Easy Breezy Nutella Nescafe Cake

I am not sure about you but I am am one of those that can' t leave food untouched. If you are following, I bought a tub of Nutella almost 3 weeks ago for my recipe Super Duper 8 Nutella Lava Cookies and  have been thinking how to finish the rest of the tub up!

This is really a simple coffee cake recipe that I have used the Nutella as icing then sprinkle with some crushed walnuts. A little creativity in baking gets you a long way!

Simply divine with minimal effort and time. My kind of recipe!

Remember to grease the baking pan with butter then dust with some flour to ensure the cake can be taken out easily from the banking pan.

Try making sure the mixture is smooth and pour them into the baking pan. I used a spring baking tin for the ease of removing the cake from the pan with minimum damage... I am a clumsy and inpatient person..

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup butter

1 tsp baking soda

3 tbsp Nescafe instant coffee

1/2 cup milk

1 cup hot water

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 cup Nutella

Method:

Preheat oven 180 degree C

1) Grease the baking pan with some butter and lightly dust with flour. Set aside

2) In a large bowl mix flour, salt and sugar. Set aside

3) Combine Nescafe and water. Stir well.

4) Melt butter in a large pan then add Nescafe. Keep stirring for 2 minutes.

5) Combine milk, vanilla, baking soda and eggs. Mix well.

6) Add melted butter into the milk mixture. Combine well.

7) Add flour gradually by folding in. Mix well.

Pour mixture into baking pan and bake for 45 - 50 minutes covered with baking paper or foil. 

Nutella Icing :

Spread Nutella evenly on top of the cooled cake then sprinkle with walnuts.

Great with a cuppa!

Brother-In-Law Potato Beef Cutlet

It has been a while I am not able to leave any comment on blog spot and it's really frustrating! Imagine not able to comment after reading a great post!!  I hope this technical bug will go away soon. By the way... are you experiencing the same problem as me? If you know the solutions please help?

Alright! Enough of complaints :) Here I would like to introduce the legendary Brother-In-Law Potato Beef Cutlet. I have been hearing this since years back but never got a chance to taste it till now! Finally! We enjoyed it very much... as dinner and breakfast the day after.

It's smells heavenly when shallow frying.. I was waiting very impatiently... Kind of reminds me of hash browns but invaded by minced beef.. for the better .. hahaha.

Makes 20 Yummy Potato Beef Cutlet
Recipe can be halved

Ingredients:
500 grams minced lean beef
800 grams potatoes - shredded 

2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 large onions - shredded 

2/3 tsp turmeric powder

1/3 cup cooking oil for frying

If served as burger :

Bread or baguette, lettuce, sliced tomatoes, mayonnaise, tomato sauce and cheese slices.

Method:

1) Mix well all the ingredients and shape them to 1/2 inch thick oval shaped patty - Best to use hand so that you can make sure it is done properly without falling apart. 

2) Heat oil on medium high heat and fry patties till golden brown and cooked through.

3) Served with bread, lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise, tomato sauce and cheese (or anything else that you fancy :) .

Super Duper 8 Nutella Lava Cookies

Super Duper Yummylicious is the only thing I can say about these cookies. For once my husband is complaining why didn't I bake more! Light crust on the outer, crunchy roasted almonds bits when you sink your teeth into the chocolicious cookie and it oozes with gooey Nutella when you reach the core of these babies.

This wonderful recipe is again  from my baking partner, G. According to her the original recipe uses hazelnuts but since I ran out of hazelnuts and left with some almonds in my fridge, she decided to improvise with almonds.

Everyone at home loves it.. hope you like it too! Definitely a keeper for me.

Makes only 8 large Cookies


Ingredients:
60 grams whole almonds
60 grams butter - divided into small cubes
170 grams best quality semi sweet or dark chocolates ( I used half of each)
1 large egg
1/3 cup fine granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch salt
8 teaspoon Nutella (freeze in the fridge)

Image Source : Wikipedia

Method:

Preheat oven 180 degree C

1) Roast almond for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Please do not burn.

2) Melt chocolate and butter with medium low heat. Please do not burn.

3) In a large bowl, add egg, sugar and vanilla and whiz at high speed till creamy.

4) Add chocolate mixture and mix well.
5) Add flour, baking powder and salt. Whiz till creamy.
6) Roughly chopped almonds and mix well with spoon. Cover with cling wrap.
7) Place cookie dough in fridge for an hour.


Preheat oven at 190 degree C
1)Scoop the harden cookie dough with an ice-cream scoop then make a hole in the middle for a teaspoon harden nutella. Cover properly and form a ball.
2) Place cookie dough on baking pan lined with baking paper and bake for 12 minutes. Do not over bake and make sure the cookie dough are placed far apart.


Let cool for 3-5 minute and serve. ENJOY!!

Golden Deep Fried Butterfly Prawns

I am a seafood lover and prawn is always on top of my list. So when I laid my eyes on the shiny fresh prawns at the local market, I couldn't resist and bought a whole lot of of them back! Spoiling myself  and my family with crispy golden deep fried prawns as starter was one great indulgence!

Makes 20 Golden Deep Fired Prawns
Recipe can be halved

Ingredients:
20 medium prawns - Head Removed, shelled with tail intact and deveined.

2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

3 tsp garlic powder

2 large egg whites

1 cup all purpose flour

2 cups Japanese Panko or breadcrumbs

Method:

1)   Using a sharp kitchen knife, cut along the deveining slit to split open the prawns right before the tail. Open up the prawns flat. Please see illustration on http://www.asianrecipesonline.com/cooking_guide/peeling-and-deveining-prawns.php if you are unsure.

2) Marinate prawns with salt, pepper and garlic powder and set aside.

3) Place flour in a large plate, panko in another large plate and lightly beaten egg white into a shallow dish.

4) Dip each prawn into the flour (tapping off excess) then the egg white and lastly press to cover with panko.

5) Heat oil in a deep frying pan at medium high heat enough to cover the whole prawn.

6) Fry prawn for approx. 2 minutes or until golden. Fry for longer if it's a larger prawn.

Drain with kitchen towels and serve immediately with your favorite sauce. I like tartar sauce and tomato sauce. Enjoy!!

Yogurt Centered Butter Cake

This is a creation by my baking partner , G. Instead of the usual butter cake, she has decided to be a little innovative or adventurous ~ That is by adding an unconventional yogurt filling to the butter cake. The result? Outstanding!!  It's so delightful and refreshing. Thanks G!!

Just cut the cake in the middle horizontally and pour in the flavored yogurt.. It's that simple !! Try it and let me know if you like it as much as we did. This recipe is definitely a keeper for me.

Makes 1 Small Cake
Recipe can be doubled

Ingredients:
Butter Cake

3 large eggs - saparate yolks from white

175 grams granulated sugar (can less if you like it less sweet)

1/2 tablespoon boiling water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

70 grams butter - at room temperature
1 cups all purpose flour - sieved 

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Yogurt Filling

1 1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 tablespoon icing sugar

Method:
Butter Cake

Preheat oven 180 degree Celsius

1) In a large mixing bowl, whip egg white till fluffy. Add yolk, sugar, water and vanilla. Continue whipping in medium high speed.

2) Add butter and continue whipping. Mix well. 
3) Add yolks and continue whipping. Mix well. 

4) Add flour and baking powder. Whip to mix well.
5) Pour 2/3 of the mixture into a 9" greased round baking pan.
6) Add cocoa into the remaining mixture and mix well. Pour mixture into the pan and stir a little for a nice contrast of color.

Bake for 40 - 50 minutes. Ready when toothpick comes out clean. Do not burn! Remove cake from baking pan once completely cooled and cut into half horizontally.

Yogurt Filling

1) In a large mixing bowl, mix well yogurt with vanilla essence and sugar.
2) Pour mixture on to the bottom half of the cake then place the top half of the cake. Ready to be served immediately! 

Sister-In -Law Walnut Apple Cake

My sister-in-law is here to visit ! Quickly I have asked her to be my guest chef baking some of the favorites of her family. My post today is her wonderful Walnut Apple Cake. So much texture and bursting with taste. Super!!!

Her recipe is low in sugar and packed with fresh apples, walnuts and raisins. Love every bite of it. Yummy!

Makes 12 medium squares
Recipe can be doubled

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar (can be up to 1 cup more if you like it sweeter)
1/2 cup vegetable oil ( I used sunflower oil)
2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 cups green apples (Granny Smith) - Cut into small cubes
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts - chopped


Method:
Preheat oven 180 degrees C

1) In a large mixing bowl, whip eggs till fluffy. Add sugar, oil and vanilla. Continue whipping in medium high speed.

2) Add flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Mix well with wooden spoon.

3) Add apples, walnuts and raisins. Continue mixing till all combined.

Pour mixture in9" square baking pan lined with baking paper. Bake for 30-45 minutes. Ready when toothpick comes out clean.

Herbed Chicken Kebabs

I had some last minute plan to have some guests over for supper and with some quick thinking I ended up pan grilling these wonderful kebabs just within 30 minutes. They are so simple and tasty that everyone was asking for more!! I was contented and happy with this simple creation of mine. Hope you will enjoy it too!

Makes 12 to 15 skewers
Recipe can be halved or doubled

Ingredients:
800 grams skinless chicken breasts - Cubed into similar size

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 tablespoon ground garlic or garlic powder

1 tablespoon salt (or to your taste)

1/2 tablespoon black pepper (or to your taste)
1 medium red capsicum 
1 medium yellow capsicum 
1 medium green capsicum 
1 large onion 
1 lemon - juiced
3 tablespoon olive
12 - 15 Bamboo skewers


Method:

1) In a large bowl, marinate chicken with salt, pepper, oregano and garlic. Set aside. 

2) Clean and cut capsicums and onions to similar size as the chicken cubes.

3) Assembly all ingredients in sequence of your liking. I start with capsicum and alternate with chicken then end with onion.

4) Brush the ready skewers with olive oil.

5) Heat a grill-pan on medium high heat and grill the kebabs until all sides are cooked or browned. I love it a little charred as you can see in the photos for the rustic flavor .   

6) Drizzle lemon juice at the last before removing from the pan.

Served hot. Great with rice, pitas or any other kind of bread. I had it with soft tortilla wraps. 


Try to prepare all ingredients with similar size so that they are cooked evenly with maximum surface contact on the grill pan when cooking.


Linking this to Any One Can Cook : Series 23 by Umm Mymoonah of Taste of Pearl City