Saturday, March 3, 2012

Apple Pie



  1. Make the Sweet Pastry and Crème Pâtissière following each recipe instruction.
  2. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4).
  3. Roll out pastry to line the tart tin.
  4. Line the pastry shell with greaseproof paper and beans or rice (if you don't have baking beans) - Blind bake the pastry for 10 minutes -  or until pastry is just cooked.
  5. Fill the pastry with Crème Pâtissière, peel and core the apple, sliced thin and arrange over the top of the tart.
  6. bake for 20-30 minutes or until the pastry is cooked / the apples are golden. Leave to cool.
  7. Mix the apricot jam with 1tbs of warm water, brush over the apples to make them shines.
credits : photo by preparedpantry

Crème Pâtissière


  • ½ cup (115gr) powdered sugar
  • ¼ oz (10gr) plain all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup (30gr) cornstarch /  cornflour
  • 6 egg  yolks
  • ½ oz (15gr) butter
  • 2¼(560ml) milk
  • 1 vanilla pod 
  1. Whisk the egg yolk and half of the sugar until pale and creamy. Stir in cornflour and flour, mix together.
  2. In a saucepan, put milk, vanilla pod, the remaining sugar and bring just to the boil.
  3. Strain half of the mixture over the egg yolk mixture, stirring continuously.
  4. Pour back the egg yolk mixture to the milk saucepan and bring to boil, stirring constantly - boil for about 2 minutes, stir in the butter and leave to cool.
  5. Transfer to bowl, lay plastic wrap on the surface to prevent a skin forming. Can be refrigerate up to 2 days.
credits : photo by imperialdessert

Sweet Pastry



  • 2 ¾ cups (340gr) plain all-purpose flour
  • 5 ½ oz (150gr) unsalted butter
  • ¾ cup (90gr) powdered sugar
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • pinch of salt

  1.  Sift the flour, salt and sugar onto a work surface, make a well in the centre, put the butter into the well and rub in with your fingertips until the mixtures resembles breadcrumbs.
  2.  Add the eggs, bring them together with your hands and knead them a few times to make a smooth dough.
  3. Roll into ball, wrap with plastic and put in fridge for about an hour.
  4. Roll out the pastry into a circle on lightly floured surface, trim the edge, pinch up the pastry edge to make an even border raise slightly above the rim of the tin, slide onto baking tray.
credits : photo by rawfish

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Chocolate Chip Whoopie Pie


  • 280gr all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 125gr butter, softened
  • 100gr powdered sugar
  • 100gr brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 120 ml buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 200gr semisweet chocolate chips
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg, then stir in the buttermilk and vanilla. 
  3. Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt) and slowly add them into the batter, mixing until just incorporated.
  4.  Stir in chocolate chips and chill for 30 minutes.
  5. in the preheated oven, bake for about 10-12 minutes for large whoopies or until cakes are left with slight impression when touched with a finger.
Filling Suggestion : Fluffy Marshmallow Filling

credits : photo by pinchmysalt

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

North Pole Marshmallow

 
  • Rounded marshmallow / marshmallow log (snip them in two)
  • Red stripes paper straws
  • Rounded choco ball/mini bubblegum
  • Bowl of water
  • White Sugar
  • Paper towel
  • Crisco
  • "North Pole" signs (get the FREE printable design HERE)
  • Scissor
  • Glue
  •  
  1.  Have everything ready, print out the Printable North Pole Signage Template and cut them, prepare bowl of water, paper towel, container for the sugar. Tips: If you cannot find a rounded marshmallow, you can snip marshmallow log in two.
  2. Skewer your marshmallow at one end with a toothpick and quickly submerge it in the water and remove. Dab the excess water with paper towel and sprinkle generously with sugar.
  3. Remove the sprinkled marshmallow from the toothpick and stack them.
  4. Snip the paper straw in two and grease them with crisco.
  5. Insert the paper straw into your stacked marshmallow, snip the top end if they are too long. Glue the choco ball / mini gumball on top of the paper straw ( you can use glue/melted chocolate/icing sugar). Glue the North Pole Sign to the paper straw.
 credits : photo by leelaaloo