My Favourite Moist Chocolate Cake (No-bake)

Moist Chocolate Cake topped with dark chocolate fudge
Rich and luscious, moist yet fluffy; these are the words to describe my favourite chocolate cake. Not only mine, but my family's too. Best of all, the recipe is really simple and easy. It requires no baking, but is steamed instead. Therefore, it is also suitable for those who do not have an oven. And if you do not have a mixer, no worries. Just boil and stir. Too good to be true? Try it yourself and you shall see...

Recipe for Steamed Moist Chocolate Cake
A
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup good quality cocoa powder
1 cup unsalted butter (250g)
¾ tsp instant coffee powder
B
3 large eggs (lightly beaten)
½ cup condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract (vanilla essence will do)
C
1 ¼ cup plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

Mix A together and cook over low fire until sugar is completely melted. Stir constantly to prevent burned bottom. Set aside to cool.
Mix A and B together until well-blended.
Sift C together and add into the mixed liquid mixture. Mix well until there are no lumps of flour to be seen.
Pour into a greased 8" (and lined) round pan and steam over high heat for 45 minutes to an hour. Check for doneness by inserting a skewer into center of cake.
Cool in pan for 5 mins. Remove from pan carefully and let cool completely on rack.
Serve plain or with chocolate fudge. Cake is also suitable for frosting.
*Recipe courtesy of my SIL.

Kitchen Experiments Update: Part 1 (Cooking)

This blog was initially started to keep track of my baking/cooking experiments, a hobby that I picked up about 3 yeas ago. In those days, I was baking non-stop almost every other day if not everday, until the intervention of my mother who told me that she couldn't sleep at night because the smell of baking that permeated the air and seeped into her bedroom was distracting her from falling asleep (on weekdays, I could only bake after 9pm). Nowadays, my baking/cooking posts had become almost none-existent. But anyway, here are 2 fairly recent cooking experiments (fairly in a sense that it occurred this year, not last).

I am not a fan of noodles in general, but I do like cold noodle dishes quite a lot, the Japanese cold soba or cha soba included. This noodle dish always seems to me as being pretty simple so I thought to myself why not recreate it at home. So here is my first try (pictured above and recipe below) and I am proud to say that it was a success. Don't worry about cooking too much. Noodles and broth can be kept in the fridge for a few days and can be conveniently consumed straight from the fridge. I usually pack them for lunch at work.


Easy Japanese Cold Soba Recipe (based on recipe found here)
200g soba
Optional: sesame oil and toasted black sesame seeds
Method:
Cook soba in boiling water for about 4 mins or until al-dente. Drain and immediately put the noodles under cold running water (or plunge them into ice cold water). Drain (give it a slight toss in the colander) and chill them in the fridge.
Optional: For a smoother taste, you can toss with a few drops of sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds.
Dipping Sauce/Broth
° Some dried kelps (look like large dried tea leaves in dry form and green algae-like/gelatinous sheets when soaked in water)
° 2 pcs dried Chinese mushroom (rinsed with water to remove dirt)
° 2 small pcs of ginger (sliced thinly to about about 1 inch in length)
° 375ml water
° 1T sugar or more (according to taste)
° 2T (30ml) light Japanese soy sauce
° 1T (15ml) Chinese rice wine or use 2T mirin if this is available
Boil water with the dried kelps, mushroom and ginger. Lower fire and add in sugar, soy sauce and rice wine. Let it simmer for a minute. If not sweet enough at this stage, add a little bit more sugar. Strain the liquid into a bowl and let it chill in the fridge. You can slice the leftover mushroom and dried kelps into thin slices to be used as condiments later.

Garnishing (to serve): Spring onion (chopped thinly), toasted sesame seeds, mushroom and dried kelp slices (leftovers from cooking the broth), shredded roasted seaweed (nori) and wasabi paste. You can also add some cubed soft tofu for added protein.

Another time, I was in possession of a bottle of home-made Chinese rice wine, courtesy of a colleague. She even gave me a simple and easy recipe to cook Rice Wine Ginger Chicken. I tried the recipe and sure enough, it was easy and most importantly, the dish tasted great. The best part is obviously the broth. *slurps* Here's her recipe.

Home-cooked Chinese Rice Wine Ginger Chicken Recipe
1 chicken chopped into pieces (preferably free-range with head, feet and skin removed)
1 palm size "Bentong" old ginger (peeled and julienned)
Some dried chinese wood (black) fungus, pre-soaked
1/2 to 1 bottle of Chinese rice wine
1+1/2 bowl of water (not rice bowl but those slightly larger than rice bowl, think size of normal serving of asam laksa at kopitiam)
Seasoning: salt, sugar and sesame oil
Method:
1. Dry fry the chopped chicken to remove moisture. Careful not to cook it. Remove and set aside.
2. In a clean wok, stir fry ginger in a little corn oil until fragrant (slightly golden brown) or until crispy (this is even more fragrant but maybe more heaty).
3. Add in wood fungus and stir fry a little.
4. Add chicken and stir fry until chicken is just cooked.
5. Add water and bring to boil. Lower fire and add in rice wine.
6. Simmer for about 5 mins. Lastly add a little sugar, salt and sesame oil (optional) to achieve preferred taste.

Notes:
- For better taste, it is important to use good quality "Bentong" ginger. If you do not want the dish to be "too fiery" in taste, reduce or halved the ginger portion but you should be aware that ginger is what will make or break this dish.
- Frozen chicken can also be used. Thaw thoroughly. Also note that they cook faster than free-range chicken so be careful not to overcook.
- You can adjust the qty of rice wine used. Don't worry, the alcohol effect will evaporate during the cooking process so do not worry about getting drunk from this dish. If you do prefer a milder wine taste, you can reduce the portion by half.

Look out for Part 2 of Kitchen Experiments Update (baking & desserts)

Baking: Peanut Butter Chips Brownie Cups

Peanut Butter Chips Brownie Cups
This blog started out as a baking blog but lately, the ratio of food review posts to baking posts have shrunk to 10:1 (??). *Sigh* Where has my unstoppable drive for baking gone?

Anyway, to finish up the container of Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder and a packet of Reese's Peanut Butter Chips (both items bought from HK) before I have to throw them out from the pantry, I came across this recipe that uses both items. And much to my delight, it happens to be a really easy recipe too.
And I was not disappointed with the end result either. Best served warm, the slightly moist dark chocolate center with the slightly crusty top paired so well with the yummy peanut butter chips!

So, so delicious.....

If only both Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder and Reese's Peanut Butter Chips are available locally. (If you happen to know where I can get them locally, please, please let me know. TQ)

Double Favourite (Pumpkin Chiffon Cake)

If you don't know by now, I love all things pumpkin. And since I like chiffon cake very much too, I decided to bake a 'different' chiffon cake other than the usual "pandan" flavoured ones that I usually bake for my family. I adapted this recipe based on another recipe from Aunt Yochana's blog. Result is rather good but with just a light taste of pumpkin (i would have prefer a stronger taste of pumpkin). Also, the pumpkin that I used wasn't very sweet so the cake turned out just a little bit too bland. So do adjust the sugar level to your preference after tasting the pumpkin. Initially I was worried that my little 20cm chiffon cake pan would not fit a chiffon cake that has 6 eggs but surprisingly, it managed to hold it all together (the cake rose just a little over the tip). Then again, this might be because the recipe uses just plain flour and no rising agent, relying instead on the volume of the egg whites for height; so make sure you beat the egg whites till stiff peaks.

Pumpkin Chiffon Cake
(A)
6 egg yolks
150g mashed pumpkin* / pumpkin puree
150g coconut milk
60 ml. corn oil
1 t vanilla essence
1/4 t salt
50 g fine sugar
180 g cake/superfine flour (sift 1-2x)
Toasted pumpkin seeds (optional)
(B)
6 egg whites
1/2 t cream of Tartar
100g fine sugar

Method:
(1) Combine all the wet ingredients in (A) together until well-mixed.
(2) Add in flour, salt and sugar and combine until well-mixed.
(3) Whisk egg white until foamy. Add in tartar and whisk until mixture is white.
(4) Add in sugar slowly in 3 parts while whisking the egg white. Whisk until stiff peaks.
(5) Add pumpkin seeds to (4) and stir to combine. Fold in 1/3 of (4) into egg yolk mixture. Blend carefully (manually). Then fold in this mixture into remaining egg white mixture.
(6) Fold/blend carefully and slowly so that mixture is evenly combined. Take care not to deflate the beaten egg whites.
(7) Pour into chiffon cake pan (ungreased) and bake** for 45 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 170-175c or until cake is done when tested with skewer.
(8) Immediately invert the pan onto a wire rack and let it cool completely (apx. 1 hr) before removing the cake carefully from pan.

Note(s):
* If you do not like the mashed pumpkin to contain fibres, strain it through a sieve to remove them before using it.
** To get rid of air pockets inside the cake, bang the cake pan firmly on the counter top 3x before putting it into the oven.

Boiled Cakes (Classic Moist Chocolate & Eggless Fruit Cake)

No, I didn't mean to say that these cakes do not require baking but rather, the preparation method involves only boiling instead of mixing using the cake mixer. Just dump and boil - literally...

Not too long ago, I had the chance to sample a Fruit Cake baked by my sister's MIL. It was simple and it was delicious. No complicated flavours. In fact, my mom raved about it (and that speaks a lot since my mom hardly praised any cakes). That made me realised that I have never baked a proper Fruit Cake before so I set about baking one. I had numerous recipes in my collfection but finally decided on this one by Yochana based on its simplicity (surprise! surprise!). This recipe does not require soaking the fruits overnight or keeping the cake steeped in alcohol over a period of time. Simply boil, bake and eat. Of course, this will not qualify it as an authentic Classic Fruit Cake but it was good enough for me.

Boiled Eggless Fruit Cake
The cake was moist although it has a dense texture. Not really the same from what the auntie's moist and fluffy rich fruit cake. This is more like a moist mixed fruits quickbread. My mom didn't quite like it because (1) it was overly spiced (I guess I was too heavy-handed with the spice); and (2) it was not fluffy. Hmmppff..., next time, I shall just bake a mixed fruits butter cake for her.

As the Fruit Cake was done in no time, I decided to try another easy recipe that uses the boiling method.

Boiled Classic Chocolate Cake (FAVOURITE RECIPE)
Recipe courtesy of Rusti, I was so glad that I decided to give it a try. As described, it was EASY, moist, fluffy, reasonably rich and just simply delicious! This will definitely be one of my top favourite recipes for a simple, plain and fast chocolate cake!

So what are you baking for CNY? Part II

In continuation of my previous post, I found time to bake more CNY cookies before CNY comes around. Not that I really need to bake as there are already tons of different CNY cookies at home. But somehow, it seems more befitting that I bake some CNY cookies for my family.

Here are 2 more new recipes that I tried this year, courtesy of Yochana.

Satay Fish Cookies (FAVOURITE RECIPE)
Crispy, crunchy and slightly savoury. I just found a new favourite!

Note: I added at least 20g extra satay fish (the crispy type). Too lazy to roll them out so just rolled them into balls. Easy!


Seaweed Cookies

I made a mistake with this recipe. I halved the recipe but forgot to half the icing sugar required. As a result, my dough was too dry and tough to pipe out. So I rolled them out and cut them using a cookie cutter. Not bad, a very crispy and crunchy type of seaweed-flavoured butter cookie.

Hmm..., I wonder if I got time to bake some more?

Note: The above recipes can be found on Yochana's blog. Link provided above and side bar.

So what are you baking for CNY?

Lately, I have been receiving a few enquiries from friends who knew of my interest in baking. They asked me, "So what are you baking for Chinese New Year?" I felt ashamed in replying, "So far, nothing." With CNY about a week more to go, time is running out for me particularly when I have been too ambitious in preparing my "CNY To-Bake List". I think I had at least 6 different types of cookies that I planned to bake. But like I said earlier, with CNY about a week more to go, I think I need to be more realistic and trim the list down to maybe 4 selections. Or perhaps 3. Hmm...., or maybe just 2.

But at least, I already baked my 1st batch of CNY cookies. Ta-da....., Green Peas Cookies (not green bean or mung beans).

A friend introduced me to these cookies last year which I enjoyed very much. Then later, I found a stall in a shopping mall that sells very good green peas cookies - the melting type. Sadly, they no longer sell them. Recently, I found a recipe for these cookies and to my delight, the recipe looked so simple to make (and they really are!). This version results in a very crunchy cookie, particularly since I did not blend the green peas too well, rather roughly grounding them into coarse bits.

Using a good oil is important (such as sunflower, canola or soya that does not have a strong scent), otherwise the cookies will stink of oil (I can't stand the smell of blended cooking oil such as Knife or Neptune. I also added some vanilla essence, just in case.

May have to bake another batch since I almost finished the first batch by myself *grins*. Well, at least 1 down and another 1 or 2 more to go...

Link to recipe.

Rejoice! It is Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone! A day late, but hey, it is still Christmas!

The days leading to Christmas were so busy. Tons of last minute shoppings and bakings, in addition to the usual parties and events as well as church practices. Nonetheless, these are part of the fun of Christmas, my favourite time of the year...

So what did I bake for Christmas? Take a look below:

Chocolate Banana Cake (based on wonderful recipe from SeaDragon with slight changes.)


Vanilla Sugar Cookies (recipe taken from epicurous.com)


More Chocolate Chip Cookies (recipe from Williams-Sonoma). Supposed to be crispy, but mine still turned out chewy (???).


Mini Vanilla Butter Cupcakes for the children carollers!


Triple Layered Chocolate Oreos Cake for brother's birthday. (truly yummilicious, thanks to Fatboy for recipe. I use my own recipe for chocolate sponge and chocolate ganache.) - (FAVOURITE RECIPE)


Tiramisu (laddened with alcohol, the flavour gets better the longer it sits in the fridge (i.e., days not weeks or months, mind you). I had a slice 3 days after making it, and I couldn't stop at 1 slice. Recipe taken from Kitchen Capers - see sidebar for link). - (FAVOURITE RECIPE)


Once again, have yourself a blessed Christmas and a fantastic New Year!

"Celebrate in the Wonders of His birth, Rejoice in the Beauty of Christmas!"

Another Cookie, Another Rave (PB Filled Chocolate Cookie & Orange Choc Chip Madeleine)

I seems to be having luck when trying new cookies recipes recently. Almost all were really good! And I am not saying it just because I baked them... (ahem...)

Anyway, here's the latest recipe that I tried,
Chocolate Cookies with Peanut Butter center. ~ (FAVOURITE RECIPE)
Chocolate? - Checked!
Peanut Butter? - Checked!
Cookie Ecstasy? - Checked!!!

Based on this recipe. (Sugar reduced . Also, used Van Houten Cocoa Powder. Anyone knows where to get 'Dutch-processed Cocoa Powder' in KL?)

In addition, the kids have been requesting me to bake some madeleines. They like the previous batch that I baked for them. To try a new flavour, I substituted vanilla with orange oil and added chocolate chips. Funnily, these were less popular than the plain vanilla ones. I guess they are less of a fan of orange than vanilla. Oh well, at least I don't have to fight with the kids for these madeleines. *grin*


By the way, in the interest of 'good photography', the first picture was taken outdoor to catch the last of natural sunlight before dusk sets in. When my mom saw me, she said alarmingly, "What are you doing crouching on the lawn?" And typical of her, she added, "The neighbours would think that I raised a mad daughter..." Maybe a little mad, but also talented - yes?

Fat-Free but Sugar-High! (Norwegian Pear & Walnut Cake and Pandan Redbean Rolls)

One of the greatest irony for me was something that is fat-free and thus, deemed as being healthy but yet ladened with high-dosage of "unhealthy" sugar. Does this still classify the dessert as being healthy? To some, it could even be worse than not being fat-free. But to a sweet-toothed person like me, this fact is a good enough reason to dig-in. Yeah, Like I needed any. *grin*


Norwegian Pear & Walnut Cake (I made a mistake in labelling the photo above)
One bite into the crusty exterior and soft interior, ladened with chunks of pear and walnuts, you will easily fall in love with this cake.
Based on the recipe from "Everybody Likes Sandwiches" blog, my version is as follows:
1/3c sugar + 1/4c demerara sugar (reduce more if you like)
1/2 c plain flour
1/2 t salt
1 t baking powder
1 egg
1 generous cup diced pears
1/2 c toasted walnuts, chopped
1 t cinnamon powder
1. In a bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, salt, and baking powder.
2. Break an egg into the center of the mixture. Combine well.
3. Mix in pears and nuts. Pour mixture into a greased and floured 8" pie pan.
4. Bake 20-25 minutes at 175c (pre-heated), or until edges are crispy and pulls aways from pan.


Chilled Pandan Red Bean Rolls (FAVOURITE RECIPE) (Recipe can be found from JoDeliBakery: see side bar for link)
This is like a "rolled" version of snow mooncake. I like them a lot! Best eaten just chilled from the fridge. Once it reaches room temperature, it may be just a bit cloyingly sweet.

Sweet & Savoury (Cocoa Cappuccino Cookies & Savoury Egg Sponge Cake)

Cocoa Cappuccino Cookies (Recipe link)
Another cookie recipe worth trying, another batch of successful cookies worth to forgo any diet (heh,heh). Brownie-like cookies, it has a slightly crusty shell and soft chewy center. Coffee always provide a good contrast to chocolate. Using a good coffee powder makes it even better. You can reduce sugar slightly since it is rolled in sugar, but not too much otherwise the coffee powder may make it bitter.
Note: 1/2 recipe yielded about 20 cookies for me.


Savoury Egg Sponge Cake (aka Kai Tan Kou) layered with chicken floss and crispy fried shallots
I first fell in love with this cake ages ago at my girl friend's house. Her mom made this cake and I nearly gobbled up the entire cake. Imagine my delight when I saw a similar recipe at SeaDragon's blog (see side bar for link).
Result was nearly as good, except that my cake was slightly soggy at the bottom. Two possible reasons for this. First, instead of a stainless steel steamer tin, I used a normal cake tin lined with greaseproof paper; and/or I left the cake in the pan for a good 8-10 minutes before remembering to remove it.I was busy with something else!)
Anyway like previously, I nearly gobbled up the entire cake!

Simply Irresistable! (Mini Lotus Pumpkins)

When I saw the recipe here from "Cuisine Paradise", I knew that I had to make these little gems. I am so glad I did. These cute little morsels are such a delight! Pleasing to the eyes and to the taste buds.

Steamed Mini Pumpkin Glutinous Dumplings stuffed with Lotus Paste
Pretty versatile too. You can stuff them with lotus paste, red bean paste or any filling to your liking.

3 of My Best! (Flourless Peanut Butter, Choc Chunk Cookies & Donna Hay's Cupcakes)

Recently discovered 2 really good cookie recipes. In fact, these recipes are 2 of the best batches of cookies I have baked so far.

Top of the list is the Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies. Recipe is from Baking Sheet (see side bar for link to this blog). No flour was used here, this is a ‘pure-bred’ Peanut Butter cookie (hehe) . The cookie was simply held together by the egg(s) used. Crumbly but yet, melts in your mouth.


Next, we have the Chewy Chocolate Chunk cookies (FAVOURITE RECIPE) made famous by ‘the baker’. This is easily my favourite chocolate chip/chunk cookie recipe. Those who were lucky enough to taste them (namely my nephews and niece, Amos the eldest in particular) exclaimed,
“These cookies are even better than Famous Amos!”
I preened with pride….. ;-p


Not forgetting this cupcake recipe by Donna Hay. It has somewhat relegated to a ‘cult’ status among food bloggers. After baking this for the first time previously, I could see what the hype was all about. Here, I baked the original version – Peanut Butter Self-frosting Cupcakes. (FAVOURITE RECIPE)

Looks Like Concrete But.... (Black Sesame Pound Cake)

It has been said that this cake "looks like concrete but melts in your mouth", to which I strongly agree.
Aesthetic wise, nothing much to say. After all, how else can you describe a block of absolute blackness? But texture wise, it is meltingly soft with a taste accentuated by the nutty taste of black sesame.

Black Sesame Pound Cake
· 150g unsalted butter (softened)
· 175g cake flour
· ¾ tsp baking powder
· 170g sugar
· ¼ tsp salt
· 3 eggs
· 120ml low-fat or full-fat milk
· 1 tsp vanilla paste
· 4 - 6 tbsp black sesame paste (adjust according to your taste)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180c. Flour a chiffon cake tin. (If using square or round tin, line base).
2. Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add sugar and salt to mix. Combine well.
3. Beat eggs, milk and vanilla in another bowl. Divide this mixture into 2.
4. Add butter, sesame paste and half of egg mixture to flour mixture. Beaton low speed until just combined (flour no longer visible). Increase speed to “medium” and beat another for 30 seconds.
5. Add remaining egg mixture in 2 batches, beating 15 seconds after each addition. Beat for 20 seconds more.
6. Pour batter into prepared tin and bake for 30-35mins OR until inserted toothpick come out moist but clean.
7. Cool cake on rack for 15mins, then remove from tin and cool completely on rack.

Seeking refuge from the HOT weather (Boiled Sea Coconut Dessert & Pandan Jewels)

It was such a hot day yesterday. Badly needed something to cool down the body. Would be perfect if served along with some desserts as well.

Pandan Jewels (recipe from the most recent edition of Famous Cuisine magazine)

Soft and chewy translucent dumpling skin stuffed with sweetened ground peanuts, toasted sesame seeds and dessicated coconut, wrapped with pandan leaves for the added aroma. Recipe posted in "Comments".

And the much needed remedy for a hot afternoon,

Boiled Sea Coconut with Longans, Red Dates and White Fungus
Recipe link

Now, I can say "Ahh...."

Cookies Baking Day (Crispy Ginger Cinnamon Oatmeal & Puffy Cheese Cookies)

Suddenly in the mood to bake cookies instead of something heavier, say a cake. Picked these 2 recipes.

Crispy Ginger Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
Original recipe found here.

I really like these cookies. Crispy and not too sweet. Perfect for office-snacking. I added about 1/2tsp of ground ginger and 1/4tsp of cinnamon powder. I think I will double them up the next time for their taste were only faintly evident.

Puffy Cheese Cookies
Original recipe here.

I sprinkled sesame seeds and shredded cheese on top of the cut cookies prior to baking. These cookies puffed up during baking resulting in a really puffy and crispy cookies. Taste wise, you will feel as if you are eating puffy cheese sticks. Not a bad thing though.

Busy Saturday (various)

I was so free this afternoon. No gym classes to go and no other appointments. Naturally, I did what I like to do best, that is making stuff in the kitchen.

Here's what I churned out:

Cheat Chinese "Lo Bak Kou" aka Steamed Radish Savoury Cake (Chinese Bread Pudding Cake)
Cheat as in the dough is made entirely from day-old white bread soaked in slightly salted water. Tasted quite like it as well except that I think I over-steamed it a bit and the texture was a bit too hard for my liking.


Also boiled some Walnut Cream Sweet Soup (tongshui). Recipe is by Betty Saw in one of her Kitchen Recipes book but it was not similar to those really thick and creamy type found in Hong Kong. But still decent though.

Recipe:
About 1 full cup of whole walnuts (or about 125g)
1/2 can of evaporated milk
400 ml water
1/2 cup sugar (or to taste)
1. Blanch walnuts in boiling water. Strain and let dry. Then roast them in the oven till golden brown.
2. Add walnuts and water into the blender and puree till fine. If you want a smooth mixture, strain it. I prefer mine with un-strained.
3. Put puree and evaporated milk into saucepan. Bring to boil. Then simmer for 1-2 minutes before adding sugar to taste.
4. Stir till sugar dissolve and bring to boil again. You may want to stir it constantly.
5. Simmer for another minute. Serve warm.

The night before, I marinated some guava slices. Original recipe can be found here. (FAVOURITE RECIPE). These are seriously good. I can't stop snacking on them. Highly recommended! Well, at least they are healthy snacks.

Guiltless Pleasures, or Not (Fuits & Nuts Cake & Oven Baked Fried Chicken Wings)

In my continued quest to look for healthier alternatives and yet, get to indulge in my favourite food (aka desserts in general), I decided to try these 2 fat-free recipes. And I am very glad that I did.

I call this Fruits & Nuts Cake (or so-called Wallpaper Loaf as found here). As mentioned in the recipe, I was initially pretty apprehensive when I prepared the batter. There seems to be less than sufficient batter for the mixture and fruits & nuts. If it wasn't for the pre-warning in the recipe, I would have thought I did something wrong somewhere. Also, I told myself to have confidence in the cake, convinced that I would love the final result. And I did! Very much so. It's just like eating a Fruits (I used a mixture of dried apricots, red dates & golden raisins) & Nuts (toasted walnuts and almonds). Obviously, the cake (un-cut) was far from the prettiest that I'd baked but I have to say, taste-wise, they are one of my favourite! Then again, once sliced, they are quite a sight to behold too.

Guilt-free Fruits & Nuts Cake

The second recipe is from KC. Another much-raved about recipe. Its novelty lie in the fact that this is basically an oil-free fried chicken wing. How can this be, you may ask. But it is true. Not 1 drop of oil was used. It's simply baked in the oven. Moreover, during baking, more fat were drained out from the chicken (to make it even healthier, if that's possible). Taste-wise, let me just say that they were "fingers-licking-good" (to quote Colonel Sanders) when paired with sweet chili sauce. I walloped 3 in 1 go. And that must surely say something about these delicious morsels.

Oil-free Oven-baked Fried Chicken Wings

Big, Medium and Small (Yam Layer Cake, Orange Peanut Cake & Cake Dougnuts)

It's Saturday and what's baking?

Something small?

Mini Cake Doughnuts (no-yeast)
Updated: Recipe posted in Comments.

Or perhaps something medium?

Easy-peasy Orange Peanut Cake


Or how about something bigger?

Delicious Yam Layer Cake (FAVOURITE RECIPE)