Egg Tarts

I get asked by friends why I only cook my family’s favourite foods. Well..why waste my time preparing something that nobody wants to eat. I was motivated to cook by love for my family. In this way, I also get to improve my cooking skills and nowadays I can cook almost everything for them. I am also a fussy eater. I just like to eat something with a very good taste. If the food doesn’t have a good taste then I won’t eat it. My daughter loves these egg tarts. Please excuse the quick kitchen counter photo. 

Egg Tarts

Pastry

250gm all-purpose flour

125gm salted butter – room temperature

50gm icing sugar

1 whole egg (Gr A / B)

½ tsp Vanilla essence

Fillings

4 whole eggs (Gr A / B)

¾ castor sugar

1 can evaporated milk

½ cup water

1 tbsp custard flour

½ tsp vanilla essence (clear)

A few drops of egg yellow food colouring (optional)

Directions – Pastry

Preheat the oven to 180⁰C.

Cream the butter and icing sugar together until light and pale. Beat in the eggs on low speed.

Beat in the vanilla essence. Then add the flour, a little at a time. Occasionally scraping the bowl down until the mixture comes together.  Once it is well mixed, knead the mixture to form a dough.

Take a small amount of dough then press it into the tart moulds so that it covers the bottom then continue to flatten the dough to about ½ cm thick, with your thumb, to cover the sides. Repeat with remaining dough.

Pop the empty shells in the oven for 8 minutes. Take them out and let them cool first before using.

Directions – Filling

Combine all ingredients and whisk until well combined. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Pour the filling into each pastry shells.

Bake for 15 minutes until the custards are set. Let cool in the pans on wire racks for 5 minutes. Then, remove the moulds, transfer the tarts to the wire racks. Serve warm.

  

Pumpkin Bingka

I am not a fan of pumpkin but my daughter loves it so much especially sayur manis and pumpkin in coconut milk stew, as she called it. Sayur manis is native to Sabah and it is regularly labelled as 'Sabah Veg'. 

Baking with pumpkin can be as easy as going to the grocery store and buying a can of pumpkin purée. In this part of the world, pumpkin is very cheap. 

There are lots of yummy ways to use this veg. Try this quick and easy pumpkin recipe for your next family get-together. All these ingredients are things you already have in your kitchen like coconut milk, eggs, flour, sugar, ghee etc. This traditional cake is soft, chewy and fragrant.

I cannot believe how great this cake turned out! 

Pumpkin Bingka

Ingredients

300gm pumpkin – cubed, boiled until soft and pureed

200ml thick coconut milk (diluted with ½ cup water)

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

300ml water

3 pcs of pandan leaves - washed

3 tbsp ghee

2 whole eggs  

½ tsp salt

Directions

Lightly grease a 10-inch pan with veg oil. Preheat oven to 200⁰C. Preheat the prepared pan in the oven while it heats up.

In a small sauce pan, heat the coconut milk and ghee over medium heat just until bubbles form around the edge and steam begins to rise from the coconut milk. Leave to cool.

Use a pair of scissors and cut the pandan leaves around 2cm length into the blender. Blend the pandan leaves with 300ml water. Pour the pandan pulp through a fine strainer. Use the back of a spoon to press on the pulp to get the juice out. Set aside.

Blend together the eggs, the pandan juice, sugar and half of the flour.

Add in the coconut milk mixture, salt and the remaining flour. Beat until well blended.

Carefully (because you could burn yourself, wear oven mittens as the oven would be really hot by this time) take out the prepared pan from the oven and put it on your counter. Pour the batter into the pan. At this point, you can also sprinkle sesame seeds over it.

Bake for 1 and a half hour until the top develops a lovely golden-brown hue.

Transfer onto rack to cool.

Cheesecuits

During Christmas season, the stores are so beautifully decorated and very festive.  I am not usually a shopper and I rarely go into department stores but during the Christmas season, I love to shop…LOL

I don’t celebrate Christmas but my mother and my other sibs are Catholic. Hence, Christmas is often a time when we spend time with my family. It is different to a normal day because everyone is off work and doesn’t have an excuse to escape family time. This is also a good opportunity for my children to see and spend time with all my relatives. It’s just that there’s no gifts to wake up to on Christmas morning. We usually gather at my mother's house. I live 2 hours away. We spend the day cooking and preparing a big lunch and catching up with each other. Thanks to my family, a practicing Christian family who considerately went to greater lengths to see that everything served was halal and omitted all pork-based products from the table for our sake.  Nope, I am not asking everyone to understand but it’s clear that my family made me truly feel that no matter whom I marry, no religious disparity can change the love we have as a family.

My daughter made this easy and no-cooking-required Cheesecuits to bring along to my mother’s house. We also brought roasted chicken with black pepper sauce, achar, mini pizzas and deep-fried stuffed tofu puffs.

This photo was taken at my office last friday. I brought the ingredients and made it there together with my colleagues, as a Friday sedekah, in the only way I know how -- food.  Thanks to Hub who sponsored the ingredients.

Cheesecuits

Ingredients

250gm Cream cheese

½ can condensed milk

4 tbsp full cream milk / fresh milk

1/2 cup full cream milk / fresh milk

½ cup Nestum Cereal (Original flavour)

1 packet Cream Crackers

Directions

Line a container or a baking tin with aluminium foil. Set aside.

Beat the cheese until pale and fluffy.

Beat in the condensed milk. Add in 4 tbsp full cream / fresh milk and continue to beat until smooth. The mixture should not be too thick. Set aside.

Pour the ½ cup of full cream / fresh milk in a bowl. Dip the biscuits in the milk and arrange it to cover the base of the prepared container / baking tin.

Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the biscuit layer.

Sprinkle a good amount of Nestum cereal over the cream cheese layer.

Keep layering until all the cream cheese is used up then crash a couple of biscuits and sprinkle on top.

Place it in the refrigerator to let it set for atleast overnight before slicing. Enjoy!

Bread Pudding

You'll never be stumped with what to do with your leftovers bread again. You can transform them to dessert without much work. This is one of our family’s favorite recipes and is perfect served with a big scoop of ice cream, warm vanilla sauce or just top it with a drizzle of condensed milk. But honestly, it’s delicious just by itself. I do have a recipe for a vanilla sauce but I don’t have a picture of it yet so I’ll be sure to add it to this post when I do.

You can make it ahead of time even a day before then refrigerate it. Just reheat slices in the microwave or if you want to reheat the whole dish in the oven, you could cover it with foil and put it in the oven at 175°C for 10-15 minutes or until it’s warm.

This pudding is cook in a bain marie or water bath, to help the pudding to cook slowly and evenly to avoid rubbery edges or a dry surface. Hope you enjoy the bread pudding!

Bread Pudding

Ingredients

9 slices bread – break into small pieces

2 cup fresh / full cream milk

½ cup sugar

1 tbsp unsalted butter - melted

Pinch salt

3 whole eggs – lightly beaten

½ tsp vanilla extract

¼ cup prune - chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 180⁰C and grease an 8” non-stick square baking pan.

In a small sauce pan, heat milk over medium heat just until bubbles form around the edge and steam begins to rise from the milk.  

Add in the bread cubes. Stir well, then set aside for 5 mins to soak. Stir in the butter, salt and sugar to combine well. Allow to cool before stirring in the eggs, vanilla extract and chopped prune.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Put the baking pan in a roasting pan and place it in the preheated oven. Carefully pour hot water into the roasting pan around the baking pan until about halfway up the sides of the baking pan. Avoid splashing water into the nicely filled pudding. If the water evaporates before the pudding is done cooking then add more hot water.

Bake uncovered for 45 to 1 hour until firm and golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.  

Orange Cake

A friend was 50 years old when she and her husband became parents again — this time to their grandson. It seemed like a clear case of someone just not ready for motherhood yet.  

Nowadays, most grandparents are raising children and the most common reason is because parents are unable to give up their social life. They had the children because of unplanned pregnancies or sometimes to just experience it but realizing down the road that it is not as rosy as it looks like. Most people have a natural desire to have kids also because "that is what everyone else does". Also, in most Asian families, there is always a pressure to have a child because there are these endless relatives who usually inquire untiringly about any "good news" soon after two people are married. However, after having kids, the sweet part usually falls apart when there are endless sleepless nights and zero social life. That is the part of having babies that nobody ever warns us about.

It is not a grandparents’ job to raise their grandchildren. Some parents need to grow up and take care of their kids. No, sorry I am not one of those that can dump my kids off to the grandparents every weekend or school holidays so I can enjoy my life. I believe these kinds of parents are not a bad parent. It’s just that they are too busy doing what they want so they think that there’s no time left for their children. So good thing that grandma, grandpa and younger sisters are always available to feed, bath and put their babies to bed.

Personally, I believe that how we are raised and brought up plays a significantly important role in most of the decisions we make in life. There’re so many times when I am judged at how I raised up my children but I raised them without the help of my extended family. Both my children grew up sleeping in my room until they were 12 years old and I often received raised eyebrows when people found out that I breastfed my daughter until she was 4 years old. Everyone has their own way in raising their children. 

This cake has a strong orange flavor. It is a pretty straightforward recipe. Fantastic idea to use the orange juice and zest, so no waste! 

Orange Cake

Adapted from Azie Kitchen



Ingredients

150 gram butter

120 gram castor sugar

160 gram all-purpose flour – sifted

1 tsp baking powder - sifted

3 whole eggs

2 tbsp Sunquick cordial / orange juice

1 tbsp orange zest - optional 



Directions

Preheat the oven to 170C and line a 7”x7” baking pan with parchment paper.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

Beat in the flour and baking powder mixture alternating with Sunquick cordial / orange juice. Stir in the orange zest. Beat until smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan or spoon it into a 12-hole muffin tin line with paper cases until they are 3/4 full, not all the way to the top. Bake it for 25 – 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. For a thicker cake, just double the ingredients and use a 8”x8” baking pan then bake it for 1 hour.

Leave the cake / cupcakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Steamed Taro Talam (Talam Keladi)

This kuih consists of two layers. The bottom layer is made with rich taro flavour. You’ll absolutely love the topping. 

I love anything with taro; taro ice cream, taro powder flavoured drink, taro rice, taro cake, taro fritters, yam basket, taro chips, taro cheesecake, taro stew, you name it, so how could I give this kuih talam a miss! I love the slightly sweet but nutty very unique flavour of taro especially the large variety with purple flecks in the flesh.

Photo courtesy of Google

Taro (Colocasia esculenta) is a tropical tuber that has a starchy texture, kind of gluey, when cooked. It can’t be eaten raw, it needs to be cooked first as it contains oxalic acid which can irritate your throat and mouth. That goes for the leaves and leaf-stems too.  Scrub them well, put on a pair of gloves and remove the skin with a paring knife or a vegetable peeler. Gloves are called for due to the presence of oxalic acid crystals which can irritate sensitive skin. Some people are sensitive to oxalic acid that their hands get all itchy just by touching it. If you don’t have disposable gloves then coat your hands with cooking oil before peeling and remember not to touch your eyes! Simply rub some oil on your hands when handling it and this should help keep the taro rash away. Oxalic acid is not deadly, just unpleasant.

Once the corms are peeled, cut or slice them as needed for your intended use or place in a bowl of salty cold water to prevent discoloration.

Steamed Taro Talam (Talam Keladi)

Source : Chef Asma

Ingredients for Bottom Layer

2 cups rice flour

3 tbsp tapioca starch

300 ml thick coconut milk

8 tbsp sugar

1½  tsp garam

700 ml water

300 gm diced taro

Directions

Prepare a 10"x10"x3" baking tray and line with plastic wrap.

Peel the taro, wash with salty water and dice, slightly thicker than half cm. Steam for 5 minutes until soft then weigh it. Set aside.  

Mix the rice flour, tapioca starch, coconut milk, sugar, salt and water. Stir until smooth. Strain into a medium sized pot. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula until the batter begins to thicken slightly but still runny enough to pour.

Add the taro and give it a quick stir. Pour onto the baking tray, level surface with a plastic spatula and steam on high heat for 30 minutes. 

Ingredients for Top Layer

1½ cup all-purpose flour

250 gm sugar

3 whole eggs

250 ml coconut milk

500 ml water

A few drops of purple colouring

Yam flavouring – optional

Directions

Mix the ingredients and stir until smooth. Strain into a medium sized pot. Cook over low heat until the mixture thickens slightly but still runny enough to pour.

Pour over the taro layer. Cover the top of the baking tray with a cling wrap then steam on high heat for another 40 minutes. After 30 minutes, take of the cover of the steamer and steam (uncovered) for 10 minutes.

Take out from the steamer and remove the clip wrap. Leave to cool before cutting into diamond-shaped or rectangle-shaped pieces with a plastic knife.

Baked Cream Cracker Cake (Bingka Cream Cracker)

Not everyone loves cream cracker. But this baked cream cracker cake is soft, moist and deliciously rich. This is my daughter’s favourite cake and pink is currently her favourite colour.

It’s so much easier to make this cake, just need to mix everything together and bake. The cake tends to be rather soft when you first take it out the oven. If you find it is under baked then simply return it into the oven to continue baking till completely done. Still tasty though! Enjoy it after it cools down for a firmer texture. This cake can be eaten during breakfast, as an afternoon snack or just as dessert. 

Baked Cream Cracker Cake

Ingredients

140 gm cream cracker
85 gm all-purpose flour
1 cup castor sugar
3 whole eggs
700 ml evaporated milk / coconut milk (500 ml coconut milk + 200 ml water) 
1 tbsp butter – softened
½ tsp pink colouring
½ tsp vanilla extract
A pinch of salt
½ tsp sesame seeds

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 180C for about 15 minutes. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with vegetable oil and pop in the oven for 10 minutes.

In a food processor, blend the cream cracker together with the flour until fine crumbs are achieved. Set aside.

Blend eggs, sugar, evaporated milk, butter, pink colouring, vanilla extract and salt to mix well. Add the mixture of flour and cream cracker. Blend well to make sure the batter is evenly mixed.

Take out the baking pan from the oven and pour the batter into the baking pan. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Bake for 1 hour until golden brown.

Remove the cake from the oven and cool on wire rack for 30 minutes. Unmould and leave to cool for another 1 hour or so. Cut into rectangular pieces. 

Enjoy!