Chocolate Cake with Ganache and Cranberry

I love Chocolate.. ! Chocolate Drinks, Chocolate Praline, Chocolate Cakes, and I have tried Chicken that cooked with Chocolate from my Mexican friend.. I just love them ! :)

I had found a good chocolate cake recipee and willing to share with all of you. This original recipee is from Ina Garten. I am fans of her ! :)
For this time, I have a little bit modification for her recipee, I decrease the amount of sugar, change the frosting style and add a cranberry..

They are so light, moist, delicious, and easy to make too.. Enjoy this chocolate cake with your loves one.., and you will have the bad effect from chocolate : make you feel happy !!
Enjoy.. :)


Ingredients Cakes :

• Butter and flour, for greasing the pans
• 1 3/4 cups all purposed flour
  
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups good cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
• 1 cup Cranberry ( fresh or dry )

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter two 8-inch x 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Put the shifted flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and salt into the bowl, and mix on low speed with electric mixer until combined.

In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry.

With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal.

With a knife or offset spatula, pour the chocolate ganache on it.

Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and pour chocolate ganache evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

Dusting with Fine Icing Sugar or Sprinkle with Cranberry on top .

*Chocolate Ganache :

Combine 1/4 cup (60 ml/2 fl oz) cream and 150 g (5 oz) dark chocolate in a small saucepan.

Stir over low heat until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Pour the ganache on to the cake, then smooth the top and around the side with a flat-bladed knife.

Yam Kolak (Indonesian Dessert Yam in Coconut Milk)

Last weekend I visited Bogor, a city near Jakarta to enjoy the culinary from this city. Bogor is also famous of Talas (white Yam). I bought 3 medium size of this Yam, and today I have chance to make this Yam into Kolak.
Kolak is an Indonesian dessert made with coconut milk, palm sugar with pandanus leaf for flavour. In some versions is always use banana or plantain and sweet potato or cassava, pumpkin and sometimes added with jackfruit. In Indonesia Kolak is popular during the Ramadhan.
I like the texture of Yam, a combination of sticky and chewy. So today I made this Yam into Kolak to everyone in my home to enjoy..

Ingredients :

3 medium size White Yam ( Peel the rough skin until you can see the white meat of Yam and Rinse Yam with water and 1 Tbs of Salt ) - Cut Yam into small bite ( Soak into Water and 1 Tbs Salt) - Drain the Water.
1000 ml      Water
400  ml       Coconut Milk
8     Pcs      Pandanus Leaf
400  gram    Palm Sugar or Brown Sugar
1     Tbs      Salt

Directions :
* Bring water to boil
* Put the Pandanus Leaf and Yam, and bring to boil or until Yam is half cooked (become tender)
* Add the Coconut Milk and Palm Sugar.
* Bring to boil.
* Turn Off the heat. -- Take out the Pandanus Leaf.
* Enjoy the Yam Dessert. 
 

It is served either hot (especially if fresh cooked) or cold. Enjoy.. :)

Three Layer Chocolate Rum Pudding

If you asked what my favorite dessert, Pudding must be in one of the list. Especially Chocolate Pudding !

Last Christmas, when we gathered with friends and families to have Christmas dinner, I had no extra time to made any dessert. But a feast without dessert for me is like you enjoy the good movie without see the ending.. So, I made this dessert in the middle I am doing something. It is easy, simple and you still can do any job that you need to finish ! :-)

Ingredients

(A)
Agar Agar Powder - ready to use 1 sachet
your favorite chocolate milk 900 cc

(B)
Agar Agar Powder - ready to use 1 sachet
your favorite plain milk 900 cc
Belgian Rum 2 tbs

(C)
Agar Agar powder - ready to use 1 sachet
your favorite chocolate milk 900 cc

*Agar Agar powder is made from seaweed is easily find in any grocery store.

Directions

1. In a saucepan, stir together 1 sachet of Agar Agar powder and chocolate milk - (ingredients A) . Place over medium heat and slowly stir. Bring to a boil.
2. Remove from heat and pour the chocolate liquid into the serving bowl or dishes.
3. Wait until cool enough.
4. Continue with ingredients ( B ) with same directions. This time you pour the white liquid over the chocolate liquid that you already made.
5. Finish with the ingredients (C) with same directions above.
6. Let cool briefly and chill in refrigerator until serving.

Thai Dessert - Sweet Cassava

Every time I visit Thai restaurant, I will get into myself with hot and spicy food. But I do not need to worry that I can burning my stomach or tongue, because I will balance the feeling with famous Thai Dessert - Sweet Cassava ! It is a smart way that people from Thai can climax the deliciousness of their spicy food with nice and sweet dessert like this.
Cassava is also called Yuca or Manioc. In my country, we have a lot of this. I found in State, we can easy find Cassava at your local grocery store. Sometimes you can find the frozen one that ready to cook, so you don't need to peel and clean the dirt skin.
I like this dessert if they are not very sweet. It is easy to make this dessert for whatever occasion and always suit with whatever meal that you prepare..

Ingredients

1 Kg Cassava - Peel the skin, clean and cut in to same size
500 ml Water
250 gram Sugar

500 ml Coconut milk
1 tsp salt
1 Tsp Rice Flour
1/2 Tsp Tapioca Flour

1 Tsp Sesame

Directions :

- Boil the water in the pot.
- Put Cassava inside the boiling water and cook with high medium heat.
- When Cassava is cook, bring the heat into medium, and put the sugar into the pot.
- Stir slowly and bring the water until thick. Turn off the heat.
* Set Sweet Cassava into a serving plate.

- Put into the sauce pan coconut milk, salt, rice and tapioca flour and cook with medium heat.
- Keep stirring until the coconut milk thicken and start to boil.
- When starting to boil, keep stirring just for second and turn off the heat.
* Set the Coconut milk on the top of Sweet Cassava.

- Put the sesame into frying pan.
- With low heat, stirring the sesame just until the color change into golden brown.
* Sprinkle the Sesame on the top of Sweet Cassava.

Fruits and Jelly with Honey Lemon Sauce

Fruits is a must in our everyday diet. I prepared this Fruits and Jelly with Honey Lemon Sauce for welcoming my husband that come back from out of town today. He definitely need a buzz of vitamins and healthy food after always eat outside from 1 week in his business trip.
The preparation is very simple, but what you get is a very fresh and yummy dessert. You just need make the jelly or jello. Read the instruction on the sachet or box. I substitute the water with lime soda when I make the jelly so the taste come out very refreshing. After that, wash and cut all the fruits in the same size. Put in the serving bowl. For the dressing you just need to mix 1 Tbs of lime / lemon Juice with 3 Tbs Honey. Mix with the fruits. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
The freshness of the fruits with the unique sweetness from honey mix with the acid taste come from lemon, combine together and come out with the fresh feeling in your mouth.

You can prepare this for your cocktail or whatever party that you throw with your family and friends. It is another way to enjoy your fruits...

Flan - Creme Caramel

Halloween is coming ! I remembered two years ago, we gathered together with my Spanish speaking friends in one of my friend's home. The house is beautiful, we can see the deer from the kitchen window. We rented video, enjoyed pizza, chips and also had a good wine.

We also braved our self to walk at the cemetery near the area. Yes, we walked to the gate, all the girls walked inside, but all the guys just saw us behind the gate. What a memory !

Now, I am back to my country. I want to remember all the good memories that I had with my Spanish speaking friends with make this dessert. I have tried this famous Spanish Dessert with them in our class when we had our International day. For all of my friends from Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Ecuador, I really had a good time with you girls ! Good Friendship is never last.

Ingredients :

1 cup Sugar

1 Tbs Water

3 fresh Eggs

1 can Sweetened condensed milk

1 can Evaporated milk

1 tbs Vanilla

1 tbs Good quality Rum or your favourite spirit / liqueur

1 Tbs Butter - melted

Directions :

- Preheat oven to moderate 350 F (175 C).

- Brush 8 half-cup capacity ovenproof ramekins with melted butter.

- Place sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt sugar until liquefied and golden in color. Carefully and quickly pour a little hot mixture into each prepared dish.

- Turning the dish to evenly coat to cover base. Set aside.

- In a large bowl, beat eggs. Beat together in condensed milk, evaporated milk, vanilla and rum.

- Pour into ramekins.

- Place filled ramekins in a baking dish. Pour the baking dish in hot water to come halfway up sides. Cover with alumunium foil.

- Bake for 30 minutes until custard is set and knife comes out clean when inserted.

- Allow to cool.

- Refrigerate for at least 6 hours.

- To unmould, run a knife around the edge of each custard and gently upturn onto serving plate.Shake gently to remove.

Biji Salak & Bubur SumSum (Sweet Potato Ball in Palm Sugar and Rice Flour Pudding)

These desserts are made from sweet potato, palm sugar (brown sugar) and coconut milk. These are very popular in Indonesia. Many people in Indonesia eat these desserts as their breakfast. For me and family, we like to enjoy this sweet things in afternoon time.

You can eat the rice flour pudding just with the palm/brown sugar syrup or you can add with the sweet potato ball.
For the Sweet potato ball you also can simply add coconut milk and it is also come delicious with the rice pudding flour. It is just up to you !

These desserts are very easy to make, but actually in my home town city - Jakarta, you can get this popular desserts from the street vendor, but it is always good the home made one !

Making this brings my childhood memories. In my primary school I used to make this dessert for our cooking competition, and our group was won ! I will share these recipe and hope you all will attempt to make this very easy desserts for yourself, friends and family.. Enjoy!!

Ingredients :

Biji Salak (Sweet Potato Ball)
500 gram sweet potatoes
1/2 cup tapioca flour

Palm/Brown Sugar Syrup :
500 gram Palm sugar or brown sugar
200 gram Sugar
800 ml water
1 teaspoon salt
3 pandan (screwpine) leaf *additional


Directions :
1. Clean and peel the skin of the sweet potatoes.
2. Steamed sweet potatoes until done. Remove from heat and mashed.
2. Take mashed sweet potatoes in mixing bowl, mix with tapioca flour, knead until smooth.
Form the dough into small balls, about 1 cm in diameter, set aside.
3. Bring water to a boil, and drop in the sweet potato balls, cook until they float. Drain and set aside.

Syrup
Directions :
- Put the water, brown sugar, sugar, salt and pandan leaf in a stockpot and bring to boil.
- Strain and put back into stock pot.
- Put all the sweet potato balls that already cooked into this syrup.

* You can enjoy this sweet potato ball just with coconut milk or with Bubur Sumsum (Rice Flour Pudding)


Bubur Sumsum (Rice Flour Pudding)
Ingredients :

100 gram rice flour
600 ml coconut milk
1 teaspoon salt

Directions :

- Mix rice flour with 300 ml coconut milk . Set aside.
- Put into saucepan the rest of coconut milk (300 ml) and salt. Stirring on low medium heat and bring to boil.
- Add the rice flour liquid slowly into it and keep stirring until the rice flour thicken.
- Set aside when done.


**To Serve :
1. Scoop 2 or 3 tablespoon of Bubur Sumsum (the rice flour pudding) into serving bowl.
2. Pour the Biji Salak (Sweet Potato Ball in Palm Sugar) into the bowl.
3. Serve warm or at room temperatur.

Banana Cake

After I post my Tape Cake recipe, lot of my friends are interesting to try to make it. Unfortunately, not every place have Tape in their area. I found out Tape origin is from Sundanese people, West Java. They have Sundanese language for it, that is peuyeum.

I feel bad for my friends that can not try the deliciousness of the cake. But, don't worry. Today I decided to post how to make that cake, instead use Tape, we use Banana. You can find banana in everywhere and banana is always in season.. I guarantee the cake is as good as Bolu Tape..

So, my dear friends, put your apron on you.., and turn on the oven! ;-D

Banana Cake

Ingredients :
250 gram Ripe Banana ( mashed)
250 gram Butter (melted)
200 gram All-Purpose Flour (shifted)
3 Tbs Condensed Milk
12 Pcs Eggs ( Use only : 8 white eggs and 12 eggs yolk)
250 gram Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla

Directions:
- Preheat Oven at 350 F (170C).
- Beat eggs and sugar use electric beater (mixer) in high speed.
- Add mashed banana, condensed milk and vanilla, still use mixer in high speed.
- When all mixture are well combined, stop the mixer.
- Fold with flour slowly.
- Pour very slowly the melted butter into batter and mix well.
- Bake in greased and floured pan at 350 F (170 C) for 40 - 45 minutes or until skewer come out clean.
- It is good when serve warm.

* Tip : you can bake with your favorite cup cakes paper, so you don't need to cut the cake.
Cup cakes paper now has a lot of variety in store. You can find them with lot of models and colors. Bake with cup cakes paper need only around 20 minutes, test with toothpick.

Bolu Tape / Tape Cake

Since this cake is our family favorite dessert, I made this cake for us to enjoy today. Tape is made from fermented Cassava or Yuca (When I lived in Pennsylvania, they know it as Yuca). Probably, Tape only can find in Indonesia. It is a sweet or sour alcoholic and can be used directly as a food or in traditional recipes.
The texture is soft and moist. Tape also has a special smell come from the yeasts that call "Ragi".
When you make Tape into cake, it's come delicious. That's why lot of people like it.
Since this is Indonesian traditional cake, we use a lot of eggs, typical Indonesian when they make a cake. Don't count your calorie when you enjoy this cake, don't worry about that!
Bolu Tape is just delicious !

Bolu Tape ( Tape Cake)

Ingredients :
150 gram Tape ( mashed)
250 gram Butter (melted)
200 gram All-Purpose Flour (shifted)
3 Tbs Condensed Milk
12 Pcs Eggs ( Use only : 8 white eggs and 12 eggs yolk)
250 gram Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla

Directions:
- Preheat Oven at 350 F (170C).
- Beat eggs and sugar use electric beater (mixer) in high speed.
- Add condensed milk, vanilla and tape, still use mixer in high speed.
- When all mixture are well combined, stop the mixer.
- Fold with flour slowly.
- Pour very slowly the melted butter into batter and mix well.
- Bake in greased and floured pan at 350 F (170 C) for 40 - 45 minutes or until skewer come out clean.
- It is really good when serve warm.
- Finish cake in 1 day or refrigerate left over.

Traditional Apple Pie

It has been a long time, we not eat Pie. We always can find pie easily when we lived in States. Lot of American can describe themselves as a pie people or a cake people since cake and pie are competitive. I love both !

Today is a special day, my lovely husband is birthday. I already made an Indonesian cake for him, but when my brother came to visit, we talked about our old memories, our favorite pie. Just like that, he encouraged me to make a pie. He said it's been a long time he has not eaten pie.

We have apples in our fridge, so why I am not make another dessert for this special day and also for my only brother.

It was a challenge for me to start, since I need to make the pie crust from scratch. We can not buy ready pie crust here in Indonesia. Imagine the warm apple pie with flaky crust is just make me quick to start.

Two hours later, we already enjoy Traditional Apple Pie that I made. I and my brother had 2 slices. As we enjoyed our pie, all of good memories in United States come to our mind. Even my mum said, enjoy this apple pie is really remind her when she traveled to USA.

I just smile and feel very happy with I made for people that I love...
American Apple Pie, you have a special place in our hearts...


Crust Pie
* recipee from my friend : Erin Markel, PA

Ingredients :
* 1 1/3 cup All-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup Vegetable shortening ( I used Crisco)
* 1/2 tsp Salt
* 3 Tsp Ice water

Directions :
- Mix flour and salt in mixing bowl
- Cut shortening into the flour with a pastry cutter or fork until mixture resembles texture of tiny split peas. ( do not mix with hands, this melts the shortening & make the dough heavier)
- Add ice water and combine with fork.
- Gather into a ball and flatten in four inch wide disk
- Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
- Remove from fridge and let stand until cool but malleable.
- Using floured rolling pin, roll disk into 12 inch circle on floured surface.
- When the dough is thin but still thick enough to hold together, pick it up and move it into the pie pan.
- Run a knife along the edge of the pie pan to cut off extra crust.
- Make for 9 inch crust.


Traditional Apple Pie

Ingredients :
* 1 recipe For a 9 inch crust pie
* 1/2 cup Unsalted butter
* 3 Tbs All-purpose flour
* 1/2 tsp Lime Juice
* 1/4 cup Water
* 1/2 cup White sugar
* 1/2 cup Packed brown sugar
* 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
* 5 - 6 Apples Peeled, cored and sliced
* 1/2 Tbs Cinnamon

Directions :
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, lemon juice, nutmeg, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
- Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly.
- Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the apples. Pour slowly.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon.
- Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven.
- Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.
- Serve warm