Kiwi Pavlova

I have been wanting to eat this particular dessert for such a long time! Kept seeing it made on the Asian Food Channel (AFC) and it seemed so easy to do....

Pavlova is a dessert named after the Russian ballet dancer - Anna Pavlova. A cake made out of meringue with a crispy crust and soft light inner... it is like a marshmallow!!! Just simply divine...

I got this receipe from the Earthbound Farm but I have modified it to make it my own :)

Here we go:

Ingredients

Meringues:
4 large egg whites at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sugared Almonds (the receipe was for Pistachios):
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup almond nuts (diced)
2 tablespoons sugar

Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons sugar

To top it:
5 kiwifruits, peeled and sliced
(any fruits that is sweet and sour can be used too)
Honey

Directions

Preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Place the egg whites in the bowl and beat on high speed until the whites to form soft peaks. Gradually add the sugar and beat until the mixture is thick and very creamy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the cornstarch and vanilla and beat another minute on medium speed.

Place the meringue mixture on the prepared baking sheet. Make a shallow well in the center of the meringue with a small ladle or soup spoon. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and reduce the heat to 250 degrees F.

Bake until the meringue dry on the exterior but remain soft in the center, 40 to 50 minutes. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack and allow meringue to cool completely.

For the sugared almonds, melt the butter in a large nonstick pan. Add the almonds and cook over medium heat until the nuts are hot and begin to turn golden brown, about 5 minutes. Raise the heat to medium-high and sprinkle the nuts with the sugar. Stir until the sugar melts and the nuts appear shiny, 5 to 10 minutes. Watch carefully! The nuts can burn very quickly during this step. Spread the nuts on a piece of aluminum foil and let them cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Place the cream in a cold bowl and whip until it starts to thicken. Add the vanilla and sugar, and continue beating until the cream is stiff.

To serve, place a meringue shell on a plate. Spoon a dollop of whipped cream in the indentation and top with some of the kiwi slices. Sprinkle with candied almonds and drizzle the honey around the base of the each shell. Serve immediately.

I added 1 passion fruit and a banana to the topping....

Yums!

Muffin Catastrophe

It has happened! The muffins that I wanted to make it not turn out to be edible at all… I guess it must have been the flour that I used :P … It looked a little different when I opened the flour container! Sucks… I had to throw it out and it was a lot me tell you … Suatu pembaziran betul! Sigh….

Orange Choc Swirl Cuppies

Ah finally I made time to make these lovely cuppies....so yummy and so easy. It is like child's play! Kids will love these.... Just look at it...

The receipe came out from a book that I bought ages ago - Cupcakes and Muffins (Collector's Edition)...Beli dah lama tak tak cuba-cuba pun hampeh! So I managed to try out one today - Orange and Chocolate... Yes they go well together... So let me share the receipe with you :)

Ingredients3 eggs
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
2 cups self raising flour
juice of 1/2 orange
zest of 1/2 orange
1/4 cup cocoa powder

Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 160'C. Line the cupcake pan with cupcake papers.
- In a medium size bowl, lightly beat the eggs, add butter and sugar, then mix until light and fluffy
- Add milk and flour, and stir to combine. Beat until light and creamy
- Divide mixture into 2 bowls. In bowl 1, add orange juice and zest. In bowl 2, add the cocoa powder.
- Put some of each mixture into the paper cup and stir with a skewer to get the marble effect.
- Bake for 18-20 mins. Once done, allow to cool.

Try it!

Kuih Makmur (Ghee Balls)

Date: 11/09/09 (Friday)

These cookies are my favourite ones that I look out each year during Raya but over the past years it is hard to get the ones that taste like the ones my tok makes… How much I miss them!!! Some of the ones I tried were either too hard, no taste of ghee or just plain horrible… So this year I made the decision to make them myself though I never made them alone it is always under the guidance of my aunt…

So, I went in search of the recipe… And found this one but never heard of using eggs to it… As far as I know kuih makmur does not use eggs… After much discussion with a colleague of mine on what is the usage of eggs in the recipe and how does it change the taste… I decided to give it a try… Who know it will turn out alright.

Recipe taken from Jo's Deli Bakery blog:

INGREDIENTS:
(Makes 150)

• 500g cake/superfine flour, sifted
  
• 350g peanuts
  
• 250g ghee, melted and cooled
  
• 1-1 half tsp of salt
  
• 2 eggs
  
• Icing sugar (sifted) for coating

METHOD:

• Fry sifted flour over slow fire until it is dry, light and leaves the sides of the pan/wok
  
• Fry peanuts over slow fire until fragrant. De-skinned them and grind while they are still warm.
• Combine the fried flour, ground peanuts and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix well.
  
• Add the eggs and the melted ghee to the dry ingredients. Mix them together until dough is formed.
  
• Form dough into small balls (size that desired by you). Place them on a tray.
  
• Bake in a preheated oven at 180 deg C for 10-15 minutes.
  
• Cool the cookies. Once cooled coat them with the icing sugar and store in an airtight container.
  

Note:

• The cookies may look ugly but it is yummy… trust me.
  
• It should have the melt in your mouth texture.
  
• Though you can add the grinded peanuts together but I stuffed the balls with them… much harder to do.
  
• Not sure what the eggs did to the cookies but I tend to keep it in mine but for a more traditional one no need to add in the eggs.

Well, my 1^st attempt wasn't that bad really :) ...look at the picture... looks yummy right???... and it taste almost similar to the ones my tok makes… Now, I just need to perfect it.

Frankly, the ones my tok makes does not use peanuts but uses cow's milk… It is heavenly… Need to get aunt to show me how…

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