Next week, I will be sharing a very special recipe – a tart of sort. It will be a secret for now. In the meantime, I thought I will first share the basic of making pâte sucrée (sweet crust pastry) which I will be using for the tart.

I have two go-to pâte sucrée recipes. One is a lot easier and I like to use that for filling that needs to be baked, like my classic lemon tart and passionfruit tart.

This pâte sucrée is my favourite of the two even though it requires a few more steps, and the pastry is harder to manage especially on a hot day. But it’s worth the effort if done right because this pâte sucrée is more buttery, richer and crisper. Just like the ones that you get from a good French patisserie.

Lining the tart ring is still a challenge for me, but I think I’m starting to get the hang of it.

A tip for making this pâte sucrée- avoid making this on a hot day especially if you have little experience with making pastry. If the pastry becomes too soft to handle, put it in the freezer for a minute until it’s firm.

This recipe makes a big batch. My advice is to make the full batch, divide into portions, and freeze the portions that you won’t be using. It keeps well in the freezer.

Pâte Sucrée (Sweet Crust Pastry)
(Adapted from PS Desserts)

360 grams unsalted butter, room temperature, softened
150 grams pure icing sugar, sifted
4 egg yolks
50 ml cold water
500 gram plain flour, sifted
a pinch of cooking salt

To make pâte sucrée:
Place the butter and icing sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.


Mix together at a low speed until the icing sugar is incorporated into the butter and the mixture is smooth. Take care not to aerate too much. You don't want it pale and fluffy. This step should not take you more than a minute.


In a separate bowl, combine the 4 egg yolks and water.

With the mixer on low, add the egg yolks and water mixture to the butter mixture bit by bit. At this stage the mixture may look as through it has separated (see photo below). Don't worry, it will be fine once the flour is added.


Now turn off the mixer, then tip in the flour and salt. On low speed, work in the flour and salt until the mixture just comes together and is crumbly. Do not overwork at this stage as the gluten in the flour will activate and the pastry could become tough. This step should only take about a minute.


Tip the contents of the bowl onto a work surface. Working very quickly, gather the pastry together into a smooth ball. Divide the pastry into half. Pat each half into about 3cm half rounds. You don't want a big boulder otherwise it will make it harder to roll out the pastry. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled all the way through. (This pastry freezes well. Freeze the portion you don't use. Remove from the freezer and thaw overnight in the fridge before rolling out.)


Lining the tart rings:
Once the pastry has chilled (at least 30 minutes), roll out the pastry between two sheets of baking paper until 2mm (1/16") thick. For a larger tart, roll the pastry out to 4mm thick.


If the pastry becomes too soft after you rolled it out, freeze the pastry for a minute until firm but still pliable. Cut pastry large enough to line the tart ring. Ease the pastry into the ring, and gently press the dough to the corners of the ring. It is extremely important (and the hardest step) to make sure the pastry is perfectly flush along the corner and sides of the ring. Make sure not to make too much indentations with your fingers. Trim off the excess pastry. Prick the pastry with a fork.


At this stage, I usually like to cover the pastry with plastic wrap and freeze it overnight. I find that baking the pastry from when it’s completely frozen helps minimize shrinkage.

To blind bake:
Preheat the oven to 180C fan forced.

Scrunch up a piece of baking paper, straighten it out, then line the paper over the frozen tart shell (I prefer using baking paper to foil because it doesn't stick to the pastry as much.) Fill with uncooked rice all the way to the top. Bake for 18 minutes (or 25 minutes for larger tart).

Remove from oven, tip out the rice and remove the baking paper. Return to the oven for 5 - 10 minutes or until the pastry is golden.

This will be my last post for the year as I am taking a break from blogging until February next year.

For a bit of fun, I thought I will make mushroom meringues. I really enjoy making them, and they came out cuter than I expected. They will make great Christmas gift in a glass jar, or as decorations on Christmas log (Yule log or Buche de Noel).





Mushroom Meringues
100 grams egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch of salt (about 1/4 teaspoon)
100 grams caster sugar
100 grams icing sugar
30 grams white chocolate
Pink food colour

Preheat the oven to 120 degree celsius (or 100 degree celsius fan forced). Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper.

In an electric stand mixer with whisk attachment, at medium speed, beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Start to add caster sugar, a spoonful at a time, 3-4 seconds between each addition. It's important to add the sugar slowly at this stage as it helps prevent the meringue from weeping later. Increase speed of mixer to high, and continue beating mixture until stiff and glossy.

Sift icing sugar over the mixture, then gently fold it in with a big metal spoon or rubber spatula.

Seperate the meringue mix into two parts. Keep the first white for the stems, and the second with pink liquid food colour to a pastel pink shade.

To pipe caps, holding the piping bag upright and close to the baking paper, pipe the meringue with even pressure into round meringue disk.

To pipe stems, holding the pastry bag upright and close to the parchment paper, pipe the meringue with even pressure, into a cone-shape, making the base of the stem a little larger than the top. Try to keep the stems as straight as possible. Some of the stems may fall over on their sides during baking, so it is a good idea to make extra. Use a damp fingertip and smooth down the tip of the stems into a flat top.

Place the meringues into the oven and reduce the temperature to 110 degree celsius (or 90°C degree celsius fan forced). When you place the meringues in the oven, the initial slightly higher temperature sets their outsides. The lower temperature then dries the meringues rather than bakes them. Leave the oven on for 45 minutes or until the meringues are crisp and sound hollow when tapped on the base. Turn the oven off and allow the meringues to cool completely in the oven.

To assemble the mushrooms, melt the white chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave, stirring after every 30 seconds to prevent overheating. Dip the top of a stem in the white chocolate, and stick the chocolate-covered stem top to the mushroom cap. Place the mushroom on a baking tray to set, and repeat with remaining caps and stems. The stems can be trim down further by using a lemon zester if you have problem with having the caps sitting flat on the stems.

I call these “fluffy clouds” because this is exactly how I feel about these homemade marshmallows. They are so soft and light. I simply couldn’t resist cutting them into little clouds.

I noticed that marshmallows have been getting a fair bit of attention lately, appearing in magazines and blogs. There are even books dedicated to making gourmet marshmallows. Some even go as far as saying that marshmallows are the new cupcakes. I’m not sure if marshmallows will ever be the new cupcakes, but it is amazing the things you can do with marshmallows these days with all the different flavours.

Since I happen to have all the ingredients to make marshmallows, which is mainly sugar (lots of sugar), I thought why not. I have always been curious about the difference between homemade marshmallows and store brought ones. It is true. The homemade ones are way better.

For my first attempt, I decided to stick with the classic vanilla. I used vanilla paste because I love the little specks of vanilla seeds in the white marshmallows. They are like tiny stars, those vanilla seeds. Okay, I know I’m being silly now. You can use vanilla extract if you wish.

The cloud cookie cutter is from Herriot Grace. I brought it out of impulse earlier this year and it is my most precious and treasured (and expensive) cookie cutter. I absolutely love it. Actually I love anything cloud at the moment.





Fluffy Clouds (Vanilla Marshmallows)
(Adapted from Artisan Marshmallow)

Makes 25cm x 30cm rectangle tray

515 grams caster sugar
1 tablespoon glucose syrup
185 ml water, room temperature
70 grams egg whites (about 2 large eggs), at room temperature
2 tablespoons powder gelatine
185 ml water, cold
2 teaspoons vanilla paste or vanilla extract
30 grams cornflour
30 grams icing sugar

Lightly spray a 25 x 30 cm baking tin with oil, line the base and two long sides with non-stick baking paper and lightly spray the paper with oil.

Combine 460 grams of the sugar, the glucose and 185 ml water in a small, deep heavy-based saucepan. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and simmer, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 127°C on a sugar thermometer (this is the upper end of the hard-ball stage). Watch it carefully, as the syrup has a tendency to bubble up.

Meanwhile, slowly sprinkle the gelatine over 185 ml cold water in a shallow microwave-safe bowl and set aside for 5 minutes. Heat in the microwave for 30–45 seconds on High (100%), or until the gelatine has dissolved and the liquid is clear.

When the sugar syrup reaches 115°C, whisk the egg whites in an electric mixer with a whisk attachment on medium speed. When frothy, increase the speed to medium–high and gradually add the remaining sugar, whisking until thick and glossy. Keep the mixer running on medium speed.

When the sugar syrup reaches 127°C, turn off the heat. When the bubbles subside, carefully add the dissolved gelatine. (Take care, as the mixture may bubble up.)

Increase the mixer speed to medium–high and gradually pour the hot syrup mixture down the inside of the bowl in a thin, steady stream. Increase the speed to high and continue whisking until the mixture is thick. Add the vanilla bean paste or extract and whisk until the mixture is very thick and holds its shape, about 10–12 minutes, depending on your mixer. The outside of the bowl should almost be at room temperature.

Use a spatula to scrape the marshmallow mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the surface. Stand for 2–3 hours, until set.

Meanwhile, to make the coating, sift the cornflour and icing sugar together.

Dust the top of the marshmallow with some of the coating and turn out onto a clean surface. Dust the bottom with more coating. Use a variety of cutters or a large knife sprayed lightly with oil to cut the marshmallow into bite-sized pieces. Roll the sticky sides of each marshmallow in the remaining coating, dusting off the excess.

I find it fascinating and somewhat rewarding in making my own yogurt. Although I have to add that I am worried about geting food poisioning from it. Let's just say that I'm not comfortable sharing my homemade yogurt with anyone at the moment.

There are only two ingredient required for homemade yogurt- milk and natural yogurt. Yes, you need yogurt to make yogurt! Making yogurt is not hard, but it is a long process. It takes at least 5-8 hours for the milk to ferment and another few hours for the yogurt to chill and thicken in the fridge. I made my yogurt at night before I go to bed. When I wake up in the morning, I will give the yogurt a quick stir before putting it in the fridge to chill and thicken. By the time I come back from work, the yogurt will be ready.

There is a detail step-by-step tutorial at the Make Your Own Yogurt website which has some good information. However, I didn't follow all the steps from the website. I thought some of the steps are not necessary.

I like my yogurt with strawberry sauce and fresh fruits.

Homemade Yogurt
1 litre full cream milk
2 tablespoon natural yogurt (containing acidophilus bifidus or similar)

1. Pour milk into a saucepan and heat until bubbles appear around the edge (185°F). Do not allow to boil.
2. Heat milk for 15 minutes.
3. Cool milk until lukewarm (110°F). You should be able to hold your finger in it for 10 seconds.
4. Stir in yogurt and pour mixture into empty glass container/jar. Close lid tightly.
7. Wrap container/jar with bath towel and aluminium foil, and place in warm place to keep warm.
8. Wait at least 8 hours, then open container/jar to see if mixture has thicken.
9. Transfer to refrigerator after 8 hours to finish thickening.

Note: If you like thicker and creamer yogurt, you can strain it with muslin cloth over a colander for at least 3 hours. Steps on how to strain yogurt here.