chEAT SHEET Singapore: Antoinette

Saying that I love sweets would be an understatement.  There are days when I wonder why I did not delve into the wonderful world of pastries.  I've been toying with the idea of taking pastry arts for a few years now, and maybe, just maybe, when I have the time, I probably will.  


Antoinette was recommended by a very dear friend, who happens to be an accomplished and gifted artist; one of the heavy weights in the pastry world in the Philippines.  Where do I even begin?  The atmosphere in this cafe dictated what was to come.  And as the famous saying by Marie Antoinette goes..."let them eat cake."  And so we did.  I was completely floored by the chefs renditions of classical pastries and couldn't help but revel in his flawless execution.

Antoinette's Baba aux Fraises is by far, the best I've had in Southeast Asia.  It's consistency of being in between bread and cake, refreshing strawberry coulis, and the airiest whipped cream, is worth noting.  The Antoinette and Bread & Butter Pudding are also worth having.  The desserts my friends and I shared after a week-long exercise in all things savoury in a professional kitchen was just what we needed to usher in the weekend. 

I need a time machine.  I don't think I'll ever tire of their sweets.

More about Antoinette here.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Undisputed and arguably one of the best cupcakes I've ever tasted come from "Cupcakes" in Vancouver and "Sprinkles" in California.  My cupcakes are nowhere near their rich, velvety, moist, and indulgent marvels, but when I do feel the need to create something fun and insanely nice to eat with The Young Tongue, we bake (or cook) in our kitchen.  Yesterday, we decided to make Red Velvet cupcakes for my best friend and The Young Tongue's god mother, Garlic (yes, that's her name!), who is all the way in the Philippines and for our Nanny, who celebrates her birthday today with us here in Bangkok.  The Young Tongue helped me spread icing on the cupcakes, and well, all over the place!  With christmasy colors for our cupcake paper cups, we've climbed the festive ladder a few good steps, don't you think?!


Did you know that originally, the red color came from an acidic reaction of cocoa powder to buttermilk?  These days, most people use red food coloring.  But if you have the urge to go for natural, try to look for cocoa powder that will react with the buttermilk and reveal it's anthocyanin.  Okay, enough of the science!


I'd love to say that I came up with the recipe for this one, but I must admit, I just lifted it from the internet (tons to choose from, just choose one that you're comfortable with), called an expert pastry chef from Singapore named Dennis to verify a few steps and processes, tweaked here and there, and the results turned out surprisingly good.  I still want to work on my icing though since I want it to hold more ground but I sort of don't want to put unctuous amounts of icing sugar into the recipe.  So there, it's still a toss up between finding the balance among the usual players -- cream cheese, butter, icing sugar, vanilla, and sour cream (yes, sour cream!).  And admittedly, I'd like to come across some liquid Madagascan vanilla here in Thailand -- anyone know where?

The only real trouble here is, I think I've made too many.  Our kitchen churned about 35 cupcakes last night, and there's really only 3 of us here.  I already ate 3 pieces (and The Young Tongue's other half since she was too busy hoarding and devouring the icing on it's own) and I don't have enough containers to transport them to the office where I think I can bully a few people to eat them (pun intended).  Oh well, there's still the weekend and if I take say 5 pieces to work later, we're left with about 18 pieces which gives me, The Young Tongue, and our Nanny 3 days to eat 2 cupcakes a day.  Alright then, sold!

Happy birthday Garlic a.k.a. Big Bad Bawang!  We love and miss you so much.  And since we can't celebrate with you today in Manila, we're going to eat as much cupcakes as we can in honor of you.  Fly and visit us soon!

Chocolate, Almond, and Coconut Biscotti

Perfect with coffee, these biscottis can last for up to 3 weeks in an airtight container in between parchment paper.  I came across this recipe in a supermarket counter, while in a queue, and decided to jot it down and try it in my brother's home.  I never found the opportune time so I promise to bring some over next time I visit Manong Roly!

I've tweaked the recipe to accomodate Philippine weather.

2 1/3 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Salt

110 grams Butter, salted

1 cup Raw or Washed Sugar, lightly packed

2 eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

1/2 cup Desiccated Coconut

3/4 cup Almonds, chopped and toasted

1/4 cup Almonds, ground (do not toast)

1 cup Mini chocolate chip morsels

Using a paddle in your stand mixer, blend the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add the eggs and the vanilla extract.

Then pour your desiccated coconut.

Add your other dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) a cup at a time until combined.  Add the toasted almonds, ground almonds, and chocolate morsels.

Remove from the stand mixer and allow to chill for 30 minutes, covered with cling wrap.

Remove from the chiller and divide the dough into two.  Using your hands, place the dough on top of a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and form a 10 x 3 inch log, resembling a loaf.  It should also be about 3/4 inches high.  Bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees Celcius.  

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on it's baking sheet for 30 minutes.  

Then slice into half inch pieces using a serrated knife.  Place on top of the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes at 165 degrees Celcius.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the baking sheet.  This will slowly harden as it cools off.

Albeit time-consuming, it's worth a try with a hot cup of illy coffee.  Mmmm...

Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Cream together:   1 cup butter

                                 1 cup sugar

                                 1 cup brown sugar

Add:                        2 eggs 

                                 1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix together:        2.5 cups flour

                                2 cups oatmeal

                                1/2 teaspoon salt

                                1 teaspoon baking powder

                                1 teaspoon baking soda

Then add:              12 oz. Dark Chocolate Chip Morsels 

Bake at 180 degrees celcius for 10 minutes.

Cool in a wire rack.

Makes 5 dozen. 

Carrot Cake

I love carrots as is or as a cake.  Here's a no-fail recipe I learned from the Le Cordon Bleu.

3 pieces            Eggs

250 ml              Vegetable Oil

250 grams       Caster Sugar

250 grams       Plain Flour

2 teaspoons     Cinnamon, ground

2 teaspoons     Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon   Salt

300 grams       Carrots, grated

                           Icing Sugar, for dusting

1.  Pre-heat oven at 180 degrees Celcius.

 2.  Beat eggs then add the vegetable oil and sugar.

 3.  Sift all the dry ingredients and add into the mixture.

 4.  Fold the carrots into the dough.

 5.  Line the baking tin with parchment paper.

6.  Pour the mixture into the baking tin.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until nothing sticks into the toothpick when you poke through the center.

7.  Remove the cake from the tin and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes on a wire rack.  Dust with icing sugar.  For variety, you can dust it with flavored sugar (as seen above) or add a cream cheese frosting.

Dog Biscuits

While the whole world celebrates Valentine's day, my family happens to celebrate three birthdays.  My mom's, my niece Sage's, and our family dog Wagyu's.  Last night, I baked home-made doggie biscuits for Wagyu while he happily ate apple slices in the kitchen.  

Wagyu, a Jack Russell Terrier, shares the same love for food as The Young Tongue, who shares almost anything and everything she eats and drinks with him.  So it was only but natural for him to grow an appetite of healthy snacking (slices of fruits and vegetables are a staple), having only Taste of The Wild's Potato and Duck Dog Food day in, day out(this is really good stuff and if you happen to have a dog, try to get them in Bow & Wow). 

I came across this recipe several years back on-line, which I've tweaked through time.

1 1/4 cup     Wholewheat Flour

1/2 cup        All Purpose Flour

1/2 cup        Cornmeal

3/4 cup       Rolled Oats

1 cup            Water, or you may have to add another half cup, depending on the humidity

1/2 cup        Vegetable Oil

2 pieces       Eggs

3 Tbsp.        Peanut Butter

2 Tbsp.        Vanilla Extract

1.  Mix all dried ingredients.

2.  Form a well on the center of the dried ingredients and pour in all the wet ingredients.  Knead until it forms a ball.

3.  Dust the counter top with flour and with a rolling pin, flatten the dough to 5 mm thickness.  Dust the top of the dough too for a nice coated effect which will be evident post-baking.

4.  Using a cookie cutter (wish I had one in a shape of a dog bone), cut the dough into shapes.

5.  Place in a cookie sheet and bake for 25 minutes at 180 degrees Celcius.  Turn off the oven and keep the biscuits inside the oven for another 15 minutes.  This will allow the biscuits to harden some more.

Happy 2nd birthday Wagyu!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

As a child, baking chocolate chip cookies was an activity my cousins and I always did with our mom and aunt.  My mom always insisted we use good chocolate.  She would ask Dad to bring home what felt like industrial-sized chocolate blocks from Ghirardelli (larger than a cake!) whenever he visited  my brothers and sisters who were studying abroad.   And although the thought of finishing an entire block in a year was unthinkable, we always managed to deplete all of it in 3 to 4 months!

The recipe I'd like to share is from a diplomat who I met in 2003 (it's always like this with food - you adapt to a better version when you come across one).  It's not that different from my mom's anyway, with the exception of the use of oats. 

Cream equal amounts of butter, white sugar, and brown sugar.

  Add two eggs and a teaspoon of vanilla.

Add equal portions of oats and all-purpose flour along with smaller but equal amounts of baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Add a pack of semi-sweet chocolate morsels (Ghirardelli can be sourced locally already).

Allow the dough to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

 Bake at 180 degrees Celcius for 18 minutes.

To make this a double chocolate chip cookie, add grated or slivers of chocolate along with the morsels prior to baking.

Flaky Pastry

Here's how to make Flaky Pastry - a light, crisp, and buttery dough that is used as a base for tarts and pies.

 In a bowl with flour and salt, add unsalted butter.  

I like to use 1 part unsalted butter to 2 parts flour ratio.

Rub butter into the dry ingredients.

Continue rubbing until it's texture looks like breadcrumbs.

Add a bit of water.

Knead until you can form a dough.  Wrap in cling film and place in the refrigerator to rest.

In between 2 sheets of cling wrap, roll your dough until about 4 mm thick.

Remove the cling wrap and place on top of a tart pan.

Like so.

Slowly lift the pastry and guide it in such a way that it wraps the tart pan properly.

Roll your rolling pin on top of the tart mold.

And remove excess pastry.

Dock the pastry with a fork.  Blind-bake by putting pie weights (baking beans) on top of oven-friendly cling film for 15 minutes, 180 Degrees Celcius.  This will ensure that the pastry does not bubble.

This can be made ahead of time, kept frozen, and thawed right before you need it.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cupcakes

Today's sweet inspiration is dedicated to my business partner, Rina.  Her excitement to bake yesterday's cupcake (according to her, it sounded fairly simple, and I couldn't  agree more!) made me want to share the idea of knowing the right "technique".  It's not so much the recipe that's important, which I learned at the Le Cordon Bleu.  When you understand a cooking/baking principle, you can switch ingredients as you please and the outcome is somewhat the same (only the flavors change).

This afternoon, I made 2 variations on yesterday's recipe.  I used Peanut Butter (Peter Pan Honey Roast Crunchy to be exact) instead of Nutella and, I added Chocolate Chip Morsels (from Ghirardelli).

Here's how...

 Beat an egg.

 Instead of using Nutella, use Peanut butter.  Whisk until well-incorporated.

Here you see The Young Tongue thoroughly inspecting if the Kitchenaid knob is in "lock" position.  I'm actually thrilled to know that she doesn't like to be idle.

Add corn syrup.  I added this to make sure that it's gooey enough (the Peanut butter I used had a thicker consistency than the Nutella).  Keep adding corn syrup until you get the desired texture.  Then add the flour.  Continue to blend.

This is the consistency I was after (like the Nutella cupcake version).  You can opt to stop here if you don't like to add chocolates.

Place in a cupcake sheet lined with paper.

Bake at 180 degrees celcius for 13 to 14 minutes.  Yesterday's recipe only required 12 minutes.  I decided to prolong the baking time so that it's not molten.

Eh voila!  Mini Peanut Butter Cupcakes.

As my title implied, I've opted to add chocolate chip morsels.  I like to use the semi-sweet variety so that it's not too sweet.


Once they're baked, remove from the oven and place on top of a wire rack to cool.  Wasn't that fairly simple?  It took just as little effort, right?

And for a job well done, I've decided to give her lychee yogurt as a snack (like her mama, she has a fondness for Elle & Vire).  She'll have to stay away from these mini cupcakes because of it's nut content.  And although she's not allergic to them, I try not to give her too much of it until she turns the ripe age of 2.