Believe, Work for it - Ask the Lord for the Land !

Ask the Lord for the land, 6 Acres at a time ! See how the Lord multiplies. 

Keep asking, Keep the faith, ask for more 6 Acres of those who would not have it.

See your faith grows, see your land increase ! 

Change your attitude to get that altitude !

Be an entry-level Christian, enter all levels of life - testimony of Steve Harvey.

Carrot Walnut Pineapple Cake

In short, this is Carrot Cake, the much loved and a much fussed-about recipe. This is a recipe that needs practice in order to be perfect. A bit too much cinnamon, it will be too strong in spice. A bit too many wet ingredient, the cake is too wet, dense and heavy. We love the light Carrot Cake, not too heavy in ingredients, not too strong in spice.

Ingredients A

3 Eggs
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Castor Sugar
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 Cup Buttermilk
1 tsp Vanilla Essence

Beat Ingredient A until smooth. Possible to use hand whisk.

Ingredients B
2 Cups Self Raising Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon Powder

Sift Ingredients B

Ingredients C
2 Cups Grated Carrots (1 1/2 Large Carrots)
8 Oz Pineapple Crushed
1/2 Cup Dessicated Coconut
1 Cup Pecans / Walnuts Chopped

180 C 25 - 35 mins 9" Round Tin

Method :-
1) Mix Ingredients A together and beat until smooth.
2) Sift Ingredients B and add to A.
3) Fold in Ingredients C into cake mixture.

It is possible to make this cake without mixer, hand whisk will do.

Here are some references that I made to and on top of that, I have asked a dear friend for her family's all-time favourite recipes:-

1) Prize-winning Carrot Cake
2) All Recipes' Carrot Pineapple Cake
3) Sally's Baking Carrot Cake 

Carrot Walnut Cake - The wonderful Cake

Carrot Walnut Cake - The wonderful Cake

This is much-sought-after recipe by my family members. Finally, we got it from a dear aunt and as usual, we need to work on the recipe to get to the version that we truly love and enjoy.

Doria's Carrot Walnut Recipe

A 

6 Oz Corn Oil

6 Oz Sugar (Brown is preferred)

4 Eggs

B

3 Oz Pineapple crushed (add some juice from tin)

10 Oz Carrot (grated & raw), min 7 Oz

2 1/2 Oz Walnut (raw)

2 1/2 Oz Rasin (dust with flour), may replace some with Prune in rum

C

8 Oz Hong Kong Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

2 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp Cinnamon Powder

Method :-

1) Mix (A) together and stirring until turns lemon colour. Then add in (B) and mix well.

2) Sift the Cake Flour and Baking Soda over the mixture, mixing thouroughly. Bake in 2 greased and floured 10" or 1 12" pans at 170 C for 30 mins until cooked. 

3) Bake as one single cake - 50 mins to 1 hour. If smaller portions then less time.

Cream Cheese Frosting

250 gm Cream Cheese

250 gm Butter

3 oz Icing Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

Cream Cheese Frosting (1 1/2 Portions)

500 gm Cream Cheese

350 gm Butter

3 Oz Icing Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

Cream Cheese Frosting (1 1/3 Portions)

400 gm Cream Cheese (with the liquid)

270 gm Butter - I used 250 gm

2.5 Oz Icing Sugar - I added till 4 Oz cos not sweet enough

1 tsp Vanilla (replaced by half a lemon rinds and 2 tsp of Lemon Juice)

Comments :-

1) Carrots and Pineapple are often "melted" into the cake and hard to taste it. The colour of the cake is dark brown, likely to come from Carrots.

2) Cinnamon is needed. 

3) The cake taste great and much healthier without the Cream Cheese. It is not oily and not too much spices.

4) The above portion yields one 8 inches round cake or 3 small cakes of 400 gram each. The following portion is larger portion.

1 1/2 Portion Recipe

A
9 Oz Corn Oil
9 Oz Sugar
6 Eggs

B
4.5 Oz Pineapple crushed
15 Oz Cooked Carrot (grated)
3 3/4 Oz Cashew Nut
3 3/4 Oz Rasin

C
12 Oz Hong Kong Flour
1.5 tsp Baking Soda
3 tsp Baking Powder
3 tsp Cinnamon Powder

Original Recipe 

(Original Recipe typed out)

A 

6 Oz Corn Oil

6 Oz Sugar

4 Eggs

B

3 Oz Pineapple crushed

10 Oz Cooked Carrot (grated)

2 1/2 Oz Cashew Nut

2 1/2 Oz Rasin

C

8 Oz Hong Kong Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

2 tsp Baking Powder

Carrot Walnut Sponge Cake

4 Eggs Separated

1 1/2 Cups Corn or Vegetable Oil

170 gm Fine Granulated Sugar

140 gm Brown Sugar

1 1/2 Cups Lightly Packed Grated Carrots

Sift Together:-

250 gm Cake Flour

2 tsp mixed spices

1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

100 gm Chopped Walnuts

Method:-

1) In large mixing bowl beat egg yolks then add in oil, sugar, carrots and mix well.

2) Stir in dry ingredients and mix well.

3) Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into cake mixture,

4) Pour into a lined and greased 9" round baking mould and bake for 180 C for 45 mins.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

120 gm Butter

250 gm Cream Cheese

120 gm Icing Sugar

Cream butter and cream cheese till fluffy and then add in Icing Sugar, cream until smooth.

Matcha Sponge Cake

I like Green Tea but when it comes to Matcha, I like it as a drink better than the rest. However, Matcha Cake is really nice but I have not tried to make it. Recently, Bel asked me if I could bake a cake for her friend whose absolute favourite cake is Matcha Cake! Ok, that is a good challenge albeit very short notice. I think I will give it a try.

I love to take reference from other people and here is one reliable one that I keep going back to:-
http://nasilemaklover.blogspot.my/2016/08/matcha-sponge-cake.html

I will use my own Basic Sponge Cake recipe (the age-old recipe) and then add 10 gm of Matcha Tea green powder for the flavourr. Bake 170 C for 50 minutes.

Matcha Sponge Cake

Mixture A
4 Egg Whites
2 Oz Castor Sugar
1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar

Mixture B
4 Egg Yolks
3 Oz Vegetable Oil
3 Oz Water
4 Oz Sponge Cake mixture
2 Oz Hong Kong Flour
1/4 tsp Soda Bicarbonate
10 g Matcha Powder

Method

1. Whisk Mixture A untuk stiff
2. Mix everything well in Mixture B and add in Matcha Powder

For the cream, here are two good suggestions from the website:-

White Chocolate Mouse

100 UHT Whippping Cream
50 g Whiet Chocolate
25 g UHT Whipping Cream
1 tsp Gelatine Powder
1 Tbsp Water

Red Bean Cream

170 g red bean paste
100 g UHT Whipping Cream

Large Batch Baking - Charity Fund Raising

Prune Cake Large Batch Baking

I have not organised or done Charity fund raising for quite a few years. This year, after much thinking since we need to raise quite a lot and need more ideas, I decided to come out with Mother's Day Packages:-




What is 6 Butter Portions look like :-

Eggs 30 Large AA
Butter 6 X 250 gm 6 blocks)
Brown Sugar 30 Oz (1 lb 14 Oz) Brown Sugar
Prune soaked in Rum (for a month) - 650 gm
Hong Kong Flour - 40 Oz (3 lb

6 Butter Portions can yield :-

1.2 Kg X 3 = 3.6 Kg

0.5 Kg X 5 = 2.5 Kg

100 gm X 10 =  1 Kg
Total = 7.1 Kg Ingredient mix !

In the 2017 Mother's Day Fund Raising, we were selling

1/2 Kg cake, Apple Pie with flower - RM50
1 Kg cake, Apple Pie with flower and Rose Bag Hanger & Bookmark - RM100

Jackfruit Butter Cake (Buah Nanga)

When we were given a Jackfruit, my maid told me there are two types of Jackfruits and in Indonesia, they called them as:

Nanga Susu - soft and a lot of liquid
Nanga Belanda - crunchy and hard, less liquid

Nanga Belanda is easier to handle in baking, the dicing of the flesh is easier.

When you bake this cake, the aroma in the house is absolutely wonderful. The smell is even has a sweet taste to it and it has this buttery frangrance in it. As a butter cake, its very flavourful and you can reduce the sugar due to the sweetnes in the fruit.


Ingredient A
5 Eggs White medium size
150 gm Sugar

Ingredient B
5 Egg Yolks medium size
220 gm Butter

220 gm Plain Flour Sieved
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Soda Bicarbonate
30 gm Fresh Milk
80-100 gm Jackfruit diced

Method

1. Blend Egg white and sugar till soft peak.
2. Blend Butter, Egg Yolks till even. Add in Ingredient A, add Flour, milk. Lastly add diced Jackfruits.

Bake 180 C 45 minutes

Note :- 2 Portions can make 3 loaves tins.

Other versions of Recipes :-

1. http://www.smithaskitchen.com/jackfruit-cake/
2. http://www.goaholidayhomes.com/recipes/recipe-353-jackfruit-cake.html
3. http://artfulfood.blogspot.my/2011/07/jackfruit-chiffon-cake.html

Chinese New Year "Cake"

Chinese New Year reminds me of good food and lots of endless goodies munches ! It is nimble, nimble the whole day through, from one place to another, every home tries to outdo others with their own secret recipes home-made goodies. It could be special brew of tea or juicing from own garden fruits to special fried stuff and baked goodies.


Here is the most important of all items in Chinese New Year celebrations, it is a must have, you dont make it then you have to buy it. If you can make, you probably will receive them as gifts from others who visit you.

I have modified the recipes a few times over, hoping to get the right consistency and taste that we all love.

Original Nyonya Glutinuous Rice Kuih

10 Eggs
1 litre Canned Coconut milk
500 gm Glutinuous Rice Flour
500 gm Sugar

Mix well and bake 180 C for 50-60 mins, Pierce with stick to know its done.

Remarks :- Taste really good, colour a bit pale looking, children love it. I felt its too rich in content, high in eggs, high in sugar, high in Coconut milk too !

Modified by Doria Version 1

8 Eggs
500 ml Canned Coconut milk
500 gm Glutinuous Rice Flour
500 gm Gula Melaka + 500 ml water (boiled and cooled)

This only difference was that the Kuih is darker  and richer in colour. But I still felt its a bit too sticky and the egg taste quite strong.



Modified 2.0

8 Large Eggs
500 gm Gula Melaka or Molasses in 800 ml water
500 gm Glutinous Rice
1 pack of Santan Powder

140 C bake for 1 hour
Use Silicone Mould

I made lots of this Nian Gao Kuih since 2015 (?), there is no turning back after I discovered this recipe.

Now, I made them as 4 portions size, the maximum my giant basin can hold.
It yields about 5.5 litre of fluid.
The Rectangular mould from Rebecca holds 2 litres
The Ikea Heart holds about 1-1.5 litre
The Blue flower mould (the best size) holds about 600 ml
The two small Daiso moulds hold about 400 ml each.

I think this year I have baked easily 4 rounds of 4 portions, that be 128 eggs, which is 4 trays and 8 eggs ! The costing is about RM20.70 per portion of ingredients.

Chinese New Year 2016

Chinese  New Year is here again ! Lots of food and goodies, expensive to buy but most rewarding to make them at home. This year, the mood is a bit different, without my mum, things got really busy since Christmas. We have never really slowed down. Partly due to the fact that we did not have family holidays at the end of the year 2015. 

2015 just zoomed pass us and 2016 New Year over and now Chinese New Year is here ! 

This dried meat is not difficult to make but the ingredientss to marinate have to follow the first recipe I got from my friend. This year, the dark soya sauce I used was too salty, it lacked some sweetness. Oh well, we could use them as preserved meats to be cooked with vegetables or eat with rice ! Treat it like Chinese Sausages ! 

Pineapple tarts are specialist CNY Foodies ! It is a lot of work but the results are melting good and goes well with any coffee ! I baked 1 Kg butter portion of pastry and used two packets of pineapple jam and we got about 280 tiny pieces. The verdict - it is better than some sold in the shop ! 

This is a Must-Have item. My kids used to dislike them and never ate them. Until I found this Nyonya Style Nian Gao using santan which I amended to use Gula Melaka and the result, yummilicious. This year, I even perfected the baking and learnt how to make them nicer, rounder and smoother. 

Cempedak Cakes

It's good to find a recipe for this fragrant fruits. Cempedak is a local fruit that is strong fragrant and rich in fibre. It is known in English as the fragrant Jackfruit, definitely a close "cousin" of  jackfruit, they even look alike from the skin.

We went to Ranau farm and harvested literally 40 pieces of such fruits. We could easily bring down 100 pieces but we stopped the farmers from taking any more for us. There was  no way we could consume all the Cempedak, In the past, we would fry them in batter but its oily and soaky after a while. 

Before 25 Septemeber 2015, I only knew of three ways to eat Cempedak :-

1) Freshly from the fruits

2) Fried Cempedak Fritters (with batter)

3) Cempedak Ice Cream

I decided to google search for recipes and found  a few adapted ones from Butter Cakes and Chiffon Cakes, some made them into Cempedak Cream and sandwich in between Pandan cake sprinkle with Almond or Pistachio nuts. It was very interesting discovery. We could make a cake out of Cempedak.

Recipes as adapted by me

500 g Butter

10 Oz / 300 g Brown Sugar

12 Oz Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp Vanilla

10 Eggs

300-400 g Cempedak puree

1 1/2 Cup Milk

170 C 50-60 minutes (cool oven make cakes raise more even and less brown)

Make 2 Round 10 inches cakes

Other version of recipes :-

1. http://bakericious.blogspot.my/2012/11/cempedak-butter-cake.html

Recipes from Doria

Over the years, Doria has picked up baking and even went for lessons to get the perfect cakes. Here are some cakes recipes that people have commented as nice and have been requested many times by friends. Just to share these secret recipes. These recipes have been modified over the years.

PRUNE CAKE

11 Oz Butter
6 Oz Sugar (Brown or Castor)
8 Eggs (AA)
8 Oz Hong Kong Flour
160 gm Pitted prunes
1.5 tsp Baking powder
1/2 cup Rum or orange juice

1. Beat egg whites with 2/3 of the sugar until fluffy.
2. Beat egg yolks, butter and sugar until smooth.
Add in blended pitted prune and rum / orange juice.
3. Mix in egg whites mixture.
4. Add in flour and pour into 8” round cake mould.
5. Bake 130C for 1 hour 15 mins.


SPONGE CAKE

4 Pc (Size A) Egg White
2 Oz Castor Sugar
1/4 TspCream of Tartar
4 Pc (Size A) Egg Yolk
3 Oz Vegetable Oil
3 Oz Water
4 Oz Sponge Mix (Royal)
2 Oz Hong Kong Flour / Rose Flour
For Chocolate, use 1 ½ Oz Cocoa Power + ½ Oz Hong Kong Flour
1/4 Tsp Soda Bicarbonate

1. Separate the eggs into two basins.
2. Mixture A :- Mix Egg White, Sugar, Cream of Tartar. Beat until fluffy.
3. Mixture B :- Mix Egg Yolk, Oil, Water, the rest of flours with Soda Bicarbonate.
4. Mix A to B.
5. Pour into Cake tin (8” round). Bake 150-170 degree C for 50 to 60 minutes.
6. Take out from Oven and turn upside down on wire rack to cool down.

Mummy's Cakes Projects

Wedding Cakes for my friend Jessisca & Clif

Wedding cake on Christabel's birthday 30 May 08
Teachers Day Cake
Birthday Cake for Granpa's 85th

Christmas Cake 2006

Christmas Cake 2006