FoodGirl

Tang Zhong Buns.....

2012-01-16T17:54:00.000-08:00

I baked these a long time ago.
Just didn't had enough time to put them up.

Burnt. haha....

I know I'm not professional, but I'm trying my best to take my best shots. ^^

Back with some deliciousness...

2011-12-12T07:11:00.000-08:00

Nothing special.
Just want to share these pictures to any of you who's reading this.

Molten inside.I just can't resist..

I'm not gonna write a lot of things in the future,
one of the reason is I'm not really good at it.
but I certainly will put up some food photos.

Most of them will be sweet baked goods.
Thanks for reading this.
It means a lot to me.^^

All cleared up. Craving for more... :)

Cantonese Tea-time pleasure...蛋塔

2011-03-20T06:28:00.000-07:00

蛋塔egg tart or egg custard tart (commonly romanized as dan ta) is a pastry commonly found in Hong Kong and other Asian countries, which consists of an outer pastry crust that is filled with egg custard and baked. (adapted form wikipedia)

蛋塔--我婆婆烘培的秘密武器

我婆婆是世上最可愛的婆婆。
現在的老人家都會說怕甜。
我的婆婆不一樣。我的婆婆是一個愛吃糖的老人家。
她傢的冰廚都會有一大堆糖果。
我們那麽年輕都會覺得吃mentos會粘牙，可是我帶假牙的婆婆卻沒有這個問題。
我婆婆很喜歡吃巧克力，她喜歡的是牛奶巧克力。
上次被我看到冰廚有一包巧克力，我偷偷拿了幾粒，竟然被她看見。我還以爲她會罵我，結果她要我把整包都拿回去。還好我及時拒絕了。其實我很想。hehe.

她不喜歡黑巧克力，她說不甜，不好吃。結果全部塞給我。
我當時興奮死了。

你有看過哪一個老人家特別喜歡吃巧克力冰淇淋的嗎？我婆婆就是。
還記得那次我們在她傢吃飽晚飯了,她很興奮地問我們要不要吃巧克力冰淇淋....

婆婆以前常常都會做蛋塔給我們一家大小。
她做的蛋塔跟外面賣的很不一樣。
不知道爲什麽，婆婆的蛋塔就是有一種說不出的特別。
我有嘗試問過她，可不可以給我她的食譜。她告訴我，她沒有食譜。我還以爲她要保持神秘。
還記得上次，婆婆在家要做蛋塔，我們三姐妹都很興奮說要幫忙，我也趁這次的機會記下她的秘訣。
結果，婆婆竟然真的沒有食譜。She eye-balled everything! 我不知道如何記下來。
她真的超傳統的，隨便用一個mug來量一兩，二兩這樣。我根本都不知道什麽是一兩二兩！說真的，這才是師傅的風範。
到現在，大概已經過了三年。我的婆婆身體沒有像當年那麽‘行’了，能夠進廚房炒菜已經是很大突破了。我有問過她：“阿嫲，你幾時還可以做蛋塔給我們呀？”。她竟然跟我說：“這麽粗重的工作，我做不到了呀，下次你來做我在旁邊講就好了。”
聼了這番話，我真的感覺到歲月被時光奪去是那麽的短暫。
我，
真的要好好珍惜跟婆婆相處的日子了。

附上食譜吧....

Cantonese Egg tart Recipe

(makes 6 tarts)

Filling:
1 whole egg
1 egg white
3 tbsp castor sugar
1/2 cup (125ml) boiling hot water
3 tbsp (45ml) evaporated milk

Dissolve the sugar in the boiling water and cool it until just warm to touch. Add in the remaining ingredients and whisk lightly, thoroughly combined but not foamy. Strain it twice into a spouted jug.

Pastry:
1 cup (110g) plain flour
60g butter, cubed
2 tbsp icing sugar
Small dash of vanilla extract
1 egg yolk

Pulse everything except the egg yolk in a food processor until crumbly and that the largest piece of butter is the size of a green pea. Add in the yolk and pulse a while until crumbly and combined a little. Pour them out into a large bowl and Mix with your finger tip to gather them. Dribble in a little of the filling mixture as you go and stop when everything is combined and you get a soft dough.

You can chill it at this stage but I find it unnecessary. Roll them out on a flour-dusted surface to just 5mm thick. Press the circles into the fluted mould and set aside and repeat. For the last mould, I gather everything together and form a ball, lightly flatten it and press it into the tart mould as even as possible.

Pour the filling over and bake it in a preheated oven of 200°C. When you pop the tart in, turn the heat down to 180°C and bake until it is just slightly wobbling at the centre. Remove it from the oven and it will continue cooking. When you unmould it while it is warm, the filling sets just right.

Serve warm.

Dad,Happy Birthday....

2011-02-18T08:14:00.000-08:00

Yay! Happy birthday to Dad!

Ugly on the outside but Gooey...on the inside.
Oh so good........

Look Out! The Lava is OOZING OUT!!

星期二，15thFebuary，也就是火辣辣情人節的第二天。
那天，是我親愛的爸爸55大壽。
該算是大壽吧？都已經是五字頭了。
今年我爸爸的生日過得超“富豪”的。他竟然要到高不可攀的高級牛扒餐廳
---THE SHIP，吃晚餐也！
前幾天晚上問他要怎麽慶祝的時候聽到這個答案，我傢三姐妹都驚訝得目瞪口呆。
但是試想想下又覺得不誇張，爸爸都五十幾嵗人了，去高級餐廳吃東西的次數連五根手指都嫌少。作爲女兒的我們是不是應該敬老，報恩呢？
Seriously say,父母的恩我們是永遠都報不完的。不過我覺得我們該要盡我們的全力去討他們開心.....
雖然有時他們常常get不到我們這一代年輕的笑話，
有時甚至連一句話都要重復三四次，
有時也會覺得他們的動作很摸...很慢，
講話ngam-cham 也要重復講幾次.....

但是回想起來，
當年
我們小的時候，
我們既不是一直問這個問那個，
他們回答了我們，我們還是繼續問。
有時我們的動作太過快，太活躍，蹦蹦跳跳的，
他們也不是要花費體力把我們抓回來...

想著想著，
請他吃一餐，算什麽？
我請過他們多少餐？
我自己又吃了他們多少餐？
我人長這麽大，是誰把我喂來的？

爸爸說，那餐最讓他開心的是
我們一家人在一起的時光。
Not an Ordinary時光,
是和和氣氣的，沒有吵鬧憤怒妒嫉狠毒dan lain lain...
這是很難得的。
對我們來說，真的是很難得的。
說真的，在家裏有哪一天是不會發生爭執的？
應該說，
只要有人在一起一段時間都會有不和現象發生。----------凱羚不合現象定律。

我真得很希望每一天，seriously,每一天，
上帝的同在，合睦，喜樂，是每一天的，大大的，充滿我們。

好，講回來，這粒小蛋糕。
話説，今年是我重要人生考試之期。
本來已經被媽媽限制不能常常進去廚房，再加上今年考試的壓力，
我更加不用想好好的投入學習我的烘培興趣了。
不過這次因爲是我傢老大生日，至少要做一點簡單的糕點以誠敬意一下。
我老豆平時最喜歡我熱熱出爐的產品，還有他最喜歡吃乳烙蛋糕。
熱熱出爐的產品，我第一個就想到這個爆漿巧克力蛋糕。
乳烙蛋糕製作過程比起這個巧克力蛋糕複雜一點（雖然是很容易），
所以我決定 give this Lava Cake a SHOT!

Recipe adapted from Min's blog.
食谱： (3份） (参考蓝赛珍的‘我会烘焙’)

A:

牛油 70g
黑巧克力，切小块 70g

细糖 45g
香草精 1/2tsp
鸡蛋，打散 2个
盐 1/8tsp

面粉，过筛 28g

材料A隔水加热煮至溶解及滑，离火，冷后加入材料B搅拌至光滑。
加入材料C, 搅拌至均匀（不可搅拌太久）。
准备3个耐热的小玻璃碗，涂上油，将巧克力混合料倒入碗至3/4满。
放入预热160'C的烤箱，烤大概12-15分钟至外层凝固但布丁中心依然滑润而且有点凹陷的形状。
让布丁放5分钟稍冷，用小刀在边沿环绕一圈，小心将布丁取出。
趁热享用。

我還特地爲了這個爆漿蛋糕製作了homemade milky Ice cream.
熱熱的爆漿蛋糕配上冷冷creamy的雪糕，
真是人間美味啊！
我知道，這個甜點與配搭本來應該是給將來的阿納塔的，
不過，我爸爸也是我的阿納達啊，家人version的啦！

半夜十一點多從BukitBintang回家拍的照。
大家都很累了，但是臉上的笑容還是燦爛的真實。

Let's have some chocolates...

2011-02-14T01:29:00.000-08:00

It's Valentines Day.

For me, it's chocolate-exchanging-day.
Today,some received a lot of chocolates, probably the popular,funny and active one.
But, some with just a few,
some didn't even get a piece of jelly bean.

Tonight you might see a lot of couples walking on the street,
sweet hearts kissing each other,
males making females happy with flowers, or maybe boyfriends cooking for their honeys.

Obviously, I'm not one of them. I'm with the 'Singles' .
Valentine's Day means friendship day for singles.Don't misunderstand me! I'm proud of being single in my age right now.
I love my friends, and I love chocolates.
So in this very Romantic atmosphere...
I decided to make some chocolate truffles for my lovely classmates.

A lot of people spent a lot of money in buying chocolates.
Let me tell you, don't let Forrero Rocher or Cadbury or maybe Lindt earn your money .(I know, they taste wonderfullllllllll....) You can make your own. You can even arrange the portion.

I know , maybe homemade truffles aren't that pretty and professional as the store boughts. I know they cannot compare with forrero rocher... (because Forrero s are really THAT GOOD).
But the meaning of Valentines Day or should I say, Friendship day , isn't how tasty the chocolates are (yea....quite.....), or how fancy looking your gifts are...
It's about your sincere.

Certainly now is too late for making Valentines treat.
You can make them next year, if the world hasn't End. (yea, next year is 2012!! haha)

I made basic truffles. Tutorials from here.

Maybe a Chocolatier will be my valentine in the future.....maybe....?

Mmm...Coated with cocoa powder.....Imagine how chocolaty it is.....

cracked surface.

Obviously I made a mistake on these truffles. Too low temperature of refrigeration.I refrigerate them in the freezer...because at that time I was in a hurry for my favorite drama....hehe.

Maybe my photos aren't professional enough, but....at least... They're Wayyyy better than before which is taken with WebCam....(YaAAOOW !~)

Akhirnya, lagipun......selamat hari valentine.

Unusual ingredient in my Dessert cup

2011-02-02T08:28:00.000-08:00

It has been some time in my to-make-list.

Does it look anything different from a normal chocolate pudding?
Does it look appetizing if I shaved some garnishes?
What do you think about Vegan food?

I first thought that Vegans are eating weird tasting food. I'm a vegetarian but I never leave my milk and my ice cream away from me.( oh ya, and chocolates too)

Last week I went to Supermarket with my mum to stock up some New Year gifts. Then I walked by a section that sells veges and beans product.
I saw ''SILKEN TOFU'' was on sell for 0.98 sens per!!

I know you probably think that Tofu is disgusting. Me myself is an Asian but I hate tofu so much....But I love Soya milk so much ....it's weird right? Probably because it's sweet...hmmm...
Anyway, back to the topic.
I remembered a recipe making Chocolate pudding with Tofu. Since It was so cheap for sell I bought a piece back home.
I started my experiment on the next day. I was worried about the taste..as I said, I actually thought that Vegan foods are weird tasting.

But I was wrong.
They were good.......
They kept me eating from one scoop to another....
They taste like chocolate soya milk...Which is gooood....
Not just great tasting, they're GOOD FOR YOU too!!

If you've never tried this Chocolate pudding, give it a try! Don't be afraid, It's good!

I've made this chocolate pudding without chocolates, instead I used cocoa powder and Raw honey.

Chocolate ''ToFudding''
1 packet of silken tofu
3 tablespoons of cocoa powder (feel free to add more)
3 tablespoons of raw honey (again, feel free to add more)

-Drain the tofu.
-Blend the tofu in a processor until smooth pudding pudding like texture.
-Sift in cocoa powder and add in the honey.
-Blend until they're well mixed. They should be smooth and silky.
-Refrigerate them until they're cold enough to serve.
-before serving, remember to garnish them so that they look more appetizing. Don't be like me....haha.

CNY=CookiesNewYear!

2011-02-01T17:23:00.000-08:00

It's Chinese New Year.And what does that mean? There's tons of cookies to bake.

And also , time to get fat.
There are boxes and boxes of cookies serving in every household.
You can't resist the smell, the taste of those cookies.
There are many kinds of them, chocolate, butter, peanut, cashew, chicken floss rolls,pineapple tarts,........(to infinity)
My favorite is Chocolate Meringue cookies.Which is not that fattening but taste so good.
Anyhoo, this year, I baked a batch of cookies...just a batch..And it disappeared within 2 days. Good Lord I took this pictures earlier, or else I couldn't share it with you guys.

It's everyone's favorite German Butter Cookies.
Last post I said It wasn't that good because I replaced the potato starch with rice flour...I thought it will be okay but I was wrong.
This time with potato starch makes a big difference.
When the cookie goes into your mouth, it melts and it won't stick under your teeth.
This is why we will gain a few pounds...Eating it is un-stoppable.

It's incredibly easy to make and taste incredibly good. If you never make these before, you must. I say, you MUST.

Obviously, this is a chocolate chip cookie. I used Alton Brown's recipe. It turned out quite good, but for me and my family, it's a little too sweet. Feel free to cut down the sugar if you're making them.
Actually I baked these with my friend Sook Ting. We're shooting a video to promote our new club, Sweet dessert club.
Probably this blog will soon be posting a lot of product made in our class.

Actually I don't really have faith in myself...because I'm not professional and I'm not a teacher...How can I teach?
The fact I'm still doing this is because there's a quite professional partner teaching together with me...Sook ting, you made my day!

Okay, another cookie I'm sharing is my Mum's Chinese Peanut Cookies.
Ye, the ultimate MELT-IN-YOUR-MOUTH cookie...You don't really need your teeth to eat these cookies.
My mum baked these cookies last year and still baking them this year...Because it's too good! (and easy too!)
She cut down the sugar and oil in the recipe, taste great...no, better!!

Ya ,share with me your links about your cookies in this Chinese new year...or should I say, Cookies new year....

Excuse me I need to fix my cookie cravings right now. hehe.
Happy Chinese New Year to everyone .

Yes! Finally!

2011-01-21T04:02:00.000-08:00

Chocolate Oreo bites cupcakes

Finally..I am able to post this on blogger.
This is the FIRST ever post with my FIRST ever SLR food shots!!

I wanted to post this long time ago, but because of the bad connection, it was really hard to upload such big files.
Anyhoo......... THIS IS SO COOL!
Okay I know I 'm being silly right now.

I actually baked these batches of cupcakes on December2010 for christmas giveaway.
Well, I guess now you know how old these pictures are.

My big -ass lemon poppyseed cupcakes

Aren't they cute? My sister shoot these for me. She's quite professional....to me I guess.

The super-buttery Germany butter cookies
I adapted these from Min'sBlog.
My family didn't really like these cookies. These cookie shots aren't really good looking either.

Well I'm just sharing my ''first ever'' ,
Hope you guys like them.

我们也来过冬咯~

2010-12-23T04:31:00.000-08:00

一年一度的圣诞节快到了。在我们马来西亚众多节日之中，我最喜欢圣诞节了。
圣诞节的气氛特别温馨。这个佳节的装饰品也特别美，金光闪闪的。
挂满装饰亮晶晶的圣诞树，兄弟姐妹齐齐去报佳音，还有收到满满的礼物....

圣诞节的前三天，我和我一家到我婆婆那里去“过冬”。
“虽然马来西亚的圣诞不下雪，但是我感觉到一种爱的力量，从天那段开始蔓延，我知道那是....”耶稣！！！！哈哈，歌词歌词。不过我真的这样觉得啦。

婆婆虽然行动不怎么方便，但她还是逞强自己煮了一大锅莲藕汤还有一大锅汤圆糖水。啊，爱的力量。

婆婆精心炮制的汤圆糖水。

我们吃了一顿没有火鸡的圣诞大餐.....满足。吃饱后咱们拍了很多有趣的照片。

噢！说到照片，很感动地说..... 我们终于..... 终于.....!!!!!! 有新的SLR相机了！！！！！！！

这是我第一次，post上属于茹家的SLR相机拍的照片。
感谢天父，听我们一家的祷告。愿荣耀都归于神....

Hey,Sweet 16

2010-11-30T08:08:00.000-08:00

The curve, Damansara.

Yay! My birthday!
Actually it was 2 weeks ago but I still think that it is worth to be posted.
Although I typed ''sweet 16'' on the top, actually it was just an ordinary day spent with my family and had dinner in my favorite restaurant.

(I know it's small) Can you see the cow in the picture?
That's where my favorite restaurant is.
Marche move and pick restaurant.
They served their food fresh. But.....Yeahh....Quite expensive.
It was not worth it, but, what the heck, IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY!
Once in a blue moon that's all....
(Dad, I promise I won't eat there again. except for special occasion)

My dad didn't really like the food in Marche. It's too ''france-y'' or maybe ''italy-y''(????!!) for him. (I wonder is Marche a france based restaurant?)
So He saved his stomach and went back to the Malaysia cuisine. This, is PappaRich.

My special treat of the day: Chocolate shake.
not just an ordinary chocolate shake,
It was my first beverage in a high-class cafe---Theobroma Chocolate Lounge
(For me, Starbucks is high-class enough. This cafe? It's for the RICHES)

It tasted extra ordinary chocolate-y. Or should I say, very rich in cocoa taste.
I loved loved loved it!!! still LOVIN' IT!

For my birthday present, my Dad bought me this.........................
Electronic scale. Actually, I begged him to buy it for me...hahaha.
Anyway, It was great. Thanks a lot Dad.

This is my granny's hand mixer. haha. quite old.

I tested my new scale with measuring my cookie ingredients.
I found the butter shortbread recipe from my mum's cookbook.
Quite aged. Originally from England.

I shaped the hearts for each member of my family. Haha.

I added some chocolate chips in them. It was buttery and crunchy.

Oh well, this is the end of my post. Hope I'll get a sweet 18...at least.

Bread Experiment with TangZhong method 我的汤种面包之旅

2010-11-13T08:46:00.001-08:00

I love Buns from BreadStory.
They're not like regular ones you can buy from other bakeries. Their buns are SO freakin' soft and SO freakin' fluffy...and their bun fillings are loaded.Imagine that it can be squeezed out by just a light touch on the surface.
No, I'm not kiding, It's seriously GOOD EATS.
Al most every Sunday I have to get their buns especially the ''Cocktail Bun''...The coconut filling is SO freakin' buttery and tasted so UNIQUE and SO GOOD LAH!!! I can't get this flavor from other bakeries.
I admire the Bread Master of BreadStory.

Last time I checked from the foodgawker, I discovered this secret tang zhong method that makes the bread so freakin' soft and fluffy.
I immediately save them and planned to makethem. (because the fluffiness of BreadStory buns appeared on my mind...''Com'on...Buy me...Eat me....Love me.....I know you want me....'')

I never really know about breads. I heard it's quite hard to make.Bread making has a lot of rules...comparing with baking a cake, it takes much more time. Time for first rise...time for second rise...and then the final rise...Plus, I don't have a dough hook machine....I was kneading the dough by hand. Imagine how long I have to knead!
For people inpatient like me, it's killing me....

I cut them half so that I can fill them with...

Lemon Curd......

And cover them with Chicken floss....
(Hey, Halal! )

My first attempt on Tang zhong bread making, it's quite a failure. I place the dough balls too flat, they got burnt at the bottom. So it tasted....hmmm...quite hard. not what I wanted.

I was disappointed.
If you really know me, you'll know that I am a person who takes things seriously. If I really care about the result , I will do anything to let it success.

So I tried one more time.
and this time, I've learned the lesson. Do not shape the dough too FLAT, shape them high, and let them rise...
The result? hmmm....They're super fluffy, but just one thing, they look terrible. I shaped them horribly...hahaha.
Never mind, it's not the end of the world. You have pretty much time to learn.
They look ugly, you eat them ugly, they come out ugly...yea..it's quite the same. Hey,It's home baking! You're not selling them anyway...

I said so much to comfort myself. Haha. but seriously, I am going to try it one more time , I will never stop until it turns out perfectly.

Egg wash...hmmm...GlOsSy....

I can't believe it!!

2010-11-08T04:37:00.000-08:00

''I may look ugly on the outside..but I'm beautiful on the inside...''

Passion fruit.
I got so excited when I saw them. This is the first time I actually Touched, smelled and ate a passion fruit.
It tastes delightfully sour and sweet. I love it.
Usually I only saw them on the yogurt / yogurt drink labels. like ''Passion fruit and mango flavored yogurt drink'', ''Passion fruit yogurt'', or maybe some drinks like Passion fruit shake, passion fruit drink.....

Yea...just being silly and took some photos with my first ever passion fruit.
I love you, Passion fruit.

Crispy Polo Cheesecake 酥波萝乳烙蛋糕

2010-10-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that I got this shot with my webcam? Poor, pitty me....I don't have camera in my house. Shot from phone-camera has bad lighting and unable to focus. Better than nothing, I take my cake upstairs and get a shot right infront of my computer.
You may think it's silly, but seriously, ME>>Poor girl>>no money>>no camera! Even this webcam is my father's old stuff. Never mind, as long as it is able to capture something, I'm happy.
So for those who has cameras, please don't ever complain. Even just a cheap digital camera, Give thanks.

Anyways, back to the cake. I got his recipe from the cookbook I downloaded recently. I saw many Chine bloggers are using it. It's titled : 孟老师的100道小蛋糕 . I think it's a great book. You can get many cake recipes written in Chinese and also using Chinese ingredients.

Plus, most Chinese nowadays don't really like cakes that are too sweet. This book provided recipes that fits their taste bud. A little less in sugar compared with the West.
For me, I'm okay with SWEEETT because I'm a EXTREMELY sugary person. But for my family, they have tongue that are very sensitive to sugar.

Hence, people nowadays are controlling their portion on Carbs. This book provide ''mini cakes'' recipes. They are all small sized, but satisfying.

I baked this cheesecake for my Cousin sister, Recycle Bin. Her actual birthday was at 1st October. I was too busy to bake for her, instead I was baking for my other friend who ordered from me earlier. So this is my gift for her.
Thank you RB, for being such a great cousin all the time.

Polo actually is translated from chinese which means pineapple. I didn't know why they call this cake Polo cheesecake, It has nothing to do with pineapple!

p/s: THIS CAKE CONTAINS ALCOHOL. (just a little...which RB likes)

Here's the recipe, hope you guys enjoy it.

A Crispy Polo:
Unsalted butter 25g
Icing sugar 20g
Cake flour 25g

B The cake:
Raisins/Sultanas 60g
Rum 60g

Unsalted butter 35g
Biscuit 100g

Cream cheese 110g
Unsalted butter 30g
Fine sugar 15g
Egg yolk 25g
Lemon juice 2 tsp
Cake flour 25g
Lemon peel 1/2 tsp

Egg whites 50g
Fine sugar 15g

Instruction:

Grease the BASE of a 6 inch round cake pan. Line it with parchment. Preheat the oven 190C .

For the Crispy Polo: Let unsalted butter soften at room temperature. Sift in icing sugar. Using a spatula and mix them together. Mix in the flour until cooperated. Wrap the dough with cling foil and refrigerate it.

For the Cake base:
1.Soak the raisin/Sultanas in the rum. (The more time you saok, the more rum flavor in the raisins) Set aside.
2. Soften the butter at room temperature. Put the biscuits in a Zip-Lock bag and crush them into crumbs. Using your hand, add in the butter and mix them well together. Put this mixture into your prepared pan and pack them evenly into a base.
3.Drain the raisins/Sultanas. Layer them onto the surface of the cookie base.

For the cake:
1. Cream the butter and the cream cheese together in a bowl. Add in the sugar (the first 15g) and continue creaming until it's cooperated. (LOW SPEED)
2.Add in the yolk 1 at a time, the lemon juice, the flour and finally the lemon peel. Mix well into a smooth cake batter.
3.In another bowl, Whisk the egg white with an electric mixer at the same time you add in the sugar (the final 15g) until stiff peaks. It will be glossy and shinny. (like swiss meringue)
4. Fold in 1/3 of the egg white mixture into the cream cheese mixture until well mixed.
5.Continue folding in 1/3 of the egg white until there's non left. Remember to FOLD in. Do Not deflate the air in the batter !!
6. Using a spatula ,scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Using a shredder, shred the crispy polo dough on the surface of the batter. (You better hurry, or else the air of the bubble will deflate!)
7.Finally, Bake it in the oven for 25-30 minutes. If you test it with a skewer it should comes out clean.

uHH...This looks ugly..

Sorry for the inconvenience !

2010-10-21T08:36:00.001-07:00

''Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry~
Nikom nikom nikom nikom...bajo bajo bajo BABE!'' (I heard it from my friend. It's Super Junior right?)

I actually baked quite a lot of cakes but because I can't get camera in my house so I didn't post anything on this blog.
Yes, sure food bloggers sometimes gets a liiiiittle~~~ busy and a liiiitttlllee~~ lazy to blog.
The busy part is because of my final exam. Of course now I got rid of it already anyways.
And the lazy part is..........................well...just lazy. hahas.

It seems likes I'm still in the exam mood.
After exam it's kind of like ....OUT OF THE JAIL, BACK TO THE KITCHEN.

Something quite interesting here.....
Can you believe that's my body? and the heads are my friends? p/s: I'm still sleeping that moment.

Picture From LaoZhuang
Baked cakes Summary report:
1. Chocolate Indulgence - Secret Recipe copycat.
I promised my friend Constance to bake this right after exam. My friends just can't wait to eat them ! I'm so lucky to have such great friends that support my cakes. Even though it's soo sooo UGLY ! UGLY I TELL YOU !!! ( the layers of mousses and cakes looked okay, but the chocolate ganache is.........I don't want to think about it already.)

2. Assorted Flavors of Muffins.
I was too busy preparing for my exam (actually, nope. not a single hour for study. haha). I didn't have time to bake for my dear cell group leaders and cell group members.
So, Since I'm out of the jail now, so...I asked my self, WHY NOT?
(p/s: Another fact is, I wanted to try out the new cookbook I downloaded. yes, downloaded, because I didn't have money for the real thing.)

3. Japanese Cotton Soft Cheesecake
I baked this for my dear friend Aleya's birthday. She's actually the first person I met who doesn't like cakes. To her,Cake is like....uhh...how I think of Brussels Sprouts. BUT, For the love of God....She likes cheesecake. She actually gave me a clue before the big day. Hehe, sneaky ehhh Aleya...~~~~~
''I love Cheesecake. Last time you made for the School New year Carnival? Uhh...I like it.'' kata Aleya Lokman.
YES, YOU SAID IT. HOHOHO.....

4. xxxxxxxxxxx

I'm still thinking what I'm baking next time. Bread and Buns? Pastries and Tarts? Cupcakes and Muffins? or what? Cakes again???

Life's not over yet, I still have a LOT of time to think.
............................................................................No, seriously, I have to think fast.
Before my birthday....Cause I really don't want to bake for myself on my birthday. Feel so pitty. Haha.

Can YOU give me some ideas???

Sweet Sweet Sweet...

2010-09-11T23:39:00.000-07:00

那天，我不知道为什么自己有种感觉就是，我很久没有跟我的姑姐讲话了。
从小姑姐看待我们三姐妹好像看待女儿一样，对我们真的是太好了...我都不知道自己对她做过什么，竟然有酱好的待遇。
我跟你讲，我们家的衣橱哦，不知道有多少样是她送的。就连我的电脑，也是他送给我的UPSR考试奖励。其实我考得也不怎么好啊，但是她就是肯这么施舍。
还有我家的包包啊，装饰品啊，床啊，被单啊，等等...等等都是她送的。
她表面上是讲：‘都是老板给的二手货啦！我都不ngam...给你们啦。’ 其实，很多东西他都可以自己收啊，可是又不见得呢？
姑姐为人真的很大方。你看她对待她的宝贝女儿soda （不要误会，是只狗啦）的方式你就明白了啦...
噢，是咯，还有表哥hor...也就是姑姐的儿子啦！他也对我们超好的，连续我们的手机都是他送的叻！甚至手机花的电话费哟，都是他给的...虽然我个人觉得啦，他有点凶神恶煞的感觉，可能是小时候被他骂过啦。（可是其他人都觉得他玩很巅的wor)

安妮卫**，我真的觉得我欠他们很多啦。其实我从来没有勇气主动打电话给他们的..
嗖***，我们回到来烘此蛋糕的原因，就是送给他们啦！
没错，这蛋糕是我用自己的钱买材料，烘了过后送给他们的啦... 心是痛了一点，可是想到他们对我的恩惠啊，是应该的啦。

词语解释：
安妮卫** ：Anyway

嗖*** ：So

这次呢也~~~也是巧克力蛋糕啦。名字很长，但很优美...

Chocolate Ganache cake with Dulce de leche

This cake needs: 4 layers chocolate cake

Chocolate ganache frosting

Dulce de leche

For the cake , I used the same trusted recipe.

Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (I used whole milk)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.

Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans, and flip over onto wire racks. Cool completely. Slice them into 4 layers.( that means half them )

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

500ml whipping cream
500g Dark chocolate

Chop the chocolate in small chunks. Heat up the light cream until right before it comes to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir until dissolved. Let it sit in the fridge until the texture allows you to spoon it.

For the Dulce de leche, you can refer to this recipe.

To Assemble:

1. Spread a bit of frosting on the middle of the cardboard that you choose to serve your cake.
2.Place one layer on the cardboard. Pipe ganache over the edge of the cake to prevent the dulce de leche to sneak out.
3. Spread 1 to 2 tablespoons of Dulce de leche inside the ganache wall.
4. Place another cake layer on top. Then, use another cardboard to press it down evenly.
5. Continue the following steps. Frost the whole cake. Decorate your cake as you like.

Still needs to improve my decorating skills....

Notes: I personally think this cake should be warm to serve. You can slice a piece and place it in microwave on medium for about 20 seconds then serve.

My very Own Combination- Chocolate Nougatine Cake

2010-07-16T23:50:00.000-07:00

Last time I made the ''as beautiful as my mum'' cake (wow, that's a long....name). It's actually my first try on baking without recipe. It came out...well, beautifully. If you love the combination of cream and cake, you'll love it. But, if you're a cake lover, but not a very big fan of cream IN the cake, then you won't like it very much. Anyhow.......... This cake came out great. It's CHOCOLATE with PEANUT! Perfect combination.... Essentially, it suppose to be chocolate with hazelnut praline. BUT....You know.......~.~ Hazelnuts are very very expensive. I really can't afford it. It's TRIPLE the price of peanut. Think twice....trice.........Peanut is a good friend with chocolate too.... So, in this case, Chocolate and peanut got married. I didn't know there is something called ''Praline''~~ Oww, what a beautiful name. Back to old times, my mum bought me a cake similar to this one , almost every year as my birthday cake. In fact, That cake gave me this inspiration. I once asked my mum the name of this cake .(since I've eaten it so many years...=_= hehe ) Do you know what did she say? ''BALI LOSAK'' ??? what the...? '' Bali losak?'' ''are you sure this is it's name? it doesn't sound as delicious as it is...'' '' I don't know, my friends told me that. We all call it like that.'' Therefore, we called it ' bali losa'. Can you imagine? '' Ma, I want ' bali losa ' for my birthday next year. '' ''Hey that cake's delicious! what's its name?'' '' Bali losa. '' After so many years of ''Bali Losa'', I finally found out it's real name. '' Pralinosa '' Do you see how beautiful it's name is? Pralinosa. It's like that combination of 'Praline' and 'Rosa'. (I think it means rose...I THINK....) And we all called it bali losa. Oh my lord. I've taste the cake for so many years. Over and over again. (once a year of course) I remember this perfect taste. But I can't bake one just like it. It's hard. I can't find out how can the cake has a Oreo biscuit base? How did they do that? With all the question marks.... I still baked this baby.

Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake
adapted by Hershey's

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa (I used the dark cocoa this time)
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (I used regular milk)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.

Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans, and flip over onto wire racks. Cool completely. 10 to 12 servings.

After it's cooled, cut both cakes into half, that makes 4 layers of cake.

for the praline cream

crushed peanut praline

whipped cream

-Fold both ingredients in together.

To make the Peanut praline: combine 200 grams of toasted peanut and 200 grams of icing sugar in a saucepan. At low heat, heat up the peanuts and sugar. stirring continuously.Until the sugar is melted and turning brown, (the mixture is probably bubbling) Remove from heat and spread them evenly on a parchment paper. When it's completely cooled, it should be in hard candy form.

Process them in a prossesor just till they are look like rice crisps. And that's enough already, you don't want peanut butter.

To make the Whipped cream: whip up 150 ml of whipping cream with 1 tablespoon of icing sugar.

For the Chocolate Ganache:

300ml heavy cream

300g dark chocolate

-Heat up the cream in a saucepan with low heat. Meanwhile, place the chocolate in a large bowl. Pour the hot cream into the bowl. Don't stir, wait for the cream to melt the chocolate. About 50 seconds to 1 minute later, stir the ganache until it's well mixed. It's a bit thick-liquid like at this point, but after you refrigerate it, it will thicken. (just like truffles)

To assemble: Place the first cake layer on a cake board. Pipe the truffle-like ganache over the edge of the cake to prevent the praline cream filling peak out from the edge. Repeat this step until the forth layer is place on top of the cake. Frost the whole cake with Ganache frosting. Last, the fun part, Decorate it.

Although I didn't have a high megapixel camera, digital camera , even good photo-shooting skill. But, like everyone, I want my art A.K.A my cake to have it's very own splendid moment.

A cake dedicated for my mum

2010-07-12T07:13:00.001-07:00

This is the first cream cake .
A very light sponge ,paired with peaches and cream. Decorated with chocolate leaves, shaped like Pandan leaves.
I named it ‘’As Beautiful As My Mum ‘’ cake.

My mum loves to bake. We both do, but now she didn’t have time to do it. So now I kinda inherited her dream to be a baker. Not a professional one, but a home baker.

My mum is a very strong , independent woman. She a preacher in our church. You may ask me How does it feel being a preacher’s daughter? The answer is , a lot of rules. Haha.
She always chatter incessantly. Chatter about ‘’do your homework…’’ ’’turn off the TV…’’ ‘’go devotion…’’ ‘’ time for dinner… ‘’ ‘’time to sleep…’’ ………

Sometimes we thought ‘’she’s annoying !’’ But if sometimes she was out for 2 or 3 days, even for only 1 day, our ‘’work done efficiency’’ totally FALL ~~all the way down.

We thought she’s harsh in every way. She wanted to prove that she’s not.
So then she told us some jokes, but most of them have no funny point…..

She has a thing that I always admire. She wakes up 5:00 something in the morning and pray until about 9:00 in the morning. She weeps bitterly for our nation. If you can hear it, it feels like cutting your heart. Oh ya, did I mentioned? it’s everyday! She does it everyday!!
I totally have to learn this! I want to have passion for God like she does.

My mum is definitely a leading card of mine.
She is amazing. I love my mum..

‘Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment with a promise. So that it may live long on the earth.’ (Ephesians 6:1-3)

I’m ashamed … Shamed about the hurt I always gives her and didn’t obey her.

I’m truly sorry Mum. Truly.

Well, how about you?

How do you think about your mum?

Red Bean Ice / Shake

2010-05-11T08:45:00.000-07:00

I was a red bean hater.
But until last Sunday, my dad brought me to PappaRich and had lunch, I've ordered Red Bean Ice.
(I didn't know why did I ordered something I hate, haha.)
At that moment, I've discovered the goodness of Red bean. It was deliciously rich, satisfying...

Red bean is a kind of bean. So I think it's kind of high in protein.
Well, since I'm a vegetarian, it's okay to have extra protein right? maybe.
After I enjoyed this beautiful tasty drink, I've decided to make something like this JUST at home.
Think about it, you can control the sugar content and also, make it a low fat version!

Instead of coconut milk or evaporated milk, I've used Skimmed milk. Don't worry, it tasted great. I can never tell the difference.

Here's the ingredients I've used:

Serves 1:

8-9 tablespoons Red beans (cooked overnight in slow cooker without sugar)
9 tablespoons simple syrup (as shown below)
200ml milk (full cream/skimmed/low fat...whatever you want)

What to do:

For the simple syrup: bring 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup water into a saucepan. Cook them at low heat, stirring constantly to prevent crystallizing. Untill they've become very thick like honey when it's cooled. (Remember, when it cools, it gets thicker.)

Bring all ingredients in a blender. Blend until all ingredients combined. Serve.

For something more fancy like Papparich, mash some extra red beans with some of the simple syrup (depends on the sweetness you want) . When they look mushy, place them at the bottom of the serving glass then pour in the shake.

Try it, you'll never regret.

My first Twist on a cake...

2010-04-09T22:35:00.000-07:00

It's April.
New month, new ''approve card'' for baking! What's ''approve card'?
My mum had set a baking rule for me: 1 month , 1 chance of baking. Exams, no baking.
But sure it is a little too much if I bake once a week. But once a month also too long for me to wait!

This month, I've made a twist. My first twist on a cake.
The original recipe is just a lemon cake with truffle filling. But I gave it add-ons....
Everyone's favorite: Oreo cookies....and Cream cheese frosting !
The lemon flavor caused this cake to be less rich. That's why people always ask for more!

Okay, to the recipe.....

White cake with lemon truffle filling, cream cheese frosting and Oreo cookie base...
(Such a long name)
This cake is kind of like my experiment. So I've half the recipe. It's a small portion...

CAKE:
1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 + 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 + 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2+1/8 cups milk
1/4+1/8 cup unsalted butter or white vegetable shortening, at room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 small egg whites

LEMON TRUFFLE FILLING:
1/4 cup+1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1.5 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup water
1 large egg yolks
1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/6 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 cup (6 ounces) chopped white chocolate or vanilla baking chips
4-ounce cream cheese

OREO COOKIE BASE:
one packed of oreo cookies and 1 to 1 .1/2 tablespoons of butter

Cream Cheese Frosting
4 tbsp butter, softened
4-oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.

2. Prepare the cookie base:

Crush oreo cookies and butter in a food processor. Press them into a flat base in one of the floured cake pan. place it in the refrigerator.

3. Prepare the cake: In a large bowl with an electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, and butter or shortening. Blend until the butter is evenly mixed. Add the vanilla. Beat at low speed for 1 minute, then increase the speed to high and beat for 2 minutes, scraping the bowl constantly, beating until the mixture is light and fluffy.

4. In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Gently but thoroughly fold the whites into the cake batter. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.

5. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until the cakes are no longer jiggly in the center. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

6. Prepare the filling: In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in water until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture comes to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and cook 2 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks with a fork. Slowly stir about 1/4 of the hot mixture into the egg yolks, whisking quickly while adding the hot liquid. (You don’t want to create scrambled eggs, so be sure to add the hot mixture slowly, whisking it into the eggs as quickly as possible). Continue adding ¼ of the hot mixture to the eggs until you have warmed up the egg mixture. Whisk the egg yolk mixture back to the mixture in the saucepan. Cook over low heat until the mixture boils, whisking constantly, then continue to cook for 2 minutes, stirring.

7. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and lemon juice and zest. Transfer half of the hot filling to a small bowl and set aside to cool. Add the white chocolate to the hot filling in the saucepan and stir until the chocolate is melted; set aside. In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in the white chocolate mixture until light and smooth. At this point, you should have a small bowl of lemon curd and a bowl of white chocolate truffle filling.

8. Spread half the filling over one layer of the cookie based cake. Top with pieces of oreo cookies, spread with the other half of the filling . Place another cake layer on top. Refrigerate, uncovered, until the filling is set (2 to 3 hours).

For the frosting : Beat together butter and cream cheese in a medium bowl. Add in confectioners’ sugar,lemon juice and zest and beat until smooth. Frost the refrigerated cake. Decorate it and Refrigerate again for at least 1 and 30 minutes.

We enjoyed every bite of it...IN MODERATION..

Is this Pasta salad?

2010-03-19T22:07:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tasted spaghetti with mayo and thousand island sauce?
Oh yeah, you should try it.
This creation starts with a very boring day....

This afternoon, my cousin, pei jun and I, are too bored. So we decided to make something in the kitchen. Mum said no baking...No oven.
But she didn't say no cooking!
Our cravings are for something easy and savory...French toast? Our kitchen is our of bread.
How about some french fries? No, no fry food....On diet.
Okay, spaghetti won't hurt?
How about some Whole wheat spaghetti?Even better!

Recipe:

A handful of whole wheat spaghetti
1/2 Cup to 1 Cup of low fat milk
1 small can of canned tuna fish (in water, drained)
Some chopped garlic
2 -3tablespoons of mayonnaise
1/2 to 1 tablespoon of cornstarch (depends on how thick you want it to be)
Salt and pepper
for dressing: thousand island sauce

Instructions:
1. Cook the spaghetti in a pot of boiling water. Remember to drain it.
2.When the spaghetti is cooking, in another pan (I used non-stick pan) melt the mayonnaise.
3.Add in the garlic to pan-fry.Because the mayonnaise have it's own fat, so we don't need more oil.
4. Add in the tuna fish after that goes in the spaghetti.
5. It will be dry, so quickly add in the milk. Then the salt, pepper and cornstarch.
6.When it comes to the consistency you want, then dish it up! Drizzle it with thousand island sauce.

Finally,
DIG IN !

Ahh~~Cinnamon Rolls !!

2010-03-16T05:19:00.000-07:00

It's HOLIDAY ! !
Although it's only for 1 week, but I'm still very exited...Because I can do my favorite thing again...
Baking.........
Today I'm baking Breads. It's been a while I didn't bake breads. It's because I can't face my fear of failure. It's always a failure....
But today, I prayed. I prayed to God for helping me to a baking success. And Last, It turned out better than last time.Although it's not good enough but, Praise the Lord!
My Dad said it's delicious!Oh, who am I kidding, I do think so! what's not to love? It's
CINNAMON ROLLS!

Here's the recipe:

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients: (makes about 14-16 small rolls)

2.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon cinnamon
3/4 whole cup milk
1/8 cup sugar
1/8 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, just about melted
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
chopped pecans or walnuts or raisins/or both nuts and raisins(Optional) – makes a nice addition

For the sugar glaze:

3/4 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon melted butter
2-4 tablespoons milk (or just enough to make a thick consistency)

Preparation:

To make the Sugar Glaze:

Whisk together the sugar, butter and milk till it reaches a thick, but slightly pourable consistency.

To make the Rolls:

In a large bowl combine 1 1/2 cups of the all-purpose flour and yeast. Heat the milk, 1/8 cup sugar, 1/8 cup butter and salt just until mixture is warm (not hot) and the butter is just melted, stirring slowly.

Add milk mixture to flour mixture; add the eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for about a minute while scraping the sides of bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. Dough will be soft.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough (3 to 5 minutes total). Shape dough into a ball.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl & cover; let it rise in a warm place until double (about 1 to 1.5 hours).

Punch dough down. On a lightly floured surface, divide dough in half and shape each half into a ball. Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes. On lightly floured surface roll out half of the dough into a rectangle/oblong. Spread generously with 1.5 tablespoons softened butter. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle half over the stretched dough. Sprinkle the nuts/raisins if you are using them. Roll up from a short side.Seal the edges.Make a second roll with remaining dough, in the same way as above.

Slice each dough roll into 6-8 pieces.

Arrange slices, cut side down, in a greased baking pan. Cover; let rise until nearly double (about 30 – 45 minutes). Do NOT skip this step.
At this stage the dough may be refrigerated for 24 hours. If you are refrigerating the individual rolls overnight, the next morning remove the rolls from the refrigerator, remove the wrap, and let it stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Place the rolls very close to each other on a baking tray. Bake rolls in a 360 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until light brown. If required, to prevent over-browning, cover rolls loosely with foil the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking.

Invert at once onto a wire rack. Cool slightly.

Drizzle rolls with the already made Sugar Glaze.

Serve warm.

She was my first taster.

When a chocoholic touches chocolate...

2010-03-05T06:05:00.000-08:00

Oh what the heck...
I'm In HEAVEN.
Eating chocolates is my hobby, tasting chocolates is my interest...
How about tasting all the chocolates of the world? I dare to!
Too bad I can't , that's my dream. But I do can taste the best quality chocolate that made in Malaysia! That's good enough for me already! I've waited so long for this moment.......

Finally I've tasted Beryl's chocolates.
Not all flavors of them, because it's too much!
But still...a lot~!
I finished them in just a month! JUST A MONTH!
These are some of them:

80% Dark chocolate. My favorite.
Not too sweet, but it tastes really...how should I say? Um...Dark.

This one, is Ghana Dark chocolate. Although I didn't know how much percentage is it, but it tastes good too.

This, is tropico chocolate series.
Flavor: Dark chocolate

Tropico chocolate. Flavor: Strawberry cream, Caramel crisps.

Tropico chocolate again. Flavor: Banana, sweetcorn.
I never tasted sweetcorn flavor before, so for me, it's quite unique and ...of course, DELISH!

This one, Oh..I love this one. Milk Chocolate praline.
When you put it in your mouth, you can feel it's melting....Oh I love melting gooey chocolates!

Bittersweet Chocolate. What can i say?

This is the LIGHT version of bittersweet chocolate.No sugar added.
Tastes kind of weird at first, but...when you continue eating it, it got...nice and light flavor.

Light version of hazelnut milk chocolate.

Light version of almond milk chocolate.

Wow, this Tiramisu chocolate tastes great! I don't know how to describe it.

This is one of the popular chocolate of Beryl's product.
Cocoa dusted white chocolate on the outside, almond crunchy on the inside.

There's a lot more than these... I just can't get all the pictures.
Chocolate is heaven to me. Especially Dark Dark Dark chocolates..

Oh yeah, my last word

Long Live Chocolates!!! Hahahahaha...............

Happy Birthday to Dad!

2010-02-16T21:49:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's my dearest father's birthday.
He wanted me to bake a birthday cake for him. What he like the most...I mean LOVE the most..
Cheesecake...
I found this recipe and I thought this is quite unique.
This, is not a regular cheesecake, It's BROWNIE MOSAIC CHEESECAKE!!
Original Recipe from http://www.amandascookin.com/2009/04/brownie-mosaic-cheesecake.html

Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake
Adapted wildly from A Piece of Cake, by Susan G. Purdy via Eat

Part One: One Bowl Brownies
Adapted from Baker’s One Bowl Brownies

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (Baker’s chocolate, optional of course)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 3/4cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 13×9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Grease foil.

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on high for 2 minutes, or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and salt; mix well. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake 30 to 35 minute or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.) Cool in pan on wire rack. Remove brownies from pan, using foil handles.

Cool brownies, then cut* them into 3/4- to 1-inch squares for use in the cheesecake. You will have more than the two cups of cubes, loosely measured, than you will need, and I’m sorry, you’re just going to have to decide for yourself what to do with the extra. Add cubes to cake batter as directed below.

* I find that brownies are fantastically easy to cut once they’ve been refrigerated–you end up with nice clean lines, and in this case, a sharp pizza wheel was especially helpful. Also, brownies taste better cold. I’m just saying.

Part Two: Crumb Crust
Adapted from Gourmet, 1999

I like a doubled crumb crust. I can’t get enough cookie. Below are proportions for one crust with the amounts to double the recipe in parentheses. You know you wanna.

1 1/2 cups or 5 ounces (3 cups or 10 ounces to double) finely ground cookies such as chocolate wafers. Or Chocolate Teddy Grahams.
5 tablespoons (10 tablespoons to double) unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup (2/3 cup to double) sugar
1/8 (1/4 teaspoon to double) teaspoon salt

Stir together crust ingredients and press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of a buttered 24-centimeter springform pan. Fill right away or chill up to 2 hours.

Part Three: Cheesecake
Adapted from the Three Cities of Spain Coffeehouse

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 cups brownie cubs (from recipe above)

Make crumb crust as directed above for 24-centimeter cheesecake. Preheat oven to 350°F.

Make filling and bake cake: Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until fluffy and add eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla and sugar, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.

Fold brownie cubes in very gently and pour mixture into prepared pan. Put springform pan with crust in a shallow baking pan. Pour filling into crust and bake in baking pan (to catch drips) in middle of oven 45 minutes, or until cake is set 3 inches from edge but center is still slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken.

When completely cool, top with following glaze.

Part Four: Ganache Glaze
Adapted from Purdy’s original recipe

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken up, or 1/2 cup chocolate morsels
2 ounces butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar

Grind the chocolate into powder in the food processor, scald the butter and cream in a saucepan (or in a Pyrex cup in the microwave). With the machine running, pour the hot cream/butter mixture slowly through the feed tube onto the chocolate. Blend until completely smooth, stopping machine to scrape down sides once or twice. Add the extract and sugar and process until smooth. Spread over cheesecake while ganache is still warm. Chill until ready to serve.

Japanese Cheesecake...Yummmm~~

2010-02-03T00:25:00.000-08:00

Okay. Last week my school is having sells'n stuffs. They gave me a chance to learn more...BAKE! So I decided to bake everyone's favourite cheesecake. My teacher and friends loves it and they wanted this recipe.

This recipe is actually not like usual cheesecakes. It's more sponge-y, light but cheesey!I've made this but gone not really well...Too short of cooking time.
And sorry, I forgot to take pictures!
Anyways, here we go!

Japanese Cheesecake
preparing time: around 1 hour
Cooking time: 1 hour and 10 mins (If you have a weaker oven like mine, try to bake longer)

What you need
•Double boiler -if you really don't have one, then just use a heatable bowl, sitting on a smaller pot of boiling water, with the base of the bowl ideally not touching the water.
•Electric whisk

Ingredients:
250g cream cheese
50g butter, unsalted
100ml milk
6 eggs, large- separated into whites and yolks
60g plain cake flour
20g cornflour(cornstarch)
140g white granulated sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt

Melt the cream cheese, butter and milk together in the double boiler, until there are no lumps. Cool this cream mixture , eg: by put the bowl /pot into a larger bowl of cold water.
Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites, whisk untill foamy. Add the sugar, and whisk untill you get ''soft peaks''.
Returning to the cooled cream mixture: mix in the egg yolks and salt, then the lemon juice. Gently fold in the flour and cornflour, sieving the flour / cornflour as you add it.
Add the cream-flour mixture to the egg white mixture by bit. Mix together very gently, to not loose the ''airiness''.
Line the sides and base of baking tin with grease baking paper, and pour the combined mixture. Put the baking tin into a much much larger baking tin filled with boiling water. The water should be 5/3 up to the tin.
Place them into preheated oven (160'c-180'c) and bake for 1 hour and 10 mins. Don't open the oven before you think the cake is ready!
To cool, tip the cake out, upside down, onto a plate (if you leave it cool in tin like me, the top surface will crumple as the cake subsides! Don't make this mistake like me!) Leave to cool in fridge (eg. overnight)
To serve, remove baking paper and tip cake back to brown-side-up. Serve cold.

Mum's Chinese Peanut Cookies...

2010-02-01T02:19:00.000-08:00

Chinese new year has 14 more days to go.
Mum wanted to bless her friends with these ''melt in your mouth'' peanut cookies. No, not peanut BUTTER cookies. Since today is a holiday, mum decided to make them. Well, I helped!
This recipe is actually eggless. So I guess vegetarians are free to eat!

Mum's Melting Peanut Cookies
Preparation time: 60 mins
Baking time: 25 mins

Ingredients:
600g fried peanuts, removes skin and grind finely
600g plain flour, sifted 450-500g refined sugar (or less)
500-600 ml peanut oil for mixing
1 beaten egg for egg wash (if you ignore this, it's completely vegetarian!)

Method:
1. Mix grind peanut, flour and sugar in a big mixing bowl, slowly mix in peanut oil until it can form into a soft dough (can roll into ball without breaking).

2. Form into small balls, place onto greased and floured baking sheet, glaze with egg wash.

3. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for about 25 mins till golden brown.

Remove, leave to cool before storing.

Chocolate Banana Cake.....

2010-01-30T00:19:00.000-08:00

This month I have a special person who's having her birthday. You do know I love to bake and I did it a lot of times. But she never have a chance to try my cooks. So now I 'm baking, for her. She ''ordered'' it from me : Secret Recipe's Chocolate banana cake.
I'm not a good baker but I do love to bake. This is the chance for me to learn more!

I found this recipe from this site: http://pearlyn83.wordpress.com/
Chocolate Mud Cake

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
* 3/4 cup strong espresso
* 2 tsp vanilla essence
* 300g self-raising flour
* 75g plain flour
* 1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
* 185g unsalted butter, softened
* 330g caster sugar
* 3 eggs
* 180g dark chocolate, melted and cooled

Method:

* Preheat oven to 160C, and grease an 8 inch baking pan
* Mix cocoa powder, coffee, vanilla essence and 1/2 cup cold water in a bowl and whisk.
* Sift flour , bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of salt together.
* Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well each time.
* Stir in melted chocolate into egg mixture.
* Add the flour and cocoa mixture alternatively into egg mixture.
* Pour into pan and bake till set (approximately 1 – 1 1/2 hours).
*Cool, slice cake into 3 layers.
White Chocolate Mousse and Banana Filling

Ingredients:

* 600ml thickened cream
* 450g white chocolate
* 3 banananas

Method:

* Melt cream and chocolate together in a medium saucepan over low heat till smooth.
* Transfer to a large bowl and refrigerate till just cold.
* Beat with electric mixer till mixture changes to a paler colour.

Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:

* 250ml double cream
* 250g dark chocolate

Method:

* Melt cream and chocolate together in a double boiler.
* Leave to cool to room temperature then refrigerate it.
* Give it a good whisk.

Assembling

* Place bottom layer into a 9 inch springform tin.
* Cover with half the white chocolate mouse and top with slices of bananas.
* Top with next layer of cake and repeat above step.
* Top with the last slice of cake. Pour chocolate ganache over cake. Allow it to flow freely and it’ll cover the cake completely.
* Refrigerate to allow ganache to set. Decorate accordingly.

Happy Baking!