Posted on by Bembum Kitchen

Korilakkuma pineapple cakes

This unique Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes no longer makes us bored with the standard rectangular shape; And I’m sure that your kids will love it too

Hi Everyone, today I am making these cute “Korilakkuma Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes”.
Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes actually almost similar to other Asian Pineapple Cakes; but typically larger than the Singaporean / Malaysian Pineapple Cakes.

They are made with butter pastry crust filled with thick pineapple jam. The cakes are baked in an individual mould, usually in square or rectangle mould.

Taiwanese style (left) ~ Singapore/ Malaysia style (right)

I was told by several Taiwanese-style bakeries that the traditional kind of Taiwanese pineapple cakes are made of pineapple jam that is made of winter melon and maltose syrup so that the jam is extra sweet, heavy and sticky.

Pineapple Jam

However, due to the change of time, most consumers are becoming more health conscious these days and prefer the less sweet and sticky version of pineapple cakes (I personally don’t like food that overly sweet). For this reason, in this recipe I would like to stick to my regular pineapple jam with NO winter melon and maltose syrup.

And I always think, how to make these Pineapple Cakes look more attractive?
This cute Rilakkuma cookie cutter with facial stamp really make life easier;
No longer makes us bored with the standard rectangular shape and I’m sure that your kids will love it too.

The crust to filling proportion is spot-on; thin crust with the right amount of filling.

And people often ask, what is the tips so that the crust is tender?
As soon as the bottom and edges golden brown, take them out from the oven.
Let it stay in the pan for about 5 minutes; Don’t wait it to cool, put in the sealed box while still hot (place kitchen paper on the bottom and the top to absorb the excess moisture).

This way, the cakes won’t be hardened and the crust will be tender.
These Pineapple Cakes will keep well for up to 3 months in the fridge, in an airtight container.

Some people use chocolate for the details;
I prefer royal icing because the chocolate that comes out of the fridge will “sweat”, melt easily, it definitely will ruin the look of your Korilakkuma.

Look how cute they are ☺️

Pineapple cakes make a great Chinese New Year gift for family and friends or a tasty birthday gift for loved ones!

The filling is just perfect not too sweet, they are such an addictive tea snack.

Tender buttery crust with a sweet and tang of homemade pineapple filling inside.
The crust is crumbly and melt-in-the-mouth and the pineapple jam is just perfectly thick but not tough.

I hope this korilakkuma cake can make everyone smile 🙃❤️.

Love you All 🥰


KORILAKKUMA PINEAPPLE CAKES
Yield: 40 pieces
Active Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 4 hours

🌿 Pineapple Filling
1000 g Pineapple (after peeled)
200 g Granulated Sugar
10 ml Lemon Juice
1/8 tsp Salt

🌿 Crust Dough
340 g Salted Butter (soft)
100 g Icing Sugar
85 g Egg Yolks
75 g Condensed Milk
530 g Cake Flour
1/2 tsp Salt

🌿 Royal Icing
130 g Icing Sugar (sifted)
4 tsp Lemon Juice
30 g Corn Syrup

Rilakkuma Cookie Cutter: https://amzn.to/3Y6iNvu

INSTRUCTIONS
🌿 Pineapple Filling

  1. Cut pineapple in half (the lower part of the core is a bit hard, so you need to remove it). 1000 g Pineapple (after peeled)
  2. Shred pineapple into small pieces (about 1×1 cm), cut he core thinly.
  3. Place the shredded pineapples along with the juice into a non-stick pan.
  4. Pour in the sugar along with lemon juice and salt; and then bring it to a boil. 200 g Granulated Sugar; 10 ml Lemon Juice; 1/8 tsp Salt
    There’s no need to cover with a lid, what you need to do now is to evaporate all the liquid.
    Cook over high heat (as long as there is a water in a pot, it will not burn the bottom).
  5. Once the pineapple juice almost completely dry, lower the heat to medium low;
    And continue cooking until it turn into dark brown caramel colour, take it off from the heat.
  6. When the filling is cooled completely, it will become sticky and a bit hard; make it easier to wrap.
    Divide them into small portions; 10 grams each;
    Roll each portion into an oval shape, flatten it; And cover them with a cling wrap to prevent from drying out.

🌿 Crust Dough

  1. In a large bowl, using whisk or mixer; beat the soft butter for a few seconds. 340 g Salted Butter (soft)
  2. Add in the icing sugar and continue beat over high speed until the mixture is pale and fluffy (about 5 minutes). 100 g Icing Sugar
  3. Mix in the egg yolks (this yolks is going to give extra flaky texture). 85 g Egg Yolks
  4. Pour in the condensed milk, mix it really well. 75 g Condensed Milk
  5. Sift in the flour along with the salt; mix until well combined. 530 g Cake Flour; 1/2 tsp Salt
    You don’t want to over-mix it, you can use whisk or mixer first (low speed) and then using spatula to make sure all is well combined and there’s no butter mixture left at the bottom of the bowl.
  6. Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and let the dough rest for half hour.
  7. After 30 minutes, the dough is ready.
    Divide it into small pieces; 30 grams each. Roll each piece into a smooth ball.
    Cover the balls with a cling wrap to prevent from drying out.

🌿 Moulding the Cake

  1. Take 1 piece of the crust dough, roll into a cylinder shape;
  2. Press down in the middle and place the filling in the centre; Wrap it up
  3. Then over a piece of parchment paper, put the filled dough inside the cutter with the smooth side facing down.
  4. Using your palm; press down while spreading the dough, filling in the blanks (this step will be time consuming especially hands part, so be patient).
  5. Release the cake from the cutter with a smooth part facing up (baking sheet lined with a parchment paper); And carefully; press the facial stamp on top of each cake.
  6. Store the cakes in the fridge for about 30 min before baking so it doesn’t spread too much
  7. Bake them in the preheated 170°C oven for about 18-20 minutes (rotate the pan halfway through baking).
  8. As soon as the bottom and edges golden brown, take them out.
    Let the cakes stay in the pan for 5 minutes; Don’t wait it to cool, put in the sealed box while still hot (place kitchen paper on the bottom and the top to absorb the excess moisture).
    This way, the Pineapple Cake won’t be hardened and the crust will be tender.
  9. On the next day, you can continue with the details.

🌿 Royal Icing
Simply combine the sifted icing sugar, lemon juice and Corn Syrup. 130 g Icing Sugar (sifted); 4 tsp Lemon Juice; 30 g Corn Syrup
*If you feel the consistency is too thick, you can add a little bit of boiling water; on the other hand if it’s too thin; add more icing sugar.


🌿 Notes

  1. These Pineapple Cakes will keep well for up to 3 months in the fridge, in an airtight container.
  2. For the details
    Some people use chocolate, I prefer royal icing because the chocolate that comes out of the fridge will “sweat”, melt easily, it definitely will ruin the look of your Korilakkuma.
    Let the first layer of the icing sets hard before you add another details on top.
    If you are in humid conditions, you can turn on the air conditioner to speed up the drying process.
Posted on by Bembum Kitchen

Red bean jujube Nian Gao

Some people felt that making Nian Gao is troublesome; This simple and easy recipe might change your perception.


Making traditional steamed Nian Gao can sound intimidating to some people. Some just can’t be bothered to prepare banana leaves or steaming for hours.;
This simple and easy recipe might change your perception.


In this recipe, there’s no need to use banana leaves to make it and it only takes a short time for steaming.

I’ve had share my other traditional Nian Gao recipe, but the version I’m sharing today is one of the best I have ever tasted; It’s not too sweet and really tasty.

Strain the mixture, you don’t want any lumps in your Nian Gao 🤓

Aside from the base ingredients, this recipe includes Red Bean and Jujube (aka Chinese Dates or Red Dates). The dates add a sweet caramelise flavour, while the Red Bean add pops of nuttiness in each bite.

You can omit the orange zest in the white batter, but it make so much difference; It really adds a lovely fragrance.


As for the yellow batter; It is necessary to use a good quality of Palm Sugar for a better flavour. The original Palm Sugar rather soft or crumbly; Whereas the rock hard ones shows that is has added sugar.

PANS
You can use any shape of pans; Aluminium, Silicone or even Stainless Steel all works well. Just make sure that you grease them with generous amount of oil to prevent stickiness.
If you grease your pan with enough oil, you won’t get any trouble when unmould it.

STEAMING
I highly recommend to use Bamboo Steamer for steaming, if you use Stainless or plastic steamer, makes sure that you cover each pan with Aluminium Foil so the water condensation doesn’t ruin the taste of your Nian Gao.

My favourite snack for Chinese New Year 🥰

After steaming, the Jujubes have been cooked and completely soft, fully blended with the taste of the sweet red beans, orange zest and Glutinous Rice.
I used to cover and store my cooked Nian Gao in the fridge overnight so it will be less sticky when I cut it

Make sure that you use non-stick pan 😗

You can slice and fry them with a bit of oil for a smoky caramelised coating! ; I am sure you will be addicted to it 😅


Warm, chewy and sweet glutinous rice cakes… It was the best thing to have on Chinese New Year!


Happy Chinese New Year Everyone….Wishing you a prosperous year of the Rabbit! 🐰❤️


RED BEAN JUJUBE Nian Gao
Yield: Two Pudding Pan (450 ml each)
Active Time: 2½ Hours
Total Time: 5 Hours

INGREDIENTS
Sweet Red Bean:
60 g Red Bean
1000 ml Water
1/8 tsp Salt
30 g Granulated Sugar

White Batter:
100 g Granulated Sugar
100 g Hot Boiling Water
1/4 tsp Salt
100 g Water (Room Temp.)
100 g Glutinous Rice Flour
50 g Rice Flour
50 g Tapioca Starch
Zest from 1 Orange

Yellow Batter:
100 g Palm Sugar (Grated)
50 g Hot Boiling Water
1/8 tsp Salt
50 g Water (Room Temp.)
50 Glutinous Rice Flour
25 Rice Flour
25 Tapioca Starch
55 g Pitted Jujubes


INSTRUCTIONS
Sweet Red Bean

  1. Rinse the beans under running water and transfer it into large pot. 60 g Red Bean
  2. Add clean water and salt (adding salt at the beginning of cooking create more tender results); Bring it to a boil. 1000 ml Water; 1/8 tsp Salt
    When the water starts to boil; take it off from the heat, cover and let it rest for 1 hour.
  3. After 1 hour take the lid off, put it back to the stove and continue cooking over medium heat for about 1 ½ hours.
  4. After 1 ½ hours you can see that the beans are tender and creamy.
    Turn down to low heat, add in the sugar while keep stirring (allow some of the water to evaporate while the sugar flavour the beans). 30 g Granulated Sugar
  5. When the bottom of the pan is almost dry, sweet beans are ready.
    Take it off from the heat and let it cool down to room temperature before you use it.

White Batter

  1. Grease the pans with generous amount of oil to prevent stickiness and prepare the Bamboo Steamer.
  2. In a medium bowl combine Granulated Sugar, hot boiling water and Salt. Mix until all the sugar dissolved. 100 g Granulated Sugar; 100 g Hot Boiling Water; 1/4 tsp Salt
  3. Pour in the room temperature water. 100 g Water (Room Temp.)
    *Never add the flour while the mixture still hot; hot water helps the sugar dissolve faster while the room temperature water cooling it down.
  4. Add in the Glutinous Flour, Rice Flour and Tapioca Starch; Mix it really well. 100 g Glutinous Rice Flour; 50 g Rice Flour; 50 g Tapioca Starch
  5. Strain the mixture (don’t skip this step)
  6. Add the orange zest and cooked sweet red beans (you can omit the orange zest but it make so much difference, it really adds a lovely fragrance); Mix well. Zest from 1 Orange; Cooked Sweet Red Bean
  7. Divide the batter into 2 equal portions, pour it into each pans and steam into Bamboo Steamer over high heat for 25 minutes (if you use Stainless or plastic steamer, makes sure that you cover each pan with Aluminium Foil so the water condensation doesn’t ruin the taste of your Nian Gao);
  8. In the meantime, you can start prepare the Yellow Batter.

Yellow Batter

  1. Wash the Jujubes and pat dry; Cut the middle to remove the cores (kindly follow video instructions).
  2. In a medium bowl, combine Palm Sugar, hot boiling water and Salt. 100 g Palm Sugar (Grated); 50 g Hot Boiling Water; 1/8 tsp Salt
  3. After all the sugar dissolved, pour in the room temperature water. 50 g Water (Room Temp.)
  4. Strain the mixture; as sometimes there are some impurities in the sugar.
  5. Add in the Glutinous Flour, Rice Flour and Tapioca Starch; Mix it really well. 50 g Glutinous Rice Flour; 25 g Rice Flour; 25 g Tapioca Starch
  6. Once the white batter is done, lay a layer of Jujubes on top. 55 g Pitted Jujubes
  7. Divide the yellow batter into 2 equal portions; pour the strained yellow batter on top of the Jujubes.
  8. Steam over high heat for 45 minutes (in the middle of cooking, you must remember to add water to the steaming pot, don’t let it burn)
  9. Once it’s done, let it cool to room temperature first, then you can enjoy soft chewy rice cake immediately.
    * I used to cover and store them in the fridge overnight so it will be less sticky when I cut it.
  10. You can slice and fry them with a bit of oil for a smoky caramelized coating (make sure that you use non-stick pan).

NOTES

  1. The cake should be stored in the fridge (in an airtight container).
  2. It can be stored for 1 week (in the fridge) OR 1 month (in the freezer).
Posted on by Bembum Kitchen · 1 Comment

Christmas & Holiday Treats

Hi Everyone, how is your Christmas preparation?
I usually start making Christmas treats 3 days in advance …
This year, I decided to make Gingerbread Cookies on the first day;
Fruit Tea Bread, Triple Chocolate Peppermint Donuts and Ginger Milk Tea on the second day.

I also will share with you my favorite NO KNEAD Bread in the video 

GINGER COOKIES WITH FRESH GINGER CAN'T BE BEAT FOR FLAVOUR
Nothing makes me feel more like Christmas is here than a batch of my favourite Gingerbread Cookies;
Hi Everyone! 😬

Soft in the centers, crisp on the edges, and perfectly spiced.

This is my trusty gingerbread recipe that I have used over the years and let me tell you it never disappoints. 

An embossed rolling pin makes even simple Christmas tree shape cookies look elegant

To use one, you’ll need to roll the dough out with a standard rolling pin first, then use the embossing rolling pin to leave pretty patterns. Do this before cutting the cookies into shapes.

The cookie dough or uncooked cookies can be wrapped in cling-film and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months

Always bake equally sized cookies together to make sure they cook in the same time
If you mix different sizes, the smaller ones are already cooked when the larger ones are still raw in the middle.

Baked Gingerbread Cookies will keep for up to 3 months if kept in airtight container or cookie jar 😚

How you decorate your adorable Gingerbread Cookies is completely up to you!
If you want to get extra creative you can pipe some coloured icing on top of your cookies and give them a bit of character! 

AS WE ARE ENJOYING CLASSIC CHRISTMAS FRUITCAKE SINCE CHILDHOOD, I HAD TAKEN A MISSION TO BAKE DIFFERENT KIND OF FRUITCAKE ON THIS CHRISTMAS
If you like fruit cake but don't have much of a sweet tooth, I highly suggest you try my Fruit Tea Bread recipe.

It’s a beautifully flavoured tea cake; a unique nut free non-alcoholic tea cake aka fruit cake loaded with fruits and raisins.

The raisins and dried fruits are soaked in strongly brewed tea overnight to plum them up and next day tea soaked fruits are added in the cake batter along with the tea and some additional spices.

Because the fruit is soaked before baking, it allows the fruit to impart moisture to the bread for days afterwards, keeping it from drying out;

You can use your favourite black tea 😇

And it will stay good for up to a week.

I’m prefer to use Ceylon Tea or Earl Grey, it really works beautifully 😘
CHRISTMAS DONUTS ARE A DELICIOUS AND FUN WAY TO ADD A LITTLE SWEETNESS TO YOUR CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST OF BRUNCH
Have I told you all how much I love chocolate? I mean, who doesn’t – right?
My family also loves donuts – chocolate ones, especially! I don’t make these too often, but they are a nice treat now and then.

You probably want to try these Triple Chocolate Peppermint Donuts;
decadent and delicious, these yeast chocolate donuts are heaven in every bite. 

Adorable puffy donuts 🙄 I can’t wait to take a bite

They’re loaded with creamy Chocolate Custard, topped with a silky Dark Chocolate and sprinkled with Peppermint Candy.

Frying Chocolate Donuts can be tricky coz you can’t see the browning colour.

Moist and fluffy, these Triple Chocolate Donuts are perfect for any chocoholic! 🍩🥰

No matter how you decorate and serve them, these Christmas donuts make for a fun and merry holiday treat. I know you’re going to love them
These treat that’s sure to please any chocolate lover!

WHAT IS YOUR MOST POPULAR DRINK AT CHRISTMAS?
How about Ginger Milk Tea to warm up the holidays? ☃️☕ 
This Ginger Tea Latte is perfect for Christmas and winter. It's also a healthy alternative to coffee and tastes so good!

Ginger tea with some spices is a lovely, lightly spicy drink for warming up on cold days.

It’s a light, alcohol-free alternative to a nightcap. It soothes upset stomachs and eases indigestion if you over-indulge this holiday season (don’t we all?) 🤣

I wish you all the best that life can bring, May the true meaning of this season fill our hearts.

And that’s it, to appreciate the love given to us by not taking it for granted.
Merry Christmas Everyone… ❤️ 💋


OVERNIGHT NO-KNEAD BREAD
Yield: One 15 diameter loaf
Active time: 1 Hour
Total time: 11 Hours

🌿 Ingredients
200 g All-Purpose Flour (unbleached)
50 Whole Wheat Flour (100% Stone Ground)
1/3 tsp Instant Yeast
1/4 tsp Granulated Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tbsp Caraway Seeds (optional)
180 g Water (room temperature)

🌿 Instructions

  1. In a large bowl; mix all dry and wet ingredient (make sure salt doesn’t have direct contact with the yeast); Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours or until doubled in size and the top of the dough has a lot of air bubbles (time will depend on your room temperature – the cooler the room the longer it will take).
  2. On the next day, roll the dough into a smooth ball, place it in the proofing basket ( has been floured) and let it proof for 1 ½ – 2 hours or until almost double in size (if you lightly press into the dough, it will leave a slight indentation).
    In the meantime, place 16 cm diameter Cast Iron Pot in the oven, and preheat the oven to 210°C.
  3. Turn the proofed bread upside down into HOT Cast Iron Pot, close the lid and bake in the preheated 210°C oven for 30 minutes.
  4. After 30 minutes, remove the pot lid and continue bake for about 10-20 minutes or until golden brown.
  5. Remove the bread from the pot and let it cool completely on the cooling rack.

🌿 Notes

  1. What’s unique about this recipe is that the bread is baked in a covered pot.
    You can use either a Cast Iron (can be enameled) Dutch Oven or a Ceramic Pot.
    The pot needs to be placed in the oven as it preheats so it gets really hot. The idea is that when the bread bakes in the pot you are actually trying to simulate a small brick oven where the steam released from the wet bread dough is trapped inside the pot. This will produce a bread with a crisp golden brown crust and a soft and tender crumb.
  2. If you are not keen to buy Cast Iron, you can also use a shallow pan as a base and a tall round baking pan as a lid. Don’t forget to put both pans inside the oven before you preheat the oven (so it gets really hot).
  3. Store the bread in plastic wrap. Avoid storing bread in damp, airy locations, which can speed up moulding.
    If you’re not going to eat the loaf in 2-3 days, the best option is to freeze it for later (max. 2 month).

GINGERBREAD COOKIES
Yield: 2 Dozen Medium Size
Active time: 1 Hour
Total time: 3 1/2 Hours

🌿 Ingredients
25 g Water
70 g Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Molasses
1 tbsp Maple Syrup/ Honey
1 tbsp Cinnamon Powder
1 tbsp Fresh Ginger (grated)
1/3 tsp Ground Cloves 
85 g Salted Butter
1/3 tsp Baking Soda
185 g All-Purpose Flour

🌿 Instructions

  1. In a medium saucepan, combine the Water, Brown Sugar, Molasses, Cinnamon Powder, Fresh Ginger and Ground Cloves. Bring the mixture to a boil. 25 g Water; 70 g Brown Sugar; 1 tbsp Molasses; 1 tbsp Maple Syrup/ Honey; 1 tbsp Cinnamon Powder; 1 tbsp Fresh Ginger (grated); 1/3 tsp Ground Cloves.
  2. Once boiled, remove from the heat then stir in the Salted Butter, mix well. 85 g Salted Butter
    Add in Baking Soda and mix. 1/3 tsp Baking Soda
  3. Allow to cool until just slightly warm; then pour in the All-Purpose Flour. Mix until it forms a wet and sticky dough. 185 g All-Purpose Flour
  4. Wrap the dough in Cling-Film and chill for at least 2 hours.
  5. After 2 hours, place the dough in between a pair of Marzipan Spacers and roll it out to an even thickness.
  6. Using your favourite cutter, cut the dough. Place it on the pan (lined with a Parchment Paper).
  7. Chill again for about 30 minutes before baking (chilled cookies hold better in shape as they don’t tend to spread too much).
  8. Bake in the preheated 200°C oven for about 12 minutes (for large size); 8 minutes (for small size). Rotating your pans approximately halfway through the bake time.
  9. Remove cookies from the pan and let it cool completely on the cooling rack.

🌿 Notes

  1. Cookie dough or uncooked cookies can be wrapped in Cling-Film and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
  2. Cookies baked from frozen hold better in shape as they don’t tend to spread as much as chilled ones.
  3. Baked Gingerbread Cookies will keep for up to 3 months in an airtight container or cookie jar.

FRUIT TEA BREAD/ CAKE
Yield: One 17x8x6 cm Loaf Pan
Active time: 30 Minutes
Total time: 10 Hours

🌿 Ingredients
2 Bags Black Tea (Ceylon)
125 g Hot Water
100 g Jaggery/ Muscovado Sugar
40 g Golden Raisins
40 g Black Raisins
25 g Dried Apricots (chopped)
Zest of 1 Orange
175 g All-Purpose Flour
1/3 tsp Baking Powder
1/8 tsp Salt
1 tsp Mixed Spice Powder
30 g Whole Eggs
25 g Unsalted Butter (softened)
Almond Slices (optional)

🌿 Instructions

  1. In a heat proof jar, combine Black Tea Bags and Hot Water. Let it brew for 5 minutes. 2 Bags Black Tea (Ceylon); 125 g Hot Water
    Remove tea bags, then add in the Jaggery Sugar, Golden and Black Raisins, Dried Apricots and Orange Zest. Mix well, let it soak overnight. 100 g Jaggery/ Muscovado Sugar; 40 g Golden Raisins; 40 g Black Raisins; 25 g Dried Apricots (chopped); Zest of 1 Orange.
  2. On the next day; In a large bowl, combine the All-Purpose Flour, Baking Powder, Salt and Mixed Spice Powder. 175 g All-Purpose Flour; 1/3 tsp Baking Powder; 1/8 tsp Salt; 1 tsp Mixed Spice Powder
  3. Add in the Eggs and the Soaked Dried Fruit along with the tea liquid; Mix well. 30 g Whole Eggs
  4. Add in the Unsalted Butter and mix all together until well combined. 25 g Unsalted Butter (softened)
  5. Pour the batter onto prepared pan (loaf pan lined with Parchment Paper). Tap the pan a few times to remove air bubbles and the batter spread evenly.
  6. Sprinkle with some Almond slices; then bake in the preheated 160°C oven for 45 minutes.
  7. After 45 minutes, turn off the heat. Let the bread sit in the oven for about 10 minutes;
    Remove the bread from the oven, let it sit in the pan for another 10 minutes;
    Then remove the bread from the pan and let it cool completely on the cooling rack.

🌿 Notes

  1. The cake/ bread best made two days ahead of time (if you have the time as this allows the flavours to absorb and develop). If you don’t have the time, it is also rather good straight from the oven.
  2. The cake/ bread can be stored at room temperature for up to a week. Cover in plastic wrap or place in an airtight container to prevent it from drying out.
  3. This cake/ bread freezes well for up to three months. Wrap it in plastic wrap and foil, then place it in an airtight plastic container or freezer storage bag.

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT DONUTS
Yield: 8 Pieces (6 cm Diameter)
Active time: 2 Hours
Total time: 3 Hours

🌿 Chocolate Custard
35 g Egg Yolks
10 g All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp Corn Starch
170 g Milk
25 g Granulated Sugar
50 g Dark Chocolate (Couverture/ Compound)
1 tbsp Dark Rum/ Vanilla Extract 

🌿 Chocolate Donuts Dough
80 g Water
40 g Milk
20 g Egg Yolks
30 g Granulated Sugar
1/3 tsp Salt
2/3 tsp Instant Yeast
140 g Bread Flour
40 g All-Purpose Flour
20 g Cocoa Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
30 g Salted Butter

🌿 Top Coating
150 g Dark Chocolate (Compound)

INSTRUCTIONS
🌿 Chocolate Custard

  1. In a medium bowl, combine the Egg Yolks, All-Purpose Flour, Corn Starch and 1/3 part of Milk. Mix until they are no lumps visible, set aside. 35 g Egg Yolks; 10 g All-Purpose Flour; 1 tsp Corn Starch; 1/3 part of 170 g Milk
  2. In a medium saucepan mix the Granulated Sugar and the rest of the Milk; Cook over medium heat. 25 g Granulated Sugar; the rest Milk
  3. Once it boiled, lower the heat, pour in the Egg Yolks mixture and continue stirring until the mixture thicken.
  4. Add in the Dark Chocolate while continue stirring, mix until all the chocolate melted (be careful not to burn it). 50 g Dark Chocolate (Couverture/ Compound)
  5. Take it off from the heat and strain the mixture (don’t skip this step, you don’t want any lumps in your Custard)
  6. Add in the Rum (optional), mix well. 1 tbsp Dark Rum/ Vanilla Extract 
  7. Cover Custard with a Cling Film (make sure the plastic touches the custard surface to prevent forming a thin crust on top); store in the fridge for at least 1 hour to set.

🌿 Chocolate Donuts Dough

  1. In a large bowl combine the Water, Milk, Egg Yolks, Granulated Sugar, Salt and Instant Yeast (NEVER add salt on top of yeast, it will indeed kill the yeast); Mix well. 80 g Water; 40 g Milk; 20 g Egg Yolks; 30 g Granulated Sugar; 1/3 tsp Salt; 2/3 tsp Instant Yeast
  2. Add in the Bread Flour, All-Purpose Flour, Cocoa Butter and Baking Powder; knead briefly until it form a dough ball.
    Cover the dough with clean towel or a plastic wrap; let it rest for 15 minutes. 140 g Bread Flour; 40 g All-Purpose Flour; 20 g Cocoa Powder; 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
  3. After 15 minutes, add in the Salted Butter, mix until well combined; then start kneading the dough for about 5 minutes. 30 g Salted Butter
  4. After 5 minutes, the dough become less sticky and really smooth. From the dough into a smooth ball, place onto a grease bowl; cover and let it rest for another 15 minutes.
  5. After 15 minutes, divide the dough into 8 equal portions. Roll each dough into a smooth ball (kindly follow video instructions).
    Place individually onto a Greaseproof Paper so it will be easier when you lift it.
    Cover with a clean towel, let it proof for about 30-45 minutes or until almost double in size (if you lightly press into the dough, it will leave a slight indentation).
  6. Frying Donuts
    Preheat the oil (temperature should be about 160°-170°C); don’t fry donuts all at once, the oil temperature will decrease.
    After you reach the right temperature, turn down to medium low heat, place about 2-3 donuts and fry for about 10 seconds
    After 10 seconds  the bottom is slightly cooked, turn it over (don’t flip it now, until the bottom is dry; about 1 minute)
    After 1 minute, flip it over and cook for another 1 minute; take it off from the heat, place onto a cooling rack and it’s done (So remember total frying time is about 2 minutes; otherwise, your donuts will definitely burn and taste bitter).
  7. Once the donuts reach room temperature, gently shimmy the chopstick inside of the donut a little ways (gently rotating from the initial opening but not widening it too much).
    This will open up a little more space inside of your donut for the filling.
  8. Spoon the filling into your piping bag, insert the tip of the piping bag into the donut, gently squeezing the filling inside. Squeeze slowly, so that the filling has a chance to reach into air pockets in the donut and generously fill it.
  9. Once the doughnut has been filled, melt some Dark Chocolate (if it’s too thick,  you can add 1-2 teaspoon of Shortening to thinning the chocolate);
    Ice one side of donut with melted chocolate and sprinkle it with some crushed Peppermint Candy for a pretty finish.


🌿 Notes

  1. Custard filled donuts can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days; cover doughnuts with foil or plastic wrap or place in plastic bag when refrigerating to prevent drying out.
  2. Keep refrigerated; Because custard contains milk and eggs, it is quite perishable. The custard should be refrigerated at 40° or lower to stop the formation of bacteria.
  3. To freeze (max. 2 weeks), wrap doughnuts tightly with Aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap, or place in heavy-duty freezer bags.

GINGER MILK TEA
Yield: 2 savings
Active time: 15 Minutes
Total Time: 45 Minutes

🌿 Ingredients
80 g Fresh Old Ginger
2 Stalks Lemongrass
1 Cinnamon Stick
4 Whole Cloves
30 g Palm Sugar
500 ml Water
200 ml Hot Milk (frothy)
Cinnamon Powder (garnish)

🌿 Instructions

  1. In a medium saucepan, combine all the ingredients (except milk). Bring to a boil, let it simmer for 15 minutes. 80 g Fresh Old Ginger; 2 Stalks Lemongrass; 1 Cinnamon Stick; 4 Whole Cloves; 30 g Palm Sugar; 500 ml Water
  2. Take it off from the heat, strain the mixture (divide into 2 glass); Add some hot milk or frothy milk and sprinkle some Cinnamon Powder for garnish. 200 ml Hot Milk or Frothy

🌿 Notes

  • Ginger Tea can be served with or without milk.
  • Sugar can be added or reduced according to taste.
  • To store; 3 days in the fridge in an airtight container.

Posted on by Bembum Kitchen

Purple Sweet Potato & Chestnut Roll

I fall in love with this cake since first time I had it at MUJI café

If there were just one recipe that you can make for this holiday season, what it could be?

“Purple Sweet Potato & Chestnut Roll” A cotton soft vanilla sponge cake, loaded with Chestnuts Cream and earthy Purple Sweet Potatoes.
I thought this cake will brings both hearty comfort and seasonal decadence to holiday table.


I’m not a fan of Chestnuts but this cake turned me into a Chestnuts Lover. The Purple Sweet Potatoes paste not only inviting but also tasty 🙄.

The original MUJI cake “Sweet Purple Potato and Chestnut Roll”
I ❤️it so much

And since Christmas is coming soon, I developed the cotton sponge cake with Spinach Powder that I really love.

The earthy flavour of the spinach bring freshness and goes very well with the sweetness from the sweet potatoes. And yes, the vibrant purple and green colour is more lovely too 😘.


If you really can’t find Spinach Powder, you can substitute it with Matcha Powder, It really doesn’t taste so much different.

I found spinach brings more vibrant colour while Matcha has a slightly bitter taste.


And for the Chestnut Cream filling, don’t bother using unpeeled Chestnuts, nowadays roasted Chestnuts without shell is available anywhere and it’s tasty too.

I use stabilized whipped cream in this recipe. This method produces the perfect whipped cream that you love, but with a stabilizing agent, which means that it won’t fall flat or melt if it sits around for a while.

The little secret is a bit of unflavoured Gelatine. This won’t change the flavour or texture either, it simply provides some staying power.  


It’s a beautiful dessert with dazzling colours; the bright green colour of this spinach cake match perfectly with Christmas time, since it’s so Grinch-like 😂


The cake so soft-moist and not too sweet, with the creamy earthy Chestnut filling…
It really has a nice purple colour and very nutritious too ☺️

Who can resist this beautiful cake? 🙃

I hope this cake can give you an inspiration for your upcoming Christmas, I hope you learn something
Please give it a try and share with me what do you think about it?

Love you All!!


PURPLE SWEET POTATO & CHESTNUT ROLL
Yield: One (23 x 23) cm Square Pan
Active time: 1½ hours
Total Time: 2½ hours

INGREDIENTS
Purple Sweet Potato Paste:

  • 250 g Purple Sweet Potatoes
  • 100 g Heavy Cream


Spinach Sponge Cake:

  • 55 g Egg Yolks
  • 15 g Caster Sugar
  • 45 g Milk (warm)
  • 30 g Vegetable Oil
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 tbsp Spinach Powder
  • 2 tsp Hot Water
  • 45 g All-Purpose Flour
  • 10 g Corn Starch
  • 90 g Egg Whites
  • 1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar
  • 45 g Caster Sugar

Chestnut Cream:

  • 1/2 tsp Unflavoured Gelatine Powder
  • 3/4 tbsp Cold Water
  • 175 g Heavy Cream (cold)
  • 30 g Icing Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 50 g Roasted Chestnut (chopped)

INSTRUCTIONS
Purple Sweet Potato Paste

  1. Under running water; scrub the sweet potatoes to remove any dirt and then steam them for about 30 minutes or until very soft. 250 g Purple Sweet Potatoes
  2. Take it off from the heat, let it cool completely before adding the Whipped Cream.
  3. Peeled off the cooked sweet potatoes and mash it until smooth.
  4. Add in the whipped cream and mix until well combined. 100 g Heavy Cream
  5. Using strainer, sift the paste mixture (this step is important, you don’t want lumps or any hard fibre in your paste). Pass mixture through a sieve.
  6. Place the sifted paste into a pipping bag, cut off the end; then drop it into another bag that is fitted with this basket weave nozzle. Store the paste in the fridge while preparing the cake.

Spinach Sponge Cake

Before you start, make sure that the bowl and beater grease-free; because any residue of fat will prevent egg whites from beating up properly (wipe the bowl and beater with Vinegar or Lemon Juice to remove the left over grease).

  1. Preheat the oven to 150°C.
  2. Line the pan with a Parchment Paper (bottom and sides).
  3. Combine the egg yolks and sugar, mix until the sugar dissolved. 55 g Egg Yolks; 15 g Caster Sugar
  4. Pour in the warm milk along with vegetable oil and vanilla extract; mix again until well combined. 45 g Milk (warm); 30 g Vegetable Oil; 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  5. Dilute the powder with some hot water (if you really can’t find Spinach Powder, you can substitute it with Matcha Powder). 1/2 tbsp Spinach Powder; 2 tsp Hot Water
    Add in to the egg yolks mixture, mix it really well.
  6. Sift in the All-Purpose Flour along with Corn Starch in two batches; set aside. 45 g All-Purpose Flour; 10 g Corn Starch
  7. For the egg whites
    In another bowl; whip egg whites for a few second. 90 g Egg Whites
    Add in Cream of Tartar and mix again. 1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar
    When the egg whites started to get foamy, slowly add in the sugar in 3 batches and continue mixing until it reach a firm peaks (peak fold like a bird’s beak). 45 g Caster Sugar
  8. Add the egg whites mixture to the yolks batter in 3 batches.
    Add the first batch, mix it really well to loosen the batter
    Continue with the second and third batches; using spatula fold gently, make sure there’s no egg yolks batter left at the bottom of the bowl (do not over mixed or the batter will deflated).
  9. Pour the batter into prepared pan. (23 x 23) cm Square Pan
    Shake a bit and tap the pan a few times to remove air bubbles
  10. Bake in the preheated 150°C oven for about 25-30 minutes.
  11. Once it’s done, tap the pan a few times so the cake doesn’t shrink too much
    Place a piece of parchment paper with a cooling rack on top; turn it over
    Take it out from the pan, peel the parchment paper on top, place a new parchment paper on top to prevent the cake from dying out; and let the cake chilling out until it cools completely.

Chestnut Cream

  1. Chopped Chestnuts into fine pieces (feel free to use food processor), set aside. 50 g Roasted Chestnut
    Don’t be tempted to cut it big, it won’t taste good, you will find an unpleasant gritty texture on your cake.
  2. Mix Gelatine with some cold water. Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes to “bloom” (it will be thick and semi-solid).1/2 tsp Unflavoured Gelatine Powder; 3/4 tbsp Cold Water
  3. While the gelatine blooming, you can start beating the heavy cream.
    You can put your bowl in the freezer before mixing or just place a bowl of ice water under your mixing bowl (especially if the weather in your place is quite hot).
    Mix the heavy cream and icing sugar, beat for about a minute; set aside. 175 g Heavy Cream (cold); 30 g Icing Sugar
  4. Heat the bloomed gelatine in the microwave or on the stove until just melted (it only takes about 5-10 seconds).
    Slowly add the gelatine into the cream mixture, as the mixer is running.
    Add in Vanilla Extract and Continue beating until you reach medium-stiff peaks. 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
    * As it sits over ice water or in the fridge, it will set up a little more, and it will last significantly longer than regular whipped cream.
  5. Mix the chopped chestnuts into the Whipped Cream, fold until well combined.

Assemble and Decorate

  1. Use the bottom part of the cake for the outside.
    Spread 2/3 of the chestnuts cream over the cake; roll it up; use a ruler to pull it tight (kindly follow video instructions)
    Wrap the cake and then store in the fridge for at least 1 hour to set.
    * Store the rest chestnut cream in the fridge
  2. After 1 hour, take the cake from the fridge
    Trim both ends to make it prettier
    Spread the remaining Chestnut Cream on the surface of the cake
    Pipe the purple sweet potato paste on top (horizontally), decorate as desire.

NOTES

  1. If you really can’t find Spinach Powder, you can substitute it with Matcha Powder. I found spinach brings more vibrant colour while Matcha has a slightly bitter taste.
  2. The cake should be stored in the fridge (in an airtight container). Best served on the day it’s made; it can be store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Posted on by Bembum Kitchen · 2 Comments

Vintage style petits fours (Less sweet)

Owning my own beautiful café and cake shop was always a childhood dream of mine. I fall in love with Petit Fours since I saw Peggy Porchen first book “Cake Chic. 
This was the first baking book that I bought; I’m such a fan of hers 😚 
I love all her creations, so pretty, dainty and feminine


Fondant Fancies which also known as Petits Fours are fanciful cakes traditionally eaten at teatime but just as hard to resist for dessert. In fact, the name Petit Four translate as “small oven”.
These intriguing little bites of cake can be made of any type of cake, in so many delicious ways.

They often have multiple thin layers of cake; with a fruit glaze in the middle, covered in fondant or icing and usually adorned with intricate decorations. 


“Classic Petits Fours usually are overly sweet (think fudge)”, some people think like that and I totally agree with that.

People often debates about how they should dip this little cakes in a fondant or icing.
“One layer should cover, but should be thin enough on the sides to see through. That’s why you need two coats!
But two coats too thick and would end up too sweet. That’s what they always mentioned.

The fondant temperature is also the major issue “Too hot will be to runny” or “Less hot will be too thick and it won’t pour or dip properly”


After testing, I found that buttercream and white chocolate is a great alternative for those who find the fruit glaze and fondant or icing slightly too sweet.
I’m prefer to use Chocolate Compound coz no need tempering; it can simply be melted and used immediately.

This yummy buttercream also helps in cutting the sweetness of the chocolate coating 😘

The temperature for the right consistency also important.
After a couple testing, I found that 90-95 F is the best temperature for coating. In this consistency (one coating is enough) your coating won’t be too thin or too thick, just right.

Feel free to use any colour or design you want, I use this colour because it’s my favourite 😍

Modelling chocolate flower is one of my favorite decorations, it’s not only beautiful, but also tasty. These chocolate very sensitive to the heat of your hands so it will soften while you handle it.

To shape the rose petals, there’s no special tool required; A piece of Ziplog bag or food grade plastic is all you need

If you have hot hands, you might need to use some food grade gloves to prevent from melting it into a sticky mess 🤪.


I was lucky to be able to visit one of the prettiest Peggy Porschen cake Parlour, once in a lifetime experience.
If you really love baking and have a chance to visit London; I highly recommend you to stop by; Everything in her shop was so beautiful and extremely detail.

This was the first baking book that I bought 🙂

Petits Fours is perfect for tea parties; they look brilliant on a cake stand too.
I like to add some decorations on the bottom part of my little cakes with straight frill cutter; These design have an appealing vintage feel and are easy to achieve with Modelling Chocolate.


The cake is so soft and moist, with the light buttercream filling inside; and yummy velvety white chocolate decorations…

I’m hungry… 😞

I hope that you can enjoy the beauty of this petit dessert 😉


Love You All!


VINTAGE PETITS FOURS
Yield: 9 pieces (One 32 cm x 18 cm rectangular pan)
Active Time: 2 ½ hours
Total Time: 3 ½ hours

INGREDIENTS
Modelling Chocolate:

  • 200 g White Chocolate Compound
  • 50 g Corn Syrup
  • Food Colouring (you can use water/ oil based/ powder or candy colouring)

Sponge Cake:

  • 60 g Egg Yolks
  • 45 g Vegetable Oil
  • 55 g Milk
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 80 All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 tbsp Corn Starch
  • 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
  • 90 Egg Whites
  • 70 g Granulated Sugar


Buttercream:

  • 30 g Egg Whites
  • A pinch of Salt
  • 1/2 tbsp Granulated Sugar
  • 60 g Water
  • 50 g Granulated Sugar
  • 85 g Unsalted Butter
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract


Chocolate Coating:

  • 400 g White Chocolate Compound
  • 1 tsp Vegetable Oil
  • Candy Colouring or Food Colouring Powder



INSTRUCTIONS
Modelling Chocolate

  1. Use double boiler or microwave in 30-second intervals melt the White Chocolate Compound.
  2. Once the chocolate melted, add in the Corn Syrup.
    Fold the mixture together until mixture starts to resembles soft serve ice cream (do not over mix)
    *If you keep stirring, the Cocoa Butter will start to separate and seep out then your modelling chocolate end up too oily.
  3. Place it in a cling wrap; flatten the mixture down so it will sets evenly and let it sit in the fridge to harden for about 1 hour.
  4. After 1 hour, you can see that modelling chocolate is harden as a stone.
    Cut it into small pieces. 
    Knead each pieces, smashing any hard lumps with your fingers and then gather all together and knead until smooth and pliable (now it’s ready to use).
  5. Dye the chocolate as desire
    *Please note; these chocolate very sensitive to the heat of your hands so it will soften while you dye it. If you find it too soft, you can re-wrap the chocolate and place back in the fridge to set up for  about 10 minutes before you use it.

Prepare the pan
Line 32 cm x 18 cm rectangular pan with parchment paper (bottom and sides)

Sponge Cake
Before you start making the cake, make sure that the bowl and beater grease-free because any residue of fat will prevent egg whites from beating up properly.
Wipe the bowl and beater with vinegar or lemon juice to remove the left over grease

  1. Simply combine the egg yolks, vegetable oil, milk and Vanilla Extract.
  2. Sifted in the All-purpose flour along with Corn Starch and Baking Powder; mix well, until no lumps visible.
  3. For the egg whites
    Beat it until foamy; gradually add in the Granulated Sugar and continue mixing until it reach a stiff peaks.
  4. Add 1/3 of egg whites mixture to the yolks batter; mix it really well to loosen the batter.
    Add the rest of the egg whites mixture; fold gently and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix else the batter will deflated.
    Scrape off the bottom and sides, make sure there’s no egg yolks mixture left at the bottom of the bowl.
  5. Pour the batter onto a prepared pan; tap the pan a few times to remove air bubbles.
    Bake it in the preheated 170 C oven for 25 minutes.
  6. Once it’s done, tap the pan again a few times so the cake doesn’t shrink too much; remove the cake from the pan immediately. Peel off the sides of the parchment paper and let it cool completely on a cooling rack.

Buttercream
Before you start, make sure that the bowl and beater grease-free

  1. Combine the egg whites along with salt and ½ tbsp of Granulated Sugar and beat until it reach a stiff peaks; set aside.
  2. In a saucepan, pour in the water and 50 grams of Granulated Sugar; cook over medium high heat, let it boil for about 2-3 minutes. Take it off from the heat and pour it into the egg white mixture.
    Then continue beat this mixture; mix until it reached a stiff peak and the mixture cools completely.
  3. Add the Unsalted Butter a little by little; continue beat on high speed.
    You will find that the mixture is runny at first;
    After 10 minutes, then it will start curdling;
    After 15 minutes, the mixture coagulate and form a solid buttercream. 
  4. Add in Vanilla Extract, mix well.


Prepare Cake Layers

  1. Cut the cake into 2 equal pieces.
  2. Apply some buttercream to the first layer, place another layer on top.
  3. Cover the layered cake in a cling wrap, store in the fridge for about 1 hour (to let the buttercream sets hard; so, it will be easier and neater when you cut it).
  4. After 1 hour; remove the edge of the cake and divide the cake into 9 equal pieces (4 cm x 4 cm each).
  5. Store the cake slices in the fridge while waiting for the chocolate coating.

Chocolate Coating

  1. Use double boiler or microwave in 30-second intervals melt the White Chocolate Compound.
  2. Dye the chocolate
    * Note: It is important to use special Candy Food Colour or you can use food colouring powder to dye the chocolate else it will cause your chocolate to seize.
  3. Add vegetable oil to help creates a smooth, glossy finish.
    Continue stirring until it reach about 90-95 F (now your chocolate is ready for coating).


Chocolate Roses and Decorations
* Kindly follow instructions in the video


NOTES

  1. Petits Fours should be stored in an airtight container in a cool place and eaten with 2 days.
  2. They can be store refrigerated for up to a week or may also be frozen for 2-3 months.
    *Please note when you take it out of the fridge there will be water droplets on the surface of the chocolate and a bit sticky.
Posted on by Bembum Kitchen

songpyeon 송편

Songpyeon is a traditional rice cake made during the Korean autumn harvest festival, Chuseok 추석 which is also known as Hangawi 한가위.

It falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar-the same day many Asian countries celebrate a Mid-Autumn Festival.

Families gathered enjoy time together and give thanks to their ancestors for the plentiful harvest.
These little rice cakes are commonly stuffed with sweet fillings.

The most traditional fillings include three types – Sesame, Beans and Chestnut

Song translates as pine tree and Pyeon means cake. 
The name songpyeon comes from the pine leaves because the cakes traditionally steamed on a bed of pine needles which gives them a distinctive taste and the fragrant smell of fresh pine trees.

Traditional Songpyeon steamed on a bed of pine needles

There are many options for colouring Songpyeon. Traditionally, Koreans often use natural colouring  from vegetable and fruit such as Mugwort for green colour or Raspberry for pink.

Recently, they use multiple different colours using coloured powders. You can also use store-bought food gel colouring if you want.

Natural Colouring Powder can be a bit pricey but efficient 

In this recipe, I will show you how to make homemade natural food colouring.
I prefer to make my own because it’s healthier and also fun to make.

There are a lot of ingredients that you can use as sources for natural food colouring.
I will use blueberries for purple, spinach for green, strawberries for pink and pumpkin for yellow.

You also can use other vegetable of fruit such as carrot juice for orange, Raspberry for deep pink or maybe steamed purple sweet potato for purple; the sky is the limit.

Dough that has been coloured

As for the fillings, the most traditional include three types – Sesame, Beans and Chestnut.
Sweetened bean and other fillings are quite popular, but sesame seed filling is always be my favourite.

For the roasted sesame, I highly recommend to use store-bought one rather than a homemade that you roast yourself; you really can tell the difference.
One of the brand that I love is this Japanese white roasted sesame seeds which has a stronger nutty flavour.

Japanese Roasted White Sesame Seeds and Soy Bean Powder (Kinako)

Other ingredient for the sesame filling is this roasted Soy Bean Powder or Kinako.
This will gives a more intense roasted flavour to the filling; but if you can’t find it, you can just omit it. 

I also will add some Maple Syrup or Honey to the sesame seeds. This syrup will give the filling a little bit of moisture, makes the sesame stick together so much easier to handle when stuffing the Songpyeon

Yummy Sesame Filling (don’t  forget to cover it with a cling wrap so it doesn’t dry out)

For the dough, the most difficult ingredient that you’ll have to find for making Songpyeon would be the rice flour which is called Mepssalgaru.

Mepssalgaru (Short Grain Rice Flour)

The flour is made from Short-Grain Rice that has been soaked overnight and ground. It’s really different from regular rice flour, glutinous rice flour or sweet rice flour.
I found it also hard to find and not easy to make.

Short Grain Rice

In this recipe, I will show you how to make easy rice flour for the Songpyeon dough by combining regular rice flour and glutinous rice flour.

For the flour, I highly suggest to use Thailand brand for better results. Try to find the unbleached one coz bleached flour will produce a slightly bitter taste and unpleasant smell on your final cake.

And please note, it is very important to use really hot boiling water when making Songpyeon dough to create more chewy texture.

Rice Flour and Glutinous Rice Flour for Making Songpyeon Dough

Traditional way to shape these rice cakes is to make them into half-moon shape.
Actually, there are many ways to folding and shaping Songpyeon dough.

By using these fondant or clay tools and small shapes cutter you can create many beautiful and intricate design for your Songpyeon.

Bellow, I will show you how to make basic round shape for Songpyeon.
From this basic shape you can create all sort of different design; for example the traditional half-moon shape.

These following steps are important. If you do follow these steps, your Songpyeon will turned out pretty, it’s not gonna break or leaking.

You can decorate the half-moon shape Songpyeon with various beautiful flower shapes. It’s not necessary to buy a small shape cutter, you can actually create your own design manually by hand.

I like to make big flower shapes with these purple and pink dough or you can mimicking some fruit shapes if you want; that would be lovely.

So Pretty! 😘

Don’t be confused if you have left over dough, you can mix 2 or even 3 different colours and create a very unique Songpyeon.

Please note that the colour will be darker after steaming, so don’t worry too much if you see that your coloured dough is a bit pale.

Which one do you prefer? I really love all the design 🥲

For the steamer; here we use a layer of cotton steamer cloth for simplicity.
Don’t forget to sprinkle some granulated sugar on top of the cotton cloth so the Songpyeon won’t stick to it.

Granulated Sugar prevent from stickiness

If you use metal or plastic steamer, make sure that you cover the lid with a piece of cloth; so the water condensation during steaming won’t ruin the look of your Songpyeon.

Before steaming 😚

You know, an old Korean anecdote says that the person who makes beautifully-shaped Songpyeon will meet a good spouse or give birth to a beautiful baby 👶 .

Look! the colour becomes darker after steaming ☺️

After steaming, we need to rinse Songpyeon immediately with ice water in order to maintain their chewy texture.

And then, using your hands or small brush coat them lightly with sesame oil.

Fragant Sesame Oil

This oil will prevent from sticking to each other and also adds a fragrant aroma.

Adorable pumpkin Songpyeon from Chungcheong Province 🎃

As you can see, there are some rice cakes that shaped look like small pumpkin, which is so adorable.
They are actually popular at Chungcheong Province which is known for the pumpkin Songpyeon.

Any type of Songpyeon is a good one; in my opinion, these rice cakes are best eaten while it’s still warm but you can certainly enjoy them at room temperature.

Yummy…. these beautiful soft chewy texture with the fragrant sweet filling inside.

😳 I want…

Songpyeon not particularly sweet and addictive chewy bite, they are the one of Korean dessert that I really love.

Feel free to be creative with what you mix with the dough for more colours and what to put in for your fillings! 

추석잘보내세요 (chuseok jal bonaeseyo) , that’s how you say it in Korean 😍
Happy Chuseok everyone! 

It’s even better with Cheongju 청주😍 Korean traditional alcohol or clear rice wine

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, I hope you learn something.
Love you All and I’ll see you in the next recipe…. ❤️
Take care Everyone!

Songpyeon 송편 (Chuseok 추석 Korean Rice Cake)
Yield: 18-20 pieces
Active time: 2 hour
Total time: 2 ½ hours

INGREDIENTS
Natural Food Colouring:

  • Pink (150 g Strawberries)
  • Purple (150 g Blueberries)
  • Green (150 g Spinach, 120 g Water)
  • Yellow (150 g Pumpkin)
  • 1 tsp Vinegar, 1 tsp Salt and water (for Water Bath)

Sesame Filling (for 1 batch dough):

  • 35 g Roasted White Sesame Seeds
  • A pinch of Salt
  • 1 tbs Granulated Sugar
  • 1 tsp Soybean Powder (Kinako)
  • 1 tbs Maple Syrup or Honey


Chesnut/ Pine Nut Filling (for 1 batch dough):

  • 1/2 cup Cooked Chesnut/ Raw Pine Nut
  • A pinch of Salt
  • 1/2 tbs Granulated Sugar
  • 1 tbs Maple Syrup or Honey

Songpyeon Dough (1 batch):

  • 150 g Rice Flour
  • 75 g Glutinous Rice Flour
  • 1/4 + 1/8 tsp Salt
  • 180 g Hot Boiling Water

Coating

  • A Bowl of Ice Water
  • Sesame Oil

INSTRUCTIONS
Natural Food Colouring

  1. For the berries;
    Simply give them a quick rinse with cool running water, and then let the berries sit in the salt-vinegar-water bath for about 5-10 minutes (this process will help to remove pesticides, dirt and mold).
    Cut the strawberries into small pieces. Place them in a non-stick pan and cook over medium-high heat until it comes to a low boil.
    Once the strawberries soften and just start to break apart, gently press it with potato masher to release all the juices.
    Lower the heat, let it simmer for about 1 minute, then remove from the heat and strain. This concentrate juice will colour your songpyeon beautifully.
    *Don’t throw this precious strawberry skin. You can add to your yogurt or make some strawberry tea.
    Repeat the same process with the blueberries
  2. For the spinach
    Blanch the washed spinach over 120 g boiling water for about 1 minute.
    Place the blanched spinach with the water in food processor, blend it until smooth.
    Strain the juice back to the pan to remove the pulp; and continue cook the spinach juice until it reduce to 1/8 cup. Use the concentrate juice to colour your dough.
  3. For the pumpkin
    You can use either steamer or microwave to cook the pumpkin.
    Using microwave: cover the washed pumpkin with damp kitchen towel, and microwave on high heat for 5 minutes. 
    To make the pumpkin puree; remove the skin and sift the cooked pumpkin through the strainer. It will becomes really smooth and make it easier when mixing with the Songpyeon dough.

Sesame Filling

  1. Grind the roasted sesame seeds, salt, sugar and Kinako powder with a food processor (you can use mortar or pestle to do this).
    You don’t need to blend it until completely ground, just half way is fine.
  2. Add maple syrup or honey and blend it again for a few second. 
    Maple syrup or honey will give the filling a little bit of moisture, makes the sesame stick together so much easier to handle when stuffing the Songpyeon
  3. Cover the filling with a cling wrap so it doesn’t dry out.

Chesnut/ Pine Nut Filling
Simply grind the chestnut or pine nut with the rest ingredients and your filling is done. Cover the filling with a cling wrap so it doesn’t dry out.


Songpyeon Dough

  1. In a large bowl combine the rice four, glutinous rice flour and salt; mix well.
  2. Add 2 tablespoon hot boiling water at a time and mix (it is very important to use really hot boiling water to create more chewy texture).
    Remember that the dough is quite hot, so it’s a good idea to mix everything with a spoon first; and then once all the hot water is fully mixed, you can start kneading the dough with your hands
    The more you knead the dough, the more rice cake will chewier and taste good.
    *Please note that different brand of flour can produce slightly different results. Resist the urge to add too much water, remember that we will add some food colouring to the dough, we don’t want that the dough ends up too soft and hard to shape.
    As long as the dough comes together into a smooth ball, it’s good to go.
  3. Colour each portion of the dough as needed.
    You can test whether your dough is the right consistency by take some small piece of the dough and roll it between your palm, it should create a smooth ball. 
    If it breaks or you can see a lot of crack on the surface that means it might be too dry. Kindly adjust the amount of water or more juice 1 teaspoon at a time until you get the right consistency.
  4. Remember always cover the dough with a cling wrap so it doesn’t dry out.

Fill and Shaping
To fill and create the basic round shape, kindly follow YouTube video instructions or check out step by step pictures below:

Steaming
Layer a bamboo steamer with a layer of cotton steamer cloth and sprinkle some granulated sugar on top of the cotton cloth so the Songpyeon won’t stick to it.
*If you use metal or plastic steamer, make sure that you cover the lid with a piece of cloth; so the water condensation during steaming won’t ruin the look of your Songpyeon.
After finished with all the design, preheat the steamer. 
When the water starts to boil, cover and steam Songpyeon over high heat for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes turn off the heat, let the steamer rest for another 3 minutes.
Remove steamer from the heat.

Finishing & Coating
After steaming, quickly rinse cooked Songpyeon with ice water in order to maintain their chewy texture.
Then using your hands or small brush coat them lightly with sesame oil (this oil will prevent from sticking to each other and also adds a fragrant aroma).
Serve warm or at room temperature.


NOTES

  1. Songpyeon are best eaten on the day they it’s made.
  2. Storing – Place the left over Songpyeon in an airtight container and store them in the fridge for 3 days or 2 weeks in the freezer.
    I don’t recommend to freeze them too long coz freezing them may change their texture.
  3. Reheating – Steam Songpyeon for about 5-10 minutes.
    DO NOT microwave Songpyeon, the skin will turned hard and lose their chewiness.
Posted on by Bembum Kitchen

low-sugar Open face apple pie

I have been baking since I was little.
Baking to me is a wonderful way to be able to share food and joy with other people.
These beautiful Apple Pie recipe was taught by my cousin’s helper when I was in fourteen “Thanks to her!”

After reading a unique cookbook “Naturally Sweet” from America’s Test Kitchen, I was inspired to use Sucanat as a sweetener in this recipe.

If you’ve never heard about Sucanat; it’s an unrefined sugar made from minimally processed sugar cane juice with no chemical.

Beautiful tan brown colour of Sucanat

Since it is less processed than granulated sugar, it retains additional vitamins and minerals from their natural molasses.
The granules are a tan-brown colour with a deep molasses-y flavour that far more flavourful than regular white sugar.

Sucanat sometimes never dissolved completely

And while granulated sugar dissolve quickly into batter, Sucanat took much longer to dissolve and sometimes never dissolved completely.
So don’t worry too much if at some point you still can see the sugar granules.

For the apple, Granny Smith apples are great for pies because their crisp texture holds well even after baking, they got soft but they are not break down into mush.

Peeled the apple, cored and cut it into thin slices

If you prefer to be sweeter, look for varieties such as Gala, Pink Lady or Honey crisp.

  Cut the apples into 1/4 inch thick

I like to squeeze some lemon juice on top of the apple slices.
This lemon juice not only prevent browning but also help balance the sweetness of the sugar and tartness of the Granny Smith apples.

You could bake an Apple Pie without Cinnamon Powder of course, but it’s convention that apples and Cinnamon go together, much like Peanut Butter and chocolate.

And to keep the cake from sticking to the pan, grease some butter to the pan and sprinkle with fine, dry breadcrumbs instead of flour. This breadcrumbs will add the beautiful crispness to the outer pie crust.

I suggest to distribute the batter in a few spots so it will be easier to spread evenly.

Arrange the apple slices on top of the batter in an overlapping pattern 45 degrees angle. 

I feel so relax when arranging these apples 😊

Make sure that you press the apples slice down so that half part of the slice is inside the batter.

If you use bigger apple, you can arrange it horizontally. I’m prefer to do it vertically so it looks prettier when I cut it into portions.

Lemon is another unsung flavouring for Apple Pie. Adding a teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest to your Apple-Pie filling is always a good idea.
That hit of citrusy acid also helps set off the flavour of apples.

These Apple Pie bake in 2 different temperatures;
First in the preheated 200°C oven for 10 minutes to get that nice brown pie crust and then reduce the temperature to 170°C and continue baking for another 35 minutes until the apples are tender.

Apple pie needs some time to cool down before cutting into it, you will want to wait at least 30 minutes before actually steal your first slice.

The outer crust is really crispy. Sucanat really gives the pies an earthy, molasses flavour and golden brown colour which is really tasty 😘.

Hm..mm it’s really good! 🤪

Another secret of an Open Face Apple Pie is that every bite is made smoother and velvety with the absence of a top layer of crust like in usual pies.

Serve slices of warm with a cup of tea or coffee or maybe cooled pie with a scoop of your favourite ice cream or a spoonful of whipped cream.

No matter what you choose to top your Apple Pie with, the all-time classic dessert will not disappoint.
I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do, I hope you learn something!
Love you All 🥰


LOW SUGAR OPEN FACE APPLE PIE
Yield: 1 Rect. Fluted Pie Pan (25 x 10 X 2.5 CM) or 7-inch Round Pie Pan
Active time: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 ½ hours

INGREDIENTS

  • 2-3 Medium Apples
  • 1 tbs Lemon Juice
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon Powder
  • 75 g Salted Butter
  • 60 g Sucanat (you can substitute it with 70 g Granulated Sugar)
  • 50 g Eggs
  • 100 g All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 tbs Sucanat (for sprinkle) or Granulated Sugar
  • 1 Grated Lemon Zest
  • Bread Crumb

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Grease the bottom and sides of the pan with generous amount of butter, then sprinkle a small amount of bread crumbs. Tap the pan to spread the crumbs, twirled around all over the bottom and sides and excess thrown out.
  2. For the apple
    Peeled the apple, cored and cut it into thin slices (as shown in the video). Squeeze the lemon juice on top of the apple slices. Add the cinnamon powder, mix it really well.
  3. For the batter
    In a medium bowl, mix the butter and Sucanat for about 3 minutes until pale and fluffy (Sucanat took much longer to dissolve, don’t worry too much if at this stage you can still see the sugar granules).
    Add in the eggs and mix until all the eggs well incorporated with the butter mixture. Finally, pour in the flour and stir until just combined (do not over mix, stir until all the flour has disappeared).
  4. Place the batter in the prepared pan, spread it evenly (I suggest to distribute the batter in a few spots so it will be easier to spread).
  5. Arrange the apple slices on top of the batter vertically in an overlapping pattern, 45 degrees angle. Press the apples slice down so that half part of the slice is inside the batter.
    Sprinkle some Sucanat and grated lemon zest on top of the apple slices.
  6. Bake it in the preheated 200°C oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 170°C and continue baking for another 35 minutes.
  7. Allow the pie to cool down in the pan for 30 minutes before cutting.

NOTES

  1. Best serve on the day it’s made.
  2. To store; 4 days in the fridge (in an airtight container).
  3. To reheat; Set the pie on a parchment lined baking sheet and put it in a preheated 180°C oven for about 15 minutes.
Posted on by Bembum Kitchen

mendl’s “Courtesan au chocolat”

Hey Guys, today we will recreate a very whimsical Choux Pastry “Courtesan au Chocolat.”

I’m so in love with this vintage box

These pastry was featured in Wes Anderson’s movie “The Grand Budapest Hotel”.

Production still of a scene at the lovely bakery shop Mendl’s

I am just happy just to see them. These cream-filled pastry not only beautiful but it also looks regal and elegant.

If you’ve seen the movie, you no doubt are in love with these pretty pastries from Mendl’s Bakery, carefully crafted by the lovely Agatha.

Production still of Agatha putting on the finishing touch on the beautiful pastries of Mendl’s

In a brilliant promotional video for Wes Anderson’s new movie, there’s a tutorial that shows you how to make your own Courtesan au Chocolat.

Choux Pastry filled with a rich Chocolate Creme Patisserie, glaze with a creamy colourful icing glaze on top and decorate with an American Buttercream Frosting.
Very good recipe! Pretty sweet, but it was delicious!

And the fun part is how you interpret them and make them your own.
With a little bit twist and tweak from the original recipe; this recipe is not overly sweet, still delicious, happily coloured and playful decorated.

I always like to sift my Creme Patisserie to make sure there’s no lumpy at all

The Chocolate Creme Patisserie is the main component in this pastry.
I try to reduce the amount of the sugar to balance the sweetness of the icing glaze.
Make sure that you don’t overfill the medium and small size Choux Pastry because it will be too heavy and difficult when stacked.

Can’t help myself to lick it 😅

Some people are afraid of making Choux Pastry, because the amount of eggs added is variable. 

If you aren’t experienced in making Choux Pastry, it can be a little bit tricky.
You need to have enough practice to know how much eggs you should add to reach the desired consistency.
BUT no need to worry so much, trust me practice always makes perfect!

When I first learnt how to make Choux, I was told to incorporate the eggs by hand as I could have more control.
However, I would say adding the eggs by hands is only suitable for a small recipe as it can be really exhausting.
That said,if you are confident enough, feel free to use the machine right away!

Just be mindful that a tiny extra amount of egg can make the Choux too wet to pipe properly, and you might have to start all over again.

V Hanging Shape Test

To prevent the dough from being too runny, I like to have all the eggs whisked well in a bowl first before adding it into the dough.
And then I will add it a little at a time, mix in each addition until I get the right consistency.

What you’re looking for; is a dough that looks glossy, but still thick, can hold it’s shape and pipeable. 
You can do the V test to make sure it’s the right consistency; If you stir and scoop the dough with a rubber spatula and slowly lift the spatula straight up. The dough should form a V hanging shape, that’s what we are looking for!

And when you pipe the dough; remember to hold the pastry bag and tip upright when you’re piping, and you’re not doing it at an angle. 
This way your Choux Pastry will rise perfectly upwards, and not be lopsided.

Place the large and medium size on first pan, and the smallest size on a second pan as they will cook more quickly, and then bake one pan at a time.

And before you bake them; it is important to use a damp finger to flatten the apex or any points, so it will be easier when stacking them later.

Some recipes call for Choux Pastry to be baked at two different temperatures (high and low). If this works for you, go ahead. I find that the high temperature makes the shells expand too much, causing cracks.

I’m prefer to bake it at one constant temperature for perfect Choux Pastries, every single time. 

🥰

And since choux pastry relies on steam to expand while baking, it’s VERY important to not open the oven door until the choux pastry shells have set properly. 

This means you should never open the door during the first 25-30 minutes of baking (for standard-sized choux pastry; the time goes down for smaller shells and up for larger ones). 

Wait till the shells are golden colour before opening the door. This prevents steam from escaping too early, which will cause the shells to collapse.

As soon as they came out from the oven, using sharp knife prick each bottom of the shell to allow the steam to escape and dry out the shell faster; and let them cool completely on a cooling rack.

Because the glaze is quite thick,
I’m prefer to use my small spatula to apply the glaze on my Choux rather than dip into it

For the icing glaze, the idea is to aim for a thicker consistency, don’t be tempted to add too much milk, otherwise the glaze will slip right off your pastry balls.

Allow the icing to dry a bit before you decorate the balls with filigree of white icing glaze as desired.

Used left over white icing glaze as a glue; dye it with blue colour and add 1/2 tsp of the icing sugar to make it thicker.

It’s time to assembly our whimsical pastry ball! YAY…. 😋

I love the movie so much not only because the movie made me smile, but also because this pastry makes me happy 😊.

Decorate the joint space with the blue buttercream…

And the bottom part with white buttercream…I fell like Agatha 😚

Then place a single cocoa bean on the star as garnish ☺️

Oh.. it’s so beautiful and elegant pastry tower! 😘

Puffy Choux, rich Creme Patisserie, creamy sweet icing and… fluffy buttercream so flavourful!!

I was happy when I first saw it in the movie, happy when I was making it, and happy when I was finally able to taste it.

I hope you Guys are inspired as much as I am 🥰 LOVE YOU ALL! 

MENDL’S COURTESAN AU CHOCOLAT 
Yield: 6 towers
Active time: 1 hour
Total time: 2 hours

INGREDIENTS
Creme Patisserie/ Pastry Creme:

  • 15 Corn Flour
  • 50 g Sugar
  • 10 g Cocoa Powder
  • 50 g Milk
  • 40 g Egg Yolks
  • 200 g Milk
  • 25 g Dark Chocolate (70 %)
  • 1 tbs Rum Liquor

Choux Pastry:

  • 100 g Water
  • 65 g Salted Butter
  • 1/8 tsp Salt
  • 75 g All Purpose Flour
  • 2-3 Eggs (110-165 g)


Buttercream:

  • 80 g Shortening
  • 20 g Salted Butter
  • 20 g Condensed Milk
  • 1/2 tsp Rum Liqueur


Icing Glaze:

  • 230 g Icing Sugar
  • 2 ½ tbs Milk
  • 1/2 tbs Unsalted Butter
  • 1/4 tsp Rum Liqueur
  • Food Colouring (Purple, Mint green, Soft Pink)


Edible Glue:

  • Left over white icing glaze
  • Blue food colouring
  • 1/2 tsp Icing Sugar


INSTRUCTIONS
Creme Patisserie / Pastry Creme

  1. In a medium bowl combine the corn flour, sugar, cocoa powder and 50 grams of milk. Mix well, set aside.
  2. In a medium saucepan heat the 200 grams of milk, add in the dark chocolate. Continue stirring until all the chocolate melted (make sure that you use a good quality of chocolate for a rich flavour).
  3. Once the chocolate melted, turn off the heat.
    Combine the egg yolk into the corn flour mixture, mix really well; and then slowly pour this mixture into the hot chocolate milk mixture. Whisking constantly to temper the egg mix.
  4. Back to the stove; on medium low heat continue cook while stirring until the mixture starts to thicken, allow the pastry cream to come to a boil.
    After you see the first bubbles break the surface, lower the heat and let it cook further for about 1 – 2 minutes so that the corn starch will cook well and you won’t be left with a starchy flavour.
  5. Take it off from the heat, add in the rum or Vanilla Extract; mix well.
    Your Pastry Cream should be nice and smooth (I always like to sift it to make sure there’s no lumpy at all).
  6. Once the Pastry Cream is cooked, spread it in a shallow pan; cover it with a cling wrap. Press the plastic down down, make sure the plastic touch the surface of the Pastry Creme to prevent a Pastry Creme skin from forming on top.
  7. Store it in the fridge for at least 1 hours.


Choux Pastry

  1. Sift the flour, set aside.
  2. In a medium saucepan combine the butter, water and salt. Bring it to a simmer, turn off the heat.
  3. Pour in the sifted flour in one go, mix immediately. Make sure that you mix it really well and there are no lumps visible.
  4. Over medium low heat, continue cook the dough until it comes together and the dough leaving a thin film at the bottom of the saucepan
  5. Take it off from the heat and the next step is wait for the dough to cool down or until warm.
    Place the dough in a bowl and then flatten the dough along the sides of the bowl (this increases the surface area, so it cools down faster and more water evaporates as you do this).
  6. After your dough is cool enough, now we can start adding the eggs. The amount of eggs added is variable. 
    To prevent the dough from being too runny, I like to have all the eggs whisked well in a bowl first, before adding it into the dough.
  7. Add the eggs to the dough a little at a time, mix in each addition; until you get the right consistency.
    What you’re looking for; is a dough that looks glossy but still thick, can hold it’s shape and pipeable. 
    You can do the V test to make sure it’s the right consistency; If you stir and scoop the dough with a rubber spatula, and slowly lift the spatula, straight up. The dough should form a V hanging shape.
  8. Once the dough is ready, place the dough in a pipping bag with a 1.2 cm (#2A) round nozzle.
  9. Pipe the dough into large (5 cm diameter), medium (3.5 cm diameter) and small (2.5 cm diameter) size dollops on a pan lined with a parchment paper.
    Remember to hold the pastry bag and tip upright when you’re piping, and you’re not doing it at an angle. This way your Choux Pastry will rise perfectly upwards, and not be lopsided.
    Place the large and medium size on first pan, and the smallest size on a second pan as they will cook more quickly.
  10. Use a damp finger to flatten the apex or any points, so it will be easier when stacking them later.
  11. Bake them in the preheated 180°C oven (25 minutes for the Large and Medium size) and (20 minutes for the small size).
    Since choux pastry relies on steam to expand while baking, it’s VERY important to not open the oven door until the choux pastry shells have set properly. 
  12. As soon as they came out from the oven, using sharp knife prick each bottom of the shell to allow the steam to escape and dry out the shell faster. Let them cool completely on a cooling rack.


Buttercream

  1. In a medium bowl, mix the shortening, butter and condensed milk until well combined. Add in the rum and whisk together for about 5 minutes until it become really light and smooth
  2. Place half portion into the pipping bag with #17 star nozzle. Colour the rest with blue colour and place it into another piping bag with #7 round nozzle.


Icing Glaze

  1. Simply combine all the ingredients. The idea is to aim for a thicker consistency. Don’t be tempted to add too much milk, otherwise the glaze will slip right off your pastry balls.
  2. Divide the glaze into each colour portions; add food colouring for each portions (remember always cover the icing glaze to prevent from drying out):
    Light Purple: 90 grams
    Mint Green: 70 grams
    Soft Pink: 40 grams
    White: 60 grams (place in the pipping bag with #1 round nozzle)

Edible Glue
Combine the left over white icing glaze, a bit of blue food colouring and icing sugar; mix well. Place it in the pipping bag with #17 star nozzle.


ASSEMBLY

  1. Place the cooled cream patisserie in a pipping bag with a long round nozzle.
    Pipe into each size portions of a pastry ball (large 40 grams, medium 20 grams, small 5 grams).
  2. Using small spatula glaze the pastry ball with each colour of the icing glaze; light purple for the large, pale mint green for the medium and soft pink for the small size.
    Allow the icing to dry a bit; and then you can decorate the balls with filigree of white icing glaze as desired.
  3. To assemble
    Place the large purple ball at the bottom, pipe a dollop of the blue icing glaze on top of a purple ball. 
    Take a medium mint green ball and press it gently on top of the large one so it stick in place.
    Pipe the blue icing again as a glue; and finally place the smallest pink ball on top of a medium green ball.
    Decorate the joint space with the blue buttercream; and the bottom part with white buttercream.
    Make a white star buttercream on top and place a single cocoa bean on the star as garnish.


NOTE

  1. These pastry are best eaten the day you made them.
  2. You can store the left over Courtesan au Chocolat in the fridge for up to 2 days; however the glaze will become watery as they absorb the moisture in the fridge.

Posted on by Bembum Kitchen

ANGRY BIRDS MELONPAN (TANGZHONG METHOD)

Can you believe that this cute little things is edible?
YES, today we are making these cute Angry Bird Melonpan.
Melonpan are Japanese sweet buns covered with a thin layer of cookie dough; crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside.
I will use a Tangzhong method in this recipe, it creates an incredibly soft and stay fresh longer bread.

Look how adorable he is!

If you notice; Melonpan and Pineapple Bun from Hong Kong are very similar.
By comparison, the Japanese style is lighter in weight and taste, slightly drier and has a firmer outer layer (the cookie crust on top) which resists flaking; unlike its Hong Kong counterpart, whose top cookie crust tends to flake easily.
The Hong Kong version is also moister, and is generally soft on the outside and inside, with a stronger butter flavour.

With origins in Japan’s Yukone (or Yudane), Tangzhong is a yeast bread technique popularized across Asia.
For the Yudane method, boiling water is used to scald the flour instead of cooking over the fire.

Tangzhong mixture

They are both quite similar; it involves cooking a portion of the flour and liquid in the recipe into a thick slurry prior to adding the remaining ingredients, resulting in soft, fluffy bread.

Place the Melonpan with the cookie dough facing downwards

You will need half sphere mold to resembles the bird’s head.
I found that this silicone mold is the best option, the bread will release easily, you don’t have to worry that the crust will stick to the pan.

Look! the colour is beautiful and the shape is great. If you tap the top and hear the sound of the crust, you will know that it’s really crispy.

Make sure that you don’t over baked the details

And for the details, shortening based cookie dough is the easy and fast way to create the details. The dough is easy to work with, there’s no need to be chilled.

I’m prefer to bake the eyes and wings on top of the round shape of the sphere mould rather than a flat baking pan so the shape will stick perfectly to the head.

And if you notice, our lovely Angry Birds have a black circle around their eyes. I am using black food colouring mixed with Vodka, you can also use edible pen.

You can make various facial expressions for them. Some with close mouth and some open mouth 😂.

😳 I’m in love with the fat one!

Which one do you like? 🙄

They all look so adorable… I personally can’t bear to eat them 😓🤧😭

The top cookie crust is buttery and crispy with the soft and spongy Matcha bread on the inside.
I hope that you will enjoy the beauty of this Melonpan.
Love you All !! 💋

ANGRY BIRD MELONPAN
Yield: 5 Melonpan
Active time: 1 hours
Total time: 3½ hours

INGREDIENTS
Cookie Dough:
35 g Unsalted Butter
50 g Caster Sugar
35 g Eggs
120 g Cake Flour
1/4 +1/8 tsp Baking Powder (Double Acting)
1/4 tsp Matcha Powder
Mint Green & Yellow Food Colouring

Bread Dough:
Tangzhong: 40 g Milk + 8 g Bread Flour
135 g Bread Flour
20 g Caster Sugar
1/2 tsp Instant Yeast
1½ tsp Matcha Powder
A pinch Salt
25 g Eggs
50 g Milk
25 Unsalted Butter
Egg whites & Caster Sugar 

Details Dough:
30 g Shortening
40 g Caster Sugar
15 g Eggs
1 tsp Milk
75 g All-Purpose Flour
1/4 +1/8 tsp Baking Powder (Double Acting)
A pinch of Salt
Food Colouring (Black, Mint Green, Yellow, Turquoise,
Orange)

Sugar Glue
50 g Caster Sugar
25 g Water

INSTRUCTIONS
Cookie Dough

  1. Simply mix the butter and sugar until pale and creamy.
  2. Add in the eggs and mix.
  3. Pour in the sifted dry ingredients (cake flour, baking powder, matcha powder) and mix.
    Before everything is well incorporated, add some mint green and yellow food colouring to create colour shades that looks like Angry Birds.
  4. Knead well until the colour is even (try not to over-mix the dough, we want to keep the flaky crust on top).
  5. Place the dough on the cling wrap, cover it and then store it in the fridge for about 1 hour.

Bread Dough

  1. Tangzhong Mixture
    In a small non-stick pan, combine the 40 g milk and 8 g bread flour. Mix really well until no lumps visible.
    Cook over medium heat, continue stirring. Once you see that the mixture start to thicken, lower the heat and continue cook until it become a thick paste (be careful not to burn it).
    Take it off from the heat and let it cool until warm for about 5-10 minutes, set aside.
  2. Then in a large bowl combine the 135 g bread flour, sugar and yeast. Mix well.
  3. Add in the matcha powder and salt (always add the salt last so it doesn’t come into direct contact with the yeast – salt can kill the yeast).
  4. Pour in the eggs, along with 50 g milk and the Tangzhong batter; mix until just combined.
  5. Cover and let it rest for about 15 minutes (this resting time is to give time for the gluten to form its own).
  6. After 15 minutes, add in the butter. It seems too many butter at first but after 1-2 minutes the butter is all mixed into the dough.
  7. Knead by stretching it
    In a bowl; lift the dough, toss and fold for about 5 minutes.
    Then cover it again (if your dough now isn’t smooth enough, cover it too), wait for about 10 minutes and continue stretching it for another 3 minutes (you can feel that the dough become really smooth).
  8. Place the dough into a clean grease bowl, cover it and let it rise until doubled in size for about 1-2 hours (proofing time depending on room temperature, it may take longer or may not take that long).

Shaping the cookie dough
Prepare 5 pieces (13 x 13 cm) of plain parchment paper and a piece with a 10 cm round shape as a guide.
Take cookie dough out of the fridge and divide it into 5 equal portions; roll each dough into a smooth ball.
To shape the dough; place 1 all of the cookie dough onto a 10 cm guide of parchment paper, cover with another parchment paper. Using flat surface press the dough gently into a 10 cm disk, turn it over and then cover the finished dough with a plastic wrap to prevent the dough dry.

Create the Melonpan

  1. After for about 1 hour, the bread dough has risen to doubled in size. Punch the dough, press out the air, divide the bread dough into 5 equal portions.
  2. To create the Melonpan
    Take 1 portion of the bread dough, press out the air. Pull around the edges, tuck underside.
    And then hold and roll the dough with your hands in C shape, give a little pressure until it create a smooth ball.
    Brush the top lightly with the egg white. Place a piece of a round 10 cm cookie dough to the top; make sure it’s in the centre. Adjust according to the shape, gently press to cover the entire outer edge of the bread dough.
  3. Dip and coat the cookie dough surface with the caster sugar and then gently place the Melonpan into a silicone mould with the cookie dough facing downwards.
  4. Cover the Melonpan with a kitchen towel and then let the dough rise for another 30-45 minutes until puffy and risen almost doubled in size.
  5. Bake them in the preheated 170°C oven for about 18-20 minutes
  6. Take it off from the oven, let it sit in the mould for about 5 minutes (to let the cookie crust firm up a bit) then gently remove it from the pan. Let it cool completely on a cooling rack.


Details Dough

  1. In a medium bowl, cream the shortening and sugar until pale and creamy.
  2. Pour in the eggs and milk, stir well (make sure that all that liquid incorporated into the butter and sugar).
  3. Add in the sifted dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt) and mix until well combined.
  4. Divide the dough and colour it as needed.
    50 g White for the eyes
    40 g Orange for the feet and mouth
    30 g Green for the wings
    15 g each Turquoise and Black for the inner part of the eyes
  5. Create the details (kindly follow video instructions)
  6. Bake them in the preheated 160°C oven for about 8-10 minutes (please pay attention, make sure that you don’t over baked the details.
  7. Take it off from the oven and let them cool completely on the pan.

Sugar Glue
In a medium saucepan, combine water and sugar. Cook until bubbly and start to thicken.
Remove the mixture from the stove, but still keep it warm. This can be done by placing the small saucepan in a large saucepan filled with hot water.

Attach the details
If you notice, our lovely Angry bird have a black circle around their eyes. I am using black food colouring mixed with Vodka to draw the black line around the eyes, you can also use edible pen.
Attach all the details with some sugar glue.

NOTES

  1. Once the bread is cooled completely, individually wrap it in plastic to prevent it from drying.
    Place them in an airtight container or bag store in the fridge for up to 3 days, freeze for up to a month.
  2. To reheat
    Fridge; place at room temperature for 30 minutes and then bake it in the oven at 350ºF (180ºC) for about 5- 10 minutes until crispy on the outside.
    Freezer; defrost overnight in the refrigerator, take it out to room temperature for 30 minutes and then bake it in the oven at 350ºF (180ºC) for about 5- 10 minutes until crispy on the outside.

Posted on by Bembum Kitchen

Chocolate babka (QUICK & EASY)

“Babka” A sweet, braided bread that has ribbons of chocolate running throughout it.
And while the original Babka texture is a bit dense like typically a cakey bread; my ideal Babka version is a soft and fluffy bread twisted with homemade chocolate filling inside which is not overly sweet.

Unlike the common method, this recipe no need to proof the dough twice or overnight; A stunning loaf, quick and easy, how wonderful is that?

For the filling, I highly recommend to use dutch cocoa powder simply because it will give you a darker, more bittersweet experience and also has a more intense chocolate flavour.

This chocolate filling is not too runny, has a beautiful consistency and quite manageable.
You can sprinkle some chocolate chips or even toasted chopped nuts on the top if you want, I just like it the way it is “Simply is the best!“.

Steps to create Babka fascinating shapes

It’s worth the effort and patience, especially when you make two loaves, like in this recipe. You can save the second loaf in the freezer or give it away to show off your hard work.

It always looks stunning, no matter how messy the shaping was. I like to have a nice bite in the middle because the chocolate is piling up there.

The bread texture is so soft and fluffy with a rich smooth chocolate filling inside. I’m sure no one is able to resist a warm piece of this chocolate Babka.

I hope that you enjoy my version of Babka, it always feels homey and comforting.
LOVE you All!!


CHOCOLATE BABKA
Yield: 2 Loafs 
Pan size: 17x8x6 cm
Active time: 1 hour
Total time: 2 hours

INGREDIENTS
Chocolate Filling

  • 20 g Dutch Cocoa Powder
  • 25 g All Purpose Flour
  • 50 g Caster Sugar
  • 90 g Milk
  • 12 g Unsalted Butter

Bread Dough

  • 110 g Bread Flour
  • 110 g All Purpose Flour
  • 1 tsp Instant Yeast
  • 25 g Caster Sugar
  • 15 g Milk Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 30 g Ice Water
  • 65 g Cold Milk
  • 45 g Eggs
  • 35 g Unsalted Butter

Sugar Glaze

  • 20 g Caster Sugar
  • 15 g Water

INSTRUCTIONS
Chocolate Filling

  1. In a medium non-stick pan, sift in the cocoa and flour (don’t skip this sifting step else you might end up with a lumpy chocolate filling).
  2. Pour in the sugar and milk, whisk all together until they become really smooth.
  3. Add in the butter; cook over medium heat and keep stirring. 
    When the mixture starts to thicken lower the heat, continue stirring until the mixture resembles a chocolate jam (be careful not to burn it).
  4. Take it off from the heat, let the mixture cool completely.

Sugar Glaze
In a small pan combine the sugar and water stir until the sugar dissolved, let it simmer for about 2 minutes; take it off from the heat.

Prep the baking pan
Grease the bottom and sides of the pan with some butter, line it with a parchment paper and grease it again.

Bread Dough

  1. In a large bowl combine the both flour, instant yeast, sugar and milk powder,mix well.
  2. Add in the salt and mix (always add the salt last to make sure it doesn’t have direct contact with the yeast).
  3. Pour in the ice water, along with milk and eggs. Mix well, make sure everything is well incorporated.
  4. Add in the butter and mix until just combine.
  5. Cover and let it rest to let the gluten bonds and begin forming for about 15 minutes.
  6. Place the dough onto a work surface and start kneading the dough (you can use a stand mixer for this process)
    *The mixture is gonna be really wet and really sticky. If you are doing this by hand resist the urge to add any flour. The idea is just to push it around to stretch all of that gluten; this is where we are begin to develop the structure for the dough.
  7. After 15 minutes kneading, you see that the ball is coming together;
    To make sure whether the dough is ready, we can do the windowpane test; take a small ball of the dough and stretch it into a square. Keep on stretching until it becomes a thin film in the middle without breaking. The dough must be thin enough to pass light through it. If it is obtained without any tear, then your dough is properly kneaded.
  8. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll each dough into a smooth ball; cover it and let the gluten rest for about 15 minutes.
  9. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  10. To create Babka shapes
    – Take 1 portion of the dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll it into a rectangular shape (30×20 cm).
    – Place half portion of the chocolate filling to the center of the dough, spread it evenly (spare for about 1 cm around the edges so the chocolate won’t get mess when you roll it).
    You can sprinkle some chocolate chips or even toasted chopped nuts on the top if you want
    – And to rolled up; starting from the short side closest to you just gently lift up the dough and then move forward rolling it up nice and tight.
    – Using bench scraper or knife; cut the dough in half length wise.
    – Position each half parallel to each other with the chocolate cut sides facing upwards. Then set the other halves on top in the opposite direction to form a cross; twist the halves together, keeping the cut sides facing up, and tuck the ends under. 
  11. Gently transfer the babka into the prepared pans; cover it with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel and let the dough rise at room temperature until almost doubled in size. Repeat with the second piece of dough.
  12. Bake them for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown on top (if you have a thermometer, you are looking for an internal temperature of about 200ºF/93ºC).
  13. After baking, brush the sugar glaze on top of the Babka immediately (we want to do that while it’s hot because it does help to absorb it). It not only makes the babka exterior shiny but helps keeps the bread from drying out.
  14. Take it out from the pan and let them cool completely on the cooling rack.


    NOTES
  1. If you have a very cold room, you can place a tray of a boiling water in the bottom of your switch off oven and put your Babka pan on the top rack, just to create warm humid environment for proofing the Babka.
  2. Store the cooled Babka, wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight container on the counter for up to 2 days or fridge for 4 days.
    You can reheat slices in the microwave for a few seconds or pop the whole loaf in the oven for a few minutes.
  3. Babka also freezes well; once cooled, wrap the loaf in a couple of layers of plastic wrap or in an airtight container; it can be stored in the freezer for up to 1 month.
    Defrost at room temperature, still wrapped. Before serving, you can reheat it in a 160°C oven for about 10 minutes, until it’s warm and the chocolate is melty.