Tag Archives: recipes

Honey Buns

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I made these buns last week and my parents absolutely love them ! My mom said they are much better than the ones she bought from a store. Thanks mom !  Actually, bread making is very easy, even if you don’t have a bread machine or a stand mixer. I actually find it easier to knead the dough with hands. It may be messier, but that’s the fun part, isn’t it? And the best part for my kids ? Punching the dough! Well, I like it too….especially when I need to release some stress ! These buns taste best when fresh out of the oven. Or you can keep them in an air-tight container for about 5 days, just toast them before serving.

Makes about 12 rolls

  • 4 g instant yeast
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 3 cups bread flour (white or whole wheat or a mix of both)
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 eggs (1 slightly beaten for egg wash)
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  1. Dissolve sugar in warm water, add yeast and let sit for about 5 minutes until frothy
  2. Put flour and salt in a big mixing bowl, gradually mix in 1 egg, yeast mixture, honey and oil with hands until dough starts to form
  3. Transfer to a floured surface, knead until smooth and stretchy
  4. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise for about 60 minutes or double in size (You can speed up the process by putting it in an not-preheated oven with a small pot of hot water on the lower rack. The moist and warm environment makes the dough rise quicker)
  5. Punch air out, cut dough into 12 equal pieces (about 80 g each)
  6. Shape pieces into balls, then place on a slightly greased baking dish
  7. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise again for another 60 minutes until double in size
  8. Preheat oven to 350ºF
  9. Brush top with egg wash
  10. Bake for about 25 minutes until golden

Easy Chocolate Croissants

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If you have kids at home, this would be a great recipe for them to do. It’s easy, tasty and fun to make!

Makes about 16 croissants

  • 1 box frozen puff pastry (two 10 inch x 10 inch squares), thawed
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • icing sugar for dusting
  1. Preheat oven to 375ºF
  2. Lightly beat egg and water together to make egg wash, set aside
  3. On a floured surface, roll out pastry sheets (if you pastry comes in a block, cut and roll into two square sheets, about 1/8 inch in thickness)
  4. Cut each pastry sheet into a big circle about 8 inches in diameter (you can use a plate to help)
  5. Cut into 8 triangular wedges (like a pizza)
  6. Put chocolate chips at bottom of wedges and roll towards the tip 
  7. Seal ends with egg wash
  8. Place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper (seam-side down), brush top with more egg wash 
  9. Bake for about 15-16 minutes until golden
  10. Melt remaining chocolate chips in a double boiler or microwave oven
  11. Drizzle croissants with melted chocolate, dust with icing sugar

Easy Chocolate Fudge

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Happy Valentine’s Day ! I got a Valentine’s card before I even got out of bed this morning from my daughter, how sweet !  And here is a sweet treat that I made last night, yummy chocolate fudge ! Classic chocolate fudge requires the chocolate to be heated to a precise temperature which can be tricky. This recipe is much easier and it tastes just as good.

Makes about 16 ounces

  • 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup condensed milk
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  1. Put chocolate, cocoa powder, butter, condensed milk and salt in a large heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water
  2. Cook and stir until all melted
  3. Turn heat off, stir in vanilla extract
  4. Spread evenly in a container lined with slightly greased parchment paper or aluminum foil
  5. Refrigerate for about 3 hours until firm
  6. Cut into squares
  7. Store in refrigerator

Chocolate Molten Lava Cake

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This dessert is definitely for chocolate lovers like me !  It is simple, yet very yummy and looks amazing.  It makes a great Valentine’s dessert.  Try it with vanilla ice cream, it’s divine with the warm chocolate “lava” ! I don’t think anyone can resist that.   

Makes about 4 servings

  • 4 oz dark or semi-sweet chocolate
  • 1/4 cup cake and pastry flour, sifted
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 50 g unsalted butter at room temperature, more for coating ramekins
  • 1/4 cup demerara or brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  1. Preheat oven to 400ºF
  2. Melt chocolate in a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water, cool slightly
  3. Generously coat ramekins with butter
  4. Using an electric mixer, cream 50 g of butter and sugar until fluffy
  5. Add eggs and vanilla extract
  6. Slowly pour in melted chocolate, mix until blended
  7. Mix in flour and salt
  8. Pour batter into ramekins, about 2/3 full 
  9. Bake for about 10-11 minutes
  10. Cool for about 5 minutes, invert ramekins over plates, cakes should come out fairly easily
  11. Dust with icing sugar, serve warm

 

 

 

 

Sweet Potato Honey Muffins

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One of my goals this year is to use less sugar in my recipes without compromising flavours.  Japanese sweet potatoes have red skin and light yellow flesh.  They are a good source of vitamin A, C and dietary fibre. They taste very sweet, so you don’t really need to add much sweetener.  I only added some honey and they came out super tasty ! They are very healthy too !   

Makes about 10-12 muffins

  • 240 g mashed Japanese sweet potatoes
  • 1+1/4 cups cake and pastry flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 100 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 eggs
  • 240 mL milk
  • 100 g plain Greek yogurt
  • 6 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

To prepare the sweet potato

  1. Cut sweet potatoes into large chunks
  2. Prick with a fork a few times
  3. Bake in an 400ºF oven until soft, about 45 minutes to 1 hour
  4. Peel and mash, cool and set aside

To make the muffins

  1. Preheat oven to 375ºF
  2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, set aside
  3. Blend mashed sweet potatoes, milk and honey to make a puree
  4. Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter until fluffy
  5. Mix in eggs, yoghurt, vanilla and sweet potato puree
  6. Add flour mixture, mix until just blended, do not over mix (it is fine if mixture is slightly lumpy)
  7. Pour batter into muffin tins lined with slightly greased paper or silicone muffin cups
  8. Bake for about 20-22 minutes

Lemon Raisin Scones

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I fell in love with lemon lately! I add it to many of my recipes, e.g. pies, cakes, muffins, smoothies, etc. It just makes them taste a lot better!  It is also an acid, so when it’s combined with baking soda, it helps to rise your dough.  I’ve drizzled some lemon glaze on top of these scones, but they taste amazing even with just butter.  You can have them for breakfast or afternoon tea. I actually had one for lunch too!

Makes about 8 scones
Total time = 2 hours

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
  • 1 egg (beaten)
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 +1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • zest of 1 large lemon
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  1. Preheat oven to 375ºF
  2. Add lemon juice to milk and let sit for a few minutes
  3. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt
  4. Mix in sugar
  5. Cut in butter by pastry cutter or rub in by hands until resembles coarse crumbs 
  6. Add lemon zest and raisins
  7. Add egg,milk with lemon juice and vanilla extract, mix until blended
  8. Transfer dough to a floured surface, and press together to form a round disc about 1/2 inch thick
  9. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour
  10. Cut disc into about 8 triangular wedges (like cutting a pizza) 
  11. Bake on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper for about 20 minutes
  12. Serve warm with butter or lemon glaze

For the lemon glaze

  • 1+1/4 cup icing sugar
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
  1. Sift icing sugar
  2. Whisk in lemon juice, water and lemon zest until smooth

Cookie Butter Cookies

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Have you ever tried cookie butter? It is soooo delicious!  Try just spreading it on your toast or fruits like apples and bananas, I am sure you will fall in love with it.  And of course, these cookie butter cookies are absolutely scrumptious , This was originally a peanut butter recipe.  I used cookie butter instead.  Since it is sweeter than peanut butter, I cut back on the sugar. 

Makes about 24 cookies

  • 1+1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup demerara or brown sugar
  • 200 g cookie butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF
  2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside
  3. Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter, cookie butter and sugar together until fluffy and creamy
  4. Mix in egg and vanilla extract, scraping sides and bottom of bowl
  5. Add flour mixture in 2-3 portions, mix until blended
  6. Gently shape about one tablespoon each of dough into balls
  7. Place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart (you can gently flattened cookies with fork if desired)
  8. Bake for about 9-10 minutes

Vanilla Cream Pastry Puffs

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This is a dessert that has been in my mind ever since I took the pastry course in September. The original recipe uses a choux pastry.  I used a store-bought puff pastry instead. The textures of the two pastries are quite different, but they both go really well with the vanilla cream. 

Makes about 8 puffs

For the vanilla cream

  • 500 mL milk (preferably full fat, but 2 % works too)
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/2 to 1 vanilla bean
  1. Whisk egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and 1/2 cup of milk together until no more lumps
  2. Cut vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape seeds out of bean pod, do not throw away bean pod
  3. In a pot, heat remaining milk, vanilla beans and the pod over medium heat until just boiled
  4. Whisk 1/2 of boiled milk slowly into egg mixture to temper, then pour everything back into the pot
  5. Heat until just starting to bubble, whisking constantly
  6. Take pot off the heat, remove vanilla pod 
  7. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool

To make the pastry puffs

  • 1 box frozen puff pastry (two 10 inch x 10 inch sheets), thawed
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 -2 tablespoons granulated sugar or vanilla sugar 
  • Icing sugar and fruits for toppings
  1. Preheat oven to 375ºF
  2. Spread two sheets of pastry flat on a floured surface separately (if your pastry comes in a block, cut and row into 2 sheets of about 1/8 inch in thickness)  
  3. Brush one sheet with egg wash, then sprinkle evenly with granulated or  vanilla sugar
  4. Place the other sheet on top, pressing gently
  5. Cut with a round cookie cutter into circles, about 2 -3 inches in diameter
  6. Prick a few times with a fork in the middle, so they won’t puff up too much
  7. Bake for about 15 minutes until golden
  8. Let cool, then gently cut puffs in half horizontally
  9. Spoon or pipe vanilla cream in the middle
  10. Top with icing sugar and fruits

 

Original recipe of vanilla cream by Chef Marco Ropke at Vancouver Pastry Training Centre

Homemade Vanilla Sugar

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Vanilla bean…..an ingredient that can make almost any dessert more flavourful but it can be quite expensive. So why not make the best use of it ? If you have used, empty vanilla pods, you can make your own vanilla sugar very easily. Here is what you need:

  • 2-3 used,dried vanilla beans
  • 2 cups granulated sugar

Put 2-3 dried vanilla pods in about 2 cups of granulated sugar. Shake to combine and let sit in an air-tight container for at least one week before use.

You can use it to replace sugar in your cake, cookie or muffin recipes; or sprinkle it over french toasts, pancakes, pastries, etc.

Preparation time = 10 minutes

Cheesy Biscuits

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My daughter and I love sweets, and I have been posting mostly sweet treats on my blog, especially during the winter holidays. But my son has a salty tooth instead of a sweet one. He sometimes complains that I don’t make anything for him. So, this recipe is specifically for him! I haven’t forgotten about you, dear!

Makes about 15
Total time = 20 minutes

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon seasoning salt (or season to your own taste)
  • 2 stalks green onions,  finely chopped
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
  1. Preheat oven to 450 °F
  2. Sift together flour, baking powder
  3. Add salt and green onions
  4. Pour in milk and vegetable oil, mix until blended, dough is quite sticky
  5. Stir in cheese
  6. Drop about 2 tablespoons each of dough on to cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart (just shape them roughly, don’t have to be smooth)
  7. Bake for about 10 minutes
  8. Serve warm with butter or cream cheese spread