Chocolate Fudge Cake

Chocolate! Everybody's favourite, i can say. Its mine anyway...ha ha! This is a very easy chocolate cake that favour by my family and all my friends. Its really great when u eat it with a cup of coffee...trust me! Also can chilled it if u like. Recipe taken from my aunt's friend who taught us the apricot cheese cake, great thanks to her.




INGREDIENTS:
250g Cooking chocolate (melted-double boil)
250g Butter
150g Sugar
4 Eggs
100ml UHT Full cream milk
200g Self raising flour
1/4 tsp Baking powder

METHOD:
~ Beat butter and sugar till pale
~ Add in milk and eggs one at a time
~ Add in melted chocolate
~ Fold in flour slowly at low speed
~ Pour batter into 10x10"(width) 1.5"(height) greased tray
~ Bake at 150/160'C for 45 minutes

HARP-TOU-SOU 合桃酥

Its my family's favourite!! Every year i'll bake this without fail for Chinese New Year:) Its the easiest cookie i ever baked. And the ingredients for this is just that few. Have a try!

INGREDIENTS:
2 tsp Baking powder
600g Cookies flour
250g Castor sugar
1 tsp Fine sugar
1 tsp Alkaline
**Cooking oil (about 1 small bowl)
**Egg (Beaten, for brushing the cookies before baking)

METHOD:
~ Add all ingredients together and mix by hands
~ Add in oil slowly until forms a dough
~ Shape dough into small balls (size of a small fish ball)
~ Make a light hole in the middle of each ball with a chopstick, or any tools like it.
~ Brush with egg yolk
~ Bake at 150'C for 20-30 minutes

HONEYCOMB CAKE

This is another 1 from the book (Bake With Yen)....easy and delicious! It takes me about 30 minutes to prepare this. It's everybody's favourite! It doesn't taste too sweet although there is so much condensed milk used!!

Ingredients for caramel:
100g sugar
50ml water

5 eggs (size B)
200g condensed milk
100g all purpose flour
1 tsp soda bicarbonate
120g Melted butter


METHOD:
~ Cook 100g sugar until golden brown, and quickly add in 50ml of water
~ Beat eggs until half fluffy only, then add in sugar, condensed milk, flour, soda and melted butter
~ Bake in a medium size greased and floured tube at 180'C for 50 minutes

FRUIT CAKE (mum's recipe)

This is from my mum, which we cannot miss every year during chinese new year. She'll bake this once a year, and i always reserve LARGE from her. Well i can say its easy to bake, and i'll keep in my fridge for sometime, cause i enjoy taking it slowly with my coffee.

INGREDIENTS:
200g butter
180g brown sugar
5 eggs
300g cake flour
500g mixed fruits (sultanas, raisins-washed and soaked with brandy)
(orange peels, green and red cherries)
1 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Orange juice + (water)
3/4 tsp Mix spice

METHOD:
~ Beat butter and sugar till pale
~ Gradually add in eggs
~ Fold in flour
~ Add in mixed fruits, Orange juice, honey and mix spice
~ Pour into medium size greased tube pan lined with aluminium foil
~ Bake at 160'C for 50-60 minutes
~ Once baked, showered with 2 tbsp of brandy
~ Covered with aluminium foil
~ When cool, refrigerate

ROJAK (INDONESIAN)

Rojak anyone!? Hee hee...:) My mum used to make this for all our gatherings and parties. I dun really sure where she got this from, but its a promised dish. Actually this uses only red chilis but according to my mum, add some chili padi will spice it up! Of course you can add more if you want to sweat...hahaha!

INGREDIENTS:
200g Roasted peanuts
2 Gula melaka (palm sugar)-mashed
3 Chilies (red)
3 Chili padi
2 tbsp assam paste
1/2 bowl (small) Hot Water


METHOD:

~ Melt the assam paste in the 1/2 bowl of hot water and sieve for the juice.
~ Blend all ingredients together (except peanuts) until fine
~ Then add in roasted peanuts and blend awhile (peanuts may not blended too fine)

~ Add any fruits desire to serve

** I always blend the peanuts separately. I find it better that way, cause i dun want the peanuts become too fine. This is really really delicious, and its good for parties or gathering! Try it out!

** This rojak mixture (without fruits) can be kept in the fridge for a week.

PANDAN CHIFFON CAKE

A fine recipe from a friend...i tried it twice, and its wonderful. Easy n fast! May change the pandan to orange, but i'll prefer the original. Guess what?! My daughter (only a small kid) can gobble up 3-4 pieces at a time!

(A):
15g Sorbitor / Glycerine
135g Egg yolk
90g Pandan leafs water
2g pandan flavour
15g Dextrose / sugar
4g Salt
180g Hig ratio flour / low protein flour
17g Coconut cream powder
2g Baking powder
80g cooking oil (mazola corn oil)

(B):
270g Egg white
1g Cream of tartar
150g Sugar

METHOD:

~ Beat (B) together until forms a soft peak
~ Mix (A) together
~ Then mix (B), add on (A)
~ Use scrap to mix gradually, as slow as possible so that air will not gets in the mixture
~ Pour into chiffon cake mould (do not grease the mould)
~ Bake at 180'C for 45-50 minutes.
~ When done, over-turn the cake immediately and let it cool before taking out from the mould

BLUEBERRY MUFFIN

Well....i made these muffins in a small paper cupcakes, and it turns out so so so cute! My girl loves it, and she can take 3 in a time. Its easy and fun, my girl will help spooning the blueberries and we make this baking more fun! Then it turns out short of blueberry filling, cause she spoons too much in it! So i replaced the rest with strawberry choc chips. It's good...luckily:)

125g butter
120g fine granulated sugar
3 eggs (size C)
250g all purpose flour (better to use cake flour)
1 tbsp baking powder
125ml UHT full cream milk
**Blueberry pie filling

METHOD:
~ Cream butter n sugar until light and fluffy
~ Add in eggs gradually
~ Fold in sifted flour and baking powder
~ Pour in milk and mix gently
~ Spoon or pipe 1/3 full of the mixture onto paper cups placed in muffin moulds
~ Add in 1 tbsp of blueberry pie filling
~ Then cover the cups to fill about 80%
~ Bake for about 20-25 mintues at 200'C

BLUEBERRY CHEESE TARTS

A wonderful recipe from the book (Bake With Yen), recommended by a friend. This tarts turn out to be a favourite desert for all my friends, especially my daughter. Try it out.....you'll see!

Pastry:
125g butter
60g fine granulated sugar
250g all purpose flour (plain flour)
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp COLD water (may need more than that)

METHOD:
~ Sift flour and sugar into mixing bowl
~ Rub butter into flour until resembles coarse crumbs (rubbing method)
~ Add in egg yolk, vanilla and water
~ Shape dough into ball and refrigerate (20-30 minutes) before using
** (before using, take out fr fridge, wait for awhile until dough soften)
~ Place dough onto tart shells, and pooked the base with fork (this is to let the air comes out while baking)
~ Bake at 160-170'C for 10-15 minutes or until brown

Filling:
250g cream cheese
20g butter
60g fine granulated sugar
1 egg

METHOD:
~ Beat cheese, butter and sugar together until fluffy
~ Add in egg and beat till well mix
~ Pour mixture onto baked tart shells
~ Bake at 170-180'C for 10 minutes

** Spoon some blueberry on the unbaked tarts, used a toothpick or a small fork to create some graphics.
** Makes about 11 to 12 tarts (size : Big)

BUTTER CAKE

Butter, butter, butter.....we used it almost everyday....spreading breads, cooking, baking, etc. Then there is even more butter cakes recipes out there. I've tried few, but this is the best for me! Its from my aunt back in Singapore. I adored her baking and missed it. Thanks to her, anyway. This is my father and hubby's favourite. Is it men's favourite??? Hahaha!
Bare in mind, do not whisk the egg whites too long, it may cause a rough texture.


INGREDIENTS:
6 egg yolks
4 egg whites (whisked until forms a peak)
250g self raising flour
1/4tsp baking powder
1/2 cup UHT full cream milk
200g sugar
250g butter

(Sift self-raising flour and baking powder together)

METHOD:
~ Beat sugar and butter till pale
~ Gradually add in egg yolk and UHT full cream milk

~ At low speed, add in flour mixture
~ Lastly add in whisked egg whites, mix well
~ Pour into 8x8" tray or any other trays desire (greased)
~ Bake at 160'c for 45 minutes

SPICY TUMERIC CHICKEN

Ginger is good for our body. Chinese believe that it reduses wind in the body. I took alot when my confinement time, as my mother cook quite often for me. But of course during that time was no chilli added.....it tasted not bad too. Of course its better with chilli...hee hee! i used to add more chilli in it, cause i like the spice! And i always replaced the coconut milk with full cream milk, Yeah...find it more healthy...:)




INGREDIENTS:

1 whole chicken (cut into small pcs)
1 small bowl shallots
5-8 chili padi
2 small tumeric (about thumb size)
1 small ginger (about thumb size)
a little garlic
5 lemon grass
1 coconut milk-about 200ml (can be replace with UHT full cream milk)
Salt to taste

METHOD:
~ Pound all ingredients except coconut milk
~ Pan-fry the pounded ingredients with a little oil until fragnant
~ Add in chicken cubes, stir-fry for awhile
~ Then add in coconut milk, bring to boil
~ Turn to low heat, simmer for awhile until chicken is done
~ Add salt to taste
**(if its too dry, may add some water)

CHINESE (STEAM) YAM CAKE

There are quite alot of yam cake recipes out there. I never try others since i got this right. Its from my mum again, and i'm not sure where she got this from. Whenever i make this, i'll definetely take it for lunch or dinner...really delicious! Of course i can eat for meals....ha ha! Bare in mind that the water you add shouldn't be too much, or else the cake will turns out too sticky and too soft(It depends the yam used, some are not soft enough). And also must remember that it can only be cut into slices when its really cool, otherwise it'll be sticky when its hot.

INGREDIENTS:
400-500g Yam (Shredded)
250g Rice flour
50g Corn flour
900-1000ml Water (depends on the YAM, some are alittle dry)
1 tsp Salt
1 cube Chicken stock
1 tsp Five spice powder
* pepper to taste

Topping:
150g Dried shrimps (minced)
1 small bowl Shallots (minced)
~pan-fry until fragnant, set aside. (May add alittle into the YAM mixture befor steaming)

METHOD:
~ Mixed the water, salt, chicken stock together. Make sure the chicken stock dissolve properly.
~ Pour into the flour ingredients, stir well
~ Cook shredded yam with 6 tbsp cooking oil
~ Pour the flour mixture into the yam, n keep stirring until it forms a sticky texture. (medium heat)
~ Pour mixture into a greased pan, steam for at least 45 minutes-1 hour or until cook.
~ Once cooked, press the (ready cooked) dried shrimps & shallots on top of the cake.
*Garnish with spring onions & red chiles if desire.
**Cool completely before cutting

**For frens who likes radish, may change the yam to radish, but reduce the water to 600-700ml. May add some ham instead of dried shrimps. Enjoy!

Crismis Cookies (Scone)

It's my girl's snack at home. I made this into small and thin, so that it turns out crispy and crunchy. Actually the original recipe is a kind of scone...but i prefer have it this way...heehee! It was from my youngest sister, which she used to baked this during her cooking class at school times. Yea yea...its been a long long time, i've been baking this for about 15 years!! Ha ha! Getting old now...:(
Okay, I doubled the portion here, cause its too little when the flour is only 125g. Try it out, trust me....it really taste good. I did replaced the raisins to chocolate chips sometimes....but i prefered it with raisins.

INGREDIENTS:

90g Sugar 90g Raisins

90g Butter / margarine

250g All purpose flour

2 tsps Baking powder

2 Eggs

2 tsps Vanilla essence

METHOD:

~ Mix flour n butter together using hands (rubbing method) until forms crumbs

~ Add in sugar, mix well

~ Add in eggs & vanilla and mix until becomes a soft dough (texture is quite sticky), (do not knead, juz mix well)

~ Fold in raisins

~ Spoon on greased tray. (Small & thin, may create crispy texture)

~ Bake at 180'C for 20-25 minutes or until brown.

These cookies (if made into thin crust) can be kept in an airtight container for a week.

I like it with a cup of hot coffee.....as usual, haha!...:P

ANGKU KUIH

Recipe from my mum! Its a little complicated, but i enjoyed making this. But most of all i enjoy eating it! Ha ha! Its an all time favourite especially for Chinese who celebrates babbies fullmoons, birthdays and of course for us to pray during big days, like Chinese New Year. Well, i like it in a smaller shape, so i always make it with smallest mould. The pastry's ingredients is actually with sweet potatoes, but i change it with pumpkins here. Guess what.....the texture is great, and no pumpkin taste at all (even with sweet potatoes).
I can say this is much more better and the best part is...no colour added!! (Original colour from the pumpkin i used)

PASTRY:
200g Sweet potatoes / Pumpkin (cooked n mashed)
300g Glutinious flour
1 tbsp Rice flour
2 tbsp Sugar
3 tbsp Cooking oil
200ml Water (fr cooked potatoes)-might not need tat much, so have to add slowly.

PASTE:
250g Green beans/Mung beans (yellow in color)
140g Sugar
4 tbsp Cooking oil

* Cut some banana leafs according to the mould using (for the base of the kuih) when steaming!

METHOD (paste):
~Soaked the beans at least 2 hours n rinsed.
~Steam the beans for 45-1hr, with pandan leafs on top if desire
~While its still hot, add in oil & sugar, blend till fine
~Make into small balls. (can be kept for a month in freezer)

METHOD (pastry):
~Mixed all ingredients by hand
~Make into a dough, leave for 20-30 minutes
~Grab a portion (as the mould using) then wrapped in the paste(ball)
~Dust the mould with some rice flour before pressing in the dough.
~Knock out & place on the cut & oiled banana leafs.
(Brush alittle oil on top of the (cut) banana leafs before placing the kuih on top)
~Use a steamer to steam for 8-10 minutes (medium heat)-medium size
5-8 mintues (medium heat) - small size

~ When its done, brush alittle oil on top of each kuih, this is to prevent the kuih from sticking together.

**The steamer i used was the bamboo steamer (those used to steamed paos outside)