Apple is an excellent fruit to be introduced to babies and toddlers because it’s tasty, unlikely to cause allergy, easy-to-digest and packed with nutrients such as vitamin C, dietary fiber and flavonoids quercetin. In addition, it’s also very versatile and provides remarkable flavour and texture for cooking and baking.

My son is a great fan of apples but not I. Strangely, I have a current obsession with them. With my recent chicken and apple balls, I am in the mood to explore using apples to make muffins. Among all the apple muffins recipes that I have bookmarked, I like this version the most simply because the recipe calls for all the common ingredients. Unlike seasonal fruits, you can get year-round supply of apples in Singapore. So, you can make these muffins just about any time you like.

{My 1st attempt for apple muffins}

Though this recipe uses the creaming method (same as my blueberry muffins) and requires a little more time to prepare the apple filling, it’s worth the effort. These muffins are so light and moist with just the perfect sweetness.

I have baked these muffins twice. On my second attempt, I decided to add more apples. My oh my! They turned out to be even better – more apple flavour and extra apple bits to savour. Isn’t that a wise decision? I’m shocked to find out that my son gobbled up three apple muffins in a row and still requested for more helpings. Do you know that he just broke his personal record in eating my homemade muffins! Is it really that good? It’s definitely a big “YES” for an apple lover.

These muffins do not include any cinnamon powder, thus best to please your picky eater who dislikes spices. But, I’m surely a pinch of cinnamon will work as well. Now, with this new found love, I’m definitely going to make these fruity gems more often and add into my son’s lunch box.

>>>>>>> Get the recipe for APPLE MUFFINS at PAGE 2 BELOW.

My hubby and I are great fans for coconuts but our 6 year-old son is definitely not. Early this year, he tasted steamed nian gao (年高, a sticky cake served during Chinese New Year) coated with fresh coconut flakes for the first time. Within minutes, he threw up. Whew! that was scary! It made me wonder if the taste of fresh coconut flakes is really that terrible to him. Until now, I still couldn’t figure that out.

Beside this particular incident, my son still eats coconut if I play the “camourflage” game well. All of my previous recipes that include either coconut milk or desiccated coconut (such as power packed oat bars, coconut butter cookies, banana muffins and steamed pumpkin muffins) were well received by him. Not a bad achievement though. Maybe it’s time to stop the hiding game and take a bold step for a change. So for this recipe, I decided to double dare him with more coconuts (coconut milk plus desiccated coconut) and even topped the muffins with extra desiccated coconut. Will I succeed? You bet!

This muffin recipe was originated from Daily Delicious. As these muffins are super easy-to-make, I actually baked them three times within a week and shared some of them with my “external testers”. After taking into consideration their kind feedback, I made some slight modifications to the recipe to suit my personal taste bud.

Unexpectedly, the modified recipe yields a very satisfactory result! The muffins are absolutely awesome as they have the right balance of sweetness, texture and taste! It’s the kinda coconut banana muffin I would die for! They tasted unbelievably delicious and packed with strong aroma of coconut. The desiccated coconut toppings, when baked, add a lovely crunchy and fibrous texture to it. Another important ingredient that contribute to the success of this recipe is banana. It blends perfectly with coconuts in baking. Banana doesn’t only enhance the coconut flavour but also provides a moist texture to the muffins even if they are left overnight. When my picky eater first saw the coconut toppings on the muffins, he was quite reluctant to eat it. After much persuasion, he agreed to try a tiny bite. And the verdict is he loved it! After his first sampling, he even asked for more. “Coconut isn’t that bad after all.” he commented. Hooray!! One step closer to achieve my mission!

This recipe is using mixing method, so you can easily whip up these muffins by hands with the help of a balloon whisk and a spatula. As long as you pay close attention to the tips I mentioned in the recipe, I can assure you that your muffins will turn out great even you’re a novice in baking! They are great to be added to lunch boxes or packed to office as teatime snack. Why not treating your kids (and yourself) with some tasty coconut banana muffins!

Get the recipe with step-by-step tutorial at PAGE 2 BELOW.

Mushi-pan ( 蒸しパン ), literally translated as steamed cupbread. But if you ask Uncle Google, you will also find it being associated with buns, cakes or muffins. Personally, I like to call it a “cake” as its texture is closer to a light version of mini cupcake, but not as dense and chewy as the tradition Chinese prosperity cakes (“fatt gou/ huat kueh” 发糕).

I must say that mushipan is the easiest thing to make when compared to all the other baked goods that I had tried so far. The original mushipan recipe only uses six basic ingredients, namely egg, sugar, low protein flour, baking powder, milk and salad oil. Mix them well, pour the batter into moulds and steam them!  With just 15 minutes of preparation and another 12-15 minutes of steaming, your piping hot steamed cakes will be ready on your table. The best thing is no electrical mixer and oven are required. If you want to learn how to make a basic mushipan, you can refer to Mushipan-Steamed cupbread/ cake recipe posted by Alice of Bits-of-Taste.

The basic recipe, which served as a reference guide, can be tweaked to become a sweet or savoury version depending on individual’s creativity. I have been doing some experiments on both types but end up liking the savoury recipes more. Today, I have selected my favourite savoury recipe (which is adapted from a mushipan cookbook) to share with you. This Japanese-inspired recipe created a touch of fusion by using cheese, sweet paprika and sausage. This perfect pairing makes the mushipans so tasty and fun to chew on. These mushipans are soft and flavourful when served warm. Even when they have cooled down, they still taste good. Of course, the warm ones taste better.

I bet your little ones would find these savoury mushipans totally irresitable as there are hidden bits of sausage and subtle cheese flavour. If you prefer a healthier version, simply substitute sausage with cooked chicken meat or frozen green peas. As these mushipans are small in size, they are easy to handle by your tots and ideal for outing, party, or packed lunches.

If you have tried and liked the steamed pumpkin muffins recipe I posted earlier, then this is another great recipe that should go to your bookmark list. This post is also specially dedicated to those who love baking but do not own any electrical mixer or oven. By putting a little effort, your family will get to enjoy this healthy yet cost saving homemade treat. Happy trying!!! (and succeeding)

Other mushipan recipes:

• Basic mushipan recipe (with milk) – Bits of Taste
• Basic mushipan recipe (with condensed milk) – La Fuji Mama
• Chocolate chips and corn cheese – Just One Cookbook
• Sweet potatoes with pandan (screwpine leaves) flavour – Cuisine Paradise
• Sweet corns – Cuisine Paradise
• Butternut squash – Pigpigscorner

=> Get the Japanese steamed sausage cakes recipe and step by step tutorials at PAGE 2 BELOW.

My family had a wonderful time during our recent holidays. We went to Kuala Lumpur first, then to Cameron Highlands and lastly ended in Penang. The only regret was that our duration in Penang was too short to cover our usual to-eat (no, must-eat) list. Just thinking of this food heaven, my stomach has already started rumblimg….oh my! I will share with you some photos I had taken during our Cameron Highlands trip in my next post.

Have you heard, seen or eaten Japanese steamed cake/ bread (mushi pan) before? I was very intrigued with this mushi pan when I first saw it sold at a specialty store in a shopping mall. Since then, I had been searching for the recipe. Lately, I had bought some mushi pan cookbooks and had tried out some of the recipes. However, some failed while some were far from perfection. Undaunted, I will continue my experiment and hopefully I can share my success story with you soon. So, wish me luck!

Meanwhile, here is my favourite steamed pumpkin muffin recipe that is especially dedicated for people who love baking but have neither oven nor electrical mixer, or both. The recipe is fairly simple and quick to make even if you are a novice in baking. It applies the same muffin/mixing method used to make baked muffins. You just need a hand whisk and a mixing bowl. Yes, it’s as simple as that. The wet ingredients are combined with the dry ingredients to form a batter. Then the batter is spooned into the moulds and steamed instead of baking. It’s so hassle-free and requires less washing too!

Even though the muffins are steamed, they produce soft and fluffy cake-like texture unlike the tradition Chinese prosperity cakes (“fatt gou/ huat kueh” 发糕) that are dense and chewy. Its gorgeous “open mouth” effect (which according to the Chinese’s belief symbolizes good luck) is what I adore most about these muffins.

Besides that, they taste yummy too!!! Each bite is packed with subtle smell and taste of coconut milk that blends well with the pumpkin flavour. As Australian pumpkin comes with  natural sweetness, I use lesser sugar than what is required in the original recipe. So the sweetness could be just perfect for those who don’t have a sweet tooth. By mashing the pumpkins and mixing it well with the batter, I am sure your picky eater won’t notice its existence when consuming it.

These muffins are not only enjoyed a lot by our family but my friend’s family as well. After sampling my muffins, she (a working mom with 2 kids) quickly requested for the recipe and made them on the same weekend – 2 days in a row!

These muffins can be frozen in the fridge for later consumption. On the day you want to eat them,  just take them out from the freezer to thaw lightly and steam again under high heat for 10-12 minutes.  It’s best to serve them warm. You can also add a dollop of jam to go with it.

=> Get the recipe and step-by-step tutorial with photos at PAGE 2 BELOW.

“Didn’t you post a blueberry muffin recipe before?” asked my hubby when he saw me editing the photos for this post.

I replied “They are not the same, my dear. Both use different ingredients and different methods. I know it’s not the blueberry season now but I just can’t wait till the next season to share this recipe with my readers. Isn’t it your favourite? ”.

“Yes, in fact, it’s the best muffin you have baked so far. I love that tangy taste and smell most.” He said with a grin.

———————————————————————————————————————————————

This recipe, which originated from Annabel Karmel’s website, was highly recommended to me by my dearest friend Alice of Bit-Of-Taste. She had already tried and tested it herself, and the result was very satisfying. You can find her lovely blueberry muffins post in her blog.

On my first attempt at baking these muffins, I used lemon according to the original recipe. My hubby didn’t like the lemony taste at all. So I decided to swap lemon with orange on my second attempt. Unexpectedly, the outcome for this blueberry and orange combination turned out to be so delightful! This variation pleased not only my hubby’s palate but even my mother-in-law who was never really a big fan of muffins. Needless to say, my son had the biggest shares as he adored blueberry very much. The orange zest gave these muffins a hint of tangy and fruity smell whereas orange juice was full of natural sweetness.  These muffins got their extra moisture from the blueberries and yogurt. They stayed soft and velvety even left overnight. It was such a joy to savour them.

As this recipe uses the mixing method (which no electrical mixer is required), it’s perfect for any beginners at baking. Recently, I choose this recipe to show a friend of mine on how to bake muffins. Being a working mom of two little gals, two and five respectively, she always thought that baking was very time-consuming. But, after seeing how I made these blueberry orange muffins, she was convinced that she could do it too. She also agreed that homemade muffins are indeed easy-to-bake, healthy, tasty and economical. A week later, she told me that she had bought an oven and was ready to jump on the home baking bandwagon. I was really happy to hear this.

These muffins are great for breakfast and tea break. Filled in a mini cup, they are good to pack for lunch box and easy to handle by your little ones.

You can use either fresh or frozen blueberries to make these muffins.  For variation, you can try to experiment with other type of berries. Another possible option is to use dried fruits such as raisins.  Bake some in advance and keep them in the freezer. Thaw and reheat them when you want to consume.

This recipe is also tried and tested by:
- Anncoo Journal
- Peng’s Kitchen

>>>> Click on PAGE 2 BELOW for BLUEBERRY ORANGE MUFFINS recipe…………………..

If you have been following my blog, you will notice that I have not used nuts in all my previous baking and cooking posts, with the exception of “how to roast cashew nuts”. The reason is that my son was not ready to consume nuts. In one instance one and a half year ago, he developed asthmatic cough after eating a small slice of pancake with grounded peanuts filling. His conditions worsened after being exposed to loosened synthetic fibre falling off from his lion dance costume.  Even after his full recovery, I still avoided giving him any nuts or nuts related food in his daily diet. Only when he reached five that I started to slowly re-introduce nuts into his diet. Luckily, so far he tolerated them without any signs of allergy. That was such great joy to us as it opened up the range of food I can cook/ bake for my family! This gave me the opportunity to try out this banana walnut cake recipe that I had bookmarked for a long time. It is the kind of cake that I get to use all my favourite ingredients: bananas, walnuts and yogurt!!

Actually, this cake didn’t turn out well in my first 2 attempts. I will explain the reasons for the “failures” in the next paragraph.  It was only on my 3rd attempt after making some fine tuning that I baked the most satisfying cake. My tiny kitchen was enveloped with this wonderful smell of this freshly baked cake for hours (yeah..a bit exagerated, he..he!!! ). Even though I used frozen bananas, it tasted awesome. The fragrant smell of bananas, together with the crunchy bits of walnuts will surely make you ask for more helpings! The use of yogurt helps to keep the cake soft and moist even after a day.  I must say that it’s the best banana walnut cake I had tried so far (well… only 3 attempts 
)!!

While experimenting with baking this cake, I also discovered the advantage of using a small rectangular baking tin. It helped to create lovely crusts on all four sides, which is perfect for those (like my hubby) who enjoyed eating crust. But, one very important thing I learnt is that you must choose the right size of baking tin if you want your cake to rise properly. My first attempt flopped because I used the wrong size. I also made a mistake of chopping the walnuts finely instead of coarsely in my 2nd attempt. It was so fine till my hubby asked “where’s the walnuts?” Wahahaha! What a joke! All these mistakes aside, it is a very simple recipe which is worth giving it a go so you can saviour the goodness of this cake.

>>>> Click on PAGE 2 BELOW for banana walnut cake recipe with step-by-step photos…………………..

Recently, a close friend of mine asked me how I line a cake tin. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a million words. That gave me the idea of doing this tutorial post to share it with more people who are new in baking. These steps are neither new nor are any fancy tips, but just basic knowledge which I picked up from the cookbooks. So next time if you come across “grease the baking tin and line it with grease proof paper” in any recipes, you will know what to do.

Taking self-posing shots was real cool, but it was tiring too. First I had to set the self-timer on my camera and then quickly ran back to the table to pose for the shot. So this silly act was pretty comical. I looked like the Road Runner cartoon character rushing here and there, which caused me to perspire so much that my vision got blurred. I think I lost some calories as well. The good thing is I discovered the beauty of tripod and self-timer.

I hope you will enjoy reading this post even though it is not the usual recipe post in my food blog. For my faithful readers, please bear with me for this tutorial post. I will share with you more food recipes in my upcoming posts.

Updated on 22 May 2010:
If you bake your cake in any cupcake mould, muffin mould or pudding mould which does not require lining, then you can grease the mould, sieve flour on top and then dust off any excess flour. This will help you to turn the cake out easily after baking. (Tip provided by Chef Sam).

(A) HOW TO LINE A ROUND CAKE TIN

(B) HOW TO LINE A SQUARE CAKE TIN

>>> Click on PAGE 2 BELOW for detailed step by step instructions on how to line a round cake tin….

>>> Click on PAGE 3 BELOW for detailed step by step instructions on how to line a square cake tin…..

Butter cake is the first cake I learnt to bake during my high school years. It was also the easiest and fastest cake to bake that I know of at that time. I still remember that I would wait till my mother took her afternoon nap to do the baking as it was the best time to “invade” her kitchen. By the time she woke up, there would be no traces of mess I created and the cake was already inside the oven. . From what I can recall, none of the butter cakes I baked came close to my expectation. Somehow, somewhere, something would surely go wrong. Nevertheless, I still love baking this cake over and over again whenever I had the urge to do baking. Maybe it was the baking process that I enjoyed the most. Since I left home (for both studies and work), I had no opportunity to bake this butter cake anymore.

A couple of years ago, I came to know that my mother-in-law was a big fan for butter cake. I promised myself that I would bake one for her if I got an oven and the right baking utensils. Time passed and nothing was done. Promise still remains a promise. During her recent stay with us last month, I made good my promise and baked this cake for her. It may not be the best butter cake in town, but she loved it so much. Now I can happily strike off this long outstanding item from my to-bake list.

This recipe was adapted from Agnes Chan’s cookbook  (蓝赛珍，轻轻松松学烘焙）which provides photos showing detailed step-by-step procedures in baking this cake. I find it very helpful as it makes my baking much more easier. However, in my first attempt, although the texture was soft, the cake turned out to be a little bit dry. As for its taste, it came out slightly plain as I used unsalted butter and omitted the salt during the process. As what I read from the internet, self-raising flour contained salt. So I suspected the shortage of salt could be the main cause of these two problems.

On my second attempt, I added a bit of salt and reduced the amount of flour used. I also paid extra attention to the mixing and baking process. This time the end product turned out to be very soft and moist. It also got the buttery smell, and yet did not give one a heavy feeling when eaten. However, it tasted slightly sweeter to my liking. What completely surprised me was the feedback I got from my friend whom I gave half of my loaf, as I did in my first attempt. She told me that both her daughters finished the cake in split seconds leaving only one slice for her to taste. Although the cake done in second attempt was sweeter, they found the taste as simply fantastic and suited their taste buds as well. Besides them, my family also enjoyed eating this cake. But I will not consider it as “The Ultimate” butter cake. (Am I setting the bar for my expectation far too high? ). It doesn’t matter anyway as it is still the “best” recipe I had tried and tested so far, and much better compared to the ones I had baked during my high school days.

Well, I shall leave it to you to be the judge of this recipe. Meanwhile, I will continue to “fine tune” it to get closer to my expectation of “The Ultimate” butter cake. So, what’s your favourite butter cake recipe? Please share with me! I love to hear from you.

To all the mothers (including myself) and mother-to-be out there, HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

Who had tried and tested my recipe?

- Rasa Malaysia
- Diary of Faithy, The Baker
- Taste of Home
- Kurious, Kitteh, Kooks!

>>>> Click on PAGE 2 BELOW for Basic Butter Cake recipe and step-by-step photos…………………..

Quite often I heard from some mommies that they always run out of ideas when it comes to preparing teatime snacks for their preschoolers. I consider myself lucky as my son’s kindergarten provides teatime snacks. So far, he hasn’t complaint anything about the snack served in school. When I “interviewed” him on his preference between mommy’s cooking and school lady’s cooking, he cheerfully replied me that he liked both. I’m really happy that he can accept the food prepared by others even if my cooking is not on par with that of the school lady’s. I don’t mind it at all. At least, I have one less headache for the next two years.

In this posting, I have a simple and easy teatime snack recipe to share with everyone. It’s so easy that even a novice at baking can excel. The entire baking process is very fast too. 1½ dozen mini banana muffins will be ready in the oven within an hour (or maybe less if you are skillful) including the cleaning up time. Definitely save you some money than buying from the local bakery shop.
This recipe is adapted from Amy Ong of Cooking Crave, a mom with 3 lovely kids. Her food blog has a long list of kids-friendly recipes for you to try out. Remember to hop over to her blog to “dig the treasures”.

I must say that this is the best banana muffins recipe I had found so far. The muffins turned out to be very soft, fluffy and moist! The sweetness is also perfect for those without sweet tooth. So, there is no need to cut down the amount of sugar called in the recipe. I was truly satisfied with the results even at my first attempt. The only thing I didn’t follow is the baking temperature and the time required to bake. I used my own experiments to fine tune both.

In my 2nd attempt, I had added some desiccated coconuts into the batter. To my surprise, this little ingredient compliments so well with the bananas. The fragrant coconut flakes gave the muffins extra flavour and volume in the texture. Besides my family, it’s also a hit among my panel of “food taster” friends.

One important tip to get this recipe right is to use over-ripe bananas. This means that you will see many black dots appearing on the banana skin. This type of banana will be the tastiest for baking. I always have problems getting my bananas to reach this stage as they will end up in my hubby’s and son’s stomach even with many reminders and warnings to keep their distance and hands away.

Another point to share is that I like to use small muffin paper cup for making muffins. This size is perfect for all kids who prefer little treat. It helps to minimize wastage as well, and the muffin appears more adorable. It’s also great for adults (like my hubby and myself) who can have some small bites during snack time. When the muffins were fresh from the oven, we could easily pop a few into our mouth and only felt “guilty” after that.

I also discovered the beauty of using muffin paper cup. It can be “transformed” into a disposable plate if you open up the pleats. It saves you all the cleaning up especially during outings. Kill two birds with one stone! Doesn’t that sound great?

(Note: You can find muffin paper cups at any local baking supplies stores. I bought mine from Phoon Huat (Simei branch) and Sun Lik Trading (Seah Street)).

This super tasty banana muffin guarantees to please your preschoolers’ tummies during their breakfast and teatime, especially for the picky eaters who prefer “plain” muffins. It’s also perfect for all occasions such party, gathering and outing too. A must-try recipe for all!

>>> Click on PAGE 2 below for banana muffin recipe with step-by-step instructions and photos.………

Come every Lunar New Year, you will find pineapple rolls/tarts being sold like hot cakes here in Singapore and Malaysia. It ranks top in the list of popular baked pastries among Malaysian and Singaporean Chinese celebrating this festive season. While they come in many variations (and ranges in taste, texture, and sweetness), we can simply place them into either the open, closed or rolled types. The rolled type, known as Nastar in Indonesia, is the one I liked best as it has the right combination of texture and taste that suits my taste bud.

I am a picky eater when it comes to eating pineapple rolls or tarts, and I find it hard to find in the market the “perfect” roll/tart that can satisfy my craving. So I decided to make them at home. The last time I tried my hands on making these rolls was a decade ago! It was a fun and enjoyable experience. Being ambitious, I even bought a custom-made  press to squeeze out the pineapple roll pastry but it has laid idle for six good years. (Dear old press, thanks for being so patient and loyal to me.)

Finally, my guilt got the best of me and I decided to use it to make my own pineapple rolls for this coming Lunar New Year. The only problem is ”memory lapse” .  I could not recall my “decade-old” recipe. Not even a single clue! Oh gosh! (Hmm! Time for an overhaul service for my memory? Your highness (that’s right, you my husband), can you kindly approve my leave application for memory recall R&R as soon as possible?  )

Luckily, I managed to compile a handful of pineapple roll recipes from other food bloggers and cookbooks to recall and make comparison. Even though no one particular recipe actually met what I was looking for, there are two great references that I relied a lot when making these pineapple rolls. They are found in  “Baking Made Easy” by Agnes Chang and “At Home with Amy Beh” by Amy Beh respectively.

Not to forget my good blogger friend Selba from Selby’s Food Corner (whose mother is an experienced Nastar baker and has been selling it for more than ten years) who unselfishly gave me very valuable advice and tips. Thanks Selba!!! One very important advice from her is “If you want to have the best pineapple jam, either you grate the pineapples yourself or you buy the jam. Never blend them.” Yes, I totally agreed with her, which I will explain in the following paragraph. Besides grating your pineapples, getting the right type of pineapple grater is also equivalently important if you are looking for the finest fibrous texture.

Never take any short-cut of blending your pineapples. I did that once and was very upset even though my pastry turned out delicious and crumbly. My hubby (who initially didn’t mind with the blending method) also got addicted to the fibrous and chewy jam texture made from grated pineapples. You can definitely tell the difference if you had a chance to taste and compare both versions.

Both the jam and pastry have to be done properly. They must compliment each other. And, having the correct proportion of jam and pastry is of utmost important and the key to success. I weight each jam roll to be exactly 6 gram as I find the final product comes out best when munched in the mouth. Neither too much pastry nor jam. Just the right proportion for maximum enjoyment. Preferably, the overall size of the roll is just big enough for one mouthful to have the melt-in-the-mouth feeling. This is the art of eating. My ultimate goal to have a “perfect” pineapple roll! So my advice is, you will need to adjust the size of the jam you use to match the size of the pastry.

Tum…tum….tummmmm! (drumroll) Let me now present to you my “exclusive” recipe that will churn out the best pineapple rolls in town. (Just joking! ). But if you follow the recipe closely, you will get the melt-in-the mouth pastry combined with fibrous jam texture.

I must however forewarn you. Although this recipe is very simple-to-follow, it’s very time-consuming. You need to have patience. If not, please go to buy the ready-made ones.

If you’re craving for the authentic pineapple rolls like I do, it’s definitely worth spending the time and effort to make these rolls. It’s simply very rewarding. Once you start putting one of these bite-size pineapple rolls into your mouth, you can never stop the temptation of having another, and another, and………

>>>> Click on page 2 to get the recipe, tips and more photos on how to make pineapple jam ……………

>>>> Click on page 3 to get the recipe, tips and more photos on how to make pineapple rolls …………..