Posted by
Anh
Monday, November 09, 2009
There is something really cute in the shop window along Elizabeth Street, Melbourne CBD. The photo of the baby and the beer tummy is incredibly cute and makes me giggle.
Please forgive me for being absent from the blog scene. I am on the move again, so there are a lot of things to organize, here and there. The decision to move back to Melbourne is quite sudden, but it comes at the right time and for the right purpose. I am excited although the whole house packing does not excite me one tiny bit.
Back to packing now! Hopefully there is something decent out of the kitchen I can share with you guys, soon.
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Posted by
Anh
Sunday, October 25, 2009
It is raining heavily in Sydney today when I wish to come out and do some shopping. Now, talking about bad timing!
An old photo from the archive. Hope you find a little sunshine from where you live!
! Have a great week ahead !
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Posted by
Anh
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Once, when I was little, my mom took me to a drawing class. I know a lot of kids who are naturally gifted with drawing. Well, I was not one of them. Actually I was so horrible at it that drawing was one of the two subjects I scared the most during school (the other one is physics if you ask).
Still, I admire art, especially painting. My father used to have an art book which detailed the life and work of a famous artist called Levitan. I remember looking through the book, admiring all the beautiful and peaceful paintings. Later on, through my growing friendship with MP, my love for art increased. We spent a lot of time searching for art books by famous artists in the Old Quarter of Hanoi and shared our thoughts with each other.
The bottom line is I love colors. Sure I cannot draw but I find different ways to incorporate colors in my life! Baking is a way, although I haven’t been interested in cake decorating and food coloring that much.
Anyway, just for fun, I made some roll cake during the weekend. For some reasons, the two colors blue and white were playing in my head. Actually I was thinking of deep dark blue, but for food, a lighter shade would be better, yes? So there I was, in the kitchen, mixing all the colors together. It felt like fun. It was like being in a drawing class again, with colors to play with, but with all the ingredients I was familiar with. At least I could bake a pretty cake even if I still cannot draw!
I gotta tell you that the recipe for the roll cake is a keeper. I learnt it from a Viet blogger, who in turn, got it from her teacher. The recipe produced a moist and soft cake. It is so easy to roll (no cracking!) and not at all eggy like a lot of other recipes.
I love the end result. The cake looks cute and its appearance brings a smile to my face.
Blue & White Dot Roll Cake
Cake recipe adapted from here (in Vietnamese)
If you do not want to use food coloring, use normal chocolate choc chips instead to create the dot effects.
Ingredients
A – 3 egg yolks (room temperature), 25g sugar, 50g plain flour, 10g corn flour, 25g fresh milk, 25g corn oil, ¼ tsp baking powder, 1 tsp vanilla, tiny drop of coloring is using
B – 3 eggs white (room temperature), 35g sugar, ¼ tsp cream of tartar (optional. I did not use any), ¼ tsp salt
C – White chocolate chips (pls use these since normal chocolate will melt in the oven) – around 150g
Filling -100g thickened cream. Whipped until soft peak forms with 1-2 tbp of sugar and some orange blossom water.
Method
Preheat oven to 190C.
Line the swiss roll baking tray. Carefully arrange the chocolate chips in rows over the baking paper. Set aside.
Starting with mixture A: Sift the flours and baking powder together. Whish the egg yolks, sugar, milk and oil together. Add in the flour mixture and whisk well until combined. Add in a bit of food coloring now if desired.
Mixture B: Whisk the egg whites with cream of tartar, sugar and salt until soft peaks form.
Fold 1/3 of egg white mixture into mixture A to lighten up the batter. Add in the rest and fold everything together. Be careful not to destroy all the air bubbles.
Pour the mixture onto the baking tray. Bake in the oven for around 10 mins or until baked through.
Take the baking tray out of the oven. Cool for 10 mins then invert the cake onto another sheet of baking paper. Cool completely.
Prepare the filling. Use whatever you fancy!
Invert the cake again so that the chocolate side is facing down. Spread the filling onto the cake. Roll up from the shorter ends, using the baking paper as a guide. Wrap the baking paper over the cake. Chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours so the cake can maintain its shape.
Cut and serve.
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Posted by
Anh
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Do you remember the time in high school when life was so young and free? Back then, some of my friends said they did not want to marry early and maintain their independence. Strangely enough, time changes us. The girl T., who seemed to have the strongest idea and will of being an independent woman, actually married first among all the girls. And she is surely happy with her little daughter B., who is like an angel! Motherhood seems to be such a wonderful thing since I have seen my friends change so much for the better around their newborns…
It seems that with my friend T., her main concern right now is how to feed and ‘entertain’ her child properly. To help her and other mothers from afar, I made this ABC pancakes.
The inspiration is not from me really. I saw it on this website and thought it was cool. I had fun making it and sharing with the adults living with me. We all loved them. Ah.. There is a child in everyone of us ;).
ABC pancakes
Slightly adapted from here
Ingredients
200g self-raising flour
2 tbs maple syrup
310ml (1 1/4 cups) milk
1 egg, lightly whisked
Olive oil spray, to grease
Jam, to serve
Method
Sift the flour, baking powderinto a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
Whisk together the milk, maple syrup and egg in a jug. Pour into the flour mixture and whisk until a smooth batter forms.
Heat a large non-stick frying pan over low heat. Lightly spray with olive oil spray to grease. Spoon half the batter into a small plastic bag. Cut 1 corner off bag and pipe four 8cm letters into pan. Cook for 2 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface. Turn and cook for a further 1 minute or until golden. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining batter, reheating pan between batches. Serve with jam.
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Posted by
Anh
Friday, October 09, 2009
I just love Peabody’s recent post titled “Life is like a bowl of cupcakes”? Sweet, isn’t it?
I read my fried MP’s latest blog entry and it brought a smile my face. Her whimsical, deeply romantic and beautifully written entry (in Vietnamese) reminds me of the sweetest things in life. It may sound cheesy but sometimes I forget to look around and get inspired by things around me.
At home I got some goodies to cheer me up with a cup of strong black Vietnamese coffee. I love to have some home-baked goodies around. My absolute favourite at the moment is white chocolate-pistachio combo. And do you know the ‘secret’ to the cookies? Condensed milk that is. It gives the cookies such a rich and creamy taste. Sure the cookies are not crunchy, but that is how I love it. If I want crunchy cookies, I will bake Anzac biscuits instead.
It feels like winter in Sydney at the moment (the wind, oh the wind. So strong and cold). But with these, I feel the comfort of being home. Tonight will be a night in for me after a few weeks of travelling, airport delay, and excessive eating out. There are a few episodes of silly but entertaining Korean drama to be watched. Life is good, really.
White chocolate and pistachio cookies
Ingredients
200 unsalted butter
1/4 cup castor sugar
1 pinch of salt
1/4 cup condensed milk
2 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup white chocolate, chopped
1 cup pistachio (the unsalted ones), chopped
Method
Turn the oven to 190C.
Cream sugar and butter until pale and light. Add in the condensed milk and beat until creamy.
Sift flour into the butter and sugar mixture. Add in the chocolate, salt and chopped pistachio. Stir to combine.
Drop a tablespoon of the batter onto a lined baking sheet. Flatten the ball a little with your hand.
Bake for about 15’ until the cookies are golden. Take out and leave to cool on a rack.
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