Mandy's Fav Banana Cake

To end the working week, I thought I share, borrowing M's words, a truly 'scrumptious' banana cake recipe.

I had a couple of bananas sitting in the counter and with M's blessing that I could use them as I wish, I decided to give the banana cake recipe from Mandy's blog a go.

Like so many other popular recipes such as butter cake or chocolate chip cookies, there are many versions available. What drew me to this recipe was Mandy giving her GF a cold ‘brick’ during their 5 days shopping at NYC. It must be something very ‘special’ and thoughtful to want to share with a good friend visiting so many thousand miles away. I certainly felt the warmth and love as I devoured them, slice after slice - yep, I didn’t need to freeze mine as it was certainly polished off in record time! Ha ha

Banana Cake Recipe
adapted from Mandy’s fav banana cake and Rose Levy Beranbaum's "The Bread Bible"

3 ripe bananas - 2 cut up to small bite size pieces and mash the 3rd one. (Additional 1 extra banana for for decorations, optional)
86g sour cream
28g ricotta cheese (can use all 114g sour cream, I added this because I had this tiny bit left and since it cost almost rm30 for a 250g container, I had better use every scrape!!!)
2 eggs, room temperature and beaten
finely grated lemon zest from 1 lemon
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups (scant) cake flour
60g brown sugar
40g caster sugar (add a little less or more depending how sweet your banana is. But if you have a sweet tooth, then increase this amount even if your bananas are sweet!! Original recipe recommends about 143g or 5oz caster sugar.)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
118g unsalted butter
a handful of chopped toasted wanut and/or chocolate chips (optional)

1. Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees.
2. Mix banana, lemon zest and sour cream, set aside.
3. Shift and combine dry ingredients and salt, set aside.
4. Cream butter for 2 minutes on high then add sugar slowly. Cream until butter and sugar mixture is pale, light and fluffy.
5. Add beaten eggs slowly and continue to beat. Add in vanilla essence/extract and mix until well incorporated.
6. Fold in lightly banana mixture and flour in parts until just combined.
7. Gently stir in nuts and/or chocolate chips (I used 100g dark chocolate).
8. Pour into greased 9 inch cake tin and level the mixture. For a taller cake, you can use an 8 inch cake tin.
9. Optional – decorate extra sliced bananas as decorations. I added a tiny drop of butter on top of each sliced banana. Sprinkle lightly little brown sugar if you are feeling generous.
10. Bake for about 40 – 50 min until skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
11. Leave in cake tin for about 20 min before removing and cooling further on the rack.

Thanks Mandy for sharing your tasty and moist banana cake recipe. I'll definitely be making more and of course, sharing with special friends and loved ones!!

Daring Bakers Challenge – The Accidental Pizza

A yummy 'accident' indeed!

It all started out with M announcing that she'll be joining her friends for a celebratory dinner. The question on everyone’s mind then: 'So what are we gonna have for dinner tomorrow?' As I work and usually come back home late every night, its hard without rushing to prepare dinner during the weekdays. Since we just had take-outs yesterday, I wasn’t keen for a repeat so soon.

Flipping through my printed pile of recipes, I came across Pook’s post on Daring Bakers Challenge #23: Bake Your Pizzas Like A Real Pizzaiolo. Looking at the recipe, it requires the dough to be refrigerated overnight – great I thought. I’ll prepare the dough and get M to roll out the dough and viola, we can have our family favourite pizza for dinner. Like most gourmet home pizza makers, I found this recipe a little different as I usually prep the dough and bake it all within the same day. I mean its pizza, its hard to have leftovers!! But then I also like cold pizzas too, do you?

Sipping my coffee the next morning, I was browsing around the other Daring Baker Challengers for ideas on pizza toppings. I noticed that the recipe was all the same, then it dawned on me that it is ‘THE RECIPE’ for the DBC itself hosted by Rosas Yummy Yum. The light bulb pops, what did I stumble into?

And so….I did what any other self respecting food loving, novice baker / blogger would do – join in the fun challenge!!! Ha ha

The original recipe for Pizza Napoletana is taken from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. For the detailed recipe including a gluten free version, please refer to Rose’s blog.

Rushed back home during lunchtime to toss out the dough. Coincidentally it was perfect timing as M was totally OUT and bedridden. Looks like she’ll be joining us for pizza tonight instead!! Poor girl, hopefully she’ll feel better by dinner time.

Must confess that I was a little disappointed that the refrigerated dough still remained tacky. I mean this would be the tackiest dough I’ve handled so far for a pizza.

For quick and easy clean ups, I usually roll out the pizza dough between two plastic sheets. But it proved to be a challenge with this tacky dough.

Abandoning my 'trade-secret' *Lolz* rolling out technique, I decided to toss the dough by hand. No I didn’t do the high mid-air throw like a pizzaiolo. *though I secretly wished I did* But the nightmarish flashes of bits of flour all over the kitchen, dough hanging from the ceiling or worse, lying on the floor, all but deterred me. Didn’t want too much mess and probably take way too long to clean up. Remember I’m on my lunch break and still need to whiz through traffic to get back to the office on time. Besides this is MY dinner you are talking about and I’m not too keen on messing it up!! Lolz

Here’s what worked for me. Flatten the dough out as much as possible (palm of your hand will do). Dust a little flour on the dough so that when you pick it up it will not stick, do the same with the other side. Then with the dough in the centre between both floured hands, flip the dough onto one hand and then flip it to the other hand, turning and shaping the dough as you go in a circular motion. Yes mine was full of flops – lots of left right left right left right left right, etc. Technically, I think it could squeeze in as a mini-toss from one hand to the other, yes???? Ha ha ha – who thinks making pizza can’t be fun!! As the dough stretches, you may need to dust the palm of your hand to keep it from sticking. Keep a small handy patch of flour nearby for this.

Flatten out the dough.

Lightly dust the dough and flour both hands.

Its impossible to take a picture of me tossing the dough especially since I required both hands for my hand-toss and so without a camera crew on toe, here’s a picture of the dough in transition with my better albeit floury hand. :)

Dough's done, now to wait for it to double up.

**************The moment of truth****************

It would be an absolute abomination in my household not to be overly generous with the toppings. So staying true to our home tradition (and without risking a revolt), here’s what we plated for dinner last night.

Got Master Prince to help me on this one. As I guessed right, he loves his pizza with lots of cheese with handful bits of pepperoni, crabsticks and mushrooms.

And for the other, I decided to try something different – an ‘Aussie Pizza’. No, the pizza does not have Vegemite but rather an interesting sunny side-up egg!!! I’m guessing that the egg is supposed to symbolize the hot and dry Australian summer sun! Ha ha I've never tried it myself but seen it in some pizza restaurant menu.

I drizzle the egg centre with some garlic oil (though I'm sure some hazelnut or white truffle oil would be just fantastic if you had some handy :) ), a little cracked black pepper and a light garnishing of parsley.

Viola, presenting my 'Aussie Pizza'. I understand that for others it is also known as a 'Florentine pizza'.

Trick is not to overcook the egg. Since the egg cooks faster than your cheese can brown, my tip is to grease some foil or parchment paper and gently cover the yellow centre (until it almost reaches the consistency you like) and continue baking until your pizza is ready. Alternatively, crack the egg in the centre after the dough is in the oven for a couple of minutes (depending how hot your oven is - for my under-powered oven, probably about 10 min) and continue to bake until the pizza is done or the egg is just set.

I actually love runny eggs which I think would have been great and sloppy, slurping the gooey soft eggs with the pizza bread!! But since I wasn't sure about my family's reaction, the powdery soft alternative was just as good. :)

Verdict? I liked the pizza bread - thin, crunchy and yet with a light tender crumb. Its a little different from our usual dough (probably due to the higher olive oil content and deeper flavour with the longer resting time). I'll definitely make this again.

Thanks Rose for hosting this fun and interesting challenge. Look forward to more accidents - only the edible type of course!!

Pan del Leche (Filipino Sweet Bread)

Came across some sweet looking gems at Jude's blog. Not only did they look gorgeous but I was rather captivated with its name. Erm, not that I think I can pronounce it properly, but I'll try!!

You can tell I just love testing out food with exotic-sounding names!! ;)

Roll into little balls and proof.

Glaze and slash before baking.

See the smiles on these cute little babies!! You can't but smile back too - Lolz

The texture was really good - light and fluffy.
The sweet egg glaze also gave a lovely aroma to these buns.
Lovely with a cup of coffee or tea. A simple sweet bread at its best!!

I was so enchanted with these mini sweet bites that I made another batch to share them with another family.

Hey Jude, thanks for sharing a great easy & tasty recipe.

Side note - I glaze them twice, once before baking and after 10 min. Make 2 verticle slashes, no need to angle it!! Divided them into 58g or 50g each.

Ah-B @ OSK Restaurant

Remember I mentioned previously about the tastiest hokkien char or mee in PJ area? Not really....OK I might have mentioned it in passing since the last time I was there for tai chow (i.e. rice and dishes). Personally I prefer his noodles since the latter lacks variety and choice.

The KEY factor which sets aside a mediocre taste and a great one is the 'wok hei'. Direct translation....intensity of the flame from the fire which is used to cook the noodles. A good hot fire produces a good plate of hokkien noodles because with each bite you can really taste the flavour of the flame or wok!! So usually, we are not able to recreate such flavour in normal kitchens - unless you have one commercial or stronger burner!!

The noodles wok-ked by Ah-B is pretty good by my standards and is my family favourite place for good hokkien char. He's pretty cool too and can accommodate any reasonable request such as less oil, more vegetables, less/more seafood, etc.

This is a new favourite of mine, kuey teow char served with a raw egg. Doesn't it look pretty?
Don't turn your nose up before you try this!!!

As soon as the dish arrives at your table, don't wait....mix it all up, ensuring the noodles are well coated. With the heat of the food which full of 'wok hei', the egg gets partially cooked, adding an awesome flavour to the dish. Of course if you are all squeamish or impartial with the egg, you can omit it but the taste will be different.

The star of our noodles...hokkien char aka hokkien noodles, with plenty of ju-yu cha please. Of course if your are health conscious, you can omit them completely. Again the taste will be different. Alternatively you can do what most people do, just leave them for the flavour but don't eat them - aiyah what a waste, but then your health comes first, ya.

We usually order a small serving of fried vermicelli noodles as I just love to mix the 'fat' noodles with the 'thin' noodles. It somehow lightens the dish and taste. How much of each mix is up to you, depending what you like - more fat or thin noodles or neither!! Ha ha
Btw, it does not yield the same result or taste if you order a yin-yong combination or 2 in one since the ratio proportion varies from plate to plate.

That night we also ordered marmite chicken for Master Prince. But as usual with children...when you order something you think the like, they suddenly don't want any and vice versa!! Go figure.
To top our dinner, we also order ikan panggang aka pan fried fish from a nearby stall well seasoned with a light curry spice.

Sweet Fantans or tails?

Tired of the normal snail swirls? Then why don't you give these a cut.
These fancy fantails are a crowd drawer. Not only do they look great, but they are very easy to make. More importantly, they are fun to eat too - I just love peeling them off one layer at a time, especially since I layered each slice with a different topping!! :)

Wanna know how....here are some easy step-by-step guide.

All you need is some sweet dough, any fillings you like and you are set to go.

Roll dough out and cut up into strips - mine were very free-handed.
Preferably cut them into equal trips BUT if you are like me and can't follow anything straight even if your life dependent on it, not to worry (read on, it will work out just fine, believe me).

Sprinkle your filling onto the first base strip and keep repeating for each layer.

I added choc chip on one layer and then alternated with raisins with the other.

Keep going with the layers until the last one - 4 to 6 layers is fine, depends how big your muffin tins are.

Divide them up equally.

Prop them into a greased muffin pan. If you can, loosen the folds a little. Once proofed, bake as per recipe.

If you are not able to cut the strips up equally, not to worry, as you can see, once they are proofed and baked, it makes no difference. In fact, they give each serving their own individual and rustic look.

You can either serve them plain or if you are feeling generous or just 'low' on sugar, dust some icing power over them (quickest) or drizzle some icing glaze over them. I prefer them plain since they already have quite a lot of of sugar already!

Anyway, if you want to see how the 'professionals' shape them, here is an extract from J. Shapter's book:

Not too difficult right? You can shape these plain, sweet or savory - so what will it be? He he

Eric’s Fav Rye

With a title like that, wouldn’t you be intrigue - even just a little?? Ha ha

Since WildYeast tested this and with good praise, I ensued confidently. :)

All proofed and slashed, ready to be baked.

Was very pleased with the spring on the bread.

The bloom is definitely more pronounced with the aid of the poppy seeds. The slightly charred smell infused with the poppy seeds was just so intoxicating!!
In fact, I texted my parents in the morning to let them know that they didn't have to wait and could proceed to cut up the bread for their breakfast. A little stunned when they responded that they had already sliced it up!! Ha ha...looks like they just couldn't wait.

Verdict...The only grouse I had about this bread was that the poppy seeds were rolling everywhere as I was slicing it up. May be it was just my poor slicing skill. So be warned that it may get a little 'messy' but its all good and definitely easy to clear up (erm, except if some manage to escape onto the floor - well, then you have more to do, don't you??). ;)

But what is a little inconvenience for a truly awesome bread. Tip is to slice whole bread all at one go, then you will certainly love yourself for only cleaning up once.

I was trying to figure out what I thought of the bread so that I could post up my comment. 3 slices in (that was all I brought to the office) I was a little disappointed.....that I had no more. It has a nice crumb - soft light moist and Q-Q texture. As I had added a sprinkling of sunflower seeds and dates, each bite I took, emanated a different dimension - small crunch of goodness from the seeds and then a surprise sweetness from the dates. The poppy seeds on the crust also played its role - giving the bread a lovely roasted aroma and a hearty flavour and bite.

The bread can be eaten naked as it is, without butter or any condiments. In fact, it would truly be unjust if you did! Lolz

But don't take my word for it alone. I gave 2 slices of the bread to a friend of mine. She called minutes later to rave about how wonderful and healthy it tasted. And I quote, "You know, I just wanted to tell you that this is the best and tastiest bread I've ever eaten." Ha ha...I understand what she means especially since her normal staple surrounds commercially made bread. Homemade is always better, isn't it?? :) *blush, blush*

Good crumb! Big thanks to Eric for sharing. The recipe is here if you would like to sink your teeth into this delicious tasty bread.

Side notes – Scaled back the rye flour in the sponge to 60%. Autolyse the mixture for 20 min. I also added 3 extra tbsp flour as the mixture was on the sticky side. Brushed top with milk and then sprinkled the poppy seeds (which seemed to be running every where except staying where it should be!!). Slashed the loaf before popping into the oven. Baked for about 35 – 40 min with 10 min steam.

Shortbread II

With the earlier batch consumed in record time, I decided to whip up more *to pacify the demands by DH and M*

My usual browsing brought me to an interesting title "Buckingham Palace Shortbread" - wow, the Queen's own shortbread that she has for tea, now that must be something special!

Walker's also ranks high on the list of brands for shortbread fans. Die-hard Walker-want-to-be bakers suggested using 3 parts flour, 2 parts butter and 1 part sugar.


And so here is my abridge shortbread version - would that make this version a Palace Walker now??? Ha ha *sorry for the bad pun*

Verdict by the shortbread experts....both shortbreads are nice, they are different in their own way. Not very helpful huh??? *Yeah I agree that their responses were just too diplomatic!!*

Personally, the earlier version was more buttery (the recipe uses more butter) and while this one has a light crumbly-crunch (is there such a word??) finish. I prefer this one better.

WY's Roasted Garlic Bread

My family are hardcore garlic fans.

So when I saw WildYeast’s bread I almost fell off my chair. I could only stare and ogle at her pictures with greatest admiration. It was truly beautiful and could only TRY to imagine how wonderful it must taste – all cheesy and garlicky (not to worry this roasted garlic paste is not as ‘potent or pungent’ as fresh garlic, so give it ago if the hours do not put you off or if you are stuck at home with nothing to do). :)

Looking at the recipe, it was fairly simple but what almost threw me off was the time involved in fermenting, resting and proofing….in total all amounting to 16 hours ++!! With my fingers and toes to aid me figure out the timing and sequence required, I was at a loss on how I could pull this one off gracefully.

Decided to put it at the back of my to-do list. But somehow I couldn’t get the image of the tempting bread out of my head. After much contemplation (I think it was more on a greedy wimp&fancy actually), I started the au levian so that there would be no turning back. Dang it *kicking myself for starting the fermentation too early* – Based on my less than coordinated timing, the 8 hours fermentation would end at midnight, which means I am suppose to continue working on the dough for another 8 hours after that?

I finally decided to continue working on the dough the next morning instead. You may recall me mentioning before that I only cook and bake in M’s kitchen which means I will just need to grit through this inconvenience. In the morning, the au levien doubled and seemed to have survived the long night and so I decided to proceed with stage 2 of the recipe.

But then….I also need coriander for the leaf imprints??? I was considering other leaf alternatives – what about basil or spring onion or Italian flat leaf parsley? Yes, I know the big supermarkets would probably sell them but didn’t want to go to all the distance and trouble. M suggested the wet market nearby and so I quickly made a dash out for the all important leaves!! As you can tell, I was rather determined to get the look right!! Ha ha

After much hanging around that day including a few DVD movies…here is the final verdict - hope you enjoy pictures, to account for the many deserving hours spent!! Lolz

The all important golden stuffing - roasted garlic paste and cheese. Roll the rested dough into a ball and set aside for a 4 hour proof. A cup of coffee is just not sufficient, you need a good long movie here!! ;)
If you are wondering about the 'spots' on my dough, I added about 1.5 tsp of parsley into the dough. The taste wasn't that obvious. In fact, I think I should have also mixed in other herbs too. Next time.

Prepping the *STAR* of the show.

As you can see the roasted garlic is more brown and soft compared to its fresh counterparts.

All powdered with flour, ready for the oven.

Viola, the baked bread - but wait, what's hiding under the heavy layer of flour foundation
Chip, scrape and dust….must say that I felt like a real archaeologist or palaeontologist, dusting off the extra flour for an exciting find.

Found it....prints of the coriander leaf!! Yeaa *jumps for joy*

The 'lump' with its printed glory.

A side profile - notice the creamy soft centre?

A closer focus at the golden mouth-watering centre.

All cut up, ready to be served.

A slice of heaven with only three words to fit its description Y-U-M!!

Side notes - More cheese please!!