Category: Baking

HUON Smoked Salmon Bouquet Quiche

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I’m late, I’m late, I’m late! That was the only thing on my mind when I was trying to come up with something to make for the HUON Blogging Challenge as the post is due tomorrow! I have to admit, I was a bit hesitant to take up the challenge as we had to use smoke salmon and the only way I could have it is cooking it!

HUON smoked salmon banquet rolls

While looking at the HUON Reserve Selection range and deciding on what I should get, I was drawn to the banquet rolls immediately! If only I could have them as is, cos I would love to have man a roulette out of it! Oh wells! haha Have to concentrate on what I can have!

ingredients used

So I did what I usually do to get inspirations for the dish I want to make – walk down the aisles of the supermarket! It’s seriously the best place to come up with ideas for what to cook! Absolutely love doing it. hehe So I decided to make a quiche, for the first time! I know, what’s so exciting about a quiche? Well, I decided to make it look very different from a usual quiche, turning the salmon rolls into bouquet of flowers!

Smoked salmon bouquet quiche

I was super nervous making it because I’ve never made a quiche before, and I didn’t know if the shapes were going to last through the baking process! Thank goodness, the flowers were still “blooming” when I took it out of the oven. HOORAY! It worked! hehe The mr and sister-in-law really enjoyed it too! That’s always a plus! (: So here’s the recipe! Hope you will enjoy it as much as we did!

Smoked Salmon Bouquet Quiche (Serves 4-6 people)

For the sour cream short crust pastry : (Recipe from Maggie Beer)

125ml sour cream

250g plain flour, extra for dusting

200g butter

For the filling : 

200g HUON Reserve Selection banquet rolls

1 leek (white part, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced)

8 mushroom cups, sliced

10g chives, finely chopped

6-8 sundried tomatoes, finely chopped

1 tbs olive oil

10g unsalted butter

salt and black pepper, to season

200ml thickened cream

150g shredded cheddar

4 eggs

Steps :

Kneading the dough into a ball

1) For the short crust pastry : Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celcius. Dice the butter then pulse it in a food processor with the plain flour till it resembles bread crumbs. Add the sour cream and pulse it further till it resembles a dough.

Rolling out and dough and blind baking

2) On a clean surface, dust a bit of plain flour and knead the dough into a ball. Wrap the dough in cling wrap and allow it to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes. Roll the pastry out to 3-5mm thickness and roll it over 24cm quiche baking tin that has been oiled. Blind bake the pastry for 10-15 minutes, or until it’s lightly golden. Allow it to cool while preparing the other ingredients.

Lining the tin with the pastry

2)  For the filling : Heat a large heavy-based pan on high and add the olive oil. Fry the leek till soft and fragrant, then add the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and allow the mushrooms to fry till slightly caramelised. Add the butter and fold in the mushroom mixture. Set it aside and allow it to cool before placing it in the pastry case. Sprinkle the chives and sundries tomatoes evenly around the pastry case.

Frying the leek and mushroom mixture

3) Cut each banquet rolled salmon into half and place them in a shape of a flower. ( I did 3 large flowers, and 3 small flowers. But you can do as many as you like! Bring out your artistic side! )

4) Combine the thickened cream and eggs in a bowl and mix them till well combined. Pour it slowly into the case and around the smoked salmon, careful not to get any on.

eggs and cream mixture

5) Top the quiche with shredded cheddar, once again avoiding the smoked salmon.

6) Reduce the oven to 190 degrees celcius and bake the quiche for 35-40 minutes, or until the egg mixture is set and the top is golden brown.

Smoked salmon bouquet quiche

7) Serve with a side of salad with your favourite dressing and with extra sour cream to go with the quiche! Indulgence! ENJOY!

Quiche with a side of salad

I have to say I really enjoyed making those flowers out of the smoke salmon rolls! To make it look more like flowers, I piped stalks and leaves using the sour cream and fill the leaves with chopped chives! hehe I’m no artist, but I think this is the best I could do!

Hope you enjoyed the recipe, and do give it a try! I didn’t get to eat the smoked salmon on it’s own (before cooking), but the mr and sister-in-law said it was delicious and not as salty as the others they’ve had! Which is always a plus! Have a great weekend everyone!

Remember to always cook and bake with love! Till the next post, xx

My Biggest Project : Rainbow Cake

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Layer cakes were never a specialty of mine, but when the opportunity came up to make something special for a first birthday, I just couldn’t resist! If you follow me on instagram (@lianneelow) I’m sure you’ve seen endless photos of Paige who turned one last year. I love her like she’s my own, so I wanted to do something special for her as well!

Stacking the layers

Rainbow was the theme of her party, so inevitably, the only cake I could think of was rainbow cake! Being ambitious, I also wanted to make all 7 layers out of natural colouring and flavouring. So after much research, I came up with the flavours and decided to give it a try. As much as I wanted natural colouring, the colours of the fruits just didn’t stand out as much as I wanted to after being baked, so for the actual cake, I decided to put a drop or two of colouring paste just to make it pop!

Cupcake pops

On a side note (just cause the word pop reminded me haha), I also made some cupcake pops for the party! Though it was time consuming to make them, I enjoyed every single moment – from molding them into their shapes, dipping them into melted chocolate (like yummeh!) and to sprinkling them with 100’s and 1000’s! Could totally imagine a kid doing it as a fun activity too! Hehe

plan drawn

So here’s a draw up of my plan: 7 flavours and all stacked and iced with my favourite cream cheese frosting! Mmmmm!

I wasn’t too worried about baking the 7 individual layers, I was more worried about constructing it and how high it would actually be! It was definitely the highest cake I’ve made in my life!  The only thing I was really worried about was transporting the cake to the party as I was going to be driving alone! I think my life was shortened about 10 years in that 10 minutes of driving! Haha

It was all worth it though, to see the faces lit up at the party and hearing all the compliments from the guests! Definitely made my day! The next thing that made my heart beat really quickly was the cutting of the cake and revealing to see if there were 7 distinct layers. And….

Revealing the layers inside

TADAH!!! (: I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out! I’m sure I let out a loud sigh of relief the moment I took the first slice of cake out and served it! A happy dance was definitely in order! Hehe  I have to admit, there were some layers that I was probably a bit too heavy with the colouring towards the end (was going colour happy haha), cause I really wanted the colours to stand out. But please know that you can always cut that down to your own preference, or you can just cut that out too!

Rainbow Cake 

Ingredients : (20 cm round baking tin, repeat 7 times)

120g plain flour

80g caster sugar

40g unsalted butter, room temperature

120ml milk

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla paste

1 egg

Wilton icing food gels (I used a toothpick to add the colours)

For the different layers : (add food gel colouring till desired colour or leave it out if you wish)

Red – 3/4 cup fresh raspberry, mashed + red food gel

Pink – 3/4 cup fresh strawberries, mashed

Purple – 3/4 cup blackberries, mashed + purple food gel

Blue – 3/4 cup blueberries, mashed + blue food gel

Green – Zest of 2 limes, 3 tbs juice + green food gel

 Yellow – Zest of 2 lemons, 3 tbs juice + yellow food gel

Orange – Zest of 1 naval orange, 3 tbs juice + orange food gel

Steps : 

1) For each layer of cake : Grease and line the baking tin with baking paper. Preheat oven to 165 degrees celcius.

2) In a medium bowl, combine the plain flour and baking powder. In a mixing bowl, add the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla paste and mix till pale and fluffy. Alternate the flour mixture with milk (flour,milk,flour) until well combined.

3) Fold in the flavouring and colouring for each layer. Careful not to over mix.

the red layer - raspberry

4) Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin and tap it on the counter to allow all the air bubbles to come to the surface. Bake for 18 mins or until the skewer comes out clean. Allow the layers of cake to cool completely before assembling.

The yellow layer - lemon

Cream Cheese Icing (From the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook)

900g icing sugar

375g cream cheese

150g unsalted butter, softened

Steps :

1) Beat the icing sugar and butter in a mixing bowl until well combined.

2) Add the cream cheese in one go and beat until completely incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium high, and beat until it’s light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Do not over beat as it will turn runny.

Cream cheese icing

3) To assemble : Place the red cake layer at the bottom, place 2 heap tbs of cream cheese icing on the cake and spread it out uniformly using a palette knife. Place the orange layer on top and repeat the process. Once you reach the top layer (pink), frost the top and side of the cake till it’s smooth and even.

Rainbow cake success!

Enjoy! (: I love how I could actually taste the fruits in every single layer, and they actually do work well together although it’s impossible to fit all 7 layers in one bite! haha

Paige eating the cake

It was such an honour that my cake is the first cake Paige has eaten (:  How pretty is her dress!

Happy 1st birthday Paige

It is many months after the actual birthday, but happy 1st birthday Paige! Can’t believe how quick it has been and she’s such a big girl now! (:

Paige and Us

I can’t wait till I am able to make my own bub’s cake and I will definitely be more than happy to make this cake again!

Have a good mid week everyone! (:

Remember to always bake and cook with love! Till the next post, xx

Sugee Cookies : Easy and A Great Gift !

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Chinese New Year is no doubt a season of sharing food and every year, there is just one thing I love to make for my colleagues and close friends here in Melbourne. Sugee cookies! These melt-in-your-mouth cookies are so addictive, you will never be able to stop at one!

Sugee cookies

The best thing about these cookies are that they are so easy to make, and you don’t even need a mixer. All you need is a large bowl, a weighing scale and a wooden spoon! The you’re good to go! So if you’re thinking of making something that is a sure winner, try and make these! I am almost certain that your friends and family will love these!

Sugee Cookies (makes about 24-30 cookies)

80g almond meal

150g plain flour

100g sunflower oil

50g icing sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda

1 egg yolk + a splash of water (for egg wash)

Steps :

1) Preheat oven to 170 degrees celcius. In a large metal bowl, aft all the ingredients except for the egg wash.

Ingredients for the sugee cookies

2) Take teaspoons full of dough and roll them into round balls. Place them on a lined baking tray and brush the top with egg wash.

all ready to be baked

3) Bake for 7 mins and rotate the tray to bake for a further 7 minutes until cookies are golden brown.

packed and ready to be gifted

4) Allow it to cool on a cooling rack before you start popping them into your mouth or pack them in a bottle! Enjoy! (:

Just 4 easy steps to get this delicious bite, so don’t wait any longer! Go go go!

Remember to cook and bake with love! 

Galloping into the Year of Horse with Homemade Bak Kwa

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Happy Lunar New Year my dear readers! (: So sorry for the lack of posts! I’ve been back in Singapore and spending as much time as I could with my family. But I’m back and ready to share lots with you, so please hang in there with me. I promise to make your time worthwhile!

I’m not sure what your traditions are for Chinese New Year, but for me, it’s about coming together as a family and feast on delicious food! Of course it’s not always about food, it’s also about spending time with your loved ones and just reminescing on the good things from the past year, setting goals for the new one!

There are many different kinds of Chinese New Year goodies that we love to eat. Lucky for me, I got to eat my fair share before I flew back to Melbourne. But there is one that I didn’t quite get to have and also sadly, we aren’t allowed to bring it back cause it’s meat. BAK KWA! It’s like a chinese pork jerky that is sweet and salty and just delicious!

homemade bak kwa

Singaporeans really do love their bak kwa, and many would actually queue for hours to get some! So instead of queueing (plus I don’t think I can get any that are similar to those back home), I decided to try making them this year!

The best thing about this is that you can freeze it and just grill it when you feel like having some! Trust me. Once you have a bite, you would definitely want to keep some in your freezer. These are so addictive! So give them a go, you won’t regret it!

Homemade Bak Kwa (adapted from Nasi Lemak Lover)

Ingredients :

900g mince pork

130g caster sugar

2 tbs light soy sauce

1 tbs shaoxing wine

2 tbs oyster sauce

1 1/2 tsp thick dark soy

1/4 tsp five spice powder

Ground white pepper

1 tbs honey

Steps :

1) Marinade the mince pork a day before you intend to make it. In a large bowl, add all the ingredients and mix with a pair of chopsticks.

Marinating the mince pork

Stirring the mixture in one direction

2) Make sure you stir it in one direction and until the mixture becomes gluey. Do make sure it’s gluey as it will allow the meat to stay as one piece after being baked. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and place it in the fridge overnight or for at least 3 hours.

Gluey mixture

3) Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celcius. Spread the marinated pork mince thinly onto the baking tray using a spatula.

pork mince mixture spread onto baking tray

4) Bake the pork mince for 15 mins and remove it from the oven. Allow it to cool slightly before cutting it into desired shape and size using scissors or a pizza cutter. If you intend to freeze it, allow them to cool completely before placing them in a zip lock bag and freeze it up to 2 weeks.

baked and cut

5) Turn the grill on at 240 degrees Celcius and grill one side for 5 mins before flipping and grilling the other side for a further 5 mins, until the meat is golden brown or slightly charred on the sides. Let is cool down (it actually tastes better the day after it’s grilled!) and enjoy! (:

homemade bak kwa

So you ready to make some bak kwa? You’ll love it for sure! Have a prosperous year of the horse everyone!!

Remember to always cook and bake with love.

For A Berry Pink Cause – Ski Yogurt & A Giveaway ! {Winner announced}

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Lemon & Berry yogurt mini loaf with cream cheese and yogurt icing

Paying it forward. I always feel that we should always count our blessings and do what we can for people around us. As many of you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I was approached by Keep Left PR to be involved in it. Without any hesitation, I agreed!

Ski Yogurt turning pink

If you’ve walked the yoghurt aisle in the supermarkets, you’ve realised that Ski yoghurt has turned pink! In fact, they have pledged a three-year commitment to the McGrath Foundation and have promised a $350,000 donation to fund a McGrath Foundation Breast Care Nurse in the community. How amazing is that? I’m so honoured to be ask to be part of this Pink event!

lemon & berry mini loaves

Yoghurt has become part of my daily breakfast and morning tea routine, so I was really glad that I was asked to come up with a recipe that incorporates Ski yogurt!

So as I stood in front of the different flavours in the supermarket, my ideas were just popping up!

Close up

As I got a new mini loaf tin, I decided to make some yogurt mini loaves! Just too cute! But to give it a little bit of ZING, I added lemon zest to it! Mmmm.. berries and lemon do make a really good match! The best thing about incorporating yogurt in your cake is that it makes it really moist!

Lemon & berry yogurt mini loaf with a cream cheese yogurt icing

In all honesty, the icing didn’t quite turn out the texture I wanted. I wanted to be able to pipe rows. hehe I tested it out, but it went everywhere! haha So i decided to go with the flow (literally) and let it have some free form! It worked out well, don’t you think so? hehe The addition of the fresh raspberries just made everything pop, giving a subtle tinge of pink reflection on the icing. Without trying to over do the self-praise, I have to be honest and say that this was one of my best cakes I’ve made to date!

mini loaves - light reflection

So here’s the recipe and my humble contribution to the Breast Cancer Awareness Month! (: Hope you all enjoy!

Lemon & Berry Yogurt Mini Loaf with Cream Cheese Yogurt Icing (an original recipe of Food Made With Love)

Lemon & Berry Yogurt Loaf :

1 1/2 cups plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

300g Ski Wild Strawberry yogurt

1/2 cup castor sugar (plus 1/4 cup for syrup)

3 large eggs

Lemon zest  of 2 lemons

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup frozen mixed berries

10 mint/basil leaves, washed and pat dry

Steps :

1) Preheat oven to 170 degrees celcius. In a clean bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

yogurt, sugar and lemon zest

2) In a mixing bowl, combine the yogurt, 1/2 cup of sugar, lemon zest and vanilla bean paste. Mix till well combine then add the eggs, one at a time, making sure each one is well incorporated before adding the next.

3) Add the dry ingredients slowly, 1/2 cup at a time, and make sure it is well combined. Be careful not to over mix.

4) Pour the olive oil into the mixture, and using a spatula, slowly fold it in until everything is combined. Add the frozen berries and fold them in. Don’t worry if they start to “bleed”, just gives the batter a nice swirl of pink/purple!

5) Coat the mini loaf tin with olive oil (I used the olive oil spray) and dust with plain flour. Carefully fill the tin 3/4 way up. Drop them a few times on the bench to even the top and place them in the oven. Bake them for 25 mins, turning them half way to that they are evenly coloured.

6) While the cakes are baking, pour the lemon juice and add the 1/4 cup sugar into a small saucepan. Add the basil/mint leaves into the pot and allow it to come to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 5 mins. Take it off the heat and allow it to cool slightly.

Pouring the lemon mint/basil syrup on the cakes

MIni loaves cooling and soaking up the lemon syrup

7) Once the cakes are done, allow them to cool in the baking tin for 10 mins. Slowly and carefully pour the lemon syrup on the cakes and allow them to absorb completely. Let it cool in the tin completely before taking them out.

Cream Cheese and Yogurt Icing 

1 block of Philadelphia cream cheese, cold

2/3 cup Ski Wild Strawberry yogurt

1-1 1/2 cup pure icing sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

Fresh raspberries, to garnish

Steps :

1) In a mixing bowl, whip up the cream cheese till smooth, then add the yogurt and mix till they come together. Don’t worry if it looks clumpy. Add the icing sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, and taste as you go (YUM!). Stop adding when you feel the sweetness is right! Add the lemon juice and mix until smooth.

2) Using a tablespoon, drop the icing in the middle of the loaf and allow it to flow down. You could use the back of your spoon to help shape it the way you like. Garnish the loaves with fresh raspberries. ENJOY!

Finished product

I had mine with a small glass of intense berry smoothie! hehe and I thought I would share with you my favourite smoothie recipe since it also uses yoghurt! (: So bear with me. The giveaway is up next!

Intense berry smoothie

Intense Berry Smoothie

150g Ski Wild Strawberry Yogurt

150g coconut water

100g frozen mixed berries

Step :

Place all the ingredients in a blender and whizz it up! Easy peasy!

GIVEAWAY TIME!

And now for the part you all have been waiting for! So sorry for the super long post and thank you for being so patient! Keep Left PR has very kindly offered a giveaway! It’s a set of super pretty and cute pink silicone Scullery kitchen utensils worth $47.73! How can you resist?

giveaway

Giveaway

Yes! All 7 items! How awesome is that? I love the striking shade of pink! Ladies, start commenting. Men, start commenting too so you could win these for your loved ones! hehe

How do you get these you ask? Easy!

  • Leave a comment and share with me your favourite way of having yogurt, and what part of the day do you usually have it?
  • This giveaway is only open to Australian residents! (Sorry international readers!)
  • Please join me on my journey! Follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!
  • You may re-enter daily! One entry a day! (Oh yeah!)
  • Winners will be announced on the 31st of October, Thursday at 8pm!
  • Winners will be picked via random.org and notified on this blog post and via email.

Disclaimer : This post is sponsored by Ski Yoghurt & Keep Left PR. I tasted the Ski’s D’lite Wild Strawberry yoghurt  with compliments of both sponsors, however, the review, opinions are honest and based on my personal taste and preference. The recipe is a Food Made With Love original.

Ski Pink

Remember to always bake and cook with love ! Till the next post, xx

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The winner is…..

TINA! Congrats dearie! (: I will be contacting shortly through email!

winner- random org

Winner

Hope you like your pink kitchen utensils!!! xx

Hazelnut Olive Oil Cake

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Hazelnut Olive Oil Cake

Hooray! It’s the weekend so let’s celebrate with cake! What better way yes? heh I don’t think anyone can really resist cake, even more so when it’s a gluten free and (almost) healthy one!

Is there a particular cake that you will never get tired of and would always go-to cause you know it will not fail you? I definitely do! This is one cake that I know that would definitely be a crowd pleaser! The chocolate olive oil cake by Nigella Lawson is simple, delicious and did I say delicious? Whenever I need to make a birthday cake for a close friend, I always turn to this recipe, top them with fresh raspberries and dust with icing sugar and viola! All ready to be consumed and put smiles on people’s faces!

All along, I’ve made it using almond meal, but I few weeks back when I needed to bake a cake for a close friend’s 21st, I had a eureka moment. Why not use hazelnut meal? It would be like a fudgey and moist… nutella cake! How good does that sound? I was so so excited to give it a try!

And it came out just the way I envisioned it to be. Soft, really chocolatey, and so fudgey and moist! OOhhh la-la! It can definitely make one of the sexiest and most decadent chocolate dessert that I’ve ever made! The hazelnut meal elevated it to a whole new level! Definitely gonna stick to using hazelnut meal now. hehe One slice is never enough!

So give this a shot if you love nutella. You will definitely be hooked! It’s gluten free and if you are on a paleo diet, just change the sugar to 1/3-1/2 cup honey and you’re good to go!

Hazelnut Chocolate Olive Oil Cake (adapted from Nigella Lawson)

150 ml regular olive oil (plus more for greasing)

50 grams cocoa powder (good quality, sifted)

125 ml boiling water

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

150 grams hazelnut meal

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

pinch of salt

170 grams caster sugar (or 1/3-1/2 cup of honey if you want it to be paleo)

3 eggs, room temperature

1 small punnet of fresh raspberries (to top the cake)

Icing sugar, to finish

Steps :

1. Preheat your oven to 170°C/gas mark 3. Grease your springform tin with a little oil and line the base with baking parchment. Measure and sift the cocoa powder into a bowl or jug and whisk in the boiling water until you have a smooth, chocolatey, still runny (but only just) paste. Whisk in the vanilla extract, then set aside to cool a little.

2. In another smallish bowl, combine the hazelnut meal with the bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt.

3. Put the sugar (or honey), olive oil and eggs into the bowl of a freestanding mixer with the paddle attachment and beat together vigorously for about 3 minutes until you have a pale-primrose, aerated and thickened cream. Turn the speed down a little and pour in the cocoa mixture, beating as you go, and when all is scraped in you can slowly tip in the hazelnut meal mixture.

4. Pour this dark, liquid batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the sides are set and the very centre, on top, still looks slightly damp. A cake tester should come up mainly clean but with a few sticky chocolate crumbs clinging to it.

5. Let it cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, still in its tin, and then ease the sides of the cake with a small metal spatula and spring it out of the tin. Leave to cool completely and place the whole punnet of fresh raspberries neatly on the cake and dust with icing sugar. Serve with a side of freshly whipped cream or a scoop of your favourite ice cream!

Have a chocolatey and hazelnutty weekend everyone! (: Be warned that you won’t be able to stop at a slice for this one! hehe

Remember to always cook and bake with love! Till the next post, xx !

Being Bold – A Recipe & Hudsons Giveaway ! {Winners Announced}

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Be Bold

Good afternoon my dear readers! Happy weekend! (: Hope it’s going well and you have lots of fun and yummy things planned ahead of you! Since it’s the start of Spring, I thought it would be a good time to make some new goals!

“Freedom lies in being bold” – Robert Frost

Being bold is about making each day count (be it today, weekly or even for the year), so why not step out of your comfort zone and express your boldness to the world right? hehe The first BOLD thing I’ve decided to do is trying my hardest to make a change in my life – Being healthier and fitter ! My goal couldn’t come in a better time, as Hudsons Coffee also decided to BE BOLD with their launch of a new Barista’s  Choice Blend – A rich and intense flavour with caramel undertones. YUM!

Hudsons Coffee Barista's Choice Blend

I was lucky to receive a a pre-ground take home bag of the new blend and I couldn’t wait to try it! Ever since my brunch at Three Bags Full, I have started a liking to french press coffee! This one wasn’t overly strong on the palette and not too sharp or acidic either! Smooth and a subtle taste of caramel, which the mr loved!

Barista's choice

While enjoying my glass of coffee, I had a eureka moment! I really wanted to use it to bake! One particular ingredient came to mind – Banana! So I decided to combine the banana cake with some espresso, and to add some texture to the cake by adding a pecan streusel on top! I have made lots of banana cakes in the past, but never one with a coffee kick! This is me BEING BOLD (number 2) cause I don’t usually bake coffee cakes! So was really excited about this.

Banana Espresso Pecan Streusel Cake

While making the streusel, I couldn’t stop sneaking teaspoons of it, cause it was so addictive! The combination of pecan and oats were just delish! hehe It could easily be turned into a mixture for granola too!

close up

Although I am trying to get healthier and fitter, I still deserve the occasional treats yes? hehe So I added some dark chocolate chips in the cake to make it more indulgent! Anyway, dark chocolate is suppose to be good for you. I’m pretty sure there’s some scientific findings to back me up on this. haha

Slice of banana espresso pecan streusel cake

This cake was moist, full of flavour, and I just love having the bursts of chocolate and the crunch of the streusel top! Definitely one cake I would bake over and over again! You don’t need a very big piece to enjoy it, as it is quite rich. A small piece with a cup of tea or coffee is perfect!

Banana Espresso Pecan Streusel Cake (A Food Made With Love Original Recipe)

For the streusel :

1/2 cup + 2 tbs plain flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp salt

85g unsalted butter

3/4 pecans, roughly chopped

Steps :

1) Mix the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar and salt in a medium bowl.

Adding the dry ingredients to make the streusel

2) Add the butter and rub with your finger tips intul the mixture holds together (my favourite thing to do actually, find it very therapeutic! haha).

3) Add the chopped pecans, mix and set aside in the fridge.

Pecan streusel topping

For the cake :

200g unsalted butter

170g castor sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

4 tbs milk

5-6 tbs espresso (I used the Barista’s Choice Blend from Hudsons Coffee)

2 cups + 3 tbs plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate soda

1 tsp baking powder

3-4 bananas, mashed

3/4 – 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Steps :

1) Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Prepare a 26cm by 26cm square tin by lining the bottom and greasing the sides. Set aside.

2) In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3) Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until well combined. Add the vanilla bean paste and the mashed bananas. Mix till it is evenly mixed.

4) Mix the espresso and milk in a measuring cup and add it alternately with the plain flour (dry-wet-dry-wet-dry sequence). Careful not to over mix.

5) Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and tap it a few times on the bench to make the top even. Sprinkle the streusel and bake for 1 hour or until the top is golden and the toothpick comes out clean. Cover the cake with foil after 30 mins if it browns too quickly.

Ready to go into the oven

6) All it to cool in the tin for 10 minutes and remove it from the tin to rest it on the cooling rack.

all baked and cooled, ready to be sliced and enjoyed

Enjoy! (: It was my very first cake I was confident enough to bring to work and share with my colleagues, and they loved it! (: I brought it in during recess and it was gone by lunch! The feedback was that the cake was really moist and they really liked the surprise of the chocolate chips! Yippee!

So here comes the exciting bit! Tell me how you are going to BE BOLD and take that first step of making a positive change in your life! I’ve taken two, the first one will be on-going and the second one is completed, so I would love to hear your side of the story!

Hudsons Gift Package

Hudsons Coffee and Keep Left PR has been so generous to provide me with two packs of goodies to give away. Similar to what I received, each pack includes : 2 packets (50g each) of pre-ground Barista’s choice beans, 1 (12 oz) Hudsons Keep Cup and a  $10 voucher to enjoy a hot cuppa when you’re around a Hudsons store! So how do you win this awesome pack?

To enter this giveaway :

  • All you have to do is leave a comment letting me know : What kind of BOLD change(s) you want to make in your life. Remember it can be a daily, weekly or even a year long goal! Come on and let’s #BEBOLD together!
  • This giveaway is only open to Australian residents! (Sorry international readers!)
  • Follow me on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter, and let me know when you’ve done it!
  • Follow Hudsons Coffee on Facebook,  Instagram & Twitter as well!
  • Winners will be drawn on the 22nd of September 2013, Sunday at 8pm!
  • You may re-enter daily, one entry a day (Woohoo!)
  • Winners will be picked via random.org and notified on this blog post and via email.

Good luck and have a great weekend ahead! (:

Remember to always cook and bake with love!

Disclaimer : This post is sponsored by Hudsons Coffee & Keep Left PR. I tasted the Barista’s Blend coffee with compliments of both sponsors, however, the review, opinions are honest and based on my personal taste and preference. The recipe is a Food Made With Love original.

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And the winners are…..

Iron Chef Shellie & Bonnie-Kate !! Congratulations!!!! I will be contacting you through email soon! x

Winner number 21

winner number 21 - Comment

Winner number 18

Winner number 18 - Comment

Congrats again you two and hope you both enjoy your packages! Thank you everyone for your comments again and till the next post, x

Gingery & Coconutty Granola

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Gingery & coconutty granola

You and I both know I absolutely love brunch. But during the week, it’s impossible to have brunch due to work and more often than not, I end up having a slice of toast with either peanut butter or vegemite and out of the door I went! But I really wanted to have something healthy and good in the morning to keep me full for most of the morning before lunch so I decided to make my own granola to go with yogurt! Mmmm (:

Granola with greek yogurt

I also wanted to try using something I’ve never used before, but has been on my mind for a while now – Molasses. A dark and viscous by-product of the refining of sugar cane. The health benefit of molasses is its high mineral content. It’s wheat, dairy, lactose, gluten and yeast free! It smells and tastes quite similar to gula melaka hehe I like it!

Molasses

It’s not as sweet as honey, but still makes the granola yummy! (: Had to take that risk, but so glad I did. hehe I tried baking a cake with it, but I think I probably used too much and the taste over took the whole cake, so I’m sticking to sugar for my cakes. haha Or honey! But for granola, it was perfect! hehe

IMG_6373-1

The best thing about this recipe? You could pretty much add what you love and it will still work! hehe I ransacked my whole pantry and took out everything I wanted and tossed it in the mix!  There were a few things I really wanted in my granola this time : toasted coconut and crystalised ginger! It was a combination I came across at the awesome Borough Market in London during my recent trip! hehe So here we go! (:

Gingery & Coconutty Granola (A Food Made With Love original recipe)

1 cup shredded coconut (toasted till brown, set aside)

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup slivered almonds

1 cup roughly chopped walnuts

1/2 cup pine nuts

1/2 pistachios, roughly chopped

1/2 cup unsalted cashews, roughly chopped

1 tsp ground cinnamon

3 tbs olive oil

3 tbs molasses

1 cup raisins

1 cup goji berries

shredded coconut (before toasting)

Toasted shredded coconut

Steps :

1) Preheat the oven to 150 degrees celcius. In a large bowl, place the rolled oats, mixed nuts and cinnamon. Give it a good toss to so that they are well combined.

2) In a small pot, heat the olive oil and molasses on low heat till smooth. Drizzle over the oats mixture and mix till well combined.

3) Pour the mixture on a line tray and bake for about 35-40 mins, stirring every 10 minutes.

4) Remove from the oven and allow it to cool slightly. Pour it back into the large bowl, and mix in the raisins and goji berries. Once the mixture is completely cooled, stir in the toasted coconut.

Gingery & coconutty granola

Enjoy on its own (it makes a great snack!) or with your favourite yogurt! (:

Food Made With Love Watermark 3 Black

PS: Did you notice the new logo for Food Made With Love? hehe Hope you guys like it and I just want to thank you for your continuous support and love for my posts! I won’t be here if not for you all, so thank you heaps! x

Have a great week ahead! Till the next post, remember to always cook and bake with love! 

Purple Carrot Cake & Sweet High Tea

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Purple carrot cake

Good Sunday afternoon dear readers! I hope you’ve had a great weekend so far! (: I’m about to head to the airport to embark on my adventure to Europe! But before I do, I wanted to share a Sweet High Tea organised by Miss D, at her place, a few weeks ago! We each had to bring a thing or two to share. Oh boy were there heaps of delicious yummies, bother sweet and savoury!

Here’s a quick glimpse of the spread we had!

Freshly baked scones and Momofuku's Bagel Bomb

First up : Daisy’s Country Women’s scones and Julie’s Momofuku Milk Bar bagel bombs! Before I go into details, how cute is the bag? It keeps the yummies warm too! So need to get one. hehe Anyway, back to the food! The scones were freshly baked and so so good with cream and homemade strawberry and fig jam! hehe Julie’s bagel bombs were TO DIE FOR. Omgness. Biting into the bagel bomb was just heavenly. It’s filled with cream cheese, bacon (YES BACON) and spring onion.

The inside of the bagel bomb

How good does that look? I wanted more! hehe

Smoked salmon sandwiches

Next up : Smoked salmon sandwiches with cream cheese and capers. These were made by Ling and the smoked salmon were so so good and fresh! She also made some caramel slice! A good match of savoury and sweet! hehe

caramel slice

Broccoli and cheese muffins

Last of the savoury : My broccoli and cheese muffins! I haven’t made this for ages and I’m so glad there was an occasion to make them! Mums who want their children to have veggies should make these! Cheesy goodness and you can barely taste the broccoli! hehe So glad the girls liked them too! hehe

Kuehs by Cltyw

Then came the sweets! hehe My eyes were fixated on these the moment it came through the door! Liz made my two favourite kuehs : kueh dadar and kueh sarlat! Kueh dadar is a thin pandan crepe that is filled with a mixture of gula meleka and coconut! If I haven’t already said this, I am OBSESSED with gula melaka! haha Love it more than normal sugar. hehe If I could flavour everything with it, I would! Kueh sarlat consists of two layers : the bottom is glutinous rice, and the top is a thick pandan custard! It was perfect! I wanted to steal the whole plate back! hehe

Peanut butter cupcakes

In true Sweet Queen fashion, Daisy made something sweet of course! hehe Peanut butter cupcakes with a surprise mini Reese’s peanut butter cup at the bottom! hehe Nothing could be better than the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. It was delish! hehe

Guinness ginger bread

Michele came with two beautiful sweets : a guinness ginger bread that’s so so moist and soft! hehe The ginger taste was subtle and just went perfectly with a cuppa tea! hehe

Eton Mess Cake

She also made a pretty eton mess cake! hehe It’s topped with strawberries and merigue nests and of course, we had it with a dollop (or two) of double cream. Mmmmmm (: That’s the sound we were all making when we had it. haha

Purple carrot cake

Last but not least, it’s my humble purple carrot cake! hehe I love love love carrot cake but I probably haven’t made one in almost close to 5 years now. haha I have to say I’m really brave by baking cakes that I’ve not done in a while. I was soooo relieved when it was moist and crumbly. Instead of the usual orange carrots, I decided to give it a small twist by using purple carrots! hehe The colour turned out purplish blue! To top it, I decided to use the Hummingbird Bakery’s cream cheese icing. It’s one of the best ones I’ve had! Creamy and not too heavy. hehe I have to say I was really happy with it! 🙂

So I just want to share the recipe with you! Do give it a try if you love carrot cake like I do! (I know it seems I love everything, but I really do. haha)

Purple carrot cake

Purple Carrot Cake (adapted from The Cake Mistress)

2-3 large purple carrots, finely grated

I cup packed brown sugar

1 cup olive oil

3 large eggs

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

2 cups self-raising flour

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, extra to garnish

1/2 cup raisins

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

Cream Cheese Frosting (From the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook)

300g icing sugar

125g cream cheese

50g unsalted butter, soften

finely grated purple carrot

Steps : 

1) Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.

2) Beat brown sugar and olive oil until it gets to a thicker consistency. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until well combined.

3) Add salt, bicarb soda, carrots, flour, walnuts, raisins and spices. Mix it on slow speed until everything is well combined.

all scooped and ready to go into the oven

4) Put batter into a well greased baking tray (I used a 12-square loaf tin) and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until its lightly golden and the toothpick comes out clean after inserting it into the middle.

All baked

5) For the frosting : Beat the icing sugar and butter in a mixing bowl until well combined. Add the cream cheese in one go and beat until completely incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium high, and beat until it’s light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Do not over beat as it will turn runny. Pipe onto the cakes (when they are cooled) and top with a small piece of walnut.

ENJOY! (:

Purple Carrot Cake

Hope you’ll give this a try and do let me know what you think when you do! hehe Have a good week ahead everyone! Just letting you know I will be away for the next 3 weeks as I will be in the UK! But I will come back with lots of good food and pictures to share, I promise! So till then, remember to always cook and bake with love! xx

Eggless & Vegan Banana Bread

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Eggless and Vegan Banana Bread

Banana cake. Who doesn’t love a thick slice of warm banana goodness?? I could have it for breakfast, tea or dessert! Actually, I could have it at any time of the day. I have done my fair share of baking different kinds of banana bread. Looking back on what I’ve shared, I’ve done a walnut, chocolate and maple banana bread and a sour cream maple banana cake. One that I never thought I would try is a vegan version of banana cake!

Eggless & vegan banana bread

To be honest, I never thought of making a cake without eggs before! But after I saw the post on OvenHaven (super duper talented, check her blog out! hehe) I knew I had to give it a try! What more when it’s actually really healthy? hehe This would be perfect for your kids and children with or without allergies! hehe The cake came out so moist, soft and light! It was just filled with banana with every single bite! Absolutely divine!  Especially when it’s warm! I had mine with some butter and also I had it for dessert with a scoop of my homemade salted caramel ice cream! Yummi-li-cious!!! So give it a try if you’ve never made anything eggless or vegan like me, and be delightfully surprised! hehe

Eggless and vegan Banana Bread (Adapted from Veg Recipes of India)

4 ripe large bananas

1 1/2 cups plain flour

2/3 cups olive oil

1/2 cup fine brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

Steps :

1) Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius. Grease a bread/loaf tin with some olive oil.

2) Mash the bananas and place them in a mixing bowl. Add the olive oil, vanilla bean paste and sugar  and blend till well combine.

3) In a separate bowl, combine the plain flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add it into the mixing bowl, 1/2 cup at a time. Slowly mix them till well combined.

4) Pour the mixture into the prepared bread/loaf tin and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted to the middle of the bread comes out clean.

5) Allow it to cool for 10 minutes in the bread/loaf tin before you turn it out onto a cooling rack. Slice and serve warm with butter or a scoop of ice cream. ENJOY! (: Cling wrap the rest of the bread and keep it in a tupperware in the fridge.

eggless and vegan banana bread with salted caramel ice cream

The next time I make these, I’m gonna put some walnuts, sunflower seeds and maybe some chocolate chips! hehe There’s nothing better than the combination of banana and chocolate! Do give this a try! I am very sure you will love it! Have a great and blessed Sunday! (:

Remember to always cook and bake with love!