Marbled Sicilian Orange Cake

A classic orange cake marbled with chocolate. You can make it plain without the cocoa batter and drizzle with orange icing if you like.

Marbled Sicilian Orange Cake

Adapted from: Bisous A Toi ,The Kitchen Guardian & Nasi Lemak Lover

Ingredients:

250g butter, soft

250g caster sugar *I reduced to 220g

4 medium eggs

250g self-raising flour (or you can use 250g all purpose flour & add 1 tsp baking powder)

1 1/2 tsp finely grated orange zest (or zest from two oranges)

85ml orange juice *I used 100ml

1/2 tbsp 'Sunquick' orange fruit drink concentrate *I added (optional)

1 tsp vanilla, I added

4 tbsp cocoa powder

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 22cm cake pan. *I preheated at 170C 

2. Using an electrical beater, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 3. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, if necessary adding a spoonful of flour with the last egg to prevent the mixture from curdling. Beat in the orange zest and vanilla. Add the flour all at once and mix well, then slowly mix in the orange juice and concentrate (of using).

4. Spoon out a third of the batter and sift in the cocoa powder. Mix well.

5. Pour the remaining two thirds of the batter into the prepared pan. Dollop the cocoa batter on top and swirl with a skewer. Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50mins or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake, comes out clean. If it starts to brown too quickly, cover loosely with a sheet of lightly greased aluminum foil. 

5. Leave the cake, in the pan, to cool on a wire rack, then unmold and serve. 

Note:
I halved the recipe above and baked this cake in a 9X5 inch loaf pan for about 30 mins.

Brown Butter Strawberry Banana Bread

This bread is a case of having overripe bananas and close to squishy, bruised strawberries in the fridge. Yep, this recipe had me at brown butter. It's seriously delicious and decadently moist. A secret to moist banana bread is not to over mix the batter. Treat the batter the same way you would with muffin's. Stir the wet and dry ingredients just until combined. It is meant to be lumpy! Enough talking. Go bake this now!   

Brown Butter Strawberry Banana Bread
Source:Joy the Baker

Ingredients:
6 ounces (110g) unsalted butter, melted and browned to just over 1/2 cup of butter *I used salted
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt *I used 1/4 tsp
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon *I omit
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup plain yogurt (any fat content) or buttermilk *I used buttermilk
1 1/4 cup mashed banana (from about 3 medium bananas)
1/2 cup diced strawberries plus 1 strawberry very thinly sliced, for topping 

Method:
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F (180C). Grease and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan and set aside. *My oven runs a little high, so I preheated it at 160C.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Butter will begin to foam and crackle as it melts. When the crackling subsides, the butter will begin to brown. Swirl the pan as the butter cooks. When the butter browns and begins to smell nutty, remove the pan from the flame and transfer the butter to a small bowl. Taking the butter out of the hot saucepan will stop the butter from overcooking and burning. Set aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla extract, and yogurt or buttermilk. Whisk in the mashed bananas. When butter has cooled, whisk in the browned butter.
5. Add the wet ingredients, all at once to the dry ingredients. Fold together, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to reveal any hidden pockets of flour. Fold in the diced strawberries. Fold together ingredients, but try not to over stir.
6. Spoon batter into prepared pan and top with thinly sliced strawberries. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. *I baked for 1 hour 
7. Remove from the oven and allow to rest in the pan for 15 minutes, before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. Bread will last 4 days, well wrapped at room temperature. This loaf also freezes well. 

Be careful not to over work the batter ok.

Oatmeal Lemon Creme Bars

To be honest, I am slightly sceptical about trying recipes of bars or pies which use sweetened condensed milk as filling. I'm worried they would turn overly sweet and that would mean the frosting-loathed, not-so-sweet tooth people in the house would not even dare to touch them. If I'm baking these bars all to myself, I wouldn't be as worried. But then again, I knew that the lemon juice would cut the sweetness a bit; so this might not be that sweet after all. And it turned out great! The sweet, creamy filling with a burst of tangy lemon goes perfectly well with awesome oatmeal crust and topping. But the family still find it quite sweet though. If you are a die-hard dessert fan with and extremely sweet tooth like me, these bars are heaven in your mouth! Thanks Sally of Sally's Baking Addiction for sharing this recipe! Good luck with your cookbook venture! Can't wait to have a copy :)   

Oatmeal Lemon Creme Bars
Source: Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients:
For base and crumble topping:
1/2 cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, cold 
1 egg 
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie mix OR you can use Sally's homemade mix (which I used):

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats 
• 1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

For filling:
1 can (14 oz/ 396g) sweetened condensed milk
2 Tbsp grated lemon peel (about 2 large lemons)
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 2 large lemons) *I mixed lemon juice with the juice of half an orange

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C degrees. Spray 8x8 baking pan with nonstick spray. *I lined my pan with aluminium foil
2. In a large bowl, cut butter into cookie mix (if using homemade, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, oats and and brown sugar and cut in the butter) using a fork or electric mixer. Stir in egg until crumbly.
3. Press half of oatmeal cookie dough into bottom of prepared baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
4. While the cookie bottom is baking, stir condensed milk, lemon peel, and lemon juice into a small bowl. Spread lemon mixture over baked crust (while crust is hot). Crumble the remaining oatmeal cookie mixture over top. Bake about 25 minutes longer or until golden brown. *I baked for 30 mins.
5. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before cutting into 16 squares. 
6. Store covered in refrigerator for up to 1 week. Enjoy!

Notes

*I used a bit more than half of the oatmeal cookie dough for the bottom layer of these bars. I'd say about 60% for the bottom layer and 40% used to crumble on top of the lemon creme. *I follow Sally

Oatmeal Lemon Creme Bars

Sumber: Sally's Baking Addiction

Bahan-bahan:
Untuk base and crumble topping:
1/2 cawan (113g) mentega tanpa garam, sejuk dan didadu
1 biji telur
1 paket (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie mix ATAU boleh guna homemade cookie mix (saya guna homemade):

• 1 1/3 cawan tepung gandum
• 1/2 sudu kecil garam (1/4sk kalau guna mentega bergaram)
• 1 sudu kecil baking powder
• 1 cawan rolled oats 
• 1 cawan gula perang lembut

Untuk filling:
1 tin (14 oz/ 396g) susu pekat manis (saya timbang 390g dari tin 500g)
2 sudu besar parutan kulit lemon (daripada 2 biji lemon)
1/4 cawan jus lemon segar (daripada 2 biji lemon) *saya campur jus oren sikit dalam 1/4 cawan tu, lebih kurang setengah biji oren

Cara-cara:
1. Panaskan oven 350F/180C degrees. Griskan loyang segi empat 8x8 dengan mentega. *saya alas dengan aluminium foil
2. Dalam mangkuk yang besar, gaul mentega sejuk dengan cookie mix (kalau guna homemade, campur tepung, garam, baking powder, oats dan gula perang ke dalam bekas, masukkan mentega dan gaul guna jari atau mixer) hingga menjadi tekstur seberti serbuk roti. Masukkan telur dan kacau sebati.
3. Ambil lebih kurang setengah adunan tadi dan tekan padat ke dalam loyang. Bakar selama 15 minit. 
4. Sementara menunggu base masak, bolehlah sediakan filling. Kacau susu pekat manis, parutan kulit lemon dan jus lemon di dalam satu bekas sampai sebati. Tuang campuran filling ke atas base tadi (tak perlu tunggu sejuk) dan tabur setengah lagi adunan cookie mix yang berbaki tadi ke atas filling. Bakar selama 25 minit lagi atau sehingga topping perang keemasan. *saya bakar 30 minit.
5. Sejukkan bars di dalam peti sejuk sekurang-kurangnya 30 minit sebelum dipotong kepada 16 bahagian. 

Nota:

*Untuk base, saya guna lebih dari separuh adunan, lebih kurang 60% untuk base dan 40% untuk topping.

Congo Bars

Ok, I know almost the entire earth population have already baked and tried these bars...But as they said, better late than never, right? I first saw this recipe two years ago from the reigning "queen of layer cakes" Kak Rima's Bisous a Toi. From then on, a few other bloggers also tried this fabulous recipe and I finally settled on Kak Nor of Secubit Garam version. The original recipe calls for a pound of sugar (gasp!) and I decided to go with Kak Nor's reduced sugar measurement since we seem to share the same level of sweetness tolerance. What is best about these bars is that they are generously studded with chocolate chunks! Nothing can compare when you bite into that chocolate-y goodness amidst the dense, fudgy and mellow brown sugar cake. Heaven.    

look at 'em chocolate chunks!

Congo Bars
Source:Bisous a Toi & Secubit Garam 

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour (315g)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter, softened (150g)
1 lb. light brown sugar (453g) *I used 220 gm like Kak Nor
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
11.5 ounce package milk chocolate chips (326g) *I used dark chocolate chunks
1 cup chopped pecans (optional) *I omit

Method:
1. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.
2. Stir brown sugar into softened (not melted) butter in another large bowl until butter disappears. You can use the back of your spoon to help incorporate the two together.
3. Add eggs one at a time to butter mixture and stir well after each egg.
4. Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts. Mix well.
5. Add dry flour mixture and stir until well combined.
6. Coat a 13 X 9 pan with non-stick spray and spread batter evenly into dish. *I used 10X10 baking pan lined with baking paper
7. Bake at 170C for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Make sure you don’t over bake. *I baked at 160C for 30 mins.

Congo Bars
Sumber:Bisous a Toi & Secubit Garam 

Bahan-bahan:
2 3/4 cawan tepung gandum (315g)
2 1/2 sudu kecil baking powder
1/2 sudu kecil garam
2/3 cawan mentega, suhu bilik (150g)
1 lb. gula perang (453g) *saya guna 220g
3 biji telur gred A
1 sudu kecil esen vanilla
11.5 oz coklat chips (326g) *saya guna dark chocolate dicincang kasar
1 cawan kacang pecans, dicincang (optional) *x letak

Cara-cara:
1. Ayak tepung gandum, baking powder dan garam dalam satu bekas. Ketepikan.
2. Dalam bekas yang lain, pukul mentega dengan gula perang. 
3. Masukkan telur sebiji demi sebiji dan dan pukul hingga adunan sebati.
4. Tambah esen vanilla, coklat chips/dark chocolate dan kacang pecan (jika guna).
5. Masukkan campuran tepung yang telah diayak tadi dan kacau lagi.
6. Gris loyang segi empat (13 X 9 inci) dengan mentega atau non-stick spray dan tuangkan adunan. Ratakan permukaan adunan dengan senduk kayu. *saya guna loyang 10X10 inci dan alas dengan baking paper
7. Bakar pada suhu 170C selaam 30 minit atau hingga masak. *saya bakar suhu 160C selama 30 minit.

Sweet Orange Rolls

Remember my previous post on Blended Orange Condensed Milk Pound Cake? Since I blended two oranges then, I still had some orange puree left. So I decided to make these sweet orange rolls. I found a recipe on Sally's Baking Addiction and immediately know I would follow her recipe because the previous recipe of hers which I tried, the Nutella Swirled Peanut Butter Banana Bread turned out fabulous, just the right amount of sweetness for me. I must say that the rolls could definitely do with the glaze as the bread itself is not overly sweet. I did not do the glaze as the household is not much of a fan of all things sweet...and they are not quite cinnamon fans too...I know...so I omit that too. Anyway, I bake this in a rectangle casserole dish inspired by Lauren's Latest. Oh, if you decide to add the orange puree, don't be alarmed if your dough did not rise as high as before. I experienced this too and I think that is because the orange puree added weight to the dough. The dough still rises though it may look quite flattened. Mine turned out soft and tender in the end, just how sweet rolls should be.

Sweet Orange Rolls
Source: Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients:

Dough

1 package active dry yeast (2 and 1/4 teaspoons)
1/2 cup warm water *I used milk
fresh orange zest from 1 medium sized orange
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3 - 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
1 tablespoon orange puree *I added (for steps to make the puree, refer here)
Filling
2 Tablespoons sugar *I used 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon *I omit
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, softened to room temperature *I used 2 tbsp
1 tablespoon orange puree *I added
1 tablespoon Sunquick orange fruit drink base *I added (optional)  

Glaze *I didn't do

1 cup confectioners' (powdered) sugar
1 Tablespoon orange juice
fresh orange zest from 1 medium oranges
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

1. Make The Dough: Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water (or milk) for about 1 minute. No need to use a thermometer for the water's temperature, but to be precise: about 105-115F degrees. Stir the yeast/water around. Then add orange zest, orange juice, sugar, salt, egg, butter, and 1 1/2 cups of flour. Beat everything together on low with a handheld mixer, scraping down the sides as needed. (A mixer is definitely needed to break up all the butter and beat everything to the proper consistency - I just used wooden spoon). With a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough easy to handle - about 1 1/2 - 2 more cups*. You are looking for a dough that is not sticky and will spring back when poked with a finger. 
2. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it with your hands for about 5-6 minutes. Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly greased bowl. Cover the dough and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1.5 hours (I left it for 1 hour).
3. Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with parchment paper,leaving room on the sides. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using a rolling in, roll into a 15x9 inch rectangle. I used a ruler for accuracy (a lazy me didn't). Make sure the dough is smooth and evenly thick, even at the corners.
4. For The Filling: in a small bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon. Spread the dough rectangle with softened butter (I mixed the softened butter with orange puree and orange fruit drink base) and sprinkle generously with all of the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Tightly roll up the dough and cut into 16 even rolls (1 inch in width each) (mine were 12 jumbo ones) with a very sharp knife. Arrange them in the prepared baking pan, cut sides up. Cover the rolls and let them rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes - 1 hour. 

 

1. Preheat the oven to 375F degrees (I preheated at 180C). Cover the rolls with aluminum foil (I forgot!) and bake for about 25-30 minutes (I baked them for 15 mins and brush the rolls with some melted butter after taking them out), until they are lightly golden in color. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for about 15 minutes. 
2. Make The Glaze: In a small bowl, mix together all of the glaze ingredients and drizzle over rolls before serving. 

Notes
* I added 2 cups of flour and my dough is still sticky. Not wanting to add more flour for fear the bread will turn out hard, I transferred the dough to a highly floured surface and knead until it is no longer sticky.  

Make Ahead: The recipe can be prepared through Step 4.  Cover the rolls and let sit at room temperature overnight before beginning step 5.   Baked rolls can be frozen up to 1 month and warmed up to enjoy at a later date.  Glaze right before serving.

Sweet Orange Rolls
Sumber: Sally's Baking Addiction

Bahan-bahan:

Doh

2 1/4 sudu kecil yis *saya guna Mauripan
1/2 cawan air suam *saya guna susu
parutan kulit oren daripada sebiji oren
1/2 cawan jus oren
1/4 cawan gula
1 sudu kecil garam
1 biji telur
2 sudu besar mentega lembut/ marjerin
3 - 3 1/2 cawan tepung gandum
1 sudu besar puri oren *saya tambah (langkah-langkah untuk menyediakan puri oren boleh rujuk sini)
Inti
2 sudu besar gula *saya guna 3 sudu besar gula perang
2 sudu kecil serbuk kulit kayu manis *x letak
1 sudu besar mentega lembut/marjerin *saya guna 2 sudu besar marjerin
1 sudu besar puri oren *saya tambah
1 sudu besar oren Sunquick *saya tambah (optional)  

Glaze

1 cawan gula aising
1 sudu besar jus oren
parutan kulit oren daripa sebiji oren
1 sudu kecil esen vanilla

Cara-cara:

1. Untuk Doh: Satukan yis dan air/susu suam dalam satu bekas besar dan biar selama seminit. Selepas itu, kacau campuran yis tadi dan tambah parutan kulit oren, jus oren, gula, garam, mentega/marjerin dan 1 1/2 cawan tepung gandum. Pukul semua bahan dengan mixer (saya guna senduk kayu). Kemudian tambah lagi 1 1/2 cawan - 2 cawan tepung* (saya tambah 2 cawan) dan kacau sehingga doh tidak melekit. 
2. Ubah doh di atas permukaan yang ditabur dengan tepung dan uli selama 5-6 minit sehingga doh licin. Letak doh dalam bekas yang digris dengan sedikit marjerin dan biar selama sejam (sampai doh naik 2 kali ganda).
3. Alas loyang 9x13 inci dengan baking paper (saya guna casserole dish). Ambil doh tadi dan canai kepada bentuk segi empat 15x9 inci.
4. Untuk Inti: Campurkan serbuk kulit kayu manis dan gula dalam mangkuk. Sapu doh yang dicanai tadi dengan marjerin (saya campur marjerin dengan oren Sunquick dan puri oren) dan tabur campuran gula tadi. Gulung doh tadi dan potong kepada 16 bahagian (saya potong 12 bahagian). Susun roll di atas loyang tadi dan biar naik lagi selama 30 minit-1 jam.

 

1. Panaskan oven pada 180C. Tutup rolls tadi dengan aluminum foil (x buat) dan bakar selama 25-30 minit (saya bakar 15 minit). Sejukkan.
2. Untuk glaze: Satukan semua bahan dalam mangkuk dan drizzle atas rolls. 

Nota
* Doh saya masih melekit selepas semua tepung ditambah. Saya uli doh di atas permukaan yang ditabur dengan banyak tepung dan uli sehingga licin.

Carrot Muffins/ Muffin Lobak Merah

This is one of the recipes I've bookmarked quite some time ago from Patrcia Scarpin's blog Technicolor Kitchen. First of all the recipe is from the fabulous Donna Hay; and second of all, it calls for a cup of yogurt. I am all for recipes with yogurt or buttermilk because they are healthy and the end result would definitely be decadently moist. I knew from the start that these muffins would be so moist - and they were indeed. Take note that the muffins are on the less sweet side, so I added some raisins for extra natural sweetness. You could add some apples too if you like, or maybe increase the sugar...but that would not be a healthier option right?

   
Carrot Muffins
Source: Technicolor Kitchen

Ingredients:
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (162g) caster sugar *I used 100g caster sugar and 70g light brown sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup (260g) plain yogurt
2 eggs
½ cup (120ml) vegetable oil
finely grated zest of 1 large lemon
1 ½ cups (135g) grated carrot
1/4 cup raisins *I added
icing sugar, to serve

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; line twelve ½-cup (120ml) capacity muffin pans with paper cases.
2. Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the sugar and salt and stir to combine. Set aside.
3. Place the yogurt, eggs, oil and lemon zest in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the yogurt mixture, grated carrot and raisins to the flour mixture and whisk just until combined – use a fork to mix and do not overmix; the batter is supposed to be lumpy.
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared cases and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and cooked when tested with a skewer. *I baked for 20 mins
5. Sprinkle with icing sugar to serve.
 
Makes 12

Muffin Lobak Merah
Sumber: Technicolor Kitchen

Bahan-bahan:
2 cawan (280g) tepung gandum
2 sudu kecil baking powder
¾ cawan + 1 sudu besar (162g) gula kaster *saya guna 100g gula kaster dan 70g gula perang
secubit garam
1 cawan (260g) yogurt
2 biji telur
½ cawan (120ml) minyak sayuran
parutan kulit sebiji lemon
1 ½ cawan (135g) parutan lobak merah
1/4 cawan kismis *saya tambah
gula aising, untuk tabur atas muffin

Cara-cara:
1. Panaskan oven pada suhu 180°C/350°F; Alas loyang muffin dengan kertas cupcake.
2. Ayak bersama tepung gandum dan baking powder ke dalam satu mangkuk besar. Masukkan gula dan garam. Kacau rata dengan whisk. Ketepikan.
3. Dalam bekas yang lain, satukan yogurt, telur, minyak sayuran dan parutan kulit lemon dan kacau sebati dengan whisk. Tuang adunan yogurt tadi, parutan lobak merah dan kismis ke dalam campuran tepung. Gaul rata dengan whisk; jangan terlebih kacau.
4. Tuang adunan ke dalam loyang muffin tadi dan bakar selama 20-25 minit  atau sehingga masak. *saya bakar 20 minit
5. Tabur dengan gula aising jika suka. 

Blended Orange Condensed Milk Pound Cake/ Kek Oren Susu Pekat Manis

I know, I know, another one. Yes, I am crazy about condensed milk pound cake. The last time I put an orange twist to it was when I baked them as cupcakes and marbled one with cocoa batter, here. This time, no marbling is involved, just the decadently dense and moist pound cake bursting with citrus goodness. Every slice you eat is like eating a slice of orange, but in cake form. I pureed two oranges this time so I can use them for other recipes and I am already thinking of orange buns and orange sugar cookies. Just a little of this puree goes a long way in terms of flavour and colour too. I like how simple it is to make this orange puree. I've come across recipes that require the orange to be boiled for like 2 hours while in another recipe, the water used to boil the orange needs to be replaced like 3 times. Although this recipe only calls for the orange to be boiled for an hour, I have to say it works to alleviate any bitterness in the fruit. Adding the puree will make the cake denser and it will require a longer baking time. I baked it at a low temperature (165C) for about 1 hour and 10 minutes.    

Orange Condensed Milk Pound Cake
Adapted from: 
baking fiends unite! 
Bisous a Toi

Ingredients:
240gm good quality butter
90gm sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (304gm) condensed milk
3 tsp vanilla paste *I used 2 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp lemon extract
240gm cake flour *I used all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
4 large eggs
1 orange - I used Valencia orange that weighs about 100g

Method:
Make the orange puree:
1. Pierce the orange with a skewer in some spots. 
2. Put it in a deep pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour, until soft. Drain, then cool (alternatively, you could put the orange in a crock pot/slow cooker on low heat overnight until soft)
3. Cut the orange in half and discard the pips. 
4. Put the orange, skin and all, in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth and pulpy. Set aside. 

Remove the pips after boiling the orange...

...then puree (skin and all) until smooth.

Make the cake: 

1. Sift cake flour and baking powder together. Set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
3. Add in salt and vanilla paste and cream well.
4. Pour in condensed milk and orange puree and cream till well combined.
5. Using the mixer on low speed, add in flour in 3 additions. Mix till batter is smooth.
6. Add in eggs one at a time. Make sure it's well mixed and smooth.
7. Pour batter in a greased pan and bake at 165C for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a skewer inserted at the centre of the cake comes out clean. 

Kek Mentega Oren Susu Pekat Manis
Diolah daripada: 
baking fiends unite! 
Bisous a Toi
Dapur Tanpa Sempadan 

Bahan-bahan:
240 gram mentega berkualiti tinggi 

90 gram gula halus

Secubit garam

1 cawan susu pekat manis

2 sudu kecil esen vanilla

240 gram tepung kek *saya guna tepung gandum
1 1/2 sudu kecil baking powder

4 biji telur gred A

1 biji oren *saya guna buah oren Valencia (kurang lebih 100g)

Cara-cara:
Untuk puri oren:
1. Cucuk buah oren beberapa kali dengan lidi. 
2. Rebus buah oren di dalam periuk dengan air penuh sehingga mendidih. Kemudian, perlahankan api, tutup periuk dan rebus lagi selama 1 jam sehingga buah lembut. Tos dan sejukkan.
3. Potong dua buah oren tadi dan buang bijinya. 
4. Kemudian, kisar buah oren (dengan kulit sekali) di dalam pengisar atau food processor sehingga hancur.

Untuk kek: 

1. Panaskan oven pada suhu 165C, griskan tin kek bersaiz 9 inci dengan mentega dan alas dasarnya dengan kertas minyak, lenser juga kertas tadi. Ayak tepung dan baking powder. Ketepikan. 
2. Putar mentega dengan gula hingga putih.

3. Masukkan esen vanilla dan garam, putar hingga gebu.
4. Tuang susu pekat manis dan puri oren; putar lagi hingga sebati.
5. Perlahankan kelajuan dan masukkan tepung yang telah diayak tadi sedikit demi sedikit hingga habis, putar rata.
6. Akhir sekali masukkan telur satu persatu sambil terus memutar hingga mendapat adunan yang licin.

7. Tuang adunan dalam loyang tadi dan bakar selama 1 jam-1 jam 10 minit atau sehingga masak sempurna.

Blueberry Cheese Tart

A recipe I got from my cousin. Irresistable and super simple to make. You can make the tart shells ahead of time and store them in an airtight container in the fridge. The filling can be substituted with other fruits and flavours like strawberry for example. I bought a ready-made filling from the bakery. You can for sure make your own filling though. The best part for me is painting the pattern on the filling. I would love to try other patterns though next time.

Blueberry Cheese Tart 
The pastry recipe below could easily yields 12 medium-sized tart shells (and you still have leftover dough) while the cream cheese filling is perfect to fill 12 tart shells. Feel free to increase or decrease the amount as you like.  

Ingredients: 
Tart shell:
125g cold butter, diced
225g all-purpose flour
50g caster sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons ice cold water 

Cream cheese filling:
125g cream cheese, softened
25g butter, soften
30g caster sugar
1/2 egg (beat an egg then weigh, about 30g)
1 teaspoon vanilla or lemon extract

blueberry filling 

Method: 
Pastry Shell:
1. Put the cold butter pieces, flour and sugar in a large bowl. Work those ingredients with your fingers until they resemble coarse bread crumbs. Don't worry if there are still some visible butter pieces. They will puff up in the oven and result in a flaky crust.

2. Add the vanilla extract, egg yolk and a tablespoon of ice cold water (1 tbsp works for me; you might add more if your egg yolk is smaller). Work the mixture together to form a dough. Do not overwork the dough. Once the dough has come together, flatten and wrap with cling film. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

3. Preheat the oven at 170C. Take out the dough from the fridge and roll it on a floured surface or between two sheets of clean plastic. Then, cut into discs to line individual tart moulds. Prick the bottom with a fork. Bake the shells in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until golden brown. Set aside to cool a bit and remove from mould.

Cream cheese filling:
1. Beat all the ingredients until smooth and creamy.  

For blueberry cheese tart:
1. Preheat the oven at 170C. Take a cooled tart shell and fill with blueberry filling (about a tablepoon). Then top with the cream cheese filling:

2. You can do a pattern on top of the tart if you like. I learned to do this pattern from the superbly creative and talented Kak Ita of masam manis. Please check out her blog for fantastic decorating ideas. Also check out HaSue's blog for cheese tart decoration ideas. For the pattern: dip the tip of a toothpick in the blueberry filling or food colouring. Make small lines down the side of cream cheese filling and run the toothpick gently across the lines, like this:

3. Bake the cheese tart in the preheated oven for 5-8 minutes until the cream cheese filling is just set. You can test whether the filling has set by gently tapping your fingertip on the surface; if it doesn't stick, then it has set. Don't overbake or else the filling will become hard. Best serve chilled.

Blueberry Cheese Tart 
Resepi kulit tart ni boleh dapat lebih dari dua belas biji (saya buat 12 je, doh yang lebih simpan dalam freezer). Cream cheese filling cukup2 untuk 12 tart. Kalau nk buat lebih, boleh gandakan resepi di bawah.

Bahan-bahan: 
Kulit tart:
125g mentega sejuk didadu
225g tepung gandum
50g gula kaster
1 kuning telur* (saya guna gred A)
1 sudu kecil esen vanilla
1-2sudu besar air sejuk dari peti ais

Cream cheese filling:
125g cream cheese, biar lembut sedikit
25g mentega (suhu bilik)
30g gula kaster
1/2 biji telur (pukul telur dan timbang, kurang lebih 30g)
1 sudu kecil esen vanilla atau lemon

inti blueberry filling secukupnya

*Jika gandakan adunan untuk kulit tart, boleh guna 1 biji telur gred B untuk 250g butter.

Cara-cara: 
Kulit tart:
1.Satukan mentega sejuk, tepung dan gula di dalam satu bekas. Ramas dengan menggunakan jari sehingga adunan menjadi seperti serbuk roti.

2. Tambah esen vanilla, telur kuning dan satu sudu besar air sejuk. Gaul sebati menggunakan tangan hingga menjadi doh. Tekan sedikit doh, balut dengan cling wrapper dan rehatkan di dalam peti sejuk.

3. Panaskan oven pada suhu 170C. Keluarkan doh daripada peti sejuk. Ambil sedikit doh dan tekan ke dalam acuan tart. Cucuk dengan garpu dan bakar selama 20 minit atau sehingga masak. Sejukkan sedikit dan keluarkan daripada acuan tart. 
Cream cheese filling:
1. Pukul semua bahan sehingga berkrim.  

Untuk blueberry cheese tart:
1. Panaskan oven pada suhu 170C. Ambil kulit tart tadi dan isi (boleh juga paip) dengan inti blueberry (anggaran 1 sudu besar). Selepas itu, isikan dengan cream cheese filling (isi penuh):

2. Kemudian, bolelah hias tart tadi. Saya guna corak yang diajar Kak Ita masam manis. Untuk idea lain, boleh singgah ke dapur HaSue. Untuk corak tersebut, celupkan hujung pencungkil gigi ke dalam pewarna atau inti blueberry dan buat garis-garis kecil di bahagian tepi tart. Kemudian dengan menggunakan bahagian yang tajam, tarik daripada atas ke bawah  dalam bentuk bulatan untuk mendapatkan bentuk seperti berikut:

3. Bakar cheese tart dalam oven yang telah dipanaskan tadi selama 5-8 minit sehingga masak. Untuk menguji sama ada cheese telah set atau tidak, sentuh dengan hujung jari. Jika tidak melekat, maknanya telah masak. Jangan terlebih bakar kerana filling akan menjadi keras.