Agar Agar Jelly Cake with Coconut and Pandan

Chinese New Year is coming up on 19 February. This year my in-laws from Malaysia is coming to spend CNY with us making it extra special. As usual for any Chinese celebration, there will be lots of cooking and eating. Agar Agar jelly is a popular sweet you would see in any Malaysian party. It is made from sea vegetable which is a good substitute for gelatine for vegetarian.  It also helps to create many colourful and healthy dessert. It is a great last minute dessert that is very simple to prepare.

I finally find the frozen pandan leaves from Yuen's Market at Sunnybank in Brisbane. I usually use the pandan essence which is very bright green in colour and taste not as good as the real one. I normally make this dessert using coconut milk, evaporated milk and mung bean.  As I don't want to over power the taste of the pandan, I have omitted the evaporate milk here. After discovering this Asian vanilla essence, surely there will be more pandan recipes to come. If mung bean is not your thing, you can omit it as well.

Have a great Chinese New Year!

Agar Agar Jelly Cake with Coconut and Panda

Ingredients:

A:
1/4 cup split mung beans or yellow split peas
1 cup water

B:
3 pandan leaves
1 cup boiled water at room temperature

C:
20g agar agar leaves
2 litres water
1 3/4 cup sugar or more to taste
1 1/2 cup coconut cream

Method:

1. A: Cook mung beans with water till boil, turn down heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the beans are cooked. Strain and put the bean aside.
2. B: Cut the pandan leaves into pieces. Add into the blender with water and blend till the juice is green. Strain and preserve the water and discard the leaves.
3. Place agar agar into boiling water and let it dissolves. Add sugar and stir till sugar dissolves.
4. Pour about 1/3 of the agar agar sugar mixture into a large baking tray (25cmx30cm). Keep in fridge for about 15 minutes.
5. Add coconut cream and pandan juice to the remaining agar agar sugar mixture. ( If not using pandan juice, you can add 1/4 cup evaporated milk here) Spread mung bean over the 1st layer of the cake. Then use a ladle to pour the coconut mixture into the tray.  Keep in fridge for at least 1 hour before cutting into slices. It is best to consume the jelly slices within one or two days.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Nutella Strawberry Shortcake

This is another great idea to celebrate Valentine's Day. As my family doesn't like cake decorated with whipped cream a lot. I choose to ice the cake with nutella and serve it with ice-cream. It could be one of the last minute dessert that looks like a lot of work has been done!

Nutella Strawberry Shortcake

Ingredients:
60g butter
2 tablespoons caster sugar
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup Lighthouse low-protein self-raising flour
1/3 cup milk
1 punnet strawberry
nutella
icing sugar for dusting

Method:

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add egg yolks and beat well.  Add in sifted raising flour and milk until well mixed.
2. Press dough into a lightly greased 20cm sandwich tin, bake in 180c for 15-20 minutes.
3. Remove cake from tin and cool slightly. Spread with nutella and decorate with strawberries. Serve with cream or ice-cream.

Oreo Cream Cheese Slices for Valentine's Day

There was a plan before making these yummy slices as Oreo usually doesn't last long in my pantry.  I bought two packets and hid them in a special corner until they were really to be used.  As you may know, none of my family like cheesecake and I am taking the risk of eating them all by myself.  But I have found my lovely son to be my Valentine to share them with me. What a joy!

Happy Valentine's Day! XO

Oreo Cream Cheese Slices

Ingredients:

For the base:
200g oreo cream biscuits
50g-60g butter, melted

For the filling:
150g oreo cream biscuits
250g cream cheese
65g sugar
300ml thickened cream, whipped
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 teaspoons gelatine

2 tablespoons of boiling water

For the decoration:
12 mini oreo cream biscuits
Method:

1. Prepare a slice pan and lined with baking paper.
2. Put the biscuits into the blender and blend till crumble. Add in butter and mix till moist. Press and spread the biscuits crumb into the pan and put into the fridge for at least half an hour.
3. Dissolve gelatine with boiling water. Beat cream cheese with sugar, then add the vanilla essence, gelatine solution and whipped cream. Fold till all ingredients mixed well. Finally add the coarsely blended biscuits.
4. Spread the filling over the base and chill for 3 hours before cutting into slices and decorated with mini oreo.