In His Great Mercy

 Last week was holy week where Christians across the world commemorated Good Friday and celebrated Easter Sunday.

The Lord Jesus died on the cross for our mankind. He endured pain and sufferings.  His death on the wooden cross is proof of the powerful love that God has for each of us. Therefore, let us glory in His cross, and praise the Lord for what He did for us. He has paid our debt, those who place their trust in Him for salvation are delivered from the debt of sin. All can be saved if we come to Him by faith.
"He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."

I baked these chocolate hot cross buns with recipe adapted from Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover.

Chocolate Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients

350g bread flour
40g caster sugar
20g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast
240g fresh milk
25g unsalted butter, room temperature

Flour paste

40g cake flour
40g fresh milk
15g melted butter
Method

• Preheat oven to 170C. Add in all ingredients except butter. Knead till smooth.
• Add in butter, Continue kneading until dough is shiny and smooth. 
• Cover and proof in a greased bowl until double in size.
• Punch down the dough and divide dough into 9 portions. Roll in round balls and rest for 15 minutes.
• Shape the dough into roll and place on baking tray.
• Make the flour paste for the cross. Mix the ingredients till smooth. Fill in piping bag and draw cross lines on top of the bread.
• Bake at 170C for 20-25 minutes.

Christ is risen! What joy we have on Easter Sunday as we celebrate Jesus' Resurrection.  All who have believed in Him have been raised to a new life in Christ. Christ has transformed the lifeless and gives all new birth, a living hope through the resurrection of Christ.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead"1 Peter 1:3

These mini vanilla cupcakes with strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream were baked for Sunday school Easter party.

I always like my vanilla cupcakes recipe. I think they're great! moist and soft. These cupcakes were baked in my new oven and I noticed they were very unevenly browned:(  This recipe yields 36 mini cupcakes.

Swiss Meringue Butter Cream(Strawberry)
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients
5 egg whites
3/4 cup caster sugar
220g unsalted butter, cubed,
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tablespoons strawberry jam or home made strawberry puree
red gel coloring

Method

• Combine egg whites and sugar in a pan over a pot of simmering water.
• Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm and sugar is non grainy. 
• Transfer to the mixer bowl with whisk attachment and beat on low to medium speed.
• When bowl is cool, add the butter cubes, one at a time. Add in vanilla extract.
• Switch to paddle attachment and continue beating on low speed until mixture is smooth.
• Add strawberry jam/puree and gel coloring.( use a toothpick to dip gel)

Leftover butter cream can be kept in freezer for 3 months.  To use, bring butter cream to room temperature and beat cream until smooth. 

In The Time of those Kings

They look like croissants, don't they? They do taste like croissants but they don't have the texture of a croissant. These are my quick croissants which I have baked for the first time for the Bake Along theme.

I know it is not easy to produce light, buttery crisp type of croissants at home. In fact, I do have a recipe which I think is doable if I have more practices. I will post it here if I can achieve it. Meanwhile, here is the quick version which is not too bad if eaten with jam. It has all the buttery taste minus the tender crisp. There is no melt on the tongue texture. The interior has layers but dense and doughy.  If you're not fussy, I think this is passable. I had worse croissants in a remote international hotel somewhere in China

Quick Croissants
Makes 8 big croissants or 15 mini ones
Homecooking adventure


250g strong breaed flour
150g cold unsalted butter, cubed
120ml lukewarm milk
45g sugar
7g active dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
egg wash
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp milk


Method

• Place yeast in a bowl. Add sugar and milk. Set aside to cool completely

• Combine flour and salt into a large bowl. Add butter and using a fork combine until big crumbles form.

• Add the yeast/milk mixture and gently combine until the dough just comes together. The butter needs to remain in pea-sized pieces. Wrap it with plastic, knead slowly to form a square and freeze for 30 minutes or refrigerate for a couple of hours.

• Dust with flour your work surface and your rolling pin and start rolling the dough into a rectangular roughly two  to three times as long as it is wide.The dough is pretty hard to work with at the beginning but will come together while rolling and folding.

• Fold the short sides of the dough into the middle. Rotate the dough by a quarter turn. Roll out slightly to lengthen. Fold the short ends towards the middle.

• Flip the dough over so the seams are underneath. Repeat the rolling and folding process steps three more times, giving the dough a total of four times of rolling and folding.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a couple of hours or better overnight.

• On a lightly floured surface roll the dough into a rectangular of 16 inches x 10 inches. Cut the dough into triangles, it will make about 8 triangles.

• Score a small slit in the centre of each triangle base, gently stretch the corners and tip, then roll the croissant starting from the wide up to the top giving them the croissant shape.

• Place the croissants with tip side down onto a prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 2-3 hours at room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 230C. Brush the croissants with egg wash.
• Bake for 8 minutes than reduce the oven to 190C and bake for another 10-15 minutes until deep golden brown.
• Cool on wire rack before serving.

This post is linked to Bake Along hosted by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, Lena from

Her Frozen Wings and Joyce from Kitchen Flavours.

In the time of those kings, the God of Heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. Daniel 2:44

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.

Be Patient

 Grissini or breadsticks are great delectable start of a meal. I dearly missed them, they seem to disappear in many restaurants here! It is great that I have now found a simple recipe to make at home.

This is a great recipe to do, and with some basic ingredients in your pantry you can bake a basketful of grissini at any time. You can add in your own variations too with this basic recipe.

My first batch of grissini was made in a hurry. I have planned to cook pasta, and beef tagliata for family dinner, and thought this week's Bake Along theme 'Grissini' would make an ideal complete Italian meal at home.  Though they were unevenly rolled, they taste great, and very crunchy too. I also wrapped some with prosciutto and rocket leaves.

Grissini
The Breadkitchen
makes about 20 sticks

Ingredients

225g bread flour
135ml lukewarm water
2 tbsp extra virgin oil
11/4 tsp salt
11/2 tsp dried yeast
1-2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
Olive oil for brushing


Method

• Mix the yeast with the water and leave for 10 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.

• Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add in the yeast/water and the olive oil. Mix to a soft, slightly sticky dough.

• Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. 
• Add the Parmesan into the dough and knead it in.
• Roll the dough out to about 6" x 8" on a floured surface. Brush with olive oil, cover and leave to double in bulk, about 1 hour.
• Cut the dough in half across the shorter length, then cut each half into 10 strips.

• Stretch and roll each piece to about 12" long (mine was about 10") and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet (baking paper).

• When the baking sheet is full brush each piece of dough with olive oil. Leave the baking sheet in a warm place, uncovered, for about 15 minutes for the dough to rise a little again.
• Bake the grissini at 200C for between 10-15 minutes until grissini are slightly brown. Place on wire rack to cool.

Note:The bread should crunch when you bite into it. If it doesn't, simply return the grissini to the oven for a few more minutes. Apart from changing the herbs you can also roll the breadsticks in sesame seeds before baking.

This post is linked to Bake Along theme 'Grissini' hosted by Joyce from Kitchen Flavours,

Lena from Frozen Wings and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids.

Trials and Temptations

The call is for patience or longsuffering. God is still in control, even when we do not see it. He will return. Just as the farmers looks to the rain, we look to our Father in heaven. We must prepare our hearts to endure patiently until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Be Patient, the, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. James 5:7

MY Presence Will Go With You

There are a few bread recipes which have gone viral. This is one of them. Condensed Milk Bread is a Japanese recipe from the Japanese website Cookpad. This bread uses condensed milk which adds a milky sweetened flavour to it.

The bread making is very basic with simple instruction. Beginners can do this and should be able to bake this bread. This bread is very soft and  remains soft and fresh even he next day. Having done this, I will do variations in small buns and with added chocolate chips, nuts or dried fruits.

Condensed Milk Bread


Ingredients

200g high protein flour or bread flour
25g condensed milk
120g milk
20g caster sugar
3g instant yeast, or 1/2 tsp + 1/4tsp
20g salted butter, room temperature

Filling
20g condensed milk
20g salted butter, room temp

Topping
Almond flakes
Icing sugar, optional

Method

• Add all ingredients into a mixing bowl, using a dough hook, knead ingredients to a dough..
• Add in butter, continue to knead till dough is shiny, smooth and elastic about 10 minutes. Transfer to a greased bowl and cover with cling wrap.  Proof till double in size, about 45 minutes.
• Roll the dough into a rectangular shape 8' x 12'. Slice into four vertical strips. Brush the filling on top of one strip and stack another strip on top, brush the filling and repeat with the rest.
• Divide the strips into 8 equal portions.
• Arrange cut size up surrounding a greased 7" tube pan. Cover with cling wrap and proof for another 45 minutes or double in size.
• Brush with egg wash and sprinkle almond flakes. Bake in a pre heated oven at 170C for 25 mins

My Presence will go with with you, and I will give you rest. Exodus 33:14

He Heals the Broken Hearted

Another bake along, another challenge. I like this. I have never baked a pull apart bread before and a lemon scented one proves too irresistible for me to bake along this blog hop.

If you read the recipe, it looks like a tedious and complicated work ahead but it is not. I didn't even bother to follow the strips measurement, but I have 5 layers and 6 strips as stated in the recipe.. I would prefer all lemon zest to get the full lemony flavour. This is a sweet bread and I think it tastes better with the cream cheese frosting. The frosting is not sweet but tangy. I baked in 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and the excess in one small ramekin.

Lemon-Scented Pull-Apart Coffee Cake 
Leite's Culinaria
Flo Braker


Ingredients

For the sweet dough
about 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (60g)
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature

For the lemon filling
1/2 cup granulated sugar (1/4 cup)
3 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (from 2 to 3 lemons)
1 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
2 ounces unsalted melted (60g)

For the cream cheese icing
3 ounces cream cheese, softened (80g)
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar ( slightly less)
1 tablespoon whole milk
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method

Make the sweet dough

• Stir together 2 cups of the flour,sugar,yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. In a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter over low heat just until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat, add the water, and set aside until about 1 minute. Add the vanilla extract.
• Pour the milk mixture over the flour-yeast mixture and, using a rubber spatula, mix until the dry ingredients are evenly moistened. Attach the bowl to the mixer, and fit the mixer with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing just until incorporated after each addition. Stop the mixer, add 1/2 cup flour, and resume mixing on low speed until the dough is smooth, 30 to 45 seconds. Ad 2 more tablespoons flour and mix on medium speed until the dough is smooth, soft, and slightly sticky, about 45 seconds.
• Sprinkle a work surface with 1 tablespoon flour and turn the dough onto the flour. Knead gently until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky, about 1 minute, adding an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons flour only if the dough is unworkably sticky. Place the dough in a large bowl, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 45 to 60 minutes. Press the dough gently with a fingertip. If the indentation remains, the dough is ready for the next step.

Make the lemon filling

• While the dough is rising, in a small bowl, mix together the sugar,lemon zest and orange zest. Set aside. the sugar draws out moisture from the zests to create a sandy-wet consistency, so don't be alarmed when you see this.

Assemble the coffee cake

• Adjust the oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 350F (175C). lightly butter a 9 by 5 by 3 loaf pan.
• Gently deflate the dough. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 20 by 12 inch rectangle. Using a pastry brush, spread the melted butter generously over the dough. Cut the dough crosswise into 5 strips, each about 12 by 4 inches. Sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons of the zest sugar mixture over a buttered rectangle. top with a second rectangle and sprinkle it with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the zest sugar mixture. Repeat with the remaining dough rectangles and zest sugar mixture, ending with a stack of 5 rectangles. Work carefully when adding the crumbly zest filling, or it will fall off when you have to lift the stacked pastry later.
• Slice the stack crosswise through the 5 layers to create 6 equal strips, each about 4 by 2 inches. Fit these layered strips into the prepared loaf pan, cut edges up and side by side. Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until puffy and almost doubled in size, 30 to 50 minutes. Press the dough gently with a fingertip. If the indentation remains, the dough is ready for baking.
• Bake the coffee cake until top is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes.

Make the cream cheese icing

• In a medium bowl with a rubber spatula, vigorously mix the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the milk and lemon juice until the mixture is creamy and smooth.(mix everything with an electric mixer)
• To remove the coffee cake from the pan, tilt and rotate the pan while gently tapping it on a counter to release the cake sides. Invert a wire rack on top of the coffee cake, invert the cake onto the rack, and carefully lift off the pan. Invert another rack on top, invert the cake so it is right side up, and remove the original rack.
• Slip a sheet of waxed paper under the rack to catch any drips from the icing. Using a pastry brush, coat the top of the warm cake with the icing to glaze it. 

Is this a coffee cake or bread? It tastes like bread to me. A sweet, soft fluffy bread with sweet citrus scent.

No knife needed!

This post is linked to Bake Along hosted by Zoe from Bake for Happy kids, Joyce from Kitchen Flavours and Lena from Frozen Wings.

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3

In The Beginning

I have baked many kinds of bread. But this is one bread that I always do when comes to walnut and raisins. It uses the tangzhong method which was once very popular with many home bakers. I am still baking it this way because my husband likes it and sometimes I bake for him to bring for his long overseas trip to the Middle East.

Christine Recipes has many kinds of breads using the tangzhong method. This method of bread making produces soft texture bread without any added chemicals. It also stays soft and fresh for a few days.

Who,besides myself is still using the tangzhong method?




This recipe yields two loaves.

Braided Raisin Walnut Bread
Christine recipes
2 loaves

Ingredients

Tangzhong
25gm bread flour, sifted
125ml water

Dough
350gm bread flour
55g sugar
5gm salt
56gm whisked egg
7gm milk powder,optional
125ml milk
120gm tangzhong
5 to 6 gm instant dried yeast
30g butter, room temperature
90gm dried raisins,
2 to 3 tbsp rum, optional
90gm walnuts

Method

• Mix raisins with rum well. Cover and place at room temperature overnight.(skipped this step).
• Place walnuts in a pre-heated oven at 180C. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until hot enough but not brown. Remove from oven. Roughly chop into pieces or leave it if you want more chunky texture.
• 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,bread flour,yeast).(Note: I used to make a small well in the bread flour,then add the yeast into it).
• Select the "dough" mode (refer to the manual of your bread maker to select the kneading dough programme). When all ingredients come together, add in the butter. (If your bread maker doesn't have any alert function to remind you to add in fruits and nuts, just put in the raisins and nuts when the butter has been absorbed well.) Knead until the dough becomes elastic. Then let the dough complete the 1st round of proofing, about 40 mins,best tpe earlier for prodding is 28C,humidity 75%, until double in size.
• Transfer the dough to a clean floured surface. Deflate and divide into 6 equal portions. Knead into ball shapes. Cover with cling wrap, let rest for 15 mins at room temp.
• Roll out each portion of the dough by hand, one by one, into a long tube shape, about 24cm long.
• Use 3 portions to braid as follows: take the left dough to cross over the middle piece. Cover the right piece over to the middle. Repeat these steps until you reach the end. Pinch ends and tuck both ends underneath. Repeat the same process clingwrap and let proof for about 45 mins,until double in size.
• Brush whisked egg on top. Bake in a pre heated oven at 180C for about 30 to 35 minutes, until the loads are golden brown. Let the breads cool on a wire rack completely.

Tangzhong 

• Mix flour in water well without any lumps. Cook over medium low heat, stirring consistently with a wooden spoon, whisk or spatula to prevent burning and sticking while you cook along the way.
• The mixture becomes thicker and thicker. Once you notice some 'lines' appear in the mixture for every stir you make with the spoon. It's done. You get the tangzhong. Remove from heat.

Transfer into a clean bowl. Cover with a cling wrap sticking onto the surface of tangzhong to prevent from drying up. Let cool. The tangzhong can be used straight away once it cools down to room temperature. Just measure out the amount you need. The leftover tangzhong can be stored in the fridge up to. Few days as long as it doesn't turn grey. If so, you need to discard and cook some more. (The chilled tangzhong should return to room temp before adding into other ingredients.)

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

To Live Is Christ

I love everything about Jamie Oliver. I love his food, I love his books, I love his shows and I love his mission. Food Revolution is Jamie Oliver's mission of changing the way we eat. He wants more people to eat less processed food, and to get back to the kitchen to cook fresh food for ourselves and family. This, I am sure you'll agree with me is also the mission and love of all food bloggers here to cook and enjoy healthy,fresh good food with their loved ones at home.

To teach people to save and cook healthily, Jamie Oliver also set up a home cooking skill course for people who want to learn to cook great food. I have found an amazing recipe there and have shared this with so many of my friends. All of them love it too and have also shared with their friends.

This is another recipe from the website which I think everyone should try. Easy Flatbread is so fast and easy to do. There is hardly any kneading, and absolutely no proofing at all! Best of all, you can make and freeze them ready to eat anytime. I made this to go with hummus dip and beef tajine.

Easy Flatbreads
Jamie's home cooking skills
Makes 12

Ingredients
500g self-raising flour, plus a little extra for dusting
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
500g natural yoghurt


Method

• Put dough in a food processor but you could do it by hand.
• Out all of the flatbread ingredients into your food processor and pulse until you have a dough.
• If the dough's a little wet still, you may need to add another sprinkling of flour.
• Tip the dough out onto your work surface and dust with a little flour
• Knead the dough for a minute or so to bring it together.
• Divide the dough into about 12 equal-sized pieces.

• Dust a rolling pin with flour then roll the pieces of dough out into side.plate -sized rounds.
• Stack them between small sheets of greaseproof paper next to the hob ready to cook.
• Put a griddle pan on a high heat to get nice and hot.

• Once it's really hot, cook each flatbread for a couple of minutes per side, until slightly puffy and lightly charred - you'll need to do this in batches.

Serve as they are as a side or with something lovely for dunking like home-made pesto or guacamole. You can freeze any leftover flatbreads, simply defrost thoroughly and warm through in the oven wrapped in foil or lightly re-toast them in a pan before tucking in.
These flatbreads are so good that I made them twice. The first time with Hummus Dip and the second time with beef tajine.

Flatbread with Hummus Dip

Flatbread with Beef Tajine


This post is linked to Cook Like A Star, All Star Anniversary. Hosted by Joyce, Kitchen Flavour,
Mich, Piece of Cake and Zoe, Bake For Happy Kids

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21