Paul Hollywood's Flourless Chocolate Almond cake

Serves 12

For the cake:
265g dark chocolate (I used a 60% cocoa chocolate)
6 eggs, 5 separated + 1 whole
210g caster sugar
150g ground almonds

For the topping:
3 tbsp apricot jam
120ml double cream (in Singapore the creams are all called something different. Look behind the label for at least 45% milk fat)
120g dark chocolate (as above)
Chopped toasted hazelnuts


1. Pre-heat your oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Grease and base line a 21cm round loose bottom cake tin. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water and then allow to cool a little.

2. Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until stiff.  In another bowl using an electric whisk, beat the egg, egg yolks and sugar together until thick and pale. The mixture should leave a trail on the surface when the beaters are lifted.

3. Whisk the ground almonds, melted chocolate and 1tbsp of egg white into the egg yolk mixture. Using a metal spoon carefully fold the remaining egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.

4. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the crust that forms on top of the cake is firm and the sides shrink away from the tin. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes. Then turn it out, upside down onto a clean tea towel on a wire rack. Remove the parchment from the cake and leave to cool completely. Turn the cake the right way up on the rack and remove the tea towel. Gently heat the jam and brush it evenly over the top and sides of the cake.

5. To make the topping, melt the cream and chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until smooth and glossy. Allow to cool so the topping begins to thicken, but don’t let it set. Pour onto the centre of the cake and allow it flow over the top and the sides of the cake. Use a palette knife to spread around the sides and completely coat the cake. Scatter the hazelnuts and leave in the fridge to set.

This is Paul Hollywood's recipe which you can find here. I modified it a little with the toasted chopped hazelnuts on top.

Easy Pumpkin Cake (flourless, butterless, sugarless)

Serves about 8

2 cups, ground almonds

3/4 teaspoon, baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 cup of pumpkin puree, (Unsweetened. You can make your own, or get it from a can. See below to make your own)

1/2 cup of honey

2 eggs

Chopped walnuts and almonds, and maple syrup for topping (Optional)

1. Preheat the over to 180 degrees Celsius. 

2.  Mix the ground almonds, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger and salt. 

3. In another bowl, mix the pumpkin puree (make sure you pack it well into the measuring cup), honey and eggs. Whisk until you get a smooth paste.

(*Note: I left my pumpkin puree in the fridge so it hardened a little. You can use a hand blender to puree these three ingredients if you can't achieve it with a whisk)

4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.

(*Note: You can also take the hand blender to this if you think the ground almonds are not fine enough. I did a few blitzes but don't go crazy!!!!)

5. Line a cake tin with baking paper. Grease it if you wish with oil or butter. Pour the mixture in and bake for 35 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. 

6. Leave to cool, remove and place on serving plate. 

7. Optional: Mix some chopped walnuts and almonds with some maple syrup and scatter over the top. 

If using fresh pumpkin puree:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

2. Cut your pumpkin in half and dig out the seeds ( you can save and roast these!)

3. Sprinkle some salt on the flesh side and place them flesh side down on baking paper.

4. Bake for 30 minutes or until it's tender and soft when poked with a paring knife. 

5. Let it cool and scoop out the flesh. Mash with masher or hand blender. 

If you're using this just for the cake above, you'll be left with A LOT of mash. Suggest saving 1/2 cup for the cake (make sure to pack the cup tightly) And use the rest for a pumpkin mash as a side dinner dish (just add a bit of milk, knob of butter, salt & pepper.) 

I used a local pumpkin (I'm guessing "local" means grown in Malaysia as I can't see Singapore having the space to grow them!). It's cheaper than the imported ones such as the butternut pumpkin/squash. Feel free to use other pumpkins other than the "local" ones!

Home made paneer

Makes about 450g of paneer

3 litres of full fat milk
300ml of cooking cream
120ml white vinegar (plus a bit more, depending on the acidity of your vinegar)
ice cubes
salt and water (for storage)

Equipment:
kitchen thermometer
Cheese or muslin cloth
A colander with a flat base
Some weights

1. Combine the milk and cream in a big pot and boil, stirring occasionally till the temperature reaches 85 - 87 degrees celsius.

2. Get ready the ice cubes next to you.

3. Line another pot with a wet cheesecloth.

4. Once the milk and cream reach the right temperature, slowly pour in the vinegar, stirring slowly. If you can't see the yellow/green liquid (the whey), you probably need a bit more vinegar.

5. Quickly add in the ice cubes to bring the temperature down.

6. Pour the curdled milk into the pot lined with the cheesecloth.

7. It's hot, but try to squeeze as much liquid out as you can, and twist the cloth into a ball.

8. Keep the cloth twisted and place in the colander with a bowl underneath to catch any remaining water. Place about 2kg weight on top of the cheese. You can use a pot or a plate to make the top flat so as to distribute the weight evenly. (I used pebbles from my garden in a pot)

9. After 2 hours, your paneer is ready! Slice and or cube as you like.

10. You must store it in water, completely submerged. This will last you about a week. I added salt in my water so the paneer tastes slightly salty. I believe you can add the salt at the beginning when the milk is boiling too.

This recipe is from Chef Harpal Singh. Check out the video here!

Thai BBQ Chicken

Serves 4 - 6

1 - 2 med to Large size Whole Chicken
1 Cup Coconut Milk
1 stalk Lemongrass
1 medium white onion, roughly chopped
2 inch ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 Cup Fresh Garlic cloves
1 Cup Cilantro
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
1/3 Cup Oyster Sauce
1 1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Coriander powder or ground coriander seeds
1 Tbsp Ground pepper
1 Tbsp Curry powder
1 1/2 Tsp Turmeric powder
1 - 2 teaspoon chili powder (optional)
1/2 Tsp Yellow Food Coloring (optional)

1. Blitz coconut milk, lemongrass, onion, ginger, garlic and cilantro in a food processor.

2. Add in the other ingredients. Marinade for at least 4 hours.

3. Bake at 190 C for 20 minutes. Then put it on the grill, baste often, and get some char marks on it!


This recipe was taken from Rins Cook Book - you should subscribe to her channel! The recipe for her Thai BBQ chicken is here. Really good Thai recipes. 

I added the onion, ginger and chili powder to her recipe - but if you want to omit those and follow hers, it is still awesome! My husband actually did everything on the BBQ - our BBQ doesn't get that hot to reach 190 C on the upper rack, so he baked it for a bit longer than 20 minutes. 

Breakfast pancakes

Makes 10 -12

I used to make these American pancakes using Nigella Lawson's recipe for a really long time, until I found another recipe on Everyday Food. I tested this out on an American and he preferred the latter!

So I'm switching up my pancake recipe to this one, but I've altered the Everyday Food recipe a little. Only because you can't always find buttermilk in Singapore.

Also, having the eggs, milk and everything at room temperature makes a difference! In Singapore we keep our eggs in the fridge because of the heat and humidity so you do need to take them out of beforehand.

The Everyday Food recipe called for extra 3 beaten egg whites. Forget it!! It's extra time whisking that you don't need. When you want pancakes, you want them NOW!

1 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla e
1 tablespoon melted butter, cooled
2 tablespoon oil (use a very neutral one, like canola)
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup of plain flour
1 tablespoon double acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 tablespoon sugar

1. Take the eggs and milk out of the fridge first to get them to room temperature.

2. Melt the butter and set aside to cool.

3. In a bowl or measuring cup, add the lemon juice to the milk and stir slightly. Leave aside to curdle.

4. In a big mixing bowl, place your flour, double acting baking powder, salt and sugar. Use a whisk and whisk it up, give it a good mix.

5. Add the vanilla, cooled melted butter, oil and eggs to the milk and lemon juice. Mix using a whisk.

6. Pour the milk mixture over the dry ingredients - don't whisk too hard! Just slowly combine.

7. Add a bit of butter and oil to a non-stick pan, and pour in one ladle full. You can usually fit in 3 at a time.

8. When bubbles or craters start to appear, it's time to flip.

9. Serve with butter and maple syrup. For us there's no other way!

Steamed chicken with black fungus and ginger

Serves 4 - 6

1 whole chicken, chopped into 1.5 - 2 inch pieces (make sure all are the same size!)
One handful of dried black fungus (you can also use wood ear mushrooms)
4 dried shitake mushrooms
2 inch knob of ginger
4 - 5 whole garlic cloves
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons Tsao Tsing wine (optional)
Approx. 2 inches of a cup of water with a teaspoon of chicken powder (you can just use water)
Dash of finely ground white pepper
Coriander leaves and sliced chillies to garnish (Optional)

1. Pour boiling water over the black fungus and shitake mushrooms till they're covered. Let them steep for at least 20 minutes.

2. Cut your chicken up into pieces and add them to the dish you'll be steaming it in.

3. Peel and slice ginger, and peel and smash the garlic. Add them to the chicken whole.

4. Once the mushrooms have finished steeping, remove the hard stems. If using woodear mushrooms, you may need to cut into bit sized pieces.

5. Slice the shitake mushrooms.

6. Drain the water and add the fungus and mushrooms to the chicken.

7. Add in the oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, Tsao Tsing wine, chicken powder dissolved in water and white pepper.

8. Mix and marinade in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 1 hour is better. More than 4 hours is best.

9. Remove from the fridge and steam on high heat for 20 minutes. (15 minutes if you have a smaller chicken)

10. Garnish and serve with rice.

Easy as ABC Soup

Serves 8

4 chicken breasts with bone on
Chicken bones/chicken feet (Optional)
2 red tomatoes, cut into wedges
4 onions, cut into wedges
5 whole cloves garlic, peeled
2 waxy potatoes, cut into chunks
2 carrots, cut into chunks
1 ear of corn, cut into 4 - 5 pieces
1 - 2 inches Yunan ham, sliced into thick chunks (optional)
Enough water to cover ingredients
Salt, to taste

1. Boil some water and place the chicken feet, breast and carcass for one minute. Strain and rinse with tap water.

2. Chop tomatoes, onions, potatoes, carrots and sweet corn.

3. Place all ingredients in the pot and bring to a boil. Skim the scum off the top.

4. Once it boils, reduce to the lowest heat, cover and simmer for 2.5 to 3 hours.

5. Remove all the bones and serve hot.

* You can choose to serve with chicken feet – looks icky but packed with collagen (good for your complexion!). If you don’t like to eat, throw it away. I usually fish them out, pour some soy sauce, sesame oil and finely ground white pepper over it, and eat them! (They're always fought for in our family!)

Why is it called ABC Soup? The reasons are unclear but some say it's because you're getting all the Vitamins A, B and C from this soup. Or, that this soup is as easy as ABC to make! It is really so easy there's no reason not to try it!

It's also really a one pot meal. Just steam some white rice, spoon the rice into a bowl and the soup on top, garnish with some spring onions and soy sauce - it's a meal!

Paella with the works - meat and seafood

Serves 4 - 6

4 cups chicken or seafood stock (made from prawn shells and wing tips of chicken, or just store bought)
A pinch of saffron threads
1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
5 chicken wings, wing tips removed and wings and drumettes seperated
About 8-10 prawns, shells and heads removed
1 small to medium squid, skin peeled and cut into segments
About 12 - 14 fresh mussels, washed and beards removed
1 chorizo sausage, cut into slices or chunks
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 red capsicum, thinly sliced
2 small or 1 medium tomato, seeded and cut into small dice
2 cups medium or short grain rice, like Arborio or Calrose (the Spanish use bomba or calasparra but it's difficult to find) Do not wash/rinse it with water first like you do with Chinese steamed rice!!
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper

Garnish:
1 handful spring onions or coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for garnish

Equipment:
38cm paella pan, or any round pan of the same size that you can put in the oven

1. Preheat oven to 200˚C or 180˚C for fan forced oven.

2. Prepare your chicken wings by removing the wing tips (you can save that for the stock), and seperate the wings off the drumettes. Season them with salt, pepper, olive oil and a bit of smoked paprika if you like.

3. Remove the shells of the prawns (you can save the shells and heads for the stock).

4. Clean the squid by removing the skin and beak, and cut into 1 inch pieces.

5. Wash the mussels, and discard any that are dead. Remove the beards.

6. Cut up the chorizo into chunks or thick slices.

7. In a saucepan, heat your stock until it comes to a simmer, then turn the heat off and add a pinch of saffron. Let it infuse.

8. Chop the onions and garlic, and slice up the capsicum. Deseed and chop the tomatoes.

9. Heat the pan over the biggest hob you've got on your stove. Turn on high heat and add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sear the chicken till it's golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes - they don't have to be cooked all the way through. Remove from the pan and set aside.

10. Lower the heat, and add the chorizo. Fry till the red oil from the sausage's spices melt out, and use that oil to fry your onions, and capsicum, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic last as you don't want to burn it. If the sausage isn't oily enough, just add about 1 tablespoon more of olive oil.

11. Add the rice and the paprika and lightly fry the rice till it's coated with the oil, about 2 minutes. Then add the tomatoes.

12. Your stock should still be quite warm before you add it in, warm/heat it up it if it's not. Add the stock to the pan, it will bubble pretty hard. Lower the heat to a medium low and stir a little. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

13. Arrange the chicken into a single layer. Do not stir anymore at this point. Cook until the rice is about al dente, about 15 minutes, and just shake the pan a few times throughout.

14. When it's al dente, stick the mussels into the rice and scatter the prawns and squid. Keep simmering till the mussels slightly open.

15. Stick it in the oven for about 5 minutes or till the prawns and squid are cooked.

16. Remove from the oven and cover with foil and let it rest for another 5 minutes.

17. Sprinkle over with spring onions or coriander, and arrange the lemon wedges around the sides.

18. Serve immediately.

* Traditional paella needs to have a nice crust at the bottom and sides. My paella pan is Tefal and you will totally NOT achieve that with a non-stick pan. That pan is probably best used for other things rather than paella, but it was a gift from my mother so I'm not complaining! If you can find a steel pan, that will work so much better. 

It may look like a lot of steps, but it's really so easy to make. Best of all, you cook and serve it all in the pan and saves washing up!

I adapted my recipe from Curtis Stone. You can watch his version here.