Flower Doughnuts

I really really love to eat doughnuts eventhough it might sound fattening to indulge to this snack.    Whenever I passed by the bakery shops, I would usually take a glimpse at their doughnuts, whether it is the normal traditional hole in the center doughnuts or the mini balls doughnuts.

It do really look very tempting at those bakery shops but one thing is I'm not into those with heavy coated chocolate or strawberry topping.....it look so overly sweet to me.  I'm the those old fashioned type....just love the traditional icing or caster sugar coated doughnut is the one for me. 

FLOWER DOUGHNUTS
Recipe inspired from Donna Hay (Spiced Snowflake Doughnuts)

Ingredients

125ml lukewarm milk

1½ tablespoons lukewarm water

1 tablespoons caster sugar

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

335g plain flour or all purpose flour

1 tablespoons caster sugar

50g melted butter

2 eggs, lightly beaten

vegetable oil, for deep-frying

For Dusting

55g icing (confectioner’s sugar, sifted

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)

 Some vegetable oil for deep frying

 Method

In a  large bowl, add the lukewarm milk, water, yeast, and 1 tablespoon sugar together, lightly stir and set aside for about 10 minutes till bubbles appear on the surface.

Add in the plain flour, melted butter  flour, eggs and 1 tablespoon sugar to the yeast mixture.  (You may use your mixer with hook attachment and let the mixer do the mixing job for you).  If not,  use a butter knife to mix until a sticky dough forms.  Then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean, damp cloth and set aside in a warm place for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Lightly floured your counter top and knead the dough for about  5 minutes.  

Roll the dough out into 1 cm thickness and using your cookie cutter with 8cm round diameter, cut out round.

Using a small knife, make 6 deep shallow cuts from the edge to the centre of the rounds.  Alternatively you can use a sharp scissor to do the cutting job which I find more easier.

Place the nicely cut out shape doughnuts on a non-stick baking pan till you finished the rest of the dough cutting shape.  Rest the doughnuts for another 20 minutes .

Place the oil and a sugar thermometer in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat until temperature reaches 180°C.  Fry the doughnuts, in batches, for 1–2 minutes each side or until golden. Drain on absorbent paper.

Dust with the spice nutmeg icing  sugar and serve immediately.

+ It’s important to let the dough ‘prove’ to ensure it achieves a light and airy texture. A little warmth is essential to help the yeast work and allow the dough to rise. When letting the doughnuts rise for a second time after you’ve kneaded the dough, they should become slightly puffy with a firm, stretched top.

I think this will be my last post for 2015!  Soon we will be heading into 2016.  

Here, I like to wish everyone HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016!  May 2016 brings to you GOOD HEALTH & Lots of happiness in your life

Deep Fried Sesame Balls / "Jin Dui" 煎堆

I believe most of you all love this Deep Fried Sesame Balls (or Jin Dui).  But wasn't keen to make it at home because of the deep frying and later have to clean up the kitchen stove etc.  And while we can easily buy this delicious yummy Sesame balls at the night market with just less than a dollar for a standard size.

I have tried making Deep Fried Sesame Balls   two years back.  Though everything seem to be perfect while frying the Sesame Balls but some burst out the filling and make a mess in the hot oil.

Last week I accidentally stumbled upon this site while searching for some other recipes and after watching her video, I just got to try it out myself.

DEEP FRIED SESAME BALLS ~ JIN DUI

Recipe sourced from China Sichuan Food 

Ingredients

1 ½ cups glutinous rice flour (I weight it this 1 ½ cups is equivalent to 190 grams ) **

80 grams caster sugar or granulated sugar

100ml water + 10ml (please adjust accordingly)

½ tsp baking powder (you can add this or opt out)

1 cup lightly toasted white sesame seeds

80g or more red bean paste

Method

Preparing the cooked dough

In a small medium bowl, scoop two tablespoon glutinous rice flour out and mix it with 10ml water.  (you can add a little more water if there’s a need).  Knead till all come together and smooth. 

In a small saucepan, bring some water to a rapid boil.  Add in the small dough and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes.  Scoop out the cooked dough and transfer it to a small bowl with some cold water to cool down the cooked small dough.  Set aside.

Preparing the Main dough

In a medium large size bowl, put the balance glutinous rice flour, sugar and baking powder and mix it together.  Then add in the cool cooked dough in.  Using your hand, break out the cooked dough to mix in to the flour sugar mixture.   Slowly add in the water bit by bit the water and mix till all come together. (adjust the water accordingly if there is a need). Continue to knead till the dough is smooth.

Shape the dough into a long log and divide in to 20 equal balls. (I weight each into 20 grams).

Assembling the Sesame Balls

Shape the small balls into like a shape of small bowls or just flatten the dough.   Scoop 1 teaspoon of red bean paste in (more if you like) and seal it up completely and roll in your palms to shape it round again.  Repeat the rest.

Prepare 1 bowl with some water and another bowl  with the toasted sesame.

With one hand,  a quick dip one of sesame ball into the bowl of water and immediately transfer to the bowl of sesame seeds.  Using your other hand, roll the ball to coat with the sesame seeds; lightly press it in order all surface are coated with the sesame seeds.

The frying process

Using a medium size saucepan or your frying pan/wok, heat up some enough oil and once the oil has reached to a 120 Celcius, carefully drop in the few sesame balls to deep fry (in batches) , turn down the heat to slowly deep fry the sesame balls till golden brown.   Remove and drain on a paper towel to remove assess oil.  Repeat the rest until all are done.  

Let it cool down few minutes, and enjoy!

 ** I tried to google searched for that 1 cup of glutinuous rice flour in grams and its indicated 200 grams.  But when I weighed my 1 cup flour in a digital scale it was just 130g.  

I am indeed so pleased this time that none of my sesame balls exploded in the frying process.  In fact, they looked so gorgeous in golden brown.

As I have read some tips that Elaine of China Sicuan Food has mentioned about "How to avoid explosion during deep frying process?"  And this is the main thing that has caught my eye and wanted to try out her recipe.

She mentioned that " The key skill here is to boil around 1/10 of your flour first and then mix with the balance flour. When glutinous rice flour meet heat or hot water, it will becomes sticky and prevent explosion in deep-frying process as long as the oil temperature is controlled well." 

Well, hopped over to her site to read more of the tips she has shared out.

The sesame balls taste absolutely so yummy when it is still warm... but after few hours it will turn soft.    Have you bought and eaten any Sesame Balls still stays crispy after few hours?  You know what I mean?  What secret ingredient have added  in to deep fry?



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Baked Chinese Cake / "Kai Dan Koh 鸡蛋糕"

"Kai Dan Koh or Ji Dan Gao" is a cake that I grew up eating during my childhood times.  I love the spongy soft texture of the cake.  "Ji Dan Gao" is just more or less like a sponge cake.

I have tried searching for the recipe previously in the internet but most of the Kai Dan Koh was those steamed cake or of that "Ma Lai Koh".  Until one day as I was going through some of my cookbooks, I found this Baked Chinese Cake which is very similar to the "Ji Dan Gao" which Ive been looking for.

BAKED CHINESE CAKE / "Ji Dan Gao 鸡蛋糕"

Ingredients
3 large eggs (cold)
140g caster sugar / granulated sugar
1 tbsp honey
3 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract
70ml vegetable cooking oil 
160g plain flour
1 tbsp corn flour
1 tsp baking powder

Method

Preheat oven to 180 celcius.  
Grease and lightly flour 10 baking moulds (the mould about 4" diameter x 1.5" height).

Sift the plain flour, corn flour and baking powder together.  Set aside.

In an electric stand mixer, beat the cold eggs, sugar and honey on high speed till mixture is light and fluffy (ribbon stage).  This takes about 8-10 minutes.

Turn down to low medium speed, slowly add in the water, thereafter vanilla extract and the vegetable cooking oil.

Turn off speed.  Using a spatula, fold in the flour mixture till combined.  Do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared greased flour moulds slightly till to the edges.

Bake for 15 minutes or till the cake edges are separated from the mould.  Removed from oven.  Let cool for 5 minutes before popping the cakes out.

                           Try it and see whether you like this version of "Ji Dan Gao".....
                            Well, this is my 2nd batch already.... 

** My friend were asking me whether can she bake this at a normal round pan.  I guess it can be done in a normal 7" or 8" round pan.... but have to greased and lined with a greased proof paper at the bottom of the pan and the baking time would be longer.


 

Pumpkin Steamed Buns / Pumpkin Xi Pan

Wow.... it has been months I have not updated my blog.  I guess I wasn't as active like before and I know some of you have long forgotten who is Mel of Through The Kitchen Door already.

It is not that I have not done any new recipes to try out, it just I haven't found myself up to do anything else and some failure in my try out recipes which resulted making me feeling down .... see I don't even know what am I talking about here... !

Well, my post for December 2015, is Pumpkin Xi Pan.  This is my 2nd time try out as the 1st time the dough is too  wet resulting too difficult to handle to shape it round at all.  So this time I make sure I won't over steamed the pumpkin.    

Pumpkin Steamed Buns (Xi Pan / Hee Pan)

Recipe adapted from My Little Favourite DIY

Ingredients: 

Sponge dough:  

80g plain flour  
1 tsp instant yeast  
75ml water

120g pumpkin

60g glutinous rice flour  
30g plain flour
1/4 tsp baking powder  
50g sugar  
2 tbsp cooking oil

some banana leaves or greased proof paper ( cut into round shape)

Method 

In a medium bowl, combined the Sponge dough ingredients together and mixed well. 

Cover with plastic wrap and let proof for 1 – 2 hours.

Peel the pumpkin and cut into small size and steamed till soft. Mashed into

puree.

After the sponge dough done in proofing, scatter in the baking powder and mixed to combine. Then add in the rest of the main dough ingredients (glutinous rice, plain flour, sugar, oil and mashed pumpkin) and knead into a smooth and soft dough. 

Brush a thin layer of oil on the surface of the dough and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Roll the the dough long and divide into 30g each.

Shape it round then flatten it a little and place on a greased round banana leaf.

Let it proof for another 20 minutes.

Steam over medium high heat for 10 minutes.

 

Note: The dough might be quite soft and sticky. Oil your hand while kneading or use disposal ploythene gloves or a plastic spatula to help to manage this sticky dough.

                                   Love this pumpkin buns as it is so soft and fluffy