Cottage Pie with Cheese-crusted Leeks

A delicious cottage pie with beef mince topped gratinéed cheesy leeks! Delicious, even if I do say so myself!

I added a good splash of port, used diced fennel bulb instead of swedes in the filling, left out the thyme because I didn't have any, and made a sofrito of tomatoes because I couldn't be bothered using tomato purée. The resulting fragrance of port and cinnamon was quite heavenly and rich, without being heavy. The slightly burnt cheesy leeks gave the pie a nice lift too.

Recipe adapted from Delia Smith online:

Shepherd's Pie with Cheese-crusted Leeks - Delia Smith

 

Paper-Wrapped Sponge Cakes

Julia made a light and fluffy Asian-style sponge cake typically made in baking
paper cups, which is where the name 紙包蛋糕 Paper-Wrapped Sponge Cake is from.

Instead of cake flour, Julia used all-purpose flour, but reduced it to suit.

Mexican Taro Bun

Having tackled plenty of bread loaves, Julia decided to make a fancy Japanese/Chinese-style 墨西哥芋容包 Mexican Taro Bun. She used the bread machine to knead and proof the dough, but filling and shaping by hand.
The sweet Japanese-style bun was soft and fluffy, but retaining a semblance to real bread, unlike some from Asian bakeries. The crunchy butter cream topping became a golden crust and provide even more richness to the bun.
Inside was a smooth taro puree filling that was sublime!
Despite being so yummy, you wouldn't want to stuff your face with too many or else, the richness would get to you!
As for the name, I have no idea why it is called a "Mexican Bun", but that is what a buttercream topped sweet bun is called, with out without filling.

Recipes:
- Taro Mexican Buns 芋香墨西哥包 - Corner Cafe February 15, 2009
- Japanese-Style Sweet Bun Dough 湯種甜麵糰 - Corner Cafe Aug 28, 2008

Eggplant Gratin with Tofu and Miso Sauce - Harumi's Japanese Home Cooking

Deliciously creamy sauce with a nice miso flavour and silky chunks of grilled eggplant!
The recipe is a basically a bechamel sauce with butter, flour, milk and pureed silken tofu instead of cream. There's only a small amount of butter and cream for a bit of flavour, but it probably doesn't need it.
Recipe:
- Eggplant Gratin with Tofu and Miso Sauce - Foodista adapted from Harumi's Japanese Home Cooking