I make - Earl Grey Shortbread Biscuits

I've always wanted to bake with Earl Grey tea leaves. We've had cakes recently so I thought I would try a biscuit recipe. This shortbread recipe is based on Phil Vickery's recipe. His flour of choice is half rice and half cornstarch. I used my gluten-free flour blend instead and topped up with some Bird's custard powder (cornstarch based). The addition of Earl Grey tea leaves proves to be a great one. This shortbread is so different from my previous (very crumbly) one. It tastes very fine and elegant, buttery and citrusy, smelling very comforting. Not crumbly at all but breakable at the bite. Perfect with a cup of tea!

Earl Grey Shortbread Biscuits

150 g gluten-free flour* (your favorite blend)
50 g Bird's custard powder (or cornstarch)
80 g powder sugar
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp baking powder
A scant 1/2 tsp salt
120 g cold butter, in chunks
2-3 tsps Earl Grey tea leaves (I used F&M loose leaves)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp vodka (or cold water)

Combine flour, custard powder, powder sugar, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Mix to combine. Rub the butter chunks into flour mix until the mixture looks like wet sand. Squeeze the dough several times to encourage the dough to form.

Put in Earl Grey tea leaves, vanilla extract and vodka (or water). Mix again and bring the dough together to a ball. If the dough is still too dry, add another tablespoon of vodka (or water). Shape the dough in a log and wrap it in clingfilm. Rest in the fridge for 1-2 hours.

Preheat the oven at 180C. Line a baking tray.

Slice the chilled shortbread dough in discs of 0.8cm. I got 19-20 rounds out of my dough. Place each one on the baking tray. The biscuit will spread a little so make sure there is at least 1 cm space between the biscuits. Bake at 180C for 15-18 minutes. Rotate the baking tray half way through.

*My blend is: 35% buckwheat + 35% white rice + 20% sweet rice + 10% cornstarch

2020 weekly - week 44 (32nd week of confinement)

25/10/2020, Sunday

My physio routine this coming week.

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26/10/2020, Monday

Exercises done today:

1. Morning physio

2. Park run Total running distance: 6000 meters
Longest non-stopping distance: 2800 + 2800 meters

3. Night IT band exercises

Almost didn't make it to the park today because of the intermittent showers. Glad that I persisted.

27/20/2020, Tuesday

Lord, I had the worst hip pain last night. Using chairs is hard so is the stairs. Hip impingement or bursitis? Don't know but getting old is not fun! It's especially embarrassing now because I am due to see my physiotherapist tomorrow. Arrgggh.

28/10/2020, Wednesday

Seen my physiotherapist at the hospital today. After assessments, he suspected that I have weak glute medius which could explain the hip pain. He thinks that my knee pain earlier could be a separate issue, possibly runner's friction syndrome. The physio regime he prescribed is as follows: clamshell with resistance band, lateral band walk, single leg squat (knee aligned with hip straight) and side-lying leg raise with ankle weight. This regime is certainly corroborated by this summary article of relevant research. I will also ease my running temporarily to build up the glute first. 

This is a new therapist whom I'd had phone consultations until today. He's really good and attentive. At some point he was saying something like: "there is no reason for a young person like you not to run". I thought quietly, if I had born a son when I was 20, he would have been at your age! I didn't say it of course, just giving him a big smile (under a mask). Joking aside, having some answers to my problems really help me not just physically but also mentally. I am less anxious now about my legs and I know how to improve them. Thank you, M. Let's see whether in 3 months I feel better. 

29/10/2020, Thursday

Working on revising my physio routine. 

Year 2020 is not getting easier, is it? With France going into another national lockdown, UK infection now doubling every 9 days, another incident of religious attack and a sad news about an internet acquaintance's untimely passing. I don't know what to say and think anymore. Why are human beings so eager to kill one another? We the living have the duty to do our best for ourselves and others, don't we?

I make - Nigella's Chocolate Fruit Cake

This dark as winter's night with glistening prunes fruitcake is my new love. I thought the cake would taste chocolaty and coffee-y but no, just a nice rich flavored proper fruit cake. The cocoa and coffee are here to enhance the depth of the cake, which is nice. The prunes are the stars here which provide a little bit chew and complement well with the rest of dried fruits. The cake is moist without being damp. A very moreish fruitcake, totally guest-worthy!

Cocoa Fruit Cake, adapted from Nigella Lawson's recipe

200 g prunes, chopped
150 g other dried fruits (sour cherries, currants, raisins)
100 g soft butter
50 g dark brown muscovado sugar
110 ml runny honey
80 ml coffee liqueur (I used 50% espresso + 50% rum)
1 orange (juice and zest)

1 tbsp treacle (optional but nice)

1 tsp mixed spice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tablespoons cocoa
2 large eggs (beaten)

1 tsp glycerin (optional)
125 g gluten-free flour (your favorite blend)* + 1/2 tsp xanthan gum (if your blend does not have)
50 g ground almonds

a scant 1/2 tsp salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease and line a loaf tin. 

Put the fruit, butter, sugar, runny honey, coffee liqueur, orange juice, treacle, zests, spice, vanilla and cocoa into a large wide saucepan and bring to the boil gently, stirring as the butter melts. Simmer for 1 minute, and then take off the heat and leave to stand for 1 hour (or longer).

After the 60 minutes are up, it will have cooled a little. Add the beaten eggs, glycerin (if using), flour, ground almonds, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula, however you like, to combine.

Pour the fruit cake mixture into the prepared cake tin. Place in the oven and bake for 50 minutes, by which time the top of the cake should be firm but will have a shiny and sticky look. If you insert a cake tester into the centre of the cake it will still be a little gooey in the middle.

Put the cake on a cooling rack. It will hold its heat and take a while to cool, but once it has, unmould it from the tin and, if you don’t want to eat it immediately (and like any fruit cake it has a very long life), wrap it in baking parchment and then in foil and place in a tin.

*My gluten-free flour mix is 25% sweet rice + 25% brown rice + 30% cornmeal + 20% cornstarch

I make - Red Lentil Tomato Soup

We are onto another soup winner here. Contrary to my usual beige-ish looking soup, this one is joyfully red. Panch Phoran is such a nice mix of seeds for a gentle background savory note and the flavor blends very well with almost everything.

Red Lentil Tomato Soup

3/4 cup dried red lentils, wash and drain
1 tbsp oil
1 onion, minced
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp panch phoran
1 can of tomatoes
1 cup of stock or water
salt and pepper to season
1/2 cup coconut milk (optional)

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a sauce pan. Stir fry onion and garlic until they are softened and lightly golden. Put in the drained red lentils, panch phoran, tomatoes and stock/water. Bring the pot to boil and turn the heat to low. Lid on and cook for 20-25 minutes. 

Check the state of lentils. They should all be cooked by now. If the water level is a bit low, add some more. Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper as required. You can blend the soup for smoother texture or leave it chunky. I like to add some coconut milk towards the end of cooking to make it taste silky. It's up to you.

2020 weekly - week 43 (31st week of confinement)

18/10/2020, Sunday

My physio routine this coming week

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Tried one pain d'épice recipe today. Pretty happy with the way it turned out. I added a scant 1/2 tsp of glycerin to the mix. I guess its effect can only be revealed after a few days but so far I am happy with the texture and the taste. More spice perhaps and make a proper cake divider with tin foil next time!


19/10/2020, Monday

Exercises done today:

1. Morning physio

2. Park run Total running distance: 6000 meters (new record!)
Longest non-stopping distance: 2800 + 2800 meters

3. Night IT band exercises

After being held back by my left leg pain for 8 weeks, my body feels better again. Now I run with the knee brace regardless. Perhaps it's realistic to aim for 10K again.

20/10/2020, Tuesday

Exercises done today:

1. Morning physio

2. Park run Total running distance: 5600 meters
Longest non-stopping distance: 2800 + 2000 meters

3. Night IT band exercises

21/20/2020, Wednesday

Went to see my dentist today and my teeth situation seems to stabilize, not worse, even better in some regards. I feel relived. Perhaps it's something I don't have to worry about that much any more. See you in six months.

22/10/2020, Thursday

Exercises done today:

1. Morning physio

2. Park run Total running distance: 6000 meters
Longest non-stopping distance: 2800 + 2800 meters

3. Night IT band exercises

I think I earned my Brownies today.

I make - Ground Almond Brownies II

So my quest for ground almond brownies continues. This is the recipe by Nigella Lawson. Different from the first recipe I tried, Nigella uses melted chocolate. The amount of fat has also increased. The taste is fabulous, rich, fudgy and chocolaty, not almondy at all. I will use this as a base to tinker.

Although good as it is, Nigella serves hers with ice cream and the hot chocolate sauce. Then she reflected: "But there is no need. Need is not really what we're talking about here, though, is it?" I chuckled. Nigella is the woman of my heart.

Ground Almond Brownies II, adapted from Nigella Lawson

100 grams dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
100 grams butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100 grams caster sugar

a scant 1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp instant coffee granules
1 large egg and 1 yolk (beaten)
75 grams ground almonds
50 grams chopped walnuts

Sea salt flakes (optional)

Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C Fan/gas mark 3/325ºF. Grease and line half of a 20cm square tin. I made cake tin dividers with carboards wrapped in foil. If you double the recipe, use three whole eggs and line the whole 20cm square tin.

Melt the chocolate and butter gently over a low heat in a heavy-based saucepan.

Take the pan off the heat, mix in the vanilla, sugar, salt and coffee granules, and let it cool a little.

Beat the egg and egg yolk into the pan along with the ground almonds. Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Scatter the walnuts on top and lightly scatter some sea salt flakes if using.

Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes (25-30 minutes if you double this recipe), by which time the top will have set but the mixture will still be gooey. Mine was done at 23 minutes. Cool completely before slicing. I find it easier to get a clean cut after 6 hours. I get 12 squidgy squares like in the photo. If you can wait, the brownies taste much better the day after.

I make - Golden Soup

Soup season is back. These days I find a warm bowl of soup makes me feel so much better at lunch than a sandwich of some sort.

This Golden Soup is actually a formula of ingredients which combine well, turmeric, coconut and fresh coriander. These are the base ingredients of my Golden Soup. I then add the main flavor ingredient and spice. Cauliflower is a classic, for which I will add some potato and a chopped onion. Another variation is yellow split peas, for which I add a teaspoon of panch phoron (Indian 5-seed mix) and a chopped onion or leek. Yellow split peas are quite starchy (and full of protein too) and the soup is nicely thickened in the end. I think red lentils or sweet potatoes/pumpkin will fare well with my Golden Soup Base but that's for next time.

Golden Soup with Yellow Split Peas

3/4 cup of dried yellow split peas, soaked with 1/2 tsp baking soda and water for 8 hours or overnight
1/2 tsp salt
1 leek, roughly chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tsp panch phoron 

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 tbsps coconut cream powder
10-20 stalks and leaves of fresh coriander
500 ml stock (if using coconut cream powder) or coconut milk if not using coconut cream powder
Salt and pepper to season

On the day of cooking the soup, drain the soaking yellow split peas and wash a number of times until the water runs clear. Drain the yellow split peas one last time and put in a sauce pan. Top with 1/2 tsp of salt and fresh water until the water level comes about 2-cm above the peas. Bring the pot to boil, remove the scums which comes to the surface, lower the heat and cover. Cook for 20-25 minutes until the peas are softened. Let the yellow split peas cool for 30 minutes and scoop the solids out for later use.

In the soup pot, cook leek and garlic with 1 tbsp of oil for 5 minutes. Add in panch phoron, turmeric powder, coconut cream powder, fresh coriander and stock (or coconut milk). Stir in the cooked yellow split peas. Check the water level. It should come up about 2-cm above the solids. Adjust the liquid with more stock or cooking liquor from the yellow split peas. Bring the pot to boil, lower the heat and cover. Let it cook for 20 minutes. Heat off. Taste and season with salt and pepper. You may fish out the coriander before serving.

I make - Gluten-Free Flour Mix With Cornmeal

I've been experimenting with Phil Vickery's Gluten-Free Flour Mix with cornmeal. The original ratio among different types of flours lends to easy adaptions. There is no grittiness after baking, a typical side effect of cornmeal. The texture is always light and the dough seems well behaved in my hands. I've tried it with pie crust and fruit cake. The mix is nutritionally superior to most commercial mixes and I love the baking results so much that I think it deserves a post.

 

Gluten-Free Flour Mix With Cornmeal

25% Brown rice flour
25% Glutinous rice flour or Teff flour (this is the part you play)
30% Fine cornmeal
20% Cornstarch

The percentages specify the weight of each flour in the final mix.

To make 500 g of the mix, combine together 125 g Brown rice flour, 125 g Glutinous rice flour, 150 g Cornmeal and 100 g Cornstarch. Shake well before using.

I use Glutinous rice when I need lighter colored baking goods such as pie crust. I switch to Teff flour when I am making dark colored cakes (chocolate or fruit cakes).

Here are the nutritional values for the mix with Glutinous rice.

Here is the nutritional info for the mix with Brown Teff Flour.

I make - Ground Almond Brownies I

I have so many brownie recipes which have written up in the folder. They are not published because either they need more work or they are not as good as initially thought. But this brownie recipe came to my attention quite late to my attention but gets published first because it is that good without tweaking!

This is proper gluten free brownie as it does not use gluten free flour blend. The original recipe uses only ground almond but I added a tablespoon of cornstarch to make it bind better. I also halved the sugar and supplemented with some sweetener. Despite with all the changes, the result is as the author promised, chewy, tasty and very moreish. My only niggle would be that the chocolate flavor is on the light side. Perhaps it's because I didn't add the chocolate chips specified (I don't like bits inside the brownies). Still, I like it enough to write it here and will repeat the recipe.

Ground Almond Brownies

1.5 cups (150 g) ground almond (take 1 tbsp out and put back 1 tbsp cornstarch)
1/4 cup (21 g) cocoa powder

1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar + 1 tbsp Truvia (or use 1 cup sugar instead)
3 tbsps coconut oil, melted
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup (45 g) chocolate chips (optional)

Walnut pieces for the top (optional)

Preheat your oven to180C. Grease and line the bottom of a 20cm pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together the ground almond, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a separate medium bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat the sugar and oil just until the sugar is moistened. Add in egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Beat until JUST combined, only about 20 seconds or so. You don't want to beat too much air into the batter or the brownies will sink when cooking.

Put the dry ingredients into the wet bowl and stir (by hand) until well mixed. Stir in the chocolate chips. Decorate the top with walnut pieces if using.

Press the batter into the prepared pan. It is VERY thick so I found using VERY lightly damp hands to work the best. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-22 minutes.

Let cool completely before slicing.

Note: For me, brownies always tastes better two days after it's made. It was like that back in my wheat days and it's the same with gluten-free flour. On the day of baking, the brownies tastes predominantly almondy. Two days after, a nice flavor of coconut and cocoa starts to come out. 

I make - Boiled Fruit Cake

I like the dark colored interior studded with jewel-liked dried fruits, very seasonal, feeling festive. The name doesn't sound very appetizing and the look is unassuming. It yields a good tasting fruit cake, juicy and plump fruits with aromatic and tender crumbs, not to mention that it's quick to put together. 

For dried fruit mix, my absolute favorite component is sour cherries. So I make sure I have 25-30% of them in my mix. The rest consists of currants, raisins, sultanas and citrus peels. The choice is yours. You also have full control of the liquid to rehydrate the fruits, from water, juice, tea or mixed with some alcohol. Personally I find the smell of butter, rum and brown sugar irresistible and that's what I used.

Boiled Fruit Cake

100 g butter
100-150 g brown sugar
350 g dried fruit mix (can be up to 450 g)
225 g rum-water mix (50% each)
2 eggs, beaten
225 g gluten-free flour (your favorite blend)* + 1/2 tsp xanthan gum (if your blend does not include)
A scant 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp mixed spice

Combine butter, sugar, dried fruits and liquid of choice. Bring slowly to the boil then simmer for 1 minute. Allow to cool for about an hour.

Preheat the oven at 180C. Grease and line a loaf tin.

In a mixing bowl, combine the dried fruit mixture and the beaten eggs. Mix to combine. Sift in flour, salt, bicarb and mixed spice. Mix well then tip into your prepared tin. Bake at 180C for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Cover and store, if possible, for a few days before serving.

*Note: I use 25% Teff + 25% Brown Rice + 30% Fine Cornmeal + 20% Cornstarch

2020 weekly - week 42 (30th week of confinement)

11/10/2020, Sunday

My physio routine this coming week

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Planning another salmon quiche tonight so I prepared the crust first. Today the baking god is with me because it worked very smoothly! Very cold pastry seems to make dough handling much easier so I made a note of what I did today.

12/10/2020, Monday

Exercises done today:

1. Morning physio

2. Park run

    Total running distance: 5600 meters
    Longest non-stopping distance: 2800 + 2400 meters

3. Night IT band exercises

A quite distressing news came from work today. Perhaps more later.

13/10/2020, Tuesday

My French essay this time c'est tres difficile! It took me two days to finish bur I'm glad that I did.

Exercises done today:

1. Morning physio

2. Park run

    Total running distance: 5600 meters
    Longest non-stopping distance: 2800 + 2400 meters

3. Night IT band exercises

14/10/2020, Wednesday

I had what I thought the last (phone) physio consultation but my therapist decided to bring me in for another look. Have to say I am grateful and stressful at the same time. Plus other things going on I am feeling quite tense.

Another two baking flops. Decided to send them to the bin. They are edible but life is too short for that.

Exercises done today:

1. Morning physio

2. Park run

    Total running distance: 5600 meters
    Longest non-stopping distance: 2800 + 2400 meters

3. Night IT band exercises

4. Walking of 1hr

15/10/2020, Thursday

Exercises done today:

1. Morning physio

2. Park run

    Total running distance: 5600 meters
    Longest non-stopping distance: 2800 + 2400 meters

3. Night IT band exercises

16/10/2020, Friday

Exercises done today:

1. Morning physio

2. Park run

    Total running distance: 5600 meters
    Longest non-stopping distance: 2800 + 2400 meters

3. Night IT band exercises

I ran without the knee brace today and felt absolutely fine afterwards. Knock on wood. I don't think the knee pain is truly gone but at least today I feel encouraged.

And the sun is out.

I make - Gluten-Free Pie Crust

I finally made a pastry crust which is flaky and does not go crumbly all over the place. I used the common 2 parts of flour with 1 part of butter crust ratio. The keys, I found, are very cold dough and xanthan gum. The amount of water required to bring the dough together varies greatly on the day of moisture and the flour blend. If you practice a few times, you will get a better feel of the dough.

This is the crust I use for both savory and sweet pies. I don't add more sugar to the crust if it's intended for sweet use. The filling is usually sweet enough so I like a rather neutral base to go with it. But it's your crust and make it yours.

Gluten-Free Pie Crust

220 g gluten-free flour (your favorite blend)

1 tbsp dairy/vegan protein powder (optional but super helpful preventing breakage)
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
100 g cold butter, chunks
1 egg, beaten
Enough cold water to bring the dough together (1~2 tablespoons)

In a large bowl, combine flour, protein powder (if using), xanthan gum, salt and sugar. Mix thoroughly.

Cut the butter into flour until they look like bread crumbs. I used a curved silicon bench scraper for this.

Pour the beaten egg into the flour-butter mixture. Use a rubber spatula to form a dough. 

If you find dry flour crumbs at the bottom of the mixing bowl, drizzle in one tablespoon of the water. Use a gloved hand to squeeze the dough together to incorporate the liquid. Squeeze the dough as you go along to work out a cohesive mass. Add more water as required.

When you have a clean bowl and the dough should be relatively non sticky (dust lightly with flour if needed), wrap the dough in cling film and rest in the fridge for a couple of hours. I find proper resting in cold is essential for a dough of good quality and easy manipulation.

Preheat the oven at 180C. 

When the pastry has its proper nap, remove it from the fridge and roll it out between two sheets of cling film. Cling film makes gluten-free pastry work a lot easier. This recipe is enough for a 25-cm pie dish or a 23-cm pie mold with scrapes.

Line the top of the crust with a large piece of baking paper and cover the ceramic baking beads. Bake at 180C for 15 minutes. Remove the the baking paper and the beads and bake again for further 5 minutes. Your pastry is then ready to be filled.

Note: I've been experimenting with Phil Vickery's mix lately. The first time I used 25% white rice + 25% brown rice + 30% cornmeal + 20% potato starch and the second time with 25% sweet rice + 25% brown rice + 30% cornmeal + 20% cornstarch. There is no grittiness in the baked crust in the second time. And there is a feel of lightness in the second recipe. Is it cornstarch or sweet rice or longer rest in the fridge, I don't know but I shall be using this maize mix more in the future.

I make - Gluten Free Stollen

I feel like a squirrel these days. Busy baking to stock up the freezer for the cold and dark nights. Here is another example of me squirreling away on a Sunday afternoon.

I discovered Stollen quite late. Of course, I've seen it on the supermarket shelf all these years close to Christmas time but all the icing sugar thick as snow somehow had dampened my desire to try. The only way to get away from thick icing sugar layer is to make your own and so I did, about 2 years ago. And it was fantastic, sweet, aromatic, somewhere between bread and cake, full of ingredients I love. Since then, I've not stopped making.

Here is my attempt to convert my trusted Stollen recipe to a gluten free one. After baking with gluten free flour for 6 months, one thing I've figured out is that gluten free flour needs a bit more moisture than conventional wheat flour. And for yeasted bread, it helps to have an extra lift. So that's what I did, up the liquid and adding an egg and some baking powder. 

Tasting note: this version of stollen came out drier than the wheat version. Yeast dough does not do well with a simple flour swap, even though I added extra moisture. It's not overbaked and it's not crumbly. Perhaps it's due to the gluten free flour which does not have gluten to hold the moisture. Perhaps I should try some glycerin next time which seems to improve gluten free baked goods (Phil Vickery's tip). And it also turned out there is such thing as too much marzipan. I will reduce the amount next time. A hit of marzi here and there is nicer than all over.

Gluten Free Stollen

200 g dried fruits (I used sultanas, sour cherries and cranberries)
100 ml rum (or a liqueur of choice)
500 g gluten-free flour (your favorite blend)
1 tsp xanthan gum (if your blend does not include)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
75~100 g sugar (granulated or icing), to taste
165 g ground almond
130 g candied citrus peels, finely diced
Zest from one lemon and one orange
2 tsp fast-action yeast
1 cup blood-warm milk + 1/4 cup as top up
1 beaten egg
125 g butter, softened
300 g marzipan/almond paste (optional)

To finish the baked Stollen:

50 g melted butter 

Vanilla sugar (optional)

Icing sugar for dusting

The night before making the Stollen, soak the dried fruits in liqueur of your choice. For non-alcohol options, earl grey tea, orange juice or even just water would work too. 

Combine flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, sugar, ground almond, diced peels and citrus zests. Stir to combine. Scatter the yeast on top and pour in 1 cup of the blood warm milk. Stir to incorporate the liquid in. Assess the state of hydration and add more liquid in as needed. Finally mix in the beaten egg. The dough is relatively solid but should come together in one piece. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes in a warm place (25-30 C would do).

After 30 minutes, mix the softened butter into the dough. A rubber spatula works well or a rubber gloved hand. When the butter is fully incorporated, cover the dough and let it rest for another 30 minutes. This dough will not rise to twice of its original volume. You know it's ready when the dough looks livened, lightly aerated and feels spongy. At this stage, add in well drained dried fruits and incorporate thoroughly.

Preheat the oven at 180C. 

The final dough is ready for shaping. Portion out the dough for two large stollens or three medium ones. Roll out each piece into an oval shape and fold it back to 2/3 of itself lengthwise. You can insert some marzipan in the middle before folding. The choice is yours.

Place the shaped Stollens on a baking pan. Bake at 180C for 30 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test.

Remove the baked Stollens from the oven and cool to body temperature. Brush the top of each Stollen liberally with melted butter and dust with vanilla sugar if using, followed by icing sugar.

When the Stollens are fully cooled, wrap tightly in baking paper followed by tin foil. Keep in a fridge or a cold/dark place at least for a couple of days before eating. The flavor reaches to its peak when it's a week old. Like with many things in life, good ones are worth waiting for.

It's never too early to think about Christmas.

 

2020 weekly - week 41 (29th week of confinement)

04/10/2020, Sunday

My physio routine this coming week

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A total flop of tweaking my snow skin recipe. I thought by adding more mochi flour would make more chewy skin. But no, quite the opposite in fact. I will stick with my first version then.

05/10/2020, Monday

Exercises done today:

1. Morning physio

2. Park run

    Total running distance: 5200 meters
    Longest non-stopping distance: 2400 + 2400 meters

3. Night IT band exercises

The knee and hip joint pain continue but they seem just slightly less today. Will continue to wear knee brace, heat pad and IT band exercises. 

06/10/2020, Tuesday

Had a super busy day today, including French tonight! 

Exercises done today:

1. Morning physio

2. Park run

    Total running distance: 5200 meters
    Longest non-stopping distance: 2400 + 2400 meters

3. Night IT band exercises

07/10/2020, Wednesday

Exercises done today:

1. Morning physio

2. Park run

    Total running distance: 5200 meters
    Longest non-stopping distance: 2400 + 2400 meters

3. Night IT band exercises

4. Two rounds of walking

Got 5 shots of vaccines today, including the flu one. The nurse told me that my arms may feel sore and yes the one which got three shots are properly sore.

Let's hope not too much other side effect from those jabs.

08/10/2020, Thursday

Exercises done today:

1. Morning physio

2. Park run

    Total running distance: 5600 meters (new record!)
    Longest non-stopping distance: 2800 + 2400 meters

3. Night IT band exercises

Had a great run at the park today. No leg problem at all (knock-on-wood) and I just felt good all the way through so that I did an extra lap. I start to wonder whether the leg problem goes away when I also do my morning session. Well, thank you Body for working with me again.

09/10/2020, Friday

Exercises done today:

1. Morning physio

2. Park run

    Total running distance: 5600 meters
    Longest non-stopping distance: 2800 + 2400 meters

3. Night IT band exercises

10/10/2020, Saturday

Happy Birthday, Taiwan!

I make - Chocolate Fudge

I got a bag of 300 g unsweetened chocolate, the purest form of chocolate. I thought I could just snack on them like that but oh boy pure chocolate liquor is not something easily loved. It's slightly sour and just bitter. I couldn't even finish one pound (£) size  coin button. I googled some recipes to use this up. There is a chocolate truffle recipe which looks interesting but I found another recipe which could use up perhaps one of the oldest food items in the household, a can of condensed milk. This Hot Fudge recipe is easy and only needs four ingredients, if you count the water. As we are getting into hot chocolate season, I can see this jar of fudge sauce very useful in the morning.

Hot Fudge Sauce

1 can of condensed milk (397 g)

1/4 cup water

a rounded 1/2 tsp of Maldon salt

180 g unsweetened chocolate buttons

Combine the sweetened condensed milk, ¼ cup water, and salt in a small saucepan, and set over low heat. Stir until condensed milk melted into water. Add the chocolate and stir to incorporate. Continue to cook, stirring slowly but constantly, just until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is shiny and smooth. At this point, you might want to add more water to loosen things up—add in 1-tablespoon increments until the consistency is sundae-worthy to you.

Serve warm with ice cream (especially vanilla or coffee), frozen yogurt, Greek yogurt, pudding, you name it. Store any leftovers in the fridge.

I make - Smoked Salmon Quiche

It's been a while since we had quiche. Smoked salmon and leek is a classic combination but I like the combo with green onions slightly more. Green onions are stronger in flavor so you won't need as much. I guarantee you a super tasty and quick to prepare quiche.  

I used Phil Vickery's flour blend with fine cornmeal here as I was curious. On the first day, the pastry tasted a bit gritty but not unpleasant. The next day the grittiness disappears further. Because of cornmeal, the pastry turns out joyfully yellow. I don't think this cornmeal blend will be the default flour for baking for me but will have its presence in my kitchen.

Note: I used Phil Vickery's mix twice now for the salmon quiche and the second time there is no grittiness at all. There are a few substitutions I made but that gives me more confidence in using this maize mix more.

Smoked Salmon Quiche

Quiche crust

220 g gluten-free flour (your favorite blend)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
100 g butter in cubes
1 beaten egg

Combine flour, xanthan gum, salt and sugar in a bowl. Mix to combine. Put the butter cubes in the flour mix and cut the butter into flour with a pastry cutter until it looks like bread crumbs. Drizzle in the beaten egg to form a dough. Chill the dough for 30 minutes before rolling out.

Preheat the oven at 180C. Roll out the rested/chilled dough to 0.4 cm. It should be enough for a 23-cm pie pan with scrapes. 

Blind bake the quiche crust at 180C with pie weight on for 15 minutes and another 5 minutes with pie weights removed. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Quiche filling

250 g smoked salmon, torn into pieces
6 green onions, each sliced into 1-in segments
1 tbsp oil
freshly ground black pepper
salt to season

grated cheese of any kind (cheddar, emmental, gruyère or even mozzarella)
3 eggs, 
200 ml whipping or double cream (37~40% fat)

Cook the green onion slices in 1 tbsp of oil until softened. Season with black pepper and salt. Let them cool while you prefer the custard base.

Preheat the oven at 200C. Mix eggs and cream together. Season with black/white pepper if desired.

Scatter some grated cheese on the bottom of the pie crust and lay the cooked green onion slices on the top. Arrange the salmon pieces on top and fill with custard filling. 

Put the quiche on a baking tray and bake in the oven at 200C for 30 minutes or until the custard slightly wobbles when shaking. Cool for 20 minutes before serving. 

I make - Matcha Snow Skin Mooncakes

After my first snow skin mooncake experience, I have been quite motivated to try another flavor and to test another rice flour ratio. My first snow skin recipe calls for three types of flour, glutinous rice, rice and cornstarch. Since most gluten-free flour blend is a mixture of rice flour and potato/tapioca starch. I wonder what would come out if I simply use gluten-free flour blend instead.

Also, although I am happy with my first recipe, I am missing the chew from mochi. Therefore, this time I upped the glutinous rice amount in the flour mix. The dough is softer than my first recipe but still workable. However, I'm sorry to report that increasing the glutinous rice flour does not make the dough more chewy. In fact, it's the opposite. Even after chilling overnight, the dough is flabby. I will stick with my first recipe.

Matcha Snow Skin Mooncakes

You need snow skin dough, your choice of filling (mung bean is shown below) and toasted glutinous rice flour while making the mooncakes.

For Matcha Snow Skin: (for ~15 50g mooncakes)

80 g glutinous (sweet) rice flour
40 g gluten-free flour (your favorite blend)
30 g icing sugar
215 g milk (1.8 x flour)
15 g oil
1 tsp matcha powder

In a non-stick sauce pan, weight in two types of flour, sugar, milk and oil. Stir to dissolve all flour particles until it's smooth. Cover and rest the mixture for 30 minutes.

Put the sauce pan on medium-low heat. Use a rubber spatula to stir the mixture/scrape the pan bottom while heating. The gelatinization process happens quite quickly (3 minutes). Small pieces of paste show up first then bigger ones. Keep folding and mixing until you end up with a single piece. 

Remove the pot off the heat. Scatter the matcha powder on top of the dough and use a rubber spatula to work the matcha powder in. When the dough is not burning hot, switch to a rubber gloved hand to knead the dough until the match powder is evenly distributed. You may slightly oil the glove before kneading but it's optional. Kneading the match powder in after the initial paste is formed gives better matcha flavor and color. Chill the snow skin dough in the fridge for two hours before using.

For Mung bean paste

150 g skinned and split mung beans (aka moong dals)
Water to submerge the mung beans during cooking
70 g sugar
70 g butter
1/8 tsp salt
1~2 tbsp toasted glutinous rice flour

Wash the mung beans with water until the water drains away almost clearly. It may take 3-5 changes of water. Soak the mung beans in fresh water overnight. Next day, drain the mung beans and put them in a non-stick sauce pan. Add water to the pan just enough to submerge the mung beans. Bring the pot to boil and lower the heat to medium-low. Remove the scum for the first 5 minutes. Cover and turn the heat to low and cook until the mung beans are tender. It will take 20-30 minutes depending on the freshness of your beans.

When the mung beans are fully cooked through, remove the pan from the heat and use a stick blender to puree the mung beans. Be careful of the hot mixture. You can further sift the mung bean puree to have a super silky texture but it's optional.

Put the pan pack to the stovetop. Stir in sugar, butter and salt. Mix thoroughly and add in toasted glutinous rice flour. Stir again. On medium heat, cook the puree to reduce the water further. It may take up to 30 minutes to form a paste. The aim is to have a paste which falls from a spoon with a zigzag tear-off pattern. Make sure to stir and scrape the bottom the whole time. Chill the paste in the fridge before using.

To make Mooncakes:

Divide the snow skin dough into chunks of 25 g each*. Same with the bean paste, 25 g each*. Use rubber gloved hands to pat out each dough into a circle. Put the filling in the center of the dough and enclose it completely. Roll the mooncake in toasted glutinous rice flour and repeat the process until all components are used up. 

The snow skin mooncakes keep in the fridge for at least 3 days.

*Note: The amount of wrap per filling is adjustable. The dough is pretty pliable to take a larger amount of filling. I've tried 20 g dough with 30 g filling successfully.

2020 weekly - week 40 (28th week of confinement)

28/09/2020, Monday

My physio routine this coming week

Exercises done today:

1. Morning physio

2. Park run

    Total running distance: 5200 meters
    Longest non-stopping distance: 2000 + 2800 meters

3. Night IT band exercises

Left leg is happier than last Friday. I tried to push a little during the run and the pain was minimal. Well, let's hope that it's on the mend.

29/09/2020, Tuesday

I made snow skin mooncakes today, first mooncake of any kind in my life. If you want it enough, you will make it. Ha.

30/09/2020, Wednesday

Exercises done today:

1. Morning physio

2. Park run

    Total running distance: 5200 meters
    Longest non-stopping distance: 2000 + 2800 meters

3. Night IT band exercises

I got this knee support brace thing which wraps around a knee. I tested it during running. Not sure whether it's psychological but it seems easier today. Well, only time will tell.

01/10/2020, Thursday

Happy Mid-Autumn ! 

Exercises done today:

1. Morning physio

2. Park run

    Total running distance: 4800 meters
    Longest non-stopping distance: 2000 + 2000 meters

3. Night IT band exercises

02/10/2020, Friday

Exercises done today:

1. Morning physio

2. Park run

3. Night IT band exercises

03/10/2020, Saturday

Decided to organize my spice/herb cupboard. Through time evolution, jars have self-organized to a tray of herbs and another of warm spices. Still, after checking the dates, refilling the empty jars and combining some spices on the spot, it took longer than I expected. At least, I have a new spice cupboard to look forward to.

 

I make - Asian Date Rolls

Date filling is a popular option for Mooncakes. Chinese date filling uses jujubes (so called red dates). I used dates from date palm, the most common kind in the west. Its flavor and the texture are both similar to the traditional red date version.

As for pastry, the traditional pastry consists of two parts, the water-oil dough and the oil dough. And you wrap the oil dough inside the water-oil dough and roll out, a bit like puff pastry, Asian style. It's my first time making this and it's easier than I imagine. Gluten-free, of course, in my case and it should work more easily with conventional wheat flour. After this, I am less afraid of Asian puff pastry.

Asian Date Rolls

For date filling:

300 g dates, destoned and roughly chopped
200 g water
50 g honey or golden syrup or sugar

2 tbsps toasted glutinous rice flour (optional)
30 g butter or flavorless vegetable oil
a handful of toasted walnut pieces (optional)

Boil 200 g water in a pot. When the water comes to boil, add in chopped dates and cover. Turn the heat to medium-low and let the dates cook for 10 minutes. After 10  minutes, the dates should all disintegrate into a mush. Remove from the hob. Use a stick blender to blend the mixture. Be careful of the hot mixture.

Return the pot back on the heat. Add in honey (or your sugar of choice), stir and add the toasted glutinous rice flour followed by the butter/oil. Although rice flour is optional, it makes the date paste easier to work with later. Turn the heat to low and stir the mixture until most of the moisture evaporates. When the paste drops down the spoon with zigzag breakage, it's ready. Chill the date paste in the fridge.

Just before using, stir in walnut pieces. You can go with plain date paste, if you prefer.

For the Asian puff pastry:

Oil-water dough:

150 g gluten-free flour (your favorite blend)
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
20 g powder sugar
45 g butter (30% of flour)
30-60 g water (up to 40% of flour)*

In a large bowl, combine flour, xanthan gum, sugar and butter. Cut the butter into flour mixture until it looks like bread crumbs. Drizzle water to the flour mixture to form a dough. Squeeze the dough with your gloved hand as you go. The water amount may vary greatly. Start with the small specified amount and add drops gradually if the dough is too crumbly. Aim for soft but not sticky dough. Cover the dough in clingfilm and rest in the fridge while you prepare the oil dough.

Oil dough:

120 g gluten-free flour (your favorite blend)
60 g butter

In another bowl cut the butter into flour. Work the dough with your hand to form a dough. You may need a drop or two of water to form a dough. When oil dough is formed in a cohesive mass, cover in cling film.

To make the final Asian puff pastry, wrap the oil dough with water-oil dough. Some start with ball shape, some with rectangular. Your choice, as long as you can cover the oil dough completely with the water-oil dough. 

Preheat the oven at 200 C.

Lay a large piece of cling film on the work top, put the pastry dough on and cover with another piece of cling film. Roll out to an oval or rectangular shape. Fold in thirds, (left unto the middle third and under the right, for instance). Turn the dough 90 degrees and roll out again. Repeat this process a couple of time. Chill the dough when it gets sticky.

Roll out the pastry dough into a rectangular shape on a cling film, shape the date filling like a sausage (oiled hands help) and place on the bottom third of the pastry. Use the underneath cling film to help form a roll. It's like making a sausage roll. Slice into smaller chunks with a sharp knife. Wipe clean the knife when necessary as some date paste may get onto the knife. Brush the top with some beaten egg yolk. Bake at 200C for 20-22 minutes. Cool to room temperature before eating. 

I make - Snow Skin Mooncakes

First time making Mooncakes. The "snow skin" is not the traditional crust for mooncakes. I chose it because it doesn't require oven and also it's naturally gluten free. The dough turned out to be quite stretchy so I didn't suffer too much when shaping the mooncakes up. The dough came from The Woks of Life. In the original recipe, it calls for Wheat Starch which is wheat flour with gluten removed. The purpose of wheat starch is to add some transparency to the dough. I used cornstarch which worked well for me. I think potato starch should work too. Overall, I like the result very much so I decided to keep it here. 

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival

Snow Skin Mooncakes

Ingredients for sixteen 50g mooncakes

60 g granulated sugar

215 g whole milk
20 g vegetable oil
50 g glutinous (sweet) rice flour (plus 25g extra for toasting and dusting)
35 g rice flour
35 g cornstarch or potato starch
400 g filling of your choice (I used skinned mung bean paste)

Instructions

Prepare your choice of filling a day in advance and keep it refrigerated.

To make dough:

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, milk, and oil. Sift in 50g glutinous (sweet) rice flour, 35g rice flour, and 35g wheat starch/cornstarch. Stir and mix well until there are no lumps. 

Pour the dough mixture into a heat-proof bowl that will fit in your steamer. Cover the mixture, and let it rest on the counter for 30 minutes. Strain the mixture before steaming.

Prepare a steamer by filling it with enough water to steam on high heat for 25 minutes. Place the rested dough (still in the heatproof bowl) into your steamer while the water in the steamer is still cold. Wrap the container tightly with tinfoil to protect the dough from condensation. 

Place the steamer over high heat, cover, and steam for 25 minutes. The dough is cooked once it has turned from fully opaque to fully translucent. A little oil floating to the top is normal. If the dough is not completely cooked through, just put the tinfoil back on and steam for another 5 minutes over high heat.

Once the dough is done cooking, carefully stir it to gradually cool it down. Once cool enough to handle, put on your food prep gloves, and knead the dough for a few minutes to ensure the oil is well absorbed and the dough is smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

Toast the remaining 25g glutinous (sweet) rice flour in a clean, dry pan over medium low heat for 6-7 minutes, until it turns very lightly brown. Stir often to avoid burning, and set aside to cool completely. You’ll use this flour for dusting.

To assemble:

You should have about 400g of dough. The ideal dough to filling ratio is about 1:1. For a 50g mooncake mold, you’ll need 25g dough and 25g filling. Put on your food prep gloves, and weigh/divide the filling into portions that correspond to the size of your mooncake mold. Roll each portion of filling into a ball. Repeat the same step with the dough after chilling. A plastic dough cutter works well (it doesn’t stick to the dough), or you can just rip the dough apart with your gloved hands. The dough should be pliable and very easy to work with.

Lay a piece of clear plastic wrap on your work surface to prevent sticking. Take each dough ball, and press it into a round disc with your palm. For a 50g mooncake, the circle should be no bigger than 3 inches (7.5 cm) in diameter. For a 100g mooncake, the skin should be no bigger than 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter. If you’d like to use a rolling pin, the dough must be between two layers of plastic wrap to avoid sticking.

Place a ball of filling in the center of the dough circle, and carefully lift the whole thing up and turn it upside down. Gently press out the air bubbles around the filling ball.

Turn the opening face up, and slowly press the dough together to close the opening, keeping the dough as even as possible all around.

If you don't have a mooncake mold, coat each mooncake with some toasted rice flour and just roll them to any shape you desire. I made them round in the photos.

If you have a mooncake mold: 

Dust the inside of the mooncake mold VERY well by brushing all the nooks and crannies with the cooked glutinous rice flour (AKA sweet rice flour). Mooncake molds have intricate designs where dough can get stuck, so it pays to make sure it’s well-floured. Shake off any excess flour, and carefully place the ball inside the mold. Do not force it in. If necessary, re-shape the mooncake ball so it can easily fit into the mold.

Flip the mooncake mold so the open side is facing down on the plastic wrap work surface. With slight pressure, gently press down the spring bar on the mold until you feel resistance. Lift the mold, gently press the spring bar (to push the mooncake out of the mold), and carefully guide (and catch) the mooncake out of the mold with your other hand. Continue this process until all the mooncakes are assembled.

Notes

Store in an airtight container, lined with clear plastic wrap to prevent sticking. Chilling them in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving is best—the mochi will be nice and chewy!

Eat these within 3-4 days for best taste, or within 1 week at most.