Super easy mini banana cake with pouring custard

It has been a tiring week for us because of our short trip to Sydney. Originally, I was planning to make mini red bean pastry for the mid-autumn festival but couldn't bother now. As I was resting on my couch, reading my food magazine, I saw this recipe. This is so super easy that I cannot believe my eyes. The original recipe is meant to dairy free for lactose intolerance or dairy allergy. Instead of using soy milk, I used milk because we are ok with our dairy consumption.

I made this for my toddler boy for a quick weekend afternoon tea and he loves it. It was so easy that it takes me less than 30 min (with baking time) to make these mini cakes starting from scratch to the final product even with the pouring custard. The cake is very moist and tastes great with the custard. Great recipe for a busy mum!

Here's the recipe from the current issue of BBC Australian GoodFood magazine (October issue)

125ml vegetable oil
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana
1 1/2 cup self raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 cup soy milk (I use milk instead)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees, grease and line 20 cm round cake pan.  
(I use half the recipe and made into 8 mini cakes with mini cupcake cups)
 
In a large bowl, whisk together oil, sugar and vanilla until combined.
 
Add eggs, one at a time, whisk well after addition.
 
Mix in banana. Combine flour and bicarbonate of soda. Alternatively, fold in flour mixture and milk into egg mixture, starting and finishing with flour.
 
Spoon batter into prepared pan, smooth surface. Bake 35-40 min for round cake pan or 12-15 min for mini cupcake. Cool in pan for 15 min, turn out into wire rack to cool. I serve the banana cake with pouring custard.

Pouring custard was made accordingly to the custard powder instructions with lesser amount of powder to create a pouring consistency.

Happy Baking.

The classic chocolate chip cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are always a classic favourite for our family and we like to have them accordingly to our special ways. From young, my cousin and I like our cookies with no nuts. My husband like it to be soft and crumbly and dislike the bicarb after taste. Our the classic chocolate chip cookies, no nuts, no bicarb, all brown sugar... a simple cookie made accordingly to our way...

Here's the recipe from the Australian Woman Weekly, Macaroons and biscuits cookbook
(with our preferred modifications)

make 48 depending on size of cookies
250g butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 egg
340g all purpose plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
(I replaced it with baking powder because we didn't like the aftertaste of bicarbonate of soda)
360g chocolate chip
 
I use half the recipe and replace caster sugar with all brown sugar because we want the cookies to be soft.
 
Preheat oven to 180 degrees, line oven tray with baking paper.
Beat butter, extract, sugar and egg until light and fluffy.
Stir in sifted flour and baking powder
Stir in chocolate chip
Drop teaspoonful of mixture about 3 cm apart on tray (for mini cookie size)
Bake for 12 min, cool on tray.
 
Happy Baking.

Cheesecake on a lollipop stick

I've been a "faithful follower" of Su, Journal of a girl who loves to cook and loves her creativity in her culinary skill. There is one story that she wrote about her Tim Tam truffle that she sells in her "Detectable" shop has instantly caught my attention (Cooking is my passion). She had a video in her blog post but didn't mentioned much about the recipe of this creation. Then, I found that Nigella Website did mention a recipe which is similar to the truffle that she made and so, I thought of trying to make the truffles based on my gut feelings.

I've made 2 different types of truffles, Tim Tam truffle coated with dark chocolate and Oreo truffle coated with white chocolate and Oreo crumbles. My husband brought these truffles to his work colleagues and they loves these treats instantly. Eating this truffle is like eating a Tim Tam or Oreo cheesecake on a lollipop stick. After sampling these treats, my husband's colleagues requested for the recipe and so he asked them to check out my blog site. That's so nice of him to promote my blog site. 

The kiddy way of presenting the truffle...

Here's the recipe of my cheesecake on lollipop stick...

Make 9-10 truffles depending on size
 
100g Tim Tam or Oreo
100g 30% fat reduced cream cheese
dark chocolate or white chocolate to melt
extra- processed Oreo cookie crumble to coat Oreo truffle

Process Tim Tam / Oreo and cream cheese until combined. Refrigerate the mixture until it firms up. Roll them into balls and insert lollipop sticks into them. Dip the truffle into melted chocolate (dark chocolate for the Tim Tam truffle and the white chocolate for the Oreo truffle) and the coat the Oreo truffle with processed Oreo cookie crumble. Wait for the chocolate coating to firm before consumed. 

Enjoy the truffles...

Banana Walnut Cookies?

Yes...I have made banana walnut cookies and this is not a typo error. The original recipe is Banana date toffees cookies from the Australian Woman Weekly, Macaroons and biscuits cookbook. I was wondering if it can be made into the typical Banana walnut bread version of cookie and give it a try and it works. These cookies have the usual soft buttery cookie texture but with the banana walnut bread taste. 

Here is the recipe from the Australian Woman Weekly, Macaroons and biscuits cookbook
Make 36 depending on size of cookies
 
125g  butter
3/4 cup brown sugar (original is 1 cup)
1 egg yolk
100g mashed banana
2 cup all purpose plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda 
(I replace this with baking powder because we didn't like the aftertaste of bicarbonate of soda)
75g chopped walnuts  
(original is 75g dried chopped dates and 18 chewy toffees to insert as into each cookies)
 
Prehest oven to 180 degrees, line oven tray with baking paper.
Beat butter, extract, sugar and egg yolk until light and fluffy.
Stir in banana, then sifted flour with baking powder and nuts.
Roll teaspoonful of mixture into balls and place them 3 cm apart on tray.
Bake for 15-20 min, rest on tray for 15 min and transfer to rack to cool.

Happy Baking

Banana streusel snack cake

I'm a BIG fan of most cook shows, celebrity chefs, cook books and food magazines. I love reading and collecting food recipes and try not to miss out any food articles from the Herald Sun newspapers. There is the taste section on every Tuesday, Jamie Oliver section on every Saturday, Guy Grossi section and the magazine insert featuring Donna Hay on every Sunday. 

Now that the Masterchef Australia is back with the junior version, I look forward to watch this program every Sunday evening... 

As I was reading a blog post from Technicolor Kitchen featuring a banana cake, the name "Jamie Oliver" in her post caught my attention instantly. Patricia (Technicolor Kitchen) said that this banana cake tasted good and I was keen to bake this cake too.

Here is the cake. Instead of making a square pan size, I've made them into 10 mini loaves. The soft crunch of the streusel gave the cake a sweet melting buttery taste. It has a balance amount of fat and sugar contents that made the texture just right. Being typical health-conscious, my husband think that the cake would be better if it is less sweeter. I agree with his suggestion and will reduced the sugar contents slightly if I would make this cake again.

Here's the recipe from Technicolor Kitchen.

Streusel:
6 tablespoons (60g) all purpose flour
6 tablespoons firmly packed (75g) light brown sugar
3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, softened
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cake:
1 1/3 cups (233g) cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (255g) mashed ripe bananas
3 tablespoons whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (200g) demerara sugar (I use brown sugar instead)
1 large egg, lightly beaten with a fork

Make the streusel: in a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon with your fingertips until the mixture is lumpy; refrigerate.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter a 20cm square pan then flour the pan, tapping out excess flour. Have all the ingredients in room temperature.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a small bowl and set aside. Put the mashed bananas in a medium bowl and stir in the milk and vanilla; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat together the butter and sugar on medium-low speed until fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until completely incorporated. Add the banana mixture and beat until combined. Reduce the mixer to its lowest speed and gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until incorporated. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula.

Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the batter.

Bake the cake until it springs back when gently pressed in the center and a round wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan completely before cutting and serving.

Happy Baking

Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe is from happy home baking. I was attracted to these cookies due to its good amount of wholesome ingredients in the recipe. I agree with HHB and reckon the cookies are great. However, my son didn't like the walnuts and my husband think they are too "healthy" for him. "I want more butter in my cookies" he said. Oh well...I shall eat them all if my 2 men didn't like them.

Here is the recipe from HHB

(makes about 25~28 cookies, slightly less than 2" each)

Ingredients:
90g butter, softened at room temperature
25g caster sugar
25g brown sugar
1 egg (weights about 60g with shell), lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
100g cake flour (or plain flour)
100g rolled oats
50g walnuts, coarsely chopped
60g dried cranberries, cut into smaller chunks

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees. Line baking trays with parchment paper.
2. With manual whisk, cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until the mixture turns pale and fluffy (alternatively use an electric mixer if desired).
3. Dribble in the egg gradually. Mix well after each addition. Add in salt and vanilla extract, mix to incorporate into the batter.
4. Sift the flour over the batter, fold in with a spatula.
5. Add rolled oats, walnuts and dried cranberries. Mix well with the spatula.
6. Drop tablespoonfuls of the cookie dough onto the prepared baking tray. Leave some space between the cookies to allow for spreading (actually, they don't spread too much). Flatten each cookie dough slightly with the back of a fork, keeping the shape as even as possible.
7. Bake for 8~10 mins or until golden (my oven took 12~15mins). If necessary, rotate the baking tray halfway through the cooking time to ensure even browning. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in air-tight containers.

Happy Baking

Yummy butter cookies for daddy...

When I was a child, my mum always tell me that I can never understand how difficult to be a parent until I become one. I see what she meant now. Since the day that my husband and I had our 1st child, our lifestyle had changed. We went through lots of good and bad times together and I must say that the journey has been rewarding when we see our boy growing every single day. I appreciate my husband for all his efforts to provide the best for our family. All I can say is a big "Thank you" and "We love you, daddy".

For this father's day, I have made some butter cookies and cut them into a family of Teddy bears to represent our family.

The butter cookies are perfect. They are not too sweet and easy to handle as compared to other butter cookies recipe. My family loves the texture of the cookies and they are not too hard for toddlers to chew.

Here's the recipe from the Martha Stewart website, http://www.marthastewart.com/food

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut in pieces
1/2 tsp salt
4 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract

Egg wash, (optional): 1 large egg white, beaten with 2 tsp water
Decorating sugar and sprinkles, (optional)

Directions:


1. Place flour, sugar, butter, and salt in the bowl of a food processor; process until mixture is the texture of coarse meal.
2. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg yolks and vanilla; with motor running, add to food processor. Process just until a dough forms. Divide dough in half; form into two 1/2-inch-thick disks.
3. Wrap in plastic; chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a piece of floured waxed paper, roll one disk to a thickness of 3/16 inch; chill. Repeat with remaining dough.
5. Flouring cutters as you go (to prevent sticking), cut dough into desired shapes; carefully transfer to baking sheets. Re-chill rolled-out dough if difficult to work with.
6. If decorating, brush with egg wash, then sprinkle with sugar or sprinkles. Bake until edges are firm (not brown), 15 to 20 min for 3-inch cookies. Cool 1 to 2 min on baking sheets; cool completely on a wire rack.
7. Store finished cookies in an airtight container, up to 2 weeks.

Happy Baking.

Easy and Low fat Banana Raspberry loaf

The beginning of September indicates that the spring season is coming to Australia. I love the spring season, the colours from the flowers and the day becomes longer. As I was glazing through my front balcony enjoying the views of spring colours, the bunch of over-ripen banana sitting at the corner of our kitchen gave me an idea. This time, I will make a quick and easy low fat banana bread with lots of pink colouring…Raspberry!

This loaf is so easy to make and unlike most cake, it has a muffin-like texture due to its low fat content. Instead of making it into a loaf size, I have made them into 8 mini bite size loaves so that I can the fill our lunch boxes with this healthy snack. 

Here is the recipe from Taste.com.au

(with my slight modifications in brackets)

Ingredients (serves 12)

Melted butter, to grease

265g (1 3/4 cups) self-raising flour

40g (1/4 cup) plain flour

140g (2/3 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar

195g (3/4 cup) mashed overripe banana

125ml (1/2 cup) reduced-fat milk

2 eggs, lightly whisked

50g butter, melted, cooled (replaced with low fat margarine)

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 x 125g punnets blueberries (replaced with frozen raspberry)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush a 20 x 10cm (base measurement) loaf pan with melted butter to lightly grease. Line the base and sides with non-stick baking paper.

2. Sift the combined flour into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar. Combine the banana, milk, egg, butter and vanilla in a medium bowl.

3. Add the banana mixture and blueberries to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake in oven, covering with foil if necessary to prevent over-browning, for 50-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

4. Set aside in the pan for 5 minutes to cool before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into slices and toast, if desired. 

Happy Baking