Recipe: (Really Easy) Chocolate Lava Cake

Chocolate and vanilla ice cream make a perfect match in the kitchen. Perhaps, that is why the chocolate lava cake (or otherwise known as molten lava cake) remains one of the top dessert of all time. Just imagine - a warm decadent chocolate cake with a flowy center, paired with cold vanilla ice-cream.

Ooh la la. The best thing? You do not need mad skills to make this crowd-pleasing treat. Minimal clean up too, so I don't see what are you waiting for. Bake for your lover and I guarantee you, they will fall head over heels for you...r dessert. Yup.

Awfully Chocolate @ Upper Thomson, Singapore

Regardless of how sinful chocolate could be, it is no doubt that they serve as a great delectable, comfort food. Till now, Awfully Chocolate has became more than an average shop that was tucked away in the back streets. Over the years since 1998, the brainchild of Lynn Lee - a local entrepreneur who took the great leap of faith by leaving her law profession and enter the chocolate business, has transformed into a household name. Mention chocolate, and Awfully Chocolate comes to your mind, almost automatcically.

Nestled at the serene vinicity of Sembawang Hills, Awfully Chocolate makes a great place for residents and university students to hang out whilst enjoying their creative variations of chocolate-inspired bites. Lining their blackboard menu are (just to name some) chocolate cakes, truffles, brownies and premium ice-cream.

Recipe: Rocky Road Bars

Rocky Road is such a handy snack in-between meals, it's not exactly healthy but it doesn't hurt to snack on one of this chocolatety babies once in a while. With it's rich chocolate, crunchy contents and everyone's favourite mini-marshmellows, this is a winner for both the young and old. I've not even mentioned the best part yet, this is a no-bake, which means that you won't be using your oven. And and! This rocky road is built to impress, meaning anyone could make it, even with the least amount of knowledge about baking (probably just doing some melting and mixing)!

Easy huh? Don't miss out on this recipe below:

Recipe: Rocky Road Brownie Bars

Weekends are perfect for baking, and as a matter of fact, I never fail to make a mess in the kitchem every weekend afternoon. But what a beautiful chocolatey mess it was, when I tried out Laura Vitale's (big fan of her!) version of Rocky Road Brownie Bars. I made small alterations to the already perfect recipe, as my family members have no sweet tooth. Anyway! It has an irresistible gooey consistency, and what brings the seemingly normal brownie bars to another level are the addition of soft mini-marshmallows, crunchy walnuts, and everyone's favourite chocolate chips! Rocky Road style!

Bake it, and try not to awe at its wonderfulness.

Recipe: Choco-Strawberry Meringue Cupcakes

An adaptation to a recipe I chanced upon, these lovely-looking chocolate cupcakes topped with strawberry meringue are not only pleasing to the eyes, but are as equally delicious too. Great for children's parties.

 

Difficulty: Easy

Makes 12 regular-sized cupcakes

Ingredients

125g self-raising flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
125g unsalted Butter
125g caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract

2 egg whites, pasteurized
2 tbsp lemon juice
100g fine sugar
12 fresh strawberries, halved

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Line muffin tray with cupcake liner.

2. Sift flour and cocoa powder together twice. Set aside.

3. Cream butter in an electric mixer for a few minutes. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined.

4. Add eggs and beat until mixture is well blended. The texture should be light and fluffy.

5. Add vanilla extract and mix well.

6. Add flour mixture prepared in step 2 and continue to beat until well-mixed. Do not over-mix.

7. Spoon batter into cupcake liners until ¾ full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

8. Remove cupcakes from the oven and let cupcakes sit in the muffin tray for 5 minutes.

9. Remove cupcakes from tray and place on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

10. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and lemon juice at high speed.

11. Add the sugar tablespoon by tablespoon. Allow each tablespoon to dissolve before adding the next. Beat until stiff peaks form.

12. Pipe or scoop spoonfuls of meringue mixture onto the cupcakes. Top with a half-strawberry each.

Tips

1. Make sure the eggs are at room temperature before using. Therefore, remove the eggs from the refridgerator 20-30 minutes beforehand.

2. Make sure the cupcakes are completely cooled before adding any frosting.

Notes

Uncooked meringue made with raw eggs may contain salmonella bacteria, which might cause diarrhea, cramps and fever. Although the bacteria is mostly found in the egg yolk, egg whites are not considered safe to consume raw. Hence, please use eggs that are pasteurized. Another alternative is to buy ready-made meringue at local baking stores or supermakets.

Seventh Heaven @ Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

A piece of heaven between our visit to the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest. The people were complaining how thirsty and hungry we are, hence we decided to have ice cream to quench our thirst.

Famed for their "adult ice-cream" (with alcohol) and more than 30 handcrafted signatures to choose from, including Lychee Martini and Sea Salt Caramel, one would be spoilt for choice. They also features floral flavours exclusive to this outlet only.

Skipping all their alcholic and floral flavours, we go for their signatures instead - Butterscotch & Pecan and Rocky Road. Smooth and creamy. Their best seller, Butterscotch & Pecan did not appeal to me much, but the latter is good.

We also had the Hazelnut & Brownie and Sea Salt Caramel. The salty counterpart tasted pretty unique, it is like eating popcorn in ice-cream form, whereas the Hazelnut & Brownie is rich and chocolatey, but it can definitely do with more brownie chunks.

Generous scoops of ice-cream!

Seventh Heaven is definitely a pit-stop if you want to re-charge yourself between the different attractions in Gardens by the Bay. But still, Baskin Robbins and Udders remained as my personal favourite.

Seventh Heaven

Opening Hours

Daily: 10am  – 10pm

18 Marina Bay Drive

Gardens by the Bay

Eighteen Chefs @ Tiong Bahru Plaza, Singapore

It was some times back when Peiyi and yours truly decided to get some light bites after a movie. After mulling for a few minutes, we decided to settle for Eighteen Chefs, a brainchild of former drug addict and convict, Chef Benny who believes in providing a positive working environment and experience for troubled youths and ex-convicts. Hence, do not be alarmed when a young man, full of tatoos is serving you. What a noble cause!

With students and youths as their targeted patrons (discounts or specials when you display your student pass etc), I wasn't convince about the food quality. Perhaps of previous bad experiences, I do not trust them as much. Eighteen Chefs surprised me. I wouldn't say that it was exceptionally good, but it was considerably above average, given that most of their dishes are value for money.

Down to the food, we ordered the Bolognaise Cheese Fries (S$4.90) - mozzarella cheese-baked fries topped with classic beef bolognaise sauce. The fries portion was generous and I assure you that they neither scrimp on their sauce.

With the flavour incorporated to every single potato fry, this afternoon snack makes the cut to be one of their signature dishes. Do note however, that the cheese fries are really filling, so it is recommended to share this among 2-3 people, if you are eating it along with their mains.

Look at that cheesy goodness!

The Waffle w/ Vanilla ice cream (S$6.50) topped up with chocolate fudge was okay. While the Belgian waffles is a little too cold for my liking, the generous drizzle of chocolate fudge is a plus point. 

 

Eighteen Chefs also provides customized pastas or cheese baked dishes, where you D-I-Y your meals by choosing from a wide selection of sauces and ingredients, and they cook it for you.

Eighteen Chefs

#01-K2/K6

302 Tiong Bahru Road

Tiong Bahru Plaza

2AM Dessert Bar @ Holland Village, Singapore

Nestled in one of Singapore's most popular hang-out spot, look no furthur than 2AM Dessert Bar, if you want a romantic late-night dessert with your significant other, or just somewhere to hang-out with your friends.

"This Friday night is still young", I thought. It was after a fulfilling dinner at White Dog's Cafe, and we decided that we still have stomach space for desserts. So we head all the way down to Holland Village to this modern-chic dessert bar.  2AM Dessert Bar was easy-to-miss, sitting at the second level in one of the corner, we definitely had a hard time locating it. Upon entering the dessert bar, we were seated on one of the plush sofa seats. At half past 11, this place is still buzzing with people!

I ordered their White Basil Chocolate (S$17.00), a burst of textures and flavours - it consists of passionfruit  fluff, coconut sorbet, pastilles and sea-grapes (a unique sea-weed, which looks and tastes like tiny fish roes). Although this creative dish is not on the sweeter side, but the combination of all the food elements make it interesting.

Peiyi had their Red Miso Caramel Bavarois (S$15.00), it comes with mustard crumbles and chocolate ice-cream which has an interesting texture. This dish packs a punch on the taste buds - a good mixture of sweet and sour.

For every single dessert, they would suggest a pairing of either a red or white wine. So we decided to have the Manawa Pinot Noir Marlborough (S$19.00) from New Zealand, the recommended pairing for Peiyi's dish. It has a strong sweet fragrance, tasted tangy with a tinge of sourness and leave a persistent flavour that lingers in your mouth. (I am not a wine connoisseur, but that is the best description I can come out with).

The price was startling initially, as I usually pay no more than ten bucks for desserts. But I'd say it was definitely worth the experience, and why not splurge occasionally on desserts?

2AM Dessert Bar

Tel: +65 6291 9727

Opening Hours

Mon–Sat: 6pm – 2am
(Closed on Sun)

21A Lorong Liput

Holland Village