Easy Strawberry Layer Cake

Well,today I want to prove that I’m over to those breads,so I went and made a strawberry cake.My kids never like too sweet, too dense, and too heavy cake.I tried to make a cake that was more suitable for their taste buds,a simple Strawberry Whipped Cream Cake.It's deceivingly light because the cake is actually make with thin layer of sponge cake and Kraft strawberry whipped cream.That's it!Not even fresh strawberry on it.

My first time using Kraft COOL WHIP with Strawberry flavour.Actually,I am not a big fan of COOL WHIP maybe because it is a Whipped Cream substitute.It's tasteless and very soft.Well,I can say it's taste like ice-cream!But this strawberry flavour isn't as bad as you think.Of course,nothing can compare the real whipped cream which is just so good and perfect for this cake,especially with any kind of berries.

A strawberry cake is perfect for any occasion.When fresh strawberries are in season, be sure and make this cake add with fresh strawberries.Since no special baking skill is required for this cake, even the kids can prepare it easily.The first thing you need to do is to make a sponge cake then make sure the cake is completely cool before you put the cool whip for topping.You don't have to whip the cream.I make a little more to the cake with just piping the melted chocolate directly on to the cake's surface.

End result,a moist and delicious cake for people who like Strawberry flavour.

Enjoy!

Recipe
Ingredients

2 Eggs large
30g Castor sugar
30ml oil
35g Flour(sieved)
A pinch of salt
1/8 cream of tartar

Method
1.Beat eggs,cream of tartar,salt and sugar till white and stiff peak.(about 10-15minutes)
2.Gradually add in flour and oil with spatula.
3.Mix well and bake for 15-20minutes at 360'F.

Topping
1/2 tub COOL WHIP Whipped Topping with strawberry flavour.
Thawed the COOL WHIP in refrigerator 2 hours.Stir gently with a spoon before using.Do not leave at room temperature.

You also make Cool Whip like a mousse for topping.

• 1/2 pkg Jello Instant Vanilla Pudding
• 1/2 Cup Milk
• 4 oz. Cool Whip
  

In a mixing bowl, beat Pudding and Milk well.

Add powdered Sugar.
Fold in the Cool Whip.

Sweet potato bun

This moist and soft bun are homemade.It is soft and supple.My kids isn’t fond of sweet potatoes, so I make this bun instead.I thought it would be great to have sweet potato bun for thanksgiving so I made this recipe up last night.I use the basic bread recipe and only add one small sweet potato in the recipe. The sweet potatoes give the buns a beautiful yellow color.It has a nice aroma that you can even eat it on its own.Next time I'll try to make pumpkin and carrot bun.

Don't get bored with bread

Since the first day of school,I have to prepare lunch for the kids everyday.Now they are bored with the sandwiches that I prepared.So I have to seek for new idea to make the sandwiches more interesting.To make the sandwiches look appetizing I add the cocoa powder into the bread.I love to bake anything that add with coloring.So if you like to make the bread more colorful just add some food coloring into the bread dough.

This is the recipe of the day.

Recipe
Ingredients
(White bread)Part 1
300g All purpose flour,sifted
120ml cold water
1 tsp Instant yeast

Part2
1/4tsp Salt
25g Castor sugar
30g Butter or Shortening

(Chocolate bread) Part 1
300g All purpose flour,sifted
120ml Cold water
1 tsp Instant yeast

Part 2
1/4tsp Salt
25g Castor sugar
30g Cocoa Powder(Sifted)
30g Butter or Shortening

Method
(1)Knead Part 1 (two separate bowl)to form a dough called the sponge and let ferment in the bowl for 3-4 hours.

(2)Add Part 2 to the sponge and remix until a dough is formed.

(3)After few minutes of kneading add the shortening and knead until the a smooth dough is formed.

(4)Shape the dough and mould into the loaf pan.

(5)Cover dough with a piece of damp towel until double in bulk for about 45 minutes and bake at 360F for 35-40 minutes.

Multicolored Kuih

My new creation of Layer cake.Unliked any Kuih Lapis you've ever tasted.This cake not only can be eaten throughout the day but also perfect for holiday parties too.The cake combines with three layers which featuring colorful of Pandan Leaves(screwpines),Taro and Cassava.All the layers need to be steamed till cooked in a steamer.The steaming process is same as the Kuih lapis.The base and texture are built of rice flour and corn flour which play a very important part in giving the cake a distinctive soft and yet firm texture.Like most Malay traditonal cake,it is flavouring with coconut milk.This bite sized version of Multicolored Kuih are one of my kids favourite.

These are the grated yam and cassava I used

Here is the recipe

For Tapioca layer
A)
200g grated tapioca
40g tapioca flour
125ml coconut milk

B)
90g castor sugar
175ml water
1/8 salt

For Taro layer
C)
150g taro paste
40g rice flour
30g tapioca flour
100ml concentrated coconut milk,50ml water
50ml water

D)
70g castor sugar
125ml water
1/8 tsp salt
For pandan layer

Green Pandan Layer
E)
50g tapioca flour
50g rice flour
1 egg
100ml coconut milk

F)
80g castor sugar
1/4 tsp salt
200ml pandan juice
200ml water

Tapioca layer
1.Combine tapioca flour and coconut milk.
2.Strain and add in grated tapioca.set aside
3.Bring ingredients B to a boil.
4.Pour into no(2),mix well before pouring on the bottom of the cake pan(with a layer of banana leaf).
5.Steam for 4 minutes.

Taro layer
1.Combine rice flour,tapioca flour,coconut milk and water.Strain mixture.
2.Cook D till boiling point.
3.Pour mixture into no (1)mix well and set aside.
4.Pour into tapioca layer and steam for 4 minutes or till firm.

Pandan layer
1.Combine E and strain.Set aside.
2.Bring F to a boil.
3.Mix into (1)
4.Pour on top of the taro layer.
5.Lastly,steam for 20-25 minutes.
Cool for 4 hours before slice into pieces.
Enjoy!

Almond Puffs

Puff pastry not only can be used for pies or tart but it also can be used for savory dishes and as type of cookies too.You can always used top or filled them with sugar,almonds,cheddar,caramel or jam.

I used my own puff pastry which I made several days ahead and store in the freeze before I use it.If you don't have the time to make your own homemade puff pastry,you can buy it in the supermarket but sure enough the one I made can achieve similar crispiness as well.In this recipe all you need is 1 rectangular section of puff pastry,some good quality Almond Flakes and some coarse sugar for topping.

As you can see the Almond Flakes that I used is not perfectly sliced where you can tell this is not a good quality one.Although the appearance doesn't look quite presentable but it's still taste good.If you are using your own made puff pastry then it's only takes 10-15 minutes to bake.Frozen puff pastry from supermarket takes a bit longer about 20-25minutes but you still need to keep an eye on it from burning because Almond Flakes can burn easily. Almond puffs can look very elegant and pretty and surprisingly easy to make too.

Special award

Today,I received a special email from one of my blogger friend.When I open the email I was thrilled and can't believe that I still can get an blogger award.I don't know what to say but what can I say is I am very very happy today.Thank you Nazarina to pass this award to me.I just wanted to say a big thank you for your support and you are totally amazing.

Soya bean curd

During my preggie time I have to buy the soya milk and soya bean curd(Tau fu fah)everyday.It is something that you can't live without it.Since then,I've always thought it'd be good to make my own soy bean curd.I have been making my own soy milk off and on for a while now.I love making soy milk.It's easy and not complicated at all.It’s actually not that difficult to make our own Soya Milk.If you drink soy milk regularly you will totally save money, even if you buy a soymilk makers.I have been wanting to make my own soya bean curd since the day I got my soya milk.

This is what how I make the soya bean curd.First wash the soya beans very well.Then soak it in a bowl of water for over night.The next day,measure the soya beans and the amount of water follow your own recipe.Set aside,and then put it in a blender with water.Blend it until all beans crushed very fine. Filter it to separate the crushed beans and the milk.Then,pour the soya milk in a big pot and heat it on the stove.Keep on stirring the soya milk till boiled.Remove it from the heat.It is now ready to drink milk.If you want to make the soya bean curd,you'll need to add gypsum and corn starch.I use about 1 tsp and 3 tbsp cornstarch in my recipe.Mix it with a 1/2 cup water and dissolve it.Then pour the cook soy mixture and the edible gypsum into another pot simultaneously while the mixture is still hot.Leave it alone to cool and enjoy.

Kuih Talam

Kuih Talam is a popular delicacy in Malaysia.Kuih talam is a malay or nyonya cake that is consisting of two layers.The top white layer is made from rice flour and coconut milk and while the bottom green layer is made from rice flour,green pea flour or corn flour,alkaline/lye water and extract of pandan leaf.If you don't want to use alkaline water for the Kuih you can omit it.It still taste good.

Recipe
Ingredients

Bottom Layer: A
150g rice flour
30g cornflour or greenbean flour
130g sugar
600ml water or pandan juice
1/2 tsp alkaline water
Few drops green colouring

Top Layer:B
80g Rice Flour
2 tbs Corn Flour
A pinch of salt
A can of coconut milk

Method

Mix (A)together and cook over low heat and stir continuously with a wooden spoon until batter becomes fairly thick and translucent.

Then strain the batter and add sugar and colouring.Pour the hot sticky batter into a greased 20cm cake tin and steam over rapidly boiling water for 20 to 30 minutes.

Prepare(B).Mix the B ingredients and pour the white batter over the cooked green layer.

Steam for about 10-15 minutes.Cool the kuih well.Slice into desire-shaped pieces.

Time to bake my own bread

The price of a loaf of fresh bread has been increase significantly.In the store today, you will see our regular flour or bread flour has a tag written*flour increase*.As for before,price for a loaf of bread is already very expensive to me.Some loafs of bread went from $2.00 to $2.80.These are the highest we have ever paid in our bakeshop.It’s an obvious picture here that the gas is one of the reason due to.There are a number of related issues to this but what can I do!Now I have to bake my own bread.That save a lot.I also notice that its not just the bread,everything has gone up in price too like milk and eggs.Although my bread doesn't look great but it's still taste good.After baking the bread and I used the left over bread dough for the plain steamed bun. My first batch of Pau doesn’t look impressive because the I set the heat too high and open the steamer cover too fast.You need to turn the fire to slow for 1 min then off the fire and let it cool down for 3 mintues before open the steamer cover or else the bun will look like on of this...see!

Recipe
Ingredients

Part 1
600g All purpose flour,sifted
240ml cold water
2 tsp Instant yeast

Part 2
1/2 tsp Salt
50g Castor sugar
70g Butter or Shortening

Method
(1)Knead Part 1 to form a dough called the sponge and let ferment in the bowl for 3-4 hours.

(2)Add Part 2 to the sponge and remix until a dough is formed.

(3)After few minutes of kneading add the shortening and knead until the a smooth dough is formed.

(4)Shape the dough and mould into the loaf pan.

(5)Cover dough with a piece of damp towel until double in bulk for about 45 minutes and bake at 360F .

For loaf of bread bake for 35-40 minutes.
For buns or rolls bake for 8-10 minutes(Approximately 12 buns per tray)

Dumpling Soup

Dough
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2-1 cup water
1 1/4 tsp. salt

Method
(1)Place the flour and salt in a large bowl.
(2)Slowly add water and mix with your hands.
(3)Knead the mixture until it forms a soft dough.
(4Kneaded the dough until very smooth.
(5)Divide dough into 50 small, equal pieces.
(6)Flatten each piece with your rolling pin to form a thin, round skin
approximately 3 inches in diameter.Like a wonton wrapper.

Filling
1 lb. ground pork
1/2 cup green onions, minced
1/4 cup ginger root, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup napa cabbage
1 tbsp Cornstarch
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
4 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp sugar
1 egg, beaten

Method
(1)Combine the pork, ginger, garlic, green onion, soy sauce, cornstarch,
sesame oil, egg,sugar, garlic and cabbage.
(2)Stir until well mixed.Marinate for 10-15mintues.
(3)Place 1 tablespoon of pork filling onto each dumpling skin.
(4) Fold the wrapper edges up and pinch the edges together.

To Cook: You can make dumplings by boiling them in water,steaming or frying in a pan.

Steaming
-Place the dumplings in a steamer, cover and steam for 7-10 minutes.

Boiling
-To boil the dumplings, gently lower them into a pot of boiling water.
-Boil for 3 to 5 minutes.They're done when the dumplings are floating and cook
for about three minutes.
-Add chicken stock and salt to taste.
-Remove from pot carefully and serve hot with the your favourite dipping sauce.

Frying
-Cook till the bottoms are a nice golden about 1 minute
then add 2/3 cup of water all at once.
-Cover and cook(5-7min)until water has evaporated or till cooked.
-Remove from pan and served.

Tips
Dumplings are a lot of work, my mum in law make a lot.She freeze them uncooked and cook them up in small batches.Place them in a sealable freezer bag until you are ready to cook them.

Kuih Kosui

Kuih Kosui are rice cakes made with palm sugar.The mixture are poured into small chinese tea cups and steamed it.After steaming the kuih is removed from the cup and topped with grated coconut flesh.This is my first attempt of making Kuih Kosui.Not bad huh!This is of one of my favourite kuih.

I was very confused with the recipe I had collected.One of the recipe need to add calcium sulphate and the other need alkaline water.One of my friend says it's looks like Kuih Lompang,LOL yes I agreed with her but I guess this is the easiest way to take the cake out and look presentable.:)Ingredients A:
230g plain flour
200g tapioca flour
1/4 tsp alkaline water (air abu)
A pinch of salt
730ml water

Ingredients B:
140g palm sugar
180g brown sugar
3 pandan leaves(optional)
330ml water

Ingredient C:(mixed together)
100g grated cocnut
1/4 tsp salt

Method :
1)Mix ingredients A well,strain into a big bowl and set aside.
2)Cook Ingredients B till sugar dissolves to make syrup.Strain mixture and pour into Ingredients A quickly.
3)Stir well and strain again.
4)Heat a the steamer till hot.
5)Pour in the batter into a 7 inches round pan or mini teacups.
6)Cover and steam for 30 minutes or till cooked.
7)Remove and leave to cool before cutting.
8)Coat with grated coconut before serving.

Award

You are friendly, kind and caring

Sensitive, loyal and understanding
Humorous, fun, secure and true
Always there... yes that's you.

Thank you Pearly for giving me this cute smiley.

Donut

What are some of your favorite types of donut?My two favorite kinds of donut are chocolate glazed,rainbow sprinkle,sugar and cinnamon.Well,any donuts will do!I like them all.As long as the donut is fresh and smell good.There are always hunks of cinnamon donut in superstore but they are overbearingly sweet.Usually cinnamon donut are coated with cinnamon and castor sugar but I prefer mix the cinnamon powder in the bread dough and sprinkle with castor sugar.Texture wise they are soft inside and crisp on the outside.Emm!yum!They smell pleasantly good too.

Sweet Potato DonutCinnamon Donut

What are some of your favorite types of donut?My two favorite kinds of donut are chocolate glazed,rainbow sprinkle,sugar and cinnamon.Well,any donuts will do!I like them all.As long as the donut is fresh and smell good.There are always hunks of cinnamon donut in superstore but they are overbearingly sweet.Usually cinnamon donut are coated with cinnamon and castor sugar but I prefer mix the cinnamon powder in the bread dough. and just sprinkle with castor sugar.Texture wise they are soft inside and crisp on the outside.Emm!yum!They smell pleasantly good.

Sunny Lemon Muffin

After baking the coconut macarons and I had lots of egg yolks left over.So the next day,I baked some Lemon and Poppyseed Muffins with 4 egg yolks and an egg.The outcome wasn't that bad.The texture are quite moist and fluffy.But according to bakers egg yolk contains all the cholesterol and the fat.I think once awhile having high amount of fats is ok though.Actually I can use some egg whites powdered(also called meringue powder)to mix with it but I don't have this.Besides that I also can use the egg yolks for pie shell but I was abit lazy to make it.Before I make this muffin,I thought the result would be crumbly.Luckily it's not!I just remember that pound cake is made with only yolks.Well,maybe next time.

Coconut Macaroon

Macaron or Macaroon?So confuse!Coconut macaroon is a type of macaroon most commonly found in the US.They tend to be closer to a soft cookie than their meringue cousins the German style Almond macaroon.Coconut macaroons are made with coconut and sweetened condensed milk.These are more of a meringue cookie.

I made a meringue shell almost,and the inside is a chewy coconut macaroon yesterday.I got the recipe from Bigboysoven where he had specific in every detail on the method.Before I got this result,I already wasted six egg whites.These batch was the third batch.I was actually trying to make almond chocolate macaroon on the first two bacth.Something went wrong,and they never really worked as a meringue,so I threw them out and started over with fresh ones.So the last one I was out of almond flour and therefore I used dessicated coconut.The kids don't really like it because they found it's too sweet.

I don't know whether I can cut down the sugar measurement and still can get the nice shape.To me these are so good but as you can see the colour is not chocolate enough.This recipe came together perfectly the third time.Now I know what the stiffness look like.It was beautiful and popped but I wasn't sure the coconut macaroon has a crack look on it or not.And I still don't developed the feet.Some people says let it sit 2 to 4 hours to develop the skin.I don't know whether this is true but some says you don't have to and you will still get the result.The outside texture is a crisp meringue shell almost, and the inside is a chewy coconut macaroon.I love it! Need to add more cocoa powder to get the nice colour and pressing down a bit to get a nice shape.

Chocolate Cupcakes

One of the easiest treats to decorate is the cupcake.All you need is food coloring,butter frosting and nozzle.Of course a little imagination.Cupcakes could mean alot to kids.My kids can eat it all in less than half and hour.The cuppies are chocolate with strawberry frosting,topped in dollops and sprinkle some rainbow round decors.These cuppies were as simply satisfying.Actually I don't know how to decorate it but at least the kids love it and my mission accomplished.I guess I need to practice and be creative as often as I could.Practice makes perfect right?

Peanut Puff

A New Year's celebration wouldn't be complete without mini peanut puff. A traditional sweet treat for the New Year, named "Kok Chai"(Mini Puff)is a traditional treat for guests.It is made of flour,butter or margarine and filled with peanut and sugar filling.Deep-fried the mini peanut puffs till golden brown.If you have guests who have a sweet tooth try to cater them with a rich dessert such as Nian Gao(Sticky cake).Apart from that,fresh fruit like Mandarin Oranges are always serve for the guests because it is symbolize wealth in Chinese culture.You can try out this recipe ahead of time for your Chinese New Year's celebration.The reason we make peanut puff is peanut symbolize longevity.Correct me if I am wrong.

Ondeh Ondeh

My dessert of the day is Ondeh-ondeh.It is make in a tiny ball and coated with with fresh grated coconut.Ondeh Ondeh is made of glutinous rice,flavoured with pandan juice and filled with gula melaka is known as Palm Sugar.It is a type of sugar made from the coconut tree.Gula mean Sugar and Melaka is one of a state in Malaysia(Malacca).Whereby Ondeh ondeh is added some green colouring.It is tedious to make but it worth it.you will always ask for second after you taste the first bite.Sometimes,you can found this filled with peanuts or coconuts.

Recipe
Ingredients
Skin
200g glutinous rice flour
100ml hot water
2 tbsp pandan juice(optional)
2tbsp sugar
20ml coconut milk
1tbsp oil
Few drops green colouring

Filling
1/2 piece gula melaka(Palm Sugar)chopped and mixed with
3 tbsp castor sugar

Coating
Grated coconut
1/2 salt(mixed)

Method
(1)Pour the hot water into glutinous rice flour and mix.
(2)Add in the other ingredients for the skin until forms a soft dough.
(3)Form small balls with the dough and fill a little filling inside and seal it.
(4)Put into a pot filled with boiling water and boil until it floats up.
(5)Dish and drain.Then Coat with grated coconut and serve hot or cold.

Fatt Koh or Huat Kueh

Fatt koh is a chinese smiling steamed cake.It is a must for the altar table as its name means prosperity cake.During chinese new year every family will make this dessert and serve their guess.Some called it Fatt Koh(cantonese)and Huat Kueh(Hokkien).It's a sweet and fluffy cake.You can find this cake white or pink in colourhuat kueh.Chinese cultural traditions,red is as a symbol of life and health.Smiling steamed cake can be made from rice flour, green pea flour and coconut milk.As we usually made into muffin size shapes using chinese tea cups.

Starter Dough:
For the fermented yeast rice
1)220 g cooked rice(overnight rice or cool rice)
2)1 piece crushed wine yeast(chow paeng)(Ragi tapai)Blend into powder.
3)1 tbsp sugar

4)2-3 Tbsp water
Mix all the above ingredients together and leave it to ferment for 2 days (48 hrs). Keep in a container, covered in a room temperature place.Make sure is in a dark room.After 48 hours, weigh out 80g and keep the balance fermented yeast in the fridge

Boiled sugar syrup then set aside to cool.
1)200 g sugar
2)A pinch of salt
3)400 ml water
4)2 Blades of Pandan leaves(tied into a knot)


Mixture
1)400 g rice flour
2)400 ml sugar syrup
3)(Weigh out only 80 gm)fermented yeast rice

Put 80g of the fermented rice in a blender.Add 200ml sugar syrup and blended well.Then sift rice flour into a large mixing bowl. Add remaining 200ml sugar syrup and pour in the blended with fermented rice mixture.Strain the mixture into a large glass container and cover tightly with a lid. Leave aside for 2-4 hours. Just before steaming, add 1 tsp ENO salt(Optional)and 1 tsp double-action baking powder or 2 tsp baking powder. Mix well and set aside for another 15 minutes.Need patience!

Meanwhile, heat the steamer for 1–2 minutes.Line the chinese tea cups or any small cups with paper cases.Pour in the rice mixture to three-quarters full.

Steam the kuih over rapidly boiling water for 15-18 minutes.Good Luck!!!

P/s-I didn't put the Eno in this recipe because I can't find it here!But it still bloom very nice.:)