Coffee Infused Cake

Happy weekend everyone! Here are some photos of the trek I did last Saturday with some friends at the Lake District. We did the Crinkle Crags, Bowfell and Esk Pike Walk as found on this great walking website at The Walking Englishman

At the start of the trek

The Nutty Cinnamon Buns were a welcome treat up on the gusty and crinkly crags. It is a shame I did not take a photo of us scoffing them as my hands were frozen and there is only so much multi tasking I can do.

Cannot wait for the next trekking excursion! Last night, hosted a wee Wii Party tonight. Oh boy, it got pretty competitive!

The menu was a simple one of chicken curry and noodles and for a Geordie twist - stotties! For dessert I made this lush coffee infused cake. I like this cake because it is perfect to cap off any dinner party. Like eating coffee whilst you drink your coffee, if that makes any sense. I am very excited to share this recipe and I hope you have fun baking it. 

Slow Braised Caramel Chicken

Hello! Hope your week has been wonderful. If not, I am sending a little sunshine your way. 

Last night's dinner was at my favourite Asian restaurant in Newcastle, Little Saigon. I decided to be adventurous and order something different for a change. Little bold me decided to go for the Vietnamese Caramel Pork. It is slowly braised and had a wonderful balance of sweetness that is set off with heat from the black pepper. Wonderful!

I was ordered requested to replicate this dish at home. Since we are all out of pork at home I had to make this with chicken drumsticks. Hey, why not!

This is such an easy dish to prepare. You just need to allocate time for the braising. Your patience will be rewarded.

Nutty Cinnamon Buns

I first fell in love with cinnamon buns half a lifetime ago when Saint Cinnamon came to Kuala Lumpur. The queues were infamously long. I myself had not the patience to queue for them but I would always cling on to the hope that one of my family members had more patience than I.

Since moving to the UK, I have been smitten by the silver fox that is Paul Hollywood (is it those blue eyes mixed with that sexy bit of grey hair?) and have been influenced to bake bread. Paul, oh Paul made me fall in love with baking bread.  

That being said, I was not one for trying my hand at sweet breads as I found them intimidating. For that, I have my fellow Malaysian friend Sharon to thank. She first suggested we bake some cinnamon buns when I visited her in Leeds. Yes, us Malaysians, it is a continuous cycle of cooking and eating all the time! 

Needless to say, these buns have become a staple in my kitchen. 

These buns are delicious and soft with a delicious crunchy candied nut topping. They are a fantastic tea time treat and are best consumed when warm with a hot cup of black coffee. 

A word of caution, please make them when you have the time to fit in a 10km run or at least 2 spinning classes after. Don't blame me for the state of your behind.