Tea-Time Delights Blog has MOVED

Time flies, Cuisine Paradise - Tea Time Delights has being a stand-alone blog for almost 5 years since 2009. Today I have merged all the existing posts here into the main blog over at Cuisine Paradise (http://ellenaguan.blogspot.com/) which will be much easier for me to maintain and keep track of all the recipe posts. So if you wish to keep updated with my tea-time recipes, please re-direct/bookmark the "New Link" to the main page mentioned above.

Thank you and sorry for any inconveniences caused. Have a great weekend! Cheers!





p/s: There will not be any further recipe updates on this blog anymore.

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Teochew Steamed Yam & Sweet Potato With Coconut

As a kid, I grew up with most of my favourite Teochew Dialect cuisines and desserts as such Ngoh Hiang, Braised Soya Duck Yam Cake and Yam Paste (or nee) that my dad used to prepare during festive seasons like Chinese New Year. Today mum and I decided to replicate one of my dad’s signature Teochew dessert which is something cross between “Yam Paste” and “Bo Bo Char Char”.

This is a pretty easy to prepare dessert where you just need to get some good quality of Yam - 芋头 (taro) and Orange Sweet Potato - 番薯. When choosing yam try to get those that look moist and heavy when lifted so that the high water content in it will make the yam taste soft.

Ingredients: (serves 4)
200g Yam
200g Orange Sweet Potato
6 Tablespoons Castor Sugar
100ml Coconut Milk
50ml Water
5 -8 Pandan Leaves
Shallot Flakes & Oil

Shallot Flakes & Oil is a must for this dessert, as it will give a special touch of aroma to prefer the taste. To prepare you will need the following:-

Ingredients:
5-8 shallots (小葱头)
100ml of cooking oil
Pinch of Salt

Method:
1. Removed the outer skin of the shallots then thinly sliced.
2. Preheat a small pan or pot with cooking oil, add in the sliced shallot and saute them on medium low heat (stirring on and off to prevent burning) till slightly golden in colour.
3. Remove the pan from heat, add in pinch of salt(this will make the flakes more crispy) and give it a quick stir.
4. Set aside to cool and later use.

The preparation methods might be a bit tedious if you do not have a big steamer or wok that allows you to steam all the items at one go. So for our case, we choose to steam the yam and sweet potato separately so that either one of them will not be over cooked.

Method:
1. Rinse both yam and sweet potato, removed the outer skin, cut into cubes/chunks depending on your preference.
2. Wash the Pandan leaves, divide into two bunches and tie a knot on each bunch.
3. Place the yam cubes on a plate and top with 1 bunch of pandan leave, steam it over medium heat for about 10 minutes or till the yam is slightly soften. (the timing will varies on the size of the yam cubes/chunks)
4. Repeat the same procedure for sweet potato.
5. While waiting for the sweet potato to be cooked, stir in 3 tablespoons of sugar to the hot yam cubes and give it a good stir then set aside.
6. When the sweet potato is done, add it into the yam cubes with the remaining sugar stir well and set aside.
7. Preheat the frying pan with about 1 tablespoon of shallot oil, add in the yam and sweet potato mixture, give it a quick stir, then slowly stir in the coconut milk and water.
8. Simmer the mixture under low heat for about 5 minutes. Dish up top with extra shallot flakes and served either warm or cold.


Finally after all the cut, steam and simmer process here we present you with our all time Teochew favourite dessert which you get to have the mixture of yam and sweet potato drown in mild coconut gravy and top with a small exotic bit of shallot oil and flakes. Hope you will like this Teochew style homemade dessert, "Steamed Yam & Sweet Potato with Coconut Milk - 芋薯甜心块".

If you are interested in other recipe that used Yam as one of the ingredient, do hop over to my new Omy blog to view on how to make some yummy Steamed Yam Cake - 芋头糕. (click HERE)

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PinkyBerry High-Tea

This will be a long post that consists of 3 short recipes that might come in handy for any teatime treat. Since recently there is a lot of fresh and nice strawberry available at the supermarket, I really cannot resist the temptation to get a box too. And moreover, I also wish to do a post of “PINKY” theme whereby I can include a few short and sweet recipes for my guests. So here you go…….. welcome to my “PinkBerry High-Tea”……

For starter, let's have a cup of Berry Smoothie to cool down from the summer heat. Smoothie is a blended beverage made from fresh fruit (fruit smoothie) or vegetables. In addition to fruit, some smoothies might include crushed ice, frozen fruit, honey, yogurt or fresh milk. This "Berry Smoothie" here is pretty easy to whip up, what you require are:- fruit blender, some strawberries, honey(optional) and fresh milk.

Ingredients: (serves 2 - 3)
5 - 6 Medium Size of Strawberries
200ml of Strawberry Milk
50ml of Fresh Milk
1/2 Tablespoon Honey, optional

Method:
1. Rinse and trim the strawberries, cut it into halves then blend it together with fresh milk and honey till smooth and creamy.
2. Transfer it to serving cups and top with extra strawberry slices as garnish.

Note:
~ You can use mixture of strawberry & plain milk or either one type for this smoothie.

Chocolate usually goes pretty well with strawberry as it perfect it with an extraordinary flavour. It is not difficult to make this beautiful treats, but you may take a bit of practice on how to dip and yet not drop the strawberries in the melted chocolate.

After our Berry Smoothies, let's have some Chocoberry to start off this afternoon high-tea. These are some easy to make and yet presentable sweet treats whereby you can impress your guest with different kind of decoration design. I am sure this will help you to score more points no matter your guests are Kids or Adults, they will definitely loves these.

Ingredients: (serves 3 - 4)
8 Medium Strawberry
80g 70% Dark Chocolate
30g White Chocolate
Some toothpicks, optional

Method:
1. Gently rinse the berries with tap water then spread them out on a clean dish towel to dry
2. Dry completely before you start dipping and make sure not a drop of water should be left on the berries.
3. Chop/break the dark chocolate bar into small pieces, put the chocolate pieces in a small microwave safe dish.
4. Melt chocolate in the microwave, for about 1 minute at 20 minutes interval on medium power. (Give a quick stir at each interval to even out the melting process)
5. If it still did not melt, continue melting in 15 second increments in the microwave. Stir the chocolate. It should be smooth and have no lumps.(because sometime it depend on the voltage of your microwave)
6. Once the chocolate is melted, start dipping by cover about 2/3 of the strawberry with chocolate.(this looks prettier than covering the entire strawberry)
7. Put the dipped berries on some greaseproof paper and set them in the freezer for about 5 to 10 minutes before decorating it with the white chocolate.

Note:
~ If you are having difficulty holding the strawberry, skewer it just under the green bit with a toothpick just like what I have done in the photo shown above.
~ If you don't prefer white chocolate, you can used chopped nuts, shredded coconut, colour bits and etc to decorate your chocoberry.
~ These Chocoberry should be stored in the refrigerator and eaten at room temperature within 24 hours.


For snack, we will be having this “Strawberry Cupcake” which is made from Strawberry Milk and freshly diced Strawberry. The texture of the cupcake will be slightly moist due to adding of fresh strawberry and when put it near your mouth; you will be able to smell that sweet and fragrance strawberry milk aroma in it.

This simple recipe can bakes about 8 mini cupcakes within 30 minutes including the preparation and baking time. In this way, you can get everything ready and bake it just a few minutes before the guests arrive. I am sure they will be impressive by your little healthy “Strawberry Cupcake”.

Ingredients: (makes 8 mini cupcakes)
100g Cake Flour/Top Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
60g Caster Sugar
50g Butter, melted
1 Medium Egg
30ml Strawberry Milk
3 Medium Strawberry, diced
Extra Slices of Strawberry for topping, optional

Method:
1. Sieved the flour and baking powder together and set aside.
2. Use the electric beater, beat the egg and sugar till white and creamy.
3. Slowly add in the melted butter and continue to beat the mixture.
4. Next add in strawberry milk while the mixer still still beating, then gradually beat in the sieved flour mixture till well combined.
5. Use a spoon or spatula to stir in the diced strawberry and carefully not to over mixed it. (don't worry the mixture will be kind of gluey)
6. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake case till 3/4 full, top with a thin slice of strawberry and bake in a pre-heated 180 degree oven for about 15 minutes.
7. The surface of the cupcake will not be golden in colour so do not over baked it, test it with a skewer or toothpick check whether the center is cooked through.

Note:
~ You can replace Strawberry Milk with plain milk and 50g of butter with 50ml of corn/olive oil.
~ The texture of the cake will be slightly moist and the surface will be a bit sticky due to the adding of milk and fresh fruit.


Since today’s theme is “PinkyBerry High-Tea”, all the items we have will be based on Pink/Strawberry. So after some light refreshment and snack, we can relax and let go ourself in some heart to heart conversation with a pack or two of "Strawberry Flavour Pocky" to spice up the some discussion topics.

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Matcha & Chestnut Chiffon Cake

It has being almost a year for chiffon cake baking since my last tried on “Banana & Passion Fruit Chiffon Cake”. While preparing the ingredients I was still kind of worry and nervous whether the texture of the chiffon cake will turn out with desire outcome.

Today’s combination idea came from my Matcha Madeleines. After using that new Matcha powder that I bought a few weeks ago, I was delighted to try out another recipe using it. So in order to have something light and healthy I decided to bake this Matcha & Chestnut Chiffon Cake.

As usual for a healthy version, I replace corn oil with olive oil and water, less sugar to tone down the sweetness and add in some ready to eat pre-packed chestnut for that extra texture. The chestnuts that I used over here are not those sweetened “Candied Chestnut” that is used for baking so the taste is rather neutral.

Ingredients: (7"/18cm Mould)
100g of Ready To Eat Chestnut
3 Large Egg Yolks
40g Castor Sugar
50ml Olive Oil
50ml Water
80g Top Flour/Cake Flour
1.5 Teaspoons Matcha Powder
4 Large Egg Whites
30g Caster Sugar

Method:
1.Roughly cut/break the chestnuts into chunks and set aside.
2.Separate the egg yolk and white into two separate mixing bowls. (carefully do not leave any trace of egg yolk in the egg whites mixture) then use a balloon whisk to whisk the egg yolk and castor sugar(add in 3 separate additions) till thick and sticky.
3. Slowly drizzle in the oil while continue to whisk at the same time then follow by the water till the mixture is well combined.
4. Add the sifted flour and matcha powder into the egg mixture and continue to whisk till the flour is fully incorporated into the batter.
5. Next stir in the chestnuts(reserved some for toppings) using a spatula till combined.
6. Use a kitchen paper towel to wipe off the oil from the cup then grease the tube-pan lightly with the oil and set aside for later use.
7. Preheat the oven to 180 degree.
8. Beat egg whites and 1/3 of the caster sugar with an electric mixer until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Then add in another 1/3 of the sugar and continue to beat on medium speed until almost soft peaks form then add in the last 1/3 of the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. (the whole process takes about less than 5 minutes)
9. Add the beaten egg white into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, with the 1st addition using the balloon whisk to incorporate it into the yolk mixture till combine without trace of whites.
10. Next fold in the 2nd and 3rd addition of whites using the balloon whisk in a gentle manner in order not to knock off the air in the while, just fold till no trace of white and the mixture are well combined.
11. Before pouring the mixture to the greased pan, use a spatula to give a final stir to make sure there is no flour or egg white mixture at the bottom of the mixing bowl.
12. Lift up the bowl to height, then pour the mixture into the pan and tap the pan 2 - 3 times on a table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.
13. Scatter the reserved chestnut on top of the batter, baked the cake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or when the surfaces turns golden brown. (you can insert a skewer into the centre and test if it comes out clean)
14. Remove from the oven and invert the pan immediately and let it rest on top of a cup. Let it cool completely before unmould.
15. To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife(i use a small rubber saptula) around the inside of the pan and the center core.
16. Release the cake and run the knife/spatula along the base of the pan to remove the cake.
17. Cut into serving size and serve with a cup of tea or coffee.

Notes:
a) You can get the ready to eat chestnuts from most supermarket or grocery stores..
b) To test whether your beaten egg white is of stiff peak form, turn mixing bowl upside down, the white will remain without falling.(refer to the photo above)
c) Preheat the oven half way through while whisking the egg whites so that the oven temperature will be ready and not over heated when you have all the mixture done and ready to bake.

The cake is infused with the natural green colour and aroma from the matcha powder, which makes it a great afternoon, tea-snack that you can impressed your guest with. If you are not a fan or Chestnuts, you can always replace it with some Japanese Sweet Potato, Azuki Bean or even chocolate chips. I am sure there is something that will compromise everyone’s taste.

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Matcha Madeleines with Azuki Bean

Madeleines are very small traditional sponge cakes with a distinctive shell-like shape which traditional recipes always include ground almonds and lemon zest. But for these Madeleines that I am going to share with you, I did not included the above two ingredients but rather I used Matcha - 抹茶(Green Tea) powder and cooked Azuki Bean - 紅豆 instead.

The idea of making these Matcha Madeleines comes from my favourite “Green Tea & Red Bean Bread” from Break Talk. Mum and I love to get their green tea bread whenever we feel like having it for morning breakfast or tea-snack. I can say this Matcha Madeleine is very addictive, it is full of Matcha fragrance that accompany with a sweet scent of azuki bean which makes it a great afternoon tea-snack to share with friends while catching up with some girls’ talk.

This is a pretty easy and straightforward recipe whereby it takes about 30 minutes or so from preparation to baking. You can also prepared the ingredients and starts the whisking and baking just an hour or so before your guest arrived so that the Madeleines will still taste warm while serving.

Ingredients: 18 Small Madeleines
90ml Melted Butter
100g Plain Flour
1.5 Teaspoon Matcha Powder
80g Caster Sugar
2 Medium Egg
3/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
Some Cooked Auzki Bean

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degree and grease the madeleine pan with some melted butter. (you do not need to grease it if you are using the silicon baking tray shown above which is similar like mine)
2. Sieve the flour, matcha powder and baking powder together and set aside.
3. Whisk the eggs and sugar together for about 5 minutes on medium high speed or till the mixture is pale and thicken.
4. Mix in the flour mixture in two or 3 batches then slowly add in the melted butter and stir till well combined.(the mixture shall be a bit glue and not too runny)
5. Spoon the mixture to fill the Madeleine pan to 3/4 full then top about 1/2 teaspoon of cooked Auzki Bean in each Madeleine mould.
6. Bake in the preheat oven for about 10 - 15 minutes depending on the size, the madeleines are ready if it spring back when lightly pressed.

Note:
~ You can get those can/packet type of Japanese cooked Auzki Bean most supermarket(Japanese prodcuts deparment)/daiso(food department).
~ Click Here for more details on Matcha Powder.


Other than the Matcha flavour, I also make a batch with extra dose of Dutch Cocoa Powder and Chocolate Chips especially for my dear son. As for the dual colour madeleines, it is made of the mixture of the remaining Matcha batter mixed with some cocoa batter and topped with extra chocolate chips to pamper my craving for Matcha and Cocoa.

Ingredients: 6 Small Madeleines
45ml Melted Butter
45g Plain Flour
3/4 Tablespoon Dutch Cocoa Powder
40g Caster Sugar
1 Medium Egg
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
Some Chocolate Chips

Method:
~ Follow the Matcha Madeleines steps above.


So after seeing this post, are you tempted to get some Matcha and Azuki Bean to start off your bakes? No matter which combination you choose, what kind of ingredients you add in, I am sure this will make a wonder tea-time snacks.

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