Sticky Date Pudding with Cinnamon Butterscotch Sauce

I used to think this doesn't sound delicious.
I used to think dates in cakes sound soggy.
I used to think cake like puddings to be weird.

It was after Eid-ul Fitr and dates were on sale. Very very cheap!
Each year, muslims will consume dates during the fasting month of Ramadan and once Syawal approaches... the dates goes on clearance sale.. and it goes cheaper and cheaper as the days go by.

Birds Nest in Young Coconut 椰青炖燕窝 and a Giveaway!

THIS IS A SPONSORED POST

This is going to be a long post, with freebies and discounts.

Bird's Nest.... what comes to your mind?

Beauty? Luxury? Delicacy? Healthy?
Or smelly? Cruelty?

The Chinese believe that consuming bird's nest promotes good health, especially for the skin. It is high in glycoproteins and sialic acid, and that promote youthfulness by enhancing skin complexion. It comes with a high price tag and hence, it is a luxury. The high price tag drives human to risk their lives for it.

Back in those days, even nowadays,  bird's nests are harvested from caves, like Niah Cave in Sarawak and Gomantong Cave in Sabah and if you have seen how it's done, it will send shivers down your spine. The bamboo pillars and structures are high up in the caves and going around on those bamboo structures is like training to be a tight rope walker. I heard from my Sarawakian friends, that it's not uncommon to hear of people losing their lives while harvesting wild birds' nests in Niah Cave. And the harvesting is sometimes done while the swiftlets are still in their nests. Baby birds are thrown down the cave floor so that they can collect the nests as soon as they can. It's sad, but true. I refused to consume birds nest after my visit to Niah Cave in 1999. Seriously. I just couldn't bring myself to support an industry that takes lives.

I'm glad that in recent years, there are birds nests that are collected from nesting houses. Birds Nest is tasty and I don't want to stop consuming it. It's just that I want to support a blood industry.

Taro Sago Dessert 芋头西米露

I first made this more than 10 years ago, and I also served this for my pre wedding reception.
It was well received and the first to be finished.

Last time, I used to make this using only taro, but, this time, I added in a little bit of purple sweet potato for natural purple pigment. Lovely hue :-)
You can choose to use only taro.

Ah Balling 花生汤圆~ Singapore AFF #3

I've been slacking in my blogging lately..... I can't cope with work, family and blogging. So, I have to slow down. There are times when I felt liberated when I don't touch the computer, but I just keep on taking pictures of the things I make occasionally, not knowing if I'll ever write about them. My mind is still curious about food, thinks about new recipes all the time... just that I feel tired to blog. It's not easy to let go a part of me that I have built for 7 years

Glad that I still managed to cook this days ago.

Taro Balls 芋圆 - Taiwan AFF Chewies #2

I can frankly tell you, I'm not a fan of these things.

I ate them at Blackball before and didn't fall in love with it, but I won't say I hate them. I will still eat them, but not looking forward to them .

My husband's family makes a savoury version with leeks and crab, as a traditional dish every second day of the Chinese New Year. My husband do not look forward to that too, although he has been eating them since he was a kid.

Sans Rival -AFF Philippines~Pinoy Bakes #3

I heard of this dessert many many years ago, from a fellow blogger friend Anne. From then... it was my 'dream' to bake one myself as I was intrigued by the layers of cashew nut dacquoise filled with french buttercream and topped with more cashew nuts... a nutty delight!

Nowadays there are many flavours of Sans Rival in Philippines, like mango, coffee and chocolate. But I guess I'll just try the original flavour, that's just with nuts.

Crema de Fruta - AFF Philippines , Pinoy Bakes #2

Creme de Fruta is a popular dessert in Philippines. It's sponge fingers (known as broas in Philippines)  with custard, topped with canned cocktail fruits and clear jelly.

You can choose to make this with a homemade sponge or store bought sponge fingers, and I also saw some using graham crackers. I used a recipe I previously used to bake sponge fingers and baked this in a sheet form and cut out the sponge according to the size of my serving cups. Usually creme de fruta is set in a large glass tray, but I also saw some in individual servings. I also chose to spoon the custard over the sponge while it's hot, because this way, the custard will set better. I don't want to disturb it too much, afraid it will turn runny, and warm custard hydrates the sponge much better.

Hong Kong Style Coconut Pudding - Jelly #3

I taste this loooooooooong ago when I was a kid, when a family restaurant served us a complimentary plate of this, made by her daughter. The taste remained unforgettable to me.

Choy May... I miss the ones your sis made.. yummy.

Lychee Rose Jelly Bowl - Jelly #2

I made this jelly on impulse because I saw some nice sweet lychees being sold and beetroot is in the fridge.

No artificial flavours and colours used and as you all know..  I love natural pigments.

I used 1tsp Mermaid brand (AAA grade) and my family liked the texture. Some brands tend to be inferior with less gelling ability. So, the amount depends on the brand that you use. The jelly is firm enough to be lifted with a fork but soft enough to be slurped down. How firm you want to make the jelly is up to your preference. and the sweetness for this is on the mild side. Something that I prefer to bring out the rose fragrance and I want the lychee be the sweet factor in this dessert.

Pandan Water Chestnut Jelly - Jelly #1

I saw this green thing dessert at a dimsum shop. I was curious and so I ordered one serving. To my surprise it was waterchestnut ‘cake’ that wasn’t made of waterchestnut flour and instead was made with konnyaku jelly. It also has some canned tropical fruit chunks in it and so it didn’t taste much of waterchestnut.

Nutella Bread Pudding - Nutella Week #3

Rarely, the man remembers what I bake.
He tends to not know what food is in the house and eats what I serve him.

He knows I'm baking when he sees me doing it, but doesn't remember, won't go looking, won't bother until I asks him if he wants a serving, of which the usual answer will be yes.

Serradura 木糠布丁 - AFF HK Macau Desserts #3

These are set in Ikea's tealight cups

Serradura, also known as Sawdust pudding is a Portuguese dessert popular in Macau, the former Portuguese colony.
Why the name sawdust? The cookie crumbs that make up this pudding is the sawdust. :-)

I first got to know of this dessert from a TV documentary. The host visited a dessert factory in Macau and was taught how to make this simple dessert.

Ginger Double Boiled Custard 姜汁炖蛋 - AFF HK Macau Desserts #2

I first heard of this dessert in a Hong Kong TVB serial when I was a kid. The actress, Miu Siew Wai keep on asking the man she loves to eat this steamed egg dessert. Then my mom tried making this and it was hoooooooooooorible. It was eggy, smelly and ultra sweet. Well, my mom loves all things sweet and her tolerance level for sugar is way way way higher than mine. I have better tolerance now than when I was a kid, but still, nowhere near my mom’s

Mango Sago with Pomelo 杨枝甘露 - AFF HK Macau Desserts #1

Mango Sago Pomelo is a popular dessert from Hong Kong.

It is a dessert that is made of mango, tapioca or sago pearls, pomelo arils, coconut milk and evaporated milk or cream.

And usually, pomelos are one of the quintessential fruits for Chinese New Year because the name sound prosperous. Besides eating it fresh, you can turn it into this dessert. It'll be a good way to serve this fruit during this hot hot weather, or maybe for next year's celebration :)

Honey Peach Ice Cream - Stone Fruits #3

I made this a long time ago, before I got my ice cream maker.

The ice cream isn't as peachy as I hope it'll be as my peaches are not really that fragrant. You can use canned peaches if you want. I misread the recipe and pureed all my peaches, and so with the high moisture content in the ice cream, it wasn't very smooth.

Blackforest Ice Cream Mooncake - Stone Fruits #1

Like I told you, I don't like eating tradtional mooncakes, but I never said, I don't like all sort of mooncakes. This is ice cream, made in the form of mooncakes. Give me any amount, I'll gladly take them! LOL

I had this idea, that instead of making carrot juice yolks, why not I just use beautiful cherries as the moon ?
I have a few other crazy ideas in my head, but I think let's leave them for next year and I hope I get them realized instead of letting them stored up in my brain. This idea was actually thought of last year in 2012 but until now, whatever I planned last year, haven't been done.

Kampar Ice Kacang 金宝杂雪 - Perak MFF#7

Ice Kacang or some call ABC is a common dessert found all over Malaysia and Singapore. It may go with other names in other countries in this region. I call it Jaap Suut 杂雪  , like most Cantonese speaking Kamparians do.

Generally there's not much rules regarding Ice Kacang.. different shops uses different ingredients. The type of ingredients that I have encountered in all the ice kacangs I have eaten all over Malaysia range from roasted peanuts, attap chee, agar-agar cubes, coconut shreds, canned cocktail fruits, canned longans, lychees, kidney beans, or even preserved nutmeg fruit shreds. Just anything goes into this dessert and it's up to the seller's imagination to make.

But in Kampar, that is not the case.

Soy Jelly with Roselle Poached Pears

I made this for Eat Tau Huay Day event on Facebook some time back.

Making this was supposed to be easy with store bought soy milk.. but long story cut short, I had a horrible time making this with sick kids in the house making me unable to get out of the house during day time to buy the soy milk and the beans.. sigh.... oversoaked cos I just can't squeeze the time to do it and sigh..... the GDL overcurdled and...... sigh........Rushing through desserts is never a good idea. It is a hobby done leisurely for fun, not a necessity.

Natural Rainbow Jelly Eggs - Jelly #2

I made these for Reuben's 1st Birthday Bash few months back.

Since nowadays not many fancy red eggs, of which is a must for Chinese birthdays, I switched to Rainbow eggs and made them with jelly so that everybody will enjoy eating them. I also chose to use natural colours so that everybody can eat colourful jelly with an ease of mind. I layered the colours with a milk layer in between so that the colours will look more prominent.

Old Fashion Coconut Agar-Agar - Jelly #1

I've talked about my mom repeating dishes very often.

This is one dessert that my mom replenishes after each batch was gone! It's scary!
My mom made this almost every weekend when I was young, about 9-11.  Either she would set it in huge bowls and cut into wedges or she'ld set them in tart tins.
And she loves it being separated while I prefer it being homogenous.

My mom has a sweeth tooth but her sugar level is perfectly ok, even until now. Let's talk about her adding in sugar to her 3in1 coffee. I am nowhere near her standard. Maybe it's because of the way she grew up, she eats rice porridge with sugar and douse her rice with kopi-O like soup.