Mum's Apple Crumble

I thought Jamie Oliver's recipe was golden, so i had a bake-off with my mom. Jamie... you made me eat humble pie. :p Mum's enhanced recipe (from a friend) was so so goooood. Crumbly texture with chopped almonds hidden inside, hit the right 'crunchy' spot! Thanks Mom for making a dozen of these!

Apple Filling:

• 12 pieces of granny smith apples
• 1 tbsp water
• 80g caster sugar
• 45g brown sugar
• 1 & 1/4 tsp cinnamon or nutmeg powder
• 120g (unsalted) SCS butter

Crumble:

• 150g (unsalted) SCS butter (best to use the butter when cold)
• 310g plain flour
• 45g brown sugar
• 10g caster sugar
• 120g chopped almonds

      (Makes 8 servings)
      Preheat oven 190 C

     Cooking the Filling:

1. Peel and core all the apples. While soaking them in a bowl of salted water, sliced the apples thinly.
2. In a big sauce pan, (drain the apples from the bowl) put in all the apples, add 1 tbsp of water and bring the heat to medium-low.
3. Add in all the sugar & butter, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes. (Do not add anymore water as the apples will release moisture after awhile). 
4. When the apples are nice and soft (i like my apples very soft to the point of mush), add in the cinnamon/nutmeg powder. Take the pan off the heat and let it to cool down slightly, while you make the crumble.

     Making the Crumble:

1. Cut the butter into cubes and put them in a mixing bowl with the flour. Using your fingers (must use fingers!), lightly rub the butter into the flour until you have a crumbly texture.
2. Pour in the all the sugar and almonds, mix them with your fingers.

     Assembling:

1. Scoop the filling into a large baking dish or aluminum foil cases, filling about 2/3 of the dish.
2. Pour over the crumbles using a fork and lightly pat them down. (I sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar over the top)
3. Place the dish/cases in the oven and bake them for 15-18 minutes until lightly golden brown.

Super Rich Chocolate Banana Cake

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 5 pieces of slightly over-ripe bananas (mashed well)
• 1 tsp banana/vanilla essence
• 5 tbsp milk
• 227g unsalted butter (i use SCS brand), softened
• 200g caster sugar
• 4 large eggs (broken into a bowl)
• Chocolate chips (250g packet)
• (Optional) Cinnamon sugar to sprinkle
• (Dusting) Icing sugar

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Postion a rack in the centre of the oven.
2. Grease a cake tin or loaf tin. Dust it with flour. (I use cute cake liners from Daiso, however they have sold out recently)
3. (Flour mixture) Sift the flour, baking soda & powder, and salt in a bowl. Mix and set aside.
4. (Banana mixture) In a separate bowl, mix the mashed bananas, essence & milk. Set aside. (the batter may look a bit unappealing due to the over-ripe bananas, but it'd taste good!)
5. With an electric mixer (i use hand-held mixer), pulse the butter at medium speed till creamy.
6. Gradually add in the sugar. Beat until light, about 3-4 minutes.
7. Reduce the speed to low and add in the eggs one at a time. (Mom's advice is always to break each egg into a clean bowl to ensure it has not gone bad, before adding it to the batter)
8. Now prepare to add the (flour mixture in 3 additions) and (banana mixture in 2 additions) to the batter, alternating the mixtures. This ensures the batter does not get too wet/dry when we mix.
9. Finally, add in as much chocolate chips as you want. I use about two thirds of a 250g packet. (Note: my MIL does not like it this sweet but the rest of the clan loves it!)
10. Pour the batter into the cake liner/tin. (Any excess batter can be filled into cupcake liners, baked for 30 minutes). 
11. Optional: Pour some cinnamon sugar over the batter if you like, for that secret taste.
12. Bake the cake for 60 minutes. Always use a cake tester / long toothpick, to check the doneness. (Because we used so much chocolate chips, the cake would be very very slightly moist. That's when it should be done)
13. Place the cake tin on a wire rack, let it cool slightly before taking it out. Once not too warm, sprinkle some icing sugar over and serve.

Sinful Chocolate Mousse (with Raspberries)

• 200g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 120ml warm water
• 3 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
• 40g caster sugar
• Fresh raspberries (you can use blueberries or any fruits you like)
• (Optional) Dusting of icing sugar

      6 serving glasses (anything easy to cover with cling film and refrigerate. 

      I find transparent cups more appealing!)

1. Place the chocolate pieces and water into a heat proof bowl. Sit the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water with the heat to the lowest. The chocolate will melt completely within 6 minutes.
2. (Chocolate mixture) Remove the bowl from the heat and stir the glossy chocolate. Let it cool for 2-3 minutes. Immediately stir in the egg yolks and mix well.
3. (Egg white mixture) In a separate bigger bowl, whisk the egg whites with a handheld mixer/ballon whisk till it is light (soft peaks!). Add the sugar in one third at a time. Whisk again until glossy.
4. Using a spatula, gently fold a tablespoon of the (egg white mixture) into the (chocolate mixture). Carefully fold in the rest of the egg white mixture by batches. (Careful not to over fold, we want to keep as much air bubbles/foam of the egg whites in the mousse.)
5. In your serving glasses, put a few pieces of raspberries in. Gently scoop the mousse into the glasses. Cover with cling film to seal, and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours until set. 
6. When ready to serve, remove the cling film. Plop on a piece of raspberry and dust icing sugar over.