Thursday, December 21, 2006

A Rolling Good Time

I had a rolling good time the last two days as I tried my hands at making a swissroll. I have never been really successful at doing it. My previous tries resulted in once, a cracked roll and on another occasion, a sponge that was ultra dry. I had followed the instructions to a T. I just could not understand why I had failed so badly. I recall that I had been more successful during my school days making the humble swissroll with a layer of strawberry jam. I wouldn't say I am very successful this round but well at least I am getting somewhere.

Chicken Floss Swissroll. Not too bad ~ the roll was soft, the mayonnaise-buttercream paired well with the floss. However, I had envisaged something even tastier. Perhaps using a spicy meat floss would perk it up further.
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The second roll I tried was the Black Forest Swissroll. I have seen these rolls oozing with whipped cream and I shudder at that very thought. Although I have a weakness for desserts, I decide to put in less cream than normal. My mistake was that I did not brush the cake with enough cherry-Kirsh syrup to compensate for the reduction in cream, otherwise the roll would have been perfect. At least perfect in my eyes.
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With just a couple of days to Christmas, it is time to make my favorite Gingerbread Boy. I just love the heavenly smell of ginger and cinnamon wafting through the air and the taste of black molasses. From past experience, I realised that many people do not take to a cookie which is too heavily spiced which is why I left out the ground cloves. If you are thinking of making some gingerbread this Christmas, this is a definitely must try recipe.
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Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients:
63g butter, room temperature
85g light brown sugar
180g dark molasses
438g plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves (which I omitted)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup water

Method:
1) Preheat oven to 180 degree C.
2) Sift flour, soda, salt & spices together.
3) Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy, add molasses and cream till well mixed.
4) Add in the flour and water alternately and mix till combined.
5) Rest mixture for 10-15 minutes.
6) Roll dough on a very lightly floured surface or waxed paper and cut into your desired design. Decorate with currants or chocolate chips (or decorate with royal icing after cookies have cooled).
7) Bake for between 10 - 12 minutes depending on the thickness of your cookies. Cookie is done when it springs back lightly when pressed.
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17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great recipe! I just simply need to bake some after reading your post. Not too sure if you'd used those molasses that comes in liquid form. Ran out of those, so opted to use some leftover Billington's molasses which came in grain form and adjusted the amount of water used. Thanks for sharing! :)

Rusti said...

Hi Rebecca, yup I did use the liquid molasses. Do let me know how did yours turn out and do share your 'substituted' recipe. It is always good to have choice.

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas to you rusti. i never missed to surf yr blog everytime i have the chance..love all yr bakes and thank you for sharing.siti.

Rusti said...

Siti, you are most welcome & Merry Christmas to you too.

Anonymous said...

testing

Anonymous said...

testing 123

Anonymous said...

Hi Ginny,
Do you think I can substitute molasses with honey/maple syrup?

Anonymous said...

One more question, is this a hard or soft cookie?

Rusti said...

Hi Reena
I shouldn't think it will be a problem although I have not tried it. However the molasses really do give it a very unique fragrance. The cookie is on the chewy side.
Ginny

Anonymous said...

Thanks Ginny, will give it a try and let you know the outcome.

PS: My girl loves gingerbread man!

Anonymous said...

Can I replace dark molasses with golden syrup? Breadlover

Rusti said...

Hi Breadlover
Are you referring to mooncake syrup or the Lyle's golden syrup. I have not tried with either but I guess if Lyle's, it should be okay. Mooncake syrup is more liquid and you may have to add lesser.
FYI I use Grandma's Molasses which can be found in Cold Storage. It is really good and it gives the cookies such a lovely flavor.
Ginny

Anonymous said...

Thanks! I'm using Lyle's golden syrup. Will KIV this recipe. BTW, is the dough manageable? Do I need to chill in fridge before rolling? breadlover

Rusti said...

Hi Breadlover
No need to chill. Rolling between waxed paper makes the dough more manageable.
Ginny

Blessed Homemaker said...

I finally made these, after procrastinating for 2 years :P Thanks for sharing this recipe, we love it! Reena

Rusti said...

Hi Reena
Glad you like it. I love it myself.
Ginny

Anonymous said...

Hi Rusti,
I only have molasses in granular form, do you think I can add some water to it and cook it to turn it into liquid form? If yes, can you suggest the portion to be used?

Gingerbread cookie fan