Easy Butter Cake Recipe 

An easy butter cake recipe is good to have not only for the no-fuss, easy way to make it but for the versality of this recipe. It can be adapted to make cupcakes or just add lemon or orange zest and you will have an amazingly fluffy and buttery cake for tea.

On any given day, you will more often than not have these basic ingredients in the pantry, for those not wanting to use sugar, replace the 1 cup of sugar with 3/4 cup natvia or any sugar substitute of your choice (natvia is the best tasting and its 100% natural non aspartame product)


Ingredients:

2 eggs
125 butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
2 cups self raising flour
*2/3 (150 ml)cups milk
1tsp vanilla

Method:

Preheat oven to 170-180 C
Grease and line base of a 9 in (20cm) pan with greaseproof paper
Combine all in a bowl of your electric mixer
Mix on low until all ingredients are blended well and then on high for 3 minutes
Bake for 35-40 minutes

*Note: when mixing for an orange cake, replace 1/3 cup milk with juice from an orange and fold in orange zest just before pouring mix in the pan.

You can vary this cake with lemon zest/juice and ice with icing of your choice. Also can be used for cupcake recipes, for medium cupcakes (12 cup tin) bake at 200C for 15 mins.

No Egg Easy Chocolate Cake

My quest for an easy chocolate cake may be over when I stumbled on this no egg, no butter recipe! Alhamdulillah! The recipe is easy and the result did not disappoint, the cake is moist. I did reduce the sugar from 2 cups to 1.5 cups only because I dont like overly sweet desserts and I was planning on adding bananas on my slice, so that will lend the required amount of sweetnes. And best of all there is no need to use the electric mixer, just a bit of elbow grease will do the trick :)

I am happy to share this with those who may have allergies to eggs or dairy. This recipe calls for vegetable oil but I ended using my favourite; coconut oil. You may experiment with oilve oil too, that should work as I have baked with oilve oil and it does not influence the taste at all. 

Apparently the coffee granules enhances the chocolate flavour and no, the coffee taste is not recflected in the final product, not that it would be a bad thing in my book.

Chocolate Cake
Adapted from Cuisine at Home

3 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 cups sugar or 2 cups if you like it sweet
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon table salt
2 cups hot water
3/4 cup coconut oil or ant vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
1 Tablespoon instant coffee granules
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350^o F with rack in the center.  Spray two 8" round cake pans with nonstick spray.  MIx dry ingredients (except the coffee) together in a mixing bowl, sifting everything to remove lumps.

Combine water, oil, vinegar, instant coffee and vanilla in a large measuring cup.  Add to the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined - a few lumps are okay.  Divide batter among pans (3 cups in each), then bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes.

Remove and leave to cool on a cooling rack for 20 minutes while you work on the ganache.

You will need:

4 oz semi sweet chocolate (by weight)

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Warm the cream in a saucepan and while thats heating, add the choc chips in a glass bowl. When the cream is heated through add to the bowl and mix until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Allow to thicken and cool. (Note: you can whip this mixture and use for a filling or frosting) . You dont need to add bananas or any fruit when you assemble the cake, but if you did, make sure you slice your bananas about the same size.

Spread the ganache on top of the first layer and top the second cake on. Top with more ganache and let run on the sides. Allow to set in the fridge for 30 minutes. If your ganache is too runny, you can add a tbs of icing sugar at a time until the texture is more manageable.

Chocolate Coconut Dates

Chocolate Coconut Dates

In our quest to free ourselves from sugar dependency, we try to substitute our sugar laden lives with healthier alternatives. I love this particular one because these bites are quick and easy to make. It only took me 10 minutes to prepare.

It's main ingredients are dates, nuts and coconut flakes. Not only it is healthy, but they are tasty and a hit with the kids.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dates (you can pre-soak in water to soften then drain)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1/4 cup almonds or macadamia nuts
• 2 tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. coconut oil
• dash sea salt

Directions:

1. In a food processor add all of your ingredients.
2. Pulse your ingredients until well blended. About 2-3 minutes. They will be a bit chunky still.
3. Roll your mixture into balls.
4. Lastly dust with coconut flakes
5. Refrigerate to store.

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Pandan Cake

Pandan (Screwpine Leaves) Cake

It has been called the Asian Vanilla, the green leaves of the screwpine emits a sweet flavour, mostly used in Asian desserts or even some savoury dishes. It grows in a low bush in tropical and subtropical weather ( here's more on pandan  on wikipedia).

Most households in Malaysia will have a pandan bush as it grows almost unassisted without much fuss.

The Malays use them to flavour their Nasi Lemak, Sweets and the perennial favourite the KEK Pandan or Pandan Cake.

In case you do not have access to pandan leaves you may used pandan flavouring.

Ingredients

250 gms butter (softened to room temp)

150 gms castor sugar

4 eggs

60 ml coconut cream with a pinch of salt

10-15 pandan leaves blended with 1/2 cup water (strained and discard pulp)

2-3 drops green coloring

30g coconut flakes

240 gm self raising flour

1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Oil/butter then place baking paper on a 9 inch baking pan. Pre heat oven to 

170 C.

Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs one by one and mix well each 

time. Add vanilla essence, coconut flakes and green colouring.

Add pandan juice to the coconut cream. 

Fold in flour and the coconut cream alternately mixing well each time.  Pour 

into pan and bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in the centre comes 

out clean.

Dust with icing sugar for decoration.