Fresh from the Oven

Nothing can beat the delicious homemade bake, especially when they just come out fresh from oven.

To have a beautiful ending of this lovely month, let me share three pictures including the recipes of the cake/cookies that I baked quickly for my family during the month of February.
They were baked in a late afternoon, for our afternoon snack and the pictures were taken in our kitchen table. Just a quick shot before I served them for my beloved family.

OntbijtkoekAn oldies cake with spices aroma.
I posted this recipe on October 2010. Before and after I posted, this recipe already become our favorite 'quick bread' recipe. Easy to make, always have a delicious result, never have leftover. I can produce 2 medium loaves from 1 recipe.

Sift together 1 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 tsp vanilla powder, 1 tsp ground cinnamon and pinch of ground gloves and nutmeg. Set aside.
Beat 5 eggs, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 cup palm sugar until thick and frothing.
Add the sifted ingredients and 2 tbs melted margarine, stir well.
Pour into a loaf baking pan lined with grease-proof paper that has been brushed with butter and sprinkled with flour.
Sprinkle with kenari or peanuts or chocolate chips.
Bake at 180 C for about 40-45 minutes until done.
*spread margarine on top of the cake, right after it comes out from the oven.

Chocolate Cookies
I have to thank to Martha Stewart for this delicious cookie recipe. Thank you so much Martha (hope she reads this blog)!
It was one afternoon when I was thinking that it would be nice to welcome my children back from school with chocolate cookies. What I had in my mind was to bake chewy chocolate cookie. Quickly I chose 'Milk Chocolate Cookies' recipe from Martha Stewart's COOKIES recipe book. Since I had no stock of milk chocolate, I substituted it with dark chocolate and dark chocolate chips. The result; I had to bake another batch just 2 days after the first trial, and another batch just 3 days after the second batch. This cookies have become our favorite one, since then. Delicious, has soft texture inside and crunchy outside. Yummy!

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp coarse salt
8 ounces good-quality milk chocolate (4 ounces coarsely chopped, 4 ounces cut into 1/4 inch chunks) --I used 4 ounces chopped dark chocolate, 4 ounces dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup sugar --I used 'only' 1 cup sugar + 1/4 cup palm sugar.
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
2. Melt 4 ounces coarsely chopped chocolate with the butter in a small heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; let cool slightly
3 Put chocolate mixture, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitter with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until combined. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chunks.
4. Using a 1 1/2 inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are flat and surfaces crack, about 15 minutes (cookies should be soft). Let cool on parchment on wire racks. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

Banana-Oatmeal MuffinsHaving two over ripe bananas that needed to be saved.
I grab my 'Muffin Mania' recipe book, and chose to bake Banana-Oatmeal Muffin for a quick rescue. I made 1/2 recipe only, and no need to wait too long.... 11 medium size muffins were ready to be served.
Just a note; you can add a bit more sugar if you prefer sweet muffins.
I added a handful of chocolate chips to the batter and put grated cheddar cheese on the top.

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup milk
2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup margarine melted and cooled
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups mashed bananas (4-5 medium)

Combine oats and milk and set aside.
In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.
To soaked (oat and milk) mixture, add melted margarine, eggs, vanilla and bananas.
Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and stir only until the flour is moistened.
Fill greased muffin cups and bake 375C for 20 minutes.

Traditional Melting Moment; Bangket Keju

We recognize 'Melting Moments' as a classic cookies that got the named because it does melt in our mouth. To make this type of cookie, we need to replace some of the flour with corn flour (cornstarch). I think that is the key of the 'melting in the mouth' part.


It was a couple of weeks ago, I tried a new recipe that the print-out had been pined on my soft board for a few months; called Bangket Keju. Actually Bangket is a name of cookie that quite popular in this country. Some places in this country have their own traditional recipe.

I used a recipe that I found in Femina Magazine, which was about some cake and cookie recipes from Manado, North Sulawesi. They said that this is one of the variant of 'Bangket Jahe' (Ginger Bangket) that is more popular in that province.

Not too hard to prepare, but we need extra patience to make the balls one by one. oooohhh...
At the end, the combination aroma of pandan leaves and coconut (from the coconut milk) blowed from the oven. It was really good smell and I could recognize this smell as the aroma of our traditional cookie. It was an Indonesian cookie aroma!

It does not use flour, but only tapioca flour; which is the key to the melting moment.
No need to chew this cookie, they will melt in your tongue. Don't hold it too strong, it will crack to small pieces on your finger.

Have a beautiful Sunday Night!

Bangket Keju
source : Femina Indonesia Magazine
Bahan / Ingredients
400 gr tepung kanji / 400 gr tapioca flour
3 lembar daun pandan, simpulkan / 3 pandan leaves, knotted
125 ml santan kental, dari 1/2 butir kelapa parut / 125 ml thick coconut milk from 1/2 grated coconut
1/2 sdt garam / 1/2 tsp salt
200 gr gula bubuk / 200 gr powder sugar
2 kuning telur ayam / 2 egg yolks
1 putih telur ayam / 1 white egg
1/2 sdt soda kue / 1/2 tsp baking soda
50 gr keju cheddar, parut / 50 gr cheddar cheese, grated

1. Sangrai tepung kanji dan daun pandan di atas api kecil hingga kering, angkat, sisihkan.
2. Rebus santan dan garam di atas api kecil, sambil aduk perlahan hingga mendidih. Angkat. Sisihkan.
3. Kocok gula dan semua telur menggunakan mixer berkecepatan tinggi hingga mengembang. Tambahkan tepung sangrai dan soda kue, kocok kembali secara cepat hingga rata.
4. Ambil 1 sdm adonan, bulatkan dengan diameter 1 cm. Letakkan di atas loyang datar yang sudah dialasi kertas roti dan diolesi margarin hingga rata. Taburi keju di permukaannya.
5. Panggang dalam oven panas bersuhu 130C selama 20 menit hingga matang, angkat. Dinginkan.
Simpan dalam toples bertutup rapat.





Method (in English)
1. Toast flour and pandan leaves on a dry pan, over low heat until dry, remove and set aside.
2. Boil the coconut milk and salt over low heat, while stirring gently until gets boil. Lift. Set aside. 3. Beat the sugar and all the eggs using high-speed mixer until fluffy. Add toasted flour and baking soda, beat again until mixed well.
4. Take 1 tablespoon of dough, round with a diameter of 1 cm. Place on a baking sheet flat which is covered with baking paper and spread with margarine evenly. Sprinkle cheese on its surface.
5. Bake in hot oven temperature of 130C for 20 minutes until cooked, remove from heat. Chill.
Store in a tightly closed jar.

Soto Ayam Lamongan

Soto Ayam, the traditional chicken soup is one of our ultimate cold weather favorites. As a one dish meal, all the 'cook' ingredients are served in one bowl. It's delicious fragnant chicken soup.

Actually, this type of traditional chicken soup is popular in almost every parts of this country. This time I cooked the one from Lamongan, East Java. The ingredients, the flavor, and also the cordiments are not too different with other Soto Ayam from other places.

Honestly, it's easy to prepare this dish, but we have to manage our time to prepare and cook the 'small things' that will be served together in the bowl. Some parts can be done in advance.

I cooked this food for our dinner, but I prepared the potato cake in the late afternoon and fried it later on. I also prepared the spices paste in advance. No rush when all the family members already sitting on the dining table.

So, if you want to prepare the Soto from the scratch, I'd suggest you to manage your energy and time to get the best result.

Check here for Potato Cake/Perkedel Recipe.




Soto Ayam Lamongan
source : Primarasa Femina, Soto Nusantara
Bahan / Ingredients :
1/2 ekor ayam / 1/2 chicken
2.5 liter air, untuk merebus / 2.5 litre water
1 cm lengkuas, memarkan / 1 cm galangal, crushed
1 butir cengkeh / 1 clove
1 batang serai, memarkan / 1 lemongrass, crushed
1 sdt garam / 1 tsp salt
2 sdm minyak goreng, untuk menumis / 2 tbsp oil for saute/stir fry
minyak untuk menggoreng / cooking oil

Bahan Halus / Ground spices
6 butir bawang merah / 6 shallots
2 siung bawang putih / 2 garlic
2 cm kunyit / 2 cm tumeric
2 cm jahe / 2 cm ginger
1/2 sdt merica / 1/2 tsp white pepper
2 sdt ketumbar / 2 tsp coriander
4 butir kemiri / 4 candlenuts
2 sdt garam / 2 tsp salt

Pelengkap / Cordiments
150 gr tauge / 150 gr bean sprouts
50 gr suun, seduh air panas, tiriskan / 50 gr vermicelli/glass noodle, pour with hot water, drain
50 gr kol / 50 gr cabbage
2 batang seledri / 2 celery
3 butir telur / 3 eggs
1 sdm bawang putih goreng / 1 tbsp fried garlic
sambal cabai rawit / chili sauce
jeruk nipis / lime
kecap manis / sweet soy sauce

1. Rebus ayam bersama lengkuas, cengkeh, serai, dan garam. Setelah kaldu mendidih dan ayam lunak, keluarkan ayam dari panci. Jerang kembali kaldu di atas api
2. Panaskan minyak goreng, tumis bumbu halus hingga harum, masukkan ke dalam panci kaldu. Masak terus hingga bau langu bumbu hilang dan kuah tinggal +/- 1.2 L, angkat. Bila kurang, tambahkan air mendidih.
3. Goreng ayam hingga kuning, angkat, tiriskan. Pisahkan daging ayam dari tulangnya, kemudian suwir-suwir.
4. Seduh touge dan suun dengan air panas secara terpisah, tiriskan. Iris kol dan seledri tipis-tipis. Rebus telur hingga masak, angkat, kupas, masing-masing belah menjadi 2 atau 4.
5. Penyajian; Siapkan mangkuk saji, taruh berturut-turut ayam suwir, tauge, suun, dan kol. Siram dengan kuah panas. Taburi seledri dan bawang putih goreng, taruh sepotong telur rebus. Hidangkan panas dengan plengkap sambal, air jeruk nipis, dan kecap manis.

Method (in English)
1. Boil the chicken with ginger, clove, lemongrass, and salt. After the stock is boiled and the chicken is tender, remove chicken from the pan. Heat back the stock.
2. Heat the oil, saute ground spices until fragrant, add into the stock. Continue to cook until it smells good and the soup is about 1.2 L left, then remove from heat. If not enough, add boiling water.
3. Fry the chicken until it gets golden, remove and drain it. Remove the bone from the chicken and shred the meat.
4. Pour the bean sprout and the vermicelli/glass noodle with hot water separately, drain. Slice the cabbage and celery thinly. Boil the eggs until cooked, peel, slice into 2 or 4.
5. Serving: Prepare a serving bowl, put the shredded chicken , bean sprouts, vermicelli/glass noodle, and cabbage. Add the hot soup. Sprinkle fried garlic and chopped celery, put a piece of boiled egg. Serve hot with chilli sauce, lime juice, and soy sauce.

Strawberry Pudding with Chocolate 'Heart' Cookies for Valentine's Day

I just woke up yesterday morning, when...surprised !!! my daughter and husband showered me with Valentine's Day cards and lots of kisses. ohooo, I felt like it was a mother's day! Am I a queen of the day? uuups...I didn't prepare any cards for them. Silly me!
*Hhhm... my son was still under the blanket on his bed.



Wow, I felt like flying in the sky... love was blowing in the air. The surprises didn't stop; later on, I received a bunch of white roses, sent by my husband. I try to remember that since years ago, he almost never fail to send me flowers on a Valentine's day, before and after we got married, no matter where we were living at that time.

I feel so blessed, so lucky.



And again, without any special preparation like last year, I tried to browse a special dessert recipe for our dinner. I wanted to make something special for my family. I was looking for something chocolaty, and pinky, and sweet. Luckily, I got lot of fresh strawberries in the traditional market nearby our home and had stock of cooking chocolate in the kitchen cupboard.
So, I decided to make Strawberry Pudding, and served it with chocolate 'heart shape' cookies.

Everything went smooth. Making the pudding, from fresh strawberries, without preservative or artificial flavor, including preparing the strawberry sauce. It was a bit tricky because we had to work fast, otherwise the pudding would set faster than our movement.

Baking the chocolate cookies was so fun. I used some different size of heart shape cookie cutters, and put some heart sprinkle. This was my first time trying this Martha Stewart Recipe that I just got after browsing her website that morning. It is a kind recipe; easy and the result was excellent! Very chocolaty, and I like to call it 'brownie rolled cookie'. The flavor is like brownies; delicious, with very deep of chocolate flavor.



Not only the baking and cooking... during the photo session in the late afternoon, I couldn't stop laughing. I enjoyed the moment while styling and clicking my camera and at the same time I listened my children told me some funny (and naughty) stories; about their school, their teachers and friends. Imagine, I did the photo session while helping my daughter doing her math story homework. It's only one 'a bit difficult' question, but I'm glad to say that 'I'm smarter than a 6th grader'.
*Patricia, you can laugh as loud as you want when you read this posting!*
Outside of the windows, our gardener who was working in our backyard looked confused when he realized that the "photo star" was FOOD. ha..ha..

So, that's the story of our Valentine's day this year.
It's fun, full of laugh, full of love, beautiful memory, and delicious food.
I can't think there is any excuses not to celebrate this lovely day!

Happy Valentine's Day to All of You.

Puding Stroberi / Strawberry Pudding
source : Primarasa Femina, Kreasi Puding

Bahan / Ingredients:
150 gr buah stroberi / 150 gr fresh strawberries
2 sdm air / 2 tbsp water
850 ml susu cair / 850 ml milk
125 gr gula pasir / 125 gr sugar
2 bungkus (7gr) agar-agar putih / 2 sacher (@7gr) agar-agar powder
2 kuning telur, kocok lepas / 2 eggs yolk, slighly beaten
250 ml krim kental / 250 ml heavy cream
2 tetes pewarna makanan merah jambu / 2 drop food coloring (red)

Saus Stroberi / Strawberry Sauce
250 gr buah stroberi / 250 gr fresh strawberry
50 ml air matang / 50 ml water
50 gr gula pasir / 50 gr sugar

1. Siapkan beberapa cetakan (sesuai keinginan) perciki dengan air matang. Masukkan stroberi dan air dalam blender, proses hingga halus, sisihkan.
2. Masukkan susu, gula, dan agar-agar dalam panci, aduk hingga agar-agar larut. Jerangkan di atas api, aduk hingga mendidih dan gula larut. Ambil +/- 2 sdm adonan agar-agar ke dalam kuning telur kocok, aduk rata. Tuang kembali ke dalam panci agar-agar, aduk cepat hingga rata, angkat. Aduk terus hingga uapnya hilang.
3. Masukkan krim kental ke dalam adonan sambil di aduk hingga rata. Masukkan jus stroberi dan pewarna merah, aduk.
4. Tuang adonan ke dalam cetakan yang sudah disiapkan, biarkan hingga dingin. masukkan ke dalam lemari es hingga mengeras.
5. Saus stroberi : Masukkan stroberi dalam blender bersama air dan gula pasir, proses hingga halus, keluarkan dari blender.
6. Sajikan puding bersama saus stroberi.



Direction :
1. Prepare a mold (as desired) drizzle with boiled water. Put the strawberries and water in a blender, process until smooth, set aside.
2. Put the milk, sugar and agar-agar (jelly) powder in a saucepan, stir until agar-agar dissolves. Heat on fire, stir until boiling and sugar dissolves. Take +/- 2 tablespoons agar-agar mixture into the beaten egg yolks and stir well. Pour back into the pan of agar-agar, stir until blended, remove from heat. Stir continuously until the steam disappear.
3. Put the heavy cream into the mixture, stir until blended. Put the strawberry juice and red coloring, stirring.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared mold, leave it to cool down. Put it in the refrigerator until gets hardened.
5. Strawberry sauce: Put the the strawberries in a blender with water and sugar, process until smooth, remove from the blender.
6. Serve the pudding with strawberry sauce.

Chocolate Sweet Hearts
Source : Martha Stewart Website
These crisp, delicate cookies have less than 50 calories each. Swap in different cookie cutters for other occasions; adjust the baking time accordingly.
Prep Time 25 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes plus cooling
Makes 42

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg

Directions
1. In a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water, place chocolate, butter, and brown sugar; stir frequently until almost completely melted. Remove from heat, and stir until completely melted; let cool slightly.
2. Add egg to chocolate mixture. With a mixer on low, beat until well blended. Gradually stir in flour mixture (dough will form a ball).
3. Divide dough in half; roll out each half on a sheet of parchment paper to a 1/4-inch thickness. Transfer each half (still on paper) to a baking sheet; freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Working with one half at a time, flip dough onto a work surface; peel off paper. Using a 2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out cookies; place, 1/2 inch apart, on two baking sheets. Bake until firm and fragrant, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool.

Cook's Note
To roll out the dough without using flour (which would mar its color), cover your work surface with parchment paper. Once the dough is frozen, you can peel off the paper and cut the cookies directly on the work surface.

Dadar Gulung / Pancake Rolls with Coconut Filling

A couple of years ago, I read an article regarding pancake from around the globe in Martha Stewart Living Magazine. The article opened my eyes about the richness of the world of pancake. Some of them were familiar to my tongue, but I never imagined before those were the family of pancake. Some of them, were really new for me.

I remembered when we lived in Malaysia, back in 2002-2005, we enjoyed the famous Roti Canai every week and also we were introduced to an Indian-Malay crisp pancake called 'Roti Topi'. Years later, when we lived in Mumbai, I liked to try many types of Dosa; a thin pancake with crisp exterior and slightly spongy interior. They are the member of Pancake Family. Hhhhm... so other than 'American Pancake' that I regularly make for my family breakfast, I recognize some other pancake that come from other cultures.

I believe that pancake are familiar culinary in many cultures. Some of them prepare their pancake as breakfast, some of them enjoy it for snack or some savoury pancake are for dinner. Nevertheless the concept of making pancake are the same; making basic batter, cook perfectly and give flavor.

This time I made one of our traditional snacks that is a family member of pancake. For me, I always call it 'Dadar Gulung' (~pancake rolls) but some people call it 'Dadar Enten'. This popular snack is very easy to be recognized from the color of it, which is green. The green color comes from the Suji leaves.

Grated coconut that is cooked together with 'Gula Jawa' (our traditional brown sugar) are the common filling for this snack and we call it 'Unti Kelapa'. For my Dadar Gulung, I gave a special flavor; i.e. chopped Jack Fruit meat. Jack Fruit is very easy to be found in market since last month. Yeah, I got a very special flavor of Dadar Gulung.

Dadar Gulung
Source : Masakan dan Kue Indonesia by Hiang Murahimin & Roos Suyono [femina]

Bahan / Ingredients :
250 gr tepung terigu / 250 gr all purpose flour
1/4 sdt garam / 1/4 tsp salt
2 butir telur / 2 eggs
600 ml santan dari 1/2 butir kelapa / 600 ml coconut milk from 1/2 coconut
50 ml air daun suji / 50 ml suji water
Margarin untuk olesan / margarine for brushing

Isi / Filling:
3/4 butir kelapa yang agak muda, parut memanjang / fresh greated coconut (from 3/4 coconut)
200 gr gula merah, sisir / 200 gr brown sugar, finely chopped
25 gr gula pasir / 25 gr sugar
2 lembar daun pandan, potong-potong / 2 pandan leaves, cut
200 ml air / 200 ml water
1/4 sdt garam / 1/4 tsp salt

Cara Membuat
Campurkan tepung dan garam dalam mangkuk, aduk rata. Buat lubang di tengahnya, pecahkan telur di dalamnya. Aduk sambil tuangi santan sedikit demi sedikit sampai adonan licin. Terakhir masukkan air daun suji dan aduk sampai tercampur betul.

Panaskan wajan datar anti lengket, olesi dengan margarin. Tuang 1 sendok sayur (50 ml) adonan ke dalamnya, dan putar wajan cepat-cepat untuk membuat dadar tipis. Sesudah dadar matang, balikkan dan masak sisi lainnya sebentar, angkat. Taruh dadar bertumpuk di atas piring, dengan memberi sepotong kecil daun pisang atau potongan kertas roti di antara setioa dadar agar tidak saling lengket.

Isi : Campurkan kelapa parut, gula merah, gula pasir, daun pandan, air dan garam, kemudian masak sampai mengering sambil diaduk-aduk, angkat. (Saya menambahkan potongan nangka beberapa saat sebelum diangkat)

Ambil selembar dadar, taruh 1 sendok makan adonan isi ditengahnya. Kemudian lipat ke tiga sisi dadar ke dalam lalu gulung. Hidangkan.

Method :
Combine flour and salt in a bowl and stir well. Make a crater in the middle, break the eggs in it. While stirring, pour the coconut milk little by little until the dough is smooth. At the end, pour the water of suji leaves and stir until it is mixed well.

Heat a nonstick griddle, spread with margarine. Pour 1 serving spoon (50 mL) of batter onto it, and quickly rotate the pan to make a thin pancake. After the pancake is cooked, flip it and cook other side for a while, then remove from heat. Place pancake on a plate, stack them up by giving a small piece of banana leaf or a piece of baking paper between each pancake to prevent sticking together.

Filling: Mix grated coconut, brown sugar, granulated sugar, pandan leaves, water and salt, then cook until dry, stirring well, remove from heat. (I add some jack fruit meat, just before remove the mixture)

Take a piece of pancake, put 1 tablespoon of filling in the middle of pancake. Then fold the pancake into the three sides and then roll. Serve.

To make Suji Water :
Gather about 15 suji leaves, pound until fine and add 50 ml water. Add 1 tsp of betel lime water. Squeeze, sieve and mix immediately into the dough or with other ingredients.
(source: The Best of Indonesian Dessert by Yasa Boga)

Just a little tip; if you have no enough time to make all the preparation of this food in one day, you can prepare the filling a day before and keep it on the fridge. That's what I did.

Have a Good Monday Night.