Strawberry Mascarpone choux cream

 Well, I still have a lot of strawberries in the fridge, ^^, I just can't help buying them each time that I see. 

This red little jewel is at its best, it's the meaning of fruits in its season, now it's the right time to use. I think about many things to make, but I can't forget that I don't have all the ingredients and equipments. So I have to make something that use less resources, haha. 
Making choux pastry is one of easy thing that you can do without a lot of equipment. Egg, flour, butter and water, all these basic element can turn it to something magical (esp. for me, haha). You don't even need the piping bag, spoon it onto the sheet pan is great option too. 
I paired the strawberry with mascarpone and Pimm's liqueur, you can use more or less (or even omit it and add vanilla extract instead), depends on your taste. But for me it's a good companion to any kinds of berry. 
After mixing the filling, refrigerate it will set the cream slightly, but after assemble serve it immediately will prevent the choux to be soaked with the filling.

Strawberry Mascarpone choux cream

Makes 6-7 choux pastries

Choux pastry
90g ........................... Water
40g ........................... Unsalted butter
................................... A pinch of salt
50g .......................... Cake flour
2 .............................. Eggs (You will use more or less)

Filling
250g ........................ Mascarpone cheese
2 .............................. Egg yolks
2 .............................. Egg whites
50g .......................... Granulated sugar
1-2tbsp .................... Pimm's liqueur (depends on your taste ^^)

12-16 ....................... Fresh strawberries

Preheat the oven to 250°C

Sift the flour and set aside.

Line the sheet pan with baking paper. 

   Bring water, butter and salt to a boil. 

 Remove from heat, add flour all at once, blend well, stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until mixture no longer sticks to pan and forms into a ball.

 Reduce heat to low and return pan to stove, beating for 2-3 minute Remove from heat. 

 Whisk in eggs one at a time (a little at a time, you might not need all of them).  

 When the batter is smooth and glossy, test with your finger, you will be able to stretch it.

 Fill a pastry bag with the pastry and squeeze the pastry to make 12.5x 2.5 cm éclairs on to the prepared baking sheets allowing space for them to rise separately.

Lower the heat to  the oven to 200°C. Put the choux pastry into the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until they start to brown.

Lower the heat to  the oven to 180°C. and bake for 10-15 minutes more or until they are puffed, golden and firm.

*I have my oven door maintained open with a wooden spoon for the last 5 minutes).

Let the choux cool completely before filling it.

 Beat egg yolks and 25g of the sugar in a large bowl. Add the mascarpone and Pimm's liqueur, mixing gently until just combined.
Note from dailydelicious: When mixing the cheese and egg, folding by using the spatula is the better way to smoothen the cheese without breaking down the fat.

Beat egg whites with 25g of the sugar in a medium bowl until medium stiff peaks form. Using a large metal spoon or rubber spatula, gently fold egg whites into the mascarpone mixture.
Refrigerate for 1 hour before using.

Assemble:

Cut the top of the choux pastry and spoon the cheese filling into the center, place the strawberries on the filling, serve immediately.

Strawberry Mascarpone choux cream

Cold Pasta with fresh tomatoes and Mozzarella cheese

 I come to stay with my sister in UK for 10 days by now, and yes the most important activity that I do is eating, haha

 But I think it's too much for me now, I need to take a rest and eating something healthy instead, so today I cook myself a simple and healthy meal ^^.

 It's very easy and delicious one dish meal, the only think that you need to cook is the pasta and let your ingredients shine. I bought small pack of sugardrop tomatoes for this dish (any sweet cherry tomatoes will do). You can use any kinds of ham or salami that you like and the amount that I give you is only a guide you can add more or less depends on your taste.

Cold Pasta with fresh tomatoes and Mozzarella cheese

Serve 2

140g .................................... Spaghetti
100g .................................... Cherry tomatoes
50g ...................................... Mozzarella cheese
3-5 leaves ............................ Basil
1- 1 1/2tbsp ......................... Extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tsp .................................. Lemon juice (optional)
.............................................. Salt and pepper to taste
.............................................. Ham, salami or anything that you love ^^.

First boil a large pan of water, and sprinkle salt into the pan.
Put the Spaghetti into the pan, let it boil (you will boil it longer than al dante stage as the pasta don't have any sauce, mine is about 10 minutes).
While boiling the paste, tear the mozzarella cheese and basil leaves into small pieces, and cut the tomatoes.
When the pasta done, remove from the hot water and put into a large sieve and rinse with cold water until cold.  

 Mix all the ingredients together and season with salt and pepper.
Serve immediately.

Cold Pasta with Fresh tomatoes and Mozzarella cheese

Strawberry shortcake: It's summer time!

 I'm in UK now, ^^. Well last year I renovated my house and didn't have a chance to go anywhere.

But now it's time for travel, hehe. So I started by 2 Japan trips and this time UK. I came to stay with my sister, it's great to have a kitchen to play. It's Summer time and there are a lot of berries to choose (and to eat ^^). They are so sweet that I think I have to do something with them.

Strawberry shortcake is simple but it's the best choice when you get delicious strawberry, the soft and fluffy cake with rich and lightly sweet whipped cream become great background for sweet and tangy strawberry.

This time I use self-raising flour instead of cake flour and found out that adding a bit of baking powder makes the cake softer ^^. Be sure to beat the egg and sugar until ribbon stage, it will be thick enough to hold the flour. For the baking time, it depends on your oven but don't open the oven door before 3/4 of baking time or the top of the cake will sink.

Strawberry shortcake

Makes 20cm cake

Spong cake
4 ............................................ Large eggs
120g ...................................... Granulated sugar
120g ...................................... Self raising flour (or 120g cake flour + 1/2tsp baking powder)
............................................... Pinch of salt
26g ........................................ Unsalted butter
20g ........................................ Whipping cream 
1tsp ....................................... Vanilla extract

Cream
370g ...................................... Whipping cream
35g ........................................ Granulated sugar
1tsp ....................................... Vanilla extract

600g ...................................... Fresh strawberries


Preheat the oven to 170C
Line 20cm cake pan with baking paper.
If using baking powder sift it together with the flour.
Put whipping cream and butter into a microwavable bowl, heat in the microwave at low power until butter melt and the whipping cream hot (1-1.30 minutes).

 Put the eggs into a bowl with a pinch of salt and vanilla extract, beat until foamy, then gradually add the sugar.

 Beat until ribbon stage (you will be able to draw 8 with the batter).

 Spoon 1 cup of the batter into melted butter bowl, fold to combine.

 Sift the flour mixture into the bowl, divide into 3 additions, fold until combine.

 Pour the batter in melted butter bowl into the main bowl, fold to combine.

 Fold to combine.

 Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top of the cake spring back when touch lightly.
Remove from the oven and let the cake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

 After the cake become cool, remove from the pan and slice into 2 layers.

Whip the whipping cream with sugar and vanilla extract, until firm peaks formed.
Spread the whipped cream over one layer of cake, top with strawberries.
Spoon thin layer of whipped cream over the strawberries and place another layer of cake over the cream.
Cover the cake with the rest of the whipped cream, decorate with strawberries.

Strawberry shortcake: It's summer time!

Dairy and Gluten free Maple Yellow corm muffins

 I rarely make gluten free recipe, just because my family members don't have this problem.

I know that for people who're allergic to gluten, eating bread or any bake good is something they have to avoid. Lats week, I talked to my sister (who lives in UK), she said that my nephew has gluten sensitivity and I think it's not a good new -*-. 
Buying gluten free product from supermarket is easy but if you ask me I don't think it's a good choice. You have to add many things (plus something we don't know, haha), to make the bread or any bake goods taste as good as the gluten one. When I finished taking to her, I think about making something gluten free with the ingredient that we know and have. 
I made 5 batches of this recipe until I came up with this one ^^. This recipe has no dairy product, as I use Shortening (I use non-hydrogenated rice barn oil shortening), corn milk and tofu instead. For the flour part I use corn starch and corn meal, both of them are gluten free. I use maple syrup instead of white sugar for lovely fragrance (plus it's natural sugar). But I have to say that it has limitation, it's great on the day that it made. 

 Dairy and Gluten free Maple Yellow corm muffins

Make 7-8 muffins (depend on the size of the pan)

50g ....................................... Corn meal
107g ..................................... Corn starch
1tsp ...................................... Baking powder
1/2tsp ................................... Baking soda 
1/2tsp .................................. Salt
1 ........................................... Egg
90g ....................................... Maple syrup
60g ....................................... Corn milk
50g ....................................... Silken tofu
30g ....................................... Shortening (I use non-hydrogenated shortening)

I use this Shortening  (non-hydrogenated rice barn oil shortening).

Preheat the oven to 200C

Brush the muffin pans with shortening.

Mix the corn starch, corn meal, salt, baking powder and baking soda together.

 Mix the shortening, maple syrup, egg and silken tofu together (the mixture won't be smooth, don't worry).

 Pour the corn starch mixture into the bowl, mix to combine.

 Pour the corn milk into the bowl.

 Mix to combine.

Pour into prepared pan, immediately (the batter will separate if it wait for too long).
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the top spring back when touch lightly and the the toothpick insert into the center come out clean.
Serve warm, this muffin is best the day that it made.

Dairy and Gluten free Maple Yellow corm muffins

Butterkuchen: Baked butter bread

Baking is sharing, I really believe it ^^. When I started baking, I always made small batch of cake, bread or etc. as it would be less waste, haha. most of the time it's a disaster than something we could eat.

 Looking back at that time, the moment that I could really bake something edible is so far away. But with my family's patience, now I can bake them the thing that they want to eat and bake for other people too. When I go to church on Sunday, I love to bring my bake goods with me, it makes me happy when people eat it and smile. It's a reason why I had to bake 2 batches of this bread, haha. 
The texture of this bread is between bread and cookie, it's not so fluffy but not too hard and as the name suggests (Butterkuchen is German means "Baked butter"), it has a load of butter both in the dough and on the topping. 
It's easier to knead large amount of dough in a stand mixer, but it's not hard to hand knead too. With a lot of butter, you need to be sure that the dough is fully mixed (no flour particle to be seen), before adding the butter, or the dough won't be smooth.
Serve this lovely baked butter with a cup of coffee is the best for me, the sweet and richness goes very well with it. ^^

 Butterkuchen

25x25cm pan

Bread
250g ......................................... All purpose flour
50g ........................................... Granulated sugar
4g ............................................. Instant yeast
1/2tsp ....................................... Lemon zest
4g ............................................. Salt
120g ......................................... Milk
40g ........................................... Egg yolks
50g ........................................... Unsalted butter

Topping
50g ............................................ Unsalted butter
50g ............................................ Granulated sugar
50g ............................................ Almond sliced
................................................... Pinch of salt

* I made double batches. 

 Put flour, instant yeast, granulated sugar and lemon zest in a bowl of a stand mixer, whisk to combine, put salt into the bowl, whisk to combine.

 Pour milk and egg yolks into the bowl.

 Mix with dough hook at low speed until all the flour is fully mixed.
Put butter into the bowl, mix at medium low speed until fully mixed.

 Continue until the dough come away from the side of the bowl.

 Remove the dough from the bowl and knead lightly until it smooth. 
Lightly brush a bowl with butter, place the dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
Let the dough rise for 1 hour or until double in size (depend on the temperature).

 When the dough is ready. Prepare your working space.

Line 25x25cm pan with baking paper. 
Remove the dough from the bowl.
Roll the dough until 25x25 cm in size (or a bit smaller you can press it again when you put it in a pan.

 Place the dough in a pan.
Dock the dough ( I use a tip of a spoon handle).
Brush the dough with the butter.

 Mix the sugar with a pinch of salt.
Sprinkle half of the sugar mixture over the dough.
Sprinkle the almond slices over the sugar.
Sprinkle the rest of the sugar and follow by the rest of the almond slices.
Let the dough rise until almost double in size, about 40 minutes.
Meanwhile preheat the oven to 190C.

When the dough is ready, bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven, let it cool for 10 minutes.
Remove from the pan and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
After the bread cool, cut into pieces.

Butterkuchen: Baked butter bread