Back for Classes! :)

After more than a year, I am back at Creative Culinaire for classes! The class on Day 1 was pretty short and the fillings were all prepared by the school. We had a demo by chef for the fillings but I thought it would be better if we had the chance to do it... I guess the focus is on the puff pastry, not filling... 

Class on day 2 was still about making puff pastry. We used pastry margarine to do it on day 1 but butter sheet on day 2. Again, the curry puff filling and apple strudel filling was prepared for us. We had the chance to do our own pastry cream though. And I love the apple strudel. Yummy! My friend and I were pretty apprehensive about handling the dough these 2 days but fortunately, we still made it!

Overall, I learnt quite abit from the class but somehow, I still have a lot of 'Why's after the class. I shall practise it one of these days and see how it goes...

Subway Cookies :D

This was meant to be my 2nd bake of the day but sadly, it became my only baking product for that day. My oven is breaking down... :( I was supposed to make tiger roll and I happily prepared the outer skin for baking at 200degC. After a while, my oven light started flickering. I thought it was ok as the light previously could not even be lighted. But... I realised the temperature actually rose to 220degC. And before I could rectify the temp, I saw the burnt product. Grr....

Strangely, when I was baking the cookies, my oven became normal again. Hope it is just throwing tantrum and not really breaking down. Anyway, the cookies turned out pretty okay. This was an attempt to make my favourite subway cookies. I like the combination of white chocolate and macademia nuts. But... they were too sweet and not chewy enough. The cookies could be made thinner in my opinion. Surprisingly, I had 3 fans for the cookies... so maybe it is worth sharing the recipe afterall...

The Recipe (adapted from the Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe in the book, Big, Soft, Chewy Cookies by Jill Van Cleave)

Ingredients (makes about 16 cookies)

125g unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar (can cut down)

1/2 cup caster sugar (can cut down)

1 large egg

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup cake flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped white chocolate

1/2 cup macademia nuts

Method

1. Heat oven to 190degC. Line baking trays with parchment paper.

2. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and both sugars until smooth. Add the egg, milk and vanilla and blend.

3. In a separate bowl, mix both flours with the baking powder and salt. Add to the creamed mixture. Stir in the white chocolate and macademia nuts.

4. Using either an individual 1/4-cup measure or a 2 ounce ice-cream scoop, scoop level amounts of dough and drop 2 inches apart onto the tray.

5. Bake until cookies are lightly brown and firm to the touch, about 15 minutes. Using a spatula, transfer cookies to a rack and let cool.

To prevent hardening, wrap each cookie individually in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to three days.