#latestfoodtrends

Craving for something warm and spicy when this time of the year rolls around? How about a flavourful gingerbread cake slathered with cream cheese icing, topped with a drizzle of coffee syrup! It might sound like a mishmash of flavours, but trust us, it works perfectly. Rich cream cheese pairs beautifully with the spices of the gingerbread cake (like Gingerbread Cheesecake) — and the coffee syrup gives a final touch of flavour. Check out also: Basque Burnt Cheesecake Recipe if you're feeling a little experimental! This gingerbread cake recipe makes a hefty four-layered cake though, and your Kenwood Titanium Chef XL will come in handy as you beat these ingredients together. If you want to go the extra mile, we included a little extra portion to create adorable green Christmas trees as toppers for the cake, but you don't have to do it if you're short on time! OPTIONAL: Directions for tree decorations 200g white chocolate with a few drops of green food dye, melted 15 milk chocolate twigs - you can use Pocky sticks or any sort of chocolate-coated thin biscuits Assorted sprinkles (optional) 1 x silver edible glitter spray (optional) Coconut flakes and desiccated coconut

• Melt white baking chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and repeat the process, placing a few drops of green food dye until fully melted.
• Put the finished icing into a piping bag
• Place different lengths of chocolate twigs on baking trays, lined with baking parchment, and space out allowing enough space for the piping.
• Cut a small hole in the end of the piping bag, and working in a zigzag movement f

Think about the best chicken dumplings that you've tasted, but this time - with a crunchier, healthier, juicy and sweet wrap! Hmm, but is Dimsum healthy in the first place? Good news, it can be depending on the ingredients and mode of preparation! For our friends who are practising the keto diet, this recipe would be perfect for you. Because forget flour wrappers, this Chicken and Cabbage dim sum takes it up a notch by replacing them with the mighty cabbage instead. Alternatively, you can always go dough-free! Stinge on your salt and use natural flavouring such as anchovies. Anchovies release a rich, umami flavour that can add a layer of complexity when emulsified in a sauce or soup. With cabbage acting as a natural sugar substitute, this dim sum is a balance of sweet and salty. Besides, there are so many natural substitutes - both cooking and baking substitutes that could make their way into your dish. If you're already getting hungry, let's dive right in. Try this recipe, because we're sure it will definitely make it to your list of favourite dim sum treats. This recipe used the Kenwood Multipro Compact.

Food trends evolve as fast as fashion trends, and the spicy, mouth-numbing Sichuan mala sauce is the latest addition to a growing list of popular food items to try out. Technomic, a consultancy studying food trends, found that this Chinese sauce is the next big thing where spicy condiments are concerned, as it moves from being a restaurant favourite to the home kitchen. But first let's find out what is in this sauce. From the sounds of it, the fact that it has chilli may turn some people off though others who are hooked on the chilli's “feel good” factor may be more adventurous to give it a go. Endorphins, our body’s natural painkillers, are released when you eat chillis, leading to a sense of “high” as the body defends itself against the chilli’s heat. Hang on, what we do know is that the main ingredient in a Sichuan mala sauce is not chilli, but the Sichuan peppercorn. Forming the crux of the Sichuan mala sauce, this type of peppercorn is popularly used in the Sichuan and Chongqing provinces. Historically, Sichuan peppercorns and ginger were two main ingredients used to add heat to dishes, much needed during cold wintry months. But

Say goodbye to your regular french toast recipe of frying bread in eggs and milk. This is how you level up your french toast recipe - with a humble box of cornflakes! Yes, that's right. Just one simple step to coat your toast in cornflake crumbs and frying it in a generous amount of butter results in a delightfully crisped, crunchy outside and a warm filling within. The perfect thing about this is that you can fill your french toast with any filling you like - so peanut butter and jelly is a great combination, or peanut butter and banana, nutella and banana... the list goes on. Give this decadent stack a swirl of maple syrup and some powdered sugar, and you have yourself an Instagram-worthy breakfast. Is Tiktok your new recipe guide? We've been taking some inspiration too. See our recipes for frozen prata egg tarts, baked milk treats and perfect scrambled eggs.  

Your wife, husband or family will thank you if you make this for breakfast! What kind of scrambled egg is this, you ask? It's definitely not the Gordon Ramsay sort (i.e. fluffy, French-style, firmer, sits well on sourdough toast). This style of cooking scrambled eggs leans towards the Chinese/Cantonese style of making eggs. According to this video here by YouTube cooking channel 'Chinese Cooking Demystified', this results in more curdled, silky smooth, just-slightly-runny eggs. Yum! Let's explain some key steps that go into this.

1. First, to go about this the traditional way, take 4 - 5 room temperature eggs. You can use less if you're just making it for one person! Separate the egg white and yolks.
2. You then have to grab your egg whites and whisk until its foamy. Don't over whisk! Whisk it until it starts forming big bubbles.
3. Then, pour your foamy egg whites into your yolks and give it a good mix.
4. Seasoning for the egg mixture, amongst other things, will include a little mixture of cornstarch and water. Why cornstarch? Cornstarch keeps your scrambled eggs moist and prevents overcooking.
5. When frying your egg, use a liberal amount of butter/oil (or lard, if you prefer) that is piping hot before the egg mixture even hits the pan.
6. As your egg cooks, alternate the pan or wok on and off the heat while letting the uncooked egg fry. This gives your scrambled eggs that layered silkiness you see in the photo. You have to do this, otherwise your egg will just set in one piece!

Well, Tiktok is at it again - giving us simple, delicious baking recipes that you can make in under an hour. This time, it's a jiggly, wobbly, sweet, and almost custard-like baked milk! With only four main ingredients, this recipe is an absolute breeze to make. Don't forget to factor in refrigeration time as this sweet milky mixture will need to harden before baking. : Recipe credits with some alterations Is Tiktok your new recipe guide? We've been taking some inspiration too. See our recipes for frozen prata egg tarts, cloud

Are you a puff lover? Whether it's creamy durian puffs or the classic chocolate eclairs, puff pastries are absolutely delicious and versatile indulgences. These Japanese Custard Puffs (also known as Shu or Choux) are baked choux pastries with sweet, crackly, crunchy cookies topping and filled with custard and whipped cream in the centre. If you're not a fan of cooking with cream, fret not! The whole process to make these Japanese cream puffs is extremely short. Choux pastry comes together in about 10-15 minutes. Most of the ingredients are cooked together on the stove; this initial cooking causes the starch in the flour to gelatinize, which will help the pastry hold onto steam and puff up. The pastry shell and the crackly top is actually created separated then laid on top of each other. This recipe makes 24 pieces of light, sweet, crackly puffs, and enough coconut custard cream to fill the shells. Looking for more Japanese treats to make? Try this simple Ichigo (strawberry) mochi recipe. If you're feeling experimental, try out different sweet fillings such as Strawberry Jam, Nutella or Peanut Buttercream. Or if you simply prefer savoury puffs, then check out this simple Cheese Herb Puffs Recipe which you can make to complement any main savoury protein!

Leftover wine that’s too bad to drink, but too wasteful to dump? No fear, you don’t have to brave the dull taste of an old bottle of cabernet sauvignon or riesling sitting at the back of your fridge. Neither do you have to empty its contents down the sink. As a fellow LoveWholesome home chef, you know what the best option is - make a meal (or a cocktail) out of it. Here are some simple recipes that you can use with your leftover wine. Pro tip: for recipes that call for 1 bottle of wine, feel free to scale the recipe based on how much wine you have left!

Classic beef stew

Beef stew is the go-to dish for lots of leftover red wine. This sumptuous meal will be perfect for a leftover bottle of red. Use a pressure cooker if you want to reduce cooking time. Beef stock is optional in this recipe. *Makes 4 servings Ingredients:

• 1 bottle of red wine
• 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 500 grams of chuck or shoulder beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 medium brown onion, peeled and sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 sprigs of thyme

If you’re living anywhere that’s not under a rock, there’s a good chance you’ve seen people sipping on the now-famous Dalgona coffee. Lauded to be a simple barista-worthy creation you can whip up with no more than three ingredients (four, if you count water), the cloud-like beverage has taken the world by storm (pun intended). A quick introduction to the trendy drink: Dalgona coffee is named after South Korea’s well-loved street candy, a sugary and foamy honeycomb snack. A part of what made this so popular amongst the #StayHome crowd and aspiring home chefs is its simplicity and the desire to share homemade creations with others. But at the end of the day, regardless of how pretty, it still tastes of instant coffee mixed with some sweetener. And while a hit among some, it’s understandable how the trend might not resonate with others. That said, non-coffee fans or people looking to level up this drink, we’ve got you covered. It’s time to bring your favourite flavours to new heights and board the Dalgona trend train!

Let’s say you have decided to make some brownies for a birthday party the next day. You bought the necessary ingredients from the supermarket and are getting ready to start mixing and baking. But something isn’t right. You sense that you have left something out of your shopping, and true enough, you have forgotten to buy the milk that your brownie recipe needs. Frankly, nobody wants to make a special trip down to the supermarket just to get some eggs or milk. So what can we use around the kitchen that are viable substitutes for common baking ingredients that will not make a noticeable difference in the end result? Let’s have a look at what can be substituted, what can’t, and what possible replacements there are.

Flour

Most baked goods require flour, and different recipes call for different types of flour. For instance, bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour, as bread requires gluten for its open, airy crumb and its shape. Cake flour has lower gluten levels, so you can’t use it to make bread. If your recipe requires cake flour, it is possible to add two tablespoons of cornstarch to a cup (128 grams) of all-purpose flour, to make the cake denser. It is also possible to use all-purpose flour to replace bread flour, but your bread may end up less chewy. If this is your first few times baking, it is best to stick to what the recipe requires.

Milk

Baking requires full concentration and when we’re tired or moody, mistakes can happen. I forgot to add milk to my marble cake batter just last week. Luckily, nobody could taste the difference in the end result. Forgetting the milk does not turn out bland and lifeless cakes. It could taste a little dry but to most people, the wonderful aromas of a cake in the oven will mask the lack of milk. You could use any type of nut milk, coconut milk or even soy milk. You could also use heavy cream, sour cream or yoghurt – just dilute it with a little water before using it as these replacements