Microwave Carrot cake

Have you tasted microwave cakes yet? You will see that cakes cooked in the microwave turn out to be very light and delicate with a tender crumb.
It also takes a fraction of the time one would normally allow for traditional baking oven. The recipes are so easy that children enjoy making no bake cakes as well as adults because it's literally as easy as mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl and putting them inside a microwavable dish.
All the tortes, gateax, chocolate cakes and family cakes that you can think of, do work with your microwave.

The answer to all microwaved cakes is to camouflage their pale tops with frostings or icing. I personally do not like frosting and do not encourage my grandchildren to have it, that's why i do not frost unless the cakes are for celebrating. I have included the Cream Cheese Frosting which goes very well with this Carrot Cake. If you have a sweet tooth or need to make this cake more appealling, do frost it.



Ingredients:
2 cups finely shredded carrots
½ cup toasted walnut pieces
½ cup chopped dates
1/2 cup brown sugar (3/4 cups for friends who are at sea-level)
2 large eggs
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp cold milk
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda (3/4 tsp for friends who are at sea-level)

1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp mixed (apple- pie) spice

Method:

Butter and flour a 9-inch round and 3-inch deep microwave-safe cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.

Put the carrots, dates and roasted chopped walnuts into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process for 5 seconds or pass through the sieve. Add this mixture to the carrots mixture and toss until they are well-coated with the flour.

In the bowl of the food processor combine the brown sugar, eggs, vanilla essence and milk. With the processor still running drizzle in the vegetable oil. (no food processor, no problem, mix by hand)

Pour this mixture into the carrot mixture and stir until just combined.

Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake microwave on high for 8 minutes, turning cake pan around three times. Allow to stand for 15 minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack. (microwave wattage - 900 watts)

Invert on to a plate when cooled completely. Remove the paper.

Frost with cream cheese frosting after cake has cooled completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ozs cream cheese

2 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup confectioner's sugar
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and butter on medium just until blended.

Add the vanilla, lemon juice and beat until combined. With the speed on low, add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

Place the frosting in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes before using.

Serves

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Ipoh Sar Hor Fun

Ipoh, the capital city of the State of Perak in Malaysia, is famous for this dish. The best, thinly sliced 'hor fun', which is 'rice noodle', can be found in Ipoh and it is so, cos of the water found there is good for making good rice noodles . In the good old days, when there were no highways and byways, it takes forever to reach Ipoh but now, it takes less than 3 hours, not that long to drive there and have a bowl of this noodles. Ipoh has many more good eats so it is worth the drive.

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh rice noodle/dried Hu Tieu

1 lb shrimps with head - on

2 nos. whole chicken leg

Chinese chives (sectioned)
2 stalks scallions (chopped)

Ingredients for Chicken Broth:

3 nos. whole chicken carcass/2 packets of Swanson Chicken stock
Shrimp's shell (removed from the above 1 lb shrimps)
1/2 lb soya bean sprouts (tai tau nga)
2 x 1 inch size rock sugar
1 tsp whole white peppercorns (crushed)
5 liters water
salt to taste

Ingredients for Shrimp Oil:
125ml cooking oil
Shrimp head (removed from the above 1 lb shrimps)

Method:

To cook the shrimps, bring 1 liter of water to the boil and blanched the shrimps until they turn pink and cooked through. Remove and shock in ice water. Remove the heads and drain dry, to be use for frying with the oil. Remove the shells for making the chicken broth.

To cook the chicken legs, bring back the above water which was used to cook the shrimp, to a rolling boil. Put in the chicken legs and when water comes back to a boil, let it simmer for 5 minutes and cover with lid, turn off heat and let chicken legs poach for 15 minutes. Remove and shred when cooled.

To make chicken broth, rinse the chicken carcass,place them into a stock pot, add in the rest of stock ingredients, together with the water which was used for cooking the shrimp and chicken legs, bring to the boil. Reduce to low heat and cook for approximately 1-2 hours. Alternatively, use the pressure cooker which will take less than 1/2 the time.

Season with salt and strain the stock. Leave aside.

To make shrimp oil, heat up the cooking oil in the preheated wok, place in shrimp heads, stir-fry over low heat until the shrimp oil separates. Remove from heat, strain well.

Pour some of the prawn's oil into the chicken stock.

Blanch the "Hor Fun", Chinese chives in boiling water separately. Dish up and drained.

To assemble, place the "Hor Fun" into a serving bowl, add in blanched Chinese chives, , chicken shreds and shrimps.

Serve with hot chicken broth, add in a little shrimp oil and chopped scallions.

Serve hot with fried sambal or chopped chilly in soya sauce.

Serves

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Pan-Fried Pau/Sang Cheen Pau

Pan-Fried Paus ready to eat - Bon Appetit

Ready for the pan

This is a very quick and easy way to make paus and these paus are second to none. You do not necessary have to steam paus although Steamed paus are healthier, other ways of cooking them are more exciting, like this Pan-Fried version. The crispy bottom and the soft top with flavorful, succulent filling make these paus to die for.


Ingredients:
A
2 cups bleached flour, remove 2 tbsps and replace with 2 tbsp wheat starch(tung mein fun)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lard/shortening
1 tsp instant yeast
1/2 + cup water

For Frying

1 tbsp oil

1 cup water

1 tbsp bleached all-purpose flour

FILLING:

600 gm pork

4 stalks of spring onion

15 gm young ginger

50 gm shallots(sliced and fried till golden)

Seasoning:

1 1/8 tsp salt

1 ½ tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp soya sauce

2 tsp sugar

½ tsp msg

100 cc stock

BEFORE

AFTER

Method:

For pau:

Mix ingredients A together.

Knead until smooth and elastic.

Let it rise for 40 mins or until dough has double in size(to accelerate rising, put a pan of hot water on the lowest rack of oven and put bowl with dough on the rack above - cover bowl)

Cut into equal portions and line them in a row.

Cover with a slightly damp cloth.

Starting from the first portion, flatten into a disk with your hands and fold in the edges of dough into the center, pinch into a round ball and leave covered. Repeat with the second portion and so forth.

When portions are done, start with the first ball, cup with palm of your hand and roll ball on tabletop, in a circular motion. Repeat with the rest of the balls.

Starting from the first ball again, roll into a very thin circle before wrapping in filling. Repeat.

Let it rise for 20 minutes. (Paus are ready for steaming or pan-fried)

Heat a big non-stick skillet with 1 tbsp oil and place wrapped paus onto hot oil. Do not crowd - pau will expand during cooking.

Fry until the bottom of paus are browned.

Mix the flour to the water and add into skillet, cover with lid and cook until paus have risen and cooked.

Remove lid and cook until the water has evaporated and continue to fry until the bottom of paus are crispy.

Repeat this process with the remaining paus.

Serve immediately, the bottom of paus will not be crispy when left out for too long.

For Filling:

Chop pork till fine.

Chop spring onions and ginger until fine.

Mix ingredients for seasoning with pork.

Use the cake mixer and with the paddle beat pork until elastic.

Add in stock, spring onions and ginger.

Serves

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