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

Chocolate and vanilla are the best of friends and they complement extremely well with each other. This is a very easy recipe and these cuppies can be done in a pretty short time.  They are soft, moist and  with the two-tone butter frosting, they are seriously yummy! Marble Cupcakes  ~  大理石纸杯蛋糕 Ingredients 150 gm butter 150 gm caster sugar 174 gm self-raising flour 3 eggs 50 ml milk 1 tsp vanilla 2.1/2 tsp cocoa/chocolate powder Frosting 80 gm butter 123 gm icing sugar Method Sift self-raising flour, set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs and milk till well combined. Fold in sifted flour and beat till smooth. Divide the batter into two portions.  In one portion add vanilla and in the other sift in the cocoa powder and mix till well incorporated. Spoon 1 Tbsp of vanilla batter into each cupcake liner.  Top with a spoonful of chocolate batter, alternating with vanilla batter until all batters have been...

These Okinawan black sugar steamed cakes are soft, moist, fragrant and rich in flavour.  It has a toffee-like caramelised sugar flavour, slightly chewy texture and best taken piping hot from the steamer. Also great with a morning cup of hot coffee or tea.  Leftovers can be chilled and reheated before serving. Okinawan black sugar steamed cake  ~   黑糖蒸蛋糕   (Adapted from  'here' ) Ingredients 180 gm plain flour 20 gm cornflour 175 ml milk 80 gm Okinawan black sugar  2 Tbsp vegetable oil (I used canola oil) 2 tsp baking powder pinch of salt Method Sift plain flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. Roughly crumble the black sugar and mix into the flour mixture. Blend milk and vegetable oil, then pour into the flour mixture.  Lightly mix with a spatula till free of lumps.  Let rest for 10 mins. Divide batter into paper lined ramekins or cups. Steam over high heat for 20 mins. Tes...

This Almond Choc Brownie is a cross between a fudge and cakey brownie with rich nutty chocolate flavour.   Instead of frosting I took the shortcut, topped it with a chocolate glaze and sprinkled on some goji berries for colour.  You can opt not to apply the chocolate glaze and just eat it as it is.  Either way it tastes just as good! Almond Choc Brownies ~  杏仁巧克力饼 Ingredients 113 gm butter 120 gm bitter sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped 100 gm caster sugar 2 large eggs 45 gm plain flour 20 gm almond powder 50 gm almond nibs, lightly toasted 1 tsp vanilla  a pinch of salt goji berries (optional) Chocolate glaze 130 gm bitter sweet chocolate    35 gm butter/shortening            Method Melt butter and chocolate over a saucepan of simmering water.  Remove from heat. Whisk in the sugar and vanilla till sugar has dissolved and mixture is smooth and glossy. Add eggs one at a time and...

I was mesmerised by the gorgeous colour of this Purple sweet potato bread made with purple sweet potato flour from Japan.   The purple colour is very intense for I thought that there will be some reaction with the yeast, colour wise, that is.  Although the dough did rise double in size on the two stages of proofing but once I removed the cling wrap, it 'deflated' and didn't rise much during baking.  As you can see this bread is of low loaf volume, but the texture is soft and you can taste and smell the sweet potato although it's dense and filling. Served with a spread of peanut butter! Purple sweet potato bread  ~   紫色番薯面 包 Ingredients 3/4 cup lukewarm water 1.1/4 tsp dry yeast 1/4 Tbsp sugar 142 gm high protein flour or bread flour 60 gm Japanese purple sweet potato flour  14 gm softened butter 1 tsp milk Method Combine lukewarm water with dry yeast and sugar.  Mix well, set aside for 10 mins. In a mixing bowl, mix hi...

These peanut butter muffins are a perfect match with Reese's peanut butter cup and I'm sure that almost everyone will love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter.   They are wonderful when served warm from the oven.  A great way to bring some cheer to start your day! Reese's Peanut Butter Muffins  ~   花生酱玛芬 Ingredients 125 gm plain flour 20 gm light brown sugar ( I used Panela sugar)  20 gm caster sugar 1 egg 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp milk 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used canola oil) 60 gm peanut butter, creamy or crunchy 1/2 tsp vanilla 70 gm mini Reese peanut butter cup, crushed Raw sugar to sprinkle (optional) Method In a bowl, whisk flour, brown sugar, caster sugar, salt and baking powder till well combined. In another bowl, whisk oil, peanut butter, egg, milk and vanilla till thoroughly incorporated. Slowly pour the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.   Fold in the crushed Reese peanut butter...

This is rustic home cooking with simple ingredients consisting of salted fish, brown rice, chicken and eggs.  Many would love to have a bowl of this fried rice while there may be others who are put off by the strong smell of Asian cooking and in this case, the salted fish.   But to my family members they always look forward to this simple yet delicious one-pot meal! Yummy ~  I served this with some tomato chutney on the side. Salted fish fried rice  ~   咸鱼炒饭 Ingredients 1 chicken breast, diced 50 gm salted fish, diced 3 cups cooked rice, preferably overnight rice (I used brown rice) 2 eggs spring onions 4 pips of garlic, chopped sesame oil salt and fish sauce to taste Method Season the chicken breast with some salt and pepper. Heat up a non-stick frying pan with some oil, break in the eggs, scramble and dish out. Fry the salted fish till fragrant, dish out. Fry the chopped garlic till fragrant, add in the chicken and st...

This is my first attempt at making flourless cookies.   These nutty cookies had a good combination of peanuts and walnuts flavour.  If you prefer a chewy cookie, do not bake too long and  do not place the cookies too near to each other as they tend to spread easily while baking. Gluten-free Peanut Butter Cookies ~  花生酱饼干 Ingredients  1 cup smooth peanut butter 120 gm caster sugar 1 large egg 50 gm lightly toasted walnuts, chopped 1/4 cup rolled oats 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda Method Mix peanut butter, caster sugar, bicarbonate of soda and egg till well combined. Stir in the chopped walnuts and oats. Roll a tablespoon of dough, flatten it slightly.  Arrange on a parchment lined baking tray, about 2 inches apart.  Repeat with the balance of dough. Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 deg.C for 10 - 12 mins. Remove from oven, cool them before transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an air-tight cooki...

After successfully making the   Kuih Talam   with much trial and error, I ventured into trying out making this Gula Melaka Kuih Talam.  What is gula melaka one may ask?  Simply put, it's just palm sugar made from coconut palm.  The slightly saltish top coconut layer pairs very well with the dark and intense flavour of the palm sugar from the bottom layer, and this kuih can be served for breakfast or snack on at any time of the day. Gula Melaka Kuih Talam ~  椰香打南糕   Ingredients (A) 150 gm gula melaka/palm sugar 350 ml water 2 pandan/screwpine leaves 60 gm rice flour 25 gm green pea flour 1.1/2 Tbsp tapioca flour 100 ml thick coconut milk 1/4 tsp lye/alkaline water (B)  Top coconut layer 1.1/2 Tbsp tapioca flour 30 gm rice flour 15 gm green pea flour 100 ml thick coconut milk 250 ml water 1/2 tsp salt Method for (A) Cook gula melaka, water and pandan leaves till gula melaka is dissolved, strain into a bow...