Orange Cake

I was at a friend's home and she had baked an orange cake earlier that morning. Since I have not eaten an orange cake for so long, I gotta have a slice. OMG!! It was so so good... soft and moist.. After that day, I kept thinking about the orange cake. LoL!! So I asked my friend for the recipe. 

My first orange cake. It was easy and did not take too long (preparing). When it was baked, I was happy and cannot wait to take a bite. (I had the cake first before my dinner.. hehe) My cake turned out to be good, its soft and moist. Just two things, I think I did not use enough syrup and it was a little brown on the bottom (a little too long in the oven). I think it would better with a little bit more. Nevertheless, both of us enjoyed the orange cake very much. I'm sure I'll be baking this orange cake often next time.. (as I am writing this post, I have a plate with a slice of the orange cake here. hehe.) :)

Ingredients:

1 yellow cake mix

1 box instant vanilla pudding

4 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup orange juice

Orange Syrup:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup orange juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil and orange juice together. Pour in a well-greased bundt pan and bake for 35-40 mins.

For the glaze, melt butter in a small saucepan and add sugar and orange juice. Bring it to a boil, stirring constantly.

After the cake is baked, without removing the cake from the pan, poke the cake with a fork or wooden skewer without removing it from the pan. Pour the orange syrup slowly all over the cake. Allow to set for 15-20 mins. Then invert onto a plate. 

Chocolate Glaze I

The photo on the right is a chocolate cake. Do you think it is from the box or I had made it from scratch? .....What do you think? If you guess from scratch, well I'm sorry, wrong answer. It is from the box. The cake was soft, moist and delicious. My hubby enjoyed the cake too and he was wondering what else did I put in the cake. hmm.. I've added extra ingredients to make it yummier... chocolate chips and maraschino cherries. To finish it off, topped with chocolate glaze. Yum-Yum!!!

My recipe for today is the chocolate glaze. I found the recipe from Allrecipes.com. It is super quick, easy and fast. The chocolate glaze is delicious but it was not enough so I had to double the recipe for my cake. And even though it is cold today but I just can't help it.. gotta have a slice of the cake with my Blue Bell Ice-Cream (Cookies & Cream). :)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp corn syrup

In a double boiler, melt together butter, chocolate and syrup. Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate in the microwave and then blend in the other ingredients. Pour glaze while still warm over cake. 

Crispy Fried Chicken

Just wanna share with you a tasty crispy fried chicken recipe that both of us love. Yum-Yum!!

Ingredients: 

5-6 pieces chicken (mix of drumsticks, thighs or breasts)

100gm cornflour

1 packet (12gm) Seri-Aji All-purpose Deep Fried Seasoning mix

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp ginger powder

dash of white pepper

vegetable oil for frying

In a bowl, mix garlic powder, ginger powder and white pepper together. Then coat the chicken pieces with the mix and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Mix the all-purpose deep-fried seasoning mix with cornflour in a medium bowl. In a shallow dish or bowl, break the egg and whisk lightly. Set aside. 

When the chicken are ready to fry, dip each piece in the beaten egg then dredge in the flour mixture, coating completely. 

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high and fry chicken in skillet. Fry until one side is golden brown, then turn and brown other side until chicken is no longer pink inside and its juices run clear. 

Drain on paper towel and serve. 

Debdoozie's Blue Ribbon Chili

There's nothing better than a good bowl of chili on a cold fall day. A Home-made chili. I'm not taking about that hot red or green chili but this is a spicy stew. A dish that is enjoyed in many homes in America today and in many different ways.  

Chili used in other dishes :

• Chili dog  - a topping over a hot dog
• Chili Burger - burger topped with chili (usually without beans)
• Chili Cheese Fries - added to fries and cheese
• Chili Rice - chili served over white rice
• Chili Mac - addition of macaroni or some other pasta
• Frito pie - Frito corn chips with chili poured over the top.
• Chili stuffed baked potato - stuffed chili with cheddar cheese, butter and chopped onions or green onions

I found this delicious recipe in Allrecipes. As mentioned by Ms Deb, " This is the tastiest, easiest chili recipe you'll ever find.". She's right about that. :)

Ingredients: Serves 8

2 pounds ground beef

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic salt

2 1/2 cups tomato sauce

1 (8 oz.) jar salsa

4 tbsp chili seasoning mix

1 (15 ounce) can chili beans, drained (the recipe called for kidney beans, I don't like kidney beans so I used chili beans)

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the ground beef and the onion ans saute for 10 minutes, or until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain grease, if desired.

Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well, reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 1 hour. 

Serve warm with a toast or crackers.

Original recipe can be found here.

Vietnamese Deep Fried Spring Rolls ~ Cha Gio

When I came back from Singapore last month, I had made a pit stop to visit my girlfriends in Anaheim and Santa Monica, CA, before flying again to TN. While I was there, we went to an Asian store close to my girlfriend's home. I bought a few items (making sure not too many because I was not willing to pay for the access baggage.. hehe) and a package of Vietnamese deep fried spring roll wrapper was one of the them. 

Vietnamese Deep Fried Spring Rolls are wheat-free. Serve them as appetizers or as snacks. To eat, each person puts a spring roll on a lettuce leaf, adding some of the herbs. Roll them up and dipped in the sauce before eating. Delicious!

Ingredients:

7 1/2 oz very thin bean thread noodles (in small skeins, also known as cellophane or mung bean noodles)

2 oz dried wood ear mushrooms

1 medium shallot

2 garlic cloves

2 cups shredded carrots (4 to 5 carrots)

1 lb ground chicken

1/4 cup Asian fish sauce (preferably from Phu Quoc)

1/4 cup plus 1 tsp sugar

2 1/2 tsps black pepper

2 tsps salt

1 lb cooked crab meat, picked clean or coarsely chopped raw shrimp

25 pieces rice paper 

1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

About 6 cups vegetable oil

Prepare filling:

Put noodles in a large bowl and cover with hot water by several inches. Soak, pulling noodles apart and stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Drain noodles and cut into 2- to 3-inch pieces (you should have about 3 cups), then transfer to another large bowl.

Put mushrooms in a bowl and cover with hot water by several inches. Soak 15 minutes. Drain and rinse mushrooms thoroughly, then drain again. Trim off and discard any hard parts from mushrooms. Finely chop mushrooms. (You should have about 2 cups.) Add to noodles.

Pulse shallot and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped, then add to noodles along with carrots, chicken, fish sauce, sugar, pepper, and salt. Pulse shrimp in processor until coarsely ground. (Do not overprocess or it will become pasty.) Add shrimp to noodle mixture. Mix with your hands until well combined. Chill filling, covered with plastic wrap, until cold.

Assemble rolls:

Line 2 trays with wax paper.

Transfer one fourth of filling to a small bowl and keep remainder chilled, covered. Wet the rice paper in a bowl of water. Allow a few seconds for it to get pliable and then put in the filling. Do only one at a time. If you try to moisten them all at once, they will get mushy by the time you get to wrapping them. (lesson learnt!! My first few was mushy.. LoL!). Put about 2 tsp of the filling across the wider part of the wedge rice paper, or across each round rice paper, placing it about 3cm from the bottom edge. Roll the edge over the filling, then fold over the sides of the rice paper and roll up tightly. Place the seam side down on the wax paper. Do not stack the rolls.

Put the heat on medium-high so that the wrappers can puff up and become flaky, then they'll turn golden. By the time wrappers are crispy golden, the filling should be cooked. Fry rolls in batches of 5 or 6, keeping rolls apart during first minute of frying to prevent sticking, until golden brown and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes.

Drain on a brown paper or paper towel and drain the rolls upright 2 to 3 minutes before serving.

To eat, wrap hot or warm rolls in lettuce leaves and tuck in mint and cilantro leaves. Serve with dipping sauce.

## I made some changes from the recipe that I used. Read more from epicurious.

Croissant and chocolate bread pudding

• Bread and butter pudding is one of Britain's oldest traditional family desserts. This is one of our favorite dessert too because it is delicious and simple to make. Making bread pudding is also a good way to use up day-old bread. 
• 
  
• I've used croissants instead of white bread for yesterday's bread pudding. It is a wonderfully take on the classic. Croissants is also easy to get in many groceries store. Here is the recipe that I used to make my croissant and chocolate bread pudding. :)

• Ingredients: 

• Unsalted butter for the baking dish
• 6 large egg yolks
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 6 croissants, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 pound)
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into chunks, (I used mini chocolate chips)
• 
  
• Heat oven to 375° F. Butter an 8-inch square or other shallow 2-quart baking dish.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, salt, and nutmeg. Add the croissants and chocolate and mix to combine.
• Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and bake until set and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Pan-fried Lamb Loin Chops

Lamb loin chops are super easy and quick to cook. They may be small in size, but the flavor is larger than life. The bone certainly adds flavor in the cooking process.


Ingredients:

8 lamb loin chops

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tbsp fresh thyme - chopped (used dried thyme)

1 tbsp fresh basil - chopped (used dried basil)

2 tsp fresh rosemary - chopped (used dried basil)

2 cloves garlic, minced

zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Combine everything in a bowl. Dip lamb chop into mixture to coat evenly. Cover chop and refrigerate 30 minutes. Heat up cast iron on medium heat and put a little olive oil on the bottom. When pan is hot, lay lamb chop in the pan and let them sear for 4-5 minutes. Once the side of the lamb chops has been seared, flip over. Make sure most of the seared part is brownish. Put the lamb chops under the hot broiler for 5 mins. Remove the chops from the broiler and let them rest in the pan, covered, for 10 minutes.

Useful link:
How to cook meat.

Pineapple Tarts (Kuih Tat Nenas) - Eid Mubarak 1432 -

Wishing my friends and readers 

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri / Eid Mubarak 1432 

I'm sharing a recipe that is considered as "festive" cookies in Singapore. Be it be during Eid or Chinese New Year. These tarts are small bite-sized pastries filled or topped with pineapple jam in the middle. 

There are many shapes but I preferred in the typical shape of flat open tart with pineapple jam in the center. Besides the flat open shape, there are other two favorite shapes; rolls filled with jam that are open at the ends under a lattice of pastry and jam-filled spheres (using cloves as the decor).

Ingredients for Jam:

1 ripe pineapple - grated and drained

170g sugar

1 heaped tsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp egg color food coloring

2 cloves

1 cm piece cinnamon

Mix all above ingredients together in a pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until it turns a golden color and the consistency is thick like jam. Leave to cool, removing cinnamon and cloves. Pre-roll the pineapple jam into balls

Ingredients for Pastry:

250g plain flour - sifted

400g unsalted butter

1 egg yolk

1 level tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Beat together for 5 minutes the butter, egg yolk, vanilla essence and sugar, then fold the sifted flour and mix to form a soft dough.

To make TARTS:

Roll out pastry between sheets of plastic or wax paper to a thickness of about 3mm and cut into rounds using cutter. Arrange the tart shell neatly on the baking tray. Place the pre-rolled pineapple jam balls in the center of each tart shell. Bake in a pre-heated moderate oven 350 deg F or 176 deg C for about 20 minutes or until light brown. Cool well before storing in airtight container.

My simple "Malay mee goreng"

When my mum requested me to cook something for trip to the beach, I can only think of fried noodles. Back in the day, my mum and aunts would bring fried noodles or fried bee hoon whenever we go picnics by the beach. It is easy and fast to cook. So here is a simple "Malay mee goreng"... 

I do not have the exact measurement for the ingredients but I used the following items: 

Yellow egg noodles, slices of fishcake, shrimp, cubed tofu, beansprouts, slices of onions, minced garlic, egg, tomato ketchup, chilli sauce, light soy sauce, salt to taste

Firstly, I soaked the yellow noodles in hot water for a while then strained and put aside. I heat the oil in the wok. Saute onions and garlic. Then add the fishcake, prawns and tofu. Cook until the prawns are cooked. Break the egg in the center and stir. Then I add the ketchup, chilli sauce, light soy sauce. Add a little salt to taste. Lastly throw in the noodles and mixed well. 

~~ Foodography ~~

In Singapore, it is so easy to get not only the local food but international food. I rarely cook at my parent's house because either my mum or grandmother does the cooking or I'll go dining out. So I've been thinking.. perhaps its a good idea to share photos of the food that I enjoyed eating while my long vacation here in Singapore. :))

ICHIBAN BOSHI 

23 Serangoon Central, #01-04, NEX Mall, Singapore

  Colorful plates with delicious delectables on sushi conveyor belt.

Buffet

Chawanmushi and Gunkan sushi

Fried Tofu

Happy Blogoversary to Bites and Pieces.

Its the date.. I cant believe it has already been 3 years. 

Happy 3rd Blogoversary to Bites and Pieces. Yay!!! 

Have a good weekend yall! 

Sambal Cili Limau Kasturi (Key Lime Chilli Based Sauce)

Gosh!!! I've been neglecting my blog again. I am so sorry. It's not that I do not want to update as much as I used to but I have been so busy. So many things happened over the past few weeks... Right now, I am back in Singapore. Yay!!!! I am so happy because I get to see my family and friends in Singapore. There was a little misunderstanding on my travel but I managed to get it cleared up. A shout out to my girlfriends, Thank you for your help! :))

The weather was so hot and humid when I came back. I can stand heat but the humidity is the one I can't stand. Its terrible!  One of the reason why I am back in Singapore is because of my brother's wedding. I was happy to be here for his wedding but at the same time, I wish hubby was here with me. The wedding went well and I am so happy for the newly weds. This is the part I do not like.... so since I didn't get much rest and still had the jet-lag in me, I fell sick!! Yikes!!

Then I got a part time job. I will be in Singapore for a a while so it would be good for me to work When I started the job, the company was relocating so I had to help with the move. Its been 10 days now, after the move. Things are going well. I wish they do not moved to the new location because the previous location was super close to my mum's house...

So I end this post with a simple recipe that I learnt from my mum. This sambal cili limau kasturi (Key Lime Chilli Based Sauce) is a condiment for the dish that she cooked on that day. It was super easy. At first, I thought it was really too spicy but it was not... :))

Sambal Cili Limau Kasturi  (Key Lime Chilli Based Sauce) 

Ingredients:

fresh red chillies

garlic

key Lime Juice + zest

salt

Blend chillies and garlic in a blender until it becomes a paste. Then pour the paste in a bowl. Squeeze out the juice from the key limes. Add lime zest and salt to taste and. Mix well.

Beef & Mushroom Stew

Recipe for the Beef & Mushroom Stew.

Ingredients:
500gm cubed beef stew meat
3 cloves garlic - minced
2 red onions - sliced
2 star anise
5 cloves stems
1 cinnamon stick
3 tablespoons tomato sauce
3 tablespoons chili sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce or sweet soy sauce
10 pieces button mushrooms - sliced ​​into half (I used the morel mushroom)
Salt to taste
A little cooking oil for frying

Garnish:
2 stalks green onions - chopped
2 sprigs parsley - chopped

Method:

Heat some cooking oil in a wok or large saucepan. Saute garlic, onion, star anise, cloves and cinnamon. Once fragrant and golden, add meat, chilli sauce, tomato sauce, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Cook over medium heat until meat is tender. After the meat is tender, add mushrooms until just wilted. Add a little more water if you want a little gravy. Allow to simmer for a moment before you turn off the fire. Dish out and sprinkle with parsley and green onions. Ready to be eaten with hot rice.

Morel Mushrooms

Morel Mushrooms - These are wild mushrooms and typically arrives in the spring months here. I love to eat mushrooms. As for these mushrooms, I have not seen or eaten these mushroom before and I must say they are so good. I'm thankful to hubby's colleague who has been giving these mushrooms for free. It is so nice of him.. so in return, I made some Asian snacks for him for lunch.. 

When we went to our friend's house, he brought us to his big backyard.. I found three small ones, and the fourth one was found by our friend. I was very happy that day because it was my first time mushroom hunting and I found some. :)) 

The first time, I followed what hubby said, dust with some flour, salt and pepper, then pan-fried with some oil. After that, I tried something different... 

• Cut into strips, pan-fried and seasoned with salt and pepper and served it on top of fried egg.
• Same thing as above and mixed with potatoes.
• Cut into halves, and mixed in the beef stew.
• Make a batter using rice flour, salt, pepper and some water, dipped the mushrooms and deep-fried.

I forgot to take pictures on all but here are two pictures that I had...

Pineapple Raita

We had chicken briyani the other night and it was so spicy. If the food is so spicy for me, then it would be way too spicy for hubby.  So before the dish is served, I decided to make some simple raita at the eleventh hour. :)) Well, raita is perfect and refreshing Indian condiment for any hot and spicy dishes. There are different types but I chose pineapple. Fresh pineapple taste terrific but I had some canned ones in hand. So here is my pineapple raita.. :))

Pineapple Raita

Ingredients:

1 cup pineapple chunks

2 cups plain yogurt

1-2 tsp sugar (or you can use the 1 tsp of the pineapple syrup)

1 tsp cumin powder

chopped coriander leaves or mint leaves (optional)

a dash of salt

black pepper to taste

In bowl, beat the yogurt till smooth. Add sugar and dash of salt. Stir well. Add the pineapple chunks, black pepper to taste and chopped coriander leaves. Transfer mixture into a serving dish and chill before serving.

Garlic Shrimp with Pasta

The days are slightly warmer now. I could hear the birds chirping away in the morning. Many flowering plants are starting to bloom. But one thing I do not like about springtime is the unstable weather. Its that time of the year again, tornado season. :( 

Anyway yesterday, as I flipped through the latest issue of the Woman's Day magazine, I saw this recipe. It was quick, easy and tasted so good. I love the lemony taste. Next time, I'm gonna use the angel pasta. :)

Garlic Shrimp with Pasta (Garlic Shrimp with Angel Hair)

Ingredients:

12 oz angel hair pasta (used spaghetti)

2 1/2 Tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 lb peeled, deveined large shrimp, thawed if frozen (cut into smaller pieces)

1 Tbsp grated lemon zest

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

Kosher salt

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Directions:

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

Meanwhile, heat 2 Tbsp of the butter and the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add shrimp, lemon zest, crushed red pepper, and 1/2 tsp salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes; stir in the lemon juice

Toss the pasta with the parsley, remaining 1/2 Tbsp butter and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water (adding more if the pasta seems dry). Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

Source: womansday.com

Fried Macaroni

The weather is quite upsetting these days. Cloudy days, rain with thunderstorm is no fun at all... I hope the weather gets better soon.. Anyway, it's been a while since I cooked fried macaroni. A friend on mine who is located in Korea shared this recipe with me. The caramel sauce or sweet sauce will add texture to the food but you can use sugar in replacement. Be sure to turn on your kitchen range hood/ventilation fan, open up your windows and put those candles or scented oil to work because while frying the paste, your place is gonna smell for a while.. hehe.. Although the smell is strong, but trust me the fried macaroni will turn out great!! :))

Ingredients:

500g macaroni - boiled until al-dente, drained
250g chicken meat - cut in small cubes

mixed vegetables (your choice of vegetables)

slices of mushrooms

oil to fry

To grind until become a paste:

4 cloves garlic

1 onion

3-4 tbsp blended dried chilli (I used 2 tsp of chilli powder)

2 tbsp dried shrimps, soaked with water until soft, drained

Seasonings:

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp heavy salt-soy sauce

2-3 tbsp sweet sauce or caramel sauce

1-2 tbsp sweet soy sauce

ground white pepper

1 tsp sesame seed oil

salt to taste

Garnish:

slices of omelette

fried shallots

chopped green onions

chopped cilantro

Method:

Heat some oil in the wok. Fry the grinded paste until totally cooked. Add chicken meat, vegetables and mushrooms. Cook until the chicken is cooked and vegetables is soften. Then add the seasonings. Stir for about 1-2 minutes then add the macaroni. Add salt to taste (if required). Stir well and remove from heat. Serve hot with slices omelette, chopped green onions and chopped cilantro for garnishing.

Thank you Mrs. D.B. for the recipe. :))

Oven-baked potato wedges

Oven-baked potato wedges.. I like to flavor them any way I want. This is a simple and no mess recipe. Feel free to spice them up.. :))

I used 6 russet potatoes (or potato type of your choice). Wash and pat dry. Place the whole potatoes (do not poke) into microwave-safe covered dish. Microwave on HIGH for 3 to 4 minutes. Let them cool before you cut them. Then cut each potato lengthwise into 8 even wedges. Coat wedges with 5-6 tablespoon of olive oil.

For the seasonings, I have chosen; 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon dry basil, 1 teaspoon dry thyme, 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder. Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Mix with 1 teaspoon of cornstarch. You can use fresh herbs if you like. I do not have fresh ones so the dry ones works. Then coat the wedges with the seasonings.

Arrange the potatoes and garlic in a single layer on a baking sheet. Do not let the fries touch while on the baking sheet, let some space between them, otherwise they will steam and become soggy.

Bake for 10 minutes in a preheat oven at 400 degrees F until the potatoes are crisp, rotate and cook an additional 10 minutes until dark golden brown on all sides.

Transfer to a plate and serve with mayo or any dipping of your choice. :))

Pizza time!!!

Usually, we would order pizza to be delivered. But yesterday when hubby said let's have pizza for dinner, I agreed. I also suggested to make our own and be creative with the toppings. I have the ingredients and toppings, so why not give it a go, right...
As I was gathering the ingredients, I thought to myself, it would not be fun to make pizza by yourself so I asked hubby if he wants to join me. He said "yea, sure". We had fun and hubby did mentioned that it was his first time to make his own pizza. He did a great job. :))
This dough recipe is very simple and after baking our pizza turned out very nice. 

Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

1 (.25 oz) packet active dry yeast

1 cup warm water (105 - 110 degrees F)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 1/4 cups bread flour plus extra for dusting
1 tsp salt
2 tsps white sugar

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let it stand until creamy, for 10 minutes. Stir the olive oil, 2 cups of bread flour, salt, white sugar. Mix in the remaining flour, little by little, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with damp cloth and put in a warm place to rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, pound the dough down with your fist or palm of your hand. Meanwhile preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (After I pound it down, I divided the dough into smaller pieces and let it rest for 5 minutes before flatten them with my fingers). Form dough into a round and roll out into a pizza crust shape. Cover with your favorite sauce and toppings and bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Ready to go in the oven for baking...

After baking, ready to eat. Yum-yum!!!!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

The last two days, I was a little busy trying to revamp my blog.. Now, I'm very happy with the new design but still have a few things I need to finish up.  Well, what do you think??? hehe.. :)

When I visited other bloggers' websites, I was wondering how they do this and that in their blog. For hours, I was searching for Help. I saw the answers but I have to edit in the html editor. To tell you the truth, I am clueless about designing web page using html editor. It's just too confusing. However, I decided to give it a try. I followed as instructed, but in the end, it was all wrong.. It was a little frustrating but at the same time I think it was funny. I thought I could do it.. Not!!! ha..ha.. After all that, I realized I can do without editing from the html editor. *wink* 

Anyway, here is what I baked for hubby on Valentine's Day. Red Velvet cupcakes. Bright red with chocolate flavor, topped with cream cheese frosting and sprinkles. They taste even better the next day. 

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Makes 12 Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups sifted cake flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp regular or Dutch-proceed cocoa powder

1/4 unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cups granulated white sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tbsp liquid red food coloring

1/2 tsp white distilled vinegar

1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 12 muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt and cocoa powder.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (abt 1-2 minutes). Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy (abt 2-3 minutes). Add the egg and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add vanilla extract and beat until combined.

In a measuring cup, whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in 3 additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter.

Working quickly, divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 18-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan. Let cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/3 cup cold heavy whipping cream

In a bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth. Using the whisk attachment, gradually add the heavy cream and whop until the frosting is thick enough to pipe. Add more sugar or cream as needed to get the right consistency.

Spread the frosting with a knife or offset spatula or use a large 1M Wilton open star decorating tip to pipe the frosting.

Notes:

If you are unable to get buttermilk, you can make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of white distilled vinegar, cider vinegar, or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk. Let this mixture stand 5 to 10 minutes before using.

Source: Joy of Baking

Red velvet cupcakes and card (red) for hubby.

Box of chocolate, lovely card and rose for yours truly. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Hubby likes cookies and he likes peanut butter (I like them too. hehe..).. Put two into one... tah..dah... Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies... Hubby loves them and he said these cookies are great. I saw this recipe last Christmas but I was not able to make them. 

I'm glad that I finally made them. I was a little disappointed because my cookies cracked when I pressed the chocolate PB cup into the cookies. :( But no matter, overall,  they definitely taste good. This is a great recipe and I will make these again and again... :))

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup white granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 tbsp milk

40 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped (freeze or put in the fridge before use)

Preheat oven at 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter, peanut butter, white sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla essence and milk. Add flour mixture; mix well. Shape into 40 balls and place each into an ungreased mini muffin pan.

Bake for about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press each miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups into each ball. Decorate quickly if desire. Cool carefully before removing from the pan.

Source: Allrecipes

Latest Updates: I was invited to this sweet treat linky party.. It's awesome and the pictures simply making you drooling for the sweet treats...  Must check this out Sweet As Sugar Cookie .
Thanks Lisa. :))

Steamed Coconut Blossom

A while back, I came across this Steamed Coconut Blossoms from Bisous À Toi and even asked my cousin to send me a tub of ovalette from Singapore (which its very hard to get in US). I did made my first steamed coconut blossoms at my friend's place while visiting her but I was unable to take much pictures. So yesterday, I tried to make them again. 

I had a packet of the frozen coconut flakes in the freezer so I decided to use that for the filling. But I think I should have bought a whole coconut and shred the coconut meat, much more finer. If you are making Steamed Coconut Blossoms, I would suggest that you make the filling first and let it cool down first before you start with the batter.

When hubby came home from work, he thought it was a cupcake so he grab one and with the look on the face, I can tell, he did not really enjoy these steamed coconut blossom like I do. :(

Ingredients:

3 nos. cold eggs

250 gm sugar

10 ozs (about 280 to 300 gm.) Softasilk flour or any superfine flour (Hong Kong flour) (I used cake flour)

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp ovalette

130 gm (5 ozs.) coconut cream (I used coconut milk)

30 gm pandan juice (blend about 6 pandan leaves) (I did not use)

1 tsp pandan paste (mixed with coconut milk)

Special equipment: 3-tiered steamer

Boil water in the 3-tier streamer.
Beat all the ingredients together until thick and fluffy.

Scoop 1 tbsp of batter into madeleine mould (lined with paper cup), top up with 1 tbsp of coconut filling and then another 1 tbsp of batter.

Steam over high heat for 15 mins.

Coconut fillings:

250 gm grated coconut

30 gm castor sugar

100 gm gula melaka

60 gm water

1 tsp cornflour

2 pcs pandan leaves - cut into small pieces

Cook sugar, gula melaka and water in a wok till sugar melts.

Add in grated coconut and pandan leaves and fry till dry.

Sprinkle cornflour on top and stir till well mixed.

Cool before using.

Inspiration from: Bisous À Toi 

Source: Aunty Yochana