Cinnamon palmiers

These palmiers cookies are so easy to make...it's really ridiculous. I guess if you made them the right way, they wouldn't be easy..but I cheated and used the already made frozen puff pastry. These cookies are so yummy even with the frozen puff pastry dough, I bet they would be even more amazing with homemade puff pastry. One day I will be brave enough to make my own puff pastry..but today is not that day.

I used Sherry Yard's directions for Palmiers from her book The Secrets of Baking. I absolutely love this cookbook and can't wait to bake through all the recipes.

Cinnamon Palmier
adapted from The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard
1 sheet of puff pastry
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

1. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together.

2. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the puff pastry sheet to an 9x12 inch rectangle, 1/4 inch thick.

3. Cover the entire surface of the dough with a generous layer of sugar. With your finger, draw a vertical line through the sugar down the center of the rectangle, so that you see two 4 1/2 x 12 inch rectangles. Divide each of those sections into thirds by drawing four more vertical lines through the sugar. At the end you should have six sections.

4. To form the palmiers, fold each outside edge toward the center, until it touches the second line. Next fold the outside edges toward the middle again, so both edges meet at the centerline. Coat the exposed surface with more sugar. Using the rolling pin, press the sugar into the dough and lightly crease the folded edges. Now fold the dough in half, as if closing a book.

5. Freeze the log of dough for 30 to 60 minutes to ensure crisp, clean cuts. As this point, the dough can be frozen, wrapped airtight, for up to 1 week.

6. Preheat the oven to 35o degrees. Adjust the rack to the top of the oven. Line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.

7. When the dough has firmed up, using a chef's knife, slice off 1/4 inch thick cookies. The cookies will be heart shaped. Sprinkle each cookie with more cinnamon sugar before placing them 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Open up the heart slightly to help ease expansion (see note).

8. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 10 minutes, or until they look as though they are starting to set and have colored only slightly around the edges. Quickly remove the sheet from the oven and flip each cookie with a metal offset spatula. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool completely on a rack before serving. Palmiers will keep at room temperature for up to 2 days in an airtight container. They can be frozen for 1 month.

Note:

• *When you slice these cookies, you will think they're too long and thin. Make sure you spread the halves to make a "V" so that the dough can expand as it bakes.
  

Chocolate hazelnut mousse cake

I came across this recipe browsing through Epicurious. This cake got really good reviews so I decided to go ahead and make it for my coworker's birthday.

The base is a chocolate hazelnut shortbread cookie, topped with a chocolate hazelnut mousse, and finished with a chocolate glaze. When the cake was glazed...I saw an empty canvas staring in my face!! What to do..what to do...in the end I decided to attempt a henna pattern. The decoration is inspired by this henna pattern...not nearly as beautiful..but I tried.

The mousse cake was really good, it got great reviews from my coworkers!! yipee!! The combination of the chocolate glaze, the mousse and the shortbread crust worked really well together. I thought the mousse could use a little bit more hazelnut flavor. Some of the comments from Epicurious suggested putting a bit of Frangelico, a hazelnut liquor. I didn't have time to get the liquor, but I will definitely try that next time. The great part is this really wasn't too hard to make...a bit time consuming, but not hard. The only oven time involved is the cookie base which makes it a very summer friendly dessert. Here's the recipe.

Chocolate glazed hazelnut mousse cake
from Epicurious

For shortbread base

2 tablespoons hazelnuts, toasted and skins rubbed off
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Invert bottom of springform pan (to make it easier to slide shortbread base off bottom), then lock on side of pan and line bottom with a round of parchment paper.

2. Pulse hazelnuts with sugar in a food processor until nuts are finely chopped. Add flour, butter, cocoa, and salt and pulse just until a dough forms.

3. Press dough evenly onto bottom of springform pan with your fingers. Prick all over with a fork, then bake until just dry to the touch, about 10 to 15 minutes (see note). Transfer base in pan to a rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes. Remove side of pan and carefully slide out parchment from under shortbread, then reattach side of pan around shortbread base.

For mousse

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4-oz envelope)
3 tablespoons cold water
1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread such as Nutella (5 oz)
1/2 cup mascarpone (1/4 lb)
1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3 tablespoons sugar

1. Make mousse while shortbread cools. Sprinkle gelatin over water in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan and let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. Heat gelatin mixture over low heat, stirring, just until gelatin is melted, about 2 minutes. Whisk in chocolate hazelnut spread until combined and remove from heat.

2. Whisk together mascarpone and chocolate hazelnut mixture in a large bowl. Beat together cream, cocoa powder, and sugar in another large bowl with an electric mixer at low speed until just combined, then increase speed to high and beat until cream just holds soft peaks. Whisk one third of whipped cream into mascarpone mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whipped cream until well combined. Spoon filling onto shortbread base in pan, gently smoothing top, then chill, covered, at least 3 hours.

For ganache

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
3 1/2 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped

1. Bring cream to a simmer in a small heavy saucepan and remove from heat. Add chocolate and let stand 1 minute, then gently whisk until completely melted and smooth. Transfer ganache to a small bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened but still pourable, about 20 minutes.

2. Run a warm thin knife around inside of springform pan, then remove side (see note). Slide cake off bottom of pan and transfer to a serving plate. Pour ganache onto top of cake and spread, allowing excess ganache to drip down sides.

Note:

• *The original recipes says to bake the crust for 18 to 20 minutes. I took mine out at 12 minutes because I didn't want to overbake the crust.

Chicken Satay with Thai peanut sauce

Happy 4th of July and Happy two year anniversary to My Food Affair. I can't believe it's been two years since I first started this blog. In the last two years, I have definitely improved as a baker. I have gone out of my comfort zone in baking, thanks mostly to Daring bakers, and became a better baker because of it. Here's to another great year!!

To celebrate, I'm giving you this wonderful recipe for Chicken satay with Thai peanut sauce. Both recipes are from All recipes and I made changes to the recipe based on sweetiesmj's suggestions. I've made this recipe twice now, and both times it was great. It's so easy to make and the result is wonderful. The chicken is moist and full of flavor. The peanut sauce is so easy to make and tastes great!! I think it would go great with some soba noodles too. Here are the recipes.

Chicken Satay
from Allrecipe.com

1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tbsp hot pepper sauce
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 tsp lime juice
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp yellow curry powder
1 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp chili oil
2 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into strips (see note)
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp chopped unsalted peanuts
12 wooden skewers, soaked in water for 15 minutes
1 cup prepared Thai peanut sauce

1. In a medium bowl, stir together sesame oil, soy sauce, light brown sugar, hot pepper sauce, garlic, lime juice, coconut milk, ground coriander, salt, curry powder, fish sauce, and chili oil. Add the chicken breast strips, and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

2. Preheat an indoor or outdoor grill for high heat. Thread the chicken strips onto skewers (see note). Discard marinade.

3. Grill chicken for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until no longer pink. Time will depend on how thick your strips are. Transfer to a serving plate, and garnish with cilantro and peanuts. Serve with peanut sauce for dipping.

Thai peanut sauce
adapted from All recipes.com
half of the original recipe

3/4 cups creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup coconut milk
2 tbsp water
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp hot sauce
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger root
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. In a bowl, mix the peanut butter, coconut milk, water, lime juice, soy sauce, hot sauce, ginger, and garlic. Mix in the cilantro just before serving.

Note:

• *The original recipe calls for 1 lb of chicken breast, I made 2 lbs and there was enough marinate for it.


• *Soak the skewers for at least 2 hours before threading the chicken on them. This is to prevent the skewers from burning when you're grilling the chicken.


• *The original recipe for the peanut sauce calls for an additional 1/2 tbsp of fish sauce and 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce. When I made the sauce the first time, I thought it was too salty, so I omitted those the second time around. It was much better without it.
  

Mung bean pastry

Growing up in Hong Kong, we ate a lot of different types of Chinese pastry. My favorite one is the one with a thousand year old egg in it (I know, you're grossing out). I couldn't find a recipe for that, so I decided to make this Mung bean pastry from Cafe of the East. Cafe of the East is a great blog!! Whenever I want to make an Asian desserts, I always search there first. It's no longer active, the new blog is Corner Cafe.

I have to warn you, this is a very time consuming recipe. I made the filling a few days ago, and didn't make the pastry dough until last night. The filling took me a long time to make. The hardest part was pressing the mung bean paste through the sieve. I must have been doing that for at least two hours!!

The dough itself was pretty straight forward. But it took a long time to create the combine the water dough and the oil dough. I guess you can call this procedure the Chinese laminated dough. =P

In the end, this labor of love was worth it. My parents raved about the pastry. It was very flaky and I was so happy to see all those layers. It actually reminds me of the lima bean manju from Maui. Next time, I will try the pastry dough with a red bean filling. Maybe one day, I will be able to make the thousand year old egg pastry, anyone have a recipe?

Mung Bean Pastry
from Cafe of the East
Makes 20.

Water Dough
100g bread flour, sifted
100g cake flour, sifted
70g lard (or shortening, or unsalted butter), softened
20g icing sugar
100ml water

Lard Dough
120g cake flour, sifted
60g lard (or shortening, or ghee), softened

Filling:
400g Mung Bean Paste (see recipe below)

To Finish:
1 egg, lightly beaten for eggwash
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, for sprinkling as topping

Water Dough:
1. Rub lard into the sifted flours, then add the remaining ingredients and mix to form a soft dough, you may need to adjust the amount of water depending on the water absorbency of the flour used. Knead until smooth. Wrap in cling film and set aside for 15 - 20 minutes before using.

Lard Dough:
1. Rub lard into the cake flour and knead until the dough has approximately the
same pliability/malleability as the Water Dough.

To make Chinese Puff Pastry:
Divide the Water dough and the Lard Dough respectively into 20 equal portions. Take one portion of the Lard Dough piece and wrap it inside a Water Dough piece. Roll the combined dough piece out into a thin flat sheet using a rolling pin. With your hand, roll the thin sheet up, Swiss-roll styled, into a cigar shape. Turn the cigar 90° so that one of the round ends faces you. With the rolling pin, roll it out into a flat sheet again. Then roll it up Swiss-roll styled again. Roughly round the roll-up dough piece into a ball. Repeat with the rest of the dough pieces until you get 20 combined dough balls (see note).

To make Puffs:
1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Divide the filling into 20 equal portions, 20g each.

2. Roll out or press each dough ball into a round flat disc, with the outer edges slightly thinner than the center. Wrap one portion of the filling inside each portion of the flat dough. Seal up tightly by pressing the edges together to enclose the filling. Place the puff, seal side down on a baking sheet. Repeat with the rest until finished.

3. Glaze the puffs with eggwash. Sprinkle a little sesame seeds on top of each puff. Bake for about 18 - 20 minutes, or until light golden in color.

Mung Bean Paste(see note)
adapted from Cafe of the East
150g skinless, split mung beans
37g lard, or canola/corn oil
1/4 cup shallots (or 1 medium onion if shallots are unavailable), sliced
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
1/8 teaspoon five-spice powder (optional)
80g white sugar (see note)
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Soak mung beans in enough water to cover for at least 2-4 hours. Drain.

2. Place the drained mung beans in a large plate that can fit into the steamer/wok, spread out the beans into an even layer. Rapidly boil water in a steamer/wok, steam the mung beans until soft, about 30 minutes.

3. Remove beans from steamer and press through a sieve to remove any hard particles, this process will also produce a very fine paste.

4. Melt lard (or oil) in a wok, add sliced shallots and cook over low heat until golden brown and aromatic, about 10-20 minutes. Drain and remove the golden brown shallots for other use. Return the flavored oil to the wok.

5. Add sesame oil and five-spice powder, cook over low heat briefly until aromatic. Add the sieved bean paste, sugar and salt. Turn heat up to medium/med-high and stir-fry until thick and the bean paste can stand in peaks. Cool.

Notes:

• *Go to Cafe of the East for step by step instruction on how to make the dough.
• *I made half the recipe for the mung bean paste, and it was just enough filling for the dough.
• *I lowered the amount of sugar, the original was 90g. I thought it was just the right amount of sweetness.
  

Bakewell Tarts-Daring bakers

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

I have never had a bakewell tart before and I'm not sure what it's supposed to taste like. As far as tarts go though, this is delicious. The shortcrust pastry is really tasty, like a shortbread cookie. I made little individual tarts with many different types of fillings. I made some with blueberry jelly, strawberry jam and also with some semi-sweet chocolate. My favorite was the blueberry jelly, the combination of the blueberry and almond go very well together. What a great challenge!! Hopefully one day I will make it to England to try a real bakewell tart. =P

Bakewell Tart…er…pudding
Inspirations and References: Allan Davidson, Tamasin Day Lewis, Anton Edelmann, Jane Grigson, Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

1. Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatized for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the center and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

3. Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

4. The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

Sweet shortcrust pastry

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (1/2 tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (1/2 tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

1. Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

2. Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

3. Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Frangipane

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (1/2 tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

1. Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in color and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow color.