Macarons and Tiramisu Birthday Cake

First time in my whole entire life, I did a Birthday cake for myself. I tell myself I must make a special cake this time, so I came out with an idea to use Macarons to decorate the Tiramisu cake (1st time baked also), i spent almost a day to complete this cake.

On this special moment, I need to take a photo with 1st Birthday cake did by me !! (my 10 years old son Lucas helps to take this photo)

Macarons and Tiramisu Cake

**Colourful Macarons

(printable recipe)

Almond flour 40g
Icing sugar 65g

Egg white 50g (1-2eggs)
Icing sugar 50g
Corn flour ½ tsp

Food colouring

1. Mix almond flour and icing sugar in a food processor, and give few "Pulse" to mix it well.
3. Beat egg white high speed till become foamy, gradually add in sugar until you get a glossy meringue (like cream), last add in corn flour and combine well.
4. Gently fold in flour mixture using spatula and mix well.
5. Add in food colouring.
5. Fill in the batter in a piping bag and pipe small rounds on a parchment paper.
6. Set aside to rest for 15mins.
7. Place macarons on a wooden board, bake at pre-heat oven at 130c for 3mins, and this process is to harden the shell only.
8. Remove wooden board, transfer macarons to another baking pan, bake at pre-heat oven at 150c for 15mins.
3. Spray some water on the paper, to easily remove the macarons (do it when macarons still warm). If you use non-stick parchment paper, you can save this step.
4. Store in air tight container to prevent macarons turned soggy.

**Tiramisu Cake

(printable recipe)

Recipe adapted from Moon 月亮, Thanks Moon for your kind sharing , but I made slight changes.
*makes a 7” cake

A) To make the Sponge cake
1 whole egg
25g caster sugar
25g cake flour
1tbsp coffee powder
10g butter (melted)
1tbsp milk

-Melt coffee powder with milk
-Beat egg, and gradually add in sugar, beat till double in volume and ribbon-like.
-Slowly fold in cake flour
-Add in coffee milk mixture and melted butter, mix well
-Bake at pre-heated oven at 180c for 30mins
-Set aside to cool the cake.

B) To make the coffee Syrup
13g sugar
25g hot water
3g coffee powder
5g Khalua (Coffee flavored liqueur)

-Mix all ingredients till dissolved, set aside.

C) To make the gelatine mixture
10g gelatine
50g hot water

-Dissolve gelatine and hot water over double-boiler, set aside.

D) In a mixing bowl, beat 250g Mascarpone cheese, set aside.

E) In a mixing bowl, with an electric mixer whisk the 250ml whipping cream until soft peak

F) To assemble the Macarons and Tiramisu Cake

10g khalua
1 Egg
100g sugar
about 24 sponge fingers (savoiardi)

- Cut off one end of the sponge fingers (same height as per baking pan). Line the sides of a 7" round baking pan* (with a removable base or use a springform pan).Save the leftover small pieces. Brush coffee syrup (B) over the sponge fingers.
-Trim off side of the sponge cake in order to place the sponge cake at the bottom of the baking pan. Brush coffee syrup over the sponge cake.
-Beat egg and sugar with a hand whisk over double-boiler, till double in volume and pale in colour.
-Pour the egg mixture to another big mixing bowl.
- Add in C, then followed by D, E, and 10g khalua.
- Spoon over half of the cheese filling. Spread evenly. Place the small leftover sponge fingers over the cheese filling and brush some coffee syrup.
-Spoon over the remaining filling. Spread and smooth the top. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for overnight.
-Decorate with fresh whipped cream, macarons and chocolate shavings

Happy Baking !!!

Coconut and Pandan Chiffon cake

After made the multiple layers of Jelly, I use the balance coconut milk to bake a chiffon cake. I don't like the smell from the artificial pandan paste use in my previous Pandan Chiffon, so this time I replaced it with few pandan leaves (screwpine leaves) to make the original green colour.

-When the chiffon is baking in the oven, the coconut smell from oven make my kitchen full of coconut aromatic! Smell so good!

Coconut and Pandan Chiffon cake
**for 20cm chiffon pan

(printable recipe)

A) 5 egg yolk (medium size), sugar 20g

B) Corn oil 50g,
Pandan and coconut liquid 70g
- Pound 5 stalks of pandan leaves (screwpine) till fine. Mix with coconut milk 70g and squeeze out juice

C) Self raising flour 100g
D) 5 egg white (medium size), sugar 70g, corn flour 1tbsp


Simple steps:-
1. Whisk (A) till creamy and pale yellow.
2. Add in (B) and mix well.
3. Fold in (C) and mix well, set aside
4. Beat (D) till soft peak form
5. Fold in Egg white mixture into Egg yolk mixture, well combine.
6. Bake at pre-heateded oven at 160c for 40mins

We like this light and simple chiffon cake, even the colour is very pale in green, not nice looking, but it is healthy since no articial colouring or chemical substances(cream of Tartar) is added. Less burden to our body !!

Happy Baking !!

Multiple Layers of Jelly

This dessert was prepared in view of recent super hot weather here...

Multiple Layers of Jelly
-tray size 30cm x 30cm
-makes 5 layers
(printable recipe)

1.8 litres water
400g sugar
25g jelly powder or agar-agar powder (Mermaid brand, from Thailand)
100ml coconut milk or Evaporated creamy
Food colouring-purple, red, yellow or your preference

1. Add jelly powder, sugar and water in a pot, use a hand whisk to stir till mix well.
2. Bring the pot to medium flame, stirring occasionally till jelly cooked and thickens.
3. Scoop up 400ml of cooked jelly in a separate bowl, add the food colouring.
4. Pour the colour cooked jelly over the prepared tray.
5. Leave it to set and turned slightly harden (take less than 5mins).
6. Scoop up another 400ml of cooked jelly, add 2tbsp coconut milk, slowly pour over colour layer of jelly.
7. Repeat step 4, 5 and 6 with difference food colouring and coconut milk, until all cooked jelly is used up.
8. Chill in fridge before serving.

Tomato Eggs 番茄炒鸡蛋

Tomato Eggs is a very simple dish, and I would say every Chinese family also know how to cook this dish. Just with two important ingredients, tomato and egg. Why I still want to share this simple tomato eggs to you? This is because my mom came out with a very good version which she added a special seasoning..Check it out below..

- The special seasoning here is Fish sauce... it makes the Tomato Eggs with richer flavour..

Tomato eggs
(printable recipe)

Ingredients4 whole eggs
3 tomato (medium size) – chopped
1 tsp of minced garlic and ginger
2 stalks spring onion (cut 1cm length)

Seasoning
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sugar or to taste
½ tsp salt or to taste
Dash of white pepper powder

1. Break eggs in a mixing bowl, add salt and pepper. Beat lightly with fork till blend well. Set aside.
2. Heat up cooking oil a non-stick pan over medium flame, add in minced garlic and ginger , then add in chopped tomato, stir fry to mix well.
3. Season with fish sauce, light soy sauce and sugar.
4. Pour in egg mixture, scramble the egg for about 1min.
5. Add in spring onion, mix well, dish out and serve hot.

Happy Cooking !!

Pho Ga (Vietnamese Chicken rice noodles soup)

Happy International Women' Day to all of you !! I would like to present this light and healthy noodles to all of you.


I like Vietnamese pho, i took pho for almost every lunch when I was in Ho Chi Minh last year. I try to cook this at home recently, also partly due to super hot weather here , I lost appetite to rice which serve in every dinner. As lime juice and fresh herbs are added to pho, so it is very appetite and refreshing.

At first, I was not too sure what spices added to the broth, luckily I found the Vietnamese beef pho recipe in Pig Pig's corner. I always have problem to buy beef in market here, so I changed beef to chicken, and omitted some of the spices..Thanks to Pig Pig's corner for kind sharing.


-From left, coriander seeds, cloves, cinnamon stalk, star anise

Pho Ga / Vietnamese Chicken rice noodles soup
(printable recipe)

The broth
4 Chicken carcasses
1 big onion (cut wedges)
½ tbsp sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp salt or to taste
4 whole cloves
1 whole star anise
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 cinnamon stalk
2.5 litres water

Ingredients
500g Vietnamese rice noodles (rinse in hot water)
500g whole Chicken breast (cook in the broth for 30mins, removed and shred the meat)
200g Bean sprouts (washed and tails pinched off)
Fresh basil leaves
Fresh coriander leaves
Fresh red chilli
Limes


1) To make the Chicken pho broth: Pan fried onion wedges till slightly brown. Place all spices (cloves, star anise, coriander seeds and cinnamon stick) in a cotton pouch. In a large pot, add in chicken carcasses,water, onion and spices pouch, bring to boil and simmer over low flame for 1hour. Season with sugar, fish sauce and salt, try to make it more salty as soup will dilute once added noodles. Strain the broth and discard the solids.

2) To make the bowl: Bring broth to boil, fill bowl with rice noodles and bean sprouts, and ladle the hot broth into bowl. Garnish with the rest of fresh veggie and shredded chicken. Serve hot.

Happy Cooking !!

Fatty House Mee Hoon Kuih, Klang 巴生大肥麵粉粿

Beside Bah Kut Teh, Klang's peoples also like to eat "Mee Hoon Kuih", and the famous shop selling this noodle is Fatty Mee Hoon Kuih 大肥麵粉粿. This shop is said to be the first in Klang to sell mee hoon kuih.

- Special cold drinks-Barley and Cincau, Soy bean and Cincau ..

-Workers are very busy making hand-pulled mee hoon kuih.

-crunchy fried ikan bilis (anchovies) and small chili dipping sauce

-"Mee Hoon Kuih" is made of flour, eggs and water, are hand-pulled and torn into little pieces to be cooked in anchovy stock. Vegetables, meat slices, innards and eggs are added according to the customer's preference. I like their soup, sweet and tasty.

-A never-ending stream of customers waiting patiently for their bowl of mee hoon kuih.

Address:-

Lebuh Bangau, Taman Berkeley, Klang.

Opens daily.

Lemon Butter Cake

Yesterday I baked this Lemon Butter cake which I have long time did not bake this cake. Also I have few lemons sitting in the fridge which I bought quite cheap from Tesco (RM 0.50/pc) the other day. This lemon butter cake definitely better than those lemon chiffon and passion fruit chiffon which I baked earlier.

Lemon Butter Cake
*make 1 loaf tin
(printable recipe)

Ingredients
125g butter (I use 100g butter and 25g margarine)
100g sugar
1 lemon, finely grate the rind
2 large eggs
175g self-raising flour
4tbsp milk

Lemon glaze
3 tbsp sugar
1 lemon, extract juice
1 lemon, finely grate the rind

1. Beat the butter with the sugar until fluffy.
2. Add in the eggs one by one, then add in lemon rind, mixing well.
3. Fold in the flour and milk, combine well.
4. Pour the mixture into a loaf tin lined with greaseproof paper.
5. Bake in pre-heated oven at 180C for 40mins.
6. Mix sugar and lemon juice and cook over low heat till sugar dissolved, add in lemon rind, set aside.
7. When cake done, remove cake from the oven and prick all over with a skewer.
8. Pour over the lemon glaze over the hot cake.
9. Ideally to leave cake to set overnight, to have better flavour.

Happy Baking !!!

Salt and Pepper Prawns

My son Lucas love prawn dishes especially butter prawn, but this time I cooked something different-Salt and Pepper prawns for him to try.

Salt and pepper prawns

Ingredients
350g medium large prawns
2 stalks of spring onion
1 red chili, seeded and chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 and 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1 tsp pepper
½ tsp of black pepper
A dash of Chinese five spice powder
1tsp sugar

Marinate prawns with:-
½ tsp light soy sauce
½ tsp pepper
2tbsp of tapioca/ corn flour

1. Trim prawns and season with marinade for about 30mins
2. Heat cooking oil in a wok until hot and deep-fry prawns until cooked (2-3minutes). Remove and drain from oil.
3. In another clean wok, sauté garlic with oil till fragrant, set aside.
4. Combine salt, five spice powder, pepper and dark pepper in a clean wok, fry about 30seconds
5. Return prawns to the wok and add fried garlic, chopped spring onion and chilli. Toss and fry briefly.

He likes this too, but still prefers butter prawn !!

Happy Cooking !!

Hokkian style of pork meat balls

Refer to my CNY reunion dishes, there was a request asking me to share the Hokkian style of pork meat balls recipe. Here you go the recipe.

Hokkian Style of pork meat balls

Ingredients:-
800g minced pork
150g minced fish paste (Spinach Mackerel –ikan tenggiri)
80g carrot (chopped finely)
100g big onion (chopped finely)
100g water chestnuts (chopped finely)

Seasoning:-
2 and ½ tsp salt or to taste
1 and ½ tsp light soy sauce or to taste
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
1-2 tbsp tapioca flour
2 tbsp water
Dash of white pepper


1. Mix ingredients and seasoning in a mixing bowl and mix well.
2. Slap the meat against the sides of the mixing bowl several times or until mixture is well combined and sticky.
3. Take a handful of meat in the palm of your hand and squeeze it out between your thumb and index finger into a neat round ball.
4. Drop the balls of meat into a pot of hot oil, deep fry till golden brown.
5. Serve hot.

**How we enjoy- wrap fried meat ball with salad leaf, tasted refreshing and yummy !


Happy Cooking !!

I-City’s digital lights showcase, Shah Alam

After done with Meeting bloggers, I brought my kids to see this digital lights show at I-City Shah Alam, a latest tourism destination in Shah Alam. This place is very near to my house, only 5 mins drive.


-Dozens of digital maple and pine light trees make for a colourful forest that delights the eyes. I feel myself like in Avatar movie.

-Chinese bamboo trees and red lanterns lending the place a traditional Chinese New Year atmosphere

-Desmond asked me to take a photo for him with this cute panda .

-awesome light view

-Desmond again requesed to take photo with his favourite red colour of Christmas tree

-Take a closer look at this light tree..

- If you are staying nearby, why not bring your kids to this new place, and it is free of charge !!

Read more about I-City here.

And here for the map to I-City digital light showcase.