Orange & Pumpkin Cake

This recipe actually calls for Rhubarb and Orange but since I couldn't find Rhubarb here, I substituted with Pumpkin instead. I was not disappointed as the bright orangish pumpkin helped gave the cake a more vibrant colour which made it attractive as well.

This cake tastes best on the day it's baked. Heat up any leftovers and you won't know the difference!

Recipe for Orange & Pumpkin Cake

Ingredients

300 gm plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
120 gm butter
130 gm sugar
2 tsp orange zest
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk + 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (mix well)
50 to 100 gm pumpkin, peeled and sliced
Icing sugar (optional)

Method

Sieve flour with the baking powder, set aside.
Beat, butter, sugar, zest and vanilla till light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, mix well.
Combine milk and bicarbonate of soda in a small bowl. Add this into the butter mixture, mix well.
Fold in sifted flour, mix thoroughly. (Consistency of batter is dropping but thick).
Pour this mixture into a lightly greased and floured 8 inch springform pan.
Arrange the pumpkin slices on top, pressing slightly.
Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 deg. C for 45 to 50 mins. Let cool in pan for 10 mins. before unmoulding and transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Lightly dust the cake with icing sugar before serving.

Hakka Mee aka Hakka Noodles

This is yet another one dish meal, Hakka Mee/Hakka Noodles. These noodles are quite similar to Won Ton Noodles, except that they have less lye water and the noodles are a bit flat and thicker. They're served with bean sprouts with a generous serving of minced meat sauce. the noodles, ........... need to loosen them up before cooking serve with chilli sauce topped with chopped garlic ..... that will do the trick ..... yummy! Recipe for Hakka Mee aka Hakka Noodles Ingredients 180 gm Minced Pork 60 gm Garlic - chopped 200 gm Bean Sprouts 4 dried Chinese mushrooms - soaked and diced 3/4 cup water 1 Tsp cornflour + 3 Tbsp of water 3 servings of Hakka noodles Oil for frying. Garnishing - Chopped spring onions Seasoning for minced pork 1/2 Tsp Salt 1 Tsp sugar 1 Tbsp Fish sauce 1 Tsp dark soya sauce A dash of pepper Preparation Saute the chopped garlic with 1 Tbsp oil, fry till fragrant Add in the seasoned minced pork, diced mushroo

Herbal Jelly ~ Gui Ling Gao

H erbal Jelly ~ Gui Ling Ga o literally translated means 'Tortoise Jelly' is one of my family's favourite desserts. It's much more economical to prepare this at home for you'll need to fork out between Rm 9 to Rm 11 for a bowl of this cooling dessert in any of those herbal tea outlets. This soothing jelly, served chilled, is supposed to be able to help reduce our body heat, helps to get rid of toxins and is believed to be good for the skin thus culminating a healthier complexion.

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Double Boiled Herbal Chicken Soup

Double boiling is slow cooking ........ means to put a soup pot or any covered ceramic or steel pot inside a bigger pot, immerse in boiling water, and let the soup cook at a lower temperature. Hence the soup is cooked from heat generated from the boiling water and not from direct heat source. Double boiling lets the soup ingredients slowly release their nutrients into the soup, thus making it tasty and wholesome. It's a long cooking process, roughly averaging 2 to 4 hours. The tip is not to open the cover to check on the soup as it'll bring down the temperature and affect the cooking process. The plus point is there's little evaporation and the soup will not boil over. The only thing is to monitor that there's enough water in the bigger pot and not let it run dry. Of course, nowadays, the slow cooker is another alternative to double boiling, saves the hassle of checking the water level.

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

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