The Little Teochew: Singapore Home Cooking

Everyday Chocolate Loaf Cake

2013-05-09T17:25:00.000+08:00

Taking a short break to share this dark-as-night chocolate cake recipe with you. Hope everyone is doing fine. :) Recipe (adapted from Smitten Kitchen) - 113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened - 200g (1 cup) firmly packed light brown sugar (I reduced it to 100g) - 115g (1/2 cup) caster sugar (I reduced it to 75g; if you like it sweeter, reduce to 95g)* - 1 large egg, at room temperature - 1

Eggless Vanilla Cake

2013-04-20T15:55:00.000+08:00

Just a very quick post today. I have been asked many times for an eggless cake recipe and I have always replied that I love eggs too much to go without them. But just 2 days ago, a friend of mine happened to ask, and I decided that for once and for all, I would try this recipe that I bookmarked some time ago. I was surprised to see that the cake came out quite soft and moist - even more so the

Another Birthday, Another Cake

2013-04-10T16:23:00.001+08:00

My son turns 8 today, the second of 5 birthdays my family has been/will be celebrating over a span of 30 days. Think of all the food. And cakes. Birthday season is in full swing here! As it is, my sweet friends have already begun texting to ask when and where they can take me out for my birthday meal. I feel so loved ... and tipsy from all the good wine I know we will be drinking. But that will

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake (Again!)

2013-04-01T21:20:00.001+08:00

Yesterday, my daughter turned 14. We celebrated by leaving her pesky brothers at home and headed out for a yummy tapas lunch and shopping. After that, we returned home for her birthday cake. She had requested for a Japanese Strawberry Shortcake, "just like last year's". Fair enough, since I don't make cream cakes very often. I baked the sponge cakes and whipped the cream a day before. Assembly

Double Chocolate Cupcakes & New Oven!

2013-03-29T11:22:00.000+08:00

So I laid my late oven to rest on 20 March and got a new one 5 days later. I sure move on very quickly, don't I? The thing is, I have become so used to baking treats for my family that buying them day after day just seems completely odd. When I do the baking, I know exactly when it was baked and what went in it. I control the sweetness, the quality of ingredients and the cost. Ah, the cost.

Banana Rum Cake, Goodbye Oven

2013-03-22T10:45:00.000+08:00

Two nights ago, my oven breathed its last and left me in a most dramatic and sudden fashion. It was about 11pm when I was getting it preheated to bake a batch of granola before bed. Three minutes into action, I heard a really loud BANG. The whole house plunged into darkness, followed by the smell of burning. I freaked out. After fiddling with the switches and fuse box, I managed to get things

Meyer Lemon Pound Cake

2013-03-15T18:05:00.000+08:00

I blogged. Oh my, I actually managed to squeeze out a post! I am so amazed at myself I don't even know what to say. How about a big round of applause? C'mon, I could do with some encouragement! Tee hee. Alright, so I have been radio silent for almost 3 months. Not even Christmas, the New Year or Chinese New Year could coax me into posting something. For those of you who so kindly asked if I was

France 2012

2012-11-29T16:18:00.000+08:00

You know, there is so much more to France than Paris alone. I love Paris but I'm in love with the south of France. There is something very real and raw about rustic small towns and villages ... a certain je ne sais quoi that disarms even the most jaded traveller. The pace is slower, the people friendlier, traditions are preserved, and yes, coming from a tiny city state like Singapore, I

Salted Caramel Brownies

2012-11-16T21:00:00.000+08:00

Yoohoo! Hello, everyone. :) I'm so happy school's finally out! Nothing went as planned this year, but it kinda came together in the end and we actually survived. Still, I counted my blessings everyday and constantly reminded myself, "be thankful, it could be worse". Anyway, I can finally kick back, relax and take a break from everything. And by everything, I mean EVERYTHING. First up, a trip (

Berries Cream Cheese Butter Cake

2012-10-23T14:03:00.000+08:00

Another day, another week, another month. It's amazing how time just flies ... on hindsight, that is. When I am stuck in the daily grind, time seems to stand still, and I'll groan and grumble and wish it was Christmas. But now that we're actually venturing into the homestretch, I can't help but feel a little wistful ... as I always do. This has been a physically exhausting year. Whenever

Pasta With Anchovy Sauce

2012-09-21T21:17:00.000+08:00

I was on Twitter late one night when I saw Su-yin's photo about a dish she made. I was already feeling peckish, and her plate of pasta coated in anchovy sauce only made it worse. I think I sadly settled for some bread and Milo that night. While they served their purpose of quelling my hunger, they did nothing to satisfy my craving. So I made a mental bookmark on that dish, and cooked it at the

Best Cocoa Brownies

2012-09-14T13:57:00.006+08:00

Sometimes, people ask me for suggestions on what they should bring to a potluck. My reply is always the same - bring dessert! And no, it doesn't have to be some complicated 4-tier cake or a fussy french pastry. You can make simple things, like vanilla cupcakes, or a banana cake, or indeed, the very basic of bakes - brownies ... and still make an impression.I have a potluck in 2 weeks and I know

Munavalgekook (Egg White Cake)

2012-09-07T10:00:00.001+08:00

Hey, all! Meet Munavalgekook, a tongue-twister that ranks one notch below Eyjafjallajökull. Just kidding. :)Munavalgekook is this cake you see - made using egg whites, with some butter sneaked in. I used up all my leftover egg whites for this, instead of frying them into an omelette as I usually do. It tastes very much like an angel food cake.Making this cake is very straightforward. It requires

Pandan Chiffon Cake

2012-08-18T22:57:00.001+08:00

"Hello ladies, look at your cake, now back to mine, now back at your cake, now back to mine. Sadly, yours isn’t mine, but if you stopped using pandan essence and switched to real pandan extract, yours could smell like mine." Forgive me! I was just having fun doing my own silly parody on that Old Spice ad. :) Let's do it again, shall we? Look at that cake. Anyone who has tasted pandan will

Garlic Buttered Pasta

2012-08-11T22:42:00.006+08:00

Fast food: garlic buttered pasta, roasted chicken and a side of broccoli.Following my previous post, I thought it would be most appropriate to share a pasta dish next. :)I cooked this during the recent school holidays for my daughter and her friends. It was a last minute get-together and of all times, they chose to come over at 11am. *big groan*Obviously, I had to ensure a (somewhat) proper lunch

Appreciate The Cook

2012-08-05T09:45:00.003+08:00

Here's a conversation with my daughter 4 days ago, when I picked her up from class ...Me: "What's that you're holding? Let me see."Daughter (handing over container to me): "Spaghetti bolognese."Me (sniffing the contents): "Oh? Where did you get it?"Daughter: "We cooked it for our Home Economics class today and it tastes HORRIBLE!" (dramatically throws up hands in the air)Me: "What do you mean

Nigella's Old Fashioned Chocolate (Cup)cakes

2012-07-31T10:10:00.002+08:00

This is my go-to chocolate cake ... most of the time. I have my favourites when it comes to chocolate cakes, yet oftentimes, whenever I need a fix, I find myself turning to this one. On all counts, this is a good cake. It may not have the complex flavours of this, but it is nonetheless a good cake.What does it for me is that you only need to throw everything together, blitz, and you're ready to

Caramel Glazed Salmon Sub Sandwich

2012-07-24T20:50:00.001+08:00

This was dinner. Usually, when I cook a salmon dish, it would be with rice or potatoes. Today, I just felt like a sandwich. With a cuppa. Just for a change.The only thing I bought was the baguette. Everything else, I already on hand. It turned out to be quite a filling meal, actually! The sauce tasted something like teriyaki, but with a lot more funk, courtesy of the pungent fish sauce - which I

Scotch Pancakes & Caramelised Bananas

2012-07-17T11:33:00.005+08:00

I tweeted the other day, "Thinking of pancakes maybe, if I wake up early enough tomorrow."WELL. I woke up late as expected, and didn't feel like starting the day in the kitchen. So we lunched out, did our stuff and when we got home, it was just in time for tea. That's when I thought pancakes would still be a great idea. Don't you love all-day breakfast? :)Minutes later, we had these nice and warm

Fresh Strawberry Frangipane Tart

2012-06-17T21:06:00.002+08:00

Don't you love the look of a fresh fruit tart? Whenever I browse a display of cakes and pastries, the first thing I'd notice would be the pretty fruit tarts. Berries, apricots, figs, cherries ... perched elegantly like gems, with that irresistible glossy sheen. There's just something about bright, shiny objects and their appeal. I instantly get drawn to them like a girl to diamonds ... OH YES, I

Marmalade & Almond Tea Cakes

2012-06-10T00:50:00.004+08:00

Uh. It's June? Good grief, I just realised I only blogged ONE grand post last month. Tsk tsk! That said, I do have valid reasons for being absent (again). My previous helper went home not long ago, and a new one's here to take her place. There's been a lot of training and orientation going on these days, especially in my kitchen.One of the first dishes I taught her was fried kway teow (fried rice

Gambas al Pil Pil ... & Updates!

2012-05-15T14:43:00.002+08:00

Hello stranger.You still there? I know, I know. I have been awfully quiet. Can't help it ... so many things to do, so much life to live. :)I hope you've all been well. I've been really, really busy ... in a good way, if you know what I mean. If you have been following me on Twitter, you'd know that I was in Hong Kong recently to celebrate my birthday. It was a "milestone birthday" (ahem!), hence

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake - Again!

2012-04-22T15:45:00.011+08:00

You know me. When I like a particular cake, I will feature it again. It's clear from my archives which cakes I favour. :) This is one of them.In my last post, I shared a Marble Cake recipe which I thought was absolutely delightful. I noticed though, that my children were fighting mainly for the chocolatey bits (good heavens!), and so I promised to bake them a chocolate cake next. Well, here it is

Old-fashioned Marble Cake

2012-04-18T13:48:00.009+08:00

I love a good, simple cake. It is the true test of a recipe and the quality of the ingredients. A good cake does not need fancy frosting or gilded garnishing. It stands out on its own because of its taste and texture. Give me a good, simple cake any day, I say.This old-fashioned Marble Cake is one such example, and it's no surprise that it's from one of those handwritten recipes that has been

Chocolate Malt Cake

2012-04-15T23:18:00.003+08:00

April is birthday season for us. We celebrate 5 birthdays in the span of 30 days. Before we can recover from one cake, another one appears. ;) Pity our waistlines.My big boy turned 7 some days back, and this was the Chocolate Malt Cake I baked for him. He loves his chocolate, so no surprises here.Since it was a weekday, it was business as usual. But I let him open his presents and cut the cake