And so the baking continues....

Banana Walnut Yogurt Cake
And so the baking continues, although sporadically....

Yet another version Banana Cake, I am forever in the quest of trying new variation recipes of Banana Cake. This once is a good one! Highly recommended!

Banana Walnut Yogurt Cake (recipe adapted from "Do What I Like" blog
100g butter (softened)
50g castor sugar + 40g brown sugar (or you can just use all castor sugar)
2 eggs lightly beaten with 1 tsp vanilla
320g mashed ripe banana with 1 tbsp lemon juice
125ml plain low-fat yogurt or normal yogurt
Sift together the following 4 ingredients:
130g plain flour
60g cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1+1/4 tsp cinnamon
Coarsely chopped walnuts or other nuts, toasted for an extra crunch (optional) ,

Method:
1. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
2. Beat in the egg mixture by thirds till well blended.
3. Beat in the mashed banana and yogurt till well blended.
4. Fold in the sieved ingredients, in 3 times.
5. Make a cut in the middle lengthwise using a wet knife. Sprinkle the walnuts on top.
5. Bake in a lined loaf pan at 175C for 55-60 minutes or till a skewer inserted comes out clean. If top browns too quickly, cover with aluminium foil.


Green Tea Chiffon Cake with Wolfberries
In addition, I was playing around improvising chiffon cake recipes and came up with Green Tea Chiffon Cake with Wolfberries ('kei chi' in Chinese). Sounds healthy, eh? I like!

"Not-So" Recent Bakes

Aarrggh! Have been lagging in updating my blog, baking-related entries included. Oh well, better late than never, right? Anyhow, these are some of the by-products from my kitchen experiments...

From Left to Right: Coffee Walnut Cake, Multi-Treasure Pumpkin Tongshui and Gula Melaka Chiffon Cake.

Here's the recipe for the Coffee Walnut Loaf

Coffee Walnut Loaf (based on recipe from The Australian Women's Weekly)
35g toasted chopped walnuts (add more if you like)
125g butter, chopped
1 cup castor sugar (or substitute 1/4 to 1/2c with brown sugar)
125ml low-fat milk
2T Nescafe Gold
200g Self-raising flour
1/2t cinnamon powder (optional: add more)
2 eggs, beaten lightly
1/2t vanilla (optional)
* Whole walnuts for decoration (optional)
Method:
1. Combine butter, sugar, milk and coffee in a microwaveable bowl. Zap in the microwave until all is melted. Stir to combine evenly. Set aside to cool a little.
2. Sift flour and cinnamon into another bowl. Slowly stir in eggs, butter mixture, vanilla and chopped walnuts until just combined.
3. Pour the mixture into a greased and lined loaf pan. Sprinkle whole walnuts on top.
4. Bake in preheated oven at 160c for about 45 mins or until skewer comes out clean when tested. Cover top with aluminium foil if it browns too quickly.
5. Turn onto wire rack to cool completely.

Comfort Baking

Tall & Fluffy Pandan Chiffon Cake

I have heard about comfort food but is there such thing as comfort baking? Well, there is, at least for me. Baking can be very therapeutic, particularly when you are baking stuff that you have baked a few times before - those tried & tested recipes that everyone likes.


Walnut Raisin Bread

It has become a Routine! (Walnut Cake & Homemade Protein Bar II)

It has suddenly dawned on me that my Saturday mornings have become a routine (that is if I have no other appointments). Very naturally, I will browse my cook books or surf the net for recipes to try/make. So it came at no surprise that despite an absence of 2 weeks in the kitchen, I settled back into this "old" routine with the most natural ease last Saturday.

I didn't want to attempt anything complicated so I used Alex Goh's Walnut Cake recipe. Simple and nice, his recipes have never failed me before.


Also re-made another fave of mine, Homemade Protein Bars. I will post the recipe here this time.

1/2 c soy milk powder or protein powder
1c wholemeal flour (or plain flour)
1c organic rolled oats
1/4c oat bran (optional or just use rolled oats)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4+1/8 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/3 cup molasses sugar (or brown sugar)
1/2c mixed nuts & seeds, toasted (pumpkin/sunflower seeds, pecans, walnuts, almonds)
1/4c dried fruits (e.g., apricots, raisins & etc) or choc chips
3/4 cups plain yogurt (or replace with soft or firm silken tofu with a pinch of salt)
2T canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 175c. Lightly spray a 8x8 baking pan with a fat-free non-stick spray (such as PAM).
2. Mix together the soy powder, flour, oats, oat bran, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Mix in the sugar, mixing with your fingers till even. Stir in the dried fruits, seeds and nuts.
3. Stir and combine the yogurt, oil, and vanilla in another bowl. Add the wet mixture to the dry, and mix till thoroughly blended. Dough will be rather thick.
4. Transfer the mixture into the prepared pan, spreading it out evenly with a rubber spatula.
5. Bake in the center of the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cut into bars in any sizes you prefer.
6. Place the bars on a silicon sheet or non-stick baking tray and bake for another 15 minutes, or until golden around the edges. (Note: The recipe stated that for extra-crunchy bars, turn off the oven and leave them in there for up to 45 minutes longer.) Remove the bars from the oven, and place them on a rack to cool.
7. Store the bars in an air-tight container or seal and freeze them. To defrost, you can toast them again in an oven or toaster to make it crispy again.

Wholemeal Goodness (Banana Nuts Wholemeal Muffin & Walnut Wholemeal Coffee Cake)

As a child, I used to detest wholemeal stuff. I dislike the coarse texture and the extra chewy factor, particularly in baked goods such as bread. But I grew to love it. Of course, the health benefit is an additional 'plus' factor too. Not to forget that wholemeal stuff makes you feel full faster, hence you are unlikely to over-indulge. In other words, it is kinder to your waistline.

Here are 2 recipes for wholemeal baked goods.


Banana Nuts Wholemeal Muffin
I got the recipe from Tham Jiak. But I used about 100g of yogurt instead of 1/4 cup because at the latter, I couldn't even get my dry ingredients to combine with the wet ingredients. Also subsituted some of the brown sugar with molasses sugar. To make it more 'dessert' like, I added some brown sugar to the muesli topping. I think I will add more bananas next time too.
This muffin tastes even better the next day. Ideal for breakfast and also as a less 'sinful' tea-time dessert. Oh, one importan detail - it is fat-free.


Walnut Wholemeal Coffee Cake (recipe link)
This cake looks simple, yet gorgeous. Taste wise, the same. It has a slightly heavy and dense texture due to the presence of wholemeal flour which if you don't like, just used plain flour entirely instead. The highlight is obviously the syrupy walnut center. I used a combination of demerara sugar and coarse brown sugar with the walnuts.

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.

Lesson learned: Line Your Pans! (Low-fat Lemon Walnut Slice & Mixed Berries Yogurt Bread)

Yup, line your pans people. Especially when baking slices. Do not take chances (or be lazy) like me. Although the recipe did not ask for this step, I have baked enough to know that it is best to line the pans when baking slices and squares. Especially when no or little fat is involved.

Alas, I didn’t. And as a result, my lovely lemon curd on walnut crust stuck to the bottom of the pan. Like glue. I guess the instruction to “let it cool in pan” gave it plenty of time to adhere itself like a 2nd skin to the pan. I spent a good 20 minutes trying to pry it up from the pan. A task similar to Cinderella’s step sisters trying on the glass shoe aka impossible! If I hadn’t tasted the “oh-so-fine-tasting” lemon curd, I would have abandoned the attempt altogether.

So, for my hard work, I got these. Out of the entire square, I managed to save 3 ‘ok-looking’ slices.

Click for original recipe
The rest? In my stomach…

And somewhere along the way, I also baked a Mixed Berries Yoghurt Bread with Blue Poppy Seeds. Coincidentally, like the lemon slice, it contains no fat too.

Three Desserts and A Dish (Choc Chip Walnut Butter Cake, Egg White Tarts, Crystal Dumplings & Foil-Wrapped Baked Salmon

Hear, hear, the weekend is here. Time for another baking frenzy in the kitchen.
This time, I made "three desserts and a dish". Well, not exactly 3 desserts for one of them is a savoury snack but nevermind....


Forgot to dust the walnuts and choc chips with flour first, hence they tend to sink to the bottom of the cake.
Chocolate Chip & Walnut Butter Cake
Got an idea for this after tasting a similar one made by an ex-colleague. Sometimes, simple cakes like this really rocks!


Overbaked the pie crust a little.
Instead of the usual Egg Tarts that I normally made, this time I attempted a "healthier" version (Egg White Tarts) using egg whites only and low-fat milk. I like this version a lot; they kind of reminded me of the smooth "tau-fu-fa" (soybean pudding). Silky smooth and milder in taste. But somehow, the kids prefer the normal version, with the yolks and other rich stuff although I didn't tell them about the change in recipe used. They seem to have a in-built 6th sense to repel any "healthy" food stuff given to them.


Asked my maid to wrap the dumpling and the next thing I know, she wrapped them into the shapes of curry puffs! LOL!
My SIL cooked copious amount of "pang kaun chai" (a shredded carrot and yam beans dish) to be made as popiah fillings. Previously, we talked about using this filling to be wrapped with crystal dumpling skin. Ta-da! We finally achieved what we planned -

as modelled by my eldest nephew who in real-life loathes anything vegan. Sadly, this proved to be no exception either.
Crystal Dumplings filled with stir-fried shredded carrot, yam beans, dried shrimps and dried cuttlefish.

Lastly, for a good dose of Omega-3, I also prepared this simple salmon dish -

Foil-wrapped Baked Salmon.
Simple dish with simple and healthy ingredients such as lemon juice, plump tomatoes, onions, spring onions and olive oil. Most importantly, it tastes good!

That wraps up today's kitchen frenzy.

Monday's Breakfast: Mocha Raisin & Walnut Wholemeal Buns

Nice with a big cup of coffee! Mocha Wholemeal Raisin & Walnut Buns.

Recipe given by aunty:
310g bread flour + 40g wholemeal flour (sifted)
1/4t salt
1/4t Softpro
9g instant yeast
30g sugar + 20g brown sugar
40g softened butter
1tsp instant coffee diluted in 1/2 cup warm milk
1-2 T cocoa powder
1 egg (lightly beaten)
At the beep for adding fruits & nuts: Add 30g toasted walnuts and about 1/4c of raisins. (Add more or less to suit your taste)
Put everything in the breadmaker machine in order recommended by your breadmachine manual. Knead until dough is eleastic and not sticky. Take out and roll it out into a rectangular shape on a floured surface. Roll into a log shape and cut into 60g portions. Shape each portion into a ball. Cover and let rise until double in size. Brush top with water and sprinkle with some oats. Bake in preheated oven at 190c for 12-15 minutes or until nicely browned.

Need a Healthy Fix? (Angel Muffins, Chewy Walnut Squares, Homemade Protein Bars, Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Chowder

Sometimes, I would the occasional guilt from having over-indulged on desserts. This was what happened to me recently so rather than putting a total stop to desserts, I set about looking for healthier dessert recipes and here’s what I found (and made):

Angel Muffins (Fat-free, primary ingredient: Egg whites)


Chewy Walnut Squares (Fat-free and yummy! Recipe found from Comfort Food blog page. I used a mixture of molasses sugar and light brown sugar)

Updated: I have posted the recipe here.

Homemade Protein Bars (Main ingredients: Yoghurt, Wholemeal flour, toasted almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, dried cranberries and golden raisins – yum)

Updated: I have posted the recipe here.

Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Chowder (so good….! Particularly with some plain bread or Pumpkin Seed Sandwich Bread)
Note to Malaysian readers: Recipe found in complimentary recipe booklet by HL Milk together with latest issue of Appetite Magazine

Monday's Breakfast: Incredibly Soft Honey Walnut & Golden Raisin Whole-Wheat Bread

What I baked for breakfast today, the Incredibly Soft Honey Walnut & Golden Raisin Whole-Wheat Bread.