Chocolate Truffle Cake

Virtually every member of Mr T's family knows about cooking and baking. Lisa is one of them who has many beautiful recipes to share. This recipe is a revised version of Lisa's original recipe. The outcome is so good I would strongly recommend everyone to try it! With this recipe, I used flaxseed oil in replace of salted butter. I enjoy sweet food but certainly not looking forward to gain too much weight!

Makes 11 cakes

Ingredients:

(A)
6 Arnott Marie biscuits
3 tbsp flaxseed oil

(B)
100g Cadbury chocolate bar

(C)
300mL double cream
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 tsp brown sugar

1 Grind biscuits finely.

2 Add flaxseed oil to bind crumbs together.

3 Evenly press crumbs into each hole of a muffin pan.

4 Melt (B) in a warm water bath.

5 Beat (C) in a bowl with a mixer.

6 Add melted (B) into (C) mixture. Stir to mix thoroughly.

7 Place 3 tbsp of creamy mixture over the crumbs.

8 Chill in fridge for at least a day or overnight.

Roast Chicken with Vegetables

Roast Chicken is one of the very first few dishes we made together. Back then, we used to be able to get corn fed chicken, when beautifully roasted in oven, produces such tender and juicy meat texture. When corn fed chicken is completely omitted from the local market, we opt for the next best choice - free range chicken!

Mr T's papas happens to grow many fresh herbs in his garden. We harvested some for the chicken last night. Lemon thyme usually is the best company to roast chicken. However, this time we used thyme instead. It is still equally aromatic!

Mr T and his fresh herbs in a garden pot



Roast Chicken with Vegetables

1 free range chicken
1 bunch thyme
1 lemon
1 garlic
1 bunch Spanish carrots
3-4 kipfler potatoes
3-4 French shallots
Sprinkle of sea salt
Sprinkle of black pepper
Sprinkle of mixed herbs
Butter (or olive oil)

1 Preheat oven at 200C
2 Rinse chicken thoroughly
3 Prepare a tray with a roasting rack.

On the tray:

4 Place the cut potatoes, carrots and French shallots.
5 Brush the surface with some olive oil.
6 Sprinkle with sea salt, pepper and mixed herbs.
7 Add a little water to keep moist.

On the roasting rack:

8 Place the chicken.
9 Puncture a few holes on lemon skin (to release aroma).
10 Insert the lemon, garlic and thyme into the core.
11 Rub the butter onto chicken skin.
12 Sprinkle sea salt, pepper and mixed herbs all over.
13 Roast for an hour to one and a half hours, or until juice runs clear when pierced.
14 Constantly brush skin with butter every 40 minutes.

Some of the very original roast chickens we made in the past

Malted Hazelnut Milk Shake

Horlick used to be my favourite childhood beverage. Somewhere along the process of growing up, it vanished altogether from my life. Now this long lost hearty flavour has once again returned and we can't wait to make something nice out of it. I must say Mr T is a good milk shake maker. We enjoy it so much now that we are bound to have a glass each everynight. It dozes me off quickly. I sleep like a baby through most nights.

Serves 2

2 scoops hazelnut gelato
2 tbsp nutella
4 tbsp horlicks
1½ cups chocolate soymilk
2 ripe bananas (optional)

1 Blend all ingredients in a blender.
2 Chill in fridge for an hour.

Mashed Carrot and Potato

On our anniversary, I made Mr T Seven Happiness Platter to express my gratitude and sincere appreciation of our love. Well before the brilliant platter idea sprang into my mind, I stuggled to decide what to cook. So many recipes had been running through my mind. I am glad I made a wise choice, as the platter idea has a variety to offer, which has in turn transformed a simple dinner into an interesting event. I called this platter dish Seven Happiness as I wish Mr T and I will continue to live happily ever after.

As Mr T and I are currently under strict slim down diet, I chose to make some salad dishes if not oil-free meat dishes. As most dishes do not need to be served hot, they can be prepared well before which made a solo kitchen job a lot easier. These seven dishes in their miniscule portions included:

1 Mashed carrot and potato
2 Baked chicken breast in capsicum
3 Salmon-wrapped bocconcini
4 Zucchini and tomato stir fry
5 Garlic mushroom (rich in antioxidants and B vitamins)
6 Salt and pepper baby pea
7 Toasted gingerman egg sandwich

Recipe to share:

Mashed Carrot and Potato

I added carrot to give the colour a significant lift!

1 large potato
1 medium carrot
1 tbsp margarine
½ tsp sea salt
Sprinkle of black pepper

1 Peel and boil potato and carrot until soft.
2 Mash well in a bowl with a fork.
3 Stir in margarine to bind.
4 Sprinkle pepper and sea salt to taste.

Banana Cake Smoothie

Mr T seems passionate about his new blender. He is certainly serious about revising his recipe and striving to improve the quality of his banana smoothie. He made it a lot thinner this time. The malty texture comes from the banana cake I baked a few days ago. What a great way to make use of the leftover so it doesn't go to waste!

Banana Cake Smoothie

Serves 2

1 banana
2 scoops Cadbury vanilla ice cream
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 tsp almond essence
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
1½ cups soy milk
2 slices of banana cake

1 Blend all ingredients in a blender (start off with banana gradually mix in others).
2 Chill in fridge for an hour.

Banana Smoothie

Mr T rewarded me a chilled banana smoothie after a hard day at work. The sweetness was very well tuned to my lighter palate. I usually like a thicker blend, so I gave Mr T a thumb up for this recipe! If you enjoy a runnier version, you can achieve it by simply adding more milk or fluid.

Banana Smoothie

Serves 2

3 bananas
2 scoops of strawberry ice cream
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
Sprinkle of cinnamon
1½ cups soy milk
A little water

1 Blend all ingredients in a blender (start off with banana gradually mix in others).

2 Chill in fridge for an hour.

Banana Carrot Cake

Banana is inexpensive. With an expanding baking recipes available nowadays, this got to show how versatile banana is in the baking world. Likewise, the ubiquitous carrot is also gaining popularity in the home-baking world. I grow up enjoying both
banana and carrot cakes. This time I decided to combine them into one! Banana usually goes well with anything, so I wasn't prepare to fuss about the final outcome. Come on, what can really offset the banana aroma anyway?

To my liking, the cake turns out perfectly soft and moist, almost melt in my mouth. For this batch, I used sunflower oil instead, to achieve a lighter texture. The sweetness is just fine. Banana flavour is quite intense, so I suggest using more grated carrots. Each element - ginger, honey and cinnamon added positive hints to the cake as well. Sultanas and raisins are optional, depending on individual's liking.

I am glad the recipe works out really well. No milk was added in this recipe, so Mr T can help himself with a second slice. Since there are only two of us at home, I made a loaf size just enough to last for a good few days.

Banana Carrot Cake
Ingredients:

(A)
125g butter (or sunflower oil)
½ cup brown sugar

(B)
2 eggs, beaten

(C)
2 cups grated carrots
2 ripe banana, mashed
½ cup sultana or raisin (optional)

(D)
1 cup plain flour
1 tsp soda bicarbonate
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon

(E)
½ tsp ginger, minced
½ tsp concentrated vanilla extract
2 tsp honey

Method:

1 Line and grease a loaf tin.
2 Preheat oven to 200C.
3 Cream (A) with electric mixer.
4 Mix in (B) followed by (E).
5 Beat in (C) (start off with grated carrots then gradually add in mashed banana).
6 Sift (D) in a separate bowl.
7 Fold (D) into wet mixture. Mix thoroughly.
8 Bake at 180C for 30 minutes and 150C at 10 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.