Ganache-Ganache

Undersea Themed Cupcakes

2010-09-03T20:42:00.004+08:00

The birthday kid's favourite colour is blue so the theme ocean was born. Think ocean one would think of undersea creatures.

Garden Themed Cupcakes

2010-09-03T20:38:00.005+08:00

Cupcakes are really fun to make, even though they're very time consuming.

I just love making these little 3D insects out of sugarpaste.

Baby Boy Full Month Cake

2010-09-03T20:29:00.006+08:00

Rich chocolate cake covered with fondant, for Jason's full month party. Besides the cake, he also had cupcakes with same theme like the following. Design of the cake was forwarded to me by his mummy.

Another baby boy's full month party, both on the same day. This is a durian cake, with the cream tinted a light blue hue.

Children Cakes - August

2010-09-03T20:22:00.005+08:00

Chocolate cake frosted with whipped dairy cream, with a 3D crown on it.

Thomas The Train Cake

Piano cake

Polka Dot Cake

2010-08-06T15:42:00.007+08:00

2 tier fondant cake for Kimberly's 11th birthday.

Flavour : rich chocolate cake

Kobe Cruz Full Month Party

2010-07-26T10:58:00.005+08:00

Cake's design was Mummy's idea, 4 cubes with baby's name on it.
Baby themed cupcakes to go along.

French Baguette

2010-07-14T08:40:00.004+08:00

It's been a long time since I last did a bread post !

These loaves were baked about 3 months ago. I used them as base for my crostini with prawn.

Recipe adapted from Don Yong's Bread Winners :

Ingredients :

500g Bread flour
7g Bread Improver *
7g Instand dry yeast
10g Salt
330g Cold water

With an electric mixet and dough hook at low speed, blend the dry imgredients together for about 1 min. Add water & mix on low speed for another min. Increase to medium speed & mix for 12 mins until dough is fully developed.

Transfer the dough onto a flour-dusted work surface & round up dough with both hands. Place the dough into an airtight container & let it rise in a warm place for 1 - 1 1/2 hrs until the dough is double in bulk.

Divide the dough into 4pcs, each weighing 200g. Round up the dough & leave for 15mins. Mould each dough pc into a cylindrical shape 30cm long. Do this by flattening the dough with a rolling pin & then rolling the dough tightly from one end downwards, making certain that the seam is properly sealed.

Transfer the dough pcs onto a lightly greased, perforated tray & prove in awarm place for 1 1/2 - 2 hrs. When the dough is ready, make 3 diagonal cuts on the surface of each dough pc, using a sharp knife. Space the cuts 10cm apart.

Preheat oven to 230C. Bake with a tray of water to generate steam for the first 10 mins of the baking time. Open the door of the oven & remove any wtaer remaining. Continue to bake for about 10 mins or until the bread is golden brown.

* I omitted the bread improver, as usual.

Football Fever (Worldcup 2010)

2010-07-05T08:37:00.003+08:00

Gin's hubby is a great fan of Spain football team. His birthday falls in June & it coincides the World Cup this year. She was cracking her head on what cake design for his birthday cake & decided on football. We made fondant footballs for cupcakes & D made a jersey to be placed on the cake. Her hubby was so thrilled, glad that we were able to meet their expectations !!

Another Spain supporter ! For this 'cartoon' football player, what we could do was just the red-orangey jersey similar to the team colour & a fondant football next to him.

Handbag Cake (Fondant)

2010-07-05T08:35:00.001+08:00

A vanilla butter cake covered with sugar paste.

Specially for Mitchelle, the Chanel lover !

Xaviera's Mickey Mouse Themed Cake

2010-07-05T08:30:00.004+08:00

This cake was for Xaviera's 2nd birthday party 3 weeks ago.
Gosh, how late am I !

She had a Mickey Mouse themed party.

Macarons

2010-06-23T08:10:00.003+08:00

New on my list - Macarons !

For enquiry, please contact 012-8272711 or email lorrine.seah@gmail.com

Teddy & Frog Figurine

2010-06-21T10:58:00.004+08:00

The request was for a teddy bear with his 'fingers' in the mouth & a frog half his size looking at him. Hope I met the expectation of I !

Treyvon's 1st Birthday

2010-06-21T10:52:00.005+08:00

2 tier chocolate cake covered with fondant, theme was blue & white. The 3D 'giraffe' was made accordingly to what Treyvon's mummy showed me, his favourite toy !

Cupcakes for the same party. For birthday, house warming as well as Father's Day

Hello Kitty Cake For Venice

2010-06-07T10:16:00.003+08:00

The whole face image of Hello Kitty on a chocolate dark cherry cake for Venice's 3rd birthday.

Cupcakes With Kimono Design

2010-06-07T10:10:00.007+08:00

Both cupcakes order were from the same person, over a week.

Kimono design, with heart shape decoration

Pre-wedding celebration, faces of the family

Chip & Dale Cake

2010-06-07T10:07:00.002+08:00

Mango cream cake with Chip & Dale image on it, for Effy's 22nd birthday.

President Cake

2010-06-07T09:48:00.005+08:00

Every year, when end of May is approaching, I'll be cracking my head what cake to bake for hubby's birthday. To me, it has to be special, as in it'll not be one of the cake on my list. So that's a 'headache' & challenge !

Berries has been on my mind lately, especially raspberry. So the cake this year has to include raspberry. Last year, he had the L'Opera.

I've been drooling at Pook's wonderful cake recipes that she posted on her blog. She has one President Cake, which is a cream cheese mousse cake with raspberry layer. It looked so beautiful & yummy that I've always wanted to try making it.

It was a real winner, hubby & the girls liked it. A very healthy cake, with lesser sugar & fat.
The full recipe & instructions can be found at Pook's Daily Delicious.

Lego Cake

2010-05-29T23:48:00.004+08:00

I just loved the bright colours of this cake !

It was for a close friend's 9 year old twins who had their birthday celebration yesterday.

Mummy's requirements : Lego cake, bright colours, boy & girl figurine.

We managed to fulfill it. The kids at the party have enjoyed the cake (I was there too !)

Farewell Cupcakes For May

2010-05-29T23:44:00.004+08:00

Farewell cupcakes from May to her colleagues. I suggested to her a 'personalized tag' on each cupcake & she liked the idea. So I went ahead with it. Hope everyone has enjoyed it !

Birthday Cupcakes For An Chern

2010-05-29T23:36:00.004+08:00

A very bright & cheery theme for An Chern's 4th birthday celebration.

Vanilla cupcakes with buttercream frosting.

Garden Theme Cake For Felina

2010-05-25T17:30:00.002+08:00

This cake was baked for Felina's 2nd birthday last Sunday.

All insects were made from gum paste.

Wedding Cake (22/5/2010)

2010-05-25T17:28:00.004+08:00

A Daisy theme wedding cake in a very light hue of yellow.

Engagement Cake

2010-05-19T16:16:00.002+08:00

A red & white theme fondant cake for an engagement last weekend, together with some cupcakes.

Farewell Cupcakes For Jumi

2010-05-17T09:29:00.003+08:00

These cupcakes were baked for Jumi's farewell party last Friday.

I was told her favourite colour is light purple so the cupcakes icing & decoration were mostly purple !

Ribbon Cake

2010-05-17T09:26:00.003+08:00

Bellina wanted a cake that looked like a wrapped up present.

I left the ganache as I thought brown & pink contrast is better than a all pink cake.

Owl Cake & Cupcakes

2010-05-13T09:22:00.005+08:00

I was given the picture of this cute little cartoon owl. Angelica wanted this on her birthday cake.
Instead of pink she wanted in purple. So D made it's face & placed it on her cake

Some owl cupcakes along with the owl cake

Cow Cake

2010-05-13T09:20:00.001+08:00

For a cow lover, we made a 3-D cow to sit on her birthday cake.

Baby Boy Theme Birthday Cupcakes

2010-05-10T08:45:00.003+08:00

These were baked for Creamy's birthday celebration.

She's expecting a baby boy so the theme for the cupcakes was blue & baby stuff !

Handbag Cake

2010-05-05T17:11:00.002+08:00

This was a very small cake, only 5".

Rich chocolate cake covered with sugar paste. Handbag was made out of gumpaste.

Birthday Cupcakes For Renee

2010-05-05T17:08:00.004+08:00

Made some ribbon bows as cupcake toppers for this batch of cupcakes.

Animal Print Cake

2010-05-05T17:05:00.003+08:00

Just black & white, simple yet really dressed up the cake.

A chocolate cake covered with buttercream.

Ladybug Cakes

2010-04-20T10:52:00.003+08:00

Little Valdamae is such a lucky girl. For her first birthday celebration, she got lots & lots of ladybugs !!

A eggless buttercake covered with sugarpaste especially for Valdamae, who's allergic to egg.

Cake on cake - A big ladybug cake on a square chocolate cake

Chocolate cupcakes with more ladybugs on them....

Ladybug party !!

Valdamae's four year old brother, Nikita, also had his party on the same day. These chocolate cupcakes's theme was Naruto.

Cupcakes For San San

2010-04-13T16:19:00.006+08:00

San San turns 3 year old !

Sweet little castle

Smiling butterfly

A fairy wand for her

Flowers of various sizes

Tiara & stars

Pandan Kaya Bread

2010-04-12T10:54:00.003+08:00

This is one lovely loaf of bread that I baked for breakfast last week.
The aroma of the bread filled the kitchen while it was baking in the oven.

Original recipe was adapted from Alex Goh's The World Of Bread. I did some changes to the recipe though.

Recipe :
Those highlighted in red are what I've made changes to.

(A)
300g Bread flour
2 Tsp Instant yeast
45g Sugar (50g Gula Melaka)
1/2 Tsp salt (Omitted)
1/2 Tbsp Milk powder

(B)
30g Egg
60ml Coconut milk (60ml Whipping cream)
1/2 Tbsp Pandan juice
Few drops green colouring (1/2 Tbsp + 105ml Pandan juice, colour omitted)
105ml Water

(C)
20g Shortening (20g Butter)

(D)
130g Raisins (Omitted)

Topping :

30g Butter
30g Sugar (30g Gula Melaka)
60g Plain flour

Mix (A) till well blended. Add (B), mix to form a dough. Add (C), mix well till well blended. Let it ferment for 50-60 mins.

Mix butter & sugar of the topping ingredients till well combined, then add the plain flour & mix to form a crumb. Keep refrigerated.

Divide dough into 15g pieces & mould into balls. Place half the dough balls in a greased loaf tin (L20cm X W10cm X H8.5cm), then put with the remaining dough balls on top of them.

Leave to rise for 45mins, brush with egg wash & sprinkle with topping.

Bake at preheated oven of 175C for 25-30 mins.

* The loaf turned out to be darker as I've used Gula Melaka in place of the sugar. I've replaced the coconut milk with cream as I didn't have any. I thought raisins don't go with pandan so I omitted them. The loaf was not sweet but the aroma was fantastic, we loved the topping part, very crusty while still warm !

Seafood Pasta With White Wine Sauce

2010-04-08T17:35:00.003+08:00

Lately, I've been craving for the yummy seafood pasta at Restaurant Ember back home.

I was at Dome for lunch last Sunday & on their menu I saw a seafood pasta, so very naturally I ordered it. I was shocked when the pasta arrived, drenched in what looked like a can of carnation creamer. It was totally different from the picture on the menu & I had it sent back to the kitchen !

I attempted my own version of seafood pasta for dinner on Tuesday. I wouldn't say it was really yummy, at least the ingredients used were of good quality & good enough to satisfy my cravings.

Recipe :

500g Dried pasta (I've used vermicelli)
500g Prawns (peeled & deveined) & fish fillets
250g Scallops
2 Tbsp Olive oil
50g Butter (I've used Lurpak)
6 Cloves garlic, minced
1 Red chilli, deseeded & finely chopped
1 1/2 Cup White wine
2 Tomatoes, chopped
Flat leaf parsley, chopped, to garnish
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Cook pasta accordingly to package instructions. Drain & set aside.

2. In a large pan, heat olive oil with half the butter till warm, add garlic & chilli, cook for a few mins till fragrant. Add prawns & fish to pan, cook for a few mins, remove from pan with a slotted spoon when they're almost cooked & set aside. Add white wine & bring to boil, reduce heat & let simmer till slightly thick, add the remaining butter. Return the prawns & fish to the pan, followed by scallops & chopped tomatoes, season with salt & pepper.

Toss cooked pasta through the sauce, sprinkle with chopped parsley & serve.

Basketball Themed Cake

2010-04-06T17:04:00.005+08:00

A simple cake with basketball cut-outs made from sugar paste.

I've done a few in the past but didn't manage to take any pictures. There's the chance for me to do one today so better take the picture before I miss it again !

Alex's 2nd Birthday

2010-04-06T16:59:00.003+08:00

This was done for 2 year old Alex.

A cute monkey with party hat & balloons. Hope Alex had a great party yesterday.

Sweet Girlish Cupcakes !

2010-04-06T16:53:00.002+08:00

Cupcakes for Kelly's 19th birthday.

Another batch of cupcakes for her friend's birthday.

Happy Easter !!

2010-04-04T21:37:00.010+08:00

Last week, a friend called to ask me if I could bake some Easter cookies for her & she brought me a very lovely Williams-Sonoma Easter cookie cutter set. After baking & decorating, the cookies are supposed to be interlocked & standing.

So we spent Good Friday baking & decorating the cookies. It was a lot of fun for both the kids & adults too. Hubby & I did the outline & flooding of the cookies, CJ was in-charge of checking if all the cookies were well flooded at every corner, also helping me with colouring the royal icing & washing up. She's a real helper in my bakery now :)

I followed the cookie recipe that's printed on the box & found the dough too soft so some of the baked & decorated cookie broke before I had the chance to assemble & take pictures of them. So I'm only left with these few cookies :

There's supposed to be a standing grass patch underneath the bunny so it could stand but it broke ! The girls had quite a few broken cookies this 2 days.

This duckling survived !

Standing Easter egg

Hot Cross Buns

We were out shopping & only got home when it was almost time for the KL F1 Grand Prix but the rain came at the wrong time so Astro's out. Instead of lazing around, I thought of bread making.

Since it's Easter, I decided on hot cross buns.

By the time the buns were done, it was about 6.30pm. We had a very late lunch at 3pm, so these buns were our light dinner. A very satisfying one, warm hot cross buns on a rainy Sunday evening......

* RECIPE FOR MY HOT CROSS BUNS *

400g High protein flour
100g Plain flour
6g Instant yeast
40g Sugar
52g Maple syrup (can be replaced with honey)
30g Egg yolk
170g Milk
72g Butter
6g Mixed spice
100g Sultanas

Flour paste :

1/2 cup flour
4 Tbsp water

Mix flour with water till a paste form, if too thick, just add a little more water.

1. Mix all ingredients, except butter & sultanas in a mixer with a dough hook on low speed until combined, add butter & continue to mix on medium speed for about 15 mins until dough is fully developed. Add sultanas.
Cover bowl & let rise in a warm place for 1 hr or until dough doubles in bulk.

2. Divide the dough into 48g portions & mould them round, place them onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, let proof for about 20 mins.
Place the flour paste in a piping bag, snip the corner off with scissors, pipe a cross on top of each bun.
3. Bake in a preheated oven of 190 degrees for 14-15 mins.

* This recipe yields 24 buns. Arrange buns in an order of 6x4 on a rectangle tray. I always bake my buns at the bottom rack for the first half of the baking time then rotate to the top rack after that for the top to brown. Once the buns are done, brush the top with sugar glaze while still hot.
I just make a simple glaze with about 2 Tbsp of sugar to 1 Tbsp of boiling water, stir till sugar is dissolved & brush on the buns.

Swimming Pool Cake

2010-03-29T17:17:00.004+08:00

It's Jordan's 9th birthday today.

His mummy told me he wanted a swimming pool cake this year & cake flavour to be his favourite chocolate cake.

50th Wedding Anniversary

2010-03-28T22:32:00.003+08:00

My friend, P, ordered this 2-tier heart shape cake for her uncle's 50th wedding anniversary.

It was a 4.5 kg yam cake, frosted with buttercream.

Volcano Cake

2010-03-28T22:19:00.002+08:00

I just loved the baking & decorating of this really 'hot' cake !

It was for 2 boys' 12-year old birthday party last Saturday. We had a fun time creating the lava & the rocks effect.

Monkey Cake

2010-03-28T22:14:00.005+08:00

This cute monkey cake was baked for Siti's 30 year old hubby last week.

It was a 2.5 kg chocolate cake, frosted with buttercream.

Birthday Cupcakes

2010-03-18T08:09:00.004+08:00

Wedding Favours - Cupcakes

2010-03-18T08:05:00.003+08:00

Cupcakes covered with sugar paste

Individually packed, finished with a ribbon

Donuts

2010-03-15T09:31:00.003+08:00

These donuts were made with recipe from Zurin's blog @ Cherry On A Cake.

They looked so doughy, the kind of donuts that we fancy, not the airy type. So I printed out the recipe right away & gave it a try.

Instead of eight donuts, I made them into smaller ones & got 17 pcs.
They were yummy, not so oily, really worth making them.

Swiss Brown

2010-03-10T17:40:00.004+08:00

This is our favourite bread for now.

It's chewy, doughy & I just love the aroma, so floury.

As home-made bread don't keep well in our extremely hot & humid climate, I usually baked 2 loaves & freeze the other for next meal. The only complain I have is that the crust goes soft after it has cooled. So sometimes I pop it into the oven of 120C to heat up for 5 - 7 mins before serving.

Recipe :
Yields 2 loaves

500g Bread flour
8g Instant dry yeast
15g Sugar
10g Salt
310g Cold water
15g Shortening

With an electric mixer & dough hook at low speed, blend the ingredients together for 1 min. Increase speed to medium & mix for another 12 - 15 mins until dough if fully developed.

Transfer the dough onto a flour-dusted work surface & round up the dough with both hands. Place the dough into a large bowl & let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour until the dough doubles in size.

Punch the dough down & divide it into 2 pcs, each about 425g. Round up the dough & roll it into a baton shape. Place dough on a baking tray that's been lined with baking paper.

Prove the dough in a warm place for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 230C. After dough has risen, bake with a tray of water to generate steam for 10 mins. Remove the water & continue to bake for 10 mins or until the bread is golden brown.

* I replaced the shortening with butter. This is a very sticky bread dough. It helps to oil your hands when handling the dough.

Princess Castle Cake

2010-03-08T14:48:00.004+08:00

Yesterday was the birthday party for 5 year old Angelina. Mummy has requested for a Cinderella castle cake with turrets.

Everything was hand-crafted from scratch, from the cake to the turrets. It was really fun working on this cake. The only thing missing from it was the princess figurine. I think Angelinas's mum would place it on upon cake cutting.

Angelina's brother, Allen, had his party too. His cake was Fireman's Sam fire engine. Once again Sam would complete the picture.

Cakes (1/3 - 8/3)

2010-03-08T14:41:00.003+08:00

Doll cake done for a 18 year old. Was cracking my head thinking what she'll like, decided on lace & just cachous at the end.

A celebration cake for 'Hinamatsuri' (Girl's Day in Japan).

Cupcakes - January 2010

2010-03-08T14:35:00.003+08:00

Some themed cupcakes done in Janaury.

Minnie Mouse

A friend has requested for drawings of each of her friend's face on cupcake, with sketches provided.

Teddy Bear Cake

2010-03-08T14:31:00.004+08:00

This was baked in Janaury for a 1 year old girl who celebrated her birthday with her elder brother, hence there was each of a pink & blue teddy bear.

3-Tier Wedding Cake

2010-03-08T14:26:00.002+08:00

This was a replica of the engagement cake that we did in December.

This time it was for a wedding.

I love the kissing couple topper on the top tier, so beautiful !

I'm Back !

2010-03-08T14:04:00.003+08:00

I'm finally back to my dear blog which I've been neglecting for the past 2 months.

January was a very very hectic month for me.
Besides baking, there were tons of stuff to be tidied. Towards the end of the month, I was hit by tonsillitis, fever & almost a dozen mouth ulcers. It was real torture & I felt really bad. This went on for 3 weeks & I couldn't eat. The bonus was I lost 4kg & I was so thrilled that I forgot the pain !

I took a long break after recovering from the ulcers. Luckily I was able to eat during my break :)

Now that I'm well rested & fully recovered, I'm back for more baking challenge...

Engagement Cake

2009-12-29T07:59:00.003+08:00

A 2-tier cake done for E for her engagement on the 26th.

X'mas Cookies

2009-12-29T07:58:00.003+08:00

I know I'm late in this post when it's almost end of the year. Well, it's better late than never.

I've been so busy & there's no internet at my new place yet so I got to post whatever I have on my computer today before the year ends.

Cakes - December 2009

2009-12-29T07:55:00.005+08:00

Some of the cakes done in December.

I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T07:54:00.004+08:00

It's the best time of the year, once again !!

The time when my ovens have to work extra hard, when I'm only getting 5 hours of sleep a night (a week before Christmas) !

This year, I've got a new oven, new mixer & new kitchen. Thank God for all his wonderful blessings !

I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year.

Hawaiian Doll Cake

2009-11-28T20:53:00.004+08:00

I love the colour combination of this cake.

This was a request from R's cousin, doll cake Hawaiian style, with green & yellow colour on the skirt.

I almost forgot to take picture of the cake. It was until R was waiting outside the gate that I quickly snap a picture of it in the box.

Thomas The Train Figurine

2009-11-25T20:07:00.004+08:00

I got a call from Mrs K a week ago for her grandson's birthday cake.
She wanted a 3D Thomas The Train figurine on the cake. Frankly, we've never done a 3D one but decided to give it a try.

It took us three days to complete. From making sugar paste, to kneading in the colours, to cutting & drying the pieces, to assembling.

I was really thrilled when the train was beginning to take shape & even happier when it was done.

Well done, D !!

Cakes (16/11 - 22/11)

2009-11-24T20:51:00.004+08:00

The idea of this cake was originally from Chicky, who ordered it for her mum on Mothers's Day. I did another one last week, with slightly different fruit topping.

Chilled lychee cheesecake

'1' shape chocolate cake frosted with butter cream.

Mango Cheesecake

2009-11-24T20:43:00.004+08:00

I've added another new cake to my list, upon request by one of my regulars.

This is a chilled mango cheesecake, sponge cake at the bottom, cream cheese, top with mango cubes & jelly layer.

Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodles

2009-11-21T17:34:00.005+08:00

Besides the fish ball noodle, this is another must have noodle dish for me each time I head home.

This Singapore version of fried Hokkien prawn noodle is different from KL's version of Hokkien Mee , which is thick yellow noodle braised in dark soya sauce. We have the dark version as well, I'm not sure where the noodle originates from. But I know how my family members differentiate this two noodle dishes, accordingly to my brother-in-law, this version is Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee whereas the dark version is simply Hokkien Mee.

Since this is not available in KK, I've got to find a way to curb my craving. I've tried the ready-to-cook paste from Prima Taste but the taste just don't seem to be the one I'm looking for !

I tried the version from Local Delights, under the series of Joy Of Cooking books & everyone likes it !

I have the habit of freezing the shells after peeling prawns, so I'll have enough shells to yield extra flavour each time I need to make prawn stock. I always double the quantity called for in a recipe.

Ingredients :
Serves 4

200g Belly pork
250g Medium-sized prawns
300g Squid (skin, eye & ink sac removed)
850ml Water
2 Tbsp Fish sauce
1/2 Tbsp Sugar
4 Eggs (beaten)
400g Fresh yellow noodle (scalded)
200g Rice vermicelli (scalded)
300g Bean sprouts
2 Tsp Chopped garlic
100g Chives (cut into 5cm lengths)

Condiments :
2 Limes (halved)
Chilli sauce to taste (smabal chilli, not Maggi)

Cook belly pork, prawns & squid in boiling water. Cut belly pork into strips. Remove prawn heads & shells. Slice quid into rings.

Combine fish sauce & sugar with the water from boiling the pork, prawns & squid. Mix well to make stock.

Heat wok till hot, add 4 tbsp of oil, pour in beaten eggs. When the eggs are cooked, cut into smaller pieces using spatula.

Add noodles, rice vermicelli & bean sprouts. Pour in 1/3 of the stock then cover & cook over moderate heat till noodles are almost dry.

Add another 1/3 of the stock & cover. Continue to cook till noodles are almost dry.

Push noodles to one side of wok. Add 2 Tbsp of oil & chopped garlic. Saute garlic till fragrant, add remaining stock, chives, belly pork, prawns & squid. Stir-fry ingredients till stock has almost dried up.
Serve with condiments.

* I've ommitted the belly pork in this recipe.

Cakes (9/11 - 15/11)

2009-11-16T20:43:00.004+08:00

Rainbow doll cake for Natalie's pre-birthday party in school. Her birthday falls on Christmas but school term ended last Friday so she had to have an early celebration.

This one's for Natalie's grandma. 3 different flavours, images of her 3 grandchildren. I was given the picture of the kids to draw, tried our best.....

A gift from D to her friend. I guess it was for a little girl !

Faces Cupcakes

2009-11-16T20:37:00.005+08:00

A had these cupcakes baked for her sister, to say a big 'Thank You' !

The cupcakes are actually of a family of 6, daddy, mummy, 3 boys & a girl.

Maple Bread

2009-11-09T07:37:00.007+08:00

I've always like pure maple syrup, for it's pure flavour & aroma. The syrup we get in KK is usually artificially flavoured & too sweet. Even if there's pure maple syrup, it'll be over-priced.

My brother-in-law was holidaying in Canada two months ago, so finally I got hold of my supply of maple syrup.

I've got this recipe of maple bread from a Taiwanese website quite some time ago. I've tried it before with my limited supply of maple syrup in the past. Now that I've got more, I baked it again last week.

It's sugar free, so flavourful ........

Ingredients :

325g High protein flour
12g Milk powder (I've used Fernleaf)
149g Milk
32g Egg
71g Maple syrup
39g Unsalted butter
3g Instant yeast
5g Salt

In a mixer bowl fitted with a dough hook & on low speed, blend all ingredients, except butter, till well combined. Add butter, turn speed to medium, continue mixing till the dough is smooth & elastic. Round up dough, let rise in a warm place for an hour or until it doubles in size.

After it has risen, punch the dough down. Roll it into rectangle with a rollling pin, roll up tightly & place it into a greased loaf pan. Let rise again for about 45 mins.

Bake in a preheated oven of 190C for 35-40 mins or until top is brown & cooked.

Tristan's Full Month Party

2009-11-05T08:00:00.003+08:00

Last Sunday was baby Tristan's full month party.

Mummy wanted a 2-tier fondant cake, with blue theme. So we kept it a very pastel blue, with a darker blue shade for decoration.

The cupcakes were individually packed for mummy's colleague, with a note attached to it.

Little Pony

2009-11-03T22:37:00.003+08:00

Chloe loves My Little Pony. So her mum wanted me to bake a cake with the pony image on it.

This is a 3kg chocolate cake, the pony image was hand-crafted, edible of course.

Halloween Cupcakes

2009-11-03T17:54:00.002+08:00

Min sent me a sms for an order of cupcakes a day before Halloween. She only mentioned she wanted pumpkins. I was really excited as this was my first batch of Halloween cupcakes.

We only got to work on them the night before. It was really fun, the girls made their own too, playing with my leftover sugar paste

Julia's Baby Shower

2009-11-03T10:21:00.004+08:00

Our dear Korean friend Julia is expecting a baby boy.

We had a baby shower for her last week at a friend's house. It was really nice when it was time for presents opening, all the baby stuff were really cute !

I told her, next time I want to bake her some ' It's A Girl' cupcakes.

Liverpool Cake

2009-11-03T10:19:00.001+08:00

3kg chocolate cake, with Liverpool image on it.

Cupcakes For Heidi

2009-10-29T08:41:00.003+08:00

These cupcakes were baked for Heidi's 13th birthday.

Chocolate cupcakes with buttercream. She loves flowers, so I made some with sugar paste as decorations for these cupcakes.

2 Tier Ice-cream Cake

2009-10-29T08:33:00.003+08:00

Once again, Sophia had an ice-cream cake for her birthday party last Saturday.

Last year, she also had one, a chocolate flavour.

This year, I made her a strawberry ice-cream cake, sandwiched between 2 layers of chocolate sponge, a whopping 7 kg. My freezer couldn't fit, so I made it into 2 tiers. She likes dinosaur a lot, so a cute T-Rex was placed on top of the cake, with some cupcakes placed on the cake board.

Octavia's 1st Birthday

2009-10-29T08:31:00.004+08:00

This 2-tier cake was baked for Octavia's 1st birthday last week.

Both tiers were rich chocolate cake, covered with sugar paste.

Treasure Hunt Cake

2009-10-24T22:17:00.003+08:00

Justin is such a lucky boy.

Last year, he had a MM clubhouse theme party & cake.

This year, Y decided to do a treasure hunt theme party. Once again, I had the pleasure to bake his cake. This is a ice-cream cake. There's even little treasure hidden in it, wonder who was the lucky kid to get it.

Besides the cake, there's also cupcakes for the party. No. 6 for Justin's age & the 'X' marked the treasure. It was a pity we couldn't be there as on the same day we flew off to attend another party. I heard the kids had lots of fun !

October Random Cakes

2009-10-24T22:09:00.005+08:00

What a happy family ! This is baked for S who just had a baby boy. She wanted a cake with an image of daddy, mummy, little girl & baby boy.

A train cake for baby Jedidiah. This is slightly different from my usual train cake as this has an extra boxcar, with logs on it.

When a dog loves a cat. Darryl already has a dog at home & he just got a new puppy. So he wanted both cat & dog to be on his birthday cake ! He had this at his school party.

Another cake for Darryl, with his family members over dinner on the same day.

Fondant Birthday Cupcakes

2009-10-24T22:06:00.002+08:00

These cupcakes were baked for J's dad, over a month ago.

October Celebration

2009-10-24T21:43:00.005+08:00

Oh Gosh, I can't believe I've been missing my blog for over a month.

Time not just flies, it 'rockets' past me. I wish I could have more time, more extra time, so I could organise my schedule to do things that I really want to do : facial, massage....

I always look forward to October, which many birthdays fall in & I could share the joy with others.
I had a rather 'fun' birthday this year. For the past few years, it was always hubby, myself & the girls. This year, my Korean friends found out about my birthday & took me out for lunch. I really appreciated their thoughtfulness.
On another day, a week after my birthday, we had a gathering at a friend's house. A called me a day before the gathering to order a cake to bring over to the friend's house. I baked & brought the cake over, without realising anything. Half-way through the gathering, the cake was brought out by the host with the singing of birthday song. Everyone was looking around, not knowing who's birthday was it, including me. As they walked closer to me, I realised that it was for me !!! I was really caught by surprise & that made me feel like a little school girl. I was so touched by them, A, F & P. Thank you, my dear friends.

JF made me a card, with mummy sitting on our dining chair (am looking forward to it, very very soon ), with a 5-tier cake. I especially liked the chandelier hanging overhead !

Pirate Flag Cake

2009-09-18T20:30:00.006+08:00

P wanted a cake with a pirate flag on it for Ivan's birthday, yesterday. A buttery cake was just what she mentioned, the rest was up to me.

Last year, Ivan had a castle cake, our very first fondant cake. I'm really glad that this year we had the chance to make another one for him.

This time round, we had a great time making this, in a cool & bigger space. The girls were happily kneading & shaping the leftovers 'dough'....

Austin's Birthday Cupcakes

2009-09-15T17:19:00.004+08:00

These cupcakes were baked for Austin's 5th birthday yesterday.
He had these cuppies in school for his classmates during snack time.

Prior to these, he had a birthday party last Saturday & had a cake with his favourite T-Rex image on it.

Cakes (7/9 - 13/9)

2009-09-15T17:10:00.002+08:00

Baby Shower Cupcakes

2009-09-13T20:38:00.004+08:00

These cupcakes were baked for J's baby shower party yesterday.

The pretty little blue jumpsuit is for a baby boy that's coming her way......

Prawn Risotto

2009-09-13T14:38:00.005+08:00

One blink, it's been 2 weeks since my last post & this is my first in September ! Can't believe I've been busy, lazy, tired ???

Been craving for risotto for quite a while, finally found time to cook some on one of the week nights.

Serves 4-6

1Kg Raw prawns
2 Tomatoes, chopped
1 Carrot, chopped
1 Celery stick, chopped
2 Bay leaves
1 large onion, chopped
5 Cloves garlic, crushed
1 Cup (250 ml) white wine
Pinch of saffron threads
1 Tbsp Olive oil
20g Butter
1 1/2 Cups (330g) Arborio rice
1 Tsp Finely grated lemon rind
3 Tbsp Finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Shaved Parmesan, to serve

Peel & devein the prawns. Reserve the heads & shells. Cover the prawns, then refrigerate. Place the heads & shells in a large saucepan & add 1.5L water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat & simmer for 5 minutes.

Strain the liquid into a clean saucepan & add the tomato, carrot, celery, bay leaves, half the onion & half the garlic. Bring to boil, then reduce the heat & simmer for 45 mins.
Strain into a bowl, pressing the solids for any juices, then return the liquid to the same pan - you should have 1.25L liquid, if not, add water. Add the wine & saffron, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat & keep at a simmer.

Heat the oil & butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts, then add the remaining onion & cook for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the rice and remaining garlic and stir for 1 min, or until the rice is well coated.

Ladle 1/2 cup (125 ml) of the stock into the rice and stir constantly until it is all absorbed. Add stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly for 25 mins, or until all the stock is absorbed, adding the raw prawns and lemon rind with the final portion of stock. When the prawns are pink and curled and the rice is tender and creamy, stir in the parsley and lemon juice. Season and serve with Parmesan.

* I omitted the shaved Parmesan as I do not like it.

Doraemon Cake

2009-08-31T21:23:00.004+08:00

This is the third year I'm baking Yi Hung's cake. I've watched this little boy grow up, from the day he was born 3 years ago, on Merdeka Day.

This year, he's big enough to tell his mummy that his favourite cartoon character is Doraemon, what a cutie !

The image was from Rei , the 'sifu' back home. The design on her cakes are all so gorgeous, a real talent she really is ! I got her permission to use her design. Something I learn from blogging for the past year, if you like someone's design, just ask if you can use it & give credit, that makes everyone happy !!

Angel Hair Pasta With Crab, Chilli & Lime

2009-08-30T12:43:00.003+08:00

I was left with the last packet of frozen crab meat that my mum gave me during my last trip back home. I think it's from Sri Lanka crab as the flesh is really big chunk & even though it's frozen, the taste is so sweet & fresh, not fishy at all !

I didn't want to make crab meat omelette again like what I did the last time, I wanted olive oil based pasta this time.
Found this Gordon Ramsay recipe :

Serves 4

Ingredients :

200g angel hair pasta *
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 red chilli *
4 spring onions
Approx 75ml dry white wine
1 lime
250g white crab meat
Handful of flat leaf parsley *
Salt
Black pepper
Olive oil
Extra virgin olive oil

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. When it comes to a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook according to pack instructions until al dente (approximately 3-4 minutes).

2. Heat another large pan with the olive oil. Chop the spring onions, thinly slice the chilli (deseed if you prefer) and crush the garlic. Sauté for 1-2 minutes and season with salt and pepper.

3. Add the wine to the pan and cook out for a minute to reduce. Add the crab meat, stir together and allow to heat through.

4. Drain the pasta and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the pasta to the crab mixture, chop the parsley and toss the ingredients to combine.

5. Divide between warm plates and serve immediately with a generous squeeze of lime juice, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

*I've used vermicelli instead of angel hair for the pasta. Chilli has been omitted, well because of the girls. I was lazy to drive to TH to get a bunch of flat leaf parsley so I used dried parsley leaves.
This is a very simple pasta, very easy to cook & so yummy, will defintely cook it again the next time I stock up on crab meat again !

Cupcakes For JF 2009

2009-08-27T20:22:00.005+08:00

A batch of cupcakes baked for JF, for her to bring to school tomorrow morning. Since her birthday is always during the summer holidays, she only gets to bring cake in when school reopens.

She got very excited about when I told her I'll be baking some cupcakes for her to bring to school on Friday. And she even asked me if she could decorate them. I'm not going to let her do it because I already have a plan in my mind !

I want to make my first batch of fondant cupcakes & I make sure I do it.

I was up at 4.30am this morning to bake the cupcakes. JF wanted vanilla this time. So by the time I send them to school, the cupcakes were already cooling on the rack. Back from my morning run at 9am, it was time to start the action.

A few months back, JF's favourite colour was still green, now it's blue. So I decided on blue theme for the cupcakes. I've made the sugar paste a few days ago so I just had to finish up with the decoration today. The cupcakes were meant to be a surprise for her so I had to get it done before the girls come home from school today.

I think JF already has a preview of the cupcakes because I set them as wallpaper of my mobile after I took a picture of these cuties !

She's going to be so happy tomorrow.

Panna Cotta With Strawberry Puree

2009-08-25T21:21:00.005+08:00

Yesterday was Jana Faith's 7th birthday.

This year I didn't bake her any cake but of course I made her something ! We had Panna Cotta as her 'birthday cake' this year. Why Panna Cotta ? In fact, there's a story to it....

My girls grew up with diary cream so obviously they like cream, especially when whipped. We had a dinner at Al-fresco last weekend to celebrate JF's birthday. Since there's a band there so I got them to sing her a birthday song & I thoght it would be nice to have a dessert to go along with it. Browsing through the dessert menu, I saw Panna Cotta with raspberry crisps & that seemed interesting. When the dessrt arrived, served in a huge glass, with a thin pathetic layer of raspberry jelly & crumbed pieces of what seemed to me butter cookies. The Panna Cotta tasted like a thick milky agar agar, not like a creamy dessert. We pushed it around among the four of us & when we left there's still like almost half left. The kids commented that the Panna Cotta was awful !

So I thought I could make Panna Cotta while the girls were still sleeping yesterday morning & be ready for lunch.

Few months back, I saw on Jenny's blog about her Panna Cotta, I was so attracted to it, so pretty served in a tall glass. This is the link to the original recipe .

I made some changes to the original recipe & this is my version :

Serves 4

1 cup (250ml) strawberry puree
2 tablespoon (30g) water
8g powdered gelatin
1 vanilla bean
2 cup (500 ml) heavy cream
1/4 cup (50gr) sugar

Fill 4 champagne flutes with strawberry puree up to 1/4 height, let freeze till firm.

Place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Let it bloom while you prepare the cream. On a flat surface, cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise without cutting all the way through. With a pairing knife, scrape the seeds from the pods. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, heat the heavy cream with the sugar and vanilla bean seeds until the cream is just about to boil, stirring occasionally to make sure the sugar dissolves completely. Remove from the heat and stir in the gelatin until it is completely melted. Let cool for about 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. You can speed up the process by placing your saucepan over a bowl filled with ice but keep and eye on it as it will thicken faster. Once the cream is cooled, slowly pour it over the frozen fruit till about half full. When it almost set, pour in another layer of strawberry puree, let freeze till firm & pour the remaining cream on top of the puree. Let chill till firm before serving, at least 2 hours. Garnish with strawberry before serving.

Cartoon Galore !

2009-08-25T10:50:00.003+08:00

Birthday Cupcakes For Nikki

2009-08-24T19:46:00.005+08:00

These chocolate cupcakes were baked for Nikki's 10th birthday celebration. Prior to these, she also had a chocolate cake, for dinner with her family.

Tomorrow, when school reopens for the new term, she's going to have another batch of cupcakes for her classmates, what a lucky girl !

Pudding - Mango Mango

2009-08-18T15:51:00.006+08:00

I couldn't get enough of mangoes. Each time the season is here, you can find loads of mangoes in my kitchen. I waited for some mangoes to become very ripe to whip up this pudding.

This recipe is adapted from Japanese pastry chef, Susumu Koyama's
The Sweet Trick. I've tried some of the recipes in this book & they turned out really good. The book is published in Mandarin so I have the recipe translated :

Serves 10

Mangoes 430g (peeled weight), roughly diced
Lemon juice 5g
Sour cream 10g
Sugar 85g
Gelatin leave 6g (abt 3pcs) * or 3 tsp gelatin powder
Water 240g
Milk 70g
Cream 35g

Mix mango cubes with the lemon juice & mash with a wooden spoon (I've used a whisk). Add sour cream & combine well, set aside.

Soak gelatin leaves in 150g of water till soft, drain. In a saucepan, heat sugar, water & milk till boiling, remove from heat, add the gelatin leaves & stir till dissolved. Place the saucepan of the milk mixture over a large bowl of iced water, continue stirring until the mixture is cool. Pour mixture over the mashed mangoes, followed by the cream, combine well.

Pour into individual serving glass. Chill until firm before serving.

Sauce for the pudding :

Milk 100g
Milk powder 25g
Sugar 8g

Place all ingredients in a saucepan & cook till boiling. When cool, chill it. Drizzle sauce over pudding when serving.

* I've tried using gelatin leaves for this pudding but I find the texture too soft. So this time I made the pudding with gelatin powder & it turned out great. Just add the gelatin powder to the saucepan with the sugar, water & milk before cooking. I didn't make the sauce this time as I find it too milky. We enjoyed the pudding as it is, all the goodness of mangoes in every spoonful.

Cakes (10/8 - 16/8)

2009-08-16T20:39:00.004+08:00

My friend J had these cupcakes for her restaurant's staff birthday celebration. 4 of their birthdays fall in August so she had a joint celebration for them.

A marine theme cake with an anchor on it, design was from the person who ordered it.

Naruto for Naldo's 7th birthday celebration. Frankly, I have no idea who Naruto is. JF told me it's a yellow hair boy so I googled for him. Yes, he's a Japanese comic character, an adolescent ninja.

Seafood Stew

2009-08-11T09:34:00.004+08:00

One of our weekday lunch lately, when it was raining the whole week. This is such a simple hearty meal, served with crusty bread.

The recipe was adapted from one of the issue of Super Food Ideas :

Serves 4

1/4 Tsp Saffron threads
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Brown onion, finely chopped
2 Garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tsp Ground paprika
2 Tbsp Thyme leaves
3 x 400g Cans Italian chopped tomatoes
1 Cup Fish stock or water
1 Lemon, rind finely grated, juiced
2 Large Potatos, cut into 2-cm cubes
500g Thick white boneless fish, cut into 3-cm pcs
12 Mussels, cleaned, beards removed
12 Green prawns, peeled, deveined

Place saffron threads into a bowl. Add 1 Tbsp hot water, allow to stand for 5 mins. Heat oil in a large deep frying pan over medium heat. Add onion & garlic, cook for 3 - 4 mins, stirring or until tender. Add paprika & thyme, stir until well combined. Cook for 1 - 2 mins or until aromatic.

Add tomatoes, stock, lemon rind, 1/3 cup lemon juice, saffron mixture & potatoes to pan. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 mins or until potatoes are just tender.

Add fish, mussels & prawns to pan. Cover, cook for 8 - 10 mins or until seafood is cooked through. Season with salt & pepper.

* I've omitted the mussels & instead of 500g of fish, I've used a mixture of 500g of fish, scallop & squid. I didn't have fish stock on hand so I changed it to chicken stock.

Strawberry Jelly Cake

2009-08-11T09:28:00.005+08:00

Have just added a very light & refreshing cake to my list - Strawberry Jelly Cake

It's chocolate sponge at the bottom, followed by a creamy layer, topped with strawberry slices & jelly.

Farewell Party Cupcakes

2009-08-06T15:43:00.003+08:00

A batch of chocolate banana cupcakes for a girl's farewell party.

JF's best friend will be leaving in a week's time. It's really sad to see her family moving to another country after spending 3 years in KK.

Her mum organised a farewell party at a poolside yesterday afternoon. The girls really had a lot of fun in the pool & having all the pizza, doghnuts, chips, sweets.......

Garlic-Mustard-Grilled Beef Skewers

2009-08-04T17:24:00.005+08:00

We had a great lunch today. Of all cooking styles, I suddenly crave for grilling today, in the intense heat outside. I just had to finish up the 2 pcs of tenderloin I have in the deep freezer.

I've been looking for beef skewers recipe & happened to find this garlicky recipe from Bobby Flay's Grilling For Life.

Ingredients :
Garlic-mustard glaze

1/4 cup Whole grain mustard
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
4 Cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Soya sauce
1 Tbsp Honey
1 Tbsp Finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 Tsp Spanish paprika
1/4 Tsp salt
1/4 tsp Freshly ground black pepper

Grilled beef skewers

2 Pounds beef tenderloin
Twelve 6-inch wooden skewers, soaked in cold water for 30 mins

Preparation
For garlic-mustard glaze

Whisk together all of the ingredients in a small bowl, cover & let sit at room temperature for at least 30 mins & up to 4 hrs before using.

For grilled beef skewers

Heat your grill to high.

Cut the tenderloin lengthwise in half, then cut the halves lengthwise in half again. Slice crosswise to make 24 equal pcs. Skewer 2 pcs of beef onto each skewer, keeping them together at one end of the skewer. Place the skewers in a baking dish or on a baking sheet, pour half of the glaze over the meat & turn to coat.

Grill the meat, turning once & brushing with the remaining glaze, for 4 - 6 mins until golden brown, slightly charred & cooked to medium-rare. Transfer the skewers to a cutting board & let rest for 5 mins.

Place the skewers on a platter & serve hot.

* I only have a pound of tenderloin so I halved the garlic-mustard glaze. I cut the beef into cubes so it'll be easier for the girls to handle. I don't have Spanish paprika (don't know what this is) so I used Hungarian paprika from McCormick (wonder id they are thye same ?). The fresh rosemary leaves has been substituted with dried ones as I only have fresh thyme in my fridge. I left out the whole-grain mustard as some readers commented that the mustard flavour is too overpowering. Since I only have a pound of tenderloin, I halved the glaze recipe & poured it over the beef cubes to marinate for 3 hours in the fridge. Just remove the beef cubes an hour before cooking & drain the marinate. I've also threaded some cherry tomatoes & onion onto the skewers before grilling. The skewers were cooked on a grill pan on a gas hob & they only took about slightly over a min on each side.

This recipe yields 12 skewers, with cherry tomatoes & onion,

No. 1 Cake For Ethan

2009-08-01T17:49:00.004+08:00

Little Ethan turns 1 today.

Mummy wanted a '1' shape cake for his party. As this cake is very big, we have to craft it out of a few cakes, so it sits comfortably on a 22" long cake board.

Bumblebee (Transformer) Cake

2009-07-31T21:25:00.003+08:00

A called me last week for an order for a car cake, for Ian's birthday today. Initially I thought it was a car cake like what we did last month. On Monday morning, she brought me a model car of Bumblebee, the character in the Transformer movie.

We crafted the shape of the car out of two large cakes, based on the model we had on hand. Like the car cake, it took me some time to pipe the entire car.

This cake was meant to be a surprise for Ian . He had the cake cutting in school today. Accordingly to mummy, he was a proud little boy today !

He's also having some cupcakes over a family dinner tonight.

Cakes (20/7 - 26/7)

2009-07-29T08:33:00.004+08:00

Few of the cakes done last week.

Racing horse image on a cake, for a horse loving 60 year-old dad.

Pool table on a cake

The cute Baby Milo !

Berry Pie

2009-07-25T15:06:00.004+08:00

My sweet tooth is aching again this morning. This time I wanted something not so sweet yet easy to prepare & bake. I happened to be browsing through Alex Goh's Irresistible Pastry & his berry pie caught my eyes.

I remembered there's still a portion of sweet pastry in the freezer. So I decided I could whip up a berry pie since there's frozen berries in the freezer too.

Sweet Pastry Recipe :

70g Icing sugar
150g Butter
1 Egg
260g Flour
1 Tbsp Milk powder

Mix icing sugar & butter till well combined, add in egg & cream till smooth.
Add flour & milk powder, mix till well blended. Refrigerate for 30 mins or till firm.

*The weight of the pastry is 540g.

Berry Pie :

300g Sweet pastry

Filling :

600g Berries
80g Sugar
2 Tbsp Corn flour
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Grated zest of 1 lemon

Toss the berries with sugar, cornflour, lemon juice & zest together in a bowl till well combined. Pour them into pie dish & egg wash the edges. Roll out pastry between 2 sheets of waxed paper to 3-mm thickness. Cover the pie dush with the pastry. Press the sides with fork & trim the excess. Brush the top with egg wash.
Bake at preheated oven of 200C for 35 mins or until golden brown.

The yummy berries in my ramekin, before baking.

Yummy berry pie, half gone, perfect with coffee !

As I only have 180g of sweet pastry left in the freezer, I had to make it into 3 small pies in my ramekins. For 180g of sweet pastry, I used 3 ramekins, 2 of 1/2 cup capacity & 1 of 3/4 capacity.
As for the filling, I halved it. A combination of strawberries & blueberries have been used for the pie filling.
This pie is not at all sweet & over filling since there's only pastry on top. This recipe is a real keeper, am going to be baking this very often as everyone loves it.

Baked Cha Shao

2009-07-24T09:10:00.005+08:00

I hardly buy or cook pork. But when I do, it's usually well marinated before cooking, be it stewing or baking. Another of our favourite will be tonkatsu, I'll always prepare a batch of these & freeze them. Besides ribs, the only part we eat is the tenderloin.

Frankly, I enjoy watching people indulge in their belly pork, especially samgyeopsal (grilled belly pork) in Korean restaurants. But still, I rather stick to my tenderloin.

Since the girls are on their long summer holiday break, I have more time to really bake & cook, yes baking still comes first !
The girls, especially JF, likes cha shao a lot. She'll always ask for cha shao to be on her kon lau mee on Sunday breakfast.

I got this baked cha shao recipe from a friend's house in Labuan. I remembered about 8 years ago when we stayed there while hubby had a RC car competiton, I was so bored so I went through all the books I could find in the house & copied recipe after recipe, manually.
This is from one of the Chinese book, not sure who's the author :

Ingredients :

600g Pork, cut into 1/2 " strips
3 Tbsp Honey

Marinate :

2 Tbsp Oyster
1 Tbsp Dark soya sauce
1 Tbsp Shao Tsin wine
1 Tbsp each Garlic, Shallot, Bean Sauce (minced)
1 Tsp each Sesame oil, ginger juice
3 Tbsp Sugar

Combine all marinate ingredients in a large bowl, add meat & mix well, cover bowl & leave to marinate overnight in the fridge.

Drain marinate, place meat on grilling rack, grill at 210C for 15 mins. Turn meat over & grill for another 7 mins. Remove meat & brush all over with honey, grill for another 5 mins till golden brown.

I usually cook the marinate till boiling & sieve it as sauce for the cha shao. Just serve it with plain rice & some steamed vege.

We couldn't finish the cha shao in one meal. So I chopped up the remaining, with an onion, 4 beaten eggs, one huge bunch of spring onion & cooked rice, we've got ourselves fried rice for dinner that night.

Winnie The Pooh Cake

2009-07-20T08:06:00.003+08:00

I bought the girls a copy of the KIS joke book & they're always telling me jokes contributed by little kids from the school.

One joke from it : Why does Tigger look into the toilet ?

To look for Pooh

I think this is quite funny !!

This Winnie The Pooh & Piglet cake was baked for 3 year old Joey, who simply adores Pooh & the gang.

Now, another quote form the joke book :

A man lives in a single storey house. Everything in his house is pink, the door is pink, the bed is pink, the lamp is pink, the kitchen is pink, even the computer is pink. What colour are the stairs ?