Author: Ting-a-ling

Taipei food guide

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Taipei, the city that comes alive at night. It is famous for its night markets and delicious street food. The food was so good that I was eating nonstop from morning till night that I was suffering from indigestion. The best time to travel to Taiwan will be in April – May and September – October. I visited Taiwan in December 2011 and it was their monsoon season – it just rained all day. This time, I went in late June 2015 and it was insanely hot and humid – 36 degrees, I felt that I was going to pass out in the heat. I wouldn’t recommend staying more than 3 days in Taipei because it does get boring after a while. If you are looking for accommodation, Xi Men Ding (西门町) and Taipei Main Station are convenient locations to stay at. The main language spoken in Taiwan is Mandarin – if you don’t speak it, don’t worry, most of the people have a basic command of English. They also speak Hokkien which sounds so much better than …

The ultimate chocolate cake

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I made this cake a few weeks ago for a party and it was such a hit! I adapted this recipe from BBC Good Food’s Ultimate chocolate cake and it is fool-proof. I love recipes that doesn’t require the use of the mixer because it means one less thing to wash up later. Nutrition per slice (one cake serves 14) Ingredients for the cake 130g unsalted butter 150g dark chocolate (I used Lindt 90% dark) 85g white self-raising flour 85g white plain flour 80g caster sugar 80g brown sugar 1 tbsp instant coffee granules 25g cocoa powder 3 eggs 100ml buttermilk 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 bicarbonate soda 125ml cold water For the ganache 220g dark chocolate (I used Lindt 70% dark) 100ml skim milk 30g unsalted butter 1/4 tsp salt Directions Preparation time: 15min Baking time: 30min or when the skewer comes out clean Preheat the oven to 160 degrees and grease a 20cm square or round cake tin Put the dark chocolate, butter, 125ml cold water and 1 tbsp of instant coffee granules into a …

Cranberry cheddar scones

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I am one of those weirdos that love a savoury and sweet mix. Things like swedish meatballs, ham with jam and McGriddles really get me going! Despite my exam tomorrow, I decided that I’m done with studying and turned to baking – the most therapeutic form of relaxation. This is one of my favourite scones recipes; it’s easy and the scones turn out light and fluffy. I used Greek yoghurt in the scones instead of buttermilk – the texture and taste turned out the same so feel free to use buttermilk if you prefer. Nutrition per scone (one batch serves six) Ingredients: 125g white self-raising flour 100g wholemeal self-raising flour 40g unsalted butter (chilled) 15g caster sugar 100g shredded cheddar cheese 80g dried cranberries 1tbs sesame seeds 1 tbs poppy seeds 125g Greek yoghurt lite or 125ml of buttermilk 60ml skim milk Directions Preparation time: 10 – 15min Baking time: 10 – 15 min (or when the scones turn brown) Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Mix the white self-raising flour, wholemeal self-raising flour and chilled butter …

Blueberry, coconut & passionfruit muffin

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I finally succumbed to baking. I’ve been busy studying for my exams over the past week that I decided to bake today to de-stress. Since I haven’t bought any ingredients specially to bake, I was looking through my kitchen and found that I have some over-ripe passion fruits, desiccated coconuts and blueberries. So I combined these three magical ingredients and made a simple muffin, that is healthy and good for the soul. Ingredients: 100ml of grape seed oil 120g plain self-raising flour 120g wholemeal self-raising flour 80g brown sugar 3 large eggs (at room temperature) 5 over-ripe passionfruits 60g desiccated coconuts 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence 180g greek yoghurt light 100g blueberries Preparation time: 15- 20 min Oven temperature: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Baking time: 20 – 25 min (or when the muffins turn brown) Nutrition per muffin: Click on the images below for the baking instructions: