Tokyo Desserts

Layers of potato, ham & spinach add a great flavor

If you are tired of traditional quiches and looking for a new twist try this recipe. This quiche has layers of potato, spinach and ham. Also, the traditional milk has been replaced with a Béchamel sauce which gives it a nice deep flavor.

If you serve this quiche with just a soup and salad, you would still have a hearty dinner. Also, this is great to make ahead of time and just pop in the microwave for a few seconds before serving.

I have skipped cheese in this recipe to save on calories but feel free to add it back.

This is a recipe that allows for personalization -- substitute the spinach with asparagus or eggplant, etc.

Here you go for the recipe:

Crust:
200 grams sifted flour
85 grams butter cut into cubes (cold)
1 egg
pinch of salt and sugar

1. If you use a food processor, add the flour to the processor bowl with the cold butter and sugar and salt and quickly blend. Add in the egg and blend again.
2. Remove from the bowl and lightly knead together to mix well and then cover with plastic wrap. Put in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before rolling out.

Filling:
3 potatoes
4 eggs
1/2 package fresh spinach
150 grams ham or bacon
1 onion
35 grams flour
300 cc milk

1. Peel and slice the potatoes. Boil until just soft. Drain.
2. Wash the spinach and remove the stems.
3. Fry the ham (or bacon) until just browned. Drain on a paper towel.
4. Slice the onion and fry in a pan with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil until soft. Add the flour and mix with a spoon - slowly add in the milk and mix until the mixture starts to thicken. Turn off the heat.
5. Mix the eggs in a bowl and add #4 above in portions and mix with a small whisk.
6. Roll out the dough to fit a 20 cm tart pan. Fit the dough around the inside of the tart pan and cut off the extra.
7. Spread a little of the egg mixture to the bottom of the tart pan then layer with potatoes, ham, spinach. Add more of the egg mixture and another layer of the ingredients.
8. Pour the remaining egg mixture on top and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 40 minutes.

Hearty dinner or lunch!

Just add coffee to this cake for the perfect match

No, it's not time for Christmas just yet. I had some pistachios & pecans in the refrigerator so I used them for decoration.

I know I say this about each recipe, but this cake IS really tasty. I put it together in less than 30 minutes - a really quick and easy dessert.

It is still hot in Tokyo so baking was a chore. Hopefully, it will be cooling off in the days to come.

The good news we had this morning is that Tokyo won the bid for the 2020 summer Olympics. It is seven years from now but I am looking forward to being in a city with the Olympics. Everyone in Japan is quite excited and looking forward to making the dream a reality.

Anyway, here is the cake recipe.


Chocolate Loaf Cake

160 grams milk chocolate
70 grams butter (room temperature)
45 grams sugar
2 eggs
100 grams sifted flour
2 grams baking powder
35 grams candied orange peel
65 grams dried figs (diced)
20 grams Grand Marnier liquor
55 grams milk

1. Mix the flour and baking powder together and sift.
2. Mix the eggs & milk together. Soak the orange peel and dried figs in the Grand Marnier liquor.
3. Melt the milk chocolate in a bowl over a sauce pan of hot water which is lightly boiling. The bowl should not touch the hot water. Use a spatula to mix the chocolate while melting.
4. Remove the chocolate from the hot water and gradually add in pieces of butter. Use a small whisk to mix in the butter. Put the chocolate back over the hot water if the butter does  melt fully.
5. Gradually add the egg/milk mixture into the chocolate and mix with a small whisk each time you add the mixture. Add the sugar.
6. Add the sifted flour and mix well.  Add in the orange peel/dried figs.
7. Pour into a lightly buttered/floured pound loaf pan.
8. Bake at 170 degrees Celsius for about 40 minutes.  Check if the cake is thoroughly cooked before removing from the oven.

Nut topped banana muffins

A good point about banana muffins is that the overripe bananas are naturally sweet so you don't need to add much sugar to the recipe.

I like this recipe since sugar is replaced with honey and pecan nuts are used instead of walnuts. Overall,  this recipe is very tasty.

Also, this is super quick to put together so a great recipe for a weekend morning when you have a few extra minutes to prepare breakfast.

Be creative and add raisins or chocolate chips as you like.

Recipe:

3 overripe bananas
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup melted butter
1/3 cup butter milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Fill baking cups and add nuts on top

1. Sift the flour and baking powder & baking soda together in a bowl.

2. Mash the bananas in a bowl and slowly add in the honey and mix with a whisk.
Add the milk and vanilla and continue to mix. Lastly, add the butter and mix well.

3. Add in the flour mixture to #2 and mix well. Fill baking cups about 90% full. Sprinkle the nuts on top.

4. Bake at 180 degrees celsius for about 15 - 20 minutes.

Ready for breakfast!

Mini bundt cakes are ready for serving

By taking the traditional bundt recipe and replacing the baking pan, picture perfect individual cakes are ready for guests.

In this recipe, I have also added diced candied lemon peel to add an extra zippy taste. Be creative when you bake and add or substitute flavors to match what is in your kitchen. I think these would also taste great substituting with orange peel or ginger.

These take only about 20 minutes to put together so keep this recipe on hand for when you need a quick dessert.

Recipe

190 grams flour
120 grams butter
1 teaspoon baking powder

Mini cake pan

1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
100 grams candied lemon peel
50 grams butter milk (add lemon juice to regular milk if buttermilk is not available)
125 grams sugar

1. Prepare the baking pan by lightly coating it with butter. Generously sprinkle flour inside the pan.

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

3. Mix the softened butter with the sugar. Add the eggs in portions and mix with a whisk. Add the buttermilk and mix. Add the flour and mix with a spatula. Add the lemon peel.

4. Pour the mixture into the baking pan and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 25 - 30 minutes depending on the size of your pan.

5. After the cake cools,  remove from the pan.

The batter takes about 10 minutes to mix together

Icing