an understated kind of greatness

So it seemed that a little more than a month ago, I had promised that my first bake as an official missus would be a great one. It also appeared that I had somehow foreseen that the post-hiatus entries would possibly be non-baking related. Oh, how my heart is ridden with guilt as of now. Not that this bake isn’t great, mind you. Just that it’s not exactly mind-blasting (brownie points for those who caught the reference), and I shudder to hear sneering thoughts to the tune of i-can-do-that-with-my-eyes-closed, hence the disclaimer. And as for the highly curious who may not have been privy to my whereabouts the past month, feel free to drop by my photoblog for some shots.

Now on to the bake. Besides chocolate and cinnamon, another word that would almost always jump off any recipe page and grab me by my oven mitts would be ‘crumble’. Call it an obsession of sorts, but I’ve since perfected the art of adding a crumble to anything I could possibly lay my buttery fingers on. Add a crumble to anything, and you’ll have a dessert most people would find almost impossible to resist throwing their table manners off their Victorian-laced tablecloth for. And that to me spells the easiest and most fuss-free dessert not only suitable for any season (but fall, oh fall), the best part is its versatility to adapt to your primary choice of flavour, or in my case, whatever almost-gone-bad fruit I have. And while apple crumbles may not be ground-breaking, there is something much too comforting in having everyone just scoop out their own portions off the pan with their spoons. And in that split moment when you could actually taste the tang of the lemon bringing out the perfect tartness of the apples, interspersed with the warmth of cinnamon in every bite, you will come to realise that it might just be the most understated perfect bake after all.

a tribute to my superhero

It’s the first week of the fasting month, Ramadan, here in Singapore, and as always, baking takes a step back in my household during this month, while I concede to my kitchen maestro of a mother who fills up the dining table with dishes, both sweet and savoury.

I remember that even in my younger years, I’ve always marvelled at the fact that there will be a spread during iftar, our session for breaking fast, and it would almost always be executed single-handedly by the mother. And even in my half-eyed grogginess of waking up around 4 in the morning for our pre-dawn meal, sahur (suhoor), a part of me looks forward to seeing a fresh new array of dishes on the table, along with the six different warm glasses lined up by the kitchen counter (the drink of the morning would alternate between tea and Milo, a malted chocolate drink) waiting for my siblings and I.

I pretty much have always thought that my mother was quite the superhero.

Until now, that is.

of tarts, an award and a bake sale

It has almost been a week into Ramadan, yet today was the first that I actually brought something to the dining table for iftar, the meal we have at sundown to mark the end of the day-long fast. A typical iftar at our place usually comprises of a main dish prepared by the mother (noodles or rice), and several small bites on the side, such as sweet or savoury Malay kueh, or sandwiches of sorts. We normally have only one or two varieties of small bites, but end up with quite a few varieties on the table by iftar, thanks to the food exchanging culture we have amongst the neighbours and other family members.

The mother had been busy preparing all sorts of kueh and dishes for the past few days, so when she finally headed out to fetch the sister and the two nieces who were staying over for the weekend, I scrambled to contribute a lil something for iftar. Something sweet, hassle-free, and instant.

Enthralled and inspired by HHB’s use of instant prata to make sausage prata rolls, I made a batch of Portuguese egg tarts this afternoon using frozen instant prata. I loved the idea of using instant prata akin to frozen puff pastry, and thought it was a great way to use up the remaining packet of instant prata we had stowed away in the fridge.

Truth be told, I never had portuguese egg tarts before, but have heard of numerous raves from those who swear by them. I’m not a big fan of egg custard desserts, so I had my apprehensions; that it would be too eggy for my taste. Apparently I wasn’t the only one with apprehensions, as the family clearly had their doubts about the instant prata bit. These puffed little nuggets of egg custard, however, proved to be worth the try.

The prata puffed up to a flaky and crispy crust, while the egg custard caramelised at the sweet surface, hiding a layer of soft yet not runny filling. Next time though, I would be sure to fill the cups more so that they encase the top of the puff pastry even more. I knew that the filling would rise and puff up into literal balls in the oven, thereafter sinking upon cooling to give the characteristic sunken caramelised look, but mine turned out too shallow to even look half as pretty as those out in stores. These received the thumbs up from the household, and I foresee myself turning to this simple and instant sweet bites again in the near future.

(Recipe at the end of this post)