Simply Anne's

CNY

2012-01-17T10:56:00.000+08:00

Last week my husband requested me to make some cookies for his colleagues at work since he will be away on a overseas work for a couple of weeks and won't be in Singapore this coming CNY holidays. I admit I'm not very familiar with traditional Chinese goodies so I tried to stick to recipes I've tried before like Pineapple Tart and Chocolate Shortbread Cookies. I also made Cashew Sugee Cookies and Peanut Sesame Cookies. For the Peanut cookies my youngest son offered his help by shaping the cookies in a 1/2 tbsp measuring spoon. I was happy he helped me out or else it would take me forever to finish everything.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Peanut Sesame Cookies

200 g flour
180 g icing sugar
60 g cornflour
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
30 g roasted sesame seeds (I used black)
180 g roasted peanuts
200 g butter

Finely chop peanuts and sesame seeds in food processor.

In a bowl, sift plain flour and corn flour.

Put butter, icing sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until sugar is just dissolved. Add egg and vanilla extract and mix well.

Add the plain flour, cornflour, peanuts, sesame seeds and mix until dry ingredients are just moistened.

Shape into small balls and arranged on lined baking tray. Brush with beaten egg yolk and decorate with halved peanut.

Bake at 180 C for 10 minutes.

Start of the Year

2012-01-04T14:29:00.001+08:00

As the new year starts, I am again engrossed in cleaning and de-cluttering my home. I have been spending this past few days organizing stuff, throwing away things we don't need anymore. As for my kids they are starting a new school year so I was also busy making sure they are prepared. My eldest son will be in Sec 1 this year and I was happy he did well in his PSLE exams so he was able to go to his preferred school.

Although I don't really go for New Year's resolution, my husband and I has decided that we should exert more effort to eat healthily and exercise regularly. Sad to say, hubby and I has gained some extra pounds and our recent medical screening revealed we both have high level of cholesterol. I will be slowing down with my bakes but hopefully I'd still be able to update my blog every now and then.

For now, let me leave you with the last cake I made for last year. A Car's the movie themed cake for Caleb's 3rd birthday.

Lesson

2011-12-18T22:45:00.001+08:00

I made this cake for little Denice. Sad to say I made a grave mistake when I misspelled her name. It should be a C not an S. I was so disappointed with myself and although I could have corrected it by going to their place, unfortunately there was not enough time. I have to admit my body couldn't handle the long hours of baking and cake decorating. My body and mind wasn't functioning anymore after days of lack of sleep. Oh well! the joys and pains of baking. I swear I learned my lesson from this incident... again my sincerest apologies A.

Bakes

2011-11-17T20:35:00.004+08:00

As the year is finally drawing to an end, I've decided to post some of my bakes which were neglected and forgotten. I know I won't be able to tell the full story of these bakes but then again it makes me happy just reminiscing my fair share of happy baking for this year.

Monkey Bread with Apple Butter

Banana Chocolate Upside Down Cake with Butterscotch Sauce

Espresso Cake

Double Chocolate Cookies

Pumpkin Pancakes with Spice Sugar

Banana Cream Pie

Cheese Scones

Churros with Chocolate Dip

Double Chocolate Loaf

Chocolate Persimmon Muffins

Cat & Dog

2011-11-17T07:12:00.001+08:00

A cake requested by my godson Louis for his friends. Between the two cake characters I had a hard time making the dog which took me about four tries before I was satisfied.

Joy

2011-11-13T08:25:00.000+08:00

I guess the reason why I love making cakes for kids is that I find it emotionally rewarding. The smile on the child's face is priceless...

A cake I made for little Joshua...

And of course for his big sister Johannah...

Thanks Lani!

Yellow

2011-11-01T14:04:00.002+08:00

This scone is a bit denser than the usual scones that I've tried. It was very filling due to the fact that it has oats and coconut. My favorite part would be the citrus glaze. I have to reduce the amount of confectioners sugar since I don't want it to be too sweet.

Carrot Coconut Scones with Citrus Glaze

recipe can be found here.

A Figgy Experience

2011-10-31T14:55:00.000+08:00

Figs here in Singapore are not a common sighting so when the right opportunity presents itself, I was excited to try these in my bakes. I did not taste the fresh fig because I find the inside visually unappealing but I have to admit I did enjoy the cooked fig filling.

Fresh Fig Bars
recipe adapted from : Farmers' Market Desserts by Jennie Schacht

Filling :

420 g fresh figs, stemmed and quartered
68 g sugar
4 tbsps maple syrup
1 tbsp fresh orange juice
1/4 tsp salt

Dough :

70 g whole wheat pastry flour
38 g All Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
25 g light muscovado sugar
40 g butter, softened
30 g cream cheese, softened
58 g egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Egg wash: 1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tsp water

Filling:

Bring the ingredients to a boil over medium heat, stirring often, then decrease the heat to low and allow the filling to simmer for about 5-10 minutes, or until it is thickened, but not extremely thick. Cool the filling and puree it in the food processor with the metal blade.

Dough :

To make the dough, stir together the flours, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.

In another large bowl, beat together butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extract.

Stir in the flour mixture to the butter-cream cheese mixture to form a dough.

Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper then roll it into a rectangle shape. Wrap and chill for 1-2 hours.

Spoon the fig filling (you'll only use half and store away the remaining)about 1 1/2 inch wide mound on the center of the strip.

Using the parchment as an aid, lift sides of each dough strip over filling, overlapping slightly on top.

Press edges together to seal.

Place, seam side down on greased baking sheet.

Brush top with egg wash

Cut into strips but do not separate.

Bake in pre-heated oven for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool and cut them apart.

Since I still have some left over fig filling, I decided to use it in these Figgy Buckwheat Scones. Loved it!

Reminisce

2011-10-27T18:43:00.000+08:00

I've been feeling nostalgic lately as I I remember my favorite Torta from my childhood days. Those were the days when I'd have sleepless nights because of my anticipation for incoming fiesta, my eagerness to go about visiting my friends house and not to mention the abundant food almost everywhere.

Although the recipe yields a not so close texture to the Torta I know, nevertheless it was quite good. I ended up eating quite a few pieces and in so doing my sugar cravings went haywire. Oh! for the love of Torta so be it!

Quick Hello

2011-09-20T12:31:00.003+08:00

My blog has been silent for quite sometime...sorry but life's just gets in the way with my blogging lately ...

My eldest son will taking his PSLE exams next week and I feel nervous about it... can't seem to make myself concentrate on baking or blogging *sigh*

For now it'll be a simple homey banana cake for everyone :)

Banana Cake with Almond Sesame Topping

Dry Mix:
60 g quinoa flour
120 g all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Wet Mix:
110 unsalted butter
85 g dark muscovado sugar
85 g caster sugar
300 g mashed very ripe banana
2 eggs
80 g sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping
35 g toasted flakes almonds
25 g muscovado sugar
20 g toasted sesame seeds
30 g all purpose flour
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
25 g butter

Combine the almonds, sugar, sesame seeds, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg.Cut the butter until crumbly. Set aside.

Cake:
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 F.Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 inch round pan (in my case I used mini loaf pans ).

Sift together the flours, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine, and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy about 1 minute.

Gradually add in the sugar and beat at medium-high speed until well blended, about 3 minutes.

At medium speed, beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Add the mashed bananas and vanilla extract and mix at low speed until blended.

Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix until well combined.

Add the flour mixture at low speed until just combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand scrape down the sides and stir the batter until uniformly combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.

Sprinkle almond sesame topping over the batter.

Bake 50 -60 mins ( if using mini loaf pans bake for 20-35 mins ) or until the cake is golden brown and springs back when lightly touched.

Precious

2011-08-09T16:32:00.000+08:00

I cake I made for my friends daughter. Happy Birthday dear Cassandra!

Nemo

2011-07-16T14:12:00.000+08:00

A cake I made for Kheona. Thanks Lea and Kristine :)

I like these cute nemo characters...

Practising

2011-07-12T19:41:00.001+08:00

I chanced upon this dish from a book I borrowed from the library.

It would have been nice if I used boneless chicken thigh as recommended but unfortunately I couldn't find any when I went to the grocery :( Although, I am not an expert in Asian dishes, somehow I was glad this dish came out quite good.

Green Chicken Curry
recipe adapted from: 100 Quick Stir fry Recipes by Ken Hom

500 g boneless skinless chicken thigh, cut into 1 inch chunks
2 sticks of lemon grass (use the tender whitish center only, chopped finely)
1 and 1/2 tbsp oil
3 tbsp Thai green curry paste
3 tbsp finely chopped onion
2 tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
2 tsp shredded lime zest
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp sugar
200 g eggplant cut into chunks
400 ml coconut milk
fresh coriander leaves
fresh basil leaves
salt to taste

Heat a large frying pan until hot and add oil. Add green curry paste and stir fry for a few minutes. Add the chicken until it is coated with the paste.

Add the lemon grass,onion,garlic,ginger,lime zest,fish sauce, sugar and 1 tsp salt. Stir fry.

Add the eggplants and coconut milk and 1/4 cup water. Simmer in low heat until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Add coriander leaves and basil leaves. Stir .

Serve immediately.

Crimson Morning

2011-07-11T11:33:00.001+08:00

Last time I mentioned that I was keen on purchasing quinoa flour but I was hesitating because of the price. Well, the urge to make this pancakes over ruled my reasoning that the flour is pricey. In the end I finally bought it with eyes closed. Happy though that I bought it 2 dollars cheaper in Fairprice.

Quinoa and Beet Pancakes
recipe adapted from: Good to the Grain
makes 8 pancakes

30 g wholewheat pastry flour
30 g quinoa flour
70 g all purpose flour
1/2 tbsp baking powder
30 g muscovado sugar
1/4 tsp salt
40 g yogurt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
50 g red beet puree*
1 egg

*For the red beet, I only used one medium red beet and I cooked it in the microwave following these instructions. When beet is done,let it cool then peel and puree the beet in a food processor or blender until smooth. I only used 50 g or 1/4 of of the beet. (Any leftovers can be frozen for future use.)

Sift together the flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, yogurt, butter, beet puree and milk add to flour mixture, stirring only until smooth.

Cook on a hot, greased griddle, using about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until bubbly, a little dry around the edges, and lightly browned on the bottom; turn and brown the other side.

Serve immediately with maple syrup.

Originally the recipe calls for whole wheat flour but I substituted it with wholewheat pastry flour because the result will be lighter and fluffier.

It's my first to use quinoa flour and warning to those who would be using it that it has a weird smell ( Kim Boyce even describe it as smells like bag of dirt) but thankfully there's none of it when you used it your bakes. It lends a distinctive taste.

For the verdict, I am so in love with these pancakes! Truth be told I am not someone who is very much into pancakes but these recipe changed everything. It has that certain taste which reminds me of eating yam... something earthy and nutty. The pancakes came out light and delicious.

New Addition

2011-07-01T15:45:00.005+08:00

I finally had the chance to replenish my supply of special flours. Aside from my staple kamut, buckwheat, wholewheat, oat and spelt four I have also bought millet and barley flour. I was also interested in the quinoa flour but I hesitated in purchasing it when I saw the price ($17 sgd).I find it too steep.

I was excited to bake again with my new supply of flours and this time I'm trying barley flour. I've decided to try it on a scone recipe (as always) which I saw from a book I've loaned from the library.

From what I've read barley flour has a mild flavour.In yeast breads, the nutty flavor of barley flour can replace up to ¼ of the regular flour, and in quick breads and other baked goods, it can be used to replace up to ½ of the flour called for by the recipe. Barley has a lot of protein but not much gluten so it's best to use it as a secondary flour.

Nutritionally speaking, it has slightly fewer calories and more than 4 times the fiber of all purpose flour. It also has slightly more fiber content than whole wheat flour.

Strawberry Barley Scones
recipe adapted from : Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce

102 g barley flour
120 g all purpose flour
40 g muscovado sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
90 g cold butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 cup strawberry jam

Pre-heat oven to 350 F

In a small bowl, whisk the egg into the buttermilk. Set aside.

In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Cut the butter into the flour, tossing the pieces to coat them with flour as you work until it resemble bread crumbs.

Pour the egg mixture over the dry ingredients.Combine the ingredients together just until all the dry bits are moist and the dough looks shaggy.

Use a pastry scraper or spatula to transfer the dough onto a well- floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 pieces. Flour your hands and pat each piece of dough into a disk about 3/4 inch thick and 7 inches in diameter.

Spread one disk with strawberry jam. Top the spread with the other disk and press down gently so that the dough settles into the jam. Brush dough lightly with melted butter and sprinkle some sugar if desired. (in my case I omitted this step)

Slice the circle into 8 wedges. Place wedges in baking sheet leaving a few inches in between them.

Bake15-20 minutes.

Serve warm.

The scones came out lovely. Crumbly, buttery and tender. I was glad it didn't turn out too sweet and my kids who were not at the very least interested in scones somehow managed to eat a few pieces.

Quick Lunch

2011-06-30T07:16:00.001+08:00

I served this dish the day my husband arrived from an overseas trip. He was thankful to be able to eat a proper meal that he likes after being away for a week. I find this rice dish very flavourful and easy to prepare. I can see myself making more of this in the near future :)

Nasi Goreng Rice

4-5 cups cold cooked long grain rice
2 eggs beaten
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp minced garlic
200 g raw prawns, shelled and de-veined, then cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 small onion, minced
1.5 tbsp shrimp paste
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
1/2 cup leftover cooked dry meat ( in my case I used grilled pork shabu-shabu)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the eggs, sesame oil, salt and pepper, then set aside

Heat the wok on medium high heat then add the olive oil.

Add the garlic,prawns,onion, shrimp paste,salt and pepper. Stir-fry for 2 minutes.

Add the rice and stir fry for about 2-3 minutes until the rice is completely heated through.

Stir in the dark and light soy sauce . Add the left over meat.

Drizzle the egg mixture over the rice and cook, tossing the ingredients in the wok, until the egg sets.

Serve immediately.

Another Chance

2011-06-22T21:25:00.017+08:00

I know I've said before that I would never ever attempt any recipe which uses avocado because of the failures that I've experienced, guess I actually ate my words. In all honesty, I love avocado..that is the fruit itself, without anything in it. Somehow when I try to re-create desserts using the fruit, something goes wrong.

After a couple of years , I'm courageous enough to try it once again. Although I can't really say I'm crazy with the result, nevertheless I feel this is quite an improvement compared to my previous attempts. Here, the avocado flavour was very subtle, in fact it was not discernable. The panna cotta was very smooth and creamy which reminded me of this. On it's own, it was good but there was nothing outstanding about it. It was recommended to pair it with chocolate butter cookies and I very much agree that when eaten together, it was really good. The smooth creamy texture of the panna cotta was a contrast to the chocolatey buttery and crumbly texture of the cookies. I like the combination.

Avocado Panna Cotta
recipe adapted from : Dulce by Joseluis Flores

8 g unflavored gelatin powder
1/4 cup + 1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
75 g granulated sugar
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tbsp vanilla paste
60 g ripe avocado pulp

Sprinkle the gelatin over the 1/4 cup milk. Let stand for 5 minutes to soften.

In a medium saucepan, slowly bring 1 cup cream, milk, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla paste to a boil for a minute. Add the gelatine mixture until dissolved.

When gelatine has dissolved, pass the cream mix through a fine colander. Cool in ice bath (stir occasionally)

Puree avocado pulp using a food processor. Add the cooled milk cream mixture and puree again until smooth.

Pour mixture into the moulds or ramekins. Leave in the fridge for 2-3 hours to set.

Serve cold in ramekins with chocolate butter cookies on the side.

Chocolate Butter Cookies

170 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
120 g confectioners sugar sifted
180 g plain All Purpose flour
30 g custard powder or cornflour
50 g cocoa powder
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk

Preheat oven to 350 F

In a medium bowl,cream butter and icing sugar until pale and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg yolk.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, custard powder and cocoa powder. Add to the creamed mixture. Refrigerate until cold for 30 minutes or overnight.

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface, one-third at a time (keeping remaining dough refrigerated), to 1/8 to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut using cookie cutter of choice. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 12 minutes until they look dry.

Lonesome

2011-06-14T16:25:00.000+08:00

A week ago my sister's family came over to visit us for a couple of days. I was busy showing them around Singapore. My kids have waited for them for almost half a year and they were so excited and happy to be with them. But time flies so fast that before we know it, they have to fly back home. My kids were very much affected. In fact I decided not to send them off to the airport because it would only make my two kids feel even worse. My youngest son who's very open about his feelings would often express how he misses his cousins. That it makes him sad whenever he sees things and places that reminds him of them. Lately he feels lonely most of the time. He often asked me why we need to live in a place far from our family and loved ones. He pointed out that he wants to live and grow surrounded by his cousins and relatives. As a mother, it pains me to see my kids in this difficult situation but I'm hoping that someday when they're old enough, they would understand my reasons...

Brown Butter Rice Krispies Treat - I only made half of the recipe and substituted the rice krispies with Coco Pops

I know this isn't much... but for a moment it brought back a smile on their face.

Going Green

2011-04-30T15:31:00.000+08:00

I've always wanted to make a Ben Ten themed cake because I fell in love with this cake. Finally I had the chance and I am so thankful to Pearl .... Happy Birthday Isaac!

Treat

2011-04-27T18:34:00.003+08:00

It' been awhile since I've updated my blog. I haven't been baking nor scrap booking. I just felt I needed to rest and spend more time with my family.

Exam week is here once again. Too many things to do and too much pressure for the kids. My eldest son will be taking the PSLE exam this year as such he has been reviewing and studying. My youngest son on the other hand is swamped with home works and extra curricular activities. Aside from joining Infocom, he also joined the school choir because his teacher encouraged him to do so. In my opinion, I would have wanted him concentrate more on his lessons but he's really keen on joining the choir so I just supported his decision as long as his grades won't be affected.

Made this cake for both of them since they've been wondering why I haven't been baking lately.A simple treat for my two kids with their favorite confections in it.

Rocky Road Cake Squares

213 g All Purpose flour
30 g cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
150 g muscovado sugar
41 g flavorless vegetable oil
184 g cold water
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp distilled vinegar
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips or bittersweet chocolates cut into chunks
12 pcs Daim mini chocolates
12 pcs marshmallows, quartered
1/4 cup or more Valrhona crunchy pearl
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 9 inch square pan with aluminum foil. Set aside.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa,sugar, baking soda and salt.

In another bowl combine water, oil, vinegar, vanilla. Mix until smooth. Add half of the semi sweet chocolate chips and half of the walnuts.

Scrape batter on to the prepared pan. Distribute the marshmallow all over and poke them into the batter. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips and walnuts as well as the Valrhona pearls and Daim mini chocolates.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Serve warm.

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I made this cake a few weeks ago for Gian. Thanks Jen and Jen :)

Unforgettable

2011-03-28T15:12:00.002+08:00

I don't know exactly what to write.

I want to blog about a banana cake recipe that I've tried but I couldn't seem to think of a good way to start my post.

Should I just post the recipe without writing anything about it? ...don't think it's a good idea...

What about the title? should I just write banana cake or yummy banana cake... geez, I already posted banana cake before...

In my last post, I was so desperate in choosing a title that I actually typed in " I Couldn't Think of A Title"... although I changed it after a few minutes...

I'm so pathethic when it comes to writing...sigh... would love to share my bakes but writing a post is so tasking...

Anyway, my purpose with you all is to share a good recipe of a banana cake or banana loaf... whatever you want to call it... it's so darn good I've made it twice already... definitely one of my favorites.

Gianduja Banana Baby Cakes
recipe adapted from : Unforgettable Desserts

Streusel

55 g toasted ground hazelnuts
55 g light muscuvado sugar
45 g all purpose flour
pinch of salt
40 g cold butter

Mix butter, sugar, salt and flour together, until crumbly and mealy looking. Add toasted hazelnuts. Do not over mix. Store in refrigerator.

Cake

52 g butter melted and cooled
120 g all purpose flour
45 g light muscovado sugar
153 g mashed bananas
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
60 g egg
60-70 g gianduja chocolates cut into chunks

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease 6 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers. In my case I used 5 mini loaf pan (3.5 X 5 inches)

In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Toss gianduja chunks, set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together bananas, sugar,vanilla, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

Sprinkle streusel topping over muffins.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Somewhat Similar

2011-03-23T10:55:00.003+08:00

This cake is very similar to the one I made before but this recipe requires whipping the egg whites and folding it to the batter. Instead of using yogurt I replaced it with sour cream which makes it more tender.

Orange Olive Oil Cake
makes 6-7 mini loaves

54 g extra virgin olive oil
120 g sour cream
50 g egg yolks
80 g egg whites
105 g cake flour
90 g All Purpose Flour
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tbsp orange zest

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Grease mini loaf pans. Sprinkle with flour and shake away the excess.

In a bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder and salt. Set aside

Rub together orange zest and sugar. Set aside

In another bowl beat the egg yolks until pale and light. Slowly add the sugar until well incorporated.

Add olive oil and sour cream until thoroughly combined.

Add vanilla and mix until just incorporated.

Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients in two parts, beating after each addition until just combined.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter.

Pour batter in mini loaf pans and bake for 20-35 minutes.

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Made this for Meisha's 2nd birthday. The spaces in the cake are for the figurines which will be attached during the party. This cake was a challenge to make because it was a last minute request but I enjoyed the entire process.

Hectic

2011-03-16T16:05:00.002+08:00

Starting a new hobby can really be overwhelming.Ever since I started scrap booking, I've now become a patterned paper addict. Somehow I couldn't stop myself from buying more papers even though I still don't know where I'm going to use it. I really need to slow down :)

Even though I have other things in mind, I haven't given up on baking. In fact, I'm glad to make these corn muffins because I enjoyed them a lot. I'm a big fan of corn, may it be in savoury or sweet bakes.

Corn Muffins
8-10 small muffins

100 g buttermilk
60 g egg
40 g maple syrup
60 g butter melted and cooled
20 g light muscovado
15 g granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
60 g All Purpose flour
60 g cornmeal

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Grease muffin tins or line with paper cups.

Combine flour, cornmeal, sugars, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

In another bowl, whisk egg until smooth. Whisk in buttermilk,maple syrup and melted butter to combine. Pour into flour mixture and stir until evenly moistened.

Fill muffin cups three-quarters full and bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

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I made this cake for K3's 7th birthday. Thanks Macrey! My son totally enjoyed the party :)

Colors Again

2011-03-04T13:27:00.002+08:00

I made some cookies a few weeks ago because I want to try cookie decorating again. I think it's been over a year since my last attempt. I made quite a number of chocolate cookies but only a few were decorated because we ended up consuming most of the cookies :)

I'm not well equipped when it comes to cookie cutters so most of these shapes were made freehand.

My kids like this a lot..

I was suppose to do a blue colored one but I don't know why I ended up with a pink colored cookie :) I love the light shade of pink though.

A cake I made for little Timothy. A bit sad that Mr. Gru was a villain till the very end... thankfully he behaved during the party :)

Break Time

2011-02-28T16:15:00.001+08:00

I've finally started doing my scrapbook after 9 years of procrastinating. I may say it's very addicting and I totally enjoy the long hours I spend making each page. In between cutting and gluing papers,I manage to whip up these easy scones to satisfy my craving for something chocolatey.

Nutella Scones
makes 5 scones

65 g All Purpose Flour
65 Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
30 g muscovado sugar
12 g cocoa powder
1/2 tbsp baking powder
30 g ground hazelnuts
60 g sour cream
30 g egg
60 g butter

1/4 cup nutella for filling and drizzling

Sift the flours, sugar, baking powder, cocoa powder, hazelnuts and salt into large bowl. Rub in the butter with fingertips until it resembles course crumbs.

Whisk sour cream, and egg in small bowl to blend.

Add sour cream mixture to dry ingredients; mix until dough comes together in moist clumps. Gather dough into ball.

Flatten the dough into a rectangular shape. Spread some nutella on top. Roll the dough into a cylinder then flatten it up into a disk. Roll out the dough to 3/4" thickness and cut into rounds with a 2" cookie cutter. Gather the trimmings and lightly knead, roll, and cut them as well.

Place the rounds about 1" apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Sprinkle demerara sugar on top. Bake in a preheated 175 C° oven for about 15-20 minutes. Drizzle some nutella on top of the scones. Serve warm.

Relief

2011-02-19T16:41:00.000+08:00

Been meaning to post some pictures last week but unfortunately my computer broke down. It stressed me out since I wasn't able to back up all my files. Glad my hubby managed to retrieve most of my files. It was such a relief :)

A last minute request from a friend... Barely had less than 48 hours to prepare and complete the cake. Thanks Ate Lai!

Totally girly! Somehow this cake made me wish that I too have a daughter of my own :)

Love the matching cupcakes for the cake. It was a regret I wasn't able to attend the actual party. I was having a killer headache that time so I decided to stay home and rest. Anyway, thanks Lilibeth!

For the Boys

2011-02-07T19:07:00.002+08:00

A few days ago, my son celebrated his birthday. I may say I am lucky to have such a hard working and responsible boy. He never gave me any problems when it comes to his studies and his teachers have always praised him for being well disciplined. As a parent, I am very blessed to have him.

For years now, my son has preferred to celebrate his birthday in a quiet and simple way. We usually spends his special day having dinner outside and giving him his requested gift. This year his birthday falls on the first day of the Chinese New Year (most business establishments are closed), so we decided to celebrate it at home with a few friends. It was a last minute decision so there was little time left to prepare for everything. One of my son's request was to make him a Star Wars cake. He is an avid fan of anything Star Wars =) How could I say no? Although I had doubts if I could pull it off because I only had two days to prepare for it. Indeed it was a big task for me and I'm glad I was able to accomplish it.

My son requested Jango Fett, Boba Fett and Clone Trooper as the characters in his cake. I honestly don't have any idea who they were so it took me sometime to research about them. I'm so happy that he liked the birthday cake I made for him.

Just after a day from his birthday, my kids has to attend another birthday party. The guest were encourage to bring their own Beyblade but unfortunately my kids don't own one since they're not into this Beyblade thingy.

It gave me the idea to bring a Beyblade cake for the celebrant. That way, my kids indeed has brought a Beyblade only thing is it's suppose to be eaten.

Enough

2011-01-25T19:04:00.000+08:00

I've always been a peace loving person. I'm not one who would think ill of anyone. Rather I always want to believe that there is something good about each person.

I've always believed in compromise but there is also a time when there is a need to say "NO" ...

I spent my afternoon today making these delicious pineapple tarts. I needed something to distract myself from something thats really bothering me. It took me hours just to make these tarts and inspite of that I feel I didn't do a neat job in covering the pineapple filling. The dough was so sticky and soft but it was worth the trouble because they came out really good. It's the best pineapple tart recipe I've tried so far. You can find the recipe in Wendy's blog :)

These pineapple tarts are to be given to my husband's friends. I hope they'll like it.

Sweet

2011-01-24T15:21:00.002+08:00

I have been craving for some cake lately. I wanted to buy just a piece to just satisfy my cravings but I was too lazy to go out of the house. I decided to bake something easy and fuss free.

Caramel Cake

Caramel :
170 g muscovado sugar
300 g milk
30 g unsalted butter

Put the sugar, 1 cup milk and butter into a pan. Stir together and cook until soft ball stage ( 114 C ), being careful not to scorch. Cook slowly until a thick syrup is formed. Transfer into a glass measuring cup. Whisk in the remaining milk. Set aside to cool.

Batter:

110 g eggs at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
200 g cake flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
80 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
caramel

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter 9-inch round cake pan (I used mini loaf pans) and line with a square of parchment paper.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Beat butter and caramel in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Spread batter evenly in cake pan, Top with demerara sugar if desired. Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 25 to 35 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan. Invert onto rack and discard parchment, then cool completely.

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During the weekened I was able to make a cake for little Callista's birthday party.I'm delighted with this girl that at the age of 2 can independently eat her meals on her own. I am so impressed!

A Good Start

2011-01-18T20:54:00.000+08:00

So happy to start my year doing a fondant cake. I decided to make a cake as a gift for my son's friend JM. He is close to my family since they have been school mates ever since they were in pre-school. I decided to do a Car's the movie themed cake since I was told that he likes it a lot. I'm happy I was able to it well. It made me even happier when he personally thanked me for the cake :)

A New Year

2011-01-05T15:47:00.002+08:00

Still very overjoyed to be able to spend my holidays in the Philippines with my loved ones. Frankly I feel 2 weeks is not enough but I'm still very thankful for the chance that I was able to see them. I wish I could visit them more often...

This year, I'm happy that I started the year right. For the past days, I've been busy cleaning and organizing my home. For someone like me who hates cleaning and tidying up, I'm pretty amazed how I had the drive and energy to do house cleaning. I honestly enjoyed it. I like the fact that it feels good and comfortable to see my home neat and tidy. I hope I would stay this way for the whole year...

I still haven't baked anything for the start of the year...hopefully in time I do get new inspirations that will make me play once more in my little kitchen.

For the mean time I'll be posting the last cake I made for 2010... an "UP" movie inspired cake for Caleb :)

Busy

2010-11-08T15:46:00.002+08:00

Been so busy these past few days...finishing cake commitments...completing my Christmas shopping and packing some stuff to be sent home. This week won't be any different either as I still have a line up of things to do.Even though school for my kids will only be ending early next week, I have already been busy trying to make sure all the necessary arrangements for the next shool year is also taken care of since we will be away again to spend our holidays in the Philippines and will only be back just in time for New Years Day.

In spite of my busy routine, I managed to bake this pumpkin cornmeal scone. Something I enjoyed for breakfast before I start my busy day.

Pumpkin Cornmeal Scone

150 g wholewheat pastry flour
100 g cornmeal
50 g muscovado sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
60 g butter, cold
120 g pumpkin puree
100 g Greek yogurt
1 tsp vanilla paste

Toppings
pumpkin seeds
demerara sugar

Preheat oven to 200°C. Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine whole wheat pastry flour, sugar,baking soda , baking powder and salt. Whisk to blend.

Using back of fork or pastry cutter, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.

In another bowl,combine yogurt, vanilla and pumpkin puree.

Gradually add yogurt mixture to dry ingredients, tossing until evenly moistened.

Turn out the mixture onto a floured board and knead lightly. Roll out the dough to 3/4" thickness and cut into rounds with a 2" cookie cutter. Gather the trimmings and lightly knead, roll, and cut them as well.

Place the rounds about 1" apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush the tops with a little milk if preferred. Sprinkle demerara sugar and pumpkin seeds on top. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.

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I am happy to be able to do LJ's cake for the second time around...thanks Lalaine!

Hoping

2010-10-26T13:52:00.003+08:00

Haven't been baking lately because I was busy with my kids helping them do revisions and assessments. In fact, their exam started today and I've been hoping and praying that they do well on their exams .

I made this scones a couple of weeks ago but didn't have the time to blog about it. Although scones are usually my breakfast fare but not for this chocolate scones. I find them too rich to be eaten for breakfast but loved them as my afternoon snack :)

Chocolate Scones

23 g cocoa powder
70 g sugar
115 g whole wheat pastry flour
60 g white spelt flour
110 All Purpose Flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
90 g butter
60 g egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cold buttermilk
100 g chopped 60% bittersweet baking chips

demerara sugar for sprinkling

Butter and flour baking sheet.

Sift the flours, sugar, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt into large bowl. Add butter ; rub in with fingertips until butter is reduced to size of rice grains. Mix in chocolate chips.

Whisk milk, egg and vanilla in small bowl to blend.

Add milk mixture to dry ingredients; mix until dough comes together in moist clumps. Gather dough into ball.

Press dough out on lightly floured surface to 8-inch round; cut round into 6 wedges (can also shape them into rounds using a cutter). Transfer wedges to prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Preheat oven to 400° F. Brush scones lightly with milk; sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake until scones are crusty on top about 15- 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Second Chance

2010-10-16T16:17:00.002+08:00

I am happy to be baking little Briseis cake again this year. I was excited when I heard about it. Last year, I feel I didn't do a very good job with her cake, so this second time around it was a chance for me to make up for it. She wanted a Princess cake and Mommy Wendy sent me ideas to include on the cake. She also provided a Precious Moments figurine to be used as cake topper. If only I could accommodate everything Briseis likes, I really would but since I will be working on a small cake size, I know it won't be feasible but it definitely should not hinder me in making a special cake for her.

Happy Birthday Briseis! I hope you liked your cake :)

Still on Bread

2010-10-12T17:18:00.000+08:00

Made this bread using HHB's recipe. The loaf was simply delicious. The only problem I had was that it was way too soft to be sliced neatly nevertheless this is definitely a very good recipe.

I had some left over pumpkin which I don't want to go to waste so decided to make them into rolls. This came out very hearty and satisfying. recipe can be found here.

Tidying Up

2010-10-04T11:34:00.003+08:00

My special flours are taking up much space in the fridge. Sooner or later I know for sure my husband is going to complain about it (a few days back he organized my files and books on the shelf). Buying this and that is my area of expertise, on the other hand organising is my weakest point. So glad hubby is there to fill in my inability :) This time, I'm proud to say that I was the one who personally arranged my flours. It was also a good chance for me to update my inventory list of ingredients. In so doing, it gave the idea to bake some rolls using a variety of grains and seeds.

Mixed Seed and Grain Bread

2 tsps active dry yeast
1/4 cup water
45 g baby oats
1 cup boiling water
20 g sunflower seeds
1/2 cup warm low fat milk
180 g bread flour
60 g whole wheat flour
50 g rye flour
35 g sucanat
1 tsp salt
40 g olive oil
16 g flaxseed meal
15 g black sesame seeds

One hour before mixing bread, mix oats,sesame seeds and sunflower seeds in a large bowl. Pour over boiling water; let sit for 60 minutes.

Dissolve yeast in water. Let stand until bubbles appear on the surface about 10-15 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients (except bread flour) to mixture in large bowl; stir in dissolved yeast mixture. Add flour, half cup at a time, stirring until well mixed.

Knead dough on a floured work surface, adding as little flour as possible, to make a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic.

Place in lightly oiled bowl; cover with damp cloth and let rise until almost double in bulk or better yet opt for slow overnight rising in the fridge.

Punch down and form into buns or loaf if desired.Place on prepared baking sheets, spacing apart. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm draft-free area until puffed, about 1 hour.

Preheat to 400°F. Bake 10-15 minutes until rolls are lightly browned and firm to touch.

Yellow

2010-09-29T16:49:00.004+08:00

My love for sweet potato dates back when I was a child. Having lived in a small province in the Philippines when I was young,boiled sweet potato, taro,cassava were served as breakfast and snack. When I moved here in Singapore, I was delighted to see other varieties of sweet potato. I like purple sweet potato and for sweetness, I prefer Japanese sweet potato.

This is a very simple and easy scone recipe (healthy too!). Love this for breakfast. I find just one slice is already very filling.

For this recipe I used baked Japanese sweet potato.

Sweet Potato Scone

200 g baked sweet potato, mashed
180 g wholewheat pastry flour
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
60 g muscovado sugar
80 g butter, chilled
1/2 cup cold milk

Preheat the oven to 200ºC . Sift the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder into a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

In another bowl, stir the milk into the mashed sweet potato, mixing well. Add to the dry ingredients and stir with a fork to mix, to make a soft dough.

Lightly knead the dough on a floured surface for a few seconds or until smooth. Shape into a 7 inch circle cut dough into 8 wedges.

Brush with milk or beaten egg if desired then sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake for 15–20 minutes or until well risen and golden brown.

Serve warm.

Beautiful In My Eyes

2010-09-21T15:05:00.006+08:00

I was surfing the net for a good cheese bread recipe when I saw an image of a bread over flowing with cheese. It looks temptingly good. I was even more delighted to see step by step images on how to do it.

The bread came out great. This is the type of bread that my hubby really likes. In my case, I find the bread beautiful in a rustic looking way. The texture was wonderfully chewy and filled with lots and lots of cheese. I used matured cheddar cheese for this recipe. I replaced some of the flour with wholemeal. I also added some minced garlic and replaced the pizza dough flavour with pizza herb toppings.

New Found Love

2010-09-19T19:08:00.010+08:00

Years ago I attempted to make brioche just so I could make some Bostock (stale brioche spread with almond cream). Unfortunately I messed up my brioche so I ended with a different bake.Revising the recipe for the ensaymada left me with a lot of stale brioche. At last, I was able to make some Bostock with the use of my stale ensaymada's. It was soooo good that I think I wouldn't mind re-creating ensaymada for the only reason of having almond cream with it.

Almond Cream
Recipe Adapted from : Baking From My Home To Yours

80 g butter, at room temperature
75 g caster sugar
50 g ground blanched almonds
30 g egg
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp All Purpose flour
1/2 tsp vanilla paste

Using a food processor process the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the almonds and process until well blended. Add the flour and cornstarch and process to blend. Add in the egg. Process until the almond cream is homogeneous.Add vanilla and pulse to blend. Refrigerate.

Bostock

brioche or ensaymada
almond cream
sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Slice brioche or ensaymada 3/4 inch thick. Spread some almond cream and scatter some sliced almonds on top.

Bake until golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

Just turned 4

2010-09-13T13:26:00.010+08:00

During my first year of blogging, I posted an ensaymada recipe. Sadly I have long removed the post since it yields inconsistent result. More so I feel it needs major fine tuning.

I always get a lot of enquiry for a good ensaymada recipe and unfortunately I couldn't give them any because I haven't made ensaymada for ages already. I'm so happy that nowadays I see quite a number of recipes from pinoy bloggers that looks reliable to try.

A month ago I tried my hand in making some ensaymada. I based my recipe from different books and from Manang's ensaymada. This time I was really hoping for success because I wouldn't want to waste my precious butter and eggs. I read quite a number of books for this recipe, taking into account notes that would help me succeed in my ensaymada making. It actually took me quite a number of re-tries and believe me, it came to a point that I was getting sick of all the ensaymada testings. That's also the reason why this post is long over due. I needed a break from the ensaymada experiment that I was doing.

I wanted a recipe that would yield a soft ensaymada without using shortening and definitely no bread softener or dough enhancer. I want to make ensaymada as "naturally" as possible. Heavy cream, egg yolks and butter acted as tenderiser for the bread. It also imparted a wonderful buttery flavour and most impotantly no yeasty after taste***. The bread alone is delicious even without the toppings of butter, sugar and cheese. If you want a simple recipe for your own consumption, I think this is something worth trying. I scaled down the recipe in such a way that this only yields 10-15 ensaymada so you won't have any problem of storing leftovers. In my case I prefer old ensaymada because they taste heavenly when turned into Bostock(more on this on my next post).

When I think of ensaymada, it conjures up thoughts of being overly indulgent because of the amount of butter and egg yolks used. Not to mention the amount of cheese and sugar that goes with it. It's almost like a cake. Calorific! If I'm going to sin, I'm going to do it big time!

To celebrate my 4 years of blogging, I would like to share my recipe for ensaymada.

Golden Ensaymada
serves 10-15

1 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm potato water*

Dissolve yeast in potato water. Let stand until bubbles appear on the surface about 10-15 minutes.

150 g All Purpose Flour
180 g bread flour
84 g eggyolks
32 g mashed potato
1/4 cup potato water*
1/2 cup lukewarm heavy cream
65 g sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vinegar**
87 g softened butter

Filling :

cheddar or edam cheese

Toppings :

melted butter
sugar
grated cheese

In a bowl, mix heavy cream, sugar, salt, vinegar, mashed potato,potato water, egg yolks and yeast mixture. Gradually add in the flours. At this stage, it should feel like a normal fairly soft dough. Knead it for a few minutes until the gluten structure is beginning to develop.

Gradually add in the butter. With all it's butter, it's a difficult dough to develop by hand. The most convenient and effective way is to use a mixer fitted with a dough hook or a bread machine set to dough setting to knead the dough. For manual kneading which I really don't recommend,simply squidge the whole lot into the dough. Work the dough between your hands. As the butter softens and melts, the dough will turn into a greasy, sloppy mess. The dough will be very soft. Do not add more flour. Continue kneading for about 15-20 minutes just until the dough becomes smooth and the surface takes in an oily sheen.

Place dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit overnight in the fridge (10-16 hours).***I prefer the more delicate flavor of a dough risen with less packaged yeast. Rising the dough very slowly, with very little added yeast, builds a better flavor. Chilling the dough also solidifies the butter and makes moulding a bit easier.

Prepare the tins by buttering them. Take note that the dough will expand more than double it's original volume, so allow for this when choosing tins. In my case 35 g dough is enough for a regular muffin tin.

Punch down the dough and knead it for a minute or so. Then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide and shape the dough as desired.

For buns : Roll each piece of dough out to a shape of an elongated oval. Sprinkle some grated cheese (edam or cheddar) You can omit this step if you don't want to go into the trouble of filling it.
From a long side, roll the dough up to a cylinder form and pinch all along the seam to seal. Shape into a coil and place in the pan, seam side down. If not using individual tins, arrange them on baking sheet and cover with lightly greased plastic wrap.
Loaf : You can divide the dough into 4 pieces. Mould them up into rounds and drop then side by side into the tin.

Give the shaped dough a good proof in a warm place until it has risen significantly about 40 minutes to 1 hour depending on the temperature of your kitchen.

Bake in pre-heated moderate oven 170 C until golden brown. Buns will bake for 15 minutes. Larger ones like loaves about 30-35 minutes.

While still warm dip surface of bun into some melted butter then into some caster sugar. Top with grated cheese. Alternatively, you can use buttercream and cheese.

Plain ensaymada (without topping) can be stored at room temperature for a day. Longer than that, wrap each with palstic wrap and store in the fridge.

Can be re-heated in the microwave oven for a few seconds or in my case I prefer re-heating it in the oven or toaster oven to achieve a light crisp crust and a soft interior full of buttery flavour.

* Potato water : Peel potatoes, leave them whole. Add water. Cover and boil until tender (25-30 minutes).The resulting water will be cloudy and full of starch, ideal for using in yeast dough.

Yeast converts starch to sugar. Starch is an excellent food for yeast. The starch in potatoes (or in potato water) absorbs liquid as bread dough is kneaded and holds onto that liquid as the bread bake

** Adding a little orange juice concentrate or vinegar will aid in it's rising. Yeast loves to grow in acidic environment. A little extra acid work particularly in rich sweet dough which often rise very very slow.

Technical Problems

2010-09-11T21:59:00.004+08:00

Something went wrong with the template that I was using... please bear with me as I try to fix everything up :(

Pink, Yellow and Blue

2010-09-10T20:26:00.005+08:00

A last minute cake request from Karen for her lovely daughter Cheyenne. This year, Cheyenne wanted a Cinderella theme cake but due to lack of time, Karen will be providing the cake topper hence the space in the middle of the cake :)

I'm really hoping she liked the cake that I made...Happy Birthday Cheyenne!

Unabashed Love

2010-09-07T13:34:00.014+08:00

Another testimony for my love of scones. Sorry but I just can't hide the fact that I really love scones :)In fact I decided to make a separate tag for scones alone.

It's my first time to use whole wheat pastry flour and I'm very happy how it lends a certain lightness to the scones. Whole wheat pastry flour is my current fave flour :)

Hazelnut Scones

120 g wholewheat pastry flour
120 g All Purpose Flour
25 g oatbran
70 g cold butter
60 g sucanat
50 g ground hazelnuts
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk

demerara sugar for sprinkling on top

Add sucanat to milk.Stir to dissolve the sucanat. You can omit this step if you like bits of sugar embedded in your scone.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine whole wheat pastry flour, all purpose flour, ground hazelnuts, baking powder, salt, and oatbran. Whisk to blend.

Using back of fork or pastry cutter, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Gradually add milk mixture to dry ingredients, tossing until evenly moistened.

Turn out the mixture onto a floured board and knead lightly. Roll out the dough to 3/4" thickness and cut into rounds with a 2" cookie cutter. Gather the trimmings and lightly knead, roll, and cut them as well.

Place the rounds about 1" apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush the tops with a little milk if preferred. Sprinkle demerara sugar on top. Bake in a preheated 200 C° oven for about 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm.

Say Cheese

2010-09-05T19:17:00.006+08:00

This is an all time favorite pasta dish of my two boys. Using lasagna sheet which doesn't require pre-cooking lessens the work and utilizing canned spaghetti sauce saves preparation time.

When I'm feeling overly indulgent, I sprinkle additional mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan on top of the white sauce for a more cheesy experience :)

Simple and Easy Beef Lasagna

9 pcs San Remo Instant Lasagna

Cheesy White Sauce

50 g butter
30 g flour
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken stock
80 g grated mozzarella cheese

Tomato Sauce

2 cups Del Monte Spaghetti sauce (or any spaghetti sauce you like)
1 and 1/2 cup beef stock
2 tbsps olive oil
85 g onion
30 g garlic
250 g ground beef
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 and 1/2 tbsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Brush a shallow ovenproof dish with melted butter or oil. Set aside.

To make cheese sauce, melt butter in a medium pan. Stir in flour. Remove from heat. Gradually add milk and chicken stock, stirring until mixture is smooth. Return to heat. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until sauce boils and thickens. Reduce heat, simmer for three minutes. Remove from heat, add cheese, and pepper. Stir well until combined. Set aside.

To make meat sauce, heat oil in a large pan. Add onion and garlic and stir over low heat until onion is tender. Add dried basil, parsley and oregano. Stir in beef. Brown well – breaking up with a fork as it cooks. Stir in oregano, basil,sugar, salt and pepper.Add the spaghetti sauce add the beef stock. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 20 minutes.

Better to use a Pyrex dish, simply layer the meat sauce, then white sauce, then pasta, then meat sauce* and so on (3 layers of pasta- 3 pcs of lasagna noodles per layer).Try not to overlap pasta when creating your layers.

Make sure there is a white sauce layer on top and sprinkle mozzarella cheese. At this point feel free to add Italian herbs, chilli flakes and parmesan to your taste. Cover loosely with aluminum foil.

Bake in the oven at 180 C for 50-60 minutes. Remove foil 15 minutes before end of baking time.

Let stand for 15-20 minutes before cutting and serving.

Note : In using instant lasagna noodles, always make sure there is enough sauce or else your lasagna sheets will not cook properly

*can also do meat sauce, lasagna sheets, white sauce, lasagna sheets...and so on...

Basic

2010-08-27T19:16:00.005+08:00

I use to think highly of commercial bread. In fact, when I learned how to bake, I've always wanted to produce bread similar to what I usually buy in stores. After reading the book Bread Matters, it really encouraged me to make my own bread. It's a very informative book. In fact it's the only book I've ever read from cover to cover. It exposes how commercial bread is made and it also list the additives and preservatives that goes with it. For someone like me who consumes bread daily, I think making my daily loaf of bread is the best choice.

Sandwich Bread
Recipe Adapted from : The King Arthur's Baking Companion

230 g bread flour
140 g wholemeal flour *
20 g wheatgerm (optional)
1 and 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
60 g mashed potato
50 g sugar
1/2 tsp salt
60 g egg
60 g butter, melted
37 g milk powder
3/4 cup lukewarm water (can also use the water where you boiled your potatoes)

Toppings:
rolled oats

Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Let stand for 10-15 minutes.

In another bowl, combine water, salt, egg, butter, mashed potato,sugar and yeast mixture.

Add in the milk powder and gradually add in the flours. Using a mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment knead until you've made a soft smooth dough.

Transfer dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it proof for an hour or until puffy. (I would really recommend proofing the dough in the fridge overnight)*.

After rising punch out the air. Roll out in a lightly greased table top. Divide the dough into two.(My loaf pans are small so need to divide) Shape dough into a log. Transfer into loaf pans. Top with some oats ( oat bran in my case) if desired.

Let the bread rise for about an 1 hour.

Bake in preheated oven 180 C for 35-45 minutes, tenting it will aluminum foil for the final 10-15 minutes to avoid over browning.

Remove the bread from the oven, take it out of the pan and place on wire rack to cool completely.

* ratio of bread flour and wholemeal flour can be changed according to preference

** If you may have noticed, I've always advised slow rising for bread. In fact, I always opt for an overnight rise in the fridge (at least 10 hours) because it always yields better result.

Notes to remember :

Functions of rising :

- to enable the yeast in the dough to ferment

- to relax, soften and ripen the gluten structure, making it more able to stretch and retain optimal amounts of carbon dioxide gas

- to accumulate flavour from the acids and other by products of fermentation

Every hour of slow fermentation makes your bread more digestible and it's nutrients more available.

The longer you ferment the dough the better the bread keeps.

I've read from the book that researches say making yeasted bread quickly may not leave time for important changes to takes place like for example :

-fermenting dough for six hours as opposed to 30 minutes removes around 80% of potentially carcinogenic substance called acrylamide that is found in bread crust

-long yeast fermentation conserves the highest levels of B vitamins in dough ( 48% of Vit. B is lost in rapidly made white bread.)

All it takes is a little advance planning to be able to make a good bread slowly and in complete harmony with a busy life. - Bread Matters by Andrew Whitley

Rolling

2010-08-21T17:35:00.007+08:00

I've been baking like crazy these past few weeks. I have these urge to keep on trying out recipes... and has been baking bread continuously :) I must say, I haven't felt like this for a long time now and having these impulsive feeling to bake and bake is overwhelming me...

Made these buns just this afternoon. My son and I liked it a lot because the sweetness is just right. These are not as sweet as cinnamon buns. In fact, I think they are not sweet at all but they were so yummy I actually consumed two buns in one go.

Chocolate Hazelnut Buns
recipe adapted from : Warm Bread and Honey Cake

2/3 cups lukewarm milk
1 and 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
313 g bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
30 g sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
65 g butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten

Filling :

70 g ground hazelnuts
75 g butter, softened
25 g cocoa
70 g light muscovado sugar

Directions:

For the buns, dissolve the yeast in warm milk in a bowl. Add the sugar, butter, salt, vanilla paste, egg, flour, and mix well. Knead by hand or mixer to form a soft smooth dough.

Put in bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour, or until the dough has almost doubled in size.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Roll dough flat until it is approximately 16 inches long and 12 inches wide. Preheat oven to 180 C degrees.

For the filling, combine the muscovado sugar, cocoa powder and ground hazelnuts in a bowl. Spread the softened butter evenly over the surface of the dough, and then sprinkle the filling evenly over the surface.

Starting with the long edge covered with filling, roll the dough into a log. Divide and cut the log into 9 pieces. Place the buns in lightly greased 8 inch square pan, pressing down slightly. Cover buns and let them rise 30-45 minutes.

Bake the buns for 20-25 minutes.

Spicy Surprise

2010-08-16T16:16:00.007+08:00

Last Saturday night,we were suppose to have our dinner outside but unfortunately it rained so hard we have to forego our initial plan. We were all getting hungry, so I decided to make a quick pasta meal for my family. Since it was an impromptu dish, I just used whatever ingredients I have on hand. We all agreed that it was a good decision that we decided to stay home for dinner... the food was delicious :)

Pesto ala Pirata

250 g spaghetti noodles
1 packet Knorr Pesto Sauce Mix
1 tbsp garlic, minced
4 anchovy fillets packed in olive oil, drained and minced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsps drained capers, minced
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsps sundried tomatoes, drained and diced
6 pcs green olives,drained and sliced
6 pcs black olves, drained and sliced
1/2-1 tsp chili flakes
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

15 pcs medium sized shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tbsps light soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sake
dash of chili flakes
dash of freshly ground black pepper
olive oil for pan frying the shrimp

Combine soy sauce, mirin, sake, chili flakes and black pepper. Marinate the shrimp on the mixture for 15-30 minutes.

Cook pesto sauce according to package directions.Set aside.

Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions.

Heat olive oil in a large,heavy skillet over medium heat. Transfer the drained shrimp to the hot skillet and saute just until cooked through and golden. Transfer to a plate and set side.

Add extra oil on the skillet if needed and saute the garlic. Add the minced anchovies until somewhat melted. Add in sundried tomatoes, olives, oregano, parsley, chili flakes, black pepper and capers. Saute for 3-5 minutes. Add in the prepared pesto mix. Stir the sauce to blend the flavours.

Transfer pasta into a large bowl. Add in the pesto sauce and toss to coat. Top with shrimp. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.

Good Stuff

2010-08-13T23:36:00.010+08:00

Here's another bran muffin recipe to share. This uses wheat bran not oat bran which I used in this post. Initially, I thought I wouldn't like it because my husband warned me that the bran cereal he eats taste likes saw dust. Glad this muffins turned out well and even my husband liked it. I used Red Bob's Mill wheat bran.

Don't judge these muffins based on it's appearance. Wheat bran and wheat germ is good for our body because it contains high amount of fiber and nutrients. These muffins came out really moist and simply delicious. I honestly enjoyed them.

Natural Bran Banana Buttermilk Muffins

1 cup hot buttermilk
45 g natural bran
25 g wheat germ
250 g pureed banana
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsps molasses
100 g light brown sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
170 g All Purpose Flour (could use combination of whole wheat flour and AP flour)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins plumped and dried (optional)

In a medium mixing bowl, stir hot buttermilk with bran and wheat germ. Set the mixture aside for at least 15 minutes to give it a chance to absorb some of the liquid and become soft. Preheat oven to 190 C.

In a large bowl, whisk in pureed banana,eggs,vanilla extract, brown sugar, molasses and oil. Stir in the bran mixture.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring just until blended. Add a bit of additional flour if the batter is too wet. Fold in raisins if using.

Spoon batter into lightly greased or paper lined muffin cups, filling each cup almost to the top.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until they spring back when pressed lightly in the middle.

Update : changed the photo to a more recent one... and it looks way better than the first one I posted

Light Mornings

2010-08-11T17:39:00.001+08:00

I was never into heavy breakfast. I prefer scones, cereals, bread, waffles and pancakes. These pancakes are just perfect way to start my day. They turned out really soft and fluffy...and of course made with my favorite flour - Buckwheat!

Buckwheat Pancakes

80 g buckwheat flour
33 g All Purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 and 1/2 tbsps caster sugar
pinch of salt
1 tbsp melted butter
2 eggs, separated
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup blueberries

Combine buckwheat flour, plain flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl.

In another bowl,combine, melted butter, buttermilk and egg yolks. Stir well. Then add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Mix lightly until just combined.

Whisk egg whites just until stiff peaks. Gently fold into the pancake batter.

Heat griddle or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Brush lightly with additional melted butter. Working in batches, pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto griddle. Sprinkle each pancake with 1 heaping tablespoon blueberries. Cook until bottoms brown, about 1 1/2 minutes. Turn pancakes over and cook until second sides brown, about 1 minute. Divide pancakes among plates. Serve with syrup.

Just as Good

2010-08-10T16:59:00.004+08:00

This is a another recipe for pretzels. This version is a lot richer than the recipe I used before because this uses butter, milk and egg. If I may compare them both, the first recipe that I used yields a more chewier pretzels. As for this recipe I'm posting, the outer portion is also chewy but the inside is quite soft. My kids prefer this recipe. What I liked about this recipe is that the dough was easy to handle. To vary from the norm, I decided to shape the dough in coils. It was fast and easy :)

Cinnamon Sugar Coils

2 tsp active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (can be replaced with bread flour)
3 tbsps caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
100 g butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cups milk, lukewarm

Sugar Coating

1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg

Combine yeast in lukewarm milk. Let stand for 10- 15 minutes.

Combine flours, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the melted butter, egg and milk-yeast mixture. Beat until well combined.

Using a mixer fitted with a dough hook, knead the dough thoroughly until smooth and supple.

Place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise for about one hour or until it has doubled in size.

Mix sugar and cinnamon on a wide tray. Set aside.

Punch down the dough and knead for a few minutes. Divide dough into 16 equal portions.Roll each piece of dough into a rope about 13 inches long. Coat the dough in sugar cinnamon mixture. Coil into a spiral and tuck underneath. Place them in baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Let rest for about 30 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 200 C. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Out of the Bleu

2010-08-02T11:12:00.003+08:00

My husband has been requesting me to make Cordon Bleu Chicken. My last attempt on this dish was around 9-10 years ago when I was just starting to learn how to cook. It's actually very easy to make and my kids love this dish :)

I made this using this recipe. I marinated the chicken fillet in 1 tbsp light soy sauce and added some streaky bacon.

Cake Filled Weekend

2010-07-26T17:05:00.005+08:00

My weekend was very busy but nevertheless quite enjoyable. I was able to do two cakes which kept me occupied.

This is a Dora themed cake. Initially, I had a hard time deciding if I will follow the whole theme but I decided to just do the characters. My initial design was to have a single bow on the side and a bunch of flowers on the lower side but I have to change the design just a few days before I made the cake because I was asked to incorporate something. With this cake, it was very challenging to do Dora without it looking scary. In fact it took me a few tries and resigned myself to this because I was already running out of fondant. I was happy that even though I was indecisive, I was able to pull through the design.

I made this cake as a gift for a very close friend of my youngest son. Club Penguin was the theme he likes and I had fun making the cake because I find the characters very adorable. My kids had a wonderful afternoon playing with the birthday celebrant.

Angel in Disguise

2010-07-19T16:17:00.002+08:00

Tried a lighter version of Devil's Food cake and I was a "little" bit disappointed. Flavour wise it was good but the texture was slightly rubbery. Which didn't came as a surprise to me since no egg yolk, butter or oil was used. As we all know the fat in egg yolk is what gives baked goods their wonderful tenderness and keeping qualities. As a whole, egg add colors, binds, leavens, lightens and tenderizes bakes. On the other hand fat coats protein molecules in flour, making it difficult for them to combine and create that stretchy material called gluten. When you use fat with flour, you'll have the tender, fine grained texture of a cake.

Tweaking a recipe to make it lighter involves some work. Most often than not, the result can be disappointing. Using low fat ingredients is a good alternative but I try to avoid non fat products because the end result of the bakes really suffers. If your diet allows it I think sticking to low fat alternative is acceptable.

Although I have some issues with the cake, I would still be posting the recipe since I believe you can easily tweak it. Using whole eggs and fat (may it be butter or oil to replace the applesauce ) would really improve the texture of the cake. The end product won't qualify as something light but with portion control I think anyone can still enjoy it.

To somehow compensate, I used some left over ganache to drizzle on top of the cake.

Light Devil's Food Cake

200 g All Purpose flour
60 g Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 large egg whites
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In a medium mixing bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Combine well.

In another bowl, whisk together the egg whites and buttermilk, just to combine. Whisk in brown sugar, applesauce, corn syrup and vanilla one at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition.

Sift the dry ingredients over the liquid mixture and gently stir.

Pour batter into cake pan (in my case I used mini loaf pans)

Bake cake 30-40 minutes if using mini loaf pans ( 40-50 minutes for bundt pan) or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Approved

2010-07-09T11:14:00.008+08:00

I have to admit I'm a better baker than a good cook. It's always tasking on my part to think of other dishes to cook for my family especially since my boys are quite open and frank with their opinion with regards to the food that I serve them. With this recipe they gave me the approval that this is worth sharing with all of you.

Braised Pork Ribs

1.2 kg pork shortribs, cut 2-3 inches
1 tsp salt
oil for frying
1 tbsp atsuete oil (can be substituted with canola)
1/2 - 1 tsp chili flakes
1/4 cup light soy sauce
2 tbsps sugar
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
2 tsps toasted sesame seeds
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp black bean sauce
2-3 cups water
2 tbsps chopped green onions

Season pork with salt then pan fry in some oil until lightly browned. Set aside.

In a saucepan saute, garlic and ginger in atsuete oil. Add pork ribs and the remaining ingredients except for the green onions. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer until pork is tender and the sauce is reduced. Before serving, topped with chopped green onions.

Savory Bliss

2010-07-02T13:59:00.011+08:00

Something I made to satisfy the hunger of my two boys. It was very filling and we enjoyed it. Loved the sun dried tomatoes in this bread.

Pizza Bread

olive oil
semolina, for dusting

Dough :

1 and 3/4 cups warm water
3/4 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
1 and 1/2 tsps salt
4-6 cups bread flour

Filling

1/2 cup cooked salami or pepperoni, cut in strips
4-6 tbsps olive oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsps dried basil
1 and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup black olives , pitted and minced
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, minced
1 cup chopped cooked bacon

Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Dust with semolina.

In bowl, dissolve water and yeast together and let stand 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

In a mixer bowl, whisk in sugar,eggs, salt, oil and yeast. Add flour and knead with dough hook on lowest speed 8- 10 minutes. Adding more flour as necessary to make a soft dough. Transfer into a lightly greased bowl and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and let rest for 10 minutes. then lightly roll out dough to a large rectangle.

Brush surface of dough with olive oil and then distribute minced garlic; dust with salt and pepper.Dust on basil. Sprinkle Parmesan and mozzarella cheese, olives, sun dried tomatoes, salami or pepperoni and bacon.

Fold dough from top down into three or four folds. Gently transfer dough onto prepared baking pan. Press and roll dough out to fit all corners of pan.

Smear top with olive oil and dust with semolina. Let dough rise about 35-40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake for about 20-35 minutes. Cut or tear into squares to serve.

At The Right Time

2010-06-08T11:02:00.004+08:00

Two weeks ago I was thinking how much I miss making cakes. The whole process itself really brings me joy. Sure enough just after a day I received a call from Jen asking me to make a cake for her neice. I was so happy and excited.

I was worried at first if I could pull this through since I got sick just two days before the actual cake assembly. As of posting time, I am still recovering. Eventhough I was only left with just a few days to plan and do the actually cake, I can say that I was pleased with the outcome. Thanks Vine for the chance and the trust that you gave me :)

Sweet Way

2010-05-27T11:04:00.006+08:00

I love apples. It's one fruit that I religiously eat everyday. My favorite apples are Korean apples (by far they are the sweetest I've ever tasted ), New Zealand Pacific Queen Gala apple and Ariane French apple. For baking I prefer Pink Lady because of it's crisp texture and tart sweet flavour. But because Pink Lady is not available all year round, Granny Smith apples are good substitute.

I always make sure that I replenish my supply often and in so doing at times I end up with a lot of apples in my fridge. I've always preferred my apples eaten as it is but on certain occasions I also indulge in sweet bakes. One way to use them up is to make an apple grunt. Apple grunt is quite similar to apple pie. What I like about apple grunt is that you don't need to make a crust, instead you load them up with streusel topping which I really love.

You can find the recipe for Apple Butterscotch Grunt here.

Pandesal Revisited

2010-05-17T19:39:00.010+08:00

The heat has really gotten into me that I couldn't make myself bake anything. I've been lazy and unproductive. I preferred staying at home and was addicted to playing Cake Mania for hours.At least I still get to do something close to what I love doing and that's making cakes although this time only virtually :)

Last week, my bread bin was totally empty because I was procrastinating my trip to the grocery. I was left with no choice but to bake bread for our consumption. I didn't have any whole wheat flour on hand so I substituted some of the ingredients but still followed the procedure of the original recipe from here. I love, love, love the outcome!

Healthier Pandesal

1 and 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 and 1/8 cup lukewarm water
1/2 cup sucanat
1 egg lightly beaten
3/4 cup lukewarm low fat milk
3 tbsps organic coconut oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup kamut flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
2 1/2 - 3 cups bread flour
breadcrumbs

Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup lukewarm water. Add a pinch of sugar and stir. Let stand for 10 minutes.

In a mixer bowl, combine oat flour, spelt flour, kamut flour, wheat germ, flaxseed meal, 1 cup bread flour, salt. Mix well.

In a medium bowl combine milk, remaining water, egg, coconut oil. Dissolve the sucanat in the liquid mixture. Add the yeast mixture.

Using a dough hook, add in the liquid mixture to the flour mixture. Gradually add in the remaining bread flour. Dough should be sticky and moist.

Knead 10-15 minutes.

Place dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise overnight.

Thaw the dough. Transfer into a lightly floured surface. Knead and divide (35-40 g each and would yield approximate 30-36 pcs)

Roll in breadcrumbs. Place in baking pans 2 inches apart.

Proof 20-40 minutes

Pre-heat oven - 180-160 C

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes.

Updated : Aug. 27, 2010

If you are intimidated by the no of special flours used, you can try this version.

1 and 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
60 g + 220 g lukewarm water
70 g light muscovado sugar
60 g egg
175 g whole milk, lukewarm (can use low fat or a combination of both)
40 g virgin coconut oil
1 tsp salt
120 g wholemeal flour
110 g white spelt flour
25 g flaxseed meal
360 g bread flour

follow the same procedure

Silence

2010-04-24T22:25:00.005+08:00

Been neglecting this blog for quite sometime now. I've noticed lately that I haven't been visiting my blog for days and sometimes even up to a week.

Although at times I have this urge to rant my feelings about something, I decided to just keep it to myself to avoid making other people uncomfortable.

" I feel it's unfair, but that's the way it is right now "

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A cake for Graeden's big sister - Fiona :)

Just Cake

2010-03-28T21:21:00.005+08:00

I've always wanted to try making Japanese Cheesecake way back when I was just starting to blog. Finally after almost 4 years I was able to try making one. I used the recipe here and it was a success :)

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Ube Macapuno cake I made for a family friend...
sorry but no recipe to share...
I hope you understand :)

Cooling Off

2010-03-08T19:03:00.007+08:00

The weather has been uncomfortably hot these past few weeks. Because of that I have been indulging in ice desserts lately. Last week I saw some Thai honey mangoes on sale in the grocery. I'm so happy that its mango season once again...

I saw a mango kulfi recipe from Lori Longbotham's book Luscious Creamy Dessert. Initially I wanted to follow the recipe as is but I didn't have enough whipping cream. Secondly, the instruction was to simmer the cream mixture for about 1 and a half hour to reduce the liquid. I didn't have the patience to undergo the whole process so I just mixed everything up and chill.

Mango Kulfi

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
1 cup mango puree
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
pinch of salt

Combine everything. Whisk until sugar is dissolved. Pour into moulds or cups. Chill.

I also made some bittersweet chocolate sherbet. I was amazed how rich this turned out considering the fact that it has no cream nor milk. I cannot post the recipe but you can find it at Nick Malgieri's book Perfect Light Dessert.

Same Old Stuff

2010-02-22T14:30:00.006+08:00

Sorry but I will be boring you again with another scone recipe. Truth is, I prefer baking scones because it's fuss free to prepare and you can easily incorporate some healthy stuff in it. Scones are perfect for breakfast and also as an afternoon snack.

Oat Scones

130 g all purpose flour
50 g oat flour
75 g sucanat
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda
130 g unsalted butter, cold
100 g baby oats
50 g golden raisins or cranberries
40 g sunflower seeds
1/2 cup evaporated milk
turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top

In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk together the flours, sucanat, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

Cut the butter into the flour mixture, tossing the pieces to coat them with flour as you work until it resemble bread crumbs. Stir in the oats, raisins or cranberries and sunflower seeds.

Pour the milk over the dry ingredients.Combine the ingredients together just until all the dry bits are moist and the dough looks shaggy.

Using your hand drop free form portions of dough onto the prepared sheet. Don't try to press down or squeeze them together- they should look like irregular mounds or clumps.

Brush the tops of the scone with milk or cream and sprinkle lightly with turbinado sugar.

Bake in a preheated oven 275 F. Bake for 20-30 minutes.

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My friend Edna requested this spongebob themed cake for his godson Graeden. This is chocolate cake with silk meringue buttercream. All the decorations are made out of fondant. For me, the most challenging part was when I have to make Gary's eyeballs. They keep falling off and I have to re-do it quite a number of times :-)

Random Bakes

2010-02-17T16:52:00.001+08:00

I actually started making this post over a month ago and I'm so glad to finally be able to press the publish post button. I've been super lazy these past weeks:-) Anyway here are some of the few bakes I've made...

Cookies have been very popular during the Chinese new year so I made some for my kids. These are my usual favorite Oatmeal Cookies and Chocolate Cookies.

I made this cupcake because I was craving for Red Velvet Cake. Instead of making the usually cake I just made them into cupcakes. That way, I don't have to spend so much time trying to make it pretty. I skipped the cream cheese icing and used some leftover chocolate silk meringue buttercream.

I love this bread. Very similar to cinnamon rolls but they are not that soft and they are kind of chewy. This should be shaped into thin logs but unfortunately mine came out big and fat. Nevertheless they were still yummy.

Chocolate Twist

Dough

1 and 1/4 cups warm water
1 tbsp rapid rise yeast
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 tsps vanilla extract
1/3 cup dry milk powder
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups bread flour

Filling

1 cup muscovado sugar or brown sugar
4 tbsps cocoa powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Finishing Touches

Egg white, beaten
sugar, dusting

In a bowl, hand whisk water and yeast together and let stand 3-4 minutes to dissolve yeast. Whisk in eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, milk powder, salt, and most of the flours and blend well.

Knead 10-12 minutes adding remaining flour as necessary to form a soft dough.
Let rise 30 minutes to 1 hour or until almost doubled.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently deflate.

Roll out dough to a 20 x 10 inch rectangle.

Prepare filling. Blend sugar,cocoa, and cinnamon. Scatter the filling over the dough. Dot with butter and sprinkle raisins (if using) and chocolate chips over dough.

Roll up dough into a log; then flatten gently. Using a knife or dough scraper, cut into cylinders or logs and place on baking sheets, stretching each a little bit and twisting.

Brush with beaten egg white and dust with sugar. Let rise 30-40 minutes or until almost doubled.

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes.

Disappointed

2010-02-06T20:34:00.005+08:00

My eldest son asked me before how come the cakes that I make for other people look nice while the ones that I make for them are not. My husband jokingly answered, because with other people she's being paid for it while in your case it's for free. I just smiled but then I realized that indeed my son's statement is true and when I think about it, I also don't understand why. To make up for those times that I wasn't able to do them a proper cake, I offered him an X-box cake for his birthday. Initially, he wanted a Halo themed cake but I was really doubtful I could pull it off so I offered a 3D X-Box instead which he consented.

This morning I tried doing the cake, and as unfortunately it was a disaster. I was able to make it in 4 hours but the resulting cake was quite disappointing. Maybe I should have spent 6-8 hours in making the cake. Maybe by then... it would have been better. I felt sorry for my son, although I never heard any complain from him. I guess I wasn't able to prove to him that I can make a nice cake for them. I hope someday I can make a cake for my two boys... something they can be proud of.

Hooked Again

2010-02-01T21:30:00.009+08:00

I've been addicted again with k-dramas and I'm the type who doesn't want to stop until I finished all the episodes. Somehow it doesn't get off my system that easily... You know... having those withdrawal syndrome of re-watching the episodes over and over again just to have that daily fix :-) Playing the ost over and over again morning, noon and night. I must be out of my mind :-P

I made some carrot muffins a few weeks back.This recipe is no fuss to make so it's perfect whenever I need to make something quick and easy for snack or breakfast. My kids don't eat carrots but they enjoyed these muffins.

Carrot Muffins

1.5 ounces golden raisins
4 and 1/4 ounces unbleached all purpose flour
3 ounces sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
115 grams grated carrot (1 large)
3 ounces grated apple
1 ounce sliced almonds
2 tbsps wheat germ
2 medium eggs
1/4 cup canola or corn oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
70 grams yogurt

Pre heat oven to 375 F and lightly grease 12 muffin cups. Soak raisins in hot water. Set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add carrots,apple, almonds and wheat germ.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs, oil, yogurt and vanilla together. Add the flour mixture and stir until evenly combined. Drain the raisins and stir into the batter.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

I made this cake for my friends son who was celebrating his 15th birthday. The celebrant requested a simple chocolate cake but was very specific to include a pig as decoration since he was born under the Year of the Pig :-P

Healthy Start

2010-01-05T19:27:00.011+08:00

I arrived from the Philippines about 2 weeks ago but I wasn't able to resume blogging because I needed to settle my kids for a new school year.

As for my holidays in the Philippines, I had a pretty good time eating the foods that I missed so much. I also had a wonderful time with my family and friends but unfortunately I got sick (while I was there) and I have to stay home to rest for almost a week.

Now I'm trying to slowly return to my usual activities....

This is my first post for this year and and I would really like to thank everyone who has supported my humble blog even though I'm really not that consistent when it comes to postings. My family has always been my first priority. I hope you would understand. I will definitely update my blog whenever I can.

For my first bake, I'd like to start it right by posting something healthy to eat for breakfast...

Breakfast Scones
recipe adapted from : A Passion for Baking

zest of 1 small orange
2 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup muscovado sugar or sucanat
1 cup kamut flour
1 and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
3 tbsps maple syrup
1 large egg
1/2 cup or a bit more buttermilk or yogurt
1/2 cup muesli cereal
1/3 cup baby oats
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 tbsps ground flaxseed
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup raisins, plumped and dried
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup diced apples

Finishing Touches

milk for brushing
flour for dusting
brown or muscovado sugar for dusting
warm honey for drizzling after scones come out of the oven

Pre-heat the oven to 400 F.

In a large bowl, blend the first 8 ingredients. Cut in butter.

Make a well in the center add honey, maple syrup, egg and the buttermilk. Mix it halfway through and then fold in the muesli cereal, oats,cornmeal,flaxseed, sunflower seeds, nuts and fruit. Stir with a fork adding more buttermilk until holds up together.

You can use an ice cream scoop to deposit scones on prepared baking sheets. If you want cut scones, turn the dough out into a floured surface and shape as desired.

Brush with milk or dust with flour or brush with milk and dust with brown sugar or flaxseed or leave plain.

Bake 17-20 minutes until scones are nicely browned. Brush with warm honey if desired.

Holiday Mode

2009-12-02T22:06:00.005+08:00

Although I wanted to make a last post on something I baked this year, it didn't materialize since I was swamped with a lot of things to do. My family will be spending our holiday season in the Philippines as such I will be away from my blog for a month.

I would like to greet everyone an advance Merry Christmas!

I Heart Buckwheat

2009-11-12T22:33:00.009+08:00

I have come to know about this flour from Alice Medrich book Pure Dessert. I was intrigue with the flours appearance and I have read that this flour has high nutritional value.I was just too happy to try Alice Medrich's recipes. Actually buckwheat flour is easier to find and price wise a bit cheaper than Kamut flour.

Despite it's name, buckwheat is not wheat at all. In fact buckwheat is not even a cereal grain. However, buckwheat kernels have many similarities to cereal grain kernels. Because of it's strong, distinct flavour, dark colour and lack of gluten, buckwheat flour is typically used in combination with wheat flour. You can read more about this flour here.

Reading about this cookies here and here prompted me to try it.
It was a good decision because I LOVE how the cookies turned out. It was crunchy, buttery and very flavourful. Would definitely be making more of this in the future.

Eversince I tried this recipe I was hooked. In fact I use to make this almost every week. That's how much I love this scone recipe. I usually have this for breakfast or as an afternoon snack. I am not fond of walnuts so I used sunflower seeds. I love the added crunch.

Cornmeal-Buckwheat Scones
recipe adapted from Pure Dessert

1 large egg
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
6 ounces all-purpose flour
1.5 ounces buckwheat flour
1.5 ounces cornmeal
1/2 cup muscovado sugar
2 and 1/2 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
150 grams cold unsalted butter
3 ounces coarsely chopped walnut (I substituted with 1/4 cup sunflower seeds)
demerara sugar for sprinkling
extra milk or cream for brushing the tops

In a small bowl, whisk the egg with the milk and cream. Set aside.

In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk together the flours, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Cut butter into several pieces and add it to the flour. Cut the butter into the flour, tossing the pieces to coat them with flour as you work until it resemble bread crumbs. Stir in the walnuts.

Pour the egg mixture over the dry ingredients.Combine the ingredients together just until all the dry bits are moist and the dough looks shaggy.

Turn the dough out in a lightly floured surface. Shape into squares, rounds or wedges. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Brush the tops of the scone with milk or cream and sprinkle lightly with demerara sugar.

Bake in a preheated oven 200 C. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Golden

2009-11-07T17:25:00.008+08:00

It's my first time to use kamut flour and it took me quite a while to find it. Been searching for it in Cold Storage outlets only to find it in Carrefour. I love this flour. I never knew whole grains could be so flavourful.

I toasted this the following day and it tasted even better.

Kamut Pound Cake
recipe adapted from : Pure Dessert

3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 vanilla bean, scrape the seeds
3.5 ounces sifted(before measuring) cake flour
1.75 ounces whole grain kamut flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup condensed milk
1/8 tsp salt
200 grams unsalted butter, softened
kamut flakes for toppings

Position rack in the lower third of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 350 F. Line loaf pan (8x4 inch) with parchment paper.

Rub the vanilla seeds on the caster sugar.

Mix together and sift the flours, baking powder and salt into a bowl .

Cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time.

Mix in condensed milk. Add in flour mixture and beat just until the dry ingredients are moistened.

Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the surface.Sprinkle kamut flakes on top.

Bake for 50-60 minutes. To prevent excessive browning, cover the loaf loosely with foil after 30 minutes.

Cool

Counting...

2009-11-05T13:37:00.004+08:00

Purple yam chiffon cake filled with cream and macapuno. This is one cake we Filipinos are very fond of. I made this for my husband to bring along to their party.

Exactly 29 days from now, I will be going home to the Philippines to spend the Christmas holidays. I am very excited to be with my family and my friends. I can't wait...

Angel

2009-11-04T15:19:00.004+08:00

This cake is for LJ's first bithday. I can totally agree with her mom for choosing this theme for her cake. LJ is so cute and adorable.

Initially I wasn't going to use flowers on the design but I got the idea from her birthday invitations. I'm satisfied with the over all outcome of the cake.

Fire!

2009-11-04T14:55:00.003+08:00

This cake was specially requested by my friend Pong. Despite the grueling hours I spent assembling this cake, somehow it still came out not what I hope it would be. And all the while I thought it would be easy, only to find out it was not since it took me forever to finish it. Surprisingly, my little one complimented me when he saw this cake. It was touching to know thst the cake somehow captured the heart of my 7 year old son. I even heard him say this to the cake "Goodbye! So sorry they have to cut you and eat you up". Ha!ha!ha! mother and son has a habit of talking to cakes.

These are the cupcakes that went along with the cake.

Setbacks

2009-11-01T23:30:00.005+08:00

Glad that exam week is finally over. All I could do now is wait for the much awaited result...

My kids are more relaxed now. A while ago they went to attend Nicole's birthday party. I made this cake with her theme " Pooh and Friends". Spent six hours decorating this cake. I wanted to do more but I ran out of time.

Too many things happened this week. Mixed emotions. I still feel sad because of something and Eeyore's expression is a perfect depiction of my current emotion.

Baby Einstein

2009-10-25T20:17:00.005+08:00

This is the latest cake I made with the theme of Baby Einstein for Gabriel. The bottom layer are the water animals. The second layer are the land animals.

The back side of the cake.

So time consuming but enjoyable. Not that the cake was difficult to do but rather it has way too much details that I need to prepare beforehand. The last thing I want to do is cram. For someone like me who is still starting out in fondant cakes, I think I did a pretty acceptable job here. I'm still trying to learn and improve my skills.

I made some Baby Einstein toys as toppers including the birthday boy.

The land characters of Baby Einstein.

My cow is hiding under a wilted tree :-)

Love the expression of this monkey...

My favorite of them all is the turtle, I find it so cute.

Two people in love

2009-10-23T19:33:00.003+08:00

A close friend of mine requested for a small surprise cake for his hubby on their wedding anniversary. Instead of her favorite whipped cream frosting, I asked her permission to use vanilla buttercream instead so I can "play" with the cake.

Messed Up

2009-10-19T10:07:00.005+08:00

I was all stressed out yesterday. Although, I have wanted to stay home to start writing about it, I decided to spend my whole afternoon malling just so I could get my mind to rest. I was tired, sleepless and my confidence level is at it's lowest.

I did this Minnie Mouse cake during the weekend. Originally, this is not the design which I was going to do but unfortunately plan A didn't work out so I went ahead with plan B. Secondly I was so frustrated with the new ready made fondant that I'm using ( I've always been using MMF before). I decided to use the ready made fondant because I prefer it's taste than MMF. I have been having drying issues these whole week. Could it because of the weather ( since it's been raining the whole week)? Worse, one hour before pick up time, things started falling apart. Minnie's head started leaning to one side, the little flame on the candle fell off, the royal icing outline on the standing decoration was smeared. That's not enough, the no 2 deco was starting to droop. I remedied everything but sad to say, I'm disappointed with the over all outcome of my work. *sigh* *sigh*

After this whole event now I see Minnie Mouse in a different light... I've always thought it was easy to make but to my surprise it took me a lot of re-try's to come up with this Minnie... *sigh* again

The only positive thing that ever happened was when I saw the little girls smile when she saw her cake. I have to hold on to that memory to somehow alleviate the frustration I was feeling and to somehow make me move on...

Team Work

2009-10-09T14:59:00.008+08:00

Last weekend I was feeling lazy to cook our dinner so I requested my hubby to do the cooking. He willingly obliged to cook pasta for us. Unfortunately, I ran out of garlic bread to go with the pasta so I decided to bake some bread instead. I gladly shared the kitchen with my hubby as he cooks the pasta and I on the other hand bakes the bread. We make a great team :-)

Ceasar Salad Bread

olive oil for pan
japanese bread crumbs

Dough

1 and 1/2 cups warm water
1 and 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup extra virgin oil
4 tsps sugar
1 and 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
3-4 cups bread flour

Filling

1 tbsp mayonnaise
3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tbsp crushed garlic
1 tbsp dried parsley

Finishing touches

1 egg
Pinch each sugar and salt
Parmesan and mozzarella cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper, as required for dusting
olive oil for drizzling

Line 2 loaf pans with parchment paper. Drizzle olive oil. Dust on japanese bread crumbs.

For the dough :

In a bowl hand whisk-water, yeast and a pinch of sugar let stand for 2-3 minutes until bubbly

In a mixer bowl briskly whisk in oil,sugar, salt, seasoned salt, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and 3-4 cups flour. Add the yeast mixture. Mix and knead with a dough hook for 5-8 minutes dusting in more flour as necessary to form a soft dough.

Transfer into a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise until almost doubled in size.

Turn into a lightly floured surface and gently deflate. Divide into two. For each dough, shape into a long narrow rectangle. Spread half of the filling. Beginning with the short end, roll the dough into a log. Pinch the side seam and ends closed. and place in the prepared loaf pan. Do the same on the other dough.

Whisk egg and pinch of sugar and salt in a small bowl. Brush egg wash over dough; dust on parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, garlic powder, salt and pepper and drizzle some olive oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Bake for 20 minutes and then reduce oven temperature to 350 F and continue baking until nicely browned and cheese is melted, another 20 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly before cutting into slices.

Filling:

In a bowl of a food processor, add mayonnaise,olive oil, lemon juice, parmesan, mozzarella cheeses, garlic and parsley and process for 1 minute. Set aside.

Not easy

2009-09-25T13:40:00.005+08:00

This morning, I sent my eldest son for a two day camp. It's the first time that he would be away from home. I could sense he is excited, in fact last night he helped me packed his things and made sure he has all the things he needed. I, only the other was feeling sad and worried. I will miss my little Kuya (big brother). I know it's only for a night but I couldn't help my self whenever I feel a sudden wave of loneliness every now and then. This is going to be a very long night for me... knowing he's not home.

Not even this Sans Rival which I made could comfort me...

cashew meringue layers covered and filled with mocha butter cream

Sweet note and a Sequel

2009-09-11T20:14:00.015+08:00

These are the common staples now in my pantry. I love using organic dark brown sugar, organic sucanat, agave nectar and my favorite muscovado sugar. I love using virgin coconut oil in my chocolate bakes. I also now have a variety of health foods in my fridge such as flax seed, psyllium husk, oat bran, wheat germ, kamut flakes.For flours I use organic wholewheat flour, unbleached all-purpose flour, oat flour and my recent favorite buckwheat flour. I plan to bake and blog more about recipes which uses these ingredients.

-------------------------------------------------------------

After all the cake making I did these past weeks, I have longed to bake something less threatening to my waistline. Since I was mostly busy, I have been skipping my usual run at night and the least I could do is to eat conscientiously.

I have done tofu cheesecake before and I have mentioned that I would like to explore similar recipes which uses tofu as an ingredient. I am excited and happy to share with you another recipe. This time it's brownies! No one would ever guess that there is tofu in this brownies, it was fudgy and the depth of chocolate flavour was amazing,thanks to the bittersweet chocolate in the recipe and the cocoa nibs. I used Valrhona 62% for the bittersweet chocolate but if you'll be serving this to kids you can try a lower percentage chocolate for them to appreciate it (although my eldest loved the brownies as it is).

Tofu Brownies with Cocoa Nibs and Sesame Seeds
recipe adapted from : The Brownie Lover's Bible

60 ml virgin coconut oil
200 g bittersweet chocolate, chopped
100 g unsweetened chocolate, chopped
300 g silken tofu
275 g brown sugar
1 tbsp strong brewed or espresso coffee
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
65 g whole wheat flour
1 and 1/2 tbsp ground flax seed
2 tbsp cocoa nibs
2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

Preheat oven to 150 C. Line a 9 inch square pan with parchment paper.

Place coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat. When warm enough add the chocolates.

Process tofu,brown sugar, coffee, vanilla and salt in a food processor. While motor is running add in the chocolate mixture.

Add in flour and ground flax seed and pulse until it has disappeared from the batter.

Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Sprinkle cocoa nibs and sesame seeds on top.

Bake for 25-35 minutes

Cool, chill, slice

Pink and Yellow

2009-09-11T15:48:00.006+08:00

I was a bit distracted lately,suffered a few setbacks but I'm not disheartened. I love baking and decorating and I intend to pursue my passion.

This is the recent cake I made for adorable little Cheyenne. I thank Karen for entrusting the cake to me. I have mentioned in my previous post that I enjoy making cakes for girls simply because there are a lot of possible ways which you can decorate the cake. Karen's daughter loves Princess Aurora and her favorite color is yellow.

A not so pretty Princess Aurora...I need more practice!

My little Prince...err.. I think he looks more like a pauper because of the tear in his clothes. This is my second attempt since the first one came out looking like a child.

The little add-ons from the leftover fondant. I couldn't stop myself from adding one after another, it was simply addicting...I didn't even notice it was almost 4 am in the morning :-)

Done!

2009-09-06T22:20:00.005+08:00

A friend ordered this cake for her daughter. She requested pink and purple for the main colour. I love making girly cakes.

For a boy who loves Transformers...

Glad how things turned out...but one thing that makes me really happy and fulfilled is when knowing I made someone happy on their special day :-)

Busy Birthday

2009-09-02T20:56:00.005+08:00

Busy...busy...busy that's what my days have been for the past few weeks. Not complaining though, since the things that are keeping me pre-occupied are those that are close to my heart :-)

I had no time to get some gifts for Teacher's Day so I made this Vanilla Almond Muffins for the kids to give instead.

I made this cake for my birthday yesterday. These are layers of chocolate cake, coffee dacquoise, bittersweet ganache and toffee. Covered with chocolate buttercream and decorated with toffee bits and chocolate bittersweet chips. The cake was a bit time consuming to make because of the number of components to make but it was well worth it because I loved the outcome. Initially I wanted a coffee flavoured cake but decided to stick to chocolate since my kids will be eating it as well.

It was raining hard yesterday so I have no other choice but to take a photo of this cake using a lamp :-( It gave a yellowish hue on the cake.

Celebrations

2009-08-25T13:25:00.006+08:00

Early this month my youngest son celebrated his 7th birthday. It was the main reason why I was away from my blog for quite sometime. I planned early because I didn't want anything left out but unfortunately things don't turn out as expected. That's why I'm not too excited in having a party at our place. In the end I will just be disappointed, frustrated and physically exhausted. Imagine cooking around 9 different kinds of dishes and 3 kinds of dessert ON MY OWN. Not to mention cupcakes and fondant cake *phew* Somehow I managed to survive the whole affair but believe me there was a time that the idea of walking out of the party did entered my mind...silly me!

We even forgot to take pictures of the party :-( thank goodness a friend of my hubby took some pictures and he generously shared it with us. Thanks Feo!

This is an informal cake I made for my 11th year wedding anniversary :-)

Dropping By

2009-07-25T11:28:00.012+08:00

Sorry if updates in my blog is kind of slow but time is not on my side as I juggle to finish commitments and everyday chores.

This coming months there will be occasions that my family will be celebrating and I will be tied up making sure I'd be able to carry out everything as planned.

Anyway, just drop by to share one easy cookie recipe. Nothing complicated, just plain and simple cookies worth enjoying leisurely. This is easy to make with just a few ingredients. The chocolate flavour doesn't scream chocolate. It's mild and subtle but nevertheless very tasty. Just don't forget to use the best butter that you can afford and of course use your favorite bittersweet chocolate.

Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

135 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
100 g confectioners sugar sifted
65 g bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
185 g plain All Purpose flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
30 g custard powder or cornflour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 170 C

In a medium bowl,cream butter and icing sugar until pale and fluffy. Add tepid melted chocolate.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, custard powder and cocoa powder. Add to the creamed mixture. Add vanilla.

Roll mixture into balls and place on lined baking sheets. Use the back of a fork to flatten each ball.

Bake 20-25 minutes.

Going Light

2009-07-03T16:03:00.014+08:00

I wish I could reprise the no of cakes I used to make or the desserts loaded with sugar and cream... I'm not shying away from everything I used to love...in fact I still indulge in those kinds of things on occasions. At this point in my life, there are just things that I prioritize more. Making the right choices when it comes to food is one of them. I don't believe in totally abstaining from the food that I love but I would rather have something close to what I love but containing lesser calories and most importantly it should have nutritional value as well. I have been on a look out for recipes that would help me achieve my goal.

I used to shun away from tofu before but after making this dessert I now see it in a different light. I am eager to explore the uses of tofu in cooking and most importantly in desserts. This recipe is something I adapted from the book "Crave" (Mac Woo and June Lee). Instead of using sponge cake as base, I decided to use Oreo cookie crust. My intention was to make a chocolate marble version but it turn out the filling was too liquid to be marbled. Of course there were other options of chilling one layer at a time to achieve another effect but I didn't have the time to undergo the process since I wanted to serve it for dinner. Initially I wanted to use bittersweet chocolate but unfortunately, I didn't have enough so I used some Dutch processed as well. This recipe is so versatile that you can actually make a lot of variations to it. My kids who are picky eaters loved it. You can't taste the tofu because it absorbs the flavour of the cheesecake and chocolate.

Chocolate Marble Tofu Cheesecake

Crust:
*150 grams crushed oreo (without filling)
2 tbsps melted butter

Combine and press firmly on the bottom of an 8 inch spring form pan. Chill

*Alternatively, you can also use digestive biscuits or graham crackers if preferred

Filling:

2 and 2/3 tbsps gelatine powder
90 ml water
220 ml low fat milk
145 g castor sugar
380 g Reduce fat Cream Cheese Spread
160 g silken tofu
70 g bittersweet chocolate
3 tbsps Dutch processed cocoa

Soak gelatine in water

In a saucepan, warm milk and sugar over low heat

Remove from heat and add in the gelatine mixture. Stir to dissolve. Set aside to cool.

In a blender, process cream cheese and silken tofu, until smooth. Add in the milk mixture and pulse until well blended.

Strain and discard residue.

Pour half of the mixture in a measuring jug. For the other half add in the melted chocolate and cocoa. Process just until blended.

Pour the 2 mixture alternately on the crust. Swirl with a knife. Chill for at least 3-4 hours.

Serve with chocolate syrup if desired.

Hibernating

2009-06-20T23:34:00.008+08:00

My blog has been inactive for weeks now. I have been quite busy lately especially since it's school holidays. My kids are at home and my time and energy is mostly consumed by them. Honestly, I also haven't been baking much so there's really nothing to update. Hopefully, I could resume my normal routine when holidays are over :-)

Anyway, Happy Father's Day to all daddies out there! I made this cake while my hubby and kids were out in the mall. I thought I wouldn't be able to finish it since they were back in less than 3 hours. Good thing though it was done when they arrived :-)

From Blog to Blog

2009-05-13T14:41:00.010+08:00

Having been busy coaching my kids for their exams has left me little time to browse books in the library.I have refrained from borrowing books for over a month now to fully concentrate on my kids. Pressure is easing off since tomorrow will be their last exams. Thank goodness it's almost over...now I can finally relax.

Since there were no recipes from books to keep me inspired I then turned to some of my favorite foodie blogs for reliable recipes I can create at home.

This is not the first time that I've tried re-creating Lynn's recipe. In fact, I have tried quite a few from her blog and her recipes never fail me. When it comes to cookies she is my guru :-) Although this dish may not be her expertise never the less the result never disappointed me and my family enjoyed it as well.

I have always preferred cakes which are less fussy to make. Although I have made this cake last year, this time I made it again using Mark's recipe. It was soft, sweet, simple and quite addicting.The downside with this cake would be not getting enough of it.

This is something I made because I was craving for something coffee-ish. These muffins came out light and tender because of the buttermilk. I was feeling over indulgent at that time so, I filled it with ganache and topped it with chocolate streusel. Recipe for the muffin can be found here.

My post wouldn't be complete without a chocolate cake. This recipe really caught my attention because it looks so delicious and it was easy to make. What's more, this chocolate cake is a lot healthier than the rest. Maple syrup was used as sweetener instead of sugar. I coulndn't find any wholewheat pastry flour so I just used plain unbleached flour. I also substituted some of the flour with 2 tbsps oat bran, 2 tbsps flaxseed meal and 2 tbsp wheat germ. If you use good quality chocolate, believe me you will love it. It has that deep chocolate flavour which will surely delight anyone. Although I skipped the frosting, it was still good on it's own.

Breakfast Faves

2009-05-08T15:38:00.005+08:00

Morning has been sweet and happy for me this couple of days after successfully making two of my favorite breakfast dish in the Philippines.

Tocino and Longganisa

Of course texture wise this is definitely not the same as the commercial ones because on my part I used lean ground meat where as the one that we readily buy has a very high fat content. I really don't want that :-) Try Coney's recipe, it's really good.

If you're like me who love tocino very much, then I suggest you make your own tocino rather than buying the ready made ones. It's just as tasty and definitely a healthier alternative. You can view the recipe for commercial tocino here. As for me I adapted JMom's recipe.

I'm happy with the result of the tocino I've made. I love pairing this with chicken rice (",) I'm sharing this to all people who loves tocino just much as I do.

Pork Tocino

1 kilo pork shoulder cut into thin strips*
325 ml pineapple juice
1/3 cup light soy sauce*
2 cups brown sugar
2 tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup sprite

Mix all the ingredients together. Refrigerate for at least 48 hours. (place it in the chiller section)

To cook, put a little water and oil in a skillet then add the pork and some of the marinade mixture. Boil until liquid dries up and fry until done.

* pork shoulder has lesser fat content than liempo (pork belly)
* using dark soy sauce would produce a dark colored tocino

Losing the touch....

2009-05-04T16:07:00.009+08:00

I feel sad whenever I make a cake and it doesn't come out as what I envisioned it to be. Maybe I'm expecting too much of myself but it's basically me.

Last week, my husband asked me to bake a cake for his friends. For someone like me, who has been used to making cakes felt it was no big deal and I was over confident that I can accomplish it in no time. It turns out I was wrong, because even at the last minute I was having a hard time deciding what cake to bake. I decided on my favorite Mango Mousse Cake because I could readily buy mangoes since it's in season. When I was in the process of making the actual cake, things started to confuse me. The sponge cake that I made came out tough. I had to throw it and start from scratch again. I really hate it whenever I have to throw something because I feel its not right to waste food. It was a good thing the second batch of sponge cake came out perfect...it was a big relief :-) Unfortunately, the bad luck didn't end there. My mango mousse came out grainy and I suspect that I over whip the cream. What made things worse was when I was slicing it the cake fell apart. The mango mousse did not set up . *sigh* It made me feel really bad. I have been baking this cake for several times now and it always turns out a success. I feel my skill in baking is getting rusty. I guess it's what I get from not making cakes often like I used to. I feel I'm a novice again in this area...I need to get the feel once again...

It's sad to know I'm losing my touch in making cakes...

I used to be so passionate when it comes to making layered cakes...

It was my first love...

Now, I'm not so sure anymore.

Cookies!

2009-04-08T14:44:00.008+08:00

I have been baking more often than I wanted to lately. Weather here in Singapore is so uncomfortably HOT that I've preferred to stay indoors. I've been spending my afternoon mostly in the kitchen baking something for my boys. Nowadays, I prefer less complicated recipes. Something I can easily tweak so I can add in more "substance" to my bakes.

I haven't been buying store bought biscuits or cookies lately mainly because nothing seems to interest my boys palate and they are pretty picky with their food. I have decided to bake some cookies for them instead. I couldn't really say this is a healthy food considering the fact that it contains quite an amount of butter and sugar but this is a lot better than the one's I readily buy. To make it even better, I tried adding wheat germ, oat bran and flax seed meal on the cookies to somehow make-up for the not so healthy side.

White Chocolate Chunk Macadamia Nut Cookies
original recipe here

1 and 3/4 cup All-purpose flour
1/4 cup oat bran*
1 tbsp toasted wheat germ*
1 tbsp flax seed meal*
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 oz macadamia nuts, chopped
6 oz white chocolate , coarsely chopped (I used Valrhona Ivory White)

Preheat oven to 300 F.

In a bowl sift together AP flour, baking soda, and salt. Add in oat bran, wheat germ and flax seed meal.

In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.

Add in the flour mixture, macadamia nuts and white chocolate. Blend until just combined. Do not over mix.

Chill the dough for a few minutes for easier handling.

Drop cookie dough by rounded tbsp onto lightly greased or parchment lined sheet pans. Bake 20-22 minutes. take out when the cookie edges just begin to turn golden brown.

Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

* Substitute with AP flour if not using

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

5 ounces butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (I used Maldon)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 and 3/4 cup All purpose flour
1/4 cup oat bran
1 tbsp flax seed meal
1 tbsp wheat germ
2 ounces chopped macadamia nuts (optional)
1 and 1/2 cups semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Baking Chips)

Preheat oven to 375 F

In a bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add in oat bran, wheat germ and flax seed meal and salt.

Beat butter, light brown sugar and corn syrup until fluffy. Beat in vanilla and egg. Beat well. Beat in the flour, then stir in the nuts and chocolate chips.

Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoon onto lightly greased or parchment-lined sheet pans. Bake for 10-12 minutes, just until lightly browned at the edges. Do not over bake.

Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Loafing Around

2009-04-03T17:24:00.008+08:00

I have been procrastinating lately with regards to updating my blog. New things just keep on popping in my mind that by the time I'm in front of my computer I really don't know what to say anymore nor how to start off my post. Having just finished another k-drama makes things even worse. Spending most of my time re-watching my favorite episodes over and over again....that's how I deal with my post withdrawal syndrome from k-drama addiction. Happy to say the lingering feeling is slowly getting off my system.

In these times when my brain and heart is still engaged in girly insanity...baking has somewhat help me get back to reality.

This bake is something I copied from one of my fave blogger Manggy. I remember how I unconsciously nibbled on this that without knowing I was already in the verge of consuming one whole loaf. It was that good. I did some minor changes such as replacing 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour with wholewheat flour. I also omitted the lemon for the paste filling and went all the way with orange zest instead. Since I don't want to over indulge, I skipped the cream cheese icing and used simple sugar glaze.

I've always wanted to bake a pineapple upside-down cake ever since I was 10 years old. Only now did I get the chance to finally fulfill it. I used this recipe and it was delicious. I closely followed the recipe but I have to reduce the sugar (used light brown sugar) and butter for the topping since I think the cake itself have loads of it. I also used non stick loaf pans instead of the round aluminum ones for easier clean up.

Confessions of a Chocolate Addict

2009-03-14T21:41:00.006+08:00

My chocolate craving once again kicked in. After months of resisting to baking anything with chocolate... I finally gave in. I'm having mixed emotions here because I know tasting even just one piece would send me wanting for more. I'm guilty I stumbled but happy in a way because my craving was satisfied.

At first I haven't let my guard down so I decided to make something still healthy but would give me a taste of chocolate. It was quite good but I somehow it didn't pacify my longing for chocolate.

Second, I was becoming bolder. This time I made some chocolate coffee cake with chocolate streusel topping. Wow...it was good! Soft..tender and the streusel topping was a real treat....but how come inspite of everything, I still feel something is missing?

Third attempt, I must have it! I won't be demure and be a chocolate conservative so I made some chocolate mayonnaise muffins (or a cupcake in disguise?). ...soft and moist full of chocolate flavour and I even added lots and lots of chocolate bittersweet chocolate chips inside.

For over the top indulgence I made half of it with chocolate streusel topping as well... ahhh this is heaven!

Discovering Passion

2009-03-04T15:44:00.007+08:00

It was only recently that I came to discover how passion fruit is so versatile. I'm not head over heels in love with it but I feel so amazed with the things you could actually do with it. Since my family has been minimizing our intake of sugar, I have used the juice of passion fruit to flavour yogurts (it's what we've been indulging lately). The whole family loves it. Last Christmas, I have also used it to sweeten the cream for fruit salad. I wanted to do away with the condensed milk which we traditionally use and the result was not disappointing at all. Last week I over bought some passion fruits so I had no idea what to do with them. I came across this recipe in the web, and in no time I made them into passion fruit muffins. They were really good, except for the seeds. I would definitely remove it next time :)

Morning Glory

2009-02-06T21:49:00.015+08:00

My feel it would only be appropriate to start this year with something light and healthy which we can enjoy before we start our day. After a few attempts in baking with wholemeal flour, wheat germ and oat bran I was really about to give up. It was disappointing to always end up with bake goods which tasted weird. For someone like me who is always used in using the right amount of butter and sugar, somehow eliminating or even just minimizing it makes the finished product inferior to my taste. Most of the time it's hard, dry, bland and has weird after taste.

So far these are the few ones which passed my taste of being "healthy" and yet tasty . These are my recommended faves:

This recipe surprised me because my two kids liked this as well. It was light but very filling. I added some applesauce to the recipe because the batter was so thick. Instead of using 1 and 1/2 wholemeal flour, I used 1 cup plain flour and 1/2 wholemeal flour. I also added 2 tbsp brown sugar.

I adapted this from my fave biscuit recipe. I only make half the recipe which usually yields 9 to 10 pieces.

Honey Scones

1 and 1/2 cup bleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup wholemeal flour
1 tbsp wheat germ
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/3- 1/2 cup frozen unsalted butter, cubes
1/2-3/4 cup cold buttermilk

Pre-heat oven to 200 C

In a large bowl, sift together, the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter. Blend until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Slowly add in the buttermilk into the flour mixture to create a soft dough. Turn the dough in a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to make sure it comes together. Pat the dough into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle. Cut into circle or to your desired shape and size.

Place the scones evenly spaced in a pan. Chill for a few minutes (10minutes) Brush top with light butter and sprinkle some wheat germ on top.

Bake until golden brown and puffy about 15-17 minutes. Serve immediately.

These muffins may look dense but surprisingly these are light and very yummy. I love having these for breakfast. I adapted the recipe from this site.

Banana Oat Bran Muffins

1/2 cup brown sugar*
1 and 1/2 cup oat bran
1 and 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 and 1/2 large bananas or 1 cup mashed bananas
1/3 cup yogurt
4 tbsp oil

Preheat oven to 200 C

Whisk the flour, sugar, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl until well combined. Set aside.

In another bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. Whisk in oil, yogurt and mashed bananas. Using a wooden spoon, quickly stir in the flour mixture until moistened.

Fill prepared muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake for 15 minutes.

* I replaced these with 1/4 cup maple flavoured sugar free syrup + 1/4 cup honey.

Dreaming of a Chocolate Christmas

2008-12-19T23:08:00.006+08:00

I have been very much pre-occupied reading my fellow blogger's post on holiday bakes that I totally lost the time to bake one. I'm not really bothered because I find it totally enjoyable reading and savouring other peoples bakes without gaining extra pounds. Although I might not be able to bake something for this festive season, I humbly share with you some chocolate bakes I did a few months ago. Yes, I still dream of chocolate bakes but at least now I think first before making my dreams come true.

I made this cookies with the intention of decorating them, unfortunately I didn't have the chance since my kids ate everything leaving me with just a few pieces to be photographed.

These are my favorite chocolate cookies. These are boldly chocolatey, not too sweet but very addicting.

This is my first attempt in using chocolate plastique. I prefer this over fondant because it's not too sweet. I used a chocolate pound cake for the the cake itself with chocolate pudding for the filling.

I still have a lot to improve in making chocolate roses but I enjoyed the experience of making it.

I was suppose to make a banana chiffon cake but my eldest son requested me to bake a chocolate chiffon cake instead. What I did, I flavoured the other half of the banana chiffon cake with cocoa and it came out so yummy. Everyone loved it :)

This is chocolate cupcake frosted with chocolate espresso ganache. I made this for my husband's friend who was having a housewarming party.

I made this cake for a cute little boy's first birthday. I used chocolate pound cake with chocolate ganache as filling and covered and decorated it with fondant. I was too busy preparing the cake that I totally forgot to take a decent photo of it. It was a good thing my hubby reminded me. Unfortunately, we have already packed it and I was afraid of moving it (since it was an 8kg cake) that I just decided to take a photo of it inside the box. Not so nice photo but at least I have a remembrance of how it looks like.

Merry Christmas!

Changes...

2008-12-01T16:48:00.005+08:00

A month ago my husband was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, and we were caught off-guard with the new changes that we have to adapt overnight. It was hard on our part mainly because we knew that our total lifestyle would change and at first we had doubts if we could adapt to such drastic change.

Up until now I cannot say I have fully embraced the change but my family is willing and is striving very hard to eat sensibly and exercise regularly. I have refrained from my usual bakes because I know it won't be good for my husband and for my family as well.

It's pretty understandable to have resistance to change but I realized I liked the new changes that's taking place since it would benefit my family. I learned that it's just a matter of choosing the right food and the right amount of food to consume. Self discipline and self control. I now spend more time reading label and doing my maths. Making sure we eat less meat and more vegetables and fruits. Favoring wholemeal and whole grain over white bread. Non fat yogurt over ice cream. Almost everything has changed when it comes to our food choices. And yes, my blogging would somehow change to adapt to my new food choices. I may not blog as often as I used to because I won't be baking that much but I would definitely stay around to update whenever I whip up something worth sharing :)

Festive

2008-11-01T19:05:00.011+08:00

Since it's already November, I feel excited that Christmas is coming soon. Eventhough we won't be in the Philippines to celebrate it, I'm just as excited. This dish reminds me of one Christmas, wherein I was so busy I wasn't able to prepare anything for our Noche Buena. My husband didn't informed me beforehand that we have guest coming to our place. Of course no choice but to buy ready made food. I bought lechon, paella and puto at Lydia's lechon near our place :)

This is my first making this dish. I find preparing the ingredients so demanding. Frankly, this is not one of my fave dish but my husband likes this dish a lot. This is appropriate for special occasions since it looks so festive.

Paella Valenciana

6 pcs chicken legs
8 pcs prawns, shelled and deveined
6 pcs cooked crab claw
250 fish fillet, cut into 2 inch cubes
400 grams squid
200 grams chorizo, cut 1/4 inch slices (can substitute chinese sausage)
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
2 tbsp garlic minced
2 tsp paprika
1/2 cup garbanzos
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/4 tsp saffron
2 and 1/2 cups calrose rice
3 and 1/2 cups chicken stock
boiled egg slices for garnishing (optional)

Brown chicken legs in olive oil and set aside.

In the same pan cook the prawns, squid and fish and transfer into a platter.

Pour remaining oil in the same pan, add garlic, red and green bell peppers, onions and tomatoes. Add rice, chicken legs, saffron and paprika stirring continuously for 5minutes.

Add chicken stock and tomato sauce. Let boil for a while or until the rice and the chicken is half cooked. Arrange the seafood on top of the rice, garnish with chorizos and garbanzos. Cover with aluminum foil and continue cooking in an oven at 375 F or until the rice is done with most of the liquid absorbed. Garnish with some boiled egg slices on top if desired. Serve at once.

Another attempt in finding the elusive puto recipe. This wasn't much of a success though. I was trying to replicate the puto I usually buy in the palengke (market) and it turned out not so fluffy and a bit dense. I think it was because of the coconut milk that I used. It was more of a coconut cream than milk. Anyway, my kids love it so no regrets. The black dots that you see are vanilla seeds since I ran out of vanilla essence. Hopefully I could work on this recipe to improve it more.

Updated: Nov. 11

Here is the recipe of puto as promised. I got this recipe from a local book here in Singapore (Joy of Cooking). I changed the ratio of rice flour since I find the resulting product a bit dense. Adding top flour somehow lightens it a bit. Although this is not "perfect" yet, you can tweak the recipe according to your preference.

Ingredients A :

100 grams rice flour
100 grams top flour (for best result use superlite flour (Hong Kong flour)
200 ml coconut milk
160 ml boiling water
1 tsp double acting baking powder

Sift rice flour, top flour and baking powder. Add in the coconut milk and mix well. Add boiling water, mix well and set aside to cool for one hour.

Ingredients B :

120 grams sugar
1 tsp double acting baking powder
1/4 tsp vanilla essence

Combine Ingredients A and B. Mix well.

Pour batter into puto moulds or mini muffin cups (90% full) and let stand for 30 minutes. Steam 10-15 minutes. Immediately place strips of cheese on top.

Homegrown Fave

2008-10-23T16:07:00.011+08:00

I got this recipe years ago from a book about Malate (I forgot the title of the book) and included are some recipes from different restaurants and cafe's located in the area. This dish has become a family favorite but I only seldom prepare it because it's really not that healthy to eat. This dish smells a bit strong because of the anise and cinnamon sticks but tastewise this is quite good.

Pata Tim
2-3 Servings

1 pc pata or pork leg/knuckles, cleaned
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 pc star anise
1 pc cinnamon stick
1 pc bay leaf
1/2 cup rice wine
1 tsp black peppercorn
4 cups water
1 and 1/2 tsp corn starch
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves, washed

Boil pata in some water for about 30 minutes. Remove the pata and discard the water. Wash the pot and combine all the ingredients except the corn starch and coriander leaves. Simmer for 2 hours until very tender.

When the pata is tender remove from the stock and set aside. Strain the liquid to another pot and simmer. Thicken with cornstarch diluted in 1 and 1/2 tbsp cold water.

Return the pata into the sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes more to really get the flavours down to the bone.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with steaming white rice.

Late This Year, Early for Next Year

2008-10-22T19:01:00.004+08:00

I have been meaning to bake this cookies early this year for the Chinese New Year. I've been procrastinating for almost a year now and I had the drive to finally make it when my 6 year old son made some sugee cookies in his school. At least, I'm early for the next Chinese New Year :)

It's my first time to use ghee in baking and I love how this cookies turned out. Initially I wanted to try making this with cashew nuts but unfortunately my cashew nuts ended up in another baking stint but nevertheless everyone loved this cookies.

Sugee Cookies

250 grams plain flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
200 grams ghee/butter (I used ghee)
150 grams icing sugar
150 grams semolina flour
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 180 C

Sift flour and baking soda together.

Place ghee, icing sugar, semolina flour and salt in mixer and beat until dry ingredients are just moistened. Add sifted ingredients and mix well.

Divide dough into small balls then flatten slightly. Arrange on lined baking tray and bake at 180 C for 12-15 minutes.

Playing with Colors

2008-10-02T19:11:00.004+08:00

It was Children's Day yesterday and my family decided to just stay home to avoid the crowd in the mall. It was a good thing though since I had the chance to play in the kitchen again. I made some cookies for the kids. The last time I made decorated cookies was over a year now.This time I am happy that the cookies I made didn't lose it's shape.

Still, I wasn't contented with the cookies and I still have the energy in me to decorate more so I made two petite cakes which I covered with fondant. After making the cakes, I felt really tired but very much happy and contented :)