Tokyo Desserts

Forget dinner, go straight to dessert!

There is a great kitchen supply area in Tokyo called Kappabashi and I bought  cute dessert cups there so had to make something to fill them.

This dessert has several items in it - strawberry mousse, cake, custard cream, and fresh strawberries and blueberries. I am providing the recipes if you want to make everything from scratch but you can substitute store bought things such as the cake if you need to save time.

Cake:
2 eggs
60 grams sugar
1 teaspoon water
50 grams flour (sifted)
20 grams butter (melt over hot water)

1. Whip the eggs and add the  sugar and water until they are yellow and fluffy. Add the sifted flour and mix well then add in the melted butter - add in portions and mix each time before adding more.
2. Pour into a square baking sheet (about 20 cm x 20 cm) which is covered with baking paper. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes. Cool after removing from the oven.

Custard Cream:
2 egg yolks
100 cc milk
20 grams sugar
15 grams flour
1 teaspoon strawberry liquor

1. Mix the egg yolks with the sugar and flour using a small whisk. Heat the milk in a saucepan until lightly boiling then add to the egg yolk mixture and mix. Add back to the saucepan and cook on a low heat until it thickens. Continually mix using a small whisk. Do NOT overheat.
2. Remove from the pan and cool in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap while it cools so that the top does not become hardened.

Strawberry Mouse
100 grams cream cheese (softened)
50 grams sugar
200 grams strawberry puree
6 grams gelatin (softened in water)
200 grams fresh cream

1. In a bowl, mix the cream cheese and sugar.
2. In a saucepan, lightly heat the strawberry puree. Turn off the heat then add the gelatin. Mix with a small whisk until it is all dissolved. Pour into a bowl and cool.
3. In a separate bowl, whip the fresh cream until peaks appear, do not over whip.
4. When the puree is room temperature, add it in portions to the cream cheese and mix well using a whisk. Place this over a bowl filled with ice to firm up the puree. Keep the puree over the ice water until it becomes pudding consistency. Use a whisk to keep it loose.
5. Add the fresh cream in portions to the puree mixture, use a whisk to mix.

Putting Things Together
1. Cut the cake to fit in the bottom of the dessert cup then layer with the custard, fresh berries and mousse. You can design the dessert as you like ;)
2. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving

Dessert is ready!

Flaky Coconut Oil Scones

I finally thought I should try baking with coconut oil so I bought a jar of it. It really is quite oily. I took a small taste from the jar and it was like eating coconut flavored lard.

Anyway, I persevered and went on baking. This recipe is incredibly simple and only takes about 15 minutes to put together. You actually can bake them for breakfast!

The texture of the scones if very flaky and not crumbly as can happen with scones. I highly recommend baking scones with the coconut oil if you don't mind the taste of coconut.

Recipe:
200 grams flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
pinch of salt
80 grams coconut oil
20 grams sugar
100 grams dried fruit such as raisins or cranberries
100 grams milk (room temperature)

1. In a bowl, sift the flour and baking powder together then add the salt. Mix in the coconut oil using a fork then add the sugar.
2. Mix in the milk. You can use a spatula to mix together. Lastly, add the dried fruit.
3. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Lightly knead for a couple of minutes to ensure everything is well mixed.
4. Use your hand to flatten the dough to about 3.5 cm high. Use a round biscuit cutter to cut each piece. Place on a baking pan. Makes about 8 pieces.
5. Brush with milk before baking. Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for about 15 - 18 minutes.



Checkerboard Cake Just add Milk and Serve!

I always thought this cake looked a bit too complicated to make so I never got around to making it. After one try though, it didn't turn out too bad.

It actually only takes a couple of hours to put together and some of that is waiting time so give it a try!


Cake:

6 eggs
200 grams sugar
200 grams flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
100 grams butter
120 grams sweet chocolate (chopped)


1. In a bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. In a separate bowl, measure the butter add melt over a saucepan filled with hot water.
2. Put the chocolate in another bowl and melt over a saucepan filled with simmering hot water.
3. In a large bowl, whip the eggs with a hand mixer and gradually add the sugar. Continue to mix on medium speed until the batter is yellow and fluffy. This may take about 10 minutes so don't skip on this step. After the batter is well mixed, add the flour mixture gradually and continue to mix until everything is well combined.

Cakes after Baking

4. Add a little of the batter into the bowl with melted butter and mix well with a spatula then add to the bowl filled with the batter. Mix for a few seconds with the hand mixer.
5. Evenly divide the mixture between 2 bowls. Add the melted chocolate to one of the bowls and mix using a spatula.
6. Pour the batters into separate baking pans that are lightly rubbed with butter and dusted with flour. I used 2 20 cm round pans.


Putting Together:

Now you need to cut the cakes to put them together. Don't panic :)

Use a guide to cut your cake evenly

 First, you should cut your cake in half. I had these  
 wooden dowels at home so that I used them as a
 guide to cut the cake evenly. If you have a cake
 cutter, you can use that.

Guides for the cutting the cake circles

Secondly, find a piece of paper and outline the cake on it. From the outer edge of the circle, measure points at 4 cm then at 8 cm. Cut out 3 circles from the paper and place them on one of the cakes. Cut the cake based on the circles.

Mix alternate pieces of the cake circles then place alternate layers of cake on top of each other (i.e. alternate layers based on the outer cake color).

Ready for the last step!

Ready for dinner!

I really enjoy baking bread, just wish I had more time to make it.  Making bread at home is a luxury.

This is a basic recipe and you can easily add other ingredients to add extra zest such as black olives or nuts.

This bread is soft and easy to eat, great as a sandwich roll as well.

Here is the recipe:

375 grams flour
35 grams sugar
7 grams salt
6 grams yeast
100 grams milk
100 grams water
1 egg
40 grams olive oil
Fresh thyme (4 - 5 pieces)

1. In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the yeast. Mix the egg, water and milk in another bowl.

 2. Add the egg mixture to the flour.  Use a bench scraper to mix and coat the flour. Put on a flat surface and knead for about 10  minutes. Dough should be soft but not sticky. Let rest under a bowl for about 10 minutes.

 3. Stretch the dough and pour 1/3 of the olive oil over it, knead well to incorporate the oil. Repeat several times until all of the oil has been added. Knead until the bread is soft & supple. If  the dough feels too dense, add a teaspoon of water or so and knead again. Add in the thyme. Put in a bowl and cover with wrap. Let rise in warm place for 60 minutes.

 4. Divide the dough into 70 gram pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball. Place on the kneading board and cover with plastic and let rise for 20 minutes (bench time).

 5. Flatten each ball to remove the air and roll again into ball. Place on the pan you will use for baking - leave room between each piece since they increase in size during rising. Brush with olive oil. Cover with plastic and place in a warm place. Should rise again for about 30 minutes.

 6. Heat oven to 210 degrees Celsius and bake for about 20 - 25 minutes until browned.