We talked about the Eurasian Sugee cake earlier this week, so I decide to share a recipe with you guys. I read through a great many recipes on the internet, and stumbled upon https://www.shiokmanrecipes.com/ Eddie is Singaporean and has an informative YouTube channel and blog. Take a look at his amazing creations. And here is …
Sugee, rawa, semolina, suji….a staple ingredient, found in most kitchens. An ingredient I reach for when want to make quick comfort foods. A soothing porridge, a spicy upma, a heartwarming halwa. It was thus eye opening to realise that for centuries, semolina had been linked with the cuisines of Europe and the Middle East. Even …
The Peranaken community is unique to South East Asia and particularly the Malay archipelago. Chinese or Indian Traders who sailed to the Malacca straits and plied their wares, couldn’t return to their places of origin until the monsoon winds aligned with their destinations. So they would drop anchor literally and figuratively and spend 4 to …
The term “shortening” technically refers to any type of fat that is solid at room temperature. This includes butter, margarine and lard. But when such a fat is cut into the flour before baking, it coats the gluten strands, retarding the gluten from forming long strands. It “shortens” the gluten and creates a tender, crumbly …
The word Leaven means to cause to rise. A leavener is something that modifies or lightens a baked good. We take light cakes and tender biscuits, springy breads and airy meringues as a given without a thought about the reason for their lightness. And when we do, it’s baking powder or baking soda that come …
A favourite tea cake of Queen Victoria.
Schwarzwäld Kirsch Kuchen. That’s quite a tongue twister, isn’t it? For those of you that don’t speak German, I’ll give you a clue. Chocolate, cherries and cream. What’s not to love? “A rose by any other name, would smell as sweet”, said the Bard. This “rose” is also called Black Forest cake and is found …
Read more “What’s Black, White and Red and loved by Indians?”
Gluten is a collection of proteins (the long amino-acid chains gliadins and glutenins) that make bread rise and give the characteristic chewy texture to baked goods. These proteins are vital to the binding and the rising of baked goods made with wheat based flours. (Read All about flours here). Gluten develops with the addition of …
Did you know? Of the strange case of macaroons of Thoothukudi? All of us have eaten macaroons before. The shaggy, chewy, coconut filled cookies that seem to be the country bumpkin cousins of the lah-di-dah French Macarons. But have you ever eaten a Tuticorin macaroon? I tasted them for the first time when I joined …
There are a ton of flours out there—all-purpose, bread, cake, pastry, whole wheat, semolina, self raising. And we’re just talking about wheat based flours right now. They’re all slightly different with slightly different functions. Here are the most common types, what they’re all about, and when you should or shouldn’t use them. All-Purpose or Plain …