Inspiration

Always love the display of cakes at the cake shop. It always give me the inspiration to bake.

I cannot remember when and where I saw this but it got me all hipped up to bake.

Nevertheless, went to do some research and yes, tried this cake twice.

The top layer of raspberry puree was a little hard due to a little too much of gelatine on my first try. The second time was alot better when the gelatine was lessen.

The fun part about making this is puzzling them together. The sponge on the bottom, strawberries on the side, piping the vanilla creme and placing the strawberries inside and the final step, pouring the raspberry puree on the top before going into the fridge.

Of course, when the time comes to removing the tray and the outlook of it. Tada!!

Pretty happy with it.

I am sure I can do better the next time ; )

Next reason for baking

What's next after Christmas?? New Year

Inbetween these occasions, do I really need a reason to bake? NOPE!

Feeling chocolatey - chocolate mousse cake. Easy fast and just minmum baking.

Instead of a chocolate sponge based, I have decided to go with Vanilla sponge base. Chocolate mousse with a few strawberries and chocolate macron made a week before.

Last Christmas - 2011

I was cracking up my brain cells thinking what to bake for Christmas last year. Should it be the usual carrot cake? fruit cake?
It drives me nuts and finally - my all time favourite christmas is white snow, crimson red. I have decided on strawberry shortcake. Vanilla sponge, with light cream and fresh strawberries in the inside and white light cream with berries and not forgetting Mr Santa!!

Felt really happy making this!! I can still remember the moment of jingle joy and Christmas was really here.

Dinner was by Sharon

Morzzarella with cherry tomato

Pate

Salad

Turkey by Emmanuela

Memorial Christmas - 2011



Back where I LEFT

My Gosh!! It has been more than a year since I last update this blog. Not that I have stop baking, cooking or left totally......it is just as it is.

I am fortunate to have good friends who cook. I have not been starving - haha!!  Not just any cook but really great food. From companionship to great food, what's more to ask.

A hot favorite by a good friend, Emmanuela - Paella

Simply Eclair

I am finally back to updating my blog. Not that I have stopped baking. It's just ....the usual busy, tired kind of stuff.

Back to the main topic - Eclair.

I am not a big fan of ready canned powered custard. It could be just me. I like the smell and feel of real vanilla pod with loads of seeds in the pod infused into the milk and with egg yolks made into fresh smooth textured pastry cream.....i dont get tired of this stuff but of course weight is something to watch!

These eclairs are also wonderful to watch as the choux pastry starts to rise in the oven. It is literally light and empty in the middle. I feel extremely happy as it rises...you must be thinking I am nuts!

Serious! I am not nuts at all. It just tells me that everything that I have done is right and fine.

I will always prepare the cream first and store it in clean, dry and properly sealed container in the fridge to keep it cool....since this is made with fresh milk, I do not want any contamination.....yup!

Chocolate ganache is prepared next and while it is cooling, I will start pipping the pastry cream into the choux pastry. Finally, dip the top of the eclairs into the chocolate ganache.

Back into the cold fridge again. It is nice when the chocolate ganache hardens and they are consumed cold.

One thing about these eclairs - they takes up lots of space. Can't stack them on top of one another. But, well .... trust me. It is just worth it.

Making this Saturday again for Sunday Easter Get today.

What's next....yes, Laura's Orange Cupcakes....makes me a proud and happy mom!

Spagetti

I have so many recipe books that at times I will read and go wow...yum....would love to get my hands on them but at the end - a moment of inspiration that dies off.

Anyway, I was so tired of eating the usual chinese food and decided to put my hands into cooking Spagetti. My family loves Italian food and spagetti is something that is fast and everyone has to be at the table before the food is served. It is always yummy, yum, yum when it hot.

Have been keeping this Italian cookbook for the pass 14 years. Bought it in Norway back then. Strange - Italian book bought in Norway!!

Well, decided to make good use of it finanlly.

Cooked Carbonara with funghi porini (present from my girlfriend who went to Italy). Did not take any pictures as we were all hungry, excited and ate it up before I remembered my usual photo session before each meal I make. ; (

Well, not all lost. It gave me the inspiration to cook once again and this time....REMEMBER THE CAMERA!! cooking because of a photo...aiya, ya!

Decided to have different ingredients but similar steps with the Carbonara....cream base. I have salmon, watercress, fish roe, bacon bits and lots of parmesan cheese....its nice but still prefer the Carbonara with funghi porini. It is so, so nice... really the porini is just so flavourful, earthy. I can still remember how it taste.

Will definitely have to do 1 more Carbonara with Funghi Porini......and this time with a picture!!

No Monday Blues!

Do you get Monday Blues?

I did not today. I know I will not because I have some pastry cream that I had made on
Sunday sitting in the fridge waiting patiently for me.

Pastry cream is wonderful. It can be used to made fruit tart, cream puffs ......

With some strawberries and blueberries in the fridge, it will just do. It could have been better if I have peaches as well.

Usually, I would put the flour and cold butter in the freezer overnight before making but since it wa a last minute thing, I combine the ingredients and left it in the fridge for about 2 hours before rolling it to fill the flan tin. I also left it in the freezer for 5 minutes before blind baking.

It turned out well. Ate the whole tart for dessert after dinner.....not alone.