Dark Chocolate with Mixed Fruits Brownie~

An experimental recipe for the festive season. Alittle fusion between a fruitcake and a rich chocolate brownie...

~*Dark Chocolate with Candied Fruits Brownie*~

The brownie is extremely crumbly and moist. Each mouthful encompasses the richness of the chocolate noir, almond bits and sweetness of the mixed fruits.

Sinful but satisfying~

Recipe

Ingredients

• 150 g 65% Dark chocolate
• 110 g Butter flavoured crisco shortening
• 2 Tbs Water
• 110 g Sugar
• 3 Tbs Honey
• 3 Eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla essence
• 130g Self rising flour
• 1/2 tsp Baking powder
• 1/4 tsp Bicarbonate soda
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 3 Tbs Candied mixed fruit bits (Soaked in Cherry liquer for at least 2 hours, then drained)
• 15 Roasted almonds (Chopped into smaller bits)

Method

1. Preheat oven at 180 degree celsius.
2. Melt butter with dark chocolate in a double boiler (or microwave). Remove from heat and gradually mix the water, sugar and honey into the melted chocolate and butter. Leave it to cool slightly for 45 to 1 hour.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, sift in flour, baking powder, bicarbonate soda and salt.
4. Add in the beaten eggs and vanilla essence into the chocolate mixture and mix well.
5. Mix in the chopped roasted almonds and drained candied mixed fruit bits.
6. Pour batter into an 8 x 8 x 1 " square baking tray lined with baking paper.
7. Bake in a preheated oven at 170 degree celsius for 25 minutes.
   Leave it to cool for 90 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!

suggestion: After the brownie has cooled, refrigerate for about 1 hour before cutting if you would prefer a less crumbly brownie.

Paper-Lined Sponge Cake~

Oops! Uneven shade of brown!

i guess the heat wasn't evenly distributed in the oven :x

These were inspired by Amanda from 'Held by Love, Baked from Scratch' blog. Her paper-lined sponge cake look so pretty. Hence, i adapted her modified version of the original recipe (from Hugbear's Baking Mum blog) and viola! i totally agree with her, the recipe is extremely simple and the best part of all, these traditional chinese sponge cake are super delicious, soft and fluffy.

~*Paper-Lined Sponge Cake*~

Yummie-licious! A simple eggy sponge cake... awww~ comfort food for this 'lil longan :p

Dragonfruit Cake~

keke... i intended to bake a mango mousse cake but the mangoes were not ripe yet, hence this little creation with dragonfruits.

Trivia question: How can you tell the colour of edible portion(which is rich in vitamin C) of the dragonfruit just by its external appearance?

Answer: By looking at the shape and the number of "scales".
The white dragonfruit is slightly oval in shape and few scales whereas the red dragonfruit is rounder and has more "scales" (which are shorter than the white dragonfruit).

~*White Dragonfruit*~

~*Red Dragonfruit*~

~*Dragonfruit Cake*~

A three layer sponge cake sandwiched with red dragonfruit mousse and white dragonfruit cubes, topped with fresh sliced white dragonfruit and strawberries.

A refreshingly fruity light cake! A second serving, anyone?

Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 Basic sponge cake (click here for Aunt Yochana's recipe)
• 200 g Red dragonfruit
• 300 g White dragonfruit (sliced)
• 100 g White dragonfruit (diced into mini cubes)
• 200 g Whipping cream (Unsweetened)
• 2 Tbs Water
• 3 tsp Gelatine powder
• 5 medium size Strawberries (sliced)
• 100 g 65% Dark chocolate
• 30 ml Fresh milk
• 3 Tbs Honey

Method

1. Slice the sponge cake into 3 parts and leave aside.
2. Dissolve the gelatine powder in boiling water and leave aside to cool to room temperature.
3. Mash/blend the red dragonfruit with a fork/blender into puree form. Add in the honey, gelatine solution and stir to mix well.
4. Whisk and whipped up the whipping cream. Gently mix in the red dragonfruit puree mixture and white dragonfruit cubes. Divide the red dragonfruit mousse into 2 parts.
5. Place an 8 or 9 inch cake ring (depends on the diameter of your sponge cake) on a cake base. Lay the base layer of the sponge cake within the cake ring.
6. Pour and spread 1 part of the red dragonfruit mousse over it.
7. Place the next portion of the sponge cake slice over it and repeat step 6 again before sandwiching it with the top piece of the sponge cake.
8. Decorate the top layer of the sponge cake with the white dragonfruit and strawberry slices. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
9. Microwave to melt the dark chocolate in milk, leave it to cool slightly before refrigerating in the freezer for about 45 minutes to an hour.
10. After 2 hours, remove the cake ring and apply the dark chocolate ganache all over the circumference of the cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Chocolate Sponge Cake~

Cakes, they come in many different forms, black forest cake, tiramisu, cheese cake, chiffon cake, marble cake, butter cake, fruit cake, mousse cake, banana cake, walnut cake, coffee cake, cupcake... etc... and the list goes on and on. There's always something for everyone.

Hmmm... i like my cake simple and plain, without whipped or butter cream, ganache or mousse, cream cheese or custard, fruits or gelatin. How about you? What is your favourite cake?

~*Chocolate Sponge Cake*~

This wonderful chocolate sponge cake recipe was adapted from a section of Aunty Yochana's Awfully Chocolate Banana Cake.

The cake is fluffy and soft. A nice balance between the sweetness and chocolate flavour.

i'd highly recommend this basic chocolate sponge cake recipe for adventurous people who intend to bake a variety of chocolate based birthday cakes ;)

Yogurt Raisin Cupcakes~

A quick whisk and mix and off into the oven!

~*Yogurt Raisin Cupcakes*~

A soft and moist cupcake that is best enjoyed with a cup of tea or coffee :p~

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Cake flour
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 3 Tbs Butter (melted)
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 200 ml Plain non-fat yogurt
• 3/4 Cup Raisins

Method

1. Preheat oven at 180 degree celsius.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the melted butter, sugar together till creamy, add in eggs (one at a time) till well incorporated followed by the vanilla extract and yogurt.
4. Add in the raisins and mix well with a spoon. Then fold in the flour mixture.
5. Pour batter into muffin tray lined with muffin paper cups till 90% full.
6. Bake at 180 degree celsius for 20 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and allow cupcakes to cool in the tray before serving. Enjoy!

Marble Cake~

A second special for the 4 division meeting tea session, just fresh from the oven this morning. Do you know what this is? Make a guess! And the answer is...

~*Marble Cake*~

Butter cake with chocolate swirls~

(Thank goodness, most of them liked it... phew~)

Recipe (Adapted from All recipes - Marble Cake 1)

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Butter (room temperature)
• 3/4 Cup Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Lemon essence/extract
• 2 medium Eggs
• 2 Cup Plain flour
• 3/4 tsp Baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Bicarbonate soda
• 2 Tbs Cocoa powder (unsweetened)

Method

1. Preheat oven at 170 degree celsius.
2. Cream the butter, sugar and salt with a hand mixer till creamy. Add in the eggs and lemon extract and whisk for another 2 minutes at medium speed.
3. Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate soda and mix well with a hand whisk.
4. Set aside 3/4 cup of the batter and pour the rest into a 9 inch baking tin lined with baking paper.
5. Sift in the cocoa powder into the batter and mix well with a spoon.
6. Drop spoonfuls of the cocoa batter into plain batter and swirl the batter with a knife to create the chocolate marble effect.
7. Bake at 170 degree celsius for 30 minutes.
8. Allow cake to cool before serving. Enjoy!

Orange Chiffon Cake~

Adapted from Amanda from Held by Love, Baked from scratch - Orange Chiffon Cake recipe.

YUM! YUM! Soft and fluffy chiffon cake, anyone?

~*Orange Chiffon Cake*~

(Bottom-side up)

A slice of cake for you?

(Right-side up)

i transferred the cake to a larger baking tin after it cooled...

p.s. i used rice bran oil instead of cornoil and baked at 170 degrees for 40 minutes.

Ice Cream "Cake"~

i had an ice cream craving and i could'nt just settle for plain and simple ice cream, hence, i added extra ingredients and molded it into an 8 inch cake shape to make it more "interesting". All i had to do was to put on my "creativity" cap, let my imaginations flow, there's almost limitless ingredients that can be added to spice up a tub of plain ice cream~ It's easy and fun!

Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tub 2-litre ice cream (of your choice)
• 1 small pack Salted/unsalted toasted almond nuts
• 1 small pack Salted/unsalted pistachio nuts
• 8 pieces of Chocolate coated waffle biscuits (i used apollo brand)
• 1 small tube Mini m&m's chocolate candies

Method

~*Step 1*~

Line the cake base and cake ring with 2 pieces of cling wrap.

~*Step 2*~

Ensure that the ice cream has melted to a semi solid consistency. And set aside 3 tablespoonfuls of melted ice cream in a bowl.

~*Step 3*~

Crush/chop some almonds and pistachios using a motar and pestle or a food processor and add it into the tub of melted ice cream.

~*Step 4*~

Chop up some apollo chocolate waffles using a food processor, add into the tub of melted ice cream and mix well.

~*Step 5*~

Pour it into the lined cake ring.

~*Step 6*~

Stir some mini m&m chocolate candies into the bowl of ice cream to create the rainbow colour effect. Pour it into the ice cream mixture and make some swirls with a knife or satay stick.

~*Step 7*~

Place the ice cream cake mixture in the freezer for at least 4 hours to allow it to set.

~*Step 8*~

Remove the cake from the freezer, turn over the ice cream cake, remove the cake ring and cling wrap, cut and serve immediately. Enjoy~

Pink Panther Cake~

dadum dadum... dadum~ dadum~dadum~dadum~dadum da^dum... da~dum... ring a bell?

Yupz! It's the pink panther tune. This bright pink chiffon cake just reminds me of the infamous pink panther! Don't you agree with me?

~*Pink Panther Cake*~

So... PINK! It's dense but soft and spongy. The texture reminded me of the traditional cupcake ("chicken-egg-cake") a.k.a ji1 dan4 gao1 (in chinese) a.k.a gui1-neng3-gao1 (in dialect).

Recipe (Adapted with modifications from Do What I Like - Green Tea Chiffon Cake)

Ingredients

(A)

• 4 Egg yolk
• 1/8 Cup Sugar
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 Tbs Maple syrup / honey
• 1/4 Cup Rice bran oil / corn oil
• 1/3 Cup Water
• 1 tsp Pink colouring
• 1 tsp Vanilla / strawberry extract

(B)

• 1 Cup Hong kong / Pao flour
• 3/4 tsp Baking powder

(C)

• 4 Egg white
• 1/4 Cup Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Cream of tartar

Method

1. Add (A) into a bowl and mix well with a hand whisk till creamy.
2. Sieve in cake flour and baking powder and mix till no lumps. Set aside.
3. Preheat oven at 170 degree celsius.
4. Beat egg whites with electric beater or hand whisk till frothy, sprinkle in the cream of tartar. Beat till white in colour, add in sugar in 3 additions and continue to whisk till stiff peaks are formed.
5. Put half portion of egg white into the yolk mixture and gently mix it with a hand whisk.
6. Pour yolk batter into the rest of the egg white and gently mix well with hand whisk.
7. Put batter into a 8 inch round cake tin and bake at 170 degree celcius for 35 to 40 minutes.
8. When the cake is cooked, remove from oven and give it another bang on a hard surface to loosen the cake texture then invert cooked cake on a wire rack to cool for 15 - 20 minutes. Remove cake from cake pan and leave aside to cool completely. Enjoy!

Sponge Cake~

Yet another unsuccessful sponge cake attempt... i've be trying to bake a good sponge cake but they usually end up either dry, shrunken, dense or heavy... and not soft and fluffy.

~*Sponge Cake*~

This time the cake did not shrink and is springy (airy) but the texture was alittle dry...

i wonder what went wrong... too much oil? insufficient flour? temperature too high? baked too long?... Well, more experiments to come to identify the problem and perfect the technique...

Recipe: Adapted from Yochana's Cake Delight - Simple Sponge Cake

Peanut Cream Sponge Cake~

A little baking experiment...

Whipped cream with ground peanuts sandwiched with mango flavour sponge cake, topped with peanut whipped cream and chocolate shavings...

~*Peanut Cream Sponge Cake*~

Dark Paradise~

i spent the entire day working on this special birthday cake for my brother. i wanted to bake a blackforest cake initially, but decided to come up with something unique and original.

It all began with a plain chocolate sponge cake...

And evolved into...

Tah dah! Here's the final product~ Presenting...

~*Dark Paradise*~

A 3 layer chocolate sponge cake with blueberry custard cream, covered with whipping cream, topped with 75% Lindt dark chocolate shavings, kiwi slices, dark chocolate with almond nibs and chocolate truffle pieces.

The verdict...

Fresh blueberry custard cream sandwiched between soft and springy chocolate sponge cake (moderately sweetened), topped with a thin layer of rich whipped cream, various dark chocolate toppings and fresh kiwi slices. A fusion of flavours, with the sweetness from the cream, bitter dark chocolates, kiwi citrus and light creamy blue berry custard... Lovely~

Recipe

Ingredients

Sponge cake:

• 1 pkt Chocolate sponge cake premix
• 4 medium size Eggs
• 75 mL Water

Blueberry custard cream:

• 1 Cup Blueberry puree
• 1.5 Tbs Maple syrup
• 500 mL Fresh milk
• 1.5 Tbs Bird's brand custard powder
• 1 tsp Gelatine powder
• 1 Tbsp Boiling water
• 100 mL Whipping cream

Toppings/Decoration:

• 250 mL Whipping cream (Sweetened)
• 1 tsp Vanilla essence
• 8 pieces of 75% dark chocolates with almond nibs (Melt 3/4 cup of dark chocolate, add in 1.5 tbs of almond nibs followed by 1 tsp of vodka, mix well and drop small spoonfuls of it onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, freeze it for 1 hour to harden.)
• A couple of thin chocolate truffle pieces (Melt some chocolate truffles, spread a thin layer onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, freeze it for 1 hour and randomly break it into pieces.)
• 1 kiwi, sliced into 8 pieces
• Some Lindt 75% dark chocolate shavings

Method

Sponge cake:

1. Preheat oven at 180 degree celsius.
2. Add the water to the eggs and whisk for 20 seconds. Pour in the chocolate sponge cake premix, whisk on medium for 1 minute then on maximum for another 6 minutes.
3. Pour batter into a 22cm round baking tin, lined with greaseproof paper. And bake it at 180 degree celsius for 40 minutes.
4. Immediatelyremove the cake from tin and allow it to cool on a metal rack.
5. Carefully slice the cake into 3 layers.

Blueberry custard cream:

1. Dissolve custard powder with 2 tablespoons of fresh milk.
2. Bring the remaining fresh milk close to a boil on medium heat.
3. Remove from heat and pour the custard mixture into the hot milk, stirring constantly for about 1 minute, pour in the blueberry puree and continue to stir for another 1 to 2 minutes, leave it to cool to room temperature.
4. Dissolve the gelatine powder in boiling water and stir it into the blueberry custard mixture.
5. Whip up the whipping cream and mix it into the blueberry custard.

Assembly:

1. Place a layer of chocolate sponge in a cake ring, apply a thin layer of blueberry custard cream, sandwich it with a second layer of chocolate sponge cake, apply another layer of blueberry custard cream and sandwhich it with the third layer if chocolate sponge cake.
2. Leave it to chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
3. Remove the cake ring and cover the cake with a layer of sweetened whipped cream.
4. Place the almond dark chocolates, kiwi slices and dark chocolate shavings on top of the cake (refer to picture above). Arrange pieces of chocolate truffles pieces all around the cake.
5. Leave it to chill in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours before serving. Enjoy~

Candied Mixed Fruits Yoghurt Cupcakes~

i bought a tub of plain yoghurt from the supermarket this morning to make yoghurt ice cream. There were some yoghurt remaining, so i decided to make some yoghurt cupcakes...

~*Candied Mixed Fruits Yoghurt Cupcakes*~

Soft, moist and delicious! Tea, anyone? :p

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Plain flour
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 3 Tbs Butter (melted)
• 1/2 Cup Equal sugar
• 1/2 Cup Brown sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 200 ml Plain non-fat yoghurt
• 3/4 Cup Candied dried fruits

Method

1. Preheat oven at 180 degree celsius.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the melted butter, equal sweetener and brown sugar together till creamy, add in eggs (one at a time) till well incorporated followed by the yoghurt.
4. Add in the candied dried fruits and mix well with a spoon. Then fold in the flour mixture.
5. Pour batter into muffin tray lined with muffin paper cups till 90% full.
6. Bake at 180 degree celsius for 20 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and allow cupcakes to cool in the tray before serving. Enjoy!

Coffee Butter Cake~

This was something i baked late this morning before we went out for lunch. A quick mix of the batter and into the oven it went~

~*Coffee Butter Cake*~

Hee... it looks kinda pale right? The top of the cake wasn't as brown as i hoped for it to be, thus, i baked the cake for an additional 5 minutes. Which was not a good idea as it became overbaked which resulted in the cracked top and a slightly dry cake...

Recipe

Ingredients

• 3/4 Cup Cake flour
• 2 tsp Baking powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 3/4 Cup Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Butter
• 3 nos Eggs
• 2 tsp Coffee emulco
• 1/2 Cup Fresh milk

Method

1. Preheat the oven at 180 degree celsius.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and mix well.
3. In separate bowl, whisk the melted butter, eggs, sugar and coffee emulco till well mixed, about 10 minutes.
4. Mix the flour and milk into the egg mixture, in three additions, alternating between the two.
5. Pour the batter into a 7 inch baking tin lined with baking paper and bake at 180 degree celsius for 20 minutes or till toothpick comes out clean.
6. Cool cake in baking tin for 15 minutes before removing from tin. Enjoy!

Banana Crumb Muffins~

Adapted from Allrecipes - Banana Crumb Muffins.

This recipe was awarded 5 stars by more than 2000 reviewers on Allrecipes.com, a definite must try for muffin lovers!

~*Banana Crumb Muffins*~

Soft and moist muffins with sweet and crumbly top~ Delicious! But it was alittle too sweet for me, i'd probably reduce the sugar the next time i bake them.

New York Cheesecake II~

Adapted from Allrecipes.com - Chantal's New York Cheesecake.

This recipe has over a thousand plus positive reviews and even entered the Allrecipes.com Hall of fame - 2003. It's definitely the best New York Cheesecake recipe i've ever attempted.

~*Chantal's New York Cheesecake*~

It's really rich, smooth and creamy, simply divine :p~ So wonderful on its own! But if you prefer it with toppings, some strawberry sauce, fruits or melted semi-sweet chocolate should complete the marvelous experience~

p.s. i was about to transfer the cake into a plastic container when i realised i haven't captured it on picture! So ...keke... sorry for the messy pictures.

New York Cheesecake~

Adapted from Aunt Yochana's Cake Delight: New York Cheesecake

New York Cheesecake, anyone?

This is definitely a recipe to keep! The texture of the cheesecake was smooth and rich... sinfully good~

~*New York Cheesecake*~

i left out the apricot gel layer (as suggested in the original recipe) as there weren't any cracks on the cake surface. The recipe calls for a baked dough crust but i think i'd stick to crushed digestive biscuits the next time.

Lemon Chiffon Cake~

The last time i baked a sponge cake, i made a huge mistake by overmixing the egg white with the batter which resulted with a dense cake. i was hoping to correct that mistake today, hence, i baked a lemon chiffon cake this evening.

And how was the outcome? Well, although the cake did rise and had a soft fluffy texture, the cake shrunk alittle as it was left cool (shown by the black arrow). i deduced it was either because i overbaked the cake or that i didn't invert the cake tin onto a wire rack to cool immediately after removing it from the oven... *sigh* hmmm... seems like i'll have to work on perfecting the chiffon/sponge cake before i venture into my next fancy cake adventure.

~*Lemon Chiffon Cake*~

Although the cake was alittle overbaked, you can see it from the dark brown appearance on the surface, the cake was not dry but rather moist and soft on the inside.

i was surfing for baking tips online and i found this! It's a helpful website with answers to many

common baking problems.

Chocolate Ganache Blueberry Mousse Cake~

i intended to bake a strawberry mousse cake initially but ended up with a blueberry mousse cake instead. This cake was inspired by auntie yochana's heart-shaped raspberry mousse cake. i made several modifications to the recipe and ended up with... tah dah~

~*Chocolate Ganache Blueberry Mousse Cake*~

There were some hiccups during the process, i over mixed the batter... as a result, the sponge cake layer wasn't as soft as it should have been. Nevertheless... my parents enjoyed the cake, i guess it must been the yummie blueberry mousse and the rich dark chocolate ganache that that did the trick! hee...

Happy Birthday Mum! *hugz*

Eggless Huat Kuei~

My mum made Huat Kuei (Fa Gao) this morning. Her "agah agah" (estimated) recipe turned out pretty well~ No eggs were required, just top flour, evaporated milk, sugar and strawberry extract, mix, pour into tin moulds and steam over boiling water~ simple as that!

~*Huat Kuei*~

Soft and fluffy~