Tahu Guling // Tofu Rolled In Spicy Sweet Sour Sauce

This dish is originally from Tegal, a small city in Java. But if you find this dish somewhere else but Tegal, it seems it has been modified according to the taste of the people or the place where you buy. I have the recipe from Indonesian local magazine Femina, and this is the way to make Tahu Guling or free translated as fried tofu rolled in spicy sweet sour sauce. But if you go to other side of Indonesia, you'll might find this dish with different flavour. It doesn't matter, I haven't eaten this dish before ... not as I remember ... but my curiousity is paid, this dish is so delicious and simple to make... I like it so much ^_^
Tahu Guling
(Source: Femina)

Ingredients:
300 ml warm water
1 tsp vinegar
50 ml Indonesian sweet soysauce (kecap manis)
12 tofu, fried, slice 4x4 cm
150 gr taoge
5 tablespoons fried onions
1 tablespoon chopped celery (spring onion)
Grind:
4 red chilies
4 cloves garlic
50 gr gula jawa (brown sugar)
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
- Sauce: mix all grind ingredients, add with water, vinegar and kecap manis. Set aside.

- Serving: place fried tofu on a plate, add with taoge. Pour the sauce over the tofu. Sprinkle with fried onions and chopped celery / spring onion.

Gulai Kambing // Spiced Lamb

Gulai kambing or lamb which is cooked in a curry-like coconut milk soup is belonged to street hawker and is quite popular in Indonesia. It is easy to be found in almost every corner of the city. What I like from this dish is the rich aroma of spices and distinctive flavour of lamb mixed together in the mouth. The lamb stew is usually served with Acar (pickled of carrots and cucumber) but my version is served with Acar Kuning and Sambal. Hmmm.. makes me hungry again by writing this.

I have this recipe from my mother, she said the gulai will taste better by using fresh ingredients and toasted for a while on a dry wok. But my style is always the easy and quick way of cooking except if I have plenty time to stand behind the kitchen maybe I'll do the same as her way... ^_^

This is also my entry for event Masak Bareng Yuuk (Cooking Together) for the month January 2010, and the theme is Panganan Kaki Lima (Street hawker Food).

Gulai Kambing // Spiced Lamb

Ingredients:
1/2 kg lambs
1 stick sereh (lemon grass)
salt, pepper
750 ml coconut milk

5 shallots
3 cloves garlic
3 candlenuts (kemiri)
1 teaspoon kunyit (curcuma) powder
4 red chillies
1/4 teaspoon jinten (cumin seeds)
1/2 tablespoon ketumbar (coriander) powder
1/2 teaspoon pala (nutmeg) powder
1/2 teaspoon cinamon powder
1/2 teaspoon laos (galanga) powder

Directions:
- Cut the lamb into bite-size chunks.
- Blend all the spices in a blender or using a mortar to have a smooth paste.
- Heat up the oil in a large pan, add the paste and lemon grass and saute until fragrant.
- Then add the lamb, stirring frequently.
- Pour the coconut milk and bring to boil. Stirring constantly, season with salt and pepper, then lower the heat and allow to simmer until the meat is very tender, approximately 40 minutes.
- Serve with steamy rice, acar, sambal and krupuk.

Farewell Party Cake

It's been a busy weekend for me. There were two farewell party invitations in one day. One was from Pipiet, a friend who is moving back to Indonesia. Her husband worked for Indonesian Embassy in Brussels en after 4 years they move back to Indonesia to be replaced somewhere else. I couldn't come to their farewell party but I decided to make a cake with the decoration for her. The dresscode of the party was purple, so for that occasion I also chose purple to cover the cake.

.....................ooOoo...........................

The other farewell party was from Diana De Caluwe. She's going on retirement as nanny. She used to take care my daughter when she was a baby. She's been doing her job for 25 years and time to stop now. Because of this Diana's farewell party I couldn't go to farewell party of Pipiet. Diana didn't know about this party, it was a surprise for her. Her daughter planned this party with other colleagues of Diana and all kids who used to be onder her care were invited.

It was a pleasant and emotional meeting after 3 years didn't see each other. Especially when she saw my daughter again, she had tears in her eyes. And my cake, I tought it would be for everybody, but no, she didn't share it with other guests but she kept it for herself.. hahaha.. which is fine for me. In fact I made it especially for her.

.......................ooOoo........................

The cake itself was a chocolate cake filled with mascarpone strawberry and covered or decorated with rolled fondant.

It was hard work to decorate two cakes for the same day. It was a bit lack of ideas, but then I just decided to go for something simple yet pretty to see.

Meringue

I don't know what is the best recipe for meringue. I've made it from few different recipes and the result wasn't so bad. Only the shape was not as good as from the store. But after reading some reviews about this, I make my conclusion (I think) this is the best recipe of meringue which I found from Allrecipes.com.

The meringue as shown on image was not made by me. It was bought from the store in purpose to compare the taste between fresh meringue I will make and from the store. I can't compare the taste yet since I still don't have time to bake it myself but to photograph this cute meringue from the shop who can resist.. ^_*


Meringue

Ingrendient

• 4 egg whites
• 270 g confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). Butter and flour a baking sheet.
2. In a glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy using an electric mixer. Sprinkle in sugar a little at a time, while continuing to whip at medium speed. When the mixture becomes stiff and shiny like satin, stop mixing, and transfer the mixture to a large pastry bag. Pipe the meringue out onto the prepared baking sheet using a large round tip or star tip.
3. Place the meringues in the oven and place a wooden spoon handle in the door to keep it from closing all the way. Bake for 3 hours, or until the meringues are dry, and can easily be removed from the pan. Allow cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container at room temperature.

Cream Cheese Brownies

A lazy sunday and craving for something sweet??!! Yes, this is the result.
Recipe from Joy of Baking.

Brownie Layer:

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

4 ounces (114 grams) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 1/4 cups (250 grams) granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/2 cup (70 grams) all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream Cheese Layer:

8 ounces (227 grams) cream cheese, at room temperature

1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 large egg

- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Have ready a 9 x 9 inch (23 x 23 cm) square baking pan that has been lined with aluminum foil across the bottom and up two opposite sides of the pan. Set aside.

- In a stainless steel (heatproof) bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla extract. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (with a wooden spoon) after each addition. Stir in the flour and salt and beat, with a wooden spoon, until the batter is smooth and glossy and comes away from the sides of the pan (about one minute). Remove 1/2 cup of the brownie batter and set aside. Place the remainder of the brownie batter evenly into the prepared pan.

- Then in the bowl of your food processor (or with a hand mixer), process the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar, vanilla, and egg and process until creamy and smooth. Spread the cream cheese filling over the brownie layer. Spoon small dollops of the reserved brownie batter evenly on top of the cream cheese filling. Then with a table knife or wooden skewer, swirl the two batters without mixing them.

- Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until the brownies start to pull away from the sides of the pan and the edges of the brownies are just beginning to brown. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Refrigerate the brownies until they are firm enough to cut into squares (at least two hours). Once chilled, remove the brownies from the pan by lifting with the ends of the foil and transfer to a cutting board. With a sharp knife, cut into 16 squares. It is a good idea to have a damp cloth nearby to wipe your knife between cuts. These brownies can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.

Makes about 16 - 2 inch squares.

Chocolate Banana Cake For Valentine

Yesterday I was so in de mood for valentine.. eventhough it's still a month to go.. but who cares, I wanted to make and decorate a cake.

I got the recipe for the chocolate banana cake from Joy Of Baking, then I decorated it in the style of retro with plastic icing or sometimes called as rolled fondant.. it looks soooo cool!!

I only used 1/2 of the recipe for a 20 cm diameter cake, then I cut the cake in the shape of a heart.

For the filling, I changed with white chocolate ganache using the same recipe.. but too bad I didn't wait long enough until the ganache cooling down, the filling was still melting and absorbed by the cake.. well it wasn't really succeed.

I just copied the original recipe... to save my time for typing it back.


Chocolate Banana Cake

2 cups (400 grams) granulated white sugar (I would reduce the sugar since the banana is really ripe, sweet & soft)

1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour

3/4 cup (75 grams) cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium sized bananas)

1 cup (240 ml) warm water

1/2 cup (120 ml) milk

1/2 cup (120 ml) safflower or canola oil

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache Frosting:

8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon (14 gram) unsalted butter

Directions:
Chocolate Banana Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, mashed bananas, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk, until combined. You will notice that the batter is quite thin. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cooled, frost with the Ganache.

Ganache: Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel, or heatproof bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. When Ganache has completely cooled, beat until soft and fluffy. Then spread the frosting on top of the cake. Garnish as you like.