Strawberries Sando

Japanese fruity sandwich. We're obsessed by it after having them a couple of times from Family Mart

Recipe source: Honeybeesweets

For the whipping cream filling:
200ml whipping cream
30g icing sugar, sifted
125g mascarpone cheese
1tsp vanilla extract (my addition)

some slices of bread
fruits of your choice, I used strawberries
cling wrap

Method:

1. Whip cream and sugar until soft peak, about 5mins on medium speed
2. Add in mascarpone cheese and vanilla, and whip on low speed for 30 secs until well mixed
3. Refrigerate for about 1hour 
4. On a slice of bread, spread cream. Top with fruits, and cover with more cream
5. Cover with another slice of bread. Tighten the sides and wrap with cling wrap
6. Cut diagonally before serving

Berry Nutty Gluten Free Tarts

These tarts are really yummy and refreshing, there are a lot of things going on in every bite
It's tangy, sweet, nutty, crunchy, light, smooth, creamy and chocolaty. Everything happens at once. In particular Abby and I enjoy eating this delightful treat. Yum!

They look pretty, aren't they?

 

 

 

What you need:

For the crust:
80g almond flour
1 egg white
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp butter

• Preheat oven to 165degC. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners
• Mix almond flour, egg white, brown sugar and butter til thoroughly combined
• Spoon about 2tbsp to each muffin cups and press evenly to the bottom and sides
• Bake about 15mins until the crusts start to brown
• Let cool and remove the liners

some Nutella or melted dark chocolate

For the filling:
1 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
some cacao nibs
some chopped berries

• Pour cold whipping cream in a chilled bowl, add in icing sugar and vanilla extract
• Beat til stiff peak. Fold in gently cacao nibs and chopped berries

some crushed pistachios to sprinkle
some strawberry chia seed jam to drizzle

For the strawberry chia seed jam:
150g strawberries, sliced
juice of a quarter of a lemon
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp honey (depending on the sweetness of the strawberries, mine was pretty sour)

• In a small sauce pan over medium low fire heat 150g sliced strawberries til soft and juicy
• Add in juice of a quarter of a lemon and 1/4 tsp vanilla extract, stir well
• Blend the mixture using hand blender til smooth (I left a little of strawberries chunks for texture)
• Add in 3/4 tbsp chia seeds and cook for about 5mins, stirring frequently til thickened
• Remove from fire and let cool before storing it into a glass jar. Keep refrigerated

How to assemble:

• Scoop about 1/2 tbsp of Nutella or melted dark chocolate onto the cooled crusts and spread evenly
• Spoon a dollop of sweetened whipped cream mixture over Nutella. Sprinkle with crushed pistachio and drizzle with strawberry jam. Best serve chilled

These tart is a great alternative for healthier choice of sweet treats with the usage of great stuff with many health benefits

I couldn't stop taking pics of these pretty little treats! :)

 

A must try refreshing, considerably healthier choice snack! :)

 

 

 

Bake Along #74 Hot Milk Cakes With Strawberries & Cream

Very interesting recipe where a mixture of hot milk & butter poured in the batter, I must try :)
It yielded a tasty cake but to me, the cake is too dense. Luckily it's meant to eat with cream and strawberries with its juices, helps a lot to moisten the cake. In the end, it's pretty enjoyable, and my family didn't mind either :)

Recipe is from Bon Appetit Dessert Cookbook by Barbara Fairchild

What you need:
(I followed the modification from Joyce from Kitchen Flavours)

2 large eggs
1/2 cup + 4 tbsp caster sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla extract, divided
1 cup + 2 tbsp self raising flour
2/3 cup fresh milk
5 tbsp unsalted butter
1 pound strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced lengthwise
I/2 cup whipping cream (I used 200g)
1 tbsp icing sugar (I used 2 tbsp)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 220degC and grease 6 ramekins. Place them on baking sheet
2. Beat eggs on high speed til thick for about 3mins. Add in sugar (1/2 cup) gradually and beat til pale and yellow about 1min longer. Beat in vanilla (1/2 tsp)
3. Add in flour (sifted) and beat for 30secs. Bring milk and butter just to boil in a small pot, stir til butter melts. Beat hot milk mixture into batter and continue to beat for 30secs
4. Divide batter mixture into ramekins and bake til firm to touch and pale golden, tops form rounded peaks in the centre, about 16mins. Cool them in the ramekins for about 20mins at least
5. Toss strawberries and 4tbsp sugar, let stand for about 20mins
6. Beat cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract (1/4tsp) til peaks form
7. Remove cakes from ramekins, cut off the rounded tops and spoon cream and strawberries. Cover with top part of the cake, garnish the top with more cream and strawberries and some of the juice
8. Serve immediately

 

 

This post is for Bake Along, an event organised by Joyce from Kitchen Flavours, Lena from Frozen Wings and Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids

 

ABC August 2013 - Braided Strawberry Cheese Bread

Finally I baked for Avid Baker's Challenge (ABC), my third one this year
I must apologize to Hanaa for not participating for quite awhile
Hanaa, I promise I'll make it up slowly by baking those listed in ABC this year that I haven't done :)

Bake for this month is braided lemon bread, recipe is from King Arthur Flour
I replaced lemon curd with homemade strawberry jam

Okay, this bread has so many great reviews and oh yes, I can't agree more
This bread is so good! But, I wasn't proud with my braid hehehe...
It's not neat at all and jam leaked out in some corners...
it's actually a mock braid, pretty simple way to do achieve similar look to braid but still I couldn't manage to do a nice one LOL

 

 

Love the color though :)

 

Soft, fluffy, delicious bread - and yes, it stayed that way the next day :P

 

Hhhmmm... nom nom nom...

 

 

Recipe can be found HERE

For the step-by-step mock braiding tutorial, please view HERE

 

The dough was quite wet and sticky at first but overall was pretty easy to manage

The sponge dough did do magic! Also the addition of plain yoghurt (I used low fat) played a big part in giving this bread brilliant texture

This dough recipe is indeed a keeper! I will definitely make again :)

 

Filling was delicious! Strawberry and cheese is a perfect match, we all know that

The cream cheese mixture was yummy! It's simply a mixture of cream cheese, sugar, sour cream (I replaced with plain low fat yoghurt), fresh lemon juice and flour

 

I made half recipe and baking time was 25 minutes

 

 

 

 

 

Please visit Avid Baker's Challenge (ABC) to view other members baking this wonderful bread. We are currently baking from King Arthur Flour website. Want to join? Please contact Hanaa

As this recipe uses egg, I'm submitting this post also to  Little Thumbs up (Egg) organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Yen from Eat your heart out, at this post

2nd Anniversary Bake Along #44 - Lots Of Berries Coffee Cupcakes (Barefoot Contessa)

Happy birthday Bake Along! Time flies so fast!
2 years and 43 bakes so far, wow!
I have counted and I have actually missed out 15 bakes! Ooppss! :P
Anyway, those missed out bakes are in my to do list. Slowly I'll make it up LOL

Here are some yummy cupcakes burst with berries
Hopefully it's all right since I didn't do any decoration this time
I used a combination of strawberries and blackberries
Recipe is from Barefoot Contessa which I saw at Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids
Very delicious cuppies, the sweetness from the cake and the tanginess from the berries blended so well together in every bite
These were not muffins to me, the texture is more to cupcakes

 

What you need:

12 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 extra-large eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream (I replaced with plain yoghurt)

1/4 cup milk

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 half-pints mixture of fresh strawberries and blackberries

(I quartered the strawberries)

 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 175degC. Prepare muffin pans
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (high speed). On low speed, add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla, yoghurt, and milk
3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. On low speed add flour mixture to the batter and beat until just mixed
5. Fold in the berries with a spatula gently til well mixed
6. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup just over the top, and bake for 30 min, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a cake tester comes out clean

 

I was pretty fortunate to get these batch of blackberries. They were firm and sweet. And the best of all, the price is really attractive I grabbed two punnets and I regretted I didn't take more LOL

 

 

 

 

This post is for Bake Along, organised by Joyce from Kitchen Flavours, Lena from Frozen Wings and Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids