Chinese Sponge Cake (鸡蛋糕)

On and off I've been missing the Chinese Sponge Cake which my late grandma used to make during Chinese New Year and Cheng Beng Festival (The Chinese' all souls' day). And somehow, the ones that I buy outside don't really taste quite the same. So when my friend shared her recipe in her blog, Alesia The Home Cook, I was jumping with joy!

I decided to make Chinese Sponge Cake cuppies as it would be easier for K-boy to hold and the lazy me don't have to cut the cakes prior to bringing them over to the babysitter's place. So, I halved the recipe for this one. For the original recipe, click here.

Recipe

What You'll Need3 eggs
130 grams  or 3/4 cup of caster sugar
150 grams or 1 1/4 cup of all purpose flour, sifted twice
63 ml ice cream soda

How To
1. Prepare the steamer or wok while you work on the batter.
2. Beat the eggs and sugar using a hand beater or mixer or a wire whisk until the mixture turns pale and fluffy or double in volume.
3. Divide flour into three portions and fold in the flour alternating with the soda drink, ending with the flour.
4. Pour the batter into the muffin/cake paper cups. Place the cups on a stainless steel/metal dish.
5. Steam on high for 15-20minutes.
6. Leave the cake to cool.

Note:
* I have tried replacing ice cream soda with 7-Up before but still ice cream soda wins hands down as it gives the cake a nice fragrant!

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Mini Baked Orange Doughnuts

One of my favourite past time during lunch hour is to go baking-supplies-browsing / grocery shopping at Jaya Grocer which is just across my office. So while I was browsing the products at the baking supplies aisle, this cute little pan caught my attention!

 

Wilton Mini Doughnut Pan

For a moment I thought to myself, "I thought doughnuts are supposed to be fried?". I flipped the pan, and I saw a recipe provided at the back of the packaging. Baked doughnuts seemed to be a good idea and a healthier choice for my kiddo. Although the pan is rather expensive, RM60+, but I still bought it anyway.

And being me, I waited anxiously for the weekend to come so that I could try out the pan and the recipes (I googled a few more!). I found this recipe which was also adapted from Wilton, so I decided to try it out.

 

 

See how cute the doughnuts turned out to be! And the texture is soft and fluffy with a very nice orange fragrant. I decorated some of them to make them attractive for the lil kiddo, but to my surprise he loves 'em plain and had 4 pieces at one go! So, here's the recipe:

 

MINI BAKED ORANGE DOUGHNUTS

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 orange
1 1/4 cups cake flour, sifted
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. of vanilla

METHOD:
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl combine sugar and orange zest until the sugar is moistened and fragrant.
3. In a large mixing bowl, sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in sugar mixture.
4. Add buttermilk, egg, butter, and vanilla and stir until just combined.
5. Fill each donut cup approximately half full. For easier filling, add the batter to a piping bag and pipe it into the pan.
6. Bake 4–6 minutes or until the top of the doughnuts spring back when touched.
7. Let cool in pan for 4–5 minutes before removing. Decorate the doughnuts with glaze, sprinkles, or cinnamon sugar.

Note:
* Even though the pan is some-what like a non-stick pan, but it's best grease the pan before hand either with butter or baking spray.
* The left-over buttermilk in the carton can be freezed and kept until the next usage. Thaw entirely before using.

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Chocolate Chips Pancakes

Woke up early this morning, and was thinking of whipping up a quick breakfast for the lil kiddo. Oh, I haven't been making pancakes for a long time now. So again, I searched BBC Good Food for a yummy, quick and easy recipe. Hmm.. American Blueberry Pancakes with a 5-star from 149 ratings sounds good. Dang. I didn't stock up on blueberries. O'well, I'll just replace them with Chocolate chips then.

The pancakes turned out to be so fluffy and yummy, that the lil kiddo had 3 at one go!

Chocolate Chips Pancakes

Ingredients

200g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
300ml milk
knob butter
100g chocolate chips
sunflower oil or a little butter for cooking
golden or maple syrup

Method

1.Mix together the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Beat the egg with the milk, make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and whisk in the milk to make a thick smooth batter. Beat in the melted butter, and gently stir in the chocolate chips.

2.Heat a teaspoon of oil or small knob of butter in a large non-stick frying pan. Drop a large tablespoonful of the batter per pancake into the pan to make pancakes about 7.5cm across. Make three or four pancakes at a time. Cook for about 3 minutes over a medium heat until small bubbles appear on the surface of each pancake, then turn and cook another 2-3 minutes until golden. Cover with kitchen paper to keep warm while you use up the rest of the batter. Serve with golden syrup.

For original recipe, click here.

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