Pompompurin's Valentine's Day Marshmallows

 I couldn't resist making these after making pineapple tart marshmallows for class display!

I used reduced fresh pineapple juice to make these reduced sugar marshmallows so they smell and taste heavenly! I used meringue powder instead of fresh egg whites too so the batter overall was less robust and prone to breaking down faster than fresh egg white and full sugar versions. I mentioned earlier that using meringue powder instead of fresh egg whites doesn't make a difference when making character marshmallows. After using meringue powder for a longer time, I find that this is true for water, tea and coffee based marshmallows. When using fruit puree, using fresh egg whites will yield a more stable batter that doesn't deflate too quickly when melted gelatin is added so I will likely stick with fresh egg whites when fruit puree is used. Nonetheless, this method still works if you are able to work quickly and the characters are 2D.

I melted some red marshmallows in storage, set them in a tray and cut out little red hearts for Pompompurin to hug. As I wanted this to be an interactive type of marshmallow where the heart is removable and the arms can flap around a little, the arms are piped on a separate tray and stuck onto the main body.

Piped Pompompurins without the arms

You may see the process of piping these in the reel:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DE4eGq4S_Eu/?igsh=N3kwaWlydDFoemY3

with love,

Phay Shing

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Yuzu Matcha Wintermelon Mochi Tarts

 Inspired by the filling of wife biscuits (老婆饼) & the pastry of pineapple tarts during the Lunar New Year season, I came up with these!

A closer look at the insides!

It was a challenge to get nice pictures of a bite cross-section because the pastry is light and crumbly. I have shared the recipe and video of the process on Instagram 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFJTQ1ghkpm/?igsh=MTh6aGJkeDJwZnRh

But I will just copy and paste the recipe and baker's notes on this blog post for those of you who find it hard to read off the captions of the reel. Feel free to upsize as this is a small batch.

Yuzu Matcha Wintermelon Mochi Tarts 

(makes about 25 tarts)

Filling:
100g candied wintermelon (糖冬瓜)* blended or minced
1/8 tsp salt
6g oil
4g honey
20g yuzu/Jeju citron* marmalade without rind
25g water* (more if necessary, 1/2 tsp at a time)
40g cooked glutinous rice flour* (a.k.a. 糕粉)
2g matcha powder*
12g yuzu/citron rind from marmalade, finely chopped

Pastry:
110g plain flour 
10g cornstarch 
6g matcha powder
20g milk powder
25g icing sugar
1/8 tsp salt
100g cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg yolk

Egg wash:
1 egg yolk
7g milk/water

1. Blend or mince candied wintermelon. Add salt, oil, honey, marmalade & water. Mix well

2. Whisk together cooked glutinous rice flour & matcha powder. Add to 1. & mix until dough forms

3. Add rind & mix well. Add more water if dough is dry*

4. Divide filling into 8g balls. Keep airtight & refrigerate until ready to assemble

5. Sift together all dry ingredients for pastry

6. Rub in butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs

7. Add yolk. Mix until dough forms. Wrap & refrigerate for 30min

8. Divide dough into 10g portions. Wrap the filling. Make a hole to vent* during baking

9. Freeze & preheat oven to 135C fan/150C

10. Once oven is preheated, place chilled tarts on lined baking tray. Apply egg wash. Add black sesame seeds if you wish

11. Bake for 30 min or until lightly browned, rotating the tray halfway. You may reapply the egg wash halfway through baking if you wish. Remember to adjust baking temperature and time according to your oven as each oven is different. 

*Baker's notes:

🔸Candied wintermelon, cooked glutinous rice flour and yuzu/Jeju citron marmalade are most likely things you can find in an Asian grocer if you don't live in Asia. These are common items in Singapore. If you can't get cooked glutinous rice flour, simply dry fry glutinous rice flour over low heat for 10 min until aromatic. There's a distinctive cooked glutinous rice flour smell you can't miss

🔸I was given some high grade matcha powder from @alovelikesobo but you may use whatever you have on hand. Do note that lower quality matcha may oxidize with exposure/heat and the green colour may be less vibrant after baking. Needless to say, higher quality powder would taste better

🔸The amount of water needed for the filling will vary depending on how dry your candied wintermelon is. Err on the side of adding less water first because it can get difficult to handle if too much water is added and it becomes a sticky mess. Add enough water such that it's still soft and tacky to touch but doesn't stick to your finger when lightly pressed as shown in the reel

🔸I went for a slightly firmer pastry than regular pineapple tart pastry but still crumbly as the filling is slightly chewy due to the glutinous rice flour. Personally I feel if the pastry is too delicate, it wouldn't fit this filling but feel free to adjust the ratios of the dry ingredients in the pastry. The higher the percentage of cornstarch, the more delicate the pastry

🔸Traditional wife biscuits are made with flaky pastry that doesn't use butter. I decided to have a light buttery pastry to accompany the aromatic and slightly chewy filling. Slits or holes are usually made in the flaky pastry before baking. They act as vents to release steam from the filling, which in turn prevents the pastry from cracking uncontrollably. Don't be alarmed if you see your tart pastry cracking in the oven as this is due to the expansion of filling/ release of steam. The appearance of the cracks will reduce upon cooling. Using lower heat with longer baking time helps to keep cracking minimal

with love,

Phay Shing

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Diabetic-Friendly Pineapple Tarts with Prebiotics Added

I have some family members and friends who are diabetic so I thought of making some pineapple tarts they can enjoy without feeling guilty about it or worry about side effects of sugar replacements. To do so, I replaced some sugar with prebiotic fibres to make these!

Here's a closer look at the snake on top

A peek at a bite cross-section!

My hubby with picky palate can attest that these are yummy 😋 . I made some sugar-free pineapple tarts last year with totally no sugar added at all in the jam. You can read all about it over here where I share two types of tart designs, open-faced and the golf ball. The recipe I share for this year's tarts can be applied to both types of pineapple tarts although you should handle the open-faced version with care as the pastry is rather delicate. Please read the baker's notes* at end where I explain in detail technical aspects and substitutions you can use.

What's so good about the tarts?

✅ No stevia
✅ No alcohol sugars
✅ Real sugar optional
✅ Prebiotic added for lower glycemic load, benefits to gut health & cholesterol 
✅ Light, buttery, crumbly tart pastry

You may wonder does Alchemy Fibre impart any unpleasant taste. It doesn't! It tastes mildly sweet on its own without any chemical aftertaste.

I am not sponsored to share the use of Alchemy Fibre. I am sharing because it's a good product and has shown not to increase the blood sugar levels for my loved one when the pastries are eaten in moderation.

Diabetic-friendly pineapple tarts (🐍 optional)

(makes about 22-30 tarts so feel free to upsize)

Healthier Pineapple Jam*
1 large pineapple, cubed, blended & excess juice sieved out, about 475g for me
1 large apple (I used Gala for some natural sweetness and pectin), blended
20g Alchemy fibre* (omit or replace with sugar)
30g caster sugar* (omit if you wish)
A squeeze of lemon juice (optional, add more if you prefer sour jam)
1 cinnamon stick
Pinch of salt

Steps:
1. Reduce jam till 30% original weight over med-low heat & constant stirring (or use Thermomix). Discard cinnamon stick. This results in 1-1.5g sugar per tart if you follow my original recommendations of sugar & fibre

2. Cool completely. Refrigerate overnight uncovered for extra moisture to evaporate

3. Portion into 8-9g balls

Tart Pastry*:
45g plain flour or cake flour*
20g cornstarch or gluten-free flour*
8g full fat milk powder
8g Alchemy fibre* (may replace with icing sugar)
1/8 tsp salt
45g cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg yolk
A little milk if dough is too crumbly*

Egg wash:
1 egg yolk + 7g milk

Steps:
1. Sift together flours, salt, fibre & milk powder

2. Rub in butter until breadcrumb texture

3. Add yolk. Mix until dough forms. Add milk if necessary

4. Roll to 5mm thick. Freeze for 10-15min. Preheat oven to 150C fan/165C 

5. Lightly dust surface of dough with cornstarch. Stamp out pastry with mold. Place 3cm apart on lined baking tray

6. Apply egg wash. Press a ball of jam in the middle 

You can make the snakes* if you wish but these are rather fiddly and tests your fine motor skills!

7. Bake for 25-30 min or until golden brown. Baking the tarts low and slow will prevent huge cracks from forming

8. Cool completely. Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to a week or in the fridge for 3-4 weeks. Toast it lightly before consuming to recrisp if stored in fridge

*Baker's Notes: 
🔸Alchemy Fibre is a blend of inulin & edible gum. It's a prebiotic that has beneficial effects for gut health, lowers cholesterol & reduces the glycemic load of the food it's added to. You may substitute with inulin if you don't have access to this product, or simply replace with sugar

🔸I decided to use a little sugar in the jam & not include stevia or any alcohol sugars in the whole bake to avoid any gastrointestinal side effects. You may omit the sugar if you wish. I decided to add a little real sugar to improve the jam texture. I made it totally without sugar last year & although it's nice & healthy, it's a little less jammy in texture 

🔸Adding some Alchemy Fibre doesn't affect the final texture of the tart but the dough is more crumbly & less pliable so it's a little trickier to handle. Because of this, I made the snakes using dough made with icing sugar instead of Alchemy fibre but the tart base is made with the fibre added & no sugar. You may use the same dough for making golf ball type of tarts too if you don't have the plunger mold. Use 10g dough for each golf ball tart.

🔸Use plain flour instead of cake flour if you prefer a sturdier pastry. The gluten-free flour I used is from Bob's Red Mill. You may use cornstarch if you wish as it's commonly used in typical pineapple tart pastry along with wheat flour.

🔸I used black sesame seeds for the snake eyes & Goji berry skin for the tongue. Shaping done by hand, toothpick & Dresden tool. I used a pair of small sharp scissors and knife to cut the snake tongue out of Goji berry. I didn't weigh the amount of dough for the snakes but I estimate it at around 3-4g. 
 

You may watch the video of making the tarts over here:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEzUcTiSgv7/?igsh=MzYxYzhqeWFsYXlu

I guided my elder kid to make some golf ball type of tarts that didn't use Alchemy fibre (but used icing sugar in the dough and used store-bought pineapple jam)  so that's where I "borrowed" a little dough from to make the snakes on top.

These were seriously good according to my kid's classmates!

with love,

Phay Shing

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Passionfruit Honey Vanilla Reduced-Sugar Snake Marshmallows

 Someone asked privately if the sugar content in my default marshmallow recipe in Deco Marshmallows can be reduced. My first thought was wouldn't it affect the stability and simply be essentially a volume reduction? I decided to give it a try anyway. Here's what I made to welcome the Year of the Snake!

Passionfruit honey vanilla marshmallows that are more tangy than sweet and full of passionfruit flavour!

A closer look at the kawaii version!

While reducing sugar did make the marshmallow batter softer to work with, it also did make it a little more unstable as expected so one has to work quickly and adjust the process a little to make it work. What's more significant is the reduction of invert sugar. I reduced the amount of invert sugar (can be light corn syrup, glucose syrup, dark corn syrup, golden syrup or honey) just enough to prevent sugar crystallization. The resulting marshmallow tends to be less sticky in humid Singapore's air, which is a plus point for me!

Here are the piped snakes before dusting.

This design is inspired by clarakitchen21 (Youtube channel)

They are super fun to play with especially the long snake which can slither!

Piping tutorials are on my Instagram.

Long snake piping tutorial:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEeuHtpSlOX/?igsh=YmJmbXIxYmg1aW9m

Kawaii snake piping tutorial:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEj3vf0S5Lp/?igsh=c20ydnp3ZXE4amY2

Do give these a try to welcome the Year of the Snake!

P.S. If you are interested to know about my reduced sugar recipe, I will be sharing it in my upcoming studio marshmallow class for mandarin orange and pineapple tarts that will delight (and fool 🤭) your family and friends this Lunar New Year!

with love,

Phay Shing

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"Peppy In Space" Coffee Chocolate Hazelnut Marshmallow Cakepop on Lavender Honey Lemon Cake

 My elder kid requested for Peppy this year as the subject of his birthday bake so I made these!

Composition:

- Peppy as coffee cinnamon vanilla marshmallow coated chocolate hazelnut cakes 

- Lavender lemon honey butter cakes frosted with lemon ganache that's partially naturally coloured with blue pea flower. The acidity from lemon juice turns the ganache a little purplish but I needed to add a teeny bit of gel colouring to enhance the vibrancy. Tried to go for a subtle space theme since Peppy is a space dog

So glad that the cakes tasted great according to my elder kid who is a Star Rail fan. I nearly died piping some of the main characters in marshmallow form last year so I decided to go for something with a lot less details but a lot yummier since there's cake inside and the marshmallow is flavoured 🤭. Peppy is Asta's adorable pet dog. 

I used the same recipe for making Christmas bear with present for making Peppy because I didn't have to add any extra artificial colouring for Peppy's fur colour. I have an online class for it if you are interested in the recipe and visuals for making it. Click here if you are.

 Here's a closer look at Peppy...

Look at the tempting cross-section!

Here's a look at the marshmallows before dusting.

The piping video tutorial can be found in this reel:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DC1M-EJSptu/?igsh=MW9lZmJ6bzdjbmR5eg==

Here's a look at the cut cross section of the cake...

A closer look at the slightly messy cut slice 🤭

It's yummy though with a nice mix of lavender fragrance, sweetness and tanginess from the lemon

A view of assembling neat layers with the help of acetate sheet.

A view of the mini cakes before putting Peppy on top!

I made the lavender honey lemon butter cake earlier this year and my elder kid loved it so much he requested it for his birthday. You may refer to this post for the recipe. I replaced the cream with lemon juice/lavender tea coloured with blue pea flower for the ganache and reduced the overall liquid: white chocolate ratio to make it a suitable consistency for frosting cake.

Here's the video of assembling the layered cake!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEW_wKRShsb/?igsh=bjJ5dnprY3VibHB4

with lots of love,

Phay Shing

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Dubai Chocolate (Kunafa Chocolate) Inspired Log Cake

 Here's my take of the Dubai chocolate in the form of log cake!

Composition:
🌲 Chocolate chiffon sponge brushed with strawberry jam syrup
🌲 Crunchy pistachio kunafa
🌲 Pistachio diplomat cream
🌲 Dark chocolate ganache
🌲 Dubai chocolate Christmas tree decorations (see previous blog post for the recipe)
🌲 Penguin orange chocolate hazelnut macaron

Here's the video of the process:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDjfymJyeAI/?igsh=MTAwazU4Yjg0d2Z6bw==

Chocolate chiffon sponge (12x12")*:

3 yolks

15g Dutch cocoa powder

32g boiling water

35g cake flour

1/8 tsp baking soda

27g oil

1 tsp vanilla

Pinches of salt

3 egg whites

50g caster sugar

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1. Line 12x12" tray with teflon sheet/parchment. Preheat oven to 160C fan/170C

2. Make chocolate paste. Dissolve cocoa powder in hot water to make a paste. Add vanilla and salt. Mix well

3. Make egg yolk batter. Whish together egg yolks, oil and chocolate paste. Gradually add sifted flour and baking soda, whisk until no trace of flour is seen.

4. Make meringue. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until firm peaks, gradually adding sugar once egg whites are foamy. 

5. Quickly but gently fold meringue into egg yolk batter in 3 additions. Pour into prepared tray.

6. Bake for 10-12 min or until done. Immediately flip the sponge out of the tray and roll it up to cool completely.

Crunchy pistachio kunafa

80g kataifi pastry

16g melted butter

75g white chocolate couverture, melted

85g pistachio paste*, warmed

1. Coat finely chopped kataifi pastry with melted butter. 

2. Fry pastry over low heat until browned and crisp

3. Add melted chocolate and warm pistachio paste. Mix well. You may fry the pastry ahead of time and add the chocolate and paste when you are about to assemble.

Pistachio diplomat cream

2 egg yolks

15g cornstarch

25g caster sugar

1/8 tsp salt

220g milk

15g unsalted butter, softened

45g pistachio paste*

1 tsp vanilla extract 

3g gelatin bloomed in 10g ice water 

100g whipping cream of choice*

1. Heat milk until hot but not boiling. In the meantime, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, salt and cornstarch in a heavy heatproof bowl/jug. 

2. When milk is hot, pour in a thin stream while whisking the egg mixture continuously. Pour everything back into saucepan

3. Whisk egg mixture while cooking over medium-low heat until it thickens. Remove from heat and whisk until smooth. Put it back on heat and keep whisking until it starts to bubble/boil. Continue whisking for an additional minute.

4. Remove from heat. Add butter, pistachio paste, vanilla and bloomed gelatin. Whisk until smooth. Press cling wrap onto surface of pastry cream and refrigerate overnight.

5. When you are ready to assemble, whip your whipping cream of choice until firm peaks. Loosen the pastry cream by whipping it briefly. Fold whipped cream into pastry cream in a few additions. Transfer into piping bag and keep refrigerated until ready to pipe.

Dark chocolate ganache

120g 55% dark chocolate couverture 

50g heavy cream/water

5g honey 

15g butter, softened

1. Melt chocolate. Add heated cream and honey, mix well 

2. Add softened butter and mix well. Press cling wrap onto surface of ganache and let it sit at cool room temperature for 2h. If it is too warm, refrigerate for 15-20 min before spreading on log cake.

*Notes:

- Please refer to my previous blog post for the pistachio paste recipe

- You may choose to use non dairy cream, heavy cream (35-38% fat) or double cream (45-50% fat) depending on preference and climate. You may add a little powdered sugar when whipping the cream if you wish.

- I made a really thin sponge on purpose to enjoy the log cake like an ice-cream cake when frozen. If you prefer to have more sponge to cream ratio and enjoy it chilled instead of frozen, upsize the recipe to 4 eggs and layer with less cream.

Assembly

1. Unroll chocolate sponge. Brush surface with strawberry jam syrup (I just diluted strawberry jam that was previously reduced for the Christmas cookies).

2. Layer a thin layer of crunchy pistachio kunafa 

3. Pipe a layer of diplomat cream and spread it evenly with spatula.

4. Roll it up tightly and freeze for 2h. Slice off both ends for the branches.

5. Attach the branches to main trunk with some ganache. Cover the surface of the sponge with ganache. Use the spatula to create bark patterns. You may use a fork instead if you wish.

6. Dust some snow powder and decorate as you wish

This was before I dusted with snow powder.

I hope to bless my family and friends with this creation! I will be making two more of these but thought of sharing it earlier in case you want to give it a try!

Update 3/1/2025:

This comes a little late but better than never. All who tasted my cakes said they are really tasty, including my relatives who came down to visit from the US after their last visit back in 2017! My elder kid who did a blind taste test at one of the parties that ended up having two log cakes said mine tasted better! With such positive feedback, I highly recommend you to try it out!

with love,

Phay Shing

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Dubai Chocolate (Kunafa Chocolate) Inspired Christmas Trees

 What if the viral Dubai chocolate turned inside out and dressed up for Christmas🤔? You may get these!

Composition:
🌲 Crunchy kataifi pastry coloured with a little pandan paste
🌲 Pistachio ganache
🌲 Dark chocolate ganache 
🌲 Homemade pistachio paste
🌲 Dark/milk chocolate & a little toasted kataifi pastry* at the base
🌲 White chocolate star & tinsel, bauble sprinkles

I made these as log cake decorations. I am sure you can guess what flavour profile of log cakes I am making this year🤭! I will be sharing that in my next post.

You may refer to my reel for the visuals of the process:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDbxcFySarn/?igsh=dnA0bm0xN3pnOWRk

Dubai Chocolate Christmas Trees

Ingredients (makes about twelve-fifteen 5-6cm tall trees):

Green Kataifi Pastry

70g kataifi pastry 

30g butter + 1-2 drops pandan paste (to colour. Feel free to use green colouring)

1-1.5 tbs caster sugar (as pastry binder during baking)

1. Chop kataifi pastry to shorter segments. Add melted butter with pandan paste and sugar a little at a time to pastry. Mix well after each addition to colour the pastry green evenly.

2. Spread the pastry out in small portions in a very thin layer between parchment paper. Press it flat. Freeze until very firm, at least 2h or overnight 

3. Cut paper cones to height of about 5-6cm. You may have trees with different heights for a nicer display contrast. For each size of tree, cut open the paper cone to be used as template.

4. Cut frozen pastry using template to trace. Let it soften slightly and carefully fit it into the prepared paper cone. Press the pastry firmly to the sides and bottom of the cone.

5. Bake at 140-150Cfan/160-170C for 9-12 min and turn it out from the cone. Crisp it up and brown it further by baking for another 5-10 min, checking every few minutes to ensure that the browning is controlled. 

Store in airtight condition until assembly.

Pistachio Paste*

50g pistachio kernels

10g honey

15g water (more if needed)

* Pistachio paste is typically made from blanched pistachios with skin removed. But because I wanted to increase the pistachio flavour, I reserved a portion of the blanched nuts with skin removed to bake in the oven. I used low temperature to bake for a longer time to avoid browning the nuts too much. If using more baked nuts, you may need to add a little more water when blending as baked nuts are harder and drier than blanched nuts. If using only blanched nuts, you need less water. The resulting paste with baked pistachios is grainier than if only blanched pistachios were used.

1. Bring a saucepan of water to boil. Turn the heat off and blanch pistachio kernels for 3 min. Drain and dry briefly on paper towels. Remove skins.

2. Portion 15g of skinned kernels. Bake in a single layer at 100C for 2h. 

3. Blend all ingredients together until smooth paste forms, gradually adding water only as needed. Use a powerful blender for a smoother paste. This may take several rounds of blending and scraping to get it smooth

Pistachio Ganache

15g pistachio paste

70g white chocolate couverture

15g hot water

Pinch of salt

1. Heat white chocolate until warm, soft and partially melted. 

2. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well until smooth. Using immersion blender helps.

3. Press cling wrap onto surface of ganache. Refrigerate 2h or overnight. Transfer into piping bag before using

Dark Chocolate Ganache

50g 55% dark chocolate couverture 

3g honey 

22g hot cream/water

Pinch of salt

1. Follow method for pistachio ganache

Assembly

1. Place baked kataifi pastry cone in mold to hold it in place. 

2. Pipe and spread a thin layer of pistachio ganache followed by dark chocolate ganache

3. Fill the cavity with pistachio paste

4. Cover base with melted chocolate of choice and sprinkle on some kataifi pastry fried with butter (optional pastry). Freeze for 5 min

* To toast kataifi pastry. Coat 15g finely chopped pastry with 4-5g melted butter. Fry over low heat until golden brown and crisp. I used coloured pastry so it appears a little green in the video.

5. Flip the trees upright. Decorate with melted white chocolate and sprinkles/additional decoration of your choice

Here's a look at the trees before the stars are added.

Here's a closer look at the insides!

Here's the log cake version of this flavour combination!

with love,

Phay Shing

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Pandan Chiffon Christmas Trees

 

Sharing an easy and creative way to make our favourite yummy Pandan Chiffon Cake into Christmas Trees🎄! Recipe video on my IG here. 

Pandan Chiffon Christmas Trees (makes 9)😋 

2 egg yolks 

16g caster sugar 

26g vegetable oil 

28g fresh/coconut milk 

65g cake flour, sifted 

1 tsp pandan paste 

½ tsp vanilla extract 

3 egg whites 

30g caster sugar 

¼ tsp cream of tartar 

Assembly 

Melted marshmallow 

Sprinkles 

1. Preheat oven to 140°C. Double wrap a baking tray with aluminum foil, make small holes and insert conical cups. 

2. Whisk egg yolks with sugar. Add oil, milk and vanilla extract and whisk well. Whisk in cake flour and mix until no lumps. 

3. Add pandan paste to egg yolk batter. This makes all green trees. 

Optional: For white stripes, transfer 30g egg yolk batter to a new bowl for plain batter, and mix pandan paste to remaining batter. 

4. Prepare meringue: whisk egg whites with cream of tartar till foamy. Add in caster sugar in 3 additions and whisk till firm peaks. 

5. Gently fold meringue into the egg yolk batter. 

Optional: For white stripes, transfer 30g meringue to plain egg yolk batter and remaining meringue to green egg yolk better. Fold meringue into respective egg yolk batters. 

6. Fill each paper cone till 1.5-cm from brim. 

Optional: Pipe green and white layers till 1.5-cm from brim. 

7. Bake at 140°C for 35 mins or till bamboo skewer inserted into middle comes out dry. 

8. Unmold cakes when fully cool and trim off the base to level. 

9. Melt marshmallows with a sprinkle of water. Stick on sprinkles and star sprinkle using melted marshmallows. 

Keep in airtight container in fridge for up to 5 days. Enjoy! 🩷🥰 

The Redman pandan paste is one of my personal favourite as it is rich and flavourful. Item code of the ingredients above at redmanshop.com: pandan paste (67762), caster sugar (1417), cake flour (1208). 

Thankful to be the new brand ambassador for RedMan by Phoon Huat during this festive season. Use my exclusive code SUS05 to get a 5% discount on all @Phoonhuat products! 

Enjoy baking!

Love,

Susanne

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Meringue Powder-Based Macarons

 I made some Christmasy small macarons for our church's creche helpers this year! It may look like ordinary macarons but I am so excited to share it because these were made using meringue powder instead of fresh egg whites! 

Look at how full the insides are! 

The split open shell was piped 8 hours after I made the batter! What's more, with the use of meringue powder, having to deal with extra egg yolks will be a thing of the past for bakers who choose this method!

Here's a closer look at some of the macarons.

Why make the macarons small when I can make them bigger? Because I wanted them to fit into jars like these as gifts.

Pardon the poor photo quality because I was taking the photo late at night under low lighting. The macarons had to be 3.5cm in diameter in order to fit into the jars in this arrangement.

This meringue powder experiment and mass bake came about because of the superb performance of meringue powder for my character marshmallows. Although I am a convert to using meringue powder for marshmallows, I can't say I will do this for macarons. I will explain in this blog post. Although meringue powder as fresh or carton egg white substitution works, it's not without some differences/challenges. Just as sugar-free marshmallows are possible, it's impossible for macarons due to the presence of almond flour which contains oils, and the necessary condition that nice feet formation should be present on the cookie before it can be called a macaron.

I used this mass bake to conduct an experiment for small and large batch. Both pass with flying colours. The recipe I come up with has easy to remember ratios.  The ratio for rehydration of meringue powder I use is 1:3 for meringue powder : water. The ratios of all the ingredients are 1:1:1:1 for "egg whites" : caster sugar : icing sugar : almond flour. Feel free to tweak it a little in terms of proportion but not by too much.

Ingredients:

15g meringue powder (I use Wilton brand)

45g water (room temperature or lukewarm)

60g caster sugar

60g icing sugar

60g almond flour

1. Sift together almond flour* & powdered sugar. Set aside

2. Whisk together caster sugar & meringue powder. Add water & whisk until well combined 

3. Continue whisking over double boiler until sugar is dissolved (use fingers to test) & temperature is about 45C

4. Whip meringue until very stiff peak*

5. Fold sifted dry ingredients into meringue gently* as shown in reel until batter is able to flow off spatula slowly in a continuous ribbon

6. Pipe as per usual. Rest piped batter until very dry to touch*. Bake* in preheated oven that's about 10C lower than your usual & longer by about 5-10min.

Meringue powder based meringues for macaron making tend to be less robust than fresh egg white based meringues. Although it tends to deflate more easily due slightly under whipping, oils, certain food colouring & rough handling during folding, it's able to produce a stable batter that stays stable for many hours provided you take note of the baker's notes below.

*Baker's notes:

🔸Make sure your almond flour is not oily or your batter will not remain stable for long. I have YouTube videos for proper drying of almond flour & sifting dry ingredients so as not to cause more oil in your batter

🔸Whip your meringue to as stiff as you can. It should ball up in the whisk & offers a lot of resistance when you run the whisk through. Just like vegan meringues, meringue powder based meringues may tend towards being less robust in the presence of oils (from almond) although stabilizers like cream of tartar has already been added in the ingredients. 

🔸Drying time for meringue powder macarons is longer than you think. The skin/membrane of piped batter may feel dry to touch already but it's not ready to bake yet if it's still soft, much like vegan macarons, as the meringue produced is less robust than using fresh egg whites. Insufficient drying time may produce feet that are large & protruding/exploding outwards more than usual. Feet may also be lopsided.

🔸Fold the batter with gentleness & care. It takes less number of folds to go from under to overfolded due to the less robust nature of the meringue 

🔸Baking time & temperature needs to be slightly longer & lower respectively, much like vegan macarons due to the meringue properties. Baking temperature that is too high will also tend to result in protruding/exploding feet more than egg white-based macarons. Longer baking time is also needed due to the lower baking temperature. I reduce by about 10C from my usual baking temperature & bake longer by 5-10min. Note that temperature & time adjustments are just suggestions as each oven works differently. Use the guiding principle I shared to tweak accordingly

🔸The appearance of wrinkled & patchy tops on baked shells is evidence of meringue that's not stiff enough, use of certain colouring, or oily almond. The crust tends to be thinner & more fragile than fresh egg white based macarons but with proper technique, this can be minimized

Here's the video tutorial for using meringue powder to make macaron batter:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DC833dBSW09/?igsh=cWtnd2p3and2d3Zn

Here's the video for piping tutorial of the wreath, candy cane and snowflake designs using the wet-on-wet batter technique borrowed from royal icing cookie decoration. You may apply this same piping technique on macarons made using fresh egg whites as well. 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDEmWrJyI3t/?igsh=Z2g4NWU4MDkxMmgx

For the lacey, more complex snowflake design, please refer to this post for the piping tutorial:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDrOOpxSScJ/?igsh=MXRwejkxdHA2OWJnaQ==

I filled the macarons with passionfruit spice ganache, matcha ganache with dried cranberries and dark chocolate orange ganache.

with love, 

Phay Shing

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Christmas Macaron Gift Box

Instead of having an intensive two-day masterclass for bakes that require construction and lots of technical work, I decided to have a content that is practical for the season, full of things to learn but simple enough for beginners to handle. Presenting my macaron giftbox macaron masterclass!

The menu and designs for this class are carefully thought out to cover a range of flavours and techniques while keeping practicality in mind.

Menu:

❄️ Reindeer macarons. Cinnamon dark brown sugar macaron shells with gingerbread spice ganache

❄️ Penguin macarons. Dark brown sugar macaron shells with orange dark chocolate ganache and hazelnut butter

❄️ Christmas tree macarons. Textured matcha macaron shells with matcha ganache, dried cranberries and whole almond

❄️Snowman macarons. Plain macaron shells with peppermint white and dark chocolate ganache

🔸Fillings are all dairy-free and hold up well enough in the tropics to make gifting/transport more fuss-free. I keep them less sweet as well so they are flavourful without being too sweet

🔸Three ways of Swiss meringue method of making macarons will be taught. Why different ways? Because you may find one way more suitable than the other depending on application 

🔸Natural food sources are used to colour as well as flavour the macarons as far as possible

🔸Designs are kept as simple as possible while showcasing technique so it's suitable for beginners

Please click on this link for more information or to register:

https://www.palatesensations.com/cooking-class-singapore/christmas-gift-box-macaron-masterclass-46115

Here's the reel to have a closer look at the macarons!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DClwN63SENx/?igsh=MThjaTVpYTUxNXI=

with love,

Phay Shing

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Christmas Bear with Present Marshmallow Class

 This marshmallow creation not only looks good. It tastes great and is suitable as a cute festive gift!

The bears are made of coffee cinnamon vanilla marshmallows with no additional colouring added for the bear. The present is cinnamon vanilla coated chocolate hazelnut cake.

I have online and studio class versions for this. All studio participants get to have access to online class material at no extra charge. This is my first online/studio class introducing meringue powder as egg white replacement for my marshmallow class so some of you may be interested to know. I show you how to adjust the consistency of the marshmallow batter for different applications as well as how to create marshmallow coated cake.

Here's the link for studio class:

https://www.bakersgym.com/service-page/christmas-bear-with-present-marshmallow?referral=service_list_widget&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaasNoqnb7muxdo7SII0nyvq7FKWohWeUlIGnUO1POjsO6Sqo5ZuDXZJw4Q_aem_RmLBV2aZMBS5o8RbELrZWQ

Here's the link for online class:

https://www.bakersgym.com/product-page/online-classes-christmas-bear-with-present-marshmallow-ready-by-7-dec?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaY8cDqa4116v-JtSiS2Kum3Pnjx5dULRJm_wgMQEPAnRsBwpjVrObJ04AA_aem_5pq0XX0BcHL7qWlwJ5h3sg

There's no expiry date for the online class version so you may refer to it at your own pace. The videos are in shorter segments to make it easier to follow.

with love,

Phay Shing

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Christmas Cookie Box

It's that time of the year to prepare for our annual Christmas cookie bake for giveaway! This year, the Culinary Arts Ministry team from Adam Road Presbyterian Church has decided to create cookies that are easy to make, tasty, healthier and makes use of Redman's Super biscuit premix. Why the premix? Because it tastes awesome and you only need good unsalted butter as the other essential ingredient. So here are the cookie flavours I have come up with using the premix!

What's on the menu?

🔸Brown butter chocolate chip cookies

🔸Strawberry jam sandwich cookies

🔸Dark chocolate cookies with white chocolate star

🔸Matcha cranberry Christmas tree cookies

Besides the recipe and additional baker's notes, I will be including a longer form video on my Youtube channel for a more detailed visual, and a shorter form video on my Instagram reels. 

Here's the YouTube video:

https://youtu.be/tqO8D3DmtHo

Here's the shorter video in my Instagram reels:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCOezBayWxe/?igsh=amU1bjZzdzJpcWwy

The cookies are so simple to make even non bakers and kids can make them! 

Redman has kindly agreed to sponsor the biscuit premix and unsalted butter for our mass bake. 

We are including Alchemy Fibre, which is a prebiotic fibre blend of inulin and edible gum beneficial for gut health, cholesterol and glycemic load, to make the cookies healthier this year.

You may choose to replace the prebiotic fibre mix with inulin (available from health food stores) or simply replace with the biscuit premix if health is not a concern for you. The addition of the fibre affects the dough texture slightly but has no noticeable effect on the final baked cookies in terms of taste and texture. Ratio for replacement is 1:1.

❗Important reminder❗

Remember to take oven baking time and temperature as a reference only as each oven is different. Just bake until lightly browned and crisp. You may have to bake extra pieces just to sacrifice some for taste testing and calibrating the recipe for your oven.

Brown butter chocolate chip cookies

Ingredients:

(makes about 14 cookies)

90g Biscuit premix

22g Alchemy fibre 

70g unsalted butter

40g mini chocolate chips

Steps:

1. Place butter in a light coloured saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat until butter is browned*. Set aside.

2. Whisk together premix and Alchemy fibre. Sift into a mixing bowl.

3. Add brown butter and mix well to form a dough. Cling wrap and refrigerate for 15-20min/freeze for 6-10min to cool down the dough and allow the butter to firm up slightly. Dough should remain pliable after chilling.

4. Add mini chocolate chips and mix well*. Refrigerate 10min while preheating the oven to 160C fan/170C.

5. Portion out 14g (13g if you reserved some chocolate chips) of dough and roll into a ball. Place the balls about 6cm apart on a baking tray lined with parchment paper/Teflon sheet/silicone mat/perforated mat.

6. Bake for 10-12 min or until browned at the edges, rotating the tray halfway through baking.

7. Cool for 5 min before transferring the cookies on a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

*Baker's notes:

🔸You know the butter is done browning when you see numerous specks of brown bits in the butter and the hue of the liquid changes from yellow to a more brownish hue. It also smells great! Swirl the pan as the butter is being heated up or you may stir with a spatula.

🔸If you want the cookies to appear more aesthetically pleasing, reserve about 10-15g worth of chips instead of adding everything into the dough. I was lazy and didn't bother! Press a few reserved chips into the tops of each ball of cookie dough just before baking.

Strawberry jam sandwich cookies

Ingredients:

(makes about 10-11 sandwich cookies, 20-22 pieces of cookies)

96g Biscuit premix

24g Alchemy fibre 

60g unsalted butter, softened

40g strawberry jam

Steps:

1. Heat strawberry jam in microwave oven or over stovetop until it is thicker or weight is reduced by 15-20%*. Set aside to cool uncovered 

2. Whisk together premix and Alchemy fibre. Sift into mixing bowl with softened butter.

3. Mix together to form a ball of dough. Roll between two sheets of parchment paper until about 3mm thick.*

4. Refrigerate 20min or freeze for 10min. In the meantime, preheat oven to 160C fan/170C.

5. Cut 5cm circles of dough out with a round cookie cutter. Place them at least 3cm apart on a lined baking tray*. Use a small heart cookie cutter to cut out a heart shape in the middle of half of the circle cutouts for the top cookie in each sandwich*. 

6. Bake for 9-11 min or until lightly browned, rotating the baking tray halfway through baking.

7. Cool on the baking tray for 5min before transferring onto cooling rack to cool completely.

8. Spread about 1/4-1/3 tsp of cooled reduced jam on the bottom cookie.* Press the top cookie onto the bottom cookie. Store in airtight container.

* Baker's notes:

🔸If you are using store bought strawberry jams, they are usually too watery to use straight from the jar so it is necessary to reduce it to evaporate some moisture. If you try to spread wet jam onto the cookies, they will turn soggy very fast instead of remaining crispy. The consistency of the reduced jam should appear noticeably more viscous while hot, very firm and fairly dry when totally cooled. Use 10 second bursts at high power if using microwave oven to reduce the jam. Stir after each heating cycle and check the weight to see if sufficiently reduced. Use low heat and constant stirring if you are reducing the jam on stovetop.

🔸 If you are upsizing the recipe, it is advisable to divide the dough into multiple portions to roll and chill. This keeps each portion of dough in optimal working condition when you are cutting out the circles. The dough should not be so cold and hard that it tends to crumble when cut, but not so soft that it is tricky to transfer into baking tray. Dividing the dough also ensures that at any point in time, you always have at least a batch of dough that is being chilled, ready for cutting out once you are done with the current batch.

🔸 Line baking trays with perforated mat if possible. This ensures that each cookie has a very flat surface which can sandwich the jam perfectly.

🔸 When cutting out the small hearts, press the cutter vertically downwards firmly and then give it a little wiggle while applying pressure. This ensures a cleaner cut. In the event that the dough cutout has jagged edges, you may use the side of a wooden toothpick to file off the rough outline of the heart after the cookie is baked.

🔸When filling sandwich cookies, less is more. Keep the jam layer thin except for the middle where it can be slightly thicker, but not thicker than the cookie (3mm). Leave a border of about 2-3mm without jam around the circumference of the bottom cookie. This is to ensure jam doesn't spill or peek out from the sides.

Dark chocolate cookies with white chocolate star 

Ingredients:

(makes about 13 cookies)

90g Biscuit premix

12g Alchemy fibre 

18g cocoa powder (I used Valrhona)

60g unsalted butter, softened

25g compound white chocolate chips

Steps:

1. Whisk together premix, Alchemy fibre and cocoa powder. Sift into mixing bowl with softened butter.

2. Mix well to form a ball of dough. Roll between two sheets of parchment paper until about 5-6mm thick.*

3. Refrigerate 20min or freeze for 10min. In the meantime, preheat oven to 160C fan/170C.

4. Cut 5cm scalloped circles of dough out with a scalloped circle cookie cutter. Place them at least 3cm apart on a lined baking tray. Use a small star cookie cutter to cut out a star shape in the middle of each dough cutout*. 

5. Bake for 8min. Reduce baking temperature to 150C fan/160C, rotate the tray and bake for another 7min or until crisp.

6. Cool on the baking tray for 5min before transferring onto cooling rack to cool completely.

7. Place cooled cookies on a tray lined with a fresh sheet of parchment paper. Melt the white chocolate using microwave oven or double boiling method*. Transfer melted chocolate into piping bag, cut a small hole and fill the star cavities. Use a skewer to pull the melted chocolate such that it fills the cavity nicely if necessary

8. Freeze the tray of white chocolate filled cookies for 5min to set the chocolate. Carefully remove each cookie and store in airtight condition.

* Baker's notes:

🔸Please see 2nd and 4th notes under strawberry sandwich cookies for tips on portioning the dough and cutting out the small star cavity.

🔸If using microwave oven to melt white chocolate, use 10 second bursts at medium-high power, stirring to mix well after each heating cycle. The chocolate should be really runny and smooth before you transfer into piping bag. If using double boiling method, make sure the hot water doesn't touch the base of the bowl you are using to contain the chocolate. Be careful not to overheat chocolates or it will seize! 

Matcha cranberry Christmas tree cookies

Ingredients:
(makes about 18 trees)

90g Biscuit premix

24g Alchemy fibre 

6g Matcha powder*

60g unsalted butter, softened

24g dried cranberries, very finely chopped*

Compound white chocolate chips (optional)*

Steps:

1. Whisk together premix, Alchemy fibre and matcha powder. Sift into mixing bowl with softened butter.

2. Mix well to form a ball of dough. Add chopped dried cranberries and mix well until the berries are evenly distributed throughout the dough. Roll between two sheets of parchment paper until about 5-6mm thick.*

3. Refrigerate 20min or freeze for 10min. In the meantime, preheat oven to 160C fan/170C.

4. Cut out the Christmas trees with a 5-6cm Christmas tree cookie cutter*. Place them at least 3cm apart on a lined baking tray. 

5. Bake for 8min. Reduce baking temperature to 150C fan/160C, rotate the tray and bake for another 7min or until crisp.

6. Cool on the baking tray for 5min before transferring onto cooling rack to cool completely. 

7. Pipe melted white chocolate tinsel* and freeze for 5 min to set the chocolate if you wish (optional). Store in airtight container.

* Baker's notes:

🔸You may use ceremonial grade matcha powder if you can afford it as it would give the most intense matcha flavour and colour naturally. If not, you may use culinary grade matcha powder. Do note that matcha powder oxidizes when exposed to air so the green color will turn duller and more brownish with time. You may use Redman's bakeable matcha powder if you want the cookies to retain the vibrancy as it has some green colouring added.

🔸Please see 2nd note under strawberry sandwich cookies for tips on portioning the dough.

🔸Please see last note under dark chocolate cookie for tips on working with melted white chocolate.

🔸 Matcha cranberry cookies are traditionally made as ice box cookies which are sliced from a chilled log of dough because the presence of the cranberry bits make it trickier for cookie cutouts to have neat edges. While it's possible to create neat cookie cutouts, it takes some patience. Chopping the cranberries until they are really fine (1-2mm) helps a lot. In the event the cookie cutout edges are untidy due to cranberry bits, carefully nudge the dough back into place where the cranberry bits stick out or are gouged out from the dough in the process.

Time management tips

Many of us are busy people so anything that helps to make a massive bake manageable is always welcomed. The great thing about cookies is the work can be spread out over time with short bursts of work in between.

1. You can prepare the dough in advance and store it in the freezer. For sheeted dough like the sandwich cookies, dark chocolate cookies and matcha cookies, you may roll sheets of dough between parchment and freeze them as a stack. You may portion the brown butter chocolate chip cookie dough into 14g portions and store in containers in a single layer in the freezer. 

2. You can break the dough prep over time if you are preparing the dough for hundreds of cookies to make it more manageable. Just freeze the dough each time you make.

3. For cookies made from cutouts, you may freeze the cutouts in single layers separated by parchment. Make sure the base layer is chilled until firm before stacking.

4. Baked cookies can be frozen right after cooling down to room temperature and stored in airtight condition. Either pack them in their final packaging or store in single layers separated by parchment in airtight condition. Let the cookies thaw at cool room temperature before opening the container as exposure of cold cookies to warm moist air will cause condensation to form on the cookies, making them lose their crispiness. 

5. Remember to add a minute or two to your baking time if you are baking from frozen. Just bake until lightly browned and crisp.

Do give these a try and they are yummy but simple to make!

 with love,

Phay Shing

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