Chocolate Profiteroles

Blueberry Frangipane

Chocolate Mousse / Ice Cream

This is a good dessert for any party.

You can prepare in advance, chill in the fridge or freezer until you serve, no last minute hustle.

You can eat it as mousse as it is or make it ice cream to freeze it. 

Any kids will be quiet with this magic pot.

It's full of chocolate all over your mouth first, then smoothly melting cream left on your tongue at the end. 

It surely brings a smile to the end of your meal.

For Crème Pâtissière:

3 egg yolks
50g caster sugar
250ml whole milk / soy milk
1tbsp cocoa powder (no added sugar)
1tbsp corn flower

For Chocolate Meringue:

3 egg whites
50g icing sugar (caster sugar is also fine)
1tsp lemon juice

150g dark chocolate
200ml double cream / thick soy milk

1. Make crème pâtissière and chill it in the fridge
2. Make meringue
3. Melt chocolate in a bain marie and cool down
4. Whip the double cream until makes soft peak (if using thick soy milk, no need of whipping up, just pour into melted chocolate)
5. Beat 1. to make it smooth. Add meringue in 3 times (don't beat too much)
6. Mix up 3&4
7. Add 6 into 5.
8. Pour into ramekins
9. Chill in the fridge for the mousse, or freeze it in the freezer to make it to ice cream.

Foody Trip to Thailand 2015

Kingdom of Thailand.

The ultimate destination for the food lovers in South East Asia.

I and my husband decided to fly to Thailand for a short holiday just a few weeks before our boarding date. 2 nights 3 days in Bangkok. 3 breakfast, 3 lunch, 3 dinners, 10 snacks were the plan. 

Day 1. Ayutthaya

Arrived in Bangkok 4:30 am. Bang into a hotel to threw our baggage, we headed to Ayutthaya.

The ultimate aim iss to eat water prawn in BBQ. 

But before heading to all Wat (temples) and Water Prawns, we encountered with the very first authentic Thai flavours in a floating market nearby. Seafoods in Egg (of course, with lots of chili), steamed in a bamboo leaf. The shop seller warned us it's spicy, but we weren't scared (because we trained with a high level of chili hotness before coming to Thailand). Sweet and Sour, and full of flavous from lemongrass and holy basil and high note of chili, then full of seafood juice running out from bamboo leaf was simply a pleasure. We were certain that we would have good days in Thailand.  

Grilled Water Prawns were worth making an effort telling our non-English speaking driver to take us to the right restaurant with gestures and pointing the prawn photos on the guidebook. 

Orange butter from Prawn head melting out, the bite of prawn meat with smoky shell all made a great harmony. It was prawn lovers heaven indeed. It's worth a try if you are ever in Ayutthaya.

Wat Yai Chai Nibgkon in Ayutthaya

Steamed Egg and Seafood with chili in bamboo leaf

Grilled Water Prawn

Som Tam

Prawn with Spinach Stir Fry

1st night out back in Bangkok was with old friends from London who works as chefs in Japanese restaurants in Bangkok. Night market was irresistible with full of Thai flavours from every corner.

Day 2. Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

Took a tour to a floating market in the early morning. We started our very first boat shopping with this coconut ice cream. The ice cream lady on the boat had very quick hands, served this beautiful coconut ice cream along with bright purple and green sticky rice in a coconut cup in 15 seconds. Then another take on a sweet Mango with sticky rice. Mango lady skinned off 2 mangoes in 20 seconds, and packed it beautifully all in 30 seconds. 

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

Coconut Ice Cream with Sticky Rice

Mango with Sticky Rice

Boat Noodle with Seafoods

Back in Bangkok in the late afternoon, and our stomach was not  so empty, but I had to go to this place. The ultimate Tom Yum restaurant. P'Aor.

It locates in such a local tiny corner, it took us sometime to find the shop, but never ever regret the long walk in a boiling hot day. Tom Yum was so thick and creamy with so much depth from prawns that I never experienced. We initially ordered one bowl of Tom Yum each, then ended up having 3 more dishes. Everything was unbelievably delicious ( and cheap).

P'Aor, Epic Tom Yum Shop

Shrimp rolls

Tom Yum

Green Noodle with Melting Chicken

Big Prawn, Eggs on Rice

Even though our stomach was still a half full, we headed to a meeting place for my old Thai friend whoc studied with me in England for a dinner. His favourite spot in his neighbourhood restaurant. We continued full of Thai flavours and pleased our stomach for 120%.

Som Tam

Grilled Pork

Sweet Stir Noodle

Chicken Liver Soup

Vietnamese style Rice paper rolls

Day 3. Sompong Cooking School

Thai Cooking Class was the most looking forwarded activity for me in this trip. 

Sompong Cooking School was a lovely small school run by a Sompong family that I highly recommend to anybody who likes cooking or Thai Foods. 

The menu highlights the most famous Thai cuisines lineup. 

>Green Curry Paste and Green Curry (Kaeng Khiaw Waan Gai),

>Thai Spicy Mixed Fruit Salads (Tam Pol La Mai), 

>Stir-fried Chicken with Cash Nuts (Gai Phad Med Ma Muang)

>Egg Custard in Pumpkin (Sung Ka Yar Fak Tong) 

We started off with the local market tour to learn about Thai ingredients in details. Even a humble ginger has more than 5 kinds,  then the millions of combinations to imagine with variety of fresh herbs and spices. It made me dizzy. Thai cuisine dig-in my comprehension deeply and showed off a new space in my global map of cooking proudly. 

Even a simple decoration of rose flower made by tomato skin added a nobility to our daily dish. But more than any presentations on the plate, the flavours, the flavours, the flavours of each dish shut me up. So much aroma were like dancing on my tongue and never had conflict. It was such an experience.

Green Curry

Stir Fried Chicken with Cash Nuts

Thai Spicy Fruits Salad

Egg Custard in Pumpkin

The final Dinner. 

Although our time was very tight until our flight in the night, and our cash in the wallet was almost none left, I insisted my husband to eat at this place. We ran to an ATM and got 1,000THB in our hands and entered. 

Somboon Seafood. 

The unmistakably delicious seafoods on all plates guaranteed. 

The last spoil for me in Bangkok, I swore to my husband. 

Crab Curry is the most famous dish in this restaurant. We didn't speak much but each munching gazed our eyes each other. It was yummy, heavenly.

Crab Curry

Grilled Prawns

Prawn and Muchroom with Asparagus 

Spicy Rice Noodle Salad

To sum up the Thai journey, it was full of explosions, I mean the Thai foods just blew me away how deep and wide their cuisines were. I can't get over "the returned from holiday" syndrome. I keep on cooking Thai dishes at home but never be the same how the taste were in Thailand. Anyway, I love Thailand, I love Thai food.

Granola

(makes 1 large jar)

30g butter 

10g rapeseed oil

(or 40g of coconut oil)

120ml maple syrup or honey

½-1½ flaked salt

150g rye flakes

100g jumbo rolled oats

50g almond slice

50g pumpkin seeds

50g sunflower seeds

(or pistachios, pecans and macadamias or nuts of your choice)

50g chopped dried cranberry (or raisins, dried apricots, dates or dried fruit of your choice)

50g banana chips

1 egg white

1.  Mix all the dry ingredients except banana chips.

2. Make egg white fluffy by hand mixer.

3. Melt butter and add rapeseed oil and maple syrup together.

4. Mix well 1. & 3. first then add 2. and mix well.

5. Spread over the oven tray and bake for 20-30 min (stir sometimes) at 150 degree oven.

In summer, when the heat and humidity sweat up your body and loose your appetite but cold drinks, I crave for granola with chilled yogurt and milk. 

As not much real granola available in Japan (in my opinion, the popular one by major brands sold in the super market is not considered as granola but just crispy puffy snacks to me), I had to make it myself (as always, you know I don't like anything ready-made by a factory/manufactured). 

You can add any nuts/seeds you like or change the base oil to the one you like.

Eating with chilled yogurt and milk is nice but adding as topping on ice cream or mousse makes a bit more special and brings a crunchy joy.

Dried Tomatoes

2 ways to make dried tomatoes. 

1. Sun dry

2. Oven dry

As rainy season of June in Japan isn't suitable for making dried tomatoes, I went for oven dried. 

It's simple, but have to be patient.

Cut out mini tomatoes in half, sprinkle sea salt over, then dry them in low heat (around 120 degree) oven for about 2-3 hours.

It become a bit hard when completely dried out, but preserves for longer.

I prefer a semi-dried, which concentrate the flavour intensely and still soft enough to chew without rehydrate them.

Put them in good oil. I always use EXV olive oil or rapeseed oil. (*make sure to sterilize the jar before putting oil and tomatoes) It should last about 3 weeks or so in the refrigerator. Very good topping for a fresh salad, or  any pasta dish.

Before drying

After drying in the oven for 3 hours

Summer fresh salad topped with 3 kinds of tomatoes

Canelé de Bordeaux

May 2014, our Honeymoon destination, Bordeaux, France (and Basque region in Spain later on). 

Not only the wine and fine dining make Bordeaux attractive, but these little delights proud of their presence in the town. 

In a history, as Bordeaux flourished with wine making, they had much yolk left as the egg whites were used for purifying in the wine making. No wasting yolk, added some more cake ingredients, the Canelé were born as sweet treat. Canelé's main ingredients are milk, sugar, yolk and flour, and added vanilla and rum for the rich aroma. It has dark black-brownish caramelised crust, and soft pudding-like inside. 

Me, a freaking home-baker, of course ate a lot of canelé during my few days of stay in Bordeax and gave a much glaze to the show window of each canelé shop. No doubt, I bought a canelé shape for my home baking, the silicone mold. (it's even a de-buyer's!)

Canelé box in Bordeaux

Canelé shop in Saint-Émilion

Canelé shop in Bordeaux

It took me a year to open and use the canelé mold at home, to be honest (it's an excuse, but I was away from home as my work required me outside of Japan) but anyway, it is finally baked, the reminder of honeymoon. 

Voilà! my first attempt. 

It looks a bit deformed as I didn't use beewax as a coating but taste superb, outside is crispy and gooey in the middle as it should be. 

Bread Basket / Wreath / Miniture Baguette

Salt-dough basket is one of the thing I wanted to challenge for long time.

Mix plain flour and salt as 1:1, then add water until the mixture become soft-shapable strength. Now it's same as play dough. Just shape as you wish.

The basket was the hardest one. I used a back of the bowl. It sticks if you don't flower the surface of the bowl well.

Bake at 100 degree for about 1-2 hours, then take out the bowl to bake inside for another 1-2 hours until the dough dries out colored well. To make the color shine, put egg-wash in the last half an hour.

Chocolate Croissaints / Pain au Chocolat

There are nothing more appetizing than freshly baked croissants from the oven on the Sunday morning. 

Making danish pastry dough cannot be shortcut although the ingredients are very simple. 

1. Flour

2. Butter

3. Yeast

4. Sugar

5. Salt

6. Water

Cold buttery dough has to be fold several times to make a beautiful layers. 

The good croissants have very crispy skin, almost crunchy, and layers of butter is melting on your tongue. 

I usually make the dough in advance and finish until shape it, then freeze it. 

A night before you bake, put it on the tray and cling film lightly and rest it in the refrigerator. The size will become just right in the morning and ready to bang into the oven (Graze with egg-wash if prefer prettier outlook).

I said, freshly baked but same for the normal loaf / bread, wait until cool down as the bread is still cooking right after they come out from the oven. Butter should be sweeping out on your tray but don't worry, it absorbs as cooling down. 

Bon Appetite! 

Meringue Kisses

I had a several egg whites left in my fridge.

I didn't want to bake another complicated complete cake nor biscuits, so I came to please myself in a very simple and easy way. 

Meringue kisses are simply made only by egg whites and sugar, that's really it. 

You can add food coloring like this if you like, by drawing a stripe in the piping bag to make the swirl. 

1. Egg White : sugar = 1:2

2. Make meringue

3. Bake for 2 hours at 100 degree oven for 2 hours.

It lasts more than a month if keeping in a good dried condition.

Digestive Biscuits

Digestive Biscuits.

McVitie's digestive biscuits are the most eaten biscuits in my 5 years of British life.

It could be with milk chocolate, sometime with dark, sometimes no chocolate at all.

It's got snap, it's crispy, it's crumbly, it's delicious. 

I don't know how many times I swear it's the last slice, then a few seconds later I got another slice in my mouth. 

Oats to be grained in a food processor, not too finely.

No eggs are added in this biscuits, that's why it's crumble.

Chocolate is optional but absolutely worth the effort.

Joy for the eyes and your mouth.

English Muffins

Crispy skin with bites from corn grits and soft dough in the middle. 

It's been 3 years since I left London. 

It is true that difficult to find a good real bread at reasonable price in Japan. (There are bakeries who bakes good bread but it's not something you want to do everyday that taking train to buy a bread to the decent department)

There are several recipes for the English Muffins. 

Some does with plain dough like white loaf, but I tried this with enriched dough, which worked perfectly. 

Just slice and toast with butter. 

That makes a perfect accompany with your morning coffee.

Kardemummabullar (Swedish cardamon bun)

In Autumn 2012, London. 

Before I and my boyfriend (at that time, now a husband) were rushed to leave Britain for good, the places that we came across we wanted to visit at last to conclude our life in Europe were, the Scandinavian peninsula. 

Sweden, Finland, Denmark. 

We took a flight in the early morning to Stockholm where the winter visited earlier than London. 

Cold air and sharp sunshine were refreshing to wake up our sleepy eyes.

As always, literally my face was glued to the bakery windows, shown their glamorous baked goodies.

The very popular swedish buns with such irresistible fragrant of cinnamon and cardamons from every corner of the town. 

A perfect accompany of the morning walk to the park in the Stockholm's chilly Autumn morning. 

3 years later, the smell is from my oven in Japan.  

Kardemummabulla.

The base is enriched sweet dough, and mixed well with generous amount of pounded cardamons. 

I rolled up blueberries and deseeded plum as an extra excitement which oozing out on the tray. 

Who can resist these gorgeous sweet buns?