Homemade Sourdough Raisin Brioche

Christmas is 8 sleeps away! I was trying to make a Christmas bread using sourdough levain and this was how this recipe came about. But I was hesitant to go all out, as it required me to use different kinds of dried fruits and candied citrus which I am not willing to forgo if the bake did not turn out right. After all, it is my first try in making a panettone.

Seeded Spelt Sourdough Boule

I'm incorporating an ancient grain into my bake today. Spelt, Triticum spelta, is a hardier and more nutritious grain compared to the modern wheat. 

Homemade Hot Chocolate

Hot chocolate brings back good memories of winters spent on the snow covered Mount Hood, Oregon. Snow covered slopes filled with lots of thrill seeking skiers.

Time flew by when we played in the snow but nature never failed to remind us the cold that created the wintry scene. We would unwillingly huddle into Timberline Lodge to sip pipping hot cups of chocolate and enjoyed the wintry scene around us through the huge wooden framed windows of the lodge.

Rum Soaked Christmas Fruit Cake

 

It's the time of the year for baking and eating fruit cakes. I have been using this recipe to bake fruit cake ever since I started. I like this recipe as it uses only molasses sugar (dark unrefined sugar) and that explained why the little bricks of fruit cake that I baked are so much darker in color. 

Olive Sourdough Boules

Yes, more sourdough bread. As I slowly (but surely) gained more confidence in making the basic sourdough bread, I tried mixing in more interesting ingredients into the dough to give variety to the daily bread that my family eats.

Hearty Whole Wheat Sourdough Boules with Poppy & Pumpkin Seeds,

'Earthy' was how a friend describe this sourdough boule. It was downright earthy because it was made with organic whole wheat flour from Bob's Red Mill. The earthiness paired well with the nutty flavors of poppy and pumpkin seeds that was added. A hearty bread indeed. 

Bread Making Timetable

As my young sourdough starter matures (2 months old), I find it improves the flavour and structure of the bread I made. As I practice and get familiar with the routine of bread making, I find myself more at ease working with the dough rather than fussing over it.

Triple Chocolate S'mores Cookie Cake

'Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate with some marshmallow and cookie and then more chocolate' - that was the request from my eldest kid for her birthday cake. She loves her dark chocolate and only eats desserts that are chocolate base.

The cocoa cookie base studded with dark and white chocolate right out of the oven

White Country Sourdough Boules

My first homemade whole wheat sourdough starter that I used to make last week whole wheat boules was fed for another week and this was what my 'pet' rewarded me with today.

I have also made another organic raisins sourdough starter, where I will be using it to make some whole wheat boules.

Homemade Sourdough Starter with Organic Raisins

My newest 'pet', sourdough starter, is made with organic raisins. I got this pack of raisins (any organic raisins will work) for the salad and realized that I can use the rest of it to make a raisin sourdough starter. That's how a new bread experiment began.

Homemade Natural Sourdough Starter from Organic Whole Wheat

My sourdough starter using organic whole wheat flour and water

I have caught the sourdough bread bug and am in the process of cultivating and feeding my 'pet' - natural sourdough yeast made from organic whole wheat flour and water. I intend to use it to make rustic sourdough breads or what I like to call it - probiotic breads. I attempted to make my first 2 loaves with this starter last week and there was a lot of wait time as I need to let nature take it's course. But, it was really fun fiddling with the dough and making bread knowing that I have 'caught' natural wild yeast to make them. 

Anything Goes Crunchy Granola

This is my second batch of granola after making this crunchy granola a few weeks ago. This time, I chose to use cashew nuts (creamier texture) and added dried mango (chewier texture) and a little candied yuzu (little nuggets of bright flavour). Belgian dark chocolate chip was also added to the mix and my breakfast turns into a dessert.  

I really like the versatility of granola recipe. With the base ingredients, namely rolled oats, honey, olive oil, salt and egg white, I can incorporate any kind of nuts, seeds, dried fruits and now chocolate chip to my liking. And they are all healthful ingredients.      

Baked Dark Chocolate Pudding

Chocolate tart is a favorite bake in my family. We all love chocolate, especially dark chocolate tart. This bake started with my husband's request to bring in 2 tarts to share at work. Due to some careless mistakes in calculation, I was left with lots of chocolate filling and made a quick decision to pour them into ramekins and turn them into baked chocolate pudding. The leftovers turned into 7 baked chocolate pudding...can you imagine how far off I was in my calculations. -_-" A yummy mistake nevertheless.

Dark Chocolate Pink Rock Salt Caramel Cookie Slices

Do you like dark chocolate? Do you like caramel? I like both and decided to adapt Donna Hay's classic chocolate caramel slices with a sprinkling of Himalayas pink rock salt to give the already rich and luxurious treat a contrasting depth of flavour.

Ceylon Milk Tea Drip Cake

 

The month of June welcomes in the first birthday celebration in my family and it starts with the youngest in the family. She likes anything strawberry with cream and that was why she have had strawberry and cream cakes for the past 2 years. But this year, she wanted something different but was unsure about the cake flavors. 

Peanut Tang Yuan (花生汤圆) with Ground Peanut Coating [Special Birthday Post]

Today is a very special day of someone dear to me. No, it is not my husband or my girls (though they are precious to me). She is my one and only SISTER, whom I have spent my lifetime, so far, with. Although much of the years after we got married were spent in a long distance relationship, different country, different time zone, but I think God have it all planned out for us. This long distance relationship did not make us drift apart rather it brought us closer, all thanks to hand phone apps. We share (both in words and pictures) about what makes us happy, sad, mad, our bakes, our struggles, our kids, basically our lives. 

Crunchy Granola

 

I have been making my weekly sandwich loaf ever since the start of the year and ingredients such as oats, different types of nuts, seeds and dried fruits were used to make the loaf. I have lots of leftover of these ingredients. That is how the idea of making this crunchy granola came about. 

Home made crunchy granola for my family that I can customize and adjust the level of sweetness (the sweetness of some store bought ones can be really off the chart)  to our liking. That's not a bad thing at all.

Matcha Black Sesame Vanilla Sandwich Cookies

 

I love Matcha! This cookie not only uses matcha, it also incorporate deliciously healthy ingredients such as black sesame and almond meal. I realized that almond meal helps to bring out the flavour of matcha more than compared to just using plain flour in a cookie.  

The cookies are not too sweet as matcha powder do tame down the sweetness. The added vanilla filling, gave a boost to the flavour and texture.

Lemon Cookie Slices

 

When life gives you lotsa lemons (actually I just could not resist that beautiful bag of lemons and there were 10 lemons in a bag!) , you gotta make lemon cookie slices (15 generous slices in total). They shout sunshine to me. And they were so puckering yummy! 

Raspberry Swirls Lemon Cheesecake

This is my basic bake cheesecake recipe that I always use whenever I want to whip up a cheesecake for my family. The ingredients list does not include flour, sour cream or heavy cream but instead natural Greek yogurt is used. This recipe allows me to bake a cheesecake with no crack on the surface.

Home Made Butter Croissants (Maiden Attempt)

I have always wanted to try making home made croissants. It always reminded me of the laminated dough (puff pastry dough) my sis made in her secondary school food and nutrition class. She brought it home and it baked into layers of light and crispy pastry. 

Dark Chocolate Matcha Cake

Homemade Dark Chocolate Matcha cake + Great Reads = Great Time 

Matcha (green tea) and dark chocolate are two of my favourite things. In this post, these ingredients are combined to create a cake for Mother's Day! I have made a seriously dark chocolate cake last year and it was very well received by my family and friends. 

The matcha (green tea) sponge was very light, without being overly sweet and the lightly sweetened matcha whipped cream further enhanced the matcha flavour. The chocolate ganache layer gave a contrasting rich, dense (in a good way) texture and flavour.

Homemade Crepes Recipe

Crepes is a close cousin to pancakes. The omission of leavening agents in crepes recipe results in a thin, chewy texture as compared to a light and fluffy texture of pancakes.  Crepes are made with very simple ingredients, flour, eggs, milk and butter. And the batter can be made simply in a bowl with a hand whisk. With the aid of a hand held emission blender, my batter was completed in less than 10 minutes.

Chocolate Hazelnut (Nutella) Pearl Sugar Braided Bread

Using the same dough recipe as the basil pesto poppy seed braided bread, I replaced the basil pesto with a chocolate hazelnut (Nutella) spread to make a sweet braided bread. 

Honey Lemon Berry Filled Loaf Cake

When I saw this Honey Lemon Berry Filled Loaf Cake in a baking book, I was instantly attracted to it and made plans to bake it as soon as I could. It is filled with raspberries and blueberries inside out. The simple decorations on the cake allow the natural colors and texture of the fruits to be placed in the limelight. It is simple and beautiful.

Hanami Dango ("Flower Viewing" Japanese Dumpling)

This recipe was inspired by an outing made with my friends to view the cherry blossoms (Sakura) at The Gardens by the Bay, a few weeks ago. The cherry blossoms were so beautiful. I also found out that the cherry blossoms season in Japan is ending soon too. By making these hanami dango, I hope that it will prolong the season for a little longer.