La Nina en la Cocina

Green Tea Drizzle Cake

I made Green Tea Drizzle cake, for dessert, when Tatyana & Rudi came for Sunday lunch 2 weekends ago. I used the recipe from the Wagamama Cookbook which I purchased at the restaurant a while ago. I must say, the cookbook has come in handy - mostly for inspirational ideas and tips. I haven't reproduced anything out of the recipes in the book apart from this drizzle cake but so far, the book has proven to be very good. I use a lot of the tips for sauces. My favourite (mostly produced) is the base sauce for yaki soba (mirin, sake, soy sauce, sugar and yellow bean paste (miso)).

I don't think it is right for me to publish the recipe as it is an IP which belongs to Wagamama. Suffice to say, my guests thought (and I did too) the cake is really light and totally enjoyable with an after lunch tea. The green tea syrup drizzle makes it very sweet but one can skip it (if syrup is served on the side) if one surrenders to bad conscience. I love the subtle taste of green tea in the cake. It is amazing how little macha tea powder I have used and how powerful albeit subtle taste, such a tiny amount of tea powder can be.

Chilled Italian Chocolate Cake

I had a spurt of Italian cuisine madness since few weeks ago. Just after our dinner party at Joey & Yu-Wen when they (they just got back from their summer holiday in Sicily) prepared a very excellent Italian banquette-like dinner, from start to finish. It was marvellous! I love it when we get invited to dinner parties especially when/if the lady/man of the house is/are also passionate about preparation of food, as much as I am.

We have pasta/risotto at least twice per week. But I hardly make any Italian dessert. I have been meaning to make summer Asian-influenced (with either mango, pineapple, ginger or papaya) cheesecake but abandoned that idea and went for the Chilled Italian Chocolate cake instead. Why? I am married to a chocoholic!

As the German saying goes, "Liebe geht durch den Magen", love comes through the stomach. I need to be loved.

Chilled Italian Chocolate Cake
This is easy to make, there's no cooking! It is also difficult to go wrong with it. Chris said, "It's one of the best chocolate cake in the whole world!"

Ingredients
225g/8oz Semi-sweet chocolate - cut into small pieces
Half medium wineglass of Italian marsala wine (probably rum or brandy would also work)
225g/8oz Soft unsalted butter
50g/2oz Caster sugar
2 Eggs - separated
150g/5oz Grated, blanched almonds
Pinch salt
12 Butter biscuits (petit beurre) cut each biscuit into four pieces

Method
Lightly grease bottom and sides of a two-and-a-half pint loaf tin.

Melt chocolate in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring constantly.
When all chocolate has melted, stir in the marsala wine (rum or brandy).Remove pan from heat and cool to room temperature.

Cream the butter until light and fluffy, beat in the sugar and add egg yolks one at a time. Stir in the grated almonds and then the chocolate mixture.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until stiff enough to form soft peaks. Fold this into the chocolate mixture. When all streaks of white have disappeared, gently fold in the cut-up biscuits, discarding the crumbs.

Spoon the mixture into the greased tin and smooth top. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours or until very firm.

Unmould one hour before serving. I made a little mess while unmoulding. To unmould, run a sharp knife around the sides of the tin and dip the bottom of the tin into hot water for a few seconds. I placed a chilled serving dish upside down over the tin and grasping both sides, quickly turn the plate and tin over. The cake should slide out easily. In my case, for some reason, the cake would not come away so easily from the mould and the second time I put it in the hot water, it was probably one second too many when the chocolate began to melt - more than it should.

Anyhow, I smoothed the top and sides of the cake and return it into refrigerator. Just before serving, you can sieve a little icing sugar over the cake but I forgot to do it. I did serve my cake with fresh blueberries - which I think is healthier than icing sugar. Although, they (the blueberries) are (probably) simply a gesture in vain as opposed to a conscientious healthy subsitute.

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According to my resident chocoholic, the cake is very very very rich. Hence, he ate 80% of it. I had a very thin slice of it - that was enough chocolate to last me the entire year. I am, shamely, one of those women who derive immense pleasure from seeing my resident chocoholic eat to his heart's content.

I am officially, a feeder. Love goes through the stomach? Oh yeah (as long as it is not mine!:)!

Passion fruit and dried ginger - bread and butter pudding

I can cook until the cows come home. Simply because cooking is not only therapeutic but a creative curricular which I enjoy. I don't need to have fancy ingredients (although once in a while, I do relish the opportunity to put a dish together using expensive gourmet ingredients). I also don't need to prepare fancy dishes all the time. I love creative cooking because it requires "breaking the traditional rules" and imagination. Most dishes which I prepare don't need long preparation time nor intensive cooking. I love eating well without the big fuss.

Baking and desserts have never been my strongest forté...

This must be one of the easiest desserts dishes on the planet. It has always been one of my favourite English puddings! My fruity bread pudding is slightly varied by using passion fruit juice and dried ginger! The result was respectfully subtle as opposed to bombastic, aromatic and delicately fruity bread and butter pudding!