Cherry Frangipane Tart

New Year’s eve 2012 = sugar overload. What better way to welcome the new year than to be on a high…and if you’re not big on suffering a hangover on New Year’s day, then I would recommend a sugar high from a dessert party. Our friends invited us to their place for a New Year’s eve party to bring in the new year and watch the fireworks, and all guests were asked to bring a dessert. Brilliant!

Obviously, I had to bring something with cherries in it (from our Tassie haul) and I was tossing up between a cherry pie, cherry tart or cherry cupcakes. Cherry frangipane tart won the toss up and I went in search for a reasonably fuss free recipe.

After setting aside enough fresh cherries to give to friends and for our own TV snacking, I still had about 3 kg left. These needed to be pitted before I could make the tart, and freeze for future use.

If you’ve tried pitting cherries using a knife, you would have found that it’s not an easy job and the cherries tend to get mushy from all the man-handling. I found the easiest way to pit cherries without one of those fancy schmancy cherry pitters is to use a paper clip.

Yup you read that right! What you see there is a bent out of shape paper clip. Just search on YouTube for videos on how to pit cherries using a paper clip – you’ll find quite a number out there. It’s easy and very effective.

So back to the tart – I love a good frangipane filling and was looking forward to encasing those sweet cherries in it. Frangipane is usually made from almonds but I have heard of other variations with walnuts and pistachios. Mmm the pistachio version sounds divine but I stuck to the classic almond frangipane this time.

The dessert party was fabulous – there were meringues, baklavas, chocolates, cheesecake slices, italian cookies, ice cream and of course fresh cherries and my cherry frangipane tart. Pity I didn’t have my camera on me to take the full spread of desserts, but a good friend did snap a few of the cherry frangipane tart while I was serving it up…thanks Kelvin!

What a sweet way to celebrate the passing of 2011 and the welcoming of a new one. Have a great 2012 everyone! January is almost over – let’s make the most out of the next 11 months!

CHERRY FRANGIPANE TART
Adapted from Joy of Baking

Pastry:
1 1/2 cups (200 grams) all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Frangipane:
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
3 tablespoons (42 grams) unsalted butter
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (45 grams) almond meal (flour)
1 tablespoon (12 grams) all purpose flour

Topping:
30 fresh pitted cherries
confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

To make pastry:
1. Beat butter and sugar in your mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add beaten egg until just incorporated.

2. Sift flour and salt together, add to the butter and egg mixture. Mix until it comes together to form a dough. Turn it out on a dusted work bench, knead lightly just to bring the dough together. Flatten and form the dough into a disc, wrap with cling wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Have ready an 8 – 9 inch (20 – 23 cm) tart pan with a removable bottom. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry into an 11 – 12 inch (28 – 30 cm) circle that is about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick. To prevent the pastry from sticking to the counter and to ensure uniform thickness, keep lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll (always roll from the center of the pastry outwards to get uniform thickness). To make sure it is the right size, take your tart pan, flip it over, and place it on the rolled out pastry. The pastry should be about an inch larger than pan.

4. When the pastry is rolled to the desired size, lightly roll pastry around your rolling pin, dusting off any excess flour as you roll. Unroll onto top of tart pan. Never pull pastry or you will get shrinkage (shrinkage is caused by too much pulling of the pastry when placing it in the pan).  Gently lay in pan and with a small floured piece of pastry, lightly press pastry into bottom and up sides of pan. Roll your rolling pin over top of pan to get rid of excess pastry. With a thumb up movement, again press dough into pan. Roll rolling pin over top again to get rid of any extra pastry. Prick bottom of dough (this will prevent the dough from puffing up as it bakes). Cover and refrigerate for about 20 minutes to chill the butter and to rest the gluten in the flour.

5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line unbaked pastry shell with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Fill tart pan with pie weights, rice or beans, making sure the weights are to the top of the pan and evenly distributed over the entire surface. Bake the crust for 20 to 25 minutes or until the crust is dry and lightly golden brown. Remove weights and cool crust on wire rack before filling.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).

Frangipane and cherry filling:

1. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the sugar and butter until creamy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Add the almond meal and flour and beat until it forms a smooth paste. Fill the cooled tart pastry with the filling and spread it evenly.

2. Arrange the cherries in the frangipane filling. Bake for about 25 -35 minutes, or until the frangipane is puffed and light brown in color. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once cooled, dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Best served with a dollop of cream or vanilla ice cream.

Photoblog: Tassie Chrissy 2011

Christmas in Australia means summer BBQs by the beach, seafood dinners, cold beers, flip flops, floppy hats and the lingering smell of sun screen. We haven’t had a summer Christmas for a few years now and this is our first since returning to Oz. It feels strange. It feels kinda wrong – where’s the snow, warming mulled wine by the log fire, the hearty roast dinners and the lingering smell of wet wool?

The hubs and I did have a fabulous Christmas down south on the beautiful island of Tasmania. There may not be romantic walks in the snow this time while we waited for the Christmas hour to chime in – but the views of wine glass bay, the endless blue-est blue skies, baby wallabies, soft sand in between our toes, constant flow of delicious Tassie wine (and the freshest seafood) sure made up for it.

And beside shipping a carton of that delicious Tassie wine back to Victoria, we also brought back 5 kilos of this…

…the sweetest, plumpest, juiciest Tasmanian cherries. Oh my.

No prizes for guessing what the key ingredient is for my upcoming recipe posts! Stay tuned.

Birthday treat at Circa

January is serious birthday business in my little world – first to claim the birthday crown (or in my case, the birthday tiara) was me, followed by mummy dearest, then my best friend and finally to round off January birthday festivities is my wonderful hubby.

Being born the first week of January right after all the buzz with Christmas and New Year – I usually like to keep my birthday low-key. Usually enjoying a lovely meal with my man. This year meant ending my first week at a brand new job and then being swept away to a ‘secret location’.

The surprise location turned out to be this fantastic restaurant called Circa @ The Prince. I didn’t know much about this place but once I entered the restaurant, I knew I could just relax and look forward to the evening. Simply but elegantly furnished, the dining room was bathed in light from the skylight above. Prominently displayed was a wall of herbs – grown in industrial garden crates and I loved the soft furnishings of pine, ash grey and daffodil yellow. If I could do a mental pinterest tag on it, I would have.

We shared two starters because we couldn’t decide which ones to have and wanted to have more variety. Greedy much?

The first starter was Yellow Fin Tuna tartare with crispy oysters. Such a pretty sight – the tuna tartare was beautifully fresh along with the wafers of baby radish and semolina mousse. Yum. The oysters however, were a little too small and paled in comparison to the flavours of the tuna.

The second starter was a rock lobster raviolo with caviar and pea puree. Need I even say more? Totally delicious. Even the hubs who simply detests poncy foam on his food thought the dish was divine…foam and all.

For the mains, we ordered a sharing serve – 48 hour mutton with piquanto peppers stuffed with Kepfler potatoes and olives with brocollini.

Now, the hubs and I both have healthy appetites but this sharing serve was generous. Very generous. Mouthful after mouthful of the most tender and moist mutton, balanced with the most gorgeous peppers and potato combination. Such clean flavours, but I was blown away by how flavourful every element of the dish was. We were so disappointed that we couldn’t finish it all…remember I did say it was a generous serve. Plus, we needed space for dessert.

Dessert is a must for all birthday meals. That’s my rule.

And a dessert most befitting of my imaginary birthday tiara – the Queen of Pudding with Creme Anglais. Again, a shared serve of light yellow sponge, with a layer of custard and lemon curd topped with clouds of sweet meringue. Oh yeah.

And to top the whole birthday celebration off…I did this.

YUP. I jumped out of a plane the next day. Skydiving was AWESOME and the most exhilarating birthday present I ever received. The love of my life is a great present giver and it will be hard pressed to ever forget how I celebrated my birthday this year. Thanks babe, I had a most wonderful birthday week.

Kueh Bangkit

According to the chinese lunar calendar, this is the year of the dragon. The dragon is the only legendary animal represented in the chinese zodiac. I was born in the year of the tiger. Actually, because I was born between the cow and tiger years, my chinese zodiac is really a mutant – head of the tiger and butt of the cow. Don’t ask. I do not know what it all means and what significance there is with regards to the chinese zodiac. All I ever knew as a kid, was that chinese new year is a time for visiting relatives, eating non-stop and red packets (little red envelopes filled with cash bestowed on the kids as a blessing of prosperity from our elders). Now that I am a married adult living far away from Singapore, none of these festivities mean much anymore.

I do however miss the wonderful array of chinese new year goodies – pineapple tarts, kueh bangkit, love letters, kueh lapis, mini spicy spring rolls, bbq pork jerky (bak kua) and more. So much more! On a few occasions when major cravings kick in, I attempted to make some of these snacks at home, some with great success, some were a little ‘meh’.

My kueh bangkit attempt was one of the ‘meh’ ones. Kueh Bangkit is a traditional tapioca and coconut cookie. It’s actually a rather strange cookie because when you first pop it in your mouth, it starts off being dry and chalky but soon enough it will melt in the mouth and it becomes fragrant, sweet and delicious. The making process seems simple enough but there’s a certain trick to the kneading of the dough that determines the melting quality of the cookie. I haven’t quite got that. My cookie’s chalky to melty time took too long for my liking. Will I attempt it again? Maybe. For now, I think I’ll just stick to making the hubby’s favourite pineapple tarts.

If any of you are game to give it a go, there are many youtube videos out there showing the kueh bangkit making technique. Good luck!!

KUEH BANGKIT
Recipe from Lily Wai Sek Hong

225g tapioca flour
3 pandan leaves cut into small pieces
30g margarine
65g icing sugar
1 egg yolk
75ml – 90ml coconut milk
a pinch of salt
Method:
1. Line a large microwave safe bowl with greaseproof paper, microwave the flour and pandan leaves on high 1 min at a time for 5 times, stirring every minute.

2. Set aside, cool completely before using.

3. Cream margarine with sugar and yolk till sugar dissolves.

4. Add in 75ml coconut milk and mix well.

5. Add flour to mix till a non-sticky dough is formed. If dough is too dry, add more coconut milk but add 1 tsp at a time, otherwise, dough may be too sticky. Leave dough to rest covered with a damp cloth.

6. Take a quarter of the dough and roll on a floured table (about 2cm thick) use cookie cutters to cut into shapes.

7. Line baking tray with greaseproof paper. Spread cookies on an even layer. Bake in preheated oven at 160C for 15 mins. Cookies should not brown.

Happy 2012…Recipe Index is finally here

Happy new year everyone!

I’m not one for new year resolutions as it’s very much like starting a new diary and finding it difficult seeing it through the year. In fact, I was apprehensive about starting this blog more than two years ago because I thought the enthusiasm will die down and I’d give up along the way.

Surprise, surprise!! I’m still here and enjoying this blogging journey. A major shout out to my hubby for being my no. 1 follower, he’s been really supportive and has spread word of my blog way more than I ever even attempted to. Thanks babe. You’re the best!

Also a big thank you for friends of the blog, some for whom I have never met, but I feel like we share a wonderful virtual friendship.

So instead of a resolution for the new year, I thought I would put a recipe index together for droolfactor. Some readers have requested for it and I promised I would get my act together. Sorry for the wait, the index is finally here. Access the page via the top right menu (next to Home link) or top of the right navigation bar.

Let’s get cooking people and make 2012 a delicious one!

Vinna xx

Finishing off 2011 with Chocolate Ice Cream

It’s the last day of 2011!!! Oh my, how time flies. This has been an amazing year starting off with our final months in the UK, enjoying a luxurious Mexican vacation, saying farewell to our wonderful friends in the big smoke, witnessing my brother in law’s wedding in Vietnam, moving home to Melbourne Australia, setting up a new home, starting and ending a new job within a few weeks, enjoying funemployment for a few months and now here I am, fresh from my Christmas vacation in beautiful Tasmania and ready for 2012. Busy no?

I’m very thankful for all of God’s blessings, including a year of good health for me and my family and friends. I’ve also had a few blissful month of funemployment, but I am also pleased to say that I will be back in the rat race starting next week. New year, new job, new hopes, new adventures. I can’t wait!

One of this year’s many blessings is this.

Meet my new and totally adorable friend – my PINK Cuisinart ice cream maker. I think I’m becoming more and more of a girly girl. My once black, blue and grey wardrobe is being taken over by splashes of colours, pink included. And this trend has obviously seeped into my kitchenware! Gaaahhh!

So with this new pink gadget, I decided to make a more “manly” ice cream. A dark, super duper chocolatey ice cream. It’s easy, and egg-free and this method of making ice cream with corn flour guarantees a creamy and very smooth dessert.

Have a wonderful new year’s eve, go a little crazy cos you can, don’t drink and drive and may 2012 start off with a bang (yes to fireworks!) and filled with more deliciousness in your lives! xx

Eggless Very Chocolate Ice Cream
Serves 4 – 6

350 ml whole milk
350 ml cream
1/2 cup sugar
4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
3-4 tablespoons of corn starch
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

1. Whisk together 200 ml  of the milk with the corn starch, making sure that there are no lumps. Set aside for now.

2. Blend the remaining milk, cream, sugar, salt and vanilla extract in a sauce pan. Warm until steaming hot on medium heat.  Now, stir in the cocoa and corn starch mixture with the rest of the ingredients in the sauce pan. Barely reaching a boil, cook and stir continuously for about five minutes, or until the mixture begins to thicken.

3. Reduce the heat and continue to stir for another five minutes until the mixture has thickened even further.

4. Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool down. Refrigerate for a couple of hours and prepare according to the instructions of your ice cream machine

Merry Christmas! Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookies

Christmas is a time for caring and sharing. The best way to brighten someone’s season is to share some sugar. Add touches of sweetness to the last few crazy days before the Christmas holidays. I started making cookies last year as Christmas cheer and gifting them to close friends and colleagues. This is a tradition I’d like to keep for as long as it gives me joy to bake and share.

I saw this gorgeous creation on one of my favourite blogs and I knew straightaway that it would be my 2011 Christmas cookie. To make it an even sweeter deal, it’s a shortcut recipe using box cake mix! Bliss. You can’t imagine how much time that saved me.

There’s something about red velvet cake or cookies that is deliciously beautiful. The white chocolate drizzle set against the rich red cookie is a perfect Christmas picture.

The cheesecake part of the cookie is really the filling in the cookie. It’s like a pleasant surprise to an already yummy cake-like cookie. I love how easy it was to make these, and how much more satisfying it was to bring a smile to those who received them.

Add a few pieces of string, a plastic bag, a cardboard with pretty words and voila! A package of Christmas cheer.

I’m off to Tasmania with the hubs and I’m looking forward to a week of sunshine, hiking, beaches and catching up with old friends over good food and drinks.

Have a safe and happy Christmas everyone! Thank you for your support and encouragement for droolfactor this year. See y’all in 2012 for more yummy goodness!

RED VELVET CHEESECAKE COOKIES
Adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod 

Makes 10 giant cookies

For the cookies:
1 box red velvet cake mix (I used White Wings Devilish Red Velvet)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cheesecake filling:
110g cream cheese, at room temperature
65gm icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the white chocolate drizzle:
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips, melted

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together cake mix, flour, eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap.Refrigerate for at least two hours.

For the cheesecake filling, using a mixer, combine cream cheese, icing sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Using a teaspoon, scoop out cheesecake filling and place on a plate. Continue scooping out cheesecake filling into teaspoon balls until you have 10. Place plate in the freezer and freeze for at least two hours.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the dough into ten equal portions. On a piece of cling film, roll a portion of the dough into a ball, flatten it (I found it easier manipulating the dough using the cling film as it sticks to the hand and fingers and not on the cling film).

Place a teaspoon of cheesecake filling in the center and wrap the cookie dough around the filling. Gently roll into a ball and place on prepared baking sheet and flatten it slightly till it becomes a thick even disc. Note: Original recipe did not require flattening of the dough into a disc which resulted in a thick cookie. I believe the spreading of the cookie will vary depending on the cake mix. Test bake one cookie first just to be on the safe side.

Only bake 3 or 4 cookies at a time. The cookies are large and will spread. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until the cookies begin to crackle. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Remove from baking sheet to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

Melt the white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl or over a double-boiler. Drizzle the white chocolate over the cooled cookies. Let the cookies set until the chocolate hardens.

Super Easy Chilli Prawn Linguini

There are days when the hours seem to slip by so quickly and stealthily and soon enough the sun’s setting and it’s time for dinner and oh my gosh, I haven’t prepared anything yet! Yes, yes – this is even when jobless me is at home all day fiddling around. You see, if I’m actually at work, I tend to plan ahead a lot more and usually I have something prepared, defrosted or planned for dinner.

Thank God for pasta. It has got to be one of the easiest and fastest meals to whip up…aside from baked beans on toast of course. Well, this linguini was done in 30 minutes tops, and only because the pasta took time to cook and the prawns needed to be defrosted in the microwave. It’s quick and delicious and pretty much a fail-proof, mid-week, when you’ve-forgotten-to-prep-for-dinner kinda meal.

Chilli Prawn Linguini
Serves 4

400g shelled, green prawns
500g linguini
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp dried chilli flakes
handful of fresh basil leaves
400g tinned tomatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling, salted water according to packet instructions

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large frying pan on medium. Cook prawns for 1-2 minutes, until they begin to change colour. Add in chilli and garlic. Cook for another minute before adding in tinned tomatoes, including all the juices. Season to taste and stir through basil leaves.

Drain cooked pasta, reserving half a cup of the cooking liquid. Toss the pasta through the sauce, adding in some of the cooking liquid to get a smooth, glossy coating of sauce throughout.

Done. Enjoy!

Nashi Pear and Honey Sorbet

I’m wilting. It’s all UK’s fault. Living in the UK for the past four years has made me less tolerant to hot summer days. I’m talking about real, hot, Aussie summer days. I’m ashamed to say, summer’s only just started downunder and I’ve already started whining. Can’t imagine when the mercury hits forty degrees (celcius) and above! Help me!

To cool off, I’ve started with summer recipes, including this refreshing sorbet. I’ve got my eye on an adorable pink Cuisinart ice-cream maker but have not gotten around to purchasing it just yet. The good thing is this sorbet does not need fancy ice cream makers to churn it. All you need is a fork. Yup, let’s do this the old fashioned way.

I found some beautiful nashi pears at the market and they are usually delicious and juicy on their own, however my craving for coolness gave me the inspiration to use them for my first sorbet of the season. Unlike their creamy counterparts, this fruity sorbet is light and delicate and is a perfect dessert for a hot summer evening.

Nashi Pear and Honey Sorbet
Serves 2 – 4

2 Nashi (Asian) pears
100g sugar
100ml water
1 tbsp honey
Juice and zest of half a lemon

Place a shallow dish for your sorbet in the freezer. This cools the dish and allows the sorbet to firm up faster.

Bring water and sugar to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for a couple of minutes. Add the peeled and quartered pears to the syrup and simmer for another five minutes. Add honey and stir to dissolve halfway through.

Set the pears and syrup aside for five minutes before adding the lemon juice and zest. Set aside to cool.

Once cooled, blend the pears and syrup in a food processor to a smooth purée.  Push the mixture through a course sieve into the dish which you placed in the freezer earlier. Return the dish and pear mixture into the freezer.

Use a fork to whisk the sorbet every 30 minutes. The sorbet should become fluffier and paler. Sorbet should be ready in approx 2-3 hours.

Blueberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

When the rest of the world prepare for winter and the Christmas holidays, I’m bracing myself for summer and my first summer Christmas after four blissful wintry ones. It feels weird. No more warm apple ciders or spicy gluhwein, instead of Starbucks Christmas cups filled with Gingerbread Latte, it’s Christmas blend frappes. BBQ and fresh salads take the place of roasted dinners and hearty stews. Stash away the woolly scarves, gloves and coats, bring on the sunblock, bikinis and flip flops. It’s a summer Christmas down under and yes it’s going to take some getting used to again, but I’ll cherish it all with open (and soon-to-be tanned) arms. I’ll miss my white Christmas, but I’m game for a change. Well at least for one year anyway.

Not the point of this post, which is really about a boy’s birthday cupcakes. Naturally, when I think of boys (actually men in their 30s in this case), I think of darker colours and flavours – perhaps dark chocolate, coffee, maybe a cheeky dash of alcohol…

I had none of that, and I wasn’t quite inspired that day to go the dark way. Blame the bright and beautiful summer days. So I opted for blue. Blueberries in this case – a simple, moist vanilla cake with juicy blueberries topped with a decadent cream cheese frosting.

Blueberry cupcakes – good for a boy, good for summery days.

Blueberry Cupcakes
Adapted to make 12
(original recipe yields 24 – 30, and quantity stated in brackets)

97.5 g cake flour (1 3/4 cups)
70 g plain flour(1 1/4 cups)
225 g sugar (2 cups)
1/2 tbsp baking powder (1 tbsp)
pinch of salt (3/4 tsp)
115 g butter, cut into cubes, room temp (1 cup)
2 eggs (4 eggs)
1/2 cup milk (1 cup)
1 tsp vanilla extract (2 tsp)
3/4 cup blueberries, plus 1 tbsp flour (1 1/2cups / 2 tbsp flour)

1. Preheat oven to 160 deg celcius. Line cupcake pans with paper liners and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl before each addition. Beat the batter until ingredients are thoroughly combined, but do not overbeat.

4. In a medium bowl, gently toss the blueberries with 1 tablespoon of flour, then carefully fold the blueberries in the batter.

4. Use a large scoop to divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 – 24 minutes.

4. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Original quantity for 24 – 30 cupcakes stated in brackets

113 g cream cheese (8 oz)
57.5 g butter, softened to room temp (1 cup)
160g confectioners sugar sifted (2 pounds)

*Note: If I had halved the original recipe, I should have about 450g confectioners sugar but I think that is waaaayyyy too much, so I adapted it and only used 160 g.

1. In a the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together, cream cheese and butter until well combined.

2. With the mixer on low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar until thoroughly incorporated and smooth.