A Birthday Cake for Mummy

It is my mummy's bornday this month. So I decided to bake her a cake today. Mummy is in Singapore.. but I am sure she will like a "long distance " cake :)

I used a chocolate banana cake recipe from Joyofbaking and frost it with Chocolate Ganache.
( For those from Singapore : The cake taste like the LANA cake.. with added banana)

Ingredients
2 cups (400 grams) granulated white sugar
1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (75 grams) cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium sized bananas- I used 3 medium bananas)
1 cup (240 ml) warm water
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
1/2 cup (120 ml) corn, safflower or canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache Frosting:
8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate ( I used semi-sweet)
3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon (14 gram) unsalted butter


Direction:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven.
2. Butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) pan. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
4. In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, mashed bananas, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk, until combined.
6. You will notice that the batter is quite thin. Pour the batter into the prepared pan
7. bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

8. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cooled, frost with the Ganache.

Ganache:
1. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel, or heatproof bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat the cream and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil.
3. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth.
4. When Ganache has completely cooled, beat until soft and fluffy. Then spread the frosting on top of the cake.

~Bel~

Blueberry and Peach cake

Blueberry and peach oozing !!!!

I was looking for something simple to bake and came across this recipe from Food Librarian. It uses the quick bread method which means no mixer. Just one bowl and a spatula. Mix the ingredients in the bowl... chop the fruits and arrange them in the baking pan.. pour the batter in the pan.. and the dessert ready in the oven.

It is simple and yet turn out cake that is yummy. Definitely a keeper.

Ingredients
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tspoon baking powder
1 tspoon vanilla
zest of 1 lemon
3 cups of fruit, any variety, but soft and juicy!

Direction
1. Combine all the above ingredients, reserving 1 cup of the sliced fruit.

2. Grease and flour a 9″ round or rectangular baking pan or springform pan
( I used a 8" square pan. This is not a "thick" cake. I would try to double the recipe next time so that the cake will be thicker)

At this point, EITHER:
a) pour in batter and add the last cup of fruit on top OR
b) arrange the remaining sliced fruit in spiral design in the springform, and pour batter overtop.

3. sprinkle a bit of sugar ontop for a crunchy crust.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour

I used blueberry and peach for my version. I mixed the blueberry in the batter and arrange the peach on top.

~Bel~

Banana Walnut Bread

For some unknown reason....I kept thinking of banana bread. It kept running in my head and I knew that I had to bake it.

Banana bread is easy and fast to bake. It is basically a "quick bread" which is bread prepared with leavening such as baking soda or powder, rather than yeast. As a result, the bread does not have a long proofing and rising time, like yeast breads.

I used a recipe from Joyofbaking which is currently my favourite website for bakes

Ingredients
1 cup (115 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)
1 3/4 cups (230 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 ripe large bananas (approximately 1 pound or 454 grams), mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Direction

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place oven rack to middle position.

2. Butter and flour the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. Set aside.
( I used an 8 inch... my bread raised way too high because the loaf pan was too small)

3. Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Let cool and then chop coarsely.

4. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nuts. Set aside.

5. In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla.

6. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. (Do not over mix the batter. Over mixing the batter will yield tough, rubbery bread.)

7. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake until bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes.

~bel~

Soba Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce

I have a "Vajajay potluck" this evening. One of the girls moved to a new house and invited us to a potluck party.

Took me a while to decide what to bring as some of the girls are vegans.. no diary product and meat. It is hard to find a recipe that does not use diary product....no eggs, no butter, no milk.

I finally decided on to a soba salad with spicy peanut sauce. This is an adaptation from a recipe 101 cookbook
My version :
Ingredients
1 package soba noodles
Broccoli
Carrots
(or any other vegetables)

Dressings
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup soya sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tsp of cannye pepper ( more if you like it spicy)
1 cup hotwater ( less if you like it thicker

Garnish
1 small bunch of spring onions, thinly sliced
1 small bunch of parsley
1/2 cup peanuts ( roasted and unsalted)

Directions

1. Bring a large pot to boil. Boil the soba according to package instruction
2. Remove and run under cold water
3 Boil the broccoli and carrot ( or any other vegetables)
4. Set aside

Dressing
1. Combine the ingredient and whisk till smooth
2. Add water to achieve the consistency you prefer

Gently toss the noodles and the vegetables with the dressing and sprinkle withe the garnish
Chill for one hour prior to serving. ( You can also serve this at room temperature)

~Bel~

Blueberry Muffin

Fresh from oven ...with the blueberries oozing out!

The berries are in season. I just could not resist making a berry recipe. I settled for a simple blueberry muffin since it is work night and I do not have the time to bake something fancy.

I really like making muffins. No need for cake mixer...just 2 bowls- one for wet ingredients and one for dry ingredient.

I used the basic muffin recipe and added in the blueberries

My house smells really good now.. with the freshly baked muffins

~bel~

Japanese Cotton Cheese Cake

My friend, Ee Fern, baked this and posted it on Facebook. I could not resist the temptation to try this recipe.

This is not an easy recipe. Most people have a difficult time getting the soft cotton like texture. The recipe called for folding flour into the cheese, whipping egg white to soft perks and folding the egg white mixture to the cheese mixture. Not easy for an amateur baker like me.

I tried baking it twice. Both time unsuccessful. The cake turned up dense at the bottom both time. I did some research in the Internet and was glad to find that I am not the only one facing the same problem. I finally realised that this is because the egg white was not fold thoroughly into the cheese mixture.

I tried it again this morning... and whhhhhaaaaaaoooooooooo.. a real Japanese Cotton Cheesecake.

Recipe from Diane Dessert:

Ingredients:
140g/5 oz. fine granulated sugar
6 egg whites
6 egg yolks
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
50g/2 oz. butter
250g/9 oz. cream cheese
100 ml/3 fluid oz. fresh milk
1 tbsp. lemon juice
60g/2 oz. cake flour /superfine flour
20g/1 oz. cornflour (cornstarch)
1/4 tsp. salt

Direction:
1. Melt cream cheese, butter and milk over a double boiler. Cool the mixture. Fold in the flour, the cornflour, egg yolks, lemon juice and mix well.

2. Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add in the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form.

3. Add the cheese mixture to the egg white mixture and mix well. Pour into a 8-inch round cake pan (Lightly grease and line the bottom and sides of the pan with greaseproof baking paper or parchment paper).
( This is a large cake. I used a 9-inch cake pan)

4. Bake cheesecake in a water bath for 1 hours 10 minutes or until set and golden brown at 160 degrees C (325 degrees F).
( I baked the cake in the lower rake to prevent the top from burning)


~Bel~

Chocolate Brownies

I did not realised that Brownie are such easy bake...This is another recipe form Joy Of Baking which is really quick and easy....and yummy

Ingredients
4 ounces (120 grams) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3/4 cup (95 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Chocolate Ganache:
3 ounces (90 grams) semi sweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon (14 grams) unsalted butter


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C)
2. Butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, an 8 inch (20 cm) square baking pan.
3. Melt the chocolate and butter in a large stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water
4. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar
5. whisk in the vanilla extract and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition
6. Finally, stir in the flour and salt.
7. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs
8. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate Ganache
1. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl
2. Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat
3. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes
4. Stir with a whisk or spoon until smooth
5. Let cool to room temperature and then spread the ganache over the brownies

~Bel~