Blueberry Muffins

These muffins are so easy to make that my 13-year old can handle everything on her own.  The original recipe is from Food and Wine, however I reduced the sugar and oil amount to suit my taste.  If you have a sweet tooth, please follow the original recipe.  Although the crumb topping is a little messy, you will be very impressed with the taste and the soft texture of these muffins.

Ingredients for crumb topping:

150g	All purpose flour
3 Tbsp	Light brown sugar
2 Tbsp	Organic cane sugar or granulated sugar
1 tsp	Baking powder
85g/6 Tbsp	Unsalted butter, melted
	Pinch of salt

Ingredients for Muffins:

250g	All purpose flour
190g	Organic cane sugar or granulated sugar
2 ¼ tsp	Baking powder
½ tsp	Salt
2	Large eggs
75g	Oil
¾ cup	Milk (whole or reduced fat)
1 tsp	Vanilla extract
1 ½ cup	Blueberries

To make the crumb topping:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. To make the crumb topping, combine flour, brown sugar, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.  (Picture A)
3. Stir in the melted butter.  (Picture B)
4. Pinch the mixture until it forms pea-size clumps and set aside.  (Picture C)

To make the muffins (12 muffins):

1. Put eggs, sugar and oil in a mixing bowl, beat at low speed until combined.  (Picture 1)
2. Beat in milk and vanilla extract. (Pictures 2-3)
3. Add flour mixture (flour, baking powder and salt) to the egg batter and beat at medium speed until the batter is smooth.  (Pictures 4-5)
4. Stir in blueberries (don’t beat it, just stir in).  (Picture 6)
5. Line muffin pan with muffin/cupcake liners.  (Picture 7)
6. Spoon the batter into each cup.  (Picture 8)
7. Sprinkle the crumb topping on top of each one.  (Picture 9)
8. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown. Insert a toothpick in the center to test doneness.

• Let the muffins cool in the pan before serving.
• Blueberry muffins can be kept overnight, you can reheat it by microwaving it for 10 seconds.

Checkerboard Chiffon Cake

I baked a checkerboard cake for my husband’s birthday.  Since he loves chiffon cakes, I thought putting two flavors in one cake would be a good idea.  The first time I made this cake, the chocolate flavor overpowered the orange flavor and both cakes did not rise too much (I used a recipe for an 8″ cake but divided half of the ingredients for the orange cake and half for the chocolate cake).  I also realized putting two cakes in the oven at the same time had also cause the cakes to not rise properly.  So I made some adjustments – (1) increased orange zest to 2 tbsps to enhance the orange flavor, (2) bake a full size cake for each flavor, and (3) bake one cake at a time.  This time the cakes came out beautifully.

Ingredients (makes two 8″ checkerboard cakes):

Orange Cake		Chocolate Cake
6	Egg whites	6	Egg whites
105g	Caster sugar	70g	Caster sugar
1 tsp	Cream of tartar	1 tsp	Cream of tartar
6	Egg yolks	6	Egg yolks
30g	Caster Sugar	35g	Caster Sugar
80g	Cake flour	70g	Cake flour
1/8 tsp	Salt	1/8 tsp	Salt
1 tsp	Baking powder	1 tsp	Baking powder
1 tsp	Vanilla extract	1 tsp	Vanilla extract
50g	Olive oil	50g	Olive oil
80ml	Fresh orange juice	90ml	Non fat milk
2 Tbsp	Orange zest	25g	Unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions for making the Orange Chiffon Cake, please click here.

Directions (for Chocolate Chiffon Cake):

1. Preheat oven to 340 °F.
2. Separate egg whites and egg yolks.
3. Mix egg yolks and 35 g sugar until well combined.  Add in olive oil, milk and vanilla extract, mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder.
5. Sift in cocoa powder and flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture, mix well to make sure there are no lumps.  Set aside.
6. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.  It is best to begin at a slow speed and gradually move up to high when beating.  Add cream of tartar to stablize the egg whites.   After mixing well, add 70 g of sugar in three batches, about one-third at a time, and beat well between additions.  Continue to beat until the egg whites are stiff and glossy.  Don’t over beat it, overbeaten whites look lumpy and watery.
7. Gently fold-in half of the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture and repeat the same with the remaining egg whites.
8. Pour mixture into an 8″ tube pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 40-45 minutes.
9. Remove the cake from the oven and invert the pan immediately.  Let cake cool completely.
10. Remove the cake by running a thin-bladed knife around the pan, angling the knife towards the pan to try to get the full crust on the cake.

Assemble Cake:

1. Before assembling the cake, place both cakes in the refrigerator to chill so they will be much easier to cut into circles.  I used a cake leveler so they will all be even.  Bear in mind this is a chiffon cake, unlike the regular buttery checkerboard cake, it is harder to cut through as the cake is super soft and fluffy.
2. Use a sharp knife to remove the top thin layer of the cake (picture 1)
3. Also trim off the edges with a knife (picture 2).
4. Cut the cake into 2 to 3 equal layers with a cake leveler (depending on how thick your cake is) (picture 3)
5. I did not make this cake with a special pan that has dividers so I cut out circle templates.  I used an 8-inch cake pan, so my circle templates were 6″, 4″ and 2″) (picture 4)
6. Put the biggest circle on top of your cake and use a sharp knife to cut around the rim, repeat this cutting process with the remaining circles.  (picture 5)
7. Lift slowly and remove the cake pieces.  (Picutre 6)
8. Start your layers on a cake plate or stand.  I started with the cocolate flavor first, don’t forget to frost the edge of each ring.  (Picture 7)
9. You will alternate the colors for each layer, creating a target shape.  Remember to frost the edge of each ring.  (Picture 8)
10. Once you have assembled the first layer, spread frosting on this layer. (picture 9)
11. Now assemble the second layer which will have the opposite colors (orange flavor first).  (picture 10) Repeat Step 10.
12. You can make a cake with four, five or six layers.  Each time you just alternate the colors for each layer.  (picture 11)
13. To decorate the cake, apply frosting all over the cake.  (picture 12)  The whipping cream frosting recipe is below.

How to make whipping cream frosting:

Ingredients:

2 Cups      Heavy Whipping Cream
2 Tbsps     Powdered Sugar
2 Tbsps     Vanilla Instant Pudding

Directions:

1. Whip the heaving cream with medium speed until it’s smooth and firm, add powder sugar and whip for another 1-2 minutes.
2. To make the cream more firm, add Vanilla Instant Pudding and whip for 1-2 minutes.

Note:

The tube pan has a hole in the middle.  I saved some batter and poured into a 3″ springform pan and bake separately (do this for both flavors).  These small cakes are used to fill the middle part of the checkerboard cake.

Related articles

• Marble Chiffon Cake (ginskitchen.wordpress.com)

Mocha Chiffon Cake

I was not sure if this cake would turn out good or not.  First, I am not a coffee drinker, I don’t even know how to brew a cup of coffee.  Second, I couldn’t find a recipe that is light in sugar and flour, the ones found online were more dense.  Since my friend gave me a pack of instant black coffee, I decided to give it a try.  Again, I created this recipe based on Christine Ho’s black sesame chiffon cake which is the first chiffon cake I posted on my blog.  The cake was decorated with whipped cream frosting, it was very moist, light and fluffy in texture.  Please scroll down to the bottom for the whipped cream frosting recipe.  This cake was gone in one day!!

Ingredients (for a 10″ pan):

7 95g 1 tsp

Egg whites Caster sugar Cream of tartar

125g 1/4 tsp 1 tsp 1 tsp 7 35g 58g 95ml 2 Tbsp (4g)

Cake flour Salt Baking powder Vanilla extract Egg yolks Caster Sugar Olive oil Hot water Instant black coffee

Method:

• Preheat oven to 340F.
• To separate eggs, place 3 small bowls side by side. Crack the first egg and pull the shell halves apart. Pass the yolk back and forth, letting the white fall into the first bowl. Put the yolk in the second bowl. Transfer the white to the third bowl and repeat with the remaining eggs.  By doing it this way, if you have one bad egg, you do not need to discard all egg whites.
• Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until bubbles form. It is best to begin at a slow speed and gradually move up to high when beating.  Add cream of tartar. After mixing well, add 90 grams of sugar in three batches, about one-third at a time, and beat well between additions.  Continue to beat until the egg whites are stiff and glossy.  Don’t over beat it, overbeaten whites look lumpy and watery.

• Dissolve instant black coffee powder in 95ml of hot water, set aside and let it cool. (Picture 1)
• Weigh all ingredients, combine cake flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.   Set aside (Picture 2)
• Mix egg yolks with 35g caster sugar until sugar dissolved.  Stir in oil until completely combined.  Add vanilla extract and black coffee and mix until well combined.  (Picture 3)
• Sift the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture, in three batches. Combine well.  The mixture is slight thicker now. (Picture 4)
• Fold-in the beaten egg whites with a spatula in three batches.  (Picture 5)
• Pour the batter into a 10″ tube pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 60 minutes.  (Picture 6)
• After baking the first 15 minutes, if you find the cake surface gets browning, reduce heat to 320F.  Continue to bake until cooked through.  A needle comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

• Remove the cake from the oven.  Invert the pan immediately on a wire rack.  Let it cool completely (at least an hour).  (Picture below)

• Remove the cake by running a thin-bladed knife around the pan, angling the knife towards the pan to try to get the full crust on the cake.
• I decorate the cake with whipped cream.  Please see below for the cocoa whipped cream frosting recipe.

How to make Cocoa Whipped Cream Frosting:

Ingredients:

3 cups 3 Tbsp 3 Tbsp 2 Tbsp 1 Tbsp

Heavy Whipping Cream Powdered Sugar Vanilla Instant Pudding Rum* (optional) Instant black coffee

Method:

1. Dissolve instant black coffee powder in 1 tbsp. of hot water, set aside.
2. Whip the heavy whipping cream with medium speed until it is smooth and firm, add powdered sugar and whip for another 1-2 minutes.
3. To make the cream more firm, add vanilla instant pudding and whip for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add in coffee and/or rum and whip for another minute.

Notes:

• My friend worked at a restaurant, he told me to use Vanilla Instant Pudding to make the cream more firm.
• *I only used 1 Tbsp. of rum as my kids are eating this cake.  If you prefer to have a stronger flavor, use 2 Tbsp. of rum.
• Whipped cream can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge.

Orange Chiffon Cake

So happy had another successful attempt at making chiffon cakes.  After baking black sesame and marble cakes, I wanted to try an orange flavor.  The recipe was based on Christine Ho’s Black Sesame Chiffon Cake recipe.  I substituted/added a few ingredients and opted for fresh squeezed orange juice.   A tip — It is better to taste the oranges first as sweet oranges will make the cake taste better!  I had tried using OJ (100% pure) out of a carton but the orange flavor tasted artificial.

Ingredients:

8” Pan		10” Pan
6 105g 1 tsp 6 30g 80g 1/8 tsp 1 tsp 1 tsp 50g 80ml 1 Tbsp	Egg whites Caster sugar Cream of tartar Egg yolks Caster Sugar Cake flour Salt Baking powder Vanilla extract Olive oil Fresh orange juice Orange zest	7 120g 1 tsp 6 35g 100g 1/8 tsp 1 tsp 1 tsp 58g 95ml 1 – 1.5 Tbsp

Directions (for an 8” tube pan):

1. Preheat oven to 340 °F.
2. Separate egg whites and egg yolks.
3. Mix egg yolks and 30 g sugar until well combined.
4. Squeeze fresh orange juice from oranges (about 2 oranges) (picture 1).
5. Add orange juice, olive oil, vanilla extract, orange zest, salt into the egg yolk mixture and mix well (pictures 2 and 3).
6. Sift in 80 g flour and baking powder into the egg yolk mixture, mix well to make sure there are no lumps (picture 4).
7. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.  It is best to begin at a slow speed and gradually move up to high when beating.  Add cream of tartar to stablize the egg whites.   After mixing well, add 105 g of sugar in three batches, about one-third at a time, and beat well between additions.  Continue to beat until the egg whites are stiff and glossy.  Don’t over beat it, overbeaten whites look lumpy and watery.
8. Gently fold-in half of the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture and repeat the same with the remaining egg whites (picture 5).
9. Pour mixture into an 8″ tube pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 40-45 minutes.  After baking the first 15 minutes, if you find the cake surface gets browning, reduce heat to 320 °F.  The cake will rise to the top after baking (picture 6).
10. Remove the cake from the oven and invert the pan immediately.  Let cake cool completely.

• Remove the cake by running a thin-bladed knife around the pan, angling the knife towards the pan to try to get the full crust on the cake.

Related articles

• Marble Chiffon Cake (ginskitchen.wordpress.com)

Mooncakes

MID AUTUMN FESTIVAL is also know as Moon Festival because at that time of the year the moon is at its roundest and brightest.  Mid Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar.  It is the second biggest festival after The Lunar New Year in China.  During this Festival, people give family, friends and colleagues mooncakes.  The treats are traditionally filled with an egg yolk embraced by lotus seed, red bean or five varieties of nuts and seeds.  My favorite one is the lotus paste.   The stories behind mooncakes are quite interesting too —- besides the legend of “Chang’E Flying to the Moon 嫦娥奔月”, the most well-known one is “Wu Gang Chopping Laurel Tree on the moon”.

I was a little late making mooncakes this year.  I was supposed to make them two days before the festival as the mooncakes normally need to rest for 2 days to get the best texture.   These cakes are high in calories, sugar and preservatives, so I decided to make them myself to have a healthier version.  Although it was quit a lot of work to make the lotus paste (took almost an hour to stir the paste in the pan), using the mooncake press/mold was quite fun.  The paste should be made one day ahead of time and keept in the fridge.

I gathered several mooncake recipes together and tested them out to make my own.  Lotus paste recipe coutesy of Amanda.   The golden syrup recipe coutesy of Christine Ho.

HOW TO MAKE LOTUS PASTE:

Ingredients:

200g 120g 100ml 1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp 1/8 tsp

Lotus Seeds Sugar Grape Seed Oil/Olive Oil Honey Condense Milk Salt

Directions:

1. Soak Lotus Seeds in water for 30 mins.
2. Make sure to remove the green bitter tasting germ inside the seeds (if any) and discard any seeds in dark brown color, drain water.  Pour new water into a pot to cover all lotus seeds and bring to a boil, turn down fire and simmer until tender.  (picture 1)
3. Discard water but save ½ cup.  Transfer lotus seeds into a food processor, add ½ cup of the water from the pot and grind into a smooth paste.  Pass through a fine sieve if you want the finest texture.  (picture 2)
4. Heat up a non-stick pan, melt half the sugar until it turns brown in color. (picture 3)
5. Add in blended lotus seeds, remaining sugar, salt and 1/2 of oil.  After the paste soaks up all the oil, add the remaining oil.  Stirring all the time until the lotus seed paste gets thickened.  (picture 4)
6. Stir in honey and condense milk. (picture 5)
7. Continue stirring till paste leaves the side of the pan.  (picture 6)
8. Keep in the fridge overnight before using it.

HOW TO MAKE MOONCAKES:

Ingredients:

100g       All purpose flour
70g         Golden Syrup
2ml         Alkaline water
25ml       Grape seed oil

Filings:

500g       Lotus Paste (see recipe above)
6             Salted Egg Yolks
1 Tbsp   Rose-flavoured cooking wine (玫瑰露酒)
1             Egg (for egg wash)

Directions:

(I’m using a 63g mold and the dough/filling ratio is 3:7, you can also work with the 2:8 ratio)

1. Mix salted egg yolks with wine.  Wipe dry the yolks with kitchen paper after a few minutes.  Cut each into two halves. Set aside.
2. Place golden syrup in a bowl. Add in alkaline water, stir to combine. Add in oil and mix well.
3. Add flour in to the syrup mixture and combine well. Gently knead the dough till smooth (takes 1~2 mins). Shape it into a round ball and wrap with cling wrap.  Leave it in the fridge to rest for at least 2 hours or overnight.
4. Before making mooncakes, bring the dough to room temperature for 30 mins.  Divide dough into 12 equal portions, each weighs 19g (based on a 63g mold and the dough/filling ratio 3:7).  Roll each portion into a ball shape.  Divide lotus paste into 12 equal portions as well, each weighs 39g, the salted egg yolks are roughly 5g each half.  (Picture 1)
5. Preheat oven to 350F.  Prepare the egg wash by whisking the egg, sift through a fine sieve.
6. Take a lotus paste ball and poke a hole in the middle with your finger. Place egg yolk inside.  (Picture 2).
7. Flatten each dough into a small disc with a rolling pin.  (Picture 3)
8. Wrap it around the filling and shape it into a ball. (Pictures 4 and 5)
9. Lightly dust the wrapped dough with some flour.  Place it in the mooncake mold.  (Picture 6) and press the mooncake out (Picture 7).  Place mooncake on a baking tray line with parchment paper. (Picture 8)
10. Spray some water on the mooncakes. (Note: this step prevents the mooncake from cracking during baking.)
11. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 mins.  Remove from oven and leave to cool for 15mins (this step helps stabilizing the pattern on top).
12. After 15 minutes, brush the top with very little egg wash (too much egg wash, the pattern will disappear after baking).  Return to oven and continue to bake for another 6 mins. (Picture 9)
13. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes, brush the 2^nd layer of egg wash (very little egg wash) and return to oven and continue to bake for another 6 mins or until golden brown.  Since every oven works differently, please check and make sure the mooncakes are not over browned).
14. Leave mooncakes to cool completely and store in air tight containers. Wait for 2 days before serving, the skin will become soft and shiny, called “回油” in Chinese.

It is best to enjoy these with a cup of hot Chinese tea!

Marble Chiffon Cake

After making the black seasme chiffon cake many times, I wanted to try something different.  I saw many beautiful pictures of marble chiffon cakes on the internet and had tried different recipes, but none of them turned out to have the taste/texture I liked.  So, I decided to go back to Christine Ho’s black sesame chiffon cake recipe and made changes to it.  I’m very satisfied with the result and my kids loved it, the cake was gone in one day.

Ingredients:

8” Pan		10” Pan
6 110g 1 tsp	Egg whites Caster sugar Cream of tartar	7 128g 1 tsp

6 25g 80g 1/8 tsp 1 tsp 1 tsp 50g 80ml

Egg yolks Caster Sugar Cake flour Salt Baking powder Honey Olive oil Non-fat milk

7 29g 94g 1/8 tsp 1 tsp 1 tsp 58g 93ml

10g 10g

Cocoa powder All purpose flour

11g 12g

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 340F.
• Separate egg whites and egg yolks.
• Mix egg yolks, 25g sugar, salt and honey until well combined.
• Add in olive oil and mix well, then add in milk and mix well.
• Sift in 80g flour and baking powder into the egg yolk mixture, mix well to make sure there are no lumps.

• Divide the egg yolk mixture into two equal portions in separate mixing bowls.   I got 338g in my bowl, so I put 169g in each bowl.
• Mix 10g of the flour into a bowl of egg yolk mixture and 10g of cocoa powder into another bowl of egg yolk mixture.
• Now, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until bubbles form.  It is best to begin at a slow speed and gradually move up to high when beating.  Add cream of tartar. After mixing well, add 110 grams of sugar in three batches, about one-third at a time, and beat well between additions.  Continue to beat until the egg whites are stiff and glossy.  Don’t over beat it, overbeaten whites look lumpy and watery.

• Gently fold-in half of the egg white mixture into the cocoa egg yolk mixture and half into the plain mixture until well combined.

• Spoon batters into an 8” tube pan, alternating spoonfuls of plain mixture and cocoa mixture to simulate a checkboard.  To create marbling, run a table knife through the batters in a swirling motion.

• Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes.  After baking the first 15 minutes, if you find the cake surface gets browning, reduce heat to 320F.
• Remove the cake from the oven.  Invert the pan immediately on a wire rack.  Let it cool completely (at least an hour).

• Remove the cake by running a knife around the pan, angling the knife towards the pan to try and get the full crust on the cake.

• Black Sesame Chiffon Cake (ginskitchen.wordpress.com)
• Pistachio Chiffon Cake (elainetys.wordpress.com)
• Matcha chiffon cake (jothetartqueen.wordpress.com)

Black Sesame Chiffon Cake

Is there any difference between a chiffon cake and sponge cake?  They are quite similar but a chiffon cake calls for oil, its texture is more fluffy and airy while a sponge cake is oil/butter/fat free.  Most people complain that their chiffon cake sunk after cooling or did not rise.  I have made this chiffon cake many times and never encountered any problems.  I’m Christine Ho’s big fan and learned how to make this black sesame chiffon cake from her blog.  Her tip on how to prevent the cake from sinking is very helpful (i.e. never grease the pan or use a non-stick pan).  The reason I chose her recipe over many others found on the net is because her cake is so light and the sweetness is just right.

I slightly adjusted her recipe by adding more sesame powder and using 6 egg yolks.  You will love this recipe – it’s easy and the cake is even fluffier and softer than the store-made ones!

Ingredients:

6	Egg whites
60g	Caster sugar
1 tsp	Cream of tartar

80g	Cake flour
1/8 tsp	Salt
1 tsp	Baking powder
30g	Black sesame powder
6	Egg yolks
30g	Caster sugar
50g	Olive oil
80ml	Non-fat milk

Method:

• Preheat oven to 340F.
• To separate eggs, place 3 small bowls side by side. Crack the first egg and pull the shell halves apart. Pass the yolk back and forth, letting the white fall into the first bowl. Put the yolk in the second bowl. Transfer the white to the third bowl and repeat with the remaining eggs.  By doing it this way, if you have one bad egg, you do not need to discard all egg whites.
• Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until bubbles form. It is best to begin at a slow speed and gradually move up to high when beating.  Add cream of tartar. After mixing well, add 60 grams of sugar in three batches, about one-third at a time, and beat well between additions.  Continue to beat until the egg whites are stiff and glossy.  Don’t over beat it, overbeaten whites look lumpy and watery.

• Sift the cake flour, baking powder, salt and black sesame powder. Use a spoon to press through the sift if necessary. (Picture 1)
• Whisk the egg yolks with 30 grams of caster sugar, until the sugar completely dissolves. (Picture 2)
• Stir in the oil, bit by bit, until completely combined. Add milk and stir well.  (Pictures 3 and 4)
• Sift the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture, in three batches. Combine well.  (Picture 5 and 6)
• Fold-in the beaten egg whites with a spatula.  (Picture 7)
• Pour the batter into an 8″ tube pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes. After baking the first 15 minutes, if you find the cake surface gets browning, reduce heat to 320F. Continue to bake until cooked through. A needle comes out clean when inserted in the middle.  (Picture 8)
• Remove the cake from the oven. Invert the pan immediately on a wire rack.  Let it cool completely (at least an hour).  (Picture 9)

• Remove the cake by running a thin-bladed knife around the pan, angling the knife towards the pan to try to get the full crust on the cake.

Related articles

• Matcha chiffon cake (jothetartqueen.wordpress.com)

Mini Fruit Tarts

My favorite fruit tarts are from Porto’s Bakery in Glendale, Los Angeles.  I used to go there during my lunch time to pick up an 11″ fruit tart for my husband’s birthday.  With traffic, it sometimes took me more than an hour to go back to work.  Dealing with traffic and long queue, it was still worth my time until I spot a recipe online.  I made these bite-size fruit tarts when families gathered to celebrate mother’s day.   It was a big hit.   I highly recommend this recipe — easy and delicious!  Recipe adaped from “Salad in a Jar“.

Ingredients:

Tart Crust:

180g	All purpose flour
50g	Superfine sugar
1/4 tsp	Salt
110g	Butter (1 stick), chilled
1	Whole egg

Cream Filling:

1-3/8 cup	Milk (could be a combination of milk and cream)
60g	Sugar
15g	Cornstarch
a tiny pinch	Salt
2	Egg yolks
30g	Butter
1/2 tsp	Vanilla extract

Directions:

Crust:

1. Combine flour, sugar and salt in food processor.  Cut butter into small cubes and add to flour, pulsing several times until mixture resembles oatmeal.  Add whisked whole egg and pulse until all ingredients are moistened but not yet a solid ball.  Lightly press into a ball, wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.  If dough in food processor seems too dry to press into a ball, add a teaspoon or two of milk.
2. Pull off small amount of dough and press into molds with fingers being careful to keep thickness consistent. Use a knife to trim off any extra at the top.  Freeze for at least 30 minutes.
3. Place frozen tart shells on cookie sheet and cook at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Watch carefully as the time can vary according to the thickness of the crust.

Cream Filling:

1. Add milk, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and egg yolks, (in that order) to blender. Blend 5 seconds and pour into 2-quart glass microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 6 minutes on HIGH, whisking until smooth after 3 minutes, then every minute thereafter.
2. Add butter and vanilla and whisk until smooth.   Remove from heat and let it cool.
3. If you do not want to use a microwave, after blending everything, pour into a pot and cook over medium heat on the stovetop, bring to a boil until mixture starts to get thicker.  Add butter and vanilla and mix well.  Remove from heat and let it cool.

Assembly:

1. Fill each baked tart shell with cream filling.  Top with fruits of your choice. Melt 1/4 cup currant jelly and use a brush to dab some shininess on each piece of fruit.

Notes:

Crust can be made ahead of time and put in an air tight container.  Assembling your fruit tarts a couple hours before the party.

Related articles

• Fruit Tart – Tarte aux Fruit (dessertcrisis.wordpress.com)

Fondant Cake with Strawberry Filling

This cake is delicious!  The cake itself is very easy to bake (it’s just a box of cake mix), but making the marshmallow fondant and decorating the cake, it is quite time consuming.  To stablize the cream, you will need to add a tablespoon of vanilla instant pudding and whip for 1-2 mins.

Marshmallow Fondant

Ingredients:

8 ounces	Marshmallows
1 pound	Powdered sugar, plus extra for dusting
2 Tbsp	Water
Food coloring or flavored extracts	(Optional)

Method:

1. Dust your counter or a large cutting board with powdered sugar.  Place marshmallows and water in a large glass bowl, microwave on high for 1 minute, until the marshmallows are puffy and soft.
2. Stir the marshmallows with a spatula.  If there are any unmelted marshmallow pieces, return to the microwave for 30 seconds until the marshmallow mixture is entirely melted and smooth.
3. Add 1/2 pound of powdered sugar and stir with the spatula.  Stir until the sugar begins to incorporate.  Scrape the marshmallow and sugar mixture out onto your work surface.  It will be very sticky, keep adding sugar.  Dust your hands with powdered sugar, and begin to knead the fondant mixture like bread dough, keep adding the remaining sugar.
4. Continue to knead the fondant until it smoothes out and loses its stickiness. Add more sugar if necessary. Once the fondant is a smooth ball, it is ready to be used. You can now roll it out, shape it or add food coloring.
5. If you want to add coloring or flavoring to your fondant, flatten it into a round disc.  I recommend using gel food coloring instead the liquid food coloring.  You might want to wear gloves to avoid getting food coloring on your hands during this step. Add your desired amount of coloring or flavoring to the center of the disc, and fold the disc over on itself so that the color or flavor is enclosed in the center of the fondant ball.
6. Begin to knead the ball of fondant just like you did before. As you work it, you will begin to see streaks of color coming through from the center. Continue to knead until the streaks are gone and the fondant is a uniform color.

Apple Turnovers/strudels/pies

If you browse a recipe for Apple Turnovers, there will be many different ones.  You will just need to find one that suits your taste.  I like this one as the walnuts give it a nice touch.  Turnovers can be made using ready-made puff pastry sheets or pie crusts.  I like homemade pie crust as I can use a lattice pastry roller to make a lattice top, or you can simply shape them into triangles or into rectangles.  

Ingredients for apple filling:  Make about 10  – 3″x4″ pastries

315g (about 4 small apples)	Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4-inch dice
50g	Chopped walnuts
1/2 cup	Sugar
1/2 tsp	Cinnamon
1/2 cup	Apple sauce
1/4 tsp	Vanilla Extract
1 tsp	Corn starch
1 tsp	Water

Ingredients for pie crust:

320g	All purpose flour
225g	Unsalted butter (cut into small cubes and chill)
1 tsp	Salt
1 tsp	Sugar
6 to 8 Tbsp	Ice water

Egg Wash:

1	Egg (lightly beaten)
1 tsp	Milk

Making the filling:

1. Peel and core the apples, diced into pieces.  (Picture 1)
2. In a small pot, mix together apples, sugar, apple sauce, cinnamon, vanilla extract and walnuts, bring to a boil over medium heat, stir constantly for 5-10 minutes or until apples are tender.  (Pictures 2-6)
3. Mix cornstarch with 1 Tbsp of cold water until smooth.  (Picture 7)
4. Add cornstarch liquid to the pot and mix well until filling is thickened.  Set aside to cool.  (Pictures 8-9)

Making the pie crust:

1. Cut butter into cubes and place it in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill.  (Picture A)
2. Combine flour, salt and sugar in a food processor, pulse until combined.  Add butter cubes and pulse a few times until the mixtures slightly combined.  (Picture B)
3. Add 4 tablespoons of ice water and pulse several times.  Do not add all water at the same time, add a little by little until the mixture just barely begins to clump together.  When pinching the dough, if it holds together, it’s ready.  Otherwise, add a little more water and pulse.  (Pictures C & D) 
4. Now preheat oven to 400°F.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
5. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into ten 3×4-inch rectangles.
6. Scoop apple filling into each rectangle.  (Picture E)
7. Roll out the dough again and press the lattice cutter into the dough.  Use a knife to cut a rectangle and gently lift the lattice top.  Use your fingers to pull it and place on top of the apple pie.  (Pictures F & G)
8. OR if you want to make triangles, cut the dough into squares, place apple mixture into the center of each square, then fold the pastry across diagonally to form triangles.
9. Seal the edges with a fork.  (Picture H)
10. Prepare egg wash by combing egg and milk in a small dish, scramble well.  Brush the turnovers/pies with egg wash.
11. In a small bowl mix the beaten egg with a teaspoon of milk. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg mixture on the border of the pastry.
12. Place the pastries in the oven and bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden.  Cool turnovers to warm before serving.