No-Frills Recipes ... cooking, baking & excerpts on travel

This Mixed Fruit Cake is not so dense but more cake-like than most other fruit cake recipes.   Feed it regularly with Rum, Brandy or Whiskey to keep it moist and flavourful.   You can bake this early, age it for a while, and serve to your guests or as a gift on Christmas Day! A moist and not too sweet mixed fruit cake ....... tastes great with a cup of hot tea! Mixed Fruit X'mas Cake  ~  混合干果蛋糕            Ingredients 600 gm mixed fruits  (raisins, black currants, green and red cherries, pineapple, mixed peel and cranberries) 1/2 cup rum 250 gm butter 100 gm dark brown sugar  4 eggs 230 gm plain flour 1 Tsp baking powder Zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange 1/8 Tsp salt Rum, Brandy or Whiskey to drizzle Soak the mixed fruits with rum and keep in the fridge for about a week. Method Prepare a  9 x 5 inch loaf tin, lined with double parchment paper. Cream butter and sugar till soft, light and creamy Add in eggs one at a time. Mix in the lemon and ora

I picked up this dish from a very old neighbour, fondly remembered as 'Malay Aunty' as hers was the only Malay family in a totally Chinese dominated neighbourhood, back in the late 50's. Young children addressed her as "Grandma'. She liked her rendang to be cooked dry, with some 'kerisik' (fried coconut) tossed in at the end. On the contrary, I prefer mine to have a little bit of gravy and omitted the 'kerisik'. Chicken Rendang Ingredients : 900 gm Chicken cut into medium size 20 gm young ginger (cut into fine strips) 20 Shallots (cut into slices) 3 stalks of Serai/Lemon grass (crushed) 4 fresh Red Chillies (blended) 3 to 4 pieces of Kunyit/Turmeric leaves (cut into fine strips) 500 ml Coconut milk Salt to taste 'Kerisik'/Fried Coconut - Optional Method  : 1. In a wok, put in the chicken pieces, ginger strips, shallots, turmeric leaves, coconut milk, blended chillies, lemon grass and salt. 2. Cook on high heat and

This strawberry chiffon cake is a light and airy cake which is packed with strawberry flavour.   I used our locally grown strawberries from the Cameron Highlands and the taste of this cake is natural and not overly sweet.  It is great on its own but you can serve it with more strawberries or a dollop of whipped cream if so desired. Strawberry Chiffon Cake ~  草莓戚风蛋糕   (adapted from  'here'  with modification) Ingredients (A)  6 egg yolks        20 gm caster sugar        120 gm plain flour        110 gm strawberry puree, strained        60 ml canola oil        20 ml milk        2 to 3 drops of red food colouring        1/2 tsp vanilla (optional) (B)  6 egg whites        80 gm caster sugar        1/2 tsp cream of tartar OR 2 tsp lemon/lime juice Method Puree the strawberries and strain it, set aside. With a ball whisk, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, add in oil, milk, vanilla and strawberry puree, mix till well combined. Sift flour i

It's the norm to cook and serve this dish in a claypot but in my case, I used a wok as I do not own a claypot.  This is a classic dish which very often appears in the menu of most Chinese restaurants.  A very appetising dish which pairs well with a bowl of fluffy white rice or plain porridge. Salted Fish with Pork Belly ~  咸鱼花腩 Ingredients 450 gm pork belly, cut into bite size 3 dried chillies, soaked in hot water till soft 50 gm salted fish, sliced 5 pips garlic, chopped 6 slices ginger 1 onion, cut to wedges 1 Tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine 1.1/2 cups water sugar to taste  spring onions to garnish Seasoning for Pork Belly 1/2 Tbsp oyster sauce 1/2 Tbsp dark soya sauce 3/4 Tbsp cornflour Method Marinate the pork belly with the above seasoning, set aside. With some oil, lightly saute the chopped garlic, ginger and dried chillies till fragrant. Toss in the salted fish, stir-fry.   Add in the seasoned pork belly, stir-fry.  Add in the water a

These fairly large cookies baked with dried strawberries from my recent holiday up in the Cameron Highlands, are crispy at the sides and slightly soft and chewy in the centre.  These will come in handy as a gift for family and friends during the coming festive season.   If you prefer the cookies to be crunchy, just bake them a little longer, say about 5 mins.  Also, you can substitute the dried strawberries with other dried fruits that you have at hand. Strawberry Choc Chip Cookies ~   草莓巧克力曲奇 Ingredients 115 gm butter 40 gm brown sugar 40 gm caster sugar 1 egg 190 gm plain flour 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1/2 tsp vanilla 70 gm dried strawberries, chopped 70 gm choc chips a pinch of salt Method Beat butter and sugar till creamy, add in the egg and vanilla till well combined. Sieve in plain flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt.  Mix well. Add in chopped strawberries and choc chips.  Mix till well combined. Let chill in the fridge for an hour.

I spotted a recipe calling for peanut butter in a cake and since I had some creamy peanut butter and dark chocolate at hand, I didn't procrastinate to bake this.  This is a moist, dense but flavourful cake as the peanut butter blends well with the melted chocolate, perfect with a hot cuppa tea. Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake ~   花生奶油蛋糕 Ingredients 300 gm plain flour 2 tsp baking powder 180 gm dark chocolate, melted 125 gm butter 125 gm creamy peanut butter 1 tsp vanilla 4 large eggs, separated 75 gm Panela sugar (or you can use brown sugar) 100 gm caster sugar 1 cup milk Method Melt the dark chocolate, set aside. Sift flour with baking powder, set aside. Beat butter and sugar till light and creamy, add in the egg yolks one at a time, add in vanilla, beat till well incorporated. On low speed, mix in the melted chocolate, peanut butter, flour and milk.  Mix well. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites till stiff peaks form. Fold the egg wh

I am thrilled to announce that one of my recipes will be featured in this new ' Bake & Celeberate :  Cookies & Treats'   cookbook.  Many thanks to Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Ltd for giving me the opportunity to be part of this joint cookbook. The book will be sold at S$14.90 once launched at the bookstores in Singapore in December which comes in handy as a gift to your family and friends for the coming festive seasons.  But there will be a special pre-order sale for this book at a special price of S$11.95, which is a 20% discount from the actual retail price.  There will be a delivery charge of S$10 for orders of 4 copies and below.  Free delivery will be provided for 5 copies and above.  The pre-order starts from now till 9 December 2016.  Kindly direct all orders to letsbakeandcelebrate@gmail.com As for Malaysian readers, you can place your order @   http://www.mphonline.com/ books/nsearchdetails.aspx?& pcode=9789814771689 Thank you

What do you do when you're told last minute that you are eating alone?   That was what happened to me recently and fortunately I had some chicken breast meat, a Japanese cucumber and some rice vermicelli.  So I just mixed all these together and  topped with some homemade sauce and lightly toasted cuttle fish, whipped up this salad...... Yum! Rice vermicelli and cuttle fish salad ~   米粉和墨鱼沙拉 Ingredients 2 pcs dried cuttle fish, lightly toasted and shredded 150 gm rice vermicelli, blanched and drained 100 gm chicken breast meat 2 kaffir lime leaves, cut finely 2 shallots, sliced thinly 1 Japanese cucumber, seeds removed and sliced Seasoning for chicken - season with some salt, a bit of sugar, pepper Homemade dressing 2 bird eye chillies, cut 1 heaped Tbsp peanut butter (creamy or chunky) 1 Tbsp honey 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce lightly toasted sesame seeds to garnish Method Poach or steam the chicken, le

I gave these simple cupcakes a light 'makeover' by dressing them up with toffee shards .  together with a light dusting of icing sugar.  These cupcakes are moist and soft with a hint of mint chocolate and it will be great to serve them at family gatherings or to your guests during the coming festive season. Choc Mint Cupcakes ~   薄荷巧克力蛋糕 Ingredients 300 gm plain flour 45 gm cocoa powder 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda 150 gm butter 370 gm brown sugar 3 large eggs 200 ml milk 1 tsp vanilla 12 After Eight mint chocolate, chopped Toffee shards and icing sugar to decorate (optional) Method Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, set aside. Cream butter and sugar till pale and fluffy.   Add in the eggs, one at a time. Add in flour alternating with the milk. Stir in the choc mint and spoon batter into paper cups. Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 deg.C for about 20 to 25 mins.   Remove from oven and

Kaya is a Malaysian egg jam made with coconut milk, sugar and eggs.  Contrary to most people who like their kaya to be smooth and spreadable, I prefer mine to be a bit coarse, not lumpy but a wee bit grainy so that I can really taste the egg jam. Pandan kaya is kaya made with additional juice from the pandan or screwpine leaves hence giving it the natural green colour.  Kaya on toasts is a very common Malaysian breakfast and I do like to occasionally add a light spread of peanut butter to my kaya toasts as well. Pandan Kaya aka Screwpine Egg Jam ~  班兰咖椰 Ingredients 5 medium size eggs 250 ml coconut milk (I used Ayam brand UHT Coconut milk) 230 gm caster sugar 2 Tbsp pandan aka screwpine juice a few pandan leaves tied into a knot Method Snip about 20 pandan leaves (depending on size) and blend with 60 ml water. Strain and set aside 2 Tbsp juice. Boil some water in a pot, big enough for the mixing bowl to rest on. In a mixing bowl, stir the eggs

I was attracted by the Banana Chiffon with Cocoa Layering recipe posted by Wendy and was keen to give it a try.  What really caught my eye was the fine lines of cocoa in the cake.  Since I had some very ripe Pisang Berangan, I didn't hesitate to bake this chiffon cake and was delighted when the cake turned out nicely with the cocoa designs. The chiffon was soft and moist as in most bakes with bananas and my kitchen was filled with sweet smelling banana fragrance while it was baking in the oven! Banana chiffon with cocoa layering  ~   香蕉戚风蛋糕     (adapted from 'here' ) Ingredients (A) 250 gm peeled over-ripe bananas 50 ml milk 60 ml oil 5 large egg yolks 125 gm plain flour 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1/2 tsp vanilla 2 tsp cocoa powder for dusting (B) 5 large egg whites 80 gm caster sugar 1/2 tsp vinegar Method Puree the bananas with milk, mix in oil, vanilla and egg yolks till smooth. Sift flour with bicarbonate of sod

This Steamed Purple Sweet Potao Kuih is my second attempt as the top layer was too thick on my first try.  So, this time around I decided to reduce the recipe for the top layer and it does look much better!  Taste wise, you may ask .... mmm, soft and not too sweet, good for breakfast or snack, any time of the day! Recipe for Steamed Purple Sweet Potato Kuih Ingredients - Bottom Layer 180 gm rice flour 30 gm green pea flour 300 ml water 480 ml water 220 gm granulated sugar 50 gm steamed sweet potato bits Method Mix the rice flour, green pea flour and 300 ml water thoroughly.  Sieve the mixture into a pot. Add in 480 ml water and sugar, keep stirring and cook on low heat. Once the mixture  starts to thicken, turn off  heat.  Pour mixture onto an oiled 8.1/2 inch square tin. Toss in the steamed sweet potato bits.  Steam on medium heat for 25 mins. or till the surface is a bit firm to the touch. Top Laye