Bake Along #28 - Gluten Free Coconut Checkerboard Brownies

I was curious to find how this two combination taste like
Brownies and coconut, one thing I never think of putting together
To my surprise, it's not bad at all - an occasional nice twist which every brownie lover can't say no to
East and West brownies, very nice indeed :)

Knowing that my kids will not fancy brownies with coconut, I made using 20cm square pan, half just plain brownies :)
They enjoyed the brownies, a little too sweet - even though I have reduced the amount of sugar used, but nice

One problem was, I couldn't make a nice checkerboard design, I wasn't sure what I made actually... Checkerboard? No... Polkadot? No...
Anyway, it looked better after I cut into small squares hehehe....

Fudgy brownies - my kind of brownies :)

Recipe is from the book Bon Appetit Desserts by Barbara Fairchild

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

Coconut batter:
(I made half of the recipe below)

200g fresh grated coconut
20g icing sugar
60ml cream of coconut
60g Philadelphia cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cube, room temperature
1 large egg
a big squeeze of lemon juice
pinch of salt

Brownies batter:

90g unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
100g dark chocolate, chopped
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
200g golden brown sugar (will reduce to 150g the next time I bake this again)
85g mocaf flour, sifted then measured
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

To make the coconut batter:
Measure 1/3 cup flaked coconut, cover and set aside. Place the remaining coconut and sugar in processor, finely chop. Add cream of coconut, cream cheese and blend well. Add egg, lemon juice and salt, blend well, stop ocassionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Transfer to bowl. Cover and refrigerate til very firm, about 3 hours (I did overnight)

To make the brownies batter:
Butter pan (I used 20 x 20 x 4cm square pan). Melt butter and chocolate in heave small saucepan over low heat, stir til smooth. Pour into medium bowl. Cool to lukewarm. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Whisk sugar, flour, baking powder, salt in small bowl
Sift over chocolate mixture. Mix til blended and smooth. Spread 1 1/4 cups of the batter in the pan and cover pan tightly with aluminium foil. Refrigerate til very firm about 3 hours. Also refrigerate the remaining batter in the container (I did overnight)

1. Position rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 165degC
2. Alternate 1 tbsp of the remaining brownies batter and 1 tbsp of coconut batter over chocolate layer, filling pan completely. Sprinkle reserved 1/3 cup of the coconut over coconut mounds, press gently to adhere. bake for approximately 45 minutes til skewer comes out clean
3. Cool completely and cut

This time, I used gluten free mocaf flour for this brownies, this is my second brownies using this flour (the first one I used different recipe) and both gave nice results
A little details about mocaf flour can be read HERE

Initially I wanted to use gluten free flour mixture from this site which many gave good reviews
But then I realized what I had was tapioca starch, while the recipe said tapioca flour
I wasn't sure whether these two are the same or different
I googled for information, many said they're the same, but some said different
So, I decided to use mocaf flour for now, while searching for the real truth :)
Anybody know the answer? :)

This post is for Bake Along event, hosted by Joyce, Lena and Zoe

Please view other wonderful bakers in the link tool below to see their lovely brownies too :)

I'm also submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #21 Gluten Free Bakes hosted by Hankerie

Banana Chocolate Sprinkles Cake Pops

I was trying one of the recipe have been in my to do list for quite sometime, moist banana cake from Edith's site, when I realized there's something wrong with my oven, I guess the temperature dropped, the cake was only fully baked after an hour while Edith wrote it only took 20 minutes to bake!
As a result, the cake didn't turn out nice, it sunk, and the texture was dense and the cake was heavy. Eating the cake was no fun at all :(

So, since LBT challenge this month is cake pops, I decided to trasnform the disappointment into something for others to enjoy, in this case - the kids :)

I crushed most of the cake with my own hand to relieve my sorrow LOL
Mixed it with Martha Stewart cream cheese frosting til it's sticky enough to shape, shaped into balls
Dipped lollipop sticks in melted dark chocolate and white chocolate and poked the balls with them, immediately kept them in the fridge for an hour

The white and dark chocolate dips, pearls, stars and hearts sprinkles, gummies, and the styrofoam board

After an hour in the fridge, dip the pops into the chocolates and sprinkles as desired and put it standing upright by poking the sticks into the styrofoam board, and chilled overnight

And here is mine...

This one was just dipped plain without any sprinkles, I prefer to bite without sprinkles :P

Ok, I was feeling a little better after seeing the little pops and watching my kids happily munching on them. Sorrow turned to joy LOL

Now, gotta call the oven service centre to ask them to give it a check *sigh*

Tofu Puff in Hot Sour Sauce (Tahu Gejrot)

This snack is easy to find anywhere in Indonesia, from roadside stalls to foodcourts
But in Singapore, I gotta make it myself to be able to enjoy this traditional snack I haven't had in ages :)

I was delighted to see the recipe in Dessy's site and immediately gave it a go
Hhhmmm so refreshing, especially when the sauce is kept chilled in the fridge, poured on the still hot tofu :)

What you need:

10pcs of tofu puff, fried til crisp and cut

For the sauce:
half block of palm sugar
2 tbsp
2 tbsp dark sweet soya sauce (kecap manis)
1 tsp salt
350ml water

For the chilli topping: (mix together)
4 shallots, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 bird's eye chillis, chopped

1. Bring to boil all ingredients for the sauce, strain
2. Pour over the hot tofu and eat with the chilli topping

Simple and satisfying, I love! :)

Meatballs Pizza (Jamie Oliver)

I did make meatball pizza, after I mentioned it in my last posting :)
This pizza used Jamie's pizza dough recipe, which I ever made before, and we loved it :)

Here's the recipe:

What you need:

(below is double recipe)

260ml lukewarm water

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp instant yeast

2tbs extra virgin olive oil

400g bread flour

1 tsp sea salt

Topping:
Jamie's meatballs (recipe HERE) - halved
tomato based pasta sauce (I used Prego traditional)
button mushrooms, cut
grated cheddar cheese
grated mozzarella cheese

1. Sprinkle sugar and yeast over water. Set aside for about 10 min till frothy
2. Pour yeast mixture and oil into flour and salt
3. Knead dough till smooth and springy
4. Place the ball of dough in a large flour-dusted bowl. Proof for about 30 min till double in size
5. Knock back dough and roll out to a 12" circle
6. Place on a greased and floured baking pan
7. Spread tomato based pasta sauce of your choice, place halved meatballs, cut button mushrooms, and then sprinkle grated cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese
8. Bake in preheated oven of 220degC for 15-20 min till the crust is brown and the cheese is bubbly

The pizza dough is another keeper recipe, a must try!

Meatballs Pasta (Jamie Oliver)

I have this recipe in my to do list for sometimes, and Cook Like A Star for this month features Jamie Oliver as the star of the month, so I cooked this, finally
And yes, it's loved by my family, especially my 'pasta lovers' kids :)

Thanks Zoe, for featuring Jamie for this month, I'm his die hard fan!
I mean, look at how he fights his way to get the schools have better and healthier meals for the children. Also look at how he bravely suggested healthier lifestyle by being an eye opener to us of what goes in our mouth when we eat fast food wew....
I 100% salute him on how he tries hard with his heart and soul to change the lifestyle of people in this world

And recipe wise, I like the creativity coming out from him to every dish he makes, and I totally admire his multi tasking speedy actions! He does manage to make not so simple things look real easy :)

My kids don't eat beef - no particular reason, they just don't like the taste
I guess, it''s me who caused it, I almost never fed them beef when they're babies and toddlers
DH and I don't eat so often, too, only some dishes that can't be replaced with other meats then we eat, otherwise, we'll replace with pork or chicken

The original recipe for this used ground beef or pork or mixture of two
I actually wanted to use mixture of ground pork and chicken, but DH suggested to just stick to minced chicken, so chicken it is

Here is the recipe with slight modification to suit my family taste

What you need:

pasta of your choice, prepare as directed in a pot of hot water with salt

For meatballs:
1 tsp of dried rosemary
10 meiji plain crackers, wrap in a kitchen towels and smash til fine
1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
450g minced chicken (can be a mixture of minced chicken and pork, I think it can make fluffier texture)
1/2 heaped tsp dried oregano
2 large eggs
a pinch of pepper
1/2 tsp of salt
2 tbsp olive oil, to drizzle

For pasta sauce:
1 tsp dried basil
1 medium onion, slice thinly
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large bottle of Prego traditional tomato based pasta sauce
2 tsp of sugar
1 slice cheddar cheese
some water

To make meatballs:
Mix all ingredients except olive oil, scrunch with clean hands til well mixed
Divide into 4 balls. With wet hands, divide each balls to 2. Divide again each ball to 2. And again, divide each ball to 2
Altogether it makes 32 balls which each size is just nice for my family liking (Jamie makes it to 12 balls which is too big for us)
Drizzle the meatballs with olive oil and jiggle them about so they all get coated. Put them in a container, keep in the fridge until needed
Before making pasta sauce, cook the meatballs by heating up another frying pan with a lug of olive oil, add in meatballs and cook til golden about 8 minutes, drain

To cook pasta sauce:
Heat olive oil on a pan and stir fry onion and when it's starting to turn soft, add in garlic, stir fry til fragrant and soft
Add in pasta sauce, basil, some water, sugar, and mix well (you may add water if it's still too thick - up to preference)
Add in cheese, mix til cheese melted, stir well
Add in the meatballs to the sauce, bring to boil and off heat

To serve:
Pour the meatballs pasta sauce over cooked pasta of your choice, serve warm with grated parmesan cheese and a dash of tabasco sauce (not for kids, of course)
For this time, it's Ian chose his favorite pasta - fusili :)


I still have some leftover meatballs, now I feel like having meatball pizza...yum! :P

ABC July 2012 - Classic Fruit Tart

It's so coincident that Abby asked me to make fruit tarts when I planned to bake this month's ABC bake
So, here it is, fruit tart from the book The Weekend Baker by Abigail Johnson Dodge
with Abby chose the fruits :)

The good thing about this recipe is that it's a make ahead recipe, you can bake the crust today and only make the cream the next day
Even the dough can be kept in the freezer for up to 1 month!
I did everything in one day, though, since I had the time to do all and I didn't think my little girl could wait :)

The dough was not too easy to handle but it's really worth the effort
I didn't roll the dough, I found it easier to just press it on the pan

Too bad I don't own a loose bottom pie pan, so cutting a slice and lifting it up is quite a struggle :)

The tart is really super, I really love the crust, really delicious
Munching it together with the super yummy pastry cream with fruits bursting in your mouth, it's really heavenly

The pastry cream had to be constantly in the fridge, it turned soft pretty quickly in room temperature - blame it on the hot humid Singapore weather!
I didn't pour real hot milk, I waited til it's lukewarm instead cos i didn't want the hot milk 'cooked' the eggs :)
And I sieved the cream too, to get rid of all the lumps

Overall it's a sweet delicious treat loved by my family :)
Great recipe!

Please view HERE for other wonderful fruit tarts baked by ABC members :)

THB #5 Walnut Crusted Butter Cake

5th bake from The Home Bakers, from the book Coffee Cakes by Lou Seibert Pappas
Butter cake - one of DH's favorite cakes, this time with nutty crust at the sides - nice!
Original recipe used almond slices, but I used sliced walnuts since that's what I had in stock :)
I baked only half recipe this time, just nice portion for the family without being over indulged :)
But the quantity of the walnuts I used was for one recipe :)
And also, I ommited amond extract and reduced sugar to 150g (half recipe)

I love the texture of this cake. It's rather dense - typical butter cake, but soft with fine texture

I added 3 tbsp of plain yoghurt (for half recipe) which I think it's a good thing :)

And the outer crust was so exciting to munch! I love this part the best :)
I used two rectangle short pans, to shorten the baking time :)

I found the fork is really cute, it's actually kids fork, those who still learn to grip

Overall, we like this cake. Probably I'll add some orange zest and orange glaze - yum! :)

For full recipe, please visit Emily's site

Please visit The Home Bakers, you'll see other members' bakes and really hope you can join in the fun too!