Devil's Food Cake

Yes, I've been missing in action for a while but I'm back! Just last week, I went down to 5th floor to grab a packet of nasi lemak for breakfast. The Malay seller was selling a new item : chocolate cake. I decided against buying it coz there is no way I'm gonna add on my pounds with something so fattening yet my satisfaction may not be guaranteed. But somehow or rather, the cake had a way to find itself inside my tummy afterall. My colleague who loves chocolate as much as I do, bought that piece of cake. I was at her table, saw the familiar looking cake and she offered me some of it. I was disciplined and innocently tried only a mere 10% of the cake but this meagre 10% had me thinking and subsequently drooling over the rich moist chocolate cake which I have eaten before. So yesterday, temptation won over my resistance. I want to eat a moist chocolate cake and when I want something, I must have it instantaneously. So early this morning, I diligently started my cake baking. It turned out unsatisfactory. It tasted like a cheap cocoa sponge cake. Yucks! Unfazed, I rushed home after work and baked another recipe: Devil's Food Cake, which I've carefully selected during lunch hour. And this time, it's definitely finger licking good. I replaced the frosting with chocolate glaze because I left my whipping cream in office. Anyway, not only do I get to eat what I want, my colleagues will have a chance to enjoy it as well as cousin Soo.

For those who requested the recipe, here it is. I plucked it from allrecipes :

Ingredients :
115 g butter
84 g unsweetened chocolate (I used imported brand Tulip)
400 g white sugar (I reduced to 300g)
2 eggs (I used large eggs)
235 ml water
280 g all-purpose flour
7 g baking soda
2 g salt 60 ml milk
5 ml distilled white vinegar (I ommited this)

Directions :
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease and flour one 9x13 inch pan or two 9 inch round pans.
2. In a small pan melt the butter or margarine with the unsweetened chocolate. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Cream together the sugar and the eggs until light in color. Add the chocolate mixture to the eggs and temper mixture by beating well (so you don't end up with scrambled eggs!) Add 1 cup boiled water (still warm) and blend well. Mixture will be very liquid.
4. Mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add this mixture to the chocolate mixture and blend well.
5. Mix together the vinegar and the milk and stir into the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan(s).
6. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cake divides well for filling with mousse, or ganache, or black forest fillings. The best clue to this cake being nearly done is that you will start to smell the aroma of chocolate filling your house!

Devil's Food supposed to be decorated with frosting but since I left my whipped cream in office, I took back the same Tulip brand chocolate and melt it over a pot of boiling water, together with some butter.

Hainanese Chicken Rice

It seems to me that if it's Fried Kway Teow, the word 'Penang' must go along with it to make the dish sounds more tantalizing. And since I am a Hainanese, I have more reason to call this a Hainanese Chicken Rice. It was the same Sunday that I cooked this dish while hubby handled the garoupa. I had to make a call to Sydney to my mom and asked for her recipe eventhough I last cooked it for CNY reunion dinner. Her method sounds rather far-fetched but I have complete trust in her culinary skills which she had demontrated over the years. I followed exactly what she told me to do and the chicken turned out smooth and silky ( I was told, ok). I didn't had time to make the chili but bought the Singlong chicken chili to go along with it. As for the soup, I threw in the last 3 miserable packets of fishball which I managed to buy and some fuchuk (god knows what this is called in English). Garnish it with some chinese parsley and it was ready to be served.