Saturday, January 30, 2010

Zebra cake

I read that Zebra cake (ZC) originates from Azerbaijan. To others, this may seems like a typical marble cake. Observe the difference. ZC is cuter in appearance than MC. Until I see the step-by-step procedures, I can never guess how to create the zebra-ly effect. *_* 

Thanks to Little Corner of Mine that I get to discover this uniquely cute cake. Marble cake is cute too, but zebra cake is just cuter. Both are still cute, cute.

Recipe adapted from : AZ Cookbook

Ingredients:
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
-1 cup all purpose flour, sifted ( I use cake flour)
- 1 cup milk, room temperature
-1 cup oil ( corn, vegetable or canola oil is fine)
-1 tablespoon baking powder ( I omitted this)
-1 cup granulated sugar
-1/3 tsp vanilla powder ( I don't have vanilla powder, so I used vanilla extract)
- 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder

You will need an electric mixer, 23cm (9inch) round cake pan.

Method:

1. Place the eggs and sugar in the mixing bowl and beat until the mixture is creamy and light in colour.

2. Add the milk and oil and mix until well-blended.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, vanilla powder and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients slowly into the wet mixture and beat the batter till smooth and just well incorporated. Do not overbeat the batter to avoid introducing the air pockets into the batter.

4. Separate the batter into 2 equal portions. One portion to be mixed with cocoa powder, the other portion to be kept plain. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degree celsius.

5. Scoop 3 tablespoons of the plain batter into the centre of the cake pan. Then scoop three tablespoons of the cocoa batter into the centre on top of the plain batter. Note: Do not wait for the previous batter to spread. Keep going! Do not spread the batter or tilt the pan to distribute the batter.

6. Bake the batter for 40 minutes. To check if the cake is ready, insert a toothpick into the centre of the cake and see if the toothpick comes out clean.   Remove from the oven. Immediately run a small thin knife round the inside of the cake pan to loosen the cake. Invert the cake on a cooling rack. Turn the cake back over and let cool on the rack.

Enjoy!

Friday, January 29, 2010

My first Blog Award

Yay! I am given my first blog award. Honest Scrap Award!! Is this real life? I never dream of having a blog award but it is always cute seeing other bloggers being given one. My feeling right now? GGrreaaattt!!! This award is given by Sook from My Fabulous Recipes . Sook cooks/bakes yummylicious food. From Korean to Chinese to Italian to Japanese cusine and the list goes on and on. Her food always look Fabulous just like her blog title. I am loss for words. I told my family, ' Hey, I'm given an blog award.' No response. Probably, everyone was too engrossed in watching the primetime soap opera. Or I was too softspoken. I don't expect a pat on my shoulders by my parents as I ain't a little girl no more. At least, say something like, 'Well done, Corine.' Or something like,' We're so proud of you, darling.' Make me happy for two...three... seconds. It won't hurt right? Hahaha... I am kidding. I adores fishing some compliments from my parents out of fun sometimes. My good friend, KJL always tells me, Self-praise is no praise.

I know I need to share 10 honest things about myself with you. Hmmm... let me see... Here they are:

1.  I love baking, I really do and I always get excited when I hop into a shop selling baking needs. I seldom step out of the shop empty-handed each time.

2.  It took me almost three years to get down to creating my food blog. And here I am, more addicted than ever in baking.

3. I will attempt to learn to bake the desserts I enjoy eating. And once I know how to bake them (after successful attempts), I would let my friends and family savour them. That is the only way to evenly distribute the calories.

 4. I have a soft spot for horsehoes. I like them as an accessory, a fridge magnet or an ornament to hang on the wall. I just can't get enough of them.

5. Getting a birthday cake for my family and loved ones is a must for me. Yes, COMPULSORY. No birthday will be completed without a birthday cake.

6. I love travelling overseas and I wish I can finish watching all the musicals in London West End while my eyesight is still good. I wish to go on a road trip to the United States or Europe this year. If I visit the US, I wish I can meet up with Sook if my itinerary allows me. =)
7. I love smelly beancurd from Hong Kong. Visiting Hong Kong is never complete without having at least one smelly beancurd. They stink real bad but they are yummy!! I love Hong Kong , don't ask me why.

8. I majored in accounting in most part of my education years. I glad I chose this path as I had an amazing experience as an auditor.

9. Loves the food bloggers who share their fabulous recipes selflessly on their blog and their baking tips. It thrills me everytime I see a new comment on my post. Blogging about my bakes never fails to cheer me up when I am down.

10. I love watching cartoons. My favourites are: Tom and Jerry, Doraemon, Carebears and Smurfs.


I apologized for not passing the award to 10 favourite food bloggers. I am still a newbie to food blogging, hence kinda shy to ask my favourite bloggers to get the awards. Thanks again for this sweet award, Sook and you are one of my favourite food bloggers too! :) I love your F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S posts. =P

These are my favourites:
Do What I Like

Lily's Wai Sek Hong

Little Corner of Mine

My Fabulous Recipes

My Baking Addiction

The Repressed Pastry Chef

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Happy Birthday, Mum! I love you always!! =)

Today is my mummy's birthday. We had steamboat. My mummy prepared the food and cooked the soup broth. Nothing beats home-cooked steamboat. Food prepared with TLC 'tender loving care' somehow taste especially delicious. This is normally what we usually have during Chinese New Year too. Simple and hassle free. Healthier choice too.
As I grow older, I looks forward to going home for dinner. When I was in my late teens and early twenties, I prefer to hang out with my friends and bf. Now, I yearns for more quality time spent with my family, most importantly with my parents. I bought a birthday for my mum. Am still a far cry from baking professional cakes. This is what I got for her from Prego @ Swissotel Stamford Hotel:
Mango Mousse

Happy Birthday, Mum!!! I love you always!!! ;)

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Japanese Soft cheesecake

I told myself, 'I'm going to give baking a miss this weekend and rest proper', but it seemed so hard. I am uncertain how addictive I am as a baking addict. But I am pretty sure baking is definitely is one of the loves of my life. I always seek solace in baking.

I love soft japanese cheesecake as they feel so soft and fluffy and has a less cheesy taste compared to typical new york cheesecake. Gonna try whisking the egg whites till soft peaks again. And this time round, I'm less nervous than the first time where I baked pandan chiffon cake. Still nervous, but less nervous. You get what I mean?
Decent looking ya? =)

I am so so happy with my result. Seeing the pretty bake made my day! It made me forget all the unhappy events. I can't wait for the bake to cool completely and cut a slice of it right now!! Patience, patience...

For the recipe of the cheesecake, I adapted the recipe from Diana's Desserts .

Enjoy!

Recipe:
Ingredients:

6 egg whites
6 egg yolks
60g/2oz cake flour, sift
20g/1 oz corn flour, sift
50g butter
100ml fresh milk
140 grams of caster sugar, sift
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
250g cream cheese
1 tbsp lemon juice ( I added some lemon zest too)

Method:
1. Melt the cream cheese, milk and butter over a double boil. Cool the mixture. Fold in the flour, cornflour, egg yolk, lemon juice and mix well.

2. Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar till foamy. Add in the sugar slowly and whisk till soft peaks.

3. Add the cheese mixture into the egg white mixture and mix well. Pour into 8inch round cake pan. (Lightly grease and line the bottom as well as the sides of the cake pan with greaseproof baking sheet ).

4. Bake the cheesecake mixture  in water bath for 1hr 10min at 325degree F (160 degree celsius) or until set and golden brown.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Swiss and Austrian chocolates

A really sweet and good friend of mine, May got me some sweet treats from Switzerland and a magnet from there. In fact, it was me who requested for some chocolates and a fridge magnet. Plus, she always helps me get some stuff from DFS whenever she travels out of Singapore. She never says no and does her best to help or give moral support whenever she can. I am really blessed for such a great friendship.

This is what she got me:


Lindt chocolates are very premium type of chocolates and one of my favourites too. They are rather pricey and I don't indulge in them often. I tried Mirabell Mozart (MM) chocolates over ten years ago, I can't recall how they taste like but they are defiinitely fantastic! Life is wonderful when one can get to savour mouth-watering chocolates from Switzerland and Austria. Thank you, May. =)

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Biscoitos de Maizena

Biscoitos de Maizena is also known as Brazilian cornstarch cookies. Just a brief summary: they are a great favourite of Brazilians. And they are named " Maizena" because that is the brand name of cornstarch in Brazil. I have yet to try them before. Am kinda excited to find out why they are so popular in Brazil. I wonder if this will become a favourite among the Singaporeans one day.



They are crumbly and melt in your mouth. They've this milky taste. My colleagues thought I use milk powder to make them. 'Butter is what I used, not milk powder', I told them. Not sure if toddlers love them.  ;)

Recipe adapted from Maria's Cookbook

Ingredients:

2 cups cornstarch, sifted ( I use 3 cups)
1 cup sugar, sifted
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt, sifted
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter ( I use Lurpak unsalted butter)


Method:

Pre-heat oven to 375degree F (191 degree celsius). Sift the cornstarch, sugar and salt together, mix the egg and blend in butter and knead well. Let stand to ten to fifteen minutes. Note: As the dough was kinda soft, so I placed the dough inside the fridge to chill for another 1 hour before shaping them.

Use a cookie press to drop them onto a greased cookie sheet if you want to make cookies in different shapes. Or you can shape the dough into balls using the palm of your hands and drop them onto the greased cookie sheet.

Use the tines on a fork to make the grooves on the cookies.Bake for about 7-10 minutes, depending on how big you make them. Let cool completely and serve with a wonderful cup of coffee ( since I don't have any brazilian coffee, I will make do with any coffee).

Enjoy!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

My first mini baking class

Conducted a private mini baking class for my friends. Why mini? Because there are only 2 students, K and IS. Another student, MY couldn't make it due to work. What a shame. It was an interesting experience for me. My cute gfs had their fun too, taking instructions from me. Thanks K for allowing us to use your kitchen for this wonderful baking session and sending me home after the baking session.
 

Yay! I felt the adrenaline rush when all the ingredients are displayed beautifully. Display by IS.
                 

It is alot faster when each of us help to crush the oreo cookies...


Can anyone spot the weird looking egg in this picture? No prize for correct answer.

 

I promised I will be extra nice and patient to my students and I did as promised. I taught the girls (A) cocoa brownies, (B) strawberry jello no baked cheesecake and (C) baked cheesecake. Baked cheesecake was a last minute addition. You can see  how happy K and IS were when I told them we can try baking a mini cheesecake using the last roll of oreo cookies.



  
K and IS are bright students and are not trouble-makers (Nope, they didn't pay me any $$$ to praise them, hehe). They executed every single instructions correctly. Anyone can bake well if they want to. K's hubby offered us some brilliant suggestions during our baking process. He has no prior baking experience and that he said he use common sense and logic. I'm impressed. Very.



I want a big oven too in the future for my new home.





K has tons of walnuts bought from Australia, so we tried to beautify the brownies with them.
It was a tiring day for K, IS and myself. We baked from 11.30am till 6pm. We tried to take a photo of almost every single baking procedure. The outcome of the bakes: Yum! I didn't know baking class can be so fun ( although it is kinda energy draining). MY, if you're reading this, you know that you've missed the chance of savouring 3 yummylicious desserts. I enjoy passing my knowledge to my friends or anyone who wants to learn baking. I need to take a longer break before I conduct another baking class. How I wish someone can give me a body massage right now. =)


Enjoy!

Friday, January 1, 2010

All time favourite: Cocoa brownies

Made cocoa brownies for another friend's order. My friend, SL wanted a whole cake and not cut ones. I was thinking how to decorate and this is what I did.


I tried to create some 'artwork'on the cake using the ganache. Can anyone tell?  Guess I lack the talent as a artist. So I did this instead:



For recipe on cocoa brownies, please go to here. Enjoy!

Pineapple Tarts to welcome the New Year

Happy New Year to all readers who happened to drop by my blog. I felt great on a new year day 1.1.2010. Happy 35th Wedding Anniversay to my parents! Wow, I envy my parents who have spent 35 years of marriage together and still counting... Growing old with someone you love is a given.

My choice bake on 01.01.2010 is Pineapple tarts. I love pineapple tarts (PT). They are a must-have Chinese New Year goodies for the chinese. I tried making PT 5 years ago; they looked like one, smell like one but they are as hard as a rock. One can actually use them as catapult. I am serious, trust me. I can't recall who gave me the recipe and I ain't gonna blame no one on the recipe. Somehow or another, something just gone wrong somewhere and I didn't bother to investigate the error. I threw away more than half the packet of ready-made pineapple jam. Kinda 'traumatised' by the baking of PT then, so my baking was narrowed down to simply brownies and cookies.


I have been reading recipes of PT pastry online and I am undecided which one to follow. I decided to use my own recipe for the pastry based on whatever flour I have left in my kitchen. End result: The pastry has a crumbly taste which kinda dissolved in your mouth. Yay! NO more rock-hard pineapple tarts no more.

If anyone can noticed ( it is really quite obvious, actually), there are 3 round shaped PT in the background. I like open pineapple tart, however, my dough is too soft and crumbly to cut the shape out. I need to chill each time I cut a shape dough. Too time consuming, so I aborted making the open tart PT. Plus, my mum kept hinting me that wrappped PT taste better. Hmmm...


Recipe:

Pastry dough :-
400gm of self-raising flour, sifted
3 TBS of corn flour,sifted
250gm of unsalted butter
1/4 tsp of salt
3TBS of icing sugar/ powdered confectionery sugar
2 yolk
2 eggs to glaze the top of the tart before baking


Pineapple Jam (PJ) :-
1kg of pineapple jam from Phoon Huat

Roll the PJ into small balls or rectangular shape as you desire.


Method:

Cream the butter with icing sugar until just incorporated. Add all the flour and salt into butter mixture and beat at low speed until just well mixed. Do not overbeat. Add the egg yolk and mix to form a dough. If the dough is too soft, chill them in the fridge for 30 mins before wrapping the pineapple jam with it.

For the dough, I based on my own estimation to gauge the amount of dough to wrap every single ball of PJ. First I pinch a portion of the pastry dough, roll it into a ball, flatten it with my thumb. Then I placed a ball of PJ on the dough and wrap the former with the latter. After that, you glazed the top part of pineapple tart with egg yolk. I do not have a brush, so I used the back of the fork to 'brush' on the tarts.

Place the PT in the oven and baked for 25-26 mins at 160 degree celsius or until just golden brown. Leave to cool completely.


Enjoy and have a Wonderful 2010!