Coconut Cream Pie

Hi!
If there is anyone out there who has been expecting updates every week, i'm sorry I seem to be failing at that lately.  I've gotten into Pinterest and all I seem to do is look at pins whenever i'm online, it's pretty amazing the things you find on there lol.  Anyway, today I have Coconut Cream Pie!

Yay! I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. It's another recipe i've never made before so I wasn't really sure what to expect.  My family loved it but i'm pretty sure they just love any type of pie lol.  It was not too sweet and it was creamy.  The coconut gives it an interesting texture.

Here is the recipe :)

Coconut Cream Pie Recipe

Ingredients

For the Pastry:

• 175 grams plain flour
• 100 grams cold butter (cut into small pieces)
• 1 tablespoon icing sugar
• 1 egg yolk

For the Filling:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups milk
• 4 eggs
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup flaked coconut

For the Vanilla Whipped Cream:

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 3 tablespoons icing sugar

Method

1. For the Pastry, put the flour, butter, icing sugar, egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of cold water into a food processor. Using the pulse button so the mix is not overworked, process until the mix starts to bind. 
2. Tip the pastry onto a lightly floured surface, gather together until smooth, then roll out and gently press the pastry into a lightly oiled pie dish. Trim and neaten the edges.  
3. Prick the base with a fork, line with foil, shiny side down, and chill for half an hour to an hour (or overnight).Bake the pastry case 'blind' (filled with dry beans) for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and bake a further 5 to 8 minutes until the pastry is pale golden and cooked. Set aside.
4. To make the Filling: In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, flour and salt over a medium heat. Gradually stir in milk. 
5. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture is thick and bubbly. Reduce heat to low and cook 2 minutes more. Remove the pan from heat.
6. Separate the egg yolks from whites. Beat the egg yolks slightly. 
7. Gradually stir 1 cup of the hot mixture into yolks. Return the egg mixture to the saucepan and bring the entire mixture to a gentle boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes before removing the pan from heat.
8. Stir butter, vanilla, and coconut into the hot mixture. 
9. Pour the hot filling into the baked pie crust and leave it out to cool.
10. To make the vanilla cream topping: In a mixing bowl, Combine the cream, vanilla essence and icing sugar and beat to soft peaks and spread on top of the cooled coconut cream filling. Sprinkle with toasted coconut and serve. 

Tip: When you are making the filling, watch the saucepan like a hawk because if you turn away for a minute, it may start to burn (I may or may not be speaking from personal experience...).  Make your pie crust well before you start the filling. I tried to multitask by keeping an eye on the pie crust in the oven while making the filling on the stove. Not pretty.

Moral of this story: Don't be a hero, Multitasking isn't kind to the uncoordinated.

Happy Halloween :) even though its like 12:45am so technically, its not halloween anymore.  Next week I will try to post something halloween related since Bakery Story has Halloween items for a limited time.

♡ B

Pecan Pie

So I lied at the end of my last post. Pecan Pie post is finally here (two weeks later! Ooops)

Ok, so my Pecan Pie looks nothing like the one from Bakery Story LOL but it's all about the taste right? I've never tried pecan pie before so I was keen to give this recipe a go. I liked how the pecans are arranged on the bottom of the pastry shell before you pour the liquid on top and as the pie bakes, the pecans rise to the top. I probably sound stupid 'coz I was totally like OMG magic! haha. I had hard times trying to cut slices without the pecans falling off and leaving big gaping holes lol.

Pecan Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

For the Pastry

• 175g plain flour
• 100g cold butter , cut into small pieces
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 egg yolk

For the Filling

• 90g butter, melted
• 2/3 cup golden syrup
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup pecan nuts

Method:

1. For the Pastry, put the flour, butter, icing sugar, egg yolk and 1 tbsp cold water into a food processor. Using the pulse button so the mix is not overworked, process until the mix starts to bind. 
2. Tip the pastry onto a lightly floured surface, gather together until smooth, then roll out and gently press the pastry into a lightly oiled pie dish. Trim and neaten the edges. The pastry is quite rich, so don't worry if it cracks, just press it back together. 
3. Prick the base with a fork, line with foil, shiny side down, and chill for half an hour to an hour (or overnight).Bake the pastry case 'blind' (filled with dry beans) for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and bake a further 5 to 8 minutes until the pastry is pale golden and cooked. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, melt the butter, stir in golden syrup, brown sugar and lightly beaten eggs. 
5. Add sifted flour and baking powder, stir until smooth. 
6. Sprinkle pecan nuts over the baked pastry base, then pour in the filling mixture. 
7. Place the pie in the oven and bake at 180°C for 30 minutes until firm and dark golden brown.

Next time: Coconut Cream Pie (notice I said next time and not next week LOL I will aim for next week though!)

♡ B

Podium Cake

Hellooo! I know i'm just a tad bit late on the Olympics front but I made Podium Cake.  I'm just gonna say it's to celebrate Valerie Adams finally receiving her gold medal a little over a week ago YAY!

Here is a screen shot of what the entire cake looks like in my bakery.  I decided to decorate and photograph the whole cake this time because it has a few different decorative elements and it would've been weird for me to just fondant a little slice of cake haha.

So this is my Podium Cake.  I've never worked with fondant before so this was quite fun for me.  I guess I cheated because I used a ready-to-roll packet of fondant but moulding all the elements and putting them all together in the end took ages for me (or maybe i'm just really slow haha).

I started off by making a double batch of a basic vanilla cake, split the batter into two bowls and then coloured one with pink food colouring and the other with blue.  I baked them separately and left them to cool completely.  

After the cakes had cooled, I cut them up and arranged them into the appropriate levels to resemble the podiums.  I made a basic buttercream frosting to sandwich the two different coloured cakes together and coated the whole cake structure with the buttercream so that the fondant would have something to stick to.  

The fondant is quite easy to mould, it's like working with playdough.  I bought a plain white fondant and coloured it with gel colouring.  I find gel colours the easiest to work with because you only need a small amount for an intense colour (I think normal food colouring might affect the consistency of the fondant too, i'm not too sure).

I looked up tutorial videos on YouTube to learn how to make the flowers and with the rest, I sort of winged it LOL.

I like how fondant give cakes such a nice finish and there is so much you can do with it.  It's no that nice to eat though haha.

Next week: Pecan Pie

♡ B

Eclairs

I had a week off from work and since I had nowhere to go and no one to go with...I baked.  With all this extra time on my hands, I wanted to bake something that I thought would be a little bit challenging so I chose Eclairs.  I didn't think Eclairs would be too hard to make until I watched an episode of "Chelsea New Zealand's Hottest Home Baker" where they had to make choux pastry and they were all nervous because apparently even the best pastry chefs have trouble with it.  My baking skills are pretty average so I was prepared for an epic fail.

I don't know if you can tell from this picture but this is the first batch that went into they oven.  They puffed up perfectly and it looked like they were burning so I took them out early and they deflated like balloons lol.  Making the pastry is a pretty simple process but it's the baking part you have to worry about.  When I put in my second batch, I decided to cover them with a sheet of tin foil about halfway though to stop them from burning but still allow them to continue baking.  I learnt that the pastry has to dry out on the inside so it doesn't collapse.

My second batch turned out better but to be honest, no one is going to care if the pastry is flat when you fill it with the cream and coat it with chocolate NOM! These are dangerously addictive.  Picture is slightly out-of-focus because it was about 5pm and I didn't have a lot of daylight left but I HAD to take a photo of it because my family was home and the eclairs would've been all eaten before the chocolate had time to set. No joke.  I think I messed up the chocolate part (too runny?) because I didn't read the instructions properly. My bad.  It still tasted good, I mean, it's pastry, cream and chocolate...how could that not taste good?

I even had a little bit of pastry left over to make some cream puffs.

Eclairs Recipe

Ingredients

For the Choux Pastry

1 cup flour 

a pinch of salt
1 cup cold water
80g unsalted butter, cubed
3 large eggs, lightly beaten

For the Cream Filling

500ml cream

1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

For the Chocolate Icing

150g dark chocolate
60g soft unsalted butter
1/4 cup boiling water

Method

1. Sift flour and salt onto a piece of paper. Place the water and butter into a saucepan and heat until butter melts.
2. Bring liquid to a boil then quickly put in all the flour at once. Remove the pan from the heat and beat just enough to bring the mixture together into a smooth dough.
3. Turn the mixture into a bowl and leave to cool for 10 minutes. With an electric mixer, beat the eggs, in small amounts, into the cooled mixture. Continue beating until the mixture is very glossy.
4. Preheat oven to 200ºC. Line two baking trays with nonstick baking paper.  Sprinkle trays with cold water to create steam during cooking as this will help the choux pastry rise.  Spoon or pipe onto prepared baking trays.
5. Bake for 15 minutes until puffed, then reduce oven to 180ºC and cook for a further 30 minutes until dry inside and golden brown.
6. Remove from the oven and using a knife, pierce a hole in the base of each choux puff. Cool on a wire rack.  
7. For the filling, whip the cream, vanilla essence and sugar together.
8. For the icing, melt chocolate and water together over very low heat until just melted. Beat in softened butter. 
9. For the assembly, carefully cut each eclair in half, fill with whipped cream and spread a thin layer of icing onto each eclair.

Enjoy :)

♡ B

Lemon Meringue Pie

Hi!
Told ya i'd update this week haha.  I made Lemon Meringue Pie for the very first time years ago, like maybe 7 years ago? Man, that makes me sound/feel old LOL.  I like how the meringue is all fluffy and it looks so light and crunchy.  So with that in mind, I made this Lemon Meringue Pie and I was looking forward to that crunchy top but it was soft when it came out of the oven!  My younger self was obviously disappointed and at the time, I just put it down to my fail baking skills and never attempted to make it again haha.

Now, in the present day, I like to think that my skills as a baker have slightly improved over the years so I was ready to attempt the Lemon Meringue Pie again.

The pastry turned out pretty good, a little burnt but it wasn't too dry or crumbly.  The lemon part set perfectly and had a good flavour.  All in all, it turned out quite well and all the flavours kind of balanced each other out BUT my meringue stayed soft and spongy and it burnt. Sadface.  Is there some Lemon Meringue Pie expert out there who can tell me if the meringue is supposed to go crunchy?? Because I know the meringue part of a pavlova goes crunchy...I don't know, maybe thats a different kind of meringue...Anyway, this is a quick and easy pie to make (if you pre-make the pastry) and it looks really nice (if you don't fail the meringue like I did lol).

Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe

Ingredients

For the Pastry

• 175g plain flour
• 100g cold unsalted butter , cut in small pieces
• 1 tablespoon icing sugar
• 1 egg yolk

For the Lemon Filling

• 2 tablespoons cornflour
• 100g caster sugar
• finely grated zest 2 large lemon
• 125ml fresh lemon juice (from 2-3 lemons)
• juice 1 small orange
• 85g butter, cut into pieces
• 3 egg yolks and a 1 whole egg

For the Meringue

• 4 egg whites, room temperature
• 100g caster sugar

Method

1. For the pastry: Put the flour, butter, icing sugar, egg yolk (save the white for the meringue) and 1 tablespoon of cold water into a food processor. Pulse until the mix starts to bind. 
2. Tip the pastry onto a lightly floured surface, gather together until smooth, then roll out and line a pie dish. Trim and neaten the edges. The pastry is quite rich, so don't worry if it cracks, just press it back together. 
3. Prick the base with a fork, line with foil, shiny side down, and chill for half an hour to an hour (or overnight).
4. Preheat the oven to 200ºC. 
5. Bake the pastry case 'blind' for 15 mins, then remove the foil and bake a further 5-8 mins until the pastry is pale golden and cooked. Set aside. (Can be done a day ahead if you want to get ahead.)
6. Lower the oven to 180ºC.
7. While the pastry bakes, prepare the filling: 
8. Mix the cornflour, sugar and lemon zest in a medium saucepan. 
9. Strain and stir the lemon juice gradually into the pan. 
10. Make orange juice up to 200ml with water and strain into the pan. 
11. Cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth. 
12. Once the mixture bubbles, remove from the heat and beat in the butter until melted. 
13. Beat the egg yolks (save white for meringue) and whole egg together, stir into the pan and return to a medium heat. Keep stirring vigorously for a few minutes, until the mixture thickens and plops from the spoon. (It will bubble, but doesn't curdle.) 
14. Take off the heat and set aside while you make the meringue.
15. Put the egg whites in a large bowl. Beat until soft peaks form, slowly add caster sugar a little at a time, beating well until thick meringue is formed.  
16. Quickly reheat the filling and pour it into the pastry case. 
17. Immediately put spoonfuls of meringue around the edge of the filling then spread so it just touches the pastry. Pile the rest into the centre, spreading so it touches the surface of the hot filling, then give it all a swirl. 
18. Return to the oven for 18-20 mins at 180ºC until the meringue is crisp and slightly coloured. Let the pie sit in the tin for 30 mins, then remove and leave for at least another half hour to an hour before slicing. 

Wow! 18 steps makes it seem like an epic recipe but if you have pre-made pastry, it saves a lot of time.

Ok I need sleep now.  Bye!

♡ B

Cinnamon Rolls

Hello!
Yes, I suck at updating.  I was totally going to post this on Saturday but my day went like *snaps fingers* and then it was time for me to sleep.  I think all this baking is starting to make its mark on my belly...that and just sitting around watching Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz on my days off isn't helping lol.

Anyway, I made Cinnamon Rolls yay!

Look at my first batch LOL! Lucky I decided to make a double batch so I could afford to experiment and fail with presentation of the cream cheese frosting.  It looks like cheese sauce haha!

I was really happy with how they turned out.  I think if you drizzle chocolate or whatever sauce on something, it somehow makes it look more appealing.  I didn't have any cinnamon sticks lying around and one cinnamon roll on the plate looked lonely so I gave it a friend.

You can find the recipe here I was totally sold on this recipe though the photos (especially the last two) I wish mine turned out that golden and delicious looking plus I couldn't really look past this recipe when she calls them the "Best Ever Ever EVER Cinnamon Rolls".

Don't forget to read the recipe carefully.  They take a while to make because you need to wait for the dough to rise but if you have the time and patience, they are worth the effort.

I will update next week, promise!

♡ B

Sugar Cookies

Hi :)
Today I decided to try and get back into my baking groove so I made some sugar cookies.  I wasn't feeling so great yesterday, I couldn't stop sneezing and my eyes were watering and itching like crazy but i'm glad i'm feeling soooo much better today 'coz i really needed to bake something.  I'm trying to stick with my plan to bake/update this blog at least once a week.

My Sugar Cookies turned out pretty darn good, if I do say so myself LOL.  They don't take long to bake and it's only like 1 minute between being perfect and being burnt, yes, I found that out the hard way...Anyway, once you decorate them all pretty with icing and sprinkles no one will notice that they're burnt haha.

Sugar Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg (beaten, room temperature)
• 1 tablespoon milk
• icing sugar for rolling out dough

Method

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, place butter and sugar and beat with an electric mixer until light in colour.
Add egg and milk and beat until combined.
Turn the mixer to a low speed, gradually add the flour mixture and beat until the mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl.
Divide the dough in half, wrap in baking paper and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 180ºC

Sprinkle surface where you will roll out your dough with the icing sugar.
Remove dough from the refrigerator, Sprinkle rolling pin with icing sugar. Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick.  Move the dough around and check frequently underneath to make sure it is not sticking.
Cut into desired shape (I used a small drinking glass to make my circle shape).
Place onto a greased baking tray and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until the cookies are just starting to turn brown around the edges, rotating the baking tray halfway through baking time.
Let the cookies sit for 2minutes after you remove them from the oven before transferring them onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Decorate as desired.

To Make the Icing

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Method

In a medium mixing bowl, combing icing sugar, butter and vanilla extract.  Use an electric hand mixer to beat together until the mixture is smooth, adding enough milk to make a good spreading consistency.  Add food colouring
Frost cooled cookies, sprinkle with sugar sprinkles if desired.  Set aside until frosting is set.


Thats all for now! I'm off to go do something boring like read or sleep.

Bye

♡ B