Alhamdulillah

My promise to you guys.

Everyday is an epiphany.

Don't let others bring you down. You're amazing. Rise up. Be strong, and confident. Let them know that they'll never get to your core; that they'll never make you feel like you don't matter, that you're not unique.

Be amazing, stay amazing.

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     Since I’m stuck at home for a few weeks, I fell down the stairs and fractured my foot, I was experimenting with new ingredients for a cupcake, and…

     Why the hell don’t people promote, browned butter?! Like, seriously. This thing is amazing, and hardly anyone shares it!

     It has a nut-like aroma, produces a more robust taste, and can be turned into a sauce. Literally, anything that uses melted butter in a recipe could be become even better with this. Why the hell doesn’t anyone it?!

     Of course, though… it’s very easy to burn it. (laughs)

     I’ll work a bit on it to find exactly when the flavour is at it’s peak, and the butter doesn’t burn.

     These scones were such a big hit, that I still can’t even believe it. They were moist, not crumbly at all,  perfectly sized, not overly sweet and the lavender was a perfect match with the blueberries.

• 2 1/4 cups Plain Flour
• 75g Unsalted Butter (cold)
• 1/2 cup Castor Sugar
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 90g Cream Cheese Softned
• 1/3 Cup Milk (plus 2 tbsp extra)
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 cup Frozen Fresh Blueberries (or dried)

     The thing that makes me cry most about scones are people who over knead the dough. DO NOT OVER KNEAD THE DOUGH. Doing so will ensure that your scones will end up dry, and no one will like them!

     First begin by taking your dry ingredients and whisk them together in a large bowl. At this point, some people will advise for you to grate frozen butter into the dry mixture, but I prefer using my hands. Cut the butter into tiny blocks and add them into the dry mixture. It’s important that they’re at a solid phase when this occurs. Using your finger tips, rub the butter until the entire mixture begins to look like a crumble mixture. If you don’t have plain flour, all-purpose will work, put add in 1/2 tsp less of baking powder. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir your cream cheese, milk and eggs together until it’s smooth. Try not to add in air into the mixture.

     Create a well in your dry mixture and add in the wet mixture all at once following by the blueberries. Using your hands, begin mixing the mixture. It is important to note that you do not want to overwork the dough, or knead it at all. More kneading will result in a tougher, and dryer scone. Once when the wet mixture has dissolved into the dry mixture and it’s starting to clump together, dump the dough on a floured surface. At this point, if the mixture feels dry to you (you can tell when you feel the dough) gradually add in the extra 2 tbsp of milk.

    Pat the dough. That’s right… pat it. Don’t knead the dough, just pat it together into a 1 inch square or rectangle. You want to work the dough as little as possible. Gently pat the dough into the shape that you want. If you do have a scone cutter, don’t use it. The reason so is that once when you cut the dough you have to knead it back together to cut it again. If you do this.. your first batch of scones will be perfect while your second, third and fourth patch of scones won’t. An easy, simple and effective way that I’ve found is to just cut the dough right there into squares. Yes, they don’t look like ordinary scones, but they’re better than ordinary scones.

    Bake at a preheated oven of 200’C for 20 minute or until they have a golden color on them.

• 1 tbsp Dried Lavender Buds
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1 cup Icing Sugar

    Add the lavender buds into the milk and heat it until it begins to boil. Add the icing sugar into a large boil and add in the lavender-milk mixture a tbsp at a time until you get the consistency that you want. Once the glaze is to your liking, pour it over the scones and garnish with some lavender.

Serves: 8-9 

That’s right. I said it. Cakey-Fudge brownies.

Let me say it again in case you didn’t register it the first time: Cakey-Fudge brownies. Better?

There are three types of brownies in this world: chewy, fudgy and cakey. There are a few differences between each type of brownie… Butter is melted with the chocolate on a double boiler and sugar is added inside (my personal favvorite), while the eggs are creamed, and there’s about half a cup of plain/all-purpose flour used. Chewy brownies are almost the same as a fudge brownie, except the butter is creamed with the sugar, then the eggs are added inside. Cakey brownies can be made either with a chewy or fudgy base, but just add a cup to two of flour. It’d advised to use all-purpose or plain flour because they have a high protein content and this creates a perfect, “skin” layer ontop of the brownies so that the inside is left divine.

Now, the problem with each of these types of brownies is the flavour, or even the texture when they’re consumed. Fudgy brownies have an intense chocolate flavour, but it’s so dense that it needs more flour to give it a lift and let it breathe. Chewy brownies also have an intense flavour, but it’s almost like a bar of truffle or caramel - it lacks proper structure. Cakey brownies are perfectly structured, but they lack the intense chocolate flavour. I give full credit to Pam Anderson for creating the basic guidelines for these brownies… but I’ve taken it one step further.

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour,
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 6 ounces unsweetned chocolate
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup vanilla sugar (or simply add 1/4 cup of granualted sugar with 1 teaspoon vanilla essence)
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules

Preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius and adjust the oven rack so that it’s at the bottom-middle row.

Whisk your flour, baking powder, and salt, and set it aside.

Melt your butter over a double-boiler of barely simmering water and make sure that the bowl doesn’t touch the bottom of the pan. Once when the butter has melted add in the chocolate, coffee and cinnamon and whisk until that has melted. Now add in the sugar and continue on whisking until everything is mixed. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool for a bit. Add in the eggs, one at a time, and whisk until it is fully incorporated. You might be tempted to use an electric whisk, but I beg you - Don’t. It’ll be worth it. If whisked properly, your mixture should now be very smooth and glossy. If you had used an electric mixture.. well… it would’ve been filled with air pockets - and you don’t want that.

Fold in the dry ingredients until it is just mixed. Do not over mix the batter, as this will cause your brownies to become dry. If you don’t have all-purpose flour, use plain flour instead of it. Plain flour has a higher protein content, so it won’t rise as much and you’d be left with a denser brownie… but that’s okay.

Bake it for 35-45 minutes - although mine were done at 23, since the oven was small. A good way to test if the brownie is over baked is if the top layer has cracks on it, or when a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownie comes out clean. What I usually do is start checking the brownie ten to five minutes before the designated time, because each oven is different. Brownies can go from a dense-center to a dry cake-like center in a minute, so check and trust yourself. The toothpick should come out with bits of brownies stuck to it.

Allow it to cool for a few hours then cut and serve. Optional, you could add in chocolate chunks or nuts inside.

Enjoy… ‘Cause is the only brownie that you’ll ever need.

     It’s nothing to be ashamed of if you’re one of the people who don’t know the immediate differences between a muffin and cupcake, a lot of people don’t. Cupcakes always contain a frosting and are sweet, while muffins never have frostings on them, but rather a crumble topping at times, and they don’t have to be sweet. Aside from that, muffins can be consumed for breakfast, free of guilt, or eaten as a dessert. Cupcakes are also only used for very fancy events, and aren’t all that healthy. Plus, muffins are bigger.

     In terms of ingerdients and baking process, here are two basic cupcake and muffin recipes that differe in what ingredients are used, and how those ingredients are combined.

A basic vanilla cupcake recipe that makes 18 muffin-sized cupcakes.

• 225g* unsalted butter at room temperature
• 225g caster sugar
• 225g self-raising flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp (teaspoon) vanilla essence
• 1 tsp baking powder (optional)
• Pinch of salt

Note: You can substitue the vanilla essence and caster sugar with vanilla sugar.

225g is equal to 8 oz, 1 cup or even a stick of butter

     Preheat your oven to 175 degree Celsius, which is 350 degree Fahrenhiet. Whisk your flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. In a seperate bowl beat your butter and sugar until soft peaks begin to form. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition, and the vanilla essence. Pour the wet mixture onto the dry mixture and beat until everything is combined, two or three minutes on medium speed. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin tins and bake them for 20 minutes or until the top is golden. You can insert a tooth pick or wire ito the center of a cupcake and if batter is still clingling onto it, it needs to be cooked longer. If the stick comes out completely clean, you’ve over baked it. Cool them on a wire rack for 5 minutes and top it with the frosting of your choice.

A basic muffin recipe that can make 12 muffin-sized muffins.

• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 cup milk

     Preheat your oven to 200 degree Celsius, which is 400 degree Fahrenhiet. In a large bowl, whisk your sugar, flour and baking powder. In a medium bowl, beat your melted butter, oil, milk and eggs until smooth. Pour your wet mixture into your dry mixture and, using a wooden spoon or spatula, fold the mixture. Mix the ingredients only until they are just combined - the mixture should be have lumps, but shouldn’t contain any dry spots. If the batter is over mixed, you will up with a cake. You do not want cake, you want muffins! Spoon the mixture into your muffin tin, and be careful not to mix the batter. Bake for 20 minutes or until it has risen enough.

Note: If the mixture is over mixed, the muffins won’t rise, and if you fill the muffin tins to the top they won’t rise and will probably end up spilling all over your tray.

     And that is it… From these two basic recipes, you can bend it towards your will. You can add in coffee, vanilla, chocolate to either of the recipes and color them however you wish. Fruits can also be added, but keep in mind that fruits are best for a muffin - and if you do add them into a muffin, cut back a bit on the sugar. Muffins that contain a crumble topping makes it even better. Your muffins can also be made wholesome with salmon, onions, spinach and anything else that you can think of that would serve as a proper brunch. Fret not, flavours such as a beetroot and chocolate match perfectly for a muffin, but don’t with a cupcake because of the sugar content and how it’s mixed.

     I give you - Custard… and not just any custard, the custard recipe.

     Custard is simply… boiled milk that has been whisked with egg, sugar and a little bit of flour. The trick to perfectly making custard is in the whisking - If you don’t whisk it properly, you’re going to be left with a sweet omelette.

This recipe makes about three cups of custard that’s able to fill ten fist-sized choux pastry.

• 2 cups whole cream milk
• Half a vanilla bean split open
• 4 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup castor sugar
• 2 tbsp (tablespoon) plain flour

     Begin by dropping the split half of the vanilla bean into a pot filled with the milk. Make sure that the inside of the vanilla bean is exposed, as the flavour comes from the little black spots inside of it. If you do not contain a vanilla bean, use a teaspoon of vanilla essence - but your custard won’t have the perfect little black spots scattered throughout. Make sure that the heat is on medium-low, or low, so that the milk slowly boils and a layer of protein doesn’t form on top. Take out the vanilla bean once when it’s boiling.

     While the milk is slowly boiling, drop the egg yolk into a separate bowl and whisk them until they are combined. Proceed to add in the sugar and whisk it until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture becomes creamy and light yellow. Using a sieve, sift the two tablespoons of plain flour into the mixture. It is crucial that the plain flour contains zero lumps, because they will be visible when the custard has cooled. Whisk the mixture until it becomes thick.

     At this point the milk should already be boiling and the vanilla beans have released their content. If not, take them out and squeeze it until the black spots fall into the milk. Dry the vanilla bean and set it aside. Once when the milk has boiled, pour a small amount (about 1/6) of the milk into the yolk-sugar-flour mixture and whisk until it becomes smooth. Place the milk back onto the stove and pour the yolk-mixture into the boiling milk and whisk constantly until a thick mixture forms. It might take a while, but you do not want to burn the custard, nor do you want to cook the eggs. Do not stop whisking, if your hand begins to spasm then you’re doing it right! You’ll tell when the custard has been made when it becomes very thick and if you tilt the pot you’ll see that the mixture slowly moves downward. Once when the mixture is thick enough remove it from the heat and immediately pour it into a bowl, cover it, and place it into the fridge. The reason that you’re covering it is so that the top layer doesn’t harden. If you find it hard to pour the mixture between bowls, use a spatula.

     The custard has to be chilled for about an hour, but it can be chilled for about 3 days if you keep it covered, and stored in the fridge.

Variations to this custard recipe would include adding in lemon zest along with the vanilla bean, sifted cocoa powder, and instant coffee granules.

     If you’re wondering, after the vanilla beans have dried, you can store them in a jar with castor sugar inside to allow the sugar to absorb the vanilla flavour. This provides you with white sugar that taste like vanilla! The longer the vanilla bean is left in the jar, the stronger the vanilla taste is.

     I’m probably going to get criticized heavily by some chefs for even suggesting this method, but not everyone has access, or even knows, what a candy thermometer is. The actual process of properly tempering chocolate is to make sure that the chocolate doesn’t exceed a certain temperature, which varies depending on how dark or white the chocolate is, and that you only melt two-thirds of the chocolate and add the other third back in to crystallize the chocolate again. But fret not; there is a much easier method than constantly checking a thermometer.

     What you’ll require is a spatula, a large heat proof (glass, if possible) bowl small enough to fit into a pot, a large pot filled with enough water to come quarter-halfway up the bowl of chocolate and 100g of chocolate, may it be semi-sweet dark chocolate or white chocolate.

     First begin by separating the 100g of chocolate into one group that is 75g and the other being 25g of chocolate. Proceed by adding the 75g of chocolate into the bowl and place the bowl into the pot of water. Raise the heat towards medium, medium-low and allow the water to simmer. If the water begins to boil, the heat is too high. The thing that you want to do is raise the heat of water so that it is hot enough to melt the chocolate, but not enough that it’s boiling – with you stirring constantly. The reason for this is that if the water is too hot, the chocolate will be, in a term that isn’t complicated to described, “Overcooked.” Once when a large portion of the chocolate has melted, remove it from the pot and add in the remaining 25g of chocolate. Stir the chocolate pieces around to evenly distribute the heat. As heat is being absorbed into the chocolate pieces that haven’t melted yet, the temperature of the chocolate overall will decrease. This allows the chocolate that hasn’t melted yet to crystallize the already melted chocolate so that it can be tempered correctly. This is when the spatula comes into play, stir the chocolate mixture until everything has melted, or is nearly melted, and remove the spatula. Do not beat the chocolate mixture, simply fold the chocolate mixture: do fold, all you need to do is have the spatula at the bottom of the bowl closest to you, then  push it away from you, rising up towards the other end and coming back down to its starting position. Scrape the excess chocolate off the spatula and let the spatula set, if the chocolate begins to harden and has a shine towards it, it has been tempered correctly. Don’t worry if it isn’t shiny, no one aside from food critics will notice or even care.

     A helpful tip to not allow the chocolate to harden when you’re working with it is to place it on a heating pad that has been set to the lowest temperature and to loosely wrap the cover so that moisture can’t get into it.

      While the chocolate is melting, this is also the time to flavor the chocolate. If you’re using fruits, add in rind (peeled skin) or essence, if spices try, and aim for an extract (like vanilla extract), and if you’re using coffee, use instant coffee mix without any added sugar. Do not add sugar into the chocolate mixture, it will cause the chocolate to crystallize further in a weird way that will not let you temper it.

     The whole purpose of this is so that you could use the tempered chocolate as a dip for other types of food. When the chocolate has been tempered correctly: it’ll be shiny and have a crunchy, “snap” texture towards it.

     There are two methods that really stand out when you want to fry onions: saute onions and caramelized onions. These two methods could be served alongside meat or used in a stew. It’s basically your preference.

     The difference between a sauteed onion and caramelized onion is that saute onions are cooked on medium-high heat for about ten minutes until the outside becomes crisp and the inside is left relatively soft. Caramelized onions on the other hand are cooked on the lowest possible heat for an hour to turn the onions extremely soft, and very sweet.

     Onions like any other vegetable contain cellulose. Cellulose is a polysaccharide of a glucose molecule. It is straight, unlike glycogen, and it gives the vegetable it’s rigid shape. By frying an onion, the cellulose is literally broken down into glucose, a monosaccharide. When an onion is sauteed, cellulose is partially broken down, and it has’t completely sugar yet. When an onion is caramelized, cellulose has competely broken down, and it has been turned into sugar.

Saute Onions

     To saute an onion you basically need to peel and slice the onions about 3-5mm thick. You can slice it whole, or halve the onion and slice the halves. Fou medium onions will be enough for two to four people.

     To begin the process, take two tablespoons of butter, EVOO or both, depending on your preference, and raise the heat towards medium-high. If the butter begins to burn, which can be indiciated by it smoking, you’ve turned the stove on too high. Once when the butter, or EVOO, has heated up, toss in the sliced onions and, using a wooden spoon, stir the onions for about ten minutes. You do not want the onions to burn. You call tell when the onions have been sauteed when it is no longer rigid and slightly browned. Beware though, at this stage the onions can burn extremely fast after they have been browned so stir constantly.

Caramelized Onions

     The process is almost the same when sauteing onions, except you need the lowest possible heat. The onions should be cooked for an hour, and they should not turn brown; if it does the heat is too high. Spread a tablespoon of salt across the onions and allow it to cook for an hour. You might want to be tempted to stir the onions, but don’t. Once when it has cooked for an hour remove it from the height and add in half a cup of white wine or water. The reason for doing this is because the bottom of the pan has browned onions that are used to color the rest of the onions. Place the pan back on the stove and raise the heat to medium, medium-high to begin dissolving the water or white wine. Scrape the bottom of the pan so that the browned onions are properly incorporated with the other onions and stir it around for twenty minutes. Once this is done sprinkle it with pepper and grated parmesan cheese.

     As mentioned before, you can add these to any type of food really. However, saute onions work best with hamburgers and steak, while caramelized onions are recommened to be used in a stew.

     You can also add in garlic that has been sliced and crushed, but be aware that the garlic will cook at a much faster rate than the onions; so add them in halfway.

As much as I love cooking and want to share it with other people… some people are just naive to not believe that cooking, or baking, is both an art and science. Do not tell me that decorating a four-tier wedding cake does not require adequate art skills. Do not tell me that physics is not involved in creating a four-tier wedding cake so that it won’t fall down. Cooking, and baking, is an art and science!

That being said, everyday I will post a, How To: Cooking recipe that could range from making rice to deep frying cookie dough. All of these recipes have been tweaked through countless of experiments that I’ve done to get it as inhumanely delicious as possible. Accompanied with these detail recipes will be variations to that recipe that only differ from the ingredients used unless stated otherwise.

My ask box will also be open for people who want to have a particular food spam as well as tips, methods or even recipes on how to cook something. My ask box is always open to everyone who wants to talk to me: may it be about something random, a crush that they have, a fear they want to overcome, or advice about life, love, vengeance and any other things.

Stay amazing, stay true to yourself and don’t be shy to show it.