Before I start, I would like to apologize if this post is torturing you. I know it’s Monday, it’s the fasting month, and you’re probably trying to avoid looking at pictures of food… But here I am blogging about food. Not just any food; a dessert that is so rich and indulgent that would make you drool. (Sorry!)

It’s molten chocolate cake.

Or also known as chocolate lava cake or baked chocolate pudding. I can’t find the exact word to describe this dessert because it’s like a cake, a pudding, a mousse, a souffle and a brownie all in one. One spoon is enough to make you swoon!

But that’s ok. Buka puasa is only in a few hours time and you can have it by then. It’s really easy to make but it’s also easy to overcook it. I’ve had overcooked baked chocolate pudding at The Apartment twice so far. It was a disappointment because when it’s overcooked, it’s just a regular chocolate cake. You don’t want that. You want a cake with a pudding-like center.

Anyways, we had molten chocolate cake for iftar 3 days in a row now. It was SO good and a lot better than Domino’s chocolate lava cake! If you’re a chocoholic and you haven’t tried this dessert yet… Seriously, you must. You just have to. I’ll share the recipe here. Make them for iftar tonight, ok?

Molten Chocolate Cake

(recipe from Betty Crocker)

6 oz semisweet baking chocolate

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp butter

3 whole eggs

3 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

unsweetened cocoa powder

Heat oven to about 230°C. Grease the sides and bottoms of ramekins with butter, then dust with cocoa powder.

Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat (no need to use double boiler). Stir frequently.

Once it’s melted, set aside to let it cool slightly.

In a large bowl, beat whole eggs and egg yolks. Then add in powdered sugar, melted chocolate mixture and flour, and beat until well-blended.

Spoon the batter into the ramekins. If you don’t wanna bake them straight away, cover them with cling film and put in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to bake, place them on a baking tray and bake for 12 minutes (add 1-3 minutes more if you keep them in refrigerator). Let stand for 3 minutes. Run a thin knife along the sides of the cake to loosen it. Place a plate upside down over each ramekin and turn them over.

Serve with vanilla ice-cream and topped with hazelnut.

The rich chocolatey flavor with a molten river of dark chocolate oozing from the center is to die for!

I LOVE oats. It’s one of the foods that I eat everyday.

I mix them in my Herbalife shake. I eat them with my cereal. I mix them in my hot cup of Milo. I mix them in Horlicks. I just love how it makes my food and drinks thick and creamy. Mmmmm!

Anyway, I’ve been on a muesli binge lately. I’ve been eating muesli all week, mostly for snacking – mid-morning, tea time and even for supper!

Oats, as we all know, are rich in dietary fiber and they’re a heart-healthy food so that’s just awesome. And what’s even more awesome is that this muesli with grated apple recipe that I got from my mom is super yummy and healthy. It’s made of rolled oats, pure fruit juice, natural yogurt, apple, raisins, almonds and honey.

Mom’s recipe uses orange juice but I used my favorite juice,
Ceres’ Whispers Of Summer.

Soak the rolled oats in juice overnight in the fridge (not too much juice – just enough to cover the oats). Or you can just soak for 1-2 hours in the fridge until the oats are soft.

The next morning (or whenever you wanna eat it), take out the bowl of rolled oats and stir it all up. Add yogurt, grated apples, raisins, drizzle with a little bit of honey and top off with almond flakes.

This muesli tastes somewhat like a cross between a cereal and something desserty. It’s nice and creamy, and it has the sweetness from the honey, crunchiness from the almonds, crisp and juiciness from the apple. Yum!

Too bad my husband doesn’t fancy it. Hmmph.

But that’s okay because it means I can have it ALL to myself!

I don’t think I have and will ever participate in a marathon. But buffet marathon? Now that’s something I like! How can a food lover like me resist something like that?!

I was invited to participate in the challenge with a bunch of bloggers at Atrium Cafe of Pyramid Tower Hotel a few Sundays ago. Apparently, it’s the first ever in town and the marathon buffet is held every Sunday and public holiday, from 11am to 11pm. Yes, 12 hours of dining experience and it allows multiple entry – meaning you may go in and out of the cafe as many times as you wish and eat to your heart’s content. It’s basically a food lover’s haven!

Ready, get set, EAT!!!

I made sure I left the house with empty stomach that day so that I can eat everything at the buffet!

There are a wide variety of food and they have a different theme every weekend – Penang Tempo, Nyonya Warm Up, Hot-N-Spicy Altitude, Hawker’s Battle and Noodle Run.

Cold cuts

Salads

Soup counter

Sandwich bar

Main course section

Fruits

My favorite section – desserts!

Kuih Melayu

Ice kacang

This was what I had for brunch:

The creme brulee is just divine!

I don’t know the name of this green dessert but it’s yummy too.
Except for the bottom part which tasted like Espresso (I don’t like coffee)
so I just ate the green thing.

There was a wanton-eating challenge too. The person who can gobble up the most wantons in 3 minutes wins.

This guy won, and he was like the skinniest of all!

We also had a complimentary neck and shoulder massage by Mandara Spa at Atrium Lounge.

We were given some shopping vouchers for a retail therapy session at Sunway Pyramid mall, but hubby and I decided to watch a movie instead (we watched Super 8). Then we headed back to Atrium Cafe to have lunch. I didn’t snap many photos of the food but seriously there were a lot! There were lasagne, satay, yong tau foo, porridge, pan-fried salmon fillet, nasi biryani, rendang daging minang, kari ikan bakar, salted egg prawns, braised duck with peanut and chinese herbs, roti canai, roti naan, etc etc. Basically, there are Malay, Chinese, Indian and Western cuisines.

This marathon buffet is priced at RM68++ per adult (50% off for children 12 years old and below), but Milkadeal.com is currently having a promotion for only RM55!

Did I mention the Atrium Marathon Buffet allows multiple entry? You can have fun at Sunway Lagoon, go for a spa, shop at Sunway Pyramid, watch a movie, go ice-skating and have your meals sesuka hati seberapa banyak kali at the Atrium Cafe. It’s so worth it!

I don’t know why I’m doing this.

I’m fasting today and here I am, blogging about food. Not just any food, but a comfort food.
All nice and warm and creamy…. oooh.

Potato gratin.

Oh God.

Ok let’s just get down with the recipe and be done with it. This recipe is by far the easiest I found on the internet, using only a handful of ingredients:

Potato, thinly sliced
Butter
Garlic, minced
Black pepper
Salt
Rosemary
Heavy cream
Cheese
Parsley

Soak the thinly sliced potatoes in cold water for 10 minutes and dry them using paper towel.

Butter the sides and bottom of a baking casserole. Add the sliced potatoes, garlic and season with salt, black pepper and rosemary. Mix them well and arrange the potato slices in overlapping layers.

Pour the heavy cream (or thickened cream), covering about half the potatoes. You can use whipped cream too.

Sprinkle evenly with cheese, followed by parsley. I’ve made this potato gratin a couple of times and the first time I made it, I used Mozzarella cheese. The second time, I used Cheddar cheese. I think I prefer Mozzarella cheese because it’s creamier and melts beautifully – if you know what I mean. You can even use both cheeses if you want! Maybe I’ll try that next time.

Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes at 180°C, then increase the temperature to 200°C to brown the cheese for 5 minutes.

And it’s done!

This creamy cheesy goodness makes a great side dish.

Kthxbai!