CNY Baking – Pineapple Tarts

After I finished my Peanut Cookies baking, I continued with Pineapple Tarts. Ok, let me tell you this…making this Pineapple Tarts is really a hard work! It took me a so long to complete the task! No wonder people only bake this once a year or rather buys it from the shop.

 

 Ta da! Here's my first ever Pineapple Tarts!

For Pineapple jam

Ingredients

2 medium-size pineapples, grated and drain the juice
300g sugar
A stick of cinnamon

* Here’s the recipe for the step by step pineaple jam.

What to do

1. Cook grated pineapple in a pot with sugar and cinnamon for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

2. Cook until the pineapple jam starts to leave the sides of the pot. Remove from stove and set aside to cool.

For the pastry

Ingredients

200g butter, room temperature
3 tbsp sugar
1 ½ tsp of salt
1 egg yolk
375g flour
2 tbsp corn flour
2 ½ tbsp custard powder
2 tbsp milk powder

What to do

(1) Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.

(2) Add in the egg yolk and beat well.

(3) Sift salt, flour, custard powder, cornstarch and milk powder. Mix flour mixture into the butter until it forms a smooth dough.

(4) Remove and let the dough rest for half an hour.

(5) Roll out the dough about 0.5cm thick and cut into shape with a pineapple tart mould. Fill the center of tart with some pineapple jam. Repeat until the dough is finish.

(6) Bake the tarts in a pre-heated 180 degree until golden brown. Cool tarts on rack before storing it.

 

Here, I would like to wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year and Gong Xi Fatt Chai!!! May the Year of the Rabbit bring you good health, wealth and happiness! =)

CNY Baking – Peanut Cookies

Chinese New Year is just around the corner. Unfortunately there is no celebration here (living in non Chinese community) and I can’t even feel the CNY atmosphere, especially when hubby is someone who doesn’t give a damn about CNY. =(

Well, I am trying to create some atmosphere for myself here. Teehee

I’ve baked 2 types of CNY goodies to enjoy which are Peanut Cookies and Pineapple Tarts. Both are my favourites!

Love my peanut cookies as it taste exactly how it should be. Hooray for myself! It was quite simple, all you need are:-

Ingredients

250g roasted peanuts
450g self-raising flour
225g icing sugar
200g vegetable oil
tsp salt

Egg Wash
2 egg yolk


What to do

(1) Pre-heat oven to 200 degree. Roast peanuts for 15-20 min in the oven. In a food processor, ground peanuts till fine.

(2) In a mixing bowl, mix flour, ground peanuts, sugar, and salt. Mix well.

(3) Add in oil and knead to make into a dough. Shape the dough round or cut into desired shape.

(4) Brush the top with some egg. Bake it at 180 degree in the oven until golden brown.

(5) Cool completely and keep cookies in an air-tight container.

Egg White Omelette

I found this recipe from the Taste.com.au but I’ve modified a little.

It was so delicious! I never thought that it could be this delicious… must give it a try!

Happy cooking~

Ingredients


Olive oil spray
1 small onion, sliced
50g baby spinach
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
3 egg whites


What to do

1. Lightly spray a non-stick frying pan with olive oil spray. Add onion and spinach, cook over medium heat until spinach is wilted. Remove from pan and season with sea salt and cracked black pepper.

2. Lightly spray pan again with a little oil. In a bowl, whisk egg whites with electric beaters until soft peaks form.

3. Add egg whites to the pan and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes or until nearly set. Sprinkle spinach filling over half the omelette and cook for further 3 minutes or until the base is golden.

4. Carefully fold over omelette to enclose filling. Serve immediately.

Stir Fry Instant Noodles

Back in my hometown, I used to have this meal as breakfast, such as Stir Fry Vermicelli, Prawn Noodle, and Wonton Noodle… all sort of noodles. Hardly had bacon and egg or toast for breakkie.

Since today is a Public Holiday and I had plenty of time to enjoy my breakfast, I prepared this “Stir Fry Instant Noodles” for our breakfast! It was so deliciousssss!!! =D

Ingredients

4 blocks of instant noodles, cooked in boiling water.
3 eggs

3 clove of garlic, chopped finely
300 grams chicken breast, diced
1 frankfurt, sliced

A handful of bean sprout

Seasoning
4 tablespoons of kikoman soya sauce
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste

Garnishing

Baby cos lettuce

What to do

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok, add the eggs and scramble the eggs until cooked. Dish out and set aside.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in the wok and saute garlic until fragrant. Add the chicken cook for 2 minutes and follow by frankfurt, bean sprout and stir fry.

3. Add seasoning. Stir fry for half a minute.

4. Pour in some water and bring to boil. Stir in noodles and mix well.

5. Add scrambled egg and stir fry well.

6. Serve on plate, garnish with lettuce.

By the way, Happy Australia Day!

Parmesan Pita Crisps

The other day we were catching up with some tv series and I had a sudden crave for some snack. Unfortunately I didn’t store junk food in my pantry.

Well, I do have some pita bread with me though. Hence I made this...

… it was a great snack! Satiated my crave!!! =D

Ingredients
Pita bread
2 tbs parmesan, to serve


What to do

Preheat oven to 180°C. Cut pita bread into 8 wedges. Place on a baking tray. Sprinkle with parmesan. Bake for 8 minutes or until golden.

Raspberry Jam Muffins

It’s been a while I didn't bake any muffins. Hence, I’ve decided to make these jam muffins.

As for the jam, I used the raspberry jam that I bought when I visited Sunny Ridge. Enjoy~

Ingredients

300g self-raising flour

100g caster sugar

80ml vegetable oil

1 large egg

175ml milk

3 tsp good-quality raspberry jam

What to do

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and grease a 6-hole muffin pan.

2. Sift the flour into a medium bowl, then add a pinch of salt and the caster sugar. In a jug, combine the vegetable oil, egg, and milk. Add to the dry mixture and stir to only just combine.

3. Place a spoonful of the mixture in each muffin hole and make an indent in the centre. Fill each indent with a generous 1/2 teaspoon of raspberry jam. Cover the jam with the remaining muffin mixture and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly. Serve.

Coconut Butter Cake

This is a very easy cake to make. I am not really a big fan of coconut but I do like the texture of the desiccated coconut. Love this cake to bits as it was so fluffy and not too oily also the lovely texture of the desiccated coconut. Enjoy~

Ingredients

300g plain flour
½tbsp baking powder
½tsp salt
250g butter, softened
200g sugar
3 eggs
200ml milk

What to do

(1) Put all ingredients into a big bowl and use an electric hand mixer to blend all the ingredients until smooth.

(2) Grease the cake tin and transfer the batter into the cake tin and bake at 180 degree for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Butter Waffles

A plate of warm homemade waffles served with few slices of white peaches and drizzled with maple syrup. Hmm… what a perfect breakfast!

 

Ingredients

340g plain flour

2½tsp baking powder

¼tsp salt

3 eggs, separated

350ml buttermilk

3tbsp honey

125g butter, melted

What to do

(1) Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.

(2) Beat egg yolks until thick, add buttermilk, honey and melted butter.

(3) Gradually add to dry ingredients, beat until smooth.

(4) Beat egg whites until stiff, fold into the batter.

(5) Scoop the batter into the preheated waffle maker, and cook until golden brown and crisp. Serve with your favourite toppings.