Cardamom Chocolate Chunk Cake

Cardamom has a strong, unique taste, with an intensely aromatic and resinous fragrance. It is also one of the common ingredient use in Indian cooking but whereas in the Middle East, usually green cardamom powder is used as a spice for sweet dishes and traditional flavouring in coffee and tea. Today I am sharing this butter cake recipe using Cardamon Powder and Chocolate Chunks which would filled your kitchen with wonderful aroma release from the cardamon used.

CARDAMOM CHOCOLATE CHUNK CAKE

I always love the sweet scent release from the Cardamom seeds while using them for either cooking or baking. After searching from a few Indian provision shops around my area, I finally found a packet of the ground cardamom powder which is one of the main ingredients for this recipe.

Recipe adapted and modify from Australian Table(aka Australian Good Food) magazine

(make: 2 (17cm x 8cm x 6cm) loaf tins | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 35 minutes)

Ingredients: 
150g Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
150g Light Brown Sugar
3 Large Eggs, lightly beaten
50ml Fresh Milk
300g(2 cups) Self-Raising Flour, sifted
*2 Teaspoons Ground Cardamon(refer to note below)
100g Dark Chocolate, cut into chunks

Method:-

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius. Grease and line loaf tins with baking paper.

2. Place soft butter and sugar in a big mixing bow and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes on medium speed).

3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well before next addition. Stir in sifted flour and cardamon powder together with milk and continue to beat until mixture is smooth.

4. Mix in chocolate chunks until well combined. Spoon mixture into prepared tins(about half full each tin) and level top.

5. Bake for about 35 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

6. Cool in pan for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

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Note:-

*~ If cardamom powder is not available, you can replace it with 2 teaspoons cardamom seeds which are pounded in a mortar.

~ If you are baking this in 1 "single" tin the baking time would varies from 50 - 60 minutes depending on the size.

Just for your information, the cake batter for this recipe will be a bit thick rather than runny. And since it is using self-raising flour do fill the baking tin till half or slight more than half full in case the batter raise while baking and overflow from the tin.

Overall this is a very fragrance tea-cake that which I recommend it to go with a cup of good English tea to pamper yourself in cold winter day or serving this to friends for an afternoon get together tea session. For savory dish using Cardamom pops, you can refer to my Orange Scented Rice recipe HERE.

Dim Sum @ Breakthrough Cafe

Breakthrough Cafe is run by a Christian based aftercare association, which provides skills to ex-convicts who face difficulties in employment due to their criminal record. This cafe is officially launched on the 27th of October 2007 by Associate Professor Ho Peng kee (former Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and Law). At Breakthrough cafe it offers reformed drug addicts the much needed employment opportunities where they can further their skills and be better prepared in reintegrating into the society.

Other than array of dim sum, they also have homemade dishes such as curry chicken and curry fishhead served bubbling in a claypot which are very popular amongst patrons. And you could choose either bread or rice (or both) to go with it. But since our aim for that day was to try their dim sum I have to give those dishes a pass till my visit.

The four(3 adults plus 1 kid) of us ordered about 10 Dim Sum items plus Black Vinegar Pig Trotter and drinks which add up to a total of S$34.00 which was quite reasonable for it's value. The moment the Century Egg Porridge - 皮蛋粥 (S$3.00 per bowl) arrived I was quite stunned as this is my first time seeing "fishcakes" in dim sum porridge which makes it look so home cooked. We love the smooth texture of the congee which infuse with chicken stock and served with some shredded chicken, fish-cakes, century eggs, fried onions and etc.

Beside porridge we also tried their homemade fragrance "Steamed Glutinous Rice - 糯米饭" (S$2.00 per plate) that comes with generous portion of ingredients such as dried prawns and mushrooms together with their delicious Sambal chilli. Overall the texture of the steamed glutinous rice was still quite good as in not too overcooked or salty.

Similar to most Dim Sum restaurants or eateries, Breakthrough also offers different types of freshly made Chee Cheong Fun - 肠粉(S$3.00 per plate) with fillings such as Char Siew, Scallops and Prawns to meet their customers' preference. Personally I love the accompany sauce of the cheong fun which is fragrant and match with the right seasonings to bring up the taste of the steamed rice roll.

My aunty recommended us to try their Fried Dumplings - 锅贴 (S$4.20 per plate) and Steamed Yam Cake - 芋头糕 (S$1.50 per plate). Surprisingly their fried dumplings are not oily and the skin of the dumplings was crispy and definitely can taste it is made from those handmade dumpling skin. On the other hand, the steamed yam cake was rather good with hint of yam slices in between too.

Their Black Vinegar Pork Trotter - 猪脚醋 (S$6.00 per claypot with rice) is delicious which is not too sour or sweet towards our liking and it would be great to go with some rice during lunchtime as a meal. From a glance during lunch hour that day, I saw quite a number of tables ordered this Pork Trotter and Curry Chicken which I assumed are their signature dishes.

The environment of this cafe is quite comfortable even for a morning/afternoon tea session where you could order their toast and egg set and enjoy some chatting with friends. And most importantly the friendly services definitely added value to the place. To reach this cafe, you could take the North-East Line train and alight at "Chinatown" station, walk towards the exit to People's Park Centre. The cafe is at ground level facing the Singapore Subordinate Court direction.

Breakthrough Cafe

101 Upper Cross Street
#01-02C
People's Park Centre
Singapore 058358
Telephone: +65 6533 5977
Website: HERE

Opening Hours
Monday – Thursday: 7am – 7pm
Friday: 7am - 5pm; Saturday: 7am – 3pm
(Closed on Sun/PH)

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition @ ArtScience Museum, Marina Bay Sands

Good news to all Titanic fans, RMS Titanic has arrived in Singapore docking at Art Science Museum(near Marina Bay Sands) where you can go on board the largest Ship in the world for the first time in Southeast Asia.

And for one of the highlight of the exhibition, each visitor is given a boarding pass at the entrance of the gallery to participate as one of the passengers on board the Titanic. And towards the end of the exhibition, you could also check the name written on the back of the boarding pass against those shown at the "Memorial Gallery" to see what had happened to that "passenger" in the story.

ARTSCIENCE MUSEUM

Currently there are two exhibitions held at the ArtScience Museum which are; DALI Mind of a Genius (extended until 13 November 2011)  and Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition (from 29 October 2011 to 29 April 2012).

The Museum is at Marina Bay Sands along the Marina Bay waterfront and it is easily accessible via public transport and car. If you are traveling by the MRT, Promenade Station(circle line) is about 10 minutes walk from the station whereas Marina Bay Station(North South Line) will takes you about 15 minutes walk to reach the Museum from the station.

RMS TITANIC IN SINGAPORE

Visitor can grab a copy of this "ArtScience Museum Chronicle" at the Museum's lobby on the ground level where you could read up some highlights about this Titanic Exhibition as well as some fascinating facts. For example:- The full name of the Ship, RMS Titanic actually stands for "Royal Mail Steamer Titanic" because Titanic was also built to carry British and US mail apart from those rich and famous passengers.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EXHIBITIONS

The Titanic Artifact Exhibition occupies 2500 square meters of gallery space in ArtScience Museum with 9 different exhibit areas showcasing from the Constructions of Titanic to it's First Class Stateroom,  Boiler Room, Iceberg Gallery, Discovery and etc.

In the Iceberg Gallery you can touch a real sheet of ice and experience the freezing waters of the North Atlantic where the passengers of Titanic encountered during the night on 14 April 1912.

Despite whether you have or yet to visit the Titanic Exhibition you could also check out their online Passenger Logbook at www.titanic.sg where visitors to the Exhibition shared about their thoughts on the Titanic experience. 

VISITOR INFORMATION

LOCATION
ArtScience Museum (Marina Bay Sands)
10 Bayfront Avenue
Singapore 018956
Official Site: HERE


WHERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS
Online: Marina Bay Sands Ticketing Portal

Ticketing Hotline: +65 6688 8826

Marina Bay Sands Box Offices

~ ArtScience Museum Lobby
~ Hotel Lobby, Tower 1 L1
~ Retail Concierge, The Shoppes L1
~ SkyPark Ticketing Counter, Tower 3 B1
~ Theater, The Shoppes B1

*Note:- 20% discount on admission for all OCBC Credit / Debit Cardmembers


HOURS OF OPERATION

10am to 10pm Daily
Last admission at 9pm


This visit to the ArtScience Museum has being a fruitful trip as we get to see 2 different exhibitions(Titanic plus Dali) for the price of S$21.00 per Adult(with 20% dsicount from OCBC Cardmembers). But as for the downside we are not able to take many photos as photographing and filming are prohibited in the galleries.

Prawn Capsicum and Chilli Pizza

Pizza is an oven-baked, flat and usually disc-shaped bread typically topped with tomato sauce, shredded cheese and various toppings such as seafood, beef, chicken, capsicum, ham, olive and etc. Here we made a rectangle shape lemon scented pizza base top with succulent juicy shrimps, grated mozzarella cheese and lovely chopped fresh basil.

PRAWN CAPSICUM AND CHILLI PIZZA

Since these few days we are experiencing cold rainy evenings we decided to make something simple and yet hearty to fill our hungry stomach. So together with my boy we made this Prawn, Capsicum and Chilli Pizza using our homemade pizza dough. And in order to make a tangy pizza base to enhance the flavour of the shrimps, I have added some lemon zest and juice to make the pizza dough.

(serves: 2-4 | Preparation: 90 minutes | Cooking: 15 - 18 minutes)

Basic Pizza Dough: make 2 (30cm) base
7g Instant Active Dry Yeast
190ml Lukewarm Water
1 Teaspoon Caster Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 1/2 Cups Plain Flour
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
Zest of 1 Lemon
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice, optional

Method:-

1. Combine yeast, sugar, salt and lukewarm water in a measuring cup/bowl. Stand in a warm place for 10 minutes or until mixture is foamy.

2. Place flour in a large mixing bowl together with lemon zest. Make a well in centre, add in yeast mixture and stir until dough comes together.

3. Next stir in olive oil and lemon juice till it form a dough. Knead dough on a lightly-floured surface for 5 - 7 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

4. Place dough in a large, oiled bowl. Cover and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

5. Using your fist, punch down centre of dough and knead for another 30 seconds and divide the dough into half.

Ingredients For Pizza:
1 Portion of Pizza Base, see recipe above
1/4 Cup Tomato Paste Sauce
1/4 Cup Grated Tasty Cheese
1/4 Cup Grated Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 Red and Green Capsicum, thinly sliced
8 Medium Prawns, shell removed
1/4 Teaspoon Dried Chilli Flakes
Some Shredded Fresh Basil Leaves
*Polenta(cornmeal), optional

Method:-

1.Roll dough flat to 30 cm round pizza base or 9" x 7" rectangle and place base on greased baking tray. (I greased the baking tray with olive oil and dust with some polenta(cornmeal) to give the pizza base an extra crunchy texture)

2. Spread base with tomato pasta sauce and top with half the cheese mixture.

3. Next evenly scatter the capsicum, prawns, basil, chilli and remaining cheese on top.

4. Bake in preheated 200 Degree Celsius oven for 15 - 18 minutes or until base is crisp and cheese melted. Serve.

If you have no time to prepare the fresh pizza dough you could also replace it with those ready-made pizza dough, baguette or tortilla to act your desire base. I am sure you and your family would enjoy this quick and easy pizza with some fresh salad greens or hot pipping soup(some western cream soup recipe HERE). Till then have a great weekend ahead.