Marble Cheese Cake

I actually made this Marble Cheesecake a couple of months ago after looking at MamaFami's blog. The moment I saw the pictures and read the ingredients and instructions, I knew I had to make some since it sounded doable and it actually is. As much I love cheesecake, I can only eat so much since I found them a bit too thick and too rich for my taste. And that is why this Marble Cheesecake is just amazing. You get to enjoy cheesecake with half the guilt. *wink* Here is the recipe copied from MamaFami's. Hope you will like it as much as I did.

Marble Cheese Cake

Ingredients :

(A)
185g butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup castor sugar
1 cup self-raising flour
2 eggs

(B)
250g cream cheese (I used 12 oz Philadelphia cream cheese)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Method :

1. Melt butter over low heat. Then add in cocoa powder. Leave to cool.
2. Add in sugar and stir. Add in eggs, one at a time. Finally add in flour and stir until well mixed.. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar till creamy. Add in the egg, vanilla essence and fresh milk.
4. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the cocoa mixture onto the middle of the prepared tin (line with greaseproof paper). Top it with 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture. Continue doing so, until all the mixture finishes.
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 350F C for 45 minutes or until cake is done. Leave overnight before cutting.

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Step-By-Step Pictures of How I Pleat/Fold the Wonton

Pleating wonton can be tricky but I hope with these step-by-step pictures, my readers would be able to do it in no time. You can get the recipe for Fried Wonton from my previous post but for this pictures, I actually used ground turkey instead of ground chicken and they come out very good that Michael kept on eating them.

Add about a tablespoon of the mix at the center and wet 2 sides of the skin

Fold the skin diagonally, pressing the sides together and get rid as much air as possible

Wet 1 end and gently fold the 2-ends by overlapping them together

This is how the wonton would look like once they are done

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Kuih Bakar

I apologise for taking such a long time to put up a new post. My notebook has been in a 'workshop' and I only got it back yesterday. Now I know how much I rely on a computer. hehe.

Back to the food, Kuih Bakar is a traditional Malay kuih. There is no direct translation for the word kuih but for this context kuih means cake and bakar means bake. Well, bakar actually means burn but for this delicacy, it is best translated as 'baked cake' simply because it is baked. Back in Malaysia when I was working with a holding company, there is always meeting to be held at the office. Foods and refreshments would be served and we were always asked for suggestions. Among other must-haves would be this sweet, creamy cake, Kuih Bakar.

I have always wanted to make Kuih Bakar but never gotten around to making it myself. One day I just knew that I have to have it so I started searching for the recipe. There is quite a few out there but I when I made it, they come out tasting good but looking rather weird like crooked and all. With the help from MamFami, we tweaked the recipe until it comes out nicely. This is the easiest cake to make. There is no beating needed. You just need to put all the ingredients in the blender for a couple of minutes and pour them in a baking pan and bake. Even a 5 year old can do it. *wink*

Kuih Bakar Recipe

1 1/4 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp pandan paste
1 can coconut milk (400 ml)
3 eggs
2 tbs butter
1/3 tsp salt
Toasted sesame seed

1. Preheat oven at 360F and butter a baking pan, preferably round and about 2.5in deep.

2. Put all ingredients except sesame seed in the blender and and blend for a few minutes.

3. Pour the mixture into a baking pan and sprinkle sesame seed. (make sure you fill up to 2/3 of the baking pan, lesser and you will get a thin one like mine!)

4. Bake for 1 hour.


If you like the taste and smell of pandan paste, you might also like Tepung Pelita.

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Superbowl Menu

Honey Barbeque Chicken Wings

This weekend, the football fan in the US (in Malaysia, it is known as American football) will either be in Tampa, Florida or glued in front of the television at home or at their favourite bars to watch the SuperBowl. If you're watching the game at a bar or at the stadium, food would be the least of your problem. But what if you are watching it at home and friends are coming over? Do not fret my friends. Here are some of the food that you can prepare and maybe even impressed them. Just click on the name at the bottom of each picture to get the recipes. In the meantime, have a fun weekend everybody! Don't drink and drive ok?

Banana Fritters

Prawn Fritters

Frankly Onion

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Pengat Pisang

Indonesian call it Kolak Pisang while Malaysian call it Pengat Pisang. It does not matter what name you want to call it, these are just so good to have. Since you can have these Pengat Pisang hot or cold, it makes it suitable for all seasons. All year round my friends and throughout the whole day too. I would enjoy a bowl of these Pengat Pisang for breakfast, tea-time, snacking and dessert. On a different day, of course. I hope you will try this delicacies and enjoy it as much as I do.

Pengat Pisang

2 ripe plantain, sliced
3 1/2oz palm sugar
2 pandan leaves, knotted if long
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 1/2 cups water
Pinch of salt
3 tbsp small tapioca pearl, soaked in hot/warm water (optional)

1. Put all ingredients in a pot except the plantain and tapioca pearl. Boil on medium heat while stirring continuously.

2. Once boiled, add the plantain and tapioca pearl. Stir occasionally, taste. Add palm sugar if necessary let it simmer for 30min.

Enjoy hot or refrigerate overnight to enjoy as cold dessert.

Can't get enough of banana/plantain? Check out Pisang Palembang and Banana Fritters.

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Yam Fritters / Keledek Goreng

3 more days before we have to change the date to 2009. Time sure does fly very fast. Like Michael said, "Just when I'm finally putting the date on cheques to 2008, it's changing again!". And a lot happened in 2008 too. From the political to weather to world to financial news. Some are good while others look very bleak. You all know which ones are looking very bleak at this moment. We are just done with a 4-day weekend and now we are about to get another 4-day weekend. Some of us of course has to take Friday off to get the long weekend but I am sure it is worth it. Who wants to go to work for 1 day in between holidays, right?

Anyways, I haven't been cooking that much lately but while looking for what to have for breakfast yesterday, I found a yam sitting on the kitchen counter and thought maybe I should make yam fritters. As some of you already know, fritters are a local favourite snack in Malaysia especially during tea-time and breakfast. The usual ones are of course banana fritters but the sellers would usually sell different kind of fritters and yam fritters are one of them. Here is how I make my yam fritters.

Yam Fritters

1 yam, pealed and sliced 1/2cm thick
3 tbs all-purpose flour
2 tbs tempura flour
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Cold water
Oil for deep frying

1. In a bowl, mix flour, turmeric powder and cold water to form a thick batter.

2. Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan on medium high.

3. Take 1 slice of yam at a time and coat with the batter and slowly put it in the wok/pan. Depending on the size of the sliced yam and wok/pan, fry a few at a time. Don't overcrowd because that will change the temperature of the oil. Flip once or twice.

4. Fry until golden brown on both side.

5. Sprinkle with some powdered sugar and serve immediately.

**I find the type of yam sold here to be a bit watery than what I am used to and if not eaten immediately after deep-frying, the crust tend to get soggy.

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Sardine Tart

I don't know why I love sardine. I just do. I think it is simple, easy to make, cheap and yummy to eat. That is more than enough reasons to like sardine, don't you think? Anyways, yesterday I made some of these sardine tarts. Truth is, I wasn't sure what to make when I bought the flaky dough sheet. I knew that the filling is going to be sardine but not of the shape. I thought of making sardine rolls but then I wrongly cut the dough so I just let it flow and thus emerges the Sardine Tart. All within 30min! Hah! Rachel Ray, here I come!


Sardine Tart
makes 24 in mini muffin tray

1 can Pillsbury Flaky Dough Sheet
1 can sardine in tomato sauce, 5.5oz
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1/3 serrano chili, finely chopped (optional)
3 tbsp ketchup
salt and sugar

1. Preheat oven at 375F

2. In a bowl, mix everything except the dough sheet and taste.

3. Lay the dough sheet on to a flat area (I used my wood chopping board) and cut into 24 pieces.

4. Fit the dough into the mini muffin pan and fill with the sardine mix.

5. Put it into the oven and bake for 13-15min.

Want more of sardines? Check out my Spicy Sardine Sandwich.

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Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

Is it just me or it is hard to get back to posting after a very long weekend? Well, Thanksgiving was good. Our friends, Shirley and Kevin came to celebrate it with us. We did not have any turkey this year but that does not mean we did not have lots of food. We had hot roast beef sandwiches, Cheesy Garlic Biscuits, sushi, potato salad, coleslaw, yeemee noodles and even a few vodka shots. ;)

I don't really fancy biscuits but Michael loves them especially the ones at Red Lobster. He could just eat those Cheesy Garlic Biscuits and nothing else and he is a happy camper. Very easy. So for Thanksgiving, I decided to make some. I found the recipe at Joyfulabode.com and decided to give it a try. I'm glad everybody liked them. It is easy to make and goes well with the hot roast beef sandwiches.

Cheesy Garlic Biscuits
Makes 12

1 pack buttermilk biscuit mix (I used Bisquick, about 1 1/2cups)
1 1/2cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oregano
3/4 tsp garlic salt1. Preheat oven to 400F. Spray cooking sheet with non-stick spray.

2. Put biscuit mix, cheese and milk in a bowl and mix well to form a sticky dough.

3. Using spoon, drop lumps of dough onto cookie sheets 1.5in apart. Bake for 10min.

4. In a bowl, melt butter and mix with oregano and garlic salt.

5. When the timer goes off, take them out and brush with butter mixture and bake 5min at 400F and another 5-6min at 350F.

6. Transfer into a plate and serves immediately.

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Please Give Me a Name

Update: From all the suggestions received, I have decided to pick the one given by Jun of IndochineKitchen which is Frankly Onion. This dish is officially called Frankly Onion.

Thank you all and Happy Thanksgiving!


My friend invited us to a potluck farewell party yesterday at their place in Anaheim. 2 of our friends, Ping and Rachel are moving to Minnesota because Rachel got a job offer teaching at the university there. She had asked me to bring Mango Apple Salad which I did but I also wanted to bring something else. I really didn't know what to bring until it donned on me that we have a few packets of beef franks in the freezer.

They are served at the bar as snacks and I really do not know what it is called or what I should call it. That is why I need your help to give a name to these snacks. Until it is given a name, it shall remain as a 'name-less' dish but not recipe-less. These are good for parties or if you just want to snack on something but without too much work. If you are making these for kids, just omit the chili.


Frankly Onion
serves 3-4

1 packet beef franks, cut diagonally
1 onion, sliced
1 red chili, sliced
Sugar to taste

1. In a pan or wok, sauteed the beef franks on high heat.

2. Add onion and chili. Stir until soft.

3. Add sugar and taste.

4. Transfer to a plate and serve hot.

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Portuguese Egg Tarts

I was hooked on these scrumptious Portuguese Egg Tart eversince the first time Rasa Malaysia made them for me. Everytime we meet up for makan (eating) session, I will request her to make them. So many times that she told me to request for something else beside egg tarts. haha.

I did not own the mini muffin pan until a few weeks ago when I found them at Walmart selling for 4.99 which is a real bargain so I grabbed one. Last weekend we were invited to a birthday party in Temecula and I decided to use it and make some Portuguese Egg Tarts. The first try was as usual a disaster. Instead of using 1 box of pastry mix, I used 2 so you can imagine how thick the crust was! The next morning we rushed to the supermarket and got another box of pie crust mix and finally they turned out so so good.

Portuguese Egg Tarts

makes 24 in mini muffin pan

A. Crust

1 box Betty Crocker Pie Crust Mix 11oz

3 tbsp melted butter

1/3 cup cold water

B. Filling

4 egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup milk

1 tspn vanilla essence

1. Stir ingredients A in a bowl until it forms a big ball. On a floured surface, roll the dough and cut into 24 little balls.

2. Butter the muffin pan or you can also use pam. Preheat the oven to 200F.

3. Flatten the balls and try to mould/shape them to fit into the muffin pan using your fingers before you actually fit them into the pan. Once all 24 are ready, set aside.

4. Put all ingredients B in the blender and beat for 3-4 minutes. Strain using a strainer into a measurement cup for easy pouring. Fill them into the crust about 80% full.

5. Turn up the heat to 375F and bake for 25min or until the filling start turning a little bit brownish.

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Prawn Fritters / Cekodok Udang

I love fritters. Be it Flour Fritters, Banana Fritters or Prawn/Shrimp fritters or Cekodok/Cucur Udang as they are fondly called by Malaysian. They are easy to make and very filling. I have to say that cekodok is our favourite breakfast on weekend.

Prawn Fritters / Cekodok Udang

Makes 18-20

18-20 medium size shrimp - cleaned, deveined and/or de-shelled

1 egg
1/2 medium size onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup cold water

Oil for deep frying

Steel ladle

1. In a bowl, lightly whisk the egg. Add in chopped onion, flour, turmeric powder and salt. Stir a little bit and then add in the water. Stir well.

2. In a wok, heat the oil on medium.

3. Run the ladle in the hot oil just to lightly coat it to avoid sticking. Pour about 1-1.5 tbsp batter into the ladle and place 1 shrimp on top. Lighly press into the batter.

4. Put it into the hot oil and give it a little shake/wiggle so the batter comes off the ladle.

5. Flip the fritters once or twice until golden brown.

6. Continue until all batter are used. Fry between 4-5 fritters at one time, depending on the size of your wok.

7. Enjoy on its own or dip into sweet chili sauce.

**Note

Because of the water in the ingredient, the fritter could/would splatter when frying. Please be very careful when deep frying them.

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Tepung Pelita

Tepung Pelita is like the best dessert in Malaysia and especially more so during fasting month. I could not tell you enough how much I miss having this sweet, creamy (coconout milk creamy) and a little bit salty eversince I moved here. Tepung Pelita is a must-have in my family. And that must-have is everyday for the whole of fasting month. I dont know why the cravings get crazy during fasting month since I dont really mind not having them for the rest of the 11months in the year. This craziness for Tepung Pelita doesnt just happen in my family but also by my friends/readers of my other blog as admitted by them here.

This year I am finally brave enough to make Tepung Pelita. My quest for the recipe brought me to a few sites/blogs of those who has made this before but the recipe and how-to is basically the same. 3 major differences that I found are 1) whether or not its steamed 2) with or without the sugar syrup at the bottom 3) whether or not you're using the banana leaves as the 'boat'.

The original Tepung Pelita are usually steamed, with sugar syrup at the bottom AND comes in small 'boat' made of banana leaves as seen here. This picture is taken from hanieliza.fotopages.com. This is how tepung pelita is sold in its 'original form'. I can eat between 3-4 and sometimes even more of these everyday during fasting month. *wink*

You can go here to see pictures of how its made step-by-step. Below is the recipe that I used with some modifications.

1 + 3tbsp cup rice flour
1 cup sugar
5 cups water

2 tsp pandan paste
4 cups coconut milk
4 tbs rice flour
A bit of salt

2 square Glass or ceramic bowls (9x9 or 10x10)

1. In a pot, mix 1 + 3 tbsp cup rice flour, 1 cup sugar, 5 cups water and 2 tsp pandan paste and stir well until smooth. Keep aside.

2. In a different pot, mix coconut milk, 4 tbsp rice flour and salt and stir well. Keep aside.

3. Cook no.1 on slow heat, stirring continuously until shiny.

4. Pour equally into the 2 glass bowls.

5. Now cook no.2 it thickens. You must stir all the time to avoid the flour from getting clumpy.

6. Pour onto the 1st layer.

7. Refrigerate overnight and enjoy once its chilled.

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Deep-Fried Tofu With Sweet Spicy Sauce

Thai food has become 1 of Malaysian favourites for a long time due to their geographical location which is just northern of Malaysia. Most of the Thai food stall or restaurants are run by the Kelantanese, people from Kelantan which is a northern Malaysian state and bordering Thailand.

Visits to the Thai restaurants here in the US I realise that they always have deep fried tofu in their menu. Frankly speaking, I dont remember if I have ever ordered this from the Thai stalls or restaurants back home. It is however very easy to make. So if you crave for this dish, save the $8 and make them yourself.

Deep-Fried tofu with Sweet Spicy Sauce

1 pack firm tofu, dry pat and cuts into squares or other shapes
Oil for deep frying

1. In a deep pan or wok, heat the oil and deep fry tofu until golden brown.

2. Use paper towel to rid of excess oil.

For the sauce, I use mae ploy sweet chili sauce and added some ground peanuts to it. You can use any other kind of sweet chili sauce.

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