Friday, January 8, 2010

The unconventional bake

I did it! My first bake here in Singapore. :) I finally plucked the courage to use my MIL's Halogen conventional oven to bake a cake, an Oreo butter cake specifically. :) Not being able to bake is making my life a little dull lately. :P And it's almost like an itch that I must scratch it off to satisfy myself, hahaha! So tonight while my in-laws were out for a charity concert, I decided to get a little adventurous in the kitchen (which is not even mine!). To attempt a new recipe, using a "new" oven, heehee. :D "New" oven here refers to me being fresh to using this Halogen conventional oven to bake cakes or cookies. The only time I used it was for roasting pork...pretty different I must say! But I was so glad I did...to be able to get myself whipping, measuring and stirring, and of course finally smelling freshly baked cake in the kitchen again...priceless!This Oreo butter cake recipe is actually quite popular among the food bloggers out there. I googled and found at least a good 8 to 10 bloggers that has attempted this recipe which is originated from My Kitchen:My Laboratory. Thanks Angie! :) And frankly speaking I have been wanting to attempt it for a long time. And since my girls got back to Singapore, they suddenly went "Oreo craze" which they kept asking for it! So I figured what better recipe then this to satisfy their craving!

I have modified the recipe due to some limitations I was facing at that point, so here is my version:

Ingredients for Oreo Butter Cake:
200g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

95g salted butter, room temperature

155g sugar

2 eggs, beaten

220ml nonfat unsweetened yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract

80g Oreo cookies without the cream, crushed


Oreo cookies for decorating ( I too removed the cream for these)

Method:
  • In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together and set aside.
  • In another mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Then add the beaten eggs slowly, about 1 tbsp at a time till everything is combined.
  • Add in 1/2 of the sifted flour mixture into the butter mixture, stir well. Then add in 1/2 of the yoghurt and stir well. Add in vanilla extract and mix well. Then add in remaning 1/2 pf the flour mixture and stir to combine, follow by the remaining yoghurt, stir to incorporate well.
  • Add in the crushed cookies and stir till well mixed in. Pour into a 10" tub pan which has been greased.
  • Since I was using a Halogen conventional oven, preheating only takes like 1 to 2 minutes and I set it to 170°C. But the usual will be preheating the oven to 180°C.
  • Bake for a good 40 minutes until toothpick test comes out clean. As for my Halogen oven, it only took me 20 minutes! How efficient is that!
  • Let cool on rack for at least 15 minutes before removing from pan and slice to serve.
As you can see from the photo, the cake was still nicely baked with a golden brown crust on the outside. I was really surprised that the Halogen conventional oven took only half the time to bake! And the result was as good as any normal oven. :) It was a good thing I went to check 10 minutes into the baking....because it looks almost done by then!
Wondering if the cake is even cooked inside? Let me show you a the inside...
Convinced? Yeah, I know I am...:) And I am so happy that I can bake with this conventional oven from now on and not having to buy another one. But I have to be careful with the temperature setting plus the size limitations...yup, no square pans! :D But you know what, it's a small hurdle and I don't mind a bit. So you probably will see some bakes from me in months to come...yippee! BTW, if you have noticed, I am using a different camera this time. Yes, my dear husband bought me the latest IXUS200 Cannon Powershot! It is much better in focus and the pictures turned out much sharper too. ;) Yeah...I know, got to remove the time stamp next time, hahaha!

Overall, I was pretty happy with the taste of the cake, slight crust on the outside and soft moist cake on the inside. Not too sweet because I did reduce the sugar and the buttery taste was great! The Oreo cookie bits was a pleasant bonus to the buttery cake. :) A keeper I must say. :) If you are an Oreo lover like my girls and I, why not give this popular recipe a try, I bet you'll love it. Good luck and have fun!

12 comments:

  1. i used to eat oreos all the time! not anymore though :P. that cake looks really really good and rich....mmm mmm

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  2. I am dying for a new camera too, like a good SLR but my darling cannot afford one for me yet... :( Lucky you and I love your first shot! Who hates oreo??? Even I like them!

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  3. Wow BB, finally you bake!! So happy to read your post....everythings' new huh!..:) New camera, new oven , new enviroment...bet you are having a great time ya!
    Looking forward to your coming bakes...enjoy!!

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  4. Hi HBS,
    Welcome back to Singapore, your hometown! Congrats on your first successful bake here. I understand how you feel about not being able to bake. Since you're staying with your MIL, does that mean you won't cook often now? Nevertheless, it's good to see your baking post. Looking forward to see more posts! :)

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  5. Hi Ann,
    Really? I love Oreo with milk...yeah it used to be my comfort food too. Actually the cake is not too oily, only 85g of butter, a slightly lighter side compared to normal butter cake. :)

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  6. Hi Quinn,
    Actually my precious camera had a bad fall and there's already a crack on the display screen. :P Furthermore CNY around the corner...so my husband thought we better get a new one. Thanks! I try my best to take nicer pictures. ;)

    Hi Reese!
    Not new oven...more like I'm new to the oven, hahaha! :P Good time? Hmm..okay I guess, still adjusting. I too looking forward to your posts! Keep it coming. ;)

    Hi Jane,
    Thanks for the welcome! :) Actually my MIL is slowly encouraging me to be more engage in the kitchen. So hopefully I will be a little more adventurous in the future. But you know lah, not my kitchen, cannot cook up a storm there, hahaha.:) BTW, thanks for coming by my blog. ;)

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  7. The oreo cake looks good indeed! Hope you find yourself settling down with the new baking environment with this new oven. Very good job! My mum got this oven too but everytime I don't have guts to use it. That's good you have the experiments and I shall try it one day when I back home to visit mum agian. Thanks for sharing. You have a blessed stay in Singpore!

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  8. First time hearing of a halogen conventional oven, but so glad you get to bake! Looking forward to more posts from you :)

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  9. Hi Grace,
    Thanks so much! When you have nothing but what is given, you will have to settle with what you have...that's me! Yeah, good thing the Halogen oven works great. ;) Do try! It seems like this kind of oven is pretty popular among the older generations. :)

    Thanks Ee Peng,
    Thanks for dropping by! Yeah, I am most glad that I tried the oven to bake, hahaha! :) I am even thinking of using it to bake some new year cookies too! Wish me luck. ;)

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  10. owh this is yummy! you put yogurt inside too.. goshh.. I want a piece of this..

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  11. Hahaha, thanks Traci. :) The yogurt did contribute to the moisture and soft texture of the cake. :) I only had a small slice and the rest is all gone...I also want another slice!

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  12. This is truly unconventional but the texture still looks as good. You made me crave for oreo ice-cream now. :P

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