food MANIA

I wanted to bake this lovely cake for second time.. but am really tired tonight. So maybe have to wait till this weekend. Moreover, I need to replenish my cocoa powder & egg.

BTW, forund below article on yahoo. Good reference for my next red velvet cake ;-)
source: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/8-essentials-for-authentic-red-velvet-cake-2451699/
A couple of weeks ago, my friend Nicole Taylor did a segment on real Southern red velvet cake on her foodie radio show, Hot Grease. Nicole is a Southern girl, born and raised in Georgia, and she has some pretty strong opinions about authentic red velvet cake. She searched for the real thing in New York City and came to the stunning conclusion that red velvet here is just wrong, wrong, wrong!
Well, if the culinary capital of the nation can't get it right, does anyone north of the Mason-Dixon get it right? And what's getting lost in translation? What exactly goes into the quintessential red velvet cake?
Although red velvet cake has a mild chocolate flavor, it is not, by definition, a chocolate cake. Rather, it’s a devil's food cake that's made with cocoa, white vinegar, baking soda, and buttermilk. The deep red color comes from red food dye, and the cake is traditionally iced in rich cream cheese frosting. Legend has it that the cake was actually born in the North, at New York City's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. But there's no question that regardless of its origins, it has become a Southern specialty.
Some bakers out there seem to think all they need is red batter and white frosting to make red velvet cake. Not so, says Nicole, who has eight rules for the truly authentic red velvet cake:
1. The cake must have some cocoa, but not too much because it is not a chocolate cake.
2. The cake must have red food coloring; beet juice does not add the right kind of red.
3. The cake must have cream cheese frosting.
4. There should be pecans. (This was news to me.)
5. You must use high-quality ingredients, including White Lily flour, a Southern specialty flour.
6. Precise measurements and meticulous attention to detail are key for this cake; therefore, it must be made in small, easy-to handle, family-sized batches. (Mass-produced batter just doesn't cut it. Sorry, large-scale bakeries.)7. You must use a hand-held electric mixer, not a stand mixer: Larger machines can over-mix the batter, which sometimes prevents the cake from rising properly.
8. Red velvet cake batter needs vegetable oil, not butter or shortening. Oil yields a very moist cake.
I've looked around for a recipe and was thrilled to discover this one, which incorporates all eight essentials for the perfect red velvet cake.
Paula Deen’s Red Velvet Cupcakes from Food Network
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.
Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.
Garnish with chopped pecans, fresh raspberry or strawberry, or sprinkles.

Cooked this last week. Baru realised aju bawak balik udang ni from Taiping. Here is the recipe

HaHaHa!!! Apa yang the cheapest ni?? I'm very surprise bila jumpa Golden Churn at only RM10.90 per can. Mmg murah!! Kat tempat lain rasanya around RM14 per can..Kat mana? I found at MyMydin Bukit Jelutong. Selalu singgah situ on my way home from office. Tak caya.. check the receipt below..

Price for golden churn is the last one.. click to enlarge.

Another food story.. but this time for my kiddo..

I'm cnp the following recipe for my future reference. Got it from my fb friend. NM, if u read this, pls halal kan recipe ni utk di'share' ye!!
Ingredients:
8 oz self-raising flour
6 oz castor sugar2 tsps baking powder
50gms carrot, grated
50 gms walnut, chopped
1 ripe banana, smashed
2 eggs
250 ml corn oil/vege oil

method:combine flour, sugar and baking powder. fold in banana, walnut and carrot. Add in eggs and lastly add in oil.
Bake for 40 m in 180C.

Semalam walaupun penat.. dengan gigihnya aku menyinsing lengan menyiapkan 2 jenis biskut. Dah le kena masak for berbuka, walaupun aku pagi2 lagi dah ckp kat mr. hubby yg aku taknak masak.. tp dia dok suruh jugak aku masak.. simple food pun jadi la.. so berbuka semalam just mihun goreng, karipap & cucur badak sorang seketul.. dgn watermelon juice.

Back to citer biskut.. semalam aku tambah buat tart kelopak. Last weekend dah buat, tp macam sikit je. So, tambah lagi satu adunan. Lepas tu walaupun penat, aku buat lak biskut badam rangup.. recipe from CMG. Nasib baik buat berdua dgn are-ju, cepat le sikit. By 11pm dah siap. Boleh tidur!

Yg tak bestnya aku 1st time lak terbabas sahur.. pagi tadi 5.59 baru tersedar. Gone case le!!! Apa nak buat :-(

nota kaki- harap2 puasa hari ni selamat.. ye la berbuka smlm just mihun sepinggan & kuih 2 ketul je!

We had apple pie at burger king just now.. dah berhari2 kepingin nak mkn apple pie.. tp asyik terover kenyang lepas berbuka, tu yg cancel je our plan. Hari ni pun actually kenyang gak.. tp sbb nak melunaskan hajat yg asyik tertangguh ni.. aku & hubby redah je kluar tadi.
Besides apple pie, kita order single mushroom swiss burger & onion ring. Apple pie & onion ring mkn kat BK, burger bawak balik. Ingat nak share with are-ju.. dia tak nak le pulak. Aku pon paksa hubby mkn.. share dgn aku. Baru jap tadi berjaya habiskan.

Hari ni baru dapat berbuka kat umah.. semalam dlm kete je sbb ikut hubby pi pantai dalam. Makan kuih je. Pukul 9pm baru dapat mkn nasi.

Hari ni our menu are cucur udang port weld @ kuala sepetang with special peanut sauce, nasi goreng with ayam berlada, sup campur (bought by are-ju) & air kelapa (also bought by are-ju). Nasi byk sangat berlebih from sahur pagi tadi tu yg masak nasi goreng je.. tu pun still tak abih. Nampaknya sahur besokpun nasi goreng jugak le gamaknya.

Hubby with ayaq nyoq paling besaq. Masa bayaq kena charge rm3.. macam murah pulak..