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.

[$20 Budget Meal] Winter Melon Soup, Steamed Silken Tofu with Salmon And Sweetcorn Plus Steamed Beef Steak with Onion

For this set of Budget Meal it will be slightly a bit more expensive than those I prepared previously due to the higher cost of Salmon and Beef. Here we spent a total of roughly S$18.60 for Winter Melon Soup, Steamed Tofu with Salmon and Steamed Beef Steak. And to your surprise this is also my very first time sharing a “beef” dish in this blog too.

Sometime cooking is way of art and mental planning too. For example this Soup of the Day is rather similar to my previous “Winter Melon, Woodear And Pork Ribs Soup” but I replaced the woodear with sweetcorn and carrot for a more refreshing taste.

Ingredients: (serves 4)
300g Pork Ribs
250g Winter Melon, skin removed cut into wedges
1 Sweetcorn, cut into sections
1 Medium Carrot, cut into thick slices
6 Red Dates

Method:-

1. Blanched pork ribs in boiling water for 2 - 3 minutes, remove and rinse with tap water. Set aside.

2. Bring 1.5 litres of water to boil in a soup pot.

3. Add in all the ingredients when the mixture comes to boil again, lower the heat and simmer for about 30 - 40 minutes.

4. Lastly season it with salt to taste according to own preference.

Total cost for this dish is about S$5.80 with breakdown shown below:-
Cost of Ingredients:
~ Pork Ribs = S$3.00
~ Fresh Winter melon, Carrot and Sweetcorn= S$2.80

This is the second time I have used “salmon” fillet in preparing steamed dish. The first one was about a year ago where I steamed the salmon fillet together with Dang Gui to create a Chinese New Year dish (recipe). In this post, I combined this month Budget Meal specific ingredients – “Tofu” together with salmon to prepare this “Steamed Silken Tofu with Salmon And Sweetcorn” where you get to enjoy 3 different textures in one dish.

Ingredients: (serves 4)
1 Box of Silken Tofu
150g Salmon Fillet
1/2 Sweetcorn, remove kernels from cob
5 Slices of Ginger, julienne

Seasoning:
1 Teaspoon Sesame Oil
1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Pinch of Salt

The bland tofu blends well with the sweet and fragrant taste from the corn kernels as well as with a contrast between crunchy and smooth texture that makes you crave for more scoop. The adding of salmon increase the Omega 3 and Proteins of this dish, which makes it, perfect for everyone at home especially the growing up kids.

Method:-

1. Cut the tofu into slices of equal thickness, drained well and place it onto steaming plate.

2. Cut the Salmon fillet into cubes and scatter it together with the fresh corn kernels evenly on top and around the sides of the tofu.(refer to the photo above)

3. Next top with julienne ginger and spoon the seasoning(mix all the ingredients together)over the prepared tofu.

4. Cover the tofu plate with cling wrap tightly leaving just a little ventilation hole.

5. Steam it on high heat in a steamer/wok (with boiling water in it)  for about 10 minutes. Remove and serve.

Total cost for this dish is about S$5.90 with breakdown shown below:-
Cost of Ingredients:
~ Salmon = S$3.90
~ Silken Tofu and Sweetcorn= S$2.00

If you have being following most of my blog posts, you will notice that this seems to be my very 1st "Beef" dish recipe from those hundreds of recipes that I have. Friendly speaking using "beef" as one of the main ingredients is something that I always phobia of because to me you can either ruin or perfect it in just a few seconds of cooking time.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
200g Beef Steak, whole/slices
1 Medium Red Onion, thinly slices
2 Stalks Spring Onion, cut into sections
Red Chili, slices
3 Garlic Coves, lightly pound

Seasoning:
10g Butter
1 Teaspoon Fresh Milk
1 Teaspoon Black Peppercorns, crashed

Initially I was still quite worry about the taste and texture while preparing this dish but when it is out from the steamer I was totally surprised with the outcome. The texture of the beef slices is still quite good and tender despite of the steaming method. And the beef stock sauce was great with a hint of black pepper and onion taste too. Indeed this is a great chance on preparing steak on it's usual char-grilled or stew methods. (if you don't consumed beef, you can also replaced it with Pork Fillet(梅肉/腰肉) which is more tender in texture).

Method:-

1. Using paper kitchen towel lightly pat dry the beef steak. Set aside.

2. As I want the sauce and seasoning to infuse the steak in a faster way, I have cut the steak into slices before arranging them on steaming plate. (you can leave it as whole and serve as individual main course too)

3. Next arrange all the ingredients and seasonings on top of the beef steak.

4. Wrap the plate with cling wrap steam it over high heat for about 8 - 10 minutes depend on your preference.

5. Remove and serve with steamed rice or as individual main course with mashed/baked potato.

Total cost for this dish is about S$6.90 with breakdown shown below:-
Cost of Ingredients:
~ Beef Steak = S$5.40
~ Spring onion, garlic, chili and onion = S$1.50

CLOSING DATE For [May $20 Budget Meal] Event:

~ Wednesday, 25 May 2011, 2359 hours and all entries will be compiled and posted on 31st May 2011.

If you loves to whipped some quick and budget healthy dishes for your family. I would like to invite you to join us in our May Budget Meal event to share your homecook dishes with us(more detail HERE).

Stir-fry Mani Cai Wth Egg - 马尼菜炒蛋

During my childhood time my granny used to prepare this Stir-fry Vegetable at least once in alternate week. But ever since she passed away, this dish seems to be vanished in our menu list. Last weekend while doing my usual weekly groceries, I spotted  a few bundles of these Mani Cai (马尼菜) (also known as sweet leaves) at one of the vegetable stalls in the market.

Before consuming these Mani Cai, there is an interesting preparation step that you have to take note before you can turn these bitter leaves into edibile leaves. From some of the information that I gather from the facebook readers suggestions(here), these leaves has to be removed from the stalks then rubbed with salt to sweat out those bitter juices. And if without this treatment these leaves will taste bitter instead of sweet.

Ingredients:
1 Bunch of Mani Cai(马尼菜) , about 350g
3 Tablespoons Cooking Oil
3 Garlic Cloves, finely minced
1 Teaspoon Chicken Stock Powder
1 Egg
2 Tablespoons Water
Some Wolfberries, optional

Method:-

1. Remove all the edible leaves from the mani cai stalks which should yield about 200g.

2. Discard stems. Rinse and wash leaves, drained well.

3. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of salt on the drained mani cai leaves, mix it thoroughly and rubbed it with fingers till sweat.

4. Squeeze dry the juice, rinse thoroughly then squeeze dry again.

5. Preheat the frying pan, add 3 tablespoons of oil and heat till heat up. Add minced garlic and saute till golden brown then add in the leaves.

6. Stir till the mani cai leaves wilted, add in chicken stock powder and mixed well.

7. Add water and stir till water evaporates then break in the egg and stir it through the leaves till cooked.

8. Lastly toss in some wolfberries. Turn off heat and dish up on serving plate.


There are still many different ways of preparing this Mani Cai, some people loves to add it into soup together with noodles while others loves to stir-fry it with Sambal Chili too. Do share with us your cooking tips/methods in preparing this vegetables too.

Spongy Banana Cake

This is one of the most simplest Banana Cake recipe which I have come across using quick sponge cake method without any egg separation. And furthermore you do not need to incur extra washing on those mixing bowls and utensils. All you need is to put all the necessary ingredients into a big mixing bowl and beat till stiff/ribbon stage before folding in the flour mixture and oil.

As you can notice from the photo above, this Banana Cake is very light, spongy and fluffy. And mine was so soft that it crumbles quite while I am trying to cut it into slices. You can also take a look at some other bloggers who tried this recipe such as "Nasi Lemak Lover" and "袅袅烘焙香" on their lovely bakes.

(Recipe adapted from Wen's Delight, original recipe by Richard Goh)
Ingredients: 
3 Medium Eggs
130g Sugar
200g Banana, lightly mashed
150g Cake Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking powder
1/4 Teaspoon Baking soda
100g Corn Oil
1/4 Teaspoon RUM

Method:-

1. Preheat oven to 160 degree C. Grease baking tin and line with baking paper. (I omitted this step as I used disposal baking tray)

2. Sieve flour, baking powder and baking soda together at least twice, set aside.

3. Using electric beater whisk eggs, sugar and banana at maximum speed till stiff/ribbon stage.

4. Fold in flour mixture using spatula and mix well.

5. Slowly swirl in oil and mix till batter is shiny and flowing.

6. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes. (I baked it for around 35 minutes using 3 disposal tray)

Since this is a Mother's Day gift that I made for my mum and aunt, I have also decorated it with some banana slices and pumpkin seeds. And both family who tried this agreed that this recipe is indeed a keeper. And I would use it to make some chocolate banana cake for my boy and bestie soon.

Aprons Giveaway
by My Kitchen Snippets

If you love to cook/bake, perhaps you will be interested to win one of these lovely Apron from My Kitchen Snippets Giveaway event. Closing date is on 17th May 2011 at 6.00pm (Eastern Time). So wait no more,  quickly hope over to participate and stand a chance to win. (Link HERE)