Japanese Steamed Double Chocolate Cake

Apart from the "Japanese Steamed Sweetcorn Bun(Mushipan)" and "Japanese Steamed Matcha Cake" that I made recently. Here is another Steamed Chocolate Cake recipe which I have adapted from Nami from Just one Cookbook. Both Joyce(@ahpoohbear) and I have tried making this recipe and we both love its moist and soft texture using cake flour. And my boy who is very picky about cake texture also requested for a second helping after he sample some. So I recommend this recipe as a good keeper for those who wish to whisk up something quick and easy for afternoon tea in less than 30 minutes.

If you cannot find any Dutch-process cocoa powder you can always replace it with any brand of baking cocoa powder that you own. And for a chance you can also add in half banana(mashed) to achieve a more fragrant and moist texture.

(Original recipe adapted from Just One Cookbook)
Ingredients: (makes 3 - 4 cakes)
75g Cake Flour
1 1/2 Tablespoon Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Large Egg
3 Tablespoons Drinking Water
2 Tablespoons Caster Sugar
2 Tablespoons Corn Oil
2 Tablespoons of Mini Chocolate Chips

Method:-

1. Sieves cake flour, baking powder and cocoa powder together. (sieves at least twice)

2. Using a balloon whisk, beat egg and sugar till foamy and pale (about 5 minutes).

3. Stir in water and oil in sequence then follow by the flour mixture till well combined.

4. Lastly toss in 1.5 tablespoons of chocolate chips. Spoon mixture into prepared foil/ramekins cups that are lined with paper liners.

5. Place the cups in steamer/wok(with boiling water in it), cover and steam over high heat for about 10 - 12 minutes(depending on the size) or until a skewer inserted into one of the buns and comes out clean.


I am submitting this Japanese Steamed Chocolate Cake to Aspiring Bakers #7: Chocolate Delight (May 2011), hosted by Doris of Tested and Tasted.

[Cupcake Pop Mold Giveaway] Assorted Cream Cheese Cake Pops

Ever since I saw and bought these cute cupcake pop molds, I have always wanted to try making some Cake Pops which is one of the latest trend among online bakers other than cupcakes and macarons. And recently I also saw Starbucks having some cute Cake Pops featuring in their food menu too.

What is Cake Pops? Cake Pops can be defined as little/mini cakes on a stick that is coated with chocolate/icing and decorated with all sort of sprinkles or toppings which made famous by Bakerella( read more on the link HERE).

There are a few ways of making these cake pops from either using crashed Oreo or graham biscuits to vanilla or chocolate cake crumbs. But no matter which method(s) you prefer I am sure both Adults and Kids will enjoy the fun process of rolling, molding and decorating these cute Cake Pops.

Ingredients: (make 10 mini cake pops)
200g Butter/Marble Cake, break into pieces
150g Cream Cheese, soften
*1/2 Tablespoon of Grand Marnier/RUM/Kahlua, optional

Decorations:
Assorted Chocolate of Your Choice, melted
Assorted Toppings

*Note:
~ You can either add more cream cheese or a bit cold milk to bind the crumbs if it is too dry.

Method:-

1. Break the ready bought marble cake into smaller pieces and place it in a large mixing bowl.

2. Beat the cake pieces at low speed until it resemble find crumbled (refer to the photo above), drizzle Grand Marnier evenly over the cake and beat for another few second till combined.

3. Next using a spatula or hand mix and knead the soft cream cheese mixture with the crumbs till it forms a smooth dough.

4. Roll the mixture into a 1” round balls and place on a tray lined with foil/baking paper.

5. When done, place them in the freezer for about 5 minutes before molding them using the cupcake mold.

To Assemble:

1. Place one of the chilled dough in the cupcake mold, gently press down to fix the mould and closed it tight to remove any excess dough that are being cut off.

2. You have to work fast and mold all the prepared dough into cupcake shape then freeze them for another 5 minutes to firm it up before dipping with melted chocolate.

3. Melt your choice of chocolate in a microwave safe bowl at 30 seconds intervals on high heat, stirring in between until chocolate melts and become smooth.

4. Slowly lower the cake into the melted chocolate to coat the bottom half portion by holding the tip of the cake. When done carefully insert a lolliop stick from the bottom base of the cake to secure it. (after coating the base, I leave it on the baking paper and freeze for another 3 minutes before doing the top)

5. After the chocolate coating, rest the sticks of cake pop on styrofoam block(can get from daiso) or in a tall cup to dry while decorating the pops with sprinkles or toppings.

6. You can refer to the related VIDEO(click HERE) on making these cake pops by using this cupcake mold.

Remeber the monthly Aspiring Bakers(founder, small small baker) events that I always participate, for this month of April, the key ingredients will be cheese. Jean suggest that it should be something cheese related on either bakes/frozen desserts. So I will be submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #6: Say Cheese! (April 2011) hosted by Jean from Noms I Must.

Secondly I would like to thanks those of you who had participated in the "Gyoza Mold Giveaway" and "Sandwich Sealer plus Heart Shaped Food Picks" events which ended last week. Here is the 3rd “Giveaway” for the month of April to celebrate Cuisine Paradise's 6th Anniversary which falls on 30th April 2011. And I hope with this handy "Cupcake Pop Mold" you can make use of it to shape into different design of Cake Pops where you can refer to their official website HERE.

If you are interested to win this set of "Cupcake Pop Mold", just leave your Name and your favourite Cake Pop and topping (strawberries, Oreo, dark chocolate, mint), example "I Love Chocolate Cake  Pop With Oreo Toppings" in the comment box and I will pick ONE Lucky winner on Sunday, 01 May 2011. Result will be announce on 02 May 2011.


[Updated on 02 May 2011 09 May 20111]

GIVEAWAY RESULTS!!!!!

GIVEAWAY RESULTS ARE OUT! Are you the Lucky One!!!!!

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.