Sudden Surge for Chocolate Crinkles

My FB friend posted crinkles on her wall last week and since then, I had a bad craving for those fudgy cookies. Crinkles are quite common in the Philippines. I remembered baking and supplying it  to a "pasalubong" store way back in early 2001. No matter how stressful office work was  the past few days, I managed to bake a small batch last Tuesday night. Yes, I finished at 10pm. Sabina and I had a piece before going to bed.

For those who have a soft spot for crinkles, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

Yield: approximately 40 pcs.medium sized cookies

1/2 c canola oil
1 c Dutch processed cocoa powder
1 1/2 c sugar
4 pcs. eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
2 c plain flour
1 t baking powder
Powdered sugar, for rolling the cookie dough

Procedure:

Pre-heat oven at 350 degF or 180degC.

In a mixing bowl, combine oil and cocoa powder then, mix using a wooden spoon. Add sugar. Then gradually add eggs and vanilla then mix until blended. Lastly, add the dry ingredients. It will be a thick and heavy batter. Chill the cookie dough in the fridge for an hour or so for easier handling and for the nice crinkled look.

Once chilled, form into small balls and roll in powdered sugar.
Put them in cookie trays lined with grease proof paper. Bake straight away for 8 to 10 minutes.

Note: If the cookies spread too much that it doesn't have the nice cracks , make sure the dough is well chilled. Don't over work the dough while forming it into a ball as it will change the temperature.

Should you wish to bake few cookies, simply cut the recipe into half.

Choc Chip Pavlova with Berries

Sabina says:
This was my first pavlova, and it tasted really good. The meringue wasn't too sweet, and the dark chocolate chips helped that. I love berries, so their notable tartness and sweet acidity was a great addition to the dessert, and the fresh cream unites all the flavour together. Sure, I had a little trouble getting slices without spilling pavlova crust everywhere, but this dessert is a must-try!

Last Christmas, I prepared pavlova as Sabina hasn't tried one. I was a bit hesitant for she might not like it but due to limited time, I decided to have a go. My previous pastry chef boss used to fold heaps of icing sugar with the meringue to have a very stable and stiff meringue texture after. I prefer my pavlova crunchy outside and soft inside, though the addition of cornstarch makes it a bit chewy. I added a twist by folding in dark choc chips. I decided to use the Belgian chocolate chips my friend gave me as Christmas present, or should I say, 'prezzy' ha.ha.ha. It was good as the chocolate didn't melt and the little chunks added a nice texture to the pavlova. 

It turned out really nice as the sweetness of the meringue balanced with the fresh cream and the tartness of the berries. I used a combination of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries.  It's summer here down under so berries are in season. Hope you'll try this recipe!

Choc Chip Pavlova with Berries

Ingredients:

4 egg whites (if using small eggs, use 5)

3/4 c to 1 c sugar

Pinch of cream of tartar

1 t vinegar

1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 c chocolate chips

Toppings:

Whipped fresh cream , as desired

Fresh berries, as desired (you can use other fruits like mangoes or kiwi)

Procedure:

1. Pre-heat oven at 150 deg C or 120 deg C if using a fan forced oven.

2. Using a mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar at medium high speed . Make sure you're using a clean and grease free stainless or glass bowl and the egg whites are in room temperature. Otherwise, you won't get nice volume.

3. When it makes soft peaks, gradually add sugar and beat until shiny and it forms medium stiff peaks. Don't over mix as it will become dry and the egg whites will eventually settle at the bottom. You can check by slightly tilting the bowl, if it doesn't slide and you can no longer feel the sugar crystals then, you're all set.

To check if the sugar crystals have dissolved, get a small portion of the meringue and rub it in between your index finger and thumb.

4. Fold the vinegar and cornstarch. Don't overfold.

The cornstarch, as far as I know, gives the chewiness of the pavlova while, I'm not so sure on this the acid like cream of tartar helps in stabilising the egg whites. Traditionally, pavlovas have vinegar. 

5. Lastly, throw in the choc chips and slightly fold.

6. In a flat tray lined with baking paper, pour the meringue. I drew a circle at the back of the baking paper as a guide. Bake for an hour or so. A good indicator that it's baked is when you see slight cracks and it is crusty when touched. My pavlova, actually, sunk a bit in the middle but I'm not worried at all as this is not a culinary competition ha.ha.ha. It will be covered with cream and fruits anyway.

7. Tun off oven but don't take out the meringue yet. Leave the oven ajar by putting a wooden spoon.
Once it has completely cool down, you can finish the pavlova or store it in air tight container.

TO FINISH:

Smother the top of pavlova with slightly whipped cream and arrange the fruits nicely.

Le Pain Quotidien

My children and I go for heavy breakfast, as we love discovering new breakfast places to visit. We don't mind waking up really early for a good breakfast. The branch of Le Pain Quotidien in The Rocks opened in November. It has other locations in Sydney but this one is quite historical as it used to be a police station. There are small dining rooms which used to be prison cells. The place is quaint and perfect for catching up with friends.

As for the food, it was good. Simple, yet nicely presented. Their hollandaise was perfect! We tried their brioche and sour cherry tart, and I must say, it tasted authentic. Coffee is served in a large cup here in Le Pain Quotidien; large enough to look like a soup bowl, ha. Ha. Also, it wasn't as expensive as we expected. Looking forward to visiting this place again.

Clockwise from top left: Outside Le Pain Quotidien, the room where we dined,
one of the former prison cells, and the hallway.

Poached eggs with hollandaise and ham (left)
As you can see, on the right is the coffee cup - or should I say bowl?

Scrambled eggs with organic bread, bacon and grilled tomato (left)
Belgian waffle with seasonal fruit (right)

Sabina says:
Frankly, this is one of the most tastiest places you can go to for breakfast. I've had a soft spot for waffles, and their Belgian waffles did not fail to disappoint! I had to share with my sister, so we had half of the two dishes above. Another thing I liked about the breakfast was their bread. Soft and chewy in the inside, and crunchy and toasted on the outside. We also bought a sour cherry and almond tart (I think that's what it's called), and it tasted divine.

Lemon and Cranberry Butter Slice

Don't you just love old fashioned butter cake? Below is a basic butter cake recipe. I incorporated dried cranberries and some lemon zest as I have lots and for a twist, of course. It's best served slightly warm with vanilla ice cream but as it is, it is perfectly yummy. Ooops, a dollop of whipped cream is also good.


Lemon & Cranberry Butter Slice
Ingredients:

1 c butter,softened
1 1/2 c sugar
4 eggs
3 c plain flour* combined with
1 T baking powder
1 c + 1 T milk
Zest from one lemon
1/2 c to 3/4 c dried cranberries, as desired

Procedure:
1. Pre-heat oven to 150 C (fan forced) or 350 F.
2. Using a mixer, cream butter,sugar and lemon zest for few minutes until light in color and fluffy.
3. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl from time to time.
4. Starting and ending with flour, alternately mix in flour and milk. Curdling may be experienced in the process but as soon as dry ingredient is added, everything should be fine.
5. Lastly, fold in the dried cranberries.
6. Pour batter in a greased and floured pan and bake for 45-60 mins. or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Note:   Recipe yields two 8 inch round pan or 2 loaf pans
        * plain flour can be replaced with cake flour if a softer texture is desired or  plain flour                            can be replaced with self-raising flour however, do not add baking powder

Cronulla and Bundeena Weekend

The last quarter of this year turned crazier than the previous year. A lot of things happened. My children joining competitions, learning new tasks and end of financial year in my workplace, struggling with my CPA subject and my list just go on and on. November is my birth month and with my husband visiting, our family decided to go somewhere one weekend to unwind.

Cronulla is located in the southern part of Sydney. It's known for its beaches. Bondi is becoming really crowded so travelling to Cronulla is worth the try for a change. We love the area. Nice beach. It gave us that Surfer's Paradise feeling once more and most of all, lots of fancy places to eat. We also checked out Bundeena. It is a village near Cronulla. We took a short ferry ride to go there. Whoa! It was a lovely place. I would love to retire in that area for it so quiet and isolated. One weekend is really not enough to enjoy these places.

Cronulla Wharf

Off to Bundeena

Cronulla Beach

Early morning walk at Cronulla CBD

Lindt Caramel Brownie

I came across this bar while doing my last minute shopping for dinner last night at Woolworth's. It has nice caramel taste although I wish it was dark chocolate. It wasn't that bad though. Lindt will always be one of the smoothest chocolates on earth.

Spanish Bread...with a twist

Spanish bread is our daily merienda when I was a child. Young boys will be peddling newly baked bread kept in a brown box every afternoon. It is a bread roll filled with breadcrumbs normally from left over unsold bread, margarine and sugar.

I put a twist into the filling by using half breadcrumbs and half toasted almond meal. I experimented a healthy version of it last week by using wholemeal flour, canola oil into the bread and low fat butter for the filling. Obviously, I craved for a more tastier Spanish bread. I used a combination of bread and plain flour because I want a softer finished product. It passed the discriminating taste of my kids and husband so I guess it's worth posting.

Happy baking!

Ingredients:

2 cups bread flour
1 cup plain flour or all purpose flour
1 sachet of dry instant yeast (7 g per sachet)

1/4 c sugar

1/2 t bread improver
2 t salt
2 T butter or margarine
1 pc. beaten egg added to 3/4 c to 1 c warm water (if weather is hot, regular tap water is fine)

Filling:
Equal parts of bread crumbs and toasted almond meal (1/2 c each)
approximately 1/2 c butter or less, as desired
1/2 c brown sugar

Procedure:
1.For the dough, refer to the mixing procedure of Pan de Sal, my previous post.
2. After step 5, roll each dough into a ball and rest for few minutes.
3. Flatten each ball with a rolling pin and spread around 1 Tbsp. of the filling evenly.
4. Roll with the tapered part at the bottom. Lay each piece in a tray and let rise for approximately 30 minutes.

5. Bake in pre-heated oven (200degC or 400degF) for 10 minutes or until golden brown.