Marble Cake Birthday Cake, with Butter Cream.
Red Velvet Birthday Cake with Cream Cheese Icing.
Thursday, 12 March 2015
Birthday Cake
Marble Cake Birthday Cake, with Butter Cream.
Red Velvet Birthday Cake with Cream Cheese Icing.
Granola oh granola
Granola, hmm... I had them before.
I liked them but they were too expensive.
I switched to cereals and oats. But oats, as porridge after a while feels yucky and tasteless even with all the delicious toppings.
In fact I haven't had any for a long time, I often looked for the dried fruits under all that oats.
Then just the other night, I was watching a cooking programme on AFC, Urban Cook. An Indonesian cooking show actually and was fascinated by the way the show was done, quite different from our boring ones with a nosy, bored, uninterested 'host' and a over hyper chef...
What got my attention the most was how easy granola was prepared. Btw in that episode, he made granola bars, I didn't fancy egg whites in my granola even if it was baked...
So I surfed the net and searched for various recipes for granola.
I found some that were interesting but some didn't quite suited my taste buds or had too many steps.
Lastly I opted for an easy on on BBC Good Food.
I must say that I made it in the middle of the night, with ingredients that were in the fridge! So I left out a few things... but it was received very well by the masses and my next batch I'll try to stay true to the recipe.
As for the brown sugar bit, leave it out if you want. I just wanted the lovely taste and smell of caramel on the granola.
Since my mum loves raisins, I added a little bit more of dried fruits than required.
Here is the recipe, if you are interested. Like I said, I made some subtle changes, I believe that it should be suited to our individual taste and wallets.
Crunchy Granola with Berries and Cherries
source: BBC Good Food.
Ingredients
175g mixed nuts (I only had walnuts at that time)
450g oats (they didn't say rolled or instant but I used the instant one)
50g sesame seed
50g sunflower seed
100ml runny honey (I just scooped out the one in the small plastic bucket)
125ml sunflower oil (Any vegetable one will do)
80g dried berries and cherries (I used dried cranberries, raisins and apricots)
1 tsp salt (optional)
2 Tbsp brown sugar (I added this)
Method
Set the oven at 180C
Roughly chop all nuts and berries into at least bite size pieces.
In a bowl, combine all the oats, nuts, seeds and oats.
Pour in the honey and oil into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix well.
Tip the contents onto a baking tray and gently pat to even the mixture.
This is so it cooks evenly.
Lastly sprinkle the brown sugar over the oat mixture.
Bake for 25 to 30 min, until golden brown.
Keep stirring it, at least twice at intervals.
Keep checking because the oats burn easily.
Once golden brown, take out of the oven and cool.
When cooled, toss in the dried fruits or berries and mix well with the granola.
Now it is ready and can be stored in an air tight container.
Eat with milk, yogurt even ice cream is good or just on its own.
Drink lots of water.
Happy Baking.
I liked them but they were too expensive.
I switched to cereals and oats. But oats, as porridge after a while feels yucky and tasteless even with all the delicious toppings.
In fact I haven't had any for a long time, I often looked for the dried fruits under all that oats.
Then just the other night, I was watching a cooking programme on AFC, Urban Cook. An Indonesian cooking show actually and was fascinated by the way the show was done, quite different from our boring ones with a nosy, bored, uninterested 'host' and a over hyper chef...
What got my attention the most was how easy granola was prepared. Btw in that episode, he made granola bars, I didn't fancy egg whites in my granola even if it was baked...
So I surfed the net and searched for various recipes for granola.
I found some that were interesting but some didn't quite suited my taste buds or had too many steps.
Lastly I opted for an easy on on BBC Good Food.
I must say that I made it in the middle of the night, with ingredients that were in the fridge! So I left out a few things... but it was received very well by the masses and my next batch I'll try to stay true to the recipe.
As for the brown sugar bit, leave it out if you want. I just wanted the lovely taste and smell of caramel on the granola.
Since my mum loves raisins, I added a little bit more of dried fruits than required.
Here is the recipe, if you are interested. Like I said, I made some subtle changes, I believe that it should be suited to our individual taste and wallets.
Crunchy Granola with Berries and Cherries
source: BBC Good Food.
Ingredients
175g mixed nuts (I only had walnuts at that time)
450g oats (they didn't say rolled or instant but I used the instant one)
50g sesame seed
50g sunflower seed
100ml runny honey (I just scooped out the one in the small plastic bucket)
125ml sunflower oil (Any vegetable one will do)
80g dried berries and cherries (I used dried cranberries, raisins and apricots)
1 tsp salt (optional)
2 Tbsp brown sugar (I added this)
Method
Set the oven at 180C
Roughly chop all nuts and berries into at least bite size pieces.
In a bowl, combine all the oats, nuts, seeds and oats.
Pour in the honey and oil into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix well.
Tip the contents onto a baking tray and gently pat to even the mixture.
This is so it cooks evenly.
Lastly sprinkle the brown sugar over the oat mixture.
Bake for 25 to 30 min, until golden brown.
Keep stirring it, at least twice at intervals.
Keep checking because the oats burn easily.
Once golden brown, take out of the oven and cool.
When cooled, toss in the dried fruits or berries and mix well with the granola.
Now it is ready and can be stored in an air tight container.
Eat with milk, yogurt even ice cream is good or just on its own.
Drink lots of water.
Happy Baking.
Wednesday, 11 February 2015
Marble Cake - Again!
A friend's birthday was last week, but didn't have time to make a cake on that special day.
So instead I made one a belated one.
I baked marble cake, and used butter cream for the topping.
Marble Butter Cake
source: QL Kitchen
Ingredient
225g butter
225g sugar
225g self raising flour
4 eggs
6 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
Method
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add in vanilla and the eggs one at a time, beat well.
Alternate 3 Tbsp milk and flour into the mixture.
Divide the batter into 2.
Leave one plain while the other add the cocoa powder and 3 Tbsp of milk.
Mix well to combine.
In a lined and greased cake tin or loaf pan, spoon in the mixture accordingly,
you can either put four small dollop of batter in the tin or
layer it, two spoon full of each batter at a time.
Either way the cake looks good.
Use a bamboo skewer and zig zag a pattern before baking.
Bake at 180 C for 1 hour.
Once cake is cool, you can either leave it as it is or spread the icing.
Butter cream icing.
Ingredients
125g butter
70g shortening
80g icing sugar
2 Tbsp of condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla.
Food colouring.
In a clean bowl, cream the butter and shortening until turns light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla.
In two batches, add the icing sugar into the butter mixture.
Once well mix, add the remaining icing sugar, continue beating,
The mixture is smooth and spreadable.
Spread onto cake and decorate as you like.
Happy Baking.
So instead I made one a belated one.
I baked marble cake, and used butter cream for the topping.
Marble Butter Cake
source: QL Kitchen
Ingredient
225g butter
225g sugar
225g self raising flour
4 eggs
6 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
Method
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add in vanilla and the eggs one at a time, beat well.
Alternate 3 Tbsp milk and flour into the mixture.
Divide the batter into 2.
Leave one plain while the other add the cocoa powder and 3 Tbsp of milk.
Mix well to combine.
In a lined and greased cake tin or loaf pan, spoon in the mixture accordingly,
you can either put four small dollop of batter in the tin or
layer it, two spoon full of each batter at a time.
Either way the cake looks good.
Use a bamboo skewer and zig zag a pattern before baking.
Bake at 180 C for 1 hour.
Once cake is cool, you can either leave it as it is or spread the icing.
Butter cream icing.
Ingredients
125g butter
70g shortening
80g icing sugar
2 Tbsp of condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla.
Food colouring.
In a clean bowl, cream the butter and shortening until turns light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla.
In two batches, add the icing sugar into the butter mixture.
Once well mix, add the remaining icing sugar, continue beating,
The mixture is smooth and spreadable.
Spread onto cake and decorate as you like.
Happy Baking.
Wednesday, 4 February 2015
Aglio Olio
Aglio Olio with seafood
Pasta...mmm either you love it or hate it.
To some pasta is only spaghetti bolognaise, but truthfully there is huge variety of it and sadly
not all are available here in our currently windy and sunny Malaysia.
Oh the winds, let me take a break from talking about pasta.
I lobe it! I really do. Clothes dry like super, super fast. I love the feeling of it gushing about, blowing already messy hair all over the place LOL Curtains flying, doors slamming - involuntarily of course!
But on the down side, dry leaves and rubbish like snack or sweet wrappers fly into the house from the road side, not to mention the sand and small pebbles.
More house work, more cleaning to be done *sigh* Just one of those things that has to be done.
Let's focus on more happier and yummier things like this Aglio Olio with seafood.
Aglio Olio means, garlic and olive oil, and in the true sense that is what it is, warm pasta tossed with garlic fried in olive oil, just sprinkle some freshly chopped parsley and eat.
But pasta lovers will beg to differ and say that there are a several versions and one of the popular one is with sea food. You can also substitute it with chicken, I've even seen on restaurant menus, fillets of fish!
All in all it is up to your taste buds and preference.
Here I used prawns and squids, but clams can also be added.
I just wanted to share with you my version of Aglio Olio with Seafood - spicy version!
Aglio Olio with Seafood.
Ingredients
1 packet of spaghetti (500g)
Boil for about 8-10 min, toss and set aside.
The water must be boiling before you put in the pasta.
Ensure there is enough water or the pasta would stick to each other.
The pasta doesn't needs to be cooked long because it is going to be cooked again later.
So, al dente is okay.
olive oil
5-6 cloves of garlic
5-10 cili api /bird's eye chili (add or lessen depending on your tolerance for chili)
250g fresh prawns
250g fresh squid
1/2 tsp of dried mixed herbs (optional)
freshly chopped parsley
1 Tbsp dried chili flakes
salt and pepper to taste.
Method
In a food processor minced the chili and garlic or just smash them in a pestle and mortar.
In a wok pour in about 5Tbsp of Olive Oil and over med heat fry the garlic and chili until fragrant.
Careful, the garlic burns easily.
Add in the seafood or chicken, stir fry until cook. The prawns turn pink, the squid and chicken white.
Season to taste before taking them out and set aside.
This is to prevent the seafood from over cooking and becoming tough.
Add in the spaghetti and mix to combine with the chili and garlic mixture.
At this point, you can add salt and pepper.
Stir gently as not to break the pasta, add the mixed herbs if using and dried chili flakes.
Add the cooked seafood and cook the pasta until warm through.
It depends if the pasta is a bit dry add some water.
Lastly, drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle the parsley over the pasta before plating up!
Best eaten warm but cold is good too. Just pop into the mircowave for a few minutes to warm it up for later!
Pasta...mmm either you love it or hate it.
To some pasta is only spaghetti bolognaise, but truthfully there is huge variety of it and sadly
not all are available here in our currently windy and sunny Malaysia.
Oh the winds, let me take a break from talking about pasta.
I lobe it! I really do. Clothes dry like super, super fast. I love the feeling of it gushing about, blowing already messy hair all over the place LOL Curtains flying, doors slamming - involuntarily of course!
But on the down side, dry leaves and rubbish like snack or sweet wrappers fly into the house from the road side, not to mention the sand and small pebbles.
More house work, more cleaning to be done *sigh* Just one of those things that has to be done.
Let's focus on more happier and yummier things like this Aglio Olio with seafood.
Aglio Olio means, garlic and olive oil, and in the true sense that is what it is, warm pasta tossed with garlic fried in olive oil, just sprinkle some freshly chopped parsley and eat.
But pasta lovers will beg to differ and say that there are a several versions and one of the popular one is with sea food. You can also substitute it with chicken, I've even seen on restaurant menus, fillets of fish!
All in all it is up to your taste buds and preference.
Here I used prawns and squids, but clams can also be added.
I just wanted to share with you my version of Aglio Olio with Seafood - spicy version!
Aglio Olio with Seafood.
Ingredients
1 packet of spaghetti (500g)
Boil for about 8-10 min, toss and set aside.
The water must be boiling before you put in the pasta.
Ensure there is enough water or the pasta would stick to each other.
The pasta doesn't needs to be cooked long because it is going to be cooked again later.
So, al dente is okay.
olive oil
5-6 cloves of garlic
5-10 cili api /bird's eye chili (add or lessen depending on your tolerance for chili)
250g fresh prawns
250g fresh squid
1/2 tsp of dried mixed herbs (optional)
freshly chopped parsley
1 Tbsp dried chili flakes
salt and pepper to taste.
Method
In a food processor minced the chili and garlic or just smash them in a pestle and mortar.
In a wok pour in about 5Tbsp of Olive Oil and over med heat fry the garlic and chili until fragrant.
Careful, the garlic burns easily.
Add in the seafood or chicken, stir fry until cook. The prawns turn pink, the squid and chicken white.
Season to taste before taking them out and set aside.
This is to prevent the seafood from over cooking and becoming tough.
Add in the spaghetti and mix to combine with the chili and garlic mixture.
At this point, you can add salt and pepper.
Stir gently as not to break the pasta, add the mixed herbs if using and dried chili flakes.
Add the cooked seafood and cook the pasta until warm through.
It depends if the pasta is a bit dry add some water.
Lastly, drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle the parsley over the pasta before plating up!
Best eaten warm but cold is good too. Just pop into the mircowave for a few minutes to warm it up for later!
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Like anyone else who love chocolate that is, I can never resist a chocolate chip cookie.
I love them, with nuts, without nuts, with oats and even the double chocolate ones.
I think I've baked hundreds of these chocolatey nuggets but never tried the what I call white ones.
White because the biscuit is light in colour and the chips can be seen.
The recipe that we have is double chocolate, so the mixture is dark due to cocoa powder and lots of chocolate chips. The white bits would be the nuts. It is kinda hard to tell when it is ready and more than once I burnt these delectable cookies due to my carelessness!!
As always I was browsing blogs and sites looking for something else when I stumbled across a recipe on BBC Good Food. It was called Vintage Chocolate Chip cookie, now with a name like that who wouldn't want to take a peek at what it is about.
I read through the recipe and found it easy enough, I had almost all the ingredients. I didn't have any chips so I chopped away at a block of cooking chocolate instead, the result as you can tell from the dark patches on the cookie was very satisfying. I intend to just use chunks the next time too.
The masses enjoyed these very much and I have a feeling I will be making them several more times.
The recipe doesn't call for any nuts, although they did say you could add some. I added about 1/2 a cup of chopped walnuts to the mixture. I divided the dough into two, leaving one as it is and the other I added 1/4 cup of oats. The masses couldn't decide which was better but loved both versions.
No heavy machinery required, a wooden spoon is sufficient. Use a hand stand if you like.
This batter is rather wet, so I suggest if you don't want to get your hands dirty use a ice cream scoop or two spoons. I just used my fingers and 'agak-agak' the size of each cookie.
The recipe, should you want to try is as follows:
Vintage Chocolate Chip Cookies
source: BBC Good Food
Ingredients
150g butter
80g castor sugar (I only added 50g)
80g brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
225g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt (I didn't)
200g chocolate chips or chunks
Method
Cream butter and sugar until creamy.
Add the egg and vanilla, beat some more.
Gradually add the flour and mix well.
Lastly fold in the chocolate chips or chunks and if using, the nut/oats.
Drop the cookies, using spoons or ice cream scoop onto a greased oven tray.
It spreads so don't put them so close.
Bake at 180 C for 20 min.
Enjoy the cookies with ice cream or on its own.
Happy Baking!
Like anyone else who love chocolate that is, I can never resist a chocolate chip cookie.
I love them, with nuts, without nuts, with oats and even the double chocolate ones.
I think I've baked hundreds of these chocolatey nuggets but never tried the what I call white ones.
White because the biscuit is light in colour and the chips can be seen.
The recipe that we have is double chocolate, so the mixture is dark due to cocoa powder and lots of chocolate chips. The white bits would be the nuts. It is kinda hard to tell when it is ready and more than once I burnt these delectable cookies due to my carelessness!!
As always I was browsing blogs and sites looking for something else when I stumbled across a recipe on BBC Good Food. It was called Vintage Chocolate Chip cookie, now with a name like that who wouldn't want to take a peek at what it is about.
I read through the recipe and found it easy enough, I had almost all the ingredients. I didn't have any chips so I chopped away at a block of cooking chocolate instead, the result as you can tell from the dark patches on the cookie was very satisfying. I intend to just use chunks the next time too.
The masses enjoyed these very much and I have a feeling I will be making them several more times.
The recipe doesn't call for any nuts, although they did say you could add some. I added about 1/2 a cup of chopped walnuts to the mixture. I divided the dough into two, leaving one as it is and the other I added 1/4 cup of oats. The masses couldn't decide which was better but loved both versions.
No heavy machinery required, a wooden spoon is sufficient. Use a hand stand if you like.
This batter is rather wet, so I suggest if you don't want to get your hands dirty use a ice cream scoop or two spoons. I just used my fingers and 'agak-agak' the size of each cookie.
The recipe, should you want to try is as follows:
Vintage Chocolate Chip Cookies
source: BBC Good Food
Ingredients
150g butter
80g castor sugar (I only added 50g)
80g brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
225g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt (I didn't)
200g chocolate chips or chunks
Method
Cream butter and sugar until creamy.
Add the egg and vanilla, beat some more.
Gradually add the flour and mix well.
Lastly fold in the chocolate chips or chunks and if using, the nut/oats.
Drop the cookies, using spoons or ice cream scoop onto a greased oven tray.
It spreads so don't put them so close.
Bake at 180 C for 20 min.
Enjoy the cookies with ice cream or on its own.
Happy Baking!
Friday, 23 January 2015
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