Honey Cupcakes

My health has not been good again recently, hence some of you might have noticed my lack of updates and I have not been visiting blogs for a while. :(

I saw these Honey Cupcakes at Small Small Baker some time back. It is strangely amazing that how one could miss a wonderful recipe while reading the book until you encounter the same recipe again much later at baking blogs. That goes the same for this Honey Cupcakes recipe.

I wish all readers a Happy New Year and hope that 2011 will be a great year ahead for all of us!! :)

Thanks to Small Small Baker for sharing the recipe. :)

Honey Cupcakes
Adapted from: Small Small Baker and 孟老师的100道小蛋糕 by 孟兆庆

Ingredients (Makes 5)
20 g vegetable oil
30 g honey
2 eggs
20 g castor sugar
50 g cake flour
1/4 tsp baking powder

Method
1. Place oil and honey in a bowl and heat up the mixture by placing the bowl in hot water. Mix well using a spoon and set aside.
2. With an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar at low speed. Gradually increase the speed to high and beat till the mixture turns creamy white and reaches ribbon stage. Reduce to low speed and beat for another 1 minute.
3. Sift in cake flour and baking powder and add in honey and oil mixture. Mix gently until smooth.
4. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups till 80% full and rest at room temperature for about 5 minutes.
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 15 – 20 minutes.

Walnut Pound Cake

I have the terrible habit of buying something first (usually on impulse) and then decide what I want to do with them much, much later. This bake is yet another classic example of my random purchase: Walnuts!

Do not be fooled by the plain or unappetizing look of this Walnut Pound Cake. Its buttery aroma and crunchy walnut bits will make you fall in love with it after the first bite. :)

I would also like to take this opportunity to wish all my dear readers and blogger friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! :)

Walnut Pound Cake
Adapted from: 磅蛋糕123 by 趙筱蓓

Ingredients (Makes an 8-inch round)
120 g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
80 g white sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
130 g cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
100 g walnuts
1 – 2 tsp rum

Method
1. Toast walnuts at 120°C for 3 minutes. Coarsely chop the walnuts and set aside to cool.
2. Beat butter and sugar till creamy and fluffy.
3. Add in eggs gradually and mix till well-combined.
4. Sift cake flour and baking powder together. Add in separate additions and mix well.
5. Add in the chopped walnuts and rum and mix lightly.
6. Pour the batter into a greased 8-inch round pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 175°C for 60 minutes.
7. Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Unmold from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Notes
- Rum helps to enhance the walnut flavour in the cake.
- I used plain flour instead of cake flour. Rum was omitted.

Blueberry Pound Cake

A dear friend IP showed me a silicon mould that she received as a housewarming gift and asked if it can be used for baking chiffon cakes. Looking at it, I believe it is called a bundt pan which is more suitable for baking heavy cakes such as pound cakes. I hope I am not the blind leading the blind. Hehe... 

I was thrilled when IP suggested a baking session at her place. I knew exactly where I can find the perfect recipe for the lovely bundt pan: the Blueberry Pound Cake from Anncoo Journal! :)

We started our weekend afternoon excitedly, gathering the ingredients and the baking equipment that we needed. When we were measuring the sugar, we realised that we did not have enough sugar for the recipe! Poor IP's hubby had to be our "errand boy" to the nearest supermarket which was a 20-minutes walk. Oops... :) Despite the hiccups and fumbling, the baked cake is a real beauty that wins all the "Wows" and praises, living up to its origins as Elvis Presley Whipping Cream Pound Cake. A very soft and delicious cake and the addition of blueberries certainly enhances the savoring experience. Of course, not forgetting that I had an enjoyable and fun afternoon, baking and catching up with IP. :)

Thanks to Anncoo Journal and Honey Bee Sweets for sharing the recipe. :)

Blueberry Pound Cake
Adapted from: Anncoo Journal and Honey Bee Sweets

Ingredients
113 g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
180 g cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
180 g castor sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
250 ml heavy whipping cream
250 g fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tbsp plain flour, for coating blueberries

Method
1. Grease a Bundt pan and dust flour evenly in pan, knocking out the excess flour. Alternatively, grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper.
2. Sift flour and salt together, set aside.
3. Toss the blueberries with 1 tbsp of plain flour, set aside.
4. Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
5. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. Add in vanilla extract and mix well. 
7. Add the flour mixture in 4 additions, alternating with the whipping cream in 3 additions, mixing well in each addition.
8. Fold in the blueberries using a spatula.
9. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
10. Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Unmold from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Notes
- I used Bulla thickened cream for the heavy whipping cream and replaced cake flour with plain flour.
- I mixed the vanilla extract together with the whipped cream.
- I used frozen blueberries without thawing and tossed with 2 tbsp flour, sifting away the extra flour.

Honey Cranberry Cupcakes

These days, I am in a "quick baking therapy" mode where I can get my bakes done in a short time. Hence I apologise if you are getting tired of seeing the frequent appearances of cupcakes and muffins over at my blog. :)

The original recipe in the book called for sweetened red beans. Seeing that Happy Flour has successfully modified the recipe into Honey Cranberry Cupcakes, I followed suit. :)

Thanks to Happy Flour for sharing the recipe. :)

Honey Cranberry Cupcakes
Adapted from: Happy Flour and 孟老师的100道小蛋糕 by 孟兆庆

Ingredients (Makes 8)
80 g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
100 g cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
70 g eggs, lightly beaten
40 g castor sugar
1/2 tsp mirin
2 tbsp honey
100 g dried cranberries

Method
1. Sift cake flour and baking powder together. Set aside.
2. With an electric mixer, beat butter and flour mixture until smooth, glossy and creamy.
3. Add in eggs and sugar and beat until well-combined, followed by mirin and honey.
4. Add in the dried cranberries and fold gently with a spatula.
5. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups till 80% full. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 20 – 25 minutes.

Notes
- I used plain flour instead of cake flour and omitted mirin.
- You may replace mirin with same amount of vanilla essence.

Marmalade Almond Muffins

I bought a jar of SYLT FLÄDER & APELSIN Orange & Elderflower marmalade from IKEA a couple of months ago to go with my scones. Ever since then, the jar of marmalade has been sitting in my fridge. Spreading marmalade on toast is kinda out for me as I prefer my bread with butter, kaya or peanut butter. Hmm, what else can I use this wonderful marmalade for?

The answer is Marmalade Almond Muffins! I love these soft muffins with the mildly sweet marmalade and the crunchy almond slices. Verdict: Simply awesome!! :)

Marmalade Almond Muffins
Adapted from: The Australian Women’s Weekly – Breads & Muffins

Ingredients (Makes 18)
2 cups (300 g) self-raising flour
125 g butter, chopped
1 cup (80 g) flaked almonds
2/3 cup (150 g) sugar
1 tbsp orange rind, finely grated
1/2 cup (170 g) orange marmalade
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (125 ml) milk
1/4 cup (20 g) flaked almonds, extra for sprinkling

Method
1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease the muffin pan.
2. Sift flour into large bowl, rub in butter. Stir in nuts, sugar and rind, then marmalade, eggs and milk.
3. Divide mixture among holes of prepared pan; sprinkle with extra nuts.
4. Bake muffins in oven for about 20 minutes. Stand muffins in pan for a few minutes before turning onto wire rack.

Notes
- I substituted 300 g self-raising flour with 300 g plain flour, 3 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt; 125 ml milk with 10 g milk powder dissolved in 125 g warm water.
- I used 120 g castor sugar and 180 g marmalade.
- I omitted orange rind and orange syrup for glazing.
- Marmalade, beaten eggs and milk were mixed together before adding to the dry ingredients. I gave the batter a quick mix after adding the wet ingredients (Do not over-mix, the batter should appear lumpy).

Almond Sponge Cupcakes

I am meeting some friends for dinner and I took this opportunity to make them some simple bakes: Almond Sponge Cupcakes. 

I toasted the chopped almonds in two batches. As you can see, some of the chopped almonds are quite charred. I over-toasted the first batch as I wasn't sure how long I need to toast the chopped almonds. Oops...

Hopefully my friends will like these cupcakes. :)

Almond Sponge Cupcakes
Adapted from: 我愛杯子蛋糕 by 小田川さなえ

Ingredients (Makes 9)
2 eggs
60 g granulated sugar
60 g cake flour
15 g unsalted butter
25 ml milk
2 tbsp chopped almonds

Method
1. Warm the butter and milk over a double-boiler till the butter is melted and the mixture is around 50°C.
2. Sift cake flour and set aside.
3. Toast the chopped almonds at 140 – 150°C until lightly browned.
4. Whisk the eggs and add in sugar.
5. Warm the mixture over a double boiler and stir continuously using a hand whisk until the mixture is warm to touch and reaches body temperature.
6. Remove from heat and beat the mixture using an electric mixer until pale and creamy.
7. Add in the flour mixture and fold using a spatula until flour mixture is fully incorporated into the batter.
8. Take some of the batter and mix with the butter and milk mixture until well-blended. Pour this batter back to the rest of the batter and fold until well-combined.
9. Mix in the chopped almonds lightly.
10. Pour the batter into the lined cupcake tin and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 12 – 13 minutes.

Notes
- I replaced cake flour with plain flour; used 50 g castor sugar and 25 g chopped almonds.
- I did not warm the mixture while whisking the eggs and sugar.

Awards (The Versatile Blogger)

I would like to express my thanks to Zoe of Bake for happy kids for passing "The Versatile Blogger" award to me. To me, this is indeed a great honour, encouragement and motivation. I will continue to work hard and I hope I won't disappoint all of you, especially Zoe. :)

Blueberry Orange Muffins

Presenting to you the second installment of my blueberry bakes: Blueberry Orange Muffins!! I was overjoyed to find that these baked muffins have nicely-shaped domes. Lesson of the day: Filling the muffin cups to about 70 - 80% full might be the trick to perform the dome magic. :) 

The sweet scent of oranges and the slightly tangy blueberries compliment each other perfectly. These soft and moist muffins make a great afternoon tea. :)

Thanks to Anncoo Journal for sharing the recipe. :)

Blueberry Orange Muffins
Adapted from: Anncoo Journal

Ingredients (Makes 16)
250 g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
120 g castor sugar
180 ml vegetable oil
150 g plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp fresh orange juice
Grated orange zest from 1/2 orange
125 g blueberries

Method
1. Sift plain flour, baking powder and salt together into a mixing bowl and mix well. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, gently whisk the eggs and sugar together. Add in oil, yogurt, vanilla extract, orange juice and zest until it is combined. 
3. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Fold with a spatula until they are well-combined and no traces of flour remain. Do not over-mix; mixture should be lumpy.
4. Add in blueberries and mix lightly.
5. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups till 80% full. Bake in a preheated oven at 190°C for 20 – 25 minutes.

Notes
- I used cake flour instead of plain flour.
- Can consider reducing the amount of vegetable oil.

Kinako Chiffon Cake

After my last post on Pu-Erh Chiffon Cake, I did a chiffon cake again last week. However, that chiffon cake (I shall leave it unnamed) failed terribly. Initially it rose nicely in the oven, but for some reasons, it started to shrink before the baking time was up. Upon unmolding, it was 1/4 of the supposed height and the top was badly dented. :( It didn't look like a chiffon cake and it didn't taste like a chiffon cake. Sigh... I have to blame it on my poor skills again. If my success rate for my chiffon cake is listed on the stock exchange, I will strongly urge everyone of you not to buy this "stock". Haha...

Recently, I bought a pack of soy bean powder (kinako) without any idea in mind what I want to do with it. I managed to find a few recipes in Keiko Ishida's Okashi book that uses kinako. Hmm, should I bake another chiffon cake? If I fail again, that goes my precious kinako. Keeping fingers crossed, I proceeded ahead and I am absolutely satisfied with the outcome. My chiffon cake is tall and mighty! Success!!

I don't know why but this Kinako Chiffon Cake has a slight peanut butter taste. Haha... I would not have guessed correctly that it is kinako, if I am not the one making it. An light and interesting cake with a nice aroma! :)

I am submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #1: Chiffon Cakes (Nov 2010) hosted by Small Small Baker.

Kinako Chiffon Cake
Adapted from: Okashi – Sweet Treats Made with Love by Keiko Ishida

Ingredients (Makes a 20-cm tube cake)
(A)
50 g pastry flour
5 egg yolks
20 g brown sugar
60 g water
60 g canola oil
50 g soy bean powder (kinako)
(B)
180 g egg whites (about 5 eggs)
90 g castor (superfine) sugar
10 g rice flour / corn flour

Method
1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Sift flour once.
2. Combine egg yolks and brown sugar in a bowl and mix well. Add water and canola oil and blend together. Add flour and mix until batter becomes sticky, then fold in soy bean powder. 
3. To make meringue:  Combine sugar and rice or corn flour. Beat egg whites until foamy. Add half of sugar and flour mixture and continue beating for a few minutes, then add remaining sugar and flour mixture and beat until egg whites are glossy, with stiff peaks.
4. Add one-third of meringue into egg yolk mixture and fold in lightly, then add remaining meringue and fold to incorporate completely.
5. Pour batter into an ungreased chiffon cake tube pan. Bake for 40 – 50 minutes. When cake is done, remove from oven and turn it over, leaving it to cool.
6. Once cake has cooled completely, carefully run a knife or spatula around the sides of the cake to loosen it before inverting onto a wire rack.

Notes
- I replaced pastry flour with cake flour; brown sugar with castor sugar.
- I omitted the red bean cream and sesame seeds for garnishing.

Shenandoah Valley Blueberry Cake

Finally, the long-awaited sale was here! Nope, it is not clothes, bags or shoes. It is blueberries!!! For a period of time, the price of the blueberries was soaring high. I was so excited to find them on discount. Grabbing a few punnets of the blueberries is just the most intuitive and sensible thing to do. :P

When I first saw the Shenandoah Valley Blueberry Cake at Cook.Bake.Love months ago, I was mesmerised by the beautiful name and Angel of Cook.Bake.Love had given good reviews on the cake. I told myself, I shall try this recipe once I get hold of blueberries. And I did. :)

I have to agree that this batter is really extremely thick and hard to work with. I can barely mix the batter after I added in the frozen blueberries, lest to say to smoothen the batter when I scrapped it into the baking pan. I had to resort using my clumsy fingers to spread the batter and blueberries on the baking pan (Hehe... Sorry for the unglam). The end product is definitely beyond my expectation, a light and delicious cake with blueberries oozing in each mouthful. If only the blueberries are not so tangy. Hehe...

Thanks to Cook.Bake.Love for sharing the recipe. :)

Shenandoah Valley Blueberry Cake
Adapted from: Cook.Bake.Love and Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott

Ingredients (Makes a 9-inch square or a 9-inch round)
210 g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
75 g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
130 g sugar
1 egg
80 ml milk
125 g fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw)

Method
1. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and generously grease a 9-inch square or round pan.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl, and stir with a fork to mix well.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the butter and sugar and beat with a mixer at high speed until well combined.
4. Add the egg and beat well for 1 to 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl, until the mixture is smooth and light.
5. Stir in half the flour mixture, then half the milk, mixing just enough to keep the batter fairly smooth and well combined. Add the remaining flour mixture, then the rest of the milk, mixing gently. Stir in blueberries.
6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 375°F (190°C) for 30 minutes, or until the cake is golden, springs back when touched gently in the centre and is pulling away from the sides of the pan.
7. Serve a square cake right from the pan, warm or at room temperature, cut into small squares. If it is round, let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack or folded kitchen towel for 10 minutes, and then turn it out to cool on a wire rack, top side up.

Huat Kueh

I have cravings for a simple and fuss-free afternoon snack. Equipped with a hand whisk, a mixing bowl, a kitchen scale and a steamer and I am on my way to whip up these little steam cakes. Cleaning up is easy and fast too.

I love the "smiling" top of the huat kuehs; they make my day bright and beautiful too. :) I made 9 of them in 3 separate batches. You may have noticed that there are only 7 in the photo. No prize for guessing where the other 2 went to. *Grin*

Thanks to Eating Pleasure for sharing the recipe. :)

Huat Kueh
Adapted from: Eating Pleasure

Ingredients (Makes 3 small cupcakes)
130 g self-raising flour
35 g black sugar
35 g white sugar
25 g coconut cream
100 ml hot water

Method
1. Place some water into a steamer and bring it to boil.
2. Dissolve the black sugar and white sugar in the 100 ml hot water.
3. Sift self-raising flour in a big bowl. Mix with coconut cream. Sift in the sugar syrup slowly and mix until you get a gluey batter.
4. Fill the batter into paper cups. Steam over high heat for 12 - 15 minutes.

Notes
- I replaced black sugar with white sugar (total amount of sugar used was 70 g); self-raising flour with 130 g plain flour, 1 ½ tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt.
- Made 3 batches. Added a few drops of pandan paste to 2 batches.

Pu-Erh Chiffon Cake

This cake marks the official debut of my new chiffon pan bakes! :)

When I first took the chiffon cake out of the oven, I was disheartened. The top was badly cracked and looked real ugly (which you may not be able to tell since the cake was inverted for photo-taking and serving). However when I unmolded and sliced the cake, my heart skipped a beat. I am pleased to announce that this Pu-Erh Chiffon Cake has passed the test! I am refering to my own chiffon cake test and with this bake, my chiffon cake success rate has improved slightly. Hehe... The moral of the story is don't jump into conclusions too soon and judge a chiffon cake by its "initial" appearance!

This chiffon cake is very soft and fluffy. On top of that, it has a light, nice tea fragrance. If you are a tea lover like me, I am sure that you will love this cake! :)

I am submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #1: Chiffon Cakes (Nov 2010) hosted by Small Small Baker.

Thanks to Happy Home Baking for sharing the recipe. :) I made some modifications to the recipe to make Pu-Erh Chiffon Cake.

Pu-Erh Chiffon Cake (普洱戚风蛋糕)
Adapted from: Happy Home Baking

Ingredients (Makes an 18-cm tube cake)
(A)
3 egg yolks
40 g castor sugar
100 g cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp Pu-Erh tea powder
50 ml vegetable oil
75 ml water
(B)
3 egg whites
40 g castor sugar

Method
1. Sift cake flour, baking powder and salt together, set aside.
2. Place egg yolks in a mixing bowl, add sugar in 3 separate additions and with a manual whisk, whisk till the mixture becomes sticky and turns pale.
3. Drizzle in the oil, whisking at the same time till the mixture is well combined. Repeat the same with the water.
4. Add in the flour mixture and whisk until flour mixture is fully incorporated into the batter.
5. Add in the tea powder and mix well.
6. In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Gradually beat in the sugar and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form.
7. Add the beaten egg white into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, each time folding gently with a spatula until just blended.
8. Pour batter into an ungreased 18-cm tube pan. Tap the pan lightly on a table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.
9. Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C for 45 – 50 minutes or until the cake surface turns golden brown, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
10. Remove from the oven and invert the pan immediately. Let it cool completely before unmold.

Notes
- If the tea leaves are coarse, use a mortar and pestle or a grinder to grind it till fine and powdery before use.
- I steeped the tea powder in 75 ml hot water for a few minutes. The tea powder and water were cooled and added together in the batter, after the oil addition.
- I used 2 Richshaw Pu-Erh tea satchels. If you prefer a richer and stronger tea flavour, you can consider using more tea satchels.

My Heartfelt Thanks

I have finally found my 18-cm chiffon pan! A very big "Thank You" to Fatmum, who knew that I was searching for the pan and it was really sweet of her to help me get it during her shopping trip.

I met her yesterday for the first time. Besides the chiffon pan, she also prepared a freshly baked Matcha Butter Cake and Mochi Bread (using the mochi bread flour her brother got from Korea). I felt so blessed and touched! *感动万分*

Here are the photos of the yummy matcha cake and the QQ mochi bread from Fatmum. Simply delicious and thumbs up!!

Banana Cinnamon Muffins

Confession: I am not a muffin person. Most of the muffins that I had eaten were dense and oily and I always had the feeling that I was eating mouthfuls of oil. However, all this became history ever since my encounter with these Berry Berry Berry Muffins.

It began when I had some blueberries and Honey Boy of Cosy Bake suggested that I made muffins with them. She greatly recommended her favourite muffin recipe. I noticed that the recipe used cinnamon powder, however I am not a big fan of cinnamon either. Nonetheless, I decided to give this muffin recipe a try.

I was completely won over. The baked blueberry muffins were so soft, fluffy and fabulous, totally different from the usual muffins that I came across. This Berry Berry Berry Muffins recipe is definitely a keeper!

This time round, I made some modifications to the recipe to make Banana Cinnamon Muffins. I apologise if the photos did little or no justice to these wonderful muffins. I spooned too much batter into the muffin cups and they overflowed during baking. The lighting was poor as well when I was taking the photos. However, I strongly recommend this muffin recipe and hope you enjoy them as much as I do. :)

Thanks to Cosy Bake for recommending and sharing the recipe. :)

Banana Cinnamon Muffins
Adapted from: Cosy Bake

Ingredients (Makes 12)
200 g cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
125 g castor sugar
2 eggs
120 g butter, melted / vegetable oil
3 tbsp milk
180 g bananas, mashed (2 Del Monte bananas)

Method
1. Whisk the eggs and sugar together till pale and sugar is dissolved.
2. Add in melted butter (or vegetable oil) and mix well, followed by milk.
3. Sift in flour, baking powder and cinnamon powder to the batter and give it a quick mix using a spatula. Do not over-mix; mixture should be lumpy.
4. Add in the mashed bananas and mix lightly.
5. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 25 minutes.
6. Cool the muffins on wire rack after baking.

Pandan Chiffon Cake

This Pandan Chiffon Cake is quite fragrant, probably because of Koepoe-Koepoe Aroma pandan paste that I am using. However, I find that it is not as light and spongy (or "chiffon") as those from the bakeries. If you were to ask me, I will say that the texture of my earlier Matcha Chiffon Cake is better than this Pandan Chiffon Cake.

I would like to ask a favour of my dear readers. If you happen to see a 18-cm chiffon pan selling in Singapore stores, kindly drop me a note on where to find it. I went to a number of baking supply stores, including Phoon Huat and Sun Lik, but I did not manage to find a 18-cm chiffon pan. Many thanks in advance! :)

Update on 06 Nov 2010: I have finally found my 18-cm chiffon pan. Thanks to all for your helpful responses! :)

Pandan Chiffon Cake

Ingredients (Makes an 8-inch tube cake)
35 g corn oil
100 g coconut milk
4 egg yolks
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pandan paste
100 g cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
5 egg whites
100 g sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Method
1. Sift cake flour and baking powder together. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, place egg yolks, 50 g sugar, oil, coconut milk, salt and pandan paste and mix well using a hand whisk.
3. Add in the flour mixture and whisk until flour mixture is fully incorporated into the batter.
4. In a clean dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar at high speed until foamy. Add the remaining sugar in 2 additions and beat until stiff peaks form.
5. Add 1/3 beaten egg white to the yolk mixture and mix using a hand whisk.
6. Slowly fold this mixture into the remaining 2/3 of beaten egg whites.
7. Pour mixture into the ungreased pan. Tap the pan lightly on a table top with both hands to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 175°C for about 45 minutes or until the cake surface turns golden brown, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
9. Remove from the oven and invert the pan immediately. Let it cool completely before unmold.

Notes
- I omitted the cream of tartar.

Matcha Pound Cake

I love to eat my slice of pound cake with a cup of milk. The amount of matcha in the cake is just right for me. If only I have the red bean paste, that will be heavenly perfect!

Thanks to Happy Home Baking for sharing the recipe. :)

Matcha Pound Cake
Adapted from: Happy Home Baking

Ingredients (Makes a loaf)
120 g cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp matcha powder
100 g sugar
100 g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
2 eggs, lightly beaten
200 g red bean paste

Method
1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease and line a loaf pan.
2. Sift the cake flour, baking powder and matcha powder together. Set aside.
3. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until the mixture turns pale and fluffy.
4. Add in the eggs gradually, beating well after each addition.
5. Sift over the flour mixture in 3 separate additions. Each time, gently fold with a spatula until flour mixture is fully incorporated into the batter.
6. Spread 1/3 of the batter evenly into loaf pan, spread a layer of red bean paste on the batter. Cover with 1/3 of the batter and spread another layer of red bean paste. Spread the remaining 1/3 of the batter.
7. Smoothen the batter evenly and make a slit in the centre (length-wise) with the tip of the spatula.
8. Bake at 170°C for 35 – 40 minutes or until the cake turns golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Notes
- I omitted the red bean paste.

Carrot Cake



This Carrot Cake has a great mix of healthy ingredients: dried fruits, nuts and vegetables! 

To speak the truth, I am never a fan of most dried fruits which include raisins, cranberries and mangoes, but I love their fresh counterparts. Whenever I eat buns or cakes with dried raisins from the bakeries, I will carefully remove the raisins or eat with a disdainful look and wash them down my throat with a mouthful of water. The same fate applies to other dried fruits (berries included). 

However, after seeing so many bloggers baking with cranberries, I decided to give cranberries a second chance, Perhaps because I am starting to appreciate the different types of food in my daily diet or maybe because it is homebaked, I thoroughly enjoyed the presence of cranberries in the cake. As for the carrots, even though I can see them all over the cake, I could hardly taste them. Oh yeah, the nutty diced almonds certainly added a special touch to this Carrot Cake.  

I omitted the cream cheese frosting as it seems a bit too sweet to my liking. Hmm, is this how a carrot cake should taste like? :)

French Almond Cake

Months ago before I started blogging, I saw this cake at Happy Home Baking. I was drawn by the simple yet elegant look of her cake. On top of that, I was curious about how ground almonds would taste like in a cake. Shortly after, I went to get a packet of ground almonds and flaked almonds, telling myself I will bake this cake soon.

However I did not. Not until I saw it again recently at Hearty Bakes. Her cake seemed to beckon me to "bake me, bake me". Without further ado, I digged out my equipment, gathered the ingredients and baked this French Almond Cake to cheer up the otherwise gloomy day.

It is indeed a light moist cake with a subtle buttery ground almond fragance. I simply love the crunchy bite of the flaked almonds!

Thanks to Happy Home Baking and Hearty Bakes for sharing the recipe. :)

French Almond Cake
Adapted from: Happy Home Baking, Hearty Bakes and Easy Cakes by Linda Collister

Ingredients (Makes an 8-inch round)

110 g unsalted butter, cubed and softened at room temperature
120 g castor sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
90 g ground almond
40 g self-raising flour
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract (Optional)
1 tbsp flaked almonds, for sprinkling
Some icing sugar, for dusting 

Method

1. Preheat oven at 180°C. Grease the sides of an 8-inch round pan and line the base with a parchment paper.
2. Toast ground almonds at 100°C for 10 minutes, stirring in between. Let it cool.
3. Place butter, sugar and eggs in a mixing bowl.
4. Add almond powder, flour, milk, vanilla extract (optional) and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
5. Spoon into the prepared pan and spread the batter evenly.
6. Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the top of the batter.
7. Bake at 180°C for 30 – 35 minutes, or until the sponge just springs back when pressed, or a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
8. Run a thin bladed knife around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake, then turn out onto a wire rack and let it cool.
9. Dust with icing sugar before serving.  

Notes
- If the top of the cake turns brown too quickly (after 15 – 20 minutes), cover the top with a foil. I did not cover with a foil as the top of my cake was just nicely browned.
- I run out of milk at home. Hence I replaced milk with the same amount of water and 40 g self-raising flour with 40 g plain flour, ½ tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt.

Teochew Yam Mooncakes

Only this year then did I realise that there are so many variations or types of mooncakes that I never know their existences. Among all, Teochew Spiral (Thousand Layers Flaky) Mooncakes fascinates me the most. I told myself, I must try making them this year.

Most of the Teochew Yam Mooncakes that I came across are made using the Visible Layering – Spiral (Escargot) shaping (圓酥).

I learnt from Corner Café that there is another way of shaping the dough and the technique is known as Visible Layering – Parallel shaping 直酥. It is done in the same way as the above, except that when you cut the dough into halves to reveal the cross-section, you cut horizontally (lengthways). With the "experimental" mindset, I made some using the Visible Layering – Parallel shaping 直酥.

The layers for the baked end-products are indeed very fragile and flaky. Secure yourselves with a plate or serviette when you are eating this. Haha... With this, I hereby declare that my mooncake making frenzy for this year has finally concluded.

Thanks to Jane's Corner for sharing the recipe and Anncoo Journal for the detailed step-by-step pictures. :)

Teochew Yam Mooncakes
Adapted from: Jane's Corner and Anncoo Journal

Ingredients (Makes 6)
Water Dough
100 g plain flour
5 g icing sugar
35 g shortening
45 g water

Oil Dough
80 g plain flour
40 g shortening
1/4 tsp yam paste

Filling
180 g yam paste filling

Method
1. Filling: Divide into 6 portions of 30 g each. Shape round and set aside.
2. Water Dough: Mix plain flour, icing sugar and shortening together until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add in water and knead for 5 – 6 minutes into a soft dough. Cling wrap and let it rest for 40 – 45 minutes. Divide into 3 portions of around 60 g each and shape round.
3. Oil Dough: Mix plain flour, shortening and yam paste together and knead into a dough (Do not over-knead). Cling wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes. Chill in the fridge. Divide into 3 portions of around 40 g each and shape round.

Assembling:
4. Flatten a piece of water dough and wrap in an oil dough. Pinch to seal edges.
5. With the sealed ends facing up, lightly flatten the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into an elongated shape around 15 cm long. Roll up the dough in a swiss roll style. Rest for 10 minutes.
6. Turn the dough 90 degrees with the end facing up. Roll out the dough into an elongated shape around 20 cm long. Roll up the dough in a swiss roll style. Rest for 20 minutes.
7. Cut the dough into halves to get 6 portions in total.
8. Lightly flatten the dough. With the cut side facing down, roll out dough into a round shape with the edges thinner than the centre. Wrap in the filling and pinch to seal the edges.
9. Place the sealed ends facing downwards on a lined baking tray and bake in a preheated oven at 170°C for 25 minutes.

Yam Jelly Mooncakes

I know Mid-Autumn Festival is over, but I still have some yam paste filling in my fridge. I used some of the yam paste filling for this set of jelly mooncakes. This time round, I chilled for more than 5 hours before I unmolded them. But there is one important step which I forgot to follow, that is to scratch the surfaces before I added in the next layer of agar-agar mixture. I only realised it when I was cutting and the filling almost fell off. Another thing is the mock egg yolks were slightly off-centred, resulting in some of the quarters did not have its share of egg yolk! Hehe...

Thanks to 巧思空間 for sharing the recipe. :)

Yam Jelly Mooncakes
Adapted from: 巧思空間

Ingredients
Mock Egg Yolks (Makes 20 egg yolks)
I used the Red Bean Paste Jelly Mooncakes recipe.

Filling (Makes 4 fillings)
3/4 tsp agar-agar powder
20 g sugar
50 ml evaporated milk / coconut milk
100 ml water
Pinch of salt
1 piece of pandan leaf, knotted

Pastry (Makes 4 pastries)
1 1/2 tsp agar-agar powder
50 g sugar
125 ml evaporated milk / coconut milk
225 ml water
Pinch of salt
80 g yam puree, steamed
Few drops of yam paste

Method
Mock Egg Yolks:
Step 1 to 4, I used the Red Bean Paste Jelly Mooncakes recipe.

Filling:
5. Put all ingredients in a pot and bring it to a boil.
6. Remove from heat and discard the pandan leaves.
7. Pour the mixture into a small mould and place a mock egg yolk in the centre of the mould. Leave it to set and chill in the fridge.
8. Remove from mould and use a fork to scratch on the surface of the filling.

Pastry:
9. Mix agar-agar powder, sugar and salt together. Add in evaporated milk (or coconut milk), water and yam puree. Bring it to a boil over low heat.
10. Remove from heat and stir in the yam paste.

Assembling the agar-agar mooncake:
11. Pour the pastry mixture into the jelly mooncake mould to about ¼ full. Leave it to half-set.
12. Place a filling in the centre of the mould and fill up the mould with the pastry mixture. Leave it to set and chill in the fridge.
13. Loosen the sides of the agar-agar mooncake. Invert the mould and gently press the agar-agar out of the mould.

Notes
- Scratching the surface of the filling will allow it to stick onto the pastry.

Matcha Chiffon Cake

I have failed many times at chiffon cake making and my cake often appears short. The problem is that I do not really know when to stop beating the egg whites, only to realise that I have overbeaten them when they become coarse and grainy.

This matcha chiffon cake is the best risen chiffon cake I did so far. Although the top is badly cracked, I am impressed with the height. It stands tall and has a very "chiffon" feel when I am eating it. :)

Matcha Chiffon Cake
Adapted from: 好吃戚风蛋糕轻松上手 by 福田淳子

Ingredients (Makes a 20-cm tube cake. The ingredients for the 17-cm are in red.)
5 large egg yolks (3)
130 g granulated sugar (80 g)
80 ml vegetable oil (50 ml)
95 ml water (60 ml)
130 g cake flour (80 g)
15 g matcha powder (10 g)
7 large egg whites (4)

Method
1. Combine the cake flour and matcha powder together and sift twice. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, lightly beat egg yolks. Add in 1/3 of the sugar and whisk using a hand whisk.
3. Add oil in separate additions and mix well. Add in water and continue to mix using a hand whisk.
4. Add in flour mixture and whisk until flour mixture is fully incorporated into the batter and the batter is smooth and glossy.
5. In a clean dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites with an electric beater until frothy and foamy. Add the remaining sugar in 2 additions and beat until soft peaks form.
6. Add 1/3 of the beaten egg whites to the egg yolk batter using a hand whisk and mix well.
7. Add in the remaining of the egg whites to the batter and fold gently using a spatula until fully incorporated.
8. Pour the batter from a height at one go into the ungreased pan. Tap the pan lightly on a table top with both hands to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.
9. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 30 minutes (for 17-cm pan) or 40 minutes (for 20-cm pan) or until the cake surface turns golden brown, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
10. Remove from the oven and invert the pan immediately. Let it cool completely before unmold.

Notes
- The egg yolk batter in this recipe is slightly thicker and stiffer than normal chiffon egg yolk batter.

Red Bean Paste Jelly Mooncakes

Aren't the jelly mooncakes pretty? I made two batches of this. For the first batch of jelly mooncakes, I did not do a very good job when it comes to unmolding, causing some of them to fall apart. The second lot were much better, probably because I made sure that I scratched the surfaces well before I added in the next layer of agar-agar mixture and chilled for a longer time before unmolding. The steps and ingredients for jelly mooncakes are quite simple. Patience is the key when it comes to making jelly mooncakes, something which I think I need to work on. Haha...

Thanks to Happy Flour for sharing the recipe and detailed instructions. :)

Red Bean Paste Jelly Mooncakes
Adapted from: Happy Flour

Ingredients
Mock Egg Yolks (Makes 20 egg yolks)
200 g water
40 g sugar
1 tsp agar-agar powder
1 tbsp evaporated milk
Few drops of orange food colouring

Filling (Makes 8 fillings)
200 g water
40 g sugar
1 1/4 tsp agar-agar powder
100 g red bean paste
50 g coconut milk

Pastry (Makes 4 pastries)
300 g water
60 g sugar
2 tsp agar-agar powder
2 pieces of pandan leaves
100 g coconut milk
Few drops of red food colouring

Method
Mock Egg Yolks:
1. Boil water, sugar and agar-agar powder together until sugar and agar-agar powder are dissolved.
2. Remove from heat and stir in the milk and colouring.
3. Pour the mixture into an ice-cube mould. Leave it to set and chill in the fridge.
4. Remove from mould.

Filling:
5. Boil water, sugar and agar-agar powder together until sugar and agar-agar powder are dissolved.
6. Remove from heat and stir in the coconut milk and red bean paste until well combined. Return to fire and bring to a boil.
7. Pour the mixture into a small mould and place a mock egg yolk in the centre of the mould. Leave it to set and chill in the fridge.
8. Remove from mould and use a fork to scratch on the surface of the filling.

Pastry:
9. Boil water, pandan leaves, sugar and agar-agar powder together until sugar and agar-agar powder are dissolved.
10. Remove from heat and stir in the coconut milk. Return to fire and bring to a quick boil.
11. Pour ¼ of the mixture into a small bowl and stir in the red colouring. Leave the rest of the mixture plain.

Assembling the agar-agar mooncake:
12. Pour the red pastry mixture into the jelly mooncake mould to about ¼ full. Leave it to half-set.
13. Place a filling in the centre of the mould and fill up the mould with the plain pastry mixture. Leave it to set and chill in the fridge.
14. Loosen the sides of the agar-agar mooncake. Invert the mould and gently press the agar-agar out of the mould.

Notes
- Scratching the surface of the filling will allow it to stick onto the pastry.

Red Bean Flaky Mooncakes

I reserved some red bean paste filling for these Red Bean Flaky Mooncakes that caught my attention at Jane's Corner. As this is my first time making such Chinese pastries, I dare not make too many pieces. After playing with snowskin mooncakes, I am no longer so fearful about wrapping the dough and filling. I may be wrong, but I feel that this dough is much more firmer and easier to work with than the snowskin dough. As the red bean paste filling is on the soft side, I shaped them and left them in the fridge until I am ready to wrap the fillings into the dough.

While the pastries are baking in the oven, I can smell the house filled with the lovely pastry aroma. I waited impatiently for them to cool and immediately help myself with one before I start to take the photo of the others. I love its melt-in-your-mouth feeling. Awesome! :)

Thanks to Jane's Corner for sharing the recipe. :)

Red Bean Flaky Mooncakes
Adapted from: Jane's Corner

Ingredients (Makes 4)
Water Dough
45 g plain flour
4 g icing sugar
15 g shortening
22 g water

Oil Dough
32 g plain flour
16 g shortening

Filling
120 g red bean paste

Glazing
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tsp water, for egg wash
Some white / black sesame seeds, for sprinkling

Method
1. Filling: Divide into 4 portions of 30 g each. Shape round and set aside.
2. Water Dough: Mix plain flour, icing sugar and shortening together until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add in water and knead into a soft dough. Cling wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes. Divide into 4 portions of around 20 g each.
3. Oil Dough: Mix plain flour and shortening together and knead into a dough (Do not over-knead). Cling wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes. Divide into 4 portions of around 12 g each.

Assembling:
4. Flatten a piece of water dough and wrap in an oil dough. Seal the edges to form into a ball.
5. With the heel of your palm, gently press the dough down to flatten it lightly. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into an elongated shape around 15 cm long. Roll up the dough in a swiss roll style. Rest for 15 minutes.
6. Turn the dough 90 degrees and roll out the dough into an elongated shape around 20 cm long. Roll up the dough in a swiss roll style. Rest for 15 minutes.
7. Flatten the dough into a round shape and wrap in the filling. Seal the edges and place the sealed ends facing downwards on a baking tray.
8. Brush egg wash on the surface and sprinkle with sesame seeds on top.
9. Bake in a preheated oven at 190°C for 20 – 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Notes
- I applied a second egg wash 15 minutes into baking.
- I omitted the sesame seeds for topping.

Indonesia Yam Cake

I have some yam that have been lying in my fridge for quite a while, which I would love to make into yam paste dessert (more popularly known as "Or Nee"). That has always been one of my favourite desserts. However, my family is not very fond of the dessert and discourages me against it. Well, no choice, I have to source for other recipes before the poor yam ends up rotting. Haha...

I stumble across this Indonesia Yam Cake recipe in a book which features many interesting kuehs. The finished product appears shorter in height than I have expected. I cut into around 12 bite-sized pieces and chilled them before serving. It was refreshingly addictive and before long, the kueh was all gone, which is something that any chef or baker is pleased to see. :)

Indonesia Yam Cake
Adapted from Kueh Flavour by Wong Kim Meng

Ingredients (Makes a 8-inch round)
200 ml coconut milk
200 ml water
130 g sugar
150 g yam, steamed
40 g mung bean flour (Hoon Kueh powder)
25 g rice flour
15 g corn flour
Some grated coconut, for garnishing
Few drops of yam paste

Method
1. Sift mung bean flour, rice flour and corn flour together. Set aside.
2. Mix coconut milk, water and yam paste together.
3. Add sugar and steamed yam and blend using a blender till well combined.
4. Add in flour mixture. Mix well using a hand whisk.
5. Place the mixture over a double boiler on low heat and stir continuously until it is cooked into batter.
6. Pour batter into a greased 8-inch round steaming tin. Steam over high heat for 25 minutes.
7. Garnish with grated coconut. Steam again for 3 minutes. Serve.

Notes
- Grated coconut was omitted.
- Can consider using a smaller pan.

Snowskin Mooncakes

I must confess, I have never dreamt of making my own mooncakes before. After all, there are so many choices (yes, we are spoilt for choices) available for the consumers during the Mid-Autumn festival period. So, what makes this year different that I decide to make my own mooncakes?

Well, before the arrival of 8th lunar month, many bloggers have started on their mooncake making. I was completed captivated by their lovely photos and this sparked my interest!

Personally, I prefer snowskin mooncakes than the traditional baked ones. It is really easy to make snowskin mooncakes. The ingredients are mainly koh fun (cooked glutinous flour), icing sugar, shortening, cold water, colouring / essence and fillings of your choice.

My first attempt was durian snowskin mooncakes with store-bought filling paste. It received positive and encouraging responses from my family. I continued to explore with dual-coloured mooncake skin with other fillings. :)

The mid-autumn festival is just round the corner. Waste no time and have a try on making your own snowskin mooncakes too! :)

Ahoy and welcome onboard!

A warm welcome to all for visiting my humble blog. I am pleased to announce that I finally have my own blog!!!

I am touched by the warmth and generous sharing on tips, experiences and recipes that I have learnt from the bloggers whose blogs I visit and drool on a regular basis. It motivates me to have my own little space where I can share and learn with everyone.

Meanwhile, stay tuned and hope to see you again! :)