Choc Peanut Butter Brownie

This sweet and salty brownie is moreish. It is difficult to stop and one and goes well with a cup of coffee or tea. I haven't been baking much these days, but I am slowly getting back my baking mojo.Sundays are my baking days, whether it's something for afternoon tea or school lunch boxes in the coming week. My girls have been asking for this brownie and finally had a chance to bake it for them.

There are several recipes around but I have found Corrie's to be the easiest and most delicious, not too sweet too. Thanks Corrie for sharing the recipe.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Mango Trifle

Summer means mangoes. Therefore it's appropriate that I made a Mango Trifle as dessert for our Christmas lunch with family.

The first step to assembling this trifle is to make the sponge cake. I have been using this Women's Weekly recipe for years to make the perfect sponge cake. You can also use the sponge cake to make tiramisu or Classic Victoria sandwich.

4 eggs, at room temperature (this is important)
165gm (3/4 cup) caster sugar
2/3 cup plain flour
50gm (1/3 cup) corn flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

1. Put eggs into a small bowl of electric mixer, beat on medium to high speed until mixture is thick and creamy. Mixture will rise almost to the top of the bowl; beating time is for 5 to 8 minutes.
2. Gradually beat in sugar, beat until sugar is dissolved.
3. Sift dry ingredients several times (I usually do about 6 times) so that all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Using a metal spoon, gently fold in the dry ingredients into the egg mixture.
4. Do this lightly and quickly, to ensure the airy sponge mixture is not broken down, but make sure all the flour is mixed in.
5. Pour mixture evenly into two well-greased deep 20cm round cake pans. Some champion sponge cake makers will weigh their pans after pouring in the mixture to ensure the weight is equal. 
6. Bake at 140-160C (fan-forced oven) for 20-25 minutes. To test if cake is ready, it will shrink slightly from the sides or when top is pressed with fingertips, it will spring back lightly and fingertips leave no impression. 
7. Cover a wire rack with a clean tea towel, turn the cakes out from tin immediately when cooked.
8. Carefully invert cake so tops are uppermost.
9. When cakes are completely cool, cut into cubes for trifle. 

Now to assemble the trifle together.  Use a trifle bowl if you have one, else any glass bowl, preferably round will do.

100gm Mango jelly crystals
Mangoes, cut into thick slices
Sweet sherry to sprinkle over sponge cake
300ml carton pure cream, whipped
Almond flakes, toasted
Sliced peaches, canned
Strawberries - sliced

Double thick custard - 450ml

1. Make jelly according to directions on packet, refrigerate until jelly is just beginning to set.
2. Cut the sponge cake into squares. Line the base of the bowl and sides of the bowl. 
3. Sprinkle sweet sherry over the cake. 
4. Pour partly set jelly over the sponge cake. Refrigerate until jelly is set.
5. Place mangoes over the jelly; spread evenly with custard.
6. Before serving top with whipped cream then refrigerate.
7. Decorate the top with sliced peaches and strawberries. Sprinkle the top with toasted almond flakes. 

Apple and Strawberry Crumble Tart

I made this dessert by Kylie Millar from this year's Masterchef series for a dinner party on the weekend. It was delicious, love the sweetness of the pastry and the tangy strawberries, drizzled with custard and served with ice cream.

Apple & Strawberry Crumble Tart

 Will definitely make this again.

Lemon Meringue Tart

Channeling the domestic goddess today, I made dessert for my family - something unheard of on a working day. First, I made the lemon curd or butter. Then I cheated and used store bought pastry which I blind baked earlier. Spoon the lemon curd mixture into the pastry cases. To make the meringue, I whipped five egg whites with 300gm caster sugar and 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar. I use a Wilton #22 star to pipe the meringue on top of the lemon curd.


Bake in the oven for about 5 minutes until the meringue peaks are light golden. Set aside to cool completely.

Creme Brulee

Since it's the school holidays, Ashleigh wanted to learn how to cook (finally!). She has been dying to use the blowtorch that we bought last year. She decided to try making Creme Brulee.

600ml thickened cream
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
6 egg yolks
¼ cup caster sugar
120g demerara sugar

Just before baking

1. Preheat oven to 120°C.
2. Place the cream, vanilla bean and seeds in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to scalding point, then remove from heat. Remove vanilla bean and discard.
3. Whisk together egg yolks and caster sugar in a bowl for 2-3 minutes or until pale.
4. Pour hot cream over egg yolk mixture, continuing to whisk until well combined. Strain mixture into a jug, evenly divide between 4 x 200ml ramekins.
5. Carefully place ramekins in a deep roasting pan lined with a folded tea towel. Pour boiling water into pan to come halfway up the sides of ramekins. Cover pan loosely with foil.
6. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until the custard has just set. Remove ramekins from the water bath, and set aside to cool.
7. Sprinkle demerara sugar evenly over the surface of the baked custards. Run a kitchen blowtorch over the custards, or place under a preheated grill until the sugar bubbles and caramelises. Serve.

Apple Cinnamon Crumble with Custard

This is one of the easiest apple crumble to make. You cut up the apples, mix with the sugars and spice and put them into the baking dish and into the oven. Cooking the apples this way gives it a bite and it's not too soft.

Recipe sourced from Delicious Magazine, June 2010 (modified by me). 


5 green apples, peeled and cut into chunks
3 red apples, peeled and cut into chunks
50gm sultanas
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves (optional)
pinch of ground nutmeg (or freshly grated nutmeg)
Warm custard to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 200C.
2. Place the apples in the baking dish and mix with the ingredients. 
3. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes and then remove from oven and sprinkle with crumble. 
4. Then return to oven and bake for another 20 minutes until golden and bubbling, then stand for 10 minutes. 
5. Serve with warm custard.

Cinnamon crumble topping
170 self raising flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 firmly packed cup brown sugar
1/4 cup caster sugar
130gm chilled unsalted butter, chopped

1. Mix the flour, cinnamon and sugars in a bowl, then rub in the butter with fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
2. Place on top of baked apples as per above in step 3. 

Vanilla Custard
200ml milk
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
100ml thickened cream
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup caster sugar

1. Warm the milk with the vanilla pod and seeds in a small saucepan over medium heat until just below boiling point.
2. Meanwhile, whisk yolks and sugar in a bowl to combine. 
3. Slowly pour hot milk over egg mixture, stirring constantly.
4. Return to the cleaned saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes until thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.
5. Remove from the heat, strain into a jug and cover closely with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. 
6. Serve warm or cold.

Mangomisu

Mangoes are aplenty during this time of year. I made this tiramisu variation for Christmas Day. It's a delicious dessert for summer time.

500g mascarpone cheese

600ml thickened cream
1/3 cup (50g) icing sugar
2 egg yolks
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
1/2 cup (125ml) Grand Marnier (less if you want to reduce the alcohol for children)
Juice of 2 oranges
300g savoiaridi (see note) (sponge finger biscuits)
3 mangoes, flesh sliced 1cm thick

Raspberry sauce
1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar
250g fresh or frozen raspberries
Juice of 1 lemon 

1. Line the base of a 22cm spring-form cake pan with plastic wrap or baking paper. Place the mascarpone, thickened cream, icing sugar, egg yolks and vanilla seeds in the bowl of an electric mixer and whip on high speed until thick and well combined.
2. Combine the Grand Marnier and orange juice in a separate bowl. Dip half the sponge fingers into the juice mixture and layer in the base of the cake pan. Spread with one-third of the mascarpone mixture, and top with one-third of the mango slices. Repeat the process, then top with the remaining mascarpone mixture, reserving the remaining mango slices to serve. Cover the cake and chill for 2 hours or until firm.
3. Meanwhile for the raspberry sauce, place the sugar and 2 tbs water in a small pan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Cool slightly, then add the berries and lemon juice. Whiz in a food processor until smooth, then pass through a sieve. Chill until ready to serve. (You can store the sauce, covered, in the fridge for 3-4 days).
4. To serve, carefully remove the sides and base of the cake pan and transfer the mangomisu to a platter. Decorate with curls of the reserved mango, then slice and serve with berry sauce.

 Recipe source: Delicious Magazine, Dec 2009

Note: I used Pavarini sponge fingers which are smaller and crispier than the savioridi fingers.

White Chocolate Rocky Road

This year I wanted a 'hand-made' theme for my girls' teachers Christmas presents. While trying to keep it hand-made, I also wanted to keep the price down as there are many more teachers - junior and senior schools. My girls and I made these white choc rocky road (recipe from Retro Mummy) for some of their teachers. We packaged them in these cute melamine tumblers from J.A.B design which we bought from Peters of Kensington. The gift looks lovely all wrapped up in cello and tied with a ribbon. We enjoyed making and wrapping these presents. I was also glad my girls made a personal contribution in their making their teachers' presents as a way to say 'Thank You' for a great year.

Apple Strudel

Another simple dessert recipe that taste delicious and easy to make.

3 Granny Smith apples, cubed
2 Pink Lady apples, cubed
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon butter
4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 sheets filo pastry
100gm butter, melted (additional)
icing sugar, dusting
almond meal (optional)

1. Place the butter in a saucepan, when melted, add in the cubed apples, cinnamon stick and brown sugar. Stir to coat the apples with the melted butter. Close the lid and cook till apples are soft. Leave aside to cool.
2. Lay out the filo pastry, brush the 1st  sheet with the melted butter and dust some icing sugar and almond meal. Place the 2nd sheet on top, brush with melted butter and dust with icing sugar. Do the same for 3rd and 4th sheet.
3. Spoon the apple filling in a line down the middle of the pastry, fold inwards each of the opposite side to form a long parcel. 
4. Brush the top with butter and dust with a little caster sugar.
5. Bake in the oven at 180C for 8-10 minutes.
6. Serve warm with vanilla ice-cream or double/whipped cream.

Note: If you like a stronger cinnamon taste, you can add about 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon.

Apple Crumble

We used the apples we bought at the market today to make apple crumple for dessert. We found the recipe on the Best Recipes website. It was simple, easy to follow and quick to put together. This dessert is delicious served with ice-cream or double cream. You can also add sultanas to the apples.

I modified the recipe slightly to suit our tastes.

Apple Filling
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cubed
3 Fuji apples, peeled and cubed
2 cloves
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons brown sugar 
1 cinnamon stick

Crumble
3/4 cup brown sugar
50gm butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup plain flour

1. Pre-heat oven to 120C.
2. Place apples, cloves, water, cinnamon stick and brown sugar into a saucepan. Simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes or until apples are soft.
3. Place the butter, sugar and flour into a mixing bowl. Using finger tips, rub the butter into the sugar and flour until resemble breadcrumbs.
4. Place crumbs into the freezer until apples are cooked.
5. Place the cooked apples into a baking dish and sprinkle crumbs evenly over the apples.
6. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Serve warm with vanilla ice-cream or dollop of double cream or custard.

Konnyaku Jelly

 I prefer Konnyaku Jelly to the Aeroplane Jelly that is often found in Oz supermarkets. I have never been able to find the Red Man Konnyaku powder in Sydney and have to stock up when in Malaysia or request for my relatives to buy me some when they visit. I love the springiness and chewy texture of Konnyaku Jelly. The Konnyaku powder comes from the Japenese taro family. There are many brands in the market but my favourite is Red Man by Phoon Huat & Co. Whilst I have tried the other brands, I have found this brand to have the best consistency and 'bite'.

I like to add fruits into the jelly - canned peaches, longan, lychee, mangoes, berries and kiwi fruit.

Torta di Caffe (Caffe Creme Caramel)

Found this recipe by Tobie Puttock in March 2011 Delicious magazine. The texture is so soft and smooth.

5 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (220gm) caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups (500ml) milk
1/2 cup (125ml) freshly made strong espresso coffee, cooled completely

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Place 6 x 50ml ramekins in a baking dish that can hold them easily side by side.
2. Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl and add 1/3 cup (75gm) caster sugar and whisk to combine. Slowly add vanilla, milk and coffee, whisking together. Strain through a sieve.
3. Place the remaining sugar (2/3 cup or 145gm) sugar into a small non-stick saucepan with 1/3 cup (80ml) water. Gently warm over medium to low heat, without stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat to medium and cook for 4-6 minutes until the syrup turns golden. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a couple of minutes.
4. Divide the caramel between the ramekins. Allow to stand for 5 minutes to firm up, then divide the custard evenly between the ramekins.
5. Very carefully pour water into the baking dish to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins, being careful not to get any water into the ramekins. 
6. Bake in the middle shelf of the oven for 40-45 minutes or until the centre of each flan has just set but is still wobbly.
7. Remove ramekins from baking dish and cool to room temperatures. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours.
8. To serve, boil some water and pour into a bowl. Run a sharp knife around the edge of each custard and dip the bottom of each ramekin in hot water for 10 seconds to loosen.
9. Turn out onto individual plates, juggling the ramekins.

Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker

source: hubpages.com

Christmas came early for me this year. I received a Cuisinart Ice Cream, Frozen Yoghurt and Sorbet maker from my colleagues when I left my previous role as a farewell gift. Thanks everyone, you now who you are. It's a pity I can't send samples through the internal mail.

The model is called Cuisinart Ice 20. Very exciting! I can't make to try this appliance. I plan to make  a batch of vanilla ice-cream to be used as the base for the Christmas pudding ice-cream - my dessert for Christmas Day. Maybe some mango sorbet too since it's mango season now. I'll provide an update shortly.

Hazelnut and Fruit Torte

Another recipe from September 2010's issue of Delicious magazine. This time is a recipe by Poh, the 2nd finalist from Masterchef 2009. Poh is a fellow Malaysian who resides in Adelaide. Besides writing for Delicious magazine, Poh also has her own cooking show on ABC - Poh's Kitchen.  

This dessert taste fantastic! It looks like a work of art. I love the hazelnut meal in the egg white meringue, gives it a crunchy bite. 
If you like the recipe, send an email to charmainewan@gmail.com 

Apple Lattice Puffs

I bought these frozen apple lattice puffs from the supermarket the other day. They are tasty, not too sweet and easy to put together dessert.

Hubby's Birthday 2010

This is a back-dated post. Hub's birthday was in early August.

If you've been reading my blog since last year, you'll know that each birthday, my hubby requests that I make him a pavlova as his birthday cake. Read here.This year, I made him mini pavlovas. I really don't know why he loves pavlovas so much. To me, it's basically egg whites and sugar served with fresh whipped cream and fruits. Strawberries have been particularly these last few weeks and quite cheap too. A$10.00 for 4 punnets of large juicy strawberries.

Nutella Pizza

We made pizza for dinner tonight and had some pizza dough leftover. A few colleagues at work have been talking about Nutella pizza, which some restaurants serve as desserts. I found this recipe, which was really easy to follow.

Verdict: Delicious

Nutella Pizza (notice the extra icing sugar... no prizes for guessing who did that?)

Orange Almond Cake

I love orange-flavoured cakes. When I saw this recipe on Gertrude's blog, I knew I had to give it a go. I changed the method slightly and added the orange zest when creaming the butter and sugar. I also reduced the sugar by 20gm.

You could serve this cake for dessert, with a dollop of double cream or ice-cream.

According to my hubby, it's Masterchef material. Thanks Gert for the recipe.

Note to self: Oven temperature set at 120C.

Buttery Almond and Coconut Cake

1st baking post for 2010.

This is a gluten-free cake suitable for people who suffer from coeliac. The recipe is sourced from Belinda Jeffrey's Mix and Bake book. I like it because it is easy to whip up especially for a last minute dessert esp. when deserved with ice cream or a dollop of rich/double cream.

180gm almond meal
60gm dessicated coconut
1/4 teaspoon salt
250gm caster sugar (I reduce amount to about 235gm)
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond essence
200gm unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons flaked almonds
icing sugar (optional) for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Butter a 23 or 24 cm shallow springform cake tin and line the base and sides with buttered baking paper. Dust the tin slightly with flour (or rice flour if you're avoiding wheat) and set aside.
2. Put the almond meal, desiccated coconut, salt and sugar into a medium sized bowl and whisk them briskly together with a balloon whisk for 1 minute. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla extract, almond essence until they're thoroughly mixed, then add in the cooled melted butter until its incorporated.
3. Tip the butter mixture into the almond mixture and stir together (the batter will be loose). Scrape this into the prepared tin and spread it out evenly, then scatter the flaked almonds over the top.
4. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back slowly when you press it gently. Cool the cake in the tin on a wire rack.
5. Once the cake is cool, invert onto the rack, remove the tin and paper. Then invert it again onto a serving plate. Dust the top with icing sugar if you like, and serve.
   
6. Keep this cake in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to 3 weeks.
   

Crepes for Breakfast

During the week, I came across this recipe on Karen Cheng's blog. It looked easy, so I gave it a try this morning for breakfast. I served it with caramelized bananas. Everyone loved it! My hubby was the only one who had it with vanilla ice cream since our girls and I are recovering from cough and cold :(

Caitlin's plain crepe

Ashleigh's crepe with caramelized bananas

Hubby's with the lot

The crepes can also be served as dessert or afternoon tea with different toppings or fillings like lemon and sugar, nutella, stewed apples, peaches etc.

To make caramelized bananas:

1. Melt butter in a pan.
2. Add the sliced bananas and lightly fry.
3. Add some brown sugar and allow it to melt and caramelized the bananas on a medium heat.
4. When bananas are caramelized, remove from heat and serve.