Mango Yoghurt Ice Cream

Weather has been so hot lately - thought of trying to make ice cream
Since I have never made one before, a simple and easy recipe was the one I looked for, especially knowing I don't own an ice cream maker

Mango is in season now, Thai honey mangoes is everywhere at a cheap price
I have 2 giant ones and apparently also 2 not so giant Thai rainbow mangoes

Found the recipe at Small Small Baker, this easy to make ice cream is really delicious!

What you need:

500g fresh mangoes - I used 1 Thai honey and 1 Thai rainbow mangoes (original recipe = 300g, I added another 200g which I pulsed in a blender to form tiny chopped mangoes)
50g sugar (original recipe = 100g but my mangoes were so sweet that I had to reduce the sugar by half)
125g mango flavoured yoghurt (original recipe = 100g)
200g non dairy whipping cream
(original recipe used 1 tsp mango essence but I didn't use)

Blend 300g of the mangoes with sugar til it becomes puree
Mix in the tiny chopped mangoes, followed by yoghurt
Beat whipping cream until stiff and fold into the mango mixture til very well incorporated
Pour into a container and freeze overnight until it's firm

I'm submitting this yummy and healthy ice cream to "Aspiring Bakers #5 : Fruity March (March 2011)" hosted by Bakericious at this LINK

My First Blog Award

Big thank you to Doris for dedicating my very first award!
I appreciate it so very much! :)
She's one of my inspiration - please check out her blog for many wonderful creations of hers!

Here are rules to abide accepting this award :

1. Post linking back to the person that gave you the award
2. Share 7 random things about yourself
3. Award 15 recently discovered blogs
4. Drop them a note and tell them about it

7 things about myself - among so many :)

*is a SAHM whose first priority is family's wellbeing - family comes first!

*loves almost all kinds of food yet quite a long list of 'will never touch' food

*used to know nothing about kitchen activity - not even sure how to cook rice, but since 7 years ago has been so passionate in cooking and baking

*has a long list in excel file of bookmarked recipes - result of being a silent readers from many food bloggers even before starting my own food blog

*always prefers simple easy preparation but curious about the complicated ones too

*wishes to have time to take course in cooking and baking

*needs to lose weight quite a bit, has been in almost no carbo diet since November last year

With so many wonderful blogs around, it's rather tough to choose 15 of them to pass the award

Anyway, here they are in random order...

01. Angel from Cook.Bake.Love

02. Mama from MamaFaMi's Spice n Splendor

03. Rita from Mochachocolatarita

04. Cathy from Cathy's Joy

05. Jess from j3ss kitch3n

06. SSB from Small Small Baker

07. Joyce from Chunky Cooky

08. CG from Cooking-Gallery

09. Zoe from Bake for happy kids

10. Ann from Anncoo Journal

11. Vivian from Vivian Pang Kitchen

12. Sonia from Nasi Lemak Lover

13. Lena from Frozen Wings

14. Edith from Precious Moments

15. NEL & KL from The Batter Baker

I really wished I could pass to more than just 15!

Thanks again for this honour! :)

Crunchy Chocolate Choco Chips Cookies

Taken from Kitchen Snippets, I modified a little since the kids don't fancy nuts
What attracted me was because these cookies included coffee as one of the ingredients
No regret! The cookies are crunchy and a little chewy at the centre, very chocolaty too - yum!

I did little pressed balls (left), a little bigger pressed balls (right) and drop cookies at the centre
I prefer drop cookies, the kids loves the little balls :)

What you need:

21/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp instant coffee
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups (16 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda and set aside
Beat the butter and sugars until smooth and creamy. Scrape down bowl and add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. The mixture will look light and fluffy
Add vanilla, instant coffee and beat for 5 seconds
Add half of the flour mixture and mix for 15 seconds
Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until just incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips
Cover the bowl and let the dough rest in the fridge for an hour
Preheat oven to 190 degC. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Use your hands to shape the dough into one inch sized balls, or you can choose to do drop cookies too with a spoon
Place on prepared baking sheet, 1-inch apart. Bake for around 15minutes
Remove baking sheet from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes
Transfer the individual cookies to the wire rack to cool completely

Note: for more crunchy texture, you may shape to a flat round shape

Fruit Tarts

This recipe is one of those been in the list for loooooong time :)
Finally I made them - first baking with my new mixer - yes, finally I found my mixer heheh....

I saw this recipe from Edith's site and I know I had to make them
I did today :)

I just followed the recipe to the dot and realized halfway that it'd yield many mini tarts - it did!
I made 24 not so mini tarts and 1 18-inches tart!
Those not so big eater or of a small family, half recipe will be more than enough :)

Look at them - aren't they pretty colors?
Well, I have used wrong mould since they're the only one I had for mini tarts - should invest in better quality and reusable ones rather than those disposable foil type :P

And this is the big pie...

I really love the colors I could not stop taking pics of them...

What you need:

Tart shells:
250g butter (room temperature)
110g caster sugar
½ egg
500g plain flour

Cream the butter with caster sugar until white and creamy
Add egg and continue to beat
Fold in flour until it becomes a dough
Line the small tart tins with dough. Poke holes using a fork on the tart shell
Bake at 175°C for 10 mins or till golden brown
Slide tart out and let it cool down

Creme Patissiere:
1 litre milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
10 egg yolks
250g castor sugar
50 plain flour
50g corn flour

Heat the milk and vanilla essence gently until just boiling. Remove from heat and cool slightly
Beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick, then stir in the flour and cornflour
Gradually stir the milk into the egg mixture
Pour the custard into the saucepan and heat gently, beating continuously until mixture thickens and boils
Boil for 1 min, stiring continuously, remove from heat and cool
Scoop the cooled custard into each tart shell, decorate top with fruits (I used strawberry, kiwi, canned peaches)

For topping, you may glaze the fruits with strawberry jam mixed with a little hot water or you may prepare (as directed) 1 pack of  white agar agar and pour a teaspoon to each tart

I love the crust, the creme, the fruits, the glazing...everything! :)

I'm submitting this tarts to "Aspiring Bakers #5 : Fruity March (March 2011)" hosted by Bakericious at this LINK

Soft Butter Bun

This is my 4th time making buns and my 1st successful one - thanks to my breadmaker
I have given my white flag for manual kneading, it's too tiring and too time consuming for me, lazy busy mum with 2 too energetic young kids :P
And even though many do with stand mixer, I just don't have the heart to see my mixer does such a tough job hehe....perhaps next time I won't feel this way when I own a heavy duty mixer :P

My 1st try as well as 2nd try were far from satisfying
My 3rd one - I didn't even bother to post, it went straight to rubbish bin - the worst among all!

This recipe is from MamaFami's blog (found through Melly), the texture was nice and soft, but it's not too soft that it'll turn flat and stuck at the roof of your tongue when eaten :P
And it still has the same texture the next day!
Not too sure whether it will stay the same for the third day cos mine was gone the next morning! :)

I baked them 2 days ago on Friday morning
Wrong decision to start baking these cutie buns a little late and only left not much time before my kids got back from school
By the time it's time for me to do the shaping, it's time for me to fetch the kids
No choice, kids comes first *grin*
Reaching home, quickly prepared their lunch and while they had their luch, I decided not to follow the lovely shapes in the original recipe I planned to try and just did the simplest one - next time I will, when I have the whole day for myself :)

Aside from the shaping, I was very happy with the result..I got soft fluffy little buns! :)

I put 3 different fillings: dark chocolate, strawberry jam and pineapple jam
Below is the one with dark chocolate filling:

What you need:

140 ml water
1 egg
30g caster sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon bread improver (original recipe: bread softener)
250g bread flour
50g superfine flour
2-1/2 tablespoons milk powder
1-1/2 teaspoon dried instant yeast
30g margarine, at room temperature

filling as desired - I prepared dark chocolate buttons, pineapple jam and strawberry jam
(original recipe used chocolate, sausages, red beans)

For glazing:
1 egg + 1 tablespoon fresh milk
margarine - for brushing after the buns are out of the oven

Using bread maker:

Pour water, egg, sugar, salt and bread improver (softener) into the bread maker pan. Top it with bread flour, superfine flour, milk powder and yeast

Set the breadmaker to Dough function

Once the dough is just combined, add in margarine and leave the breadmaker to continue doing it's job. This process will take about 1 1/2 hour including prooving

Divide the dough to 55g each and shape into small balls

Let them rest for 30 minutes (original recipe = 10mins)

Ready to be shaped - do as desired. Let rise until almost doubled in volume

Before baking, brush the dough with egg wash

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes in a preheated oven at 200 C, or until the bread is golden in color

Once out of the oven, brush with a bit of margarine

Let cool. Keep in an airtight container

Banana Chocolate Cheese Puffs (Molen Pisang Keju Coklat)

After participating as a member in LBT Indonesia since mid February, seeing many talented Indonesian new friends with their wonderful bakings, being reminded of many nice yummy food I havent eaten for ages, makes me craving for many things

One of them is this snack - very famous in Bandung originally
Got the recipe from an avid cook and baker - Ricke, easy to make and yummy too!

Happened to find the puff pastry when I wandered around supermarket a few days ago, so I decided to get the bananas too - saba bananas - with luck on me this time

Unfortunately photos couldn't be produced with natural daylight, dun want to wait til tomorrow either, a little doubtful the object is still available hehe....

There's so much work to do for the presentation - especially compared to the original ones, but can't complain about the taste
Crisp puff with sweet juicy banana and chocolate balanced with salty cheese - yum! More than enough to satisfy my craving :P

What you need:

ready to use puff pastry, to flatten with rolling pin on a lighlty floured surface and shape into 10cm x 10cm square (approx)
ripe saba bananas - steam for around 20mins and cut the length into 4
chocolate rice
Kraft cheddar cheese (the blue box) - cut the same length as the banana (shape like french fries)
1 egg yolk mixed with a little vegetable oil for glazing
grated cheddar cheese and chocolate rice for sprinkles

Prepare a square pan, lightly buttered also the sides, put a parchment paper and lightly butter on top of the paper ( I used 22cm square pan enough to arrange 12 pcs)
Arrange 2 banana slices and 1 cheese slice on the pastry, add 1tsp chocolate rice on top
Close the pastry to envelope shape (close top, bottom followed by left and right)
Arrange the puffs on the pan with around 1cm distance in between each puff
Brush the tops with egg yolk mixture, sprinkle with grated cheese and chocolate rice
Bake in preheated oven of 200degC for approx 25-30mins or til golden brown
Let cool

Indonesian Style Noodle Soup (Mi Tektek)

Got a sudden craving for this, so decided to make for today...

What you need:

Blend:
5 cloves of garlic - cut
1 tsp salt
5 candlenuts - cut small and fry in a pan without oil
1/2 tsp white peppercorn

250g medium prawns - deshelled
half small beijing cabbage - julienned
1.5 litre water
1 tsp chicken stock powder
2 tbsp kecap manis
500g flat egg noodles - cook as directed
4 eggs - lightly beaten
1 chicken breast - boil til cooked and lightly fry both sides - shredded
salt, pepper, oil

Garnish with: cut spring onion and fried onion

Heat oil in a cooking pan, stir fry the blended ingredients til fragrant
Add in prawns til color changed
Add in water, chicken stock powder, salt, pepper, kecap manis
Bring to boil
Add in shredded chicken and cabbage, stir well for 1 minute, add in beaten eggs slowly while keep on stirring til eggs cooked
Transfer the cooked noodles on serving plate, pour the soup over the noodles

Garnish with spring onion and fried onion
Serve hot
For those who like to eat this noodle spicy, can add crushed green bird eye's chilli (chilli padi) into the bowl

Such a hearty meal! :)

Strawberry Pudding

Couldnt resist when I saw many boxes of pretty Korean strawberries in the supermarket, I bought 2 punnets without knowing what to do with them - I was thinking worst case I can just eat them straight :P

Happened to see this pudding recipe a few days ago - looked so delicious,  and a kind of being reminded about it when I reached home, so decided to give it a try

Adapted from Cook.Bake.Love this pudding tasted heavenly

Made a silly mistake...knowing this is a creamy pudding but using agar agar mould instead!
In the end, I couldn't take it our from the mould - of course, hence the ugly presentation - tried my best to beautify it a bit here and there :)

Look at this - stuck in the mould *grin*

The creamy texture is so wonderful!!!
You know sometimes you can eat something and you can't go on for the second bite cos you just feel you have enough...not this one - instead, you'll want for more - so refreshing!

What you need:

250g fresh strawberries

2 tubs (280g) strawberry yoghurt

1 cup strawberry milk
3 tbsp whipping cream (need not whip)
4 tbsp sugar to taste (or more, depending on the sweetness of the strawberries)
2 tbsp gelatin powder
6 tbsp water
extra fresh strawberries to be served with the pudding

Measure water into a bowl and sprinkle in the gelatin (without stirring). Set aside to allow the gelatin grains to swell (approx. 10 mins) before setting the bowl over a pot of simmering hot water. Stir with a spoon and once the gelatin melts, remove the bowl from the pot and set aside to cool to room temperature

Cut strawberries into small chunks and blend with the rest of the ingredients till smooth. Add the gelatin solution, mix well
Now the mixture will have a lot bubbles on the surface. Pour the mixture in cups/moulds over the back of a spoon (one hand holding the mixer jug while the other hand holding a spoon, facing down), this way you will get smooth mixture without bubbles

Cover with cling wrap and leave to chill in the fridge till the pudding is set. Serve immediately once remove from fridge

Note: Whipping cream is optional, you may omit it but it gives the pudding a creamer texture

Abby loves this pudding so much, she asked me to sprinkle chocolate rice on top and she'd say "Mmmmm...yummy!"

Mission accomplished! :P

Egg Enriched White Loaf (Bread maker)

Soooooooooooo happy finally I got my breadmaker last weekend :P
Today tried to bake my 1st homemade bread, and since it's my first time baking bread using breadmaker, I decided to try the simplest among all, basic white bread - but I chose egg enriched type after I found out I have no milk powder

Was very excited during the 3 hours waiting, and even more excited after taking it out and waited for 45minutes to let it cool

Finally can cut...

Can't complain at all, the texture is soft and crusty outside - yum!

What you need:
(for 750g loaf)

1 egg + 1 egg yolk -> mix with water up to 300ml
1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
450g bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp dried yeast
Using breadmaker:
Add all ingredients into the bread pan in the order listed above
Choose basic programme for 750g white bread with medium crust
Take the loaf out from the pan as soon as it's finished baking, and leave to cool for 30 - 45mins before cutting
Keep the balance in airtight container or sealed plastic bag
Can last for 2 days

Poffertjes

This Dutch version if mini pancake - is very popular among Indonesians, including me
Can check out more details HERE
It's really yummy usually eaten with icing sugar but I also like to eat them with maple syrup or chocolate syrup

My dear mum brought the mould that can be put on a gas stove sometime back, including the recipe book quite sometime back and somehow left untouched

Suddenly I had the craving - what a perfect time, when I still have no mixer around!
Sometimes when you really want something, you don't mind to go through anything
Like me, I dont mind whisking the eggs and sugar at the beginning stage for 30mins! :P
It's really worth it!

Look at these cute little balls - I guess I must have overbaked a little cos I was concerned its not well cooked at the centre  *grin*

What you need:

5g bread improver

2 eggs

1 tsp sugar

200g plain flour - sieved

1/2 tsp salt

500ml warm milk

50g melted butter

Beat eggs, sugar and bread improver til fluffy

Add in flour, salt and milk, and butter beat in low speed til well incorporated

Prepare the mould, preheat in medium fire

Fill in the holes til full, reduce the fire to low

After the bottom becomes brownish, turn the other sides

Leave in covered pan for around 7mins

Off heat and trasnfer to serving plate

Sprinkle with icing sugar / maple syrup / chocolate syrup just before eating

Best eaten while still warm

Honestly I'm not sure if I got the texture right - whether it should be hollow inside or not, can't remember when the last time I bought this snack - hence my doubt

Or perhaps it's hollow cos I didnt whisk properly - not too sure either

But hey, it  tasted really yum - a little crisp outside and so soft inside - Abby and DH love them - not Ian though - he always more fond to savoury snacks

DH already asked me when I'm gonna make them again, I said only when I get my mixer cos I dun think I want to experience hand whisking for 30mins for the second time heheheh...

We'll see whether I still get the same texture when I make this again after getting my mixer next weekend :)

Apple Crumble

Been mixer-less for a few days - yes I did cooking but baking mood attacked me
Browsing trough recipes in my to do list and looking for those without mixer needed
Decided to bake this yummy dessert from Edith's site
Easy to prepare and I had to force myself to stop eating this dessert
(is this considered dessert btw?)

What you need:

675g granny smith apples (I used 5 medium size)
80g soft brown sugar
1 tsp of cinnamon powder

For the crumble:
225g plain flour
115g butter
50g caster sugar

Peel, core and slice apples and place in dish, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon
Place flour in a bowl and rub butter into flour, stir in sugar
Sprinkle crumble mix evenly over apples
Bake in preheated oven at 180ºC for 40 minutes until lightly golden on top
Best eaten with vanilla ice cream - too bad I dont have it in stock :)

I'm submitting this dessert to "Aspiring Bakers #5 : Fruity March (March 2011)" hosted by Bakericious at this LINK

Condensed Milk Pandan Chocolate Chips Pound Cake

I just realized I made this cake a few weeks ago and forgot to post :P
Not that this cake is forgettable - nope! More to cos it disappeared very fast - yes, that must be it :)

Taken the recipe from Melly, but changed raisins to chocolate chips
And I divided the batter into 2 loaf pans hence the short cake - not the usual height for pound cake, just adjusting to my kids' portion and also to shorten the baking duration :P

What you need:

120g butter
120g plain flour
1/2 cup sweet condensed milk
40g icing sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp pandan paste
1/2 tsp salt
chocolate chips

Beat butter and sugar til light and fluffy
Add in vanilla essence and salt, beat til thick, add in sweet condensed milk, beat til well incorporated
In low speed, add in flour gradually, mix well
Add in eggs one at a time - around 1minute duration in between
Add in chocolate chips, mix well
Bake in preheated oven of 180degC for 30minutes

Very fragrant and yummy cake it is!!! :)

Simple Egg Fried Rice & Stir Fry Carrot+Cabbage

More of simple dishes that loved by my family :)

What you need:

3 portions of cooked rice
3 eggs - beaten with 2 pinch of salt
cabbage - chopped & blanched (I used beijing cabbage which is not so thick)
oil, garlic oil, salt, pepper, chicken stock powder, fish sauce
chopped spring onion for garnish

Heat oil, fry eggs into scrambled - set aside
In the same pan, heat garlic oil, add in rice, stir well
Add in cabbage, salt, pepper, chicken stock powder and fish sauce - mix well
Adjust taste as preferred
Mix in scrambled eggs til well - off heat
Trasnfer in serving plate, garnish with spring onion
Serve hot

Veggie side dish to accompany the rice:

What you need:

3 cloves of garlic - crushed
carrots - julienned
cabbage - I used beijing cabbage, leftover from the one used for fried rice above - julienned
2 eggs - beaten with a pinch of salt
oil, water, salt, pepper, chicken stock powder, fish sauce, light soya sauce, a little sugar

Heat oil fry eggs into scrambled - set aside
In the same pan, heat oil, stir fry garlic til fragrant
Add carrots, stir well, add water (I don't use much), bring to boil
Add in cabbage, stir well, foloowed by the seasonings - salt, pepper, chicken stock powder, fish sauce, light soya sauce, sugar
Adjust taste, you may add water if necessary
Stir well for around 2 minutes - you dont want the veggies to turn too soft
Mix in scrambled egg - stir well, off heat

Hearty Meal After A Stressful Day - Indonesian Style Chap Chye

Been a stressful day since yesterday - Abby had UTI attack - her first time
I was so panicky when I saw her tummy was so big, hard and bloated and her nonstop wailing complaining stomache, can't pee - who doesn't?
Visited hospital in a rush, got fed up with government hospital staff - yeah, as if it's something new *sigh*
But ended up sighed in relief to find that hers was just a mild one
And til now still on medication and gotta constantly reminded her to drink more, dun hold pee, not to play with her bicycle...
And another problem - brought Ian to see doctor this morning cos of his sudden phlegmy cough this morning, now he's also on medication
Haizz...supposed to go to their fave place today - zoo, all gotta be delayed, hopefully they recover fast so we still can make it cos we can only visit zoo during school holidays...
Still thankful that nothing serious, though... :)

Another problem - this time is mine...my mixer suddenly decided to bid goodbye to the master of many years, was suddenly off by itself yesterday late morning when I used for less than 10 minutes only
The body was hot  - I thought of waiting til it turned cool and tried again
I tried in the evening after got back from hospital and it's still off - so long, my friend!

Now, another thing to do this weekend - mixer hunting :)
Another good excuse to shop huh? :P

Okay, need some hearty meal after such a stressful day, I cooked chap chye - Indonesian style. It's actually just a stir fry vegetables with chicken pieces and chicken balls. That's how you will get if you order for a plate of chap chye in Indonesia :)

I added sweetcorns just because my kids love corns
Original and better recipe actually uses prawns and chicken livers
I don't use prawns cos Abby is allergic to it and I am the only person in the family who likes chicken liver, so forget it

What you need:

3 cloves of garlic - crushed
1/2 onion - julienned
1 chicken breast - diced
10 chicken balls - cut thinly into 4
1 can button mushroom - cut small
1 bunch cauliflower - cut small
2 cups frozen sweet corns
2 carrots - cut thinly
1 small wongbok china - cut
1 shanghai greens - cut
oil, garlic oil, water, salt, pepper, chicken stock powder, fish sauce, light soya sauce, cornflour diluted with water

Heat oil, stir fry onion followed by garlic til fragrant
Add in chicken, cook til change color, followed by chicken balls and mushrooms, stir well for approximately 2minutes
Add in water, bring to boil
Add in carrots, sweet corns, let simmer til carrots turn soft - approximately 5minutes
Add in all seasonings according to preference except cornflour
Add in wongbok china
Stir well, add in cornflour, keep stirring til the desired thickness achieved
Add in cauliflowers followed by shanghai greens
Stir well for around 2minutes, off heat
Serve hot over rice

Yeah, I know it's not really 10 veggies are used, but that's what we Indonesians like haha...
It is nice and can feel the warmth in your tummy :P

Stir Fry Kangkong In Belachan With Quail Eggs & Fried Tempeh

Weekend is the time for simple dish - easy and fast to prepare :)
These dishes are simple yet can make me finish one big bowl of steamed rice *grin*

What you need:

3 cloves of garlic - crushed

3 shallots, thinly cut

2 big red chillies - discard seeds, cut

10 cooked quail eggs - boil for 15mins approx

2 bunches of kangkong - cut

1 tbsp crushed salted soya beans

1 tsp fried belachan

salt, pepper, sugar to taste

a little oil and water

Heat up oil, stir fry garlic and shallots til fragrant

Add in chillies - mix well

Add in salted soya beans, belachan - mix well

Add in kangkong, quickly mix well, add in a little water 

Add in salt, pepper, sugar - mix and adjust the taste accordingly

Stir in quail eggs - off heat

Serve hot

I cooked this dish together with fried tempeh - the simple method, just cut, dip in water and coat with the flour mix I can't live without if I have no mood to cook:

Simply deep fry them! It's crisp in the outside and soft in the inside

This coating mix originally from Indonesia is really tasty, goes perfect with almost anything, chicken, prawns, tempeh, tofu, fish fillet - I always have this on standby when my cooking mood is almost at ground zero :)

Another Ian's fave!



Dulche De Leche Pound Cake

Curious seeing so many other bloggers baking cakes with DDL, I tried to make both the DDL and the cake
It took me 2days since I let the can cooled off overnight

Recipe for the cake taken from Jess Kitchen, this cake - as mentioned by her too, is definitely a keeper!
Unlike pound cake generally, this cake is ultra soft, fluffy and moist, even on the third day!
(I kept in airtight container)

As for the DDL, I used the simmering method in a pot - you may watch the video from this LINK

This "milk candy" is so yummy I can eat on its own if I don't count calories :)

And this is the cake:

I divided the dough into 2 loaf pans and the other pan I added some semi sweet chocolate chips since my kids are chocolate addicts hehe...

I was concerned that it can be too sweet so I only used a little chocolate chips - which I regretted cos the cake is not too sweet so adding more chocolate chips should be just fine

What you need:

( a little modified)

240g unsalted butter, room temperature

240g top flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
80g castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
240g Dulce De Leche (DDL)
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 160C. Butter and flour 2 loaf pans, set aside

Sift flour and baking powder together, set aside

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add DDL and vanilla and mix until well combined

Add the flour mixture and beat until no traces of flour remains

Beat in eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition

Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth the top

Bake in preheated oven for 50mins or until a skewer test comes out clean

Cool completely on wired rack before unmolding

Submitted this cake for LBT#3 March challenge - butter cakes :P

Fruit Salad - Yummy Yummy!

I'm drooling over this salad when I saw the pic at Linda's album - another avid baker, my online friend
Yeah yeah yeah...the sauce is considerably sinful, but hey, weekend is coming, I thought weekend is the time to indulge? :P
So, today I made this and guess what, it's really truly yummilicious! Fresh, refreshing and fruity
(of course! ^_^)  and the best part - it's so easy to prepare

What you need:

any fruit of your choice - I used US fuji apples, packham pears, korean strawberries, seedless crimson grapes, thai honey mangoes - cut them according to your preference
nata de coco
jelly - diced

For the sauce:
1 heaped tbsp mayonnaise
4 tbsp sweet condensed milk
juice of 3/4 lemon

For garnish:
candied cherries
grated cheddar cheese

Mix all fruits, nata de coco and jelly - set aside in the fridge
For the sauce: mix the 3 ingredients well
Put a few tablespoons of sauce on top of the fruits
Garnish with cheese and cherry
Best to eat cold, so advisable to keep in the fridge for a few hours first before consuming

I'm submitting this dessert to "Aspiring Bakers #5 : Fruity March (March 2011)" hosted by Bakericious  at this LINK

Bread - 2nd Attempt

Remember my considerably failed 1st attempt in baking bread?
Ive repeated the same recipe once again but now a little modified...
I replaced half of the plain flour with bread flour, I soaked the yeast with a little water and sugar for 10mins roughly (til bubbles) and i doubled the timing to proof the dough - both proofing

This time is definitely much much better - softer and more fluffy, but still rather heavy
Still with the same fillings - cheese and chocolate
Quite satisfied with this batch :)

Will definitely try to bake more bread in the future :P

My First Homemade Pizza

Yeah!!! I did it - finally, I made my own homemade pizza :)
Thanks to Doris from Tested & Tasted - got the recipe for the base from her
It's just so perfect - soft and fluffy type, even til the next day after I warmed up in my toaster!
And my family loves this pizza so much that I made it 2 days in a row :P

Before going into the oven...
I don't have pizza pan so I shape according to my mood :P
This one is not round nor square hehe...

Just came out from the oven...
Pppssstt.. I like it to overbake it a little :P

Would you like to have a slice?

What you need:

115g bread flour

115g plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

20g olive oil

1/2 egg

115g warm water

4g instant yeast

1/2 tsp sugar

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water til bubbles (around 10mins)

Mix both flour, salt, olive oil, egg and yeast mixture together with chopstick

When all mixed together, knead for awhile (around 5minutes or til the dough is not sticky)

First proofing - 2hours - around 3 times the size (cover with clean cloth)

Flatten the dough by punching the centre part and lift up from the bowl (by pulling the sides)

Divide into 2 parts and knead again for awhile (around 3minutes or til the dough is not sticky)

Second proofing - 30minutes

On a greased pan, shape the dough as preferred and put the toppings as you wish

I used Prego original tomato pasta sauce, honey baked ham, button mushroom, canned pineapple, grated cheddar cheese and grated mozzarella cheese - I like A LOT of cheese :)

(Abby and Ian did the topping for 2 consecutive days - they enjoyed doing it ^_^)

Bake in preheated oven of 200degC for 15-20mins or til golden brown

Special thanks to Vivi Nowotny for her guidance in handling pizza dough - very useful! :P

I guess I will stick to this recipe whenever pizza craving hits me

Just wondering if this base will taste nice with sweet topping.. perhaps chocolate rice, cheese and banana...

*slurp* :P

Century Egg Porridge

A simple hearty meal...
Saw this dish at My Kitchen and drooled instantly - realized it's been ages since the last time I had this dish

Mind the over sprinkled spring onion - I'm a big fan of everything related to garlic and onion :P

What you need:
(modified to my preference)

1 chicken breast bone
1/2 cup rice - washed and rinsed - soak for 3hours
5 cups water
2 cooked century eggs - peeled and cut into 2 (to cook, boil the peeled raw eggs for around 20mins)
minced pork, chicken stock powder, salt to taste

For garnishes:
spring onion - cut
garlic oil
fried onion

Boil chicken bone with water, discard all the oils floating
Lower the heat, simmer for another 30mins
Take out chicken bone - set aside
Add in rice to the chicken stock, bring to boil, simmer til rice turns soft (I like the porridge thick instead of runny)
Add in minced pork and century eggs - cook for another 5mins
Trasnfer the porridge into serving bowl
Garnish with garlic oil, cut spring onion and fried onion as you wish
Eat hot (of course *grin*)

Stir Fry Fusilli With Ham & Mushroom

Again Melly gave me inspiration to cook for my family
We love pasta, but often we're too tired of the same kind of dishes again and again, so this one is good!
Unfortunately I don't have macaroni, sausages and red+green capsicum - these 3 ingredients used in her recipe
I hesitated for awhile but then I found a bag of fusilli, unopened honey baked ham, a few stalks of spring onion
Quickly I went downstairs to mama shop to buy a can of button mushroom and managed to get one
Yes, it's on! :)

This dish is sooo yummy!!! It reminds me of pasta aglio olio - which I'm a big fan of - in a different way

What you need:
(modified to suit my family preference)

fusilli - cooked as directed (I put a little salt and olive oil in the water)
3 cloves of garlic - crushed
1/2 onion - julienned
5 slices of honey baked ham - cut small (original recipe used sausages)
1 can button mushroom - cut small
1 large ripe tomato - diced (original recipe doesn't use this, instead she used red and green capsicum)
spring onion - cut (to garnish)
olive oil, garlic oil, oyster sauce, tomato ketchup, salt, pepper, chicken stock powder

Heat olive oil mixed with garlic oil, stir fry onion followed by garlic til soft and fragrant
Add in ham and mushroom, cook for a while - around 3 minutes
Add in tomato, mix well - around 1 minute
Add in fusilli, followed by oyster sauce, tomato ketchup, salt, pepper, chicken stock powder
If it's too dry, add a little more garlic oil
Mix well

I like to eat this dish with spring onion as garnish but DH prefers with parmesan cheese powder and tabasco
Whatever it is, it still tastes yum! :P
Gotta buy macaroni and keep for standby - I still feel macaroni is still the best choice for this dish :)

Stewed Banana & Jackfruit In Coconut Milk (Kolak Pisang)

One of famous Indonesian dessert - we call this "Kolak Pisang"
I always love it and suddenly I had sudden craving for this, so today I made one :P

This dessert can only use a few types of bananas - not all can be found in Singapore, but this one type of banana is pretty easy to find

I am not sure what the name of this banana in English - we Indonesian call it 'pisang kepok'

I heard once somebody mentioned 'saba banana' - not sure about the accuracy though

Here how it looks - Sheng Siong supermarket has them most of the time

One of my favorite banana! It's so sweet and soft when ripe - great to steam too!

  

What you need:

(recipe is from my dear mummy)

1 pot of water

saba banana, cut each piece into 4

a few pieces of jackfruit, cut small

4 blocks of palm sugar

6 pandan leaves

200ml coconut milk mixed with a big pinch of salt and 100ml water

some sugar to taste

Boil water with palm sugar in it til dissolves

After boiled, strain water and pour back to the pot

Add banana and pandan leaves, simmer on medium fire til banana turns soft (approx 30mins or so)

Add coconut milk mixture (to the desired thickness) and bring to boil - stir occassionally

Add some sugar til getting the desired sweetness (I added 3 tbsp)

Add in cut jackfruit, bring to boil for around 5minutes

Off heat

I love to eat this dessert cold, so refreshing during hot summer days, but it's also nice to eat warm

I'm submitting this dessert to "Aspiring Bakers #5 : Fruity March (March 2011)" hosted by Bakericious at this LINK

My First Try In Making Bread

I don't say this batch of bread is such a failed project til nobody couldn't eat them
The taste is perfect but the texture is way from satisfactory
It's not soft and fluffy enough - it's so dense that one can feel the weight when lifting up the bread and eating one can make you feel so stuffed huuuuuu......

I followed the recipe to the dot - from Vivian Pang Kitchen - I supposed for first timer like me, this easy recipe for bread is the best choice and the best part is she always gives very detailed step by step tutorial which is great!
I dunno what's wrong, hers turned out perfectly fine...some of my friends said it's the quality of the yeast, some said it's the way I kneaded the dough, some said I overbaked them...not too sure....
Well, thinking at the brighter side, the texture reminded me of baguette hehe....

Anyway, this doesn't make me giving up in making bread - instead, I am getting more curious, and will try again!!! I can do it!!! :P

What you need:

2 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp yeast

½ tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1 egg (lightly beaten)

100ml milk

10g butter

Put flour, baking powder, yeast, salt, sugar inside a pan

Follow by egg and milk

Using a pair of chopstick, mixing by stirring in circle motion

Keep stirring till all flour coated with the liquid 
As you stir the dry and wet ingredients will come together

Put in the butter
Stir again to incorporate butter into the dough
Once the butter incorporated into the dough, start knead with hand . Kneading with lifting and folding motion
Press down with the heel of your hand. The dough should be soft and easy to work with. Do add some flour if sticky

Stop kneading once all the ingredients incorporated

The kneading process should be done within 5 mins

Cover the dough and rest for 15 mins

Place the rested dough on lightly floured surface

Press down to form a flat circle

Divide the circle into 8 portions, mould all the portions into balls

I gave 3 different kind of fillings - chocolate, cheese and pineapple jam

I shaped all 8 into oval

Place onto the greased pan and leave to prove for 45 mins in warm place

After the proving, brush the top with lightly beaten egg and topped with grated cheddar cheese. Brushing the top with egg will give more brown colur once baked

Bake at 180C for 10-12mins, and allow to cool on wire rack

Notes:
1. Mixing dry and wet ingredients with chopstick is to prevent hands from sticking. It is a lot easier to form well incorporated dough without much kneading
2. As I mentioned no serious kneading is needed. The dough is ready once all ingredients are well combined and the surface is about smooth. Let the yeast and baking powder do the work!
3. This bread goes stale faster. It is best to eat on the same day

Milo Agar Agar

This is really yummy - yes, nothing else to comment - finished the whole thing in one day :)
Ian wasn't really fond of this agar agar though... but Abby asked to eat nonstop! :P
And this lonely agar agar shown in the pic below is the last slice I got to take picture of hehe....

Got the recipe from Melly...what you need (I adjusted according to my taste preference):

Milo layer:
5g agar agar powder
500ml water
5 sachets Milo 3in1
2 tbsp sweet condensed milk

Milk layer:
5g agar agar powder
500ml water
7 tbsp sweet condensed milk

Mix all ingredients for Milo layer, cook in a pot over medium fire - keep stirring til boiling
Pour into agar agar mould - let cool
Meanwhile, cook milk layer ingredients, same as Milo layer, cook in a pot over medium fire - keep stirring til boiling
When Milo layer is already cool but not 100% hardened (you may test by touching it with your fingertips, it shouldn't stick), pour milk layer mixture slowly on top of Milo layer
Let cool and keep in the fridge

Long Beans In Crispy Prawns Chilli

Remember I made the same dish quite sometime back but using french beans? Please view here for recipe
This time I used long beans which is the original recipe :P
YUM!!!