Whipped Cream - some tips

My son loves cream and loves it even better spooned over fruits. Since my parents were coming over for dinner, I decided to buy a can of fruit cocktail and whip up some cream. My wife often says that I've perfected the art of whipping cream. Any one that has whipped cream often enough knows that overwhipping cream causes it to separate and become an oily clotted mess. Underwhipping causes it not to hold its shape and it can become runny.

Well, it was an extremely hot day and the oven was on - with my casserole baking inside. That should have set off alarm bells but I thought I was too smart and too good to mess up whipping cream!

The cream started to double and thicken and then suddenly it went splat and separated! Fortunately I had bought a large carton of cream so I whipped another batch. It didnt whip too well either and so before it separated, I just stopped whipping and put it in the freezer.

I was most upset but the valuable lesson learnt is dont be too sure of yourself. The elements play a big part in cooking - especially when whipping cream! Some tips for those in warmer countries:
As a general rule, thickened cream whips better than whipping cream - due to the percentage of fat in the cream.
1)Make sure the cream is well Chilled
2)Place the bowl and beaters in the freezer for a little while
3)Use some icing sugar to sweeten the cream. This helps to stabilise it.
4)Start whisking at a low speed to ensure air is incorporated. Bubble will start to form on cream.
5)Increase speed to medium and continue beating. Make sure you move the mixer around the side and bottom of the bowl.
6)Continue beating till soft peaks or firm peaks. Stop beating before it separates (easier said than done!)

Enjoy your whipped cream!

Fathers Day 2007

It was Father's Day in Malaysia today and I made an English Trifle for the family lunch at my parents. The kids helped out with decorating the trifle too!





Trifle is a fairly easy dessert to make and it goes down well with adults and kids alike. I think it ranks as one of my wife's favourite desserts!

There's no real recipe required - but this is what I do:

I start of with a layer of butter cake or sponge fingers. Then I soak the cake in some of the syrup from a can of fruit cocktail. Next, spread the fruits over the soaked cake. Make a packet of your favourite jelly (by Jelly I mean flavoured Gelatine - I think its referred to as Jello in the US?) and pour it over the fruits. Let it cool and set.

Meanwhile, make up a batch of custard. Either cook your own from scratch or use the instant or powdered kind - its your choice! Spoon the custard over the jelly and again let cool and allow to set.

Cover with Whipped Cream and decorate with roasted almond slices and/or other garnishes - maybe some chocolate shavings... whatever you like really!

Enjoy!

Spicy Aglio Olio Pasta

As a prelude to Fathers Day tomorrow, I decided to make the kids a combination of some of their favourites. They love pasta - both tomato based and cream based. They also love sausages and mushrooms. I decided I'd do a pasta dish with a twist. Rather than the rich tomato or cream based sauce, I decided on a simple Aglio Olio (Garlic and Olive Oil) - but with a little twist. I added loads of Chilli Flakes!

Dont think I need to tell you the recipe as its basically just loads of chopped garlic fried in Olive Oil with some oregano and basil and of course Chilli Flakes. Cook your choice of pasta and then toss it in the oil.

I fried sausages, bacon and mushrooms separately, so that my wife and kids could add on how much meat they wanted.

Everyone loved the dish and for me, that was the best Fathers Day present - my kids thorougly enjoying the food I cook for them!





I submitted this to the Presto Pasta Nights hosted by Ruth at onceuponafeast

Pavlova

Since I hadn't made anything special for a while, my kids were craving some dessert. My son wanted something fruity and creamy and so I decided on a Pavlova. The last time I made a Pavlova was almost 20 years ago - in my student days in Melbourne.

Needless to say, the kids loved it and want me to make it again soon. I found it a tad too sweet but that's the thing with making a meringue - the sugar is critical to hold up the whisked egg whites. Cutting back on the sugar will cause the meringue to become rubbery.

The picture I took didnt turn out too well but here it is anyway.



This is the recipe for my very own version of a simple Pavlova.

Ingredients:
4 egg whites
1 cup castor sugar
2 tsps Corn Flour
400 ml whipping cream
1 tbsp Icing Sugar
1 large can of Fruit Cocktail
Your choice of fresh fruits to decorate

Method:

Meringue
Draw two 8" circles on Grease proof paper
Pre-heat oven to 140C
Whisk egg whites till stiff
Add sugar a little at a time while continuing to beat
quickly add in Corn flour
Pipe or spread egg white on to the two circles
Bake for about an hour or till crisp.
Remove greaseproof paper and let cook

* I prefer a crispy meringue all through rather than the traditional crisp outside and marshmallowy inside. To make it crisp all throuhg, bake a little longer and then let cool in the oven so it dries out.

Filling
Whip cream till stiff
Drain liquid from fruit cocktail and then add into cream mixture
Spread one meringue with the cream and fruit
cover with second meringue and spread remaining cream and fruit on top
Decorate with fresh fruit

YummY!

'Tapas Dinner' - a belated Birthday Dinner

My wife and I invited Priya and Raymond over for a belated Birthday Dinner for Priya. Her birthday was in March but we just couldnt get together earlier. We had actually planned to take food over to their house but since Michael was down with Conjunctivitis, they came over instead.

We decided to go with lots of appetisers or finger food rather than the traditional large main meal so it turned out to sort of a Tapas Style dinner! Angelina made Bruschetta, a lovely Greek Salad and her famous Cheesy Spinach Dip. I made Devilled Eggs, Garlic Mushrooms and Spaghetti with Garlic and Chilli

For Dessert, we had Angelina's very own homemade Apple Pie.

Bruschetta
Bread rubbed with Garlic and Olive Oil and lightly toasted before being topped with Chopped Tomatoes, Oregano, Basil and grated Cheddar Cheese

Greek Salad
a mixed Salad with Feta Cheese topped with Angelina's special dressing of Lemon, Olive Oil, Sherry Vinegar and Garlic.

Cheesy Spinach Dip
Cream, Spinach, Parmesan and Cheddar Cheese make up this lovely dip and served with corn chips.

Devilled Eggs
Hard Boiled Eggs with the yolk scooped out and 'devilled' with Mayonaisse, Tomato Sauce, Worcetershirse Sauce, Tabasco Sauce and Mustard. Chopped Gerkhins were sprinkled on top while a caper 'surprise' was placed in each egg.

Garlic Mushrooms
White Button and Swiss Brown Mushrooms fried in olive oil with lots and lots of garlic.
>Eat them on its own or with the pasta. Either way they taste great!

Garlic and Chilli Pasta
Lots of Garlic and Chilli Flakes fried together in Olive Oil with oregano, basil and black pepper and then seasoned with salt. Makes a nice side dish and a simple yet tasty meal on its own

Apple Pie
Great with Ice Cream... Yumm!!

Chocolate Cookies or Homemade Oreos without the cream

Both Michael and Sarah love Oreos and so I thought I'd see if I could make them homemade Oreo cookies - minus the cream of course. I surfed the web for recipes and found this one. I made a few alterations and the cookie turned out rather well. Depending on how thin you make the cookies and the length of time in the oven, gives you a slightly chewy or crispy 'Oreo'. I prefer them slightly thicker and thus a little chewy.

Since Michael likes to take cookies to kindergarten, we bought a nice set of cookie cutters that make lovely big cookies. As they often say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating - and these cookies passed the test. Mike and Sarah absolutely love them!!

The cookies also taste delicious with vanilla ice cream!

The recipe

Ingredients

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons castor sugar
6 ounces butter (salted)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup good quality cocoa powder


Method
Cream sugar and butter.
Add the salt, egg, water, and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Beat in sifted flour and cocoa until well combined (the dough will be stiff)
Roll the dough into small balls. Place the balls on baking paper/greasproff paper/lightly greased cookie sheets and flatten each ball until nice and round. To get a nice round, use the bottom of a glass dipped in cocoa powder. (Note that too much cocoa left over on the biscuit gives a moist, bitter cookie as the cocoa tends to melt a bit in the oven)
You may also use a cookie stamp and cut out shapes.
To get a nice crisp cookie, it’s important to press them thin. For a chewier cookie, let them be a little thicker. Too thin and the cookies will burn. Too thick and they will be chewy. Try out a few first to see what you like.
Place the baking sheets in the refrigerator to chill the dough for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Bake the cookies for 18-20 minutes.
Remove the cookies from the baking pans and cool them completely on a wire rack.

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