Walnut Meringue Pie

go to Zserbo.com for the recipe and detail instructions for this delicious pie.

I am obsessed with this pie, particularly the pastry. It is light and fluffy.  When walnuts were in season, I was making it every weekend.

As you can compared with the recipe link provided above, I have tweaked the recipe to what I have in the pantry and since then I have been making it based on my tweaked version.

Fanta Slice { Fanta szelet }

Yup, Fanta as in the orange soda.  As strange as this sound, it does work. This should be sit in the fridge at least overnight for best taste.


Fanta Slice { Fanta Szelet }

Chocolate sponge cake layer :-
3 eggs , medium-sized, separated
3 heap Tbsp sugar
3 heap Tbsp plain flour
1 level Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 level Tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt 

Cream layer :-
200ml whipping cream
250g cottage cheese, room temperature
1 zest of lemon
100g powdered sugar, or to taste
1 Tbsp gelatine powder  
  
Orange layer :-
1 can x 333 ml Fanta brand orange soda
40g pudding powder
1 tsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp powdered sugar , or to taste.

Processes :-

Chocolate sponge cake (can be made in advance, freeze and thaw a day before serving)

1) Pre-heat oven at 180˙c.

2) Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. set it aside.

3) In separate bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar until creamy. Add in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and and mix gently until will combined.

4) Take 1/3 of the stiff egg white and add into chocolate batter to loosen it a little. Then fold in carefully the remaining stiffen egg white until well combine.

5) Great baking pan (  18x20cm ) and lined with baking paper . Pour in the cake batter . Bake for 12 mins or until the skewer comes out clean.

6) Let it cooled fully.

7) Once cake is cooled, start preparing the room temperature cottage cheese. Use a hand blender to blender the cottage cheese to get rid of lumps. Add a little of the whipping cream to help loosen the cottage cheese a bit.

8) Once cottage cheese is smooth, set it aside. In another bowl, start whipping the cream until half stiff. Then add in powdered sugar, cottage cheese and lemon zest until well combined.

9) Add in the preped gelatine* . Mix well . pour it over the cooled cake. Level the cream.


10) For the orange layer, take about 100ml of the soda and mix with the pudding powder.  Let it sit.
Meanwhile, heat up the remaining orange soda with lemon juice and sugar. When this is hot enough. pour in the earlier pudding-orange mixture, stir constantly until it thickens , just like making instant pudding. Once orange pudding is thick enough, set it aside to cool a little before pouring it over the cream layer. Level it out.

11) Let the assemble cake sit in the fridge over night before serving.

Chinese New Year : Peanut filled pockets { Kok chai }

We're 11th day into Chinese New Year but these deep-fried snacks had finished long ago! :D

These turned out as I remembered, crispy with sweet peanut filling. I couldn't stop munching on them.

Kok Chai

Recipe via Malaysian Chinese Kitchen
serves :  32 mini puffs

Ingredients

For dough

300g all-purpose flour 

0.5 tsp salt  

120ml vegetable oil 

160ml water

For Peanut Filling

½ cup (75g) raw peanuts 

2 tbsp (18g) sesame seeds  

¼ cup (53g) sugar

• Instructions
  

  Filling

  1. Toast peanuts in a small fry pan over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until lightly brown. Remove and allow peanuts to cool. Coarsely chop or grind peanuts.
  2. Toast sesame seeds in the same pan for 1 to 2 minutes until lightly brown.
  3. Combine peanuts, sesame seeds, and sugar in a medium bowl. Mix well and set aside.

  Dough

  1. Combine all-purpose flour (rice flour, if usinand salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour vegetable oil into the well. Mix with a spatula. Slowly add water a little at a time to form a soft, non-sticky dough. You may or may not require the full ⅓ cup (80ml) water.
  2. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead on a clean work surface for 3 to 4 minutes. Form dough into a ball and place it back into the bowl. Cover with a towel and allow dough to rest for 10 minutes.
  3. Remove dough from the bowl and shape into a cylinder about 12 inches long. Cut dough into 16 equal size pieces.

  Forming the Mini Puffs

  1. Take a piece of dough and shape it into a circle of about 2½ inches in diameter by rotating and flattening the edges. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center.
  2. Fold the dough into a semi circle. Seal by pressing and pleating the edges together. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

  Frying the Mini Puffs

  1. Heat about an inch of vegetable oil in a wok to fry everything at one go or a small saucepan to fry in batches.
  2. Deep fry mini puffs over medium low heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and allow mini puffs to drain in a metal strainer.
  3. Allow kok chai (mini peanut puffto cool completely before storing in air tight containers for up to 2 weeks.
   

Handmade pasta

Hungary's Annual National Cake 2016

photo : https://www.facebook.com/gregory.iron.photography/

Every August 20th, Hungary introduces two new winning National cakes (one non-sugar option) on the occasion of her founding day by Saint Stephen. You can read more about the winners on Daily News Hungary.

Photo: cukraszat.net

Each year we make a point to try the winning cake on the actual day of the introduction. The pumpkin seed cake white chocolate ganache (named “Green Gold of Őrség”) was unique. I liked the pumpkin seed flavour in the cake as well as in the crispy praline. The white chocolate ganache compliments the cake and raspberry jelly beautifully. I will buy this again definitely!

re at: http://dailynewshungary.com/cake-hungary-2016/

Saint Stephen

Read more at: http://dailynewshungary.com/cake-hungary-2016/

Zucchini & Cheese Bites

I have to say I'm one of those people that don't eat enough of zucchini .  The funny thing is I actually love zucchini but some how I only eat them when someone else had cooked them; which is not frequent.

With this recipe I'll be buying and cooking them in my kitchen this summer and the coming ones. They are great for meatless days!

Zucchini and Cheese Bites

serves : 4

source : No Salty

note : video available on above link 

Ingredients

+/- 600gm Zucchini (I used more)

1 tsp salt

1 pinch of black pepper

1 tsp garlic paste (used granulated garlic)

1 large egg

100gm grated cheese (used cheddar, will use a more intense cheese next round)

4 Tbsp bread crumbs

++ sauté onion

For breading
3 Tbsp flour
1 large egg
5 Tbsp bread crumbs

Method :
1) Grate zucchini into a fairly large bowl. Sprinkle the salt all over. Let it sit for 15 mins.
2) Strain away the liquid from zucchini as much as possible. Return grated zucchini to bowl.
3) Put in black pepper, garlic paste, sauté onion, crack-in the egg, grated cheese and bread crumbs. Mix well. shape into a bite-size balls. and place on a plate.
4) Coat each balls in this sequence first into flour, then egg and finish with a good coating of bread crumbs. shake of excess crumbs. Place on a plate. Repeat coating process until zucchini mixture is finished.
5) Heat up the oil in frying pan. Fry until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Lamingtons

Lamingtons

Ingredients

Sponge cake
via Japanese cooking 101
size : 18cm round tin

20 g butter

1 Tbsp milk

90 g cake flour, sifted twice (used plain flour)

3 eggs (used 4 size-M eggs , separated)

90 g sugar (incl. 1 sachet vanilla sugar)

Chocolate icing
via Aprosef
reduced  to glaze 18cm cake

80gm butter
80gm powdered sugar, sifted

3 Tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
40ml milk
1 drop of rum

Coating
unsweetened shredded coconut

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°c at least 20 minutes before. Line a 18cm cake pan with parchment paper (bottom and side). Put butter and milk In a small bowl and microwave until the butter melts. In another bowl, sift the cake flour 2 times. Set aside.
2. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Set aside.
3. For the egg yolks, put in the sugar and beat until thick and creamy. Pour in the melted butter and milk. Mix well. Add sifted cake flour in 3 parts. Fold in the first one-third of the flour by hand with a spatula (not with the mixer). After the flour is incorporated, add the next part of flour and again fold in with the spatula. Repeat. Incorporate in a third of the stiffen egg whites, and then fold in the remaining egg white , be careful not to knock out the air of egg whites.
4. Put the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for 12 mins. do the toothpick test. Bake more if needed.
5. Take the cake out from the oven and leave for 15 minutes. Finally, remove the cake from the cake pan and let it cool completely.
6. When cake is cooled, start making the chocolate icing by placing all the icing ingredients in a sauce pan and gently heat it. Once butter is completely melted and shinny. remove from heat.
7. Cut cake into 8 equal pcs. and dip all sides of the cake into the chocolate icing carefully. Place on wire rack to dry out a bit.
8. Once you finish dipping the chocolate icing, start coating all sides with shred coconut.
9. serve or keep in air-tight container.