Ji Mai Lo ~ Sai Mai Lo with Purple Rice

As you know I love Sai Mai Lo. I also like to experiment by adding different ingredients to make variations on this favorite. A popular addition is purple rice, which really is black glutinous rice.

Ji Mai Lo

1 C black glutinous rice
18 C (4.5 liters) of water
3/4 to 1 C rock sugar (I use about 3/4 of a box)
1 C tapioca pearls
2-3 C water
1 can coconut milk (approx 400 mL)
1 can evaporated milk (approx 370 mL)
mango pulp (optional)

1. In a large pot, bring 4.5 L of water to a boil.

2. While waiting for water to boil, rinse rice and drain. Once water boils, add rice to pot. Turn heat to medium-low and cover. Occasionally check to make sure pot does not boil over and give a stir.

3. After 30 – 40 minutes add rock sugar. Stir occasionally.

4. Meanwhile, bring the 2-3 C of water to a boil (I do this in a kettle). Place tapioca pearls in a medium-sized heat-proof bowl. Pour the 2-3 C of boiling water over the tapioca and stir lightly. Let soak for approximately 5 minutes. This starts the cooking process for the pearls and may help in preventing clumps (I still get a lot of clumps though). Though I've never tried, this step may be skipped. If you do opt out of this step omit the 2-3 C of water.

5. Test the sugar mixture to see if it is sweet enough. You will still be adding 4 more cups of liquid to this so if it is a little more on the sweet side, it is okay. Also, if you are serving this chilled, I would recommend that you make it on the sweeter side. Add tapioca to the pot and cook on medium-low heat. Cook and stir until tapioca becomes clear. If the tapioca is clumpy, use a wooden spoon or potato masher to break them up. DO NOT cover the pot as it will boil over (I learned that the hard way and that was with the stove turned off!).

6. Remove from heat and if you want, you can put the pot in an ice bath (I'm usually in a rush to eat it and I like this dessert chilled). Stir in the coconut milk and evaporated milk to the pot. It is ready to eat. Serve hot, warm, or chilled.

Brownies, 2 Ways

Have you ever been invited to someone’s place and have no idea what to bring? Last week I was invited to my cousin’s for a pool and lunch party. The night before I still didn’t know what I was going to bring. Sure, I could always stop by the coffee shop and pick up a box of donut holes (aka Timbits), but that would be the usual. I also didn’t want to trek 3 kids with me to the bakery to pick up anything. What did I have in my pantry that I wouldn’t have to make from scratch? Think, think, think…Yes! My no-fail brownie mix:

It only takes 45 minutes in the oven and all I needed to add was egg, water and oil. I wouldn’t be leaving for another 2 hours so this was perfect.

Well, I’ve been meaning to do something different to them, you know, dress them up a bit. I wanted to do something with peanut butter. With school out for the summer I knew there were going to be quite a few kiddies at the get-together and one of them has severe nut allergies. Hmmm,  I remember the mom saying that they still have peanut butter in the house so I knew that as long as the child didn’t ingest it, he was okay. So I decided on making 2 batches of brownies taking precautions that there would be no cross-contamination at all. I decided on a batch of marshmallow brownies and a batch of peanut butter banana brownies.

For the marshmallow brownies, in a medium mixing bowl, combine 1 egg, 1/3 C water and 1/3 C oil with 1 pouch of mix. Stir in 1.5 C miniature marshmallows and pour into 9 x 9 inch square pan.  Bake in 325 degree oven for 45 minutes.

For the peanut butter banana brownies: I had an unopened jar of natural peanut butter that had separated. I put the oil and the settled peanut butter (reserving 1/2 C of the peanut butter) into a food processor and whirred it until smooth. Because it needs to be refrigerated to prevent separation again, the peanut butter was somewhat runny so this was great for making these brownies. In a medium mixing bowl (I used the same bowl from the marshmallow batch so that I wouldn’t need to wash it twice), combine 1 egg, 1/3 C water and 1/3 C oil with 1 pouch of mix. Measure 1 C runny peanut butter from the food processor, 1 diced banana and the reserved peanut butter from the jar, in chunks, and stir. Pour into 9 x 9 inch square pan.  Bake in 325 degree oven for 45 minutes. Just in case of any cross-contamination issues and for peace of mind, I made sure that the peanut butter banana brownie was baked after the marshmallow batch was out of the oven and cooling.

Note: when making brownies, do NOT over mix. It will make for some very tough brownies. Definitely not a good thing.

The finished products:

Marshmallow Brownies

Peanut Butter Banana Brownies

I packed both pans of brownies and the kids into the minivan. Oh My Goodness! The smell of the peanut butter brownies was amazing and I almost pulled over to try it. When it came time to cutting into them all I could say was “Yummy!” as I tried to get the peanut buttery goodness off the roof of my mouth.  As for the marshmallow one, it was all right. Too sweet and ooey, gooey for my liking but the children were all for it.

Sponge Cake Roll with Berries

I know I’ve been doing a lot of posts mentioning Spoon It On lately, but I just can’t help it. She has such great recipes that I often refer to her blog for ideas in the kitchen. So when I made my Chinese Sponge Cake recipe, I altered it into a cake roll.

Chinese Sponge Cake Roll with Berries
(makes 2 rolls)

Ingredients

Chinese Sponge Cake recipe
1.5 tsp pure vanilla extract
1.5 tsp pure orange extract
2 C strawberries, diced
2 C blueberries
3 C whipping cream
7-8 tsp icing sugar
1 Tbsp icing sugar, optional

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

1. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and spray with Pam.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat egg whites with 1/2 C of sugar until soft peaks form.

3. In another mixing bowl, combine egg yolks, 1/2 C sugar, flour, water, oil, vanilla extract and pure orange extract . Beat until smooth but do not overbeat.

4. Fold egg white mixture into egg yolk mixture.

5. Pour the batter into the lined cookie sheets. Bake for 15 minutes and check for doneness with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, it’s done. I had to add an extra 5 minutes because I put both sheets into the oven at the same time (and I don’t have those fancy convection ovens).

6. Cool on a cooling rack. After 30 minutes, carefully lift the cake off the parchment paper.

Assemble roll just before serving. For each cake roll:

Wash 1 C strawberries (diced) and 1 C blueberries and allow them to air dry for 30 minutes. Whip 1.5 C whipping cream with 3-4 tsp sifted icing sugar (check for sweetness) until peaks are stiff. Spread whipping cream over entire surface leaving 1-inch border and reserving 1/2 C whipped cream. Spread strawberries and blueberries over the whipped cream. Roll the cake, careful not to “crack” the cake as well as not rolling it too tight or too loose. For a more professional look, cut off one inch from each end of the roll. Make sure to use a serrated knife for a clean cut. Place on serving dish and decorate with reserved whipped cream and berries. Sprinkle roll with icing sugar using a small sieve.

Enjoy. Here I served it with an extra dollop of whipped cream.

My son’s finished plate ~ he ate all the whipped cream and berries!

I don’t know if any of you have notice but I have switched to Windows Live Writer to write my posts. This is my second post using it and I find that it is very user-friendly and prefer it over Blogger. Let me know what you think.

Chinese Sponge Cake

I started making this sponge cake a decade ago. An elderly lady I used to work with would bring in the most spongiest (is that a word?) cake ever and it had a very light egg flavour. I like to call it Chinese Sponge cake because it’s not like other sponge cakes. We Chinese do not like our cakes to be overly sweet and this cake fits the bill. The elderly lady wrote the recipe out for me:

Chinese Sponge Cake
(makes 1 angel food pan)

8 large eggs, separated
1 C sugar
1 C flour
3/4 C water
1/4 C oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. If your angel food pan is non-stick, you do not need to line it with parchment paper.

1. In a medium mixing bowl, beat egg whites with 1/2 C of sugar until soft peaks form.

2. In another mixing bowl, combine egg yolks, 1/2 C sugar, flour, water and oil. Beat until smooth but do not overbeat.

3. Fold egg white mixture into egg yolk mixture.

4. Pour into angel food pan and bake for 45 minutes (or until a cake tester/toothpick comes out clean).

5. Cool on a cooling rack, inverted.

Spoon It On's Easy Banana Bread

Spoon It On claims that this banana bread is really easy. So, was it easy? Very easy! I got this recipe from her a few years back and I make it any time I have more-than-freckled bananas sitting on the counter.

Secrets to making Easy Banana Bread:

1. The more ripe the bananas the sweeter they are and the easier it'll be to mash them.

2. The potato masher. Rather than using a fork I use a potato masher. It only takes 50 strokes to get all the ingredients incorporated and into the oven. So a bowl, masher, measuring cup is all you need to wash.

3. Double the recipe! You're doing the work for one, so why not make 2 banana breads? Clean up is the same and you can either freeze the extra loaf or gift it to someone special.

Easy Banana Bread ~ Spoon It On
makes 1 loaf

1/2 C mayonnaise or salad dressing (do not use non-fat)
1 egg
3 ripe medium bananas
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 C sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 C chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 C chocolate chips (optional)

**A healthy option: Though I didn't do it this time, I usually add 1/2 C of quick oats to the recipe to up the health factor. I find that you don't need to adjust the recipe for this addition. Put it in with the dry ingredients.

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare your loaf pans either by lining with parchment paper and spraying with non-stick spray or greasing the pan and lightly dust it with flour (I use non-stick loaf pans so there is no need to prep the pans).

Measure mayonnaise, egg, and bananas into a medium bowl and mash until bananas are combined with the mayo and egg.

In a separate bowl (I just meaure the ingredients into the banana mixture so that I don't have an extra bowl to wash), combine remaining ingredients.

Add dry ingredients to banana mixture and mix with fork or masher until everything is incorporated.

If using nuts or chocolate chips, be sure to toss them in a teaspoon of flour to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the pan during baking.

Stir nuts/chocolate chips into batter.

Pour into 9” x 5” (2L) greased or floured loaf pan.

I made 1 loaf without nuts/chocolate chips and the other with. Before putting the chocolate chips into the doubled batter, I poured the batter into one loaf pan. I then added chocolate chips into the bowl and stirred. I then poured the chocolate chip batter into the other loaf pan.

Bake 60-70 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes and remove from pan.

Lychee Cupcakes

After seeing it on a lot of food blogs, I ordered my copy of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes that Rule.

As soon as I saw Lychee Cupakes, the Asian in me knew I had to make it. Unfortunately, I can't share the recipe with you since I followed the recipe exactly.

I was really amazed that after cooling, the cupcakes didn't deflate. They were nice and round.

Aren't they beautiful in their shiny coating of coconut glaze? They would've looked a lot prettier with a colorful flower (made from fondant or a real one).

How did they taste? They tasted delicious and you could taste a hint of lychee and coconut. Not at all overpowering. The coconut glaze was out of this world. My 4-year old son really liked them - he ate 2 cupcakes in one sitting.

Would I make them again? Probably not. These were really dense cupcakes. I like my cupcakes to be light, with a fine crumb. However, I will be making use of the coconut glaze recipe on cookies, cupcakes and cakes. All was not lost.

I can't wait to try the other recipes in the book.

Sai Mai Lo with Mango Pulp

Sai Mai Lo is an Asian tapioca sweet dessert soup. I've been making it for over 10 years (on and off) and it is still one of my favorites. It is so easy to make and it is inexpensive too. This makes a lot.

Ingredients:

18 C (4.5 litres) of water
3/4 to 1 C rock sugar (I use about 3/4 of a box)
1 C tapioca pearls
2-3 C water
1 can coconut milk (approx 400 mL)
1 can evaporated milk (approx 370 mL)
mango pulp (optional)

1. In a large pot, bring 4.5 L of water to a boil. Add rock sugar. Stir occasionally.

2. Meanwhile, bring the 2-3 C of water to a boil (I do this in a kettle). Place tapioca pearls in a medium-sized heat-proof bowl. Pour the 2-3 C of boiling water over the tapioca and stir lightly. Let soak for approximately 5 minutes. This starts the cooking process for the pearls and may help in preventing clumps (I still get a lot of clumps though). Though I've never tried, this step may be skipped. If you do opt out of this step omit the 2-3 C of water.

3. Test the sugar mixture to see if it is sweet enough for you. You will still be adding 4 more cups of liquid to this so if it is a little more on the sweet side, it is okay. Add tapioca to the pot and cook on medium-low heat. Cook and stir until tapioca becomes clear. If the tapioca is clumpy, use a wooden spoon or potato masher to break them up. DO NOT cover the pot as it will boil over (I learned that the hard way and that was with the stove turned off!).

4. Remove from heat and if you want, you can put the pot in an ice bath (I'm usually in a rush to eat it and I like this dessert chilled). Stir in the coconut milk and evaporated milk to the pot. It is ready to eat. Serve hot, warm, or chilled.

5. For some variation, try adding fruit. This time I tried it with mango pulp. Some people like taro root in their sai mai lo. For this variation, add 2 C cubed taro root to the pot of water in step 1 and bring to a boil. Once the taro is cooked, add the rock sugar and continue at step 2. Use a masher to mash the taro and in turn breaking up any tapioca clumps.

Note: All ingredients can be adjusted to your liking. For example, if you like it to have more of a coconut taste, add more coconut milk. If you like it thinner, use more water next time or if you like it thicker, use less water. These measurements are the way I like my sai mai lo but there is no right or wrong way.

This dessert is great served chilled on a hot summer day = )

Chocolate Chip Cookie Nirvana

I was catching up on some blogs when I came across Cake On the Brain's post on her recent cookie making venture. Anyone who knows me knows I love, L.O.V.E., chocolate. So when she called her cookies Chocolate Chip Cookie Nirvana I knew I had to make these. I did change the recipe a bit and, well, they didn't turn out the way they were supposed to. Who knew that the cookie dough-to-chocolate chip ratio could throw it all off? Not me! How can you go wrong with more chocolate? I guess I was too chocolate-hungry. So I am posting the recipe, but please don't follow my changes and you'll be in nirvana as Cakebrain was when she made these.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Nirvana

makes 3 dozen ridiculously large cookies

by Cakebrain adapted from Jacques Torres' A Year in Chocolate

4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 t salt

1 1/2 t baking powder

1 1/2 t baking soda

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

1 1/4 cups plus 2 1/2 T granulated sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten

2 t pure vanilla extract

1 2/3 pounds bittersweet chocolate, chopped into bite-sized pieces (I used 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1 cup milk chocolate chips)

1 cup white chocolate pieces (I used white chocolate chips)

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Have ready 2 nonstick cookie sheets, or line 2 regular cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Set aside.
• In a bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter on medium speed for about 5 minutes, or until very light and fluffy. Add the brown and granulated sugars and beat until well blended. Add the eggs and beat just until incorporated. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture a little at a time, beating after each addition until incorporated. When all of the flour mixture has been incorporated, remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate (this was so hard to do).
• To shape the cookies, using a tablespoon, scoop out a heaping spoonful of the dough and, using the palms of your hands, form it into a 3-inch ball. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart (my batch didn't flatten out during baking so next time - yes, I haven't given up on this recipe yet - I would flatten them before putting them in the oven).
• Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges. Remove from the oven, transfer the cookies to wire racks, and let cool completely.
• Store, in an airtight container, for up to 5 days.

This recipe really does make an enormous amount of cookies. I baked only half the batch and rolled and froze the rest of the dough into balls to be baked another day.

Super Easy Pecan Bark Squares

I made Danica's pecan bark and they are to.die.for.!!!! It's so easy too!

Super Easy Pecan Bark Squares
(makes 24 + squares)

1 C chopped pecans
1 C brown sugar (firmly packed)
1 C butter, unsalted
24-30 graham squares

Make room in the freezer to fit a cookie sheet.

Place oven rack at the middle level. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Optional: Spread pecans on a cookie sheet and roast pecans in oven. Toss nuts after 5 minutes and roast for another 5 minutes. Remove and let cool.

Line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray. Lay graham squares side by side (do not overlap) making sure the entire cookie sheet is covered. Spread pecans over the graham squares. Set aside.

In a 2-quart (small) saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add brown sugar and STIR until butter mixture boils. Allow mixture to boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Pour over graham squares and pecans and put cookie sheet in oven for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes, immediately place cookie sheet in freezer and chill for about an hour to overnight. Take cookie sheet out of freezer and break into squares or smaller pieces. There is no need to refridgerate.

This recipe is easily doubled - just remember to use a larger saucepan and set the oven racks to the 1/3 and 2/3 level.

Note: Because I made a double batch, and I'm super glad I did, I broke them into squares and put them into freezer bags. I keep my stash in the freezer and they're ready to eat (no need to defrost).


So go make them - you won't regret it unless you're watching your waistline because they are so addictive.

The next time I make them I will be drizzling chocolate (white/milk/dark) - drizzle chocolate and allow chocolate to harden before breaking.

When I make another Marscapone Cheesecake I will be putting these into the food processor to make a crust. Mmmmm! Just the thought is making my mouth water. Okay...I've got to end this post so that I can go grab myself another piece of bark.

When Life Threw Lemons at Me...

...I made Lemon Squares.



Well, I had 4 lemons leftover from the large bag I purchased from Sam's Club when they were liquidating their Canadian chain. I didn't want them to go to waste so I decided to make Lemon Squares. I was able to juice 1-1/3 cups from my beloved juicer so I doubled the recipe. I followed the recipe without any major hitches (except that I may have pulsed the crust ingredients a few more times than I should have).

All in all, the recipe turned out great. The surface of the lemon filling was rough looking, but nothing that a little sprinkling of icing sugar couldn't hide. I brought them over to my cousin's and it was a hit. Thank goodness because I was not a fan of it - too tart for my liking. So the next time life throws lemons at me, I will be making lemonade.

Mascarpone Cheesecake with Almond Crust

Almost every week, my cousin and friends get together for pot luck lunch and to let the children have a play date. I love these get-togethers because it gives me a chance to make something from my many recipe resources. Well the inspiration for my contribution was the Mascarpone Cheese I picked up from Sam's Club. I normally would not purchase this item as it is a pricey ingredient but I got it at the liquidation price of $3.01. In the past I've made cheesecake with it and I remembered it as smooth and creamy. I wanted to try a different recipe this time and after some search on other blogs and the Food Network, I decided on Mascarpone Cheesecake with Almond Crust topped with Nutella. I would usually avoid a recipe that required a step like water bath, but seeing that 125 people rated it with 5 stars and bloggers posting positive comments, I figured it was worth a try.

To make the crust, I first lightly toasted the sliced almonds in a hot, dry pan. I then used the Magic Bullet to pulverize the almonds and graham crackers. Then I added the sugar and pulsed it a few times and then added the butter until it became clumpy. I pressed it into my spring form pan which I had wrapped three layers of foil around so that there would be no chance for seepage of water from the water bath step. This spring form pan is great because the bottom is actually glass. It saves me from having to lift the cheesecake to another serving platter. It is perfect for serving or even placing on a cake platter. I baked it until I could smell the sweetness of the cookie coming from the oven about 13 minutes.

To make the filling: I don't mean to be a kitchen snob of sorts, but to make a great cheesecake, aside from the ingredients, it all begins with the Kitchenaid stand mixer. I have a white one from the Artisan line. I creamed the cream cheese and Mascarpone cheese together using the paddle attachment until it was smooth. The trick is to have the cheeses at room temperature. Once they were smooth, I added the sugar and mixed until combined well. Then I added the lemon juice and vanilla. I don't think that you can over mix this mixture at this point, however, once you add the eggs, you will only mix until incorporated or you might end up with a not-so-ideal texture in the end result. I pretty much followed the recipe to a T. The water bath proved to be a very important step in preventing the cheesecake from cracking. How did I know that? I had extra crust crumbs and filling so I made 4 mini cheesecakes in a muffin pan. I didn't bother with the water bath. They were browned on top and they poofed up. The instant I took them out of the oven they deflated and cracked. Not a pretty sight.

I eyeballed the measurements for the Nutella topping. I guess I didn't add enough cream because it was really goopy. Oh well, it didn't look pretty but it was still yummy.

All in all, I'd say this is recipe is a keeper. So yummy. So smooth. So creamy. And I was pleasantly surprised that despite the hesitation I had with the water bath it was really easy. From now on, water bath in recipes is nothing to fear.