Fresh Fruit Tart with Vanilla Creme Diplomat

It's Fall and I decided to make a not-so-Fall dessert: a fruit tart.
I have never been a fan of fresh fruit tarts although I always found them very pretty to look at. My brother would always get a few when we drop into a Chinese/Hong Kong bakery while I stuck to my cream puffs or egg tarts.

I've never made a fruit tart. I know how to make the separate components and how the tart is put together but I never made it because I never liked them. I decided to suck it up and use fruits that I would normally like to eat (I'm not a huge fruit-eater either) and make a large tart for the family (mostly for my brother).
I made a shortcrust pastry and instead of the usual pastry cream filling, I made a creme diplomat. Creme diplomat is essentially pastry cream with whipped cream folded into it for a lighter cream. THAT was deliscious.

Creme Diplomat

2 cups milk
1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp Cointreau liqueur
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 cups all purpose flour; sifted
1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped

Creme Patisserie 
In a saucepan, heat milk, vanilla and 1/4 sugar on medium heat and stir occasionally. When milk bubbles, remove from heat and set aside.

In a stainless steel bowl, whisk remaining sugar, liqueur,and flour until well blended and sugar has dissolved. Slowly add in a ladle of the hot milk while stirring the egg mixture constantly to avoid scrambling the eggs. Continue doing this until all the milk has been used.
Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook on medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat, remove the vanilla beans (using a sieve helps) and stir in butter.
Cool the cream completely and quickly by lining a shallow baking tray with plastic wrap and spreading the cream on the tray. Cover cream with another layer of plastic, placing it directly onto the cream to avoid a skin to form on the surface.

Once the cream cools completely, transfer to a clean bowl and fold in the whipped cream. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour before placing in tart shell. Voila! Store in a air-tight container for up to 3 days.

Creme Diplomat complete!

Shortcrust pastry

 

Fruit! Plums, peaches, kiwi, strawberries, mango, and oranges.

 

Mini fruit tarts from leftover ingredients!

Steelhead Trout with Mango Salsa

 I haven't cooked dinner in a very long time and today I whipped up a trout dish for the fam. I picked up a steel-head trout fillet at Costco and a box of mangoes along with some corn, bell peppers, and avocados.
In around one hour after getting home, I served up a dish full of delish; trout fillets cut into individual portions, lightly seasoned, grilled and glazed with a my favorite mesquite sauce (a raspberry chipotle mix). Served with a refreshing mango salsa and placed on top of red rice and corn and black bean medallions. Yummeh!

Mango Salsa

1 large tomato, pulped and diced
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1/2 small red onion, chopped
1 tbsp sugar
1 mango, diced
handful of cilantro, chopped
1 medium avocado, chopped (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Cayenne powder to taste (optional)

Place tomatoes, peppers, red onion and sugar in a medium boil. Mix it up and let it sit for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients.

Corn and Black Bean Medallions

2 large russet potatoes, peeled, chunked, boiled and mashed
1/4 cup corn
1/4 cup black beans
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
handful of cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1/2 small red onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Sautee corn, beans, peppers, cilantro and onion until slightly browned. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour mixture into mashed potatoes and stir in bread crumbs and cheese. Form into little patties and pan fry until both sides are golden browned.

Mango Salsa without avocados because my brother does not like avocados

Mango Salsa with avocados for the rest of the family

Omurice

Omurice- A Japanese fusion dish consisting of fried rice wrapped in a thin omelet and usually topped with ketchup.
I made some for lunch today, and I was a bit skeptical with the recipe I used that called for ketchup in the fried rice, which would make the rice saucy (not what traditional fried rice should be). However, it's what goes into "traditional" omurice, so I went ahead with the recipe. And my, oh my, it was not bad at all. The rice actually soaked up the ketchup and bonded all the savory flavors of the veggie bacon that I used and the sweetness of the peas. It was very good.
Setting the rice aside, I made a thin omelet, placed the rice filling in and wrapped the omelet around it. Served with a little ketchup and I fell in love with this dish. The flavors are so well balanced; sweet, tangy and savory, which all ties in so well with the fluffy omelet wrap. I will definitely be making this again.
Recipe: Chicken Version

Beer and Smoked Gouda Bread

As you may know, I've always loved making bread since I find it so relaxing and exhilarating. So far, all the breads that I have made are done so by hand (KitchenAid cheat here and there lol) and baked through an actual oven. However, I do own a bread machine and have put off using it for around 5 years now...I don't know why but I think it has something to do with the indention of the built-in kneading blade...
Anywhos, this time around, I decided to bake a few loaves in the machine and see how it goes. My tasty combo; beer and smoked Gouda cheese. One thing you should know is that I am absolutely NOT a beer fan. I dislike the taste and idea of it being a party must-have. Unfortunately, with all the men in my family, beer shows up here and there but seldom do I have much left over...
At a recent party, around 14 cans of cheap beer were left over and finding it a waste of an ingredient to pour down the drain, I decided to use it as the liquid ingredient in bread.
After placing all the ingredients conveniently into the bread pan and waiting 3 hours, a beautiful, golden and aromatic loaf emerged. The crust was so glorious and the crumb was deliciously fluffy, changing my perspective on bred machines.
I will definitely be using the machine again for future breads.

1 can of light beer
1 2/3 cups shredded smoked Gouda cheese
2 tsp salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp active dry yeast

In order, starting at bottom of bread pan, add beer, cheese, salt, flour, and sugar. Make an indentation in the flour and add yeast. Make sure the yeast does not touch the liquid. Close the bread machine and press the Basic setting or Plain White Setting. Wait for the cycle to complete and there you have it-a loaf of freshly made bread.

 

The Avengers Birthday Cake!

I have always been a soft-core, Marvel fan and since watching The Avengers by Marvel, you might say it has become an obsession. On my quest to have everyone I know become obsessed with the Avengers, I bought tickets for my mom, dad, brother, and myself to watch the movie in 3D.
Carrying my obsession over to the culinary arts, I made a cake for my brother's birthday featuring the heroic group.
The cake is an Asian styled cake, layered with vanilla chiffon, pandan agar and a taro filling. The entire cake is covered in whipped cream then drawn on with homemade piping gel.
Homemade piping gel is so worth it to make because you get exactly the color you'd like and you can flavor it with whatever essence you'd like. The only downside is using it after it has been stored; the gel congeals and when you try to break it up, it becomes lumpy and is very hard to pipe. One of my foodie cousins helped me smooth out the gel so that I could pipe it out; it was a painstaking process and I would have lost my head if she didn't help me.
I had found a photo online that I modified and used as a template. The piping gel transfer did not work very well for me but it did enough for me to retrace the picture. After that it was just a matter of precision and patience. Since smaller details were very hard to pipe on, I omitted the eyes and some minor lines.
I was nervous of the outcome but near the end I was quite proud of my accomplishment. And not only that, the cake was a hit amongst the guests and Tommy really liked it. Success!

Homemade Piping Gel  (about 1/2 cup)*

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup water
Gel Food Coloring of choice (opt)

Whisk sugar and cornstarch (cornflour) in a small saucepan.
Gradually add juice and then the water. Make sure there are no lumps.
Stir over medium/high heat until mixture boils and thickens.
Color as desired.

Will last about a month or so in the ‘fridge but will need to be at room temperature or reheated until smooth.

For the opaque white gel, I used 2 tbsp skim milk and omitted the lemon juice (cause it will curdle the milk). I also added a pinch of white vanilla powder for flavor.

I doubled the recipe for the primary colors, which was WAAYY too much. I have left over gel...what to bake next?

  

   

Cream of Broccoli Soup

While I made the Rabbit and Mung Bean Congee for the family, I quickly made a creamy and vibrant broccoli soup for myself, using a recipe I adapted from Gordon Ramsay but turning it into a cream-of soup. So good. I flippin love Broccoli.

 

Rabbit and Mung Bean Congee (Viet Dish)

Before I was a vegetarian, approx. three years ago, I was in Vietnam one summer and my cousin and I dropped by a local congee/rice porridge street vendor and ordered some rabbit and mung bean congee. Since I had been a fan of gamey meats, the rabbit was right up my alley. The restaurant served piping hot congee topped with mung beans, minced rabbit meat, scallions and a vegetable that I cannot find here nor know what it is called. It is similar taro stems, an ingredient used to make the delicious Vietnamese Spicy and Sour Soup. Since I did not have that particular ingredient, I omitted it in my version of the dish.
The rabbit was purchased at a Chinese supermarket, frozen and creepy looking as heck. Thawed and unpackaged, it looked even worst hahaha! This was my first time ever cooking with rabbit so it was a little nervous but the thing was dead, so whatever hahaha. (God I am a bad vegetarian...)
Instead of mincing the meat like the street vendor did, I chopped the bunny up and seasoned it slightly before adding it to a pot of water to create a Bugs Bunny stock. I had toasted some rice in my conventional oven before adding it to the boiling pot to slowly cook and break down.
Mung beans are amazing and these little green pellets were given as a gift to me on my last trip to Vietnam. Mung beans are so versatile as an ingredient. They are used to make savory and sweet dishes as well as bean sprouts, providing a good source of fiber and protein.  I placed 1 1/2 cup into my slow cooker the night before so that they would be nice and tender the next day. As soon as the rice cooked down and the soup was getting thicker because of the starch, I drained the cooked mung beans and added them to the pot.
Served piping hot with sliced scallions and fresh ground black pepper.

Silly Rabbit...

Mung Beans (photo from the web)

 

Grilled Halibut and Lemon-Dill Quinoa

So...it has been a VERY long time since I last posted anything on my blog, so my apologies. My schedule was very busy and I never had enough time to cook. I have also been away on a trip to Victoria, BC, visiting my best friend and some pals. Since Victoria is an island on the west coast of Canada, seafood is a must in local cookery. On the day I headed back, I dropped by Fisherman's Wharf and purchased some fresh crab, halibut, and smoked tuna for the flight home. As soon as I got home, I boiled the crab and served it to my family with a salt n' pepper with lime dip, which they LOVED. Mom said that the crab was delicious and coming from someone who does not enjoy crab, that means a lot.
For the halibut, I sliced it up into three portions and marinated it in a soy and sesame mixture. I grilled the slices on a hot griddle. I cooked up some quinoa and tossed it in some lemon juice, olive oil and chopped dill.  I drizzled a sweet soy and red vinegar reduction on the dish before serving it with some local Pinot Gris from the Vancouver Islands. Yummeh! :)

 

Ube and Pandan Kaya Birthday Cake

Today was my mom's birthday and instead of ordering a cake, I thought I'd try my hand at one of the complex exotic cakes that is enjoyed in South/Southeast Asia. The cake is a fusion of Pandan Kaya Cake and Ube Macapuno Cake. Pandan is a tropical plant that is used as a flavoring for food and especially desserts. It gives off a green tone when used and is attractive in desserts. Ube is basically purple yam that is sweet and holds a magnificently rich, purple color. Macapuno is just young coconut meat that has been sliced and preserved in syrup. It is used as a filling paired with ube in Filipino cakes.
Since my mom loves pandan cake, coconut and the color purple, I fused the two together to create a green and purple-layered cake via an inspiration photo I found online. The layers of cake are filled with a buttercream and macapuno frosting. The entire cake is enclosed in "kaya," a solid, gelatinous casing made of coconut cream, pandan, sugar and agar-agar. Once chilled, the kaya keeps the cake moist and adds an extra bit of coolness to the cake to be enjoyed on hot days.
I decorated the cake with some whipped cream roses, which are hard as heck to make! I should have used a stiffer frosting or a stabilized whipped cream recipe but I didn't think of it...darn; next time.
This is also my first time to ever do any fancy-schmancy piping work on a dessert...so cut me some slack! Ahahaha! (I need to go get some lessons on piping >.<)

The cake took me two days to complete, with baking and chillin time or whatnot. Because I used preserved ube jam, the ube cake layers were too sweet for my liking, so I will get my hands on fresh purple yams for next time.
My mom was pretty stoked that I knew how to make this cake because it's always been a hassle to pre-order one.
I will try to make a taro-filled chiffon cake in the near future (which will be purple). :)

Makeshift mold extension for the kaya mixture.

Mommy cutting the cake!

Hong Kong-Style Sausage Buns (Minis!)

I absolutely love making these! I had an entire bag of unopened cocktail smokies in my fridge and I did not want them to go bad. So I searched up a recipe for the Hong Kong-styled buns that the Chinese bakeries always sold because my brother loves to snack on them. The bread dough is a sweet, milk-based dough unlike the bread or pastry dough that pigs-in-a-blanket are usually wrapped in. The result is moist, sweet and yummy goodness!

They were so good the first time I made them, I decided to make a larger batch for a little Spring Party that I hosted at my house for the family. Recipe is an adaption of the recipe provided here.

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten and divided
• 2/3 cups lukewarm milk
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 8 hot dogs or around 20 cocktail smokies
• sesame seeds (optional)

Method

1. In a stand mixer bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add in 1 of the lightly beaten eggs and the milk, stirring until it starts to come together. Attach the bowl to the stand mixer.
2. Using the dough hook attachment, knead on medium-low speed (#4 on my KitchenAid) for 5 minutes. Add the softened butter and knead another 3 minutes or until the butter has been completely and thoroughly absorbed into the dough. The dough should feel smooth, satiny, and not sticky. If it's sticky, add more flour in tablespoon increments until you reach the right texture. The dough should pass the windowpane test (you can stretch it out very thinly without it breaking). Knead until it does.
3. Spray a good size bowl with cooking spray. Take the dough out of the mixing bowl and form into a ball, pulling the sides down so that it becomes taut. Place the ball of dough in the greased bowl, cover it, and let it rise in a warm area for about 90 minutes, until about doubled in size.
4. Take the dough out of the bowl and divide into 8 equal pieces, .
5. To form the poofy rolls, roll out one of the dough pieces between your hands until it's about 2 to 2 1/2 times the length of the hot dog. If you want the center to be bigger than the ends, make sure you roll your dough accordingly, so that the middle of your long piece of dough is bulkier than the ends. Wrap the length of dough around a hot dog; it should be enough to make 3 loops, with the tapered ends at the bottom of the hot dog.
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the shaped buns on the paper, leaving enough room in between each for the dough to have a place to go while it's rising.
7. Cover the buns loosely with plastic wrap or a clean cloth (you don't want to ruin the rise by having to peel anything off them). Let the dough rise again for another 90 minutes or so, until it's about doubled in volume and look nicely plump.
8. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400°F.
9. When the buns have risen, gently brush egg wash (the remaining egg) generously onto each, making sure to get the sides as well, and sprinkle sesame seeds on top, if desired.
10. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350°F and bake for another 5-8 minutes, until the buns are an attractive golden brown

I find that if you will be using hot dogs, it is better to cut the wiener in half so that it is the perfect snack/appetizer size!

The ones for the party!

Watermelon Salad

I realize I have not been posting anything for the month of March (oopsies!) so, for the last day of this boring month, I present to you a deliciously bold and healthy salad. It combines sweet and salty flavors of fruit, cheese and nuts;  juicy watermelon with candied walnuts, and feta cheese in a salad that is finished off with a sweet n' tangy balsamic vinegar reduction. To die for; seriously. I highly recommend this for any Spring/Summer brunch!

Candied Walnuts
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup walnuts
sea salt

Toast walnuts until brown and aromatic. Set aside to cool

In a heavy sauce pan, caramelize the sugar on medium-low heat until all the sugar has melted and the caramel is a rich amber color. Remove from heat, add in the walnuts and fold in with a spoon or rubber spatula until walnuts are coated. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour coated walnuts onto the pan. working quickly, use two forks to separate the walnuts from clumping together. Sprinkle on a few pinches of sea salt before the caramel hardens. Leave to cool and harden overnight.

Balsamic Vinegar Reduction
1 cup of balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp of sugar (optional for extra sweetness)

In a saucepan, add in balsamic vinegar and sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar and set the heat on high. Stir occasionally to prevent the mixture from burning, letting the vinegar boil and reduce down to half. When the reduction thickens (coats a wooden spoon) remove from heat and let cool before serving or storing.