Cute Cookies Revisited!

Yesterday night baked a batch of Hello Kitty Cookies for my sister, with some balance dough, I've make use of my newly bought cookie cutter to make this cutee animals cookies! simply adorable!!! they are rabbit, cat, elephant, bear, chicken & dog....

Click here for the recipe

Cranberry Honey Cupcakes

Merry Christmas to all follow bloggers!

X'mas Tree created using 10 small cupcakes top with fresh cream....

Ingredient

• 110gm unsalted butter
• 70gm sugar
• 3.5 tbsp honey
• 110gm cake flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
  
• 70gm cranberries (soak in warm water for 10mins to moisten, drain well before use)

Method

1. Place all ingredient (except cranberries) in a mixing bowl.
2. Beat on high speed for 3 mins till mixture is light & fluffy.
3. Scoop batter into cupcake cases. Bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 25mins until golden brown.

Submitting this creation to Aspiring Bakers #2 for December 2010!

Red Cabbage with Apple & Walnut

Seldom cook red cabbage, the most I use them for salad. Find the recipe quite interesting and decide to give it a try and happens to find that Wendy also cooked this red cabbage!

Recipe source : Good Food Magazine Dec 2010 Issue

Also see Wendy (Table for 2) for her version!

Ingredient

• 600gm red cabbage, finely sliced
• 2 green apples, peeled & coarsely grated
• 1 bay leaf (I omit this as I could not get it)
• 4 cloves
• 25gm butter
  
• 100ml apple cider vinegar
• 25gm light brown sugar
• handful of walnuts, toasted & chopped

Method

1. Put cabbage, apple, bay leaves, cloves & butter in a large pan. Cook & stir for 2-3 mins until the cabbage starts to soften.
2. Cover the pan and cook for 5mins till the cabbage wilt. Depends on how soft you prefer the cabbage to be, you can increase the cooking time if you like.
3. Add in vinegar and cook till the vinegar has almost completely reduced.
4. Stir in sugar until it dissolves. Turn off heat. Stir in chopped walnuts.
   
5. Serve warm along with grilled meat or seafood.

Cucumber Corn Squares

Ingredient

• 2 cups grated cucumber (2 cucumbers, peel & remove seeds before grating)
• 1 large onion, finely slice
• 380gm sweet corn kernels
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 125gm self-raising flour, sifted
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 125ml milk
• salt & pepper to taste

Method

1. Combine cucumber, onion, corn, cheese & flour in a large bowl, mix well.
2. Stir in eggs, milk, salt & pepper.
3. Pour batter into a lined 8" square pan and bake in preheated oven at 200 deg cel for 40mins or until set & golden brown.
4. Cut into squares, serve warm or cold.
   

冬至到了！

今天是冬至 （农历2010年十一月十七）, 今天您吃汤圆了吗?

冬至的来源



Main ingredient : 汤圆, water, pandan leaves, seedless red dates, ginger & honey...

Pita Pizza!

Which pizza you like most? My favourite creation is Kimchi & Chicken! ^-^ The pita bread base is as good as homemade dough, chewy texture and crispy outer edge after warming up.

To create the pizza base, brush some olive oil over the smooth side of the bread, spread a layer of tomato paste over the bread, sprinkle some herbs over follow by a layer of your favourite cheese (I used cheddar cheese), lastly top up with your favourite toppings! Bake in preheated oven at 200 deg cel for 10-12mins.

Zucchini Cakes- Revisited

This time round using yellow zucchini and grated cheddar cheese instead :) I reduce the cheese to 2/3 cup instead of 1 cup therefore it is not as cheesy as the first time I've made...

Recipe Link

Bolo De Coco

Bolo De Coco is a Portuguese for Coconut Cake. Have kept this recipe which was published in Sunday Times couple of years ago! Understand from the article that this coconut flavour cake is commonly eaten by the Eurasians during festive celebrations like Christmas other than the infamous Sugee Cake :)

Though rich coconut milk & fresh grated coconut is added into the cake, it does not taste very rich. Light & moist texture, great with a dallop of vanilla ice-cream at the side! 2 more weeks counting down to 2010 Christmas Day!! Do you feel the merry festive season approaching after seeing this cake?

Ingredient

• 225gm unsalted butter
• 180gm sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 100gm fresh grated coconut
• 160ml coconut milk
• 225gm plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 5 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

1. Using a electric whisk, cream butter & sugar on high speed until creamy & fluffy.
2. Add in salt & grated coconut and beat for 4 mins until fully combined.
3. Using a ballon whisk, fold in coconut milk until well incorporated.
4. Sift in flour & baking powder and fold till combined. Set aside . (pic below)
   

5. Using a electric whisk, beat eggs on high speed for 5mins until thick & fluffy. (pic below)


6. Add the beaten eggs to the butter mixture gradually and fold till combined. Add vanilla essence.

7. Pour batter into a lined 8" round cake pan. Bake in preheated oven at 160 deg cel for 1 - 1.5hrs or until a skewer inserted come out clean.

Submitting this recipe to the upcoming Aspiring Bakers #2 - Christmas! (Dec 2010)

Weekend Brunch

Awesome weekend brunch which I've prepared today! Pumpkin & Leek Frittata (Italian omelette), Honey Chicken Chop & Salad with Homemade Orange Vinaigrette.

Pumpkin & Leek Frittata
Ingredient

• 600gm pumpkin, peeled & roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 200gm leek, sliced diagonally
• 100gm ham
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 7 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 125ml light cream
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Method

1. Combine pumpkin & oil in a casserole.
2. Bake in preheated oven at 220 deg cel for 15mins.
3. Stir in leek, ham, garlic and bake for another 20mins.
4. Spoon mixture into a lined 8" square pan. Combine egggs, cornflour, light cream, salt & pepper evenly. Pour over pumpkin mixture.
5. Bake for 40mins until fritatta is set.

Honey Chicken Chop Ingredient

• 2 boneless chicken leg (abt 300gm each)
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp light soya sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

Method

1. Trim away excess fats of chicken leg.
2. Marinate chicken leg with all the seasoning, chill in fridge overnight.
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in non-stick pan, pan-fry chicken leg for 5 mins on each side until cook through and golden brown.
   

Orange Vinaigrette
Ingredient

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 orange, extract the juice
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 tsp salt

Method

1. Heat olive oil in saucepan. Add garlic & saute till golden brown. Set aside & cool down.
2. Mix all ingredient together evenly. Set aside for at least 30mins for flavour to infuse.
3. Drizzle appropriate amount of orange vinaigrette over your favourite greens. Excess dressing can be stored in air-tight container in fridge for 3 days.
   

Blueberry Orange Muffins

Recipe adapted from Food 4 Tots ....indeed very moist & fluffy! loves the citrus fragrant also :)


Ingredient

• 250gm cake flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 120gm sugar
• pinch of salt
• 2 eggs - lightly beaten
• 4 tbsp fresh orange juice
• 2 tsp orange zest
• 180ml canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 160gm greek-style yogurt
• 125gm fresh blueberries
  

Methods

1. Pre-heat oven to 200°c.
   
2. In a mixing bowl, sieve flour and baking powder. Add in sugar and salt and mix well. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the lighted beaten egg, oil, yogurt, vanilla extract, orange juice and zest until it is creamier. It will look a bit cuddled. Be careful not to overbeat the mixture.
4. Add the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Use a spatula, combine the ingredients with fold in method until they are well combined and no traces of flour. Stir in blueberries and mix well. Do not over-mix the batter.
   
5. Scoop batter into cupcases until each cup is 80% full.
6. Bake at 180°c for 25 minutes.
   

Fish & Chips

Ingredient

• 600gm white fish fillet, sliced
• 150gm plain flour
• 250ml soda water
• extra flour for coating
  

Method

1. Marinate fish fillet lightly with salt & black pepper.
2. Stir soda water into plain flour until a smooth batter formed.
3. Coat lightly fish fillet with some flour followed by flour batter, shake away excess.
4. Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown. Drain well on kitchen paper. Serve warm with tartar sauce & chips.
   

Oven Baked Fries adapted from Food-4 Tots

Coleslaw - Cabbage, carrots, cranberries, raisins & coleslaw dressing

Mushroom & Ham Tortilla Pizza

Finding a hassle to make pizza base from scratch? Why not try with plain bread base, pita bread or even tortilla wrap? Fast & simple! The tortilla base pizza is very thin & light, therefore my son can finish the whole portion of it and keep commenting : "好吃，好吃" !! ^-^

Ingredient
* Wholemeal Tortilla Wraps
* Olive Oil
* Tomato Paste
* Salt
* Italian Herbs
* White Button Mushroom, thinly sliced
* Ham, sliced
* Onion, sliced & saute with olive oil until softened
* Grated Cheddar Cheese

Method

1. Brush Tortilla Wrap surface with some olive oil. Spread over some tomato paste.
2. Sprinkle some salt over.
   
3. Place button mushroom, ham & onion evenly over tomato paste.
4. Sprinkle over cheddar cheese.
5. Drizzle a tsp of olive oil and some herbs over.
6. Bake in preheated oven at 220 deg cel for 10mins until golden brown.
   

Chocolate Fudge Sponge Cake

My niece and her friends planning to bake a birthday cake therefore ask me to teach her how to bake a simple chocolate cake :) So today she came over my place and I demo to her on the baking & simple decorating process. I select this recipe as I think it is fairly straight forward and 99.9% fail-proofed for a bunch of 15 year old kids to try out hahaha....

The texture of the sponge cake is very light & fluffy which received good compliments from my sister & niece :) At the end of the day 1/2 of the cake is eaten up with the other 1/2 portion I've given to my niece to bring home!

Chocolate Genoese Sponge Cake
Ingredient

• 4 eggs
• 100gm sugar
• 75gm melted butter
• 75gm plain flour
• 50gm plain chocolate, melted
  

Method

1. Using a electric whisk, beat eggs & sugar for 8 mins on high speed till thick batter formed.
2. Drizzle in melted butter and sift over flour & melted chocolate. Fold till mixture combined.
3. Pour batter into a lined 8" cake pan. Tap pan on hard surface to remove air bubbles. Bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 30-35 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
4. Cool in pan for 10mins before unmoulding and cooling completely on rack. Decorate as desired.
   

Chocolate Fudge Recipe

Minced Pork with Vermicelli Omelette Soup

This is a common dish which my mother often served at the dining table! Think is a typical Teochew style cooking. Never learn this dish from my mother, just base on my memory of the taste and come out with this dish :) This soup based dish is best to cook with some coriander but my hubby hate them so I omitted and replace with spring onion.

Ingredient

• 230gm minced pork
• 6 eggs, lightly beaten
  
• 110gm vermicelli (冬粉)
• 2 tsp light soya sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1500ml stock
  
• 40gm preserved vegetables (冬菜)
• coriander or spring onion
  

Method

1. Soak vermicelli till softened. Roughly cut.
   
2. Marinate minced pork with soya sauce, salt, pepper & sesame oil for 10mins.
3. Rinse preserve vegetables thoroughly.
4. Combine beaten eggs and minced pork and mix evenly. Stir in vermicelli.
5. Heat up 2 tbsp oil in pan. Pour in egg mixture and pan fried till golden brown on both sides. Cut the omelette into 8-10 pcs.
6. Bring stock to boil. Add preserved vegetable and boil for a min. Add the fried omelette and simmer for 2 mins. Adjust taste and stir in coriander before turning off heat.
   

Peach Yoghurt Cake

Which types of baking pans you all used? Dark non-stick pan or normal white stainless steel /aluminium pan? I have a dark non-stick loaf pan (often used) and a 7" round pan which I seldom used...I realise whenever using the dark pan, the cake will form a thicker crust (especially the base of the cake as seen on the pics below) after prolong baking which I do not like...maybe should get myself another white loaf pan soon ><

Recipe modified from Strawberry Yoghurt Cake
Ingredients

• 125ml Greek-Style yogurt
• 100gm sugar
• 50gm brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 95gm ground almond
• 140gm cake flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 125ml olive oil
• 4 halves peacheds, diced
  

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degC. Grease and line a 9" x 5" loaf pan with baking paper.
2. Mix yogurt, sugar, eggs in a large bowl.
3. Add ground almonds and sieve over flour and baking powder. Fold till combined.
4. Add oil and mix well.
5. Fill 2/3 of the batter in the prepared pan, arrange diced peaches on the batter and pour the rest of the remaining batter over.
6. Bake at 180 deg cel for 55-60mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
7. Let cool in the pan for 20mins before unmoulding.

Tofu & Pistachio Chiffon

Cute mini chiffon....recipe just nice for 3 mini pan, 1 for me, 1 for my hubby & 1 for my son!! ^-^




Recipe modified from Kevin Chai

Ingredient (makes 3 mini chiffon)

• 2 egg yolks
• 30ml olive oil
• 70gm tofu, mashed
  
• 20gm caster sugar
• 40gm pistachio, toasted & grounded
• 50gm cake flour
  
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 30gm sugar

Method

1. Combine egg yolks, oil, tofu and 20gm sugar in a mixing bowl. Sift flour over and mix until forms batter.
2. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until mixture forms soft peaks. Gradually add in sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
3. Gently fold beaten egg white form into the egg yolk batter until blended.
4. Pour batter into ungreased tube pan. Bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 30mins or until cooked.
5. Remove from oven and invert the cake onto table until completely cool before unmoulding.

Submitting this recipe to Aspiring Bakers 2010

Cooking with DOM

DOM Black Chicken Soup
Ingredient

• 1 black chicken
• 150ml Benedictine DOM
• 200ml water
• 50gm Kei Chee (wolfberries)

Method

1. Wash chicken & trim away excess fats.
2. Place all ingredients in a casserole, cover and double-boiled for 3 hours. Serve warm.

Fried Chicken with DOM
Ingredient

• 1 chicken
• 1/3 cup corn oil
• 1/3 cup sesame oil
• 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp light soya sauce
• 3 tbsp Benedictine DOM
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 2 tbsp ginger juice
• 1 tbsp corn flour

Method

1. Clean the chicken and cut into large chunks abt 8 pcs. Marinate the chicken with salt, soya sauce, DOM, cinnamon powder, ginger juice & corn flour for at least 30mins.
2. Heat oil in a wok. Fry chicken in 2 batches for abt 10mins turning once in between until cooked.
3. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle sesame seeds over & serve.