Crème Brulée 焦糖布丁

Rezept auf Deutsch - Crème Brulée
中文食譜 - 焦糖布丁

Crème Brulée
Ingredients for 2 servings

• 30g granulated sugar, and 2 teaspoons for topping
• 2 egg yolks
• 200ml whipping cream
• Flavorings: ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, and ½ teaspoon rum, kirsch, cognac or orange liqueur of your choice

Preparation

• Preheat the whipping cream in a saucepan in low heat, but not bring to simmer.
• In a mixing bowl, beat in the egg yolks, gradually add the sugar and continue beating for 3~5 minutes until the mixture become pale yellow, add the vanilla extract and mix well.
• Very gradually pour the warmed whipping cream into the yolk mixture, continue beating until all cream is combined.
• Pour the mixture back into the saucepan, set in low heat but not bring to simmer, stir slowly until the sauce become light and creamy, turn off the heat and add flavoring spirit.
• Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a serving dish. Then cover and refrigerate.
• Before serving, sprinkle a layer of sugar on the top, then use a blow torch to caramelize the sugar till brown and crispy. Enjoy!

Erik Satie - Gnossiennes No. 1 - Lent, by Aldo Ciccolini

Ingredients checklist:  granulated sugar, egg yolks, whipping cream, vanilla extract, spirit of your choice.

Utensils checklist: a enameled saucepan, a mixing bowl, a wire whip, a wooden or plastic spatula, a sieve, a blow torch. 

Heat the whipping cream to lukewarm.

Separate egg whites and egg yolks, beat in the sugar with the yolks.

After the yolks turn to pale yellow, add the vanilla extract.

Slowly, pour the warmed whipping cream into the yolk mixture and stir continually, this step is called "tempering" to warm the yolks slowly without cooking. Please do it with care.  

Set the custard in low heat but not bring to simmer, stir slowly until the mixture become light and creamy.

Add your favorite spirit, and strain the mixture into the serving dish to form a fine custard.

The highlight of Crème Brulée - take the chilled custard from the fridge, and sprinkle a layer of sugar. 

Caramelize with a blow torch, and it is ready to serve : )

Mini Tips: 

Crème Brulée, direct translate is burn cream. The British believe that the "Burnt Cambridge Cream" or "Trinity Cream" was invented in Cambridge. The Spanish also have their similar recipe called "Cream Catalana". The first record can date back to 1691, in the cookbook of French chef François Massialot, "Le Cuisinier Royal et Bourgeois", although the origin of the recipe still under debate. Until 19th Century, the French brought this elegant dessert from Paris restaurants to the world, and of course, this beautiful name "Crème Brulée" became one of the famous french dessert.

Hmm... the mouth watering caramelized sugar with creamy custard, a perfect bite. 

The cookware stores usually sell the blow torch in an expensive price. You may find it much cheaper in hardware or camping stores. Just connect with a gas cartridge and will have same effect.  This one is bought by my friend May, thanks!

Reference cookbook:

Mastering the Art of French Cooking

by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle & Simone Beck

Pancakes with Honeyed Apples 蜜糖蘋果班戟

Pfannkuchen mit Honig-Äpfel - Rezept auf Deutsch
蜜糖蘋果班戟 - 中文食譜


Pancakes with Honeyed Apples
Ingredients for ~ 14 pancakes

• 225g all purpose flour 
• 1 tablespoon baking powder 
• 1 teaspoon sugar 
• 2 large eggs
• 30g melted and cooled butter
• 300ml milk
• vegetable oil or butter for frying

Ingredients for Honeyed Apples

• 2 Apples
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 6 tablespoons Golden Syrup
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

Preparation

• In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, sugar, beat in the eggs, melted butter and milk, mix well all the ingredients and transfer to a jug. Leave the batter for 30 minutes.
• In the mean time, core the apples and cut into segments. Melt butter in a frying pan, fry apples in medium heat until light golden, add syrup, lemon juice and simmer for few minutes, turn off the heat and set aside.
• Heat oil/butter in a non stick pan, pour in the batter until formed a sizable pancake. It takes about 1~2 minutes for pancake become firm, turn it over to another side and fry for 1 more minute then transfer to serving dish.
• Place the honeyed apples beside the pancakes and pour over the syrup. To cheer your guests, serve with vanilla ice cream is the best!

The Pancakes - Fing Fing 吓

Mix all the pancake ingredients.

Set the batter in room temperature and for 30 minutes, let the baking powder work for a spongy pancake.

The remains can store in the fridge for few days, thaw to room temperature when you make pancakes again.

Add Golden Syrup and lemon juice on the light golden apples, hmm... a refreshing sugary aroma rush to the nose.

When you see bubbles coming up, turn the pancake to the other side.

References:

IKEA's Real Swedish Food Book

Nigella Lawson online recipes
Music: The Pancakes

Chocolate Crispy Squares 朱古力脆米方塊

Die knusprigen Schokoladenwürfel - Rezept auf Deutsch
朱古力脆米方塊 - 中文食譜

Chocolate Crispy Squares

Ingredients for 20 servings

• 1 box (200g) Kellogg's rice krispies
• 200g milk chocolate
• 100g diced almonds
• 4 tablespoons golden syrup
• icing sugar, for dusting

Preparation

• Prepare a square tin, pour in rice krispies and set aside.
• In a frying pan, fry the almonds to fragrant, then mix with the rice krispies.
• Break the chocolate and add golden syrup into a bowl.
• Heat water in a soup pot, rest the bowl over it and leave until chocolate melt, stir frequently.
• Pour the melted chocolate syrup into the rice krispies, mix well all ingredients and press down firmly. 
• Chill the chocolate loaf in refrigerator for half hour. To serve, turn the loaf on a cutting board and cut into square. Dust with icing sugar. Kids love "Chocolate Crispy Squares", and it is an excellent party snack. 

David Shrigley - What I Ate

Sago soup with coconut milk 椰汁西米露

Sago Suppe mit Kokosmilch - Rezept auf Deutsch

椰汁西米露 - 中文食譜

Sago soup with coconut milk

Ingredients for 3 servings

• 2/3 cup (100g) big sago
• 50g yellow rock sugar
• 165ml coconut milk
• 330ml full milk

Preparation

• Prepare a soup pot with boiling water, add sago and boil for few minutes. Reduce to medium heat and cook for 1hr, stir occasionally.
• When the surrounding of sago become translucent, and water become turbid, pour the sago into a colander and rinse under tap water.
• Prepare a new pot of boiling water, pour the sago back to the pot, cook in medium heat for another 1hr. Until the center of the sago remain small part of white. Repeat the rinse water step.
• Add milk, coconut milk and sugar into the pot and bring to boil. Pour in the sago after sugar is dissolved. The Sweet soup "Sago soup with coconut milk" is finished. Serve hot or cold.

Au Revoir Simone - Backyards of Our Neighbors

Cooked big sago


Mini Tips:

• Cooking the sago with a bigger soup pot and more water to allow more space for the sago. It can  reduce the chance of burning.
• Some recipes suggest soak the sago in cold water before cooking. This is very depend on the texture of the sago as some sago will melt in cold water. Cooking the sago directly in hot water is easier to handle.
• Cooking big sago takes longer time, if the sago still not done after cooking twice, then you may need to cook one more time.

Rice Balls in Sweet Soup 糖心湯丸, 花生湯丸

To Emily

Reisbälle mit süße Suppe - Rezept auf Deutsch

糖心湯丸, 花生湯丸 - 中文食譜


Rice Balls in Sweet Soup
Ingredients: ~ 10-12 rice balls

• 2/3 cup glutinous rice flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 1, 1/4 pieces raw slab cane sugar
• 1 tablespoon crunchy peanut butter
• few pieces of ginger

Preparations

• In a soup pot, add 4 cups of water, 1 piece of cane sugar, ginger and bring to boil.
• Smash 1/4 piece of cane sugar in a bowl and set aside.
• Put the glutinous rice flour in a big bowl, add water gradually and knead the flour into dough. The dough should not sticking your hands and not easy to disperse.
• Sprinkle the glutinous rice flour on a plate and pat into your palms, pick a small piece of dough and roll into ball (diameter ~3cm), then press flat with your palms.
• For rice balls with sugar fillings: put a small piece of broken sugar on the dough centre, close the surrounding and roll into ball, set it on the plate.
• For rice balls with peanut fillings: same as above, with fillings of sugar plus peanut butter
• Put the rice balls into the boiling soup. When the rice balls are done, it will float on the soup. Enjoy!

Clark - Luxman Furs

Raw slab cane sugar

The dough with peanut butter and sugar fillings

Mini Tips: If this is your first time, try the raw slab sugar first. Because peanut butter is easily stick with the dough. If the dough is too thin or going to leak, try sticking a little bit of the unused dough on top of it.

Rice ball with sugar filling

Rice ball with sugar and peanut butter filling

Strawberry Yogurt, Banana Chocolate Yogurt 士多啤梨乳酪, 香蕉朱古力乳酪

Die Jogurt - Rezept auf Deutsch
士多啤梨乳酪, 香蕉朱古力乳酪 - 中文食譜

Strawberry Yogurt
Ingredients for 2 servings 

• 1 cup natural yoghurt 
• 100g strawberries, cut into small pieces
• 2 teaspoons sugar

Preparation 

• In a small pan, add 2/3 strawberries and sugar, cook in low heat until the strawberries soft and melt
• Turn off the heat and cool down the sauce.
• Fill the yogurt into a small glass, then pour the strawberry sauce on top and decorate with entire strawberries.

Banana Chocolate Yogurt
Ingredients for 2 servings 

• 1 cup natural yoghurt 
• 1 banana, cut into small pieces 
• 50g 70% cocoa dark chocolate
• 2 tablespoons full milk

Preparation 

• In a small pan, add milk and melt the chocolate in low heat, you may add additional sugar if desired.
• Turn off the heat and cool down the sauce.
• Fill the yogurt into a small glass, then pour the chocolate sauce on top and add bananas

Magic Wands - Black Magic (Crystal Fighters Remix)

My homemade yogurt

There are many kinds of yogurt in supermarket. I like to choose yogurt with acidophilus or active live cultures. Apart from they are more suitable for homemade yoghurt. The live bacteria can benefit your colon condition and immune system.

Red Bean Soup 紅豆沙

To Yue Wai

Rote Bohnen Suppe - Rezept auf Deutsch
紅豆沙 - 中文食譜


Red Bean Soup
Ingredients for 4 servings

• 1 cup red beans
• 120g rock sugars
• 4 cups of water

Preparation

• Wash the red beans, and soak it in the water overnight.
• Drain the beans before cooking.
• In a big pot, cook the beans and water until boiling.
• Reduce the heat, cook the soup until the beans are soft and creamy, stirring occasionally. (around 1 hours)
• Add the sugar and continue to cook. (around 15 minutes)

Mini Tips:  In Hong Kong, we usually add dried mandarin peels for favouring. If it is hard for you to find, adding fresh orange peels before serving also provide a very fresh taste.


Sweet soups are chinese desserts, we always eat it after dinner. 

Crystal Castles - Good Time

The rock sugars

The red beans