M&M cookies

All credit goes to Da's niece, MAT for the lovely M&M cookies that you see in this post.

MAT and I were chatting on msn one day and making plans for her stay-over at our place. She has been developing an interest in baking and we were discussing what to bake when she came over. She asked me about using M&M in cookies. I did not have any recipe for M&M cookies but baking is all about improvising and using whatever you have. As such, I asked her to go ahead and buy some M&Ms and we could see what we could do with the M&Ms.

As it turned out, the cookies were a hit with MAT's relatives when she brought some home for them to try. In fact, all the cookies that she baked did not last the night. She gleefully sent me a text message that night to inform me that the cookies had run out.

Well done, sweetie!

INGREDIENTS

120g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
50g butter (softened)
30g castor sugar
1 tbsp low fat milk
1/4 cup mini M&Ms

METHOD

1. Sift the plain flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

2. Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl using an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

3. Add the milk and mix well.

4. Fold in the flour mixture using a wooden spatula.

5. Stir in the M&Ms. The dough will be quite crumbly.

6. Knead the dough in the bowl until it is smooth and a ball forms. Keep the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

7. Turn the dough onto a floured board. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into 5 mm thickness.

10. Cut the cookies using a cookie cutter.

11. Place the cookies on a baking tray that has been lined with baking paper.

12. Bake in an oven preheated to 160 degrees celsius for 15 minutes.

13. Let the cookies cool thoroughly on a wire rack before storing them in an air-tight container.

5-minute chocolate cake

This recipe was given to me by JT (the sister of my friend, SC). When she emailed the recipe to me, she called it a "dangerous recipe".

Why "dangerous"? It is because this recipe is so easy and it takes only about 5 minutes from start to finish. Best of all, the cake is sinfully delicious!

I have slightly modified the steps as I found it tricky to mix the cake batter in the coffee mug.

INGREDIENTS

2 coffee mugs
4 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp castor sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 egg
3 tbsp low fat milk
3 tbsp sunflower oil
3 tbsp chocolate chips
1/8 tsp vanilla essence

METHOD

1. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well using a hand whisk.

2. Divide the batter equally between two coffee mugs.

3. Microwave for 3 minutes on HIGH.


TIP

Do not cover the coffee mug because the cake will rise above the rim of the coffee mug during the cooking process.

rainbow butter cake

Do not let the complicated design deter you from giving this recipe a try.

This is so easy a recipe that a 12-year old child can easily bake the rainbow butter cake.

Only one thing is needed for this cake-making process - patience. Patience is required because you have to painstaking add a spoonful of the coloured batter at a time. It is worth the trouble, trust me! The rainbow butter cake is so moist and colourful that you will have to resist reaching for a second slice.

INGREDIENTS

180g self-raising flour
250g butter (softened)
110g castor sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
several food colouring of your choice

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Grease and line the bottom of an 8" round cake pan with baking paper. Grease and flour the sides of the cake pan.

3. Sift the self-raising flour in a bowl. Set aside.

4. Cream the butter and sugar using an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

5. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well with each addition.

6. Add the vanilla essence and mix well.

7. Fold in the flour using a wooden spatula and mix until blended.

8. Separate the batter into separate portions of equal proportion. The number of portions that you separate the batter into depends on the number of food colouring that you have. I usually use orange food colouring, coffee emulco (mixed with a tbsp of Milo), apple green colouring and strawberry essence.

9. Add a few drops of food colouring into the batter and mix well. Add more colouring if required to achieve your desired colour of the batter.

10. Starting with the first coloured batter, add a spoonful of the batter to the centre of the prepared pan. Add a second spoonful of batter (of different colour) on top of the existing batter that is already in the prepared pan. The weight of the second spoonful of batter will push the first spoonful of batter outwards. Continue with the rest of the coloured batter and repeat the entire process until all the batter has been used up.

11. Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

chocolate cheese and walnut cake

The recipe in this post was adapted from a recipe that I came across in The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook. The original recipe provided for plain flour and self-raising flour. However, I did not have enough self-raising flour and I wanted to save the plain flour to bake some cookies. As such, I modified the recipe and used cake flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder instead. Furthermore, bearing in mind my mother's request that I cut down on the sugar content in my baking, I modified the recipe such that I only added brown sugar. The original recipe required castor sugar and brown sugar.

When I removed the bundt pan from the oven and I pressed my finger gently on the top of the cake, I was very excited when the cake sprang back easily. It meant that the cake was soft and moist. Yippee!

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cup cake flour
1/4 cup self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cocoa powder
90g butter (softened)
185g Philadelphia cream cheese (softened)
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup low fat milk

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Grease and flour a bundt pan. Set aside.

3. Sift the cake flour, self-raising flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon and cocoa powder in a bowl. Set aside.

4. Beat the butter, cream cheese and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the walnuts and mix well using a wooden spatula.

5. Fold in 1/2 of the flour mixture and add 1/2 of the milk. Mix well using a wooden spatula. Repeat with the remaining 1/2 of the flour mixture and remaining 1/2 of the milk.

6. Pour the batter onto the prepared bundt pan.

7. Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted near the middle of the bundt pan comes out clean.

Baking day

I have decided not to post any recipe today.

Instead, I have posted photographs of one of my baking days. Enjoy!

raisin cake

This is the result of another foray into vegetarian / vegan baking.

I baked this raisin cake for the family of Hamtaro when they came to visit me.

Following feedback from Hamtaro, I have reduced the amount of castor sugar in the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup castor sugar
1 cup mixed fruit juice

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Grease and flour an 8" round cake pan. Set aside.

3. Sift the self-raising flour and salt in a bowl. Add the raisins and mix well. Set aside.

4. Mix the oil, castor sugar and fruit juice in a mixing bowl using a hand whisk.

5. Add the flour mixture and mix until well blended.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

7. Let the cake cool in the cake pan for 5 minutes before removing the cake and letting it cool thoroughly on a wire rack.