HOW TO MAKE RAISIN BREAD

Am so addicted to bread baking as you can see from my bread recipes collection I have posted.

Love to try out a new bread recipe or improvise  my old recipes by adding different fillings in the bread every time I bake them.

You can also check the following bread recipes that have been successfully tried  by my readers:
Spiral Apple Bread
Apple Kolaches
Homemade Bun

This week I make Raisin Bread for my family.  From what left on the plate, I know they liked it so much.

Baked this Raisin Bread in the afternoon so that they can enjoy with their cuppa.  The bread has incredibly soft crusty exterior and well sweetened with raisin.   By using water from soaked raisin, it has natural beautiful color.  My family eaten them as it is without slathering anything on top.

We can't wait for the bread to cool, my son is pestering me to cut it up.  Without wasting more time, I take this opportunity to shoot the photos before it was gone!

CHOCOLATE CHIP CAKE

So suddenly, am craving for a little snack cake in the middle of the night.

And that is where this quick and easy recipe for Chocolate Chip Cake comes in very handy., because as much as I love to bake Chocolate Chip Cake there is only so much of it I can eat.

Equally wonderful is the fact that this tender little cake can be assembled  from stuff I have on hand , in my pantry, so I bet yo do too -  flour, sugar, milk, egg,   oil and of course chocolate chips. Just dump everything into one bowl, at the same time, mix it up. Making a cake has never been easier.

This  Chocolate Chip Cake is great for entertaining, inexpensive and not overly rich so people usually have more than a piece without guilt!  Apply frosting of your choice if you want.

MANGO OATMEAL BREAD

This is a delicious sweet quick bread made  using  dietary fiber rich rolled oat, plain flour and mango. Quick bread does not use yeast but using baking powder or baking soda or both as leavening agent.

One of the best way to enjoy your seasonal fruits was adding them in your baking products  either cake, muffin, yeast bread or quick bread. Since I have mango,  so this is  what am going to bake with. Mango really enhances the taste of this Mango Oatmeal Bread while oatmeal  gives it a great texture. This bread like so many homemade bread is impossible to resist when you take  it out of the oven.

Mango Oatmeal Bread doesn't require a mixer, no kneading or shaping involved and what you need is a whisk.

HOW TO BAKE NO SUGAR DATE OATMEAL BARS

Who can deny the delightful combination of flavors in these  No Sugar Date Oatmeal Bars.  They are  a terrific, portable, yummy breakfast and perfect for any time of the day and great to pack in your lunch box.

These bars used only 6 ingredients.  No Sugar Date Oatmeal Bars are light, nut free  and sugar free. The sweetness came from the date and raisin and these  would  give your kids a natural sugar lift.   I love these  mildly sweetened bars but in case you need more sweetness , you could increase the quantity of date and raisin used in the recipe.  Add chopped nuts if you like them too.

I have listed below other  bars recipe well liked by my family, check it out by  clicking on each title:

Blackcurrant Oat Bars

Healthy Breakfast Bars

Cocoa Banana Bars

CARROT CAKE

A moist cake filled with grated carrot was incredibly delicious and the best part it was super easy to make.

Most probably everyone could able to bake this Carrot Cake since it does not use any special gadget. If you have an oven, you're good to go.

I used  my box grater for the carrot, unfortunately this tiny bits of carrot were not visible in the cake,   wish they have a larger setting  for  the grater.  Make sure you squeezed out the water before adding it to the cake batter.

This cake baked beautifully at 180 C for 45 minutes in my oven but your oven might differ  so check the  cake after 40 minutes.

If your prefer to ice your cake, you can do so after the cake has cooled  but  we love ours without it.

RED BEAN FLOWER BUN

Am really hooked on bread baking and quite some time  did not share any new project using yeast.  I have found baking your own bread so easy and addictive.   The smell alone was enough to make me salivate.

Although I like  buying Red Bun Flower Bun from bakeries,  I love baking them even more.  So decided to make them at home. They tasted better than bakeries and turned out warm. and super fresh.

These Red Bean Flower Bun are so appetizing that you will eat at least a couple of them in one sitting.  The soft and fluffy bun tastes so delicious, it  can be eaten  as it is.  It is so rewarding to sit down, sip a cup of coffee and devour them freshly baked.

You can shape these into a round ball instead  if you find shaping them to look like a flower a bit tedious.   Anyway what shape you make, they still taste awesome.

POMEGRANATE & MANGO BAKED OATMEAL

I was gifted with mango and pomegranate last week by one of my relatives.  So I need to make use of these fruit for my baking project.

After much consideration,  settled on this fiber packed and loaded with fresh fruits  Pomegranate & Mango Baked Oatmeal.  I think this recipe was an ideal choice for clearing up my mango and pomegranate.

Used mango juice instead of milk as well as mango slices for topping.   Although I live this version, feel free to substitute  your favorite in season berries or any other fruits  like blueberries, strawberries, apple, chocolate chips, dried fruit or banana.

This is such a delicious dish and  though it was mildly sweetened, my family enjoyed it so much without adding any sauce or syrup. Our family are in a verge of  reducing our intake of sugar in our diet,

Have you ever made baked oatmeal?  What  goodies do you like to put in  yours?

APPLE OATMEAL BARS

I  immensely wanted to eat nutritious bars that was not so sweet yet tasty.  The blend of  rolled oat and apple  makes this  Apple Oatmeal Bars  a perfect treat..

It was super easy and pretty quick to prepare.  Apple Oatmeal Bars are excellent for on the go breakfast or quick snack anytime of the day. Had used palm sugar (gula Melaka) to make these bars and it smells wonderful while baking.

Packed full of vitamin C, apple provides all sorts  of great health benefits. The phytonutrients in apples can help you regulate your blood sugar, for fighting off a cold and  to giving you smooth skin so there is even more reason to eat them up.  Whole apples are richer in dietary fiber so they are better nutritional choice than apple juice.

They are great alternative to granola bars minus the extra sugar.  Kids love them and they are almost like a cake

This recipe makes one pan so share the goodness with your friends or pack them in your lunches all week.

SOFT & FLUFFY DINNER ROLLS

Bread rolls were always be an essential part of our meal  Everyone had their favorite bread rolls but mine was a dinner roll.   From this Soft & Fluffy Dinner Rolls, you can create a lot more variations either sweet, savory or stuffed.   Am going to show you,  how to bake these fantastic rolls..

You will find Soft & Fluffy Dinner Rolls  recipe looks similar to other bread you've baked but the method are a way simpler but turned out fantastic.

It begins with melting the butter using microwave or stove top then adding milk to bring down the temperature.  This is a important step before adding yeast, it should be warm to touch and not hot if not you would kill the yeast. Stir and keep covered for 5-10 minutes  if you're using  active dry yeast until it becomes frothy but if using instant yeast, you can skip the waiting time.

After combining the flour and milk mixture, stir with wooden spoon until well  incorporated.  At this point, it becomes sticky so cover the bowl and let rise for one hour.

Punch the dough down, knead the dough, scraping clean the bowl until smooth.  Add  one or two tablespoons of flour if it was sticky. Cover and let sit for another 30 minutes. Now they're ready to be shaped  and leave to rise again for 1 hour. before baking.

Don't mind to wait for more than 2 hours, in return I was rewarded with perfect, tender and gorgeous rolls! .

APPLE & RAISIN SCONES

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I love scones.  They are so versatile, you can choose from sweet with variety of fruits or  cheese ones and not to mention extremely easy.  This time, I had plenty of granny smith apples.  So this apple is going to be my baking project this week.

Always prefer to make a small batch so just used one and quarter cup of flour.  With this recipe  you could get  9 x 2.5 in  scones, just  sufficient for the small family.

Making scone is almost  the same as  baking pie or tart.  This requires you to blend dry ingredients with cold butter using your finger tips until it resembles  bread crumbs. The secret of good scones are not to handle the dough too much before baking.  It should be sticky and not too dry. Dip your cutter in flour each time before cutting out the dough.

Despite  containing  no eggs in the recipe, the scones are well risen, feather light, soft and utterly delicious.

My family enjoyed them fresh from the oven without any preserves or butter but prefer to add one more apple next time I bake them.

BREAD VADA

These are cubed bread slices, spiced with green chili, onion, cumin and cilantro together with rice flour, semolina and yogurt as a binder.  They are combined to shape like a doughnut.

After shaping with greased hands, Bread Vada are fried in oil till golden brown, I did mine by shallow fryingcan also be deep fried.

Adjust the heat according to your tolerance. These tasted heavenly for breakfast or as a snack immediately after you've fried them.

Serve them as it is or dip with your favorite chutney

DARK & SOFT DINNER ROLLS

Making your own dinner rolls are surprisingly easy and when you taste these  soft rolls, you'll agree they are superior to any store bought ones.

Baking bread is a complete joy for me and I had a lot of fun experimenting classic recipes with a new twist.  How about baking this Dark & Soft Dinner Rolls for breakfast or snack?   These rolls get its color from cocoa powder and instant coffee.

The dough for these  Dark & Soft Dinner Rolls  have a nice texture and is simple to shape.  One of the important elements in getting a perfect roll is the liquid.  It should be lukewarm  rather than  hot. Small difference in the amount of water can make a big difference to your finished loaf. Too little liquid creates a dense and dry loaf.

When you make bread by hand, kneading and shaping it lets you get a good feel for the dough and its elasticity. If it is too sticky, leaving it for 10 minutes after mixing can help.  Remember, you will get better as time goes on.

CHOCOLATE ALMOND (COKDAM) COOKIES

Chocolate Almond (Cokdam)  Cookies  are deliciously simple to  make yet elegant and tasty dessert or snack  You might wonder what :cokdam" stand for.  It's a short form for chocolate and badam (almond).

Some cookie dough needs minimal chill time in the  fridge but these cookies are not required.

Highly  recommended  not making these  Chocolate Almond (Cokdam) Cookies too thick  and  if possible make them almost the same size to ensure even cooking time.   I used small cookie cutter and pleased with the result. I got about 100 cookies  for the following recipe. Each time you use the cookie cutter, dip it first in flour so you will get beautifully shaped cookies without sticking.

Make sure the almond is finely chopped in order to get beautiful shape otherwise the dough tends to break when cutting them.

MARBLE BANANA BREAD

The overripe banana combined with cocoa powder gives you an incredibly moist and subtly sweet loaf.   Get rid your blackened banana by making this Marble Banana Bread, it uses  one and half cups of mashed banana.

Marble Banana  Bread is a delicious twist on regular banana bread with a chocolate swirl.  Not only it was delicious but pretty. In fact I'm so obsessed with the word "marble", you can find my recipe for marble cake and bread below.

The texture is absolutely wonderful and each slice is beautifully and properly swirled.  I thought  there was no way. my bread would look wonderful as the pictures but  every piece really turn out  great!

KAYA PANCAKE MUFFIN

I had half a botlle of kaya (coconut jam) left after making my Heart Shaped Kaya Rolls  . At first, I thought of  preparing  a pancake stuffed with kaya but changed my mind and chose Kaya Pancake Muffin instead.

Kaya Pancake Muffin is much quicker and importantly less messy and save your time.  Just imagine, frying the pancake,  stuffing then roll them up one by one.

These are versatile, on the go and delicious meals.  There are  ways to fill up these muffin  with sweet or savory stuffing. Pancake don't have to be sweet.  You can also make incredible meals with savory pancake too.   Just omit the sugar if you opt for  savory stuffing like cooked  shredded chicken, turkey, bacon or even mushroom, spinach or garbanzo beans..   Vary your fillings with  blueberry, apple, fruit pie filling,  nutella, chocolate, peanut butter instead of kaya.

Make it lactose free by using soy or coconut milk in place of milk. Go eggless by adding 1/4 cup yogurt or 1/3 cup of apple sauce instead of an egg.

HEART SHAPED KAYA ROLLS

Homemade rolls are easy to make especially if you use bread maker but mine are made by hand from start to finish.  With homemade rolls, you can easily customize the ingredients you are going to add for instance this Heart Shaped Kaya Rolls, you can omit egg or milk by substituting with soy or almond milk.


Really, you  can use any basic sweet bread recipe and varies the filling.  This time,  I used  kaya (coconut jam) or any other jam as the stuffing.  Be prepared to encounter messiness along the way. In fact my filling is overflowing at the time of rolling. as you can see from my photo below.

Nevertheless Heart Shaped Kaya Rolls turned out fabulous and  tasted awesome! The are no harder to make and are a great way to dress them up for special  occasion.

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MOIST BANANA MUFFIN

I had some overripe  bananas sitting on my kitchen counter so I decided that  my next project would be related to banana.

As usual, used only half cup of sugar instead of 3/4 cup since not keen to have over sweetened muffin.

Moist Banana Muffin  are  perfect  treat for breakfast  or great  for tea time too. Straightforward, simple and just like your favorite banana bread but in muffin form.

You can add  1/4 cup of chopped nuts to Moist Banana Muffin batter and no harm will come to the end result or you may want to add a little dried fruit to the mix. For more interesting flavor, add some finely grated orange or lemon zest or cinnamon instead of vanilla essence.

FRESH APPLE CAKE

Looking for a cake with fresh fruit?   Well  I  have just baked a  moist  and no-fail Fresh Apple Cake with perfect amount of sweetness plus large chunks of apple, this adds a great flavor and texture to this cake..

This Fresh Apple Cake uses fresh apple.  Mine is made of  granny smith but other varieties  such as gala, red delicious,  McIntosh or  combination of them  should  work too.   Don't use a food processor  to chop  the apples. It should be roughly chopped into 1/2 in chunk.

Use a simple drizzled glaze or  serve  it plain.  Prefer to omit the glaze since it  it well sweetened. already. You can also dust the cake with icing sugar.

Not only  is this Fresh Apple cake really yummy but it is also very easy to prepare.  So give this recipe a try and let us know if you think  this  cake is the best!

BRAIDED NUTELLA BRIOCHE

This is my first post for the year 2015 so I have chosen to bake a yeast bread.  It is a buttery bread called  Braided  Nutella  Brioche.

The dough was so soft like a baby's cheek and bit difficult to handle. I  made mine by hand.  There is a sense of satisfaction in working the dough  by hand and crafting such an attractive bread and it certainly will impress your guests.I didn't add any flour while shaping but if needed add one or two tablespoon  to the dough.

Braided Nutella Brioche requires double proofing but it worth the effort since bread turns amazingly soft and beautiful.  When I took my first bite,  feel like am eating a cake and not a bread!

Made this bread into a braid but you could shape it according to your liking. This is the softest and butteriest  bread I  have ever baked!

MINI RAISIN BUN

I have not baked any bread for weeks  but  decided to bake  my son favorite Mini Raisin Bun this time.

If you're a bread baker, you will know that most of sweet bread using almost the same recipe with slight variations on ingredients or method.

Enjoy this tasty Mini Raisin Bun for breakfast or in between snack..  Love to serve them  in  bite size portion instead of regular one. Am using dark raisin but golden raisin can be added too.

You can also  turn the dough into a loaf by baking it in a loaf pan.