Assorted Piped Butter Cookies

 Whether it's the upcoming Lunar New Year, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Christmas or any day, an assortment of butter cookies is always a welcome 😊. I adapted the recipe from Buttermilk Pantry to make a more delicate cookie by increasing the butter to flour ratio.

Orange/vanilla:
65g Golden Churn butter
15g French butter of choice
26g icing sugar
4g milk powder (or replace with icing sugar)
Scant 1/8 tsp fine salt
30g cornstarch
65g cake flour
1/4 tsp vanilla extract/bean paste (optional for orange)
3-4g orange zest (omit for plain/vanilla)

Chocolate:
65g Golden Churn butter (already salted)
15g French butter of choice (may replace with Golden Churn)
35g icing sugar
12g Dutch processed cocoa powder (I used Valrhona)
20g cornstarch
63g cake flour
1/8 tsp fine salt

Matcha:
65g Golden Churn butter 
15g French butter of choice
35g icing sugar
6g Matcha powder (use high grade)
24g corn starch 
65g cake flour 
Scant 1/8 tsp salt

Method:
1. Whisk softened butter, sugar & salt until lightened in colour but not too fluffy.

2. Sift in cornstarch & milk powder/ cocoa/matcha. Whisk until smooth

3. Add orange zest &/or vanilla if using. whisk until combined 

4. Sift in cake flour & fold in using a spatula until no trace of flour is seen 

5. Transfer into large piping bag fitted with open star tip of choice. I used 1M but you may use others like #827. Double up your piping bags if it's thin to prevent it from bursting. Clip the end & separate the dough into two portions within the bag as shown in reel for ease of handling

6. Pipe rosettes onto lined tray. Freeze for at least 1h or overnight if you wish.

7. Bake in preheated oven from frozen according to your preferred cookie texture*. Start at a lower temperature, bake for a longer time & end off high for crispier texture. Start high & end off low, baking for an overall shorter time for a more tender melt-in-your-mouth texture. Use a perforated mat help to contain the spread of the cookie in the oven during baking. Cool on tray for 5min before transferring onto cooling rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

* The aim of the baking profile I used is to get a delicate texture throughout the cookie with a light crunchy bite & slight toasty notes. This cookie won't be so delicate that it crumbles too easily when stacked & stored, but also not so hard that you have to bite hard before it crumbles. The long baking time I used is for a thoroughly crisp cookie that crumbles when you bite softly. Bake in preheated oven at 140C fan mode/ 155C (as read by an accurate oven thermometer) for 10-12 min, rotate tray & bake for another 10 min. Increase temperature by 20C & bake for 1 min. Rotate tray & bake for 1 min. 

Please see the reel below for more visuals:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DT6as78CQ9d/?igsh=YzdoZGE5eGlkZTJj

with love,
Phay Shing

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Judy and Nick Pistachio Mixed Berry Macarons

 My friend requested for some Judy and Nick macarons and brown sugar cookies for her daughter's birthday. It's the 12th consecutive year I am baking for her! I am sharing the macaron version in this blog post.

The macarons are filled with one of the yummiest flavour combinations I have made: pistachio Swiss meringue buttercream and strawberry raspberry jam. I used only added 10% sugar by weight to the fruit puree to make the jam so it remains very tart and fruity. I reduced the puree to half its original weight over low heat until it is thick before storing in the refrigerator.

According to my friend, the macarons were so yummy even her elderly mother loved it!

The fillings were rather time consuming to make too because I make all the components from scratch.

Here's the recipe for the pistachio Swiss meringue buttercream.

Ingredients:

75g egg whites (about 2)
1/16 tsp salt
65g sugar 
140g unsalted butter, slightly softened*
10g milk powder*
140g pistachio butter*

Steps:
1. Double boil egg whites with salt & sugar, whisking constantly until mixture reaches 71.1C. 
2. Whip till stiff, glossy peak, & cooled to room temperature.
3. Add butter 1tbs at a time. Continue beating 8-10 min on med-high speed until light & fluffy. 
4. Add milk powder during the last min of beating until incorporated. 
5. Stir some buttercream into the pistachio butter to lighten it up before adding it back to the buttercream. Fold the lightened pistachio butter into the buttercream in a few additions. You may use it immediately or freeze in airtight condition until use if making ahead of time. Briefly whip with a spatula after defrosting.

* Additional notes for ingredients

Butter: 

You may replace partially with vegetable shortening if you are not able to serve this in a cool environment. I live in the tropics so the filling may soften quite a lot at 30C non air-conditioned room temperature. But if your environment is cool, use all butter because it's yummier 😋.

Milk powder: 

You may toast the milk powder for a caramel flavour as well! To toast, bake in a thin layer in the oven at 140C, stirring every 8-10 min until golden brown but not too dark.  Total duration depends on whether you are toasting in bulk or small amounts. Milk powder adds stability to the buttercream too.

Pistachio butter: 

Toast shelled pistachios at 150C for 10-15min or until aromatic. Remove the skins first if you wish by blanching and rubbing between a towel. Blend with a little salt to taste. Using a powerful blender helps as you don't need to thin out the mixture with oil.

You may refer to this reel to have a peek at filling the shells:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTh0m2bCULh/?igsh=MXJtMGc3M3RrYzI4OA==

I used my default Swiss meringue method recipe to make the macaron shells.

Here are some pictures of the undecorated macaron shells..

I used edible marker, royal icing and edible paint for adding in the details.

You may see this reel to see how I piped Nick:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTunc8PCVpH/?igsh=MXUzZXp6b3UwZXZxZw==

And see this reel to see how I piped Judy:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DT1RsuSCVk1/?igsh=MWxkNXM5NzA0dzczZA==

Do read the captions of the reels as I share some technical tips on how to work with complex shaped characters with many colours and details.

with love,

Phay Shing

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Caramel Earl Grey Cat Box Cakes

 These cat box cakes are not only cute, they are delicious too!

Here's the cake composition:

🔸Earl Grey honey chiffon sponge (as the base)

🔸Light coloured Earl Grey vanilla chiffon sponge (as painting canvas)

🔸Caramel Earl Grey custard cream

🔸Crunchy Biscoff spread

🔸Earl Grey cinnamon honey tea agar jelly

🔸Freshly ground salt

I used the printing technique for the painted chiffon so there is no need to mess around with a patterning batter. This "cheat" method yields great results while saving the environment by eliminating the use of piping bags and cutting out a ton of washing. 

Painted chiffon using the printing method

A peek at halfway through assembling

A peek at the cross-section!

You may see the process of making these in this reel:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTKkS9viQAv/?igsh=eWYyNTZxcGJiNWls

If you are interested in learning how to make these cakes, I offer both studio and online classes for it. The grey and white cat designs will be shared in the class.  Please refer to the respective links for more information or to register:

Studio class:
https://www.bakersgym.com/service-page/cat-painted-chiffon-box-cake-class

Online class:
https://www.bakersgym.com/product-page/cat-painted-chiffon-box-cake-class-sgd-88-usd-68

with love,
Phay Shing

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Hojicha Yuzu Horse Macarons

Welcoming the Year of the Horse with these Hojicha Yuzu horse macarons!

Here's a peek at the hojicha chocolate ganache and yuzu jam fillings!

The ganache is made dairy-free and temperature stable enough for gifting in tropical Singapore so you may share this with your family and friends during this Lunar New Year without fear of it melting into a puddle during transport. All post-baking decorations are made using edible cookie dough and edible marker. 

I will be sharing the recipe and technique for this in an upcoming class. Please click on the link below for more details or to register:

https://www.bakersgym.com/service-page/hojicha-yuzu-horse-macaron-class

Here's a peek at the process of making the macarons:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTKkS9viQAv/?igsh=eWYyNTZxcGJiNWls

with love,

Phay Shing

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