And now for something a little different... Tapioca Cake

At our annual Chinese New Year's dinner, my aunt’s Malaysian Chinese friend made this delicious tapioca cake as known as kuih ubi kaiyu. Judging from the empty platter at the end of the night, her cake was wildly popular.
I inhaled several squares of this soft pillowy cake and realized what all the fuss was about. The cake isn’t airy and light like a sponge cake, it is dense and compact. Its light and delicate flavour (moistened by the addition of coconut milk and eggs) makes this cake perfect for an afternoon tea. It possesses the faint grainy texture of a cornmeal or semolina cake but also the smooth, creaminess of a tapioca pudding. If you leave it in the oven to bake a little longer, it develops a golden caramelly crust and a smoother, chewy texture reminiscent of Japanese mochi desserts (rice flour based desserts.) Personally, I prefer the wobbly but grainy texture but the choice is yours. I reduced the sugar from the original recipe (1 package of cassava, 1 c sugar, 1 c coconut milk, 1 egg and 1 pinch of salt) and added an additional egg to heighten the flavour of the eggy custard.

I wished I had discovered this cake sooner. It literally takes 2 minutes to put together (literally seconds) and is, without hyperbole, the simplest cake I have ever made (even with non-baker’s hands like mine.)

1 lb finely grated tapioca (cassava*), defrosted from frozen
2 eggs
1 c low-fat coconut milk
¾ c granulated sugar
½ tsp salt
Plus butter for the pan and parchment paper

*grated cassava/tapioca may be found in the freezer section of Asian grocery stores

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom of a square baking dish with parchment paper and butter  baking dish and parchment paper.
2. Mix tapioca with 2 eggs, coconut milk, sugar and salt together.
3. Pour mixture into prepared dish and bake for approximately 30 minutes until the sides start to brown and the center is no longer wobbly.
4. Cool slightly and cut into squares and serve.

Best if eaten the day it is made.
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Summer in a Jar - Easy Peach Cake

I recently discovered canning or "putting up." My first foray into canning was went the peaches were sweet and fragrant. The purpose of canning seems romantic to me: taking what is the best of summer's fruits and vegetables and putting them into gleaming shiny jars to hold onto summer for just a bit longer. And when the days grow shorter, and the temperature is cooler, opening up a jar of preserves transports you back to the heady days of summer. That's why I wanted to can. Summer in a jar.

The kitchen was a mess but it was lot of fun. Ryan, my future husband, insisted that all this hot water and bubbling mess was dangerous and ordered me out of the kitchen while we processed the jams. In total, we made four half liter jars of peach lavender jam. It was sublime, sugary, and heavenly. In order to test the jam for doneness, we put the jam onto a cold saucer. If it the jam doesn't roll around the saucer, it will set and its ready. But we got carried away... We really liked the jam and kept putting spoonfuls onto the plate.

In the end, I should have read the recipe more clearly... the recipe called the jam "spoonable" which means it won't set. But we ended up using it over ice cream. It makes an excellent topping. Today, I found another use for this gorgeous summery jam... on top of a easy summer cake.



I was inspired by Martha Stewart's recipe found in the September 2007 issue. Ashamed, I didn't have any fresh fruit on hand but had alot of this gorgeous luscious jam. We had a dinner party to attend and I thought a simple summery dessert would be an appropriate offering to the host.

I am the worst baker but oh so well-intentioned. I have a tendency to overmix and the result is usually a baked hockey puck. However, this cake turned out beautifully. It was dead easy.


Inspired by Martha Stewart - Easy Peach Cake
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4c sugar
1/2c whole milk
1/2c vegetable oil
1 large egg
5 tbsp peach lavender jam (or whatever peach jam you have)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp cold butter

(In case you're curious Martha lays down halved plums cut side up)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter 2 9 inch round cake pans.
2. Whisk together flour, bp, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together 3/4c sugar, milk, oil and egg. Fold into flour mixture
3. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, and smooth tops. Dot the batter with spoonfuls of jam.
4. Sprinkle cinnamon over top. Dot with butter. Bake until tops are golden, about 30 minutes. Cool and enjoy.


This cake wasn't meant to be saved, make it the day you plan to eat it.