Chocolate Cake

Very easy to make, chocolate cake.

YOU NEED:
125 g (4 oz) butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup icing sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 t vanilla essence
1/4 cup of blueberry jam
1 1/4 cup self raising flour
1 t bicarbonate of soda
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup milk

Chocolate Butter Cream Filling and Icing
200 g dark chocolate, chopped
100 g butter
3/4 icing sugar
8 t cream

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 20cm round baking tin.
2. Sift all of the dry ingredients. Set aside.
3. Beat butter and the sugars till light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs gradually. Beat well after each addition.
5. Add vanilla essence and jam. Beat till well combined.
6. Fold in sifted flour, alternating with milk, start and end with flour.
7. Pour mixture in the baking tin. Bake for 45 min.
8. Let cake stand in tin for 15 before turning it on wire rack to cool.
9. Layer and decorate with chocolate butter cream.

To Make Chocolate Butter Cream Filling and Icing
1. Put all ingredients in a pan.
2. Heat till mixture is smooth and glossy.
3. Remove from heat. Spread on cake.

Beef Serunding

From Mak. My mom still makes this. She would make a big tupperware and send to us in KL. We usually eat it with white bread but you can do many things with Serunding. You can eat it with bread, rice, pasta serve with veg. such as baby kailan (kale), broccoli or carrots or have it sprinkle over salad.

YOU NEED:
Dry chillies (Lada kering)
Large onions
Red onions or shallots
Bit of garlic
Lots of Lemon Grass
Water
1 kg of beef
Coconut milk from 2-3 coconuts
2-3 dry tamarind slices (Assam keping)
Sugar, Ajionomoto and Salt

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Chop then blend chili, onions, garlic, ginger, & lemon grass
2. Add some water. Set blended spices aside.
3. Slice & boil the beef in water seasoned with salt.
4. When beef is tender, turn off heat, let it cool a bit.
5. Using your findgers, shread the beef into tiny bits
6. Put beef, blended spices & coconut milk in a heavy base pot.
7. Cook over medium heat. You will need to keep a watch over this.
8. Keep stirring. Add assam keping.
9. Season with sugar, ajinomoto and salt to taste.
10. Stir until the beef floss (serunding) is formed. Turn off heat.

Note:
Serunding can last for a few of months if kept in the fridge. You can alternate beef with fish.

Lemon Pound Cake

If you like lemon cakes, here’s fantastic recipe. Tangy, light in texture but rich in flavour. If you cant get sour cream, you can substitute it with yogurt or milk mix with lemon juice. If you like, you can also serve this with heavy cream. It takes away the sweetness.



YOU NEED:
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
180 gm butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp lemon essence (optional)
Finely grated rind of 2 lemons
3/4 cup sour cream or yogurt or
Juice of 1 lemon mix with 1/2 cup milk

Lemon Glaze
Juice and rind of 2 lemons
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon essence

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Sift flour, baking powder into a bowl. Repeat 3-5 times.
2. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar till light & fluffy
3. Simmer lemon juice with sugar till sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition
5. Add vanilla, lemon essence and lemon rind
6. Stir in milk & lemon juice, alternating w. flour.
7. Mix till just combined.
8. Bake at 180C for 50 min to 1 hour. Let it stand in the tin for 10 min.
9. Turn it on a wire rack. Brush warm cake with remaining lemon glaze.
10. Let it cool completely. Serve cake plain or with cream.

Note:
Decorate with sugared lemon rind.

New Cakes In Town

Found new place to have coffee and cake. Had these with Kim-mi and Kong Meng tonight. Big day was 28th April 2005 and was back in KL for a couple of weeks.


At Delicious by Ms. Read Cafe

Pasta with Cheese

Nobody loses their mobile phone more often than yours truly. I had, on many occasions, left it in the restroom, the surau, the store room; some cash counter, and at least once at a friend's place some 20 miles away, my brother's place some 35 miles away, and believe it or not, in a fridge (found a week later ;). Ab-sent-minded. Very often that this had happened a friend commented 'Su, u should hang it around ur neck!'. Should I just give it up? After 10 years, I'd feel quite lost without one.

Well, here's a simple meal; made on this day when I had to go back & fetch (yet again) the one that keeps you connected. Quick meal. 7 min max.



YOU NEED:
Pasta (Of your choice)
Cheese (Parmesan, Cheddar or Pecorino)
Olive Oil
Garlic
Brocolli
Salt and Pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Boil pasta according to instructions on the packet. Use bit of salt.
3. Wash & cut brocolli into florets. Boil for 2 min before pasta is done.
4. Strain pasta and brocolli in a colander.
5. Run cold water over pasta. Strain well, then set aside.
6. Heat olive oil, put in chopped garlic, fry till just fragrant.
7. Turn off heat. Toss in pasta and brocolli. Salt and Pepper to taste.
8. Grate cheese over pasta. Put on plate.
8. Serve with extra cheese if you like.

NOTE:
Want it to be much spicier, add more garlic. Or pepper. Hard cheese blocks last for quite a while. Check expiration date if you don't eat them every day. If you use Capellini (Angel Hair) it should be done in just 2 minutes, so you can boil the pasta and brocolli at the same time. And if you use Linguine, be aldente in about 7.