Sunday, August 29, 2010

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! :)

Monday, August 23, 2010

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...

Monday, August 16, 2010

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...

Sunday, August 1, 2010

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!