Tuesdays with Dorie - Buttery Jam Cookies

Apologies for not participating with the last two recipes, we took advantage of the school break to visit some family in Malaysia.  

This promised to be an easy and simple recipe...... and it would have been, had I not got distracted with my sons causing havoc.  I ended up having to do another batch, each time I put a cookie sheet in the oven, I lost track of time and ended up burning them.  So I'm running behind on time and will post the pictures up tomorrow.

The cookies are really yummy and once the first tray had cooled my sons quickly ate them all up!

Tuesdays With Dorie - Thanksgiving Twofer Pie

This week was a little challenging for me.  I am not found of pumpkins and the thought of making a pumpkin pecan pie didn't exactly thrill me.  I decided to give it a go.

I failed miserably with the dough.  It just wouldn't come together and after trying a patchwork effort with it in the pie dish, i burnt it while trying to part-bake it.  I think someone was trying to tell me something.  I resorted to my own recipe for sweet shortcrust pastry and it worked well.  

Apart from the dough the rest of the recipe was very easy to follow.  I had to double the baking time though as the pie filling was very unstable when i first tried to take it out.  It was still very liquid.  So as well as doubling the baking time I increased the oven temperature a bit too.  5 minutes later, success!  

I served it at a playgroup meet that I was hosting and what a success.  It was delicious, it reminded me a bit of treacle tart back in England.  It was very good and my friends certainly enjoyed it; Some took a slice home for their husbands to enjoy.

- Oops, i forgot to mention that the only deviation I made from the recipe was that I omitted the rum (i don't drink or consume alcohol).  It was still delicious ;-)

TWD Arborio Rice Pudding - Vanilla

This is my first Tuesday with Dorie and i'm glad i'm starting off with this recipe.  

It has been years since i last made rice pudding.  Its an interesting recipe as i've never made rice pudding using this method (i guess i've been doing it wrong all along!).  I've always baked my rice pudding and have always thought of it as an 'ok' dessert.  I couldn't understand why some friends would rave about rice pudding.  Now i know!

I had no problems at any stage of the recipe.  I was out of vanilla extract so i used vanilla bean paste instead.  The pudding looks great with all the little vanilla seeds.  Before it started to thicken, the look of it reminded me of vanilla ice-cream.

It never really did thicken to the consistency i would have liked, but the taste was spectacular.  Best rice pudding i have tasted.  I think my two sons are really going to like this.

strawberry vanilla cakelet or muffin

I have been looking for recipes lately that incorporate fruits.  I love eating almost anything with fruits but except for crumble, have never made a fruit dessert.  So with my fingers crossed, i hope my effort is at least edible.

I was browsing at the Pantry Magic shop in Holland Village the other day and found some silicon baking molds.  I had no clue what to do with it but i knew i had to buy one. I got home and found inspiration at the bottom of my freezer (i knew they'd come in use one day).  I just had to wait for the strawberries to thaw out :-)

Oh my goodness was i glad i made these!  Not only did my kitchen smell divine, but they were so cute, and delicious.  Slightly crisp on the outside but all soft and gooey strawberry on the inside, yum!  Not only did my husband and children eat them, they asked for more!  It wasn't long before they were all gone.

I did find the recipe was a little bit too sweet, until i tried it with some clotted cream.  Ohhh heaven!

Adapted from Williams Sonoma

Made 12 molds/cakelets

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla paste or 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, separated and at room temperature

Approximately 12 strawberries, chopped

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Centigrade.

Grease and flour your cakelet mold or you could also use cupcake cases.

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and set aside.

Using a measuring cup for the milk, combine the milk and vanilla and stir.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and 3/4 cup of the of the sugar and beat 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy.  Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl and incorporate into the mixture.  Add the egg yolks one at a time.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour and milk in three additions, alternating.  Beginning and ending with the flour.  Beat each addition just until incorporated and scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally.  Fold in the strawberries.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Add the remaining sugar and mix.  Gently fold the egg mixture into the batter until just combined, you will see some streaks of white.  

Divide the batter among the molds or cupcake cases and bake until tops are golden, about 15-20 minutes.  Insert a toothpick into the center and if its done it will come out clean.

Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before inverting to cool completely.

Serve with cream or ice-cream, yum yum!