Sago Pudding with Palm Sugar

A simple dessert made of mini pandan flavoured sago pearls served with fragrant palm sugar syrup and thick coconut cream. Easy to prepare, yet taste heavenly delicious 😋

Update: 14 April 2021

The sago pudding can be served in small cups, too 😃

Servings: 4 persons

Sago Pudding Ingredients

60g mini sago pearls

1 blade pandan leaf

Palm Sugar Syrup Ingredients

25g palm sugar, finely chopped

10g hot water

Coconut Cream Ingredients

65ml coconut cream

30g low-fat milk/water

1/8 tsp salt, or salt to taste

1/4 tsp glutinous rice flour/potato starch

10g water

Directions

1. Soak 60g of mini sago pearl with about 130g of water, or submerge the sago pearls just below water level. Let the sago pearls soak for about 30 to 60 minutes, or till the sago pearls raise above the water level.

Beginning of soaking.

End of soaking.

2. Bring about 500ml of water into a boil with pandan leaf. Drain away excess water from the soaked sago pearls, and pour the sago pearls into the boiling water. Turn off the heat, and stir immediately to prevent the sago pearls from forming lumps.

When most of the sago pearls turn translucent, cover the pot with a lid, and let the sago pearls simmer for about 15 minutes.

End of simmering, almost all the sago pearls turn clear.

3. Pour the sago pearls into a big sieve. Rinse the sago pearls under running water, till the sago pearls are clear from any starchy liquid.

4. Transfer the cooked sago pearls to 4 small bowls. About 60g of cooked sago pearls per bowl.

When the sago pearls cool down to room temperature, chill them in the fridge for about one hour to set.

5. While waiting for the sago pearls to cool in the fridge, melt 25g of palm sugar with 10g of hot water in a small pan. Transfer the smooth syrup to a small pouring jug, and keep aside.

6. Heat coconut cream with low-fat milk in a small pan till the mixture starts to boil.

Stir in the salt. Add the salt depending on your taste.

Finally, turn off the heat, mix the glutinous rice with 10g of water before being added to the coconut cream. Stir till the coconut cream further thickens. Transfer the coconut cream to a cup to cool down.

7. For a more presentable plating, invert out the sago pearl cake onto a small dish. 

You can pour the palm sugar syrup and coconut cream into the bowl without transferring the sago pearl cake out. And serve straight with the bowl.

Pour the palm sugar syrup over the sago pearl cake,

and scoop the coconut cream over. The sequence of pouring the palm sugar syrup and coconut cream can be altered depending on your preference. I prefer to soak the plain sago pearl cake with the sweet syrup before adding the creamy coconut cream.

8. Ready to serve. Enjoy 😋

Quinoa Cocoa Milk Bread

 

A lightly sweetened milk bread added with mixed quinoa seeds and a little dark brown cocoa powder for a more interesting colour, aroma and texture.

This is the tri-colours organic mixed quinoa seeds I used 

Thank you Matrix Star Marketing for the packet of Tulip dark brown cocoa powder 😊

Yield: Twin loaves in one pan

Pan size: 21x13x10 cm 1.5L

Raw dough weight: 639g

Baking temperature:  Preheat oven to 190℃, lower rack, bake at 180℃ for 15 minutes, reduce to 170℃ for 15 minutes, turn off oven and continue to bake for 5 minutes.

Ingredients

225g bread flour

45g superfine wholegrain flour

5~8g cocoa powder (add more for a darker and stronger aroma)

40g raw sugar

2g instant dry yeast (increase the yeast to 3g for a faster proofing time)

50g natural yeast, 100% hydration *

38g yudane dough ^

About 20g soaked quinoa seeds #

170g milk, cold

20g water, cold, to be added depending on dough condition

3g low-sodium salt

30g unsalted butter, softened

2g unsalted butter, melted as butter wash

* 50g natural yeast can be replaced by 25g each of bread flour and water + 1/8 tsp instant dry yeast. Let the mixture stands for about 1 hour or till double in volume, before use. You can also keep the mixture in the fridge overnight and thaw it for 1 hour before use.

^ 38g yudane dough is prepared by combining 20g of bread flour with 19g of very hot or boiling water into a sticky dough. Wrap the yudane dough in cling wrap, cool down before chilling in the fridge overnight. You may refer to Yudane Milk Bread for a pictorial illustration.

# Pour 15g boiling water to 10g of mixed quinoa seeds, and let them stand for about 1 hour or more. Drain away excess water before adding to the dough mixture.

Update: 2 April 2021

Directions

Knead the dough using your preferred method till reaching window pane stage.

1. Mix dry ingredients except the salt, in a big mixing bowl followed by the natural yeast, yudane dough and the wet ingredients, except the unsalted butter.

The dry ingredients

The wet ingredients

Stir in one direction and combine into a dough, cover with a lid, and let it stands for about 20 minutes.

2. Use an electric hand mixer fitted with a pair of dough hooks to knead the dough at low speed for about 1 to 2 minutes before adding the salt.

Knead in the softened unsalted butter till no traces of butter can be seen.

Perform about 500 sets of "Slapping and Folding" till reaching window pane stage.

Window pane

3. Shape the dough into a ball, spray some water over, cover with a lid, and let the dough proof for about 70 minutes, or till double in size.

End of first proofing

4. Invert out the dough onto a floured worktop.

Deflate the dough and divide into halves.

Shape into 2 balls, cover the dough, and let them rest for about 15 to 20 minutes

End of 15-minute resting

5. Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1 cm. 

Flip over, and fold in the two wings of the longer length, to overlap each other.

Roll flat again, and roll up into a roll.

6. Place the shaped dough into the bread pan coated with butter.

Brush the dough surface with melted butter.

Seal the bread pan with cling wrap. Let the dough undergo second proofing for about 50 minutes, or till the dough raises close to the rim of the pan.

End of second proofing

While waiting for the dough to proof, cut some stencils using parchment paper. This step is optional.

7. Start to preheat the oven to 190℃ for about 10 minutes.

Place the stencils over the surface of the dough.

If you are not using stencils, just dust a thin layer of bread flour over the dough.

Lightly dust some bread flour over. Remove the stencils, and dust another layer of bread flour over.

8. Place the pan at lower rack of a preheated oven, reduce the temperature to 180℃, and bake for 15 minutes. Further reduce the temperature to 170℃, and bake for 15 minutes. Turn off the oven heating, and continue to bake for 3 to 5 minutes, or till the crust turns golden brown.

9. Remove the bread from the pan immediately after leaving the oven.

Cool over a wire rack before slicing.