Sally Lunn Bread

We were supposed to go to England on Easter's break but we didn't make it at the end because of few reasons ! Consequently, I've been stuck at home since the school finished last week..

Without friends around, nothing is better than spending time on interenet looking for something new and interesting to bake and cook for my family ! Fortunately, I've found this  Sally Lunn bread that reminded me of what I've done long long time ago..

Instead of being plain, this version of Sally Lunn bread calls for some dried fruits to jazz things up and that's why I liked and wanted to give it a try !!

The recipe could be found here.

     

Chocolate Muffins

I saw the photo of this muffin posted by a friend of mine on facebook and fell in love with it at the frist sight ! Then I asked her for the recipe and she was so kind not to let me wait that long..:)

And once I've got in hand..I really couldn't wait to give it a try. I ended up making them twice in three days..it means you can easily guess how good and yummy they are !  

The recipe  ( slightly adpated from the original recipe is from the book called 'Bakery in my heart' Vol.2 by Thai author , Na-Chanok Panyahitanont ) ( Note : I used self-raising flour instead of AP )

Ingredients :

160 g 70% dark chocolate
50 g unsalted butter
30 g canola oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
120 g caster sugar
2 xl eggs
200 g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
150 g sour cream
180 g milk
200 g semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method :

1. Preheat oven to 200c , sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Mix sour cream and milk in another bowl and set aside.

2. Melt the chocolate and butter, add the oil then sugar and mix until blended. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until blended.

3. Add the flour mixture alternatively with the sour cream mixture until just combinded. Stir in the chips. Divide the batter into 12-16 muffin liners and bake for 18-20 minutes.

    

 

   

Orange Chiffon Cake

I didn't mention in the previous post about my new tube pan that it costed me a fortune..In fact, not the pan itself that is expensive but the fine from a traffic ticket I've got is..nothing to blame but the policeman who happened to spot me parking the car at an improper place ! LOL...

So I've felt like using the pan as much as I can to get the most benefit from the price I paid..:) and the second use was done even the first cake has not been eaten all up yet ..but that's not a problem cuz I am very good at finding victims of my baked goods..:)

The recipe (slightly adapted from here.)

(for 17cm tube pan)

Wet Ingredients :

3 egg yolks
40g caster sugar
35ml vegetable oil
60ml orange juice
2 tbsp Cointreau
zest from 1 orange

Dry Ingredients :

80g cake flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

4 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tar tar
35g caster sugar

Method:

Place all wet ingredients in a mixing bowl. With a manual hand whisk, mix everything until well combined. Sieve over the dry ingredients and whisk till the flour is fully incorporated. Do not over mix. Set aside.

In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer on medium speed until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Add half of the sugar amount and turn to high speed and beat the mixture. Continue to add in the remaining sugar and beat until the egg whites reaches the soft peak stage.The soft peak stage is reached when the peaks of the whites curl over and droop slightly. The egg whites should appear smooth and glossy. (Do not over beat the whites still stiff, it is better to beat the whites still soft peaks for easy folding with the yolk batter.)

Add the beaten egg whites into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, each time folding gently with a spatula until just blended. Pour batter into the pan. Tap the pan lightly on a table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.

Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 degC for 30 mins, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, when lightly pressed the cake will spring back. Invert the pan immediately and let cool completely before unmould. To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife around the inside of the pan and the center core. Release the cake and run the knife along the base of the pan to remove the cake.

Coffee Kahlua Chiffon Cake

I've been baking for years and bought lots of baking wares..but surprisingly , I recently just realised that I hadn't own any of chiffon tube pan ! I don't really understand myself why I waited that long to get such a simple and basic thing for my loving hobby..:) well...better late than never..that's what to say best !

I've been lately baking with booze which certainly is one of my favorite ingredients ( and of course intake! ). For a the first time of using my chiffon tube pan..I decided to still play with alcohol and luckily, I chose the right one..what a perfect debut!

The recipe could be found from here. ( Note : I added more coffee granules , kahlua than the original recipe calls for..therefore I increased the sugar to 100 g)

Boca Negra

It's my wedding anniversary this week and instead of going out to celebrate, I typically asked my husband to come home for a nicely homemade dinner...and certainly, dessert had to be served for sure !

My hubby chose the butter rum cake over this boca negra which I was a bit surprised..anyway, though, I've thought that chocolate is always good for a celebration and more importantly, I personally wanted to give it a try, regardless of what my husband wanted..LOL..then here it comes..:)


The Cake ( slightly adapted from Dorie Greenspan's recipe )

12 ounces 70% dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
200 g caster sugar, divided
1/2 cup dark rum
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces, at room temperature
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment or wax paper; butter the paper. Put the cake pan in a shallow roasting pan and set aside until needed.

Put the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl and keep close at hand. In a 2-quart saucepan, mix 150 g of the sugar and the rum and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a full boil. Immediately pour the hot syrup over the chocolate and stir with a rubber spatula until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Piece by piece, stir the butter into the chocolate mixture. Make certain that each piece of butter is melted before you add another ( heat the batter up 10 sec a time in microwave to help the butter melted ).

Put the eggs and the remaining sugar in a medium bowl and whisk until the eggs thicken slightly. Beating with the whisk, add the eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until well blended. Gently whisk in the flour.

Baking the cake: Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pan, running your spatula over the top to smooth it. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come about 1 inch up the sides of the cake pan. Bake the cake for exactly 30 minutes, at which point the top will have a thin, dry crust. Remove the cake pan from its water bath, wipe the pan dry, and cover the top of the cake with a sheet of plastic wrap. Invert the cake onto a flat plate, peel off the parchment and quickly but gently invert again onto a serving platter; remove the plastic. Serve the cake warm or at room temperature.

Storing: Once cooled, the cake can be covered with plastic and kept at room temperature for 1 day or refrigerated for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before serving. For longer storage, wrap the cake airtight and freeze it; it will keep for up to a month. Thaw overnight, still wrapped, in the refrigerator.

Butter Rum Cake

I made this classic banana cake for the first use of my new and proper bundt pan which provided the result that absolutely made me pleased and much happier compared to what I'd got from the old silicone mold I'd been using for ages!

I've then been looking for other bundt cake recipes and keen to make more and more..:)  This butter rum cake is my second attempt, still the pan hasn't failed to give such a nice outcome. The cake had everything you would expect from a butter cake but what made the cake special is a rum flavor that you can feel it in every single bite ! It's not a kid-friendly type of cake but absolutely a big hit for people who fancy booze like me..lol..


The recipe could be found here. ( Note : I reduced the sugar in the batter to 250 g )

   

Walnut Blondies

Speaking of blondie, I prefer a fudgy style to a cakey one but most of recipes I've tried turned out to be cakey blondies which made me disappointed !

Despite these are cakey blondies as hinted in the story, yet I still decided to make it after reading through the article. Somehow, I was convinced that this blondie would be a good one and worth a try. And it turned out much better than my expectation !

The recipe could be found here. ( Note : I made 2/3 recipe and used 8*8 inch baking tin, also reduced sugar to only 85 g and used walnut instead of pine nut)

Corn Flake, Chocolate Chips & Marshmallow Cookies

In my opinion, cookie is one of the easiest baked goods I've ever thought about..it's easy and fast to make, plus more versatile than the other baked goods at any rate !

Anyway, I sometimes find it boring to make cookies that require or state such a plain and predictable method, so it's always fun and exciting to try one that is different and beyond your expectation... just like this cookie!


The recipe ( Makes 18 cookies, slightly adapted from here ).


Ingredients:

152 g unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 scant cup caster sugar + soft light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp baking soda
1/3 scant tsp salt
1/2 recipe of Cornflake Crunch (the recipe is below)
2/3 cup mini chocolate chips
45g mini marshmallows

Cornflake Crunch :


170 g cornflakes (haf of 12-ounce box, 5 cups)
40 g milk powder (1/2 cup)
40 g sugar (3 tablespoons)
4 g kosher salt (1 teaspoon)
130 g butter, melted (9 tablespoons)

Heat oven to 275F. Pour the cornflakes in a medium bowl and crush them with your hands to one-quarter of their original size. Add milk powder, sugar, salt, and toss to mix. Add butter and toss to coat; butter will act as the glue binding the dry ingredients to the cereal creating small clusters.
Spread the clusters on a parchment- or Silpat-lined sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes, at which point they should look toasted, smell buttery, and crunch gently when slightly cooled and chewed. Cool the cornflake crunch completely before storing or using in a recipe. Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, the crunch will keep fresh for 1 week; in the fridge or freezer, it wil keep for 1 month.




Preparation:


In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy for 3-4 minutes. Scrape down sides of the bowl with a spatula.

Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat for more few minutes until blended.

On low speed, mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until just combined.

Scrape down sides and add in the cornflake crunch, chocolate chips and marshmallow until just incorporated.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Measure 1/3 cup portions of dough (using a 2 oz. ice cream/cookie scoop) onto the pan. Pat tops of dough mounds flat. Wrap the pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 1 week. (Do not bake at room temperature!)



Heat oven to 375F. Arrange the chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart on parchment- or Silpat-lined sheet pans. Bake for 15-18 minutes. The cookies should be browned on the edges and just beginning to brown toward the enter. Leave them in the oven for an additional minute or so if they aren’t and still seem pale and doughy on the surface.

Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring to an airtight container for storage. At room temperature, the cookies will keep fresh for 5 days; in the freezer, they will keep for 1 month.

Blueberry Pie Bars

I normally don't stock/spare ingredients that last not long before their expiry date unless I want to make something which the recipe calls for it.. Sour cream is one of them and more often than not, it makes me feel irritated for having to throw it away without any idea of how or what to do with the leftover !

Fortunately, I've found this pie bar in time before my leftover sour cream is passing its expiry date and I
felt like winning a lottery even though I ended up having to buy some blueberries which costed more than sour cream ..what a painful success !

However, the result and outcome made me think that I did the right choice and it was really worth all of my effort..:)

The recipe ( inspired from here )

Crust & Topping


1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
115 g cold butter (cubed)

Filling

2 packs (125 g each ) fresh blueberries
1 egg
1/3 rounded cup sugar
3.5 tbsp all purpose flour
1/4 cup sour cream
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla

Method :

1. Grease 8*8 inch baking dish and line with foil- set aside.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Add flour, sugar, salt & cubed butter to mixing bowl, beat until combined & crumbly.
Take 1/2 rounded cup of mixture & set aside. Take remaining mixture & firmly press into your baking dish, covering the bottom. Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly brown on top.

3. While crust is baking- whisk the eggin a large bowl until frothy. Add sugar, sour cream, vanilla and flour & salt. Mix until well blened. Gently fold in blueberries. Set aside.

4. When crust is ready - remove from oven & add filling. Gently spooning over the top of the crust.
Sprinkle with remaining crust mixture you had set aside. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Cool before slicing and serve.