baked kueh keria (sweet potato doughnuts)

Hi All! I hope you haven't forgotten that my book launch is coming up next Saturday, 21 July from 2pm - 3 pm at Kinokuniya, Level 3 Takashimaya Shopping Centre. My official e-vite finally came last week and it's so adorable, I just have to show you what it looks like : 



I'm really looking forward to it and hope to meet as many of you there, as possible. The event is open to all and if you'd like to take a friend or two or three along, go right ahead! Now let's get on with today's post.....

There comes a time in most mortal food bloggers' lives (like when a shoe horn becomes necessary to get into a pair of jeans) when the painful realisation that some serious calorific intervention is required, hits home, hard. 

I got my wake up call when I was looking for a favourite blouse and realised that I'd bundled  and banished it out of my closet, with, oh, tooooo many other things , that I could now only dream of getting into.  

The constant recipe developing, testing and tasting that has become so much a part of my life since 2008, when I started writing cookbooks and consequently, blogging about food and the careless eating I blamed on both, have finally taken a toll on my once willowy figure. Willowy; such a pretty word. I can barely say it without my throat constricting as tightly as my jeans around my thighs, when I sit down.

You know, with all the time I spend sitting on my caboose, writing, writing, writing, you'd think it would be flat as an ironing board. Huh. If only. Anyway, here I was rummaging through my clothes racks, looking for my blouse when it dawned on me that oh.my.god. I had replaced almost a third of wardrobe because of my hefty weight gain!

Enough's enough. No more mindless eating, no more snarfing down leftovers because I don't want them  going to waste - that's what the fridge is for! No more baking brownies after midnight because I can't sleep, and most of all, no more blaming my food blog or cookbooks for making me chubby! Still, sometimes you just want a little something besides, even after a full meal, and boy, suddenly I just could not get my mind off kueh keria, those sugar crusted sweet potato doughnuts that turn my knees to water...

Does cooking, eating, thinking or writing about food, CON-STANT-LY necessarily mean that I can't sidestep the unhealthy and unflattering extra kilos? Given how much I love food, and everything about it, I'm hesitant to answer that, either way. But in any case, it's far too easy to gobble down far too many calories in my line of far too enjoyable work, so, why fry, when I can bake? I want my doughnut and damn, if I don't want to eat it too! This way I can at least sidestep the fat and my heart and hips will thank me for it.

I don't intend turning into a health nut and don't worry, you won't be seeing lentil cakes, rice milk panna cotta or green smoothie posts anytime soon; this blog is not a  secret portal to the 60s, though I swear sometimes, I smell incense burning *ommmmmm* ;) I love my food in all it's sinful, hip inflating glory, but I'm feeling a wee bit remorseful for the way I've been mindlessly straining my poor, overtaxed digestion and beleaguered figure. You should have seen the way I made the sugee cakes from last week's post disappear *sigh* These moist, tender, fudgy and FAT FREE (yippee!) doughnuts amount to an apology. Never thought saying sorry could be so enjoyable though.

Much as I wanted to, I did not deep fry these babies, as I usually would've. I patted them and pricked them and baked them instead. So they're crusted with sugar, but, I need my crackly sugar glaze! I mean come on, the only reason you eat kueh keria is to crunch into that big bad, crackly, sugar crust! Everybody knows that!!

And oh my, would you just look at that crust! This is almost like candy. No way would you ever believe this is fat free, if you didn't make it yourself. These babies knocked the wind right out of my sugar cravings and completely satisfied. Think I'll just have salad for dinner.....

Baked Fat Free Kueh Keria prep20mins  cook40mins  makes12doughnuts

Preheat oven at 210 C (410 F). Line a baking tray with non stick baking paper or parchment.

Combine hot potatoes and salt in a large mixing bowl. Mash as finely as you can using your hand.


Sprinkle over the flour and baking powder and mix everything to a soft dough. Divide into 12 portions and form each into a ball. 


Flatten balls slightly and make a hole in the middle of each. Neaten doughnuts. Set aside. 


Place doughnuts onto lined tray and bake for 20 minutes or until light gold and puffed. Set aside on a cooling rack until cold.

To make sugar coating, combine the sugar and water in a heavy based pot and heat over moderate heat until sugar dissolves. Do not stir. 

Heat until syrup boils vigorously and thickens. When syrup is opaque and foamy, dip in both sides of each doughnut then gently shake off excess syrup. 

Cool doughnuts on a rack with a tray beneath to catch any sticky drips. When syrup cools and sets to a crisp and crackly glaze, serve doughnuts.

*****************************************

The doughnuts were dreamy with coffee but I'm not done here yet. There's something else close to my heart I want to share with all of you. 

Family Food Legacy Cooking Competition 2012

I started this blog as a means of sharing and preserving our local dishes and recipes as I am very proud of our ethnic diversity and food culture. As Singapore has always and continues to actively welcome foreign influences (including culinary influences) into our tiny island nation, the danger of the younger generation forgetting our unique culinary traditions is an ever present and real concern. 

I truly believe that the heart and history of a nation is best understood by looking into its cooking pot. So, when I came to know about a cooking contest to showcase local traditional family recipes, organised by the People's Association I had to share about it here. 

The aim of the contest is to encourage family bonding and the preservation of our culinary legacy through the sharing of favourite family recipes that may be unfamiliar to the younger generation of Singaporeans. It sounds like great fun and the prizes are pretty impressive. It's a team contest so you won't have to do it alone. If you're interested, click here for contest details and here to download the entry form. The closing date for  registration is 31 July 2012, so don't drag your heels!

And now, I'm done. Hope you enjoy the doughnuts, I'll be back soon with a new post, so keep checking back here!