Easy coconut cake

What an incredibly light and crumbly afternoon cake. Follow the link below for the recipe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kcj-MeONjY&fbclid=IwAR1FPPZvKBvGlLubhCQmV097yIqAZ8fDIH5Wxb9xAmWbFd-F7suxJ1knL8A

Tiramisu II

Tiramisu is the only cakes which I don't mind has a ton of cream. It's so easy and best of of all you don't have to switch on the oven, great for summer season.

I have made this version of tiramisu using sponge fingers (in the pic. I used basic sponge) and always received compliments. It's about time I share it here.

Tiramisu
pictorial https://cookpad.com/hu/receptek/1925954-tiramisu

Ingredients

For soaking
1 x 200g sponge fingers (about 20 pcs)
2 x 18g Nescafé strong 3in1
about 150ml hot water
Rum, to taste

For Cream filling
2 eggs (size M)
2 - 3 Tbsp granulated sugar or to taste

1 x 250g Mascapone cheese, room temperature
1 x 200g whipping cream
1 Tbsp gelatine granules
Powder sugar , to taste
Rum, to taste

For dusting
Cocoa powder

Method :-

1) 30 mins before assembling the cake :
      i) prepare the coffee by bringing about 150ml of water to boil. Mix in the coffee and let it cool
         in  the fridge.
      ii) take out mascapone cheese from fridge and bring in to room temperature.
      iii) Whisk eggs and 2-3 tbsp sugar in a heat proof bowl and slowly heat it over boiling water.
            Just heat about 60°c , when the egg mixture is hot to touch. Then remove from double boiler
           and whisk using electric mixer until foamy and cool a bit.

2) Once 30 mins. is up  you can start assembling.
     1) take out coffee from the fridge add in liquer of choice. or leave it out. mix well

     2) Prepare the gelatine as per instruction on packet. set it aside.

     3) Mix together mascapone cheese with thicken eggs (step 1, iii ) until well combine.

     4) In another bowl whip up the whipping cream until soft peak. slowly add in mascapone
          and egg mixture until well combine. add in the gelatine and mix well.

     5) soak lady's finger one at a time and form a layer on glass dish. soak each for about 5 seconds.
         Then put half the cream and smooth it over. Repeat another layer of soaked lady's fingers,
          and finish off with the remaining cream. dust with cocoa powder.

     6) leave in the fridge overnight.
 

Fanta Slice { Fanta szelet }

Yup, Fanta as in the orange soda.  As strange as this sound, it does work. This should be sit in the fridge at least overnight for best taste.


Fanta Slice { Fanta Szelet }

Chocolate sponge cake layer :-
3 eggs , medium-sized, separated
3 heap Tbsp sugar
3 heap Tbsp plain flour
1 level Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 level Tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt 

Cream layer :-
200ml whipping cream
250g cottage cheese, room temperature
1 zest of lemon
100g powdered sugar, or to taste
1 Tbsp gelatine powder  
  
Orange layer :-
1 can x 333 ml Fanta brand orange soda
40g pudding powder
1 tsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp powdered sugar , or to taste.

Processes :-

Chocolate sponge cake (can be made in advance, freeze and thaw a day before serving)

1) Pre-heat oven at 180˙c.

2) Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. set it aside.

3) In separate bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar until creamy. Add in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and and mix gently until will combined.

4) Take 1/3 of the stiff egg white and add into chocolate batter to loosen it a little. Then fold in carefully the remaining stiffen egg white until well combine.

5) Great baking pan (  18x20cm ) and lined with baking paper . Pour in the cake batter . Bake for 12 mins or until the skewer comes out clean.

6) Let it cooled fully.

7) Once cake is cooled, start preparing the room temperature cottage cheese. Use a hand blender to blender the cottage cheese to get rid of lumps. Add a little of the whipping cream to help loosen the cottage cheese a bit.

8) Once cottage cheese is smooth, set it aside. In another bowl, start whipping the cream until half stiff. Then add in powdered sugar, cottage cheese and lemon zest until well combined.

9) Add in the preped gelatine* . Mix well . pour it over the cooled cake. Level the cream.


10) For the orange layer, take about 100ml of the soda and mix with the pudding powder.  Let it sit.
Meanwhile, heat up the remaining orange soda with lemon juice and sugar. When this is hot enough. pour in the earlier pudding-orange mixture, stir constantly until it thickens , just like making instant pudding. Once orange pudding is thick enough, set it aside to cool a little before pouring it over the cream layer. Level it out.

11) Let the assemble cake sit in the fridge over night before serving.

Lamingtons

Lamingtons

Ingredients

Sponge cake
via Japanese cooking 101
size : 18cm round tin

20 g butter

1 Tbsp milk

90 g cake flour, sifted twice (used plain flour)

3 eggs (used 4 size-M eggs , separated)

90 g sugar (incl. 1 sachet vanilla sugar)

Chocolate icing
via Aprosef
reduced  to glaze 18cm cake

80gm butter
80gm powdered sugar, sifted

3 Tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
40ml milk
1 drop of rum

Coating
unsweetened shredded coconut

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°c at least 20 minutes before. Line a 18cm cake pan with parchment paper (bottom and side). Put butter and milk In a small bowl and microwave until the butter melts. In another bowl, sift the cake flour 2 times. Set aside.
2. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Set aside.
3. For the egg yolks, put in the sugar and beat until thick and creamy. Pour in the melted butter and milk. Mix well. Add sifted cake flour in 3 parts. Fold in the first one-third of the flour by hand with a spatula (not with the mixer). After the flour is incorporated, add the next part of flour and again fold in with the spatula. Repeat. Incorporate in a third of the stiffen egg whites, and then fold in the remaining egg white , be careful not to knock out the air of egg whites.
4. Put the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for 12 mins. do the toothpick test. Bake more if needed.
5. Take the cake out from the oven and leave for 15 minutes. Finally, remove the cake from the cake pan and let it cool completely.
6. When cake is cooled, start making the chocolate icing by placing all the icing ingredients in a sauce pan and gently heat it. Once butter is completely melted and shinny. remove from heat.
7. Cut cake into 8 equal pcs. and dip all sides of the cake into the chocolate icing carefully. Place on wire rack to dry out a bit.
8. Once you finish dipping the chocolate icing, start coating all sides with shred coconut.
9. serve or keep in air-tight container.

Banana Bread

Over the years, I have been trying to recreate the banana bread that I love to eat back home. My mother buys them at the weekly night market and we'd finish it a loaf in one sitting! Although it is called bread, to me it eats like a cake more than bread.  This recipe is nearest to what I remember. The difference perhaps is due different type of banana available here. Anyway, I am more than happy to use this as my go-to recipe going forward.

Banana Bread
via PanlasangPinoy

Ingredients

1½ cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp teaspoon salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup banana, mashed

1 cup sugar2 raw eggs

½ cup cooking oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Combine all the dry ingredients starting with the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda.
2. Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly until everything is evenly distributed.
3. Add the other ingredients (eggs, mashed bananas, cooking oil, vanilla extract ) then mix well with the dry ingredients until a batter is formed.
4. Grease the loaf pan and pour-in the mixture.
5. Preheat oven at 180˙c then bake the mixture for around an hour.
6. Remove from loaf pan from the oven then allow to cool down.
7. serve warm or room temperature.

Hungarian Fairy Cake { Tündérsüti }

Hungarian Fairy Cake { Tündérsüti }
recipe via Tundi Konyha

Ingredients

For the dough
200gm Plain flour
80gm Powdered or Confectioner's sugar
100gm Butter, room temperature
2 Egg yolks
1 tsp Baking powder
1 pkt vanilla sugar
pinch of salt

For the filling
1 packet "puncs" / strawberry pudding powder
200ml Cold Milk
4 Tbsp sugar
180gm Sour cream, room temperature (normally 20% fat, but I only had 12%)
2 Egg whits
Rum extract, to taste
small drop of red food colouring

Powdered sugar for dusting

Method
1) Pre-heat oven to 180°. Prep cake tin (17.5x23.5cm) by greasing and flouring it. Set aside.

2) Make the dough by mixing  mixing flour, powdered sugar, baking powder and pinch of salt. Then add in butter by gently pinch butter into flour mixture until crumbly. Create a well in the centre of the bowl, pour in the egg yolks and gently knead into becoming a soft dough.

3) Divide dough into 6:4 portions. Roll out the bigger dough to the size of the bottom of baking dish. Place in the baking dish. Place the baking dish in the fridge to let the dough rest. The smaller portion of dough, wrap in cling film and let it rest in the fridge too.

4) While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. In a sauce pan , pour in cold milk, then slowly mix in the pudding powder and powdered sugar. Cook the pudding on stove top until thickens.

5) When pudding has thickens, carefully mix in the sour cream. This process will easily split the mixture. What I did was, take a little of the hot pudding, and add into the sour cream and then pour the whole sour cream mixture into the  hot pudding and quickly whisk it to avoid splitting. Then put in the rum and red food colouring, mix well. Set aside

6) In a bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. The slowly fold into pudding mixture.

7) Take out the baking dish from the fridge, pour the filling over the dough base. Finally roll out the smaller portion dough, cut into strips and lay a criss cross pattern on top (see pic from recipe link above).

8) Bake in the oven for 30-35 mins. until pudding is firm nad pastry is golden brown.

Grapefruit Cake

photo via Andrew Zimmern

Unfortunately I didn't managed to take a photo of the actual cake, before it was demolish and became "unphotogenic". I'm posting still the recipe because it was surprising good!

Grapefruit cake
recipe via BlissfullyScrumptious

Ingredients
40gm Sugar
1 Egg
50gm Butter, melted
50gm Plain Flour
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
a pinch of salt
50ml Grapefruit juice

Method
1) Pre-heat oven to 180˙c
2) In a bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and a pinch of salt. Set aside
3) In another bowl whisk sugar, egg and melted butter until combine. Pour in the grape juice and flour mixture (1). Whisk until just combine, do not over mix!
4) Pour cake batter into greased loaf tin and bake for 20-25 mins.

Holiday Baking : A dessert named "Lonci"

We first tasted this "cake" at my sister-in-law, and my husband loves it. So, he asked for the recipe from his sister. Nobody knows why the name "Lonci". We tried searching online with no result. For me, the looks is exactly like a Gerbeau slice, except for the fillings, of course.  I would say that the filling is too mild and the chocolate taste takes over. However, I do like the result of the pastry and this method of making butter cream intrigues me. Perhaps I'll test out the pastry and buttercream separately in other bakes in the future.

Lonci (Creamy Gerbeau Slice)

Ingredients

For pastry

400gm flour

1/2 sachet baking powder

120gm shortening (used goose fat)

120gm sugar (reduced to taste)

1 egg

sour cream , as needed (less than a cup)

For filling

200gm butter, softened

250gm powdered sugar (reduced according to my taste)

500ml milk

2 Tbsp sugar

4 heap Tbsp flour

flavourings :-

Rum

cocoa

1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 sachet vanilla sugarFor cocoa glazing

4 Tbsp water

8 Tbsp sugar

3 Tbsp cocoa powder

120gm butter

Method

For Pastry

1. Mix together all ingredients in a bowl except for sour cream. Add sour cream gradually and knead until you have a smooth dough
2. Divide dough into 3. Roll each dough out into a rectagular sheet and blind bake each sheet until golden brown in a meadium heat oven
3. 
   

For filling

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy set aside.
2. Cook milk, sugar and flour in sauce pan until it thickens. Place the thicken mixture onto cold water to cool. Stir the mixture continuously until cooled.
3. Mix together buttercream (1) and milk mixture (2) . Divide this into 2 portions.
4. One portion flavour with cocoa and rum ; while another portion add in vanilla extract or a sachet of vanilla sugar

For cocoa glazing

1. Bring water and sugar into a boil and mix in cocoa powder. Remove from heat and add in butter and mix until well combine

Assembly

1. Place 1 sheet of baked pastry onto serving dish, spread with all of cocoa flavour filling. Then place seconc sheet of baked pastry over it. Next spread vanilla flavoured filling over the pastry and place final baked pastry sheet on top.
2. Finish off by pouring cocoa glazing while glazing is still warm . Let cake rest for at least a day before serving.

Rafaello Cake

Raffaello Cake
Ingredients
For the base
4 egg whites
pinch of salt
3-4 Tbsp sugar (incl. 1 sachet vanilla sugar)
100gm desiccated coconut
For the cream top
2 egg yolks
2 Tbsp plain flour
250ml milk
1 sachet vanilla sugar / or vanilla extract
200ml whipping cream
3-4 Tbsp powdered sugar
1 Tbsp gelatine
For decoration
Toasted almond slices
Toasted desiccated coconut
Steps
1) Pre-heat oven at 160°c / Gas mark 3. Grease cake tin
2) In a bowl, pour in egg whites and pinch of salt. Beat egg whites until soft peak. Add in sugar gradually and continue to beat egg whites until stiff peak. Fold in desiccated coconut carefully.
3) Pour batter into cake tin and bake for 15 mins. or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.
4) Set cake aside to cool.
5) In a sauce pan, mix together a little of milk with egg yolks and flour until smooth in texture. Then gradually add in remaining milk.
6) Cook mixture over low heat until thicken by stirring continuously.
7) Once thicken to the right consistency, remove from heat and cover the custard directly with cling film. Set aside to cool.
8) Once custard is cool, you can start soaking gelatine powder by sprinkling gelatine power over 60ml of cold water. Do not stir the mixture! Leave to soak for 5 mins. Then cook gelatine over double boiler until gelatine is fully dissolved. Do not boil the mixture. Set aside to cool.
9) In a mixing bowl, pour whipping cream and 3 - 4 Tbsp of powdered sugar until stiff.
10) Mix half of whipped cream into cool custard and whipped until well combined. Mix in a few table spoons of gelatine liquid into the custard mixture, combine well and pour this custard cream onto cake.
11) Mix remaining whipped cream with a couple of spoons of gelatine, combine well and pour whipped cream over custard cream.
12) sprinkle a little of the toasted desiccated coconut over cake. Let cake chill in fridge over night.
13) sprinkle toasted almond slices over cake when serving.

Lemon Cottage Cheesecake

With lemon in season, I've been addicted with lemon curd since I made my first batch about a month ago. In fact, this batch is the third I've cooked consecutively!
Lemon cottage cheesecake source : credited respectively below as I was combining 3 recipes

Crust ~ adapted from Joy of Baking

100 gm crumbs of vanilla cream biscuits

57gm unsalted butter, melted

* sugar was eliminated as vanilla cream from biscuits should give enough sweetness. You can add sugar if you will.

Lemon curd ~ from Joy of BakingMakes 360 ml

3 large eggs

80 ml fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons) (do not use the bottled lemon juice)

1 Tbsp finely shredded lemon zest

150 grams granulated white sugar

56 grams unsalted butter , at room temperature

Cottage cheese filling adapted from Not quite Nigella
250gm local cottage cheese
2 eggs
24 gm vanilla infused caster sugar

Method

Pre-heat oven at 180°c

For crust
In a bowl combine the biscuit crumbs and melted butter. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) up the sides of the springform pan. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

For lemon curd

In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended. Cook, stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (like sour cream or a hollandaise sauce) (160 degrees F or 71 degrees C). This will take approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest and let cool. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Cover immediately (so a skin doesn't form) and refrigerate for up to a week.

For cottage cheese filling

In a bowl, mix cottage cheese, eggs, , vanilla sugar until smooth using hand blender. Mix with 3/4 of lemon curd, set aside

Assembly (text as per http://homecookingrocks.com/coffee-cheesecake/)

Take the crust-lined springform pan out of the fridge. Place the pan in a larger pan. Pour the cheese mixture over the crust.

Pour enough hot water into the larger pan to reach halfway up the height of the pan. Bake the cheesecake for an hour and 45 minutes. The center should be jiggly. Leave the cake in the oven to cool completely. Decorate top of cake with remaining 1/4 of lemon curd. Then, chill in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Orange Cake

Tasty recipe from Almost Bourdain
In view that the link above doesn't work anymore, I have included the whole recipe from the direct source.

What I did differently :-

Halved the recipe based on 2 eggs.  Baked using 18cm spring form.

Used plain flour (instead of self-raising) added in baking powder.

Verdict

Love it - Light and fluffy! A keeper but I'll add more orange zest the next time.

Sicilian orange cake
Serves about 8 
via:  The Guardian

Ingredients
250g lightly salted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
250g caster sugar
4 medium eggs
1½ teaspoons finely grated orange zest
250g self-raising flour
85ml freshly squeezed orange juice

For the icing:
125g icing sugar
5 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice

Method :-
Preheat the oven to 170C/gas mark 3. Grease and line a 22cm clip-sided round cake tin with non-stick baking paper.
Using an electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar together for 4-5 minutes until very pale. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each one, if necessary adding a spoonful of flour with the last egg to prevent the mixture from curdling. Beat in the orange zest. Add the flour all at once and mix in well, then slowly mix in the orange juice. Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer, inserted into the centre of the cake, comes out clean. If it starts to brown too quickly, cover loosely with a sheet of lightly buttered foil.
Leave the cake, in its tin, to cool on a wire rack, then carefully remove the sides and base of the tin and peel off the paper. Put it onto a serving plate.
Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in the orange juice until you have a spreadable consistency. Spread it over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides, and leave to set. Serve cut into slices.

Marble cake

A favourite teatime cake of mine; which I finally successfully recreate. The buttery smell and crumbly but not dry textures is just as I remembered.
My notes :- 1) Halved the recipe and baked in loaf tin. 2) Roughly divided the cake batter, keeping vanilla batter the most. Added rum to pink (red food) batter.
Marble cake
via BBC Good Food

• 225g butter, softened
• 225g caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 225g self-raising flour
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder

Method

1. Heat oven to 180C/gas 160C/gas 4. Grease a 20cm cake tin and line the bottom with a circle of greaseproof paper. If you want to make life easy, simply put all the ingredients (except the cocoa powder) into a food processor and whizz for 1-2 mins until smooth. If you prefer to mix by hand, beat the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Fold through the flour, milk and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth.
2. Divide the mixture between 2 bowls. Stir the cocoa powder into the mixture in one of the bowls. Take 2 spoons and use them to dollop the chocolate and vanilla cake mixes into the tin alternately. When all the mixture has been used up (and if young kids are doing this, you’ll need to ensure the base of the tin is fairly evenly covered), tap the bottom on your work surface to ensure that there aren’t any air bubbles. Take a skewer and swirl it around the mixture in the tin a few times to create a marbled effect.
3. Bake the cake for 45-55 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn out onto a cooling rack and leave to cool. Will keep for 3 days in an airtight container or freeze for up to 3 months.

Hungarian sour cherry cake { Meggyes Lepeny }

When you freeze lots of sour cherries during the summer season, you get to make this simple yet delicious cake through out the year! Okay, the frozen sour cherries that I used to make this cake was given by my MIL though :D  As appreciation I made her this cake when she visited last weekend.
In my archive I already have a similar cake, but I find this version more to my liking as I prefer crumbly texture as opposed to the tighter crumb version. Therefore, this will be my go-to sour cherry cake recipe from this day forward.
Hungarian sour cherry cake {Meggyes Lepeny}
via About.com
Ingredients

450gm pitted sour cherries (left whole), fresh or frozen

170gm unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs, separated

1 cup all-purpose flour

Pinch salt

1/4 cup bread crumbs

Vanilla sugar

Preparation :-

1. Heat oven to 190°c / Gas 4. Butter a 10x6-inch rectangular tart pan, or a 9-inch square or a 9-inch round cake pan and dust with bread crumbs.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and half the granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and continue creaming until well incorporated. Add the flour and salt, mixing well.
3. With clean, grease-free beaters, whip egg whites with remaining granulated sugar until stiff. Gently fold whites into cake batter.
4. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Top with cherries, stem side down. Bake 30 minutes. The batter will partially bubble up and cover the fruit. Cool in pan. Sprinkle with vanilla sugar. Cut into squares or wedges and serve.

One-bowl Chocolate fudge cake with chocolate sour cream frosting

In the last minute, I've decided to try out this chocolate cake for a birthday cake since my first bake (another chocolate cake recipe) failed! This cake turned out moist and stable, great with my go-to chocolate sour cream frosting. The left over also freezes well. PERFECT!
I've declared this as my go-to chocolate cake recipe from now on. No more fussing about with other recipes :p

Chocolate Cake

via kitchencorner

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

½ cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

2 teaspoon granulated coffee

Chocolate sour-cream frosting

adapted from kwanster

100g chocolate, break into pieces
64g unsalted butter, at room temperature
50-64gm confectioners’ sugar, sifted
3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
Pinch of salt, sifted
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp. sour cream , room temperature **12 or 20% fat
added rum for extra flavour

For the cake:-

1) Pre-heat oven at 180°c.

2) Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a large bowl. Whisk through to combine using a hand whisk to stir through flour mixture until combined well. 

3) Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together until well combined. Mix the granulated coffee with  boiling water then pour into the cake batter and mix well combine. 

4) Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans or one cake pan where you can cut horizontally after the cake is baked and cooled down. 

5) Bake for 30-35 minutes if using two pans or 1 hour until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. 

6)Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely.

For chocolate frosting :-
1) Melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Set aside to cool until just barely warm.
2) In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium-high speed until pale.
3) Gradually mix in the sifted confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder and salt, beat until light and fluffy.
4) Beat in the melted and cooled chocolate and then the sour cream.
5) Continue beating until the mixture is smooth and well blended.

Frost cake and decorate as you desire.

Simple chocolate cake with chestnut frosting

Get the simple chocolate cake recipe from Joy of Baking

Flourless Chestnut Chocolate Cake

A bit rich but definitely yum!
Recipe from here as seen on the F word

Note to self :-
Based on 3 eggs and portion according to this 0.75.
Used sweetened chestnut puree; hence have reduced sugar to only 50gm.

Moist Chocolate Cake

MMmmmmm..the taste does live up to the name - moist! The recipe made me 3 small alum. foil trays and I alone finished 3/4 of a tray..help, someone please hide it

.

My normal practice whenever baking a cake is reduce the qty. of sugar stated, but somehow for this one I followed to the T and the sweetness was balanced with the after taste of cocoa / coffee...simply perfect!!

.

Head over to Pusiva's for the recipe.

Moist Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp hot water
1 tsp instant coffee powder or granules

1 cup sugar
2/3 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence

3/4 cup water

Method:

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

Dissolve the coffee with hot water. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well. Beat in the coffee and vanilla essence. Gently fold in the flour mixture alternating with water. Start and end with the flour mixture.

Pour the batter into a greased baking pan. Bake at 175° C for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Cool completely before serving or frosting it with your favourite cream, as per desired. The cake tastes better the next day. 

Swiss Roll

Swiss roll is one of my favourite cakes. The humble eggy and light sponge cake filled with whipped cream and fruits can be very satisfying! I've used the following recipe many times with more failures than successes . Often it is due to the high room temperature the egg whites just didn't want to stiff as it should be; of which resulted in a heavy as rock cake :s

But last weekend all the failures were wiped out from memory as my swiss roll turned out fluffy and light ..even after two days!

Swiss Roll
source : Hungarian cookery

Ingredients

For sponge cake
90gm flour
4 eggs, separated
salt
120gm sugar
1tsp baking powder
1 sachet vanilla sugar

For fillings - as you wish ...but in this case
250ml whipped cream with 2-3 tsp powdered suger, or to taste
Apricot jam
Apricot fruit


Method
To make sponge cake
1. Pre-heat oven to 180°c.

2. Whisk egg whites with a pinch of salt until it become stiff foam. Set aside

3. In a bowl combine together dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, vanilla sugar. In another bowl beat egg yolks with sugar until creamy. When eggs mixture is creamy, add in the dry ingredients and combine well.

4. Fold egg white into egg yolk mixture carefully.

5. Prepare baking dish by lining it with parchment paper. Pour in the cake mixture and bake for 15 min.

6. Remove cake from oven. Let it cool for a while ; but roll up cake when it is still hot. When cake is cooled completely, unrolled it and spread with your favourite jam or whipped cream.

Custard Cake

I knew baking this perfect custard cake would be a minor challenge with my novice baking skills. Sure enough the egg white didn't turn out right! Hence, when pouring the cake mixture on to the custard mix, the cake mixture sank right to the bottom... I proceeded to baking it nonetheless.
After 25 minutes (shorter time due to reducing of custard topping), the cake came out nice and brown. It appeared ok after all ! We enjoyed this cake very much and sure that it will be a regular for special occasions :)
Thanks Pinoy Cook for sharing!

Review : Dr. Oetker Muffin Mix

This box of muffin mix kept staring at me in the kitchen since Christmas (got it in a set of gifts). I counldn't resist anymore, I have to give it a go!

Due to my first bad experience (once only) with muffin mix (another brand), which turned out dry, hard, powdery and the taste ....artificial ; I didn't have too high of expection this time round.

Dr. Oetker chocolate chips muffin mix changed my perception of pre-mixes. The muffins were fluffy, wholesome, and didn't taste artificial at all. If you want to spice it up, try twirling in some peanut butter (which i did) or any other jams before baking. It was great for tea time...yum ..satisfying ;)

Note : Included in the box was 1 pkt. of choc. chips, flour mix, 12 muffin cups. Additional fresh ingredients - eggs, milks and oil