Fresh from the Oven

Nothing can beat the delicious homemade bake, especially when they just come out fresh from oven.

To have a beautiful ending of this lovely month, let me share three pictures including the recipes of the cake/cookies that I baked quickly for my family during the month of February.
They were baked in a late afternoon, for our afternoon snack and the pictures were taken in our kitchen table. Just a quick shot before I served them for my beloved family.

OntbijtkoekAn oldies cake with spices aroma.
I posted this recipe on October 2010. Before and after I posted, this recipe already become our favorite 'quick bread' recipe. Easy to make, always have a delicious result, never have leftover. I can produce 2 medium loaves from 1 recipe.

Sift together 1 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 tsp vanilla powder, 1 tsp ground cinnamon and pinch of ground gloves and nutmeg. Set aside.
Beat 5 eggs, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 cup palm sugar until thick and frothing.
Add the sifted ingredients and 2 tbs melted margarine, stir well.
Pour into a loaf baking pan lined with grease-proof paper that has been brushed with butter and sprinkled with flour.
Sprinkle with kenari or peanuts or chocolate chips.
Bake at 180 C for about 40-45 minutes until done.
*spread margarine on top of the cake, right after it comes out from the oven.

Chocolate Cookies
I have to thank to Martha Stewart for this delicious cookie recipe. Thank you so much Martha (hope she reads this blog)!
It was one afternoon when I was thinking that it would be nice to welcome my children back from school with chocolate cookies. What I had in my mind was to bake chewy chocolate cookie. Quickly I chose 'Milk Chocolate Cookies' recipe from Martha Stewart's COOKIES recipe book. Since I had no stock of milk chocolate, I substituted it with dark chocolate and dark chocolate chips. The result; I had to bake another batch just 2 days after the first trial, and another batch just 3 days after the second batch. This cookies have become our favorite one, since then. Delicious, has soft texture inside and crunchy outside. Yummy!

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp coarse salt
8 ounces good-quality milk chocolate (4 ounces coarsely chopped, 4 ounces cut into 1/4 inch chunks) --I used 4 ounces chopped dark chocolate, 4 ounces dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup sugar --I used 'only' 1 cup sugar + 1/4 cup palm sugar.
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
2. Melt 4 ounces coarsely chopped chocolate with the butter in a small heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; let cool slightly
3 Put chocolate mixture, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitter with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until combined. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chunks.
4. Using a 1 1/2 inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are flat and surfaces crack, about 15 minutes (cookies should be soft). Let cool on parchment on wire racks. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

Banana-Oatmeal MuffinsHaving two over ripe bananas that needed to be saved.
I grab my 'Muffin Mania' recipe book, and chose to bake Banana-Oatmeal Muffin for a quick rescue. I made 1/2 recipe only, and no need to wait too long.... 11 medium size muffins were ready to be served.
Just a note; you can add a bit more sugar if you prefer sweet muffins.
I added a handful of chocolate chips to the batter and put grated cheddar cheese on the top.

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup milk
2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup margarine melted and cooled
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups mashed bananas (4-5 medium)

Combine oats and milk and set aside.
In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.
To soaked (oat and milk) mixture, add melted margarine, eggs, vanilla and bananas.
Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and stir only until the flour is moistened.
Fill greased muffin cups and bake 375C for 20 minutes.