Chocolate Chip Cake

It is a simple cake to make and yet so delicious served with a cup of tea in the afternoon.

Pizza with Salami

I bought the ready made pizza dough in a supermarket recently. This time I put salami, anchovies, tomatoes and lots of mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan cheese. Just simply delicious!

Lasagne

I have been wanting to try making a lasagne for a few weeks now and finally managed to bake it last evening. It was not difficult to make as long as all the ingredients are available and baking time took only about 40 minutes at 180 C. There are some extra ingredient I added in like parsley, thyme and carrot to enhance the flavour of the meat sauce from the original recipe.

(Recipe from Pasta CookBook)

250 g packet instant lasagne sheets
1/2 cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup thickened or pouring cream
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

Cream Sauce
60 g butter
3 tbsp plain flour
2 cups milk
1 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese

Meat Sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 carrot finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
500 g beef mince
2 x 425 g cans tomatoes
1/2 tsp ground oregano
1/2 tsp ground basil
1/2 tsp ground thyme
2 tbsp fresh parsley
salt & pepper, to taste

1) Preheat oven to 180 C
2) Brush oblong dish with melted better or olive oil. Line with lasagne sheets, fill any gaps. Set
aside.
3) To make cheese sauce (melt butter in a pan. Add flour and stir for 1 minutes. Remove from
heat. Gradually add milk, stirring until mixture is smooth. Return to heat. Cook, stirring
constantly over medium heat until sauce boils and thickens. Reduce heat, simmer for 3
minutes. Remove from heat, add cheddar cheese, salt and pepper, stir until well combined.
Set aside.
4) Heat oil in a large pan. Add onion, garlic, carrot and stir over low heat until onion is tender.
Add mince beef. Brown well, stir in tomatoes, oregano, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring
to boil. Reduce heat, simmer 30 minutes.
5) Spoon one-third of meat sauce over lasagne sheets. Top with one-third cheese sauce.
Arrange layer of lasagne sheets over top.
6) Continue layering, finishing with lasagne sheet. Sprinkle with mozzarella and cheddar
cheese.
7) Pour cream over the top. Sprinkle with parmesan.
8) Bake for 34-40 minutes until bubbling and golden.

Pizza

I used the Lebanese bread as the base since I didn't make the dough for this pizza. The toppings are tomato, mozzarella, anchovies and olives.

Rhubarb Souffle served with Vanilla ice cream

Rhubarb Souffle served with Vanilla ice cream by my partner. This was his first time attempt at baking and it was surprisingly delicious.

Freshly baked Banana Muffins

I baked these Banana Muffins yesterday.

Apple Pie

My favourite pie is definitely the Apple Pie.

Blueberry Muffins

I just love muffins. It is great to have for tea time or even for breakfast. So today I thought I baked these lovely muffins with fresh blueberries. Irresistable.

Apple Crumble

It has been a while since I last baked. It is a public holiday today and I thought I better do some baking and decided to make apple crumble.

. 4 apples

. 100 g white sugar

. 100 g brown sugar

. 200 g plain white flour

. 120 g butter

. 1 cinnamon stick

. 1 tablespoon lemon juice

1) Peel and core the apples and dice them into chunks.

2) Put the apple chunks into a pan, add 3 quarters of the sugar, lemon juice and the cinnamon stick.

3) Stew the apples gently for half an hour, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.

4) Check that the apples are cooked by mashing it a bit with the wooden spoon. The apples should be soft and not pureed.

5) Put the apples into the serving dish and allow to cool.

6) Mix the white flour, remaining sugar and the butter with your fingers in a bowl until it becomes like a breadcrumb consistency.

7) Preheat the oven to 180 C.

8) Cover the stewed apples with the crumble topping, without pressing down.

9) Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown and crunchy.

10) Serve with vanilla ice cream or sauce.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cake

I baked this chocolate chip walnut cake last night. I enjoy baking and everytime the kitchen smells so nice when the cake is baking. Preparation time is about 25 minutes.

. 250 g butter

. 200 g sugar

. 210 g self raising flour

. 5 eggs

. 100 g of chocolate chip

. 100 g of walnut, chopped

. 1/2 tsp of vanilla essence

. Pinch of salt

1) Beat sugar and butter with an electric mixer until fluffy.

2) Add egg one at a time.

3) Sift flour gradually until well combined.

4) Add a pinch of salt and 1/2 tsp of vanilla essence.

5) Fold in 50 g of chocolate chip and 50 g chopped walnut.

6) Pour batter into a 9 inch square baking tin.

7) Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chip and chopped walnut on top of batter.

8) Bake in preheated oven at 180 C for 35 to 40 minutes.

Banana Muffins

Muffins are so delightful to have as desserts. Today I have decided to bake banana muffins because it has been a while since my last baking of muffins which was about 3 months ago.

Makes: 16 to 18 muffins

. 5 medium bananas, mashed

. 1 cup white sugar

. 3 slightly beaten eggs

. 125 gm butter

. 1 tsp baking soda

. 1 tsp baking powder

. 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

. 1/2 tsp salt

. 1 1/2 cup flour

1) Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl.

2) In a large bowl, mix 3 mashed bananas, butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla essence.

3) Add in shift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat the ingredients with an electric mixer for 3 minutes or until all ingredients are mixed together. Do not over-beat.
4) Fold in the 2 mashed bananas with a spatula.

5) Spoon the batter into each of the baking cup and fill about halfway.

6) Preheat oven to 180 C and bake for 20 minutes.

Apple Pie

I found this lovely apple pie recipe at http://www.videojug.com/ It is so delicious and since then I am hooked on these easy steps on how to make good apple pie. I made some adjustment by cutting down the sugar and peel off the skin of the apples. I recommended Granny Smith apples to those who are trying out for this recipe. You won't regret it. Making the pie crust is not easy at first but all it takes is some practice. You can eat it on its own without the vanilla ice-cream or fresh fruit. Really yummy...

· 2 ½ cups (620ml) all-purpose floor
· 1 tsp salt
· ¾ cups (190ml) butter
· 6 green apples
· 1 cups (250ml) white sugar
· 1 cups (250ml) brown sugar
· 1 tsp cinnamon
· ½ tsp nutmeg
· 1 lemon juice

1) Pre-heat your oven to 375 F (190 C).

2) In a large bowl, combine 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup (170 g) butter and 1 tsp salt. With your electric mixer on the lowest setting, begin to blend together the ingredients. Sprinkle in 1 tbsp of ice water and mix until the batter starts to thicken. Continue to add an additional 6 to 8 tbsp of ice water, mixing thoroughly after each one, until the batter becomes a moist dough. Be sure not to over water or the dough will become too wet. Remove the electric mixer and roll the dough into a ball.

3) Place the dough on a cutting board coated with flour. Cut the dough into two halves. Roll the first half into a 9" (22 cm) circle to form the bottom crust of the apple pie. Carefully roll the thin dough around the rolling pin and transfer it into the pie pan. Use a sharp knife to cut off any excess dough around the edges. Roll the second ball of dough into a 12" (30 cm) circle. This will go over the pie filling before baking.

4) In a large mixing bowl, add 6 apples, cored and sliced, 1 cup (200 g) white sugar, 1 cup (220 g) brown sugar, 1/2 cup (60 g) flour, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1 tbsp lemon juice. Mix all ingredients together until every apple is coated. Pour the apple mixture over the bottom curst in the pie pan and smooth it out evenly. Finish by topping the apples with 2 tbsp butter.

5) Cover the pie filling with the 12" (30 cm) rolled dough and pinch the two crusts together. Trim off any excess dough. For crimped edges, use a fork around the crust. Cut several slits on top of the pie for ventilation while baking in the oven. Place the pie on the center rack of the oven and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until the pie crust is a deep, golden brown.

6) Cut the pie into 6 to 8 slices. Serve warm on a chilled plate with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream or fresh fruit to accompany the sweet apple flavor. Enjoy!