LOW FAT BANANA BREAD

These days I have been buying bananas regularly as bananas is high with potassium which is good for regulating  the sodium level  in our body. Too much sodium affects the level of blood pressure.

Today, I baked this banana bread using a muffin tray which shortens the baking time by half  if it is baked in a loaf tin.  Looks like an energy saving tip, hehehe! which I discovered.

This recipe  is adapted from Stephanie of Joy Of Baking with some modifications to the ingredients such as substituting a portion of the brown sugar with jaggery sugar.  Maybe is for this reason, the muffin shaped banana bread looks a little darker than usual.  Anyway, it is okay to me.

The banana bread is soft, moist and of course aromatic with cinnamon and vanilla essence.  Can’t wait to let it cool completely before I tried a piece while still warm, hmmm… it is awesome.

Really, didn’t expect the bread to be that good, so much difference from store bought.  There is no overly strong scent of banana essence, non-greasy and the sweetness is just perfect.  This recipe is a keeper and I wouldn’t mind baking this bread often.

Ingredients

[makes 6 large size muffin shape banana bread 

or 10cm x 20 cm greased loaf tin]

Dry Ingredients [ sifted and mix together]

130 gm plain flour + 65 gm wholemeal flour

1 tsp baking powder + 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder + ¼ tsp salt

45 gm dark chocolate chips

Wet Ingredients 1 [mash and mix together]

3 medium size bananas or 2 large bananas – peeled and mash with a fork

120 ml plain yoghurt

1 tsp baking soda

Wet Ingredients 2 [whisk together]

1 large egg 

60 gm brown sugar + 60 gm jaggery sugar [gula merah]

60 ml corn oil

1 tsp vanilla essence

1. Sift and combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Set aside.
2. Mash bananas in a bowl, mix in plain yoghurt and baking soda.  Mix till well combined.
3. Whisk  wet ingredients 2 until sugar dissolves and blend well.
4. Combine the mashed banana mixture with egg mixture lightly with a spatula.
5. Pour it into the dry ingredients.  Mix lightly until well incorporated.  The batter is thick.
6. Scoop into prepared muffin tray until 80% full.
7. Bake in preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 15-20 minute.  Test with a skewer before removing to cool  on wire rack.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

PANDAN RAISIN MUFFINS

There are numerous recipes from the Cookbook 'In Love With Pandan' which I love to try.  Anyway, I have to cos' I bought a bottle of Pandan Paste recently.  Must make use of it soon to replace home-made paste.

These muffins are easy to make. They are soft, moist but dense. The texture is quite close to steamed cakes but slightly more fragrant from the baking. The pandan flavour is not that intense and no oil is used in this recipe. Why?  Perhaps, this is why the muffins turned out chewy.  Is there a typo error?  If you are brave enough, do try this recipe otherwise forget it cos' I'm not too happy with the outcome.

Recipe adapted from my selected Cookbook for Cookbook Countdown Event#4 - Ricky Ng's book 'In Love with Pandan [modified]

Ingredients
[makes 5-6 large muffins]
200 gm superfine flour - sifted
2 tsp baking powder
70 gm caster sugar [I used 50 gm]
1/2 tsp salt
60 gm raisins - rinsed, drained and chopped
235 ml milk
1 egg
1/4 tsp pandan paste [I used 1/2 tsp]

1. In a mixing bowl, sieve flour and baking powder, stir in the sugar, salt and raisins.  Mix well.
2. In another bowl, pour in milk and add in the egg and pandan paste.  Stir well.
3. Pour liquid mixture into flour ingredients.  Mix well and set aside for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, lightly grease a muffin tray and preheat oven at 190 degrees C.
5. Fill muffin moulds with batter until 80% full.  Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes.
6. Remove and allow to cool slightly before serving.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown Event#4 hosted by Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

PANDAN HUAT KUIH [STEAMED SMILING CAKE]

No idea why the sudden urge to cook and bake food with pandan [screwpine leaves] flavour.  Perhaps, it is because I have in hand a cookbook 'In Love With Pandan'.  All recipes in the book uses pandan for flavour. This recipe is one of the first which I tried.

These smiling kuihs are lovely, very fragrant cos' of the pandan juice and the sweetness is just nice.  The texture is good, soft and moist even on the next day.   This recipe is a keeper.
BTW, no artificial colouring is used in this kuih yet the colour is bright green and remains the same even on the next day. Quite similar to my earlier recipe here but slightly different, a healthier version with less sugar and using corn oil.  The end result of the kuih is as good.

Recipe adapted from my selected Cookbook for Cookbook Countdown Event#4 - Ricky Ng's book 'In Love with Pandan' [modified]

Ingredients

[makes 12 cupcakes]

250 gm self raising flour -sifted with baking powder

1/2 tsp baking powder 

130 gm castor sugar

200 - 220 ml pandan juice [I used 200 ml]

8 pandan leaves - washed and knotted

1 egg - lightly beaten

45 ml corn oil

*Pandan Juice [blend 8 blades of pandan leaves with 200 ml water]

1. Prepare pandan juice and strain to obtain 200-220 ml. Add in sugar and whisk until sugar dissolved.
2. Lightly beat the egg and add in to sugar mixture, continue to whisk until well mixed.  Drizzle in corn oil.  Mix well.
3. Sieve flour and baking powder into sugar mixture.  fold well to combine.  Batter is of thick consistency but manageable. 
4. Scoop batter into a baking tray lined with paper cases until 95% full or to the rim in one go.
5. Steam over high heat for 20 minutes or until skewer  when inserted comes out clean.  Remove to cool or serve immediately.
   
   
   

How The Huat Kuihs look with different moulds

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

PURPLE SWEET POTATO RICE CAKE [HUAT KUIH] 紫薯发糕

I have seen this lovely huat kuih recipe [prosperity cake] [here] and made some recently.  

The steamed cake rose and cracked nicely.  They are soft, moist and light even on the next day.  The sweetness is just nice for me with the reduced amount of sugar used.

If you like to try a huat kuih recipe using yeast, this one is easy to prepare.

Recipe adapted from Amiliaya Recipe [modified]

Ingredients

[makes about 20 small huat kuihs]

50 gm purple sweet potato [ 紫薯]

210 ml water [水]

180 gm rice flour [粘米粉]

75 gm sugar [糖] - I used 60 gm

1 tsp yeast [酵母]

1 tsp baking powder [ 泡打粉]

1. Steam purple sweet potatoes until soft [about 20-30 minutes].  Blend steamed sweet potatoes with water.  Pour into a big mixing bowl.
2. Mix and combine blended mixture with rice flour, sugar and yeast.  Cover bowl and let it rise for about 2 1/2 hours.
3. After resting for 2 1/2 hours, add in baking powder and mix well.  Let it rise for another 30 minutes.
4. Stir then pour into paper cups or greased moulds until the rim.  
5. Steam over high heat for 15 minutes.
   
   
   

Click here for more Huat Kuih Recipes

This post is linked to Cook and Celebrate: Chinese New Year 2016 hosted by Yen from GoodyFoodies, Diana from The Domestic Goddess Wannabe

and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids

 

THE PROSPERITY KUIH [BROWN SUGAR HUAT KUIH]

I was so happy when I removed the cover of the steamer after 20 minutes of steaming the cake.  Why so happy?  Oh,  definitely it is because I had 9 pieces of ‘smiling’ huat kuih in front of me.  All 9 turned out well, the cracks were lovely and nice colour too.

These huat kuihs are moist and the sweetness is acceptable to me.  Great for giveaways too as it is a symbol of  ‘GOOD LUCK’ and ‘HUAT AH!’  hehehe!.   Moreover,  the ingredients required are just a few  and the preparation is quick and easy, about 15 minutes.  I used the brown sugar bought at Tesco store.  It gives a more intense colour than the packet brown sugar.

Do try making these if you wish to have some ‘Huat Kuihs’ as offering items for prayers.  Sure much more economical to make some instead of buying from the stalls.

The original recipe is half of this portion below.

Recipe adapted from Eating Pleasure - Little Inbox Recipe 

Ingredients

[makes 9 pieces in cupcake liners]

260 gm self raising flour – sifted

70 gm brown sugar

70 gm white sugar

50 ml coconut cream [I dissolved 3 tbsp coconut milk powder with 50 ml water]

200 ml hot water

1. Prepare a steamer with water boiling.
2. Dissolve both sugars in hot water.
3. Sieve flour into a big mixing bowl.  Mix in the coconut cream, then strain in the syrup gradually.  Stirring slowly into a gluey batter.
4. Line a baking tray with paper cases.  Fill in the batter to the rim.  Steam over medium high heat for 20 minutes.
   
   
   
   
   
   

This post is linked to Cook and Celebrate: Chinese New Year 2016 hosted by Yen from GoodyFoodies, Diana from The Domestic Goddess Wannabe

and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids