Egg Tarts

As if school from 8-3 isn't enough, I've got an extension class for maths every wednesday that goes on until 5. I consider myself lucky because I have a friend who also has a morning class on wednesdays and even today who has tutoring after the extension maths class... she's crazy like that, can you imagine 12 hours of just school-ish environment gah, it's awful. Thankfully, to make things more bearable, my classmates often bring along various cakes/cupcakes/cookies to lift everyone's moods in the otherwise demanding and tiring afternoon class. It's really quite sad though to think that I've only got 3 more of these kind of classes, as much as I hate staying back doing maths, we get the funniest moments from stories our teacher tells us.

So anyway, I don't think I've made anything myself before for my lovely maths class so I thought it's about time I should, plus the same crazy friend I mentioned above has been nagging me non-stop about making egg tarts, so I thought why not? Kill two birds with one stone, make her happy and with a bonus of making the whole class happy. Who wouldn't like egg tarts, right? Well to my horror, my teacher has never heard of egg tarts and kept insisting that the world only revolved around custard tarts, I felt slightly sorry she's lived without knowing them!

These egg tarts were all in all very easy to make, the dough was very easy to work with, in total, it took my 2 hours BUT that was only because I had to divide them into 3 batches because my oven has random hot spots which leads to over browning or even burning various cookies/muffins etc in the past when I used more than one tray. So if you don't have such dodgy oven, I'm sure it will take you much less time. What I loved about the recipe was that there was no need to rest the dough or refrigerate it before baking and the custard was just plain easy to make too which means, less wait for the finished product. 

Baked Banana, Chocolate Doughnuts

YES! I've finally gotten hold of a doughnut pan! It was on sale at $9 the other day which was lucky for me because I was going to get one anyway after seeing tons and tons of recipes for baked doughnuts. No, I've never even thought about deep frying doughnuts at home- one: because I'm a totally inexperienced deep fryer and two: it looks too much of a hassle! So these doughnut pans were a great find! I can't wait to try all sorts of doughnuts now- cinnamon, caramel glazed ah, the possibilites!

Baked Banana, Chocolate Doughnuts With Dried Banana Streusel and Honey Roasted Walnuts

Recently, I've also been quite obsessed in collecting various kitchen items... It's a little scary to think that nowadays, rather than shopping for clothes, homeware stores attract me more any day! Some new things I got are: round springform and tart pans, long rectangular tart pans which I will definitely put to great use and you will see them in upcoming posts! I also bought some really cute muffin/cupcake liners and finally found paper straws after months and months of seeing them EVERYWHERE on fellow foodbloggers' posts that didn't cost a fortune like the ones from Wheel and Barrow at $8/pack of 25. I got mine at a dollar store for $2.50, sure they didn't have much colour options- only red and white stripes actually, heck, I couldn't care less and took the last one and knowing I've bought it with such a bargain price... it made my day, I tell you! Unfortunately, only a couple of days before, I was just so determined to get some that I bought some online from etsy. Sure, they were cheap by themselves, and if I lived in the US, those things barely cost anything! But alas, I live down under and shipping costs... Anyhow, I still can't wait till they arrive because I got some real nice colours!

My lovely, lovely paper straws....

 Also, after seeing an poster up at my local Wheel & Barrow (An Australian homewares store- my favourite store after Coles) which says they are now hiring casual workers, I've made up my mind about what kind of life I'd want next year upon finishing high school. At uni, I will study nutrition, I'd go to Newton and eat my way through the suburb for my lunch breaks with friends, after uni, I will work at Wheel & Barrow and get awesome discounts and meet food loving colleagues and when I get home, I will bake and call it a finish to my day. It sounds like an amazing plan, no? Just hoping that they'd still have positions free next year! 

Blast from the past- 100's and 1000s!

Sorry for boring you with all my unnecessary blab when I know all you want is get to the damn recipe! It was my first time attempting baked doughnuts and sure, the texture was completely different to their fried counterparts and resembled more in my opinion, a banana cake, it was still fun and cute to look at in their doughnut forms. They were also so easy to whip up- like muffins but I feel they have a more impressive flair to them and they're fairly healthy too!

Dining out: Carré Noir

We were looking for a light lunch, just somwhere close- like Chatswood but got bored at the thought of the usual places like New Shanghai or Ozeki. As much as I love those places, sometimes, you just feel like new things, right? So we decided to try out the new brasserie- Carré Noir at the new Concourse for lunch. When it first opened, I had a quick peek at their menu and was surprised that a cafe would serve both European and Japanese cuisine- not a fusion but it was like literally having two separate menus for the two cuisines. But now, it appears they've changed that and focus solely on the European counterpart and I think that's a good thing as it matches better with their ambience. What I loved most about it was probably the ever so relaxed outdoor atmosphere. The food was overall good too, with nice presentation and reasonable, if not satisfying portions. And the chips.... oh boy, they were to die for. Crunchiest chips ever- hands down. I could eat them all day- no soggy bits!

So here are some of the things we ordered: 

Beef Salad: Lightly grilled veal with cucumber, tomatoes, mixed leaves, beetroot, roasted cashew nuts with chef's special dressing. ($19)
The beef was nice and flavouresome- had a South-East Asian tone in terms of spice. Unfortunately, despite being written off as 'lightly grilled', the meat was overcooked and a little tough. But it was a very refreshing salad with perfect amount of dressing.

The CN Burger: Homemade special grilled rissole, bacon, tasty cheese, lettuce, pickled onion, tomato, beetroot and BBQ sauce served with chips ($17)
It had all the right ingredients needed for a good burger, but again the patty was a little on the dry side, would've liked it if it was more moist. But as I said, the chips were just delish!

Scaloppini Al Funghi: Pan seared slice veal cooked in white wine infused mushroom sauce, served with chips and salad ($23.5)
This was a bit of a letdown because I was expecting a very rich sauce when in fact, it was quite bland really, couldn't really pick up on the wine or the mushroom at all and the veal was very dense and was not at all tender. 

Rib Eye Cutlet: Char grilled 350g rib eye cutlet served with mashed potato, steamed vegetables and choice of sauce mushroom, peppercorn or plain gravy. ($27)
We chose the plain gravy one and requested it to be cooked to medium. It came out with very tender meat, mashed potatoes were average but all in all, it was good meat and pretty good value.

We also ordered some mushroom and chicken risotto which was yum but personally, I always find it too sickening to plate down a whole portion of risotto, so I just had a few spoonfuls. Overall, I'm quite pleased with the service, it was attentive, water was brought to the table even before we ordered without asking but could do with a little more smile perhaps. But I'll definitely be back for a quick lunch with friends or family when we just want some 'chill-time'.

Carre Noir
Chatswood Concourse
Ground Level, Shop 1, 405-411 Victoria Ave 
Chatswood NSW 2067
(02) 9411 1001
http://www.carrenoir.com.au/

Berry, White Chocolate Mousse Cake

I've always wanted to make a birthday cake. But I was always too daunted by the task and the responsibility it meant... But when we were discussing what cake to get for my friend, we were calling out suggestions when I heard myself nearly shout our of enthusiasm- I'LL MAKE IT! They knew I was really into baking and as much as I'd love to, I never really get much chance to make them things so they were really happy and supportive and surprisingly, placed alot, like ALOT of trust in me. And I surely, did not want to disappoint. So began serious planning...

I knew already that strawberries must be the star of this cake since the birthday girl is a strawberry lover plus it's in season! And after seeing this, I wanted so badly to imitate the amazing line details on the sponge... So the design came about.

So anyway, of course, I was not going to jump in the deep end by attempting my first birthday cake without practice! So i did my practice and was so thankful of it because I learnt a lot of useful things with my first trial batch. 1st was that the piping jam on the joconde did not work for me but I was prepared for that so I also made one with pipings from coloured batter. It turned out nice except a little too pale- but I kept in mind that the next time I'd simply just add a little more food colouring... Also adjusted the amount of gelatin as it was a little on the soft side when I first attempted it. So here it is: my grand first attempt:

After the practice, my confidence grew and I thought alright! Just gotta add a little tweaks with the biscuit base and glaze and it'll turn out perfect but in reality, quite a number of problem arose... There were such problems such as my agar agar glaze that it was set before i could evenly spread it out on the mousse, resulting in an ugly mound of clear jelly glaze. Fortunately, it was so hard that i could just pick it up with my hands, leaving a little ugly patch where it made contact with the mousse but that could be fixed with another attempt at the glaze- this time, paying close attention to the water- agar agar powder ratio! 

All my efforts were wasted....

I had also slightly undercooked my joconde but i was not prepared to put it back in the oven for fear that it might turn too crisp and would crack and crumble when I would have to curl them in strips around the sides of the tins. This made it difficult to cut as it was a little sticky but it was easy to bend around which was a plus. However, when I unmoulded,shock horror-  all my coloured strips of batter disappeared and alas I panicked! This happened in the early morning of the day I was meant to present the cake so I improvised and did a simple strawberry jam, pink buttercream frosting and piped it around the cake. Phew for improvisation but ugh for undercooked batter. 

But anyway, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the cake and were even having seconds and thirds!! It was a big success and makes me more confident to try out other birthday cake projects- the next probably being my sister- which would be less scary because you know- it's just your sister, she wouldn't mind a cake that's a tad dodgy now would she? Let's get on to the recipe- it is quite an impressive cake that would receive 'oohs' and 'aahs' with alot of components, but when you break it down, it actually isn't all that difficult so I'd encourage anyone to try it!

Dining out: Georges Mediterranean Bar & Grill

Since my birthday was snuggled comfortably during exam time, I didn't really have the chance to have a proper celebration with my friends. So after exams ended- it was decided that a proper get together with the girls is a must. My other friend's birthday was also coming up very soon so we decided to have joint birthday lunch at Georges Mediterranean Bar & Grill.

Nervously worried about weather as there has been a couple of days of crazily strong winds and rain but thankfully, sunday came along as a perfect day in Sydney

I've been to Georges with my family 3 times now, and the food was always great and we always raved afterwards about their dips- especially the taramosalata (a blend of fish roe, olive oil, lemon juice and some seasoning = perfection) But since we decided on a table of around 15 people, we just didn't want to imagine how hectic it would be to order our own dishes so it was decided then that we'd get the dining package. And you know what the best thing was- coincidentally, they were also having a 'take $10 off" per person deal for all dining packages above $30 so I was thinking this would be perfect, everything's just going so smoothly for us! So we decided on the dining package 2 without dessert ($55.5) since we had a birthday cake!

You can see the selection of dining packages here. It ranges from $45-$69.5 per person Unfortunately the $10 off is only for groups of 10+ and it ends August- so if you're planning anything big, I suggest you try Georges out! But if not, you could take up the packages in groups of 2,4,5, whatever you want!

When we arrived, there were already some olives and nuts at the table- perfect for nibbling, to get our appetite ready for more to come. I can't really say much about the olives because as much as I enjoy them occasionally in salads and sandwiches, I don't really fancy having them as they are. 

The mezedes to share:

Saganaki: pan-roasted Kefalograviera cheese served with confit tomato & lemon
It was superrr salty but amazing with the bread

 Slow cooked calamari filled with saffron rice, tomato & basil
The calamari was very tender as it should be, I couldn't really pick up the flavours of the saffron rice as the tomato based sauce was the dominant flavour here but all in all, a great entrée

Ladurée in Sydney!?

So I'm not much of a city dweller during the school terms but yesterday, my sister- a very nice sister who would always buy her little sister 'presents' taking the form of chocolate freckles, macarons and whatnots told me that Ladurée would be opening its doors in the city Westfield after encountering those cardboard hedges where they tell you what the space will be used for. Ah, I realise I'm bad at explaining, but I hope you know what I'm talking about!

Anyway, I don't know why, but I've got mixed feelings about this... I really should be happy shouldn't I? But weirdly enough, it just doesn't feel right! Somehow ruins the special feeling of achievement you get when you actually go to France and enjoy their wonderful desserts there when in what, 2 weeks, I could just get them in 40 mins via public transport. No fun there!

But on a happier note. It'll be great to see them make real good macarons and see them kick the butts of other unsatisfying macaron selling shops that are only selling it I presume for profit because they know very well that recently all Australians have been caught in the macaron spiral. I certainly wouldn't mind if they sold decent ones, but seriously, some of the ones I've tried like the ones from Cupcakes on Pitt are just no. Stale and waaaay too chewy- I hope they did something about it, or better still, just stick with what they do best- cupcakes. Not to mention San Churros who are also launching their new variety of macarons. I've yet to find the chance to try them out, but I really do just think these specialty shops should just keep with what they've got!

Overall, the whole Ladurée affair is quite exciting indeed and I can't wait to try it out! They say they will be open sometime in September- hopefully there won't be any delays. And happy wednesday! :)

***UPDATE: It is finally open on the 11th September around 2pm to be exact. 

20 minute Ichigo Daifuku - Strawberry Daifuku

It's back to strawberry season again! You little red lovelies, I've been waiting so long for your affordable reapparance in the supermarkets. I've got a whole list of things I've saved up that would make use of strawberries so I'm sure alot of the posts from now will be heavily strawberry related. You've been warned! So, first thing I wanted to try out was the classic strawberry daifuku. Today was also my japanese speaking exam, so what better way to end the day with some japanese sweets to celebrate? :) 

I've loved mochi for as long as I remember. This particularly grew when I went to Japan, which was more than 3 years ago but I still remember this particular shop that sold beautiful assorted mochis. They were like the macarons of Japan, tastefully arranged in a classy looking mochi-ery. If you haven't guessed already, it's the famed mochi cream. I seriously would just head to Japan just for these little gems. They were just so visually attractive and at the same time yummy in my tummy too. Win-win situation! 

Love of my life: mochi cream. Image courtesy of Dessert Girl

Vanilla, White Chocolate Layer Cake

It's been a while, but it feels so good to know exams are finally finished! All that's left is the actual HSC but come one now, it's 2 whole months away! And so alot of things have happened while I was gone- like how I finally turned 18! Exciting yet it doesn't feel that much different...

As I said, this is actually a recipe that I made quite some time ago but never got around to posting it. And another exciting thing was I finally bought some decent individual food rings!!! It's sooo exciting because I've always wanted them but was hesitating because the other day I got a set of 6 individual tart moulds... eh, well let's just say I only got to use it once. And that one time, after rolling out dough, cutting pieces to fit to the moulds and all that jazz, my shortcut pastry shrunk like crazy after baking and I almost cried thinking where are my pretty individual tartlets!? So after that, I got too paranoid in attempting to make individual tarts again. But food rings don't let people down- that's the thing! It's just about putting pre-mixed components in layers and voila, you'll get a pretty lookin stack of layers! It's a real genius invention- so are rubber spatulas if I may add!

So basically, I'm a sucker for anything white chocolate or vanilla. People say white choc is overly sweet, which yes, I won't deny that, especially for this dessert, but maaaaaan it's gooood! So anyway, recently, I had a taste of the famous V8 cake from Adriano Zumbo. If you're from Australia, you must have remembered that crazy 10+ layer vanilla cake the masterchef contestents 2 years ago had to replicate. Click here to see the mile long list of ingredients yourself. Haha well of course, I wasn't up for the whole challenge, I mean just seriously- LOOK AT ALL THOSE INGREDIENTS! 

So anyway, although not up to the big challenge, it really made me want to make something layery too! So that's when I thought, I CAN DO THIS- just with less layers for less fuss and make them simpler too! The crunch that came from the toasted brulee, I would just replicate with the usual cornflakes and some crushed digestives. I was so so wrong, sure I expected them to turn soggy, I like my cornflakes soggy anyway so it thought it'd be okay. But I never would've thought they'd turn out hard instead of soggy! Hard and chewy, but it was nice in a strange way. If you're trying this recipe out, you may like to substitute it with something- I don't know quite yet, maybe a crumble topping or something crunchy that you can think of, or stick to cornflakes if you want to experience the strange deliciousness of chewy cornflakes. Without further ado, let me introduce you to the humble 5 component vanilla, white chocolate layer cake:

Vanilla, White Chocolate Layer Cake

Makes 4 individual 7cm cakes

For the Vanilla Almond Sponge:

Recipe Adapted from Closet Cooking

3 large egg whites (room temperature)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 cup ground almonds
1 cup icing sugar (sifted)
3 large eggs
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter (melted and cooled)

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Line 2 large baking trays with parchment and grease it with butter.

2. Beat the egg whites in a bowl until they form soft peaks.
3. Add the sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy.
4. Beat the almonds, icing sugar and eggs in another bowl until light and voluminous.
5. Add the flour and beat until the flour is just combined.
6. Fold the meringue into the almond mixture.
7. Fold in the butter and vanilla extract.
8. Pour batter to tray and use a spatula to spread it out thinly
9. Bake in a preheated210°C oven until lightly browned and just springy to the touch, about 5-9 minutes.
10. Run a knife along the edges to loosen the cake form the pan.
11. Peel of the parchments paper flip and cover the cake while it cools.

12. Cut 16 7cm diameter rounds of cake and set aside

For the Vanilla Buttercream:

Recipe Adapted from Closet Cooking

1/2 cup sugar

2 large egg whites
3/4 cups unsalted butter (at room temperature)

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Whisk the sugar into the egg whites in a bowl over a pan of simmering water until the mixture is hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. (The sugar should be dissolved and the mixture should look like shiny marshmallow cream.)
2. Remove the bowl from the heat and beat until the cream is cool, about 5 minutes.

3. Beat in the butter one stick at a time.
4. Beat the mixture until it thickens and becomes smooth, about 5-20 minutes.

5. Fold in vanilla extract and set aside.

For the White Chocolate Ganache:

150g white chocolate (finely chopped)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Heat cream until very hot

2. Pour onto chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth and set aside

For the Cornflake Layer:

a handful of cornflakes- coarsely crushed

For the Crumbed Biscuit Layer:

5 digestive biscuits, coarsely crushed

To assemble:

NOTE: I recommend placing a sheet of parchment around the sides of the rings beforehand to make it easier to unmould

1. Place rounds of sponge at the base of the food ring

2. Spoon in buttercream over the sponge

3. Sprinkle cornflakes

4. Place round of sponge

5. Pour in ganache

6. Sprinkle crushed digestives

7. Repeat steps, ending with buttercream or the ganache

8. Top with extra cornflakes and berries if desired

The verdict: The buttercream was exceptionally delicious and the whole cake turned out beautifully tastewise. But again, the cornflake was a disappointment- I really do need to find a simple way to add a crunch factor to the cake. Other than that, I thought it was a pretty good cake well worth the effort- it was so fun to make too!