Flower Buns

Flower buns are steamed buns in the shape of a flower and have no fillings, so they have to be eaten with stewed meat like Hong Bak or Tong Po pork. I have made them from quite a number of recipes but this one is from Jo's Deli Bakery.




Ingredients:

Dough Starter:
135g cake/superfine flour, sifted
45g pau flour, sifted
1 tsp instant yeast
A pinch of salt
100g water


METHOD:
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix and knead (by hand or by mixer) until dough is smooth and elastic.
Place dough in an oiled bowl and covered with cling film. Prove for 11/2-2 hour until dough is double in volume.
Divide dough to 70g portions. Reserve one portion for this recipe and store the rest in an air tight container and freeze. Thaw to room temperature the next time you want to use the dough starter.


INGREDIENTS:

Main Dough:
200g cake/superfine flour
100g pau flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
6g soy flour
50g castor sugar
2 tsp instant yeast
130g water
70g Dough Starter
10g shortening

For greasing:
2 tbsp shortening
2 tbsp castor sugar



METHOD:

Prepare main dough: Sift cake flour, pau flour, baking powder and soy flour into a mixing bowl. Combine flours with sugar, yeast and water. Beat until a smooth dough is formed.
Add in dough starter and shortening. Continue to knead until the dough is smooth, elastic and close to the stage where a thin membrane can be formed when dough is stretched
To prepare greasing, mix shortening and castor sugar in a bowl. Mix well using a spoon until sugar dissolve a little.


To prepare Flower Bun:


Divide dough into 11 portions of 50g small doughs. Roll each portion out to about 1/4 inch thick. Use a knife or pizza cutter, cut a few lines on the dough. Leave both ends of dough un-cut
Apply the sugar greasing onto dough . Twist the dough . Tie dough into a knot . Repeat for other dough.
Cover Flower Buns with a damp cloth and prove for 30 minutes.
Boil water in a steamer. Reduce fire to medium heat. Steam Flower Buns for 10 minutes.
Serve while Flower Buns are still hot.


NOTES FROM JO'S DELI BAKERY:

The dough starter recipe will give you about 4 portions of starters. Store the rest in air-tight container in freezer. Just bring a portion of starter back to room temperature when you need it for other pau products. Use it for making e.g. Steamed Man Tou, Meat & Vegetable Pau, Char Siew Pau (Barbecued Pork Pau) etc.


Unlike bread dough, dough for pau product does not have to be kneaded to the thin membrane stage. Knead until gluten is formed in dough.
Please adjust water content of this recipe. Remember amount of water required depends on types of flour used, type of liquid used, temperature and humidity of atmosphere at the time of making the pau.
Unless the dough is too sticky to work with, avoid using too much flour to dust your working surface. This may result in thick and hard pau skin.
Avoid water condensate at steamer's lid from dropping to the man tou. Dry lid with a cloth every time you uncover the steamer.
Don't worry if your product is not as white as those sold in the restaurant. This is because you do not use 100% bleached pau flour in this recipe. I mixed pau flour with superfine/cake (low protein) flour so that texture of pau would not be too chewy.
If you are not able to finish all the flower buns at one time, keep them in an air-tight container or plastic bag and freeze. Just reheat them whenever you want to have them. Estimated storage period is 2-3 months.
Serves

Yee Sang

Yee Sang is a salad served during the Chinese New Year and raw fish is sliced very thinly and lime/lemon juice is added to the fish before serving. The fish served in this case has to be very fresh which unfortunately is impossible to get here. I have substituted it with jelly fish.




Ingredients:
150g sliced raw fish (you can use salmon)
200g radish shreds
150 g carrot shreds
30g tian-cha-gua (mandarin, direct translation sweet tea melon)
30g qua yin (mand.)
100g pomelo
50g crispy chips (can be sub. with fried wanton skin or yao cha guai)
30g red yam shreds
20g sweet onion pickle shreds
30g green yam shreds
10g red sweet ginger pickle
10g white sweet ginger pickle
1 tsp shreded lime(limau perut) leaves
some coriander leaves
1/2 lemon
1 tsp brandy
15g sesame seeds, toasted
30g peanuts, toasted and ground
1/2 cup of garlic oil + 1 tsp sesame oil

Sauce:150g plum sauce
1/2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp pepper
1/4tsp five-spice powder
apricot jam
lime juice


Added ingredients or sub.:

pickled mango
orange rind
dried apricot


Have to make my own qua yin which is sweetened green papaya.

• shred green papaya, add salt and leave aside, squeeze out as much liquid as possible
• blanch in hot water, remove and drain
• cook sugar with 1 tbsp of corn syrup and water until thick,
• add in shred papaya and mix well.
• let it cool.

YAM SHREDS

• shred or juliene yam.
• one portion color with red and another in green.
• deep fry them until crisp.

To make crispy cracker -

• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 egg
• 1 piece of lam yee

• 1 tsp baking powder
• a pinch of salt and pepper
• enough water to make into a dough

Mix all the above ingredients and rest dough for 30 mins.


Divide dough into small pieces and roll each piece as thin as possible, like wonton skin.


Cut into 1" x 1/4" strips and deep fry


Method:



1. Prepare all ingredients and arrange on a serving plate
2. Mix raw fish with lemon juice and brandy. Pour the oil and sauce and toss all ingredients .


Serves

Cream Puffs

Cream Puffs are the most perfect dessert in existence: crisp, tender and airy pastry encasing cold, creamy ice cream and napped by dark, luxurious chocolate sauce.



Source : Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs plus 1 large egg white(need 1/2 cup only)
• 5 tbsps unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces(do not replace)
• 1 oz whole milk(makes the puffs brown faster)
• 3 ozs water
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 ozs unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted

Method:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Spray large(12 by 18 inch) baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper, set aside.
3. Beat eggs and egg white in measuring cup, you should have 1/2 cup(discard excess). Set aside.
4. Bring butter, milk, water, sugar, and salt to boil over medium heat, stirring once or twice. When mixture reaches full boil(butter should be fully melted), immediately remove saucepan from heat and stir in flour with heatproof spatula or wooden spoon until combined and mixture clears sides of pan. Return saucepan to low heat and cook, stirring constantly, using smearing motion, for 3 minutes, until mixture is slightly shiny with wet -sand appearance and tiny beads of fat appear on bottom of saucepan(temperature of paste should register 175 to 180 degrees F on instant-read thermometer).
5. Immediately transfer mixture to food processor and process with feed tube open for 10 seconds to cool slightly. With machine running, gradually add eggs in steady stream. When all eggs have been added, scrape down side bowl, then process for 30 seconds until smooth, thick, sticky paste forms.(If not using immediately, transfer paste to medium bowl, cover surface flush with sheet of plastic wrap sprayed lightly with nonstick cooking spray, and store at room temperature for up to 2 hours)
6. Fold down top 3 or 4 inches of 14 or 16 inch pastry bag fitted with 1/2 inch plain tip to form a cuff. Hold bag open with one hand in cuff and fill bag with paste. Unfold cuff, lay bag on work surface, and, using hands or bench scraper, push paste into lower portion of pastry bag. Twist top of bag and pipe paste into 11/4 to 11/2 inch mounds on prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 1 to 11/4 inches apart (you should be able to fit about 24 mounds on baking sheet).
7. Use back of teaspoon dipped in bowl of cold water to smooth shape and surface of piped mounds.
8. Bake 15 minutes (do not open oven door), then reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake until golden brown and fairly firm(puffs should not be soft and squishy), 8 to 10 minutes longer.
9. Remove baking sheet from oven. With paring knife, cut 3/4 inch slit into side of each puff to release steam, return puffs to oven, turn off oven, and prop oven door open with handle of wooden spoon. Dry puffs in turned off oven until centers are just moist(not wet) and puffs are crisp, about 45 minutes.
10. Transfer puffs to wire rack to cool. (Cooled puffs can be stored at room temperature for up to 24 hours or frozen in zipper lock plastic bag for up to 1 month. Before serving, crisp room temperature puffs in 300 degrees oven 5 to 8 minutes, or 8 to 10 minutes for frozen puffs)
11. Serve puffs with a scoop of ice cream preferably vanilla and napped with chocolate sauce.

CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Whisk the sauce gently so as not to create tiny air bubbles that can mar its appearance.

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 tbsp light corn syrup

3 tbsp unsalted butter cut into 3 pieces

salt

6 ozes bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine

Bring heavy cream, corn syrup, butter and salt to boil in small nonreactive saucepan over medium-high heat. Off heat, add chocolate while gently swirling saucepan. Cover pan and let stand until chocolate is melted, about 5 minutes. Uncover and whisk gently until combined. (can be cooled to room temperature, placed in airtight container, and refrigerated for up to 3 weeks. To reheat, transfer sauce to heatproof bowl set over saucepan of simmering water. Alternatively, microwave at 50 percent power, stiring once or twice, 1 to 3 minutes)

Serves

Taro Puff(Woo Kok)

In Malaysia 'Woo Tau' in cantonese is called YAM but it is TARO here in the States and yam is sweet potato. Fresh taro is available but i have found the frozen ones from Thailand to be better. I have tried a few recipes and added mung beans to the pastry in one recipe which does not alter the taste but in fact enhanced the fuffliness to the pastry. The recipe below is the original but if you wish to use mung beans, reduced 4 ozs of taro and replaced with soaked mung beans.



Ingredients:

Pastry:

• 20 ozs taro(cut into thin slices and steam)
• 3 ozs wheat starch
• 3 ozs boiling water
• 6 ozs shortening/lard
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 ozs sugar
• 1/4 tsp ammonia powder

Filling:

• 2 tsp oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tbsp chopped onion
• 1/2 tbsp flour
• 4 ozs prawn meat deveined and cubed
• 8 ozs lean meat, cut into small cubes
• 2 tbsp of baked beans
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 1/2 tsp black soya sauce
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• salt to taste

Method:

To cook the filling:

1. Heat oil and fry the garlic slightly and add in the flour. Stir until flour is cooked.
2. Add in the lean meat, fry until meat is no more pink, then add in prawns. When prawns are cooked, add in the rest of the ingredients.

To prepare the pastry:

1. Blend the wheat starch with the boiling water or put 3 ozs water, salt and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn off heat and add in the wheat starch, stir thoroughly until the wheat starch is cooked.
2. Mash the steam taro while it is still hot Add in the cooked wheat starch , ammonia and lard and knead till smooth.
3. Divide dough into small pieces, flatten each piece, place filling in centre, fold and seal edges.
4. Heat oil until 35o f and deep fry puffs and serve hot. (the temperature of the oil is very important. too low - the puff will disintegrate and likewise if the oil is too hot)

Easy Marshmallow Snails

Easy Marshmallow Snails is a recipe from Kraftfoods.com . I made the snails using lime jello but the poor snails did not have any antennaes. The picture in the front is made with grape jello and the one on the left is with raspberry jello but presented in different ways.





Ingredients:

1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Brand Gelatin, any flavor
1/2 cup warm water
1-3/4 cups JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows, divided
24 pieces red string licorice (1 in.)
1/4 cup ready-to-spread vanilla frosting

Method:

MIX gelatin and water in medium microwavable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1-1/2 min.; stir until gelatin is completely dissolved.

SET aside 12 of the marshmallows.

Add remaining marshmallows to gelatin; stir until well blended. Microwave on HIGH 1 min. or until marshmallows are partially melted. Stir with wire whisk until marshmallows are completely melted.

Pour into 9-in. square pan sprayed with cooking spray.

REFRIGERATE 45 min. or until set.

Run sharp knife around edges of pan to loosen gelatin layer from pan. Starting at one short end, roll up gelatin layer tightly. Cut into 12 (3/4-inch-thick) strips. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to decorate. UNROLL each about 1 inch. Stand 1 of the reserved marshmallows on unrolled portion of each spiral for the "snail's body," securing with frosting. Insert 2 pieces of licorice into each marshmallow for "antennae," securing with additional frosting, if desired.

KRAFT KITCHENS TIPS

To Double Prepare gelatin mixture as directed, doubling all ingredients. Pour into 13x9-inch pan. Refrigerate as directed. For ease in handling, cut gelatin mixture in half crosswise before rolling up. Roll up each half separately, making a total of 2 rolls. Cut each roll into 12 slices. Decorate as directed.


Serves

Makes 24 servings

Kaya - Rich egg custard

Kaya means rich so it must be with more eggs for the custard. There are many versions and to each its own. This is my version, simple , fast and rich. The microwave is used to cook this custard.

• 5 eggs (280 gm)
• 280 gm sugar
• 200 ml thick coconut milk
• a pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp of powdered vanillin

Method:

1. Stir and whip all ingredients except vanillin in a glass bowl to break up the eggs. Strain mixture.
2. Microwave uncovered for 5 mins on level 4(i am using 1000 watts) and then stir. Repeat again 5 mins on level 4, by now the mixture will be thicker.
3. Continue to Microwave for 3 mins on level 3, remove from microwave and stir. the custard should be thicken by now.
4. This time, cover with cling wrap and leave an opening for steam, microwave on the level 2 for 5 mins.
5. Remove wrap and stir adding in the vanillin and let it cool.

Braised Dried Shitake Mushrooms

Mushrooms braised this way goes very well as a side for the chicken rice and a topping for noodles, be it wantan noodles, meifun or instant noodles for that matter. If stand alone it as a vegetarian dish.
For the chinese new year, a very good grade of dried shitake named 'far koo' - translated as 'flower mushroom' for the pattern that is on the mushroom.surface and the color is paler. Braised slowly and the mushrooms taste better than chicken meat.




Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb of dried shitake mushrooms
• 3 cloves garlic - crush
• 1 1/2 tbsp oil
• 2 cups broth - chicken / vegetable/strained liquid from soaking of mushrooms
• 1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 piece rock sugar(1 inch ball)
• pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp rice wine
• 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch diluted with 100 ml water
• 2 tbsp sesame seed oil

Marinate :

• 1 tbsp ginger juice
• 1 tbsp spring onion juice
• 1 tbsp light soya sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame seed oil
• Pinch of salt
  
  
  Method:

1. Remove stems and put mushroom caps in a saucepan covered with water and bring to the boil. Discard the liquid and wash the mushrooms thoroughly. Return mushrooms to saucepan and cover with water and let mushrooms soak till double its size. Drain the mushrooms and squeeze them dry. Make a marinade with salt, ginger and spring onion juice, soya sauce and sesame seed oil and marinate the mushrooms for 10 minutes.
2. Heat oil and saute garlic. Add in the marinated mushrooms and saute until fragrant. Add in the rest of the ingredients except the rice wine.
3. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmering for 30 mins. Uncover so that the sauce reduced slightly. Add rice wine , bring back to the boil and add in cornstarch mixture to thicken. Lastly add in sesame seed oil.
   
   

Kuih Bingka Ubi

• Baked Tapioca Cake is very easy to bake and it is not so laborious when you are baking it here in Aurora, Colorado as grated tapioca is available frozen and coconut cream comes in a can.
  
  
  Ingredients:

• 1 lb grated tapioca(casava)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup coconut cream and 1 tbsp for glazing
• 1 stick (4 ozs) butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt

Method:

1. Grease a 6" x 6" square tin.
2. Preheat oven at 375 F
3. Mix all the ingredients in a large glass bowl and microwave on high 1 minute at a time until mixture is thick.
4. Pour into greased tin and bake for 30 minutes.
5. Glaze the top with 1 tbsp of coconut cream and broil/grill until brown.
6. Cool before cutting into pieces.
   

Hong Bak

Hong Bak is in hokkien and the nyonya will call it Babi Hong. It used to be the family favorite when my mother in law was alive. It is delicious served with plain rice or crusty bread like the french baguette.



Ingredients:

• 
  1 kg shoulder pork with skin
• 6 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 tbsp sugar
• salt to taste
• 225 ml water
• 5 hard boiled eggs(optional)

Spice paste

• 285 g shallots
• 60 g garlic
• 3 tbsp roasted coriander seeds or 2 tbsp coriander powder
• 2.5 cm cukor(kencur) or 1 tsp kencur powder(more info refer http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Kaem_gal.html)
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 tbsp tau cheo(brown soya bean paste)

Method:

1. For convenience, prepare spice paste first. Grind or poujnd all ingredients for spice paste. If powdered substitutes are used, blend into paste.
2. Cut pork into 5 cm cubes.
3. Heat oil, lower fire and fry spice paste until fragrant and soft.
4. Add pork and stir fry. Add sugar and salt to taste.
5. Add water and allow to simmer, stirring at regular intervals. Dish is ready when pork is soft and gravy is thick. Add the hard boiled eggs.
6. There should be a separation of oil and gravy.

Serves

Zebra Cake

This cake was inspired by Jo from Jodelibakery but obviously what I made is no comparison to what Jo made. The cake was so beautiful and I had to make it and since i don't have cake emulsifier, I could not use her recipe but I used her recipe for her Raspberry Swiss Roll instead.

Ingredients:

Cake Tin: 9 inch springform

(A)
50 gm castor sugar
6 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
38 gm oil
15 gm milk(half and half)
45 gm cake flour
45 gm cornflour
3/4 tsp baking powder

(B)
6 egg whites
55 gm castor sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

(C)
1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder dilute with 1 tbsp warm water

Method:

Preheat oven at 350 F(convection) or 180 C

Beat the sugar and egg yolk(A) until creamy. add vanilla, corn oil and milk and mix well.

Sift cake flour, cornflour and baking powder into egg yolk mixture and fold till well combined.

In another clean mixing bowl, whip egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Add the sugar(B) and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.

Take 1/3 of egg whites and fold into the egg yolk mixture. Mix until combined and add in the rest of the egg whites. Fold in gently.

Divide mixture into 2 portions. 2/3 portion will be plain and fold in the cocoa mixture into the 1/3 portion and mix well.

With a tablespoon, scoop 4 heaped tablespoons of plain batter into middle of cake tin, then scoop 4 less heaped tablespoons of cocoa batter and drop it on top of the first plain mixture. continue this procedure but using less batter as you go.

Bake in oven for 35 - 40 mins until done, test with a cake skewer.

Take cake out of oven and invert cake. Leave cake inverted until cooled.

When cake is cooled. Run a knife along the sides of cake pan before removing the springform.


Serves

12 servings

Perfect Steeped White Chicken

This recipe is from Cheong Liew's cookbook MY FOOD. I have always followed this way of cooking the white chicken for the hainanese chicken rice and here is his quote:

A wonderfully versatile chicken dish: the meat can be used in salads, eaten cold or hot, or carved into slices in the traditional Chinese manner and served with a dipping sauce of soy, oil, shallot, ginger and spring onion. The meat is tender, succulent and delectable and the white and red parts are distinctly coloured. The poaching method using hot as opposed to simmering stock ensures that the breast meat is not tough or stringy, the great test for any whole chicken dish. The shallot and ginger offset the metallic taste which is sometimes present in plain poached chicken. A little red blood in the centre of the chicken bones is acceptable, otherwise the cooking time would be too long for the meat. To ensure a perfectly finished dish, the lifting and re-submerging of the chicken must be done without breaking the skin.

Drizzling soy sauce and warm peanut oil over the meat pieces will add to the flavour if you do not have time to prepare the dipping sauce. Peeled cucumber slices on the base of the plate adds colour and a taste and texture contrast. Country people, who eat mainly rice, use dipping sauces to add flavour to their meals.



Ingredients:
1.8 - 2.00 kg chicken
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 cm knob ginger
1 spring onion, pounded together with the ginger
1 tbsp rice wine
5 litres white chicken stock
1 slice ginger (extra)
1 spring onion stalk (extra)


Method:
Season the chicken cavity with salt, soy sauce, ginger, spring onion and rice wine and leave aside for 1 hour.

Fill a large pot with water and bring to the boil. It is essential that the chicken be fully immersed at all stages to ensure thorough cooking. Blanch the chicken, 1 minute at a time, a couple of times, carefully lifting it in and out of the pot under the wing, so as not to bruise the skin. This process of 'changing the water' washes the salted cavity of excess blood and impurities, and at the same time, seals the cavity. Remove the chicken, and refresh it in very cold water to firm the flesh and seal the skin.

In another pot, bring chicken stock to the boil with the slice of ginger and spring onion stalk then lower the chicken gently into the stock with a carving fork just under the chicken wing, taking care not to bruise the skin. Repeat the same lifting and submerging process used during the blanching process, this time to heat the cavity, which will be less cooked than the exterior. Then submerge the chicken completely in the stock.

Bring the stock to the boil, skimming off any impurities. Remove the pot from the stove and allow the chicken to steep in the stock for 25 minutes(30 mins for 2 kg chicken. Remove the chicken gently from the pot and place it on a serving dish to cool for 30 minutes. By this time the bird is fully rested and is ready for slicing.


DIPPING SAUCE

2 cm knob ginger
2 spring onions, white only
1 tbsp light soy sauce
t tbsp shallot oil

Pound ginger and spring onion to a paste, add soy sauce and shallot oil.

HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE

3 tbsp oil/margarine/chicken oil
1 tbsp chopped garlic and shallots
1/2 tbsp chopped ginger
3 cups rice, washed and drained
4 1/2 cups chicken stock(use the stock from the above)
1 tsp salt to taste

METHOD

Heat up oil, saute chopped garlic and shallot and ginger until fragrant. Add rice, salt and mix well. Dish into a rice cooker, add chicken stock and taste(add more salt if required). Leave to cook until dry and fluffy.

CHILLY SAUCE

10 red chillies,
5 chilly padi
3 cm young ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
dash of sesame oil
2 tbsp chicken oil(scoop from chicken stock)
2 tbsp lime juice

METHOD

Pound/blend red chillies, chilly padi and ginger.
Mix in the rest of the ingredients and adjust taste accordingly.

OYSTER SAUCE/BLACK SOYA SAUCE

Add some sesame oil to these 2 sauces above

White Chicken Stock

1 kg chicken bones cut into walnut size pieces
2 sticks celery
1 leek
1 onion
1 clove
1 sprig thyme
1 small bay leaf
5 parsley stalks
pinch of salt
10 white peppercorns

To remove blood and impurities, plunge the bones in boiling water. Bring the water back to the boil and remove the bones. Refresh them in cold water. Place the bones in a stockpot and cover with 3 litres of water. Bring to the boil and skim off any impurities. Simmer for 11/2 hours.

Add vegetables and herbs and cook for a further 30minutes. Ten minutes before the end of the cooking process, add the salt and peppercorns. Strain the stock through a fine sieve, then through a muslin cloth.

Chill, then, when you are going to use the stock, or freeze it, remove any remaining fat.

What Chef Liew said about this stock:

Because it has not been exposed to dry heat, white chicken stock does not brown. It is used for general purposes, such as soups and sauces and for dishes where color is important, such as vegetables, rice and cream or white colored sauces.

Serves

Chocolate Pound Cake

A dense chocolate cake made in a Bundt pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar and shredded lemon or orange peel.

Recipe is submitted in Allrecipes by Shelly



Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
3 cups white sugar
5 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp instant coffee granules dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetenen cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F(165 degrees c). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. Mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the dissolved coffee and buttermilk. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 60 - 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 20 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Notes

before taking bundt cake out of oven, i microwaved a damp cloth for 1 min on high and then remove cake from oven and puts it on top of hot cloth. let it sit for 3 - 5 mins, then the cake will come off the bundt pan easier.

Serves

16 servings

Chinese New Year Celebration

The year 2005 started off very well for a rooster like me who has come full cirle 5 times around and to celebrate the new rooster year are friends enjoying the loh hei that i made.





Since it was the year of the rooster, i find it very appropriate to cook dishes using the chicken. so besides the loh hei, i cooked hainanese chicken rice and there were white chicken and rotiserrie chicken for the benefit of the non asian guests. The chilly sauce which was home maded by me when i was home in malaysia last year ,was the winner for the hainanese chicken rice while the oyster sauce with sesame oil was not touched at all. Braised mushrooms was surprisingly popular. My recipes for the yee sang, hainanese chicken rice, white chicken, rotiserrie chicken, chilly sauce, oyster sauce and braised mushroom will be posted soon.