Thursday, July 26, 2007

Sour Cream Prune Cake


A good combination of cream cheese and sour cream, I should say. The prunes gives a delicate sweet-sour flavour. Subtitute the prunes with other dried fruits of your favourite.

Sour Cream Prune Cake
(A recipe from Cakes by Periplus Step by Step)

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Make 1 20 cm baba cake

Ingredients:
60 gr unsalted butter
60 g cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tsps finely grated lemon rind
1/3 cup sour cream
½ cup chopped prunes
1 1/3 cup self-raising flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to moderate 180°C.
Brush a deep, 20 cm baba tin with melted butter or oil. Using electric beaters, beat butter, cheese, and sugar in a small mixing bowl until light and creamy.
Add the egg gradually, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add the rind and the sour cream; beat until just combined.
Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl; add prunes. Using a metal spoon, fold in sifted flour. Stir until mixture is almost smooth.
Pour mixture evenly into prepared tin; smooth surface. Bake 35 minuter or until skewer comes out clean when inserted in the centre of cake. Leave in tin for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool

Cook’s File:
Storage time: 3 days in a n airtight container in the refrigerator or up to 2 months in the freezer.

Hint: Do not overbeat cake mixture once the sour cream has been added. Overbeating with electric beaters may produce a heavy-textured cake.

Rea's Sponge Cake

I think I have a privilege to call this "Rea's Sponge Cake" since I've made a lot of trial by my own until I found the perfect sponge cake recipe like I want. Spongy, cotton soft, light textured and slightly fall when it cooled.

A recipe from Rea's Cake

Ingredients:
6 eggs (around @60 gr)
150 gr caster sugar
140 gr plain flour, sifted
1 ½ tbsp water
1 ½ tsp vanilli essence/ 1 tsp vanilli extract/1 small vanilla pod.
75 ml vegetable oil

How to:
Pre-heat the oven. Lightly greased Ø22 cm round cake tin with shortening and lined with baking parchment.
Combine eggs, sugar, water and vanilla in a big bowl and whisk with electric mixer until very pale and fluffy. The other parameter is double-sized mixture and leaving tracks.
Add flour. Whisk in a very low speed.
Stir in oil. Gently combine. (be careful for not over-mixing in this step)
Pour into the prepared tin. Tap tin several times on table to loose air bubbles.
Bake for 40 minutes or until inserted skewer comes out clean.
When it’s cooked, allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning it out. Remove & cool it completely.

Citrus Yoghurt Muffins

Another recipe from Connolly's book, 500 Cupcakes and Muffins. I really love this book!! The recipes are so easy to be practised. I often make this muffins for breakfast or having a last minute guest (",).

Citrus Yoghurt Muffins
(Recipe by Fergal Connolly)

200g (8 oz) plain flour
175g caster sugar (I only used 150 g)
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp grated orange zest
1 tbsp grated lime zest
1 tbsp baking powder
pinch of salt
225 ml (8 fl oz) fat free plain yoghurt (I used 250ml flavoured-yoghurt with real fruits)
115ml (4 fl oz) sunflower oil
1 lightly beaten egg

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Grease a 12-cups muffin tin.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, lemon zest, lime zest, baking powder and salt. I suggest to put the zests altogether in milk mixture instead of flour mixture. Because it won’t blended well with the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, beat the yoghurt, oil and egg until well blended. Add the flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Do not overmix. Don’t worry about the lump, it will be just fine when u bake it.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove tin from the oven and cool for 5 minuten. Then remove the muffins and serve warm.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Lemony SourCream Cake

Directly from meine Kleine Küche, this cake is moist with sweet tangy flavour.

Source: Rea’s Cake

Tools: 22 cm silicone-bundt pan or lined&greased well 22cm tulban cake tin

INGREDIENTS
200 g butter, softened*
180 g caster sugar
3 eggs
250 g sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
200 g cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
100 – 150 g raisins or sultana, coarsely chopped
Zest from 2 oranges and 1 lemon
3 tbsp orange juice or 1 tbsp lemon juice
4 full tbsp your favourite jam (plum, strawberry, blueberry, or marmalade, whatever jam)

DIRECTIONS
Pre-heat oven to 180 C.
Beat unsalted butter and sugar until light and fluffy in high speed. As sugar just dissolved, add egg one by one in a time.
Stir in sour cream and vanilla. Add orange and lemon zest. Beat on low speed until just combined.
Add shifted flour and baking powder and salt. Fold in.
Stir in sultana. Pour to bundt-mould.
Put your favourite jam deliberately, then marbling with a skewer.
Bake for 35 minutes until skewer comes out clean.

* If you are using unsalted butter, add ¼ tsp salt to the dry ingredients.

Light & Airy Cakes with Roses

C3SC....(hmmmph...what's???)




Another simple yet chiz-choc-licious recipe. Right down to the belly like my friends said.


Try to use a variaton cake mould instead of ordinary cupcakes tin then bake it Ala Au-Ban-Marie. It will give a "different" textures to the cupcakes ;)





Chocolate Cheese-Cake Swirl Cupcakes

Prep Times: 30 minutes
Start to Finish: 1 Hour 5 Minutes
Servings: 30 cupcakes

1/3 cup sugar
250 grams cream cheese, softened
2 small eggs
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 ¼ cups sugar
¼ unsweetened baking cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups water
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla

Heat oven to 350*F. Line 16 regular-size muffin cups with baking cups. In medium bowl, beat 1/3 cup sugar and the cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in eggs. Stir in chocolate chips; set aside.
In large bowl, beat all remaining ingredients on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl occasionally. Reserve 1 ½ batter.
Fill each muffin cup with about 1 rounded tablespoonful batter (1/3 full). Spoon 1 tablespoons cream cheese mixture onto batter in each cup. Top each with about ½ rounded tablespoon reserved batter.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean

Tip>>
DO-AHEAD
>These cupcakes with a cream cheese swirl are great for picnics. They can be made the day before, so you can have them ready to serve to kids of all ages!
>Based on my experiences, these cupcakes just go in a blink! :DD

Carrot Angel-Food Cupcakes

I found this recipe on one of my friends website, Mbak Irma-Germany. Been made this recipe several times and so far I have managed a little revision on ingredients and the directions. On my 1st attempt, I followed the directions precisely like it's said but the result was so poor hehehe :p. Then I revised it like on my way, the result therefore was good and so it does till now ;p. Anyway, if u wish to see the original version and want to try the original recipe from A to Z just give my friend a visit then ;)

Ingredients:
350ml egg whites (about 12 egg whites)
200g caster sugar (I reduced to 150g)
1tsp Cream of tartar
½ tsp baking powder
100ml half and half or evaporated milk or just milk
½ tsp table salt
½ tsp yellow food colouring (just omit this one)
100g all-purpose flour
20g corn flour
30g milk powder
100g carrot, finely shredded
50g cheddar cheese, shredded (add some more like me, 75g)

Topping:
1tsp cinnamon powder, mix with
1 tbsp icing sugar

Directions:

Sift the dry ingredients altogether in a large mixing bowl. Pour in milk, shredded carrot and cheese. Mix using wooden spoon until smooth.
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
In other mixing bowl, beat egg whites till foamy, add cream of tartar. Beat again till combine. Stir in sugar and salt gradually. Beat until egg whites mixture gets into peak forms.
Gently fold in egg whites mixture on carrot mixture so the air won’t loose too much. Fold until well combined.

Pour into prepared cupcakes paper. Bake for 20 minutes or golden brown.
Cooled in racks before sift the topping onto.

Makes 24 cupcakes

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Steamed Chocolate Brownies

This cake is moist and chocolicous, I dare to say. It's a real HIT for a while as a must-bring-home-cakes when you visit Bandung -The Flower City- in West Java. This recipe of course not the secret recipe of that famous steamed brownies of Bandung, but this one is even far better than the original one...Pretty easy to make really...

Steamed Chocolate Brownies
Recipe by Pak Sahak

Potion A
150g dark cooking chocolate
100g butter

Potion B
5 eggs
200g caster sugar
1 tbsp cake emulsifier (simply omit this)

Potion C
100g cake flour
20g corn flour
40g milk powder
40g chocolate powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
Chocolate rice/chocolate sprinkles (about 3 tablespoons)

Lined and greased Ø20 cm round cake tin

Directions:
* Preheat a steamer till boiled.
* Melt Potion A. Set aside. Cooled.
* Whisk Potion B with electric whisker till light and fluffy (+/- 7 minuten).
* Stir in melted Potion A. Fold in Potion C gently. Mix till combine.
* Pour half of the mixture into prepared tin. Steamed for 10 minutes.
* Sprinkle the chocolate rice over semi-cooked mixture. Pour in the rest of the chocolate mixture. Steamed till completely cooked (about 20 minuten).
* Remove from steamer. Turn it out and serve warm or cold with ice cream, a dollop of cream, or anything u like.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Choco Bana Brownies

Had a sumptuous amount of dark chocolate ganache in the fridge (left-over from -Rea’s Cake- chocolate birthday cake order), need something chocolate as comforting foods plus not very keen enough to meet my electric mixer :D… Searched a recipe that absolutely has nothing to do with electric mixer and I found it, luckily. Here I pass it over…

Choco Bana BROWNIES

Ingredients:
I*:
300 gr dark chocolate ganache
200 gr palm sugar
80 gr salted butter
II: 100 gr nuts/dried fruits (chasewnut, pecan, walnut,raisin, sultanas), coarsely chopped
3 large eggs
2 large Cavendish bananas, mashed with fork or food processor
III: 225 gr all-purpose flour
20 gr cocoa powder
1 tsp Baking Powder
a pinch of salt

Tools: mixing bowl, brownies pan, wooden spoon, oven.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Lined and greased (1) 30x10x4cm or (2)15x10x4cm brownies pan.
Melt ingredients I. Stir occasionally. Remove from stove. Set aside
Pour in Ingredients II. Stir well.
Fold in Ingredients III. Mixed until just combined.
Pour into the brownies pan
Bake for 35 minutes or until the inserted skewer come out clean.

* The original recipe for Ingredients I is using 180 gr Dark Cooking Chocolate, 250 gr
dark palm sugar, 180 gr margarine.

Light & Airy Cake

I made this cake twice (by the time this entry made ;p). 1st attempt was when my girl co-workers gave a long (yes, it’s a long one dear, from 1pm to 6.30pm) visit to my house then they said they wanted me to show them how to make a delicious cake. They pointed this recipe that I couldn’t be more agreed that the picture on Chocolate book looked so tempting. Skimmed all the ingredients that thankfully all were available in Meine Kleine Küchen, thus the chocolate cake regime began. :p

The result was ok though, the cake rise beautifully, the texture was spongy but not so “chocolaty” like the picture in the book shown, the chocolate flavor didn’t taste so rich than I realized that I completely skipped one process which was combining the hot water first with cocoa powder until pasta-like form then fold in to the rest of mixture! Instead, I just combined the ingredients altogether… 2nd attempt was better with richer chocolate flavor, I followed the instruction as well as been told on the recipe, ;p In the nutshell, for the 1st recipe attempt, just stick to the rules written there baby!! *LOL*

No further agogo, here is the recipe:

Light and Airy Cake
Recipe by Trish Deseine

Serves 8
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes

1 handheld electric mixer
2 shallow cake pans, 8 inches in diameter

1 cup unsalted butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugars
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup cocoa powder, combined with
¼ cup hot water
2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350°F

Grease and flour all the cakes pans

Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer to form a smooth dough. Transfer the mixture to the baking pans and bake for 25 minutes. The top of the cakes should be soft to the touch. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for a few minutes, then turn out to a wire rack.

Decorate with whipped cream, jam or butter cream.

I should say that this recipe is extremely easy to make yet the result is superb. Use a good quality of cocoa powder for a chocolicious cake. :)

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes


Still wondering, why I couldn't upload any pics to this blog so far? ( Heyyy..i finally did it!! Today, Wed, Aug 1, 2007. Completely glad :D) Never mind...back to my cupcakes story, I intended to bring this to my monthly family gathering but the cupcakes just ended right down to my belly and my cousins'... Simply to make, simply irresistible to take another one. Try it yourself...

(From 500 Cupcakes and Muffins by Fergal Connolly)

For the cupcakes:
225 g unsalted butter, softened
225 g caster sugar (I used only 180 g)
225 g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
10 crushed cream-filled chocolate cookies

For the icing:

Butter cream (recipe will be upload later)
10 chopped cream-filled chocolate cookies

Direction:
Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F/ gas mark 4).
Place 18 foil or baking cases in muffin tins ( I used 12 muffins-tin size).
Combine all the cupcakes ingredients except the cookies, in a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until smooth and pale, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in cookies

Spoon the batter into the cases. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove tins from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes and cool on a wire rack.

To make the icing:
Soften butter cream and stir in the chopped cookies. Spread the icing onto the cooled cupcakes.

Store without icing in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Verdict: Very easy to make and crushed cookies mix gives a light crispy crunch to the cupcakes… Yummyyy…

Matcha Roll Cake


Got this recipe from Bogasari 2007 Calendar that I was eventually given by a mutual friend of mine in one of Bali Baking and Cooking Store… I knew that I have to try this Green Tea Roll Cake for the first time I saw it….I love Matcha!!…well, who doesn’t??
Original recipe is using 100 g caster sugar but I thought it’s going a lil’ bit too sweet and “kills” the matcha flavour. So, I reduce it to 75 g only.

The result was great, more over, this is my first Roll Cake ever in my baking history ;D…
The sweetness was perfect and let the matcha flavour came out perfectly like I want.

Serve it with a cup of green tea to make a double sensation of MATCHA!!

Ingredients:
75 g all purpose flour
1 tsp good-quality matcha powder
75 g caster sugar
3 eggs
50 ml fresh milk

Filling:
Butter cream (recipe will be up load later)
50 g cheddar cheese, shredded or any of your favourite jam

Directions:
Grease and line 22x22cm tin. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Shift the flour and matcha powder.
Whisk eggs and sugar with electric whisk in mixing bowl till fluffy and pale. (+/- 5 minutes)
Add the dry ingredients. Fold in and do not beat it too much and too strong that the air would loosely out. (I used very low speed whisker)
Stir in milk.
Pour in to the tin. Bake for 25 minutes till it’s springy to touch.

Remove cake from the oven. Turn the cake out to sugared parchment paper then roll it up. Let it cool down for 5 to 10 minutes.
Ice and fill the cake with your own favourite filling.

Jam-Doughnut Muffins


(another Nigella's Recipes)

125ml milk (I used fat free milk)
85ml corn or other vegetable oil, plus more for greasing
1 large egg
½ tsp vanilla extract
200g self-raising flour (I used 200 g plain flour +1 tsp baking powder)
100g caster sugar
12 tsp strawberry jam (I used blueberry jam)
100g unsalted butter
150g caster sugar
1 incredibly well-greased or silicon 12-bun mini-muffin tin

Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5
With a fork, beat together the milk, oil, egg and vanilla extract. Stir this into the flour and caster sugar till just combined. Do not Overmix. Spoon into each muffin cups about a third full. Add a dollop of strawberry jam (I put the jam on a piping bag, it would do the work a lot easier), top with more muffin mix that the cases are just about full.
Put them in preheated oven and cook for about 20 minutes or until the tops feel springy and resistant and the muffins have puffed up into little toadstools.
Meanwhile, melt the butter slowly in a thick-bottomed pan, and lay the sugar out in a wide, shallow bowl. As soon as the muffins are ready, remove them from their moulds, dip them in the butter and roll them in the granulated sugar. Eat warm.

I just simply skipped the last paragraph told to do, to reduce the calorie intake and serve it with fat-free cold milk. The muffins were still great without the butter-sugar-mixture though.

Norwegian Cinnamon Buns


Something strucked me on Saturday night, it was about 10.30pm Bali-time (GMT +8hours), while I was reading one of my favourite books, Harry Potter –The Goblet of Fire- (for hmmm…the 5th times, I think so *winked*), it said something about foods and buns. Sounded so comforting then my nose caught a sweet intriguing smell from my cup-canister which made from cinnamon sticks. It reminds me a lot of, my warm-hearted Auntie –Tante De- who “introduced” me to cinnamon buns and rolls. God bless your soul up there Tante De. She used to buy a bulk quantity of cinnamon buns from The C’namons (I don’t think that I spell the right name of that shop...well, it’s been ages not to go to PS and buy some cinnamon buns there L) for about 2 or 3 dozens then sent it some to my house (she was my mum’s sister) and to my uncle house (her 5th brother). So kind and sweet of her, wasn’t it? It’s giving a warmth sense every time I remember that. I missing you Tante De! One kind of that lovely buns, my favourite one was the banana-chocolate-cinnamon bun… it’s so GREAT!!
I felt a longing for the cinn-buns suddenly, hurried went up-stairs into my lil’ library where I keep all of my books especially cooking books. My choice fell on one of Nigella Books, How to Be A Domestic Goddess –Baking and The Art of Comfort Cooking-, I have it for almost 2 months now and haven’t tried any singles recipes from it! My…my, anyhow, it was like an angel guided me to see page through page then my eyes suddenly dropped into one of the pictures there in my Nigella Book, page 323… The recipe is called Norwegian Cinnamon Buns (look below for the full recipe, will u?)
Started at 7am (the very next morning), measured ingredients, kneaded, and did sort of things that should be done according to the recipe instructions.
And finally, the whole process is completely finished around 9am. I also make some muffins called Jam-Doughnut Muffins (also from my Nigella Book,page 220) during the second-time-waiting-the-buns-rise. After 35 minutes baking-time, the smell of cinnamons was lingering into the whole part of the house. Needed 10 minutes longer than in recipe’s time suggested, though. When it’s reached, its golden brown colour, removed it onto rack, torn a piece, munched the buns…Really!! It was sooo good… The texture was so soft and buttery. I will put these buns as one of my comforting foods and make it again plus add some more cinnamons on it (for sure!! 1 ½ tsp is not enough hehehehe), some sliced banana and chocolate chips.
Here, I copied down the recipes from Nigella Book “How to Be A Domestic Goddess”

Norwegian Cinnamon Buns
(Nigella Lawson)

For the dough:
600 g flour
100 g sugar ( I used caster sugar that easily blend during the kneading process)
½ tsp salt
21 g easy blend yeast or 45 g fresh yeast ( I used 22 g or 2 sachets of instant yeast)
100 g butter
400 ml milk
2 eggs

For the filling:
150 g soft, unsalted butter
150 g sugar (find the coarse granules ones so it would give a beautiful buns-look, demerara is a good one)
1 ½ tsp cinnamon (put more if you are cinnamon-lovers like me, 1 tsp more I think will do)
1 egg, beaten, to glaze

Roasting tin approximately 33cm x 22cm or large brownie tin, lined with baking parchment bottom and sides

Preheat the oven to 230°C/ gas mark 8.
Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. Melt the butter and whisk it into milk and eggs, then stir it into the flour mixture. Mix to combine and then knead the dough either by hand or using the dough hook of a food mixer until its smooth and springy (take about 10 minutes and I also added 4 tbsp flour since I felt the dough is too sticky. Next time, I think I will use smaller eggs, weighed around 50g each. On this 1st trial, I used 60-65g eggs). Form into a ball, place in an oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave it to rise for about 25 minutes.
Take one-third of the dough and roll it or stretch it to fit your tin; this will form the bottom of each bun when it has cooked. Roll out the rest of the dough on a lightly floured surface, aiming to get a rectangle of roughly 50x25cm. Mix the filling ingredients in a small bowl and then spread the rectangle with the buttery cinnamon texture. Try to get even coverage on the whole of the dough. (I mixed the filling while was waiting the dough raise. Mix the sugar & cinnamon first before pour it to the soft butter so the cinnamons would nicely combine instead of clogged & lumpy).
Roll it up from the longest side until you have a giant sausage. Cut the roll into 2 cm slices which should make about 20 rounds. Sit in rounds in lines of top of the dough in the tin, swirly cut-side up. Don’t worry if they don’t fit snugly together as they will swell and become puffy when they prove. Brush them with egg and let them rise again for about 15 minutes to let them get duly puffy.
Put in the hot oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, by which time the buns will have risen and will be golden brown in colour. Don’t worry it they catch in places. Remove them from the tin and leave to cool slightly on a rack-it’s easy just to pick up the whole sheet of parchment and transfer them like that-before letting people tear them off, to eat warm.

Makes 20

I think this is the easiest buns recipe I’ve got so far…Not wasting to much energy in kneading and the dough turn out so soft when cooked. Testimonials from those who had been given these lovely buns:
1. WOW…it’s so Yummy ,
2. You must be joking that you made this by yourself, must bought this on a bakery somewhere (very nice comment huh?!),
3. So good but the cinnamon are not too strong (yup, I think so),
4.*chomp* *chomp* *chomp*…could you make this again for me next week?? *chomp* *chomp* tore another piece of the buns *chomp* *chomp*