Certificate in Patisserie (basic level)

Its finally here! My beautiful, wonderful certificate! 





 





Durian Cupcakes With Durian and Apple Cream



Durian Cupcake





Durian Cupcake with Durian+Apple Cream



Alright sooo, as all of you would already know, durian cake is quite common nowadays as you can get it in almost any bakery shops. Especially during the durian season. However I've never made one before until yesterday. Why make it out of the blue? Well, my grandmother suggested that I make a durian cake for her considering she brought home many durians from her orchard in Raub. It wasn't a bad idea experimenting but. I just didnt like the thought of eating the durian cake just by itself. I figured it needed something else to make it more delightful to eat. So I came up with this cream by myself, which actually is just a mixture between durian and green apple bits. Trust me, it is LOVELY. Especially for all you durian lovers out there, this cake would be heavenly for you. 

Ingredients: 

Durian cupcakes:

250g mashed durian flesh

250g butter

150g castor sugar

5 eggs (break all eggs into a bowl and beat it lightly)

240g all purpose flour (sifted)

2 tsp baking powder (sifted)

Cream:

200ml whipping cream

10 pieces of durian

stewed apples

Stewed apples:

40g sugar

20g butter

3 green apples (granny smith's)

1/4 tsp lemon juice

Method:

Stewed apples:

1. Remove the skin of the apples

2. Chop into tiny bits (about the size of those apple bits in the Apple Pie from McD)

3. Heat butter in a saucepan and saute the apples for about 3 minutes

4. Add in lemon juice

5. Sprinkle sugar over the apples to draw out the juices from the apples

6. Stir ocassionally and cook until the apples are as soft but not mashed. You want them to be about the same texture as the apples in the apple pie from McD.

7. Set aside and wait for it to cool down before using it.

Cream:

1. Using the mixer, whisk the durians for about 2 minutes

2. Add in the whipping cream and mix together until it starts to thicken

3. Add in the stewed apples (must be room temperature)

4. Gently mix the apples around so that it doesnt stay in one spot.

5. Once its done, into the fridge it goes. Make sure you cover it with cling wrap before putting it into the fridge

Durian cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. 

2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Add in the egg mixture about a tbsp at a time and continue beating.

4. Add in durian gradually and beat. Roughly will take about 3 mins to completely beat in all the durians.

5. Add in the sifted flour and baking powder in 3 stages. Just roughly divide the flour into 3 portions and mix. (This is to ensure all the flour is beaten into the batter properly)

6. Pour your batter into your prepared baking tins but in this case, small cups because we're making cupcakes. However you can choose to make it into a cake by just pouring it into a baking tin. :)

7. Bake at 180 degrees celcius for 15 minutes if you're making cupcakes OR 40-50 minutes if you're making a cake.

Explanation:

1. Why use apples?

In making a cream, consistency is a huge matter. Put a fruit that contains too much liquid in it like oranges might screw up your cream because it'll liquidify it. So fruits with high liquid content is a definite nono. Besides that, durians are given the title 'King of Fruits' for a reason. They overpower almost ever other taste. So dont try mashing some fruit and expect it to compete with the durian's taste. Instead I chose apples, specifically green apples chopped into bits because it gives the cream a nice texture and sudden shock. Those tiny bits of apples weren't put in to overpower the durian, but boost the taste of it and support. The sourness it provides just completes the 'lemak' taste of the durians.

2. When dealing with durians, expect a distinct smell on your hands and in your breath after making/eating it. I can't really help you much on the breath part but I can help you with the smell stuck to your hands. What you do is take the seed of the durian and just wash your hands with it. Rub the seed on your hand under running water and the smell will slowly come off. Magical isn't it?

Well that's about all I can think off. Leave a comment if you're unsure about anything and I'll try my best to help. Happy baking! :)

Chocolate Brownies

Sinfully delicious and REALLY simple to make. There are many different types of brownies though.. This type is kinda gooey and abit chewy. I don't really like the cakey-kind of brownies. Its just. Not brownies. Its more of a chocolate cake. :) This is the kind of brownie you'd want to bake.

Ingredients:

75g chocolate (try getting imported dark chocolate buttons)

110g butter
2 eggs
200g sugar

1/2 tsp salt (if you're using unsalted butter)

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

75g strong/hard flour (high gluten flour)

50g walnuts

1/4 tsp baking powder

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 165 degrees celcius

2. Sift flour and baking powder and set aside.

Bowl A:

-Melt chocolate and butter over Bain Marie and allow to cool
Bowl B:

-Whisk eggs, sugar and salt until well mixed but DO NOT FOAM

-Stir in vanilla
3. Take mixture from Bowl B and slowly blend into Bowl A. Whisking continuously.
4. Pour the flour+baking soda into the new mixture and fold.
5. Fold in walnuts
6. Cut out an aluminium foil to cover the top of the baking tin. Cover the tin then place into the oven
7. Bake at 165 degrees celcius for 1 hour

Explanation:

• Bain Marie is also known as a water bath. It is used heat materials gently and gradually to fixed temperatures, or to keep materials warm over a period of time. In this case, chocolate will burn if heated with direct heat/contact. Therefore, using a bain marie, you can melt the chocolate without having to burn it. Just fill a saucepan with some water and bring it to a boil then lower it down to simmer. Then place a bowl filled with the chocolate and butter on top of it. Make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the surface of the water. And Ta-Daa! You've made yourself your own Bain Marie.
  


• Folding means to combine a light mixture in this case the flour with a much heavier mixture in this case the chocolate+egg mixture. In a large bowl, place the lighter mixture on top of the heavier one. Starting at the back of the bowl, using the edge of a rubber spatula, cut down through the middle of both mixtures, across the bottom of the bowl and up the near side. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. This process gently combines the two mixtures. Why fold? Because you do not want to overmix the batter and cause it to become hard.



• By placing an aluminium foil on top of the baking tin, what you're actually doing is removing the crust on top of the brownie. By the way, be cautious when opening the aluminium foil after you're done baking the brownies. The steam that comes out of it is HOT!

Banana Walnut Cupcakes

Banana walnut cupcakes are my favourite! They're moist, fluffy and not really sweet. Great for people who don't fancy sugary stuffs :)

Ingredients:
125g butter
3/4 cup sugar (about 1/2 cup if you prefer it less sweet)
1 tbsp boiling water
2 eggs, beaten
3 large bananas, mashed
1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate)
3 tbsp milk (2 if you're using ultra ripe bananas)
1 and 3/4 cup self- raising flour (sifted)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius
2. Cream butter, sugar and water together in a large mixing bowl
3. Gradually add in egg mixture
4. Add in the mashed bananas
5. Dissolve the Bicarbonate of Soda in the milk then add into the batter alternating with the flour
6. Add chopped walnuts
7. Fill the batter into prepared cups and bake for about 15 mins

Explanation:

• After preparing the ingredients, make sure you preheat your oven as the first step. It is vital for the oven to be preheated for some time before you begin to ensure the oven reaches the required temperature.



• Creaming means mixing the butter and sugar until white and fluffy. Originally you're supposed to pick up a tiny bit of the batter and feel it. If its still very sugary and coarse, its not done yet so continue mixing.



• Some recipes do not require you to beat the eggs, instead asks to pour in 1 egg at a time into the batter. Although more convienient, fats (in this case butter) do not like liquids (eggs in this case). They do not mix together and will curdle if not mixed properly. Therefore you need to slowly stream the eggs mixture in and mix well before adding the next.



• In step 5, alternating flour and milk in short means "pour in flour->mix->pour in milk->mix" and so on until you finish pouring both of them. This is to make sure all the flour and milk are properly mixed.



• You can add as much walnuts as you wish. But do keep in mind that too much of anything is never good. :) Although you can use pecan nuts instead of walnuts, I personally prefer walnuts because they give that "lemak" taste which really compliments the bananas taste.



• In this recipe, using bananas that are overriped (has alot of black spots) are the best because they are sweeter and the taste is much stronger.



• A tip to bare in mind is that you can actually mash up bananas that you have lying around and freeze it! You can then use it in your cakes and whatsoever just by taking it out of the freezer and leave it to room temperature. Freeze them bananaz in time! :)

If you have any problems making this recipe, do leave a comment and I'll try my best to help. Happy baking!