A Great Consolation

These Viennese Shortbread or Sables Viennois are buttery and light, can be quickly bake and ready to eat in a short 30 minutes time. While there is no obvious Austrian connection to the name, I would like to imagine having an afternoon tea of Viennese Shortbread and Mozart.

Though the origin of Shortbread is Scotland, there are distinct differences in the ingredients and proportions used between Scottish and Viennese shortbread. In Viennese Shortbread, icing sugar is used and the proportion of butter is higher, thus resulting in finer and lighter texture.

Sables Viennois
Viennese Shortbread
Adapted from Laduree Sucre 


Ingredients

190g butter
1 pinch of fleur de sel
75g icing sugar
1 pinch of vanilla powder (1/4 tsp vanilla beans extract)
1 egg white
225g cake flour


Method

• Cut the butter into small pieces and put with salt in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Using a wooden spoon, soften until creamy. Remove from heat and whisk until smooth and pale.

• Add icing sugar, vanilla and the egg white gradually and mix well after each addition. Whisk for approx 2 minutes after adding the egg white.

• Sift the flour and add to the mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon until smooth and well combined.

• Transfer batter to a piping bag fitted with a star tip.

• Line a baking tray with parchment paper and pipe ribbons of batter in the shape of the letter Z.

• Place tray in oven for about 15 minutes, on 150C.

• Allow to cool completely and dust with icing sugar to serve.

This post is linked to Bake Along theme 'Viennese Shortbread' organised by Zoe from 

Bake for Happy Kids, Lena from Her Frozen Wings and Joyce from Kitchen Flavours.

It is a great consolation for me to remember that the Lord, to whom I had drawn near in humble and child-like faith, has suffered and died for me, and that He will look on me in love and compassion.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Our Help Is In The Name Of The Lord

Ayam Goreng Berempah is aromatic Malay spiced fried chicken.  I cooked this dish as a main dish for my nasi lemak meal.

The ingredient list is long but it is actually quite a simple dish to put up. This dish is also a good change from my usual chicken wings or ayam rendang when cooking a nasi lemak meal. The aromatic spiced crumbs are very good to go with the rice. Do not discard the crumb bits away after frying your chicken, otherwise you are missing the best part of this dish!

Ayam Goreng Berempah
Nasilemaklover

1 kg chicken meat, cut into medium-size pieces
1 tsp serbuk jintan putih(cumin powder)
1 tsp serbuk jintan manis (fennel powder)
1 tsp serbuk ketumbar (coriander powder)
1 tsp chilipowder
1/2 tsp tumeric popwder
1 tbsp curry powder (meat type)
1 tbsp corn flour
1 and 1/2 tsp salt

Blend into paste

4 garlic cloves
6 shallots
1/2"galangal (blue ginger)
1/2" ginger
4 lemongrass
3 tbsp water


Method

• Marinate chicken pieces with all ingredients for several hours.
• Heat oil in a wok(sufficient to fry al chicken at one go) over medium to low heat, put marinated chicken into hot oil piece by piece, deep fry till golden brown (about 10-15 mins)
• Once done, remove fried chicken and also the fried spiced crumbs using a strainer and keep aside to drain excess oil.
• Serve hot.

This post is linked to LTU 'Chicken' hosted by Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe, organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My little favourite DIY

When the going gets tough, God gets tougher!
Focus of this psalm is not the troubles but God is with us and deliver us. We can depend on our Lord for he is faithful. God took us through our troubles.



If the Lord had not been on our side ------
let Israel say-----
If the LORD had not been on our side 
when people attacked us, they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us;
the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept us away. Praise be to the Lord who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird from the fowler's snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped. Our help is the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 124:1-8

What is Impossible With Man

Last year I received a Jamie's 30 Minute Meals cookbook from my daughter. My plan was to attempt to cook the entire whole meal from the book. I am not taking the 30 minute challenge but to go slow and take my time to enjoy the cooking process.

This Chicken Pie recipe is part of the meal taken from the book. In the book, the Chicken Pie is served with French Style Peas, Sweet Carrot Smash and Berries, Shortbread and Chantilly Cream.

The pie was shared by 3 and all of us enjoyed it very much. We like the hearty, smooth and crusty pie and it is really a comforting dish to eat.

Chicken Pie
serves 4
Jamie's 30 Minute Meal

4 x 180g skinless chicken breast (5 skinless, boneless chicken thigh)
a knob of butter
a bunch of spring onions
150g button mushrooms
1 heaped tbsp plain flour, plus extra for dusting
2 teaspoons English mustard (Dijion mustard)
1 heaped tbsp creme fraiche (cooking cream)
300ml organic chicken stock
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
1/3 of a nutmeg, for grating (omitted)
1 sheet of pre-rolled puff pastry
1 egg


Method

• Put the chicken breasts on a plastic board and slice into 1cm strips.
• Put a lug of olive oil and knob of butter into the hot, large, wide pan.
• Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes or so. 
• Meanwhile, quickly trim the spring onions and wash the mushrooms, then slice together in the food processor (manually)
• Add to the pan with 1 heaped tablespoon of flour and stir. Add 2 teaspoons of mustard, 1 heaped tablespoon of creme fraiche and 300ml of chicken stock and stir well.
• Pick the thyme leaves and stir into the pan with a few fine gratings of nutmeg and a good pinch of salt and pepper(to taste). Leave to simmer
• Lightly dust a clean surface with flour and unroll the sheet of puff pastry. Use a small to lightly criss cross and score it. Take the pan of chicken off the heat. Tip the filling into an ovenproof baking dish slightly smaller than the sheet of pastry (30 x 25cm). Cover the filling with the pastry sheet, tucking it in at the edges. 
• Quickly beat the egg, then brush it over the top of the pie. Put into the oven and cook on the top shelf for around 15 minutes, or until golden and gorgeous.

Note: This Chicken Pie was done in about 25 minutes. A very fast and delicious meal! I will definitely cook this again, with the suggested sides and dessert to complete the meal.

This post is linked to Little Thumbs Up 'Chicken' hosted by Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe, organised by Doreen of My little favourite DIY and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids.

Jesus replied, "What is impossible with man is possible with God." Luke 18:27

Jesus Is Lord

Happy Easter to all!

Hot cross buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday but are now sold and enjoyed throughout the year. These buns had lost much of its religious significance because of its availability outside the Easter season.

Hot cross buns don't symbolise anything to me and the cross on the buns are just decoration. We don't have to eat the buns on Good Friday to remind ourselves of the day Jesus died on the cross.
As Christians, we observe Good Friday to commemorate the death on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul considered it to be of first importance that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and was raised to life on the third day, all in accordance with what God had promised all along in the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3)

Easter is a glorious celebration of the day Jesus was raised from the dead, His victory over sin and His resurrection. Because of Christ's death and resurrection, we have been given victory over death and assurance of future resurrection.

The Bible teaches us in Romans 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.


Hot Cross Buns
Christine Recipes

Ingredients

350g bread flour
35g sugar
5 g salt
56g whisked egg, plus extra for egg wash
7 g milk powder, optional
125ml milk
120g Tangzhong (ratio 1:5)
5 to 6 gm dried instant yeast
30gm butter, softened at room temperature
100gm raisins
1/2 tsp mixed spice, or to taste

flour paste:
4 tbsp plain flour 2 to 2 1/2 tbsp water
Combine flour and water. Stir to a smooth paste. Spoon into a piping bag.


Method

• Add all ingredients (except butter) into a bread maker, first the wet ingredients (milk, egg, tangzhong), then followed by the dry ingredients (salt, sugar, milk powder, mixed spice, bread flour, yeast) 
• Select the "dough" mode. When all ingredients come together, add in the butter. Knead until the dough becomes elastic. Add in raisins 5-8 minutes before ending the kneading process. Then let the dough complete the 1st round of proofing in the machine, about 40 minutes, until doubled in size.
• Line a baking tray with baking paper.'Transfer the dough onto a clean  floured surface. Deflate and divide into 12 equal portions. Knead each into a ball shape and place on the baking paper, at least 1cm apart. Cover with a cling wrap, let rest in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in  size.
• Preheat oven to 190C.
• Brush whisked egg on the surface of buns. Pipe flour paste over tops to form crosses. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until golden.

Best eaten warm with jam.