MTR #3 - Crunchy Pickled Pumpkin Appetizer (爽脆腌南瓜)

We went to Eindhoven to visit a friend on the 11th November, a public holiday in Belgium. I told hubby I wanted to drop by Amazing Oriental, a dutch chinese supermarket chain which has several outlets all over Nederland, one of which is in Eindhoven. So we went there and I bought several things which I couldn't get in the nearest chinese supermarket near my house, one of which was the "elusive" sng muay or sour plums. Among my other "prized purchases" were 1 kilo of purple sweet potatoes, a packet of chai sum, a packet of baby pak choy, tin of Crisco shortening (you have no idea how difficult it is to find Crisco in Belgium), a packet of mango gummy candies, a 9-inch kek lapis aluminium square baking tin and a pandan plant with roots which has since died despite my tender love and care.

I bought the sng muay or sour plums specially to make this crunchy pickled pumpkin (or butternut squash) appetizer. I have seen several bloggers blog about this appetizer and I decided that I have to give it a try no matter what. I am glad that I tried it, it was really very nice, very crunchy and refreshing, and very addictive. It was all finished within a day, so don't ask me how long it can keep. :)


Recipe adapted from Jozelyn Ng of Spice up My Kitchen 

Ingredients
400g raw butternut squash (weight of 1 small butternut squash, after removing skin and seeds)
1 tsp sea salt
4 to 5 sour plums
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp sugar

Method
1. Slice the butternut squash or pumpkin thinly. Sprinkle salt over it and let it sit in a bowl for 10 to 15 min. Then rinse it with water, drain completely and pat dry.

2. Remove the seeds from sour plum, and cut into small strips, and add to the butternut squash/pumpkin. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon and add 1/2 to 1 tbsp sugar. Mix evenly and chill it in fridge for few hours before serving.

Notes:
You can use mandarin peel or chen pi 陈皮 instead of sour plum or even the sng muay powder for guava. Just anything sour. You can also use green thai lime instead of lemon. Amount of salt and sugar and lemon juice are according to your taste, pls vary accordingly. 

I am submitting this post to "My Treasured Recipes #3 - Taste of Autumn (Oct/Nov 2014)" hosted by myself, Miss B of Everybody Eats Well in Flanders and co-hosted by Charmaine of Mimi Bakery House

An InLinkz Link-up

Double Cheese Raisin Loaf (Bread Machine)

1st Attempt of Double Cheese Raisin Loaf

Today's bread is a double cheese raisin bread that I improvised. I have tried this bread twice again! Recently I dunno why I always have to try a bread recipe twice in my BM before I can get it right. Maybe bcos I am a perfectionist? Or maybe bcos I am very unlucky, LOL.

1st Attempt of Double Cheese Raisin Loaf

The first time was very successful, so successful it rose too high and at about 50 min left in my BM, I was thinking "HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM!". Again, I had to run to activate the "operating theatre" (my oven), and prepare the "ambulance" (which is myself) to transport the bread from BM to oven. And I was still happily clicking away on my camera, without realising that time was slipping fast and every single second that the BM was open, the bread was exposed to cold air and was sinking like Titanic! So the first bread sunk quite a lot due to exposure to cold air. Moral of the story, do not open the BM during 1st 30 min of baking when the bread is still rising! If not for the space constraints of the BM, it would have been a very nice and tall bread. I added 3 tsp of yeast instead of my usual 2.5 tsp as I thought the bread would become quite dense with so many ingredients inside. But the dough was less dense than I expected, it rose so high that my heart was palpitating and I was secretly praying that I didn't have to switch to using the oven, which I knew from experience there would be some degree of sinking if the bread were to be exposed to cold air, our room temperature being 20 degrees only. So when it was 45 min left in my BM, I took it out and finished it off by placing on the lowest shelf of the oven for about 25 min @180C.

1st Attempt of Double Cheese Raisin Loaf

For my second attempt, I reduced the quantity of the dough by 10% and reduced the yeast to 2.75 tsp but it still rose very high! Luckily, it was a false alarm, it didn't hit the top, but it was such a close shave! I let the bread run the full course of 2h 55min, but I think I should take out 5 min in advance. It was slightly not as soft as the first time, maybe because of the additional 5 min of baking.

2nd Attempt of Double Cheese Raisin Loaf (baked fully in BM)

Now this bread would be very nice if you choose the right type of grated cheese. The grated cheese I used is a "gratin mix" of Rigatello, Emmental, and Gouda from a local (Belgium) supermart, which turned out pretty bland in the bread. However, the shreds of grated cheese integrated nicely with the dough, and you can hardly see the grated cheese in the crumbshot, apart from the tell-tale signs of cheese in the crispy crust. It makes the bread quite soft even though this is a straight dough recipe, meaning no dough starter. There is also a small amount of philadelphia (original) cream cheese and some raisins. The sugar was reduced bcos this bread is meant to be more savoury than sweet. This bread is not salty at all. To be honest, this bread is not so fantastic, the first time I baked it in the oven, it turned out very good, but it did not taste as fluffy the 2nd time in the BM, so I have my reservations about it, and I am still thinking how to make it even better. But I am not gonna try a 3rd time to finetune this recipe further, as there are still hundreds of bread recipes for me to try out. So if you would like to try this bread, I recommend that you use grated sharp cheddar cheese in order to have a better cheese flavour, otherwise the cheese flavour is too subtle.

Key Ingredients - Grated Cheese, Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Raisins

So here is the recipe I used for my 2nd attempt, it rose very high and it nearly hit the top, I am just penning it down so I don't forget, but pls do not use this if you are living in a tropical country and using the same Primo/Tesco BM as me. 


Recipe for my 2nd Attempt
400g bread flour
190g milk
60g or 1 large egg
19g sugar
41g unsalted butter
41g philadelphia cream cheese
83g grated cheese
41g raisins
1 tsp salt (5.5g)
2.75 tsp instant yeast (8.25g)
Total weight of ingredients = 888g


This 2nd recipe that you see below is the recommended recipe which I specially calculated, a reduced version that will not rise so high and hit the top of any Primo/Tesco bread machine. If you are using oven to bake, you can choose either the one on top or the one below. This loaf below has been reduced by 10% in weight.

2nd Attempt of Double Cheese Raisin Loaf (baked fully in BM)

(This recipe is a recipe I created through a few rounds of testing. If you wish to share this recipe on your blog or FB, kindly link back to this post.)

Recommended Reduced Recipe specially for Primo/Tesco BM
360g bread flour
171g milk
54g or 1 medium egg
17g sugar
37g unsalted butter
37g philadelphia cream cheese
75g grated cheese
37g raisins
3/4 tsp salt (4g)
2.5 tsp instant yeast (7.5g)
Total weight of ingredients = 800g

(Note that 1 tsp salt = 5.5g, 1 tsp instant yeast = 3g)


Method in BM (specific for Primo/Tesco brand)
1. 1st add wet ingredients (this includes cream cheese), then add dry ingredients. Add salt and sugar at different corners, dig a hole in the middle and add in the yeast. Add the butter only after a rough dough is formed, about 5 min after kneading. 

2. Use "Dough" mode 30 min (run for 10 min and stop, start again and run for 20 min and stop), then press "Sweet" mode (light crust, 1000g or 2LB), the whole process of "Sweet mode" will take 2h 55 min. Total kneading time for the dough will be 60 min, of which 10+20 min is from "Dough" mode and 30 min is from "Sweet" mode. The dough must be kneaded until it can be pulled into a thin stretchable membrane (windowpane stage). 

3. Add in grated cheese and raisins at 02.22h in "Sweet" mode for a 1000g loaf, 2 min before the end of 2nd round of kneading at 02.20h.  (If you are using other brands, you can add in additional dried fruits or nuts when you hear an indication such as a beep sound by the BM.)

4. Continue to let the bread proof and bake in the BM until the end (I pressed stop to remove the bread 5 min before the end.)

Note that the operating schedule of "Sweet" mode for 1000g is as follows : 
- 02.55 to 02.45 (10 min kneading), 02.45 to 02.40 (5 min rest), 02.40 to 02.20 (20 min kneading), 02.20 to 02.00 (20 min rest), 02.00 (punch down/de-gas), 02.00 to 01.00 (final proofing), 01.00 to 0.00 (baking).

For 700g, it is as follows:

- 02.50 to 02.40 (10 min kneading), 02.40 to 02.35 (5 min rest), 02.35 to 02.15 (20 min kneading), 02.15 to 01.55 (20 min rest), 01.55 (punch down/de-gas), 01.55 to 00.55 (final proofing), 00.55 to 0.00 (baking).

PS : Pls note that the method stated above applies only for my Primo BM, pls do not ask me to advise for other BMs. You are advised to use your own judgement in choosing the appropriate program on your BM. 

2nd Attempt of Double Cheese Raisin Loaf (baked fully in BM)

Method in Oven
1. Use BM or stand-mixer to knead until thin stretchable membrane. (If you are using stand-mixer with dough hook rather than BM, pls note that the time taken for kneading will be significantly less.)
2. Cover and proof for 60 min in a warm place or until doubled in volume (1st proofing).
3. Punch down to release gas, then rest for 10 min covered.
4. Add in the grated cheese and raisins and knead for a while to make sure everything is well incorporated. Divide the dough into 2 portions, roll up each dough as a swiss roll and place it in a greased 450g pullman tin (you will need 2 of such pullman tins as this will make 2 loaves). Cover and proof for 60 min in a warm place or until doubled in volume (2nd proofing).
5. Apply egg wash on top and bake in preheated oven at 180C for about 30 min. 

2nd Attempt of Double Cheese Raisin Loaf (baked fully in BM)

I am submitting this to Best Recipes for Everyone November Event : Fresh from Oven ~ My Bread Story hosted by Fion.

MTR #3 - Healthy Fruit Yoghurt Bread with Cranberries and Oats

This is a bread that a baking friend shared with me and told me to try it because she made it successfully and it was so good, I took her advice and indeed it was very good. The bread was so fragrant while it was still baking in the BM, there was a sweet smell of fruit yoghurt wafting in the air. Ironically, it smelled like Yakult although I was using mixed fruit yoghurt. The original bread was a Yakult loaf bread baked in a Panasonic bread machine, but because I couldn't find Yakult, (I have never seen it in Colruyt but Delhaize may have it), I decided to use 2 packets of fruit yoghurt topped up with full-cream milk as a replacement for Yakult. I extrapolated the recipe based on bakers' percentage so that everything remains in the right proportions. However I find the yeast and salt amount a little too high after extrapolation, so I decided to cut down on both, using 3 tsp of yeast and 1.5 tsp of salt respectively. But it was still a little too salty for my liking, so I am gonna recommend that you use the yeast and salt amounts which I usually use for my 900+ gram BM breads, which is 2.5 tsp of yeast and 1 tsp of salt.

Although this is a straight dough bread that does not require any dough starters, but the result is very soft and fluffy due to the presence of yoghurt and milk and a little addition of cake flour. My older daughter and I finished nearly half a loaf during tea-time. She is just 2.5 years old but she ate 3 slices of my fruit yoghurt bread freshly baked straight from the oven! If you like healthy bread with yoghurt, dried fruits and instant oats, then this may just be the right loaf for you, do try it out! I tasted the other half loaf of bread the next day, and it was still quite soft. Everything was gone within 24 hours so I can't really tell you how it would taste like on the 3rd day. I have decided I am gonna try this bread again with the real McCoy, I have made a resolution next week to drive to the nearest Delhaize supermart and stock up on Yakult so that I can make the real Yakult bread. :)

Recipe shared by Ng Lay Lay Kristine, original recipe by Alvin Sumedha Lee, thanks to both for this wonderful straight dough recipe!

Ingredients (for a 500g loaf)

200ml yakult or any cultured milk

250g bread flour

20g cake flour 
1 tbsp (15g) sugar
2 tsp (6g) yeast
1 tsp (5.5g) salt
25g unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp cranberries
2 tbsp oats


My adapted recipe (900+ grams) is as follows
Ingredients
360g of yakult (I used 230g of fruit yoghurt + 130g fresh milk)

450g of bread flour

36g of cake flour
27g sugar
2.5 tsp (7.5g) yeast
1 tsp (5.5g) salt
45g unsalted butter, softened
4 tbsp dried cranberries, about 40g
4 tbsp quaker instant oats, about 40g


Method in BM (specific for Primo/Tesco brand of BM)
1. 1st add wet ingredients, then add dry ingredients. Add salt and sugar at different corners, dig a hole in the middle and add in the yeast. Add the butter only after a rough dough is formed, about 5 min after kneading. (This bread is pretty straight forward, you can pour all liquids at one go, the dough quickly becomes non-stick and pliable just like plasticine. On the other hand, if you are using yakult, the dough will be quite sticky and you are advised not to pour all the yakult at one go.)

2. Use "Dough" mode 30 min (run for 10 min and stop, start again and run for 20 min and stop), then press "Sweet" mode (light crust, 1000g or 2LB), the whole process of "Sweet mode" will take 2h 55 min. Total kneading time for the dough will be 60 min, of which 10+20 min is from "Dough" mode and 30 min is from "Sweet" mode. The dough must be kneaded until it can be pulled into a thin stretchable membrane (windowpane stage). 

3. Add in dried cranberries and quaker oats at 02.22h in "Sweet" mode for a 1000g loaf, 2 min before the end of 2nd round of kneading at 02.20h.  (If you are using other brands, you can add in additional dried fruits or nuts when you hear an indication such as a beep sound by the BM.)

4. Continue to let the bread proof and bake in the BM until the end (I pressed stop to remove the bread 5 min before the end.)

Note that the operating schedule of "Sweet" mode for 1000g is as follows : 
- 02.55 to 02.45 (10 min kneading), 02.45 to 02.40 (5 min rest), 02.40 to 02.20 (20 min kneading), 02.20 to 02.00 (20 min rest), 02.00 (punch down/de-gas), 02.00 to 01.00 (final proofing), 01.00 to 0.00 (baking).

For 700g, it is as follows:

- 02.50 to 02.40 (10 min kneading), 02.40 to 02.35 (5 min rest), 02.35 to 02.15 (20 min kneading), 02.15 to 01.55 (20 min rest), 01.55 (punch down/de-gas), 01.55 to 00.55 (final proofing), 00.55 to 0.00 (baking).

PS : Pls note that the method stated above applies only for my Primo BM, pls do not ask me to advise for other BMs. You are advised to use your own judgement in choosing the appropriate program on your BM.


Method in Oven
1. Use BM or stand-mixer to knead until thin stretchable membrane. (If you are using stand-mixer with dough hook rather than BM, pls note that the time taken for kneading will be significantly less.)
2. Cover and proof for 60 min in a warm place or until doubled in volume (1st proofing).
3. Punch down to release gas, then rest for 10 min covered.
4. Add in the dried fruits and oats and knead for a while to make sure everything is well incorporated. Divide the dough into 2 portions, roll up each dough as a swiss roll and place it in a greased 450g pullman tin (you will need 2 of such pullman tins as this will make 2 loaves). Cover and proof for 60 min in a warm place or until doubled in volume (2nd proofing).
5. Apply egg wash on top and bake in preheated oven at 180C for about 30 min. 

Notes:
- Pls note that if you are using yakult, the consistency is different from yoghurt + milk. So your dough will be wetter than my dough. You are advised not to pour all the yakult at one go and you may need to adjust with flour whenever necessary. 

- This bread has reduced sugar due to the sweetness of the yoghurt, if you want to use plain unsweetened yoghurt with freshly cut fruits, pls adjust the sugar accordingly. 

- The addition of cake flour makes the bread softer. If you don't have cake flour, you can use plain flour with a pinch of cornflour topped up to the required amount, and sift a few times. You can also use top flour or softassilk flour instead of cake flour as they are both low-protein flours.

- I only used Dough mode to knead for 20 min and after an additional 30 min of kneading in "Sweet" mode, I realised my dough still couldn't be stretched to a thin membrane without breaking. Hence I recommend that you knead for 30 min or even 2x 20 min using "Dough" mode before pressing "Sweet" mode.


I am submitting this post to "My Treasured Recipes #3 - Taste of Autumn (Oct/Nov 2014)" hosted by myself, Miss B of Everybody Eats Well in Flanders and co-hosted by Charmaine of Mimi Bakery House


Also submitting this to Best Recipes for Everyone November Event : Fresh from Oven ~ My Bread Story hosted by Fion.

An InLinkz Link-up

MTR #3 - Carrot (Honey) Breads Take #2 and Take #3

This is gonna be a long post.

2nd Attempt - Carrot Honey Bread (without egg and sugar)

I have been testing bread machine breads for a while now, recently I have even ventured into designing and testing my own recipes but it has not been all plain sailing. Don't get me wrong, the recipes do work but I am getting more and more frustrated with the constraints of using the bread machine (BM). Firstly, breads done in the BM typically have a fixed kneading time and proofing time, which is often too short if your bread dough turns out to be too sticky but you can't do anything else, except perhaps to stop the program, re-start the dough mode, and either put it in the oven to finish it off or use the baking mode of the BM. Secondly, your bread cannot exceed a certain weight, beyond which you run a high risk of the bread rising too high and hitting the cover, and that has happened to me a couple of times. On the other hand, if your bread turns out to be too short, for eg. a 500g bread, the top doesn't get baked enough on top and you end up getting a very dark side crust and a very white top. I can rant on and on, basically my point is, BM breads are not easy. When you knead using a stand-mixer or BM, you decide how long you wanna knead in order to achieve windowpane stage, and you decide how long you wanna proof for the bread to double in volume, and if the bread rises too fast during proofing, you can cut short the proofing and straight away put it in the oven to start baking. You can't all do these in the BM, you are constrained by the program that you choose. I sometimes feel like a bird kept in a cage when I am using my BM. But the BM does offer some degree of convenience, and it works fine if you have a tried and tested recipe which you can use over and over again, or if you select the dough mode and the bake mode separately.

2nd Attempt - Carrot Honey Bread (without egg and sugar)

Which brings me to the point, why on earth do I write my own recipe? And why on earth do I bake 3 carrot breads 3 days in a row? Not to mention 2 sweet potato breads and 2 pumpkin breads in the past 2 weeks? I love a challenge when it presents itself, and whenever I feel I am so close to succeeding, I just can't let go, I have to do it again until I succeed. That's just the perfectionist streak in me. But not this time, I feel I have enough of carrots for this month. So I am gonna share with you 2 carrot bread recipes which are not yet perfect in my BM, but they would turn out great if you tweak it a little or if you choose to do it outside the BM. Do note that these 2 recipes have been carefully calculated to make them high hydration straight dough breads with good texture.

The first bread is a carrot honey bread from my 2nd attempt, as the name suggests, it contains carrot and honey, there are no eggs and sugar, so it is a very healthy bread for people with egg allergies. This bread rose very nice and tall, but I felt the texture was a little dry and too crumbly on the 3rd day. (Yes this is a straight dough recipe that can last 3 days.) In fact during kneading in the BM, I checked the consistency of the dough and it has not achieved the the windowpane stage yet. So a little more addition of whipping cream (or a little reduction of the bread flour or a longer kneading time) would make this a perfect recipe.

2nd Attempt - Carrot Honey Bread (without egg and sugar)

These 2 recipes are recipes I created from scratch through a few rounds of testing. If you wish to share this recipe on your blog or FB, kindly link back to this post.


2nd Attempt - Carrot Honey Bread (no egg, no sugar)

Ingredients
200g carrots, grated (of which 100g carrots was blended with 100g whipping cream in food processor/blender)
50g honey
150g whipping cream => can add a little more!
465g bread flour => can reduce a little!

1 tsp salt (5.5g)

2.5 tsp yeast (7.5g)
50g unsalted butter, to be added only when rough dough is formed

Method:
1. How to bake in BM - 20 min kneading using Dough mode,  followed by 2h 55 min of Sweet mode (light crust, 1000g or 2 LB), you may remove 5 min before the end.

2. How to bake in Oven - knead until thin stretchable membrane or windowpane stage, 1st proofing until doubled in volume, punch down and rest 10 to 15 min, divide into 2 loaves and place inside 2 x 450g (greased) pullman loaf tins or 2 bread tins of suitable size, 2nd proofing until doubled in volume, apply egg wash and bake in preheated oven at 180C for about 30 min.

Notes: 
- The 150g whipping cream already includes 100g used to blend with carrots, I feel you can add a little more than 150g just to make the texture a little more moist. Alternatively, you can reduce the bread flour. 
- The reason why I decided to blend half of the grated carrots with whipping cream was because I wanted a smoother texture, yet I left half of the grated  as it was, just for the fibrous texture.

3rd Attempt - Carrot Bread (with egg and sugar)

I initially wanted to try this carrot honey bread a 3rd time just to perfect the recipe but I soon realised that my 9-month-old baby cannot ingest honey due to her age, so I decided to use my sweet potato bread recipe as a base for my 3rd attempt to make a carrot bread that is suitable for her. So my 3rd attempt was a carrot bread without honey but with eggs and sugar, based on my sweet potato bread recipe. I was wondering about the water content of carrots vs sweet potato, and I made a mistake by adding too much milk, thinking that the dough consistency was similar to the sweet potato one and would still rise nice and tall, but it didn't, it was 1 cm shorter than the carrot honey bread. Again during kneading in the BM, I checked the consistency of the dough and it has not achieved the the windowpane stage yet, the dough was in fact quite wet. It might not have been be as tall as the carrot honey bread, however the texture was more moist and less crumbly. So a little less milk would make the dough less wet and make this a perfect recipe.

3rd Attempt - Carrot Bread (with egg and sugar)

3rd Attempt - Carrot Bread (with egg and sugar)

Ingredients

190g carrots, grated (of which 100g carrots was blended with 60g whipping cream in food processor/blender)

1 egg (60g)
60g whipping cream 
80g fresh milk (too wet, suggest to use 70 to 75g)

450g bread flour (plus 2 tbsp or 18g milk powder)

50g sugar
1 tsp salt (5.5g)
2.5 tsp yeast (7.5g)
50g unsalted butter, to be added only when rough dough is formed

Method:
same as above.

Notes:

- All 60g of the whipping cream was blended with half of the carrots. If you do not have whipping cream, you can use plain or greek yoghurt. I used whipping cream of 30% fats.

- The milk powder was not planned initially, it was thrown in instead of bread flour to compensate for the wet dough. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it really made the bread softer. 

- 80g milk was on the high side, I could have added more flour, but I was afraid to do so as I thought the dough was gonna exceed the total weight allowed and it would rise too high and hit the cover. 

3rd Attempt - Carrot Bread (with egg and sugar)

I am submitting this post to "My Treasured Recipes #3 - Taste of Autumn (Oct/Nov 2014)" hosted by myself, Miss B of Everybody Eats Well in Flanders and co-hosted by Charmaine of Mimi Bakery House

Also submitting this to Best Recipes for Everyone November Event : Fresh from Oven ~ My Bread Story hosted by Fion.

An InLinkz Link-up

MTR #3 - Pumpkin Kaya Jam

It's been a while. What have I been doing? Sweeping leaves off my pavement because it is now autumn. Is it already autumn? But it was 21 degrees celsius in Belgium on 2 Nov? Are you kidding? Errr, no, I am not kidding, 2 Nov 2014 was the hottest day in Belgium since 1903. It seems the weather in this world has gone haywire due to global warming. 

Now that the hottest day is gone, the weather has returned to normal since Monday, 3 Nov. It is now cold, windy and wet. When the wind blows, it can go up to a speed of 80 to 90km/h, no joke! So I finally decided to harvest my 5 butternut squashes at the back of my garden, I dun think the sun is gonna shine anymore. They are still unripe but I will give them a sun-tan as and when the sun shines, this is what I read on internet. Hopefully the sun-tanning will acelerate the ripening process. The skin has to turn yellow before I can slice them. I am keeping my fingers crossed. :)

It was a pity that I had lots of butternut squashes, but I couldn't eat any of them yet. I had to go buy a regular pumpkin from the supermart just to make my favourite pumpkin kaya jam. Slicing the pumpkin and removing the seeds was not something I enjoy doing, so I "sub-contracted" the menial task to my little boy, who took his job very very seriously. 

Recipe adapted from my previous pumpkin kaya jam recipe made in 2011.

http://everybodyeatswell.blogspot.be/2011/09/homemade-pumpkin-kaya-jam.html

Ingredients

500g pumpkin, steamed and mashed

300g coconut milk 

150g 180g light brown sugar (I used cassonade graeffe from Belgium)

2 tbsp custard powder

1/4 tsp 1/2 tsp salt

4 pieces of pandan leaves 

Method

1. Peel the pumpkin, remove the seeds, cut it into thin slices, and steam it until cooked and softened. 

2. Use a blender to blend the steamed pumpkin into a smooth puree. Add in coconut milk, sugar, custard powder, salt and pandan leaves to the pumpkin puree. Stir and mix evenly and pour into the BM and select the JAM function. The JAM function in my BM took 1 hour 20 min to complete.  (If you do not have BM, you can use a non-stick pot to cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture has thickened, this will take any time from 15 to 30 min. Alternatively, you can use a rice cooker's congee or porridge function to do the job.)

3. When it is done, remove the pandan leaves and allow the mixture to cool, then pour it into sterilized glass jars and store in fridge.

If you wish, you can check out the pictures posted by these 2 other bloggers (Mui Mui and Shirleen Tan) who have attempted this pumpkin kaya using this recipe, just to give an idea of what the jam is supposed to look like.

Notes:

- This pumpkin kaya is quite runny, I have made it 3 times and 2 out of 3 times it turned out to be quite fluid. I think it is due to the brand of canned coconut milk that I used. So if you prefer the thick type of kaya, pls use thick coconut cream, also remember to strain the steamed pumpkin of excess moisture before blending, so that it will take lesser time to cook and thicken the kaya. Or you may wish to increase the custard powder from 2 to 3 tbsp or more so that the resulting kaya will be thicker.

- You can choose to blend the mixture before cooking or after cooking, it is up to you.

- The amount of sugar has already been reduced from 180g to 150g. The original recipe used 200g of brown sugar. I am using a special type of sugar called Cassonade Graeffe from Belgium, which is typically used to sprinkle over pancakes, but you just use normal light brown sugar.

I am submitting this post to "My Treasured Recipes #3 - Taste of Autumn (Oct/Nov 2014)" hosted by myself, Miss B of Everybody Eats Well in Flanders and co-hosted by Charmaine of Mimi Bakery House

An InLinkz Link-up