Marble Cake March 14, 2010

So, I woke up this morning feeling more than energetic after a good night’s rest and spent an hour in bed annoying my husband, who wanted to carry on sleeping.

In his attempt to keep me at away, he suggested that I bake. I had planned to bake a lemon cheesecake, but didn’t have enough biscuits on hand.  He then suggested that I make a marble cake cause that was what he felt like. Hmm… Marble cake. I haven’t had one of those in ages, plus, I’ve never made one.  So, off marching into the kitchen I went.

I pulled out one of my mother’s cookbooks, which she owned from before I was born. Classic english cookbooks, filled with old fashioned cake recipes. I was sure I could find a recipe for Marble Cake in there. And I was right, on page 386.  I also researched online for similar recipes, but stuck to the one in the book as I wanted a dense marble cake like how I remembered it to be, and not one that was light and fluffy like a sponge cake.

The recipe was great, cake was moist but dense and felt just like how Mum used to make it.

Here is the recipe:

• 50g plain chocolate (I used dark chocolate, and it tasted just as good)
• 15 ml (1tbsp) of water
• 5ml (1tsp) vanilla extract
• 175g butter
• 175g caster sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 250g plain flour
• 10 ml (2 level tsp) baking powder
• 2.5 ml (1/2 level tsp) salt
• 30 ml (2 level tbsp) milk
• 5 ml (1tsp) orange essence
• 25 g icing sugar (optional)

1. Grease and base line a 23cm (9 inch) springform cake tin. In small saucepan, over very low heat, melt chocolate in the water, then add vanilla extract and cool.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, adding beaten eggs a little at a time.  Beat well after each addition. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  Fold dry ingredients into creamed mixture alternating with milk and orange essence until well combined and smooth.
3. Remove 1/3 of the cake mixture into a small mixing bowl and add melted chocolate. Stir in until evenly blended.
4. Place large spoonfuls of the plain and chocolate mixtures alternately into prepared tin.
5. Cut through mixture several times with a knife and bake at 180 degrees celcius for 1 hour,  or until a skewer comes out clean.
6. Cool in tin for a few minutes before removing sides of tin to cool completely.
7. When cake is cook, top with sifted icing sugar.

Bon Appetit! June 21, 2008

I’ve been wanting to post the recipe for my french baguette…

Ingredients

• 90 gm plain flour
• 360 gm bread flour
• 1 1/2 tsps salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3 tsp instant yeast
• 250 ml water
• 10 gm butter

Method

1. Mix flours, salt, sugar and yeast till well-blended
2. Add water and knead to form a dough
3. Add butter and knead to form a smooth, elastic dough
4. Leave to rise for 45 minutes
5. Divide dough into 3 pieces, mould them into balls and let rise for 10 mins
6. Flatten dough and roll into stick shapes about 30 cm long
7. Leave to prove for about 30 mins. Brush with water and slash tops with sharp knife 3 – 4 times.
8. Bake at 220 degrees celcius for 25 mins.

Voila! Zeez iz vhat you ghet!

Home-made Bread Loaf January 28, 2008

Having been home for the last few months, I decided to attempt the frightful world of breadmaking.  Like others, I’ve often had the fear of baking bread.  Even when I use to own a breadmaker, the bread came out quite hard, and extremely doughy.  Here’s a brilliant recipe for making your own loaf at home.   Especially if you like the soft Japanese loaf bread, light and fluffy.

Ingredients:

• 250 grams of bread flour
• 140 mls of milk (low fat is ok)
• 50 grams of unsalted butter
• 25 grams of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of instant yeast

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients together and knead til doughy and smooth.
2. Proof dough in a mixing bowl for 1 hour. Cover bowl in cling film.
3. By this time, the dough should have doubled in size. Punch out the air and divide the dough into 3 balls. Place the 3 dough balls back in the mixing bowl and cover with cling film. Proof for another 30 mins.
4. Grease a pullman tin (loaf tin with cover. Available at specialised baking stores).
5. Take one ball of dough and roll out with a rolling pin. Roll up tightly (swiss-roll style) and repeat for other 2 balls of dough.
6. Place the 3 pieces of dough in the pullman loaf tin and proof for another 30 mins. In the meantime, pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
7. Bake for 30 mins. Remove tin cover to let bread top brown for another five mins.
8. Remove from loaf tin and let it cool before cutting.

VOILA!

Not that hard eh! After this successful attempt, I’ve gained more confidence in baking bread. Will update with new bread recipes and pictures too.

Warm, Fuzzy Pear & Almond Tart December 3, 2007

There’s nothing quite like this. In fact, my partner has decided that this is the best “cake/tart” that I have ever made.

And in the spirit of X’mas, I will share this superb recipe with you.

Pastry Recipe
200g (1 2/3 cups) plain flour
100g chilled unsalted butter, cubed
55g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg yolks
2 tbs cold water
Plain flour, extra, to dust
*I added in a tablespoon of custard powder for a richer tasting pastry. Makes a difference!

Pear & Almond filling
125g unsalted butter, softened
140g (2/3 cup) caster sugar
125g (1 1/4 cups) almond meal
2 eggs, lightly whisked
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
3 ripe pears, peeled, cored, thickly sliced (depending on the depth of your tart pan, I only managed to squeeze 2 pears in)
2 tbs flaked almonds (I omitted this)

Method
To make the pastry, place the flour, butter, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and water, and process until dough just starts to come together. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until just smooth. Shape into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

Use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll out the pastry to a 3mm-thick disc. Line a round 30cm (base measurement) fluted tart tin, with removable base, with pastry and use a small sharp knife to trim any excess. Prick the pastry base with a fork. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

Preheat oven to 200°C. Line the pastry case with non-stick baking paper and fill with pastry weights, rice or dried beans. Place on a baking tray and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven.

Remove the paper and pastry weights, rice or dried beans. Bake for a further 10-12 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 190°C.
To make the almond filling, use an electric beater to beat together the butter, sugar and almond meal in a medium bowl until pale and creamy. Add the eggs and lemon juice and beat until just combined.

Arrange the pear slices over the base of pastry case. Spoon the almond filling over the pear and smooth the surface. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until tart is golden brown and firm to the touch. Remove from oven. Set aside for 30 minutes to cool.

Cut the tart into wedges and place on serving plates. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm.

Notes & Tips
You can prepare this recipe to the end of step 4 up to 1 day ahead. Store in an airtight container.

Toasted Muesli & Blueberry Muffins August 9, 2007

Don’t you just looooove muffins?
Sweet or savoury, big or small, meal or a snack
And the best thing about them is that you can have them anytime of the day.

I love making a batch of muffins on the weekend, and having them with a cup of tea during the week.

There’s a cupcake trend taking over the nation by storm at the moment.

Cupcakes are now a popular choice, replacing wedding cakes, birthday cakes and the Chinese first-month cakes and red eggs. These are usually baked by stay-home-mums who bake with a mean passion. Problem is, orders are long, meaning that you have to wait up to a week to sink your teeth into one.

I personally prefer muffins. I not real keen on the icing on cupcakes. And frankly, my personal baking style is quick and simple. Decorating cupcakes call for an amazing amount of patience, which a working woman like myself lacks.

Here’s the recipe of my personal favourite. The muesli gives it an extra crunch, and you can replace the blueberries with virtually anything – Strawberries, Chocolate Chips, Sultanas, Fresh Bananas.

The muffin batter turns out quite runny, resulting in a light and fluffy texture. It’s just TOO GOOD.

Toasted Muesli & Blueberry Muffin
Recipe makes 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
3/4 toasted muesli
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
125 grams butter, melted
3/4 cup fresh/frozen blueberries

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. Grease a 6 x 3/4 cup capacity Texas muffin pan. Alternatively, line holes with paper cases.

2. Combine flour, 2/3 cup of muesli and sugar in a large bowl.

3. Whisk eggs, milk and vanilla essence in a jug with a fork until well-combined. Add to dry ingredients with butter. Stir gently to combine. Fold through blueberries (do not overmix or muffins will be tough)

4. Spoon mixture into prepared muffin holes. Sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon of muesli. Bake for 23 to 25 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Serve muffins warm or at room temperature.