Eclair recipe

made eclairs a week or 2 ago. ((: I think it was pretty good. The guys finished them in a day. O.o And a found a new metric for my baked goods. If tk brings some up at night for breakfast tomorrow. It means they are good (I realized because he loves the cupcakes I baked and he brought everything up just now). I think he brought the eclairs up after the other guys had a few too. So kiasu, must chope. ((: 

Chocolate Eclair Recipe

adapted from Joy of Baking

makes 12 (i think you should double the amount since you already went through so much effort to make it)

Ingredients

Choux Pastry:

1/2 cup (65 grams) all purposeflour

1/2 teaspoon granulated whitesugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons (55 grams) unsaltedbutter, cut into pieces

1/2 cup (120 ml) water

2 largeeggs, lightly beaten

Glaze: (optional)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Pastry Cream:

1 1/4 cups (300 ml) whole milk

3 largeeggyolks

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated whitesugar

2 tablespoons (20 grams) all-purposeflour

2 scant tablespoons (15 grams) cornstarch(corn flour)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Glaze:

2 ounces (55 grams) semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy “whipping” cream (cream with 35% butterfat content)

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 tablespoon light corn syrup (or golden syrup or glucose)

Directions

Choux Pastry:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. In a bowl whisk the flour with the sugar and salt. Place the butter and water in a saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and, with a wooden spoon, add the flour mixture, all at once, and stir until combined. Return saucepan to the heat and stir constantly until the dough comes away from the sides of the pan and forms a thick smooth ball (about 1-2 minutes). Transfer the dough to your electric mixer, and beat on low speed to release the steam from the dough (about 1 minute). Once the dough is lukewarm start adding the lightly beaten eggs (dough will separate and then come together) and continue to mix until you have a smooth thick paste (dough will fall from a spoon in a thick ribbon). Place the dough in a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip and pipe 12 oblongs of dough (about 3/4 inch (2 cm) wide) onto the baking sheet. (When piping have the bag at a 45 degree angle.) If desired, with a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the dough with a lightly beaten egg.

Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Continue to bake for a further 25 minutes or until the shells are a nice amber color and when split, are almost dry inside. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Pastry Cream:

In a heatproof bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolks together. Whisk the flour with the cornstarch and then add to the egg mixture, mixing until you get a smooth paste. Meanwhile, in a saucepan bring the milk just to a boil. Remove from heat and add slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling. Then pour the egg mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly. When it boils, keep whisking constantly for another 30 – 60 seconds until the pastry cream becomes thick. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Pour the pastry cream into a clean bowl and immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming. Cool to room temperature then refrigerate until firm. Whisk or stir before using to get rid of any lumps that may have formed.

Chocolate Glaze:

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream just until boiling and immediately pour it over the chocolate. Gently stir until the chocolate has melted. Stir in the vanilla extract and corn syrup.

Chocolate Banana Cupcake

Chooyang’s birthday surprise on sunday and wc’s birthday surprise just now. Its been a busy week! made chocolate banana cupcakes for cy’s birthday surprise + potluck thingy because tk was too lazy to make anything. The problem is that 4615 Filmore has all the guys and they make just 1 dish. And then the rest of the houses are mainly girls and they each make a dish. So we always end up with 1 main dish and 3-4 desserts. >< That was why I wanted tk to make his duck fat potato hash except that he was too lazy. ><

Here’s the recipe anyways ((:

Banana Chocolate Cupcakes

(makes 12) adapted from joyofbaking

1 cup (200 g) granulated white sugar

1 cup (130g) All-purpose flour

1/3 cup (35 g) unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium sized banana)

1/2 cup (120 ml) warm water

1/4 cup (60 ml) milk

1/3 cup (60ml) canola oil

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Fudge Frosting:

90g unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup (120 g) confectioners sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Line 12 regular-sized muffin cups with paper liners or spray each cup with a non stick vegetable spray.

In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.In another large bowl, whisk together the egg, mashed banana, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk, until combined. (The batter is quite thin.) Pour or scoop the batter into the muffin cups, about 3/4 full, and bake for about20 minutesor until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Then you can start on your chocolate frosting!

Chocolate Frosting: Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until it is light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the chocolate and beat on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is smooth and glossy (about 2 -3 minutes).

before I added the sliced banana as decoration! ((:

You can either pipe the frosting or just use a knife to add it on. I did both because some friends love sweet desserts and some want it to be healthier ((:

Chocolate Chip Scone

SOOOOO full from all the CNY meals. dinner at union grill last night was a treat by kevin. this smarty pants got into STANFORD! ((: so jealous! hope my future kid is smart enough to get into stanford. unlike me )): who didn’t even bother trying because i knew i wasn’t good enough. had an entire table full of food! and wine. ((:

had a potluck lunch with the malaysian association (now that i’m half malaysian) and steamboat dinner with the singaporean association.. so i’m 918493074kg heavier now. gotta go run after yoga tomorrow )):

Baked scones because we don’t buy bread for breakfast anymore. We rely on my baking. MUAHAHAHAH. Was feeling fat and lazy, so I just decided to bake some chocolate chip scones since they were fast and easy. Got my recipe from http://www.annies-eats.com/2010/08/04/chocolate-chip-scones/ Here’s the recipe

 

Chocolate Chip Scones

Ingredients:
1½ cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375˚ F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.  Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; stir to combine.  Toss in the chocolate chips and stir to blend.  Add the heavy cream to the flour mixture, stirring just until a dough forms and the dry ingredients are incorporated.  Knead the dough very briefly to ensure even mixing. Guesstimate and separate the dough into 6 equal pieces and pat them down on the baking sheet. Brush lightly with melted butter and sprinkle with additional sugar/heavy cream (if using).  Bake 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned.

Chocolate Nutella Profiteroles!!!

FINALS are OVER!!!!

muahaha. can finally blog about my profiteroles and apple pie i made before finals. and im making macarons now. im so happy im so happy im so happy!

got my recipe from here

3.5 oz (7 tbs) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
4 large eggs

For nutella cream:

8 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

8 oz Nutella

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar. Place the butter, milk, and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Take off the heat and add the flour mixture all at once. Stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until combined (the mixture will be a thick paste). Return to heat and, using a spatula, stir the paste for approximately 1 minute, until it lightly sticks to the bottom of the pan. Place paste in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium low speed for about 1 minute, until it cools slightly. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. The dough should slowly sink from the paddle when you turn off the mixer. Pipe or scoop dough into 1 inch mounds onto a parchment lined baking sheet (i just put a spoonful and they ended up 1 inch ((: ), leaving 1/2 inch of room between each round. Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes, until the puffs are golden brown, and the insides are dry. *** mine deflated a little, denise says that if you leave them in the oven to cool down slowly they wouldn’t deflate too much!

With a serrated knife, cut off the top of each of the puffs. Pipe each puff with Nutella cream until just full. Replace top. Just before serving, dust puffs with powdered sugar.

Nutella Cream
Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in a small bowl on low heat in the microwave. Stir in Nutella until combined.

Chocolate Pear Upside Down Cake

 made chocolate pear upside down cake a few days ago. been watching the great british bake off show, so have been tempted to try out different recipes. just made chocolate nutella profiteroles, will update the recipe soon!

 adapted from http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Upside-Down-Pear-Chocolate-Cake-354975#ixzz2ERBeTOSL

for a 10inch pan 

1 cup granulated sugar 

3 ripe pears, peeled, cored, and each cut into 12 slice (i used golden pear) 

1/4 cup unsalted butter 

4 ounces dark chocolate 

1 cup all-purpose flour 

1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder 

3/4 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp fine sea salt 

3/4 cup granulated sugar 

2 eggs 

1 tsp pure vanilla extract 

1/2 cup whole milk

To make the topping, put the sugar and water in a saucepan and stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, then cover and cook for 2 minutes. Uncover the saucepan and continue to boil the sugar, gently and slowly swirling the pan as needed to cook the caramel evenly, until it becomes a light amber color. It will turn darker after taking of the heat, so don’t burn it! Carefully pour the caramel into the prepared pan and allow it to harden. Fan the pear slices on top of the caramel in a circle around the perimeter, filling in the center with the remaining slices.

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the butter and chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat and melt, stirring occasionally. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. Transfer the melted chocolate to a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and add the sugar. Using a handheld mixer with beaters or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the milk in two additions, beginning and ending with the flour and scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the cake bounces back slightly when touched. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto a plate, leaving the pan on top of the cake for 5 minutes before you remove it. Serve the cake warm.

 

Nutella Chocolate Lava Cake

everyone knows i love chocolate lava cake. Decided to one up chocolate lava cake by adding in nutella. MUAHAHAHA. why am i so smart greedy? and the best thing is, no one can ever say you overbaked it, because even if the entire cake is cooked, you’ll still have nutella as the lava. tehe ((: scheming at its best

nom nom nom. Got angry with him because he finished everything in 3 mouthfuls. Thought it was because it wasn’t nice thats why he ate it so fast >< because I like to savor the cake and take small mouthfuls. Apparently for guys, if they eat really quickly it means that they like the food. ermph. Gonna believe him for once because i don’t believe anyone will not like chocolate lava cakes and nutella! 

makes 2 ramekins

2 oz baking chocolate (used nestle semisweet chocolate)

1/4 cup butter (or half a stick)

1 egg

1/8 cup sugar

1/8 cup flour

2 tbsp nutella

Preheat oven to 350F. Melt chocolate and butter in microwave and stir it every 30sec until it is completely melted and mixed. In a mixing bowl, whisk egg and sugar until light. Add chocolate mixture and flour into eggs and mix until combined. Grease 2 ramekins (make sure all the corners are greased too). Fill each ramekin about 3/4 full of batter, and add a tbsp (or any amount you want) of nutella in the middle. Bake it for 10-12 minutes. Cover the ramekin with a plate and then flip it over! It should drop out of the ramekin smoothly. ~getting hungry while typing this out )):

Photo Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Melt chocolate and butter in microwave and stir it every 30sec until it is completely melted and mixed. 

In a mixing bowl, whisk egg and sugar until light.

Add chocolate mixture and flour into eggs and mix until combined.

Grease 2 ramekins (make sure all the corners are greased too). Fill each ramekin about 3/4 full of batter, and add a tbsp (or any amount you want) of nutella in the middel.

Bake it for 10-12 minutes. 

Cover the ramekin with a plate and then flip it over! It should drop out of the ramekin smoothly. Serve with ice cream! ((:

gooey chocolate lava cake + nutella. i want to eat this tonight again!

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Muffin

so we forgot to get break for breakfast this week — i need to bake something for breakfast! decided on chocolate-chocolate chip muffin because he loved my banana chocolate chip muffin so much. ((: its really moist so it tastes really good even after leaving them overnight.

and its really easy to make too! if i can make it, so can you :p

Makes 12 muffins

2/3 cup cocoa powder

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

a pinch of salt

1 cup chocolate chips

2 eggs

1 cup milk

2 teaspoon vanilla essence

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease the muffin tin. Whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla. Add in the melted butter, cocoa, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Use a spoon to stir them until they start to blend. Then use a electric whisk and whisk at medium speed for 1 minute. Stir in the chocolate chips. Scoop about 2 spoonfuls into the muffin tin. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a fort inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. 

Photo directions 

(it was really easy to make so i didn’t really take too many photos)

Whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla. Add in the melted butter, cocoa, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Use a spoon to stir them until they start to blend. Then use a electric whisk and whisk at medium speed for 1 minute. Stir in the chocolate chips. 

Scoop about 2 spoonfuls into the muffin tin. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a fort inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. 

and its really moist too!

Hot Chocolate

hating the hurricane already. no holiday + cold & rain?!?! )): but, making this tonight (after class of course) tehe i know its only hot chocolate but im so excited to do something that is not studying ((:

Hot Chocolate Recipe adapted from simplyrecipes

INGREDIENTS

Basic Hot Chocolate

4 cups of milk

8 ounces of chocolate (I used 70% cocoa)

3 teaspoons of sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon of salt

METHOD

Place the milk into a pot on low heat and bring to a low simmer. Sir constantly to ensure that the milk doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the vanilla, sugar, salt, and chocolate and whisk vigorously until the chocolate has melted. Heat for another 4 minutes, constantly stirring.

****updated with real pictures
ok. this wasn’t really baking. it looks like milo, but its really hot chocolate! it was so cold and windy (hurricane sandy) and so i made hot chocolate!! and tk’s lactose intolerant so i had to finish the entire thing by myself )): it was really really good. its so easy to make hot chocolate! O.O

Next things to bake
Browned Butter Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
Apple Pie Bundles