Chocolate Madeleines

Chocolate Madeleine

Out of all bread and parties available in the bakery shops, my boy has this passion towards Chocolate Madeleine. So whenever we are near ION, Orchard he would definitely get some Madeleine from “Bread Society”. He loves the moist and chocolatey texture of the cake which he could have at least 3 for his tea-snack.

And recently while arranging the bookshelves, I happened to come across this wonderful recipe which I jotted down from one of Donna Hay’s cookbook some years back. With that I decided to try making a batch of these chocolate madeleine for my boy.

Chocolate Pumpkin Butter Cake

All along I prefer butter cake compared to those frosted cream cake, chiffon, fresh fruits or etc that is available in the bakery. And personally I crave for those traditional rich and moist butter cakes that served together with a cup of freshly brewed English tea that will refresh your soul for a great afternoon tea session.

After trying the 1st batch of Pumpkin Butter Cake that I made into small muffin cups, we love the soft texture, buttery taste as well as the natural flavour from the mashed pumpkin. And since I have another ½ portion of leftover pumpkin in the fridge, I decided to combine this recipe with the recent Marble Cake (HERE) that I have made and come out with the "Chocolate Pumpkin Butter Cake".

For these two recipes here, I used Lurpak Unsalted Butter which I prefer its smooth and creamy taste that is does not make you feel queasy even after having a slices of two of the cake. As for the pumpkin I used the Butternut because I love its sweet and nutty taste that is great for soups, casseroles, breads, and even cakes.

(adapted from 茄子, 袅袅烘焙香 HERE)
Ingredients For Pumpkin Butter Cake: (makes 6 muffins)
100g Pumpkin(without skin), steamed and mashed
150g Cake Flour/Top Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
100g Caster Sugar
100g Unsalted Butter, cubes and soften
3 Large Eggs

Toppings:
Some Pumpkin Seeds
Some Shredded/Sliced Pumpkin

Methods:-

1. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy, add in eggs one at a time and beat till well combined.

2. Stir-in vanilla extract then fold in the sifted flours (cake flour + baking powder) in two round till there is no trace of flour in the batter.

3. Add in mashed pumpkin (refer to the preparation method below) and preferably using a balloon whisk to give the mixture some quick stir to combine the pumpkin with the flour batter.

4. Spoon the pumpkin batter into prepared muffin case, top with shredded pumpkin or pumpkin seeds.

5. Bake in pre-heated 170 degree oven for about 15 - 18 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.


To Prepare The Mashed Pumpkin:

1. Place pumpkin cubes(without skin) into a microwave heatproof bowl together with 1 tablespoon of water.

2. Cook in high heat for 3 - 4 minutes with an interval stirring between each minute.

3. Mash the cooked and soft pumpkin with a fork and set aside to cool while preparing the batter. OR

4. You can steam the pumpkin cubes in a pot of boiling water using steaming rack for about 10 minutes or till pumpkin is soften.

As you can see from the photo despite of the beautiful swirl colours from the pumpkin and chocolate batter there are some setback of air holes which appears due to my oversight of mixing the two batters. But thanks God these flaws did not affect the texture and taste of this moist and buttery cake.

Ingredients For Chocolate Pumpkin Butter Cake: (makes 17cm cake )
120g Pumpkin(without skin), steamed and mashed
150g Cake Flour/Top Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
100g Castor Sugar
100g Unsalted Butter
3 Large Eggs
1 Tablespoon Dutch Cocoa Powder, sieved

Toppings:
Some Pumpkin Seeds, optional

Methods:-

1. To prepare the chocolate pumpkin butter cake, follow step 1 and 2 shown above for preparing the flour batter.

2. Scoop about 3 - 4 Tablespoons of flour batter into a small bowl together with 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder, whisk till well combined. Set aside.

3. Whisk in mashed pumpkin into the remanding flour batter.

4. Drop 1 - 2 spoons of the pumpkin and chocolate batter alternately into the prepared tin.

5. When all the mixture has been used up, tap the bottom on the tin on your work surface to ensure that there aren't any air bubbles.

6. Take a skewer and swirl it around the mixture in the tin a few times to create a marbled effect.

7. Bake the cake for 25 - 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

8. Cool the cake completely before removing it from the baking tin/case, cut into slices and serve with coffee/tea.




Chocolate Pumpkin Butter Cake

Chocolate Chiffon Cake with Multigrain & Mixed Fruits

I have almost forgotten this yummy chiffon cake that has being hiatus inside my half-drafted post section since late August till now. As regular readers of this blog, I am sure you knew we love anything that is made of chocolate. So for this chiffon cake I used some cocoa powder, mini chocolate chips and dark chocolate chunks as main ingredients. And in order to enhance it’s outlook, I sprinkle generous amount of store bought Multigrain mixture and dried mixed fruit for that extra texture and colour.

Chocolate Banana Muffins

Last month I have made some “Banana & Oreo Muffin” where you can make use of those oreo cookies in a new way rather than dipping them in fresh milk for snack. With the same concept, I replace the oreo cookies with some cocoa powder and mini chocolate chips to create another lovely flavour for chocolate lovers.

As you can notice from most of my posts, I love to make muffins especially those mini or mouthful size type. I find making these makes it easier for my kid to have it as tea snack or sometime it can be also act as a lovely gift for friends too.

Matcha Madeleines with Azuki Bean

Madeleines are very small traditional sponge cakes with a distinctive shell-like shape which traditional recipes always include ground almonds and lemon zest. But for the Madeleines in this post, I did not included the the two ingredients mentioned by rather I add in some Matcha - 抹茶(Green Tea) powder and cooked Azuki Bean - 紅豆 for a Japanese snack fusion. 

Prefect Valentines Gift

Valentine's Day is just a few days around the corner and I am sure most of us are cracking our head on what's the prefect gift to get for our love ones. But no matter what's your gifts are, I am sure anything that has CHOCOLATE in it will made a lovely gift for your darling or friends.

For me, I am a chocolate lover and I love anything that consists of Dark Chocolate. And to me, "Chocolate Brownie" makes a prefect snacks and gifts for all occasions. I have tried this recipe which given by one of my best pal, Tracy sometimes back but the end-result was not very satisfied because I seems to have over-baked it. But this round, I finally managed to get my prefect brownie with moist and gluey melted chocolate in it....... For those who are interested in this recipe, here it goes...

Ingredients:
250g Butter, melted
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Caster Sugar
4 Eggs
1 1/3 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
150g Dark Chocolate, roughly chopped
40g Roasted Almond, roughly chopped
40g Roasted Macadamia Nut, roughly chopped

Method:
1. Put the butter in a microwave safe bowl and melt it on high 2 minutes, pause to stir after each minute.
2. Sift all the flour ingredients together and set aside.
3. Next add both the sugar to the melted butter and stir till the sugar became almost melted and gluey.
4. When the sugar mixture is cool off, add in the egg one by one and use a balloon whisk and beat till well combine.
5. Next slowly whisk the flour mixture into the egg mixture till well combine.
6. Lastly stir in half each of the chopped dark chocolate and nuts then pour into a square or rectangle brownie tin.
7. Sprinkler the remaining chocolate and nuts on top of the mixture, give the whole tin a few bang to knock off the air bubbles inside.
8. Bake in a preheat 180 degree oven and bake for about 18 - 20 minutes depend on the tin size.
9. The brownie will pull away from the sides of the pan and when test with a skewer, it will be a bit moist inside.
10. Cool. Cut into bars.

Notes:
a) If using those black coated baking tin, you have to reduce baking time by 3-5 minutes.


After the brownie has cooled off, cut it into bite size. Grab a nice and lovely gift box, packed it with the brownie cubes and perhaps some extra chocolate or candy. I am sure this will make a Prefect Valentine's Gift for anyone......

Christmas Chocolate Cupcakes

Christmas is about family, friends, fun and great food. But it is often the food and gift that form the stress part of this approaching holiday season. So why not whip-up something simple and yet special from your very own kitchen, gift-wrapped it into a heart-warming and gorgeous Christmas gift for your friends and relatives..........

Usually around mid of November onwards, you will be to find all kind of Christmas Goodies on sale at most pastry shop and shopping mall. Eg. Christmas Logcake, Gingerbread man/house, Minced Pie and etc...... Since now is the festive baking season, Rey and I have come up with these quick and easy Christmas Chocolate Cupcakes. After which we gave them a make-over, packed them in gift-bags and ready to distribute out.

The Main ingredients for this Chocolate Cupcakes are Dark Chocolate, Egg, Sugar and Butter. You may also wish to get your kids to be involved in the stirring, mixing as well as the decoration of Christmas Ornaments on the end products. Since afterall, Christmas is a family festive season where everyone is encourage to be involved in the preparation. These cupcakes are so rich and simple to make that you won't hesitate to make another batch in anytime of the week.

Ingredients: (makes 6)
150g 70% Dark Chocolate, chop into small cubes
150g Unsalted Butter, cut into small cubes
3 Medium Size Egg
60g Caster Sugar
100g Self Raising Flour
1 Teaspoon Dutch-process Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Snow Powder/Icing Sugar, for dusting
Extra 1 Teaspoon Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder, for dusting

Method:
1. Set a medium glass bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter together(refer to the picture above, 2nd row, 1st picture), stir well till everything is completely melted then set a side to cool a little.
2. Sieves the self-raising flour and 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder together and set aside.
3. Beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl until pale and thick, fold in the flour mixture into the egg mixture till combined.
4. Next slowly add in the melted chocolate mixture and stir till well blended.
5. Preheat the oven to 160 degree, scoop the mixture into the prepared cup cases and bake for 20 minutes (depend on the size of cupcake case, baking time will range from 15 – 20 minutes which you can test by inserting a toothpick to test if it is cooked through)
6. The cupcakes will be soft and gooey in texture and appearance.
7. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes, dusted with extra cocoa powder and icing sugar to create the snow effect.
8. Lastly decorate it with some store bought Christmas Ornaments for that extra festive outlook.

Note:-
1) The cupcake case that is used in this recipe yield 150ml of mixture per case at 3/4 full.
2) If you prefer not to have that gooey texture cake, you can baked for another further 2 - 3 minutes for dryer texture.


After the baking, dusting of icing sugar, placing of Christmas decoration, it is time for gift wrapping. You can get some fancy wrapping bags and ribbons from Daiso or any leading Baking Accessories shop like Phoon Huat (Singapore) and Bake It Yourself.

I am sure anyone will feel great and heart-warming to receive such a wonderful homemade gift. So if you can bake any simple cookies or cupcakes, why not grab some nice wrapping bag and start making your very own Christmas goodies for your love one, colleagues or relatives. I believed they will be surprised and delighted by your special thoughts and bakes.

Durian Chocolate Chiffon Cake

This is 2nd Chiffon Cake recipe that I experiment and tested. I used the combination of Cocoa Powder + 70% Dark Chocolate + fresh DURIAN as main ingredients. So you can imagine having a bite on this slice of cake with such combination where you can actually smell and taste the baked durian in a rich cocoa content. Since this is a chiffon cake, you will find the texture of the cake to be light, spongy and fluffy rather than that greasy and dense compare to cake.

Chocolate Overload

Talk about Chocolate both Reyon and me can't resists it. We have all kind of chocolate stuffs in the kitchen pantry and fridge, ranging from cookies to ice-cream and cakes.....So when I come across this recipe, I told myself that this is a must try list on our baking list. I show Rey the picture of this Chocolate muffin and at once he told me that he wants to make for me, Grandma and Grandaunt on Mother's Day.

So immediately after the washing up from our Salmon Bento lunch. We started our Mother's Day baking project. I help Reyon to measure all the ingredients and put them into separate bowl while he will follow my instructions to make the muffins. This as usual is suitable to be handle by kids as it require only, WHISK, STIR, POUR and BAKE. So do give your kids a chance to whisk up this simple and yet irresistible chocolate muffin.

Dual Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Although I love to eat brownies but then I don't really make it at home because I knew that it's not really easy to make a good, moist and chewy brownies using home ingredients. But after hearing my friend Tracy mentioning about her homemade chocolate brownies being wipe off the tray by all her family memebers, I decided to try out the recipe that she gave me. Everything went on perfectly except that because I am using the rectangle brownies tin and maybe due to my oven temperature(mine is fan forced oven) the interior part of the brownies is too dry and crumbs like you see from the above picture.

But this does not affect the overall taste of the brownies as it is still very fragrant and full of chocolate taste. From the recipe that Tracy given to me, I use Grand Marnier instead of Vanilla Essence and I also add in grated orange rinds from one orange. The combination of chocolate and orange really makes the brownies extra fragrant and tastier.

Reyon and I love this little treats and he insists to try it out after it had being cool from the oven tray while we are preparing for tomorrow bento ingredients. Thank you tracy for sharing this wonderful recipe with us dispite that I had made some error on the baking time....... :)

Ingredients:
250g Butter, melted
1 1/4 Cup Sugar
1 Teaspoon Grand Marnier
4 Eggs
1 1/3 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
1 Grated Orange Rinds
125g Dark Chocolate, roughly chopped
100g White chocolate, for topping(optional)

Methods:
1. Put the butter in a microwave safe bowl and melt it on high 2 minutes, pause to stir after each minute.
2. Sift all the flour ingedients and salt together and set aside.
3. Next add in the sugar to the melted butter and stir till the sugar almost melted and gluey.
4. When the sugar mixture is cool off, add in the egg one by one and whisk until well combine.
5. Next stir in the flour mixture into the egg mixture till well combine.
6. Add in the orange rinds and chopped dark chocolate and stir till combine then pour into a square or rectangle brownie tin.
7. Bake in a preheat 180 degree oven and bake for about 20 - 30 minutes depend on the tin size.
8. The brownie will pull away from the sides of the pan and when test with a skewer, it will be a bit moist inside.
9. Cool. Cut into bars.

Notes:
a) I used 1 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup castor sugar
b) If using those black coated baking tin, you have to reduce baking time by 5 - 10 minutes.

Chocolate Fudge Brownie With Assorted Nuts

Try making this Chocolate Fudge Brownie With Assorted Nuts using Betty Crocker® Ultimate Fudge Brownies pre-mixed packet. This is recommend by one of my blog pal Evan. The texture of the Brownie is very moist and chewy and I really love the taste and texture compare to some store bought brownie.

For this recipe, I add in an extra 50g mixture of Walnut and Macadamia nuts to make it a combination of crunchy and chewy texture. But I guess I had slightly over baked the brownie as the bottom layer is slightly drier than the upper portion. But overall I love this pre-mixed pack and I will want to give their other flavour a try too.

Double Chocolate Chips Cookies With Nestum

This is Reyon's favourite Chocolate Chips cookies that had a mixture of Black and White Mini Chocolate Chips together with Nestum. The texture of this cookie is very crunchy due to the adding of the Nestum. You use any kind of chocolate chips, chopped dark chocolate or even with some extra nuts to create different favour and texture.


The recipe is introduce to me by my best blog pal Tracy, but I had used only half of the original recipes to make and add in some extra RUM for some extra fragrant.

Ingredients: (make about 30 - 35, 3cm cookies)
90g Light Brown Sugar
90g Unsalted Butter, cubes
95g Plain Flour
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
50g Nestum(instant cereal)
50g Mini Chocolate Chips
1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Essence
Pinch Of Salt
1/2 Egg, Light Beaten

Methods:
1. Sift together flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl and set aside for later use.
2. Cream butter and sugar till pale, beat in egg, vanilla essence and RUM(if using) until well combined about 1 minute on medium speed.
3. Fold the flour mixture into the ready butter mixture.
4. Next stir in Nestum and Chocolate Chips with wooden spoon or spatula.
5. Drop teaspoonful of dough onto baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 15 - 20 minutes at a preheated 180 degree oven till slightly browned at the edge.



Notes:
a) I added about 1/2 Teaspoon Of RUM liquor to give the cookies an extra fragrant.
b) Nestle Nestum can be found in most local supermarket under the cereal or coffee/tea session.

Durian Cheesecake With Chocolate Fudge

My family had always being a Durian Lover. Especially my brother and my aunty's family. So I decided to come up with this special durian cheesecake using a basic non-bake cheesecake recipe.

Em... maybe you will ask me or wonder how does the taste like when you have a mixture of dark chocolate fudge with creamy durian cheese filling? I can tell you, it's a very special combination. As if you can have 3 different taste and texture within a cake itself. The crunch of the Oreo Biscuit, the smooth and creamy Durian Cheese Filling and lastly top with chewy Dark Chocolate Fudge. It's really heavenly match....


Although you need a few more ingredients and steps to make this Non-Bake cheesecake but it's really worth it and you can interchange the main ingredients with other fruits like: Mango, Strawberry, Blueberry or etc instead of Durian.

Ingredients For Crust:
225g - 250g Chocolate Oreo Biscuit, finely crushed
150g Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled

Methods:
1. Use a large sheet of aluminum foil to wrap the base of a 7" x 7" square cake ring.
2. Slowly drizzle in the melted butter into the biscuit cumbs then stir till the mixture it's almost combined(you might not need to add in all the melted butter) and press into cake ring and chill in the fridge until firm. (about 20 mins - 30 mins).

Ingredients For Durian Fillings:
250g Cream Cheese
70g Caster Sugar
250g Durian Flesh
1 Tablespoon Gelatine Powder
50ml Warm Water
125g Plain Yogurt
200g Non-Dairy Whipping Cream

Methods:
1. Double boil or microwave the gelatine powder with 50ml warm water until dissolved and set aside.
2. Beat the cream cheese and sugar until creamy and light, then add in the durian flesh and continue to beat until well combined.
3. Next pour in the melted gelatine mixture and yogurt then stir till combined.
4. Lastly pour in the whipping cream and slowly stir till the mixture is creamy and well mixed.
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared biscuit base tin and chill for at least 3 hours or overnight then proceed to the chocolate fudge.

Ingredients For Chocolate Fudge:
150g Semi Bitter Dark Chocolate
100ml Whipping Cream
30g Unsalted Butter

Methods:
1. Put all the ingredients in a pan/glass bowl over boiling water(or use double boiler).
2. Whisk the ingredients for 5 minutes or so until the fudge is smooth and glossy.
3. Let the warm fudge cool down to room temperature before pouring into the firm cheesecake top and tap the cake a few times to release any air bubbles.
4. Put it back into the fridge and let the chocolate fudge set for about an hour or so before cutting into slices and served.

Notes:
a) When making this cheesecake, try to make it in square tin so that the layer will not be too tall or else you will end up with a thick layer of durian cream cheese filling.
b) I suggest a 7" x 7" square tin or 8" round tin will do a great job.

Chocolate Lava Cake

First of all, I must thanks Suyin(one of my blogger's pal) who generously shared her "Secret Recipe"(click link for more details) for this chocolate cupcake batter. The ingredients are very straight forward and the method is so easy that even my son can do some help up. This is a very wonderful after dinner dessert that suits those chocolate lover like us.

The aroma of the cake is so wonderful as it fills up the whole kitchen while baking. But the actual excitement begins when you see those melted chocolate floating out from the middle of these little sweetie. For my case, I used "Dark Chocolate" for the filling as to compromise the sweetness of the cake so that it will taste a bit sweet and bitter. Or you can use "White Chocolate" for a better colour effect.

Ingredients: (make 4 - 5 medium muffins size)
60g Butter
60g Dark Chocolate(Cadbury Old Gold)
1 Large Egg or 1 1/2 Medium Size Egg
25g Caster Sugar
25g Plain Flour
1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder
50g Of Extra Chocolate Pieces, abit soften

Methods:
1. Preheat oven to 200 degree, line the muffin tray with paper cups.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together in a microwave safe bowl for about 30 sec high, stir and another 20 sec high and stir till well combine.(this steps will depend on the wattage of your microwave, the timing might be more or less)
3. Sift the plain flour and cocoa powder together in a bowl and set aside.
4. Beat egg and sugar in a separate bowl till pale and fluffy.
5. Stir in the chocolate mixture till combine, then fold in the sifted flour mixtures.
6. Stir mixture till well combine, but becareful not to over stir it.
7. Spoon mixture to prepared muffin tin about slight more than 1/2 fill, then stuffed 1 1/2 pieces of the Chocolate into the centre as fillings.
8. Bake in the preheat oven for 15 - 20 minutes, the cake will look puffed up and set on the surface, but the center should still be moist.

Notes:
I used TOBLERONE(Dark Chocolate with Honey & Almond Nougat) for the filling, you can used any type of chocolate that you prefer.
You had to eat this while still hot or warm or else the chocolate filling inside will dried up instead.

Chocolate Cornflake Treats

Corn flake is a crisp, flaky, commercially prepared cold cereal made from coarse cornmeal. If you or your kids are going to eat sweets and treats sometimes, (sure you are!) try to make sure at least some are of nutritional value.

For this simple treats, you only required 2 main ingredients which is the corn flakes and dark chocolate. And you can decorate it with some almond flakes, or colourful sprinkler.

Eating more Dark Chocolate can help lower blood pressure -- if you've reached a certain age and have mild high blood pressure, say the researchers. But you have to balance the extra calories by eating less of other things. Dark chocolate may have better anti-oxidant properties than milk chocolate. So a little bits of this sinful treat once in a while is exceptional for all family members.

Ingredients:
100g Plain Corn Flakes
120g Dark Chocolate
10g Toasted Almond Flake/Colourful Chocolate Bits

Methods:
1. Put corn flake in a zip lock bag and use a rolling-pin to lightly crash it.(do not crush the corn flake till too mashy)
2. Double-boil the dark chocolate over a pot of simmering hot until melted or you can put in the microwave on high for 30 second stir and repeat the process until the chocolate is fully melted.
3. Add the corn flake into the melted chocolate and stir well using a spatula.
4. Spoon the coated corn flake into paper cups or ring mould then flatten the top with a spoon.
5. Decorate it with some almond fake or colourful chocolate bits, refridge for at last 20 minutes to harden before removing them from mould and serve.