This cake is inspired by Pei-Lin@Dodol Mochi. Thanks, Pei-Lin!

1. Preheat the oven to 165C/330F. Coat the dried cranberries with cornstarch in a small bowl. Set aside. Place the corn oil, sweetened condensed milk and sour cream in a mixing bowl. Whisk until the mixture fully blended and emulsified. Sift in the flour and baking powder, mixing roughly. Add in egg yolks and vanilla extract. Gently mix until combined.
2. Beat the egg whites with salt until fluffy, drizzling in the lemon juice, continue to beat until the soft peaks appear. Add in sugar in 3 additions, and beat until meringue glossy and stiff. Gently fold 1/3 of the meringue into the yolk batter and then carefully fold in the remaining whites until well combined. Finally add in the dried cranberries.
3. Pour the cake batter into a 24 cm springform pan. Bake the cake in the lower rack of the hot oven for 65 minutes. Remove and invert it onto a wire rack. Allow it to cool to the room temperature.

This is inspired by Tracie Moo on Bitter Sweet Flavours.
Brussels sprouts, or Brassica oleracea gemmifera, are related to other better-known vegetables in the Brassica genus like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. They are part of the cruciferae or mustard family, so known because of a four-part flower in the shape of a cross.
Brussels sprouts are a very good source of many essential vitamins, fiber, and folate. They are especially high in Vitamin C. They, along with their other cruciferous cousins, have been shown to have some very beneficial effects against certain types of cancer, as they contain many different ingredients that are believed to help prevent the disease. Check Foodnetwork for more delicious Brussels sprout recipes.

• 350 g Brussels sprout
• 3 Shallot, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp Duck fat
• 1 Fresh chilli, sliced
• 2 tbsp Honey
• 3 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 4 tbsp Water
• Salt and black pepper

1. Wash the Brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any yellowing leaves. Cut in half from stem to top. Finely sliced the shallot. Mix the honey, mustard and 3 tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat the duck fat in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in sliced shallots until fragrant. Add in Brussels sprouts and sprinkle salt, pepper and a tablespoon of water over, stir, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes.
3. Pour in the prepared mustard sauce, stirring to combine. Cook until most of liquid evaporates and sprouts are tender but still bright green, 3-5 minutes. Add in sliced chillies and toss all together. Season with salt and pepper.

Fermented tofu, called "doufu ru" (豆腐乳) in Chinese, is a type of soya products. This looks innocent enough, like cubes of tofu immersed in a broth, but it has a very pungent aroma and strong, cheesy flavor. It comes in two colors. The white version is often served with rice or used to flavor soups and vegetable dishes, while the red often accompanies meats. Look for it in jars or crocks in Asian markets. Store it in the refrigerator after you've opened it, keeping the cubes immersed in liquid or oil to prevent them from drying out and discoloring. foodsubs

1. Blend starch and flour together in a bowl to yield a mixture for coating. Stir all the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Rinse and pat the chicken dry. Cut into inch-sized pieces and pour in prepared marinade. Stir and let marinate for 1 hour until chicken dices fully absorb the sauce.
2. Heat up a skillet with oil until hot. Coat the chicken with flour mixture and fry them until golden brown and crispy. Drain and serve with a dish of fermented tofu juice.

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, poach shrimps, conpoy, peas, carrots and bell pepper. Set aside.
2. Heat up a skillet with some oil, add in onion and stir until fragrant. Stir in egg mixture until cooked.
3. Heat the skillet with some oil and, when it is very hot, add the cold cooked rice. Stir-fry until it is thoroughly heated through. Add in other ingredients and seasoning, stir-fry then toss in the spring onions. Stir and dish up.

A delicious chocolate marshmallow brownies with a kick! This recipe is inspired by Kristy@My Little Space. I must warn you, this is a 100% calorie bomb!

1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Grease a 20x30cm baking pan with some butter. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
2. Melt butter and chocolate over a double boiler, stir until smooth and remove from heat. Blend in sugar, eggs and extract. Gradually sift in the flour mixture and combine until incorporated. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the middle rack of oven for about 25 minutes. Remove and cover the top with marshmallow squares. Return it to the oven and bake for another 3 minutes. Remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
3. Meanwhile prepare the topping. Over a double boiler melt white chocolate couverture, dark chocolate, peanut butter and butter. Mix in the cornflakes. Spread the chocolate mixture onto the baked marshmallow. Allow it to set and cut into 12 squares.

Deep fried chunks of tofu braised with black mushrooms and vegetables in a light oyster sauce. It is perfect on a bed of steamed rice.

1. Cut the bean curd into rectangular pieces. Soak dried mushrooms in water until they soften. Squeeze off the excess water and shred. Save the soaking water. Shred the bell peppers. Heat up a skillet with oil until hot. Pan-fry the bean curd until golden brown.
2. Remain a bit of oil in the same skillet to stir fry the minced garlic and mushrooms until aromatic. Add in shredded bell peppers and stir-fry briefly, then drizzle in rice wine, chicken bouillon, dark soya and oyster sauces. Pour in soaking liquid and bean curd pieces. Cover and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Stir in cornstarch mixed with a tablespoon of cold water. Increase the heat and cook until sauce has thickened. Add in scallion and the sesame oil, toss through and serve at once with steamed rice.

It simply isn't Christmas in Germany without flat, crunchy and richly spiced Spekulatius. Traditionally Spekulatius are moulded into shapes with a small Christmas design on the surface. Well, those wooden Spekulatius forms are not cheap at all, so I have decided to use X'mas-themed cookie cutters to make these cookies. You can garnish the cookies with colourful sugar icings, or with confectionery coatings made with couverture chocolate, to decorate your X'mas tree, or table center.

1. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder and ammonia. Make an indent in the middle and add eggs, sugar, spices and extract, and combine all into a thick dough. Cut in the cold butter and together with the ground almonds and knead it well to form a smooth dough. If the dough is still sticky, then wrap and rest it in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Roll out the dough into 3mm thick circle and cut out the cookies with favourite Christmas cookie cutters. Place them onto greased baking sheet and bake until starting to brown, about 10 minutes. When cool, store cookies in an air-tight container. Decorate the cookies with sugar icings as desired.

I am sending this post to participate the event Think Spice Think Poppy hosted by both Radhika Vasanth@Food for 7 Stages of Life and Sunita@Sunitabhuyan.
Poppy seed is used as an ingredient in many foods and to make poppyseed oil. The tiny kidney-shaped seeds are harvested from seed pods of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), and have been cultivated by various civilizations for thousands of years. They are used whole or ground, often as a topping or filling in various baked goods. Wikipedia

1. In a mixing bowl whisk together the finely ground almond, poppy and powdered sugar until completely blended. Line 3 baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In your stand mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the egg whites and pinch of salt until foamy, gradually add the sugar and continue beating until soft peaks appear.
   
3. Fold in the poppy mixture in two additions until your get a slow moving batter. Fill a pastry bag with the batter and pipe small amounts of batter 3 cm in diameter, 2 cm apart. Leave to rest for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 170C/340F and bake for 15 minutes. Remove and cool completely on rack. Spread the poppy fix on one shell and sandwich with another one.

A simple, delicious and moist sweet coconut treat!

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a 30x40cm baking tray with paper. Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add in yogurt, dulce de leche, and oil. Mix all the ingredients with a hand mixer fitted with dough hooks for 1 minute on high speed. Don’t over stir the dough or it will become sticky.
2. Place the dough onto the prepared tray and roll it out. Brush with melted butter all over the surface of the dough. Combine the coconut shreds and sugar. Scatter the mixture evenly onto the dough. Bake on the upper rack of the hot oven for about 20 minutes until golden crispy. Remove and cool slightly. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the rounds.

This is a　cold noodle dish consisting of vegetables (usually bean sprouts or cucumber) and pasta (I love to use spaghetti) topped with sesame sauce. It is unbelievably easy to prepare and tastes very good.

1. Add enough water to fill 3/4 of a pot and bring to a rapid boil. Add in salt. Put in the noddles and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Rinse under the running cold water quickly and drain. Put the noodles and cooked oil in a large mixing bowl and toss until the noodles are well coated. Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl.
2. Thinly shred the cucumber, carrot, apple and spring onion. Rinse the arugula, drain and pat them dry. Crush the peanuts lightly. Spoon the dressing over and toss to mix. To serve, arrange the shredded vegetables over the noodles and garnish with crushed peanuts.