Chocolate lava cakes

We have boxes accumulating in our make-shift storage room, and I've been itching to clear them - boxes that came from new appliances, mostly. Skepticism about the robustness of the works and whether the appliances' performances are as claimed, my husband amassed the boxes that they came in just in case we had to return them.

I was eager to clear the boxes, which meant that I had to test out all the appliances first. For a long while I've checked all but one off the list. I figured it's about time I used my new mixer and tidy away the hoard of boxes that were beginning to be an eyesore.

To make lava cakes, you can simply use a bowl and whisk. However, bringing in the mixer wouldn't be an overkill.

The lava cake is a classic example of a mistake turned into a miracle. It came into existence when a chef took his chocolate sponge cake out from the oven too soon, and revealed a cake that was nevertheless warm and tasty.

I made this trice; the first batch was baked for 11 minutes at 220 degC and didn't have nice flowing lava centers as intended. Nevertheless, it turned out to be a moist and super chocolaty cake that wasn't bad at all! (Ice cream makes all things better...)

The second one was baked for a shorter duration of 8-10 minutes at 220 degC, and this gave centers that were partially liquefied. This was almosttt there, but not quite as desired.

My third attempt was an adaptation of Gordon Ramsay's recipe for Chocolate Fondant. The baking temperature was much lower (160 degC) than what I've used previously, which is probably why I've been getting less lava than I hoped for. I mean, it's his recipe, I had a feeling it was gonna be perfect.

And so it was.

Yields 4 cakes.

What?

• Butter, for greasing ramekins
• Cocoa powder, for dusting
• 170 g semi-sweet chocolate
• 115 g unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• Ice cream, for topping (IMO, not optional...)

How?

1. Butter the ramekins and dust with cocoa powder. Set the ramekins aside.
2. Break the chocolate into smaller pieces. Melt the chocolate and butter using the double boil method. Stir until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and egg yolks, salt and sugar until thick. Fold in the melted chocolate mixture, followed by the flour.
4. Spoon the batter into prepared ramekins.
5. Bake for about 11 minutes a preheated oven at 160 degC. The edges should appear firm, but centers are still soft. Let the cakes cool for 1 minute before gently inverting them onto serving plates.
6. Serve warm, topped with ice cream.

Note: The batter can be make ahead (up to step 4) and refrigerated for max. two days. Allow the batter to come to room temp before baking it in the oven.

Chewy oatmeal raisin cookies

When I think of an oatmeal cookie, one that is crispy on the outside but soft and chewy in the middle and studded with plump raisins comes to mind. Oatmeal cookies are a timeless classic, and to me, somewhat comforting. It kinda reminds me of home.

These cookies with their chewy texture, warm blend of nutty oats and spices make them a favourite among many. The dash of cinnamon and pinch of nutmeg create a delicious depth of flavour and intense aroma as the cookies bake away in the oven. I love the smell of the spiced bakes that fills my kitchen! Old-fashioned rolled oats were used in this recipe for a heartier and thicker homemade goodness.

These cookies are good for any time of the year, though the pleasant aroma hits me with a holiday-season-cookie feel.

It's almost Christmas once again! Only 42 days to be exact. Counting down to be with family again! Nothing beats that, not even oatmeal cookies. But they do make me feel a littleeee better. ^^

My lovely November blooms! <3

What?

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional!)

How?

1. Soak raisins in warm water for 10 minutes to make them plump. (Blot with kitchen towels to dry them before use!)
2. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until well blended.
4. Mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture until combined.
5. Gently stir in the oats and plumped raisins. The dough will be thick and sticky! Chill it for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
6. Shape the dough into rounded balls (about 1 1/2 tbsp each) and place them about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or baking mats. Flatten the dough slightly.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 degC until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Almond and apple cake

Daylight saving time ends, marking the start of the cold season once again. We've had an unusually balmy summer this year, and the glorious warm days seemed to have held up till late September.

Then the cold sets in, all too sudden, plunging to below 10 degC, and I found myself rummaging through my wardrobe to find my night socks. I have cold toes.

Despite the chills, fall is a pretty season. The most spectacular in my opinion. I love the red, the orange and the yellow of fall foliage - talk about the colours explosion of the leaves. Even when they fall, the leaf piles turn the ground into a beautiful bed of colours.

And undoubtedly, when it's cold, it's nice to keep the oven working - and even better to have warm cakes and pies.

Since fall and apples go together, I made an almond and apple cake (mini one, halved the recipe) over the weekend so I can treat myself to a warm dessert. Simple to make, and delightfully moist!

I think this would go well with ice cream or custard, but I enjoyed mine on its own, warm out of the oven.

From: FirstCovers.com

What?

• 180g butter
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup almond meal
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 small red apples

How?

1. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla. When pale and creamy, beat eggs into the mixture, one at a time.
3. Stir in the almond meal.
4. Add half the flour mixture and half the milk and stir until well combined. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and milk. Stir in ground cinnamon.
5. Core the apples and slice them thinly. Arrange the apple slices over the base of the lined cake pan. Overlap the apple slices slightly. Spoon the batter into the pan and smooth out the surface.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 170degC for about 30-40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes before turning it over into a serving plate.
7. Serve warm.

Bread and butter pudding

I had some leftover bread in the fridge and was contemplating chucking them.

Should I steam the bread? Or make some french toast?

How about some bread and butter pudding?

What better way to use up stale bread? :) Bread and butter pudding is the ultimate comfort food and would be a canny way for using up bread/buns/loafs that are almost past their best.

This sweet, rich and stodgy dessert goes great with custard or ice cream, and in this unforgivingly cold (and sometimes wet) weather, I think it pairs best with a cup of hot cocoa. For a little extra kick, you can soak the raisins in rum or add a shot of liquor to the egg mixture.

Bread and butter pudding makes a warm, comforting dessert, perfect for an after-dinner treat. It reheats well in the oven (covered with a foil so it doesn't dry out too much), so you can have the warmed leftovers for breakfast on a cold morning too! :)

What?

• 4 slices of bread
• Butter for greasing and buttering
• Raisins
• Ground nutmeg
• Ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 25 g sugar

How?

1. Cut the crusts off bread and slice it diagonally into triangles.
2. Spread the bread with butter and place a layer in a greased dish, butter side up. Sprinkle the layer of bread with raisins, nutmeg and cinnamon (to taste!),
3. Add another layer of buttered bread. Alternate with the raisins, nutmeg and cinnamon until all the bread have been used. 
4. Warm the milk to about 65 degC (do not boil).
5. Beat the egg with half of the sugar and stir it into the warm milk.
6. Strain the egg mixture over the bread, and sprinkle the top with raisins, nutmeg, cinnamon and the remaining sugar. 
7. Leave it to stand for 30 minutes.
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degC for 30-40 minutes until the custard has set and the top slightly browned.

"I want to marry you" cookies

Recently, my social media newsfeed page has been constantly flooded with updates of proposals, engagement, and marriages. While scrolling down the page, you'd see pretty bouquets, flashy rings, white gowns and sometimes even lengthy declaration of love and "thanksgiving" speeches (especially on those auspicious weekends!). All these "signs" on social media is actually pretty much indicative of the phase in life where people of my age are supposed to be, if everyone else is taken to be the benchmark.

In the midst of all the fancy-frilly-lovey-dovey, a photo labelled "Marry me cookies" caught my eye.

Did someone bake cookies for a proposal?

Well they say that the best way to someone's heart is through the stomach.

This should be a damn good cookie then.

I found out later that these cookies aren't particularly made for a proposal, but it has been said that they were so good to a point that upon gifting them, love would usually ensue. I, for one, find it most remarkable that these cookies were made all in one pan. In place of creaming the butter and sugar as in most cookie recipes, it was intriguing that this particular one simply melts the butter and sugars in the pan and literally have everything else mixed in after. You get the rich toffee flavour from the dissolved sugar in hot melted butter, crispy outsides with soft centers, and that mysteriously unique cinnamon flavour - all these without the need to wash up extra mixing bowls or a mixer after! I would marry that.

Try these, whether in need for inspiring or eliciting a marriage proposal or not. ;)

What?

• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated (white) sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup uncooked rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamom
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup chocolate chips

How?

1.  Melt the butter in a saucepan until melted. Remove from the heat.
2.  Stir in the brown sugar and white sugar until incorporated and smooth. Chill in the fridge for 10 min.
3. Remove from the fridge and stir in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla.
4. Add the flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix together.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Roll the batter into 1-1/2 inch sized balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
7. Place the baking sheet into the fridge and chill for 30 minutes.
8. Bake the chilled cookies in a preheated oven at 160 degC (325 degF) for 12 to 14 minutes.
9. Allow the cookies to cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them onto a cooling rack.

Adapated from: Cooking channel

Almond flour blondies

Blondies are like the cousins of brownies. Though without the cocoa or chocolate used in brownie batters. blondies are every bit as rich and delicious as their chocolatey counterpart.

These unintentionally gluten-free blondies turned out to be one of my favourite blondies-brownies recipe! I usually like my brownies fudgy-chewy, and these almond flour blondies fulfil the requirements of being dense, moist and chewy. Almond flour has been used frequently in baking as a gluten-free flour substitute. With its reputation of being high in protein, low in carbohydrates and sugars, almond flour has been a popular alternative to wheat flour.

As mentioned, there is no special reason why these blondies are gluten-free or grain-free; it just happened that I have almond flour sitting in the baking pantry. And I guess it wouldn't hurt to have seemingly healthier treats! :p 

The almond flour made the blondies more dense and grainier than it would be if I had used plain flour. If you are using plain flour in this recipe, just substitute almond flour 1:1 with plain flour. For a little extra crunch, walnuts or pecans can be added.

Slice the brownies into bars/squares to serve, or into bite-sizes as I prefer. Or if it's just for your consumption, go ahead and eat it out of the dish!

What?

• 50 g butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips ( I used a mix of dark, milk and white)
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts, if desired (e.g. walnuts, pecans)

How?

1. Cream the butter and sugars together. Add in egg and vanilla extract and mix until light and fluffy.
2. Add in the almond flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until combined.
3. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts.
4. Pour the batter into a greased baking dish and smooth it out. 
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degC for 20-25 minutes until golden. Leave it to cool (or not!) before serving!

Adapted from: Meaningful eats

Lemon macarons

I'm not particularly good at facing up to the hard times. But I know I have to quickly come to terms with failure to overcome it.

In my down moments, I am heartened to have people who continued to believe in me and assured me that it will all be okay. And I'm okay. :)

"When life knocks you over, roll over and look at the stars."

Since I've been thrown some lemons, here are some sweet and tart lemon macarons for dessert.

What?
Lemon macaron shells

• 100 g almond flour
• 100 g icing sugar
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Yellow gel colouring (optional)

Lemon buttercream

• 30 g butter
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

How?
Lemon macaron shells

1. Sift the almond flour and icing sugar together and set aside.
2. In a clean mixing bowl, beat the egg whites on medium speed until frothy. Increase the speed to medium high. Gradually add in the sugar and beat until stiff peaks start to form. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Beat for another minute. 
3. Pour the almond flour mixture into the beaten egg whites. Fold the mixture gently until incorporated. If desired, add yellow gel colouring at this point. Continue folding until batter is smooth and falls off the spatula in a thin flat ribbon. Be careful not to over mix it as the batter will get thinner as you fold.
4. Transfer the batter into a pastry bag with a round tip. Pipe out 1-1.5 inch rounds about 1 inch apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Tap the baking sheets on the counter top a few times.
5. Let the macarons sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour until the tops are no longer sticky to the touch.
6. Bake the macarons in a preheated oven at 150 degC for 15-20 minutes. The macaroons should have risen slightly to form "feet".
7. Transfer the macarons to a wire rack to cool completely.

Lemon buttercream

1. Beat the butter. Add icing sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
2. Transfer the buttercream into a pastry bag and fill the macarons - or just spread it onto the shells and pop it into your mouth!