Macaron shells #2 - peanut

For peanut butter and jelly macarons.

Macaron shells #1 - orange zest

Green Tea and White Chocolate Mousse

As I was drafting this post, I thought that the pretty colors in the pictures deserve its own soundtrack. After yesterday's poem read by Andy Garcia, how about another poem by Neruda? This time "And Now You Are Mine" read by Andy Garcia and Julia Roberts. You may press play.

My easy and quick go-to dessert is Alton Brown's Moo-Less Chocolate Pie. Before you pooh-pooh the idea of tofu in your chocolate, try it first. Every time I make it for guests, which is many times, it always receives rave reviews. No one can taste the tofu, even people who hate tofu love it and have asked me for the recipe. It's convenient because I just keep a bag of chocolate chips and a box of tofu (I use Morinu's organic tofu which does not require refrigeration) in the pantry for emergency dessert (what do you mean you've never had such an emergency). It's easy because I skip the crust - just blend all the ingredients (I use expresso coffee instead of coffee liquer), pour the mixture in ramekins and let it set in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Serve with some fruits of the season and have very happy guests.

But to avoid same dessert-fatigue, I set out to make a variation of my own. My version uses white chocolate and green tea. I've made this twice for friends we had over for dinner recently and I'm delighted that they enjoyed it. I served it with sliced strawberries and pistachios. One of my friends commented that she liked the strawberries because the slight tartness countered the sweetness of the white chocolate. So I imagine this would go well with blackberries and raspberries too. I lined the strawberries because I used glass cups. But you can easily use ramekins and put diced fruits at the base or on top of the mousse. The pistachio rounds up the mousse with the right texture and crunchy richness, so don't skip it. Use a good quality white chocolate bar - the inexpensive, chips in a packet tend to be higher in sugar and too sweet. This recipe is not vegan because white chocolate usually contains milk products. But you can get vegan white chocolate or make your own if you want to make it dairy-free.

Green Tea and White Chocolate Mousse
inspired by Alton Brown

10-12 strawberries
12 oz white chocolate
3 oz firm silken tofu
1 teaspoon matcha
⅓ cup hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 oz pistachios (shelled and peeled)

1. Slice the strawberries thinly and use them to line your glass cups or ramekins.

2. Use a double boiler or put a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water. Melt the white chocolate in the bowl and then stir in the vanilla.

3. Dissolve the matcha in the hot water. Pour into the blender with the tofu and liquefy. Then pour in the white chocolate and blend the mixture. Pour into the glass cups or ramekins. Refrigate until set - about 2 hours.

4. To serve, sprinkle pistachios over the mousse.

Makes 6 in 6 oz containers.

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.

Hazelnut date balls

Life has been moving in slow motion since yesterday, the first day of Ramadan. The first few days are the toughest; the body is thirsty and the mind is parched. But there is a psychological factor at play. Our long days are usually broken up by meals. When you are working, you look forward to that lunch break. Visions of what to have for lunch floats in your mind. And the comfort of a hot latte is irreplaceable when you are feeling stressed. All that is taken away during Ramadan.

Just as I evolve as a person, what powers me through the day of fasting has gone through a metamorphosis. At seven years old, I fasted because I wanted to be just like the grown-ups and because my mum told me it was the only way to deserve celebrating Hari Raya. Coming home from school, I threw my bag aside and immediately sought the couch so that I could lay there until break fast - I did not intend to move for the four hours leading to the magical Maghrib minute. As a teenager, fasting, for me, was about peer pressure and the challenge of doing something that my friends of other faith thought impossible. So, yes, a little pride was involved. Up until my twenties, fasting was just something you do and not questioned.

But now, I am conscious of the purpose of the fast. When a hunger pang hits, I am reminded of the reason why we do this. It allows us to empathize with those for whom hunger is the norm. Instead of giving in to the feelings of irritation, impatience and volatility that I experience with hunger, I remind myself that it is a fast not only of food, but of my emotions as well. At the end of each day, I am thankful that I completed the fast and I am grateful for the food before me. So life in slow motion is actually welcomed - it allows me to refocus my faith and the quiet turns me inwards for self-reflection.

Date is a traditional fruit eaten to break our fast. It is incredibly nutritional - good source of dietary fiber and rich in vitamins. I used not to like it because I found it too sweet. But a few years ago, while visiting my friend Kristen in Santa Fe, she made these date balls for desserts. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. So I made them to break our fast with. She used almonds, but I decided to try it with hazelnuts. I think you can substitute with whatever nuts you have. I grounded the nuts with a mortar and pestle, but next time, I am going to leave the nuts a little chunkier.

The unexpected ingredient is the cardamom. I am familiar with cardamom as a spice in Indian cooking. Here, I was surprised that it added a refreshing note to the sweetness of the date. I also had fun crushing the skin of the cardamom. I usually cook with them whole. The seeds look similar to vanilla beans. I used a mortar and pestle to grind them, but you can also buy ground cardamom. Alternatively, use cinnamon if you are not fond of the taste of cardamom. I shaped the dates into bite-sized pieces; you can make them into bigger 2-inch pieces.

Hazelnut date balls

1 cup date, chopped finely
½ cup hazelnuts, chopped
1 tablespoon cardamom or ¾ teaspoon ground cardamom*
3 tablespoon dessicated coconut

1. If using whole cardamom, use a pestle to crush each cardamom. When the skin breaks, remove the seeds. Then use a mortar and pestle to ground the cardamom seeds. To toast the dessicated coconut, put in a dry pan on low heat and stir occasionally until light brown.

2. Using clean hands, mix the date, hazelnut and ground cardamom until well-incorporated . Pinch a small amount and roll between palms into a ball with a diameter of about 1 inch.

3. When all the date mixture is shaped, roll half of them in the dessicated coconut.

* substitute with cinnamon if you don't have/like cardamom

Makes 14

Kuih lapis nonya (Layered cake)

Now, it's possible that I made this kuih lapis nonya (layered cake) only because of the pretty colors. But it is really because I felt like peeling. That's how we used to eat it as kids. We'd peel each layer and lay it on our tongue as we savored the soft cool texture before we started chewing. Some of my friends would roll the layer first. I do remember that sometimes an adult would chide us for playing with our food. But we didn't see it that way - we were enjoying our food and even now I think we should have been encouraged. We were exploring the texture of the cake and finding the best way to eat it.

This cake is made by steaming layer by layer. Usually, you'd make the batter, divide it into separate bowls and then add food coloring in each bowl. But I actually added an additional step. I did not want to use artificial food coloring, so I decided to try making natural food coloring for this cake. I used beets, carrots and pandan leaves. Of course, this takes more preparation, but the beets and carrots add some sweetness which means you can use less sugar. The colors aren't as vivid as food coloring - the redness of the beet turned pink, the orange was more yellow and the pandan's green was slight. But still pretty, I think.




I am not writing out the recipe yet because I want to tweak it a little. It tasted good, but I thought it was more chewy than I remembered. I did want to share how I made the food coloring without a juicer.

First, line a strainer with 2-3 layers of cheese cloth and place it over a deep bowl. Peel and boil 3-4 small beets until they are soft. Take the beets out (save 1 cup of the water) and mash them in a bowl. Put them back in the pot with the 1 cup of water saved. Once the mixture is reaches boiling point, remove the pot from the heat and pour into the strainer. Use a spoon to press as much liquid out. Leave it on the counter for about 4-6 hours, stirring occasionally to encourage more straining. Be careful when handling beets - they stain like crazy!

For orange/yellow color, do the same with about 3 medium sized carrots. For green, put about 5-6 pandan leaves in a food processor, add 3 tablespoon of water and minced roughly. Then boil it with 1 cup of water. Repeat the steps to strain as with the beets.

You can keep the coloring in the refrigerator until you are ready use them. I was so tired after all that straining, I made the cake only the next day. And, it's not enough to use a few drops to get the coloring. For the kuih lapis nonya, replace water with the food coloring solution. If you already make your own kuih lapis, I highly recommend using natural food coloring. I'll update this post once I get the recipe pat.

Orange and Milo jelly

I had made a spice cake for dessert for a dinner party, but it seemed a little heavy for a hot summer day. We had oranges and Milo - the latter is a pantry staple at home. So I squeezed the oranges for juice, put it on heat with some agar-agar powder and cooled it in a jelly mold. Repeat with Milo and pour it over the cooled orange agar-agar. I added some blueberries and it made for a refreshing dessert - proving once again that orange and chocolate are a sure-win combination. If you decide to try this, taste the orange juice. I used organic Valencia oranges which are pleasantly tart. I liked it, but if you want to cut down on the tartness, add a little sugar. Or, for a short-cut, use store-bought orange juice (yes, it's allowed). If I may recommend, unsweetened iced tea accompanies this dessert wonderfully.