Barbie / Princess Doll Cake With Marshmallow

This is my 3rd baking of Princess cake for my daughter, Ally.  She has been pastering me since the day I baked for her sister, Ashley's b'day.  So, I decided to bake her a Princess cake & this time, I'm using marshmallow for the princess' skirt as a deco.

When I bought this Princess cake to her school, all the kids & even the teachers keep asking me where do I bought this cake.  I told them that I baked myself, they were surprised.  Couple of the teachers asked me the recipe for the icing, so here I am to share the buttercream icing with you....give a try & you wouldn't regret!

Ingredients:
3 Boxes Betty Crockers (Yellow/Chocolate)

3 Packets Marshmallow (Deco for the skirts)

Some Sugar Flowers (Deco for the top skirts) ~ You can purchased at the bakery store.

Buttercream Frosting:

2 cups confectioners sugar (icing/powdered sugar), sifted

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 tbsp milk or light cream

Assorted food colors (if desired)

Directions:

1. In an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter until smooth and well blended.
2. Add the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add a little more milk or sugar, if needed. Tint the frosting with desired food color.

Cheesecake Bars

Crust:

200g digestive cookies

2 tbsp granulated sugar

113g unsalted butter

Filling:

454g cream cheese (2-8 ounce) ~ softened

100g granulated sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 160 deg C.  Have a 23cm square pan that has been lined with aluminum foil across the bottom & set aside.
2. In a small bowl combine the digestive cookies crumbs, sugar & melted butter.  Press mixture evenly over the bottom of the prepared pan.  Bake for 10 mins & set aside to cool.  Increase the oven to 180 deg C.
3. In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Add sugar, lemon juice & vanilla extract & beat until smooth.   Add the eggs one at a time, beat until incorporated.   Scrape down the sides of the bowl, as needed.   Pour the cheesecake filling over the digestive cookies base & bake for abt 20 mins or until the cheesecake batter is just set.
4. Remove from oven & place on a wire rack to cool.   Place in the refrigerator for a few hours to make the squares easier to cut.   Cut into 2” squares & garnish with fresh berries, if desired.

Yellow Butter Cake

Remember couple of days ago, I had baked Angel Food Cake...lots of egg yolk leftover?  Well, not only you can used egg yolk to make Caramel Custard/Leche Flan, you also can used egg yolks for YELLOW BUTTER CAKE. 

Let me tell you this butter cake is very SINFULLY rich, moist & deliciously fragrant.  Can you imagine 10 egg yolks and 375g of butter in one puny 8″ cake?? And I think the addition of melted butter made the cake even more moist. When I pressed down a little on a slice, I could almost see the butter oozing from the crumb. *immediate coronary* But it tasted divine and the texture was perfect. Although I won’t be making it too often, because of health concerns (I don’t usually bother about calories but this IS a little overboard), this is the recipe I’d go to for a special occassion

Ingredients:
375g butter

10 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

1 ½ cups plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in the microwave or over gentle heat on the stove. Leave to cool.
2. Lightly grease and line the bottom of an 8″ round cake pan. Preheat oven to 165 degree C.
3. Cream yolks and sugar until creamy and pale yellow. Remember to scrape down the sides and bottom periodically.
4. Add in the cooled melted butter and vanilla.
5. Sift the flour and baking powder (and a pinch of salt if using) and fold carefully into the creamed mixture.
6. Scrape into pan and level surface. Bake for 45 mins until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Angel Food Cake

This is another version of Chiffon Cake but it's more cloudy, fluffy & SWEET

Ingredients:
1¾ cups castor sugar

¼ tsp salt

1 cup cake flour, shifted

12 egg whites

1 tsp orange extracts or extract of your choice

½ tsp vanilla

1½ tsp cream of tartar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180 C.   Sift half of the sugar with the salt & cake flour together & set aside.
2. In a large bowl, use a balloon whisk to thoroughly combine egg whites, warm water and orange extract until frothy.   Add cream of tartar & whisk on high speed.  Add the remaining sugar slowly into the egg whites & continue to whisk at medium speed to medium peaks
3. Using a spatula fold in gently into the foam.  Continue until all the flour mixture is incorporated.
4. Pour into a 22cm ungreased or line tube pan.   Bake for 40-45 minutes before checking for doneness with a wooden skewer.
5. Remove from oven, invert & leave to cool completely before removing cake from the tin.

Chili Hotdog

It's 4th July, I decided to have American Chili Hotdog for my family.  It's been quite sometimes we had not eaten Chili Hotdog.

Ingredients:
350g pound ground beef

2 large onions ~ chopped

2 can (8oz) tomato sauce

½ tsp Worcestershire sauce

¼ tsp hot pepper sauce

½ tbsp cumin powder

1 tsp chili powder ~ or more

1 tbsp brown sugar

Salt & pepper to taste

8 hotdogs ~ cooked according to package directions

8 hotdog buns

Cheddar cheese shredded

Directions:

1. In a medium skillet, brown beef & onions, and break up the beef into small pieces over medium heat.  Drain fat from skillet & reduce heat to low.
2. Stir in tomato, Worcestershire, hot pepper sauce, cumin powder, chili powder, brown sugar, salt & pepper.   Simmer for about 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Place cooked hot dogs into buns, ladle ¼ cup chili sauce over each hot dog & top with cheese.   Serve together with chips.

Caramel Custard / Leche Flan

Last night, I baked an Angel Cake which consist 12 egg whites.  So, leftover egg yolks & I'm not sure what to do with these egg yolks.  Till my helper came over to clean my house once a week and I told her that I had so many egg yolks left.  She told me to do Philippine's Leche Flan and give me her recipe.  Tell you the truth, I never heard Leche Flan till I make it then I realized there's another word called "Caramel Custard".....Give a try as it so easy & taste heavenly..mmmm....

Custard:

12 egg yolks

1 can condensed milk

1 can evaporated milk

1 tsp vanilla essence

Caramel:

¾ cups sugar

¼ cup water

Directions:

1. In a sauce pan, dissolve sugar & water over medium heat, do not stir, just swirl the pan gently, caramelize in low heat if you don't want it burnt. Pale brown means sweeter and too dark means bitter. When you have achieved the desired color, pour the syrup in the mould and make sure to coat all the parts of the pan.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine all the egg yolk, condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla.  Use a whisk to mix thoroughly but gently to prevent bubbles from forming.
3. Use a sieve & pour the mixture in a mould & cover it with an aluminum foil, so that the moisture from the steam won’t get into the pan as it will become watery.
4. Steam cook for 40-45 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean.   Let the custard cool at room temperature, then refrigerate for several hours before serving.   Carefully invert unto a serving dish, let the caramelized sugar flow over the custard.

Sweet & Sour Chicken / Pork

I'm sure everyone knows how to cook sweet & sour dishes, either chicken, prawn or fish but still I want share this recipe.  The secret ingredient I use in this dish is oyster sauce + Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce + Plum sauce....

Ingredients:
500g boneless chicken (cut into bite size or strips)

½ green & red bell pepper ~ cut into cubes

2 stalks scallions ~ white part cut into 2” length

1 canned pineapple cubes

1 tbsp chopped garlic

Oil for frying

Marinate: (15-20mins):

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp corn flour

1 tsp rice wine

Batter:

½ cup water or pineapple juice

6 tbsp plain flour

3 tbsp corn starch

½ tsp baking soda

1 egg

1 tsp cooking oil

½ tsp salt

Sauce:

1½ tbsp tomato ketchup

1 tsp plum sauce

1/8 tsp Chinese rice vinegar (Transparent color)

½ tsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp oyster sauce

1 tsp corn starch

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp water

Directions:

1. Prepare the batter, sweet & sour sauce ingredients well, set aside.
2. Transfer the chicken pieces into the batter & make sure well coated.  In a deep skillet, add in the cooking oil enough for deep-frying until turn golden brown dish out & drain on paper towel.
3. Heat 2 tbsp cooking oil, sauté chopped garlic till light brown, follow by bell peppers & pineapple cubes.  Stir fry till smell the peppery aroma & add in the sweet & sour sauce.  As soon as the sauces thicken, add the chicken & scallions.  Stir well, dish out & serve hot with steamed white rice.