#17 : Klepon (Sweet Coconut Rice Balls)

Klepon is indeed really easy to make. Yet it made the most mess in my kitchen. Well it's not Klepon's fault. It was mine. I didn't know why but everything seemed to be crazy. I tried to open the packet of grated coconut and when I did it, the grated coconut was flying everywhere because I tore the packet too hard. And the worst part was the grated coconut was accidentally poured into the dough. OMG I just wanted to shoot myself at that time. But I managed to clean the mess though so it was okay.

Also when I boiled the balls, some of them were torn so the sugar leaked in the boiling water :( But most of them were good so it was okay. And most importantly, they tasted great although the color of the sugar was not brown.

The recipe was taken from here :

Ingredients :
- 1 1/2 cups glutinous rice powder
- 3/4 cup lukewarm water (I used coconut milk)
- 8 tsp grated dark Java sugar (I used palm sugar)
- 1 cup grated coconut mixed with 1/2 tsp salt
- green food coloring

Directions:
1. Mix glutinous rice powder and coconut milk. Add some green food coloring. Mix until the dough is firm yet flexible.
2. Pull one teaspoon of the dough and make a ball out of it with the palms of your hands (I just made the balls without using teaspoon - you can make any size you want).
3. Push a finger on the center of the ball to make a hole and put approximately 1/2 teaspoon of the sugar in it. (Again, I just estimate the sugar, I didn't use any teaspoon). Prepare all the balls and set them aside. (I found that the longer you take for making the balls, the sugar leaked from some of the balls which were ready to be boiled).
4. Prepare a pot filled with water and bring to boil.
5. Drop the balls into the boiling water. Remove the balls from pot once they float to the surface.
6. Roll the balls on the grated coconut. Serve at room temperature.

#16 : Indonesian Curry Chicken

I cooked this chicken curry for my sister last night for her lunch. I used the Bamboe instant curry mix so there was less thrill in cooking the dish. Well no thrill actually. But I had fun trying to do the garnish :)

#15 : Baked Chocolate Cheesecakes

I bought this Take 5 magazine like a year ago. Or two? Well I am not sure. At that time I had no time to do baking but everytime I saw a cookbook or magazine I bought them. And today I baked chocolate cheesecakes from the magazine. I couldn't taste it as I was still on my detox program. *sigh*. Instead of using the light sour cream, I used normal sour cream because that's what I had. I guess it tasted more sour than what it was supposed to be... and more fattening.. O_o I have to wait for my sister to come home so she can tell me how it tastes.
I've found that it needed more baking time in the oven. It took approximately 40 minutes in the oven.



Ingredients:

Base :
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1/4 cup caster sugar (32g)
- 90g butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Fillings :
- 125g cream cheese, softened at room temperature
- 2/3 cup light sour cream
- 1/4 cup caster sugar (32g)
- 1 egg

Chocolate icing :
- 90g dark chocolate, chopped
- 30g butter
- hazelnuts

Method :

Base :
1. Preheat oven to 180C
2. Grease 2x12 hole mini muffin pans.
3. Combine flour, 1/4 cup of sugar, butter and vanilla.
4. Press heaped teaspoons of mixture into each muffin hole.
5. Bake in oven for 10 minutes until golden.

Fillings :
1. Beat cream cheese, sour cream, juice and 1/4 cup of sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in egg. Spoon mixture over hot bases in muffin pans.
2. Bake at 160C for 10-12 minutes until filling is puffed and set.
3. Remove from oven and stand cakes in pan for 3 minutes.
4. Using tip of a knife, loosen cheesecakes, remove from pan and cool.

Chocolate icing :
1. Melt chocolate and butter together, allow to cool slightly.
2. Spoon a dollop of warm chocolate over cheesecakes.
3. Top with hazelnuts if desired.

#14 : Meringue

I got some leftover egg whites in the fridge and I was looking for ideas to make something out of it. I was thinking to make royal icing but I would need to make a cake or cupcake first. So I kept on looking. Til I found this Meringue recipe from Taste.com.au. They looked so cute! The recipe says 4 egg whites and I forgot how many egg whites I had in the container. I thought it was 7 egg whites so I multiplied the quantity by 1.75. Again, since I was still on this detox program I couldn't taste it. I was afraid it was too sweet. But my sister told me that meringue is supposed to be sweet. And the baking time on the recipe says it was 2.5 hours! And I only managed to bake them approximately 1 hour. They were hardened but some of them were broken into pieces when I tried to take them out from the baking tray. The ones that I baked on the baking paper were mostly broken into pieces because they sticked to the paper. Since then I didn't use any and just greased the baking pan with olive oil spray. They turned out better.

Tips:
- If you have small oven like I do and you have to bake several times, remember to beat the meringue until it is thick again before you pipe them through the nozzle. It is to keep the shape of the meringue.
- Because I had to bake several times, I couldn't leave the meringue in the oven. Instead I transferred them on to a wire rack.
- Meringue can last for 3 weeks if stored in airtight container.





Ingredients
- 4 egg whites at room temperature
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 2 teaspoon cornflour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- pink food coloring
- green food coloring
- colored sprinkles for decorations

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 100 degrees C. Line baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
2. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
3. Gradually add the sugar and whisk until the sugar dissolves. Continue beating for two minutes or until the mixture is thick, glossy, al the sugar dissolves and a long trailing peak forms when the beater is lifted from the mixture. Add the cornflour and vinegar, whisk until just combined.
4. Divide meringue between two bowl. Color one with pink, and one with green.
5. Pipe them with a 1.5cm diameter nozzle - or shape them into whatever you want it to be. Give approximately 3 cm space between them.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 2.5 hours. Turn oven off and leave in oven for 3 hours.

#13 : Profiteroles (Kue Soes)

I got the idea to make one of these profiteroles when a friend of mine, who is into baking too, told me that they're easy to make. So I found a recipe from Dekap. First I thought making profiteroles would be kind of complicated but it wasn't :D. Since I was still on my detox program, I couldn't taste them. I had some friends tasting it and they're great, except that the fillings were a bit too thick and hard - I'll reduce the amount of the cornflour.

Ingredients

Pastry :
130g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
100g margarine
4 eggs
225ml water

Fillings:
500ml milk
40g cornflour
35g custard powder
100g sugar
3 egg yolks
vanilla essence
rum essence

Method:
Pastry
1. Combine water, salt and margarine on a pot - bring to boil.
2. Combine plain flour until cooked and thickened.
3. Let cool the dough.
4. Preheat oven 180 degrees C.
5. Put eggs one by one into the dough until well combined.
6. Using the piping bag, shape the dough into the baking tray.
7. Bake for 25 minutes.

Fillings:
1. Mix all ingredients except rum essence.
2. Cook them on a stove until it gets thickened and cool them.
3. Put some rum essence and mix them until it well combined.

#12 : Chocolate Macadamia Biscuits

I found this recipe on Taste.com.au. They taste good, except that they were too buttery. Next time I bake this cookie, I am going to reduce the butter. They're good and I am definitely going to make these cookies again.

Ingredients:
250g butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar (200g)
1/2 cup white sugar (110g)
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups plain flour (275g)
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup macadamia nuts (112g)
180g white chocolate, roughly chopped

Method :
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beat well after each addition.
3. Sift flour and baking powder over butter mixture. Add nuts and chocolates. Stir with spoon.
4. Drop heaped tablespoonful of mixture onto baking trays. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Stand on trays for 5 mins. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

#11 : Chocolate Pudding

I had this milk which was going to expire soon, so I decided to make a pudding out of it. I made the chocolate pudding. It was really easy to make, except that I didn't whisk the egg well because I had to open the door for my friends. The pudding is a bit scrambled but it taste good.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 cups of whole milk
1 large egg
4 ounces of choc chips

Directions:
1. Whisk sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, salt. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to boil, whisking constantly and boil. Whisking until pudding is thick about 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Beat the egg in a bowl. Very gradually add the hot chocolate mixture to the egg, whisking constantly. Whisk in the chocolate chips until melted and mixture is smooth.
3. Pour the pudding into cups
4. Wait until the pudding is set and put them in to the fridge.