Home Baking Series: Apple Walnut Raisin Crumble

When you crave for apple pie but you feel lazy (or unskilled) to make a pie, make apple crumble instead. Using a pre packed crumble mix, preparing apple crumble ala mode is made easy for a beginner like me.

Ingredients:
1 pack Tecso Crumble Mix
2 apples
walnuts (about 14 pcs)
raisins (about 2 spoonfuls)
a scoop of your favorite ice cream

*You can actually use any fruit or filling mix you like. I was going for pseudo apple pie with this one.

Preparation:
1) Slice the apples
2) Spread the apples evenly on a baking pan
3) Add in some walnuts and raisins to your liking. I added around 2 table spoons of raisins and about 14 pieces of walnuts, sliced
4) Top the filling with 1 pack of crumble mix. Make sure to cover everything
5) Heat in the oven for 20-30 minutes or follow baking and temperature instructions at the back of the crumble mix pack.
6) Get a slice and top with your favorite ice cream

Photo above shows the crumble mix on top of the filling. This was very easy to make. Maybe slicing the apples was already the step that required the most effort. Everything else was just mixing the ingredients.

This particular batch was a little overcooked since I exceeded the prescribed thirty minutes baking time. I thought the crumble wasn't cooked enough yet so I added 5 more minutes.

The texture of the crumble mixed with the occasional crunch from the walnuts and fruit flavor from the apple and raisins was satisfying already. Topping it off with ice cream just made it more decadent and perfect for the summer heat.

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Home Baking Series: Choco Marble Cake

After chocolate sponge cake trials, here's my attempt in making a marble cake. This time, I used the plain spongecake mix.

Ingredients:
1 pack Tecso sponge cake mix
1 egg
water
melted chocolate
walnuts

Procedure:
1) Prepare sponge cake mix with egg and water as per instructions at the back of the cake mix pack
2) Pour in half of the mix
3) Scatter walnuts
4) Pour in the second half
5) Pour the melted chocolate
6) Mix lightly to create marble swirls
7) Top with walnuts
8) Bake in the oven following the instructions at the back of the cake mix pack.

Fluffy and airy, as expected from a sponge cake, but with the chocolate swirls of a marble cake plus a layer of walnuts, is the output for this one.

The pre-made mix really makes the procedure easier.


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Home Baking Series: Faux Choco Brownie with Sprinkles

The newbie baker in me will feature another home baked goodie this week. Still using the same mix as last week's item, the Chocolate Sponge Cake mix served as the base for these hybrid brownies. I call it hybrid because it turned out to be a brownie for some parts, but a sponge cake for some parts.

Feeling a bit more experimental, instead of just pouring the whole mix into the baking pan, I added an extra middle layer. I prepared the mix by following the instructions on the packaging, then melted some white chocolate, and poured the mixes as follows:

1. Poured half of the cake mix into the pan.
2. Poured melted Goya Easy Melt White Chocolate Buttons into the pan to cover the whole surface.
3. Added some walnuts.
4. Poured in the remaining cake mix.

Following the baking instructions, I left it in the oven for 20 mins (temperature settings also indicated at the back of the mix packaging).

While it was fresh and hot, I put some of the Easy Melt Dark Chocolate Buttons and spread it on top as it melted. Before it hardened, I also sprinkled it with rainbow candy sprinkles for some color.

Slicing the output, I noticed that it had a fudgy center, probably from the melted white chocolate that seeped in through the cake. It was gooey and sweet. The dark chocolate coating on top added a little crunch. The occasional walnuts added texture too.

After leaving some overnight in the refrigerator to cool, the white chocolate middle layer was more evident and also had a little crunch to it.

It was a tasty good experiment indeed.


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Home Baking Series: Choco Walnut Cake

There was an abundance of Buy 1 Take 1 Tesco branded baking mixes last holiday season so I took the opportunity to try out some of the items and practice baking a little. This February, let me share to you my home baking adventures.

For my first trial, I used a Chocolate Sponge Cake mix. You only need 2 eggs and some tablespoons of water and the mix is ready (quantity and preparation instructions are indicated on the packaging).

Of course I had to put toppings. For this one, a generous amount of walnuts and dark chocolate chunks did the trick. I used chopped Goya Dark Chocolate Buttons and unseasoned walnuts from Dough-it-all.

Since I used a pretty wide square pan, the finished product resembled brownies in size and shape, but had the fluffy, airy quality of a sponge cake. The cake itself was not that sweet. You can go ahead and add icing on top if you want something more sugary.

It was easy to prepare. Mix it, add toppings, then bake - you are done.

Not bad for my first try, right? Sadly, I don't have photos of the ingredients nor the preparation stage for the baking series. But I'll try to recall the procedures and ingredients used for the rest of the posts. Everything I did was quite simple and easy to make.


More DIY baked goodies to follow this month of February!




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