Recipe: Apple cake and caramel glaze

Apples have never been my favorite fruits. The crunchiness, the subtle sweetness with a touch of acidity are the reasons why I dislike apples, and yet what others love about them. I had plenty of apples that I bought from the market and given by my friend. I was hoping for my hubby to eat them once a day, but it didn't turn out that way. The apples were about to turn bad that I had to make several desserts to get rid of them. Turning the...

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Recipe: Chocolate bundt cake with salted caramel chocolate ganache

It was late at night and I was craving to eat chocolate cake. Too much mental work made my body hunger for sweet stuff. I procrastinated and took some time to prepare bundt cake as I was lazy to make layer cake. As I was covering the cake with chocolate ganache, I felt the presence of my husband near me. He looked at me in a weird way,  'are you going to eat that now?'  he asked concernedly. I stopped for a moment and resisted...

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Recipe: Pumpkin roll with white chocolate cream cheese filling

It is the pumpkin season and I bought lots of pumpkins a month ago in the neighboring town. I made lots of delicious food from the pumpkins, and this baby is one of them. I've been wanting to make one since watching a video by Divas Can Cook a year ago and I was so happy with the result. The cake was moist, and the combination of the cake with the white chocolate cream cheese frosting was sooo good. The roll didn't come out...

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Recipe: Quintuple chocolate cake

Last Eid al-Adha I made a chocolate cake to celebrate with the Malaysians here. When my friends asked me the name of the cake, I was dumbfounded. 'It's a chocolate cake' I replied. I find it really cheesy to name a food something out of the ordinary - e.g super duper marvelous chocolate cake, kek coklat buaian mimpi...well you get what I mean. Hence, I called it based on the number of chocolate I used to make it - five (quintuple)!  I...

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Recipe: Kuih seri muka labu (glutinous rice with pumpkin custard layer)

Few months ago I wrote a recipe of my favorite kuih - kuih seri muka . Well, weeks ago I made a fusion version of my favorite kuih using pumpkin custard as the top layer (labu = pumpkin). The combination of sticky rice with pumpkin tastes great, and I was surprised how it turns out to be. It's like enjoying both of my favorite Malaysian and American desserts in one bite (I love the American pumpkin pie!). Instead of using a microwave...

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Recipe: Moussaka

Moussaka is one of my favorite dishes. It's like a cross between lasagna and ratatouille - all the delicious goodness layered together and tastes awesome! So this is the 'unauthentic version of my moussaka, and...it's a great way to finish up all those leftover vegetables haha.  Moussaka [click for printable version] Meat sauce 2 tablespoons olive oil 250 gm minced beef 3 large tomatoes - roast for...

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Recipe: Clementine cake - gluten free and dairy free

You know that feeling when you finished watching a movie and you just have to try/eat/do/travel because the movie is affecting you so much. Well, that happens to me a lot.....especially when food is involved. The most recent 'I-have-to-make-this' feeling was when I watched The Secret Life of Walter Mitty months ago when I was still in Malaysia. Too bad I can't find clementines in the country thus the planned was postponed for a while. It...

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Recipe: Berry poke cupcakes

A while ago my friends I and C came to me and said "if you don't make cake for us, we will put your name on the ice bucket challenge." I was dumbfounded for a while, and the three of us laugh hysterically. Those two are among the perkiest people in the department, and I knew they didn't really mean what they said. However, I did bake cake for them and others in the department as I love baking, and it was fun succumbing to their crazy 'threat'...

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Recipe: Cinnamon rolls with chocolate chunks and cream cheese glaze

I always looked forward when my sister came back home from boarding school when I was young. She always brought back sweet treats for us - Dunkin Donuts, Auntie Anne's pretzels, and cinnamon rolls from Cinnabon, which we rarely eat and pretty hard to find back then. I always enjoyed eating them, and always asked my sisters to buy for me whenever they came back home, or went out for shopping at big cities. Over the years, I got fed up...

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Recipe: Triple Strawberry Cake & Selamat Hari Raya! Eid Mubarak!

It was breaking fast together with the Malaysians at Wageningen last week. The host prepared delicious chicken biryani rice and kuih, and the rest brought other foods and drinks. Knowing there will be lots of food (if it is Malaysian get-together, there WILL be plenty of foods), I decided to bake strawberry cake for dessert. It is not heavy and filling like chocolate cake, thus it is perfect for such event. I was full from gorging over...

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Recipe: Kuih seri muka (glutinous rice with pandan custard layer) using microwave

Kuih is a bite size sweet or savory snack which you can find easily in Malaysia. Kuih seri muka (literally means glowing face dessert) is one of my most favorite Malay kuih. The layer of creamy and sweet pandan custard complements the salty glutinous rice. I always make it whenever I'm not in Malaysia when it is impossible to buy one. The first time I made this was in the U.S, and I used imitation pandan flavoring and green...

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Recipe: Seafood 'Paella'

I have been wanting to eat paella (pronounced 'paeyya') after looking at my friends photos (urgh Khalis and Adilla!). I tried once at a Spanish restaurant in Malaysia, but was disappointed with the the taste. It was flavorful, but was too salty. Maybe it was not my day, but you might be lucky and not get salty paella when you eat there. After looking for few recipes, I decided to make my own version of paella (thus explaining the name...

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Recipe: Triple Lemon Cake

After watching Games of Throne, I've been craving to eat lemon cake, and I blame Sansa Stark for that. Since then, I have baked several lemon cakes using different recipes, and I like each one of it. My husband on the other hand prefers lemon cake with a dry texture. 'That is how lemon cake is supposed to be,' he said. It's funny how he becomes such a picky eater and good food critic after we got married (lalala~) Most of the recipes...

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D.I.Y Brownie Mix

I'm trying to reduce canned products as much as possible due to the BPA effects to our body, so I opt for products in glass jars/bottles instead. Besides, there are so many things that I can do with the jars and bottles instead of sending them to the recycling center. You can check out this Pinterest board for cool ideas of reusing your glass materials. There is this satisfying  feeling when I do something, and giving it to someone....

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Brownies with Dates - Recipe

Alone without a company I brave myself to watch a PhD defense at Aula, my first time going there and watching one. I've read one of the papers written by the PhD candidate, and was intrigued with his study. The process was alien to me, and I was wondering how it goes. Suddenly there was a loud knock on the floor and all the audiences stand. A female with a robe holding a scepter entering the hall with the PhD student accompanied with...

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Rhubarb and Strawberry Crumble Pie - Recipe & Ramadan Mubarak

I had conversation with my sister before about the things that she wanted to eat, things that not common in Malaysia and pretty hard to get our hands on - fennel (the bulb), radish (the European radishes - Raphanus sativus), rhubarb, and many more. I was not that interested before, not until I have seen them fresh and aplenty at the Wageningen market. I'm curios how these common temperate climate vegetables/fruits taste like. Asking my...

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Recipe: Vegetarian lemon tea cake with berry sauce

The unstable weather in Wageningen drives me crazy sometimes. Davis has unpredictable weather too, but only in few seasons (and not all four of them). I can experience all hot, cold, sunny, cloudy, windy and rainy weather in one day here in Wageningen. Looking at the weather forecast website is an hourly routine, and it is my new best friend. Good thing I have bought new rain jacket so I can bike to the campus without being irritated when...

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Recipe: Black and white pudding

It's been almost two weeks since I came to Netherlands. It's a beautiful country and I can't stop saying pretty since the day I arrived. Wageningen is a small and pretty city, it reminds me a lot of Davis (maybe it's prettier here haha). Our apartment is surrounded by parks and nature and we enjoy walking to the arboretums nearby. The campus is small, and I like the fact that my office, lab and greenhouse is all at one place. The idea...

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