The Sun Above the Marshmallow Clouds

As we are approaching to the second half of June, summer holiday may have begun for some already. But for the past week, the sunlight was tucked behind the clouds in London. (Maybe it was ’cause I kept complaining how hot it was the week before?) For those of you who live in hot, exotic countries though, I wonder how many of you are sick of the heat by now? (Trust me, having lived in one before, I can empathise haha.)

But for now, how about enjoying a dessert? This mango and coconut meringue is one to enjoy be it cloudy or sunny weather. The combination of crunchy, marshmallowy meringue and soft whipped cream paired with tangy mangoes is one that can whisk you high up in the clouds. And with its vibrant yellow colours, it was as if the sunshine is brought into the house. ☀️ 😊

Mango and Coconut Meringue

Quantity: 1 meringue

Ingredients:

75g egg whites

100g caster sugar

50g icing sugar

Yellow food colouring

Half a mango, peeled, stoned and sliced into pieces

100ml double cream

80g mango pulp/purée

Desiccated coconut

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 140C/ 275F/ Gas 1.

2. Make the French meringue by whisking egg whites in a clean mixing bowl. Add the caster sugar a bit at a time when whisking until stiff peaks are formed. (To test if it is ready, tip the bowl over and the meringue shouldn’t fall.)

3. Gently fold in the icing sugar into the meringue.

4. Brush stripes of the yellow food colouring inside a piping bag with a star nozzle. Place the meringue into the bag and pipe small peaks to form two circular discs of equal sizes.

5. Bake the meringue discs for about 1 hour, or until crisp and lightly coloured. Cool the meringues slowly in the oven, then open the oven slightly to cool further before taking them out to cool on a wire rack. (If the meringues are cooled down too fast, it may cause them to crack.)

6. Whisk the double cream to soft peaks. Mix 2-3 tablespoons of desiccated coconut into the cream.

7. When the meringue discs are completely cooled, spoon most of the whipped cream on top of one of the discs. Drizzle the mango pulp/purée over and place the mangos on top. Add the remaining double cream, and place the other meringue disc on top to finish assembling.

8. Sprinkle more desiccated coconut over the meringue before serving.

Journey Across the Waters

As a Brit who has never travelled across the pond, my obsession from watching MasteChef US has always caused me to crave for rustic American food, especially Southern cuisine. A while ago, I came across a blog on the traditional biscuits and gravy, and that made me wonder if these old American comfort classics could also be found in London.

After a quick google search, I found the Fat Bear – a superb Southern-style American restaurant tucked away in a small alley near Blackfriars station. The place isn’t very big itself but this adds to its homey atmosphere alongside the comfort food they serve. I was sat on the bar table, giving me full view of the wide range of drinks they had available. Since it was Friday, why not start the evening with a little cocktail? 😉

For starters, I ordered deviled eggs and the classic gumbo. The eggs were so enjoyable with their creamy texture, and the spices in the gumbo were a perfect stimulation to my appetite for the rest of the evening.

The main was the one I was most looking forward to, given it was my craving for biscuits and gravy that drove me here in the first place. This buttermilk biscuit chicken sandwich literally composed all of the most beloved things in American cuisine in one single dish- buttery biscuits; crispy fried chicken; and a rich, creamy sausage gravy. It was the king of all comfort foods.

The other thing that I really enjoyed this evening was the friendly atmosphere between the staff and the customers. The waitresses were very friendly and welcoming, and the owner who was bartending at the table had very kindly offered me a free sample of their treasured whisky. (It was super strong!) I was sat next to two other customers at the bar. It turned out one of them was a friend of the owners and the other was visiting from the State. I was pleasantly surprised when we struck up a conversation and they even offered to share a piece of their cornbread with me. We all chatted like a group of old friends with the owners, bonding over food, that I forgot that we were just mere strangers who happened to cross paths this very night. But what I did feel was the warmth of humanity that brought me smiling from ear to ear. It almost felt too soon that I needed to say goodbyes to these people.

Feeling fuzzy from the warmth (and the alcohols 😂), I decided to take a walk along River Thames, stumbling across various spots along the waters to walk off the calories. Despite being nine in the evening, the outside was still bright like early afternoon.

After a brief walk along South Bank, I came upon one of my favourite frozen yogurt spot. It won’t be like me not to stop for a short dessert break, right?

Let the weekend begins! 😁

Create Your Sweet Moments Every Day

After a really long day at work today, I was exhausted beyond belief by the time I got home. Now, I must confess that I am probably not the tidiest person in the entire world. So having put off doing laundry for two weeks now, I finally decided to turn on the washing machine at last. 😅 After stuffing it full, I collapsed on my bed and fell sound asleep with the noises of the washing machine and the TV running in the background.

Just when I thought my evening was going to smoothly run its course, I snored awake when I noticed everything in my apartment was silent and switched off. Thinking it was just another tripped fuse, I wandered half-awakened to the fuse box. That was when I discovered that not just the entire building, but the street I lived on had suddenly experienced a power outage!

Before I had time to even worry about how long it would take for the power to come back on, I realised my phone (the only one thing unaffected) was low on battery and most of my clothes now stuck in the washing machine. And yet, I found the first thing I was actually concerned about was my alarm not coming on tomorrow morning if all my appliances were dead. Thoughts and stress started racing in my head. What if I get in trouble if I wake up late for work tomorrow? Why did I always seem to value my job above everything else? Why couldn’t I stop worrying about things I wasn’t able to control?

Finally, I came to a realisation I should stop stressing myself out and savoured the peace I was finally allowed. I decide to watch MasterChef on my phone, then fell asleep again before I was awakened by the washing machine and lights coming back on two hours later. Since my laundry still needed some time to finish, I decided to go outside meanwhile for a cheeky strawberry sundae in the middle of night. (Excuse the drop of sauce dripped onto the table 😂)

Turn out tonight wasn’t so bad after all. Why don’t we all stop and just make the most of every moments we have in our lives? Sometimes even the bad moments can still turn out to be sweet in the end.

(Clearly jinxed myself with this post ’cause the power is gone yet again 😓 when I was showering…)

Wordless Wednesday

#WordlessWednesday

Butter Yourself Up!

When I watched Julie and Julia a while ago, there was a scene when Amy Adams’s character expressed that when ‘the day there’s a meteorite heading toward the earth and we have thirty days to live, I am going to spend it eating butter’. Certainly not a good move for your cholesterol, but one cannot deny the pleasure butter can bring to your food. For a baker like me, butter is such a staple in many baking recipes, it seems inevitable that I will always have a supply of butter in my home. But what kind of bakes will allow you to showcase the beauty of butter the most? I would say it’s none other than some flaky, buttery puff pastry.

As a fellow blogger (Hi, terrepruitt! 😊) asked me about the puff pastry bakes on my cover photo a couple of days ago, it reminds of a period of time when I was desperately trying to master it at home. If one is to ask me if I have any tips on making puff pastry, my answer will be a simple one word: ‘patience’. Patience, patience, patience until you practically run out of patience by how many times I utter this word. The times I found myself struggling with the lamination of the pastry are often times when I rushed it. A good puff pastry can take up to several hours to make with constant procedures of rolling, folding, chilling and resting in and out of the fridge. It’s one LONG process (which does make me appreciate that some of you might just decide to save the effort and buy ready-made puff pastry from the supermarket altogether 😜). For those of you who don’t have much patience like me, there is an easy alternative though. And this is rough puff pastry.

So what is rough puff pastry? It is basically a cheating method of achieving puff pastry without the long lamination process. A rough puff pastry takes less than an hour to make as opposed to several hours for a full puff pastry. Only will you get the same signature flakiness in the pastry, but it also tastes just as good! The only one downside is that because you have no defined layers in your rough puff pastry, it will not rise as high as the full puff pastry would. But, this still means that rough puff pastry still can be used in a vast array of recipes – sweet AND savoury!

English Breakfast and Teriyaki Chicken & Cucumber Puff Canapés

The recipe I used for the rough puff pastry is by Gordon Ramsay and can be found on the BBC Good Food website. (Link: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2403/roughpuff-pastry-)

What other ideas do you have for using puff pastry? Feel free to share with me in the comments!

Listening To the Sounds of Music, Eating My Favourite Things

One of my favourite things about summer is being able to spend time outdoor and living every moments under the sun. Truth be told, I always can’t help but feel nervous about the fickle nature of British weather. However, the weather couldn’t have been more perfect for my plans today.

On this Saturday, my friends and I decided to visit the Junction 2 Festival in Boston Manor Park. It was my first time going to a festival, so I didn’t quite know what to expect besides dancing to loud music and mangling among drunk people. Unlike a night club though, being outside under the sun felt much more open and relaxed. The park itself is a large space with woodlands. As we navigated around the venue, walking underneath trees and brushing past bushes, it almost felt like an exploring adventure.

While I expected the alcohol supply here would be plentiful (😂), I was pleasantly by the presence of food trucks supplying hot food in the venue. After hours of dancing and drinking, what could be better than to have something to soak up the alcohol?

I went for a British duck burger with pork stuffing and bacon jam. Despite its lack of colours, the burger more than made up for that in flavours. The gaminess of the duck meat paired very well with the richness of the stuffing and the strong, savoury flavours of the bacon jam. A British classic with a modern twist! It would surely be enjoyed by any meat lovers.

It would be unlike me not to finish the meal on a sweet note. This limoncello sorbet was so refreshing that it was the perfect sweet, cold treat under the sun. The best way to have a cocktail is to have in its ice form!

The British summer sky was always deceiving, and before we knew it we stayed in the festival well into the evening. (Not going to lie my feet was sore from all the dancing and walking we did haha!) Exhausted, I somehow managed to hop onto the wrong underground line on my way home. So, I ended up taking a bit of a detour and also had my late dinner inside a gastro pub at the changing stop.

What are you all up to this weekend? Hope you will be having fun no matter what you are doing! 🙂

It’s Pizza Friday!

I doubt anyone can resist the temptation of a delicious pizza. And they always taste better after a night of heavy drinking to celebrate the end of the week! I particular enjoy the taste of homemade pizzas, given the fact I am one of those people who likes to go crazy with the toppings. Whether you like a plain old Margherita or a rich Meat Lovers, one of the best things of making pizzas at home is that you can put whatever you want on it!

The pizza dough recipe I used came from a Pizza Margherita recipe on BBC Good Food. (Link: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4683/pizza-margherita-in-4-easy-steps ) It is very easy to adapt to make any types of pizza you want!

Pizza

Quantity: 2 pizzas

Ingredients:

300g strong white/bread flour

1 tsp instant yeast

1 tsp salt

200ml warm water

1 tbsp olive oil

Toppings of your choice

Method:

Place the flour in a large bowl. Stir yeast and salt into the flour.
Make a well in the flour mixture, and pour in water and olive oil. Mix until well-combined and you have a soft, fairly wet dough.
On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 5 minutes and until smooth.
Cover and set aside before use. (You do not need to leave the dough to rise but it is not essential for a thin crust.)
Prepare the toppings.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface. The dough needs to be very thin as it will rise when baking in the oven.
Pre-heat oven to 240C/fan 220C /gas 8.
Place toppings on pizza and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until crisp and toppings cooked.

Why not give it a try to start your weekend? Have it ready to cure your hangover the next day!

What is your favourite kind of pizza? Tell me in the comments below!

Small Is Powerful

It’s half way through the week. Are you flying through it or crawling your way towards the weekend? Either way it is always important to take time away to relax and treat yourself. Truth to form, I like to do that in the presence of good food.

This evening I visited El Molino, a Spanish restaurant, along Holloway Road in North London. As a foodie, I am always quite greedy in wanting to try everything that intrigued me on the menu, but at the same time am also conscious of how much I may end up eating. This is why I enjoy the inclusion of tapas, since the small plates offer a wide selection of choices without overstuffing you after.

My first tapas was Pinchos de Pollo, a crispy breaded chicken and vegetable skewer topped with gooey cheese.

The second tapas was one of my person favourites here: Pulpo A La Gallega, a boiled Galician octopus served with paprika and potatoes.

The last tapas I ordered was an old Spanish classic: Chorizo al Vino, a sizzling plate of spicy Spanish sausages cooked in red wine.

Who says small isn’t just as powerful in flavours? 😉

Monday Blues, Rocky Roads

My first day back to work had been quite uneventful and yet somehow I managed to be exhausted by the time I got home. It is Monday though. True to the classic Monday blues, I don’t seem to be able to shake off the anticipation of a long marathon of a week ahead, and I just hope it’s not going to be all rocky roads along the way. But, hey, life still goes on and I know I still need to be prepared for any challenges that may get thrown at me anytime. So, instead of letting myself be submerged in a feeling of dread. I am going to tell myself to live in the moment. As Kylie Minogue sang once, ‘Into the blue. With nothing to lose.” I am now game.

To start off the week though, you always need a bit of sugar! I was taught how to make rocky roads by a friend in uni, and it had since become one of my favourite snacks to make. Sweet, crunchy, soft and tang. They are literally small blocks jam-packed with all sort of goodies, and they only take a few minutes to prep!

Classic Rocky Roads

Quantity: 1 tray

Ingredients:

300g dark chocolate

100g digestive biscuits

100g mini marshmallows

50g sultanas

50g glace cherries

Method:

Break chocolate into small chunks and place them in a large bowl.
Melt chocolate using a double-boiler or a microwave.
Break digestive biscuits into small pieces. Add them to the melted chocolate.
Add marshmallows, sultanas and glace cherries into the mixture, and stir until well-mixed.
Line a tray with baking paper. Spread the mixture evenly on the tray.
Place the rocky road in the fridge for about 1 hour for the chocolate to set.
When ready, cut the rocky road into even slices to serve.

This recipe is open to interpretation. You can replace sultanas and glace cherries with any dried fruits or nuts of your choosing. I found that dried mango and desiccated coconut also worked quite well for a tropical twist.

Wish you all rocky roads no more this week! (But you are allowed to eat rocky roads haha 😂)

Imperfection Is Beauty

How often have you spent your day worrying what others think of you and trying to be your perfect self? But when I have days like this, I would suddenly feel like I am losing myself in the process of trying to achieve this almost-impossible goal. Isn’t life just simpler when you embrace all these imperfections?

Following my stunt to make the perfect macarons a few days ago, I was left with trays of cracked macarons that had since clustered in my fridge. I pondered whether I should just throw them away or just eat them all as they were, but then an idea came to my head that maybe they could be of some better uses. After some quick researches online, I was inspired by the idea of making an Eton mess using the broken macarons. Not only did it look more elaborated, but the softeness of the whipped cream and the tartness of the fruits complimented very well with the crunchy texture of the sweet macarons. And more importantly, it is very simple and quick to make. It is the perfect summer dessert!

Life may not be smooth sailing at all times, but those imperfect moments are just as beautiful as the rest. So, let’s all enjoy the ride! 🙂

Macaron Eton Mess

Quantity: 2 plates

Ingredients:

1 batch of macarons

400g strawberries

200g mixed berries (e.g. blueberries and raspberries)

20ml water

20g caster sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

300 ml double cream

Method:

Place one third of the fruits, water, sugar and the lemon juice in a saucepan. Heat and bring them to a boil. Crush the fruits as you are cooking.
Pass the puree through a sieve and leave it to cool.
Whip the double cream to soft peaks and set aside.
Use a spoon to drizzle swirls of the fruit puree on the plate. Break the macarons into small pieces and place on top of the puree. Garnish with the remaining fruits and whipped cream, and drizzle more puree over it.