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!