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

I have never made banana bread before and when I chanced upon a video on Youtube  by Apron demonstrating how this bread is made, I was game to give it a go.  What was the deciding factor that urged me to try this recipe?   Yes, it's the oval shaped cheesecake moulds.  A friend gave me two of these cheesecake moulds and I've hardly had the opportunity to make use of them.  This Banana Bread Loaf do look very pretty baked in this mould and not only that, the bread loaf itself is soft and delicious with a hint of banana fragrance. Banana Bread Loaf  ~   香蕉面包   Ingredients 350 gm high protein flour 4 Tbsp caster sugar 1 tsp salt 2 Tbsp milk powder 1 egg about 55 gm without shell 70 ml milk 1/2 Tbsp instant dried yeast 40 gm unsalted butter, cut into cubes 100 gm mashed banana Oil or butter to brush on the loaf after baked  (I used oil) Method Sieve flour  into mixing bowl.  Add milk...

I had posted a Cranberry Raisin Bread using the 'gelatinized' method, quite a while ago.  But this time, instead of using custard filling, I chose to use marmalade.  I must admit that making bread is quite tedious and time consuming, as it entails proving the dough, twice.  It was no joke sweating out in the kitchen, kneading the dough but the plus point is that the dough doubled in size in a pretty short time, because of the hot weather.   Time to relax and enjoy the fruits of my labour with a cup of hot tea! Almond Flakes Raisin Loaf  ~  杏仁片葡萄干面包  Ingredients for gelatinised dough 50 gm high protein flour 35 ml boiling water Method Mix the above with a spatula to form a dough. cling  wrap and keep in the refridgerator for about 12  hours or overnight. Ingredients for bread dough 200 gm high protein flour 37.5 gm sugar 10 gm milk powder 1.1/8 tsp dried instant yeast 1/2 tsp salt 85 ml cold water 1/2...

These no butter orange muffins are soft, slightly dense in texture but full of orange flavour and fragrance.  Yoghurt took the place of butter or oil and the crumb is like a sponge cake and it's a bit chewy.  I kept some in a container at room temperature and they stayed soft and delicious even on the  third day. Orange Muffins without Butter ~  无油版香橙玛芬 (adapted from 'here' )  Ingredients (A) 3 'L' egg yolks 30 gm caster sugar 35 gm fresh orange juice Zest from 1 orange 70 gm plain yoghurt 80 gm plain flour 10 gm cornflour 1/2 teasp baking powder pinch of salt (B)     3 egg whites           70 gm caster sugar Method Whisk the plain flour, cornflour and salt, mix well and set aside. Beat egg yolks and sugar till thick, creamy and pale, add orange juice and yoghurt.  Mix till well incorporated. Using a ball whisk, mix in the flour mixture and orange zest.  Mix well. In a cle...

I adapted the recipe for this Sakura Chiffon Cake from my previous Coffee Chiffon with Cocoa layering   but tweaked it a bit by adding Cointreau and orange zest and placing the Sakura flowers at the base of the chiffon pan.  This chiffon cake is soft and moist with a subtle taste of Cointreau and a nice fragrance of orange. Sakura Chiffon Cake  ~樱花戚风蛋糕 (adapted from 'here' ) Ingredients (A) 70 gm plain flour 5 large egg yolks 20 gm caster sugar 60 ml water 2 tsp Cointreau 70 ml vegetable oil 1.1/2 tsp orange zest 8 to 10 pickled Sakura flowers (B) 5 large egg whites 80 gm caster sugar  )  Mix well 10 gm cornflour      )    Method Rinse the pickled Sakura flowers to remove the salt and soak them for about 45 to 60 mins.  Gently pat dry the flowers with kitchen paper.  Line the flowers on the base of an ungreased 23 cm chiffon cake pan. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, add in t...

Finally, yes finally I managed to see the 'Huat Kueh', 'huat' or smile beautifully at me.  I can't believe my eyes and was elated because this is my first attempt at this recipe and I'm so glad I succeeded and achieved what I wanted.  I had tried to make Huat Kueh a few times during the MCO (Movement Control Order) but none of them 'huat' so much as this one and some of the recipes I tried, left a weird after taste perhaps due to the amount of baking powder.  This kueh is soft and nice and remained soft the next day, kept in an airtight container.   But you can always steam them again for a short while if you prefer piping hot ones.  I'm very grateful to Marvellina of  'What to Cook Today' and I'm glad I found you.  Thank you! Steamed Cocoa Huat Kueh aka Fatt Koh  ~   蒸可可发糕  Ingredients 250 gm plain flour 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp baking powder 65 gm brown sugar ) reduced from  65 gm caster sugar...

These Matcha or Green Tea Almond Muffins are soft and moist made with vegetable oil instead of melted butter.  My preference for oil is just vegetable oil but not olive oil as I find the flavour of olive oil too over-powering.   The sliced almonds are a good match with Matcha and these muffins can be enjoyed any time or over an afternoon cuppa. Matcha Almond Muffins  ~     抹茶 杏仁玛芬                       Ingredients 140 gm plain flour 1 'L' egg 1 Tbsp green tea powder 2 tsp baking powder 70 gm caster sugar 120 ml or 1/2 cup milk 70 gm vegetable oil 14 whole almonds with skin, sliced Method Mix flour, green tea powder and baking powder, set aside. In a mixing bowl, whisk egg and sugar till creamy. Add in milk to mix, followed by oil. Sieve the flour mixture into the egg mixture, stir well to incorporate. Use an ice-cream scoop to scoop mixture into the prepa...

This is a two-layer chiffon cake, one plain while the other is of matcha or green tea flavour.  I like the flavour of matcha and this chiffon cake is soft, light and subtly sweet.  You can indulge in this cake for a Sunday afternoon treat or bring it to a gathering to enjoy with  your friends or relatives. Honey Matcha Chiffon Cake  ~  蜜香抹茶蛋糕 (adapted from  'here'     with adjustments)  Ingredients (A) 6 egg yolks 70 gm caster sugar 1.1/2 Tbsp honey 45 ml milk 53 ml vegetable oil 75 gm plain flour 30 gm rice flour 2 tsp matcha powder (B) 6 egg whites 75 gm caster sugar Method Sift the plain flour with the rice flour, mix well and set aside. Combine egg yolks, sugar, honey, milk and oil, blend well. Mix in the flour mixture. In a clean mixing bowl, beat the egg whites till foamy, gradually add in the caster sugar and beat till stiff peaks. Fold in 1/3 meringue into the egg yolk mixture, mix well...

This is a yummy moist bread loaded with raisins with a tinge of cinnamon.   Great to have it plain, or toasted and laced with a light smear of butter.  I freezed some and had it after a few days.  It tasted just as fresh, eaten at room temperature.  Definitely a keeper recipe! Pumpkin Cinnamon Raisin Bread Roll ~  南瓜肉桂葡萄干面包 Ingredients 350 gm high protein flour (or plain flour) 40 gm wholemeal flour 1 Tbsp dried yeast 1/4 cup warm milk 50 gm brown sugar 1.1/4 tsp salt 1 'L' egg 3/4 cup pumpkin puree 1 Tbsp vegetable oil Additional oil to brush on the dough Cinnamon swirl 50 gm brown sugar 1/2 tsp cinnamon 40 gm raisins Method In a measuring cup, sprinkle yeast over warm milk, stir, set aside for about 5 to 10 mins. till bubbly. In a mixer, with paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar, salt.  Add the milk/yeast mixture, egg, pumpkin, oil and mix just the dough comes together. Change to a dough hook and knead on ...

Chee Cheong Fun or steamed Rice Noodles are a Cantonese dish and commonly served either as a snack, breakfast or as a variety of dim sum.  It's a thin crepe made with rice flour and rolled into a long noodle.  You can add filling into the rice noodle, like dried shrimps, prawns, or char siew (BBQ pork) or even with vegetables for a meatless option.  As they are flavourless, a sweetened soy sauce usually accompanies the dish. Chee Cheong Fun (Rice Noodles) with dried shrimps  ~  虾米肠粉 Ingredients 100 gm rice flour 20 gm cornflour 20 gm tapioca flour 400 ml water 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp oil 1 Tbsp dried shrimps Spring onions, chopped Ingredients for sauce 2 tsp light soy sauce )   1 tsp sesame oil        )  Mix well and bring to a light boil. 1 Tbsp sugar             ) 3 Tbsp water             ) Method Wash, rinse a...

The Dragon Boat festival (which falls on 25th June) is approaching and it is this time of the year that a lot of dumplings, savoury and  sweet will be on sale.  There are a few legends linking to this festival and if you are keen to know more about the festival, just take a look 'here'. My mum used to make delicious dumplings and when she was making them, my siblings and I would hover around her requesting her to make special ones for us, with more filling, and we would make our markings on them. It's a pity that I wasn't able to learn the art of wrapping  dumplings with bamboo leaves from her but now through watching videos and surfing the internet, somehow managed to make a mock dumpling with lotus leaves.  I tried to replicate the Cantonese dumpling by using the ingredients that my  mum used to wrap the dumplings. Steamed Savoury Dumplings in Lotus leaf    ~   荷叶肉粽 Ingredients 400 gm glutinous rice, washed, rins...