Gourmet burger kitchen

The weather was glorious yesterday! Just wanted to use the word glorious as I haven't used it in ages. Went to a park yesterday and the second the bf and I got out of the tube station, it was as though we were in Chelsea! Either Chelsea or Portsmouth. There were hundreds of people just hanging outside the pubs singing songs with loads of policemen hanging around and patrolling the streets.

I nearly got attacked by a flock of ducks/geese (whatever they were) and pigeons. The bf insists they were ducks but they were gimongous! It started with me throwing the odd crumb of bread. First a pigeon came. Then it somehow alerted his friends. Then more pigeons came. Then a duck comes and I start feeding the duck and get even more excited when he starts calling his friends. Suddenly, I look down at my feet and there they are, at least 10 pigeons walking around my feet staring at me! Didn't take pictures of them. If I did, I'd have tonnes of pictures of ducks/pigeons/birds.

The bf and I went to gourmet burger kitchen and their burgers are huge! It's a good sign that when you order, they ask you how you want your burger done - medium or well done. I got the pesterella and the tomato relish that came with it is delicious. Shame they didn't give a bigger blob of it. Mine had pesto, mozzarella and relish. Look at all that mozzarella! I didn't finish the mozzarella - too cheesy for me. I did manage to finish 80% of the beef before my mouth got tired from all that chewing. That's quite a great accomplishment!The bf had cajun and he got way more of his cajun relish and that was yummy too. Moral of the story is - order the burger that has relish. It took us a while to strategise on how to tackle the burger. Basically, unless you squish the burger down and have a fairly big mouth, you would have to dismantle the burger and probably eat it two layers at a time.

GBK's chips are really good. They're the big and chunky type and all they need is a good sprinkle of salt. Whoops, no pictures of the chips.

Y gave me a voucher - 2 burgers for 9 pounds so it was good value for money. Service was excellent and my tummy was happy at the end of the meal so conclusion - loved the GBK experience.

Earl grey tea cookies

Earl grey tea is one of the best teas ever! Although I don't actually drink much of it, the taste of it in cakes and cookies is YUMMY! It deserves to be awarded the capital letters. The cookies are really fragrant and the earl grey taste is not too strong but you can tell it's there.

Ice box cookies are really easy to make. I halved the recipe and it still turned out. Ignore the instructions if you don't have a food processor or a mixer. Just cut the cold butter up into chunks and use your fingers to rub the butter into the ingredients and add a bit of water at a time till a dough forms. Form a log, either round or square, chill it, slice it and bake it.

I tried to be neat and obtain a rectangle but that clearly failed. At least it's flat on 3 out of 4 sides. That's 75% of the cookie. Actually, it doesn't really matter cause when you bake it, the dough melts a little and it's as though there's extra gravity in the oven pulling the edges of your cookie down.

Earl grey tea cookies from realsimple
makes 6 dozen cookies (depending on size)

2 cups flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup icing sugar (I didn't have any icing sugar at hand and just used caster sugar)
2 Tbsp Earl grey tea (6 teabags worth)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 oz butter

1. Pulse together all the dry ingredients in a food processor until the tea leaves are pulverized. Add the vanilla, 1 teaspoon water, and the butter. Pulse together until a dough is formed.
2. Divide the dough in half. Place each half on a sheet of plastic wrap and roll into a 12-inch log, about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
3. Slice each log into disks, 1/3 inch thick. Place on parchment lined baking sheets, 2 inches apart.
4. Bake in a preheated 190 C oven until the edges are just brown, about 12 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks.

Chocolate chip cookies

I just made the biggest chocolate chip cookie ever! Ok, I might be exaggerating a bit but they are gimongous! I used Alton Brown's chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe - a fairly easy recipe and doesn't require much effort.

I only deviated slightly from the recipe, using dark muscovado sugar instead of brown sugar. Everything else was done to the T. I even used the recommended bread flour. The cookie is very chocolate-y and it got annoying because everytime I pick a cookie up, I get a smear of chocolate on my fingers.
I didn't find the cookie chewy. It was more cake-y. I was pleased with the crispiness around the edges though. My cookie looks nothing like the picture on the food network channel! Theirs is flat and even whereas mine turned out like a dome. Maybe that's the centre bit was cake-y. Or maybe my definition of chewy is different? Oh well.
I chilled the dough for 3 hours and it looks so pretty when scooped out. I scooped out 1/4 cup balls of dough and baked a dozen cookies. I baked the leftover dough the next day and made slightly smaller ones and mini ones. They're actually only mini when compared to the first batch. It reminds me of the coffee sizes at Starbucks - tall, grande and venti.
Chocolate chip cookies by Alton Brown
makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies

8 oz butter
1/4 caster sugar
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups chocolate chips

1. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.
2. Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
3. Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown in , checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Apple streusel bars

At a first glance, you would think that these bars have some sort of chocolate filling. After looking at pictures from lovintheoven, I just had to give these bars a try. They turned out delicious - not too sweet, cinnamon-y and lovely texture.

I actually like the whole rubbing the butter into the dry ingredients using my fingers. It's not as tiring as creaming butter and sugar and the weather here is cold enough unlike Malaysia where you'll end up with a melted and sticky mixture. That reminds me, I really need to start making pies and tarts.

Mine looks different from lovintheoven and ourbestbites because I used dark brown sugar for the filling, I didn't peel the apples and I sliced them into chunks instead of thin slices. I didn't bother with the icing but they would've looked more presentable with it.
I made mine in a 9 inch square tin just because I prefer a thicker crust. Plus, the 9x13 inch baking tin was under a lot of other bowls etc and it seemed like more effort to take out. I know I can be lazy at times but it does actually seem completely justifiable at the time.

Apple streusel bars

makes 16 mini squares or one 9 inch tin

Pastry
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz butter
1 egg, beaten

Apple filling
1/2 cup white sugar (I used dark brown sugar)
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon (I used more cinnamon but I lost count - either 3 or 4 tsp)
4 cups sliced apples

1. To prepare crust, mix flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until you have pea-sized crumbles (I rubbed the butter into the dry ingredients with my fingers). Gently mix in beaten egg.
2. Spray a 9x13 baking dish or a 9 inch tin with non-stick cooking spray. Gently pat about 2/3 of the crumb mixture onto the bottom of the dish. Preheat oven to 180 C and set aside.
3. To prepare apple filling, combine flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Toss with apples and spread apples out on prepared crust. Sprinkle reserved crust mixture over apples evenly and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes (mine took 50 minutes). When finished, allow to cool completely. Cut into bars and serve.

Almond biscotti

I always thought that making your own biscotti involved tonnes of work when to be honest, it involves a bit of work and a lot of waiting around. The biscuits are baked three separate times; once as a log and once on each side after slicing it into individual pieces.

I used the Pistachio Biscotti Recipe by Tyler Florence and swapped the pistachios for almonds and the vanilla extract for almond extract. I did bake the individual slices for slightly longer - 8 minutes a side and some of the thicker slices were slightly moist when they came out of the oven. This happened during the final batch and I couldn't be bothered in waiting a couple minutes longer. I ended up with around 36 biscottis but I suppose this really varies with the size of the biscottis.

I felt they turned out quite well - crunchy, hard but not too hard that you worry you might chip a tooth on it, not too sweet and not too overwhelmingly almond-y.

Will definitely be making different flavours next time. Y wanted to dip some of the biscuits in chocolate but seeing that they were made at night and I was getting impatient with the final batch, just the thought of having to melt the chocolate and wash up didn't appeal to me.

Almond biscotti
adapted from Tyler Florence
makes 36 biscottis

4 oz butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp almond extract
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups roasted almond

1. In a preheated 180 C oven, lay the almonds on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the nuts are lightly toasted. Leave to cool.
2. Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, sugar and almond extract. Mix until creamed.
3. Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix the dough until smooth. Mix in the almonds until evenly distributed. (I did all the mixing with a wooden spoon and kneaded the almonds in)
4. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut in half. Roll each half into a log, each 12 inches long by 1-inch high. Place the logs on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 35 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly brown.
5. Let the logs cool for 5 minutes and then place on a cutting board. Slice each log on a diagonal into 1-inch thick pieces. Put the cookies back on the cookie sheet and bake 5 minutes. Turn the cookies over and bake the other side for another 5 minutes. Store cookies in an airtight container. (I baked mine for 8 minutes a side)

Lemon bundt cake

I know there's a slight obsession with the bundt tin but the cakes turn out so pretty. The only problem is most cake recipes use butter and due to the lack of a mixer, the thought of creaming the butter and sugar by hand puts me off. This lemon bundt cake is so easy to make - no creaming of butter involved and the texture of the cake is amazing. The cake wasn't dense and didn't have a oily feel.

As for the icing, I'm not usually a fan as it usually just makes cakes taste really sweet but for some reason, I did end up drizzling icing on the cake and it added a pleasant crunchy texture to the cake. I did cut down on the sugar for the icing and ended up with a really runny consistency. Will definitely try next time to use the amount of sugar for the icing as per the recipe.
Lemon bundt cake
makes one 9 to 10 inch bundt cake

2 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup canola or safflower oil
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs

Icing
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 170 C. Butter and flour the bundt pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, orange juice, lemon juice, oil, vanilla and eggs. Beat well until combined.
3. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 40-50 minutes until dark golden brown.
4. While cake is in oven, combine powdered sugar and 1/2 cup lemon juice and whisk to blend. Remove cake from oven, beat powdered sugar mixture again, and carefully spoon 1/2 of the lemon and powdered sugar mixture over cake. Loosen edges of cake and turn out onto serving plate. Slowly drizzle remaining lemon mixture over cake. Let cool.

Garlic buns

I really like using milk instead of water when making buns/bread. The result is a soft and fluffy texture. Even the next day - just pop the bun into the microwave for a couple seconds the next day and tadaa, a warm, soft and fluffy bun.

I didn't have any form of parsley, fresh or dry in the house so I didn't bother with it. Though it would've looked nicer with the parsley like on happyhomebaking. I used the recipe from her site and I have to admit that hers look much better than mine. That's not the reason for the lack of pictures though. It's mainly cause making bread is such a messy affair and my hands seemed to be covered in dough most of the time.
It felt a bit odd using 1/2 tsp of yeast and 200g of flour for this recipe. I ended up with a small piece of dough and it either didn't rise much or I'm just not use to looking at a smaller piece of dough.

I don't have a bread machine and did the kneading by hand. Mixing in the butter was such a challenge. Initially, I was worried that the butter wasn't going to get incorporated. Then I had to add additional flour cause the dough was getting really sticky. Despite this, I only ended up with 5 buns instead of 6.

Here's the recipe as per happyhomebaking's recipe.

Garlic buns
makes 6 buns

150g bread flour
50g cake flour
15g caster sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp instant yeast
130g milk
15g unsalted butter

filling:
30g butter, soften room temperature
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped)
1 tsp dried parsley

1. Place all ingredients except the butter in the pan of the bread machine (according to the sequence as stated in the instruction manual of your bread machine). Select the Dough function of the bread machine and press start. After about 8mins of kneading (the ingredients should form a smooth dough by now), add in the 15g of butter. Let the machine continue to knead the dough. After the kneading cycle has stopped (20mins), Stop and Restart the machine. Continue to let the machine knead for another 10mins.
2. Stop the machine and remove dough from the bread pan. Shape the dough into a smooth round and place in a mixing bowl, cover with cling wrap and let it rise till double in volume for about 80mins.
3. Remove dough and give a few light kneading on a lightly floured work surface. Press out the trapped air as your knead. Divide into 6 equal portions and shape into balls. Cover with cling wrap, let the doughs rest for 15mins.
4. Flatten each dough into a round disc. Roll up Swiss roll style and pinch the seams in place. Roll the dough on work surface to shape it into a longish oval shape or torpedo shape.
5. Place doughs seams side down on a baking tray, lined with parchment paper. Loosely cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap and let dough proof for 30mins.
6. Prepare filling by mixing butter, garlic and parsley to form a smooth paste.
7. Brush each dough with egg wash. With a sharp knife, make a slit lengthwise on each dough. Pipe fillings on each slit.
8. Bake at preheated oven at 180 C for about 12-15 mins. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack.