Chocolate Root Beer Bundt Cake

First Bake for the Year !!! Gosh I must have been really lazy. It is almost mid April and I am just doing my first bake for the year. Well, I have been battling with allergy and flare up on my face since Nov 2010. I had to avoid the heat from the oven to prevent flare up. My face just got better last few weeks and so here's my bake again :)
I have been eyeing this recipe for a while. I bought a bottle of root beer in January hoping to be able to try baking it. But had to wait till today due to the constant flare up on my face. Of course.. I had to go and buy another bottle of root beer since the one I bought in January has done really flat.

This is really an easy bake. No cake mixer. Just 3 bowls. The results is amazing.. a really moist and soft chocolate cake.

Ingredients

2 cups root beer (don’t use diet)
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter (one stick)
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs

Directions
1. Preheat even to 325 degrees F. Spray the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray, or butter generously and dust with flour, knocking out the excess.

2. In a small saucepan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder and butter over medium heat until butter is melted. Add sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool. ( I combine all the ingredents together and heat it gentle until the butter is melted)

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

4. In a small bowl whisk the eggs until just beaten. Then whisk into the cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy. You can give it a quick whisk if you like, but don’t over beat the batter or it could cause the cake to be tough. Don’t worry, the batter is very loose.

5. Pour the batter into prepared pan and cook for 35-45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking until a sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely then loosen edges with a butter knife and turn out onto a cake plate.

I sprinkled the cake with confectioners sugar for the finishing touch. The Joy of Baking page has a recipe for a root beer frosting which looks really awesome. I need to try it next time.

A double thumbup recipe !

~bel~

Macaroni Salad

Yes... Yet another party tonight. I had anticipated a busy day today. I had a race this morning and knew that I would not get home till afternoon and would be too tired to do anything. Hence, decided to prepare something simple last night.

I thought that a simple macaroni salad sound good.

Ingredient
1 pack of macaroni
1/2 pound of ham
14 oz of celery -sliced finely
4 hard boil eggs chopped


Dressing
2 cups mayonnaise
1 table spoon fresh lemon juice
1 table spoon of celery seed
1 table spoon of paprika


Direction:
1. Boil the macaroni as per package direction. set aside to cool
2. whisked the dressing together till combined
3. Mixed the ingredients together and add dressing
4. Chill for 1 hour or more before serving. Overnight will be better for the flavour to sink in

~bel~

Roasted Chickpeas

I had always wanted to try this. Roasted Chickpeas ! You can find many recipes if you google it.

Here is my version:

Ingredients

1 can of chickpeas ( I used the unsalted version)

Sal)

Paprika

Directions

1. Pre heat the oven to 350F

2. Open and rinse the chickpeas until no bubble. Drain and season with salt and paprika

3. Roast in oven for about 1 hour or until crunchy

This is really a easy healthy snack. I would suggest double the quantity of chickpeas as they are gone in no time. Other seasonings which I would try next time- cayennes pepper, soya sauce, chinese five spice powder :)

~bel~

Chocolate Truffles

Chocolate Truffles for New Year Party !!!!! Its easy and really yummy. I used the recipe from Simply Recipe

Ingredients
8 ounces of semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate (high quality, 62% cacao or higher), well chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Truffle coatings
Cocoa powder
Finely chopped pecans

Direction
1 In a small, heavy saucepan bring the heavy whipping cream to a simmer

2 Place the chocolate in a separate bowl. Pour the cream over the chocolate, add the vanilla, and allow to stand for a few minutes then stir until smooth.

3 Allow to cool, then place in the refrigerator for about 2 hours. Remove and with a teaspoon roll out balls of the ganache. Roll in your hands quickly (as it will melt from the heat of your hands) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the refrigerator overnight

4 Roll in cocoa powder or chopped nuts and serve, or place back in the refrigerator until needed.

Other optional coating includes chopped walnuts toasted almond. In fact, I think this really goes well if coated with Milo powder.

~bel~

Easy Pesto Pasta Salad

I have a Christmas Party tonight and wanted to bring a simple dish. I would love to bake but my rosacea has been giving me some grief and I decided that it is best to stay away from the hot oven.

After much thought, I finally decided on a simple pesto salad. I have to admit that I am not a fan of Pasta. In face, this is the first time I am making a pasta dish. But surpisingly, it turned out pretty good.

I adapted my recipe from the Easy Pesto Pasta Salad with Olives and Roasted Red Peppers from Kalyn's Kitchen

Ingredients:
12 oz basil pesto
1 packet of rotinni pasta
1 can of olived ( sliced)
7oz of cherry tomatos ( more if you like)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of soya sauce ( the asian in me just could not resist the soya sauce)
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese


Direction
1. Cook the pasta according to instruction
2. Cool the pasta and add the pesto, olive oil and soya sauce
3. Stir in the olives and tomotos
4. Chill for one hour.
5. Add grated parmesan cheese to serve

I used a ready made basil pesto from the store. Kalyn has a good recipe for a home made pesto for those who preferred home made dressing

Enjoy !

~bel~

Libby's Pumpkin Pie

I have been thinking of pumpkin pie since I read about the Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie. Try googling this and you will know what I mean. It has such a rave review... I just have to try it

This is a very simple recipe. Gosh... I wonder why it took me so long to try this recipe. It is such a keeper. Easy and yummy.

Ingredients
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
Whipped cream (optional

Directions
1. MIX sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

2. POUR into pie shell.

3. BAKE in preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving

~bel~

Easy Marmite Turkey Meatball

I finally bought my MARMITE this weekend !!!!!! It was not an easy decision as the small bottle of Marmite cost me USD 6.50. I am a miser... I just could not bring myself to spend that much on a small bottle of Marmite. I could get 2 bottles for the same price back in Singapore.

But I have to admit that this is a good purchase....I had been making everything Marmite since Sunday>>> Breakfast oats with Marmite, Marmite soup, bread spread with Marmite

I had been thinking of making meatball since my Marathon Pasta Party last weekend. A running peep bought some kickass meatball. I have been thinking of making meatball since I had those.

Since I am in a Marmite craze... I decided to make my own Marmaite Turkey MeatBall.. Gosh.. they are really good

Don't they look yummy !!!

Ingredients:
600g of ground turkey ( you an subsitute with ground meat or chicken)
1 teaspoon of Marmite
1 tablespoon of soya sauce
pepper

Direction
1. Mix all ingredient together. Marinate for at least 30 minutes
2. Roll the meat into balls
3. Bake in oven at 380F for about 25 minutes

Variation
1. Add mince prawns to the meat.
2. Use oyster sauce in place of Marmite

~Bel~