From Crumbs to Chocolate Heaven

Bite into one of these, and you will be transported straight to chocolate heaven while at the same time, connect with the softest, creamiest cake mass. Well, leftover cake. Hmmm... what do you mean by "Whaddya mean, leftover cake?"? Welllllll..... that means cake crumbs from cupcakes that I'd baked these past few days. I had so many uneaten cupcakes stored in containers in the fridge that there was no more room in there for stuff that really needed to be in there, like milk and butter. And loads of cream cheese frosting that I had to use up. Very soon.

Looks like the kids at home have caught on to the fact that my cake batters have been plied with numerous kinds of (very yummy) vegetables and now they have refused to touch them! Hmmphh... one minute they were happily chomping on a cupcake - "Really delish, what's in it? Whaaa....?? Pffffttt (spitting sound)" - the next, they've left me with a lot of uneaten cake. Deliciously sweet desserts, sitting in the fridge like dressed-up wallflowers at a party. Tell me, no, tell the sprogs, what's there not to love about eggplant cupcakes? I mean, really.

No problemo, I'm cool. When I'm done reinventing these, those kids won't know any better. I'll just tell them it's chocolate wrapped around cake, and they will eat them! Fortunately, it's no great science to make these Chocolate Cake Balls, thanks to Bakerella and her innovative recipe.

That's a lot of cake crumbs to just be thrown away, isn't it?

I'm not sure why I'd never made these before, now they've become a big hit with the sprogs. They're finally eating my vegetable-filled cupcakes, reincarnated into their next life as heavenly chocolate balls!

All the goodness of vegetables and chocolate tucked into one little, cute ball!

International Incident Party - Rockin' Pink and Purple Scones!

This marks the first time I am participating in the International Incident Party (IIP), the theme of which this month is “Scones”. It also marks the first time I made scones – ever - so I was truly excited and crossed my fingers that everything would go as planned! This monthly event is normally hosted by Penny from Jeroxie - Addictive & Consuming although this time, there are two other co-hosts: Anh from A Food Lover's Journey and Cherrie from Sweet Cherrie Pie. August is also the month when these two ladies celebrate their birthdays, so these colorful scones are especially dedicated to them. Happy Pyschedelic Birthday, Cherrie and Anh!

Okay, scones… where the heck do I start? There are so many recipes out there and they all seem simple enough to follow, but what about flavors? Yes, also too many that had already been tried and tested. Hmm… I wanted to wander off the beaten path just a little, maybe experiment with newer flavors. Or maybe colors! Hence I came up with these really pretty, as well as pretty tasty, Purple Sweet Potato Scones and Pink Dragonfruit Scones. Nooow, we are ready to PAR-TAY!

"Purple" Sweet Potato Scones.
No, don't adjust your monitor! LOL.

Fuschia pink Dragonfruit Scones!

What I had originally pictured in my mind were some delightfully romantic pink and purple color-coordinated scones. What actually came out (dastard chemistry!), were pink and purple-green scones…. Errm, the purple sweet potato had cooked to a greenish, matcha-like color and I wasn’t sure whether that was due to the added salt, or roasted dessicated coconut, or baking soda or even heat. It basically just turned on me, but after the initial shock, I got used to the mysterious hues of the scones. They were actually quite exotic, both in looks and taste. The bi-colored sesame seeds added some extra interest (as if there wasn’t already enough of it!). These scones were slightly drier in texture than the juicy dragonfruit ones, so I ate mine drenched in a little dulce de leche. You could also have them with some butter and jam or yes, condensed milk!

Dulce de leche on sweet potato-coconut flavors. Yuhmm!

The dragonfruit scones, thank heavens, stayed true to their color. In fact, when I finished glazing them, the fuschia-pink scones (naturally tinted) looked really mesmerizing! I took a bite, and the soft, crumbly moist texture made me go owhhh… Like a vampire, I was in love at first bite. Happily-ever-after kind of fairytale ending.

Do check out what the other party-goers made for this event by scrolling right down to the bottom of this page!

Purple Sweet Potato Scones

Makes 6 scones

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup + 1/3 cup extra, cooked, mashed and cooled purple sweet potato

2 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon roasted, dessicated coconut

pinch of nutmeg powder

eggwash, for glazing

black and white sesame seeds, for sprinkling

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200oC/400oF and line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

2. Peel and slice the purple sweet potatoes and steam for 10-15 minutes. Mash and cool before using.
3. In a bowl, whisk butter and sugar until creamy, then add salt and beat in the egg.

4. Mix in the mashed sweet potato until just combined, but do not over mix.

L: Purple sweet potato                                                           R: Roasted, dessicated coconut (store-bought)

5. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and mix in the coconut and nutmeg. Add this to the sweet potato mixture. Dough should be soft but not sticky. Add more flour if necessary to reach this consistency.

6. Turn dough out onto floured surface and gently knead in the extra mashed sweet potato 2-3 times. Shape into a 1-inch thick flat, round circle and cut into six triangular scones. Brush tops with eggwash (1 egg + 1 tablespoon milk) to give scones a shiny glaze when cooked. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
7. Place scones on baking tray and bake for 12-15 minutes until tops are light, golden brown. Serve with jam or condensed milk/dulce de leche while still warm!

Uncooked and cooked scones. Go figure...

Pink Dragonfruit Scones

Makes 6 scones

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup dragonfruit flesh, diced into 1/2- inch chunks

2 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

Dragonfruit glaze:

1 tablespoon dragonfruit puree

1 cup icing sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200C/400F and line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

2. In a bowl, whisk butter and sugar until creamy, then add salt and beat in the egg.

3. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and add to the butter mixture. Dough should be soft but not sticky. With your fingers, knead in the dragonfruit chunks lightly, making sure that you don’t press too hard or the fruit juice will start to seep out. Work quickly, and transfer the dough to the baking tray. (Note: Since dragonfruit is one juicy mama, I figured the flour needed some extra help rising and therefore enlisted the help of double-acting baking powder. It worked!)

Pretty in pink - uncooked scone

Before glazing

4. Once on the tray, shape the dough into a 1-inch thick flat, round circle and cut into six triangular scones. Separate scones, leaving a space of 2-inches in between each.

5. Bake for 15 minutes until tops are light, golden brown. Leave to cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely. If you try to lift them up while they are still hot, the scones are fragile and likely to crumble and fall apart.

6. Prepare glaze by mixing the melted butter with icing sugar and dragonfruit puree, then add milk slowly to reach a glazing consistency. Spoon glaze onto cooled scones and serve.

Chocolate Flax Seed "Bomb" Cakes

Now that it's Ramadhan, numerous foodstalls selling many types of cakes, sweets and savory foods have been set up at various places in Brunei. Ironically, during the fasting month, deliciously prepared dishes seem to abound everywhere in preparation for the breaking of fast at sunset. I suppose the abstinence from food makes us think about it the whole day! Well, I can't speak for others but that's what happens in my case...

One of the more popular sweets sold at these foodstalls is called Bomb Cakes or "Kuih Bomb" in local lingo. They're sesame-covered balls containing a sweet filling but are not in actual fact cake-like in texture. No, they don't explode in your mouth as you bite into them either! I'm not really certain about the origin of the name, but I presume it came from the fact that the balls have a tendency to explode and splatter the (hot) contents everywhere if you happen to fry them in very hot oil. So remember, always low heat.

As mentioned, the outer part of the balls are traditionally covered in sesame seeds while the filling can be anything from red bean paste, or peanut paste to sweet, freshly grated coconut. I, however, wanted a modern take on these bomb cakes and my natural love for chocolate means that this ingredient would have to be incorporated in there somewhere. Why not chocolate as the filling, and hey, while we're at it, why not make the ball chocolate-flavored as well? Okay, so I'm guilty of choc-addiction but I did make one healthy concession - I covered the balls with flax seeds. I thought the nutty taste of flax would complement the chocolateness of the dough and filling, and I wasn't off the mark.

This is a very simple recipe, you only need a bowl and your hands to mix all the ingredients together. The balls are best eaten while still warm because you'd want to feel the sensation of melted chocolate oozing out of the ball as you bite into one. A word of caution, this is definitely NOT a first date food! (Although I must say, if your date's really into you, then he/she will probably find the messiness quite adorable).

Chocolate Flax Seed "Bomb" Cakes
Makes 8-10 medium sized pieces
Ingredients:
140g glutinous rice flour
1/2 tablespoon cornflour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
120 ml water
100g chocolate, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
about 50g flax seed, enough to cover cakes
oil, for frying

Method:

1. Mix together rice flour, cornflour, cocoa powder and salt in a bowl. Slowly add water onto the mixture and knead flour with your hands until it becomes a soft dough. It should be slightly moist but not sticky. If the dough is too dry, a little more water.

2. Take about a tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball between your palms. Flatten it into a disc, then place chocolate in the middle and seal up the dough well. Shape it back into a ball, then roll in flax seeds until the entire ball is covered.

3. Heat enough oil in a deep frying pan (I filled mine with enough oil to just come halfway up each ball). Deep fry the balls over low to medium heat, about 3-4 minutes until the flax seeds turn golden brown. Place cooked balls on paper towels to drain excess oil, and serve while still warm.

Tamarind Pasta with Muscovado Chilli Sauce

Hoping that I'd learnt something from my last Foodie Fight (Battle Cucumber and Pepper), I've signed up again for a new battle - Tamarind and Sugar. The possiblities of creating a myriad of dishes with these two adaptable ingredients seem endless, but I decided to go for a savory main course. 

Tamarind has a very distinctive sharp, sour and hmm...salty-ish taste. It therefore goes well with sweet and/or spicy dishes so those are the flavors I would play with. A pasta dish seemed to make the most sense to me, however instead of incorporating the tamarind in just the sauce, I decided to make a tamarind-flavored pasta and then make a sweet-spicy sauce to accompany it. I figured the pasta would only contain a mild taste of tamarind, so I made sure the tarmarind-ness permeated throughout this dish, being in the sauce as well as the poached pears. Subtle but viral.

The sweetness of the sauce, of course, comes from the brown sugar and in this case, I used Muscovado which is dark brown, moist sugar because it would give the sauce a slightly darker appearance and distinct taste (it still contains molasses in it). Two chillies were used to provide the heat, I just wasn't brave enough to throw in more than that!

Now, the pears. They were actually a mistake gone right. You see, originally, I was going to make a dessert and the poached pears were supposed to compliment the sweet pasta sauce. However, my sweet brown sugar sauce had a mind of its own and couldn't, wouldn't turn out exactly the way I'd wanted it, so it was on to Plan B. The pears were already poached though! No sweat, they could still be used to lighten up the heavy, rich texture of the rest of the dish. No wastage here after all, phew.

Using the pasta maker reminded me not to take our dexterity for granted. I really wished I had 4 hands to do all the work! The flecks in the pasta and the sharp, tamarind aroma while boiling was well worth the effort.

Tamarind Pasta with Muscovado Chilli Sauce
Ingredients:
Serves 2 persons

Tamarind Pasta
2/3 cup plain flour
1 tablespoon plain flour, to adjust dough consistency
1 egg
1 tablespoon tamarind paste

Poached Pears
250ml water
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoon tamarind paste
2 small pears, peeled, cored and quartered

Muscovado Chilli Sauce
1 red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 red chillies, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
1 cup tomato puree
¼ cup rice vinegar
½ cup Muscovado sugar
½ cup tamarind liquid from poaching pears

Method:
Tamarind Pasta

1. Rub the tamarind paste into the flour to remove seeds, then place in a food processor. Add egg and process for 10 seconds until the flour is moist and crumbly. Adjust by adding some more flour to the dough if it is extra sticky and process further. Each time you stop the machine, pinch the dough between your fingers, it should feel firmer each time. After about 30 seconds of processing, the dough should come together and form a loose ball on top of the blade, and feel moist but not sticky when pinched.
2. Sprinkle some flour on a hard wood surface and start to knead the dough. With the heel of one hand, push the ball of dough away from you. Fold it back toward you and rotate the dough a quarter turn. Repeat this process until the dough feels damp without being sticky, then stop kneading (about 1-2 minutes). Shape dough into a ball and cover with a large overturned bowl, let it rest for 30 minutes.
3. Run dough through pasta machine as per the instructions and leave to dry for about 30 minutes before cooking.

Poached Pears

1. Mix the water, brown sugar and tamarind paste in a pan and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and add sliced pears to the hot liquid. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes until the pears become soft. Cover top of liquid with greaseproof paper with a hole on top to prevent the pears from sticking out of the water (which, btw, will oxidize them and turn them a darker color).

Pears poached under the cover of greaseproof paper

2. Drain the water but do not throw it away, as you will need it to make the pasta sauce below. Discard the tamarind seeds and leave the pears to cool before slicing thinly. Set aside for assembly.

Muscovado Chilli Sauce

1. Fry the red onion garlic and chillies in the olive oil until fragrant.

2. Add the tomato puree, rice vinegar and poaching liquid, stir in the Muscovado sugar. Lower the heat and continue to stir mixture until it becomes thick and more sauce-like.

Assembly:

Plate the cooked tamarind pasta in a shallow bowl and pour the sweet-spicy Muscovado sauce around the pasta. Place the sliced pears on and around the pasta, then serve. If you wish, garnish the dish with chopped cilantro and cherry tomatoes.

Ahhhh yes, don't forget to stop and smell the flowers...

Finally, I just wanted to share with you how beautiful the weather was on the day I made this dish. The sky was a brilliant blue and my garden looked so gor-jusss, here's a shot just for you!

If you want to check out my competition and vote for me (and I know you want to ;-)), please click this link to Foodie Fights on Tuesday. Thanks for your love and support!

Longan Dulce De Leche Tartlets

My brother-in-law brought over a big crate of longans to share with the rest of the family, so we took some and ate some, but still had some, many actually, left over. I surfed through the internet for some interesting longan recipes and came up with longan cake (covered in jelly on top..eww), longan cooling remedy soup, longan ice-cream - that was all, basically. Nothing that really interested me.

Then.... then I came across some tartlets filled with dulce de leche. Now that, that caught my interest! My first encounter with this South American sweet was when I was about, oh, I think 10 years old. My father, who had spent about a month touring ranches in Argentina on a mission buy polo horses, came back with tins and tins and jars and jars of the stuff.  I remembered the thick, sweet smell and sinful taste of the caramelised milk and truth be told, I must've eaten spoonfuls of it! Glanced over at the fresh longans, then looked back at the can of sweetened condensed milk and thought, why not? *happy sly grin*

My homemade dulce de leche.....mmmmmmmnyumm!

Simply put, these decadent tartlets have a graham biscuit or Digestives shell filled with dulce de leche and topped with fresh longan.

Longan Dulce De Leche Tartlets
Makes: 16pcs of 2" tartlets
Ingredients:
Tartlet shells
9 tablespoons butter, softened
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 cup finely ground graham biscuits/Digestive crumbs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt

Dulce de leche
1 can condensed milk
Pinch of sea salt

Method:

1. Make tartlet shell dough: In a mixer, cream the butter with the light brown sugar until very smooth and light in color.

2. On low speed, add the vanilla, flour, biscuit crumbs, salt and cinnamon and stir just until well mixed. Turn mixture out onto counter, shape into a flat disk, and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 200C. Place dough into the tartlet molds and press into the base and side. Trim off excess dough using just your fingers.

4. Prick bottom of shells with fork and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until dark golden brown. Let tart shells cool and tap them gently out of the molds. Set aside.

5. To make the dulce de leche, pour a 400g can of sweetened condensed milk into a shallow baking dish. Stir in a pinch of sea salt. Set the pie plate within a larger pan, such as a roasting pan, and add hot water until it reaches halfway up the side of the pie plate. Cover the pie plate snugly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 to 1¼ hours. Check a few times during baking and add more water to the roasting pan as necessary.

6. Once the Dulce de Leche is nicely browned and caramelized, remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool, whisk until smooth.

7. To assemble the tartlet, spoon a teaspoonful of dulce de leche into a baked shell. Peel the longan skin and carefully remove the seed, releasing the flesh from the base of the seed. Place one fresh longan on top of the dulce de leche and serve.