Extra Low-Fat Brownies

Occasionally I do indulge a slice of those very moist, chocolatey and fudgy brownie ... and topped with ice-cream. Just a month ago, I'd baked Brownies with Ferrero Rocher for my big kids.

Glad to know that brownies can be low-fat and taste just as chocolatey like the usual brownies. Well, I could enjoy more than two or three slices or bars at one go without having to worry much in putting on the extra pounds on my beyond expansion waistline ...lol  >○<

Recipe adapted from Ann of Anncoojournal. I have Ann to thank for sharing this low-fat dessert/snack recipe click here.

Below my slightly modified version in blue. I don't have cashew nuts, used the whole almonds and walnuts that I could find in the pantry. I replaced with dark Muscovado sugar.

Extra Low-Fat Brownies
Ingredients:
100g All-purpose plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons Hershey's natural unsweetened cocoa powder 
90g dark Muscovado sugar
100ml low-fat yogurt
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1.5 tablespoons Canola oil
70g combination of whole almonds and walnuts - lightly toasted

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.

Prepare a 20cm square baking tray lined with baking paper.

Sift flour, baking powder and cocoa powder together. Set aside.

Whisk sugar and eggs together until combined.

Stir in yogurt, oil and vanilla extract.
Pour in the sifted dry ingredients  and mix well. Stir in all the almonds & walnuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking tray and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, do not over bake. (Mine was baked at 18 minutes)

Take Note:
Do not over bake else the brownie will be dry.
The temperature of the oven may vary, do adjust accordingly.

I could smell the nice nutty fragrance of walnuts & almonds as I was cutting the warm brownie into squares. So yummy ... can't wait to have a slice. These brownies tasted light, chewy and not too fudgy. I enjoyed with a glass of cold almond milk.

Enjoyed as dessert after lunch, served
with a glass of cold almond milk :D

But my big kids preferred the moist and fudgy brownies. Having said that, I noticed that these brownies were disappearing fast from the airtight container. Glad that they appreciated these less fudgy but chewy nutty brownies too :D ! Enjoy !

Happy baking and have a great weekend !

Linking this post to the event "Little Thumbs Up (May 2015: YOGURT) organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Cheryl of Baking Taitai" 

 

And

Sharing this post to the Best Recipes for Everyone May 2015 Event

 (Theme: My Favourite Desserts) 

 organized by Fion of XuanHom's Mom and co-hosted by Aunty Young 

Banana Strawberry Yogurt Milkshake

Making milkshake is so quick & easy ... just dump everything into the blender and "whizz !  whizz !" ... Ready in just a couple of minutes.

It depends on what I have in the kitchen and fridge. With some fresh big red juicy sweet strawberries and 1 large pathetic looking banana sitting on the fruit basket, make this Banana Strawberry Yogurt Milkshake. 

Banana Strawberry Yogurt Milkshake
Serves about 3 glasses
Ingredients :
100g Low-fat natural Yogurt
200ml Skim milk
1 large Banana
6 Strawberries
Some ice cubes

Wash and cut the strawberries into halves
Peel and cut the banana into chucks

Put all the above ingredients into the blender, give a few pulse .. "whizzzz" .... Done !
Serving a glass of cold fruity healthy milkshake right after our dinner ... tasted so refreshingly good !
Enjoy !

Linking this post to the event "Little Thumbs Up (May 2015: YOGURT) organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Cheryl of Baking Taitai" 

 

And

Sharing this post to the Best Recipes for Everyone May 2015 Event

 (Theme: My Favourite Desserts) 

 organized by Fion of XuanHom's Mom and co-hosted by Aunty Young 

Ham & Cheese Rose Bun

I used the same bread dough recipe that I'd made the chicken floss buns about 2 weeks ago here.  I still have some chicken floss and bread flour, so obviously to make the chicken floss buns again.

When kneading the dough, my boy asked if can make ham & cheese buns since we have some ham and cheddar cheese in the fridge.  Well, why not ? So, I have 2 requests ... to bake ham & cheese bun and chicken floss buns for our brekkie ^-^!

While trying to wrap or fold the bun for the ham & cheese, the steamed 南瓜玫瑰馒头 Pumpkin Rose Mantou crossed my mind.  Yes, I loved the rose shaped mantou very much and using the same technique, I think could make the shape of rose bun as well.  Yes ! I'm glad that it turned out prettily like yellow roses ^-^

Ham & Cheese Rose Bun
Note : I got the "hang" of making the rose buns, so eventually I made 3 mini chicken floss buns and 10 ham & cheese rose buns :D

Ingredients
270g bread flour
30g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 egg
30g caster sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
150ml milk
30g unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 slices of ham
5 slices of cheddar cheese

Egg Wash (1 egg, beaten)

Instructions
In a big bowl, add the flours, yeast, egg, sugar, salt and 120ml of the milk.

Mix, and add the rest of the milk gradually while mixing.
Once the ingredients have come together, add the butter and knead to incorporate.

Keep kneading the dough until the dough is elastic (it will get less sticky as you knead) and has reached the windowpane stage.
(I spent about 20 mins in kneading the dough)
Shape into a ball and place the dough in a bowl.

Spray with a little water (I skipped this as don't have a sprayer) and cover with a piece of damp cloth.

Place the bowl in a *warm place to allow the dough to rise for about 1-1.5 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.
*As shared on proofing dough : turn on the oven to the lowest temperature (35°C) for 1 minute, turn it off and place the dough in the oven to rise.

Punch the dough to allow the air to escape.

Divide the dough into 18 portions about 30g each. Shape each portion into a ball. Cover with a piece of damp cloth and rest for 15 minutes.

For the ham & cheese rose buns, I tried 2 ways : -

(A) Used the same technique in making rose mantou :



Lay 1 round dough disc, 1 slice of ham, 1 dough disc, 1 slice of cheese and 3rd piece of dough, overlap each other in a row. Use one piece to roll into a small log. Put the log-shaped dough at the end of the circle of dough and roll up the dough pieces. Once all rolled up like a big log, place it horizontally and cut the center using a knife or dough cutter to make 2 roses.

Quite ok but I was not too happy as it's too fat and it looked like wrapped dumpling.

I tried another way instead, refer pictorial below :
(B)

1. Make 3 round dough disc.  Lay 1 round dough disc, place 1 slice of ham and 1 slice of cheese. 
2. Roll it up like a small log. Pinch the seam/edges to seal

3. Place the log over 1 round dough disc, roll it up. Pinch the seam/edges to seal. Repeat for the 3rd dough disc.

4. Place it horizontally and cut the center using a knife or dough cutter to make 2 roses.

Place the dough on two baking trays. Place the trays in the oven to proof for 50 minutes.

Remove the trays from the oven and preheat the oven to 170°C.

Brush egg wash on the bread dough. Bake for 15 minutes or until the bread has turned golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Note:
I used the lowest rack to bake.

The temperature of the oven may vary, you have to adjust the temperature and timing to suit your oven.

That's for my brekkie to kick-start a lovely day !

Happy baking and have a lovely day too :D

姜汁撞奶 Ginger Milk Pudding

I remember there's this famous Hong Kong dessert called 姜汁撞奶 ... does it literally translate as 'ginger crash milk'? Or 'ginger bang milk'? Hee.. hee... it's called Ginger Milk Pudding.  I've tried this dessert 2 times in Hong Kong some years ago. Well, the silky soft texture is something like bean curd but it uses only the milk, sugar and ginger to make this dessert with the technique of controlling the milk temperature to form the curd.

Of course, the most exciting process of making this dessert is the "heart popping spoon holding test” to check if the ginger milk pudding is made successfully. If the curd has set well, it can take the weight of the spoon (isn't this amazing ?). This means it is solid and it is successful !

This my 2nd attempt on this 姜汁撞奶.  I made the dessert last year and I survived the "spoon holding test" but I thought it was just my sheer luck as I don’t have a thermometer to use to measure the exact required temperature of the milk.

So I tried this dessert again since I've got all the ingredients .... to see if I'm lucky again to pass the "spoon holding test".

Recipe adapted from 通少Tony, click on the video :
YouTube
https://youtu.be/0I4Mc-spLFs

姜汁撞奶 Ginger Milk Pudding (serves 2)

Ingredients :
420 ml full fat / full cream fresh milk
2 tablespoons sugar
50g old ginger

Method :
1) Start with ginger, clean it well and peel the skin. Shred it finely and squeeze the shredded ginger juice in each serving bowl. Set aside to let the white powder precipitates.

2) In a pot, boil the milk together with the sugar. Use medium low flame. Boil the milk up to 85°C. You'll need to use the thermometer.

3) While the milk is boiling, take out the ginger juice to remove the clearer liquid gently without shaking the bowl. Keep only 1 tablespoon of the concentrated ginger juice.
(*as suggested, don't throw away the clearer liquid as can be used for cooking of other dishes)

4) Use the thermometer to check that the temperature of the milk dropped to 80°C.

5) Stir well the concentrated ginger juice then pour in the milk quickly. Don't touch or stir it. Cover the bowl with a plate and wait for 10 - 15 minutes.

The spoon holding test :
Remove the plate. Place a spoon on the surface. If the surface can support, this means it is solid and it is done !

My notes:
I do not have a thermometer. I switched off the flame when small bubbles begin to form on the sides of the pot in step 2. It is not the boiling point, so I estimated that the temperature is about 90°C.

I let the milk 'cool' about 3 to 4 minutes before attempting the 'milk crash' in step 5.

Here are my "spoon holding test" :
Had some heart thrilling event .... ping pom ping pom as I lowered the spoon on the surface. ... hee.. hee.. quite fun leh >-<

Used a heavy weight. ... ceramic spoon.
Yeah! Passed !

Removed the ceramic spoon and placed
a metal spoon ... passed !

Melamine spoon .... Passed !

Yeah ! I passed the spoon holding tests ^-^!
Phew ! ... now it is time to enjoy !

I'm submitting this post to the Best Recipes for Everyone May 2015 Event (Theme: My Favourite Desserts) organized by Fion of XuanHom's Mom and co-hosted by Aunty Young. 

Marble Cake

The last time I had baked a cake with some 'marble effect' was Baked Egg Cake and my boy thought I'd baked a marble cake. This marble cake satisfies anyone loves both chocolate and vanilla flavour. We like buttery cake with a moist and tender crumb.

Recipe adapted from Joy of Baking
Below I've halved the recipe using an 18cm tube pan.

Marble Cake
Ingredients:
70 grams bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon brewed coffee (optional)
150 grams all purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
85 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
85 grams caster sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
40 grams plain yogurt, room temperature
60 ml milk, room temperature

Method :
Marble Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter, or spray with a non stick spray, a 18cm tube pan.

In a heatproof bowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate with the coffee. Remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and yogurt.

With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the milk to the batter, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Remove a little more than half of the batter and place into a separate bowl. To the remaining batter stir, or beat, in the melted chocolate. Place the batters into the prepared bundt pan by alternating spoonfuls of vanilla batter with the chocolate batter. Then, with the end of a wooden skewer or knife, gently draw swirls through the batter to marbleize it. Don't over mix.

Bake for about 35 - 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center just comes out clean. (Mine was baked at 32 minutes)

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 20 minutes before removing the cake from the pan to cool completely.

Haiz ! Cracked! 

Can dust the top of the cake with cocoa powder or powdered sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature. This cake is best the day it's made, but it will keep for a couple of days at room temperature or it can be frozen.

Keeping some for the next day's brekkie 

Enjoying our weekend afternoon coffee break with some slices of warm buttery & moist marble cake :D

Happy Baking and hope you'll have a great weekend :D

 

"This post is linked to the event Little Thumbs Up (May 2015: YOGURT) organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Cheryl of Baking Taitai" 

Fish Bang Chick

Boy : Mom, you are turning the meat upside down, inside-out, left to right .... what are you searching ?
Mom : I'm trying to find the piece of cheese that "giap" sandwich in between the chicken and fish !
Girl : Ha ha ! Fishy Chicky Bang Bang !

Manhattan Fish Market is one of my big kids' favourite dining places as they love the deep fried seafood + french fries. Sometimes, their promotion menu is also quite value for $$$ too that it won't burn a 'big hole' in mom's purse. I'm not a fish lover but occasionally I don't mind having a plate of Fish & Chips with loaded chilli sauce (instead of tartar sauce ... lol).  Some weeks ago, we dined at the restaurant and a menu called Fishy Chicky Bang Bang that caught my attention ... with intro :
It's a match made in cheddar cheese heaven with dory fillet on one side and chicken fillet on the other. 

With that bang bang thing in my mind, I try to replicate something similar for our dinner.  Yea, I've not been making deep-fried stuff lately, so it's about time lol ... (gosh! I dislike the cleaning up in the kitchen though).  I don't have the recipe but roughly make the batter and come up with this ....

As I don’t wish to infringe any copy right, shall call this ....
Fish Bang Chick
Note : I cut the cheddar cheese half, cut the chicken and fish into almost the same squarish sizes and able to cover the cheese when sandwiched together.

Ingredients :
2 skinless chicken breast, butterfly slice halves and cut into 4 pieces for each breast meat. Total 8 pieces.
Season the chicken with some salt and pepper for at least 30 minutes.

300 - 400g Dory fillet cut into 8 squarish size
Season the fish with a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.

4 slices Cheddar cheese (halves each slice to make 8 pieces)

1 - 2 tablespoon cornflour

Cooking oil - enough to cover the meat for deep frying in pan.

Ingredients for batter :
100g plain flour
20g cornflour
Pinch of salt & pepper
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
100ml - 150ml *water

Method :
In a clean dry bowl, mix flour, baking powder, egg, salt & pepper together.

Whisk in *water gradually until the consistency is smooth but thick and will coat the back of a spoon.
*do adjust the texture with more or less water.

To sandwich the chicken & fish :
Lightly coat one side of the chicken with cornflour. Then place a slice of cheese on the meat coated with cornflour. Top the cheese with fish fillet.

Heat the cooking oil in frying pan on medium-high flame.

Dip the 'sandwiched' meat into the batter, coat well and slowly drop it into the hot oil. Lower the flame to medium to prevent batter being burnt too quickly.

Deep fry about 6 - 8 minutes or until golden. Over turn the meat 2 - 3 times in between the frying process.



Oh ! where's the cheese ? Melted inside ...

Boy : Nice, can taste the cheese.  Should put 2 big thick slices of cheddar cheese next time ! Good.

Well, that's our 'giap' & bang  Fish Bang Chick! ha.. ha..  Although we really enjoyed the crispy deep-fried entrée and my big kids said that the taste is quite close ... somehow I think I should try with beer batter (heard of it) ... Ha.. ha ... Meantime, taking a "short break" from oily homemade fried food now. 

Happy cooking  ^-^! Have a great weekend !

Submitting this post to the event : Little Thumbs Up - April 2015 Theme Chicken organised by Bake for Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Diana from the Domestic Goddess Wannabe 

 

Almond Crescent Cookies

I still have a pack of unopened blanched almond powder which I've bought extra for making Almond Cookies  during CNY 2015.

Rather indecisive if I should bake an almond cake or the almond crescent cookies which I've bookmarked last year. Finally ... decided to bake some crumbly almond crescent cookies.

Recipe adapted from : Simply Recipes
with my notes my blue below.
Almond Crescent Cookies
Ingredients :
232g butter, room temperature
130g caster sugar (I used 80g)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of almond extract
200g of all-purpose flour
90g almond flour (can substitute ground almonds*)
30g powdered sugar (or snow powder) for dusting/sprinkling

*You can use slivered, blanched almonds and grind them up, but you will have a very crumbly, hard to work with dough. It’ll still taste good though.

Method
1) Cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the extracts and mix.

2) Add the flour and almond flour. Mix thoroughly.

3) Take generous tablespoons of the dough (it will be slightly crumbly) and roll it into a small ball, about an inch in diameter, and then shape into a crescent shape. Place onto parchment paper and bake at 350°F (190°C) for 15-20 minutes or until a light golden brown.
Note: I let them cool about 3 minutes in baking sheet before transferring them on to cooling rack to cool.

The cookie dough is very soft and slightly sticky, rather difficult to handle and shaping them ....  So I scooped more than a big heap of tablespoon full to roll it into 'small' ball.

Freshly baked. ... out from the oven. ... wah ha ha !! Gosh ! Like my waistline "expanded beyond control" ! See ! They "kissed" each other and got no room for expansion :(

4) Dust with powdered sugar.

For added decadence let the cookies cool and dip one end of them into some melted chocolate, then let the chocolate harden.

I've got 29 pcs.

Ha ha ...instead of pretty moon crescent ... I've made a batch of fatty kidney beans lookalike almond cookies!

Fatty shaped crescent

Boy  : Haiz ! The crumbs dropped all over on my shirt !
Mom: You must be gentle when picking/holding the cookie with your fingers .... don't "squash" or add pressure to it.
Boy: Let me use a spoon ! hmm ... nice, not bad ...
Mom: Ha..  ha ... first time I see you scoop up cookie with a spoon ... ha ha !

But still, I like these crumbly sandy almond cookies :D
Two pieces with a cup of cold soya milk drink for my afternoon snack ... so satisfying ^-^!

Store the cookies in airtight container and it still taste good the next day.

See ... I hold it gently !

Enjoy!

Sharing this post to Best Recipes for Everyone # 8 :

April 2015 Event Theme: Fun with Almonds 【玩转杏仁】 
organized by Fion of XuanHom’s Mom and co-hosted by Doreen of My Favourite Little DIY