Sausage bun v2.0

The mini hiatus is basically cause I'm not in London at the moment. I went to Wales over the bank holiday weekend and made sausage buns. Again. I used the same recipe as the last time and apart from the different designs, taste wise it was the same. I did add a slice of cheese to a few lucky buns.

I took some pictures of the garden and the bf's parents grow vegetables! Spring onions, chives, pak choy and choi sum. It's so pretty and you get loads of vegetables. To harvest, just cut it (not pull it out) and it regrows after a while. Cool huh. Shame they don't have fruit trees. I suppose after planting the vege, there isn't much space left for trees. Plus, fruit trees take years to bear fruit.
Ok, back to the sausage buns. I shouldn't really classify it as v2.0. Since it's pretty much the same. They do look different - maybe that justifies v2.0. Anyways, I used the braiding technique for some of the buns and they look really professional! Shame some of them stuck to the baking sheet. I take full responsibility though. It was only cause I did a poor job when brushing the egg wash on and it dripped everywhere - so some of the buns have mini holes at the bottom. Not noticeable unless you eat the bun upside down :)
I won't be baking much this week as I'll only be back in London on Monday. I have a mini assignment! How exciting. Basically back to testing out cupcake recipes for Y's wedding. Oh and have to look for a cake recipe too for her main cake. Oh and carry out a trial run. Hmm, sounds like a fair bit that needs to be done within 2 weeks. Actually, more like 10 days. There's no need to panic!!

Lemon zest cupcakes with vanilla frosting

I think I should refer these cupcakes as vanilla cupcakes v3.0. Compared to the first and second cupcake, it's way better than both of them combined! A bit nerve racking to make though because it involves egg whites and folding in. I tend to give up the folding bit after two folds and just stir vigorously, which I know is a big no no.

I can't remember where I got this recipe from but I think I did change it slightly when I was going through the whipping up the egg whites phase - changing most cake recipes, whipping up the egg whites and folding it into the batter. I remember using this recipe when I was back home, using double the recipe and baking it in a 9 inch square tin. The cake appeared dense but when it was actually really light.
I quite like practising piping. Other people's videos on how to pipe make it seem so easy but when you actually have a go, it turns out - ugly. Here's the recipe, double it for a 9 inch cake.

Lemon zest cupcakes with vanilla frosting
makes 10 muffin sized cupcakes

4 oz butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4.5 0z flour
1 tsp baking powder
zest of one lemon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs (separated)
1/2 Tbsp lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 170 C and prepare paper liners in muffin pan.
2. Cream butter and 1/4 cup sugar till fluffy. Add in the 3 egg yolks, one at a time. Mixing on low speed till combined.
3. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt till combined.
4. Add in lemon and vanilla extract.
5. In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites, remaining 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
6. Add the beaten egg whites into the batter in 2 separate additions, each time folding gently with a spatula until just blended.
7. Fill up muffin liners till 2/3s full and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Vanilla frosting

4 oz butter, at room temperature
1.5 cups icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp milk

1. Beat the icing sugar and butter together with a paddle attachment on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed.
2. Turn the mixer down to slow speed. Combine the milk and vanilla extract in a separate bowl, then add to the butter mixture.
3. Once all the milk has been incorporated, turn the mixer up to high speed.
4. Beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 3 minutes. The longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes.

Caramel popcorn

YUMMY!! Popcorn with loads of caramel on it. Making popcorn is such an exciting event. Especially when you hear it popping away in the pot.

Homemade popcorn is really easy to make. Just heat up a pot, put some oil in and when it's hot enough, chuck the corn in and cover it with a lid. Wait for the pops and give it the odd shake every now and then and when the popping stops, it's done.
Whip up some caramel sauce, pour it on the popcorn, toss and bake it for a bit and tadaa, caramel popcorn! I can't remember where I got the recipe from. I think I combined 2 recipes together and added in baking soda to the caramel sauce cause other recipes seemed to have baking soda.

There was more than enough caramel! Every popcorn had at least a spec of caramel on it. I don't like it when half of the popcorn has no caramel on it, especially at the cinemas cause once the movie starts, you can't actually see which popcorn has caramel on it and which doesn't.

Caramel popcorn

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup popping corn

1. Heat the oil in a large pan and add the popcorn. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally until the popping stops. Tip into a large bowl.

caramel sauce:

4oz butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp honey
3/4 - 1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 140 C . Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in sugars, honey and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring for approximately 5 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. (it'll appear foamy).
4. Pour over popcorn and mix well.

5. Place in 2 baking sheets and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for 45 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.

Peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies

These cookies are YUMMM! It's the texture I'd like for chocolate chip cookies. Maybe minus a bit of the crumbliness. The peanut buttery-ness of this cookie is perfect. The cookie itself was a bit too sweet for me and not salty enough. I'd definitely increase the salt to 1/2-3/4 tsp next time.

I made giant cookies! Even bigger than the previous chocolate chip cookies. I'm getting use to making giant cookies. In the past, I use to scoop a teaspoon worth of batter. These days, it's at least a quarter of a cups worth. I have to admit, it makes scooping out the dough much quicker.

The dough is easy to handle and I quite like the effect of rolling the cookie dough in sugar and then using a fork to press it down. Ooh, maybe next time, I'd dip the cookies in chocolate too. Mmm.

Peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies from thecakemistress
makes 24 cookies (depending on size - I only ended up with 16)

4 oz unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter at room temperature (smooth or crunchy)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

For sprinkling: 1/4 cup caster sugar

1. Preheat oven to 180 C. In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the chocolate chips.
3. Place sprinkling sugar on a plate. Using an ice-cream scoop or tablespoon drop cookie rounds into the sugar, then onto a sheet of baking paper. Be sure to leave 2-3 cm around each for expansion. You could also use a fork to indent the top with a pattern, but do not overly flatten cookies.
4. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until they change to light golden brown. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but once they cool down they become firmer. Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting

Vanilla cupcakes v2.0. I'm currently testing out recipes for cupcakes. It's interesting that there are so many types of recipes for the same end product. Different ratios, ingredients and methods - what a pain. Oh, and don't forget that each individual has a different preference too.

This recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook was more promising than the previous vanilla cupcakes I made. I wouldn't declare this *THE* ultimate cupcake recipe so the search is still on!

The method for this cupcake is interesting - mix the butter with the dry ingredients, then add the wet ingredients. I made them muffin sized instead of cupcakes cause I think they look prettier and more proportionate when in muffin size. The beast did its job! The icing was smooth and easy to pipe. Really sweet though but I suppose that's what icing is suppose to be.
Vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting
makes 6 muffins or 12 cupcakes

4 1/2 oz plain flour
5 oz caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 1/2 oz butter
120 ml whole milk
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 quantity vanilla frosting

1. Line cupcake tray and preheat oven to 170 C.
2. Put flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a mixer bowl and with a paddle attachment, beat on slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined.
3. Gradually pour in half the milk and beat until just incorporated.
4. Whisk the egg, vanilla extract and remaining milk together in a separate bowl for a few seconds, then pour into the mixture and continue beating until just incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and mix until smooth. Do not overmix.
5. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until 2/3s full and bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until light and golden and the sponge bounces back when touched.
6. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Vanilla frosting

9 oz icing sugar, sifted
3 oz butter, at room temperature
25 ml whole milk
a couple drops of vanilla extract

1. Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a free-standing electric mixer with a paddle attachment on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed.
2. Turn the mixer down to slow speed. Combine the milk and vanilla extract in a separate bowl, then add to the butter mixture a couple of tablespoons at a time.
3. Once all the milk has been incorporated, turn the mixer up to high speed.
4. Beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. The longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes.

Vanilla cupcakes with rosewater icing

Presenting *cue some sort of star wars music*... the BEAST!!

Say goodbye to manual labour and hello to creaming butter and sugar with this bad boy. Y and I ventured into the unknown territory yesterday and made italian meringue frosting! It's so easy to make and it turned out so white and fluffy.

Initially, the instruction of boiling the sugar with water, then pouring it into the egg whites whilst the mixer is switched on seemed daunting and after a few minutes coupled with multiple sighs of relief - TADAA, frosting!

It's funny how quickly a mixer speeds the whole baking process up. Previously, I use to preheat the oven after the creaming of butter step. With the beast around, everything goes by so quickly and I only realised the oven wasn't switched on when it was time to scoop the batter into the cupcake liners.
I used the recipe from technicolor kitchen. I have to admit that the cupcakes itself didn't turn out. Didn't like the texture and it seemed a tad too egg-y. I halved the recipe but made the full amount for the frosting.
Vanilla cupcakes with rosewater icing
makes 24 cupcakes

250g unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups & 2 Tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
2 1/4 cups & 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup whole milk

Rosewater icing:
1 cup & 1 1/2 Tbsp caster sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp rosewater
3 egg whites

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C.
2. Place the butter, sugar and vanilla extract in the bowl and beat until light and creamy.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well.
4. Sift over the flour and baking powder and beat until combined.
5. Fold through the milk and spoon the mixture into the cupcake liners.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool on wire racks.
7. To make the rosewater icing, place the sugar, water, cream of tartar and rosewater in a saucepan over high heat and stir just until the sugar is dissolved.
8. Bring to the boil – at this point, do not stir – reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, place the egg whites in the large bowl of an electric mixer and beat until soft peaks form. While the motor is running, gradually add the sugar mixture to the whites and beat until slightly cooler, thick and glossy. Spread the icing over the cupcakes with a palette knife.

Chocolate chip cookies

It was raining most of yesterday so in an attempt to wait it out, chocolate chip cookies! I used a different chocolate chip cookie recipe from the Alton Brown's recipe I used the last time. Actually, the method is the same (using melted butter is always a plus for me when there's no mixer around). The only difference is the type of flour used and slightly different ratios.

This cookie was suppose to be chewy but again, more cake-y but it was crispy. I think it's probably the dark muscovado sugar that I've been using instead of brown sugar. Note to self - stock up on brown sugar.

I made these cookies bigger than the last time. I technically scooped the same amount of dough - 1/4 cup but I flattened them out before baking till they pretty much looked like burger patties. I experimented by varying the amount of flattening done and the last batch turned out the prettiest and by prettiest I mean flattest (without the silly dome in the centre). It was also the biggest, diameter wise (about 4 inches).
Chocolate chip cookies from smittenkitchen
makes 14 cookies (depending on size)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 oz butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (I used 1 tsp)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 165 C (I baked mine at 175 C for 17 minutes). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended.
3. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.
4. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time (for giant cookies) or a tablespoon at a time (for smaller cookies) onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
5. Bake larger cookies for 15 to 17 minutes, or 10 to 12 minutes for smaller ones (check your cookies before they’re done; depending on your scoop size, your baking time will vary) in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.