Chinese Style Mango Pudding (eggless)

Living in Australia, we always have mangoes for every Christmas.  My husband would buy a whole tray of mangoes and the Bowen (Kensington) mango is my favourite as it is sweet with no fibre in the flesh.  When I was about 9 or 10 years old while living in Hong Kong, I tried to open the seed of the mango thinking there would be something fantastic inside since the flesh of mango tasted so nice.  Of course, I found nothing interesting there but every summer we would enjoy at least a whole tray of mangoes.

When I went to Yum Cha in Sydney, the waitress was pushing the food trolly with mango pudding and mango crepes around the tables.  Mango is a really nice fruit to make into dessert.  I like this pudding recipe from Christine's Recipes as it is eggless and light.  After all the big feast we had from Christmas, this is a simple and nice dessert to have for the hot summer!  With the summer holiday having kids at home, why not get them to help making this yummy dessert? 

Chinese Style Mango Pudding (eggless)
(make 4)

1 packet of 85g mango flavour jelly crystal
90ml milk
40ml evaporated milk
110ml hot water
55ml cold water (boiled)
2 large mangoes

Method:

1. Dissolve the jelly crystal with the hot water, then add the cold water.  Stir in the milk and the evaporated milk.
2. Pour the jelly mixture into four glasses.  
3. Cut one of the mangoes into cubes and add into the jelly mixture.  Keep into the fridge for 2-3 hours or until the pudding is set.
4. Cut the remaining mango into cubes and add to the pudding before serving.

As this dessert is not very sweet, it is best to consume as it is.  I have tried to serve it with ice-cream, the sweetness of ice-cream covers the taste of mango which is not a recommended combination.

Merry Christmas

So it is Christmas again! I have just come back from my trip to Sydney and need sometime to unwind myself before I'm ready for more food and laughter!

It has been a very busy month of the year with my son's graduation from primary school and attending our cousin's wedding within the same week.  I was totally exhausted after looking my son from food poisoning and lucky he was just able to get onto the plane to attend the wedding.  He has missed out the last two days of school but he is looking forward to meet his friends and making new friends in high school next year!  I have to stop regarding my son as "my little boy" as he is catching up my height and I don't know where does the time fly!

One of the highlight of our trip is to visit the Zumbo at the Star City.  They have a dessert bar opens from 6pm.  We bought some takeaway cakes and macaroons then went to have gelato at the other store.  You can see the eight layers clearly after cutting the mini V8 cake, I'm just amazed by the combination of flavour and technique.  If you are Adriano Zumbo's fan from Masterchef, this is one of the place to visit!

This Christmas would be an easy one and I'm not cooking any new recipe as my energy level is still charging!  Have a Merry Christmas and lets hope everyone have a great 2013!

mini cake

Donut and chocolate flavours

V8 and Chocolate Mousse Cake

Strawberry Devil's Food Cake

It has been two years since I decide to bake birthday cake for my family.  I really regret that I do not make cakes for my kids' first birthday and all these years relying on buying cakes from the store.  Cakes from the bakery may taste better or look nicer, however home bake cake is always special that you make it with your heart! Don't you agree!

I have been longed to make Devil's food cake so I take the chance to make it for my son's birthday as chocolate is his favourite! He also love strawberries and it is such a good match to the chocolate.

The name of angle food cake comes from the white colour from the egg white while devil's food cake comes from the dark colour from the chocolate.  It is interchangeable with rich chocolate cake, the only different is that it is made with soda bicarbonate and water (my recipe used soda bicarbonate and milk) Originally it is made with grated beetroot to get the red colour so some recipes would add in red colouring as well.  So it is quite liked the red velvet cake with dark frosting!

My kids has started the summer holiday and we'll be going to Sydney for a wedding next week!  I'm so looking forward for a break!!


Strawberry Devil's Food Cake

90g dark cooking chocolate
115g unsalted butter
90g dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
175g plain flour
25g cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
90ml milk

For the icing:
150ml milk
100g caster sugar
60g dark chocolate
60g butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
fresh strawberries and chocolate flakes

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170c and paper-lined a 20cm round cake pan.
2. Melt butter, chocolate, sugar and syrup in pan, let it cool aside.
3. Sift dry ingredients into a bowl, then add the chocolate mixture, stir in beaten eggs, vanilla essence and milk.  Mix well.
4. Bake 30-35 mins or until the skewer comes out clean after inserting. Cool cake at the cake wire.
5. For the icing: boil milk and sugar until syrupy, it will look like thinned condensed milk.  Do not stir once the sugar is dissolved. Remove from pan and stir in chocolate, butter and vanilla essence.  Beat until thick, keep the icing mixture into the fridge until spreadable.
6. To Deco the cake: cool cake completely, spilt the cake into half horizontally. Spread 1/3 of the icing on the top of the first layer, then lay around with sliced strawberry.  Top with another layer and spread the rest of the icing on the top and side of the cake.  Sprinkle some chocolate flakes over and deco with some fresh strawberries in the middle.  Keep cake in fridge till the icing is settled.

Source: Adopted and modified from the cookbook "Easy Baking - Cakes, biscuits, pies & bread" from Linda Collister

Orange Chiffon Cake

I have given up making chiffon cake years ago as I never be able to make a good one.  It is such a simple looking cake without icing and what you only need to succeed making it is to get the airy texture and stay in shape.  Overlooking my failure is due to not having the right baking tin and good recipe.  My luck finally comes after searching through the internet and get a few tips, then combined two recipes to make this first ever so called a "passed" chiffon cake! (Well, it has been few hours after making the cake and it is still in good shape)  The tip to achieve a good result is to invert the pan on the cake rack and leave it cooled before release the cake from tin.  The gravity helps to keep the cake in shape.

Many people said that chiffon cake was liked angel food cake (one of the cake I've never made either).  The cooking steps are very much the same except that angel food cake is cooked without oil and egg yolk.  Chiffon cake is very poplar in Asia as many Asian prefer vegetable oil than butter as used in most western cake.  When I went to Malaysia the first time, I found out that many of their cakes are green in colour.  My husband told me that they were pandan cake which use pandan leaves to make the juice to give the fragrant and colour as what they called Asian vanilla.  As pandan leaf is not easy to get here and my husband is never happy with the taste of pandan essence, I choose to use orange flavour this time.

Although Asian has created many flavours in chiffon cake, it is actually created by an American Insurance Agent, Harry Baker in 1927 and he kept the recipe as a secret until he sold it to General Mills in 1947.  He must be very determined to keep a secret for 20 years and make a profit from it.  If you're interested in the history of chiffon cake, please click here.

Orange Chiffon Cake

Egg yolk mix:
5 egg yolks
20g caster sugar
100g cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
60g orange juice
1 tablespoon orange rind
3 tablespoon vegetable oil

Egg white mix:
5 egg whites
80g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Method:

1. Preheat oven at 170c.  Beat egg yolks with sugar, add oil and mix well.  Stir in orange juice, rind and sifted flour and baking powder.
2. Beat egg whites with electric mixer until frothy, gradually add in sugar and cream of tarter in 2 batches. Beat until stiff.
3. Fold egg white into flour mixture in 2 batches.  Pour mixture in a lightly greased tube pan (some say don't grease the pan but I still grease a little, just in case the cake got stuck) Tap the pan at the kitchen bench a few time to release bubbles.
4. Bake about 35 to 40 minutes.  Gently invert pan on cake wire and leave cool.  Run a spatula around side of pan to release cake. 

  

Beetroot Chutney

After making several bottles of jam a few months ago, I want to try making chutney and preserve.  Beetroot is one of my favourite purple vegetable, however it does stain your hand after handling.  So if I only get my hands dirty for once and enjoy the chutney for a few months in a bottle, that's not a bad idea! It's also a nice gift for Christmas.

I serve it with turkey minced burger and it is tasty enough that you can skip the tomato sauce!

Beetroot Chutney
(make 2 bottles, about 3 cups)

3 beetroot (500g)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cinnamon stick
2 cardamon pods, bruised
2 green apples (400g), chopped
1/2 red onion (85g), finely chopped
1 cm ginger, chopped
1 garlic glove, finely chopped
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

1. Keep the skin on the beetroot and cook with boiling water in pan or microwave till cook.  Use a fork to poke into the beetroot, if it gets in then it's ready.  Drain.
2. Cool then peel the skin off.  You can wear gloves to prevent the juice stain on you hands.
3. Chop half the beetroot into fine dice, blend the remaining beetroot till smooth.
4. Put the beetroot puree, apple, onion, ginger, garlic, sugar, vinegar, lemon juice and salt in a saucepan.  Add in spices (you can tie spices in muslin bag), make it to the boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.  Add chopped beetroot and simmer for 10 minutes more.
5. Store chutney in sterilised jar and it can keep in the fridge for 3 months.

Source: modified and adopted from the cookbook, "The Australian Women's Weekly: Classic Preserves Jams Chutneys Relishes"

  

Almost a Vegan Chocolate Cupcake and Pink October

A little while ago I went to a friend's birthday party and tried her daughter's vegan cupcakes and vegan birthday cakes.  It looks not much difference to the other non-vegan cakes and it tastes moist and nice.  I like the glossy shine of her icing using extra virgin coconut oil which you won't get from any other kinds of oil.  I always think that vegetarian are good cook as normal restaurant may not meet their needs, and they have made their life healthy and be kind to the animals.

I search the recipes for the vegan cupcake and frosting from the internet.  I decide to use butter and milk for my frosting as I know the name of vegan cupcake may scare my family away.  The rich ganache goes well with the light moist cake, so next time when you want to make a cake but there are no eggs in the fridge, try this vegan chocolate cake.  It won't make you disappointed!

October is dedicated to bring the awareness for breast cancer, I would like to take this opportunity to ask you to do a simple thing.  Do a self breast examination and keep it as a monthly routine.  If you're over 40, take a mammogram and ultra-sound for your breasts.  If there is any suspicious lump or discharge from your nipples, seek for medical advice without hesitation.  Don't ask your husband as they just don't know!  I have been through that and it's only early detection can saved your life.  Breast cancer don't only happen to old people or a particular race!  Let us all beat the cancer and support those that are having treatment be well and healthy soon!

Please share this message with your girlfriends to bring out more awareness of breast cancer!

Vegan Chocolate Cupcake

1 1/4 cups plain flour
3/4 cup castor sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon apple cider

For the ganache:
1 cup dark choc chips
1/4 cup evaporated milk or more if needed
2 teaspoon butter or margarine
1/2 cup icing sugar

Method:

1. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.  Then mix the wet ingredients in another bowl.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.  Spoon the batter into cupcake cases and baked about 30 minutes in a preheat oven at 180c.
2. For the ganache: Microwave the choc chips and butter in a bowl, add the evaporated milk and icing sugar.  Stir until the frosting is well mixed, add a little bit more milk if needed to get the right consistency.  Garnish the cake with some coloured choc chips.

Source: http://www.instructables.com/id/The-BEST-chococlate-cake-ever...that-happens-to-be/
             http://www.theyummylife.com/Chocolate_Frosting

Blueberry Muffins and Pink October

If you have tried to bake with fresh blueberries then you'll know the difference between the fresh and the frozen one.  You won't get the cloudy blue in the batter with the fresh one.  Blueberry is high in anti-oxidiant with many health benefits and my favourite recipes for blueberry include blueberry pancake with maple syrup and blueberry with yoghurt and muesli.

My blueberry trees are blooming and when fresh blueberry is available, I alway make blueberry muffin as you know the fresh one always taste the best!  I make this muffin using the recipe of my first post apple and cinnamon muffins, please click for recipe.  I use it as a base recipe for various muffins, simply substitute the apple for blueberries.  The other good combination is mixed berries with white chocolate.  One of the blogger mentioned that muffin was liked a country girl (true and honest) and cupcake was liked a city girl. (dressing up)  Which one do you prefer?

October is dedicated to bring the awareness for breast cancer, I would like to take this opportunity to ask you to do a simple thing.  Do a self breast examination and keep it as a monthly routine.  If you're over 40, take a mammogram and ultra-sound for your breasts.  If there is any suspicious lump or discharge from your nipples, seek for medical advice without hesitation.  Don't ask your husband as they just don't know!  I have been through that and it's only early detection can saved your life.  Breast cancer don't only happen to old people or a particular race!  Let us all beat the cancer and support those that are having treatment be well and healthy soon!

Please share this message with your girlfriends to bring out more awareness of breast cancer!