Jackfruit Cake

   

  

My honey jackfruit tree has been producing a lot of fruits for us. Inside the fruit, the flesh are golden yellow and very sweet. We usually eat the flesh raw. However, recently we harvested a huge fruit weighing 13.1 kg. Despite giving a lot of the flesh to our relatives and neighbours, we were still left with a full container. In order to finish them, I decided to bake a Jackfruit Cake with them. The cake turned out very aromatic and yummy.

Ingredients:

• 225 g butter
• 150 g sugar
• 4 Grade A eggs
• 225 g cake flour/super fine flour/low protein flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt (if using unsalted butter)
• 170 g jackfruit flesh
• 60 g jackfruit flesh - for decoration

Method:

• Pre-heat the oven at 175 degrees Centigrade.

• Line and grease a 7-inch pan.

• Cut the 170g of jackfruit flesh into very small cubes. Set them aside.

• Cut the 60g of jackfruit flesh into long strips. Set them aside.

• Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt twice. Set them aside.

• Add butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Cream them till they are light and fluffy.

• Break in the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition.

• Fold in the sifted dry ingredients, one-third at a time.

• Add the cubed jackfruit flesh to the bowl. Use a spatula to mix them up with the butter-flour mixture.

• Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Level it with a spatula. Decorate the top with the strips of jackfruit flesh.

• Bake in the oven for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.

• Leave the cake in the oven for about 10 minutes with the oven door slightly ajar.

• Remove the pan from the oven.

• Remove the cake from the pan and let it cool down on a metal rack.

• Cut the cake when it has completely cooled down.

No Bake Cheesecake

   

   

No Bake Cheesecake is smooth, light and creamy with a crunchy biscuit base. It is easy to make with no room for error. And best of all you do not need an oven to make one. So you do not have to worry whether your cake will crack or not. Neither do you need a stand mixer; a whisk will do the job as well. It is good as a dessert after meals. It can also be served for tea. I am sure one helping is not enough once one has tasted it.

 

Ingredients:

• 100 g digestive biscuits
• 25 g butter
• 500 g cream cheese
• 300 g whipping cream
• 200 g milk
• 120 g powdered sugar
• 16 g gelatin powder
• 80 g cold boiled water

Method

• Place the digestive biscuits into a zip lock bag and crush them. Place the crushed biscuits into a bowl.

• Melt the butter and add it to the bowl. Mix them up till all the butter has been absorbed by the crushed biscuits.

• Pour the biscuits into an 8-inch diameter and 2-inch tall pan with a removable base. Use the base of a metal cup to press and level the biscuit on the base of the pan. (I use a smaller round baking pan to press down and level the biscuit. In this way I can be assured of an even base.)

• Place the baking pan into the fridge to set the biscuit.

• Cut the cream cheese into smaller pieces and leave it out to soften at room temperature.

• When soft, mix the cream cheese and sugar till smooth. You may use a whisk or a stand mixer to do so.

• When the sugar has melted, add the whipping cream and milk. Mix till the batter is smooth.

• Add cold boiled water to bloom the gelatin in a small bowl. This takes about 5-10 minutes.

• When the batter is ready, put the bowl of bloomed gelatin into a bigger bowl of hot water. Stir the gelatin powder till it dissolves.

• Add the gelatin powder to the batter.

• Mix till it is well incorporated with the batter.

• Pour the mixture into the cake pan.

• Put the pan in the refrigerator for at least 3-4 hours for the cake to set.

• To remove the cake from the pan, put the pan on a tall cup.

• Wet a towel with hot water.

• Wrap the towel around the cake pan. Slowly slide the cake pan down to release it from the cake.

• It is ready to be served.

Spicy Fried Glass Noodles

 

      

 

Spicy Fried Glass Noodles is an easy meal which can be speedily dished up when you are tired of spending lots of time cooking in your kitchen. It is also a versatile dish; you may add seafood or meat in it. Here, I have used prawns to cook it. It is such a yummy dish that my son had asked me to cook it a few times since I first cooked it.

Ingredients:

• 150 g glass noodles (My rough guide is 75 g per person.)
• 4-6 large prawns
• 2 tbsp dried prawns
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 inches ginger
• 1 stalk green onions
• 1 tbsp chili paste or sambal (Sambal will make the noodles more tasty as it has shrimp paste, garlic and onions incorporated into the chili paste.)
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 3 tbsp cooking oil (Add more if you want your glass noodles to be glossy.)
• 1/2 cup water

 

Method:

• Soak glass noodles in warm water for about 8-10 minutes. Glass noodles bought from one shop may turn soft faster than those bought from another. Feel them at the 8th minute to ensure that they are not too soft. Remove and set them aside.

• Wash, cut off the rostrum, antenna, legs and tails and de-vein the prawns.

• Wash and pound/chop the dried prawns.

• Mince the garlic.

• Mince the ginger.

• Wash and cut the green onions to 1/2 inch length.

• Heat up the cooking oil in a wok.

• Saute garlic, ginger, chili paste or sambal and dried prawns till fragrant.

• Add the prawns and fry till they are half-cooked.

• Add water and let it boil.

• Add the seasonings - light and dark soy sauces, salt and pepper.

• Add the glass noodles and fry them till they are cooked. Sprinkle them with green onions. Give them a quick stir and ladle them up onto a serving plate.