Scottish Treats

I have been a shortbread fanatic ever since I was a kid. I remember vividly the boxes of Walkers shortbread that always came in festive hampers in Singapore. Usually, I find that the contents of these gift hampers usually leave much to be desired but Walkers shortbread, for me, was the exception. These were what I would always plead with my parents to open the hamper for.

Interestingly enough then, since I started baking heavily, I have never attempted to make my own shortbread. No real reason, I suppose, other than the fact that there are just too many recipes to choose from. Having recently been on a short trip to Edinburgh, where I had a fantastic shortbread at the Edinburgh castle, I was inspired to finally attempt my own.

Comparing the various recipes that I found in my books, I finally settled on this one from Tartine which uses cornstarch to make the shortbread very tender. Other recipes that I saw either omitted this or used rice flour instead of cornstarch.

The two main things that concerned me about making the shortbread were excessive spreading of the cookie and being able to cut the shortbread cleanly without breaking them. Thankfully, neither of them really posed a problem. I got around the first issue by baking my shortbread in a rectangular fluted tart pan, which meant there was really no way they could spread sideways. As for the second, I followed the recipe's instructions to slice them while still warm, but to remove them from the baking dish only after the shortbread had been thoroughly chilled (I left mine overnight in the refrigerator, wrapped well with clingfilm).

Seeing as it was my first attempt at shortbread I was extremely happy with the results. The cookies did indeed have a tender and crumbly texture. I must say though that I prefer my shortbread with a bit more crunch. Next time then, I'll try a recipe without the cornstarch. If you like melt-in-your-mouth cookies though, this one's for you.

Shortbread
From Tartine

255g unsalted butter, very soft
1/2 tsp salt
255g all-purpose flour
75g cornstarch
70g granulated sugar
55g superfine or granulated sugar for topping

Preheat the oven to 325F. Butter a 6-by-10-inch glass baking dish (or baking dish of your choice with approximately the same dimensions).

Place the butter in a mixing bowl. The butter must be very soft - the consistency of mayonnaise or whipped cream. Add the salt to the butter and mix well with a wooden spoon or whisk so that it dissolves completely before you add the rest of the ingredients. Sift the flour and cornstarch together into a bowl. Add the granulated sugar to the butter and mix until just combined. Add the flour mixture and mix just until a smooth dough forms.

Pat the dough evenly into the prepared baking dish. The dough should be no more than 2/3 inch deep. Bake until the top and bottom are lightly browned, about 30 minutes. The middle of the shortbread should remain light. Let cool on a wire rack until warm to the touch.

Sprinkle the shortbread with the superfine or granulated sugar. Tilt the dish so that the sugar fully and evenly coats the surface and then tip out the excess sugar. With a very thin, sharp knife, cut the shortbread into rectangular fingers about 1/2 inch wide and 2 inches long. If the cookies have become cold they will not slice well, so they must still be warm to the touch at this point. Chill thoroughly before removing from the baking dish.

The first cookie is difficult to remove, but the rest should come out easily with the aid of a small, thin offset spatula. The cookies will keep in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 2 weeks.

Makes one 6-by10-inch pan, about sixty 2-by-1/2-inch bars

Healthier cookies... or so I tell myself

I'm a big fan of Alice Medrich's Bittersweet so when her new book, Pure Dessert, came out several months ago, I knew I had to get myself a copy. Even though I was drooling while eagerly flipping through it upon its release, it wasn't until this past week that I finally got around to trying one of the recipes.

Given the number of must-try recipes in this book I was hard pressed to pick just one. Ultimately, however, I settled on what I think are healthier cookies - whole wheat sables. In truth they are just as laden with butter as any other cookie but the dough is half made of whole wheat flour and whole wheat is good for you, isn't it?

Instead of just making plain sables, I chose to use one of the suggested variations and added cacao nibs to my cookies to add a delightful crunch. Even as the cookies were baking in the oven I could tell from the buttery aroma that permeated the air that these were going to be good. In her book, Alice Medrich describes them as "meltingly tender, butter cookies with the nutty flavor of whole wheat" and they were exactly as advertised. Fresh from the oven my cookies were, thin, crispy, crumbly and mind-blowingly buttery. They are supposed to be even better the next day but the cookies almost didn't last till then. Thankfully I managed to restrain M and myself from eating them all so that we had enough to serve as a welcome treat for M's brother and his wife who were visiting from New York the next day.

Nibby Whole Wheat Sables
From Pure Dessert

1 cup all-purpose flour
Scant 1 cup whole wheat flour
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the all-purpose and whole wheat flours together. Set aside. In a medium bowl, with the back of a large spoon or with an electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar, salt and vanilla for about 1 minute, until smooth and creamy but not fluffy. Mix 1/4 cup cacao nibs into the creamed butter. Add the flour and mix just until incorporated. Scrape the dough into a mass and, if necessary, knead it with your hands a few times, just until smooth.

Form the dough into a 12 by 2-inch log. Wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or, preferably, overnight.

Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Use a sharp knife to cut the cold dough log into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place the cookies at least 1 1/2 inches apart on the lined baking sheets.

Bake until the cookies are light golden brown at the edges, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and fron to back halfway through the baking. Let the cookies firm up on the pans for about 1 minute, then transfer them to a rack with a metal pancake turner and let cool completely.

The cookies are delicious fresh but are even better the next day. They can be stored in an airtight container for at least 1 month.

Makes about 48 2-inch cookies

The Daring Bakers Strike Again

One of the best parts of being part of the Daring Bakers is that it forces me to make recipes that I would not otherwise have picked but end up really loving (like last month’s Bostini Cream Pie) or those that are out of my comfort zone. This month’s challenge was just that. The recipe for the month, hosted by Tanna, was Tender Potato Bread and bread is definitely not my forte. Sure, I’ve made bread before but it has tended to be of the no-knead variety made popular by Mark Bittman.

This month then I got to confront my inner bread demons and take on the challenge of making bread with potato which I’m told makes the dough softer and slightly harder to handle. Our host for the month helpfully suggested that newbies to bread not use more than 8 oz of potato and since I definitely fall into that camp, I measured out my potato to weigh exactly that.

As warned, the dough was indeed extremely soft and sticky to start. With patient kneading and the slow addition of flour though, the dough became increasingly easier to manage and less sticky. Still, I’m no expert and I must say I was relieved when it came time to put the dough away to rise. I chose probably the easiest, though no less satisfying shape – a regular loaf.

While the loaf was baking in the oven, I was really happy to see how impressively it had risen. Whenever I’ve made no-knead bread, my bread never really rises up that high because I use a dutch oven that’s just way too big for the mass of dough. What that means is that I tend to get great tasting bread that makes short, wide sandwiches! This time, as you can see from the pictures posted here, I finally baked bread that looks like a traditional sandwich loaf. Taste-wise I was also extremely happy with the bread. To me, the most noteworthy feature of this bread was the texture of the crumb which I found exceedingly soft and moist. I’ll definitely be adding this delightful bread to my baking repertoire and thanks once again to the Daring Bakers for showing me that baking really doesn’t have to be that hard.

PS: You can check out the results of all the other DBers here.


Tender Potato Bread
From Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour & Tradition Around the World

4 medium to large floury (baking) potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
4 cups water

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
6 ½ cups to 8 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 cup whole wheat flour

Put the potatoes and 4 cups water in a sauce pan and bring to boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt and cook, half covered, until the potatoes are very tender.

Drain the potatoes, SAVE THE POTATO WATER, and mash the potatoes well.

Measure out 3 cups of the reserved potato water (add extra water if needed to make 3 cups). Place the water and mashed potatoes in the bowl you plan to mix the bread in – directions will be for by hand. Let cool to lukewarm – stir well before testing the temperature – it should feel barely warm to your hand. You should be able to submerge you hand in the mix and not be uncomfortable.

Mix & stir yeast into cooled water and mashed potatoes & water and let stand 5 minutes.

Then mix in 2 cups of all-purpose flour and mix. Allow to rest several minutes.

Sprinkle on the remaining 1 tablespoon salt and the softened butter; mix well. Add the 1 cup whole wheat flour, stir briefly.

Add 2 cups of the unbleached all-purpose flour and stir until all the flour has been incorporated.

At this point you have used 4 cups of the possible 8 ½ cups suggested by the recipe.

Turn the dough out onto a generously floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, incorporating flour as needed to prevent sticking. The dough will be very sticky to begin with, but as it takes up more flour from the kneading surface, it will become easier to handle; use a dough scraper to keep your surface clean. The kneaded dough will still be very soft.

As a beginner, you may be tempted to add more flour than needed. Most/many bread recipes give a range of flour needed. This is going to be a soft dough. At this point, add flour to the counter slowly, say a ¼ cup at a time. Do not feel you must use all of the suggested flour. When the dough is soft and smooth and not too sticky, it’s probably ready.

Place the dough in a large clean bowl or your rising container of choice, cover with plastic wrap or lid, and let rise about 2 hours or until doubled in volume.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead gently several minutes. It will be moist and a little sticky.

Divide the dough into 2 unequal pieces in a proportion of one-third and two-thirds (one will be twice as large as the other). Place the smaller piece to one side and cover loosely.

To shape the large loaf:

Butter a 9X5 inch loaf/bread pan.

Flatten the larger piece of dough on the floured surface to an approximate 12 x 8 inch oval, then roll it up from a narrow end to form a loaf. Pinch the seam closed and gently place seam side down in the buttered pan. The dough should come about three-quarters of the way up the sides of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 35 to 45 minutes, until puffy and almost doubled in volume.

To make a small loaf with the remainder:

Butter an 8 x 4 inch bread pan. Shape and proof the loaf the same way as the large loaf.

Makes 1 large tender-crumbed pan loaf and something more; one 10X15 inch crusty yet tender foccacia, 12 soft dinner rolls, or a small pan loaf

Chinese Wraps

One of my favourite Chinese dishes from back home is a Peking duck meat lettuce leaf wrap. This is often served when you order a Peking duck in a restaurant and after having consumed the skin, they will use the meat from the duck to make this dish. There are many variations on this dish, some using chicken, others using squab or another kind of meat.

Since pork mince is more readily available in the supermarkets here, I decided to make a version with pork instead. As some of you may recall, this is actually a dish that I served when M's parents were here to visit. At that time, I forgot to take a picture of the dish but since it was such a hit, I have been looking for another opportunity to make it. The opportunity finally arose two nights ago after a particularly easy day at work. It was definitely as good the second time around. Maybe even better!

Minced Pork in Lettuce Wraps
Adapted from Shun Lee Cookbook

Pork:
8 oz minced pork
1 1/2 tsp egg white
1 tsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
vegetable oil, for passing through

Sauce:
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp rice wine or dry sherry
1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp cornstarch

4 celery ribs, string removed, finely diced (1 cup)
4 scallions, white and green parts, trimmed and minced (3/4 cup)
3 carrots, finely diced (1/2 cup)
1 tsp dark sesame oil
2 tsp hoisin sauce
8 whole Bibb or iceberg lettuce leaves
2 tbsp lightly toasted pine nuts

To prepare the pork, place the diced pork in a medium bowl. Add the egg white, cornstarch, and salt; toss to coat.

To prepare the sauce, whisk the soy sauce, vinegar, rice wine, sugar and white pepper in a small bowl. Dissolve the cornstarch in 1 tbsp water in another small bowl. Set the bowls aside.

Heat a large wok over high heat. Add enough oil to come 1 inch up the sides of the wok and heat it to 300F. Add the pork and stir gently, keeping the pieces from sticking together, until they turn white, about 45 seconds. Using a wide wire mesh skimmer, transfer the pork to a colander to drain. Discard all the oil except for 2 tablespoons.

Heat the wok with the oil over high heat. Add the celery, scallions, and carrots, and stir-fry until crisp-tender, about 45 seconds. Return the pork to the wok. Stir the sauce, add it to the wok, and stir-fry for 20 seconds. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir-fry until the pork is cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 30 seconds. Stir in the sesame oil. Transfer the pork mixture to a serving bowl.

To serve, spread about 1/4 tsp hoisin sauce in the center of each lettuce leaf. Add 3 tbsp of the pork mixture, and sprinkle with a few pine nuts. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings

Pumpkin Harvest

Since my previous experiment with pumpkin turned out so well, I’ve been looking for opportunities to use pumpkin in my baking. If I lived in the US, this wouldn’t be a problem since pumpkin features so heavily in Thanksgiving cooking. Thankfully, Sugar High Friday comes to the rescue as the theme for the 37th SHF is The Beta Carotene Harvest. This episode is hosted by Leslie of Definitely not Martha. I very nearly missed the announcement altogether but am glad that I found it just in time to squeeze in an entry this past weekend.

Looking through my treasure trove of recipe books, I found a scrumptious sounding recipe in a book that I really like but haven’t made anything from recently. That’s the problem when you have over 100 cookbooks fighting for your attention and not enough time to try all the recipes and not enough stomachs to feeds.

This time, rather than pairing pumpkin with the traditional mix of spices such as cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg, the recipe simply calls for pumpkin and orange juice. Yet, although surprising simple, I found the cake exceedingly flavourful. I think I’m really starting to develop a love for all things pumpkin. Best part is since this cake is called a breakfast cake, I feel like I’ve been given the green light to substitute this for my daily bowl of cereal.


Pumpkin and Orange Breakfast Cake
From In the Sweet Kitchen

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp finely grated orange zest
3 large eggs, two of them separated, all at room temperature
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 9-inch fluted tube pan and set it aside. Cream the butter, sugar and orange zest together until light and fluffy. Add the whole egg and the two egg yolks, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition. Beat in the pumpkin puree.

Sift together the flours, baking powder an salt. Add to the pumpkin batter in three or four stages, blending gently but thoroughly after each. Stir in the final addition of dry ingredients by hand if you have been using a mixer, so as not to overwork the batter. In a clean, small bowl, whip the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Fold into the batter, then scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake in the centre of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top of the cake is springy when lightly touched, the sides are beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan and a wooden skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and cool completely.

This cake keeps very well for several days, well wrapped, and it freezes beautifully for up to 2 months.

Makes 10 servings