FRUIT SLICES

At times fruit cake may taste awful especially the mass produced ones but a homemade version can be truly delicious. Generally fruit cake contains a mixture of fruit and nut. If there are certain fruits you don't like, you can always include more or another, some of your favorites.

This recipe makes  quite a moist cake which is not as heavy as a traditional fruit cake. The best part, it is incredibly easy to prepare. Besides sultana and dates, it can easily replaced with chocolate chips, dried apricot, cranberries, dried pineapple or even dried papaya. Feel free to pick and mix to create a cake that's perfect for your family.

FRUIT SLICES
Yield    One 7 in loaf

1 C self raising flour
1/2 C brown sugar
3/4 C hot milk
100g butter
3/4 C dates
3/4 C sultana
flaked almond
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

METHOD

*   Soften dates and butter in hot milk. Allow to cool. Preheat oven @ 170 C and grease 7in pan.

*   In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar and sultana. Pour in dates mixture and vanilla  into the dry ingredients. Mix well, pour into prepared pan.

*   Sprinkle almond over the top and gently press into the surface.

*   Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

*   Cool on pan 10 minutes, transfer on rack to cool.

*   Slice to serve.

DATES LOAF

Date Loaf 

I have a habit of adding fruit or vegetables in baking simply because it is healthy and also to clear whatever in access at my pantry. This is what I'.m going to show you how to whip up a delectable dessert or snack that is moist and flavorful using dates..

Firstly remove the stone then chop the dates into larger chunks, so it is visible.(mine are too small you can't  see them at all).    Chopped nut can be added too if you want.  A nice smell  fills  the entire kitchen when baking this cake. So pleased with the result, great texture and wonderful taste.

DATES LOAF
Yield   :   One loaf

1 3/4 C all purpose flour
3/4 C sugar
1/4 C butter
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 C chopped dates
1 1/2 C boiling water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

METHOD

*   Soak dates in boiling water, add in the butter and let sit for 20 minutes. Preheat oven @ 170 C and grease 7 in pan.

*   Sift flour, soda, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl.

*   Add in dates mixture to the flour, add vanilla extract , stir well and pour into prepared pan.

*   Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

*   Cool on pan 5 minutes, transfer onto rack to cool.

*   Slice when completely cool.

PINEAPPLE CAKE

I really excited to bake this pineapple cake for the very first time. It is egg free and so simple to put up together.

My son bought a can of pineapple slices instead of crushed ones. So I chopped them into tiny pieces before adding to the batter or much easier way use your chopper but not too fine. My can is 565g so use only 400g of pineapple plus its juice.

I'm using 3/4 cup of sugar if you want it sweeter add another 1/4 cup since the juice is also sweetened. You can also brush the top with pineapple juice after it has been baked and apply any frosting of your choice.

PINEAPPLE CAKE
Yield   One 7 in round cake

2 C all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 - 1 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
400g crushed pineapple
1/4 C milk
1/4 C melted butter

METHOD

*  Preheat oven @ 180 C and grease 7 in round pan.

*  Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl.

*  Add in sugar, milk, butter and pineapple to the flour. Mix until well incorporated, pour into prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

*  Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Transfer onto rack to cool.

*  Serve with cream or frosting of your choice.

FRUIT CAKE

This is my version of healthy  and not so rich fruit cake but excellent taste. Now I'm using hot tea but you can also opt for hot milk that also works well with this recipe.

For mixed dry fruit, it can easily be replaced with dried cranberries, apricot or prunes, make sure you cut them into small pieces. No worries if you have no time to soak the fruit, you still can go ahead to cook them.

If you are having unexpected guest, this is great a treat for them which is so easy and takes less time to prepare. Hope you will enjoy this as much as we do.

FRUIT CAKE

1 C rolled oat
1 C all purpose flour
1 C dry fruit mix
1 C hot tea/milk
3/4 C sugar
2 T melted butter
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

METHOD

*  Soak fruit mix in hot tea for 15 minutes. Grease your 7 in pan.

*  Preheat oven @ 170 C. Sift flour and baking powder.

*  In a mixing bowl, place flour, salt, oat and sugar.

*  Now the dry fruit mixture to the flour and mix until just combined.

*  Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

* Cool on pan 10 minutes, transfer into rack to cool.

*  Slice to serve.

Linking to Get Fit With Taste

BANANA RING CAKE

Another cake using banana minus the egg. Banana is very common and consumed in almost every home. It is very nutritious, each banana contains calcium, phosphorus , potassium which are needed for the bones and low in sodium, cholesterol and fat. Bananas are also rich source of Vitamin C, iron and soluble fibre which helps lower cholesterol.

Not only this banana cake is so simple and easy to prepare but moist, aromatic and full of natural goodness! If you're allergic to nuts do omit them but they  add flavor and texture to the cake.

BANANA RING CAKE

1 1/2 C all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C melted butter
3/4 C  milk
3/4 C sugar
3 medium banana mashed
1/4 C chocolate chip
1/4 C chopped nut

METHOD

*  Preheat oven @ 175 C. Grease the ring pan.

*  Sift flour, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Add in sugar, mix well.

*  In small bowl, combine milk, butter and banana, stir until well incorporated.

*  Add milk mixture to the flour, stir and add in the chocolate chip and chopped nut. Stir until well combined.

*  Pour into ring pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

*  After 5 minutes, remove on rack to cool. Slice to serve.

COCONUT CAKE

Using only 6 ingredients, it is the simplest and easiest cake to prepare. You do not need any mixer but only one mixing bowl. If you are using fresh grated coconut, dry roast them until slightly dry. You can also use self raising flour, if you do, please omit baking powder and salt.

This is also my son's favorite cake, if he wants a dessert, this is what he requested me to bake. He brought them to his office and shared them with his colleagues. Most of his friends loved it and even ask for the recipe.

So easy to put together , when you are craving for a slice of cake and you want it sooner. Before you know it, the wonderful smell of amazing cake is sifting through your window. The texture was just lovely!

I am not much of an icing person but you can go ahead to apply any frosting of your choice to elevate  this cake to a heavenly dimension.

COCONUT CAKE
Makes 7 in cake

1 C all purpose flour
3/4 C sugar
1 C  dessicated coconut
3/4 C milk
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

C  =  cup

METHOD

* Preheat oven @ 175 C. Grease 7 in cake pan. Sift flour and baking powder.

* Add in sugar, salt and coconut. Pour in milk and mix until batter is smooth.

* Pour into greased  cake  pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

* Cool on pan 10 minutes, transfer onto rack to cool.

Linking to Cooking with your heart

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BAKED PUMPKIN BREAD

This is standard quick bread using pumpkin. I used fresh pumpkin but for easy way you can opt for canned pumpkin puree.

This is so far the most healthiest quick bread I've baked! Just imagine it uses only two tablespoons of butter and yields a moist and spongy bread.

Baked Pumpkin Bread freezes well and  make great gifts for holidays!

BANANA CHOCOLATE BREAD, MARBLED

A classic favorite, chocolate and banana. It's an  easy recipe that anyone can attempt. For healthier version,  you can use whole wheat flour and brown sugar.

This bread will keep for a couple of days in an airtight container and can also be frozen, It is a great companion with a cup of tea/coffee or a glass of milk. You can easily turns this into a delectable dessert when paired with  chocolate sauce or vanilla ice cream.

APPLE & WALNUT CAKE

This moist cake is perfect for brunch or dessert. The apple walnut combination makes it perfect for fall or a small gathering.

It is really easy and simple to bake, you need not use your mixer or your hand blender. It's just mix and bake, using just two bowls eliminating the washing up all those utensils. I'm always on the look out for such an easy recipe but producing great results and this one is one of them!

Apple can be replaced with pear and for the nuts, you have a wider choice, they are pecan, cashew, peanut or hazel nut, just pick whatever you prefer but now have added what is available in my kitchen, a few tablespoons of  ground walnut that is hardly seen in the cake.

MOCHA BANANA CAKE

I love this  Eggless Mocha Banana Cake, it's quick ,easy and  delicious. It hardly takes a few minutes to prepare, doesn't require any mixer and the combinations are endless. With just a basic recipe, you can create another interesting and exotic cake such as strawberry mocha, pineapple lemon,  pumpkin chocolate and many more.

But now I'm using instant coffee, cocoa and mashed banana.  Mocha Banana Cake was  moist and  tasty, you can't stop eating just a piece. You should bake your own cake since home made one is much healthier, free from preservatives and excessive sugar, can easily freeze them too.

EGGLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

I never tried baking egg free  cake with condensed milk but tempted to try this recipe by a famous chef. Despite being egg free and butterless this cake turns out absolutely delicious, moist with  right amount of sweetness.

For special occasion you can decorate this cake with your favorite frosting and you cant't really tell such a marvellous cake is eggless, this totally change my mind that good chocolate need not to be eggy and heavy fat. This is now becomes one of my favorite cake.

BEST COCOA BROWNIES

I'm looking for brownies that is healthy and eggless but unfortunately can't find any that suit my taste, either high in sugar or fat.

So I came up with this recipe after going through various sources and so glad I did, I can assure you, this is seriously good. It is really remarkable that with mere cocoa powder it turns out great. It is very healthy, guilt free as a dessert or afternoon snack that does not hurt your diet.

Since most brownies called for eggs but now I use buttermilk. To make your own add a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of milk, let sit for 5 minutes or until curdled, now it is ready to be used in your cooking. Next time I need to double up this Best Cocoa Brownies  recipe since it is a huge hit with my family.

DATES BREAD

I had plenty of dates lying around in my kitchen. My son suggested to bake a bread/cake to clear my pantry. Yes, it is indeed a great idea.

After going through my old collection of recipes, this one attracted me since it is pretty simple to whip up and use all the ingredients I have in hand.

Oh my goodness, this bread is damn yummy with right balance of sweetness came from the dates. This is a keeper, will bake this often.

DATES BREAD

2 and 1/4 C all purpose flour
1 C pitted dates chopped
1/2 C melted butter
1 C milk
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C hot water
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

METHOD

* Soak chopped dated in hot water for 30 minutes. Preheat oven @ 180 C. Lightly grease the 8 in pan or loaf pan.

* Combine together butter, sugar, milk, salt and baking powder until well mixed. Mix in the dates.

* Gradually add flour, mix until just combined.

* Spoon mixture into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes of until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

* Cool on wire rack.

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Market Yourself Monday
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M.M.M. Day

KEK KUKUS / STEAMED FRUIT CAKE

This is most sought after cake that is only available during Eid in most Malaysia/Singapore households. It is so moist, melts in the mouth, fruit filled and absolutely yummy.

Kek Kukus/Steamed Fruit Cake  is actually steamed for 4 hours. Due to the long process, excellent taste and high demand it has became very costly to buy this steamed cake. Despite this, making your own steamed cake is really challenging and rewarding, you can't stop eating them and get way more quantity produced compared to buying them.

The following tips are useful if you're making this for the first time:

Your need to prepare the caramel by heating the sugar until it melts and turns golden brown using slow heat otherwise it tastes bitter. Remove from heat and add the water, stir well. Quickly and carefully adding this to the batter.

Prior to steaming, the water in the steamer must be boiling and each addition of water on each hour must be also boiling point. It is advisable to boil a kettle of water for this purpose.

Some flour to be added to the mixed fruit to avoid them sinking at the bottom of the cake.

Place the batter half full into greased pan and properly closed and secured with masking tape or string to ensure the cake has room to rise and to avoid water dripping into the  Kek Kukus/Steamed Fruit Cake. 

Once the fruit mix is added, do not over mix.

It is advisable to replace 100 g of fruit mix with 50 g of green cherries and 50 g red cherries to make it more attractive and colourful. If you are cooking for small family, it is recommended you make only half of the following.

BINGKA PISANG

If you have over ripened banana and don't know what to to do with them, I suggest you should try making this Malaysian/Singapore popular baked  Bingka Pisang.  The recipe below uses over ripened bananas as the main ingredient.

 It is mashed before adding the flour, sugar, coconut milk, butter and salt.

Bingka Pisang  is very simple to prepare, just need a mixing bowl to combine and stir until well incorporated then pour into greased pan to bake. No washing up of extra dishes involved. Let the cake to cool completely before slicing. Enjoy this as your delicious dessert or serve them for snack.

BANANA AND OATMEAL CAKE

Another great eggless recipe using banana and oatmeal. I used rolled oat then pulse them to get finer meal.  Banana and Oatmeal Cake  is  really nutritious and moist. Can be served as your breakfast or as afternoon snack along with a cup of hot tea.

Vegetable oil is being used but for richer taste, butter is recommended. Here is the list of ingredients in case you want to try out this yummy Banana and Oatmeal Cake. 

MY 200TH POST W/RAISIN AND OAT BREAD & AWARD

It's my 200th post, would like to thank all blogger pals, followers, visitors and silent readers for regular visit and encouraging comments. YOU MAKE THIS  HAPPEN, hope to receive your continued support.

Through this challenging journey, I have found wonderful friends like you and once again thanks to all.

For this special occasion, would like to share this simple and healthy bread.



RAISIN AND OAT BREAD

One of my favorite tea time dessert is quick bread. It is so simple and easy to prepare.

Used earl grey tea but other flavored tea like green tea, oolong tea works fine too. This is very healthy and you need not spend long hours to bake this wonderful bread. Let's see how to prepare them.

MARBLE CAKE

I intended to bake the Marble Cake for quite some time but always reluctant to try, simply because it calls for high content of fat, sugar and egg.

Created my own that is not very rich, simple to make and delicious. Replaced milk with water and milk powder since the milk is out of stock.

 The classic pairing is chocolate and vanilla, but you can  use other combination too, there are so many more possibilities. In case you want to try, here is the recipe:

CHOCOLATE BISCUIT CAKE

Chocolate Biscuit Cake  is a most popular cake ever tried by my fellow bloggers. I came across various methods for preparing this cake.

Due to health reasons, I modified the recipe using slightly less butter and omitted the eggs.  Chocolate Biscuit Cake turns out perfect, you can't really tell the difference.

Using 5.5 sq inches container but if you are serving a big family do double up the quantity. Besides marie you can use semi sweet biscuit like digestive, morning coffee or nice biscuit for making this delicious treat.

PUMPKIN BREAD

My son  requested to make a  Pumpkin Bread  since I have baked it quite a long time ago. For this recipe you need not use any coloring, the color of the pumpkin is just right, beautiful bright yellow.

Either use canned pumpkin puree or make your own, just steamed mine for a few minutes and mashed. It is difficult to remove the skin, just steam with the skin then scoop out the flesh.