Green Tea Pound Cake

Tried a new green tea pound cake recipe from:

http://milkandhoneycafe.blogspot.com/2009/07/its-not-easy-being-sweet.html

INGREDIENTS

2 cups bleached all-purpose four
2 tablespoons Matcha green tea
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 sticks soft unsalted butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
5 large eggs, separated
Pinch of salt 

DIRECTIONS

1. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan and line with buttered parchment or wax paper—cut to fit. Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 325F. Combine the flour, green tea and baking powder and stir well to mix.
2. Cream butter and confectioners sugar in bowl of mixer with paddle attachment and beat for about 3 minutes or until light. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping bowl and beater occasionally with a rubber spatula. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the flour mixture by hand, with a rubber spatula.
3. Pour the egg whites and salt into a clean, dry mixer bowl. Place on mixer with whisk attachment and whip whites on medium speed until white and opaque and just beginning to hold their shape. Increase speed slightly and continue whipping egg whites until they hold a soft peak.
4. Remove bowl from mixer and quickly scrape whites from bowl onto batter in other bowl. Use a large rubber spatula to fold the egg whites into the batter, folding just until no streaks of white remain.
5. Scrape the batter into prepared pans and smooth the top. Bake the cakes for about 45 minutes (35-40 minutes for mini loaf pans) or until it is well risen and a toothpick inserted in the center emerges dry. Cool the cakes in the pans on a rack for 10 minutes, then un-mold and cool it completely.

As mentioned, the pound cake is not overly sweet, which is great! But it didn't stay soft for long. Maybe I added some cooking time because the center was not cooked after 45 mins and I baked it for 20 mins more.

It got a bit dry after cooled so I ate with some whipped cream and fruits.

Butter Cake

Finally got myself a kitchen scale! Tried the very popular Mrs. Ng SK butter cake recipe and I love it!

Recipe is from:

http://thedomesticgoddesswannabe.com/2015/08/ng-sk-butter-cake/

Ingredients

1. 230g Salted Butter, room temperature
2. 4 egg yolks
3. 150g caster sugar
4. 200g self-raising flour, sifted
5. 60ml fresh milk
6. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7. 4 egg whites
8. 50g caster sugar

I had everything except for the self-raising flour. So, I improvised by combining 1 cup plain flour with 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt (source: same website).

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter and sugar (150g) until it turns light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Be patient and let the machine do its work!
2. Add the egg yolks, one a time and beat it in before adding the next.
3. Beat in the vanilla extract. Fold in half the flour.
4. Add the milk and mix. Add the remaining flour and fold until just incorporated.
5. Scrape the bowl and give the batter one final mix. Set this aside.
6. In a clean mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites until it turns foamy. Slowly and gradually, add the sugar (50g), whisking all the while. Whisk this until stiff peaks form.
7. Transfer 1/3 of the egg whites into the egg yolk batter. Beat this in.
8. Gently fold the remaining egg whites in 2 batches until all the egg whites have been incorporated.
9. Pour this into a lined and greased 8×8-inch baking pan.
10. Bake at 170°C for 45 minutes.
11. When the cake is done (insert a skewer it the cake and if it emerges cleanly it is done), let the cake rest for 5 minutes in the pan before carefully transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely.
12. Cut into slices and enjoy!!

The look turned out as expected but it was a bit too sweet for my taste. Will definitely reduce sugar the next time I make it.

I'm back!

It's amazing how time flies. Without realizing, it has been 5 years since I last had an oven that actually works! A lot have changed since 2011.

"Change is inevitable. Progress is optional" by unknown.

I would say that I've progressed in most other aspects of my life except for my baking skills! I'm very excited to continue where I left off and I want to bake more complicated recipes that require lots of patience and skills!

I started using the new oven and I love it! It's spacious, brightly lit inside, glass door, has a built-in timer, and it's a convection even though I have not explored it yet.

I've been looking for new recipes to try and also reproduced some of the old ones. I'm starting to consider buying a kitchen scale, flour sift, cake knife, glass bowls, deep baking pans, frosting accessories, etc etc. I guess the list will never end!

For the rest of year 2016, I would like to explore the world of frosting. Hopefully I'll be able to master this skill soon!

Paused

I was a student when I started my 'baking adventure' but got a job right after my final exam, which substantially decreased my free time. Not only that, I moved to a new apartment and was oblivious to the fact that the oven was not functioning (!!!) until I tried to use it. I complained to the broker but I was reminded that I agreed to take the apartment 'as is', which is true. And I signed a lease.

Ah well, I guess I will have to hold my 'baking adventure' until I move to a new place (and I will definitely check if the oven is working before signing a lease).

Sour Cream Breakfast Muffins

After realizing how adding sour cream to baked goods can really smoothen and soften the texture, I decided to give this recipe a try:

http://breadbaking.about.com/od/quickbreads/r/sourcreammuff.htm

Note: I added 1/2 cup sugar instead of 1 cup. It came out with just a tiny hint of sweetness, just the way I like it.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2/3 cup half-and-half or light cream
• 1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, cleaned, hulled, chopped
• Topping:
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1. Spray muffin pan with baking spray or nonstick cooking spray. Heat the oven to 375°.
• 2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt; blend well.3. In a small bowl, whisk together the vanilla, eggs, and cream or half-and-half. Add to the dry ingredients along with the melted butter and stir just until combined. Fold in the strawberries. Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full.
  4. Combine the topping ingredients, using a fork, pastry blender, or fingers, working until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with a generous amount of crumb topping.
  5. Bake the muffins for about 20 to 25 minutes, until set and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
• 
  

It came out awesome! Pillowy soft, smooth, moist, great on its own or even better with butter and your favorite jam.

Green Tea Cake

I had been craving green tea cake for a few days so I came up with a simple recipe and got this:

The cake taste buttery with a hint of green tea and I love the fact that it is not too sweet. I sprinkled some powdered sugar on top to add some sweetness but this is optional.

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 8x8 square pan with parchment paper.

2. Mix 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon green tea powder and 1 teaspoon baking powder in a small bowl.

3. Cream 1 cup butter and 1 cup sugar in a big bowl.

4. Add in dry ingredients and blend.

5. Add 4 eggs, one at a time.

6. Bake 35 minutes.

Pineapple Muffins

I had some leftover canned pineapples from yesterday so I made some pineapple muffins. The recipe was adapted from:

http://bakingbites.com/2010/05/pineapple-muffins/

Pineapple Muffins
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 cup buttermilk
6 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
2 tsp orange zest
1 cup chopped pineapple
coarse sugar, for topping

The muffins came out perfect: soft, fluffy, just the right amount of sweetness and refreshing.

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line muffin tin with 12 muffin liners.
2. Mix 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 cup sugar in a big bowl.
3. Add in 1 cup buttermilk, 6 tablespoon melted butter and 1 egg. Blend well.
4. Add in 1 cup of chopped pineapple. Mix well.
5. Distribute batter into 12 equal muffins.
6. Sprinkle each muffin with some raw cane sugar on top (approximately 1 teaspoon per muffin).
7. Bake 18 minutes.

I did not take any pictures but I assure you this is a good recipe.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

I was inspired to try baking this cake for my mom after watching last Sunday's episode of Desperate Housewives. The episode was not about baking a pineapple upside-down cake for mom, I just saw that the cake looked pretty and I had never tried it before.

The recipe I picked was from:

Betty Crocker Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Ingredients

1/4

cup butter or margarine 

2/3

cup packed brown sugar

9

slices pineapple in juice (from 14-oz can), drained

9

maraschino cherries without stems, if desired 

1 1/3

cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour

1

cup granulated sugar 

1/3

cup shortening

1 1/2

teaspoons baking powder

1/2

teaspoon salt

3/4

cup milk 

1

egg 

As usual, I do not like my cake too sweet so I cut down the brown sugar in half. I used light brown sugar. I also melt the butter and light brown sugar together on the stove instead of melting the butter in the oven then sprinkling the brown sugar over the butter, as stated on the recipe. I used electric mixer to cream shortening and sugar before adding eggs, then added milk and dry ingredients alternately, instead of just blending everything for 3.5 minutes as stated on the recipe. I used a springform pan instead of cake pan because I do not have any cake pan.

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare a 9-inch round or square pan.
2. Measure 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour, 1 1/2 baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a bowl. Briefly mix with whisk or fork.
3. Rinse, drain and pat dry 7 slices of canned pineapples and 7 maraschino cherries (I do not like the syrup that the pineapple and cherries were drenched in) (Use 7 for round pan, 9 for square pan).
4. Melt 1/4 cup butter and 1/3 cup light brown sugar on a pan (Do not place plan directly on the fire. This will take only a short moment. Beware to not burn the sugar). Pour your melted butter and brown sugar into pan.
5. Arrange pineapple slices in pan, followed by cherries in the center of each pineapple slice.
6. Cream 1/3 cup vegetable shortening.
7. Add 1 cup granulated sugar into shortening. Continue creaming.
8. Add 1 egg. Beat well.
9. Pour 1/3 of dry ingredients into batter (refer step 2). Beat until dry ingredients are incorporated.
10. Pour 1/4 cup milk into batter. Beat until incorporated.
11. Repeat steps 9 and 10 twice.
12. Pour batter over pineapple and cherries.
13. Bake for 50 minutes.
14. Slightly run knife over sides of cake pan to loosen the cake.
15. Invert onto a cooling rack, let cake pan on for few minutes so the brown sugar mixture can seep into the cake.

Note: Good recipe (It is good instead of excellent because we cannot mix everything with the electric mixer at the same time or cake will come out 'overbeaten', in which it is soft and breaks very easily).

Turtle-Shaped Sugar Cookies

I came across a website and was tempted to make these cookies immediately:

http://www.ireallylikefood.com/744602999/adorable-turtle-shaped-sugar-cookies/

The only time consuming part was the shaping and molding of the turtles. The cookies came out great; soft, fluffy and just the right amount of sweetness.

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup shortening

1/3 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon green tea powder

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Combine 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour and 1 teaspoon baking powder in a small bowl.

3. Cream 1/3 cup shortening, 1/3 cup butter and 3/4 cup sugar in a big bowl.

4. Add 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract into the cream mixture. Blend.

5. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until dough comes together.

6. Remove 2/3 of the dough and further divide into half.

7. Add 1 teaspoon green tea powder (matcha) to the remaining 1/3 of the dough.

8. Roll 1/2 of plain dough (without green tea) into a cylinder.

9. Flatten the dough with green tea powder and wrap around the cylinder plain dough.

10. Cut the cylinder into approximately 1/2 inch thick and arrange on baking sheet.

11. Use the remaining 1/2 plain dough to form the turtles' heads, legs and tails.

12. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

(This recipe yields 2 baking sheets of cookies)

Orange Chiffon Cake

The recipe I used was from:

http://en.kokotaru.com/2009/05/tiny-orange-chiffon-cake/

80g cake flour
2g salt
4g baking powder
50g granulated sugar
40g canola oil
3 eggs, separated
40g orange juice
20g water
2g vanilla extract
30g sugar
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

I followed the recipe except that I omit the orange zest (since I didn't have any) and I used a bundt pan instead of a tube pan. The cake came out pillowy soft. The taste of orange was not too strong though.

1. Preheat oven to 360F.

2. In a mixing bowl, measure 80g cake flour, 2g salt, 4g baking powder, 50g granulated sugar and 40g canola oil. Mix well with a blender set on low.

3. Add into the same mixing bowl 3 egg yolks, 40g orange juice, 20g water and 2g vanilla extract. Mix until combined and smooth at medium speed but do not overmix.

4. In another bowl, blend 3 egg whites with 30g sugar and 1/8 tsp cream of tartar until soft peak forms.

5. Fold egg white mixture into orange batter. Gently mix until color is uniform.

6. Pour into bundt pan and bake for 30 mins.

Note: Good recipe.