Sweets and Pastries

Sweets and Pastries

Very Berry Tiramisu

I always been wanting to try this when I saw a video in China selling different flavours of tiramisu, and one of it was berry tiramisu. I was very excited and told myself that I should make this too, because I knew I would like it since I am a big fan of berries. My kids are not into coffee so this type of tiramisu is something they would love for sure, and they did! =)

I will share the steps and ingredients so you can try to make yours in whatever size you fancy. Since I have different small size containers, I made a couple of these, to be gifted some and consumed within 2-3 days. Feel free to half the recipe if you think this is too much for you =)

Ingredients

Strawberry Syrup

500g strawberry
95g sugar
1 tbs lemon juice

Method (strawberry syrup)

Use a blender and blend everything until it resembles a smoothie
Pour it into a saucepan, cook the strawberry syrup at medium high heat. Foam will begin to form when boiling. To prevent it from overflowing, take it on and off the heat. Take note to continue stirring to prevent the bottom from burning. As it boils longer, the foam will subside and you would be able to stir it in well with the strawberry syrup. Let it boil til the mixture thicken and reduce to about a half. Set aside and let it cool, while you are preparing the other ingredients

Mascarpone Cream

16g leaf gelatine soaked in 100g cold water once soften pop into the microwave for a couple of seconds to dissolve. Stir and set aside
500g mascarpone
4 pasteurised egg yolk
80g sugar
400g whipping cream + 40g sugar

Method

Take out the mascarpone and transfer it to a bowl, use a spatula to smash it to soften it a bit. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, using a mixer, beat the egg yolk with sugar until the mixture is pale yellow, and thick.
Add in the mascarpone at medium speed, mix well to combine, set aside.
In a separate bowl, beat the whipping cream and sugar until soft peak. Add in the mascarpone mixture. Beat at low speed to combine all.
Slowly drizzle the liquified gelatine while beating the mixture at medium speed. Mix until well combine then transfer it to a piping bag.

Others

2 packs of lady finger
125g blue berries
500g yoghurt drink (mixed berry flavour), pour onto a dish
square or rectangular container / dish
extra 300g strawberries (chopped)

Assembly

Dip the lady finger into the yoghurt drink , dip both sides, just a quick dunk.
Place it on your container . Do this for the first layer
Brush the top lightly with strawberry syrup
Pipe the cream mixture on top and spread it evenly
Do another layer of lady finger same as above step
Brush the top lightly with strawberry syrup
Pipe the cream mixture on top and spread it evenly
Pour the strawberry syrup on top , use the spatula to spread
Chill it at least overnight
Next day, scatter the chopped strawberries and blueberries on top. Serve.

Striped Red Bean Buns

These are very soft and fluffy buns. Perfect to go with your favourite warm beverages. The buns are stuffed with sweet red bean filling – a classic Chinese filling that can be commonly seen in many steamed buns and Chinese pastries. I have some leftover red bean paste in the chiller, so I decided to make these for our breakfast. My kids absolutely love them!

Ingredients

400g bread flour
6g instant active yeast(high sugar)
40g white sugar
60g beaten egg
40g condensed milk
220g milk
35g butter (cube)
6g salt

Filling

350g red bean paste (I bought mine from Phoon Huat), divide into 10 balls weighing 35g each. cover and set aside.

Other

28cm x 28 cm lined with non stick baking sheet
1 whole beaten egg + 1 tbs water (mix well for egg wash)
some white sesame seeds

Method

Preheat the oven at 160 degree celsius
Lay the baking paper on the tray
Add all the bread flour, yeast and sugar into the mixer followed by the wet ingredients (eggs , milk and condensed milk)
Use a J hook to knead the dough at low speed. Knead until dough is formed
Add in the butter and knead for about 2 minutes at speed 2 ( low speed)
Add in the salt and continue to knead at speed 2. Knead until you reach window pane stage. This will take about 15-17 minutes depending on your machine. I am using Kenwood ChefXL titanium. The window pane stage is essential (refer to picture below)
Remove from the mixer, cover the dough and let it rest for 5 minutes. Please refrain from adding more flour unless it is way too sticky for you to handle. Initially the dough would be somewhat tacky but not way too sticky to handle, I didn’t need to add any flour at all on my end.
Divide the dough into 10 balls . Wrap the filling inside the dough and roll it into a ball. Do the same for the rest of the dough. Cover and let it rest for 15-20 minutes
Flatten the dough using your palm. Then roll it out into elongated shape, like a cow’s tongue. See photo below.
make 7 slits like the photo shown below
flip the dough to the other side , the slits will be at the back and bottom part, thin out the bottom part by pressing it in downward motion. then start rolling from the top . As shown on the photo below. Lay it on the tray . Do the same for the rest of the dough. Make sure to leave some spaces in between the dough to expand nicely. See photo below. Cover and let it proof til the size becomes double. This should take about 45 mins to an hour . The timing is just a guideline. This may take longer or shorter depending on your environment.
Brush with egg wash and sprinkle some white sesame seeds
Bake for 23-25 minutes.
Let it cool down for 15 minutes before transferring it on the wire rack