Chocolate Icing (Ganache)

I have posted a chocolate cake previously. What's another option to top a chocolate cake besides ice cream? Even more chocolate! This simple chocolate icing goes well over cakes, biscuits, and even ice cream!

Read till the end of this post to see what you can do with leftover icing.

Ingredients:

100 g chocolate, broken into pieces smaller than measuring cup hole on the lid
80 g cream, min 30% fat

Method:

	Cover	Time	Temp°C	Speed
1)  Place chocolate into mixing bowl	Yes	10 secs	-	8
2)  Scrape chocolate down with using the spatula	-	-	-	-
3)  Add cream	Yes	2 mins	50	3
4)  Serve	-	-	-	-

Note: The icing thickens quickly. 

You can do chocolate truffles with this recipe as well. Freeze the icing in the freezer for a couple of hours. Allow to thaw slightly, scoop a spoon out and roll it into a ball. Coat with cocoa powder or nuts. Store truffles in the fridge.

Chocolate Cake

Chocolate cake has never been easier to do. Don't just leave it till a birthday occasion to bake it. You can do it anytime, even just as a dessert!


Ingredients:

120 g butter
2 eggs
100 g Milk
100 g Sugar (120 g Sugar if you have a sweet tooth)
120 g Self Raising Flour
30 g Cocoa Powder
1 tsp Baking Powder

Method:

	Cover	Time	Temp°C	Speed
1)  Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Prepare a small cake tin and oil with some butter.	-	-	-	-
2)  Place butter into TM bowl.	Yes	2 mins	60	3
3)  Add in all other ingredients	Yes	30 secs	-	5
4)  Pour mixture into cake tin and put it in the oven to bake at 180 degrees.	-	25-35 mins	-	-
5)  Let cake cool for 5 minutes before removing from cake tin. Serve warm, best over ice cream.	-	-	-	-

Mashed Potato

Mashed potato is a simple side dish which needs no introduction. Today, we are going to make it even more simple by using a Thermomix!


Ingredients:

10 g parmesan cheese
130 g milk
500 g russet potatoes, cubed
pinch of salt, or to taste
20 g butter

Method:

	Cover	Time	Temp°C	Speed
1)  Place Parmesan Cheese into TM Bowl.	Yes	10 sec	-	8
2)  Transfer grated cheese into a bowl and set aside.	-	-	-	-
3)  Place butterfly into the TM bowl and add milk, salt and potatoes to cook	Yes	20-25 mins	100	1
4)  Add butter and some Parmesan cheese.	Yes	20-40 secs	-	3.5
5)  Serve hot. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese over mashed potatoes.	-	-	-	-

Notes: 

1)In Step 3, make sure the potatoes are cooked well before mashing. Potatoes are well cooked when they start to fall apart. Uncooked potatoes will mash to a gluey texture. 

2)Timing to mash your potatoes in Step 4 is based on personal preference. If you prefer a more chunky texture, do not mash too long. 40 seconds will mash your potatoes till a smooth texture.

Nasi Lemak

Nasi Lemak is a type of Malay rice steamed with coconut milk and pandan leaves. Nasi means 'rice' and Lemak means 'rich'. Rich here does not refer to wealth rich, but creamy rich. The creaminess comes from the coconut milk.

Nasi Lemak is traditionally served with sambal (chilli paste), ikan bilis (anchovies), egg, and fried fish. People also serve them with rendang, sambal prawns, sambal sotong etc. Today I will share on how to steam nasi lemak, try it with the Beef Rendang, also cooked with Thermomix.

Ingredients:

300 g Basmathi Rice

200 g Coconut Milk

800 g Water

1 tsp Salt

2 pcs Shallot (sliced)

2 pcs Ginger (sliced)

2-3 pcs pandan leaves (washed and knotted)

Optional Room temperature eggs

Method:

	Cover	Time	Temp (°C)	Speed
1)  Place simmering basket into TM bowl. Add in rice first, then add in all other ingredients. Optional: You can put your eggs in the Varoma receptacle, and steam it on top of your rice.	Yes	18 mins	V	3.5
2) Serve rice hot	-	-	-	-

Yam Paste Dessert (Orh Nee)

Ahh.. that dessert we all look forward to during chinese wedding dinners. Yam paste dessert, or Orh Nee, is a traditional Teochew dessert with yam as the main ingredient.

Many recipes call for pumpkin as an ingredient in it, but I cook mine with just pure yam. If you prefer to add pumpkin, you can too as well. Preparation of this dessert usually takes very long as one will have to steam the yam till soft and then mash it. Using the Thermomix, you can get your yam paste dessert in just 25 mins!

Ingredients:
400 g yam
200 g water
50 g sugar

50 g coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt
30 g oil

gingko nuts to garnish

Method:

	Cover	Time	Temp°C	Speed
1)  Place yam, water and sugar in TM bowl	Yes	20 mins	100	2
2)  Add coconut milk, salt and oil into TM bowl	Yes	30 secs	-	8
3) Garnish with gingko nuts and serve hot.	-	-	-	-

Vanilla Ice Cream

Hi!

Did you all try the sticky date pudding in my previous post? Wondering how to do up a nice and creamy vanilla ice cream to top it up? Wait no further as today I will be sharing the recipe of vanilla ice cream.


Ingredients:
2 eggs
450 g cream
250 g milk
150 g sugar
2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

Method:

	Cover	Time	Temp°C	Speed
1)  Place all ingredients in TM bowl	Yes	7 mins	80	4
2)  Pour mixture out and freeze until firm, but not frozen	-	At least 3 hours	-	-
3)  Cut up mixture into pieces smaller than hole on the lid and blend, using the spatula to assist	Yes	20 secs	-	10
4)  Continue blending until a twirl forms	Yes	10 secs	-	6
5) Place mixture back into fridge to freeze. Enjoy your delicious ice cream once mixture hardens! Optional: You can continue and repeat from step 3 onwards after ice cream hardens. See note 2.	-	At least 3 hours	-	-

Notes:
1. You can add a little alcohol in step 2 to your mixture so that it will not completely be frozen and it will be easier to cut up into pieces.

2. If you prefer creamier ice cream, freeze and blend your ice cream mixture at least 3 times.

Sticky Date Pudding

DESSERT TIME! That is my all time favourite phrase. You can be very full, but come on, there's always space for dessert right? I have been testing this out in my kitchen for awhile now, and they were all so yummy, I just had to share it here. 

Sticky Date Pudding is a very popular dessert, commonly found in western restaurants. Ingredients are not hard to find, except dates, which you can find easily find them in Mustafa here in Singapore.

Pair it with a scoop of tasty vanilla ice cream and all's good to go! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

210 g dates, seeded
260 g boiling water
1 teaspoon bi-carb soda
100 g brown sugar
60 g butter
2 eggs
140 g self raising flour

Method:

	Cover	Time	Temp°C	Speed
1)  Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.	-	-	-	-
2)  Place water in TM bowl to boil. Once water reaches 100 degrees, stop the TM and place dates and bi-carb soda in TM bowl and let it stand for 5 minutes.	Yes	5 mins, or until the water reaches 100 degrees.	100	2
3)  Add in sugar and butter to mixture to blend until dates are all chopped up.	Yes	10 secs	-	7
4)  Scrape down, add flour first then eggs and blend. If mixture is not combined properly, mix for another 5 seconds.	Yes	5 seconds	-	5
5) Pour mixture into greased tin/muffin tray and bake for 15-17 mins for muffins and 20-25 mins for larger tin. Stand for 5 minutes before turning out.	-	-	-	-

Kaya Spread (Improved Ver.)

I have posted a kaya recipe before back in 2012, and after testing and improving it, I have modified the recipe to make it more delicious and smooth. The improved version is so good that I find my myself opening the fridge to steal a small teaspoon of it every time I walk by the kitchen! Some tips to read before starting out on your home made kaya:

Tip 1: The thickness of the coconut milk determines how long your kaya takes to cook. Coconut milk that is more watery takes longer to cook [about 60-70 mins]. Whilst, coconut milk of thicker consistency will take a shorter time to cook [about 45 -50 mins].

Tip 2: After cooking the mixture for 45 minutes, open the lid and wipe the moisture on the lid. Make sure that the moisture does not drop back into the bowl. The mixture will take longer to cook if moisture drops back in.

Tip 3: The kaya will further thicken after cooling and putting it in the fridge. Kaya must be stored in the refrigerator.

Tip 4: The colour of your kaya will depend on the amount of pandan juice added in. Lesser pandan juice will cause the kaya to be of a lighter colour and more pandan juice will cause the kaya to be of a darker colour.


Enjoy and leave me a comment on how you like it!

Ingredients:

12 -15 pcs pandan leaves (It should squeeze out to be about 1 tablespoon of juice)
5 eggs (about 260g after removing egg shell)

100 g sugar

150 g coconut milk

Method:

	Cover	Time	Temp°C	Speed
1)  Turn speed dial to 10, then put pandan leaves(hands holding the stalk side) through the hole on the lid to grind till all cut.  Squeeze out the juice from the powdered leaves and set aside. Wash and dry the TM bowl.	-	-	-	10
2) Place eggs, coconut milk and sugar into TM bowl to mix.  After mixing, sieve mixture out and pour it back into TM bowl.	Yes	30 seconds	-	4
3)  Add in pandan juice. Place butterfly into TM bowl to cook the mixture.	No	45 minutes	90	2
4)  Use a spatula to scrape bottom of the pot so that the kaya does not stick.  Check if kaya is thick enough by putting a spoon in. If the kaya coats the back of the spoon thickly, your kaya is done. If not, continue cooking and repeat step 4 until kaya coats the spoon well.	No	5 - 20 minutes (Depending on how watery your kaya is at the end of 45 minutes.)	90	2
5) Cool it and its ready to be spread on your homemade bread

Char Siew Roast Pork

I LOVE to eat char siew. That taste, that smell.... it feels like I am in heaven each time I eat it. Before Thermomix, it is very difficult to make it. Roasting it in the oven takes so much time, and you have to really watch your meat else it gets burnt. Furthermore,  the oven gets very oily after that, and cleaning up is really a chore. Making it now with Thermomix is so easy, I can make it any time I get the crave to eat it, which is pretty often!

*You can substitute pork for chicken with the same amount of seasoning.


Ingredients:

Marinate 1 kg of pork belly with:
1 tablespoon oyster sauce,
2 tablespoon light soy sauce,
2 tablespoon sugar,
1 tablespoon honey,
1 tablespoon rice wine,
1 teaspoon 5 spice powder,
5 shallots and 5 garlics blended,
a little dark soy sauce,
a little salt and pepper

Method:

	Cover	Time	Temp°C	Speed
1)  Marinate the meat for at least half hour.
2)  Place marinated pork into TM bowl	Yes	25 mins	100	Stir/ Reverse
3)  Continue cooking pork in the TM bowl	No	20 mins	Varoma	Stir/ Reverse
4) Cut and serve	-	-	-	-

If you prefer your char siew shining golden brown, place the char siew in the oven after Step 3 on grill for a few minutes till your pork is shining brown. It should look something like this below:

Brown Rice Porridge

Today I will be introducing one of my favourite dish, Brown Rice Porridge. It may look and sound simple, but the taste is so good I can eat this any time. The recipe is so easy, and thus it became my lazy day meal. If I cannot decide on what to eat, I will turn to this porridge.

These basic ingredients are what you can usually find in your fridge. Ingredients I list are not conclusive, and you can add in whatever you like in your porridge. Consistency of your porridge will depend on individual's lifestyle, you can adjust the time and water if you prefer harder or softer porridge. My porridge are cooked till the brown rice is soft and porridge consistency is thick.


** If you prefer white porridge, please adjust rice to water ratio 1:4, and time to cook the porridge is about 20-25 mins.


Ingredients:

1 Carrot (Roughly chopped)
200 g Brown Rice
1200 g Water
200 g Meat (Seasoned with a little soy sauce and tapioca flour)
1 Egg (Roughly Beaten)
1 Salted Egg

Method:

	Cover	Time	Temp°C	Speed
1)  Place carrots in TM bowl	Yes	3 sec	-	5
2)  Scrap down sides and add brown rice and water	Yes	60 mins	100	1 Reverse
3)  Set time on Thermomix first, then add pork through the hole on the lid bit by bit. At the last 1 min, add egg and salted egg from the top.	Yes	6 min	100	2 Reverse
4) Let the porridge rest for 10 mins before serving	-	-	-	-