Recipe: Orange drizzle cake

I have problem with eating fruits - I'm lazy to peel and cut them into pieces. In the end, I have to make them into smoothies or cakes. This is one of the perfect example. My hubby brought a huge bag of oranges (my definition of huge is actually a normal size bag for other people), and I was dumbfounded of what to do with them. I was hoping he will eat some if he were hungry, but I was wrong. The oranges lay at the same spot without being touched by both of us. So after several weeks, and I could clearly see the oranges almost turn bad, I push myself to peel them and make orange juices and tea cake. Well, more energy wasted there, but the taste and texture are definitely better than eating fresh fruits *smirk*



Anyway, this is a very simple cake and you cake substitute lemon or other citrus to make it.

Orange drizzle cake
[click for printable version]

Ingredients:
6 eggs
350 g castor sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
360 g flour, sifted
2 teaspoon baking powder
150 g butter, melted
200 ml cream
Finely grated zest of 3 large oranges

Drizzle:
100 ml water
3 tablespoons sugar
Juice of 3 large oranges

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius and grease a bundt pan.
2. In a large bow, beat the eggs, sugar, salt, flour and baking powder. Add the melted butter, cream and lemon zest to the mixture.
3. Pour the batter into a bundt pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
4. Prepare the drizzle by combining all the ingredients into a small pot on high heat until the mixture boils. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes and set aside.
5. Remove the cake from the oven and pour the drizzle onto the cake (while it is still in the pan). Leave the cake to cool and invert the cake pan onto a plate.
6. Serve with tea or coffee

p.s: The only fruit that I don't mind to peel and eat it fresh is Durian! Weird, but that is my most favorite fruit in the world (no matter how disgusting my non-Malaysian friend might think :P)

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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 the temptation of having that one sinful bite. He has a point there, if I didn't cycle I would look like a whale by now. Reluctantly I waited the next day to gorge over the delicious cake. Besides, I think cake tastes better the next day  ;)

Chocolate bundt cake with salted caramel chocolate ganache

[click for printable version]

*I used a tea cup for the cup measurement

1 cup butter (approximately 215 g), softened 

1 3/4 cups sugar

4 eggs, at room temperature

1 cup cocoa powder (I used Valrhona cocoa powder)

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup Greek yogurt (or sour cream)

Salted caramel chocolate ganache

60 gm butter

50 gm dark brown sugar

45 ml cream

100 gm dark chocolate (I used Valrhona)

sea salt

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius.  Grease the bundt pan with butter and dust it with flour.

2. Combine cocoa powder, flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl, and in another bowl combine buttermilk and Greek yogurt together, set aside.

3. Cream the butter and sugar using a stand mixer on a high speed until creamy and fluffy (about 10 minutes). Add eggs one by one followed with a tablespoon of the flour mixture. Add half the flour mixture and mix until well combined followed with the buttermilk mixture and another half of the flour mixture. 

4. Pour the batter into the bundt pan and spread the batter smoothly. Bake in the oven for 50 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out smoothly. 

To make the salted caramel chocolate ganache

1. Melt the butter and brown sugar on a pot on a medium heat until the sugar dissolves, set aside.

2. Combine the cream and dark chocolate in a porcelain bowl and melt the chocolate in a microwave (about 1 minute and 30 seconds), set aside

3. Combine the caramel into the chocolate ganache mixture and sprinkle with sea salt.

4. Pour the ganache on the cooled cake.

*for delicious chocolate cake, use great quality chocolate and cocoa powder. Valrhona is one of the bests but you can also use Callebaut etc

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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 was not until recently when I went pumpkin hunting that I had the chance to buy clementines and bake similar cake in the movie *weee* The cake was based from this recipe with slight modification. I was pretty doubtful before making the cake as the recipe didn't call for butter or oil, but changed my mind once I bite the cake. It was so moist! And yeah, tastes great too! The moist comes from the clementine puree and the eggs.


To make the cake more healthy use natural sweetener instead. You can use maple syrup and dried dates instead of processed sugar and the taste will still be amazing!

Clementine cake
[click here for printable version]

5 clementines
150 g dark brown sugar
200 g ground almond
100 g coconut flakes
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg powder
1/4 teaspoon allspice powder
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons icing sugar (or more for glazing)

1. Put clementines in a large pot and cover with water. Boil clementines for 2 hours or until soften and set aside until they cool down to room temperature and puree them using a blender. Use 3/4 of the total puree for cake, and the rest for glazing.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Greased your desired pan (I used a Bundt pan). Combine brown sugar, ground almond, coconut flakes, baking powder, spices and vanilla powder in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle of the dried mixture, and put 3/4 of the clementine puree and eggs and fold the mixture gently. Pour the batter in the cake pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.
3. To make the glaze, mix the rest of the clementine puree with icing sugar (I like to make mine less sweet, thus it becomes more runny) and pour on the cooled cake.

This cake goes really well with tea and coffee. Enjoy!

p.s: If you can't find clementine, you can use tangerine instead. Take out the seeds and boil the skin and flesh until soften. The good thing about clementine is that it is seedless.

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