french pear cake with Crème Fraîche

 https://www.seasonsandsuppers.ca/french-pear-cake-creme-fraiche/

A lovely light pear cake, that's more pear than cake. With a crispy, crackly sugar topping and topped with flaked almonds. Enjoy slightly warm with a dollop of Crème Fraîche.
I made this using the Harry & David's pears (gift from the Lo family) for the first time. Even a family member who doesn't like sweet love it :)

For cake batter:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used only 3 TBSP this time)
• 1 cup white granulated sugar (I cut it to 4/3-8/7 cup)
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp fine salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream (I replace this with milk plus 1/2 tsp of lemon)

For filling:

• 3 pears, ripe but still firm, peeled or unpeeled, halved and cored

For topping:

• 1/4 cup white granulated sugar (I sprinkled less on top this time)
• 1/3 cup flaked almonds, optional/I skipped

For serving:

• Crème Fraîche, alternately whipped cream or ice cream

• Instructions

   

  • Preheat oven to 350 F. with rack in centre of oven. Prepare a 10-inch springform pan by spraying with baking spray and lining the bottom ring with parchment paper. Place on a baking sheet and set aside.
  • Prepare the pears: You can peel the pears if you like, or simply leave the peel on. Cut in half down from the stem end to the bottom. Scoop out the core with a spoon and remove the stem spine and bottom blossom end. Place cut side down on a cutting board and cut each half in to 1/4-inch-ish slices. Transfer the sliced halves to the prepared baking pan, cut side down, fanning out the slices slightly. Arrange the sliced halves in a ring around the outside of the pan. The sliced halves should just touch each other in the centre and fan out slightly towards the outside edges. The centre couple of inches should be empty. You may or may not need all your pears. Simply fill until it's filled around. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl with an electric beater or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and the 1 cup of sugar until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
  • Add the eggs, one at a time and beat well after each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
  • Spoon the batter in to the centre of the prepared pan. Using a knife, gently spread the batter in to a thin layer out to the outside edges of the pan. It will seem very thin and barely cover the pears. Scatter the flaked almonds over the centre area of the batter. Sprinkle top of batter evenly with the 1/4 cup white sugar.
  • Bake in preheated oven until a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes.
  • Let the cake cool 5-10 minutes in the pan, then run a knife around the outside and remove the outer ring. Allow to cool a bit more, then slice and enjoy warm with a dollop of Crème Fraîche.

  Notes: other recipe for pear https://changbre.pixnet.net/blog/post/260718353

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Purple Yam Cake 紫薯发糕

 This fluffy cake is made with all-purpose flour and purple yam.  Purple yam can be found in local Asian stores, it has quickly become a favorite treat that my daughter likes. We love its sweet taste and beautiful color.

Prepare time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 3-4 minutes

Stand time: 1-2 hours

Level: Low

Serves: 6 servings

Ingredients:

1) 75g peeled and cubed purple yam, 1 tbsp water;

2) 3/4 cup all purpose flour (120g), 2-3 tbsp sugar (30-45g), ½ tsp baking powder;

3) 3/4 tsp fast rising yeast;

4) 1/2 cup+1.5 tbsp water (142g).

Directions:

1: Place purple yam pieces in a bowl. Add 1 tbsp water and cover with food wrap. Microwave at high for 2-3 minutes until the yam is fully cooked (Picture 1). Mash yam with a fork.

2: Add all ingredients of Ingredient 2) to 4) in the bowl (Picture 2). Beat with a handheld mixer at low speed for a minute, then at high speed for 2 minutes until fully mixed (Picture 3).

3: Pour the batter into a microwave safe glass dish that is coated with oil (Picture 4). Cover with food wrap and let it stand in a warm place until it doubles in volume.

4: Microwave at high for 3-4 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into small pieces before serving.

Recipe credit/adapted from maomaomom.com

Instant Pot Homemade Soy Milk and Soy Bean Pudding

Credit/adapted from

https://whattocooktoday.com/homemade-soy-milk.html

Soybean milk/soy milk (often called soya bean milk in Asia), or dou jiang (豆浆) in Chinese, is a staple beverage in Asia. Dairy milk like cow’s milk is not consumed as commonly in Asia, but soy milk is. I grew up with soy milk that my mom will buy from a market. The lady who sold the soy milk a few houses down from us, made it fresh daily and it wasn’t like the packaged stuff, it was really homemade and tasted great! She also sold homemade tofu, dou hua (soybean pudding), and pretty much anything that is made using soybeans 🙂

Dou hua is one of my favorite desserts too :)

The recipe rundown

Taste: Creamy and no raw taste
Texture: Smooth and clean
Level: Easy
Pros: You are left with the soybean pulp/ okara that you can use to explore other savory and sweet recipes (I’ll be sharing some too)
Cons: sometimes you’ll get a burn alert from IP, but I included some tips to try to avoid that

• 1 cup dried soybeans organic non-GMO preferred
• 5 cups water see notes

Optional:

• Sugar to your taste
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

 

Soak the soybeans:

• Rinse the soybeans in several changes of water. Pick out any beans that do not look good anymore and discard
• Put the rinsed beans in a large pot and pour enough water, about 2 inches above the beans and soak them for at least 4 hours or best overnight for creamier taste

Blend the beans:

• Drain off the soaking water. I didn't rub off the skin. You can if you want. Some people prefer the taste without the skin, but I didn't notice much difference. Put this into a blender with 2 cups of water. Blend the mixture on high speed for about 10 seconds. I use Vitamix blender

Cook the beans (how to avoid getting the "burn" alert):

• Pour the mixture into the inner pot of Instant pot and add the rest of the 3 cups of water into the blender to make sure and give it a swirl so we get bits and pieces that are left in the blender. Pour this into the inner pot. So we have total of 5 cups of water with the beans
• I notice that if I pressure cook this mixture right away, I'll get a "burn" alert from IP because some of the starches get scorched at the bottom of the pot and trigger the burn alert. Turn the "saute" mode first and keep stirring and skim off some foams that rises. Stir until the mixture starts to about to boil. Turn off the saute mode. Give it a stir for a few more rounds to make sure nothing gets stuck at the bottom of the pot
• Close the lid and turn the steam release valve to sealing. Press "pressure cooker" and make sure it's on high pressure. Set the timer to 10 minutes and then natural release, which may take 15 minutes or a bit longer. The valve will collapse on its own. Carefully unlock the lid

If you still get a burn alert:

• Don't panic, just unlock the lid and give it a good stir again and close the lid and continue with the pressure cooking process

Strain the milk:

• Prepare a large pot with a strainer and a cheesecloth lined over it to strain the soymilk for a fine smooth texture. Very carefully pour about half of the soy milk onto the strainer. You may need to use a spoon to stir the mixture a bit to help it strain through the cheesecloth. Once most of the liquid has gone down, pour the rest of the soy milk (if it can fit) and let the liquid strain through the cheesecloth again
• When it's cold enough to handle, you can use your hands to squeeze the rest of the soymilk out from the soybean pulps inside the cheesecloth. Alternatively, you can also let the soymilk strained inside the fridge until the next day

Sweeten the soymilk or add flavor (optional):

• You can bring the soymilk to a gentle simmering again and add sugar or sweetener of your choice and also flavor like vanilla extract. The amount is up to you. Reboiling it will also extend the shelf life a bit longer, but make sure to give it a good stir so nothing get burnt at the bottom of the pot

Storage:

• Homemade soymilk can be kept in the fridge for no more than a week. You may find that after sitting in the fridge for a while, the soymilk may look a bit more watery on top and more "stuff" sink at the bottom. This is quite normal. Don't be panic. The soymilk hasn't gone bad (as long as you follow hygiene practice and it hasn't been kept for more than one week)

Serving:

• Soymilk can be served warm, hot, or chilled. Please note that if you mix soymilk with anything acidic, for example coffee, it will cause the milk to curdle a bit, which is normal.

NOTES

The more water you use, the thinner the soymilk will be. So you can adjust the consistency by playing with the amount of water. I think 5 cups of water  for 1 cup of soybeans is pretty good, but you may feel differently.
For Tofu pudding (豆花), for every 5-6 cups of hot soy bean milk, use 40 g (half the package of the 一心豆花粉 powder add 150 g of cold water, follow the package instruction to make the pudding by mix the powder mixture first then pour in the hot soy bean milk, let it sit for 10+ min. to set.

RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS:

Instant Pot

Vitamix Blender

NUTRITION

Serving: 1cupCalories: 210kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 17gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 16mgPotassium: 837mgFiber: 4gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 10IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 138mg

Taiwanese Cabbage Rice 高麗菜飯

 所需食材

白米3杯(煮熟備用) 五花豬肉300g 紅蔥頭8顆 香菇7朵(泡半杯水，水備用)量米杯 蝦米2大匙(泡水 or rice wine 淹過量，水備用) 袖珍菇10朵(其他菇類皆可)

about 1/2 or 3/4 of a whole cabbage (chopped in long strips, about 600-800g) (調味料) 鹽1茶匙 醬油2大匙 米酒1大匙

white pepper as needed

1. cook the rice first (with 2 and 1/2 cup of water) Set aside

2. cook the meat in frying pan (no need for oil as oil will come off from the meat)

3. put in shallots, dried shrimps, mushroom, add rice wine

4. add carrots, sprinkle the soy sauce, add some white peppers

5. Add the cabbage, covered to let it simmer a bit

6. add the salt then a bit sugar if needed for seasoning

7. add the rice at last, could season with more salt or fish sauce

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 溫馨提醒： 白飯不要煮太軟，以免拌醬汁 會糊掉

胡椒餅 (蔥肉餅) Mince Pork with Scallion filled pancakes

credit/adapted from 夢幻廚房在我家

更多料理影片 ☛ https://goo.gl/986Hsy

 This is a popular street snack in Taiwan, it's a tasty treat.

胡椒餅在家也可以輕鬆自製。用自製的手抓餅、蔥油餅替代外皮，就能做出外酥內餡鹹香多汁的胡椒餅

胡椒餅源自於福建福州的貼爐烤餅小吃—蔥肉餅，製作方法近似於「饢」。至於胡椒餅名字的由來，正是早期把「福州餅」諧音為「胡椒餅」，並在1980年代開始在台灣風行。台灣製作胡椒餅的店家，則各家的製作技術及材料搭配都不同。

這份食譜以氣炸鍋、烤箱為主。搭配免揉的手抓餅、蔥抓餅，輕鬆做出超有成就感的米其林小吃，外酥脆內濕潤鹹香

 

材料：

自製手抓餅 (Chinese pizza dough)6-8片（市售也可以）

梅花肉300克 (pork butt/picnic meat in small cubes)

蔥花1碗 (2-3 green onions chopped)

生白芝麻 white sasame seeds100克 (g)

自製手抓餅請參考https://reurl.cc/Gbng13

《醃肉調味料》

醬油 soy sauce1.5大匙 TBsp

二砂糖 sugar1小匙 tsp

蠔油 oyster sauce1大匙 TBsp

五香粉 five spice powder1/3小匙 tsp

白胡椒粉 white pepper powder1小匙 tsp

《表面糖水》

楓糖 (maple syrup) 或蜂蜜 (honey) 或砂糖 (sugar)1大匙 TBsp

清水 (water)2大匙

 

步驟：

1.將梅花肉切小條塊（或絞肉也可以）加入醃肉調味料醃漬至少30分鐘入味，若有真空盒可縮短醃漬時間，抽真空約5分鐘即可入味。此為肉餡備用。chopped pork meat in small pieces, marinated for 30 min. (or vacuum sealed for 5 min.)

2.蔥洗淨後瀝乾水份，切成蔥花備用。(clean/chopped scallions in small pieces)

3.將之前分享過的手抓餅（蔥抓餅）當成胡椒餅的外皮，包入適量肉餡及蔥花，捏合成圓形，收口處朝下。 (place 1&2 on the flat dough, wrapped then turn upside down as shown below.

 

4.完成的胡椒餅表面刷上一層糖水，沾裹上白芝麻粒，依序完成所有的胡椒餅。(coated the top with honey/sugar water then spread sesame seeds on top as shown)

5.將胡椒餅放入氣炸鍋或預熱好的烤箱當中，設定溫度攝氏180度 (356 F)，烤約20到25分鐘至表面金黃上色即可。Bake at 355-360 F for 25 min. till golden brown.

用電烤盤或平底鍋乾煎或半煎炸至金黃上色也可以。(can also use pan fry method, add a bit water for steaming，like making pot stickers but cook a bit longer)

 

 

小撇步：

1.烤好的胡椒餅若沒有立刻吃完，可以放冰箱冷藏5天沒有問題，要吃時只要放進氣炸鍋或烤箱設定攝氏170度 (345 F) 烤個6分鐘即可。Can be freeze for 5 day, just bake in oven or airfryer for 6 min. at 345 F.

2.想要事先做好成為生的胡椒餅也可以，不過做好就要ㄧ個ㄧ個包好，立刻冷凍起來，想吃的時候稍微冷藏退冰後再烤或煎皆可。(can freeze the uncooked pancake if not bake immediately, defrost then bake/pan fry)

3.基本上是包成包子狀，能收口就好，收口朝下擺在鋪了烘焙紙的烤盤上。shape like making Chinese buns, flip the opening side to the bottom)

收口真的不用太在意好不好看，只要收口收密、餡料不爆就可以。(make sure the seal is tight in this case, so the filling won't come out)

4.想更金黃上色更酥脆烤箱溫度可以拉升提高到攝氏190-200度 (375-392 F)。Can increas baking temperature a bit for more brown/crispy texture

5.表面刷的可以是清水，但用蜜糖水會因焦糖化反應更香，還帶著淡淡的甜味更好吃，用砂糖較難溶解，可用溫熱的水溶解。Can brush with water instead of honey/sugar water but later is preferred for more flavor with slight sweetness.