Rosemary, Currants & Browned Butter Bread Loaf

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breads, breakfast, citrus, rosemary

Decided, on a whim, to make bread. That was until I discovered that there wasn’t any more yeast left! So I went with an Irish soda bread (Okay, inspired by masterchef again) and tweaked the flavours a whole lot. Here’s a combination of sweet and savoury – rosemary infused into the browned butter, or beurre noisette, with it nuttiness and richness. The loaf was brightened with citrus notes from the orange zest and the currants gave it little pockets of sweetness. Finally, a little black pepper and sea salt to round off.

I like that the loaf wasn’t too heavy or fluffy with an almost-perfect slightly chewy texture, thanks to the whole wheat flour. This particular one must be toasted before eating. Lightly golden, crisp just around the edges and oh the difference it makes to the flavour! The combination of rosemary, black pepper, citrus and currants is magical. Now let me rave about the wonders of browned butter – it’s so freakin’ amazing. Sure, it requires some extra effort to make and careful attention to prevent it from becoming all burnt and bitter. But it is soo soo worth it! The depth and nuttiness, makes everything taste better. The loaf was gone so quickly that I had to make a ‘cake version’ the following night to take to school, as promised. 

Brunch: Creamy Scrambled Eggs & Smoked Salmon

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breakfast, brunch, cooking, eggs, recipes, savoury

A slow, leisurely brunch on weekend is just the perfect foil to a hectic week. No manic rush to get ready, no endless traffic jams, no stress. As much as I love exploring local cafes and restaurants offering all-day breakfast (which seems to be the most popular thing, since the ubiquitous molten lava cake), DIY is twice as fun. Well, maybe not. But here is a confession: I am addicted to the new season of Masterchef US. Inspired and ravenous, I woke up bright and early.. .which actually means 10.30 am… to cook brunch for the family whilst still in my PJs. Creamy scrambled eggs atop home-made waffles, smoked salmon and a side of salad. Woah, it wasn’t easy. Washed and prep-ed my salad, then whisked together the waffle batter. Had 2 pans in the wet kitchen and the waffle iron at the island going all at once. Thank goodness for the dishwasher!

The highlight of the day was definitely the scrambled eggs. Creamy, sexy and oh-so-luscious. Not overly cloying or buttery. Simply seasoned with a little sea sat + freshly cracked black pepper. I borrowed tips/techniques from everywhere: gordon ramsey, bill granger, nigel slater, etc. Oh, and i used milk, a cardinal sin in the culinary world. But really, who wants to eat a pound butter AND heavy cream first thing in the morning? Nope, I didn’t want to send my family straight to obesity/heart disease zone so here’s how I made brunch. 

Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

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baked, breakfast, cake, cinnamon, coffee, recipes

Cake for breakfast? Well, yes. I love cinnamon-anything. Put them together and I’m a happy camper. Crunchy, crumbly sweet topping covers the top of the fluffy and moist cake, with more swirls of cinnamon within. A slice served alongside some yogurt and fresh berries is (one of of my many ideas of) breakfast nirvana. This is also great for tea time or a snack whenever a craving creeps up on you. I’ve made this cake countless times and it has since become a family favourite!
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Edit: The last week or so, was crazy — throw together 2 presentations, law musical, SUNIG netball matches and rounding it all of with a quiz and 2 midterm exams. Woah. That pretty much explains the short hiatus from this space and the fact that I’ve had no time at all, let alone bake. Thankfully, I’ve got a few back-up recipes and here’s one which was made early last year. Enjoy!

Fruit & Nut Granola

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baked, breakfast, granola, nuts, recipe

Breakfast is definitely the meal I cannot go without, no matter how late I eventually crawl out from underneath the covers. Hooray for all-day breakfast!! Since the semester has began, (with that comes the mad rush to get to uni on time) my to-go breakfast has been granola + yogurt and a cup of coffee. As much as pre-packaged cereals (my fav has got to be the Sweet Home Farm granola) are convenient and so darn tasty, nothing beats an organic home-made batch with only the things you love!

Easy, I promise this is possibly the simplest recipe here. Organic rolled oats, sunflower seed kernels, macadamias, walnuts and sesame are measured out. Combine some organic molasses cane sugar, maple syrup, olive oil, honey and a little water over the stove until it becomes smooth. Mix in a generous tablespoon each of pure vanilla and cinnamon, with a pinch of sea salt. Stir everything together to coat the oats and nuts evenly. Spread evenly on a baking pan and baked at 160C til they all turn golden brown, crunchy and delicious (: Finally, toss in the organic raisins and dried cranberries. I like have mine with yogurt and sliced bananas on top, enjoy!

Cinnamon Rolls

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baked, breads, breakfast, buns, cinnamon, healthy, recipes, rolls, yeast

Those swirls of tender, pillowy soft rolls with ooey-gooey swirls of cinnamon-sugar, walnuts and raisins. Pulling apart fluffy layers dripping with caramelised goodness. Who needs therapy when you’ve got them? After having one-too-many cinnamon rolls/sticky buns from bakeshops around, I was convinced that these golden brown deliciousness can never enjoyed as often as I would like, without bursting a coronary or even a button for that matter.

Instead of unknowingly shovelling an insane amount of butter, white refined sugar, bleached flours into our mouths (Cinnabon, i’m looking at you!), I decided to make my own.

First, was to work out a recipe that would produce soft, fluffy base without being laden with fat or filled with weird food additive (like bread improvers, softeners, etc.. wth, really?) A tablespoon of fresh orange zest added a little extra something to the dough. Then, for the filling: cutting down the unnecessarily large proportion of butter. (Side note: an obscene amount of butter in a recipe seems to give most people an assurance that it would turn out ah-mazingly good. So wrong!!). To up the flavour quotient, I finally settled on a mix of spices + good french butter + dark brown muscovado sugar. Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and a little black pepper. Unorthodox, but it works. Lightly toasting the walnuts and pecans greatly enhances their nutty aroma. Oh, then there are rum-soaked raisins. I also skipped the signature cream cheese icing – no way was I going to douse all those rich, warm, earthy flavours with a blanket of sweet frosting. After a number of tweaks and alteration to my recipe, here it is — Cinnamon rolls/buns (my way)

Blueberry Crumble Muffins

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baked, blueberry, breakfast, fruit, muffins, recipes

Blueberry crumble in a muffin. Heaps of crunchy, buttery crumble topping over the fluffy and moist interior studded with blueberries. ‘Nuff said!

// Edit: this is dedicated to my friend Vee (and her obsession with blue coloured food). Blue Velvet Cupcakes? Yeaap next on my to-bake list! Now, I just need to remember to pick up some gel food colours soon (:

Almond Oatmeal Muffins

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almonds, baked, breakfast, diet, healthy, muffins, nuts, oat, organic, recipes, snack

This summer break has been filled with dinner gatherings, lunch dates and brunches with good food and great company. Not that anybody’s complaining! I love exploring new restaurants and cafes in Singapore. At this rate, I would scarcely be able to fit into my clothes by the time the school term rolls around. So, I’ve been alternating between hitting the gym and zumba (in the privacy of my own home, of course). Brimming with rolled oats, flax, almonds and yogurt, these are the perfect pick-me-up after a good workout or to fuel up before one. Sometimes, I’ll mix it up by adding some currants or dried cranberries. One thing for sure, they are nothing near those fluffy and sweet bakery-style muffins which we’re all fond of. Well, these oatmeal muffins really do taste healthy, are barely sweet with a slight nuttiness. I like them toasted, with a smear of nut butter or some honey — these can also be made in advance and frozen for a quick breakfast on the go!

Mango Pancakes

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breakfast, fruit, mango, pancake, recipes, summer, tropical

Breakfast. Hands down, my favourite meal of the day. Especially a slow, leisurely breakfast on weekends with a freshly brewed cuppa. Soft, fluffy pancake stack topped with chunks of juicy, sweet Alphonso mangoes, bananas and strawberries. Now, these are not my usual buttermilk pancakes with the addition of rye flour and oats. Seeing that there was a couple of over-ripe mangoes languishing in the fridge, I decided to make the best out of them. Sometimes, I also like to let the pancakes develop a deeper-brown hue to get that delicious smoky, caramelised flavour. 

Triple Chocolate Muffins

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breakfast, chocolate, food, healthy, muffins, recipes, wholegrain

These are the perfect excuse to have chocolate for breakfast, and not feel guilty after. Wholewheat flour, olive oil, flax seeds and good dark chocolate surely can’t be bad for you! Then there’s the whole age old debate between cupcakes vs. muffins. Are muffins just unfrosted/naked/ugly or cupcakes? Looks it is settled on cupcakes being miniature cakes + frosting on top, while muffins are decidedly healthier ‘quick breads’. I made these Triple Chocolate Muffins (i repeat, chocolate is full of anti-oxidants so they are definitely be good for you) some time back, at the request of my sister. Chocolaty, fluffy and oh-so-good, especially the crunchy, chocolate-studded tops that emerge from the paper wrappers. Or what they call, muffin tops. Eww. Okay, let’s not go there now.

Artisan Boule

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baked, bread, breakfast, food, healthy, recipe, yeast

The idea of bread making has always been intimidating. I’ve played around with yeasted baked goods like doughnuts, cinnamon rolls and pretzels but never the real crusty breads since we usually buy them from speciality bakeries. It was not until I came across a book by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François which promised artisan breads in less than 5 minutes a day (remember the no-knead bread craze?) As crazy as it may sound, it did work! After mixing the starter and an overnight rest in the fridge, all it took was about 5 minutes to form and shape the loaf before a second rise.

Finally, the taste test! As the loaf cooled, there was a crackling sound which guaranteed a crisp and chewy crust. Thanks to the high-moisture dough and slow overnight fermentation, the interior was airy, chewy and holey. Flavour-wise, there was a faint sourdough flavour which I hoped had been more intense. The mix of wholegrain and bread flour gave it a pleasant nutty taste too! Nonetheless, it was really satisfying to be able to make your own bread, especially one that looks way more complicated that it really is.