Halo 3 Cake; Instant Chocolate Ganache

Ethan wanted a Halo 3 birthday cake for his birthday. I almost fainted thinking about how to recreate the Halo 3 look - space, the main character etc.

In an inspired move though, I decided to fashion the cake on Noel's Halo 3 commemorative t-shirt, which he got as one of the first persons in Singapore to get the game (See how fanatic my boys are about the Halo franchise? *winks*). Also, since Noel's birthday is also in December, I figured I could make 2 boys very happy with one cake.

I baked 3 8-inch square cakes using my chocolate cupcake recipe. I wanted a dense, chocolatey texture for the cake and I love how moist my chocolate cupcakes remained days after baking it. I had to extend the baking time to about 40 minutes each cake. I then sliced the cake in the middle to get 6 squares, in order to get 3 layers of cake.

Next, I slather a layer of "instant" choc ganache to sandwich the layers together, with the final layer a mix of canned dark cherries and choc ganache:


In between layers, I brush the cake with the liquid from the canned cherries mixed in with a little rum (not enough to make drunk kids... it's a kids' cake after all), moistening the cake further. *decadence...sighs* When the 3 layers are done, this is what a slice of the cross-section looks like:

The rectangle cake is then cut into shape. I sliced the bottom square into 2 smaller rectangles, and half one of that rectangle for sleeves:

I shaped a collar and the sleeves, and then covered the entire cake with the choc ganache.

After that, I covered the entire cake with fondant:

After that, I added the collar and sleeve details:

I printed out the Halo 3 logo from the Net, and then cut it out from the blue fondant:

Here's the final product:

I used the leftover fondant to cover the cake base and voila! Cake done!

Here's the cake inspiration:

And the cake close up:

I figured in total, I used about 4 Cadbury 70% Cocoa choc bars just for the ganache filling and frosting below the fondant layer. For the ganache, I did a lot of research to find a simple recipe. I struck gold with this amazingly simple 2-ingredient-2-step method to making the most versatile chocolate ganache from this site.

Ingredients:
170g Dark Chocolate (I used the Cadbury Old Gold 70% Cocoa)
1 can Nestle Cream Pure Dairy Sterlised Cream

Method:
1. Heat the choc in a microwave oven at short bursts of 20 sec at med heat until all the choc is melted. Be careful not to burn the choc.
2. Pour the can of cream into the melted choc and mix well until the two ingredients are incorporated.

Done!

The choc ganache is pliable and holds itself well in our warm weather. Excess ganache can be stored in the fridge and warmed in the microwave before use.

Whilst making the cake, Edna hid in a corner and stole bits of fondant to eat... I finally wisen up when I saw little finger pinches from the fondant pile. *grins*

Banana Balls or Jemput Jemput Pisang or Cekodok Pisang

The hubby had a craving for banana balls... and I had over-ripe bananas with a wish to be made into anything other than banana cake or remaining a fruit. So after a thorough search online for banana balls, I finally found it in Mama Fa Mi's fotopages.

I've modified her recipe a little, especially since the bananas I had were very sweet and the amount was way more than her 3 ripe bananas. That said, this is really a recipe for the impatient cook - it takes less than 5 minutes to get the preparation done and all it takes is to fry up the banana balls.


Ingredients:
350g ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tbsp milk powder
3/4 tsp Baking powder
2 tbsp Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
Oil for frying

Method:
1. Sift flour, baking powder and milk powder.
2. Mix the mashed banana, sugar and salt well.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mix. Make sure that the overall mixture is neither too dry nor too wet.


4. Heat the oil and drop tablespoonfuls of the mixture into it. Once the batter balloons and turns a golden brown, scoop it up and drain it well.


5. Enjoy!


It's a heavenly taste - wonderful bite of banana, soft, yet chewy in texture. And it I mention that it's so simple to make? *g*

Homemade Mayonnaise

In my previous post, I mentioned homemade mayonnaise. And here's how to make it:

Ingredients:
2 egg yolks
1 tbl fresh lemon juice
1 tbl white vinegar
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp sugar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil mix (I use 3/4 cup olive oil and 3/4 cup canola oil, but it's really up to you. If you find the scent of the olive oil a little heavy, you can use more canola oil. I've not tried this recipe with other oils like soya bean or corn oil, but I suppose those oils might add their own flavour into the mayo, so you can experiment to get the flavour you like.)

Method:
1. In the mixer, beat the yolks, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, sugar and Dijon mustard.
2. Whilst the mixer is beating the above ingredients, drizzle a teaspoonful of the vegetable oil into the mixer at intervals of 5 to 10 seconds. This is to allow the oil to incorporate into the yolk to from an emulsion.

(Here is a whole aside into Science which you can teach your kids - and I do since Ethan's being homeschooled. *winks* An emulsion is a mixture of two liquids that normally can't be combined, eg oil and water or here, vinegar/lemon juice and oil. Emulsifying is done by slowly adding one ingredient to another while simultaneously mixing rapidly, which disperses and suspends tiny droplets of one liquid through another.

However, the two liquids would quickly separate again unless an emulsifier is added to set and stabilise the mixture. Eggs and gelatin are among the foods that contain emulsifiers, and in mayonnaise, the emulsifier is the lecithin in egg yolk.

Emulsification is used in making medicine, and in making various items like paint, make-up, detergents and explosive. Thus concludes this post's Science lesson.)

3. Once you get a pasty mixture from your oil addition, you can add the oil in larger amount, making sure that the mixture remains an emulsion.

4. Once all the oil is incorporated, just put your mayonnaise into a jar and you're done!


For those of you worried about using raw egg yolk in cooking for fear of salmonella, make sure that the egg shell is washed before use. The egg itself doesn't contain the salmonella germs, which are actually found in fecal matter - on the outside of the egg or on unwashed hands. Therefore, wash your eggs in a mild bleach solution if you're worried (and keep those hands clean!), to kill those salmonella germs. Hey, now the Science lesson is really over! *grins*

Welcome to McBrenda's!

Healthy hamburgers are an oxymoron? Not necessarily so! *grins* Homemade burgers are not only delicious, they are a chockful of healthy veggies, proteins and carbohydrates. Besides, you're almost guaranteed an empty plate after the kids have sat at the dinner table. *winks*


McBrenda's Burgers
Ingredients for Beef Patty:
500g lean minced beef
1/2 red onion, chopped finely
1 garlic clove, chopped finely
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 egg yolk
1 dash dried oregano (and other dried spices for taste)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Mix all the ingredients together.
2. Weigh the entire mixture and divide the amount to get your desired number of patties. This ensures that not only will you get the right number of patties for the number of hamburger buns you bought, but also that each patty is equal in weight... which help you avoid all those "But mmmmuuuum, his patty is bigger than mine!" complaints. heh.
3. Pat the patties into shape and put it in the fridge for about half an hour for the flavours to mingle, and for the patties to retain its shape. If you'd like to freeze the patties, do so by all means - just make sure to separate the patties by sandwiching them between plastic bags. When you want to use them, just thaw them out before cooking.

4. To cook them in the oven, pre-heat the oven to 200 deg Celsius. Put your patties on a rack and grill them to perfection... which takes about 10 to 15 minutes depending on how well-done you like your patties. (Warning: Be careful not to flip the patties too early, otherwise they might break up. If you do feel the need to flip the patties - which I don't - do it at the last minute and let the oven grill it on the other side for a minute or two.)


5. Assemble the burger. Make that a two-all-beef-very-special-sauce-lettuce-cheese-pickles-onions-on-a-sesame-seed-bun... erm... well, it helps, but you can put the usual suspects into the burger - cheese, lettuce and onions. I use my homemade mayonnaise to hold the patties etc to the bun. Serve with homemade baked potato wedges. *grins*

The BE BLESSED Brownie

Added on 4 Nov:
This was my first bake after my long pregnancy anti-baking (think antithesis of pregnancy craving). Edna's at that age where all cakes are birthday cakes, and all birthday cakes are hers. And what is a birthday cake without a candle? *winks*

As always, this brownie is absolutely chocolaty and aromatic. It's just so simple to bake too!


=====
On request, my Brownie recipe, which originated from allrecipes.com. *grins*

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/4 cups white sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans/almonds/macadamia/walnuts
3/4 cup melted butter
4 eggs

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Grease and flour a 9x13inch baking pan.
3. Mix together flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, sugar and salt. Stir to blend.
4. Mix in 3/4 cup cooled melted butter and 4 eggs.  Make sure the butter is cooled because you really don't want to have scrambled eggs in your brownie. ;P
5. Mix thoroughly and add in the chopped nuts.
6. Spread the batter evenly into prepared baking pan.
7. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in preheated oven.
8. Cool completely in pan before cutting into 2 inch squares.


I suppose the best thing about this recipe, apart from the yummy factor, is how fast it is to bake it. This is one of those perfect, welcomed dishes when there is a potluck to attend. *grins*

===============

(19/06/2011) Edited to add:
This brownie can be a perfect pre-bake gift for a friend.
1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.
2. In a dry and clean glass jar, pour sugar and press down firmly.
3. Add cocoa powder and press down firmly.
4. Pour in chopped nuts, making sure they are evenly layered in the jar.
5. Top off with the flour mix.
6. Seal the jar.

Make a card with the following instructions to attach to the jar:
=================================================================
The BE BLESSED Brownie

You'll need:
An oven. A 9x13 inch pan. 4 eggs. 3/4 cup butter. A large spoon.


Break the seal on the mix and empty the mix into a large bowl.
Engage the ingredients:  Use your hands to mix thoroughly!


Beat 4 eggs lightly, and together with 3/4 cup of cooled melted butter, add them into the mix.
Large spoon in hand, mix up everything so that it's well mixed.
Ensure the pan is greased, and spread the batter into it.
Set the oven to preheat at 180 deg C, and bake for 30 minutes or until done.
Simply allow the brownie to cool in pan before cutting into 2 inch squares.
Every square of warm brownie, serve with scoop of vanilla ice-cream.
Delight in the chocolately goodness of the brownie with family and friends!

Brenda's Bergerdils

Otherwise known as potato patties, these Bergerdils are easy to make and oh-so-yummy! The addition of chopped onions into the patties give these little potatoes a nice kick.

Brenda's Bergerdils
Ingredients
3 largish Russet Burbank potatoes (steamed and peeled)
3 1/2 tbsp dried shrimps (washed, blended, and fried with a very little amount of oil)
1onion, chopped
1 egg
1/2 tsp pepper
3 pieces of cream crackers, crushed (I use Hup Seng brand, and they come in packs of 3 crackers. See pic below.)

1 egg beaten with 40ml water for coating
Oil for deep frying

Method
1. Mash the potatoes and leave them to cool. You don’t have to mash them especially fine.
2. Throw in the dried shrimps, onion, crushed cream crackers (hey, alliteration! *g* I just smash the packet around and throw in the crushed crumbs into the mix), egg and pepper into the potato and mix the lot well. The ingredients flavour the potato enough that you do not have to add any more salt.
3. I like even-sized bergerdils, so I weigh them to about 50g and shape them into flattened balls. It helps in shaping if your hands are slightly wet, so after shaping about 3 or 4 bergerdils, I wash my hands to wet them. If you're making these as finger food, weigh them in at about 30g to make smaller bergerdils.

4. In a wok or pan, make sure the oil reaches about half the height of the bergerdil. Since most of the ingredients of the bergerdil cooks rather fast, the idea is to brown the bergerdil, rather than to deep fry them.
5. Dip the bergerdil into egg mixture and fry till golden brown.

6. Once removed from the wok, let the bergerdils cool on a wire rack to retain most of its outer crisp. You can eat the bergerdil warm or at room temperature (although I love eating them warm).

Bergerdils make excellent party food because they can be made in advance and warmed up before serving. And who doesn't love fried potatoes? heh

Baked Teriyaki Chicken

Delicious over rice, this baked Teriyaki Chicken is quite simple to make.

Terikayi Chicken
Ingredients:
1 pieces of Chicken thighs (Or any other meaty parts, or boneless parts if you like)

Marinate:
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tsp light soya sauce
1 tsp Chinese cooking wine
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cooking oil

Teriyaki Sauce:
3 tbsp mirin
1 1/2 tbsp Kikkoman sauce
2 tbsp Japanese sake
1 or 1 1/2 tbsp sugar (depending on how sweet you want)
50 ml of water

Method:
1. Marinate the chicken with the marinate ingredients for at least an hour. It's best if it's marinated overnight.
2. Bake the chicken on a wire rack in the oven set at 200 deg C, for about 10 minutes on each side. Use the leftover marinate to baste the chicken while baking.
3. While chicken is being baked, put all the ingredients for the Teriyaki Sauce into a frying pan and allow the mixture to simmer. Once the sauce thickens to your liking and taste, put the sauce aside.
4. Arrange the baked chicken pieces on a plate and pour the Teriyaki Sauce over the chicken. Serve hot with rice.