Almond Butterscotch Cake

Almond Butterscotch Cake

I just felt like eating something sweet and started searching various blogs for a sweet yummy cake. Butterscotch, I love it. Buttery, sweet and creamy at the same time. You can say it taste a little bit like toffee but not quite. Confused? Ha! Ha! I'm not very good at describing this sinfully, fattening confectionery!

I looked through several recipes and after many hours of drooling over other people's pictures of this scrumptious cake, I found two that I liked, and made minor adjustments to suit my taste buds.

The original recipes are from intai dapur was called Chocolate Butterscotch and Almond Cheesecake and from roses of nora was called Butterscotch Cake. Terima kasih banyak-banyak!
The one I made is combination of both, so check out their respective recipes.

**it would be better to make the butterscotch sauce first as it requires time to thicken.
A day ahead pun tak pa, as you can keep it in the fridge.


Almond Butterscotch Cake

For the sponge cake
150g cake flour (I used Tepung Gandum Blue Key)
150g castor sugar
5 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp ovalette
1 tsp vanilla
80ml milk (I used evaporated milk)
80ml melted butter or vegetable oil (I used corn oil)
enough toasted slivered almonds

Method
Using a stand mixer, beat the castor sugar, eggs, ovalette, flour and baking powder until fluffly. Slowly add in milk. Beat again for about 6 min or until the mixture becomes thick. Gently fold in the melted butter or oil.
Pour the mixture into a greased and lined 8 in cake tin.
Bake for 40 min at 160 C.
Once cooked, don't take the cake out of the tin. Cool it by turning the tin up side down.
When cooled, remove the cake.


For the cream.
1 cup non diary whipping cream
2 Tbsp water & 1/2 Tbsp gelatin.

Method
Measure the water into a bowl and sprinkle the gelatin powder over it. Allow the gelatin to absorb the water.
After a few minutes, using a double boiler, melt the gelatin slowly. Keep stirring until it all dissolves.
Beat the cream until stiff before adding in the gelatin. Beat again to combine. Pour in about 4 Tbsp of the butterscotch sauce into the cream and mix well. Put aside.



Butterscotch Sauce
2/3 cup milk (I used evaporated milk)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp + 1/2 Tbsp butter (I used 3 Tbsp)
1 tsp vanilla

In a sauce pan, over a slow fire melt milk, butter, sugar and vanilla. Keep stirring as it burns easily.
When the mixture is combined, turn up the heat a bit and let it simmer for about 5 minute.
Remember to keep stirring. Take off the heat and let it cool for about 2 hours. The mixture will thicken.



Assemble the cake
Slice the cake into two. On one surface spread the butterscotch cream evenly. If you like you can dribble some more butterscotch sauce here too. Sprinkle some almonds over the cake before topping it with the half.
Cover the whole cake with the remaining cream and pour the rest of the butterscotch sauce over the top letting it dribbling down. The almonds can be added to the sides or top of the cake. This is me, you can do as you like!


Happy Baking.

Cheesy Brownies

This is the first time I baked brownies and my mum actually ate more than a polite-one-piece only. Ha! Ha!
My mum is a very fussy eater, mostly because she is a very good cook. She can basically guess the ingredients by just tasting the dish and recreate it too! I know everyone says their mum is the best but hey our mum is the best!
Right back to my brownies, ehem, macamlah I created the recipe myself! All credits go to Puan Azlita Aziz, one of my favorite food bloggers! I like her recipes, simply to follow.
I went to Aeon Big, saja browsing through the cook books when I came across "Siri Blogger Masakan Kek" Funny though I didn't realize who the author was until much later (after paying). Punyalah excited with the recipes...the pictures are good too.
Since I had some blueberry filling left from another horribly gone wrong recipe, I thought the first recipe I tried from this book would be - the Cheesy Brownies.

the book:

Mine doesn't quite resemble hers, but pretty close I must say! LOL


Cheesy Brownies
source: Siri Blogger Masakan Kek by Nor Azlita Abd Aziz

Brownies
250g butter (I used 1 cup of corn oil)
100g cocoa powder
250 all purpose flour (I used Tepung Gandum Blue Key)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 medium size eggs
350g castor sugar
350ml fresh milk (I used evaporated and low fat UHT milk)
1 tsp vanilla

Cheesy layer
250g cream cheese
180g castor sugar
1 egg
1 tsp lemon paste (available at baking goods shops, but mine made the cheese part yellowish, must find one that doesn't but it taste very lemony and nice.)
Enough blueberry filling.


Method
Melt butter in a pot. When melted add in cocoa powder. Mix well.
Whisk in sugar, milk and vanilla.
Add in the flour in batches and mix well.
Sieve the mixture into a greased and lined 10 x 10 in tray.
Bake at 170C for 30-40  min.
Let it cool for a bit but don't take out of the cake tin.

In a bowl, using a hand mixture cream the cream cheese, sugar, egg and lemon paste until smooth and fluffy.
Pour it over the baked brownie. Dot the cheese surface with blueberry filling, I over did mine and it came out looking like cells under the microscope! Just one small dot and using a lidi pull at an angle to achieve small heart shapes.
Bake again for 20-30 min at 170C.
Cool and cut to serve.

Happy Baking.

Devil's Food Cupcake

Made this for a friend's birthday last week. She wanted Devil's Food Cake yang kecil and easy to eat. So I decided to use paper cups and make them into cupcakes!
The purple flowers are made of sugar and the sunny side up eggs are edible mango flavored gummy candies.

Sweet Potato Fries

I love fried food! I rejoiced when sweet potato joined the list of super foods! But I don't think they were meant to be fried like this, LOL

I ate the ones at Shihlin Taiwanese Street Snacks and loved the way it was cut!

It is a lot easier to pop into the mouth.

Here is my version but without the plum powder.

Peel the sweet potatoes, you can use either the red/orange or white/yellow ones.

Wash away the dirt and pat dry. Carefully slice the potato into long strips, like above.

The sweet potato are hard, you'll need a very sharp knife and steady surface for the chopping board.

Use any brand of Tepung Goreng Pisang you like. I used Tepung Goreng Aroma (Green packet)

In a bowl, add enough amount of the flour to fry plus for extra crunch, I add some rice flour.

I usually add about 2 to 3 Tbsp of rice flour.

Next slowly add in water enough for the batter to be smooth and not lumpy.

In a wok, heat up oil. With the heat on medium, carefully drop in the sticks of sweet potatoes

 coated with the batter.

One at a time to avoid them sticking together. Let them be in the oil, don't stir just yet. 

Or the batter might not stick to the potatoes.

After about a minute or two, using tongs or spatula gently stir and separate the ones that are stuck. 

Unfortunately this happens sometimes!

When the potatoes are brown and golden, take them out and drain excess oil using a sieve or paper towels.

Then...makan!

Victoria Sandwich Cake

Not quite sure why it is called so, but dah nama dia!

This cake is easy to make and delicious. Good for teas, when you have unexpected guests ...

Sandwiched in between the two cakes is usually jam - strawberry jamlah! But you can sapu any jam you want, mixed berries is good too.

Victoria Sandwich Cake

I tripled the recipe to fit two 8 in cake tins.

Victoria Sandwich Cake
source: my mum's ancient cook book

4 oz self raising flour (I used Blue Key)
1 tsp baking powder
3 oz castor sugar
2 medium size eggs
4 oz butter

Method:
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add in eggs one at a time, beat well.
Fold in flour in batches and mix well until batter is smooth.
Line and grease 2 baking tins.
Bake for about 25-30 min at 180 C.

Take cakes out of tins and cool on racks.
When cakes are still warm, spread jam on the surface of one cake (pick the bottom part of the cake, as it is easier to spread the jam) before topping it with the other cake.
If you like dust some icing sugar on the top.

Happy Baking.

Garlic Bread

Buying the ready made ones is of course easier and faster to eat but sometimes...homemade ones are better.
Delicious to eat with spaghetti, bbq, soups especially cream of mushroom soup or just on its own pun sedaps!
Before I list out the ingredients needed, the amount needed depends on how much garlic and butter you like on the bread and how big it is. Some bakeries tend to make their french bread very slim.

Garlic Bread.

1 loaf of french bread or baguette.
1/2 a block of butter ( or more, like I mentioned above)
2 cloves of garlic (pounded or smashed using the back of the knife) I personally like mine very garlicky!
some chopped parsley (optional)

Method
Slice bread at an angle or as you like it.
In a bowl mix the room the butter, garlic and parsley.
Make sure the butter is at room temperature and not too soft or it will be oily.
Mix well before spreading onto bread.

Put the bread pieces onto a baking dish or an oven tray. Bake at 120 C for about 20 min or until golden brown.

Happy Baking.

Lemon Cupcakes

Lemon Cupcakes.
Source: from a book my sister borrowed from someone at work. Thank you.

Lemon Cupcakes

110 g butter
225 g sugar (a bit sweet, I lessen it to 200 g)
2 eggs
150 g Self Raising Flour (I used Blue Key)
125 g all purpose flour (I used Tepung Gandum Blue Key)
90 ml milk
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp sour cream (I used thick yogurt)
1 tsp lemon zest I didn't)

Method
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
In  a jug, mix sour cream, milk and lemon juice.
Slowly pour in the mixture and alternate with both flour into the creamed butter and sugar.
Lastly add in the zest.

Spoon the batter into paper cups and bake at 170c for 25-30 min.
Depending on your oven and how many you bake at one time, the cooking time
may vary.

Happy Baking.

Chocolate Chip Apple Muffin

Chocolate Chip Apple Muffin


























This is one of my all the time make one muffin recipe.
The pictures show the before and after process.
In fact it was the very first muffin recipe that 'jadi'.
I did a few changes, but the original recipe is just as good.


Chocolate Chip Apple Muffin.
source: I can't remember which site or who, but thank you, so much.

300 g all purpose flour (I used Tepung Gandum Blue Key)
2 Tbsp cocoa powder (I added this. Replace 2 Tbsp of flour with 2 Tbsp cocoa powder)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
190 g chopped green apples (Sometimes I use red ones too or a mixture of both)
2 Tbsp chocolate chips (I chopped medium size chunks of cooking chocolate instead, about 3 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp raisin or sultanas (soak them in hot water so that they plump up and don't burn later)
115 g butter or margarine
100 g castor sugar
100 g brown sugar (for the sugars I lessen each to 90 g)
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Method
Cream butter and both sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well.
Gently fold in the flour, sodas and cocoa powder. Add the chopped apples, dried fruits and chocolate chips.
The batter will be lumpy but it is okay.

Spoon batter into paper cups and bake for about 20-30 min at 170 C. Depending on the oven and how much you bake, please keep checking. If the muffin bounces at the touch and the testing stick come out clean, it is done.
Let the muffin cool and if you like drizzle some melted chocolate over the top.

Happy Baking.

Cookies

Chocolate chips cookies! Yummy! Everyone who loves chocolates loves this. I don't mean my recipe but the cookie it self. Yep, there are over a hundred recipe for this all time favorite. Everyone has their own, with several addition of some ingredient here and there.

Mine, is a double chocolate chip. LOL 

You might like it, so why not get it a try?

Chocolate Chip Cookie

source: my mum's ancient recipe book.

This recipe is rather small, you might want to double or triple it.

4 oz butter or magarine

6 oz plain flour

1 Tbsp cocoa powder

3 oz castor sugar

3 oz chocolate chip ( add a little bit more pun tak apa)

1 egg yolk

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

3 oz nuts (I usually use almonds but it is up to you, you can also omit the nuts)

Method

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in vanilla and egg yolk.

Beat to combine. Add in flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cocoa powder,

chocolate chips and nuts.

Mix well to combine.

Form the dough into small nuggets or balls and bake for 25 min at 160 c.

Be careful, as the dough is dark it is difficult to tell when it browns or cooks.

So keep checking, and when the smell hits you it is probably done!

Good luck!

Cookies

Biskut Ribbon a.k.a Biskut Dahlia

For as long as I could remember my mum had always called them, biscuit Ribbon.

Nope I don't know why and she doesn't either! But as then later I discovered through magazines, cook books and friends, these delicious cookies have another name...

This recipe requires a special acuan for the flowers to come out.

You probably seen it before, it looks like a fat syringe and instead of a needle there is a patterned design at the bottom. I'm afraid I haven't a picture of it but I'll add it later.

So okay, here is the recipe:

Biskut Ribbon aka Biskut Dahlia

4 oz custard powder (I use Bird's Custard Powder )

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla

6 1/2 oz butter

4 1/2 oz icing sugar (sieved)

enough chopped red or green  glazed cherries as decoration

Method

Combine all ingredients in a bowl until it becomes a smooth dough.

Form small sausage like shapes of the dough to fit into the tube and then using the slender piece press out the dough to get the cookie. Then place the cherries in the middle of the flower.

It is more easier if you pipe the cookie straight away onto the greased baking tray, transferring is tricky and you might lose some petals.

Bake at 160C fot about 20 minutes.

Happy Baking.