Instead of the usual weekday bread toast with peanut butter and jam, we start off our weekend with these simple breakfast tortilla wraps.

This delicious breakfast treat is so easy to throw together on a lazy Sunday morning...even if your are only half awake ;)



Breakfast Wraps
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

4 tortilla wraps (I used wholemeal wraps)
4 slices of breakfast ham
4 slices of cheddar cheese
some butter
some dried parsley flakes

Method:

* Cut tortilla wraps into halves.
* Cut breakfast ham and cheese slices diagonally.
* Place one piece of ham and one piece of cheese onto the wrap (as shown). Fold into half. Repeat with the rest of the wraps.
* Heat a frying pan on medium-low heat.
* For each folded wrap, spread some butter on the surface. Sprinkle with dried parsley flakes. Place buttered surface down on the hot frying pan. Spread the other side of the wrap with butter (facing up in the pan), sprinkle with dried parsley flakes. (You could also skip this step and simply put some butter in the pan and pan fry the wraps, but I find this method helps reduce fumes, due to the low smoke point of butter, to the minimal.)
* Flip over the wrap and cook till both sides are golden. Repeat the same for the rest of the wraps. Serve warm.

Recipe source: adapted from Good Morning! 每天都要吃早餐: 10分鐘就能上桌的小確幸早餐提案'

I have a leftover egg white from making a batch of cookies, what better way than to save it for a chiffon cake!

I am back to making an orange cointreau chiffon cake using the same recipe as these chiffon cupcakes. The only difference is, I added in some dried cranberries as I love it in my bakes, be it cookies, bread or cakes.

To prevent the dried cranberries from sinking to the bottom of the pan, I poured a small amount of the finished batter into pan, just enough to fill the base of the pan. Then I mixed in the dried cranberries with the rest of the batter before pouring everything into the pan. The cake was baked to a nice golden brown, and upon unmolding, I knew this extra effort did help. The dried cranberries did not sink to the bottom (now the top of the cake).

This cake is very light and has a very refreshing taste. The orange flavour is distinct yet subtle while the tangy-sweet dried cranberries gives a perfect balance to the sweet crumb. This recipe is definitely a keeper, I will certainly be making it again and again!




Cranberry Orange Chiffon Cake

Ingredients:
(for 17cm tube pan)

3 egg yolks
25g caster sugar
35ml vegetable oil
60ml orange juice
1 teaspoon Cointreau (I used 2 teaspoons)
zest from 1 orange
80g cake flour

4 egg whites
45g caster sugar

40g dried cranberries
some cake flour for dusting

Method:

1. Chop dried cranberries into smaller pieces. Coat with cake flour and sieve to remove excess flour. Set aside.
2. Place egg yolks in a mixing bowl. With a manual hand whisk, whisk the yolks a little. Add in sugar and whisk to combine.
3. Add in vegetable oil gradually, whisk to combine. Add orange juice, cointreau and orange zest, whisk to combine. Sieve over the flour and whisk till the flour is fully incorporated. Do not over mix. Set aside.
4. In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites with a handheld electric mixer on low speed until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Add half of the sugar amount and turn to high speed and beat the mixture. Continue to add in the remaining sugar and beat until the egg whites reaches the soft peak stage.The soft peak stage is reached when the peaks of the whites curl over and droop slightly. The egg whites should appear smooth and glossy. (Do not over beat the whites still stiff, it is better to beat the whites still soft peaks for easy folding with the yolk batter.)
5. Add the beaten egg whites into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, each time folding gently with a spatula until just blended. 
6. To prevent the dried cranberries from sinking to the bottom of the pan, first pour a small portion of batter into a 17cm tube pan (do not grease the pan), just enough batter to fill the base of the pan. 
7. Add the prepared dried cranberries into the remaining batter in the mixing bowl. Fold with a spatula until just blended. Do not over mix. Pour batter into the pan. Tap the pan lightly on a table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.
8. Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 degC for 30 mins, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, when lightly pressed the cake will spring back. Invert the pan immediately and let cool completely before unmould. To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife around the inside of the pan and the center core. Release the cake and run the knife along the base of the pan to remove the cake.

Recipe source: adapted from 好吃戚风蛋糕轻松上手, 福田淳子

我把首尔的cafe时光带回家了。。。

一向来安排自助旅行都非常贪心，总是把行程排得满满，搞得自己像导游，带着鸭子从一个景点赶到下一个景点，势必要 cover as much as possible, 这种怕输的心态不是一朝一日可以培养出来的，呵呵！

去年的首尔～釜山～庆州自由行，虽然行程有点像行军（我穿着球鞋脚都会被磨破，其中一个脚指甲回来后还脱落了！），不过这次终于有机会在首尔的江南区，新沙洞林荫大道附近的一个好小好小的cafe，喝下午茶，la kopi！

这家Banana Tree cafe是我无意中在某个网站发现的。一看到那宛如盆栽的甜点和可爱的小‘铁铲’汤匙，立刻把它列入我的‘die die must go’ list！

有了GPS， Google map，这间躲在一个好不起眼的街边小店，并不是很难找。

那天下午，小小的cafe就我们三人，感觉好像包下整个咖啡馆！其实咖啡馆就只有那三，四张小桌子。。。

看，这个被店主命名为paap的甜点，其实是把布丁盛在花盆里，上面的‘土壤’是oreo粉末，再加上巧克力石子和假花作点缀，就变成一盆可爱的小盆栽。

有闲情喝咖啡，吃甜点，对我们来说真的很难得。。。

在冷冷的冬天，坐在小小的，温馨的露台，來杯热热的latte，甜甜的香蕉布丁，幻想着有朝一日能开一间这样的小cafe，感觉非常非常好。

我特地向店员买了小花盆回来，只可惜小铁铲汤匙不卖，要不然买来当手信也不错。

小花盆带回来就一直搁着，直到有一天心血来潮，在网站上找一找，发现原来这种盆栽甜点除了布丁也可以用雪糕来代替。做法很简单，只虽放一个纸杯(马芬纸杯）在花盆里，填入雪糕，再插入一段吸管（用来插花）放入冰箱冷冻。要吃之前，撒上捣碎的oreo cookies，再插上鲜花或假花，以巧克力石子点缀，我的DIY花盆甜点就完成了！饼干里面的馅要不要拿掉可以随意，不拿掉的话，‘土壤’会很像好多天没浇水，变干硬，结块的泥土 ;)




我的花盆甜点：Oreo加雪糕，好像变成oreo mcFlowery了啦！

没有小花盆？ 没关系，小花也可以‘种’在小玻璃杯里， 一样能在家享受拥有视觉, 味觉，来自人气cafe的甜点！


This post is about my last trip to Seoul...the relaxing time we spent at this little cafe, Banana Tree, at Shinsha dong, near Garosu-gil. I was drawn to this cafe simply because of their cute flower pot dessert! We had a great time sipping latte and enjoying the .banana pudding (paap) on a cold wintry afternoon.

I had wanted to recreate this lovely dessert when I got back home, but as usual, I procrastinated. A couple of weeks ago, I was so inspired by The Pioneer Woman's springy flower pot dessert that I wasted no time to get my hands 'dirty' creating my own flower pot dessert. I made a simplified version, that is, I didn't use any pound cake as base. Instead, I lined my flower pots with a paper muffin cup (which happened to fit in nicely into the flower pot) and filled it up with ice cream. I topped the ice cream with crushed oreo cookies and colourful chocolate stones. If you do not own any flower pots, this adorable dessert can be made in small glasses too. These are great after dinner dessert and I am sure they will surprise any guests young or old.

During our last trip to South Korea, we had chance to sample the various street food such as hoddeok, tornado potato, waffles and toasted sandwiches. There is this particular street food, Gyeran Bbang, or egg bread, which I had wanted to try. It looks somewhat like a muffin topped with an egg. I first chanced upon it on a travel and food website while I was planning for the trip. I thought my elder son would like it since he loves eggs...in any form.

Ironically, even though we passed by street vendors selling gyeran bbang on a few occasions, we didn't get to try it! We were either too full after our dinners or we were too tired and cold...all we wanted to do was to get back to our warm and cosy hotel room!


In order to satisfy my cravings for Korean food, I have been looking up for recipes to replicate some of the Korean dishes at home. I first saw a gyeran bbang recipe over at Aeri's Kitchen, the egg breads look exactly like the ones we saw along the streets in Seoul. I have planned to follow the recipe but hesitated because I don't have that unusual oval-shaped muffin pan, in fact, I don't even own a normal muffin pan. I have thought of baking them in paper muffin cups, but when I stumbled upon another version (with the egg on top) from K Food Addict, it struck me that I could actually use my ramekins to bake these egg breads!



So, one fine Saturday morning, I got down to prepare these egg breads first thing in the morning. It was rather quick and easy, I took only 15 mins to get everything into the oven. Breakfast was ready in no time!



I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious the egg bread turned out. The eggs were not overcooked as we really prefer runny egg yolks. The 'bread' texture was on the dense side, not as fluffy as muffins, but instead reminds me of pancakes. I will certainly make these again since they are so tasty and yet easy to put together!


Korean Egg Bread (Gyeran Bbang)

Ingredients:
(makes 6)

for batter:
100g plain flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
4 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
120ml (1/2 cup) fresh milk

for filling:
6 small eggs
1 bacon slice (chopped into small pieces)
some salt
dried parsley flakes (optional)
some ground pepper

some butter (for greasing)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 190 degC.
2. Grease the inside of 6 ramekins (6 oz size ramekins) with butter, set aside. 
3. Place plain flour, baking powder, sugar an salt in a mixing bowl. Stir with a manual balloon whisk to combine.
4. Add in eggs and vanilla extract, stir with the whisk. The mixture will come together and turn dry and lumpy.
5. Add in the milk little by little, keep stirring with the whisk until the batter becomes smooth (no more lumps).
6. Pour batter into the prepared ramekins, fill each ramekin to about 1/3 full (Note: do not fill more than 1/3 full as it will overflow).
7. Crack a small egg into each ramekin. Top with chopped bacon, a sprinkle of salt and parsley flakes.
8. Bake for 10~15 mins until the eggs are set. (Note:  If you prefer runny yolks, check at around 10 to 12 mins, remove from oven when the egg whites start getting set, turning white. The eggs will continue to cook further even when removed from the oven. )
9. Serve warm with freshly ground black pepper.

Note: use small eggs to prevent overflow.

Recipe source: Kfoodaddict.com

This is my very first attempt at making kimbap or Korean style seaweed rice rolls.

The first time I tasted kimbap was along Meokja Golmok (literally translated as let's eat alley), a busy food alley cramped with street food vendors in Nampo-dong, Busan.

We were there to try the famous street food, bibim dangmyeon (glass noodles mixed with vegetables and red pepper sauce). It was included in our 'die die must try' food list after having seen it on 'Tasty Road', a Korean food and travel program. It was quite an experience having to cramp in front of the tiny 'table', with our knees and elbows brushing against each other as we tucked into the delicious bowls of noodles, right in the middle of the alley, out in the cold. It took a while for me to get used to sitting on the low plastic stools as our knees came up to as high as the table (see above picture on left), with our bags and camera on our lap as we ate...there was no space to put our belongings...and not forgetting our cumbersome winter jackets! I really salute the locals, they appeared so at ease and comfortable enjoying their snack food!

Besides the dangmeyeon, we also ordered some chungmu kimbap, mini rice seaweed rolls served with odengs (fishcake) to try. Never mind the food presentation, these mini kimbap and the damgmeyoeon tasted exceptional delicious! I am not able to describe the taste, you have to go try it yourself ;)

It has been more than two months since we came back from our South Korea trip. I thought I have almost recovered from Korean food withdrawal syndrome as the Chinese lunar new year feasting binge took over. But when I saw this easy and simple tuna rice rolls recipe from a cookbook which I borrowed from the library, I started craving for Korean food all over again! This book, 'Good Morning! 每天都要吃早餐: 10分鐘就能上桌的小確幸早餐提案', is actually a collection of breakfast recipes written by a Korean author. I doubt I will ever be able to get these rolls on my breakfast table in 10 mins (as suggested by the title of this cookbook), I made these tuna rolls for a light lunch instead.

Making these tuna mayo seaweed rolls was actually not that difficult for me since I have experience making sushi rolls or maki. Prior to making these mini kimbap, I have always thought kimbap and sushi rolls are the same, at least they look the same to me. It was only after some googling around, I learned that there is actually a difference between the two. The sushi rice is prepared with rice vinegar, sugar and salt; while the kimbap is made with rice that is usually seasoned with sesame oil and salt. I find it much easier to make kimbap as the rice is not as sticky as sushi rice, making it less messy (for me!) to spread it onto to the seaweed. I didn't use dried seaweed sheets meant for rice rolls, I experimented with salted, toasted crispy Korean seaweed sheets instead(that was what I have in my pantry cupboard). Luckily, I was able to roll up the rice rolls neatly, the seaweed didn't tear or give way, lol!

I made these specially for my younger child who loves canned tuna and sushi. I wouldn't say these mini kimbap are to die for since there is only one main ingredient. Both of us prefer the sesame oil flavour rice even though it didn't taste as soft as sushi rice. No matter how simple it is, nothing beats home cooked meals, I really enjoyed our once a week,  just the two of us, weekday lunch together. Hmmm...will have to start thinking what to prepare for our next lunch date ;)


Simple Tuna Mayo Kimbap

Ingredient:
(serves 2)

2 cups uncooked Short grain rice (cup here refers to the standard measuring cup provided by rice cooker)
2 teaspoons sesame oil (adjust according to taste)
1/2 teaspoon salt (adjust according to taste)

1 can tuna chunks
1 tablespoon mayonnaise (I use Japanese mayonnaise, Kewpie brand)
some freshly cracked black pepper
some dried parsley flakes (optional)

4 sheets roasted seaweed


Method:

Cook 2 cups rice with 2 cups water in rice cooker. When the rice is cooked, leave in rice cooker for 15mins. Remove cooked rice from rice cooker. While the rice is still hot, add sesame oil and salt, mix with rice paddle, add more sesame oil or salt if desired. Leave aside to cool (about 5 to 10mins) while preparing the tuna filling.

Drain the water/oil from the canned tuna. Mix in mayonnaise, black pepper and dried parsley flakes (if using). Set aside.

Place a sheet of roasted seaweed with the shiny side down on a sushi bamboo mat. Divide rice into 4 portions. Spread 1 portion of the rice (should still be a little warm, not completely cold or hot) evenly onto the seaweed, leaving about 1/2 inch of open strip on bottom and about 2 inches on top (the rice should cover about 2/3 of the seaweed). Place tuna mixture,  length wise, on the rice, roll up from the bottom. Repeat with the remaining rice.

Wet a sharp knife with water or rub with some sesame oil. Cut each roll into 6 pieces (wet the knife after each cut to prevent sticking). Arrange cut rolls on plate, if the rolls are not served immediately, cover with cling wrap.

Happy Lunar New Year to everyone!

Pardon my tardiness in updating my blog and thousand apologies especially to those who still hop over to this tiny blogosphere once in a while.

I do bake regularly but I am always going back to my favourite recipes such as pandan chiffon, the usual bread loaves and buns, simple muffins and cookies. Nothing inspiring or worth mentioning...

except for this latest Orange Chiffon cake which I baked in paper cups instead of the usual tube pan. I have meant to give the cake away, and what better way to present the cake using these lovely muffin cups :)

I piped whipping cream into each cup cakes. just so to start using the carton of non-dairy whipping cream I bought a month ago. The end result looks quite similar to the popular Hokkaido chiffon cake though.

The chiffon cake texture was soft and light although they were baked in paper cups. While baking in the oven, they rose beautifully over the rim, almost on the verge of overflowing. Most of them cracked...but I have no issues with cracked chiffon cakes, in fact I love the cracks ;)

Once out of the oven, they started to shrink, I didn't invert the cakes (or should I??) and left them to cool right side up. Very soon, the cakes deflated to just the right height...not falling short of the base of the four flaps on each square cup. It was my first attempt at piping cream into a cup cake. I have no idea how to go about it but to rely on my gut feel. I simply forced the piping tip into the centre of the cake and squeeze in as much cream I could, I stopped piping when the cream started flowing out from the side of the piping tip. I used the remaining cream to pipe rosettes on the tops, so as to cover the holes. I kept my fingers crossed that I was doing the right thing...that I got enough whipping cream into the cake. Fortunately, these little cuppies were meant for family, I have no qualms about giving away half-filled cakes to family members, actually I didn't even taste one before I gave them away, something I wouldn't do if they were meant for friends ;) 

It turn out that I got the piping right as the cuppies were filled with quite a substantial amount of cream, although I think the cakes could take in more. The taste, at least the whipping cream, was rather close to those store bought Hokkaido cake which I have tried. I received positive comments such as...'they taste better than store bought ones'. Credit must go to the orange chiffon cake recipe which I have taken from my favourite chiffon cake book, 好吃戚风蛋糕轻松上手. The cake was delicious and full of flavors as they were made with orange juice, orange zest and Cointreau (an orange-flavoured liqueur)...another baking ingredients which I have just used even though I bought it more than a year ago. 

With this little experience I have gained, I expect myself to bake some real Hokkiado chiffon cupcakes soon...

Orange Chiffon Cake in cups

Ingredients:
(makes about 15 cupcakes)

5 egg yolks
40g caster sugar
55ml vegetable oil
95ml orange juice (from about two oranges)
2 teaspoons Cointreau
zest from 1 orange
130g cake flour

7 egg whites
70g caster sugar

for frosting:
about 240ml (1 cup) non-dairy whipping cream for piping
1 teaspoon Cointreau
some icing sugar for dusting

Method:

1. Place egg yolks in a mixing bowl. With a manual hand whisk, whisk the yolks a little. Add in sugar and whisk to combine. Add in vegetable oil gradually, whisk to combine. Add orange juice, cointreau and orange zest, whisk to combine. Sieve over the flour and whisk till the flour is fully incorporated. Do not over mix. Set aside.
2. In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites with a handheld electric mixer on low speed until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Add half of the sugar amount and turn to high speed and beat the mixture. Continue to add in the remaining sugar and beat until the egg whites reaches the soft peak stage.The soft peak stage is reached when the peaks of the whites curl over and droop slightly. The egg whites should appear smooth and glossy. (Do not over beat the whites still stiff, it is better to beat the whites still soft peaks for easy folding with the yolk batter.)
3. Add the beaten egg whites into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, each time folding gently with a spatula until just blended.
4. Pour batter into paper cups till it reaches just before the base of the flaps. Place paper cups onto baking tray and bake in pre-heated oven at 180 degC for 12~15 mins, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool completely.
5. With an electric mixer, beat non dairy whipping cream and cointreau until stiff. Fit piping bag with a piping tip, fill the bag with the whipped cream and pipe the cream into the centre of the cake. Dust with icing sugar and leave to chill in the fridge before serving. 

Recipe source: adapted from 好吃戚风蛋糕轻松上手, 福田淳子

It is the time of the year again...

as the new year approaches, in just a few hours...

I gladly bid farewell to year 2012...

a year filled with wonderful memories and precious moments for me to treasure in years to come...

to mark the end of yet another year of baking and blogging, I will like to share with you this banana chocolate sponge cake.

I first saw this monkey cake a year ago when I was looking for a suitable birthday cake recipe for my son. However, back then, we were away from home, and even though the service apartment came fully equipped with an oven and basic baking tools, I wasn't gung ho enough to give this a try. I am glad that I went ahead to make it ten days ago, and it turn out to be the cake of the year (for me)!

Instead of the usual sponge cake, I baked a banana sponge cake for the layers. Recently, I have a reader who encountered some problem with this banana sponge cake recipe. I really admire her never give up attitude. Although I wish I could show her how I made this cake, but, I am no professional baker and I am certainly not qualified to give any advice especially since I have not even attended any baking class. The least I could do was to bake this banana sponge cake again so that I could at least revisit the steps to ensure I didn't mislead anyone with my instructions. The cake turned out well, with a nice golden browned crust, and soft and moist texture. I am quite certain that this reader has prepared the batter correctly, the only thing I could pinpoint would be the oven temperature, could the oven be too hot?? I understand how disappointing it is whenever I have to face a failed attempt. I sincerely hope she could get it right the next time, all the best!

My child was grinning from ear to ear when I presented the cake to him. Even though he was not born in the year of the monkey, he behaves pretty much like one ;)

The banana cake was so delicious with the chocolate ganache, the only downside was, the coco pops turned soft by the time I served it, and, it was really, too cute to eat, luckily it was quite an easy cake to put together.

Happy birthday to both my little munchkin and this humble blog of mine! It seems almost like yesterday when I went home with my baby boy on a Christmas day....and, it doesn't seems too long ago when I was pondering for a name for my blog. In reality it has already been six years since I published my very first post! I really hope I could still keep it going for another year or two...

or maybe three, or four years to come....

Here's wishing all of you a joyful new year!

And may your kitchen be filled with sweet memories and wonderful aroma of freshly home baked goodies, 

all year round!  

Banana Chocolate Monkey Cake

Ingredients:
(make one 7" round cake)

for sponge layer:
3 large eggs, room temperature
100g caster sugar (original recipe uses 150g)
3 large ripened bananas, cut into chunks
150g cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
80ml vegetable oil
20ml milk (I used low fat fresh milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for chocolate ganache:
170g pouring cream (I used one can Nestle pouring cream)
170g semi sweet chocolate chips (or use any dark baking chocolate, coarsely chopped)

for peanut buttercream:
50g unsalted butter, room temperature
30g icing sugar
1 and 1/2 teaspoons milk (I used low fat fresh milk)
about 1 tablespoon peanut butter jam (use more if necessary)

for decoration:
chocolate flavoured rice cereals (I used one mini pack 30g kellogs coco pops)
2 regular size chocolate chips
1 large cookie


Method:

to make sponge cake:

1. Grease (with butter) and flour sides of a 7" deep round pan (Note: original recipe calls for an 8" pan), line the base with parchment paper.
2. Sieve together cake flour, baking powder and baking soda. Sieve the flour mixture twice and set it aside.
3. Place vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl, set aside.
4. Place eggs, caster sugar and bananas in a large mixing bowl. With an electric whisk, whisk the mixture at Low speed for a few seconds (to break up the bananas). Change to medium-high speed, and whisk the mixture till it becomes thick, pale and triple in volume. This should take around 7 to 8 mins. The batter should leave a ribbon like trail when the paddle is lifted. Test by lifting up the whisk/paddle, and draw an '8' with the batter. The number should stay for a few seconds. Turn to Low speed again, and beat for another 2 mins. This is to stablise the air bubbles in the batter. (Note: do not over beat the batter...it is not a good thing if the '8' doesn't disappear.)
5. Sieve over the flour mixture in 3 separate additions. Each time Fold In the flour carefully with a Spatula, making sure there is no pockets of flour being trapped at the bottom of the bowl. Do not stir the batter with the spatula, it will cause the batter to deflate too much.
6. Pour a small portion (less than 1/3) of the batter into the mixing bowl in Step 3. Fold in with the spatula until the oil mixture is fully incorporated into the batter.
7. Pour the mixture in Step 6 back into the rest of the batter (Step 5).
8. Fold in the batter with the spatula making sure the mixture is well combined. (By now the batter could be deflated by about 20% or so as compared to Step 4).
9. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, the pan should be about 75% to 80% full (Note: original recipe uses an 8" round pan, I baked extra batter in two muffin paper cups) .
10. Bake in preheated oven at 160 degC for 40-45mins or longer until the surface turns golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. (The edges of the cake should pull away slightly from the sides of the pan.) Remove from oven, unmold (slide a thin bladed knife along the sides of the pan) and leave to cool (inverted) on a cooling rack.

to make chocolate ganache:

• Place cream and chocolate chips (or chopped chocolates) in a bowl. Set it over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure the bowl is big enough to sit over the saucepan).
• Stir the mixture gently with a spoon till the chocolate melts and mixture becomes smooth. Remove from the bowl from the saucepan. Use immediately.

to make peanut buttercream:

• Beat unsalted butter with an electric whisk in a mixing bowl until smooth and creamy. Add icing sugar, continue to beat until the mixture turns pale and fluffy. Add milk beat till smooth. Add peanut butter (gradually so as to adjust to the desired colour tone, use more peanut butter if necessary) and beat till smooth.

to assemble:

• Make a simple piping bag with parchment paper (refer here for instructions). Fill the piping bag with about 1 tablespoon of chocolate ganache, set aside.
• Slice the banana sponge cake horizontally into three layers. Place a layer of sponge cake on a cake board. 
• Spoon about 4 heaped tablespoons of the chocolate ganache onto the surface. Spread evenly with a spatula. Repeat with the second layer of sponge cake. Place the third layer and spoon the remaining ganache over the top and spread it over to the sides. Smooth the surface with the spatula. 
• On the cake surface, draw/outline the shape of the face of a monkey with a toothpick. Spread the peanut buttercream on the surface. Smooth the surface evenly. Place two chocolate chips (upside down) on the face to make the eyes. Pipe nose and mouth with the piping bag. 
• Pat the chocolate rice cereal/coco pops on the chocolate frosting. Cut cookie in half and place the halves on each side of the cake for ears. (Note: as the coco pops will turn soft, I will like to suggest to frost the cake as close to serving time as possible.) Store any leftovers in fridge.

Recipe source: monkey cake adapted from here; banana sponge cake adapted from here.