23 Apr 11 (Sat) - Chocolate Biscuit Cake and Steamed Milk Custard with Purple Sweet Potato (炖奶加紫番薯)

Was watching the news the other day when I heard that Prince William is requesting McVitie's to make his favourite Chocolate Biscuit Cake as his wedding cake. Once I heard the name McVitie's I got interested and so google for the recipe. Found one in Antiques And Teacups blog this website and decided to give it a try when I next visit my sis.

Then last Thursday while reading MyPaper, I saw an article about steamed milk custard with purple sweet potato (炖奶加紫番薯) and again I was interested coz the purple color of the sweet potato was very nice again the whilte milk custard. Followed the link given to the blog called Cuisine Paradise, copied the recipe and decided to do it together with the chocolate biscuit cake when I visit my sis.

This was a long weekend and I spent it at my sis's place. Followed my sis on her weekly grocery shopping trip to Giant yesterday and bought the ingredients for the cake. Didn't manage to find the purple sweet potato and thought I would not be able to make the dessert. Fortunately, they made a trip to another air-conditioned wet market at Elias Mall where I was able to get the purple sweet potato and a packet of fresh milk.

Woke up early this morning and started making the cake first. Followed the recipe closely and then put it into the fridge to chill for three hours as instructed. Next, I went on to make the steamed milk custard dessert and that was also done rather quickly. Took the two bowls of steamed milk custard out of the steamer and took away the aluminum foils. The end product didn't look like what I see on the link given. Later I found out that it was because after I mashed the sweet potato I didn't loosen it from the bottom of the bowl before pouring the milk into the bowl so that was why I couldn't see any purple color floating on the top.

After three hours, took the cake out from the fridge and let it stand on the wire rack while I melted the rest of the chocolate buttons. Then spread the melted chocolate over the cake and let it set at room temperature. The amount of chocolate used for coating should be about 227g but I miscalculated the amount when I bought the chocolate yesterday and so didn't have enough to cover the whole cake nicely. After about half an hour, went to check on the cake, it didn't seem to set. Tried to transfer it onto a plate and it was kind of soft. So in the end, I had to let it slide off the wire rack onto the plate and put it into the fridge to set.

Tasted both my creation later and here are the conclusion. Because I didn't mix the mashed sweet potato with the milk properly so when eaten, they tasted separately, i.e. the milk custard doesn't have the sweet potato taste when eaten on own. Well, actually I also don't know how the taste should be like, i.e. whether the milk custard should be infused with the sweet potato taste. Then tried the cake and it was not too bad even though it didn't look very nice.

Burton's Rich Tea Biscuits & Van Houton Chocolate Buttons Chocolate Biscuit Cake - After the coating

Chocolate Biscuit Cake - Before the coating A slice of the Chocolate Biscuit Cake

Ingredients (Serves 10):
113g dark chocolate (for cake)
113g castor sugar
113g unsalted butter (soften)
225g rich tea biscuits
137g dark chocolate (for coating)
1 egg

Method:
1.  Grease an 8" x 8" cake tin
2.  Break each of the biscuits into small pieces by hand and set aside
3.  Cream the butter and sugar till they turn white
4.  Melt 113g of chocolate over a pot of boiling water and add to the butter mixture while constantly stirring
5.  Beat in the egg to the mixture
6.  Fold in the biscuit pieces till they are all coated with chocolate mixture
7.  Spoon the mixture into the cake tin. Try to fill all the gaps on the bottom of the tin coz this will be the top when it is un-molded
8.  Chill the cake in the fridge for at least three hours
9.  Remove the cake from the fridge and let it stand while melting the 137g of chocolate
10.  Un-mold the cake upside down on a wire rack
11.  Pour the melted chocolate over the cake and smooth the top and sides
12.  Allow the cake too cool before putting into the fridge to set

Steamed Purple Sweet Potato

Steamed Milk Custard with Purple Sweet Potato - Outside

Steamed Milk Custard with Purple Sweet Potato - Inside

Ingredients (Serves 2):
200ml fresh milk
2 egg white
2 tbsp sugar
100g purple sweet potato (cut into small cubes)

Method:
1.  Steam the sweet potato over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes or till soften
2.  Warm the milk in a microwave
3.  Add in sugar and stir till dissolved
4.  Beat the egg whites till slightly frosty and sieve it into the milk mixture
5.  Place 1 to 1.5 tablespoon of sweet potato into a rice bowl and mashed it using th back of a spoon
6.  Sieve the milk mixture into the bowl and stir with a spoon to mix the sweet potato and the milk
7.  Cover the rice bowl with aluminum foil
8.  Steam it for 12mins in a pot with a lid on using medium-high heat
7.  Lift the lid up a bit to release some steam every 4mins
8.  Off the heat after 12mins and leave it in the pot for another 3mins

9.  Serve hot or chilled with a few pieces of sweet potato cubes 

10 Apr 11 (Sun) - Tom Yum Fried Rice

Had half a packet of the tom yum fried rice powder left and so decided to finish it up today. Tried cooking tom yum fried rice twice already and those times weren't very well done. The first time I had too much rice for the 1/4 pack of the powder and so tasted rather bland. The second time I had just enough rice but the adding of the egg masked the tom yum taste.

So in preparation of today's cooking, I had actually cooked the amount of rice I needed yesterday. Then this morning went to the market to buy some fishcakes, seafood sticks, prawns and vegetables. After eating breakfast, I started preparing the ingredients and then went on to do the cooking.

Heated some oil in the frying pan and then added the shallots and garlic. Next added in the vegetables and followed by the rice. After a couple of minutes, added in the fishcakes, seafood sticks and prawns. Once the prawns turned opaque, poured in the tom yum fried rice powder and the chili padi and stir fry for a few more minutes before turning off the fire.

Arranged the fried rice nicely on a plate to take a couple of photos before clearing up the kitchen. Ate the fried rice for lunch and this time it was just right.

Tom Yum Fried Rice Powder

Tom Yum Fried Rice

Ingredients (Serves 3):
1/2 packet of tom yum fried rice powder
2 bowls of rice - cook one day before

4 pieces seafood sticks - bite size
100g prawns - remove shells
3 small fishcakes - sliced
few pieces of vegetables
4 pieces of chili padi
shallots - sliced
garlic - minced
2 tbs oil

Methods:

1.  Heat up the oil in a frying pan
2.  Add garlic and shallot and fry for a couple of minutes
3.  Add in vegetables, then the rice and cook till vegetables soften
4.  Add in fishcakes, seafood sticks and prawns
5.  Once prawns turn opaque, add in tom yum fried rice powder and chili padi
6.  Mix well and off heat after a few minutes

2 Apr 11 (Sat) - Cream Cheese and White Wine Pasta with Chicken, Ham and Oyster Mushrooms

Had some cream cheese left from last month's baking and didn't know what to do with it. So googled on recipes that make use of cream cheese. Found that it can be used to cook as a sauce for pasta so copied a simple sauce recipe and decided to try it out today.

Bought a piece of chicken breast meat yesterday so cut it into thin slices, cut the two slices of leftover picnic ham into bite size, washed a few pieces of oyster mushrooms and minced some garlic. Measured the cream cheese, margarine, milk and white wine. The recipe actually asked for butter but I only have margarine so make do with it.

Filled a pot with water and added two handfuls of wholemeal spirals that I had bought yesterday. Boiled the spirals till they were cooked then added the oyster mushrooms and off the heat after about three minutes. Drained the water, arranged them onto two plates and left them to cool.

Heated up the frying pan with some margarine and garlic. After the margarine had melted, added the chicken slices and the ham. When the chicken meat was cooked, off the heat and arranged the chicken slices and ham onto the pasta.

Added the cream cheese and margarine into the frying pan and melted them on low heat till smooth and creamy. Then stirred in the milk, white wine, some salt and pepper till combined. When the sauce started to boil, off the heat and pour the sauce over the pasta and chicken meat that had been arranged on the plates.

Took some photos of my creation and then started eating. Was worried that I might overcooked the chicken meat but they turned out alright. This is the first time I tried wholemeal spirals and they had a rough texture than the normal kind of spirals. I guess all wholemeal products have rough texture. Still have a big pack left, will have to get used to it and finish the pack soon.

San Remo Wholemeal Spirals

Cream Cheese and White Wine Pasta

Ingredients A (serves 2):

two handfuls wholemeal spirals
1 piece chicken breast meat - sliced
2 slices picnic ham - bite size
6 pieces oyster mushrooms
garlic - minced

Ingredients (Sauce):
60g cream cheese
10g margarine (or butter)
45ml milk
garlic - minced
white wine
salt and pepper

Method:

1.  Boil spirals in a pot of water
2.  Add oyster mushrooms when spirals turn soft and cook for another 3mins
3.  Arrange on plates to cool
4.  Heat up a frying pan with margarine and garlic
5.  Once margarine has melted, add chicken meat and ham
6.  Off heat when chicken is cooked and arrange meat and ham onto pasta
7.  Melt cream cheese and margarine in frying pan till smooth and creamy
8.  Stir in milk, white wine, garlic, salt and pepper till combined
9.  Off heat when sauce starts to boil and pour over the pasta