Thursday, October 27, 2016

SOMETHING BLACK FOR HALLOWEEN

28/10/2016


Charcoal Swiss roll with orange cream cheese filling.- baked 22/10/2016
October has slipped past so fast ending with Halloween festival.  I think this is a "pretty"  swiss roll you could bake for your Halloween party. 
Saw this recipe from the blog of Bake for Happy Kids and since I had a bottle of charcoal powder in the fridge decided to use it. 

The recipe is easy and simple to follow through and after baking 15 mins, took this lovely swiss roll from the over. Set aside to cool before adding the filling.  The recipe use whipping cream and sugar.

However I decided to use cream cheese as I had some leftover in the fridge.  So beat the cream cheese and butter together till fluffy and add some orange zest.  

Spread the filling and roll up. Keep the swiss roll in the fridge to firm up before serving.
The Swiss Roll is really fluffy and the cream cheese with orange zest is delicious except cannot really taste the charcoal...its odourless after baking..  

Also tried making these Melon Pan buns - recipe from Just One Cookbook.  I like to eat these warm with  with a slice of cold butter inbetween...mmmm

October also bring along lots of pumpkins in the market.  Saw this recipe on TV programme and decide to try my own version.

Result of slicing soft white taufu, thick and not very even.  Well the chef said it will take years to cut them finely and thinly.  So I have soaked some glass noddles, drain and place them on bottom of plate.   

Gently place the taufu on top of the glass noddles and steam for just 3-5 minutes, depending how firm or soft you like the taufu. Drain off excess water. Meanwhile, I  marinate some pork mince with bit of  soya sauce, sugar, pepper, sesame oil and a bit of cornflour. Then stir-fry the pork mince  (omit this if vegetarian version) with minced garlic till fragrant. Dish up onto of the taufu.  

I had earlier steamed some pumpkin till very soft and mashed them. Bring back to a boil with some chicken stock  and adjust seasoning to taste and pour over the taufu.  Simple dinner with some stir-fry baby beans, pickled sichuan vegetables and fried beancurd.  

During the second half year till the quarter of the next year, my house would get the direct sun  and the living room can be unbearably hot and stuffy in the afternoon, especially with the hot weather normally encounter during the Chinese New Year.  So finally I decided to have an awning put up and clear this space in front of the sliding door.  Now the doggies can have extra roaming space and we human get a cooler room to relax and a wider space for my morning yoga exercise!

Thanks to Sarah for helping me to arrange the plants and she took this photo just after we finished arranging the plants.  We are so happy with this arbour of sweet smelling Jasmine plants entwining each other.  

Before ending, wishing everyone a Blessed Deepavali and  happy holidays.... 

the myriads of bright and colourful traditional Indian sweets and cookies.

"kacang putih" 

art of stacking... 

Doesn't it look amazing! 


8 comments:

  1. What a fabulous baker and chef you are!! I love the looks of your charcoal swiss rolls! Are they real edible charcoal powders? The Indian festive cakes and cookies are always sweet and colourful which are good to munch while watching movies.

    Happy Deepavali & Happy Holidays!

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  2. yr swiss roll looks so tempting!

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  3. Thanks for reading.. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

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    Replies
    1. I've seen Captain America Civil War and Doctor Strange.
      The next 2 movies in Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Spider Man Homecoming

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  4. The cake looks yummy.

    argh...arranging pots ar... pengsan..back breaking thing to do LOL

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  5. Its been a long time I haven't eaten swiss roll cake. Your melon pan buns look good. I can see that you have a lot of plants in your garden. Nowadays I try not to carry those heavy pots, have to be careful with our backs.

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