Chocolate Mint cake - adaption -

this is a recipe originated from kak Ummi's kitchen. My children loves this cake much to my suprise i thought kids hate minty flavor but i suppose the combo of mint and chocolate is a palate pleaser.

My verdict:-
its a rather moist cake provided that you do not over beat the batter. fairly easy to make, its a no brainer just follow the instruction to the letter. and you'll be OK. ;) Our family loves this cake so its a keeper. I highly recommend you to try - if youre up to something different ;)

MY adaptation to the recipe:
200g flour
2tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
230g butter
180g granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1tsp vanilla essence
21/2tbsp dutch processed coco powder
50ml fresh milk
few drops of green coloring
few drops of peppermint essence/extrat (do not go overly EXCITED with this one or you'll end up having toothpaste flavor cake *L0L*)

preheat oven to 175c. line a 8"x8" cake tin with parchment paper.
sift flour, baking powder and baking soda then mix butter and flour into a paste consistant batter. set aside.
in a different bowl beat eggs with sugar until thick then add in vanilla.
then mix together the flour mixture and the egg mixture. beat until fluffy, the batter will look shiny/glossy at this point.
devide the batter into 2 portions. portin A mix it with coco powder then portion B mix it with peppermint and green coloring - mix well.
then pour the batter alternately onto the center overlapping with each other, this will create the marbeling effect. then tap the pan to let any bubbled out and bake for 45mins or until the cake test done. if the top of the cake browns too fast, cover it with aluminium foil.

NOTE: for the coco powder, its best if you were to dilute it with a table spoon or two of water for easy mixing.

Mini Cheese Shortbread Tart

this is no ordinary tart... its crust is actually made from shortbread cookie recipe which i personally think gives it a rather refreshing taste then the ususal pastry tart crust...although the ingredients is almost the same but its the method of making it makes a lot of difference in taste and texture.
hence i prefer this crust than the later. this just shows how versatile shortbread can be...

if i'm not mistaken, shortbread was scottish in origin and was served exclusively during chrismas, like us serving lemang or ketupat palas for Eid celebration. but nowadays it seems that we can have it all year round in different froms such as this cute miniature tart shells enjoyed as tart.

Although making these tart shells was not THAT eazy particularly bacause of its almost super soft dough (does that make any sense?) anyway you need to pat/dust your hands with some flour while handling the dough other wise it'll be difficult because we need to mold the a little dough into a ball then press into a miniature tart/muffin pan then bake them until just delicately browned.

why i love this crust is because you can make it ahead of time and freeze it.

Here's the recipe:

For Crust :-
1c room temperature butter
55g icing sugar
1tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2c flour - and some extra for handling/molding
30g cornstarch

preheat oven at 175c.
cream butter and sugar then add in vanilla mix well then add in flour and cornstarch. mix until just incorporated. then start molding into the tart tins. when done chill it for a while, this will reduce the puffiness when baking. then bake for about 15-20 mins depending on oven, mine actually took approximately 25mins or just make sure it browns lightly than its done.

TIP: halfway during baking time carefully prick the crust with a bamboo stick if it puffed up then check again in 5 minute or so and repeat if needed.

Cheese Fillings:-
230g cream cheese
350g sweetened condensed milk (susu pekat manis)
juice and zest from 1 lemon
1tsp of vanilla essence

Garnish:
variety of berries - mini strawberries or black berries, blueberries, raspberries all make a beautiful and appertising garnishes.

cream all fillings ingredients until nice thick and fluffed but DO NOT OVER BEAT or it will turn runny. then pipe the fillings into the tart shells and garnish it. let chill for a while before serving. of transfer fillings into a piping bag and let it chill until serving time then pipe it into tart shells,garnish and serve.

easy huh?
ok hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do...any question feel free to ask.. ;)

happy baking!