TLW gets her Birthday Dessert

The Lovely Wife celebrated her birthday on Wednesday, 10th August 2011. As usual, I was going to bake her a cake but this time, she asked if rather than making her a cake, if I could just make her my Tiramisu. She reckons that Tiramisu is her most favourite dessert and she wanted it for her birthday. Who am I to refuse a woman, a woman so gorgeous and especially when she is The Lovely Wife!!

So Tiramisu it was.


Actually, making a dessert was far easier than baking a cake and far quicker too. This time, I jazzed up my usual Tiramisu recipe by adding chopped chocolate in between the layers. A simply small bar of 45g of Dark Chocolate was enough.

For the topping, I made some caramel almonds and chopped them up before sprinkling it on top. Unlike last year where I was in such a rush that I messed up the caramel almonds, this time they turned out truly beautifully.

For her birthday, the kids and I woke her up early to give her her cards and presents. Then it was off to school and work. Later in the evening, we went out for dinner, where sadly the food was rather disappointing. No dessert was ordered of course as the Tiramisu was waiting in the fridge! We came home to 'cut the cake' and everyone had a huge serving. The kids enjoyed stuffing their faces with the Tiramisu and The Lovely Wife was very, very happy indeed.




As for me, as long as The Lovely wife is happy with her Birthday cake, or dessert as the case may be, I am a happy camper!

Happy, Happy Birthday to The Lovely Wife!

Fudge gone awry transforms to Truffles!

For the longest time, I've wanted to make fudge. Chocolate Fudge that is. My Aunt Julie makes a great toffee fudge and she tells me that the secret is in the quality of Condensed Milk. In looking for a recipe for Chocolate Fudge, most of them either required a sugar syrup boiled to soft ball stage or the use of Condensed Milk.

What I dont like about condensed milk is that in Malaysia, is is now almost impossible to find Condensed Milk. Real Condensed milk that is. What is sold here is sold as Sweetened Thickened Creamer. The Reason? Whereas Condensed Milk is sweetened milk where the water has been removed, the Sweetened Thickend Creamer is actually mixed with Palm Oil and other additives so it's not really 100% milk anymore.

So when I found a recipe that used Evaporated Milk instead of Condensed Milk, I was rather pleased. I modified the recipe a little and started to make the Fudge. First mistake though was that I cut down on the sugar. Not a very bright thing to do in retrospect as the sugar would be what thickens the milk. Next, I didn't watch the boiling mass and it overboiled and spilled all over my stove top. To cut a long story short, the mixture didn't set. It just refused to harden up sufficiently to fudge consistency even after I placed it in the freezer.

It tasted bloody good though! So, in order to salvage the 'disaster', I decided I'd roll up the mixture in cocoa and produce truffles. And what truffles they were! I still had to keep them in the freezer as they melted really quickly but that was part of the magic. The chocolate truffles were really rich and chocolatey and were what you would expect from an expensive store or hotel. Simply delicious.



This is the recipe for really simple but stunning Chocolate Truffles.

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
400g tin evaporated milk
4oz butter
300g good quality chocolate
2Tbsp Cocoa
100g roasted almonds
1 Tbsp vanilla
Method
Combine sugar and milk in a saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil and then cook for 12 minutes, stirring to make sure mixture doesn't boil over. Allow to cool slightly and then add in butter, chocolate and vanilla. Mix well till nicely combined then beat until mixture starts to lose its gloss. Add in nuts and chill for a while. Roll into balls with cocoa dusted hands.

I doubt I would make these again as I'm sure there are easier ways to make truffles which would probably taste just as good if not better. I really have to try and make a fudge again some day but what I am most happy about this attempt is that nothing went to waste and quick thinking saved the day for all that chocolate that went into this. Most importantly, the kids really enjoyed this although they both looked at me and asked:

"But Dads, I thought you were making Fudge?"

Pear and Chocolate Mousse Cake

Not too long ago, actually it could be sometime in May, so that makes it quite some time ago, I made this dessert for a couple of friends that came over for tea and good conversation. Lynn brought along a lovely salad while the delectable Ms Kong Piang brought along a team smoked trout that was rather delicious. She also mentioned that she hadn't had a nice dessert in a while and that all the stuff she had been 'forced' to eat was really not worth her time. Ms Kong Piang often repeats that same story to me just to get me to make her desserts. *Yawn*

So anyway, not wanting to disappoint neither Ms Kong Piang nor Lynn, I decided I was going to make something different. Something chocolatey yet fruity. The Lovely Wife kept bugging me as to what I was going to make but I hushed her up. Very politely too!

In my mind, I wanted a chocolate cake with a pear mousse on top. I surfed the web for a Pear Mousse recipe and found this recipe from cdkitchen.com reproduced below.

For the cake, I decided on using my Baked Chocolate Mousse as I wanted a nicer soft texture.

While I was baking the mousse, I decided to make a cinnamon sauce to complement the pear mousse.

Ingredients
PEAR MOUSSE
3 large pears
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup brandy
1 cup Whipping cream


Method
Peel and core pears and chop coarsely. Place pears in pot with sugar and butter and lemon juice and cook and stir over low heat 15 to 20 minutes.

Let cool slightly and place in blender and puree smooth. Add the brandy and mix well. Cool completely.

Whip heavy cream and blend into cooled pear mixture. Chill well for several hours.


BAKED CHOC MOUSSE CAKE
200g Good Quality Dark Chocolate
4 eggs
200g Caster Sugar
300 ml Thickenend Cream
3 Tbsps Corn Flour

Method
Melt the chocolate over a double boiler and let cool. Meanwhile, beat eggs with sugar till nice and foamy. Add in the melted chocolate and continue beating till nicely incorporated. In a separate bowl, whip cream to soft peaks. Fold into the chocolate mixture and then add in sifted corn flour. Mix well to incorporate. Pour into a 9" round pan and place in a water bath. Bake in 180C oven for about 30 minutes.

Caramel Cinnamon Sauce
5 Tbsp Sugar
2 Tbs Water
1 Tbsp Butter
about 1/2 cup cream or milk
2 - 3 tsps Cinnamon powder (to your taste)

Method
Melting the sugar and water and allow to cook without stirring till the sugar turns amber. Turn add in the butter and stir quickly. Mixture may sputter. Reduce heat and allow to cool slightly before adding in the milk/cream. Return to heat and whisk until everything combines and mixture is nice and thick. Add in the cinnamon powder to taste.

Before serving, I dusted the top of the pear mousse with some cinnamon powder for those that didnt want to eat it with the caramel cinnamon sauce. The cinnamon really did make a difference and seemed to bring out the flavour of the pears.




The pear mousse turned out really nicely although if I make this again, I would let the pears mixture thicken some more as the mousse took a long, long time to set. In fact, even after being in the freezer overnight, the mousse melted very quickly. However the next day, the mousse had set up very, very nicely as you can see above.



The mousse was great as a dessert on its own too - especially with the caramel cinnamon sauce! Ms Kong Piang remarked that it would make a very good ice cream.




The combination of the pear mousse and the baked choc mousse was rather sublime and very interesting. The fruitiness of the pears combined really well with the chocolate and one slice was definitely not enough. This is the kind of dessert that you can just eat and eat... and that's exactly what we did!

Mocha Pudding

A few weeks ago, I had promised the kids that I would make them a nice dessert, something chocolatey and pudding-like. They were rather excited and they asked if I could make them something Mocha instead. Mocha has become the flavour of the month with the kids and truth be told, they like little sips of coffee as well!
I had planned to make it one weekend but then the 'lazy monster' took over and I apologised to the kids and said that I would make it another day.

A few days later, I took the kids out for dessert as The Lovely Wife had a dinner date with some friends. We ended up going to TGIF and wanted their Mocha Mud Pie but as luck would have it, they were out. They had something called Mini Delights which were actually a variety of small puddings served in shot glasses. I told my kids not to bother with them as firstly, the servings were too small and secondly, I could probably make something better. They both agreed and we ended up just having the Sundae which I have to say was pretty darned disappointing. As we left the restaurant, they both asked me if I would make them the puddings that I had promised soon and I promised I would.



I was actually going to modify the tried and tested Chocolate Pastry Cream Recipe from a previous Daring Bakers challenge. Or maybe even the Chocolate Custard recipe from my Chocolate Trifle.

The issue that I had with both those recipes was that they both needed egg yolks and I didn't want to waste the whites. So I surfed the web and found this recipe that used Whole eggs for the custard! I've never used whole eggs for custards or custard like puddings and I was a little worried how it would turn out.



I modified the recipe slightly and this is what I came up with:

Ingredients
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 2Tbsp coffee powder
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 3Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 3 large eggs
• 100g. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Method

Combine milk, coffee and heavy cream in a heavy, medium saucepan and heat up to just under a boil. Meanwhile in mixing bowl combine cornstarch and sugar and sift in cocoa powder. Whisk until blended. In another mixing bowl, whisk egg until blended, then add to sugar mixture and whisk until well combined.

Slowly add half the hot milk mixture to egg mixture to temper it while whisking continuously. Pour egg mixture back into pan with rest of the milk mixture and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture has become very thick . This should take about 7 minutes, depending on how cold your eggs are.

Remove from the heat and add in the chocolate and let heat of the custard mixture melt it. When the chocolate has melted, whisk together until smooth. Spoon the custard into cups right away and then chill for several hours.

I took a leaf out of the TGIF Menu and chopped some Snickers Bars and added them to the top of the pudding as a garnish. This gave the dessert and extra bite, a bit of crunch and more of a yummy factor.



The top of the custard formed a little bit of a skin the longer it stayed in the fridge but the Snickers on top more than disguised that. It was kind of nice to have a bit of a thicker top as well.


The verdict? The kids loved it! They liked the fact that the coffee wasn't overpowering and that the coffee flavour was more of an undertone and more noticeable as an aftertaste.



Both the kids had two servings at one go and then looked forward to having the dessert at every meal till there was no more. After the last one was finished, both of them looked at me and asked if there was any more. When the reply came that everything had been polished off, they immediately asked when I was going to make this again!

Father's Day 2011

This last Sunday, 19th June 2011, was Father's Day in Malaysia. I know that Father's Day is not celebrated on the same day in every country although I think the UK and the USA celebrate it on the same day.

I do know that Australia and New Zealand celebrate Father's Day in September and I know this through experience. When I was a Uni Student in Melbourne, Australia, I recall calling home just after the 3rd Sunday in June. I had a pleasant conversation with Dad who then remarked that he was upset that I hadn't wished him for Father's Day. I quickly replied that it wasn't Father's Day in Australia and how was I to remember that it was being celebrated back home in June?! He wasn't terribly impressed by my answer but nonetheless once September rolled around, I made sure I called home on Father's Day in Australia and that made him very pleased!



This year for Father's Day, we went out for dinner the previous night as The Lovely Wife had to go out of town on work on Sunday. On the Sunday morning, My little princess presented me with a lovely hand made card. My son went one step further and got The Lovely Wife to 'hijack' one of my favourite white T-shirts for him to personalise with a fabric pen set that we had bought for the kids some time back. He drew a fabulous stylised Elephant on it and then wrote a message underneath it!




The message reads: "I Love you Dads! Michael" and its not a grammatical error either as both the children like to call me Dads. Yes, with an 'S'

I was thrilled beyond words and I insisted on wearing it to church on Sunday morning. With great pride I showed it off to friends and family!



After church, The Lovely Wife had to catch a taxi to the airport while we went to Avanti Restaurant at Sunway Hotel where we met up with my Parents for lunch. We all had a good time - especially the kids who enjoyed stuffing their faces!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!

Black and White Butter Cake

Just last week, Sarah's Godparents came over to visit over tea and as usual, the question of what to cook cropped up. I decided to keep things simple yet at the same time take the opportunity to try out something new. I settled for a simple Butter Cake.


Although I have a tried and tested Butter Cake recipe - that is basically a Pound Cake (you know, a pound of everything), I decided to broaden my horizons and try something new. This recipe comes from The Australian Womens Weekly Old Fashioned Favourites - Desserts|Cakes|Biscuits|Slices
and this is how it goes.

Ingredients
250g Butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 (275g) caster sugar
3 eggs
2 1/4 cups (335g) self raising flour
3/4 cup (180ml) milk
Method
Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 22cm round or 19cm square cake pan.
Beat Butter, vanilla extract and sugar till light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in sifted flour and milk, in two batches.
Spread mixture into pan. Bake about 45 minutes or till done. Stand cake 5 mintues. Turn top side up onto wire rack to cool

Funny thing is, the actual recipe said to bake for about 1 hour but my cake was nicely done in 45 minutes. I think this may be due to the fact that my pan was slightly smaller and I used some of the batter to make a smaller cake. That probably accounts for the time difference perhaps.




We couldn't wait to try out the small cake as the house was filled with a lovely smell of baking! So as soon as the cakes were done, I popped the small cake out and my Little Princess proudly carried it off to show to The Lovely Wife. We wasted no time in cutting the cake and tasting it.



The cake was really nice and light. Almost like a sponge cake rather than a butter cake. Compared to my usual butter cake recipe, this has one less egg and about a 100 grams more of flour. Interesting how this affects the texture so much. Taste wise, it was really good too.




Too make it more interesting, I whipped up a batch of Orange flavoured butter icing and another batch of chocolate icing. For the Orange Icing, I mixed 60g butter, 2 cups icing sugar and about two Tbsps freshly squeezed orange juice together. I also added in some orange essence. I iced half the cake with the orange icing and then used the same basic recipe but omitted the orange juice and added in about 4 Tbsps of cocoa. I used the chocolate icing to ice the other half of the cake.

I also covered the cake with some roasted almond flakes. This gave it a nice crunch and the nuts went really well with the icing.



So with the twin colours of Black and White, I decided to name this simple cake, a Black and White Butter Cake. The kids preferred the chocolate icing over the orange but having two small slices of each flavour was really the way to go!