Double Chocolate Chips Cookies

The sound of it already enticed me to bake. My children just love cookies. So I had to make this to please them. :) 
cookies_chocchips02 Recipe for Double Chocolate Chips Cookies, adapted from Victoria Bakes.
(Makes approx. 60pcs)

150g Unsalted Butter
80g Caster sugar
30g Dark brown sugar
1 Egg
220g Plain flour
50g Corn flour
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Salt
100g Toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
50g Chocolate Chips
30g Cocoa powder

1. Sieve flour, corn flour, coco powder & baking soda together. Set aside.
2. Cream butter with sugar and brown sugar until it is creamy.
3. Add in egg and mix till well combined.
4. Add in salt and vanilla extract.
5. Fold in the flours till it forms dough and mix in the chopped walnuts and chocolate chips.
6. Spoon and drop the dough onto the baking tray.
7. Baked at preheated oven of 180C for 18mins.
cookies_chocchips01 This post is linked to the event Little Thumbs Up (August 2015: Brown Sugar & Molasses) organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Jess from Bakericious.

BBQ Pulled Pork Burger

I didn't think much of pulled pork until I had them at some cafes. The most recent ones was at Soup Spoon Reunion where I really like the soft and moist pulled pork. So when I invited my in-laws over to my place to celebrate Singapore's 50th birthday this evening, I decided to make pulled pork burger. After searching on the web for a while, I decided to on the slow cooker pulled pork. And amazingly, it used only THREE ingredients!! With no experience on this before, the lesser the ingredients, the easier it will be right? So this three-ingredient recipe was perfect for me. This was how I made it.
Recipe for Slow Cooker Pulled Pork, adapted from tablespoon.
(Serves at least 15 persons, for 20 buns)

2.5kg Pork shoulder (or pork loin. I used "wu hua rou")
1 can Root beer
1 bottle Barbecue sauce

20 Homemade burger buns

1. Wash the pork shoulder and remove the fats.
2. Place the pork in a slow cooker and pour the can of root beer over the meat. 
3. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until pork shreds easily with a fork.
4. After pork has cooked, drain and discard the root beer. 
5. Shred the pork and place it back in the slow cooker. 
6. Pour the barbecue sauce over the pork, add pepper and salt and stir to combine.
pulledporkburger01 pulledporkburger02
To assemble Pulled Pork Burger:
1. Lightly toast burger bun.
2. Add cheddar cheese.
3. Put fried egg.
4. Place bbq pulled pork on top.
5. Add corn kernels followed by caramelised onions.
6. Topped with bun and enjoy!

I was really surprised the pulled pork was really soft and tender. My in-laws really liked the burger and the overall taste blended well. Even though the bun was only the size of a fist, it was really filling with all these toppings. If you are holding a party, you can  consider making a mini pulled pork burger. Your guests will be wow!

Burger Buns

I made burger buns to go with my bbq pulled pork. Initially I wanted to add wholewheat flour, but I thought my children might not like it too. So, stick to original recipe.
Recipe for Burger Buns, modified from Kitchen Corner.
(Makes 22 regular buns)

400g Bread flour
350g Plain flour
60g Caster sugar
11g Salt
520g Milk (adjust accordingly. Start with 496g)
10g Instant yeast
60g Unsalted butter
Some Sesame seeds

3. Weigh out each dough to 62g, shape it and it rest for 10 minutes.
4. Then shape it into round and dip into sesame seeds. Then place it in a prepared pan and let it proof for another 45 minutes or double in bulk.
5. Bake in a 190C preheated oven for 16 minutes.
6. Let it cool before serving.

Wholewheat Buns

On the last Saturday of July, my sisters and I arranged a picnic at Merlion Walk to watch the National Education Show (aka National Day Parade for schools) for the flypast and the fireworks. I volunteered to prepare Tuna buns. Therefore, what better way than to bake my own buns. 

Just so happened to see Honey Bee Sweet's Wholemeal Buns and it looks easy to bake on a weeknight. True to her comments, the buns was really soft and fluffy. My family like them too! The best way to eat wholemeal buns is to add savoury fillings like tuna or otah, sandwiched with cheese and lettuce. Yummy!
Recipe for Wholewheat Buns, adapted from Honey Bee Sweets.
(Makes 19 regular buns)

400g Bread flour
115g Wholemeal flour (fine)
85g Wholemeal flour (coarse) 
70g Caster sugar
420g Whole milk
8g Fine rock salt
10g Instant yeast
60g Unsalted butter, room temperature

Sesame seeds to coat the top

1. In a stand mixer bowl, add in all the ingredients except the butter.
2. Knead it using the hook attachment until the dough come together, approximately 5 mins on low speed.
3. Add in the butter and continue to knead at low speed for approximately 2mins.
4. Then increase the speed to medium and knead for at least 8mins until the dough is very elastic and reaches the window panel.
5. Leave dough in a greased bowl, covered and let proof till it doubles in size or for 45mins.
6. Gently knead out the air from the dough. 
7. Portion out each dough at 60g. Pre-shape it round and cover it to rest for 5mins.
8. Roll the dough round. Then dip the top of the dough on to the sesame seeds. Then place the dough, sesame seed side up into a prepared baking tray, leaving enough space for it to proof. Repeat till all the dough is used.
9. Let it proof for another 40mins.
10. Preheat the oven to 190C.
11. Bake in the oven for 18 mins till golden brown. If top turns brown too quickly, tent it. (I placed a baking tray directly above the buns to avoid burning.)

12. Once baked, remove from oven and also from the baking tray immediately. Cool on the rack.
13. Serve with tuna or otah with lettuce and cheese. buns1

Strawberry Cheese Tart

A colleague of mine ordered a flourless orange cake from me for her son's birthday. As she requested to have it decorated with strawberries, I bought two punnets of strawberries and chose the best decoration for her. As I found USA strawberries not as sweet as Korean ones, I decided to "get rid" of the remaining strawberries. Hahaha...

There's not much variety to bake with strawberries. Instead, I cook it into strawberry coulis and make a cheese tart just for my strawberries. To my surprise, the combination was really good, I'm happy with my strawberry cheese tart.
Recipe for Strawberry Cheese Tart
(Makes for a 9" flan tart)

Almond Tart Crust
57g Ground almonds
142g Plain flour
45g Fine sugar
100g Unsalted butter, cold & cut into cubes
1/8tsp Salt

1. In a large mixing bowl, add in the dry ingredients. 
2. Add the butter and use fingers to gently rub it into small bread crumbs.
3. Gather the crumbs together to form a dough. Do not overmix them.
4. Place the mixture into a plastic bag, and press it together.
5. Refrigerate for at least 30mins or until firm.

Cream Cheese Fillings
250g Cream cheese
30g Sugar
25g Liv unsalted butter, room temperature 
1 Egg
25g Whole milk
20g Plain flour

1. Cream cheese, sugar and butter until light and smooth. Add in egg and cream until well blended. 
2. Add in milk and mix until well combined. Lastly add in flour and mix until well incorporated and smooth.

Strawberry Coulis
450g Fresh Strawberries, cut cubes
100g Sugar
2 tsp Fresh Lemon juice

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and continue stirring for about 8-10mins on low heat. (Do not stir or boil too long as it will create a lot of liquid).
2. Turn off the heat and let it cool completely before refrigerating.

1. Remove tart crust from the fridge.
2. Roll it and fit it into a 9" flan pan.
3. Fill up with cheese filling.
4. Bake in a preheated oven of 190C for 20mins, or when the cheese filling start to brown.
5. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely. 
6. Refrigerate the tart.
7. Before serving, topped the tart with strawberry coulis completely. Drizzle the sauce when served.