Love It Or Hate It ~ Durian Yogurt Mousse Cake

It's durian season again! I remember back to 20+ years ago when my god-sister came back from New Zealand with her kiwi boyfriend for vacation, it was durian season too. And my god-sister is an absolute durian lover, she visited those durian stalls with her boyfriend and started introducing this indulgence local fruit to him. Guess....what is his respond????? "Gosh, it smell like sh**!" He nearly vomited. Can you imagine how his face was like when he has to stick with these durian eaters in the same car for the whole day. HAHAHA..... Extreme torturing, of coz! I guess that probably the worst day of his life. haha.... But for people like us, durian is the king of fruits and bitter sweet is my favourite. Every year I have full supply of them for free from friends around. I don't eat much even I love it. I sent mostly of them to my neighbour. And this year, I wanted to try it on my dessert.

So, here's what I did.

Ingredients for Chocolate sponge :
(A)
4 egg yolk
1/3 cup flour
3TB cocoa powder
2TB milk
2TB cooking oil

(B)
4 egg white
1/2 tspn cream of tartar (optional)
2 TB sugar
a pinch of salt

Method :
(1) beat ingredients (A) till smooth and pale.
(2) then whisk ingredients (B) till foamy & stiff.
(3) now, mix ingredient (B) into (A) in 3 batches till everything well combined.
(4) pour batter to a 8" tray, greased and coated with flour base.
(5) finally, bake at preheated oven 150'C for 20 mins & then 175'C 30 mins or till tester came out clean.
(6) leave to cool before releasing the cake from pan.
*I usually bake my sponge cake whenever I have time and then keep them into freezer. And use them whenever I want. Really convenient.

Ingredients for Durian Yogurt Mousse :
300-400gm  durian meat, mashed
250ml   plain yogurt
500ml   heavy cream
4 TB  sugar
2-1/2 TB  gelatine (soaked in 1/3 cup water)

Method :
(1) firstly, melt gelatine till dissolved & set aside.
(2) now, whip cream till stiff.
(3) finally, place all ingredients into a big bowl and hand mix till everything well combined.

*Cake decoration : 300-400ml  non-dairy whipping cream.
(for dairy whipping cream, add in 2TB icing sugar for flavouring)

TO ASSEMBLE :
(1) cut sponge into two(2) layers and line one layer to a 8" springfoam pan.
(2) then spread half portion of durian mousse over the 1st layer of sponge and cover it with another layer of sponge.
(3) finally, spread the remaining mousse over the final sponge evenly and then keep refrigerated for at least 2 hours or till set.
(4) remove cake from pan and decorate it with whipped cream.

Tips : it's best to use a taller hard cover plastic sheet to surround the inner cake pan, so that the mousse can be fully spread over the final sponge.

I love to pick imperfect looking durians especially those which was taken by squirrels. Cause they're simply genius. They knew how to choose a perfect fruit out of the tree. Clever me huh! kekeke.....For fine smoother mousse, you can strain the mousse by using a strainer. Oh....I skipped that cause I want everything down into my belly without wasting. Hope you will tooooooo....... Enjoy guys & hope you're all having a wonderful week ahead.

Gluten-Free & Vegan Yeasted Buckwheat Muffin With Dried Apples

I've been a great fan of eggless, gluten-free and even vegan recipes lately. It's definitely challenging and even exciting being apart of this. And finally, tried my homemade dried apples on this special yeasted gluten-free & vegan muffins.

So, here's what I did.

Ingredients :
1-1/2 cup  buckwheat flour
1/2 cup  rice flour
1/2 cup  corn flour
1/2 cup  tapioca flour
1/2 cup  sugar
1/2 tspn  baking soda
2 tspn  baking powder
1/2 tspn  salt
2 TB  yeast
1 cup  soy milk
4 TB  cooking oil
1 cup  homemade dried apple, cut small
* (or you may replace both corn & tapioca flour with potato starch)

Method :
(1) combine all the dry ingredients into a big bowl and stir in milk to form a sticky paste.
(2) immediately place mixture to 9 muffin cups lined with paper cups & let to rest for 30 mins or till nicely rise.
(3) finally, sprinkle the top with sugar & cinnamon powder and then bake at preheated oven 175'C for about 20 mins.
(4) let them cool over a wire rack before serving.

These yeasted muffins simply delish especially with buckwheat. The aroma is light & wonderful even without any special additional flavouring. All you need is to spread on some butter & jam and enjoy every bit of it. Hope you guys will love it too. Enjoy.
*
I'm sending this to Yeastspotting & BYOB & Wednesday Extragavanza #5.

Homemade Dried Apples

Never had I thought of making my own dried apples. I was actually tempted by Angie @ Angie's Recipes after saw her using her homemade dried apples on some of her beautiful baked goods.And this is also another good way to finish off the leftover apples other than cooking them juicy fresh. It's too another best way for storage. Here let me show you how I did it.

Slice apples into a spiral with thickness as thin as 1/3-1/2cm. I prefer keeping the apple skin & seed attached in whole. Line them onto parchment paper and then sprinkle on some cinnamon powder mixture.

Finally, bake at preheated oven 170'c for the first 10 mins and then 150'C for an hour. Have to watch them closely. Immediately withdraw them from the oven when apple started to turn dark brown. For storage, pack them into plastic bags or containers and then keep refrigerated. It can at least last for 6-9 months.
There's also another way drying apple by traditional method. You may hang out all the sliced apples and then sun dry under the hot sun till done. Well, it may take days but it's the easiest & cheapest way.

Eggless Charlotte Russe ~ Assorted Flavours

First of all, I would like to wish all my readers Happy Diwali. Yeah, it's once a year time celebration for all the local Indians and it's also another grand celebration for one of our family member. It's my mother-in-law birthday. Time has been tough for me to handle more baking or cooking these days, however, I still want to spend time to make her a cake. I've decided to make a simple one for her. It's an assorted flavour eggless charlotte cake. The main ingredients used are mostly yogurt, heavy cream, gelatine & fruits or jam. Since time is limited, I grabbed whatever available in the pantry & from my fridge. And this is how the cake turned out. Basically, bavarian cream is the main ingredient for a charlotte but I always think too much eggs involved. So, have to skip it this round.

Ingredients for Black sesame mousse :
200ml  plain yogurt
200ml  heavy cream
4 TB  sugar
3 TB  black sesame paste
(or 3 TB black sesame powder + 2 TB warm water)
1-1/2 TB  gelatine (mix with 30ml water, set aside)

Ingredients for Peanut butter mousse :
200ml  plain yogurt
200ml  heavy cream
4 TB  sugar
1/2 cup  creamy peanut butter
1-1/2 TB  gelatine (mix with 30ml water, set aside)

Ingredients for Raspberry jelee :
160ml   raspberry jam
30ml  water
2 TB  gelatine (mix with 40ml water, set aside)
(melt gelatine by using a double boiler till dissolved, then heat raspberry jam over double boiler till melted and stir in melted gelatine till well combined.)

Ingredients for Black grapes jelee :
160ml   black grapes puree, cooked (from 250-300gm grapes)
2 TB   sugar
2 TB  gelatine (mix with 40ml water, set aside)
(melt gelatine by using a double boiler till dissolved, then heat black grapes puree together with sugar over double boiler till melted and stir in melted gelatine till well combined.)

I used store bought rice crackers which a perfect time saver or you may tried any other cracker as desired. This is actually my kids' favourite. One thing about rice cracker is it can't stay for too long. It's best to serve it on the same day.

Method :
(1) lined a 8" spring form tray with vegetarian coconut biscuit or any biscuit as desired till the bottom pan nicely covered.
(2) now, prepare both the ingredients for raspberry jelee & black grapes jelee separately then set aside for cooling.
(3) next, for black sesame mousse preparation, whip heavy cream till set over a pot of ice water then keep refrigerated. Then melt gelatine over double boiler till dissolved.
(4) finally, combine yogurt, sugar, whipped cream, black sesame paste & melted gelatine together and beat till well mixed.
(5) spread the black sesame mousse over the biscuit tray and then keep refrigerated for about 15-25 mins (best to keep into freezer)  or till set.
(6) once the black sesame layer is set, spread black grapes jelee on and again keep refrigerated for about 15-25 mins (best to keep into freezer) or till set.
(7) now for peanut butter mousse preparation, just repeat method No.(3) & (4) and then spread it over to the black grapes jelee. Again keep refrigerated for another 15-25 mins or till set.
(8) Finally, spread raspberry jelee over peanut butter mousse and keep refrigerated for about 15-25 mins or till set. It's best to keep overnight before serving.
(9) for decoration, simply arrange rice crackers around the cake and tight it up with ribbon.

And the most satisfying part was the feed back from all the family members. They're loving it. Guess what? I am actually using recycle cake tray & box. Yet it still looking good like a brand new one, isn't it! Hopefully, I can finished the giveaway post and share the excellence products invention with you all soon. So, stay tune for more.

Cost Saving Shower Cream / Body Wash

Sorry guys.....there will be no food recipe today. Guess What??? Kristy is out of her mind again.....she's trying to make her own shower cream. LOL. Can you believe it ! haha..... Yeah, that's ME ! It happened when I accidentally bump into a few sites that trying to make their own shower gel. I immediately inspired by the idea. Besides, I have everything in hand....so for what reason I not to.

This is how the mixture look after stayed  for overnight. It actually hardened cause I added in 3 TB of glycerine instead of 2TB and ended up adding in extra water and then hand mix it. Looks a bit crumby but overall is still great.

And here's what I did.
Ingredients : (for 6-7 ~ 1L bottles)
16 cups   water
3  soap bars, grated
2 TB  glycerine (food grade) ~ you can easily get this from any bakery shop

Method :  Place everything into a big pot and bring it to boil, then simmer over low heat for about 20 mins or till everything melted. The mixture will look watery but it's ok. It will be thickened slowly after cooled for overnight. If the mixture is too thick, you can add in extra water to get the consistency as desired by using a hand mixer.
* you can keep the mixture into plastic bags which is easier for refilling the bottles on later days.

I spent more than RM10 per bottle of 800ml-1L shower cream (for branded) and RM6-7 for refill on each purchase. After some calculation, I actually spent more than RM20 per month on it and sometimes more. And the supply is only for four persons. But now, I am saving more. I only spent about RM4 on 3 bars of soap and RM2 on glycerine. And what I got from that RM6 is 7 bottles of shower cream which can be last for at least 2 months supply. Hey, what a cool thing to do!

The result is excellence ! Very foamy. I actually ran straight to the bathroom and give it a try. Have no regret at all. If for dry skin or for extra fragrance, you can blend in some essential oil. Then for body scrub, you can add in some grind dried fruits or nuts or even oat hulls. You just name it ! Hope this will help. Enjoy the fun guys.
* Here's the links to more DIY info, please click here & here.

Hakka Lui Cha / Ham Cha With Rice Pops

Lui Cha is actually meaning ground tea in Mandarin and it is normally served to the Hakka family on the 7th day of Chinese New Year,. While the Cantonese serving Yu Shang the same day. The only difference is it is served with 7 different type of vegetables as side dishes including preserved radish, da chai @ chinese chard, mani chai @ star gooseberry, tofu, peanuts, long beans & leek or any other green leaves to go along with white rice. I often heard friends & relatives talking about it but honestly, I have yet tried it myself. So embarrassing huh ! Even my Hakka hubby & his family are not interested in taking it and not to mention about making their own. Well, I am certainly the lucky one cause my neighbour just share their little treat with me a few weeks back. They cooked their own side dishes And for tea soup, they didn't make their own they used the stall bought tea soup paste to cook at home. The most interesting part was they served their Lui Cha with rice pops. And that is how I was tempted to make my own.

Ingredients for Lui cha tea paste :  (serve 4-6 persons)
2 cups   cilantro, rinsed & cut
1 cups   mint leaves, rinsed
2 cups   basil leaves, rinsed
1 cup     vietnamese cilantro (daun kesum)~optional
1 cup    roasted sesame
1 cup    roasted peanut, crashed
4 pkts   Lipton green tea bag
1 cups  hot water
(blend all ingredients into paste ~ like making pesto)

Method To Make Soup :
(1) bring a pot of water (about 3-4L) to boil over high heat.
(2) lower the heat then stir in the tea paste, add in 2 tspn vegetable granule and salt to taste.
(3) let soup simmer for 5 mins and then serve.
( to make it easier you can always divide into smaller portions and keep refrigerated or frozen before used.)

For side dishes, you can just stir fried all the ingredients separately with chopped garlic & salt to taste (except preserved radish & tofu) or you may choose to add in some dried shrimps but I chose not to. In this case, vegetarian eater may also easily fit in the party. I even served with extra stir fried basil leaves together. It tasted really really delicious.

Since my family not so fond of this meal, I'll have to make just a small portion of it to give it a try. I have my side dishes cooked including preserved radish, stir fried chinese chard, stir fried long beans and fried tofu. A little roasted peanut will definitely give it an extra kick.
*
I'm sending this to Sharon @ Muhibbah Malaysian Monday.