Strawberry Cake

Labels: Breads and Bakes, Dessert
No, this is not a birthday cake! Candles are merely for the fun of it! Ha Ha!

This is one of the desserts I made for Christmas Eve Dinner. Yeah, I made two desserts! Well, this is one is my daughter's favorite cake.

Anyway, this is yet another recipe I have adapted from Tessa Kiros cookbook. They are so easy to bake.

Strawberry Cake

Ingredients

220 g (1 3/4 cups) Cake Flour or All Purpose Flour, plus extra for dusting
180 g (3/4 cup) Sugar
3 tsp Baking Powder
180 g (6 oz) Butter, melted
185 ml (3/4 cup) Warm Milk
4 Eggs, separated
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
800 g (1 lb 12 oz) Strawberries
1 tsp Lemon Juice
4 Tbsp Icing (Confectioners) Sugar
750 ml (3 cups) Thick (Double/Heavy/Whipping) Cream

Method

Preheat the oven to 180˚C (350˚F). Grease and flour a 22 cm (8 1/2 inch) springform cake tin,or a bundt pan.

Put the flour and sugar in a bowl with 1 tsp of baking powder. Mix in the butter and then stir in the milk. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat well. Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, incorporating the rest of the baking powder when the eggs have started fluffing up. Fold the egg whites into the cake mixture.

Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for about 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean and the top is deep golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and leave to cool a bit before turning out onto a rack. When cool, slice the cake in half horizontally and put the bottom half on a large serving plate.

Clean the strawberries and hull them. Dice about half the strawberries and sprinkle with a little lemon juice and 1 Tbsp of the icing sugar. Whip the cream into stiff peaks with the remaining sugar. Mix the diced strawberries with about a third of the whipped cream and spoon over the bottom of the cake. Put the other half of the cake on top and thickly spoon the remaining cream over the top and side, then decorate with the rest of the strawberries. This is best eaten immediately. Any leftovers will keep for a day in the fridge.

Chocolate Cake With Icing

Labels: Breads and Bakes, Dessert
This chocolate cake recipe with icing is a definitely a keeper. It's not too sweet and I like the lightly dense texture of the cake too. As usual, I've used less sugar (about 30 g) for the cake because my kids will want to add sprinkles on top of the icing and I feel that will make it too sweet and very unhealthy. Anyway, the end result was fantastic! Kids loved it. :-)

Recipe adapted from Apples For Jam By Tessa Kiros

Chocolate Cake With Icing
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients
180 g (6 1/2 oz) Butter
50 g (1 3/4 oz) Dark (Semi-Sweet) Chocolate, Broken Up
30 g (1 oz) Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
3 Eggs, Separated
180 g (6 1/2 oz) Caster (Superfine) Sugar
125 g (4 1/2 oz/ 1 Cup) Plain (All-Purpose) Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
3 Tbsp Milk

Icing
80 g (2 3/4 oz) Butter, Softened
60 g (2 /4 oz) Icing (Confectioners) Sugar
30 g (1 oz) Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 Tbsp Milk
2 Generous Teaspoons Golden Syrup

Method

Preheat the oven to 180˚C (350˚F/Gas 4). Butter and flour a 24 cm (9 1/2 inch) spring-form tin. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, then add the chocolate and cocoa and stir until melted. Remove from the heat. Whisk the egg whites on a bowl until they are creamy and stiff. In another bowl, whisk the add yolks until they are foamy, then beat in the sugar. Add the chocolate mixture, a bit at a time initially to acclimatize the eggs. Next, sift in the flour and baking powder and mix well. Add the milk and mix until smooth.

Carefully fold in the beaten egg whites, trying not to deflate them, and gently mix until they are completely incorporated into a fluffy but dense mixture. Scrape out into the tin and bake for about 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the tin before moving to a serving plate.

For the icing, whip the butter with the icing sugar until fluffy. Whisk in the cocoa a bit at a time so that it doesn't fly everywhere. When it is completely incorporated, add the milk and golden syrup and whisk until very smooth. Spread it over the top of the cake with a spatula, using swift smooth strokes.

Chocolate Macarons

Labels: Breads and Bakes, Dessert
Earlier this year, I tried baking some Macarons which turned out pretty good; but, I felt there was room for improvement. Hence, recently I had another go at it, made them with different flavors as well this time. They turned out great this time, I thought. I had adapted all the recipes from Cannelle at Vanille. I discovered her beautiful Macarons pictures through Tastespotting and Foodgawker. The Macarons were very good; but, still a tad too sweet for me I have to admit. However, my kids thought they were just right and loved it. Today I am posting a recipe for Chocolate Macarons. I will post the recipes for another two different flavors next week.
Recipe adapted from Cannelle at Vanille

Ingredients
100 g Egg Whites, aged overnight at room temperature
25 g Caster Sugar
1/2 tsp Lemon Juice
225 g Icing/Confectioner Sugar
125 g Almond Meal
15 g Cocoa Powder
Pinch of Sea Salt

Filling
Milk Chocolate and Fruit Ganache

Method
Whip the egg whites and the lemon juice until they are almost fully whipped. Sprinkle in the sugar while still mixing. Continue to whip to a full meringue.

Sift the powdered sugar, salt, almond flour and cocoa powder into a bowl. Add the meringue into the dry ingredients and fold until a shiny mass is formed.

Fit a piping bag with a 3/8-inch (1 cm) round tip. Pipe the batter onto the baking sheet with parchment paper. Let dry at room temperature for 1 or 2 hours to allow skins to form.

Bake them in a 300˚F for about 8 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet and bake for another 8 minutes. (Note: I need 15 minutes in total)

Remove macarons from the oven and transfer the parchment paper to a cooling rack. When cool, slide a metal offset spatula or pairing knife underneath the macaron to remove from parchment.

Pair macarons of similar size, and pipe about 1/2 tsp of the filling onto one of the macarons. Sandwich macarons, and refrigerate to allow flavors to blend together. Bring back to room temperature before serving.

Chicken Roll

Ingredients:

Chicken Roll

• For Filling:
• 2 cups Celery (chopped)
• 1 large Onion (chopped)
• 2 cups Butter
• 10 cups Chicken (chopped and cooked)
• 450 gms Fresh Mushrooms (sliced)
• 4 cup Cream Cheese (softened)
• Salt and pepper to taste
For Dough:
• 2 tbsp Active Dry Yeast
• 2 cups Warm Milk
• 6 Eggs
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 1 tbsp Salt
• 4 cups All-Purpose Flour
• Melted Butter or Margarine
• Dry Bread Crumbs

How to make Chicken Rolls:
• Heat a pan , melt butter in it.
• Add celery and onion in butter and saute until tender.
• Add the chicken, mushrooms, cream cheese, salt and pepper in it; mix well. Refrigerate.
• In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in milk.
• Add eggs, sugar, salt and 1 cup flour; beat until smooth.
• Add enough remaining flour to form firm dough.
• Roll out on a floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness and 6-1/2 inch diameter.
• Place on greased baking sheets and let rise in a warm place for 15 minutes.
• Place about 1/3 cup chicken mixture in the center of each circle.
• Fold up edges to center; pinch tightly to seal in filling.
• Dip in butter; roll in crumbs.
• Place on greased baking sheets (do not cover); let rise for 20 minutes.
• Bake at 375 degree F for 10 minutes. Serve immediately with tomato ketchup.

COCONUT AND PINEAPPLE DRINK

Refreshing tropical drink
for warm weather.

Ingridients
* 3/4 pt. (12 oz.) unsweetened coconut
* 1 1/4 c. fresh pineapple, coarsely chopped
* 2 tbsp. sugar or to taste
* 1 drop almond extract

Method
Mix together the coconut milk, pineapple, sugar and almond extract.

Servings for 4.

Chicken Fried Chicken

"A fun chicken recipe the kids can help prepare. They love crushing the crackers. It does not matter if the measurements aren't perfect, just wing it!"

INGREDIENTS
* 30 saltine crackers
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 2 tablespoons dry potato flakes
* 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 egg
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

DIRECTIONS
Chicken Fried Chicken
1. Place crackers in a large resealable plastic bag; seal bag and crush crackers until they are coarse crumbs. Add flour, potato flakes, seasoned salt, and pepper to bag and mix well.
2. Beat egg in a shallow dish or bowl; heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
3. One by one, dredge chicken pieces in egg beat, then place in bag with crumb mixture, seal bag and shake to coat.
4. Reduce heat to medium and cook coated chicken in skillet for 15 to 20 minutes, turning frequently, until golden brown and juices run clear.

SERVINGS 6

Colorful Cocktail: Mixed Flavored Drink

A cocktail is a style of mixed drink. Originally a mixture of distilled spirits, sugar, water, and bitters, the word has gradually come to mean almost any mixed drink containing alcohol. A cocktail today usually contains one or more types of liquor and one or more mixers, such as bitters, fruit juice, fruit, soda, ice, sugar, honey, milk, cream, or herbs.