For the 2nd year in a row I have been baking my own mooncakes to be given away to relatives. Last year I took up a lesson in mooncake making from a local baking supply shop–I needed to learn the trick of getting the mooncake skin really thin while the cake is filled with a generous amount of paste filling. I must say the lesson costing RM 80, was worth every single sen.

The secret to having a very pliable dough lied in the golden syrup that I used–to be specific Tate and Lyle’s. Westerners are familiar with this syrup at the breakfast table, drizzled over plump and fluffy pancakes or that crispy waffle. The consistency of the syrup allowed the well-rested dough to remain pliable while I stretch it thin, wrapping it around a ball of paste.

Mom was my mooncake moulding helper. I passed the mooncakes over to her and using her body weight and strong arms she pressed out these lovely cakes like a machine. I have 3 designs which I use to differentiate the type of filling per mooncake.

With 4 kilos of lotus and pandan paste filling we managed to output approx 70+ moonies in about 3 hours. Baking them was the easy part–they had to go into the oven for 30 minutes, stopping 2 times at 10 minutes and 20 minutes for the egg glaze. The result after 30 minutes doesn’t look very appetizing–the skin is slightly spotty, dry, not shiny and is very tough. Crispy too.

The secret is to leave them to release its oils, usually appearing after 3-4 days in a container. The skin starts to soften, the colour turns darker, the oil is started to secrete slowly giving it a very good shine and the mooncake design comes up even sharper.

After a week, this is how it looks like. Notice how the colours has evened out? Mooncakes are not difficult to make at all, it’s just time consuming. And, uses a lot of elbow grease, particularly if you’re using those traditional wooden moulds. All the knocking may even hurt your eardrums!

This year we attempted an all time favourite, the mixed nuts mooncake. Traditionally, it contains bits of ham but we stuck to the nuts combo. The filling was a challenge, toasting everything, chopping them, getting them to bind together, shaping into 55g balls–argh–next year probably think twice about this. Now I know why these are so pricey!

If you ever thought of making your own mooncakes, go for a class. It’s really the technique that you pay money to master, and then it’s a smooth ride after. Happy Mid Autumn Festival!

This is not my first attempt at baking a cheesecake, in fact I’ve done it so many times, it’s quite a walk in the park for me. IF there’s one thing you should know when baking a cheesecake, is to not OVER bake it. As long as the filling ain’t jiggly, it’s done! If you see a crack in your cheesecake, don’t fret, try again till you get it rite. This is however my first shot at having durian in my cheesecake. I’ve never thought the nasty fruit could complement the creaminess of the cheese but after hearing so much about it and tasting Secret Recipe’s Durian Cheesecake at FIL’s birthday, I decided to give it a try. Turned out pretty tasty. Give it a try!

Step 1 – The biscuit base

1. Line the base of a 9” springform pan
2. 40 pcs or more, marie biscuit crumbs, depending on the thickness of the crust you’re looking for
3. Melt a knob of butter enough to combine the biscuit crumbs together
4. With a spoon, compact the crumbs to the sides of the pan and the base
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 150 ° Celsius for 10 mins
6. Remove to cool then using aluminum foil, wrap the base of the springform pan to avoid water seeping through during the steam bake process

Step 2 – The cheese filling ingredients

• 500 g cream cheese at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup of milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 200 g durian flesh, mashed with a fork
• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/4 cup of sugar

1. Beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl 2 – 3 times during the process to ensure there are no lumps
2. Add sugar and continue beating for a further 5 mins
3. Add in egg yolks and flour and beat until combined
4. Pour in the milk and vanilla extract and beat on low speed until the mixture has come together into a smooth batter
5. Finally add in the durian flesh, and mix till combined, set aside
6. In a separate clean and dry bowl, whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar + sugar until stiff.
7. Fold egg whites into the cheese mixture and using a spatula, careful not to deflate the egg whites
8. Pour batter into the biscuit base
9. Steam bake for 30 minutes at 150 ° Celsius
10. Leave to cool before chilling in the fridge overnight before serving
11. Warning, makes everything in your fridge smells funky!

Earlier I baked these “not-for-those-who-have-nut-allergy” cookies. It has 2 whole cups of chopped pecans, walnuts and almonds. Something in the nuts gave the cookies a slight spicy flavour. I also added rind from one orange to give it a lil bit of a citrus tang. This is a semi chewy cookie so, here’s the recipe:

170g butter
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups chopped pecans, walnuts, almonds combined

• Cream butter and brown sugar until pale, for about 7-10 minutes
• Add in milk, vanilla extract and the egg, mix on low speed until combined
• Sift all dry ingredients together and fold into the butter mixture. Mix on low speed until everything is evenly combined
• Pour in the chopped nuts and mix on low speed for another 1 minute.
• Using a spoon, drop spoonfuls of the cookie batter onto a lined tray, keeping it well spaced in between each cookie. It will expand.
• Bake at a preheated oven at 150 degrees Celcius for 20 – 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Cool before storing in an air tight container

As I was grating the orange rind last nite for this recipe, I thought I’d like to introduce you to my favourite kitchen tool. My very very precious Microplane grater. I love how it can get the rind out without much effort, just like how Anna Olson does it on Sugar. People, meet my really great, grater.

I had some leftover pineapple jam from CNY hidden away in the freezer, and some leftover unbaked quiche crust from the Cheating Spinach Quiche I made last month. My brain went *tick tick tick* and I decided to turn them into Pineapple Cinnamon Crumble Rolls. I refered to (and modified the method a lil) Pioneer Woman’s fantabulous Cinnamon Roll dough (half recipe) and used up all my leftover pineapple jam as the filling. I then made a crumble topping with the leftover unbaked quiche crust, brown sugar, ground cinnamon and chopped almonds. Boy … they were surprisingly tasty (and crunchy on top yums!)

So here goes (makes approx. 30 rolls):

Dough
-A-
470 ml milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
7g dry yeast
4 cups all purpose flour
-B-
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp salt

Filling
1/2 cup – 1 cup Pineapple Jam (the same stuff that you’d use for pineapple tarts, available at all baking supply shops) — or u can use any jam that you have.

Crumble topping – combine everything in a bowl and mix thoroughly
Leftover unbaked quiche crust, about the size of a soap bar (quiche crust mainly contains almost equal amounts of flour and butter, some salt, sugar, and sometimes egg yolks to bind it together)
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup of chopped almonds

1. In a saucepan, heat up milk until lukewarm (the kinda heat that you can leave your finger in the milk and don’t feel like you’re cooking ur flesh). Then add in the sugar and stir till dissolved. Then throw in the yeast and let it rest for about 5 minutes.
2. In a big mixing bowl, put in the 4 cups of flour. Then, pour in the milk mixture and the 1/2 cup of oil. Using a spatula, mix until everything is combined, then cover with cling film and leave to rise for 1 hour.
3. In another bowl, combine the 1/2 cup of flour + baking powder + baking soda + salt. Then add onto the risen dough (after 1 hour) and with your hands knead the dough until all the flour has been incorporated.
4. Generously flour your work table and roll out the dough into a rectangle approx. 1 cm thick.
5. Using your fingers evenly spread the pineapple jam all over the dough. Roll up (like a Swiss Roll) and pinch the edges to seal. Then using a knife/plastic scraper, cut the roll into 1.5 inch thick pieces.
6. Using your fingers, stuff some crumble on top of the rolls, just enough to cover it. Repeat with the remaining 29 rolls.
7. Set aside to rise for another 20 minutes before baking it in a pre-heated oven at 160 degrees Celcius for 20 – 30 minutes.
8. Leave to cool on a wire rack before storing in air tight containers.

-A-
250gm Cream cheese
100ml Milk
50gm Butter

-B-
6 Egg yolks
70gm Castor sugar
1 tsp lemon oil *optional
60gm all purpose flour
20gm cornflour
(Sift both flours together)

-C-
6 Egg whites
1/4tsp Cream of tartar
70gm Castor sugar

Method:
1. Cut up cream cheese and butter into small cubes (to ease the melting process) and put into heat proof bowl over double boiler with milk and heat till everything melts and well incorporated. Leave to cool.
2. Mix egg yolks, sugar, lemon oil and slowly add in sifted flour making sure there’s no lumps. Add into cheese mixture and mix well.
3. Beat egg whites, add in cream of tartar when foamy followed by sugar slowly and continue beating till soft peaks form – slightly stiff but not dry.
4. Pour cream cheese mixture into egg whites and fold in both mixtures.
5. Pour into a silicone 8 inch round pan and bake in a water bath (filled about 1inch) at preheated oven at 120′c for 1 hour and  or until top is golden brown and clean when inserted with tester. The cake shouldn’t be wiggly and will be firm to the touch.
6. Do not remove cake from oven and leave to cool in oven with door ajar. Cake will slightly shrink and loosen from sides. Chill well in fridge before serving.

Pastry
Buy a pack of pineapple tart pastry mix and follow the instructions there. One 420g pre-mix can yield 3 pastry shells on a regular loose bottom tart/flan pan which is approx. 1 inch in height, 9 inches in diameter. Once you’ve mixed together the pastry dough, divide it equally into 3 parts, and keep the other 2 in the freezer for future use.

With the soft dough, press onto your tart/flan pan, trim edges, and bake in a preheated oven at 170 deg Celcius for 20 minutes. While this is baking, prepare your filling.

P/S: Better still, buy ready made tart shells from Cold Storage or Village Grocer, lagi cheating!

Filling
100 g frozen chopped spinach
2 – 3 tablespoons of water
1/2 big onion, chopped
25g butter
2 eggs
250 ml water
2 slices of cheddar cheese (like Kraft’s)
2 tsp salt
Dash of pepper
Dash of dried mixed herbs

Method:

• In a pan, combine the frozen spinach & 2 – 3 tablespoons of water and cook till the spinach has softened. Using a sieve, press out as much water as you can from the spinach. Set aside.
• In the same pan, cleaned and wiped dry, melt the butter and saute the onions until soft. Becareful not to burn the butter. Set aside.
• In a bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together with the salt, pepper and mixed herbs. You must whisk it well so that the egg custard when baked will not be lumpy. Whisk till frothy.
• Once you have removed the tart shell from the oven after 20 minutes pre-baked, spoon in the onions and spread it out. Then spoon in the chopped spinach and spread it out evenly too. Place the tart/flan pan on a baking pan so it’ll be easier to handle when you pour in the egg mixture and bring it to the oven.
• Carefully pour in the egg mixture into the tart shell. It should fill up to the brim (for a 1 inch height x 9 inch diameter tart/flan pan).
• Tear in sheets of the cheddar cheese and toss randomly all over the quiche.
• Carefully return the pan into the oven and bake for 25 – 30 minutes until the custard had firmed up. You’ll know when you try to shake the pan a lil’ the custard is fairly solid, like an egg tart.
• Leave to cool to the touch before cutting.

Told you its cheating!

For cakes you’d use what is called Cake Flour, High-Ratio Flour or Low-Protein Flour. Honestly, I’m not too bothered so I just use plain ol’ Plain Flour. Also known as All-Purpose Flour, it is blended wheat flour with an intermediate gluten (protein people, protein) level, which is marketed as an acceptable compromise for most household baking needs.

For recipes that ask for Self Raising Flour, it is just merely flour that is sold premixed with chemical leavening agents. Overpriced, I feel personally, I make my own self raising flour. So for every 1 cup of self raising flour you replace with the following:

• 1 cup plain flour (100 g)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder (3g)
• a pinch to ½ teaspoon salt (1g)

For breads, you’ll need High-Protein Flour (other names include Strong Flour, Hard Wheat Flour or Bread Flour). It is high in gluten (again, protein people, protein), with a certain toughness that holds its shape well once baked. I refuse to pay premium price for a pre-mix I can make on my own. For every 500g of high protein flour try mixing together the following:

• 500 g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon bread improver
• 2 tablespoons gluten powder

For cookies and pastries, it’s so brainless I just use Plain Flour. Plain flour rawks! I guess unless you intend to sell your baked goods, you can safely stick to Plain Flour for all your baking adventures. Other flours that you may come across are:

• Superfine Flour – Contains low quantities of proteins then cake flour. Used when fine texture is required in cakes, muffins, quick breads.
• Pastry Flour – Has slightly higher protein content than cake flour. For making pie dough, pastries, cookies. Substitute with cake flour when pastry flour is not available.
• Pau Flour – Duh…what else but for making Pau. Specially bleached medium protein flour to give pure white colour in paus. Some brands contain additives for tender and soft pau texture
• Wholemeal Flour – Milled from whole wheat kernel, consists of bran, germ and endosperm. It cannot be used alone in bread making although its protein is high. This is because of bran flakes in this flour will cut through gluten, resulting in dense and heavy bread loaf. For making wholemeal bread loaf, use the ratio of 1:2 = wholemeal flour: bread flour.

If you’re obsessed with following precisely what flours the recipe asks for, go ahead.

Li Ann, I hope this helps!

Orange Chiffon Cake

A:
6 egg yolks
60 g caster sugar

B:
5 tbsp water
4 tbsp regular cooking oil
1 tsp orange oil (or any paste flavouring of your choice)

C:
120 gm plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

D:
6 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
60g caster sugar

Method:

• In a bowl using a balloon whisk, gently combine A until sugar has dissolved

• The add B into A and whisk till combined

• Sift ingredients C and slowly incorporate into the egg yolk mixture and gently whisk till combined and shows no lumps

• In a clean, dry and oil-free bowl, whisk egg whites on high for about 1 minutes, and then add in the cream of tartar. Whisk until ribbon stage and add in the sugar. Continue to whisk until stiff peaks form (and if u put the bowl over your head the whites remain where it is)

• Pour in the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites and with a spatula, fold gently using a cutting “S” motion to avoid deflating all the air in the egg whites.

• Pour batter into a chiffon cake mould and in a pre-heated oven bake for 35 minutes at 170º Celcius. Remember to place the cake in the centre/middle of the oven for even heat distribution

• Do not open the oven door during the baking, not matter how tempting it is.

• Leave to cool for 5 minutes in the oven before removing and inverting to cool.

• Once cool, cut and store (in your stomach if you please!)

Don’t let Anna Olson’s baking gear freak you out; you don’t need to invest in a ton of tools and equipment to get started. Here’s my list of essentials that will help you start baking your very first cake.

Oven – You definitely need an oven to start baking. Possibly the most expensive item on the essentials list, I use a convection oven by Zanussi. These ovens commonly have 3 dials (temperature, timer and function). The function dial allows you to choose where the direction of heat should come from, both top and bottom, top only, bottom only and broiler only. In order to provide faster, more-even cooking, some ovens use a small fan to blow hot air around the cooking chamber (mine has this). For baking I strongly suggest a large convection oven where you have better control over the temperature and ample space for baking a cake evenly. You’d have no problems with your cake pan being too near to the heating element resulting in a burnt top/bottom.

Cake mixer – This is a must have. You don’t need a heavy duty one like mine if you’re not a bake-a-holic. Just get one of those plastic handheld cake mixers, which come with a stand and a plastic bowl. Works the same as the heavy duty ones except the capacity is smaller than a Kenwood or Kitchenaid. You’ll have 2 types of beaters, one is for creaming and the other is a dough hook, for kneading bread. Fairly reasonably priced.

Weighing scale – I’m serious about measurements to the nearest gram (especially when I’m baking mooncakes) so you may purchase a digital scale for measuring your flour, butter, etc. It is pricier though, hovering around RM 90 – RM 150 depending on brand (I got a China mari one). An analog scale is fine when you do not need accurate to the gram measurements. As a beginner, get yourself one of these analog ones. Should cost you no more than RM 20.

Measuring cups and spoons – This is one item that you buy one time, and use it forever. The spoon measure a pinch, ½ teaspoon, 1 teaspoon, ½ tablespoon and 1 tablespoon whereas the cups measure ¼ cup, 1/3 cup, ½ cup and 1 cup. Great for measuring flour and sugar! You might also find recipes calling for butter measured in cups. I convert them to grams instead by using this conversion tool.

Sieve – You’ll need one of these to sift flour, cocoa powder, etc. I got mine from Ikea. The cup sifters are good when you’re sifting small amounts but I won’t use it when I’m working with a huge amount. Instead, I used a sieve with a long handle, a tool that you’d use to drain off the water from your maggi mee. Something with wire mesh squares of 1 mm x 1mm is good enough.

Balloon whisk – This is good when you’re working with more liquid batter that does not require a cake mixer (i.e. pancakes, muffin). I also use this when I need to whisk small amounts of egg whites, whipping cream. My balloon whisk is stainless steel and purchased from Ikea.

Rubber/plastic spatula – Perfect for scraping the sides of the mixing bowl when creaming your butter, and also great to scrape clean you bowl when transferring the cake batter into a baking pan. A rubber one is the best, however I find that the plastic ones have a wider area, and is easier to use when working with big quantities. Get one of each if you may!

Baking pan – You could start with 2 types of baking pans. Buy a square one, which u can easily cut and line it with parchment paper. Also invest in a spring form round pan, you can use this for cheesecakes (for easy release) as well as any cakes that you want it to be, round. I have been collecting pans of all shapes and sizes; I could start a rent-a-pan outlet if I wanted to.

Mittens – Finally, yes you’ll need oven mittens! Invest in a super thick, quilted one. They have heaps of these in Living Quarters. The stiffer it is, the better. The soft ones are not thick enough to withstand the heat when being held longer than 5 seconds.

So there you have it, 9 items and you’re on your way to baking your first cake! If you’re really serious about learning by example, your local bakery supply shops have demos and hands-on classes that are reasonably priced (there are classes from RM 40 – RM 100) so you can have a feel of how to do it right, before trying it out at home. Bake With Yen and Bagus is a good place to start. I’ve also been to classes in Best Baking Supplies in USJ, and boy, it does make a difference when an expert shows you how to do it!