Yogurt And Blackcurrant Cake

This cake is very soft and fluffy.Perfect for an afternoon tea snack.I like seeing the rich yellow colour.It uses margarine and not butter.

       

Ingredients:

150g margarine

130g castor sugar

200g self-raising flour

50g blackcurrants

100g yogurt

3 eggs

Method:

1.Beat margarine and sugar till fluffy.

2.Add in eggs one by one at a time.Combine the mixture well.before adding the next egg.Beat well.

3.Fold in self-raising flour and mix well.

4.Lastly,add in yogurt and blackcurrant.

5.Pour the batter into a 8"x3"x3" baking tray.(but I use a deep 7" round tray)

6.Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C for 40 minutes or toothpicks inserted in the center comes out clean.

Bread Machine Bread recipes

Soft Bread or Basic Bread

Fit in the kneading paddle to the bread barrel.Measure and add everything  in order according to the below recipe.Usually,the wet ingredients first.I'm using PENSONIC brand.

This ingredients yields a 2.0 LB loaf.

310ml water

3 big spoons butter

1 small spoon table salt

3 big spoons granulated sugar

5 big spoons milk powder

520g high protein flour

1 small spoon yeast powder

Cover  the lid and select 1 (soft)Choose the weight and crust color.Press start.

Raisin and pumpkin seeds cupcakes

I made cupcakes late in the night last night.The recipe was taken from the back of the Blue Key brand self-raising flour box.The paper cups that I bought last month was left untouched inside my kitchen cabinet.Seeing the recipe made me wanted to try it out.As it calls for unsalted butter,I had to run to the nearest shop to buy .Honestly speaking,I don't like recipes that calls for unsalted butter as I only have the salted butter handy and unsalted butter are fairly much,much more expensive.Luckily,the store where I bought last night had a discount.

Ingredients:

230g unsalted butter
170g castor sugar
4 eggs(grade A)
1/2 tsp vanilla flavour
230g BLUE KEY self raising flour(you can use any other brand)
50g toasted pumpkin seeds
80g black raisins

Icing:

200g icing sugar
70g butter
1/2 tsp vanilla flavour
30ml UHT milk
a few drops green colouring(my green has a taste of mint)

piping bag needed

Method:Cupcakes


Preheat oven to 180°C. 
Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
Add in eggs one at a time and beat until smooth.Add in vanilla.
Add in flour,follow by pumpkin seeds and raisins.Mix well.
Scoop the batter to paper cups until 65% filled.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes or toothpicks inserted in the center comes out clean.
Leave to cool before icing.

To make the icing:

Beat butter and icing sugar until fluffy.
Add in milk and vanilla flavour.Mix to form creamy icing.
Divide into two portions.One portions,add green colouring and another portion,add in red colouring.
Pipe the cupcakes with a piping bag and decorate with desired things.

          

My bread Maker

 My Bread Maker

This machine saved my time.I just put the ingredients in,and the machine do all the work.Perfect for morning breakfast,and I always do it in the night time.

I start off by making the most basic soft bread,of course!Smaller size first,then medium,then big.Then from plain to things added.So fun and still loving it!

With raisins added

Chocolate bread

Pandan Bread

Then from breads,to making cakes,

Chocolate Cakes

and pizzas,

Pineapple Pizzas

and you can even make all kinds of buns or dinner rolls.

Plain Dinner Rolls/Sausage Buns

I'm so glad I bought this bread machine.The brand is PENSONIC.

From now on,I'll just use this machine to make dough for me.

Kuih Talam

This local dessert is a memory of my school days,taught in cookery lesson.It look similar to Kueh Salat because of the colour.Both have white and green layers.

Thinking back now,I only had a vague memory of how we made Kuih Talam.Sadly to say,I've lost the recipe, but I found one similar to it.The batter don't have to cook first.It is what I wanted.

Recipe adapted from poh's kitchen.TQ

Ingredients:

Bottom layer: 

1 cup sugar
1 cup rice flour
0.75 liters water
45g tapioca flour
1/2 tsp lye
green colouring
pandan paste

Topping:

110g rice flour
2 cups coconut milk
1 1/2 tsp salt 

Method:

Sift rice and tapioca flours into a mixing bowl.

Put sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to boil stirring until sugar dissolves.

Once sugar has dissolved,add green colouring and pandan paste.

Pour into the flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon.

Pour batter into a 22 centimeter cake pan and steam over rapidly boiling water for 15 minutes.

Combine all the topping mixture and mix well.

Pour mixture over the green layer and steam for 20 minutes over medium heat.

Leave to cool and slice.

Ngo Hiang

Recipe here was adapted from the book by Agnes Chang, once a famous face on tv. I will make my own recipe soon, closest to my late mother-in-law who makes the best ngo hiang on every Chinese New Year.Ngo Hiang is porks and prawns wrapped and rolled in beancurd skin with added five-spice powder.(ngo hiang hun,hokkien).
It is often seen eaten at every household on Chinese new year and most mothers are keen to make during these special occasions.Of course, there are some people who are 
keen to make at anytime of the weeks.It is also great for parties.These rolls are sweet and
savoury.My mother in law always made extras.Visitors who came are lucky to eat her ngo 
hiang, for she stuffed in a lot of porks and prawns.These rolls can be kept in the refrigerator
for weeks and when you want to eat it,you can either microwave it or put in the steamer 
again for just a few minutes to make it hot.Then enjoy with rice.
My neighbour told me that she added mackerel into it. I was never told that there are Hokkien
and Teochew versions.If you ask me which version mine is,I don't know.I can only eat because it is good.I think I'll make a campur(mix)version. In the meanwhile,enjoy this recipe
from Agnes.



Ingredients:

1 piece bean curd skin
600g minced pork
300g minced prawns,without shell
2 bombay onions,chopped small
10 water chestnuts,chopped (I opt out cos I couldn't find)
1 egg
enough oil for dip-frying



1 tsp salt
1/4 chicken stock granules
1 tbsp light soya sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp five-spice powder
1/4 tsp pepper

Method:

1.In a big mixing bowl,mix minced pork,prawns and salt till sticky.Add bombay onions,water chestnuts(if using)egg and all seasoning.Mix well.Divide into 4 parts.
2.Cut bean curd skin into 4 pieces,8"x6".Wipe with a damp cloth.
3.Place 1 part of meat mixture onto 1 piece of bean curd skin and form into a long roll.Roll out lightly.
4.Place the meat rolls on a steamer or if using kuali,steam for 8-10 minutes.Take it out.
5.Heat up oil in a saucepan or kuali,and fry on medium heat till golden brown.Take it out onto a plate to cool and cut into thin slices.Serve with dipping sauce.

The sauce are also from Agnes,but we just dipped with chilli sauce.

Dipping Sauce:

4 tbsp dark soya sauce
2 tbsp light soya sauce
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp five-spice powder
2 tbsp water,mixed with 1/2 tbsp cornflour

Waffle

Lately,I've been making waffles at home.I bought two types of waffle makers,a square shape,and a heart shape.I do not really like the former one,so I sold it away to someone who also wanted to buy a waffle maker..

My recipe here are of the crispy type,so don't worry,go ahead and try.

Crispy waffles:

2 cups flour

2 tsp yeast

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp melted butter

1 cup milk

1 egg,room temp

1 tbsp vanilla

1/2 cup warm water

Method:

Mix flour,yeast,salt,butter,egg,vanilla and milk together.Whisk slowly and thoroughly.

Add in warm water slowly,bit by bit and mix again.If the batter is still thick,add in a little more water,bit by bit first.

Rest the batter for 10-15 mins.Heat the waffle maker.Pour 1 ladle of batter into the center and wait till it's brown.

After making,you can spread whatever you want onto it.Mix the flavours from kaya to peanut butter,chocolate,milk,honey,butter, jam or even nutella.The choice is yours.

Milo Oreo MintShake

Ever since I started doing this,I've been making it quite often.Now,I'm going to share it with you all.Feel the taste of Milo with a tint of mint and Oreo.You gonna love it!

So,here's the recipe:

2 full tbsps milo

3 scoops mint ice-cream

8 cubes ice

1/2 cup water

3 Oreo biscuits

Topping:

some milo

1 pc crush Oreo

Method:

Put everything inside the blender and blend for about 3 minutes till done.

Sieve some milo all over the top and crush Oreo onto it.

NOTE:: You can substitute milo with cocoa powder.It will be bitter a bit.

Dried Soya Sauce Chicken Mushrooms

 

It comes as no surprise that this one is always included in our family's menu list.It's the easiest that we could think of to cook either for lunch or dinner.It is quick and simple.The recipe has been passed down from my late mother but,up to these days,I've made a little bit of an alterations of my own version.My mother version was wet but my version is dry,which I found it to be more crispier and delicious.I let the oil comes out to fry the chicken to make it crispy.People who had a chance to eat my dark soya sauce chicken said that it is very,very   tasty and juicy!The mushrooms is a choice.You can opt not to add in.Most of the time,it'll only be the chicken alone,or sometimes ginger were added,minus the mushrooms.

During the years with my late mother,she wouldn't even allowed us to cook dry foods.There must be at least some sauce or soup included,but somehow,sometimes,I forgot to pay good attention to the chicken that I was frying,that it becomes dried.So,it was from then on,that I discovered that the dried version is far more better than the wet version.

It proved me not wrong when one day,my husband(then my boyfriend),came over to our house to eat.As I was cooking this,I was also so absorbed in talking to him that I for the second time forgot to check on the chicken again and the noisy oil can be heard;plat!plat!plat!(it is how I described it,no better words)I quickly open up the kuali cover and keep on stirring and finally dishing it out.

When we sat down to eat,my husband(then my boyfriend)ask me why I cooked better chicken than his mother and sister.He was telling me that the way they cooked at home was the wet version,just as the way my mother had taught me to do.And he too agreed the dry one is more better.

As years gone by,I begun to cook for my own family and my children also loves it.Sometimes,I added long beans instead of mushrooms.And now,my husband is also good at cooking this.He cooked this during Chinese New Year this year.Believe me or not,his younger sister and brother told him that above all the dishes that they had tasted,this dark chicken dish is the best!She wanted to know how we cooked it.This time the credits goes to my husband who had learnt it from me.

Before we begin,let me tell you that there are no exact measurements to this.It all depends on how much chicken you used and how salty you want it to be,according to your own preference but I will give you roughly mine.

Ingredients:

500g chicken,cut to bite sizes

1 canned mushrooms

onions-small batches

garlics-small batches

4-5 dashes dark soya sauce

1 dash light soya sauce

1-2 dashes gourmet cooking wine

pepper to taste

oil-abt 3 tbsps

Method:

1.Heat up some oil in a wok or kuali.Fry the onions and garlics till fragrant

2.Put the chicken in and then the mushrooms.Stir for a while,then add in dark soya sauce,light soya sauce and the gourmet cooking wine.Add in a little bit of water,but not too much or else when the chicken is overcooked,the water is still not dry out.

3.Keep stirring every few minutes as to not get burned and the flavour has absorbed into the chicken.

4.After the sauce is nearly thickened,add in a few dashes of pepper.

5.When oil can be heard,keep stirring continously until the chicken turns crispy.

6.Dish it out onto a serving plate.Serve 5 people with rice.

Note:

Garlics and onions cooked in this way are also tasty.So it's better to leave the garlics and onions uncut.Take about 2 cloves garlics and 2 cloves onions.

Potato And Chicken Pie

Though the picture below doesn't look tempting enough,but overall the taste was yummy and delicious.I was shopping,saw the pan and decided to buy home and make this.A few days ago,I had bought a recipe book and had this potato and chicken pie recipe in it,so why not try it?The last time that I made chicken pie was 12 years ago.That was a very long time ago.This is just another recipe from a new book.

Basic Tart ingredients:
100g unsalted butter
80g icing sugar
1 egg yolk
200g cake flour
1 tsp salt

Method:
1.Sift cake flour.soften butter under room temperature.
2.Beat butter until creamy and fluffy.
3.Divide icing sugar into 3 portions and add them in one portion at a time.Mix well after adding each portion.Add in salt and mix well,followed by egg yolk.Mix well.
4.Divide flour into 2 portions and add them in one portion at a time.Use a rubber spatula to mix well.
5.Remove dough and wrap with plastic wrap.Keep inside the fridge for about 2-3 hours.
6.Place the dough on a tabletop pre-lined with plastic wrap.Cover the dough with another piece of plastic wrap and roll out to 3mm thickness.
7.Place the dough onto the baking mould.Depress gently so tht the dough sticks to the mould.Using a fork,pierce the dough evenly.
8.Bake in pre-heated oven at 180°C for about 20 or 30 minutes.
9.Remove from oven and leave to cool for further use.Remove the crust from the mould and put on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Now to make Potato and minced chicken pie: (of course the filling can be anything that you liked)

Ingredients:
900g potatoes
6 tbsps milk
120g butter
120g large onion
120g carrot
1 clove garlic
450g minced chicken
500ml stock
120g button mushrooms
1-2 tbsps plain flour
120g grated cheese
2 tbsps oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1.Peel potato skin and cut into big chunks.Peel and dice carrots.Dice onions and cut button mushrooms into four.Chopped garlic.
2.Bring a pot of water to boil and put in the potatoes.Boil until soften.Drain away the water.Mash the potatoes.
3.Put butter and milk into the pot over low heat.Cook until butter melts.Add in potatoes to mix.Season with salt and pepper.Remove from pot and set aside to cool.
5.Heat oil in the pot.Add in onions and carrots and fry for about 5 minutes.Add in garlic and fry for another 1 minute.
5.Add in minced chicken and half of the stock.Stir constantly until the chicken is browned.Add in the remaining stock,mushrooms,salt and pepper to taste.Cook for 15 minutes.
6.Add in flour,stir constantly until chicken sauce thickens.Place chicken fillings onto the pie shell,cover with mash potatoes.Sprinkle grated cheese on top.
7.Bake in preheated oven at 180°C for about 30-35 minutes

Coffee Chippy Shake

I'm no coffee lover,but it doesn't stop me from trying to make coffee drinks.In fact,I love making varieties of drinks.I got headache when I drank coffee.Never mind about wasting it.I can always give it to my hubby and sons to drink.

This one is called Coffee Chippy because of the added chocolate chips on top.Try it out!You'll be sure to love it.

Ingredients:
2 large scoops vanilla ice-cream
1 pkt 3-in-1 instant coffee
3/4 cup water

Method:
1.In a blender,add in the ice-cream,coffee and water.Blend for 2-3 minutes until done.
2.Pour into a glass.Top with chocolate chips.That's it!Done.

Fruit Cake

This simple yet delicious fruit cake comes from my new recipe book.The only difference is I added some dried cranberries into it and used a packet of mixed fruits and raisins.The result was simply delicious.Thumps up for me!

Ingredients:

100g butter

100g cake flour

2 eggs

100g brown sugar

2/3 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

1/4 tsp cardamon powder

80g dried cranberries

300g pkt Sakura brand mixed dried fruits

Method:

1.Beat the eggs.Sift the cake flour,baking powder,cinnamon powder and cardamon powder    together.

2.Beat the softened butter till creamy.Add in 1/2 of the brown sugar and continue to beat    until pale and fluffy.Add in remaining brown sugar and continue to beat until creamy and  fluffy.

3.Add the beaten eggs into the batter by 4 times,make sure to mix well before adding the    next portion.

4.Add in the fruits.Add in half of the flour mixture,mix well and fold in the remaining mixture.

5.Pour the batter into a long rectangular mould.

6.Bake in preheated oven at 150°C for about 40 minutes.