Chinese Rojak

Weather for Te Awamutu today

Season :
Spring
Forecast :
Chance of Rain
Temp : 29°C | 17°C
Current :
Partly Cloudy After Midnight
Temp : 20°C

Salam, Kia Ora...

I executed what I planned yesterday that is to turn the Chinese crullers into Chinese rojak today.  To keep the crullers till today then grilled them in the oven was a bad idea...booo hooo.  Take note kids, do not try this at home...hahahaz.  You want to know why??  Hmmmzzz they almost, almost turned into croutons, yikesss.  Anyway, after the crullers soaked up the rojak sauce, all went well....they turned soggy like they should do ;)

A few weeks back I was trying to look for 'petis' aka shrimp paste.  A very dark, pungent yet taste oh so yummy black shrimp paste in a bottle at a few Asian shops here but I couldn't find any.  I asked a few friends on FB how to make the rojak sauce and am very thankful that they were willing to share the recipes.  I wasn't given the exact amount on how much to put things only given the ingredients.  So, I just added any amount I like to the given ingredients list.  Do I sound confusing?  Nyehahahaz.....

PS.  I thought I could enjoy this rojak peacefully...but the other half Asian girl start picking the other bamboo skewer and start poking on the ingredients that I didn't add any rojak sauce.  She started with apples, then mangoes, then she ate the tau pok and said 'sedapkan daging'?  Hahahaz whatever lah girl as long as you are happy....she ate everything except the blanched bean sprouts.

Source : Zuwati's Pocket ;) hehehez & my own 'rojak' estimation.

Ingredients For Rojak Sauce

• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup tamarind juice
• 4 red chillies - pounded (Add more if u like it fiery)
• 2 tsp toasted shrimp powder aka belacan
• 3 tblsp tomato sauce
• 1 tblsp chilli sauce
• 4 tblsp sweet soy sauce
• Coconut sugar aka gula melaka to taste
• A handful of toasted peanut - pounded
• Salt if required.

Method :

• Put all the ingredients in a pot and simmer on low to medium heat until it thickens.  You can adjust the amount of the ingredients according to your own taste bud. 
• The end product should be thick like brown gravy, sweet, sourish, spicy and punget....hahahaz ;)

My Rojak Ingredients

• Tau Pok (Deep fried tofu) - grill in the oven till crispy
• Chinese Crullers - grill in the oven till crispy
• Mangoes
• Braeburn Apples
• Blanched Bean Sprouts
• Toasted Peanuts - pounded

I didn't add cucumber bcos I don't like them and Chinese turnip is unavailable here.  The other thing that is missing is the grilled cuttlefish....hmmmzzz

Method :

• Cut all the above ingredients into desired sizes.
• Toss the ingredients with some of the rojak sauce.
• Sprinkle toasted peanuts before serving.

Do u prefer tau pok?

Or Mango? ;)

Oh me, oh my its already New Year's Eve tomorrow.  How time flies :(

Me Te Aroha, With Love,

Anie ;)

Chinese Cruller / You Tiao / Cakoi

Weather for Te Awamutu today

Season :
Spring
Forecast :
Chance of Rain
Temp : 25°C | 17°C
Current :
Clear Skies
Temp : 17°C

Salam, Kia Ora...

I've been wanting to eat Chinese rojak since last week.  Everytime I think about rojak, my memories will take me to this yummy rojak stall in Singapore, situated at Clementi.  The stall is owned by 2 very simple yet friendly brothers.  If I am not wrong, their stall was featured in some newspaper which I couldn't remember which one.  I heard that they are very successful now and have opened a few branches in Singapore. (Please do open a branch in NZ, Tan Brothers.....hahahaz :D)

Everytime when I'm at Clementi area, I will never fail to visit this rojak store despite having to wait in a very long queue. During Ramadhan, the queue can be worse than, when Hello Kitty hit McDonad's queue (pls don't believe me, I'm just exaggerating hehehez).  Not only the stench of the grilled cuttlefish drew me to the rojak store but the very friendly greetings of the brothers makes me want to queue up for my dose of rojak...hehehez.  They always thought that I'm Chinese and will greet me in Mandarin and call me 'Báixuě gōngzhǔ' meaning Snow White....hahahahaz wwwweeeeiiiii *flutters* even though I look no where near like Snow White.  Perhaps, I look more like the evil stepmother/witch.....ROFL!!!

Anyway, I tried making these you tiaos today.  They are not as good as the real mccoy :( maybe bcos I didn't add alum powder.  They tasted like fried bread instead of tasting they way the should be that is crispy and hollow.  Even though they didnt turn out the way they should be, they do taste yummy...hehehez.  I will turn them to rojak tomorrow, insyaAllah...God willing ;)



Some were skinny, some were fat, some were short, some were long and some were burnt.....hahahaz.

Source :  Lydia Teh's My Kitchen.  You can take a peep at Lydia's blog for the detailed step by step on making these cruller.

Ingredients (makes 10, 6"): (I only made half of this recipe)

1 cup water
2 cups bread flour
¼ tsp instant yeast
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp alum (I did not use this)
½ tsp ammonia/nutre powder (I did not use this)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil

*Oil for deep-fry
Directions:
- Put all ingredients into the bread maker. Select dough mode and turn in on.
- Once the kneading is completed, turn the dough out on a floured surface. This dough is stickier than bread dough so remember to dust lot of four on the working table.
- Divide dough into two portions and shape each one into a 40cm long rod. Cover dough with plastic wrap and let raise for 45 minutes.
- Lightly flatten the dough (approx. 1cm thick and 5cm wide) and cut into 2cm strips. - - Let stand for 10-15 minutes
- Heat oil in a medium pot or wok. Dip the skewer in water and wet the middle of dough as shown.
- Place another piece of dough on the top and press in the middle with a skewer. Hold both ends and pull the dough until 20cm long. Then carefully put it into the hot oil straight away. Stir rapidly as soon as the dough is surfaced, and deep fry until golden brown

Resepi cakoi dalam bahasa Melayu ;)
Sumber : SkyBlue, My Resipi.

 

Bahan-bahan ( 10 biji [15cm] )

1 cawan air
2 cawan tepung roti
¼ sudu kecil instant yeast
1 sudu kecil gula
1 sudu kecil garam
¾ sudu kecil tawas (alum) -Saya tak taruk
½ sudu kecil baking soda
½ sudu kecil ammonia atau Nutre Powder (utk menghasilkan cakoi yg lebih ranggup, takde pun takpe... susah nak cari ammonia for cooking) - Saya tak taruk
1 sudu besar minyak
Minyak utk menggoreng

-  Masukkan semua bahan2 ke dalam breadmaker, pilih menu buat doh dan ON kan. Bila dah siap uli, keluarkan doh dari breadmaker.

Taburkan tepung ke atas papan canai. Bahagikan doh kepada 2, buatkan bentuk panjang (40cm) setiap satu. Tutup doh dgn kain atau plastic wrap, biar naik dlm suhu bilik selama 45 minit.
- Ratakan doh dgn tangan, biar jadi 1cm tinggi dan 5-6cm tebal. Potong 2-2.5cm seperti dlm gambar, biar rehat selama 10-15 minit lagi.
- Panaskan minyak utk menggoreng (deep-fry) dgn api kecil. Ambil sekeping doh, bubuh sedikit air dgn mengunakan lidi sate seperti dlm gambar
- Letak sekeping doh diatas doh tadi, tekan di tengah2 dgn lidi sate.
- Pegang kedua-dua hunjung dan tarik pelahan-lahan, biar jadi 15-20cm panjang dan terus masuk ke dalam minyak panas. Kacau sikit apabila dia dah timbul kat permukaan minyak supaya dia jadi lebih kembang. Goreng sehingga perang keemasan.

Nota dari SkyBlue :
Doh ni agak lembut, kena taburkan tepung banyak.
Doh yg betul2 naik, senang nak ditarik.
Boleh buat saiz besar sikit jika guna kuali yg besar. Saiz yg i buat ni agak kecil sbb i guna periuk kecil utk menggoreng.


Me Te Aroha...With Love,

Anie ;)

Strawberry Batik Swiss Roll

Weather for Te Awamutu today
Season :
Spring
Forecast :
Chance of Rain
Temp : 23°C | 15°C
Current :
Raining
Temp : 22°C

Salam, Kia Ora...

This is what I did to the leftover batter after making the sponge cake for the fruit trifle.  The trifle is gone in 2 days and 2/3 of it was eaten by dear hb....hahahaz.  He took it for his lunch for 2 days and ate most of it at home.  Hb will only see this trifle again next year, InsyaAllah...God Willing.  I wouldn't recommend eating too much of the trifle bcos its just too rich with cream and eggs.

Anyway, back to this swiss roll.  Just a word of caution when you bake this swiss roll.  If you undercooked it, the 'skin' will stick to the paper while you are rolling it and if you overcooked it, the cake will crack when you roll it.  My cake was a little undercooked hence it has no skin at all...huhuhu.  Anyway, looks doesn't matter because the cake is already gone...hehehez.  Both me and Jannah didn't eat much of the trifle but we chomped on the swiss roll instead ;) yummmy....

For you, my luvly blogger friend, Yat Maria, I have converted the measurements from ounce to gram.  Hope to see this cake in your blog soon....hehehez ;)

Source : Bro Rozzan. For full recipe and how to create the 'batik' on the cake you can peep at Bro Rozzan's blog.


Sponge Cake Ingredients : (32 x 24 cm swiss roll pan)


3 grade A eggs (I used sized 7 eggs)
2 oz caster sugar (56.7 grams)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 tablespoon ovalet
1.5 oz plain flour (42.5 grams)
1/2 tablespoon milk powder
2 oz butter (melted) (56.7 grams)
1/2 tsp strawberry essence
A few drops of red colouring
Enough strawberry jam

Method :

1. Beat eggs, sugar, ovalet, baking powder, vanilla essence, flour, milk powder and strawberry essence on high speed until thick and fluffy (5-7mins).
2. Add melted butter and mix / stir.
3. Take about 4 tblsp of the mixture and add a few drops of red colouring, mix thoroughly and pour the red batter into a piping bag.
4. Lightly butter pan and line it with baking paper.
5. Pour batter into the pan and then just smooth the surface.
6. Use the piping bag to decorate the batter.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes with a temperature of 170 degrees Celsius.
8. Once cake is baked, remove from oven and let the cake cool in the pan.
9. Remove cake from the pan and invert it on a piece of wax paper and spread the strawberry jam.  Roll the cake slowly.
10. Once rolled, cake can be wrapped witha cling wrap or wax paper.


3 more days till New Year...

Me Te Aroha, With Love...
Anie ;)

Fruit Trifle

Weather for Te Awamutu today
Season :
Spring
Forecast :
Chance of Rain
Temp : 29°C | 18°C
Current :
Foggy
Temp : 23°C

Salam, Kia Ora.....


It's a tradition for kiwis to serve trifle on Xmas day as one of their desserts ;) We don't celebrate Xmas but hb has requested me to make some trifles for him bcos its the only time that he gets to eat trifle again (I'm not a big fan of trifles, too much cream, not my kinda dessert :D) I've already bought the fresh cream and custard last Wednesday when I went for my groceries shopping. The reason why I bought them that early is bcos they run out of the supermarket shelves before Xmas eve. Not only Singaporean are 'kiasu' and luvs to hoard festive ingredients, the kiwis do that too.....hehehehez ;)


I did my baking dash on Xmas day when I baked the cute little puffins, so hb was quite disappointed when he opened the fridge and saw no trifle :( He was sort of nagging that the cream and custard will go rotten if I were to keep them any longer :D. I made them yesterday, as I've promised him. This time with extra custard and cream bcos I remembered his feedback, the last time I made them....saying that it was dry. This time he said its almost there, just need some lemon juice nxt time. Yes sir!! Hahahahaz.....


I've never eaten a kiwi trifle or any trifle in my life, so I don't know what trifle is all abt until I googled them. When I asked him how trifle is made...he said that he only knows how to eat them. Yikessss great answer hb....thank you very much yah!! :ppp So this is my version of trifle. I got the method from some food forum that I joined years ago....couldn't exactly remember where.

Wonders why the sponge has a lot of bubbles on the surface. My slivered almonds were over toasted...hahahaz :D

Fruit Trifle Ingredients :
Home made or store bought plain sponge cake
Strawberry or raspberry jam
1 can of sliced peaches (cut into halves)
1 can fruit salad or fruit cocktails in clear fruit juice
500ml fresh cream
1 litre carton prepared vanilla custard


Garnish :
Grated Chocolate
Toasted slivered almonds


I made my own sponge cake by using the recipe below. Skip this step if you are using store bought sponge cake.


Source : Bro Rozzan. Tks Bro Rozzan for sharing this recipe ;)



Sponge Cake Ingredients :

6 grade A eggs (I used 6 sized 7 eggs)
4 oz caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 tablespoon ovalet
3 oz plain flour
1 tablespoon milk powder
4 oz butter (melted)


Method :

1. Beat eggs, sugar, ovalet, baking powder, vanilla essence, flour and milk powder on high speed until thick and fluffy (5-7mins).
2. Add melted butter and mix / stir.
3. Pour batter into the pan and then just smooth the surface.
4. Bake for about 20 minutes with a temperature of 170 degrees Celsius.

 Note : I baked the batter in a 32 x 24 cm swiss roll pan and got 2 pieces of cakes from the mixture above and I only used 1 piece of sponge cake for the trifle.


Fruit Trifle Method :
1. Cut the sponge into half and spread with jam and place in the base of a large serving bowl.
2. Pour over the fruit juice until the sponge cake is wet.
3. Spread the half of the peaches and fruit salad on top.
4. Whip the cream until soft peaks form and blend 2/3 the whipped cream with the custard. Spread half of the custard evenly over the fruit and sponge.
5. Spread jam on the remaining half of the sponge and place it on top of the custard.
6. Repeat step 2-5 for 2nd layer.. Spread the remaining whipped cream over the top of the custard and refrigerate one hour before serving.
8. Decorate with grated chocolate and toasted almonds before serving.


Its a long recipe but its indeed an easy, peasy dessert to be made especially if you just buy the sponge cake like how people here do it. I will share with you what I did to the other half of the sponge cake batter in my next entry.


4 more days till New Year.....


Me Te Aroha...With Love,
Anie ;)

Mini Maple Chocolate Chip & Blueberries Pancake Muffins

,Weather for Te Awamutu today
Season :
Spring
Forecast :
Cloudy
Temp : 23°C | 12°C
Current :
Mostly Cloudy with Very High UV(9) Warning!!
Temp : 16°C

Salam, Kia Ora...

Merry Xmas & Happy Holidays to all that are celebrating this joyful day ;) happy opening up all the prezzies...wooo hooo!!

Thought I should do something with the blueberries that I picked the other day.  Cost per kg for pick your own blueberries was $8.50.  I picked slightly more than a kg and only paid $8.80 for them.  They cost $3.20 per punnet at the supermarket and only weighs 200gm if I'm not wrong.

Its been a while, since I last made pancakes.  I decided to give these little beautie's recipe a try when I saw them at bakerella.com. It's true when she said that this product needs to be renamed to something shorter....hahahaz.  I also like it when she said that its a cross between a pancake and muffin...they are puffins.  Its also labour less, don't have to slave in front of the stove and keep on flipping pancakes...hehehz.  One thing for sure, we all enjoyed this yummy puffins.

I simply love all the cake pops that she created, they are too cute to be eaten!!  She's certainly one talented lady :) when I grow up, I want to be just like Bakerella......hahahahaz XD

These are the chocolate chippies puffins....

I slightly over filled the pan for the blueberry ones.  They are not as cute as the choc chippies......

Source : Bakerella.  Thank you for sharing this recipe ;)

Generously grease a 24 cup mini muffin pan with non-stick spray.

Mini Maple Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins.
(Someone please come up with a shorter name for these.)

 

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar (I only added 1 tblsp)
2/3 cup buttermilk

1 egg
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Blueberries - optional

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F / 176.67 degrees C. (I baked mine at 160 degrees C)
• Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Sift together.
• In another bowl, stir buttermilk, egg, maple syrup and melted butter until just combined.
• Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until combined.
• Stir in chocolate chips. Reserve a few chips to sprinkle on the tops.
• Bake for 8-9 minutes.

Enjoy the weekend everyone....

Me Te Aroha...With Love,

Anie ;)

Caramel Pudding Cake

Weather for Te Awamutu today
Season :
Spring
Forecast :
Partly Sunny
Temp : 29°C | 13°C
Current :
Partly Cloudy with Extreme UV(11) Warning!!
Temp : 20°C

Note : This entry was composed before I went to the blueberry farm this morning!!  I got frustrated as the layout kept on getting jumbled when I published it this morning...arrrgghh!!  I deleted the entry as I didnt have time to rectify it this mornin, the post really looked hideous :( Trying to repost this entry again.......

Salam, Kia Ora & Good Morning ;)

Just a quick entry before I go to the blueberry farm to pick my very own selected fresh blueberries....hehehez.  Will be meeting my 2 friends, Eli and Han in 2 hrs time that is at 10.30am.  I won't be taking Jannah with me this time bcos I still remember clearly what happened last year, she almost abandoned me and asked me to go home as she had acknowledged 2 unknown females...hehehez.  She even asked them to carry her so that she doesn't have to go off with me.....aiya yay yay yay

I went for my groceries shopping in Hamilton yesterday and 1 of my friends, Dr Fid, invited Jannah and myself to her place for lunch.  We had yummy chicken soto and Jannah certainly had an enjoyable afternoon playing with Dr Fid's kids and their house full of toys...hehehez.  I decided to bring this Caramel Pudding Cake along bcos my blogger and FB friends has been tempting me with photos of this cake :p

I was hoping that the cake and caramel pudding will turn out right as I only had 4 eggs left in the basket.....if it turned out to be a boo boo :( I would have to turn up at Doc Fid's home empty handed...hehehez.  I've read a few feedbacks from some friends how evil this cake can be.  Some of them attempted this cake and failed.  The common faults are : failure with the pudding, pudding sank in the cake and even worse...1 of them had her cake exploded in the oven.  Scary isn't it? Hehehez...alhamdullilah, thank God, mine turned out right and it was definitely soft and melt in your mouth, texture....yummmmmeeehhhh :D

Source : Zarin & Anna Qawina  Why did I use 2 recipes?  Its bcos I want thicker cake than the caramel pudding, hence I combined both Zarin's & Anna's recipes.  Thank you gals for sharing this recipes ;)

Ingredients :

Caramel
2 Tbsp Sugar

Pudding
2 Eggs
400ml Evaporated Or Fresh Milk (I used fresh milk)
35g Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla Essence

Cake (A)
140 gm Standard Flour
70gm Caster Sugar (I only used 50gm)
2 Egg Yolks
135ml Water
1 Tsp Baking Powder
45ml Canola Oil (I used melted butter)

Meringue (B)
4 Egg Whites
70gm Caster Sugar (I only used 50gm)
1 Tsp Cream of Tartar (I only used 1/2 tsp)


Method :

- Pre heat oven to 170/180 degrees C.

For Caramel
In a cake pan, melt the sugar on low heat until it turns into liquid and caramelized.
Set aside.

For Pudding
Combine all the ingredients and stir slowly to avoid forming any bubbles.  If there's too much bubbles, the pudding will not set properly on the cake.
Strain the mixture over the caramelized sugar in the cake pan.

For Cake (A)
Combine all the ingredients and mix them thoroughly using a hand whisk.


For Meringue (B)
Whisk egg whites and cream of tartar on high speed until half fluffly.
Add sugar bit by bit while whisking until stiff peaks.

For Cake and Meringue
Fold half of (B) into (A) gently using a spatula and then pour this mixture into the rest of (B) mixture.
Divide them into equal amounts and add some food colourings.
Pour the coloured mixture in the middle of the cake pan to yield a rainbow-iey pattern. ;)
Bake the cake using bain marie/waterbath method in the oven for abt 1hr.

Note :
I used 4 jumbo sized eggs.  If your eggs are smaller, you might need to increase the egg quantity.
I didn't use all the cake mixture as it was too much for my cake pan.
I baked mine is 160 deg C for 55 mins.
I translated this recipe from Malay to English in a hurry...hehehez.  I do appreciate any feedbacks if there's a need to correct the recipe ;)

This is what I did with the excess cake mixture but I didn't bake them using bain marie's method.  They turned out crumbly and dry :(  I gave them to the birds...hahahaz.

Me Te Aroha...With Love,
Anie ;)

Chicken Nuggets

Weather for Te Awamutu today,
Season :
Spring
Forecast :
Chance of Rain
Temp : 25°C | 19°C
Current :
Gentle Breeze With Late Fog

Temp : 19°C

Salam...Kia Ora,

Definitely got no idea what to cook for dinner just now.  Opened the freezer, not much left in there as it's my groceries day tomorrow.  The emptier the better, bcos I need the storage space for our 2 weeks supplies of halal produce. 

I normally stock up 2 weeks supplies of meats, chickens, sausages and chicken luncheon because I couldn't be bothered to drive all the way to Hamilton, which is abt 45 mins away from where I live.  As for fish, I will just buy them fresh from the supermarket here.  Sometimes, we get free fishes from hb's work mates who luvs to go fishing during their days off. ;)  

Anyway, I decided to make some chicken nuggets as there's a pack of chicken fillet and I'm missing McDonald's chicken nuggets at the same time.  Not that I can't buy frozen halal ones, but they taste disgusting :( I wonder why the frozen nuggets are grayish in colour...yucks!!!  This nuggets recipe is so far the best that I've ever tried...will definitely use this recipe again next time.  The softest chicken nuggets I've ever made, its definitely white just like McD's nuggets...the only thing that is missing is McD's curry sauce...and errmmm chicken beaks, heads, feathers, bon bon and any other parts that I can't think of...wahahahaz!! 

Source : Hana's Family Blog.  Thank you Hana for sharing this recipe ;)

 Hb said we should call them luvgets instead of nuggets...hehehez :D Those ones in the basket are supposed to be :-

Butterflies, the ones on the left and penguins, the ones on the right.  They certainly look no where near to what I've decribed them to be after I coated them with breadcrumbs...hehehez :D

Ingredients :

• 500gm Boneless & Skinless Chicken Breast Fillet or Minced Chicken (I used chicken breast fillet)
• 3 tblsp Breadcrumbs
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 Egg (Beaten)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Enough Oil For Deep Frying

Method :

• If using chicken breast fillet, cut into chunks and process in a food processor until fine.  Otherwise skip this step.
• In a large bowl, transfer the processed minced chicken.
• Add the rest of the ingredients above and mix thoroughly.
• Shape the nuggets to your liking.

Coating :

• Flour
• Beaten Eggs
• Bread crumbs

Method :

• Firstly, coat the nuggets with flour, then dip it in the beaten eggs and lastly coat it with breadcrumbs.
• Repeat the above step if you like thicker coating.  (I only did it once)
• Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown and serve with your favourite dipping sauce.

Enjoy the rest of the week everyone....

Me Te Aroha...With Love,
Anie ;)

Pandan Chiffon Cake

Weather for Te Awamutu today,
Season :
Spring
Forecast :
Rain
Temp : 23°C | 17°C
Current :
Gentle Breeze With Late Fog

Temp : 20°C

Salam, Kia Ora...

Firstly I would like to wish my sister a very happy birthday....hope you like the little gift that was delivered today ;)  Can't bake my sis a cake, so I baked one for us instead...hahahaz. 

Definitely not the most beautiful cake on the blog but taste wise it was absolutely soft and yummy.  Jannah ate all that 3 slices on the plate, I had 2, gave 6 slices to my neighbour and there's only 2 pieces left.  Hb is not a fan of this cake.  As I've said in 1 of my entries before, if it ain't sloppily iced with thick icing, it won't be a big hit amongst the kiwis >o<  Oh well, 1 each for me and Jannah for breakfast tomorrow, yum yum yum yum delicioso...hehehez

I should have baked the cake maybe 10 mins more so that the crust will be a bit darker.  I don't know why I decided to remove it from the oven.  I baked at 140 deg C (the oven temperature must have been too low and the cake was in the oven for almost an hour, that's why I panicked I supposed....hehehez.  I've forgotten at what temperature did I baked this cake before.  Hmmzzz I should have blogged abt it but it was too late bcos I didn't have a blog last time...hahahaz

Another fault was I removed the cake from the pan and cut it while it was still very warm bcos Jannah kept bugging me for a slice.  Aiya yay yay yay she was throwing herself around for a piece of cake....so, I had to give in.  Luckily she was patient enough to wait for me to photo the cake...hehehez.  She even said "wait ok, mama ambik gambar, smile dulu ok" *slaps forehead*

Source : Rinn Chan/Irene Chia.  Thank you for sharing this recipe ;)

Photo recipe courtesy of Irene Chia, I was lazy to retype the recipe as the recipe in Rinn Chan's FB is in Malay language :D hehehez

Note :

1. Ingredients B - I used 2 tsp pandan paste and added 105ml water.
2. Ingredients A & D - I reduced the quantity of sugar to 50g each.
3. Ingredients C - I used standard flour instead of cake flour.
4. I baked mine at 140 degs C....haizz what was I thinking :( Next time, I should bake it at 160 deg C.
5. I did not bang the cake pan at all, before and after it was baked.  I've read some where that the airier the cake mixture the better it will rise.

To all home bakers that have tried this recipe and failed, please do not give up ;)  It took me 3 or 4 failures before I finally got the cake right.  Thank you to sifu Rima who guided me abt 1 yr ago and to Aunty Yo's very informative blog. 

Me Te Aroha...With Love,

Anie ;)

Strawberry-Peach Swirl Pound Cake

Weather for Te Awamutu today,
Season :
Spring
Forecast :
Rain
Temp : 25°C | 17°C
Current :
Light Breeze With Late Fog

Temp : 20°C

Salam, Kia Ora...

I made this pound cake yesterday from whatever strawberries that are left in the fridge.  From today onwards, there's no more strawberries left in the fridge.  I've enough of strawberries...hahahaz.  Next week, if weather permits I'll be going to the blueberry farm with some friends to hand pick our own blueberries. 

Do expect blueberries recipes in my entries 2 weeks later....hehehez :D.  Hmmzzz I supposed I've to slow down on my baking and dessert making, otherwise the 3 of us will pack on more weight :( aiyayay.  I only had 2 slices of the pound cake (1 yesterday and the other 1 today), I could have eaten more.  Asked hb how many he wanted and he said just 1 slice and gave 1 slice to Jannah.  I quickly packed the rest and asked hb to share it with his work mates today.

This cake was too yummy to resist especially when I ate the chilled one today.  Reminds me of my younger days when I still didn't know how to bake.  It tastes like Sara Lee strawberry swirl pound cake....hhhmmzz delicioso :p.  My favourite part of the cake is the burnt puree on the side of the cake.  I will definitely bake more of this cake, its simply, brilliantly, absolutely, perfectly, irresistibly yummmeehh....hahahaz was I over doing it??

Source : Creature Comfort's blog

Strawberry-Peach Swirl Pound Cake
Makes 1 loaf (adapted from Everyday Foods).

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 1 1/2 total cups peeled peaches and strawberries fresh or frozen - if frozen, bring to room temperature over a strainer and allow excess juices to drain. (I used fresh strawberries and canned peaches)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar plus 2-6 tablespoons sugar for berries (I only used 3/4 cup sugar plus 3 tblsp sugar for berries)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon course salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature (I used left over vanilla custard from the Strawberry CheeseCake Semifreddo  recipe)

1. Preheat oven to 350 (Fahrenheit).  Lightly butter 5x9 inch loaf pan and line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides; butter parchment.  In a food processes, puree strawberries and peaches with 2-6 tablespoons of sugar (depending on desired sweetness).  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder.
2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar until light and fluffy, 5 minutes.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat to combine, scraping down bowl as needed.  With mixer on low, add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
3. Transfer half the batter to pan and dot with 1/2 cup strawberry-peach puree.  Repeat with remaining batter and puree.  With a skewer or thin-bladed knife, swirl batter and puree together.  Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 1 1/4 hours.  Let cool in pan on a wire rack, 30 minutes.  Lift cake out of pan and place on a serving plate; let cool completely before slicing.  Store cooled cake, wrapped tightly in plastic at room temperature, up to 3 days.
Optional:  Top with a dollop of remaining fruit puree and/or some sweetened whipped cream (I added a touch of lemon zest while mixing mine and it was delicious).

Note :

1. I baked mine @ 160 deg C.  I didn't check for how long I baked it for, maybe abt 45 mins, maybe longer.
2. I only added half cup of the puree as I felt that there was too much puree in the cake and it was making the cake mixture afloat.
3. What I did with the leftover puree was, boil it and add half a tsp of gelatin till it thickens and serve it with the cake.

Seems like most of my FB & blogger friends are going for a holiday this w/end.  Enjoy yourself peeps....

Me Te Aroha...With Love,
Anie ;)

Speedy Chocolate Muffins

Weather for Te Awamutu today,
Season :
Spring
Forecast :
Chance Of Rain
Temp : 22°C | 17°C
Current :
Cloudy
Temp : 20°C

Salam, Kia Ora....

Drove to the servo station with quarter of a tank gas in the car yesterday and was shocked to see the petrol prices!!! Unleaded 91 - $1.96 & Unleaded 95 - $2.03 :( yikeesss petrol prices have hit over $2. I pumped $40 worth of petrol and the fuel needle didn't even touch the 3/4 mark. All food prices have gone up, even GST has risen to 15% a few months back. Haiizzz....the only thing that hasn't gone up is hb's pay.

Anyway, this is the other type of muffins that I brought to Auntie Eton's house last Tuesday.  The name of the muffins really suits the last minute invitation...hahahaz. It's so easy to prepare and only requires 1 bowl, a fork and a spoon. I should also call this muffins, 1 bowl wonder muffins. Of course u gonna need a sift, measuring spoons and muffins mould. Otherwise, don't have lots to wash after baking.....I like :p

Source : Good To Know Recipes

Ingredients :

 - 250g self-raising flour - I used standard flour and added 2 tsp double action baking powder & 1/2 tsp salt and sift them together before adding to mixture.

- 25g cocoa powder

- 2tsp baking powder - I did not add this since I've already added to the flour.

- 175g caster sugar (or 125g caster sugar and 50g muscovado sugar) - I only added 125g caster sugar.

- 175ml milk

- 2 large eggs, beaten

- 100ml sunflower oil - I used melted butter

- 75g plain chocolate chunks - I used chocolate chips

- 1-2tsp vanilla extract

Method :

Preheat the oven to 170ºC (375ºF, gas mark 5).

Line a 12-hole deep muffin tray with paper muffin cases.

Sift together the flour, cocoa and baking powder; stir in the sugar. Add the remaining ingredients and mix lightly together.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cases. Bake for approximately 20 mins or until golden and springy to the touch. Cool for 10 mins; transfer to a wire rack and leave until cold. (I baked mine at 150ºC for 25 mins)

Note : I sprinkled some chocolate chips on the muffins before baking them :)

Me Te Aroha...With Love,

Anie ;)

Coffee Walnut Muffins

Weather for Te Awamutu today,
Season :
Spring
Forecast :

Chance Of Rain

Temp : 26C | 18C
Current :

Partly Cloudy With Extreme UV(11) Warning

Temp : 33°C

Salam, Kia Ora...

Oh me, oh my today the weather forecast stated 26 degrees C as its high today but right now the temperature has hit 33 degrees C.  Can't believe all this forecasters aye? hehehez.  Aiyayyay, its so freaking hot right now.  Even though I have the fan turned on, it feels like the fan is circulating hot air.

I managed to have my afternoon nap, maybe for an hour or so.  I could hear Jannah shouting, screaming and dancing copying the antics of the child presenter on telly.  She didn't bother me and I continued to sleep every time I got woken up by her ZZZzzzz....hehehez.  Finally, I woke up because the afternoon heat is making me uncomfortable to continue with my beauty sleep.  Thank you for letting mama sleep, Jannah buggy ;)

Anyway, enough of my complains, I baked 2 types of muffins yesterday.  Only made 1 batch of these coffee walnut muffins and got 7 pieces.  I didn't want to make too many of these as I wasn't sure if the kids were gonna like the coffee flavoured muffins.  The other type of muffin that I baked was chocolate chip muffins, I will share the recipe in my next entry......hehehez ;)

Source : Recipe adapted from Lydia Teh's My Kitchen Blog.  I made a few changes to the ingredients.  Thank u Lydia for sharing this recipe ;)

Ingredients (makes 6 regular muffins):

• 60ml fresh milk
• 2 tbsp hazelnut flavour instant coffee (I used normal instant coffee)
• 60g butter, soften
• 50g fine granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 150g cake flour, sift together with baking powder (I used standard flour)
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• Almond slices (I used walnut pieces)

Methods:

1. Heat up milk lightly and dissolve instant coffee in milk. Set aside and allow to cool.
2. Preheat oven at 180ºC.
3. Whisk butter until creamy, add in sugar and continue to whisk until light and fluffy.
4. Add in egg and whisk until well combine.
5. Fold in sifted flour in batches, alternate with coffee milk.
6. Transfer batter into muffin cases and sprinkle almond slices (walnut pieces) over the surfaces.
7. Turn oven down to 175ºC and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool on rack. (I baked mine at 160ºC for 20 mins)

Still haven't got a clue on what to cook for tonight's dinner.  Might just cook a simple fried rice dish as its way too hot to be slaving in front of the hot stove.

Me Te Aroha...With Love,
Anie ;)

Strawberry Cheesecake Semifreddo

Weather for Te Awamutu today,
Season :
Spring
Forecast :

Chance Of Rain

Temp : 26C | 18C
Current :

Partly Cloudy With Extreme UV(11) Warning

Temp : 23°C

Salam, Kia Ora...

I was gonna post this entry yesterday but in the midst of creating this entry, I received a phone call at abt 11am from Auntie Eton.  She had planned a makan aka feast session with some Malaysian friends who are going back to Malaysia for good.   It was hb's day off yesterday and the car was free so, I decided to join in the party.  I told her that I can't produce anything fancy since it was a last minute invitation....hehehez.  I baked some easy peasy muffins for the makan session which I will share the recipe in my next entry.

I thought I could continue with this entry after I came back but I was too tired to do so.  I packed my bags to leave Auntie Eton's place at 9pm but I had to help her sort out her computer and only left her place at quarter to 11pm.  Jannah was so tired that she slept in the car 1 minute after I put her on her car seat....hehehez.  After putting Jannah in her bed, I had to cook hb's packed lunch since I didn't cook yesterday :D.  Hb didn't come along and had made his own easy dinner....tomatoes & cheese on toasts so, no leftover for his packed lunch today. *sob* *sob* 

Finished my cooking and ironing hb's uniform at almost 2am last night.  Only fell asleep at 4am and woke up again at 5.30am and am still awake till now...time check : 9.15am.  I hope Jannah will let me have my nana's nap peacefully later.....hahahaz

Btw I made this Strawberry Cheesecake Semifreddo last Monday and it was absolutely yummy.  Luv the combination of cream cheese and vanilla custard...yummzz yummzz.  The only thing that I will improvise next time, is the strawberry sauce.  I might add some gelatin so that the sauce wont be too runny when its thawed out.......otherwise, everything was perfect ;)

It looks so perfect while in its frozen state.  The 1st photo shows the melting strawberry sauce after it was thawed out.

Source : taste.com.au

Ingredients (serves 8)

• 400g strawberries, hulled
• 150g caster sugar (I only added 100g)
• 100g digestive biscuits, crushed
• 50g unsalted butter, melted
• 500g mascarpone (I used Philadelphia Cream Cheese)
• 300ml fresh vanilla custard
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Thick cream, whipped, to serve

Method

1. Place 250g of the strawberries and 100g (I added 60g) of the sugar in a food processor and process until smooth. Set aside.
2. Combine biscuits and butter. Press into base of a 23cm spring-form pan. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to chill.
3. Place mascarpone, custard, vanilla and remaining sugar in a food processor. Process until smooth. Pour over the biscuit base. Drizzle with strawberry sauce, then use a skewer to swirl it through. Freeze for at least 2 hours. Transfer to fridge 30 minutes before serving.
4. Slice the cheesecake semifreddo and serve with cream, garnished with the remaining strawberries.

Enjoy ur day everyone.......

Me Te Aroha...With Love,
Anie ;)

Strawberry