Aspiring Bakers Exclusive Class (January 2012)

I'm pleased to announce our FIRST Aspiring Bakers Exclusive Class, organized by Bake King.

Aspiring Bakers Exclusive Class (January 2012)

Cooking Demo Class:
1) HK Koi Fish Nian Gao
2) Fatt Choy Treasure Chest
3) Tangy Melon with Gingko Nut

Class Size: 15-20 people

Date: 4 January 2012

Time: 6.30-8.30pm

Fee: $40

Students get to bring home any recipes that they have learnt in class. Class fees includes use of aprons, equipment & tools during class, recipes & desserts that have been made in class, and packaging to bring your baked goods home! Demos include recipes & tastings in class only.

You will also be given a 10% discount coupon after the class for Bake King brand products, Tala, Chef Aid, Silluett, Dean Jacob's, Xcell, Billington's, Silver Spoon, GSD.

Instructor: Gina Tan is a well known cooking and baking instructor who has worked with and taught many famous chefs from Pan Pacific Hotel, Shangri La Hotel in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, as well as celebrity chefs like Agnes Chang, Azrah Khan and Florence Tan. She is known for her use of the Magimix food processor in making easy recipes for the Asian kitchen.

To register, please click here.

Important Note:
Bloggers who are attending the classes are not allowed to share the recipes learnt in class in their blogs.
Bloggers also cannot submit the recipes to Aspiring Bakers event. However, you are allowed to take photos and write about your learning experience in class and submit to Aspiring Bakers. They will be added to another section in our roundup.

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Homemade Muah Chee

A really quick post to stop my blog from gathering cobwebs.

I made this Homemade Muah Chee from HHB. There was an instant urge to make this as I have not eaten muah chee for a long long time. I love this recipe as it is very soft and less chewy. Very suitable for children and elderly as it is easier for them to bite. A recipe worth keeping!

A note to self that the peanut mixture is more than enough for coating, so I will make about 1/2-3/4 of the given recipe next time.

Short update:
Before I end, I would like to make a quick update about myself. I am cutting down my time spent online, by more than half than I used to be. I will be spending less time visiting blogs and will not be leaving much comments on your blogs. I may be baking less often than before, but will still try to post up my past bakes. Of course, I will still be here to coordinate with the Aspiring Bakers event. Really sorry about it. One of the reasons is because I can't seem to view the computer screen for too long. So I need to get away from the computer as much as possible. :(


Homemade Muah Chee

Ingredients (serves 4)
200g glutinous rice flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon shallot oil
250ml water

1 teaspoon shallot oil for brushing

150g roasted peanut powder (I used ready made ones)
40g toasted sesame
75g granulated sugar

Method

1. To make shallot oil, thinly slice 2 shallots, fry with 4 tablespoons oil (about two parts of oil to 1 part of shallot) till golden brown. Leave to cool.

2. Mix glutinous rice flour, sugar, salt, shallot oil and water in a mixing bowl. Stir to combine, make sure flour mixture is completed dissolved.

3. Pour the mixture into a deep dish (I used a 8" corelle dinner plate). Steam over medium heat for about 25mins. Test the centre to ensure it is cooked through. Brush the surface with shallot oil and leave to cool.

4. Mix peanut powder, toasted sesame and granulated sugar in a plate. (Note: I only used up half the portion of the peanut mixture).

5. When ready to serve, scoop small pieces of muah chee with a spoon and toss them in the peanut powder mixture. Serve immediately.

Recipe from: Happy Home Baking and Sunflower Food Galore

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Aspiring Bakers #13: Banana Chiffon Cupcakes 香蕉戚风蛋糕

I have baked this Banana Chiffon Cake a couple of times. It has become one of my favourite recipes for chiffon cakes. The generous amount of mashed and diced bananas makes it taste natually sweet and full of real banana flavour. After you have made this, you will never want to buy a banana cake from bakery anymore.

My cupcakes version

My chiffon tin version

Which one do you prefer?
I like the cupcake ones. Prettier and I don't have to wash the chiffon tin after that. Lazy!

Banana Chiffon Cake 香蕉戚风蛋糕

Ingredients (makes one 17cm chiffon tin)

40g egg yolks (about 2)
20g water
40g vegetable oil
55g banana, mashed
55g cake flour
85g banana, diced

110g egg whites (about 3)
55g sugar
5g corn flour

Method

1. Whisk egg yolks, water, vegetable oil and mashed bananas until well-mixed.
2. Add in sifted cake flour and whisk until well-mixed.
3. Add in diced bananas, mix well gently. Set aside.
4. In another bowl, whisk egg whites until foamy. Add in sugar gradually and add in sifted corn flour last and continue whisking until stiff peak form.
5. Gently fold in the egg white into the egg yolk batter (in step 3) in 3 batches.
6. Pour the batter into an ungreased chiffon tin. Give the tin a few slight knocks on the tabletop to remove air bubbles. Bake in preheated oven at 170 deg C for 35-40 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and invert the tin immediately onto a cooling rack.
8. Unmould the cake only when it is completely cool.

Recipe from: 戚风蛋糕秘法传授

I am submitting this Banana Chiffon Cupcakes to Aspiring Bakers #13: Enjoy Cupcakes! (November 2011), hosted by Min's Blog.

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Apple Cranberry Olive Oil Cake

Last month, after reading Keropokman's Granny Smith Cranberry Olive Oil Cake, I immediately went into the kitchen to make this. It's a very simple stir-and-mix cake. Usually I prefer cakes using chiffon method, but this stir-and-mix cake turns out surprisingly good. It is moist and soft, not too dense. The apples and cranberries are a perfect match!

I have reduced the recipe by 1/3 to fit my 6 inch round tin.

Apple Cranberry Olive Oil Cake

Ingredients (makes one 6 inch round tin)

1/3 cup sugar (I use 70g)
1/3 cup olive oil (I use 80ml)
2 small eggs

1 cup granny smith (about 1 large apple, peeled, cored and diced)
1 cup plain flour (I use 130g)
2/3 tsp baking powder (use slightly more than 1/2 tsp)
1/3 tsp baking soda (use slightly more than 1/4 tsp)
1/3 teaspoon of salt (use slightly more than 1/4 tsp)

50g dried cranberries (I soak in water for a few minutes to soften, then pat dry)
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

Method

1. In a large mixing bowl, add in sugar, olive oil and eggs. Whisk the mixture with a hand whisk until sugar dissolves and well-mixed.
2. Add in apples. Mix well.
3. Add in sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add in dried cranberries and cinnamon powder. Mix well with a spatula. Do not overmix.
4. Pour the mixture into a lined and greased 6 inch cake tin.
5. Bake at preheated oven at 175 deg C for 30 minutes or until done. Poke a skewer into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, it's done. If not, give it another 5 to 10 minutes.

Recipe adapted from: Keropokman

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Black Sesame Chiffon Cake 黑芝麻戚风蛋糕

Ah, I'm beginning to feel the effects of ageing. Or is it technology that makes our memory getting worse. Remember the times when there was no mobile phone, I remembered all my friends telephone numbers by heart. I remembered everyone's birthdates very well. Now I cannot remember any phone numbers, probably only except my own and my home's number. I need to write notes on my phone to help me remember the to-do things and to-buy lists. :)

As I was typing this chiffon cake which I baked 1 month ago, I suddenly forgotten which recipe I had used. Terrible right. I search and see whether I have scribbled any short notes anywhere. None! I guess I had read the recipe straight from the computer when baking, so no notes found. I know it comes from one of the bloggers and not from a book. After thinking about it, I finally found the one by 茄子, which looks familiar. I'm 99% sure about it. Don't ask me about the other 1%! Haha! I hope this will be the one and only time that happen. Never again. :D

Back to this chiffon. I'm very happy to see the fine texture I got from this cake. It should be one of my best lately. I use grounded black sesame instead of black sesame powder. So it is a little nutty and grainy when you bite. I find it quite dry and not so fragrant compared to the black sesame paste chiffon I made before. Could be because I did not use good quality black sesame powder. But the recipe is still good!

Black Sesame Chiffon Cake 黑芝麻戚风蛋糕

Ingredients (makes one 17cm chiffon tin)

3 egg yolks
30g sugar
30ml vegetable oil
70ml water
80g cake flour
40g black sesame powder
1 tsp baking powder

4 egg whites
30g sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (I omitted)

Method

1. Whisk egg yolks and sugar until the sugar dissolves.
2. Gradually add in vegetable oil, followed by water.
3. Fold in black sesame powder, sifted cake flour and baking powder until well-mixed. Set aside.
4. In another bowl, whisk egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Add in sugar gradually and continue whisking until stiff peak form.
5. Gently fold in the egg white into the egg yolk batter (in step 3) in 3 batches.
6. Pour the batter into an ungreased chiffon tin. Give the tin a few slight knocks on the tabletop to remove air bubbles. Bake in preheated oven at 170 deg C for 40 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and invert the tin immediately onto a cooling rack.
8. Unmould the cake only when it is completely cool.

Recipe from: 袅袅烘焙香

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Baking classes for Aspiring Bakers

Aspiring Bakers is reaching new heights!

A month ago, I received an email from Gim Hin Lee/Bake King, a leading baking ingredient supplier in Singapore, who love our Aspiring Bakers event and is interested to do a collaboration with us.

We are discussing about organizing baking classes at a special rate for AB bloggers at Bake King and also allowing the participants to have a discount at their store after the class. The class will be planned according to our monthly theme and taught by experienced baking teachers. It is a good chance for us to learn and meet to have fun!

I'm posting this to check the response from all of you.

1) Will you be interested in joining these class?
2) Do you prefer cooking or baking classes?
3) Do you prefer hands-on or demo classes?
4) Do you prefer weekday or weekend, daytime or nighttime classes?

Leave a comment here to tell us your preference. :)

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