Opera cake

Opera cake is one of my favorite cake, it is very rich of chocolate with coffee flavor. Very good to have a slice of it with a cup of black coffee or tea.

One day I found the recipe and I was thinking that would be very difficult to make because of the preparation.

Yes, there are alot preparations and you should make 5 things separately. But it will be paid off when the cake is done.

The 5 things that you should prepare are:

1. Jaconde Biscuit/Almond Biscuit

    125 gr almond powder

    125 gr caster sugar

    30 gr flour

    4 yolk eggs

    4 white eggs

    25 gr butter (melted)

    20 gr powder sugar (icing sugar)

- Mix caster sugar and yolk eggs until creamy and fluffy (about 15 minutes),  add almond powder and flour, mix with low speed for maximum 5 minutes..
- Mix white eggs and powder sugar until stiff and mix with flour mixture.
- Add melted butter and mix it well with spatula.
- Divide into 3, and pour into tin bake (20X20X3 cm) and bake them for 10 minutes or golden.

2. Chocolate Ganache (filling)

    5 gr instant coffee

    200 gr dark cooking chocolate

    150 gr fresh cream

    75 gr butter

- Put fresh cream and instant coffee in a pan or heatproof bowl that stand over a pan of simmering water then add chocolate, still until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Add butter, stir well. Divide into 4 and put aside.

3. Coffee Buttercream.

    10 gr instant coffee

    2 tbsp warm water

    125 gr butter

    200 gr icing sugar

- Mix instant coffee and warm water, put aside.
- Mix butter and icing sugar until creamy and fluffy, add the coffee mixture, stir well and put aside.

4. Chocolate Ganache (glazing).

    80 gr darl cooking chocolate

    80 gr fresh cream

- Put fresh cream in a pan or heatproof bowl that stand over a pan of simmering water then add chocolate, still until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

5. Coffee Syrup.

    20 gr instant coffee

    150 ml warm water

- Mix instant coffee and warm water, put aside.

Finishing:

a.    Take one jaconde as first layer, spread with thin chocolate ganache (filling), put inside refrigerator for 10 minutes.

b.    Take out the jaconde from refrigerator, spread with buttercream (2 times from chocolate ganache) and put it back to refrigatrator for another 10 minutes.

c.    Take out from refrigerator, put the second jaconde for second layer, wipe with coffee syrup to all over jaconde.

d.    Repeat step a to c, until the last jaconde or last layer.

e.    At the last layer, before spread with buttercream, take the 4^th part of chocolate ganache (filling) and spread around the cake, then spread buttercream on top of the cake and put it in refrigerator for 10 minutes.

f.     Take out the cake and the last step is cover the top of the cake with chocolate ganache (glazing) and the cake is ready.

As I said before, to make this cake is taking a lot of times and patient. but it’s worthed.

Kabul, 24 October 2010

Kue kering (cookies) for Eid festival

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Eid is one of Islam festival, which in Indonesia is the biggest festival, when Jakarta is empty because almost half of the population go to their own hometown to meet their family, friends and also for holiday.

In this festival, normally people cook and bake a lot. Among of those cakes and cookies are “Nastar” (Pineapple jam cookie) and “Kastengel” (Cheese cookie). And this time I will put them on my blog.

Nastar:

    Pineapple jam:

    1 pineapple (grated or blended)

    100 gr sugar

    5 cloves

    ½ stick of cinnamon

    pinch of salt

Cook all ingredients until dry. Put aside.

    Nastar dough:

    300 gr flour

    1 tbsp milk powder

    2 tbsp corn flour

    50 gr sugar powder

    25 gr parmesan cheese (grated)

    3 egg yolks

    250 gr butter

    2 egg yolks (to wash)

Mix butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the rest ingredients and mix it using wooden spoon (no hand).

Take approximately 1 tbsp, round it and make a hole in the middle, fill with pineapple jam and close it. Shape it like half moon (or round).

Put on cake tray covered with butter and flour and bake for 15 minutes. Take the cookies out and wash with egg yolk and bake it again for 5 minutes or until golden brown.

Kastengel:

     125 gr butter

     2 egg yolks

     25 gr corn flour

     200 gr flour

     ½ tsp baking powder

     100 gr edam cheese (grated)

     50 gr parmesan cheese (grated 

     for topping)

     2 egg yolks (to wash)

Mix butter and egg until fluffy and add the rest ingredients, mix it with wooden spoon (no hand). Roll it for 1 cm thick and cut rectangle.

Put on cake tray covered with butter and flour, wash with egg yolk and put parmesan cheese on top.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

When I make Nastar, I run out of pineapple jam, I use the dough for another cookies, I called it “Blackberry Tart”

With nastar dough, same like nastar but fill it with blackberry jam and do not close it.

Enjoy cooking and have a great Eid festival with your family and your love ones.

Kabul, 25 August 2010.

Chicken and mushroom steam rice

After bored with same menu, beef rendang, for break the fast and early breakfast on the first week in Ramadan, I decided to make "Nasi Tim Ayam Jamur" - "Chicken and Mushroom Steam Rice"

-> Chicken and Mushroom
    1 chicken breast, diced

    15 button mushrooms
    2 cloves garlic, crushed with 5 cm
    ginger
    3 tbsp sweet soy sauce
    1 tbsp soy sauce
    2 tbsp oyster sauce


Saute garlic and ginger for 3 minutes, add all sauces and chicken breast and mushroom. Add 1/4 glass of water. Cook until the water absorbed.


-> Steam Rice
    1 cloves garlic, crushed
    250 gr rice, washed
    500 ml chicken stock
    salt 
    white pepper powder


Saute garlic, add rice, white pepper powder and salt. Stir for 5 minutes. Add chicken stock and cook for 30 minutes or 2/3 done.


Put chicken and mushroom at the bottom heatproof bowl then the rice. Keep continue until all chicken and rice have been used up.


Put the bowl in steam pot, and steam for another 30 minutes.

Enjoy cooking.


Kabul, 20 August 2010

Just dessert

Ramadhan, another excuse to invite friends to come over and having dinner together or just having some dessert. This first 2 evenings during Ramadhan, I invited friends to come over. First night I made"Potato Gratin" and "Pasta and Vegetables soup", second night I made "Beef Rendang" and "Mushroom and Vegetables". For dessert I made "Lapis Surabaya" and "Chocolate Mousse"

-> Potato Gratin:

    30 gr butter

    1 medium onion (sliced ring)

     500 gr potato (sliced)

     250 ml cream

     200 gr Parmesan cheese (grated, separate 1/3)

     salt and black pepper

Heat the butter on the pan and cook onion for 5 minute or until soft. Arrange the potato with a layer of the onion ring and cheese. Continue layering in this order until all potato, onion ring and cheese have been used up. Mixed cream, salt and black pepper in a big glass, whisk gently and pour the mixture over the layered potato and onion. At the end sprinkled 1/3 cheese on top and baked for 40 minutes.

-> Pasta and Vegetables Soup
    250 gr macaroni
    6 medium tomatoes (blendered)
    1 medium onion (chopped)
    500 ml water
    4 cubes vegetables or chicken stock
    1 can bean
    1 can sweet corn
    cooking oil
    salt and black pepper


Heat cooking oil on the pan and cooked onion until soft. Pour tomato and water into onion and bring it boiled. Add vegetables or chicken stock and leave it for 3 minutes. Pu the macaroni inside the mixture and cooked for 5 minutes. Add bean and corn and cook until the macaroni al dante. (I am sorry I don't have the picture for this soup).

-> Lapis Surabaya
    White cake:
    5 egg yolks
    3 egg whites
    75 gr caster sugar
    35 gr flour
    15 gr powder milk
    100 gr butter (melted)
    strawberry jam 
    
    Chocolate cake:
    (The different just flour mixture, the rest are the same)
    25 gr flour
    15 gr chocolate powder
    10 gr powder milk


Mix eggs, sugar until creamy and fluffy. Mix flour and powder milk (for chocolate cake, including chocolate powder) and put into egg mixture, folded with wooden spoon. 
Pour butter into mixture of egg and flour. Stir well and pour into cake tin covered with butter and bake paper. Bake for 15 minutes.


Make 2 chocolate cake and 1 white cake or the other way around and layered with strawberry jam in between.

-> Chocolate Mousse
    200 gr dark chocolate (chopped)
    3 medium eggs (separated)
    250 ml whipping cream
    2 tbsp alcohol (brandy, cognac, baileys - optional)


Melt chocolate by placing it in a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Whip cream until soft peaks form.
Gently whisk egg yolk with alcohol and pour into cool melted chocolate. Add spoonful of cream and egg whites and stir. Continue mix in this order until cream and egg whites have been used up and make sure all mix up very well. Spoon into serving bowl and refrigerate about 3-4 hours. You could serve the chocolate mousse with cream and sprinkled chopped almond or fresh strawberry.


Happy cooking and baking always.....


Kabul, 13 August 2010

Simple lunch and snack

In a lazy afternoon, sometimes you want to make simple meals. For simple lunch and snack you could make “Mie Ayam” (Chicken Noodle) and “Cakwe”

Mie Ayam (Chicken Noodle):

150 gr egg noodle (boiled)

1 clove garlic (crushed and poured with hot cooking oil) put aside

1 clove garlic (crushed)

½ onion (chopped)

2 spring onion

bunch of celery

250 ml water

250 gr chicken breast (diced)

2 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp sweet soy sauce

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 spring onion (chopped), additional

Sautee garlic and onion until brown add all the sauces and add a bit of water. Add chicken. Cook until done.

Vegetable stock: sauté garlic and add water, bring until boil, add spring onion and celery, salt and sugar

- Pangsit (flour cracker)

200 gr plain flour

Salt and sugar

Water

Mix flour, salt and sugar and add water gradually until become a dough. Knead well. Roll for 1 cm thick, cut square and cook until golden brown. Put aside

Mix boiled noodle with mixture of garlic and hot oil, salt and sugar on a bowl. Add chicken on top and sprinkle spring onion. Put pangsit on small plate.

In small bowl pour vegetable stock and sprinkle spring onion. Serve

Cakwe:

300 gr plain flour

5 gr dry yeast

2 tsp sugar

½ tsp baking soda

50 ml hot water

150 ml water

½ tsp salt

Cooking oil

Mix dry yeast with hot water, put aside until bubbled.

Mix flour, salt, sugar and baking soda in a bowl. Add mixture of yeast and water gradually until become dough. Knead well. Cover with cling and leave it for 20 minute and double size.

Roll dough ½ cm, cut about 1 X 5 cm. Put one on top of another and press with chopstick in the middle. Stretch and cook with hot oil.

Sauce:

3 cloves garlic

5 red chilies

5 tbsp sugar

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp vinegar

1 tsp corn flour (optional)

300 ml water

Crush garlic, chilies, sugar and salt (not necessary until smooth). Heat pan with water, put chili paste and bring it boil. If you use corn flour, add corn flour (mix with a bit water first). At the end add vinegar and put aside until cool.

Happy cooking.

Kabul, 3 August 2010

Brunch

Summer is another excuse for the expats in Afghanistan for a party, brunch or BBQ. And I did brunch, invited some friends to come over to have brunch with my home-made foods and cakes.

This time I made fried noodle with vegetables, beef teriyaki, baked aubergine and eggs, baked tofu. Also for desserts I made Devil Food’s Cake and Apple Pie.

Fried Noodle with Vegetables:

500 gr egg noodle (boiled)

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

1 onion (chopped)

Vegetables (carrot, cabbage)

Mushroom

3 sweet soy sauce

3 soy sauce

Water

Sautee garlic and onion until a bit brown, add all soy sauce and a bit water. Put all vegetables, cook for awhile. Add noodle and cook until done.

Beef Teriyaki :

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

1 medium onion (sliced)

1 kg beef (sliced and marinated with teriyaki sauce, oyster sauce, sweet soy sauce and sot sauce)

5 tbsp oyster sauce

3 tbsp sweet soy sauce

5 tbsp soy sauce

salt, sugar and white pepper powder

Cooking oil

Water (if necessary)

2 tbsp sesame oil

Put medium frying pan on medium fire, heat cooking oil, put onion and garlic, cook until a bit brown, add all sauces and beef. Cook until done. Add salt, sugar and white pepper powder. If to dry, put some water. Put aside from fire and add sesame oil.

Baked Aubergine:

1 clove garlic (crushed)

500 gr aubergine (sliced and grilled)

2 medium tomatoes (diced and cooked for 5 minutes)

1 tsp white pepper powder

100 gr cheddar cheese (grated)

Salt and sugar.

12 medium eggs

Arrange grilled aubergine and tomatoes on baking tray.

Mix garlic, white pepper powder, cheese (2/3), salt and sugar with eggs, stir well and pour to aubergine.

Put 1/3 cheese on top and bake until brown.

Baked Tofu.:

1 clove garlic (crushed)

1 spring onion (chopped)

600 gr tofu (mashed)

Salt, sugar and white pepper powder

2 eggs.

Sautee garlic, add tofu and cook for 5 minutes, add spring onion.

Put aside and leave it cool. Then add eggs, mix well. Put on baking tray and bake until brown.

                  Devil Food’s Cake:

90 gr cocoa powder (mix with 100 ml water)

225 gr butter

200 gr caster sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla powder

300 gr all purpose flour

2 sdt baking soda

1 tsp salt

200 ml milk

Mocha frosting

100 gr butter

50 gr dark cooking chocolate (melted)

2 tbsp instant coffee (mix with 2 tbsp water)

300 gr icing sugar

Mix butter and sugar until creamy, add egg one at the time and mix until fluffy.

Mix flour, baking soda and salt and pour to butter. Put on mix of butter gradually with milk. Stir well.

Pour into 2 baking tray (22 cm) and bake for 30 minute.

Mocha frosting, mix butter, chocolate and coffee well. Add icing sugar gradually. Sometimes you need more icing sugar than the recipe or less.

Put mocha frosting (1/3) on one of the cake. Put another cake on top and cover cake with the rest of mocha frosting.

Apple Pie:

- Pastry

  300 gr plain flour

  150 gr soft butter

  salt

  1 medium egg

  50 gr caster sugar

Put flour, butter and salt ona bowl and rub together until became fined bread crumbs. Break egg into separate bowl, add sugar and mix lightly then add to flour mix and mix until become together. Wrap the dough and chill for 30 minutes.

- Filling

  30 gr butter

  3 tbsp brown sugar

  ½ tsp ground cinnamon

  6 apples (peeled, cored and sliced)

  Egg washed

  Sugar, additional

  Ground cinnamon, additional

Roll out pastry and line a 23 cm flan tin, rest for 30 minute and bake for 5 – 10 minutes. Roll out remaining pastry to 25 cm (diameter).

Put on frying pan, butter, sugar and cinnamon and stir until melted. Add apples, cook for 5 minute. Pour into baked pastry and cover with remaining pastry, pushing down and crimping the edge. Make a small cross in center of the pastry to allow steam to escape. Brush pastry with egg and sprinkle with sugar and ground cinnamon.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool for 20 minutes.

For sushi recipe, please see from my previous post.

Happy cooking.

Kabul, 3 August 2010

483rd anniversary of my hometown Jakarta

Today is 483rd anniversary of Jakarta. One thing that always happens to celebrate is Jakarta Fair (PRJ). Used to hold in Monas, KM 0 of Jakarta but since few years ago PRJ changes the location in Kemayoran (old airport of Jakarta) where my parents live not so far from that area.

Jakarta Fair is always presenting old and new Jakarta, the cultures, products and foods. Kerak telor is the most favorite among the traditional foods in Jakarta and normally I only could find it during this event. Normally Jakarta Fair is held for 1 month during school holiday. It is like the must attending event for all people in Jakarta, they don’t care about the crowd as long as they could go there, either bny public transportation or by private one.

The other thing is “Ondel-Ondel”, a giant puppet which somehow scary for some children but it parts of Jakarta and it is a symbol of Jakarta.

I remember one song by late Andi Meriem Matalatta called “Lenggang Lenggok Jakarta” in its lyric said “bagai pinggul gadis remaja”, saying that Jakarta is just like a young lady’s hips, which everybody would like to stare and hopefully could touch it.

Jakarta is getting old now, more crowded, more polluted, hot and flooding. It needs the discipline from people in Jakarta to change this not only the government, but somehow it is not an easy way because still a lot of people lack of discipline and littering.

Despite of the crowd, the traffic and flood, Jakarta is still a magnet for people from other part in Indonesia to come and work there. For them it is a prestige and it is a symbol of success that they could live and work in Jakarta but not few of them are failed and become a beggar or do something illegally.

Jakarta… the city where I was born, the city where I went for study, the city where I fell in love for the first time, the city where my family and my friends live, do not give up with all bad conditions. I will still come to visit you from time to time. Happy anniversary Jakarta..!!!

Kabul, 22 June 2010

Afternoon tea and football match

The fever of World Cup 2010 is still in the air, that's why today I invited some friends to come over for afternoon tea and for football match (Germany vs Serbia, which won by Serbia 0-1), so I prepared coffee (coffee “solong” from Banda Aceh given by my friend Dewi Kurniawati - thanks Dewi...!!!), tea and some juices and of course with some cakes.

For this event I made puff cream (kue sus), cinnamon rolls cookies, apple cake and brownies.

I already wrote the recipe of apple cake on my previous post.

For puff cream: boiled250 ml water with 125 gr butter and ½ spoon salt then add 150 gr flour and knead well, put it aside until cool. Add 4 eggs one by one, knead well.

For cream, boiled 200 ml milk with 75 gr sugar, 25 gr corn flour and 1/8 spoon salt until bubbled. Took out from fire then add 1 egg yolk, still well and put it again on the small fire until bubbled again, put it aside. When its cold, put into a spit plastic bag.

Put some puff dough in plastic spit bag and spit on tray covered butter with snail house shape, after all dough finish, bake it for about 25 minutes.

There are 2 ways to fill the cream in the puff, first, made a whole at the bottom of each puff and spit the cream inside or the second way, cut half round the puff in the middle with scissor then fill the cream inside.

For cinnamon rolls cookies, 125 ml milk in the pot put on top of small fire with 125 gr butter, not necessary until boiled, just until the butter melted, add 75 gr sugar, still until cold. Add 1 beaten egg and the mixture of 1 teaspoon yeast and 50 ml warm water.

Mix the milk mixture to 450 gr flour and knead well and leave it for 1 hour.

Roll dough into rectangle spread with butter, layer with brown sugar, cinnamon powder and raisins. Roll up and cut for about 3 cm and put on the tray covered with butter until all dough finish.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until the dough become golden brown. Better to take the cookies out from the tray while still hot because sometimes the melted brown sugar will stik on the tray but you should take the cookies out very carefully.

For brownies, place 125 gr butter and 200 gr dark chocolate (chopped) in a pan or heatproof bowl that stand over a pan of simmering water, stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and add 250 gr sugar, 2 beaten eggs and 90 gr sour cream (you could substitute with yoghurt). Put the mixture aside.

Mix in one bowl, 185 gr flour, 30 gr cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda and 250 chopped roasted cashew nuts. Make a well in the center.

Pour the chocolate mixture in the well of flour mixture, using a wooden spoon and stir until well combined but do not overbeat.

Pour into cake tin covered with butter and baking paper or flour, bake for 35 minutes, just remember do not bake it until dry because brownies suppose to be a moist cake.

As usual, enjoy cooking and baking.

Kabul, 18 June 2010

World Cup 2010 fever

Maybe you will find it odd to read this article about football among my recipes.

Well…. FIFA World Cup 2010 fever is in the air, whether you like it or not all tv on the world will show the games and people would like to stay awake until morning just to see their favorite team plays.

Even the status of my friends on Facebook, mostly about World Cup but still there are some putting their status being annoyed by World Cup because they don’t like football at all.

Somehow funny to see my friend’s status or comment, a lot of pro and contra but that make whatever event on this world more colorful.

In this World Cup 2010, I almost watch all the games and I keep the points of each country on the table.

First I would like to apologize because I am not the expert of football, this is just from my point of view.

At the beginning, football is not my favorite game to be watched but it is getting interesting more and more especially the players technique are different for each country and interesting to see. It happened on World Cup 2006, after a few months I arrived in Banda Aceh and my office there invited all NGO workers to watch the final of European Championship 2008 together. From my point of view, World Cup and European Championship are the most fair and original football game compare with other football game, like League Championship in Europe or South America because all the player are the native of each country. In League Championship, one club could buy one player from another country. I don’t judge this as a mistake or wrong, I just see that in World Cup all players more showing their nationalism for their own country, but anyhow in League Championship the diversity of players make the game more interesting to be watched.

When I am writing this, it’s the 3rd day of World Cup 2010 even I don’t watch all the games or only partly, I think German team is the best team so far, their technique and team work is very good and very punctual to each player it proofed by beating Australia by 4 – 0. And South Africa seems a good host.

But there are still a lot of games until we find out which country will hold the trophy of World Cup 2010 on 10th June 2010. Like Italy which was the champion for World Cup 2006.

OK… for those who are the fanatic fans of football, enjoy watching each game and hope your favorite country will do the best.

And for those who don’t like football, just keep low and don’t get annoyed, let them talk about football and you can talk about something else that interest you. It is only for every 4 years.

Something else that happens is the habit when you watch game on tv, normally there are some snacks to accompany you beside your friends, maybe I could suggest to make your own snacks, like french fries, pop corn, spicy nuts or some sandwiches. It’s easy and much cheaper then to buy them and of course more fun to prepare, especially you prepare the snacks together with your friends.

Happy watching the games and always enjoy cooking.

Kabul, 14 June 2010