Monday, February 21, 2011

Apple Crumble Pie



Recipe

Ingredients
Sweet pastry
100g butter (cut into cubes and chill)
45g icing sugar
1/2 egg (about 30g)
200g plain flour
1/4tsp salt

Crumble topping
40g butter
35g sugar
45g flour
20g ground almond/ground hazelnut

Filling
5 green apple (remove core and skin, diced)
50g light brown sugar/caster sugar
1/2tsp ground cinnamon
1tbsp lemon juice
1tsp corn flour (mix with some water)

Steps:
Crumble topping:
1. Sift flour in a bowl.
2. Mix sugar and ground almond into flour.
3. Use your fingers to rub butter into the flour mixture until it resemble bread crumb.
4. Cover and chill in the fridge.

Sweet pastry:
1. Sift flour, icing sugar and salt into a big bowl.
2. Use your fingers to rub butter into the flour mixture until it resemble bread crumb.
3. Add in lightly beaten egg into step no.2.
4. Mix till it form a soft dough. ( I used food processor to mix the dough from step no. 2 to 4.)
5. Wrap the dough up and let it rest in the fridge for 30mins.
6. Press some dough into tart moulds.
7. Use a fork and press around the edges.
8. With a knife, trim away excess dough at the edges.
9. Arrange it in a container, cover and let it rest in the fridge for another 30mins.
(You can prepare the pastry a day ahead.)

Filling:
1. Put all the ingredients into a pot except corn starch solution.
2. Cook over medium-low fire until apple tender.
3. Add in corn starch solution and stir until sauce thicken.
4. Remove from fire and set aside to cool.

Assemble tart:
1. Preheat oven to 190C.
2. Remove tarts from fridge and thaw for 10mins.
3. Spoon filling into tarts and sprinkle crumble topping onto it.
4. Bake in a preheated oven for 20-25mins or until surface is browned.
5. Remove tarts from oven and cool them on a wire rack.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Rich Pound Cake



Recipe

Ingredients
125g unsalted butter
90g caster sugar
1/4tsp salt
3 egg yolk
1/4tsp vanilla paste
1/4cup creme fraiche (about 55g)
180g cake flour
1/4tsp baking powder

3 egg white
1/4tsp cream of tartar
60g caster sugar

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 175C.
2. Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside.
3. Use a cake mixer, whisk egg whites and cream of tartar till frothy.
4. Gradually add in sugar and whisk till stiff peaks, cover and set aside.
5. In another mixing bowl, cream butter, salt and sugar until light and fluffy.
6. Slowly beat in egg yolk and vanilla essence until well combined.
7. Then fold in flour and creme fraiche alternately until well combined.
8. Lastly, fold in meringue in three portions into the butter mixture until combined.
9. Pour batter into a lined and greased 7inches round tin.
10.Bake in a preheated oven for 40-45mins.
11.Remove cake from tin and cool on a wire rack.

Note: You can replace creme fraiche with whipping cream or plain yogurt.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011