No-Frills Recipes ... cooking, baking & excerpts on travel

This Citrus and Oil Bundt Cake tastes very much like a sponge cake and a little bit chewy too.  It is delicious, the oil makes it moist and the addition of Cointreau makes the cake all the more flavourful and fragrant.



Citrus and Oil Bundt Cake
Ingredients
240 gm superfine flour3/4 tsp baking powder1/4 tsp bicarbonate of sodaa pinch of salt4 large eggs2 Tbsp fresh zest (orange and lemon)1/2 cup vegetable oil1/4 cup squeezed citrus juice (3 Tbsp juice + 1 Tbsp Cointreau)1 tsp vanilla1/2 cup milk150 gm caster sugarMethod Whisk or sift flour with the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.  Set aside.Combine the eggs, sugar, zest in a bowl and beat till light and  pale.Add in juice and vanilla, mix well.Fold in flour in 3 batches alternating with milk, till fully incorporated.  Batter is runny.Pour batter into a greased and flour dusted 10 cup bundt pan, tap lightly to expel any air.Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 deg.C for about 50 to 55 mins. till golden brown.  Let cake cool in the pan com…

This is a copycat dish from Old Kingdom Chinese restaurant in Surrey Hills, Melbourne.  When we saw 'Fantastic Chicken' dish on the menu, all of us were curious and yes, we agreed to give it a shot.  When the dish was served, there's nothing 'fantastic' about it, it's just chicken fillet fried with black bean sauce.  Nonetheless, it was a delicious and tasty dish to pair with a plate of steaming hot white rice.




Fantastic Chicken/Chicken in black bean sauce ~  豆豉鸡
Ingredients

270 gm chicken leg, deboned2 onions, sliced or cut into wedges1 medium size capsicum, sliced1.1/2 tsp black bean Salt and a bit of sugar to taste1 tsp cornflour + 3 tsp waterMethod Slice up the chicken and season with some pepper, pinch of salt and a bit of sugar.  Set aside.Heat up a wok or pan with some oil, add in the black bean , saute till fragrant, add in the seasoned chicken and stir-fry till cooked.  Add in some water if  it's too dry.Toss in the onion and capsicum, stir-fry.Fine t…

There is a huge variety of cookies come every Chinese New Year and this time I'm sharing with you a very simple and easy to make Nestum Raisin Cookies.  The ingredients are very basic for any cookie recipe but the star ingredient is of course, Nestum.  Crunchy and crispy Nestum Raisin Cookies to serve your guests this Chinese New Year and I hope you will like it!



Nestum Raisin Cookies ~  CNY 2020   麦片葡萄干饼干
Ingredients
250 gm butter140 gm caster sugar280 gm self-raising flour1 egg yolk40 gm Nestum60 gm raisins1/2 tsp vanillaa pinch of saltMore Nestum to coatMethod Beat butter and sugar till creamy, add in the egg yolk and vanilla, mix well.Sift in the flour, add in the nestum and raisins.  Mix well.Pinch some dough about the size of a 20 cent coin, lightly roll onto some Nestum to coat and place onto a parchment lined baking tray, about an inch apart.Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 deg.C for about 10 to 15 mins.  Let cool for a minute before removing onto a wire rack to cool completely…

These Hup Toh Soh (Chinese Walnut Biscuits) are without hup toh/walnuts.  I do remember from young that the traditional Hup Toh Soh that I ate those days were quite big, around 4 inches in diameter or because I was small and to me everything looked big!  They were made with lard and were very crunchy but there wasn't any trace of hup toh in them and nobody asked why.   Although these biscuits are without walnuts, they are still crunchy and yummy.  If you are allergic to nuts, this is a recipe for you.  Give this a try for the coming Chinese New Year.
However, if you would like to have a recipe of  Hup Toh Soh with walnuts, do hop in 'here'.





Hup Toh Soh  (Chinese Walnut Biscuits)  ~   CNY 2020  核桃酥

Ingredients
300 gm plain flour                                                                        100 gm caster sugar125 ml vegetable oil (may need a bit more or a bit less)1/8 tsp salt1 tsp baking powder1 tsp sodium bicarbonate1 egg beaten to glazeMethod Sieve flour with the ba…

A Very Happy New Year to one and All 
All the Very Best in 2020
This is my first attempt at baking with spelt flour and I was quite skeptical at the beginning for I do not know how the texture of the cake will turn out.  But after reading through the recipe which calls for about half spelt and half self-raising flour, I have more confidence to give it a go.  Spelt is low in gluten and perhaps that's the reason why the recipe calls for only half spelt flour.  The cake turned out swell and the texture was good, soft and moist.



Carrot Walnut Cake with Spelt Flour ~  胡萝卜核桃蛋糕

Ingredients
115 gm wholemeal spelt flour113 gm self-raising flour140 gm soft or dark brown sugar4 large eggs70 gm walnuts, chopped70 gm sultanas, chopped300 gm (about 2 medium size) carrots, gratedZest from 1 orange1 cup vegetable oil1 tsp baking powder1 tsp cinnamona pinch of saltIcing sugar for dusting (optional)Method Line an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper.Sift self-raising flour with baking powder, salt…

This simple yet delectable and soothing Matcha Pudding is a delicious sweet treat to round up a meal.  I adapted the recipe from  'Justonecookbook.com',  reduced the sugar, tweaked it but doubled the recipe. It was well received by members of the family and the pudding were finished in a jiffy!



Matcha Pudding  ~  抹茶布丁 
Ingredients
2 Tbsp matcha/green tea powder10 gm gelatine powder4 Tbsp hot water2.1/2 cups milk70 gm mixture of caster and raw sugarMethod Sift the matcha powder into a bowl.Put the gelatine powder into a bowl and pour in the hot water to mix.Heat up a cup of water in a saucepan and place the bowl of gelatine on top.  Once the gelatine powder dissolves, remove and set aside.In another small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil (when bubbles are seen at the side of the saucepan), turn off heat.Add in the sugar mixture and whisk till dissolved.Take 6 Tbsp of milk mixture from (step 5 above) and add into the green tea mixture.  Whisk till no lumps and the mixture is nice…

This is a simple recipe which calls for hazelnut meal, which is the star ingredient alongside eggs and sugar.  Easy to make and full of hazelnut flavour, it's an awesome cake especially for those who are allergic to wheat flour and dairy.  You can also look 'here' at another Flourless Orange Almond cake which I posted not too long ago.  Perhaps you can bake this and serve your friends and relatives, this Christmas!




Gluten-free hazelnut orange cake  ~  无麸榛子香橙蛋糕
Ingredients
6 large egg yolks 200 gm hazel nut meal140 gm caster sugar60 ml orange juiceZest from 1 orange6 egg whitesMethod Prepare a 9 inch round nonstick springform pan, line the base, grease and dust the sides with flour.Separate the egg yolks and whites.Whisk the egg yolks with sugar till creamy and the colour much lighter, until the ribbon stage.Add in orange juice.Sieve or mix the hazel nut meal into the egg yolk mixture and mix till fully incorporated into the batter.Beat egg whites till stiff peaks.Fold in 1/3 …