Abacus Beads

I had intended to make this dish during CNY but was too tired to do so. The house spring cleaning before CNY seemed endless and never ending.

Its another of my off day today, and decided not to waste the day, nor waste the 500g raw yam sitting in the fridge. At the impromptu grab of the receipe book and there I was, a whole 3 hrs , slicing, dicing, stirring, mixing, kneading, wokking.....

Generous portions of mushrooms, red chillis, shrimps, minced meat etc.

End product, abacus beads whipped and ready for consumption.

Winter Solstice (Chinese Dongzhi)

These were prepared 2 days' ago and are fully consumed last night.

Dongzhi, in chinese calendar, represents the preparation of CNY in 6 weeks' time, and also signifies that, we have grown a year older too! Time flies.

On that eve of Winter Solstice morning, in preparation, I mistakenly used rice flour instead of glutinuous rice flour again (this happened last year too, so forgetful of me) and had to throw the 1st batch of tough rice balls away.

And with the help of my 2nd sister, who was also on leave, I 'speedily' kneaded a fresh batch using the correct flour, glutinuous rice flour, colored the greens and pinks, with the natural whites mini tang yuans, to complete the Christmasy look. The bigger tang yuans in white and pink were purchased from NTUC, with red bean or peanut fillings.

Love the look of the mini tang yuans in picture as they are adorably grape shaped sizes (instead of the nice rounds which we did not manage to create that nicely).

Syrup was simply, a pot of boiling water, a stalk of bruised pandan leaves, 3 slices of bruised ginger, rock sugar to taste and viola, ready to be served.

Mom as usual was 'rambling' about 'too much' colorings, however, she was rather pleased with the end products as the bright colors were cheerfully bowled her over. She much preferred the QQ taste of the minis which were handmade.

Christmas soon, in another 2 days from today, and following which another new year of 2011 awaits us all.

Last minute shopping awaits me in an hour from now. Dashing through the crowds and engaging in the celebration of the holiday season too.

Cheers ! Peace ! Joy! Love! Joy to all !!!!

Upside Down Pineapple Cake

Just love the sight of the slightly burnt look of baked pineapple ... at a glance, reminds me of my favourite Hawaiian pizza, something which I have not eaten for quite some time.




Then again, the real stuff, none other than the moist, spongy, sweet, tangy Upside Down Pineapple Cake. Do not be deceived by the darkened, almost burnt brown look, assurance even from my Mom that its delightful yummy, guaranteed.

Not the 1st attempt, but more successful looking bake compared.

Simple bake, tangy bites of pineapple slices, nice cuppa of teh O or kopi O.... purrfect !

Pistachio KitchenAid KM150

Finally, a owner of KA KM150.....

Purchased this heavy weight item at a discount at Robinsons 2 months' back....

My sister commented the color seems retro...

Havent started using it though .... precious....

Would be a waste to leave it just sitting around....

Something to whip up with it soon... very soon.....

Honey Chitron Chiffon Cake

How I missed taking photos of my bakes ...

I have been busy and had been lazy...

With the recent 'uproar' about eggs, there in my fridge, was 6 large Chews' eggs waiting to be 'devoured'. Expiry date = 31 Jul 2010. My mind screamed " next week ?!!!" Gotta do something quick and fast not to waste the eggs.

Hmmm... something soft and light would be good coz last week I baked buttery cake which was gist too heavy.

Then the bottle of Korean Honey Chitron Tea on the dining table caught my eyes. Honey Chitron Chiffon Cake it shall be and there I went again.... mixing, whisking, folding, pouring and baking.

The dampness of yesterday afternoon makes the whiff of fresh bake lingers even sweeter in the whole house. (i mean just a simple 4 room HDB flat). And Mom was asking "smells good, is the cake ready for eating ?"

Yes, I must make it a point to bake and get my passion on track, otherwise I would lose my touch. As it is homebaked freshness surpasses maketh from love and passion whips a different fill for the stomach.

Cheerios !

Rum Mixed Fruits Sponge Cake

Feeling feverish the previous weekend, followed by coughs for the last 2 weeks have deterred me from my favourite past time, baking. Had not been sleeping well until recently, when the coughs started to ease and yes, constant reminder again, health is important yah, folks bear that in mind too.

Anyway, I was browsing Food Gawker webpage the other day and came across this Rum Raisin Sponge Cake which looks yummliciously soft and tempting, well, you know the rum added raisin thought just sends me grinning somehow. Alcoholic I am not, but anytime get me Rum and Raisin ice cream, you wont disappoint me, not at all.

I was looking for golden raisins for the bake, but was not able to find any in NTUC, so instead I got a box dried mixed fruit and soaked in with 2 tbsp of Meyers Dark Rum last night.

Started my bake straight after lunch and viola, this is the lovely product. Just drool at the sight of the spongy softness of the cake and the right sweetness too.

As for the rum bit, even non alcoholic sister was not able to decipher as it was not overwhelming unlike the traditional fruit cake which is overly soaked and overly sweet.

Looks like this is THE receipe to replace the conventional fruit cake receipe. Enjoy the picture whilst I enjoy my home baked cake. Nice way to a weekend past time for me.

Fresh Blueberries Muffins @ cupcakes....

Oh, the weather is so hot and humid today, yet no lazying around. The day started with a bit of housework, that is, mop the floor.

Had my shower, ate Korean instant noodles for lunch, and was beginning to feel restless when I decided to browse Aunty Lucy's blogpage for inspiration. Simple bake should be ok.

Fresh blueberries were selling at $2.88 per punnet at NTUC and I bought 2 punnets. So this is my take of fresh blueberries cupcakes.

This is a receipe for muffins, then again I tweaked it with 100g of ground almond as I ran out of cake flour and I do not have muffin trays.... so... well, you know.

Simply love the purplish look of the blueberries oozing within the cake batter whilst it baked and aint my paper cupcake lovely in pink red flowers with green leaves adorned.

(*pictures taken when bakes were fresh out of oven at 3pm just now....)

Fried Rice & Supreme Chocolate Cake

Somehow managed to work out a compromise with Mom that spring cleaning will be kept to a minimal today and then dinner will be fried rice by me. Telepathy you may say, fried rice was THE choice concurred from the start in the morning.

After spring cleaning, a little rest, had some time in the afternoon before dinner time, so I tried the making of the receipe titled Supreme Chocolate Cake. Topped it with walnuts and added some Hersey's mini semi sweet chocolate bites into it as well. If you like bitter chocolate, this the one for you.

Then comes the fried rice, mixed vegetables, char siew, eggs, bite size pineapples and viola, heres a simple dish ready to be served for dinner for Mom and my siblings.

Arms feels extremely well toned today. Yeah, work off that 'butterflies', if you know what I mean.

Cheers!!

Beyond 100th postings

Amazingly, I have posted beyond 100 of my amateur bakes and cookings since 2007.

Though there aint any winter wonderland in Singapore, but the recent downpours with cold breeze and winds, tis the season to indulge in foodies and drinks that warms the body.

Somehow with a twist in one's fate in life, changes are inevitable and my decision of change 4 years back has made a difference to the kitchen much to Mom's delight.

Yes, more cookings and bakings on the way, embarking this hobby, passion marking deeper love for home cooked food, freshness brought forth with patience and love to display the skills learned from many talents near and faraway.

Kitchen my domain.

LIGHT FRUIT CUPCAKES

Well, other than the early morning tang yuan making, I managed to squeeze in time to bake light fruit cupcakes as well.

Why not the traditional fruit cake in a round pan loaded with generous amounts of mixed dried fruits? Truth is I am not a fruit cake fan, perhaps 'overwhelmed' by the ones sold out there in the supermarkets where the richness is too sweet for my subtle tastebuds.

So here is my cupcakes version, receipe from Aunty Yochana's blogsite. You would notice that there are limited visible bites of mixed fruits with zest of an orange added.

And yes, I have soaked the dried mixed fruits with 3 tbsp of Meyer's rum over night. No intent to make anyone 'drunk' was my initial thought. Then again, its the festive season right, so I have added a spoonful of rum to the baked cupcakes to give it more moisture and of course, the extra 'rum' kick.

Cheers !

Tang Yuan @ Dong Zhi Festival @ Winter Solstice

For the first time, well, for the longest time, I 'committed' to be in charge of home made colorful tang yuan with a twist.

Got my Mom to buy a pack of ready made 12 frozen Sesame tang yuan yesterday and the rest are hand made pinks, greens and whites added into the pot. If you can spot the bigger ones, they are filled with peanuts, yes, hand rolled by none other than me.

Always enjoy the whiff of fragrant aroma from boiling pandan leaves with slices of ginger, and with few tablespoonful of fine sugar, that is the simple syrup for the tang yuan that warms the body.

Festive celebration with a twist, colorful indeed.

Enjoy the bowlful sweetness with awe.

Cheers!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Its been a long while since I last baked or updated my blog. Working affairs have drained and disheartened me quite a fair bit. Alas, work and life continues as we awake to every new day light.


Anyway, I have had this receipe from the Betty Saw's baking book for the longest time and finally, while flipping through the many pages of drooling bake receipes, I decided to bake this pineapple upside down cake on Monday.

The ingredients are simple as the looks of it too. Basically, our tropical canned rounded pineapple, eggs, flour,butter, sugar....... ingredients we will have as we bake regularly. right ?

And tadah ! Heres my cupcake version with tiny bites of pineapple on the base. Neat, soft, moist, cutey and delish. It was supposed to be in the traditional, conventional round pan with the red cherries... but simple it is for my attempt.

Yums indeed.

Zebra Cake

Viewing foodgawker has become a daily affair for me since I chanced upon it from Aunty Peony's blogsite some time back. Theres no turning back. International bakes and cookings from the multitude of talented ladies out there are amazing too. Our endless quest for home cooked / home baked food bonds us in sweetness pursuit to delight the palate of our loved ones indeed.

When I spotted the zebra cake uploaded by one of the foreign blogger, I was wondering if I should attempt it again. I did a trial last year, the receipe was from Aunty Lucy's blogpage, Fly African.

The main difference is that this latest receipe only requires 4 Large eggs which kind of simplified the whole process coz otherwise, I would be 'stranded' with the egg yolks for next few days until the weekend comes around again for my next weekly bake.

It was fun with slight impatience as the afternoon heat almost got the better of me as I was doing the preparation stage for the mixing and blending. The layering created by the alternate scoop of plain and then chocolate layer. Obvious unevenness has resulted a natural flowy arty look which nevertheless turned out pretty.

Even Mom was captivated by the arty look, that which also brings much pleasure to me.

The cake texture was moist and soft, and it is a simple receipe for keeps indeed.

Sweet!

RUM RAISIN AND COCONUT FRIANDS

Borrowed this Hamlyn Published baking book from the community library over the last week and decided came across this receipe of Raspberry and Coconut Friands.

I was like, hmm, what are friands, and heres the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financier_(pastry), the extract " The friands that have become popular in Australia and New Zealand appear to have been based on the French financier; however, Australian and New Zealand friands typically have additional flavorings such as coconut, chocolate, fruit, and nuts. Australian / New Zealand friands are traditionally baked in oval shapes. The French friand (puff pastry wrapped around a sausage) is not related to either the financier or the Australian/New Zealand friand.
Financiers are somewhat similar to madeleines." Interesting.

Then again, how is it possible to buy raspberries in the west end HDB area, and hence, I had to tweak the receipe to Rum Raisin and Coconut Friands instead.

And finally found the the cuppies that fit my muffin tray in this little HDB shop. Its about 50pcs for $1.20, abit costly but now I know where to get the stuff. For all you know, well, its just that I have not found the right sized cuppies and had to compromise on the shape and volume of the intended end product.

Soaked the raisins in dark Myes rum for about 2 hours and had these nice little cuppies. Topped some of the cuppies with 3 rum soaked raisins so as not to have anyone 'drunk' from eating the muffins of mine.

Just look at the zoomed up 4th picture, aint it a cutey, sweet smilely face. ..

Another sweet touch to another weekend.

Nice.

Chocolate Cheesecake Cuppies

This receipe is from Aunty Peony's blogsite. Rather than baking it in baking pan, i made it into cuppies for easy of sharing with friends and colleagues.

1st batch was 'distorted' due to my greed and as it overflowed and oozed out of the paper cups, and as I had extra cream cheese which was delicious, I scooped a tsp over to camouflage. It does seem better looking after that.

2nd batch turned out better as I moderated the proportion abit better and therein, a little wiser. This batch was shared with friends of mine whom I have not met for quite awhile due to our hectic work schedule. Hope they enjoyed it. Well, they received it via my sister who met with one of them to hand over to the rest of them. They are all staying in the north east whereas I stay in the west, the only best meeting place is the central where my sister is working, good reason aint it ?

Reminder again for me is more patience in baking coz over zealous greed can result in not perfect end product. Yes, patience indeed.

Cheers !

Burnt Almond Torte

It had been a roller coaster at work for the last 2 weeks. Mentally draining. Well, that has to be shelved aside for now....

Last week, for the very 1st time, up close with the renowed Chef Sam Leong at Shermay's last Sun. Attended his culinary class for his new cookbook which I bought and had his autograph as well. He is indeed a very humble chef despite his popularity and reputation, theres no airs about him. He's got good sense of humor too with boyish shyness and genunine friendliness in his mannerism. Ya, finally got to see my idol ! So happy, I feel girlish ... hahha... Gotta try his cookbook receipes one of these days too....

Well, better not digress. Heres my 1st attempt at baking this Burnt Almond Torte which I had been eyeing to bake for the longest time, ya, other receipes just swings before my eyes and this receipe is set aside.

Love the aroma of the almond baking, in fact, I was initially 'concerned' when I witnessed the uneven rising of the cake while it was in the oven, however, it turned out quite alright afterall.

The generous sliced almond toppings with the almond meal goodness...with sunflower oil instead of melted butter, a healthy cake to delight indeed.

Sweet weekend again...

Lemon Meringue Pie

99cts for 3 lemons, that was the price tag and i bought 6 lemons straight off from NTUC a week ago. i had been hesitating what to do with the lemons in the fridge as there are many receipes from various blogsites of Aunty Lucy, Florence from HK, HHB, All Receipes etc on lemony cakes. And for me, lemon cakes has this tangy taste that whets up my appetite so very muchie.

Finally decided on the receipe to follow, cant remember from whose blogsites, pardon me, but heres my 1st trial of Lemon Meringue Pie.

As you can see, the sides are kinda burnt due to the 'overflow' from the melting process from the hot humid hazy weather of ours in tropical Spore,and the natural 'demolition' that follows once it enters the oven. Ah yes, now I know.

Interesting attempt nonetheless. My 2nd sister enjoys the tangy lemony taste with the subtle meringue layer. And in fact, she prefers this Lemon Meringue Pie over the other bakes I have done so far. Hmm.... how should I measure up to that .....

Anyway, baking is leisure.... more experimental receipes will follow.... and thats how the passion continues..... lovely.....

Blueberry Yoghurt Butter Cake (BYBC)

This is a delayed posting which would not have been made possible if not for Small small baker's information to 'unwrangle' the blogger.com 'crisis'. Thank you Small small baker. =D

Bought 2 punnets of blueberries from NTUC 2 weeks ago while it was on sale, i.e. 2 punnets for less than $5. On that same weekend, I baked this blueberry yoghurt butter cake.

I love the softness and moistness of the cake and blueberries are great antioxidants for us all too. The pictures says it all.

Lovely.

French Sponge Cake

I happen to be at the Community Library the other day and spotted a Alex Goh's cake baking book and upon flipping the pages, I am amazed at the bakes within. And yes, I will try to get my hands on the books for my own mini library too, soon hopefully.

Meanwhile, rather than just baking chiffon cake, I was eyeing the receipe for French Sponge cake and thought it looked simple for me to try and hence I whipped up and baked the cakes in muffin cups rather than cake tin in less than 1.5hrs.

The sponge cake are spongy, soft,light and just the right sweetness. This is a better and easier receipe to follow than the regular sponge cake receipe which I had attempted earlier.

My siblings and Mom's likes this cake and even my sister's colleagues enjoyed the sponginess and looking forward to more bakes from me to please their palate. Its free sampling for them coz I have baked quite a fair bit.

Sweet bitez.