Tort di Castagne - Chestnut Cake

I have these Chestnuts in the fridge which is quite impossible to finish by some savoury cooking. I remembered I baked this cake once last year. It tasted moist and special, because there's no flour in it, the whole cake is bake only chestnut and other nuts, so it's gluten free. Chestnut is the only nuts carry Vitamin C, although I have no idea the amount of it after cooking and baking. It just give me the idea, it's good... :D

Ingredients :

• 500g Chestnuts peeled
  
• 250ml milk
  
• 170g brown sugar
• 100g melted butter
  
• 6pc egg yolks
  
• 100g chopped almonds (walnuts)
• 100g chocolate chips
  
• 50ml rum or brandy
• 1 pc lemon (juice and zest)
• 6pc egg whites
• some flour to coat the cake tin
  

Methods :

1. Brush the cake tin with some melted butter and lightly flour.
2. Place the peeled chestnuts in the milk with a little sugar (from 170g), bring to boil and simmer for approximately 15 mins until soft.
3. Puree the chestnuts in a food processor (by small amount, it will be easier, alternately you could mash in a big bowl)
   
4. Beat the sugar and egg yolks in a bowl, whisk until thickened. Pour and mix with Chestnuts.
5. Add in the melted butter, chopped almonds, chocolate chips, zest and juice of lemon and rum or brandy and combine.
6. Whisk the egg whites to the stiff peak stage and fold in gently into the above mixture.
   
7. Pour batter into prepared cake tin. Bake at 175C for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in the cake tin and run a knife at the side before remove.

Coffee Butter Cake

It's been a while since my last post. In between this, I've bake some cookies and pandan layer cake. Then I decide to bake something that I never bake before. It's coffee cake!
I've never fancy coffee cake. My the other half doesn't drink coffee at all, so it's a risk I am doing it.. LOL.
Anyway, I mixed coffee with rum and surprisingly, he didn't find it irritated his tongue.. :P
When I took out from the oven, the rum fragrant immerse the whole house.
The cake taste real moist and nice, I think it's a keeper.


Ingredients :

• 300g butter
• 220g brown sugar
• 275g plain flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 5 eggs
• 2 shots of expresso (or you can use 1tsp instant coffee powder)
• 1 1/2 tsp rum

Methods :

1. Sift flour, baking powder together 3 times.
2. Beat sugar, butter together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, until blended (approx 1 min before adding another one), on higher speed until the mixture become pale.
3. Add half of the dry ingredients at a time, alternating with coffee and rum mixture. Beat in low speed.
4. Add the rest of the flour by folding method and alternate with coffee and rum.
5. Pour batter into pre-line 22cm ring pan. Bake at 170C for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool for 15 minutes before removing from pans.

Lemon Dates Scones

I have been addicted to scones recently. I like to watch some cooking show on TV. This recipe is from one of the episode of MasterChef Australia, the judge was teaching a really simple and fantastic scone and I was quick enough to scribble down the ingredients.
It's a bit different with other scones I baked, there's no butter in it. But I guess the cream have substitute the fat. And this batch of Scones I have added some chocolate chips in it, simply just because I didn't have enough dates. But you can add whatever you like, you can even turn it into savoury scones too.

The secret to make scone is not to knead the dough too much, or it will become hard. And it should be quite lumpy. Just make sure you have extra flour to sprinkle on the dough surface and the workspace you are working on.

See the recipe after the jump.

Ingredients:

150ml milk

150ml cream

3 cups self raising flour (if use plain flour, add 2tsp baking powder)

2 tbsp caster sugar or brown sugar

Pinch of salt

1 cup chopped dates

1 whole lemon zest

Method:

- preheat oven to 200C, sift flour and baking powder together into a large bowl. Combine with sugar, salt and dates.

- mix milk and cream together and pour in the large bowl of flour, add lemon zest.

- mix all together until form soft dough.

- knead the dough onto floured surface and roll out the dough to form 2cm thick, cut using a small plain cutter.

- place onto a baking tray (oil and floured or using baking sheet) and glaze with milk.

- bake for 12-15 mins.

- serve hot with cream and jam.

- makes about 12 pcs (7cm ring cutter)

Simple Pumpkin Soup

When I have pumpkin, I will always turn it into soup, cake or pie. I love the intense colour it shows up in our food.
It's just brighten up your day.
This is a really easy recipe but it takes some times to brown the onions. It is important to 'caramelise' the onion so that it will bring out the taste in it.

Ingredients:

• 30g Butter
• 600g cubed pumpkin
• 1 chopped big onion
• 100ml cream
• 2 cups of water
• some salt to taste

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a pot, add in the chopped onion.
2. Use medium heat, sauté the onion till a bit brown. (it will take about 20-30mins)
3. Add pumpkin and water, boil until the pumpkin is cooked, let cool.
4. Scoop the soup in the blender and blend until fine.
5. Add cream, salt and black pepper to taste.

Green Tea Cake

Mmm.. how to say? I make this cake by my experience, so consider the recipe is created in my head.
If you like green tea and the antioxidant agent in it.. lets enjoy and keep young! :D


Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
• A pinch of Salt
• 3/4 cups Sugar
• 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 green tea bags (tear and grind)

Methods

1. Sift flour, baking powder and green tea powder together 3 times.
2. Beat sugar, salt and melted butter together until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, until blended (approx 1 min before adding another one), on higher speed until the mixture become pale.
3. Add half of the dry ingredients at a time, alternating with milk. Beat in low speed.
4. Add the rest of the flour by folding method and alternate with milk.
5. Pour batter into loaf pans. Bake at 160C for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool for 15 minutes before removing from pans.

Taranaki Rhododendron & Garden Festival

Taranaki could easily claim to be the garden capital of New Zealand. Because the richness of volcanic soil, some said you just plant anything on the ground and watch it grows.
There are more than 50 gardens participated this year. The vision being to show case the many facets of gardening in Taranaki region : organics, artists gardens, large and small, personal or grand. However I only manage to visit about 5 gardens during this weekend, and I have great conversation with some of the owner of the gardens.

1. Pukeiti - located at 2290 Carrington Road, New Plymouth.Rhododendron.

2. Fleetwood Cottage - 38 Carrington St, New Plymouth
Huge Orchids.

3. Sentry Hill Honey - 195 Carrington St, New Plymouth
It's a very tidy and organic vege and berries garden.

4. Japanese Tea House Garden- 59 Dorset Ave, New Plymouth
Mr. M Iwata make his dream come true in New Zealand. There will be tea ceremony during the garden festival.

5. La Rosaleda- 105 Belt Road, New Plymouth
European garden feel with white and pink roses.

Rum and Raisin Cheesecake

This will be my first blog, I'll like to introduce a bit of myself. I like baking since secondary school, but I don't bake so often when I was still in Malaysia.
I like to create or alter recipes that I saw, not because they are no good, but just to suit my taste buds.

This is a Non-Halal cake because it contains a lot of Rum in it.
So you can imagine how drunk I am after just eating one piece... hahaha..(of course not! just kidding) The flavour is quite strong though.
You can cut down the amount of Rum and replace by water if you like it milder. Enjoy! :)


Ingredients
1 1/2 cups malt cracker crumbs
6 tbsp butter, melted (about 90g)
3 tbsp cocoa powder
500g cream cheese, soften
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
3 eggs
80g raisin soaked in rum
1/3 cup rum +water till 1/2 cup

Method:
1. Combine cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press into bottom of 9 inch springform pan. Refrigerate.
2. In large bowl, cream cheese, sugar and cornstarch beat with electric mixer until smooth and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs one at a time, until smooth.
4. Add in rum with mixer on low speed.
5. Add in raisin and finish mixing by hand.
6. Pour in batter into prepared crust. Baked at 150C for 1 hr or until set. To minimize cracking, place a shallow pan half full of water and baked together with cake.
7. Turn oven off and let the cheesecake stand in oven 30 mins with the door ajar.
8. Remove and refrigerate cake overnight. Can be kept frozen for later use.

- Recipe altered from Prestige lime cheesecake recipe.