Spiral Pastry

Made these as i tried some 'puff pastry' recipe and it end up a disaster. So instead of wasting the butter and flour dough, I added more flour and make a spiral pastry instead. Used curry puff filling for these, taste very good.



Water Dough (A)
200g plain flour }sift
28g icing sugar }
80g cold butter
80g water

Cut butter into flour mixture using fingertips or pastry blender until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add in water and mix to form a soft, non-sticky dough. No need to knead. Cover and set aside to rest for 20 mins.

Oil Dough (B)
180g plain flour, sifted
90g oil (I use canola)
½ tsp pandan paste

Make a well in the centre of the flour and add in oil and pandan paste. Draw in the flour from the sides and mix to form a soft even coloured dough. So not over-mix. Cover and set aside for 20 mins.

300g green bean paste filling (C) - or use any filling you desire :)

To assemble:
1) Divide (A) and (B) each into 10 equal pieces, and (C) into 20 pieces.
2) Taking one piece of (A), flatten and wrap (B) in it. Pinch to seal edges
3) With the sealed side facing up, roll into a rectangle
4) Roll up like a swissroll, turn the cylinder 90 degrees and repeat.
5) Using a sharp knife, cut the cylinder into two pieces.
6) With the cut side facing down, flatten the dough, making the edges slightly thinner than the centre. Wrap the filling and pinch to seal – Pic 12. Try not to 'tug/pull' too hard, otherwise the layers will tear. Best to flatten the dough larger than smaller so it's easier to pinch 8) Place sealed side down - Pic 13 on lined baking tray and bake in preheated 185C for about 30 mins until the top and bottom are a light golden brown.

note:
- for pictures you can view this site:
http://cornercafe.wordpress.com/2008/08/01/huaiyang-flaky-pastry/

recipe from:
http://mykitchenmylaboratory.blogspot.com/2006/04/chinese-pastries-iii.html

Japanese Cheesecake

Bought 500g cream cheese a few weeks ago from phoon huat. Used 250g for non-bake cheesecake for my dad's birthday and had 250g left for playing =D. I tried to maximize my use for these 250g cream cheese for as many recipes as possible. Baked this japanese cheesecake yesterday. It taste very light and had a strong cheese flavor compare to the non-bake cheesecake. I dont know how they get the spongy feeling but i feel its more of a light fudgy feeling, like those america cheesecake but less dense. I halved the recipe and bake in a 15x7cm mini loaf pan.



Ingredients:

125 g cream cheese
20 g butter
40 ml milk
3 egg yolks
32 g cake flour
8 g corn flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
3 egg whites
55 g caster sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 tbs apricot jam (Omitted)

Method:

Preheat the Oven to 160°C.
Melt the butter, cream cheese, and milk on a double boiler, leave to cool slightly.
In a large bowl, beat together egg yolks, salt, lemon juice, lemon rind, and cake flour together until well mixed.
Add cheese and milk mixture into egg yolk mixture until well mixed.
In a separate clean bowl, beat the egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Slowly add in the sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form, and the mixture is glossy.
Slowly fold in the egg white batter into the egg yolk mixture, 1/3 at a time, until incorporated. Pour into an 8 inch springform tin and bake in a waterbath for 30-40 min or until cooked when inserted with a skewer.
Remove from the mould immediately to prevent the cake from sinking.
If using apricot jam, mixed the apricot jam with a bit of water and warmed it in the microwave.
Brush the apricot jam all over the top of the cheesecake to give it a glossy finish.
Refrigerate after cooling

recipe from:
http://mybakingcottage.blogspot.com/2008/01/japanese-souffle-cheesecake.html