Scale Layered Cake ( Kek Lapis Sisik Ikan )

Yes, it is time of the year to "Balik Kampung" when school is having a term break and my company is declaring close of business for whole next week in conjuction of Gawai Festival and Great King's Birthday. I took half day leave today to bake layered cake which is always a popular "Buah Tangan" from Sarawak. I choose the above cake because my Emak does not like colorful cake and I love the moist texture and the sweet & sour taste.

This recipe is originated by Rabiah Amit, the popular layered cake book writer from Sarawak. Her book is a must have if you interested in layered cake making.

Herewith the recipe which I have modified for more accurate measurements. I have also tried to explain the method a bit more for greater clarity. The original recipe is in Malay language and translated into English:

INGREDIENTS:

10 Egg yolk*

2 Egg white*

250g Castor Sugar*

1 tbsp Ovalette*

75ml chilled Water*

3/4 can Serikaya* (1 can is 300g)

160g Horlicks*

250g Hong Kong flour

300g Butter

4 tbs Condensed Milk

4 packet of Haw Flakes

METHOD:

1. Place all ingredients marked* in a mixer bowl & beat with high speed until fluffy & thick. (Tips: The bowl need to be big enough to handle the volume which get doubled up)

Fold in flour gradually until well mixed.

2. In a separate bowl, beat butter & condensed milk until white & fluffy.

Combine into the earlier mixture.

3. Grease & line 8 inch square tin.

Spread about 2 big scoop into the tin & grill until the top is evenly brown.

Take the tin out from oven and press surface with cake presser to ensure even layer.

Repeat for second layer.

Arrange haw flake by inserting through the two layers at 45 degrees angle.

Repeat the above process until all batter is used up.

4. For all layered cakes, I always bake the cake at 180C for 30 minutes as the last step to ensure that the cake is properly cooked through.

For those interested in making layered cake are welcome to ask questions. Just post your questions in the "comments" tab at the bottom of this recipe.

Battered Fish

To make deep fried battered fish, it is recommended to use scaleless fish like the ones I used in the picture below (being marinated in egg white): This recipe makes very crispy batter and am sure you will not be disappointed. For busy mum, you can prepare until the last step and freeze them before frying. It is ready to be fried anytime and thawing is not necessary because the fish are not big and has soft flesh which can easily get cooked. Also thick flour coating ensure that the fish will not stick to one another when frozen.

INGREDIENTS:

1 kg scaleless & soft flesh Fish

1 Egg white - slightly beaten

Ground Black Pepper

1/2 tsp Salt

Enough Tapioca Flour to coat

METHOD:
1. Add all ingredients except flour & marinate about 10 minutes.

Toast all fish out from egg white & sprinkle enough tapioca flour & ensure fish are fully & thickly coated with tapioca flour.

2. You can either freeze for later consumption or deep fry right away.

3. Serve with rice or as snacks.

Ikan Bawal Masak Tiga Rasa ( Three-flavour Pomfret )

This is very simple to prepare and my family's favourite. I don't normally use any measurement in cooking this but below is roughly as a guide but you cannot go wrong.

INGREDIENTS:
1 large Pomfret
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 cup Vegetable Oil
3 cloves Garlic - smashed & chopped
1 tbs Chilli paste
4 tbs Oyster sauce
4 tbs Chilli sauce
3 tbs Tomato sauce
4 tbs Sweet soy sauce
2 tbs Salty soy sauce
1/2 cup Water
1 tsp Cornflour - mix with 2 tbsp water
1 tbs Sugar
1 Large Onion - cut to 6 parts
1 Tomatoes - cut to 6 parts
1 stalk Spring onion & Chinese celery - chopped

METHOD:
1. Coat fish with enough turmeric powder & salt.
Deep fry fish until crispy, toast & place in a serving plate.

2. Heat up 2 tbsp Vegetable oil & fry chopped garlic.
Add in chilli paste & stir fry until fragrant.
Add in all type of sauce, water, cornflour mixture and sugar.
Let it boil for a while. It is not necessary to add in any salt & if needed adjust the taste by adding more sauce.
Add in the rest of ingredients.

3. Pour sauce onto the fried fish & serve with white rice.

Moist Chocolate Cake

This is a marvellous recipe from Amy Beh but I made a mistake baking it in a tube pan. The cake is indeed soft & moist and hence broke terribly when I attempted to unmould. So advice to others bake this in a plain round or rectangle tin instead. This is how my cake looked like after been unmoulded:

The recipe has cream and chocolate in the ingredients making it different than other Moist Chocolate Cake and the result is really yummy!

INGREDIENTS:
160g Butter
1 tbsp Honey (originally Golden Syrup)
160g Dark chocolate
110ml Warm water
190g Plain Flour
10g Cocoa powder
2 tsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
180g dark soft Brown sugar
90g Nestle reduced cream
1 tsp Vanilla essence
3 eggs - lightly beaten
1 tbsp Corn oil
40g walnuts, coarsely chopped

METHOD:
1. Grease and line a 20 cm round cake tin with greaseproof paper.

2. Melt butter, golden syrup, chocolate and warm water in a microwave oven for 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds.

3. Put sifted dry ingredients into a bowl and stir in sugar, Nestle cream, vanilla essence, beaten eggs and oil to mix.
Gradually pour in the chocolate mixture. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Fold in the chopped walnuts.

4. Turn batter into prepared cake tin and bake for about 40-50 minutes at 170C or until skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Fish Head Curry

My dear hubby bought a fresh fish, weighted 3 kg, direct from a fisherman this morning. The fish looked like a Snapper but neither me nor my hubby knows for sure what fish it is. I reserved the head for curry for our dinner tonite - what can be better than curry....! Emmmh, the fish is so fresh that it tastes very sweet & tasty....

My niece, Ayu, just had an operation to remove growth in her nostril/throat, therefore she can only take icecream and liquid porridge at the moment. I made Blueberry Dadih for her today - it is very soft & easily swallowed. I used ready made instant powder - so no recipe for this, just follow instruction on the packet...

My curry is very simple to prepare & sharing the recipe herewith in case anyone needs it:

INGREDIENTS:
1 Fish Head
4-5 tbsp Vegetable Oil
5 Shallots*
3 Garlic* (*sliced)
2 sprigs Curry Leaves

1 tsp Mustard Seeds

½ tsp Methi Seeds

5-6 tbs Curry Powder (I used Adabi Kari Ikan Mamak) - add enough water to form thick paste

2 bowl Coconut Milk
1 tbsp Tamarind - add 4 tbsp water to produce tamarind juice
1-2 Tomato - cut 4
Salt & MSG (optional)

METHOD:
1. Heat up oil in pot & fry sliced shallots, garlic, curry leaves, mustard seeds & methi seeds. Add in curry paste & stir until fragrant and oil surface out from the paste.

2. Add in coconut milk & tamarind juice. When boiled, add in fish head. Add in salt & MSG. Boil until fish head is well cooked inside.

3. Serve with white rice.