Jade & Golden Jelly Mooncakes

It's a tradition that our family members will meet up in our hometown to celebrate Mid Autumn festival every lunar 8th month of the year. This yes is no different.

On top of the catered food, I thought of making some cooling desserts since weather has been so fuming hot. After a visit to the nearby supermarket, I've made my choice - Aloe Vera and Peach flavor mooncakes!

I especially love this flower shape mould, an old fashion Tupperware mould given by my mom in law.

Aloe Vera jelly mooncake in different shades of greens to give them the jade-like appearance.

Can you spot the “好” wording on the top? Four of these little jelly mooncakes form a “花好月圆”, which means bountiful blooms under the full moon.

The making is so easy, takes only about 20 minutes (excluding waiting time) and can be kept refrigerated for days.

What you need:

• 2 packets agar-agar powder 

• 1 liter Aloe Vera juice 

• 1 can sliced peaches + extra water to make up to 1 liter

• few drops of green food coloring 

• about 50gm sugar

The Making:

1. Add 1L aloe Vera juice / peach juice (with extra water) into a pot. Add the jelly powder and turn on the heat, continue stirring occasionally. Add the sugar now if you like it sweeter. Once the liquid starts to bubble, switch to low heat but don't forget to stir occasionally.

Note: if you use a different jelly brand, the water requirements may differ so do adjust accordingly.

2. For the Peach flower pattern, arrange the peach slices around the mould to form a ring, make 2-3 layers of ring.

3. Pour the jelly water into the mould until full. For the gradient jade green effect, I created 3 layers of greens:

1st layer: add 2-3 drops of green food coloring into the jelly liquid (I used avocado green), mix well and pour into the mould up to 1/3 full; keep in freezer for about 3 minutes till slightly hardened.

2nd & 3rd layer: using a knife, lightly poke few holes on the first layer (this will help the adjacent layers to stick together). Add another 2 drops of green (or blue) food coloring, then pour into the mould till 2/3 filled. Keep in freezer for another 3-5 minutes then repeat same step for last layer.

4. Let it cold for about 30 minutes before transferring to the fridge (not freezer). Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before consuming.

Enjoy!

 

Best Homemade Waffle Combo!

Waffles seem to be the latest attraction in town, there is this Owl Cafe, Madame Waffle, Kaffeine cafe all well known for their sweet and savoury waffles. I have managed to try out 2 of these waffle shops and decided to give it a try at home. 

1 batter. 3 different flavors. 1 big breakfast. 2 superbly happy kiddos.

This is my Green Tea, Cocoa & Tuna Waffles Combo, with a drop of vanilla ice cream. 

Ahhhh.... Life is good.

Best companion: Tuna waffles with mayonnaise, Cocoa waffles with cocoa syrup, Green tea waffle with almond flakes and fruits & nuts.  

Tuna Waffles

Green Tea Waffles

Chocolate Waffle with Vanilla Ice cream

I thought I made too many waffles (total 12 pieces) but we managed to finish all! The tuna waffle is voted the best by Big Guy and my little boy. Perhaps next time I shall try some bacon bits.. :)

Just use the batter recipe I shared last year here, and mix in different bowls. 

• Green tea: mix 7gm or 2 teaspoons green tea with 6 tablespoons of batter.

• Tuna: mix 4-5 tablespoon of tuna flakes in water with 6 tablespoons of batter.

• Cocoa waffle: mix 2 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder with 6 tablespoons of batter.

I love homemade breakie as we can add any condiments as we like. Almond flakes, sunflower seeds, cocoa syrups, raisins, dried cranberries, berries, blueberry jam, apricot jam... The combination is simply endless!

Hope you enjoy this as much as we do. Ciao!

Double Chocolate Cookie Balls

The kids absolutely love chocolate, and so do I. I have been buying them Chipsmore cookies occasionally but when I'm not too lazy, I will bake our favorite double chocolate cookies with reduced sugar. Today happened to be my not-so-lazy day so I started baking while listening to my all time favorite album, French Kiss. 

  

Soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside. It's what I called Love at first bite...

Preparation: 30 minutes

Baking Time: 10-12 minutes

Serving: 14-16 pieces

Original recipe adopted and modified from Food Lovers' Cooking for Children.

Ingredients:

• 100g unsalted butter, cut cubes

• 100g brown sugar 

• 3 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 large egg, beaten

• 170g all purpose flour, sifted

• 2 palmful / half cup of dark chocolate chips (add more if you wish)

• 1 teaspoon icing sugar (for sprinkle)

The Making:

1. Preheat oven to 180°c, lay a piece of baking sheet over the tray.

2. In a dry mixer bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy, then gradually add in the egg, vanilla extract, the sift in the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder.

3. Mix with a spatula until well mixed, then add the chocolate chips.

4. Using your palms, shape one large scope of dough into a round ball and place the cookie dough onto the baking tray, with at least 2" apart from each other.

5. Bake for 10-12min in the middle compartment, the cookies will expand slightly when baking.

6. Once done, remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with some icing sugar on top and keep in an airtight container. I could never resist to eat one right away, they smell too good to resist!

Enjoy...  ;)