Best Banana Bread recipe!

I love banana bread. Always have, always will! And no matter how many times the health-conscious out there remind me that its sugar and fat content qualify it more as "cake" than any recognisable form of bread, I still prefer to call it by its alliterative moniker.

The humble banana bread has seen me through some stressful times indeed: a particularly taxing day at school (i.e. PD/H/PE classes!) would be incomplete without a trip to the canteen for a thick slice of warm, toasted banana bread. And because calories simply didn't matter when you're a grubby teenager like I was, I would ask for it to be spread with margarine. The margarine (far inferior to butter, but that was what was available) would melt and seep into the airy pores of the fragrant banana bread, and I would savour it bit by bit from the greasy paper bag, breaking pieces off with my fingers.

I unashamedly consider myself to be an expert on banana bread, having eaten and indeed baked so many different versions. I've encountered some truly disgusting permutations (apple sauce! oatmeal! flaxseed!) to an absolute gem like this recipe. I can say with confidence that this is the best banana bread I have ever tasted. No, really, I've made this recipe three times now, and each time it has gone like a flash! And, despite my best of intentions, this banana bread has been the reason why I keep falling off my 'diet'. One taste of it and I'm a goner. I won't scare you with how much of the most recent loaf I ate by myself, but suffice it to say that the only reason I'm holding off on the next loaf is because I'm, er, running out of pants that fit ;D

I should mention that I used coconut oil and macadamia oil to bake this loaf of banana bread. However, I have also made it using only coconut oil. And they've all turned out great. The subtle scent of coconut was present only in the loaf made with purely coconut oil. What I'm saying is that please don't go out of your way to purchase coconut oil especially for this recipe. Any oil will do, and you may even experiment with stronger flavoured oils like hazelnut or olive oil. Do let me know how they turn out :) It's the proportions of ingredients in this recipe that matter.


Best Banana Bread recipe


Adapted from Served with love

Makes one 22cm x 12cm loaf

Ingredients

2 cups mashed bananas (use overripe ones)
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup of oil (I used 1/4 cup coconut oil and 1/4 cup macadamia oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used vanilla bean paste)
3 cups cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line the loaf tin with greaseproof paper or aluminium foil.

2. Mix together cake flour, ground cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.

3. Beat together the eggs and sugar until fluffy and a pale yellow in colour. Whisk in the mashed bananas. Sprinkle the baking soda over this mixture and whisk it in.

4. Drizzle in the oil and mix it well into the batter. Whisk in the vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. Fold in the flour mixture in three additions.

5. Pour batter into the lined loaf tin and bake for around 1 hour and 45 minutes, checking with a skewer for doneness around 1.5 hours into baking, and every 10 minutes thereafter (since baking times vary with ovens). If you find that the top of the loaf is browning very quickly, you may have to cover it with a piece of foil an hour into baking to stop the top from burning. The banana bread is done baking when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean (no wet batter).

6. Remove from oven and cool slightly in tin before cooling completely on a baking rack. For best results, wrap with cling wrap once completely cooled, and let it sit for two days before serving in order to allow flavours to fully develop.

Skinny Nutty Biscotti

Happy Monday, y'all! I, too, am susceptible to the bout of blues that follows a sensational weekend spent having fun with friends and family, and absolutely dread the prospect of returning to the tedium that is "real life" (read: the weekdays). However, I am a firm believer in the maxim, "fake it till you make it". Perhaps a sense of genuine enthusiasm towards hard work and having to make an honest living will naturally follow my presently ersatz cheer. One can only hope.

In the meantime, how about a few of these Skinny Nutty Biscotti to go with your morning cuppa on this dreary Monday? I call these "skinny" for no other reason than the fact that it rhymes with "nutty" and "biscotti", and I happen to be teaching poetry analysis to my little protégés at the moment. I have no idea if these are low-calorie or "good for you", but I suppose the use of only egg whites may be a point of attraction for some. I personally find the notion of "healthy" desserts to be absurd. Eat your no-frills meat and vege during the week, and splurge on the good stuff on weekends. Why bother with the fat-free, sugar-free, taste-free substitutions? Honestly!

So that's my little Monday morning rant. Anyway, it just occurred to me that there's actually a better reason to call these "skinny"; look how thin the slices are! I've been on the look-out for the longest time for a biscotti recipe that produces the paper-thin (okay, cardboard-thin) cookies I've seen sold in Italian delicatessens. Prior to these, the biscotti I've made have been the chunky ones (see: these). And whilst they were crunchy and delicious dipped in coffee or tea, I do love how refined and delicate these Skinny Biscotti look:

I've adapted the recipe I found here to include quite a few different nuts. How many can you spot? 

Ready for the answers? We've got: macadamias, pistachios, walnuts and cashews, oh my! :D

Worry not about trying to slice through the nuts after the first baking. Learning from my disastrous attempt at slicing bread fresh out of the oven, I left the biscotti loaf to cool overnight before slicing it the next morning. My serrated knife made short work of the loaf, and within minutes I had a pile of beautifully spotted, soft slices of biscotti to return to the oven to crisp up. Do keep an eye on these around the 20 minute mark during the second baking because, as you can see from the picture above, these brown around the edges quite easily. And you wouldn't want to sully that pale, white canvas, studded with flashes of green and cream, would you?

Recipe for Skinny Nutty Biscotti


Adapted from the recipe found here


Makes 25-30 biscotti, depending on how thin you slice it


Ingredients


4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
100g caster sugar
120g all-purpose/plain flour
2 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon almond extract
50g roasted or raw macadamia nuts
50g roasted pistachio kernels
50g roasted cashews
50g roasted or raw walnut kernels


Method


1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius (300 degrees Fahrenheit). Line a loaf tin with non-stick parchment paper.


2. Whisk egg whites and cream of tartar until fluffy, and soft peaks form. Slowly add the caster sugar, tablespoon by tablespoon, and whisk until stiff peaks form.


3. Sift in the flour, and stir gently to combine. Add in the canola oil, and fold gently into the batter. Add all the nuts, and stir in.


4. Pour mixture into the lined loaf tin and bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the surface is light brown.


5. Remove from oven, and allow to cool in tin slightly before placing on cooling rack. Allow to cool overnight, or for 5 hours at least.


6. The next morning (or whenever the loaf has finished cooling), preheat oven to 120 degrees Celsius (250 degrees Fahrenheit). Cut the cooled loaf into thin slices, around 5mm in thickness, with a serrated knife. Place on lined cookie trays and bake in preheated oven for 30-45 minutes, flipping the biscotti over halfway through. The biscotti are done baking when they feel dry and crumbly to the touch, but may be slightly soft and springy. Do not let them brown.


7. Remove from oven and cool completely before serving. Biscotti are great for dunking into a steaming cup of coffee or tea. Store in an airtight container to keep the biscotti crispy.

Mango and Cream Swiss Roll

Despite being on summer break from uni at the moment, I don't have nearly as much time to spend on baking and pastry-making as I would like. Yesterday evening provided a rare opportunity for me to carry out two wishes I've had for a while now: 1) try out my flashy new KitchenAid stand mixer and 2) make a Swiss roll.

I've made a Swiss cake roll only one time previously, around a year ago, and the result was not very good. There were visible lumps of flour in the cake part, and the filling made everything soggy. I am pleased to say that this Swiss roll turned out very well. Due to either a superior recipe for the sponge cake, or the use of gelatine-stabilised whipped cream for the filling, or the assistance I received from my KitchenAid, or a combination of the three, this Mango and Cream Swiss Roll had it all in terms of flavour and looks. Okay, almost had it all in terms of looks. But it tasted great, and when baking for friends and family, flavour trumps appearance, yes?

Before I forget - allow me to show off my KitchenAid! Which I've already formed an emotional attachment to xD Whenever I feel depressed about having to go to work, I look to it as a reminder that only some of the good things in life are for free, lol :D

Apart from a minor incident in which I managed to electrocute myself when I touched the mixer bowl because I'd plugged the KitchenAid into an extension cord socket (which wasn't properly grounded), my first baking project involving the mixer went very smoothly. Prior to this, I've always used a hand mixer to make the meringue base for a sponge cake, whip cream for frosting, mix the batter, etc., and I was so surprised at how much effort I was saving myself by using the stand mixer. In fact, I felt kinda guilty and lazy just standing by the sidelines and watching, while my Yellow Pepper-hued beauty did all the work for me. All I had to do was clean the bowl and the whisk intermittently! And assemble the cake roll, of course.

Now, some key pointers when making the sponge cake sheet: 

• Firstly, make sure you have the correct sized pan for the recipe you're using. I've made the mistake of spreading the batter too thinly before, and I ended up with a toffee-coloured sheet which shattered when I tried to manipulate it into some semblance of a roll. I used the sponge cake recipe I found at What's For Dessert Today!, which was perfect for a 9" x 12" (23 x 30cm) pan. 

• Secondly, roll up your cake fresh out of the oven, being careful not to burn your hands. The reason for this is that, if you allow your cake to cool before trying to roll it up, you'll end up with cracks all over. So roll it up while it's still warm. Without the filling, of course. Keep it rolled up while it cools slightly, then unroll, spread out the filling, roll it back up, and put it in the fridge to chill for a few hours.

• Thirdly (and this is a general tip for all sponge cakes), I find that flour lumps are easily avoided by using the "chiffon method" when making the batter. This is where you mix the flour and other dry ingredients with the egg yolks, whip the egg whites and sugar into a meringue separately, then combine the two. This is in contrast to what I did before, which was to sift in the dry ingredients into the wet. 

I mentioned that I used gelatine-stabilised cream for the filling. This is simply a fancy name for cream whipped after gelatine had been added to it. After chilling for a bit in the fridge, it takes on a mousse-like consistency which is perfect for spreading or piping. The gelatine helps it to hold its shape, and stops the moisture from the cream from leeching into the surrounding cake. 

The whipped cream filling holding its shape, thanks to the addition of gelatine

Next time, I may puree whatever fruit I choose to use and mix it with the cream to form a pretty, uniformly-coloured filling. I do quite like the distinct chunks of mango in this roll, though :D 

Here's the recipe!

Recipe for Mango and Cream Swiss Roll

Adapted from What's For Dessert Today!

Makes one 23cm long swiss roll

Ingredients

For the sponge cake:

4 large eggs, separated into yolks and whites

70g caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used vanilla bean paste)

10g corn flour (sifted)

70g all-purpose/plain flour

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

40ml canola oil

40g milk

For the gelatine-stabilised whipped cream:

1 cup whipping cream

3 tablespoons confectioner's/icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (again, I used vanilla bean paste)

1 teaspoon powdered gelatine

1 tablespoon cold water

And, of course...:

Flesh of half a large mango, sliced into 5cm sticks

Method

To make the gelatine-stabilised whipped cream (do this first):

1. Combine the cold water and powdered gelatine, stir together, and set aside until the gelatine has absorbed the water to make a goo. Microwave this goo for 15 seconds or until liquid. Set aside.

2. In a bowl, combine whipping cream, confectioner's/icing sugar, and vanilla extract. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, start whipping the cream. When soft peaks start to form, add in the liquid gelatine mixture. Continue whipping until stiff peaks form. Do not over-beat or cream will separate and curdle. Transfer into a container, and refrigerate until needed.

To make the sponge cake sheet:

1. Preheat oven at 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit). Line a 9" x 12" (23 x 30cm) sheet pan or baking tray with non-stick parchment paper, and place the baking rack towards the middle of the oven, closer to the bottom. 

2. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and 35g of the caster sugar until light and creamy. Sift in the all-purpose/plain flour, corn flour, and baking soda and whisk until smooth and lumps-free. Add in the vanilla extract, and whisk it in well.

3. In a separate bowl (here's where my KitchenAid came to the rescue), add the cream of tartar to the egg whites, and whisk until soft peaks form. Gradually add in the remaining 35g of caster sugar, tablespoon by tablespoon, and beat until stiff peaks form. 

4. Add 1/3 of the beaten egg white mixture from step 3 to the egg yolk mixture from step 2. Stir in with whisk, so that the batter is more liquid. Pour this batter into the remaining egg whites, and fold in gently with a rubber spatula. Be careful as to not deflate the batter.

5. Pour batter into the lined sheet pan and smooth the top with the back of a spoon. Place in oven, and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the surface is a light, golden brown. 

6. Remove from oven, and straight away, cover the top with a pieces of parchment paper and roll up the cake. Allow to cool slightly, for around 5 minutes, then unroll and fill with the whipped cream and mango. Roll back up, wrap with cling wrap, and put in the fridge to chill for a few hours before slicing and serving.

Using up that pesky bag of almond meal

ETA: Guess what I spent the morning doing! If you look along the top the page, just under the banner, I've added a tab "About BeyondBourkeStreet", which links to an 'About Me' page. Feel free to check it out, and hope you like the pictures! :D

In this post, I shall share two dessert recipes that I recently employed in order to use up my stash of almond meal. I'm sure this isn't a commonly-occurring problem for most people, since no one goes out of their way buying almond meal in bulk, especially considering how expensive the stuff is. Unless you had plans on making macarons until you developed carpal tunnel syndrome. Too bad I fell out of love with macarons after I'd bought the 1kg bag of almond meal. Something to do with eating so many over a limited period of time that my teeth hurt, my throat smoked, and my sinuses seized up from the overwhelming sweetness. I need to learn moderation.

Orange and poppyseed frangipane tart

The first of the recipes - the orange and poppyseed frangipane tart - is an innovation of my very own. Why orange and poppyseed? Well, why not? :D Haha, actually, it was because I had a bag of poppyseed that also needed to be used up. The flavour combination is such a classic one that I was quite confident it would turn out well in this form. Like for my pound cake, I utilised orange extract instead of orange juice and zest.  I would like to try this with the real stuff some day. Flavour extract notwithstanding, this tart turned out really well. As you can see from the photos, the top was crusty while the insides remained gooey and yielding. Kinda like a macaron, actually! 

All the frangipane tarts I came across on the Internet included some sort of fruity component, whether it be pears poached in white wine, sliced and layered on top, or apple pieces spiced with cinnamon, and the whole thing resembling a postmodernist take on the humble apple pie. Since I was to be taking this to a dinner party the next day, I wanted a recipe that didn't consist of easily-perishable ingredients. Gourmet Traveller to the rescue! The magazine had an online recipe for a Galician almond tart which I used as a reference point for ingredient ratios.  Had I substituted almond meal or some other kind of gluten-free flour for the shortcrust pastry dough, the whole tart would have been gluten-free.

The second recipe is one we're all familiar with: the Flourless Chocolate Cake. Again, a classic. You can't go wrong with classics. I also brought this along to the same dinner party, and the guests were absolutely enamoured with the cake. There were moans upon tasting. One taster commented: "This is the best chocolate cake I've ever eaten. Perfect balance of sweetness." No doubt this was largely due the use of my precious Callebaut bittersweet chocolate, with a 60% cocoa mass.

Flourless chocolate cake

There are literally thousands of recipes for flourless chocolate cakes, some using nut flours as a substitute for wheat flour, while others using only eggs for structural integrity. Since the whole point of this exercise (apart from getting chocolate cake out of it, of course) was to use up my almond meal, I went with the recipe from The Cake Mistress. And I am so glad I did, because this was the best chocolate cake I myself have ever tasted. 

Fudgy, incredibly moist and so intensely chocolatey, I may very well never experiment with another flourless chocolate cake recipe.

Recipe for Orange and Poppyseed Frangipane tart

Ingredients

For the shortcrust pastry:

200g plain flour

75g white, granulated sugar

100g cold butter, coarsely chopped

1 egg

1-2 tablespoons cold water

For the tart filling:

4 eggs

250g white, granulated sugar

250g almond meal

3 tablespoons poppyseeds

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons orange extract

To serve: icing sugar

Method

1. To make the shortcrust pastry, combine flour, sugar and butter in a food processor and pulse until the mixture has the consistency of coarse breadcrumbs. Add the egg and 1-2 tablespoons of cold water and pulse until the pastry just comes together. Alternatively, if you don't have a food processor, you can combined everything by hand. Just put the flour, sugar and butter in a bowel and rub together with (clean) finger tips. Add the egg, and cold water if necessary, and rub some more. Don't knead the dough, otherwise the crust will turn out tough.

2. Press the pastry into a 25cm-diameter tart or flan tin, pushing the pastry up the edges. Don't worry about trimming overhanging dough at this point. Cover with cling wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. To make the filling, whisk eggs and sugar until pale and frothy (mixture reaching the 'ribbon stage'), and the mixture has doubled in volume. Fold in the almond meal, vanilla and orange extracts, and poppy seeds.

4. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (or 350 degrees Fahrenheit). Remove pastry from fridge, and trim the edges. Prick the base all over with a fork, and spoon the almond mixture into the tart tin lined with the pastry. Smooth top. Bake for 45 minutes or until top is golden, crusty, and hard to touch. Remove from oven, cool tart in pan. Once tart is completely cool, remove from pan and serve dusted with icing sugar.

Recipe for Flourless Chocolate Cake

Adapted from The Cake Mistress

Ingredients

200g good quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped

125g unsalted butter, chopped

225g brown sugar

100g almond meal

5 large eggs, separated

1 pinch of cream of tartar

To serve: 1 tablespoon cocoa powder.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (or 360 degrees Fahrenheit). Line the base and sides of a 20cm-diameter cake tin with non-stick baking paper.

2. Combine the chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl and melt in microwave by heating in 10-second bursts for the first two times, then 5-second bursts subsequently. Stir in between heating. Be careful not to burn the chocolate! Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate and butter over a double-boiler. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Combine chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and place that bowl over the saucepan of boiling water. Stir while ingredients melt.

3. Once butter and chocolate have completely melted, stir in the brown sugar and almond meal until the mixture is smooth. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, then add the egg yolks one by one, stirring after each addition.

4. In a dry, clean bowl, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar. Beat with a hand-held mixture until frothy, then gradually add the white, granulated sugar. Continue beating until firm peaks form. 

5. Fold one-third of the beaten egg whites into the cooled chocolate mixture. Mix well to make the chocolate mixture more liquid-y. Pour the chocolate mixture into the remaining two-thirds of the beaten egg whites, and fold together carefully with a rubber spatula, being careful not to deflate the mixture. Fold until the mixtures are just incorporated.

6. Pour into the lined cake tin, and bake for 45-50 minutes until a firm crusts forms on top. Remove from oven, and allow cake to cool in tin completely before removing. Once cake is completely cool, sift cocoa powder over the top.

The Tea Cosy, The Rocks

Scones, despite their haggard appearance, always makes me think of ladies in fascinators taking their tea on some English hillside. Although, I doubt real ladies eat scones the way I do - crumbs a-flyin', clotted cream behind one ear (???how did it end up there???) and jam stains down the front of my dress. Good thing I wasn't enjoying these scones with other real ladies (sorry, guys). Nah, it was just me and two of my oldest and bestest friends, popping into this little gem on a cafe (previously Tara Tea Room; now known as The Tea Cosy) on one fine, Saturday morning.

Haha, you can see the edge of my polka dot dress; my one concession to being lady-like!

My attire for the day - definitely a case of "WHAT was I thinking?!" It's okay, you're allowed to laugh; I sure did when I saw the picture. I look like I'm posing for a royal portrait! xD

Prior to immersing myself in the foodie culture, I've only ever tried scones from Bakers Delight. Not that they were bad or anything. In fact, I'm rather addicted to BD's berry and white choc, and choc mud scones. I've just never had a properly made English scone before, fresh from the oven and all fluffy and piping hot. Eager to satisfy my curiosity once and for all, I ordered the "deluxe" tea set, which came with two scones (any flavour of our choosing), clotted cream, Hank's Jam, and "bottomless drinks" (whatever and as many drinks as you want).

[Note: from looking at The Tea Cosy's website just now, it seems that the the "deluxe" tea set is no longer offered and has been replaced by other sets.]

I chose a raisin scone, a date scone, and strawberry jam.

Woah, carb overload! Being mindful that we were heading to Sweet Infinity Bakery next as a part of our own little food tour, I had half of each scone, but went big on the clotted cream and strawberry jam. In fact, each mouthful was more topping than the scone itself...just the way I like it! ;P

For my first drink, I ordered a diet coke. It was quite hot that day, I remember.

We stayed at the tea room for a pretty long time, and a second drink became necessary - an iced coffee!

Urgh, I felt so sick after taking a few sips. Nothing to do with the drink itself; my own fault for being greedy!

My friends both ordered the normal scone sets, which comes with two scones, double cream, normal (not Hank's) jam, and one beverage of choice.

Cute tea-cozy:

The scones were warm and fluffy, and with plenty of clotted cream and jam piled on top...delish!


The Tea Cosy (formerly Tara Tea Room)

33 George Street, The Rocks, Sydney.

Phone: (02) 9247 4955

Website: www.irishdesign.com.au/g/4145/the-tea-cosy---tea-rom.html

Opening hours

Fridays: 10am - 4pm
Saturday and Sunday: 10am - 5pm.

Lindt Chocolat Cafe, Martin Place

I wistfully think back to those childhood times when I wouldn't have thought twice about having a thick slab of some generic chocolate mudcake for an after-school snack. These days, I tend to save my "chocolate allowance" for the more high-end stuff: a pretty choccy from Colefax or Belle Fleur, a square of Lindt Excellence 99%, a raspberry and chocolate mousse tart from Bourke Street Bakery etc. Remember, my friends - good food has no calories; only happiness :D

After spending half the day on my feet volunteering for a uni event, I was famished an in serious need of a sugar boost. My friend P., who was conveniently roaming the city on that day, suggested that we meet up for afternoon tea at the Lindt Cafe in Martin Place. Sounds good to me!

We chose a cake each as well as three scoops of Lindt ice cream to share between the two of us.

First up - the Opera cake. A firm favourite with my friend, who'd purchased the large version on numerous occasions for special events. In fact, she took home one on the day for her dad's birthday!

Looking at how beautifully thin and even each layer in the Opera cake was, it was obvious that the Lindt pastry chefs really were maîtres chocolatiers. According to the Lindt website, the gold leaf on top is 24-carats. Wow!

The cake I picked was the Chocolate & Pear Poire - milk chocolate mousse with a centre of caramelised pear and caramel mousse. Loved how everything was just melt-in-your-mouth, including the pear!

We were allowed to pick three flavours for our ice cream dessert. We decided on the Lindt Excellence 70% cocoa, Black Forest, and Cookies & Cream.

We both found the Excellence 70% to be strangely powdery in texture. The other two, however, were absolutely addictive. Especially the Black Forest, which tasted like it had pieces of chocolate sponge swirled into the ice cream.

Clearly our insulin response wasn't what it used to be, as we found ourselves teetering on the edge of a sugar coma after we licked the last dregs of melted ice cream from our spoons. Time was I could have polished off this whole lot by myself without feeling the least bit ill. Although, my heightened sensitivity to sugar may not necessarily be a bad thing :D

We had a quick wander around the shop.

Lindt chocolates.

Macarons known as "Delices".

Lindor Balls. Some of the flavours I've never come across before, like peanut butter (now my favourite). I brought home a bag of these.

Various cakes, in indiviual portions and the full-sized versions.

Lindt Excellence bars, including the 99% cocoa one(!!!). I've been looking for the 99% for ages. I bought it and tried a square later at home. INTENSE! Probably better suited to melting in a mug of hot chocolate or coffee (easy Mocha!) than eaten on its own.

Next time (and I do intend to return there), I'm going to try the waffles or a slice of the Wimbledon. Maybe both!

Lindt Chocolat Cafe

3 Martin Place (Cnr Phillip Street),

Sydney 2000 NSW
Phone: (02) 8257 1600

Opening Hours

Monday to Friday: 7.30am – 6pm
Saturday & Sunday: 10am – 6pm 

Chinese Red Bean Flaky Pastries

I must apologise in advance for my woefully inadequate knowledge about Chinese pastries. In my defence, I come from the Northern part of China where dessert items such as the egg tarts one sees so often at Yum Cha, or the 'Wife Cake' (lao po bing/low paw bang) are not nearly as ubiquitous as they are in the Southern region. I don't even know the proper names for these flaky red bean pastries I made earlier today.

I feel that's the case with a lot of Chinese pastries that I eat, and that bothers me. It seems like the least I could do while I'm tearing something apart with my teeth is to know what it's called.

My decision to try my hand at making this particular pastry was actually borne out of necessity. You see, during a trip to Tokyo, Japan this last summer holidays, I went slightly nutso on the food front and purchased almost an entire suitcase-worth of edibles, including two packets of this amazing Hokkaido adzuki bean paste from an imagawayaki store in Shinjuku. At 1000 yen per packet, they're almost double the cost of any red bean paste you can get from Asian groceries in Sydney. And there was some drama transporting here in the first place, since they were deemed unsuitable for carry-on baggage by the Japanese custom officers, since they were classified as "liquids" @_@ Once we did get them re-packaged as check-in luggage, they...never turned up at baggage claim in Sydney.

Anyway, it turned out that someone else had taken the box with our bean paste, and we had their last-minute check-in luggage instead. Long story short (or as short as I can make it at this stage), we initiated a swap, and got our bean paste back. The whole point of this very long-winded tale is to underscore the shame that would come out of chucking the bean paste out past their expiry date after all the trouble we had of getting them here. And the date was getting perilously close. And hence, the red bean flaky pastries we have here.

As you would have seen from the second picture in this post, I made the pastries in a variety of shapes and forms. They were, in actual fact, made from the exact same dough of the exact same quantity, only rolled and folded differently. There are two sources I want to credit with te success of these pastries. Firstly, the recipe for the pastry dough provided by Suanne at Chow Times. Secondly, a post by SeaDragon at Corner Cafe, which detailed a precise step-by-step guide of how the pastry dough out to be prepared and rolled in order to get all the effects seen below. Thank you very much!

The recipe for the pastry dough called for lard, which may bother some people, but which I myself was fine with. This is, of course, coming from someone who was raised on jellified animal innards :D Don't be tempted to substitute the lard with butter. I have a suspicion that doing so will, firstly, cause the pastry to burn at the temperature it was baked (185°C or 360°F) because of the milk fats in butter (something I recently learned off George on Masterchef), and secondly, completely alter the taste and texture of the pastry. Although this may look like the Asian equivalent of puff pastry, the texture is closer to a shortbread than anything else. Without the buttery taste, of course. It's crumbly...and flaky! Lard definitely gives it a distinct taste. Try it for yourself before you make any judgements! 

And, because the dough itself isn't flavoured strongly, the taste of the red bean filling (or whatever filling you choose) really shines through.

The thing that I am particularly proud of for this pastry is the leopard skin pattern effect created by my 'special' eggwash. LOL, it was actually a mistake. I misread the proportions for the eggwash on SeaDragon's site and substituted one of the ingredients and, lo and behold, prettiness! :D