A Late Post - Valentine's Day Treat

Hi everyone! Been busy (read: lazy) I missed out blogging lately
Anyway, just want to share what I did for the just over Valentine's Day
I know today is first day of Chinese New Year but let me share this very late post first :P

I hope you all had a great time on this year's Valentine's Day
We do not really celebrate this day as like taking the effort to buy flowers and gifts, go for dinner, etc., but my kitchen will usually will be put to a good use, at least whipping up something simple for the family :)

Made this for breakfast.. Banana Nutella Cinnamon French Toast

Before drizzled by maple syrup

 

Slurp! Sugar overdose LOL

 

 

 

What you need:

 

2 slices of wholemeal bread (I used 50% wholemeal bread)

Nutella

1 very ripe medium banana, sliced

1 egg

2 tbsp fresh milk

a pinch of salt

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

a little butter

maple syrup

 

Method:

1. Mix together in a dish that can fit the bread slice: egg, milk, salt, sugar, cinnamon and whisk with fork
2. Spread Nutella on both slices of bread and arrange banana slices on one slice
3. Cover the banana with the other slice
4. Dip the bread on the egg mixture, leave it for 1 minute, flip to the other side and leave it for another minute
5. Heat  pan with a little butter, fry the bread til golden brown. Flip to the other side and do the same thing
6. Serve with maple syrup

 

And this is for snack on that day.. Chocolate Buttermilk Muffins

 

 

 

Recipe is from Ricke of Just My Ordinary Kitchen

 

What you need:

 

100g unsalted butter

125g dark cooking chocolate, chopped

100ml buttermilk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

175g plain flour

15g cocoa powder

100g brown sugar (original recipe used 50g sugar and 50g coconut sugar)

1 tsp double acting baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

100g chocolate chips (I used semi sweet)

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200degC. Line muffin pan with muffin case
2. In a small pot over low heat, melt butter. Add in chopped dark chocolate and stir just until half chocolate melts. Off heat. Stir til butter and chocolate mixed well. Add in buttermilk, mix well and keep aside til starts to cool. Add in beaten eggs and mix well
3. In another bowl, sieve together plain flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda, salt. Add in sugar, mix well
4. Pour chocolate mixture into the flour mixture, fold gently just until the flour is wet. Do not overmix!
5. Add in chocolate chips, mix
6. Divide equally into the muffin cases til 3/4 full. Bake for 15mins. Reduce temperature to 10mins and bake for another 10mins. Please check with test skewer to see doneness. It should come out with some moist crumbs
7. Serve warm

 

 

 

This post is linked to the event Little Thumbs Up  organised by Zoe (Bake for Happy Kids) and Mui Mui (My Little Favourite DIY) and hosted by Grace of Life can be Simple.

 

This post is also linked to "My Treasured Recipes #5 - Chinese New Year Goodies (Jan/Feb 2015)" hosted by Miss B of Everybody Eats Well in Flanders and co-hosted by Charmaine of Mimi Bakery House

 

And lastly, this post is also linked to the event, Cook & Celebrate: CNY organised by organised by Yen from Eat your heart out, Diana from Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids

 

 

Two Cakes 4 Two Occassions In A Day

Happy Valentine's Day!
Here's my cake for this special day where love is in the air everywhere you go :)

This is red velvet cupcakes using recipe from Joy Of Baking

What you need:

1 1/4 cup (125 grams) sifted cake flour
1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp (10 grams) regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cups (150 grams) granulated white sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk

1 tbsp liquid red food coloring

1/2 tsp white distilled vinegar

1/2 tsp baking soda

 

For cream cheese frosting:

227 grams cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup (60 grams) confectioners (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted

2/3 cup (160 ml) cold heavy whipping cream (double cream) (35-40% butterfat)

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 175 degC and line 12 muffin tins with paper cupcake liners
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder in a bowl 
3. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the egg and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add in vanilla extract, beat til combined 
4. In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour
5. In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter
6. Working quickly, divide the batter evenly among the 12  muffin cups and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean
7. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes and them remove from pan. Let cool completely before frosting
8. For cream cheese frosting: In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat until smooth. Using the whisk attachment, gradually add the heavy cream and whip until the frosting is thick enough to pipe. Add more sugar or cream as needed to get the right consistency

 

 

 

Decoration idea is from a picture from Kidlander SG Facebook page, which I shared in my Facebook account awhile back

I added color sprinkle for the heart after spreading the frosting :)

 

 

Okay, not to forget, today is also the last day of CNY!

So, here's the cake I baked to celebrate the 15th day of Lunar New Year- orange butter cake :)

 

 

 

 

I always love any cake with orange. This cake is very moist, buttery with fine texture. Delicious!

Recipe is from Gert from Kitchen Snippets
I ever baked orange pound cake with glaze using Gert's recipe too, you may view HERE
It's also real yummy :)

 

 

What you need:

 

227g butter – room temperature

200 g sugar
220 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
4 large eggs
Zest of an orange
5 tbsp orange juice

 

Method:

1. Grease and line an 8” round baking pan. Preheat oven to 175degC. Sieve flour, baking powder and salt, set it aside
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until mixture is light and fluffy. Add in the orange zest
3. Slow down the mixer and slowly add in the flour alternating with orange juice. Mix until well combined 
4. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until cooked through when tested with a skewer

  So, which one would you like to try? :)

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 :)

 

Indonesian Style Stewed Pork In Soya Sauce (Bakmoy)

Hope everybody had a great time yesterday on Valentine's day :)
I & my family never really celebrate this special day, for we think everyday is always about celebration on its way :)
Nevertheless, I thought I should do something, so I did, for dinner yesterday :P

It's just a normal plain white rice in heart shape and decorated with tomato ketchup, accompanied by homemade chicken nugget, also in heart shape :)

Simple thing it was, but it did manage to bring broad smile to my kids and DH's face

It's more than enough to me :)

Perhaps next year I'll do something fancier :)

Now, sharing another mummy's recipe

One of my childhood dish my mum always cooked :)

We Indonesians call this dish 'bakmoy'
It's actually stewed pork with prawns, eggs and tofu in sweet soya sauce
I love it, the kids love it, too bad it's not into DH's liking

What you need:

5 cloves of garlic, crushed
200g pork loin / pork block
4 eggs, hardboiled
3 blocks of firm tofu, diced and fried til golden brown
100g shrimps / 15pcs prawns, peeled, deveined and cut into 2
dark sweet soya sauce (kecap manis), salt, pepper, a little sugar
enough water and enough cooking oil

1. Boil a pot of water with pork til cooked thoroughly
2. Remove pork and dice
3. Heat oil on pan and sautee garlic til fragrant
4. Add in pork, prawns, eggs followed by water and seasonings, stir well, simmer til pork becomes soft and eggs become brown (approximately 30minutes)
5. Add in fried tofu and, cook on high heat til boiling, off heat
6. Serve hot with a plate (or more LOL) of rice

Strawberry Tart

This has been in my to do list for quite sometime and I guess to end this month of love in a sweet way is to make this sweet treat, so I decided to make this tart in heart shape :) Moreover with Korean strawberries in season, sold in almost all supermarkets - sweet and juicy - best timing!

Adapted from Precious Moments, this tart is delicious and you just can't get enough of it! :)
It's actually more to strawberry chilled cheesecake to me - yum! :P
Still need to improve my skills in making it look prettier though *shy*
And also I guess I have made the crust slightly too thick to my preference, still it tasted great :)

What you need:

For the crust:
188g plain flour
113g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
⅓ cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
For the filling:
250g cream cheese, softened
¼ cup sugar
fresh strawberries, hulled
strawberry jam for coating

Preheat oven to 180 ºC
Rub in butter to flour, sugar and salt till it become moist crumbs. Transfer the dough to pie pan and pressed firmly. Freeze crust until firm (around 10 mins)
Pricked crust and bake for about 25 – 30 mins till golden brown. Cool
In a bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar till smooth. Spread mixture evenly in pie crust
Arrange strawberries and brush heated jam. Chill for at least an hour
Remove from pan and serve

I happened to have some extra seedless grapes too, so I made another pan with a mixture of strawberries and grapes - apparently Abby prefer grapes than strawberries :)

I'm submitting this tart to "Aspiring Bakers #4: Love In The Air! (Feb 2011)", hosted by Cuisine Paradise at this LINK

Fudgy Brownies Pop

Finally I made this - supposedly Valentine's Day gift for Abby and Ian, but delayed for a week cos of my health issue last week :)

I fell in love with these pops when I saw them in Foodbuzz somewhere in early February
They're so pretty and cute!
When Abby saw the pictures, she said, I want those lollipops, mummy! :)

This is how to make them:

ready to eat fudgy brownies - cooled
heart shaped cookie cutter
dark chocolate cooking bar or candy melts
decorative sprinkles
lollipop sticks
styrofoam block

Crumble brownies in a large bowl using hands, shape into heart shaped cookie cutter, place on lined baking pan
Melt chocolate or candy melts according to instruction
Dip the sticks into the melted chocolate and gently insert the stick into each of the heart shaped brownie
Place them in the freezer for a few minutes to harden
Place the remaining of the melted chocolate in a narrow bowl or cup
Dip each brownie pop into melted chocolate, gently tap on the side to remove excess chocolate
Place each pop standing upright onto styrofoam block and let them dry completely
(this is a challenge in hot and humid Singapore weather - I placed them in an aircon room)
If using sprinkles, do immediately after dipping
I used pink color icing pen to draw on the pop

Besides heart shape, I did round shape too cos Ian kept on telling me that lollipops are round! LOL

Honestly, to make these pops is not easy at all, at least for me, whom always sucks in decorating my baking hehe... But it's all worth it when looking at the expression in my kids face...wow, mummy! You made lollipop cakes!!! :P

Okay now, about the brownies for the pops....

I wanted to use my usual recipe for the brownies but then I saw this recipe from Baking Library, and decided to give it a try - the brownies looked so sinfully rich and fudgy, my kind of brownies :)
Indeed it is!!!
It's so fudgy that I didn't need to add any additional frosting to mould them into heart shape - make my job easier :)

What you need:

To make the brownies:
185g dark chocolate (I use 70%) - melted and cooled
110g unsalted butter - softened
220g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
200g eggs (I use 4 large eggs)
75g plain flour
50g cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 180degC
Cream butter and sugar on medium speed for about 3-5 minutes. As there is a larger proportion of sugar to butter, the mixture will not end up being fluffy
Slowly add in eggs by the tablespoon to the creamed butter, beating the mixture well before incorporating the next tablespoon
Beat in melted chocolate and mix well. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often to ensure even mixing
Stir in the dry ingredients with a spatula or wooden spoon to get a smooth batter
I used 22cm square pan, pour the batter onto the pan and level the surface. Bake for around 20 minutes at 180 degrees C. The top should be crusty and dull. When lightly pressed on the surface, the underneath feels semi-firm. Cool baked brownie in tin for 45mins before removing to cool on wire rack

This was the brownies before the make over - yum!!!

I am submitting these cute little pops to "Aspiring Bakers #4: Love In The Air! (Feb 2011)", hosted by Cuisine Paradise at this LINK

Chocolate Pudding With Fruits Cocktail Sauce

My mum's recipe - first trial based on verbal explanation without any past hands on experience!
I love this pudding, we all in the family do
But all this while, my mum was the only one who always lovingly prepared this pudding for the whole family

Now when craving strikes and she's not around with me, I picked up the phone, and asked her the details while at the same time jotted down everything in a piece of paper
Hung up the phone, rushed to get the ingredients I didn't have and spent around one hour in the kitchen

This recipe is not as easy as it seems when you read, timing and speed is essential
I was nervously perspiring bullets, but ended up had a big relief sigh - mission accomplished! :P

One ingredient needed to make this pudding is originally from Indonesia, chocolate sweet condensed milk, which is not available in any supermarket in Singapore

So far I only know one shop sells this: Belanja.com
This shop sells all Indonesian stuff, located at Lucky Plaza level 2 or you may order online too

What you need:

1 can of chocolate sweet condensed milk - mix with water to 1000ml
2 packets of white agar agar - mix with 1200ml water
4 egg yolks
2 tbsp mocha emulco
6 heaps tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder - mix with a little water, til form thick liquid

For the sauce:

1 big can Del Monte fruit cocktail with syrup
1 honey pineapple - small cut
water
5 heaps tbsp white sugar
5 heaps tbsp brown sugar

For the pudding:
In a pot on medium fire, heat up milk mixture
When it's warm (you can see a little smoke coming up), take 8 tbsp of the warm milk and pour to egg yolks, mix well
Pour the egg yolk mixture onto the milk mixture slowly, stir continuously
Bring to boil, then let it simmer
Add in mocha emulco and cocoa powder using strainer onto the milk mixture, stir till well mixed
Off heat
Bring to boil agar agar and water mixture, keep on stirring
Once boiled, pour agar agar mixture onto the milk mixture, stir continuously til well mixed
Pour the mixture immediately to the mould
Let cool, once cooled keep refrigerated

For the sauce:
In a bowl, bring to boil cut pineapple and water also sugar, mix well
Once boiled, let simmer for around 30mins til the pineapple consistency is just right - off heat
( I like it not too soft)
Pour fruit cocktail with the syrup, mix well
Adjust the sweetness if needed
Let cool, once cooled keep refrigerated

How to eat:
Pour over the sauce onto the pudding - yum!!!

It takes lots of love to prepare this pudding, not to mention the mess in the kitchen after that haha...
Last time it was my mum who did that, now it's my turn! :)

I'm submitting this pudding to "Aspiring Bakers #4: Love In The Air! (Feb 2011)", hosted by Cuisine Paradise at this LINK