Baking Ventures

Ally.K Baker. Climber. Student. Follow? Like? Comment? xx

[bakingventures]

Matcha Strawberry Layer Cake

I used a cake batter recipe I had and tweaked it for matcha sponge instead and used a buttercream recipe from Epicurious. 

Ingredients

Cake

150g + remove 6 tbs Flour 

2 tbs Cornflour 

4 tbs Matcha Powder

2 tsp Baking Powder

Pinch of Salt

6 Eggs

1 cup Caster Sugar

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Filling

200g Whipping Cream

1 tsp Matcha

Strawberries, cut in half, coated in sugar if they are not sweet

Buttercream Frosting

227g Butter, softened

1 cup Milk

1/2 cup Caster Sugar

1/4 cup Sifted Flour

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Assembly

Strawberries

White chocolate balls

Instructions

Cake Sponge

Preheat oven 180oC.

Grease two 8-inch cake pan.

In a bowl, sift flours, matcha, baking powder and salt 3 times.

Beat eggs and sugar in a large bowl till thick ribbons form.

Add vanilla.

Gently fold in flour mixture 1 tbs at a time, till fully incorporated.

Pour mixture equally into the two pans.

Bake for 25min till tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

Unmould and cool completely on a cooling rack.

Filling

Beat cold whipping cream till stiff peaks almost form.

Mix in matcha powder.

Beat to consistency wanted and refrigerate till use.

Buttercream Frosting

Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.

In a small saucepan, combine 1/ cup milk, flour and vanilla extract,whisk till no lumps present.

Over medium heat, add the remaining 3/4 cup milk slowly, whisking constantly.

Cook mixture till it comes to a low boil.

Reduce heat to low and keep whisking till the mixture thickens.

Remove from heat but continue stirring the mixture till thickened.

Allow it to cool to room temperature or place it in the freezer to speed up the cooling.

Pour the milk mixture into the butter-sugar mixture.

Beat till light and fluffy.

Set aside.

Assembly

Place cut strawberries on the bottom cake layer.

Cover strawberries with whipped cream.

Place the top cake layer over.

Cover the cake with buttercream frosting and smoothen it.

Decorate the top as you wish, you may pipe the buttercream icing, add strawberries or chocolate.

I made this for christmas so I made santa strawberries

Cut the strawberry near the stem to create an even base.

Cut the tip of the strawberry off.

Place a small ball of buttercream on the cut surface of the base layer.

Place the tip of the strawberry on.

Add a drop of buttercream frosting to the tip as a “bobble”.

Add chocolate rice or ball to create the eyes.

Enjoy.

This makes a 8inch cake.

[bakingventures]

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

I got the recipe from Older Mommy Still Yummy.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup Flour

1 cup Rolled Oats

1/2 cup  Caster Sugar

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

2 Large Eggs

1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

1/4 cup Milk

3 Ripe Bananas, mashed

1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat oven 200oC.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Form a well and add the wet ingredients.

Mix well.

Fill muffin cups to 3/4 full.

Bake for 20-25min till toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool on a cooling rack.

Enjoy.

This recipe makes 12 muffins.

[bakingventures]

Herb and Cheese Pull-apart Bread with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Jalapenos

I got the recipe from The Foodie Lovers.

I found that it is best eating fresh out of the oven, the bread kept overnight dried out a lot.

Ingredients

Bread

1/2 cup Milk, warmed

1 tsp Sugar

2 tsp Instant Yeast

2 3/4 to 3 cup Flour

1 tsp Salt

2 tbs Salted Butter, softened

3/4 tsp Garlic Paste

1 1/4 cup Milk, room temperature 

Extra milk for brushing

Filling

1 tbs Salted Butter, melted

2 tsp Dried Italian Herbs

Crushed Pepper & Chilli Flakes

1/2 cup Grated Cheddar Cheese

2 tbs Chopped Sundried Tomatoes

2 tbs Chopped Jalapenos

Instructions

Mix dry bread ingredients together in a big bowl.

Make a well and add the wet ingredients in, adjust the amount of milk accordingly. 

Using a dough hook, “knead” for at least 15 min, add more flour/ milk if need.

Allow the dough to proof for 1-1.5h till doubled in a warm environment.

Deflate the dough gently and roll into a large 12″x12″ square.

Brush the dough with melted butter and sprinkle the filling on.

Use the rolling pin to lightly press the filling into the dough to prevent  them from falling off.

Using a pizza cutter, slice the dough to form 6  strips.

STack the strips up with the toppings facing upwards.

Cut down the stack dividing it into 6 equal pieces (6 square stacks).

Grease a 9″x4″ loaf tin and place the dough in.

Allow the dough to proof for an hour.

Brush with some milk

Bake in a 180oC preheated oven for 30-40min.

Enjoy it fresh!

[bakingventures]

Matcha Checkerboard Cookies

I got the recipe from Chopstick Chronicles.

This recipe makes around 30 cookies.

Ingredients

100g Salted Butter, softened

90g Caster Sugar

1 Large Egg, egg yolk and white separated.

195g Plain Flour

5g Matcha Powder

Instructions

Measure and sift out 100g flour into a bowl.

Add matcha powder to the remaining 95g flour and sift into another bowl.

In a big bowl, cream butter & sugar till light and fluffy.

Add egg yolk and mix well. Keep the egg whites for brushing.

Divide the mixture into half (100g each).

Combine the first half with the sifted flour.

Wrap the dough formed in a clingwrap and shape into a 2x4x20cm long board.

Combine the other half of the butter mixture with the matcha flour.

Repeat 7.

Refrigerate both dough for 30min.

Brush the surface of the plain dough with egg white.

Place the matcha dough over the plain dough.

Slice the doughs in half along the long edge

Place half the dough on a clean surface and brush with egg white.

Place the other half on top, with the white/ green colour alternating.

Gently press together to form one dough.

Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.

Preheat oven 180oC.

Slice the dough with a sharp knife to obtain cookies of 8mm thickness.

Bake for 20min or till the edge turns slightly golden brown.

Cool completely on a cooling rack.

Enjoy. 

[bakingventures]

Chinese Sausage Buns

Really felt like eating these, found the recipe from The Woks of Life.

It taste great when it is fresh out of the oven but dries out quite a fair bit overnight. Microwave for 10-15s prior to eating if you have kept it overnight. 

Ingredients

2/3 cup Heavy Cream, room temperature

1 cup + 1 tbs Milk, room temperature

1 Large Egg

1/3 cup Caster Sugar

1/2 cup Cake Flour

3 1/2 cup Bread Flour

7g Instant Yeast

1 1/2 tsp Salt

12 Hot Dogs

Sesame seeds

1 Egg + 1 tsp Water (Egg wash)

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients.

Create a well in the middle and add the wet ingredients.

Mix with a dough hook and allow the dough hook to mix/ knead the dough for at least 15min.

Proof the dough till 1.5x the size in a warm environment (30oC)

Pour the dough out on a clean counter top and press the air out gently.

Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces.

Let the dough rest for 5 min. 

Roll each piece of dough into a 10-12 inch rope, keeping the middle thicker than the ends.

Wrap the dough around a hotdog, tucking or pinching the ends in. 

Repeat for the remaining 11.

Proof till double in size in a warm environment. 

Brush the dough with egg wash and sprinkle some sesame seeds on the top. 

Bake in a 180oC preheated oven with a water bath placed on another shelf for 15min, rotating the pan halfway through baking.

Enjoy.

[bakingventures]

Jalapeno Popper Cornbread Muffin

I got the recipe from Dinner Then Dessert and tweaked it. 

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup Cornmeal

3/4 cup Flour

1/3 cup Caster Sugar

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 Egg

4 tbs Salted Butter, melted

1 cup Buttermilk

113g Cream Cheese

4 Jalapenos, chopped into small chunks, set aside a portion of jalapeno for the cream cheese (1 jalapeno worth) 

1/2 cup Corn Kernels 

Instructions

Preheat oven 200oC

Add cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder & salt.

Add egg, melted butter and buttermilk.

Whisk till combined.

Gently fold in corn and jalapenos (3 portion). 

Add remaining chopped jalapenos (1 portion) to the cream cheese.

Fill half a muffin cup with batter.

Add 1 tbs of cream cheese mixture.

Cover cream cheese mixture with more batter.

Bake for 15-18 min, till muffins bounce back when pressed.

Enjoy.

[bakingventures]

Pumpkin Cheesecake Snickerdoodles

This recipe is from The Recipe Critic. 

Ingredients

Cookie Batter

3 3/4 cups Flour

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg

1 cup Salted Butter, softened

1 cup Caster Sugar

1/2 cup Brown SUgar

3/4 cup Pumpkin Puree

1 Egg

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Cheesecake Filling

226g Cream Cheese

1/4 cup Sugar

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Cinnamon Sugar Coating

1/2 cup Caster Sugar

1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Ground Ginger

Pinch of ground Nutmeg

Pinch of Ground Cloves

Instructions

Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg together.

In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugars till light and fluffy.

Mix in pumpkin puree,eggs and vanilla.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients til combined. 

Chill dough for an hour.

Blend cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together.

Chill for an hour.

Preheat oven 180oC.

In a small bowl, combine sugar and spices together to make the coating.

Take a tbs of cookie batter, roll into a ball and flatten into a disc.

Place a tsp of cream cheese in the middle

Place another disc of cookie batter over the cream cheese and roll into a ball. 

Roll the ball in cinnamon sugar.

Use the bottom on a glass to gently press down on the dough ball.

Bake for 10-15min.

Cool completely on a cooling rack.

[bakingventures]

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

The recipe is from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.

Ingredients

1 cup Salted Butter, Softened

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 cup Caster Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Baking Powder

2 cups Flour

2 3/4 cups Rolled Oats

2 cups Chocolate Chips

Instructions

Preheat oven 180oC.

Cream butter and sugars.

Mix in eggs and vanilla and beat till light and fluffy.

Add in baking soda and baking powder.

Add flour, oatmeal and chocolate chips and mix well.

Bake for 10 to 12 min.

Cool completely on a cooling rack. 

[bakingventures]

Flaky Swirled Yam Mooncakes

Mid Autumn Festival just passed and I had been wanting to try the same recipe with yam instead of sweet potato. 

I used the same recipe from House of Annie for the pastry and used the recipe for the yam filling from Nasi Lemak Lover.

I feel like there is something missing for the yam filling in terms of taste, but I can’t quite put my finger on what it is. 

Ingredients

Pastry - Water Dough

200g All-purpose Flour

28g Icing Sugar

80g Salted Butter, cubed

80g Cold Water 

Pastry - Oil Dough

180g All-purpose Flour

Pinch of Salt

90g Vegetable Oil

1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract (Can be omitted, or replaced with pandan extract) 

Filling

500g Yam, cubed & steamed for at least 30min till soft

100g Caster Sugar

4 tbs All-purpose Flour

2 tbs Shallot Oil

Pinch of Salt

Instructions

Filling

Mash the yam in a medium bowl.

Mix in sugar, flour, salt & oil till combined. (I had to add more flour as the dough was too wet)

Set aside.

Pastry

Sift flour, icing sugar together in a large bowl.

Rub the butter into the flour mixture till it resembles breadcrumbs.

Add water and miix to form a non-sticky dough. 

Wrap in clingwrap and set aside, this is the water dough.

Sift flour & salt in a separate bowl.

Make a well int he middle & add oil and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients.

Mix to form a non-sticky dough.

Wrap in clingwrap and set aside, this is the oil dough.

Let both dough rest for 20min.

Assembly

Preheat oven 185oC.

Divide the water and oil dough into 10 equal balls each. 

Take one water dough and flatten it.

Wrap the oil dough in the water dough and pinch to seal.

With the pinched side facing up, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out lengthwise to form a long flat “rectangle”.

Start at one end ot the breadth and roll the dough into a “cigar”.

With the pinched side facing up, repeat with the rolling pin.

Roll the dough up along the length again.

Cut down the middle.

With the spiral cut side facing down, roll dough into a flat round disc.

Place yam filling in the middle and pinch to seal the ball.

Repeat with the rest.

Bake for 30 min or till however brown/ golden you want the pastry to be.

Cool on a cooling rack.

I preferred eating it fresh out of the oven, but it can be eaten completely cooled at room temperature.

This recipe makes 20.

Enjoy.

[bakingventures]

Hokkaido Cream Cheese Tarts

This is the current craze in Singapore and I had been wanting to try and make it for quite awhile. I decided to use the recipe from QL Kitchen. 

I quite like the taste, but I’m not keen on the gooey center, I preferred it baked a wee bit longer for a firmer center.

Ingredients

Base

160g Flour

35g Icing Sugar

10g Ground Almond

90g Salted Butter, cubed

2 Egg Yolks

Cheese Filling

150g Cream Cheese

70g Mascarpone Cheese

40g Salted Butter

70g Cream

20g Evaporated Milk

40g Sugar

1 Egg

10g Cornflour

2 tbs Lemon Juice

Instructions

Tart Base

Combine flour, icing sugar & ground almond in a bowl.

Rub butter into the flour mixture till it resembles breadcrumbs.

Mix in egg yolks to form a dough.

Wrap the dough in clingwrap and let chill for 15 minutes.

Press dough into tart mould & prick the base with a fork.

Bake for 10min in a preheated oven of 160oC.

Filling

Melt the two cheese, butter, cream, milk & sugar in a double boiler.

Whisk mixture till smooth.

Mix in egg, cornflour & lemon juice tll combined.

Spoon mixture into tart shells & let chill for 30min.

Brush the top with egg wash (1 egg + milk) - I did not bother with it. 

Bake in a preheated oven of 220oC , top grill with fan for 8min. (6min for a more gooey center)

This recipe makes 8 tarts.

Enjoy

[bakingventures]

Baked Durian Cheesecake

The folks bought a couple of durian to eat the other night and ended up not finishing it as it was not as nice as they thought it would be. 

So what do you do with the leftovers, use it for baking. 

I found this recipe on Jeannie Tay’s Blog, and I must say it was pretty straight forward and I was so surprised when it came out so nicely.  

Ingredients

175g cream cheese

75g durian flesh

5 egg yolks

60g castor sugar

50g butter

150g full cream milk

60g cake flour

20g cornflour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp Vanilla extract

5 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

60g castor sugar

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 160°C (No fan) & prepare a 8inch round cake tin.

Whisk cream cheese, sugar & butter on a double boiler until smooth & sugar is completely dissolved.

Puree durian with 100g milk.

Strain puree & add the remaining milk.

Mix durian milk into cream cheese batter till combined.

Add egg yolks, one at a time, mix well after each addition.

Add vanilla.

Sift flour over & fold to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites till foamy.

Add cream of tartar.

Gradually add sugar while whisking.

Whisk till soft peaks form.

Fold 1/3 of white batter into yolk batter at a time, gently fold till no streaks of meringue is visible.

Pour batter into prepared tin and tap the tin on the counter to release the air bubbles.

Bake in a water bath for 70 min on the lowest rack.

Unmould the cake once it has pulled away from the sides of the tin.

Enjoy.

[bakingventures]

Lemon Polenta Cake

I still have plenty of polenta leftover from the previous cornbread baking.

This recipe was interesting as I never really thought you could combine corn & lemon. It taste surprisingly really nice.

The recipe is from Cuisine Fiend.

Ingredients

225g butter, softened

200g caster sugar

3 eggs

zest and juice from 1 lemon

200g ground almonds

125g medium polenta (not the instant type)

1tsp baking powder

Directions

Preheat oven 170oC and prepare a 8inch tin.

Beat the butter until fluffy with an electric hand-held mixer or in the bowl of a standing mixer with a paddle attachment. 

Add the sugar and beat it in well. 

Add eggs, one at a time, beating continuously. The mixture will appear curdled.

Add the lemon zest and juice, then beat in the polenta and the ground almonds, mixed together with the baking powder.

Bake for 1h or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool in a tin for 10-20mins before transferring onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

[bakingventures]

Swedish Mocha Cake

Felt like having some chocolate. The recipe is from The Sugar Hit.

I accidentally dusted it with too much icing sugar, but oh well. This recipe is really simple and taste great.

Ingredients

125g Salted butter

50g Cocoa powder

2 tsp Instant espresso powder

300g Sugar

150g Plain flour

3 Eggs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 180C, and grease a 7 inch tin.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over a low heat

Stir in the remaining ingredients.

Scrape the batter into the pan, and bake for 20-40 minutes, or until the edges are set, but the middle is still gooey.

Leave to cool for at least 30 minutes, before removing from the pan and serving with raspberries, and a dollop of creme fraiche.

Enjoy!

[bakingventures]

Banana Walnut Streusel Cake

It sounded like an amazing combination and so I decided to give it a go! 

The recipe is from Baking Sense.

Ingredients

Streusel

70g Brown sugar

70g Granulated sugar

115g Walnuts (Coarsely chopped)

2 tsp Ground cinnamon

1/2 cup Cake flour

55g Unsalted butter, softened to room temp

Batter

2 medium Mashed ripe Bananas

115g Sour cream

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

230g Cake flour

170g granulated sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

170g Salted butter, softened to room temperature

Directions

Streusel

Combine the sugars, walnuts and cinnamon

Remove 2/3 cup for filling

Add the flour and butter to the remaining streusel and process until it just begins to form clumps

Batter

Preheat oven 180oC. Prepare a 9" tin.

Combine the smashed bananas with the sour cream, eggs and vanilla extract

Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda & baking powder in a mixing bowl

Add the butter to the dry ingredients & combine.

Add 1/2 the banana mixture & mix well. 

Add remaining banana mixture.

Pour 1/2 of the batter into the prepared pan and smooth to an even layer

Sprinkle the reserved streusel filling over the batter

Pour remaining batter over the filling and smooth to an even layer

Add streusel to the top.

Bake until the cake springs back when lightly touched or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (25-30min)

Cool for 10 minutes in tin before cooling completely on a cooling rack.

Enjoy.

[bakingventures]

Oreo Butter Cake

This recipe is from Trick & Treat.

Ingredients

50 g plain flour

230 g butter

180 g castor sugar

1  tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 cup milk

3 eggs

12 oreo  cookies cut into or big chunks

Directions

Preheat oven 170oC & prepare a 9-inch tin.

Sift flour, baking soda  and baking powder.  

Beat butter and sugar until light and  creamy.

Add one egg at a time, beating  well  after each addition.  

Add vanilla essence.

Mix in flour little by little alternating with milk, stir until well mixed.

Add in oreo cookies, level top with spatula.

Scatter oreo pieces on top, if you wish.

Bake for 45  minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Sit in pan for 10 minutes before transferring onto rack to cool completely. 

Enjoy!

[bakingventures]

Cornbread

I felt like eating some cornbread and I had plenty of polenta left so I found this recipe from The Three Cheeses.

Ingredients

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1 cup cornmeal (polenta)

1 1/2 cups milk

300-400g corn kernels (Frozen or fresh)

Directions

Preheat oven 190oC.

Cream together sugar, butter, eggs, and salt until smooth and light in colour. 

Sift together dry ingredients, then add to the butter and sugar alternately with the milk. Stir until no lumps can be seen. 

If using, add the corn kernels.

Bake in a greased 9×13″ or 10×10″ ovenproof dish, for 30-40 minutes until the top of the bread is going golden-brown and a knife or toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Enjoy!

[bakingventures]

Asiago Gougeres

I had plenty of leftover chives and I decided to make this for a potluck.

The recipe is from Platings & Pairings.

Ingredients

1/2 cup water

3 tbs butter cut into cubes

1/4 tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

1/2 cup flour

2 large eggs

1 tbs minced chives

3/4 cup grated cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 220oC.

Heat the water, butter, salt, and pepper in a saucepan until the butter is melted. 

Add the flour all at once and stir vigorously until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pot into a smooth ball. 

Remove from heat and let rest two minutes.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer. 

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on medium. 

The batter will appear lumpy at first, but will smooth out after a minute or so.

Add the cheese and chives, and mix until combined.

Scrape the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a wide plain tip (or use a Ziploc bag and cut off a corner) and pipe the dough into 1-inch mounds, evenly-spaced apart. (If you are really lazy you could just spoon the mixture on a tray but it would not look as nice as the piped versions.

Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 190oC and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

This recipe makes around 30 of them.