Chocolate Celebration Cake

Decorate this simple chocolate cake with fresh flowers for a showstopping celebration cake. It is perfect for birthday or wedding! It will not be a celebration with a cake, right???

Gone for the pink theme as it's Janet favourite colour !

Gingerbread Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

If you like gingerbread, ice cream and cakes....then you are in a treat!!! Something light as dessert after the heavy xmas dinner. 

There are a few elements in making this cake but they are not difficult elements, just need some time to complete them all. You don't have to make all the elements and can use store bought alternatives.

Ingredients:

Gingerbread cake:

• 2 cups plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• zest of ½ lemon
• 115g butter, room temperature
• ¾ cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup treacle
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

No-Churn Lemon Cream Cheese Ice Cream:

• 2 cups double cream
• 1x395g tin sweetened condensed milk
• 1x250g cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Gingerbread Snowflakes:

• 50g butter
• ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
• ½ cup treacle syrup
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2½ cup plain flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• ¾ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp bicarbonate soda
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• royal icing sugar mixture, to decorate

Salted Butterscotch Sauce:

• 60g butter
• 100g dark brown sugar
• 125ml double cream

Method:

Start by making the gingerbread cake as it needs time to cooled completely before you make the no-churn ice cream.

Preheat oven to 180ºC/160ºC for fan assist oven. Grease and line 2x8 inch round cake tins with greaseproof paper.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, spice mix and lemon zest and then set aside.

Beat butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the treacle and beat to combine. Scrap down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the dry ingredients (in three additions) and the milk (in two additions), alternately, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat on low until just incorporated.

Divide the batter between the two prepared tins and smooth the top with the back of a spoon or spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake coms out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

No-Churn Lemon Cream Cheese Ice Cream: Combine the condensed milk and cream cheese together and beat until combined then set aside. Whip double cream in a mixing bowl until firm peaks form then stir in 3 tablespoons of the condensed milk mixture and stir until combined. Add the remaining condensed milk mixture and fold until just combined.

Place one gingerbread cake into a high sided 20cm cake tins and top with ½ of the ice cream mixture. Top with the second cake and pour the remaining ice cream mixture over the top. Cover with clingfilm  and place the cake in the freezer to set completely (preferably overnight). You can make the recipe up to this point a week before serving.

Gingerbread Snowflakes: In a small pan, place butter, sugar and treacle syrup over a low heat stirring until butter has melted and sugar has dissolved. Pour into a large bowl and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

Add egg and vanilla extract to butter mixture, stirring to combine. Sift flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking powder, bicarbonate soda and salt over the butter mixture and mix to form a dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Shape into a disc, wrap with clingfilm and allow to rest in the fridge for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 160ºC for fan assist oven. Line baking tray with baking paper. Divide the dough into two and cover one with cling film. Roll first batch of the dough between two sheets of baking paper to about 5mm thickness. Cut various snowflake shaped cookies using cookies cutters. Bake for 5-6 minutes for smaller cookies and 8-10 minutes for larger cookies. Allow to cool on trays for 5 minutes or longer for larger cookies to harden before transferring to  a wire rack to cool completely. 

Once cooled, prepare royal icing as instructions on the package. Then transfer to a piping bag with a vert fine writing nozzle and decorate the cookies. Set aside to set and harden completely then store in an airtight container.

Salted Butterscotch Sauce: To make the sauce, heat a medium heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add butter and when melted, add sugar and cream, whisking until well combined. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then cook for 5 minutes, whisking regularly. After 5 minutes remove from the heat and set aside at room temperature to cool completely. Store in the fridge for 3-4 days and simply warm in the microwave on low heat for 20 seconds to return to a drizzle state before using on the cake. 

Assembly: When ready to serve, transfer the cake from the tin to a cake stand and drizzle the butterscotch sauce over the top. Push decorated gingerbread snowflakes into the top of the ice cream cake and serve. The no-churn ice cream will come out clean of the fridge rock hard so you will have enough time to dress the cake and have the ice cream and gingerbread cake soften to perfect consistency for eating.

 

Pak Tong Gou (White Sugar Cake)

Making this like renewing childhood memories as it is a favourite childhood cake for many people. It is a traditional Chinese snack that is white in colour, sweet and light as it is steamed. The cake is not too sweet, slightly chewy and it wonderfully spongy from the honeycomb-like appearance on the inside of the cake.

It's easy to recreate this traditional kuih at home. This kuih is only using just a few ingredients. 

 

 Ingredients:

• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 1 tbsp lukewarm water
• 300g rice flour, sifted
• 280g water
• ½ tsp cooking oil

ingredients for the sugar syrup:

• 200g sugar
• 340g water
• 3 pieces pandan leaves, knotted

Method:

Start by dissolving 1 tsp instant yeast with 1 tbsp lukewarm water. Set aside the mixture for 10 minutes or until the mixture turns foamy.

Place the rice flour in a medium size bowl and add in the water. Whisk and combine until you get a smooth and thick batter. Set aside.

In a saucepan, heat up the sugar with water and pandan leaves until sugar dissolves. Then slowly pour the hot sugar syrup into the tice flour mixture, stirring it constantly to prevent limps forming.

Leave aside the rice flour batter to cool until warm. When cooled, add in the foamy instant yeast mixture and stir well to combine everything together.

Then cover with cling film and leave the mixture to proof in a warm area for 2 hours or until large bubbles form on the surface.

When ready, add in ½ tsp of cooking oil. Stir the batter again, mixing well. 

Prepare the steamer by bringing the water in the steamer to a rapid boil. Brush a 10 inch round cake pan with cooking oil. Pour the batter into the oiled cake pan. Rest 20 minutes until small bubbles appear.

Place in steamer and steam for 30 minutes on high heat. Remove the cake pan from the steamer and let the kuih cool on the counter before cutting the kuih.

Once it is cool enough to handle, gently run a spatula along the edges to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. Then remove the rice cake from pan.

Simply cut the kuih into slices and served as snacks.

 Enjoy!!!

Hedgehog Chocolate Cake

Another celebration cake ! 

Seems hedgehog cakes were all the rage in the 80’s!! 

This is a chocolate cake with chocolate butter icing, matchmakers for the spike. It is really fun making this cake for a fun wonderful friend.

Cranberry Orange Chutney

Say happy holidays with this festive Cranberry Orange Chutney! Make a batch of holiday homemade chutney to give as Christmas gifts, or save this small-batch chutney for yourself so you can enjoy cranberries all year-round.

Cranberry Orange Chutney is a lovely fresh flavourful preserve. It is easy to make with fresh or frozen cranberries and makes an ideal gift.

Christmas is coming, well no, it is all around us. There are adverts on TV, movies full of goodwill, kids and snow, Santa grotto is every where and panic stricken faces as people shop like mad and rush hither and thither trying to get everything done.

I feel the most Christmassy when I am busy in the kitchen making foodie gifts to give to family and friends.

Since cranberries have a lot of natural pectin, there is no pectin required for this recipe...see? Easy!!

This chutney is not overly sweet. It is delicious served on scones or English muffins, over cream cheese on crackers, basted on grilled or roasted poultry or as an accompaniment to turkey, ham or pork.

Ingredients:

• 800g fresh/frozen cranberries
• 2-3 cups of sugar, depending on how sweet you want it
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 tbsp orange zest
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp salt

Method:

Place all ingredients in a large preserve pan. Bring to boil. reduce heat and simmer uncovered 30-35 minutes, stirring often, until the liquid is absorbed. Mash any whole fruit remaining, if desired.

Ladle into the prepared jar. Leave the chutney to cool completely before use,