Chinese Elvis French toast: Salted duck egg custard and strawberry stuffed French toast brulee

Brunch is officially back bitches. I don't know where it went, why I stopped going or how I ever fell out of love with it - but its officially on my radar to have as many times as possible in one week. Whilst having a meal replacement shake at work one morning, someone asked what I was drinking. As I had already had breakfast,(thus defeating the point of it being a meal replacement shake), I replied 'it's brunch'. And it hit me that it was depressing on two levels; one being that I had technically had two breakfasts and the other being that the definition of brunch was demoted to a meagre, sawdust flavoured liquid. That is most certainly not brunch in my eyes. A glorious spread of eggs, avocados, BACON (its importance is justified by the capital letters) and pancakes should be the staple base of any brunch. And proper coffee. However, whenever I go to brunch, I tell myself I'll go for the sweet options of waffles/french toast - and my mind is changed last second to a more savoury choice. All to change with this recipe I would hope.

Decades ago, Hong Kong saw the rise of Cha Chaan Tengs - a pseudo Western-Canto mixed cafe - to provide cheap, Western food to locals who had developed a penchant for drinking British tea and eating cakes. If you ever go to HK, you've got to go into one of these cafes - pop a squat and eat like a true local - be it macaroni and soup for breakfast, noodles for lunch or club sandwiches galore. However, the best duo in my books that is always on my menu is French toast - HK style is pretty much deep fried and with a generous lashing of butter and syrup, perhaps peanut butter and condensed milk if you're feeling lavish, and washed down with a milk tea (that's black tea with condensed or evaporated milk mind...just to add to the caloriefest). I'll always opt for the sweet option vs. savoury when in Hong Kong. French toast has a special place in my heart, and my arteries.

This recipe takes it to the next level though - I thought, how can I make HK style French toast even more calorific and sinful? How can I increase the chances of pulmonary failure on a plate? Ah yes, stuff the bad boys with a rich and decadent custard. Nope, let's go one further and make a rich, salted duck egg custard. Let's throw in some strawberries as a count towads your 'five a day'. Sure. A great Hong Kong dim sum is a custard bun - comforting pillowy dough with a subtle custard inside. Let's take that custard and make it richer with a salted duck egg and have a hint of coconut to complement the strawberries in a French toast. Not complicated or necessary to do - but I was intrigued to try and make work. I'd probably advise to guzzle this down with some milk tea and Gaviscon...purely for precaution.

Catch a matcha eclair

As it gets colder, my butter and carb intake gets bigger. It's a direct and unfortunate relationship, and very hard when you're trying to save money for a food fest trip to HK and media-ville lends itself well to Christmas lunches and drink in the next few months. It's got so bad, the little paunch has got a name. As I write this, I've just stuffed a cupcake down me, and so my guilt and sugar high drives me to carry on typing in vain. Sunday blues with an icy wind just mean more baking and more slow cooking. So as the short ribs slowly braise in the cooker, I decided to make a little choux classic. My idiotic plan to make these mini just meant I ate more of the suckers - a perfect 2 bites of sugar, cream and chocolate. The matcha powder is a simple mellow hum to the very sweet white choc (I used Green and Blacks) and a really good pop of colour to lure you in. Fancy sugar work on the top is completely unnecessary, but a good way to waste time if you're impatiently waiting for the pastry to cool and the chocolate to set. Eclairs are one last blast of summer - they're lighty and pretty to eat - so go make a batch now. I was testing out some recipes for a moustache Movember bake sale I'm doing at work and thought these would be an ingenious way to get some 'tache-clairs. Follow me on Twitter to see if I can actually pull these off!

The ones below can also be made as profiteroles. Now if only it were able to be so versatile as to include it as one of my five a day.

Sweetheart tart - Hong Kong Milk Tarts

I was lucky enough to go back to Hong Kong for a week last week. Sadly, for a funeral - however the silver lining being able to see family and friends who mean the world to me. An emotional visit to say the least, however I'm so glad I went. Hong Kong to me is sometimes so strange - a homeland, but never technically a home I've permanently lived in and there are elements of great nostalgia, but always new things to discover and admire. Home is wherever your family is, and mine happens to be split between London, Leeds and Hong Kong...not the most convenient, but it makes family time when we all see each other all the more special.

The smells, hustle and noises from central Hong Kong are still astounding, and I can't wait to go back for 2 weeks in December. One of the senses which always gets me is passing chains upon chains of bakeries within the MTR transport stations. You wouldn't dream of picking up a cake for a dinner party from the Underground stations in London, but in Hong Kong no one would bat an eyelid, they're all that good (and clean!). Cakes and tarts always have a special place in my heart, and in the midst of GBBO frenzy and fever, I decided I hadn't done a sweet in a while. A haze of jetlag, I got to baking - however I state my disclaimer now, that the pastry I had made was from an old cook book, and did not make for an easy and thin casing...(and unassumingly large quantities of it were made) so we can probably skip that part of the recipe and would advise anyone to use a normal sweet shortcrust pastry dough. BBC's recipe is an easy win here. I'm pretty sure Mr.Hollywood would not be impressed with my pastry skills this time round. Substitute about 25g of the flour in the recipe for some sieved milk powder for a little more of a milky finish to the pastry if you can. 

The milk tart seems to hide away in the darkest corner of most Hong Kong bakeries. It's like the little sister of the custard tart...a little less known, a little less ambitious but a lot easier to make (mind my pastry...). The filling is a flan like texture, with a silky white finish which slips down so easily you may forget you're tucking into your third consecutive tart without knowing it. The contrast with the buttery and crumbling pastry is just heaven - and all delicately finished with a glimmer of ginger flavours for an unexpected zing.

Coconut - raspberry ice pops

Whenever my brother comes to visit from Leeds, it's a physical stomach preparation to keep up. Call it sibling rivalry, call it plain stupidity, I have the insane need to eat spoonful for spoonful against my brother. Because, even if his calorie intake allows it, I feel it it unjust for him to eat more than me. And boy, can he eat a lot. 

We had a wonderful dinner at one of my favourite restaurants, the 10 cases - Covent Garden bistro and brilliant wines done to the best standard, all with a wonderful, friendly and relaxed atmosphere. It takes a lot for my brother to step out of his familiar SW london setting, and he was blown away. Little friendly starters of crispy squid, grilled octopus, jamón iberico...followed by a juicy pork belly main course. All at sensible sizes in anticipation for the most immense and best chocolate mousse I've had...maybe ever. May we hope it is the only constant on the menu for the rest of time. 

 

Desserts aren't HK's strong point, however, when it comes to stealing surrounding cultures' sweet treats, they do a great job! We all know it's been crazy hot up in London and the humidity is anything but pleasant. What better way to come home to a creamy, fruity home made ice pop. Inspired by Magnum's anniversary DIY ice cream bar, this is as sophisticated ice lolly you can't wait to come home to. And it's so simple it's almost embarrassing to write this one up as a recipe. In fact, it's more of an assembly. So, have fun! 

A Matcha made in heaven: Matcha and white chocolate puds with sticky pecan brittle and berries

Glimmers of sunshine peaking through the dark clouds every now and then can only be good signs that better weather is on the way. My office has floor to ceiling windows, overlooking glorious Regent's Park, and can really have an effect on the office mood and how the day whizzes (or crawls) past. Since booking my summer holiday, it's been the kick up the ass to get back to a relatively less noodle, rice and chocolate shaped body. And what better way to do it than fully take advantage of the park and go on a run round the park to clear my mind and burn a few calories as opposed to attempting to work and eat "al desko." 

A slight snag along the way...in that I'm so proud I've gone on my run, I think my metabolism is invincible for about an hour later and really go to town on treating myself, or should I say fooling myself into food I don't really need. Dangerous, given that in my old job a tricky weekly client meeting was almost always rewarded by an Eat matcha chiller- (ie a green tea creamy frapuccino) - and this mental conditioning of warmer weather and treating myself at work has slightly spiralled into a matcha / green tea obsession. 

I love anything with green tea matcha powder - ice cream, frapuccino, cookies, cake...you name it, I'd probably eat it. Matcha powder can be pricey, but a little goes a long way, and a lot of Asian grocery stores sell smaller pouches of the fine powder, perfect for this recipe! Another easy make ahead dessert, hugely satisfying and the flavours balance each other perfectly. Smooth mellow matcha pudding, sweetened with soy milk and white chocolate which is cut through with a slight zing from mixed berried and a brittle pecan crunch for texture. You obviously don't have to make all the elements of this dessert, but it's a well rounded pud if you're making the effort. Give yourself about 20 to 30 minutes to prepare this, and you'll be glad you made the effort. A beautiful spring green and bright red colour, it's sure to brighten your day. 

Mochi monsters: Cookies and cream mochi snowballs

Let's defy social conventions...well, nothing too radical - it's just ice cream in March for heaven's sake. It's cold and miserable out there, but there are glimmers and afternoons of sunshine and Spring which can only put a smile on our faces. That, for me, is more than enough of a sign to capitalise on a supermarket ice cream deal.

Hong Kong has the most wonderful flavours when it comes to frozen yoghurts and ice creams - and while they don't have the prestige of a creamy and luxurious Italian gelato, they do take inspiration from neighbouring countries to host a variety of creative concoctions. Mochi being one of them.

I can't claim this as a Hong Kong recipe. Mochi ice cream hails from Japan, but it holds a dear and distant memory of hot and sticky summers in Hong Kong. Back in a dinky old apartment building in North Point where my grandparents lived, I specifically remember being stuck in an uneasy lift with my grandma after a trip to the market. We were there for a good hour, but I specifically remember being consoled by two little snowball dumplings of mochi ice cream. A little toothpick in the packet to pick it up with, the time seemed to fly by as I tried to make the ice cream last as long as possible.

Mochi is a sticky, translucent dough made from glutinous rice flour - almost like an Asian version of Turkish Delight in texture. On its own its not much to behold, however paired with some ice cream...it's bliss. I found that London are starting to embrace it, with Snog frozen yoghurt branches offering little mochi cubes as a topping for their delicious Snog yoghurts. Simple to make ahead and keep in your fridge as a mini dessert or sweet treat after work or dinner it's definitely worth trying out. Tips here are to make sure you have a lot of cornflour on hand, as the mixture is extremely sticky (but manageable with corn flour) and try to have cold hands and work quickly. (see my instagram page @loloslittlekitchen to look at a video of the speed you need and how to wrap the mochi)

Kaya coconut jam: breakfast made simple and sweet

Breakfast of Kaya jam, butter and toast with soy milk

Toast. A staple and acceptable food for my breakfast, lunch and dinner, and one I will be sadly giving up for Lent. It's such a simple pleasure, and although never really the hero of the show, it is the silent supporting act to make other food truly sing out. After reading Nigel Slater's mesmerising words and descriptions in 'Toast', I might stop here as no other person can give justice to toast like he can.

"It is impossible not to love someone who makes toast for you...Once the warm, salty butter has hit your tongue, you are smitten. Putty in their hands."

I only discovered this little wonder of a recipe  a few years ago. Whilst staying in the +852 one summer, I started noticing the emerging market for Hong Kong's love of toast and little breakfast joints. If you think Mcdonalds in the UK has a sensational breakie menu (my guilty pleasure of choice) then I salute you, but it doesn't compare to HK. One major chain is simply named "toast" and it was here I discovered Kaya. Not that hot chick off Skins, but a coconut "jam" to best describe it. Luxuriously creamy and mellow, it's unlike any other jam you've probably had, but as I say with practically all other recipes, you've got to try this. Pandan leaves are infused into the mixture which gives the kaya an added edge of mystery and a "why-do-I-love-this-so-much" questioning after each bite. Easy to find in Thai supermarkets, it's worth getting these when you find them (you can freeze them till they are needed). 

Feel free to add as much as your toast can take - it'll only make life better

Kaya is a spread hailing from Singapore and Malaysia, (meaning 'rich' in Malay), where cafés will set out early in the morning to make fresh batches. There is a quick fifteen minute recipe for this, but the longer way gets better results not only in taste, but in satisfaction that it has been lovingly tended to for an hour for that emotional investment.

Oh-Bun Sesame! Black sesame rolls with condensed milk

Black sesame and condensed milk buns - beautiful textures and tastes

As January starts to wind down, my demon calories slowly wind up...and I've come up with quite the theory why it can't be helped for my British/Chinese background. Think back to early December, and we have a whole month of parties, canapés, alcohol and decadent food to consume... All with a certain "grace" period and less judgement that you will put on a few pounds. 25th December comes and you've mentally and physically prepared for your Christmas Everest. From mid January, I feel the grace period returns, without proper acknowledgement, as we prepare for Chinese New Year feasting. So really, this recipe and the copious amounts of flour I've used this week in cooking should be considered more of a saviour to my own future health. In between English and Chinese traditions, I've combined two treats to create something I was very proud to test out on a few friends last Friday. It's almost a guiltless pleasure- every doughy-soft, sweet and nutty bite was unequivocally justified I didn't feel sorry for my waistline in the slightest, it tasted that good. So, sorry that I'm not sorry.

Black sesame filling is rich, sophisticated and moreish

The recipe is inspired from cinnamon rolls. However about half way in, the sugar quantities get to you and the cinnamon,sugar, butter crunch becomes too much... and that sneaky guilt kicks in that it should be finished but your stomach can't take any more. Black sesame is something I love and definitely overcomes this anguish. It has a long lasting rich and toasty nuttiness, that's not too sweet or overpowering that really fills the mouth and whets the appetite to have another bite over and over.
There is most certainly a lot less butter and sugar here than most cinnamon rolls, but the glaze on top is a drizzle of condensed milk - something that's practically in our veins in Hong Kong. We put this in our tea, like how Vietnamese sweeten their coffee, spread it on toast for breakfast and decorate our cakes with it. It's our sweet elixir of choice for sure, and I like how everyone can individually add how sweet they want to make their bun (now with a handy squeezey bottle it comes in). Creamy, sweet and a satisfying thick texture- it's the final layer that really finished these buns.

Lashings of condensed milk? This one definitely needs a little more...yes please.

Be patient with the proofing and knead properly-it will all be worth it when you see the buns merge and bind to their neighbours to uniformly and obediently rise in the oven.