Chocolate Chip Cookies

The absolute best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had!  I had to digitize this recipe before I lose the paper it is on.  It was on a folded piece of paper and stored in a plastic bag that I had used to bring the recipe, and ingredients, for our annual family get away in Vermont.  

I have made my fair share of chocolate chip cookies over the years.  Some have been thick and cakey.  Some have been thick and hard.  Some have been thin and hard.  Some have been too sweet.  Like Goldilocks I couldn't find the right chocolate chip cookies.  They were never just right until I came upon this recipe.  Once I tried these cookies I knew they were one of the best I ever had.  Do any of you remember the Felix and Norton cookies?  These are like those cookies.  This is a recipe that has been asked by friends, family,  friends of family, and friends of friends!.  They are always a hit whenever they are served.  I think the difference is the quality of the ingredients and chocolate.

If you want to have a batch on hand whenever you have a craving, the unbaked formed cookie dough balls can be frozen.  Take out as many as you want to bake and have fresh, warm from the oven, gooey, chocolatey cookies!!!  Enjoy!!!

Makes 54 x 1 Tbsp cookies

Ingredients:
420g     all purpose flour
1.5 tsp  baking soda
1 tsp     salt

225g     melted butter

150g     sugar (cut from original 200g)
130g     brown sugar
70g       corn syrup
2           egg yolks
1/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp  artificial vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (dark and milk mix)

1 Tbsp ground coffee to mix (optional)

Method:
1) Sift dry ingredients together
2) Mix together melted butter with sugars.  Add egg, milk and vanilla.
3) Add wet ingredient mixture to dry ingredients.  Add choco. chips.
4) Form 1 1/4" round balls (approx 1 tbsp).  Place on parchment lined baking sheet 2" apart.  Bake @325F for 8-10 minutes.  Don't overbake!

Adapted from LBPSB Pastry class

Chinese Cake

The perfect sponge cake:  How many of you have had the chinese roll cakes or birthday cakes purchased from an asian bakery?  Aren't they the lightest, softest, most moist, and perfectly lightly sweetened cakes you have ever eaten?  I know that I can eat a huge slice and not feel full.  A buttercream frosting would be too heavy for this cake.  A filling and frosting of whipped cream and fruits is all it needs.  This cake is pretty much my "go to" cake base for all asian birthday cakes and strawberry shortcakes.  It can be flavoured with extracts, fruit purees, green tea or pandan.

For over 30 years I would drive out to the east end of Montreal and purchase a cake for all my special occasions, from birthdays, anniversaries, children's full month, Mother's Day or just because I felt like I needed one.  It was also the same cake that all friends and families bought for their birthdays and special events.  Have you heard of the saying "Too much of a good thing is a bad thing"?  We stopped buying it because it wasn't special anymore.  Fast forward 30 years and I took a baking class from this bakery.  Because of this class, it then motivated me to take a 1 year pastry course!  I now have the coveted recipe for the Chinese cake and can jazz it up with different flavours and decorations to make it special for any occasion or cravings I have.

Such a simple cake can make such beautiful cakes!

Makes 1 x 8" x 14" pan for cake roll or 1 x 8" x 3" or 1 x9" round cake.  I like the resulting height of an 8"x3" round cake pan as it cuts and gives 3 nice cake layers.

Ingredients:

85g    egg yolks (approx 4 XL eggs or 5 large eggs)

25g    sugar

45g    oil

45g    milk

85g    cake flour

1g      salt

1 tsp  vanilla extract (or any other flavour)

170g  egg whites (approx 5 XL eggs or 6 large eggs)

85g    sugar

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 325F

2) Mix egg yolks with sugar.  Mix in oil.  Mix in milk.  Sift in flour and salt and mix.  Mix in any flavouring.

3) Whisk egg whites, adding sugar in 3 batches, at medium high speed until firm peaks.  Lower speed and continue beating for a couple of minutes to medium peaks.

4) Fold in egg whites, in 2 to 3 batches, into the egg yolk batter, until no whites are visible.

5) Bake in a parchment lined pan for 30-40 minutes until inserted toothpick is clean.

Adapted from Patissierie Legault

Chinese Dumplings

Teamwork!!!  I never thought to make dumpling skins from scratch until we made Chinese dumplings at my pastry school to celebrate the Chinese New Year.  All the Asian classmates got together and made a variety of dumplings for our class.  The fillings and styles of wrapping were different but the dough was basically the same with the only difference was whether hot or cold water was used.  The non-Asian classmates would help out between turns of their Danish pastry dough because the class must go on!  All the dumpling dough was rolled out by hand and cut out with a ring.  I wish I had a picture to commemorate the event that started me on my homemade dumpling journey.

                                                

The experience brought back memories of my childhood when the Loo family would all make “fun guo” (steamed pork dumplings) around the kitchen table.  Patriarch and Matriarch Loo made the best tasting dumplings.  They made sure that the ingredients were of quality and with ingredients that all the children enjoyed - shrimp, pork and chinese shiitaki mushrooms.  I’m salivating just thinking of the translucent pockets filled with savoury and juicy shrimp and meat fillings.  The Loo girls would make the dumplings and the Loo boys would eat them.  Teamwork!!!  At that time we used a tortilla press to flatten the dough.  Now I’m using the kitchenaid pasta dough roller to flatten out the dough.  Seriously, why roll by hand when I have access to a machine that will help make sure the wrappers are consistent in size and thickness.

The below recipe is not the translucent wrapper or filling from my childhood.  Once I find one I’ll certainly write it down and we can have a Loo family dumpling day!  The filling can really be anything you like.  Go wild!  Go crazy!  Go enjoy the fruits of your labour!  It’s definitely an all day event when doing this alone.  I didn't mind because it is for family and so relaxing while listening to oldies music.

The recipe below makes about 150 dumplings. 

FILLING:

Ingredients:

1.3kg of ground pork

200g of chopped raw shrimps

4 dried chinese mushrooms

15g light soya sauce

15g cooking wine

20g salt

30g sugar

300g water (or water from the soaked mushrooms)

3 eggs

Dark soya sauce

Sesame oil

Oil

Method:

Wash and soak the chinese mushrooms.  Chop the mushrooms.  Combine the marinade ingredients and then pour over the ground pork.  Using a kitchenaid, with the paddle attachment, beat at medium low / medium speed until all the ingredients are combined and liquid absorbed.  Add in the shrimps and mushrooms and continue to beat.  Let sit for 30 minutes.

WRAPPERS:

Ingredients:

1000g AP Flour

560g warm water

Extra flour for dusting

Method:

In a large bowl, mix in the warm water with flour.  Once, more or less combined, turn out onto the table and knead until a smooth ball.  Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.  Cut into 4 pieces and wrap 3 in plastic wrap.  Dust table top with flour and roll dough into a sausage.  Flatten out and pass the dough through the pasta roller, passing twice for each thickness, starting at 1, then 2, then 3, and finally to 4.  I like the thickness of 4 but you can go to 5.  Cut using a 3 ¼” / 8cm ring (glass cup or whatever you have on hand).  Flour well between layers

ASSEMBLY:

The easiest way is to make half moon shaped dumplings.  Take a dumpling wrapper, wet half of the edge with water, put a full teaspoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper and fold over the wrapper so that the dry edge meets the wet edge.  Press the edges down.  Another way is to use a gyoza mold.  Lay on dumpling on a parchment lined tray that has been well floured to prevent the dumplings from sticking.  Cover with plastic wrap to prevent the skin from drying as you continue making the rest of dumplings.  You can freeze the dumplings on the tray.  Once completely frozen, transfer to a plastic container or bag.  Dumplings can be boiled or pan fried.

Galettes des Rois

Better than the bakery!  Seriously…This is such an easy pie to make using store bought puff pastry!  Don't get me wrong.  There is nothing like home made puff pastry dough, but store bought puff pastry dough is a great compromise given the savings in time and effort.  The one I like best is the PC butter puff pastry dough.  The third ingredient listed after wheat flour and water is BUTTER!!!!!  Unfortunately my relationship with butter is not equal.  I love butter but butter doesn't always love me.  I have noticed that my jeans are starting to get a little snug!  

After my brother-in-law bought this galette/tart/cake at a pastry shop on New Year’s Eve, it reminded me that I had seen this recipe before and thought it looked like something I can handle.  I also needed something to make since I had 10 boxes of butter puff pastry sitting in my freezer that I purchased, on special, for $2.48 a box!!!  At that price why would anyone make puff pastry from scratch at home?!??

Most recipes I found called for a little bit of rum but I replaced it with almond extract.  Also because I like my desserts less sweet, the sugar was also reduced from 100g to 85g.  Use an almond instead of a ceramic figurine to avoid anyone from cracking a tooth if they aren't careful.  Not sure if the family was just being nice, but it was mentioned by many that it was better than the purchased Galette des Rois because there was more filling, it wasn't too sweet and it was oh so warm and BUTTERY!!

To help with cutting the circles, I used the base of a 9” springform pan to cut out the puff pastry dough for the bottom, a 10” pizza pan as a template for the top circle of the pie, and the 9” springform pan ring to neatly and cleanly cut the edges after the galette was assembled.  

Who says it needs to be round?  To reduce wastage of the puff pastry dough I made rectangles too and call it an almond tart.  Just as yummy!!!

GALETTE DES ROIS

INGREDIENTS:

Pastry:

450g of puff pastry (1 box with 2 sheets)

Almond filling:

100g of softened butter

85g of sugar

2 large eggs

100g of almond powder

½ tsp of almond extract

Pinch of salt

1 whole almond

Egg wash:

1 egg yolk

1 tsp milk

Method:

• Roll out the puff pastry and cut out 2 circles using a 9” springform pan and 10” pizza pan as a template.  Lay out each on parchment paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  The 9” will be the bottom and 10” will be the top.
• In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar for 5 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time beating after each egg. Add almond powder, almond extract and salt and beat until well combined.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• When ready to assemble, lay out the 9” pastry circle on a sheet covered with parchment paper.  Spoon the prepared almond paste onto the middle of the circle and, using an offset spatula (or back of spoon), start spreading the almond paste from the middle to 1” from the edge of the pastry.
• Place the whole almond on the top, near the edge of the almond paste.
• Brush warm water along the exposed edge of the puff pastry.
• Using the 10” pastry circle, cover the almond paste and lightly smooth the top and press down on the edges to seal.  Using a 9” springform pan ring (or 9" ring), center the ring to use as a guide to cut the excess pastry dough from the edges.
• Using back of knife, create dimples along the edges about 1 finger width apart.  Score the top into a simple design.  Pierce 5 holes in the top to let the steam out. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (at this point you can refrigerate or freeze).  
• Preheat oven to 375F.  Egg wash the top, avoiding the edges as it will affect the pastry’s ability to puff (rise).  Bake for 30 minutes.

Adapted from: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/galette-des-rois-kings-cake-recipe/

Cinnamon Torte

Going down memory lane:  I’ve been craving this cake since the 90’s!!!  Ever since Cavendish Mall Pumpernickel’s restaurant closed down in Montreal, I haven’t tasted or seen a cake similar to this, in any of the local restaurants or pastry shops.  This was one of the first “fancy” cakes I ever tried that wasn’t a typical store bought birthday cake.  After finding this recipe in 2016, I experimented and made it a few times for the family.  The seniors all said that it brought back the fond memories for them too!  Even cinnamon haters enjoyed this cake!  Of course the sugar content has been reduced to accommodate our current palates.

This cake can be time consuming because we need to bake the cookies first.  The cookies keep and can be made ahead of time.  Just put on some relaxing music.  Assembling the cake is easy but you still cannot enjoy until the flavours have melded!  Whenever you want to show someone how much they mean to you, Make This Torte!

My family has a history with the Pumpernickel’s restaurant.  My Dad worked there, my hubby worked there and my brother worked there!!!  They just didn’t all work there at the same time.  Pumpernickel’s also had an amazing New York Cheesecake that I compare all other cheesecakes too.  If I ever find a New York cheesecake, that is comparable to the Pumpernickel’s New York Cheesecake, I’ll have a few stories from my Hubby and Brother-in-law that I will include.

Before Pastry Courses

INGREDIENTS

Cookies:

390g     flour

16g       cinnamon

340g     butter

325g     sugar

2          eggs

Filling:

1380g   whipping cream

2 Tbsp  icing sugar

1 Tbsp  vanilla

Decoration:

3⁄4 cup chocolate curl

METHOD

Cookies:

·    Draw a 9” circle template on a parchment paper to use as a guide for spreading the cookie dough.  Cut 15 pieces of 10-12” square parchment papers to spread the cookie cookies on.

·    Preheat oven to 375 (or 350 convection)

·    Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time while mixing. Add flour and cinnamon a little at a time mixing well.  Let dough rest for 15 minutes.

·    Divide dough into 15 portions (approx. 1/3 cup measure for each portion).  Place 1 parchment square over the circle template.  The circle should be visible through the parchment paper.  Place 1 portion of cookie dough on the parchment and, using the template as a guide, spread the cookie dough with an offset spatula to fill the circle.  It will be very thin.  Place on cookie sheet.

·    Bake for 4-6 min or until it starts to brown on the edges. (Careful because they burn easily!)

·    Cool on a wire rack before stacking

·    Continue with the remaining dough.

·    At this point you can wrap and store these cookie layers until you are ready to use them. The torte itself does not take long to assemble.

     Tips and Tricks for making the cookies:  A cut out plastic circular template, made from a tub container lid, makes the spreading of the cookie dough a breeze.

Filling:

·    Whip the cream, vanilla and icing sugar together until stiff.

·    Reserve about 1 1/2 cup for decorating the top of the Torte.

Assemble:

·    Place a dollop of whipped cream on the bottom of the cake plate (this is to anchor the cookie) and place your first cookie on it. Spread approx. a ½ cup of filling (plus a little extra when needed) and repeat until all cookies and cream have been used

·    Put the reserved whipped cream into a piping bag and do 8 rosettes of whip cream on the top on the Torte.

·    Sprinkle with chocolate curls.

·    Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Adapted from:  http://www.food.com/recipe/cinnamon-torte-294038

Coconut Bread

Adjust as kneaded:  This is a keeper!!!  The resulting bread is a super soft, light, slightly sweet bread similar to the ones you can find at a chinese bakery.  You should have seen my husband’s face drop after I told him I gave the rest of the bread away to my children to try.  He had just finished giving a good review and saying how much he enjoyed it before I broke the bad news that it was all gone.  I had to make another batch just for Hubby!  Who knew my husband actually enjoyed my baking.

This is one of the first real breads I ever made with yeast!  It looked simple enough where most of the time spent was waiting for the dough to rise.  I could handle braiding too!  A few adjustments were made along the way to test changes to taste and texture.  The original recipe called for bread flour.  Looking up a bread flour substitute, the substitute is 1 cup of AP + 1 tbsp of gluten flour.  The addition of gluten flour made for a more bread like taste and tougher texture than the lightly sweet soft bread that we all preferred.  I also tried increasing the AP flour to 410g and replacing milk with coconut milk.  The quantity of flour and the use of coconut milk didn't really make any significant taste or texture difference.  Obviously no wild changes for me!  Will continue to experiment and continue making adjustments as kneaded (hehehe...get it?).

Just kneaded

After 1 hour

Wow!!!  After 3 hours!

Finished shaping

Time to eat!!!

COCONUT BREAD  Make 2 loaves

INGREDIENTS:

Dough:

395g    all purpose flour

65g      sugar

3/4 tsp kosher salt

7 g       instant dry yeast

2          eggs at room temp

105g    lukewarm water

70g      whole milk at room temp

70g      melted unsalted butter

Topping:

30g     shredded coconut

30g     salted melted butter

30g     sugar

1/2 -1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp coconut oil or veg-oil for greased the bowl and kneading, shaping the dough.

2 nonstick loaves pan size 9 x 5 x 3 inches

METHOD:

Dough:

• Combine dry ingredients in a stand mixer bowl.  Make a well and add liquid ingredients.
• In stand mixer with dough hook attachment, mix at speed 1 for 2 minutes.  Increase to speed 2 for 4 minutes.  Scrape down sides and knead at speed 2 for an additional 4 minutes.
• Grease hands, work surface, bowl and any tools used.  Turn out dough on a greased work surface and manually knead for 1-2 minutes.  Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let the dough rise on a kitchen counter for 1 hour.
• Manually knead dough a second time, for about 1-2 mins, place back in bowl and let it rise at room temperature for 3 hours.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal portions, then divide each portion into 3. Shape the dough into 16 inch logs.  Using 3 logs shape the dough into a loose braid, seal edges, and fold under ends.  Repeat with remaining loaf, place in pans, and let rise for 45-50 mins.

Topping:

• Mix all the topping ingredients and sprinkle over the top of both loaves.  Topping can be added as soon as loaves are placed in pan before the final rise.

Preheated oven to 350°F bake the bread for 28-30 minutes. Place oven rack at 3rd shelf from the bottom.

If using a convection oven then bake your bread at 340°F for

25-27 mins.

Adapted from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PokY7Uzcd-U

Baked Cassava Cake

I don't love you that much!  This recipe is one of my husband’s favorite because it brings back memories of his childhood in Malaysia and Singapore.  Anyone who loves to do everything from scratch, by grating a cassava root and squeezing out the excess liquid, is most definitely welcome to do this.  In fact 30 years ago I did manually grate cassava to make this cake.  It also explains why I made this once and never made it again.  My husband said it was because I didn't love him enough.  I told him if he were willing to grate it, I would make it.  That was the end of that discussion!

Fast forward to today...One of my favorite pastimes is to slowly walk the aisles of a grocery store.  In my opinion, this pastime is more fun than going shopping for clothes!  There are so many interesting ingredients I have never used and would love to one day.  Eureka!!!  Frozen grated cassava is now readily available in most Asian grocers.  There are so many convenient items that can be found in the different aisles these days.  Those items will be future blog posts!

Before using the frozen cassava in this recipe, you will need to first thaw and drain the frozen cassava in a strainer, placed over a bowl, for a couple of hours.  Discard any liquid but keep and use the settled starch at the bottom of the bowl.  You should also pick out any long and/or hard cassava strands to avoid having to pick them out when eating the baked cake.  Once the ingredients for the recipe have been gathered just throw everything into the same bowl with the settled starches and whisk together.  Pour into a greased pan (I prefer buttered) and bake.  If you prefer a more solid texture, the cake may need to be baked longer.

Let's go!!!

Ingredients:

1 454g pkg of frozen grated cassava.  Thawed, well drained.and picked through of any hard strands.

70g – 100g sugar

40g condensed milk

1 egg

140g coconut milk

½ tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp melted butter (optional for basting halfway through cooking)

Method:

• Mix all ingredients, except butter, in a bowl.
• Pour mixture into a greased square 7” baking pan or dish
• Bake @350F for 40 minutes.  Remove from oven and brush top of cake with melted butter.
• Bake for another 15 to 30 minutes until the edges are golden brown.