Vanilla Sponge Cake

This is the recipe for the vanilla sponge which is adapted from the book 'A Profit-Making Bakery Shop' by Wendy Kor. I believe this is a malaysian book. It doesn't really matter that the acknowlegdement and some parts of the book is written in chinese, all the recipes are bilingual though. I have tried many sponge recipes and this one is the one that I have been looking for. It could be the milk powder that is being used here that makes the difference. The texture is very soft and compact. No eggy taste and it is fairly white but of course taste is very subjective. My taste and others can differ, it may be good to me but not others :-D

Here goes:

Ingredients:

(A)
150g cake flour/superfine flour
1/2 tsp (2g) baking powder
1/4 tsp (1g) salt
10g milk powder

(B)
60g cooking oil
50g water
4 (75g) yolks
80g castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

(C)
4 (150g) whites
90g castor sugar (original 100g)
1/4 tsp (1g) cream of tartar

Method
1. Sift ingredients (A) and put it aside
2. Whisk yolks and sugar till it turns lemon color
3. Add oil, water and vanilla and mix till well blended
4. Add ingredients (A) and mix it slowly till it forms a smooth batter
5. Whisk (C) till stiff
6. Fold in 1/3 of egg white mixture into egg yolk mixture and gently stir, then fold in the remaining egg white mixture and mix well gently
7. Pour batter into a lined 9" round cake tin
8. Bake in a preheated oven 180C for 35-40 mins or till it springs back when touched
9. Once cooked, removed from oven and invert the cake on the wire rack until completed cooled
10.Removed from mould and decorate it

The 'perfect' vanilla sponge cake - finally !!

Don't call me crazy but I have been on a mission to find a perfect vanilla sponge cake for creamed cakes for a couple of years already. I have tried many many recipes, not that they are not good but it didn't taste right for me. I know some of the people I know will ask why would I want my cake tastes like those from bakeries? Well, of course I admit that it can be difficult to replicate the taste of those lovelies from bakeries but to me it is a challenge - to be able to make something that is as good as those from known bakeries and not having to rely on sponge mixes *LOL* (simply because they have the closest taste). Neways, back to the topic of sponge cake, I finally found the perfect recipe and I am soo happy that I made it yesterday although I was pretty tired.

Recipe can be found here

The outcome is moist and soft cake. Yummy !!! I frost it with buttercream because I wanted to finish it off and of course, free some space in my fridge .. heh

At the same time, I used the opportunity to use my new gadget, which I actually purchased last year but never had the chance to use it until yesterday *LOL* Don't ask me how much I paid for it because you will tell me that I am crazy :-P But hey, you can grab it at Amazon at a price definitely cheaper than what I paid :-)

This is extremely useful especially weighing small grain items like gelatine powder, yeast, baking powder etc. .. lovely isn't it? (I can't help it, I am a gadget freak *LOL*)

Mother' Day

I would like to wish all mothers Happy Mothers Day. For me, mother's day is just like any other days but I do get cards and self-made gifts from my daughters. However, every year, since a few years ago, I will bake a cake for both my mom and mother-in-law. Usually it is something simple and both will have the same design *LOL* This year, I decided to make something different ie. to have their faces on the cake.

This is the cake I made for my mom. It is just a simple chocolate sponge with fresh cream.

I hope that she enjoyed the cake as much as I enjoyed baking and decorating it :-)

Mango pudding + fruit cocktail dessert

The weather has been pretty hot humid for the last week or so. To beat the heat, I made this dessert for our dinner and it was sure heaven *LOL* The pudding was store bought as my fridge currently has no space for me to make one from scratch.

What you need is good mango pudding (cut to cubes), 1 can of fruit cocktail or whatever fruit that you like with the syrup, plenty of ice or crushed ice and enough water to dilute the syrup.

This is the mango pudding that I used for this dessert.

Easy Waffles

The hubby likes eating waffles with ice-cream, for me, I prefer to have it with jam/fruit preserves. Got this recipe from the manual that comes with the Philips snack maker and I like the fact that it is easier than the ones using eggs. This one uses whipping cream instead but you will still need to whip it till stiff to lighten the texture of this wonderful waffles. Surprisingly even without sugar it tastes real nice and crispy.

Ingredients

200ml ice cold water
200g plain flour
300ml double cream (or any other whipping cream you have)
pinch of salt

Method
1. Mix flour,salt and water
2. Stir till batter is smooth
3. Whip the cream until stiff
4. Mix the cream into the flour batter little at a time gently
5. Pour batter to the buttered waffle maker and cook as per the maker's instruction
6. Serve hot with toppings of your choice

Affordable Cooking Classes @ The Spice Queen Restaurant (Singapore)

I received this via email would like to share those who are interested. All the classes look interesting but unfortunately I am not able to attend all of them.

Epicurean World @ The Spice Queen Restaurant
24 & 26 Race Course Road
Singapore 218548
Tel: 64580572
62552440

Email: info@epicureanworld.com.sg
Website: http://www.epicureanworld.com.sg/
* All classes are priced at $40 each, in line with the current worldwide economic situation.
* The cooking classes will be conducted at Spice Queen Restaurant, unless stated.

COOKING CLASSES FROMAPRIL TO MAY 2009

INDIAN BREADS PART 1
Sit back and relax as Chef Devagi shares her love for Indian breads and chutneys with a menu of Cheese-Onion Naan with Hot & Sweet Ginger Chutney, Puri with Banana & Green Mango Chutney and Masala Potatoes.
Wednesday 22/04/2009 7pm-9pm $40

INDIAN BREADS PART 2
It’s another fun day of bread and all things nice with Chef Devagi. Potato and Cauliflower stuffed Chapatis, Dhall Makhani, Sesame Jaggery Flat Bread, Tomato Onion Chutney
Friday 24/04/2009 7pm-9pm $40

AN AFTERNOON A-FARE
An afternoon to remember as Chef Devagi shares her most requested menu for an afternoon tea! Enjoy delicious Chicken Broccoli Mushroom Quiche, Mini Orange Sauce Sugee Cakes, Warm Wholewheat Raisin Scones.
Saturday 25/04/2009 2pm - 4.30pm $40

EN-THAI-LY DELICIOUS
Join cookbook author Devagi Sanmugam for this perfectly delicious afternoon preparing Thai-style salads and starters the way the restaurants do:Seafood Tunghoon Salad, Mango/Green Papaya Salad & Son-in-Law egg.
Wednesday 29/04/2009 7pm – 9pm $40

YEAST SIDE STORY
Chef Devagi has proof that yeast breads are fun and easy to create! She will show how different doughs can be used for a variety of breads, including a sweet dough for doughnuts and cinnamon rolls, dough for the perfect hamburger and hot dog buns.
Saturday 02/05/2009 2pm – 4.30pm $40

ONE SAUCE THREE DISHES – PART 1
Chef Devagi goes creative. In each lesson she will teach how to make 1 sauce, paste or sambal and then use that to teach 3 dishes you can do with it.Tom Yam Paste – Tom Yam Soup, Tom Yam Cold Udon Noodles, Vegetables & Rice Noodle Salad.
Tuesday 05/05/2009 7pm – 9pm $40

ONE SAUCE THREE DISHES – PART 2
Chef Devagi goes creative. In each lesson she will teach how to make 1 sauce or sambal and then use that to teach 3 dishes you can do with it.Sambal Belachan – Nonya Style Sambal Prawns, Pineapple Sambal, Village Style Fried Rice
Thursday 07/05/2009 7pm – 9pm $40

Panini wannabe :-P

This talk about panini started in a parenting forum which I frequent and made me crave to have one. I love sandwiches but not those cold ones. If it is not hot, it has to be at room temperature *LOL* So all these talk about panini excited me but the problem is, it is not very easy to get a low price panini presser (even the over the stove kind would cost a lot more). There is one selling at departmental store but it costs a whopping S$300+ :-( So after doing my window shopping, I decided to get a multi-plate snack maker.

It has 3 interchangable plates and well it works pretty fine for me although you may have a problem with thicker sandwiches though. I started with something simple.

Egg mayo sandwich

Peanut butter+banana sandwich

So far I am pretty happy with this gadget. In fact I have made waffles and pocketed sandwiches with it. The waffles will be updated later ;-D

Chocolate & Banana birthday cake

My eldest daughter turned 9 in the middle of March. I wasn't in the mood to do any baking but it just didn't feel right not to prepare anything for her. So as usual, I baked a cake for her to share with her friends at the day care centre. I know kids just love chocolate so I decided to bake a chocolate & banana cake with a simple chocolate ganache. Excuse the decor as I was like really pressing for time :-( But I was very happy that all the kids enjoyed the simple cake I did.

A slice of the cake (extra cake I did to celebrate at home)

The original recipe is taken from BBC Goodfood I skipped the crumble topping and used brown sugar and replaced the chocolate with dark chocolate (my favourite).

Here is the recipe with my changes. I double the recipe and baked in an 9 inch baking pan and with some excess I pour into a small about 6inch pan or you can use a loaf pan.

Ingredients
100g dark chocolate, melted by double boil or microwave
150g butter , softened
175g brown sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
175g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
25g cocoa powder
2 large bananas, peeled and mashed

Ganache
170g cream (dairy or non-dairy)
170g semi-sweet choc chips or anything choc that you like (sometimes I use more for thicker ganache)

Method
1. Heat the oven to 180C
2. Cream together the softened butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy, gradually add the egg, beating well between each addition
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder and cocoa and fold in using a large metal spoon
4. Add the mashed banana and chocolate and mix well
5. Pour into a greased and line baking pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean
6. Cool on a rack and then frost it with the ganache
7. For the ganache, heat the cream till you see bubbles at the side of the pan and add the choc and stir till all is melted, leave it to cool before use

Another year .. another book

I know I am totally behind in updating my blog. I have some photos but no mojo as yet :-( . The daily routine is catching up on me since the last couple of weeks as the girls started school. I am still struggling to get use to it but getting there *LOL*. I hope it is not too late for me to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

Kinokuniya, one of my favourite book store is currently having a 20% storewide discount till end of this month for it's members. I usually do my stocking of recommended books during such sales. One of my very recent purchase which happened to be yesterday is this book. It was sitting pretty alone on one of the shelves and what caught my eye was the simple cover and illustrations. I like the recipes as it uses lots of whole wheat flour and honey - seems very healthy and wholesome. I am very happy as I just found out that it has very high review ratings at amazon. I can't wait to try some of the recipes and will update them in this blog (soon I hope) *LOL*

Easy Orange Cake

I had one orange sitting in my refrigerator for about a week or so. I wasn't in a mood to have fresh orange but decided to use it for a cake. So I came out with this easy orange cake. The original recipe was taken from KC but I modified it based on a suggestion by a member and I got this !

Ingredients
250g self raising flour, sifted
150g sugar
125g butter, softened
2 eggs (60g each with shell)
120ml water
1 medium orange (I used navel orange)

Method:
1. Boil orange with skin and all in a pot of water for about 40mins till the skin is soft and almost translucent (make sure that the orange is fully covered with water), remove and cool the orange
2. Cut the orange to remove the seeds and blend it, put aside
3. Beat butter and sugar till creamy
4. Add eggs, one at a time to beat till well blended
5. Add the orange pulp, mix it well
6. Add water to the bowl or container that was used to hold the orange pulp (I don't want the waste the leftover pulp), put aside
7. Fold in flour and gently mix it, followed by water and then the balance flour
8. Pour batter into a greased and lined 8 inch pan
9. Baked in a preheated oven at 180C for 40-45mins or till skewer comes out clean (bake at the lowest rack)
10.Let cake cool in the pan for about 5mins before turning it out on a cooling rack

Easy Baked Pasta .. the cheat way

My family just love pasta apart from pizza. Recently, I took the opportunity to use my new Le Creuset dutch oven which I purchased recently with this simple baked pasta. Like many of my other dinner, I 'cheat' using ready made sauces.

I got abit tired of just using the traditional sauce. So I decided to make it abit like lasagna but using pasta instead.

Here I used 2 kinds of sauces. One is the traditional spaghetti sauce (I used prego) and the other is actually cream soup but I added cheese to it.

The 2 main ingredients, but I used mushroom campbell's soup. It is the kind in sachets.

The following is how I did it but you can vary it by using bolognaise sauce and replace the pasta with lasagna.

Ingredients
1 package pasta of your choice (375g), boil till al-dente
1 large bottle pasta sauce of your choice
1 sachet campbell mushroom soup
1 Cup of water for the soup
3 slices cheddar cheese
mix of shredded mozarella and cheddar cheese

Method
1. Heat 1 cup of water in a pot and add soup, stir to blend the powder
2. Add cheese slices and stir till they melt, put aside
3. Pour cooked pasta into a casserole dish and our 3/4 of the pasta sauce and mix it till all the pasta are covered with the sauce
4. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and followed by the balance pasta sauce
5. Sprinkle shredded cheese generously covering the pasta
6. Bake in a preheated oven 190C for 30-40mins or till the top turns golden brown
7. Sprinkle with herbs if you want and serve it hot

Enjoy!

Fish+Prawn Wrap

When was the last time I did something that is quick & easy? I know, i know that I have not been posting much lately on quick & easy dishes *feeling guilty* Today, I am just about to do that.

Now I am back to the same routine like 2 years ago? I have to prepare dinner after work ever since I am now back to be helper-less *LOL* Got tired of eating rice and pasta, so came up with this wrap dish which is easy BECAUSE I CHEAT *LOL* I cheated by buying the fish finger and crunchy prawns from LJS (Long John Silver's). Actually I wanted to get the fish and chicken fillets but unfortunately they don't sell it individually now. How sad :-(

The salsa is actually a salad which I got the recipe from Sri's blog. You can get it here I left out the chilli flakes as my kids can't take too much spice.

This is how it's like before it's rolled up.

Here is the list of ingredients to make the roll. Only the salsa was made from scratch, the rest were store bought including the chapati. To cut short preparation, just make sure you prepare the salsa/salad ahead either in the morning or the night before.

chapatis, heat it as per instruction
fish fingers
crunchy prawns
japanese mayo
salsa/salad

Just dump the fish, prawns and salsa onto the chapati with a generous squeeze of mayo, roll it up and lead it to your mouth *LOL*

How easy can it get. Happy trying !!

Simple castle cake for my Sofia

My second daughter turned 6 last weekend and I promised her that I will make her a castle cake. My initial plan was to make a fondant covered cake but changed my mind at the last minute because I wasn't sure whether the kids will like the marshmallow fondant and dense cake. So I stick the usual standard chocolate sponge cake with fresh cream. The birthday girl was ecstatic when she saw it and I am happy that the kids finished it up.

Happy birthday Sofia !

Rice porridge

Ran out of ideas what to prepare for dinner, so made porridge with simple side dishes for a change. This is actually inspired by teochew porridge but you can see that the porridge is no way resembles teochew porridge because it's almost smooth and you can't see any grains of rice which is a characteristic of teochew porridge *LOL*

We had fried ikan bilis, peanut, omelette, salted eggs, easy stir-fried french beans with chai-poh (preserved radish) and preserved lettuce (that is on my porridge). Simple yet satisfying :-D

Fruity Vanilla Cake (Japanese Strawberry Shortcake)

My youngest daughter's birthday falls in the month of November with her paternal grand-ma and aunty. Since yesterday was our monthly visit week, I made a simple cake which is supposed to be a Japanese Strawberry Shortcake adapted from Yochana's blog to a fruity one because I didn't have enough strawberries for the fillings. So I replaced the filling with fruitcocktail and use the syrup to brush on the cake instead :-) I also almost made butter out of my whipping cream as I was busy with something else. Fortunately, I managed to save it in time *LOL*

A slice of the cake

I change the recipe slightly by increasing the vanilla and replacing the melted butter with oil because I don't want the cake to be hardened when chilled. However, using butter will give better flavour to the cake. I would recommend it if you like to have a richer flavoured cake.

As mentioned earlier, I don't use kirsch and replaced it with the fruitcocktail syrup and use strawberry jam as the glaze.

Ingredients:
120 gm low protein flour (eg. cake flour, top flour or hongkong flour)
1/4 tsp baking powder
50 gm sugar
100 gm cornoil (original use 50gm melted butter+50gm oil)
4 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 egg white
65 gm. castor sugar

Decor and Filling
300-400 gm whipped cream
1/2 can fruitcocktail, drain and keep the syrup aside
Enough strawberries to cover the top of the cake
5 heapful tbsp strawberry jam
3 Tbsp hot water
chocolate rice/sprinkles for decor

Method
1. Sieve flour, baking powder and 50 gm. of sugar into a bowl and mix thoroughly
2. Mix egg yolk, cornoil together and then pour into flour mixture and stir till smooth
3. Whisk egg white till slightly frothy, then add the 65 gm sugar gradually and whisk till medium peak
4. Fold egg white into egg yolk mixture and then pour into a 2 9" round baking pan that has been lined and greased and bake in preheated oven at 175C for about 45 mins. or till cooked
5. Leave cake to cool on wire rack
6. Brush each layer of cake with the syrup
7. Whip up the whipping cream and then spread whipped cream onto each layer and sprinkle fruitcocktail on top
8. Put the next layer of sponge and cover it with whipped cream
9. Arrange sliced strawberries on top overlapping one another
10. Heat up the strawberry jam and water and stir
11.Strain the mixture and use it to brush it over the sliced strawberries
12. Pipe some whipped cream at the corner and cover the sides with chocolate sprinkles
13.Chill before slicing and serve

Lapis Betawi (Legit)

I had to test my oven's top double grill function after I had it fixed a couple of months back, after sifting through all the lapis cake (aka thousand layer or speckok) recipes I have. I decided to try this one simply because it uses less eggs, 8 eggs to be precise (as compared to those over 10 or 20 egg yolks) and it is relatively easy. The recipe is taken from an old malay recipe book which my aunty passed to me. I really have to thank her because I love all the recipes featured in the book. Some are pretty alien to me because I never had them before whereas some bring back memories of my childhood 8-) But one of the main reason why I love old recipes is because there is hardly any form of stabiliser used. If you look at the current lapis recipes, you will notice that lots of them has stabiliser/ovalette as part of the ingredient. For me personally, I prefer the old traditional way as much as I possibly can *LOL* Enough of my ramblings, this is the end product.

It looks a little dry because I cut it like 1 hour after baking it. This cake keeps pretty well and it will get moist overtime. The layers are supposed to be thinner but I could not find my medium size laddle *bummer* but taste wise, it's pretty good for a lapis that uses less than 10 eggs *LOL*

This is my treasured book. I don't think it's in print anymore. It has some pretty cool recipes, some are a bit tedious to make but majority are pretty easy to handle.

Ingredients
8 eggs, separated
350g butter (original 340g)
225g cake flour (original uses plain flour)
280g sugar
2 Tbsp condensed milk
1 Tbsp lapis spice (original uses 2 Tbsp, if your spice is mild, use 2 Tbsp)
1 tsp baking powder

Method
1. Sift plain flour, spice and baking and put aside
2. Cream butter and condensed milk till pale, put aside
3. Beat egg whites till frothy, add sugar and continue beating till stiff peaks formed
4. Add yolks and continue mixing
5. Add butter+milk mixture and slowly mix till well blended
6. Using a spatula, slowly fold in the flour mixture into the egg mixture
7. Preheat oven to 180C and grease and line a 7x7inch baking tin
8. Pour 1 laddle of the batter into the baking tin, use a spoon and level it and bake till it is cooked
9. Switch oven to top grill (adjust to 200C if your oven's temperature needs to be adjusted)
10.Level first layer and pour another laddle of the batter and level it using a spoon, bake for 7 min or till the top is browned
11.Take the tin out, use a glass with a flat bottom, level the cake to let any excess air out
12. Pour 1 laddle of the batter into the tin and level it, bake till top is browned
13. Repeat 11-12 till all the batter is used
14. After the last layer is browned, bring the baking tin to a lower rack and switch oven to top and bottom grill and bake for about 10-15 mins
15. Cool the cake on a rack and store in air tight container once cooled. You can either cut and eat (but will be a little dry) or leave it overnight for a more moist cake

Enjoy!

Sloppy Joe

I have to thank an online friend for mentioning sloppy joe yesterday. I bought a pack of minced meat a day before and still haven't decided what to do with it. So we had sloppy joe for dinner yesterday and it reminded me soo much of A&W connie dog.

I am happy that my kids love it and the best thing is that my second girl actually ate the celery !! The recipe is adapted from recipezaar with minor alteration to suit my kids' tastebud.

Ingredients:
500g lean minced beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 ribs celery, chopped
1 8oz can tomato sauce (I used Hunts brand)
4 Tbsp ketchup (1/4C)
4 Tbsp barbeque sauce (1/4C, I used Heinz brand)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp mustard
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or regular vinegar
2-3Tbsp olive oil

Method
1. Heat oil in skillet and brown the minced beef
2. Half way through add chopped onion and celery
3. Stir in the other ingredients and let it simmer for about 30mins or till the sauce thickens enough
4. Add salt and pepper to taste
5. Serve with either hamburger buns or sausage buns and sprinkle with shredded cheese

Enjoy !

Chilled Oreo Cheesecake (updated)

I wasn't planning to make anything for the girls' teachers but after feeling guilty, I decided to whip up a simple chilled (no-bake) cheesecake for the girls' teachers at their day care centre. Since it was a very last minute decision (I made it the night before), I settled for a simple decor with what else? Oreos !!

I am very happy that all the teachers enjoyed it :-) It's just a small gesture to say thank you to them for taking good care of my children while I am at work ;-)

Some were asking for recipe. This is adapted from my fellow blogger friend, Florence. You can get the recipe here My version, I used what I have and omitted the rum. The base, I used about 12 pcs of oreos and enough butter to bind them. As for the cream, I use a 200ml packet of dairy cream and follow the instructions accordingly. Then add the oreo pieces into the mixture before chilling it.

Eid Mubarak :-)

I know it's a way overdue wishes but better be late than never *LOL* My schedule has been pretty hectic eversince I transferred my helper to my mom. Now it's back to my old routine plus with a toddler is very much challenging than before. Now I have to cook more often on weekdays but unfortunately I am not able to upload or even snap a picture of what I prepared :-( I am now slowly getting used to the routine, so I will try to find time to update this blog (I know, it's the same old story *LOL*)

Well, deepavali is round the corner, so I would like to wish all Hindus Happy Deepavali ;-)

Ramadan Mubarak

This is for all muslims and may this holy month brings joy and happiness to all both spiritually & phyiscally.

Renovation in progress ;-)

I am in the midst of 'renovating' this site. You may find some of the list of my previous entries on the right missing. I apologize about that as I am now sorting them out. The site should be completed in the next few days.

Thank you for your patience :-)

Choc Chip Macadamia Cookie

I made this cookies for the Masak-masak challenge #4 since it has been in my to-do list recently. The original recipe is by Gina from KC, you can get it here but as usual, I change it slightly to suit my taste ;-)

Ingredients
115g salted butter
180g Self Raising flour
1 1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder
80g castor sugar
50g light brown sugar
1 egg, lightlybeaten
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
1 1/2C semisweet chocolate chips
1/2C macamdamia, toasted and chopped

Method
1. Cream butter and sugar till creamy
2. Add egg and mix till well blended
3. Add in flour, cocoa powder, chocolate chips and chopped nuts and mix it gently
4. Chill the dough for about 15-30mins to set it
5. Scoop with a spoon or cookie scoop and line them in a lined tray
6. Bake in a preheated oven 170C for about 15-20 mins
7. Cool on a wire rack before storage

Enjoy!

Focaccia Garlic Cheese Toast

This was inspired by the focaccia cheese toast we had at madjacks a couple of weeks ago. My other half has been bugging me to make it for him. So I made this earlier for dinner to satisfy his cravings *LOL*

This is really easy to make. I used store bought focaccia for as I didn't have time to make one yesterday.

Ingredients
1 9" herb focaccia sliced into 2 layers (or whatever size that you fancy)
4 slices chicken ham (optional)
Garlic spread (homemade or store bought, I made my own using fresh garlic & parsley)
Cheddar/mozarella cheese, shredded

Method
1. Spread garlic spread/butter on focaccia
2. Place 2 slices chicken ham on each of the bread
3. Sprinkle generously with cheese
4. Bake in a preheated oven 200C for 15mins or till the cheese turns brown
5. Serve hot

Enjoy !

Happy 43rd Birthday Singapore !!!

Today 9th August 2008 is Singapore's 43rd birthday. Had a small gathering at my parent's place earlier and decided to make this simple cupcake cake for the kids and my mom *LOL* My mom loves eating cake. Sorry for the ugly decor as I was rushing for time. The crescent didn't come out nice *sob sob*

To all Singaporean, have a wonderful holiday!

Spicy Beef Kimchi Stew

I still have some old kimchi left in the chiller and looking for ways to use them other than eating it with rice *LOL* I love beef and kimchi, so I happened to find a kimchi stew in the internet and oh it's so delicious.

The original recipe can be found here. I made some minor changes to it and it came out perfect for me.

Ingredients
100g sliced beef (stir-fry type)
1 Tbsp sesame oil
3 small clove garlic, chopped
2C kimchi, chopped
1 Tbsp gochujang
1 Tbsp chilli peppers
1 Tbsp soya sauce
1 tsp sugar
4-5C water/stock
1 cube chicken stock (omit this if you use stock to replace water)
chinese tofu/silken tofu
a bunch of spring onions

Method
1. Saute beef in 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil for a few minutes
2. Add kimchi and stir-fry for about five minutes, then add remaining oil and garlic
3. Add water/stock into the pot, then add gochujang, chilli peppers and soya sauce and bring it to a boil
4. Add chicken stock (if using) and sugar and let it simmer for about 15-20mins
5. Add tofu and then spring onions at the very end
6. Serve hot with rice

Masak-masak challenge #3

This is the 3rd challenge and we have to use the following ingredients:

• puff-pastry
• meat
• fruit (in the food or part of the meal)

Since my kids and hubby love pizza, I decided to make this simple finger food, Puff-pastry Pinwheel Pizza.

It's really easy to make, you need:

Puff-pastry (store bought or homemade)
Pizza sauce
Pineapple & tuna for the toppings (you can use your fav toppings)
Grated mozarella & cheddar cheese

You need to roll out the pastry into a rectangle, spread the pizza sauce, sprinkle pineapple and tuna and lastly sprinkle generously with cheese. Roll it like a swissroll and cut into pieces. Place them in a tart casing (can be a bit messy) and sprinkle more cheese. Bake in the preheated oven, 180C for about 15mins or till the pastry puffs and turn golden brown.

Easy peasy ! *LOL*

No-bake Chocolate+Banana Cheesecake

This was done for a masak-masak challenge. I married a couple of recipes and made some changes to them and this is what i made ;-)

Crust
Ingredients
200g crushed digestive
120g butter, melted
1-2T sugar (you can omit this if you don't like sweet)

Method
1. Combine the digestive crumbs and sugar
2. Add melted butter and blend well
3. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of an lined 9inch springform pan or a pie plate and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes


Filling
Ingredients
250g cream cheese
1/2C sweetened condensed milk (you can add more if you like sweet)
100g whipped cream (you can use frozen whipped cream too)
1T gelatine
2T water
1-2 bananas, sliced (more if you like)
70g dark chocolate
70g dairy/non-dairy cream

Method
1. Heat up dairy/non-dairy cream, add dark chocolate, stir to melt it and put aside
2. Soak gelatine in 2T of water till it blooms and heat it up in the microwave to dissolve it, put aside
3. Beat cream cheese until fluffy then add add condensed milk, blend it well
4. Fold in whipped topping, add gelatine and gently fold it in
5. Take the crust out of the refrigerator and pour chocolate mixture and spread it to cover the crust
6. Arrange banana slices over the chocolate
7. Pour the cream cheese mixture over and chill till firm

Enjoy !

Masak-masak challenge #2

This is the second masak-masak challenge and the challenge was to create a dish not more than $10 and it has to include the following:

• Protein (meat/fish)
• Carbohydrate (rice or noodle)
• Vege/Fruit

So I came out with this Assam Laksa ! My version wasn't really satisfying as I would like to as the main ingredient, torch ginger was not used because I could not find it !! It's really frustrating when you do not need the ingredient, it is like all over the place and when you need it, it seems to have dissappeared :-(

Masak-masak challenge #1

We had a masak-masak (cook) challenge at one parental forum that I frequent and the first challenge was to cook or bake something that has the following ingredients:

• Cheese
• Chocolate
• Fruit

So I came out with this

Sorry about the picture, I could not get a nice decent photo of it *LOL*

Lemak Daun Turi (Turi Leaves in Coconut Milk)

Apologies about the late update. I have been tied down with the kids activities and also lack of mojo to update what I have done over the couple of months. Back to the topic, I made this typical malay dish after seeing my hubby's lunch at Hjh Maimunah, a very popular restaurant that serves very traditional Malay dishes. Traditional dishes is something that I hardly cook at home simply because they can be easily found outside and hubby prefers to eat something different at home. But because we were heading to HKG for our holiday, I don't want to feel homesick with some local dishes *LOL* So I made this with some simple side dishes.

This is a very simple dish, no need to sautee anything, you just need to blend the ingredients and boil them. They are many ways to cook lemak, some add lemongrass for fragrant and chillies for spicyness. I stick to the very basic as my kids love eating this too.

Ingredients
A bunch of turi leaves
1 or 2 medium sweet potatoes
1 large onion
3 small clove garlic
2 T ikan bilis (anchovies), soak
1/2cm belacan (shrimp paste)
1-2C coconut cream/milk
600ml or more water
salt to taste

Method
1. Pluck turi leaves, wash and drain
2. Grind onion, garlic, ikan bilis and belacan into paste
3. Skinned and cut sweet potatoes into medium size pieces and boil it in 600ml water
4. Once sweet potatoes are half cooked, add the ground paste and let it simmer, add water if it gets too low
5. Add coconut cream, stir and let it simmer (do not let it overboil)
6. Once the gravy starts to turn bubbly, add salt and turi leaves and leave it to boil, turn off fire and serve

What do I eat this with?

daun turi
you can learn more here

Egg White Brownie

I was searching for a recipe that uses egg white and this interesting recipe caught my attention. It was from an Indonesian website but forgetful me can't remember the url :-( With some egg whites that need to be clear and soon to be expiring baking chocolate, I got my butt off and made this for tea over the weekend. I like the result as it is pretty light although it tends to be slightly crumbly. I up the egg white as the original uses 5 egg whites.

The texture of the brownie

Ingredients
250gm dark/semi-sweet cooking chocolate
100gm oil (original uses melted butter)
2 tsp vanilla essence
100gm cake flour
220gm egg white (original uses 5 egg whites)
150gm sugar
80gm almond slivers, toasted
a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips/nuggets

Method
1. Double boil or microwave oil and chocolate till the chocolate melted and let it cool
2. Sift flour into chocolate mixture and stir gently till well combined and add vanilla essence, put aside
3. Beat egg white till bubbly and slowly add sugar bit by bit and whip till stiff peaks
4. Take 1/3 of the egg white and mix it gently with the chocolate mixture
5. Stir in mixture into the balance 2/3 egg white and gently mix till well combined
6. Add half of the almond and stir
7. Pour mixture into a 8x8 pan that has been lined and greased
8. Top batter with remaining almond and chocolate nuggets and bake in a 180C preheated oven for 35-50mins (depending on your oven) or till brownie is cooked (do not overbake as it will get too dry and crumbly)
9. Once baked, leave brownie in the pan for 5-10mins before removing and cooling it on the rack

Enjoy !!

Easy Chicken Cream Macaroni

I would like to apologize for the late update :-( I have been busy with my kids schedule and my sideline so much so that I could not find time to update this blog. Thank you for all your patience.

Eversince we engaged a helper, I seldom cook in the evenings. Hubby has complaining that he misses my fusion, easy dishes .. so sweet of him. So since the girls and daddy likes baked pasta, I made this for lunch a few weeks ago using the campbell cup soup.

The soup that I used


This one is less salty as compared to the canned ones. I used all the 3 sachets for a 500g pasta (uncooked).

Ingredients
3 sachets cream of chicken instant soup (1 box)
500g macaroni, cooked till al-dente and drain
1 small clove garlic, chopped
10-15 medium size prawns, de-shelled
2tsp olive oil
1.5C - 2C water
Mix of mozarella and cheddar cheese
some mix vege (optional)

Method
1. Heat oil, add prawns and cooked till the prawns turned orangy, removed and put aside
2. Fry chopped garlic till lightly browned and add water, stir
3. Stir in cream of chicken instant soup and keep stirring till well-blended using a whisk
4. Once the soup bubbles, add the prawns and mix vege if you are using stir then add the macaroni
5. Stir everything till all blended
6. Pour macaroni into a casserole dish and sprinkle it with cheese
7. Bake in a 190C preheated oven and baked for about 20mins till the cheese turns brown and bubbly
8. Serve hot with salad on the side

Baked Corned Beef & Cheese Springrolls

This was featured in Berita Minggu (our local malay paper) a few weeks ago. An easy snack, good if you have a can of corned beef and you do not what else to do with it *LOL*

I baked the springrolls instead of deep frying them - trying to be a little bit healthy.

Ingredients
1 can corned beef, mashed (I like using Hormel brand)
250g cheddar cheese, cut into strips
a few fresh green chili, sliced and remove seed
enough springroll skin
enough oil for brushing or melted butter
cornflour mixture, for sticking springroll skin

Method
1. Take 1 piece of springroll skin and put a tsp of corned beef on it
2. Put cheese slices and chili slices on top of the corned beef and roll springroll
3. Repeat 1-2 till you have used up your springroll skin and corned beef
4. Arranged springrolls on a lightly greased baking tray
5. Brush springroll with oil and bake in a preheated oven (about 180C) till skin turns golden brown about 15mins
6. Turn over springroll after 5-10mins
7. Serve hot with dipping sauce

This is how I eat my instant noodle

Instant noodle - good or bad? I eat instant noodles occasionally likewise my kids. Sometimes when I am just too lazy to cook or have no idea what to eat, instant noodle is my answer *LOL* Who doesn't love the salty, msg laden soup that accompanies the springy noodles which can be prepared in under 5mins? Now, there are msg-free instant noodles available which we stock up for our lazy days and late night light supper.

Vegetables, fishballs, fishcakes, prawns, meat slices etc are usually added to the noodles to turn it into a more wholesome meal. If I run out of veges to add, I will dump a handful or two salad mix into the bowl then pour the hot noodle onto it. Very satisfying and healthy I should say *LOL* This is inspired during my trip to Vietnam as this is how they eat their noodles, always accompanied with a plate of fresh veges and lime slices .. This is how I usually eat my noodles.

Mango Mousse Cake

I made this for my hubby last year, his 35th year mini celebration but didn't have the time to upload until today. It's a simple mango mousse cake with sponge base. I didn't bake the cake specifically for this cake but used my leftover sponge cake that I had.

A slice of the cake

This recipe is adapted from Rock Melon Mousse cake shared by Lucy (auntyyochana). I replaced the rock melon with mango because that is the only thing i have with me. I will only share the mousse recipe. For the base, you can use any sponge cake bought or made and put a layer before pouring the mousse over.

Ingredients
Mousse
200g mango puree
1 Tbsp gelatine powder + 50g water (soak together for about 5 mins)
2 egg yolk
30g sugar
150g Non-dairy whipped cream
Some chopped mangoes

Method
1. Boil mango puree and sugar together till boiling , take off from the heat
2. Add in egg yolks to the puree+sugar mixture and stir till smooth
3. Put back onto stove and then add in gelatine mixture and stir till dissolved
4. Leave to cool till lukewarm
5. Add choppped mango and fold in whipped cream
6. Pour on top of chocolate sponge cake and leave in the refrigerator to let it set
7. Serve chilled

Nice matters ...

Thanks maya from http://maya-kitchenette.blogspot.com/2008/02/nice-matters-award.html for this.

I would like to pass this award to:

playing with my food
bakingmum

Friendship Ball

Thank you tt (Playing with my food) for this :-)

I would like to pass it on to

Hut of Cranberry

jthorge

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