten this red before till i adapted it (perhaps it's because i didn't use the brand of chocolate that the recipe calls for).

This cupcake is not very sweet.

yummy and healthier if you use unrefined raw sugar and eat without icing.

Perhaps for less sugar you can try the strawberry jam with cream cheese!!!

Sorry i have no time to type out the recipe so i photographed what i've taken down roughly.

bake at 160 degrees fan for about 25 mins

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October 15, 2009

truffles in the kitchen: sugarless dark chocolate velvet cupcakes

I realised that i still have a box of fresh jordan dates ripening in my fridge, so i decided to take it out and have a look.

Indeed some have already ripen and they taste really yummy!!!

I decided to use some for baking.

I have also decided to try something different this time.

Usually, i just take the annabel karmel's red velvet cupcake recipe and omit the sugar.

The result is scone-like cupcakes but still yummy because of the dark chocolate and cranberries.

This time i use one more egg, add less chocolate and added extra ingredients like vanilla, dates puree and homemade pomegranate syrup (I was actually attempting to use it to dye the cake but it wasn't strong enough!)

In addition i use a different method.

The result is a softer texture but still more dense than normal cake. But it was an improvement. I'll explore more and post my findouts here.

The following Recipe is a result of an experiment to make better sugarless cakes hence it contains mistakes such as the pomegranate syrup which was first intended to use as red colouring but failed:

Ingredients for 12 cupcakes:

3 extra large eggs

puree of 3 stoned dates, pressed through a sift

35g (before melting) of melted dark chocolate (i use Ghirardelli dark 60% cacao)

55g of melted butter

1/2 tsp of vanilla extract (you can afford to use more of this if not adding pomegranate juice of syrup)

2 tsp of pomegranate syrup (mistake)

2 tsp of red food colouring

3/4 cup (100g) of plain flour sifted

2 tbsp of sour cream

1/4 tsp of bicarbonate soda

a handful of dried cranberries coated with a little self-raising flour

Method:

1. Whip the eggs on medium speed until frothy

2. add the dates puree and whip till well combined

3. Add vanilla extract, red food colouring and sour cream and whip till well combined (i should perhaps fold the sour cream into the mixture alternately with the flour)

4. Add the melted chocolate and butter into the egg mixture and blend at low speed. stop to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with rubber spatula.

5. in 2 stages, add the flour and soda mixture to the chocolate mixture, blending well after each addition. Stop to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with spatula.

6. Spoon the cupcake mixture into the muffin tins and bake for 25 mins at 160 degrees fan.

For icing this is not sugarless but you can reduce it!:

1 cup of cream cheese

75g of soften butter

1 tbsp of maple syrup

1/4 cup of icing sugar

1 tsp of vanilla extract

strawberry fruit jam that contains no additional sugar such as St.Dalfour that contains no additional sugar other than naturally present in the fruit (u can use this to mix with the cream cheese to make a pink yogurt like cream for the cakes.

method:

whip the cream cheese and butter till smooth before adding sugar and vanilla and blend thoroughly.

If the mixture is too watery, put in the the fridge to harden a little before piping over the cakes.

Spread the jam over the cup cakes, then pipe the cream on top.

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October 13, 2009

Truffles in the Kitchen: an obsession with cupcakes!

I tried making strawberry cupcakes using the primrose bakery's raspberry cupcake recipe again. I followed the recipe closely except for the frosting.

i couldn't find raspberries that's why.

anyway, as i was afraid that hubby will dread the fact that he has to consume even more cupcakes, i approached leon from Papa Palheta.

He was really kind to accept my cup cakes even though they don't taste exceptional like his coffee.

So if you are there for a cup of coffee and don't mind testing my cupcakes, do ask him for it and drop me a comment! ;p

my cupcakes are not for sale.

they are just a product of my present passion and obsession. ;p

i will be sharing the recipes here!

i am actually in the midst of learning and discovering how to bake with lesser sugar or even sugarless and with all natural ingredients.

By the way, the apricot jam cupcakes that contain only 2 tbsp of unrefined sugar and sweetened apricot jam didn't taste that bad too with white chocolate and lemon zest frosting! Must eat it at room temperature though!

Well here's my opinion about the primrose raspberry cupcake recipe:

It's a dense cake so people who like fluffy ones will not like it.

It'll taste better with more jam within but i found it hard to make a nice small hole in the cupcakes!

Sweetness of the cake is moderate.

there was enough mixture for more than 12 cupcakes!!!

here's the recipe:

ingredients:

to make 12 regular cupcakes

110g unsalted butter at room temp.

180g caster sugar

2 large eggs

125g self-raising flour, sifted

120g plain flour, sifted

125ml semi-skimmed milk at room temp.

1 tsp good quality vanilla extract

3 tbsp of gd quality raspberry jam

To decorate:

good quality raspberry jam(1 tsp for each cupcake)

1 batch of white chocolate

buttercream icing

fresh raspberries

method:

PReheat the oven to 160 degrees fan / 180 degrees and line a 12 hole muffin tray.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until pale and smooth, which should take abt 3 - 5 mins using an electric mixer.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing for a few mins after each addition.

combine 2 flours in a seperate bowl.

put milk in a jug and add vanilla extract to it.

Add 1/3 of the flours to the creamed mixture and beat well.

Add 1/3 of the milk and beat again.

repeat steps until all the flour and milk have been incorporated.

Gently fold in the jam until most of it is combined leaving streaks if jam running through the mixture.

carefully spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, filling them to 2/3 full.

bake for about 25mins till slightly raised and golden brown

remove from oven and leave the cakes in their tins for about 10 mins before placing them on a wire rack to cool.

cut a small hole in the centre of each cake using a sharp knife or tsp (when the cakes a cool) and carefully place a tsp of jam inside - you can slightly warn the jam to soften it before pushing it into the sponge.

Ice the cupcakes and decorate with raspberries.

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October 12, 2009

truffles in the kitchen: Apricot Jam Cupcakes

i wasted the whole afternoon doing this!

I say wasted because i didn't follow recipe again and thus the cakes turn out to be not fabulous!

Hence i'm not posting any recipe here!

but i highly recommend the cookbook: Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery

Why i bake these:

i was hoping to get rid of the apricot jam which i bought to glaze the fruit tart i made for my birthday in september.

I was excited to try out the recipes from my new cookbook: Cupcakes from the PRimrose Bakery (really beautiful and inspiring)!

Yet wanting to bake something that is less sinful (Reduced sugar).

What i did:

I added only 2 tbsp of brown sugar to cream the butter and added 4 tbsp of apricot jam instead of 3 tbsp of strawberry jam and added additional jam in the centre of the cupcakes before baking them instead of pushing the jam into the cakes after they've been baked (as a result of not reading carefully!)

The result:

the cakes are still edible but rather dense and with sunken in centers (guess why!)

My husband frowned when i kept asking him to try one after another!

I ended up eating about 4 cupcakes!

oh dear!

Maybe i should just stop trying to bake super reduced sugar cupcakes and just follow the recipe!!!!

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October 7, 2009

otokomae (handsome man) tofu???!!!!!

after tasting the sesame tofu at enso kitchen, we are always searching for sesame tofu at different supermarkets, hoping to find a similar one.

this morning while walking around at Jasons Market at Paragon, a japanese chef recommended me this tofu when i asked him if they have sesame tofu (he didn't understand what is sesame so he recommended me something else!)

he told me that this is a very popular tofu in japan and that every japanese knows about it.

so i bought a couple.

The tofu is the best i've ever tried!!!!!

slightly sweet and very creamy!!!

taste really good on its own when chilled! :)

i checked out the website, googled about it and found out that otokomae means handsome man in japan!!!! it's so goofy!

i wonder if hot dudes are supposed to taste like this tofu!!! funny.

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