Double Layered Cherry Rum Chocolate Cake

Made this chocolate cake for my husband's birthday, a couple of weeks ago. It was my second experience making chocolate cake and I would say it turned out pretty well. The cake itself was very nice (recipe from Epicurus), very moist, tender and porous, chocolaty but not overly dense (dare I say it's pretty light but moist). It soaked the cherry syrup very well, which really complemented the cake, adding freshness and moistness (I do wonder if I should try a boiled syrup recipe next time). Dare I say that, it tasted almost like my favorite chocolate cake from this Singaporean baking chain called "Awfully Chocolate", called the "Cherry Rum Chocolate Cake".  The cake tastes best after the third day in the fridge, somehow the flavors has somehow molded better, so a note to self is maybe to make the cake a day or two in advance.  

One thing I noticed about the cake itself, it was somehow crumbly when cut, ie. it doesn't really hold its shape too well when cut, partly maybe because it is very moist. I could try maybe refrigerating the cake first before pouring the cherry sauce and applying the ganache, or even maybe add one more egg to the recipe?

The chocolate ganache recipe that I used (not from Epicurus), turned out pretty good and complementary, quite similar in texture to the AC's cake (slightly pudding-y), though somehow it was not dark as I would have liked. I wonder if using dutch processed cocoa powder would make a difference?

Although the recipe was simple enough, it took me 4-5 hours to complete the whole thing. And the kitchen was like a shipwreck during the process. But I attributed that to my clumsiness and inexperience. Hopefully the next time I attempt this again, the kitchen would look calmer.

Chouquettes (Sugar Puffs)

These dainty and light sugary snack reminds me of my days in Fontainebleau, France as an MBA student there. It would be my comfort snack, that I always get from the campus bar (yes, we there was a bar in the campus building, where students we could get coffee, ice cream, sandwiches and snacks and probably alcohol too though I don't remember ^_^) in between the afternoon classes.

These chouquettes are basically mini-cream puffs (the french call it pate-a-choux) without any filling, but that are covered with lots of coarse sugar bits. When I started my attempts at baking, it was one of the first thing I though to try, after the less satisfactory batches of blueberry muffins and banana bread. To my surprise, it was not difficult to make at all! I did get lucky by getting good tips beforehand (watching youtube demonstrations was also useful), but once you get a hold of the one/two key tips, it's such a delight to make, especially for one who does not have an electric mixer and minimal baking tools such as myself! It has become so far, my favorite thing to bake!

Lemon Yogurt Cake & Strawberry Compote

During my quest searching for the elusive Moroccan ever-so-light yogurt cake, I came across several French yogurt cake recipes, all of which claim to be simple and light. I picked this one from Smitten Kitchen's blog because it seemed to have the least sugar content, and visually looks the lightest! I wasn't disappointed at all. It was not only light, but moist and flavorful. I used lemon, instead of lime, it worked. And used another JustOneCookBook's Strawberry Compote recipe, instead of the blackberry sauce. The sweet and freshness of the compote complemented the tanginess of the cake perfectly.  It was light enough to have for breakfast, with a cup of tea. Enjoy!

Banana Nutella Mille Crepes Cake

I've been wanting to try making the mille crepe cake since my first foray to baking, months ago. Been practicing a bit with cooking crepes several times before, did not seem too insurmountable.  Finally decided to make it for my Hubby on Valentine's Day, since he was going to cook the dinner's main course. So it was just the right time!

Bika Ambon

The Bika Ambon cake is an Indonesian dessert made primarily of tapioca flour (extracted from cassava roots), yeast, coconut milk, eggs, and sugar, typically flavored with pandan, lemongrass and keffir lime leaves (which also make the cake quite fragrant). When baked, bubbles created by the yeast creates the spongy/honeycomb texture throughout the cake. There are similarities to several other cassava-based cakes in the Southeast Asian region: the Bika Ubi cake (more popular in Malaysia), and the Vietnamese Pandan Honeycomb cake (Banh Bo Nuong). Similarities could even extend to the Brazilian cassava cake - which makes sense, since the cassava plant originated from South America, and some say that the Portuguese introduced the cassava (the plant from which the tapioca flour is made) to Asia.

The honeycomb structure itself could actually be inspired by the Chinese "White Sugar Sponge Cake" or "Bai Tang Gao / Pak Thong Koh / Bak Tong Gou", which is made from rice & rice starch and leaven by the yeast created by the fermentation of the rice. Indeed, the Bika Ambon cake in the past was leavened by "tuak nira/enau" or fermented palm wine/rice wine yeast (wine is soaked into batter overnight, as wine further ferments to create the yeast, I suppose).

An interesting trivia about Bika Ambon: The cake supposedly originated in the city of Medan, in North Sumatera (which is the North-Western-most part of Indonesia), or at the very least it was originally popularized there among the Chinese communities in the city. Yet the word "Ambon" refers to the name of another Indonesian island located in the Eastern part of Indonesia, far away from Medan, where the cake is not at all popular).

Sweet Martabak (Martabak Manis)

The sweet martabak (or martabak manis) is a popular late night street dessert snack in many major cities in Indonesia. It is a thick turnover pancake/crepe hybrid, typically filled with a decadent mix of condensed milk, peanut, cheese, chocolate sprinkles (nowadays they even have options with Nutella or Toblerone fillings!!). Aside from the filling, its most distinct characteristics of the dessert are its yellow-colored honeycomb-like inner structure and its dark golden /crispy-ish crust. In addition, the street vendors typically slather a decadent amount of butter on the both inner and outer surfaces.

The dessert apparently originated from Bangka island (Western part of Indonesia), among the Chinese community, and was originally called "Terang Bulan" cake or "Bright Moon" cake, probably owing to its round shape and yellow/golden color. According to this website, the dessert was typically made to celebrate the Lunar Festival (full moon festivities). Indeed, the Indonesian Sweet Martabak or Terang Bulan, seems to be an iteration of the Cantonese/Fujianese Chin Loong Pau or Ban Jian Kuih (or as they refer to it in Malaysia/Singapore as Apam Balik cake), or even the Japanese Dorayaki. I also recently realized there are similarities to the British Crumpet or the Beghrir (Moroccan Thousand Holes Pancake), in particular, with regards to the holey texture. The term "Martabak" itself is probably adopted from the Indian/Arabic savory stuffed pancake/bread (similar to Prata), indeed, in Indonesia, the savory Martabak is often sold together with the sweet Martabak.
 

Hong Kong Egg Tart

After trying out many Western cake recipes to bake, I though one day to try a more "Asian" dessert. Both hubby and I like the Hong Kong egg tart, and I've had somewhat so-so luck with the egg tarts I found in the restaurants / stores here. Though must admit, it may be due to my preference for the cookie-crusted egg tart instead of the pie-crusted variety (though I do like it with the Portuguese egg tart, oh the mystery of the fickle human preferences ^_^). 

Moroccan Orange and Almond Cake

I am so enamored by Moroccan food, well at least the ones that I've had on my trip to Marrakesh and Essaouira. The dishes that I remembered, couscous, tagine, harira soup and this light breakfast cake I had for breakfast in this B&B Riyadh were ones that stuck to mind.
The cake was light and airy, akin to a sponge cake, yet not overly delicate or crumbly. The taste was light, slightly sweet, and went so well with the marmalade. It was such an amazing breakfast experience. Certainly having it on a Moroccan Riyadh rooftop balcony overlooking the city of Marrakesh had a lot to do with this as well.