Marble Cake.

Since last week, I have this sudden craving for Marble Cake. My mother used to make them, and I used to help separate the mixture into three and add the cocoa powder and colouring. When I checked my mom's recipe that I copied last week, I realised that the measurements were in oz!!! Only my mother has the old school weighing machine with the oz weight blocks. So, I had no choice but to google another recipe!

Last Saturday, I tried this recipe. Took the risk and made double batch so that I could send to Mom and MIL. The cake sorta caved in the middle, don't know why, but still is crumbly and I thought nice just like how I remembered my mom used to make them. Give it a try, won't cha. 

My SRF (self-raising flour) was bad, so I substituted it with the Superfine Flour added with 2 tbsp of baking powder for each 225g of flour.

Here's the original recipe, I suggest you follow exactly:

Ingredients:

225g butter, softened

225g caster sugar

4 eggs

225g self-raising flour

3 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp cocoa powder

Method:

1.         Heat oven to 180C/gas 160C/gas 4. Grease a 20cm cake tin and line the bottom with a circle of greaseproof paper. If you want to make life easy, simply put all the ingredients (except the cocoa powder) into a food processor and whizz for 1-2 mins until smooth. If you prefer to mix by hand, beat the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Fold through the flour, milk and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth.

2.                  Divide the mixture between 2 bowls. Stir the cocoa powder into the mixture in one of the bowls. Take 2 spoons and use them to dollop the chocolate and vanilla cake mixes into the tin alternately. When all the mixture has been used up (and if young kids are doing this, you'll need to ensure the base of the tin is fairly evenly covered), tap the bottom on your work surface to ensure that there aren't any air bubbles. Take a skewer and swirl it around the mixture in the tin a few times to create a marbled effect.

*** If you wish to have 3 colours, divide into 3 and add some red colouring to the 3rd bowl, and alternate the 3 mixtures when mixing into the cake tin.

3.                  Bake the cake for 45-55 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn out onto a cooling rack and leave to cool. Will keep for 3 days in an airtight container or freeze for up to 3 months.

Recipe: BBC Good Food

At long last...

I finally found the urge to blog again. It has been so long since my last blog post. Well, to break the ice, I guess, I shall begin with the easiest post... a tried and tested recipe. I found this recipe last Sunday, since I thought I wanted to find a different banana cake recipe. The ones that I already have and tried before somehow just isn't that divine... so I googled for another. I came across this one, I didn't ponder much, just found it and tried it. The recipe is simple... yet divine!

A simpe yet divine: BANANA CAKE RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 125g butter
• 3 ripe bananas
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups (185g) self-rising flour
• 2 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essense
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 190 degrees C. Cream butter and sugar in a bowl until it turns a light colour. Gradually add beaten eggs one at a time. Mash banana in a bowl with vanilla essense. Mix bicarbonate of soda in a cup with the milk.
2. Add your mashed banana mixture into the creamed butter and sugar and mix until combined. Alternatively add your flour and your milk mix until just combined.
3. Pour mixture into a greased loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes at 190C or until the cake springs back from touch in the middle. Cool on cake rack.
4. Enjoy or share it with family and friends! :-)

Source: Googled from allrecipes.com

Red Velvet Cupcakes

My 1st attempt was a cake, please click for recipe.

This time cupcakes!

I thing I nailed it this time.

Thanks to Nigella's wonderful recipe in this Simply Divine book.

If you have been thinking about getting this book, go and get it NOW! 

I have tried 3 recipes so far: Apple and Cinnamon Muffins, Chocolate Banana Muffins

and this Red Velvet Cupcakes. 

Simple yet Divine, darling.

for the cupcakes:

250g plain flour (I used superfine)

2 x 15ml tablespoon cocoa powder, sifted

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

100g soft unsalted butter

200g caster sugar

1 x heaped 15ml tablespoon red paste food colouring

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs

175 buttermilk (see how to make buttermilk here)

1 teaspoon cider vinegar or other vinegar

2 x 12-bun muffin tins

• Preheat the oven to 170C/gas mark 3 and line the muffin tins with paper cases.
• Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and bicarb in a bowl.
• In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar, beating well, and when you have a soft, pale mixture beat in the food colouring - all of it - and the vanilla.
• Into this vividly coloured mixture, still beating, add 1 spoonful of dried ingredients, then 1 egg, followed by some more dried ingredients, then the other egg, followed by the rest of the dried ingredients.
• Finally, beat in the buttermilk and vinegar and divide this extraordinary batter between the 24 cases (I got more, because I used smaller cups). Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes by which time the redcurrent-sorbet-coloured batter will have morphed into a more sombre, but still juicily tinted sponged - more maroon acryclic than red velvet to be honest. (Nigella's words exactly, I like the way she writes, you can almost here her saying it, just like on TV).
• Leave them to cook on a wire rack and do not ice with the frosting till absolutely cold.

Just look at the intense colour!

The red colour is just so amazing.

Someone sure was attracted to it!

Topped it with Buttery cream-cheese frosting and some sprinkles on top.

for the icing:

500g icing sugar (no need to sift if using a processor)

{I used only 400g because that was all I had, I might even reduce another 50g, 

because it's a tad sweet. It really depends on how you like your sugar.}

125g cream cheese

{I used the whole block of Cream Cheese, only because I thought the recipe said 250g and also I sub-consciously wanted to finish the whole block as I wasn't sure I would use the leftovers soon. But it turned out okay though, nice and creamy.}

125g soft unsalted butter

1 teaspoon cider vinegar or lemon juice

chocolate sprinkles and red sugar for decoration(optional)

• Put the icing sugar into a processor and whizz to remove lumps.
• Add the cream cheese and butter and process to mix. Pour in the cider vinegar (or lemon juice) and process again to make a smooth icing.
• Ice each cupcake, using a teaspoon or small spatula.
• Decorate with chocolate sprinkles and red sugar, or as desired. 

Have a try.

Someone's happy.

Thaipusam Banana Cake.

Last Thursday, since it was a holiday, and unlike my usual Saturday mornings, there was no need to rush to the market and since hubby was not around, I decided to make pancakes for breakfast and bake a cake to take to my mom's that afternoon.

Banana cake. Recipe? Please scroll down...

Normal pancakes and banana pancakes. 

I wish I could say my pancakes were fingerlicking good.

However, this picture is saying... something else eh???

The happy lil' cat and his brother.

Here's the Banana Cake recipe, tried and tested and no mixer required, at least I didn't use the mixer.

Banana Cake 

Ingredients:

150 grm all purpose flour

150 grm butter

150 grm castor sugar

2 eggs

2-3 mashed bananas

1 tsp baking powder

A splash of vanilla essense

Method:

1. Heat the oven and glaze a cake pan.

2. Sift flour with baking powder.

3. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.

4. Add eggs gradually and continue beating.

5. Add flour to the mixture slowly by scooping gently with a stainless steel spoon

6. Add the mashed bananas.

7. Pour the mixture into the cake pan and bake for 30 - 40 mins.

And walllaaah your banana cake is ready.

This recipe is rather small, if you have an average size cake pan, do double the recipe, or else there won't be enough for you to share.

1st cake baked in 2011- Moist Chocolate Cake

I had the urge to bake a chocolate cake today. It's Moist Chocolate Cake, mom's recipe that I've had for some time. Here's the recipe...

The Cake:

2 cups Superfine flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda

3/4 butter

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

3 eggs

1 cup water

Method:

Combine cocoa powder and water, cool in refrigerator.

Sift flour, bicarbonate soda and baking powder 3 times.

Beat butter in the mixing bowl moderately.

Add sugar and vanilla essense.

Beat until fluffy.

Add eggs gradually.

Add sifted flour into mixture gradually together with cocoa mixture in turns.

Pour mixture into a round cake tin (split into 2) and bake at 350 F for 20-30 minutes.

 

Chocolate Fudge:

1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup hot water
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup butter
1 cup milk
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essense
1/2 cup corn flour

Method:

Mix egg and sugar, add milk, corn flour, salt, vanilla essense and cocoa powder mix.
Stir on boiling water (double boiler method). When mixture thickens add butter and mix well.
Spread on both cakes before stacking the cakes on top of each other.

Have a try...

Red Velvet Cake - tried and tested recipe.

I don't know why during the Hari Raya season, I had the sudden urge to find a Red Velvet Cake recipe. Having tasted it during various open houses albeit all in one day, I had this sudden desire to find a recipe, try and taste my own Red Velvet Cake!

So down the google lane I went checking out for easy to make RVC recipes. Ha!ha! Besides the remarks or feedbacks that are posted by those who have tried the recipes in the recipe forums, my one other important criteria of trying out a recipe is that the ingredients are not that difficult to find and the method is not too complicated. So I found one that I was happy with (by reading the recipe that is...) and walla...

My 1st RVC.

The feedback from my mother (my most honest and sincere food critic)... two thumbs up! I was over the moon. If that was not enough, because I was not too happy with the cake, cause I thought it had some bitter spots, so I took a quarter of a slice to work, to be shared and commented by my buddies at work. They loved it too, yes there were some bitter spots, not sure where that came from. Was it the colouring or the baking soda, I'm not sure, anybody out there know why? Do drop me a line if you do.

Anyhow, here's the recipe that I got from the internet. Fudged as suggested by those who tried and commented in the recipe site, cannot remember which one probably from allrecipes.com.

Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients:

1. 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2. 2 ounces red food coloring

3. 1 cup milk***

4. 1 teaspoon white vinegar/lemon juice

5. 1 teaspoon salt

6. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

7. 2 cups white sugar

8. 2 eggs

9. 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

10. 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

11. 1 cup of vegetable oil


Directions


1. For cupcakes, bake at 325 for 25 min.

2. Grease two 9 inch round pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Make a paste of cocoa and food coloring. Set aside.

3. Combine the buttermilk*** - salt and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the oil and 1 1/2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the cocoa mixture. Beat in the buttermilk mixture alternately with the flour, mixing just until incorporated. Stir together baking soda and vinegar, then gently fold into the cake batter.

4. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting. Refrigerate until ready to serve.



*** the recipe actually calls for buttermilk - here's what needs to be done in the absence of buttermilk

What you need:

• Milk (just under one cup)

• 1 Tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice

Preparation:

1. Place a Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup.
2. Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one-cup line.
3. Let stand for five minute. Then, use as much as your recipe calls for.

Cream Cheese Frosting II


Ingredients (US)

• 1/2 cup butter, softened

• 8 ounces cream cheese

• 4 cups confectioners' sugar

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 tsp orange rind

Ingredients (metric)

• 115 g butter, softened

• 225 g cream cheese

• 480 g confectioners' sugar

• 10 ml vanilla extract

• 1 tsp orange rind

Directions

1. Beat softened butter and cream cheese until well blended.

2. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until creamy.

# note: I would actually cut down the sugar a little the next time I use this recipe.

A piece of cake - literally! :-)

So if you are giving this recipe a try and if you managed to tweak it successfully, do let me know yah!