Chinese Peanuts and Sesame Candy Bars Recipes

I grew up eating this peanut candy and it is Carlos favorite snacks too. This candy is something that we will have on our CNY snack tray too. I Google for it and the only recipe I find is from Aunty Lily’s so I used hers. Here is a note to myself the next time I am making this again. Do not talk on the phone while making this!! The phone rang when this was cooling down and by the time I hang up the phone, the candy got way too hard when I tried cutting it so I end up breaking most of it. That is why you see the ugly pieces here. I am submitting this cookie to Aspiring-Bakers # 3 My Favourite CNY Cookies hosted by j3ss kitch3n

Ingredients:
Recipe adapted from Aunty Lily’s

1 cup sugar
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp water
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
2 1/4 cups skinless roasted peanuts

1. Line a 6 ½" x 10" cake pan with foil and greased it generously with oil. Combined half of the toasted sesame seeds and peanuts together and lay it evenly on the pan.
2. Combine sugar, vinegar and water in a heavy bottom saucepan. Cook over medium heat until it reaches 300° F on a candy thermometer. (I just let it reach to light brown color stage)
3. When the sugar mixture has reached the required temperature, carefully pour the sugar mixture over the nuts in the baking pan.
4. Smooth the surface with a spatula. Sprinkle with the remaining sesame seeds and cool slightly.
5. While candy is still warm, remove from pan by lifting the foil. Cut into 2" by 1" pieces and then allow to cool completely.

Note: Be careful when you eat this as they are very hard.

Cranberry Orange Walnut Cake Recipes

There is abundance of fresh cranberries in the market now and I just bought a big packet without knowing what to do with it. It has been sitting in the fridge for nearly two weeks until I finally used it to bake some cakes to be given away as Christmas gift with the cookies. The orange juice and the zest in the cake compliment the cranberries very nicely. The fresh cranberries are tart and refreshing, while the cake is sweet. This loaf will be great for breakfast, afternoon tea especially during the holiday season.

Ingredients:

1 stick/113 gram soft butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp of orange zest
½ cup orange juice
½ cup sour cream
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
½ cup walnuts – toasted and chopped

Glaze:

½ cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice

1. Line and greased a large loaf pan or two medium size loaf pans. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F. Shift the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and set it aside. Combined the orange juice and sour cream. Mix well and set it aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy for 5-6 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time and beating continuously until well incorporated. Slow down the speed of the mixer and slowly add in the flour in 3 batches alternating with the orange juice – sour cream mixture. The last edition should be the flour. Do not over mix.
3. Stop the machines, using a spatula fold in the fresh cranberries and walnuts. Mix well. Pour into the baking pan and bake for 55 – 65 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let it rest on the pan for 10 minutes before turning it out on the cooling pan.
4. Let it cool completely. Combined the glaze ingredients and spread it over the top of the cake. Cut and serve.

Note: This cake improves in texture and taste after a day or two.

Apple Cranberry Tea Ring Recipes

Weather is so cold and snowing outside and the best way to warm up the house is doing some baking. But it is definitely not a good idea to make bread. Wrong move on my part and because of the cold making this loaf of bread took me over 6 hours from start to finished baking. It just refused to rise. I even stick it into the warm oven to help with the proofing. The end results, I would prefer it to rise a bit more and softer. Nevertheless, it tasted good. I think this tea ring will be great for Christmas breakfast or brunch.

Ingredients
Dough recipe adapted from Taste Of Home recipe book.

3/4 cup warm milk (70°F to 80°F)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons water (you might not need it)
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3-1/3 cups bread flour
2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

FILLING:

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tbsp of sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup of chopped fresh apple
1/2 cup dried cranberry
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Egg wash

1 egg -beaten

Glaze

1/2 cup confections’ sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice

1. Place all the dough ingredients except for the water into a mixer attached with the dough hook. Mix the dough until comes together. If it is too dry add in the extra water a tablespoon at a time.
2. Continue to knead until the dough is smooth. Place it in an oil bowl, cover it with a cling wrap and leave it in a warm place to rise double in size for about 1 to 2 hours (depend on the temperature of your environment)
3. For the filling, combined sugars, cut in the butter until crumbly. Stir in the dry cranberries, raisins and walnuts and set it aside.
4. When the dough is done, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll into a 20” x 10” rectangle, sprinkle with the sugar mixture and top it with the chopped apple within 1” of the edges.
5. Roll it up tightly like a jelly-roll, starting with a long side; seal ends. Place in a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan; bring both ends together, seal it to form a ring.
6. With scissors, cut from outside edge two-thirds of the way toward center of ring at 1-in. intervals. Separate strips slightly; twist to allow filling to show. Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour. Brush it with egg wash.
7. Bake in a preheated at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and let it cool complete on a cooling rack. Mix the glaze and drizzle it all over the ring.

Note: To prevent overbrowning you can cover it with foil during the last 10 minutes of baking.

I am submitting this bread to Yeastspotting

Brown Sugar Cake Recipes

This cake is made with dark brown sugar. So far I think this is the first butter cake I made using dark brown sugar and I was pretty satisfied with the outcome. The brown sugar gives the cake a rich, buttery, caramel like flavor, almost like butterscotch. The cake taste even better the next day.

Ingredients:

2 stick/226 gram/1 cup butter
1 ¾ cups dark brown sugar
2 ½ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
4 eggs
½ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 cup dried cranberry

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degree F. Grease and line an 8” round baking pan or loaf pan.
2. Sift all the dry ingredients and set it aside. In another mixing bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until light and creamy. Add in eggs, one at a time and beat well. Add in the vanilla.
3. Add in flour mixture in 3 batches and alternate it with milk. Mix well. Lastly fold in the walnuts and dried cranberry. Mix well. Pour into baking pan and bake for 45 minutes or until skewer inserted into the center of cake comes out clean.
4. Remove the cake from oven and let the cake cool completely on wire rack before cutting into it.

Hummingbird Cake Recipes

The Hummingbird cake is a true Southern cake and it is beautifully moist and delicious. This is one of my favorite cakes as it kind of reminds me of carrot cake which has all my favorite ingredients like bananas, pineapple and nuts in it. The cream cheese frosting gives an extra tangy sweetness to it. It is still a bit of mystery on where its usual name came from. But there are many theories about the origin of this cakes name.

Some say this cake earned its name because people will hum with delight while eating this cake. Another theory is that it's as sweet as the sugared water used to attract the Hummingbird. Whatever it may be, I do know one thing for sure is that the cake is so good and if you are looking for a cake to bake this would be the one.

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
¾ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cups mashed bananas
½ cup crushed pineapple
1/4 cup pineapple juice
2/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 cup icing sugar
3 tbsp butter
80 grm cream cheese
1 tbsp lemon juice

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degree F. Grease and line an 8” square or round baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Sift all the dry ingredients and set it aside. In another mixing bowl, combined eggs, brown sugar, oil, bananas, pineapple juice and crushed pineapple. Stir all the ingredients together until well mix.
3. Add in the sifted ingredients into the eggs mixture. Mix until combined and lastly add in the nuts. Pour the mixture into prepare baking pan and bake in the oven for an hour or until golden brown and the skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
4. Remove the cake from the oven; let the cake cool completely on a wire rack before spreading on the cheese frosting.
5. For the cream cheese frosting, put all the ingredients in a mixer and beat until smooth and creamy. Spread it on the cake.

Fruity Braided Bread Recipes

I am into bread making nowadays as the weather is getting a bit warmer and it is just perfect to ferment the bread dough. There’s nothing like the joy of making a loaf of bread at home and to be able to savor a warm crusty loaf straight out from the oven.

Ingredients:

350 g flour
40g sugar
¼ tsp salt
7g yeast
170ml fresh milk
1 egg
45g butter
1 ½ cups of dried fruits (raisins, cranberry, dried cherry)

Glaze (lightly beaten together)

1 egg
1 tbsp fresh milk

Topping

Some almond flakes
1 tbsp of sugar

1. Combine sifted flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a mixing bowl. Mix well Beat egg in milk, add slowing add it into the flour until it form a soft dough. Mix in butter and continue to beat until the dough is smooth. If at this stage the dough is a bit wet add a tbsp of flour. Add in all the dried fruits and nuts and mix well.
2. Cover mixing bowl with a damp tea towel. Leave aside in a warm place in the kitchen for an hour or until double in size.
3. Remove dough from the mixing bowl onto a lightly floured tabletop. Knead lightly then divide into 3 equal portions. Roll each portion into a strip 30cm long. Lay them side by side then gather the ends of the strips together and weave into a braid. Bring both ends of the braid together and make into a loop. Put it on a greased baking tray and cover with cling film. Let it rise for another 40 minutes until doubled in size.
4. Brush lightly with egg wash and sprinkle with almond flakes and sugar. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degree F for 35-40 minutes or golden brown.

Orange Almond Cake Recipes

I made this cake when we have guest over for dinner the other day. This is a super very rich, moist and dense cake. The orange flavor is intense and if you love citrus this cake is for you. It kept really well and the almonds help to keep the cake rich and moist, and it has served well as mid-morning snacks throughout the week.

Ingredients:

226 grm butter
180 grm sugar
180 grm ground almond
150 grm flour
½ tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs
Zest and juice of 2 oranges

1. Pre-heat the oven to 325 degree F. Greased and line a baking pan with parchment paper. Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt together. Mix in the ground almond and set it aside.
2. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until smooth and creamy. Add in the eggs, one at the time and beat well until well combined.
3. Reduce speed to low and add in the dry ingredients in 3 badges alternating with the orange juice and zest. Mix until just incorporated.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake for 50 minutes or until the cake is golden and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool.

Note: I will be going back to Kuala Lumpur early February. I hope I am able to meet up with some of you when I am home. So if you are interested maybe you can email me. My email address is at my profile. Thanks.

Strawberry Nut Pinwheels Recipes

Is Christmas time again and it is time to do some baking. I didn't bake much this year. Just 4 types of cookies for our cookies swap. I baked my usual Oatmeal Raisin Cranberry Cookies , Pineapple Tarts , Russian Tea Cakes and this Strawberry Nut Pinwheels. I adapted this recipe from Taste of Home Best Holiday Cookies magazine.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup/113 grm butter - softened
1 cup sugar (I used 3/4 cup)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups of flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup strawberry jam
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
2. Combined flour and baking powder and gradually add to the butter mixture. Mix well.
3. Roll out dough between two sheet of parchment paper into 12" square. Remove the top piece of parchment paper. Spread it with the jam and sprinkle with nuts.
4. Roll up tightly like a Swiss-roll style. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.
5. Pre-heat oven to 375 degree F. Unwrap the dough and cut into 1/4" slices and place the cookies on a well-greased baking pan and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire rack to cool.

Orange Cranberry Raisin Walnut Bread Recipes

Have you start your Christmas baking yet? I’ve already baked my fruitcakes and now it is sitting on my kitchen counter aging away. I will give it a dose of rum every now and then until I cut into it on Christmas day. Yea, I am a fruitcake fan but not the pre-packed kind that you get from the supermarket shelves. I just hate those fruitcakes. I only like the homemade kinds with loads of fruits in it. You can check out my fruitcakes recipe here

Before I can have some of my fruitcake, I baked this Orange Cranberry Raisin Walnut bread to get over my craving. This loaf with the flavor of cranberry, raisin and a hint of citrus fragrant tasted great when toasted and with a little spread of butter they are just perfect for breakfast.

Ingredients:

2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 tbsp milk powder
3 Tbsp butter, at room temperature
1 cup water, lukewarm
Zest of an orange
2 tsp active dry yeast
3 tbsp sugar
1tsp salt
½ roughly walnuts, toasted
1 cup cranberries
1 cup raisins

1. Sprinkle the yeast to the lukewarm water, stir well and leave it to froth for about 5 min.
2. Place the hook attachment to the mixer. In a mixing bowl, add in the flours, sugar, milk powder, salt and orange zest. Mix well. Slowly add in the yeast mixture. Knead until the dough pulled away from the bowl.
3. Add in the butter, cranberries, raisins and walnuts. Continue to knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.
4. Form the bread and place them on a baking sheet and cover again and let it rise again to double its size.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degree F. Bake the bread until golden brown and sound hollow when tapped with your fingers.

Note : The winner for the Xagave Giveway is comment No: 5


I will get in touch with you Zoe.

Homemade Granola Bars Delicious Recipes

Carlos and I just love Quaker Oats granola bars and I will pack one in his lunch bag everyday but they can be pretty expensive and not all granola bars you buy in stores are healthy. Some of them are loaded with fructose corn syrup. So I decided to make some myself and it work deliciously well as I get to put my own healthy ingredients in it.

Ingredients :

2 cups of oats
3/4 cup of slice almonds
1/2 cup unsweetened dry coconut
1/4 cup of sesame seeds
2 cups of chopped dried fruit (cranberries, blueberries, currants, cherries)
1/2 cup of honey
1 cup of unsalted crunchy peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt

1) Butter a 9 by 9-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper or aluminium foil. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2) Spread the oats, almonds onto a sheet pan. Place in the oven and toast for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in coconut and sesame and toast it for another 2 minutes.
3) In the meantime, combine the honey, peanut butter, vanilla and salt in a saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until everything combined.
4) Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and immediately add it into the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine.
5) Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish
6) Cool completely and cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Note : I like my granola bars toasty and after cutting it I lightly toast it in a 300 degree F oven for another 10 minutes. I also find that if you toast it again it will keep longer than a week. You can add crush peanuts, sun flower seeds, wheat germs and other dried fruits to your bars.