Red Velvet Cake

It was my son's birthday 3 weeks ago but with all the ongoing activities, he couldnt have his birthday party until this week.  He invited some of his good friends over and requested that I make him a Red Velvet Cake.  I was so relieved that he didnt ask for any fancy cake or with a theme....that would have taken longer time to prepare.  I only baked the cake in the morning before his party.  Alhamdulillah.  To my sunny boy, mummy doakan Abang sentiasa dalam perlindungan Allah.  Ingat pesan Mummy and Tok Mak, jangan tinggalkan sembahyang dan apa2 yang kita buat semuanya kerana Allah.  Insyaallah here and after will be yours.  Amin.

Here's the recipe:-

Ingredients:-

125 gm unsalted butter (softened)
300 gm caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
240 ml buttermilk
250 gm self raising flour
20 gm cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp red colouring (I used Fortuna Red)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Method:-

1.  Greased and line 2 x 9" baking pan.  Set aside
2.  Sift flour, cocoa powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.
3.  Mix buttermilk with red food colouring and set aside.
4.  Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
5.  Add egg one at a time and beat well.
6.  Add vanilla essence and mix well.
7.  Fold in 1/3 of flour.  Add 1/2 buttermilk and mix well.  Alternate the process until finish ending with flour mixture.
8.  In a small bowl mix baking soda and apple cider vinegar.
9.  Quickly pour the soda mixture into batter and mix till fully incorporated.
10.  Pour onto baking tin equally and bake in a preheated oven 160C for 45-50 minutes or until skewer tester comes out clean.
11.  Let the cake cool completely before icing it with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

350 gm philadelphia cream cheese (softened)
100 gm butter (softened)
450 gm icing sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:-

Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat till smooth.  Sandwich the cake with cream cheese frosting and spread the rest to cover the whole cake.

Happy baking and salam from Ann's Delight.

Mushroom Pasta

Good morning everyone and since I havent been updating my blog for awhile, I hope it is still not too late to wish all Muslims, Eid Al Mubarak.  Alhamdulillah, although away from home, we had a sweet and meaningful Raya with my family.

Recently I cooked this Mushroom Pasta for our family dinner and the children loves it.  Its easy and simple to make and always a hit with my children.

Here's the recipe:-

4 turkey/chicken bacon slices (diced)
200 gm mushrooms (chopped)
350 gm pasta (of any shapes)
50 gm Parmesan cheese, grated
2 egg yolks
4 tbsp cream or evaporated milk
1 big onion (diced)
1 garlic (minced)
small bunch parsley, finely chopped
some basil leaves, finely chopped
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste


Method:-

1.  Cook the pasta following the pack instruction and drain and reserving 1/3 cup of the cooking water.  Set aside.
2.  Fry the bacon and mushrooms till golden brown and set aside.
3.  In a bowl, mix the cream, parmesan cheese, egg yolks, parsley and basil.  Set aside.
4.  Heat oil in pan and fry the garlic and onion till soft.
5.  Add the pasta and mushroom mixture.  Mix well and over low heat, add the sauce and balsamic vinegar.  Season and quickly mix, add a little cooking water if its too thick.
6.  Add some Parmesan cheese shavings and parsley before serving.

p/s  If you like, you can also use some sausages to replace the turkey bacon or simply omit it for a Vegetarian Meal.

Happy Cooking.

Agar-Agar Santan Gula Melaka (Palm Sugar and Coconut Milk Jelly)

Semalam masuk hari ke3 berpuasa, kesian pulak dekat anak-anak kalau Mummy tak buat kuih apa-apa.  Dah la jauh dari kampung halaman dan suasana berpuasa seperti di Malaysia.  To make sure they experience whatever little they can get, I made this agar-agar santan untuk juadah berbuka.  Besok kalau dorang dah besar, ada juga dia ingat dulu2 kalau bulan puasa Mummy buat agar-agar santan. 

Bahan-bahannya:-

750 ml air (2 1/2 cawan)

200 gm  gula melaka or dark brown sugar 

1 1/2 peket agar-agar powder (15 gm)

1 helai daun pandan

350 ml santan 

secubit garam

Cara-caranya:-

1.  Masukkan air, gula, daun pandan, 1 peket serbuk agar-agar (10 gm) kedalam periuk, kacau rata dan didihkan sehingga gula larut.  

2.  Keluarkan daun pandan dan tapis adunan kedalam acuan.  Tinggalkan 1/4 bahagian didalam periuk.

3.  Masukkan santan kedalam lebihan adunan tadi, 1/2 peket serbuk agar-agar (5 gm) dan secubit garam.

4.  Masak pada api sederhana sehingga semuanya sebati.

5.  Tuangkan adunan santan tadi ke atas adunan pertama didalam acuan.  Sejukkan dalam peti ais sebelum di potong.

Selamat mencuba ye.  

Ayam Masak Kicap Berempah

Salam Ramadhan Kareem.

Alhamdulillah, ramadhan kembali lagi dan semoga ramadhan tahun ini adalah lebih baik dari tahun-tahun yang lepas.  Selamat menjalani ibadah puasa kepada semua dan semoga diberkati dibulan yang mulia ini.  Selepas bercuti 2 minggu di kampung dan balik semula ke HK sehari sebelum berpuasa, terasa keletihannya.  Almaklumlah umur pun dah masuk senja so tenaga pun dah tak macam dulu2....tau takpe!!

Juadah untuk hidangan berbuka hari pertama ringkas sekali.  Kalau teringin apa2 semua kena buat sendiri ya, takde Bazar Ramadhan menanti disini.  Apa pun, alhamdulillah, anak2 selamat berpuasa and we had a very quiet and meaningful iftar together as a family.  One of the dishes we had was Ayam Masak Kicap and here's the recipe.

Bahan2nya:-

1 ekor ayam (1kg) di potong ikut suka, bersihkan dah tos

2 biji kentang, kupas dan potong ikut suka

7 ulas bawang merah

2 ulas bawang putih

1 inci halia

1 sudu teh biji ketumbar

1 sudu teh jintan manis

1 sudu teh lada hitam 

5 ulas buah pelaga

1inci kulit kayu manis

1 sudu teh serbuk kunyit

1 sudu teh kicap pekat

2 sudu besar kicap manis

garam secukupnya

Minyak secukupnya

Bawang besar, cili hijau dan tomato buah untuk hiasan

Cara-caranya:-

1.  Goreng kentang sehingga masak dan ketepikan.

2.  Gaulkan ayam bersama kunyit serbuk dan garam.  Goreng separuh masak dan ketepikan.

3.  Kisar atau tumbuk bawang merah, bawang putih, halia, biji ketumbar, jintan dan lada hitam.

4.  Panaskan 3 sudu besar minyak dalam kuali dan tumiskan buah pelaga, kulit kayu manis dan bahan-bahan kisar sehingga naik bau dan garing.

5.  Masukkan ayam yang telah digoreng tadi, digaul rata dan letakkan air sedikit.  Masak sehingga ayam empuk.

6.  Bila ayam sudah masak, masukkan kicap manis, kicap pekat dan gaul rata.  

7.  Masukkan kentang yang telah digoreng, hirisan cili hijau, hirisan bawang dan tomato.  Rasa garam, gaul rata dan tutup api.

Selamat mencuba.  

Walnut Cake

I made this many weeks ago but finally managed to upload the recipe.  Another nice cake for tea to go with your hot cuppa or simply bake this when you receive an invitation to a friend's place and am sure it will be a delight to the host!!  First you have to make the caramel, then proceed with the preparing of the cake.    Its not difficult but it has got an extra step compared to making other tea cakes which is preparing the caramel first.

Here's the recipe:-

Ingredients:-

160 gm butter
140 gm caster sugar
160 gm flour
40 gm almond powder
2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
50 gm walnut (chopped)

For the caramel:-

60 gm caster sugar
20 ml water
60 gm  fresh cream
20 ml fresh milk

Some apricot jam for glazing


Method:-

To prepare caramel:-
1.  Put sugar and water in a pan under medium flame until sugar crsytalised and browning.
2.  Add fresh cream and milk and mix quickly.  Set aside.

To prepare for the cake:-
1.  Grease baking tin and line with parchment paper.
2.  Sieve together flour and baking powder, set aside.
3.  Beat butter  and sugar till light and fluffy.
4.  Add the caramel mixture and mix well.
5.  Add eggs one at a time and beat till fully incorporated.
6.  Add vanilla essence and mix well.
7.  Add almond powder.
8.  Fold in the flour mixture.
9.  Add the chopped walnuts and mix well.
10.  Pour into prepared baking tin and bake in a preheated oven 180C and bake for 45 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
11.  Remove from pan and glaze with apricot jam and deco with some walnuts if you desire (optional).

Happy baking all :))

Herb Focacia Bread

Weather was gloomy and wasnt up to going out thus putting on hold my plans to  be out and about.  Since I was home, what better thing to do than spending my time in the kitchen.  Furthermore, my children usually comes home hungry after a long day at school and I love to prepare snack or light meal for them.  After running thru what I had in the pantry, there's some bread flour left and decided to make Herb Focacia Bread.  Went to my balcony and plucked some rosemary, basil and parsley to make my bread.  Here's the recipe:-

Ingredients

400 gm bread flour 

2 1/2 tsp instant dry yeast

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

3 tbsp olive oil

250 ml warm water

1/4 cup some finely chopped fresh herbs

coarse sea salt or italian herbs for sprinkling 

Method:-

1.  In a bowl, add half of the bread flour, add yeast, sugar and olive oil.  Pour the warm water onto yeast and quickly stir until you see the gluten forming.

2.  Add the other half of the bread flour and salt and mix drawing in all the flour.    Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it become a soft dough not sticky.

3.  Lightly knead in the herbs and shape the dough into a ball.  Put it in the bowl that was lightly coated with oil.  Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rise until the dough doubles in volume.

4.  Once the dough has risen, punch the dough and knead lightly.  Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for further 10 minutes.

5.  Shape the dough and put in a loaf pan which has been lightly coated with oil.  Brush the dough with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse sea salt or italian mix herbs.  

6.  Cooked in a preheated oven 230C for 18 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool the loaf on a wire rack.

7.  Serve the bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Kuih Dadar/Gulung (Pandan Pancakes with Sweet Coconut Filling)

This is another favorite of mine.  Its a Malaysian sweet dessert and its common to have it during afternoon tea.   The soft pancake with sweet coconut filling is really a delight to have with a hot cup of tea.

Ingredients:-

For the sweet coconut filling
300 gm palm sugar (roughly chopped)
200 ml water
1 pandan (screwpine) leaf, knotted
300 gm freshly grated coconut (preferably young coconut)
a pinch of salt

Method:-
1.  Add palm sugar and water in a pan and cook until the sugar dissolves.  Simmer until the liquid starts to thicken and become syrupy.
2.  Add the pandan leaf, grated coconut and salt and mix well.  Continue cooking over low heat until the coconut filling is thick and glossy and all the liquid evaporated.
3.  Cool.

Note:  keep the leftover coconut filling in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for next use.

For the Pancake

100 gm flour
a pinch of salt
1 egg
50 ml coconut milk
160 ml water
1/2 tsp pandan paste
1 tbsp oil

Method:-

1.  In a bowl, add the flour and make a well in the centre.
2.  Add salt, egg, coconut milk, 75 ml water and pandan paste.  Using a hand whisk, combine all ingredients until smooth and free of lumps.
3.  Add the rest of the water and oil and mix well.  Cover the bowl and let rest for 20 minutes.
4.  Heat a non stick pan over medium heat and make sure the pan is completely hot.  Brush a little oil onto pan and use a small ladle to pour the batter and immediately rotate the pan so the batter covers the base of the pan in a thin layer.
5.  Allow the batter to set and begin to brown.  Flip the pancake over and allow the other side to cook just for a few seconds.
6.  Remove the pancake onto a plate and place a spoonful of sweet coconut filling in the centre and fold both ends and roll the pancake. Repeat process till finish.

Note:  You can use fresh pandan juice if pandan leave is widely available.  8 dark green pandan leaves, 2/3 cup water and blend it.  Strain using fine sieve and use the fresh pandan juice instead of the ready made pandan paste.  In this case, use 100 ml pandan juice and 60 ml water.

Vanilla Cheesecake with Strawberries

I decided to make this cake for  dessert on Mother's Day.  Its a delight and yummy.
Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:-

180 gm digestive biscuits
60 gm butter
400 gm cream cheese
120 gm caster sugar
1 egg
25 gm cornflour
1 tsp vanilla essence

For Topping:-

150 ml fresh cream
150 gm mascarpone cheese
35 gm icing sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Strawberries or mix berries

1.  Preheat the oven to 130C and line your baking tin with parchment paper.
2.  For the crust, crush the digestive biscuits until you get fine crumbs and the melted butter.  Mix well.
3.  Press the mixture onto your prepared baking tin and pat down until level.
4.  Beat the cream cheese and sugar until well mixed and add egg, beating until combined.
5.  Add the cornflour into mixture and mix well.
6.  Add cream and vanilla essence and mix until fully combined.  Pour the mixture onto the crust and bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
7.  Remove from oven and let the cake cool in pan.  Refrigerate for couple of hours and remove cake from baking mould.

To make the topping,
1.  Whisk the cream until stiff peaks form and fold in the mascarpone cheese, icing sugar and vanilla essence.  Mix until all combined.
2.  Spread the topping onto cake and top with the strawberries.  You can either glaze the strawberries with strawberry jam or simply dust with icing sugar before serving.

Cinnamon Muffin

Gud morgen, ohaiyo gozaimasu, selamat pagi dan salam to all.
I had a good walk this morning and with a beautiful weather on my site...what more can you ask for.  Alhamdulillah, syukur.  Agaknya berkat exercise di pagi hari, rasa energy terlebih la pulak dan dengan penuh bersemangat nak masuk resipi baru hari ni.  This is a very simple muffin, tak  banyak bahan2 pun dan tak banyak songei nak buat dia and even my 11 year old girl can do this on her own.

Bahan-bahannya:-

100 gm butter
100 gm caster sugar
100 gm self raising flour
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder (serbuk kayu manis)

Cara-caranya:-

1.  Pukul butter dengan gula sampai kembang.
2.  Masukkan telur dan kacau rata.
3.  Masukkan tepung dan serbuk kayu manis dan kacau rata.
4.  Letakkan adunan dalam muffin tray atau kertas cupcake dan bakar didalam ketuhar yang telah dipanaskan pada suhu 180C selama 10 minit.
5.  Siap untuk dihidangkan.  Selamat mencuba.

Beef Lasagne

This is a hit with my children and I usually make them if I do not have much time to cook fresh food to serve them immediately. I made this last Friday, as I had to go to school to see my Princess's performance. She has worked very hard for this show and it has been months of preparation and towards the end before the actual performance, it was days of long hours rehearsal. I truly enjoyed the play put up by  the Year 12 and the cast and the whole production were simply awesome. Well done Princess and the rest,  I am so proud of you guys.   To Mosha and PIC...here's the recipe.  Dah tampal ni jangan kata tak bagi pulak resipi.  Tips, I sometimes, make 2 portion and satu simpan dalam freezer, bila2 emergency keluarkan dan bakar.  Kadang2 tu kan ada masa yang kita terlalu sibuk dan tak sempat nak ke dapur atau tiba2 ada kawan datang, boleh kita hidangkan.  Selamat mencuba.

Ingredients:-

500 gm minced beef or chicken
1 large onion (chopped)
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (its fine if you dont have any)
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves or 1 tsp dried basil leaves (takde pun tak apa)
1 tsp sugar
1 can of 400 gm chopped tomatoes + 2 tbsp tomato puree...if you dont have just use tomato ketchup
5 large sheets of uncooked lasagna
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
3-4 tbsp oil  (I prefer using olive oil)
2 tsp black pepper

Method:-
1. In a pan, heat oil and cook onion and garlic till the onions turn limp.
2. Add the minced beef and cook till the meat is no longer pink.
3. Add black pepper, salt, sugar, chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, chopped fresh herbs, dried oregano and continue to cook, stiring occasionally. Simmer uncovered about 45 minutes or until slightly thickened. Adjust salt and season to taste. Set aside.
4. In a pan of boiling water add 2 tbsp oil, cook the lasagna sheets for 7 minutes. Remove and drain the lasagna sheets.
5. Spread the beef mixture onto ungreased 9 x 9 inch glass baking dish and top with the lasagna sheet. Spread the beef mixture and top it with white sauce. Repeat the process.
6. Sprinkle with the grated mozzarella cheese and cover with aluminium foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for about 15 minutes longer or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 20 minutes before cutting.

p/s  Kalau suka, boleh juga letak celery dan carrot.  Selalu nya I letak supaya budak2 boleh makan sayur tu tanpa dilihat zahirnya....hahahaha

White Sauce 
Ingredients:-
100 gm butter
1/4 cup plain flour
1/4 tsp salt a dash of pepper
3 cups milk

 Method:-

 1. In a pan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat.
2. Gradually add in milk. Heat to a boiling, stirring constantly until sauce thickens.

Masala Vadai

Salam semua and good day to all my dear readers. I practically have to force myself to type today otherwise I will not be able to post any entry and I have so many recipes to post and share with you guys. Kadang2 orang kata bila dah duduk kat rumah sure lepak aje tapi sebenarnya bila dah jadi Domestic Minister ni kerja tak pernah habis. Walaupun duduk dirumah penatnya sama jugak macam masa bekerja. Keluar masuk keluar masuk rumah tau2 dah malam. Lepas tu dah letih dan malas nak duduk depan pc. Harini pagi2 dah bangun dan buatkan sausage roll untuk anak2 bawa bekal ke sekolah. Lepas tu turun hantar anak teruna dan anak dara pergi sekolah. Dah siap menghantar dorang, balik cepat2 nak buatkan sarapan untuk sikecik dan bapak dia pulak. Dah dorang ni siap bergegas pulak hantar sikecik pergi sekolah dan hantar Big Boss pegi opis. Dek kerana peti ais tu pun dah mintak isi, terus aje ke pasar. Balik dari pasar, kemas kan barang2 yang dah dibeli tu, baik mandi dulu nanti bau busuk pasar tu sure melekat....eeeeeeeeee. Ni dia resipi Masala Vadai yang dah disimplifiedkan dari resipi asal yang dipetik dari buku "Delicious cooking from a Tamil cuisine", buku ni Boss belikan I masa dia ke India dulu. Selamat mencuba. Ingredients:= 2 cups dhall (wash and soaked overnight) 3-4 green chili (cut thinly) 5 shallots (thinly sliced) 1-2 stalks of curry leaves (cut finely) 1 tsp cumin seed Salt to taste Method:- 1. Soak dall overnight, rinse and drain off most of the water and blend coarsely. 2. Add green chili, shallots, curry leaves, cumin and salt. Mix well until fully combined. 3. Heat oil in a pan. Make small patties and fry them until golden brown. Serve warm.

Almond Tea Cake

Salam dan selamat pagi semua dan semoga semuanya selamat sejahtera hendaknya. Insyaallah, Amin.
Today, I would like to share a very easy recipe. This cake is so easy to make and a delight to have for tea or at anytime. Unfortunately people with nuts allergy will not be able to enjoy this cake as there's almond in it. Here's the recipe:-

Ingredients:-

220 gm caster sugar
grated zest of 1 orange (kalau takde orange pakai lemon pun boleh)
150 gm flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp salt
70 gm almond powder
130 gm greek yogurt
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
80 ml vegetable oil
50 gm butter (melted)

Method:-
1. In a bowl, add sugar and orange zest and rub with your hands until all combined.
2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and add almond powder and sugar mixture. Mix well and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, add eggs, yogurt and vanilla essence and whisk until fully incorporated and add the dry ingredients and whisk until all ingredients are fully combined.
4. Add the melted butter and vegetable oil and mix well.
5. Pour onto a prepared 20 cm round baking tin and bake in a preheated oven 170C for 40-45 minutes or until skewer tester comes out clean. Bake further 5-10 minutes if necessary.
6. Cool completely on a wire rack.


p/s Dust icing sugar on the cake if you like before serving.

Divine Chocolate Cupcake

Ingredients
2 cups cake flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/3 cup water

Method:
1. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into large bowl and set aside.
2. Mix buttermilk and water in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add in a vanilla essence.
4. Fold in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately until blended.
5. Put batter in paper cups and bake in a preheated oven 170C for 20 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.
6. Cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate and Pistachio Butterscotch Bread Pudding

Ingredients
3/4 cup light brown sugar
4 large eggs
4 cups milk
115 gm bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (chopped)
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 loaf of butterscotch bread or 350 gm white bread
60 gm butter, softened
1/2 cup toasted shelled pistachios, chopped

Method:-

1. Whisk sugar and eggs in a large bowl.
2. Bring milk to a boil in a saucepan. Add in chocolate and vanilla essence. Mix well. Slowly pour onto sugar and eggs mixture and mix well.
3. Spread butter on one side of each bread slice and cut into 1 inch square. Stir bread into milk mixture and let stand for 30 minutes.
4. Butter a 9 inch square baking pan and pour the bread mixture into pan and top with pistachios.
5. Steam bake in a preheated oven 170C for 1 1/2 hours or until a knife inserted into centre comes out clean.
6. Remove pan from water bath and let cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at a room temperature. If you like, serve with chocolate sauce or simply dust with icing sugar or cocoa powder.

Chocolate Chip Waffle

Ingredients
150 gm bread flour
150 gm cake flour
2 1/3 tsp dry instant yeast
3 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
210 cc warm water
105 gm butter (melted)
120 gm semi sweet chocolate chip

Method

1. In a bowl mix both flour and divide into half. Put another half flour in a separate bowl, add salt and set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, add half flour mixture, caster sugar, yeast and egg. Pour warm water and beat quickly, making sure the yeast is well incorporated. Do not overmix.
3. Add the other half of flour and salt and mix until all flour is blended.
4. Add melted butter and mix till combined.
5. Add chocolate chips folding them in.
6. Let the dough rest for 25 - 35 minutes in a warm place until you see the dough has risen.
7. Heat the waffle maker and brush butter onto mould and pour your mixture.
8. Bake for 5 minutes or until done.
9. Serve warm with butter and maple syrup or jam or simply dust with icing sugar or you can just eat it on its own.

Cheese Bun (Pao de Queijo)

Say cheese to Cheese Bun. My baby really loved it and that was the pushing factor for me to learn how to make this bread. It is surprisingly easy to make and yummy too!! Cheers all and happy baking.

Ingredients
400 gm tapioca flour
1 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
50 gm butter
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs (slightly beaten)


Method:
1. Preheat oven to 170C.
2. Mix milk, salt, vegetable oil and butter in a pot and bring to a boil.
3. Remove from heat and stir in 3/4 of flour into the milk and butter mixture.
4. Stir in the egg and grated parmesan cheese and mix well.
5. Add the balance of the flour and mix well. It will become a sticky soft dough.
6. With floured hands roll dough into a small ball and place on a baking sheet.
7. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 - 25 minutes. Serve it warm.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Salam & selamat pagi semua.
Hari ni pagi2 I dah mengadap pc nak tampal resipi ni. Sebelum saya terlupa dan lebih tak sempat dari sempat...baik kita hupload itu resipi. Cookie ni ala2 Mrs Fields gitu. Baik buat sendiri kan dapat banyak kalu beli kat Mrs Fields tu...dapat ciput je kan. Selamat mencuba ye.



Ingredients:=
150 gm unsalted butter
100 gm soft light brown sugar
100 gm caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs (fridge-cold)
300 gm flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
325 gm choc chips

Method:-
1. Melt the butter and set aside. Combine brown sugar and caster sugar and pour the melted butter and beat together.
2. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until light and creamy. Add the essence vanilla and mix well.
3. Sieve together flour and bicarbonate of soda. Add the choc chips into the flour and mix well.
4. Fold in flour mixture into the butter mixture and mix well until fully incorporated.
5. Scoop the cookie dough into ice cream scoop and drop onto the prepared baking sheet.
6. Bake for 15 minutes in a pre-heated oven 170C. Cool on the baking sheet for few minutes before transferring to wire racks.

Triple Delight Passion Cake

I love browsing thru cook books and food magazines, just going through them keeps me happy and so energised. Of course, the downfall for me will be this itchy feelings of wanting to try making them. I found this scrumptious triple layer cake from one of the magazines I bought recently. Going thru the list of ingredients .... hmmmmmmm it looks so tempting and I wonder how it will turn out. Decided to give it a go and after sharing the final cake with some friends, the verdict received was a SUCCESS!! Specially for Shidah and to all my beloved family and friends, here's the recipe:-



Ingredients:-
For the Cake
150 ml vegetable oil
300 gm self raising flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
300 gm caster sugar
2 eggs
2 egg whites
2 medium size over-ripe bananas, mashed
140 gm carrots, grated
400 gm can of crushed pineapple, drain in a sieve and reserve the juice
1/2 cup of pineapple juice
100 ml fresh milk
1 tsp vanilla essence

For the Icing
200 gm philadelphia cream cheese (softened)
100 gm butter (softened)
100 gm icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

For the Drizzle
170 gm - 1 can of passion fruit pruit pulp in syrup
30 gm caster sugar

Method:
1. Heat oven to 180C. Oil and line the bases of 3 x 20 cm round baking tin with parchment paper.
2. Sieve together the flour, baking powder and cinnamon and set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, add half of the sugar and oil and beat till combine. Add the 2 whole eggs one at a time and beat till well incorporated. Add crushed pineapple, grated carrot, mashed bananas, milk, pineapple juice, vanilla essence and mix well.
4. In another bowl, beat the egg whites till stiff and add the remaining sugar and beat till it forms stiff peak and shiny.
5. Add the flour mixture into the fruit mixture and mix well until smooth and lump free.
6. Fold in the egg white mixture into the cake batter until fully incorporated.
7. Divide the cake batter evenly between the tins and bake for 25 minutes until risen and a skewer comes out clean. Swap the position of the tins after 20 minutes and continue to bake further 5 minutes. Cool the cake completely before assembling it.

For the Drizzle
1. Pour the passion fruit pulp in a small pan and add sugar. Cook under medium heat until it bubbles and thicken.

For the Icing
1. Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the icing sugar and vanilla essence and beat till creamy and ready to spread.

Assembling the cake
1. Poke the cakes with skewer and drizzle some of the passion syrup. Spread the icing over the two cakes and sandwich them together. Add the top with the third cake and drizzle with the remaining passion syrup.

Happy Baking and hope you like the cake. Luv Nxx

Cheesy Rigatoni Casserole

Good day all!
The weather has not been kind past couple weeks, so foggy and wet where I am staying but that shouldn't be a lame excuse for me to bundled myself in the warm blanket. Having growing up children, u r on your toes all the time and I believe that's what keeping me busy.

This dish was a hit with my children and so happy to see them ate all. As promised, here's the recipe my friends.


Cheesy Rigatoni Casserole

Ingredients
300gm uncooked rigatoni pasta
350 gm minced meat
1/4 cup sliced ripe olives
1 cup mushroom pieces and stems
1 bottle (400 gm) of tomato pasta sauce (any flavour but I used tomato basil pasta sauce)
2 garlic - minced
1 big onion - cut into cubes or slice whichever easier
250 gm shredded mozzarella cheese
3 tablespoon olive oil
salt and ground black pepper

Method:
1. Heat oven to 170C. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.
2. In a pan, heat oil and fry the garlic and onions till soft and add the mince meat , fry until the meat is brown and the juice evaporates. Add ground black pepper.
3. Add the tomato sauce, cook for another 2 minutes and seasoned accordingly.
4. In a bowl, mixed together the meat sauce, rigatoni, sliced olive and mushroom until all combined.
5. Grease your casserole dish with olive oil and put the rigatoni mixture in it. Spread with cheese.
6. Cover and bake about 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake further 5 minutes until cheese is melted.

Heavenly Carrot Cake

Assalamualaikum my dear readers

This is my first entry for 2012 and my apology for not updating this page for awhile. Its better late than never, here's wishing everyone a wonderful 2012 and may this Dragon year brings great joy and happiness for all.

I would like to share with you another recipe for Carrot Cake made by my lovely friend Ana aka Chief of Crumbs. It was my other half's birthday last December but due to some health reasons, I wasnt able to bake a cake for him. Not wanting to not having a cake for his birthday, I S.O.S my friend and ask her to make one for us. Kesian dia, dalam kelam kabut and just got back from her travel, berpeluh2 dia siap kan kek yang cantik ni for me. For your info, I have also tried baking this cake recently and brought it to a friend's house to celebrate Chinese New Year. Trust me, you will definitely enjoy this heavenly carrot cake. After one bite, you will surely want more!! To my lovely Ana...thanks again and God Bless You Always, Amin.


Here's the recipe

Ingredients
(A)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp nutmeg powder - optional (the original recipe from my friend doesnt have this, but I like it in my cake so I put them in)
340 gm shredded carrot

(B)
4 eggs
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 cup corn oil
1 1/2 cups can pineapple - coarsely mince the fruit and drain
1/2 cup syrup from the can pineapple
3/4 cups walnut - roasted and chopped (optional)
1/2 cup raisins - (optional)
1/4 tsp salt

Method:-
1. Grease and line 2, 8″ round or square baking pans.
2. Heat oven to 180C.
3. Mix ingredients (A) in a bowl and set aside.
4. Whisk together both sugar and eggs till just combined.
5. Add in the rest of the ingredients (B).
6. Add the mix ingredients (A) and mix everything till well incorporated.
7. Pour the mixture into prepared baking pans by dividing equally.
8. Bake for 40 minutes or till done.
9. Cool the cake completely and spread cream cheese icing on the cake and sandwich them. Cover the cake with the rest of the cream cheese icing and voila you DID it!!

For Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
250 gm philadelphia cream cheese (at room temperature)
100 gm butter (at room temperature)
1 1/3 cup icing sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:
Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat till creamy and smooth.