High Fidelity

Orange fairy cupcakes

I have been baking cupcakes at home last month instead of paying for them at the shops. Cupcakes are quick and fun to make especially if you have a mixer at home. This recipe makes nice buttery cupcakes with orange flavour. Bake a big batch of them then you will have enough desserts to last a whole week (well, almost).

Makes 6 muffin size cupcakes or 15 small cupcakes:

• 115g butter, softened to room temperate
• 112g caster sugar
• half teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, light beaten
• 220g self-raising flour, sifted
• 145ml milk
• zests from 2 oranges (wax-free oranges)
• 3/4 cup thickened cream
• 1 teaspoon icing sugar
• some marmalade

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degree Celsius. Line the muffin pan with cupcake cases (optional, I didn't use them but only buttered the pan lightly to prevent sticking).

2. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Add the orange zests and gradually beat in eggs. Beat thoroughly.

3. Add half the flour and half the milk. Stir slowly by a rubber spatula. Repeat with remaining flour and milk and mix them with the rubber spatula. Then beat with the mixer for just a few seconds to thoroughly combine the ingredients but do not overbeat the mixture.

3. Divide the mixture evenly into the muffin pan. Bake for 15-25 minutes, depending on what size your cupcakes are. The cupcakes are ready when a knife or skewer inserted into the centre of a cake comes out clean.

4. Cool the cakes before cutting and filling. Use a sharp pairing knife, hold it at a downward angle and cut a round cap from the top of each cupcake.

5. Whip the cream with icing sugar until thick. Place some whipped cream in each cake. Spread some marmalade on the round caps before putting them on top of the cream on each cake.

6. Store leftover cakes in airtight container in the fridge.

Crêpes Suzette

Flambéeing crêpes suzette, originally uploaded by yongtze.

Crêpes Suzette is a typical French dessert but I haven't seen it in any restaurant that I have been to. This is a recipe from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I really like the intense orange flavour of it. If you prepare the crêpes and the orange butter ahead, it is easy and fast to finish this classic dessert. Practise the folding and flaming of the crêpes until you become good at it had you wished to perform this dish in public.


For 15 to 18 crêpes 4 to 5 inches in diameter:

- 3/4 cup milk
- 3/4 cup cold water
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
- 3 tablespoons orange liqueur (I used Grand Marnier)
- 1 cup flour
- 5 tablespoons melted butter

1. Place the ingredients in the blender jar in the order in which they are listed. Cover and blend at top speed until well mixed and the batter is smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

2. Brush the skillet with oil. Heat the pan over moderately high heat until it begins to smoke. Immediately remove from heat, pour in a 1/4 cup of batter into the middle of the pan. Quickly tilt the pan in all direction to run the batter all over the bottom of the pan in a thin film.

3. Return the pan to heat for 20-30 seconds. Once the under side in a nice light brown, turn the crêpe and brown lightly for about 15-20 seconds on the other side. As doen, slide the crêpe onto a wire rack and let cool several minutes before stacking them on a plate. Grease the skillet again and proceed with the rest of the crêpes. You can keep the crêpes warm by covering them with a dish and seeting them over simmering water. Crêpes also freeze perfectly.


For the orange butter (6 serves):

- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 2 bright-skinned oranges, wax-free
- 200 grams unsalted butter
- 1/2 to 2/3 cup strained orange juice
- 3 tablespoons orange liqueur

1. Peel the skin of the orange (only the orange part) and place them together with the sugar in a food processor. Process until the orange zest and sugar are finely blended. Cut the butter into small pieces, and add into the processor and process until smooth and almost fluffy.

2. Then, cream in the orange juice and the orange liqueur by droplets. Add a bit more orange juice if the muxture still remain creamy. Cover and refrigerate.


To finish off:

- 18 cooked crêpes
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
- 1/3 cup orange liqueur
- 1/3 cup cognac

1. Place the orange butter in a large skillet set over low-moderate heat (or you can use a chafing dish set over an alcohol flame shoud you wish to perform this in public). Heat the butter until it is bubbling.

2. Dip both sides of a crêpe in the butter. Fold it in half and in half again, to form a wedge. Place it at the edge of the pan. Rapidly continue with the rest of the crêpes until all have been dipped, folded and arranged.

3. Sprinkle the crêpes with the sugar. Pour over them the orange liqueur and cognac. Avert your face and ignite the liqueur with a lighted match or a lighter. Shake the pan gently back and forth while spooning the flaming liqueur over the crêpes until the fire dies down. Serve.

Banana sticky toffee pudding

Banana sticky toffee pudding, originally uploaded by yongtze.

I saw this recipe from Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Heaven and thought it would be nice for winter - moist, warm dessert with banana.

I did not have soft brown sugar so I substituted it with raw sugar. Also, I did not follow the recipe for the sauce because I did not have double cream at home. Instead I make a simple butter-caramel sauce. Fortunately it still turns out to be quite delicious.

Serves 4-6:

• 170g unsalted butter
• 180g soft brown sugar
• 2 small eggs
• 180g plain flour
• 12g baking powder
• 200g chopped banana

For the sauce:

• 250g soft brown sugar
• 140ml double cream
• 65g unsalted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius. Cream butter and sugar together. Then beat in eggs and fold in flour and baking powder. Mix in chopped bananas to the mixture.

2. Grease 6 moulds and sprinkle caster sugar at the bottom and sides (I did not have so many moulds so I used a small bread tin and increased the baking time a bit). Divide the mixture into the moulds and bake for 10 minutes.

3. Turn down the heat to 150 degree Celsius and continue to bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

4. When the pudding is almost done, place sugar, cream and butter in a pan and bring to boil. When all sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and pour it over the baked pudding to serve.

Crème caramel

Crème caramel, originally uploaded by yongtze.

I have to say I am a crème caramel man. Crème brûlée might be fancier but crème caramel with its sweet smooth caramel and silky soft custard is always irresistible to me. The recipe is from Gerard Depardieu's 'My Cookbook', which he developed together with his head chef, Laurent Audiot.

Serves 4:

• 15g butter
• 500g milk
• 2 vanilla pods (I used 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence)
• 4 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 50g sugar

For the caramel

• 2 Tablespoons water
• 10 sugar cubes (I used 10 teaspoons of caster sugar)

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degree Celcius. Grease 4 ramekins with the butter.

2. For the caramel: Boil water with the sugar in a thick-bottomed saucepan until it forms a pale golden caramel. Divide the caramel between the ramekins, tilting them in all directions to coat the base and sides. Leave to cool.

3. Heat the milk gently with the vanilla pods, split in half, in a large saucepan, simmering for 5 minutes. Remove the vanilla pods, scrape out the seeds and add them to the milk.

4. Beat the whole eggs, the extra yolk and the sugar in a large bowl until white and frothy, then pour in the heated milk in a thin stream, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. When the mixture is combined, strain through a fine sieve and pour it into the ramekins.

5. Prepare a bain-marie by filling a deep roasting tin two-thirds full with boiling water and setting ramekins in it. Bake in the hot oven for about 20 minutes.

6. Remove the ramekins from the oven while the custards are still slightly wobbly in the centre and leave them to just warm or completely cold. Serve them in the ramekins or turn them out onto individual serving plates, like this:

Crème caramel, originally uploaded by yongtze.

Yorkshire pudding

Yorkshire pudding, originally uploaded by yongtze.

I have been wanting to make Yorkshire pudding since the weather turned cold. This was my first attempt as you can see from the picture two out of three rose beautifully but the one at the back did not rise as high. I can't figure out why, probably the porcelain ramekin wasn't heated up hot enough.

The exterior is crispy and the interior is surprisingly soft and light - a nice contrast of texture. We had these puddings with roast chicken, they are great to soak up the gravy. If not, you can eat them as dessert too, just pour over some honey, golden syrup or even better is the home-made honey butter caramel sauce I just made a few days ago.

Traditionally beef dripping is used for Yorkshire pudding but I used peanut oil. I guess unless you are eating it with roast beef otherwise any oil with high smoking point will do.

Below is an adapted Brian Turner's recipe from Recipezaar, everything is measured by volume and conveniently they are all of the same volume. This makes adjusting serving size a no-brainer.

Makes 6 puddings:

• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 cup egg
• 1 cup milk
• half teaspoon of salt

1. Preheat the oven to hot 230 degree C. Put a teaspoon of oil in each of several muffin ramekins and place them in the oven until the oil is very hot and begins to smoke. Meanwhile combine the rest of the ingredients and beat to form a batter of the consistency of double cream. Leave it to rest.

2. Before adding the batter into the ramekins, beat again for about 10 seconds. When the oil is smoking, quickly add the batter into the ramekins. Fill each ramekin to about half or two-thirds full, do not over fill because the puddings will rise and puff up.

3. Bake for about 18-20 minutes by which time they will be puffed up and crisp.

Orange soufflé

Orange soufflé, originally uploaded by yongtze.

It's always a magical moment to see a soufflé puffing up in the oven! Light and fluffy but full of orange flavour - This orange soufflé is easier to make than it seems.

Makes 2 soufflé

• 1 orange
• 170ml orange juice
• 100g sugar
• 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
• 2 egg whites

For the orange strawberry sauce

• 120g strawberries
• 1 teaspoon Grand Marnier
• 2 teaspoons sugar

1. Section the orange, leaving only the juicy part - no seeds, skin, white pith, and membranes. In a medium saucepan, heat the orange juice and two thirds of the sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Add the sectioned orange, simmer for about 5 minutes. Leave it to cool for a bit.

2. Measure 45ml of the orange juice mixture and put it in a food processor to blend - this forms the base of the soufflé. Work in the Grand Marnier. Return the orange juice mixture to the saucepan.

3. For the orange strawberry sauce, hull the strawberries. Purée them in a food processor with the Grand Mariner, sugar, and 1 tablespoons of the reserved orange juice. Chill for serving.

4. Heat the oven to 200 degree C. Butter two ramekins (250ml each) generously and chill them for 10 minutes in the freezer. And butter them again. Set them on a baking sheet.

5. Whip th egg whites with a teaspoon of the remaining sugar until the whites hold a stiff peak. Add remaining sugar and stir with a spoon until the whites are glossy and form a long peak when the spoon is lifted.

6. Heat the orange juice mixture until the edges start to bubble. Take it off the heat and add a quarter of the egg whites, stirring until well mixed. Add this mixture to the remaining whites and fold together as lightly as possible.

7. Transfer the mixture to the ramekins, filling them to the rim and run your thumb around edge of the mixture to detach it from the ramekin so it rises in a "hat". Bake the soufflé until puffed and brown, about 12 - 15 minutes.

8. Once done, rush the soufflés to the table because they will start collapsing once out of the oven. Poke a hole in the centre and pour in some cold orange strawberry sauce to serve.

Recipe adapted from Anne Willan's "A Kitchen in Burgundy".

Cherry clafoutis

cherry clafoutis, originally uploaded by yongtze.

This is such an easy dessert to make and yet it looks so wonderful and impressive. It is traditional in the Limousin during the cherry season and is peasant cooking for family meals.

A pancake-like batter poured over fruit in a fireproof dish, then baked in the oven. Eat it when it's still warm.

Serves 1/2:

- 1 cup of fresh cherries
- about 120ml of full cream milk
- 2.5 tablespoons sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- small pinch of salt
- 2.5 tablespoons flour
- unsalted butter to butter the dish

1. Place all the ingredients except cherries and butter in your blender jar. Cover and blend at top speed for 1 minute for the batter.

2. Use unsalted butter to butter the dish. Spread the cherries at the bottom of the dish. Pour on the batter over the cherries.

3. Place in a preheated oven of 180 degree Celsius and bake for about 17 minutes. The clafouti is done when it has puffed and browned, and a knife plunged into its center comes out clean.

4. Sprinkle top of the clafouti with icing sugar just before bringing it to the table.

Homemade green tea ice cream

Homemade green tea ice cream, originally uploaded by yongtze.

We have been looking for nice green tea ice cream in town but often disappointed. I want something that is creamy but still has the subtle taste of green tea and not too sweet. So I decided to make my own green tea ice cream.

My approach is to use the traditional method for making vanilla ice cream to obtain the texture and creaminess that I want. But instead of vanilla bean, green tea powder dissolved in hot water is used to flavour the egg custard.

Serves 2

- 300ml whole milk
- 300ml cream
- 3 egg yolk
- 5 tablespoons caster sugar
- 1.5 tablespoons green tea powder

1. Whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar until pale and foamy, it should take about 3 minutes using an electric beater.

2. Dissolve 1.5 tablespoons of green tea powder in 4 tablespoons of hot water. Stir well to mix. Set aside.

3. Put the cream and milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring the mixture to a low simmer over medium heat, then remove from heat. Let the mixture cool down a bit. Then whisk the milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture teaspoon by teaspoon, not to cook the egg. Then pour the remaining cream mixture into the egg mixture slowly, and whisking constantly.

4. Return the mixture to a clean saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the custard thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not allow it to boil or even simmer.

5. Strain the mixture into a shallow container. Stir the green tea liquid into the custard and blend well. Sed aside to cool, then refrigerate until chilled.

6. Transfer the custard to the freezer. When the edges begin to freeze, whisk vigorously, then return to the freeze until partially frozen. Whisk again, then return to the freezer. When the custard is just frozen, whisk again. Repeat once more, or until the custard is smooth, thick and free of ice crystals. Freeze overnight. Use with 3 days.

Dulce de Leche

Dulce de Leche, originally uploaded by yongtze.

After seeing this from Pim's blog, I can't wait to try to make this sweet, creamy-caramelised milk syrup from Latin America. The result is YUMMY, even my Brazilian flatmate Luiz agreed.

It is really just a simple mix of milk and sugar, cooked until the Maillard reaction works its magic. Do it when you have too much milk. Keep it tightly cover and in the fridge it will keep for a long time, how long exactly I'm not sure - it is made as a form of preservation for dairy in hot climates so I reckon it should last long enough before you finish it.

You can use it to make cakes, cookies and ice cream, flavour coffee, spread on toast, or even just eat it on its own when you are craving for something sweet and creamy.

Makes about one and a half cup

- 1L milk
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1. In a large, heavy pan with tall sides, combine all the ingredients. If using vanilla bean, split the vanilla bean along its length and scrape the seeds into the pot, then throw in the pod. Bring to a gentle boil while whisking constantly, then lower the heat to the lowest setting.

2. Simmer for about 1.5 to 2.5 hours, depending on how dense and thick you want it to be, stirring once in a while.

Brutti ma buoni

Brutti ma buoni, originally uploaded by yongtze.

Literally meaning 'Ugly but good', this is one of the classic Italian cookies. Even though they don't look very inviting, but they are sure delicious, if you like almond. A perfect after-dinner treat to be accompanied by coffee.

Makes about 18

- 1 cup almonds, toasted
- half cup plus 1 tablespoon caster sugar
- 2 egg whites
- dash of cinnamon

1. Finely chop the almonds with 1 tablespoon of sugar in a food processor. Beat the egg whites until soft peak forms. Beat in the remaining sugar and beat until stiff peak forms.

2. Gently fold in the almonds and cinnamon into the beaten egg whites. Cook this mixture over very low heat, stirring continuously , until it comes away from the sides of the saucepan. Set aside for a few minutes.

3. Place heaped teaspoonfuls of the mixture on a baking paper. Allow room for expanding of the cookies. Bake in a preheated oven at about 150 degrees Celsius for 35 minutes. Serve cold.

Also try using toasted hazelnuts instead of almonds. Or adding 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder to the mixture.