Banana Muffin

On one fine evening, Grace came out with the idea to make a banana muffin. I thought this was her old competitive spirit that come back after my successful venture with Chocolate Chip Cookies. "No", She said. "We just have too much stuff in the fridge that we need to finish before it expire". The fact is that, those stuff she mentioned is mostly similar to the ingredients of my Chocolate Chip Cookies.

She eventually made one a few day after. And what was called Banana Muffin was actually really everything-in-the-fridge mixed together. In addition to Banana, Grace put some oats, carrots, raisin, and almond. So much extra stuff added that the taste of Banana is barely noticeable.

The Banana Muffin

The mix adds to the richness of texture in the muffin. Most sweets come from the raisin, which is different from raw sugar. The oats and the almond add the crunchiness of different type, one is bigger, and the other is smaller. From nutrition perspective, these additional stuff add additional nutrient from any traditional muffin.

I was running in a race yesterday, and the muffin definitely made an additional after-race meal, in addition to companion of evening coffee.

SoHo Addict

In the world of sophisticated technology, no news means bad news. Nowadays, the wall of communication become more thinner, and being socialized through the net is the lifestyle. It was all started when my friend updated her twitter status by mentioning egg benedict she had for breakfast, continued with some sinfully dessert with relaxing Jakarta view from certain level.

Having proper or fancy breakfast always intrigued me. As a rusher on morning, I do not have breakfast at home since early child. But things went different when I’m outside. Morning breakfast at hotel or catch local breakfast in town or another city are always fun and worth to try (as long as it’s start > 8 – 9 am).

I can’t stop drooling thinking about her egg benedict, and when I cannot stop thinking usually I drag myself persistenly to the place. So, on one afternoon (well I still haven't gained my breakfast here) I spent the next 4 hours sitting here with my friends. All we did were ordering sinfully savories and desserts while seeing the icon of Jakarta, a welcome statue with water fountain.

Sweet desserts ordered were profiteroles with vanilla ice cream topped with blueberry sauce and sinfully crème brulee. All tastes nice and the chef did the right execution on presentation. On savories side, we have baked potato with chorizo and peking duck pizza. The potato somehow reminds me of chicken pot pie, but the peking duck pizza slightly tastes stench. I vote CPK better than this.

Homemade grandma ice lemon tea surely is the winner. My friend was crazy about this drink but she told me it was ice mint tea. The recipe should be simple but extra topping makes this drink extra fresh. Served on frozen highball glass, this ice lemon tea garnished with mint leaves and lemon slices, topped with lemon sorbet. You have to swirl the sorbet first with the tea to gained the new taste.

Another thing, i love the interior of this place. They designed it with warehouse/winery themes but it still feels lovely. Not mentioning the great view you'll acquire from their huge windows facing Bundaran HI. Also, the design is perfect for any time, either you have morning breakfast, cozy afternoon, or late night cocktail.

After long chit chat and exchange 'busy time' with my notebook, we left at 9.00 PM. 4 hours since late afternoon and I still feel happy. I'll try my best next time to have breakfast here, see if it's really worth to try :)

http://www.ismayagroup.com/socialhouse
Social House
Harvey Nichols - Grand Indonesia
Jl. MH. Thamrin No. 1, LT. 8
Jakarta Pusat 10320
Ph. (021) 2358 1818

08.00 AM - 01.00 AM - Bar, Winepost
08.00 AM - 10.30 PM - Mon to Friday + Sun (Restaurant)
08.00 AM - Midnite - Fri to Sat (Restaurant)

Quiche Lorraine : The Guilty Pleasure

I still remember the shabby old patisserie on one famous shopping centre in the old days where I used to hang around after school. This shop quite small with 2-3 round table for coffee cupping and usually deserted. People preferred to take away their pastry instead of sitting down and have chit chat. The display itself was my own feast -young girl with much appetite- : danish pastry with peach, plain croissant, fruit pie, chicken curry pie, strawberry danish, quiche lorraine, etc etc. But the “buttery” smell along the alley gave extra pleasure for me, like my cat when driven by her whiskas pouch dinner.

Instead of buying their famous croissant, I fell in love with the quiche. Small flan pastry, yellow tone with brown spots, the appearance made me drooling already. The creamy taste filling and ham strips combine with delicious outer crust pie made my first bite lasts forever until now. From that time, I used to search or scanned any quiche lorraine displayed when visiting other pattiserie or bakery shop. And I could not find any better than theirs. Some of the pastry maker now bake them unproperly, either too soft or too crusty. And the most intolerable thing: substitute proper cream.

In search of the original one, I pledge myself to explore the recipe from my cookbooks on shelf. Our first quiche turn into overcooked pastry flan. As written, gas marked on 180 C and turn out baking time extended to almost an hour with the overcooked result. We suggest you to set the temperature 200 or 220 C to speed up the process. The tricky parts lies on how to lining perfect pastry over the base. It is one of most important thing because if you failed, the cream mixtures will flow all over the base.

Quiche Lorraine

This open tart originated in the Lorraine region around 16th century. The name quiche come from the german word “kuchen” meaning cake. A quiche can contain many fillings but a quiche lorraine is traditionally made with cream, egg, smoked bacon and is considered a classic of french cuisine

Prep time - 30 min
Cooking time - 1 hr 5 min
Serve 4-6

½ quantity shortcrust pastry (separate recipe)
1 egg beaten

Filling

Oil for cooking
180 g smoked bacon, rind removed and cut into thin strips
3 eggs
Nutmeg to taste
250 ml cream
80 g gruyere cheese grated

1. Lightly grease a 22 x 3.5 cm loose bottomed flan tin. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of 3 mm and line the prepared thin. Preheat oven to moderate 180 C, bake blind for 25 minutes or until firm. Remove the beans and paper, and brush the bottom of the pastry with the beaten egg. Bake for another 7 min.
2. To make the filling, heat a little oil in a frying pan. Saute the bacon, drain on paper towels and set aside. Whisk the eggs with the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. Mix in the cream and strain throuh a sieve.
3. Sprinkle the bottom of the pastry with the bacon and cheese. Gently pour in the egg mixture until the pastry is three quarters full. Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until the filling is well coloured and is set. Serve hot.

Although we have to learn more to lining proper pastry crust, the taste resembles of guilty pleasure kind. Creamy, buttery, with legitimate smoky ham. Bon appetite!

Raise and Fall: Lusciously Classic Italian Tiramisu

Hello, I’m back now. And pleased to report no such satisfaction rebound once you complete the lesson you have started. All the hassles began with Le Cordon Blue recipe book series when we were looking for simply pasta and suddenly hooked on this tiramisu picture. How could you not fall for quick preparation time, and all you have to do is mixing, dipping, and chilling. So simple, eh? You bet, but there are always tricky step on every recipes.

On 1st attempt we mixed the whipped cream for quite a long time without really understanding the meaning of “stiff peaks”. There goes the blow out, cream separated into water and the whole mixture become crumbly. Oh well, no further choice, we’d have to taste it anyway since making a new one was far beyond expectations. Few hours chilling, and we scoop our spoon onto. Hmm, the taste was less awful than its appearance. Coffee, kahlua, sugar, cheese and broken cream were blended together.

On 2nd attempt, fear of another failure, I tried to beat the cream carefully and still have no idea of stiff peaks forming. Only when the cream began to rise I stopped the mixer and start fold the mixture at once. The result? It became very soft even after chilling. A big grin decorated our faces, now we have tiramisu ice cream instead the real one. Oh, who cares, the taste was still finger lickin’ good anyway.

The 3rd revenge took place last couple week after long pause. Still unsatisfied and wondering how to deal with “stiff peaks” after googling on trial and error suggestion from many recipes tested. Differences between raise and fall were as thin as hair. You just have to managed your eyes and dip your finger into the cream to make sure the stiff peaks have forming. And, your experience never lied then.

Now we have passed the exam and happy with the results. This classic recipe was definitely superior and indulged everyone, and we still promise to make another tiramisu. For our pleasures, or never ending satisfaction to create a good and fancy one.

Classic Italian Tiramisu
(From Le Cordon Bleu Home Collection: Italian)

Layer of sponge biscuits soaked in coffee and kahlua, rich mascarpone cream and a generous dusting of cocoa powder have contributed to the enormous success of this dessert today

Prep time 35 min + chilling
Total cooking time : nil
Serves 4-6

3 egg yolks
120 gr (4 oz) caster sugar
180 gr (5 ¾ oz) mascarpone
300 ml (10 fl oz) cream, for whipping
3 tbsp kahlua
500 ml (16 fl 0z) strong coffee (espresso required), cooled
36 sponge finger biscuits
cocoa powder, for dusting

1. Beat the egg yolks with sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is light. Add the mascarpone and mix well. Beat the cream into stiff peaks and gently fold into mascarpone mixture, then spread a thin layer of the mascarpone cream over the base of a deep 35 cm (14 inch) oval dish.

2. Add kahlua to the coffee. Dip the sponge fingers into the coffee, soaking them well. Depending on the freshness of the biscuits they may require more or less soaking, but be careful not too oversoak. Arrange a layer of sponge fingers close together in the dish – you may need to break them to fit the shape of your dish. Cover with another layer of the mascarpone cream, then another layer of sponge fingers, arranging them in the opposite direction to the first layer. Repeat the layers finishing with mascarpone cream. Smooth the top and keep chilled until ready to serve. Generously dust with cocoa powder just before sevring. Tiramisu is best made several hours in advance so that the flavours have time to blend before serving.



Our tips:

1. The recipe measurement was proven, so better stick to the recipe in details.
2. The whipped cream must be cold enough when mixed to avoid splitting. Better chilled first, but not frozen.
3. Be very careful when whipping the cream and forming “stiff peaks”. You just have to learn to notice, dip your finger to taste it. When you beat too much the cream will split into water and cream.
4. Some recipes would suggest non dairy cream or powder one for anti failure potion.
5. Do not tempted to use instant coffee. Have an extra worth miles by using fine espresso.
6. Do not dip the sponge finger too long otherwise your mixture will be very watery.
7. We use around 24 sponge fingers for the whole recipes.
8. Better serve the tiramisu next day ahead or at least chilled for 12hrs to acquire better taste.
9. Classic tiramisu usually served in glass, or thin dish. If you expect to make the fancy one like those pattiseries used to, search another recipe using gelatin for hardener.

Enjoy your luscious tiramisu!

Pondan Brownies Mix

I once made a very successful brownies, so long ago that I now forgot how it taste, let alone how it made. It was made with flour and melted chocolate, not with one ready mix flour that we use now.

In hope to recall the memory of the brownies, we bake the Pondan Brownies mix. Instruction is simple, should took less than 5 minutes to prepare, although it forgot to mention that, transferring the mix from mixing bowl to the baking pan took at least 5 good minutes.


Before putting it into pre-heated oven, we grated some cheddar, and put a generous amount of almond chunk on top. We maybe set a wrong temperature of the oven that the brownies feels so dry afterwards. It taste just sweet enough, slightly lack of chocolate. Well, at least it is good enough to satisfy the crave for brownies... until I found my good ol' recipe.

Chocolate Surprise

I was expecting some shipment from our partner when the reception called me at the office this morning. "A package from Clara", she said. I should be suspicious, since the person who contacted me wasn't Clara, but still, I'm surprised when the reception suddenly said Happy Birthday.

"How can she know", I thought while going to the front desk. My question soon answered when she point out a man with a big box written "Clara's Bakery". A cake cutter on top adds to my suspicious that it is a birthday cake. The sender was soon no mystery to me when I signed the receipt: Kiko. I smiled :D.


Clara's Bakery specialized in healthy food, specifically low calories food for diabetic. It use no sugar in its food, replaced with artificial sweetener. As a result, most of my colleague who tried the black forest love the less sweet taste of the cake. As for myself, I would prefer Kirch with more brandy, rather than what they use, probably to meet the low calorie cake. Beside cakes, it also sells low calories gelato ice cream.

Thanks Kiko for the pleasant surprise, you caught me this time :D.

Clara’s Bakery
Jl. HOS Cokroaminoto 52A, Jakarta Pusat
021 31908123

Pancake Never Dies

Who can resist this flat round dessert, with melting shiny honey and fresh-look of pineapple on top of it? Even better, it is so simple to make that people already start eating pancake since ancient time. Such simplicity and taste helped pancake to gain worldwide publicity; some places even has its own pancake day, where people eat pancake all day long.

Technology makes it even simpler to make a pancake. Ready-mix flour is available everywhere for lazy chef like me to start flipping it in couple of minutes. Just add water and egg, mix for couple of minutes, and you are set.

We use Pondan Pancake & Crepes Mix for our pancake last week. Vanilla fragrant spread instantly as we open the packaging. In no time, a pancake is served before us, topped with honey, pineapple sweet and dash of butter.

The pancake is firm enough, slightly harder when cold, but still enjoyable. As with the fragrance, taste of vanilla also dominates the pancake, blend perfectly with the honey and pineapple sweet. And the dash of butter made it a perfect dessert for the evening.

PS: When frying the mix, use the smallest flame you can get. Also, use a slightly larger non-sticky pan. I love to toss it in the air instead of flipping using spatula, and it is easier to do with slightly larger pan.

United Color of Loca! @ Kemang

If Benetton is identical with colors in fashion, then I would nominate this small establishment in Kemang for the colors in Cafe's industry.

Walk into their shop at Jl. Benda Raya 7A, Kemang in South Jakarta. The logo on the signboard is colored with fresh pastel color on top of black background. Once you walk through the door, an orange wall readily greets you as well as the reception lady. Too bad that they don't have non-smoking area available. Nevertheless, we took a corner table, from which we could observe people coming in and out.

A very helpful and knowledgeable waiter took our order: Strawberry Margarita, Loca Sunset, Panacota and Tiramisu. While waiting for our order, we quickly notice that the decoration on the wall also reinforce the focus of Loca! in colors. A photo on our right shows 2 boys wearing bright blue and red t-shirts, in front of green plastic chair. Another painting behind us is decorated in another pastel color.

Unfortunately, such wonderful ambiance is not followed with great drinks. My Margarita taste more to ice blended syrup, with little to none trace of tequila. Same case with the Loca Sunset, too much ice. Well, the name should be obvious; this is a coffee shop, not a bar. Probably should order a cup of coffee next time.

The food fortunately provide some relieve for the drinks. Tiramisu taste good, although us as Tiramisu chef-wannabe ourself always has some complaint: the lack of liqueur and the use of cake instead of ladyfinger. The Panacotta is great, not to sweet, and firm enough to be enjoyed.

As we finish the both desserts, we sip our drinks, and call ourself a day, a long tiring Saturday...

Loca! Coffee Plus
Phone: +62 (21) 78831979
EMail: loca.coffe.plus@gmail.com

A good review of this establishment with pictures is available in here (Bahasa Indonesia)