Monday, October 31, 2011

Pumpkin Custard Pudding


Here is a smooth and creamy pumpkin dessert, combination of pumpkin and custard.
This is a simple recipe.
Put milk on low heat, combine with sugar. Cool it down. Add eggs and mix it.  To make it smooth, strain egg mixture.
Cook them at the oven with steam. Cool them down at the fridge.
For decoration, you can put whipped cream or caramel sauce, chocolate sauce.

Pumpkin Custard Pudding
130g Pumpkin puree
160cc Milk
50cc Cream
50g Sugar
1 Egg
2 Egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon of Cinnamon

1. In a sauce pan, heat milk and cream with low heat and add sugar. Stir well till sugar begins to melt. Don't boil it. Transfer from heat and add pumpkin puree.

2. When it gets cool down, add egg and yolks, combine well.

3. Strain the egg mixture. Preheat oven at 160℃. prepare boiled water.

4. Pour the mixture into the cups. Cover each cups with tin foil. Place them on a square pan. Pour boiled water into the pan.

5. Bake them with steam at 160℃ for 40 - 50 minutes, until  custard is set. You can confirm this by inserting the thin stick in the middle or shaking the custard cup and the custard will jiggle a little.

6. Transfer cups with care. Cool them down, then place them at the fridge at least 4 hours or overnight.




Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Pumpkin and Tofu Quiche

This is a savory pumpkin baking for Halloween. 
Last week, I made sweet pumpkin tart
.
Today I made Pumpkin and Tofu Quiche.

I made it healthy. I use vegetable oil to make crust instead of butter.
I add milk, cream, egg and tofu into the food processor, combine together.
Seasoning with salt, paper and Miso, Peanut butter.
Tofu and miso, peanut butter make it mild flavor.

Crispy crust and mild tofu and egg filling, cheese on top.
I decorated with asparagus. Orange and green, yellow, nice color.
It can be vegetarian menu. If you were meat lover, add ham or bacon to get extra favor.

Pumpkin and Tofu Quiche (20cm Quiche tin)
Crust Pastry
110g Plain flour
40g Wholemeal flour
Pinch of Salt
1 Egg (beaten)
50g Vegetable oil

Filling
100g Pumpkin (cut into dice, cooked)
Asparagus (cut, cooked)
60g Grated cheese
2 Egg
50ml Milk
50ml Cream
200g Tofu (firm type)

1. Make crust.
Combine plain four and wholemeal flour, salt.
In a large bowl, beat egg and oil well. When it combined well, add mixture of flour, mix with your finger. Turn the dough onto floured counter and gather into one.
Cover with plastic wrap, and place it into the fridge for 30 - 60 minutes before using.

2. Meanwhile apply oil onto the tin. Preheat oven at 190℃.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough bigger than the tin.
3. With care, transfer and cover dough onto the tin. Fit it with the tin, and cut off the edge with a knife.
Prick the crust with a fork a few times.
Bake it at 180℃ for 15minutes.
Cool it down on the wired rack.
4. Make filling. Preheat oven at 190℃.
In the foodprocessor or mixer, add eggs, milk, cream and tofu. mix together till they combined well and smooth.
Place cooked pumpkin and asparagus into the crust.
Pour egg batter into the crust. Sprinkle cheese and decorate asparagus.

5. Bake it for 30 - 40 minutes at 180℃ till it becomes golden brown.

6. Cool it down on the wired rack.

I baked left over egg batter with cups.  It is quit nice even without pastry.


Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Pork Buns - Butaman -

Butaman is a Japanese style pork bun.
This is filled with cooked ground pork and chopped vegetables, and similar to Chinese pork buns (baozi).

 They are steamed and often sold as street food in winter in Japan.They are available at convenience stores, where they are kept hot.

The dough is made from mixture of plain flour and high grade flour, proofed by yeast and baking powder.
To make pork filling, you need soy sauce and miso, sesame oil. They are available at the supermarkets or Asian market.

After steaming up, the dough will be soft tender bread, and when you break a bun open, steam will come out with the aroma of seasoned pork.
Pork Buns (make 10)
Dough
250g Plain flour
50g High grade flour
20g Sugar
3g Salt
5g Baking powder
5g Active dried yeast
10g Shortenings or vegetable oil
180cc Water

Pork filling
150g Ground pork
1/4 Onion (chopped)
100g Cabbage(chopped)
1 clove of ginger
2 clove of garlic
1 table spoon of sugar
2 table spoon of soy sauce
1 table spoon of sesame oil
1 table spoon of miso
1 table spoon of potato starch

1. Make the dough.
 Place flour, milk,water, yeast, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix for about 7 minutes. Add oil and mix for another 6minutes till it becomes elastic. Transfer the dough to a covered container and ferment at warm room temperature (about 27℃) for 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, Make the pork filling.
In a sauce pan, stir fry onion and cabbage till they are slightly cooked. Transfer them into plate to cool them down.

3. In a large bowl, put the ground pork, stir fried vegetables and all seasonings. Mix the ingredients together until well incorporated and the meat becomes sticky.
Divide into 10 pieces, and make them balls.

4. Pour the dough onto the floured counter, then deflate it, knead it briefly. Divide it into 10 pieces, and make them rough balls. Set them 15 minutes with cover.
5. Assemble the buns.
 Take a ball of dough and flatten it between your hands. Then, use a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a 10cm circle.(A)

Place pork ball in the center of the dough(B) and wrap it by bringing the dough up around the meat to the top, forming little pleats with the excess tough, then slightly twisting the dough to close it, then pinching it firmly to join it. Put the bun on a small square of parchment or wax paper. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough and meat.


How to wrap the pork buns.

6. Put the bun on a small square of parchment or wax paper. Rest them for 20 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, prepare steamer. Boil the water with steamer until it starts steaming. Wrap the steamer lid with a towel to avoid dropping water.

8. Place the buns on their squares of parchment/wax paper in the steamer and cover. Steam for 15 minutes on high heat. Remove from the heat and serve.

It is placed at YeastSpotting.




Friday, October 14, 2011

Pumpkin Tart

I bought a whole pumpkin to think about nice Halloween recipes. Last time, I made pumpkin cheese cake and pumpkin cookies.

Today, I made Pumpkin Tart.

It is a easy recipe. To make pumpkin filling, just put filling ingredients into the food processor. It is decorated with whipped cream and pumpkin seeds.
I didn't add much sugar to filling, because pumpkin was quite sweet. I add cinnamon spice.

Pumpkinn Tart (20cm quiche tin)
Short Crust Pastry
150g Plain flour (shifted)
70g Butter
20g Sugar
1 Egg yolk

Pumpkin filling
150g Pumpkin (puree)
1 Egg
20g Sugar
1/2 tea spoon of Cinnamon
100cc Milk
50g fresh cream

Decoration
Whipped cream
Pumpkin seeds

1. Make pastry.
 Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy then add the egg yolk and beat until silky and lightened.
Add the shifted flour, mix together. Turn the dough onto floured counter and gather into one.
Cover with plastic wrap, and place it into the fridge for 30 - 60 minutes before using.

2. Meanwhile apply oil onto the tin. Preheat oven at 190℃.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough bigger than the tin.
With care, transfer and cover dough onto the tin. Fit it with the tin, and cut off the edge with a knife.
Prick the crust with a fork a few times.

Bake it at 180℃ for 15minutes.
Cool it down on the wired rack.

3.Preheat oven at 180℃.
 Make pumpkin filling.
Put the all filling ingredients into food processor, mix them till it becomes smooth.

4.  Pour into pastry crust, then bake it at 170℃ for 30 - 40 minutes.

5. When it get cool down, decorate with whipped cream and pumpkin seeds.





Thursday, October 6, 2011

KUMARA UZUMAKI - Sweet potato spiral roll


I like sweet potato baking. It is quite similar with pumpkin baking. In japan, we cook sweet potato mostly as sweets. Oh, we cook sweet potato "tempura" (Japanese style fritter). I like to eat it with soy sauce.

"Kumara " is the word of Maori language, means sweet potato. "Maori " is the native of New Zealand. So here, in New Zealand, it is common to call it "Kumara".

"Uzumaki" is the spiral in Japanese. "Sweet potato spiral" I mixed it together. 

Make sweet potato filling at first. I made it the day before, and put it in the fridge.  I just mashed potatoes. If you want smooth texture, puree them by blender or food processor.  You can add more sugar if you are sugar bee.

Kumara Uzuaki
Sweet potato filling
300g Sweet potato (cooked and peeled)
40g Sugar
20g Unsalted Butter

Dough
300g High grade flour
30g sugar
5g Salt
100cc Milk
85cc Water
5g Instant Yeast
20g Unsalted Butter

1. At first, make sweet potato  filling. Steam up the sweet potato till it becomes soft. peal it, and while it is hot, mush them. Add sugar and butter, then combine well. If you want smooth texture, puree by blender or food processor when it get cool down.

2. Place flour, milk,water, yeast, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix for about 7 minutes. Add butter and mix for another 6minutes. The dough becomes very soft and extensible, elastic. It can be stretched a paper thin“windowpane” .

3. Transfer the dough to a covered container and ferment at warm room temperature (about 27℃) for 1.5 - 2 hours.

4. Pour the dough onto the floured counter, then deflate it, knead it briefly. Divide it into 10 pieces, and make them rough balls. Set them 15 minutes with cover.

5. Final shape.
A. Roll it out 15cm x 20cm . Place the sweet potato filling on the dough. Make 2cm space on the top for sealing.
B. Roll it over. Seal it tightly, then roll it and make it 25cm cylinder.
C. Cut it into half, but don't cut the one side of edge.
D. Twist it as showing the filing side.
E & F. Make it spiral shape.

6. Place them at warm place (40℃) for 30 minutes. And preheat oven at 200℃.

7. Bake them at 200℃ for 11~15 minutes.

8. Cool them down on a wired rack.

It is placed at Yeast spotting, here.