Lapis Malang Pandan

I made this last night and wasn't planning on posting the recipe here, for couple of reasons ...
A. Because this isn't original lapis malang, I must admit I cheated by using my classic jelly rolled recipe :P, so I am not sure if I can call this lapis Malang or not.
B. I did not take a good pictures, I only took couple snaps with my IPad ...

But I ended up posting it here because my friends requested me for the recipe, so here it is

Ingredients :
10 egg yolk
5 egg white
150 gr sugar
Vanilla essence
Pandan essence, orriginally using chocholate powder or essence, but you can be creative playing with your favorite flavour
Stawberry jam, or your favorite jam
150 gr all purpose flour
25 gr Custard powder, I use vanilla pudding mix
150 gr melted butter

Method

Heat the oven 400F
Prepare 2 square 8 inches pans with butter and dust it with flour, set aside.
Using high speed mixer, beat egg yolk, egg white, vanilla essence and sugar until well arrised and fluffy, I'd say arround 12 minutes. It's important to have eggs in room temperature, it will raise more and faster in my opinion.
Mix flour and custard powder, turn the mixer to the lowest speed.
Gradually add melted butter and mixed flour.
Continue folding the batter with spatulla.
Devide the batter into 2 part, pour one part into first pan
Add pandan essence into another part, and folded well.
Pour it into another prepared cake pan.
Bake it for 12 minutes, turn. The oven down to 375F and continue baking for another 10 minutes.

When it's done, smear strowberry jam evenly on the frist cake surface, release another cake and place it on top of jam smeared cake. Put the pan on top of the cake to make sure the two cakes are attached and well glued.

Slice it, and ready to serve :)

Butterscotch chip cookies topped with chocolate drizzle

I use basic chocolate chip recipe for this cookies, but I did a little twist to it by accident.
I was actually lanned to make strawberry covered chocolate for thanksgiving dinner dessert, but my youngest son keep eating the strawberry and left only its stem on the table, and I already melted some chocolate.
So I use the chocolate to topped this butterscotch cookies I made day before. Turned out great because whenever I made chip cookies I always reduce the sugar and chips, so it didn't come out too sweet at all. But hey, it's Thanksgiving!! the day when you can eat everything and it's forgiven :P

Ingredients :

2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
2 stick of butter (1 cup)
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1/3 cup of sugar
vanilla essence
1/4 tsp each of baking soda and baking powder
1 package of butterscotch chips (I use only 3/4 pack)
1 large egg and 2 yolks

Method :

Turn on the oven to 325F
Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, set aside.
In a separated bowl, xix the sugar, butter and vanilla and turn the mixer on medium high, then gradually add eggs one at a time.
Add the dry ingredients into the mixture
Spoon it into baking sheet, and flattened gently it with fork
Bake it until done for about 10 - 12 minutes, more if you wanted the cookies to be crispy.
Let it cool in a wire rack, then drizzle with melted chocolate on top.

Lapis Legit

Lapis is translated as layers while legit means very yummy, tasty delicious.
LAPIS LEGIT also known as KUE SPEKKOEK because it uses spekkoek spice mixed such as cinnamon, nutmeg etc.
This is one of the cake that takes forever to make, not only it's very time consuming but also requires some talent and extra patient, that's why not somany Indonesian knows how or willing to try to make this cake. But once you have confidence and understand all the steps I think anybody can make it.
This Dutch influenced cake is very popular among Indonesian. Good lapis legit should have at least 12 layers or more and because of the richness of the cake it tends to serve in a very small size usually thin slice.

LAPIS LEGIT (Thousand layer spice cake)


INGREDIENTS
A :
500 gr butter
1 can of condense milk
2 tbs golden syrup or honey (I skipped it)

B :
25 egg yolk
150 gr powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

C :
5 white eggs
pinch of cream of tartar

D :
170 gr all purpose flour
2,5 tsp spekkoek spice mix*

*Spekkoek spice mix recipe :
Mix all these ingredients together :
4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cardamom
1 tsp mace
1 tsp star anise
1 tsp coriander

METHOD :

Mixed all the A ingredients and cream it until light and fluffy with high speed, set aside
Whisk the D ingredients, set aside
Mixed all the B ingredients until pale and fluffy with high speed mixer.
Meanwhile in a separated bowl whip white eggs into stiff peaks.
Preheat the oven to 350F, prepare a 8.5 X 8.5 X 5 pan layer it with parchment paper with butter
Now mix all the A, B, C batters with D ingredients with the lowest speed mixer for real quick mix then continue using spatula, don't overdo this step.
Layer about 1/2 cup of the batter into the bottom of the pan, then bake it for 3 minutes, then turn on the oven into broil/grill (so only using the top heat from now on). Bake it again for about 1 to 2 minutes until the surface is golden brown.
Gently press the surface with the bottom of a flat glass to make sure the cake is evenly flat for the next layers.
Ladle about the same or less amount of a batter to the top the first layer, bake it for 3 to 4 minutes until the surface is golden brown, then gently press it and flattened again ready for the next layer.
Repeat this steps till the batter is done.
Turn the oven to 300F or lower then bake the whole cake for another 10 minutes, to make sure all layers are done.
Let it cool and covered, once it cool you can slice it to 1 cm thick, serve it with tea or coffee.

K e l e p o n

I still have some leftovers of grated coconut from making PUTRI AYU the other day, and I do not like wasting :P so I decided to make some kelepon today for the boys to snack on after school.
I hope they'll like it ^__^

Kelepon is a traditional Indonesian snack made from glutenous rice flour filled with palm/arenga sugar, boil it, then rolled it into steamed grated coconut. It's really simple to make, I think almost every Indonesian know how.
Normally if the recipe calls from pandan flavor, I always use instant pandan paste, but this time I have canned pandan extracts handy, so I use that instead. And I could not be more happier with the result! I love love love the final color. The green is more natural and I love it!! ..... it really reminds me of home!!
Next time I'll use canned pandan extracts if I can, since I know in some recipes you have to stick with pandan paste.

K E L E P O N

INGREDIENTS :
200 ml pandan extract water (about 1/2 can)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp lime stone paste water (diluted a small amount of lime stone paste with 1 tsp lukewarm water)

250 gr glutenous rice flour
100 gr palm sugar/arenga sugar --> shredded (do not substitute with brown sugar)
250 gr grated coconut
1/2 tsp salt
Pandanus leaves (optional)

METHOD :

Mixed grated coconut with 1/2 of salt and pandanus leaves, then steam it until done, or you can put it in a microwave, covered and set on high for 1 minute. Set aside

In the mean time, heat the pandan extracts until warm (do not boil it), add 1/2 of salt and 1 tsp of lime stone paste. Mix it well, then add the glutinous rice flour into it. Use your hand mix it well and knead it until ready to be shaped.

Take a small amount of dough, flatten it, then put a little of palm sugar in the center.

Using your hand, shape the dough into like a small balls, about 2 cm of diameter.

Then boil it in a hot boiling water until done, about 5 minutes.

When it's done, roll the balls into prepared grated coconut.

Ready to serve ^__^

Enjoy it!!

Putri Ayu

Putri Ayu means beautiful princes, some people also call it putu ayu.
This sweet traditional Indonesian dish will always be my favorite. Back then when I was a kid I always loved when my mom took me to the traditional market, and she gave me some treats if I behaved, and putri ayu is the one I always picked along with carabikang (another Indonesian treats I haven't try to make my self yet).

PUTRI AYU

INGREDIENTS :


Toppings :
160 fresh grated coconut
1 tbsp corn starch
1/4 tsp salt

Cake batter :
5 eggs
200 gr sugar
200 gr all purpose flour
150 ml coconut milk
vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Pandan paste

METHOD :

1. Mix together grated coconut milk, corn starch and sugar, then steam it until done for about 5 minutes, or you can put it in microwave and set on high for 1 minute covered.
2. Prepare the molds and spray it with cooking oil such spam to avoid sticking, then put some prepared coconut about 1/3 or the mold or as you wish and pat it with finger tip.
3. Mix together eggs and sugar and set the mixer in high speed, mix it until the egg becoming pale and the sugar is dissolved. Add in the coconut milk and pandan paste and mix it for a little while, then turn off the mixer.
4. Mix together flour, salt and vanilla (I use the powder kind) and add it into the batter. Use spatula to stir and make sure there are no clumps in the batter.
5. Pour the batter into the molds already has layer of prepared grated coconut.
6. Steam it until done for about 15 minutes.

Kue Lumpur

It's been a long while since my last post. But I wont bore you with some excuses ... LOL

Okay, tomorrow is Dylan's birthday and I'd love to bring some Indonesian sweet treats to his class on Monday, so today I need to practice some recipes. And I choose KUE LUMPUR among hundreds of yummy Indonesian sweet treats simply because it's my favorite, it's not too sweet and I just love its texture. I hope the kids will love it too...*I am crossing my fingers*

KUE LUMPUR literary means mud cake, but don't get confuse or mixed up with American mud cake. It's totally different.
Kue lumpur has a texture similar to pancake, tastes like in between pancake and custard with a hint of coconut flavor plus raisins. You can choose raisins for the topping, young coconut flesh or any of your favorite sweet toppings.

KUE LUMPUR
Indonesian mud cake

INGREDIENTS :
75 gr margarine
250 ml light coconut milk + 500 ml thick coconut milk *
175 gr all purpose flour
125 gr sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
5 egg + 1 yolk (whisked)
Raisins for toppings

* since I used 400 ml canned coconut milk, what I did was taking 100ml of the coconut milk and diluted it with 150 water. And I added 200ml of water and mixed it to the remaining 300ml so that would make 500ml.

METHOD :
1. Heat the margarine and 250 ml light coconut milk and sugar until margarine melted and boiled, add salt and vanilla. Then add shifted flour and quickly mix with wooden spatula until it gets really well mixed.

2. Turn the stove off and remove from the heat. Gradually add some egg and 500 ml coconut milk and keep stirring until well blended and the texture is smooth and silky. I strained the mixture using a very fine strainer to make sure there are no clumps.

3. Heat the pan on top of the stove and brush it off with some margarine to avoid sticking. Pour the mixture for about 3/4 of each cup, cover and let it cook halfway. Add some raisins then cover it again and cook it until done.

4. Using a small heat proof spatula gently remove kue lumpur from the pan and ready to serve, it's good with cup a tea for morning or early evening snack.

Apple-Strawberry Buckle

BUCKLE is a tender yellow cake with a fruit and streusel topping.
I adopted the recipe from the "Fine Cooking Annual" book. The original version is Apricot-Raspberry Buckle. But since I still have some strawberry left I better use it before it goes bad. I also use some diced apples that I sauted with some butter, fresh vanilla bean, cinnamon and sugar. Smells amazing!!
When hubby came home yesterday I asked him to taste it, and he just could not stop ...he even skip dinner. Need I say more??

APPLE-STRAWBERRY BUCKLE
Recipe adopted from the Fine Cooking Anual, modified by ME.
Serves eight to ten.

INGREDIENTS :

For the Streusel :
1/2 cup minus 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar (I use cane sugar)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Fresh vanilla seeds from 1 bean (then I use the bean string to saute the apple)
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small piecies

For the cake :
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar (I use cane sugar)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (I use vanilla beans)
1/4 tsp pure almond extract
3 large eggs
3/4 pound apple (diced, sauted for 5 minutes with 1 tsp of butter, 1 tbsp of sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and vanilla beans)
2 cups of fresh ripen strawberries

METHOD

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 370F, butter a 9 inch square pan.

Make the streusel :
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the cold butter and cut it in with a pastry blender or two table knifes until the butter pieces resemble small peas. Refrigerated until needed.

Make the cake :
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl
With a hand or electric mixer (use the paddle attachment) beat the butter on a medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and the extracts. Beat for 1 minute. Gradually add the remaining 3/4 cup sugar while beating on medium speed. Stop and use a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl and batter. Beat on a medium high speed until pale and slightly fluffy (the sugar will not be dissolved), about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing it until the batter is smooth each time.
Stop and scrape the bowl and the beater. On low speed, add the flour mixture and beat only until incorporated.
The batter will be thick. Add half of the apples and half of the strawberries to the batter and fold them in gently with a large rubber spatula. Some of the strawberries will be break when baked, the pinkish cast will disappear.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan and distribute the remaining fruit evenly on top. Sprinkle the streusel over the fruit. bake until the cake springs back in the center when lightly pressed and a toothpick comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes.
Let the cake cool in its pan on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Strawberry Syrup

Still about strawberry .... :P ..I just don't like wasting that's why! :D
The boys got about 12lbs of strawberries last weekend when we took them for strawberry picking. We ate it freshly, made some smoothies, strawberry jam, and there are still so much left.
So this afternoon I made some strawberry syrup. I know my family would enjoy it with some pancake or waffle for breakfast.
The strawberry I use are very ripe and sweet, so I don't add some water to the recipe, as soon as the sugar dissolve the strawberry producing so much juices. LOVE IT!!!

INGREDIENTS :

4 cups of fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
2 cups of superfine sugar (I used cane sugar)
1/4 cups of fresh lime juice (lemon juice would be great but I only have fresh lime)

METHOD :

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix together the strawberries, sugar, and lime juice. 

Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil.


Remove from the heat and let it cool. Strain the mixture and transfer into a bottle or syrup dispenser.

Strawberry Jam

Last week I took the boys for strawberry picking at Barbie's Berry Farm in Ferndale. Oh boys they have so much FUN and picked loads of strawberries.
We ate it fresh and it was like the best thing EVER!! it was so sweet!! the next morning I made some strawberry and banana smoothies and the boys love it so much.
Do not want to waste any I decided to make some strawberry jam yesterday.

A good friend of mine let me know that you don't really need a recipe for a jam, you can just mix whatever fruit or berries with sugar and that's it. The composition is 1:1.
I however reduced the amount of sugar by 50% and I add some fresh lime juice as well. Turned out great!!

INGREDIENTS :

4 cups of fresh strawberries hulled
2 cups of superfine sugar (I used cane sugar)
1/4 cups of fresh lime juice (lemon juice would be great but I only have fresh lime yesterday)

METHOD :

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix together the strawberries, sugar, and lime juice. 

Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. 

Boil, stirring often, until the mixture reaches 220 degrees F (105 degrees C). 

Transfer to hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch headspace, and seal. Process in a water bath. If the jam is going to be eaten right away, don't bother with processing, and just refrigerate.

Centik Manis

I decided to make this yesterday afternoon because it was raining all day long, the boys were so bored and so was I. Didn't feel like spring at all here in Bellingham and sometimes I wonder if summer will ever come.

Centik Manis is one of my favorite traditional Indonesian snack. I do not know exactly who came up with such name, but CENTIK means pretty and little, while MANIS means sweet. So centik manis is translated as  Indonesian pretty and sweet snack, even though its taste is not as sweet compared to most American dessert.  It tastes similar to rice pudding or tapioca pearl pudding. But has firmer texture.

I love when my mom brought some from the traditional market nearby our house. Making this is really brings back my childhood memories.
Traditionally centik manis is wrapped in a plastic or banana leaves, but since I am too lazy I thought using pudding mold or jello mold is more practical and can still be pretty. This time I used putri ayu molds. If you lack of such molds you can simply pour the mixture in a 8X8 pan to be sliced afterward.

Centik Manis

Ingredients :

50 gr multi color tapioca pearl
75 gr mung beans starch (tepung hunkue)
100 gr sugar
800 ml coconut milk (I used 1 can (400ml) of coconut milk and added 400ml more water)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
Vanilla extract (I use vanilla bean, 1 bean goes along way)
1 pandan leaf (sold at most asian market fresh and frozen)

Method :

• Boil the tapioca pearl until done, drained and set aside
• Mixed the rest of ingredients in a 2 quart pot and turn the heat on medium low
• Keep stirring until the mixture got thickened
• Add the cooked tapioca pearls  
• Stir again and make sure everything is mixed and cooked 
• ladle the mixture into molds
• let it cool and well set
• release it from the molds and ready to serve

Matcha Macarons

This is my first attempt tackling french macarons! It wasn't a "trial and succeed" thing but I would not call it a failure either. The "feet" trade mark is there but somewhat the texture did not turned as what I expected. But practice makes perfect ... practice makes perfect. 

I think I have to reduce the amount of sugar next time.
The real trick I learned in making macaroons is not only on how to get the perfect hard peak with the white eggs, but you also have to let the piped batter sit over the counter for at least 1 hour. Many says 30 minutes up to 1 hour, but I'd suggest for at least 1 hour to get a perfect form of skin.

Matcha Macarons


Ingredients :
100 grams white egg (I use 3 eggs whites) room temperature.

25 grams granulated sugar

Pinch of salt
225 grams confectioners' sugar (next time I'd use 200 gr)
125 grams skinned almond powder
15 grams matcha/green tea powder (Next time I'd only use 10 gr)

For Chocolate filling :

½ cup (125 ml) heavy cream
120 gr bittersweet or semisweet chocolate 

Method :

1. Grind ground almond and confectioners' sugar with food processor to make sure there’s no lumps.
2. Whip the eggs whites with a pinch of salt and slowly adding in the granulated sugar until soft peaks formed. Add the dry ingredients to the egg whites half at a time and start folding (do it slowly).
3. Pipe the macaron batter onto baking paper.
4. Bake at 300F (160C) for 12 - 15  mins.
5. Let it cool and fill the macarons shell with chocolate filling.

To Make Chocolate filling:

Heat the cream until really hot, then slowly pour it into the chocolate chunk and slowly stir till it get really smooth and silky, let it cool before you put into the macarons shells.

Southern Peach Cobler

Ingredients:

8 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced into thin wedges 

1/4 cup white sugar 

1/4 cup brown sugar 

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg 

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 

2 teaspoons cornstarch 

1 cup all-purpose flour 

1/4 cup white sugar 

1/4 cup brown sugar 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces 

1/4 cup boiling water 

MIX TOGETHER: 

3 tablespoons white sugar 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

METRIC : (buat yg nggak mau pake ukuran cup)

8 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced into thin wedges 

50 g white sugar 

55 g brown sugar 

0.6 g ground cinnamon 

0.4 g ground nutmeg 

5 ml fresh lemon juice 

5 g cornstarch 

125 g all-purpose flour 

50 g white sugar 

55 g brown sugar 

3 g baking powder 

3 g salt 

85 g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces 

60 ml boiling water 

MIX TOGETHER: 

40 g white sugar 

2 g ground cinnamon 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). 

In a large bowl, combine peaches, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined. 

Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 30 minutes. 

Sumber resep : allrecipes.com

Ngikutin beberapa tips dari para reviewer :

Klo pengen peach-nya kerasa chunky, peach-nya hrs dipotong agak tebel, atau bahkan tebel2 (aku mah sebagian tebel sebagian tipis).

Untuk adonan toping-nya, aku tambahin 50% dari resep krn ada yg bilang terlalu sedikit dan nggak ke cover, makanya diphoto kliatan tebel.

Caramel Banana Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups pruchased caramel sauce

1/2 tsp plus 1/8 tsp fine sea salt

8 5X3 1/2-inch slices white sandwich bread (such as buttermilk or potato bread), very lightly toasted

3 medium bananas, peeled, thinly sliced on diagonal into 1 2/3-inch ovals

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups half and half

1/2 cup whole milk

2 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat broiler, butter eight 3/4 cup ramekins. Mix caramel sauce and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt in small bowl. Spoon 1 generous tablespoon caramel into each ramekin. 

Place bread on rimmed baking sheet. Spread 1 generous tablespoon caramel over each bread slice. Broil until caramel is bubbling and slightly darker, watching to avoid burning, 1to 2 minutes. Cool

Cut each bread slice into 6 squares, for 48 pcs total. Set 1 banana slice on each bread square. Arrage 6 banana-topped bread square standing on edge, side by side in each prepared ramekin, fitting snuggly.

Whisk eggs, half and half, milk 1 1/2 teablespoon sugar, vanilla and 1/8 teaspoon sea salt in medium bowl.

Pour enough custard into each ramekin to reach top. Let stand until bread absorbs some of custard, about 30 minuts. Reserve any remaining custard.

Meanwhile, position rack in bottom third of oven and preaheat to 400F. Pour remaining custard into ramekins. Brush exposed bread pieces with melted butter. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Set ramekins in large rasting pan. Pour enough hot water into pan to come halfway up sides of ramekins.

Bake puddings until set and kinfe inserted into custard comes out clead, about 45 minutes. Remove from pan, cool.

Serve bread puddings warm or at room temperature.