It has been a while since I last log on to the blog.... Plenty of cooking and baking done but just too busy (or, perhaps lazy) to upload all of them to the blog.

Am taking baby steps towards my goal of having a cafe or bakery - like checking out Etsy for the tags & twine to compliment the packing.  Found a few that I really love, should I place my order now or just hang on for a while, to see if I can get better one in Singapore.  

If it's too much a hassle, I can just simply bake for my love ones.  It's such a joy seeing others enjoying my cooking/baking!  It can be a brownie or a simple butter cake!  The sparkle in their eyes is enough to send me to cloud nine :) 

By the way, the tiramisu that I have tried previously garner lots of praise from friends and colleagues.  And I have received quite a few orders so far.  Keep up the good job, baby:)

Before I finish, here are some of the cooking/baking that I have done for the past months ... oh... maybe should be YEARS :)

Happy drooling :)


This is the Rosemary Roasted Chicken - Delicious



Baked Rice

 

This is the Tiramisu I am talking about!!! But I can't locate the current pic :( How careless can i be!



The Oneh Oneh done with Joey & her classmate

 

Cinnamon Roll - The lastest try, maybe last or the previous week?



Fluffy Pan-cake.  Am making these for my colleagues coming Monday



Pizza - Using the Gardenia Wrap

 

Fluffly Japanese Cheese Cake



Aren't they gorgeous?



 

To My Granny

哇。。。 好香的鸡蛋味。。。Daughter exclaimed!!!

Yes, I am trying to replicate my granny's 鸡蛋糕.  Have initially searched my list of bloggers for a recipe of this "steam egg cake".  But realised that their ingredients are totally if not partially wrong! 

No people in the right mind will use Cake Flour to prepare this!! Don't challenge me .... I've tried it and am pretty sure it just don't taste GOOD!  And NO, gran definitely didnt add any 7-Up or Sprite or Fanta Orange to it!

Gran tried her hands in a few kueh kueh.  红龟粿，鸡蛋糕，发糕, ondeh ondeh etc.  Her 粽子 is another goody to die for!!!  I can eat at least two of them when they were cooked (we will touch on this, perhaps another day?)

However, I didnt fancy gran's kueh kueh when I was young but prefer the western cakes that can be found everywhere.  I find her kueh kueh 老土 (there is no such thing as preserving traditional food/cooking/baking at that time) and don't enjoy it when gran was preparing them for any special occasions like 中元节 and 天公旦.  We were forbidden to say anything that is considered "pang dang".  Will get a slap if we were caught!!!  

After married, I started to miss my gran's kueh, especially the 鸡蛋糕 and 发糕 that I loathed when I was young.... probably tasted some really bad 鸡蛋糕 and 发糕.

So recently, I pick up the courage to try to attempt gran's 鸡蛋糕.  Ask mum for help in getting the correct measurement of the ingredients but gran can't really remember it.  So got to seek help from 大伯母.

So, I tried it last weekend.  You have to be really patient in preparing it.  It takes about an hour just to beat the eggs & sugar to a smooth and creamy texture and there is really no short cut to it.  Here's pcis of it.  Hmmm.... it will probable taste better, softer with an additional egg the next time I am "steaming" it.  

Now, if you could execuse me.... I will check with mum what's the ingredients needed for the 发糕.

OMG!!!

OMG...... spider webs everywhere!!!!

Yes.... After such a longgggggggg absent from my blog, cobwebs are building up everywhere like nobody business!!!

Haven't been touching th blog for almost a year.  2011 was busying with the kids MAJOR exam of their life time (probably)!  Son was having his GCE 'O' level and gal was having her PSLE.  Lots of screaming and stress runs high in the household... and partly because I am just too lazy.  So I have really neglect this blog.

So why do I have the time to sit in front of the laptop and start typing away??  Hmmmmm.... Because both kids were not in and I decided it's time to 大扫除了.

I have always envy those SAHM whenever I check up their blog.  It's almost baking everyday for them!  I think I will enjoy that - not having to work but spend time at home, in the kitchen baking/cooking.  Baking over the weekend is no longer sufficient for me.  I have lots of recipe that waiting for me to try them out but with the little time I have over the weekend, it is just impossible :(

So how?

I have a FB friend who has recently fulfiled his dream of opening a small cafe offering his home baked pastry and home cooked food.  It's very brave of him to leave a stable job and start running his own cafe, in my opinion. 

在这里，祝福他，希望他的生意火红！！！ 发啊！！！

Harry Potter & Borders Bookshop

I like to read.  Be it magazine or books (but it has to be books that I love, topic that I like). 

Having said that, I have been reading the Harry Potter series for as long as I can remember.  I will wake up at 4am and take a cab to Borders at Wheelock Place with my children to queue for the book and we will have our well-deserved breakfast (eh-hem.... of course it's well deserved since I wake up so early, right?) at the cafe.... but IT ALL ENDS.

The Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was screened world-wide on 15 July 2011.  And after not too long, Borders will be pulling down the shutters for good.  The USA Borders will be closed.  Not the one in Singapore.  I understand the one in Singapore is under the Australia bookstore. Part of the best memory formed duly my kid's growing up years will be over too.

I am not sure if my kids enjoy the queueing at Borders with me but I really enjoy the fun (actually not much fun involved) but being physically there was really ....  amazing!!!!  

There were lots of youngster & parents in the queue, youngsters put up their best costume, staffs have games to keep people entertained etc.  No other book launch have had enjoyed this kind of status before.  Never in my life have I experienced this until Harry Potter! 

Even now, I love re-reading all the books.  I love the books!  Think they will be well loved by the grand children in future too..... Provided I leave everything to them

Leave & Baking

Having taken 3 days leave last week, going back to work on Thursday was "nightmarish"!  There were tonnes of e-mails to clear and work to follow up with!!

Luckily I have 3 very good back ups to fall onto.  So I just need to print those e-mails that needs to be printed and attend to them SLOWLY:)

I have taken the 3 days not to go on holiday, but to bring my P6 girl back to school for the "intensive" training prior to her PSLE!  Schools nowadays are horrible!! They are so insane in pushing their students to score good results and probably ignore the fact that, after all, kids are still kids, they need to have their fair share of play...... We dun used to have all these training for PSLE/'O' Level during our fime... :(

There are friends/colleague commented that my girl is big enough to look after herself.  So I shouldn't waste my leave.  To me, she will only be young once, there will be a time when she feels that she is big enough and don't need the mummy to take care of her.  So why should I bring it on earlier?  Besides, we enjoy each other companionship!  And she is aware that going out with her mum meaning she has plenty of chances to savour good and tasty food:)  So she is not complaining at all!

Having said that, I was glad to have 3 days of rest and doing what I like most - BAKING!

If I were given a choice, I would want to be a "SAHM"!!  But, alas.... You cant have your cake and eat it too!

I have baked a Japanese Cheese Cake & Chocolate Cake during those 3 days.

The Japanese Cheese Cake was really soft and airy!  They were snapped up by my brother in law when I brought them over to my MIL's place.

And this is the first time I try my hand on a Chocolate Cake with chocolate ganache!  They are really delicious!  In my personal opinion, it may be (just maybe) better than Lana Cakes if you ask me :)

And now, please enjoy the pictures while I go prepare for dinner :)

Nice & Bright yellow yolk

My cream cheese & milk concotion

High & Mighty

It's a real ugly top :(

Ugly they are, but they are soft & airy.... U can eat & eat & eat

My first ever chocolate cake



With the ganache



The side view

Yummy!

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy!!!

Till then.... chow!

Rum + Cranberry Cake

I love rum!  Rum & raisin ice cream; rum and raisin cheesecake; favourite cocktail, mojito got rum in it too! And there is rum raisin bread pudding.... you name it, i love it all :)

That's why decided to try this Rum + Cranberry butter cake.  Not really a success but still "eatable".  Got to try again to get it right.

crabberry soaked in rum

Introducing my Rum & Cranberry Butter Cake

Dun really look presentable but, look is deceiving.... it tastes yummy!  Will try to perfect it in the near future.

Cooked the well-loved chicken stew for dinner as well.  My 2 kids love it!  I always cook more to keep for the next day and it tastes much more yummy!

My girl's portion

Baking Spree - Part 2

Continue from my post on 2 May 2011....

Home earlier and had my dinner (my favourite Wanton Noodle!) earlier too.  So got some time to upload all the pics taken after the baking:)

Actually, I not only baked but also cooked a pot of Lotus Root w Peanut soup.  This is the first time I used a dried cuttlefish to boil soup too.  Taste nice.  Here's the pic.

And, here's the pics on the cakes that I've baked...... Again, the Banana Rum & Walnut cake stole the limelight of the Orange cake.  I am a sucker for anything orange so personally, I LOVE  this Orange Butter Cake!!!

These were for the despatch boys & court clerks

These are Banana Cake (w/o Rum)

This is the Orange Butter Cake

For those who are eyeing the recipe for the Banana Rum & Walnut Cake, I shall reproduce them the next time - bcos it's just too long to type them out now :)  But I will share with you the Orange Butter Cake (Me cant remember where I got it from, but if you know, pls share the link in the comment).  Thank you so much.

Here I go......

Orange Butter Cake

Ingredients:-

225g butter (softened)
180g castor suger (I reduced it.  If you have a sweet tooth - increase to 225g)
225g self raising flour (sifted)
4 eggs
1 small orange (I used medium size naval orange)

Method:-

1.  Wash a whole orange, cover with water in a small pot, bring to boil and then turn fire down to simmer orange slowly for 20-30 minutes.

2.  Cut cooked orange and remove the seeds and blend it, set aside to cool.

3.  Cream butter and sugar till light & fluffy.

4.  Add eggs, one at a time to beat till well blended.

5.  Add the orange pulp, mix it well.

6.  Fold in flour and gently mix it.  As oranges and eggs vary in size, if you think that the final batter is a bit runny (not of dropping consistency), you may add another 1 or 2 tablespoon of sifted flour to bring it to the right consistency.

7.  Pour batter into a greased and lined cake mould.

8.  Baked in a pre-heated over at 170C for 40 to 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

9.  Cool cake in the mould for 5 minutes before turning it out on a cooling rack.

Enjoy baking ......