Queen Cakes

Hi guys, Long time no see. I am so sorry for disappearing for so long. My family jst came to Adelaide visiting me and attending my graduation ceremony. Ya, finally after 4 years, i had finished my Master degree. Okie stop long winded, in order to sincerely apologise my MIA, i am going to post 2 recipes today. Here come the 1st one: Queen cakes. Erm....I have no idea why they are called Queen cakes, maybe they are something for Queen to eat during high tea. Tell u a secret, they are also the cakes i baked for my Queen previously for her birthday, she love them and of cos i got a big hug and kiss for return *shame* :p

Oh ya, forget to say, they are also the first cakes since i started my baking journey. As they are easy and delicious, they lead me to bake more cake cos i feel so satistified after baking it. Alright let start the recipe:

Queen Cakes (make 12)
Ingredient:
1½ cups self-raising flour
2/3 cup caster sugar
125g butter, at room temperature
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
¼ cup milk
2 tbs currants

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180oC. Line 12-hole muffin tray with paper cases.
2. Sift flour into a mixing bowl. Add in sugar, butter, eggs, essence and milk and beat until smooth and pale. Stir through currants.
3. Fill each muffin case ¾ full with the batter. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and firm to touch. Cool on a wire rack.

You can enjoy the cakes as they are now or you can dust them with icing sugar; or you can decorate it as I did to bring for party.

For icing:
150g block cooking chocolate, chopped into pieces
Enough mini M&M
Rainbow sprinkles

Method:
1. Melt the chocolate in microwave according to the instruction on the packaging.
2. Cool melted chocolate slightly. Transfer melted chocolate into a zip-lock bag and cut a small hole on one edge then squeeze it from the hole and design the cake as you like.
3. Before the melted chocolate has cooled completely and solidified, decorate cakes with M&M and sprinkles. Some examples are shown below:

They are a very versatile cake, you can add in anything u like, nuts, dice apricot, apple, etc. They are great for breakfast, snacks or dessert. Hope you will enjoy this simple but super nice cake.

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Buttery Ham

Okie, since i have been posting so much sweet stuff (i am sorry cos i do have serious sweet tooth :)). Here is a savory dish i would like to share. It is actually an italian dish, Gnocchi. You can make Gnocchi from plain flour, pumpkin or sweet potatoes. So far i had tried pumpkin and sweet potatoes, both of them are nice. Nonetheless, since i am a pumkin fan, i would love to eat this dish again & again.

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Buttery Ham (2 serves)

Ingredient:
100g pumpkin, steamed, mashed & cooled
150g plain flour (extra if the dough is too sticky)
50g butter
100g shredded ham
1 cup baby spinach
½ lemon, juiced

Method:
1. Mix mashed pumpkin with flour until a soft dough is formed, extra flour is needed if the dough is to sticky;
2. Dust a working station (I use chopping board) with flour, divide dough into 4 portions and roll each into log about 2.5cm thick. Cut into 3cm pieces;
3. Bring a large, wide saucepan of salt water to boil. Cook gnocchi in 2-3 batches, until they rise to surface (about 3 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a large plate lined with baking paper. Repeat with remaining gnocchi.
4. Melt butter in a large frying pan. Add shredded ham and cook for 5 minutes. Add in lemon juice. Add cooked gnocchi and spinach and toss lightly to coat with butter and until spinach is wilt.
5. Spoon onto serving plate and season with cracked pepper.

Does it sound very simple? Yes it is. It is an ideal dish for lunch and dinner. Until next time, hope u will enjoy this gnocchi as main course then the queen cake as dessert. Cheer.