Daring Bakers Challenge Sept 2010: Decorated Sugar Cookies (2 first!)

The September 2010 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Mandy of "What the Fruitcake?!"  Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

This challenge is a 2 first for me, 1st being my first daring bakers challenge and 2nd, its the first time am making decorated sugar cookies.  September has been a rather hectic month at work and was definitely a challenge to spend time in the kitchen.  However, September is also when I am schedule to go on vacation (after completing all the projects at work of course!) and am going back to Kuala Lumpur for vacation, yay yay!!  Last time I was home was during Chinese New Year which was some 7 months back.  Hence, the theme of my decorated sugar cookies is "home sweet home". 

When I finally am able to set time aside to execute on this challenge,  the outcome was a satisfying one.  As always spending time in my kitchen has always allow me to dive into another world and just focus on my kitchen experiments. 

This process is very interesting to me as when I first started out baking the basic sugar cookies, it had looked rather plain.  After that I outlined the cookie with a store bought icing pen, chocolate flavoured, it was worst looking than plain.  Lastly, after making the royal icing and piping them on to the cookies, it was definitely much much better looking than the first 2 processess although there is some opportunities for improvement in terms of neatness.  The end result looks more like a picture to be hung up on the wall then sugar cookies...amazing.  Definitely had fun making them:)   Recipe as per below...enjoy:)

Basic Sugar Cookies:
Makes approximately 36 x 10cm / 4 inch cookies
200g / 7oz / ½ cup + 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
400g / 14oz / 3 cups + 3 Tbsp All Purpose / Plain Flour
200g / 7oz / 1 cup Caster Sugar / Superfine Sugar
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
5ml / 1 tsp Vanilla Extract / Or seeds from 1 vanilla bean

 

Directions:
1) Cream together the butter, sugar and any flavourings you’re using. Beat until just becoming creamy in texture. Tip: Don’t over mix otherwise you’ll incorporate too much air and the cookies will spread during baking, losing their shape.
2) Beat in the egg until well combined, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3) Add the sifted flour and mix on low until a non sticky dough forms. Tip: I don’t have a stand mixer so I find it easier to switch to dough hooks at this stage to avoid flour flying everywhere.
4) Knead into a ball and divide into 2 or 3 pieces.
5) Roll out each portion between parchment paper to a thickness of about 5mm/1/5 inch (0.2 inch)
6) Refrigerate for a minimum of 30mins. Tip: Recipes commonly just wrap the whole ball of dough in clingwrap and then refrigerate it for an hour or overnight, but by rolling the dough between parchment, this shortens the chilling time and then it’s also been rolled out while still soft making it easier and quicker.
7) Once chilled, peel off parchment and place dough on a lightly floured surface.
8) Cut out shapes with cookie cutters or a sharp knife.
9) Arrange shapes on parchment lined baking sheets and refrigerate for another 30mins to an hour. Tip: It’s very important you chill them again otherwise they’ll spread while baking.
10) Re-roll scraps and follow the above process until all scraps are used up.
11) Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C Fan Assisted) / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
12) Bake until golden around the edges, about 8-15mins depending on the size of the cookies. Tip: Bake same sized cookies together otherwise mixing smaller with larger cookies could result in some cookies being baked before others are done.
Tip: Rotate baking sheets half way through baking if your oven bakes unevenly.
13) Leave to cool on cooling racks.
14) Once completely cooled, decorate as desired. Tip: If wrapped in tinfoil/cling wrap or kept in airtight containers in a cool place, un-decorated cookies can last up to a month.

Royal Icing:
315g – 375g / 11oz – 13oz / 2½ - 3 cups Icing / Confectioner’s / Powdered Sugar, unsifted
2 Large Egg Whites
10ml / 2 tsp Lemon Juice
5ml / 1 tsp Almond Extract, optional

 Directions:
1) Beat egg whites with lemon juice until combined.  Tip: It's important that the bowls/spoons/spatulas and beaters you use are thoroughly cleaned and grease free.
2) Sift the icing sugar to remove lumps and add it to the egg whites. Tip: I’ve listed 2 amounts of icing sugar, the lesser amount is good for a flooding consistency, and the larger amount is for outlining, but you can add even more for a much thicker consistency good for writing. If you add too much icing sugar or would like to make a thinner consistency, add very small amounts of water, a few drops at a time, until you reach the consistency you need.
3) Beat on low until combined and smooth.
4) Use immediately or keep in an airtight container. Tip: Royal Icing starts to harden as soon as it’s in contact with air so make sure to cover containers with plastic wrap while not in use.  

 

Desserts Collection: Cardamon Panna Cotta with Cardamon infused Raspberry Sauce - Yes! Obsession with Cardamon!

Have always love the smell of Cardamon but didn't knew before that was Cardamon until I recently used them for the lamb biryani trial.  Since then, just fell in love with it and wanna use them in dishes at every chance I get!   Had some milk and cream leftover in the fridge and decided to make panna cotta.  The original recipe called for cloves but I decided to replace them with guess what?  Cardamon..lol!  Saw some fresh raspberry at the supermarket and thought I will use them for the toppings and also tried infusing them with Cardamon...yes, sounds like overly obsessive with Cardamon!  This was also my chance to use the hello kitty silicon mold I bought in Hong Kong a couple months back....On the overall, the outcome was good, however as raspberry in itself is quite overpowering, infusing it with Cardamon was not entirely a good combination, nevertherless still taste good!  Recipe as per below - enjoy trying!

(Panna Cotta Adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly - the new classics.  Below is a modified version)
Ingredients:
Panna Cotta:
6 Cardamon Pods - bruised
300 ml thickened cream
2/3 cup (160 ml) milk
2 teaspoons gelatatine
2 tablespoon caster sugar

Raspberry Sauce:
6 Cardamon Pods - bruised
3 tablespoon caster sugar
125 g fresh (or frozen) raspberry

Method:
(Panna Cotta)
1) Grease four (1/2 cup) moulds

2) Place bruised Cardamon Pods, cream and milk in a small saucepan.  Stand 10 minutes.  Sprinkle gelatine and sugar over cream mixture; stir over low heat, without boiling, until gelatine and sugar dissolves (approximately 10 minutes of stirring).  Strain into jug; cool to room temperature.

3) Divide mixture among prepared moulds, cover; regrigerate 3 hours or until set.

4) Turn panna cotta onto serving plates; serve with Raspberry sauce. Enjoy!

(Raspberry Sauce)
1) Place all ingredients in a small saucepan.  On medium low heat, mix all ingredients until sugar melts and the mixture looks saucy.  Boil till sides bubble.  (This process should only take approximately 5 minutes)

2) Pour into container, let cool.  Chilled till ready to be used.

Mains Collection: Lamb Biryani - so spicy and flavourful!

For whatever reason, I never was a great fan of Biryani Rice (Indian style flavoured rice) although it is one of lots of people in Malaysia's favourite food and possibly around the world as well!  If it is serve and placed on the dinner table, I usually never have any of it.  However, in the recent Sept 2010 issue of the masterchef magazine, the Lamb Biryani recipe caught my attention, as there is something challenging about it that made me really want to give it a go at cooking it.   OMG, the outcome was great and the longer one keeps it, the more flavourful it gets.  It freezes well too.  A warning though, takes about 4 hours to complete the whole process but was definitely worth while and was a great satisfaction.  I have not tried it but I believe the lamb curry bit, if braised longer than the recipe time, you could end up with a great lamb curry dish (am going to give it a try the next time around)!  Anyways, for those patient cooks out there, below is the recipe.  For me cooking is a stress reliever, this whole process has definitely took my mind off work for a while!

Lamb Biryani
(Adapted from Sept 2010 issue of Masterchef Australia Magazine)
Ingredients:
60 ml (1/4 cup milk)
1/2 tsp saffron threads
5 onions
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 cm piece ginger, finely chopped
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp chilli powder
2 1/2 tsp garam marsala
1 1/2 tbs tomato paste
280g (1 cup) Greek-style yoghurt
1.2 kg boneless leg of lamb, trimmed, cut into 2 cm pieces
200g ghee, melted
450g (2 1/2 cups) basmati rice rinsed, drained
1 1/2 tsp cloves
10 cardamom pods, bruised
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 cinnamon quill
2 bay leaves
50 g (1/2 cup) raisins
45 g (1/3 cup) pistachios
Coriander leaves, to serve

[Notes:  Although recipe called for ghee, I did not use it.  Instead used grape seed oil.  Still taste good. Also, if you have a big wok like me, I had use just the one wok for the whole process without washing them in between processes instead of using different pans as stated in the methods below.  Only extra pan I used is at step 7 for the raisins and pistachio mixture.]

Method:
1) Place milk in a bowl and sprinkle with saffron.  Cover with plastic wrap, then set aside at room temperature until needed.

2) Finely chop 1 onion, then process with garlic and ginger in a food processor to a paste.  Add turmeric, chilli powder, garam marsala, tomato paste and yoghurt, and process until combined.  Transfer marinade to a bowl, add lamb, then stir well to coat.  Cover.  Set aside to marinade at room temperature for 30 minutes.

3) Meanwhile, heat 2 tbs ghee in a large frying pan over medium heat.  Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes or until heated through.  Reduce heat to low.  Add 660ml (2 2/3 cups) boiling water, cover with a lid, then cook for 7 minutes or until liquid is absorbed (rice will not be cooked through).  Spread over a tray to cool.

4) Halve, then thinly slice the remaining 4 onions.  Heat 125 ml (1/2 cup) ghee in a large, heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat.  Add onions and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened.  Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, for 35 minutes or until deep golden and caramelised (don't burn).  Using a slotted spoon, remove onions from ghee, draining well.  Drain on paper towel.  Reserve ghee.

5) Drain lamb, reserving marinade.  Heat 2 tbs reserved ghee in a clean frying pan over medium-high heat.  Add half the lamb and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until browned.  Transfer to a large saucepan.  Add remaining lamb, cloves, cardamon, cumin, cinnamon and bay leaves to frying pan, then cook, stirring, for 4 minutes.  Add mixture to lamb in saucepan, then add reserved marinade and cover with water.  Press lamb down firmly, ensuring lamb is submerged.  Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes or until lamb is cooked through.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer lamb to a bowl.

6) Simmer the remaining liquid in pan over medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until thickened, skimming oil.  Stir into the lamb mixture.  Season. 

7) Preheat oven to 180C.  Heat remaining 2 tbs ghee in a frying pan over medium heat.  Add raisins and pistachios, and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until pistachios are light golden.

8) Spread a third of the rice over the base of a 2.5L (10 cup) ovenproof dish.  Layer with half the lamb mixture, spread over another third of rice, then layer with remaining lamb.  Top with remaining rice and scatter over onions and pistachio mixture.  Drizzle with saffron mixture, cover tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes until rice is cooked and lamb is tender.  Scatter with coriander to serve.

Desserts Collection: Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes

I have attempted this recipe many times and it always taste good but the shape does not hold too well in a whole cake form.  I decided to try in a cup cake form and see how it turns out and I must say, this is gonna be the form going forward!  It stores well in the freezer and after defrosting to room temperature, it taste like it just came out of the oven, nice and moist and very yummy!  For those who are sensitive to flour or wheat, this would be absolutely perfect and great for all occasions!  Recipe as follows - enjoy!

(Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's weekly - the new classics book, modified along the way!)
Ingredients:
35gm cocoa powder
80 ml hot water
150 g dark eating chocolate melted
150 g butter, melted
160 g firmly packed brown sugar
100 g hazelnut meal
4 eggs separated
some flaked almond to sprinkle on top (optional)
12 muffin paper cups

Method:
1) Preheat oven to 180C.  Line 12 hole muffin pan with muffin paper cups.

2) Blend cocoa with the water in a large bowl until smooth.  Stir in chocolate, butter, sugar, meal and egg yolks.

3) Beat egg whites in small bowl with electric mixer until stiff peaks form, fold into chocolate mixture into 2 batches.

4) Pour mixture into the muffin cups, about 3/4 full (this recipe should cover all 12 cups in a reasonably equal amount)
5) Sprinkle flake almonds on top and bake in oven for about 30 minutes or until done (to test, use a jam knife to dip into the middle of the muffin, if it comes out clean, it should be ready).
6) Remove cupcakes from the pan and stand on a wire rack to cool and it is ready to be enjoyed!