Chocolate Chip Muffin

 

 

 

Ingredients

1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs

2/3 cup (180ml) milk

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 cups (260g) all purpose flour

2/3 cups (135g) caster sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup (240ml) chocolate chips

 

Method

Chocolate Chip Muffins: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and place oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or line with paper liners, 12 muffin cups.

In a bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract.

In another large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the chocolate chips. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon fold the wet ingredients, along with the melted butter, into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are moistened and combined. (Do not over mix or you will have tough muffins)

Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. In a small bowl combine the topping ingredients and then sprinkle a little topping on each muffin. Place in the oven and bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5-10 minutes before removing from pan. Can be covered and stored at room temperature for a few days or they can be frozen.

Makes 12 regular sized muffins.

 

Swiss Roll Cake with Blueberry Fillings

Hubby & I are swiss roll cake lover..I baked a swiss roll cake (green tea flavor with red bean paste) before but wasn't successful..I couldn't roll up the cake and it got cracked in the end..furthermore, the texture wasn't soft enough..I kinda gave up but I decided to give myself another chance..so I checked out my favourite recipe website for tips..please click here for reference.

 

 

Ingredients

Sponge Cake:
4 large eggs
1 large (20 grams) egg yolk
1/3 cup (35 grams) sifted cake flour
3 tablespoons (30 grams) cornstarch (corn flour)
1/2 cup (100 grams) plus 1 tablespoon (15 grams) granulated white sugar (divided)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (optional)

Blueberry Whipped Cream: 
1 cup (240 ml) heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 - 2 tablespoons (15-30 grams) granulated white sugar
1/3 (80 ml) blueberry jam (or other flavored jam) or 1/2 cup (120 ml) lightly sweetened blueberry sauce or strawberry sauce
** I used blueberry fillings bought from bakery shop

Method
For Sponge Cake: Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) and place oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a nonstick vegetable spray, a 17x12 inch (43x30 cm) baking pan, line it with parchment paper, and then butter and flour the paper (or spray with a nonstick vegetable/flour spray).

While the eggs are still cold separate two of the eggs, placing the yolks in one bowl and the whites in another bowl. To the yolks, add the additional yolk, and the two remaining eggs. Cover bowls with plastic wrap and allow the eggs to come to room temperature (about 30 minutes). Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk the flour with the cornstarch.

Place the egg yolks and whole eggs, along with 1/2 cup (100grams) of the sugar, in your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachemnt. Beat on high speed for five minutes, or until thick, pale yelloe and fluffy. (When you slowly raise the beaters the batter will fall back into the bowl in slow ribbons.) Then beat in the vanilla extract. Sift half the flour mixture over the beaten egg mixture and fold in gently with a rubber spatula, just until the flour is incorporated. Sift the remaining flour mixture into the batter and fold in.

In a clean bowl, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form. Sprinkle in the remaining one tablespoon sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Gently fold a little of the whites into the batter to lighten it, and then add the rest of the whites.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly with an offset spatula or spoon. Bake for about 6-8 minutes or until golden brown and when lighly pressed, springs back. Immediately upon removing the cake from the oven sprinkle with icing sugar and then invert the cake onto a clean towel. Remove the parchment paper, sprinkle with icing sugar, and roll up the sponge, with the towel. Place on a wire rack to cool.

For Blueberry Whipped Cream: Place your mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer for 15 minutes. Then place the whipping cream, vanilla extract, and sugar into the bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Add the jam and beat just until stiff peaks form.

To Assemble: Unroll the sponge, spread with the cream and reroll. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for few hours. Just before serving, dust with icing sugar.

SS 11 生鱼粥

7.4.2013 (Sun)

Ian turned 2 yrs old! I wanted to thank my father in-law for his willingness to come up to Kulim and celebrated Ian's birthday together.

 

 

We went to this restaurant at Raja Uda, recommended by my sister in-law for dinner..the specialty of this restaurant was the snake head porridge 生鱼粥..When we arrived around 7.30pm, there were not much people and automatically first reaction was, "How come it is not crowded, is it because the food is not nice?" :P Anyhow, we went in and started ordering our food.

 

药材蒸生鱼， RM38.00

黄鳝粥2人份，RM27.00



玻璃油麦大份，RM8.00



姜葱田鸡大份，RM27.00
 

宫保田鸡焖伊面4人份，RM42.00

 

The food was delicious but I felt the portion was small..The total bill came to RM161.10 and hubby think it's a bit pricy..Oh well, at least we tried something new and I think I will still recommend this restaurant to others.

 

Verdict out of Five (5*):

1. Quality of food: 5

2. Ambiances: 3 (lots of mosquitoes, if you have kids, better prepare some mosquito repellent)

3. Audiences: 3

4. Price: 5

5. Services: 4 (friendly waitress)

6. Hygiene: 4

 

SS 11 生鱼粥

No. 186, Pusat Perniagaan Raja Uda,

Jalan Raja Uda,

12300 Butterworth,

Penang.

Tel: 04 3249341 / 012 5136182
**just realised it has moved on 30.6.13..not sure where to.

 

Black Forest Cake 黑森林蛋糕

6.4.2013 (Sat)
Tomorrow is my son's birthday and I wanna bake a cake for him..in fact, this will be the second cake for him. I flipped through my recipe book and decided to bake blackforest cake with difficulty level of 5 stars! Hubby kinda 'warned' me..if no confident, we can always buy a cake from Secret Recipe..but I insisted to bake!

I have no problem baking the cake part..but when it came to the chocolate fillings and decorations part..big challenge..

Firstly, the chocolate cream..when I tried to mix the melted chocolate with the whipped cream (I whisk it), the texture was not smooth but kinda rough..I figured out maybe the chocolate wasnt melted 100% or I used the wrong method..anyhow, I don't care and just spread it on top of the cake slice.

Secondly, I wanna whisk the whipping cream to deco the cake..but don't know why, I don't seemed to be able to whisk the cream and the cream became watery in the end! I tried this 3 times and failed (previously, I had no problem in this when I baked Hokkaido Cupcake)..wasted the whipping cream..and was very disappointed with myself..I quickly googled and try to search for relevant youtubes..and managed to find out the tips..gotta chill the cream first before whisking in order for it to rise to stiff peaks..so I followed and this round, yes I managed to whisk it but not well done..Then, when I wanna spread it on the cake..the cream was not 'co-operative' at all..I can't spread it evenly no matter how hard I tried..so again, I don't really care on the 'appearance' of the cake, I just wanna cover up the cake and sprinkle with chocolate chips to hide all the flaws..

Despite all the challenges and disappointments..I wanna thank my family members for their supports and encouragements, and helping out to finish the cake..Might try again next time if my confidence level is back!

The cake looked beautiful after all the decoratios..

Ingredients

Cake

4 egg yolks

45g caster sugar (for yolks)

4 egg whites

45g caster sugar (for whites)

50g vegetable oil

50g water

75g flour

15g cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

Cherry Fillings
120g canned cherry (cut into half)
240ml cherry liquid
60g aster sugar
1/2 lemon zest
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp rum
10g corn starch

**I didn't follow this part..instead, I just used the readily made blueberry fillings.

Chocolate cream
240g whipped cream
100g melted chocolate
1 tbsp rum

Decorations
Chocolate flakes
Strawberries ( I used dried cherry)
Icing sugar

Method

1. Cake: Mix egg yolks, caster sugar, vegetable oil and water well. Fold in flour and cocoa powder. Whisk egg white and caster sugar to stiif peak. Fold into egg yolks mixture. Pour into cake mould. Bake at 160 degree celcius for 25-30mins.

2. Cherry filling: Mix corn starch and 40ml cherry liquid finely. Bring remaining cherry liquid, caster sugar, lemon zest and ground cinnamon to boil. Pour into corn starch liquid and cook for 2 mins. Again add cherry and cook for 1 more min. Stir in rum. Pour into the tray and leave it cool.

3. Chocolate cream: Mix all ingredients together.

4. Assembly: Cut the cake into 3 slices. Spread with chocolate cream on one piece of cake. Spread black cherry paste on top. Repeat the procedure. Place one slice of cake and spread with chocolate cream. Top chocolate flakes on the surfaca. Pipe chocolate cream and place strawberries. Dust icing sugar.

Alternatively, you can refer here for a different recipe.

Family Trip to Perth, Australia 16/2-23/2/13

It has been one month+ since our trip to Perth..and I haven't got the time to blog on it..So, I decided to do it now and hopefully I could still remember all the details about the trip.

 

Day 1 & 2 (16-17/2)

We flew by AirAsia to Perth and took the midnight (11.55pm) flight, thinking that the kids could sleep through the journey..While waiting to board the plane in the airport, Abby was very excited and insisted to take care of the small luggage..well..traveling with kids were never easy..Both Abby and Ian couldn't sleep well due to the uncomfy spaces..Furthermore, Ian was sharing a seat with me..he was buckled up together with my seat belt..Abby had to lie down on hubby's leg to sleep..Anyway, all of us didn't really sleep well..

We arrived at Perth International airport around 5.30am..Thanks to Paul & Eleanor (PE) for picking us up early in the morning..Weather was cooling and refreshing..After settling down at Paul's hse, we did a quick wash up and attended the church service together with Paul & Eleanor..It was a big church and according to Paul, the P&W session was like a mini concert due to a strong and dedicated P&W team..we sent Abby & Ian to the kids' zone..I loved the way the kids' zone was designed..very systematic and the teachers were very helpful..Ian enjoyed himself in the room while Abby, gotta hang on to hubby all the time..

 

After church, we went for dimsum..hmm..the food was decent but I think I preferred Msian dimsum..hehe..Then, we headed home to rest..Hubby and Paul went for badminton game in the noon..Paul was saying, there was this guy in the badminton court, he was the ex-national player..and people actually pay him to play with them!
 

 

At night, we went to a Msian restaurant for dinner..one of PE's favourite restaurant..Paul said, you won't actually missed Msian food so much coz what you can find in Msia, you can find it in Australia! The food was really yummy but pricy (if converted to RM)..

 

It was a long day..we didn't go anywhere after dinner..just rest at home as we will be going to Busselton tmr, for a 3D2N road trip!

 

Day 3, 4 & 5 (18-20/2) - Busselton

Early in the morning, hubby and Paul went to collect the rented car at the airport..we rented a mitsubishi lancer, to accommodate 5 of us (hubby, me, Paul & the kids)..and in Australia, it was the regulations to hv baby car seats for children below 7 yrs old..Ian did not like to be buckle up in the car seat, hence, throughout the whole trip (about 3 hrs drive), he was making lots of noise, crying till he was tired and fell asleep.

 

We rented a house in Busselton for A$150/night - George Way Holiday Stay..It was a big house with 4 rooms, big backyard, bbq area, toys for kids and etc..good recommendation from Eleanor..We had BBQ on the first day..again, thanks to Paul for preparing the food..After dinner, we went to the nearby beach, to let the children experience playing at the beach..Ian was enjoying himself..trying to pour sands on Papa & Mama..

 

 

The next day, we went to the Busselton Jetty..the longest timber-piled jetty in the Southern Hemisphere..there were many people at the beach compared to the beach we went yday..(so we decided to come to this beach later in the evening)..took a few pictures here..

Then we went to the town for lunch..couldn't find a restaurant with reasonable price and ended up in a Chinese Restaurant..haha..

In the evening as mentioned earlier, we packed all the necessities and headed to the Busselton beach..Abby was really excited and claimed she wanna build a sand castle..and Ian, happily playing with sands! Hubby, on the other hand, was busy building the sand castle for Abby and he managed to do that with much help from all of us!

At night, Paul, the chef, cooked risotto for us and it was delicious..Then, we played pingpong..Abby also wanted to join in and for a starter, she was doing good..It was a rest and relax night!

We left Busselton around 10am..On the way back to Paul's hse, we dropped by this famous fish n chip shop at City Beach - The Groper and his wife.. Paul liked to come here coz they were very generous in giving you the fries..(Another tourist spot was Cicerellos, in Fremantle) However, the weather was really hot..burning! So, we quickly finished our lunch and headed home.

It was Eleanor's bday today...so Paul had invited some of their close friends to his hse for dinner..we were having Sushi, Paul's specialty..after dinner, they hung around for some board games..Good fellowship!

Day 6 (21/2)
Today, we went to the Caversham Wildlife Park and we invited Cindy and her 2 kids to join us..Paul was very kind to let us drove his car..The park now features about 200 species, and more than 2000 head of animals, birds and reptiles; most housed in a walk-through environment..

The park was really big...we went to the kangaroo area first..At first, both Abby and Ian were a lil scare to approach the kangaroos..but it didn't take long for them to enjoying themselves, feeding the kangaroos and got closed with them..

Again, weather was really hot..though we had our sunblock on..we could feel our skin being burnt, esp Ian..his cheeks were all red and skin starting to peel off..Nonetheless, we managed to finished the whole park in 3 hrs+, I think..

If you have children, this is a park worth coming..bet your children will enjoy themselves with the animals!

Day 7 (22/2)
Paul suggested to go to the King's Park for picnic..He prepared some sandwiches and coffee..It was a nice park..Ian can't stop himself from chasing the ducks near the pond..weather today was good too..

In the noon time, we took the public transport - train to the Perth city..initially wanted to go to Fremantle but we were short of time as we gotta meetup with a friend for dinner later..

This will be our last dinner in Perth..we went to this Italian restaurant - Ciao, recommended by Jenisa..This place was crowded by the time we arrived (around 7pm) and they did not accept prior appointment..so we gotta queued up for our turn..it was a pretty cold night..

We ordered one signature pizza, spaghetty and tiramisu for dessert..the food portion was quite big..all 3 of us had a hard time finishing the food..luckily we had Ian..haha..Jenisa shared with us her experiences in Perth for the past 5 yrs..

After dinner, we had a chance to see the night view of Perth..It was beautiful.

Day 8 (23/2)
We woke up at 4am coz our flight was 6.20am..luckily, both kids didn't really make noise and were quite co-operative in the airport..thanks to Paul & Eleanor for again, woke up so early to send us to the airport..

Throughout the holidays in Perth, all of us had a good time, especially got the chance to catch up with friends and to look see Perth..Hopefully, we will return to Perth soon and that will be a new chapter in our life!