Was it the Sun? (Golden Egg Tarts, Coconut Custard Buns)

Was it because of the sun? It must be. Pictures taken today are more goldenish yellow than usual.
Take a look.


Golden Egg Tarts
I made a mistake when making custard fillings for my buns. Instead of wasting it, I used the egg-milk mixture to make egg tarts. Had to improvise from the previous try, but still good.


Coconut Custard Buns

Three Desserts and A Dish (Choc Chip Walnut Butter Cake, Egg White Tarts, Crystal Dumplings & Foil-Wrapped Baked Salmon

Hear, hear, the weekend is here. Time for another baking frenzy in the kitchen.
This time, I made "three desserts and a dish". Well, not exactly 3 desserts for one of them is a savoury snack but nevermind....


Forgot to dust the walnuts and choc chips with flour first, hence they tend to sink to the bottom of the cake.
Chocolate Chip & Walnut Butter Cake
Got an idea for this after tasting a similar one made by an ex-colleague. Sometimes, simple cakes like this really rocks!


Overbaked the pie crust a little.
Instead of the usual Egg Tarts that I normally made, this time I attempted a "healthier" version (Egg White Tarts) using egg whites only and low-fat milk. I like this version a lot; they kind of reminded me of the smooth "tau-fu-fa" (soybean pudding). Silky smooth and milder in taste. But somehow, the kids prefer the normal version, with the yolks and other rich stuff although I didn't tell them about the change in recipe used. They seem to have a in-built 6th sense to repel any "healthy" food stuff given to them.


Asked my maid to wrap the dumpling and the next thing I know, she wrapped them into the shapes of curry puffs! LOL!
My SIL cooked copious amount of "pang kaun chai" (a shredded carrot and yam beans dish) to be made as popiah fillings. Previously, we talked about using this filling to be wrapped with crystal dumpling skin. Ta-da! We finally achieved what we planned -

as modelled by my eldest nephew who in real-life loathes anything vegan. Sadly, this proved to be no exception either.
Crystal Dumplings filled with stir-fried shredded carrot, yam beans, dried shrimps and dried cuttlefish.

Lastly, for a good dose of Omega-3, I also prepared this simple salmon dish -

Foil-wrapped Baked Salmon.
Simple dish with simple and healthy ingredients such as lemon juice, plump tomatoes, onions, spring onions and olive oil. Most importantly, it tastes good!

That wraps up today's kitchen frenzy.

Countdown to Christmas III (Tartlets, Cupcakes & A Cake)

More goodies for the upcoming Christmas celebration...

Fruit Tartlets (for my office)


Hazelnut Frosted Cupcakes (same frosting as below) for my friend's potluck Christmas dinner.



And another birthday cake for my brother (Hazelnut Cream Cake). Frosting was very-very good...., but then again I used Varlhona chocolate and good quality roasted ground hazelnuts. ;-) But looks like I have got a long way to go in mastering the art of cake decoration.


Sliced.

Quick Tea-Time Snacks (Sausage Bread Tart & Microwave Potato Chips)

Quick and easy tea-time treats for the little ones at home. Each of them can be done in no time and is "yummy-licious".

Sausage Bread Tart

Use day-old bread (those with skins work better, e.g., top and bottom slice). Roll them flat. Put a rice bowl on it and cut away the edges. Roll them flat again if necessary. Butter a muffin pan. Stuff the bread into the muffin pan so that it resembles a cup/tart. Bake in oven on moderate temperature for about 10 minutes or lightly browned. Remove from oven and butter the inside of the bread/tart. Mix some sliced sausages with mayonaise or sandwich spread and some dried parsley flakes. Add some into each tart. Re-bake them for another 5 minutes. Remove individual tarts from pan and trim away dark edges if necessary.

Microwave Potato Chips

Good and fat-free. The little ones gave their thumbs-up too! So much more healthier than regular french fries.
Spray a casserole dish with some non-fat cooking spray. Slice potato thinly (unpeeled) and arrange them on the dish. Microwave them on HIGH for about 8-10 minutes or until they turn crispy. Check to make sure that they are not burned though. Toss with a little salt, coarse black pepper and dried parsley. Serve. You can substitute with sweet potato if wished.

Click on titles for link to original recipes.