Cranberry Upside Down Muffins

I wanted to make Pandan Marble Cake so bad.  Nevermind that my hand mixer is with mum.  I'll make do with a wooden spoon or hand whisk, or so I thought.  But with just two eggs left in the fridge, I had to forget about making pandan marble cake.  I checked my pantry and there's just slightly less than half a cup of sugar left. What else can I make? Then I saw a can of cranberry sauce that I had bought a couple of months back.  I remembered some time ago, I had wanted to try this recipe from Joyofbaking.com.  I checked the recipe again and was elated that I have all the ingredients required.  An egg was all that the recipe called for and nevermind that I only have slightly less than half a cup of sugar left in my kitchen.  I was sure the cranberry sauce would make up for the lack of sugar.

So I made this Cranberry Upside Down Muffins and was glad it turned out just fine. Just a note of caution, do be patient when handling these babies.  They need to cool for a while before you invert them out else the cranberry will not stick to the cake.  I am speaking from experience!  I took the pan out of the oven and started inverting one and was disappointed when the sauce did not stick to the cake.  It left me wondering for a moment where had I gone wrong.

Feeling a little disappointed, I left the muffins alone and attended to my little girl who was busy with her schoolwork, then returned to the muffins once I was done with her.  I inverted each one, and to my delight, the sauce sits nicely on top of the fluffy cake.  So the moral of the story - Be patient and let the cakes cool before inverting them :)

Ingredients

2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
4 tbsp canola oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup cranberry sauce

Method

Preheat oven to 175C.
A - In a large bowl, whisk together, flour, sugar and salt
B - In another bowl, whisk together milk, egg, oil and vanilla extract.
Using a spatula, fold B into A together till just moistened.
Evenly divide the cranberry sauce among the 24 mini muffin cups of a mini muffin pan.
Evenly spoon muffin batter over the cranberry sauce.
Place the mini muffin pan in the oven.
Bake for about 15 - 20 mins or until a pick/skewer inserted comes out clean.
Stand muffins for about 5 mins before inverting them on a cooling rack so the cranberry topping is faced up.

Rainbow Cupcakes

I have seen way too many people putting up pictures of rainbow cakes that they make or sell online.  The cakes look so pretty and how not to love the bold colours!

One of those nights when I couldn't sleep, I actually watched videos after videos on how to make this cake.  It looks rather tedious to make but somehow I kept hearing these Rainbow Cupcakes calling out my name.  I had to do it!  I just had to do it!

While bold colours make the cakes look fun and vibrant, pastel makes the cupcakes look cute and pretty!  Now, won't you agree?

Ingredients

1 box White cake mix
1 1/4 cup water
3 egg whites
1/3 cup vegetable oil
liquid food colorings

Method

Preheat oven to 175C.
Lay 12 paper liners in muffin tin.
In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix, egg whites and vegetable oil till well combined (or as directed on box).
Divide batter into 6 small bowls.
Add about a drop or two food coloring to each bowl to make red, green, purple, pink, yellow and blue.  Ensure that you stir well.
Starting with the red batter, add a level tablespoon to each of the 12 paper liners.
Repeat with all the remaining colours - green, purple, pink, yellow and blue.
Do not spread the layers of colour as it will cause the colours to combine.
Just let it spread out on their own.
Bake the cake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool cupcakes on a wire rack.

Video: Tiramisu

Watch my video for pictorial instructions to make Tiramisu!

Carrot Muffins

A few weeks ago, I had late night coffee with my sister and her friends at The House of Robert Timms. We ordered a few desserts to go along with our coffee and one of them was Carrot Cake.

A four-layer cake with thick cream cheese icing in between.  The carrot cake was heavenly and sinful. Besides the specks of carrot and walnuts, I spotted bits of pineapples in the cake!

I knew I had to bake some myself after having the carrot cake at the House of Robert Timms.  I think by now, you ought to know my love for easy-no-mixer-required recipes.  I was glad I found this recipe from Joyofbaking.com. The recipe calls for grated apple and coconut which I omitted.  Instead, I added crushed pineapples. Carrots and crushed pineapples helped in keeping the muffins moist.

These Carrot Muffins tasted so good on its own.  It would be perfect when topped with some cream cheese frosting!  Next time I make these, I will definitely smear some cream cheese frosting.  But first, let me find a good and simple cream cheese frosting recipe.

Ingredients

1/2 cup walnut, roasted and chopped
2 cups grated raw carrots
2 cups self raising flour
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
3/4 cup canola oil
3 eggs
3/4 cup crushed pineapples
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 175C.
Lay 15 paper cups in a baking tray.
A - In a large bowl, whisk together, flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon powder and walnut.
B - In another bowl, whisk together oil, eggs, crushed pineapples and vanilla extract.
Using a spatula, fold B into A together with grated raw carrots till just moistened.
Spoon mixture into the paper cups and then bake for about 25 - 30 mins or until a pick/skewer inserted comes out clean.
Stand muffins for about 5 mins before turning out to cool on a wire tray.

Tiramisu

The last I made Tiramisu was in 2006 and had not tried making them ever since.
Remember my first post of 2012 when I said I wanted to try making David Rocco's Tiramisu and that I had bought the ingredients?  It was over the Chinese New Year holidays last week, that I decided to make them.  I really wanted to try David Rocco's recipe but the thought of using raw eggs sort of puts me off.

So I browsed my blog for the Easy Peasy Tiramisu recipe that I used in 2006 and made slight adjustments to it.  These are the ingredients that you need.

I was happy with the results of the Tiramisu that I made with the adjustments! Note that you definitely need to chill the dessert for at least 4 hours or overnight.  I couldn't wait and took it out after 2 hours and the slice (pictured below) looks rather sloppy but still tasted good.  I had another slice the next day and boy did the tiramisu come together in perfect harmony.  The flavours just meld together and the texture was oh so right!

Here's the new adjusted recipe for my Tiramisu - the twisted version minus the eggs and a virgin one because it does not contain alcohol.

Ingredients

18 - 20 pcs savoiardi (ladyfingers)
2 tbsp nescafe coffee powder
1 cup boiling water
2 tbsp sugar
250g mascarpone cheese
170g cream
3 tbsp thickened cream
1/4 cup caster sugar
cocoa powder

Method

Dissolve coffee powder and 2 tbsp sugar in boiling water.
Let it cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile beat cream and sugar till soft peaks form with a hand whisk.
Then add in the mascarpone cheese and beat for a further half a minute.
Lightly dip ladyfingers in cooled coffee and lay them on a dish.
Spread evenly half of the mascarpone cream mixture over the ladyfingers.
Repeat the step with a second layer of ladyfingers and then the rest of the cream mixture
Cover dish with foil and refrigerate for about 4 hours or overnight.
Dust tiramisu with cocoa powder when set.
Cut and serve cold.

Banana Nutella Croissant Pudding

Just 8 measly posts for year 2011 :(
I have been procrastinating alot and have not been productive in the kitchen.
Yep, I totally didnt find any mojo to update my blog for 2011 and that's really a shame.

I do hope to find more time to try new recipes and update my blog this year.  Lets see how it goes.
I have already some recipes in mind that I want to try, like David Rocco's Tiramisu and Joy of Baking's Cranberry Upside Down Muffins and had in fact stocked up my pantry and fridge with the required ingredients.

But for now let me share with you this sweet, rich and satisfying dessert to kick off 2012 - Nutella Banana Croissant Pudding.

By the way, World Nutella Day is happening on 5 Feb 2012 and I am also going to share this recipe at nutelladay.com

Croissant cut lengthwise and slather with nutella and topped with chopped bananas.

Croissant soaking up all the custard goodness.

Banana Nutella Croissant Pudding ready to be served.

Ingredients

6 - 8 croissants
nutella, just enough to spread on croissant
2 eggs
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 small bananas, chopped

powdered sugar for dusting

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Slice each croissant in half lengthwise then slather each side with Nutella.
Put the halves back together to make sandwiches and cut into 4 pieces.
Add croissant and bananas pieces to a baking dish.
To make the custard, add eggs, cream, vanilla extract, salt and sugar to a medium bowl and whisk until combined.
Pour the custard over the croissant pieces.
Leave the croissant to absorb the custard for a few minutes.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes then remove the foil and continue to bake uncovered for about 10 minutes until the bread pudding is golden brown.
Ensure that the liquid has been completely absorbed.
Let cool and then sprinkle on powdered sugar to finish.
Best served warm or with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream.

Corn Pudding

Today, when I woke up, I reminisced the times when mum would whip up easy desserts for us to enjoy.  Now that I am a mother, I always think of something to make for my two daughters to enjoy.

It is Sunday today.  Lazy Sunday to be precise.  I went to the nearest minimart to get some ingredients for Corn Pudding.  I remembered how my mum loved to make this dessert when I was a little kid and I remembered how easy it was to make them.

Remember the last time I made baked corn pudding?  Well, this is the non baked version.  Super easy to make and best served chilled.

Ingredients

1 cup custard powder 
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 can creamed corn
3 cups water
1 cup evaporated milk 
1/2 cup fresh milk
a pinch of salt

Method

Mix all the ingredients in a pot.
Cook it over a stove. 
Stir continuously as you do not want the custard to settle at the bottom of pot.
Stir till mixture thickens, bubbles and turns shiny.
Turn off heat and pour into little containers or one big one.
Allow to cool before putting it into the refrigerator to chill.
Once chilled, you may slice and serve.

Kuih Bakar Pandan

Kuih Bakar Pandan is one of my favourite traditional Malay kuih.
I love this sweet, soft and rich kuih which is laced with pandan flavour.

Traditionally, this cake is baked in a brass mould.
I didn't own any so I baked this kuih in a non stick pan instead.

It still tasted good to me with the slightly browned and crusty top.

Ingredients

2 cups self raising flour
1 cup caster sugar
2 small packs of coconut milk (200 ml a pack)
3 eggs
1 cup of pandan juice (i used about 3 tbsp of pandan paste + water to make a cup)
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp canola oil


Method

Preheat oven to 175C.
Grease a pan with 2 tbsp of canola oil and place the pan in the oven.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, coconut milk, egg and salt.
Take the pan out of the oven and pour mixture in the pan.
Bake in preheated oven for about 90 mins or until a toothpick inserted into centre of kuih comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely before cutting.

Baked Corn Pudding

So what is a gathering without desserts.
I made this Baked Corn Pudding for the gathering at mum's.
Since I have creamed corn in my kitchen, I decided to make this.

Well, just a word of caution!
You have to ensure that the pudding is cooled completely before cutting.
I cut the pud while it was hot, so pudding was soft.
Of course, I panicked, wondering what went wrong with the baked pudding.
Only realised later that pudding sets as it cools.

Ingredients

1 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup evaporated milk

1 can creamed corn

Method

Preheat oven to 175C. 

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and whisk until all ingredients are well combined.

Pour mixture into a prepared tin.
Bake in preheated oven for about an hour or until a toothpick inserted into centre of cake comes out clean.

Allow the baked corn pudding to cool completely before cutting.

Instant Creme Caramel

Some time back a colleague came to work one day with packs of Instant Creme Caramel to give away. I am most glad to receive them. I didnt get to try them only after recently.


Super simple seriously - Just add milk to the mixture and heat up for a few minutes.


Ingredients

1 pack instant creme caramel mix
500ml fresh milk

Method

Divide the caramel in 4 ramekins.
Whisk the creme caramel mix with milk in a small pot.
Heat it for about 5 minutes.
Divide the mixture into the 4 ramekins and cool.

Longan Grass Jelly

It's exceptionally hot and humid here in Singapore the past few weeks. Airconditioning has been our best friend. I would definitely like to thank whoever had invented aircon .. like seriously!

And this was what the kids and I had the whole weekend just to beat the heat - Longan Grass Jelly.


Ingredients

Grass Jelly, chopped
Canned Longan
Water
Ice

Method

Pour the chopped grass jelly and canned longan together with the syrup in a big bowl.
Pour in enough water to dilute the sugar syrup.
Throw in some ice and enjoy!

Alternatively, if you've crushed ice, you can place some crushed ice in a small bowl. Top it with chopped grass jelly, some longan then pour some sugar syrup over!

Robin's Portuguese Egg Tarts

I was in Johor Bahru (JB) yesterday together with my siblings, in search of TexMex Food (will do a post separately) and Portuguese Egg Tarts.

I had seen this foodshop - Robin's Portuguese Chicken - on the 2nd level of City Square before but had never tried eating there before.

This foodshop also sells Portuguese Egg Tarts. I've tried my hands at making portuguese egg tarts before but with little success with the charred tops. So this time around I thought I might just buy them there.

When I reached the place, the staff were replenishing the egg tarts on their display counter.


I bought 10 pieces to go but didnt leave right away. We sat down and ate a piece each. They were piping hot, custard was sweet and goes well with the puff pastry.

My siblings who were initially not that interested in them tarts, must have liked it alot when they tasted one, that they decided to join the queue to buy some home .. ;-)

PS. Personally, I think the tarts taste way much better at room temperature!

J.CO Donuts

So the last I had Krispy Kreme was a few months back .. I had done a post on that. My friend, eat, saw the post and he mentioned that I should try J.Co Donuts. J.Co Donuts hails from Indonesia and owned by a Johnny Andrean who also owns salons all across Indonesia .. I always go to Johnny Andrean when I go to Batam for creambath by the way.

He was raving about J.Co and how they tasted soooo much better than Krispy Kreme .. well at least those were his thoughts on J.Co.

So last Saturday, knowing that eat was going to come back to Singapore from Jakarta, I had him buy some for me! When eat called me before he caught his flight back home, the first question I asked was whether he bought me the donuts. He said "yeah .. half a dozen" .. hmm .. nvm half a dozen, still I get to taste them, or so I thought.

So I fetched him at the airport with my sister in tow and this uber nice friend not only bought me half a dozen but a dozen ..

erm .. no no no .. not a dozen actually .. he got me 2 dozens .. woohoo .. I was smiling from ear to ear!

and here were the assorted donuts eat got me ..

yummehhhhhhhh .. so which one do I love best .. it has got to be Al Capone and and Mango Blitz .. why Al Capone?? coz I love almonds, that's why .. and why Mango Blitz?? .. sticking my finger into the mango creme and licking it off was just pure bliss!

Here's a lil something on Al Capone ..

The last sentence reads "Addiction is at you own risk!" .. and boy was I addicted to it .. yeah addicted big time!

Al Capone .. I need you baby .. come in to me .. come in to me (reads my mouth) .. hehe

Plain Cheesecake with Blueberry Topping

I made mini cheesecake yet again. This time around, I made Plain Mini Cheesecake with Blueberry Topping.

Ingredients

Base Crust

75 gm digestive biscuites, crushed
45 gm butter, melted

Cheesecake Mixture

250 gm cream cheese, softened to room temperature
40 gm sugar (original recipe called for 30 gms sugar)
1 egg (Grade A)
1 tsp vanilla essence

Topping

blueberry pie filling

Method

Preheat oven to 175C.

Line 9 of a 12 holes muffin tins with paper cases.
Mix butter and crushed digestives and divide among the prepared wells. Press evenly into the bottom of the wells. Bake for about 5 mins (recipe called for the crust to be refrigerated till ready to use). Put aside to cool.

Lower oven temperature to 150C.

In a bowl, whisk cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
Then add egg and vanilla essence and mix well.

Spoon filling into the crusts, dividing evenly and then bake for about 15 mins.
Transfer to wire rack to cool and refrigerate.

Just before serving the plain mini cheesecake, spoon some blueberry pie filling on top.

Paiz and Hafiz, cousins o mine, got to try them and they loved it ..

Awesome .. ;-)

Milk Choc Rice Krispies Mini Cheesecake

My oh my .. what a long title .. Milk Choc Rice Krispies Mini Cheesecake .. hehehe

I have always wanted to make cheesecake. So when a fellow Resipinet member shared this easy peasy cheesecake recipe, which made use of Milk Choc Rice Krispies, I had to try them.

Ingredients

Base Crust

75 gm digestive biscuites, crushed
45 gm butter, melted

Cheesecake Mixture

250 gm cream cheese, softened to room temperature
40 gm sugar (original recipe called for 30 gms sugar)
1 egg (Grade A)
1 tsp vanilla essence
35 gm milk choc rice krispies + more for topping

Method

Preheat oven to 175C.

Line 9 of a 12 holes muffin tins with paper cases.
Mix butter and crushed digestives and divide among the prepared wells. Press evenly into the bottom of the wells. Bake for about 5 mins (recipe called for the crust to be refrigerated till ready to use). Put aside to cool.

Lower oven temperature to 150C.

In a bowl, whisk cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
Then add egg and vanilla essence and mix well.
Using a spoon, fold in the milk choc rice krispies.

Spoon filling into the crusts, dividing evenly and then bake for about 15 mins.
Transfer to wire rack to cool and refrigerate.

Just before serving, break more choc and top the baked cheesecake.

Hmm .. you know what .. mine didnt need any topping at all and yah I microwaved mine a little. I just love mine served warm .. the goeyness of the melted choc and the crispiness of the rice krispies .. it was just heaven!!

Banana-Cue and Camote-Cue

I had promised Tihani and Auni to bring them for a swim since last week. This morning I called my buddy, Jun, to ask if I could bring the kids for a swim over at his place.

Jun was available so I took half a day off and went back home to fetch the kids. Hmm .. Auni took her nap just as I was about to leave to Jun's place, so I had no choice but to just bring Tihani alone.

When I reached his place, I went to the kitchen to see what the Yaya (maid) was doing and I was soooooooo happy when I saw her making banana-cue. Oh gosh, how I so wanted to learn how to make those. Once ready, I was served tea ..

Hell yeah .. banana-cue ..

and camote-cue (sweet potatoes).

They were ohhhhhhhh so delicious .. caramelised bananas and sweet potatoes .. I couldnt ask for more .. hehehe

After tea, Jun and I, brought our daughters down for a swim.

Look how happy Tihani was once she got herself wet in the pool ..

And that's Isabelle and Tihani having a splashing good time ..

Oh ya .. it rained heavily while the girls were in the pool, but I just let them swim. Well, when will Tihani ever get the chance to play in the rain?!?! I thought that was the best opportunity ever! She has got to experience playing in the rain once in her kid's life right?!

After two hours in the pool, we went back up. I then ordered MacDonald's. And while the kids were having their meal and played with toys, Jun, his wifey and myself sat on the comfy couch and watched DVD - The Pursuit to Happyness - a real good movie featuring Will Smith and his son! Go catch it if you havent!

Individual Raisin Bread Pudding

Leftover raisin bread .. wat should I to do with them. Bread pudding sounds good! Yeah Raisin Bread Pudding! That is it .. Individual Raisin Bread Pudding!

I do not have any particular recipe .. so decided to use the filling recipe for the portuguese egg tarts for the bread pudding!

Ingredients

5 pcs raisin bread, cubed
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 whipping cream
3 egg yolks
1/4 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Preheat oven to 175C
Place cubed raisin bread in ramekins.
In a medium bowl, combine sugar, milk, whipping cream, egg yolks and vanilla essence and beat until well mixed.
Pour over bread and ensure that bread is covered and soaking up the mixture.
Leave it to soak for about 15 mins then bake in the preheated oven for about 35 mins.

My take on this pudding - i'd add more milk say about 1/4 cup more the next time round i make this dessert!

Portuguese Egg Tarts

Egg Tarts .. there are different versions of course - Hong Kong style and even Portuguese Egg Tarts just to name a couple.

I had always wanted to try Portuguese Egg Tarts but I cant find any which is halal in Singapore. Managed to find a recipe and decided to try.

The recipe calls for Puff Pastry but well I used Instant Prata instead .. ;-)

I love these tarts more that the normal egg tarts .. the pastry really make a whole lot of difference.



Ingredients

2 pcs of Instant Prata (brand like Kawan or SpringHome)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup whipping cream
3 egg yolks
1/4 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Cut instant prata into small rounds.
Press Instant prata onto mini muffin tins.
Combine sugar, milk, whipping cream, egg yolks and vanilla essence until sugar dissolves.
Pour filling into instant prata 2/3 full.
Bake at 200C for about 20 - 25 mins.
Brown the top with blow torch if you have one. I dun .. boo hoo hoo ..

To Anonymous ..

Ini adalah gambar Dadih Strawberry yang I buatkan untuk my mum smalam.

You cuba lagi ok .. jangan putus harapan.

Chocolate Milk Jelly aka Dadih Coklat

Remember the strawberry milk jelly I made last Friday. Well, I made the same thing but used chocolate milk instead.

For this Chocolate Milk Jelly aka Dadih Coklat in Malay, I reduced the amount of jelly powder. I wanted the end result to be a soft and smooth one .. just like what "dadih" is supposed to be .. really jiggly and not firm at all. I got what I really wanted .. hooray!

Ingredients

1 ltr chocolate milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup evaporated milk
4 tbsp caster sugar
1 3/4 tsp jelly powder

Method

Put all the ingredients in a pot over a medium fire.
Stir well to ensure that jelly powder doest settle at the bottom of pot.
Once mixture starts to boil, switch off fire.
Pour liquid mixture in little containers.
Place in fridge for a couple of hours till jelly is set.
Serve chilled!