The key is good ingredients, especially the chocolate chunks. I use good couverture (cooking chocolate) mostly the dark one. Last weekend I use couveture I bought here in Budapest, didn’t buy the good one  (because the good one cost 6€ for 100g!) , the cookies tasted good… the kids and the moms love them but for me it tasted less than the usual …

Anyway here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 280 g all purpose flours, 1 teaspoon baking soda (Natron if you are in Germany), 1 teaspoon salt –> mix them well and set aside.
• 250 g butter/margarine, room temperature
• 200 g sugar ( I use brown sugar)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 350 g chocolate (chopped)

Directions:

Pre heat the oven to 190 C. Line your baking tray with baking paper .

Beat the butter and sugar and vanilla extract until creamy. Add the eggs. Beat until mixed well. Then add the mixed flour slowly. Mix them well. At last add the chopped chocolate and mix them with your spatula.

Put 1 spoon of the batter in the sheet, don’t forget to put a good distance because the batter will rise in the oven.

Bake about 9-11 minutes, take the tray out of the oven. The cookies will be a bit soft, let them in the tray for about 2-3 minutes then let them cool on a rack. Enjoy!

Kue kering coklat

Kuenya rasanya gak kalah dengan kue di Starbuck, beneran! Kuncinya adalah pemakaian bahan. Saya memakai coklat khusus untuk memasak yg berkualitas. Hari Sabtu lalu saya memakai coklat yg saya beli di Budapest, kualitas agak kurang karena yg bagus mahal banget (100 g harganya 6 EUR!), rasanya sih tetap enak karena laris manis langsung habis, tapi buat saya pribadi kurang mantep karena rasa coklatnya lain.

Bahan:

• 280 g tepung terigu, 1 sdt baking soda, 1 sdt garam –> campur dan sisihkan.
• 250 g butter atau margarine (sesuai selera), suhu ruangan
• 200 g gula pasir (saya pakai gula coklat)
• 1 sdt ekstrak vanilla
• 2 telur
• 350 g coklat (dicincang kasar)

Cara membuat:

Panaskan oven 190 C. Siapkan baki, lapis dengan kertas roti.

Kocok butter, gula dan ekstrakt vanilla sampai halus seperti krim. Tambahkan telur, kocok sampai rata. Kemudian tambahkan campuran tepung sedikit demi sedikit, kocok sampai tercampur rata. Terakhir tambahkan coklat, aduk dengan spatula.

Taruh 1 SDM adonan diatas baki. Jaga jarak karena kue akan mengembang begitu di panggang.

Panggang sekitar 9-11 menit. Keluarkan baki dari oven, kue agak empuk biarkan dulu sekitar 2-3 menit kemudian dinginkan di atas rak kawat. Selamat menikmati.

Bakpao came from Cina but the indonesian adaptions are usually bigger and the skin are not so damp like the one you see in the chinese dim sum. For me, indonesian’s bakpao is more like Dampfnudel in Germany.

There are many recipes and ways for bakpao, my  friend once told me her mom used to beat the dough to the table and for her it looked like a lot of works. I’ve tried and failed a few time until I finally found the ‘right formula’ for my bakpao (combinations from few recipes). It’s quite simple, I just have to be careful with what kind of  flour I use for the dough. The flour (all purpose) in Budapest is different than the one I used to use in Germany, so when we first move there were many trials and surprises in my kitchen.

Anyway, here is the recipe of my version of bakpao, hope you like it.

Ingredients:

6 cups (600 gr) flours (all purpose flour)

1 3/4 cups warm water (not hot!the rule is if you can put your finger in the water without crying then it is warm enough*lol*)

1 – 2 tablespoons sugar (depends on your taste)

1 tablespoon dry yeast

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 tablespoons (about 50 gr) shortening or margarine (don’t use butter)

For the filling:

Amara sometimes loves to eat bakpao with Nutella or Jam only. If she wishes that than I use 2 table spoons sugar for the dough.

Or you can use this: 250 gr minced pork (I use the pork belly, more delicious because all the fat), salt, pepper, spring onion (sliced), garlic (crushed and sliced) and onion or shallot (sliced thin). A bit oil. If you don’t eat pork you can used chicken instead or whatever you like.

Directions:

1. Put sugar into warm water and stir it until dissolve, pour the yeast then stir again. Let it set about 10 minutes until the foam rise. I know there are also yeast which says the don’t need water, I tried once but I didn’t like the smell of the yeast was so strong in the dough. So I just use the regular dry yeast.

2. Mix the flour and baking powder

3. Add the yeast mixture slowly to the flour, stir and then add the shortening.

4. Start to knead, I sometimes cheat and use a stand mixer, If it feels too dry you can add a little bit cold water. Continue kneading the dough until it becomes elastic, then cover it with a dry towel for 2 hours . My mom suggested the tupperware bowl famous for yeast dough – no need to cover it for hours, after about 15 minutes it will pop and the dough would be ready- do you know about that? That is not true, in my case I’ve tried several times and always failed. So it is save for me to say, just cover the bowl with a dry towel for about 2 hours.

5. Meanwhile prepare baking paper, cut them into squares about the size of the bun, we need this so the bun won’t stick in the pot. Prepare the steamer, cover the lid with a dry towel. It is important to cover the lid with a dry  towel because when the steam water fall on the bun, the bun will be moistly and won’t look good.

6. Prepare the filling: Put a bit oil in the pan, sauté the garlic and onion until fragrant, add the pork, season well and cook until done then add the sliced spring onion. If you like you can also add oyster sauce and indonesian sweet soy sauce.

7. Prepare a clean surface and spread it with a little bit flour. Knead the dough again and start make the bun. It is up to you how big you want to have the bun. Take a part of the dough, make it flat, put the filling in the middle and close it.

I found a direction to make the bun looks like a rose. I’ve tried and succeed. Here is the link.

8. Stem the buns for about 15 minutes. Serve them warm. Enjoy

Bakpao à la Ayu

Setelah beberapa kali mencoba dan gagal akhirnya berhasil dengan mengkombinasikan beberapa resep. Bakpao ini hasilnya kulitnya seperti bakpao nya pedagang dorongan yg hari minggu sering jualan di depan gereja Kotabaru atau Bintaran di Jogja (dulu jaman masih SMA, nggak tau deh sekarang masih ada atau tidak?). Beberapa kali saya coba dengan tepung merk berbeda warna kulit bakpao berbeda-beda, kadang bisa putih tapi biasanya kuning. Sejak di Budapest apalagi, karena kode tepung di sini beda dengan di Jerman sewaktu awal pindah sempat banyak gagal dan juga banyak kejutan di dapur saya

Bahan:

6 cangkir (600 gr) tepung serba guna

1 3/4 cangkir air hangat (jangan panas!ukurannya kalo jari masuk gak melepuh berarti udah pas *hihihi*)

1 – 2 SDM gula (sesuai selera)

1 SDM ragi kering/bubuk

1 SDM baking powder

2 SDM  (kurang lebih 50 gr) shortening atau margarine (jangan pakai mentega)

Untuk isi:

Amara suka bakpao isinya coklat (Nutella) atau selai strawberry. Kalau tuan putri minta isi manis biasanya untuk adonan saa pakai 2 SDM gula. Di Jogja biasanya bakpao manis diisi kacang hitam, saya kurang suka.

Bisa juga diisi dengan : 250 gr daging di cincang halus (daging sesuai selera, kalau saya lebih suka pakai daging babi bagian perut yg ada lemaknya), garam, merica, bawang putih (hancurkan dan potong halus), bawang merah (potong halus), daun bawang. Sedikit minyak untuk menumis.

Cara membuat:

1. Masukkan gula ke air panas, aduk sampai larut. Masukkan ragi, aduk rata. Diamkan kurang lebih 10 menit sampai berbusa dan naik.

2. Campur tepung dengan baking powder.

3. Pelan-pelan tuang adonan ragi ke campuran tepung.Aduk pelan kemudian tambahkan shortening/mentega.

4. Uleni adonan sampai elastis, bila terasa kering tambahkan sedikit air dingin. Menguleni adonan bisa juga dengan bantuan stand mixer, pakai kepala mixer untuk adonan kental. Tutup adonan dengan kain kering selama kurang lebih 2 jam. Mama pernah bilang untuk pakai tupperware yg khusus untuk adonan beragi, seharusnya dengan tupperware ini  tidak perlu tunggu 2 jam, begitu tutup bunyi pop dan membuka sendiri adonan sudah siap. Saya beberapa kali coba tidak pernah berhasil. Akhirnya paling aman ya cara tradisional saja.

5. Siapkan kertas roti potong persegi empat dengan ukuran sesuai besar bakpao yg diinginkan. Siapkan dandang, bungkus tutupnya dengan kain kering, supaya air tidak menetes ke bakpao agar tidak terlalu lembab dan lengket.

6. Siapkan isinya. Tumis bawang putih dan bawang merah sampai harum, masukkan daging, beri bumbu sesuai selera. Tumis hingga matang, masukkan daun bawang. Bila suka bisa ditambah saus tiram dan kecap manis.

7. Siapkan permukaan yg datar dan bersih, taburi sedikit tepung agar adonan tidak menempel. Ambil adonan, uleni sekali lagi dengan tangan agar elastis dan tidak lengket. Mulailah membuat bakpao dengan ukuran sesuai selera. Ambil sedikit adonan, ratakan, isi di tengah kemudian bungkus lagi. Saya menemukan cara membungkus bakpao seperti bunga mawar, sudah dicoba dan berhasil. Silahkan lihat di blog NCC ini.

8. Kukus bakpao selama kurang lebih 15 menit, angkat dan hidangkan hangat. Selamat menikmati

Bahan:

- 4 tahu besar dari toko asia (resep asli 6 buah tahu putih ukuran 5x3x3 cm)

- 600 gr fillet dada ayam (resep asli ikan tengiri)

- 250 gr udang, cincang halus

- 4 bawang putih, haluskan

- 2 butir telur ayam, kocok

- 150 gr tepung kanji

- 1/2 sdt merica, 1 1/2 sdt garam, 2 sdt gula pasir

- 2 sdt minyak wijen, 1 sdt kaldu ayam bubuk

- 1 batang daun bawang, rajang halus

- 1 batang seledri, rajang halus

Bahan pencelup, campur rata:

- 1 butir telur, kocok lepas

- 30 gr tepung maizena

- 50 gr tepung terigu

- 1/2 sdt merica, 1/2 sdt garam

- 150 ml air

Saus kacang, haluskan:
4 siung bawang putih, haluskan
250 gr peanut butter
1 sdt garam, 1 sdt gula pasir, 20 gr gula jawa sisir halus
250 ml air panas, 4 sdt cuka
(resep asli pakai cabe ditumis sampai layu)

Cara membuat:
Potong tahu jadi kotak2 kecil (kira2 5x3x3 cm) kemudian potong serong bagi 2 sehingga jadi segitiga, keruk bagian tengahnya.

Campur kerukan tahu bersama bahan lainnya.

Isi cekungan tahu dengan campuran adonan tahu tersebut. Sisa adonan tahu digulung bulat sebesar bola pingpong.

Kukus semuanya sampai matang, dinginkan.

Celupkan dalam bahan pencelup, lalu goreng dalam minyak banyak yg panas sampai kekuningan.

Sajikan dengan saus kacang dan kecap manis.