Carrot and Orange Cupcakes

This is another good recipe I get from the cookbook, "Easy baking" by the Australian Women's Weekly.  I have never thought of orange and carrot could combine so well.  I added some sultanas to add some nature sweetness for the cake.  I have been making these cupcakes for the school tuckshop and fundraising and received very good feedback from them.  Everyone loves the little sugared carrot on top.  When you cook for other people, there is always a concern of allergies and these cupcakes are good for those people allergy to nuts as it's nut free.

Carrot and Orange Cupcakes
(make 12)

2/3 cup sunflower oil
3/4 cup brown sugar (I put in a little less by adding some sultanas)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon orange rind
1 1/2 cups grated carrot
1/4 cup sultanas
1 3/4 cups self-raising flour
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon mixed spice

Orange icing:
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
15g butter, melted
orange juice

For the sugared carrot:
Ready made and ready roll white icing
yellow and pink colouring for the carrot
green colouring for the leaves

Methods:

1. Preheat oven to 180c.  Line 12 hole muffin pan with paper cases.
2. Beat oil, sugar, eggs and rind in a bowl with electric mixer until thick and creamy, stir in carrot and sultanas.  Then sift in dry ingredients.
3. Divide mixture into paper cases and bake for about 30 minutes.  Cool cake onto wire rack before icing.
4. Sift icing sugar in a bowl, stir in melted butter and add enough orange juice to form a spreadable paste.  Spread cake with icing.
5. For the sugared carrot: add the yellow and pink icing onto a small ball of the ready roll white icing, rub and knead until you get the desired orange colour.  Then roll into carrot shape and using a knife to make some pattern onto the carrot.  Add green colouring to a small ball of icing, then make the leaves shape and use the knife to make pattern for the leaves. Only adding a few drops of colouring at a time to get the right colour.

Source: adopted and modified from the cookbook, "Easy baking" by the Australian Women's Weekly.

Bus Driver's Mother-in-law's Almond Honey Slice

This recipe is given by the bus driver to the mother-in-law of the Australian food critic, Matt Preston during a country bus trip.  It's a recipe belonged to the bus driver's mother-in-law's.  Isn't it funny that recipe can be found from anyone at anywhere!  Matt has been hosting the Australian Master Chef and the 2012 Master Chef will be on TV tonight! Yay!

As most of the mother-in-law's recipes are good and so would be this one, too!  The slice was crumbly with a rich buttery, nutty taste.  It would be nice to share this with your mother or mother-in-law this Mother's Day for a special treat.

Have a Happy Mother's Day!

Almond Honey Slice

For the Base:
90g melted butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup ground almonds

For the Topping:
125g butter, chopped
1/2 cup honey
200g slivered almonds

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170c.
2. Combine base ingredients and mix well.  Press into a 18cm x 32cm paper-lined lamington pan.
3. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly brown.  Meanwhile, prepare the topping.
4. Combine butter and honey in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until butter is melted.  Simmer uncovered for about 3 minutes or until mixture is a light caramel colour.  Stir in nuts.
5. Spread base with hot topping and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool in tray before cut into shapes.   

 Source: adopted from the cookbook, "Baking,"edited by Kylie Walker.

Kimchi Soup

I got all the ingredients to make Kimchi after visiting the Chinatown over the Easter holiday.  When I went to uni, I used to live with some Japanese and Korean students.  There was no blogging on those days so the best way to know the other culture was to live with the foreign people.  Once a month, we would gather together to make Kimchi and then we would share the food to take home.  One day we would be having Japanese, then Korean and Chinese on the other day.  Although the food we were having was very simple and inexpensive dishes, we enjoy them a lot.

The weather is getting cool and I feel like having some spicy soup so I end up using the Kimchi to make soup.  It has brought back a few of the old memories....

Kimchi Soup
(serve 2-4)

3 cups water
Kimchi (store brought or homemade)
tofu, diced
1 sachet of stock paste

Method:
Add water to the pan and let it boils, cut up the Kimchi a little and put into the water.  Turn down the heat and add in the tofu and stock paste.  Let it simmer for a few minute and to develop the taste.  Season with salt and serve hot.

Two kinds of Chocolate Muffins

Triple Choc Muffins

Choc-chip Jaffa Muffin

I would rate muffin "top in my baking" as it is quick to make and it generally use less oil or butter.  It also has less sugar if you omit the icing.  When I don't want to make anything too fancy, I would make muffins to feed my hungry kids.  These two kinds of chocolate muffins are so easy and simple to make.   I have been falling in love using buttermilk in my baking lately as it gives the cake such a soft and moist texture.  Am I biting into the cloud? Oh, it must be the chocolate cloud, LOL!
    
1. Triple Choc Muffins
(make 12)

1 3/4 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup dark Choc Bits
1/2 cup white Choc Bits
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk OR 1 cup milk mixed with 1 tablespoon vinegar
2/3 cup vegetable oil

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200c.  Line 12-hole muffin pan with paper cases.
2. Sift flour and cocoa into the mixing bowl, stir in the sugar and Choc Bits.  Then stir in beaten eggs, buttermilk and oil.  Do not over mix, mixture should be lumpy.
3. Divide the misture into paper cases and bake for 20-25 minutes or when the skewer comes out clean when insert into the cake.
4. Stand cake in pan 5 mintes before turning, cool the cake onto the wire rack.

2. Choc-Chip Jaffa Muffin

(make 12 large or 16 small muffins)

2 1/2 cup self-raising flour

100g cold butter, chopped finely

155g caster sugar (1 little more than 2/3 cup)

1 1/4 cup buttermilk OR 1 1/4 cup milk mixed with 1 1/4 tablespoon vinegar

3/4 cup dark Choc Bits

2 teaspoons grated orange rind

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200c. 
2. Rub butter with flour in a mixing bowl until resemble crumbs.  Stir in sugar, buttermilk and egg.  Don't overmix as mixture should be lumpy.  Stir in Choc Bits and rind.
3. Divide the mixture into muffin cases and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean when insert into the cake.
4. Cool cake at the wire rack.

Source: Adopted and modified from the cookbook "Easy baking", published by The Australian Women's Weekly.

Easter Cake

I had been searching the photo of this cake for a while and I nearly thought that I had lost it.  It was the photo of the cake baked by my daughter for Easter four years ago when she was ten.  I bought her a cooking book for the kids and this was the first thing she made from the book.  Her cooking skills has improved over the years and she can make very nice cookies.  This is a nice recipe to get the kids to help at the kitchen and enjoy some holiday fun together! Happy Easter to you all!

Easter Cake


150g butter, soften
150g plain flour
3 eggs
150g caster sugar
1 1/2 baking powder

For the icing and decoration:
Nutella
M&M's
Almond flakes
coloured sprinkles or flowers

Method:

1. Preheat the oven at 180c. Line two of the sandwich tins with baking paper.
2. Beat the butter and sugar till creamy and fluffy, add in the eggs and stir until it is smooth.  
3. Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture and mix well. Pour half of the cake mixture into each sandwich tin and smooth it level.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Cool the cake onto a wire rack before icing.
4. Spread nutella between the layer and the top of the cake.  Then put the M&M around the edge and make a chicken pattern with the beak and tail decorated by almonds.  Sprinkle with some coloured sprinkle if you wish.

Source: Adopted and modified from Kids' First Cookbook, A life-size guide to making fun things to eat published by Dorling Kindersley 

Chocolate Hot Cross Buns

When I looked at the recipe of this Easter buns, I was expecting some choc chip kind of buns.  However,   the cooking chocolate melted with the dough all together in the bread machine to form this rich chocolate buns.  I had these with lots of nutella for breakfast.  Who would complain too much chocolate for Easter and it is not too bad for my first trial of Easter buns!

Chocolate Hot Cross Buns


1 1/2 cups warm milk
2 teaspoons dried yeast
60g butter, melted
1 egg
1 heap teaspoon coffee powder mixed with 1 teaspoon hot water
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 cup bread flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
180g dark cooking chocolate, chopped

For the crosses:
1/2 cup plain flour
1/3 water
1 teaspoon sugar

For the glaze:
2 tablespoons hot water
1 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon gelatine

Method:

1. Combine milk , yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in bowl, leave for 10 minutes till frothy.
2. Put the liquid ingredients (milk mixture, butter, egg, coffee mixture) into the bread machine followed by the dry ingredients (remaining sugar, salt, flour, cocoa).  Press the dough cycle button.
3. Add dark cooking chocolate into the bread machine after 10 minutes.
4. When the cycle is completed, divide dough into 16 balls.  Place them close together onto a paper lined baking tray.  
5. Mix the plain flour, water and sugar together and pipe the crosses over the dough.  Or in my case, add more flour to form a pastry dough and lay the crosses over the dough.  Leave in a warm place for 30 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 200c. Bake for 10 minutes then reduce to 180c and bake a further 20 minutes or until the bread sound hallow when tap on top.
7. Brush the glaze over the hot buns immediately.  Serve the buns with nutella spread.

Source: adopted and modified from the recipe of hot cross buns from taste.com.au

Red Velvet Cake

I told my daughter that I was very excited making a red velvet cake for my own birthday.  I've been longed to bake one but miss all the chances until my turn to choose what I want for my birthday!  This 4 layer rich dark chocolate cake has been a classic which is a originated served at New York City's Waldorf-Astoria hotel.  Traditionally its red colour come from grated beetroot.  When a guest asked for the recipe, she was billed with a large amount that she decided to spread the recipe via a chain letter.

So when I first looked at the recipe, I thought I was going to prepare a scientific experiment with all this baking soda, vinegar and colouring.  I don't really like to put artificial colouring in my baking and 3 tablespoons are HUGE for me but I follow the recipe anyway.  (Thinking my kids may get hypo jumping up and down after overdose with food colouring) Then when it comes to the cooked vanilla icing part, I fail it!  I couldn't bring the magic to make white, whipped cream looking vanilla icing.  I can't afford to have a fail for my own birthday cake and my husband tells me whipped cream would be good as he just can't wait to eat it!

After all we enjoy the cake, it's red, moist and just right for me.  My daughter thinks it a bit too plain as she prefers coffee favoured cake. I decorate the cake with some sugared rose petal to add some romance!  If I'm making it again, I would cut down some colouring, use natural colouring if I can find it or use grated beetroot instead.  The cake is best served after decoration as the red colouring from the crumbs start to sip through the cream affecting the look of the cake.

Red Velvet Cake


1/2 cup butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3 tablespoons red food colouring
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cup sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon white vinegar

For the icing:
600ml thickened cream
1/2 cup icing sugar

For the decoration:
rose petal
egg white
white sugar

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180c and line two 9-inch cake pan with baking paper.  
2. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl till light and fluffy, add in egg yolks and continue to beat for 1 minute.  Stir in cocoa powder, food colouring and vanilla to the mixture.  Combine the buttermilk and salt in another bowl, stir in to the mixture alternating with the cake flour.  Mix the baking soda with the vinegar in a bowl and blend into the batter and stir till well combined.
3. Divide the batter into the two pans or in my case, I bake the 1st half and then bake the 2nd half later.  Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.  Left the cake to cool for few minutes then loosen the cake layers to cool completely at the cake rack.
4. Meanwhile, wipe the cream till thicken with the icing sugar.  Split each layer into 2 and spread some cream in between.  Spread some cream over the top and side.  Garnish the cake with some rose petals.
5. Sugared rose petals: use a brush to brush some egg white over both side of the petal then cover the petal with white sugar.  Lay the petal onto a plate to dry.

Source:  modified and adopted from the cookbook, Great Cakes by Country Living