Like a ton of bricks

There have been so many happenings lately that baking took a seat on the back burner for quite a while. Also, honestly, I think I just wasn't quite in the mood to jump start my mixer and whip up a batch of batter. Which, interestingly, is good for the recipe I'm about to post.

The newfound morsel that dragged me out of my lazy state was a migrant from back home. I'm embarrassed to say I'd never actually eaten it while staying my couple of decades in Malaysia. Once I had a bite of it though, I was just itching to make it! I not only like how it tastes, but also it's appearance. To top it all off, it's amazingly easy to make and requires absolutely zero baking, (Wow!) hence the comment above about this recipe being good if you can't be bothered to get out the mixing bowl. (Yay for lazy people)

The cake in question today is the Kek Batik. A little bit of a misnomer, since it never ventures near an oven. I think it's sometimes called Kuih Batik too, but don't take my word for it. As you can see, it looks like those higgledy-piggledy brick walls in the old English country side. For those not in the know, Batik is a traditional Malay art which involves the drawing of intricate patterns on cloth. I should actually include a photo of it in here, just for interests sake.



Back to the cook book, the entire cake making process involves simply chucking Marie biscuits into a rich chocalatey mixture, bringing to boil over a slow fire and then squashing it (in a very literal sense) into the required cake dish to cool. After which, pop it into the refridgerator for a couple of hours and the next thing you know, you'll be the proud owner of a freshly made cake.

Cut the cake with a sharp knife to appreciate the emerging patterns formed by the layers of biscuits squashed together.

It somehow reminds me of the Great Wall of China. *Haha*

Kek Batik

Ingredients

3/4 stick of butter
2 eggs (beaten)
1 cup water
1 small tin condensed milk
10 tbsp milo
3 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp sugar
2 packets of Marie biscuits


Method

1. First break the Marie biscuits into halves and set aside
2. In a good sized pot, melt the butter on medium heat over the stove
3. Turn the fire to low and add in the eggs, stirring vigoroulsy to avoid clumping.
4. Add in all the other ingredients except the Marie biscuits while stirring the mixture continuosly.
5. When the mixture is shiny, add in the biscuits and keep stirring till the biscuits have become soft but still maintain their shape. Don't forget to keep stirring!
6. Once all the biscuits have been coated with chocolate and are suitably mushy, pour into a cake tin.
7. Leave to cool for 5-10 minutes. Put a sheet of cling wrap over the top of your cake and press down to compress all the softened biscuits, forming a 'layered' cake. Once the cake has been evenly squashed into the tin, peel off the cling wrap and discard.
8. Wait for the cake to cool further and pop it into the refridgerator for 3-4 hours. I was predictably impatient and stuffed it into the freezer after the first hour to speed up the process.

Food imitating life. Doesn't it look just like the bricked wall?

Intimate moments with Chocolate

The reason behind the Celebration - Ji's leaving!

So, sadly, it's time to bid another friend farewell. I know she will go forth and be a blessing to everyone in Singapore after leaving her mark here in Penang. But, even then, it's pretty tough to let her go. *Sigh*

In honour of her going, we decided to throw a surprise party. It went pretty well, if I can say so myself. It was a potluck, so thankfully there was minimal scuttling about for me and my wonderful, helpful family.

My food contribution in this case was fondue. Fondue comes from the french fondre 'to melt' which in the past tense is fondu. It gets a little sticky after that, but suffice to say, that in the end, the short form of it all is fondue. I should actually use the term chocolate fondue because a little research on Wikipedia revealed to me that fondue is usually a cheesy melt. I found it (fondue, I mean) a really nice, intimate kind of dessert for a girly night. It's even better if you throw some candlelight in *grin*

My makeshift fondue set. This was constructed from a chaffing dish with 2 bowls inside. I thought it was innovative =D *thanks, Mumsie*

I made two versions of fondue in this case. One dark and the other light. Personally though, I'm a dark chocolate kinda girl. And what's more, the white cooking chocolate tasted a little weird. Too sweet or something. Probably because I bought it in Malaysia, when my tastebuds have gotten used to the taste of Aussie chocs. For dippings, I prefer strawberries, sliced apples, biscotti and marshmallows. But I've improvised with grape, banana, pretzels and crisp bread in the past. Let your creative sauces ooze and experiment with watever morsel you think worthy of a chocolate dunking. Just keep in mind that whatever you use for dippings needs to be small enough to fit into the fondue bowl.

Just so everyone knows, this is what Real Fondue is meant to look like. *Aaaww... look at the pretty colours*
This photo is courtesy of Tham Jing Wen

Chocolate Fondue

Ingredients

3 tbs butter
3/4 cup thick cream (personally I like Pura's double cream the best)
1/2 a block of cooking chocolate (this needs to be added to taste) - roughly broken

Notes:
All the dippings should be prepared beforehand and put in individual serving bowls/plates around the fondue.
Preparation time for dippings can take a while so give yourself about 45 minutes from the start till finish.

Method

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan on the stove over low heat.

2. Add in the cream and stir until even. Keep stirring until the mixture starts to froth.

3. Take the saucepan off the fire. Throw in the chocolate chunks and taste as you go along until you are satisfied with your concoction.

4.Pour into a fondue bowl and light the candle beneath.

5. All set! Serve and have a wonderful evening.

*koo koo ka choo*

Just other random shots of the food brought in that day. Fare thee well, Ji. Don't miss us too much!

A spoonful of home

One of the first things I discovered when I stepped onto foreign soil was that I missed my mum's cooking. Not such a giant surprise considering Asians are all about the food.. I was rather dense at first though, and never really thought about whisking up a bit of home to cure the homesickness.

Once I came to my senses, I telephoned the expert ie. mum and was given the key to ruining my blood sugar level forever. It came in the form of that condiment known as Bubur Cha Cha, one of my favouritest desserts. It consists of sweet potato, yam, pandan leaves sago and coconut milk. Also, my mum puts in this fantastic chewy bits made from tapioca flour. I've no clue what they're called. Let's just name them the chewy things=)

This is a simple dish for all those poor students out there needing a taste of home.

Bubur Cha Cha

Ingredients

300 g sweet potato, diced
300 g yam, diced
50 g pearl sago
2 tbs tapioca flour (for the chewy things)

Syrup
1 can of coconut milk
3-4 pandan leaves knotted
125 g sugar
1 litre of water

Method

1. Steam yam and sweet potato for 10-15 minutes or until soft. Set aside.

2. Put the sago in a sieve and rinse in cold water. Then boil until it is transparent. Drain, run it through with cold water again and set aside.

3. Next, the syrup! Boil the sugar and pandan leaves in a pot of water till the sugar dissolves.

4. Add in the coconut milk and stir till even.

5. Now for the chewy things. Place the tapioca flour into a bowl. Pour in a bit (mind you this means about 4 tbs!) of fresh boiling water into the bowl and stir till flour thickens. The aim of this is to make a dough, so add flour or water as needed till you get it right. Roll the dough into long strips and break off pieces about 2 cm thick to toss into the boiling syrup.

6. Toss the potato and sago into your concoction. Boil until mixture thickens slightly and the chewy bits turn transparent.

7. Voila! Eat it hot or cold. Personally, I like it chilled.