Rainbow Marble Cake @Marble Rainbow Cake




Rainbow Marble Cake

 




This time around, I just let the colour blend into each other

 



Cut into squares

 

 Marble Cake is always a winner in my household. It is easy, simple but delicious in its own way. My mother has always expected me to bring back this cake during Eid-ul-Adha. So, even though time to time I have always imagined myself to bake something else, rather than this colourful cake- I have no choice but to fall back to this recipe as it easier. The truth is, I have created this marble cake by chance last year. I wanted something which is simple, with less baking method, with easily available ingredients.Without referring to any recipes, I have managed to create my own marble cake.

   I remembered once doing this type of cake during my secondary years, following a recipe from a Malay women's magazine "Wanita" (Women in English). Eventually, I lost the the recipe. What I remembered most was the use of Ideal evaporated milk. So years gone by, but I still couldn't really figure out how to do bake this type of cake. What I knew back then, the cake was called "Kek Aidilfitri" (literally translated as Eid-ul-Fitr Cake). Then, based on the years of experience as as self-taught baker, I have managed to pull through.

   However, for this year, since my self-raising flour is still in the box, I have decided to bake this cake from scratch- no more using self-raising flour. In the previous post, I have mentioned about my adjustments for the Marble Rainbow Cake. I wanted to make it a better cake, in case there is no self-raising flour in the pantry. So here it goes;

THE CAKE

315g  of salted and unsalted butter ( I combined Golden Churn and SCS unsalted butter)

1 cup caster sugar

2 1/2 cup of plain flour

2 tsp of baking powder

1 tsp of baking soda

1 tsp of salt

8 eggs

1-2tsp of apple green colour

1-2tsp red and pink colour -combine them together

6 tbsp of evaporated milk ( I used Ideal)

1 tsp of fresh lemon juice

How

** Grease your baking pan with butter/ margarine.

**  Line your baking pan with parchment paper. (I have used the square baking pan)

1) In a stainless steel bowl, sift together plain flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt .  Mix them through.

2) In another stainless steel bowl, using a hand mixer, cream butter and sugar until white and fluffy.
 (5-6 mins).

3) Then add in eggs, one by one. Mix through.
4) Add in the sifted flour bit by bit, until finished. Mix well.

At this stage, preheat the oven for 150C for 7-8 mins ( I used electric conventional oven)

5) Then, add in the evaporated milk. Stir the batter slowly.

6) Next, add in the fresh lemon juice. Stir well.

7) Now, divide the batter into three parts. The bigger portion, let it be in its original colour. Put three dollops of the batter into two different bowls. (One bowl =3 dollops) .

8) Colour the batter in the bowl with green, another one with red.

9) After that, put a dollop of the original batter in the baking pan, followed by the red and green batter. Let the batter meddle into each other. Do this until all the batter has finished. Level the batter using a spatula. Put the baking pan into the oven.

10) After 25-30 minutes, you can check if the cake is ready by inserting a skewer into the cake. If the skewer comes out clean, your cake is ready.

11) Let the cake cool in the pan, for about 7-8 mins. Then transfer it to a wire rack.

Then, it is up to you- to cut it into squares.



 




Simple, marble, butter cake is always the best- I guess

  Happy baking every one...;)

Eid-ul-Adha and Memories



My grandma's house is all lit up for Eid

 Eid-ul- Adha has just passed, but I am still longing for the times spent with loved ones at my maternal grandmother's house in Rembau, Negeri Sembilan. It's always a pleasure to celebrate Eid at our own ancestral home. If you have been following my blog for a while, I have mentioned that Eid-ul-Adha has always been my favourite celebration. I maybe biased here, but I personally think that there is more time to spend with family during Eid-ul-Adha compared to Eid-ul-Fitr. 



Lemang in the making. Lemang is a type of delicacy where glutinous rice and coconut milk
are cooked in the bamboo casing. 



For Negeri Sembilan folks, we celebrate Eid-ul-Adha in a very big scale. Even though this year, my family did not do any "Qurban" ceremony, we still celebrated Eid in a very grand style. Apparently, my cousins decided to cook their own "lemang" during the eve of Eid, and they really worked hard until midnight. So, this year I did not even buy a single "lemang" courtesy of cousins.





Home-cooked lemang

Meanwhile, my son really enjoyed this year's Eid as he got to spend time, playing games with cousins and second cousins. 

My son and his second cousin- they really looked like twins



Rainbow marble cake- my tradional cake for Eid-ul Adha. I have made
adjustments from my own original recipe.

And I as usual, needed to bake something to bring to my "hometown", remembering that my mother does not really like fancy, frosted cake- ended up baking the ever versatile rainbow marble cake. This time around, I have made adjustments to my original recipe.( I will do another entry specially on that recipe). The cake turned out nice and fluffy and tasted even better after a few days. My mother brought a plate full of cake pieces to the kampung surau for Eid morning prayers.





Rainbow marble cake- cut into pieces. Original recipe- please see here



Using grandma's old crockery, it feels like I am being transported to yesteryears..



Sometimes, what really matters in our life is time spent with our loved ones. It has been two months since I went back to my "home town" and I felt that this year's Eid was definitely the best. Never mind for the massive traffic jam of going back to grandma's house- what really matters is the idea of going back to our own roots and culture. My grandmother has passed away for 21 years, but the picture of her grandchildren and great grandchildren happily playing hide and seek in her massive compound, is sure  something to be treasured in my heart.



This little girl- my niece who was excited as well to celebrate Eid.



Well, I have definitely coming back to my roots once again and humbled by memories of spending time with my ever lovely grandma. And life is even sweeter with the idea of celebrating Eid with family and relatives, having dinner of barbecued fish and steak. Nothing beats the feel of celebrating Eid in my grandmother's house.



We even had barbeque during the second night of Eid.

 

I belong here, I am..... Yes, I am.



1234 Cake



The sold-out  1234 butter cake





It's definitely a winner - a buttery yellow cake



For months I have been craving for a pure butter cake. A simple no-fuss butter cake, without all the trimmings and frosting. A simple cake with no strings attached, or guilty indulgence. A cake which I could readily whip up within minutes, without the need to measure the ingredients using the kitchen scale. So after looking around, flipping through the pages of baking books and even blog walking- I have tracked and discovered the simple recipe of 1234 cake. 1234 cake  has been around for ages in the American kitchen. This butter cake recipe is definitely suitable for layered cakes, it has that "linger on" taste. But be warned, you will not stop eating this. 1234 cake is a classic yellow American cake. A cake which is so dense and airy, and I think is suitable for frosting or to be covered with fondant.

  After more than a month of not baking anything, I finally found the mood to bake again. 1234 cake has finally broken my spell of a "no- no- baking" again. In the previous entry, I have mentioned about the overzealous tasks in my work place, and of me being in a very stressful place. Then came morning, and I finally got the answer to my stress. It's my mistake- I have forgotten my passion all this while, neglected and pushed it away at the corner of my life. Now, here I am- back on track. About this cake- I have loosely based my 1234 cake recipe to  this wonderful lady. You could check on her wonderful blog.

   Now, back to my 1234 cake - I have baked this cake at 3.45 in the morning. And finished all the clean-up of utensils by 5.15 a.m. But, anyhow, I felt like I was given a new spirit. It's like visiting an old friend, a friend with lots of chemistry, sharing happy moments, reflecting on painful days. It's like finding  a lost soul of mine.

    Happily, I cut the cake into pieces, put them into a container and brought  it to my work place. Immediately, asking colleagues to give the cake a try.  And I came home with an empty food container. phew ;) Well, I thought that my cake did not really rise up. But after checking several images in the net, I have concluded that it was meant to be. I have used a 9X9X3 square baking pan and I have managed to get a flat cake. Probably if I were to use a smaller size baking pan, I would get a rise-up cake.

    All right, this is my version of 1234 cake recipe. I have made adjustments to the cake  so that you'll get a better version  than mine. Probably my baking method for this morning was wrong, but I had discovered what went wrong. Perhaps, I would do another entry for this cake. But, now I am posting the better version of the cake's recipe. Here goes;

The ingredients

1 cup of unsalted butter ( I have used SCS and Emborg unsalted butter)

2 cups of fine sugar ( caster sugar)

3 cups of all-purpose flour ( plain flour)

4 large eggs

1 cup of fresh milk +( 2 tbsp of fresh milk- optional)

1 tbsp of double-action baking powder

1 tsp of vanilla

1 tsp of fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp of salt

How

** In a clean bowl, sift in flour and double-action baking powder. Stir well.

1) Grease your baking pan with butter. Line it with baking parchment.

2) Separate your egg  whites and yellow into two different bowls.

3) Beat your egg whites using electric mixer until you reach the soft peak. (At this stage, you could add 2 tbsp from the 2 cups of fine sugar)

4) Cut the butter into cubes. In a baking bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy and the colour changes to yellow white.

5) Add in the egg yellow, one by one. (Or in my case, I beat the egg yellow lightly- before adding them into the baking bowl).

6)Add in vanilla. Mix well. Stir in the salt.

7) Add in half of the flour mixture. Mix well. Then, add in half of the milk. Mix it again.

** At this stage, you could pre-heat the oven at 150C for at least 8 minutes ( I use the electric conventional oven)

8) Add in the last half of the flour mixture. Mix well. Next, add in the last half of the milk. Mix it again. (Add in the 2tbsp of fresh milk-if any)

9) Lastly, add in the soft- peak egg white. Stir well, using the wooden spoon. Add in the lemon juice. Stir well.

10) Pour the batter into the baking pan. Level the batter.

11) Put the baking pan immediately into the pre-heated oven. Bake for about 30 minutes or less.

12) Check if your cake is ready by inserting a skewer. If the skewer comes out clean, then your cake is ready.

Happy baking, everyone...Thank goodness for a butter cake.

This is a happy -feel-good butter cake...

Nothing beats  the taste of a butter cake with a cup of dark, black coffee

Where's my baking mood anyway?

My dream kitchen- rustic and country with a table suitable for baking matters
(Picture : google)

It has been more than a month since I have updated my blog. Seriously, I totally lost my mood to blog or bake. There are simply too many things to be done at the same time. That's the problem of people who have a day job. The tasks at work are too overwhelming that we don't have the time to concentrate on our own passion. You see, I love baking very much, to the extent that I have to ban myself from entering the baking section of the book store. I always end up with baking books even if  I don't have the time to try out the recipes. Therefore, baking books become the "white elephants" of my domestic life. It is so therapeutic to flip the pages of the baking books but when it is the time to try  out the recipes, I go cold feet. Not that I like the feeling so much, but I could not bring myself to take out my mixer and do the usual ritual of baking procedures. Maybe I am stressed out with my job. Yes, maybe.

   A few years ago, when I started this blog, I remember that baking used to be my channel to release my stress. It was like a calling to me. But lately, due to the overwhelming tasks to be done at my work place, I found myself to be mentally tired. Well, it has been a few weeks that I have seen beautiful cakes in the net and thinking and wishing of me finding the mood to bake again- but to no avail. I have bookmarked some recipes, but yet I am still having the "baker's block" syndrome (Is there such thing as this- I coined this phrase from "writer's block" - only one wonders). I have seen pictures of cakes to be inspired. But it has done no wonders to me.

  Meanwhile, more than a month ago, I went to Empire Gallery in Subang Jaya and found some interesting things in one of the shops. One, as seen in the picture below, - "Baking Fair". Various colours of Kitchen Aid mixers and not forgetting the toasters. Pleasing to the eyes, definitely.

It's like going to the candy store...;)



Secondly, the one I have been looking for. As seen from the picture,-- macaroon and whoopie pie baking pan. Never mind that I need to spend more than RM 70.00 for that particular pan- as long as I finally found the one that I've been looking for, I am more than happy. I bought the pan at the end and it is now comfortably stored in my baking compartment, hmmm....still in its plastic........

Finally, a macaroon baking pan for me ;)

Well, probably I need to find my baking mood again. It  went hiatus for more than a month. But at the end of the day, only baking could cure my stress and boredom.

Yes, I should be inspired again by this Rainbow Marble Cake
that I have baked during the last Eid-ul- Adha.

Happy Wednesday every one, and may I be inspired to bake again as Eid-ul-Adha is just around the corner ;)

P/S : Really looking forward to go back to grandma's house in Rembau, Negeri Sembilan.

Having Eid's breakfast at grandma's house...