Fairy green pleasure Pistachio Almond Cake

Heehehe! I just cannot wait to post up this wonderful nuts cake as soon as I'm done! Another name just popped in my head << the Fairy Green Pis-Alm Loft>>

the story was :

I brought this pack of pistachios  at the indian store few weeks ago, wanted to make an indian dessert out of it. Going though my recipes collections for the indian desserts, usually having lots of nuts such as pistachios + cashewnuts & almonds in. ( woow! 3 of my favourite nuts )

However, that wasn't the case, i didn't really like much of indian desserts , too sweet!  I made this so called Mysore snacks from the Besan/Gram flour ( cuz GF free)  because the name sounds interesting  as the region of the yoga place. The  recipe is  simple too that  i can make it form scratch with the basic things in my fridge. ( maybe i should post this up for your interest next time)

Anyway...... cut the crap out, I have this left over packed pistachio nuts here and really really want to make something out of it.  Again , sweets baking!

So, I googled for the recipes, browsing through the pictures, this fairy cake images caught me in this flickl picts ,  read thru the recipe.  Very simple  +  recipe is by the River Cafe 's chefs,  ( i like it already! :> cos river cafe is 1 of the finest popular italian restaurant in london and i like Rose & Ruth's style of cooking , also women chefs )
Ahhhhh, talking about fairy cake is just so catch up the film trend Alice in the Wonderland right now , thou haven't been to cinema yet but i will very soon!

Personally, i don't like to read such a long instruction recipes.   Best is simple steps 1-6  points, then finished!
Too much details would make it more complicated , with a few proccess pictures is clear to see and follow. Everyone makes different outcome in the end anyway,  it's always a test when you try the recipe at first.
Besides, I like to use my creativity or imagination to make cake, it's like a magic!

The outcome was amazing! WOOW! first time i did follow throught  the recipe properly with the measurment cuz i don't want to screw up this cake!As always, I do my own way of cooking skills, this time i used electric mixer, hand mixed is fine but tiring.


I wanted to cut down 1 egg, but then i still follow through the recipe with4 ( still too much for me, but i think this really give the moist of the cake and pounding , as this cake doesn't have any baking powder & soda which is good !


Almond meal that  I brought already made instead of grinding my own . pistachio , i used hammer to crush them . So it's still nutty , not quiet completely fine!  ( i like bit of texture in the cake )


Muscovado sugar + honey !  I used both because i still don't want to use too much sugar, honey feels more natural! I really add soo much this time , as people found my cake aren't sweet often.   ( mum tasted this and she thinks this one actually too sweet for me taste.  Yes!  tiny bit, but it's fine!  i made this really for special people who truely loves and share food with me + my adventure cooking & baking)


Ok, Butter!   Woooww! 2 sticks 1/4. That scares me little really, when I put this in, my mind is shouting  out my Gosh!  This is so damn fatty, it's way to much of butter! No wonder why most of girls always complaining about  their fat figures when they like to eat lots of sweet dessert!
I really cannot be stingy about this, evethou i want to cut down the heavy butter. I would  just have  not to eat too much then for my digestion problem. But It smells so good when i mixed butter + vanilla + lemon peels!  ( next time, i would change to olive or grapeseed oil for healthier easy digestive version)

Ooohh, almost forgot about the flour, according to the recipe, I changed all purpose flour into GF mixed. I used buckwheat, rice & tapioca flour mixed divided by 40grams.

Lastly, for the humid temperature in HK, i baked this for 1hr and a bit more with 150 dregrees , just different oven here, do check the skewer  when the outcome is clean thou and that's done!

Right, I pretty much used of all my favourite ingrediants into this fairy cake, everything smells right and the lemoncello syrup! everything is made from scratch! This is  really my main point of cooking and baking!

I hope you all could really try this cake if you can. it's really a wonderful happy nutty cake! As if  the name for pistachios "happy mood nut" in cantonese/chinese.


Here is your recipe :


Pistachio Almond Cake
(Adapted from River Cafe Cook Book Easy by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers)


250g unsalted butter, softened (plus extra for greasing)
250g caster sugar
4 large eggs
1 lemon, zest finely grated, fruit reserved for another use
2 vanilla pods, seeds scraped, pods also reserved for another use
100g blanched & peeled almonds
120g blanched, shelled and peeled pistachios
40g unbleached all-purpose flour


For the topping
1 lemon
100g blanched, shelled and peeled pistachios
60g caster sugar


Notes: All the nuts should be weighted after they’ve been peeled. Also, the original recipe called for a 30×9x8cm loaf tin, which I didn’t have, so I adjusted the oven temperature and cooking time to fit my 26×12x8cm tin. If you have one of the long, narrow tins, just bake it for 45-60 minutes at 150°C the entire time.


Preheat the oven to 130°C. Line a loaf tin with parchment paper, and grease very well with butter. (The edges of the cake get rather crispy-crunchy – and delicious – but it also means they stick like a mofo so don’t skimp on the butter here.) Set aside.


Grind both types of nuts together in a food processor – they should be a fairly fine meal, but stop before it starts to get wet and clump together; set aside.


Cream the softened butter with the caster sugar until light and fluffy in your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, then beat in the lemon zest and vanilla seeds. Fold in the nuts, and sift in the flour. Fold until just combined.


Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes, then turn the oven temperature up to 150°C, and bake for another 30-45 minutes. The cake is ready when a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in its tin, on a wire rack, then invert onto a cutting board or serving plate.


For the topping, finely grate the lemon zest and set aside. Roughly chop the pistachios (you want them still in big chunky pieces). Squeeze the juice through a strainer into a saucepan, and add the sugar. Bring it to a boil over high heat, then reduce until thick and syrupy. Remove from heat, stir in the zest and pistachios, then pour over the cake.

Apple Turnover

I have a special requested by my beloved yogi friend, ( yes! Olivia Oshima ) who wants an Apple pie for once.. Since I 've been only giving them homemade  brownies, banana cakes, muffins, cookies stuffs like that, bringing  into my yoga centre and share these nibble goodies with them before and after tough asanas. It's always good to pick a liite sweet bites.


So last week, I picked up those reddish apples from my veg & fruit basket ( i have mixure of red ones, thought i know Graham apples would be better but it's hard to get in HK) were giving by visitors from Chinese new year.. Ok, it seems long time ago for CNY, but those apples aren't rotten yet.
I simply cannot finish off those apples and don't want to wasted them and throw away.  I would have to cook them and make some room for my basket. 


Althought, I was supposed to make an apple pie,  Apple Turnover came out instead at last. It was due to time consuming, plus I made this at work in lunch hour and got to take this pie to yoga around 6ish,  I would have to do this quick + baking time and still took me over 2 hrs in total proccess.
Personally, I don't like too much dough as a choice for dessert, this is why I normally don't order apple pie or buy them outside( either waste of money and too much sugar),   I prefer much more on apple crumble.  So the Apple Turnover came out in the end because I think this is rahter a nicer apperance, as you are able to see the fillings and seeing of what sort of ingredients you get inside.


2 hrs later, around 5.20pm, gotta rush and catch up my bus for yoga 6.30pm class, quick quick quick.....  ( i don't wanna miss this yin class )Ummmmm, smells great with cinnamon & rum.  I had to divided them into 9 pieces and packed these all up for my yogis... .. Phhheww!  the quick running and bit of traffic jam on monday, damn! i hate this, thank goodness as I just made into my class on time :)  and the turnovers were giving them after intensive asana classes.


Recipe :

This pie i used wholemeal flour for the base , sorry for not having accurate measurement, because i work pretty much on what i have got in hand  and my food cupboard). For alternative Gluten -free  dough flour,can be splet, buckwheat, rice flour, teff/ besan / chickpeas..etc. For non refined sugar choice, molasees, maple syrup,honey, malt syrups. 

for dough:
Wholemeal flour
water or milk, yogart, sour cream ( mixure of half & half as your choice)
pinch of salt
1egg (optional)  ( as sometime i ran out or vegan free diet )
2 parts baking powder & baking soda

fillings:
4 large apples  ( any kind you like )
saltanas / raisins
cinnamon/ nutmeg/ cloves ( optional) \
3tsp muscovador sugar/ honey  ( i mixed these2 usually )
lemon juice 
some Rum

To make  base :
1.Mixed with all dough ingrediants together and mixed with hands.( this time i didn't use egg but it helps of the raise and won't fall apart easily)


2.Cut apples into small pieces or thin slices, mix all other filling ingredients in other containers /large bowls .


3.Roll out the dough and placed it in a over container, press through with evenly for the base on the ovendish plate, the dough can be wider than the width of the container for the wrapping afterward. Then pour the apple fillings in, spread them evenly and wrap them up with extra dough over. This would not be completely covered up .


4. Set off to the oven for 1hr, bake in 180- 200 degrees. ( it depends on your oven ,as i used a small toaster version. Voilà!


You can serve this with ice cream or vanilla custard cream, warm & cold combination, it's great for fruit craved day .

Pratical Walking Routin

2tones&black balleriners (Repetto)/  Brown boots (topshop)/ black lace up boots (Givenchy)

                                                                                                                               

my "ratty" vintage repetto ( thanks to Chad tagged  me this)

Addiction  on Ballerina & Ankle Boots:


They are probably my favourite pairs from 2008-2010, I don't think I can live without my Repetto's Ballerina shoes. They are super comfy and stylish with playful colors, easy to match with every dress code when you feel lazy and rush out for appointmnets (as i'm always late), just slip in and walk out, you 've never get wrong with them.
My laceup boots are winter covered up for day & night look for vinatge and rock code.  
By writing this, my silver repetto is calling into my memory, they're very first pair that i brought in london 's ballerina dance shop in convent garden some years ago  2004/6 (it's already closed down ). Back then, I only paid 50 quit for this silver pair, usually it cost 100 somthing pounds. It was a bargain for me.


Untill now, I still love my silver ones because it has so much history of this shoe. it's shown how much of road you had been walk through, from cities across to countries.... Reason of why i start to write about shoes because I haven't seen many hongkongnese wear such old, rutty shoes on the street, most  of them do wear very new, latest trend copycat plastic shoes but they look uncomfortable and cheap.  (excuse- moi for this, lots of them are cheaply made and unstylish. I'm such a shoes addicted,  as you can define the differences between luxury made Laboutin & cheap version )


Anyway.... .from my observation, comparing to londeners or europeans, they like to wear old shoes more than the the chinese. This is to do with the culture difference and longing historical references.
If you walk around  london, you will see them in tube, markets, even clubbings, specially the youngesters. I supposed that London weather is rainy and dull most of the time, no point to polish your leather shoes unless you are bankers or meetings with your rich clients ......


Wearing  rutty shoes doesn't mean you are poor, I cried out for that when someone told me to get rid of the silver pair because they are really scruffy!!! OoO... specially in HK, people gave you a dirty look on this !! (=.=)  because you look like a beggar? That's why I think people have no idea of what is called vintage trend.  ( ok , the silver pair got peeled off so much by the humid weather condition here )


For me, I love pople whose wear vintage shoes, specially 50-80s styles, they caught my eyes instantly more than the flashy blink shoes. I observe their professions, their styles, their attitudes via their shoes, so much of story telling by not seeing their faces, just shoes! (guess this is due to my artistic imagination trainning)
In HK, you would rarely can spot them, the old ruin shoes,  most of the gals wear slutty shoes here (( OOohh Gosh)). I'd rather to put on my unflattering , scruffy shoes on better than those cheap slutty look......

Spring Florals

   

       

 

  

I meant to post this 2 months ago for 2cakes that I baked as for an experimentation. Often my friends think that  I like to bake cakes, fact is instead of making art, I change my direction towards to baking + photography ( my new toys : canon powershot S90).  The expectation and unexpectation of how the cake is raisen and fallen, it's an extraordinary natural forms of action.

This month I was craving something in black and white colors cake in my mind. For the first month of the year2010, I wanted something bit different fragrant & texture , bit twisted flavour with florals essence  into my cakes but still gluten free.  So, I decided to start with2 of my favourite cakes : cheese cake & chocolate fondant.

The light one is Tofu cheescake with lime & lavender, the dark one is meant to be a chocolate cake but it came out rather moussy , mixture with asian style sticky chewy rice cake. To be more precise, taste is rahter  like a Japanese red beans cake texture but not that sweet. ( accroding to my japaness friend cos she ate these 2 cakes )

Finally, my floral shirt is very much reflected on my inspiration and the mood of my baking day. Those little pinky, orangy, yellowish petals, soft & warmth, very happy mood indeed.