Chocolate Chip Cookies

No pics today, but I baked a batch of choc chip cookies ( 4 trays rather), trying out the recipe from my new book, Baking : from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan, tastes quite similar to the standard toll house cookie imo, but maybe im not measuring the exact amount. Anyway, coz of the lighting and time, didnt really wanna post the pics i took of the cookies, but ill definitely be making more, maybe as gifts for pple once I perfect the shape =)

Happy Birthday Belicia!

Man, its been 2 weeks since I came here, been kinda busy doing all kinds of other stuff, so I just realised that while I have been posting regularly (though not very often), I never really spent time to do up the blog properly, shall promise to devote more attention to improving this space.

Also, tastespotting.com, the place i get all my inspiration and ideas has closed down! Sigh... Luckily I managed to hear of new places I can go to continue to find recipes and the like, such as the New York Caramel Apple Crumble Cheesecake I just saw, and am now dying to bake and eat.

Ok, back to baking, I didnt post the previous week since it was supposed to be my trial for what I baked yesterday, which was supposed to be a birthday cake requested by Wanying to give to Belicia, who is turning TWENTY today. =) Anyway, I didnt know they were only meeting a week later, so I had baked the cake early, though I got the birthday date correct, haha, but, on persuasion, I decided to deliver the cake rather than let it go to waste ( or just eat it myself =X) So.. hope she likes it!.

The top pic was my trial last week and the bottom was the actual item, haha, sadly, I was rushing so I didnt get a nice pic of the actual one, and I had my bro and Jolene over to help me take pics of my trial run. Anyway, the main idea was a chocolate cake ( for which I used a very interesting recipe that includes blackcurrant jam and seems to taste great) with a layer of cherries, somewhat like a blackforest. In the trial I used chocolate sauce as a filling, but I decided to do a vanilla buttercream for the actual thing, which I thought would go better with the cherries and look nicer as well. I wont really know the actual taste, so.. that will all be up to the birthday gal to decide.

This is probably my most successful attempt at frosting and layering a cake as well, but I think it would be better if I frosted the sides as well, gotta work on all this more, until I can make those really nice layered cakes. Oh, Janice came over to help me out with baking it too, so THANKS JANICE! always great to have company and help when baking, haha, and of course people to share the joy of it too.

Btw, notice the heart shape? I dropped by Phoon Huat, this baking shop in hougang to buy the box and base for transportig the cake, and just couldnt resist buying and using a heart shaped pan to make the cake. I am so so so going back again just to buy more and more tins and ingredients, such as the giant muffin tray I saw, and cookie cutters!

Is it a brownie? Or a cake?

Firstly, I need to apologize to Jolene, coz I gave her a bad corn muffin. =X



As I was saying earlier on, I wanted to try something new this week, my first idea was a chocolate banana cake, but.. my house kinda ran out of bananas when I wanted to bake, so I settled for this thing called a Chocolate Almond Torte. This was interesting to make too, especially since it used alot of methods I am not familiar with, most of the cakes I've made so far all use the creaming method, so its nice to try something else for a change.



Here it is, I wasn't really sure if I did it right, since it was quite soft, but held its shape well, and it tasted cooked, so I assume it should be like that. Then again, maybe I didnt whisk my eggs properly. But, the overall feedback was quite good =) Brought some out for the RJ pple when I went to meet em for dinner yest. ( thanks guys! ) It was abit too rich on the chocolate, but luckily, not too sweet that its sickening, and the texture was a little soft and mushy, kind of like a Mrs. Field's Brownie, but a little softer. Sadly, after all the work buying and toasting almonds, I couldnt really taste em =X, next time I do something like this, I'll make sure I use whole nuts, bet that will be alot better. But generally, I thought this was one of the better things I have done so far. Really pays off to try something new.


Well, for those who are wondering what a torte actually is, it just means a flourless cake, which explains the brownie like texture and the softness. This is the first time I had to whisk egg whites, and I dont really think I got the technique yet, to be honest.. I didnt even dare separate the whites and the yolks myself. And I learnt something new, cream of tartar is used to stabilize egg whites, like wth? I imagined it to be used to make tartar sauce, and stabilize?? I kinda felt that I was working with like hazardous material or something. Well, always good to gain new knowledge.


After all this time baking, I realised that cakes are still way more fun to make than muffins or cupcakes, I dont really know why either, but i gain much more excitement from baking cakes, as well as thinking of what cake to bake, maybe its because theres just so many different things I can try. Also, I realised that there are loads and loads and loads of baking ingredients that I really want, I'm starting to build up my small stash of baking goods already, but it's not enough =P Im definitely going to go shopping for more, I heard theres a shop near sembawang mrt that specializes in baking goods, have to check it out. Stay tuned for next week! Hopefully I'll be able to get down to making my banana cake, or, perhaps a cheesecake, been ages since I did that =)

I want the Kenny Roger's Muffin Recipe!

Ahh.. its been a tiring few days, for some reason, I didnt even have energy to come and blog about what I just baked for 2 days, and this time, I dont even have pictures, fall asleep the moment i enter my room and touch my bed. But, for once, I actually have more time in the weekdays with this being my rest week before I go for my run on Sunday, so I decided i have to make use of this spare time to bake something since I didnt get to bake the week before.

I had decided quite early that I was definitely going to do muffins, but couldnt decide what type, jam, banana, chocolate, blueberry, etc etc, but Ive done all those before, and I thought Id try and be adventurous. Searching around abit more, I stumbled upon some recipes for corn muffins, immediately I was reminded of the muffins at Kenny Roger's, those sweet, fragrant and totally delicious corn muffins of which I can easily eat half a dozen. So, with that hope in mind, I took the time to go shopping, and bought some corn kernels, and got down to baking once I got home. ( After a few rounds of Call of Duty 4, which my brothers and I are hopelessly addicted to. 25 hrs of play time in 6 days..omg)

Well, sadly, the muffins did not turn out like kenny roger's, the cornmeal I used was very rough and it left the muffins quite grainy in texture, there was quite a nice corn flavour though, and my Mum found the sweetness just right ( which would mean I didnt find them sweet enough =P ) I'll probably have to scout around and try a few other recipes until I can get one that is close to that amazing Kenny Roger's muffin taste.

Alright, short post, now I gotta start thinking of what to bake this weekend, Ive set my mind down on a cake, but I cant seem to decide what, I think I always tend to avoid certain recipes coz they either seem hard or need ingredients not availible at home, which is quite a bad mindset, since it limits the choices of stuff I am making by alot, so this weekend, I definitely have to do something beyond the normal butter cake =)

ill never forget the eggs again

Vanilla cupcakes

This week I was going to be baking only on a weekday, so i thought I'd do something quick so as not to lose sleep especially since i gotta get up for wakeboarding the next day. I was kinda lost for inspiration at first, then suddenly remembered that I had always wanted to redo the vanilla cupcakes I tried and failed at several months ago. This time, I tried a new recipe, and even prepared a piping bag so as to give a nicer top of frosting. ( the first time i did this my frosting was just randomly smeared on =X)

Anyway, everything was going according to plan, I was quite proud of myself since I am now experienced enough to work almost without directions, just needing the proportions in the recipe, and I did everything as I should, creamed the butter and sugar sufficiently, sifted my flour, mixed my milk and vanilla, and took great care not to overbeat when combining everything together. However, just as I was spooning them in the muffin cups, I felt that something seemed weird, the colour and texture was off, and after a few moments thought, I came to the most shocking realisation ever, I HAD FORGOT TO ADD IN MY EGGS! Oh my god, I can remember myself just staring at my incomplete batter in total shock, and cursing myself for being too overconfident. Well, luckily, i managed to cheat and just beat them into the batter at the end and the cupcakes turned out edible. They were a little mushy and sweet, and far too milky for my preference ( I hate milk ), but it was still smooth and had a nice vanilla fragrance, and it was a huge improvement from my first time making this ( Maybe its the recipe).

To decorate, I went with a lemon buttercream frosting, but, my lemon was very very very sour, so my frosting tasted abit strange, with the sourness of the lemon conflicting with the icing sugar, but at least it looked nice, especially with the hundreds and thousands sprinkled on top. Ill probably try other frostings in future, less creamy ones since i prefer it sugary. I did something different with a few of the cupcakes, something I learnt in a blog somewhere ( Sorry to the owner, I cant remember what your blog is, but i remember the recipe), where I dip the tops of the cupcake in melted butter then roll it in cinnamon sugar giving it a cinnamon sugar coat, I might have did something wrong here, since I couldnt really taste the layer of sugar on top, or the cinnamon, maybe the flavour of my cupcakes was too strong, ( If anyone else tries this and it works, please let me know how you did it ).

Anyway, heres the recipe, its really quite simple, so anyone who wants to try should go ahead, Ill probably make this again, when I have more ideas for toppings, and maybe tweak the recipe around until I get the perfect vanilla cupcake recipe =X

Magnolia Vanilla Cupcakes

105g self raising flour

90g plain flour

115g butter (add 1/2 tsp of salt to the recipe if using unsalted butter)

180g caster sugar

2 eggs ( PLEASE DONT FORGET THEM LIKE ME)

1/2 cup milk (Try to be exact, I went slightly over half cup and it turned out abit too moist and milky)

1 tsp vanilla

1. Mix the milk and vanilla together, set aside.

2. Sift flours together, set aside.

3. Cream butter in an electric mixer, then add in the sugar and cream until white and fluffy ( 3-5 mins minimum)

4. ADD IN EGGS ONE AT A TIME, MIXING THROUGHLY AFTER EACH ADDITION

5. Add the dry and wet ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg mixture alternatingly in many parts, starting and ending with the dry ingredients ( flour, milk, flour, milk, flour). Mix just enough to combine after each addition ( DO NOT OVERBEAT)

6. Spoon into muffin tins and bake at 180 degrees for 25 mins, taking them out when a toothpick inserted into each cupcake turns out dry.

7. Allow to cool and top with whatever you like

Sorry, the lighting in my house is really bad at night. (WTB Photographer, and food decorating course )

Can the weather get any hotter? (Apple Crumble)

Omg, totally screw this weather, its just gettting hotter and hotter everyday, to the point even my baking is affected, I couldnt get a cab home when I went grocery shopping yesterday, so my sticks of butter had to brave the heat as I walked home from the mrt, thank goodness, while I was sweating enough to fill a bucket, my butter did not turn into a bag of liquid fat.

Well, that butter was for my most recent baking foray, an apple crumble, which is by far one of my favourite desserts, which I made for my mahjong khakis to munch on while i take their money off their hands, and of course, so I have an excuse to eat lots of it claiming its all a taste test.

To continue on this "perfect" weather we are having, apple crumble requires me to make a pastry by cutting in cold butter with flour, and my butter was melting alot faster than I could work, until I could not follow the recipe properly anymore, since my pastry was turning from nice crumbles to a big slop of dough. Bleah. I had to make 4 batches of it, and it was driving me nuts.

I also didnt forsee any problems in trying to cut the apples, which I thought would be quite fun, until I almost cut my fingers off, thrice, causing my Mum and my maid to chase me away from the chopping board and end up cutting the remainder of my apples forme, well, Im quite thankful of that for sure, since by the 3rd time the knife reached my fingers, I was beginning to get very very nervous.

Luckily, after all thr frustrations and dangers involved, the crumble turned out quite nice, I thought everything was just great, except the bottom layer of pastry ( My mum suggested a base for it, but I had no idea how to make one, so I just used packed up crumble pastry and it didnt really bake as well as the rest of the crumble) At least, most people liked it, my mahjing khaki almost finished all of it, so I assume it tastes fine, and even better with ice cream. I dont think I can be a good judge since I am totally biased towards almost any crumble being nice, so ill just make more in the future and let others findout for themselves. But of course, like everything I bake, I seem to have added a little too much sugar. =)

Sadly, crumbles dont seem to give nice pics thou, so heres the nicest I have, and if anyone wants to help me take pics, or teach me how, you are most welcome, coz I really dont know how to take nice pics =X.

And for those who watch Yakitate Japan, I would really want to see how anyone with Solar Hands try and bake in this weather.

brownies : simple.. yet delicious

I had these great plans to bake cupcakes for my family for mother's day.. but then. my 3 hour wait at ICA to collect my passport killed them off totally, so I had to go through the weekend without turning on my oven at all. Well, to make up for it, and just to pass time since i got home early today, I found a simple 1 bowl recipe for Double Chocolate Brownies in the new baking book i bought ( Baking - A commonsense guide by Murdoch Books), which btw, has a whole ton of recipes and tips and will prob be one of my bibles for a while.

Amazingly, this recipe was so simple and easy to prepare, and yet, the brownies turned out almost perfect, cept that i was playing my ds and took them out 3 minutes late, but aside from the edges of the pan, the rest of the brownie was nice and soft, not too sweet, and had an intense chocolate flavour, but just enough so it didnt get bitter. My only complaint was that the edges were a little dry, but at least the centre was fine. I bet anyone who hasnt baked before could probably create this with little difficulty even, really one of the simplest yet nicest recipes ive done, and to top it off, it requires very few bowls! So.. I wasnt spending another hour at the sink trying to wash everything up.

Well, at least getting this done right helped to cheer me up abit, my mood hasnt been at its best lately ( not emo thou), its amazing how much better I can feel after baking something that turned out right, of course, on the other hand, when things screw up, I feel completely disappointed with myself. But yea, thats where the fun is I guess, when I put something into the oven and wonder how its going to turn out.

Anyway, I was really tired, and had no ideas on how to make it look nice, so I just took a simple ( and ugly ) photo of my brownies, cut up into small chunks so I can share them round office tmr ( think the people at camp must think im crazy, who bakes stuff and brings it to an airbase ) . I was considering a vanilla cream to go with the brownies, but.. might be abit hard to store, so maybe Ill just whip one up when I get home tomorrow and finish up whats left of them. Hopefully I can use this recipe as a stepping stone to make more varieties of brownies ( peanut butter + oreo perhaps?) , so if any one of those people I see regularly read this post, give me ideas for what I can put into my brownies in future k =)

Ok, enough crap, heres the ugly photo. =P ( sorry for the bad background, but my Mum was making bread for my bfast tmr behind me, so I dun wanna disturb her ingredients. )