Rhubarb crumble

Bringing the aroma and crunch to a higher level: add chopped walnut to rubbed and crumbed butter, flour and castor sugar.

Reduce lumpy base by baking rhubarb briefly with brandied raisin and cherry.

Snow fungus, papaya, double boiled with milk

The recipe for this nutritious dessert available in well known speciality sweet restaurants is actually very easy to follow. Cooked in a baine marie, the essential vitamins and nutrients are preserved and prevents the milk from overboiling.

The combination of fungus and papaya is said to enhance complexion, helps in digestion and build up immunity against flu.

Firstly, pre-soak 2 whole florets of snow fungus (from Asian grocery or traditional medicine store).  When the fungus has expanded (takes about 10 minutes), snip off the dirt and yellowish portions.

Prepare double boiler with hot water at the base and pot for cooking above. This could be improvised by using a slightly larger pot at the bottom and stack another pot on top.

Bring fungus with just enough water to cover it to the boil.  Let it cook for another 10 minutes.

Add papaya cubes and milk (amount would be according to the number of servings).

Add rock sugar last (about 1 cup to 1 litre for moderate sweetness).

Simmer for another 15 minutes. The entire cooking time is one hour plus 15 minutes of preparation time.

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Almond Meal

This recipe from really works. I didn't even have to use an electric egg beater / mixer.  Additional tips are mine. 

Preheat oven to 180 degree Centrigrade, fan forced.

Line bottom of the cake tin with greaseproof paper. The sides can be greased.

Mix instant coffee powder or coffee bag in hot water. Add to dissolved butter, cocoa powder and melted chocolate.

Lightly beat egg yolk with castor sugar till well mixed.

Beat egg white till soft peak.

Add chocolate mixture and almond meal to egg yolk mixture.

Gently fold egg white into chocolate mixture. Pour into prepared cake pan.

Bake for at least 45 mins. Move the cake tin from top to bottom half time to ensure even baking.

Cool cake before removing from pan and cutting.

Serve with ice-cream and fresh berries.

Coloured Ice dessert with Jackfruit, Thai cendol, mung beans, seaweed

As the heat continues well into autumn this year, it is appropriate and desirable to have a cooling dessert.

Since we're at Vietnamese Grill Meat in the last post, I'd like to introduce an Indochinese dessert. The Vietnamese call it "three coloured ice" while the Malays call it "ice kachang (nuts). I'm adding a Thai version of green threads or "lod chong" (Indonesian version is cendol).














Ingredients
- The fresh whole jackfruit costs a whopping AUD18 but we missed the fruit since our last trip to Cairns more than five years ago. Most of the time, we use imported canned jackfruit. Not only are they cheaper, they are quite tasty. However, it can be a gable because canned fruit are sometimes soggy and bland.
- Boiled Thai "green worms" made of sago starch with pandan and colouring.
- Palm seeds or attap seeds in syrup.
- Steamed coatless mung bean
- Soaked transparent seaweed (agar-agar) cut into small strips.

Liquid : 
- Coconut milk (good quality - either Kara or Ayam)
- Boiled chopped palm sugar (Malaysian preferable for full flavour or Thai if you prefer lighter taste) & filtered for impurities and insects















It helps that I have a very good ice shaver that churns out fine snow from ice cubes.

To assemble : put a bit of everything into a bowl. Add the liquid.
Scoop shaved ice over and mix. Eat it quickly before the ice melts.

Pomegranate Molasses - for dessert and good health

Heavenly when eaten with vanilla or a lightly flavoured ice cream. Sprinkle nuts or seeds topping.

Fruits that go very well with pomegranate molasses are : fig, quince, pear and mango.

Main health benefit : lowering cholesterol.

Berries Trifle for a very merry Christmas

Christmas Down Under is summer. Lots of fresh berries to make attractive and delicious trifle for parties.

Choose an assortment of different coloured berries. Strawberries and blueberries are more hardy, keeps better, and retains their integrity even with a bit of handling and mixing.   Raspberries are refreshing and serve as good antioxidants but they may not withstand longer keeping time. 

Ingredients

Premium Vanilla Custard (Paul's brand is fine and convenient) 500 g  or cook from scratch with 4 yolk & 1 cup milk
Fresh Cream (either whip from scratch or purchase ready dessert cream) 2 cups
1 punnet each of 3 types of berries (blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, mulberry, boysenberry)
Cherries for topping
Quality meringe (or whip egg white till max peak, pipe and bake)
Castor sugar 1/2 cup
Honey 2 TBS
Liquour - cointreau /grand marnier and brandy (any 2 of these will do) 2 TBS each
Chocolate garnache (melt a block of high cocoa chocolate in double boiler, add 2 TBS full cream, brown sugar and one yolk)
Sponge cake or sponge fingers about 200 - 300 g (pannatone Italian cake-bread is handy for this and pudding recipes)

Method

Prepare to layer a large glass transparent bowl (either special large surface uniform trifle bowl or large mixing bowl).

Firstly, line the bottom with chocolate garnache, followed by half of the sponge cake slices or sponge fingers.
Sprinkle some of the liquor on the sponge.

Spoon half of the fruit. Cover with custard.

Place the remaining sponge cake. Repeat : followed by a dash of liquour, fruit and custard.

Sprinkle some castor sugar.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Can be prepared the day before the party and chilled overnight.

When ready to serve, decorate with whipped cream, honey, cherries, mixture of cherries, meringe as topping.

Secrets to Oriental Evergreen Beauty and Wellbeing - Osmanthus and Chrysanthemum Flowers Exotic Teas and Sweets

In the midst of a sultry southern hemisphere summer afternoon, flowers will lift your moods, douse the heat and regenerate energies.

Sipping a cup of osmathus and fruits is an age old beauty formula (not much of a secret now if you know how). A simple recipe of Osmanthus fruit tea :

1. Throw in two thin slices of starfruit (carambola) and bashed kamquat (either fresh or dried) into a slightly warmed tea pot.

2. Put osmanthus dried flower and leaves into a tea ball or tea strainer and fit across the tea pot.

3. Pour boiled water to steep tea and fruits.

4. Rest for 5 minutes and it's ready for drinking.

Osmanthus Jelly

1. Dissolve a packet of standard gelatine powder or leaf in 1/2 cup water a large dish.

2. Boil water and make a pot of 700 ml of osmanthus tea. You may strain the flowers but it is not necessary as they provide a pretty decoration to the jelly.

3. Dissolve castor brown sugar in the tea.

4. Pour tea into the gelantine and stir well. You may wish to spoon into smaller moulds.

5. Cool for 20 minutes, cover and store in the fridge for at least 2 hours before removing from moulds and serving.

Chrysanthemum Tea

1. Make chrysanthemum tea as with osmanthus tea above.

2. Pour hot tea over goji berry.

Chrysanthemum Jelly

Prepare gelatine mixture.

Pour hot chrysanthmum tea and goji berry over gelatine.

Mix well and pour into mould or cups.

Homemade Slow Roast Cashew Nuts - best in the world

I have given up buying cooked cashew nuts from moderately to highly priced of all sorts from supermarkets or gourmet stores. With the exception of very few speciality nut vendors, the taste and texture are disappointing to say the least.

Once you have done home-made cashews, you probably won't bother to try any of the ready cooked ones anymore. Though it may not mean savings, it is well worth the effort (not much actually)!

Purchase premium quality large size cashew nuts from nut shop, grocers that get supplies from reputable importers or health food stores.

Pour boiling water into cashew in a large pot. Give it a quick stir, ensuring that the nuts remain intact and are not broken. Leave to stand for 5 minutes. (Note : the water should just cover the nuts by 2 cm.)

Drain and repeat with another pot of hot water.

(Note : if this step is skipped and the nuts are baked or roast, it will take a much longer time cook the nuts and the results won't be as delicious)

Drain and transfer into an ovenproof pan. Spread it out evenly and sprinkle with salt.

Put the tray into a preheat oven of 150 degrees. After 15 minutes, stir the nuts and return to oven for another 15 minutes.

Turn the oven down to 120 degrees. Roast for another 90, during which the nuts should be checked and tossed at least 4 times.

When nuts look light golden colour, turn off the heat.

Remove from oven and sprinkle a little brown castor sugar. Mix well. Return to the oven and let it continue to absorb some residue heat and infuse the sugar.

(Note : do not roast the cashew nuts till it is brown as it will have a bitter and burnt taste)

Alternatively, the nuts can be deep-fried in oil. However, that would be a less healthy option. Moreover, you have to be very quick to avoid getting the nuts overly brown as they burnt quite easily.

Versatile Verjuice - versatile traditional French ingredient given a new breath of life in modern western cuisines

I have recently discovered the uses and versatility of verjuice. Despite the initial inertia and apprehension of trying something out of my comfort zone, I managed to gain confidence after following some recipes successfully.


What is verjuice? Verjuice is the juice extracted from large unripened grapes which is unfermented (unlike wine) and popularly used in classic French cooking. Some Mediterranean cuisines also use verjuice, owing to the abundance of grapes grown in these regions.

To sum up, verjuice has the lemony taste without the tartness and acidity of vinegar and citrus fruits. Verjuice is also a good substitute for wine for those with dietary restrictions.

MARINADE
- roast pork marinade for crispy skin
- fish and other seafood

SAUCES
- vinaigrette salad dressing by mixing with herbs
- salad cream : whip with egg yolk, seasoning and vegetable oil
- toss in pasta with olive oil
- pickled vegetables

COOKING
- deglaze meat in stir fry
- moisten halfway through cooking meat or root vegetables
- add to vegetables or seafood soup
- paella or fried rice
- fried noodle

DESSERT
- syrup for cakes
- poach pear or quince
- apple pie
- sorbet
- jelly
- soak dried or fresh fruits

Verjuice has made a swift comeback in recent times. Maggie Beer popularised when she ventured into and successfully bottled it commercially, as well as recommending various uses for verjuice.

Verjuice novice cooks may want to experiment with less expensive verjuice available in some larger supermarkets in the beginning, so that making a few failed attempts would be quite affordable.

Tribute to a wonderful chef without advertising the product :
http://www.maggiebeer.com.au/products/details/?Item=PrdctsVerjuice62

More recipes to try out :
http://www.welshmansreef.com/welshmansreef8.html

Orange Semolina Mediterranean Cake soaked in syrup

This is a Mediterranean inspired dessert (Greek and Lebanese). It has been adopted as Modern Australian owing to the cultural heritage of our rich and diverse migrant population. Omit semolina for a flourless gluten-free recipe.

Cake Ingredients
(serving for 6 - 8 small slices)
Unsalted butter 125 g
Castor Sugar 1 cup
10 egg yolk
6 egg white
Semolina 1 cup
Ground almond (almond meal) 1 cup
Baking powder 2 tsp
Flour 60g
Mixed spices (ground cinnamon, caraway, cardamom) 

Rind from one lemon and one orange
1 tsp vanilla essence

Syrup Ingredients (heat over low heat) 
 

Juice from 1 lemon and 3 oranges
Orange zest 3 TBS
Brown sugar 1 cup
Grand Marnier or Contreau 1/4 cup

Topping
Toasted almond flakes
Lemon or orange rind 8 - 10 pieces

Optional: a handful of red currants soaked in brandy and roasted pinenuts

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 C.
2. Line 8 inch ring pan with baking paper at the base and sides. Place the centre ring before baking.
3. Mix soft butter and sugar till light and creamy. Add zest and vanilla essence.
4. Blend beaten egg yolk to the butter mixture. Combine well.
5. Add semolina, almond meal and baking power gradually and fold into the mixture gently. Add nuts and fruit at this point.
6. Whisk egg white to soft peak. Carefully blend flour and egg white into butter mixture.
7. Pour mixture into baking pan. Bake in the oven for at least 30 minutes. Check that it comes clean of the skewer before turning off the heat.
7. Meanwhile, bring the juice, sugar and liquor to the slow boil over low heat. Reduce till it is thick and glacy.
8. When cake is still warm, pierce holes with sharp skewer.
9. Pour syrup (reserve 2 TBS) over the cake evenly.
10. Sprinkle almond flakes and citrus fruit rind on top of the cake.
11. Pour remaining syrup over the cake before serving.
12. A dollop of Greek yoghurt and agave syrup would be heavenly!

Angel or Devil's Sponge Cake - heavenly, whatever name you call this cake

So soft it could melt in your mouth and bring you out of this world, a description my Aussie friends used to rave about this cake from the recipe I'm about to share. A bonus is that it's a healthy dessert.

Ingredients for Cake
Fine Castor Sugar 200 g (break up the lumps)
Low gluten flour 100 g (same as tempura or sponge cake flour without added raising agent - put through a fine sieve just and again before mixing)
Cream of tartar 1/2 tsp
Egg white from 6 large fresh free range eggs

* Note : Use a chef pro high speed food mixer for better and consistent results.

* Variation : Some American recipes recommend that you add a variety of diced premium quality dried preserved fruit to add colour and flavour to this already wonderful cake. But not too much as it may add weight and impede the cake from rising.

Ingredients for cream and fruit topping

Fresh cream for whipping 200 ml
Icing sugar 100 g
Kaffir lime zest 1 TBS
Lemon juice 1/2 TBS
Fresh strawberries
Mint leaves

Method

1. Whisk egg white. When it starts to lighten, add cream of tartar.
2. Continue to whisk. Add sugar gradually. Whisk till medium peak. Do not overbeat the eggs as the sponge might not yield the soft effect.
3. Fold in the flour gently in circular movement or with clean hand.
4. Pour mixture into a sponge ring cake pan with hollow centre. Line with non-stick paper but do not grease the pan.
5.Bake at 170 C for 30 mins.
6. Inverse the pan on a rack and let it cool completely.

Decorate the Cake

Whip cream and icing sugar at high speed. Add zest and juice.

Spread or pipe in the cream on top of the cooled cake.

Top with fresh fruits and mint leaves.

Jackfruit Ice Cream

This creamy refreshing exotic ice-cream is made from a 500 ml tub of frozen deseeded jackfruit. You could also experiment with fresh durian. Lighter fruits such as lychees and blood orange are more suitable for making sorbet and gelatol. (But try not to use canned fruits - the taste is compromised preservatives.)



Invest in a $50 home ice cream maker. Freeze the container for 24 hours before preparing the contents.
(Or else, follow the traditional way of alternating between freezing and stirring, if you have the time.)

Method :

Prepare gelatine by dissolving 2 tsp of powder in 2 TBS water. Let it stand till ready for use. Add to jackfruit mixture.
Whip jackfruit into pulp with 300 g of brown sugar, a pinch of salt and bring to the soft boil. Add gelatine.
Finally add full cream (small carton of 250 ml) and 1/2 cup of milk.
Optional : two tablespoons of coconut milk.
Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
Pour the pre-frozen ice-cream bowl.
Cover, turn on and churn the mixture till creamy.
Switch off. Cover the bowl and return it to the freezer.
Store for at least 20 hours before consuming.
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Homemade Wholesome Yummy Florentine Slice - Quick and Easy

Tea time - I made these delicious Florentine Slices for my group of mates from diversity of backgrounds (over 5 different countries of origin). They loved it. I can't imagine anyone who won't save for those who are watching their weight and have serious medical concerns.  

Ingredients

Mixed dried fruit : 2 cups. Soak in water for 5 minutes and drain.
100 g almond
100 g corn flakes and /or muesli mix
¼ cup plain flour
125 g butter (soften in room temperature)
½ cup honey
2 TBS brown castor sugar
1 egg
200 g coverture cooking chocolate


1. Combine fruit, nuts and flour in a mixing bowl.
2. Cream butter, sugar and honey till smooth. Add beaten egg.
3. Combine cornflake, muesli, fruit with the butter mixture.
4. Prepare a baking tray and line with baking paper. Put mixture into tray and press till an even surface is formed.
5. Bake at 150 degree Centigrade in preheated oven for 20 –minutes till set. Leave to cool.
6. Double boil chocolate in a bain marie with 2 TBS of full cream. Keep stirring but ensure the oil does not separate and water does not get in.
7. When chocolate is smooth and shows a sheen, pour the melted chocolate evenly over the mixture slice. Set aside for an hour to set.
8. Using a sharp knife, cut into square or rectangular pieces.
9. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
10.The slice can keep for two days at room temperate.


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Easy and Delicious Cassava / Tapioca Pudding

Cassava or tapioca is a root vegetable, an unlikely ingredient for making dessert, you may think? But cassava pudding is a very popular Southeast Asian dessert and snack.

I love two styles of cassava pudding - Kueh Bingka (baked Malaysian cake) and Kueh Getuk (steamed Indonesian pudding). I was delighted when a friend shared with us a recipe that fuses the two cakes into one. I have added comments and more ingredients based on my past experimentation and experience with baking similar cakes.

Ingredients :

1/2 kg grated cassava

(thaw frozen pack from Asian grocer in the fridge for 12 hours

OR

grate from freshly peeled tapioca root that has been soaked in water for at least 1 hour)

1 cup of good quality light coconut cream (e.g., ayam or kara)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chilled grated coconut or dessicated coconut (not rancid)
2 medium sized eggs (lightly beaten)
50 g unsalted dairy butter (softened at room temperature)
1/2 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)

Method:

Mix all the ingredients, starting with butter and cassava, then add sugar, coconut and egg.

Mix everything together (but save a little bit of egg for glazing later).

When well combined, pour mixture into greased baking tray.
Use a broad base or large surface tray so that the cake will be evenly baked.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 45 minutes.

Turn the tray around 2 times during baking to ensure even distribution of heat.

Check with skewer if the cake comes clean. If not, bake for another 10 minutes.

Leave the cake in the oven to brown for a while after turning off the heat. Slice the cake when cooled.

This cake can keep at room temperature for 30 hours during spring and autumn seasons.

- Acknowledgement : Mrs SYW for her inputs

Cool sweet compote of snow fungus, almond, pear and dates

A mildly sweet therapeutic dessert made of natural ingredients which can be eaten hot or cold. Perfect for summer time.

Bring five cups of water to the boil. Put in the bitter almond seed (kernel of apricot).

Add pre-soaked 1 cup of white snow fungus (and optional : washed barley) and to continue to boil.

Optional ingredients are red dates (stone removed and sliced). If using honey yellow dates (cube shaped), mash and boil for a longer time compared to red dates.

Sweeten with rock sugar or brown sugar.

Add sliced Asian pear before serving.

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Creme Brulee with seasonal fruits

Basic creme brulee recipe :
1 cup of sugar
2 cups of milk
1 cup of 35% whipping cream
1 tbsp vanilla
pinch of salt
8 egg yolks

Blueberries and raspberries are in season. They are delicious and gives a nice tang to rich and smooth creme brulee.

The egg yolk should be whisked till they are dispersed and "melted". Run it through a sieve. Add full cream, pure vanilla paste and a dash of ground Australian native wattle seed for added oumph.

Using a torch is a luxury if you are prepared to invest in one. However, I find that grilling works just as well. It does not compromise the taste even though the presentation is less glamorous.