Pandan Chiffon Cake

I cooked my man's favourite green bean soup with banana and drizzled with coconut milk on Saturday.

So there's lots of coconut milk left...I decided to make pandan chiffon cake on Sunday!
This is my 2nd time using this recipe,
I did not have a proper chiffon cake pan back then...

& normally, I will not have a browned chiffon cake,

they always turned out to be whitish in colour instead.

I asked my aunt, who is a fabulous baker why is this happening.

So she gave me a tip..

to place the pan right at the bottom of the oven,

do not put any trays in the oven.

So i followed her advice...

~and here's my Pandan Chiffon Cake~

I can see Brownnnnnn....

but I'm quite bad at unmoulding, so the crumbs kind of fell off at some parts.

I'm happy that it's nicely shaped, because I didn't add any cream of tartar..

I will normally omit it as I consider it as a "chemical.

I want good health for everyone!

This is a natural green cake...

no artificial flavouring or colour..

it's made by 100% Pandan Juice..!

 Although there's some holes in the cake,
It's still soft and moist..plus, this cake gave me a sizzling sound which chiffon bakers want!
There's a hint of coconut milk and pandan flavour in every bite..
My family ate and said it's very good!
I'm so glad  =)

(signing off with me munching on a slice of pandan cake..sense of satisfaction!)

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Pandan Chiffon Cake

(A)
4 Egg Yolks
30g Fine Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
40g Corn Oil 

140g Coconut Milk + Pandan Juice
*Take 130g~140g of coconut milk and blend 8~10 pieces of pandan leaves 
and sieve to get the above

(B)
120g Cake flour
1/2 tbsp Baking powder

*Sift 2x

(C)
5 Egg Whites
50g Castor Sugar
1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar (I omitted this)

1) In a bowl, using hand whisk, whisk yolks and sugar till sugar dissolves.

2) Add oil and salt, whisk and add coconut milk and pandan juice. Stir well.

3) Fold in sifted flour and mix well.

4) In another bowl, using an electric mixer, beat till the whites are frothy. Add in sugar gradually and beat till soft peaks.

5) Add in Cream of Tartar and beat till stiff peaks.

6) Fold in 1/3 of the whites into the yolk mixture using a rubber spatula till incorporated.

7) Pour the mixture to the remaining egg whites and fold in gently till incorporated.

8) Pour the batter into a 21cm chiffon tube pan. Bang the pan on the table to get rid of bubbles.

9) Oil a piece of aluminium foil and cover the pan loosely. Bake at 170 deg.C for 10mins. (I did not cover with aluminium foil.)

10) Turn down the temperature to 160 deg.C and bake for 20mins.

11) Reduce the temperature to 150 deg.C and bake for 10mins. Insert a skewer to check if the cake is done. Remove the foil and bake for another 5 to 10mins to brown the surface.

12) Remove from the oven and invert the pan. Run a sharp knife along the edges to remove the cake from pan when it's completely cooled.

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 Recipe Source from : All that matters

No Butter Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I felt like baking some chocolaty stuffs again, I'm kind of hooked on to it!

So this is an impromptu before I head off to work~~

I'm quite hardworking right? =p

As time was running out, 

I had no time to soften the butter which most of the recipes require...

so I searched for a no butter recipe..vegetable oil was used instead..

moreover, it's a simple recipe..no hesitation in baking them!

here's my cookies!

Don't these cookies look decently yummy??

Although I've cut down on the amount of chocolate chips..the cookies were still bursting with chips,

Noticed that the sugar used in this recipe is a lot lesser than other recipes too~!

When they were completely cooled..I gave one to my man and ate one myself immediately..

it's crispy at the outside and chewy inside! 

I must admit that it lacked the buttery aroma and taste, 

but I think it's really good enough for such a "not so sinful" kind of cookie!

Although my man does not like chocolate so much, he said they were good!

A total of 2 dozens! A mini mountain~

Go on and try this! It's definitely a reliable recipe and great for beginners too!

Before May ends, I would like to submit my last post to Doris from Tested & Tasted

for Aspiring Bakers #7 - Chocolate Delight (May 2011)

This is my 4th submission. HAHA!!
 

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No Butter Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Makes 2 Dozens)

225g All Purpose Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

55g Garnulated Sugar

85g Light Brown Sugar

120g Vegetable Oil

1 Large Egg

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

1 1/2 cups Chocolate Chips (I used Hershey's)

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees

2. Stir together flour, soda and salt. Set aside.

3. Whisk together both types of sugar, oil, egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture to oil mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips

4. Using a tablespoon measure, scoop up dough and shape into tight rounds of about ¾ to 1 inch. Space them about 2 inches apart on two ungreased cookie sheets. The mounds should be bursting with chips. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes on cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. Store in airtight containers.

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Recipe Source from : Chewy Waffles

Spiced Carrot Cake (Almost 40% Wholemeal)

I actually woke up at 6.30am to bake this cake, because I need to leave home at 10.30am...

shredding carrots in an early morning is quite a weird experience for me..

my man said I'm crazy to wake up so early and just to bake a cake!?!?!

By 7.30am, the aroma of cinnamon filled my kitchen...

what a wonderful morning!

Another really simple yet flavourful cake...

Just require dry and wet ingredients, then mix and bake! =)

I substituted all purpose flour with wholemeal flour again..

but the cake was still soft and spongy!

This cake is extremely good!

It's very soft for a cake which doesn't require beating of eggs...

My Grandma and Aunt came over to my place, I served them one slice each.

They said it's very yummy...My Aunt asked for a 2nd serving!

She's actually a baker and really good in it!

So..I think this cake must have some standard which made her praise it..

Plus when I'm typing this post, my man was eating this and kept saying really good really good!

So here's another recipe for you to try out! 

I've altered some ingredients and amounts, 

so If you would like to use the original recipe,

scroll to the end of this post and click on the link! =)

Happy Baking!!! =D

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Spiced Carrot Cake

60ml Vegetable Oil

80g All Purpose Flour

30g Wholemeal Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Ground Cardamom or cinnamon (I used cinnamon)

1/4 tsp salt

2 Large Eggs

100g Granulated Sugar

60g Light Brown Sugar

160g Low Fat Yogurt

1 Cup finely Shredded Carrot (2 medium)

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.Brush an 8-inch round cake pan with oil. Place a round of parchment paper in the bottom; brush with oil, and dust with flour, tapping out excess. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cardamom or cinnamon, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, whisk eggs, sugars, yogurt, and oil until smooth. Gently mix egg mixture into dry ingredients until moistened; mix in carrots. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

3.Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes (if browning too quickly, tent cake with aluminum foil). Cool in pan for15 minutes. Turn out of pan, remove paper, and cool completely on a rack, right side up.

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Recipe source from : Martha Steward's Recipe

What to do with leftover chocolate ganache?

Make them into Chocolate Truffles!

They are extremely yummy with extra cocoa powder coating!

I've never eaten so much chocolate since years ago~
chocolates for 4 consecutive days!
They are actually irresistable...~

I kept mine in the freezer, so it's always freezing cold and refreshing!  =)

This will be my 3rd time to submit my chocolaty stuffs to Doris from Tested & Tasted

for May 2011's Aspiring Bakers #7 - Chocolate Delight.

HAHA!

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Dark Chocolate Truffles

100g Dark Chocolate, chopped (At least 70% Cacao)
120g Heavy Cream 

1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter 

1 1/2 Tbsp Brandy 

Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1. Bring heavy cream to a boil, remove from heat and add in chopped chocolate and butter. 

2. Stir till chocolate is melted and mix brandy in. 

3. Let cool completely and refrigerate till set.

4. When it's set, use teaspoon to scoop some chocolate out and mould into balls.

5. Dip them into unsweetened cocoa powder and refrigerate again before serving.

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Mini Chocolate Gateau

Today is another holiday for me, and for many others too...

tomorrow will be back to normal again..

time flies and 3/4 of the day is gone~

Supposed to go to my in law's house but in the end it was canceled..

so I spent my day cooking and baking plus sitting in front of my lappie, chatting and surfing.

that's my usual routine =)

How did you spend your holiday?

The other day, I specially bought some 72% cacao dark chocolate to bake some chocolaty stuffs!

I wanna submit my chocolaty bake to DG from Tested & Tasted

for May 2011's Aspiring Bakers #7 - Chocolate Delight again...

This is a permanent resident in my home =)

Piglet with a "sorry" look...

it was a little gift from my man a couple of years ago.

Today, I wore a scarf for Piglet...

She's always sitting on my oven's handle...

and whenever my niece is here, she will play with Piglet...

but not for long! HAHA!

Enough said....
here comes the chocolate gateau...

I halved the recipe and made into muffin sized cakes.

This will half the calories too! 

I'm bad at making it look pretty...

but the appearance of the chocolate gateau did not affect the taste!

I felt absolutely satisfied after eating one chilled gateau...

so generously covered with ganache..

It's so rich and the sweetness is just right!

What more can I ask for on such a relaxing afternoon? Hehe..

Quick! Buy some chocolates today! =)

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Chocolate Gateau

150g Dark Chocolate, broken up
75g Golden Caster Sugar (I used white sugar)
150g Unsalted Butter, diced
1 Tbsp Honey
4 Large Eggs, Separated
200g Grounded Almonds
75ml Milk (I used low fat fresh milk)

Chocolate Ganache:
100g Dark Chocolate, chopped
120g Heavy Cream (I used canned Nestle brand)
1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter (Own addition)
1 1/2 Tbsp Brandy (Own addition)

1. Line the base of a 20cm cake pan (with removable base) with parchment paper, grease the sides with butter and set aside.

2. Separate egg yolks from whites when the eggs are still cold. Set aside to bring to room temperature.

3. Place chocolate, sugar, butter, honey in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir frequently till the ingredients melted. Let cool.

4. Transfer to a large bowl. With a manual whisk beat in egg yolks and ground almonds, then stir in the milk. (Just a few stir should get everything incorporated. The mixture will be rather thick at this stage.)

5. In a clean, dry, grease free mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, whisk egg whites until stiff. With a spatula, Fold In the beaten egg whites in 3 separate additions, into the cake mixture. (Ensure all the whites are fully incorporate into the cake mixture after every addition.)

6. Pour batter into prepared cake pan (the final batter will be less thick). Give the pan several sharp taps on a work top to bring up any air bubbles that may be trapped in the batter.

7. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 170 degC for 35-40mins, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

8. Remove from oven, let cool in the pan for about 1omins. Run a thin-bladed knife along the sides of the pan, unmold and cool right-side up.

9. To make chocolate ganache: bring the heavy cream to a boil, remove from heat and add in chopped chocolate and butter. Stir till chocolate is melted and mix brandy in. Let cool for a few mins and spread over the cake. (You can add some milk if the ganache is too thick.)

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Recipe Source from : Happy Home Baking

Strawberry Lemon Muffins

These few days were so warm and I've been sweating non stop! 

Although it rained today, it's still humid and my sweat still kept dripping. 

I hope the weather will be back to normal soon! 

In this hot weather, 

I wanted to make some strawberry ice cream,

but I don't have whipping cream with me,

so switched to make these muffins...

Don't be deceived by the look of these brown muffins...

They are healthier but tasty at the same time!

Strawberry bites in every mouth you eat.

I made some alterations to the recipe,

changed milk to almond milk, 

added vanilla extract, and reduced the sugar.

The muffins are moist and very appetising!

Sour and sweet! 
Some reviewers in the website mentioned that these muffins are dense,
they suggest bakers to cut down on wholemeal flour and up the all purpose flour.
I did not, and feel that it's still soft~

I made one for Piano (My chihuahua) without sugar.

She loved it so much and asked for more, but too bad, that's the only one for her! =p

As for my man, he downed 3 after dinner! 

So I think the recipe is worth a try! Simple and yummy!

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Strawberry Lemon Muffins

60ml Vegetable Oil
120ml Milk (I used Almond Milk)
1 Egg
1 Lemon, Zester and Juiced
1 tsp Vanilla Extract/Essence (Own Addition)
125g All Purpose Flour
90g Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
100g White Sugar
55g Brown Sugar(I reduced to 15g)
300g Coarsely Chopped Fresh Strawberries

1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees. Line muffin pan with paper liners, or just lightly grease the pan.

2. In a bowl. lightly beat together oil, milk, egg, vanilla extract/essence and lemon juice.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the lemon zest, all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, salt, baking powder, white sugar and brown sugar. Mix strawberries into the flour mixture.

4. Stir in oil mixture just until moist. Fill muffin cups till 3/4 full with the batter.

5. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool 10 minutes before removing from the muffin tin.

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Recipe Source from : All Recipes

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Drizzles

Sorry for my missing! 

I'm having holiday mood and dined out most of the time.

Today is Monday, will be the end of holiday for my man and me...

So with this holiday mood, I wanted to bake something fast and easy!

My choice was....

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Drizzles!

Look at the rabbit..

Her motto is chocolates today, carrots tomorrow!

This is what I've been thinking for the past 2 weeks...

that I will continue my diet plan after this holiday! HAHA!

I know it's an excuse..but I will make sure that the diet resumes on Tuesday!

The chocolate drizzles added some colour to the plain cookies..

which made them look more exciting!

Who doesn't love chocolate?  =)

These cookies are pretty much melt in the mouth...

although the blogger here said it's crispy! HAHA!

Maybe I added too much egg...

I've put these into the fridge, 

let the chocolate set and they will be eaten by us! =p

This recipe is for you..if you are in a rush but want to bake something so much,

this will be the best choice!

I will be submitting this post to May 2011's Aspiring Bakers #7 - Chocolate Delight,

this time round, it will be hosted by DG from Tested & Tasted

Thanks to the bloggers for hosting this every month without fail !

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Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Drizzles

(Makes 10 Medium Sized Cookies)

1/2 Cup Chunky Peanut Butter (Sweetened)

2 Tbsp Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

2 Tbsp Lightly Beaten Egg

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

A Handful of Almond Nibs

A Handful of Bittersweet Chocolate Chips/Chocolate Chunks

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

2. Grease baking pan lightly with canola oil. 

3. In a mixing bowl, add peanut butter and sugar.

4. Blend for a few minutes till well combined. (I used a spoon)

5. Add egg, baking powder and vanilla extract and mix well.

6. Form dough into small balls and place on baking pan.

7. Flatten lightly with a spoon/fork.

8. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until nicely browned.

9. Leave cookies on pan to cool completely.

10. Meanwhile, melt chocolate in microwave safe bowl in a microwave for 30 seconds.

Check to see whether chocolate has melted, if not microwave for another 30 seconds.

11. Mix the chocolate with a spoon and drizzle over the cooled cookies.

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