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

This is a very soft and light chiffon cake and I used a combination of coffee and cocoa.  The flavours do blend well and complemented each other and it's perfect to serve this to guests or to enjoy at any time of the day. Coffee Chiffon Cake with Cocoa layering  ~   咖啡 戚风蛋糕                              Ingredients (A) 70 gm plain flour 10 gm coffee granules 5 large egg yolks 20 gm caster sugar 70 ml hot water 60 ml canola oil Cocoa powder (B) 90 gm caster sugar 10 gm cornflour 5 large egg whites Method Sift plain flour, twice, set aside. Mix coffee granules with 70 ml hot water, set aside to cool. Beat egg yolks with sugar, then add in oil and coffee.  Sift in flour and mix well, set aside. Combine caster sugar with cornflour. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites till foamy, add in half cornflour mixture, then gradually add in the balance.  Beat till ...

The sweet aroma of this cake filled the air in my kitchen as it was baking in the oven.  The crunchy top is delicious which gives a perfect finishing touch to a moist and delicious cake.  This cake will double up as a luscious and fragrant breakfast treat as well! Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake  ~   蓝莓细末蛋糕 (adapted from 'here'   with slight adjustment) Ingredients 250 gm plain flour 100 gm caster sugar 2 tsp  baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 1 large egg 1/2 cup milk 113 gm butter 125 gm frozen blueberries (unthawed) 100 gm lightly toasted walnuts, chopped 1 tsp vanilla Streusel Topping 50 gm caster sugar    50 gm cold butter, cut into cubes  80 gm plain flour      1 tsp cinnamon Method  To prepare the streusel : combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon, rub in with the cold butter till it resembles breadcrumbs, set aside. Sift or whisk the flour, baking powder and sal...

Chiffon cakes remain a top pick in my family because of its soft and light texture.  Moreover these cakes are not overly sweet and the plus point is that one can have many helpings and need not worry over adding extra inches to the waistline! Coffee Marble Chiffon Cake   ~   咖啡大理石戚风蛋糕 (adapted from 'here' with modification) Ingredients  (A) 84 gm plain flour 6 large egg yolks 24 gm caster sugar 84 ml water 72 ml canola/corn oil 3/4 Tbsp hot water + 1.1/4 tsp instant coffee granules (B) 108 gm caster sugar 12 gm cornflour 6 large egg whites Method Dissolve the hot water with the coffee granules, set aside. Sift the plain flour, twice, set aside. Mix the egg yolks with the sugar, then add in oil, water and blend well together. Add in the sifted flour and mix well with a wire whisk, set aside. Combine sugar and cornflour. Beat egg whites till foamy, add in half the sugar and cornflour mixture, then add in t...

I was contemplating whether to unmould this chiffon cake by  hand  or with a thin palette knife and after deliberating for a while, I decided to give unmoulding by hand, a try.   To my pleasant surprise the cake was dislodged quite easily and there weren't any unsightly patches.  I had to wait 2 hours to let the cake cool completely before unmoulding.  This is a moist, light chiffon with a good taste of Rum, just what I need with my hot cup of tea! Recipe for Mocha Chiffon Cake ~  摩卡戚风蛋糕 (adapted from 'here' ) Ingredients (A) 6 egg yolks 4.1/2 Tbsp caster sugar 6 Tbsp canola oil 1.1/2 Tbsp Rum 120 gm plain flour 3/8 tsp baking powder 1.1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder  1.1/2 Tbsp coffee 75 ml hot water (B) 6 egg whites 6 Tbsp caster sugar 3/8 tsp cream of tartar Method Dissolve the cocoa and coffee powder in hot water, mix well, set aside. Sift plain flour,baking powder into a mixing bowl.  Add in the egg yolks,...

This Black Russian Cake gets its name from the famous cocktail made with Vodka and Kahlua, a coffee flavoured liqueur.   As with most liqueur soaked cakes, this cake is very moist and delicious. Although I modified the recipe a  bit, as in cutting down the sugar and the cocoa, the cake was incredibly good and the coffee liqueur gave it a rich and unique flavour.  The cake tasted much better upon 'maturity', the next day.  A keeper recipe for sure! Dig in! Recipe for Black Russian Bundt Cake ~   尔罗斯黑蛋 糕    (adapted from 'here' with modification) Ingredients 7 oz plain flour 2.1/2 oz cornflour 1.1/2 oz milk powder 4 Tbsp cocoa powder  (reduced from 6 Tbsp) 1 Tbsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 9.1/2 oz caster sugar (reduced from 14 oz) 2 oz butter 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 3/4 cup milk 1 Tbsp vanilla 4 large eggs 1/4 ...

Today I'm sharing with you a two flavoured muffin and undoubtedly coffee and chocolate is a perfect match.   To give more oomph to these muffins I added in some chocolate bits and these mufins are best served on the day of baking. Recipe for Mocha Muffins ~  咖啡满 芬   (   adapted from 'here' with modifications) Ingredients 1/2 cup Buttermilk 2 eggs 1/2 cup oil 1/4 cup black coffee 1 tsp vanilla 225 gm plain flour 10 gm unsweetened cocoa powder 120 gm brown sugar 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda a pinch of salt 100 gm coarsely chopped lightly roasted walnuts 100 gm dark choc bits Method Sift or whisk flour with cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.  Mix in the brown sugar and chopped nuts. With a hand whisk eggs, buttermilk, oil, coffee and vanilla. With a spatula, fold  the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Add in the choc bits.  Fold till just combined. Using ...

Making Apple Strudel from scratch can be a laborious task because it's difficult to make the Filo pastry and obviously I don't know how.  However, making the apple strudel with store bought Filo pastry is quite easy to master.  This flaky pastry with a mildly sweet apple and raisin filling can be served in many ways.  You can simply dust it with icing sugar like what I did, or  serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream,  whipped cream or custard.  But if you do not have these at hand, you can always fall back on the good old cup of hot coffee or tea. :D   Recipe for Apple Strudel Ingredients 5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced thinly 12 sheets Filo Pastry, about 1 pound.   (4 sheets for 1 roll of Apple Strudel) 1/2 cup melted butter/vegetable oil (I used canola oil) 1/2 cup raisins 1 egg lightly beaten 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 tsp cinnamon Method Soak the sliced apples in some salt water to pr...

An easy and great flavour cool dessert to round up after a meal.  I added in some hazelnut milk chocolate for the extra crunch and a pinch of salt as I like a salty/sweet taste. Recipe for Kahlua Coffee Ice Cream Ingredients 1 cup milk 1 cup whipping cream 2 oz sugar 4  Tbsp instant coffee powder (used Nescafe) a pinch of salt 2 oz sugar 5 egg yolks 2  Tbsp Kahlua 2  tsp vanilla 100 gm Hazelnut milk chocolate, chopped (optional) Method In a saucepan, mix the milk, cream, sugar and coffee powder and cook under low heat.  Keep stirring till sugar has dissolved and small bubbles appear.  Set aside. Whisk the egg yolks with sugar till light, pale and creamy. Gradually pour the coffee mixture into the egg mixture, keep stirring not to overcook the eggs. Mix well. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan and cook, under low heat, keep stirring with a wooden spoon.  Cook till the custard can coat the back of ...