steamed banana cake

Min loves doing this... mashing the bananas!

Ingredients
> 500g ripen bananas ('pisang berangan')
> 250g 125g castor sugar 
> 250g low protein flour (sieved) 
> 2 tsp baking soda 
> 2 tsp baking powder
>  1  1/2 tsp cinnamon powder (optional) 
> 1 tsp banana essence
> 150ml less than 70ml corn oil 


Method
[1]  Mash bananas in a big bowl.
[2]  Add in baking soda, mix well and leave aside for 1 hour to leaven.
[3]  Add in castor sugar and stir a little.
[4]  Add in other ingredients (low protein flour, baking powder, cinnamon powder, banana essence).
[5]  Mix well and leave aside for another 1 hour.
[6]  Lastly add in corn oil.  Fold well and rest for 10 minutes.
[7]  Spoon into small moulds lined with paper cups.
[8]  Steam cake for 15 minutes.

For this cake (8" square), steaming time is about 45 minutes

crackle cakes

What to make for the kids' school Children's Day class party?  Flipped through this book (Cupcakes & Muffins by Nancy Lambert) that I bought back in 2009 when I first learned baking.  Hmmm... this looks cute... I halved the sugar amount and it turned out quite nice.  :-)   We may use cornflakes or crisped rice to make these little cakes crackle.
 
Ingredients
> 100g 50g sugar
> 100g butter
>  8  4 tbsp cocoa
>  4  2 tbsp golden syrup or honey
> 100g cornflakes
> coloured chocolate drops to decorate

Method
[1]  Put sugar, butter, cocoa and golden syrup or honey into a pan over low heat.
[2]  Stir until the ingredients have melted.
[3]  Remove pan from heat.
[4]  Stir cornflakes into the mixture until they are completely coated.
[5]  Spoon a little of the mixture into small paper cup cases.
[6]  Top each crackle cake with a coloured chocolate drop and leave them to set.

reminder to self

A reminder to self to always allow my girls time to explore, to play, to learn... 

    

Picture courtesy of Childhood 101

homemade paint

Recipe courtesy of Cool Gadgets Concept
1 cup salt;
1 cup flour;
1 cup water; and
some food colouring.

Mix them well and I managed to keep my girls buzy for nearly half a day.

The dough made from what the recipe suggested here is a bit difficult for the kids little hands to mix.  Therefore, I am suggesting instead of using "cup", maybe I can change it to "tbsp".

I would also suggest using warm water, as the salt did not dissolve well and we can feel it in the paint.

Until my next round of homemade paint.

vegetarian apple & carrot cake

I wanted to try baking this Vegetarian Apple & Carrot Cake and if it is a success, it will be my next Chinese New Year cake.  It is the family's tradition to observe vegetarian diet on the 1st day of Chinese New Year.

Ingredients [A]
> 180g margarine/butter 
> 1 tbsp golden syrup
> 100g 50g castor sugar

Ingredients [B] 
150g green apple slices, mixed with
100g sliced carrot and 1/2 cup water,
cooked till soft and blended finely

Ingredients [C] 
> 200g self-raising flour
> 1/4 tsp mixed spice
> 40g ground almond
> 100g raisins, chopped
> 1 tsp grated lemon peel

Method
[1]  Greased and lined a 20cm/8" square baking tin.
[2]  Beat Ingredients [A] till light and fluffy.
[3]  Add in Ingredients [B] and mix well.
[4]  Lastly add in Ingredients [C] and mix till well-combined.
[5]  Pour mixture into baking tin.
[6]  Bake at 170 160°C for 35-40 minutes or till golden brown and cooked.
[7]  Remove, leave to cool and cut into pieces. 

Recipe courtesy of Agnes Chang, Baking Made Easy

soy, honey and ginger roast chicken

Ingredients
> 1/3 cup soy sauce
> 1/4 cup honey
> 3cm piece fresh ginger, peeled, finely grated
> 2 garlic cloves, crushed
> 1 tsp sesame seeds
> 4 (340g each) chicken maryland pieces

Method
[1]  Combine soy sauce, honey, ginger, garlic and sesame seeds in a glass or ceramic dish.
[2]  Add in chicken.  Toss to coat.  Cover.  Refrigerate for 2 hours, if time permits.
[3]  Preheat oven to 160°C.  Arrange chicken and marinade in a large baking dish.
[4]  Bake for 50 minutes or until chicken is golden and cooked through.
[5]  Turn the pieces of chicken halfway during cooking (25 minutes).

Recipe courtesy of taste.com.au