Homemade Chilli Oil

Infused olive oils are fantastic for salad dressings, finishing off a pasta dishes or simply as an appetizer with chunks of artisan bread. It is also a great shortcut while cooking. And I love gifting friends little pots of these, makes for a fancy yet cheap present to bring to a dinner party.

You can try infusing the oil with fresh herbs (basil and rosemary are my favourite!) or spices (try pepper!). I'm going to make chilli oil today. Before you dismiss it, the oil is not going to be hell on your palette. The flavours are mild and it truly brings out any dish you incorporate it in. And I really wanted depth of flavour, which is why I opted for 3 kinds of chillies to infuse in the oil. The paprika and kashmir chillies bring out a beautiful colour while the Guntur chillies deliver the punch.

Ingredients:

1 bottle olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
2 dried Kashmiri chillies
1 tsp paprika powder
5 dried Guntur chilly

Heat oil gently on a low heat. Gently smash the garlic using the back of your knife, the garlic should be bruised but whole. Add this to the oil and then add the chillies. Let it warm on low heat for about 5 mins, until the oil changes colour and the chillies infuse into the oil.

Remove from heat and let it cool. Using a funnel pour the oil in a bottle. I quite like bits and pieces which is why I didn't use a sieve. If you don't like chunks of garlic or chilli flakes in your oil, I'd recommend running the oil through a sieve first.



Top it off by adding a whole dried Kashmiri chilly to the bottle and store in a cool dry place.

Fondant 101

Fondant...say what?

Fondant is a kind of icing frequently used to decorate & sculpt cakes. There are two kinds of fondant - poured & rolled. Poured fondant is more runny and its usually used to fill cakes. Rolled fondant is more malleable - resembles a dough - and is used to cover & sculpt cakes.

I have used only RTR (ready to roll) or rolled fondant so far.

Rolling the fondant:

• A clean smooth surface is essential while rolling and kneading fondant. Fondant picks up dirt and lint very easily, so make sure your hands and kneading surface is spick and span. I also cover the rolling surface with parchment paper just incase.
• Dust your hands and rolling surface with cornflour before handling fondant to ensure it doesn't stick.
• Knead fondant so that its soft & pliable before rolling
• Kneading icing is a little different from kneading dough. Treat your icing like play dough, keep folding it in until smooth & warm to use but does not stick to the bench.
• Use a rolling pin to roll like you would any normal dough. The ideal thickness is approx. 3mm. You don't want a thick blanket of fondant to over power the cake nor it be so thin that it tears at corners.

Storing Fondant:

• DO NOT store fondant in the fridge or freezer. 
• The same goes for cakes that are covered with fondant. Store in a cool dry place, but never in the fridge.
• Store leftover fondant by wrapping it in plastic wrap and then storing in an airtight container.
• Fondant should be stored in a cool dry place, away from direct sunlight.

FYI:

• Prior to applying the fondant, ensure your cake is lightly iced with a buttercream or ganache icing. You can also take jam and glaze it. In doing so, you are giving the cake a kinda glue to let the fondant stick.
• Fondant is a very unforgiving meduim. Make sure your cake is perfectly smooth. The fondant will magnify any imperfections.
• The icing dries out very quickly so its important to work quickly and give your cake your undivided attention. Delay will cause your icing to crack.
• If you aren't using the icing even for a minute, put it in a plastic bag or cover to avoid it drying out.
• If your hands are hot or moist, it will make your icing sticky and which in turn will tempt you to over use corn flour that will dry out your icing. Cool your hands under cold water and keep the use of corn flour to a minimum (light sprinkle should do).
• Never cover a cake straight from the fridge. Always cover cakes at room temperature.

Troubleshooting:

• If the fondant gets too sticky or soft, knead in a little icing sugar
• Sometimes when you cover the cake you might find some air bubble on the surface. With a clean pin, pop these gently and then smoothen with your fingers to cover the hole.
• Fondant usually tears when its rolled too thinly. You cannot re-use your fondant if it has touched the cake. My best advice is to cover up the tear with some kind of decoration.
• Fondant cracks if its usually rolled too thick. You can usually smooth away cracks with your hands or a smoother while the fondant is still soft. 

Baking Substitutes

Shared from: http://chasingdelicious.com/

Cooking Methods 101

Shared from: http://chasingdelicious.com/

All About Eggs

Shared from:http://chasingdelicious.com/

Conversions: Volume

Shared from: http://www.liveoriginally.com/

How To Melt Chocolate

You can melt chocolate in a microwave or in a bain marie or water bath. My personal favourite is the microwave as its minimal effort, quicker, needs just one pan and is less messy. Here are the fundamentals:

• Chopped, uniform pieces of chocolate will ensure even melting.
• Water is kryptonite! Absolutely avoid any contact to water. Water will make the chocolate unworable so ensure that even your spatula and bowl are completely dry.
• Do not over heat or the chocolate will end up becoming grainy

In a Microwave:

The most critical part of using the microwave is choosing the right container. You want a bowl that is microwave safe and yet remains fairly cool or slightly warm to touch. If the bowl is too hot for you to handle after microwaving, chances are it is too hot for your chocolate to handle as well. 

It is also preferred to melt you chocolate on a lower power setting as you don't want to burn it. Another alternative is to heat the chocolate for short intervals, and stirring between each interval.

In a Double Boiler:

This is the more traditional way of cooking chocolate. The biggest plus of using this method is that you can see the chocolate progress so there is no risk of burning it. You want enough water to provide heat, but not so much that the bottom of the chocolate bowl touches the water.