Coffee and Ricotta Marbled Cake

I have known VZ many years ago during my party days.  Time seems to stand still for her as she still looks bloody gorgeous after all these years!  God is definitely very very kind to her.  In fact, she never age at all.

Love that beautiful smile and bubbly personality of hers that never failed to brighten up my day with her around.

The last when she was in town, we didn't have a chance to meet up but I am glad that this time round, we did.

Since she has a bottomless tummy, this spread is prepared specially for her.

An interesting recipe that I found on a book that I loaned from the library, I immediately taken to it as I have everything on hand this week.  Very interesting baking method as well.  Glad that VZ likes this Coffee and Ricotta Marbled cake.

The perks of having friends that bake, I can always tap on to their inspiration.  Like this The Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookie that GL from Flour Away posted on her facebook.  Haiz.... every now and then, someone will proclaim that they found the best ever chocolate chip cookie.  For me, it is up to you to judge whether this is the final "The best ever chocolate chip cookie" or not.

Let's say, my son is going to go crazy over these again as he loves cookies with chocolate chip.

Another recipe from GL's inspiration was the Thick Chewy Oatmeal Cookies.  This one is me that will go crazy with as I always love such combination.  I omitted the nuts as my girl doesn't like it.  

Preparing these two recipes also created a great bonding moments with my girl.  She is now getting quite an expert in weighing ingredients out and identifying them as well.  She even can tell the difference between baking powder and baking soda and not add them blindly to the flour.

Though I know that ZY has sweet tooth but just in case, her taste bud changed for the day, I added in a savoury one.  Surprisingly, she also liked this Cheddar Cheese with Dill Muffin.  

Personally I felt I should have added either more cheese or salt to it.  Overall texture is still soft though.  

I had an awesome afternoon with ZY.  I wish her success in her new job as well as fulfilling her dream.  Hugs to you my dear friend and see you soon.

Despite a wonderful day, I also experienced a heart ache.  I chipped my induction cooker! Don't ask me how it happened for I am clueless but as helper was cleaning up, she wiped off that chip from the cooker.  Is it a quality issue with this brand?

Then I spent whatever time I had today to troubleshoot a wireless problem with my computer.  After getting a sore back, I finally managed to get it up and running again for girl to complete her e learning for the day.

So overall, today is still good.  Trying not to think of my chipped induction cooker though ... ouch.

Source: Dan Lepard

Coffee and Ricotta Marbled Cake 

What you need:

2 tbsp ground coffee
125g unsalted butter, softened
200g caster sugar
200g plain flour
150g ricotta
2 large eggs
2½ tsp baking powder
25ml Marsala or dark rum

Method:

Line the base and sides of a 17cm long loaf tin or similar with non-stick baking paper and heat the oven to 180 ºC.

Put the coffee in a cup, stir in 25ml of boiling water and leave to infuse for 10 minutes.

Beat the butter and sugar until soft and light, then measure the flour into a small bowl, spoon about a quarter in with the butter mixture and beat until smooth.

Beat in the ricotta, then the eggs, one at a time.

Sift in the baking powder and the remaining flour, and beat lightly.

Divide the mixture in half and beat the coffee through one half and the Marsala through the other.

Spoon the mixture in alternate blobs into the tin, tap the tin firmly on the worktop to knock out any air bubbles, swirl the batter gently with a skewer and bake for 50-60 minutes.

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Source: Savoury Sweet Life

The BEST Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield : 48 pcs

What you need:

230g salted butter, softened

100g sugar

280g brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

347g plain flour

¾ tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1½ tsp baking powder

340g semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat oven to 180ºC.  Lined baking sheet.

Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar until it is nice and fluffy.

Add both eggs and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes.

Sift baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour and add into cookie batter.  Beat till fully incorporated.

Finally add chocolate chips until well distributed. The cookie batter should be somewhat thick.

Drop about 2 tablespoons of dough or use a medium cookie scoop and plop the batter onto a baking sheet.

Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges are nice and golden brown.

Remove from heat and allow the cookies to stay on the cookie sheet for an additional 2 minutes.

Transfer to cooling rack to cool further.

Store in airtight container.

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Source: Smitten Kitchen

Thick Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

Yield : 24 pcs

What you need:

115g butter, softened
125g light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
½ tsp vanilla extract
95g plain flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt

120g rolled oats
120g raisins
65g walnuts, chopped (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 175°C.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. 

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture.

Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts, if using them.

Chill the dough and then scoop it onto a sheet.

Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes.  

Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

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Cheddar Cheese Muffins

What you need:

250g plain flour
1 tbsp castor sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
60g salted butter, melted
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
200g Cheddar cheese,cut small cube

Method

Preheat oven to 190 deg.  Grease a muffin tray.

Stir and toss the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.  Set aside.

Whisk together the egg, milk, melted butter and herb until smooth.

Add in cheese and whisk till mixed well.  

Add to the dry ingredients and stir just till blended.

Scoop into tray till 3/4 and bake for 20 mins or till golden brown.

Cool in tin for a 3 mins and remove .

Serve with either butter or cream.

Ultimate Chocolate Muffins

Hello my friends. Finally I am able to sit down and blog! So how have you all been? Pardon me for not visiting or leaving comments on yours as it’s sure been a hectic week plus at this end.

I met up with my girl friends four Fridays ago. A badly needed break away from what I have been busy with the past months. Hubby was sweet enough to baby sit.

When DC saw me, she commented that I lost weight. Geesh... I was so happy when I heard this. Finally I am able to shed those kilos. 4 weeks later, I lost more. Now I am back to my so called "ideal" weight. I shall see whether I can still slip into my pants if not, I will take this opportunity to donate them away.


Kids rooms and common areas are more or less ready. The most agonising is my master room and hubby is bringing back my old beloved cabinet that I left behind in the old place. (yes I changed my mind).  Yea.... storage always seems not enough for me.


My new kitchen is finally settling in. Most of the kitchen stuff already unpacked so I am one happy bird. I will need to spend some time later on to regroup my "toys".


I also was putting up with my helper's nonsensical attitude. A simple question will get a remark as if she is ready for a fight. Seriously I don't need this but yet I am not ready to let her go as now. I have been helping with the 50% of the chores. Waiting for her to finish up one duty is like taking forever.

Initially I didn't know what was happening as I was so busy unpacking. Then few evenings ago, while she was packing up my girl's room, I saw my little one running to her room. Only then I realised that she got my girl to fetch her phone from her room.

So now I have to work side by side with her to prevent such incident. Naturally our dear friend is not too happy but what to do. I need to settle down soonest so that I can let her go. Thus the past few days was a big challenge dealing with her. Thank God, her mood is good today and she was finally working. Yes, at long last she is working now.


The house felt so much cleaner and that makes me happy. I decided to take a break from trying to clean up my room till I get my cabinet in tomorrow.


Son's behaviour is like a roller coaster, some days he is extremely sweet but some days he is just so horrible. His dad was about to whack him up big time the other day because of his bad attitude. We are trying to control our emotion during this tiring period where practising patience is tough.  

Since it is his last exam paper today, it also meant I can finally stop nagging at him to study.

As a celebration, I baked him Ultimate Chocolate Muffins.  No energy to really browse for new recipe so I just took this one that was in my file.

Recipe can be found here

Now let me introduce you to Ms Pink Lady.  My new friend that came visiting for the past few days.  Isn't she pretty?

Okay, I am totally deflated now.  Will have an early night.  Am really looking forward to tomorrow as my girl will be done with her exam.

Nite nite.

Blueberry Muffin, Cocoa Fudge Cookies

I have got a long long list of what to do/bake but because of many factors especially my Da Chang Jin *grin*, everything was held back.

Now, my life is back into routine. So got into my baking mood again.... As I have a punnet of blueberry in the fridge, I need to used it up soon.

So here is my blueberry cupcakes. I added Orange Blossom Water (compliment from H) and gosh, it smells heavenly. Even after an hour, the sweet smelling of the essence still lingers in the air.

What you need:

250g plain flour
100g sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup milk minus
1 tbsp
125g unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup blueberries
1 tbsp orange blossom water
1 tbsp orange zest

Method

Preheat oven to 200 degree celcius. Greased muffin tray

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

Whisk milk, butter, orange water and eggs till smooth.

Add the dry ingredients and stir till blended.

Add the blueberries and orange zest till evenly distributed. Spoon into tins and bake for 15 - 20 mins.

This is another recipe that I wanted to try for a long long time. Cocoa Fudge Cookies (adapted from Alice Medrich).

The reason why I am so keen on this recipe is that I personally don't like hard cookies. In fact, I don't like hard candy too. So the FUDGE word caught my attention.

Since I got everything that I needed even the dried cranberry, I make a go for this. Thumbs up, this recipe will definitely be here for good.

What you need

125g plain flour
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
⅛ tsp salt
¼ cup butter, room temperature
7 tbsp cocoa powder (unsweetened)
100g sugar
58g brown sugar
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup dried cranberries

Method

Preheat oven to 175 degree celcius.

Sift flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

In a large, microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter in the microwave.

Sift cocoa and then stir sugars.

Add yogurt and vanilla extract.

Add flour and mix until just combined.

Stir in dried cranberries.

Drop tablespoonfuls of batter onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

Press down slightly to flatten; cookies do not spread a lot.

Bake for 9-12 minutes or until set and slightly firm at the edges.

Allow to cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Apple Cheddar Muffin

For the past months, besides cupcakes, I baked nothing else. And then it went quiet for a while. After completing most part of revamping my blog. I braced myself once again to bake. The feeling to be able to bake merrily in the kitchen is overwhelming.

I have chosen Apple Cheddar Muffins (from Muffins & Quick Bread), a quick and easy recipe to follow. (just in case, the ambience in the household changes *wink*). I haven't tried a "mixed" muffin before.

A combination of a savoury and sweet muffin is new to me. Savoury because of the cheese and sweet for the apple.

With a sense of suspense, I went ahead to bake it. You know what, no regrets at all because it tasted so good. Perhaps it is because I baked it with love. *wink*

It was so good that I actually bake another batch for my neighbour right after my "taste test".

Verdict: Thumbs up.

Update


What you need:

1 large apple
185g (6oz) plain flour
30g (1oz) rolled oats
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
180ml (6oz) milk
2 eggs
60g (2oz) unsalted butter, melted
100g (4oz) grated cheese

Method

Preheat oven to 200 degree celcius. Greased pan.

Peel and core apple. Cut into small cubes.

Toss flour, oatmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Whisk milk, eggs, and melted butter until smooth.

Stir the apple and cheese.

Add the combined dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Spoon into muffin tins till 3/4 full. Bake for about 20 mins till it is done.

Pumpkin Cupcake, pumpkin bread, Sweet bean paste chicken

Saw some cheap pumpkin while doing my weekly grocery. Couldn't resist the offer, I carried one home.

Ever since I suffered a deep cut from slicing those tough skins off the pumpkin 2 months ago, I somehow got phobia.

Very sweet of my sister who offered to help me with that when she dropped by.

Managed to bake some pumpkin cupcakes. I didn't have time to do frosting as I needed to rush out for an errand. Gave a batch to give to a friend who was nice enough to give me her daughter's ballet outfit.

Unfortunately, the shoe size was a little too big for my daughter so I might need to get her a new pair if I couldn't get a second hand one. (afraid her interest will be short-lived)

Verdict: Nice and yummy



What you need:

200g all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup chopped walnuts (roasted)
1 cup raisins
8 oz pumpkin (steamed and mashed)
110g castor sugar
100g brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 eggs

Method

Preheat oven at 190 degree celcius.

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves together.

Add salt.

Whisk together the pumpkin, castor sugar, brown sugar and oil.

Add the eggs one at a time.

Add int the flour mixture in three additions, stirring till just combined.

Fill into muffin tins and bake till the cupcake are golden brown for about 20 - 25 mins.

Since I have more than enough pumpkin, I decided to bake a pumpkin bread too. As this is my first time tasting pumpkin bread, I don't know whether the texture is supposed to be moist and dense (kueh like).

I also make a blunder, instead of olive oil, I added Extra Virgin Olive oil instead.

Wonder whether it does affect the quality of the cake.

Verdict: Moist and dense.



Another new dish I tried out is Sweet Bean paste chicken. The paste was prepared by my mom.

Verdict: A real easy and yummy dish.



What you need:

2 tbsp Mommy's sweat bean sauce
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 Chicken tighs, chopped to smaller pieces

Method

Sautee garlic for about 1 min and add in sweet bean sauce. Fry till fragrant.

Add in chicken and stir fry till meat is coated with sauce.

Add in a little water and simmer till cooked and juice wanted to dry up a little.

Serve with rice.

Mommy's sweet bean sauce

What you need

620g preserved soya bean (grind)
250g minced onion*
125g minced garlic*
200ml peanut oil

Method

Heat oil, add onion and fry till fragrant.

Add in garlic and fry till fragrant.

Add in soya beans.

Simmer till fragrant

Add in sugar to taste (depending on your preference, a guide is to even out the saltishness of the soya bean, stir once a while.

Cooked till bean sauce becomes dark brown and remove oil.

Cool and store.

P/seed muffins, fried wanton and microwave chocolate cake

In a forthnight's time, my son will be having his FINAL exam. How time flies. As the usual norm in Singapore, all moms are stressed up when their kids are having exam.

I am no different from them. As we don't really speak Mandarin at home, I am really concerned about his Chinese Paper (from what I gathered, next year will be even harder). So I have been "drilling" him even though I feel sad to put him through this.

While hubby is revising Math with son, I merrily destressed in my kitchen.

Here is what I accomplished.

For breakfast, we had P/seed Muffins (adapted from Muffins and Quickbreads).

I gave it a twist by having orange glaze instead of lemon glaze.

What you need

185g plain flour
40g toasted wheat germ
90g poppyseeds
90g sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
250ml milk
1 egg
60g unsalted butter, melted

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease muffin tins.

Stir and toss together the flour, wheat germs, poppyseeds, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Whisk together the milk, egg and melted butter till smooth.

Add to the dry ingredients and stir till just blended.

Spoon into muffin tins and bake at 15 - 18 mins.

Cool in tin for 3 mins and then remove.

Glaze with orange glaze.

Orange Glaze

100g icing sugar, sifted
2 tbsp orange juice
2 tsp orange zest
pinch of salt

Method

Combine all the ingredients and whisk briskly till smooth and well blnded.

Brush over muffins while muffin are still warm.

For snack, Fried Wanton. My nephew and nieces whom dropped by, enjoyed this as much as my family.

Since I don't have any seafood in the fridge, I added crabmeat stick to the pork and waterchestnut fillings.

In the night, decided to try out the Microwave Chocolate Cake. Though it is fluffy, personally, I prefer a more moist chocolate cake than this. If I ever make this again, I will add a frosting to counter the dryness of the cake.

What is love?

I was in high spirit and wanted to bake and cook so many things today. Then my mood was dampen by a phone call. Somehow, I couldn't get the conversation I had out of my system, I kept thinking "what is love?" and "What if the love is not reciprocated?". Had no choice but have to bake Banana Muffin as planned as the banana was ripe enough to be baked. Then again, it is so true to say that if you are not in the mood, don't bake because I wasn't really happy with the result. Let's see what the kids have to say about it tomorrow.

Something different

What is Tamarillo? At many stalls up in Cameron Highland. Nearly all fruit and vegetable stalls were selling this so called Passion Fruit aka kai xin guo aka ai qing guo. We chanced upon a farmer who takes his time to show us round his nursery, explaining the difference between a Passion Fruit and Tamarillo. Tamarillo is also known as Tree Tomato and is originated from New Zealand. When the steam turns brown, it is ready to consume. The ones that we bought were Red Tamarillo. There is also another kind in yellow. The pulp is reddish with black seeds. Passion fruit on the other hand is purplish in colour and turned yellow when ripe. The pulp is white with black seeds. Both tasted completely different from each other. As I was wondering how to make this more exciting. I decided to do some research on the internet and found many ways of eating this. From sauces to muffins. I decided on the Tamarillo Muffins instead. Verdict: Tamarillo Muffins - moist with tangy taste I also decided to try again the oreo muffins as I don't think I done well the last time. This time round, I added another 50g sugar and didn't over mix the cookie and the batter. Verdict: Just sweet enough and better presentation