Xmas Fruit Cake

Ingredients:

2 bags of candied papaya and pineapple from Dollar Tree, cut into smaller pieces

Equal amount of raisins, peels of any lemon or orange if have

Soak the above with 1/3 cognac and 2/3 apple juice for a week.

1 stick of unsalted butter, soften

3/4 cup of dark brown sugar

1/2 cup olive oil

3 Tbsp. 100% maple syrup

1/2 tsp. salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove

3 eggs

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

Methods:

1.  Preheat oven to 320'F.  Line the 8" square baking pan with parchment paper.

2.  Beat soften butter and brown sugar until fluffy.  Add in olive oil, beat well.  Add in syrup, beat well.  Add in the seasonings and one egg at a time, beat until combine.

3.  Use a spatula and stir in the dry ingredients.  Lastly add in the soaked fruits along with the juices.  Mix well.

4.  Pour into the prepared pan and cover the top with foil.  Bake in the oven for 2.5 hours.  Take it out and set aside to cool completely.  Wrap it with foil and let it age for a week before serving.  Can be freeze in the freezer to enjoy it later.  Just bring it back to room temperature to serve.  Enjoy!

Toasted Coconut Chia Seeds Cake

Coconut toasted coconut cake, so yummilicious.

I had a vision and I made this cake and it was so divine!  When I told my Edda about my vision of this cake, she gave me the look that it was not going to be good, she said I don't like coconut cake.  Oh well, as it turned out she really loved it and had few pieces after it was cooled.  I asked her, this is really good right and she said yes and please don't share it with anyone.  Hahaha....she wanted the whole cake for us!  As usually I would share half of the cake away.  

Super fragrant and super moist coconut chia seeds cake!  The chia seeds gave it a little crunch when biting into the moist cake.

This creation is so unexpectedly delicious that I decided to keep the recipe within my family.  Who knows, I might decide to sell some of my bakes in the future!  As for now, this is priceless!

Matcha Yogurt Cake

I remembered I made yogurt cake before and it was pretty good.  A co-worker gave me a big tub of Brown Cow vanilla yogurt so it gave me an opportunity to make this cake again.  I told her I am going to make a yogurt cake and give it to her.  She didn't know we can use yogurt to make a cake hence just had to let her try it herself I guess.  I decided on the Matcha flavor just because I liked it. This is another one bowl and a whisk recipe that I liked very much.  Easy and not a lot of things to wash later.  This cake is best the next day, a soft and moist cake with vanilla and matcha flavors.

Vietnamese Honeycomb Cake Revisited

After I visited a Vietnamese Baguette restaurant and they gave me few pieces of honeycomb cake to try, I realized that I haven't been making this cake for a long time.  So, it prompted me to give it a try again.  I got the honeycomb effect and it seem successful, however, I found it on the dry side.  I have no idea why, do you think I baked it for too long?  or I need to add more coconut milk?  Why it is dried?

Swirl Green Tea Vanilla Pound Cake

I have a block of cream cheese sitting in the refrigerator so I had to find a recipe for it.  I remembered I once made a orange cream cheese pound cake that was really good.  I should have follow that recipe with I adapted instead of trying this new recipe at allrecipes.com.  It is still good but it was not as good as it could be as I have tasted better.  I was kind of disappointed.  Next time I will use the recipe in my blog for cream cheese pound cake instead of trying another recipe.

I added green tea powder for the middle layer.  Next time I probably make it all green tea flavor as this high quality matcha powder is really fragrant.  I took half to my work place and they all loved it. It felt great to share your food to someones who appreciated it.  :)

Chocolate Cream Cheese Pound Cake

I wanted to buy some cocoa powder but some how when I was in the supermarket, it just slip my mind.  So, I had to pen it down and reminded both of my girls to remind me to buy some cocoa powder when we are in the supermarket again.  I wanted to buy some Talentie's gelato that was on sale in Albertson so I told my girls, lets go look for the cocoa powder.  The Everyday Essential brand of cocoa powder was on clearance for $1.72 and the original price is only $1.99! I was like no way, why is it so cheap compared to Hershey's brand??  I checked the ingredient list and it said 100% cocoa powder.  Checked the ingredient list on Hershey's and it said cocoa powder.  So, I grabbed the last two cocoa powders that were on clearance.  Didn't know I had been paying so much extra for cocoa powder until now.  Now I know where I would go for cocoa powder when I am out again!

I loved this cream cheese pound cake recipe and wanted to create a chocolate version out of it and here it is!  This pound cake is not very sweet, I would say mild in sweetness as I reduce the sweetness in this.  If you like a sweet cake just use 2 cups of sugar.   This cake is a must-try because oh it's so good!

Simply Butter Cake

I was looking for a butter cake recipe that I had tried before but somehow lost the recipe.  I found this recipe at allrecipes.com that seem like the one I was looking for.  So, I set out to give this recipe a try.  It turned out buttery with vanilla fragrant but the texture was not really what I was searching for.  I don't know whether it was me using the raw cane sugar instead of granulated white sugar has anything to do with it?  It was soft with buttery vanilla flavor!

Baked Pumpkin Mochi Cake

I wanted to try making this because I saw a picture of someone selling pumpkin mochi.  Since I made red bean mochi before, I knew I could easily modified the recipe and made my own version of pumpkin mochi.  So, I set to work and created this beauty.  When it was out of the oven, the top crust was crispy and soft inside.  On the next day, it turned soft and slightly chewy.  I hope you like this recipe and feedback to me!

My easy recipe, with only a whisk and a bowl.  Less steps and less things to wash later.  I couldn't resist and cut one small row to try, before I remember I haven't taken a picture yet!  Heehee!

No Egg Cake

A recipe without using egg, milk and butter and still turned out soft and fluffy, not to say easy to whip up too.  The recipe said just mixed everything in the baking pan, but I would advice to mix it in a bowl first before pouring in to bake in the pan.  As, the cake stuck to the pan even though I had greased it before hand.  Other than that, this is an awesome cake to try and very easy to make and delicious to eat.  It is not a sweet cake so don't bother to cut down on the sugar.  I reduced the sugar to 3/4 cup and ended out have to glaze the cake because it was not sweet enough.  Hahaha...we all gain from my experiment.  *smile*

If I am out of eggs and still want to eat cake, this will be my to go recipe for sure.  My girls loved this cake as well and I bet they would request me to make this often along with the fudgy brownie that they liked so much.

Pumpkin Chia Seeds Bar Cake

Modified this from the Best Pumpkin Cake recipe I posted few years ago.  Now, I added ground flaxseed and chia seeds for a healthier approach.  I should try it with whole wheat flour next, but I am not sure of the outcome and afraid to give it a try.  I was experimented it with a 9x13" pan instead of the bundt pan because that took a long time to bake.  Luckily this turned out well and it only took 35 minutes to bake.  I freeze half for later and the other half I just store it in an air-tight container and place it at room-temperature on the kitchen countertop.  My girls had this as breakfast and for their afternoon snack.  

Nothing better to bake some pumpkin treats at this pumpkin season.  It's also a great time to stock up on canned pumpkin when it goes on sale, so that we can enjoy it throughout the whole year, not just at the end of the months.  *wink*

Lemony Lemon Brownies

When I saw this recipe shared on my Facebook page, I just had to make it.  My girls loved anything lemony such as my Lemon Sables, Crispy Lemon Cookies and Lemon Poppy Seeds Muffins.  Needless to say, I have been making lots of lemony dessert lately.  This brownie got my girls approval too, is a change from the usual chocolate brownie, but I like the fudgy brownie better.  *wink*

I modified the methods in making this lemon brownie from the original version because I remembered I only needed a hand whisk to make the best brownie ever recipe.  So, I improvised and experimented with it and glad to announce that it worked!  So, you are free to use my lazy method or follow the original recipe.  I also cut down on the sugar and changed the glaze recipe, as the glaze recipe provided by the original poster yields too much runny glaze and hence resulted my brownie looking like the above.

Pumpkin Roll with Cream Cheese Filling

I always wanted to make a pumpkin roll with cream cheese filling as I couldn't trust the ones sold outside at the supermarkets.  Eating healthier also means most of the things we eat now have to be homemade.  I really do not wish to live like my great grandma used to live in this "modern" days, but because of the GMO and toxic chemicals that they put in the processed food, in order to protect ourselves, I am force to make things from scratch.  I do buy organic cookies or non-GMO verified potato chips but I haven't seen non-GMO verified pumpkin roll yet.  So, I have to make it if I want to eat it right?  Anyway, this pumpkin roll is oil free and butter free!!  Most of the fat comes from the cream cheese filling.

This pumpkin roll is soft and kind of spongy (which is strange as I just hand whisked the ingredients).  The cream cheese filling is just yummilicious and a plus for me is that this pumpkin roll is very easy to make (only a hand whisk, a bowl and a spatula plus measuring spoons and cups), quick to mix the batter and filling, 15 minutes to bake and just a little assemble would do.  Not a lot of things to wash too, so try it if you like easy recipe like me.

Happy Birthday Edda!

My sweet little girl is turning 7!  How time flies right?  Especially for those who have been following my blog since the very beginning.  You have seen my pregnancy announcement, her ultrasound, the birth story, baby pictures and now she is 7, no longer that tiny anymore.  :-)  She is growing up well, a great student, smart, well behave, listen well, helpful, kind, just a little stubborn at time.

This is the birthday cake I made for her birthday party.  Chocolate cake (the same recipe from her 1 year old birthday cake) with chocolate butter cream with cut out pieces of canned peaches.  Surrounded with Bauducco's chocolate wafers. 

Happy Birthday my sweet Edda and we all love you very much!!!

Edda when she turned 1 year old.

The Best Brownies Ever

I finally found the best brownies recipe!!  Years ago before I became more health conscious, I always bought brownie premixed in a box.  I never know to look at the ingredients list before buying anything.  Now, it's a different story.  I was not satisfactory with the previous brownies recipes that I had tried and always in search of a better one and am glad to report that I finally found the keeper recipe for me.

This brownie is chocolatey, soft, slightly chewy and moist and so irresistible with each bite that I have to give you a warning.  Self-control is required when you bake this brownie as it is not really low fat but I made it less sinful without the frosting and also cutting down on the sugar.  You really don't need to add extra fat and sugar with this already divine brownies in my opinion.  We all loved this brownies and it's our best brownies recipe ever!  I hope you try it and feedback to me ya!

Flaxseed Pumpkin Cake

After seeing all the delicious cakes baked by fellow bloggers, it made me realized that I haven't been baking cake in a while.  But I wanted something that was easy and not too troublesome to make, like my one whisk and one bowl cake recipe.  I finally decided on this pumpkin cake recipe because I have some organic pumpkin puree stock up in my pantry.  This time I added ground flaxseed just to make it healthier, no harm in getting an extra omega-3 right?

This cake is best eaten the next day.  The texture doesn't look like the usual pumpkin cake yet it is dense, soft and moist and so good with my morning cup of coffee.  I could taste the flaxseed, pumpkin and spices in the cake. Delicious!

Matcha Mochi Cake with Sweet Potatoes/Yam

 

Why green tea you asked?  It's simply because I adore the Redman green tea powder, it's so fragrant and make your baked good vibrant in this beautiful green color.  I made sure I bought some when I went back to Malaysia few months ago. There is no substitution for me!  Not disappointed, my house smelled like green tea when this was baked and this mochi cake really fragrant packed with green tea smell.  If you just want a plain matcha mochi cake, just omit the sweet potatoes.

The texture of this mochi cake is sticky and chewy with the fragrant of green tea and sweetness from the sweet potatoes.  My next experiment will be with taro mochi cake, wait til I get my hands on some taro!

Kuih Bakar

Kuih Bakar is a Malay kuih and can literally translated to baked cake.  This kuih can be easily spotted at pasar malam or pagi (night or morning open street market) in a flower mould shape.  I made mine in a 9"x13" pan so it was flat compared to the one sold outside.  You can make it in a 8" square or round pan for better height, just adjust the baking time as needed (longer baking time).

Certainly one easy kuih to make (just blend, pour and bake!), if you are short of time and want to eat Malay kuih, this would be a great choice.   The crisp and toasty edges are the best!  Note:  when you store it in the air-tight container for the next day, it won't be crisp anymore.  You can also freeze it for much later.  Just thaw on the kitchen counter until it is soft and you are ready to eat.

Brownie from Scratch

I used to buy brownie in a box because I liked the fudge liked texture and it was fool proof.  Or because I always thought brownie was hard to make?  But I stopped buying it after I was aware of partially hydrogenated oil, just like a lot of other things that I used to buy.  Anyway, both my girls have been bugging me to make brownie for them.  They loved brownie but I don't buy them in the store so I had to make it for them.  I found an easy recipe with great reviews and decided to try it (recipe link provided in the next page).  It was good and but not very fudge like, not sure whether I over baked it or not.  Nevertheless, my girls loved it!

Would definitely try this recipe again without the chocolate frosting.

Steamed Custard Sponge Cake

I wanted to create a recipe for steamed custard sponge cake.  This was my second trials.  I used a different recipe for the first attempt and for some reason the bottom half of the steamed cake was slightly hard, even though it rises beautifully.  So, I played around with this second recipe and added oil into my steamed sponge cake.  It didn't raise as high because my bamboo steamer was too big, I used a 12-inch bamboo steamer.  This recipe is okay but I wanted to try it with separating egg yolk and egg white (like a chiffon cake method) and compare the result.  And of course use a smaller pan!  This cake was soft but after the second day, it was still soft but had a slightly dry texture.

The steamed custard sponge cake from the bamboo steamer had nice top, even though I didn't cover it with a cheese cloth.  The first one I steamed using my electric steamer had bubbles top because the water condensation from the steamer kept dropping onto the cake.

Pear Preserves Cake

One of the reasons I made the pear preserves was I wanted to make this cake.  This cake was soft and moist and well received by my girls.  In fact, I am going to make this cake again.  I could taste the pear preserves in the cake.  The dried pineapple that I added increased the cake sweetness.  I would omit the dried pineapple next time I made this cake as I wanted to taste the pear alone without any competition from other flavor.  The dried pineapple sank to the bottom of the cake pan while baking and sort of glue to the pan and resulted the finished cake got stuck to the pan.  Hence, I advice you to line the pan with parchment paper if dried pineapple is used.

You can definitely substitute pear preserves with apple sauce or apple butter.  It should come out equally good even though I have not tried it before.