Monster Cookie

The cookie monster is back :) I just can't stay away from them... I love cakes but cookies are my real weakness. I saw these on brown eyed baker and knew I just had to make them. I made a few modifications as I didn't have all the ingredients to hand and they turned out really well! I have to say I much prefer the chocolate chip cookies which had a cleaner, simpler taste. Those are my favourite cookies to date and I would highly recommend them. Although I like peanut butter, I think the taste of peanut butter in this cookie was a little overpowering. Don't get me wrong, they were still very good particularly if you need a sugar hit! The other plus point is that this cookie is really easy to make as its a 'mix everything and bake' recipe. No need for any fancy kitchen equipment and if you're like me, you'd have all the ingredients to hand. 

mix everything together

cookie batter 

chopped Reese's peanut butter cups

Makes approx 56 cookies (size as shown)

3 eggs
110g caster sugar
100g light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon golden syrup
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
115g butter
345g peanut butter
405g rolled oats (I only used 200g this time as that was all I had left)
60g plain flour (I used 150g to compensate for oats)
150g choc chips
6 Reese's peanut butter cups
185g M&Ms

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Grease and line 2 baking sheets.
• Stir eggs, vanilla, sugar, golden syrup, baking powder and salt.
• Stir in butter and peanut butter.
• Add oats and flour.
• Finally add the chocolate chips, peanut butter cups, M&Ms (or whatever fillings you decide to use). 
• Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
• Scoop even sized dough on to the baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes or until a light golden brown.
• Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Pandan Chiffon Cake

This was a special request from my brother. The first time I tried to make this cake, it failed horribly. Fortunately I've now worked out the correct temperature and cooking times and the cake turned out perfectly. The aroma is amazing and the cake is really light and spongy.

What is pandan I hear you ask? Pandanus amaryllifolius is a tropical plant in the screwpine genus which is known commonly as pandan and used widely in Southeast Asian cooking. It is an upright green plant with fan-shaped sprays of long, narrow, bladelike leaves and woody aerial roots. The plant is sterile, flowers only very rarely, and is propagated by cuttings.

The plant is rare in the wild but cultivated widely for use as a flavoring in cooking. The leaves are used fresh or wilted, and are commercially available in frozen form in Asian grocery stores in nations where the plant does not grow. They have a nutty, botanical fragrance which enhances the flavor of Indonesian, Singaporean, Filipino, Malaysian, Thai, Bangladeshi, Vietnamese and Burmese foods, especially rice dishes and cakes.

Addendum 7/4/15 

I'm entering this to Formula 1 Foods hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes. It's a new blog challenge where the idea is to cook something from the country that is hosting the Formula 1 race. This year, the race was in Malaysia on March 28/29. This cake is very popular in Malaysia.

egg white foam 

ready to go in the oven 

Egg white foam

6 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

100g caster sugar

Egg yolk batter

6 egg yolks

150g coconut milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon pandan juice (I omitted this as I didn't have any)

1/4 teaspoon pandan essence (I used 1 teaspoon as I didn't have any pandan juice)

few drops green colouring

4 tablespoon cooking oil

80g caster sugar

140g plain flour

• To make egg yolk batter, combine egg yolks, coconut milk, salt, cooking oil, pandan essence, colouring and caster sugar in a mixing bowl.  Fold in flour until it forms a batter.
• To make egg white foam, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until mixture forms soft peaks. 
• Gradually add in sugar, beating at high speed until frothy and stiff peaks form. 
• Gently fold beaten egg white foam into egg yolk batter until well mixed.
• Pour batter into ungreased tin.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 130C for 35 minutes and then at 160C for a further 25 minutes. 
• Remove from the oven and invert the cake tin onto a wire rack. 
• Allow to cool completely before unmoulding from tin.

Lemon and Poppyseed Cake

This was a special request for a friend's graduation celebration dinner. I used an all time favourite Jamie Oliver recipe - his nan's lemon drizzle cake. I got to use my new star mould which I thought would be fitting for the occasion. I made a double recipe to ensure I had enough batter for the mould. I had some leftover so I also made 5 mini-loafs from the same recipe. Aren't they cute?

Everyone loved the cake and my friend managed to divide the star into 30 equal portions. Well done! 

Congratulations on your graduation V! 

cake batter 

star mould mini-loaf

lemon icinglemon syrup

fresh from the oven

with addition of lemon syrup

drizzle effect 

For the cake
115g unsalted butter, softened
115g caster sugar
4 large eggs
180g ground almonds
30g poppy seeds
zest and juice of 2 lemons
125g self-raising flour, sifted

For the lemon syrup
100g caster sugar
90g lemon juice

For the lemon juice
225g icing sugar
zest and juice of 1 lemon

• Preheat the oven to 180C
• Using an electric whisk, beat the butter with the caster sugar until light and creamy. 
• Add the eggs one by one. beating each in well. 
• Fold in your ground almonds, poppy seeds, the lemon zest and juice and the sifted flour.
• Spoon the mix into the prepared cake tin and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until lightly golden.
• Allow the cake to cool on a rack.
• Make your lemon syrup by heating the sugar and lemon juice in a pan until the sugar has dissolved. 
• While your cake is still warm, make lots of little holes in the top with a cocktail stick and pour your syrup over. 
• To make your icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the lemon zest and juice, stirring until smooth. 
• When your cake is almost cool, put in on a serving plate and pour the icing carefully over the top.
• If you pour it on to the middle of the cake, then let gravity disperse the icing down the sides, you get the 'drizzle' effect.

Victoria Sponge Cake

I do like a good sponge cake and nothing beats a classic Victoria sponge cake especially in summer. I love the combination of strawberries and cream. The sponge was light and moist and the strawberries were delightfully sweet. This is a really simple recipe which works for me everytime. 

The Victoria sponge cake was named after Queen Victoria, who favoured a slice of the sponge cake with her afternoon tea.  It is often referred to simply as sponge cake.  A traditional Victoria sponge consists of jam sandwiched between two sponge cakes.  

The cake disappeared so quickly and I was told there wasn't enough to go round! Will just have to make more next time :) 

sponge cake straight from the oven

freshly whipped cream 

spreading jam on the cake

add cream and strawberries 

victoria sponge cake 

Cake 

175g butter, softened 

175g self raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

175g golden caster sugar

3 eggs

Filling

raspberry jam

600ml double cream, whipped

Fresh strawberries

Icing sugar for dusting

• Preheat the oven to 180C 
• Grease and line the bases of 2 round sandwich tins.
• Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and add the butter, sugar and eggs. 
• Beat well until smooth (I used my trusty KitchenAid) 
• Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared tins and smooth the surfaces. (I weigh my tins so the cakes are evenly sized)
• Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until well risen and golden brown. 
• Leave to cool in the tins for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 
• Sandwich the cakes together with the jam, whipped cream and straberries. 
• Sprinkle with icing sugar on top and serve. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie... revisited

Yet another cookie, this time the best ever chocolate chip cookie!! You honestly have to try this recipe. It's so much better than the previous recipe I tried. You will notice that it's quite similar but the amounts differ which is what makes the difference. These cookies are light, moist and crunchy at the same time. 

smooth and creamy butter mixture 

adding choc chips 

cookie dough 

 Choc chip ice cream! 

Cookie cookie

now that's what I call a stack of cookies :) 

170g butter 

80g white sugar

80g brown sugar

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 egg

250g flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

300g chocolate chips 

• Preheat oven to 180C. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Beat the butter, sugars, egg and vanilla extract together until light and fluffy.
• Stir in flour, baking powder and salt.
• Finally add the chocolate chips.
• I used an ice cream scoop to place cookie dough evenly spaced on a baking sheet. Alternatively drop heaped tablespoonfuls of dough on to the baking sheet.
• Bake for 11-13 minutes or until light brown (centre will still be soft).
• Allow to cool on the sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  

White Chocolate and Macadamia Cookies

The birthday season is over for now. Back to my all time favourite - cookies :) I made these for a picnic in the park. They're really simple to make and taste delicious. I don't usually like white chocolate but the combination of macadamia nut and white chocolate is amazing. 

adding nuts and choc chips 

cookie dough

125g butter, softened
225g soft brown sugar (I only used 150g)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
225g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
200g white chocolate chips
150g macadamia nuts, roughly chopped

• Preheat the oven to 180C. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and creamy.
• Add the egg and vanilla extract and stir to combine,
• Combine the flour, baking powder and salt together in a separate bowl and stir into the butter mixture until just combined.
• Fold through the chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
• Place heaped tablespoonfuls of the mixture on the preheated baking sheet, leaving a little space between them to allow for spreading. 
• Bake for 15-20minutes, or until lightly golden.
• Allow to cool on the sheets for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.