Hotteok 호떡 (Korean Sweet Pancake) - Baking with Tray ep. 8

Hi all!

Today we made one of my favourite Korean street snacks: Hotteok!! (호떡) often mispronounced as 'hotdog'..haha but there is a HUGE difference! Hotteok are sweet pancakes filled with an oozy melted cinnamon sugar and sometimes nuts.

They were such a cheap street snack that when I visited Korea a few years ago I ate one everyday!! I've yet to find a place in Australia that does it... (so if you are thinking of starting a food truck then there's an idea for ya!). 

I've made hotteok a few times (see recipe here) but this time I used a different recipe (uses milk instead of water and the addition of nuts). I think the texture was better and definitely going to add nuts in the future. Loved the crunch!

It might look or sound hard to make but it's not! Even can make it with a sleeping baby on you ^^

Hotteok (호떡)
Recipe by My Korean Kitchen

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups plain flour
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
cooking oil
Filling
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tbs crushed nuts (I used walnuts)

1. Sift the flour into the large bowl. Add sugar, salt, yeast and milk and mix together until a dough is formed. Cover and proof for at least 1 hour.
2. After dough has doubled in size, punch down the dough a few times with your fist to release the gas. Cover and let rest for another 20 minutes. Make the filling by mixing brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts in a small bowl.
3. When the dough is ready, coat your hands in some cooking oil to prevent the dough sticking to your hands. Form the dough into a rough log and divide into 6 dough balls.
4. Put one dough ball into your hand and flatten out. Put about a tablespoon of filling into the centre of the dough and seal the dough to make a ball.
5. Heat a frying pan on medium high heat and put about 1 tbs of cooking oil. Place one ball onto the pan (or more if you have room) and fry for about 30 seconds or until the bottom is slightly golden brown.
6. Flip pancake over and press down using the back of a spatula to flatten the pancake. Place lid on pan and turn heat to low. Cook for 1 minute.
7. Flip pancake one last time and cook for another 30 seconds - 1 minute. Remove pancake from pan. Cook the remaining pancakes.

These are best served hot! But just be careful not to burn your mouth on the melted sugar! Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Happy Baking!! Till the next episode...

Chocolate Soufflé - Baking with Tray ep. 7

Hello all!

Today we baked chocolate soufflé live on instagram! A bit sad because I don't know where the video saved...so if you didn't catch it.. sorry there's no replay! But here's the recipe :)

It's super simple and tastes light and fluffy! One thing is that you kinda need to eat it immediately otherwise it will deflate (but I'm sure it'll still tastes great!).

Chocolate Soufflé
Recipe adapted from Donna Hay

Ingredients
2 egg yolks
80ml (1/3 cup) milk
1 Tbs corn flour/corn starch
1 Tbs cocoa powder
55g (1/4 cup) caster sugar 
40g dark chocolate melts
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (*I used lemon juice)
20g unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 180oC. Brush 2-3 ramekins with melted butter and dust with cocoa powder. 
2. Place egg yolks, milk, corn flour, cocoa powder and caster sugar in small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until mixture begins to thicken (~3 min). As soon as mixture thickens, add dark chocolate and mix until chocolate is melted and mixture is thicker (~1 min).
3. Transfer to large bowl and refrigerate for 5 min to cool slightly.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar/lemon juice until stiff peaks. Remove chocolate mix from fridge. Fold in egg whites one third at a time.
5. Spoon the mixture into the ramekins. Run your finger 0.5cm around the edge of the ramekin. Place the ramekins on a baking tray and bake for 15-18 min or until risen. Dust soufflés with icing sugar and serve immediately.

These would be great for dessert for a dinner party (Once restrictions ease!)! You can eat it with ice-cream, whipped cream or a chocolate sauce!

Hope you guys try it out! Happy Baking :D Till the next episode...

If Jonah Can Bake POUND CAKE, So Can You! (Episode 3)

Hi everyone! 

Today I taught Jonah to make a simple but classic pound cake (saw it on Breadahead Bakery's IG Live tutorials!). His dad used to make a butter cake for him when he was young and I'm pretty sure it was a pound cake because when he asked for the recipe, the answer was.. equal amount of sugar, butter, flour and eggs. A classic pound cake has an equal ratio of butter, flour, sugar and eggs but this version has a few more ingredients added and a bit more butter to give that nice buttery flavour and texture. 

It's a really simple cake, made with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry! The flavourings you can add are endless too! Lemon, chocolate, vanilla... the choice is up to you! 

We made a sugar glaze to put on top because.. why not! Gives the cake a nice shine.

Pound Cake
Recipe from Breadaheadbakery

Ingredients
185g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
150g caster sugar
150g plain flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs (150g)
55g milk

Sugar glaze
40g water
60g caster sugar

1. Preheat oven to 180oC (mine was fan-forced) and grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper.
2. Cream the butter and sugar with electric mixer/stand mixer on high for 3-4 minutes until pale and creamy.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. 
4. Add the flour mix into the butter/sugar bowl and beat on high for 1-2 minutes until incorporated.
5. Beat the eggs and milk in a small bowl/jug. Pour liquid slowly into cake batter while still mixing at the same time. Beat until all incorporated.
6. Pour batter into loaf tin and bake for around 50 minutes or until golden brown and skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Place on wire rack to cool.
7. While cake is cooling make the sugar glaze by putting water and sugar in small saucepan. Heat on high heat until a rapid boil occurs and sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and brush over the cake.

If you want a taller cake then you can double the recipe or just use a smaller tin. We'll definitely be trying out this recipe again :) 

Happy Baking! Till the next episode...

Amaretti - Baking with Tray ep. 6

Hello again!

Can't believe we are up to episode 6 already :D wow! After the last episode's semi fail bake, I needed to bake something a little more simple to get my confidence back up! I have actually never eaten amaretti before but a friend baked some and it looked so good so I thought I'd give it a go!

Amaretti are a sweet almondy Italian cookie that have a crispy outside and a soft and chewy inside. They are actually supposed to be slightly bitter (from bitter almonds) but this is a sweeter recipe. Best to be eating with coffee or tea. They only contain 4 ingredients so hope you give it a go too!

Amaretti
Recipe from Breadaheadbakery

Ingredients
1 egg white (30g)
94g caster sugar
150g almond meal
pure icing sugar, for coating

1. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Pre-heat oven to 190oC (mine was fan-forced)
2. Whisk the egg white in a clean bowl (can you a manual whisk or electric beater) until soft peaks.
3. Add caster sugar and whisk until thick and glossy (~1 minute)
4. Using a spatula, mix in almond meal until it turns into a dough. 
5. Roll teaspoonsful of dough into balls (or you can make larger ones if you want). Coat balls generously in icing sugar and place on baking tray. (Don't be tempted to dust off extra icing sugar).
6. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and the tops have cracked open.

Loved the taste of my first amaretti and also was easy to bake :) You could do so many different flavours! Maybe next time I'll try matcha!!

Happy Baking :) till the next episode....

If Jonah Can Bake THUMBPRINT COOKIES, So Can You! (Episode 2)

Hi everyone!

My husband, Jonah, asked me the other day, "How did I become a regular baker on your instagram?" hahaha! Quite funny! Not sure how it happened because he was supposed to be a special guest and now he's a regular! But I think it's pretty cool. I get to teach him what I love to do and also get to see his progress!

This week he levelled up! Not only did he make the dough beforehand (so that with TV magic he could say "Here's one I prepared earlier.") but he also did some cookie decorating! He made these Thumbprint cookies (aka Raspberry Shortbread Cookies on a previous blog post) and filled them with different fillings. The cookie dough needs to be rested for at least 1 hour so make sure you plan ahead. 

Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients
113g butter, room temperature
67g (1/3 cup) caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
140g (1 cup) plain flour
Glaze
60g (1/2) cup soft icing sugar
1-2 tbs milk

1. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer until well combined.
2. Add vanilla and mix. 
3. Add half of the flour and either mix on low speed or use a wooden spoon to combine. Add the rest of the flour and mix until combined. If still dry, you can use your hands to press the dough into a ball. Cover with clingwrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 180oC and line 2 baking trays with baking paper. 
5. Shape teaspoonsful of dough into balls (If the dough is too hard, you can work it with your hands. The warmth of your hands should soften the dough). Place 1 inch apart onto baking tray. Using your thumb or the end of a wooden spoon handle, make an indent in the centre of each cookie. Fill with jam or any other spreads (e.g. nutella, biscoff). 
6. Bake for 14 minutes or until edges are lightly brown. Allow to cool.
7. Make glaze by mixing icing sugar and milk and drizzle over cooled cookies.

You can be creative with the fillings (maybe not vegemite haha) and the shapes :)

Happy Baking!! Till the next episode....

If Jonah Can Bake ANZAC BISCUITS, So Can You! (Episode 1)

Hello all!

If you have been following my live baking sessions on instagram (@bakingtraybakes) and the previous blog posts, you will know that 2 weeks ago my husband Jonah, was a special guest on a new series I was working on (Previously called: Blind Baking with Tray). After seeing the response, I decided to keep him as a regular and change the name of the series to: IF JONAH CAN BAKE, SO CAN YOU!

My husband isn't a baker... If you saw his interview with EJ (who asked, "Do you bake lots?" ^^) the answer was: this is probably my 3rd time! haha (the 2nd time was probably 2 weeks ago when he baked the chocolate cake!). So the premise of these live bakes is that if Jonah is able to bake these recipes, someone who is a beginner baker, then you can too!

ANZAC day was last weekend so we were a bit late to the baking of the biscuits! But better late than never right? :) 

ANZAC BISCUITS
Recipe from Adelaide Bakes

Ingredients
125g unsalted butter
40g (2 tbs) golden syrup (I used honey)
1 tsp vanilla
160g (1 cup) plain flour
100g (1 cup) rolled oats
100g (1 cup) shredded coconut
50g (1/4 cup) brown sugar
110g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup raw macadamias, roughly chopped (optional)
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
60g boiling water

1. Preheat oven to 160oC (mine was fan-forced) and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
2. Place flour, oats, coconut, sugars, salt and macadamias (if using) into a large bowl and mix together.
3. Combine butter, vanilla and golden syrup in a small saucepan and heat on low-medium heat until butter is completely melted.
4. In a separate small bowl combine the boiling water and bicarb soda. As soon as the butter has melted, remove from heat and add the bicarb soda/water solution. Whisk gently, being careful as the mixture will froth up.
5. Pour the wet mix into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix together until combined. Place in fridge for 10-15 min in the fridge to firm up the mixture for easy rolling.
6. Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls and place on baking tray allowing room to spread. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until evenly spread and golden. Leave the cookies on the tray for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookes will be soft when they first come out of the oven and crisp up as they cool.

These biscuits were nice and soft, yet chewy with crispy edges! Pretty much everything you want with a biscuit! Enjoy making them :)

Happy Baking! Till the next episode...

Basque Burnt Cheesecake - Baking with Tray ep. 4

Hi all! I've been wanting to make this cheesecake for a while now after seeing so many friends and bloggers make it. It seemed so easy!

It's supposed to be the easiest cheesecake you can make, one that breaks all the rules because there's no biscuit base and you are trying to burn the top!! Funny because when I made it, my top wasn't fully burnt U_U But that's because every oven is different! I'm still learning about my oven with every bake! Now I know where my "hot spots" are in my oven. Will definitely try and bake this again with this new knowledge =)

BUT! A few friends made it with me and it worked out perfectly in their oven :) So I hope you give it a go as well!

Basque Burnt Cheesecake
Recipe adapted from No recipes

Ingredients
250g cream cheese (I used Philadelphia)
100g caster sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
236ml thickened cream
15g cake flour (can use plain flour)

1. Preheat oven to 230oC and line 15cm round cake tin with baking paper. (Double the recipe if using a 20cm round cake tin).
2. Place cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Beat with electric mixer/stand mixer until soft and creamy (~2 min).
3. Add in caster sugar and beat until combined (~1 min).
4. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Add in vanilla, salt and cream and beat until combined.
6. Add flour and beat well until all combined.
7. Pour mix into cake tin and gently tap to allow air bubbles to come to the surface. Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes (really depends on your oven. Mine took 30 minutes). You will know when its ready when the top is a nicely burnt/dark brown, yet still jiggly in the centre. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Place in fridge for minimum 4 hours then remove from tin, slice and eat!

The texture was amazing!! Super light and creamy! The burnt portion added a nice flavour as well. One of my new favourite cheesecakes!!

Happy Baking!! Till the next episode...