Ban Jian Kuih (Traditional Chinese Pancake)

All my days only surround by my son needs. When WT asked me if Gabriel goes for fullday child care, what are you going to do? This is really a hit on me, I was thinking very hard about this issue. Should I go back to my previous workplace or embark into another industry, I really don't know. Four years is a long break, enough to wash away what I familiar with and enough to intimidate me.   

This type of chinese pancake is a common street food in Penang, it was one of my favourites snack when I was very young. There are two version of chinese pancake, one is  with thick layer and another is with thin layer. I love the thin layer one since young. The crispy edge of the pancake and the peanuts with cream corns filling is so yummylicious! I still remember when Gabriel ate the pancake for the first time at age 3, he loves it so much until he cried when WT ate the last bit of it thinking he had enough of the pancake. Eventually we have to buy a new piece just to calm him.

Pandan Chiffon Cake

This is another overdue post... a light and airy chiffon cake. On Good Friday, our Life Group had a picnic at Jurong West Ave 3 open space area. I baked this pandan chiffon cake and prepared some salmon spread sandwishes to bring along. The texture of the chiffon cake is... super soft, it is tall, light and airy the kids and adults like it very much.  

  

Recipe adapted from Carol's Vanilla Milk Chiffon Cake with minor changes 
Ingredients for flour mixture:
6 egg yolks
30g fine sugar
60g olive oil
120g top flour
6 tbsp milk
1 tsp pandan paste (screwpine essence/paste)
a few drops vanilla essence

Ingredients for meringue:
6 egg whites
60g fine sugar
1 tsp lemon juice

Step:
1. Add fine sugar and egg yolks, whisk until well mix.
2. Add olive oil, sieve in flour alternate with milk in batches. Add pandan paste. Stir until mixture is smooth.
3. In the mixing bowl, whisk egg whites until bubbles, add in lemon juice and sugar. Whisk until the meringue is stiff peak.
4. Add 1/3 of meringue into the egg yolks mixture, mix well. Fold in the rest of meringue in another two batches.
5. Pour the mixture into baking pan. Knock the baking pan on the worktop to release trap bubbles in the battter.
6. Place the baking pan into oven, bake at 170C for 50 mins.
7. When cake is baked. Take it out from oven and turn it upside down immediately. Cool completely before dislodge the cake from mould.

Cranberry Rye Bread (Overnight Sponge Dough Method)

I have wanted to bake a bread using the cranberries for sometimes, stored up lot of dried cranberries in my freezer and I still have a big bag of rye flour leftover from my previous baked, it is time to put them in good use.

This cranberry rye bread looks beautiful with the red colour chopped dried cranberries on it and I am delighted by its sweetness. The proportion of the rye flour with bread flour is 50:50, the bread is slightly brown in colour. Is delicious and healthy as breakfast or even as snack!  

I am using the overnight sponge starter in this bread to enhance the flavour of the bread.

Recipe from Ah Tze's Kitchen Play
Ingredients for sponge starter (overnight):
150ml warm milk
240g bread flour
1 tsp instant dry yeast
a pinch of salt

Step:
1. Stir all ingredients into a container. Knead a until the dough is smooth and no lump. Cover and leave it in a container place in fridge for overnight.

Ingredients for bread dough:
200g sponge starter
125g bread flour
125g rye flour
40g fine sugar
85ml cold water (can be slightly more if you find the dough is too dry)
1/4 tsp salt
30g unsalted butter, softened
100g chopped dried cranberries

Step:
1. Mix all ingredients except the butter into a rough dough (water should gradually add in). Add butter and mix into a smooth dough. Knead until it form an elastic film.
2. Add chopped dried cranberries. Roll the dough into a ball and place in grease tray for proofing.
3. Spray the dough with water, cover and let it proof for 60 mins or double in size.
4. Punch down the dough, roll it into a ball and cover. Let it rest for 15 mins.
5. Flatten the dough with rolling pin, roll it up swiss roll style in the length of the baking loaf pan.
6. Place the dough in baking loaf pan, spray with some water and cover it. Let it proof for second time for 60 mins. When the dough reach 90% of the heigh of loaf pan, place it in preheat oven bake at 210C for 40 mins.
7. Once baked, dislodge bread from loaf pan and cool on wire rack.

While I was snapping the photos, my son placed his toy ant on the bread and said "you shot the photos for so long, the ant comes to eat your bread!" OK, OK, is time to close the lens :)