Thursday, October 23, 2014

Soda Cake

I needed to bake a quick easy cake today and so I searched online for simple and quick cake recipe. I found this recipe from Duncan Hines website. I followed most of the recipe with some minor changes. I will be bringing this cake to our Bible Study group to share tonight... hope everybody will like it :)

Ingredients:
1 box Yellow Cake Mix
 ( I used Duncan Hines Classic Yellow Cake Mix, it can be any brand cake mix)
1 (3.4 ounce) box Vanilla instant pudding mix
4 large eggs
1 cup of gratefruit soda pop
1/2 cup oil

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. (325* is correct heat)
Grease a Bundt cake pan/tube pan
In a large bowl, combine the cake mix with the pudding mix. Add the eggs and oil, then slowly add the soda pop. Mix at medium speed until blended.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in the pan for five minutes, then transfer cake to a wire rack
Instead of using glaze per recipe, I sprinkle powdered sugar over cake.





Sunday, October 12, 2014

Pumpkin Brioche Loaf with Hershey Chocolate Filling


After I saw the Foodiva on her nutella stripe bread, I thought I copy her idea on baking a twisted loaf of bread too, I will be making a brioche bread. Here is Foodiva Nutella Strip Bread 

This will be a sweet bread for this Sunday's Coffee hour, it is the pumpkin brioche bread filled with Hershey Chocolate spread (instead of nutella... just a different brand). I am using fresh roasted pumpkin. I had blended the pumpkin and have freezed it awhile ago, it is good to have frozen prepared pumpkin at hand for any baking needs any time. 

Since I also have a jar of Hershey Chocolate spread, it will compliment well with the brioche. Just for fun, loaf bread makes for easy handling, I can cut up the brioche loaf in nice serving slices..... hmmm hope it will be interesting and inticing :)

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp yeast
1/4 warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine
2 eggs
1 cup homemade crushed roasted pumpkin
4  1/4 cup flour

Directions:
In a mixer, add warm water and yeast, let it stand for 5 mins till it gets foamy.
Add melted margarine and sugar, stir well.
Add one egg at a time and mix well.
Add 2 cup flour, mix well
Add pumpkin and mix well.
Attach hook to mixer, continue to mix well.
Gradually add the rest of the flour and mix well.

Pick up dough from mixer and knead dough into a ball.
Place dough in a dry bowl and cover dough with dry towel and let it rise for at least an hour.
Dough will rise and double in size.
Punch down dough, place dough on a lightly floured smooth surface.
Using a rolling pin, roll dough into rectangle and flat to least than 1/2 inch.
Spread the Hershey chocolate in the middle section of dough, fold in 1/3 over.
Spread hershey chocolate on top on the half section of dough, fold the 1/2 over.
And again and fold another half.
Using rolling pin, roll dough to flatten in one direction to make dough longer.
Using a pairing knife, cut dough into 4 long stripe.
Braid dough intertwined and tuck the top and bottom inside.
Place braided dough in a loaf pan, let dough stand for at least 30 mins.
Heat oven at 350 degree, bake for 35 mins.
Let bread cool and slice with bread knife and serve warm with more hershey spread or jelly (optional)







This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favourite DIY and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Eileen from Eileen's Diary at this post.

 

For October 2014, Eileen has requested her Little Thumbs Up event with PUMPKIN theme to starts on 1st October and will end on the last day of the month. Please join us! To join, simply cook or bake any recipe with PUMPKIN for October 2014 and link with us at this post anytime until 31st October 2014.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Healthy Fried Rice

I used to eat fried rice growing up. My mom would usually made fried rice when she had lots of leftover rice from previous meals. It was a one dish meal as the fried rice consists of mixed vegetables with protein of either shrimps, pork or chicken. Oh, and egg is an essential ingredient to fried rice, not only is egg serves as protein but the egg is what makes the fried rice so favorful and complete. So, even though it was usually the last resort for my mom to decide what to cook for dinner, it never went wrong cooking 'Fried Rice' for us and everybody in the family loved it.

Today, at our potluck party, we have some leftover of a big container of cooked rice. I decided to  made fried rice but with different ingredients all together.... it will be a very healthier version. My mom's and everybody's else version use lots of oil, my version is almost oil free ... how? secret ingredient is using chicken broth. And since my chicken broth is homemade and with so much favor, I am making this without eggs... what??? Yes, without eggs  ... and it still tastes pretty good ..... and you don't have to feel quilty eating it with much less calories :)



Ingredients:
3 cups Cooked Brown Rice
4 pieces of ham
2 carrots, diced
1 can of sweet peas
1/4 onions, chopped
3/4 cup of chicken broth
2 Tbs of soya sauce
1 tsp dried basil
pepper to taste

Method:
In a big saute pan, over medium heat, cook chicken broth with onions and carrots for 5 mins.
Add ham and sweet peas, let this simmer for another 3 mins.
Add soya sauce, basil, and pepper to taste
Add brown rice, stir and mix well in ... for another 5 mins.
Serve warm.