Bonjour Paris!

Bonjour Paris!

Oui, Je suis dans Paris. Je reste dans un hôtel à la Gare du Nord maintenant. My basic french is really basic. A gauche, a droite, continuez tout droite helps me alot. Also BOnjour, merci beaucoup, pour aller etc... I wish I know more french. Oh well, another 1 yr of french lessons should do me good.

Saw the little boy? He climbed all the way up on the mini snowy slowly. Cute.

Never tried macarons before. So I bought some from a macarons counter in Galleries Lafayette in Paris. I know Pierre Herme is someone rather renowed for his pattisier skills. They were quite good. I will try Laduree and get their macaroons (more expensive than Pierre Herme) before I return to Singapore. They packed the M in a pretty box, which explains why they cost more than PH. Gonna pack some back for my family to savour. I won't be baking for the time being. I will spend my white christmas in London and Paris.

Merry X'mas everyone! Enjoy yourself to the fullest this X'mas! ;)

Carrot cake II

I made carrot cake again. This time round I made a square shaped CC. The height of the cake is lower than the round bake pan I used to bake CC the previous occasion. It seems to me cakes somehow look more yum when they r tall and round shaped. Personal opinion.

I am elated when I saw the baked square CC. I added more walnuts too. I understand that some carrot cakes included raisins but I omitted them. I prefer raisins on their own. I baked CC on Tuesday evening because I want to make a petite size CC ( by cutting the big square into small squares) for one of my good friends (always so supportive), May to celebrate her coming birthday on 3th Dec 2010. The recipe is adapted from Joy of Baking, which can be found in my earlier post on carrot cake.

 

Happy Birthday, May !!!

Piped butter cookies

What can one do on a Friday evening? If I'm not out on a friday night, I may bake/ watch my favourite Hong Kong drama/ small talk with my parents. And today I decided to bake. Yes, bake!!! My friends like to say there are 101 ways to get from home to town. Likewise for baking. Same type of ingredients may allow you to create more than one type of desserts.

RECIPE adapted from: A Baker's Videoblog (tweaked slightly)
Ingredients:

2 cups of plain flour/all purpose flour (sifted)
3/4 cup of icing sugar (sifted)
2 tsp of vanilla extract
250g unsalted butter cut into cubes ( I used President brand for a change )

Method:


1. Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Line baking tray with greaseproof paper.

2. Cream butter in mixer till fluffy. Sift icing sugar over butter, followed by flour. Mix. Add vanilla essence and mix till combined.

3. Pipe circular shapes onto baking trays. Optional: Place pineapple filling in the middle of the shapes.

4. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes till cookies are light golden brown. Allow cookies to cool.

My piping skills are horrible. I need a bigger size star shape tip. Glad the cookies stayed in shape even when baked. I need a new oven too. :) Overall experience: Great. Will I try piping cookie dough again? Oui. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Koffie!!

Made a birthday cake for my good friend's dog, Koffie. I made sure the ingredients used were fit for its diet. I tried the cake and it tasted alright. Haha... Slightly more bland than the normal cakes we ususally have, still, it is edible. I baked peanut butter carrot cake with low fat cream cheese frosting. I hope Koffie will like the cake I baked for it.

Happy Birthday Koffie!! Woof, woof!!! ;)

Mon premiere lecon in Francaise

Bonjour! J'ai mon premiere lecon de francaise last Samedi. Mon francaise professeur est tres bonne. Ok, I tried my best in writing french without using goggle translation. It was really fun learning french with my classmates. Mon professeur taught us to sing 'ABCDEFG....XYZ' in french. Very cool I think. Everyone had a good laugh.

So, what did I learn? Je suis Singapourienne. Je m'apelle Corine. C-O-R-I-N-E. J'habite a' ..... Une, deux, trois....etc. It is fun. Really is. I hope to learn more vocabulary and write a simple article in French in no time.

Merci et à bientôt.

Prix

I received another award! Yippie! This award is given by Nadji of Saveurs et Gourmandises. Merci beaucoup. She always prepare yummylicious desserts and new creations for my eyes to feast on. I will offer this award to Fimere of Aux delices des Gourmets' (who too got me glued to her blog for her delicious desserts all the time) and to all visitors who visit my blog. I hope in time to come I can write a dessert article wholly in French. ;)

Le Petite Nicolas

Earlier this week, I went to watch a movie titled ' Le Petite Nicolas', a french movie. This is a movie selected for French Film Festival in Singapore. I can't speak French but the typical ' Bonjour, Bonsoir, Merci , Bon appetite' etc... I relied 100% on the English subtitles. I laughed throughout the whole movie. No joke, really. I haven't had a good laugh for some time. It made me recall how I was like as a student. Of course, I do not have crazy or ridiculously unthinkable behaviour like the boys in the movie. In my opinion, the movie is brilliant, totally hilarious and not draggy at all. I wish to watch the movie again. Maybe I will get the dvd when it is released in Singapore. I am not exaggerating, this is a must-see movie. =)

I love the French language. Love the way the french speak French. It sounds really beautiful and I wish that the next time I wish France, I will be able to speak decent French with the locals there. So looking forward to my French class next Samedi. So, if you wish to have a good laugh, this is the movie.

Carrot Cake

I have been feeling rather lazy lately. I want to bake something new. A little tired of the usual cookies, brownies and cheesecake which I always bake more than once. Just a couple of weeks ago, I made brownies for my friend who came to visit me from Hong Kong. Ok, back to my carrot cake (CC). I never try western style carrot cake until more than one year ago. In fact, I was skeptical about trying carrot cake in cafe in the past. I only tried chinese style fried carrot cake which is super duper yummy. My impression of CC changed the moment I tasted it.

Finally, I get down to bake CC. I used the recipe from Joy Of Baking.

Carrot Cake Recipe:

1 cup (100 grams) pecans or walnuts
3/4 pound (340 grams) raw carrots (about 2 1/2 cups finely grated)
2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar
1 cup (240 ml) safflower, vegetable or canola oil (or other flavorless oil)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups (230 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (outer yellow skin)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter or spray two - 9 x 2 inch (23 x 5 cm) cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with a circle of parchment paper.
Toast the pecans or walnuts for about 8 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop coarsely.

Peel and finely grate the carrots. Set aside.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon. Set aside.

In bowl of electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the eggs until frothy (about 1 minute). Gradually add the sugar and beat until the batter is thick and light colored (about 3 - 4 minutes). Add the oil in a steady stream and then beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. With a large rubber spatula fold in the grated carrots and chopped nuts. Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared pans and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. After about 5 -10 minutes invert the cakes onto the wire rack, remove the pans and parchment paper, and then cool completely before frosting.
To assemble: place one cake layer, top side down, onto your serving plate. Spread with about one third of the frosting. Gently place the other cake, top of cake facing down, onto the frosting, and spread the rest of the frosting over the top and sides of the cake. If desired, press toasted and finely chopped nuts on the sides of the cake and decorate the top of the cake with marzipan carrots (see below). Cover and refrigerate any leftovers.

Serves 10 - 12.

Cream Cheese Frosting: In bowl of electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the cream cheese and butter, on low speed, just until blended with no lumps. Gradually add the sifted powdered sugar and beat, on low speed, until fully incorporated and smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract, and lemon zest.

My carrot cake does not look very pretty, kinda untidy. But it sure tastes very good and it has a soft texture. I will try to make a better looking carrot cake next time. :) This recipe is a keeper for sure!! Enjoy!! :)

Bite size cookies

I like petite size desserts;i.e. bite size ones. I like to savour them in just one mouthful without looking greedy. I like the puny-looking cookies placed by the side of the cup of coffee/tea on a saucer. Just cute. This is simply personal preference.

Bought a pack of Ghirardelli chocolate chips for a change. Preparation process for cookies dough is fairly easy but not the baking duration. My oven is not very big, so I need 3-4 hours (depending on the size of the cookies) to finish the baking each time. Baking always has a therapeutic effect on me.

Recipe:
Ingredients--

- 250gm Lurpak unsalted butter
- Half cup granulated sugar
-3/4 cup packed brown sugar
-2 eggs
-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (sifted)
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1 teaspoon cream of tar tar
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.  Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, baking soda, cream of tar and mix well. Add in chocolate chips and mix. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.

3.Bake for about 13 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.
 

If you like cookies that are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, these are the ones. Enjoy! :)

Love the sweet gestures

Celebrated my birthday last week with my family, close friends and colleagues. Received really nice presents and was given birthday lunch/ dinner treats during my birthday week.

Love blue roses...

Love the red roses too...

Love the close up shot of the red roses... it made me smile.

Love hand-made card...

Love the drawing skills of my good friend, KJL...

Love Birthday Cake... Love hearing birthday song sang to me...

I am back!!

I went Korea 2 weeks ago with my mum and my good friend, kjl for 8 days. I was overwhelmed by the wondrous range of skincare products sold in Korea. Not only are they cheaper than the ones sold in Singapore, they worked magically on my skin. Tried different masks daily during our trip to see which mask gives us the best result. Our choice: Gold Cavier Collagen Mask from Skinfood. It leaves your skin looking fairer and very supple. Note: Do use the remaining liquid left in the mask pack and spread over your neck. Neck needs treatment too. I love the complexion of korean women, leaves many feeling envious. In summary, mum, myself and kjl sis bought many many skincare products and some lovely hair accessories from Korea. It is a pity that we didnt have much time to do more shopping for clothings. Love the fashion there too.

On our way to some popular korean drama scenic places in Jeju.

Mum and me!! Oops,can't 'insert' sis into the pic. Hehe...

Rice cakes!!! My favourite!! Yum!!!

Made my own very first kimchi.

Made my first ice cream!!! Gonna use electric hand mixer next time, less tiring. =)

Love the freebies that come together with the purchase of the skincare products.

I enjoyed myself very much in Korea. I would love to visit Korea again, probably with my mum again 2 years later. It is always good to get out of Singapore. Missing Korea already...

Checkerboard Cake (Almost...)

Been a little lazy lately plus I was busy making plans for a holiday trip with my mum and my good friend, KJL. Another four days, I will be out of town again.... Yay!!! Well, before I leave my blog in the cold for 2 weeks, I shall attempt to bake something which I have been wanting to explore for ages: Checkerboard cake. I made checkerboard cookies last year and all my friends were amazed how I did that. They were a real show stopper anytime during parties.

I followed the recipe from Joy of Baking. Every step is the same except that I used cocoa powder for my chocolate batter (3/4 cup). The batter is not enough for my 3rd  cake tray. It is so anti-climax. I used the remaining batter for marble cup cakes (just enough for two). Very tiring process making checkerboard sweet treats. Now, my shoulders are aching... I need a massage badly.

There is a divider that comes with the cake tray.

The back of the cake looks so neat.

One can never go wrong with covering the cake with chocolate ganache. Yum!

Enjoy!! =) If there is a next time, I would definitely make again with ample batter for my checkerboard cake. The cake is definitely yum!

Danish butter cookies

I made danish butter cookies again and with more shaped cookies cutters. Recipe can be found under Christmas Shortbread cookies. Simply love cookies cutters.

I swear by Lurpak unsalted butter for all my cookies bake. This is a danish brand. Very pricey but gives out a very fragrant buttery smell. Baking always make me very happy and relaxed. Gonna share these with my friends and colleagues. =) Enjoy!

Butter Pound Cake

I have been watching almost every WC (World Cup) match except to miss a few (which I'm glad I miss those disappointing ones). I tried not to deprive myself of beauty sleep because of WC unless it is my Favourite Team; i.e. Brazil team playing. I waited 4 years to watch them play, no way am I gonna miss their matches. Having a slightly overdose of WC matches watching, I decided I should bake during one of my non-favourite teams WC time slot. And I decided to bake Butter pound cake. High calories count but make a nice comfort food choice.

I find most pound cake has almost similar recipes. Today, my pound cake is adapted from The Repressed Pastry Chef  (tweaked quite abit).

- 1.5 cup of granulated sugar (fine white sugar), sifted
- 125g or 1 stick butter
- 1.5 cup of plain flour, sifted twice
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup buttermilk (since my nearest supermarket doesn't sell heavy cream, I don't see any damage of excluding heavy cream)
-1/2 teaspoon of lemon essence
-1/2 teaspoon of almond essence
-1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1. Pre-heat the oven at 170 degree celsius. Cream the butter and sugar till fluffy.
2. Add the buttermilk and mix until just incorporate into the butter mixture.
3. Add one egg at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Add all the flour all at one go and add the lemon essence, almond essence and vanilla extract and mix well.
5. Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for 1 hr to 1hr 20mins or until a toothpick is inserted in the center comes out clean. Leave to cool completely before serving.

I personally like this recipe which I tweaked. Yum!! Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday G!

Earlier on, I mentioned that I won't be baking till World Cup fever is over. Well, I changed my mind. I didn't bake anything new but my usual cocoa brownies with walnuts. One of my colleagues' birthday, G is around the corner and I planned to buy a birthday lunch. However, she requested for brownies. She tried the brownies I made some time back and she liked them since. I am still a far cry from making decent looked decorated birthday, so I will just offer G the brownies in its natural form. Probably, the baker (yes, me!!) today is in a good mood today, so the cake turned out nicely baked with no cracks. Woohoo!!

Not something fanciful, but something which hopes to warm your heart upon savouring it.

 Happy Birthday, G!

World Cup 2010

Yes, it is the World Cup 2010 fever now!!! I enjoy watching soccer matches especially the World Cup and my favourite team is Brazil. I have been a faithful supporter of Brazil since I was 16. Loved the way the players dribble the ball. It looked entertaining and 'magical' at times. I guess baking session will resume once the World Cup fever is over. :)  If you watch the W.C like I do, which team do you support? =)

Hong Kong 2010

Went Hong Kong on the last week of May. Caught up with some friends in HK and made new friends too. It was an good trip. I eat and shop and eat and shop. Had my favourite 'po lo bun' aka pineapple bun with bbq pork inside at some bakery shop in King's Road near Fortress MTR. I had two smelly beancurd (yum!!) at Mongkok.

Discovered some new local dishes which I have never tried before. Thanks to my friend, Heidi who brought me to explore new parts of HK. I made a new friend, Vendy who too brought me to new 'yum cha' restaurant called Tai Wing Wah in Yuen Long. Their dim sum were delicious and they are pricey at all. Only problem: too far from Hong Kong Island & Kowloon. I went Tai O Market and brought back some shrimp paste. I hope my mum can put the paste into good use... hahaa...Allow me to share some pics of my travel trip. Enjoy!

Banana Cake

Banana cake is one of my favourite cakes I love as a kid, even so as an adult. I attempted to make one before over ten years ago but it flopped badly. Failed baking sessions are not uncommon in my kitchen or rather, my mum's kitchen. I remember that I almost set my kitchen on fire when I was residing in HK.What did I do? I wanted to bake some pizza dough placed on recycled party paper plates using microwave oven. Within minutes, I saw fire sparks inside the oven. What a fool I am! I confessed that I didn't read the user manuals before using the microwave oven. No major damage. =) No more stupid attempts no more.

Keeping my fingers crossed on my banana cake bake.

Recipe adapted from: All Recipes

Ingredients:

- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour ( I use self-raising flour )
- 1 tablespoon baking soda ( since I used SR flour, i omitted baking soda)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup white sugar ( I use 3/4 cup)
-  3/4 cup light brown sugar (I use 1/2 cup)
- 2 eggs
- 4 ripe bananas, mashed -
- 2/3 cup buttermilk **
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

**For buttermilk, I substituted with 1 tbsp of lemon juice and 3/4 cup of low fat milk or any milk. You can make your own buttermilk. Prevent wastage of store bought ones and you can save some money too. =)
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 2 - 8 inch round pans. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter, white sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in the bananas. Add flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk to the creamed mixture. Stir in chopped walnuts. Pour batter into the prepared pans.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes ( it took me 50mins for my banana cake to bake, so do check on your bake after 30mins for doneness). Remove from oven, and place on a damp tea towel to cool.

I love the banana cake I made. Very moist and the sweetness is just right. Cheers to 'All Recipes'!! Enjoy!