Christmas 2008: Chocolate Pavlova and Lemon Curd Tartlets

It's been too long since my last post. I've thought of a long list of excuses as to why it has taken me 3 months (!!) to finally blog again: started full time work, facebook, social events (baby showers, weddings), camera battery was never charged, I usually cook/bake at night (bad lighting for food photos), etc.

Enough excuses. I am sure you are all tired of looking at those broad bean photos. ;-)

I love the holiday seasons because I associate it with spending time with family & friends, sharing food and baking. Lots of it! It's become a tradition that I make the dessert for the Christmas day feast with Quikong's family. I usually make the 'best ever baked cheesecake' which is always a crowd pleaser. But this time I wanted to make something to suit the season (it is after all summer downunder). So after some consultation with Quikong's mum and sister, I decided to try something different this year: Chocolate Pavlova with fresh berries. Since I needed to use up the remaining egg yolks, I also made lemon curd tartlets.

This is my last post for 2008 and hopefully I will get my blog mojo back for 2009. :-)

Happy Holidays and best wishes for the New Year!!!

Chocolate Pavlova
By Nigella Lawson, 'Forever Summer' p. 189
Serves 8-10

Ingredients

For the chocolate meringue base:
6 egg whites
300g caster sugar
3 tblspns cocoa powder, seived
1 tsp balsamic or red wine vinegar
50g dark chocolate, finely chopped

For the topping:
500ml double/thickened cream
Vanilla bean
500g raspberries or any berries that are in season
2-3 tbspn coarsely grated dark chocolate

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with baking parchment.
2. Beat the egg whites until satiny peaks form, and then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff and shiny.
3. Sprinkle over the cocoa and vinegar, and the chopped chocolate.
4. Then gently fold everything until the cocoa is thoroughly mixed in.
5. Mound on to a baking sheet in a fat circle approx. 23cm in diameter, smoothing the sides and the top.
6. Place in the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 150C and cook for about 1 to 1 1/4 hours. When it's ready, it should look crisp around the edges and on the sides and be dry on top, but when you prod the centre you should feel the promise of squidginess beneath your fingers.
7. Turn off the oven and open the door slightly, and let the chocolate meringue disc cool completely.
(Note: This can be prepared 1-2 days in advance and stored in an airtight container. )

To Serve

1. When you're ready to serve, invert onto a big, flat-bottomed plate.
2. Scrape vanilla bean and put it in a big bowl together with the cream. Whisk the cream till thick but still soft and pile it on top of the meringue, then scatter over the berries.
10. Coarsely grate the chocolate so that you get curls rather than rubble, as you don't want the berries' luscious colour and form to be obscured, and sprinkle haphazardly over the top. I also threw on some edible silver pearls. Serve immediately.

Lemon Curd Tartlets

For curd
(Recipe from Maggie Beer)
4 egg yolks
½ cup castor sugar
60 g unsalted butter
3 teaspoons zest of Meyer Lemon
100 mls Meyer lemon juice

Method

Whisk egg yolks and sugar until sugar is dissolved and the mixture well combined but don’t allow to become frothy. Then put that mixture and other ingredients all together in a heavy non reactive saucepan at low temperature and bring to a simmer. As it becomes thicken and you see bubbles appearing take it away from the heat continuing to stir. Allow to cool. Cover until ready to fill the pastry cases.

Pastry

Use your favourite sweet shortcurst dough recepe. Roll out the dough to the desired shapes (i.e. a big tart or tartlets) and fully bake the pastry according to the recipe. Allow to cool before filling it with curd.

Serving suggestion

Dust with icing sugar and serve with something as luscious as double Jersey cream. I kept it simple by decorating the tartlets with a few strands of shredded mint leaf.

All that Zest - Cumquat Marmalade

Photo & Bread by Eva

Cumquat (Aus) / Kumquat (USA, UK) / kin kan (Jap) / aranja de ouro (Brazil) is native to China and means "gold orange". Fresh cumquats can be eaten raw (skin and all) or easily preserved whole in syrup. Sticking to seasonal cooking and keeping with the Beijing Olympic theme, I present to you, Cumquat Marmalade.

Making marmalade is a real winter treat since it’s citrus and slow-cooking season. A refreshing aroma also permeates through the whole house - it's my kind of aromatherapy! But move over Seville, blood and navel oranges....cumquat marmalade is our current favourite. No traces of bitterness and the perfect balance of sweet and sour. However, not everyone likes marmalade, so I am usually slightly hesitant about giving it away as a gift unless I know that the recipient is a fan.

My friend Eva (of Sweet Sins) was the lucky recipient of a jar of this marmalade ("lucky" because Quikong originally wanted to keep it all for himself! He is a marmalade fanatic). I'll link Eva's post here when it's ready so that you can hear what a non-marmalade fan thought about this particular cumquat marmalade and also for Eva's recipe of this gorgeous looking bread. She ran out of rye flour and used maize flour instead - clever girl! (Thanks to Eva as well for these lovely photos!)

Photo & Bread by Eva

Winter Fruit

With mid-late winter being the height of cumquat season in NSW, we were lucky enough to be able to freshly pick (for free!) a kilo of home-grown cumquats at a homestead/vineyard that we were staying at in the Hunter Valley region last month. The lemon I used in this recipe was also home-grown from a neighbour's garden.

Cumquat Marmalade
Adapted from The Produce Bible (by Leanne Kitchen)

Ingredients:
1kg unwaxed, organically grown cumquats
1.25L (5 cups) water
1 large lemon, juice (about ¼ cup) & zest
1.25 kg sugar
muslin cloth

Method:

(a) 24hrs before – Prepare the fruit:
Wash and dry the fruit. If waxed, scrub the kumquats under running water to remove any wax. Place a sieve over a large non-reactive container (with a lid), pot or bowl. Cut each fruit in half and squeeze out the juice over the sieve. Collect the pips and place it in a piece of muslin cloth. Tie it securely & place it in the container together with the juice. Using a sharp knife (I used a kitchen scissors), cut the peel finely or coarsely, according to your preference. Add the peel and water in the container with the bag of pips and the juice. Cover and leave to soak overnight or for 24 hours. This helps to extract the maximum amount of pectin from the fruit pulp and pips, which will give a better set. It also helps to soften the peel, which will reduce the amount of cooking needed.

Soaking Cumquats Overnight with Bag of Pips

(b) Next day:
- Place 2 saucers in the freezer.
- Place the cumquats, water, pip bag, lemon juice and lemon zest in a large saucepan. Bring the contents slowly to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 30 to 45 minutes.
- While cumquats are simmering, warm* the sugar by spreading it in a into a large roasting tin/baking dish and putting in the pre-heated oven (150-170°C) for 10 to 15 minutes or until warmed through. (I used a microwave).
- When the cumquat is tender, tip the warmed sugar into the saucepan and stir over low heat, without boiling, until dissolved. Return to a boil. Boil rapidly and stir often for 20-30 minutes.
- When the syrup falls from a wooden spoon in rather thick sheets, remove saucepan from heat and put a small amount on a saucer that has been chilled in the freezer and briefly return it to the freezer. Check it in a minute or two - it should be slightly jelled and will wrinkle just a bit when you slide your finger through it. If not, continue to cook until it is. (Quikong prefers a thicker set, so I cooked the marmalade for a bit longer).
- Remove the bag of seeds when the marmalade is done. Wait for about 10-20 minutes before ladling into hot sterilized jars to prevent the zest from floating to the top. You can then safely store it in canning jars, freeze it, or keep it in the fridge. Makes about 6-7 cups.

Storage:

Store in a cool, dark place for 6 to 12 months. Refrigerate after opening for up to 6 weeks. Too much light is not good for storage, while a damp or steamy atmosphere can cause mould to develop on the surface of the marmalade.

Variation:

- Use Earl Grey or Jasmine tea instead of water.
- Add half a dried-out vanilla bean to each jar.
- If you like a darker, Oxford-style marmalade, then add 1 tbsp treacle when you add the sugar.

Marmalades are not just for toast:

Don't just spread it on a buttered toast! Warm it up slightly and use it as a glaze for cakes (e.g. cheesecake), swirl it through a chocolate cake mixture before baking it or to fill vegan thumbprint cookies. And don't forget savoury dishes like glazing roast duck, chicken or carrots.

*What do you think?

I’m not convinced that warming the sugar actually does anything, but many recipes mention it. If someone has scientific or even anecdotal evidence to back this up, I’d be interested to hear from you.

Photo & Bread by Eva

Pacri Nenas - Spiced Pineapple Chutney

Moving from Two to Four Seasons
Growing up in Singapore, we like to pretend that we have seasons – simply categorised as “rainy/wet” or “hot and humid” seasons. This is not surprising since Singapore is just a tiny, tropical island located near the equator. Now that I live in Sydney, Australia, I have been reflecting on how the four seasons has changed the course of my culinary adventures. When I started this blog, one of my intentions was to document this metamorphosis, but it did not quite work out that way....

Seasonal Cooking
Since moving to a Sydney, I also noticed that the seasons or weather does influence what we cook. While everyone in the northern hemisphere are frolicking on the beach and eating sorbet, we are bundled up in several layers and often find ourselves turning to nourishing foods like soups, casseroles, stews, roasts, risottos and curries.

Curry in Winter
How very strange that I now associate curry with cooler weather - I used to eat it regularly in Singapore and it is almost always hot and humid there. I recall that it was the norm to get all sweaty after tucking into a good bowl of curry – it was worth it!

How Hot can You Handle?
Another interesting observation is that Indian restaurants in Sydney and possibly all other countries outside of Southeast Asia label the curries “mild”, “medium”, “hot”. This creates problems between me and Quikong when we eat out because even though he thinks he was Indian in a previous life (he LOVES Indian food), we get into arguments over which curry I am “allowed” to order. He does not like his food (chilli) hot. If you are a regular reader, you already know that I am the opposite - when it comes to certain Southeast Asian dishes, the hotter the better! I usually give in, and try to get my chilli fix another day.

An Accompaniment for Curry
Today, I am not posting a recipe for curry because I am not expert in that department. While my curry skills are getting better and better, I find it impossible to replicate Mom’s curries. What I would like to share is a popular accompaniment for curry or spiced-based dishes such as nasi beryani/biryani. Mom’s combo of lentil dhal and nasi beryani meal is not complete without pacri nenas (pineapple chutney). The combination of sweet, sour and a touch of spice really whets the appetite.

While I was frying the spices, the wonderful aroma that resulted reminded me of Mom’s kitchen and instantly comforts me. In my version, I added some chopped dates and it was a winner with both Quikong (I served it with beef curry) and my neighbours (it makes a great gift!).

Pacri Nenas
(Spiced Pineapple Chutney)
Loosely adapted from Nirmala Magazine

1 fresh ripe pineapple, peeled (about 600g)
1-2 tbsp neutral vegetable oil
1 red (Spanish) onion (or 6 shallots), sliced thinly
2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
2 x 4cm cinnamon sticks
1 star anise
3 whole cloves
2 whole cardamoms
15 fennel seeds
¼ tbsp cumin powder
3cm fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
2 red chillies, deseeded and sliced
½ cup water
1 tsp each of salt and sugar
(optional: 100-150g pitted dates, chopped in half)

Method:

- Cut pineapple into 8 sections lengthwise. Cut the core off & discard. Slice the pineapple flesh into 1cm thick pieces. Reserve the juices from the chopping board.
- Heat oil in a non-stick pan/wok. Fry the onion and garlic over medium heat till wilted (be careful not to burn/brown the garlic or onion). Add spices, ginger and chillies and cook till fragrant. Add pineapple pieces and till slightly wilted. Add reserved pineapple juice, water, salt and sugar. Cook till pineapple is wilted. Add chopped dates and stir carefully. Let it cool. Adjust seasoning if necessary (e.g. more salt or sugar or dash of lemon juice). Store in the fridge for a week or two.

Willie Nelson's “Famous” Banana Choc Bread

Can someone please explain to me the difference between a banana bread and a banana cake? Do we use the word bread to fool ourselves because we feel less guilty when we have “bread” rather than “cake”? Perhaps banana bread is supposed to contain less sugar and butter? Or maybe banana breads have to be baked in a loaf pan? So what should I call this delicious treat which has absolutely no butter or oil, but was baked in a round cake pan? (This reminds me of the muffin vs cupcake debate....)

At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter what you call this yummy treat. This recipe is a keeper – so quick and easy to make and freezes exceptionally well. It has a moist crumb which is studded with choc chips (ok, so it’s not fat-free), and I love the crunchy topping.

Oh, and I have no idea why this recipe is associated with Willie Nelson. Kickpleat got it from a friend in San Fransisco and she's not sure either if Willie ever made this bread or if it really was some kind of famous secret recipe....and the plot thickens....

Willie Nelson's “Famous” Banana Choc Bread (Cake?)

My version (original here)

3 really ripe bananas, mashed
2 large eggs
1 ¼ cup flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 cup sugar (mix of white & brown sugars to make about 1 cup)
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips (white &semi-sweet)
topping: extra brown sugar

1. In a large bowl, mix bananas with eggs and stir till well combined. Place your sifter containing the flour, sugar, baking soda & powder, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon above the bowl, sift, and mix well. Briefly stir through 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips into the batter. Do not over-mix.

2. Pour batter into a non-stick cake/loaf pan. I used a round 8” springform pan. Sprinkle with the extra brown sugar and the remaining chocolate chips.

3. Bake at 180 degrees C for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Place pan on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes to cool before removing the cake from the pan and serving.

This will be my contribution to this week's Weekend Herb Blogging event. WHB is a food blogging event sponsored by Kalyn's Kitchen where each week food bloggers around the world photograph and write about herbs, plants, veggies, or flowers, and on the weekend, a Recap with links to all the posts is published by the host for that week. This week’s host is Pam from Sidewalk Shoes.

Banana
In my opinion, the banana is the perfect snack because it is highly recognized for its undisputed health benefits. When comparing fruit to fruit, none can compare to the nutrition found in the banana.

Storage & Freezing
Keep bananas on a fruit bowl at room temperature. If you want the bananas to ripen faster place the bowl near sunlight. Similar to other tropical fruits and tomatoes, never store bananas in the refrigerator. Bananas will not ripen but the skin will darken in the refrigerator. Ripe bananas (with skin on) can be frozen. However, the skin will turn very dark and it gets slimy on the inside. I frequently freeze bananas for baking (or smoothies) at a later time. When using whole frozen bananas, let the banana defrost for 15 minutes before pealing the skin. If you freeze them as a puree, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to each cup of mashed fruit before freezing. Don't forget to label indicating the number of mashed bananas in each container/freezer bag.

Men and Cinnamon

Ever wanted to have powers akin to the Pied Piper of Hamelin, and have the power to lure any man? Or maybe you were thinking of a way to spice up your relationship?

[Don't worry, I'm not giving relationship advice as part of the "new direction" for my blog. I've given up trying to do a makeover for my blog. I think I'll just blog about whatever I fancy! ;-) Of course food-related topics will always be the focus.]

I read somewhere that the scent of cinnamon is a sure way to attract men. Apparently, it’s an aphrodisiac. It’s supposed to be more potent than vanilla or chocolate. I am always skeptical about such claims, so I decided to test this out in an experiment in February:

(Scene: Quikong walks into the house:)

Q: “Hmmm… I smell cinnamon buns!”
N: :Nope”
Q: “Chelsea buns?”
N: “Nope”
Q: “Walnut scrolls?”
N: “Nope. I made something easy. Go have a look, it’s still in the oven.”
Q: “Yumm…. When will it be ready?”

It worked! But his attraction was to the cake. Never come between a man and his stomach (or his beer, as Quikong would say). :-)

We are well and truly into autumn in Sydney and tomorrow it will "officially" be winter. No stone fruits to be found at my grocer... sob! sob! It’s very much “new season” apples, pears and mandarins everywhere. I even spotted persimmons. But I am still grieving the end of the season for stone fruits – I love nectarines, peaches, apricots, and especially cherries.

These fruits were always very expensive when I was growing up in Singapore. So when I can get a tray (25 pcs) of juicy, sweet nectarines for only $8.99 at the local farmer’s market in summer, I do not hesitate to grab one or two if Quikong lets me. (“Are you sure that you will be able to eat all those fruits? You’re like a kid in a candy store…”).

This post has been sitting as a "daft" since late February while I was suffering a blog block. I figured that I may as well post it since somewhere in the world it must be stone fruit season. :-)

Easy Cinnamon Nectarine Cake
adapted from Bon Appétit, August 2005

This can also be made with fresh stone fruits like white nectarines, peaches and plums. It’s possible to use canned fruits, but of course the results will be different. Drain the fruits well and adjust the amount of sugar-cinnamon topping.

The wonderful smell of cinnamon permeates through the house while the cake is baking and when it's cooling out of the oven. Even our neighbours could smell it - it's a sure way to get knocks on the door. And I was more than happy to give some cake away because it was hard to eat just one slice. So very moreish!

This cake is “easy” because it is really is fool-proof, yet looks impressive. No careful folding required, just use a hand-held electric mixer throughout the recipe.

Makes 8 servings (or 4 in our case)

1/2 cup (113g) butter, slightly softened (or room temperature)
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoons vanilla essence
1 1/4 cups self-rising flour

5 medium nectarines (about 1 3/4 pounds), halved, each half cut into 4 slices
2-3 tablespoons caster (superfine) sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F. Butter & line a 9-inch-diameter springform pan.

Using electric mixer, beat 1/2 cup butter in large bowl until creamy and fluffy. Add 3/4 cup sugar and beat until sugar is well-blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then lemon juice and vanilla essence. Beat in flour (be careful here, I got some on my clothes) until incorporated (smooth) but do not over mix it. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. The mixture will be thick.

Arrange enough nectarine slices atop batter in concentric circles to cover completely; press lightly to adhere. Mix cinnamon and 2-3 tablespoons of caster sugar (depending on how sweet/tart your fruits are) in small bowl. Sprinkle over cake (I used a mini-sieve to get an even spread).

Bake until cake is golden brown and, about 1 hour (50 minutes for plums or smaller fruits). Cut around cake to loosen; remove pan sides. Serve cake slightly warm or at room temperature. Plain, with ice cream or whipped cream.

WHB #116: The Odour that Launched a Thousand Ships

Durian Flesh - "XO" variety

Durian. Hail the King of Fruits.

(Try googling "King of Fruits" if you don't believe me!)

So potent is the odour from durians that they are prohibited in Singapore's full-airconditioned (and super-clean) subway system (called "MRT" - Mass Rapid Transit). This "no durians" rule is made very explicit - have a look at the sign that I saw outside the subway station last week:

How serious are the transport authorities about that? Have a look at the steep fine:


Whoooah!!!!

This is my last post from Singapore and my contribution to this week's Weekend Herb Blogging. WHB, created by Kalyn and now in its third year, is hosted by Rinku of Cooking in Westchester this week. I thought it would be appropriate to talk about this very interesting and infamous fruit.

Durians evokes very strong reactions - loved, revered, feared and loathed all at once. World renowned naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace had this to say about the durian: "It is like a buttery custard flavoured with almonds, intermingled with wafts of flavour that call to mind cream cheese, onion sauce, brown sherry and other incongruities... It is neither acid, nor sweet, nor juicy, yet one feels the want of none of these qualities, for it is perfect as it is." Others speak just as strongly about this controversial fruit, but to contrary effect.

Love it or hate it, there is no middle ground with durians. Durian-lovers go through great lengths to locate special seasonal varieties. How durian-crazy can we get? Well, we have durian cake, durian mousse, durian paste, durian crepes, durian puffs, durian porridge, durian ice-cream, durian jam... you get the picture.

A Thorny Fruit:
Have a look at a photo of the fruit here. The word Durio was established by Adnanson in 1763, derived from the Malay word duri which means "thorns." Zibethinus was established by scientist Murray in 1774 . He named it such as the fruit's repugnant smell was reminiscent of Zibetto, which is Italian for "civet cat".

The melon-shaped fruit then takes approximately three months to ripen, before falling and splitting on the ground. Durian fruits are distinguished by their olive green colour and coarse rind, which is studded with sharp, formidable spikes. This thick armour protects the durian fruit from being damaged by the impact of falling from considerable heights (that makes a lot of sense). The segments of the fruit reveal several portions of creamy, yellow flesh, each encasing a hard, light brown seed. It is this rich, custard-like flesh that is so eagerly devoured by durian fanatics.

Origins:
The durian is indigenous to Southeast Asia and can be found in many of the region's low-lying forests. Due to the limited land area in Singapore, we now only have a small number of durian trees. Therefore, the durians we get in Singapore mostly are sourced from Malaysia and Thailand. I recall seeing durians in supermarkets in the USA (I think I was in California), perhaps when I was in BC, Canada, and it's definitely seasonally available in Australia.

Varieties:
To date, there are more than 100 durian clones available in the region. The more popular ones found in Singapore are the XO, D24, D145, D158 and the Thai Mon Thong. With their thick, sweet flesh, unique aroma and full flavour, they command the highest prices and are indulged by the more affluent Singaporean customers.

Nutrition:
Durians are an important and nutritious source of food for many wild animals that inhabit the rainforest. Evidence shows that even tigers and elephants are fond of the fruit, valuing it for its high vitamin and mineral content, which includes vitamins A, B, C, and iron.

Consumption:
Arguably, the fruit tastes best when eaten fresh, but there are other ways to enjoy it as I’ve stated above. More traditional ways of using durian flesh includes: bubur (pudding, recipe below), dodol (sweet sticky rice flour snack), tempoyak (adding prawn paste to salted, preserved durian flesh). Another popular method is to preserve the flesh with brown sugar, then boil or fry it, to suit ones taste (lempok). Durian flesh can be frozen for months.

While researching for this post, I also discovered that durian seeds are also edible and are served boiled, baked or fried. Might try that during my next trip.

Source: National Library Board Singapore

Mom's Bubur Durian
- Durian Pudding -

Mom usually makes this durian pudding with a lower grade durian (we eat the good stuff fresh). Cooking durians somehow reduces the potent odour although you can still smell it a mile a way. My 10-year-old half-English nephew refuses to be in the kitchen when I am eating it. But then again his Marmite toast has the same effect on me ;-)

Ingredients:
Durian Flesh
Palm Sugar
Sugar
Pandan leaf
Fresh coconut milk
Water

The quantity of each ingredient is really up to personal preference. Mom uses lots of durian flesh (to minimize the use of sugar) and just a touch of coconut milk. You can use only palm sugar but the pudding may end up too brown in colour. Therefore, Mom uses a combination of palm sugar and white sugar in order to maintain the natural colour of the durian.

Method: Over low-medium heat, cook the durian flesh with some sugar and pandan leaf. When the pandan fragrance is well incorporated into the mixture, add coconut milk and palm sugar. If the pudding is too thick, add some hot water. This pudding can be frozen.

***********
Selamat Jalan…

This is my last day in Singapore but I will be back again in a year. My foray into the blogging world has definitely added a new element to visit with my family this time. I’ve always been interested in cooking but I’ve always left the cooking of traditional foods to Mom’s. Now that I’ve taken a greater interest in her recipes, I am more excited to practice more traditional recipes from my heritage in Sydney. Two weeks is not enough time to learn from Mom’s wealth of information and experience, but with the two books that she gave me, and a little experimentation depending on the ingredients I can find in Sydney, I am sure that my cooking repertoire will evolve in a refreshing and delicious way in my Sydney kitchen. Of course, no one can ever replace Mom’s cooking.

***********

SHF #37: Mango and Apricot Frappé

Mango and Apricot Frappé

The theme for this month’s Sugar High Friday, hosted by Leslie of Definitely Not Martha, is Beta Carotene Harvest. While I love pumpkin and sweet potatoes, with the warm spring weather we are having in Sydney and my short-term goal of staying away from calorie ridden desserts, I chose to do a something refreshing with mango and apricots - fruits that are currently in season down under- which that are also rich in beta carotene.

As I’ve said often, one of the things I enjoy about blogging is learning more about food- and nutrition-related topics. Mangoes and apricots are beautiful to look at because they contain rich deposits of carotene pigments. The carotenes come in many different variations, and range in colour from yellow to deep orange. Beta carotene is a valuable nutrient because it's an antioxidant, and our bodies can convert it into vitamin A.

Here are three ways we can maximise our absorption of beta carotene:
- The beta carotene in certain vegetables/fruits (such as carrots) is more readily available for absorption after cooking.
- For fruits (such as mangoes) that store their carotene pigments in microscopic oil droplets, where they are pre-dissolved, it is presumably much more available for our bodies to absorb them, even when we eat the fruit raw.
- Dried fruits such as apricots provide more than twice the beta carotene than when fresh.
(nutrition information above is taken from here)

I chose to absorb my beta carotene in this liquid “dessert” ;-) Aren't these mini-martini glasses cute? These were gifts from Quikong's mom (Thanks D!!).

Mango and Apricot Frappé
Adapted from Bill Granger’s Bills Sydney Food

2 tbsps caster sugar
4 tbsps boiling water
2 cups ice
1 cup chopped mango
1 cup chopped apricots
2 tspns fresh lime juice
200 ml white rum (or soda water or plain yogurt)
Lime rind

Dissolve the sugar in the boiling water to make a syrup. Blend it with the remaining ingredients till smooth. Serve in a cold glass and garnish with lime rind. Makes 2 large glasses.

Do take a look at the round up by Leslie for SHF #37 here.

~~~~~~~~~

Other Bill Granger inspired recipes I've blogged about:
Passion Fruit Curd
Ricotta Pancakes
Upside-down pineapple and cinnamon cake

Best Ever Baked Cheesecake

Yes, that is a pretty bold statement to make. But i can't help it. This cheesecake recipe is so good - creamy, fluffy, yet not "heavy" It is good even when I've made it with low-fat cream cheese and low-fat sour cream. My family is crazy about cheesecakes so I've tried many recipes and so far this has been the favourite and I frequently get requests from friends to make this cheesecake for parties. Of course it helps that this recipe is from Tyler from Food 911. I used to rush home from classes when I was studying in Michigan, just so I could see Tyler in action. The Food Network was one of my favourite channels then :-)

I've done many versions of this for e.g. using blueberries, oreo cookies, espresso, marbled. I've also made a plain cheesecake but varied the biscuit crust/base e.g. using oreo, choc chip, or gingernut cookies. (Tip: You will need to crush 18-20 cookies with roughly 1 metled tbspn of butter).

I made this cheesecake for Quikong's sister's birthday dinner tonite. She likes simple cheesecakes like lemon cheesecake. So, I decided to make a lemon cheesecake but to make it more interesting, I used Arnott's Kingston biscuits for the crust because Quikong and his brother loves these biscuits and I hope that his sister does too. Then I had to really think hard about how i could make this cheesecake more special because it looked too boring for an occasion such as birthday. Looking through my supplies, I got excited when I saw the kumquats that I bought a few days ago with the intention of making preserves.


For the Lemon Cheesecake:
- See this Crack Proof Cheesecake recipe by Tyler
- I followed Tyler's instructions exactly, but added in the juice of half a lemon together with the sour cream
- For the crust, I used a packet of Kingston biscuits crushed with 1 tbspn melted unsalted butter

And the piece de la resistance...
Caramelised Kumquat Glaze

10 oz kumquats
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
pinch of salt
2 tbspn lime juice (optional)

Slice kumquat about 1/4 cm in width, remove any seeds. Over medium heat, boil sugar and water till sugar dissolves and liquid thickens. Lower heat and add kumquat slices. Stir kumquats occasionally and cook for about 15-20 minutes (till kumquat rind becomes tender). Carefully coat the top of cheesecake immediately. I didn't use all of it for the cheesecake, so I added some rasberries to the remainder and will use it on my toast tomorrow (yummm).

Topsy-Turvy Cinnamon Cake with Caramelised Pineapple

top·sy-tur·vy (tŏp'sē-tûr'vē) :
adv. With the top downward and the bottom up; upside-down.


Ever since I won the charity cake auction for the caramelised upside-down banana cake last month, I have been obsessed about making it myself. But when I had a very ripe pineapple sitting in the fruit basket, I decided to use the pineapple instead.

Pineapple was one of my favourite fruits as a kid and we ate and cooked with fresh pineapple all year round in Singapore. For festive occasions, my mom makes the BEST bite-sized pineapple tarts. They are a labour of love not just because of the size (imagine trying to fill tiny tart shells without messing up & also decorate the top with extra short crust pastry!) but also because the pineapple filling has to be cooked on the stove top for hours (to thicken the filling and get a caramelised flavour). My wonderful mom always has a container of these tarts freshly baked for me whenever I return to Singapore.

Anyway, I digress...To recreate the taste of my mom's pineapple tart filling, I decided to use caramelised pineapple for my upside-down cake.
.

"topping"
(own creation)

50g unsalted butter
half of a large ripe pineapple, rind and core removed, then cut into 1cm slices
1/4 cup golden syrup
1/2 cup caster sugar (or less if pineapple is very ripe)
1 tbspn lemon juice
1 tspn vanilla essence

To make the "topping":

1

Place the butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat and melt. Add pineapple and lemon juice into the pan. Cook the pineapples till it is slightly tender, stirring craefully.

2

Add golden syrup, sugar and vanilla essence and cook till pineapple is tender.

3

Remove pineapples carefully with a slotted spoon and arrange in the bottom of a greased 23cm spring-form cake tin. (The juices tend to leak from my tin, so I line it with foil)

4

Increase heat and boil remaining liquid in the pan for 5 minutes or more until a rich caramel forms. DO NOT be tempted to tasted the caramel at this stage because it is VERY HOT.

5

Pour caramel over the pineapples in the base of the tin.

Cinnamon Cake
(from "Sydney Food" by Bill Granger)

1oog unsalted butter, softened
1 cup caster sugar
4 eggs, seperated, room temperature
1 tspn vanilla essence
1 1/4 cp plain flour
2 tspn baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 tspn ground cinnamon

1

Preheat oven to 180 degress C (350 degrees F).

2

Place butter and sugar in a bowl and cream til light and fluffy.

3

Add vanilla and egg yolks one at a time, beating after each addition.

4

Gently fold in the sifted flour, baking powder, salt and cinammon. The cake mixture will be quite stiff and dry.

5

In a small, clean, dry bowl, beat egg whites until stiff.

6

Gently fold egg whites through the cake mixture with a large metal spoon.

7

Spoon the batter evenly over the pinapples and caramel. Smooth with a spatula.

8

Bake for 50 minutes or until a skwer inserted to the centre of the cake comes out clean.

9

Remove the cake from the oven and leave in the tin for 5 minutes. Remove the sides from the cake tin and place a large serving plate on top of the cake. Turn cake over onto serving plate. Remove foil (if used) and base.

10

Serve warm, with pouring cream if desired.

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Tasting notes:The cake was also delicious at room temperature the next day.
Quikong liked it as much as I did, even though he was initially disappointed that I didn't make the banana version.
Verdict: This recipe is a keeper. Next time, I will try making it with caramelised bananas, pears or apples (that was Bill's original recipe).

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Food Photo Riddle #1

Can you guess what is the main ingredient that I will be using for my cake.....


Do you need another clue?


That was too easy, huh.....


But can you answer this Photo Food Riddle:

What kind of cake will I be baking today?

Persimmons – The Mango of Autumn

The origins of persimmons go back to ancient China. It is now very popular in Japan, parts of South East Asia, Israel, USA and also Australia. I noticed persimmons were on sale at the fruit market early last month, but was too distracted by mandarins, which were also in season. Yesterday, I finally bought some persimmons because this month will probably be my last chance since the season for persimmons is coming to an end in Australia.

Apparently, there are hundreds of different species worldwide, but the most commonly found varieties are the Fuyu a type originating in Asia, the Hachiya from the U.S., and the Sharon fruit developed in Israel. The Fuyu is a non-astringent variety that looks like a squashed tomato, is smaller, sweeter, and can be eaten when firm. The Hachiya is an astringent variety which is acorn-shaped and has to be very soft and ripe before eating (other wise it will be very tart & bitter). My favourite variety is the Sharon fruit because it combines the best attributes of the Fuyu and Hachiya. It is widely available in Singapore, but I haven’t seen it in Sydney. I tend to buy the Fuyu varieties here because they can be eaten like apples. In fact, persimmons have more fiber, minerals, polyphenols (antioxidants) and vitamin A than apples. So, the person who coined the saying about an apple a day keeping the doctor away probably never had a persimmon.

I’ve had raw and dried persimmons but I’ve never cooked with persimmons before. As Mothers’ Day approaches, I thought I should get more creative because I wanted to dedicate this entry to my mother who loves this fruit very much. She was also the one who got me hooked on it. The firmer Fuyu type is great with salads, cheeses and baked as a tart, while the mushy, ripe Hachiya type is great blended into a pulp and used for smoothes, in cake/muffin batters and as a pie filling. I decided to make a simple pyllo pastry tart because I did not want the persimmon flavour to be masked by too many overpowering ingredients.

Mom, this is for you!

Persimmon Tart

(Serves 2)

1 Fuyu persimmon

4 sheets of pyllo pastry, at room temperature

Cinnamon sugar (or mix 1 tbsp of cinnamon with 2 tbsp of sugar)

A dash of lemon juice

About 1 tbsp salt-reduced butter, melted (use more if you prefer a richer, buttery pastry)

1 tsp of caster sugar

1

Pre-heat oven at 160 degrees C (fan forced)

2

Slice the persimmons finely. Toss it in some cinnamon sugar and a dash of lemon juice. Set aside.

3

Slice usinga sharp knife or cut each pyllo sheet to make four panels. Place all of the pyllo one sheet on top of the other and butter each layer sparingly. Sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on top of every fourth layer. Brush the top most layer with butter.

4

Arrange the persimmon slices in an overlapping manner. Brush with the persimmon with the remaining butter and sprinkle caster sugar over the whole tart.

5

Bake for 20 minutes or till the pyllo pastry has turned golden brown.

6

Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla bean ice-cream or custard.

Note:

- If you want to caramelise the persimmons, bake for 15 minutes and turn the tart (persimmons facing down) and cook for another 5 minutes. Or after taking the tart out of the oven, sprinkle more caster sugar on the persimmon and caramelise it lightly with a blowtorch.

- The original recipe used puff pastry.

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Food Blogging Event:

Thanks to Janet's recent post, I was remined of the upcoming deadline for a food blogging event. Since I've never cooked with persimmons before, I've decided to submit this for the Weekend Cookbook Challenge # 16 - Something New. My inspiration to cook with persimmons was promted by Steve Manfredi's article (Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Living, April 2007). There are very few recipes using persimmons and the one I've adapted comes from pastry chef Jess Ong’s (The Summit Restaurant, Sydney) spiced persimmon tart recipe.

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