1. Beat butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add in egg and beat well. Add in mashed banana.
2. Mix flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl and sift into the banana mixture with chopped chocolate.
3. Divide the mixture into 6 mini guglhupf and bake in a preheated 180C/350F oven for about 30-40 minutes. Cool completely and glaze with lemon icing if preferred.

1. Peel and clean the zucchini. Cut them into 2-2.5 cm chunks. Slice open each chunk to become a clip. Remember not to cut it through. Soak them in a pot of salted water.
2. Mix the ground meat and the marinade. Set aside. Dry up the zucchini clips with a towel and stuff with some prepared ground meat. Heat up a wok with oil to 165C/325F. Mix together 2 eggs and cornstarch in a bowl. Dip the prepared zucchini into the batter and deep-fry until golden brown. Drain.
3. Heat up 2 tablespoons of oil in another pan and stir in ginger, onion, garlic and spicy bean paste until fragrant. Combine together the ingredients for the sauce and pour in. Return the fried zucchini to the pan and stir lightly until they are fully coated with the sauce. Dish off and serve.

Poppy seeds, rich in fat and proteins, and having a distinctive aroma, are a classic addition to bread, cookies, and cakes. This sweet roll is very popular in Germany.

1. Place all the ingredients for the dough, except butter, in a mixing bowl fixed with a dough hook and beat at slow speed for 1 minute. Switch to the medium speed, and continue to beat for 3 minutes until a dough forms. Cut in butter gradually and mix for approx. 5 minutes until gluten is fully developed, i. e. elastic, smooth, non-sticky and leaves from sides of mixing bowl. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and let rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
2. While dough is rising, prepare filling. Cook 400ml milk with ground poppy in a pot for 3 minutes over the medium heat. Combine together the pudding powder, 100 ml milk, honey, cinnamon and grated lemon peel and add in the poppy-milk mixture. Boil and stir in sliced almond. Blend thoroughly. Cool down and ready to use.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into half, each about 430 grams. Press and roll each part into a 25cmx30cm rectangle.
4. Spread half of the poppy filling and tightly roll up. With a serrated knife, cut the roll into 8 sections. Repeat with another portion of dough. Place them in a baking tray lined with parchment paper and let rise for another hour until doubled in volume. After proving, brush them with egg wash. Garnish with a candied cherry in the middle and bake in a preheated 180C/350F oven for 15 minutes. Sift the icing sugar into lemon juice to combine and brush over top of bread rolls.

Kasutera is a traditional Japanese sponge cake, usually flavored with honey. There are now many kinds of kasutera, made with various ingredients. For example, there are kasuteras made with powdered green tea, cocoa, and also brown sugar.

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/340F. Line two 28x10cm loaf pans with parchment paper. Sift the flour and salt and set aside.
   
2. Place the egg yolks, honey, 200 grams of sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water and beat at high speed until the mixture is thick and pale. Fold in the sifted flour in two additions.
3. Beat egg whites electric mixer on a low speed one minute, and then add in lemon juice. Increase speed to medium-high and continue to beat until foamy. Sprinkle in 20 grams of sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. With a rubber spatula, fold the egg whites in thirds. Pour batter into two prepared pans. Bake the cake in the center of hot oven for 35-45 minutes.

Not really satisfied with the result as the surface cracked although the bain-marie was applied, and the chocolate batter was not enough. Nevertheless, it tastes super!

1. Combine together all the ingredients for the crust. Chill for 30 minutes. Take out the dough from the fridge and press into the bottom and sides of a 26-cm springform pan lined with baking paper. Return it to the fridge and let rest for another 30 minutes.
2. Combine together matcha tea powder and hot water in a bowl. Melt chocolate over a hot-water bath. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F. Place cream cheese, yogurt, and two thirds of sugar in a bowl set over a hot water bath. Stir until sugar dissolved and all the ingredients are well-blended. Add in egg yolks, vanilla extract and heavy cream. Mix well. Whip the egg whites and the rest of sugar until soft peak forms. Fold into the cheese mixture. Combine one fourth of the plain cheese mixture with melted chocolate, and another one fourth with matcha. So now you have 2 portions of plain cheese mixture, one chocolate-flavoured cheese, and one matcha-flavoured cheese mixture.
3. Pour plain, chocolate and matcha cheese batters alternatively over the center of the biscuit crust in the pan. With a tip of toothpick you slide across the surface to create stripes or swirl the whole mixture with a table knife until it resembles a marbled effect.
4. Pour the cake pan on a large baking tray and pour some hot tap water to half way up the outside of the tin to form a bain-marie. Bake for 40 minutes. Turn the oven down to 150C and bake for a further 30 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave the cake in for 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and cool completely. Chill the cake overnight.　

This easy and delicious glazed carrot cookies recipe is made with finely grated carrots,walnuts and coconut and covered with a tangy lemon glaze! They are soft, tender and so moreish.

Ants Climbing a Tree /蚂蚁上树 is a classic Szechuan dish in Chinese cuisine. It is so called because the bits of ground meat clinging to the noodles evoke an image of ants walking on twigs. This dish is made from mung bean noodles, also know as Chinese glass vermicelli. These thin noodles become soft and translucent after soaking in water.

1. Add the marinade ingredients to the ground pork, adding the cornstarch last. Set aside for 15 minutes. Soak the glass vermicelli in hot water until soft, about 5 minutes. Drain well. Soften the dried mushrooms in hot water. Reserve ¼ cup of the soaking liquid Thinly slice the mushrooms. Cut chilli in half lengthwise, remove the seeds, and chop coarsely. Mince the ginger and cut the green onion diagonally into inch pieces.
   
2. Heat a frying pan over medium-high to high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the heated wok. Stir in the marinated pork until the pork has browned and remove. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. Stir in the ginger and chilli until aromatic. Add the dried mushrooms. Stir-fry briefly, then add in the chilli sauce and the vermicelli. Pour in the reserved soaking liquid and return the ground pork to the pan. Add in the spring onions and stir until noodles and sauce are well blended, and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Garnish with some chopped spring onions and serve.

1. Whisk together the egg, sugar and half of the buttermilk in a bowl. In another bowl combine together the baking soda and the rest of buttermilk. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Pour the prepared egg mixture into it and blend together. Sift the flour and nutmeg in a mixing bowl together. And then add in buttermilk mixture and melted. Finally add in cranberries and combine all the ingredients.
   
   
2. Grease a 22-24 cm bundt pan. Pour in the cake and bake at 175C/350F for about 35 minutes or until toothpick comes clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes before removing from pan. Dust the cake with some powdered sugar if desired.

The grapefruit is a subtropical citrus tree grown for its fruit which was originally named the "forbidden fruit " of Barbados. The flesh is segmented and acidic, varying in color depending on the cultivars, which include white, pink and red pulps of varying sweetness. Wikipedia

1. Thinly slice the chicken breast and marinate with salt, pepper and cornstarch for about 15 minutes.
2. Cut tops off grapefruits, loosening the flesh from the outer skin. Cut between the segments to loosen the flesh then remove the central core and pips. In container of food processor, blending the grapefruit flesh into the juice. Add in sugar to adjust to your personal taste. Blanch the marinated chicken slices in some oil. Drain and set aside.
3. Heat up a skillet with some oil, stirring the ginger until fragrant. Add in carrots and peas. Pour in the grapefruit juice. Return the chicken to the skillet and dish off after boiled.