Chocolate lamingtons

This recipe comes from the book 

The junior Gourmet by Elizabeth Long

It contains recipes from around the world 

Lamingtons are from Australia

The original recipe makes 25 pcs - I think must be large pcs because the ingredients are a lot. I halved the recipe but the original recipe is here

Recipe

Part 1  Cake

520 gm of plain flour

750 gm of caster sugar

135 gm of Dutch cocoa ( I used Hershey's cocoa)

2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

4 eggs

120ml white vinegar ( I used Borges cider vinegar)

300 ml vegetable oil

70 ml espresso coffee 

600 ml milk

Part 2 

500 gm icing sugar

60 gm Dutch cocoa

350 ml hot water

2 cups desiccated coconut

Method 

Preheat oven to 170 deg celcius. Butter a 25 x 36 cm cake tin line the base and sides with baking paper

Add into a large bowl sifted flour, sugar, cocoa n bicarbonate of soda. Mix well.

Make your coffee.

Using another bowl, whisk the eggs., then add in vinegar, oil, coffee and milk and mix well.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well until just combined and pour into the cake tin

Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer  comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool in tin for a few minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool.

Before baking

After baking

Note : do not try to put tin foil on cake during baking as the foil stuck to my cake 

And caused a hole

Part 2 icing

Combine the icing sugar n cocoa in a bowl n slowly whisk in hot water until it is a smooth sauce 

Cut the cake into 5 cm squares

 ( I made mine smaller)

Prepare a wire rack n place 2 kitchen towels below to absorb chocolate drippings

Dip the cake pcs into the sauce then place on the wire rack for a minute or two.

Then I used 2 toothpick to pick the cake  up n roll in the dessicated coconut.

Place all the prepared cakes and chill then in a tray till icing sets.

Cakes coated with icing

Coat in coconut

Yummy lamingtons!

Chicken with kiwi n cashew nuts

Easy dish ready in 15 minutes! Healthy dish incorporated green kiw.

Recipe 

2 pcs of chicken filet (from a pack in Fairprice supermarket)

Some corn flour

1 green kiwi

1 teaspoon of Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade with roasted garlic

1/2 tsp of sugar

Handful of cashew nuts 

Some cooking oil

Method

Remove the vein from the chicken dice chicken into cubes

Marinate with the sauce n sugar 

Remove skin from kiwi n dice 

Now coat the chicken with corn flour

Now heat the oil in the frying pan

Add in the chicken fry till exterior brownish

Add in the kiwi and cashew nuts and stir fry a short while

Dish up

Serve with rice

Some ingredients 

Ready to eat 

Oven baked chicken bites

This is a great snack and easy to make 

I used chicken leg meat for this or you can use chicken filet.

Recipe 

2 pieces of boneless chicken leg remove skin and cut into bite size pieces

1 egg 

1/4 cup of milk

3/4 cup of panko crumbs

1 tablespoon of mixed herbs (I used ready mix)

2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan 

1 plastic bag

1 plate 

One baking tray 

Cooking spray 

Method 

Prepare the chicken 

Mix the panko crumbs n herbs n cheese in a plastic bag

Mix the milk n egg in a plate

Preheat the oven to 180c

Dip the chicken meat in the egg milk mixture

Then into the bag of crumbs 

Put onto the baking tray

Bake for 20 minutes

Serve with tomato sauce or chilli sauce for extra oomph!

The crumb mix 

Dip into egg milk mix

Dip into the bag of crumbs

Bake for 20 minutes

Ready to eat 

Fried Hokkien Noodles with Udon

Easy stir fry and tasty dish I whipped up as a afternoon snack. The portion is enough for two adults but as a snack I managed to share with three persons.

Recipe

I used a packet 100 gm of udon 

And 2 handfuls of hokkien noodles 

Boil these together in hot water for about 2 minutes and drain. Set aside.

A few Dodo brand fish balls. Each ball sliced into 4

Some slices of Chinese sausages ( can replace with a few prawns)

A few broccoli florets 

Half a small carrot julienned 

2 pcs of garlic minced

Sauce ingredients

1.5 -2 Chinese soup spoon of Tai Hua dark soy sauce 

1.5 - 2 Chinese soup spoon of oyster sauce

1 tsp of sugar

Some white pepper if desired 

Add in some hot water about 100 ml n mix the sauce till sugar dissolves

Method

Heat a wok and add in about 3 tablespoons oil.

You can reduce the oil but I didn't want my noodles to stick on my wok.

When oil is hot, fry the garlic about 15 seconds

Add in the carrots, broccoli first n fry a few seconds

Add in sliced fish ball and sausages n fry a short while

Add in noodles with udon and pour seasoning over 

Mix thoroughly for about a minute

I used my chopsticks to do it 

If the vegetables look cooked, then remove noodles from wok

Serve warm

Suggestion : You can drink a cup of nice Chinese or Japanese tea with this meal.

Non bake Blackberry jam cheesecake

This chilled cheesecake incorporated black berry jam and served with a portion of blackberry jam.

Using a recipe I learnt from a cooking session I adjusted it to make this

Recipe

Some ingredients

A loaf tin 

Aluminum foil to line n drape over the tin

Mcvities Digestive biscuits 8 pcs crushed to very fine

100 gm unsalted butter melted

1 teaspoon of brown sugar

350 gm of Kraft Philadephia cream cheese softened = 1.5 packets

1 tablespoon gelatin

3 tablespoon hot water 

Blackberry jam about 100 gm warmed in microwave for 20 seconds

Extra jam for topping

Chocolate chips ( up to your liking - 2 fistfuls)

Extra chips for topping

Bulla thickened cream to whip 100 gm

1/2 tsp vanilla essence 

Method 

Line the loaf tin so that you can remove the cheesecake for serving

Lift up easily

Prepare the biscuit base

Melt the butter I used microwave to help 

Takes about 30 seconds 

Crush the biscuits in a ziplock bag

Add in the brown sugar n mix 

Add in the butter n mix

Pour into the base of prepared loaf tin n use the back of a large spoon to compress the base

Chill in fridge for 30 minutes

Mix gelatin n hot water n small bowl n set aside.

If the creamcheese has softened, cut into pcs into a mixing bowl.

Use an electric beater to beat it till more creamy.

Add in the blackberry jam (watery look after warming) n vanilla essence. Mix well.

Add in the gelatin n mix well.

Add in the chocolate chips n mix well.

Wash the beaters n use clean beaters to whip up the thickened cream

It should look like this

Fold in this into the cream cheese mix

Pour the mix on top of the biscuit base already firmed up by now n level it.

Scatter more chocolate chips.

Ready to chill

Chill for 3 hours . Lift up using the foil n cut into squares to serve. Put some blackberry jam (warmed to watery n cool before use) on it before serving.

Toasted banana and pork floss sandwich

This is a simple toast sandwich. 

I have a 3 day old banana at home. Inspired by a recipe in Facebook Plate & Palate group who used floss in a wrap, I decided to do mine with floss & banana too.

Recipe

Cut a piece of bread into 2.

Slice n place some pieces of bananas onto one side of the bread

Put some pork floss onto the bananas.

Butter the other piece of bread n make a sandwich

Preheat oven to 170 .

Put the bread into a tray or aluminum foil.

Heat each side for 10 minutes till bread is crispy.

Enjoy it!

Tastes sweet n salty at the same time :)

Yummy!

After toasting

Char kway teow

My first plate of char kway teow. Not too bad in the looks department :)

Next time I shall add a bit more kecap manis to sweeten it a little.

I followed Noobcook's recipe please see the full recipe through this link

http://www.noobcook.com/char-kway-teow/2/

Below is a photo of ingredients I used

My portion is double the original recipe for 3 adults portion

Recipe

I used an entire packet of kway teow 400 gm ( Fortune brand)

About 100 gm of hokkien noodles ( Sakura brand)

Some red wine lup cheong sliced thinly 

I bought Golden Palm brand - ready sliced very convenient 

2 eggs

1 stalk of chye sim cut up

2 strand of spring onion cut up 

A few garlic minced 

A fistful of bean sprouts

1 large fish cake sliced

The sauce for char kway teow 

I used Tai Hua dark sauce about 2 tablespoon

Kecap manis I used 1 tablespoon because I read wrongly should use 2.5 or 3 tablespoon 

Fish sauce 1 tablespoon

About 2 tablespoon water during frying 

Heat enough oil in the wok and fry the garlic till fragrant

Please swirl the oil around the wok so that the kway teow won't stick to wok 

Then add in the noodles, kway teow n the fish cake, lup cheong and sauce 

Quickly stir fry everything using high heat

Make sure the noodles n kway teow gets brown colour from the sauce 

I added a little water at this point

Then I added in the vegetables and bean sprouts 

Stir fry quickly till vegetables are almost cooked

Add in the eggs and stirfry till cooked

Serve warm

Ingredients in the wok

Added in vegetables 

Ready to eat!

Happy cooking!