Cranberry and white chocolate scones with chantilly cream

My family enjoys eating scones and the first recipe that I tried was Rachel Allen's recipe. It is a great basic scone recipe, which can be added with many other flavours such as fruits and nuts to suit your taste palette.

However, there are times when you feel like you want to try something new; new ingredients, new recipes. This is my first time baking with fresh cranberries. Fresh cranberries are hard to find, I've been looking all over for them. But I managed to find some while we did our grocery shopping at Citta Mall in Ara Damansara.

The scones taste pretty much like the raspberry scones I made while we were in Paris last year. I wanted to share that recipe with you but I don't have the pictures to post along with it. So I hope this recipe will do, for now.

These scones are light, flaky and flavourful - tart and sweet with a hint of orange, best served with clotted cream or chantilly cream. Since clotted cream can be quite expensive, almost RM 30 for a small jar, if I'm not mistaken, I simply served them with homemade chantilly cream, which is sweetened whipped cream with vanilla.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup buttermilk or yogurt
• 1 egg
• 2 3/4 cup flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup of coarsely chopped cranberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 orange, rind of

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Mix the buttermilk and egg in a bowl.

3. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles small peas.

4. Mix in cranberries, white chocolate chips, sugar and the rind of orange.

5. Pour in the buttermilk mixture and mix until just combine. Do not knead or it'll become stone hard.

6. Once combined, transfer onto a lightly floured working surface. Pat into 2 balls about 1 inch thick. 

7. Cut into 6 - 8 wedges each and place them onto a lined baking tray.

8. Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes until golden brown.

Adapted from: Food.com

Dark chocolate and orange cake

Chocolate and orange - a match made in heaven. The sweet-scented orange compliments the slight bitterness of the chocolate.. Ahhh.. They are just perfect together. I can never have enough of them. That's why I can eat Lindt - Orange Intense chocolate bar all by myself, despite the fact that they don't do any good to my waistline.

Well, so is this cake.. or any other food if not taken in moderation. However, I always feel that if the food is not delicious, then it is not worth the calorie. I don't know the calories for a slice of this cake, but I can assure you that it would totally be worth it.

It was my youngest sister who first made this cake a few months ago and to her disappointment, it didn't turn out quite right. I'm sorry to say this, Hani, but the cake looked horrible. As not to waste the cake, she still made the ganache to be poured on top. Surprisingly, everyone loved this dense yet moist cake and it left us craving for more. Well, everyone except my cousin who hates dark chocolate.

If you're not a fan of dark chocolate, you may not like it as much as we do. But you can still substitute the dark chocolate with milk chocolate and you might have to reduce the sugar, or else it would be a little bit too sweet.

Ingredients:

• 1 Seville orange
• 100 g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 3 eggs
• 270 g caster sugar
• 240 ml sunflower oil
• 25 g cocoa powder
• 250 g plain flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1. Pierce the orange with a skewer (right through). Boil it in a pot of water for 30 minutes, until soft. Blend the orange to form a smooth puree and let it cool.

2. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 9 inch cake pan. 

3. Melt the chocolate over a pot of simmering water, or in a microwave for 2 minutes on high, stirring after 1 minute. Let cool. 

4. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and oil. Gradually beat in the pureed orange and melted chocolate. 

5. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Pour into the cake tin.

6. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes, until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Let cool.

• 120 g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 90 g semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

1. Bring the cream to a simmer, then pour over the chocolate.

2. Leave for 2 minutes, then stir until smooth.

3. Set aside until it is firm enough to spread over the cake.

Source and adapted from : BBC Good Food

Chocolate Spiced Cupcake with a surprise center

I would come home every weekend and there would be people asking me, how do I control myself from falling into temptations? There's tv to be watched, fast wi-fi to go online and cars to be driven out.. How do I contain myself?

The truth is, I don't really watch tv, I surf the internet everyday does not matter where I am and I basically hate driving. So.. that's how I do it. I don't feel tempted to watch tv even though I sleep in the AV room almost every night and no matter how many cars are there at home, I only go out when there's people who is willing to drive me around. I guess I only get the driving license, immediately after my 17th birthday, just for the sake of having it. It's not like I really want to drive. And for that, I'm quite grateful that Abah decided not to buy me the car that he promised to, or else.. it would only be a waste of money.

But then again, I do watch tv, I do get online and I like going out.. If it involves cooking, baking and basically, food! I love watching cooking shows, I find recipes online (and my favourite websites would be tastespotting and foodgawker) and I enjoy doing grocery shopping and visiting the shops that sell baking supplies.

So now you know my weakness - food. I just can't help it. I have to bake something, at least once a week, that's how I release my tension. However, I do have to say here that I do not enjoy eating as much as I love making it. So.. yes, everyone else would have to finish up whatever I make. :P

One of my favourite cooking shows would be bake with Anna Olson. I've only watched it twice, because apparently it is shown on weekdays, making it impossible for me to follow the show religiously. I just love the kitchen that she's working in, I don't care if it is just a studio (or not), I'm in love with it! I wish I could have a kitchen like that. :( Anyways, I just want to share this cupcake recipe that I've tried from her show.

I like it, my family likes it and I hope you like it too. :)

Buttermilk Dinner Rolls

It's finally November! A few months have passed and exam is just around the corner, my final semester exam before sitting for the IB exam in May 2013. The third semester has almost come to an end. Time sure flies. Anyways, school was hectic. With lots of IAs, ToK, tests and placement stuffs, life just could not get any busier. Sometimes I feel very motivated, sometimes I'm not. Sometimes I know that I can do this, sometimes I doubt myself. Sometimes I'm up, sometimes I'm at the bottom of the wheel. I guess what keeps me going is my family.. and not to forget, my friends.

I sure miss taking photos of the food I baked, blogging about recipes and life in general. So here goes another recipe that I think I should have shared it much earlier, considering that this is my family's favourite. However, I believe that it is better late than never. I first tried making this bread in 2009. And from that on, I have been making these rolls whenever we needed some. I can assure you that this recipe is worth trying and it will leave you craving for more!

These buns are very versatile, you can have it with just about anything, at anytime of the day. We've had it with sausages, sauteed mushrooms, soups, sardines etc. Since I've ran out of buttermilk, I just substituted it with a cup of milk mixed with a tablespoon of vinegar. And at times, when I'm in the mood of making it,  I'll put in a couple tablespoons of water roux. But then again, it is not really necessary. This dough can be made ahead of time and be refrigerated, so that you can have fresh bread anytime you want. But I only make a third of the recipe, since that is more than enough to serve my family.

Amazing Buttermilk Rolls (makes about 3 dozens):

• 3 cups of buttermilk, at room temperature
• 3 cups of flour
• 1 tbsp of instant yeast

Combine the three ingredients in a bowl, cover and let it sit for about 2 hours, until it has doubled in size.

• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup of oil
• 5 cups of flour (add more if the dough is too sticky)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda

Mix all the ingredients above into the same bowl as the previous one. Knead for about 7 to 10 minutes (more if using hands) until the dough becomes soft and elastic. Shape into buns and place them onto baking trays. Let them sit for an hour, until they double in size. Then, brush with some egg wash. Bake in a preheated oven at 175C for 10 - 12 minutes. Cover with aluminium foil, halfway through, if they brown too much.

Source: The Sisters Cafe

Light Apricot Cheesecake

Yesterday was Abah's birthday and few days back was Umi's. So happy birthday to you both! May your lives will be filled with joy and laughter! :)

My sister and I were tired of thinking of what to bake for them (every year we would make them something and I guess this year was the simplest). Since I bake almost every day, now that I am still having my break, I ran out of ideas. We ate everything, I mean everything that we felt like eating. So when their birthdays came, we just couldn't think of any recipes. I asked Umi what she wanted and she said she only wanted a trifle. So that was what I made her, a dark chocolate cake layered with softly whipped cream and strawberries. It was simple yet very delicious!

When Abah's birthday came a few days later (which was yesterday), again, I asked Abah what he wanted. Does he want a cake or pudding or anything? 

And then he said, "a cheesecake, a New York Cheesecake!"

I was like, "you want a New York Cheesecake? Are you sure? That's a very dense cake." I have never baked New York Cheesecake but I know that we are going to have a hard time finishing the cake, because that's what always happen when we buy this kind of cheesecake from Secret Recipe.

Then he changed his mind and said he wanted something light and not very cheesy.

I then started thinking about the Japanese Cheesecake but that would be too simple for his birthday - or so I thought. So I decided to make this light apricot cheesecake, inspired by my grandmother's cake that she baked last Eid. She did tell me the recipe for her cake but I couldn't remember it. All I know is that she boiled the dried apricots before turning them into puree. However, I didn't bother doing that, so I just blend it with some milk and greek yogurt. 

I tweaked this recipe and made use of what I have. I didn't have sour cream so I just used greek yogurt instead. And I did change the measurements because I wanted to add the apricots. In this recipe, I used dried apricots which we bought when we went for Umrah the other day. I am not very sure whether fresh apricots could be used or not. Perhaps, it needs to be a very ripe one. 

Recipe (Light Apricot Cheesecake) :

Crust

• 120g biscuits (I used Speculoos), crushed
• 3 tbsp melted butter

Method:

1. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan.

2. Mix the butter and biscuits together. Press onto the base of the pan. Refrigerate.

Filling

• 250g cream cheese, softened
• 120g dried apricots, cut into smaller pieces
• 3 tbsp milk
• 2/3 cup greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 3 egg whites

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160C. Pour some water in a pan to be put onto the lower rack of the oven which will help to prevent cracks in the cake.

2. Blend the apricots together with the milk and greek yogurt. Set aside. I was left with little chunks of apricots, and I like it that way.

3. Beat the cream cheese, 1/2 cup caster sugar and vanilla. Beat the egg yolks, cornflour and the mixture of apricot yogurt. Set aside.

4. In another clean bowl, beat the egg whites with 1 tbsp sugar until stiff peaks. 

5. Fold in the egg whites into the cream cheese mixture.

6. Pour over the crust in the springform pan. Put the pan in the middle rack of the oven. 

7. Bake for 40 minutes and let it cool in the oven (door closed) for one hour.

8. Then, let it stay in the oven with the door slightly ajar until it has cooled completely.

9. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

Herbed Focaccia with Sauteed Mushrooms and Caramelized Onions

Focaccia is a very versatile Italian flat-bread. I think it is quite similar to pizza but somehow they are not considered as one. This bread is very easy to make and can be made at any time of the day as it takes less than an hour to get it ready on the table.

Since Umi is feeling like eating bread and I seriously have no idea what bread to bake her, so I thought why not make her this. It's easy, fast and delicious too. :D

Any kind of toppings would be good on focaccia, if you're not planning to turn them into sandwich bread. Sometimes I would put some meat on with carrots and tomatoes. But today I decided to do something simple. Caramelized the onions, sauteed some mushrooms, grated some mozzarella cheese and Voila! A bread is made under an hour! Life just couldn't get any simpler than this. :)

Recipe (Herbed Focaccia) :

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 1 tbsp yeast
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• a pinch of black pepper
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup warm water
• sauteed mushrooms
• caramelized onions
• mozzarella cheese

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 230C.

2. Put everything into a bowl except for caramelized onions, cheese and mushrooms. Knead until the dough is soft and elastic.

3. Leave to proof for 20 minutes. Then knock the air out of the dough and pat it into a triangle. 

4. Brush with olive oil and put the toppings of your choice. Bake for 15 minutes. 

Chocolate Beet Cupcake

One more week to go before all the Year 1 students need to pass up their Extended Essay first draft. I am only done with the introduction and the body of the essay. Oh God, help me to get through IB! :( This semester is going to be a very important one, as it will determine our placement. I am hoping and praying that I could go to UK. :(

As usual, I would still go home on weekends even though exams are just around the corner. I just can't study if I were to stay in hostel. It is very depressing and I'll end up sleeping instead. At least, when you are at home, you get to see the faces of your loved ones which makes your days a lot brighter and your life a little stress free. And only then will I be able to study calmly. Or else I couldn't even focus on what I study, I might have to reread a sentence millions of times before I am able to understand. Well you know what they say, home is where the heart is. <3

Today, I've baked something really simple, chocolate beet cupcakes with beet cream cheese frosting. To me, it tasted pretty much like red velvet cupcakes but without all those scary red colouring. I guess that's why mom didn't like, she never liked red velvet cupcakes. It is not chocolatey enough for her. Even though I, too, don't find it chocolatey enough but I guess that's how red velvet cupcakes should taste like, just a hint of chocolate.

The recipe can be found here.