Whiskey Eggnog Cake

I thought I would tackle making pandoros this Christmas but I never got around to it and instead, I'm using my mini pandoro moulds for this cake. I've also tried this in the loaf form to give away as presents.


The recipe is originally from The Pastry Queen Christmas. I've adapted it to be less sweet since the icing already contributes to that. The original recipe also called for the whipping cream to be whipped into soft peaks - one of my baking phobias. The first time I tried to do it, I made butter and subsequent attempts have yielded only one successful outcome. So in my version, I just poured in the whipping cream.


Whiskey Eggnog Cake
makes 24-36 mini cakes or 3 loaves

1 cup or 2 sticks butter
2 1/2 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp grated nutmeg
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup whiskey

Glaze
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup whiskey
3 cups icing sugar

Preheat oven at 325F. Cream the butter until pale before adding in the sugar and beating until fluffy. Add in the eggs yolks and vanilla until well combined. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg together. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture in three additions, alternating with thewhipping cream and mix well. Finally, combine whiskey with the batter. Scoop into loaf pans, mini cake or muffin moulds.

Bake for 40-50 minutes if making loaves or 25-35 minutes for mini cakes. Cover the tops with foil after 30 minutes of baking time to prevent over browning.

While the cakes are baking, prepare the glaze by sifting the icing sugar and mixing in the liquids. Stir well to reduce lumps. Upon cooling, drizzle the glaze over the top of the cakes and let it soak in. Before serving, garnish with a sprinkling of nutmeg if desired.


Verdict: The cakes were fragrant and moist straight out from the oven. After glazing and resting overnight in the fridge, they were slightly more dense like a regular pound cake. The alcohol in the glaze sure makes its presence felt so add whiskey or glaze sparingly.

Gingerbread Date Cupcake

I received so many compliments for this recipe that I had to share it even though I was going to tweak it some more.

Its very fitting for the festive season or for anyone who likes spicy cupcakes. The cake is super moist and tasty. Eat it plain or topped with a simple frosting of cream cheese or royal icing.

Gingerbread Date Cupcakes
makes 24 cupcakes

2/3 cup dark stout
2/3 cup golden syrup
200g chopped dates
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour
1 tbs ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil


Preheat the oven at 350F. In a small saucepan over low heat, stir together the stout, golden syrup and dates. Remove from heat once it starts simmering then add in the baking soda. Set aside to cool. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, spices and baking powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, sugar and oil. Combine the stout mixture and the egg mixture. Whisk this into the flour mixture until well blended. The batter will be quite liquid.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until the tops spring back when gently pressed. Cool before frosting with royal icing.

Apple & Cinnamon Cereal Muffin

Its not that I haven't been baking. I've been busy at work and working on perfecting my decorated sugar cookies which I'll hopefully post about before Christmas.

Anyway, this recipe came about because I had too many apples in the fridge. I also wanted to try a cereal topped muffin for a more interesting texture.

Apple & Cinnamon Cereal Muffin
makes 24 muffins

3 cups flour
1 tbs baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup or 1 stick butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbs treacle or molasses
3-4 apples chopped

Topping
1 cup instant cereal
2 tbs sugar
1 tbs cinnamon

Preheat the oven at 350F. Sift the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Combine the milk and eggs in a smaller bowl and beat together. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter then stir in the sugar and treacle until there are no more lumps. Add the egg mixture and the butter mixture to the dry ingredients and fold together until just combined. Spoon into muffin liners.

Mix together all the ingredients for the topping and distribute a teaspoon or so over the top of each muffin before putting into the oven.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops of the muffins spring back when touched.


Verdict: Not the cakey texture I was going for but it was moist and the crispy and sugary cereal topping was a nice change from the norm.

Fresh Ginger Cake

I've been busy looking around for a new addition to my household the last week and this past weekend I brought him home. Hopefully, I will get him a companion this coming weekend. I'll post pictures when he's settled down some and I'm able to get some decent pictures.

While flipping through Room for Dessert, this ginger recipe called out to me with its simplicity. Of course it helped that I had pieces of ginger on my counter that were threatening to sprout leaves.

I didn't have the molasses that the recipe called for so I substituted it with my remaining treacle and golden syrup. Talk about clearing the larder.


Fresh Ginger Cake
makes 24 cupcakes or a 9-inch cake

1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup treacle
1/3 cup golden syrup
1 cup water
2 tsp baking soda
4 oz fresh ginger, grated
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 eggs
crystallised ginger for garnish

Preheat the oven at 350F. Mix together the oil, sugar, treacle and golden syrup. Boil the water in a saucepan, stir in the baking soda before pouring it into the oil mixture. Mix in the ginger. In a separate bowl, sift the rest of the dry ingredients together, then combine well with the batter. Lastly, add in the eggs and blend well.
The batter is watery so use a small jug to pour into cupcake liners or pour directly into a prepared cake pan.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes for cupcakes or for about an hour for the cake. If decorating the tops with crystallised ginger, press them gently into the tops of the cupcakes about halfway into the baking time.

Verdict: Moist as promised in the recipe book and definitely packs some heat. The taste reminds me somewhat of a really good ginger cookie but the texture is definitely cake.

Apple Cinnamon Muffin with Brandy Butter Glaze

Today's overcast weather was great for baking and so I adapted this recipe from The Pastry Queen's Mini Apple-Cinnamon Loaves with Calvados Glaze. This book has such lovely recipes and stories that it inspires one to open their own bakery and cafe.

The original recipe was for the batter to be baked in mini loaf tins for 50-60 minutes but I split mine to fill regular and mini muffin cases.

Apple Cinammon Muffins with Butter Brandy Glaze
makes 30 cupcakes or 60 mini cupcakes

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
3 cups chopped apples (3-4 apples)
1 cup pecans, toasted

Glaze
1/4 cup or 1/2 stick butter
1/3 golden brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tbs golden syrup or light corn syrup
1 1/2 tbs brandy

Preheat the oven at 350F. In a mixer bowl, combine the wet ingredients and mix until creamy smooth. In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients together before stirring into the oil mixture until incorporated. Finally, stir in the apples and pecans to distribute evenly. The resulting batter will be very stiff. Scoop into muffin cases.
Bake for 30 minutes if making regular size muffins, 25 minutes if making mini muffins. Remove and cool slightly before glazing.

For the glaze, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Keep stirring to melt the butter and dissolve the sugar. Simmer for 2 minutes until the mixture thickens slightly then remove from heat.
Brush the glaze over the muffins. Serve warm or let the glaze cool and set for about an hour before storing.

Verdict: The brandy butter made this taste rather festive. I love butter and golden syrup - its my favourite thing on toast so by default, this is definitely something I will make again. Its so easy and finger-licking good!

Lemon Ginger Cheesecake

My first food processor cake! I bought my Ronic Rytmo a couple of years ago as a birthday present to myself but I haven't used it as much as I would like.

I'm so glad to find this recipe from Donna Hay's Flavours - it forms a really good basic cheesecake recipe! Change the biscuit base or tweak the cream cheese topping for a completely different cake.


Lemon Ginger Cheesecake
makes a 9-inch cake

base
200g ginger biscuits
1/4 stick butter

topping
600g or 1 1/4 lb cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
7 eggs
1 1/2 tbs grated lemon rind (about 1 1/2 lemons)
1/2 crystallised ginger, finely chopped

Preheat the oven at 275F. Place the biscuits and butter into the food processor and process until crumbly. Press the mixture over the base of the springform pan and refrigerate until required. For the topping, place all the cream cheese, sour cream, eggs and lemon rind into the food processor and process until smooth. Mix in the ginger before pouring the topping over the base in the pan.
Bake in a water bath for 90 minutes and cool in the tin before serving. Sprinkle with grated lemon zest from the remaining half a lemon or serve with lemon curd.

Verdict: The biscuit base was rather thin so I might double the base recipe next time. However, the topping was so smooth and tasty, I want to try other flavour variations soon!

Lemon Ginger Pound Cake

While going through Tish Boyle's book, I was also taken by her recipe for a Lemon-Soaked Ginger Pound Cake. My parents just made a trip to Perth to visit old friends and I had requested for crystallised ginger for the many ginger recipes I had flagged. They came back with a kilo of it so lots of ginger recipes coming up!

I've adapted the recipe because I didn't have cake flour on hand. At first, I was concerned that the amount of ginger in the recipe would overwhelm the lemon but the lemon syrup brushed on after the cake was baked helped to balance it out.

Lemon Ginger Pound Cake

makes a 10-inch bundt cake

1 cup or 2 sticks butter

1 3/4 cup sugar

4 eggs

2 tbs grated fresh ginger

1/2 cup crystallised ginger, finely chopped

2 tsp finely grated lemon zest (about 1 lemon)

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven at 350F. Cream the butter until pale before adding in the sugar and beating until fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time until well combined then add in the ginger, lemon zest and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Add the sifted mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream in two additions. Pour into bundt pan after combining well.
Bake for 50-55 minutes. Cool the baked cake for 10 minutes before inverting onto wire rack. While the cake is baking, prepare the lemon syrup.

Lemon Syrup

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)

2/3 cup sugar

Combine lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan and stir over low heat until all the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.

With a pastry brush, apply some syrup to the base of the cake before inverting it. Apply the rest of the syrup all over the surface of the warm cake, letting it soak in before reapplying.

Verdict: There was a great balance of flavours with the crystallised ginger adding a nice zingy crunch. The lemon flavour was stronger the next day but the ginger bits helped to retain the gingery taste.

Apple & Raisin Spice Cake

Since the initial attempt at Snickerdoodle Muffins, I've made it three more times at the request of my colleagues. Time to move on to something new and the latest Weekend Cookbook Challenge was just it.

With the theme of Something New, I wanted to use my new acquired ice cream maker and submit an entry. However, I would have had to clear freezer space in order to fit in the quick-freezing bowl and that was not going to happen anytime soon. A bigger fridge would be nice too.

So I turned to Gale Gand's Just A Bite, another new acquisition I had yet to use. The first recipe I had flagged was her Stellar Apple Spice Cakes.

One reason was because I had never baked with apples before, not sure why. Perhape there were so many other fruits I was fixated with. Another reason was the lovely anecdote that accompanied the recipe. The author's mother Myrna and her best friend Stella reminded the author of Betty Rubble and Wilma Flintstone, not just in looks but also the closeness with each others' families. The recipe was in tribute to what the author's family considered to be Stella's best recipe.

This is my adaptation of it, without the nuts and with more apple.

Apple & Raisin Spice Cake
makes 24 cupcakes

2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup raisins
2 1/2 cups apple chunks (2-3 apples)

Preheat the oven at 350F. In a bowl, dredge the raisins with 2 tbs of the flour and lightly coat them to prevent them from sinking in the cake batter when baking. Whisk the eggs with the sugar until fluffy before adding in the oil and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients then combine into the egg mixture. Finally, stir in the chopped apples, evenly distributing them in the batter. Scoop into cupcake liners.
Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.

Verdict: Its very easy cooking with apples. The taste of the spices really came through and I loved the crusty chewy top of the cakes. The original recipe came with a maple syrup frosting but the cake was sweet enough on its own and very yummy with a cold glass of milk.

aka Refund Muffins

In keeping with the exploratory spirit of the last post, I wanted to try out my heart shaped silicone cups so I made Snickerdoodle Muffins from one of my favourite food bloggers, Peabody.

Besides a great fondness I have for cinnamon, a ridiculous comment that resulted from that post also got me itching to try the recipe out. Peabody was actually presented with a bill from someone who tried the recipe and found it a failure! How's that for absurd, ludicrous, nonsesical, outrageous, preposterous? You get the picture.

Subsequent posts here and here have expressed what I already feel so I just wanted to bake these muffins to see if there was ANY validity in that complaint.

Well, here are the results of my efforts. I made 26 muffins from the recipe using the silicone cups. I can't say if they're a complete success or not since I've never eaten Snickerdoodle cookies but they sure look like the ones everyone else made. They taste great (I like mine dipped in the extra leftover cinammon sugar) and the texture was light and moist. I brought it to work to share and my colleagues LOVED it. They said it went very well with coffee and they are asking for more.

So there, no need for refund!

Chai White Chocolate Mousse

According to this, my recipe should actually be Masala White Chocolate Mousse. In any case, I love chai! I'm not much of a coffee person and when I drink tea, its most often tea flavoured milk, preferably with some spice.

When I found Chockylit's Chai Spice Mix, I soon set about making some for myself. I'm already on my second batch and steadily using it up. Tweak the spices to suit individual tastes because I added more cloves and cinnamon, my favourites.

Chai Spice Mix

4 tsp cloves, whole
2 tsp fennel, whole
3 tsp cinammon, ground
2 tsp ginger, ground
3 tsp cardamon

Put everything into the food processor and grind. Before storing, use a fine sieve to remove any bits not ground up.


While going through recipes for mousse, I discovered that there were generally two types, those made with egg whites and those that used gelatin. The main difference was in the texture and its really a personal preference.

Chai White Chocolate Mousse (with eggs)
serves 4

1 cup / 5-6 oz white chocolate chips
1 tbs milk
3 eggs, separated
1 tbs sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp chai spice mix

Melt the chocolate chips with the milk in a double boiler then blend in the egg yolks until creamy and set aside to cool. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and sugar until stiff. In another bowl, whip the cream then add in the chai spice and the melted chocolate mixture. Fold the cream and chocolate into the egg whites. Divide into containers and chill for at least 4 hours. Dust with more chai spice before serving.


For the gelatin version, I follwed the Donna Hay recipe posted by Tartlette but since I didn't have single or pouring cream (18% fat), I did the math and figured a cup of cream (35% fat) and a cup of low fat milk should be able to replace it.

Although this seems more custard than mousse-like (or did I mess up?), this is the version I prefer.

Chai White Chocolate Mousse (with gelatin)
serves 4

3 tbs water
2 tsp gelatin powder
1 cup / 5-6 oz white chocolate chips
1 cup cream
1 cup low fat milk
1 1/2 tsp chai spice mix

Place water in a bowl, sprinkle with gelatin and let it stand. Melt the chocolate chips in the cream and milk over low heat. Stir in the gelatin until dissolved then add in the chai spice. Remove from heat and whisk for a few minutes until cooled. Divide into containers and refrigerate for about an hour.

You might want to stir the the mix in each container after chilling for 20 minutes or so. This is to prevent the spices from settling to the bottom, which was the case in mine.