The Tested Kitchen

I’m not fond of doughnuts but my son loves them so much.  I would buy them for him but my only concern is that commercially prepared doughnuts are usually too sweet or loaded with preservatives, which made me look for a doughnut recipe that I could easily prepare right in my own kitchen.  As I searched the internet for a good recipe, I often came across fried doughnuts, which would involve deep frying in loads of oil —> not that healthy too. You can’t imagine how excited I was when I came across a recipe for Baked Doughnuts.  Needless to say I immediately tried the recipe and it was a success. The doughnut came out soft even after it cooled down.  My son requested a chocolate glazed doughnut hence I melted some dark chocolate and dipped the baked doughnut in them. Y-U-M-M-Y was the only word I heard from my son.  This recipe has been tweaked from the original recipe posted by Brown Eyed Baker.

Ingredients:

1 egg

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup warm milk

1 tablespoon active dry yeast (I used instant yeast)

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used almond extract)

4-1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), cut into 1 inch cubes

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Procedure:

Place egg and sugar in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer.

Beat using the paddle attachment at medium speed for 1 minute.

Add in milk, yeast, salt, and vanilla/almond extract.

Beat for 30 seconds.

Add in 2 cups of flour and beat at low speed.

Change the paddle attachment with dough hook and beat on medium speed.

Add the butter one at a time until the dough is smooth.

Add the rest of the flour and knead on low speed until all of the flour is well incorporated.

Continue kneading with the dough hook on low speed for 7 minutes.

Remove dough from the mixing bowl and shape into a ball.

Lightly coat the mixing bowl with vegetable oil and return the ball-shaped dough.

Cover with moist towel and set aside for 1 hour or until double in size.

Preheat the oven to 400°.

Punch down dough and roll on lightly floured surface to approximately 1/2 inch thickness.

Cut doughnut shapes using the traditional round doughnut cutter (I used star shaped cookie cutters).

Place the doughnuts onto a wax paper, parchment paper or silicon lined cookie sheet.

Cover with moist towel or cling wrap. Place on top of the preheating oven for approximately 25 minutes or double in size.

Bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown in color.

Doughnut Glaze:

I cheated a little with my doughnut glaze since my son isn’t that fond of the usual glaze, so I melted dark chocolate and dipped the doughnuts one by one.

I’ve often read about funnel cakes, how yummy they are, and that they are usually eaten at carnivals.  I’ve even seen online and television advertisements about Funnel Cake kits, which basically made me interested.  My interest was what prompted me to look for a recipe. Here’s one that I found, tried, and liked. It was so easy to prepare. My son loved the crunch. On a hot and lazy afternoon, this is one easy snack that I would recommend.

Ingredients:

1 large egg, beaten

2/3 cups milk

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups oil for frying

Procedure:

Heat oil in deep saucepan over medium heat until hot.

In a small mixing bowl, beat egg and milk.

Add in sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder.

Stir until the batter becomes smooth.

Transfer the batter into a ketchup dispenser or into a clean plastic bag (simply cut off one corner to easily dispense the batter).

Squirt the batter into the hot oil until you reach your desired size.  You can squirt the batter in a clockwise direction or whichever direction you desire.

Cook for 2 minutes each side or until golden brown and crispy.

Remove from oil and allow to drip in a strainer/colander lined with paper towels.

Place the slightly cooled funnel cake onto a plate, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve.

Having brewed iced tea on-hand to quench one’s thirst after having your fill of Funnel Cake is also great.

Note: Although Funnel Cake is originally served with powdered sugar, you can also serve it with fruit preserves, jams, or melted chocolate. You are only limited by your imagination.

My cousin has this dilemma when it comes to serving vegetables to her kids, which is why I was so happy that my niece liked this Chinese style vegetable stir fry.  One great thing about this is that it has no meat in it.  As per request, here’s the recipe that my niece absolutely loves.

INGREDIENTS:

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium sized onion, sliced

1 stalk celery, sliced

2 medium sized bell pepper, sliced

2 medium sized carrots, sliced

1 medium sized broccoli head, cut into pieces

1 medium sized cauliflower head, cut into pieces

2 cups oyster mushrooms, sliced

1 cup baby corn, cut into pieces

half cabbage head, sliced

2 cups water

2 tablespoons cornstarch or flour

4 tablespoons oyster sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons canola or vegetable oil

PROCEDURE:

First prepare the vegetables, onions, and garlic.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, stir together water, cornstarch, oyster sauce, and brown sugar until well mixed.  Set aside.

Heat up casserole pan over medium heat.

Add canola or vegetable oil.

Sauté garlic until slightly brown.  Add onions and celery and sauté for 1 minute.

Add the carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, young corn, and oyster mushrooms.  Stir fry for 1 minute.

Add the liquid mixture.  Decrease the fire to low heat.  Allow the veggies and sauce to reach a simmering point while gently stirring once-in-a-while. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the cabbage, bell pepper, and salt.  Allow to simmer for another 5 minutes.

Turn off the heat and it’s ready to serve.

I’ve always been fond of baking and of course the frosting or icing is one important part of the whole baked goods presentation.  As a kid, I grew up eating cakes and cupcakes frosted with boiled icing or chocolate fudge icing.  As the years passed, my love for baking introduced me to a whole new concept of frosting that are yummy yet melts in your mouth.  Now I have my very own home bakeshop and I am so happy to learn how to make Italian Meringue Buttercream.  It is so easy to do, deliciously tasty, and holds well even during the hottest conditions in the Philippines.  One piece of advice, please do read the instructions from top to bottom before proceeding to make your own Italian Meringue Buttercream.

Ingredients:

5 eggwhites

1-1/4 cup sugar (separate the 1/4 cup sugar)

1/4 cup water

2 bars unsalted butter

Procedure:

In a small saucepan, place 1 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water.

Slightly swirl the pan so that the water will coat all of the sugar.

Bring to a boil over medium heat.

Allow the sugar-water mixture to boil until it reaches the threading stage.  You can check if it reaches the threading stage by dipping the end of a teaspoon in the syrup and immediately lift it up. Watch closely as the syrup drips back into the saucepan. If you see small threads forming as the syrup drips then you have reached the appropriate stage. Remove from heat. This entire process normally takes 8-10 minutes.

Beat the egg whites at high speed for one minute then gradually add the 1/4 cup sugar.

Beat for another 2 minutes.

Gradually pour in the sugar syrup in a steady stream at medium speed.  Turn the speed back up to high after all the syrup has been poured in.

Continue beating at high speed for 4 minutes then beat at medium speed until the mixing bowl feels cool to the touch.

Add in the butter a tablespoon at a time (I normally cut it into small cubes and drop them one by one).

Beat for another 4-5 minutes or until butter and meringue mixture is well incorporated.

Pipe or spread onto cake and/or cupcakes.

Enjoy!!!!

Note:

It is extremely important that the meringue mixture has sufficiently cooled down before adding in the butter otherwise you will end up with a soupy mixture.  In case this does happen simply put the entire mixing bowl and its contents, and beaters in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Re-whip the frosting and you have just salvaged your Italian Meringue Buttercream.

In case you are in a hurry or impatient to wait for your meringue mixture to sufficiently cool down you can use butter that came straight from the freezer, just allow the meringue mixture to cool down a bit before adding the frozen butter.

As a homebaker, it is extremely important that you know how to make everything from scratch even if there are ready-to-mix packages available in the market. I have tried and tested more than one recipe for royal icing but this recipe that I am about to share with you is really the best. I have used it in decorating cakes, making cake and cupcake toppers, and for cookie decorations. Thanks Little Lady Cakes for sharing this recipe.

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons Meringue Powder or Egg Albumen or Powdered Eggwhites

4 cups sifted powdered sugar

5-6 Tablespoons water

Procedure:

In a mixing bowl, mix all the dry ingredients.

Add water (note – on a very rainy day you may only need up to 4 Tablespoons of water while you may need up to 10 Tablespoons of water on a very hot day).

Mix using an electric mixer for 7-10 minutes.  The royal icing is done when it has lost its sheen.

Store in an airtight grease-free container in the refrigerator.

Remove from the refrigerator, allow to reach room temperature, and re-whip before using.

Additional Tips:

This recipe results in a very stiff royal icing. Simply add water a tablespoon at a time until you achieve the consistency that you want.

For outlining cookies, a moderately stiff royal icing is recommended. For filling-in cookies using the flooding technique, a slightly runny consistency is recommended. Allow the decorated cookies to dry at room temperature for a maximum of 2 days. In case you are in a hurry, you may want to place the decorated cookies inside an airconditioned room (this works well in case you need to dry these and it’s raining outside) and they’ll dry up in two hours or so (it would be best if you leave them to dry overnight).

I have always loved eating biko, unfortunately, the ones available in the market are either bland in taste or are too sweet. You can’t imagine the happiness I felt when my cousin’s helper made biko one dreary afternoon and it was just perfect. I have her to thank for this recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo  good quality malagkit (glutinous rice) grains

1-1/2 cup coconut milk

1 cup brown sugar

Procedure:

1. Pour malagkit grains into a rice cooker or casserole.

2. Wash the grains and add water just enough to cover the grains. Here’s a little tip, you can measure the 1/2 kilo malagkit grains and add one cup more water. For example, you measured 3 cups of the grains then place 4 cups of water.

3. Proceed to cook just like steamed rice.

4. Set aside and prepare the latik.

5. In a wok, pour the coconut milk.

6. Cook over medium heat until the coconut oil is extracted and toasted bits are obtained.

7. Remove half of the toasted bits from the wok.

8. Add the cooked malagkit in the remaining coconut oil and toasted bits in the wok.

9. Add the sugar.

10. Mix over very low heat until the cooked malagkit, coconut oil, toasted bits, and sugar are well incorporated. Remove from heat.

11. Transfer into greased plates and allow to cool. For a more Pinoy look, transfer the cooked mixture onto a “bilao” lined with banana leaves.

Note: This may be stored in the refrigerator for one week (that is if it lasts that long).

I may be great when it comes to baking cakes and cupcakes, even decorating them but my Waterloo definitely is making yeast breads. Oh how I dreamed to be able to make a yeast bread that isn’t as hard as a rock and tastes good too. The catch here is that I really am not that good at kneading and any machine that would help me achieve my goal would be a welcome addition in my kitchen. I used to have a bread maker until it conked out on me (I still need to take it to the repair shop) maybe because it was tired of kneading bread and fondant (yes, you can use a bread maker to knead fondant). So here I was looking through the internet to find a way to make yeast breads using my KitchenAid Stand Mixer and I did find one! courtesy of Baking Bites. I followed the recipe religiously and thankfully the result was great!

Ingredients:

2 cups warm water (100-110°F)

5 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/4 cup sugar

5 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

6 cups all purpose flour

Procedure:

- Pour warm water into the bowl of the stand mixer.

- Add in sugar and yeast, and stir. Let stand for 5 minutes until slightly foamy.

- Add in melted butter, eggs, and salt. Whisk to combine.

- Put the dough hook on the stand mixer and add in 3 cups of flour.

- Run the mixer on medium speed and gradually add in the remaining flour.

- Continue to knead until the dough comes together smoothly, then knead for another 3-5 minutes (I allowed the mixer to knead the dough for 10 minutes).

- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand for 1 hour or until doubled in size in a warm area of the house. (I placed it inside a non-heated oven).

- Lightly grease the pan that you will be using.

- Turn dough onto a very lightly floured surface.

- Divide the dough into equal pieces.

- Lightly flour your hands and use them to shape each piece into a ball then into the prepared pans.

- Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 40 minutes.

- Preheat oven to 400°F.

- Bake bread for 40 minutes or until rolls are golden brown in color and gives a hollow sound when tapped.

- Brush butter on top of the freshly baked bread rolls, if desired.

- Cool in pan for approximately 20 minutes before serving.

Notes:

These dinner rolls are not as light as you may think. In fact they are perfect paired with rich or heavy sauce dishes.

There are frostings and there are frostings, but this is the first time that I came upon a frosting recipe that can be used as a frosting or as a sandwich spread. Yes folks, you read it right, my son isn’t fond of eating sweets or anything sweet but when he got a taste of this frosting, he requested that I keep it all in the refrigerator so he can use it as a sandwich filling. The reason? It has a dark chocolate sweetness thus it isn’t cloyingly sweet. A note of warning though — this really takes time to cook (it took me 2 hours to reach the thickness that I wanted) but it really is worth the wait. Thanks Kate of My Baking Momma for sharing this and for allowing me to post it.

Ingredients:

1 cup cocoa powder

2 cups sugar

3 cups evaporated filled milk

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup softened butter

Procedure:

- Place all the ingredients in a double broiler and stir until well mixed.

- Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

- Stir more often when the mixture begins to thicken.

- Once you have achieved the thickness you desire, allow the icing to cool down before frosting the cake.

I have always been in search of a moist chocolate cake that is really affordable and do-able even for a newbie. You can’t imagine my delight when a fellow home baker shared her family’s secret recipe. I tried it and liked it, even though I tweaked some of the ingredients that she used. What’s great here is that it’s VEGAN to boot, which means there is no need to worry in case you are allergic to milk and eggs. Thanks Kate of  My Baking Momma for sharing this and for allowing me to share it in return. You can also click here to check out the original recipe.

Ingredients:

4 cups cake flour

1-1/2 cup white sugar

1-1/2 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)

9 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 tablespoon instant coffee (I used decaffeinated so the kids can eat it too)

1 tablespoon baking soda

1-1/4 teaspoon iodized salt

1-1/4 cup canola oil (or any vegetable oil)

3 cups hot water

1/4 cup white vinegar

2 teaspoons chocolate or vanilla extract (optional)

Procedure:

- Preheat oven to 325°F.

- Grease pans or line cupcake trays with cupcake liners.

- In a mixing bowl, sift all dry ingredients together.

- Make a well in the center.

- Add the liquid ingredients and mix for 2 minutes with an electric mixer. If you are using a wooden spoon, simply mix the dry and liquid ingredients until free of lumps.

- Pour into the pan and bake 40-60 minutes for cakes and 25-30 minutes for cupcakes, or until cake tester/toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

- Allow to cool in the pan before transferring to the cake plate/board.

- Makes 40 pieces of 3-ounce cupcakes; one 10×14 inch rectangular cake; two 10×2 inch round pans.

Reminders:

It is important that you allow the cake to completely cool in the pan because it has a tendency to fall apart if you try to invert it while it is still hot from the oven.

You can serve this with a dusting of powdered sugar and chocolate powder, or if you’re not allergic to milk then by all means frost it with Chocolate Fudge Frosting.

Having a sweet-tooth isn’t easy if you have a relative who’s a diabetic or if you are prone to having diabetes yourself.  I guess this is why even if I do crave for something sinfully sweet, I’d rather make it myself — at least I know what’s in my food. Here’s a recipe that was shared by Bakerella after she read it in the new Williams-Sonoma “Home Baked Comfort” Book.  I just made a few minor tweaks to make it my own.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup egg whites

2 cups white sugar

5 tbps sifted cocoa powder

250 grams finely chopped semi-sweet chocolate

1-2 drops mint extract (optional)

PROCEDURE:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Line baking sheets with silicon mat or parchment paper.

In a clean, dry, and heat proof bowl, place eggs and sugar. Set aside.

In a saucepan, place water and set to boil.

Remove from heat. Take the bowl containing eggs and sugar and set over, but not touching, simmering water in a saucepan.

Whisk continuously until the sugar is dissolved then remove from the top of the saucepan.

Transfer the eggs and sugar mixture in a mixing bowl.  Add the mint extract (if you are using one).

Beat on high until stiff and glossy (about 5-6 minutes).

Sift the cocoa powder on top and sprinkle chopped chocolate.

Gently fold into the meringue mixture with a spatula just until combined.

Drop even amounts onto prepared baking sheets about 1-2 inches apart. You can use a small ice cream scoop or just your ordinary teaspoon.

Bake for 9 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake for another 9 minutes or until the meringues are fluffy, slightly browned, and full of cracks (although some of my meringues didn’t have any cracks on them).

Leave the cookies on the parchment paper or silicon mat and allow to cool on wire racks.  ( I made the mistake of trying to remove them when they weren’t completely cooled and it was a disaster).

Makes approximately 80 bite-sized meringues (if you used a teaspoon to drop them on the baking sheet).

Keep in a well sealed container.