Chinese chicken cocktail buns..

 Here goes nothing... 

After a few attempts at making these little delicacies I think it's time that i shared with you all. Firstly, Chinese chicken cocktail buns doesn't contain chicken whatsoever. 

The name came from the 1950's. The bakeries in Hong Kong didn't want to waste the leftovers so they invented a filling to go inside the buns so people would enjoy them more and be able to make use of what was left. Primarily, it came from the English term for a cocktail.. Mixing things together to create something new. Therefore, Chinese chicken cocktail buns is as it is using butter, sugar and coconut for the filling. Source: http://zh.m.wikipedia.org/zh-hant/雞尾包

These bad boys... Where shall I start? Yummy! It took me in total 6 hours to make a total of 38 buns. Including the time for the dough to proof and to bake in the oven. Thanks to Miss LSC who kindly helped me at the end otherwise it would have taken me longer to complete. Her reward was able to eat a freshly baked bun just out of the oven. At it's best. 

I knew these would be very welcoming hence the 38 but it still wasn't enough to go round for all the those I had in mind. At least I know those who got their hands on one enjoyed them. :) some even said they wanted more. You know who you are. 

For those who are interested in trying their own hand at his this then there is a link to YouTube for the video below and its how I learnt it. Not boasting or anything but all I do now is look at my list of ingredients. The whole procedure has been memorised. It may be worthwhile to check out other videos and recipe but this one worked for me. 

youtube video: http://youtu.be/mL6EfOYM5Y0

Ingredients

Bread dough:

500g strong bread flour

7g yeast 

50g caster sugar

15g milk 

50g margarine

250ml Luke warm water 

Filling: 

150g margarine

60g dry milk powder

60g caster sugar 

40g desiccated coconut

Topping: 

50g margarine

20g caster sugar 

3 tbsp plain flour 

2 tbsp custard powder

Remember to whisk up an egg to spread over the buns and sprinkle with sesame seeds before baking for the 2nd time. All instructions are in the video itself. 

Enjoy! 

Baby knits

It has been a while since I last blogged on here to share my thoughts and activities. This year has certainly been slipping past me without myself knowing. 

What have I been up to since my last post? After the epic failure, the next project(s) I have been working on are still work in progress. Finally, I have managed to complete at least one of them. 

Lets start off with the cardigan, Sirdar escape dk 100% wool. It was great to work with this as the pattern I followed was for a striped cardigan. I couldn't resist in using a self striping yarn. I was trying to use some of my never ending stash. 

The hat was just luxury to knit with. Thanks to Erika Knights British wool. I just used less than 25g to knit a 0 -6 months size. It was so soft and allowed me to have my dream come true of picking up a rather dinky ball of yarn off a shelf in Wool & Co, Dundee. 

Booties... The yarn used was bought from a few years back. It was a trip in Edinburgh, K1. The lady sourced from local farms. So it's a little bit rough looking but if I remember correctly it was Hayes Moss. 

I just LOVE knitting baby items. Please note, I'm not expecting. Its family members and friend. Baby stuff are all so dinky which means it requires less time to complete but it took me a while before I actually got round to sew up the pieces together. Now that I have the time I can plan and prioritise everything. 

Below are pictures of what I'm about to post to a friend in London. 

I hope the owner of these items will love them and get a sense for fashion at a very young age. Kaffe Fasset style. =) 

Epic failure

Never knew being a 'baking queen' the word failure would exist in their dictionary. Well, today it's made an appearance. 

It was such a pleasure to actually have one thing being filed under the failed department. Macaroons.... What an epic failure. I guess with this under my belt I will have room for improvement right? 

This first one is before it went into the oven to be baked. Pretty right? I thought I would have been able to get away without using a nozzle to pipe these monsters out... Wrong! 

Look at the next picture....

I couldn't even get one perfect shell off that sheet. Possible reason for failure? 

1. Lining the trays 

2.not keeping an eye on the time to open and close the oven door briefly. 

3. Missing out a few steps by mistake... 

Lesson learnt. 

However, taste wise - it was ok - maybe make the shells a little bit thicker. I couldn't let my voluntary guinea pigs to try them. Just one step closer they would have got them. Next time. 

Party Percy

Loving this wee elephant. 

This elephant has a heart breaking story - losing someone close is hard to accept. The wound will never be healed - only my Almighty God can bring me peace and be my comforter. 

This special wee person will forever have a place in my heart, never forgotten. He brought me a happiness that can't be described but it was I who gave up. 

Lgc pattern issue 50