Happy B'day, Laura!

Happy Birthday to U

Happy Birthday to U

Happy Birthday to Laura.....

Happy Birthday to U

Brownies

Will be super busy tomorrow and Friday. Laura has a stall this Saturday at Ikea Tampines Christmas Bazaar. This is her second Bazaar. It will be another good opportunity for my children to experience how running a stall is like.

We have been discussing on what we should or like to do this year. As agreed, chocolate chip and cranberry cookies are a must (just like last year's bazaar) and we will be having chocolate brownies as well this year.

Have not bake brownies for a while so Laura and myself have decided to make some to make sure it is good for sales.

A lot of preparation - logistics, packaging, labels....etc.

Well, will not be updating my blog till after the Bazaar.

Teeny Weeny Little Buns

Just realised that I have not been updating this hobby of mine....not that I have stopped baking since October. I have been so busy with Loraine's PSLE exam.

Made 2 types of buns for breakfast couple of weeks ago - plain and cranberries.

The plain ones were nice with butter and jam which the children like. The adults prefer the cranberries. I like them both.

I can eat 2 each for breakfast with coffee.

Burger Power

I was given the task of preparing dinner over the weekend. I am not so much into cooking Chinese food. I can stir fry vegetables, prepare pork rib soup and so on but I don't enjoy doing it.

When I was given the task of preparing dinner...aiya....what to do???

After much thought, burger it will be!! I was very much a happier person preparing dinner ;))

Marinated thinly sliced pork collar with pesto (fresh basil from the garden blended with garlic, olive oil, nut, salt and pepper). I put a layer of pesto on the portobello mushroom.

In a heated oven, a mixed of onion, portobello mushrooms and capsicums were put to bake till soft and cooked through.

As with the pork, they were pan fried very quickly with olive oil.

That's it. Ensemble the whole burger with lettuce and a spread of sauce to select from.

Dinner is SERVED - hands on.....It was fun for the children.

Apple Tarte Tatin

I was doing my grocery at the Tampines Giant couple of days ago and bought 5 Granny Simith Apples. Usually, apples are blended and with one gulp....I am done. This time round I have been coming across quite a numnber of Tarte Tatin and liked the idea of making one.

I have always like cinnamon with apples. It just gives this nice aroma.

I have never ran out of flour in the house...except once, I ran out of Gold Medal Unbleached Bread Flour. It was quite a nightmare. Bread Flour, Plain Flour, Pastry Flour, Corn Flour, Tapicoa Flour, Rice Flour....to think about it, I have lots of different flour in the house....once my friend asked me if I can finish the flour, because her flour always expire before she even knew it. It used to happen to me but not these days ever since I started baking.

I have at least 5 blocks of butter stock in the fridge all the time. I usually buy eggs in 30s.

Wow....I am enjoying this blog. In 10 or perhaps 20 years time, reading this blog will give me sweet memories of my hobby. Why am I writing about flour and butter??

I am constantly thinking what's next?

Apple Tarte Tatin, so it is next! Bought 5 gorgeous green (my favourite colour)apples and made APPLE TARTE TATIN for dessert.

How was the taste?

Comment : The apples with the carmelised sugar was a little sweet but eaten with the crust, it was alright. but I will be cutting down the sugar the next time I bake this again and perhaps go with vanilla ice cream.

Dark Chocolate Cake

I have been making dark chocolate cake recently. I think it was like 3 times with different recipes but similar methods. Hmm.....I have quite a number of critics at home so result is crucial! Sounds so serious. Well, I enjoy making and getting the right one that everyone enjoy at home. It is of great satisfaction and a great recipe to keep.

I have 2 photos. The top one with banana and ganache is my latest and also the one with the thumbs up. The slice below with just a strawberry is my very first try. From the look of both slices, I definitely like the top slice.

It was exciting making this cake. It has NO baking powder, NO baking soda and it is flourless. No added additives is something that I always look forward to in a recipe especially home baking and cooking. I don't want to feed the body with all these stuff.

You might want to try this recipe too.

125g butter
200g chocolate (70% cocoa solid)
8 medium eggs, separated
200g golden caster sugar

1)Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease and line a 23cm springform cake tin.

2)Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.

3)Put egg yolks and sugar and whisk until pale, thick and mousse-like, then whisk in the chocolate mixture.

4)Whisk the egg whites in a clean, grease-free bowl until soft peaks form. Add a third to the chocolate mixture and fold in, using a large metal spoon. Add the remaining whisked egg whites and fold in carefully.

5)Immediately pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about 40 - 50 mins (it really depends on your oven. The receipe asked to bake for an hour 15 mins but I can't. It will burn)

The centre will sink in when it cools. While it is cooling, let's make ganache!

100g chocolate (50% cocoa solid)
75ml double cream
25g butter

Put all the ingredients in a bowl set over simmering water. That's it, Ganache is done once all the ingredients are mixed well together. It should be glossy.

Once the cake is cooled, place it on serving plate.I added some bananas before pouring the ganache over it.

We tried the cake in 3 ways, when it is cool(room temperature), cold (directly from the fridge and after about 5 minutes from the fridge. The vote goes to have it about 5 mins after taking out from the fridge. This cake is really nice with some whipped cream to balance the chocolate.

The next time round, I will add some raspberries instead bananas. Hmm....can't wait to make another one of this cake!

Happy Truffles

Do you like Truffles? I love bitter chocolate, 55%, 70% and even up to 80%. I love fruts in vanilla yogurt and top with shaved chocolate... yum! Better not think too much of it. I don't have any yogurt now.

Choclate always make the children HAPPY and I thought having them in colours and added flavour will be even more fun. Besides, cocoa powder, coconut flakes and sugar hearts, I have also made some in green tea, orange, icing sugar as well. We ate them before we remembered to take any pixs...so sad :(

Well, look on the bright side. More truffles on the way.

You might like to put your hands in it too.

100g plain chocolate
3tbsp double cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
15g butter

Put all the ingredients in a bowl and melt over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally.
Let chocolate mixture cool, then put it in the fridge. Stir every 5 minutes or so until the mixture is thick and fudgy.
For each truffle, roll a teaspoon of the fudge mixture into a ball in your hands (it must be done quickly, don't want it to melt).
Then, roll it in cocoa powder, coconut flakes or any flavours you like.

Have fun! My girls love to make these little truffles and especially eating them.

Sunday Night Pizza

Pizza is reaily fun to make. Especially the toppings, you can be as creative as you want.

I would usually make 2 big pizzas for dinner. One Hawaiian and the other is up to the girls creativity. We had some button mushrooms added to the Hawaiian. Lots of mozzarella and parmesan cheese melted on the top of the pizza...it was delicious.

The second pizza was with bacon and tomato. We decided to put a layer of cheese on the base of the pizza and top up with button mushrooms, bacon and cherry tomato....it was also great.

The base is like making bread. To make 2 big base, just sift 225grams of bread flour, 15oml of water, 2 tablespoon olive oil and 7gram of yeast. Add all the ingredients together and knead for about 30 minutes. Knead into a ball and leave to rest for an hour cover with a piece of cloth. It is best to place in a warm place, it will rise faster.

When it doubles in size, punch it down and divide into 2 portion for 2 pans.

Roll and shape into pan size and leave for another half an hour or so. When oven is 200 degrees, add toppings and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes till the cheese is slightly brown.

Nothing beats your own pizza. You can be generous over your toppings!

Choux Pastry

No Green Tea Chiffon.....I have decided to make Vanilla and Green Tea Cream Puffs instead.

My mom likes the Green Tea version. It has the flavour of Green Tea, not too sweet. I am ok with both. The Vanilla is more original. I used vanilla pod and infused with the milk so the flavour of vanilla was strong. I like it. No artifical flavourings.

The Green Tea powder was expensive. I bought a $6.40 bottle the last time from Parkway Parade for my Green Tea Tiramisu and this time round I bought a $20 bottle from Takashimaya to try the difference. There is a difference but for baking, I don't think it is necessary to get such expensive one. A bottle is only 20gram!!

Well, I tried making Durian Puffs some time ago with fresh durian. I love Durian so I had a fun time making and eating them!! yum, durian...feel like having
DURIAN!!

Once again, I added fresh fruits and chocolate sauce over the Vanilla Cream Puffs. If I have some red bean paste, I think it would be nice to go with the Green Tea Puffs.

The next time, I shall make Eclairs.

DeStreSS DeSSert TherapHY

Some people eat to DeStreSS, I love to BaKe to DeStreSS....actually, stress is a mindset...to me. It's an excuse, I just love to bake. I have a range of recipe books just infront of my sofa so each time I sit down to relax, I CANNOT!! I will be looking through the books and that's it, I am busy again - 70% of the time, I will be in the kitchen unless I do not have the ingredients that the receipe calls for. Then, I can relax.....;0)

I will be making a Green Tea Chiffon Cake either today or tomorrow. Have not tried putting my hands on one of this cake. Hmm......I cannot wait!

Thursday Fruit Tart

I am back to the kitchen once again. This time it is fruit tart. Infact, I did 3 deserts over last weekend for my friends, Chris, Pat and their daughter, Bam. I made, Green Tea Tiramisu, Vanilla Cream Puffs and Palova. Unfortunately, no time for any photos!

I have peaches, blueberries and strawberries in the fridge so I made a Vanilla Cream Fruit Tart today. It is not too heavy. It has lots of fruits in it. You can hardly see the cream, fruits covered the tart. It made me happy.....should have glaze the fruits tho. It would have looked prettier ;)

Teddy Bear - Laura

Laura attended a bread-making course last June Holiday. She was elated when she learnt about the class I registered for her. It was a surprise!

She was the youngest among adults and 2 other children who were aged 12 and 13. She was in class for 4 hours. I went about half an hour ealier before her lesson ends. I had a good chat with the teacher. I was happy that Laura enjoyed herself, she is able to join the adults and was independent. The teacher were impressed with her knowledge and technique on bread.

The bread was delicious. She made some at home a couple of weeks ago. It was slightly dark on the outside due to the temperature control but the inside was soft...so much better than my first try at making bread. Infact, I was impressed and proud of her :)

Keep it up, Laura ;o)

Cheese Cake

Putting my hands on cheese cake over the weekend. I like my cheese cake cheesey and lemony. This recipe is not that difficult to do. Ingredients are easily found in supermarkets.

As usual, I love to top my cakes with strawberries and blueberries. If you have notice, most of my cakes have berries in them....call me berry if you like..ha!

Try your hands on this recipe:

(A)
500g Cream Cheese
125g Castor Sugar
15g Golden Syrup

(B)
160g Eggs
20g Egg Yok
1drop Vanilla Essence

(C)
180g Dairy Cream
Lemon Juice of 1 whole lemon

Steps:
(1) Cream (A) together
(2) Add (B) to (A) bit by bit.
(C) Mix Lemon Juice with Dairy Cream and add into step (2)

For the Base:

54g Unsalted butter
3g Icing Sugar
24g Castor Sugar
4 g Milk
180g Flour
1drop Vanilla Essence
15g Ground Almond

Put Sugar, Icing Sugar and Butter into Flour, Ground Almond and do the rub in method.
Add in Milk and Vanilla Essence. Make into a ball. Press it into your ring size. Cut and bake at 180 for about 15 mins.

Once base is done, pour in cheese mixture and steam bake at 170 for 40 mins. Most important thing: Ring size is 9"

I like to drizzle strawberry sauce on my cheese cake.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Layered Cake

I am so tied down with so much things lately and I just need to destress!!
Red and delicious strawberries, raspberries and blueberries... the colours just brightens me up!

Everthing seems perfect. I started to think about what I have baked previously and
realised that I have been baking my cakes in rectangle shape. This time, round will be fantastic. :o)

Decided to bake a vanila sponge this time round. Had my sponge cut into 3 round layers. Spread cream and put halves strawberries inbetween layers. I would usually refrigerate it for about 15 minutes before finishing the outside deco.

With the final product. More cream and toped with fruits.

Hmm...ok, pretty happy with this look!!

Tiramisu

I am a lover of cakes, dessert. I really have to watch my weight....nevertheless, who can resist TIRAMISU.

An Italian dessert - sponge fingers dipped with coffee and liquor layered with mascarpone cheese.

I have put my hands twice on this dessert - Greet Tea Tiramisu and Chocolate Tiramisu. The first time was alright. I wasn't very happy about it. According to the recipe, I am supposed to dip both ends of the sponge fingers into the Green Tea but there wasn't enough of the Green Tea flavour. I will very much prefer it stronger.

The second time, I went all the way out and dipped the whole sponge finger into the Green Tea. It was so, so much better. I liked the bitter taste of the Green Tea and the sweetness of the mascarpone cheese.

When I made the Chocolate Tiramisu, I just dipped the sponge fingers into the chocolate liquor - no need to be conservative about it....

Yu Sheng

Happy New Year!!

Well, I am still not too late. Chinese New Year will not be over till this Sunday, 28/02/2010.

I had Yu Sheng 6 times already and there will be 2 more to go over the next few days...hmm...I love Yu Sheng - Chinese Salad.

Every Chinese Year, my neighbour, Dolly will make us a huge plate of Yu Sheng. It is really nice. As usual, I can't help myself I have to ask her to teach me! Without hesitation, she gave me the recipe. I have made Yu Sheng for the pass 2 years ever since. Although, she had taught me, she still make for us (really nice of her).

Edward's Birthday!

It was Edward's Birthday on 3rd Feb !

I had been cracking my head if I should cook or go out for dinner. Finally, cooking was the best option as the children have school the next day. We did not want to have too late a night out.

We had onion soup, followed with strawberry salad with speck and haloumi. Lamb cutlets with Basil Sauce for main and of course a surprise cake for Edward....hee.

His friends actually organised a football game on that evening and he had to give it a miss because of our little home celebration for him. Because of that, the children and I decided to give him a surpise on his cake.....hee, hee!

Anyway, it was a vanilla sponge cake. This time round I went along with kiwi fruit inbetween the layer cake instead of strawberry.

By the way, the recipe for the strawberry salad was taken from Jamie Oliver's website. The strawberries were cut and marinated with balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt and black pepper. It was really nice, it drew out the flavour of the straberry ... I would usually have strawberries fresh but this has totally changed my view on strawberries. I love the speck but haloumi cheese is not really my kind of cheese tho.

The website is jamieoliver.com/recipes/salad-recipes/strawberry-salad-with-speck-and-halloumi

Infact, the onion soup and lamb cutlet were also Jamie oliver's recipe. The cake is from the same recipe as the Chocolate Raspberry Roll. The chocolate was omitted and 1 tablespoon of vanilla essence was added instead. I had it shaped according to the cake board I have.

It was pretty tiring but I had fun in the kitchen!

Chocolate Fondue

Thinking of doing something really easy for dessert. No baking, No mixing, No standing too long in the kitchen!

Chocolate Fondue is just great. No fuss, everyone loves chocolate (who don't). I have strawberries (as usual), blue berries, banana, mashmellow and ice cream.

Converture Chocolate of at least 55% is perfect - not too sweet and alittle bitter. Melted and pour into the Fondue set. Have the fruits washed and dried. Dessert's ready in snap shot 15 minutes....yum! who can resist CHOCOLATE!

Laura's Baking Fun!

Creme Caramel

It has been more than a week since I last baked.....the children have been asking : What's for dessert?

Finally, we agreed on creme caramel. I have 6 eggs, 1 litre of milk, 300g sugar, 1 vanilla bean...great. Everything I needed.

I liked the colour of the caramel. You might like to try this too.



1. Pre-heat the oven to 150 degree C.

2. Melt 100g of sugar in a sauce pan on medium heat. Melt sugar till a golden brown liquid.

3. Pour the caramel in individual ramekins and set aside.

4. In a sauce pan, bring the milk with vanilla bean to boil and then remove from the heat.

5. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs with 200g of sugar until blended. Slowly pour the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture while still stirring. Pour this mix over the caramel in the individual ramekins.

6. Put the ramekins in a shallow baking dish. Pour boiling water into the dish to reach half way up the sides.

7. Bake for 30 minutes until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature before placing them in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

8. Slide a knife along the inside edge of the ramekins, swiftly turn it over onto a dessert plate.

9. Enjoy!

This blog is like a diary to me. With the photos, I get to remember what I have baked. It's a great hobby.