dimanche, janvier 30, 2011

German Pound Cake

After you baked the friand... you don't know what to do with the 4 egg yolks? I was searching for recipe that use the 4 egg yolks and I found this recipe on this website.

It's simple and it reminds me of the Sara Lee's cake.
This is a basic pound cake and you can eat it with jam, frosting, or cream cheese toppings.

Here's the recipe:
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
3 ½ cups cake flour
1 ¼ cups milk
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
⅛ teaspoon salt
6 egg yolks - (I used 2 whole eggs + 4 egg yolks)
dash lemon juice, to taste, a good squeeze just to scent the cake with a bit of lemon flavor - (I substitute the lemon juice with caramel arome)
Bakers Joy or Pam for Baking, if using this do not grease and flour pans. Follow directions on can.

Methods:
- Preheat the oven at 180C
- Beat sugar and butter until fluffy at high speed
- Reduce the speed and add in eggs, and then the rest of the ingredients
- Pour the mixture into the baking pan
- Bake until done (with toothpick test)

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Mini Raspberry Friand

Very simple recipe. Tea time and need to have some cakes? Then use this recipe. I got this recipe from Spoon,Fork and Chopstick website.

I like the versatility of the recipe. You can use whatever fruits or jam that you have at home. I use raspberry because I have unfrozen raspberry in the fridge.

Here's the recipe:
Mini-Friands (adapted from Spoon,Fork and Chopstick

Ingredients:
1/3 cup plain flour
1 cup icing sugar mixture
1 cup almond meal
4 eggwhites, lightly beaten with a fork
120g unsalted butter, melted
jam, fresh/frozen berries, citrus curd (optional)

Method:
- Sift together flour and icing sugar mixture into a large bowl. Stir in almond meal then add eggwhites and butter. Mix until well combined – the batter will be slightly sticky.
- Preheat oven to 210°C and lightly grease a 24-hole mini-muffin pan.
- Divide batter evenly across the mini-muffin pan, approximately 1 tbs batter per cavity. (If you are using any jam, berries or curd, place a small amount on top of the cake batter portions.) Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes before reducing the temperature to 200°C and baking a further 5 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes before removing the friands to cool on a wire rack. A toothpick or thin skewer is helpful in levering the friands from the pan. Dust with icing sugar before serving, if desired.

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dimanche, janvier 23, 2011

Easy Pineapple Turnover Cake

What to do with a can of pineapples?
Pineapple turnover cake! What else!? :D

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While the classic pineapple turnover cake calls for caramel brown sugar at the bottom (or up, when it's turned over), but I chose the easy one. I skipped that caramel part since I do not have brown sugar, and also to not make the cake too sweet.

This recipe is so simple. Took me about 15 mins to prepare and put in the oven. This cake is perfect for tea time or if you have some friends over, it makes a great dessert with tea/coffee at the end of the evening.
This is a keeper :D

Ingredients:
1 cup + 6 tablespoons self-raising flour
1/2 cup cornstarch (Maizena)
6 tablespoons ground almonds (almonds powder)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
230g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 and 2/3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 pots of yoghurt (low fat or 0%) - about 1 cup
1 can of pineapples

Methods:
- Preheat oven at 180C
- In a bowl, mix flour, maizena, almonds, baking powder, and salt.
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- In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time.
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- Add in vanilla extract
- Add in alternate the dry ingredients and yoghurt
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- Grease the baking pan with butter, arrange pineapples. Throw in some flour and sugar.

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- Pour in the batter.

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- Bake for about 50-60 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

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dimanche, janvier 16, 2011

Mostly-Organic Health Bar

Want a healthy snack? Why not a granola bar... :D
This time I picked up a challenge to make a healthy snack bar. Be careful when you are looking for snack bar recipes. Most of the recipes that I've found indeed use grains, cereals but they also use lotsa sugars and butter. I've found one great and simple recipe from Natalie's blog. It's simple and not using any sugar nor butter.

I skipped the honey, because my hazelnutbutter comes with honey in it.

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Bio (organic) oven-grilled muesli mix with flaxseed, bio (organic) flaxseed, bio (organic) puffed quinoa, dried grated coconut, raisins, mixed nuts, bio (organic) apple puree, bio (organic) hazelnut butter with honey.

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Here's the recipe adapted from Natalie's blog.

Ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup dried grated coconut
1/4 cup almonds, halved (I used chopped mixed nuts, about 1 cup)
1/4 cup pistachios
1/4 cup dried cranberries (I used raisins)
1/2 tsp cinnamon (omitted)
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup honey
2 TBS veg oil (or any oil)
1 TBS soynut butter (or any nut butter) (I used hazelnut butter)

(preheat oven to 325 degrees)

1. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Add all wet ingredients. Stir with spatula until it is evenly moist and all the flour is absorbed and incorporated. (if dry and extremely crumbly add more nut butter)
3. Grease a loaf pan and put all the mix in the pan and push it down as much as you can to make it flat and compacted.
4. Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges are brown and pulling away.

Cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting.

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lundi, janvier 10, 2011

Easy Cheese Sticks

I made this for new year's party at my sister's place. It's very easy in case you have unplanned visitors hihihi
What you need is:
Roll of ready-made puff pastry
Some grated parmesan
Some grated emmental cheese (or cheddar cheese)
A bit of melted butter

- Unroll the puff pastry, and brush with some melted butter. Add on top parmesan and emmental cheese.
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- Use a knife to cut the pastry into strips. I used the pizza cutter. So easy.
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- Bake in a pre-heated oven of 180C for 10 mins or maybe less. This thing cooks so fast. So don't leave the kitchen unattended :D
Leave them cool off. It's crunchier when they are cooled.

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dimanche, janvier 09, 2011

Raisin and Bran Mini Muffin

Hey peeps! Let's start the new year with something healthy, shall we? :D
Here is my first bake for 2011: Raisin and Bran Mini Muffins. It's not so sweet. The original recipe calls for molasses/corn syrup and honey. But I don't have those, so I substitute with fine sugar. This muffin is full in fibre for sure, and I've found many varieties of the same recipe using cranberries, blueberries and raspberries. I used the simple raisin.
This is a simple recipe but gives you a healthy snack. It's a keeper :D

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Raisin Bran Minu Muffins – Adapted from Farmgirl Fare

Yield: About 24 mini muffins
2 cups (3oz / 86g) wheat bran
1 cup (5oz / 141g) oat bran
1 cup (6oz / 170g) whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup (5oz / 156g) milk
2/3 cup (5½ oz / 156g) yogurt
1/3 cup (2¼ oz / 65g) canola oil
1/3 cup (3¾ oz / 108g) sweet molasses or cane syrup (I used fine sugar)
1/3 cup (3¾ oz / 108g) honey (I used fine sugar)
1 teaspoon (6g) vanilla extract
1 cup raisins (or substitute cranberries, or blueberries)

Preheat oven to 190°C. Grease a muffin tin or line with paper liners.
In a large bowl, combine wheat bran, oat bran, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In a medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, yogurt, canola oil, sugar and vanilla and mix well.
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula just until combined. Fold in raisins with as few strokes as possible.

Generously fill muffin cups with batter.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 15 to 20 minutes for small muffins.
Cool muffins in pan for 5 to 10 minutes, then carefully remove from pan and serve warm, or let cool on a wire rack.

vendredi, janvier 07, 2011

Happy New Year 2011!!!!!!!!

Only a week after?? Sheesh!!!
Here goes a quickie.

Happy New Year and best wishes to everyone near and far far away.

This year has been a great year in the kitchen where I felt like I am addicted to baking. LOL I guess I did admit once in a while that I am addicted to baking. I would keep searching for nice recipes on the Net and studied them like there is an exam or something. My nights are sometimes filled with baking dreams, and my days are filled with baking plans. Yes, it's an addiction!

Despite of being on strict diet, in 2010 I tried many new recipes and there are some revisiting of old ones. My colleagues and husband are the lucky ones who get to taste the goodies :D

In addition to that, I've made some videos of the process. I enjoyed putting musics to my video rather than me talking, because that is what really happened in the kitchen, except that the musics are in my head LOL

For Christmas I received a lot of baking pans and a silicone tube bundt mold. I'm looking for a nice bundt recipe. Perhaps that will be my first bake of the year :D

Happy New Year again. Hope my addiction will go on this year and discover new and better recipes :D