So tired of pancakes for brunch, made waffles instead. It is easy to make and any leftovers are good to freeze up for another day’s snack.  

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk + 2 tbp of water
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract 
• 3 tablespoon sugar
• 2 cups of Self Raising Flour
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
• 4 tbp of melted butter

Sift the bicarbonate soda and flour, then mix in  the salt and sugar. Give it a stir. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, water, sour cream , vanilla extract and melted butter together. Slowly pour in the liquid into the flour mixture , mix well till batter is smooth.

Heat /grease your waffle iron according to the instructions specific to the model you are using . Pour the batter into the iron and cook your waffles accordingly., Do not leave the waffles too long in the waffle iron, otherwise it gets either overcooked-dry or burnt!

Serve them with your favourite toppings, maple syrup, or honey and butter, or apple sauce with cinnamon sugar.. or ice-cream or dip it in melted chocolate and leave it to cool – yum

Makes about 10 waffles

Also known as Chocolate Biscuit Cake in english and made even more famous by Prince William , for choosing it as one of his wedding cakes. This version however is made not with McIvites digestive biscuits but with Leibniz plain butter biscuits, layered with dark chocolate ganache.

The common ‘kiksekage’ from my husband’s childhood memory was made from margarine, cocoa powder and sugar.  You can also find the Italian version , with eggs in them and rolled like a sausage, hence the name ‘salame di cioccolato’. So many wonderful concoctions of the same theme. You can also made your own caramel toffee sauce and layer it with the biscuits and chocolate ganache to make an even more decadent ‘kiskekage’.

125 g unsalted butter
100 ml cream
250g dark chocolate (60% +70%) (all 70% could be too intense)
3 tbp of strong coffee/espresso
1 tbp of brandy or 2 tsp of orange blossom water
1 roll of Leibniz biscuits
1/4 cup brown sugar + 3 tbp water (caramelise it) or 1/4 cup of golden syrup

Caramelise the sugar on a thick pot. Get ready the double boiler , pour the sugar caramel in to the  bowl, place the bowl on top of the boiling water. Lower the heat to medium, then add in the butter (cut into cubes), chopped chocolate , stir constantly until dissolved and resembles a thick smooth paste. Careful not to burn the chocolate..

Add in the cream slowly and the coffee/brandy, stir to mix well until smooth.

Line the loaf tin or tray with cling wrap, over the greased loaftin, pour some chocolate , to cover the bottom, then lay the biscuits on top , each piece side by side to one another.

Then followed by the chocolate again, biscuits again and ending with the chocolate. Sprinkle chopped nuts/ if you wish / refridgerate for 6 hours at least before serving.

This is a good rendition of the American classic , the brownie  - although not quite the brownie (it does not have the crusty sugary surface) this version though is forgiving, moist , chocolatey but not sickly. The zucchini gives the cake a lot of flavour, not just adding moisture. This cake is also very easy to transport around – so a good picnic cake to bring along.

Recipe is taken from the food magazine, Bon Appetit published in 1995. Here is the link to it http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Zucchini-Cake-907  . If you think adding zucchini to cake is strange , it is not. It is delicious!

Happy baking!

This is fantabulous because simply it is so flavourful. The recipe was discovered on this site http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/914/apricot+cake   I skipped the icing as recommended by the reviewers.  The only few changes I made were the milk (I used rice milk), added 1/4 cup craisins to the 1 cup dried apricots  and orange blossom water instead of vanilla essence and baked it in a loaf tin instead of a square shallow cake tin.

What I like about the cake is the coconut which adds a  nice toasty sweet smell and  texture to the cake.

• 1 cup chopped dried apricots + 1/4 cup craisins
• 1/2 cup warm milk ( or rice milk/soya milk)
• 125g butter, chopped
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence or orange blossom essence + 2 tsp grated orange peel
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup plain flour topped, sifted
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 3/4 cup desiccated coconut

Muffins again yeah. These muffins are loaded with fibre. Well my hunt for a pina colada muffin recipe did not turn up much – instead I stumbled on to Nancy Silverton’s (Raisin) Bran Muffin Recipe, courtesy of several bloggers. I added oatbran, blueberries and apple sauce instead of the raisin puree and raisins and got myself a Blueberry Oatbran Muffin.

The muffin is light, and moist although packed with bran. It does not rise sky high like other non bran muffins, so you can easily fill the muffin cases up to the top. Bran is rich in omegas, minerals, proteins and vitamins besides having the benefit of high fibre, important to your body’s wellbeing. Try making them, they are delicious and healthy as a snack

Here’s the recipe .

• 2 cups organic raw oat bran
• 1 cup apple sauce
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest, grated
• ½ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• ½ cup cold pressed macademian nut oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white
• ½ cup organic unbleached all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup organic whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180C and position a rack in the middle.

Spread the bran on a rimmed cookie sheet and place in the oven for 7-8 minutes to toast, stir once about half-way through to prevent burning. When done, pour the bran into a large mixing bowl.

Stir in the buttermilk, the 1/2 cup of water, the lemon zest, the apple sauce, and the brown sugar to combine. Add the oil, egg and egg white, and mix to incorporate. Sift in the flours with the baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the blue berries and stir gently to combine.

Now the batter looks like  milk soaked muesli mush.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins, filling the cups to just over the rims and mounding the batter slightly in the center.

Bake for 25 minutes, until the muffins are well set and firm to the touch.
Makes 8-10 large muffins or 12 medium sized ones.

Leftover muffins, the next day ? Toast them up and split halfways , slather with some  butter (oops there goes the healthy part!)

Below post was supposed to be uploaded during Chinese New Year – got delayed and I supposed it is never too late.

Whoa, Chinese New Year is here again and is just around the corner. It is the Year of the Rabbit – hmm need to check the horoscope for me the Rat what has the Year of Rabbit in store for me! Other than that, it is time for spring cleaning, shopping , getting a hair cut, putting up the ‘Ang Chai’ – red cloth and baking.

Year of the Rabbit is predicted to be a peaceful year , folks are encouraged to use this year to regain their composure , be cautious and take things easier. A good year for diplomacy ..it states ..?? not sure what that meant. AND what is in store for  the Rat? So far the horoscope does not sound too great . It is a good year for those compatible with the Rabbit, but not for those who are not!

I have to watch my health, reduce indulgence, up my fitness programme and stop the rushing around! At work I am supposed to be a team player rather than trying to achieve too many goals.. hmm ok? and learn to be patient.

Hints taken, I should slow down, eat well, exercise and dabble more in my hobby – baking! But but,, if I bake a lot, I would be eating well for sure.. then comes the exercise bit to compensate all the eating… to bake or not to  bake.. well TO BAKE.

So in line with that, I shall bake …

Pineapple Tarts -  an essential item amongst the repertoire of sweets and cakes/cookies. Please see  my previous post on CNY 2010.

Cashew Nut Cookies

• 250g SALTED butter
• 150g icing sugar
• 220g plain flour
• 50g rice flour
• 220g ground cashew nut
• 1 egg yolk for glazing
• Cashew halves for decoration

Preheat oven at 180 degrees C, place rack in the middle of the oven.

Cream butter and icing sugar, then add the flours and ground cashews, until well incorporated.

Shape the cookies into crescents and place half the cashew ontop of each crescent. Glaze with eggyolk wash. Place the cookies 2-3 cms apart on a baking sheet .

Bake 170 degrees Celsius 10-15  mins until golden.

Green Tea and Cherry Blossom Cookies (adapted from Pearls and Green Tea) 

• 140g slightly salted butter – softened by room temperature
• 3/4 cup icing sugar
• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 4 tbp of green tea powder
• 1/4 cup almond meal
• 1 tbp sakura green tea ( finely ground)
• 3 egg yolks

Stir the icing sugar with the green tea powder, and cherry blossom tea leaves. Cream the butter with the sugar. Add the  flour, almond meal.. and last ly mix in the egg yolks. Roll the dough into a ball and cling wrap it. Leave in the fridge for 30 mins .

Preheat the oven to 170C .  Roll out the dough and with about 1/4 inch thick , using a cookie cutter cut then out and placed on a parchment paper. Bake them for 10-12 mins.

The cookies or shortbread turned out buttery and has a nice green tea edge to it. Personally I would prefer a stronger green tea taste – so would try with additional 2 tbp of green tea powder.  Some recommended getting a good quality green tea powder that could make a lot of difference, you should be able to find it from speciality stores.

I had wanted to try my hand in the traditional cookies, but they are simply too time consuming. So had to pass on them this year   maybe next?

GONG XI FA CAI – wishing all a blessed, safe and peaceful new year full of abundance in health and wealth.

Yes – hopping on  my previous post about” breakfast in a muffin”, the story continues. Last night I went on to try a recipe on The Food Network site, a recipe by Tyler Florence. I adapted the recipe by adding walnuts, wholemeal flour and rolled oats for (again) a healthier version. Quite a healthnut I am not, but just trying to be…

If you’ve followed the previous post – you know I digress, as I have not found the right recipe for those pina colada muffins yet, so these banana wholemeal walnut muffins would  just have to do for now.

Method below is from Tyler’s recipe.

Banana Walnut Wholemeal Muffin

• 1 cup all-purpose unbleached organic flour
• 1 cup wholemeal organic flour 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3-4 overripe bananas
• 1 cup brown sugar minus 2 tbp  
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) , 170g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 eggs (beaten slightly with a fork)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• a handful of rolled oats for topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F or 180 degrees C and lightly butter 2 muffin tins or use muffin paper cups.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar , for a good 3 minutes. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Fold in the nuts and the remaining 2  mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins or paper casings to fill them about slightly more than halfway about 3/4 filled. Give them a rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out. Do not overbeat the mixture or it will get rubbery/tough. Sprinkle the rolled oats over the muffin mixture.

Bake until a toothpick stuck in the muffins comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.

Next project – all bran blueberry muffins….unless I discover the perfect pina colada muffin recipe first! We shall see.

I received a thoughtful CNY hamper from my best friend LK, and one of the things she gave was a tin of pineapples to symbolise prosperity – ‘ong lai’ – pineapple in Hokkien dialect meaning ‘prosperity arrives’.  Took that , crushed the pineapples up, mixed with organic grated carrots, wholemeal flour, raisins.. mm.. breakfast in a muffin! Recipe below (from Food.com) tweaked a little bit by adding raisins (or walnuts), using golden castor sugar, wholemeal flour… you know the usual good stuffs to make this a healthier option.

The muffins were moist with the lovely smell of cinnamon while the wholemeal flour, raisins and walnuts gave them the edgy texture of a hearty fibre filled muffin.  I would like to attempt a pina colada muffin next, pineapples and coconut… I have said that before but still looking for the right recipe ….anyone with suggestions?

• 1 cup golden castor sugar
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil ( I used grapeseed, you can use macademia or almond nut oil)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1  cup organic unbleached flour
• ½ cup organic wholewheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup grated organic carrot
• 1 cup drained crushed pineapple
• 1/2 cup raisins + 1/2 cup choppped walnuts (optional)

1 Stir together sugar and oil.

2 Stir in the eggs until well combined.

3 Stir in vanilla.

4 In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, raisins and chopped nuts

5 Stir into sugar mixture just until combined.

6 Stir in carrots and pineapple just until combined.

7 Spoon into the muffin cases , filling to top.

8 Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 20 minutes or until done.

After I went back to the workforce, my time for baking was severely reduced. So sad.. , and not being in the full swing at work for almost 2 years – did take a bit of a toll on me. Was practically exhausted daily, and I needed time to get into the rhythm again. Sometimes I wonder for the meagre salary is it all worth it to lose your freedom ? Unfortunately in such times, you need to still accummulate what you can and save for a rainy day. With that, I ploughed on.

To be fair the job isn’t that bad, salary could have been better, but you know as a foreigner working in Singapore, you don’t really get much rights or protection (even for your regular Singaporean, what more as a foreigner). I did lose out a large chunk of pension legally bound by employers to pay their employees because I am a foreigner, good deal for the employer! Suffice to say, when one is already unemployed and have left the workforce for 2 years, not likely you are in much of a bargaining position. OK enough of my griping about work.. back to the cake!

Anyways, so for the first time after a long time (since Nov 2010), I am trying a new recipe – back to NON GLUTEN FREE. It is Henrik’s birthday today – Jan 16th. A nice dinner was planned yesterday evening at Au Petit Salut – a French restaurant,  good – yes pricey but not overly , serving above average  French food.  For a little nicey surroundings, this place is not that bad, service, ambience and foodwise. (ps -I was told that Bistro du Sommelier serves very good down to earth Frenchie food, will need to check that out next time)

But as a tradition goes birthday cakes in this household will always be homemade – come hell or high water!

Went through Rose Levenbaum’s  cake recipes (her Heavenly Cakes) and decided upon her wicked Chocolate Devils Cake with Midnight Ganache. This chocolate cake is intense but not quite heavy (kidding – it is a very dense chocolate cake) . We really liked the addition of the cognac cherries. It is a grown up cake, no fancy cake decoration , just loads of chocolate piled in the cake itself and on the frosting. Yum..

Lessons in baking, I made 2 mistakes in baking the cake, first the sugar – it asked for superfine, not icing, but castor. I had only fine sugar in the store, so thought I could just use that. It does not affect the taste or texture too much, but the lumps you get does make difference to how the cake looks. Secondly, the speed of the mixer, the last part when everything else has been incorporated I should have beat it in medium speed (2-3 , for my Kenwood Chef Major) and not at ‘min’! That would have help even out the sourcream and the rest of the batter with the chocolate paste mixture.

Be warned! This cake needs to be made in stages, especially the cognac cherries which needed to be soaked for 8 hours. So obedientlythe last 2 evenings, I made part of the cake for the final assembly today! The ganache needs time, so don’t be like me, not patient enough to let the ganache thicken on her own. It has to sit for at least 5 hours. In our tropical heat, probably longer even in the fridge – so ideally, when the ganache is hot, let it cool for 1 hour at  room temperature , then cover it let it rest for 5 hours before popping into the fridge for the last 2 hours. Consistency should be like softened butter it says but  not a runny paste.

It did not look as it should, but tastewise, it was yum..So did Henrik like it? Of course, that was his wish, he wanted a chocolatey chocolate cake and he got it. For any chocolate lover this cake will hit the spot!

Sometimes despite my limited creativity, I venture out to the unknown, to the world of gluten free baking guided by others , inspired by others. It is not easy if you are firmed in the conventional method of making cakes from flour..This time, following the recipe from Harry Eastwood’s cookbook, I churned out pretty decent gluten free cupcakes infused with rose water (all the way from Wafi Gourmet in Dubai), with a light meringue frosting to top them off. Results were better than expected. They became the birthday cuppies for my aunt. It was a special treat for my cousin (the daughter) and her family who are gluten intolerant.

So what were the cuppies made of? Rice flour, zucchini, eggs, sugar and almond meal! The butterfly was made from fondant, dusted with bronze edible powder. For the recipe, you can find it in Harry Eastwood’s Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache cookbook.