Choco Rum Ball

When so many thing on my mind .. that is always happened !! Forget to put sugar on my cake batter ...dooh  .  And since no one want to eat unsweet cake , what I can do is just blend everything into the blender and with magic wand turn into Chocolate Rum Ball and as you can guess .. please the crowd ..eem. I mean so far my crowd are husband and kiddo ..

 

 

 

Chocolate Rum Ball

Ingredients :

- Unwanted cake / left over cake / whatever you called

- 1 can of condense milk (adjust your self)

- 1 tbsp. chocolate powder

- 1 tsp. rum or almond extract like I used in this recipe

- chocolate sprinkle ,nuts or shredded coconut / whatever you have at your pantry it will work

 

Method :

Just add 4 ingredients to blender, pulse, until become crumbs and easy to handle.

Take about 2 tsp. and make round, roll into chocolate sprinkle, put into refrigerator to set a bit , serve ...

 

 

I hope I never make mistake by putting 1 cup salt into my batter instead of sugar.. LOL

Banana Marzipan Muffin

 

This muffin is on my daughter snack box today, she was so happy when I asked 'what she like me to put on her snack box for today? ; no doubt she pointed to the muffin I made yesterday afternoon.  It was funny moment , while she entered the kitchen after school yesterday !! She said.. "ooh, what a wonderful muffin, I want get 1 for my afternoon snack, what kind of muffin is this ?   I said "banana marzipan chocolate muffin"  -  she showed a funny expression, and said "oh... well, I'm not fan of banana"  ; aaaw ...  really ? since when she become a picky eater ? all right this is time for mom, show her trick .. . I reply again , " well... don't worry banana is just for a flavor like I put vanilla essence the other day, the main ingredient is CHOCOLATE CHIPS"

She said : "ok, I take one" .. after several minute, "ooh, you are right, I have a big chunk of chocolate chips, no banana slice ..this is so delicious, I want this for my tomorrow snack too"    Yeaaaaa... score for me !!

 

 

Banana Marzipan Chocochips Muffin

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
2 cups mashed overripe bananas (about 6)
3 large eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 package (95gr) of Chocolate Cover Marzipan , chopped - I found this at ALDI
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips (6 ounces)

1. Preheat the oven to 350° and line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper or foil liners. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, melted butter, bananas and eggs; mix thoroughly. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until the batter is evenly moistened. Stir in the chocolate chips. 

2. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake for about 28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes before turning them out onto a rack to cool completely.

Make Ahead The banana muffins can be wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 1 month. Let thaw and toast in a 350° oven.

Happy Spring - Nowruz - Persian New Year

 

Today is officially First Day of Spring ! But the weather just horrible , still cold, breezy, even we still expect to get more snow during this week ... eeeewww... last weekend was the second weekend without sunshine at all .

First Day of Spring mean is Nowruz, Persian New Year ! - The festival of Nowruz is celebrated by many groups of people in the Middle East, Central and South Asia, but particularly by Persians or various Iranian Peoples. It's the time to make new beginnings, realize dreams and reach new goals.

And this year,it's a first time for me to really try prepared several stuff to accommodate New Year celebrations like plant the wheat sprout representing rebirth .  I preparing to serve a good meal for dinner tonight too ; which is must to cook : Baqala polow (dill rice with fava beans) and smoked fish.

To honor my husband culture, today I bake Nan-e berenji (cardamom rice cookies) ; I never bake this cookies before, but after read the recipe, though is pretty easy to bake and since cardamom is become familiar spice to use at my household, I know I will like this type of cookies. Oh yeaah, I was right - this is a type of cookies that you wont to stop to eat, melt on your mouth and before you know you will keep hold the cookie jar for yourself  , don't ask me how my little one loves this cookies. She is doesn't mind with the aroma of rose water at all.  She loves the cookies as I do :)

Try to prepare some ingredients day a head, and keep in your mind that this cookies is so soft and easy to crumble so be careful when you transfer the cookies from tray to the jar.
 

Cardamom Rice Cookies - Nan-e Berenji
Recipe : Najmieh K.Batmanglij (A Taste of Persia)

For Syrup :
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 tbsp. rose water (easy to find at Mid-East Store)

For Batter :
3 eggs yolks
1 tbsp. sugar
1 cup clarified butter or Ghee *see note*
1/2 cup corn oil
1 1/2 tsp cardamom
3 cups rice flour
2 tbsp. poppy seed or fine grind pistachio nuts

 

Directions :
1.Combine the sugar and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 4 minutes, being careful not to let the mixture boil over. Remove from the heat, add the rose water, and set aside to cool. This syrup should be room temperature and not too thick. Set aside I cup and bottle the remainder for future use.

2.In a warm mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks with 1 tablespoon sugar and beat well, until creamy.

3.In another mixing bowl, combine the clarified butter, oil, cardamom, and rice flour. Mix well for a few minutes then add the egg yolk mixture and mix a few seconds. Add the I cup syrup from Step 1 and knead well for a few seconds, or until the dough no longer sticks to your hands. This will create a snow-white dough. Allow the dough to cool for 30 minutes at room temperature.

4.Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment.

5.Take a spoonful of dough, roll it into a ball the size of a hazelnut, flatten it slightly, and place it on the cookie sheet. Repeat, leaving 2 1/2 inches between each ball. With a fork or the edge of a cookie cutter, draw geometric patterns on the cookies and sprinkle them with poppy seeds. You may also use a cookie press (readily available in most cookware stores) to stamp a design in the dough.

6.Place the cookie sheet in the center of the preheated oven and bake the cookies 10 to 15 minutes. Keep in mind that the cookies should be white when they are done.

7.Remove the cookies from the oven and cool. Lift the cookies off the baking paper carefully: They crumble very easily.

8.Arrange the cookies in a pyramid on a footed cake dish.

 

Make about 36medium cookies

 

Make your own Clarified Butter (Ghee)

Even so easy to find ghee at store, but why not make your own .. very simple and yet safe more money.

 

Melt 1 lbs of unsalted butter in sauce pan ; when it bubbles, cover and simmer over low heat for 15-20 minute, until most of the froth subsides.  Let it cool in the pan for 5 minutes

Then strain the liquid through one layer of muslin or three layer of cheese-cloth to separate the clear butter fat from the milk solids. Discard the solid and store the ghee in a tightly closed jar in your refrigerator.

 

 

 

 

Banana Chocolate Chiffon Cake

 

Can't tell you more, but this is a second time in a week I bake this cake, I got from my buddy blogger, Rima (A lovely Malaysian lady, who can bake any kind of cake that you can ever imagine, she is .. I'm not kidding)

First time I bake, it just need a half hour to finished half of pan of cake. My cookie monster(s) at home love it .. eergh, I'm talking about hubby and kid. Maybe because the cake is so moist, and light .

Today, my daughter is sick, she get throat-ache and I decide not to send her to school - but she said, in the afternoon she will be fine and will bake a banana chiffon cake!! oh, jezz .. never heard any other kids say that. But she is, it's funny her body temperature turn normal in the afternoon and right the way want to bake . Ok, mommy let her to do that ..

Here is the recipe - Thank you Rima :)

 

Banana Chocolate Chiffon Cake
Ingredients :
20gr cocoa powder
60ml hot water
100gr banana – mashed
35gr cooking oil
½ tbsp chocolate paste
85gr cake flour
1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
75 gr caster sugar (I’m sweet tooth, mine is 100gr sugar)
5 yolks eggs
5 white eggs
½ tsp salt
75 gr caster sugar (for white egg mixture)

Method :
Dissolve cocoa powder in hot water. Add smashed banana, cooking oil, chocolate paste, stir well, set aside.
Sift flour, cinnamon, baking powder.
Whisk sugar and yolks with stand mixer until pale. Add in cocoa mixture. Continue to whisk at low speed. Add batter into sifted dry ingredients
Beat white eggs and salt until half inflate, add sugar a little at time and continue to whisk till stiff peak.
Add egg white , fold in gently and lightly. Pour into ungreased chiffon pan
Bake in preheated oven of 350 F about 50 minutes (usually this chiffon bake till 60-70minute, but mine just 50 minutes and this keep my chiffon so moist)

Indonesian Chicken Risoles

Off for too long ?? jeezz, after finished with Girl with Dragon Tatto Trilogy now I'm stuck with The Hunger Games Novel .. oh.. no, I know I'm in trouble .. reading alot, ignoring my sewing machine even getting lazy to updating my cooking blog. In fact, the weathers are so insane, we reach 90F for spring today.. I think i better prepare for my little garden than sitting here to update my blog.

so many thing need to be done, I need to paint a new bedroom  for my kid, she is geeting bigger now, she has many friends for playday at home and sleep over on other weekend . So, let see how the new room will gonna be ? . I still need to paint my back porch too. wuhuuu.. a lot of work for me.

Anyway, I still love my cooking blog - so I just want to share a little recipe, like Risoles may be ? oh.. this is not little, this is a lot of work , I suggest you to prepare the Risoles filling day a head, or you will end up like me , mess around the kitchen :p

Rissoles are a snack food in Indonesia, where they are called risol (pronounced 'riss-ol'). They are commonly filled with chicken, egg, carrot, common bean, potato, and eaten with chilli sauce or bird's eye chili.

Indonesian Chicken Risoles Ingredients:
For filling
1 onion, chopped
125 g chicken, cubed
150 g carrots, cubed or shreded if you try to make it faster.
150 g potatoes, cubed into tinny size
50 g peas
125 ml milk
75 g flour
200 ml chicken stock
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp white pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
hand of full chopped green onion
5tbsp of butter

For skin wrapper
1 egg
50 ml milk
1/2 tsp salt
70 g flour
150 g water
1 tbsp butter, melted

For crumbing
4 egg whites
400 g bread crumbs, panko or fine
Oil for deep-frying

Directions:
For filling
Heat butter over medium heat. Stir-fry onion until translucent, about 3 minutes.
Add chicken pieces, cook for about 3 more minutes.
Combine carrot, potatoes and peas into the wok. Continue cooking until all ingredients are well distributed, about 2 minutes.
Season with nutmeg, pepper and salt.
Add chopped celery and mix well.
Add flour and stir continuously for 5 minutes.
Pour milk and chicken stock into the wok. Let simmer for 5 minutes, till the mixture thickens, stirring a couple of times to ensure even cooking.
Turn off heat and let cool.

For wrapper
Combine flour, salt, water milk, butter and egg yolk in a bowl. whisk until well corporate, and than use your strainer to get a very thin batter, no crumble batter at all.
Pour 1/4 cup of batter into a lightly oiled and preheated non-stick pan (20cm).
Cook until the sides start to curl up, about 1-2 minutes over medium heat.
Loosen the sides with fork and flip the pan quickly on a plate to get the wrapper off.
Continue with the rest of the batter.

For assembling
Place a tablespoon of filling into the middle of a wrapper.
Roll the side of wrapper away from you, form a 5cm log.
Fold both sides to the middle, ensuring no gaps.
Roll the risoles up and brush the tip with egg white for sealing.

For crumbing
Prepare two plates, egg white and crumbs each.
Dip risoles into egg white. Coat it with crumbs.
Dip the crumbed risoles back into egg white and coat it again with more crumbs , doing this until finish, keep at refrigerator at least 30minute, to make sure the crumb is stick togehter.

For frying
Heat cooking oil in a saucepan, put the rolls into hot oil, don't over crowd. Fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Serve warm with bird's eye chili.

Mirza Ghassemi //Persian Eggplant Dip

Mirza Ghassemi / Persian Eggplant Dip is a dish come from north part of Iran, I learn to make this delicious , a healty food from my sister in law when i visited her for the first time in Hannover - Germany . Since than I loves to make this dish to every one when we have a party at home . Very simple dish and yet healty ..

Mirza Ghassemi / Persian Eggplant Dip

Recipe : from my beloved sister in law, Farah Alireza Rahmani

Ingredient

3 large eggplants (5 medium)

3 large tomatoes, remove the skin and chop into small pieces or 1 can of chopped tomatoes

7 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 eggs, lightly beaten

2 teaspoon tomato paste

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon turmeric

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pierce the eggplants and bake for 40 minutes in the oven until soft in the inside and the skin is crispy on the outside. Or grill them on a barbecue grill until eggplants are well cooked. Set aside to cool.

Remove the skin and mash the eggplant with a fork - while i need to make a pot of dip, i usually using a food processor

In a skillet saute chopped garlic in hot oil until light brown on medium heat. Add in the turmeric and stir.

Add the mashed eggplant and cook for about 15-20 minutes, stirring thoroughly.

Add chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper to the mix, stir well and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes over medium heat .

Pour the beaten eggs over the eggplant mixture, stir until well blended. Cook for about 3-4 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.  Serve with flat bread and fresh herbs such a bassil leaves

Chocolate Babka

what the h** Babka is ?? A very first time saw this cake or bread *hmm* it was at P* Bread Company, still confuse what the taste is so I bought 2 slices, what i can say that the taste is so damn good but a slice is way too much to me so yesterday I make my own Babka, and this morning i have a babka for breakfast. cost less than $7,5 !! I can make 2 loaves.

Babka is : described in many ways, and its origins tend to be obscured. Some say babka is a classic Czech coffee cake, while others call it a traditional Polish cake. What is known is that babka is a yeasted sweet cake, popular in most of Eastern Europe, which is flavored with rum, studded with raisins, and considered a traditional treat on Easter but why need to wait until easter LOL .. make now and you won't regret

you see, my daily breakfast usually starts at 11am ! just enjoy a quite morning *eerr.. not really quite since I can hear a bunch of kids playing around school playground close to my backyard :D and perhaps one of those kids is my daughter too.. but I love it, no complain .. especially with a slice of warm babka ? hmmm.. heaven

*I had trouble to put picture into the blog lately, so if you didn't see any picture especially the second pict.please just klik a little white dot above, the picture will comes. - I've been reporting this to admin of blogspot but no response so far .. :( *

Chocolate Babka (add Pecan - my way :D )

Recipe : Epicurious

For dough

3/4 cup warm milk (105–115°F)

1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar

3 teaspoons active dry yeast (from two 1/4-oz packages)

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting

2 whole large eggs

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened

For egg wash

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon heavy cream or whole milk

For Pecan chocolate filling

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, well softened

2 (3 1/2- to 4-oz) bars fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (no more than 60% cacao if marked), finely chopped

1/4 cup sugar

Chopped Pecan or whatever nuts you like to add

Special equipment: a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment; 2 (8 3/4- by 4 1/2- by 2 3/4-inch) loaf pans; parchment paper

Preparation

Make dough:

Stir together warm milk and 2 teaspoons sugar in measure cup. Sprinkle yeast over mixture and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If yeast doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

Pour the yeast mixture into mixer bowl add 1/2 cup flour to yeast mixture and beat at medium speed until combined. Add whole eggs, yolk, vanilla, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low, then mix in remaining 2 3/4 cups flour, about 1/2 cup at a time. Increase speed to medium, then beat in butter, a few pieces at a time, and continue to beat until dough is shiny and forms strands from paddle to bowl, about 4 minutes. (Dough will be very soft and sticky.)

Scrape dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. - hmmm.. I went to fabric store, and before i know it was already 3 hours spent time in the store and bring home a bunch of new fabrics *grin*

Assemble babkas with filling:

Line each loaf pan with 2 pieces of parchment paper (1 lengthwise and 1 crosswise).

Punch down dough with a lightly oiled rubber spatula, then halve dough. Roll out 1 piece of dough on a well-floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into an 18- by 10-inch rectangle and arrange with a long side nearest you.

Beat together yolk and cream. Spread 2 1/2 tablespoons softened butter on dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around. Brush some of egg wash on long border nearest you.

Sprinkle half of chocolate evenly over buttered dough, then sprinkle with half of sugar (2 tablespoons). Starting with long side farthest from you, roll dough into a snug log, pinching firmly along egg-washed seam to seal. Bring ends of log together to form a ring, pinching to seal. Twist entire ring twice to form a double figure 8 and fit into one of lined loaf pans.

Make another babka with remaining dough, some of egg wash, and remaining butter and chocolate in same manner. Chill remaining egg wash, covered, to use later. Loosely cover pans with buttered plastic wrap (buttered side down) and let babkas rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until dough reaches top of pans, 1 to 2 hours. (Alternatively, let dough rise in pans in refrigerator 8 to 12 hours; bring to room temperature, 3 to 4 hours, before baking.)

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.

Brush tops of dough with remaining egg wash. Bake until tops are deep golden brown and bottoms sound hollow when tapped (when loaves are removed from pans), about 40 minutes. Transfer loaves to a rack and cool to room temperature.

Babkas keep, wrapped in plastic wrap and then foil, frozen 3 weeks

chocolate-ginger biscotti & mural painting

OOH .. WOOWW.. !! Spring is really here, nice weather, still chilled a bit , no complain for sure ! flowers are coming, birds are chirping .. what a lovely weather. And I've been busy around home , let see .. what I've done so far ? painting a spare room , cleaning around the garden, preparing veggie patch .. well, all kind activity i never imagine to do by myself before. Well, back to the time I lived in my country, we spoiled by the maid, yuup . don't think that we are come from rich people .. NO..NO, overseas *in my country i talked about* almost every household has maid. The labor expense are so cheap , no surprise everyone spoiled by maid :O

Not, here ... in US , everyone need more active and creative. Well .. you can pay helper, but the cost will make you pull hair for sure :)

Anyway, after wait for long time, finally, i got an empty room on basement. I tought it will be nice if i have a craft room and playing room for my daughter, so I decide to paint a little bit. But you know, type of me .. can't stop doing things. I know i will get bored with plain color pretty soon,and than i got an idea to add some picture on it.. after 3 weeks, the mural painting still going.. hmm, between.. painting, cooking, baking, taking picture, take care of husband and kid ^LOL^ what you can expect ?? finishing on the time ? NO WAY .. but that is ok to me, little by little i try to catch everything.

here we go i give you a sneak peak , my craft room (wanna be :P )

OK! Back to baking, for sure I still doing that but not take many pictures anymore. This time (and again) I bake another batch of biscotti . And I remember how my sister complained about biscotti recipe, she said, even dog can chew them. I was laughed so loud, I forgot to tell her that we need to bake for a shorter time to make them softer than the traditional version. Well.. Me, too .. I loves soft biscotti *this will avoid you to see your dentist often too .. right ? :O

Chocolate-ginger biscotti

Ingredients: Makes about 15-20 cookies

1 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp table salt

1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup almonds, toasted and chopped

1/4 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a baking sheet, set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

In the bowl of electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, beat until well combine, scrapping down sides of bowl if necessary

Mix in oil and vanilla ; add flour mixture, and stir to form a stiff dough. Stir in chocolate, nuts and ginger by hand.

Because the dough is too sticky, I keep into the refrigerator for a while until dough is easy to handle. Divide the dough in half and roll into logs about 12 by 4 inches.

Place onto cookie sheet lines with parchment

Bake until slightly firm, about 25 minutes, cool on wire rack for about 5 minute.

Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

On a cutting board , using a sharp serrated knife, but biscotti diagonally into 1-inch-tick slice. Arrange biscotti, cut sides down, on baking sheet, and bake until crisp but still slightly soft in the center, about 8 minute.

Remove and cool at room temperature

Banana Caramel Cupcake

My week run so slow ! well, at least that what I feel since my daughter sick, she got fever and coughing constantly for 3 days. Made me worry, and decided to take her to E.R on Monday evening (and came back home on Tuesday morning). Doctor said, that was pneumonia clinical , and she need to take breathing therapy. Thanks GOD, nothing major happen. And she is doing fine today :)

The funny was *thought it was not funny anymore* while we waiting at ER , I checked my Blackberry, and I found her pictures at ER from previous year. Oh, NO .. !! seems every year she go to ER :O - please, don't make it habit :( - I just want her become healthy child *knock knock the wood*

And after a week take care of her, thought that I need get relax a little bit, especially when i feel not well too. Taking a vitamins, a lot of fresh orange juice. Well, you know.. when mom get sick everything will messed up. Bake a simple cake for everybody, back to my book, sipping a cup hot tea, aah.. i feel much better.

Lets try this cake, this is not like your mom , cupcake *wink*

Banana-Caramel Cupcake

Ingredients:

A. Caramel

60g Castor sugar

1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon hot water

2 tablespoons fresh heavy cream

B.Cake Batter

180g all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

115 g butter, at room temperature

110g cream cheese, at room temperature

115g caster sugar

3 eggs, separated

2 bananas, cut into thickness small chunk

Prepare your caramel first :

In a medium sauce pan, cook sugar and water with medium heat.

When the syrup turn into amber color, stir in hot water *please be careful in this step* , than add cream, stir well, set aside.

Cake batter :

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C. Prepare your cupcake pan

Using an electric mixer, whip butter, cream cheese and 75g of sugar until the mixture turns pale and fluffy. Continue whipping the mixture, add in egg yolks one by one. With each addition, whip until the batter just combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until foamy. Continue to whisk and at the same time, add remaining 40g of sugar in 3 batches. Whip the egg white until stiff peak forms.

Using a rubber spatula, stir in 1/3 of egg white into cream cheese mixture , Sift flour and baking powder over the batter, stir until combine. Fold remaining egg, stir and make sure that the batter is well combined.

Stir in banana pieces and caramel. Scrape the batter into the baking pan.

Bake in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes or less, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake turns out clean.

for 15 - 18 cupcake

Don't steal the images !

Ginger & Date Cake

I tried to organize some of my pictures *uupss.. already more than 1,000 ?? * before my computer crack down ^_^ .. and I found some of food pictures I taken on 2010 are not posting yet , OK .. than before getting lazy let me write the recipe .

Pretty simple recipe and what I loved about this recipe was, you just need to put all ingredients together in food processor .. that's it .. not many of bowl to wash after that.

Fluffy ginger and date cake

Recipe : Patricia - Technicolor Kitchen

2 cups + 2 tablespoons (300g) all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger

3 cups (420g) fresh pitted dates, chopped

1 cup (240ml) boiling water

2 teaspoons baking soda

200g unsalted butter, room temperature, chopped

1 ½ cups (262g) brown sugar, packed

4 eggs

Icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 26x16cm baking pan, line with baking paper and butter the paper as well.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and ginger into a large bowl and set aside.

Place the dates, water and baking soda in a bowl, mix and allow to stand for 5 minutes.

Transfer to a food processor, add the butter and sugar and process until well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, and process well.

Pour over the flour mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until risen and cooked when tested with a toothpick. Allow to cool in the pan, then carefully unmold.

Cut into squares or diamond shapes and dust with icing sugar to serve.

Green Tea Mochi

I've been craving for mochi for quite of time, but just today have time to make. Quite easy but yes, a lot of mess around kitchen :O anyway, so far only me love this cute little snack, my husband and daughter refused them as well .. they don't like the texture at all .. LOL

GREEN TEA MOCHI

Ingredients
2 cup Mochiko (glutinous rice powder)
1 3/4 cup warm water

1 cup sugar
1 tsp green tea powder

potato starch or maizena flour for dusting and controlling the sticky dough

red bean paste for filling or you can use any kind of filling, such nutella, peanut butter jelly if you like.

DIRECTION :
In a large bowl, mix the rice flour, sugar, green tea powder and water until smooth. You may need to use a hand blender or mixer to make sure there aren't any lumps.

Pour batter into a shallow microwavable dish and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 4 minutes. Remove dish and pull off plastic to release steam. Stir the mix until smooth again microwave again for another 3 to 5 minutes until the top is dry.

The dough will be a white sticky blob. Allow it to cool so you can handle it. In the meantime, take out your red bean paste and form teaspoon sized balls. The paste is firm enough to easily work with. In a flat dish, like a pie plate, put 1/4 cup cornstarch. Cornstarch is used to dampen the stickiness of the dough. It’s not optional — it’s required. The dough is the stickiest thing you’ll ever encounter

When the dough has cooled, scoop a golf ball sized piece of dough and drop into the cornstarch. Lightly toss to coat the outside of the ball so you can handle it. Roll the dough into a ball, then flatten to form a 3″ circle. Place the red bean paste in the center and pinch edges together to seal. Roll the ball in the cornstarch once again, then roll between the palms of your hands to create a ball shape.

Cover finished mochi tightly with plastic wrap , mochi can be left at room temperature for a few days or refrigerated for longer keeping

RED BEAN PASTE
Try to make the paste day ahead

1 cup small red beans
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Wash the beans, cover the cold water, and soak overnight. Drain beans and discard water. Place beans in a 1 1/2-quart saucepan, add 3 cups cold water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 1 hour, or until very soft. Monitor the pan to make sure water doesn't dry up. Drain and discard the water.

Place the beans in a food processor and process until smooth. Add brown sugar and process until just combined. In a medium saucepan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add the bean paste and cook, stirring 2 to 3 minutes, or until the mixture is dry.

Remove from heat. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to use; it will keep for 1 week.

DON'T STEAL THE IMAGES !!

Banana Cupcakes with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting

Another recipe you can make from left over banana ! Don't throw your ugly banana let's just make cupcake, and if you aware to loss weight like I do, you can bring some of your cupcake to your kid school and share with the teachers .. believe me they will love it .. See, you are not only loss weight but make people happy too *Let, me make confess this cupcake is so delicious... ^_^

Banana Cupcakes with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting

Recipe : Martha Stewart

Ingredients
Makes 12
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas), plus 1 whole banana, for garnish (optional)
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Make a well in center of flour mixture. In well, mix together butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Stir to incorporate flour mixture (do not over mix). Dividing evenly, spoon batter into muffin cups.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Spread tops with Honey Cinnamon Frosting. Just before serving, peel and slice banana into rounds, and place one on each cupcake, if desired.

Honey Cinnamon Frosting
Ingredients
1 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon honey
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat confectioners' sugar, unsalted butter, honey, and ground cinnamon until smooth, 4 to 5 minutes

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Pisang Goreng // Fried Banana Fritters

You gotta be kidding me !! *LOL* that is probably your first expression when you see this recipe on my blog after a month (or more) no updating my page . Well, I know everybody know how to fried banana but what they don't know (may be) is how to make a very crispy, crunchy , golden batter. It's probably simple thing but for me this is a big deal ^_^

Gosh ! you see this is not joking, but I've been searching through Internet to make a crunchy batter , dig to many cooking book e.t.c until I found one recipe and for now I'm happy with the result. For me, who loves banana especially fried banana fritters or PISANG GORENG or GORENG PISANG like Indonesian people called. Eating the crispy, crunchy batter is always bring a different sensation, aha.. i know you will laugh at me.. but if you try you will know what I'm talking about.. ^_^

PISANG GORENG

Thank you to Ellie - http://almostbourdain.blogspot.com/

Ingredients

1/2 cup self-raising flour

1/4 cup corn flour

1 tbsp rice flour

Pinch of salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

180ml water

1½ tbsp oil

5-6 bananas, halved

Oil for deep-frying

Method
Combine the various flours, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Pour in water and combine into a batter. Add in oil to mix.

Coat banana halves in batter and deep-fry in hot oil for three to four minutes or until crispy and golden brown.

Remove and drain on paper towels

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Bola Kacang Hijau Siram Santan

This year, the holy month of Ramadan comes on summer day. Is pretty tough for some Moslem's to do fasting, but since we've been practiced at very young age, so it's not such a big deal anymore . The activity during Ramadan is more personal interest for me, you do what you belief in your heart and soul. and , i think everybody knows what the best for themselves. :)

Spending time together with family, share the food with people , enjoying the food my mom used to cooked for family, listening the 'adzan' calling for praying are the interesting moment I missed a lot since I live here. The atmosphere are totally different.

what i always do during Ramadan , is bake / cooking something more traditional for fasting break / iftar, well just try to make something like my mom used to make. This time , for iftar I made "Bola Kacang Hijau Siram Santan" or Mung Bean Ball Cake with Coconut Milk Sauce

And this is my entry for Joy From Fasting To Feasting hosted by my friend, Lubna Karim ( she is has a great cooking blog, filled with Indian Recipes.) And next I invite you too join into the party too. Please klik HERE to join the event

Ingredients for Skin :

200 gr white glutinous rice flour
20 gr tapioca flour
1/4 tsp salt
30 gr granulate sugar
2 tbsp cooking oil
175 ml warm coconut milk (i used lite coconut milk)

food coloring : green - i use pandan flavor and pink - i use rose flavor

Ingredients for filling :

50 gr un-skined mung beans, soak into the water for an hour
75 ml lite coconut milk
2 pandan leaves

1/4 tsp salt

25 gr granulate sugar

Ingredients for The sauce

750 ml lite coconut milk

1 pandan leave

2 tsp rice flour

1 tsp tapioca flour

1 tsp salt

Direction :

For Filling, i prefer to make filling one day ahead, too avoid spend a lot of time in the kitchen :D

1. steam mung beans about 30 minute, let it cool

2. mix coconut milk and mung bean with blender, until smooth. turn off the blender. put into the medium bowl, add the rest of filling ingredients, mix well.

3. into medium pan, put the mixture filling and cook with low heat about 5 - 10 minute. keep watching pan, the filling is easy to burn. Set aside, let it cool before go to next step.

4. measure the filling about 30 gr and with clean hand roll the filling into a small ball. set aside.

For Skin :

1. mix all the flours, salt, sugar. add cooking oil, warm coconut milk into , mix very well , until everything comes together nicely.

2. divide the dough into 3 batch, add different food coloring into it *i use green, pink and the rest just plain.

3. take the dough just about 10 gram and put the filling inside, and roll into a small ball with your finger. remember to cover your dough to avoid dough become too dry.

4. steam for 15 minutes.

the sauce :
cook all the ingredient with low heat. be careful not over cooked.

Serving :

put the mung bean ball into the plate, serve with coconut milk sauce and sprinkle with toasted black sesame seed and ground peanut.

Indonesian Corn Fritters

I've been busy since I came back home after 2 months travelling , try to catch up with everything . And the important thing was looking a school for my daughter. I can feel that she is more lonely since she came back home, well.. over there she had many friends around . That's why I think is a good idea to put her on a school. It was not hard to find a great school , I've been searching since last year.

Today is her first day of school. She is more exciting than me, to be honest . I was so nervous. Her pre-school schedule is 2 days a week for full day. It's mean I won't see her at least for 5 hours. But , story is totally different. She enjoyed the time at school. Oh .. well.. mom need to be relax for awhile.

When she came back from school , I'd like to give her a little snack like corn fritters. These delicate fritters are a great way to shine the spotlight on sweet, summer corn. Serve them as a main course accompanied by a hearty salad or as an appetizer on their own.

Indonesian Corn Fritters

1 bottle(s) canola oil for frying
1/2 teaspoon(s) sea salt
1/2 teaspoon(s) white pepper powder

1/2 teaspoon(s) garlic powder - or 2 fresh garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon(s) coriander powder

1/8 teaspoon(s) cayenne pepper
5 fresh corn kernell

1/2 cup(s) onion sprig

1 egg

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 tbsp rice flour

1/2 cup ice water - depend how thick your mixture ; try not to make too runny batter

1/2 cup(s) ground chicken or shrimp if desire

Directions
Heat oil to 375 degrees F in a medium pot fitted with deep-fry thermometer.

Sift flours, salt, and cayenne together in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk egg and stir into dry ingredients. Fold in corn and let batter sit for 5 minutes.

Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of batter into heated oil and fry until golden, about 3 minutes (work in batches of 4 or 5). Drain on a baking pan lined with paper towels. Serve with yogurt dip or chilli sauce.

Yogurt Dip
2/3 cup(s) yogurt
2 tablespoon(s) dill
2 tablespoon(s) olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Mix all ingredients together. Chill and serve with corn fritters.

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Zucchini Cupcake

My daughter turn 4yo! I can't believe it.. times pass so quick, she is grow so big, tall and talk a lot *just wonder, is that come from me or her's dad ? ^grin^.

She loves cupcake, it doesn't matter birthday or not , when i bake cupcake she always want me to put candle on. And than she will start to make a wish. Here is what she wished this time :

"I wish.. i wish with all my heart daddy will stop smoking"

Hahahahah.. I couldn't stop laughing ! She loves her's dad so much.

Back to the recipe *as always ! this is cooking site .. right ? :D I bake zucchini cupcake with peanut butter topping. The cake is perfect, so moist and delicious. Well, if you are not eat much of green veggie why don't you try to make it too. So, you still can say that you are eat veggie ! *LOL ... cheater ! *

I took a picture days ahead ! just because I still want to keep in touch with you guys while I'm on vacation.

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Choco-Zucchini Cupcake

Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray (optional)
2 cups shredded zucchini (about 8 oz.)
3 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup cooking oil
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder or Nesquick will work too
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup milk chocolate pieces (optional)
1 recipe Peanut Butter Frosting

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line twenty-four 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with double or single layer of paper bake cups or lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

In a large bowl stir together zucchini, eggs, granulated sugar, oil, and vanilla. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and, if desired, chocolate pieces; stir until combined. Spoon batter into prepared pans, filling cups about half full.

Bake about 25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire racks for 5 minutes. Remove from cups. Cool completely on racks. Frost with Peanut Butter Frosting. Makes: 24 cupcakes

Peanut Butter Frosting: In a medium mixing bowl beat 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/3 cup softened butter, 1 tablespoon milk, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar, beating until combined. If necessary, stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons additional milk until frosting reaches desired consistency. Makes about 1-1/2cups.