Steam moist chocolate cake

Hayden’s birthday coming up & I decided to try out BH’s tested recipe – steam chocolate cake for his class party. For testing purpose, I halved all the ingredients & d pix reflected d result…

Colleagues LOVED it! All mentioned that it’s moist enough for them. & so, so easy to prepare!

Cream Cheese loaf, again

Friend passed me some bal flours to use up & it’s all in small qty. So, I decided to use all for another cream cheese bread attempt.
End result – not too bad an attempt but loaf is not as soft on d 3rd day.

• 160g water/fresh milk + 1tsp lemon juice
• 250g flour (25g cake flr, 115g APF,110g bread flr)
• 60g cream cheese
• 20g unsalted butter
• 15g sugar
• 3g salt
• 3g yeast

Put all into bread maker on fast loaf cycle. If u prefers soft crust, do not remove from bread maker after cycle ends. Just leave it there overnite

Mini Donuts_II

Hayden kept asking for d donuts this morning so I decided to give it another go. But this time, I made some modification to try out using self-rising flour instead of all-purpose flour. I also added thicken cream cause I do not have large egg on-hand. Success! At least half of d batch were. I think it’s mainly because I was still afraid to fill d hole too much, thus, d uneven result. But at least half looks ‘tall’ enough & even color throughout.

Adjusted ingredients

• 75g self- rising flour
• 35g sugar
• 2 tbsp coco powder
• 60ml fresh milk
• 15ml thicken cream
• 1 egg
• 2tbsp unsalted butter (melted)

Method same as previous rd.

Baked mini Donuts

Bought this donut maker during my last wk in Bkk & decided to give it a try last nite. However, as I have mis-read d recipe, d end pdt was not very good looking – flat & discolored. D recipe requested for 10ml but I have spooned only 6-7ml onto d cup because it’s alrdy overflowing to d side! Thus d flat looking donuts. But am not able to explained d 2-tone color.

But Hayden loves it! He finished 7 pieces during d walk from home to his sch!

• 75g All-purpose flour
• 35g sugar
• 2 tbsp coco powder
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 75ml fresh milk
• 1 egg
• 30g unsalted butter (melted)

1. Preheat donut maker for 5 mins.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl be4 adding d wet ingredients.
3. Stir till well mixed & smooth.
4. Fill each hole with 10ml of batter.
5. Close the lid and lock the latch.
6. Bake for 2 mins. Allow to cool & if desired, coat with icing sugar or top with jam for a sweeter version.

Chocolate Cheesecake

In 2 days time, we will be packing & moving out of Bkk! Time really flies! 3yr in Bkk (including 9mths of baking) & with no future plan of getting an oven in SG, d only regret that I have is – why I didn’t try out this Chocolate Cheesecake sooner! OMG! Hubby’s ofc gals felt that it tasted just like d cheesecake from Secret Recipes! WOW! Maybe this is really a good reason to get a new oven?

Base Ingredients

• 100g digestive biscuits, crushed
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 45g unsalted butter (melted)

Mix all well & press on d bottom of a 16cm spring form pan.

Fillings Ingredients

• 110g dark chocolate (chopped)
• 2 tbsp whipping cream
• 250g cream cheese (room temperature)
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 egg (room temperature)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Melt chocolate in the heavy cream in a double boiler.
2. In another bowl, mix cream cheese & sugar well be4 adding in d egg & vanilla extract.
3. Then fold in d chocolate mixture. If u prefer a cake with marble effect, dont overmix.
4. Pour fillings into the spring form pan.
5. Bake in a preheated 150C oven until it is set, ard 45-60 mins.

Raspberry Coffee Cake

Another day of trying to ‘utilise all bal ingredients’. Long, long ago, I saved this recipe on my to-dos cause I love d simplicity of it. But then, I realised I cant find d main ingredient – Bisquick mix, in d local supermkt & recipe was 'shelved'. Then last wk, for some forgotten reason, I ‘researched’ on d word Bisquick & found out what Bisquick mix is made up of! Thus, tonite, I finally get to give this simply/easy recipe a try. Of course again, I made some changes. For example, instead of a green apple, I used frozen raspberries. And because of d frozen raspberries, I reduced d milk amt to cater for d liquid that will be released from d frozen raspberries during baking.
End result – quite a bland cake, 1 can only taste a bit of saltiness here & there (although am not sure why since I only added ¾tsp of salt). D top is a bit crusty but underneath is a very soft cake. Both Hubby & MIL prefer yesterday’s peach-a-berry tart as compared to this cake. In fact, Hubby's ofc's gals thot I forgotten to put in sugar! That's how bland it was!

• 2 cups Bisquick mix*
• ½ cup low-fat milk
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup frozen raspberries (unthawed)

* replaced with 2cups flour + 3tsp bking powder + ¾tsp of salt + 2tbsp melted unsalted butter

1. Preheat oven to 190C.
2. Grease 9" round pan. Mix all ingredients & spread ½ batter onto pan.
3. Put in d raspberries & spread d rest of d batter onto of it.
4. Bake 30 mins or until golden brown, testing with a toothpick.

Peach-a-Berry tart

Another interesting recipe for me to utilize some of my bal ingredients – Peach-a-Berry pie. As usual, I made some changes in order to finish up my ingredients. Also, recipe requires 2 pie crust but I only used 1 as base, thus, my pie is kind of ‘topless’, looking more like tart than pie.
End result – a very ugly looking pie but taste GREAT! D sour taste of d raspberries adds a very nice ‘touch’ to d overall sweetness of d pie. D bal streusel topping that I added on top also added a crusty ‘bite’ to d pie, which to me, is a nice additional too. But might slice up d peaches next time in order to make it look better. Or maybe it's supposed to look so ugly, thus, d need for a 2nd crust to cover it up... mmmmm

• 1 can of halves peaches – drained
• 1 cup frozen raspberries – thawed & drained
• ½ cup white sugar
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 pie crust
• ½ cup Streusel Topping

1. Preheat oven to 190C.
2. Gently mix peaches & berries with sugar, flour, & cinnamon. Transfer all onto d pie crust. Sprinkle with streusel toppings be4 spreading thin slices of unsalted butter across d top.
3. Bake 50 mins in d preheated oven, until crust is golden brown.

Cinnamon Cranberries bread

As mentioned in my previous post, am trying to finish up as much bal ingredients as fast as I can be4 d big move. Thus, I modified this recipe a bit to include whatever I can ‘throw’ in.
End result - very tall & soft loaf with only a slight tangy lemon after-taste.

• 1 cup low-fat milk
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 cups bread flour
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 1½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2½ tsp yeast
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• Grated zest of 1 lemon

Put all ingredients into d ABM according to made. Select basic with light crust setting & start.

Cornflakes Cookies

When I saw BH’s post on d cornflakes cookies, I was very eager to try cause I, too, has many bags of cornflakes in my freezer. However, as usual, I made some modification due to limited ingredients on hand. For example, recipe requires self-rising flour & since I have none, I decided to search d web for a solution & found this instant fix recipe.
End result – very crispy cookies but a bit too sweet for my family. Can u c d star cornflakes?
(A)
100g unsalted butter (melted)
1 normal size egg (ard 53g)
¼ cup sugar + 1/8 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

(B)
1¼ cup all-purpose flour
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1½ cup cornflakes

1. Mix (A) & (B) in separate bowl first. Then mix them together well in a big mixing bowl.
2. Use 2 tsp to round d cookie dough onto small paper case.
3. Bake at preheated 160C oven for 10-15 mins.
4. Let cookies cool in pan for 5 mins be4 moving it to cool completely on a wire rack.
5. Store in air-tight container.

Awesome Crusty Bread

With no eggs in d fridge, I went online searching for a bread recipe that’s does not require egg & decided on this Awesome Crusty bread, simple & easy ABM recipe.
End result – true to its name, awesome & crusty! & with my newly bought yeast, d loaf rise high to only miss d ABM cover by ½ inch! & it's so diff to slice due to its softness & height! Definitely a keeper!

• 1 cup low-fat milk
• 1tsp yeast
• 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 ½ cups (300g) bread flour

Put ingredients into ABM as per manufacturer's instruction & select normal white bread setting with light crust.

Oreo Cookie Bread

Another new & interesting ABM bread recipe. End result - loaf didnt rise as high as stated in d original post. It’s soft but not that creamy. Not sure if that’s because I replaced the egg with whipping cream since I run out. No matter what, Hayden loves it!

• 250g bread flour
• 170g fresh milk
• 25g whipping cream
• 20g sugar
• 3g salt
• 55g oreo cookies (crushed)
• 10g unsalted butter
• 1tsp yeast

Add milk into ABM be4 adding d cookies. Then add rest of ingredients according to manufacturer's instructions. Selec basic setting & start.

Yogurt Cake

With limited time on hand, I decided to try out this 'instant’ fix recipe. It’s stated that this is a very, very simple recipe & even a 4yr old can bake it. However, mine end pdt does not look like d original pic at all! Maybe I really shd attend baking class instead. I have also reduce d sugar amt to suit my family.
End result - both MIL & hubby still commented it’s still too sweet for them... sigh…

½ cup of yogurt
1½ cups of plain flour
1½ tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
¾ cups of caster sugar
79g of unsalted butter (melted)
3 eggs
Zest from 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 170°C.
Line a 20cm baking pan with baking parchment.
Put yogurt, flour, baking powder, salt & sugar in a large bowl. Mix in d oil & eggs be4 adding d zest.
Pour batter into prepared pan & bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into centre of cake comes out just clean.

Dried Fig Muffins

Hayden has been sick with diarrhea & vomiting after his sch Halloween’s party. And he’s not eating at all because he was aware that he will be vomiting them out later. Thus, within 2 days, he has lost almost 1kg! Even d doc suggested putting him on drip in order to ensure he does not dehydrate further & stress out his kidneys. But in d end, hubby decided to take him home & try medication instead. So, with Hayden not eating well, I went online to search for something to bake that will have a strong taste to get Hayden interested in eating again.
That’s when I saw this interesting muffin receipe from HHB’s blog & since I love figs, I decided to give it a try. But as usual, I made some adjustment to it to reduce d sweetness since d originator stated in her post that it’s still too sweet for her even after she has reduced d amt.
End result – Hayden ate ½ muffin! Hubby commented that d muffin texture is ok but it’s too sweet for him & he does not like it at all. I informed him that I have reduced d sugar amt by 1/3 alrdy & d sweetness is from d figs. Well, cant go rd & please everyone. Since d main aim is to get Hayden to eat, I will consider this a success…
Yield 9 muffins

• 205g dried figs (de-stem & cut quarters)
• 90g unsalted butter
• 250ml apple juice
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 315g plain flour
• 2½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 125g sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract

Method:
1. Heat juice & butter in a saucepan over low heat until butter has melted.
2. Remove from heat & add in figs & zest. Leave to cool for abt 1hr or till figs r softened.
3. Preheat oven to 170C.
4. In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, salt & baking powder.
4. Make a well in d centre & add all d wet ingredients. Stir until just combined with d batter still slightly lumpy. Do not over-mix.
5. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling to d rim of d cup.
6. Bake for abt 25-30 mins or until golden. U can also insert a toothpick into d centre & it’s done when toothpick comes out clean. Transfer muffin onto cooling rack & leave to cool completely.

Seduction Brownies

Tomorrow is Halloween & Hayden is required to bring 1 dish to his sch party. So here I was, searching for a easy recipe to try out, when I went back to Cookie Baker Lynn’s blog. She really loves brownies & as I was browsing through, I saw a rather simple recipe that I think I shd be able to handle so here goes - Seduction Brownies.
It’s really a very easy recipe but am not sure why my brownies does not look like d original pics. At first, I thot it might be because I didn’t prepare d ganache (didn’t want d kids to get too much chcocolate). Then I realised d round baking pan might be d reason. D brownie came out with BIG cracks all around & d inside r still slightly wet. I was still trying to figure out whether to consider this a failure when Hubby happened to walk in & saw it. He’s a chocolate fan & requested for a slice so I cut 1 for him to taste. He loved it! MIL also tried a bite & find it very bitter at first, followed by a sweet taste after it has ‘flow’ down her throat. Interesting cause I have alrdy reduced d amt of sugar. Mmm….
But now with a slice in my hubby’s tummy & cracks all over it, I cant send this to Hayden’s sch. So I baked another 1, this time using d same size pan as stated in d original post – 20cm square baking pan. This time, d brownie looks so much better than d 1st attempt & there is no visible cracks on d brownie after it’s be remove from d oven! Hurray! Even though it still looks flatter as compared to d original pics but shd still be consider a success (at least to me) ;-p

Hubby's ofc gals commented d rd brownie is not soft enough. However, Hayden's sch loves d flatter brownie. So I guess I shd be baking this in d square pan next time.
115g unsalted butter
115g unsweetened chocolate chips
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
¾ cup or 105g all-purpose flour
½ cup or 65g chopped almonds

1. Preheat oven to 140C. Butter an 20cm square baking dish.
2. Melt butter & unsweetened chocolate in a double boiler, stirring often.
3. Once melted, remove from heat be4 stirring in d sugar, followed by eggs & vanilla extract.
4. Fold in d flour & nuts, stirring just till incorporated. Scrape batter into prepared pan & smooth d top.
5. Bake for 25 mins. Cool completely on a wire rack be4 cutting.

Yogurt Bread

I have tried 3 diff yogurt bread recipes so far & have not found a ‘GREAT’ keeper yet. So when I saw this recipe on HHB’s blog yesterday while waiting for d honey buns to finished baking, I decided to give it a try next day (which is today). However, I decided to change some of d wet ingredients because I need to finish up d bal drinking yogurt. Also, her post mentioned dividing d dough into 3 loafs but to me, d dough seems too small to be divided into 3 but I decided to follow ‘instruction’. Also, 8mins into d kneading phase in d ABM, I noticed that d dough is just too wet so I added 4 tbsp of cake flour. It also took longer than usual on d 2nd proofing.
End result – very soft but I cant taste d mixed fruits yogurt flavour at all!

• 250g bread flour
• 15g sugar
• 3g salt
• 1 tsp yeast
• 130g mixed fruit flavoured drinking yogurt
• 25g egg (about half an egg)
• 30g butter
  

Put all ingredients into d ABM & select basic white with light crust. Start.

Honey Buns

Saw this simple recipe from HHB’s blog & decided to give it a try. However, after reading further on her posting, I decided to reduce d wet ingredients in order to ensure d dough would be more manageable. Sure enough, d finished dough was quite manageable even though I need to flour my hands more often as compared to other bakes. I even managed to put some mini dark chocolate chips inside 1 of d dough.
However, after 2nd proofing, d dough didn’t seems to have rise high enough but am running out of time so I decided to go ahead & bake it. Big mistake cause d buns didn’t seems to raise well after baking. But lucky, d inside of buns were soft & fluffy. However, I cant really taste d honey at all… Not sure if I shd increase d honey portion next time… mmmm…

• 300g bread flour
• 4g salt
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 1 egg lightly beaten plus enough milk to make 175g
• 50g honey
• 30g unsalted butter

1. Place all ingredients except d butter into d ABM, select Dough & press start. Add d butter after 8mins into d kneading phase. Let ABM continue until d cycle end (which in my case, inclded d 90mins 1st proofing).
2. Remove dough & press out d trapped air as give it a few light knead. Divide into 9 equal rounds & cover with cling wrap, leaving it to rest for 10mins.
3. Flatten each dough & press out d trapped air be4 shaping them into a smooth round ball. (can knead chips or other fruit bits in this phase)
4. Place dough seam side down onto a 20cm by 20cm square baking tray that’s sprayed with veg oil. Loosely cover with cling wrap & let it proof for 60 mins or until double in size.
5. Bake at preheated oven at 180C for abt 15-20 mins until the bread is golden brown all over. Cover surface with a sheet of aluminum foil if surface is browning too quickly. Remove from oven, unmold immediately & let cool on wire rack.

Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake

Was just browsing ard d web when I chanced upon Kevin’s blog & drawn by some of his bakes. I was very interested in 1 of his BF recipe – Blueberry & Lemon Coffee cake. However, with 2 toddlers ard, am not sure if coffee cake is d right thing for them until I found out that a coffee cake does not necessarily have coffee! D name mainly suggest serving d cake with coffee! Great, since tomorrow is Sunday, I decided to give this recipe a try.
It’s really a very simple cake. However, hubby & MIL prefer me to reduce d amt of sugar so I decided to omit d toppings. Also, as mentioned in my past few bakes, I believed weather temp plays a part in d batter so instead of adding all d milk at 1 go, I pour it in part by part & stop when I feel that d batter is wet enough. So there will be some slight diff betw my ingredients as compared to d originator – Kevin’s.
End result – OMG! It tasted really GOOD! I wld actually considered this a success bake even though it’s flatter as compared against Kevin’s cake given d fact I actually used a smaller pan (8’x8’). I really love it! MIL commented that she can tasted very strong lemon but hubby brushed that aside & said it’s actually very nicely done, very light & fluffy. ;->

Ingredients:
2 cup flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
90g butter (soften)
2/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
100ml milk
1 cup wild blueberries
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Directions:
1. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
2. Cream butter & sugar in a bowl.
3. Mix in eggs.
4. Fold d flour mixture & milk into butter/sugar mixture.
5. Fold in blueberries.
6. Pour mixture into a greased 8' x 8' baking pan. Sprinkle grated lemon rind over d top.
7. Bake in a preheated 170C oven for abt 35 mins.
note - Kevin also mentioned this coffee cake freezes well so it can easily be store away in d freezer for another time.

Milo FunnyFaces Cookies

Was directed to this recipe by BH & decided to give it a try tonite. However, with MIL nagging abt giving d 2 toddlers too much chocolate, I decided to try replace with marshmallows instead. But what a horror when I checked d cookies 10mins into d baking process – those cookies that r stuffed with marshmallows r cracking open & marshmallows r flowing out of d dough! (pic1) Yuk!
And even after lowing d temp from 140C to 130C, I noticed that my entire 1st batch was burned only after 15mins in d oven! Argh!
So in d end, I have to throw away d entire 1st batch. For d 2nd batch, I decided to just follow d recipe & insert chocolate chips into d dough. However, I lower d temp in order to ensure no burned cookies again.

(1)
180g butter, soften at room temp
80g Milo
(2)
200g cake flour
25g corn flour
25g milk powder
(3)
100g chocolate chips
some chocolate rice
some Koko Krunch

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 130C. Line baking tray with baking paper and set aside.
2. Sieve (2).
3. Cream (1) be4 adding (2) to form dough.
4. Divide dough into 10g each. Put 3 chocolate chips into each piece of dough & roll into balls.
5. Prepare d faces as u c please.
6. Bake at 130C for abt 20 mins.
7. Leave to cool on wire rack before storing in an airtight container.

English Muffin_II

Sunday is coming again & I’m still trying to figure out what kind of BF to make. I was surfing thru d web & chanced upon HHB’s post on her scones. In her post, she mentioned abt how 1 can still have freshly baked scones in pj without losing much beauty sleep by refrigerating d dough overnite. That’s when I remembered d last rd of soft & fluffy English muffin & decided to c if I can do d same.

And with last rd of sticky experience, I decided to change d recipe/method a bit to c if it can be better managed. Instead of pouring all d ingredients into d ABM immediately, I only pour in ¾ of d wet ingredients. After 5 mins into d dough setting, I checked for wetness be4 pouring in another 1-2tbsp of d wet ingredients. That way, I wont get a dough that’s too sticky to manage. All this was done last nite ard 10pm. By d time d dough cycle is done, it is alrdy 11+. That’s when I drop d dough into a greased bowl, covered & pop into d fridge overnite.

Next morning, I got up only ard 8+ to remove d dough out from d fridge, rolled out, cut into circles & let rise in room temp while I go wash up. After which, I heat up d frying pan & started ‘cooking’ d muffins. This is really better! It’s more manageable than my previous attempt with d rather sticky dough & d muffin shape r more rounded as compared to my previous attempt too! They tasted a bit diff due to d diff ingredients but yet still soft & fluffy! YES!

• 80ml low-fat milk, warmed
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp yeast
• 26g unsalted butter, soften
• 2 cups + 4tbsp Bread Flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 100ml buttermilk

Too bad all 15 muffins were gone be4 I remembered to take any more pics! Argh!

Raisin Cookies

After d last failed cookie attempt, I thot of gg back to d recipe that worked – Joyofbaking's Raisin Cookies. This time, I followed it closely, except that I ran out of milk & vanilla extract, so I still had to changed some of d ingredients. Also, previous attempt was a bit too sweet for me so this rd, I reduced d sugar amt too. I also took d advice from Shopoholic2802 & chill/cool d batter in d fridge for at least 2hrs be4 baking them in d oven.
End result – they were so much closer to how d original cookies look! YES! Even without d vanilla extract, d cookies do tasted so much better than my previous attempt on this same recipe!
Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup (70g) light brown sugar
• 85g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 20 ml whipping cream
• ½ cup diced raisins

Mix all well & pop it into d fridge for at least 1-2hrs be4 spooning tspful onto baking pan. Bake @ 160c for ard 8mins for each batch. Allow to cool down be4 putting into container.