TOP 10 RECIPES OF 2015

First of all,  a big  thank you  to all my visitors and followers for your continued support.  I can't tell you how inspiring it is when I receive comments from readers who have tried my recipes and love it.

At the end  of the year,  it's time for the annual round up of  most popular recipes on Treat and Trick As we look back at 2015, they are a lot of lessons  learned and so many ways I have grown in my journey of blogging.   It is so fun to see what everyone loved and I am so glad creating and photographing all of them although some photos do need an update.

There was no surprise that  my  Eggless Marble Banana Cake was  voted the most popular  recipe  for 3  consecutive years. Despite being the easiest and no fuss recipe, it has attracted some of my readers to try it out.

Another recipe that was most tried and get positive feedback   was Spiral Apple Bread. and Healthy Breakfast Bars.  My Spiral Apple Apple has been tried and featured in  few popular blogs also my Healthy Breakfast Bars get re-pinned ever since I shared the recipe in 2012.


Below is the list that make up my Top 10 Most Popular Post of 2015.  Click on the title of each post to view full recipe.

10.  EGGLESS APPLE CAKE

09.   LOW FAT BANANA CAKE EGGLESS

08.  SPIRAL APPLE BREAD

07.  MONKEY BREAD FROM SCRATCH

06.  SOTONG MASAK HITAM (SQUID IN BLACK INK)

CORNFLAKES CHIVDA I SAVORY SNACK MIX

I had a box of cornflakes that is  sitting in my cupboard.   Normally we had  our breakfast with cornflakes  or adding this cereal for making cookies or coating the batter.

So I need to  do something  to save the cornflakes  before  it  passes its expiry date.   What I have in mind were turning them into dessert or a snack.

For  long long  time. I have prepared a crunchy and savory snack so this is the perfect time  to make my favorite Cornflakes Chivda that is  made from roasted nuts, roasted gram, curry leaves and spices. You can vary the selection  from among peanut, cashew, walnut, pistachio, pumpkin seeds  or sunflower seeds.

Turn this chivda into a healthier  version thus cutting out the oil used. Did not fried the peanut and roasted gram in oil but dry roasted them.  The only time I used oil when frying the curry leaves along with chili powder and turmeric.

Adjust the chili used according to your heat tolerance and  add sugar if you like but love without it.

Cornflakes Chivda  to  be enjoyed any time and would last for good 1 week if kept in airtight container.

EASY ROCKY ROAD CAKE

Am always attracted to rocky road desserts for their luscious topping of crunchy nuts, chunks of biscuits  and fluffy marshmallow coated in melted chocolate. ,   The topping varies from country to country,  you could learn more about this through Google.

This week, I try to include "rocky road" elements in my cake by adding chocolate chips, almonds and crushed biscuit in the batter.

What I love about this recipe was super easy to make, no creaming of butter or beating of egg required.  You need only one bowl to incorporate all the ingredients except the almond slices.  It uses as a garnish.  Most importantly, it was lighter when compared with other rocky road cake.  Easy Rocky Road Cake uses oil instead of butter  Added peanut oil but other vegetable oil works too.

Easy Rocky Road Cake  is great fun to make with all the family and the best part is you can  personalize your cake by mix and matching the ingredients with your favorite sweets and biscuits.

Made as a surprise for our guest and  it was a total hit!  Everyone loved it so much and going to try this again with different variations soon.

CORNFLAKES CRISP BARS

It is always fun to bake each and every week. While scratching my head as what to make this week, I stumbled upon a box of cornflakes that was sitting in my cupboard.

Used my  M & M Cookie Slices  as a guide and little tweaking. I made this Cornflakes Crisp Bars for the kid to nibble,

It is super easy to bake and most of the ingredients are mostly available in your  kitchen.  For smooth cutting, you can blend the cornflakes but not too fine,  Just crushed mine with rolling pin and you'll find some still in a bigger piece.  This is what give these bars a crunch when you bite into it.

For final touch, you could dress them up however you like by adding  chocolate chips or even  mini M & M  but this is optional. Added a bit of grated chocolate since that is the only one I have.

These Cornflakes Crisp Bars are truly delicious,  a satisfying crunch  with simple ingredients make these a wonderful snack.

BRAIDED MASALA BREAD

Most of the time, I baked sweet bread with filling but this week trying a savory ones  made with  my trusted bread recipe. .  .

This Braided Masala Bread is a small buttery bread, braided and stuffed with onion, green chili  and cilantro.   The filling compliments this lovely loaf perfectly. It is braided from three strand of dough, a similar fashion how you braid your hair.

If you have a mixer or bread machine, the process is even easier because these gadget knead the bread for you.  But if you don't have them, no worries, kneading with your hands is perfect and a good workout too.

Since I opt for buttery dough and stuffing  it  with onion, it becomes more sticky and hard to handle, Adding more flour is required  in order to make it easier to shape.   Actually you can shape into any shape you like but I want my bread in different shape.  Despite it turns out not so pretty ( poor braiding)   but  the taste was *so* good.  .

Braided Masala Bread  is an awesome bread!  It takes a bit of extra time to assemble but the  bread itself is very soft and baked beautifully. .

GINGER COFFEE CAKE

Nowadays a cake is a must for any occasion, such as for birthday, wedding or parties. This Ginger Coffee Cake is good for small gathering or just to satisfy your sweet tooth.   It is a typical cake recipe whereby you beat sugar and butter until light and thick.   In this recipe I have used only half a cup of butter,  additional coffee and  yogurt to moisten the batter.  In case you don't like coffee, you can add very strong tea instead.

We love the kick of heat the ginger brings to this Ginger Coffee Cake.  If ground ginger is not available  you can substitute it  with  3/4 in of  grated fresh ginger that would work too. In future, would  double up the ground ginger since the  ginger flavor was still quite subtle.   Love a fierce gingerly flavor in my cake so am not adding any spice, anything else is a mere distraction

Drizzle over your favorite icing on top of the cake  but I like to keep it simple.  Embrace the ginger. It can only make you feel better. And what are your other favorite ginger recipes at this time of the year?

PIZZA DOUGH APPLE HAND PIES

These  Pizza  Dough Apple Hand Pies  are  made from yeast free pizza dough.  I follow this  recipe with slight changes.  Omitted dry milk and use evaporated milk instead.

The crust is less buttery since we are using 5 tablespoon of melted butter/oil when compared with regular pie crust.   This suits for those looking for lightened up pie crust that was flavorful,  easy to handle and bake beautifully.

Cut  the apple into a half inch  cubes then coat  with the rest of the ingredients for the filling. You will get some liquid after some time, only scoop the apple but leave behind the liquid  when stuffing the hand pies.

Any variety of apple such as red delicious,  gala or  macintosh  can be used instead of granny smith. Another tip is to bake these Pizza Dough Apple Hand Pies on the lowest rack of the oven for 10 minutes,  This trick  ensures a nicely cooked, never soggy bottom.

PUMPKIN BARS

When my friend gifted me with pumpkin, am thinking what to do with it.  So far I have baked Pumpkin Galette,  Mini Pumpkin Tarts. and  Pumpkin Banana Bread, all made with pumpkin.  So decided to bake Pumpkin Bars this time.

The main ingredient for this recipe is pumpkin puree, to get this I steam the pumpkin until it turns soft. Mash the pumpkin while it  is still hot.  Now it is ready to be used.

Used  only ground cinnamon but you can add nutmeg and ground ginger as well.   Making these Pumpkin Bars are incredibly easy, no  mixer needed.

It turns out fabulous, super moist and beautifully sliced.   Feel free to add frosting of your choice to dress it up a bit.

VANILLA CAKE IN A JAR I HOW TO

A simple and easy way to make individual  servings of dessert that are perfectly portable  is baking in a jar,  These are super cute  and a great  way to put up my canning jars for a good use. Baking in jars give you an opportunity to present packaged baked  goods to your friends and family.   Wrap  pretty ribbon around the sealed jars complete with a special card.

You can use any basic cake recipe but I  prefer  this simple and quick ones.  There are  so many recipes that can be baked in jars.  Vanilla Cake In a Jar is baked with melted butter instead of oil and added just half a cup of sugar, this suits my taste.

This  Vanilla Cake In a Jar recipe  filled  3 jars of  18-oz, this  is  the size I had at the moment.   By using a 12-oz jar, you could get more than 3 definitely.  It is important to use wide mouth canning jars for filling the batter with ease and would slide out easily.  Make sure the use a proper jars that can withstand the heat and safe for baking..

PEAS & POTATO SAMOSA

After a long gap, I haven't eaten samosa and the last time I made was this  Mini Samosa .   Samosa  is made by two parts, the crust and the filling.  Traditionally shaped into triangle and deep fried,

I came across other interesting filling such as cheese, chocolate, fruit and nuts  instead of potato or meat.  Some make it  healthier by baking them. .

There are  ton of recipes for samosa with varied spice combo, some without onion, coriander, cumin or garam masala either way you choose it still turned out tasty, Done without mango powder but added  some lemon juice for this Peas & Potato Samosa.

The secret to perfect samosa was the way you fried them.  It needs time to get that golden brown and crisp exterior by using medium heat only so be patience.

You would like to pair these Peas & Potato Samosa with green chutney or ketchup but we enjoyed them without those.

EGGLESS LIGHT BANANA CAKE

This Eggless Light Banana cake is incredibly easy to make, egg free and very flexible. If you're using self rising flour, you could avoid the baking soda and baking powder in the recipe.

Added  only half a cup of sugar since bananas are already sweet but add 3/4 cup if you want it sweeter. Also used canola oil and water to moisten the cake.  For richer taste substitute water with milk or  if you are a coffee lover, feel free to include coffee for making this Eggless Light Banana Cake. 

If you don't have time to bake this when your banana are fully ripened, stuff those bananas in a plastic bag and freeze them until  ready to make it (thaw them first before using).

So pleased with the outcome, the cake turns out gorgeous, extremely moist and no cracks on top. You won't be able to  tell this cake is  egg free and low in fat.  This can be baked in any size pan or muffin tins, just adjust the baking time.

EGGLESS LIGHT BANANA CAKE
Yield  :..10-12 servings   :

1.5 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
5 banana mashed
4 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoon water
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla essence

METHOD

Preheat oven @ 170 C. Grease your 7 in cake pan.

Sift flour together with baking powder and baking soda.

Mix in salt and sugar.

Combine banana, oil, vanilla essence  and water in a bowl.

Stir in banana mixture onto the flour,  combine well.

Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake for  50-60 minutes  or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Cool in pan 10 minutes, transfer onto rack to cool.

Other  Eggless recipes:

Eggless Peach Cake
Rock Cakes
Carrot Apple Muffins

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HAWAIIAN SWEET ROLLS

Am looking for a new bread to try out and saw this Hawaiian Sweet Rolls over the net.  The important ingredient for making this roll was  crushed pineapple.

So confused to go through the recipe, some added milk and some without,  can you tell me which  is the authentic recipe?   Not only that the quantity of butter, eggs and yeast differ from one another.

After browsing so many recipes, decided to try out mine  using the recipe below.   Be careful, the dough turned out quite sticky and hard to handle.  Add 1-2 tablespoon of flour when kneading.  Also the dough takes longer time to rise, mine took 2 hours.  After shaping, let sit for another 1 hour  more before baking.

Baked these rolls for 15 minutes @ 180 C but this depends on individual oven so adjust accordingly.

We are very pleased with the result, these Hawaiian Sweet Rolls turned out soft and  fluffy  with  just the right touch of sweetness.

HONEYCOMB CAKE / KEK SARANG SEMUT

Have been eyeing this cake for quite sometime and today I have a chance to try out Honeycomb Cake Kek Sarang Semut from my own kitchen. This cake got its name because it had a hole resembling that bee hive.

The method involves 2 parts.  First you need to caramelize the sugar until it turned  golden , honey like color. Do not attempt to cook beyond this otherwise your syrup would turn bitter.  Once you get this color, even sugar  did not dissolve at this point, you can add the water gradually and bring to boil until you get smooth syrup.   Be careful when adding hot water because this syrup would splutter.  At this point, you can add the butter.   Remove from heat and cool completely.

Second is combining  the rest of the ingredients to form a cake batter together with sugar syrup.  Let this sit for 2-3  hours before baking.  Next time I want to try other method that uses only  the  bottom heat.

Preheat the oven before baking and put the pan on the lowest rack , bake for 15 minutes then  place pan at middle rack and continue baking until it is done.

After the cake has cooled, invert the cake and trim the surface  as thin as possible.  Now you could see the hole resembling that honeycomb.

Am pleased the cake turned out soft, moist and insanely delicious.. . .

CHICKEN BIRYANI

Festive season is incomplete without gathering to enjoy good food. This is the time to meet and mingle with our immediate family members as well as our close relatives.

One of the most popular choice to serve during special occasion was Chicken Biryani.  An aromatic dish combining rice and chicken in one single pot.

There are so many variety of biryani made with chicken, meat and poultry.  They differ from one another due to special spices used and the way it was made.

This Chicken Biryani requires marinating the chicken with yogurt, ginger, garlic and spices.  It is best if you can marinate it longer so this allows chicken  to absorb all the flavor.

As for chili powder and green chili, adjust to your preference.    Do fry the onion until it turns golden brown, this will take some time so be patient. .

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.

CHICKEN KORMA WITHOUT COCONUT

There are various ways to cook Chicken Korma, it can  be richer with cream / coconut or lighter without those addition.  Make it even lighter by removing the skin and trim all fats from the chicken before cutting into 10-12 pieces..

Chicken Korma Without Coconut was  a family favorite.  We love to serve this dish over Dry Fruit Naan. or  Ghee Rice / Corn Peas Pulao.  Chicken Korma has a strong Persian influence.   Traditionally chicken is braised and the sauce thickened using ground nuts.

In restaurant, it is often full of fat (cream, butter and creamed coconut). Instead I have created  a creamy texture by using low fat evaporated milk and thickening the sauce using ground almonds.

This recipe is versatile, you can use most meat, fish or vegetables instead of chicken.  Have added 2 cups of water but this is entirely up to you, this depends on how thick you want you gravy to be.

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?

CORN PEAS PULAO

Corn Peas Pulao is a colorful and delicious meal  using basmati rice, whole kernel corn and  peas.  It was mildly spiced and fragrant.   Best serve with a spicy gravy either vegetarian or non vegetarian for your family and friends..

This rice can be prepared  in rice cooker or pressure cooker but mine cooked on stove stop from start to finish. Be caution if you're choosing this method especially after the water has evaporated. you need to  turn your stove to the  lowest setting. Placing a flat pot lid before putting the rice pot was a safest way to get rid of burnt rice..

Have added   3 cups of water for this Corn Peas Pulao recipe ,  on ratio of 1 : 1.5. Too much water, your rice will turn mushy and less water  your rice would turn chewy.

LIGHT FRUIT CAKE

Fruit Cake made their appearance during festive celebrations such as Christmas, Hari Raya  and even Chinese New Year.  There are few types of fruit cake either steamed or baked and the dry fruit used varies in quantity, some soaked in brandy/orange juice or without soaking -  the fruit is coated with flour before adding to the  butter mixture.

I always love  Fruit Cake that uses less dry fruit in the recipe.  This Light Fruit Cake require you to soak the dry fruit in  orange juice or brandy overnight.   Next day you can proceed to bake the cake.

It took more than an hour to bake mine.   In case the top  of this Light Fruit Cake  becoming too brown, cover with aluminium foil  crimped around the edges of your baking pan.

On the occasion of this lovely festival of Eid, wishing you Eid Mubarak, may the blessings of Allah be with you always!

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Every time I bought a pack of chocolate chip cookies, had a guilty feeling for not trying to make my own.  Another reason for this excuse was due to my forgetfulness  to purchase the essential ingredient for this cookie, chocolate chip.

This is my first time baking this famous Chocolate Chip Cookies with much reduced sugar and without the mixer.  Use a whisk to whip up butter and sugar.

Really happy with the result,  this Chocolate Chip Cookies turned out soft and chewy.  When break open it, it was full of chocolate chip. with buttery flavor. This Chocolate Chip is the best recipe for making the incredible  cookies you'll ever eat!

OKRA MASALA /BHINDI MASALA

Okra Masala is a perfect dish for a vegetarian meal with rice or flat bread.  This lightly spiced Okra Masala is great on its own.

If you never cooked Indian food before, this is a nice recipe to start with.  It comes together quickly, leave room for slight adaptations and taste absolutely delicious.

Spices are always a matter of individual taste.  Start with the ones in this recipe and adapt to suit yourselves especially the chili powder.

If you are lucky to find this versatile vegetable fresh, make sure to select the smallest and firmest pods.  If okra pod gets too long, it often becomes hard to eat.

MOIST BANANA CAKE

Moist Banana cake may be perfect with a cup of morning coffee but for a delicious weekday dessert too.   This Banana Cake is moist and flavorful with the sweetness of mashed banana..

I usually bake this cake in loaf pan but decided this time to  use 7 in round cake pan. This cake is simple to make, it comes together  in a short time.

Store bough banana cake is readily available in bakery shop or supermarket but it was way too sweet and lacks real banana flavors..

Let gives this recipe a try, may be you would like it as much as we did.