Orangey Cupcakes

Oranges.... A fruit which I love to peel and eaten fresh. It's so refreshing and tasty provided the orange that I'm consuming is not sourish. Hehe... Otherwise it will be something good to keep me awake while I'm doing work. *lol*

Anyway, I spotted that there are some oranges in my fridge and decided to make something out of it. So here is the orange cupcakes which I was experimenting on during one of the weekends when Doink was playing sports. It's kinda simple to make.


Fresh from the oven

Here is the recipe if you would like to try them out.

250g butter

200g sugar

4 eggs

250g self raising flour (sifted)

1tsp baking powder

1 large orange peeled and chopped (you can opt to put 5tbsp orange concentrated as well)

Preheat oven to 160 degrees celcius.
In a bowl, cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Fold in the flour, baking powder and the orange juice as well. Mix them until well combined and smooth.
Spoon into cupcake cases. Bake for approximately 10 minutes (for small cupcakes) and 15 minutes (medium size supcakes) or until golden on top.

200g cream cheese

180g icing sugar

2tbsp orange juice (add more if you want more orange flavour in it)

To make the topping, beat the cream cheese, icing sugar and orange juice until you reach the consistency that is soft and spreadable. Add colourings to make the colour of your choice.


Mini cupcakes

The taste of these orange cupcakes are refreshing and light. It's good for some people who likes to savour light cupcakes. Something meant for health consious people. However, I decorated it with orange flavoured cream cheese. Guess these cupcakes are no longer healthy. *laughs*


Double hearts - Doink and Cutie

Doink like the taste of it. At least it's something different compared to the usual chocolate muffins or cupcakes that I usually make for him to snack in the office. But then he is still a naughty cheeky Doink *giggle* who still likes sinful food. The more sinful it is, the more he loves it. So this kinda cupcakes he only enjoys savouring it once in a while and not often.


Have a cuppacake

Comfort Food - Chocolate!!!

It's been a while since I last blog about dessert food. Here I am gonna blog about my chocolate cake. Chocolate is lovely and I think most people love chocolate and it's something one can consume anytime. I love baking chocolate cake and I find they are various recipes available in baking a good chocolate cake. And moreover, there are a lot of shops selling some thick rich chocolate cake which I tend to get sick after few mouthfuls. Don't get me wrong, the cakes selling out there are good but it's just that at times I search for something lighter, something that won't kill my appetite after consuming it.

This version of chocolate cake is slightly different as it's lighter. I wanted to make this cake something that whenever someone consume it, they won't get sick after 2-3 pieces.

Freshly baked Chocolate Cake

This cake is baked beautifully. Before pouring the sauce, use a toothpick or a strand of uncooked spaghetti and poke mini holes in your cake. This is to allow the chocolate sauce to flow inside your cake so that when you consume your cake, it is not dry as the chocolate sauce is coated in between it as well.

Chocolate Cake with Syrup and Icing Sugar

Pour the chocolate sauce in it. Then sprinkle it with icing sugar. This is ready to be served. Best served while it's warm. You can serve it with ice cream too.

You will be the first to be executed!!!

Here is the recipe for you if you want to try.

Chocolate Cake Recipe

Ingredients

2 cup flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanila essence

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 cup milk

Preheat at 180 degrees celcius. Combine dry ingredients and sieve. Than combine wet ingredients (besides water). Slowly mix it.

After that add water slowly and gradually mix it.

Pour it into a pan and bake about 30 minutes.

To test if the cake is cook, prick it with a toothpick at the centre of the cake and see if it comes out clean.

Chocolate Syrup

1/2 cup boiling water

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp cocoa

Mix all together until you get the right consistency. Test if the sweetness is suitable for your own taste. It varies for each individual.

Pour over the cake. Before pouring the sauce over it, don't forget to prick holes in the cake with a toothpick or an uncooked strand of spaghetti. Than top it with icing sugar. Your cake is ready to be served.

Simple isn't it. Have fun trying. Suitable for those who doesn't like those sinful, with thick rich chocolate sauce chocolate cake. Anyway, have a great weekend!!!

Making Lasagna with Potatoes Instead of Lasagna Sheets

Most often we know that lasagna is made with alternate layers of pasta, cheese and meat sauce. I love making lasagna and I have various ways in making it using different types of sauces. I had made using twin sauce and also white sauce lasagna in the past.

But just the other day I tried something different. It's called Mushroom Potato Lasagna. Instead of using lasagna sheets, I used potatoes!!!


Mushroom Potato Lasagna

Take 1 large potato and sliced it thinly and then let it boil for about 5 minutes till it softens. Set aside.

Now prepare the mushroom with the sauce.

Ingredients:
1onion (chopped)
1 garlic (chopped)
200g mushrooms (prefereably button mushrooms)
200ml Double cream
salt, pepper to taste
parsley
parmesan

Cook the onions and garlic till softens. Add mushrooms and cook for about 2 minutes.
Than add double cream and cook till the sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Before dishing it up, add some parsley and parmesan and mix it.

Note: You can substitute double cream with milk for those who are health concious.

Potatoes Sheets

Layer the potatoes, than add mushroom sauce on top of the pototes. Continue assembling it until you get 3-4 layers of potatoes. Top with parmesan and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. (This is optional but the taste will be much nicer if you bake it in the oven before serving)

Ooooh.... !!!!

The taste is different from the typical lasagna we usually have. This is definitely worth a try. I served this together with the lamb I had with Doink during dinner as an appetizer. Hehe.... It was definitely something that both of us loved. *smile*

Doink's 2nd Little Lamb with Cutie's Special Puree

Here is the other lamb which I had prepared that night for Doink. It's Rosemary Sage Lamb served with Pea Puree & Redcurrant Jam.

The last time I prepared this lamb, I served it with Blueberry. This time I was experimenting with a new combination sauce which is the Pea Puree. I know it doesn't sound that great especially to those who anti-peas. But even Doink who is not a fan of peas find the taste special and nice.


Lamb lamb!!!

Marinade the lamb with:
Half a Lemon Juice
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2tbsp red wine
Rosemary
Sage
1 clove of garlic, chopped
salt, pepper

Roast the lamb or pan fry it.

Pea Puree with Redcurrant Jam

For the pea puree, all you need is to blend peas that are being boiled, add some creme fraiche or cottage cheese and parmesan. Add some salt and pepper to taste. This puree goes really well with redcurrant jam. Yummy!!! (If your peas are too dry after blended, add some milk in it to making it more creamier)

Another lovely dish.

The meal is ready to be served. Eat the lamb together with the pea puree and redcurrant jam.

Another simple dish and something different from the usual lamb you always have which is grill lamb serve with mint sauce.

Doink's Little Lamb with Cutie's Yummy Couscous

I notice there are few people who have been asking me to post my recipe up in my blog. Reasons for not putting it up is because I'm lazy and I admit that. But to be honest you can request me to email you the recipe and I will be happy to do so. *smile*

Secondly is because I don't want you to be following my recipe step by step. In fact, I want your imagination to run wild when cooking. So my blog is here to give you some new ideas in what combination of ingredients to put in.

Anyway, since there are people who request me to put up recipe, I will from now on try to put up ok. No promises though as I'm still lazy to do so. *grin*

So now it's back to FOOD!!! I'm here to cook lamb again. *jumping up and down excitedly* Well, wanted to make this a special dinner for Doink so I came up with a special menu with a special invitation for the special night for someone special. *smiling shyly*.

This is a pretty interesting recipe. I was cracking my head of trying to come up with some fruit combination to cook the lamb since the last round I came up with lamb serve with blueberry sauce. After shopping in Tesco for quite a while, looking up and down, trying to combine different ingredients together, I finally figured out what to make.


Doink had a little lamb....

It's apricot & honey. A simple dish and I used apricot jam to marinade the lamb. Take note, I'm not really sure of the measurements as I just put in the ingredients according to my taste and I don't usually measure when I'm cooking. hehe... So the measurements here is rough estimation. Please amend according to your taste ok. Remember everyone can be a chef. So you don't have to follow my measurements here....

2 lamb shoulder
4 tbsp apricot jam
1/4 cup orange concentrated
2 cloves of garlic - chopped
1 onion -chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp corriander
3 tbsp red wine
4 tbsp honey
half a lemon juice
some raisins

Marinade your lamb for few hours (about 4hours). If you are going to cook this for dinner, marinade it from noon onwards. The longer it is marinade, the better it will taste.
Than just pan fry it till it cooks. Do not overcook it as the meat of the lamb will become tough. Alternatively, you can oven bake it. When the lamb is almost cook, only pour the remaning mixture into the pan to caramelised the sauce till it is slightly thickens. Than serve.

If you somehow feel that there is not enough sauce, you can double your marinade ingredients so that you have more sauce to serve your lamb with your couscous. Play around with the measurements and adjust it according to your taste. *grin*


Cutie Couscous

I want the lamb to go with cous cous as Doink never try it before. It's also my first time making couscous and I was being a bit adventorous. Instead of cooking it plain, I decided to make tangy couscous..... *grin*

1c couscous
1c water or alternatively using stock if you want more flavour
2tbsp butter or olive oil
a handful of raisins
1/2 tsp tumeric
generous pinch of salt

Boil till it cooks. Follow instruction in the box.

Couscous goes really well with the lamb. But somehow I feel the lamb should have more sauce in it.


Apricot Honey Lamb with Tangy CousCous

I also made some sparkling drink. It's just 7UP added with ribena and orange concentrate. The taste - goodie!!! Try it....

Well, this is not the only dish I prepared that night. Wait for me to blog again to find out what is the next thing I prepared. hehe....

And lastly, would just like to wish you all a Happy Deepavali to those who are celebrating it. Have a great holiday!!!

Testing with new muffins...

Doink loves my muffins as long as I don't experiment too much with it. hehe... The usual muffins that I usually make can be found here. And he loves every bite of it.

But this round Jason Mumbles came from Melaka to KL and I was planning to bake something for him to bring back to Melaka so that he will have something to eat. He is not really a chocolate fan so I don't want to make all chocolate muffins for him. And he was requesting to have pandan flavour muffin.

I was like in dilemma whether to make that for him as I had never try making one before. But then since he insisted, I decided to let him be my guinea pig. *grin*


Pandan Flavour muffin

Doink find the taste is ok. As for me, I find that the pandan flavour taste wasn't strong enough. I guess I probably need to put more essence in it. If you would like to know whether it really taste that good, guess you have to ask Jason.

More than half is executed by Jason

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He is a super farnee guy as he was updating me everyday how many muffins he took and when he finished it. Hehe... But yes, he is an amazing and friendly guy who can eats a lot. Enjoyed his company a lot although I have not met him many times but I treasured the friendship we had. My online buddy when I'm lonely and sad. Now that doesn't mean that when I'm happy I will dump u. *laughing out loud*

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Anyway, would like to have my Ipoh dim sum with you. *hint hint*. Sorry for not going with you the other day.

Alright, this blog is not dedicated to Jason. Moving on to my next experiment which i don't think I did let him try. This is the Mango flavour muffin. I didn't put essence in it instead I put in mango puree.

Mango flavoured Muffins

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Wasn't really a success as the mango puree was tooo watery that made the muffins become tooo soft. But Doink somehow likes it and he finds it different from the usual muffins that I make.

Gonna eat you first *grin*

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But it's definitely something different to savour unlike the usual chocolate chip with raisins muffins and blueberry muffins. Doesn't give you the sickening feeling after consuming it as it's not rich at all and kinda refreshing too.

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Mango Puree... Yummy!!!

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The muffins that I made this round is not pretty and it looks like ordinary muffins as I wasn't trying to hard on the presentation. It was more of the taste. Alright, guess Doink wasn't happy with me experimenting again coz he didn't get his usual sinful muffins. So I better make the same old muffins again next!!! *smile*

Chocolate Chip Cookies For Sale!!!

I never really blog much about my chocolate chips raisins cookies. I love this recipe a lot and it seriously depends on the individual taste buds as I sometimes might bake the cookies a little less crunchy so it will be chewier but most of the time people prefer it to be crunchy. So I sort of make the texture according to people's preference.


Chocolate Chip with raisins cookies

These cookies recipe are not meant to be shared. So sorry that I can't let you know what I put in. But you can purchase it if you are interested. Hehe.... I feel like I'm doing business online... Actually I didn't intend to do this not until Doink's colleagues who has started purchasing it from me. Some of them prefer it without raisins so I will just make it plain chocolate chip cookies.


Chocolate Chip cookies without raisins - looks like some panda face *lol*
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If at any time you are interested to try your hands on the cookies, please email me at maygin17@gmail.com





Big red container = RM26

That's it for now. Anyway, will start blogging about my cooking experience in the kitchen next. Have a good day! Muaks and Hugz!!!

Prices are correct as of 1st November 2008.