Cranberry Pecan Bars

Ingredients :
1 1 /2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter (unsalted), melted and cooled slightly
1 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 cups All Purpose flour
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (about 8 oz) (Fresh cranberries in vege section of grocery store
1/2 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 F
Butter 9 inch pan or baking dish
Using electric mixer, beat sugar & eggs in large bowl until slightly thickened. (about 2 mins)
Beat in melted butter and almond extract.
Add in flour & stir until well blended.
Stir in cranberries and pecans.

Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean. (about one hour) . It took me 53 minutes.
Transfer to rack and let cool before cutting.

Kuih Bakar

Ingredients :
1 cup + 1 tbsp All Purpose flour (138 grams)
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup (250 ml) coconut milk
1 cup evaporated milk
18 pcs pandan leaves (screwpine leaves) - blend with 1 cup water
3 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
sesame seeds
butter / oil for pan
Green color (optional)

Method :
Pre-heat oven to 375F

Grease pan (size 8x8) with butter and place in oven while preheating.

Cut pandan leaves to 1/2 inch and blend with 1 cup of water. Drain and squeeze pandan juice.

Mix together coconut milk, evaporated milk, eggs and pandan juice.
Mix flour, sugar and salt in a separate bowl. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients and mix thoroughly with whisk.

Transfer mixture to a strainer. Strain into baking pan. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

Bake for one hour.

Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting into squares.

Green Tea Matcha Bundt Cake

3 cups All-Purpose flour 

2  cups of sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
4 teaspoons of matcha powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 14 oz can of coconut milk 

1 cup milk (or 12 oz can evaporated milk)
5 large eggs
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup of butter) melted and slightly cooled

Preheat oven to 350F.

Lightly grease bundt pan

Mix all dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, baking powder & salt)

In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, coconut milk, milk and melted butter.

Slowly add mixture into the dry ingredients.

Bake for about 65 minutes.

Banana Applesauce cake

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup applesauce (or 1 single serve container)
3/4 cup honey (or brown sugar)
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp molasses
3 mashed bananas
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp cinnamon

(I add 1 tbsp of cocoa powder into the dry ingredients because my toddler will only eat it this way)

Mix dry ingredients together.
Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Slowly combine wet ingredients into dry ingredients.

Heat oven to 350 F.

Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan.

Bake for 60-65 mins.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Banana Cake

This original recipe is from Sally’s Baking Addiction Cookbook.
But since my toddler will only eat a chocolate cake, I added cocoa powder and sneaked in a banana.
He loves it!

Ingredients:

• 1 and 3/4 cups (220g) all-purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg¹
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves¹
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
• 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil, canola oil, or melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup (60ml) orange juice (I used apple juice instead)
• 2/3 cup (120g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 ripe banana (mashed)
• 1.5 tablespoons cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Lowering the oven rack prevents the top of your bread from browning too much too soon. Spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together until combined. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until combined. Whisk in the pumpkin, oil, and orange juice. Pour these wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix together using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon. There will be a few lumps. Do not overmix. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60-65 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent the top from getting too brown. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few small moist crumbs. This may be before or after 60-65 minutes depending on your oven, so begin checking every 5 minutes at the 55 minute mark or so.
4. Allow the bread to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing and slicing. The bread will stay fresh in an airtight container (it tastes better on day 2!) at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

  
Source: Sally's Baking Addiction Cookbook

Easter Tres Leche Cake

Bake 1 box of Betty Crocker Butter Cake Mix (follow directions on box) in a 13 x 9 pan
Remove cake from oven and poke holes all over cake using a fork.

Then whisk :
12 oz evaporated milk
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup heavy cream

And pour over cake.

Topping :
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 tablespoon sugar

Whip until soft peaks form.
Spread over cake
Top with coconut flakes (or fresh fruit).

For Easter, I decorated the cake with Marshmallow peeps.
And the template for the cupcake topper can be found here.

Sweet Potato Casserole

This is one of the dishes at Thanksgiving :

6 cups mashed, cooked sweet potatoes
2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp salt
Mix using stand mixer with wire whisk attachment to catch any sweet potato
strings. Place in casserole dish.

Topping
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
1/3 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Toast pecans in small amount of butter in small fry pan.
Mix all topping ingredients and put on top of potato mixture.

May refrigerate and cook when needed at 350 degrees until hot. About 30 to
45 min.

Summer Pasta Salad

Cherry tomatoes (sliced)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
Pepper to taste
1/4 tsp basil
1 cup cooked pasta (your choice)
1 can of corn
1/2 cup of cooked shelled edamame
1/4 cup of sliced olives
1/2 cup of feta cheese
Dash of oregano
Dash of rosemary
Bacon bits (optional)

Mix olive oil, lemon juice and herbs and spices.
Toss tomatoes in the olive oil mixture. Let stand at room temperature atleast 30 minutes for tomatoes to release its juices, tossing occasionally.

Stir in pasta and other ingredients. Toss.

Serve or refrigerate up to 1 day.

Milkway cookies

My friend, Sonia, shared this recipe with me. It is popular during the Chinese New Year season.

Ingredients:
100 grams rolled oats
125 grams corn flour
250 grams all-purpose flour
225 grams fine granulated sugar
2 tablespoons custard powder
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
250 grams butter
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla essence
milk powder & icing sugar (3 parts milk powder : 1 part sugar)(I made do without this because I did not have any milk powder in the pantry and it was snowing outside so a trip to the grocery store was just too much trouble)

Sift the dry ingredients together.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add in vanilla essence and egg yolks. Mix well.
Add in oats and flour and form into a dough.
Roll dough out to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut with cookie cutter.
Bake in 350F for about 10-15 minutes.
Lightly dust with powdered sugar and milk powder when cookie is cooled to room temperature.

Kuih Kemboja / Kuih Bakar

This famous Malaysian delicacy is usually found in most Pasar Malams (Night Markets). It is usually made in a flower shaped mold (Photo on the right belongs to http://kampungboycitygal.blogspot.com), hence the name Kuih Kemboja (Kemboja is a type of fragrant flower)
Well, since I do not have that flower-shaped mold, I used muffin pans instead.
I found the recipe from My Kitchen Snippets and modified it a little bit.

Ingredients :
1 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups coconut milk
4 large eggs
2 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp pandan paste + 1 cup of water (mixed together)
sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 325 F and grease the muffin pans lightly.
Beat eggs and sugar until sugar dissolves, but not fluffy.
Mix pandan paste, water into coconut milk. Stir.
Add in the flour and coconut milk mixture alternately into the egg and sugar mixture.
Combine it well.
Pour batter into muffin pan (3/4 full)
Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.
Bake for about 30 minutes until the edges are lightly brown and skewer comes out clean.
It should be very easy to remove from the muffin pan.
I also tried this similar recipe from Auntie Lily :
3 large eggs
1 can (400ml) coconut cream
50 ml water
1/2 tsp pandan paste
4 ozs all-purpose flour
4 ozs fine granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
sesame seeds
Method:

Preheat oven to 350 f. and put in cast-iron pan for heating.

Beat eggs and sugar till sugar dissolves and not fluffy.

Mix pandan paste and water to coconut cream.

Add in flour and coconut cream mixture alternately to the egg and sugar mixture.

Microwave batter until it thickens slightly.

Brush heated pan with a little oil and pour batter , sprinkle with sesame seeds and put to bake for 45 - 55 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool before serving.

Both recipes turned out well.

Royal Icing for Sugar Cookies

Royal Icing is a pure white icing that dries to a smooth, hard, matte finish.

3 egg whites (or meringue powder)
1 lb confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp almond extract or vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a bowl and beat on medium high for a full 10 minutes. Icing will become thick and glossy. Keep covered with a damp cloth while using, removing small portions to a separate bowl as needed. Tint if desired. Can be thinned by adding few drops of water.

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup softened butter
3 oz cream cheese (softened)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg yolk (reserve the white)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, combine sugar, butter, cream cheese, salt, extracts and egg yolk.
Blend well.
Stir in flour until well blended
Chill dough for 2 hours
Pre-heat oven to 376 F

Dust rolling surface with flour. Roll out dough, one third at a time to about 1/8 inch thick.
Cut into desired shape with cookie cutter.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
Brush with egg white (if desired) and sprinkle with colored sugar(optional)
Bake 7-10 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

Can be decorated with royal icing (See recipe here)

Picture below shows a variety of cookies made using the same sugar cookie dough.
1) Added with chocolate chips
2) Placed an almond on top
3) Dusted with powdered sugar (added a little bit of green coloring into the dough)
4) Added some crushed graham cracker crust and oats

Creme de Menthe Chocolate Chip cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter (softened)
2 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons mint liqueur (I replaced it with mint extract)
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups mint chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 F
In a large bowl, mix together the butter and both sugars until smooth.
Beat in eggs, stir in the mint extract.
Combine flour, baking soda, salt. Stir into the egg mixture.
Mix in the chocolate chips.
Drop dough by heaping teaspoonsfuls into ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
Allow to cool (5 minutes), transfer to a wire rack.

Potato chips (in the microwave)

Here's a slightly healthier way to make potato chips without having to deep-fry them.
Slice potatoes really thin, dry them using a paper towel and place them on a microwavable plate.
Spray the potatoes lightly with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt.
Microwave them for 3 minutes on high. Check. And microwave for another 2-3 minutes. It should be lightly crisp.
(Careful, plate will be hot)

Curry Puffs

The original recipe requires you to deep-fry the puffs. I modified this using my mom's short-crust pastry and baked them in the oven.

Pastry ingredients:
4 oz butter (soften)
8 oz flour
some cold water
a dash of salt

Mix the flour, salt and butter into a bread crumbs texture. Slowly add in some cold water (a tablespoon at a time). Knead until it forms into a dough.
Set aside in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Curry puff filling:
5 tbsp oil
1 onion finely chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 cup diced chicken meat
2 large potatoes (boiled and diced)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Fry onion, add spices.
Then add chicken and cook for about 5 minutes.
Leave aside to cool

Preheat oven to 375F

Roll out the pastry dough into approx. 1/4 inch thick.
I use a curry puff mold. Or you can cut the dough into circles.
Place some curry chicken ingredients in the center and shape it into a puff, pinching the sides to seal.

Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Lightly brush some egg yolk on top of each puff.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the top looks golden brown.
Serve warm.

Agar Agar

2 tbsp agar agar powder
sugar (adjust to taste)
5 cups of water
pandan juice
green food coloring

Boil all the ingredients until agar agar has dissolved
Pour into molds or into a pyrex dish
Let it cool and store in the fridge for atleast 12 hours before cutting

Here, I used a cookie cutter to cut into shapes.

Kuih Bingka Ubi

Ingredients :
1 lb grated cassava (tapioca)
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup coconut cream (and 1 tbsp for glazing)
1/2 stick of butter
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375F
Grease a 7 x 7 baking dish (or 6x6 tin)
Mix all the ingredients in a pot and boil over low heat until mixture thickens, stirring constantly.
Pour into the greased baking dish
Bake for 30 minutes
Glaze the top with coconut cream and broil until golden brown
Cool completely before cutting into pieces.

Sweet Potato Onde-Onde

This is a local Malaysian delicacy. It is sticky on the outside with the sweet sensation of oozing gula melaka syrup inside. Gula Melaka (or Gula Jawa) is made from the sap of the coconut tree and boiled down into a golden brown paste. It is usually sold in tubes or in blocks, and tastes similar to brown sugar.

Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes (boiled/steamed, peeled and mashed)
2 cups glutinous rice flour
3 tbsp pandan juice
Warm water

Filling:
Chopped up gula melaka bits

Coating:
Freshly grated coconut (I use frozen grated coconut found in the Asian Grocery stores)

Mix the mashed sweet potatoes, pandan juice and rice flour well. Add some water and knead until a stiff dough consistency is formed. Add more rice flour if needed.
Form the dough into small balls. Make a well in the center and fill it with some gula melaka.
Roll it up again into a ball, making sure the gula melaka is sealed well inside.

Put the balls into boiling water. When the balls float to the surface, remove them with a slotted ladle and roll it in the grated coconut.

Serve

BBQ Pork (Char Siu) pastries

Ingredients :
Pork (country ribs)
Char Siu sauce
Kicap manis
Oil for stir-fry
Green peas

Mix Char siu sauce and kicap manis together. And marinate pork for atleast 48 hours.
Prepare a deep baking dish (fill with 1/2 inch of water) , place a metal rack on top of baking dish.
Place marinated pork on the rack and bake for 25 minutes on 400F. (save marinate for glazing)
Take pork out and turn them over. Brush with marinate. And bake again for another 20 minutes.
Repeat one more time.

Take pork out and wrap in aluminum foil for about 20 minutes.
Carefully remove foil and chop the Char Siu up into tiny pieces. (or chop in a food processor)

In a hot skillet, add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add chopped Char Siu and green peas. And stir-fry for about 5 minutes.
You may add 2 tablespoons of water if you feel it is too dry. And 1 tablespoon of kicap manis.
Keep aside.

Preheat oven 375F

Prepare short-crust pastry. If I am in a hurry (or lazy) I usually buy the ready-made Pillsbury short-crust pastry.
Roll it out, and using a round circle cookie cutter, cut a few circles.

Place one teaspoon of Char Siu filling into the center of a circle. Place another circle on top. Press to seal. I use a fork to make the pattern all around. Brush with egg yolk.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve warm.

Cheat sheet: You can also buy some cooked BBQ pork from a Chinese take-out and chop them up and stir-fry with green peas for the filling.

Recipe for Short-Crust Pastry :
http://www.helpwithcooking.com/pastry-guide/shortcrust-pastry.html

Easy Orange Cake

If you're in a hurry and need to bring something to a party, here's a super easy (and moist and light) cake recipe.

You will need :

1 box of Duncan Hines white moist cake mix (Do NOT add in the other ingredients as directed on the box)
1 can of soda (I usually use Sunkist orange)

Combine cake mix and can of soda.
Pour into a 13x9 baking dish
Bake according to instructions on the box.

For topping :
Dust with powdered sugar
or decorate with cool whip.

In this picture, I put little dollops of coolwhip using a ziplock bag as an icing bag. And add a slice of mandarin orange (canned) on top.