Rosette Cake

I can't believe we are almost towards the end of 2012 .. today is 12.12.12, what a wonderful date.  Here, many couples are getting married today just because of the number.  Sweet huh :)

 

So I have  been busy lately that I didn't have the time to update my blog.  I know it has been collecting dust and I feel soo guilty.  So today I am putting up something I did for my youngest daughter who turned 6 last November.  Initially there was no plan to bake anything as her birthday was a day after we got home from our very short vacation.  But as usual, mommy got a bit guilty and did last minute shopping for her goody bags and made this simple chocolate sponge with whipped cream cake to share with friends at the childcare centre.

 

No time for elaborate looking piece, so I decided on a simple rosette cake.  It is so girlish just like the birthday girl :)

The side view of the cake.

It is not a big cake, just a  9 inch but enough to feed about 20+ kids :)   Chocolate sponge was a recipe from Rose's Heavenly Cake, german chocolate cake.  Easy and good.  Do try it if you have her book.

 

Fresh Fruit Tart

I love anything with fresh fruits especially tarts.  I just had to make one for myself eversince I saw those tarts from Fruit Paradise.  So I finally gather my mojo and made this which was a couple of months back :-P   I have not personally tried any of the tarts yet as the branches are simply out of my way.  So after talking to my colleagues about it, checking with them the texture, the filling and surfing the net for details, I decided to make a vanilla custard filling with layers of sponge cake and fresh whipped cream.  Here is the final product which did not look like those at Fruit Paradise at all *LOL*

I choose easy fruits; peaches and kiwis.  I actually wanted to pile more fruits but I messed up the whipped cream and could not risk the fruits sliding off the tart.  Anyways, it was a very delicious and refreshing dessert.  Everyone loved it.

This is how it looks like.  You see the crust, custard filling, a layer of vanilla sponge, whipped cream and peaches, another layer of vanilla sponge, whipped cream and the fruit toppings.   It is not difficult to make but can be bit tedious.  Better to prepare the sponge and crust a day earlier so you won't get so stressed up and mess up the tart.  Let me know if you are interested in the recipe :D

 

Ayam masak kicap or Chicken in soya sauce malay style ala Zu

One of my kids favourite is chicken in soya sauce gravy.  There are many version of chicken in soya sauce, some are more savoury with spices like cinnamon, cloves etc, some are very simple no spices at all and some like what my late mom used to cook is added with tomato ketchup/puree for added flavour like this one.

Dark Chocolate Dessert Cake

My least creative cake that I baked for my colleagues in the office yesterday night :-D  It is a very simple recipe and is taken off the back of a cadbury dark cooking chocolate wrapper.  I would say that not only it is easy, it tastes real good too.   I used dark ghana whittakers chocolate but you can use any good quality dark chocolate for this.  However, I would recommend that you add maybe 2T of sourcream/buttermilk or yogurt for extra moist texture.  

Flour famous banana bread

I made this lovely banana bread a few weeks ago for my sister who was going back to Shanghai.  We usually have this deal, I got her to buy some stuffs for me from Shanghai and I in turn will bake for her some cakes or stuffs to bring back.  Good thing was that my dad bought some bananas which I used for this banana bread.

I kind of like the idea of taking a photo of the baked good with the book.  It gives you an idea how the end result will look in comparison with the photo from the book.  So here it is.  Unlike most banana bread that only requires you to mix the wet & dry ingredients, this one needs you to whip the eggs and sugar till fluffy hence the texture of this bread is more cake like and light.  The recipe as follows:

Work Lunch #1

I have been bringing lunch to office quite often now as I am trying to eat healthy :-D  I usually share my lunch photo with my friends at FB and decided maybe I should share them in this blog.  So this post is my first lunch photo and here it is :D



This is chicken in soya sauce and steamed broccoli.  I was just too lazy to do a stir-fry this morning hence the simple steamed vege.  The soya sauce chicken is a simple malay style, I will be sharing the recipe in my next post.  Keep a lookout !

Tomato Sauce Noodles

This is actually inspired by Sarawak Kway Teow. Since my kids and husband are not a great fan of kway teow, I substitute it with udon instead. You can use any noodles that you like as the method is pretty much like hor fun.

Moist, Chewy, Fudgy Brownie

I am not  a great fan of brownies.  But I was looking out for a chewy , fudgy brownie for another friend and thought of giving this recipe a try.  An online friend shared this recipe a few years ago and it has always been in my to do list but it got shifted down as months passed.  Honestly I am glad that made it.  It is really that fudgy, chewy and dense, good for those who love fudgy brownies :-)

Caramel Peanut topped Brownie Cake

I was in a mood to bake last weekend and was thinking of baking something 'different'.  After going through heaps of baking books, I decided to try this and was truly delighted with my choice :-D 

Fish with chinese mushroom, scallions & chinese celery

Non-fried fish was not one of my kids favourite dish until recently.  Now, having one steamed or braised/poached fish is a must especially during the weekends.

Fried Egg with Tomatoes and Chinese Chives

A really easy dish but satisfying.  This is really nice eaten with either steaming hot rice or porridge.  It's so Easy to do and very kids friendly too.  Great if you are running out of time or ideas *LOL*

Egg White Brownie

What to do with excess egg white and dark chocolate?  Ended up making this and it was truly delicious simply because I used valrhona 85% and 70% chocolate and butter ! The last time I made this I used oil and some other brand of chocolate (can't remember though) and I thought it was just ok.  So do indulge in some good chocolates if you can or at least get a 70% chocolate :-)

Although the recipe you can get it from my previous post here, I will just type it out for you again with the ingredients that I used for this.

Cashew Chicken Vietnamese Style

I made vietnamese dishes for our sunday lunch as my second daughter and her dad were not well.  I decided to prepare something light for them so that it will not aggravate their already bad throat.  So here is one of the dish and the kids love it.  In fact they loved it soo much till there was nothing left for dinner *LOL*

Easy Cheese Fries

I made this for my 2nd girl as she loves loves cheese fries.  So I took the opportunity to make this not only to please her but also to test the Airfryer which I purchase very recently.  I have been using the fryer regularly and I love it loads.  Having it keeps my sanity intact during the morning madness preparing meals for the family before I go off to work. 

One-ingredient banana 'ice-cream'

This is not something new.  One of my colleague and sister were telling me about this yummy easy dessert that they make using overripe bananas (I like!)  My overripe bananas will usually end up in a cake or muffin and I was not in a mood to bake last week.  So this was the best option to do and I am glad that I did it.  It is really a treat and the girls love it.

Inspired by this entry, I chose to make it really simple.  I just added a bit of condensed milk so that the bananas will turn turn brown and also to ensure that I can blend them smoothly.  You can add peanut butter, chunky is better or choc or both !  However, you need to freeze the bananas before you whiz them in the food processor or blender in order to get that creamy texture. 

Stir-fry French Beans (Malay style)

I love french beans cooked in any way ..steamed, blanced or stir-fried.  This time I am posting a more typical malay style stir-fried french beans.  Typically, the ingredients consists of chilli, onion, garlic and dried shrimps or anchovies.  You can use any vege of your choice.  I can have this on its own or with hot steaming rice with no other condiments.  You can make it spicy by adding bird's eye chilli or make it less spicy by removing the chilli seeds.   

I used my trusty old pestle and mortar because I love the biting to the bits of chilli and onion.  I always find using it gives your dish a better flavour.

New kitchen appliance .. not all

Being a full time working mom and the need to cook for the family requires a lot of planning and time management.  In order to get all these done without going crazy, I am always in a lookout for applicances that can help me work more efficiently.  So this post is about my latest addition to my kitchen that I got for myself, well except for the happy call pan which is really not new though :)   I love the happy call pan (do a search and you find loads of infor about it) and it is currently very very popular in this part of the world.   It is generally a flip pan where you can cook both sides.  What you see in the picture is korean chicken stew that I made using this pan.  It is non-stick (not teflon) and works like a pressure cooker too.  So cooking dishes like potatoes, carrots and meat is a breeze.   I use this almost everyday as I like to do my omelette and reheating my patties with it.  Oh, I do potatoes with it too :) 

Another one which I just purchased yesterday night as it was on offer.  I have been holding back in getting

Baked Banana Pie

I have been thinking about the famous baked banana pie from the eastern part of singapore when my dad bought a bunch of local bananas for the girls.  As much as the kids love to eat bananas, it was way to much for them to consume within a few days.  So I went about searching for THE baked banana recipe that looks similar to the famous pie.  I remember vividly the flavour of banana and coconut and this particular recipe kind of hit the jackpot.  It is not difficult to make and it is delicious.   Will I make this again?  Yes I will :)

Easy Roasted/Char Siew Chicken

This is an easy dish which you can make using either regular wok or happycall pan if you have.  For this, I used my happycall pan because it cuts short the cooking time. 

I got the recipe from a booklet given to me when I bought a hard anodised wok from Tangs a few years ago.  I totally forgotten all about it until I found it recently while cleaning up my room.  This is a very simple dish, you can have this with plain rice, chicken rice or even wanton or chicken noodles, chinese style.  You can also use it to make pau fillings.  I used chicken for my version but you can use other white meat to your liking.

Easy Chicken Briyani

Starting early this month, I always prepare a menu list for the week for my family.  Simply because I currently don't have a helper and have to prepare the meals early in the morning before I go to work.  My 2 older kids go home straight from school and I have to make sure that they have food for lunch :)   Weekday mornings are crazy for me so I usually whip something easy and one of them is this.  Initially the idea was to throw everything in into the rice cooker but plan changed when I found that I have a bottle of Roganjosh curry paste in the cabinet. 

What I did was to cook the rice (no not plain rice) in the rice cooker.  While the rice is cooking, I do the chicken roganjosh.  Once the rice is 90% cooked, I pour the chicken roganjosh on top of the cooked rice and let it cook further.  This is what I got.  It is missing chopped coriander and toasted cashews .. my bad because I totally forgotten all about it.

Harry Potter cupcakes

A friend ordered a HarryPotter cupcakes for her son who is a big fan of the series.  12 pieces of chocolate fudge cupcakes with chocolate ganache.  It was my first theme cupcakes and actually had great time making them.  Let see what I can do with the balance coloured fondant :)

Spaghetti with Chicken and Mushroom White Sauce

You won't believe that this recipe is from my daughter's child care centre.  Recently, the centre held a food demo of the kids' favourite dish,  actually the program was held to encourage family bonding activity.  My youngest pestered me to cook this for the weekend and so I relented.

You should know that this was a serving for her :)

I won't really call this quick and easy.  Quick and easy would mean to use canned soup *LOL* but of course, from scratch is still the best.  For this dish, it involves 2 steps.  You need to prepare the white sauce first then followed by the chicken and mushroom sauce.  I promise it is not difficult but you can prepare the white sauce a day ahead to make it easier for you.

Slice Fish Noodles

I love anything soupy especially when it comes to noodles.  Whenever I have a chance I will get myself a bowl of sliced fish noodle soup.   This time round, instead of buying I decided to do a homemade version.  To get a good tasting broth, you need to simmer the soup on the stove for about 1hr or so.  Due to time constraint, I decided to use my pressure cooker instead.   There is not much ingredients used for the soup base.  I used about 2 medium size toman fish bones.  You can use other types of fish bone that you like.  As for noodles, it is optional.  You can have it with rice too.

Buttery and flaky croissants

This is definitely not quick and easy.  It's not that difficult but definitely not quick :-P  I will post the recipe in my other blog.

This is my second attempt at making these lovelies.  It was quite a daunting experience with the humidity and heat here, I had to work real fast in order to keep the butter from melting.  Nevertheless, they came out beautiful, buttery and flaky.  My family loves them, the thing is it took me hours to prepare this but took less than an hour to finish 'gobbling' them *LOL*  but it was great fun making them.  I used 100% butter and love the flavour unlike the ones I get from the supermarket which are just too waxy.  Actually I find them disgusting :-P.  I am however tempted to try with the butter meant for laminating dough.  I have seen it sold at the baking supply shop and it comes in a slab of 1kg.  I wonder if it gives the same flavour as using butter... hmm

A tray of them before the 1.5hrs rise

Cake projects to close 2011

The 2 cakes that I made end of last year.  The first was my youngest daughter's birthday cake and the second was for my aunt.  Jump to my other blog to read at http://mybakingadventure.blogspot.com/ :)

Noodles week

The last 2 weeks have been a noodle week for us. I was thinking of nothing but having noodles over the weekend so we had ban mian, sliced fish noodle and xinjiang inspired la mian :)

Xinjiang inspired la mian which looks far from the version that I had during my trip there many years ago. The colour of the sauce is way too dark. I used tomato puree instead of fresh tomatoes :-P But it came out pretty alright though. I used beef instead of mutton because none in my family including myself eats mutton. I will definitely try it again to get the right colour :)

Keropok Lekor

This is my husband's favorite snack and he never gets tired eating it *LOL*. Keropok lekor tastes very much like fish keropok but it is shaped like a sausage. There are 2 types, one is chewy and the other is really crispy to a point like eating sticks *lol*. You will usually need to cut them into pieces before frying. I decided to give it a try over the weekend and fortunately they came out nice :) For this, I used the saba (mackeral) fillets that you can get from the supermarket, usually prepacked in 400g package. Otherwise, you can get fresh ones and get the fishmonger to fillet them for you. I get about 8 sausage pieces with this recipe.

Japchae ala Zu

Japchae is a korean dish which is actually glass noodle salad. It uses the sweet potato glass noodle instead of the mung bean ones that we normally see in the supermarket. I like this one better as it is chewy and slightly thicker than the regular mung bean version. It is almost as thick as the laksa noodle, maybe slightly thinner. So in the midst of clearing my pantry and refrigerator, I decided to make this for my lunch in the office today.

You can get the more authentic recipe from here For me I stir fry everything and have it as a main dish :D The sauce ingredients are generally sesame seed oil, soya sauce and sugar or honey for sweetening effect.

Nasi Samin/Nasi Minyak

We had it with Chicken Bamiah and pickled cucumber+carrot

This is the first traditional dish I made for 2012. This was actually inspired after a chat I had with my dad recently. Nasi samin is made using butter made from animal fat like cow, goat or camel. Here, we can get ghee (clarified butter) which is derived from cow easily. So my version is using ghee. It is a relatively simple dish, not much fuss and ingredient. To serve, I pan fried the cashew and raisins with a bit of ghee for flavour and aroma.

Ingredients:
3C basmati rice, rinse till water is clear then drain
4C water
1 medium size cinnamon stick
3 cloves
3 cardamoms
1 star anise
2 large onions, sliced
5 cloves garlic, sliced
2 T ghee
1 T oil
salt to taste

for garnishing, some cashews and raisins, pan fried with a bit of ghee

Method
1. Heat pot with both ghee and oil, once melted add onions, stir till onions becomes translucent
2. Add garlic and the spices (cardamom, clove, cinnamon stick, star anise) and stir till fragrant
3. Add rice and make sure they are coated with oil, add salt
4. Pour water into the pot, stir and cover to let the rice cook
5. Once the rice is cooked, sprinkle cashew nut and raisins before serving

Happy New Year !

I would like to wish all my readers a good 2012 .. May all your wishes come true. Thank you for all your support and reading my blog. I know I have not been updating this regularly especially after my dearest mom passed away in June last year. Now I will try to update as much as I possibly can try to stick to quick n easy recipes as per my blog title :-D

Thank you again :)