Stewed Pear

Stewed Pear


The original recipe from a Dutch cookbook requires blackcurrant liqueur which, honestly I don’t know, I like gin, so I put gin instead. Whisky would have been better I think coz its quite sharper taste than gin but I don’t have. I used corn flour instead of potato flour as suggested in the recipe. I love the vibrant color of this dessert!! Its my first time doing this, but its good… hmmm, I ‘m gonna keep this one! Or maybe even try with other fruit like apple, which absorbs flavor a lot.

Ingredients :

4 pears
4 cloves
3 cinnamon sticks
5 Tablespoons sugar
200 ml red wine
50 ml gin
1 tablespoon corn flour
Lemon zest

Preparation:

Peel the pears and leave them whole. In a medium size saucepan, mix red wine, sugar, cinnamon sticks and lemon zest. Add the pears into the mixture then add enough water just to cover the pears. Bring to boil and leave to simmer, covered for 2 ½ hours until tender.

To serve, lift the pears carefully out of the pan. Pass the remaining liquid through a fine sift to get rid of sediments. Mix 1 tablespoon of corn flour with the pear juice and bring to boil stirring all the while with a wisk until the wine sauce thickens. Pour this over the stewed pears and serve individually hot or cold.

Choco Banana Crepe

Choco Banana Crepe

Crepe
Banana
Unsweetened Chocolate bars

Procedure:

Beat eggs until slightly fluffy, add milk and flour alternatively and mix thoroughly until it forms a thin
batter.

In a hot pan, spread the oil, tilt the sides of the pan. Wipe off excess oil with a kitchen paper. Add 1 ladle of the batter and quickly spread on the pan leave for 1 minute until bubbles can no longer be seen on the batter, cook the other side by inverting the crepe carefully. Remove from pan and fold into quarters forming a cone shape.

Melt chocolate in a bowl over a simmering water. Add sliced banana and toss with the melted chocolate. Place in between and on top of the crepe and serve.

Chocolate Crumble with Whipped Cream

Chocolate Crumble with whipped cream


Ingredients:

Stale chocolate cake
2 tsp. gin.
Icing sugar
Whipped cream

Preparation:
Slice stale chocolate cake finely until it assembles fine crumbs.. In a circular cookie cutter, assemble the base by pressing the fine crumbs into it; making sure its quite compact. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of gin each base to add a sharper flavor. Add icing sugar to whipped cream and add on top. Remove the mold. Sprinkle some chocolate cake decors.

Apples Under the Blanket

Apples under a blanket

Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cake

2 cups cake flour (sifted)
1 ½ cups cocoa powder (sifted)
100 g. butter
1 cup sugar (sifted)
1 cup water
2 T. coffee
3 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Chocolate icing
2 bars dark unsweetened chocolate
3 T. butter


Procedure:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Prepare the baking pan. Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda. Dissolve coffee in water and set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until well blended, add eggs one by one while continue beating, and add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, add the coffee mixture. Continue beating until smooth. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool in a cooling rack and prepare the icing.

To prepare chocolate icing:

In a deep saucepan, boil 2-3 cups water. Cut the bars into smaller cubes. In heatproof mixing bowl or saucepan put the butter and chopped chocolate and place the saucepan over the boiling water. The chocolate must melt gently with the heat of the steam coming from the boiling water underneath. This is to avoid direct heat to the chocolate coz it easily burns. When the butter and chocolate has melted, mix thoroughly until well combined.

When the cake has completely cooled, invert the cake and divide into two layers. Cover the first layer with the icing and place the other layer. Spread the remaining icing on the top layer.

I lost the recipe I used to follow for chocolate cake, and all of a sudden I am craving to have a bite of something chocolaty with dark coffe... Well, I made one, I wasnt sure if the proportion would work, but thanks God it did! Luckily I took some note, he he..This is one of my favorites!!! With dark coffee please???

Fruity Jelly

Fruity Jelly



Ingredients:

2 pcs. Kiwi
2 pcs. Banana
2 pcs. Orange
8 pcs. Strawberry
1 pack unflavored sea jelly powder (gulaman)
3 cups water
½ cup sugar

Procedure:

Prepare a mold, preferably rectangular container, line with plastic cling wrap allowing 4 inches allowance outside the mold. Lay the allowance out of the container draping at the edges. Set aside.

Slice the fruits thinly and set aside.

Mix sea jelly powder with water, stir until completely dissolved, add sugar and bring to boil, continue stirring until it becomes slightly thick. Pour the jelly mixture into the mold. With a fork, quickly arrange the fruits into the mold while the jelly mixture is still hot. Be sure to stop arranging the fruits when the jelly starts to set.

Chill for at least 1 hour. Carefully take the jelly out by inverting the mold into a plate. Take out the lined plastic. Cut in slices and serve.

Tip:
Make sure you use fresh fruits. One more tip, soak banana with the orange juice or lemon to avoid discoloration.

Reduced the water to ensure a solid jelly. In the packet of the jelly, it says 1 pack is good for 6 cups of water. Reducing the amount of water ensures the jelly to hold the fruits together.

Chocolate 'n Crepe

Chocolate ‘n Crepe


Ingredients:

1 cup milk
¼ cup flour
2 eggs
Scoops of chocolate ice cream
1 T. oil

Procedure:

Beat eggs until slightly fluffy, add milk and flour alternatively while mixing thoroughly until it forms a thin batter.

In a hot pan, spread the oil till the sides of the pan and swirl around. Wipe off excess oil with a kitchen paper. Add 1 ladle of the batter and quickly spread on the pan; leave for 1 minute until bubbles can no longer be seen on the batter, cook the other side by inverting the crepe carefully. Remove from pan and fold into quarters forming like a cone. Put a scoop of chocolate ice cream in between the folds and serve immediately.

Tip:

The crepes can be prepared in advance but be sure to separate them. To make separation easy, place a wax paper on top of each crepe, stacking them alternately with paper.