in my studio | category

Aug
22
2011

raya madness // choc almond cookies

Raya madness translates to ‘Gila Raya” which means Eid madness. Eid marks the end of Ramadan and is a celebration for all Muslims around the globe. This is my first year (ever!) making eid cookies/biskut raya. I wanted to re-create the spirit of eid like we have back home in Malaysia, especially now that I have a child. Growing up in Malaysia, we always looked forward to celebrating eid. The food. The visits. The money. The atmosphere. Its such a huge celebration and one that I will surely treasure forever. I know my daughter will never experience that kind of eid (or maybe one day inshallah), but at least she can enjoy my homemade cookies.

So this Eid, my sister, step mum and I will make a few batch of cookies each. Different varieties of course, and share them amongst ourselves. So in total, each of us get 10+ variety of cookies. Yay! The cookies that I have/will be making are choc almond, peanut cookies and choc chip cookies. (edit: links added)

In spirit of this year’s eid, the next few posts will be in relation to malay traditional food commonly served during eid/raya. Enjoy!

RECIPE FOR CHOC ALMOND COOKIES
Adapted from Jom Masak Jom Makan-Makan

Yields: 150 cookies
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 15 mins, per tray (these made a lot of trays!)

Ingredients

300g flour*
250g butter
250g chocolate, melted
200g caster sugar
200g cornflour*
2 tbsp cocoa powder*
200g almonds
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg

*Sift these ingredients into a bowl

Method

1. Beat the sugar, butter and vanilla essence until fluffy.

2. Put the egg and chocolate and continue beating until well combined.

3. Add the sifted ingredients and using a spatula, gently fold the mixture.

4. Add the almonds and combine well. Do not over combine or almonds will start to break.

5. Put some mixture into plastic wrap and shaped them into a square long train (see photo above)

6. Once all the mixtures have been wrapped tightly, put them into the fridge for 2 hours until it sets.

7. Preheat oven to 180 degrees and grease a baking tray lined with baking paper.

8. Take out the cookie dough and remove plastic. Cut into 2cm thick and place on the baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes.

Click ‘Read More’ below to print out the recipe and leave a comment.

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Category: cookies, desserts, in my kitchen

Aug
19
2011

chocolate ripple bites

I’ve been attending Aussie Muslims (forum) iftaar for 3 years consecutively now. And at every single iftaar, a sister (May Allah reward her) never fails to make these super cute bite size dessert. Though, she puts a bit more effort into them by drizzling over some chocolate for that finishing touch. I just topped mine with a slice of strawberry. Now these are on their way to my sister in laws house, for iftaar. Impressive much?

RECIPE FOR CHOCOLATE RIPPLE BITES

Makes: 25
Prep time: 20mins
Chill time: min 6 hours (recommended overnight)

Ingredients

400g Arnotts chocolate ripple biscuit (1.5 packets)
600ml thickened cream
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
5 strawberries, sliced

Method

1. Using an electric mixer, whip the cream sugar and vanilla essence until thickened.

2. Lay 25 biscuits on a tray and put a dollop of cream mixture then sandwich it with another biscuit on top. Do this for the remaining 24 biscuits.

3. Using a star nozzle, put some mixture into the nozzle bag and squeeze the cream to form a nice shape.

4. Top with a strawberry slice and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, but I recommend refrigerating overnight.

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Category: cake, cookies, desserts, in my kitchen

Aug
09
2011

blueberry crumb cake

I love reading The Pioneer Woman. I think she is a fabulous writer, cook and photographer. She has been blogging for quite some time now and while I was browsing her blog, I came across this recipe. Though, I have to admit my cake is nothing compared to hers, so please head over there to check out her amazing blueberry crumble cake *drools*. Mine, on the other hand, just doubled up in size. I accidentally read the method wrong and instead of using a large rectangular pan, I used a small round baking pan! But do come back here to try out the recipe. I’ve translated the American cooking measurements as I don’t like how they use ‘stick’ for butter.

RECIPE FOR BLUEBERRY CRUMB CAKE
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Serves: 12
Prep time: 10mins
Cook time: 45mins

Ingredients

For the cake:
1/4 cup butter + 1 tbsp additional butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 whole egg
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
2 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
2 cups fresh blueberries

For the topping:
6 tbsp butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt

Method for Cake

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Grease a 20 x33 cm baking pan and line with baking paper.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine butter and egg with cinnamon and sugar.

3. Add vanilla and mix.

4. Add flour mixture and milk alternately until totally incorporated. Do not overbeat.

5. Stir in blueberries until evenly distributed.

6. Pour batter in the baking tin.

7. In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients with bare hands until it forms to a biscuit crumble. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.

8. Bake cake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Sprinkle with sugar.

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Category: cake, desserts, in my kitchen

Aug
06
2011

chewy chocolate chip cookies

My husband is a huge cookie fan, in Australia, we call them biscuits. My pantry is always full of them. Double chocolate, ginger, anzac, scotch, tim tams…the list goes on. I believe he has converted my daughter into a cookie monster as well. They both have a cookie each at night if they wake up. But, my husband cannot have biscuits without milk! Reason being – he likes them soft and gooey. This is how he eats it: take a bite, have a sip of milk, it goes all gooey inside and then swallow. Repeat the process again. He even leaves the packet of biscuit open on purpose so they turn more gooey-ish (if thats even a word!)

These NESTLÉ cookies are so soft and chewy. We have now turned into a cookie monster family.

CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE
Adapted from Nestle, with slight modifications

Yields:50 cookies
Prep time: 20mins
Cook time: 15 mins

Ingredients

180 grams butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 can NESTLÉ sweetened condensed milk
2 cups self raising flour
250 grams NESTLÉ dark choc bits

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC.

2. Beat butter and sugar until creamy, beat in NESTLÉ Sweetened Condensed Milk.

3. Add flour, stir until combined.

4. Add NESTLÉ Dark Choc Bits, mix well.

5. Roll heaped tablespoonfuls of mixture into balls, place on greased oven trays and press gently with fork.

6. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden.

Click ‘Read More’ below to print out the recipe and leave a comment.

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Category: cookies, desserts, in my kitchen

Jul
29
2009

tiramisu ‘wedding’ cake

A close family member wedded on the 24th of July2009. So the night before the special day, my sister and I stayed up making these tiramisu shot glasses aka the ‘wedding’ cake. It was topped with an edible ‘thank you’ chocolate that I purchased from Cake Deco for $2. Check them out as they are Australia’s largest baking retailer.

Making the chocolate moulds would have to be the trickiest part. That took a few hours alone. I had to pour in the dark chocolate first and refrigerate then pour the white chocolate mixture on top. You need super steady hands or else you won’t be able to read the message. But the end result is so worth the effort put in, especially when the bride-to-be is someone very special to my heart. Try out the recipe below. They really do look impressive and elegant for any kind of event you’re hosting.

RECIPE FOR TIRAMISU

Makes: 6 dessert glasses
Prep time: 20mins
Chill time: at least 6 hours

Ingredients

250g Sponge Fingers (Lady Fingers)
1 tablespoon cocoa powder, for dressing

For the cream mixture
1.5 tsp of boiled water mix with 1 tbsp of coffee
3 tbsp caster Sugar
250g mascarpone cheese
250ml thickened cream, whipped

For dipping the biscuits
1.5 tsp of boiled water mix with 1 tbsp of coffee
1 cup Milk

Method

1. To make the mascarpone cream mixture, beat sugar, mascarpone and cream with an electric beater. Once thickened, add the coffee flavouring and give it a final beat to coat evenly.

2. Dip the biscuits into the coffee milk mixture and lay it out on the tray. Put a dollop of cream mixture right into the bottom of each glass, then cut the biscuits so they fit inside. Put a layer of cream ontop and repeat this process 3 times for all 6 glasses.

3. Sieve through the cocoa powder as final dressing. Clean around the rim of the glass, glad wrap it and refrigerate overnight. Best eaten the day after.