Serene's Butter Cake

I'm sure many of you have heard of the famous Mrs SK Ng's Butter Cake recipe and have baked it at one point or another; I have baked that too myself and have loved the fluffy fine texture of it. I also love to eat butter cakes but I am also a lazy baker, so the egg separation method used in Mrs SK Ng's recipe often makes me think twice to take out my mixer. Then one of my baking friends, Serene shared her whole eggs butter cake recipe and Voila! Since then I have been baking this recipe. And for this, I'm going to call it Serene's Butter Cake :).

Marbled Chocolate version

Here is her recipe with slight adaptions made by me:

Makes a 8x5 inch loaf tin cake.

Ingredients:

- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 90 ml mlk
- 250 gm butter, softened
- 140 gm castor sugar, sifted
- 30 gm icing sugar, sifted
- 3 eggs (60 gm sized)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 250 gm self raising flour, sifted
- 1 tsp Grand Marnier (optional)

For marbled chocolate flavour only:

- 2 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 tbsp castor sugar, sifted
- some milk

Method:

1. Mix the lemon juice with the milk and set aside.

2. Cream sifted sugars and butter together until light and fluffy.

3. Add the eggs in slowly as you continue to mix. Ensure the eggs are evenly incorporated into the mixture.

4. Add vanilla extract and Grand Marnier (if any) into the buttermilk from step 1.

5. Fold alternately the flour and buttermilk into the creamed butter in 2 to 3 additions.

6a. For plain butter flavour, pour batter into a lightly greased loaf tin and bake at 
170C non fan forced for 45-55min. Cover the cake with a piece of baking paper in the last 10min of baking if the top browns too much. 

6b. For marbled chocolate version, scoop 1/3 of the batter into a separate bowl and mix in the cocoa powder and castor sugar. Mix it well. Add enough milk to make the chocolate batter the same consistency as that of the plain batter.

Layer scoops of chocolate and plain batter alternately in a lightly greased loaf tin and use a skewer to make marbling patterns. Bake at 170C non fan forced for 45-55min. Cover the cake with a piece of baking paper in the last 10min of baking if the top browns too much.

7. Cool slightly in tin for about 5min before inverting cake out onto cooling rack to cool completely.

Updated 13 Aug 2018

My apologies for the typo in the ingredient list; I have actually missed out the eggs! Thanks to a friend who was trying out the recipe and brought my attention to the missing eggs which I have stated in the steps. Thanks J!

Cleaning 101: Cooker Hood Mesh Covers

This is a long overdue post. I was planning to post a few entries on cleaning stuff around the home because I find myself repeating the same info when sharing with friends, so I thought blog entries will be useful to direct friends to. The step by step guide and photos in a blog entry will be most helpful too. But well, every time I finally had time to write it, I found that I couldn't find those photos I have taken. So this time round, I made sure I edited the photos and saved them in a separate album in one sitting for easy retrieval. So here it goes! The 1st item to be cleaned this time is ... the dreaded hood mesh covers!

We all know how terrible it is to clean these covers; They are greasy and sticky and have hard to reach layers and worse is they are in mesh form! My early days as a new homemaker was spent using the dish sponge to clean it like dishes, only to find bits of the sponge being caught in the mesh and spending the next 30min trying to get those sponge bits out. Next I went on to using a brush, I thought that would be the best way but no, the mesh covers are way too sticky and coated with grime for the brushing to work without multiple cycles of soaping, brushing and rinsing. Seriously I could understand why no one cleans these things at all.

Well fret not, I have since found an easy peasy way to clean these mesh covers and have been sharing with my friends on how to tackle them. Below are the detailed steps with photos for the method. Before you jump right in to cleaning your mesh covers, I have a very important disclaimer here: Only use this method if you are very sure that your mesh are made of stainless steel. This method is NOT suitable for aluminium stuff, it will in fact tarnish your aluminium if you soak it in baking soda. (I have learnt it the hard way through my aluminium roasting tin!). Even if you are sure that your mesh covers are made of stainless steel, as with any other cleaning method being used for the first time, please test the method on a small area of your covers first. 

So now that you have understand the caution, let's take a look at how I clean my mesh covers!

Items needed:

- 1-2 cups of baking soda
- hot boiling water
- a tray that can fit your mesh covers
- dish detergent (optional)
- a small soft bristled brush (e.g. an old toothbrush)

First, you will need lots of baking soda. I suggest you buy those sold by the kilogram. I get mine from NTUC Fairprice under the brand Arm & Hammer. It is a bright orange box packaging, I use baking soda for cleaning my stainless steel stove too. This will come under another blog entry (hopefully soon!).

Put your mesh covers into the tray. This is one of my two covers.
I sprinkle baking soda generously all over it. 

1. Put your mesh covers into the tray. Sprinkle baking soda generously all over it.

Baking soda spread into the gaps in the mesh.
This is the second cover that is stacked on top of the first cover.    

2. Rub the baking soda into the gaps in the mesh and all around the covers.

I stacked the 2 covers in the tray.

After the hot boiling water is poured all over it. Look at the grime that is instantly dissolved!

3. Next, pour hot boiling water to submerge the covers. Use a chopstick to push the mesh covers down if they float. You will see that the water will instantly turn yellow with all the grime dissolved. Leave it to soak for a few hours. Usually I leave it till the whole tray cools down. 

The covers after the water is poured away. You can see that half the grime is gone!

4. After the water has cooled down, pour the water away and you will be able to see that most of the grime is removed. 

This step is purely optional but today I just decided to be "extra". LOL.
Pour more hot water over it and add a few squirts of the dish washing detergent. 

5. This step is purely optional but no harm doing if you have the time to spare. After the first round of soaking in boiling water and baking soda, squirt a bit of dish washing detergent and pour more hot boiling water over the mesh covers. I also use the brush to gently brush the cover that is on the top this time. Again, this is optional but it is so gratifying to see the grime coming off!

The mesh covers after the second round of soaking.
Looks clean but not throughly clean yet.
You will need to gently brush it to remove all traces of grime.

Use a soft brush to brush the mesh covers with your dish soap.
My dish soap is in a self foaming bottle so it is easy to rinse off the soap later.
Do not squirt concentrated form of dish detergent onto the covers at this stage! 

6. After the water has cooled down, pour the water away. For the last step you will need to brush the mesh with a soft bristled brush with some dish soap. My dish soap is always in a self foaming bottle so when I use it, it is in easy-to-rinse off foam. Do not use concentrated liquid soap or powder directly on the mesh at this stage, else you might have to rinse it many times, especially so if the thick gel or powder gets caught in the layers of mesh. 

If you do not have a self foaming bottle, you can dip the brush in your regular dish soap that is already diluted with water, we only need a slightly soapy brush to do the brushing. After brushing, rinse the mesh covers under running water and air dry them on your dish racks and voila! Your mesh covers will be as good as new!

The mesh covers after cleaning and drying!

Update: A technical error occurred with a previous posting of this same entry so I had to recreate and post this up again now.

Chocolate Meringues (that taste like Milo nuggets!)

When I first made this I thought it will just be a chocolate meringue cookie and it turned out to taste very much like the Milo nuggets! This is the second time I made this recipe; the first time I made this, I made a boo boo of forgetting to double the rest of the ingredients when I used double the amount of egg whites but the final product turned out yummy but still a bit on the sweet side. This time i reduced the sugar but it is still quite sweet. I think i can go lower on the sugar again.

Needless to say, they are a hit with my 3 little ones. I shall share this "boo boo" recipe with you first so that you can recreate them in your kitchen. :)

Adapted from book 每天都是饼干日 (ISBN 978-986-5912-04-8)

Ingredients:

- 100 gm egg whites2, room temperature1
- 100 gm caster sugar 2
- 40 gm water
- 20 gm Valrhona cocoa powder, sifted

Method:

1. Put the egg whites into a clean mixer bowl.

2. Put water and half the amount of sugar into a small base pot. Bring it to a boil until it reaches 110C 3. Meanwhile whip the egg whites till foamy, add the remaining sugar into egg whites as the whipping continues.

3. When the syrup reaches the correct temperature, pour the hot syrup into the egg whites, with the mixer running. Take care not to let the hot syrup hit the whisk as that can cause serious burns if the syrup splashes out.

4. Whip till the meringue has reached stiff peak and has cooled to room temperature. You should have a glossy Italian meringue by now.

5. Sift in the cocoa powder and fold gently to get an even mixture.

6. Pipe onto lined baking trays and bake at 120C (fan forced) for 1.5hrs to 2hrs. The meringue cookies are done when they do not stick to the trays. Adjust your baking timing if they stick to the bottom.   

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Notes:

1. This recipe uses an Italian meringue (IM) which basically makes a hot sugar syrup and pour it into half whipped egg whites. Previously I had made the mistake of using cold whites straight from fridge hence my IM didn't get as hot as required. The lucky thing was the end product still turned out yummy. Hence do remember to bring your egg whites to room temperature before you start making them.

2. The 1st time, I wanted to do a double portion recipe and I happened to have enough egg whites for that but I made a mistake of forgetting to double the rest of the ingredients. However the taste and level of sweetness is just right for that, hence I will not suggest doubling the sugar or the other ingredients. In fact I find the meringue cookies still a bit on the sweet side, The second time I used only 100gm caster sugar and I think it can be further reduced by a bit. 

3. I usually use my thermometer to make the syrup for my IM but I skipped that as the amount of sugar and water was not sufficient to properly submerge my thermometer to get an accurate reading. Besides, the original recipe calls for the syrup to reach 110C but I have always make my IM using 118C syrup. So I just eyeballed the bubbling (small and big bubbles) of the syrup to decide when it is ready.

卤肉饭 Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice

I came across this recipe in a cookbook on Taiwanese dishes about 2 years ago and have cooked it a few times. It gives me sweet, fragrant pork belly that melts in the mouth. It is not quite the same as the minced pork version I have tried in Taiwan but I prefer this which is mildly sweet and my kids love it so much they always ask for second helpings! 

Adapted from Home-Style Taiwanese Cooking

Serves 4 pax

Ingredients:

- 800 gm pork belly
- 15 gm garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 30 gm rock sugar
- 60 gm fried shallots
- 4 soy sauce eggs

- 1 cucumber, sliced

- Cooked rice, enough for 4 pax

Seasoning1

- 400 ml water
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp thick dark soy sauce
- 1/4 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice wine
- 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder

Method:

1. Blanch the pork belly to remove any impurities. Blanching the pork belly also partially cooks it and makes it easier to cut into small pieces. Pat dry and cut into small strips. Set aside.

2. Heat some cooking oil in a wok and saute the garlic. Add the cut pork belly. Stir fry the pork till it's slightly golden brown. 

3. Add the rock sugar and fry till it is dissolved. 

4. Add the crispy shallots and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. 

5. Add the water and seasoning and bring it to boil.

6. Transfer to a slow cooker and set on high, simmer for at least 2 hours. If you want it to really melt in the mouth (including the lean part), simmer it for more than 2 hours, I usually start cooking this after lunch and serve this for dinner. 

7. Skim off any oil on the surface from time to time during cooking.

8. Serve with rice, soy sauce eggs and sliced cucumber. 

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Notes:

1. I halve the amount of water (and seasoning too) because my slow cooker is very small so it is just barely big enough to hold the pork belly and the gravy. The gravy is however enough to go with the pork belly. If desired, the amount of water and seasoning can be doubled. 

Muah Chee (Glutinous Rice Flour coated with Grated Peanut)

I'm always keen to try new things and as a result of that, often have impulse buys (especially for hard to find items) when doing grocery shopping, my pantry is often bursting at the seams. On top of that, I'm often guilty of throwing out items that have expired and have yet to come around using it. :( 

So now I will only buy things that I will use immediately. As for existing pantry items, I'm finding recipes that use those ingredients. Muah Chee was one of it; because I have tapioca flour and glutinous rice flour! It is a also a very simple item you can make in 15min. So here's my sharing:

Muah Chee

Ingredients:

Muah Chee adapted from Rasa Malaysia

- 250 gm Glutinous Rice flour
- 2 tbsp Tapioca flour
- 375 ml water
- cooking oil for greasing the tin1

Peanut Coating adapted from Happy Home Baking

- 150 gm peanut powder
- 40 gm caster sugar
- 20 gm toasted white sesame seeds (optional)2

The flours tend to settle at the bottom, remember to give it a good stir before pouring
into the tin.

Before steaming

After steaming

Don't use a bowl! Use a tray!

Method:

1. Set up steamer and grease the tin with cooking oil.

2. Sieve glutinous rice flour and tapioca flour together.

3. Add water to flour mixture to form a watery batter. Mix evenly. 

4. Pour into greased tin and steam at high heat for 15 minutes or until centre is cooked.

5. To prepare the coating, mix all the coating ingredients together in a tray.

6. Cut a portion of the cooked Muah Chee and put into the tray with peanut coating. Use a pair of kitchen scissors and cut into bite size pieces and as you cut roll the pieces in the coating to prevent them from sticking together again. A wide tray will help in this case instead of a bowl. Serve immediately.

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Notes:

1. I use a 7 inch square tin.

2. The sesame seeds are optional. I have tried both with and without, both taste equally yummy. Do take note that sesame seeds do give it a different fragrance which some might not like it if they are not used to having it in their Muah Chee.

Chwee Kueh

I can't remember what was the reason that prompted me to try making my own chwee kueh but I am certainly glad I did. Chwee Kueh has always been one of my favourite savoury snacks and it is not hard to find it in food paradise Singapore but it is hard to find one with the Chai Por topping that suits my palate; I like my Chai Por to be on the sweeter side but those I found outside often tastes just plain salty. I have made Chwee Kueh a few times and especially loving the Chai Por. So here are the Chwee Kueh + Chai Por recipes I have tried:

Chwee Kuehs I made quite some time ago

I was told Chwee Kueh should have this distinctive "crater".

But sometimes mine end up with no "craters"! LOL. I think I might have stumbled
onto the cause. Let me do a few more rounds to confirm my findings.

Ingredients:

Chai Por topping
recipe adapted from book Singapore Hawker Food
- 450 gm Chai Por, chopped
- 60 gm garlic, minced
- 18-20 tbsp cooking oil
- 4-5 tbsp caster sugar

Kueh (about 30 pieces)
recipe adapted from www.cakes-kueh.com

A: 
- 460 ml water
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp cooking oil

B:
- 200 gm rice flour
- 40 gm tapioca flour
- 460 ml water

Method:

1. Rinse Chai Por a few times and soak for about 30 minutes to remove excessive salt. Strain and discard water.

2. Heat cooking oil (I used rice bran oil) in pot and put in the strained Chai Por and simmer on low heat for 40 minutes. Stir now and then to avoid burning.

3. Add minced garlic and simmer till fragrant.

4. Add sugar and stir well. Adjust sugar amount according to preference. Remove from heat and set aside.

5. Prepare steamer and moulds1.

6. Boil all A ingredients: 460ml of water, salt and cooking oil. Set aside.

7. Prepare B ingredients: Sieve the 2 flours and add remaining 460ml water to it. Stir well.

8. Add A to B while whisking B.

9. Pour into prepared moulds and steam at high heat for about 20 minutes.

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Notes:

1. You can choose to grease the moulds or leave them ungreased. I think I have tried both ways and there was not much of a difference. I will leave them ungreased.

茶叶蛋 Tea Leaf Eggs (Half boiled )

During one of the Chinese New Year I was planning to bake a kueh lapis cake but my oven decided to go on strike so I had to ditch the plan. But not before I already bought 5 boxes of eggs! Stuck with so many eggs, I decided to cook tea leaf eggs (茶叶蛋) since this is one fast route to get rid of one box of eggs at a shot. However I was not satisfied with the regular tea leaf eggs. And my last round with this dish wasn't that fantastic either when I followed the recipe that came along with the tea leaf egg herbs sold by Eu Yan Sang. So I decided to tweak it a bit: I will cook it without the shells (so that the marinade really gets into the eggs) and I want wobbly yolks (like those in Ramen!). So here is what I did:

Ingredients:

- 10 eggs (60gm sized)

Marinade:

- 1 sachet of Eu Yan Sang tea leaf eggs herbs
- 500ml water
- 1 tbsp dark soya sauce1

- 1 tbsp light soya sauce1

- 50-60 gm rock sugar1

Method:

1. Bring the herbs and water to a boil in a saucepan. Add the remaining seasoning and taste to adjust seasoning1 if necessary. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.

2. Put the eggs in a pot of room temperature water deep enough to cover the eggs completely. Bring it to a boil. Stir the eggs gently while waiting for the water to come to a boil.

3. When the water comes to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer and continue to simmer the eggs for 4.5 minutes2.

4. Remove the eggs from heat immediately and rinse under running tap water till they feel just barely warm to touch. Leave it aside to cool completely in a bowl of water. Peel the eggs when cooled.

5. Soak the peeled eggs in the cooled marinade sauce overnight in the fridge. Make sure the eggs are put into a small based glass container so that they get fully covered by the marinade.

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Notes:

1. The seasoning amounts are pretty much up to own preference. Above stated amounts are suited to my palate and it is not too salty. If u prefer a saltier version, you can add a pinch of salt or more light soy sauce.

2. Most recipes making eggs with runny yolks require an ice bath for the eggs once they are removed from the heat but I didn't keep ready made ice cubes in my freezer, so lazy me rinsed the eggs under running tap water till they were just warm to touch and I soaked it in a bowl of room temperature water for complete cooling. For this entry I simmered the eggs for 4.5 minutes but the yolks were not runny enough for me, so I will advise 3 or 3.5 minutes (tried 4 minutes before too and still way too cooked for me) of simmering. If you are using an ice bath, u might want to simmer for 4.5 minutes since that will cool down the eggs (hence stop further cooking) faster than my lazy method.