Cashew Cookie - A Malay Treat

In my head, I always want to do more than I have time for. When I was preparing for the our party, I saw the dishes my mum prepared for that special day to celebrate Hari Raya - sambal goreng pengantin, sayur lodeh, ayam masak merah, rendang and ketupat. S, ever the practical one, talks through my ideas and plans with me, and gently nudges when he sees my ambition getting ahead of me. This is a common occurrence — me, having wild ideas, and him, reining me back to reality. But sometimes, I manage to slip a couple of unplanned missions pass him.

Like two Saturdays ago.

We were preparing for our lunch party. S was doing some cleaning and clearing the house to make space for our guests. I had just finished labeling the serving plates. Five pounds of shrimps were waiting to be peeled and de-veined. I decided to mince dried shrimps and anchovies first. While my hands were busy, I was thinking that we didn't have enough sweets. One fruit cake and three kek lapis (I was testing recipes) were well and good, but I needed a cookie. I mean a cookie for the party, not for myself. Well, for myself too — just a few.

But which one? My mind mentally flipped through the ubiquitous cookies that make their appearances during Hari Raya and settled on the simplest one - the cashew cookie. Hands washed (and I mean really washed to remove the pungent scent of dried shrimps), I started scooping out the flour. I had butter, sugar, cashew and the remaining ingredients. No need to tell S, I thought. He'd just put the brakes on my batter. Our good friend L, came by with her 2½ year old daughter A, while I was measuring ingredients. So I enlisted A's help and she made her own cookies. She did very well — L just had to make sure that the cookies were about the same shape so they would bake evenly. I wish I have photos to share. I really need to step it up when it comes to photography.

Yes, making the cookies put me behind schedule and I had to stay up a little later than planned, but I am glad I did it. It was fun being able to introduce another Malay recipe to our friends. I also shared how I used to eat the cookie — I would peel the egg wash and enjoy that first because I thought it was the best part of the cookie!

When you see the pictures of the cookies I've made, you'll ask, why do they look like apples? In fact, I asked my mum that very question when she used to make them. See the picture on the left? That's the cashew fruit. The cashew nut that is jutting out of the fruit is really a seed. So the cookie is shaped to look just like the fruit! Clever, no? I've always wondered who was the first person who thought of it. With the addition of the cashew meal to the flour, it is also the perfect recipe to substitute some white whole meal flour. I used only ¾ cup substitution, but I will try more in the future. The recipe makes a lot of cookies, so feel free to halve it. The cookies are baked at a lower temperature so as not to burn the cashew nuts. They are so simple to make; I can easily see them being served during other festive occasions such as Thanksgiving and Christmas too.

Cashew Cookie (Kuih Gajus)

5½ oz roasted cashew
5½ oz castor sugar
11 oz all-purpose flour
3 oz white whole wheat flour
1 ts baking powder
8 0z butter (2 sticks), room temperature
1 egg, room temperature
1 ts vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
about 70-80 roasted and unsalted cashew nuts, each split in 2 halves

1. Run the cashew pieces through the food processor with 3 tablespoons of castor sugar. Mix with the flours and baking powder.

2. Beat the butter with the remaining castor sugar until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Beat until fluffy. Add the flour mixture and mix well. Pre-heat oven to 300°F. Line a baking tray with silicone mat or parchment paper.

3. Beat the egg yolk in a small bowl with a fork. Shape each piece of dough, about 1.5 inches, into a ball. Take one half of a cashew and gently push into the dough. When you have made enough for one baking tray, use a small pastry brush or your index finger to brush the egg wash over each cookie. Bake for about 15-18 minutes, or until the egg wash turns golden.

Makes 120-140 cookies.

Aunty Spice Cake and Uncle Ice-Cream

My husband and I have less-than-common names that are not so easy to remember on first introduction, especially if you are not Malay. When we met, we discovered that we each had a "Starbucks" name. You know, the name you give your barista so that they don't sprain their tongue trying to pronounce your real name. Mine was "Anna" and his was "Sean". Then, after chatting about it, we decided to have fun by using outlandish names or names that would give the baristas a second look. Sometimes, I use "Regina" (to rhyme with "hyena") (sorry to all the Reginas of the world) and he uses random words like "Silver" or the name of Zorro's horse - "Toro". It was tough not to giggle while they repeat or call our names.

It is no surprise that our good friend L's young nieces, Sydney and Shannon, have the same problem of not being able to pronounce and remember our names. So they created their own "Starbuck" names for us. S is Uncle Ice Cream because he always takes them out for ice cream. When I met first them, I brought over a spice cake which they enjoyed, so now I bake the cake whenever they visit from the East Coast. And because of that, they call me Aunty Spice Cake.

The Cake
So when L and her family came over for dinner last week, I decided to bake the spice cake and fancy it up with layers and icing. I've never made icing before and was shocked that some recipes call for 5 cups of sugar. This may be a case where ignorance would have been bliss. So I made up my own icing recipe. It is not the easiest to spread with, but it goes well with the cake. I have made the cake several times, each time tweaking it and making changes from the original recipe especially since I use whole wheat pastry flour.

Spice Cake
adapted from allrecipes.com

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground clove
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup whole milk
1 stick butter
1½ cup brown sugar
4 eggs

Icing
8 oz cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 cup castor sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 2 7-inch baking pans and line the base with parchment paper*. Sift the flour, spices, salt and baking powder. Cream the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add one egg at a time. Slowly beat in the flour mixture and then the milk until everything is well-incorporated.

2. Pour into the baking pans and put in the center rack in oven. Bake for 35-38 minutes until a toothpick comes out dry in the center of the cake.

3. To make the icing, beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Gradually stir in the castor sugar. Let the cakes cool. Then on one cake, spread ¼ of the icing ½-inch from the edge of the cake. Place the second cake on top of the first. Then spread the remaining icing on top and around the sides of the cakes. Refrigerate until the icing sets, about 30 minutes.

* You can also use one 9-inch baking pan. Bake for a few minutes longer - 38-42 minutes.

Sticky Date Pudding with Two Sauces

Yet another date dessert. But it would be remiss of me not to try to make this dessert - not just because we overshopped and now have a couple pounds of dates, but also because I enjoyed it often in Singapore. My godmum's office is on Duxton Hill and I spent a fair amount of time there. Sometimes she'd take me out to lunch to Broth - an Australian restaurant on the same street. I am not big on salads but I always ordered the Caesar salad with poached egg and she would have the spinach and portobello mushroom salad. Delicious dishes but they really just gave us permission to follow-up our meal with a sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce. Yes, our salads spoke to us and told us to go ahead and order the dessert since we only had leaves for lunch.

And this would be the part I start sniffing about how I miss her and eating this sticky date pudding reminds me of her. Well, I do miss her, OK? Growing-up, she was my rock and she also brought up two beautiful girls who are generous enough to share their mother with me. So there. But even if you have no memory related to sticky date pudding, this is a great dessert to celebrate the coming of autumn with. (yup, I just ended a sentence with a preposition)

The Pudding

This turned out to be the perfect dessert for me to continue with to experiment baking with agave. Substitution of granulated sugar with agave calls for a reduction of a liquid and I usually have a hard time figuring out which liquid to reduce. But it was easy with recipe because water is an ingredient. I also added a teaspoon of molasses for color - this is optional. In addition to butterscotch sauce, I also decided to do a white chocolate sauce which I thought would be refreshing without losing the saccharine sweetness that is associated with butterscotch. I used Black & Green's white chocolate which has vanilla bean bits. The recipe I used called for dariole molds, which I've never even heard of, much less have. I was about to go and buy bouchon molds but upon close inspection realized it had a similar shape to my mini popover pan. So I used that, and also tried it with a muffin pan. Both worked well.

Sticky Date Pudding with Two Sauces
adapted from Masterchef Australia

1½ dates, chopped finely
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ stick butter
⅔ cup agave*
1 teaspoon molasses - optional
2 large eggs
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1. Lightly oil the baking pan and set the oven to 325˚ F. Heat the water and dates in a saucepan and when it reaches boiling point, switch off the heat and add the baking soda. Set aside to cool and stir occasionally.

2. Cream the butter and add agave, beating mixture for about 4 minutes. Add one egg at a time and vanilla essence until incorporated. Add the flour and baking powder, mixing slowly until well-combined. Then fold in the date mixture.

3. Pour the mixture into each popover mold, until ¾ full and put it on the middle rack in the oven. Place a tray of water under the popover pan. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. The texture should be spongy.

Makes 12 puddings.

* If you don't have agave, you can substitute with 1 cup brown sugar and add ¼ cup water. Increase oven temperature to 350˚ F and reduce baking time to about 40 minutes.

The portion for each sauce below is sufficient for all the cakes in the recipe. Halve the portions if you want to make both sauces.

Butterscotch sauce
⅔ agave
½ stick butter
1 cup cream
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
pinch of salt

1. Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan on low heat. When the butter is melted, increase heat until boiling point, then lower the heat and stir for 8-10 minutes.

2. Pour about one tablespoon of the warm butterscotch sauce over each cake. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

White chocolate sauce
1¼ cup cream
1 packet (3.5 oz) Green & Black's white chocolate

1. Mix the ingredients in a saucepan on low heat until the white chocolate melts. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat. Stir frequently for about 8-10 minutes.

2. Pour about one tablespoon of the white chocolate sauce over each cake.

Not my mother's fruit cake

Every year, during the school holidays, we packed and dragged our bags to visit my mum's family across the causeway. She was born and grew up in a little rural village in Malacca. My grandparents had a wooden house on stilts and brought up 9 children on my grandfather's single income as a rubber-tapper. Like us, they had humble means and led simple lives. But we, coming from Singapore, were considered city folks and for some reason, were treated as special. Every time, we drove into the village in a rented car, we were welcomed with much fanfair. My grandmother and aunties would pull us for hugs as we kissed their hands in the traditional Malay way. There was much chattering about how we looked, how much we had grown and whether we were too thin or gained weight. I was always a little embarrassed but this was a mere prelude to the attention they would shower us throughout the visit.

To match the welcome, my mum would pull out treats and carefully wrapped food out of plastic bags. Among the stash were two cakes that took a delicate hand and watchful eyes to make. One of the cakes would be the infamous Malay kek lapis (layered cake) - the one which requires you to pour no more than a ¼ inch layer of batter, each layer baked for 2 minutes or less, until golden before the next layer is filled. I love that cake - all the butter and spice equals luxury in a bite. And then there is the fruit cake. My mum told me that a fruitcake is more about the fruits and nuts than cake. It may have been about abundance, but I didn't like it at all. The cake itself was delicious - I was happy with walnuts, I could tolerate raisins, but I didn't like the fruits - glazed cherries, candied pineapples and dried apricots. After my first bite, I didn't care if I never took another from a fruit cake again.

But as it turns out, my husband loves fruit cake. During sahur (the morning meal during Ramadan), S has cereal and milk every meal - it's the easiest to prepare at 4 a.m. He deserved something more. SoI did the unthinkable and made a fruit cake so that he had options. While waiting for my mum to wake up in her time zone, I searched online to get inspired. I really liked Kevin's (of Closet Cooking) recipe - it looked rich and moist. When I finally spoke to my mum, she rattled off whatever she could remember since she hasn't made fruit cakes for more than 10 years. They didn't have molasses so to brown the cake, they "burnt" the sugar. She steamed her cake, not bake. To prevent the fruits and nuts from sinking due to the long steaming time (3-4 hours), she said I should coat the fruits and nuts with flour.

The cake

So I took her basic recipe and decided to tweak it. I may have gone too far because I hardly recognize it. I have been using whole wheat pastry flour and was very happy with the results. I upped her use of 1 cup flour to 1½ cup because I wanted more cake. I wasn't worried for about the use of whole flour and the liquid ratio because I was planning to use a natural liquid sweeteners - agave. I wasn't sure I could burn sugar right so I used blackstrap molasses. For the nuts and fruits - walnuts and raisins were pantry staples, so that was easy. I also had dried figs and dates from previous recipes and Trader Joe's orange flavored cranberries which we use in salads. There were a few dried apricots but I wasn't sure if they were enough, so I bought more. I chanced upon these organic dried apricots that were not that bright shade of yellowy-orange. They were a dark brown because they hadn't been treated with sulphur dioxide. See the picture above to compare. Despite its looks, I like the taste of the organic apricots - they were less tough than the regular ones that I am used to. When you pour the batter in loaf pans, spread it level. I didn't do it for one of the pans and the cake came out uneven. I liked using 2 smaller loaf pans, so that each slice did not produce too big a piece. I also soaked cheese cloths in orange juice (yes, instead of brandy) and wrapped the fruit cakes in them for about 5 days. See the one on the right below? I, um, cut a slice to taste before taking the picture. The cake was moist despite the use of whole wheat flour. I think this fruit cake may have made me a convert, but more importantly, S loves it.

Fruit cake recipe

1½ cup + 2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup butter (1 stick)
5 tablespoons agave
1 tablespoon molasses
3 eggs
½ salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
½ teaspoon ginger powder
½ teaspoon allspice powder
1¼ cup walnuts
1 cup cranberries
1 cup dates
¾ cup raisins
½ cup apricots
½ cup dried figs
½ cup orange juice (optional)

1. Heat the oven to 275°F with a pan of hot water on the lowest shelf of the oven. Line 2 8" by 4" loaf pans or 1 8" by 8" loaf pan with parchment paper or foil. All ingredients should be at room temperature.

2. Mix the dried fruits and nuts, and dredge them in the 2 tablespoons of flour. Combine the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. Cream the butter in a mixer and add one egg at a time, followed by the agave and molasses. Mix in the flour mixture and then stir in the dried fruits and nuts.

4. Pour the batter into the pan/s. Bake for 2 hours. Cake is ready when a cake tester comes out clean.

5. Optional: Soak 2 cheese cloths in orange juice and wrap around each cake. Re-soak the cheesecloth after 2 days. Cake is ready to eat after 4 days.

Fig lemon oatmeal bar

I have been in a baking rut. Every weekend, I pull out the baking accouterments and work with the heat to produce something that S can have for breakfast during the week. But I have been repeating myself - biscotti, savory muffins, wholemeal chocolate cookies and bread. If it was a grind for me, the repeats must have been a bore to S. I needed to be inspired! Fittingly, it took a cookie to re-ignite my taste buds; specifically, a lemon fig cookie. My love for figs has been documented. Throw in a lemon? The flavor combination appealed to me. I had also just picked-up an old dessert recipe book from Know Knew Book store and was inspired by its use of wholegrain flour and natural sweeteners like honey and maple syrup. I have already started using whole wheat pastry flour and was keen to try the newer natural sweeteners like agave and brown rice syrup. I chose to use brown rice syrup in this recipe; it is less sweet than agave and honey tends to impart its own flavor.

Since I was experimenting, I decided to use a butter substitute from Earth Balance. When my in-laws visited last year, I bought a tub of the spread on the recommendation of my friend J because it is healthier for those with heart issues. Now, I am one of those who believe it's butter or nothing. But this is not your mother's margarine. It has no trans fat and is non-hydrogenated. In fact, the Earth Balance spread really impressed me. It has a light buttery taste that melts just right on warm toast. Here, I used their baking sticks; this makes the recipe vegan-friendly.

I was very happy with the results. More importantly, S liked it. The lemon was a little subtle - maybe next time I will try lemon peels to contrast more strongly with the figs. I have to confess now that I am actually not a fan of fruit bars - this was just for S. But I like the crust so much that I could eat it even if it didn't have the fig lemon topping on it. The crust tasted a little nutty, like there was a touch of peanut butter. I wonder if that's the net taste of wholemeal flour, oats and brown rice syrup. But it is a promiscuous type of crust - the type that demands pairings with other luscious toppings.


Fig lemon oatmeal bar*
Inspired by The Common Ground Dessert Cookbook

2 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
½ cup Earth Balance (or butter)
6 tablespoons brown rice syrup (or honey)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Fig lemon topping
1 cup dried figs, cut into ½ inch pieces
¾ cup water
½ cup fresh lemon juice
zest of 1 organic lemon
1 tablespoon cornstarch

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Mix the flour, oatmeal and spices. Add the brown rice syrup and Earth Balance (these should be at room temperature). Use your fingers to blend the flour mixture until well-incorporated. Press the mixture into an oiled an 8" by 8" baking pan.

2. To make the topping, put all the ingredient, except the cornstarch into a small saucepan on low heart. Stir until mixture becomes fairly smooth. Scoop a tablespoon of the mixture into a small bowl and dissolve the cornstarch in it. Pour back into the saucepan and stir until mixture thickens. If it is too thick, just a little water.

3. Pour fig lemon mix into the baking pan and spread evenly on the pressed oatmeal mixture. Bake for about 30 minutes. It's done when a cake tester comes out clean. Let it cool before cutting into bars.

*Update: On the second day of his breakfast bar, my husband, known for his salt tooth, decides that the crust could do with a little salt. If you are the same way, add ½ teaspoon salt.

Smitten Kitchen's crisp salty oatmeal white chocolate cookie redux

Summer school is taking a toll on me. 6 hours of classes daily, followed by at least 3 hours of homework. Why did I think it was a good idea at the time? I have not had much time to cook but my husband did request for these cookies. Usually, I bake something on the weekends for his breakfast for the week for example, cottage cheese muffins or biscotti. Cookies seem a little luxurious, but these have oatmeal in them. In my book, anything with oatmeal passes as breakfast food, no?

Now, Deb from Smitten Kitchen is a baking connoisseur. Have you seen her website? I only visit when I have a napkin in hand to wipe drool. The rule about never going to a grocery store hungry? Well, it applies to her pictures and recipes too. I hope one day to be adventurous enough to try to bake her tiered cakes, but for now, as a novice baker, I am contented with trying the simple cookies. I have baked her crisp salty oatmeal white chocolate cookie several times and always to good review.

But yesterday, when I was about to bake, I discovered I was out of all purpose flour. So I used whole wheat pastry flour as a substitute. Since a healthier ingredient was in, I decided to reduce the sugar because I had always thought that the white chocolate was sufficiently sweet. I took off 2 tablespoons of butter as well since there was less sugar (does that follow? I'm not sure). The cookie, surprisingly, tasted just as good with the whole wheat pastry flour and I am toying with the idea of reducing the sugar even more. But I am not sure if the reduction of butter (and probably combined with the reduction of sugar) was a good idea. Instead of the cookie being hollow thus producing the right amount of crisp, it flattened just like any other cookie. So I put the third batch of cookie dough that was waiting to go into the oven, in the fridge. This prevented the cookie dough from spreading completely flat (see the comparison in the last photo). I think putting it the fridge helped achieve almost the same texture as the original cookie. In future, I might a little bit more baking soda. But all said, what works for me is the sweet and salty in a cookie.



Crisp salty oatmeal white chocolate cookie
(adapted from smitten kitchen)

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
6 ounces good-quality white chocolate bar, chopped
½ teapoon flaky sea salt (like Maldon or fleur de sel) (I didn't have any so I used regular sea salt)

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and table salt in a bowl. Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until well-combined. Add and mix flour mixture gradually. Gradually add oats and white chocolate and mix until well incorporated.

Form dough into 2-inch balls. Keep in the fridge for 45 minutes (You can skip this step if you are in a hurry - cookies will spread more when baking). Pre-heat oven to 350F. Place cookie on baking sheetst about 3 inches apart. Use your fingers to lightly press down each ball to about 1-inch thickness.

4. Sprinkle a flake or two of sea salt on each cookie. If you are using sea salt, a few grains is fine.

5. Bake until cookies, rotating baking sheet halfway, for 12 to 16 minutes, or until golden brown.

Makes 24 cookies.

Mini popovers

Today we went to the vet. It's our first visit since Dexter adopted us 3 months ago. Our vet, Dr. Koga was just fabulous. She treated Dexter well, was very informative and gave us plenty of good advice. It was fun to watch Dexter in a different environment. He was really curious - sniffing every corner. The vet technician took Dexter to the back area where many of the staff were working, to weigh him. As soon as she read out his weight - 16.8 pounds - everyone turned their heads to look at him - amazement in their eyes. Yes, he is a big guy. We like to use the word "hefty". OK?

When we returned from the vet, I made popovers for tea. I've owned a popover pan for one year and have tried making popovers a grand total of two times - "tried" being the operative word. My first effort ambitiously included green onions and parmesan cheese. They tasted good but they didn't pop one bit. Learned my lesson so I tried a plain popover recipe next. That time, I saw the popovers rising in the oven. I was excited and clapped a little in joy. And then they started deflating before my very eyes. Was it the temperature, or maybe the applause? Whichever, I was crushed.

But I am determined not to make the popover pan the white elephant in my drawer of baking pans. So I dusted the pan and despite my fear of failure, decided to give it another go. As the popovers were popping in the oven, I remained calm and was determined not to become attached. But it was a case of third time lucky. With a spread of butter, the warm puffy popover was simply luscious in the mouth.

There are many recipes out there with different methods such as putting the batter through a blender and pre-heating the pan. I did neither. I also have a mini-popover pan so I adjusted the baking time and temperature. The batter is enough for about 8 mini popovers which was plenty for two.

Popovers

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk (room temperature)
2 eggs (room temperature)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar

Beat the eggs and then add in the rest of the ingredients. Whisk well - small lumps are OK. Let the batter rest. Pre-heat the oven to 400 F. Oil the popover pan. Then pour the batter up to ¾ of each popover cup. Put the pan in the second lowest rack of the oven. Bake for about 18 minutes then lower the temperature to 340 F. Bake for another 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 8 mini-popovers.