Blended Orange Condensed Milk Pound Cake/ Kek Oren Susu Pekat Manis

I know, I know, another one. Yes, I am crazy about condensed milk pound cake. The last time I put an orange twist to it was when I baked them as cupcakes and marbled one with cocoa batter, here. This time, no marbling is involved, just the decadently dense and moist pound cake bursting with citrus goodness. Every slice you eat is like eating a slice of orange, but in cake form. I pureed two oranges this time so I can use them for other recipes and I am already thinking of orange buns and orange sugar cookies. Just a little of this puree goes a long way in terms of flavour and colour too. I like how simple it is to make this orange puree. I've come across recipes that require the orange to be boiled for like 2 hours while in another recipe, the water used to boil the orange needs to be replaced like 3 times. Although this recipe only calls for the orange to be boiled for an hour, I have to say it works to alleviate any bitterness in the fruit. Adding the puree will make the cake denser and it will require a longer baking time. I baked it at a low temperature (165C) for about 1 hour and 10 minutes.    

Orange Condensed Milk Pound Cake
Adapted from: 
baking fiends unite! 
Bisous a Toi

Ingredients:
240gm good quality butter
90gm sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (304gm) condensed milk
3 tsp vanilla paste *I used 2 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp lemon extract
240gm cake flour *I used all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
4 large eggs
1 orange - I used Valencia orange that weighs about 100g

Method:
Make the orange puree:
1. Pierce the orange with a skewer in some spots. 
2. Put it in a deep pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour, until soft. Drain, then cool (alternatively, you could put the orange in a crock pot/slow cooker on low heat overnight until soft)
3. Cut the orange in half and discard the pips. 
4. Put the orange, skin and all, in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth and pulpy. Set aside. 

Remove the pips after boiling the orange...

...then puree (skin and all) until smooth.

Make the cake: 

1. Sift cake flour and baking powder together. Set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
3. Add in salt and vanilla paste and cream well.
4. Pour in condensed milk and orange puree and cream till well combined.
5. Using the mixer on low speed, add in flour in 3 additions. Mix till batter is smooth.
6. Add in eggs one at a time. Make sure it's well mixed and smooth.
7. Pour batter in a greased pan and bake at 165C for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a skewer inserted at the centre of the cake comes out clean. 

Kek Mentega Oren Susu Pekat Manis
Diolah daripada: 
baking fiends unite! 
Bisous a Toi
Dapur Tanpa Sempadan 

Bahan-bahan:
240 gram mentega berkualiti tinggi 

90 gram gula halus

Secubit garam

1 cawan susu pekat manis

2 sudu kecil esen vanilla

240 gram tepung kek *saya guna tepung gandum
1 1/2 sudu kecil baking powder

4 biji telur gred A

1 biji oren *saya guna buah oren Valencia (kurang lebih 100g)

Cara-cara:
Untuk puri oren:
1. Cucuk buah oren beberapa kali dengan lidi. 
2. Rebus buah oren di dalam periuk dengan air penuh sehingga mendidih. Kemudian, perlahankan api, tutup periuk dan rebus lagi selama 1 jam sehingga buah lembut. Tos dan sejukkan.
3. Potong dua buah oren tadi dan buang bijinya. 
4. Kemudian, kisar buah oren (dengan kulit sekali) di dalam pengisar atau food processor sehingga hancur.

Untuk kek: 

1. Panaskan oven pada suhu 165C, griskan tin kek bersaiz 9 inci dengan mentega dan alas dasarnya dengan kertas minyak, lenser juga kertas tadi. Ayak tepung dan baking powder. Ketepikan. 
2. Putar mentega dengan gula hingga putih.

3. Masukkan esen vanilla dan garam, putar hingga gebu.
4. Tuang susu pekat manis dan puri oren; putar lagi hingga sebati.
5. Perlahankan kelajuan dan masukkan tepung yang telah diayak tadi sedikit demi sedikit hingga habis, putar rata.
6. Akhir sekali masukkan telur satu persatu sambil terus memutar hingga mendapat adunan yang licin.

7. Tuang adunan dalam loyang tadi dan bakar selama 1 jam-1 jam 10 minit atau sehingga masak sempurna.

Blueberry Cheese Tart

A recipe I got from my cousin. Irresistable and super simple to make. You can make the tart shells ahead of time and store them in an airtight container in the fridge. The filling can be substituted with other fruits and flavours like strawberry for example. I bought a ready-made filling from the bakery. You can for sure make your own filling though. The best part for me is painting the pattern on the filling. I would love to try other patterns though next time.

Blueberry Cheese Tart 
The pastry recipe below could easily yields 12 medium-sized tart shells (and you still have leftover dough) while the cream cheese filling is perfect to fill 12 tart shells. Feel free to increase or decrease the amount as you like.  

Ingredients: 
Tart shell:
125g cold butter, diced
225g all-purpose flour
50g caster sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons ice cold water 

Cream cheese filling:
125g cream cheese, softened
25g butter, soften
30g caster sugar
1/2 egg (beat an egg then weigh, about 30g)
1 teaspoon vanilla or lemon extract

blueberry filling 

Method: 
Pastry Shell:
1. Put the cold butter pieces, flour and sugar in a large bowl. Work those ingredients with your fingers until they resemble coarse bread crumbs. Don't worry if there are still some visible butter pieces. They will puff up in the oven and result in a flaky crust.

2. Add the vanilla extract, egg yolk and a tablespoon of ice cold water (1 tbsp works for me; you might add more if your egg yolk is smaller). Work the mixture together to form a dough. Do not overwork the dough. Once the dough has come together, flatten and wrap with cling film. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

3. Preheat the oven at 170C. Take out the dough from the fridge and roll it on a floured surface or between two sheets of clean plastic. Then, cut into discs to line individual tart moulds. Prick the bottom with a fork. Bake the shells in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until golden brown. Set aside to cool a bit and remove from mould.

Cream cheese filling:
1. Beat all the ingredients until smooth and creamy.  

For blueberry cheese tart:
1. Preheat the oven at 170C. Take a cooled tart shell and fill with blueberry filling (about a tablepoon). Then top with the cream cheese filling:

2. You can do a pattern on top of the tart if you like. I learned to do this pattern from the superbly creative and talented Kak Ita of masam manis. Please check out her blog for fantastic decorating ideas. Also check out HaSue's blog for cheese tart decoration ideas. For the pattern: dip the tip of a toothpick in the blueberry filling or food colouring. Make small lines down the side of cream cheese filling and run the toothpick gently across the lines, like this:

3. Bake the cheese tart in the preheated oven for 5-8 minutes until the cream cheese filling is just set. You can test whether the filling has set by gently tapping your fingertip on the surface; if it doesn't stick, then it has set. Don't overbake or else the filling will become hard. Best serve chilled.

Blueberry Cheese Tart 
Resepi kulit tart ni boleh dapat lebih dari dua belas biji (saya buat 12 je, doh yang lebih simpan dalam freezer). Cream cheese filling cukup2 untuk 12 tart. Kalau nk buat lebih, boleh gandakan resepi di bawah.

Bahan-bahan: 
Kulit tart:
125g mentega sejuk didadu
225g tepung gandum
50g gula kaster
1 kuning telur* (saya guna gred A)
1 sudu kecil esen vanilla
1-2sudu besar air sejuk dari peti ais

Cream cheese filling:
125g cream cheese, biar lembut sedikit
25g mentega (suhu bilik)
30g gula kaster
1/2 biji telur (pukul telur dan timbang, kurang lebih 30g)
1 sudu kecil esen vanilla atau lemon

inti blueberry filling secukupnya

*Jika gandakan adunan untuk kulit tart, boleh guna 1 biji telur gred B untuk 250g butter.

Cara-cara: 
Kulit tart:
1.Satukan mentega sejuk, tepung dan gula di dalam satu bekas. Ramas dengan menggunakan jari sehingga adunan menjadi seperti serbuk roti.

2. Tambah esen vanilla, telur kuning dan satu sudu besar air sejuk. Gaul sebati menggunakan tangan hingga menjadi doh. Tekan sedikit doh, balut dengan cling wrapper dan rehatkan di dalam peti sejuk.

3. Panaskan oven pada suhu 170C. Keluarkan doh daripada peti sejuk. Ambil sedikit doh dan tekan ke dalam acuan tart. Cucuk dengan garpu dan bakar selama 20 minit atau sehingga masak. Sejukkan sedikit dan keluarkan daripada acuan tart. 
Cream cheese filling:
1. Pukul semua bahan sehingga berkrim.  

Untuk blueberry cheese tart:
1. Panaskan oven pada suhu 170C. Ambil kulit tart tadi dan isi (boleh juga paip) dengan inti blueberry (anggaran 1 sudu besar). Selepas itu, isikan dengan cream cheese filling (isi penuh):

2. Kemudian, bolelah hias tart tadi. Saya guna corak yang diajar Kak Ita masam manis. Untuk idea lain, boleh singgah ke dapur HaSue. Untuk corak tersebut, celupkan hujung pencungkil gigi ke dalam pewarna atau inti blueberry dan buat garis-garis kecil di bahagian tepi tart. Kemudian dengan menggunakan bahagian yang tajam, tarik daripada atas ke bawah  dalam bentuk bulatan untuk mendapatkan bentuk seperti berikut:

3. Bakar cheese tart dalam oven yang telah dipanaskan tadi selama 5-8 minit sehingga masak. Untuk menguji sama ada cheese telah set atau tidak, sentuh dengan hujung jari. Jika tidak melekat, maknanya telah masak. Jangan terlebih bakar kerana filling akan menjadi keras.

Potato Buns/ Roti Kentang

My mum, sis and I went shopping at Tesco the other day and at that time, there were plenty of reduce to clear (RTC) items of fruits and vegetables on sale. Some goods were surprisingly still in good condition. We bought quite a lot of those RTCM stuffs (many were mushrooms of all sorts) and there were two packs of potatoes among those items. I used one pack for shepherd's pie and there left another pack. I decided to make these buns instead. I tweaked the recipe that I found on both Mat Gebu's Dapur Tanpa Sempadan and Kak Ros' Bukan Sekadar Masakan. Both recipes are suitable for those who have a bread machine. As I knead by hand, I reduced the amount of liquid used. If you use a bread machine to knead your dough, then you might follow either the original recipes.    

Potato Buns
Adapted from: dapur tanpa sempadan & bukan sekadar masakan

Ingredients: 
To activate yeast:
2 teaspoons instant dried yeast
50g sugar 
100ml lukewarm milk 

Water roux:
10g flour
50g water
~~~~~~~~

350g all purpose or bread flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
90g mashed potato (boil, mash then weigh; about 1 medium sized potato)
1/2 egg (beat then weigh, about 30g. the rest will be used for glazing)
1 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled
 
Custard (to top the bun; optional):
2 tablespoons instant custard powder
3/4 cup fresh milk
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method: 
For custard topping: Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and stir on medium heat until mixture thicken. Add more milk if the custard is too thick. Set aside to cool.

To activate yeast: In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and warm water/milk. Set aside.

For water roux: Mix the flour and water in a saucepan and stir on medium heat until thicken. Set aside to cool.  

For the bread:
1. If using bread maker, put all ingredients in the machine and select 'dough' menu. If using hand (like me), put the flour and salt in large bowl. Add in the mashed potato, beaten egg, melted butter, water roux and activated yeast mixture. Knead until an elastic, non-sticky dough is formed.

2. Set the dough to proof for about an hour until it doubles in size.

6. After that, punch the the dough to release the air out. Then, shape the dough into buns of any sizes you fancy and put them on a greased pan. Rest the shaped dough for at least 30 minutes to an hour to allow them to rise again.  

3. Preheat the oven to 350F or 180C. Put the custard in a piping bag (or a clean plastic bag) and pipe on top of bun in whatever shapes (I did cross and spiral). Glaze the dough with the remaining half a beaten egg and bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes (depending on the size of your bread) or until cooked. 

8. Lightly brush the tops of bread with the margarine or melted butter when done to prevent crust from getting hard. 

Before and after...

Bun Kentang
Diolah daripada: dapur tanpa sempadan & bukan sekadar masakan

Bahan-bahan: 
Untuk aktifkan yis:
2 sudu kecil yis *saya guna Mauripan
50g gula
100ml susu/air suam 

Water roux:
10g tepung gandum
50g air
~~~~~~~~

350g tepung gandum atau tepung roti
3/4 sudu kecil garam
90g kentang lecek (rebus,lenyek dan timbang)
1/2 biji telur (kocok telur dan timbang, kurang lebih 30g. telur selebihnya akan digunakan untuk glis roti sebelum bakar)
1 sudu besar mentega/marjerin cair
 
Untuk topping kastard:
2 camca besar tepung kastard
3/4 cawan susu segar
3 camca besar gula halus
1 camca teh mentega
1/2 camca teh esen vanilla

Cara-cara: 

Untuk topping kastard: Satukan susu, gula dan tepung kastard. Kacau dengan wisk hingga semua sebati. Masak atas api perlahan sambil terus mengacau hingga pekat. Angkat dari api, masukkan mentega dan esen vanilla. Gaul rata dan biarkan suam sedikit.

Untuk aktifkan yis: Dalam bekas kecil, satukan yis, gula dan susu/air suam. Ketepikan.

Untuk water roux: Kacau tepung dan air di atas api sederhana hingga memekat. Sejukkan.  

Untuk roti: 
1. Jika Menggunakan bread maker (BM) masukkan semua bahan  dan pilih menu Dough dan tekan ON, setelah siap boleh terus dibentuk bebola kecil. Kalau uli dengan tangan: Satukan tepung dan garam dalam satu bekas besar. Kemudian, masukkan kentang lecek, telur, mentega cair, water roux dan campuran yis tadi; kacau sebati. Selepas itu,uli sehingga doh menjadi elastik dan licin.

2. Kemudian perap doh dan tutup bekas adunan dengan plastic wrap dan biar doh naik dua kali ganda (lebih kurang 45 minit). Selepas itu tumbuk-tumbukkan doh bagi mengeluarkan angin. Bahagi doh pada 16 bahagian kecil (saya bahagi kepada 20) dan susun di dalam loyang petak atau dulang pembakar (pastikan loyang atau dulang pembakar di sapu dahulu dengan sedikit marjerin, bagi memudahkan bun keluar apabila siap dibakar nanti). 
3. Biarkan naik dua kali ganda (30-45 minit). Akhir sekali glis permukaan bun dengan baki telur yang ditambah dengan 1 sudu kecil susu segar dan paipkan sos kastard di atas permukaan bun . Bakar pada suhu 180 darjah selama  15 minit. Setelah siap di bakar, sapu permukaan roti dengan sedikit mentega dan sejukkan atas redai. Sedia untuk dihidangkan.

Nutella Swirled Banana Muffin/ Muffin Pisang Nutella

This recipe had me at Nutella. Enough said.  Nutella just makes everyhting good. The chocolate-y crunchy muffin top is to-die-for!

Nutella Swirled Banana Muffins
Source: Sweet Pea's Kitchen

Ingredients: 
2 cups (250g) unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar *I used 100g granulated sugar and 50g light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3 very ripe large bananas, soft, darkly speckled, mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups) *I used 5 medium bananas
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped *I used chopped dark chocolate
1/4 cup Nutella *I zapped it in microwave for a few seconds for easier swirling

Method: 

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees (175C). Line 12 muffin cups with muffin liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl mix mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with wooden spoon. Lightly fold banana mixture into dry ingredients with rubber spatula until just combined and batter looks thick and chunky. Fold in hazelnuts (or chopped chocolate).
4. Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups. Place 1 teaspoon of Nutella on top of each muffin. Swirl with a toothpick. 
5. Bake until golden and toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean, 20 to 24 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and serve.

drop 'n swirl...

...and bake!

Muffin Pisang Nutella
Sumber: Sweet Pea's Kitchen

Bahan-bahan: 
2 cawan (250g) tepung gandum
3/4 cawan (150g) gula kaster *saya guna 100g gula kaster & 50g gula perang
3/4 sudu kecil baking soda
1/2 sudu kecil garam *guna secubit kalau guna mentega bergaram
3 biji pisang masak ranum, dilecek halus (anggaran 1 1/2 cawan) *saya guna 5 biji pisang
1/4 cawan yogurt asli
2 biji telur, dikocok
6 sudu besar (85g) mentega tanpa garam, dicairkan dan disejukkan
1 sudu kecil esen vanilla
1/4 cawan kacang hazelnut disangai dan dicincang kasar *saya guna dark chocolate dicincang kasar
1/4 cawan Nutella *microvawe untuk beberapa saat

Cara-cara: 

1. Panaskan oven pada suhu 175C. Alas loyang muffin dengan kertas cupcake atau oleskan dengan mentega.
2. Dalam satu bekas yang besar, satukan tepung gandum, gula (kaster & perang), baking soda dan garam. Ketepikan.
3. Dalam bekas yang lain, gaul sebati pisang lecek, yogurt, telur, mentega cair dan esen vanilla. Selepas itu, tuang adunan pisang ke dalam campuran tepung (dry ingredients) dan kacau hingga semua adunan bersatu (jangan terlebih kacau!). Masukkan kacang hazel (atau coklat cincang) dan gaul rata.
4. Sudukan adunan ke dalam loyang muffin. Masukkan 1 sudu kecil Nutella ke dalam setiap muffin dan lorekkan dengan pencungkil gigi.
5. Bakar hingga masak sempurna dan garing, dalam 20-24 minit.

Apple Soft Pound Cake/ Kek Paun Epal

So I have a few apples in the fridge the other day and I started to imagine what I could do with them. I decided on muffins because I saw some fabulous recipes of apple pie muffins on Pinterest and a streusel topping on a muffin could do no wrong in my eyes. And then I started to get a little bit imaginative and try to be adventurous with those recipes. I was thinking maybe I could use brown butter for the muffin and streusel topping or swirl in some caramel sauce into the batter before baking...or maybe not. I don't think my family could tolerate something that sweet and fancy. They are more butter and pound cakes kinda people. So I decided on this recipe instead. Studded with apples and oh-so-moist and soft, this recipe is a keeper!

Apple Soft Pound Cake
Source: Ancoo Journal

Ingredients:
220g butter (room temperature)
170g sugar
3 large eggs (about 210g) - separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
180g plain flour
30g corn flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
250g green apple, peeled and cubed and mix with 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice *I used red and green apples
Lemon zest from 1 large lemon

My lovely mum helped to prep the ingredients for me and she did so like in a cooking show, so I just had to take a photo. A lazy me would probably just use one container for all the ingredients. 

Method:

1. Spray Non-stick spray evenly in  9 inch bundt pan or line two loaf pans and set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar till fluffy and pale then add vanilla extract, mix well.
3. Add egg yolks into the batter one at a time and mix well before adding in another then slowly add in egg whites and mix well, stop machine.
4. Sift plain flour, corn flour and baking powder together and fold into butter mixture with a rubber spatula.
5. Lastly pour in lemon zest and apple cubes, mix well.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place in the preheated oven at 180C and bake for 35-40 mins* or skewer comes out clean. 
7. Leave pound cake to cool in pan for 30 mins and remove cake then place on to rack to cool completely. Chill the cake before slicing it.
*I used a silicone mould to bake my cake and after 40 mins, the centre of my cake is still jiggly. I had to continue baking for another 25 mins at a lowered temperature of 170C.

Kek Paun Epal
Sumber: Ancoo Journal 

Bahan-bahan:
220g mentega (suhu bilik)
170g gula
3 biji telur saiz A (anggaran 210g) - asingkan putih dan kuning telur
1 sudu kecil esen vanilla
180g tepung gandum
30g tepung jagung
1 sudu kecil baking powder
250g epal hijau atau merah - kupas, potong kiub dan gaul dengan 1 1/2 sudu besar jus lemon
Parutan kulit lemon dari sebiji lemon 

Cara-cara:

1. Gris loyang bundt berukuran 9 inci dengan mentega. Ketepikan.
2. Pukul mentega dan gula hingga berkrim, ringan dan gebu. Masukkan esen vanilla dan kacau sebati.
3. Masukkan kuning telur satu persatu dan pukul hingga sebati. Selepas itu, masukkan putih telur sedikit demi sedikit dan pukul lagi hingga adunan ringan dan gebu.
4. Satukan tepung gandum, tepung jagung dan baking powder dan ayak ke dalam adunan. Kacau dengan kaedah kaup balik menggunakan spatula.
5. Akhir sekali, masukkan epal yang dipotong kiub tadi dan parutan kulit lemon. Kacau sebati.
6. Tuang adunan ke dalam loyang dan bakar dalam oven yang telah dipanaskan pada suhu 180C selama 35-40 minit* atau sehingga masak sempurna. 
7. Sejukkan kek di dalam loyang selama30 minit sebelum dikeluarkan dan dipotong.  
*Saya guna bekas silikon untuk bakar kek. Selepas 40 minit, bahagian tengah kek masih tak masak. Saya sambung bakar selama 25 minit lagi pada suhu 170C sampai kek betul-betul masak.

Strawberry Custard Teacake/ Kek Strawberry Kastard

 

Moist crumb scented with citrus goodness (of orange zest and juice) and nutty almond, layered with creamy, velvety vanilla custard and topped with tart strawberries plus more almond - what more could you ask for in a cake? Go make this now!

Strawberry and Custard Teacake
Source: The Austalian Women's Weekly

Ingredients: 
250g butter, softened

2 tablespoons finely grated orange rind
1 1/2 cups (330g) caster sugar *I used 270g
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups (225g) self-raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup (75g) plain flour, sifted
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice *I used 3 1/2 tbsp
1/2 cup (60g) ground almonds (almond meal)
150g fresh or frozen raspberries *I used strawberry
1/4 cup (20g) flaked almonds *I used nibbed almond
icing sugar, thickened cream for serving

CUSTARD
2 tablespoons custard powder
1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar
1 cup (250ml) milk
20g butter, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method: 

1. CUSTARD: Combine the custard powder and sugar in a small saucepan; gradually stir in the milk. Cook, stirring, until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat, stir in butter and vanilla. Press a piece of plastic wrap over the surface of the custard to prevent a skin forming; Refrigerate until cold.
2. Preheat oven to 170°C (150°C fan-forced). Grease a deep 22cm springform cake pan. Line base and side with baking paper.
3. Beat butter, rind and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually fold in combined sifted flours, orange juice, then almond meal.
4. Spread two-thirds of the cake mixture into the prepared pan. Dollop small spoonfuls of custard over cake mixture. Spoon the remaining cake mixture over custard: carefully spread with spatula to completely cover the custard. Sprinkle over raspberries, then flaked almonds.
5. Bake for about 1 hour 25 minutes or until cooked when tested. Cool cake in pan. Transfer cake to cake stand and dust with sifted icing sugar. Serve with thickened cream, if desired.

*Suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave.

 

Kek Kastard Strawberry 
Sumber: The Austalian Women's Weekly

Bahan-bahan: 
250g mentega, suhu bilik

2 sudu besar parutan kulit oren (orange zest)
1 1/2 cawan (330g) gula kaster *saya guna 270g
4 biji telur
1 1/2 cawan (225g) tepung naik sendiri, diayak
1/2 cawan (75g) tepung gandum, diayak
2 sudu besar jus oren segar *saya guna 3 1/2 sb
1/2 cawan (60g) serbuk badam (badam dikisar halus)
150g strawberry segar
1/4 cawan (20g) kepingan badam

KASTARD
2 sudu besar serbuk kastard
1/4 cawan (55g) gula kaster
1 cawan (250ml) susu segar
20g mentega, didadu
1 sudu kecil esen vanilla

Cara-cara: 
1. KASTARD: Satukan serbuk kastard, gula dan susu dalam kuali. Kacau atas api sederhana hingga pekat. Alihkan dari dapur dan masukkan mentega dan esen vanilla. Sejukkan.
2. Panaskan oven kepada suhu 170°C (150°C fan-forced). Griskan springform pan berukuran 22cm dan alas dengan baking paper.
3. Dalam mangkuk besar, pukul mentega, parutan kulit oren dan gula hingga ringan dan gebu. Selepas itu, masukkan kedua-dua tepung yang diayak, jus oren segar dan serbuk badam. Kacau sebati dengan kaedah kaup balik. Gradually fold in combined sifted flours, orange juice, then almond meal.
4. Tuang 2/3 daripada adunan kek ke dalam springform pan tadi dan ratakan. Tuang kastard yang telah sejuk, ratakan. Selepas itu, masukkan adunan kek selebihnya dan akhir sekali tabur strawberry dan kepingan badam. 
5. Bakar selama 1 jam 25 minit atau sehingga masak sepenuhnya. Sejukkan kek di dalam loyang. 

Pistachio Butter Cookies and Happy Birthday to Me!

I am a year older now starting from Tuesday, 19th February 2013. Yes, it was my birthday. I celebrated at home, with my wonderful family. They cooked these Thai fare (deep fried squid in crispy batter, sweet and sour snapper and spicy vegetable tomyum):

...and bought this decadent bad boy:

Everbody, meet my birthday brownies! Simply named American Brownies from Secret Recipe. A rich, decadent, fudgy dark chocolate pistachio brownies. I loved it so much because it is how I like my brownies - FUDGY! So fudgy and chocolate-y it's not for the faint-hearted. Describing this brownies makes me wanna go to the fridge and grab a slice...and it's 11.13pm now...Ok, enough with this brownies. Let me introduce you to these wonderful cookies I found on Patricia Scarpin's Technicolor Kitchen (love her blog so much!). These cookies were fabulous! Buttery like shortbread, they are so crispy and full with nuts that you find yourself munching on them non-stop. They are really that good. And oh, I did not have enough pistachios when making these cookies so I added chopped cashew nuts too and they work wonders with pistachios. No kidding. 

    
Pistachio butter cookies 
Original recipe: Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook
Source: Technicolor Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks/226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 ½ cups + 2 tablespoons (370g total) all-purpose flour, sifted
½ teaspoon salt
112g (4oz) unsalted pistachios, lightly toasted, cooled, finely chopped, fine dust sifted out *I used 70g pistachios and 60g cashews
about ¼ cup granulated, extra, for rolling the dough log 

Method:
1.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until light and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat to combine. Add the flour and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Stir in the pistachios.
2.  Divide the dough into two equal parts. Place each on a piece of parchment paper; shape dough into logs. Fold parchment over dough; using a ruler, roll and press into a 3.5 cm (1.4in) log – like Martha does here. Wrap in parchment (I wrap in foil). Chill in freezer until very firm (I chill overnight).

This is how my cookie log looks like.

3.  Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F; line two large baking sheets with baking paper. Unwrap one log at a time (keep the other in the freezer). Roll dough log in the extra sugar, coating them evenly, then cut into 6mm (¼in) thick rounds; space 2.5cm (1in) apart onto prepared sheets. Do the same with the other log.

Roll in sugar then slice.

4.  Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown around the edges, 15-20 minutes. Cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Note:
*I find 180C to be perfect for cookies with such thickness as the photo above. But I find it to be too thick so I slice it thinner and bake those thinner slices at 160C.
*To get thinner slices, it's important that the log is cold. If you find the dough to have softened a bit to room temperature as you roll with in sugar, pop it back in the freezer for about a minute or so to firm it back. 
 

Pistachio Butter Cookies 
Sumber: Technicolor Kitchen

Bahan-bahan:
1 cawan (226g) mentega tanpa garam, suhu bilik
¾ cawan (150g) gula kaster
1 biji telur saiz A
1 sudu kecil esen vanilla
2 ½ cawan + 2 sb (370g) tepung gandum, diayak
½ sudu kecil garam *kalau guna butter biasa, letak secubit je garam
112g (4oz) unsalted pistachio yang disangai, cincang halus dan serbuk halus diayak keluar *saya guna 70g pistachio dan 60g kacang gajus
anggaran ¼ cawan gula, ekstra, untuk salut doh.

Cara-cara:
1.  Pukul mentega dan gula hingga ringan dan berkrim. Masukkan telur dan vanilla, pukul sebati. Tambah tepung dan secubit garam, gaul sebati. Akhir sekali masukkan pistachio.
2.  Bahagi doh kepada dua bahagian dan bentukkan seperti log (kayu) panjang anggaran ketebalan 3.5 cm (1.4inci). Balut dengan parchment paper (saya guna foil) dan sejukkan dalam freezer sampai keras (saya sejukkan semalaman).

3.  Panaskan oven kepada 180°C/350°F; gris dan alas dua loyang dengan baking paper. Ambil satu doh dari freezer (satu lagi simpan dulu) dan salut dengan gula ekstra. Selepas itu, potong doh kepada kepingan-kepingan setebal lebih kurang 6mm (¼inci) dan susun atas loyang tadi. Selepas habis, keluarkan doh yang satu lagi dan buat langkah-langkah yang sama. 

Salut dengan gula dan potong.

4.  Bakar selama 15-20 minit atau sehingga garing. Pusing loyang semasa separuh masa membakar jika perlu. Sejukkan biskut sepenuhnya dan simpan dalam bekas kedap udara.

Nota:
*Suhu 180C sesuai kalau potong biskut tebal-tebal macam dalam gambar. Kalau potong nipis-nipis, kena turunkan suhu sikit kepada 160C, kalau tak nanti cepat hangit. 

...By the way...there are still some of those brownies left in the fridge. Don't be shy. Help yourself :)

A slice for you :)