This simple raisin bread is made from the challah dough recipe that can be found here. The result is a soft and fragrant sweet breakfast or teatime bread. I especially enjoy it when it’s lightly toasted, with a little extra butter spread on top. The bread may look complex but I assure you that this dough is really quite easy to handle and shape.

Raisin Challah Loaf
Makes 1 Loaf
Adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Ingredients:
1 pound of challah dough (recipe found here)
1/3 cup raisins
Butter for greasing cookie sheet
Egg wash (1 egg mixed with 1 tbsp water)
White sesame seeds

Method:

1. Grease a cookie sheet.
2. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1 pound piece.
3. Dust with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides.
4. Using a rolling pin and just a little flour, roll out the dough to the thickness of 1/2 inch.
5. Sprinkle with raisins and roll into a log, starting from the longer end.
6. Roll the dough between your hands and stretch it to form a single long thin rope with a tapered end.
7. Starting with the thick end of the rope, form a coil on the prepared cookie sheet. Tuck the tapered end under the loaf.
8. Allow to rest for 1 hour 20 minutes (40 minutes if you are using fresh dough).
9. Ten minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350ºF.
10. Brush the loaf with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
11. Place near the centre of the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
12. Allow to cool before slicing or eating.

Challah is the bread served traditionally in Jewish cultures. It is very fragrant thanks to the addition of butter and eggs, and is also mildly sweet from the added honey. Challah is versatile enough to be substituted in most recipes requiring brioche dough and it contains half the amount of eggs so why not try baking some?

The recipe below is adapted from one of my favourite bread books – Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I think the brilliant part about their recipes is that one does not need to knead the dough nor punch it down after it rises. Also, a larger batch of dough can be made and stored in the fridge, ready to use whenever you want. How convenient!

Challah Dough
Makes about 4 pounds of dough

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups lukewarm water (105ºF to 115ºF)
1 1/2 tbsp granulated yeast
1 1/2 tbsp salt
4 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
7 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour

Method for mixing dough:

1. Mix yeast and warm water in the bowl of a standing mixer and leave it for 5 minutes.
2. Once yeast starts to foam, add in salt, beaten eggs, honey and butter and mix well.
3. Mix in the flour without kneading using a dough hook.
4. Transfer dough to a container with a non air-tight lid and leave in a warm place to rise for approximately 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours.
5. Dough can be used immediately or stored in the refrigerator for 5 days. After 5 days, freeze the remaining dough.

Method for making challah loaf:

1. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound piece.
2. Dust the surface of the piece of dough with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the four sides of the dough.
3. Elongate it to an oval and drop in into a greased loaf pan.
4. Allow it to rest and rise for 1 hour 20 minutes (for refrigerated dough) or 40 minutes (for fresh dough)
5. 10 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350ºF.
6. Brush the top of the loaf with egg wash made from one egg and one tablespoon of cream.
7. Place the bread on a rack in the centre of the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is a nice golden brown.
8. Allow to cool before slicing.

I salute those housewives who cook dinner everyday and not run out of inspiration of what to cook. Because after just two weeks or so of doing so, I am fast running out of ideas and with the growing bump, energy. Yes, since I’m the one who’s at home these days while the hubby is studying, the responsibility of cooking dinner every night seems to have fallen on my shoulders – at least for a week or so more before I pop. Most of the nights it’s Chinese food, but there are days when you do not want to do another stir-fry or see another bowl of rice. Last Saturday was one of those days.

I checked the freezer and found soft frozen crab meat and so decided to do something with it. I didn’t quite want to do a pasta, seeing that both of us had a rather heavy lunch and so decided on these crab cakes. Most crab cakes need to be fried, which was simply too much work when you want a simple meal and so I decided to use a recipe that didn’t require frying, just baking. I served these up with a mushroom soup and a simple salad – a simple yet tasty meal on a weekend evening.

Cheesy Crab Cakes
Makes 12 mini crab cakes
Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients:
For the crab mixture
4 ounces cream cheese
1/8 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
2 tbsp sour cream
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1/8 tsp coarse sea salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
3 oz crabmeat
1 tbsp chopped spring onions

For the base and topping
1/2 cup Japanese breadcrumbs
1 oz unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp chopped spring onions
Salt and pepper

My rose bundt pan finally arrived in the mail and I simply had to make something with it. Since I had leftover buttermilk, I decided to try making red velvet cakes. Yes, RED velvet cakes. How did they end up brown then? Simply when you don’t add enough red food colouring, which was what happened. Sigh, the problem with gel food colourings and liquid food colourings is that you don’t quite know how much to substitute each for when the recipe calls for one or the other. Estimation does not always yield the best results. Oh well, the next time I try this again, I would know better.

I decided to do a slight twist to the basic red velvet recipe by adding coffee extract, since coffee typically complements chocolate. I think it tastes pretty good, but I will definitely up the amount of coffee extract the next time I redo this. The adapted recipe below shows my recommended dose of coffee extract.

So how does red velvet taste like? It is not overwhelmingly chocolaty but the texture is fantastic – moist and dense. People typically serve this with a cream cheese topping but I was lazy and decided to serve it plain. My friends did not complain so I guess it’s good enough to be eaten on its own too.

Velvet Rose Cakes
Makes 16 rose cakes
Adapted from Kiss My Bundt

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs at room temperature
2 tbsp liquid food colouring
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp coffee extract
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp fine salt
1 tbsp cocoa powder

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF with a rack centered in the middle.
2. Using a standing mixer, combine oil, buttermilk, eggs, food colouring, vinegar, vanilla and coffee extract. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute.
3. In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder and sugar.
4. With the mixer on low, add dry ingredients to the batter 1/2 cup at a time. Add slowly so that the mixture does not form lumps.
5. Lightly grease the pan and pour batter into each cavity till they are 2/3 full.
6. Bake until inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
7. If frosting, cool completely first.

Many would agree that there are few foods as seductive as good, dark chocolate. Combine that with ice cream and it can become an almost out-of-the-world treat. I especially enjoy dark chocolate ice cream when I am feeling down, or am in a pensive mood. I like it served on its own, as that allows me to fully appreciate the full flavours of the dark chocolate. Not that it does not go well with waffles, souffles, cakes and other desserts.

The ice cream recipe I used is adapted from Pierre Herme’s Chocolate Desserts. He wrote about how good chocolate ice cream should never be made with cocoa powder, but with real dark chocolate. He doesn’t believe in using custards in chocolate ice creams as the yolks interfere with the rich flavour of the dark chocolate. Hence, chocolate ice creams are made using the Philadelphia method. After tasting the ice cream, I must say that I agree with his conclusions. Each spoonful was pure chocolate and it was sheer delight.

Dark Chocolate Ice Cream
Makes 3/4 litres
Adapted from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermes

Ingredients:
1/3 cup powdered milk
3 cups whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
8 ounces Valrhona Manjari 64%, finely chopped

Method:

1. Place the powdered milk in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan and gradually whisk in the whole milk.
2. When the powdered milk is dissolved, whisk in the sugar and bring the mixture to a boil.
3. Stir in the chocolate and bring it to the boil again.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and pour it into a small bowl. Place the small bowl in a larger bowl filled with water and ice-cubes.
5. Keep the chocolate over ice, stirring frequently until it reaches room temperature.
6. Churn the ice cream in an ice-cream maker.

I made this for a dinner party on Christmas eve, but I think it works well as an everyday cake. The cake has three distinct textures – First, you bite into the crunchy and sugary shortbread. Next, your teeth sinks into the moist jam layer before finishing at the cake layer at the bottom. The tartness of the cranberry jam perfectly balances the sugary crust of the shortbread. I served this with vanilla ice cream but it’s perfect on its own too.

Cranberry Shortbread Cake
Serves 8 to 10
Adapted from Baking from my home to yours

Ingredients for cranberry jam:
1 large orange
1/4 cup orange juice
12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
3/4 cup sugar

Method:

1. Grate the zest of one orange into a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan.
2. Remove the peel and pith and segment the orange between membranes. Add the orange segments into the saucepan.
3. Reserve the juice from the orange. If it does not form 1/4 cup, top up with more orange juice.
4. Put the cranberries and sugar into the pan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently.
5. Continue stirring for 5 – 8 minutes, until the cranberries pop and your spoon leaves tracks.
6. Scrape the jam into a bowl and cool to room temperature.

Ingredients for the cake:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
6.5 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp sugar (for dusting)

Method:

1. Mix together flour, baking powder and salt.
2. Using a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed till soft and smooth.
3. Add sugar and continue beating till it is well-combined.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add in the egg and yolk, beating until they are well incorporated.
5. Beat in the vanilla extract.
6. Add in the flour mixture in two parts, mixing only until it is just incorporated. Do not overmix.
7. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide it into half. Pat each into a disk and wrap the disks up in plastic.
8. Refrigerate each disk for 15 to 30 minutes (or refrigerate it overnight and thaw it for 20 minutes the next day before using).
9. Preheat the oven to 350ºF while dough is chilling.
10. Butter a non-stick 9-inch springform pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment.
11. Roll out one disk to the size of the springform and press it lightly into the pan.
12. Spread the cranberry jam evenly over the dough.
13. Roll the second piece of dough to the size of the pan and carefully invert it onto the filling.
14. Brush the top lightly with water and sprinkle with 2 tsp of sugar.
15. Bake for 40 minutes, until the top of the cake is golden brown.
16. Transfer onto a cooling rack to cool for 20 minutes in the pan, before removing the sides and allowing it to cool to room temperature.
17. Serve at room temperature.

My dear husband bought me an ice-cream maker for my birthday in November and since then, we’ve been making our own ice-cream rather than buying them. Our old ice-cream maker required us to pre-freeze the bowl for 24 hours before using it, and the products that it yielded weren’t quite smooth and satisfying. This new one came with a chiller and I no longer have to pre-freeze the bowl. Definitely a welcomed improvement. Moreover, it yields smooth and creamy ice-creams!

The recipe below for vanilla bean ice-cream is adapted from “The Perfect Scoop”, one of my favourite ice-cream recipe books. The rich flavour of this ice-cream goes well with many other desserts. I served this with my maple pecan tart. The guests all asked for more! Though the flavour is creamy and rich, this ice-cream is made using the Philadelphia method, which does not involve the making of a custard. It is quicker and easier on your hips.

For this recipe, I substituted vanilla beans with vanilla bean paste. I love Nielsen Massey’s vanilla bean paste as it is extremely fragrant and convenient. One tablespoon of it packs the same punch as a vanilla bean. Also, remember to use pure vanilla extract and not vanilla essence. They are miles different in terms of their taste and flavour.

Vanilla Bean Ice-cream
Makes 1 litre
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup low fat milk
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp Nielsen Massey vanilla bean paste
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Pour 1 cup of cream into a medium saucepan. Add the sugar and salt and vanilla bean paste.
2. Warm over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Remove from the heat and mix in the remaining 1 cup of cream and 1 cup of milk and vanilla extract.
4. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze the mixture in your ice-cream maker.

Cranberry and pistachio are two common ingredients. I suspect this is more to do with their colours than their flavours. Meaning to do something Christmasy, I decided to make cranberry pistachio biscotti by modifying a basic recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s book – Baking, from my home to yours. This recipe is interesting in that it incorporated cornmeal which added a surprising fragrance and crunch to the biscotti.

So did the cranberry and pistachio combination work? Definitely. The biscotti received raving reviews from all who tried it. I even had requests for orders for it for Chinese New Year! I had to explain that it was a Christmas flavour, but on second thought, I guess it is a wonderful biscotti to have all year round.

Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
4 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1  tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup lightly toasted chopped pistachio nuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Method:

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together. Add the cornmeal and whisk again.
3. Using a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together at medium speed for 3 minutes, until very smooth.
4. Add eggs and continue to beat, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, for another 2 minutes or so, until the mixture is light and creamy.
5. Beat in the vanilla extract.
6. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add in the dry ingredients mixture, mixing only until they are just incorporated.
7. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add in the chopped pistachios and cranberries and mix just to blend.
8. Scrape half the dough onto one side of the baking sheet. Using your fingers and a rubber spatula, work the dough into a log about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide.
9. Form another log on the other side of the baking sheet.
10. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the logs are lightly golden but still soft and springy to the touch.
11. Transfer the baking sheets to a rack and cool the logs on the baking sheet for 30 minutes.
12. Carefully transfer the logs onto a cutting board and with a serrated knife, trim the ends and cut the logs into 3/4 inch thick slices. Return the slices to the baking sheet, this time standing up.
13. Bake the biscotti for another 15 minutes, until they are golden brown and firm.
14. Transfer them to racks and cool to room temperature.

These will keep well at room temperature if stored in an air-tight container.

Pecan candy, pecan fudge, pecan rolls, honeyed pecans… somehow pecans always seem to be associated with Thanksgiving or Christmas, though I not quite know why. I tried searching around for information on it, but could not seem to find any. Nonetheless, in the spirit of Christmas, I decided to bake a maple pecan tart for the pizza gathering I wrote about in an earlier post. If you had read that post, you’d know that the attempt to make the dough for the tart went quite wrong, with it being blended into a paste form accidentally, when it was supposed to have bits of butter in it to ensure flakiness. I am happy to report that the tart crust recipe was pretty forgiving. Even though it was not as flaky as it should have been, it was still fairly crumbly. An untrained tongue probably would not have known that something went wrong.

When I looked through the recipe before baking the tart, I was pretty sure I was going to end up with an overly sweet tart, looking at the amount of maple syrup and sugar the recipe calls for. Nonetheless, those amounts were needed for the right balance between the sugars and the eggs to enable the filling to set. I was pretty glad when the tart did not turn out quite as sweet as I expected, thanks to the addition of the orange zest. It’s a pity I could not get hold of any kumquats, which was what the original recipe called for.

I served the tart with homemade vanilla bean ice-cream, the recipe of which I will post up soon. The vanilla bean ice-cream complemented the pecan tart perfectly. In fact, I think it’s more winning a combination than the suggested whipped cream accompaniment.

Maple Pecan Tart
Makes 1 9-inch tart
Recipe adapted from Tartine

Ingredients:
Fully baked and cooled flaky tart shell (see below)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 maple syrup
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 tbsp bourbon whiskey
1/2 tsp salt
2 oz unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups of pecan halves
zest of 1 orange
vanilla bean ice-cream for serving

Method:

1. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, maple syrup, corn syrup, bourbon and salt. Place over medium heat, bring to a boil and continue to boil for a minute.
2. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the butter as it melts.
3. Let the mixture cool to room temperature.
4. Preheat the oven to 350ºF while the mixture cools.
5. Add the vanilla extract and beaten eggs to the cooled mixture and stir till combined.
6. Stir in the pecans and orange zest and pour the mixture into the tart shell.
7. Bake until the filling is just set, about 50 minutes. If the top is browning too quickly, tent it with a piece of foil.
8. Let it cool on a wire rack before cutting.
9. Serve at room temperature (or warm if you prefer), with a scoop of vanilla bean ice-cream.

Flaky Tart Shell
Makes 1 9-inch tart shell

Ingredients:
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup of very cold water
1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp of plain flour
5 1/4 oz very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch cubes

Method:

1. Add salt to the water and stir to dissolve. Keep in the refrigerator until very cold.
2. Place the flour in the bowl of a food processor. Add the cold butter cubes to the flour and pulse briefly until mixture forms large crumbs.
3. Add the water and salt mixture and pulse for several seconds until the dough begins to come together. Do not over pulse!
4. Shape the dough into a disc 1 inch thick and wrap tightly in plastic. Chill overnight.
5. Roll chilled dough to 1/8 inch thick. Lightly dust work surface with flour to prevent dough from sticking.
6. Cut out a circle about 2 inches larger than the pan, and carefully transfer it to the tart pan.
7. Cut away the remaining dough or crimp the edge.
8. Chill the shell for at 30 minutes to an hour.
9. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
10. Line the shells with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or a mixture of grains and beans.
11. Bake for 25 minutes on a middle rack.
12. Remove parchment and pie weights and continue to bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the shell is golden brown.
13. Let the shells cool completely on wire racks before filling.

J’s family were coming over for dinner and I wanted something simple and quick, yet tasty. I decided on chicken cacciatora, an Italian classic favourite. It is simply put. chicken cooked in a rich tomato gravy, served over mash or boiled potatoes. Definitely heartwarming if served on a cool evening. Though the dish made from the original recipe was tasty and flavourful, I felt it could do with more heat. Hence, in the recipe below, I upped the original amount of crushed red peppers. If you prefer less heat, you can decrease the amount to suit your palate.

One thing we realized when cooking this dish is that the brand of canned plum tomatoes used matters a lot. We usually use the brand Cirrio, which has a good balance of sweetness and tang. This time however, J wanted to try another brand, Lutti. I realized that the tomatoes from the latter brand were a lot more tangy. The resulting taste was not quite balanced and I had to add some sugar towards the end to balance the flavours.

Chicken Cacciatora
Serves 4 to 5
Recipe adapted from Patricia Wells’ Trattoria

Ingredients:
1 chicken (1.5 to 2 kg), cut into 8 to 10 serving pieces
Sea salt and black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 onion, minced
2 ribs of celery, thinly sliced
3/4 tsp crushed red peppers flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1 can of Italian plum tomatoes in juice, crushed
3 sprigs of fresh parsley
3 pieces of bay leaves
1/2 tsp dried crushed rosemary

Method:

1. Season the chicken liberally with salt and black pepper.
2. In a large skillet, combine oil and butter over high heat. When hot, add several pieces of chicken and cook on the skin side until it turns an even golden brown.
3. Turn over the chicken pieces and brown the other side. When all pieces are browned, transfer them to a platter.
4. Add the onions, celery, crushed red peppers flakes and salt to the same skillet and cook over moderate heat until the onions and celery are soft and translucent.
5. Add the crushed tomatoes and their juices to the skillet. Add in the remaining herbs and stir to blend. Simmer the sauce for about 5 minutes.
6. Bury the chicken pieces in the sauce, and simmer, partially covered, until the chicken is cooked through, another 25 minutes more.
7. Remove the parsley sprigs and bay leaves.
8. Transfer the chicken to warmed dinner plates, along with the sauce. Serve with mash potatoes or boiled potatoes.