Pumpkin and Ginger Loaf with Caramel swirl Ice Cream

School has started and it is the second week already (time sure flies). Sleeping early, waking up early, argh don't like it at all, lucky for me though I still have two weeks til my Uni starts.

As for my brother, he is not so lucky:P And typical of him he has already started whinging about everything school related. You see, he is into hardcore bodybuilding these days and whatever comes his way he gobbles it down and still feels hungry.

So yesterday he asked me to make him something in addition to the TWO good size chicken sandwiches I make him for school. And because he LOVES pumpkin (A family favorite), it was a no brainer to bake a beautiful Pumpkin and Ginger Loaf.

And for being such a nice sister, I rewarded myself with this velvety caramel swirl ice cream to go with the loaf (I can't have a loaf just by itself).

The pumpkin and ginger loaf adds a depth of flavor and the ice cream complements with a certain sweetness and lusciously moist texture. A perfect pair :)

Pumpkin and ginger loaf (adapted from good food magazine)

butter - 175g

Honey - 140g

egg - 1

grated pumpkin - 250g

brown sugar - 100g

self-raisinf flour - 350g

ginger powder - 1tbs

cinnamon - 1tsp

- preheat oven to 180c and line and grease a loaf tin

- whisk the butter, honey, sugar and egg till incorporated well

- mix in the flour, ginger, cinnamon and pumpkin

- bake for 50-60 min or until done

Caramel swirl ice cream

Sugar - 1 1/4 c
thickened cream 2 1/4 c
vanilla - 1/2 tsp
milk - 1c
eggs - 3

- heat 1c of sugar in a saucepan, make sure all the sugar melts and cook until the color is brownish
- add the 1 1/4 c cream and cook until dissolved-add the vanilla
- in another saucepan bring to a boil the milk, remaining cream and sugar
- whisk the eggs, add a little of the milk mixture to temper the egg and mix the mixture back into the milk and cook stirring until thick
- stir the custard into the caramel and chill for 3 hours until cold
- transfer to ice cream maker and before freezing combine in the caramel sauce.

Caramel sauce

Sugar - 3/4 c
water - 1/4 c
thickened cream 1/2 c
unsalted butter - 20g
salt - 1/4 tsp

- in a saucepan stir the sugar, water and salt. when dissolved cook on high without stirring till the color is dark brownish

- slowly mix in the cream and cool slightly- whisk in the butter

- heat 1c of sugar in a saucepan, make sure all the sugar melts and cook until the color is brownish

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Easy homemade Cherry Jam

Cherry is considered a fruit NOT a berry:P

No, this is not for you, its for me. Well, you see I always thought cherries were berries, and berries were cherries- in other words, I thought they were from the same family of fruit (silly you think?). Well, they do look like berries don't they?

However, now I know that cherries are not berries because they have a pit and they don't have dozen of tiny seeds embedded in their skin (AAHH!!) and they also grow on trees (berries grow on bushes).

In saying that, cherries are still good for you, in fact they are very good for you. Apart from containing all the important vitamins and minerals, they also have anti-aging benefits (gota love that).

Anyway, I love cherries (who doesn't?), I love eating them fresh by themselves, in a cake, muffin, slice, JAM :)

Yes- JAM, Homemade cherry jam. Sounds good doesn't it. And its fairly simple and quick too.

This is what I used to set the jam.


Here is the recipe ( adapted from here but with few changes)

JAM
Cherries, pitted - 1kg
Lemon juice - 1/4c
Cherry juice - 1/4c
Sugar - 850g
Vanilla - 2tsp
Jamsetta - 50g

- Place the cherries in a large saucepan, add the lemon juice and cherry juice and vanilla. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the cherries are tender (can mash them or leave them chunky). Add the sugar and cook, stirring, for 10-15 minutes or until sugar dissolves.

- Increase heat to high and boil for 4 min until the mixture thickens. Add jamsetta and cook for another 4 min until jam is at setting point (To test when jam is at setting point, spoon a little jam onto the saucer and freeze for a couple of min. If it is gel like its ready).

- Pour into jars (make sure to wash them thoroughly, you can boil them in a pot for a couple of mins)

* Note to myself- Please buy a cherry pitter next time before making jam. My fingers are still sore:(

Surprise cake (Banana cake with cream cheese frosting)

A few days ago my auntie gave birth to the most beautiful baby girl. It was my first time experiencing the whole process of seeing someone give birth first hand. They say it is the most beautiful moment, Its not! May be it is for the mum, may be there is some sort of natural strength that keeps them from not giving up or its just the angelic face of the baby.

Anyway, as for me, I think Ill store this memory deep in my long term memory and cherish it by keeping it there untouched. :D

Well, unlike the experience, this cake was fun to make and I enjoyed the whole process even though it took a lot of time to complete.

Everything you can see in the picture is edible except for the cake board of course :P I made the fondant figurines beforehand so to save a bit of time and they also need some time to dry out.

The inspiration for this cake is from various cakes I saw online with a touch of me :)

For the cake I used banana cake with cream cheese frosting. I made double the batch as the lid of the box is also a cake.

It was a fun and yummy cake to make. Even though it took half of my day it was absolutely worth it, and when I saw the look on my aunties face I thought "Can't wait till Zoha (aunties baby) turns one :)).




Here is the recipe for the cake I used.

Banana cake (adapted from Good Food magazine)

self-raising flour - 350g
bicarb soda - 1tsp
mixed spice - 2tsp
brown sugar - 175g
eggs - 4
oil - 200ml
mashed banana - 2
chopped pineapple - 100g
rind and juice of 1 orange
chopped walnuts - 100g

- preheat oven to 180c, grease and line baking tins
- whisk the eggs, oil and sugar
- sift the flour in the egg mixture, add in the mixed spice and bicarb soda
- add in the bananas, pineapple, orange juice and rind and the walnuts, mix well
- bake for 45 min or until done

Cream cheese frosting -

cream cheese - 2 x 200g
icing sugar - 200g

- beat the cheese until smooth
- add in the icing sugar and beat until fluffy.

* can add vanilla or any other flavor if preferred. I kept mine simple :)

I crumb coated the cake with the same butter cream frosting I used for my mocha cake but omitted the cocoa powder.

Feel-good Muffins

These muffins are down to earth and delicious. And with the goodness of prunes and nuts added to them, makes them that little bit more guilt free. :)

You won’t feel one bit of guilt eating these yummy muffins. They turn out very moist because of the added prunes and they also have a crunchy texture, thanks to the nuts.

These muffins offer the bonus of lots of health-giving ingredients, so enjoy them without guilt. :)

Haha!! sounds like a commercial:P:P But they sure don't disappoint. :)






MUFFINS (adapted from GoodFood magazine)

self-raising flour - 175g (can use wholemeal for super healthy muffins)
oats - 50g
brown sugar - 140g
cinnamon - 2tsp
bicarb soda - 1/2 tsp
egg - 1
buttermilk - 150ml
vanilla - 1tsp
oil - 6tbs
chopped prunes - 175g
walnut - 85g

TOPPING

nuts - 1/4 c (I used peanuts)
sugar - 1tbs
oats - 1tbs
cinnamon - 1tsp
sugar - 1tbs
golden syrup or honey

- Preheat oven to 180c and line 6-8 muffin tins
- Beat the egg, stir in the buttermilk, vanilla and oil
- Sift in the flour, add the oats, sugar, bicarb to the egg mixture
- Fold in the prunes and the nuts
- Sprinkle the topping generously over the muffin and drizzle with syrup and bake for 20 -25 min or until done
- Have it warm or cold (I like it warm :) may be because I can't wait :D)

* The topping is optional, but it adds that extra texture and makes them more inviting.

Lemon and passionfruit custard slice

For the past FIVE agonizing months, I have been eating boiled vegetables for dinner to shed some muffins kilos.

OH!! It’s such a pain.

And what’s worse is that you starve yourself crazy and you only manage to lose a KILO, a bloody KILO!!! And even worse than that is that you make this slice and end up eating all the slices in a day and a half (breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, breakfast, lunch). And it gets more worse when you weigh yourself the next morning and find out you have gained a KILO. -_-

AHHH, this is it for me, I can no longer do this any more. I have to stop whinging, get things straight and find a solution.

Solution = I just have to get along with ma muffins!! :D

If you are willing to get along with your muffins too, then by all means have a go at this slice. You won’t regret it. Just don’t eat the whole lot. GAHH!! It’s not like you live forever. Might as well eat away while you’re here, life is too short to hold back right.

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Lemon and passionfruit slice (adapted from homestyle cakes)

Base –

Unsalted butter – 125g

Sugar – 90g

Egg – 1

Vanilla – 1/2tsp

Plain flour – 90g

Self-raising flour – 40g

- Preheat oven to 180c and grease and line 11x7inch baking tin

- Beat the sugar and the butter until fluffy.

- Mix in the egg and vanilla

- Sift and fold in the flours

- Bake for 15-20 min or until golden and done. Cool

Custard

Custard powder – 40g

Sugar – 250g

Cornflour – 60g

Milk – 3c

Lemon – 3/4c

Passionfruit puree – 1/4c

Butter – 60g

Egg yolks – 3

- In a saucepan mix in everything well except the butter and the yolks. Make sure there are no lumps

- Stir over medium for heat for 5 min or until the custard thickens

- Cool a little and whisk in the yolks and the butter

- Pour over the base and chill for 3-4 hours

mmm

Classic sponge cake with mango mousse and mango jelly filling and boiled frosting

The king of fruits (Mango) is one of the if not THE most popular fruit. It has got a rich unique flavor, color, fragrance and a delightful taste, and not to forget all the bonus nutritional benefits. :)

Alright enough about the info, lets get down to business.



So I made this gorgeous cake this morning because:
- I was at home and had nothing to do
- Had a big box of ripe mangoes (my mum bought the whole box because it was cheap:P)
- And I found this fabulous recipe from HOMESTYLE cakes


And heres the cake :)

Classic Sponge

plain flour - 75g
self-raising flour - 150g
eggs - 6
caster sugar - 220g
boiling water - 2tbs


- preheat oven to 180c and grease and line tins
- beat the eggs and sugar with electric mixer for 7 min till thick and pale
- fold in the sifted flour and water
- bake for 30min until done


Mango mousse filling

cream - 1 1/2 c
mango puree - 1c
Sugar 1/4c(or adjust to taste)
gelatin powder - 1tbs
hot water - 3tbs

- Dissolve the gelatin powder in hot water and add to the mango puree and mix well, make sure no chunks of gelatin are present.
- Whip the cream and fold in to the mango puree until smooth.


Mango jelly

jelly powder - 50g (preferably mango flavor)
gelatin - 2tsp
boiling water - 1/4c
water - 1/4c

- Combine the jelly powder and the gelatin. Add the boiling water and mix till everything is dissolved.
- add the water to the mixture and let cool but make sure it doesn't set.


*Assembly (easier to put together in a tin with a collar)

For the boiled frosting, I used the same recipe from the Ginger walnut cake and just added a drop of yellow color.

Mocha Fudge Cake with Chocolate Ganache Filling and Light Butter Cream Frosting

This might sound a little awkward. But does this ever happen to you, whenever you see chocolate or hear the word chocolate or smell the beautiful aroma of chocolate, you immediately want to have chocolate or anything that has chocolate in it??

OK may be not, may be its just me making a complete fool out of myself here. :X

Well the thing is that today I left for university early this morning and only had a cup of tea with a slice of toast and some cheese on top. I thought it would be a quick trip and I would come home and have a good hearty lunch... But yeah didn't quite turn out that way and I ended up coming home at FIVE.

And on the train while coming back from University, all tired and hungry beyond anything I heard a couple of girls talking about "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (the movie) .



BUZZ.. CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE

And just hearing the word chocolate I was salivating uncontrollably. And as for the rest you can pretty much know it.

I came home and without changing my clothes immediately started making Mocha Fudge Cake with Chocolate Ganache filling and Chocolate butter cream frosting.

MMmmmmm... and I just almost had half of it all by myself while watching the movie "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" online ( silly you might think, but trust me when I say I have never had this much pleasure eating a cake while watching a movie. :P:P).

And about me eating half of the cake all by myself, please bear in mind while judging me that I didn't have a good hearty breakfast AND didn't have lunch at all, so I had the right to every crumb of it right??? ;);)

Make this cake and indulge in its heavenly rich texture and velvety ganache filling with light chocolate butter cream. And let your worries fly away while you eat away and watch away (oo it rhymes :P).

Oh! about the movie, its totally optional but you will have double the fun eating because you dont only physically eat chocolate but you also get to experience the chocolaty journey with Charlie (haha, now you are thinking shes a total douche). Well, I did say its optional. :P




Mocha Fudge Cake with Chocolate Ganache filling and Butter cream frosting (adapted from Good Food Magazine)

For the cake -

self raising flour - 300g
vanilla - 1tsp
eggs separated - 3
milk - 125ml
instant coffee - 4tbs (can add cocoa powder instead)
unsalted butter - 85g
caster sugar - 280g
chocolate melted - 85g
soured cream - 125ml

- preheat oven to 180c
- butter and line 2 x 2ocm baking tin
- Heat the milk and add coffee, cool
- cream the butter and sugar and whisk in the egg yolks and vanilla and melted chocolate
- fold in the flour, the cooled milk and soured cream
- whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold into the mixture
- pour into the tins and bake for 30min or until done.

Chocolate Ganache

cream - 240ml
butter 1tbs
sugar - 1oz
chocolate - 340g

- Heat the cream and the butter and sugar until dissolved and pour over the chocolate.

Chocolate Butter Cream

Butter room temperature - 150g
Icing sugar - 250g
Cocoa powder - 1/2tbs
boiling water - 3tsp

- beat the butter and sugar and cocoa powder and water untill light and fluffy.
- If too thick add a little more water.