Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce

I'm head over heels for pancakes especially when granny make them for me. I still remember how she'd add some fresh desiccated coconut in the batter and she'd make it real thin like a crepe.

Instead of reinventing her version of pancake, i made my very own version. I'm not exactly sure what should be in the batter so i just followed my gut feelings on this. Usually i'd jst get the pancake premix and jst add milk n eggs there you have it , ur pancake batter.

Ingredients

PANCAKES
* flour
* salt
* sugar
* eggs
* milk
* baking powder
* baking soda
* extra virgin olive oil

Method:
1) Whisk all the ingredients together and let it stand for 30mins - 1 hour
2) Give the non-stick a quick rub with olive oil or butter on a paper towel before you start flippin your pancakes
3) Pour the batter on the non-stick and when tiny holes formed on the surface its time to flip your pancake over
Note :
The usage of oil/butter after each pancake, the surface of your pancakes would turn crispy so to avoid tht only rub your pan with oil/butter once before you start making your pancakes.

Those that fancy a sweeter pancakes, add more sugar/soft brown sugar.

STRAWBERRY SAUCE
* fresh strawberries
* orange juice
* honey

Method:
1) Wash and cut out the stems and leaves of the strawberries and roughly chopped it or cubed it
2) Add freshly squeeze orange juice together with the freshly diced strawberries and bring it to a slow heat , constantly stirring
3) If the orange juice is already sweet, you can omit the honey, otherwise add honey/soft brown sugar until you reach the taste you favour.

Note:
You can add a lil corn flour into the sauce to thicken it. For a great homemade sauce, it would be good to get some really sweet and juicy strawberries. As for me , i made it with strawberries imported from Korea; its really sweet and fragrant.

Eggless Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting

Chocolate and strawberries are two of my very close friend's favourite and i thought this is the perfect timing to blend both ingredients together for i was invited over for lunch at her place and i thought a sweet dessert might be good. Since she doesnt consume eggs, its another good chance for me to try out another eggless cake with different ingredients used as compared to my previous Eggless Chocolate Muffins. I didnt wanna make the usual rectangular or round cake so i thought why not turn it into cupcakes! Easy to consume and cute looking at the same time!

At first i was skeptical on whether to frost the cupcakes or not then i thought why not give it a try and see if she likes it. We both not a big fan of frosting or whipped cream or anythin creamy for that matter so to have frosting on it its a 50-50 thing , where you either like it or hate it. For someone that doesnt like creamy stuff i actually like the taste of the frosting when i was done whipping it. Food definitely taste different when nothing but the best and fresh ingredients used.

Ingredients:

CUPCAKES
1 packet of eggless premix
400gm condensed milk
100ml full cream milk
200ml UHT milk
185gm melted butter
1 tsp chocolate paste/compound

Method:
1) Beat the sugar (came together with the eggless premix) with the condensed milk, full cream milk and UHT milk until sugar dissolved.
2) Add the melted butter and chocolate paste
3) Fold the premix
4) Scoop the batter into the lined muffin tray and bake in the preheated oven of 180 degrees C for 30mins or when the cake tester comes out clean.

Note:
If eggless premix is unavailable you can use the eggless cake/cupcakes recipe available in cookbooks or internet. If you're in a creative mood, feel free to experiment on the standard ingredients used for the eggless cake and add a touch of your creativity in it.

FROSTING

250gm butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp strawberry extract
3 tbsps fresh strawberry puree

Method:
1) Cream the butter until its light and fluffy before adding the sugar.
2) Once it has combined, add vanilla and strawberry extract.
3) Lastly, add the freshly crushed or pureed strawberry.

Note:
Crushed strawberries are good if you like to feel some texture in your frosting when you eat it. You can crush it with your fork.

But if you want a smooth and fluffy frosting then pureed strawberry is good. Put bout 4-5 strawberries in the food processor to produce about 3 tbsps of strawberry puree.

If your fresh strawberries are one the sour note, then sprinkle some soft brown sugar on it and set it aside until later use.