sourdough waffles

I've been trying to knock out a few things these holidays and baking sourdough bread has been one of them. I've been using Eric Kayser's The Larousse Book of Bread and instructions have been quite easy to follow. Still need a lot of practice overall but especially in shaping the dough. I use a bread machine to do the initial knead and bulk fermentation (first prove) and finish by hand. 

Kayser uses a three day feed process and to prevent the starter from amassing and wasting discard I've been finding ways on how to use it. Pancakes and waffles seem to be very popular.

These were meant to be pancakes but despite cooking them on the lowest heat possible they were quite doughy in the middle so I cooked the remaining batter in the waffle maker instead. The waffle produced was crispy and tangy.

I don't think it's quite perfect yet. To be revisited. Notes at the bottom for future reference / if you are interested.

◯ ◯ ◯ 

sourdough waffles     makes 5
adapted from completely delicious

200ml water

35g milk powder

155g flour

118g unfed sourdough starter

20ml cooking oil

1/2 tsp salt

30g brown sugar

Mix. Overnight fermentation (1605 - 1000). Use bigger bowl as batter will rise.

1 large egg

1 tsp baking powder

Add. Cook.

toasted coconut waffles

I've made a few variations of waffles up to date, but my sister keeps coming back to these ones (I like liege waffles!). I worked out a recipe last holidays for these coconut waffles but I forgot where I put it...so I've come up with a different one that tastes just as good if not better. I made some with pandan paste last week and wanted to try making some without. Tastewise, my sister prefers the green ones but I'm ok with either. 

I still see them being sold in Vietnamese bakeries around my area and I think they're still as popular as they were back then. I'm not quite sure how much one costs nowadays, but back in the heyday they were about $1 each.

My sister is a crazy waffle eater so I often make double batches to be toasted later. If you're interested I've included an ingredient list at the end of the post since not all ingredients are doubled. For my previous waffle recipe that incorporates yeast, please click here. 

It's become a habit to do chicken scratchings on sheets of baking paper when I bake so I can adapt and perfect the recipe for another time. Actually, this is what my uni notes look like. Unfortunately there is no food involved.

◯ ◯ ◯

toasted coconut waffles     makes 7-8 

adapted loosely from the recipes in the manual

200g plain flour, sifted

1 1/2 tsp baking powder, sifted

120g caster sugar 

50g desiccated coconut, toasted

pinch of salt

2 large eggs

300ml coconut milk

60ml cooking oil

about 1/2 tsp pandan paste (optional)

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, coconut and salt into a medium sized mixing bowl. Stir to combine and make a 'well'. In another bowl, beat the eggs. Add coconut milk, oil and pandan paste (if using) and whisk to combine. Pour into other bowl and stir to combine. Cook waffle mixture on a hot waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions. I like to use the 'darker' setting.

◯ ◯ ◯

Edit: Photo added 8 January 2015

double quantity waffle batter

300g plain flour, sifted

3 tsp baking powder

200g caster sugar

100g desiccated coconut, toasted

two pinches of salt

3 large eggs

600ml coconut milk (or 400ml coconut milk + 200ml milk/water)

120ml cooking oil

few drops of pandan paste 

Cook as above.

power of the yeast

I finished my last exam for my BA just last week and I'm currently waiting for the uni system to update my status so I can enrol into my Masters. But for now, I get to enjoy the rest of November and the entire summer off. So far I have been successful in keeping myself relatively busy by swimming - something I randomly decided to pick up again during my exam period after a 6-7 year break. Other days I spend time doing things I normally do.

To make up for not using the bread machine during the exam period, I've used it thrice this week alone. Last night I adapted my current waffle recipe (meringue method) into a yeast waffle. By using bread flour and yeast, the waffle was better in terms of flavour and texture. These taste best freshly made, but if you have leftovers, just nuke them in the microwave or toast them in the oven.

★ ★ ★

yeasted pandan & coconut waffles      makes 6 using the breville waffles creations appliance

200ml coconut milk (the full fat variety please), warmed

a few drops of pandan paste

50g unsalted butter, melted

100g caster sugar

large pinch of sea salt

1 large egg, beaten

handful of desiccated/shredded coconut (optional)

200g bread flour

1/2 tsp bread improver (optional)

2 tsp dry active yeast

If you have a bread machine, just add the ingredients in the order according to manufacturer's directions. Set the machine to the 'dough' function (30 minutes kneading, 60 minutes proving). Cook waffle mixture on a hot waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions. I like to use the 'darker' setting.

If you don't have a bread machine, just combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Make a 'well' in the dry ingredient bowl and stir in the wet ingredients until thoroughly combined. Cover and leave in a warm place until mixture doubles in size. Cook as above.

summer rages on

With the Melbourne over-30 degrees weather set to continue and expected to go higher next week, it's a good time to make ice cream just to open the freezer door for a breeze of cool air. This no-churn ice cream is still on my to-do list, but hey, might as well use some seasonal peaches or nectarines before they're gone. Alice Medrich calls this an ice cream, but it tasted more like a creamy, tangy frozen yogurt to us.

Keep cool!

● ● ●

Sour nectarine ice cream     makes around 500ml

adapted from Alice Medrich's peaches 'n' sour cream ice cream in Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts; available online over here

According to Wikipedia, peaches and nectarines are essentially the same fruit except for their skin, so neither one of them will do. The nectarines I used were kinda firm, but use soft and squishy ripe ones for a sweeter taste. I also reduced a lot of the sugar, so increase it for a less tart taste.

3 yellow nectarines

juice and zest of half a lemon

300ml sour cream

45g caster sugar

Peel and slice the nectarines and puree with lemon juice and zest in a food processor. Add sour cream and sugar and blitz until smooth. Transfer mixture into a shallow tray and freeze. 

As the mixture starts to freeze around the edges, blitz in a food processor and freeze. Repeat 3-4 times for a creamier ice cream. It will take a while, but totally worth the effort. For the final blitz, the texture should resemble something like softened ice cream. Transfer mixture into a taller container and freeze until firm enough to scoop.

crêperie

I didn't think to make crepes anytime soon, until I saw Evan's post the other night. I haven't made crêpes in a long time. The last time I remember making it was on two separate occasions. Both crêpe cakes. Once at an old friend's 18th, where it was declared orgasmic by a handful of (drunk?) teenagers and during the end of high school gathering at my place. Lots of oohs and aahs when it was being sliced.

The recipe that I continue to use today comes from Michel Roux's Only The Best. It's been good to me and I don't think I'll ever use a different recipe. The first crêpe will always be ugly, but it gets better after that. Thin, bubbly crêpes with flaky sides. A few tips, lightly grease the pan (even if you're using a non-stick) after each crêpe, be quick and don't be afraid of burning yourself. 

As for the sauce, throw in a chunk of butter after reducing orange juice, zest and rosemary syrup. Velvety and slightly bitter. Next time I think I'll strain my sauce for a smooth finish.

Here's another crêpe recipe by Michel Roux.

on the house

Cheers to the fruit shop man who kind enough to give me a bagful of ripe monkey bananas (on the house!) so I could make this and other baked goods!

Banana bread french toast has been on my to-do list since seeing it in Esquire's How to eat like a man cookbook, but never got around to it until Mrs Roddick asked if I had a low fat banana bread recipe so she could bake it for our handbag collecting friend. Unfortunately for her I didn't and could only think of more ways to make it more calorific. 

The banana chip idea was taken from this revamped banana split I saw on a food blog recently. I didn't want to open the jar of cherries so in went strawberries and a tough decision between fake maple syrup or Hershey's chocolate syrup.

Recipe notes:

Adapted this banana loaf recipe and used my usual french toast recipe.

the nigh of fall

It struck me the other day that autumn was nearing it's end and that I haven't baked a single apple pie or crumbles and I haven't collected any acorns either. While apples are available all year round, it just feels more special to use them during the autumn season. Pumpkins, sweet potatoes and mandarins are still on my list to-do! But I guess, I'll have to wait until winter rolls in.

These are usually made with a frozen puff pastry base but, I thought the chilly weather was perfect for making pastry as it is easier to handle without creating a sticky mess. Either way would be great though (instructions at bottom)!

●●●

Sweet shortcrust pastry:

120g plain flour, sifted

35g almond meal

30g icing sugar, sifted

pinch of salt

50g cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 large egg, from the fridge

For the filling:

2 royal gala apples, washed, peeled and sliced thinly

1/2 lemon, juiced

2 Tb brown sugar

yellow-box honey, as required

sliced almonds, as required

beaten egg

For the pastry: Put flour, almond meal, sugar and salt into a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the cubed butter and process until dough resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg and process until dough begins to form. Remove dough from the processor and gently knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Roll dough into a ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate until firm (1 - 2 hours or overnight).

Meanwhile, prepare the apples and soak them in a mixture of lemon juice and water to prevent them from oxidising. 

Roll out dough to 3mm thick and place inside a lightly floured tart tin*. Drain the liquid from the apple slices. Sprinkle brown sugar on top of the pastry. Overlap the apple slices around the outside of the pastry, working your way inwards. Finish with a small row of apples slices in the middle. Squeeze honey in a circular motion around the tart. Fold over pastry hanging from the sides, overlapping where necessary. 

Brush pastry with beaten egg and sprinkle with almond slices. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes or until pastry is cooked and golden brown.

Cut and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

*If you don't have a tart tin, roll out pastry into a rectangular shape or if you are using frozen puff pastry, arrange the apple slices in overlapping rows instead.

●●●

I find that store bought muesli lacks the amount of seeds, nuts and dried fruit that I want so I prefer to make my own. Here I've combined these maple and brown sugar pecans into a new batch of autumn-inspired muesli which are adapted from here. No dried fruit this time, but chopped pieces of dried apple or pear would be perfect. This recipe makes one large jar.

2 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 cup chopped dried fruit

handful of sliced almonds 

handful of pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 Tb vegetable oil

Combine all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Spread out evenly on a baking tray. Bake at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.

When cooled, stir in 1/2 - 1 cup of maple & brown sugar pecans. Be sure to refrigerate them in an airtight jar to retain their crisp.

oh honey honey

I saw this tweet on my feed this morning and noticed there were only five weeks left in the year. Instantly, I asked myself, what had I done this past year. It seems a long time ago but I can still remember the days of laughter and yelling with my sister, MC and four monkeys over our summer break. Wii battles with aching hands and feet and throats sore from yelling. MC's "dancing" were recorded are still laughed at today.

I contributed (just a little) to the Tohoku earthquake charity organised by a friend. It was a windy day and rained a bit, but it made my day that people came to support by contributing what they had. Children donating their pocket money and many enjoying the fresh brew and baked goods.   

Making my first batch of croissants (the frustration!) and appreciating art made with food scraps. Oh, and spending lots of time cramped in a tiny car for photography camp! It was worth it though as I reached the peak of Mt. Buffalo, saw spectacular scenery and met great people.

What summer brings this time round I can only wonder. But I can foresee many serves of french toast now that I found a yummier way to prepare them. Must remember to finish going through dad's amazing collection of CD's from the 80s and 90s as well! My all time favourite is and forever will be Elton John's Love Songs followed by Jorge Rico's Magic of the Panpipes series.  

morning shortcuts

Remember those homemade croissants that nearly drove me nuts? Well, I baked these a while later but just never got around posting them. I wanted to try Emmanuel Mollois' recipe, featured on Poh's Kitchen, but when I saw it I opted for the easy way out and made my own filling :) It was too early in the morning to make so many different components, and it looked too sweet for my liking.

On a note, I have been getting rather annoyed with the blog layout, so I decided to revamp it. The new design is purely inspired by artist + designer Sun Wahyu (his blog and works) and Japanese food stylist and bread baking instructor Niwa Akiko (her blog and website). I really hope I didn't copy too much :(

Another thing, pretty much the same reason as Lalarhs (except I'm not a science student), I will be going on a hiatus for one month. SWOT VAC and exams are just around the corner, so priority goes to studying. I am not going to post anything here until I hit the holidays, but I will probably be making small updates on twitter and klippity klop.

Over and out.

***

cheat's almond croissants

taste the filling as you go and feel free to use honey and icing sugar interchangeably. add more or less depending on your taste buds.

ingredients:
makes around 2/3 - 3/4 cup of almond butter filling

• 50 g unsalted butter, softened
• 50 g almond meal
• 1 1/2 Tb honey
• 25 g icing sugar, sifted
• dash of vanilla essence (optional)
• almond slices
• homemade or store bought almond croissants
• icing sugar for dusting, optional

method:

Mix butter until creamy. Add almond meal, honey, icing sugar, vanilla essence and mix until well combined.

Slice the croissants in half and generously spread almond butter filling on top. Sprinkle a pinch or two of almond slices on top and lightly press into the butter.

Toast in a moderately pre-heated oven until the croissant is warm, crispy and golden. Lightly dust with icing sugar before serving.

toasted muesli

Pretty funny weather we have here in Melbourne right now. Summer is miraculously not in the scorching 30°C - 40°C, but windy, rainy and cool. You know, I think I can get used to this right now :)

Despite the cool weather, it doesn't stop me from eating ice cream. So it will definitely not deter me from having cereal or muesli with cold milk from the fridge in the morning. I've only bought Vogel's toasted muesli once from the supermarket and was pretty happy with it, until I decided to make my very own batch. Crunching and chewing through honey coated oats and my favourite dried fruits and nuts with a few slices of banana makes my mornings.

You should try some too.

Less than 4 days until Christmas and I still haven't baked anything yet! Thinking about mini gingerbread houses as gifts for now...but might change my mind since I need to become an architect with fine mathematical skills ahem, skills that I do not possess.

Well if I do end up with something, you'll see it here first :)

***

toasted muesli
adapted from Epicure via The Age

ingredients:
makes around 4-5 cups

• 2 cups wholegrain rolled oats
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes (I used shredded coconut)
• 1/2 cup natural almonds
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
  (I used 1/4 cup of each: whole almonds, almond flakes, pepitas, pistachios, walnuts)
• 1 tsp ground ginger (omitted)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon (omitted)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup (I used warmed honey)
• 1 Tb vegetable oil
• 1 cup mixed dried fruits of your choice (sultanas, cranberries, apricots - chopped etc.)

method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.


2. Mix the oats, coconut, nuts and seeds and spices, syrup and oil in a large bowl.
   Spread mixture out on a large baking tray.


3. Bake in oven for about 25 minutes, stirring to redistribute after about 10 minutes.
   Remove from the oven and cool on tray.


4. Mix together with your choice of dried fruits.
   Store in airtight jar. (I put my in the fridge to retain crispiness.)

cheat's chocolate croissants

Inspired by the chocolate croissants in the bakeries I made a cheat's version of one on the weekend for my study snack.

The method I typed out is how I did it, but you can always skip step 2 and place the liquefied ganache into the toasted croissant.

***

cheat's chocolate croissants

ingredients:
serves 1-2

• 2 store bought croissants
• 100 g chocolate (I used a mix of milk and dark chocolate)
• 100 ml cream (I used thickened cream)

Note: You will end up with more ganache than you need, so keep it chilled.

method:

1. Making the ganache:
   Put chocolate in a dry heat proof bowl.
   Bring cream to the boil in a small saucepan and pour immediately into the bowl with chocolate.
   Stir until chocolate has melted.*
   Pour in a heat proof container and cool in the fridge until hardened.

2. Scoop small pieces of the ganache.
   Cut the croissants in half and place the ganache inside.
   Toast in a small oven toaster until ganache has melted.

* If the chocolate has not fully melted, place over a bain marie and stir until melted.

hot chocolate + french toast

Breakfast is no doubt my favourite meal of the day. I reckon a good breakfast is a good kick start to the day. Over the years, I have rarely skipped breakfast and over the years, the only thing that hasn't changed is breakfast ALWAYS includes a glass of milk or some other beverage depending on whatever breakfast is.

Today was indifferent.

I suppose today's breakfast of french toast isn't what I would usually eat or make because I wouldn't wake up on rushed weekday to make it and I'd be happy to eat eggs on the weekends every day!

Earliest memory of french toast would be in Malaysia. My uncle would just dip the bread slices in beaten eggs and fry them in a wok full of oil and us, kids would then eat them with sugar. I remember I had six at one time. Good ol' days.

Hot chocolate isn't really my thing, but I'm all in for the marshmallows :)

***

hot chocolate
simple essentials - chocolate by Donna Hay

If you're going to make it yourself, you might as well have the best, so it's important to use high-quality chocolate. Heat 1 cup (250 ml) milk per person in a small saucepan until it's warmed through and close to boiling. Then add 1 tablespoon grated chocolate for each serving to the saucepan. If you're making for one, you can pour the hot milk directly onto the chocolate in a cup and stir. Serve with marshmallows if desired.

I grated approxiamately 10 g of dark chocolate with 85% cocoa solids and added 1 tsp of kuromitsu into mine. Needs more chocolate :D

***

cinnamon and banana french toast
original recipe by me

ingredients:
serves 1 - 2; egg mixture is enough to coat 3 thick sandwich slices

• 1 egg
• 100 ml milk
• 1 1/2 Tb thick cream
• 1/4 - 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  (I added 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and the flavour wasn't really there, so I will add more next time)
• 1 Tb brown sugar
• 3 thick sandwich slices
• 1 tsp unsalted butter
• 1 banana, peeled and sliced or mashed
• icing sugar and honey

method:

1. Add egg, milk, cream, ground cinnamon and brown sugar into a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.


2. Heat a non-stick frying pan and melt the butter. Wipe down the butter with kitchen paper and reserve it for later.


3. Dip a sandwich in the egg mixture and coat well on both sides.


4. Pan fry on the first side until golden brown and flip. Cook until the other side is golden.


5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until there is no more egg mixture ensuring you wipe down the non-stick pan with the kitchen paper coated with butter each time you finish one toast.


6. Layer with sliced / mashed bananas, dust icing sugar on top and serve with honey.

カスタードクリム

母の日のために、シュークリームを作った。

ニンテンドDSゲームの『DSお料理ナビまるごと帝国ホテル』のカスタードクリム のレシピを使った。 クリムは美味しいと思うんだ! ゲームバンザイ!

カスタードクリム
『DSお料理ナビまるごと帝国ホテル』

材料

卵黄。。。。。。。。。。。 2 個
グランニュー糖。。。。。。 22 g
小麦粉。。。。。。。。。。 10 g
コーンスターチ。。。。。。 10 g
牛乳。。。。。。。。。。。 180 ml
バニラスティック。。。。。 1/4 本
無塩バター。。。。。。。。 7 g
生クリム（42%）。。。。。 3/4 カップ
グラニュー糖。。。。。。。 15 g

作り方

1. バニラスティク1/4本は縦中央に切れめを入れで種をとる。種も残しておく。
2. なべに牛乳１８０ｍｌとグラニュー糖の半量を入れる。
   バニラスティクと種を加え、中火にかけ、わかしておく。
   小麦粉１０ｇ、コーンスターチ１０ｇは、合わせて粉ふるい器などでふるう。
   ボウルに卵黄２個を入れ、ぼぐす。
   残りのグラニュウー糖を加え，泡立で器で混ぜ合わせる。
   白っぽくなるまでかき混ぜ、ふるった小麦粉とコーンスターチを加え、さらに混ぜる。
   わかした牛乳を２回に分けて加え、混ぜ合わせる。
3. 万能こし器をのせたなべにそそぎ、こす。
4. バニラスティクをなべにもどし、弱火にかける。
   とろみがすくまで泡立で器でかき混ぜる。
   ゴムペラにかえて混ぜながらクリーム状になるまで、こがさないように煮る。
   火からおろし無塩バター７ｇを加えて、溶かしながら混ぜる。
5. ラップをしいたバットに流す。クリームに密着させるようにラップをかける。
   バットの底に氷水をあて、あら熱がとれるまで冷蔵庫に入れ完全に冷やす。
6. ボウルに生クリーム3/4 カップとグラニュー糖１５ｇを入れる。
   ボウルの底を氷水にあてながら、泡立で器で７分立てにする。
   冷やしたカスタードクリムからバニラスティクをとり出し、ボウルにうつす。
   生クリームを２回分けて入れ、ゴムペラで切るように混ぜる。

Decided not to translate it, because I am not very sure of the exact method myself (I guessed most of the steps when I was making this :P)

coconut ice - coincidentally the italian flag

It was a Friday afternoon, and I remembered I promised Magster that I'd bake her something from last year. Unfortunately exams and homework was in the way and never had the chance to do so.

I have free periods on a Friday afternoon which means I can go home during lunch. I didn't feel like baking, so I decided to make her coconut ice instead.

See the Italian flag? Hint: Look back right.

Coconut ice is like a 2 coloured layer confection consisting of desiccated coconut, icing sugar and condense milk as it's core ingredients. I didn't want to make the traditional 2 coloured layer coconut ice, so I made a 3 layered one! Coincidentally I only had pink and green food colouring, so the Italian flag it was (only the real Italian flag is red on the side and not pink).

I reduced the sugar by half as I thought it was too sweet if I added the whole amount in. Note that condense milk contains sugar as well. Also didn't want my friends to overdose on sugar and go hypo in class and I felt that it was sweet but not over whelming sweet. Feel free to adjust to your taste buds.

***
coconut ice
adapted from quick and easy coconut ice

ingredients:
makes 20 x 20 cm cake tin

• 1 cup icing sugar
  (originally 2 cups)
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 395 mL can condense milk
• 4 cups desiccated coconut
• few drops of food colouring (optional)

method:

1. Put icing sugar, cream of tartar, vanilla essence in a mixing bowl. Add in condense milk and stir to combine. Add in the coconut and stir to form a ball.

2. Divide the mixture into 3 parts and knead in food colouring to your own liking. Knead until colour is evenly spread.

3. Line a 20 x 20 cm cake tin with baking paper and press one coloured mixture at the bottom until even. Repeat for the remaining colours.

4. Wrap and refrigerate until firm and cut into desired size.

***

Lizzie said the coconut ice looked like mini water melons.

What do you think? Italian flag or watermelons?

not quite chocolate balls

Magster asked me if I knew of a recipe which doesn't require use of an oven (since she doesn't have one), using everyday ingredients and is easy to do. She wanted to make jelly but had no gelatine/ agar agar powder, so that did work out so well. I suggested making dorayaki and some other stuff but then I didn't think she'd like to "watch over"the pot of adzuki beans which takes up more than an hour. So my last suggestion was to make chocolate balls. Which is not quite "chocolate" since it doesn't even taste like chocolate or even contain any traces of chocolate!

Well the name of this recipe has been passed down from a long time ago. "Chocolate balls" in Grade 1 where we made these for a demo on instructions and methods, in which we made fruit punch as well. The name "chocolate balls" then changed to "chocolate truffles" in Year 7 where we made these for a prac. And I'm going to call them "not quite chocolate balls" since they are ball-shaped but not quite chocolate flavoured.

I told Magster the recipe on MSN, but it was all in jumbled order since we were chatting in between messages. So here it is :)

***
chocolate balls


ingredients:
makes around 30 balls

• 1 packet Marie biscuits
  (250 grams of any type of sweet biscuit would do as well)
• 1 cup of desiccated coconut
• 1 tablespoon of cocoa, sifted
• 1 can of sweetened condense milk

method:

1. Crush the biscuits until they resemble crumbs.

Note: You can do this in a food processor, or put it in a bag and smash it with a rolling pin (or any other tool you like) Or any other way which results in the biscuits resembling crumbs in the end :)

2. Add the coconut and cocoa powder. Stir until the mixture has an even brown colour.

3. Add the condense milk and stir until everything sticks together.

4. Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls. Roll them in extra coconut.

***

紅茶牛乳プリン - milk tea pudding

Devouring the last of the four puddings I made on Saturday night as I type this post :) Well as the weather is unfortunately getting warmer and warmer, I thought I might as well make jellies and puddings. Practising now so I can avoid the oven at all costs during the summer months :) I found this recipe on yahoo!グルメ a few months ago but never bothered to actually make it because I didn't want to wait for the it to set. I wanted to eat what I made immediately :)

I like tea, particularly Asian type teas (green tea, jasmine tea etc.) but I am not so much of a Western tea fan. Tea and fresh milk are a few of the staple foods in our household and I decided to make this.

When the pudding is just set, it has a soft pudding texture, however firms up (but is still soft) when in the fridge longer.

Hopefully summer doesn't come as soon!

***
紅茶牛乳プリン ～ milk tea pudding
adapted from this Japanese recipe

ingredients:
makes 4 small servings

• 1 Tb gelatin powder
• 3 Tb hot water
• 2 tea bags
  (I used 4 Lipton black tea bags for a darker colour and more intense flavour)
• 400 mL milk
• 4 Tb sugar
• whipped cream to serve

method:

1. Dissolve the gelatin powder in 3 Tb of hot water. Make sure all the gelatin is dissolved and there are no lumps. Leave to set.

2. Remove all tags from the tea bags and place them in a small saucepan with the milk.

3. Heat milk and sugar on the lowest heat, until milk is hot but not boiling. Stir and remove tea bags.

4. When tea is hot, place the piece of set gelatin and stir to dissolve. Turn off heat.

5. Divide the mixture into 4 small cups or ramekins. Chill in the refrigerator until set.

Serve with a dollop of whipped cream for more taste.