Baked Cassava / Tapioca Cake

A cake with a difference!  I was thrilled to find frozen grated cassava at one of the Asian shops here.  I was craving for this kuih while we were staying in Ampang and me being pregnant.  I remember I kept going to Sungei Wang shopping mall to look for the Malay store that was selling them.  After moving away from Kuala Lumpur, I never came across a store or shop that's selling this.  :-(

I used frozen cassava for this recipe.  It would be definitely better to use fresh grated cassava.  But I consider myself to be lucky as I'm able to get the frozen ones. :-)



Ingredients:

900g frozen grated cassave/tapioca

200g sugar

400ml (one can) thick coconut milk
1 egg, plus 1 egg york
20g butter

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C.  Line a 18cm square baking pan.

2. In a pot, pour in the coconut milk and warm it with medium-low heat.  Add in the butter and sugar.  Stir until the butter has melted and sugar dissolved.  DO NOT boil it.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg and egg york.  Add in the coconut milk mixture and whisk until well combine.  Finally add in the grated cassava and mix well using a wooden spoon.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for about an hour or until the top has turned golden brown.

5. Cooled completely before cutting into slices.  It is best to be eaten on the same day.

:-)

Quick Mix Chocolate Cake

I made this chocolate cake for my son Andrew's 11th birthday today.  I call it a quick mix chocolate cake because the steps for making this cake are simple and quick.   It's just a plain chocolate cake with no nuts or fruits added.  This cake turn out soft, moist and delicious.  Kids will love it!


A photo of our birthday brunch:

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 cup castor sugar

3 large eggs

150g butter

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder
white chocolate to garnish

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160C.  Grease a 23cm round springform or a cake pan.  Line with baking paper.

2. In a small pot, place the butter, milk and cocoa powder in and melt the butter in medium low heat.  Using a whisk to stir until the mixture is smooth.  Do not boil it.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

3. In a large bowl, using a mixer, beat eggs and sugar together until very light and fluffy.  Sift in flour, baking soda and baking powder and mix until smooth.

4. Add in vanilla extract and the cocoa mixture and beat until well mixed.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake for 45 - 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre and comes out dry and clean.

6. When the cake is completely cooled.  Garnish with shaved white chocolate or sprinkle with icing sugar!

Cinnamon Rolls with Chocolate Chips

Hmmm.... Cinnamon rolls, who doesn't like them?

These soft bun/rolls with the sweetness from brown sugar and with rich ground cinnamon flavour smell and taste just as good!

I made these rolls two years ago and thought that it took too much time and too much work.  But I like soft buns, my kids like soft buns, and where we came from, most of us eats soft buns.  My kids and I don't really fancy the German's Brötchen - small buns that are soft inside but hard and crispy outside.  So I had decided to give this recipe another go.  Thinking that if this went well, I will make more bread and bun in the future.

Surprisingly, it was not too much work at all.  The original recipe call for keeping the dough in the fridge for 4 hours but instead I just leave it in room temperature to rise for 1 1/2 hours.  And I only kneaded it once.  I've made a little twist by adding some chocolate chips too, so let's start making some!


Ingredients:
160g all purpose flour
30g cold butter
15g butter, melted
60ml milk, room temperature
1 tbsp warm water (40 degree C)
1 tbsp + 2 tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
3/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
Some chocolate chips (optional)

Method:
1.  In a little bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water, cover and set aside.

2.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, 1 tablespoon sugar and salt.  Using finger tips rub the cold butter with flour mixture until crumbly.  Add in milk, yeast mixture, egg yolk and stir well.  On a lightly floured surface, knead for about 1 minute.   Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, keep in a warm place to let it rise for at least 1 1/2 hours.  Then gently punch the dough once to release the air.

3.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into 25 x 15cm rectangle.  Brush the edges with butter (to seal the edges).
Mix the 2 tablespoons white sugar, dark brown sugar and ground cinnamon together and sprinkle over dough.  Top with chocolate chips.

4.  Roll up the dough like a Swiss roll cake.  Cut into eight pieces.  Place them in a greased 19cm square baking dish(a round dish also works fine).  Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours.

5.  Bake at 180 degree C for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Note:  My kids and I enjoy eating them without any glaze.  Also I find it healthier without it.  :-)

Orange Marmalade bread and butter Pudding / Brotpudding

Have you ever experienced having toast sitting in the kitchen for a while and no one eats them?  Maybe it's not a bad idea to use them for bread and butter pudding!  This dessert recipe uses toast cut into triangles, reduced fat milk and cream.  The result?  A beautiful crispy edges and soft puffy custard like middle....

 Ingredients:

8 slices white/brown toast, crusts removed

300ml low fat milk

250ml low fat cream

50g butter, soften

4 tbsp orange marmalade plus 4 tsp

8 tbsp caster sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 tbsp whisky (optional)

1/2 tbsp finely grated orange zest

a pinch of ground nutmeg

1 tbsp powder sugar
Serves 4

To prepare:

1.  Butter each piece of bread on both sides.  Then spread 4 pieces with 1 tbsp of marmalade each.  Arrange the bread to make 4 marmalade sandwiches and cut them into triangles.  Place them in rows in a large baking dish.

2.  Heat the oven to 160C.

3.  Whisk together the milk, cream, eggs, vanilla essence, whisky, sugar and ground nutmeg.  Pour over the bread gently.  Leave to soak for about 30 minutes.

4.  Dot the remaining marmalade all over the top of the pud, sprinkle the orange zest and dust with powder sugar.

5.  Bake for 35 - 45 minutes or until the pudding is puffy and caramelized on top.

6.  Serve hot or warm plain or dusted with powder sugar.