Bailey's chocolate chip cheesecake

Happy Birthday, Chubby! ^^

Bailey's choc chip cheesecake (recipe adapted from here)
~ fits a 9 or 10-inch square tin
Crust
200-220g oreos, crushed (or use crushed graham crackers+2tbsps cocoa powder+2tbsps icing sugar)
80g unsalted butter, melted

Filling
500g cream cheese
100g sugar
200ml sour cream
3 egg yolks
125ml/10 tbsps bailey's irish cream
2 tbsps flour, sifted

100g chopped dark chocolate/choc chips

3 egg whites
70g sugar

Chocolate frosting
100g dark chocolate
100ml cream
3-4 tbsps bailey's chocolate luxe, optional

1. Mix crushed oreos and melted butter together. Press crushed cookies evenly into a lined baking tin, till nice and firm. Bake in a preheated oven of 170C for 10-15 minutes. Remove and leave to cool. If lazy, omit the baking part and just stuff the crust into the fridge and chill for a bit..

2. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese till light and fluffy. Then add sugar till well blended.

3. Fold in the sour cream into the cheese batter.

4. Gently mix in the egg yolks one at a time till well combined. Next add bailey's irish cream.

5. Fold in the flour and the chopped chocolates.

6. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites till foamy, and add the sugar bit by bit. Beat till soft peaks form (no need to beat till stiff unlike for chiffon cake).

7. Mix 1/3 egg whites mixture into cheese batter till well combined. Fold the rest in gently.

8. Place batter over crust and bake bain marie in a preheated oven of 150C for 50-55 minutes (the center should still be a wee bit jiggly ^^). Leave to cool in the oven with the door slightly ajar for about 1 hour.

9. In a clean bowl, melt chocolate and cream over a pot of simmering water. Add bailey's chocolate luxe, optional.

10. Spread chocolate frosting over warm cheesecake. Chill in the fridge overnight before serving.

Hehe.. so I drizzled a bit of salted caramel over Chubby's cake. But let me assure you, it's creamy, dreamy, melt-in-the-mouth, and just as delish, without the liquid gold ^^

Nothing salted caramel can't fix ^^

This should be one of my last post for the year. 

It's been a slow year in terms of blogging and baking for me. I've seem to lost my mojo for a bit. And when I do bake, it's always the same old things. 

Though lately, I've been exploring (made it thrice!) a "cooked-dough" chocolate sponge cake recipe shared by jeannietay, This recipe is perfect for those who are "heavy-handed" and can never get sponge cakes right. Interestingly, I noticed the recipe is pretty much like that of an ogura cake..  

Anyway, my cakes turned out absolutely gorgeous, moist and cottony soft every time! It's the perfect foil for my salted caramel. banana and peanut buttercream combo. However, I felt there was a slight aftertaste (which no one noticed! ^^||).. possibly due to my use of greek yogurt in replacement of milk.. or my burning the oil! So I'm still working on getting it right. ^^

Well, for a change, I decided to switch up the recipe and made a plain sponge cake with some lemon zest and juice today. Not the best idea I'm afraid.. I forgot to save up the lemon juice to make lemon glaze! So the cake was rather plain, and I could taste a slight aftertaste (greek yogurt, perhaps??? sorry, I'm going through a greek yogurt phase! ^^||). Of course, I couldn't just leave it at that! And just to put it on record, there's really few things that salted caramel cannot make right ^^ I drizzled loads! And voila, a yummy cake is reborn! ^^ 

soft, fluffy plain  jane

Chubby pig who was visiting, pronounced the cake as "not bad", happily took a loaf home. Now what did I tell 'ya, there's nothing that salted caramel can't fix! ^^ ^^ ^^

Merry christmas and happy holidays! ^^

Caramel frankenstein cake ^^

I made this messy, frankenstein-ish cake for Baby pig who turned 14 yesterday ^^

His eyes were exceptionally bright and sparkling when he saw the caramel overload, haha! And when I heard his tell-tale soft humming after he had a slice of cake, I knew he was extremely happy! la-da-da-da... ^^ ^^ ^^

In case you fail to recognise the cake due to the mess, it's actually a decadently indulgent treat made up of tish boyle's deep chocolate sour cream pound cake, smothered with peanut butter buttercream frosting, layered with sliced bananas and drowned in oodles of salted caramel sauce ^^ oooooohhh, so so yums!!!

Tish Boyle's Deep chocolate sour cream pound cake (recipe from rima@bisouatoi)
90g all purpose flour
29g cake flour
21g dutch processed cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
170g unsalted butter
200-210g granulated sugar
2 large eggs (I used the egg separation method, for a bouncier cake) 
1 tsp vanilla extract
120g sour cream

This is 1/2 the original recipe, which I baked in a 7" round cake tin at 170C for 60-65 minutes. For the step by step to making this cake, please head on to bisouatoi.. hehe, am too lazy to write it out, 'cos it's the usual way of cake making ie. butter cakes ^^
* I sliced the cake into 2 layers, and piled on the frosting, bananas and caramel sauce to make this birthday treat!
* I also tried the DIY wet cloth/towel wrapped around the cake tin method for even baking and to prevent a cracked domed top.. and it WORKS!!! No cracks at all, and the top was nicely flat and evenly baked ^^
* note to self: cake was soft and had a nice texture on day it was baked, but turned a touch dense after being refrigerated.. maybe a chocolate sponge cake would've been better as a cake base? 
* question to self: wonder if using a dutch-processed cocoa powder makes a difference? Answer: Yes, there's a difference.. stick to dutch processed cocoa if the recipe says so!!!

Peanut butter buttercream 
100g creamy peanut butter
30g unsalted butter, softened
80-100g icing sugar, sifted
30g-60g heavy or whipping cream, add to own desired consistency
* make more if planning to ice the whole cake

Beat peanut butter and butter together till soft and fluffy. Add sifted icing sugar and beat till well combined. Slowly mix in the whipping cream to your desired consistency. Do not make frosting overly runny/soft like I did (I even did it on purpose because I wanted a soft, runny frosting.. bad idea! this is what happens to amateurs who don't know much about frosting, haha!), or you'll end up with a frankenstein-y mess! ^^||

Bananas, sliced

Salted caramel sauce (recipe from sallysbakingaddiction or check here)
200g granulated sugar
6 tbsp butter (salted or unsalted is fine)
1/2 cup / 120ml heavy or whipping cream
1 tsp sea salt, or add to taste
* keep leftovers in the fridge, drizzle over ice cream etc.. yums yums! ^^
For best step by step to making caramel, see my favorite guy, david lebovitz's post. That's where I learned how to make caramel.. no thermometer needed!

An epic, frankenstein-caramelly-good birthday cake for an epic, caramel-toothed boy! Love you caramel-loads, Baby pig ^^

taken with phone under slightly better lighting ^^

** p.s I've actually played around with this combo of flavors before.. it was last year (see here), and it was for the same caramel-toothed person. But I didn't manage to make it then. 'Cos last year, we made an amateur Dr Who Bow Ties Are Cool cake, which almost ended up on Cake Wrecks, haha!   

Super moist carrot cake with bailey's cream cheese frosting

My piggies especially Big, loves carrot cake. And Baby, he just can't get enough of bailey's cream cheese frosting!

So I decided to combine both. ^^

Super moist carrot cake (recipe from sallysbakingaddiction with modifications)

~ makes a 9x9 inch square cake
100g brown sugar
3/4 cup / 180ml neutral tasting oil
1/4 cup / 60g sour cream (original recipe calls for yogurt)
4 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups / 250-280g cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg powder (a pinch is good enough for me)
1/2 tsp salt
3-4 carrots /300g finely grated carrots
3/4 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
3/4 cup raisins
4 egg whites
65 - 80g brown sugar

1. In a bowl, whisk 100g brown sugar and oil together. Mix in sour cream. Add egg yolks one at a time to the batter till well combined. Fold in vanilla extract.

2. In another bowl, sift cake flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together.

3. Place the dry ingredients, grated carrots, walnuts and raisins into the wet batter, and fold till just combined. Do not overmix.

4. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites till frothy, and slowly add in the 65-80g brown sugar. Beat till medium stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes.

5. Take 1/3 meringue and mix into the wet batter. Gently fold in the rest of the meringue till just combined. Do not overmix.

6. Bake in a preheated oven of 175-180C for about 35-38 minutes till cake is golden brown, or till skewer comes out clean.

Bailey's cream cheese frosting
125g cream cheese
2 tbsps / 30g butter
3/4 cup / 150g icing sugar, sifted
2 tbsps bailey's irish cream

Beat cream cheese, butter and icing sugar till light and fluffy. Fold in bailey's irish cream till well combined.

You know, I've always been wary of using vegetable oil in my bakes. I'm butter-girl! But I've to admit, this is one AWESOME cake! And I think I've figured it out ~ it's SOUR CREAM!!! ^^

If I didn't make this myself, I wouldn't even know this cake is made with vegetable oil! I'd think it was made with butter, using creaming and egg separation method. The texture and bite is exactly my kind of perfect cake! It's oh-so moist and springy plump "boing-boing". Gosh, you must think me mad for saying this.. well, it's almost succulent (as you would describe good ribs!), in a way. None of the flat, wet, sticky after taste texture you get from some veggie oil based cakes. PERFECT.

I've come to realize my post intros are getting shorter and shorter.. and there will probably come a time when I'll probably zip right to the recipe. After all, this blog is mainly to document recipes I've tried and liked.. and not ^^ But the post mortem and (over-)analyzing of my bakes is here to stay. Helps me to remember how I liked it and all ^^.

So for the record, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this carrot cake. A perfect carrot cake ~ just the way I like it. For once, it doesn't matter what piggies think (I didn't bother checking), "I" just think this is the best carrot cake I've made and had.. yet. ^^ A keeper!

Nutella swirl cheesecake with oreo crust

Happy birthday, Chubby! My Chubby pig turned 13 today! ^^

I had planned on a chocolate cake with bailey's cream cheese frosting, but over the weekend, Chubby declared he wanted a cheesecake.

So here goes...

Nutella swirl cheesecake with oreo crust (recipe adapted from donal skehan, anncoo journal, bakericious and here)
~ fits a 9-inch square tin
160g oreos, crushed
80g unsalted butter, melted

500g cream cheese
60g sugar
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
200ml sour cream
3 egg whites
60g sugar
25g corn flour, sifted
6-7 tbsps nutella, add to taste (+ 1 tbsp cream, optional)

Nutella fudge sauce, optional
3-4 tbsps nutella, add to taste
3-4 tbsps milk or cream

1. Mix crushed oreos and melted butter together. Press crushed cookies evenly into a lined baking tin, till nice and firm. Bake in a preheated oven of 160C for 10-15 minutes. Remove and leave to cool. If lazy, omit the baking part and just stuff the crust into the fridge and chill for a bit..

2. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese till light and fluffy. Then add sugar till well blended.

3. Gently mix in the egg yolks one at a time till well mixed. Next add the vanilla extract.

4. Fold in the sour cream into the cheese batter.

5. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites till foamy, and add the sugar bit by bit. Beat till soft peaks form (no need to beat till stiff unlike for chiffon cake). Gently fold in sifted corn flour.

6. Mix 1/3 egg whites mixture into cheese batter till well combined. Fold the rest in gently.

7. Remove 1/3 cake batter and mix with nutella (+ a tbsp milk/cream) till well blended.

8. To prepare cake, place some plain batter into the baking tin, followed by placing dollops of nutella batter all over. Next dollop on some plain batter, followed by the rest of the nutella batter. Top/end with dollops of plain batter.

9. Using a chopstick/skewer, make zig-zag motions across the batter. Turn the baking tin 90degrees, and do the same again.

10. Bake in a preheated oven of 160C (or 150C if oven is too hot) for 50-55 minutes (the center should still be a wee bit jiggly ^^). Leave to cool in the oven with the door slightly ajar for about 1 hour. Chill in the fridge overnight before serving.

11. If planning to serve with nutella fudge sauce, place nutella and cream/milk in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Whisk nutella gently till melted, and drizzle over cake before serving.

As piggies always want "more! more! more!", I had "very generously" drizzled nutella fudge sauce all over, making it look quite a sight! Chubby actually said it looks awful, haha.. but he also said it'll most certainly taste good ! ^^ I think it's such a waste to hide the pretty swirls.. but with kids, you know you have to have sauce to make the cake sublime! ^^ ^^ ^^

As this is a big recipe, I sliced off a 6x6-inch cake for Chubby (that's Chubby's cake in the pic above, prior to it being smothered in sauce! ^^), and shared the rest.. And that's how I can tell you, this cheesecake's heavenly! ^^

Coffee walnut.. and raisin cake

I totally planned this.

Yeah, right?! Who am I kidding! Most of my bakes are the result of leftovers or failed ideas! Haha!

Well, this is a combination of both.. a failed attempt at making crystallized sugar coated toasted walnuts and leftover raisins drowning in rum!

Coffee walnut raisin cake (recipe inspired/adapted from espresso almond butter cake)
~ makes an 8-inch square cake
250g salted butter
180g sugar (good enough for me, as my walnut meal is laced with caramel)
4 eggs
120g toasted walnut meal
240g flour, sifted (use cake flour, preferably)
1 tsp baking powder, sifted
80-100 g raisins, mix with a bit of flour
2 tbsp coffee powder + 120ml milk (+ a dash of bailey's irish cream ^^, optional)
toasted chopped walnuts for topping, optional

1. Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy.

2. Add eggs one at a time, and mix till well combined. Or use the egg separation method the way I prefer ^^.

3. Fold in 1/3 sifted flours and walnut meal into the batter. Alternate with coffee milk. (F-C-F-C-F)

4. Pour batter into a greased 8-inch baking tin, and top with toasted walnuts if you like. Bake in a preheated oven of 170C, for 45-50 minutes or till skewer comes out clean.

Coffee walnut cake (with buttercream frosting) is a pretty popular cake. With raisins.. hmmm, less so, haha. Even I was sceptical of how it would taste like.. but I have raisins to clear ^^! Well, you now have my word it works beautifully! Delish! And it's not just me, fatty hubby and friends enjoyed it too ^^

Ah,,,,,,,, a simple treat, perfect with a spot of tea.. or coffee. Just the thing for me ^^

Caramel date cake

Hello, it's been awhile.

I didn't mean to go AWOL, but it's just that I haven't been baking much lately, and when I do, it's always the same ol', same ol'. ^^

Well, this is just another variation of my favorite butter cake.. made with leftovers.. caramel and dates.. see, another same ol', haha.

Caramel date cake (see my favorite butter cake recipe)

250g SALTED butter 
100g caster sugar

4 egg yolks 

1 tsp vanilla extract (I used 2 tbsps rum ^^)

230g self-raising flour, SIFTED (250g will not hurt too, don't worry)

6-8 tbsps fresh milk
200g chopped dates, mix with a tbsp of flour 

4 egg whites
90g caster sugar
caramel sauce (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 170 C.

2. Beat butter and 100g sugar till light and fluffy. Don't over beat, maybe around 3-4 minutes on high with my electric mixer.

3. Add egg yolks one at time and mix till well blended. Add vanilla extract.

4. Fold in self raising flour in 2 batches.

5. Add in milk and combine gently. Mix in the chopped dates.

6. In a clean bowl, beat egg WHITES till frothy and then add in the 90g sugar in batches/bit by bit. Beat till stiff and shiny. 

7. Add egg whites mixture to cake batter in 2 batches. Fold in quickly but GENTLY. 

8. Pour batter into a greased 8-inch round or square tin. Drop caramel sauce evenly on top of  the cake batter. 

9. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or till skewer comes out clean.

I like how the cake turned out with a marbled effect on the top. And it's not a sweet cake despite the addition of caramel. I didn't put a lot since there wasn't a lot of leftovers to begin with. So there were just spots here and there that's slightly sweeter as one hits the caramel bits. The chopped dates gave it a nice texture too. ^^

Well, I really love old fashioned butter cakes. No matter what twist you give it, it always turns out yums! ^^

Irish cream chocolate cake with irish cream cheese frosting

We're going through an irish cream phase.

I had baked an irish cream butter cake over the weekend, but the mini cake didn't make it to print, 'cos they were already demolished off before I could get hold of my camera! Yup, they were that good. ^^

So good that Baby pig suggested we make a fancier cake next.. with frosting, and more bailey's irish cream!

Irish cream chocolate cake with irish cream frosting
~ makes 2 mini loaves or 1 6-inch cake
115g unsalted butter
85g sugar
2 eggs
85g self-raising flour
2 tbsps (15g) cocoa powder (*may add extra 1 tbsp for a more chocolatey flavor)
a pinch of salt
4 tbsps (60ml) bailey's irish cream + 4 tbsps (60ml) milk

1. Beat butter and sugar together till light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time and mix till well combined.

2. Sift self-raising flour and cocoa powder together. Fold in 1/2 the flour, cocoa powder and salt into the cake batter. Add irish cream + milk, and mix till well blended. Fold in the rest of the dry ingredients.

3. Pour mixture into greased cake tin/s. Bake in a preheated oven of 170C for 30-35minutes, or till skewer comes out clean.

Irish cream cheese frosting
125g cream cheese
2 tbsps / 30g butter
3/4 cup / 150g icing sugar, sifted
2 tbsps bailey's irish cream
  
Beat cream cheese, butter and icing sugar till light and fluffy. Fold in bailey's irish cream till well combined.

I'm glad to report this cake experiment's a success! It's absolutely super duper yummy! I gave a whole mini loaf to Baby pig, and he asked why am I giving him so little??!!! ^^ ^^ ^^ He devoured half the cake before I could say, "What??!!!!". Yup, it's that GOOD!

I think what makes this cake awesome was the addition of irish cream in the cream cheese frosting. And the chocolate cake was the perfect foil for the frosting. The cake itself was nicely fragrant but the frosting made it outstanding. ^^

For the record, Fatty hubby really enjoyed this cake. And between us, we finished our mini loaf in record time! Hey, it's that GOOD!

This would make a wonderful celebration cake with layers of frosting, or as frosted cupcakes ^^. I'm so making these again this week for Chubby pig.. I think he'll love it. And for Big too, when he comes back in 4 months time! ^^ ^^ ^^

Hello 2015

My first cake of the year.. a highly recommended treat by both victoria@victoria bakes and mel@melspantrykitchen.

Espresso almond butter cake (recipe from kitchen snippets)
~ makes an 8-inch square cake
227g unsalted butter
3 tbsp sour cream (nada.. so omitted)
180g sugar (perfect sweetness as recommended by victoria)
4 eggs
120g almond meal
240g flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder, sifted
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp coffee powder + 120ml milk (+ 2 tbsp rum, optional)
toasted almond flakes for topping, optional

1. Beat butter, sour cream (if using) and sugar till light and fluffy.

2. Add eggs one at a time, and mix till well combined.

3. Fold in 1/3 sifted flours and almond meal into the batter. Alternate with coffee milk. (F-C-F-C-F)

4. Pour batter into a greased 8-inch baking tin, and top with toasted almond flakes if you like. Bake in a preheated oven of 170C, for 45-50 minutes or till skewer comes out clean.

Nothing like coffee to start the day.. and cake for the new year.. especially a yummy-licious one like this! ^^

Bow ties are cool!

My Big and Baby pig are big fans of Dr Who. And they both think bow ties are cool! ^^

Hence my first attempt at fondant.. and a Dr Who bow tie cake for Baby pig's 13th birthday party. Ok, I can hear you. Don't laugh too hard, and cut me some slack. ^^

I just want to say that the shiny, glossy, sticky, wet look in the picture above, is really all due to the fondant sweating.. because of temperature change from cold to hot, humid (even with the air-con switched on! maybe not cold enough???). And remember, covering a COLD cake with room-temp fondant is also a NO-NO! Fondants are really temperamental! No sudden temperature change, please.. or you'll have sweating, sticky fondants! I learned this the hard way. Youtube didn't quite have this information, and the post on handling fondants in humid weather doesn't sink in till you experience it for yourself! ^^||

this is the fondant cake I was trying to copy.. and if mine didn't sweat, it would have been.. close, haha ^^

You know, I was feeling pretty upbeat when I had the white shirt collar, bow tie, jacket lapels fondant cut out. I had assembled them on a piece of parchment paper and they looked so perfect ^^.. exactly how I wanted them to be.. nice, dry and neat (!!!). However, the minute I covered the cold cake (red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting) with fondant (white shirt and dark grey jacket), it started to sweat and turned wet and sticky! Holy moly, yikes! ^^|| ^^|| ^^||

Of course, I've read that the fondant sweating will dry out eventually if you leave it at room temperature. But I could't do that! My cream cheese frosting could melt! What a Catch 22 situation, right? ^^||

Well, I'm trying not to be too harsh on myself. It's a pretty decent 1st attempt for someone who has never touched/used fondants.. and depended on youtube videos, some how-to fondant posts and one write up on handling fondants in humid weather by faitmaisonblog (too bad she didn't mention about fondant on cold cakes ^^||). Maybe I shouldn't be such a cheapo and maybe attend some classes.. nawwwwwhhh, I'm not doing this again for a long, long, long time!

Despite how it looks, the kids loved the fondant (eeeks!) and the red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. No pics of the cake I'm afraid, but I'm definitely going to make this red velvet recipe again.. it uses butter ~ my kind of cake ^^

Anyways, take away the shine and gloss, it's pretty ok. ^^ More importantly, Baby pig was very happy with his surprise cake! And I got 2 big hugs from him! And that's all that really matters! ^^ ^^ ^^

Steamed fruit cake.. a revisit ^^

The last time I made this, I swore never again will I use the steaming method!

Over time (2 years!), my burn scar is a few shades paler, and my memory faint. But you know what, deep down, there's always that niggling thought of wanting to slay this dragon! ^^

So when I saw a post in azlitamasammanis on steamed fruit cake baked in small aluminium foil tins for a much shorter time, I knew my time has come! I immediately macerated my mixed fruits, and set about thinking where to place my tiny electric steamer in my tiny apartment/kitchen without setting the house on fire.. and more importantly, where I won't get burnt!

And over the weekend, I made the cakes using azlitamasammanis' recipe, and a recipe shared by mel@melskitchenpantry (from faeez@bittersweetspicy). I now have 12 loaves in the fridge now ^^ waiting to be shared with all my favorite people. ^^ ^^ ^^

Steamed fruit cake (recipe shared by azlita@azlitamasammanis)
340g sugar
50g hot water
250g salted butter
500g mixed fruit
350g flour, sifted
2 tsp baking soda, sifted
1 tsp cream of tartar, sifted
1 tsp nutmeg or cinnamon (optional)
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp treacle (I didn't use)

1. Make caramel by placing sugar into a heavy saucepan over medium heat. As sugar melts from the sides, fold it to the center. DO NOT STIR. When sugar is completely melted and turned dark golden brown (not burnt!), add in hot water slowly. Be careful as it mixture may sputter.

2. Add in butter and let it melt completely. Fold in mixed fruit, and bring mixture to a boil. Remove from heat and leave to cool.

3. Sift flour, baking soda and cream of tartar, and nutmeg or cinnamon (if using) together in a clean bowl. Fold into cooled caramel mixture till well combined.

4. Beat eggs with a whisk or electric beater till foamy, and add into cake mixture.

5. Mix in vanilla extract and treacle till well blended.

6. Pour into 3 aluminium tins (7.5x3.5 inch loaf tin), cover with a layer of aluminium foil and steam for about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Turn off the heat, and leave the cakes in the steamer for another 15 minutes before removing.

7. Cake is best eaten after 1 day's rest. Bon apetit!

This is a pretty straightforward recipe. However, this recipe makes a lot. I split the batter over 3 tins, and it was almost full.. ok, so I added a bit more mixed fruits (600g) than suggested (oops! ^^||). So that might have made a difference. The top didn't turn out as pretty as I wished, as the cake touched the cover and absorbed moisture. Looks aside, I'm sure it's delish. I can't wait to taste it! ^^

Anyways, I'm happy to make the recipe shared by mel. I upped the mixed fruits to 500++g and called it a day. This recipe also uses less sugar and flour, just the way I like it. And if you do not have a steamer, and/or prefer to use the oven, do not despair! I've shared how one can also perfectly bake a "steamed fruit cake" in this post. Works just as well! ^^

I, dragon slayer. ^^


Updated: I've cut and tasted the cakes from the 2 different recipes and made comparisons.

Azlita's recipe: Looks and cuts beautifully. It's lusciously dark and moist. The crumbs looks tight and the texture gorgeous.. however, the chew has a wee bit of boing-boing, and feels more coarse than faeez's cake. Taste is good. Fragrance nice and unusual. Cake is nicely moist.. though it "looks" more moist (than it is) compared to the other cake.

Faeez's recipe: Doesn't cut as neatly as the cake tends to crumble. Cake is lighter in color, like golden amber. The texture is also less tight and looks crumbly when compared to azlita's. Taste is good. Fragrance is nice. I feel this cake is a whisker more moist than azlita's, despite it's crumbly look. 

Conclusion: Looking back, I think faeez's recipe did better when it was baked "bain-marie" in the oven. The texture turned out just like azlita's steamed one. Both cakes are winners in my opinion. I can't decide which I like better. Visually I like azlita's. But faeez's cake is very good too. Now you know. Your call now ^^

Comments: My SIL thinks azlita's cake looks a little kuih-like, and prefers faeez's crumbly cake, which she says is more cake-like. She also likes the color of faeez's cake better. SIL's choice: Faeez's.

My nephew, Baby pig, mentioned that azlita's cake has a unique fragrance, but he finds the rum flavor (mixed fruits used are all macerated in rum in the same bowl) not as evident compared to faeez's cake. I could tell he enjoyed both the cakes ^^. His choice: Faeez's cake.. by a few whiskers! ^^  

Fatty hubby's choice: Faeez's cake. His one comment.. "it's rich".

A snowy treat ^^

It's snowing already where my Big pig is. I miss him.

This cake is inspired by him, and his little brother, Baby pig. Baby has just been crowned the overall winner for this year's poetry slam, woot-woot! This is my interpretation of the snow-capped mountains in Missoula, Montana, in one of his winning poems. ^^

Snowy pillowy cheese cake (inspired by vivianpangkitchen, dapurcomelku, secubitgaramnor67)
1 pillowy soft cake
Cream cheese frosting (use your favorite recipe)
125g cheddar cheese, grated or shredded (white chocolate is a good idea too ^^)

1. If using a whole cake, halve the cake into 2 layers. Spread cream cheese frosting over one layer of cake. Top with the other slice of cake. Again spread cream cheese frosting all over to cover the cake.

2. Sprinkle/cover the cake all over with grated/shredded cheddar cheese.

As you can see, the cake looks nowhere like it was covered in snow, haha! This is the result of taking too many short-cuts.. and using ready-grated cheese. Don't be like me. :p

Now, had you not cheated, and had your cheese or white chocolate grated, you would have a beautiful "snow" covered cake like below ^^ Makes a wonderful festive gift for family and friends!

Well, this is as snowy as it is going to get in the tropics. ^^

Lime cotton cheesecake

I really don't know if I should call this ogura cake or cotton cheesecake.

If you look at the ingredients, it's the ratios of eggs, fat, liquid and flour of the ogura cakes I've been using lately. Now compare against a cotton cheesecake recipe, you'll probably see similar ratios too, maybe with a mix-in of corn starch, and a wee bit more fat!

It tastes the same. Not kidding. Same texture too.

Lime cotton cheesecake (recipe adapted from bisouatoi and kimmycookingpleasures)
250g cream cheese
120ml milk
45g butter
6 egg yolks
zest of 1 small lime
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp rum
65g cake flour, sifted
6 egg whites
120g caster sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1. Place a baking tray filled with water in the lowest rack and set the oven  to 180C,

2. Put cream cheese, milk and butter in a oven-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Whisk mixture till melted and smooth, and remove from heat. Leave to cool for about 5 minutes.

3. Add egg yolks, lime zest and juice, and rum. Mix till combined.

4. Fold in the sifted cake flour.

5. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites till foamy. Add in cream of tartar. Then mix in the sugar bit by bit. Continue beating the egg whites till thick and glossy, and stiff peaks form, around 4 minutes.

5. Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the cake mixture till well mixed. Then gently fold the rest in till combined.

6. Line the bottom of an 8-inch round or 9-inch square baking tin with grease paper. No need to grease the sides. Pour cake mixture into baking tin and give it a good tap against the counter to remove air bubbles.

7. Turn down oven to 150C, place baking tin on the 2nd lowest rack and bake for about 1 hour 15 mins (75mins), till the top is nicely browned and the skewer comes out clean.

8. Remove cake tin from oven and give it a tap against the counter. Invert cake and leave to cool. Once cooled, release cake by gently pulling the cake from the sides with your hands, or with the help of a knife. It should be removed quite easily.

As you can see, I finally decided on cotton cheesecake. The use of butter skewed it in its favor. I just hope nobody comes after me for messing up their recipes. I have put link-backs if that helps. ^^

Anyway, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. ^^

Carrot fruit cake with lime cream cheese frosting

Next to the built-in oven that came with the apartment, my Kenwood electric mixer is the other item that gave me the most joy during my early baking days. ^^

It paved the way for an "upgraded" baking adventure and contributed greatly to my much needed post-Mum therapy in the following years. Well, time flies, and it's been 9 years since big brother and SIL (Chubby pig's papa and mama) bought it for me when they saw me working on a cheesecake mixture for 45 minutes, with a hand held electric mixer/beater. Hey, amateur mah.. 45 minutes is about right, since there's no mention how long one is supposed to beat the cream cheese! Don't laugh. ^^|||||

I first made this carrot fruit cake way back in 2006, and I remember clearly how much big brother enjoyed it and how he said "it's good enough to sell!"! ^^ Yes. That made me very happy. I think it's the first time, and probably one of those rare times ^^|| (haha!) I ever get to hear that! ^^

This cake is for him.

Carrot fruit cake (recipe from Umah Thevi, printed in the Women's Weekly, April 2006) 

250g butter

250g caster sugar (I reduced a little to 200g)

6 medium-sized eggs

1 tsp vanilla 

250g self-raising flour

150g mixed fruits

3 medium-sized carrots, grated (squeeze the juice out a little if possible)

50g hazelnuts, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 180C. 

2. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy about 3-4 minutes.

3. Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Stir in the vanilla.

4. Fold in the flour in 2-3 batches. And mix in the mixed fruits and grated carrot till well combined.

5. Pour batter into a greased 8-inch baking tin, and bake for about 40-45 minutes, or till the skewer comes out clean.

Lime cream cheese frosting (use your own favorite recipe)

250g cream cheese, softened

120-160ml whipping cream

60-80g icing sugar, sifted

some grated lime zest

1. Beat softened cream cheese for about 10 minutes till light and fluffy. Fold in icing sugar and lime zest.

2. In another bowl, beat whipping cream till light and fluffy, or stiff peaks form. Be careful not to overbeat.

3. Mix cream cheese with whipped cream gently. Chill in the fridge before frosting.

  

This isn't the usual carrot cake recipe. So don't expect a carrot cake. The carrots are barely there, just a hint here and there, amongst the fruit mix. But I like it just the way it is. ^^ 

Well, I've made it exactly as per the recipe before and it's great! So you should try this too. It really is the perfect cake to share with family and friends, no need for any frosting if you ask me. Of course, you can always give it your own twist.. like I did, but I'm just too lazy to note it down. Just think rum.. lots of rum.. ^^ ^^ ^^

I like how this cake turned out as a birthday cake with the frosting and all.. a little old fashioned, but it's oh-so delish. Just the way I like it. ^^ 

I am fairly certain that given a cape and a nice tiara, I could save the world ^^

I didn't plan on decadence or indulgence.. or world peace.. but it happened.

It all started with leftovers. One lone egg. A tub of sour cream. Plus it's close to that time of the year, and I'm again researching cakes for a special someone's birthday. And I saw this recipe.. using sour cream, no butter (?!)! 

Seriously, I just wanted to make chocolate cake.

Chocolate cake (recipe by amanda rettke, found in delish.com)

40g cocoa powder (I forgot to half the recipe and used 80g instead ^^||)

105g cake flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

150g caster sugar (I used 115g)

pinch of salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup or 120ml sour cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup coffee

1/2 cup or 100g milk chocolate, finely chopped

1. Sift cocoa powder, cake flour and baking soda in a bowl. Add sugar and salt. Mix till well blended.

2. Mix in egg, sour cream, vanilla and coffee. Mix till well combined and fold in chopped chocolates.

3. Pour into a greased 8" square tin.

4. Bake in a preheated oven of 170C for 30 minutes, or till skewer comes out clean.

I usually never taste the batter, but I did this time. Oh my, it was so very, very chocolatey and not sweet at all.. and that's when I realized I may have forgotten to halve the quantity of cocoa powder! Uh-oh..

So..... I set out to sweeten the cake.. with what else? More leftovers, of course! ^^

Let's see, a banana on the counter, salted caramel and "vintage" peanut butter in the fridge. And that's how DECADENCE HAPPENED.

Salted caramel

use your favorite, or see here and here

Peanut butter buttercream frosting

some peanut butter (100g)

some butter (50g)

some icing sugar (40g)

some cream (add to the consistency you like ^^)

Sometimes I feel really clever when I'm able to make use of leftovers, la-la-la days like this! Big pig once gave me a pack of pretty serviettes (which he "lugged" all the way from the US ^^), that he thinks totally says me.. "I am fairly certain that given a cape and a nice tiara, I can save the world"! 

Yes, that's him saying I'm somewhat delusional, haha! ^^ Hey, if I wasn't a little looney, we'd just be having chocolate cake! Instead, we're feasting on a lusciously indulgent chocolate cake laced with salted caramel, peanut butter buttercream frosting and bananas! 

And in case you missed it.. chocolate cake with salted caramel, peanut butter buttercream frosting and bananas could just be the answer to world peace ^^

Apricot yogurt ogura cake

glad i caught the sun before the skies opened up ^^

I've always been a laggard when it comes to what's in in the baking blogsphere.

Well, for someone who's just figured out chiffon cake not too long ago, and since it's well past ogura cake's popularity, I guess I'm on schedule ^^

Apricot yogurt ogura cake (adapted from kimmy-cookingpleasure)
5 egg yolks
20g caster sugar (I added as I used plain yogurt and my apricot jam wasn't very sweet)
1 whole egg (I omitted)
45g neutral tasting veg oil
80-100g yogurt
1 tbsp apricot jam (best to use 40g at least!) 
65g cake flour, sifted
5 egg whites
60g caster sugar
1/2 tsp vinegar/cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven at 180C. And put a baking tray filled with water on the lowest rack.

2. Whisk egg yolks, sugar and apricot jam till well combined. Add veg oil and yogurt till well mixed.

3. Fold in sifted flour.

4. In another bowl, beat egg whites till foamy and add cream of tartar. Then mix in sugar bit by bit. Continue beating the egg whites till meringue is stiff, about 4-5 minutes.

5. Mix 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter till well combined. Gently fold in the rest of the egg whites into the batter.

6. Line the bottom of an 8" square tin with baking paper (there's no need to line or grease the sides ^^). Pour batter into the prepared tin. Give the tin a good tap against the counter to remove air bubbles.

7. Turn oven down to 150C and place baking tin in the 2nd lowest rack and bake for 1 hour, or till top is nicely golden brown and cake looks like it's shrinking on the sides.

8. Remove from oven and give it a tap on the counter. Invert cake and leave to cool. When's cool, remove the cake by pulling the sides with hands or insert a knife to cut through.

This is a super duper easy bake. You can have your cake and eat it, in under 1.5 hours! ^^ It's just like making chiffon cake, but you bake it in a normal round or square tin.. using the steam-bake/bain-marie method.

I love tall cakes but I made the mistake of using a 9" square tin after seeing some pictures of how ill-fitting and how the cakes were "exploding" in an 8" tin. Mistake! My cake didn't rise that kind of high, and remained well behaved throughout the baking period. I guess I must've used the right oven temperature. So I'm advocating the recipe be baked in an 8" square tin. ^^

And no harm done in omitting 1 whole egg (as per original recipe) either. The cake turned out well despite the missing egg.. it's still wonderfully soft and light and fluffy!

This is a really nice treat to have for tea. ^^

** updated on 19/10/14: baked same cake again to get rid of yogurt.. this time added 40g apricot jam to 100g yogurt.. tasted even better! 

A cake made with gula melaka and coconut milk.. and butter ^^

I have been craving cakes for about a week plus or so.

Baby pig is not helping as he told me he doesn't want any homey (@ unfrosted, un-fancy ^^||) cakes! Aaaaaarrrggghhhhhhh... oh, how I miss my dumpster, Big!

So what led to this happy ending? A pack of opened, barely used coconut milk, of course! Woo-hoo! I was attempting to cook indian asam curry fish head for the 1st time last night, and the taste wasn't quite right till I added some coconut milk (as advised, but didn't quite want to heed as I don't like coconut milk in my dishes).. so I had a 3/4 pack full of coconut milk which I didn't quite know what to do with.

And then I remembered mel@melspantrykitchen's palm sugar chiffon cake. And I found palm sugar@gula melaka in the fridge.. And the rest, as they say, is history! ^^

Gula melaka and coconut milk butter cake
~ fills an 8" baking tin
250g salted butter
180g gula melaka, grated or chopped
4 egg yolks
1-2 tbsps rum
150ml coconut milk
250g cake flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder, sifted
4 egg whites
40g sugar

1. Cream butter and gula melaka till light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Don't worry about the gula melaka bits.

2. Add egg yolks one at a time till well combined. Mix in rum.

3. Fold in sifted flours and alternate with coconut milk.

4. In another bowl, whisk egg whites till fluffy, and add in sugar bit by bit. Beat egg whites till it forms stiff peaks.

5. Fold in 1/3 egg egg whites into cake batter and mix well. Fold in the rest of the egg whites gently till well combined.

6. Pour into a greased 8" square baking tin (or any mould you like) and bake in a preheated oven of 170C for about 40-45 minutes, or till skewer comes out clean.

Whoa!!! This is one of the bestest, softest, moistest, perfect textured cake I have ever made! And it tastes amazing even fresh out of the oven! Even the picky, I-don't-want-cake Baby pig thinks it is wonderful! And went, mmmmmm... mmmmmmmm... mmmmmmmmm ^^

This OMG fragrant, nicely sweet cake is perfect eaten on its own. It goes very well with coffee and tea too, but I reckon the pairing would be even better if the cake was a touch sweeter.. since I don't put sugar in my coffee ^^.

Well, I'm really happy with how the cake turned out. This cake is so very enticing due to the gula melaka fragrance, and it's luscious as well, because of the addition of coconut milk making the texture soft-silken and moist. And I know I made the right choice using SALTED butter (my favorite salted butter, of course, Golden Churn ^^), 'cos the cake turned out really well-rounded.

I'm really happy.. oops, I said that already, haven't I? ^^ ^^ ^^

Banana chocolate chip petit cakes

My Chubby piggy loves the combination of banana and chocolate chip. I think it's a winning combo amongst kids.. probably because of the choc chips! ^^

When it comes to banana cakes, I love using Agnes Chang's recipe.. of course, with a few tweaks here and there ^^. Her recipes are easy to follow and pretty fail-proof for amateur bakers like me, and they're yummy too.

Banana cake (adapted from Agnes Chang's I Can Bake book)
~ makes an 8-inch cake, or 14 cupcakes and a small loaf cake
227g unsalted butter
170g sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas
1/2 cup or 120ml milk
240g cake or plain flour, sifted
1 scant tsp baking powder, sifted
1 scant tsp baking soda, sifted
150g chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 170C.

2. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes on an electric mixer.

3. Add eggs one at a time till well mixed, on low speed.

4. Fold in mashed bananas.

5. Sift flours together and mix into the cake batter alternating with milk in 2 or 3 batches. Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips.

6. Pour into lined cupcake tins or greased cake tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes for cupcakes, and about 50 minutes for a whole cake.

When I first started baking cakes, there's always a 50-50 chance they turned out dense and kuih-like ^^||. That's when I tried all methods, and re-discovered the egg separation method (a method favored by my aunt who fanned my taste for such cakes).. and also the use of self-raising flour.

Recipes using flour, baking powder and baking soda, stumped and eluded me. So I resorted to replacing them with self-raising flour. Of course by now, after many misses and trials, I know what I did wrong.. AND now, I SIFT my FLOUR/S TOGETHER for at least 3 times!!! Yup, so simple, right??! Also so simple for lazy people like me to miss and skip, haha!

This is the outcome of the direct, easy method of mixing in eggs. Texture is as beautiful, soft and moist as the eggs separation method. A minor, almost unnoticeable difference is that this cake has a slightly sandy-crumbs look. And though both are soft, the egg separation method gives a slightly spongey, wee QQ@boing-boing effect. Seriously, most people can't tell the difference.. not even my piggies who have been fed cakes using eggs separation method. Only the nit-picky.. like me, haha! ^^

Well, it has been good babysitting Chubby. We managed to cook instant noodles, fried rice and french toast together. I'm so proud of my Chubby, he made french toast for his parents after learning it. I think he's a natural ^^

Orange chiffon cake ~ I love!

Oranges are so fragrant and sweet lately, they make exceptionally good cakes!

And that's why I made orange chiffon cake twice last week, despite the heat! They taste so refreshing and light.. absolutely perfect for the scorching conditions we have been experiencing lately.

This is my to-go recipe for all my chiffon bakes, a recipe shared by sonia@nasilemaklover. I have been using her fail-proof recipe as base, and I've had success every time. I hope whoever reads this, will give her recipe a shot, especially those who have trouble with chiffon cakes, like I used to. ^^

Along the way, I've learned a few things:

1. Beating egg whites till stiff means beating on medium speed (electric handheld mixer speed 3) for 4-5 minutes, no less than that, nor any longer.

2. Using grapeseed oil (a more neutral oil) gives a better fragrance and produces a lighter cake than using corn oil.

3. You CAN unmould chiffon cakes using your hands instead of cutting or sawing (^^||!) your cake out! Check out this link. You CAN have a beautifully unmoulded cake! ^^

4. Use cake flour. And sift them at least twice!

5. If baking cake using a single baking tin, cake can be baked in a preheated oven of 170C  (WITHOUT fan -forced) for 40-45 minutes. Set or use fan -forced oven only when baking using multiple baking tins.

6. There's no need to grease the tins! EVER!!! ^^

Sonia has mentioned "unmoulding chiffon cake using bare hands" method before in her posts, and I've been looking out for it ever since (I may have even missed it without realizing ^^||!!!). And of course, lazy me, just kept on waiting and waiting... Last week, after cutting and sawing a big chunk off and making a mess out of one of my bakes, it finally occurred to me I could just easily google the method up (duh??!!!)..oops, haha! ^^

Orange chiffon cake (recipe adapted from nasilemaklover)
5 egg yolks
20g sugar
zest of 1 orange
90g orange juice (not enough? just top up with water ^^)
70g grapeseed oil (this is a lighter and more neutral tasting oil compared to corn oil)
125g cake / low protein flour, SIFTED
5 egg whites
90g sugar
1 tsp lemon juice / 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1. Whisk egg yolks and sugar till light (from yellow to pale yellow).

2. Add in orange juice and zest, and mix well.

3. Add oil and mix till combined.

4. Fold in sifted flour till well mixed.

5. In another bowl, beat egg whites and lemon juice/cream of tartar till foamy. Add sugar bit by bit, and continue beating the egg whites till STIFF, ABOUT 4-5 MINUTES on an electric hand mixer at speed 3!!!

6. Take 1/3 of the meringue and add to the cake mixture. Mix well by using a SPATULA. Gently fold in the rest of the meringue into the cake mixture. It's ok if there's still some swirls or small bubbles of meringue left in the cake mixture.

7. Pour mixture into a clean (NON-greased!!) 20-cm chiffon tin. Tap the cake tin on the counter once to remove air trapped in the batter.

8. Bake in a preheated oven of 170C for 40-45 minutes. If baking in mutiple baking tins, use FAN-FORCED oven at 160C for 40-45 minutes

9. Remove from oven and turn the cake tin upside down and leave to cool completely. Unmould cake by running a sharp knife against the sides, or by bare-hands method ^^.

For an easy, light and refreshing cake to counter the heat, look no further! An orange chiffon cake fits the bill perfectly! ^^

* updated on 11th july 2014

Fabulicious easy raspberry & blueberry muffins@cupcakes ^^

These are no muffins ^^!

They maybe called muffins by the originator of this recipe, but they're really mini cakes or cupcakes! Hence they taste absolutely, perfectly fabulicious, as a fluffy, moist cake should! And better! ^^

I always steer clear from muffins because of previous experiences with store bought ones ~ dry, dry, drier and dense! Maybe it's been sitting on the counter for too long, but most likely because of the low fat content, the use of veg oil and no-butter that puts me off.

This recipe uses butter ^^. The ratio of butter to flour and sugar is just like that of a butter cake.. and it uses the creaming method.. so I know these are no muffins! ^^

Raspberry & blueberry muffins (recipe shared by mel@melspantrykitchen, from jessie-cookingmoments)

~ makes 10 muffins

150g unsalted butter, softened

120g sugar (100g is good enough for me) 

2 eggs

60g cream (I replaced with milk)

zest of 1 lemon (or orange)

140g of cake flour, sifted

1 tsp baking powder, sifted

a pinch of salt

40g almond meal

2 tbsp milk

65g raspberries 

65g blueberries (extras won't hurt ^^)

1. Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

2. Add in eggs one at a time till well mixed. Add the cream (if using) and lemon zest.

3. Fold in the sifted flour, baking powder, salt and almond meal till well combined.

4. Add milk (+ the 60g milk here, if using) till well mixed, and add in the berries.

5. Bake in preheated oven of 160C for 30 minutes. 

This is the 2nd time I'm making this recipe. The 1st time I just used blueberries and made half the recipe.. and fatty hubby and I finished the 5 muffins in a blink! This time round, I'm not holding back. Since I had some over-ripe raspberries, I added them too. Both bakes were fabuliciously delicious! The texture was perfectly soft and oh-so moist and super-loaded with berries! However, I'm swaying a little to the ones with just blueberries in it ^^

And don't be put off by how pale my muffins look. They should be nicely golden brown, but mine turned out pale both times.They are however, yummylicious every time! Thanks, mel! This is a super-duper good bake! We can't stop eating it! Maybe it will last till breakfast since I made the full recipe ^^

Mini cakes disguised as muffins! We love! ^^ ^^ ^^