The recipe chosen for TWD is madeleines. This dainty little morsel is one of my favourite pastries and I certainly did not hesitate to try out this recipe from Baking from Julia. Génoise is used as base for the batter, easy to make but as the recipe calls for immediate baking, the madeleines did not have its signature humps. However, it turns out soft and fluffy, just the way I like it!

If you want to give the recipe a try, hop over to Katie's and Amy's blog!

Strawberries were in season since January and I've been making quite a few desserts using this delightful fruit. But I'm sad that the season is now over and I have to wait for another year before I get to see strawberries in the market again. Two weeks ago, I lugged back a 2-kg pack of strawberries and I knew it was the last batch that I would get for the year as the fruits were not so fresh anymore. Anyway, I kept most of it in the freezer so that I can make cakes or desserts with it later and I used the remaining strawberries to make gelato.

Strawberry Gelato Recipe
Recipe adapted from Dolce Italiano

Ingredients:
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup milk
1/2 cup + 4 tablespoons caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks
1/2 pound sliced strawberries

Method:
1) Place the cream, milk, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla extract in a saucepan, and place over medium heat.
2) Whisk egg yolks and 1 tablespoon of sugar well in a bowl.
3) Pour half of milk and cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisk quickly until well combined.
4) Scrape the mixture in Step (3) into the saucepan. Using a wooden spatula, stir the mixture constantly and make sure that it does not boil. The custard is ready when it thickens and coats the spatula. You can test it by running your finger across the back of the spatula coated with custard, it should leave a trail and does not flow back together.
5) Set up an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and cold water. Place a smaller bowl into the ice bath and have a strainer ready. Pour the custard through the strainer, stir constantly until it is cool. Chill the mixture in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
6) After the gelato base is chilled, place the strawberries and 3 tablespoons of sugar in a blender. Pulse to achieve a chunky puree.
7) Freeze the mixture in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

The recipe chosen for TWD this week is rustic potato loaves. I wasn't keen to take part this week as I thought it is going to be a time-consuming recipe. But after reading through the recipe, it looks really simple and it does not require long proofing time too. I made half a batch and I also added some fresh rosemary in the dough. The crust is crunchy and crackly on the outside, and soft and tender on the inside. It's so yummy that I chomped down 1 quarter loaf as soon as the bread is out of the oven!

If you want to give the recipe a try, hop over to Dawn's blog!

After going through the nightmare of rolling out croissant dough two weeks ago, I'm glad that mocha chocolate chip cookies is chosen for TWD this week! This is definitely a much easier recipe as compared to croissant, but not exactly a quick one as the dough needs to be chilled for a few hours. However, once the cookies are done baking, you'll be rewarded with a scrumptious treat!

Generously studded with chocolate chips (I used bittersweet and white chocolate) and chopped apricot, each mouthful is chock-full with chocolatey goodness! The addition of coffee further accentuates the chocolate flavour too. The only complaint I have is that, I can't stop eating these cookies and I have to keep them out of my reach by hiding the cookies jar high up in the cupboard!

If you want to give the recipe a try, hop over to Peggy's blog!

My friend, E and I were chatting over Facebook yesterday morning and the topic of mochi bread came up in our conversation. She's been looking for the ultimate mochi bread recipe for a long time but to no avail. Since I can read Japanese, I tried to help by looking for the recipe from Japanese sites and I chanced upon this recipe in Cookpad. It looks easy and I have all the ingredients except tapioca flour. I was eager to give it a try, and so I left the conversation, made a trip to the market immediately and got myself a pack of tapioca flour. I made a batch of mochi bread as soon as I reach home. Well, this is not exactly the mochi bread that my friend is looking for, as it tastes more like baked mochi. These chewy balls taste good though and if you're looking for a quick and easy recipe to prepare for your afternoon snacks, give this recipe a try!

Mochi Bread Recipe
Recipe adapted from Cookpad

Ingredients:

40g vegetable oil
75g water
100g milk
90g castor sugar
180g tapioca flour
30g bread flour
1 egg, beaten
White sesame seeds & 1 beaten egg

Method:

1) In a medium pot, heat up oil, water and milk. When the mixture is about to boil, turn the heat to low.
2) Add sugar and flours. Using a wooden spatula, stir the mixture until well combined.
3) Gradually add the egg, little by little, mixing well after each addition.
4) Add sesame, continue to stir until the mixture is thickened. Turn off heat.
5) Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes. In the mean time, preheat the oven to 190 deg C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
6) Using hands, form tablespooon-size balls. Lightly brush the top of the balls with egg wash, dip in sesame seeds and then place on the tray.
7) Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes.

**The mochi bread is best eaten when it's fresh out of the oven.

There is certainly no lack of lengthy and complicated recipes to tackle in Baking with Julia, and croissant is one of them. I admit that I was intimidated by the length of the recipe and I had to read and re-read a few times to fully understand the recipe. The long recipe and the even longer preparation process (2 days!) resulted in a batch of buttery and flaky croissants. Even though my croissants are badly-shaped, but I'm extremely pleased with myself for completing one of the milestones of my baking journey!

If you want to give the recipe a try, hop over to Amanda's blog!

I mentioned in my previous post that I was too busy to bake for Chinese New Year. But when I spotted these Chinese blossom cookies on Jane's blog, I knew that I just had to give the recipe a try despite my busy schedule. The cookies are not only dainty and pretty, the name in Chinese, 花開富貴 sounds auspicious too, they are perfect to serve as New Year snack! The cookies did not survive until CNY though, my hubby and I finished up the whole batch within 2 days!

If you want to give the recipe a try, please visit Jane's blog.

To my readers who are celebrating Chinese new year, how's your new year preparation? I'll be going back to Singapore next week and so these few days, I've been running around buying CNY goodies as gifts to my family and friends. I won't be baking for CNY though because I still have to tidy up the house and attend lessons before I leave for Singapore. But if you are baking for CNY, here's a great recipe for you to try out!

Cashew Nuts Sablé Recipe
Recipe adapted from 焼き菓子の発想と技法

Ingredients:

80g icing sugar
125g unsalted butter
35g egg yolk
20g milk
90g cashew nuts, toasted, cooled and chopped into small pieces
195g self-raising flour
Pinch of salt

Method:

1) Using a stand mixer (or hand mixer), mix butter and sugar until smooth. '
2) Add yolk and milk, mix until combined, follow by cashew nuts.
3) Add flour into the mixture. Using a spatula, mix until just combined.
4) Turn the dough on a counter, knead a few times and then shape the dough into a square of 2cm thick. Wrap the dough with cling wrap Let it rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
5) On a lightly floured surface, knead and shape the dough again into a rectangle of 2.5cm thick. Cut the dough into strips of 4cm. Keep the dough in the freezer for 15 minutes or until it is half-frozen.
6) Preheat the oven to 160 deg C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
7) Remove the dough from the freezer. Cut the strips into cookies of 7mm thickness.
8) Place the cookies on the tray. Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until the cookies are brown around the edges and golden on the bottom.

It's TWD again and the recipe chosen for this week is French apple tart! This is another time-consuming recipe from the book, as you need to prepare three components for the tart - the flaky tart shell, apple compote and thinly sliced apples as topping. The apple compote is supposed to be baked in the oven until soft and then mash with a fork. But I had to take an extra step to blend it instead as the apples were still not soft enough after baking. After spreading the tart shell with apple compote and arranging the apple slices on top, I decided not to sprinkle sugar on it as I feel that the filling is already too sweet and it would suit my taste bud better without the extra sugar. It took me the whole morning to make the tart but it's so yummy that the effort was worth it.Would I make the tart again? Definitely!

If you want to give the recipe a try, head over to Gaye's blog!

The recipe chosen for TWD this week is pizza with onion confit. I made half a batch and I topped the pizza dough with onion confit (of course!), sausages, parmesan cheese and sun-dried tomato. The preparation process is quite time-consuming and so this is definitely not a recipe to go for if you are in a hurry. But if you have time to spare, give the recipe a try as the effort is worth it. This pizza is really delicious!

If you want to give the recipe a try, head over to Paul's blog!