Hong Kong Egg Tarts

Chinese New Year is one of my favorite holidays. Mostly because I get gobs of money from everyone in my family and from all my friend's parents too. You get to buy new clothes for the new year. There is exorbitant amounts of good food. Omgee I miss Asia so much! Now that I'm here, I get zero money and zero new things :'(

I decided to make these egg tarts...but... it was kind of a disaster. I mean the custard came out wonderfully. The pastry not so much. I definitely overworked the dough and I could already tell it pretty elastic and not butter. But I couldn't be bothered to re do it (serious inertia problems).  If you do make these, I think a good buttery pie dough for the bottom would also work really well.

Happy New Year of the Horse! 新年快乐!!

Hong Kong Egg Tarts (蛋挞)

adapted from Table for 2 
makes a dozen mini tarts

Pastry
250g Plain flour
2 tbsp castor sugar
1 egg yolk
150g butter

Custard filling
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup boiling water
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

1. In a food processor, whirl butter with egg yolk and sugar
2. Add flour and mix well. (may need to add more if it feels sticky, but don't go crazy)
3. Roll into a tube, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour - overnight
4. Cut dough into 12 equal pieces, and roll out to 5-10" circles between 2 sheets of parchment paper
5. Line your tart molds and repeat for the rest of them. Refrigerate until you need to fill them up
6. Custard: melt sugar in hot water, add milk to cool it, salt and vanilla. Add the eggs in too
7. Strain the custard twice. Super important to get a delicate custard!
8. Pour into the cold tart crust
9. Bake at 355F for 25-30 mins

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Banana Bread Muffins with Chocolate Chips & Walnuts

Taking a break from studying. Procrasti-baking! I made these last week and was supposed to post this recipe. What better time to blog if not 2 days before a heme-onc exam that has me reduced to a nail biting chipmunk?

Banana Bread Muffins with Chocolate Chips & Walnuts

makes 14 muffins

1.5 cups flour
1/2 cup quick oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 tsp cinnamon

5 tbsps butter, melted
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3-4 bananas, ripe and mashed
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup walnut, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a muffin pan or line with paper
• In large bowl, mix together the melted butter, sugars, bananas, egg,  and vanilla
• In a medium bowl, mix the flour, oats, baking soda and powder, salt and cinnamon. Add to wet mix and stir until moistened (don't overmix!). Fold in walnuts and chocolate chips
• Spoon batter almost fully into prepared muffin pan. Bake for 15-20 mins, until toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean
• Let cool for at least 5 mins

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Pumpkin Cranberry Braided Loaf

Long weekend = bread baking. Finally made bread with my kitchenaid! Last time I made this, I used my bare hands to make half of this recipe and may have dislocated my shoulder. Ha... that was 3 years ago. I'd like to say I'm back to bread making (inspired by a lovely classmate who makes delicious bread), but I just can't find the time between all my tv watching, eating and maybe some studying (?) ;P

This bread is super fluffy, soft and moist. I wish I had some left over to make some bomb french toast or bread pudding, but I distributed it to most of my friends. Wouldn't you like to be my neighbor? :D

Pumpkin Cranberry Braided Loaf

makes 2 loaves
adapted from King Arthur Flour

15 oz can pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1.5 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1.5 tsp salt
1 tbsp instant yeast (I used 1 packet of Red Star Platinum Instant Yeast)
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
4 3/4 cups flour (separated)
2/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped

1. In stand mixer bowl with paddle attachment, combine pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, melted butter and mix on low until blended
2. Add spices, yeast, salt and 2 3/4 cups of flour. Mix on low speed until combined
3. Add remaining 2 cups of flour and mix on low until a shaggy dough forms
4. Switch to dough hook and knead on medium speed for 5-8 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Add 1 tbsp of flour at a time if it is still wet. But this is a really sticky dough and will stick to the bottom of your mixer bowl. Add dried cranberries and mix for 1 min until evenly dispersed
5. Transfer dough to lightly oiled bowl, cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise for 1-1.5 hrs. It should expand a little bit
6. Turn dough out on lightly floured surface and flour over it if it is too sticky to handle. Divide in half and then divide the half into 3 equal pieces. Roll the pieces into a log about 1.5" diameter. Make a tight braid on a lightly greased baking tray with 3 logs and pinch and tuck ends under bread. Repeat with the other 3 logs
7. Cover braided loaf with lightly greased plastic wrap and rise in a warm place for 1-1.5 hrs. (I only waited about 1 hr and it had expanded a quite a bit but not doubled)
8. Bake bread at preheated oven 350F for 25-30mins, until lightly brown. The loaf is quite light in color so don't overbake. You can tap on the outside and it should make a hollow sound. Cool on wire rack.
9. Serve with jams, butters or whatever you like!

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Roasted medley: Tomato, Mushroom, Garlic and Feta

Holy Moly, I'm freezing my buns off! I'm a live-on-the-equator kind of girl and the tropics is in my blood (does Hong Kong count?). In Richmond, it's like the North Pole decided to migrate here. I've been looking like a stuffed penguin everyday or the abominable snowman. Either way, highly attractive...

Luckily, my utility bill is included in my rent. My roommate and I have been blasting the central heating until we're almost sweating in our t-shirt and shorts. And I've been taking hot showers until I look like a prune :P Also, lots of oven usage. Roasted wintery dishes FTW!! This dish is super delish with some crusty bread or even pita chips (especially those crack-like Stacy's Pita Chips)

Roasted Tomato, Garlic, and Feta

makes 3-4 servings

Ingredients
1 small onion, sliced into thin wedges
5-6 cloves garlic, halved
3-4 slabs (5oz) of feta cheese
10 on the vine tomatoes (slighty larger than a cherry tomato)
1/2 cup button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 tsp rosemary, chopped
1/2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper
balsamic vinegar

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Place sliced onion on a greased roasting pan and drizzle olive oil over them. Roast for 15 mins.
• Place feta cheese and garlic sliced on top of the onions, crack some pepper and toss over the chopped rosemary and thyme. Then place vine tomatoes and mushrooms, drizzle a little olive oil all over.
• Put back in the oven for another 40-50mins. Serve with splashes of balsamic vinegar. Salt if needed (otherwise feta is salty enough)

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Cranberry Sauce Oatmeal Muffins

Any left over frozen cranberry sauce in the fridge? There was so much cranberry sauce left over from our friendsgiving, I decided to make breakfast muffins out of them! The original sauce was made traditionally with orange juice, so it makes them citrusy and just sweet enough to balance the tart. I had some citrus haters and harsh critics eat them and they gobbled it up, so successs!! Offered me their fridge of frozen cranberry sauce..uh no...

Break is over, and now I'm back in class, and in Richmond, and away from the sun, and 3 hours behind. Gahhh, whine whine whine :D. It is far far too early to pay attention (clearly listening to the lecturer now). Back to the grind!

Cranberry Sauce Oatmeal Muffins

makes 14 muffins

1.5 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

6 tbsp butter, softened
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup cranberry sauce (mine was pretty congealed)
6 oz vanilla yogurt

• Preheat oven to 375F
• Mix the first 5 dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and set aside
• In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy and then beat in the sugars until nice and light. Beat in egg, cranberry sauce and vanilla yogurt.
• Mix the dry mix to the wet mix until just incorporated.
• Bake for 20-25 mins or until tops are golden brown

Now wasn't that easy?

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