Blueberry Banana Bread

Pardon my ignorance: Is quick bread the same as a cake?

Without a doubt, this Blueberry Banana Bread fulfils the criteria of a healthy bake with the use of bananas and blueberries, as well as its relatively low fat content.

Beside contributing to a moist and soft texture, the bananas fill the cake with their natural sweetness and fragrance. This perfectly compliments the tanginess of the blueberries. :)

I am submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #5: Fruity March (March 2011) hosted by Bakericious.

Thanks to Baking Bites for sharing the recipe. :)

Blueberry Banana Bread
Adapted from: Baking Bites

Ingredients (Makes a 9 x 5-inch loaf)
225 g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
135 g sugar
45 g vegetable oil
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
125 g blueberries

Method
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 9 × 5-inch loaf pan.
2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together and whisk well.
3. In a large bowl, whisk sugar, vegetable oil, egg, vanilla essence and mashed bananas together until smooth.
4. Add in the flour mixture and stir until just combined and no traces of flour remain.
5. Fold in blueberries with a spatula.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 60 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached.
7. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Unmold from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Mandarin Orange Cranberry Scones

When I first saw these scones at Peng's Kitchen, I bookmarked it immediately. I love the ingenious idea of incorporating mandarin oranges and cranberries into scones.

My baked scones did not have a strong mandarin orange taste and I guess that was due to the missing zest. The mandarin oranges were too soft to grate the zest and I seriously didn't want to squash the fruits into juice with my bare hands. Haha... Thankfully, the cranberries added a delightful dimension to the scones. :)

Somehow, the above picture doesn't look like scones at all to me. Instead it reminds me of croquettes or nuggets. Hahaha... What do you think?

Thanks to Peng's Kitchen for sharing the recipe. :)

Mandarin Orange Cranberry Scones
Adapted from: Peng's Kitchen

Ingredients (Makes 15)
125 g unsalted butter, cold
250 g plain flour
60 g sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 tbsp mandarin orange zest
5 - 6 tbsp mandarin orange juice (from 2 mandarin oranges)
1 egg, for glazing

Method
1. In a large bowl, place flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix well.
2. Rub in butter with finger tips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Stir in the beaten egg, dried cranberries, mandarin orange zest and mandarin orange juice. Reserve 1 tbsp juice, if the dough is too dry, gradually add the remaining liquid. 
4. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly about 10 times. Do not over-handle the dough. Dough should be non-sticky and slightly elastic. Roll dough to ½-inch thick and cut into shapes.
5. Place onto a lined baking tray and brush with beaten egg glaze. Bake in a preheated oven at 160°C for 12 – 15 minutes until golden brown.
6. Remove from the oven and cool.

Notes
- I omitted mandarin orange zest and egg for glazing.
- I chilled the dough for 1 hour before rolling out and cutting into shapes.

Moist Butter Cake

I almost don't want to post this butter cake. There is nothing wrong with the recipe or the taste. I must do justice to this cake, it tastes great and not too sweet. Just take a closer look at the photos and you will see why.

The cake has many wet areas despite the fact that I have extended the baking time to another 15 minutes and the skewer came out clean. Hmm, this is not the first time I have encountered the same problem. The last time I baked a butter cake using a different recipe, I also noticed the wet areas in the cake. Maybe some kind readers can advise me or point out the mistakes that I have made.

Thanks to The Little Teochew for sharing this recipe. :)

Moist Butter Cake
Adapted from: The Little Teochew

Ingredients (Makes an 8-inch round)
195 g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
170 g unsalted butter, softened
150 g sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
180 ml fresh milk

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line an 8-inch round cake pan.
2. Sift plain flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.
3. Beat butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy for about 2 minutes.
4. Add in egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract gradually and beat until well-combined. If the mixture curdles, add 1 tbsp of flour and continue mixing. 
5. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk, beating at low speed until the flour mixture is fully incorporated in the batter.
6. Switch the mixer to medium speed and beat for 10 – 15 seconds, just until the batter appears uniform. The batter should look thick and creamy.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smoothen the top with a spatula.
8. Bake at 180°C for 40 – 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes clean.
9. Leave the cake to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Unmold and cool on a wire rack completely.

Notes
- I beat the egg, egg yolk and vanilla essence together before adding to the batter gradually.

Black Sesame Chiffon Cake

Ever since I start baking, I become more curious and wonder how certain ingredients would taste in cakes and desserts. This time, the ingredient is the black sesame powder!

As the black sesame powder is coarsely grinded, it creates an interesting texture to the soft chiffon cake. I find it rather enjoyable to chew the small grainy sesame bits in the lightly flavoured cake. :)

Is it just me? I often find myself feeling heaty after a bowl of black sesame paste dessert or food with black sesame in general. Hmm...

Thanks to 袅袅烘焙香 for sharing the recipe. :)

Black Sesame Chiffon Cake
Adapted from: 袅袅烘焙香

Ingredients (Makes an 18-cm tube cake)
(A)
3 egg yolks
30 g sugar
30 ml vegetable oil
70 ml water
70 g cake flour
50 g black sesame powder
1 tsp baking powder
(B)
4 egg whites
30 g sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Method
1. Sift cake flour, black sesame powder and baking powder together. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, whisk egg yolk and sugar together till pale and sugar is dissolved.
3. Add in oil and mix well, followed by water.
4. Add in the flour mixture and whisk well.
5. In a clean mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar till foamy. Add sugar in separate additions until stiff peaks form.
6. Add the beaten egg whites into egg yolk batter in 4 additions and fold gently using a spatula.
7. Pour batter into an ungreased tube 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 170°C for 40 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.
- I did not sift the black sesame powder as it was too coarse for the sieve.

Blueberry Breakfast Scones

With some blueberries on hand, I baked these Blueberry Scones that I saw at Happy Home Baking. I totally agree with Happy Home Baker that the dough was very sticky, moist and difficult to work with and I began to have doubts whether I got the recipe right. Almost giving up, I chilled the dough in the fridge for half an hour, haphazardly rolled to the required thickness and sent it to the oven.

I know these scones are a far cry from Happy Home Baker's, but rest assured, the taste is not compromised. These warm scones are buttery, soft and flaky, perfect for afternoon tea. :)

Thanks to Happy Home Baking for all your generous tips and advice on scone baking. :)

Blueberry Breakfast Scones
Adapted from: LifeStyleFood and Holiday by Bill Granger

Ingredients (Makes 8 wedges)
250 g plain flour
1 tbsp caster sugar
3 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
100 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
125 ml cream
85 g blueberries, frozen or fresh, tossed in a little flour
1 egg, mixed with 1 tablespoon milk, for glazing

Method
1. Preheat oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Wash and drain blueberries, pat dry with paper towels and toss them gently with 1 tbsp flour.
3. In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until combined.
4. Rub in the butter cubes with your fingers until roughly combined (there will still be lumps of butter).
5. Toss the blueberries in the flour mixture. Pour in the eggs and cream. Mix gently using a spatula (be careful not to crush the blueberries).
6. Once the dough starts to come together, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and give it a light knead.
7. Press into a 15 cm (6-inch) square or a big round flat disc (around 2 – 3 cm thick). Cut into quarters and then cut each quarter in half.
8. Place on the baking tray and brush with the egg and milk glaze.
9. Bake at 200°C for 15 – 20 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

Notes
- Use cold butter; otherwise the scones will crumble and appear short.
- Tossing the blueberries in a bit of flour prevents them all sinking to the bottom of the dough.
- I wrapped the dough with a cling film and chilled in the fridge for about 30 minutes before rolling out to the required thickness.

Pineapple Rolls

The Chinese New Year will never be complete without pineapple tarts/rolls! Most people whom I have known are great lovers of pineapple tarts/rolls. I am an exception, haha... These pineapple rolls are specially made for my parents' indulgence, as well as for friends and relatives who will be visiting in the next couple of days.

I used the store-bought pineapple paste. I have little confidence in my cooking skills, seriously. On top of that, this is my maiden attempt in making pineapple rolls. I spent one whole afternoon in doing these rolls all by myself. Tiring as it is, I am glad that these pineapple rolls are well-received by my family. :)

I hereby wish everyone a happy and prosperous Chinese New Year! :)

祝大家：

恭喜发财, 身体健康
步步高升, 心想事成

Thanks to 我的厨房乐园 for sharing the recipe. :)

Pineapple Rolls
Adapted from: 我的厨房乐园

Ingredients (Makes 85)
250 g unsalted butter
50 g castor sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Pinch of salt
350 g plain flour
30 g corn flour
1 kg pineapple paste
2 egg yolks, for glazing

Method
1. Divide the pineapple paste to 8 g each and roll into small balls. Set aside.
2. Beat butter and sugar until sugar is dissolved.
3. Add in egg yolk and beat until well-combined.
4. Add vanilla essence and salt and beat until fluffy.
5. Sift plain flour and corn flour together and fold into the butter mixture to form a soft dough.
6. Divide the dough to 8 g each and roll into small balls.
7. Flatten a piece of dough and place a piece of the rolled pineapple paste in the middle. Bring the edges of the dough together and press lightly to seal. Roll it in between your palms to shape it into a roll.
8. Place the rolls into paper casings and arrange on a baking tray. Brush the egg glaze on the pineapple rolls.
9. Bake in a preheated oven at 160°C and bake for 18 – 20 minutes or until the rolls are pale golden brown.
10. Cool on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container.

Cornflake Cookies

It will be an understatement to say that my family likes these cookies. They simply ADORE these delicious cookies to every single bit! My sister even asked if I can bake another bottle of these cookies, so that they can happily finish the first bottle without qualms before the start of CNY. Of course, I obliged to her request, happily as well. Hehe... :)

Thanks to Min's Blog for sharing the recipe. :)

Cornflake Cookies
Adapted from: Min's Blog

Ingredients (Makes 45 cookies)
110 g butter
50 g castor sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp lemon zest / orange zest, grated
125 g self-raising flour
1 tbsp corn flour
50 g corn flakes, crushed

Method
1. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla essence till pale and smooth.
2. Add in egg yolk and lemon zest (or orange zest) and continue to beat till smooth.
3. Sift in self-raising flour and corn flour, mix well to make it into a dough.
4. Using one teaspoon of dough, roll into a ball and coat with the crushed corn flakes. Place the dough into small cases and arrange the cases on a baking tray.
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 150°C for 25 minutes.

Notes
- I omitted the grated lemon zest / orange zest.
- I substituted self-raising flour with 125 g plain flour and 1 tsp baking powder.