Sago pudding

As a child, I'd often help my mother to make this recipe. However, I've forgotten the recipe, which made it very traumatic for me because I so desperately wanted to recreate that taste and thus those feelings of home, mother, and a secure childhood.

I did try it once in recent times and it turned out to be a stodgey mess. Until I came across these tips, that is: https://www.theburningkitchen.com/how-not-to-cook-sago-3-common-mistakes-people-make/

So here's my redo of this childhood favourite adapted for my pots and requirements.

Ingredients
250g small sago pearls
large pot of boiling water
300g (1 block) of gula melaka, shaved and and made into a syrup
1 can of coconut milk (use fresh if you have it!)
7 to 10 pandan leaves.
Pinch of salt

Method
1. Following the tips from Burning Kitchen, bring a pot of water to a boil. Knot the pandan leaves and boil for 10 minutes until the fragrance emerges.
2. Pour in the sago pearls (do not soak nor wash beforehand!). Stir and keep stirring. Turn down the heat to medium and leave to simmer for 12 minutes, with lid slightly ajar.
3. The centre will still have a tiny dot of white. Turn off the flame and cover. Leave to steep for 20 minutes. The residual heat will continue to cook until the tiny dot of white turns clear.
4. Strain in a strainer and rinse in tap water until the sago is no longer hot.
5. Spoon into a mould where it coagulates into a pudding. Leave to cool until no longer hot and chill in the fridge.
6. Serve with gula mela syrup (cooked with pandan leaf) and coconut milk which has a pinch of salt added.

Cake-like matcha madeleines

I first used this recipe and while the taste was ok, the texture wasn't as enjoyable as another method that I used for earl grey madeleines. Therefore I am now combining both recipes: the ingredients of the first and the method of the second.

Ingredients (makes 20)
113g butter, melted and brought to room temp + 2 tbsp melted butter for coating (28g)
⅔ C sugar (133g; can be reduced to 130g)
1 C flour (120g)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp matcha powder
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp milk, at room temp
2 large eggs, at room temp


Method
1) Bring out the eggs and milk and let them come to room temp. Melt the butter and allow to cool down to room temp. 
2) Combine the sugar and egg and whisk until pale and fluffy.
3) Sieve the flour, baking powder, and salt. Sift into the egg mixture and fold carefully to avoid knocking out the air. I used the whisk to fold the flour in.
4) Add the milk and carefully blend.
5) Add in half of the melted butter and blend, and continue adding slowly and blending carefully.
6) Cover with cling film and put in the fridge to rest for between 30 to 60 minutes. No longer than 60 minutes otherwise the melted butter will harden.
7) While waiting for it to chill, preheat the oven to 180 deg C. Brush the moulds with plenty of melted butter. Dusting with a sifting of flour is not necessary as it can get claggy.
8) Fill each mould about ⅔ full, with 1 level tbsp of batter (using the measuring spoon). No need to smoothen out the top as it will spread out and flatten.
9) Bake at 177 deg C (no higher as it can burn on the outside but leave the inside raw). Baking time is 13 minutes, although watch carefully in the last 2 minutes or it can burn.
10) Use a fork to release each and leave to cool on a cooking rack. Alternatively, invert the entire madeleine tin over the cooling rack.
11) Leave to cool slightly for 3 minutes and eat immediately while the edges are still crispy. It looses its crispiness after 10 minutes (!). Best eaten with 24 hours. Store the cooled remainder in an airtight box at room temp for up to 4 days.

Recipe feedback
This has more of a hump compared to the first matcha madeleine recipe. The beating of the eggs and sugar gave the madeleines a more cake-like texture so it was spongey. However it was not moist like the first receipe. I underbaked at 12 minutes because I didn't want to burn matcha which burns easily. However, each maddy was only very slightly crispy straight out of the oven, so I might try the full 13 minutes next time.