What could be better than to indulge in a sweet homemade post-dinner dessert?

It amazes me how easy it is to be able to enjoy a wonderful tasting dessert in the comforts of our own home. Chocolate Fondue is such a luscious dessert that I used to assume it is too difficult to do at home. Even though I have no problem making the chocolate sauce, I do not own a special fondue pot. I have always thought that it is a must to warm the chocolate sauce with a fondue pot. You need the little candle at the bottom of the pot to provide heat to prevent the chocolate sauce from solidifying. I am not the sort who would rush out to get a piece of utensil or equipment which can only be used for one single purpose. So, it has never in my mind to create this at home.

My search for a chocolate fondue recipe only began after my better half asked me one day, out of the blue, whether I could make him this dessert. I googled and searched and most recipes would recommend the use of a fondue pot, until I finally landed on this one. According to this cooking site, a normal bowl should keep the chocolate sauce warm for about 20 minutes. This is good news as I know our family would never have to take that long to finish up the chocolate fondue ;)

You do not need any special gourmet skills to make chocolate fondue. The one basic important requirement for a good tasting chocolate fondue is to use good quality chocolate, ie the best that you could afford! I have low tolerance for any sort of kitchen failures, and hence, I have since developed the good habit of following recipes diligently, but this time, I threw cautions to the wind. I used cheap eating chocolates instead of premium ones...although I did have the sanity to choose a semi-sweet flavour over a regular milk chocolate. The other thing that I didn't follow at all is the type of cream to melt the chocolate with. Most recipes would point to heavy cream, but I decided to use low-fat milk, we really do not need the extra fat.

My kitchen experiment was a huge success, the chocolate sauce was at the right consistency, not too thick and gooey and yet not too thin. The chocolate would envelope the fruits nicely without dripping all over. You can always use a fork to dip your fruits, but I serve mine with wooden skewers or satay sticks, as my children love making their own 'fruit' satay.  We could have taken longer than 20mins to finish up the fondue (I probably took away 5mins to take photos!), the sauce remained 'dip-able' right till the end. If you have not tried this at home, don't wait any longer!   

Homemade Chocolate Fondue

Ingredients:

(makes 125ml chocolate sauce, serves 2 ~3)

100g good-quality semi-sweet chocolate

65ml milk (I use low-fat fresh milk)

Method:

- Break chocolates into small cubes/chunks.

- Place milk and chocolate in a clean and dry saucepan. Place on stove and heat at the Lowest heat possible. It will take less than a minute for the chocolate to start to melt. Once the chocolate starts to melt, stir the mixture till all the chocolates is melted. To prevent the chocolate from burning, remove the saucepan from heat as and when needed.

- Transfer chocolate sauce to a bowl. Serve with favourite fruits and marshmallows.

I have not been doing much baking lately. Although I update my blog regularly, the last 5 posts have got nothing to do with my oven (^_^"). I used to bake bread at least once a week, but ever since my bread machine broke down, I got lazy. Even the thought of baking a chiffon cake seems like a tall order. So, whenever I craved for some baking activities, I turn to simple cakes and muffins recipes.

One great example of a super simple bake is this French Almond Cake. It is taken from this book "Easy Cake" by Linda Collister. I love all her books! I find her recipes easy, straight forward and very doable. You will be surprised at how easy to prepare the batter...the ingredients are all mixed together in a mixing bowl, all at the same time. It takes less than 5 mins for me to get it mixed and transferred to the baking pan, so it is a must to turn on the oven before you start gathering the ingredients. Even though it is such an easy, almost fool-proof cake, I made a big blunder when I first baked it.

I have since named this My "Black Beauty". Look at the beautiful golden hue on the sides...and yet the top was charcoal black?! I couldn't even bring myself to post the top plan-view of this cake, for fear of creating "eye pollution" to you, my dear reader ;')

I had made a serious mistake of leaving the cake in the oven, and, not returning to check on it until I spotted a slight burning smell coming from my kitchen. Even though it was only half-way through the baking time, the top was almost burnt. It was too late to do anything, the only thing I could do was to tent the top with a foil and left it to finishing up baking.

Even dusting it generously with icing sugar couldn't cover up the flaws! But, the cake tasted good, very good indeed, just look at the crumb:

I have used a smaller pan the first time I made this cake, as a result, the cake was much taller than this latest version...

This was baked using a 20cm pan as recommended by the recipe, the cake was quite flat upon cooling, making it looked almost like a sponge layer. The cake was nicely browned this time as I covered the top with foil once the surface started to brown. The cake is excellent, it is deliciously moist, very fragrant and I could even taste the bits of ground almond in the crumb. The flaked almonds makes the texture even more interesting. A piece of this goes so well with a cup of afternoon tea, or anytime of the day. Plus, I won't be hesitant to bake this to give away anytime.

French Almond Cake

Ingredients
(makes one 8" cake)

110g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes and leave to soften
150g caster sugar (I cut down to 120g)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
90g ground almonds (almond powder)
40g self-raising flour**
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
1 tablespoon flaked almonds for sprinkling
some icing sugar for dusting


** if you do not have self-raising flour, substitute with:
40g plain flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and a pinch of salt


Method

1. Pre-heat oven at 180degC. Grease (with butter) and flour the sides of a 20cm pan, line the base with parchment paper, set aside.
2. Place butter, sugar and eggs in a mixing bowl, add almond powder, flour, milk, vanilla extract (optional) then beat with an electric mixer or whisk. When quite light and fluffy, spoon into the prepared pan and spread the batter evenly. Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the top.
3. Bake at 180degC for 30-35mins, or until the sponge just springs back when pressed (mine took 40mins), or a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. (Important Note: Cover the top with foil about 15-20mins into baking to prevent the top from over browning.)
4. Run a thin bladed knife around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

            Recipe source: adapted from Easy Cakes by Linda Collister

I first saw this pretty glass canister at Daiso when I was looking for a container to store cookies. I was drawn by the shinning label and the equally shinning lid. I had planned to make some cookies to give away to a friend, I was sure the cookies would look wonderful in this pretty container. However, in the end, I didn't buy any as I changed my mind (on the spot) and bought a set of pretty paper loaf pans instead. I thought I should bake her a banana loaf cake, the cookies can wait (^^). A few weeks later, I went back to get the canisters, not to store cookies though, I wanted to use them for another purpose :)

It all began when I started helping my elder son to make a garden terrarium for his school's Science project. I went around sourcing for the necessary materials...small pebbles, activated charcoal and suitable plants. After getting three pairs of hands all covered with soil and dirt, we were very happy with how pretty the terrarium looked. The plants have grown very well even though we didn't water the terrarium for 3 weeks. Hop over to this site if you are interested to learn how to create your own terrarium.

I decided to use the glass canisters to make three terrariums to give away to my friends. They are either working singles or full-time working mum. I am sure a bottle terrarium will be a great item for their office desk. If the ecosystem in the bottle is well maintained, that is, the plants are growing well, receiving enough sunlight and the humidity is controlled at the right level, the plants need to be watered only once a month or even longer.

I decorated the bottle terrariums with tiny toadstools, flowers, butterflies and even lady bugs, all made with jumping clay (read about it in my previous post). Since one of my friends is a totoro fan like me, I made a thumb-size blue totoro figurine for her terrarium.

I created these 3 bottle terrariums with the help from my two children. The bottles appeared huge in this photo, but they are not more than 5 inches in height.

A closer look of the side view:

View from the top...are you able to spot the ladybug? These plants with pretty foliage are known as fitonnia.

I have wanted to make this into an aquarium, so I decorated it with some of my precious shells, but, after adding the other figurines, it doesn't look like an aquarium at all (^^"). My younger boy sponsored two of his jumping clay creations...a bird...

and a cute little froggy ;) I planted Dill and Rosemary (both from my little herb garden) in this one. I hope they will grow well. This is specially for one of my friends who likes to cook and bake as well. I am certain she will like the lovely smell from the herbs each time she opens the lid to water them.

I like this photo best...I could almost imagine there is a cloud of question marks (?????) hovering over the totoro's head ;)

Gardens in bottles, all ready to be given away. I hope my friends will like them :)

The title of this post is in fact the title of a book "我的小孩也能轻松长高10cm" which means "my child can grow taller by 10cm". I have two boys; my younger child is quite tiny compared to his peers. Although his parents are not very tall, we are not that short either. My elder child is average in height and built, however, he doesn't seem to be growing very much lately..some children of his age have already grown so much taller and bigger. So naturally, this book caught my immediate attention when I saw the title on its spine.

I read with great interest how a child could grow much taller through exercises which involve moving the body through a full range of motions, sports such as swimming, basketball, volley ball, badminton,  are good examples. These sports help to stimulate the bone and cartilage growth. Doing stretching exercises; yoga; maintaining a good posture will also help to strengthen the spinal column.

The next important factor for a child to grow taller is to have enough rest. This means having at least 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, especially during one's growth period or adolescence. It is during sleep that our body will produce and release growth hormones which causes the thickening and lengthening of our bones. The first couple of hours of sleep is the most critical, this is the time when the pituitary gland produces the maximum growth hormones for release to the body system. Incidentally, while writing up this post, I read from several websites that sleeping without a pillow will be easier for our spine to align (as straight as possible) and allow it to be fully decompress. Sleeping on a firm and yet comfortable mattress also helps flatten our back. Using a pillow will cause the neck to bend forward and arches the back as well. In my opinion, a pillow provides support to our neck, as long as the pillow is not too high, causing the head to bend too much forward, I wouldn't force my kids to sleep without one.

Besides exercising and adopting a good sleeping habit, the third factor to help a child grow taller is through eating a proper balanced diet that contains calcium-rich food and proteins. It is also important to include food that is rich in Vitamin D as it helps to assimilate the calcium for better bone growth.

I would regard this as a cookbook rather than a parenting/child-development book. More than half of the book is covered with simple and yet delicious looking meals which I think most adults would even find them appealing.

The first recipe (which happens to be the first recipe in the book) I followed is this Fried Rice with Dried Anchovies and Vegetables. Dried anchovies or better known as Ikan Bilis over this part of our world, is a good source of calcium. According to the book it is considered the king of calcium (eaten with the bones in tact). A 100g of dried anchovies (small ones) contains 902mg of calcium, whereas a 100g of milk (normal, not fortified with calcium) contains only 120mg.

Besides carrots, green and red bell peppers, I added sweet corns and stir-fried the rice with an egg. Instead of ikan bilis, I used dried silver fish. While I was cooking the dish, the aroma from the dried silver fish reminded me very much of this common hawker fare, nasi goreng ikan bilis (fried rice with anchovies).

Please pardon me for the poor image quality, the photos were taken under florescent lights, as a result, the colours lose their overall balance and appear unnatural. My photos didn't do any justice to this delicious one-dish meal. It is such a satisfying meal by itself that we can have it for week-day lunch or a hassle-free dinner on any nights :)

Two years have passed since I last promised my better half that I'll make him some Daifuku(大福); I kept putting it off... day after day, week after week, month after month (^^''') I guess it is because I am not a fan of mochi...be it the Japanese mochi, Taiwanese mochi or even our local traditional ‘Mua Chee’. I do not find it appealing at all, sinking my teeth into a clump of soft, chewy, floury dough. But my better half likes them...so I finally made them a couple of days ago.

I used to think that Japanese kanji 大福 (daifuku) means mochi (rice cake made with glutinous rice flour) in Japanese. I thought they refer to the same thing. It was only after I did a search or rather, a study on daifuku that I learned the kanji for mochi is actually 餅. Here's sharing with you my little discovery:

Just like the other types of wagashi, 和菓子 or traditional Japanese confectionery, daifuku is made with mochi stuffed with sweetened adzuki red bean paste. So, daifuku is a type of mochi, while mochi is the glutinous rice cake which can be steamed, boiled, grilled and served in various ways.

Daifuku was originally called Harabuto mochi(腹太餅), which means one can fill up his stomach by eating it, (hmm, probably because of the generous amount of filling and the glutinous rice dough?). Later, the name was changed to Daifuku mochi(大腹餅, big belly rice cake). Since the pronunciation of Fuku(腹, belly) and Fuku(福, fortune) is the same in Japanese, the name was further changed to Daifuku mochi(大福餅), and eventually it is known as Daifuku(大福, big fortune).

The basic ingredient in daifuku making is the glutinous rice flour. There are two different kinds of Japanese glutinous rice flour: 餅粉(もちこ) Mochiko and 白玉粉 (しら たまこ) Shiratamako. Mochiko is made by washing glutinous rice and milled; to make Shiratamako, glutinous rice is first washed then soaked in water and milled, but unlike mochi-ko, water is being added throughout the milling process. The solution is then dehydrated and dried. Either one can be used to make daifuku, but the texture and consistency of the mochi is different. Mochi made with mochi-ko are more sticky and less elastic, they dissolve more on eating and do not have such a "rubbery" consistency. Mochi from Shiratama-ko are more elastic and subtle in flavor.

Another type of flour that is used in the making of daifuku is Katakuriko. Katakuriko is potato starch which is used extensively in Japanese kitchen. It is a thickening agent for soups and broths, and is often used to coat ingredients before frying or simmering. Katakuriko is used for dusting the sticky mochi.

It is important to get the right flour. I made the mistake of buying Joushinko (上新粉) a non-glutinuous rice flour instead of Mochiko. So I went back to Daiso again to look for Mochiko and I was lucky to spot Katakuriko on the shelves too.

Daifuku comes in many varieties and flavours. I made ichigo daifuku (strawberry daifuku)...a variation that contains a whole strawberry which is coated with red bean paste before it is wrapped with mochi. I learned how to make them by following this video clip :)

It was my first attempt at making mochi...it was a tricky task trying to wrap the sticky mochi. The mochi gets less flexible as it cools, so the wrapping has to be done quickly while it is still hot. They didn't look as good as I expected, but I was really caught by surprise at how delicious they turn out! I couldn't believe myself that I actually like the texture of the soft, slightly chewy mochi which taste plain and dry at first bite...but the taste is compensated when you get to the sweet red bean paste and once you hit the juicy strawberry the whole combination is simply awesome! My kids love these daifuku too, there were not enough to go around since they were made in small batches. It was only later that evening that I realised why most recipes make only a small quantity 6 to 8 strawberries at most. The reason is that daifuku tastes best on the day it is made (the mochi will get harden) so it is better not to make more than you can eat within a day or so.

Strawberry Mochi (Ichigo Daifuku)

Ingredients
(makes 8 ichigo daifuku)

8 small strawberries
160g red bean paste
100g mochiko(glutinous rice flour)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
120ml water* (original recipe uses 100ml water)
some katakuriko (potato starch) for dusting

Method: (video demo)

1. Rinse, dry, and hull the strawberries. Roll red bean paste into 20g balls. Flatten each ball into a small disc and wrap with one strawberry. Keep in fridge.
2. Mix glutinous rice flour and sugar together in a heatproof bowl. Add water and stir to dissolve. (*Original recipe calls for 100ml of water, but I added more as the mixture was too dry, unlike the one shown in the video demo.) Cover the bowl with heatproof cling wrap or a heatproof plate/cover. Place in a steamer and steam over high heat for 15 minutes.
3. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Dust generously with potato starch. When the mochi is ready, stir it with a wet heatproof spatula till smooth and transfer it onto the prepared baking tray(the mixture will be very sticky, I could hardly stir it). Sprinkle the mochi with potato starch, dust hands with potato starch and pat the mochi to flatten it slightly (the mochi is still hot). Use a pastry scraper or a knife to cut it into 8 portions.
4. Take one piece of mochi, flatten and stretch it into a round disc, dust off any excess potato starch. Place a strawberry (Step 1) in the middle, with the tip side facing down and wrap the mochi around it by pulling and stretching the mochi. Pinch and seal the seam.
5. Repeat the same with the rest of the mochi. (Note: Work briskly as the mochi will get less flexible as it cools.) Leave the daifuku at room temperature for an hour to set before serving. Daifuku tastes best on the day it is made. If there are any leftovers cover and store at room temperature.

For the past couple of weeks, my kids had to take extra lessons to prepare themselves for their national swimming tests. Both were not fast learners...base on the fact that they have been taking weekly swimming lessons for the past 3 years, I am sure other children wouldn't take that long.

My younger child, who is rather tiny compared to his peers, took a long while before he could swim 50 metres without stopping. During the earlier days, he was always seen hanging to the side of the pool, very much like spiderman ;) When he took the Bronze swimming test last year, after finishing 4 laps, he could barely walk when he got out of the pool!

For this Silver award test he took, he had to swim 16x50m and complete one lap (with t-shirt and a set of pajamas on top of his swim suit) within 4 minutes; while his brother had to swim 20x50m within 45mins and complete 100m under 3 minutes. Both of them lamented that they needed extra energy to take the test; and both came to a consensus that they would get the extra boost from bananas and chocolates.

I had wanted to make them some chocolate banana muffins for breakfast, but thought it would be easier just to give them banana and chocolate as dessert. So I made them this age-old treat...baked bananas with chocolates.

The bananas I bought were still a little green, but I was not too bothered by it as I knew after baking, the bananas would turn soft and sweet.

I cannot remember where or from whom I learned these, but I was quite sure the first time I made them were during my secondary school days. I am now passing on this simple recipe with anyone who is interested to give this a go.

Preparation Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 10 - 15 mins

- with the skin still in tact, and the two ends pointing upwards, make a slit lengthwise, slicing through the banana but not through the bottom of the peel.

- stuff the middle with chocolate squares or chocolate chips.

- wrap them with foil and pop in 200degC oven for 10 - 15mins until the bananas turn soft and the chocolate has melted.

- remove peel and serve immediately.

This sweet treat is best eaten while the banana is still piping hot. It is great as a after-dinner dessert yet we wouldn't mind having it as a late afternoon snack. Perhaps it also served the purpose of providing the very much needed energy...my kids passed their tests. I don't know whether this dessert had anything to do with it...the younger fellow managed to swim 4 laps of free style and was still among the first few to get out of the pool, on top of that he broke his own record of swimming 100 metres in 3mins 18 seconds.

I can't help but to end this post with this doodle done by him. He painted it with some left over ink after practicing his Chinese calligraphy (*^^*)

I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I have written it!

It is a wonderful thing to be able to replicate a popular dessert at home.

I copied a Mango Sago with Pomelo recipe from this Food and Travel magazine several months ago. The reason why it took me so long to try is that I never seems to be able to buy both the mango and pomelo at the same time?! The opportunity finally arrived when I saw Thai honey mangoes on sale, and at the same time spotted a full cart of pomelos at the neighbourhood fruit stall. Even though I bought both fruits on the same day, I wasn't able to prepare the dessert right away as I had to wait for several days before the mangoes were fully ripened.

The recipe appears to be simple and straight forward, actually it is too simple since it doesn't even provide any instructions on how to cook the sago pearls. So, for a lousy cook like me, it is not surprising that I burnt the sago pearls while trying to cook them in a pot of cold water! I only managed to find out later that the correct way is to cook the pearls in a pot of boiling water, that way, the pearls would not stick to the bottom of the pan and there won't be any chance of getting them burnt. A lesson learnt!

I tweak the recipe a little by replacing the coconut milk with fresh milk. I am not sure whether this homemade version is comparable to the ones you get from restaurants and dessert shops, but, I am very satisfied with how delicious and refreshing it turned out. The taste was not compromised even though I used low fat fresh milk and low-fat evaporated milk.

Here's sharing with you a small tip...I placed the dessert in serving bowls and popped them in the freezer for about an hour or so before serving. The mixture turned a little icy and this became the best dessert especially on a hot and humid day :)

Mango Sago with Pomelo

Ingredients:
100g sago pearls
150g mango puree**
1 fresh mango, peeled and diced
1/4 fresh pomelo, peeled and separated
200 ml fresh milk** (I used Meiji Low Fat milk)
250 ml evaporated milk (I used low fat version)
120g white granulated sugar**
200 ml water
200g ice cubes

(**note:
- original recipe calls for 120ml coconut milk and 80ml of full cream milk, I replaced it with low-fat fresh milk.
- I cut down the sugar from 150g to 120g
- I used 150g mango puree instead of 30g)

Method:

1. To make the mango puree, remove the flesh of 1 mango and blend it in a blender. If you do not have a blender like me, simply mash the mango (use very soft and ripened mango) with a fork.
2. Soak sago pearls in water for 5 mins, drain and set aside. Place about 2 litres of water in a large pot and bring it to a full boil. Add the sago pearls and cook until translucent (about 5 ~ 10mins). Keep the water at a rolling boil all the time, stirring occasionally to prevent the pearls from setting to the bottom of the pot. Remove from heat, cover the pot and set aside for about 5 mins. Drain and rinse the sago pearls under running water until cool (this helps to remove any excess starch), drain and set aside.
3. Mix fresh milk, evaporated milk, sugar and water in a pot. Heat over low heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add the ice cubes. When the ice cubes are melted, add in mango puree. Stir to combine. Mix in the sago pearls.
4. Allow the mixture to cool completely and chill it in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
5. Serve with diced mango and pomelo.