Fish Trip Cafe

Even though I have to do a lot of exercise to burn off the excess calories tomorrow, I can’t resist chocolate pudding.

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— Baked Chocolate Pudding (serves 4) —

160g dark chocolate

100g butter

3 eggs

50g caster sugar

2 tablespoons plain flour, sifted

Thick double cream to serve

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Preheat the oven to 190C/375F.

Chop the chocolate into small pieces and cut the butter into small cubes. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of hot water. Stir until smooth.

Place the eggs and sugar in a bowl and whisk with electric mixer for about 8 minutes until pale and firm. Gently fold in the chocolate mixture and the flour. Take care not to over mix.

Spoon into 4 lightly greased ovenproof dishes, bake for 12-15 minutes until the pudding is puffed.

Top with the cream to serve.

I’ve been down with the cold for 2 weeks (well, I went out for drinking few times…),  and I’m very bored to stay at home now.

Lemon & Honey is the famous home remedy for cold. So, I made a Lemon & Honey cake today and eat it a lot with ginger tea.

Go, vitamin C. I really want to go out this weekend… please.

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— Lemon & Honey Upside-down Cake (7 inches round cake tin) —

– for sticky lemon & honey topping –

4 small lemons, thinly sliced

5 tablespoons honey

100g caster sugar

4  tablespoons water

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3 eggs

100g caster sugar

100g plain flour

100g ground almonds

1 teaspoon baking powder

120g butter, melted

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Preheat the oven to 170C/340F.

To make the sticky lemon & honey topping: place the sugar, honey and water in a frying-pan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the sliced lemon and simmer for 15 minutes until the syrup became sticky and the lemon is translucent. Transfer the sticky topping into a cake tin (7 inches), arrange the lemon slices slightly overlapping to cover the bottom of the cake tin.

Place the egg and sugar in a bowl, whisk with electric mixer for about 8 minutes until the mixture is thick and tripled in volume.

Place the flour, grated almonds and baking powder in another bowl and mix well to combine.

Add the butter and flour mixture into the egg mixture, stir gently until just combined.

Pour the mixture over the lemon slices and bake for 40 minutes. Turn out onto a plate.

I had a fever and had to stay in bed all day on Christmas.

Lightheaded, soft blankets, my fluffy kitten was next to me.

Fluffy, fluffy, fluffy. I felt like I was lying on the white snowfield.

Feeling nostalgic, it’s not bad. I miss snow.

Raspberry & White Chocolate Cupcakes.

As sweet as my cat.

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— Raspberry & White Chocolate Cupcakes (12 large cupcakes) —

100g butter, softened

100g caster sugar

2 eggs

80g white chocolate, melted

50ml milk

150g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

24 fresh raspberries

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— for the raspberry buttercream —

100g butter, softened

150g icing sugar

40g fresh raspberry

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Some raspberries for decoration

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Preheat the oven 340F/170C.

Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl, beat together until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time and beat well.

Add the melted white chocolate and milk, mix everything.

Sift together the flour and baking powder into the bowl and fold into the mixture.

Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases. Place 2 fresh raspberries into each cup. Spoon the mixture into the paper case.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make raspberry butter cream, Place the raspberry in a small sauce pan with 1 tablespoon of water and cook over medium heat and mush with a fork. Pour the raspberry sauce through a fine mesh strainer to take out the seeds.

Place the butter in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Sift in the icing sugar and beat together, add the raspberry sauce and mix well.

Place the buttercream in a piping bag and pipe the buttercream on to of the cupcakes and decorate as you like.

This is my favourite sesame cookie.

Light & crunchy texture and the subtle nutty flavoure are so addictive.

I feel like a happy bunny.

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— Sesame Cookies —

50g sesame seeds

140g plane flour

40g ground almonds

70g sugar

110g butter, softened

1 egg york

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Roast the sesame seeds in a dry frying-pan over medium-low heat until golden.

Grind the roasted sesame seeds roughly in a mortar and pestle.

Combine the flour, ground almond and ground sesame seeds in a bowl. Set aside.

Place the butter and sugar in another bowl and beat together until smooth, add the egg york and mix well.

Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and mix to form a smooth dough. Wrap in cling film and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 340F/170C.

Roll the dough out on a floured work surface to about 0.3 inch. Cut out your favourite shapes and place on the baking sheets.

Bake for 15 minutes until lightly golden. Cool on a wire rack.

I had a bad news today and I felt blue.

But, sometimes you realise some very important things when you are having a problem.

I had a nice coffee,

I heard a very funny Santa Claus story (maybe he does exist),

walked in the refreshing clean & crisp autumn air,

I’ve got some lovely sweets.

I’m fine now. A big hug.

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— Thai Banana Fritters —

3-4 unripe bananas

40g rice flour

30g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

40g sugar

A pinch of salt

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

200ml coconut milk

Oil for deep-frying

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Sift the rice flour, plain flour and baking powder together in a bowl.

Add the sugar, salt, sesame seeds and coconut milk into the bowl and mix everything well.

Cut the banana half, and slice lengthwise into 4 slices.

Heat deep-frying oil.

Dip the banana slices in the batter, fry until golden and crispy. Drain excess oil on kitchen paper.

If I choose a boyfriend from the fruit kingdom, I’ll choose Mr. Apple.

Mr. Lemon is too fresh,

Mr. Banana is too soft.

Mr. Pineapple seems a little too frisky,

Mr. Kiwi is too hairy.

But, Mr. Apple, he is solid, sweet and sharp, very reliable.

Today’s dessert is baked apples. it makes me feel warm and cozy.

I made the right decision choosing Mr. Apple.

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— Baked Apples (serves 4) —

4 cooking apples, such as Bramleys

40g walnuts, chopped

50g raisin

1 tablespoon butter, softened

50g brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

30g butter, melted

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Preheat the oven to 360F/180C.

Wash the apples, remove the cores to 1/2 inch of the bottom.

Combine the chopped walnuts, raisin, 1 tablespoon of butter, brown sugar and cinnamon powder in a bowl and mix well. Stuff the mixture into the apples.

Place the apples in a roasting try, brush the top of apples with melted butter. Pour a few inches of hot water into the tray and bake for 40-50 minutes until the apples are very tender.

The smell of something good baking in my oven. It makes me happy.

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— Baguette Bread Pudding (serves 4-6) —

1 x 20 inch long baguette

60g butter, softened

30g sultanas or raisins

2 eggs

50g sugar

300ml milk

200ml single cream

3 tablespoons honey

Some icing sugar

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Preheat oven to 350F/180C.

Cut the baguette diagonally into 2/3 inch thick slice. Spread the butter over one side of each slice.

Arrange the baguette slices (buttered side up) in a baking dish and sprinkle with the sultanas or raisins.

Beat the eggs, sugar, milk and single cream in a bowl. Pour the mixture over bread slices in dish, gently press the baguette slices into the mixture to soak.

Bake for about 45 minutes.

Drizzle the honey over the top, and dust with icing sugar.

I don’t like hot weather, I can’t swim, I hate mosquitos.

But, still I feel a bit sad at times when the summer is coming to an end.

This tropical summerly dessert is the last stand against Autumn.

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— Sautéed Pineapple with Coconut Sorbet (serves 6) —

— for coconut sorbet —

170g sugar

150ml coconut milk

50g grated or desiccated coconut

1/2 lime, squeezed

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— for sautéed pineapple —

1 medium pineapple, peeled and cored

3 tablespoons butter

30g brown sugar

3 tablespoons dark rum

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— to make coconut sorbet —

Place the sugar and 200ml water in a pan. Bring to the boil, simmer for 5 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved completely.

Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut milk, squeezed lime juice and grated coconut. Transfer the mixture into a freezer container and freeze for 1 hours.

Take the sorbet out from the freezer and beat it until smooth and creamy. Return to the freezer and continue to freeze until the sorbet is frozen.

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— to make sautéed pineapple —

Cut the pineapple crosswise into six 3/4 inch-thick slices.

Melt the butter in a frying-pan over medium heat. Sauté the pineapple, 1 minute each side. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the pineapple, turning over occasionally and cook until golden. Pour the rum and cook for about one more minute.

Transfer the sautéed pineapples to plates and serve with the coconut sorbet.

I just needed to make something sweet & cute today.

A lot of terrible and sad things have happened in England the last few days… Enough.

Pink glitter eclairs. It makes me smile.

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— Strawberry Eclairs (about 16)—

110g plain flour

85g butter

3 eggs (medium size)

A pinch of salt

200ml water

20-30 strawberries, hulled and halved 

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— for custard cream filling—

2 egg yolks

75g granulated sugar

200cc milk

1 tablespoon plain flour

1 tablespoon corn flour

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

A few drops of vanilla extract

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— for whipping cream filling—

200ml Double cream

2 tablespoons granuted sugar

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— for topping —

100g white chocolate, finely chopped

A few drops of pink food colouring

A few drops of strawberry flavour extract

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Preheat the oven to 400F/200C.

Put the butter, salt and water in a pan, stirring constantly until butter is melted. Increase heat and bring the butter mixture to the boil.

Reduce the heat, add the flour in the pan at once and stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a stiff ball for about 3 minutes.

Remove from the heat, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Fill a pastry bag with the mixture, pipe out lines of the mixture about 10cm long fingers on a baking sheet.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat temperature to 325F/160C and bake for a further 15 minutes. Transfer the eclairs to a wire rack, leave them to cool completely.

Slice the eclair horizontally in half with a serrated knife, fill the bottom of eclair with custard cream and then the whipping cream, arrange a few strawberries on top, sandwich together with the eclair lid spread the melted pink chocolate on top of the eclair lid and decorate as you like.

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To make custard cream: Sift the flour and corn flour together, set aside. Heat the milk and a few drops of vanilla extract in a small sauce pan until warm. Place the yolks and sugar in a bowl and beat them until white, add the sifted flour mixture, mix well. Add the warm milk in the bowl and stir to combine well. Transfer the custard mixture in a pan,  Heat the custard over low heat and stir constantly until thickened. Remove form the heat and add the melted butter and mix well. Leave to cool completely.

To make whipping cream: Place the double cream and sugar, whip until peak form.

To make pink icing: Melt the white chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water, turn offo the heat and add a few drops of pink food colouring and strawberry flavour extract, stir to combine.