Haven't been posting dessert recipes for a while, here's a change of scene, something sweet this time.
Milk chocolate matcha lava cake -
Ingredients (about 1 medium portion or 2 smaller servings)?
- 60 grams milk chocolate
- 40 grams unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
- 32 to 35 grams granulated sugar
- 25 grams all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
- 8 grams matcha powder
- 1 egg
- Some powdered sugar
How?
I'm going for the easier route by making the lava cake batter all at once, instead of making the semi-melting center separately. To achieve the best lava effect, in my opinion, the center filling needs to be made into a ganache then chill in the freezer before assembling. However, the all-in-one process might not be perfect, but still delicious as well, and saves some extra works for sure.
Preheat the oven to 445 degrees Fahrenheit/230 degrees Celsius.
Rest the butter in room temperature so it softens before use. Brush some to the ramekin/s then dust with flour. It'll help to prevent the cake from sticking to the sides and easier to revert the cake onto a serving plate later on.
Prepare a double boiler and melt the milk chocolate. Remove from heat and mix the chocolate with a spatula till fully melted.
Add in softened butter and continue to mix till incorporated.
Mix in sugar and mix again.
Beat the egg first then transfer that to the chocolate mixture too. Mix till combined.
Sift in flour and matcha powder. Mix till no lumps present.
Pour the mixture into ramekin/s. Into the oven and bake for around 12 minutes (if using medium sized ramekins). Remove from heat and let it cool for about 10 minutes.
Run a knife along the inner edge of the ramekin first. Invert the cake onto serving plate. Garnish with powdered sugar and serve immediately.
Garnish with fresh berries or mint leaves too if desired. On top of all these serving options, vanilla ice cream is still my favorite. Just can't get enough of that ice and cold contrast.
Other dessert recipes:
Adapted from my aunt's recipe, a true local Taiwanese who has been making similar dishes probably all her life. She suggested me to use bone-in chicken, but as lazy as I am, deboned version saves a lot of work while eating, and removes the risks of biting into tiny bits of broken bones. Nope, I'm not finding excuses for myself not fully listening to auntie's instructions.
Sesame oil and chicken glutinous rice 麻油糯米雞飯 -
Ingredients (about 4 portions)?
- 1 3/4 regular cups old glutinous rice
- 290 grams deboned skin-on chicken thigh
- 2 to 3 slices old ginger
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice cooking wine
- 1 tablespoon goji berries
How?
Rinse first, then soak the old glutinous rice for about an hour. If softer bite is preferred, soak two hours instead. Drain and set aside for later use.
Cut the chicken into bigger bite size pieces, about 8 chunks for the one I made here. Slice old ginger.
Prepare a pan, drizzle in sesame oil and add the ginger slices. Do not use salt or soy sauce for this recipe.
Once warmed up and the ginger slices turned darker color, add in chicken and sear till slightly browned.
Transfer drained glutinous rice over and pour in some rice cooking wine. Give it a quick stir, making sure all the rice are coated with that aromatic sesame oil.
Add in goji berries and keep cooking for about 30 seconds.
Transfer the whole thing into Taiwanese steamer 大同電鍋, or any big steamer will do. I added about two cups of water into the steamer, not to the rice mixture. Just enough water to keep the steamer going for about an hour. Once ready, keep the lid on still and just rest in residual heat for 10 minutes or so.
Remove ginger slices when ready to serve.
It might be weird or even uncomfortable at first not adding any salt or soy sauce to the dish. But trust me, it's pretty flavorful after steaming. Thanks to the natural sweetness from the goji berries and all that searing aroma in sesame oil and chicken fats.
My aunt pointed it out several times not to add salt and soy sauce. Both ingredients can change the texture of the sesame oil, like from smooth to a very tannic wine kind of touch. I'd better listen to her here, especially I'm already using deboned chicken. Shhhh, let's hope she won't find out.
Extended reading:
