Chocolate BlackBerry Cupcakes

Adapted from the book "500 cupcakes & muffins" by Fergal Connolly.

I made this last weekend in honor of Father's Day. Yummy cake, 'nuff said!

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:
100g blackberries, fresh or thawed frozen (see my notes below)
3 tbsp water
225g caster sugar
100g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
100g soft margarine (I used butter)
2 eggs
1 tbsp cocoa powder

For the ganache:
150g plain dark chocolate, broken
150g double cream
12 blackberries

Method:
This recipe will only yield 1 dozen small cupcakes.
1. Preheat the oven to 175C. Place 12 paper baking cases in a muffin tin.
2. Place the blackberries, water and 115g sugar in a small saucepan over low heat. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until the fruit starts to release its juices. Set aside to cool. (MY NOTE: I really don't think this step is necessary, I don't really see the purpose of it and is actually wasteful because you don't use up all of the mixture. I think just use the blackberries in its normal form unless you're very afraid of sour fruits, Just push the fruit inside the batter once you've spooned them into the cases).
3. Combine the rest of the cupcake ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with an electric whisk until pale and creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Spoon the batter into the cases. Spoon a little of the fruit on top (again I say a better method would be to just push the fruit into the batter. Bake until brown and cooked through. Remove the tin and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes and cool on rack.

To make the ganache: melt the chocolate and cream in a medium bowl over a pan of simmering water, until glossy and smooth. Dollop a spoonful of ganache onto each cooled cupcake, and top with a blackerry. (MY NOTE: I only used 100g of chocolate and 100 of whipping cream - couldn't find double cream - and it was more than enough, even had leftover).

Thai Express Lunch Pics

Tom Yam Soup with Crayfish and Glass Noodles

Lemon Drummettes

Black Pepper Glass Noodles with Soft Shell Crab

Tomato & Olive Muffin

Recipe adapted from the book "500 cupcakes & muffins" by fergal connolly. Original recipe was for Tomato & Basil Muffins. They were a bit dry and lacked flavour. Although it was supposed to be a savoury muffin, I think a little sugar would have gone a long way. It tasted a lot like a foccacia tho so would make a good breakfast muffin.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
320g plain flour
2 tbsp baking powder
pinch of salt
4 lightly beaten eggs
125ml olive oil
320g tin condensed tomato soup
3 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 175C. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the basil, flour, baking powder and salt with a spoon.
3. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, olive oil, soup and sun-dried tomatoes with an electric whisk until well combined. Mix the flour mixture into the soup mixture until just combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for 20 minutes or until brown and cooked through.

My Notes:
I didn't have any sun dried tomatoes or basil, so I substituted with chopped olives and dried thyme. I also used mini muffin pans and it yielded about 30 of these babies.

Bacon Carbonara Recipe

I don't know why I never tried making Bacon Carbonara before. It's so simple and delish!

Whip some eggs in a bowl, add some cream or evaporated milk, grated Parmesan Cheese, lots of black pepper and salt. While the pasta is cooking, snip some bacon into small pieces and pan fry till crispy. Once the pasta is al dente, drain and add to the egg mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle the bacon pieces on top and tuck in!

My Version of delectable Butter Crab

So this is my version of the delectable Butter Crab we oft see in restaurant menus. The first time I tried it was at the Mellba Seafood Restaurant. I tried to 'recreate' it as best as I could. Ingredients included Evaporated Milk, Chopped Chilli, Curry Leaves and Butter. I think I should've added more water to the sauce, cos it was really rich. The sauce is really nice with some crusty bread too.

We bought the crabs from Pasar (wet market) and our seller is great, they'll even kill, clean and chop the crabs for you. Definitely saves u A LOT of trouble!