It's really that simple

I don't know why it took me so long to pick up the courage to make something so simple as molten chocolate cakes!

Somehow, I have this false impression that it requires skills and experience of a pastry chef to make them...probably because I only get to eat this delicious dessert during one of those rare occasions when I meet up with my friends for dinners.

Well, although the recipe is so straight forward, I only got it right on the second attempt. The first time I made them, I did the most unforgivable mistake of over baking...by just 2 minutes! The cake tasted awesome, but it didn't flow like lava :'(

The second attempt was perfect! This time I made sure my oven was well preheated just to be very sure that the cake would be cooked within the recommended baking time. I removed the cake from the oven once the timer started to beep. The surface appeared barely cooked, it was 'just set'. I was so tempted to put it back into the oven to bake it a little longer!

Besides baking time, the timing to unmold the cake from the ramekin is also one of the critical success factors to note. After removing from the oven, leave them in the ramekins to cool for at least 1 to 2 mins. This is to allow the cake to set a little, it may fall apart if you try to unmold it straight out of the oven. But this doesn't mean you should leave them in the ramekins forever as the cakes are meant to be served warm.

Surprisingly, unmolding the cake is not as difficult as I thought. Just run a knife around the sides of the ramekin, then flip it over a serving plate and remove the ramekin. The cake will not get stuck to the ramekin as long as you have greased it really well. Do be careful as the ramekin will be very hot.

I have also tried serving these molten chocolate cakes in the ramekin...saves me the trouble of unmolding and washing up extra serving plates ;)

Another wonderful thing I discovered about making these lava cakes is, you can actually prepare the batter a few hours ahead of time, keep them in the fridge and bake only when ready to serve. This is really something new to me. Whenever we order this dessert at cafes or restaurants, we were always told to place the order in advance as it would take at least 20 to 30 mins to prepare. So all along I was given the impression that this dessert can only be made and served right away!

As with any homemade chocolate cakes, do use the best quality baking chocolate you could afford. I have made these with valrhona baking chocolates and also Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips. It must be my unsophisticated palates, both tasted equally good to me even though one is more expensive than the other. I wouldn't attempt to describe how delicious these lava cakes turn out...but the fact that I made them 4 times in a row gets to show how everyone in the family loves it, and of course how easy it is for me to bake them!

If you are a first timer and eager to give this a try, you may want to hop over to my favourite baking website, joyofbaking.com to watch this video to get an idea how to go about making molten chocolate cakes and to avoid any pitfalls. The video certainly boost my confidence and I am very thankful for the wonderful and generous sharing by Stephanie Jaworsk. I have learned a lot from her website, she mades baking really easy for self taught home bakers like me :)


Molten Lava Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
(makes 4 servings)

135g dark chocolate
65g unsalted butter
2 large eggs
45g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
25g plain flour

some butter for greasing

Method:

• Preheat oven to 200 degC.
• Bring a saucepan of water to a simmer. Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl by setting the bowl over the saucepan; make sure the bowl is bigger than the saucepan. Stir the mixture to ensure all the chocolate is melted and the mixture becomes smooth. Remove from heat; set aside to cool.
• Generously grease the bottom and sides of four 180ml (6 oz) size ramekins with butter; set aside.
• Place eggs in the mixing bowl of MUM5 kitchen machine*. Attach the beating whisk and beat for a few seconds to break them up. Add the sugar and vanilla extract. Beat on speed 3 and gradually increase to speed 6 for about 3 to 4 minutes till the mixture triple in volume, becomes thick, pale and fluffy. Reduce to speed 4 and continue to beat for about 1 to 2 minutes to break up larger bubbles in the batter. When the whisk attachment is lifted, the mixture should fall and leave a ribbon-like trail.
• Add in the melted chocolate mixture and beat on speed 4 for about 1 minute or until the mixture is thoroughly blended.
• Sieve the flour into the mixing bowl. With a spatula fold in the flour until just incorporated. Do not over mix. Pour batter into the prepared ramekins to about half full.
• Place filled ramekins on a baking tray and bake in middle rack  in preheated oven at 200 degC for 10 minutes. Do not over bake. The cakes are deliberately under baked. The cake is ready when the outside edges is set (gently touch the edges, it should feel soft but won't stick to your finger) and the middle still looks a little wet.
• Remove from oven immediately and leave to cool for 1 to 2 minutes. Serve the cakes in the ramekins or alternatively, run a small knife around cakes to loosen. Invert warm cakes onto individual serving plates and carefully lift ramekin off cakes. Dust the top with icing sugar and serve warm with ice cream or berries.

The batter can be prepared a few hours ahead of time. Leave batter in the prepared ramekins, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate. When ready to serve, bring to room temperature while preheating the oven. Bake at 200 degC for 10 minutes just before serving.

*Note: I used my new Bosch MUM5PRO HomeProfessional Kitchen Machine MUM57830 to prepare the cake batter, read my review of this kitchen mixer here.

easy does it

Bread making used to be a tedious task when I first started making homemade bread by hand. Kneading bread dough can be very therapeutic, but too often I ended up with very sore arms and shoulder the next day.

Baking bread at home became much easier after I bought my first bread machine. I left the kneading entirely to the machine, no more aching! The machine was so heavily utilised that it went kaput after two years. It was back to kneading dough by hand for a long period before I got another bread maker.

Life couldn't get any simpler when I received my latest kitchen helper, a Bosch kitchen machine. With this new machine, the dough takes a much shorter time to knead as compared to my bread maker.

This wholemeal honey and yoghurt bread loaf was made using the straight dough method, simple and straight forward without having to proof the dough overnight or to prepare any tangzhong or water roux. The recipe is a combination of a few bread recipes...by substituting or replacing ingredients to suit my aim of making a loaf of homemade loaf bread so simple and easy that anyone can give it a go. Shaping was relatively fuss-free too,  just roll out the whole piece of dough and then roll it up to form a log, no special skills or technique involved.

The bread turned out to be very soft, light and airy. Besides kneading the dough to the right stage, I believe both the honey and yoghurt contributes to the tender texture as well. The bread remained soft even on the 3rd day!

There is no doubt that bread making takes time, yet it is not time consuming. Yes, it takes time for the dough to rise and proof, but the actual process of preparing the dough should not take more than half an hour of your time. Easy does it. Go slow and steady, coupled with a little patience and you will be rewarded with a loaf of freshly baked healthy homemade bread, way superior than any commercial store bought ones ;)



Wholemeal Honey and Yoghurt Bread

Ingredients:
(makes one loaf using a 7.5"x4"x4" loaf pan)

270g bread flour
30g wholemeal flour
40g caster sugar
2g (1/4 teaspoon) salt
4g (1 teaspoon) instant yeast
70g non fat plain natural yoghurt, room temperature
30g honey
120g fresh milk, room temperature
20g unsalted butter

some rolled oats

Method:

(Note: The bread dough is made with Bosch MUM5PRO HomeProfessional Kitchen Machine MUM57830, read my review here.)

Place bread flour, wholemeal four, caster sugar, salt, instant yeast, yoghurt, honey and milk (except the butter) into the mixing bowl. Attach the kneading hook and set the MUM 5 to speed 1 to mix the ingredients for about 1 minute. Turn to speed 3 and let the machine knead for about 5 minutes.

Add in the butter and continue to knead at speed 3 for another 18~20 minutes. To test whether the dough is ready, pull and stretch a portion of the dough. It should be elastic, and can be stretched into a thin membrane without tearing/breaking apart easily.

Remove dough from mixing bowl. Dust hand with some flour and shape the dough into a smooth round. Place the dough back in the mixing bowl and cover the bowl with cling wrap or a damp cloth and let proof in room temperature (around 28 to 30 degrees C) for about 1 hour, or until double in bulk.

Remove dough from the bowl. Dust work surface with some flour and give the dough a few light kneading to press out the gas. Smooth into round, cover with cling wrap or damp cloth and leave it to rest for about 10mins.

Flatten the dough into a disc and roll out into a rectangular shape about 7" by 12". Roll up the dough along the shorter end like a swiss roll to form a log (with a length of about 7" or the length of the loaf pan you are using). Pinch and seal the seams tightly. Place dough seam side down in a well greased loaf pan. Cover with cling wrap or damp cloth and leave dough to proof for the second time for about 40mins to 1 hour, or until double in size. Brush the top with water and sprinkle rolled oats all over.

Bake in pre-heated oven at 190 degrees C for 30 minutes or until the surface turns golden brown. Remove from oven, unmold and transfer to rack to let cool. Once cool, store immediately in an airtight container and best consumed within 2 to 3 days.

dessert in a glass

If you are a parent of a P6 student in a local school here, you would probably know why I have been missing in actions for the past weeks ;)

Today marks the beginning of the much anticipated (with stress and agony on my part) primary school leaving examination or better known by the 4 letter 'word', psle ;) This national examination also marks the last leg of my younger child's 6 year primary school education. After crossing this huge hurdle, it is not the end, but a beginning of a new chapter for his next phase of education.

I have refrained from baking or indulge in photography or blogging for the past few weeks...just so that I won't feel guilty about not spending quality time with my child. I am blessed with a boy who has his own initiatives to do his own revisions without much guidance or coaching. He has certainly put in a lot of effort to prepare for this exam. I am truly blessed as I didn't have a hard time too when my elder child took his psle a couple of years back.

History repeats itself while I read through my older post about how my elder child prepared for this much dreaded (by parents) national examination. Just like his brother, my younger son went through the same phase. I would think he is in a much better position than his brother since his mother is 'wiser' and less stressed up and has since learned to be more relax after having gone through the cycle once ;)

Ok, enough of my ranting, and I would like to end this post with a simple, easy to put together yet delicious dessert...No bake cheesecakes in pots!

I bought these tiny pudding bottles when I was in Beijing a few years back. I didn't really have much chance to use them until now. Don't be misled by the photographs, these bottles are really tiny, it can only hold 180ml of water!

Instead of making a big no bake cheesecake, I have used the bottles to make individual portions. The steps are pretty much the same as a no bake cheesecake. First layer the bottom with a biscuit base, followed by the cream cheese filling and topped off with some homemade blueberry sauce. The sauce can be made within a few minutes just by cooking blueberries with some caster sugar.

It is quite a 'light' dessert as I have used non fat plain yoghurt instead of heavy cream. I wouldn't say it is a healthy dessert as cream cheese is really fattening ;) However, since one single portion is really quite small, as long as we eat in moderation, I would think it is still a nice sweet treat to serve your family or friends.

I have also made another version using small glasses and topped it with homemade strawberries sauce. Unlike the blueberries version, the strawberries I bought were a bit too tangy. If you were to follow my recipe and would like to use strawberries instead, do adjust/increase the amount of sugar so that the sauce will be sweeter especially if your have got sweet tooth.


Here's wishing all P6 students, all the best for the psle!

and best wishes to all Mummies,

endure, endure, and it will be over very soon ;)



No Bake Blueberry Cheesecake Pots

Ingredients:
(makes 6)

125g blueberries (about 1 punnet)
2 tablespoons caster sugar

75g digestive biscuits (about 5)
25g unsalted butter

250g cream cheese, soften at room temperature
50g icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
140g non fat plain natural yoghurt (I used one 140g tub marigold non fat yoghurt)


Method:

• Heat about 1/3 of the blueberries and caster sugar in a small pan over medium to low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the berries have broken down. Add the rest of the blueberries, cook for another 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
• Melt butter in a small pan over low heat. Crumb the digestive biscuits with the blender attachment of the Bosch MUM5 home professional kitchen machine until they resemble breadcrumbs. Mix the crumbs and the melted butter with a spoon until the crumbs are moistened. Spoon equal portion of the mixture (about 2 tablespoons) into the bottom of 6 dessert pudding bottles or shot glasses (size: 180ml/3 oz). Lightly press down the mixture into the bottom of the bottles or shot glasses. Leave to chill in fridge.
• Place cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla extract in the mixing bowl of the Bosch MUM5 kitchen machine. Mix on speed 4 with the silicone flexible whisk attachment for 3 minutes, or until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy. Add in yoghurt and continue to beat for about 1 minute till the mixture is thoroughly blended.
• Spoon cream cheese mixture into the prepared pudding bottles or shot glasses (about 3 tablespoons per glass). Leave to chill in the fridge.
• Top with the blueberry sauce before serving.

My new kitchen helper

Even though I have been a keen home baker for the past few years, I have never thought of getting a stand mixer, I don't even own a food processor for my daily cooking. A heavy duty stand mixer is neither a need nor a want (^^")

So when Bosch invited me to participate in the review of their recently launched new Bosch MUM5PRO HomeProfessional Kitchen Machine MUM57830 and to provide a couple of recipes using this appliance, I was a little hesitant to accept the invitation.

Frankly, I wasn't sure whether I would be using the machine that regularly as I hardly even use my old handheld electric mixer. I really don't like the idea of having a white elephant permanently gracing my kitchen counter. Most importantly, I don't know whether I am capable of providing recipes that could meet Bosch expectations and requirements for sharing on its website.

It was only after watching the food preparation demo videos by Chef John See from The Food Dot, using the MUM5PRO and the MUM8 kitchen machine, that I started to changed my mine. You see, my husband spent a few minutes of his time to watch the videos with me, and after watching Chef See making a loaf of banana bread with gula melaka butterscotch effortlessly using the Bosch MUM8 kitchen machine, we were really impressed. I actually envisioned my husband making a cake for me! For someone who can't even cook decent instant noodles, the act of merely adding ingredients into the mixing bowl and letting the machine do most of the work seems easy enough for him ;)

With the assuring words from my baking friend, I plucked up my courage to accept the offer. I am just a self-taught home baker, and my baking doesn't go beyond the usual simple cakes, cookies and muffins. I feel really honoured to be given this opportunity to take up the challenge of trying out new recipes using the kitchen machine.

I must say I am very glad that I made the right decision when I received the complimentary set of machine. I love the sleek, modern design of this mixer which match perfectly with the 'look and feel' of my kitchen. Best of all, it is not as bulky as I had expected.

This kitchen appliance is more than a stand mixer. With the citrus press, continuous shredder and blender attachments, it works as a food processor, food mixer and a blender as well. Switching from one appliance to another is very easy with the easy lift swivel arm. For someone with no experience using a stand mixer or a food processor, I could handle the machine with ease.

To use it as a stand mixer, the machine is equipped with a silicon flexible whisk, a beating whisk and a kneading hook. This appliance comes with a powerful 900 watts motor (great for kneading bread dough), and has 7 speeds and a pulse function. The base of the machine is fitted with rubber suction feet which provides extra stability.

To me, the citrus press attachment is a great accessory. I can use it to squeeze lemon or orange juice as and when it is called for in baking recipes; then change it easily to the whisk attachment to proceed with preparing the rest of the batter. When the appliance is switched on, the citrus press will spin and all I needed to do was to hold on to the fruit. While testing the citrus press attachment, I discovered an important safety feature...the machine is designed to make sure the accessories are correctly attached otherwise it will not start.

The continuous shredder attachment comes with 3 discs which can be used for slicing, shredding herbs, fruits and vegetables and grating nuts. The plastic blender attachment can be used for blending drinks, puree fruits and vegetables, it can also be used for cutting fruits, nuts and for crushing ice cubes as well.

As a stand mixer, the machine is designed in such a way that the whisk moves in an elliptical motion which ensures every part of the mixing bowl is reached. I used the silicon flexible stirring whisk to prepare a batch of cream cheese fillings. The batter was thoroughly mixed and became very smooth and well blended within a couple of minutes of whisking. I like this silicon edged mixing blade as it can scrape down the mixture as it run along the side of the bowl.

I tested the balloon whisk by making some molten chocolate cakes. The recipe calls for beating whole eggs and sugar together just like making a sponge cake. I set the machine to run on high speed and the batter was thick and ribbon-like after 3 to 4 minutes. The machine could get noisy when it is set to run at high speed. Luckily it is an efficient machine and the batter was ready in less than 5 minutes.

To break up the large air bubbles formed, I turned it to low speed and I could notice the batter becoming more smooth and stable with less foams. This is something I could hardly achieve with my handheld electric whisk. Due to the design of the handheld whisk, even on low speed, the paddle still spin vigorously within its own axis, whereas this Bosch machine is able to move slowly and gently in a larger circular movement. I have also used this whisk attachment to beat egg whites for a chiffon cake. Base on my past experience with beating egg whites with my handheld whisk, this mixer appears to be able to beat egg whites to a much fuller volume.

While preparing the batter for the molten chocolate cake, I had to fold the flour into the mixture. Unlike the normal mixing bowl, the bottom of the mixer's bowl is slightly raised in the middle. This makes folding a little tricky for a first timer as I couldn't scrape the spatula right under the bowl without hitting the raised part. Fortunately, I figured out a way to get around it. I titled the bowl slightly and I was able to fold in the flour smoothly.

Of all the three beaters, I love the dough hook best since I like baking bread for my family. I left the machine to knead a rather wet and sticky dough for 15~20 minutes until the dough reached the window pane stage. The dough became very smooth and elastic and I could pull and stretch it into a thin membrane. My bread machine will need double the time to knead dough to this stage. The maximum speed for the dough hook attachment is speed 3 so there wasn't much noise from the machine when operated at such low speed; and because of the suction feet, it sat very sturdy on my kitchen counter while it knead continuously for at least 15 minutes. The machine didn't feel warm or show any sign of being over heated after being set to run for so long. It also comes with a transparent lid with filler hole to keep flour from settling all over the work area during the initial mixing.

Overall, this Bosch MUM57830 is an easy to use all-in-one kitchen helper. Cleaning up is not very different from what I would do with my handheld mixer or manual whisk. I will certainly put it to good use since I am very happy with the dough kneading function. It is great for beating egg whites too as I no longer have to juggle a handheld mixer in one hand while trying to add spoonfuls of sugar with another. With more practice, I think I could even leave the machine to run on its own while I prepare the yolk batter whenever I crave for a chiffon cake. I will also be able to explore a wider range of recipes now that I have a food processor and a blender :)

I am really lucky to be invited to take part in this review, till now I still couldn't believe I am a proud owner of a new kitchen machine. Good things do come to those who bakes!


PS: This is not a paid review but I was provided with a set of the Bosch kitchen machine for my use when I participated in their review and recipes exercise.


Click here to visit Bosch's recipe page for quick and easy recipes you can prepare at home with a range of Bosch food preparation appliances such as the Bosch ErgoMixx product.

there's always room for dessert

This is not the first time I made this awfully delicious and decadent chocolate torte. I baked one for my better half's birthday a few months back. Ever since I have taken the first bite, I couldn't seem to get it off my mind...

well, just like any home bakers, we don't need to wait for a special occasion to bake a cake...and,

....there is always room for dessert ;)

This rather rustic, crackly, sunken chocolate cake may look similar to one of my favourate classic chocolate cakes, but take a closer look. Do you notice the black layer at the bottom? It is actually an oreo biscuit base just like the crust of a cheesecake. When I first saw the recipe while browsing a copy of the Delicious magazine, I knew this is the cake to bake for my husband. He is an oreo fiend and what's more, he has two other oreo buddies at home!

Although a picture speaks a thousand words, this photo doesn't do this cake justice, unless one can lick it off the screen. It is dense and yet has a very delicate, velvety smooth texture...'melt-in-your-mouth' are the closest words that I could think of to describe it. Believe it or not, the crunchy crust, which keeps falling off even when the cake was cooling on the rack, is extra icing on the cake!

The original recipe suggests to serve this cake with whisky cream(whipped cream infused with liquor)...but I opted for a scoop of ice cream. I always keep a tub of vanilla ice cream in the fridge, it goes well with most cakes and desserts and it's certainly a fuss-free option than having to whip up a few dollops of cream.

I scaled down the recipe which is meant for 22cm pan to fit my 18cm loose-bottom pan. Some how, looking at the ingredient list, it doesn't use that much fat or sugar...at least the amount is still within my limits. In any case, I follow the rule of eating every thing in moderation. We don't have to feel sinful to indulge once in while ;)

So, what are you waiting for? Happy Baking!



Rich Chocolate Torte

Ingredients:
(make one 18cm cake)

150g oreo cookies
40g melted butter

180g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
50g unsalted butter
50ml coffee
2 egg yolks
45g cake flour

2 egg whites
90g caster sugar

icing sugar (or cocoa powder) for dusting


Method:

• Line the bottom of an 18cm round pan (with removable base) with parchment paper. Grease and flour the sides.
• Remove the cream from the oreo cookies. Crumb the cookies, either with a rolling pin or in a food processor. Place the crumbs and the melted butter in a bowl. Mix thoroughly with a spoon until the crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs evenly into the base of the prepared pan. Use the back of the spoon, smooth out the crumbs and press firmly. You can also use a glass (with a flat base) to press down firmly. Leave to chill in the fridge for at least 30mins.
• Melt chocolate and butter over low heat in a saucepan, stir to combine. Add the coffee, stir to combine. Remove from heat. Let cool.
• With a balloon whisk, whisk egg yolks gently. Add in the melted chocolate/butter mixture. Whisk to combine. Sieve over the flour and whisk to combine. Set aside.
• In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites with a handheld electric mixer on low speed until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Add half of the sugar amount and turn to high speed and beat the mixture. Continue to add in the remaining sugar and beat until the egg whites reaches the soft peak stage. The soft peak stage is reached when the peaks of the whites curl over and droop slightly. The egg whites should appear smooth and glossy. (Do not over beat the whites still stiff, it is better to beat the whites still soft peaks for easy folding with the yolk batter.)
• Add 1/3 of the egg white to the egg yolk mixture. Fold in with a balloon whisk to loosen the batter. Add the remaining egg white in 2 separate addition, change to a spatula and each time fold in gently, making sure all the egg whites are incorporated into the batter. (Note: take care not to deflate the batter. The finished batter should fill up the pan to at least 3/4 full.)  
• Pour batter into the prepared cake pan. Tap the cake pan lightly on tabletop a few times to release any trapped bubbles in the batter. 
• Bake in preheated oven at 160 degC for 40 ~ 45 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with a few moist crumb. 
• Remove cake from oven, leave it in the pan for about 5mins. Unmould and let cool on wire rack. Dust with icing sugar (or cocoa powder) as desired. Serve with whipping cream or a scoop of ice cream. The cake is best eaten at room temperature. If stored in fridge, bring the cake to room temperature before serving.

Recipe source: adapted from Delicious magazine