Blueberry Cheese Tart 蓝莓芝士塔

18.10.14

It has been some time since I last baked blueberry cheese tarts. There were 2 packets of blueberries in my fridge, so I spent half of the day baking blueberry cheese tart. Back in Malaysia, I usually just buy the blueberry fillings from the bakery ingredients shop. But, I hardly find any shop specialising in bakery ingredients here in Brisbane, so I got to make my own blueberry filling. As for the pastry, I just used my normal pastry recipe.

Ingredients

225g self raising flour

125g butter, room temperature

55g icing sugar

1 egg, room temperature

Cheese fillings

250g cream cheese

20g butter

1 egg

60g caster sugar

Blueberry fillings

100g fresh blueberries

30g caster sugar

2 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp corn flour

1 tbsp water

Method

1. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy and light. Add egg and mix well. Sift in flour in 2 additions, mix well. Knead into dough. Line dough in tart mould. Bake at 160C till half baked.

2. Blueberry fillings: Mix blueberries, sugar and lemon juice, using medium heat, cook till blueberry softened. Combine corn flour and water well. Pour over the blueberries bit by bit. Stir continuously until you get the desired consistency. Remove from heat. Set aside to cool.

3. Cheese fillings: Mix all ingredients well with an electric mixer.

4. Pour some cheese fillings into the half baked tart. Add some blueberry fillings and top up with the cheese fillings. Bake at 160C till cooked. Leave cool on rack. Chill in fridge overnight.

 

Apple Rose Tart

19.9.14 (Fri)

Yesterday we had guests and they brought some apples over, just in time for my baking today! I saw this recipe on Facebook and ir was easy.

 

Ingredients

2 apples, cut in slices (without the core)

2 tbsp caster sugar

1 tbsp honey

3 tbsp water

50g butter

1 cup cake flour

 

Methods

1. Cut the apple into half and remove its core. Slice the apple.

 

2. Put the apple slices into a pot. Add sugar, honey and water. Cook for about 3-5mins. Set aside to cool.

 

3. Put butter into a bowl. Add 3 tbsp of cooked apple water. Sift in flour. Knead until dough becomes smooth.

 

4. Cut the dough into half and roll out each piece.

 

5. Cut into strip, about 1 inch width and 8-10 inch length.

 

6. Take one strip and place 4-5 of the cooked apple slices on the top. Then roll it up and put into a cupcake mould. Put it into the baking pan and bake for 15-18mins at 170C.

 

7. Brush honey and sprinkle icing sugar and cinnamon for decorations.

 

 

Cantonese Egg Tarts

 

Ingredients of crust:
200g plain flour
25g cake flour
125g butter
55g icing sugar
1 egg, whisked
a dash of vanilla extract

Ingredients of custard:
2 eggs
70g caster sugar
150g hot water
75g evaporated milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method (making crust):
1. Place butter at room temperature until softened. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer over medium speed until the mixture is smooth, fluffy and light in color.

2. Add in whisked egg, half at a time, beat over low speed. Add vanilla extract, mix well.
 

3. Sift in flour in two batches, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions with a spatula, and make sure all ingredients combine well. Knead into dough.
 

4. Roll out the dough to a 1/2 cm thickness. Cut dough with a cookie cutter that is just a bit smaller than your tart tin in size. Line dough in the middle of tart tins, one by one. Lightly press the dough with your thumbs, starting from the bottom then up to the sides. While pressing the dough, turn the tart tin clockwise/anti-clockwise in order to make an even tart shell. Trim away any excess dough.
 

Method (making custard):
1. Add sugar into  HOT WATER, mix until completely dissolved.
 

2. Whisk egg with evaporated milk. Pour in sugar water. Mix well.
 

3. Sift egg mixture to get rid of any foam into a tea pot. Carefully pour egg mixture into each tart shell.

Method (baking tarts):
1. Preheat oven to 200C. Position rack in lower third of oven. Bake tarts for 10 to 15 minutes until the edges are lightly brown.

2. Lower the HEAT to 180C. Keep an eye on them. Once you see the custard being puffed up a bit, pull the oven door open about 2 to 3 inches. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until the custard is cooked through. Just insert a toothpick into the custard. If it stands on its own, it’s done.
 

Notes:
Placing tarts at the lower rack in oven could cook crusts easily before the egg custard being heated up too quickly.
At the very last stage, pull the oven DOOR OPEN a few inches. This method is to avoid custard from being puffed up too high. The custard would collapse once they are cooled down otherwise.

Cantonese Egg Tart 蛋挞（牛油皮底）

15.7.13 (Mon)

It has been some times since I baked egg tarts..Hubby always request me to bake the puff pastry-like（酥皮底） egg tarts..but I find that very troublesome, lots of work to do, esp in preparing the puff pastry..Lately, I found another interesting and useful blog on baking, Christine's recipe..Saw this egg tart recipe and prompted me to bake.

Ingredients

Crust

225g flour

125g butter

55g icing sugar

1 egg

Dash of vanilla extract

Custard

2 eggs

125ml hot water

70g caster sugar

75g evaporated milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
 

Methods

1. Crust: Place butter at room temperature until softened. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer over medium speed until the mixture is smooth, fluffy and light in color. Add in whisked egg, half at a time, beat over low speed. Add vanilla extract, mix well. Sift in flour in two batches, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions with a spatula, and make sure all ingredients combine well. Knead into dough.
Roll out the dough to a 1/2 cm thickness. Line dough in the middle of tart tins, one by one. Lightly press the dough with your thumbs, starting from the bottom then up to the sides. While pressing the dough, turn the tart tin clockwise/anti-clockwise in order to make an even tart shell. Trim away any excess dough. 

2. Custard: Add sugar into hot water, mix until completely dissolved. Whisk egg with evaporated milk. Pour in sugar water. Mix well. Sift egg mixture to get rid of any foam into a tea pot. Carefully pour egg mixture into each tart shell.

3. Preheat oven to 200C and bake for 10-15mins till the edges are lightly brown. Lower the temperature to 180C and continue to bake for another 10-15mins till the custards are cooked through. Just insert a toothpick into the custard. If it stands on its own, it's done.

Notes:

Placing tarts at the lower rack in oven could cook crusts easily before the egg custard being heated up too quickly. (My oven will automatically turn on the heater at the bottom when it turns to “bake mode”. It’s better to check the menu of your own oven and know how your oven is designed.)

At the very last stage, pull the oven door open a few inches. This method is to avoid custard from being puffed up too high. The custard would collapse once they are cooled down otherwise.

Make 14-16 egg tarts. 

Chicken Pie

5.7.13 (Fri)

I have a CG member who likes to bake as much as I do..her mum is a good cook too! So, when I saw her posting the picture on chicken pie, this inspired me to bake chicken pie too! Moreover, I had some leftover pie crust (I frozed it in the freezer) from the blueberry pie I baked last time, so I decided to utilise it. I quickly asked her for the recipe and she emailed it to me. I modified a bit and it was a successful masterpiece.

 

Ingredients

For the crust

227g of butter
560g wheat flour
50g sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp. lemon juice
10 tbsp. water, whenever needed

**I used this method on baking the crust

 

For the filling
2 drumsticks meat, cut in cube
6-8 pcs button mushroom, cut in cube
2 medium size potato, boil water, until it soft, peel and diced
2 pcs onions, diced
2 pcs sausages (optional)
Half tin of Campbell mushroom soup, you can also made your own white sauce

Seasoning
Salt
Black pepper
Oregano

 

Method

1. Mix the flour , sugar, rock salt , then mix well with soften butter, until it forms a crusty dough. Slowly add in lemon juice and water, continue to knead until it forms a smooth dough.

2. Use butter to apply at the baking tray, Take about half of the dough and paste at the baking tray for the base of the pie. Poke small hole on the dough.

 

3. Preheat the oven, put in the base dough and bake for 15 min with 180 C.

4. Now, you can prepare the filling. Heat pan with cooking oil, fry onion. Continuously put in chicken, mushroom and potato. Season with salt, black pepper and oregano. Then, blend in the prepared mushroom soup.

 

5. Take the base dough out, fill in the filling. Cover top with a layer of pastry. Draw the pattern on the top pastry and brush with egg. Put in the oven. Bake for another 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

 

 

Blueberry Pie

15.6.13 (Sat)
I baked a blueberry pie to celebrate Father's Day with my family..Got this recipe from here..hope you like it too!

Before

After

Ingredients
Pie crust
2 1/2 cups (350 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt (can omit this, as my crust became abit salty after baked!)
2 tablespoon (30 grams) granulated white sugar
1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup (60 - 120 ml) ice water

Blueberry Filling
4 cups (570 grams) fresh blueberries
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar
2 tablespoons (20 grams) cornstarch (corn flour)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest

**I used the prepared blueberry filling, bought from bakery shop

Egg wash
1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp milk

Methods
Pie Crust: In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar and process until combined. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal (about 15 seconds).

Pour 1/4 cup (60 ml) water in a slow, steady stream, through the feed tube until the dough just holds together when pinched. If necessary, add more water. Do not process more than 30 seconds. 

Turn the dough onto your work surface and gather into a ball. Divide the dough in half, flattening each half into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about one hour before using. This will chill the butter and relax the gluten in the flour.

After the dough has chilled sufficiently, remove one portion of the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry into a 12 inch (30 cm) circle. (To prevent the pastry from sticking to the counter and to ensure uniform thickness, keep lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll (always roll from the center of the pastry outwards).) Fold the dough in half and gently transfer to a 9 inch (23 cm) pie pan. Brush off any excess flour and tuck the overhanging pastry under itself, crimping as desired. Refrigerate the pastry, covered with plastic wrap, for about 30 minutes before filling with the berries. 

Meanwhile, remove the second round of pastry and roll it into a 12 inch (30 cm) circle. Using a 2 1/2 inch (6 cm) star cookie cutter, cut out about 20 stars. Place the stars on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Make the Blueberry Filling: In a small bowl mix together the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and zest. Place the blueberries in a large bowl. Add the sugar mixture to the blueberries and gently toss to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie shell. Then, in a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and cream. Lightly brush the rim of the pastry shell with the egg wash. Starting at the outside edge of the pie, place the cut out pastry stars in a circular pattern on top of the blueberries, making sure the tips of the stars are touching. Once the top of the pie is completely covered with the pastry stars, brush the entire surface with the egg wash, making sure that it does not pool. Place the assembled pie back in the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes.  

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Remove the chilled pie from the fridge and place on a larger baking pan, lined with parchment paper, to catch any spills. Bake the pie for about 20 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Continue to bake the pie for about 35-45 minutes or until the crust is a deep golden brown color and the juices are bubbling and thick. If the edges of the pie are browning too much during baking, cover with a foil ring.

Place the baked pie on a wire rack to cool for several hours. Serve at room temperature with softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Store any leftovers for 2 - 3 days at room temperature.

 

Lawrence Tart 罗兰士芝士挞

This was my first time baking tart. I would say it was a successful try, perhaps need to cut down on the salt. Hope you like it.

 

 

 

Ingredients

Sugar pastry

30g shortening

65g self raising flour

35g iced water (don't pour altogether, else it would be too sticky to make it into a dough)

1/2 tsp salt

 

Bacon Filling

1/2 onion

60g chopped bacon

2 eggs

160ml milk

Dash of salt

10g butter (melted)

40g shredded Mozarella cheese

 

Method

1. Sugar pastry: Mix shortening, flour and salt together. Add iced water and knead to dough. Chill in the refrigerator for 10min. Roll dough flat and line on the pie mould.

 

2. Filling: Pan fry onion and bacon separately. Mix eggs, milk and salt. (to pour into the filling later)

 

3. Assembly: Spread shredded Mozarella cheese, onion, chopped bacon over the pastry base. Pour into beaten egg and milk respectively. Bake at 180 degree celcius for 20mins. Brush with butter after baking.