Birthday Month Cakes - Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes, Halloween Carrot Cupcakes & Wheat Free Sponge Cake

October is always my favourite month. It always seems too long to arrive every year and that makes me even more excited when it finally comes. This is all because I was born in October and I always felt loved throughout the month. I feel happy easily this month and I always try my best to make myself happier! I used to spoil myself with some new clothes, books from my favourite authors, CDs etc using the only excuse - it is my BIRTHDAY! This year I have decided to make myself one cake a week, just wanted to celebrate from the beginning until the end of the month! Woohoo!!! XD

Well I am not a professional home baker, I just find recipes online and try my best to follow the instructions and wished that the cakes turn out nice and lovely. I have made 3 cake in total because I had a date with my friends on the last weekend which I have baked some cookies instead. Happy enough because the cakes were all successfully baked I would say and I really like some of them. 

Birthday Month Cake No. 1 - Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

I used the browneyedbaker's recipe for the cupcakes. The ganache in the middle of the cupcakes gives a little surprise. The cake is so moist and rich. I love that to the bits! I changed the frosting to peanut butter because I do not like it chocolatey from head to toe. Used this recipe from the browneyedbaker too and it was amazing. Both the cupcakes and the frosting just complemented each other beautifully and I swear this is the best cupcake recipe I have ever made. I will definitely bake the cupcakes again because I love how heavenly the gooey ganache work together with the cupcakes. Yum...

Note:

•  I filled the cupcake liners 70% full and added half tablespoon of the ganache in the middle. The ganache flowed everywhere when the cupcake raised during the baking. Should just fill up to about 60% next time. 
• I used 120ml of whipping cream instead of 80ml as stated in the recipe and it resulted a soft frosting. Should just stick to the recipe for firmer frosting in the future. 

Birthday Month Cake No. 2 - Halloween Carrot Cupcakes

I have never made carrot cake before although I have been always wanted to make this because my husband is a big fan of carrot cake. He always remember the carrot cakes that his colleagues bought him during the cake days when was working in the United Kingdom. I found this recipe from dailydelicious and decided to give it a go because not much spices was used. I liked it less spicy. 

This is one of the easiest cakes I have come across and it tasted fantastic! Absolutely love the moist and spongy texture, full of carrots and not too spicy. It is delicious on its own but the frosting taste great too! I reduced the sugar in the frosting which caused the runny (but not watery) texture which is not usually found on carrot cakes but it works perfectly for me because I wanted to decorate the cupcakes using piping bag and tip. I decided to decorate my carrot cupcakes with Halloween theme because Halloween is around the corner! My playful husband helped out with some spider and spider webs decoration and made a pumpkin face too! He loves the cupcakes too! That gives a great courage in my baking ^^

Note: 

• The cake taste great on its own, may try to make it in normal cake size next time.
• Reduced the icing sugar to 100g makes slightly runny frosting, stick to 130g for firmer icing.

I made the mummies, 'casper' and the blood drops decorations ^^

Birthday Month Cake No. 3 - Wheat Free Sponge Cake

We have planned an all day out on my birthday (Sunday) so I decided to make an easy cake on my birthday eve. Seen some bloggers posted this cake lately and was really curious how the cake would really taste like with only 3 ingredients used! I could not believe my eyes when I saw the recipe, all you need to make this cake are eggs, sugar and corn flour. The key would be the beating time as you need to beat in as many air as possible to raise the cake in the baking. Luckily the cake raised nicely and you have to be patient to let the cake cool completely after taking it out from the oven. The once looked dry and firm surface will turn into a completely different surface when the cake is cool. 

A very soft cake indeed with very simple flavour made of eggs and sugar but a little too dry. However it is a less sinful cake as it is almost oil free (only used some oil to grease the baking tin). It goes really well with a cup of hot drink like tea, coffee or hot chocolate. We tried it with some fruit jam and it tasted lovely. The recipe I used is here.

Note:

• Very dry texture.

I had an amazing birthday dating with my beloved husband for lunch, movie (watched the Inferno starred by Louis Koo was amazing!), and shopping! Rushed home to have a simple dinner with my family as well and that ended our eventful day. 

It is nearly the end of October now. We were out seeing my girl friends and their husbands yesterday (27th October 2013) and done loads of catch ups because we have not seen each other for ages! Spent half a day at Bangsar Shoping Centre, a nice and relaxing mall indeed and seen kids in their halloween costumes bringing their pumpkin buckets walking around the mall asking for sweets (not sure if they said "trick or treat" though lol) from shop to shop. The kids were lovely in their costumes, we saw a cute little snow white, little pumpkin, princess Jasmine, Dark Vader, Minions (!!!) and a scary scarecrow! Love the kids and enjoyed seeing them having fun in collecting sweets from the shops. Met another old friend in the evening and had dinner at Marche, The Curve. Not bad an experience and tried the unusual Rosti. The catch ups were much memorable though. 

Wishing it will be a smooth year ahead and shall wait for aaaages again until the next October arrives! 

Woohoo!! 10,000 views!!

Woohoo!! There are only 4 days to go until the 1st anniversary of tinklittlekitchen but the blog has reached its first 10,000 views today! That is an important milestone and I was surprised as I never thought so many people would dropped by to view what I have posted in the past 12 months. I have to admit I was being slow at the first few months and I tried to go back on track the following months when I have more ideas for what to post and squeezed my time to create post by post. It was not easy but it worth every single moment spent. 

It is cool to know people from the world viewing my posts everyday and I hope my blog helped them a little when they have no idea on how to make their favourite food and desserts. I wish this is not the end of it and will definitely put more efforts to improve and make it a better blog. Thanks everyone who had stopped by for a glance and hopefully this blog can be continued until forever ^^

10,000 views! Yay!!!

Japanese Style Eryngii Mushroom Fajita

There are some tortillas left after our last fajitas meal and we wished to have some light lunch. Suddenly a light bulb lit up above my head! Eryingii mushrooms! I want to use this meaty and juicy mushroom to create a fried chicken alike flavour which might work well with the mayonnaise and okonomiyaki sauce. I used the simplest seasoning and lightly floured the mushrooms and used the least oil to fry it. The tangy okonomiyaki sauce works perfectly well with the mayonnaise, mushroom and tortillas. The seaweed is an extra bonus to the flavour. We love it to the bits and wished to make again when there is a chance!

Ingredients: (makes 3 fajita wraps)

3 Tortillas

3 medium Eryngii mushroom/ king oyster mushroom

1/2tsp salt

some freshly cracked black pepper

1tbsp Plain flour

1tbsp Vegetable oil

1 slice Roasted sushi seaweed (cut into 0.5m x 10mm strips)

Some Japanese Mayonnaise

Some Okonomiyaki sauce

Steps:

1. Wash and slightly trim off the ends of Eryngii musrooms.

2. Slice the mushroom into small chunks about 3cm long x 1cm thick (I cut them into long strips at first but found it hard to bite off so I cut them into smaller pieces at the end).

3. In a bowl, add the mushroom chunks, salt, black pepper and plain flour. Toss and press the mushrooms to make sure they are evenly coated with the seasoning and flour.

4. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat and add vegetable oil, add the floured mushroom chunks. Turn the mushrooms with chopsticks when one side turns golden brown. 

5. Turn to lower medium heat when every side is golden, put the lid on and wait for about 1 minute. This will soften the mushroom and it is fully cooked. Set aside.

6. In another pan over medium low heat, heat a slice of tortilla for 30 seconds and turn to the other side and heat for another 30 seconds. Remove the tortilla from the pan and lay it on a plate. Add some fried mushrooms, squeeze some mayonnaise and okonomiyaki sauce and topped with some sliced seaweed. 

7. Roll the tortilla with the ingredients and fold in the ends, cut the fajita in the middle and ready to serve! Enjoy!

Quick 'BBQ' Pork Fajita

It was a lazy evening and we could not be bothered to go out for dinner so I looked in the fridge to find something I can make for dinner. We were lucky there was a small piece of pork belly in the freezer, some tortillas and red pepper! I came up with this mix and match of the recipes in my head and it turned out really nice. The flavours of the caramelised onion, pan fried pepper and the honey coated pork strips just bond together very well. The honey coated pork strips give a marvellous fragrant and it tasted fairly close to Chinese BBQ pork (char siew)!.The sweet and juicy pan fried red pepper added a twist to the whole thing and we could not really bothered to add any dressing or sauce to it. Very simple, very quick (like 20 minutes from scratch), and taste good. Nevertheless, I would eat this than a greasy takeaway.

Ingredients: (makes 3 fajitas)
150g Pork belly (cut into 3-4 strips)
1 Red pepper (sliced)
1 Onion (sliced)
3 Tortillas/ corn wrap
1tbsp Sake/ cooking wine
1tbsp Light soy sauce
1tsp Honey
1tbsp Vegetable oil

Marinade
1/2 inch Ginger (grated and juiced)
1tsp Light soy sauce
a pinch of salt
a dash of white pepper




Steps:
1. Marinate the pork strips with the ginger juice, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Set aside. Heat a non-stick pan at medium heat, add the cooking oil and stir fry the onion for 1 minute until fragrant.
2,3. Add the red pepper and stir fry together with the onion until the onion becomes caramelised and the pepper is soften (this may take 4-5 minutes). Transfer onto a plate and set aside.
4. In the same pan (do not add any oil) at medium heat, add the pork strips and fry both sides until golden.
5. Pour sake (or wine) from sides, stir the meat until the wine is evaporated and disappeared.
6. Pour the light soy sauce from sides, stir to let the meat coated with soy sauce.
7. Off heat, add the honey over the meat and stir quickly to let the meat coated with the honey. Set aside.

8. Heat a clean non-stick pan at low heat, add a slice of tortilla and count 20 seconds. Flip the tortilla over and heat the other side for 20 seconds (this helps in making the wrapping becomes easier and taste better), remove from heat.
9,10,11. Add some caramelised onion, pepper and a strip (or two) of the 'BBQ' pork in the middle, and wrap it up and your fajita is ready to serve! Alternatively, wrap up both ends and cut it in the middle to make two portions, now you can share it!

Tips:

• At step 5, wait until the wine is all dried up before adding soy sauce to avoid the bitter taste of alcohol.
• The burnt parts of the pork is created in step 6 when the light soy sauce meet the dry hot pan but do not allow too much burnt signs on your pork it will taste bitter and not a healthy option at all.
• Step 7 has to be done fairly quickly and the meat has to be transferred off heat as soon as possible to avoid the heat of the pan burn the honey and create bitterness. 

Vegetarian Peanut Tofu with Shimeji Mushroom (素花生鸿禧菇豆腐）

We all knows that adding more vegetables in your diet is good for your health like the governments had been introducing the 5 a day diet for decades but it is always easier said than done. The main reason behind I could have imagined is the meat eating habit that you have been adopting since you were young. Quit eating meat is definitely one of the hardest thing in the world but no one is asking you to quit. We shall start with reducing meat in our meals and discover the heaven taste of green vegetables, fungus, mushrooms, soy food etc. They do not taste like grass or bird food I promise if you know the right way to bring out their wonderful flavour through cooking. 

This tofu with peanut sauce is inspired by the common minced meat tofu that is famous in every household. The crushed peanuts represent the minced meat and added a thick creamy favour to the gravy. It was an experiment and the ingredients combined with each other wonderfully. The shimeji mushroom just added a hint of natural sweetness and crunchy texture to the dish. The gravy is so rich that you can hardly resist and it is very easy to make. 

Ingredients:

400g Japanese pressed tofu (or any soft white tofu) 

100g Shimeji mushrooms (wash and remove the dried bottoms of the stems. Shower with hot water and drain)

10-15g Raw peanut

1 tbsp All purpose flour

1 tbsp Cooking Oil

200ml Water

1 tbsp Light soy sauce

1 tbsp Mirin (can substitute this with 1/4tsp of sugar)

1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

a dash of white pepper 

1 tbsp Corn flour

2tbsp water

some chopped green onions for garnish

1. Heat a frying pan at medium heat. Add the peanuts in and stir frequently until the skins are browned and cracked. 

2. Transfer the roasted peanuts onto a plate and let it cool down for a minute or two. (Freshly roasted peanuts are so hot and could burn your skin!)

3. Remove the skins and transfer the peanuts into a clean plastic bag (or freezer bag).

4,5. Roll a rolling pin (or bottle) over the peanuts in the bag until they are crushed but not powdered.

6. Add the crushed peanuts into a sauce pan and add the 200ml of water. Bring to a boil and let it simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes .

7,8. Unpack the tofu, cut it into half and place it on a plate that is lined with 2 layers of kitchen towel. Set aside for 5 minutes to remove excessive water in the tofu.

9,10. Lightly flour the tofu surfaces and lightly brown the surfaces in a frying pan with the cooking oil over medium heat. Transfer the tofu onto a deep plate.

11. The peanuts should be softened and the sauce is slightly reduced by now. Add soy sauce, mirin, salt and pepper into the sauce. Turn to high heat and bring to a boil. 

12. Add the shimeji mushrooms and bring to a boil again. 

13. Mix the corn flour and 2 tablespoon of water in a bowl and pour the mixture into the sauce from sides. Bring it to a boil, turn off the heat when the gravy reaches the desired thickness. Pour the gravy onto the tofu in the plate. Garnish with some chopped green onions and it is ready to be served.

Happy Trying! ^^

Traditional Red Bean Ice Cream - without egg (Ais Krim Potong) 红豆雪条 - 无蛋版

Ice cream potong is one of the most popular local snacks. Our parents ate them when they were young, they bought us it when we were young, we got them in the school canteen, we buy them for kids, etc. I guess everyone love ice cream potong. They come in many flavours including red bean, sweet corn, chocolate, durian etc. My favourite (influenced by my dad) is of course red bean. We can hardly see ice cream potong at stores now but we would definitely buy some if we see it. I made red bean ice cream the other day using egg yolks (I do not really like that recipe because I do not like to waste the egg whites :() but cannot help myself when I found this recipe which I could imagine the childhood taste of memory straight away. 

I found the ingredients in no time and made it using the very 'Malaysian' recipe but I have modified the ingredients a little. It turned out really nice and soft. The ice cream melts in your mouth and you can feel  the flavour of coconut milk and red bean dancing together. They are sooooo good! 

Ingredients:

140g Caster Sugar

4tbsp Milk powder

200ml Water

2tbsp Corn Flour

30ml Water

200ml Coconut Milk

250g Red bean paste (lightly sweetened)

Steps:

1. In a pot, add sugar, milk powder, 200ml of water and cook over medium heat. Keep stirring until the sugar is dissolved. (Do not boil the mixture.)

2. Add the corn flour and 30ml of water into the pot and stir well to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stir constantly while boiling. 

3. Red bean paste and coconut milk can now be added into the mixture and whisk to combine everything together. Heat it over medium heat until it boils.

4. Remove from heat and set aside for 10 minutes. Pour the mixture into ice cream moulds and let it cool to room temperature. Send it into the freezer and freeze for at least 8 hours. (I found it they taste better after they are completely frozen after about 24 hours.) Enjoy!

Tips:

• You can use canned red bean paste instead of home made but they are normally heavily sweetened so better taste it before using and reduce the sugar in the recipe accordingly.
• You can substitute the coconut milk with milk if you want to or mix half amount of the coconut milk with milk. They are all fine.

Happy Trying!

Homemade Red Bean Ice Cream - with egg yolks （红豆雪糕 - 蛋黄版）

Red bean ice cream is one of the most popular flavour in Malaysia and daddy used to buy me it from the ice cream man on a bike or from the snacks shop when I was young. Do not think I have seen this in Europe but red bean is surely one of the most popular ingredients for desserts in Asia.

I made some extra red bean paste the other day and found this recipe so decided to give it a try. I have doubled the amount of red bean paste compared to the recipe and it ended up with a very strong red bean flavour. Love it! You can eat it with vanilla ice cream as well which I think will be amazing!

Ingredients:

150ml Milk

3 Egg yolk

50g Castor sugar

500g Red bean paste

200ml Whipping cream

Steps:

1. In a bowl, beat together the egg yolks and sugar until well combined and becomes light and fluffy. Set aside.

2. Simmer the milk in a sauce pan until it is hot but not boiled.

3. Remove the milk from heat and let it cool down a little. Pour the warm milk into the egg yolk mixture little by little while whisking the mixture with a whisk.

4. Pour the mixture into a sauce pan and heat it over low heat. Keep stirring with a spoon until the mixture becomes thicker and remove from heat. (Do not bring to the boil!)

5. Set the mixture aside and let it cool down to room temperature for about 1 hour and refrigerate for about 2hours. (Do not freeze yet!)

6. In a large bowl, add the whipping cream and red bean paste into the egg mixture, whisk to combine everything together.

7. Pour the ice cream mixture into a freezer safe container and cover it with a lid. Send it into the freezer for about 40 minutes. 

8. Get it out of the freezer and stir well using a fork. Even the surface and send it back to the freezer and freeze for 6hours or above. 

Happy Trying!