Marionberry – Almond Cake

I was really looking forward to bake this  berrilicious  cake  for our 18^th bake for The Home Baker event this month selected by  Janis from The Kitchen Is My Shrink .  What an awesome pick as I was really glad that I’ve baked the full recipe for this event  organized by   Joyce  from Kitchen Flavours .  We’re to bake every single recipe from Lou Shibert Pappas cookbook – Coffee Cakes  & to be honest I’ve never baked so many recipes from one cookbook before . And I supposed that I’m not the only one .  LOL  I love berry cakes & tarts especially when in season . Making the most of the  fresh seasonal berries is always the best for taste & value too .  This recipe calls for hazelnut meal but I was a bit lazy to drive to the store so I just used almond meal from my pantry .  LOL  I’ve baked the full recipe & I’ve added blackberries, blueberries with few raspberries for the topping  .  It might not look that appealing but believe me that this is a wonderful summery coffee cake .  I just love this rich nutty flovor cake with juicy berry topping  that goes well with a cup of mocha .  I’m definitely baking this cake again , when I harvest some blueberry & raspberry from my garden , this summer .  For the full recipe for this delicious cake please hop over to  Janis  & for more yummilicious bakes from all the members of THB  HERE .  

 Tulips from my garden

Savory Mushroom Cake – Cake forestier

This is a cake that I used to bake during autumn using fresh mushrooms . And this time round I wanted to try with some frozen wild mushrooms & what a huge mistake !!  Just by looking at this cake you can see that it was too dense .  It was supposed to turn out with lovely soft cake texture .  As for taste wise , it’s tasty  &  we had it with some salad for  brunch .  I reckon that it’s better to use fresh mushroom for this recipe instead of can or frozen mushrooms .  Well, it’s worth the try , at least now I know .  Never try , never know , right !  LOL

 

Mushroom Cake – Cake forestier

Adapted from Cakes of HACHETTE Practique cookbook

 Ingredients :

150g  butter ( room temperature)

300g sliced fresh mushrooms ( I used frozen wild mushrooms)

2 minced shallots

50 g bacon

3 eggs

 50 ml milk

200g sifted flour

10g  baking powder

 Salt & pepper

Directions: 

1)      Add mushrooms, shallots & ham in a sauce pan  & cook till all the water has evaporated to nearly dry  . Let to cool; 

2)      Beat  butter & gradually add in egg , one at a time  . Then add in milk & mix well . Fold in flour & baking powder till well combined . 

 

3)      Add  mushroom mixture into the butter batter & add salt & pepper  & stir till all incorporated  .  Pour batter mixture in a greased loaf pan & let to proof for 1 hour . 

4)      Preheat oven to 200°C  & bake the cake for 20 mins till golden brown .

 

Submitting this post to Little Thumbs Up event organized by Bake For Happy Kids & My Little DIY .   Joyce of Kitchen Flavours is our hosts for this month & she has selected mushroom as the main ingredient . 

Jasmine Cupcakes

Finally I've  managed to baked these cupcakes & some donuts yesterday before heading off to Futuroscope at Poitiers for few days   .  Luckily my sons did their own packing but I need to double check, well, just in case  ! LOL  I’m baking these floral scented cupcakes for Bake Along 2^nd anniversary  . This event is organized by 3 talented ladies ,  Joyce of Kitchen Flavours,  Lena of Frozen Wings &  Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids .  It’s been more than a year now that I’ve joined this awesome event & baking along with these  lovely ladies &  many inspiring bloggers .  The theme for this month’s Bake Along is celebration cupcakes for Bake Along 2^nd anniversary .  I’ve decided to make a spring inspired cupcakes using floral extract for this special occasion .  I’ve bought a small bottle of jasmine extract few month ago at the Asian grocery store .  As we all know jasmine extract is very strong & you just need  ½ tsp for these cupcakes  . As they say a little goes a long way so no overdosing  !  LOL  I’ve frosted these cupcakes with  chantilly cream instead of butter cream as me & my family are not really keen of butter cream .  Lovely floral scented cupcake with a light chantilly cream topping is just the prefect spring treat , don’t you think ! Well, time to get some sleep now as I'm drafting this post at our hotel room & it's 1 am ! LOL Have a lovely week ahead everyone .

Jasmine Cupcakes

Ingredients for 12 cupcakes :

150g softened butter

100g sugar

10 g vanilla sugar

3 eggs

200g flour

2 tbsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

½ tsp Jasmine extract

For Chantilly cream frosting:

100 ml liquid cream/ double cream

2 tbsp sugar 

Directions:

1)      Preheat oven to 180°C & line cupcake pan with paper liners.

2)      Combine flour, baking powder & salt .

3)      Beat butter, vanilla sugar, sugar & eggs till creamy . Fold in flour mixture till well combined . Spoon batter into paper liners till 2/3 full . Bake 20 to 30 mins or till toothpick inserted in center comes out clean . Let to cool for 5 minutes in pans then place on wire racks 2 cool completely.

4)  For Chantilly cream : Beat double cream & sugar till soft peaks & frost cupcake using a piping bag

Submitting this post to Bake Along event organized by  Joyce of Kitchen Flavours,  Lena of Frozen Wings &  Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids .  This month’s theme is celebration cupcakes for Bake Along  2^nd anniversary . Happy 2nd Birthday Bake Along !

Made some donuts as requested eeehhh.... ages ago by my sons !! LOL

Chinatown Tulips from my garden

Mocha & Kahlua Tres Leches Cake

My sons love Tres Leche Cake but not my hubby . So when I was stranded  at home last month because of the usual snow in March , I decided to try another version of this Latin American cake .  The Tres Leche cake or Pastel de tres leches is a three milk cake  with a simple sponge cake or butter cake base . It is then soaked with 3 types of milk such as whole milk, condensed milk & evaporated milk .  Despite soaking in three milks this cake does not have the soggy texture .  With the  soft texture of the sponge cake combined with three milks  just made it light & creamy  .  I reckon that it tasted even better overnight .  I’ve added 1 tablespoon of Kahlua as to make the cake more flavourful & trying to convince my hubby that it’s delicious .  Well, the verdict was , he just said that it’s better in flavour than the original Tres Leche cake!  Phew!  At least he ate it without fuss &  my boys just love  both version as they love MILK!  LOL

Mocha & Kahlua Tres Leches Cake

Adapted from The Frugal Chef

Ingredients:

2/3 cup flour

1/3 cup unsweetened coco powder

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¼ salt

5 eggs separated ( room temperature )

1 cup of sugar ( I only added ½ cup)

1/3 whole milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp Kahlua

20 cm cake pan

Milks mixture

1 cup double cream or whipping cream

414 ml sweetened condensed milk

230 ml evaporated milk

1 tbsp instant coffee ( I’ve added espresso)

For Cream Topping

1 ½ cup double cream

¼ cup icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp cocoa powder + some for topping

Directions:

1)      Preheat oven to 180°C & greased cake pan (lined with parchment paper)  Sift flour together with baking powder, cocoa powder & salt .

2)      Beat egg yolks for 2 minutes till creamy . Pour in milk , Kahlua with vanilla  & mix well for 1 minute . Set aside .

3)      In a large bowl beat egg white till frothy & add in ¼ cup sugar. Beat egg whites till soft peak form & set aside .

4)      Whisk 1/3 of flour mixture to egg yolks . Mix well & add in  1/3 of egg whites  . Repeat  & stir till well combined . Pour batter into cake pan & bake for15 to 20 mins. Let to cool .

5)      For Milk Mixture : Place all ingredients in a sauce pan & whisk till coffee dissolves . (do not boil the milks) . Remove from heat & let to cool .

6)      Make small holes on the whole cake with a skewer .  Slowly ladle in the milk mixture & wait till cake absorb milk mixture between each ladle full. Add in all milk & don’t  worry about it gets too liquidity . The cake will absorb it all . Cover the cake & refrigerate it for at least 6 hours  or overnight .

7)      For Cream Topping : Whisk cream till fluffy & add in sugar, cocoa powder  & vanilla . Beat till stiff peaks . Spread cream mixture on cake & sprinkle some cocoa powder over it & serve .

 

Submitting this post to Bake Along event hosted by   Joyceof Kitchen Flavours  & co hosting with   Lena  Of Frozen Wings together with   Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids . This month’s theme was Tres Leches Cake & was selected by   Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids . 

 

Essence Of Orange – Chocolate Chip Cake

Time really flies & it’s time again for us at  The Home Bakers (organized by Joyce of The Kitchen Flavours )  to bake  try out another recipe from Lou Sheibert Pappas cookbook , Coffee Cake .  Eileen of Hundred Eighty Degrees  has selected this delicious cake for our 17th  bake  . This is an amazing  citrusy cake yet chocolatey with beautiful soft ,fluffy texture .  I’ve baked the full recipe & as usual reduced the sugar to half a cup .  I’ve used yogurt instead of buttermilk as I don’t really know what to do with the rest of the whole pack of buttermilk .  LOL  For the recipe of this cake please hop over to  Eileen & for more yummy bakes of all THB members  HERE .  I’ve got to say that this is the 3^rd time that I’ve baked this cake & this time round I’ve made them in minis as my sons have requested .  My sons love this cake very much that they’ve been requesting this cake every week . LOL  Believe me when I say I’ve to wait till they’re at school to baked & get the chance to snapped few photos of these mini cakes before they get back . No joke, they truly love it & finished these cakes in no time !  Sometimes they really  reminds me of Gremlins  !  Never feed them after midnight  !  Bad-bad idea !  LOL   We just love this movie & it’s our all time favourite especially during X’mas time .  

Another keeper  recipe from Lou Sheibert Pappas's  cookbook - Coffee Cakes

Muscari from my garden

Chè Bap – Vietnamese Sweet Corn Pudding

A warm dessert for a cold day sounds good to me .  I love tapioca pudding , so every now & then I would  make them for dessert .  This is my favourite tapioca pudding with sweet corn  & coconut milk sauce .  This Vietnamese pudding is usually made with thick ( heavy) layer of glutinous rice  but I prefer it with just sweet corns .  This pudding can be serve cold or warm  & I personally love it cold .  A refreshing sweet dessert  with lovely aroma especially the delicious coconut milk & pandan  sauce just so heavenly . YUM!  An easy & delicious dessert  to enjoy anytime of the year .   

Chè Bap – Vietnamese Sweet Corn Pudding

Recipe adated from Pham Fatale

Ingredients yields 10

1 -1/2 quarts of water

½ cup tapioca pearls

450g thawed yellow sweet corn

½ cup coconut milk

½ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 pandan leaf

2 tsp sesame seed

Coconut Milk Sauce

2 tsp cornstarch

¼  cup water

1 cup coconut milk

1tbsp sugar

A pinch of salt

Directions:

1)      Add water in a large sauce pan & bring it to a boil . Add in tapioca pearls & bring it to a boil  . Immediately lower heat to a gentle simmer , stirring every now & then so that the tapioca will not stick to the bottom . Cook for about 20 to 25 mins till the mixture thickened.  Drain tapioca pearls & set a side. 

2)      Mix or blend corn in a blender till the texture turns into a coarse puree. Heat coconut milk &  pandan leaf  in a saucepan & bring to near boil but DO NOT bring to a boil.  On low heat add in corn mixture, tapioca pearls , salt & sugar . Stir well . Cover & simmer for 5 to 8 mins . Remove from heat & add in vanilla extract . Stir well & let to cool for 10 mins . The texture of the pudding should be slightly thick . 

3)      To make coconut milk sauce:  Dissolve cornstarch in water . Add coconut milk in saucepan & bring to  near boil  .Lower heat & add in cornstarch, pandan leaf, sugar & salt. Stir constantly till sauce thickens . Remove from  heat .

4)      Spoon tapioca corn mixture in glasses or small bowls & topped with coconut sauce . Garnish with sweet corns & sesame seeds .

Submitting this post to Little Thumbs Up event organized by  Bake For Happy Kids &  My Little Favorite DIY  . This month theme is all about CORN & hosted by Esther of  Copycake Kitchen  .

Mini Rosemary -Lemon Polenta Cake

This is our 16 th bake at  The Home Bakers from the cookbook by  Lou Sheibert Papas – Coffee Cakes , organized by  Joyce of  Kitchen Flavours .  This month  Angela from The Charmed Cupcake has selected this  sunny Rosemary, Lemon – Polenta cake .  I’ve decided to use my floral mould to make this cake as I  need some sort of SUN !  LOL  As always I’ve reduced half of the sugar amount for this recipe . Lovely crunch moist lemony cake with rosemary infused lemon syrup  .  The edition of rosemary in this cake was wonderful giving it a lovely flavour that paired really well with lemon .  For recipe please hop over to  Angela of The Charmed Cupcake  & for more bakes from all the member of THB , HERE