Caramel Popcorn

I'm going to be honest here, I'm terrible at keeping this whole blogging thing going, It's pretty much been at least a whole month since I've last posted a blog because I've just been too lazy. I'm not even going to say that it is because I've been bust. Every since mid-sem exams have finished I've just done nothing at home. Apart from catching up on lectures that I've missed (I've still got a long way to go).

But since it is now the mid-session break I'm going to strike another deal with you. My one week of non-stop posting. I'll do another one of those this week. Starting today and ending on Friday. So you'll have 7 new recipes to keep you entertained and cooking up a storm in the kitchen for like 1 month, maybe 6 if you do a recipe a week. There isn't going to be any particular theme this time, but who knows it might come out of nowhere.

So are we all OK with this deal? One week of posts starting today :)

So the first recipe for this week will be caramel popcorn. Sweet goodness that melts in your mouth, keeps your fingers sticky and reaching for more and more until you hit the bottom of the container. Unlike the usual caramel popcorn I'm going to put a slight twist on this one. Usually it is just sweet, but this time I'm going to give it an ultimate sweet and savory twist by using buttered popcorn instead of plain. Stay tuned for more.

Ingredients
1 pack of buttered microwave popcorn
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
6 tbs unsalted butter
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla essence

Method
1. Pop the popcorn according to instructions on the bag.
2. In a saucepan melt the butter and then add sugar, corn syrup and 2tbs of water. Turn to medium heat and whisk until the mixture is a golden colour.
3. Turn heat off and add the baking soda and vanilla, quickly mix in.
4. Quickly pour mix over popcorn, and try to mix as well as you can without breaking the popcorn, Doesn't matter if it isn't perfectly mixed yet.
5. Pour mixture onto a lined baking tray and place in an oven pre-heated to 120C.
6. After about 20 minutes the caramel should be movable so use a spatula to evenly coat the popcorn mix in caramel. You can repeat this every 10 minutes until the popcorn is evenly coated.
7. When the mix is evenly coated, take it out of the oven to cool before storing in an air-tight container or eating straight away.

And there you have it, a sweet and buttery snack that you can have a home ready for a movie night or just a yummy snack to have all the time.

NOTE: If you want to make salted caramel popcorn you can all 1 tsp of sea salt into the melted butter mix to give it a slight salty taste.

I hope that this recipe will be enough to keep you satisfied until tomorrow because there will be more delicious goodness in tomorrows recipe.

Stay tuned for tomorrow guys!!

Cookbook and Apple and Rhubarb Cake

Hey everyone, it has been so long since I've last posted a recipe and I'm really sorry about that but I've had exams. The exams are now over so I'll be posting a recipe tonight. But before I do that I have some very big news to share with you all.

I actually submitted one of the recipes on this blog for a cookbook competition at my university and it happened to get accepted. So it seems that one of my recipes is now going to be published into a cookbook. For those of you that are wondering the recipe was the one for the Gyeran Bbang, it's simple, cheap, delicious and perfect for a student like me. There was a photo shoot and all that jazz, and they are even going to film the recipe so you can also watch a video of it. There is going to be a book launch and everything, so I'm super proud about this and I'm so happy to finally be able to share it with all of you! If you haven't seen that recipe before do have a look at it, it's super scrumptious.

Now to move on to the blog for today. today's post is going to be a simple feel good dessert. It is starting to get cold here, as we start May so I thought what's better than a good old apple and rhubarb crumble. Only today I'm going to change it up a bit and convert it to a cake.

Apple and rhubarb cakes are wholesome and warm and are the perfect thing to keep you going on a cold night, or even as the spring approaches because that's technically the rhubarb season. A bit of custard or ice-cream on the side and you have the perfect dessert.

Ingredients
60 g soft unsalted butter
380g brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
300g plain flour
1 tsp sodium bicarbonate
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 cup sour cream
grated rind of 1 lemon
250g chopped rhubarb
250g chopped apples
80g brown sugar, extra
1tsp ground cinnamon, extra
Custard or ice-cream to serve

Method
1. Mix butter and sugar in processor until blended.
2. Add one egg at a time, mixing well between additions.
3. Add vanilla extract and mix well. Sift flour, spices and sodium bicarbonate together.
4. Fold into egg mixture alternatively with combined sour cream and lemon rind.
5. Fold rhubarb and apple in using a wooden spoon.
6. Spoon mixture into a 23cm spring form pan lined with baking paper on bottom and sides.
7. Combine extra brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over cake.
8. Bake at 175C for about 1 hour and 50 minutes, or until cooked when tested with a skewer.
9. Cool in pan.
10. Cut and serve with a scoop of ice-cream or a generous amount of warm custard.

And here is the recipe for my version of an apple and rhubarb cake. I hope that you guys enjoy it, enjoy the weather and the fresh foods that are available at this time of the year, it is usually one of the best. 

I'll try and post more recipes up, until I have my final exams at least....so until the next post have fun, enjoy the sun but remember to stay healthy, safe and happy! 

Passionfruit and Orange Tart

So, it seems that it has been a while since I have last posted doesn't it? Well the reason for that is because school has started again so I can only really post on the weekends, and I have been quite busy these days..so that is why I am posting so late ><

Anyways, this is just going to be a short post so that I fulfill my weekly posting addiction. Today it is going to be a recipe on Passionfruit and Orange Tart. Spring is finally beginning to feel like spring in Australia, so I thought that I should blog about a spring/summer dessert to get us ready for spring.

The recipe is quite easy, so let's get started.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 cup icing sugar
125g butter
1 egg yolk
1-2 tablespoons of cold water
icing sugar for dusting
Filling:
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
300ml thickened cream
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup passionfruit pulp
1 tablespoon grated orange rind
1 tablespoon orange juice

Method
1. Process flour, icing sugar and butter in a food processor until mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Whilst motor is on, combine egg yolk and water until mixture forms a ball.
2. Lightly knead dough on a floured surface until smooth. Wrap in a plastic wrap and chill for 30 min.
3. Roll out pastry to line a 24cm flan tin, trim edges and pose base. Chill for another 30 min.
4. Cover pastry in baking paper, and fill with dried beans or uncooked rice. Bake at about 190 C for 15 minutes. Remove paper and beans and bake for another 10 minutes or until pale golden brown.
5. For Filling: Lightly whisk all ingredients in a large jug. Do NOT overmix. Pour into pastry case and bake at about 180 C for about 25-30 minutes until just set. Cool.
6. Chill and serve dusted with icing sugar.




And there you have it, a nice summer dessert that can be made now. I hope you guys enjoy that, and I'll try and post again next week.

Hwajeon 화전

Hey guys, here is another dish for this week. I'm kinda sad that I haven't shown you guys a spicy dish in a while. but for the past week I have been having stomach problems so my parents have forbidden me from eating spicy things. Usually I will show you guys what I have eaten, so once again this week it is not spicy.

But something else that I absolutely love is sweet things. So I'm gonna show you guys a sweet Korean dish. This one is quite unique, and I think that it is a really pretty dish. It is not that hard to make, there are only a few steps and if you do it properly it will turn out really nice.

The dish is going to be Hwajeon 화전, or sweet flower pancakes.It is a really great springtime dish to make, which is perfect for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere. I'm sorry for all of you in the Northern part though, I promise there will be something for you later on in this post.

The dish is actually traditionally eaten during hwajeon nori (화전놀이), a traditional custom held since the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392). According to this situation the dish is only eaten in spring, however it can also be eaten in the autumn as long as in-season flowers are used, such as chrysanthemum flowers. However it is then called gukhwajeon (국화전).

I think it about time the history lesson ended and I will start to show you how the dish is made.

Ingredients
Sweet rice flour OR glutinous rice flour
salt
water
sugar
vegetable oil
edible flowers

Method
1. Place 1 cup of sweet rice flour and a pinch of salt in a large bowl.
2. Add ½ cup of hot water little by little. Mix it well with a wooden spoon as you pour in the water.
3. Knead the mixture for 5 minutes.
4. Cut the dough into 12 pieces and roll each piece into a ball.
5. Cover the dough with a wet cloth so it doesn’t dry out. Set it aside.
Make syrup:
6. Place ¼ cup of sugar and ¼ cup of water in a small pot. Simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes, then remove from the heat.
7. Heat up a non-stick frying pan over low heat. Drizzle some vegetable oil on it (½ tbs).
8. Press each rice cake ball into a disc about 5 cm in diameter.
9. Place each disc-shaped rice cake on the pan and cook it.
10. When the bottom of the rice cake is cooked, turn it over to cook the other side. It will take about 3-4 minutes to cook.
*tip: flatten it out on the pan with a spatula to make it larger
11. Place an edible flower on the top of the rice cake, then flip it over so that the flower gets slightly cooked and sticks to the cake.
13. Cook each one and put them on a serving plate.
14. Drizzle the syrup on top of the pancakes.
Serve with green tea or rose tea.

NOTE:
There are a couple of points I want to point out about the dish
- It is important you only cook it right before serving
- Be careful about how much oil you use to cook it, it make turn out too oily if you use too much (the hwajeon in the first picture is a bit too oily)





I hope that you guys all enjoy the dish, it does turn out really pretty if you make it right. I hope that you guys have fun making it and eating it. And take care of your bodies because the weather is starting to change.

And now for the Autumn dish that I promised. Next week :) Look forward to it!

Spring Strawberries with honey and vanilla, Moscato d’Asti granita and whipped cream

I am so sorry for not posting, but I have exams and I am busy studying. I’ll post again in …..2 weeks. So this is just a really quick post as well. So, I’m gonna give you the recipe for Spring Strawberries with honey and vanilla, Moscato d’Asti granita and whipped cream.

Ingredients
100ml honey
50ml water
1 vanilla bean
1kg sweet spring strawberries
250ml pure cream
For the grantia:
375ml Mosacto d’Asti
60g caster sugar
375ml water

Method
You need to make the granita a day before you plan to serve it. Combine the Moscato, sugar and all the water in a bowl. Stir well to dissolve the sugar. Pour the mix into a tray. Put it in the freezer overnight to freeze solid. When the granita is required, simply scrape the mixture with a fork to form small ice crystals.

To make the syrup for the strawberries, place the honey, water and the split and scraped vanilla bean in a small pot. Bring the mix to the boil, stirring well. Place the syrup through a fine sieve. Allow the syrup to cool completely.

Hull the strawberries and place them in a bowl. Add the syrup and set aside to marinate for 30 minutes before serving. Whip the cream until soft peaks form and place in the fridge.
To serve, place the strawberries and some of the syrup in individual serving glasses. Add 2tbsp shaved granita and top with a dollop of whipped cream serve immediately.

Do take note that the grantia contains alcohol, so it is not suitable for young children. If you want to make it suitable for children, replace the Moscato d’Asti with strawberry juice.