TAPIOCA PANCAKE aka LEMPENG UBI RECIPE

A traditional pancake made with fresh grated tapioca and coconut.

It has been over  10 years since  I have eaten this Tapioca Pancake served by my late mum.

Those days, we have to prepare the tapioca from scratch.  Peeling and grating was the first step for making this pancake.  Today grated tapioca was readily available in the market.

Using a non stick pan eliminated  the need to use excessive oil when frying  them.

Tapioca Pancake can be eaten with sugar or dip in spicy gravy.   Sugar could be added while mixing the batter for a sweet version. So I leave it to you to decide how you want to enjoy them.

Other traditional kuih/dessert you should check out :

Bingka Labu (Baked Pumpkin Cake)

Abok Abok Sago.

Apam Nasi (Steamed Rice Cake)

KUIH DADAR LABU / PUMPKIN CREPES

Most South East Asian  kuih or bite sized dessert uses natural products such as coconut, banana or tapioca.  One of my favorite kuih is Kuih Dadar or kuih ketayap, a rolled crepe stuffed with sweeten grated coconut.   It was made by 2 parts, outer cover and the filling normally made  with coconut.

Kuih Dadar  uses natural food coloring by blending  pandan leaves with liquid then strain.  Pandan juice is added back to the batter. These leaves not only gives a beautiful color but also a nice fragrance.   You can simply omit pandan leaves if it is not available at your area, just add green food coloring or a tablespoon of pandan paste.

Made a substitution for the filling using mashed pumpkin instead of grated coconut.  Also prepared it using milk and not coconut milk.   This filling will keep well in a refrigerator if you cook it longer. Adjust the sweetness to your liking  by adding more sugar.

Other kuih/dessert you should check out:

Kuih Dadar with coconut filling

Bingka Pisang

Wajik (Palm Sugar Glutinous Rice Pudding)

KUIH BINGKA NANGKA RECIPE

A traditional recipe that doesn't use any leavening agent at all and butter free. Traditional kuih  or bite size dessert/snack normally are  baked, steamed or deep fried. These are made from rice flour, glutinous rice four, tapioca flour, mung bean or plain flour.

Another important ingredient was coconut.   Most old school recipes use coconut milk since we grow our own coconut near our house those days.

Kuih Bingka Nangka or Baked Jack Fruit Cake was quick and simple to make.   You can even throw everything in a blender and it is ready to be baked.

Used evaporated milk instead of coconut milk because am running short of coconut milk.  Some recipes require you to dilute the milk with water, but prefer to add undiluted in order to get creamier  taste. .

You must leave Kuih Bingka Nangka to cool for 1-2 hours before slicing to get that perfect finish. My family enjoyed it with a cup of  ginger tea.

Other traditional kuih you should try:

Abok Abok Sago

Kuih Bakar Kentang

Kuih Sago

HONEY CORNFLAKES CUPS RECIPE

Had never baked Honey Cornflakes  Cups in ages.  Used to bake them during special occasions, this recipe evokes a fond memories I had when my kids were small.

Only 4 ingredients needed to whip up this sweet treats and super easy to make.  Melt the butter together with honey and sugar (adjust the amount to your liking) until sugar dissolved and bubbly. Add the mixture to the cornflakes and coat them well.

Spoon the cornflakes into cake cases (I used mini and regular one) or small patty tin.  Honey Cornflakes Cups would clump together and harden after cooling these are where the crunchiness come.

Baking Honey Cornflakes Cups is a chance for children to get involved in the kitchen  so have fun and share special moments that will be treasured forever.

Other most requested cookies  during festivals  are:

Black Sesame Seeds Cornflakes Cookies

Suji Cookies

Milk Cookies

RITZ BANANA CAKE RECIPE

Recently, a supplier of milk products launched a special offer drive for their brand of fresh milk  that provides a customer with a pack of Ritz cracker for purchase of their product.  Because of this exercise, I had few packs of Ritz lying on my cupboard.

To make use of those. I incorporated the crackers for making Ritz Banana Cake that was a favorite for everyone at home.

First crushed the crackers with rolling pin (this is what I use)  or use your food processor to do the job.  These  crushed cookies replace the flour for making the cake.

Intentionally reduce the sugar to half a cup instead of 1 cup because those bananas are enough to sweeten this Ritz Banana Cake.

This is perfect for someone who wants to  venture into baking with a little twist from a classic recipe that you would never dreamed to have put together.

Easiest recipe and most delicious cake!  So moist and everyone who has tried it, loves it. My aunt was amazed how easy and quick the recipe is.

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.. . .

APAM NASI (STEAMED RICE CAKE)

After a long time, I cooked any traditional treats or kuih (bite size dessert or snack)  for my family. This Apam Nasi was my late mum's favorite.  She used to prepare it when she had leftover rice for our  breakfast. My mum mix the flour just before going to bed and first thing in the morning, steamed these Apam Nasi.

What I noticed, most of our traditional kuih were mostly steamed since at that time an oven was not available even baking was  done using charcoal.

Added only half a cup of sugar but if you want it sweeter use 3/4 cup instead.  Used  red food coloring and the balance as it is but this is entirely up to you.  If you don't have that small plastic molds, use 7 in round pan and steam it for 30-40 minutes.

We enjoyed our Apam Nasi without coconut.   Halve the recipe if you have a small family, my recipe below yield 25 apam.

FRUIT COCKTAIL PUDDING

My son has  been bugging  me to  prepare   this super easy Fruit Cocktail Pudding made with agar agar powder and canned fruit cocktail.

Some might like to make use of the sugar  syrup after draining the fruit cocktail  but prefer to throw it away. Make sure the water and sugar syrup combined do not exceed 5 cups. .

To jazz it up, added a few drops of  yellow food coloring.  This step is required if you choose colorless agar agar powder.  You can use any flavor,/color/fruit you prefer. I just happened to have fruit cocktail on hand.

After the agar agar powder has been boiled, pour this mixture into small mold or into one large bowl/container.

If you want something that tastes great and not fattening, this Fruit Cocktail is for you!

FRUIT COCKTAIL PUDDING
Serves  12

10 g  white/colored agar agar powder
5 cups water
250 g sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 can 836 g fruit cocktail drained

METHOD

Dissolve agar agar powder in  deep pot containing 5 cups water.

Add sugar, bring to boil using low heat, stirring continuously.

Add food coloring of your choice if using white and evaporated milk, bring to boil again. Remove from heat.  Mix in drained fruit cocktail, stir well.

Rinse the agar agar  mold, pour the mixture into one large container or use the small one.

Let cool to room temperature, refrigerate until ready to serve.

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ABOK ABOK SAGO

Abok Abok Sago is a traditional Asian dessert normally wrapped in banana leaf made with pearl sago, grated coconut and palm sugar.

This time this dessert is undergoing a makeover by adding 2 different color, one with green food coloring while other portion was orange (I got this after adding the orange colored sugar) and using small tart mould.

You can also make use of jelly mould and changing the color according to your choice. It's fun to see the transformation.

These Abok Abok Sago have  special  coconut aroma and slightly chewy texture

KUIH BAKAR KENTANG (BAKED POTATO CAKE)

It is baking  time again in my kitchen. We had this traditional kuih called  Kuih Bakar Kentang (Baked Potato Cake)  a long time ago. This is a simple dessert using coconut milk and mashed potato.

Am using milk but it would be  much tastier if you're using coconut milk.  For smoother and well mixed batter, a blender/food processor  is highly recommended..

Normally Kuih Bakar Kentang (Baked Potato Cake)  uses egg but my version is totally egg free.  You can bake the with or without sesame seeds but  I love the contrast of color it gives.

Make sure to grease the pan generously  to avoid sticking  since there isn't any fat in the recipe. Over all, they are awesome for breakfast or tea time snack.

RICE FLOUR PUDDING

I always love pudding especially made with coconut milk. It has a special sweet flavor that you can't get with whole milk. After long time, my son requested to make corn pudding this weekend. So have sent him to purchase the most important ingredient for making the pudding,  sweet corn.

I'm aghast and extremely disappointed when he brought home  a can of  corn, guess what?  It's cut young corn. So I have to devise my plan for making another pudding.

This Rice Flour pudding comes into my mind. Have other obstacle, no fruit is available to add in, so go ahead making Rice Flour Pudding without any fruit.

So glad my son really enjoyed having this soft, sweet and creamy pudding.  We completed them in one sitting.

You can make this Rice Flour Pudding firmer by reducing the amount of liquid so as to facilitate easy slicing. Have used one cup of coconut cream or thick coconut milk but if  much creamier flavor  is required, do add more coconut  cream but cut down the water used.  For healthier option, white sugar can be replaced with palm sugar.

KUIH SAGO / SAGO CAKE GLUTEN FREE

Most South East Asian cakes or kuih as we call it are bite sized dessert or snack,   mostly made with rice flour, glutinous rice flour, sago, tapioca flour or mung bean flour. They are usually steamed than baked or fried.

Kuih Sago is a traditional Asian dessert that was chewy in texture, made of pearl sago. I chose a different method to prepare  instead of steaming it. My cooking style requires constant stirring until the sago turns translucent  after adding them  to the sugar syrup. After cooking it was leave to cool until set. When completely cool, they are sliced and rolled in grated coconut.

Most desserts made with coconut will turn rancid  really  fast so it must be consumed on the same day other wise stored them in a refrigerator.  A jar with resealable lid works perfect to keep shredded coconut fresh and handy  in a fridge.

APAM PISANG BAKAR (YEASTED BANANA CAKE)

Banana is quite a common fruit available in most kitchen. It is my habit to turn those ripened banana into a delicious, quick week day dessert.

This recipe yields a moist Yeasted Banana Cake that will make those banana cake haters into big fans.

It combines the sweetness of ripe mashed banana with yeast minus the butter or fat. This  traditional cake is also suited to be steamed.  Like anything baked  with yeast, this requires about an hour to rise.


APAM PISANG BAKAR (YEASTED BANANA CAKE)
Serves  :    8

1+1/4 C  all purpose flour
1 C  mashed banana
1/2 C  castor sugar
3/4 C + 1 TB  warm evaporated milk
1/2 tsp salt
1+1/2 tsp instant yeast

METHOD

Grease 8 in deep cake pan. Whisk together milk, yeast and sugar in a small bowl.

In a mixing bowl, put in flour, banana and salt. Stir well.

Now add the milk mixture to the flour, stir to combine.

Pour mixture into greased  pan and let sit for 1 hour. Towards the end of rising time, preheat oven @  170C.

Bake for 40-45  minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Let sit in the pan for 10 minutes, transfer onto rack to cool.

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BINGKA PISANG

There are over riped bananas laying on my kitchen counter so I'd decided to  bake the traditional cake with them.  Banana is a versatile fruit, either eat them on their own,   add them in smoothies, cake, pudding, bread, ice cream or even cereal.

This  traditional cake was made with  mashed banana.   If possible, use fully ripe banana, it is much sweeter and you only need to add lesser amount of sugar in your cake..

Most of traditional recipe does not require any baking powder nor mixer, just simple mix and bake method but the end result  was far better and healthier.

BINGKA PISANG
Yield  :   8 in  loaf

1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoon cornflour
1 1/4 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tablespoon oil

DIRECTION

Preheat oven @ 180 C and grease 8 in cake pan.

Place flour, cornflour and salt in a mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, sugar, oil and mashed banana.

Now add wet ingredients into  flour mixture, stir until well combined

Pour mixture onto prepared pan, bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Cool in pan 20 minutes, transfer onto rack to cool.

When completely cool, slice to serve.

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BINGKA LABU/ BAKED PUMPKIN CAKE GF

Bingka Labu (Baked Pumpkin Cake GF)  is a traditional recipe, often served during breakfast or as a tea time snack.  Normally made with wheat flour and coconut milk either steamed or baked without any leaving agents.

Here is my first attempt using gluten free flour ( rice flour and cornflour) and much lower sugar but you can also  use wheat flour.  After all, it doesn't effect the taste of this bite size kuih.

When preparing the pumpkin puree, don't discard the seeds, toast them in a microwave or oven and use it as a topping..

My family thought it was delicious and I'm so pleased with the result of my experiment.

EGGLESS SEMOLINA BANANA CAKE

A  quick and easy cake made with semolina or cream of wheat. This Eggless Semolina Banana Cake could be enjoyed  anytime of the year.  This is a different version of semolina cake that was low in  fat and egg free.

In case you're allergic to dairy, feel free to substitute milk with non dairy milk like almond milk, soy milk or rice milk.  Although it wasn't super soft as a normal cake but it was moist due to the addition of mashed banana.  The Eggless Semolina Banana Cake is now becomes our favorite,   I hope others find it delicious too!

APAM PISANG BAKAR (BUTTERLESS YEASTED BANANA CAKE)

This is a common recipe from our household using fully ripe banana. It is normally steamed but my recipe below is baked. Have also added instant yeast to rise.

For sugar,  either increase or decrease according to the sweetness of the banana you had used. After mixing all the ingredients together, pour onto greased pan and let rise until doubled. Make sure your pan is deep enough to accommodate the increase, mine rose to the rim of the pan or use muffin pan but filled only half full..

APAM PISANG BAKAR (BUTTERLESS YEASTED BANANA CAKE)
Yield     :    One loaf

1+1/4 C  all purpose flour
1 C  mashed banana
1/2 C  castor sugar
3/4 C + 1 TB  warm evaporated milk
1/2 tsp salt
1+1/2 tsp instant yeast

DIRECTION

Grease 8 in deep cake pan. Whisk together milk, yeast and sugar in a small bowl.

In a mixing bowl, put in flour, banana and salt. Stir well.

Now add the milk mixture to the flour, stir to combine.

Pour mixture into greased  pan and let sit for 1 hour. Towards the end of rising time, preheat oven @  170C.

Bake for 40-45  minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Let sit in the pan for 10 minutes, transfer onto rack to cool.

Linking to  Yeastspotting 10-28-11  

JEMPUT2 PISANG/ BANANA FRITTERS (BAKED)

Undisputedly our traditional kuih serve for generation. It is served during breakfast or as teatime snack. There are many variations to prepare Jemput2 Pisang/Banana Fritters (Baked),  some added sugar and coconut. But I prefer to omit those since banana is already sweet and opt for healthier version by baking them.

Jemput2 Pisang/Banana Fritters (Baked) Recipe  tasted as good as you have fried them but the only missing is the golden color you get when deep frying.

KOLEH KOLEH / GREEN BEAN PUDDING

It is a traditional dessert of Malaysia and Singapore, made of green bean flour, coconut milk and palm sugar. If  palm sugar unavailable, you can use dark brown  sugar instead.

This can be prepared by steaming or stirring over stove top until thicken. I use 2nd method. Traditionally they are garnished with coconut crumbs but I omit this, just sprinkle with toasted sesame seed for garnish.

My mum used to prepare them but at that time, you can't get the green bean flour so you've to do it from scratch. It's tedious process but it tasted fabulous  and so fragrant. Now I tried to re-create them using Zarinah Anwar's recipe from the book called The MPH Cookbook.

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.