30 Nov 2012 by Crave Malay Mail

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ALL YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS Hang up the apron this Christmas season and enjoy the festivities in heavenly peace with these eat out options

Bubbly Cheer

On Christmas Day, cool down with the Bubbalicious Brunch at Prego, where you get champagne, fresh seafood and an array of Italian goodies. You can truly enjoy the celebrations, as the young ones will be out of your hair since they will be occupied with games, their own special buffet and ice cream cakes. The spread also comes with icy champagne slushies. Expect to fork out RM328++ per person for free ﬂow French champagne and selected alchoholic beverages. The brunch starts from 11.30am

If you prefer to stay at home, pick up a Noel Turkey from Lemon2Go. The Australian turkeys are available in some unusual pairings, such as Chinese influenced sesame Pei Par or even a tandoori style with briyani stuffing. For those who prefer the traditional ways, they also have the roast turkey with an apple sage or chestnut-raisin stuffing. The turkeys

EDITORIAL NOTE by Lee Khang Yi

Crave Editor

Christmas is upon us. If you walked in the shopping malls, the Christmas trees and lights are all blinking at us to enjoy the season. This time, we decided to let you have an early start to the season with our round up on where to eat and also to stock up at home, whether it’s a roast turkey or even the traditional fruit cake. We also speak to Anna Olson, the lovely Canadian chef on how she celebrates the festive season. Recently in our city for her Fresh Flavours tour, she shares two recipes for Christmas in our digital edition. Do give them a try, as they are absolutely delicious. Both of the dishes can be made ahead, perfect for the busy hostess. And with all those Christmas preparations, if you are hungry hop over to Al Diafah for some fluffy aromatic Mendy rice. We also visit Maison Francaise, the city’s latest French restaurant that has us wishing for more meals there. Just focus on the superb souffle, smoked salmon, foie gras terrine and the delicate Dover sole and you will have a beautiful meal there. Email me at khangyi@ mmail.com.my for any feedback. Have a fun time planning for Christmas. Cover credit: Courtesy of Sunway Putra Hotel (formerly The Legend Hotel)

ADVERTISING SALES Rajan Gopal Senior Manager, Direct & Classifieds Direct line: 03 74951282 rajan@mmail.com.my

Festive favou

to 3pm. The hotel also has a goodies takeaway treat such as roast turkey, honey hams and even roast suckling pig. Festive hampers can also be ordered packed with Italian panettone, amaretti biscuits and hotel-made items like stollen, gingerbread, Christmas log cake and mince pies.

It’s not Christmas without fruitcake especially the traditional Eurasian Sugee fruitcake. Over at A Slice of Heaven, the rich dense cake heavy with dried fruits was adapted from a family favourite. For festive cheer, the cake is packed in a gift box or decorated with fondant, making it a good gift for family and friends. The cake comes in two sizes: 8 inch square cake for RM288, and 11-inch square cake for RM448. A rich fruitcake

Prego, Westin Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. Contact Westin Dining at Tel:03 2773 8338 or visit westindining.com.my. for reservations.

Turkey on the go

come in four different sizes for RM300 onwards. In addition, you can also gift to family and friends personalized Christmas hampers stuffed with gourmet goodies. Impress everyone with a selection of almond and candied stollen, rich Christmas fruitcake, mince pies, chocolate pralines, gingerbread, candied and chocolate panettone. There’s even

Have a wonderful Italian Christmas

version is also a Gingerbread, ch fudge cakes and cakes decorated Christmas motif also available.

Pick up your cak A Slice of Heave Bangsar Shoppi Centre, Pavilion Lumpur, Jaya On race at Hock Ch and 47, Jalan Te Bangsar, Kuala The promotion s from December full details, see justheavenly.biz

Jolly fru

Tattinger Brut Champagne to pop and celebrate the occasion. The hampers are available in medium and large sizes, for RM450+ and RM750+. Lemon Garden 2Go, Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur. For reservations, call 03-20743546.

Swich Café’s fruitcake is jam packed with more than 10 fruits to give it a festive feel. The alcohol-free cake topped with buttery pecans, has a fudgy soft texture akin to Christmas pudding. Best of all, you discover melted chocolate chips within the fruits, such as mangoes, pineapples, cranberries and apricots. No wonder, Lim Cheng Cheng, the owner of Swich keeps the recipe close to her heart, as this may be the most yummy scrummy fruit cake ever. The cake can be

Christmas Cheer

Spend Christmas the Italian way, with Chef Andrew Blundy. There is no need to wait till Christmas day to celebrate as Blundy’s festive a la carte menu starts from December 1 to 31 for lunch and dinner. You get choices such as honey glazed duck breast, grilled rack of lamb with saffron barley risotto and roasted Norwegian salmon. Sweet lovers will be able to savour desserts such as chocolate glazed hazelnut mousse, honey pistachio and cinnamon parfait. On Christmas Eve, Chef Blundy will present a ﬁve-course set menu for RM150++ per person. Expect to indulge in poached coral trout with leek fondue for your appetizer. The mains is turkey and spinach roulade or the juicy braised beef short ribs. He rounds off the celebratory dinner with a warm Christmas pudding. Tosca, DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur. For dining resevations, call Tel:-03-2172 7272.

Celebrate with the hotel’s Sugar and Spice promotion. On Christmas Eve, there will be buffet spread for RM128++ per person (for food), RM188++ (inclusive of free ﬂow of house wines and draught beer). The bountiful spread will include chicken liver parfait with spiced pomegranate, cinnamon spice baked salmon ﬁllet with creamy spinach mayonnaise, roasted Canadian black cod on ratatouille and basil pesto, braised beef cheek with sweet blueberry BBQ glaze. For Christmas Day, you can also enjoy brunch from 12 noon to 4pm for RM118++ per person (food

only) and RM178++ (inclusive of free ﬂow of house wines and draught beer). Savour dishes such as rack of lamb with ﬁve spiced puy lentils and oven roasted duck breast with caramelized orange sauce and pear chutney. Diners for December 24 and 25, also stand a chance to win some wonderful prizes including hotel stays, dining and spa offers. Essence, Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur. For reservations, call Tel:03-27179900 ext 6933 or email restaurants. imperial@sheraton.com

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Celebrate with a spread of the season’s best offerings at the Coffee House for Christmas eve dinner, Christmas day hi-tea and dinner. There’ll be the festive must, roast turkey with a chicken apricot stufﬁng complete with cranberry sauce and giblet gravy. Or if you prefer the grilled beef striploin with avocado herb salsa, olive tapenade crusted salmon with braised red cabbage and corn salsa, or Valencia seafood paella. For desserts, enjoy a rarely seen item, the creamy eggnog sabayon. The sweet spread also includes Christmas pudding served with vanilla sauce, white chocolate macadamia log

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FRIDAY 30 NOVEMBER 2012

THE MALAY MAIL

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pre-ordered for 3-4 weeks in advance. A whole cake (6 inch square) goes for RM80. Two varieties are available, a lighter one and a deep dark version. Sample a slice of the cake for RM6.90 at the cafe.

Swich Café, M-01, Mezzanine Floor, Block B, HP Towers, 12, Jalan Gelanggang, Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur. Tel:0320115152. Open:8am to 5.30pm (Monday to Friday).

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cake, fruit cake, mince pies and pumpkin pecan pie. Those who enjoy local cuisine is also not forgotten with the Chinese, Malay and Indian counters. The Christmas eve buffet dinner is RM98++ per person, the Christmas Day hi-tea is RM60++ per person and the Christmas Day buffet dinner is RM88++ per person. Coffee House, Sunway Putra Hotel (formerly The Legend Hotel), 9th Floor, Sunway Putra Place, 100 Jalan Putra, Kuala Lumpur. For reservations, call Tel:03-40429888 ext 9032 or email dinesph@sunwayhotels.com.

Eat Drink & be Merry

Relish A Delicious Christmas, at all Delicious Cafes in Malaysia. E&O’s Group Creative Chef Steve Allen has spiced up drinks for a warm fuzzy feeling perfect for the year end celebrations. Sip on hot and spicy grape juice that is infused with ginger and chilli, or the mulled cranberry and apple, which has a bountiful of orange, lemon, cinnamon, cloves, chilli and ginger. For something creamy, there’s a minted hot white chocolate. Or go for something that rings in the season, a gingerbread latte with ginger, vanilla and cinnamon accents. Keeping us cool yet refreshed, there is also a cold drinks line-up like the Delicious festive iced tea, a refreshing beverage with tamarind, sour plum, lime, lemon and grenadine, and ice blended clove coffee. Not forgetting those who love thick smoothies, you can indulge in Chef Allen’s pear and cinnamon ice cream smoothie. The drinks are RM12.90++ each. Sweet lovers can also relish the delectable array of Christmas themed desserts, from France, Italy, The Phillipines and Chef Allen’s home country, England. Priced at RM16.90++, there’s a galore of desserts such as Bouche de Noel, the traditional log cake, a sticky yummy Christmas pudding and cranberry

The Canadian celebrity chef was in recently in Kuala Lumpur for a special Fresh Flavours tour under the Culinary Masterpieces presented by Asian Food Channel (AFC) and Berjaya University College of Hospitality. The friendly chef cooked up a series of dinners for two nights. This is the second instalment of AFC’s dinner series, following the first one with Martin Yan. Olson, who has 15 years of experience in the culinary field, has garnered many fans for her shows, Fresh with Anna Olson and Sugar. Olson who was originally trained as a pastry chef, admits a love for Malaysian food especially the flavour of fresh coconut. Following her trip here about two years ago, she even cooked up kaya with pandan extract in Canada. Olson loves to experiment with all kind of recipes, testing them multiple times to get them right. For her last trip to Malaysia, she even whipped up a durian mayonnaise to be paired with gourmet burger sliders, her most daring ever. Another indulgent experiment was folding puff pastry with foie gras, instead of butter to give it a rich taste.

Catch Bake with Anna Olson on Asian Food Channel (Astro channel 703) every Tuesday, 9pm.

and white chocolate panettone. Joining the Christmas line up is Bibingka, a Filipino Christmas dessert made from rice ﬂour, coconut milk, salted egg, cheese and Hawaiian coconut. Chef Allen’s version is lighter but just as addictive like the original. The cakes and drinks are available at all Delicious Cafes. You can also order the cakes for take-away. For details of the branches, visit www.thedeliciousgroup.com

HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS? Christmas is usually peaceful and quiet, with just close family, so there is usually about six or eight of us for dinner. I have a small family and my husband Michael has a big family (he is the youngest of seven) but they are spread all over. My background is Eastern European, so Christmas Eve dinner is an important meal. I will do speciﬁc recipes of my grandmother. It may sound strange, but there will a saukerkraut soup with mushrooms served with homemade dumplings for the ﬁrst course. Then, there will be potato pierogis (Olson served this for her last visit with beef tenderloin) and we have a course to start, that is almost like bagels, but we make it fresh and rolled in honey and poppy seeds. It is very carbohydrate heavy meal, so you need to have fruit after it. For Christmas, we do beef like a prime rib. I am not a turkey fan. Even on Thanks-

cial: Anna Digital Spetmas recipes ris Olson’s Ch stive holiday. for a fe mail.com.my See www.mthe link for

giving, we had seafood. We found out that for Thanksgiving, seafood is available at a great price while turkey will cost you a fortune. HOW ABOUT DESSERTS FOR CHRISTMAS? I love baking in Christmas. It must not be just one dessert, as I must have multiple desserts. I like sticky toffee pudding, just for the gooey warm dessert factor. Lately, I have been a big fan of Mont Blanc torte, with the meringue and chestnuts. That is very Christmassy and snow white, as I put a white chocolate cream on top. It is a stunning dessert to have on display. WHO DID YOU TAKE INSPIRATION FROM FOR COOKING? I took inspiration from my grandmother, a passionate cook. She would make dessert every day, and that was where I took a lot of cues from baking. We would make strudels together, stretching it out on a long table with apple ﬁlling, and using the tablecloth to roll it up. I took that excitement with me, and she would love to share her baking secrets. Because, she was an immigrant from Eastern Europe, she wanted my mother to be American. As she grew older, she realised no one knows much about the desserts, hence she spent a lot of time teaching me. Nowadays, my mother and I get together for one day of baking my grandmother’s recipes before Christmas. Then we will freeze it and bring it out for Christmas. IS THERE A RECIPE OR A DISH YOU HAVE YET TO MASTER? Bread baking is a real art and it

is one of the tasks if I haven’t done it for a while, and you need to get back into it. This fall, I have been to get my hands back into it. One of the areas, I also need to give time to practice and master is chocolate work like sculptures. All my kitchens in the bakeries were too hot, so I never worked extensively with chocolate even though I know how to temper chocolate or make truffles. For the real chocolate artistry, I need to go back to school. IN THE SHOW, YOUR KITCHEN HAS A LE CREUSET DISPLAY. JUST HOW BIG IS YOUR COLLECTION? It’s obscene how big it is, and yes I do have all the colours. You cannot fault the original flame coloured ones, but I do like the new Marseille blue. When you see Fresh the television show, that is my house it is filmed there, and that collection is all our stuff. We actually also collect vintage Le Creuset and go to old antique shops to source but we use everything. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU COLLECT? My other collecting passion is my Kitchen Aid stand mixers. I don’t collect them at once but I rotate them. I just got the latest colour, the Persimmon or a burnt orange. I am so happy as it matches my Le Creuset. With all the testing I do, I burn them out as they go after it has been going on for six hours a day. It is my excuse to replace them with another pretty one.

FRIDAY 30, novemBER 2012

THE MALAY MAIL

CHARMING FRENCH PLACE THE opening of Maison Francaise in the seclusion of Jalan Kia Peng fills up a gap in the Kuala Lumpur dining scene with its noteworthy French creations. The upscale restaurant housed in a picturesque black and white house is a charming oasis amid the hustle of the city. Its elegant black and white interiors make it perfect for romantic tete a tete or a pleasant break away from the busy rat race. Housed within the three-storey space is a cigar bar in the upstairs area and on the lower ground floor, the poolside with alfresco dining area ideal for parties. Chef Franck Lamache, who fronts the kitchen, prepares traditional French dishes with a flair that belies, his experience working in Michelin starred restaurants like Le Taillevent and Les Ambassdeurs. The menu offers French classic comforts. Think snails (minus their shells), sole meuinere, cheese, and soufflé. In both visits here, we were won over by the Foie gras terrine with onion and apple chutney (RM72). The terrine with its rich smoothness was sublime that we ended up eating half of the bread basket. In contrast, the Grilled foie gras with orange sauce served with crunched vegetables (RM98) failed to impress being a wee overcooked. Another appetizer that won our tummies both times, was the Homemade smoked salmon platter with mixed green salad (RM51). The lightly brined fish was well prepared with a moist texture and none of the dreaded fishy aftertaste. For a classic start, try the Roasted snails in Burgundy style, red wine sauce with fried onion rings (RM80). The snails were perfectly cooked to a tenderness

Mendy Rice with fried lamb

that marries well with the rich red wine sauce. Mains-wise, the winner was the French classic, the Sauteed Dover sole with meuniere sauce made with butter, parsley and lemon juice (RM123). The delicate fish is beautifully executed, with a light and moist taste. With so few ingredients, true cooking skills shine through. However, do take note that the imported fish is not always available, as it was missing from the menu when we went the second time. Adept skills also saw our Grilled beef tenderloin with green peppercorn sauce (RM118) being cooked to pink perfection. Even the Roasted lamb loin with Dijon mustard, bread crumbs and parsley (RM98) and Veal chop cooked in a saucepan with asparagus in porcini mushroom sauce (RM145) was beautifully prepared. One kink though emerged in our second visit, a heavier hand with the salt in our sauces that had us all reaching for a few sips of Evian water. The Seared scallops with parsley sauce and white truffle oil (RM95) suffered this fate with an over salted risotto, despite perfectly cooked scallops. But all was forgiven with desserts. The soufflé (RM35) is worth its 15-20 minute wait. It arrives on the table in its puffy perfection to a chorus of oohs. Five flavours are available: lemon, chocolate, Grand Marnier, passion fruit and vanilla, but our favourite is the passion fruit followed closely by the heady orange flavoured Grand Marnier. As you gingerly dig with your spoon into the frothy top of the soufflé, it’s perfect, since the delicate walls don’t collapse but each spoonful reveals soft cloudlike treasure. For the impatient ones,

the Home made pistachio ice cream with cocktail of berries (RM25) makes a nice light ending to the meal. Its festive colours make it ideal to keep you in the mood for the upcoming Christmas. Equally good is the Cheese tray (RM78), with its four selections of goats cheese, camembert, blue cheese and Pont L’eveque; matured to creamy perfection. The blissful desserts end a palate pleasing meal, that had us wishing for an encore of the meal. The pork free restaurant also offers a fantastic value two- (RM59++) or threecourse (RM75++) lunch from Monday to Saturday. We sampled hearty fare such as Chicken liver terrine with brioche, and Lamb stew with green beans. For Sunday, there is a brunch spread from 12 noon to 5pm for RM188++ per person. The menu also includes a fixed 3-course meal for RM188++, 4-course for RM258++, and a 6-course degustation menu for RM380++. Maison Francaise, 5 Jalan Kia Peng, Kuala Lumpur. Open: 12 noon to 12 midnight. Tel:03-21812484.

grilled beef tenderloin

roasted lamb loin

sauteed dover sole

grand marnier souffle

smoked salmon

foie gras terrine the elegant black and white dining area

Kabsa Rice with Lamb

Falafel

Baba Ghanoush

THE MAGIC OF RICE BY Eu Hooi Khaw

THERE are a few places in Kuala Lumpur where I would happily eat rice, and even come up for seconds. Al Diafah, a Middle-Eastern restaurant in Sri Petaling in Kuala Lumpur, is one of them. We had come for the Al Diafah rice with Mendy lamb, but it had sold out on the Saturday night we were there. So we settled for Mendy rice with half BBQ chicken (RM30), Kabsa rice with lamb (RM35), and plain Mendy Rice (RM8). It seemed like a lot of rice for the four of us, but at the end of the evening, the plates were empty! We added to that Fried lamb with tomato (RM40), Falafel

(RM14) and Baba ganoush (RM15). We had CS, an Al Diafah regular, explaining to us that the Mendy rice is cooked in lamb stock for the chicken, and the rice for the lamb cooked in chicken stock, with a little saffron as well. The rice was irresistible with separate, long basmati grains well infused with the tasty stock, and with a smoky aroma. Later I found out that the rice had actually been smoked with butter. It tasted so good with the BBQ chicken in a subtle spice marination. The chicken was moist and succulent. The Kabsa rice with lamb was delicious too. It had a dark orange colour that came from tomato cooked with the rice in a chicken stock, together with onions, nutmeg cinnamon, coriander,

turmeric, cayenne pepper and butter. Again the spices did not overwhelm; they were just enough to give it a light aromatic lift. We tore at the tender lamb buried in the rice, where the meat was aromatic with the spices. I thought we had made a clever choice in the Fried lamb with tomato served in a clay dish that went well with the plain Mendy rice. The cubes of tender lamb simmered in a tomato and chilli sauce with spices, was served with a sprinkling of fresh coriander. The sauce was tart, fragrant and lightly hot. It tasted wonderful. We had some light, puffy Arabian bread to dip into this scrumptious sauce as well. We had also eaten the bread with Baba ganoush – smooth, pureed

Inside Al Diafah

The lovely breads

grilled eggplant combined with tahini, garlic and olive oil. We loved the Falafel. They looked like brown mini doughnuts on the plate, with thin slices of deep fried eggplant. Made with ground chickpeas combined with spices like cumin and coriander and fresh parsley, they were delicious bites, at first crunchy, then slightly moist towards the centre, with fragrant bursts of spices. There are also other dishes like Moussaka, Kofta chicken, Shish

tawouk, Fish kebabs and Royal grilled prawns. Desserts include Baklava, Rice pudding, and Oom Ali. The restaurant has a glitzy Arabian setting, is set across two shop lots, with the restaurant upstairs and a shop downstairs selling all kinds of Arabian dates, desserts and spices.

Crave pays for all its meals and all its reviews are conducted anonymously.

Al Diafah, 43-1 & 45-1, Jalan Radin Anum, Seri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur. Open daily: 12pm to 10pm. Tel: 0390596237/90536239.

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Friday

NOVEMber 30, 2012

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1. The bu tter pastr yh proof. Ev en with th as a little shorten ing that m e heavy m a eat filling , you won kes it more wat 2. The ke ’t get a so y for a fla ggy crust ky pie do vinegar, a ugh p pp ens the g le cider vinegar, le astry is acidity. Yo lutens, th u can use mon or li m e protein white want too strands th e juice. The acid much of ity also s a glutens, a t bind the ho s it can p wheat flo roduce a ur. You d 3. Bring o to o u gh pastry. ut the ch illed pastr melts an y about 1 d the pas 0 minute try soften crack. s ahead, s. If you ro so the bu ll it straig tter ht away th e pastry 4. The fill will ing need s to be co not melt oled so w the butte hen you a r. dd to the pastry, it 5. You ne does ed to ven t the tart don’t get s b y cutting a gap be tween th holes to e pastry and the fi allow steam, so y ou lling.

TOURTIERE (8-10 SERVINGS)

This is a French-Canadian classic meat pie that is based on a steak and kidney pie. Even though it has roots in French Canadian, all Canadians make this for the Christmas season. Traditionally, the rustic country style pie is served with a side salad and a condiment like Dijon mustard and chutney. Anna

pastry 250g plain flour ½ teaspoon fine salt 110g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small dice 110g vegetable shortening 2 tablespoons lemon juice, chilled 6 to 10 tablespoons cold water filling 225g potatoes, peeled and diced 675g ground veal or beef, or a combination of both 2 onions, peeled and diced

personally prefers her pie with a little hot sauce. Every family has their own signature tourtiere, by adding their own touch to the ingredients. The meats are up to each family and there is no speciﬁc rule. Anna prefers her version with a mixture of veal and beef. But one staple is the all-spice in the ﬂavouring.

1 medium carrot, peeled and ﬁnely diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 bay leaves ¾ teaspoon ﬁne salt ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper ½ teaspoon crushed celery seeds a dash of all-spice powder a dash of ground cloves 250ml apple cider or juice 125ml water eggwash 1 egg, beaten and mixed with 2 tablespoons water

To prepare pastry: In a bowl, combine flour and salt together. Cut in the butter and shortening, until the mixture resembles a rough crumbly texture. Alternatively, place everything in an electric mixer and beat on a low speed to get small rough pieces of butter and flour together. Add lemon juice and water; blend until the dough comes together. Remove the dough to a flat surface and knead the mixture lights. Shape the dough into a flat disc and cover with cling wrap. Chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour in the refrigerator. The pastry can be kept frozen. Thaw the pastry before using. To prepare filling: Cook the potatoes in an uncovered pot of salted water, until soft and tender. Drain the potatoes. Mash the potatoes and set side to cool. In a large frying pan, saute the veal or beef over medium heat, until it is no longer pink in colour. Drain off the excess fat. Add onions, carrots and seasoning. Saute until tender, for about 10 minutes. Add apple cider or juice and water. Bring up to a simmer. Let the mixture simmer for about 15 minutes, until most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Remove from heat. Add potatoes, and mash to combine with the meat and vegetables. Cool to a room temperature. To bake: Preheat oven to 190C. Remove the dough from the refrigerator for about 10 minutes ahead. On a lightly floured flat surface, place the dough and cut it into half. Roll the dough into 2-3 mm thickness, rotating the dough as you roll. Sprinkle a little flour in a 23cm tart pan with a loose bottom. Line the rolled out dough in the tart pan without stretching the dough. Pack in the filling tightly. Roll out the remaining dough and place on top of the tart. Press down the dough to seal the edges. Cut a hole in the center to allow the steam to escape. You can also use any extra dough to decorate the top of the tart. Brush with eggwash. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the tart is rich golden brown colour. Leave to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan. Serve the tart with a side salad.

“When the pie dough hits the heat in the oven and you have these little pockets of butter and shortening in the pastry, it will melt in the heat and create steam that pushes the layers of ﬂour around it. This produces a tender ﬂaky pastry.”

FRIDAY 30 NOVEMBER 2012

TIPS

To prepare pate sable dough: In an electric mixer, beat the butter and icing sugar until you get a smooth consistency. Push the hard boiled egg yolk through a sieve over the mixture. Add raw egg yolks and vanilla extract; whisk to combine. Add flour and salt to butter mixture; stir until blended. Remove dough to a flat surface. Knead a little and shape dough into a disc. Wrap in cling film and chill for 2 hours or until firm. You can also freeze the dough up to 3 months. Thaw the dough in the refrigerator before using.

slices. On a lightly floured work surface, roll each piece into a circle about 5mm thick. Line 8 ungreased 10cm removable bottom fluted tart tins with a piece of the dough, pressing it into the tin and trimming away excess dough. Chill for 30 minutes, or until firm. Remove from the refrigerator, place on a tray and prick the bottom of each shell with a fork. Bake for about 18 minutes, or until edges begin to brown a little. Remove from the oven. Leave to cool on a wire rack before filling.

To prepare tart: Preheat oven to 160C. Unwrap the chilled dough and divide into 8

To prepare ﬁlling: Combine the cream cheese and brown sugar with a blender or an

THE MALAY MAIL

immersion blender. Add egg yolks, pumpkin puree, ginger, cinnamon and brandy. Blend until smooth. Pour the filling into cooled tart shells. To bake tarts: Preheat oven to 160C. Bake the filled tarts for 16 minutes, or until the filling has set around the edges, but it is still jiggly in the centre. Remove and leave to cool for at least 3 hours on a wire rack. Chill in the refrigerator. To serve: Remove chilled tarts from the refrigerator. Sprinkle a little sugar on top of the tarts. Use a butane kitchen torch to melt and caramelize the sugar. Serve immediately.

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TIPS

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1. The cookie crust dough can also be used to make cookies. Soften the dough with your hands a little to make it easier to roll.

PUMPKIN CRÈME BRULEE (MAKES 8 INDIVIDUAL TARTS) This recipe is Anna Olson’s pumpkin pie meets crème brulee combination. Instead of whipping cream for the crème brulee, she uses cream cheese in the ﬁlling so it does not become soggy with the tart shell. It gives a cheesecake texture to it but not over the top. pate sable 140g unsalted butter, rested until room temperature 80g icing sugar, sifted 1 hard boiled large egg yolk 1 large egg yolk ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 165g low protein ﬂour, sifted ¼ teaspoon salt

ﬁlling 170 g cream cheese, softened to room temperature 150g dark brown sugar 6 large egg yolks 160g pumpkin puree 1 teaspoon freshly grated young ginger ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 3 tablespoons brandy granulated sugar, for the brulee top

2. I learnt from a baker that made the best Linzer tart to add a grated hardboiled egg yolk in the pastry. This makes a delicate tender pastry that soufﬂés a little when it bakes. 2. Chill the tart dough in the refrigerator so it does not shrink when it bakes. Just before the tart shell bakes, you need to prick it so you don’t get the bubbles. This allows for expansion as the tart shell bakes.

ANNA’S F AVOURIT E TOOLS For Anna Olson, sh 3. The pumpkin puree can be tinned ec scraper a nd bowl s alls upon the hum or just roast them yourself. Anna craper as b tools are her favou le metal bench simple an roasts the pumpkins, cut in half rite tools d not exp not live w . “T ensive, b ithout the without seeds, face down on a tray. ut a pastr hese m,” she s bench sc y chef c a y ra s per has a . Accordin It usually takes about 30 minutes ing up do firm flat e g to Anna anu , the d g g h e and clean s for the pumpkin to be tender. Once an intere ing the su o it is great for pic s ti n krf g a ti ce. She a p, as she it is cool, peel the pumpkin and cakes. “P lso share uses it to u t th s is d e o c puree the flesh. n the orate flaw perfectly less flat side to cake wheel, spin it the frosti the gues swork ou ng on you and you get a 4. When you brulee, create thin t of it,” sh r cake th this has tw at takes e says o sides: a layers, by sprinkling a little sugar, tension o flat and ro . With the bowl sc f your ha raper, und one. nd that a then torching it. With this way, it “It is like mousse to ll o a w n s th exy ou to fold e bottom stays warm, and the sugar melts the egg w of the bo that choc hites and w o l, late w ithout bre easier so you don’t over torch the cream,” s aking do he says. wn dessert

“Since my last visit to Malaysia, I’ve become more comfortable using pandan. And that is a beautiful flavouring ingredient. I find that you use it like vanilla, in the chiffon cake and simple custard, so the flavour profile of the aromatics really comes through.”