Steamed Baked Castella Cake

Castella Cake

No cheese added

Like everyone else,I also wanted to make castella cake.It is the talkabout cake these days.The current craze of foodies where people lined up just to buy even though there was a long q.I started going out to buy after trying two times baking at home.If I don't I won't even know how the real taste is like.
Here I am baking for the third time,each time with a different recipes.First two are with honey and smaller recipe and third time without honey.The source? From Stephie's cooking but I altered a bit of the recipe and my cake turned out super super soft.More softer than the one I bought in the store.Next time,I will try to follow exactly her recipe.

Here, my cake is looking cottony soft than bakery bought.I ate my cake warm.Some of it I left in the fridge and ate cold the next day.Both warm and cold are very nice.

I only used my 8" square cake tin lined with parchment paper to bake my sponge cake.

Ingredients:

       (A)

75g  veg.oil

75g  bread flour

15g  cake flour

60g  milk

6     egg yolk

        (B)

6       egg white

1 g     salt (a pinch)

75g   caster sugar

Method:

1.  Heat oil in pan over fire for 2 mins or put in the microwave.

2.  Mix veg oil with bread and cake flour.

3,  Add in milk and egg yolk.Mix to a smooth batter.

4.  Beat egg white and salt with a mixer.

5.  Add sugar in batches slowly until stiff peak formed.

6.  Add 1/3 of B ingredients to A and mix well together.

7.  Then,A and B combined together.Mix well with a spatula scraping the sides down.

8.  Steam bake 160°C for 60 mins or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Before bake,bang the tin on the table 2-3 times to get rid of air trapped inside.

I cannot say I've succeeded professionally yet and I'm not sure if this really is called the real castella cake or just a soft cotton steambaked sponge cake.What is your opinion?Let me know.

Steamed Tofu Recipe

Ingredients:

1 tofu(300 g)

2 cloves garlic/onions

100g minced chicken meat

2 tbsps. oil

(A)

2 tbsps. oyster sauce

2 tsps. light soya sauce

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sesame oil

pepper to taste

1 tsp corn flour mix with 2 tsps. water

Garnish:

1/2 chilli padi sliced thinly

1 stalk spring onion,cut short length

Some shredded carrots 

Method:

Place beancurd on heatproof plate and steam over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.Set aside.

Heat oil in saucepan and stir-fry garlics/onions until slightly brown.

Add in chicken meat.Fry for about 2 minutes or so.Add in ingredients (A).Bring to a boil.

Thicken with corn flour mixture.

Spoon sauce over steamed beancurd and garnish with chilli,carrot and spring onion.

Serve hot with rice.

Cholesterol Free Chocolate cake

This is a free cholesterol chocolate cake that you will loved.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsp salt

6 tbsps. cocoa powder

2 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp. vinegar

3/4 cups oil

2 cups hot water

a pkt of instant coffee

2 tsp vanilla

Method:

1.  Mix instant coffee with hot water in a cup.

2.  In a mixing bowl,add everything in and mix thoroughly.

3. Pour onto baking tray.(You can just mix everything inside the tray but I like it this way.)

4. Bake at 180°C/350°F for 35 minutes.

I have copied this recipe sometimes ago,somewhere but now I don't know where and stick it on the fridge for some times now.I'm so so busy everyday so that whenever I saw recipes that I liked,I just quickly scribbled it down on a plain piece of paper with poor handwriting.I know now that I should have also scribble down the person who gave the recipes.

I have added coffee for extra flavour.Strong coffee is preferred.

Braided Bread

This recipe was adapted from:http://mymindpatch.blogspot.my/2015/03/sugar-twister-bread.html
As I couldn't twist it nicely,I made it braided instead.The recipe is small,so make sure to double it if you have large family.
I didn't warm the milk and butter first as stated in the recipe because in the recipe it says optional,so I skip it out.

The bread turned out very soft.I liked it very much.

I sprinkle some black sesame seeds on two breads to make it a little different.

Instead of unsalted butter I used salted butter and leave the salt out.

Ingredients:

120g whole milk

15g condensed milk

30g salted butter

30g fine sugar

20g beaten egg

180g bread flour

20g cake flour

1/2 tsp instant yeast

some beaten egg

about 2 tsp sugar

some black or white sesame seeds

Method:

Put everything inside the mixing bowl except butter.

Attach dough hook and beat the ingredients at low speed at first for 10 minutes.Then add in

the butter and continue beating until it turned into a soft dough about 20 minutes.

Sprinkle some flour onto table and some on dough top.Put the dough on the table and press

it lightly.

Divide dough into four.Shape into round shape.Cover with a lid.Let the dough rest for 15

minutes.

Take each dough and sub-divided into three.Roll into long strips all three strips are of equal

length.Start to braid like braiding your hair with both ends pinched and tucked in under.

Repeat with the other 3 dough.Now you got four braids dough.Spray with water.Allow to

proof for 45 minutes or until double in size in a warm place.

Brush with egg wash and sprinkle sugar evenly over the dough surface.

(You can also sprinkle some sesame seeds like I do).

Baked in a preheated oven 170°C for 17-20 minutes.

Creamy Golden Butter Chicken

Each time when our family go out for dinner,my son would ordered butter chicken  or even sometimes butter prawns.It was seldom a miss for him.I had never try cooking butter prawns or chicken at home.Last Saturday,we went out for dinner and ordered again.It was very nice and this has prompted me to try cooking it at home.So Sunday here I come,cooking butter chicken at home.

At first it was hard to find curry leaves.Then hubby found for me bunches.(picture above)Thanks to hubby I can cook butter chicken at home.Without the curry leaves,I don't think the dish would be significant and aromatic.Instead of coating the chicken with flour,I used custard powder so that the chicken would look golden and nice in colour and tasty too.

Ingredients:

320g boneless chicken breast

1 cup custard powder for coating

Marinate:

1 tbsp corn flour

1 egg,beaten

a pinch or more of knorr chicken cubes

1 tsp salt

Creamy sauce:

1-11/2 tbsps butter

1 tbsps red onions/garlics

2 red chillies

4 sprig curry leaves

1/2 tbsps sugar or to taste

1/2 tsp salt or to taste

3/4 cup evaporated milk

oil for deep-frying the chicken

Method:

1. Cut chicken into small bite sizes or cubes.Marinate the chicken with corn flour,egg ,knorr

 chicken cubes and salt for an hour to one hour.

2.  Cut chillies,onions and garlics small. Wash the curry leaves clean.

3.  Heat oil in a wok.Coat the chicken pieces with the custard powder.

4.When smoke comes out,deep-fried the chicken pieces until cooked.Dish it up and

 put aside. 

5. In a clean wok,heat the butter and fry the onions,garlics,chillies and curry leaves until

 fragrant. Add in the evaporated milk. Add in the salt and sugar to taste.Then add in the  

chicken.Stir for a while and dish it up onto a serving plate.

6. Serve hot with rice.

Soya Black Bean Milk

While I was making this soy black bean milk,my head keeps thinking"why do I want to make when I can just buy it cheaply at the supermarket?"
But then and again,that's me who never stop doing things.
Earlier on I had seen packets of soybeans from the supermarket,decided to buy home and make fresh soya bean milk with the black beans that I still had at home in my kitchen shelf. To my dismay,the black bean at home weren't left that much,so I just use how much is left.

I soaked the beans for 7 hours before making.It took me the entire afternoon to make fresh soya black beans milk and enjoy drinking it in the evening.

Ingredients:

300g Soya bean

120g Black bean

171/4 cups water(about 4 liters+)

250g of sugar

15 pcs pandan/screwpine leaves for fragrant(tied into knots(3pcsx5)

Wash the beans in a basin.Soak the beans overnight.I soak it in the early morning and come back in the afternoon to make.By then the beans have already soften.Discard the water away and clean 3 or 4 times.Rub the skin away with fingers.
Blend the beans by 3 times in a blender with some of the water taken from the 171/4 cups.

Each time enough water to cover the beans.

Strain through a muslim cloth in a rice cooker with the steamer tray on top.Transfer to a tall clean stock pot.At this point I used the net to strain one more time through to the stock pot to prevent any residue left.

Do the same for the rest of the beans.(blending,straining and transferring to the stock pot and straining one more time through a net).

It is now ready to bring the soy black bean mixture to a boil.Add the rest of the water in.
Throw in the knotted pandan leaves.

Boil using high heat at first,and when it start to boil,lower to medium heat and always stir the mixture.Boil for about 35 minutes.Add sugar and boil for another 10 minutes.

Turn off the heat.

Drink it hot or cold as you preferred.I like both hot and cold.

Note:Another method is to boil the blended beans first then strain it later on and when straining is already done,put sugar into it and boil a few more minutes to let the sugar 
dissolves completely.

Green Tea Coconut Bread

I got leftover green tea powder and some coconut milk,so I decided to make a combination of green tea and coconut bread.

When warming milk,you can also warm inside the microwave or double-boiler.

Coconut Dough:

Ingredients:

150g coconut milk

20g condensed milk

20g butter

25g beaten egg

30g sugar

225g bread flour

25g cake flour

3/4 tsp instant dry yeast


Method:

Warm 150g coconut milk,20g condensed milk and 20g butter in the rice cooker for 10 mins.Then add 25g

beaten egg,30g sugar,225g bread flour and 25g cake flour.

Dig a small hole,pour in 3/4 tsp instant yeast.

Knead the dough well.

Cover and let  dough rest while preparing  the green tea dough.

Green Tea Dough:

135g water

20g condensed milk

20g butter

22g beaten egg

30g sugar

220g bread flour

25g cake flour

3/4 tsp instant dry yeast

4g green tea powder

Use the same method as the coconut dough.Just add in the green tea powder to make it green.

Warm 135g water,20g condensed milk and 20g butter inside the rice cooker for 10 minutes.Then add in 22g beaten egg,30g sugar,220g bread flour and 25g cake flour.

Dig a small hole and add in 3/4 tsp instant yeast.

Knead well.Cover and let rest for 20 mins.

Sprinkle some flour on the clean table.Take the coconut dough out and roll into rectangular shape.Then the green tea dough roll out to the same length as the coconut dough and put on top of the coconut dough.Roll up and put inside the bread pan without the blade.Press lightly with your hand so that the dough fit the size of the pan.Proof for 40 mins until it has risen or double in size.
Brush with egg yolk.(optional)
Press "Bake" function and bake for 40 minutes.

After baked,cool on a wire rack.

And so this is how I made my coconut and green tea bread.I'm so happy that I didn't waste away my coconut milk and green tea powder.

Prune And Sunflower Seeds Cupcakes

Ingredients:

220g  plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

162g sugar

230g butter

4 eggs

vanilla essense

60g toasted sunflower seeds

100g prune(cut small)

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C,

Beat butter and sugar till creamy.

Add in egg one by one,beating well after each addition.

Add in the vanilla essence.

Sieve the flour and baking powder together.Add to the butter mixture and also add in the cut prune and toasted pumpkin seeds.Mix and fold till well combined.

Use an ice-cream scoop to fill the paper cups.You can also use spoon.

Bake for 20 minutes or so until brown.

Leave to cool first before eating or piping cream on top.I usually eat without any cream.