THB #14 Chocolate Cheese Streusel Ribboned Cake

So glad I managed to steal time to bake this wonderfully easy and tasty cake
The fourteenth bake for The Home Bakers, hosted by Joyce from Kitchen Flavours, baking with a group of members from the book  "Coffee Cakes" by Lou Seibert Pappas
Perfect with a cuppa! Not only me, but the whole family enjoyed it too :)

I love the texture of this cake, fine and moist, really delicious
I baked half recipe but I used full recipe streusel, and I sprinkled all in between the cake, I didn't add on top, hence the "thick ribbon" LOL

I didn't include cinnamon powder and almond extract since my family doesn't fancy them
For me myself, I love cinnamon but I dislike almond extract
I too love the idea of mixing in chopped nuts in the streusel, but my kids dislike nuts for now, so I replaced it with semi sweet chocolate chips and grated cheddar cheese
I didn't mix in the cheese in the streusel, though. Instead, I sprinkled on top of it before pouring the remaining batter
Also, I replaced sour cream with low fat plain yoghurt

Please visit Louanne from Louanne's Kitchen for the full recipe. Other members bake this cake too, please drop by The Home Bakers (THB) to view

Ngaku Chips & Popiah Seaweed Crackers

My two savoury snacks I made during Chinese New Year
Both are very addicitve you have to be really determined to stop munching LOL

The first one was ngaku chips (arrowhead chips)
A very addictive snack, light, crisp and so tasty
But to be honest, this would be the first and the last time I made it
Yes, to buy is pretty pricey, but thinking about the trouble I have to go through, I'd rather spend LOL

The slicing - I still couldn't do it nicely, some were thick
The drying - counting on sun wasn't wise during the festive season, most days were cloudy and rainy, hence layers of kitchen rolls laid between layers of arranged slices, peeling them one by one was quite a pain cos most were stuck to the papers
The frying - it's time consuming cos I couldn't put too many at one time, otherwise they'd stick one another. And they had no patience when I scooped them out, they browned real fast. I added in salt in the oil, the saltiness turned just nice :)

The process was actually simple, peel the arrowroot, wash, slice, dry and fry, but it's not that simple. In fact, it's a little too much for me, especially knowing that free time is such a luxury for me. It's great to be able to at least experience it, though - no regret :)
I am the kind of person who find frying prawn crackers is already troublesome, so can imagine how I felt when I made this chips hehehehe...

Very tasty, indeed! :)


Now the second one, popiah seaweed crackers
Another tasty crisp snack I enjoyed so much which I found in Happy Call Facebook group
The best part about this snack is, you fry without oil when you do it with Happy Call pan
That's what I did. And it remained crisp til the next few days in airtight container

It's real easy
Cut popiah skin (I used fresh round one) and also seaweed (You may use any kind, I used Taekaenoi original flavour)
Stick them together with egg white and fry in the closed and locked Happy Call pan for a few minutes
The heat trasnformed the damp pieces into crisp and light delicious snack in no time
The fact that it's oil free gave me a not so good impact, I ate this nonstop! LOL

Tired of those sweet cookies during festive season? Why don't you try these two snacks?
Even though I rambled a lot about how troublesome making the ngaku chips, but I believe many others think otherwise :)

Whether it's easy or difficult, both are really delicious. And it's a fact :)

I'm submitting this post to:  Chinese New year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover

Cream Cheese Lapis Legit & Surabaya Layered Cake

My last egg yolk laden yet delicious cake for this year's Chinese New Year :)

The lapis legit layer used cream cheese, while the lapis surabaya is the original version
It's a heavenly combination that's rarely seen, even in Indonesia

Recipe for cream cheese lapis legit is from Bisous A Toi

What you need:
(recipe below is what I made: 1/3 recipe)

A
70g butter
50g cream cheese
45g sugar
5 egg yolks
2 tbsp sweet condensed milk

B
45g sugar
75g egg whites (from 2.5 eggs)
a pinch of cream of tartar

C
60g hongkong flour
1/4 tsp baking powder

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 18degC. Grease 20cm square pan and lightly floured
2. Beat cream cheese and sugar til fluffy and light
3. Add in egg yolks one by one til well combined. Add in sifted flour
4. In another bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar til foamy. Gradually add in sugar til soft peak
5. Add in egg whites mixture into the egg yolks mixture and mix til combined
6. Divide batter into six
7. Bake each layer using top heat only til browned. Brush the top layer for each layer after baked
8. Bake the last layer using top+bottom heat for 10 minutes
9. Remove from oven, let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack

This lapis legit is more to drier type - due to the egg whites used
It goes well with lapis surabaya cake which is very moist, but I don't think I'll eat it on its own


Now, the recipe for lapis surabaya is from NCC (Natural Cooking Club)

What you need:
(for 2 layers)

20 egg yolks
200 g sugar
250g butter, beat til soft and white
100g plain flour

Method:

1. Beat egg yolks and sugar til ribbon stage. Off mixer
2. Add in beaten butter and fold in using rubber spatula
3. Fold in sifted flour, also using rubber spatula
4. Divide batter into two. Mix in one part of batter with 1 1/2 tbsp chocolate emulco
5. Pour on two 20cm square pan and bake in preheated oven of 180degC for 25 minutes or til the tester skewer comes out clean
6. Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring to cooling rack

Assembling:

1. Place the yellow lapis surabaya layer cake at the bottom. Spread strawberry jam on top
2. Top with lapis legit cake. Spread the top with straberry jam
3. Top with the chocolate lapis surabaya layer cake on top
4. Cut the sides for presentation

Such a rich cake, yet you can't stop at one! Yummy!
Super sinful indulgence, but it's so forgiven, it's once a year thingy!


I'm submitting this post to:

* Aspiring Bakers #27: Through Thick and Thin – Kue Lapis Classics hosted by Sam of Sweet Samsations
* Chinese New year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover

Nama Chocolate

Remember in my earlier post I mentioned that I made some nama chocolate, too?
Here it is...

 

 

Oh yes, it's far from perfect. Look at how I coated them with cocoa powder.. it's so not smooth! But hey, it tasted just fine! :)

I used the recipe from Just One Cookbook
Please don't despair me by comparing hers and mine LOL

What you need:

400 gram good quality dark chocolate (70% cacao), but you can also use semisweet for less bitter taste (I used Ghirardelli semi sweet chocolate)

200 ml fresh cream (I used whipping cream)

liqueur of your choice (I used Baileys mint)

cocoa powder to coat the chocolate

 

Method:

1. Chop chocolate to smaller pieces so it'll be easier to melt them
2. Line a square tray (about 8") with baking paper
3. Heat cream til almost boiling. Off heat
4. Pour chocolate  in it and stir til well combined. Add in liqueur
5. Pour into the tray and smooth the surface. Refrigerate til firm
6. Remove the firm chocolate from the tray and cut using warm knife
7. (I dipped the knife into warm water and tap dry for each cut I made)
8. Sprinkle sifted cocoa powder and serve it chilled

 

I love it, but too bad I couldn't share it with the kids. I shall make another batch liqueur free :)

 

Eclairs

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
I'm not a believer nor follower for this day, but it's nice to at least do something on this day, especially when my kids were so excited about this day. It must have been broadcasted everywhere in their school! :)
And for foodie like me, what else if it's not something to do with baking? LOL Nothing fancy :)

My kids always love eclairs, they always buy store bought, either from bakeries or from frozen section in the supermarkets
It's not cheap, I must say. Those 10 pieces in a box, both of them could finish in one shot. And it's still not enough cos they usually still asked for more LOL
Hence, I baked this eclairs. It's my first eclairs! :)

They were full of praise, and couldnt stop at one. My kids ate at least five pieces each time and for once, they turned down my offer for more eclairs hahahaha...
I never feel good whenever they eat something they like but they have to stop before they have enough cos I run out of it, so it's really something to be able to let them eat til they want no more LOL
Oh, and DH said, this is way better than those sold outside! *grin*


Original recipe is from Hesti from Hesti's Kitchen
Makes about 55 mini eclairs approximately 7cm length

What you need:

Choux pastry:

150g butter

150g plain flour

250ml water

4 large eggs

Method:

1. Cook water, butter and salt til boiling
2. Add in all flour and stir vigorously til the dough no longer sticks on the pot. Let cool
3. Add in egg one by one til evenly mixed. Transfer dough into piping bag (I used Wilton 8B). Pipe on the lightly buttered pan
4. Bake 200degC for approx. 20minutes (do not open the oven door)

Vanilla filling:

600ml fresh milk OR 200g sweet condensed milk mixed with water to reach 600ml
2 egg yolks
30g corn flour and 20g plain flour
enough sugar (only when fresh milk is used)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp butter

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients except butter til smooth and even (if necessary, sift)
2. Cook til bubbling. Add in butter and stir til glossy

Chocolate filling:

100ml thick cream (I used whipping cream)
200g dark cooking chocolate
50g butter
¾ of the ingredients for vanilla filling

Method:

1. Heat cream til a little smoky. Add in butter and chocolate til melting and thick
2. Add in the ingredients for vanilla filling and mix well
3. Lastly, add in the butter from the vanilla filling and stir til glossy

Pipe filling into the cooled choux and decorate the top with chocolate ganache. I made the simple one by heating up 100ml whipping cream with about 5 tbsp light corn syrup and just heat til almost boiling. Add in 100g dark chocolate and stir til smooth and glossy
Keep the eclairs refrigerated

This recipe is a keeper! And considerably easy to make :)

I actually made nama chocolate, too for Valentine's day today. But it's getting dark when I finished up coating them with cocoa powder
Will post tomorrow okie :)

 

Pineapple Tarts (Open Tart Melt In The Mouth - Second Recipe) & Gong Xi Fa Chai!

I made this recipe for Chinese New Year two years ago
I didn't bake any last year since I was in the midst of unpacking in my new place

I love this recipe, melt in the mouth pastry, not too sweet and very easy to handle dough
I do in fact have many other pineapple tart recipes I love to try, but let me start with this first :)

 

 

This recipe is from Fresh From The Oven as recommended by Small Small Baker

 

What you need:

 

For the pastry:

220g butter

375g all purpose flour

2 egg yolks

50g icing sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

 

Method:

1. Sieve all purpose flour, corn flour, salt and icing sugar into a medium bowl
2. Beat butter in a mixer until it turns light in color and fluffy
3. Add in egg yolks until well combined. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until just combined
4. Flatten the dough using roller and shape accordingly. Put pineapple paste on top (1tsp each)
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 180ºC for 10 to 15 minutes or till lightly brown

 

For the pineapple paste: 

The first time I baked using this recipe, I used ready to use pineapple paste from Bake King

I mixed with pineapple juice and juice from half lemon cos I find the paste is too dense and sweet

This time I did my own pineapple paste

Here's how you make it...

1. Cut into chunks 4 pineapples, blend with just enough water to let the blender works
2. Add in juice of 1 lemon and 1 cinnamon stick, let it boil
3. Upon boiling, on low fire, simmer til it starts to thicken
4. Add in 6-8 tbsp of sugar (depending on the sweetness of the pineapples), mix well
5. Continue to simmer til thick and dry

* Note:

For open tarts, it's better not to use paste that is too dry, since it's exposed to the oven heat

 

 

I'm submitting this post to:

 

*  Chinese New year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover

* Little Thumbs Up (February: Pineapple) (hosted by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids and Doreen from My Little Favourite DIY

 



 

 

Last but not least, I and family would like to wish all of you a very happy Chinese New Year 2013! Enjoy your holiday :)

 

 

Nutella Yoghurt Cake

Today is World Nutella Day
I never really made an effort to bake anything with Nutella on this particular day
Yesterday I had this thought to do so, since Nutella is one of my family favorite, too, so why not
So, I baked this Nutella yoghurt cake. I used recipe from Happy Home Baking

Anyway, yesterday was not a baking with smart time management
By the time I finished doing the mixing and the batter ready to be transported to the oven, it's time for me to pick up Abby from school
In the end, the batter waited for me to come back for close to an hour
I mixed briefly with spatula, poured into the pan and knocked a few times to get rid of the bubbles but apparently that was not good enough, cos the best was not to let the batter waiting

So, pardon me for the holes in my cake
Rest assured, this cake is soft and yummy, with minimum crumbs

I always love this sexy crack on butter cake :)

Look at those holes.. It should be fine smooth texture :(

 

But believe me, this cake is one of those worth trying :)

 

 

 

I baked half recipe using 18cm loaf pan - greased and floured, recipe below

 

What you need:

 

113g cake flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

43g butter, soften at room temperature

1 1/2 tbsp Nutella spread (I used 2tbsp)

75g sugar (I used 60g)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp vanilla essence (I used chocolate emulco)

1/2 cup plain, non-fat yogurt

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven at 180 degC
2. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside
3. Mix together yoghurt and vanilla essence
4. Beat butter and nutella for 1 min. Gradually add in sugar and beat on high speed for about 3 mins
5. Add in the eggs slowly, beat constantly for about 2 mins
6. On low speed, beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture. On medium-high speed, beat in 1/2 of the yoghurt mixture. On low speed, beat in half of the remaining flour mixture. On high speed, beat in the remaining yoghurt mixture. On low speed, beat in the rest of the flour mixture
7. Pour batter into into the pan, level it
8. Bake for about 30-35 minutes (half recipe) til skewer comes out clean
9. Let cool in pan for 10 mins and transfer to cooling rack 

January Weekends Breakfast

Remember in one of my earlier post, I ever mentioned that my weekday breakfast is usually a lonely one.. And I mentioned that I will make more efforts to make our family weekend breakfast varies?
Well, in the first month of this new year, I managed to make a little difference in our weekend breakfast at home together :)
They were simple, but indeed made our weekend morning more exciting :)

So here they are, hope it can be a help for those clueless of what to eat on lazy weekend morning :)
Oh, and thanks to my family whom has been (im)patiently waiting for me to take some snaps first on their breakfast. Some taken with my handphone camera, when I myself was too lazy to take out my real camera, so pardon the quality LOL

My favorite breakfast of the month... Toasted country bread with bacon, avocado, cheese and sunny side up *slurp*

I saw this somewhere I couldn't remember. Thanks for the idea, whoever you are :)

What you need:

country bread loaf (store bought)
mashed ripe avocado
back bacon, fried til crisp
egg, make sunny side up
grated cheddar cheese
salt and black pepper

Method:

1. Cut loaf as preferred, toast with grated cheese sprinkled on top
2. Spoon mashed avocado on top, spread evenly, top with bacon and sunny side up
3. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper

That's it! :)

Blueberry pancake, I used Morinaga pancake mix, prepare as directed and top with fresh blueberries. Serve with maple syrup

 

 

Simple french toast

What you need:

 

5 slices of white bread - halved

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

a big pinch of salt

2tbsp of sugar
150ml milk

butter

maple syrup

 

Method:

1. Beat eggs with fork together with vanilla extract, salt, milk til well mixed
2. Heat butter on a pan
3. Dip each bread into the egg mixture and pan fry approx 30seconds for each side
4. Eat with maple syrup

Supposedly half boiled egg but turned out three quarter boiled egg LOL with hash brown bought from frozen section in the supermarket :)

 

 

Tomato fritata using Happy Call pan (inspired by Veronica from Peng's Kitchen) and toast with honey

 

 

For tomato fritata using Happy Call pan:

 

What you need:

 

3 eggs, lightly beaten with a big pinch of salt

tomato slice thinly and halve

a little butter

black pepper

 

Method:

1. Grease pan with a little butter
2. Pour the egg mixture on the pan and cook for half a minute
3. Arrange tomato slices on top and let it cook for a few minutes (close but no lock)
4. Sprinkle with black pepper and serve

  

Toasted, flattened and rolled white bread with banana, chocolate rice and grated cheese filling. Served with Hersheys chocolate sauce

 

 

 

Prata rolled with sausage and cheese filling. Served with tomato ketchup and chilli sauce

 

 

Quite a breakfast, huh?
Let's hope I will get many more inspiration for weekend breakfast and most importantly won't be too lazy to make LOL