Plucking up my courage

Its official. I tendered my resignation and will be moving on to regional internal audit. Although I have not stayed very long in my current firm (about 18 months), I have grown to be used to the workload and lifestyle here. The familiar window seat that I take whenever I am in the office, the frequent visits to the boss’ room for discussions, the clients that bug me every now and then… To be honest, I am a little hesitant about moving. I am very afraid I won’t like the new environment, the new type of work I am exposed to, new people. Although I have my fair share of complaints about this current job of mine, at least I know what to expect and how to deal with issues that arise. After taking a few days to think it through, I decided to stick to my decision to move. Just a few days ago, an email was sent to every one in the firm hinting of possible retrenchments and pay cuts in July. I thank my lucky stars that I found a job and hopefully everything will go well from now onwards. Keeping my fingers crossed.

This biscotti I am making today is adapted from my favourite site Smitten Kitchen. The only thing I changed was the nuts, I didn’t have any hazelnuts. I was rummaging through my pantry and found 2 bags of moulding pecans and almonds. Obviously they don’t survive well in this hot and humid weather. I should have put them in the fridge. My bad! Deb wasn’t kidding when she said the dough was sticky. My previous experiences with sticky dough weren’t pleasant and neither was this one. I flour the hell out of it and ended up looking like a kid playing with mud I didn’t manage to get my dough into 2 neat little logs like Deb. I just patted it into one big blob, resulting in really fat log of biscotti. It looks like sh*t. Literally. But it tastes good so it is all worth the while eh?

Chocolate Macadamia Biscotti
(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

1 ½ cup macadamia
2 ½ cups flour, plus flour for work surface
½ cup Dutch-style cocoa powder
1 tablespoon espresso powder
Pinch of salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
4 large eggs
1 ¼ cups sugar.

1. Preheat oven to 175C (350F). Spread macadamia on baking sheet and toast about 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Set toasted nuts aside to cool.

2. Sift the flour, cocoa, espresso powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder together and set aside.

3. Beat eggs lightly, just until blended, in mixing bowl with whisk or in electric mixer. Remove two tablespoons of egg mixture to small dish and set aside. Beat sugar into remaining eggs until blended. Stir in flour mixture to form soft dough.

4. Divide the dough in half and place one portion on a very well-floured work surface. (I used parchment) With floured hands, pat it into a six-inch square. Scatter half the macadamia nuts on the dough and press them into the surface. Roll the dough into a cylinder about a fat log, about 4 inches wide and 12 inches long. Brush the tops of both rolls with the reserved egg.

5. Place in the oven and bake about 35 minutes, until firm to the touch. Transfer to a cutting board and cut on an angle into slices one-half-inch thick. Return the slices to the baking sheet, laying them on their cut sides, and return them to the oven. Bake another 25 minutes, until they are crisp and dry. Allow to cool completely before storing or serving.

Steaming

The weather is killing me recently. I think I am just not made for the (extreme) tropics like this. Its hot hot hot. Did I mention humid too? Easily 34C at least. This kind of (damned) weather makes me grouchy and gives me a mega headache. Feel like soaking myself in a bathtub of ice cubes. I tried to seek refuge in the cool air-conditioned bedroom but found that I can’t do that too often or else my parents will give me a good one when they see the hefty electricity bill at the end of the month. Poor me. Don’t quite understand how you people can bask under the sun for hours or how you profess your love for the tropics. Try staying here for a year, honey. Witness the butter in your pie / tart dough melting at abnormally fast speed) and squishing out of the layers. Watch ur meringues and macaroons soften before you say ‘Arghhh!’. So before you starting complaining about how cold your toes feel, pity us at the other side of the world.

These brownies are seriously fudgy and has a crackling top. The addition of white chocolate and crunchy macadamia nuts made them absolutely irresistable. I used Valrhona 67% chocolate and the velvety tones of this chocolate shone right through these brownies.  I sit in my air-conditioned living room, eat my warm brownie and look at the sunny weather. Ah, bliss.

Classic Fudgy Brownies

(From The Art & Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet)

 

1 stick (4oz) butter, cut into ½ inch pieces

4 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (up to 64% cacao), finely chopped  

2 oz unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup (7oz) sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

½ cup (2 ½ oz) unbleached all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

½ cup (3 ¾ oz) chocolate chips or chunks (optional)

½ cup (2oz) nuts, chopped and toasted

 

1.       Preheat the oven to 175C (350F) and position an oven rack in the center. Line an 8-inch square pan with foil or parchment paper across the bottom and up two of the sides, then lightly coat with unflavoured or high-heat canola oil spray.

 

2.       Boil a saucepan of water. Place butter, semisweet and unsweetened chocolate in a medium heat proof bowl. Turn off the heat and place the bowl over the saucepan. Stir occasionally with the spatula until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

 

3.       Remove the chocolate mixture from the heat and whisk in the sugar. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, stirring well to incorporate each before adding the next. Stir in the vanilla extract. Whisk in the flour and salt. Continue to stir until the mixture changes from dull and broken-looking to smooth and shiny, about 1 minute. Whisk in the chocolate chips and chopped nuts, if any.

 

4.       Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Transfer to a rack and cool completely.

 

5.       Run a thin knife or flexible spatula around the edges of the pan to loosen the brownies. To remove the brownies from the pan, grasp the foil or parchment paper extending up the sides and pull gently upward. Set the brownies on a cutting surface and use a serrated knife to cut into desired sizes. To store, tightly wrap the remaining brownies (if any) or place in an airtight container. They keep well at room temperature for 2 – 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days.

  

Perhaps, nothing

Love is a funny thing. It comes and goes. Sometimes, without you noticing it. When you look back at an old relationship, have you ever wondered when did it all started? When did it started to end? When was the point you stopped caring? Or should I say started caring less? I bet many of you can’t pin point the exact moment. The moment that you started to let go, bit by bit. One fine day, or perhaps, after a particularly nasty quarrel, you feel that perhaps you can do without this person. Or maybe nothing happened. Everything simply stopped. You suddenly find that you have nothing in common with this person. You have nothing to share with him or her. Even though it wasn’t too long ago that you felt your heart beat a little faster when you saw him or her. That you were constantly on cloud nine. That every thing seemed so right. So perfect. Somehow, along the way, the person that was walking side by side with you started to drift. Little by little, the distance became wider. And suddenly you find yourself walking down the road alone. By now you are probably wondering what I am trying to get at… Perhaps, nothing at all.

It has been a while since I updated my blog. Been so busy with work that I have no time bake. Been doing quite abit of thinking about my future. Feeling a little better now. Thank you for checking out my site every now and then. Heart you all!! I long wanted to try out this mocha walnut cake. It is quite easy to do, but do remember to butter or oil your bundt pan generously. Mine stuck to the pan. Still, it was yummy. The mocha and walnut mix was perfect in this cake. Enjoy!

MOCHA-WALNUT MARBLED BUNDT CAKE

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup walnuts, finely ground
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
9 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature, divided use
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup coffee (hot or cold)
1 teaspoon instant coffee, finely ground (or instant espresso powder)
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk, room temperature

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 12 cup Bundt pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess. Don’t place the pan on a baking sheet – you want the oven’s heat to circulate through the Bundt’s inner tube.

Wisk together the flour, ground walnuts, baking powder and salt.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Put 2 tablespoons of the butter, cut into 4 pieces, into the bowl, along with the chocolate, coffee and instant coffee. Heat the mixture, stirring often, until the butter and chocolate are melted and everything is smooth and creamy – keep the heat low so that the butter and chocolate don’t separate. Remove the bowl from the heat.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the remaining 2 sticks butter and the sugar at medium speed for about 3 minutes – you’ll have a thick paste; this won’t be light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one by one, beating well after each addition. The mixture should look smooth and satiny. Beat in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients and the milk alternately, adding the dry mixture in 3 portions and the milk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients).

Scrape a little less than half the batter into the bowl with the melted chocolate and, using a rubber spatula, stir to blend thoroughly.

If you want to go for the gingko pattern, scrape all of the white batter into the pan and top with the chocolate and marble it minimally. If you want a more marbled pattern, alternate spoonfuls of the light and dark batter in the pan. When all the batter is in the pan, swirl a table knife sparingly through the batter to marble them.

Bake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the Bundt pan to a rack and let cool for 10 minutes before unmolding, then cool the cake completely on the rack.