Vegetarian Lasagne

Comfort food doesn't get much more classic than this Italian favourite, featuring layers of rich soya minced and a creamy sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1 packet of meat free minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 celery, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 200ml vegan beef stock
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 200ml red wine
• 1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 9-12 lasagne sheets, depending on the size of your baking tray
• 50g Parmesan, grated
• 150g pack mozzarella, shredded
• 1 bottle shop bought white sauce

Method:

In a large pan, heat the olive oil over a low heat. Fry the onion, carrot, celery and garlic for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the minced and soy sauce and fry on a medium heat until golden. Turn up the heat, pour in the wine and bubble until reduced. Stir in the tomato puree and stock. Add in the Worcestershire sauce and simmer for 15 minutes or until the liquid has reduced. Season.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC or 180ºC for fan assist oven. Layer up the lasagne in a baking dish, starting with a third each of the ragu, then the pasta, then the white sauce. Repeat twice. Top with the Parmesan and mozzarella then bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes, until piping hot and crisp and bubbling on top. Serve immediately.

Gluten Free Lemon Meringue Pie

This biscuit base lemon meringue pie is an easy take on a classic dessert. It's crunchy cookie crust, perfectly tangy lemon filling and fluffy cloud-like meringue topping, this easy dessert will disappear in no time. There is no need to make a pastry base for this biscuit base lemon pie. In no time, this crust is ready to fill with that luscious lemon filling and light-as-air meringue and it's probably a lot easier than you imagine.

While normally made using a pastry base, I am saving you the hassle and swapping it out for a biscuit base instead. This change makes the base super quick and easy to make but no less crunchy and buttery.

What's great this recipe is gluten free and dairy-free !!! Yes you read it right, gluten free. You can substitute the gluten free biscuits with the non gluten free version. I adapted this recipe from glutenfreecuppatea.co.uk

Ingredients:

For the biscuit  base

• 300g gluten free digestives
• 80g dairy free butter, melted

For the lemon filling:

• 5 lemon zest & juice
• 65g cornflour
• 250g castor sugar
• 5 egg yolks
• 440ml water

For the meringue:

• 5 egg whites
• 340g caster sugar
• 3 tsp cornflour

Method:

Crush the biscuits with a rolling pin or with a food processor into fine crumbs.

In a bowl, mix together your crushed biscuits and melted dairy free butter. Press into  loose bottomed tin and chill in the fridge whilst you make your lemon layer (minimum 30 minutes).

Zest and juice all the lemons into a bowl. 

Add cornflour and mix to form a loose paste.

Bring to boil 440ml of water. Once boiling add your lemon/cornflour paste. Stir until thickened and remove from the heat.

In a separate boil, mix together the sugar and egg yolks until smooth. Slowly add the egg/sugar mixture to the saucepan, whisking or stirring continuously. Once all the mixture has been added, reduce to a low heat and continue to stir till a little more thickened.

Allow to cool slightly before pouring it over the biscuit base. Put to one side, ideally in the fridge.

To make the meringue add the egg whites to a freestanding mixer. Whisk until soft peaks are formed.

Continue to whisk and gradually add the sugar until stiff peaks have formed and it's glossy.

Finally add the cornflour and whisk once more. Make sure your meringue is lovely and thick.

Spoon your meringue on top of the lemon layer. Swirl it around making little peaks as you go.

Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes at 170ºC.

If you have a cooking blow torch at this point, you could gently torch the top to give it a little more colour (optional).

Allow to cool completely in the tin and then chill in the fridge for a few good hours, preferably overnight, to allow the lemon layer to cool and settle down.

Slice and enjoy! 

Cranberry and Orange Gin

If you are looking for a perfect homemade Christmas gift for your favourite gin pals this year, then i have just one thing: homemade cranberry and orange gin liqueur!

This cranberry and orange gin liqueur recipe is really easy to make at home, has just 4 ingredients and is SO delicious. You may even want to make a batch for yourself-it makes for a fabulous dinner party aperitif that looks as spectacular as it tastes.

Ingredients:

• 200g cranberries (fresh or frozen)
• 200g sugar
• thinly sliced peel of 1 orange
• 500-700ml gin

Method:

Take a clean Kilner or Ikea glass jar or bottles and add all the ingredients, pricking the cranberries or gently squeeze the cranberries as you drop them in. 

Add the sugar, orange and gin and shake so all the sugar dissolves. Shake gently everyday for a week. 

You can either decant it then back into a clean bottles or leave it for a little longer if you want more flavour.

Serve: mix with ice, tonic and a twist of lemon for festive G&T or add a dash to prosecco.

Vegan Christmas Pie

Found this recipe while looking for inspiration for a vegan Christmas dinner idea from The Veg Space. This vegan Christmas Pie is packed with vegan sausagemeat, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mushrooms and even roasted sprouts! Just bursting with festive flavours. This pie can be fully prepared a day ahead, so all you have to do on the big day is pop it into the oven.

Like any good vegan option for Christmas, this is a perfect pairing for gravy, crispy roast potatoes, sprouts and all the festive trimmings.

A standard 2lb loaf pan is ideal for this pie. However I like the square corners and I used my pullman loaf pan. You can also make little individual pies in muffin tins if you prefer.

Ingredients:

• 4 large flat mushrooms
• 1 red onion
• 120g brussels sprouts
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 110g stuffing mix, any flavour of your choice
• 8 vegan sausages in skin
• 320g ready-rolled shortcrust pastry
• 2 tbsp cranberry sauce
• 2 tbsp dairy-free milk
• 2 drops soy sauce

Method:

Preheat oven to 190ºC or 170ºC for fan assist oven.

Remove the stalks from the mushrooms and place on a large baking tray. Peel and finely sliced the red onion and add to the tray, keeping separate from the mushrooms. Trim and slice the sprouts, adding them to the remaining space on the tray.

Drizzle or spray with oil, season well with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make up the stuffing mix according to packet instructions and set aside.

Slit the skins of the vegan sausages and tip the sausage meat into a bowl, discarding the skins. mash together with a fork.

Grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper. This makes it easy to get the pie out in tact. Use the tin as template to cut around to fully line the tin with pastry. 

Layer up the pie starting with the vegan sausagemeat. Spoon it in small pieces into the bottom of the tin, then gently level out with a fork.

Lay the roasted onion on top of the sausagemeat, then dollop over the cranberry sauce, spreading it right to the edges with the back of a spoon.

Next, lay out the four roasted mushrooms in a line, overlapping slightly as necessary.

Add the stuffing in small pieces, pressing down with a fork to level out.

Finally, scatter the roasted sprouts over the top of the stuffing.

Brush a little water around the pastry edges of the pie, then lay out the remaining pastry over the top to form the lid. Use a fork to crimp the edges of the pastry together, then use a sharp knife to trim off excess pastry.

Use any festival pastry cutters you have to make decorations for the top of the pie.

Mix the dairy-free milk and soy sauce together to make a glaze, then brush this all over the pie lid. Chill until required.

Bake the pie for 30-45 minutes until deeply golden brown.

Vegan Cranberry Tart

 Inspiration for this tart came while browsing on Pinterest. I spotted a photo of an insanely gorgeous, fuchsia-red tart ! The pin shared by My Quiet Kitchen

To make sure the tart is smooth I push the cranberry sauce through a sieve after blending. I did not make my sweet pastry case. I opt for the quick version, the shop bought pasty case. Nothing stop you from making your own.

Ingredients:

• 1 vegan shop bought tart case, you can make your own too
• 650g fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1½ cups sugar
• 1 orange, zested and juiced
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 cup solid coconut cream
• toasted hazelnuts, finely chopped

Method:

A couple of days before making this tart, place 2 tins of full-fat coconut milk in the refrigerator. This is make the coconut cream to separate from the liquid inside the cans. This step is important as you only need the solid coconut cream and it's crucial for the proper consistency of the filling.

For the Filling: Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat. Cook the cranberries, sugar, orange juice and orange zest until the cranberries burst and the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes but might take longer for frozen cranberries. Stir in the lemon zest. Let the sauce cool completely.

Put 1 cup of solid coconut cream into a blender and add the cranberry sauce to the blender. Blend until velvety smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender as needed. Then push the sauce through a sieve into a large bowl, then pour into the tart case. Smooth the top. 

Refrigerate the tart, uncovered until chilled and set about 4 hours preferably over night. Garnish with the toasted hazelnuts. You can also serve the tart with vegan whipped cream.

Enjoy!

Sloe Gin

Meet Prunus Spinosa, ore better known as sloe berries or blackthorn plums. These dark, small and kind of unpopular berries grow in the wild around northern Europe as hedgerows, and  they are particularly common in UK.

Unlike more popular berries, sloe berries are quite tart and astringent, which is why you won't often see them topping a cheesecake. The British, ingenious folk that they are, did find a way to make good use of the wild berry-they steeped it in gin to give the fragrant spirit a bit more personality, added some sugar, and Slow Gin was born! Yay for us!

Sloe gin is a traditional British after-dinner digestif. Smooth and fruity, with its own unique flavour. It's a real autumn and winter treat, flavoured with fruit from the hedgerow, perfect beside warming fires for cosy evenings at home, enjoying the long winter evenings.

This sloe gin recipe needs only four ingredients: sloe, gin sugar and time. There is something wonderful about having a couple of bottles at the back of a cupboard, gently maturing and gaining flavour from the foraged fruit, ready for the great decanting.

I find that leaving the fruit in for a good long while is really worth it; I usually leave my sloes infusing for at least 6 months and decant at the same time as I make the next batch. Don't leave it too long, however. The bottle needs drinking within a few years of decanting. Very old sloe gin loses its colour and flavour.

Ingredients:

• 500g sloes
• 250g sugar
• 70cl gin

Method:

After gathering your sloes, wash and remove any stems and leaves. Dry the sloes with a kitchen towel and freeze the sloes for a couple of days. 

Pop the frozen sloes into a air-tight glass jar, approximately 1.5 litre. Add the sugar and slowly pour in your chosen gin.

Keep the jar in a dark, cool spot. For the first week or so, give the jar a good shake. Once all the sugar has dissolved, leave it in the dark as long as you can beat, three months at the very least. If you can make a year ahead before drinking for the best results.

Finally strain the mixture through some muslin and decant into two clean bottles, and it will ready to serve either on its own or with a mixer such as tonic water.

This gin is lovely on its own or reduced and drizzled onto cakes, but is also a great cocktail ingredients. To make a slow fizz, simply pour 25ml of sloe gin into a champagne glass and top with prosecco.

Blackberry Jam

This is a stupendously simple blackberry jam that will make the absolute best of your foraged wild blackberries :) As someone who adores foraging English hedgergrows in autumn, this recipe makes my heart so happy. Blackberries are our native super fruits here in the UK. So fill of flavour, fibre, vitamin C and K. 

There are many ways to make a good blackberry jam. Myself, I like to include whole fruits and not strain all that fibre and texture out. It is a jam I am longing for, not a jelly. Store those fresh summer berries in a jam to enjoy all year with this easy, low sugar homemade blackberry jam recipe. Just 3 simple ingredients are all you need to have your own homemade Blackberry Jam!!

Ingredients:

• 6 cups fresh/frozen blackberries
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1-1½ cups granulated sugar

Method:

Add berries, lemon juice and sugar to a large pot and heat to medium. Use a fork or a potato masher to gently mash down the berries to release some of their juices.

Heat on  medium, bring to a gentle boil, and turn the heat down to medium-low to simmer. The berries will foam, just stir occasionally to reduce the foam.

Let simmer until the jam begins to gel, or when the temperature of the jam reaches 105º. Once ready, add to canning jars and enjoy. 

Gourmet Sweet Potato and Puy Lentil Dhal

While searching for some ideas using puy lentils, I came across this recipe from Vegan Recipe Club. 

Ingredients:

For potato puree:

• 750g sweet potatoes
• 250ml coconut milk
• 5g salt

For Lentils:

• 150g puy lentils
• 5g salt

For Tamarind Sauce:

• 40g tamarind pulp
• 200ml hot water
• 5g salt
• 50g dates
• 5g toasted cumin
• 2g chopped red chilli

Crispy Puy Lentils:

• 125g puy lentils
• oil for frying

Method:

Soak the 125g puy lentils for the crispy lentils component for several hours or overnight in cold water, before preparing anything else.

For Potato Puree: Roast the sweet potatoes in the oven on a tray covered with aluminium foil. When soft, remove the skins and discard any dark outer flesh.

Weigh 700g of the roasted sweet potato flesh and leave to cool in the room temperature. 

Transfer to the blender with coconut milk and salt and blend until smooth.

Pass through a fine muslin cloth and keep into a container and reserve in the fridge.

For the lentils: Weigh the lentils and salt directly into a pan and cover with cold water.

Bring to a boil on the stove and then reduce to a simmer. Continue to cook until the lentils are al dente.

Drain the lentils and leave it to cool to room temperature.

For Tamarind Sauce: Pour the hot water over the tamarind and salt and leave to steep for 10 minutes. Use your finger, try to get as much out of the tamarind flesh. Pass through a muslin cloth to get a smooth sauce into a pan. Heat the tamarind sauce to 100ºC. Remove from heat and transfer to a container to cool at room temperature.

For Crispy Lentils: Drain the soaked lentils very well and dry out thoroughly on cloths. Deep fry the lentils in vegetable oil until crispy and drain on a tray with kitchen paper to absorb the oil. While lentils are hot season with salt and pepper.

To Assembly: To serve, arrange the puree on the plate and add the warm cooked lentils. Arrange the tamarind sauce around the plate and sprinkle on the crispy lentils. 

Garnish with coriander leaves before serving.  

Nyonya Kueh Sago (Tapioca Pearl Cake)

Tapioca sago pearls are one of the common Southeast Asia ingredients and are used in all manner of desserts. This kuih sago is naturally vegan, and a very easy entry-level kueh to make at home!

Kuih sago is a common nyonya kuih (snack/dessert) found all over Malaysia & Singapore. This kuih uses only a few ingredients. The main ingredients is sago and another important ingredients is pandan. Ideally, you would use fresh pandan leaves, but you can use pandan paste if you can't find the fresh leaf.

The top layer is infused with gula melaka (palm sugar) to give it's brownish colour. Supremely soft and bouncy with chewy goodness of lightly salted grated coconut in every bite. 

Ingredients:

• 350g sago/tapioca pearls
• some banana leaves
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 7" square baking pan

Pandan layer:

• 50g fresh grated coconut
• 40ml pandan juice
• 35ml thick coconut milk
• 75g sugar
• ½ tsp salt

Gula Melaka layer:

• 50g fresh grated coconut
• 40ml gula melaka syrup
• ½ tsp salt

• 150g fresh grated coconut
• 2 knotted pandan leaves
• ¼ tsp salt

Method:

Clean and grease banana leaf with cooking oil. Use it to line the baking pan. 

Rinse sago pearls to remove starch, drain and soak in water for 30 minutes. Then drain the soaking water and divide into 2 equal portions.

For the pandan sago layer: Mix together the soaked sago pearls, grated coconut, pandan juice, coconut milk, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Spread the mixture evenly in the baking pan. Steam over medium-high heat for 15-18minutes.

In the meantime, prepare gula melaka sago layer. Mix together the soaked sago pearls, grated coconut, gula melaka syrup, coconut milk and salt in a mixing bowl. Then pour the gula melaka mixture on top of the steamed pandan sago layer. Spread with spatula evenly. Steam over medium-high heat for another 15-18 minutes.

Leave the kuih to cool completely before cutting.

Mix the additional fresh grated coconut with salt. Steam with knotted pandan leaves for 10 minutes and let it cool completely.

Grease a knife with cooking oil to cut the kuih into bite-sized pieces. Coat the kuih evenly with steamed grated coconut and serve.

Pizza Birthday Cake

Pizza or Cake?

This theme cake is definitely a hit with a pizza love. Make your pizza cake even more realistic with  your favourite pizza toppings. 

Ingredients:

Base:

• 100g golden castor sugar
• 100g softened butter
• 2 eggs
• 100g self raising flour
• pinch of baking powder and salt
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Decorations:

• 250g of dough coloured sugar paste, use yellow and brown food colouring gel
• apricot jam or golden syrup
• 200g buttercream
• some red gel food colouring
• 3-4 tbsp raspberry or strawberry jam
• 70g-100g of light yellow sugar paste, keep in the freezer to harden
• basil leaves, optional

Pepperoni topping:

• 50g ready roll Teddy Bear Brown sugar paste
• some red gel food colouring
• 25-40g white sugar paste

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC for fan assist oven. Grease and line a 10 inch cake tin with baking paper.

In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and golden castor sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.

Sift in the self raising flour, baking powder and salt. Gently fold until just combined. Do not overmix.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and smooth out the surface with a spatula. However do not smooth  all the way of the cake tin. Leave about ½ inch. This is to make the pizza cake looks more realistic. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, prepare the decorations. 

For the pepperoni, roll out the teddy bear brown sugar paste and add some red gel colouring (bit by bit) until you achieve the right colour of the pepperoni. Once you are happy with the colour, roll out into sausage and cut into half. Lightly flatten each sausage. Then take the white and roll it out and cut the same length as the red. Put on top each of the white on top the red and stack it up on top of each other. Add a bit of white on the sides. Roll it out and cut into half again. Stack it up on top of each other. Repeat this process for about 4-5 times until you have the marbley effect.  Slice the sausage and roll it out as thin as possible, cut out circles, then edges were curled using a ball tool. The circles were to let dry. Before topping the cake with the pepperoni, lightly brush a thin layer of vegetable oil to get the shine.

Next step is to roll out dough-coloured sugar paste into a sausage shape and flatten it using your fingertips. Stick it to the edges of the cake with a little apricot jam or golden syrup.

Lightly add some black colouring around the pizza to make the charred effect. Use a blowtorch to scorch the sugar paste or cover the centre of the cake with foil and then grill.

For the "tomato paste", add the red gel to the buttercream and mix in the strawberry or raspberry jam. Mix well. Spread the mixture over the centre of the cake.

Take the frozen light yellow sugar paste from the freezer. Using a grater, grate the "cheese" over the tomato paste. 

When you are happy with the amount of cheese on top of the pizza, finally top up the pizza with the pepperoni. Top with fresh basil leaves to dress the cake and to add the finishing touched. 

Notes: to resemble mozzarella, loosen some uncoloured buttercream with water until dropping consistency. Then use two teaspoons to drop the buttercream onto the cake in small blobs. Smooth with a spoon to create the desired effect.

For olives, slice liquorice and use a small metal piping nozzle to cut out the centre to look like pitted olives.

Slow Cook Guinness Braised Beef Stew

These melt-in-your-mouth Guinness Braised Beef are hearty, super comforting and incredibly delicious, slowly cooked in stout and beef broth.

The no-so-secret ingredient that goes into this stew that gives the sauce the deep flavour and colour is Guinness Beer. Guinness Beer is so dark it is almost black and it is why the gravy of the stew is such a beautiful deep brown colour. Guinness is also much richer than most beers.

                             

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp of cooking oil
• 1 kg of beef; brisket or chuck roast, cut into 1.5" pieces
• 1 large onion, diced
• 8 oz mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
• 2 tsp salt
• 5-6 medium to large carrots, peeled and sliced into bite size chunks
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 tbsp plain flour
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 2½ cups of beef broth
• 1 bottle of Guinness Stout, 500ml
• 2 tbsp brown sugar

Method:

Heat oil in a stew pot over medium-high heat. In batches, brown meat on all sides. Once done, remove the beef and set it aside.

Lower the heat to medium. Add the mushrooms and cook over medium heat until they are softened and have evaporated all of it's liquid, about 8-10 minutes. 

Add in the onions and carrots and cook for another 10 minutes, until they begin to soften.

Add the garlic, flour, tomato paste, thyme and cook for 30 seconds until the red paste has turned a rusty colour. Deglaze the pot with beef broth, stout and sugar. Return the beef back to the pot. Bring the mixture up to a boil, then transfer to a slow cooker. You may also transfer to the oven. Slow cook for about 7 hours on low or 5 hours on high. If using oven, it will takes about 2 hours at 180ºC. Let it slow cook or braised until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened. When the meat is tender, taste and adjust the seasoning, adding salt if necessary.

Serve with mash or rice, which ever you prefer. 

Longevity Peach Buns (ShouTao Bao 寿桃包)

A soft fluffy basic steamed bun is shaped into a peach shape and can be filled with a sweet filling of your choice is popular in the Chinese culture to represent longevity.

Shou means longevity and tao means peach. Why peach? It was back in the ancient times when the immortals have been given peaches that promise longevity. It was called peaches of immortality and to this date, the peach has been used as the symbol of longevity. So it is not uncommon to see fresh peaches or longevity peach steamed buns are gifted as birthday presents in the Chinese culture.

Ingredients:

For the bun dough:

• 300g plain flour
• 30g castor sugar
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 170ml cold milk/water
• 8g vegetable oil

Colouring:

• tea strainer
• toothbrush
• 2 tsp water+ 2 drops pink colouring, for the buns
• green food colouring, for the leaves.

For the filling:

• 360g red bean paste, black sesame paste or any filling you like. You can buy ready made filling from Oriental shop or you can make the filling yourself.  Divide in 30g each ball. 

Method:

For the filling: It will be easier to handle the filling when it is chill. Roll into a balls of about 30g each balls. I place them in the freezer while making the bun dough.

For the bao bun: In a large bowl, mix in the cold milk along with instant yeast and sugar. Stir well until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Add in the flour and mix everything together, gather all small crumbs until it creates a dough ball. 

Pour in the vegetable oil. It seems too much oil at first, collect all the oil in the bowl, and then continue kneading on a work surface for about 1 minutes. When you feel that the oil started to absorb completely, roll the dough into a long shape (like sausage). Then take left and right ends and fold it to the centre of the dough (repeat the same process for 2 times). The dough gradually will become really smooth. Do not overwork, this kneading process will only takes about 3-4 minutes.

Once the dough is ready, you can use it immediately. There is no need to rest the dough because by proofing it twice, it will cause a lot of air bubbles on the surface.

To fill & shape: Reserve 40g of the dough for the peach leaves and divide the rest into 12 equal pieces (about 45g to 48g each). Always cover the bun with a cling film to prevent from drying out.

Take 1 portions of the dough, press into a thick disk. Using a rolling pin, roll back and forth onto rectangular shape, fold into 2 equal shape pieces, turn 90º angle and repeat the same process 2 times. 

Then roll the dough into a square shape, grab the dough with left hand and rolling pin on the other hand. Using the rolling pin, roll up and back flatten the edges of the dough while turn the dough a little by little (middle part should be slightly thick).

Place 1 portion of the red bean paste filling to the centre of the dough, gather the sides to enclose the bun and pinch to seal.

To shape the bun into peaches, flip the filled bun so the seam side is down and shape it to a smooth oval ball. Using your palms, form a peak on the top. To make the seam of the peach, gently press the bench scrapper in to create a line along the arch; pinch the top, mimicking the shape of the peach.

Cover the filled buns with a cling film and repeat this process with the rest of the dough and fillings.

For the bun leaves: Colour the 40g left over dough with green food colouring and divide it into 24 equal pieces. (about 2g each). Using bend scraper, flatten the cone. Form a line in the centre and create the leaf vein patterns tilts towards the cone.

Colour & decorate the bun: To create the pink shades of the buns, simply mix some water with a few drops of pink food colouring.  Dip the toothbrush to the colouring mixture, tap off any excess onto a kitchen paper.

Hold the strainer upside down 2-3cm above the bun, the gently brush the toothbrush over the back of the strainer in a circular motion; repeat the same process until you get the desire colour shades.

Attached the leaves onto each peach bun with a ab of water, a pair for each bun. Place each bun onto a piece of baking paper.

Proof & Steam: Place the finished bun in the steamer; make sure you give some space in between the buns so they won't stick one another after fermentation or steaming. Cover and allow to rise for about 30 minutes to an hour depending on the temperature in the house.

After fermentation, the proofed buns should feel lighter and rise about 50% of their original size. If you gently press it with your finger, the dough will make a indentation and be able to slowly bounce back into shape.

Over medium high heat, steam the buns for 10-15 minutes. After 10 minutes, take the streamer off from the heat, DO NOT OPEN the lid and let it sit for another 5 minutes. If you open the lid immediately, the skin of the bun will get wrinkly.

Serve !