Lemon Vanilla Madeleines

 I can't believe it has been nearly 5 years since I blogged. How fast time flew. It has certainly been a whirlwind of a year for the whole world and how I wish things would go back to being normal again. How have you all been? I believe many started spending more time at home and also more home cooking this past year. I have definitely been doing that, with extra time in hand now. 

 I have also been trying out new recipes since the kids are bigger now and they love trying out new food. Here's one such recipe. A delightful tea time treat. Do give it a try and let me know how it goes.

3/4 cup castor sugar

2 eggs and 1 egg yolk

1 cup plain flour, sifted with 1/4 tsp baking powder

zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

5 oz melted butter

In a bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar till it is pale and fluffy. It will be about double in size.

Then add the sifted flour, lemon zest, vanilla paste and fold gently. Add melted butter slowly and gently mix it in.

Cover and keep aside about 30 mins or it can be made earlier and kept in fridge.

Heat up oven to 180C.

Butter and flour the madeleines tray and pour the batter evenly in each well. This makes 12 madeleines.

Bake them for about 10 mins. Let them rest about 5 mins before gently tapping the tray to release the madeleines. Serve warm with a cup of coffee or tea.

                             

                                        

   

 

 

      

                                       

                                         

                                       

Braised Pumpkin Yee Mee

My first try on braised yee mee and it was perfect :). I used Pumpkin Yee Mee that I bought from an organic ingredients shop and braised it in sauce till it is soft and absorb the wonderful flavours.

You need :

 2 pcs yee mee (I used pumpkin yee mee)
2 cloves garlic , minced
a handful of shrimps, peeled and deveined
fishcake, sliced
a handful of mustard green leaves
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp thick soy sauce
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 egg, beatenwith a dash of salt and pepper
2 1/2 cups no sodium chicken broth / homemade chicken broth
salt and white pepper to taste

Heat a wok and add some oil. Add in minced garlic and fry. Add in fishcakes once fragrant, stir fry.
Then add in chicken stock and all the sauces. Bring to a boil.
Add in yee mee and let it soften a bit before adding in the mustard leaves, prawns.
Adjust seasoning according to taste. Add in egg and stir.
Turn off heat once mee is soft and serve hot.

Hot Apple Cake with Pecan Caramel Sauce

Here's a cake I made over the weekend for dessert. It's been some time since I baked for the house as every week's been busy doing cake orders so I decided to take it a little slow this month and bake for leisure.

This is a quick cake, best served warm (warm it up in the microwave a little before serving). It has soft crumbs, moist and really tasty, the sauce made it even better..not forgetting the aroma while it bakes. I would say the cinnamon does get trick.

Apple cake with an overdose of pecan caramel sauce

Cake

You need :

225 gm unsalted butter
1 cup castor sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour (best to use this and not cake flour for this cake)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp soda
3 red apples, cored, peeled and diced
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp pure vanilla (I used my homemade vanilla extract)

method :

Beat butter and sugar till fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time and beat.
Combine dry ingredients and add in little by little while mixer on lowest setting.
Once just combined, add in apples, pecans and vanilla. Fold it in.

Heat oven 180C, pour batter into 8 or 9 inch round pan and bake for abt 45-50 mins (depends on ur oven).

Let it cool completely and start preparing the sauce.

Sauce

2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup whole pecans (slightly roasted be better)
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup cream

Heat the cream in a pan and let it simmer and turn off heat.
Melt butter in another pan. Add in roasted pecans. Combine well and add in the brown sugar. let it caramelize a little then add in heated cream. Mix well and let it boil a little till sugar melted and it's golden in colour. Take it off the heat, let it cool down a little and pour in over cake/ slices when u serve.

Valentine's Dinner 2016 at Pullman, Bangsar

Happy Valentine's Day !!!
We dine out and try out new fine dining places for special occasions. This year for Valentine's Day we went for an exclusive 6 course dinner at The Executive Lounge at Pullman, Bangsar. It was indeed a unique gastronomic experience and an overwhelming one, too as the only thing for sharing was the cheese platter. All the other 5 courses were served separately for both of us. It was a very enjoyable dinner where great attention was paid by the chef in serving us the best.

The staff were attentive and we didn't once had to call them to refill out water or champagne or to bring the next course. We were well taken care of, making the night even more special.


I got a lovely hat box filled with red roses from the husband :)

Gift from the husband

Gift for the husband



Starters - for me



Starters - for him



Foei Gras pate with maldon sea salt and brioche



Truffle Salad with nuts



Pan Seared Australian lobster tail with seafood bouillabaisse broth

Seared curry crusted cod fish with caviar butter sauce, mache lettuce and air dried tomato

Pan seared French Magnet Duck Breast with braised red cabbage n Mache lettuce



Champagne

Symphony of desserts with edible flowers and chocolate pralines



French cheese platter with cracker and fruits



Gifts for me

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Golden Chicken Nuggets

It was a lazy, rainy Saturday evening and I thought some comfort food will be good...so I made these deliciously crispy yet tender chicken nuggets. I try my best to avoid deep frying but today was a big exception..an well worth it ;).

Here goes :

2 skinless, boneless, antibiotic residue free chicken breast (cubed)
1 cup plain flour
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 eggs, beaten with a little salt
seasoned breadcrums (I used Italian herbs breadcrumbs)

vegetable oil for frying


Mix together flour, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add in the chicken pieces and combine to coat well.

Heat oil in a frying pan.

Dip coated chicken pieces in beaten eggs then roll it on the breadcrumbs.

Fry till golden, drain on a kitchen towel, serve with some chilli sauce and ketchup.

Blueberry Sour Cream Pancakes

It has been ages since I made breakfast so I whipped up this quick and yummy blueberry pancakes last Sunday using this never-fail pancake recipe.

It was sooo good, fluffy and just delicious. Do give it a try.

Original recipe from my previous post : http://daily-cuppa.blogspot.my/2013/12/sour-cream-pancakes.html

I added 3/4 cup of fresh blueberries to the batter. Served with maple syrup, sliced bananas and more blueberries ;)

New Year 2016 - Melaka

Happy New Year everyone! May this year bring more joy and happiness to all ;)

We took a short break after ages with my husband's twin brother's family. We took a drive and stayed a night in Melaka. Then we stopped by at our other house in Seremban..so it was a fun weekend filled with activities and great food.

Here's some of our weekend activities and sightseeing pics...do check out these places if you happen to visit Melaka ;)

Butterfly Farm, Melaka

Plat Kitchen cafe



The twins

Melaka River Cruise



Hakka Zhan Restaurant

Hoe Kee Chicken Rice Ball

Jonker Street

 

Egg Kurma

I've never been a fan of  using kurma powder to make kurma and have always wanted to try making it from scratch. So, tried out this recipe...turned out really yummy and we loved it. Do give it a try ;)

Original recipe from :

http://www.naliniscooking.com/2014/02/egg-kurma-muttai-kurma.html


The changes I made :

1. I omitted the ginger since I didn't have any.
2. I replaced chilli powder with dry chilli flakes.
3. I used 3 eggs as there wasn't too much gravy.

Overall a delicious recipe that I will surely try again.

Mamak Style Mee Goreng using Peanut Butter

My New Year Resolution for next year started early, last week actually with my aim to cook dinner 6 days a week. I realize eating out is an easier option but finding quality food for a good price is difficult. This will also be a good reason to browse through my ever growing number of cookbooks and making good use of them.
So far I managed to achieve my aim last week and going strong this week....do hope the enthusiasm lasts through the coming months.... :)

I made this fried noodles yesterday and it was really tasty, enjoyed by my 2.5 years old too. The added Peanut Butter enhances the flavour, giving it a yummy nutty taste.

Serves : 3 persons

1 small pack of  Yellow wet noodles, washed and drained
1 onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced / pounded
chilli paste

Combine together:
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp bottled chilli sauce
3 tbsp bottled tomato sauce
some salt and white pepper powder to taste
1 tbsp creamy peanut butter

some sliced fishcakes / slightly fried beancurd
1 large tomato, sliced
a handful of mustard leaves (sawi), cut into 1 inch pieces
a handful of beansprouts

1 egg, beaten with a little salt

Method :

Heat oil in a wok, fry onion, garlic till fragrant. Add in chilli paste and cook till fragrant,
Add in fishcakes/ tofu, mix well. Add in the combined sauces and fry for a few seconds.
Add in tomato, noodles and mustard leaves, mix well to combine. Add in beansprouts.
Add a little water in needed. Cook covered for a few minutes.
Now move the noodles to a side, add some oil and pour in egg. After 30 seconds, combine egg with the noodles. Mix well. Add salt if needed.

Serve hot with some sliced red chilli, lime and mint leaves. YUMMM

Winning Her World Best Home Cook Contest 2015

 

It was one of those proud moments in life.. I came across this contest which was organized by HerWorld Malaysia few months ago whereby you cook/bake using one or more of the ingredients featured. There was Golden Churn Butter there and noticed that the deadline was near so I baked a quick cake (a fav recipe of mine), frosted it, took pics and sent it in.

Little did I know that I will be one of the 12 chosen finalists and was asked to join a cook-off session in Starhill Culinary Studio, Bukit Bintang. I knew that meant big but the shock came when I learnt I needed to recreate my cake from scratch in an hour!!! Wow, that to me sounded impossible and I had to bring all the needed items as I will only be given the butter, cake mixer and oven. The worse part was when I was told that I will be the only one making a cake...hmm..can things get any worse..

The day was one of the most stressful ones where the clock kept ticking and I was willing my hands n mind to move as fast as possible, also being careful not to forget any ingredients.
It took me 1 hr 15 mins to complete as the cake needed 15 mins to cool off a little before frosting. It was then whisked away to the judging room and I was hoping that it will stay in shape and not collapse.

At last I could sigh with relief and felt totally famished. Next came lunch break while the judges were tasting the dishes and choosing the winners. Soon the speeches started followed by the announcement of winners. I really thought that I did not win anything when they called out the second and first runner up and was shocked beyond words when my name was announced as the Grand Prize winner. Wow....that was unbelievable. My cake actually won the Grand Prize! It was a great moment to be cherished.

Starhill Culinary Studio

Baking at the event



My winning cake, after tasting session

With my prize

With thr other winners

Daphne Iking

https://www.facebook.com/reshwani/videos/10153304188018897/?l=3695705020230928943