Cooking Monster: Sweet Desserts

Deep-Fried

Old Fashioned Doughnuts with Vanilla Bean Glaze

April 09, 2022

Ingredients

Doughnuts

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp unsalted butter (room temperature)

2 large egg yolks

2 1/2 cups cake flour (1-2 tbsp extra for dusting)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt

2/3 cup sour cream

Vegetable oil (for the bowl)

Vanilla Bean Glaze

1/2 cup of icing sugar

2 tbsp of melted butter

1 tsp vanilla bean/paste (substitute with 1 tbsp of vanilla essence if unavailable)

2 tbsp milk

Instructions

Beat the sugar and butter in a mixer until fluffy. Add in the egg yolks and continue mixing until well incorporated.
Mix the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Start by adding 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the mixer, then 1/2 of the sour cream, then 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then the remaining 1/2 of the sour cream and lastly the remaining 1/3 of the dry ingredients.
Mix for a few minutes until it forms a dough. Finish off kneading by hand and form a ball. Transfer into an oiled bowl and let it chill for at least 1 hour.
Mix the glaze ingredients until smooth. Adjust the sweetness and consistency by adding/reducing sugar and milk to you preference.
Roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thickness and cut out the doughnuts.
Preheat oil on medium heat to 325’F. Test with 1 doughnut or 1 doughnut hole first. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes before flipping.
After cooked through on both sides, let it cool on a paper towel for 1-2 minutes.
Dip one side in the glaze and let it cool on a drying rack.

Cheesy Goodness

Chocolate Cheese Cupcakes

March 03, 2018

Ingredients
Cupcakes
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
175g butter, softened
1.5 cup castor sugar
2 eggs
1.5 tbsp sour cream
1 cup water
2 tsp vanilla extract
150g cream cheese, softened
4 tbsp castor sugar
6 tbsp semisweet chocolate chips

Chocolate Topping
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate
50g butter
3 tbsp icing sugar

Instructions
Cupcakes
1) Preheat oven to 180'c
2) Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in medium bowl
3) In a large bowl, cream together butter and castor sugar (1.5 cups) for about a minute until smooth and fluffy. Then whisk in the eggs until well mixed
4) Gradually mix in the dry ingredients into the wet mix until well incorporated, leave aside about 3 tbsp of the dry mixture . Mix the sour cream and water in a separate bowl and then mix together with the batter, set aside
5) Mix 4 tbsp of chips with the 3 tbsp of the dry mix. Then fold into the cupcake batter
6) Cream the castor sugar (4 tbsp), vanilla extract and the cream cheese until smooth. Add in remaining 2 tbsp of the choc chips, set aside
7) In the cupcake papers, spoon in 1 tbsp of the cupcake batter to cover the bottom, followed by 1 tsp of the cheese mix in the middle, and top it off with another 1 tbsp of the cupcake batter
8) Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a pick comes out clean
9) Leave the cupcakes in the tray for a few minutes before transferring them onto a rack to cool completely

Chocolate Topping
10) Melt the semi sweet chocolate with the butter for 1 minute in the microwave
11) Mix well with the icing sugar. Dip the top of the cupcakes into the mixture and leave to set.

Cheesy Goodness

Red Velvet Cupcakes

August 13, 2017

Ingredients
Cupcakes
2 1/2 cups of all purpose white flour
1 1/2 cup of castor sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, at room temp (you can make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tbsp of lime juice into a cup of fresh milk and leave it for 10 minutes)
2 large eggs, room temp
2 tbsp of red food colouring
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp white vinegar

Cream Cheese
1/4 pound (approx. 3/4 of the philadelphia cream cheese bar)
1/2 stick of butter (approx. 1/4 of the normal butter bar)
1 cup of sifted confectioner's or icing sugar
1 tsp of vanilla extract

Instructions
Stage A
1) Preheat oven to 180'c
2) In a mixing bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Vege oil, buttermilk, eggs, red colouring, vanilla extract and vinegar
3) In a seperate bowl, sift in the dry ingredients. Flour, castor sugar, salt, baking soda and cocoa powder
4) Put the mixer on medium speed and add the dry ingredients into the wet slowly, be careful to not add them all at once, until they are smooth and thoroughly combined
5) Use an ice cream scooper to fill in the cupcake papers that are lined into muffin tins. Fill up to 2/3 of the cupcake papers
6) Bake for 20-22 mins

Stage 2
1) While the cupcakes are in the oven, mix everything in the cream cheese ingredients until smooth. You can always use less sugar if you prefer a less sweet frosting
2) Wait for the cupcakes to cool completely before icing

This serves about 16 regular-sized cupcakes

ps. I find the cupcakes taste better when they're left to cool in the fridge for a while

Sweet Desserts

Pavlova

February 20, 2014

Ingredients
Meringue
4 large egg whites
1/2 cup castor sugar
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Topping
300 ml whipping cream
2 tbsp castor sugar
1 cup chopped kiwis
1 cup slice strawberries
1 cup blueberries
Chocolate syrup
1/4 cup icing sugar

Instructions
1) Preheat oven to 140'C. Draw a 7-inch circle on a sheet of aluminium foil lined on a baking tray

2) Make sure the utensils including the mixing bowl for the meringue are clean from water, grease and eggshells
3) Beat the egg whites until soft peaks are formed. Gradually add in the sugar while continuing mixing until you get stiff peaks

4) Gently fold in the cornstarch, vinegar and vanilla essence into the meringue until thoroughly mixed

5) Gently spread the meringue onto the circle on the foil. Spread it higher on the edges so that it forms a small well in the middle

6) Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. After that, switch off the oven and let the meringue cool inside the oven for 1 hour with the door ajar. The meringue will deflate and crack a little

7) In the meantime, whip the cream and sugar until it thickens

8) Peel off the foil before decorating. I didn't and it made it harder to cut into slices without making a mess later

9) Spread the whipped cream and top off with the mixed fruits. Drizzle chocolate syrup and followed by the powdered sugar

10) Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let the cream and fruits set

Cheesy Goodness

Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze

December 10, 2012

Ingredients
Dough
1 small packet of dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp castor sugar

1 egg

60 ml melted butter
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt

Filling
30ml melted butter, approx
1/4 cup castor sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1.5 tbsp cinnamon powder
0.5 - 1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Glaze
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
1 cup icing sugar
1 tbsp butter, softened
3 tbsp whole milk

Instructions
Dough
1) In a small bowl, add in the warm water, 1 tsp sugar and dry yeast. Leave for a few minutes until it starts to foam up
2) In a mixing bowl, mix the egg, melted butter, milk and sugar. Followed by the yeast mix and vanilla. Continue mixing well
3) Add in 2 cup of the flour and salt first, mix. Then the remaining 2 cups. At this point you can just knead the dough for a few minutes and form a ball
4) In a large bowl that has been oiled with some vegetable oil, place the dough and cover with a cling wrap and leave in a warm place for 1 and a half hour until the size has doubled up

5) After that, flour a flat and wide surface and roll out the dough to form a big rectangle

Filling
6) Mix the castor sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon powder in a bowl. Brush a layer of melted butter on the flat dough

7) Spread the cinnamon sugar all over. And top off with the chocolate chips if you want

8) Roll the dough from the long side, rolling each fold tight. Seal it off with dabs of water. Cut into equal pieces. I yielded 16 rolls

9) Arrange in a buttered baking dish with some gaps between each roll. Cover again with a cling wrap and leave for another 30 minutes for the dough to rise. In the mean time preheat your oven to 180'c

After 30 minutes

10) Brush some melted butter on top of the rolls. Bake for 25 minutes and let cool before pouring the glaze

Glaze
11) Mix the cream cheese, butter and icing sugar until smooth. Add in the milk 1 tbsp at a time until you get a smooth runny consistency

12) Pour over the rolls while they're still hot

Death by Chocolate

Chocolate Chip Muffins

November 24, 2012

Ingredients
2 cups plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
A pinch of cinnamon
1.5 cup milk chocolate chips
115g melted unsalted butter
2 tbsp sour cream
2/3 cup fresh milk
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup castor sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Instructions
1) Preheat oven to 200'c and line your muffin pans with muffin cups
2) Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Take half of the dry mixture into another bowl and mix with the chocolate chips
3) In a large bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients until well blended
4) Fold in the dry mixture, followed by the powdered chocolate chips, just enough until there are no more white flour, do not over mix. Lumpy batter makes better muffins

5) Scoop up to 2/3 of the paper cups, bake for 15-18 minutes, until a pick comes out clean

Sweet Desserts

Oreo Ice Cream Cake

November 10, 2012

Ingredients

2 litres of Vanilla ice cream

1/3 cup caramel sauce

1/3 cup chocolate sauce

2 bags of oreos

Instructions

1) Leave the ice cream on a counter for an hour so it softens

2) Crush one bag of of the oreos

3) Line an 8-inch springform with plastic cling wrap the arrange the oreos around the tin and some crushed ones at the bottom

4) Mix the vanilla ice cream in a big bowl with the caramel sauce, chocolate sauce and crushed oreos. Leave some of the oreos for the topping

5) Add the mixture into the line springform and refrigerate in the freezer for 6-8 hours before cutting

Death by Chocolate

Crispy Mars Slice

October 13, 2012

Ingredients
2 cups Rice Bubbles/Rice Krispies
6 mini Mars or 2 regular sized
2 tbsp honey
175g butter
300g milk chocolate bar/chips

Instructions
1) Line a brownie pan with baking paper with the edges hanging out

2) Prepare 2 bowls. 1 with chopped Mars, butter and honey. The other with 2 cups of Rice Bubbles
3) Microwave the bowl with Mars and butter for 2-3 minutes, stirring halfway until they melt. Quickly pour into the krispies bowl and mix

4) When all the rice bubbles and covered with Mars, press them at the botton of the lined pan. Again, do this quickly because when the chocolate has cooled down, it will be harder to spread

5) Melt the remaining milk chocolate in the microwave for about 2 minutes, stirring halfway. Then pour onto the rice bubbles mixture

6) Chill in the refrigerator for about 2 hours before cutting

Cakes

Nutella Rainbow Cake

September 28, 2012

Ingredients
4 eggs, separated
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup plain flour
1 cup castor sugar
4-5 food colouring
Nutella
Chocolate Sprinkles
100s and 1000s

Instructions
1) Preheat oven to 180' and grease an 8-inch springform
2) Beat up the egg whites in a mixer at medium speed until firm, then add vanilla and baking powder
3) Add in the yolks one by one
4) Sift the sugar and add in gradually followed by the flour in the same manner
5) Remove bowl and give a final stir and divide into bowls as many as you want the colours to be (5 colours, 5 bowls)
6) Add 1/2 tsp of each colour into different bowls
7) Pour in mix into the springform one by one in the centre. The mix will spread outwards to fill the tin

8) Swirl it anyway you like
9) Bake for 20-25 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool then slice the cake in the middle
10) Pop about 1/2 cup or more Nutella in the microwave for 40 seconds and spread it in between the layers and at the top and sides of the cake to cover it

11) Coat the top with chocolate sprinkles or 100s & 1000s

Brownies

Marble Brownies

September 05, 2012

Ingredients

Brownie layer

1/2 cup dark choc chips

110g butter, cubed

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 1/4 cup castor sugar

2 eggs

2/3 cup plain flour

A pinch of salt

Cheese layer

250g cream cheese

1 egg

1/3 cup castor sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Instructions

Note: Since these are brownies, everything is mixed by hand because unlike cakes, we do not want too much air in the batter

1) Preheat oven to 160'c, grease and line a regular sized brownie tin. I usually leave some excess baking paper haging out on the sides of the pan to make it easier to just pull the whole thing out and cut it on a board

2) Melt the choc chips and butter in the microwave for 1 - 2 minutes. Stir every 30 seconds

3) Leave to cool for a few minutes then mix in vanilla essence, sugar and eggs

4) Mix in the flour and salt for about a minute until well incorporated. Set aside half a cup of the batter for the swirl topping. Pour the remaining evenly into the greased pan

5) In a different bowl microwave the cubed cream cheese for about 1.5 minutes to soften it. Then mix in the egg, sugar and vanilla essence for bout 2 minutes with a whisk until smooth

6) Pour evenly on top of the brownie layer. Use a tsp and place dollops of the 1/2 cup of brownie batter on top of the cheese layer. I used a cake tester to swirl the dollops around. You could use anything thin such as a knife, toothpick or a skewer

7) Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until a pick comes out clean. Let cool to room temp and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before cutting. I suggest leaving it overnight in the fridge

Older
Stories

Old Fashioned Doughnuts with Vanilla Bean Glaze

Chocolate Cheese Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Pavlova

Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Oreo Ice Cream Cake

Crispy Mars Slice

Nutella Rainbow Cake

Marble Brownies

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