Cooking Monster

Cakes

Classic Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Topping

December 15, 2013

Ingredients

Cake

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

200g chopped baking dark chocolate (Cadbury ones taste amazing)

1 cup castor sugar

225g softened unsalted butter

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

125ml fresh milk

Cream Cheese Topping

250g cream cheese

1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

125ml thickened cream

Instructions

Cake

1) Preheat oven to 160'C

2) Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder in a big bowl

3) Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one by one and lastly the vanilla extract

4) Melt the chocolate on a double boiler. Place the chocolate in a heat resistant bowl, place over a saucepan of simmering water. The bottom of the bowl must not touch the water. After all has melted, let cool for a few minutes

5) Beat the cooled chocolate with the eggs butter mixture until smooth. Alternately mix 1/3 of the dry ingredients and 1/2 of the milk. So it's like dry, milk, dry, milk, dry

6) Pour batter in a lined 9" springform pan and bake for 55 minutes

7) Let the cake cool to room temperature before spreading the frosting

Cream Cheese

1) Mix the cream geese with a mixer until smooth

2) Add in the sugar and vanilla essence, continue mixing until smooth

3) Gradually add in the cream while mixing until you get a spreadable consistency. If too thick, add more cream. If too runny, add more sugar

4) Refrigerate for at least an hour for it to set

Beef

Korean Beef Mince

December 13, 2013

Ingredients

400g beef mince

3 chopped garlic

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp crushed ginger

1-2 green onion, sliced

Instructions

1) Mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, red pepper flakes and crushed red ginger in a bowl

2) Sautee garlic until fragrant and fry the beef until brown

3) Drain the excess oil and fat from the pan

4) Pour in the mixed sauce and sliced green onion. Stir well until all ingredients are incorporated

5) Garnish with some fresh sliced green onion

Eggs

Sambal Telur

December 10, 2013

Ingredients

4 telur rebus

2 bawang merah

2 ulas bawang putih

1/4 bawang kuning besar

1 tbsp ikan bilis

1/2 cup lada blend

1/2 cup water

1/2 inci belacan

1/2 tsp asam jawa + 1/2 cup water

1/2 tbsp sugar

Sugar and salt to taste

Instructions

1) Goreng telur with 1 tbsp of oil until brown, set aside. You can deep fry them kalau nak brown all around macam kat kedai but these are fine for me

2) Tumbuk bawang merah, bawang putih and ikan bilis. Tumis sampai naik bau

3) Masukkan lada blend, belacan and 1 tbsp of sugar. Goreng for about 10 minutes until garing and pecah minyak

4) Masukkan air and air asam jawa. Turn the heat down to low to medium and leave to simmer for about 15 minutes....

...until it has reduced to something like this. Kalau pekat sangat, add more water

5) Add in the sliced big onions and the fried eggs. Salt and sugar to taste. Stir well and tutup api

Cheesy Goodness

Cheesy Tuna Omelette

December 09, 2013

The easiest hearty breakfast!

Ingredients

3 large eggs

1 small can of tuna chunks in water (approx. 90g)

2 tbsp of shredded cheddar cheese

1 tbsp of mayo

1/2 tsp of black pepper

A pinch of salt

Instructions

1) Beat the eggs in a medium sized bowl

2) Chuck everything else and continue beating

3) Cook in a large pan at medium heat until cooked through

Beef

Baked Beef Macaroni

January 03, 2013

Ingredients

500g macaroni pasta

1 red onion, diced

1/2 tsp garlic powder

500g beef mince

800ml pasta sauce of your choice

200g sliced button mushrooms

1 medium sized tomato, diced

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp italian seasoning

1 tbsp hot sauce (I used Nando's Peri Sweet)

Salt to taste

Grated cheddar/mozzarella cheese and ground parsley for the topping

Instructions

1) Cook the pasta al dente and run them under cold water once they're done, drain and set aside

2) Heat up some oil in a pot and stir in the beef mince. After being left to brown for a while, season the beef with onion, garlic powder, black pepper, oregano, italian seasoning and salt. Mix well

3) After the onion has softened, add in the tomatoes and mushrooms. Keep stirring until the beef had cooked through

4) Pour in the pasta sauce and hot sauce. Leave to simmer and season to taste

5) Mix the sauce and the drained pasta and pour into a baking dish. Top off with the grated cheese and parsley

6) Bake in a preheated oven at 180'c for 25 minutes

Chicken

Honey BBQ Wings

December 27, 2012

Ingredients
20 wings

Group A
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp Cajun powder
1/2 tsp black pepper

Group B
1 cup regular BBQ sauce
1/2 cup honey
4 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp tomato sauce
2 tbsp hot/chilli sauce (I used Nando's Sweet Hot Chilli)

Instructions
1) Preheat oven to 180'c and grease baking sheets with cooking spray oil
2) Clean and pat dry the wings, cut at the joint if they are too big. Mix group A in a small bowl and coat the wings with the mixed, seasonings

3) Arrange on the baking sheets and cook for 40 minutes, turning once

4) While the wings are in the oven, simmer all of group B in a pot over low to medium heat

5) After 40 minutes of baking, dip the wings one by one in the simmered honey BBQ sauce and arrange back on the sheets. Be sure to drain any excess oil from the baking sheets

6) Continue cooking in the oven fro 10-15 minutes of until the wings turn golden brown

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

December 14, 2012

Ingredients
100g butter, softened
1/4 cup castor sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Instructions
1) Preheat oven to 180'c and line baking sheet with baking paper
2) Cream butter, castor sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Then continue mixing with the egg and vanilla essence until well mixed
3) Mix all purpose flour, cocoa powder and baking powder in a separate bowl. taking about 3 tbsp out to cover the chocolate chips with flour
4) Stir in the dry ingredients with the creamed butter and sugar to form a cookie dough. Then fold in the floured chocolate chips until well incorporated. Arrange teaspoons of balls on the tray and flatten them out with the back of a spoon

5) Bake for 12 minutes, let cool in the tray for a few minutes then transfer onto a cooling rack to cool completely

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

Bread

Tuna Melts

December 05, 2012

Ingredients
1 loaf of French Bread
400g canned tuna in mineral water
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp black pepper
1 pack of cheddar cheese slices (grated is also fine)

Instructions
1) Slice and butter the bread according to your liking
2) Mix the tuna, mayo, onions and black pepper in a big bowl
3) Spread 1 tbsp of the tuna mix on each slice and top it off with the cheese and sprinkle with some parsley

4) Bake in a preheated oven at 180'c for 10 minutes

Chicken

Chicken Puffs

December 02, 2012

Ingredients

500g chicken breast diced small

1 medium red onion

2 cloves garlice

2 tbsp curry powder
3 tbsp tomato sauce

1 cup water

1/2 cup mixed

1/2 cup slice button mushrooms

Salt and black pepper to taste

18-20 puff pastry sheets

1 egg, beaten

Instructions

1) Saute both diced onion, garlic and curry powder until fragrant. Add in the chicken breast and tomato sauce until half done

2) Add in the mixed vege, mushrooms and water and cook until the water thickens. Make sure the gravy is not too runny

3) Taste with salt and black pepper, set aside

4) Preheat oven to 180'c. Grease a muffin tray with some spray oil and line each cup with a puff pastry sheet. Add in 1 tbsp of the chicken mix into each cup