RECIPE: WHITE CHOCOLATE MUD CAKE

This is the cake from my daughter's birthday. I got the recipe from Exclusively Food and it has got to be one of the best WHITE CHOCOLATE MUD CAKE I have tasted. I iced it with a SOUR CREAM AND WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE and used Wilton™ ready made chocolate paste to make some zigzag patterns on the top to give the cake a nice contrast.


Ingredients – Makes an 18 - 20 in round/square cake

300g Cadbury Dream™ white chocolate
200g butter
250ml milk
165g castor sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract (see my GLOSSARY post on VANILLA)
2 large eggs (60g eggs used) – lightly beaten
100g self raising flour
150g plain flour

Method

Preheat oven to 160°C (145°C if using a fan forced oven).

Grease the cake tin and line the sides and base with baking paper.

Place chocolate, butter, milk and sugar in a large saucepan and stir consistently over low heat until the chocolate and butter have melted. Allow mixture to cool at room temperature for about 15 mins.

Add the vanilla and eggs to the chocolate mixture and stir until well combined.

Sift the flours together in a large bowl. Add a 1/3 of the choc mixture to flours and stir until a smooth paste forms. Repeat with another 1/3 of the mixture, mix well and add the remaining 1/3. This gradual addition prevents lumps from forming.

Pour mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for 1h 10m to 1h 20m. When the cake is ready, a sharp fine bladed knife inserted into the centre of the cake should come out without any batter stuck to it. Allow to cool for at least 6 hours before icing with either a SOUR CREAM AND WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE or WHITE CHOCOLATE BUTTER ICING.

Note: This cake makes a great dessert to top off a great dinner party. Serve with good quality coffee.

RECIPE: GREEN PEA FLOUR JELLY, PALM SUGAR AND COCONUT MILK SHAVED ICE DESSERT (AIS CENDOL)

I was over at my local Asian grocer when I saw some ready made green pea flour jelly or CENDOL (see also my GLOSSARY post on CENDOL). Not that it is hard to make this jelly; it is more to do with finding the time to do it. As it was, I still had to make the GULA MELAKA syrup but at least I saved on one step.


I have included the full recipe to make this delicious dessert. As you can see, it is very easy to make and so refreshing and delicious. Have you tried this dish with fresh milk instead of coconut milk? Trust me, it's just as nice. When I was at university in Penang, my girlfriend Lina Tan and I used to, without fail, have CENDOL every Saturday afternoon at this stall on Penang Road…..wonder if it is still there???


Ingredients

225g packet of mung bean flour (hon kwe flour) - see note below
Pandan paste (or use a combination of Pandan essence and green food colouring) - a few drops (see my GLOSSARY post on PANDAN LEAF)
Dark palm sugar (or Gula Melaka) - finely shaved and added to a small amount of hot water to make a thick pourable syrup (see my GLOSSARY post on PALM SUGAR and GULA MELAKA)
1 can coconut milk (see my note below)
Ice cubes - for cold ‘bath’ and to make shaved ice or to serve
Ice shaving machine - optional (see my post on ICE SHAVERS)

Method

Place some cold water in a large bowl and add plenty of ice to make a cooling bath.

Place a saucepan over low heat with about 100ml of hot water and slowly add the mung bean flour, stirring constantly.

Once the mixture is thick and paste-like in consistency, add a few drops of the pandan paste and remove from heat.

Put the paste in a wide colander or a large holed slotted spoon and push the paste through the colander/spoon directly into the ice bath. The green flour mixture will slip through the colander/spoon and harden when it drops into the cooling bath. These “green worms” or CENDOL are the key to making this dessert.

Assembly

To serve the CENDOL, layer the ingredients in a bowl or glass, starting with the CENDOL, then the shaved ice, drizzle with the palm sugar and top with 2 to 4 tbsp coconut milk.

Alternatively, if you don’t have an ice shaver, place ½ an inch of the palm sugar in a tall glass, top with 1 to 1 ½ inches of coconut milk, add 1 to 2 tbsp of the cendol, place plenty of ice in the glass and top the glass with cold water. Serve immedietly with a straw and a long spoon.

Note

* If you cannot find mung bean flour then use rice flour.

* The ‘green worms’ can be kept in the fridge, in a sealed container of cold water, for up to 3 days.

* You can also use crushed ice for this dessert. You can make crushed ice by using a blender.

* For a healthier version, subsitute the coconut milk with fresh milk - equally delicious and refreshing.

GLOSSARY: CENDOL

Cendol [pronounced 'chen-doll'] or ais cendol ('ais' being the malay spelling of ‘ice’) is a traditional dessert originating from Java, Indonesia, but also very popular in Malaysia, Singapore, and Southern Thailand .The dessert's basic ingredients consist of shaved ice, coconut milk, starch noodles with green food coloring (usually sourced from the pandan leaf), and palm sugar. Sometimes, red beans, grass jelly, palm seed and creamed corn are added. It is often sold by vendors at roadsides, hawker centres and food courts.


In Malaysia, cendol is usually sold on the roadside by Indian Muslim vendors but in Penang, the best cendol is made by Chinese vendors. It is common dessert fare in Singapore, popularly found in dessert stalls, food centres, coffee shops and food courts, and served by vendors of various ethnic backgrounds. The first Indian-Muslim vendors learnt the skills of making cendol from the Javanese in Indonesia and brought the recipe and preparation methods with them to Malaysia, Singapore and Southern Thailand.

RECIPE: CHIANTI AND RASPBERRY GRANITA WITH VANILLA ICE CREAM

I first became “intrigued” with Chianti after watching the famous scene (see the YOUTUBE clip below) from ‘Silence of the Lambs’ where Anthony Hopkins (who played the psycho cannibal Dr Hannibal Lecter) said to Jodie Foster, “A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice CHIANTI”. I can now see why Dr Lecter likes his Chianti …. yes, I am only talking about the Chianti!

The tangy taste of Chianti in this granita is amplified with the sweetness and tartness of the raspberries – a wonderful combination and agreed by my dinner guests when I served this as a dessert. Use a Chianti that you enjoy drinking as the wine flavour is prominent in this refreshing icy dessert. A great way to finish off a dinner party and the beauty is, it can be made several days ahead.

Ingredients – serves 6 to 12 (depending on granita serving size)

*400ml good quality Chianti (see my GLOSSARY post on CHIANTI)
*120ml water
*100g caster sugar
*½ tbsp liquid glucose
*2 strips lemon rind
200g frozen raspberries
Good quality vanilla ice cream – to serve

Method

Place all the * ingredients in a small stainless saucepan and simmer over high heat for 4 mins. Cool slightly and strain through a fine sieve into a shallow 30cm x 15cm dish. Scatter over raspberries.

Freeze for 4 to 6 hours then use a fork to break up the granita. Return dish to the freezer until ready to serve. Keeps well in the freezer for up to a week.

Chill serving glasses in the freezer for 20 mins. Place a scoop of ice cream in each glass and top with the granita. Serve immediately.

RECIPE: LEMON PINEAPPLE CHEESECAKE

This cheesecake is one my son’s favourite. The addition of condensed milk makes it quite rich cake but the addition of the pineapple and lemon gives it a slightly tart edge. Even fussy eaters will appreciate the taste. Here’s the recipe.


Ingredients

Crust:
250g Arnott’s Granita Biscuits or any type of digestive biscuits
150g butter – melted

Filling:
250g cream cheese (I used Philly - see my post on CREAM CHEESE)
395g can sweetened condensed milk (normal size of an Aussie Nestlé can)
3 tsp gelatine
1/3 cup cold tap water
440g tin Golden Circle (the best!) crushed pineapple – drained
1/4 cup lemon juice
(Tip: don’t throw away any left over juice from fruit cans. Freeze it in ice trays for later use or to have as icy poles. Yum!)
Grated jest from 1 large lemon


Method

To make the base:
Brush a 20 cm round springform tin with melted butter.

Place biscuits in a food processor and process until finely crushed. Add butter and process for 15 secs.

Press mixture into base and side of the tin. Use the base of a glass to smooth the mixture. Refrigerate.

To make the filling:
Put the 1/3 cup of water into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatine on it. Place the bowl to stand in boiling water and mix/stir until the gelatine dissolves.

Using electric beaters, beat cheese until light and creamy. Gradually add the condensed milk and continue beating until smooth.

Add the crushed pineapple, lemon juice and jest and gelatine to the cheese mixture. Beat until combined, about 2 mins or so.

Pour into prepared base mixture. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until set. Decorate if desired with cream and sliced glace pineapple.

RECIPE: NESTLÉ CHOCOLATE MUD CAKE

Mr G saw this recipe on the back of the Nestlé Dark Melts and decided to try it. Verdict – quite nice though not as heavy and rich as the mud cakes you get from the Cheese Cake shop or Michel’s Patisseries. For that very reason, this is my preference. Good job, Mr G for your first effort.


Ironically, it tasted so much nicer the next day and the texture became denser. Therefore, I recommend ‘resting’ the cake at least overnight before consuming it. Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients
1 cup milk
2 tsp lemon juice
½ cup sunflower oil
200 g Nestlé Dark Melts
1 cup hot water
2 tsp Nestlé Instant Coffee
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
½ cup Nestlé Baking Cocoa
¾ cups sugar
2 eggs – lightly beaten

Method
Preheat oven to 180°C and line a 22 cm round cake tin with baking paper.
Combine milk and lemon juice and set aside to sour. You should see the milk separate slightly. Place oil, Nestlé Dark Melts, hot water and Nestlé Instant Coffee in a medium saucepan. Stir over a low heat until mixture is smooth and chocolate has melted. Cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and Nestlé Baking Cocoa. Add in the sugar and mix well. Set aside.

Add eggs to the cooled mixture, mix well and gradually pour in the soured milk. Blend well and add this to the dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly.

Bake for 55 mins or until cooked. There may be a little moist cake mixture on metal skewer when inserted into the centre of the cake; this is normal for Mud cakes. Stand in the tin for 10 mins then turn onto a wire rack to cool. Spread with NESTLÉ CHOCOLATE GLAZE.

BTW, I forgot to take pictures of the cake sliced. I only remembered when it was all gone...duh!

RECIPE: GULAB JAMUN

As Diwali is not a public holiday here and I don’t have any of my side of the family in Australia, I don’t really celebrate the occasion. I do tend to get quite nostalgic during this time and wish that I was back home in Malaysia, celebrating with my family and friends. Unfortunately, it is not meant to be. Oh well, such is life.


Anyway, I do make a few cookies and sweets for the kids and nearly every year, I get a request for Gulab Jamun, especially from my eldest. Funny, she doesn’t eat much sweet stuff but she sure likes Gulab Jamun. Word of warning: this is a very sweet and rich dessert!

In the next few days, I will posting the few goodies that I made for Diwali. For now here’s the recipe for GULAB JAMUN.

Ingredients


Syrup
6 cups water
6 cups sugar
6 cloves
1 cinnamon stick

Jamun
2 cups full cream powdered milk
½ cup Self Raising flour
¼ tsp baking powder
½ cup ghee
1 cup evaporated milk
Light veg oil such as canola or sunflower for deep frying

Method


Put all the syrup ingredients in a pot and boil until the syrup slightly thickens about 10 mins on a rapid boil. Leave to cool.

In a large bowl, mix the powdered milk, flour and baking powder together. Add in the ghee and rub into the mixture.

Add the evaporated milk and mix lightly into stiff dough. Do not knead heavily. Roll all the mixture into balls, the size of a small marble. Place on a plate.


Line a colander or basket with paper towels (you don't want condensation to build). Heat sufficient oil in a small wok (remember you are deep frying the balls), on medium heat. If your oil is too hot, the outside will cook and the insides will still be raw. If your heat is too low, the batter will absorb too much oil. So do a test run to get your temp right.


Fry your jamun in batches and drain on the paper towels. When you have finished frying, put all the jamuns into the syrup, making sure that they are submerged. Allow the jamun to absorb the syrup (preferably overnight) before serving either at room temperature or you may refrigerate your jamuns and serve them cold. Enjoy.

RECIPE: EASY CHOCOLATE CAKE

I promised my cousin SR in Kuala Lumpur that I would post this recipe a few weeks ago. Sorry dear, I got caught doing other things, but here it is. Well better late than never, I say.

This is a no fuss, light chocolate cake. I got this from the NINEMSN site. It makes an excellent tea cake and we make it nearly every other week as a snack for the kids for their school lunches.

Ingredients – for 1 cake
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp cocoa
½ cup milk (may need extra)
2 eggs
3 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla essence

Icing
60g soft butter, chopped
3/4 cup icing sugar
1 ½ tbsp cocoa
1 tbsp milk
1 Flake™ chocolate – crumbled (optional)

Method
Place all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and mix with wooden spoon until combined. Then beat with an electric mixer for 3 minutes.

Place mixture into a large greased tin and bake in moderate oven for 50 minutes.

To make icing, beat butter with electric mixer until as white as possible. Gradually add half the icing sugar, all the cocoa, milk and vanilla essence. Then add remaining icing sugar and beat until smooth and creamy. If using flake chocolate, crumble it and add in to the icing or use to decorate at the end.

Top cooled cake with icing and serve.

RECIPE: STRAWBERRY COULIS

My apologies to anyone who may have left comments on my blog. I made changes to the blog yesterday but it all went haywire today. Thank god I had made a backup of my original blog. If you have posted comments, I ask that you please resubmit your comments and I will endeavour to answer them. Once again, apologies for the inconvenience caused.

Now that I have cleared up that issue, here’s my second contribution to the STOP FOOD WASTE CAMPAIGN. Enjoy.

Ingredients
75 g caster sugar
¼ cup water
150 g strawberries – hulled and halved
½ to 1 tsp Cointreau (Orange Liqueur) - optional

Method
In a blender, puree all the ingredients (except Cointreau). Pour into a small saucepan and on medium heat, boil the mixture until it slightly thickens. Remove from heat and add in the Cointreau (if using).

Cool and serve as a topping for ice cream, fruit salads or pancakes/crepes.

RECIPE: PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

This is a really yummy cake and the recipe is from my blog friend Suhana of SUHANA SWEET SAVOURY. Thank you dear for sharing this recipe. I encourage you to try this. A delicious tea or dessert cake. As Su said, nice served warm with ice cream.

Ingredients
1 can of pineapple rings - decorate according to your pan shape plus some glace cherries.

CARAMEL CRUST

50g softened butter

50g light brown sugar

Beat the above until creamy, then spread onto the base and sides of an 8-inch round pan. I used a ring tin. I used all the mixture but in my opinion, half the mixture would be sufficient.

Hint: Estimate how high the cake batter would be when you put it into the tin. Therefore, do not spread the caramel crust until you have made the cake batter. If you cover too much of the sides, the caramel will melt onto your cake and stop it from rising at the sides.

Arrange the pineapple and cherries creatively in the pan which has been spread with the caramel crust.

CAKE

100g softened butter

100g of castor sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence OR pineapple essence – I used pineapple essence. ½ tsp is plenty!

120g of cake flour - sifted

1/2 tsp baking powder - sifted

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda - sifted

Pinch of salt (if your butter is unsalted)

2 tbsp of pineapple syrup from the can (this is optional)

Method

Cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add the eggs and essence. Mix until well incorporated.

Add in the sifted flour, baking powder and soda. Drop the batter by the spoonful, slowly over the arranged pineapple and cherry slices. You don't want to move their positions. When all the batter has been poured, level the top nicely with the back of a spoon or spatula.

Bake in a preheated 170°C oven for about 35 mins or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave the cake in the pan for 5 mins on a wire rack before inverting over on a plate.

FYI: I used a non stick ring tin so I decreased the cooking time and temperature to 25 mins and at 160°C.

RECIPE: MINI APPLE PARCELS

Actually an apple pie but made into tiny parcels – Mr G has too much time on his hands, I say! Perfect eaten warm with ice cream or cold by itself.

Ingredients – Makes 16 parcels
5 g butter
½ cup brown sugar
2 granny smith apples – cored and chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
2 sheets of prepared butter puff pastry
25 g butter, extra – melted
Demerara sugar for sprinkling

Method
Preheat oven to 220°C. Heat a non stick frying pan over low heat. Add the 5 g butter and brown sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add in the apples and cinnamon and simmer for 5 mins or until apples are tender. Remove from heat and cool completely. If you use hot filling when making the parcels, the pastry will become soggy with the heat.

Place one sheet of the pastry on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Spoon 16 tbsp of the apple filling onto the sheet, to create 16 pies; leaving enough space to seal the edges. Top with the remaining pastry.

Using a pasta cutter (or knife), cut in between the squares. Now spread the pies to fill the tray and using a fork, seal in the edges of the individual pies. Prick a few holes on top of the pies with the fork as well. Brush with the melted butter and sprinkle with the Demerara sugar. Bake for 15 mins or until golden and crispy.

RECIPE: TOBLERONE CHEESECAKE

I know I promised to put this up yesterday….sorry. Anyway, here it is and a very funny (not ha ha funny but bizarre funny) thing happen yesterday in conjunction with the cheesecake; well actually surrounding the cheesecake recipe. My friend TW and her beau dropped in yesterday and had some of the cheesecake and I mentioned in passing that the recipe was from a colleague of ours, ML and I had found it in some piles of papers that I was looking through. Mind you, the last time we saw this colleague was in 2003 and ironically, TW found a Christmas present that ML had given her (Kris Kringle) a few weeks ago, whilst going through her things too. What are the chances of that happening??! So I guess I should actually try and find where this mutual colleague is now. The last time we heard, she was in New Delhi. I think the cosmos was trying to tell us something here.

Back to THE cheesecake….it is a joint G and V effort – Mr G made the crust and I did the rest.

As I mentioned above, the recipe is from ML, who I used to work with when I was with the DoD.

I doubled the Toblerone amount (200 g) and used 250 g of Arnott’s Choc Ripple biscuits. You can also use Marie biscuits and add melted dark chocolate and butter to make the chocolate base. Below is the original recipe.

Base
1 cup crushed chocolate biscuits
1/3 cup melted butter – around 80 g

Filling
2 x 250 g blocks cream cheese (you may use 1 light and 1 normal cream cheese blocks)
½ cup cream
3 tsp gelatine dissolved in ½ cup hot water
¾ cup caster sugar
100 g Toblerone chocolate – melted

Method
Line a springform round cake tin with paper. Mix the butter and biscuits and press into the base on the cake tin and sides. Refrigerate.

Beat cream and cream cheese until smooth. Add in the gelatine, beat, followed by the sugar and melted chocolate. Beat until well combined and pour onto the prepared base. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.

RECIPE: PINEAPPLE CHEESECAKE

This recipe was given to me by my friend HYL from PJ Malaysia (now married and living in Penang) when we were studying at Ballarat Uni. This is really yummy and not sour like some cheesecakes (why would it be when there is a whole tin of condensed milk in it!).

One tip. Don't be impatient like me and try to beat the cream cheese whilst it is still hard......it actually makes more work and takes more time. So remember to soften it at room temp. before attempting to cream it. Enjoy!

PINEAPPLE CHEESECAKE

Ingredients

Crust:
250g Arnott’s Granita Biscuits or any type of digestive biscuits
150g butter – melted

Filling:
250g cream cheese
395g can sweetened condensed milk (normal size of an Aussie Nestlé can)
3 tsp gelatine
1/3 cup cold water
440g tin Golden Circle (the best!) crushed pineapple – drained
1/4 cup pineapple juice (from the crushed pineapple tin)
(Tip: don’t throw away any left over juice from fruit cans. Freeze it in ice trays for later use or to have as icy poles. Yum!)

Method

To make the base:
Brush a 20 cm round springform tin with melted butter.
Place biscuits in a food processor and process until finely crushed. Add butter and process for 15 secs.
Press mixture into base and side of the tin. Use the base of a glass to smooth the mixture. Refrigerate.

To make the filling:
Put the 1/3 cup of water into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatine on it. Place the bowl to stand in boiling water and mix until the gelatine dissolves.

Using electric beaters, beat cheese until light and creamy. Gradually add the condensed milk and continue beating until smooth.

Add pineapple, juice and gelatine to the cheese mixture. Beat until combined.

Pour into prepared base mixture. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until set. Decorate if desired with cream and sliced glace pineapple.