A crazy week.. but cakes must go on ^^

It has been a roller-coaster week.. with FIL landing in hospital (while fatty hubby's away!), playing "temp-mom" to chubby pig who's staying over and baking a gazillion chocolate chip cookies for a charity sale..

I'm glad to report things are finally back to normal today! Dad's surgery went well and was discharged yesterday, chubby's back with his parents and I'm so done with cookies!!! ^^

I finally have time for me. ^^ And I want cake.

Orange chocolate chip cake (recipe from kwanster)
~ makes one 7-inch square tin cake / 1 medium loaf cake and 4 mini cakes
1 medium thin-skinned orange
200g unsalted butter
160g sugar
3 eggs, beaten
200g self-raising flour
200g chocolate chips

1. In a processor, blitz orange (skin and all) till fine. Remove finely processed orange from processor.

2. Place butter and sugar into the same processor and blitz till light and fluffy. Add beaten eggs bit by bit into butter mixture till combined.

3. Add flour and mix well. Mix in processed orange into the batter till well combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

4. Pour cake mixture into a greased/line cake tin/cupcake tins. Bake in a preheated oven of 180C for 50-55 minutes, or till skewer comes out clean (if using cupcake tin, bake for 25-30 minutes).

I've always wanted to make something with orange and chocolate after the omg-delicious jaffa fudge slice I had last year.. but never got round to ^^||. Well, after the successful spur-of-the-moment fantabulous super-loaded banana chocolate chip minicake I made for chubby pig last monday ^^, this was something I wanted to reward myself after a crazy week! And I like the idea of blitzing a whole orange!

I love how gorgeously bright the cake turned out! Love the aroma, taste and texture too! ^^

As I had no time to post earlier, here's two cakes I baked and enjoyed early last week ^^

Fantabulous super-loaded banana chocolate chip minicake
~ makes 8 small mini cakes
60g unsalted butter
40g muscovado or brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
60g self raising flour
a pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup mashed bananas
2 tbsp fresh milk
60g chocolate chips

1. Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy about 3 minutes. Add beaten egg and mix till well combined.

2. Mix in flour and salt till combined. Add bananas and fresh milk into the batter. Fold in chocolate chips.

3. Pour batter into lined cupcake tins and bake in a preheated oven of 180C for 25-30 minutes.

There's usually never enough bananas at home to make cake.. but last week was such a busy week that we barely had time to sit, much less eat bananas.. hence some over-ripe bananas brought about this spur of the moment banana chocolate chip minicake (partially inspired by the coffee and nuts cake ratios ^^) made just for chubby pig. Over-loaded and too delicious!!! ^^

Coffee and nuts cake (inspired by melspantrykitchen and poiresauchocolat)
~ makes 1 small loaf
60g unsalted butter
50g sugar
1 egg, beaten
60g self raising flour
a pinch of sea salt
1 tsp instant coffee + 1 tsp hot water (mix together)
2 tbsp fresh milk
15g toasted walnuts, chopped
15g hazelnut meal

1. Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy about 3 minutes. Add beaten egg and mix till well combined.

2. Mix in flour and salt till combined. Add coffee and fresh milk into the batter. Fold in walnuts and hazelnut meal.

3. Pour batter into greased/lined cake tin and bake in a preheated oven of 180C for 40-50 minutes, or till skewer comes out clean.

I made this cake just before the madness started, and it is BEST on the day it is baked ^^. Most cakes almost always taste better after it's cooled or the next day, but the coffee and nuts cake is delish fresh from the oven. I can imagine it tasting luscious with lots of buttercream (I wish I dared, mel ^^), but it's best I eat it plain ^^!

It's crazy how sometimes things just happen all at once.. but there's always time for cake. ^^

Gâteau au yaourt ^^

Doesn't gâteau au yaourt sounds so much more exciting than plain ol' yogurt cake? ^^

Sudden cravings for yogurt-something, anything(!!!).. had me googling for "yogurt cake" on the mobile in the middle of the night! There's really no connection between yogurt and the scorching heat, is there??

Well, this recipe had my attention.. you'll see why ^^..

Gâteau au yaourt ~ Yogurt cake (recipe by chocolateandzucchini)
1 cup (250ml) yogurt, unsweetened (use your favorite ^^ i love farmers union)
2 eggs, beaten (beat till light and fluffy if you like a lighter, fluffier cake ^^)
1/3 cup neutral tasting oil (i like using grapeseed oil over corn/sunflower oil)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp rum (i love rum in cakes!)
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour, sifted (i cheated, used self-raising flour and omitted baking powder/soda)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder, sifted
1/2 tsp baking soda, sifted
a pinch of salt

1. In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together ~ sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt ~ till well combined.

2. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add yogurt, beaten eggs, oil, vanilla extract and rum. Gently mix all the ingredients together till combined. DO NOT OVER MIX.

3. Pour into a greased or lined 10-inch (?) round baking tin. Bake in a preheated oven of 180C for 30-35 minutes, till the top is golden and the skewer comes out clean. I baked mine in 2 loaf tins at 170C for 45-50 minutes. Baking in loaf tins will usually result in domed, cracked tops.. less likely if using round/square tins.

That's it! This is one of those easy-peasy, dump everything together bake ^^. Just one reading of chocolateandzucchini's yogurt cake post, and you won't even need the recipe! That's what I thought.. and I made the mistake of using 2/3 cup of oil instead of 1/3 cup, because the mind couldn't reconcile with the use of so little oil, haha! No harm done, I think ^^.

Anyway, the ratios are easy to remember ~ 1 cup (250ml) yogurt : 1 cup sugar : 2 cups flour : 2 eggs ~ you can use the same cup (the one your yogurt came in) to measure the ingredients. Since mine came in a 200g tub, I adjusted my measurements accordingly ^^. They say this is the first cake that french kids learn to make. I believe it. ^^

You know I've always been hesitant of bakes that doesn't use butter ^^||.. and past results using vegetable oil like sunflower and corn oil have not exactly endeared me to such bakes. I always feel these supposedly light and neutral tasting oil are "heavy" and strong flavored somehow ^^|| Kitchen feels extra greasy too when I use them for cooking. Maybe it's just me?? But I'm loving the results with grapeseed oil, for baking as well as for cooking ^^.

The result ~ a light textured cake that's extremely soft, moist and fluffy with a slightly crusty top. Flavor and aroma wise ~ it's on the soft and delicate side (though I expect the flavors to develop a little more the next day ^^). As usual, I like my cakes plain. But this cake also pairs quite nicely with homemade fruit jam/sauce, or even whipped cream ^^. It'd make a very good basic cake for trifles, I think ^^. And you can tweak this easily to suit your own preference too, by adding orange or lemon zest or blueberries, almonds etc.

mulberries grown in the tropics are never sweet! organic or not!!!

For some weird reason, this cake makes me think of a doughnut I had in kuromon market, osaka.. crusty exterior, soft fluffy-airy texture inside ^^ The more I think of it, even the smell and taste are alike too! Yums! ^^

This is a seriously delicious cake that uses no butter (!) and stays beautifully soft and moist (even in the fridge). You can bet I'm making this again! ^^

Erratic weather.. and an even-more erratic wifi connection!

That's how life has been these past few weeks! Weird and erratic!

Since coming back from a short holiday in taiwan.. that's all we've been experiencing.. which is so not conducive for baking nor blogging! The aftermath of a certain event over here isn't exactly a mood-lifter either.. ^^|| And all the msg-laden foods that we stuffed ourselves during our holiday, took a toll on our bodies too..

But finally today, the wifi connection seems a little more stable.. and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll remain so till I finish this. ^^ Weather's still horridly hot and suffocating though!

Anyway, this is something I made more than a month back but never posted because I was hoping to perfect and compare it with the marinated pork belly in shrimp paste (still!!!) sitting in the freezer!

Since my first taste of moo tod kapi (crispy pork with shrimp paste) in a thai restaurant, I've always wanted to re-create this dish at home. I really dig the flavor of kaffir lime leaves in this dish!

Despite googling high and low for a recipe of moo tod kapi, I just couldn't find one ^^|| So I figured I'd just do my own interpretation of this dish.. without shrimp paste (since I didn't have any at home then!).. but with lots of kaffir lime leaves! ^^

Almost-crispy pork belly with kaffir lime leaves
500g pork belly, skin removed (I'm sure other parts could be used)
1 tsp sea salt (if using shrimp paste, omit salt)
2-3 cloves of garlic, grated (can omit if using shrimp paste)
a big handful of kaffir lime leaves
a handful of curry leaves
2-3 bird's eye chilles, seeds removed
2 cloves of garlic, lightly smashed
sea salt, to season if necessary

1. Marinade pork belly with salt (or shrimp paste) and grated garlic for at least 1 hour or overnight.

2. Heat a bit of oil in a non-stick pan/wok. Place pork belly on the sides and sear till golden brown. Flip to the other side and do the same. Remove pork belly and cut into smaller slices. Looking back, I'm not sure why I did this (??!) and not cut it into smaller slices and just done step 3??? ^^||

3. Remove or wipe off remaining grease/oil from the pan/wok. Put pork belly slices, kaffir lime leaves, curry leaves, chilies and lightly smashed garlic pips in and saute till meat is golden and crispy. If necessary, season with a bit more salt. Do remove the fat/oil/grease when meat starts drowning in it ^^||. 

4. Serve immediately. Tastes even better when cooled or the day after ^^

It's amazing the amount of fat that oozed out from the pork belly! So be warned!

If you can deep fry, please do so to get a crispy texture (slice to smaller pieces after it's cooked).. since I can't, this is it.. an almost-crispy pork dish. ^^

Anyway, this is a wonderfully piquant dish with soft hints of kaffir lime leaves, garlic and curry leaves ^^. And if you can bring yourself to save some for the next day, the flavors get even better! ^^

Piggies were not exactly enthusiastic at first bite.. but by the 2nd/3rd piece, they were smitten!!  It's the kaffir lime leaves, I tell you! ^^

So, shrimp paste or not.. it's still exceptionally DELICIOUS ^^!

And here's a few pictures of the places and food I really liked in taiwan.. sans msg ^^

night harbour view of keelung ~ from our hotel window

picturesque jiufen

huge caramelized peanut slabs ~ turned into shaved peanut candy topped with 2 scoops of ice cream wrapped in popiah skin ~ deliciousssnesss!!! i love this and had two servings.. and i'm not even a fan of peanuts! ^^ i like jiufen ^^

Oops.. that's all the decent food pix I have, haha! Didn't take many food pictures because I just couldn't wait to eat.. and by which time I remembered to, I was already half way through and it looked like a hurricane had struck the dishes.. sorry ^^.

Taiwan's really nice.. cool weather, beautiful scenery, exciting, lots of food/snacks, safe ^^.. but the heavy handed use of msg is not. ^^||

A 5-star pie ^^

Do not be deceived by this simple, rustic looking pie ^^.

I would've loved to make them into dainty little purses or parcels if only I had the skills.. or the delicate hands for it, which I don't ^^||! So it had to be a big happy pie. ^^

I picked this recipe up from mel of melspantrykitchen and nasilemaklover a few weeks back (though I now realize I had come across the recipe in the food&travel magazine earlier, and forgotten about it ^^||). But it was mel's big shout out and "5-star rating" of how delicious this pie is, that I was sold!

I had to make it, pronto! Besides this pie had big pig's name all over it.. spinach, feta, potatoes, cheese.. ooh! ^^ But the omg-hot, "I can barely breathe" weather put a stall to my plans for weeks.. but I finally made it ^^.. and it's a worthy 5-star pie! ^^

5-star Spinach, feta and potato pie (shared by mel and nasilemaklover from food&travel magazine)
~ makes 6 individual pies or a 22-cm round pie

Best shortcrust pastry ever!!! for savories (adapted from the original recipe by Dean Brettschneider)
280g all purpose flour
170g cold butter, diced (I used 125g unsalted lescure+45g salted president ~ could it be because of this?)
2 tbsp cold fresh milk (or this???)

Filling
1 baking potato, diced
200g spinach (use fresh for a nicer outcome.. frozen looks miserable.. guess what I used? ^^||)
100ml cream, or fresh milk (low fat is fine too ^^)
1 egg, beaten
100g cheddar cheese, grated
4 sun-dried tomatoes. sliced thin (optional, I added)
salt and pepper, to taste
a pinch of grated fresh nutmeg, or nutmeg powder

Egg wash
1 egg, beaten + 1 tbsp milk

1. Shortcrust pastry. Blitz or rub the flour with the cold butter till it resembles breadcrumbs. Add milk and mix till the pastry comes together. Press dough into a flat, round shape and chill for 1 hour.

2. Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes till cooked, then drain.

3. Wilt the spinach by placing it in a colander and pour boiling water over. Drain and squeeze out all the liquid.

4. In a bowl, mix spinach, potato, cream (or milk), feta, egg, sun-dried tomatoes (if using) and 3/4 cheese together. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

5. Roll out dough to 3mm thick and cut out 6 squares, 13cm x 13cm ^^|| (see nasilemaklover's instructions).. otherwise just use 2/3 dough and roll it out to fit a greased 22-cm tart tin ^^. Put filling into the tart/pie tin. Roll the rest of the dough out and place over filling. Pinch the edges together to seal. Make a few slits on the top pastry for steam to escape while baking. Brush pie generously with egg wash and top/sprinkle with the remaining (1/4) grated cheddar.

6. Bake in a preheated oven of 220C for 30 minutes, or till golden. I baked at 200C for 45 minutes. Leave to cool slightly before slicing.

This pie is really deserving of a 5-star rating! The crust is the best crisp, yet flakiest EVER!!! PERFECTION!!! And the filling is OUTSTANDING too!! WE LOVE IT!!!

You know, it's been a while since big pig went, MMM! THIS IS SO GOOD! SO SO GOOD!!! MMM!!! MMM!!! MMMM!!! It feels so so good to hear that! ^^

p.s. i had to make the crust from scratch, as my very-expired ready made shortcrust pastry couldn't be salvaged! but it's the best thing to happen! ^^ 

I finally did it! ^^

A chiffon cake that did not fall flat like a pancake! Yay! ^^

I know, it's easy, so you say.. that's what I think too! But after numerous attempts, and failing each and every single time, save for one (a fluke! ^^||), I've pretty much given up hope.. ^^||

But today I've finally figured out what I've been doing wrong all this time! It's 5 minutes, and not a second longer (I hear you, mel ~ don't overbeat! ^^)! Yes, you have to beat the egg whites for at least 4-5 minutes with a hand mixer on speed 3! Duh????!!!!

And it's all thanks to sonia@nasilemaklover for sharing a most detailed step-by-step to achieving a successful and fail-proof chiffon cake! ^^ No more being vague about "beating egg whites till stiff or soft peaks"! Now I know I have to beat for 4-5 minutes to get a nice fluffy, cottony soft chiffon cake ^^.

I now know too that "beat egg whites till stiff" holds different meaning for different bakes.. no more assuming what works for japanese cotton cheesecake works for chiffon cakes.. and scratching my head over why it's so easy to make cotton cheesecake but not chiffon cake!

Thank you a million times over, sonia of nasilemaklover, for sharing this super-important nugget of information ~ the key to more happy bakes! I'm eternally grateful and appreciative that you noted down the techniques and time(!) to achieving a successful, moist and fluffy-cottony soft chiffon cake, for dummies like me! ^^

Archilles heel be gone.. ^^!!!

p.s. we should not be talking cakes at night, mel.. and on scorching hot, hot days like these! i'm drenched and on the verge of melting.. but I'm extremely happy though.. i'm enjoying my "first" successful chiffon cake in the middle of the night.. and there's more for breakfast tomorrow! ^^ wish i could share this with you.. thanks for the encouragement ^^

Southern peach cobbler ~ 2 ways ^^

Bliss.. ^^

A whole Saturday afternoon/evening spent on baking for big pig's whodunit party! ^^ Made dailydelicious's strawberry cheesecake with mascarpone topping, chez panisse almond tart, nama chocolates.. and some panna cotta too, with leftover cream.. a happy day ^^

And a whole Sunday evening helping out at the victorian-themed party (the word servant somehow comes to mind ^^||).. Anyways, I volunteered for it ^^. Isn't that what all good aunts do *angelic look* ^^? Btw, you won't forget about that trip to spain you promised when you're rich, right, piggies? *wink**wink**oink-oink!*

While I was on my feet the whole evening, my eyes was on a southern peach cobbler ^^ made by one of big's guests! ^^ The prize of hard work ~ a piece of yummy treat! ^^

My first thought after tasting southern peach cobbler was that it's a rich, pudding-like dessert with a soft-chewy texture.. so different from the crisp, crumble-like cobbler I had in mind. That friend (an american, mentioned that the soft, rich pudding-like dessert is the "real" southern deal) had added a tinge of rice flour to the recipe as she ran out of all purpose flour, which made me wonder if rice flour made the dessert chewy.. My curiousity was piqued!

So I decided to make 2 versions of southern peach cobbler ^^ ~ half a recipe each ~ just to compare! The first recipe turned out exactly like the one I had last night.. only much softer and less chewy ^^. The second recipe produced a nice crisp, cobbled crust with a soft cake-like texture underneath. ^^

Southern peach cobbler (recipe from southernplate)
~ rich, soft pudding-like version
1 stick (115g) unsalted butter
1 cup (125-140g) flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup (200g) sugar (I used 150g ^^)
a pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder (optional)
1 cup fresh milk (I used low fat ^^)
1 can (29oz/825g) peaches, drained and sliced

1. Heat oven to 350F/180C and melt butter in a 9x13" oven-proof baking dish in the oven. I left melted butter in the oven longer to bubble and turn golden.. and made browned butter, yums! ^^

2. In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and cinnamon powder till blended. Pour in milk and mix till well combined.

3. Remove the baking dish with melted butter from the oven and carefully put batter into melted butter. Do NOT stir.

4. Then place sliced peaches on top of the batter. Do NOT mix.

5. Bake till golden, about 55 minutes. Serve cold or warm, with a dollop of ice cream if you like. ^^

rich and moist, soft pudding-like texture with chewy burnt parts ~ yums! ^^

Southern peach cobbler (recipe adapted from allrecipes)
~ crumble-like crust, cake-like texture version
1 can (29oz/825g) peaches, drained and sliced
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tbsp butter, diced (optional but do use to keep peaches nicely moist)
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
a pinch of salt
1 stick butter (115g) unsalted butter, chilled and diced
1/4 cup hot water
1 tsp sugar

1. Place sliced peaches in a greased oven-proof baking dish. Sprinkle some cinnamon powder over and put bits of butter all over peaches.

2. In another bowl, blend flour, baking powder, sugars and salt together. Blend in diced butter till mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in water till batter comes together.. you'll end up with a thick, soft runny batter.

3. Drop spoonsful of batter/topping all over peaches. Sprinkle 1 tsp sugar over the topping. Bake in a preheated oven of 400F/200C for about 40-45 minutes, or till golden. Serve warm or cold ^^.

deliciously soft cake texture under a crisp, crumble-like crust.. mmm.. ^^

I enjoyed both! Same name, same ingredients (almost! ^^), but totally different taste and texture.. one tasting richer than the other (I like! ^^).. both GORGEOUS! Perfect with a nice cup of coffee ^^ and for sharing. ^^

Oh, yes! The whodunit party was a success ^^! Even if the teen-guests didn't quite figure out the murderer! They embraced their roles so whole-heartedly, came properly dressed in victorian garb and spoke in snooty english/russian/etc throughout dinner as per their characters, dined, drank and be merry (till someone was murdered! and quickly forgotten, haha!) over a beautifully laid out 6-course dinner with (sparkling) wine! 'twas a wonderful evening! ^^

p.s. the swirled strawberry cheesecake (no cracks! ^^) and mascarpone topping (a wee runny, but delish ^^) was good, but the cake as a whole would've been better without the cookie base. it's just my personal preference.. i'm not exactly a fan of digestive biscuit. well, they ate the cheesecake anyways, and the peach cobbler.. and the almond tart.. as well as the nama chocolates ~ teens with voracious appetites, yet not gain weight??!! life is good ^^!!! and happiness are days like this.. ^^

Creamy pasta with bacon, ricotta and tomato

Now, doesn't that sound good ^^?

It's extremely easy too, if you cheat with bottled tomato ricotta sauce :p.. Not that you should, of course. ^^

Creamy bacon, ricotta and tomato sauce (inspired from thekitchn)
~ serves 4
4 slices of streaky bacon, sliced/diced
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 sundried tomatoes, sliced thin
1 bottle of tomato ricotta sauce
1 tbsp of tomato puree
a dash of extra virgin olive oil
cooked pasta, of own preference

1. Saute bacon in a non-stick pan till golden and fragrant. Add diced onions and minced garlic, and stir fry till onions turned translucent or cooked. For some zing, add finely sliced sundried tomatoes.

2. Mix in ready-made tomato ricotta sauce (add some pasta water to dilute sauce a little if preferred). Add tomato puree if you like a more tangy sauce and bring sauce to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes, add a dash (or two ^^) of evoo and remove from heat.

3. Mix pasta with the sauce till well combined, and serve immediately.

I know, I shouldn't resort to bottled sauces.. but that bottle of tomato ricotta sauce looked too enticing on the supermarket shelf! I couldn't resist! ^^||

When fatty hubby requested pasta for dinner, I knew that bottle of sauce would come in handy ^^! A cheat-cook gotta do what a cheat cook does best with the limited resources that she has! ;p

I'm really not big about pasta and all.. so I really didn't expect much of this.

But this sauce just became my favorite tomato based sauce.. ever!!! ^^ I really, really, really like this.. big time!