Beatty's Chocolate Cake by Ina Garten

What you need:

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour (I prefer unbleached)

2 cups sugar

3/4 cups cocoa powder (I used Valrhona, dutch processed)

2 tsps. baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup butter milk, shaken

1/2 cup vegetable oil (sunflower oil)

2 extra large eggs, at room temp

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup hot coffee (original recipe calls for freshly brewed coffee but I used decaffeinated instant coffee )

Chocolate butter cream, recipe below

How to make:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Butter 2 x 8 inch x 2 inch round cake pans (I used 8.5 inch and it worked just fine). Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined.

3. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 mins, until the cake tester comes out clean.

5. Cool the pans for 30 mins, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
6. Place 1 layer, flat side up on a cake stand. With a knife or spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up and spread the frosting evenly on the top and side of the cake.
7. Decorate with fresh berries and macarons.

Chocolate Frosting

What you need:
6 ounces good semi sweet chocolate (I used Valrhona 64%)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 extra large egg yolk (I opt out for this one because I will be serving the cake to my kids I don't want to use any raw ingredient)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1 /4 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
1 tbsp. instant coffee powder (I used Nescafe decaf, but it gave a sourish after taste on the frosting. You can try other good brands of instant coffee)

How to make:
1. Place chocolate in a heat proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 mins. Add vanilla and continue beating for 3 mins. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add confectioner's sugar then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy.
3. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 tsps. of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip. Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

I also bought some easy to prepare finger foods and treats for the kids which I just arranged nicely on a plate.

Tortilla with Salsa - any store bought tortilla or nachos will do for this appetizer; Tostitos and Old El Paso are the good brands for Chunky Salsa (medium hot)

 

Here's the 3-course meal that I prepared from scratch:

Prawns and Mango Skewers
How to make:
Sauté prawns in garlic and olive oil until tender, remove head and shells. Skewer prawns with mango squares and sprinkle with chopped Italian parsley.

Salad Nicoise
How to make:
Mix together in individual serving size baby lettuce, hard boiled egg, black olives, tuna chunks and cherry tomatoes. Drizzle with vinaigrette dressing (3 tbsps olive oil, 2 tbsps balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp caster sugar, 1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic mixed until homogenous).

Beef Medallion with Rosti and Asparagus

Beef Medallion (Grass Fed Tenderloin, 2 fingers-thickness)

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C. Season beef tenderloin with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2. Bring a heavy bottomed pan to high heat. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil, 2 cloves garlic and sprig of fresh rosemary.

3. Pan-fry beef tenderloin 4 mins per side.

4. Put in the oven for 8 mins for medium-rare doneness.

5. Take out from the oven and cover with foil for 5 mins to seal in the meat juices.

Mushroom and Onion Sauce

1. Sauté 1 med yellow onion (chopped into rings) and 6 Portobello mushrooms (sliced thinly) in 2 tbsp olive oil until onion is caramelized.

2. Add 2 cups of beef stock and allow to boil. Add the juices from the meat. Simmer for a few minutes. Add corn flour mixture (2 tbsp corn flour and 3 tbsp water). Continue to simmer until the sauce thickens. Adjust thickness when necessary.

Rosti

1. Parboil potatoes (unpeeled) in boiling water for 2 - 3 mins.

2. Put in the fridge for a few hours (2 - 3 hours).

3. Peel potatoes and shred.

4. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

5. Heat a non-stick pan and add 2 tbsp olive oil.

6. Using an egg shaper, pan fry potatoes until browned on both sides. Add 1 tsp of butter when flipping to the other side.

Asparagus - blanched in salted boiling water for 1 min.

Plate beef medallion on top of rosti and asparagus. Finish with the mushroom and onion sauce on top.
 

We capped our night with a slice of heavenly good chocolate cake. What a way to end a lovely meal! Do you agree?

It was Children's Day yesterday, so I took a time off from work to spend it with my children. Because I want them to feel that the day is special, I prepared some simple treats and surprises. They woke up with this goodie with greeting cards and red packets waiting for them. And what do you expect? So extremely delighted they were!

I also made a yummy food repertoire that they will surely love. Every kid likes Nutella. I haven't encountered any who doesn't so far. Hence, Donna Hay's Self Frosting Nutella Cupcake makes a very fitting choice. This is one of the easiest cupcakes to make and the taste is simply superb. My kids usually describe it as the yummiest cupcake of all!  

 

SELF FROSTING NUTELLA CUPCAKE by Donna Hay (adapted by Kell's Kitchen)

 

What you need:

10 tbsp. butter, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

3 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract, pure

1 3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup Nutella spread

 

How to make:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160 C. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.

2. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Add in eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with each addition.

4. Add vanilla. Stir in flour, salt and baking powder until batter is uniform and no flour remains.

5. Fill each cupcake case with batter, about 3/4 full. Top each cake with 1 heaped teaspoon of Nutella spread. Swirl Nutella in with a toothpick, making sure to fold a bit of batter up over the Nutella.

6. Bake for 20 mins until the tops of the cupcakes are slightly browned and a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean. Remove from the tin and cool completely.

7. Decorate with 1/2 tsp of Nutella spread and Ferrero Chocolate (However, I find the Almond Coconut too sweet, so I think you can substitute it with another chocolate or you can simply take it out. The cupcake is already good enough to consume as it is).

 



 

Likewise, kids' favourite food items adored the breakfast plates - Ham and Bacon Burger  and Penne Bolognese

 

Here's how to make them:

 

Ham and Bacon Burger - simply layer cheese, ham, bacon, tomatoes and lettuce in a toasted bun

 

Penne Bolognese - cook 250g mini penne according to package directions, drain and set aside. Sauté 1 tbsp. minced garlic, 1 tbsp. chopped onion in 2 tbsp. olive oil until fragrant. Add 300g minced beef, stir fry and cook until tender. Season with salt & pepper. Add in 500g spaghetti sauce and simmer for 10 mins with continuous stirring. Serve on a plate with grated parmesan cheese.

 

It's only once in a year that we celebrate Children's Day. Needless to say, every child matters and therefore deserves to be loved and made feel special everyday. Don't you think so?   

Nigella Lawson wouldn't be called a domestic goddess for nothing. If you happen to try some of her recipes, you will be convinced that she's more than just a queen of the kitchen. This is why some of her creations are mainstays in my recipe bin. One of them is the Classic Vanilla Bundt Cake. It's a soft, moist and buttery sponge cake. It's my favourite, default base for some of my cakes like this Orange Blackberry Trifle. Actually, Nigella Lawson herself has a recipe for an Orange Blackberry Trifle. But for my version, I adapted the vanilla bundt cake recipe for a more tasty, richer trifle.

 

What you need:

225g butter, softened at room temp

1 1/3 cups caster sugar

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

200ml natural yoghurt

4 tsp vanilla extract

zest and juice of 1 orange

fresh blackberries

300ml cream, whipped until soft peaks formed

 

How to make:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C.

2. Sift flour and baking soda in a bowl. In an electric mixer, mix butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Add eggs one at a time whisking each one with 1 tbsp of flour. Fold in the remaining flour. Then fold in yoghurt and vanilla.

4. Pour into the pan or bundt mould and bake for 45 mins.

5. Allow to cool for 15 mins before unmoulding.

6. Cut the cake and arrange some slices on a serving plate. Douse with orange juice. Top with whipped cream, blackberries and orange zest.

 

What you need:

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt (I used normal salt, it's fine as well)

1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon powder

1 1/4 cups milk

2 extra large eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup unsalted butter (225g), melted

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 cup diced, fresh strawberries

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

How to make:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190C. Line muffin tins with paper liners.

2. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Stir with your hand (or a whisk) until fully combined. In another bowl, combine the milk, eggs and melted butter.

3. Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture, pour the wet mixture into the well and stir until just combined. There will be some lumps but don't over mix the batter. Add the blueberries, strawberries and sugar and stir gently to combine.

4. Spoon batter into the muffin cups to fill the liners. Bake for 25 mins, until a cake tester comes out clean and the tops are nicely brown.

Crunchy Chopped Salad - Chop, mix and toss! That's all there is in this sure pleaser. The dressing is a combination of extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, sugar, honey and finely minced garlic.

Garlic Prawns - Season the prawns with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pan fry until they turn pink, set aside. Melt a knob of butter on a hot pan and sauté a handful of finely chopped garlic until fragrant. Add in prawns and coat well with the garlic butter sauce. Sprinkle with chopped Italian flat parsley before serving.

Griddled Cod Fish - season the fish with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Griddle in a hot pan until tender.

Rib eye Steak with Mushroom Sauce - my favourite show stopper! Season the steak with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Allow to rest for a while before cooking. Add olive oil in a hot pan. Pan fry the steak 3 minutes per side. Add sprigs of rosemary and 2 cloves of garlic after the first 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate, cover and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.  

Potato Gratin - this is Jamie Oliver's Perfect Gratin. Since I prepared it the first time, I fell in love with it completely. Hence, it's becoming a regular in my meal repertoire.

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake with Mixed Berries and Vanilla Ice Cream - another sure pleaser yet easy to prepare dessert. After a series of trials in finding the best recipe for a Molten Choco Lava Cake, I finally settled and felt satisfied with Martha Stewart's version. This is best prepared just minutes before serving it. You need about 25 minutes to have it done.

 

This dinner certainly warmed me up for the next important one.

 

Instead of the typical flowers, sweet goodies or other crafts that hotels normally provide as a welcome note to its guests, Rex Hotel surprised me with this Card sitting on my bed. It's not just an ordinary card because it narrates the tale of the world famous Vietnamese dish - Pho. It also describes how a Pho is usually prepared (see recipe below). But what caught me from everything that's written was this:

 

"To appreciate Pho propersly, it should be eaten in restaurants with the atmosphere of people going in and out, the sound of bowls, chop sticks and knives, and the passionate faces."

1. Put the ox's bone, tendon and pork's bone into a large pot with 300ml boiling water. Simmer the stock at low heat. Skim the scum on the surface of the stock.

2. Add grilled ginger, onion and star anise along with cloves and cinnamon and 1 tbsp of salt into the boiling stock.

3. After 4 hrs, remove all ingredients and set aside. Let the broth continue to simmer, until the broth is rich and flavorful; about 1 hr.

4. Taste the broth and add more salt or fish sauce to taste.

5. Arrange the slices of raw fillet over the noodles in the bowl. Carefully ladle the boiling broth all over; the raw beef should be submerged in the broth.

6. Serve immediately along with the platter of garnish.

Touted as the culinary emblem of Singapore, Chili Crab is a well known dish in the Lion City that not having it while visiting the country is tantamount to saying you didn't have the best experience at all. Many claim it to be among the city-states' must try foods. As a proof to this claim, it's listed on the 35th spot in the World's 50 Most Delicious Foods by CNNgo.

 

Chili Crab is a dish that provides you with a good mix of taste sensation. It's slightly sweet, savoury and spicy. There are a lot of variations and different ways of preparing this dish. But really, it's just simple and easy to make. So, if you're keen on taking the challenge of making your own at home sans the pricy tags that most popular restaurants charge you, this recipe from BBC Good Food - Asian Edition is satisfying enough. Also, you can personalize it according to your own liking. Adjust the level of ingredients when necessary. As they say, anyone can whip a hearty dish only if he believes in the culinary power of his hands. That's a mantra I always adapt in my kitchen. Hence, the recipe below is my modified version.

 

Note: This is mild spicy by Singapore standard (or maybe not spicy at all to some). If you want it real spicy and hot, add 3 tbsps of finely chopped chili in number 1 of preparation. I have kids who will taste it ergo, I have to keep the level of spiciness at a bare minimum.

 

CHILI CRAB

 

What you need:

3 tbsp olive oil

2 - 3 tbsps garlic, finely chopped

2 - 3 tbps ginger, julienne

1 1/2  tsp chili sauce

3 tbsp tomato sauce (or to taste)

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp light soy sauce

4 tsp sesame oil

2 Mud Crubs (med - large size)

250ml chicken stock

2 eggs, beaten

1 tbsp cornflour, dissolved in 2 tbsps water

 

How to make:

1. Heat olive oil in a wok on med-high heat. Saute garlic and ginger until fragrant.

2. Add chili sauce, tomato sauce, sugar, soy sauce and sesame oil. Stir for 1 min.

3. Add the crab and cook, stirring continuously for another min then add the chicken stock.

4. Stir the mixture and bring it to a boil. Cover the wok and simmer for 10 mins or until the crab is cooked.

5. Add the eggs and the cornflour mixture to thicken the sauce. Mix thoroughly until the crab is coated in the sauce. If necessary, adjust the seasoning or tomato sauce to taste.

6. Serve with fried bread (mantou) or rice. Top with chopped coriander leaves or thin slices of spring onions (optional).

 

A calorie loaded dinner plate!

 

The kids requested for pasta and pizza for dinner recently. Naturally, I thought of the classic ones and something that they would really enjoy. Meat Ball Linguine and Pepperoni Pizza surely fit to this criteria. To complete the menu, I've added a salad and a popular Filipino dish - Pork Steak. I ended the repertoire with a luscious Banana Blueberry Parfait and Macaron Parfait. I'm still salivating as I mention this food selection. This dinner was so indulging that I won't mind having it again the next time.
 

 Greek Salad

 

What you need: Mix Greens, cherry tomatoes (halves), feta cheese, black olives (halves), cucumber (cut into cubes), cruotons, vinaigrette dressing

 

How to make: Prepare the vinaigrette by mixing 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp dijon mustard and 1 tsp finely chopped garlic until emulsified. Set aside. Place all the other salad ingredients in a bowl and drizzle with enough vinaigrette. Toss to coat evenly.

 





Meat Ball Linguine

 

What you need: 250g Linguine Pasta (cooked according to package directions), 1 med onion (chopped), 3 cloves garlic (chopped), 1 glass pasta sauce (I used Napoletana), meat balls (see cooking directions below)

 

How to make:
1. Prepare the Meat balls - mix in a bowl 500g ground beef, 2 cloves finely minced garlic, 1 pc egg, 1 cup bread crumbs, salt & pepper to taste. Form into 1 inch size meat ball and fry in olive oil until it turns brown. Set aside.
2. In a separate pan, saute onion and garlic in 2 tbps olive oil until fragrant. Add the pasta sauce and meat balls. Allow to boil and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes. Stir in cooked linguine and serve topped with grated parmesan cheese.
 

Pepperoni Pizza

In the interest of time of preparation, I used a ready made pizza dough but if you have the luxury of time you can also opt to make your own dough. I used a pasta sauce instead of a plain tomato sauce for an added taste dimension.

 

How to make: Put a generous amount of pasta sauce on top of the pizza dough, grated mozzarella cheese and pepperoni slices. Bake in the oven until the cheese melts.

Banana Blueberry Parfait

Parfait is perhaps one of the easiest desserts to make.You can practically come up with any combinations of your favorite fruits, baked goods, nuts, ice cream and what have you. The options are literally limitless. You just have to layer your ingredients according to your liking and generously top it with your favorite syrup.

 



Macaron Parfait