Friday, August 26, 2011

Recap: Food Porn Laboratory

Food Porn Laboratory was an event held on August 11th (a few weeks ago) by Visual Communication. It was a "three part feast" for those who are into food photography or simply just food. I was fortunate enough to be informed about this event through a friend who have heard it from another friend. (:



The first of the "three part feast" was the community potluck/ mingling time. On my part, I have bought in coconut butter cookies (my trusted recipe) and mochi donuts (first time making and using my new mini donut pan *more update on this in future post).



I was happily surprised at how delicious everything was and how everyone is equally excited about the potluck as I am. One dish I HAVE to note is this curry beef rice thing on a tortilla chip. It was SOOO YUMMY& appealing!<3



The second part was the food photography/styling workshop led by Kirk McKoy and Ken Kwok. This was a pretty casual presentation/ demonstration where McKoy and Kwok gave plenty pointers on how to photograph in a dark restaurant environment and how to reduce "flatness" when using flash. *I would've never thought about using cell phone as a back light!9:


Here's a picture of Kirk McKoy sharing his wisdom.

The last part of the night... the photo competition! Honestly, I was intimidated by this part (after seeing many with their pretty dslrs). The rules were that we get to shoot five dishes total (sponsored by Starry Kitchen) and only two minutes to shoot each one. We get to use any props we brought with us or the ones provided there. And mmm, no photoshopping! It was quite an intense and new experience. But phew, I managed to survive and was able to find a couple of "acceptable" shots to upload for the four categories we are competing for (Food Porn, Best Color, Best Composition and Best Mood). Oh yeah, and not to mention.. McKoy was there to give us some guidance while we were shooting! Great help.



-->> DUN DUN DUN!
And winners were announced TODAY! Guess what guess whatttttttt!

I WON BEST COLOR.
Totally shocked, unexpected



and Happy!

Sorry, my point and shoot.. for slightly underestimating you. I knew you could pull through(:



Anyways, I am so glad I got to take part in this awesome event. And big thanks to everyone at Visual Communication for putting this together!



Monday, August 22, 2011

Tiramisu♥♥♥♥♥



Alas, the long awaited TIRAMISU : D
(Warning: this will be one LONG detailed post!)

Taste: 5 stars out of 5
Texture: 5 stars out of 5

Step ONE: make sponge cake.

Basic Sponge Cake Base
recipe adapted and translated from Dessert & Baking DIY
-makes one 6" round cake

125g(2) eggs, room temperature
60g sugar
60g flour, sifted
15g unsalted butter, melted

1. Line your 6" pan
2. Beat eggs and sugar till stiff (about 5 minutes).
3. Add flour to egg/sugar mixture and fold.
4. Add melted butter and mix well.
5. Pour into pan and smooth top.
6. Bake for 30 minutes at 356F.
7. Cool and remove cake from pan.
8. Trim edges so that it's slightly smaller than the 6" pan
9. Slice into two layers horizontally.
10. Set aside.

Step TWO: make kahula expresso for brushing.
Kahula Expresso Mix
recipe adapted and translated from Dessert & Baking DIY
-makes enough for two cakes (*halved if looking to just make one cake)

80g espresso (80g hot water+ 2 spoonful instant expresso powder)
20g kahlua
2tsp sugar

Mix everything and set aside.

Step THREE: make mascarpone cheese/cream mixture.
Mascaropone Cheese/ Cream Mix
recipe adapted and translated from Dessert & Baking DIY
-makes one 6" round cake

100g mascarpone cheese, room temperature
30g sugar
1 egg
140g whipped cream
7g gelatin
35g water

1. With electric mixer, whip cream slowly until it resembles ice cream texture.
*Over whipping can result in a lumpy and firmer cake.
2. On a double boiler, beat egg and sugar on high until pale and loose.
3. Mix gelatin and water and microwave until gelatin melts and steams.
4. Add 1/5th egg mixture to gelatin and mix. Set aside.
5. Add cheese to the remaining 4/5th egg and beat till incorporated.
6. Add cream to the cheese/egg mixture and quickly fold till even.
7. Lightly mix the gelatin and egg and add to the cream/cheese/egg mixture. Mix well!

Now, you've got all the different components of the tiramisu ready to go.

Step FOUR: assemble!
1. Get a 6" ring mold or use the side of your 6" springform pan.
2. Wrap the bottom of the ring with saran wrap and set on a tray.
3. Put bottom layer of your sponge cake in the center of the ring. (The edges should have a 1cm gap from the ring)
4. Generously brush the sponge cake with the kahlua/espresso mix.
5. Pour half of the mascarpone/cheese mix on top of the sponge cake, making sure it fills up the gap between the sponge cake and ring.
6. Brush the top layer of sponge cake with kahlua/expresso mix.
7. Place brushed** side of sponge cake face down onto the mascarpone/cheese.
8. Brush the top of sponge cake with kahlua/expresso mix.
9. Pour the rest of mascarpone/cheese onto the sponge cake.
10. Smooth and lightly tap pan on counter top.

Step FIVE: refrigerate and final touches.
1. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
2. Remove cake from ring mold.
Tip: wrap warm towel around ring for easier removal
3. Dust with cocoa powder
*Optional: cut out fun patterns and place them on top of cake before dusting(:

Step Six: ENJOY(:

OVERVIEW---------------------------------------------------------------------->

Tiramisu #1






Mascarpone cheese/cream was fluffy and light.
Layers were even.
Edges were rough and not clean.
Coffee taste was prominent.

Tiramisu #2

^before dusting









Mascarpone cheese/cream was more liquidy before refrigerating.
Texture after refrigerating is smooth and velvety.
Edges were smooth and clean.
More kahlua was used.
Sponge cake was more soaked.
Layers were not even.

Tiramisu #3




Mascarpone cheese/cream was more firm after refrigerating.
Edges were smooth and clean.
Layers were even.
Sponge cake was a little dried (overbaked ._.).
Sponge cake can be soaked with kahlua/expresso more.

---------------------------------------------------------------------->

Total of three takes so far. Seeing improvements yet?(:

Sorry for the poor quality pictures. I am never patient enough to take pictures after the long prep/baking time. But I assure you.. they definitely taste better than they look. Hahah(:

To Bake: Tiramisu. Checked!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Simple Sponge Cake

On one of those spontaneous lazy afternoons..

I had a sudden urge to eat bake/decorate a simple strawberry layered cake.

I didn't want to use any tried recipes.

So, I did a quick search online..

And after a few hours, here's what I created.



Sponge Cake
-makes one 6" round

60g cake flour
3 eggs, room temperature
40g sugar
25-30g oil or melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Beat egg with sugar until stiff
3. Sift flour into egg mixture in 2-3 batches and whisk
4. Add oil and whisk lightly
5. Bake for 25 minutes



*For a chocolate sponge cake, reduce cake flour to 50 cake and add 10g of cocoa powder


^trimmed(;

The sponge cake turned out to be on the dense/firm side (*good for doing layers). Overall, a good and acceptable* recipe for those lazy days.


^my strawberrilicious layer

Taste: 3.5 stars out of 5 (nothing out of the ordinary)
Texture: 3.5 stars out of 5 (I prefer an airy-er and lighter cake)

Crème Brûlée



Crème Brûlée happens to ALWAYS be the first thing I go after for in the dessert aisle of a casino/vegas buffet! The sweet silky creaminess balanced perfectly with a crunchy slight bitter burnt top. MMMMMM.. 9: Absolute heaven.

On my daily hunt for good recipes, I came across this one. I love how this recipes requires just a few basic ingredients and steps.

I could not have imagined that such a fancy delicate looking dessert is THIS easy(:

Crème Brûlée
recipe adapted and translated from Dessert & Baking DIY
-makes 2-3 servings

125g cream
125g milk
35g sugar
2 yolk



1. Preheat oven to 180C/ 356F.
2. Combine cream and yolk. Lightly beat and mix.
3. Add a little milk (~2tbsp) to the cream/yolk mixture.
4. Heat remaining milk and bring it to an almost boiling point. *Keep stirring
5. Add sugar to the boiling milk. Continue heating till sugar dissolves and milk comes to a boil again.
6. Lightly beat the cream/ yolk mixture to make sure everything it's evenly mixed. Add the boiling milk/sugar a little at a time to the cream/yolk. *Keep stirring to avoid cooking the yolk
7. Pour everything back into the pot and heat for about 10 seconds so that everything it's well- combined and smooth.
8. Strain and pour into ramekins. Use knife to poke bubbles/foams on surface.
9. Put the ramekins on a tray and fill the tray with water that covers 1/6th of the base of ramekins.
10. Bake for 25 minutes.
*When ready, the rim of the Crème Brûlée should be of a slightly darker color.
11. Cool in room temperature or put in fridge for about 10 minutes until the surface is cooled.
12. Sprinkle sugar on top of the Crème Brûlée.
13. Using a torch, melt the sugar and form a crispy top.



Taste: 4 stars out of 5 (will reduce sugar next time)
Texture: 5 stars out of 5 (silky almost liquid center with my absolute favorite crunchy sugary top!) ♥

Almond Crisps



Almond Crisps
recipe from Food-4Tots
-makes 26-28 crisps

2 large egg white, room temperature
50g plain flour, sieved twice
60g castor sugar
30g butter, melted and cool
100g almond flakes



1. Line baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Preheat oven at 180°C or 350F.
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk egg white with a hand whisk until you see white bubbles. 4. Add in sugar and beat in circular movement until the sugar dissolves.
5. Add in flour and mix till no traces of flour and lump-free.
6. Use a spatula to fold in almond flakes until well-combined.
7. Stir in melted butter and mix well.
8. Spoon 1/3 or 1/2 tablespoon of mixture on the baking tray. Spread out into a round shape (about 2cm diameter) or any other shapes you like using a spoon.
9. Bake at 170°C or 340F for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. (rotate tray if there's uneven coloring)
10. Remove from the oven, leave to cool and then store into an air-tight container.



Thin. Crisp. Nutty. &Healthy? Almonds/ Nuts= Healthy*
These crisps or cookies literally took seconds to pull together once you have all the ingredients. Give them a simple whisk, mix and fold.. and they are ready for baking. My mom and I loved these cookies. We couldn't stop snacking on them once they have cooled and crisped up even more. And let me point out one thing -> there's definitely no guilt when you eat too much of these.. rather light cookies that use only egg whites!

Overall, great cookies for the almond fans out there(:



Taste: 5 stars out of 5 (almondy- sweetness)
Texture: 4.5 stars out of 5 (crisp and slightly chewy)

ENJOY~

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Strawberry Cream Cake

Strawberry cream cake made with my foolproof sponge cake recipe.

Last time was two layers. This time THREEEEE!
To make this deliciousss cake, you will need the following:


a good cake base


strawberries


put those together


and you will get this!


nom nom.

Chocolate Strawberry Cake



Chocolate strawberry cake made with my trusty chocolate chiffon cake recipe

As I said before, this cake is versatile. Layers or not.. it tastes great. This time, I just did two layers again because I didn't have enough cream I didn't want to eat too much cream. And I was going to decorate the top with more strawberries.. (but I also have a limited amount of strawberries.) Anyhow, I liked how the end product turns out! It has a rustic yet sophisticated feel to it.



Enjoy(:

Chocolate Mochi Cakes



Mochi cakes revisited!
Last time: Green Tea Mochi Cakes

This time..

Chocolate Mochi Cakes
-makes around 12 regular or 24 mini cupcakes

200g Thai glutinous rice flour (or mochiko)
25g cocoa powder
80g unsalted butter, melted
140g sugar
187g evaporated milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder



1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour a cupcake pan.
2. Sift the Thai glutinous rice flour, cocoa and baking powder together.
3. In an electric mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Fold in the melted butter, then the evaporated milk. Fold in the dry ingredients.
4. Split the batter between 12 cupcake holes, using around 1/4 cup per cake (or 1/8 cup for the 24 minis).
*Throw on some sesame seeds or almond slices for some extra goodness
5. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool the cake on a rack, then remove from the pan.



Texture is just as great as last time. Chewy, slight crunch on the outside and moist inside! Flavor-wise.. I prefer the green tea one. The chocolate in this one is not as intense and rich. Maybe next time I can try adding some melted chocolate for some extra chocolate-ness!

Taste: 4.5 stars out of 5
Texture 5 stars out of 5

Friday, August 19, 2011

Snickerdoodle

Simple ingredients + Simple steps = Delicious fluffy cinnamon-y cookies



Snickerdoodle
recipe halved from Martha Stewart's Cookies
-makes around 24 cookies

1/2cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4cup (150g) sugar (will reduced next time*)
1tsp baking powder
1/4tsp salt
1 egg
1 and 3/8cup (170g) AP flour

1tbsp sugar
1tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
3. Cream butter and 3/4cup sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Mix in egg.
5. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually mix in flour mixture.

6. Stir together cinnamon and the 1tbsp sugar in a small bowl.
7. Shape dough into 20 (1 3/4-inch) balls; roll in cinnamon sugar.
8. Space 3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
9. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes.
10. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.



Note: cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.



These cookies turned out fluffy, pillow-y and UNIFORM! (My cookies never turned out as uniform as these because I don't ever take the time to weight each dough.) I love how these look when they are all next to each other. They are so cute and attractive! Haha.. :p

Aside from the good looks, they taste great as well!

This is my first time making snickerdoodle, and I am glad this recipe yielded the soft and noncracked version I like. For those unfamiliar with snickerdoodles..

According to Wikipedia, a snickerdoodle is a type of sugar cookie made with butter or oil, sugar, and flour rolled in cinnamon sugar. Snickerdoodles are characterized by a cracked surface and can be crisp or soft depending on preference. In modern recipes, the leavening agent is frequently baking powder in contrast with traditional techniques utilizing baking soda and cream of tartar.

Next time, I may experiment with the baking soda/ cream of tartar recipe!



Taste: 3.5 stars out of 5 (a little too sweet)
Texture: 4.5 stars out of 5 (tender, fluffy, crumbly and melt in your mouth!)

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies



Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

recipe from Martha Stewart Recipes
-makes around 3 dozen cookies

12 ounces strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup heavy cream
* Sanding sugar, for sprinkling



1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 7 tablespoons granulated sugar in a large bowl.
4. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, or rub in with your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
5. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture.
6. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing evenly apart.
7. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, and bake until golden brown, 24 to 25 minutes.
8. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool.



BIG note: cookies are best served immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.

These cookies were quite addicting. They were tender, crumbly and.. buttery with a slight crunch on the outside. However, overnight the crunch disappears and the cookies are more soft and tender. I definitely suggest eating them the day off. But I guess if you don't mind the absence of crunch.. they are equally delicious after a while too.

Tip: drain the strawberries WELL before incorprating them in the cookie batter. The excess moisture reduces the crunchiness!

Taste: 4.5 stars out of 5 (sour strawberries ._.)
Texture: 5 stars out of 5 (the day of baking)& 3.5 stars out of 5 (overnight)


Monday, August 1, 2011

Flourless Chocolate Cake



Flourless Chocolate Cake
recipe translated and adapted from Shirley Living
- makes one 6" round

90g dark chocolate (I used Ghirardelli 60% Cacao)
45g unsalted butter
2 yolk
2 white
60g sugar, separated into 40+20
1/4tsp salt

1. Chop chocolate into small pieces.
2. Melt Butter (either using the double boiler method or microwave) and add chocolate. Stir until everything it's melted and smooth.
3. Heat egg white and 40g of sugar to around 100F (lukewarm). Remove and beat till stiff.
4. Heat yolk, salt and 20g sugar to around 100F (lukewarm). Remove and beat till it turns pale and creamy.
5. Mix chocolate to yolk. Beat softly.
6. Fold 1/3 white to the chocolate/ yolk batter.
7. Gently fold the rest of white in.
8. Bake in 350F for 30 minutes.

Tip: If you are making this cake, find and use the highest quality chocolate(;



Decadent treat. I liked everything about this cake.
Crunchy toasty crust + moist dense chocolate-y inside = divine.
This cake.. kind of resembles a brownie. And if I have to choose between a brownie and this cake, I would definitely prefer this cake! The crust. the crust. the crust. : D

Taste: 4.5 stars out of 5
Texture 5 stars out of 5
♥♥♥♥♥

P.S. This cake is still good (or maybe even better) after a day or two in the fridge.


ENJOY!