My first Fondant Cake

I always love to challenge myself to do something new. I always wanna make a beautiful cake but the problem is I don't like to eat cake :P I am not a big fan of something sweet. I love something spicy, that's for sure.
Yesterday was my friend's 50th birthday party but I was in Dublin on the same day. So I decided to make a cake for her as her birthday gift and as a "sorry I can't come to your party".


I use Ina Garten's Chocolate Cake for the cake base.

Ingredients

• Butter, for greasing the pans
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups good cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
• Chocolate Buttercream, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-inch x 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

Chocolate Frosting:

• 6 ounces good semisweet chocolate (recommended: Callebaut)
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

Marshmallow Fondant

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 (16 ounce) package miniature marshmallows
• 4 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 pounds confectioners' sugar, divided
• 
  
• Directions

1. Place the butter in a shallow bowl, and set aside.
2. Place the marshmallows in a large microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on High for 30 seconds to 1 minute to start melting the marshmallows. Carefully stir the water and vanilla extract into the hot marshmallows, and stir until the mixture is smooth. Slowly beat in the confectioners' sugar, a cup at a time, until you have a sticky dough. Reserve 1 cup of powdered sugar for kneading. The dough will be very stiff.
3. Rub your hands thoroughly with butter, and begin kneading the sticky dough. As you knead, the dough will become workable and pliable. Turn the dough out onto a working surface dusted with confectioners' sugar and continue kneading until the fondant is smooth and no longer sticky to the touch, 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Form the fondant into a ball, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. To use, allow the fondant to come to room temperature, and roll it out onto a flat surface dusted with confectioners' sugar.

source foodnetwork and allrecipes

Sambel Goreng Tempe

Tempe is one of the most popular ingredients in Indonesian culinary. It's cheap and a good source of protein. 

I've been living in Cork for almost 6 years now and I only get the  tempe if i went to Dublin or asked my family in Netherlands to bring some. I asked the owner of the Asian shop here if they will have tempe someday, but it never happened. They even didn't know what is tempe.

My friend, been in Cork only about 2 years now, showed tempe to owner of the shop and asked them to sell it in Cork. Voilaaaaa!!! Tempe is available on weekly basis in Cork now.

Lesson to learn:don't just ask, act!

English:

Ingredients:

400 gr tempe (fermented soybean cake)200 ml water
1 tsp salt
1 clove garlic,crushed

1 tsp coriander powder

1 cup vegetable oil

2 bay leaves

2 lemon grass, crushed

2 red chillies, sliced

6 green chillies, sliced
100gr Pete/Parkia/Bitter bean250 ml chicken stock/water
3 tbsp sweet soy sauce
1 tsp sugar

Spices (ground)4 cloves garlic
8 shallots1 tsp belacan1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cm galangal2 tomatos


Method :
1. Slice tempe in 1x1x3cm size. Soak the tempe slices with a mixture of water,garlic,coriander powder and salt for 30 minutes.
2. Heat oil in the frying pan. Drain the marinated tempe, then fry in hot oil until it has golden color, set aside.
3. Heat 3 tablespoons cooking oil in the frying pan, put the ground spices, bay leaves and lemon grass. Saute until fragrant, put the chilies and bitter bean. Stir well.
4. Add fried tempe, pour the stock/water, add sweet soy sauce, and sugar,stir well.
5. Cook over low heat while stirring occasionally, until the stock is reduced.
6. Serve with rice.


Bahasa Indonesia
Bahan 
400 gr tempe 
200 ml air
1 sdt garam
1 bawang putih
1 sdt ketumbar bubuk
1 cup minyak goreng



2 lembar daun salam
2 batang serai bagian putih, memarkan
2 buah cabe merah, iris
6 buah cabai hijau, iris 
100gr petai
250 ml kaldu ayam/air
3 sdm kecap manis
1 sdt gula pasir 

Bumbu halus
4 siung bawang putih
8 butir bawang merah
1 sdt terasi
1/2 sdt garam 
1/2 cm lengkuas 
2 buah tomat 



Cara Membuat :
1. Iris tempe ukuran 1x1x3cm, rendam tempe iris dengan campuran air,bawang putih,ketumbar dan garam selama 30 menit.
2. Panaskan minyak goreng dalam wajan. Tiriskan tempe dari air perendamnya, lalu goreng dalam minyak panas hingga matang,sisihkan.
3. Panaskan 3 sdm minyak goreng dalam wajan, masukkan bumbu halus, daun salam dan serai. Tumis hingga harum, masukkan cabai dan petai. Aduk rata.
4. Masukkan tempe goreng, tuangi kaldu/air, tambahkan kecap manis, dan gula pasir, aduk rata.
5. Masak di atas api kecil sambil sesekali diaduk-aduk hingga semua bahan matang dan bumbu meresap, angkat.


Modified from: Vania

Egg Noodles

The truth is my daughter doesn't like my food. Not at all... unless i bake a bread. It's my fault because when she's baby I gave her Heinz products instead of home made food. So,it's all my fault and i'm keep on praying that one day she want to eat some of my food.

Kirana is big fan of noodle, so i try to make home made noodle for her. Keep trying,Mom!




Ingredient:
300 gr strong flour
3 eggs
1 tbsp vegetable oil
a pinch of salt


Method:

1. In the table, combine the flour and salt and make a well in the centre.
2. Add the eggs and oil and gradually work in with a spoon until a dough forms. 
3. Tip the dough out onto the bench and chop together, then knead for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth. 
4. Cover with cling wrap and rest for 30 minutes.
5. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin and book fold. 
6. Pass the dough through the pasta machine, gradually increasing the gauge until you get to 3.
7. Book fold the dough again, and again pass through the machine. 
8. Repeat this process until the dough is smooth and has lost its rough edges.
9. Roll the pasta through the 6th setting, then through the fine noodle cutter. Hang to dry.
10. Blanch the noodles in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well and set aside. 

modified from about.com

Soto Betawi

I was asking my friend to buy a beef intestine so i can make the Gulai Tambuksu. Instead she bought me the beef tripe. So i just make this soup instead of gulai (Indonesian curry).
The english version is a modified from the recipe in Bahasa Indonesia as I only use the ingredients that i have in the kitchen.




Ingredients:
500gr beef
250 gr washed and cleaned tripe
2 bay leaves
2lt water
2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
4 lemon leaves
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp oil
400ml coconut milk


Grind:
4 cm ginger
8 shallot
3 garlic
1 tsp roasted coriander seed
1/2 tsp roasted black pepper
1/4 tsp roasted cumin


Method:

1. Boil the tripe with bay leaves in 500ml water  about 20 minutes. Discard the water and the bay leaves.
2. Add the beef  and 2000ml water, cook until the water is boiling, add nutmeg, cinnamon, lime leaves and salt. Cook until the beef is tender.
3. Remove the beef and tripe from the stock, diced the beef and tripe about 2cm x 2 cm size.
4. Put beef and tripe back to the stock.
5. In a wok, heat oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat, add the spice paste. Stir fry until fragrant.
6. Add the coconut milk to the wok and cook until it's boiled.
7. Pour the coconut mixture to the beef stock, stir and cook until it's boiling.
8. Serve with fresh sliced tomatoes, sliced fresh spring onion and fried onion.
9. Add chili sauce, Kecap manis and lime if you like.

Bahasa Indonesia

Bahan : 

300 gr daging 
300 gr jeroan sapi
2000 ml air untuk merebus 
1/2 biji pala 
3 butir cengkeh 
5 cm kayu manis 
4 lembar daun jeruk 
2 sdt garam 
1 sdm minyak goreng, untuk menumis 
250 ml santan, dari 1/2 butir kelapa 

Bumbu halus : 4 cm jahe 
8 butir bawang merah 
3 siung bawang putih 
1 sdt ketumbar sangrai 
1/2 sdt merica 
1/8 sdt jintan sangrai 

Pelengkap : 
250 gr tomat, potong-potong 
3 batang daun bawang, iris halus 
3 batang seledri, iris halus 
3 sdt bawang goreng 
kecap manis, air jeruk limau, emping goreng, dan sambal rawit. 


Cara membuat:

1. Rebus daging (dan jeroan) hingga mendidih, tambahkan pala, cengkeh, kayu manis, daun jeruk, dan garam. Masak terus sampai daging (dan jeroan) lunak, angkat. 
2. Angkat daging (dan jeroan) dari kaldu. 
3. Ukur kaldu sebanyak 1500 ml. Bila kurang, tambahkan air panas. Potong-potong daging dan jeroan 2x2 cm, masukkan kembali ke dalam kaldu. Jerangkan di atas api. 
4. Panaskan minyak goreng dalam wajan, tumis bumbu halus hingga harum, masukkan santan, aduk, angkat. 
5. Masukkan santan berbumbu ke dalam panci kaldu. Timba-timba hingga mendidih dan matang. Angkat. 
6. Penyajian: Siapkan mangkuk saji, masukkan daging (dan jeroan). Tambahkan tomat iris, daun bawang, seledri, dan bawang goreng. 
7. Bubuhkan kecap manis dan air jeruk sesuai selera. Hidangkan dengan emping goreng dan sambal cabe rawit. 

sumber: Mbak Vania

Ayam Lodho (Twice Cooked Chicken with reduced coconut sauce)

I keep saying that I want to explore international culinaries in my kitchen, but then once again it ends up with Indonesian Traditional food recipes. Maybe it because when I was in Indonesia I didn't have enough knowledge about cooking and Indonesian food so at this time it's just like a revenge :P


I just tried it yesterday and the result is soooo yummy! The taste of grilled chicken with spicy coconut sauce is soooo perfect! So another new fave dish :P

Ingredients

1 free range chicken, about 1 kg

2 tbsp salt

500ml thick coconut milk (about 80%)

4 chillies,sliced (optional)

3 cm galangal,crushed

3 lemongrass, crushed

3 lime leaves

2 bay leaves

Grind:
10 shallots
10 garlic
5 cm turmeric
4 cm ginger2 cm Kaempferia galanga (kencur)
2 bird eyes chillies
2 tsp salt

1 tbsp black pepper

1 tbsp coriander

1 tsp cumin

Method 

1. Butterfly the chicken and rub it with salt
2. Grill the chicken about 5 minutes for each side.
3. Grind the shallots, garlic, turmeric,ginger,kencur,salt and chillies until smooth.
4. In a wok or skillet, heat oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat, add galangal,lemongrass,lime leaves and bay leaves,stir fry the leaves until fragrant. 
5. Add the spice paste to the wok,stir fry until fragrant.
6. Divide the coconut milk in two jars each 250ml. Add 250ml water to one part of coconut milk, stir it to become a thin coconut milk. Pour the think coconut milk to the wok.
7. Add the chicken, when the coconut milk is boiled,reduced the heat to low heat.
8. Add the thick coconut milk to the wok. Cook the chicken until the sauce is reduced about half of it.
9. Serve with the rice.

Bahasa Indonesia:


Bahan:
1 ekor ayam kampung
1 butir kelapa, kupas, parut, ambil 250 ml santan kental dan 500 ml santan encer 
Haluskan:
10 butir bawang merah
10 siung bawang putih
3 (5 cm)ruas jari kunyit
2 (4 cm) ruas jari jahe
1 (2 cm) ruas jari kencur
2 cabai merah keriting, rebus
2 sdt garam
Bumbu Kasar:
1 sdm merica butiran, tumbuk kasar
1 sdm ketumbar, tumbuk kasar
1 sdt jintan
100 g cabai rawit
1 jempol (3 cm) lengkuas, iris kasar
3 batang serai, memarkan
3 lembar daun jeruk purut
2 lembar daun salam

Cara membuat:

• Belah ayam dari bagian dada depan ke bawah, lalu bentangkan ayam hingga terbuka lebar.
• Lumuri garam dan bakar di atas bara api hinggasetengah matang.
• Tumis bumbu kasar hingga wangi.
• Masukkan bumbu halus, aduk hingga wangi dan matang.
• Tambahkan santan encer ke dalam tumisan. Didihkan.
• Masukkan ayam bakar ke dalam wajan, tambahkan serai, daun salam, dan daun jeruk purut.
• Teruskan memasak dengan api kecil sampai mendidih.
• Tambahkan santan kental. Teruskan memasak dengan api kecil sampai kuahnya menjadi sangat kental (dalam bahasa Jawa disebut: mblondho).
• Sebaiknya masakan ini disimpan semalam, dan dipanaskan kembali keesokan hari untuk disantap dengan nasi gurih (nasi uduk) dan urap sayur.

sumber: Detikfood

Oyster Sauce

Yesterday, my friend brought me fresh clams and mussels in the night. As they said i need to cook this ASAP so i was thinking what should i do with a big bucket of this yummy creatures? So i just boiled it and eat some of them just like that.... oh, i love fresh seafood!!! Since it's already midnight so i was thinking to cook the clam with this simple sauce.

Ingredients

1 medium onion,sliced

5 garlic,crushed

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 tbs sugar

4 tbs Oyster Sauce

2 spring onions

2 tbs vegetable oil

Method 

1. In a wok or skillet, heat oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat, add garlic and onion,stir fry the paste until fragrant. 

3. Add the rest ingredient's and stir until it's thickened.

4. Add your favorite seafood, add the sauce with fresh sliced spring onion and serve with rice.

Modified from Keluarga Nugraha

Padang Style Sauce

This sauce is so popular in Indonesia to be served with seafood. As most culinary from West Sumatra area, this sauce is spicy. I don't know if it's really coming from Padang area or people just called "Saus Padang" because it's spicy.

Ingredients

Grind:

3 shallot

2 garlic

5 bird eyes chillies

2 cm ginger

2 tbs Vegetable Oil

4 tbs Oyster Sauce

4 tbs Tomato Ketchup

3 tbs Chillies Sauce

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

1 tsp sugar

100 ml water

Salt to taste.

Method 

1. Grind the shallots, garlic, ginger, and chillies until smooth.

2. In a wok or skillet, heat oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat, add spice paste and stir fry the paste until fragrant. 

3. Add the rest ingredient's and stir until it's thickened.

4. Add your favorite seafood and serve with rice.

Source: Keluarga Nugraha

Twice Cooked Pork Belly with Apple Slaw,Sweet ginger caramelised dressing and Steamed Fragrant Rice

I loveeee this food so much! My friend said it's a "heart attack in a bowl" since the main ingredient is pork belly. Anyway, I won't eat it everyday :D

Pork belly:
1 kg piece pork belly
2 litres water
5 slices ginger
5 star anise
¼ cup black vinegar
3 cloves garlic
5 tablespoons light soy
3-4 tablespoons kecap manis
½ cup castor sugar
1 cup corn flour
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 litres vegetable oil
1/3 cup sea salt

Apple slaw:

2 granny smith apples, cored removed
1 tablespoon sugar
Juice of ½ lemon

Pan grilled rice cakes:

1 cup rice
reserved pork fat

Sweet ginger caramelised dressing
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cups reserved braising liquid
1 tablespoon grated ginger

1 Preheat oven to 200'C.

2 Cut skin from pork belly in one piece and set to one side. Pat flesh dry with paper towel .

3 Pour water into a large stock pot and bring to the boil. Add pork, ginger, star anise, vinegar and garlic and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes over a high heat and skim to remove any impurities.

4 Add light soy, kecap manis and sugar, reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 hours or until meat becomes tender. Remove and allow to drain for 5-10 minutes. Reserve braising liquid. Sandwich pork between two chopping boards and weight it down with heavy objects. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill and allow to rest for 2 hours. Remove and cut pork into 3cm cubes.

5 Combine flour and salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Place egg in a separate bowl. Dust each cube of pork in flour, then beaten egg and redust in flour. 

6 Heat oil in a saucepan, deep fry pork in batches until golden and drain well on a paper towel-lined plate. 

7 Score reserved pork skin, lay flat on a baking tray and rub with oil. Pack the top side of the skin with sea salt. Bake for 20 minutes to render out fat. Remove from the oven, pour fat into a heat proof bowl and reserve.

8 Increase oven to 250⁰C. Brush salt from skin and return pork to oven. Bake for 30 minutes, checking every ten minutes until skin is blistered and crunchy. Allow to cool and cut into pieces.

9 For apple slaw, julienne apples and place in a bowl. Add sugar and lemon juice and toss to combine. Allow to stand for 30 minutes to pickle. Squeeze out excess juices and set to one side.

10 Place rice in a saucepan half filled with water. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10-12 minutes. Remove and drain well. Spread rice over a baking tray and allow to cool.

11 Take spoonfuls of rice and shape into cylinders. Heat reserved pork fat in a frying pan, add 3-4 rice cakes and panfry, rolling cakes in the pan, until crisp and golden. Remove and set on a paper towellined
plate to drain.

12 For dressing, place sugar and soy in a small saucepan over a low heat and bring to the boil. Allow to simmer until mixture begins to caramelise. Add reserved stock, increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until liquid has reduced to half.

13 Remove from heat, add grated ginger and stir well to combine.

14 To serve, arrange a handful of apple slaw on a serving plate and top with cubes of pork and pieces of crackling. On a second plate arrange rice cakes and spoon sauce into a serving dish.

source: Masterchef Australia