Merry Christmas 2009 - Party at my house

I had such a fantastic christmas this year... I felt a little sad that it was over... 2 days before christmas, I was already suffering from insomnia... haha.. too excited... When I finally fall aslepp, it was usually only for about 3hours... and though I was lying on the bed... my brain was already "working"... kept thinking what else I can do... thinking what I have left out... Wondering if i have enough time for everything... I have fulfilled all xmas fruit cake orders by the 23rd... so I still had my sanity... If I had left everything till 25th to complete, I'd have died...

Anyway, My helper and I prepared Smoked Ham, spaghetti Bolognese, Mixed Vegetables and Garlic Prawns... The rest of the menu like Roast Piglet, duck and satay was proudly sponsored by my mum and cousin :-D and I must say, my auntie makes the most delicious nonya kueh... It was time consuming to prepare it... and for the fact that she is already 70 and still makes the effort to steam these kuehs for the party, it makes the party even better!

In order for my guests to have a little momento to bring home.. I baked some brownies and pack it into small xmas bags... I am really really happy that everyone likes it... It just makes all the hard work worthwhile...

I hope to organise more parties for my family and friends... Happy 2010 everyone... more parties to come.... A nice nice ending to a great 2009...

Brownies....

My back nearly broke baking the xmas fruit cake orders the whole of yesterday... Did not want to do anything related to baking today... I wanted to take a break and also to let my oven have a rest day.... In fact, I was supposed to do some administrative work for my mum... I ended up baking again... haha... and totally forgot about the work that I was supposed to do... duhz... I was just telling my helper "I seem so free today.. it just feels abit weird"... It did not occur to me that I have totally forgotten I had something important to do... haha... Well, age must be catching up with me... Or my baby must have killed alot of my brain cells during the time he was in my tummy... heh heh... ok excuses... excuses... It's just ME....

Anyway, I just browsed through one of my baking books for a brownie recipe... nearly every book has it... and I randomly chose one... Not too bad... simple steps... Satisfactory results... Will distribute it to my usual "guinea pigs"...

More baking tomorrow... what else? Xmas Fruit cakes of course...

X'mas Fruit Cakes

It's the time of the year again... Christmas!! I love the 'season of giving'... I love the atmosphere.... Many beautiful lights... Happy faces around... Bustling and rushing around to buy pressies for loved ones... This year, it is more meaningful to me than previous years... firstly, I have my little gift from God, Ethan... to celebrate X'mas with me... secondly, my parents will not be flying back to Perth this year... So we get to celebrate X'mas as a family... I look forward to our X'mas party... nice food, great company... YEAH! I am really not looking forward to Chinese New Year... Wish I can get away... leave Singapore... go on a holiday with my family... impossible... but still hoping :-)

These few weeks, I have been busy with the xmas fruit cake orders, on top of my usual cake orders... Seems that customers prefer the one with rum... It does not taste too strong... yet it has the nice mild aroma from rum... soaked in rum overnight... yumz... A nice little pressie for family and friends...

If you would like to place an order... Just drop me an email yah!

Have a merry merry xmas...

Love everyone loads...

Lazy to blog, Eager to bake... Muffins and cookies

I just realised that I have not updated my blog for nearly 2 weeks... I am too lazy to blog and update facebook these days.... What was causing me to be so lazy? The weather? my ever-chaging body shape (getting bigger and bigger)? or some other factors? I really don't know... But I am not lazing around... In fact, I was baking everyday... and night... yea, on certain nights, I could be reading up on some baking books and then just jump off the bed and start baking at 11pm... haha... abit crazy, but I couldn't wait till the next morning to try on these new recipes...

My motivation to bake comes from my family... My mum and uncle would like to expand the coffeeshop business to providing nice teatime treats for customers... apart from the usual kaya butter roti... (which unfortunately, is definitely not as good as what is offered next door)... my uncle suggested that I perfect my muffins and cakes... and we can sell it during tea time... this will also improve the business for our coffee and tea... :-D The staff have been trying the different muffins everyday... I am heartened to know that they like it... BUT the important thing is for the customers to like it... Though I have been receiving positive reviews... I am still trying to make it perfect for selling... So wish me luck! Getting nearer to my goal already.... Hopefully, I will eventually get to sell it in the shop...

As for cookies, I am keen on selling it during X'mas and Chinese New Year... So again, I have been trying everyday... new recipes as well as perfecting the old recipes...

Baking muffins and cookies are much simpler than cakes as the latter needs more time and steps to complete... instead the former just requires simple mixing (i don't even need my mixer at all)... but since xmas is approaching, I am gonna add Log Cake to the list of cakes for sale...

How can we celebrate X'mas without a log cake! On my 1st try, the icing part was a little runny...I believe the decorations would have slide off the cake had I put it on top... hahaha... So you will see a "landslide"... I left it in the fridge overnight and chocolate was still soft (but luckily it held its shape and I managed to make it look like a log)... Not too bad for a 1st try though... I just have to perfect the external part and it is ready for sale! Hopefully business is brisk :-D I am so looking forward to the X'mas cake sale... and then leave 25th free for a family X'mas party.... "All I want for Christmas is ..."

No pictures available for muffins, cookies and Log Cake yet... Will update when I have more time... I hope... heh heh...

Sweet Potato Bread & Pandan Coconut Bread

I have always shunned away from baking bread coz I have had a few failures previously... And unlike baking cakes, I find it more tedious to bake bread... and worse still, failing after all the sweat and tears (nah,not really tears lah)... just alot of time wasted...

I have always wondered why the products baked during baking lessons always turn out yummy... and when I do it at home... following exactly the same recipe... it always turn out to be yucky... Not sure when I started to bake the first batch of bread after a long time since the last failure... but it turned out nice... And the more successes and encouragements, the more motivated I got... I started buying a book on bread... and followed the recipe inside... then it became 2 books... and now, I have 3 books sitting on my table...

'nuff said, these were the bread I baked in the past few days... tried sweet potato bread... the recipe was actually for pumpkin bread... Since I did not have pumpkin at home, I decided to use one of the sweet potatoes meant for my baby's porridge... haha... I should say this bread was considered a success on the day it was baked... It was nice, soft and fluffy... but not sweet enough... but by the next day, it was slightly dry... my 'tasters' finished it though...

Today, I decided to try pandan coconut bun... I had a 1kg pack of dessicated coconut sitting in my pantry for months... It was intended to be used for a 'snowman' cake that was never baked.. hahaha... and I had better use it before this poor ingredient expires and get thrown away... well, you can see from the picture... there were successes and failures... I had a total of 3 trays of dough waiting to be baked... 1st one was baked nicely... light brown... and fragrant... 2nd try... sighz... my baby was crying and I was a little distracted... I did not even realised that i had turned the temperature to 230deg... which was waaaaay toooooo high... just 5 mins into baking... the surface has already turn black... Eeeew... took it out and baked the 3rd tray, making sure I did not make the same mistake again... Well... this batch of baking made my heart do a "roller-coaster"... Just have to see the reviews from my 'tasters' tomorrow... *fingers crossed*...

Bread

My cousin was on leave and suggested bringing our kids to the pool for some fun.... I brought along some bread that I baked on the same day... As usual, I made some ham bun and sausage bun... I decided to deviate away from my usual fare and did some kaya bun as well as nutella bun... Lastly, I opened a can of chilli tuna and made it into tuna bun... But it was abit disastrous... I did not think that the chilli oil would seep through the dough.. and it ended up gooey and difficult to handle... threw away the 1st piece as it was a mess... subsequently, I tried as much as possible to exclude the oil... Although the buns were edible... But it was a little dry once it has cooled down... abit disappointing to me...

I came across a Pumpkin bread recipe... Since I do not have pumpkin at home, I decided to use sweet potato.... Added more water and some oil to the recipe... The bun is still soft after a few hours... I just hope it will remain soft tomorrow... hohoho...

Mixed Fruit Cake

I had completed a cake order yesterday and was left with a mango and 2 kiwis... So I decided to do something for my dearest mummy... I went to buy a box of strawberries and some mangoes... tadaa... This is my little creation for her... with lotsa fruits...

Brave attempt - banana cake & marble cake

As usual, I had some over-ripe bananas sitting on the counter top... too much to eat... too wasted to throw... so decided to try banana cake again... I remembered the 1st attempt was ok.. subsequent ones were not really nice...

Well, this one was a scare... it took longer than usual to bake... after 45mins... the top was brownish but under it, the batter was still wet.... and i was all prepared to just throw it away... Luckily I persevered... 25mins later, I used the pin to poke into the cake... it came out clean but was still soft... (I have always thought banana cakes should be firm)... but my clever maid told me banana cakes should be soft... So I left it in the oven for another 10mins... took it out and left it on the table for 10mins.... After turning it out of the tin... I left it to cool for 30mins... I cut it into half and what I saw surprised me... the cake was soft and moist... yet not "sticky"... I could still see the cake crumbs... What a pleasant surprise... The cake was tooooooo sweet though... :-P have already cut 50g of sugar from the original recipe... I believe I've gotta use only 1/3 of the sugar stated in the recipe... Trying to bake a banana cake again now... Hope it's better...

My best friend ordered a marble cake from me after trying it the other day... and I had wanted to create a "tiger stripe" pattern as shown in my recipe book... who knows... it turned out like that (pictured)... haha... well, not too bad lah... Just gotta be proud of my cake... And I'm glad April and her mum likes it... Hope they like this cake too...

Marble Cake

I am so eager to try my new Bundt tin, I baked the 1st recipe that I came across in my cake baking book... Marble Cake... Well, the recipe asked that we alternate spoonful of plain batter and chocolate batter... Hmm... I did just that... But seems that the design is bit weird...I was afraid of overmixing it... therefore I only use a pin to swirl it through the batter before putting it into the oven... Guess I 'under-did' it... the design wasn't really as nice as it should be... But the cake turned out well... The outer layer was crispy... But inside was soft and moist... and the chocolate part was good... albeit a little too sweet for me... as choc chips were added as well... oh well, it was a good try anyway...

Will bake raisin bread for grandma tomorrow...

More bread...

I was out on a boring shopping trip yesterday when I chanced upon Kinokuniya... I had wanted to go in to see if the new edition of the comic that my hubby usually read is out... End up, I came out with 2 baking books on cake and bread... I always console myself that purchasing these books is to "reward" myself... But well, these are just excuses I guess :-P But I realised that looking through all the beautiful pictures of bread and cakes really makes my day! Yippee... Ok anyway to cut the story short, I decided to bake some bread today... Using the recipes from my new book 'Magic Bread by Alex Goh'... The steps are really clear... there are step-by-step pictures... but the ingredients are slightly longer... and usual 'waiting time' for the 1st part of the dough takes about 12hrs... Gosh... Being the impatient person that I am, I was taken aback by the long waiting time... But I think good things are worth waiting for... The 'tasters' like it... And that's what matters most!

Mum likes the Almond Raisin Bread (above). Everyone else love the Ham Bun and Pork Floss Bun...

No chance to keep the bread till tomorrow, to see if it is still soft or not (coz all the bread I have done previously were hard by the next day... sighz)...

As at the time of posting, I have made another batch of dough.... let's countdown 12hrs... :-D

Cakes and Bread - Crazy Baking over 2 days

Another orange cake... haha... I will continue to bake the orange and lemon pound cake for the next few days coz I have lotsa oranges and lemons at home... This time, I added a little colouring to the cake batter so that the cake turns out orangey... to differentiate it from the lemon cake... While this cake was in the oven, I was waiting for the bread dough to proof...






Saw the cake recipe from a blog called 'Happy Home Baking'... This lady bakes really nice bread... I decided to try it... The bread turned out nice... not as soft as I had thought it would be... but considering the fact that I have failed at every bread baking attempt previously... I am already very happy this time :-D I am motivated to try other recipes on her blog...

Carrot Cake Part 2

I have decided to give carrot cake another go... This one should be considered a success as compared to the previous ones that I have done... But it still looks too moist to my liking... For this batch, the carrot looks more 'obvious'... Guess this is what carrot cake is... Surprisingly, my 85yo grandmother loves it... Haha... Guess I've got a supporter after all... She likes it soft and moist... I will usually leave my cake overnight and see if it is still as nice if eaten the next day... Do hope I get good reviews on this cake :-D

Pound Cakes

These few days have been really stressful for me and my family... My little baby had a very high fever and and when it finally subsided after 4 days... Rash came out all over his face, head and body... we were running from a lousy doc to KK A&E (my 1st time in A&E) and finally to his usual paediatrician within a span 3 days... Only Dr. Low (his PD) has got an answer for me... and this really reassured me that baby is fine... At least he has started to smile again... and we know he is on his road to recovery...

So I took some time off to bake some cakes... oooh...relaxing... Baked one after another... Didn't wana stop at all... Tried pound cakes today... Lemon, Orange and Coffee... Will try more flavours when my brain "starts working" again :-D Seem to be blank now...

Sleep-deprived... Going into la-la land soon... Zzzzzzz

Heart Shaped Mixed Fruit Cake

My buddy called me yesterday and asked if I could bake a birthday cake for her ex-colleagues ( 2 girls) as they were gonna have a celebration today... But it took awhile before she could accept my suggestion for a heart-shaped cake... Coz her considerations were that it was a birthday cake AND for 2 girls... Isn't it weird to cut a heart shaped cake together? But I guess we didn't have a choice coz she had wanted a small cake (4 girls eating it after dinner) and this is the only small cake ring that I have... haha... Eventually she agreed to it... It was a little more "challenging" to put the mango slices onto a odd-shaped cake... Well, I guess it didn't turn out too badly huh... Hope the gals like it!

Choc-Banana Cake

My cousin wanted to eat Choc-Banana Cake.... So asked me to bake this for her... Got really upset while piping the chocolate at the top... Somehow, the choc got "stucked" at the tip... by the time I managed to get it out smoothly, the choc has already beome a little bit too runny to handle.. as you can see from the picture... it was a messy border... haiz... It's ok... This is a trial anyway... Just hope the next one will be successful... :-D

Taste-wise... it should be nice and chocolatey... hope it's not too sweet though...

Wedding Cake

I would like to thank Rebecca for giving me a chance to make her wedding cake... For this special day, Rebecca's request was to have 2 mixed fruit cakes.... and just a simple fresh flower decoration to make it look like a wedding cake... Glas that everyone likes it...

Congrats Rebecca!

Happy Birthday... to me.... :-D

Happy Birthday to me... happy birthday to meee... happy birthday to me..ee..eeee... happy Birthday to meeee.... :-D

This is one of my happiest birthday coz it's the 1st one that I'm spending together with my little 7-month old son, Ethan... Life has indeed changed after having this baby... some parts for the better... some parts for the worse... but overall... i'm just thankful for this little "gift" from God... He is such a darling... I love him to bits...

This year, I will be celebrating with my parents... Actually I had a prior celebration already... hoho... together with my husband... Went Shin Kushiya for lunch... Loooooove it... beautiful charcoal grilled food... simple marinate... but full of flavour... Yummy!

And guess what, I baked a cake for myself... whhahahaa... Everyone said "oh so poor thing"...but I think otherwise... Have been baking birthday cakes for customers... It's time I made something special for myself... :-D Couldn't get a nice light yellow orchid from the neighbourhood florist... Ended up with pink roses... (yea these flowers were from my husband and now, it's on the cake... haha)... the overall look wasn't really what I wanted it to be... Looks more like a wedding cake than a birthday cake... ooops... but ok la... good enuff... It's the thought (to myself) that counts... hgahahaha...

Ok time to go for my next celebration... Wooohooooo....

Carrot Cake

Angrrrrrrry..... I made 2 unsuccessful carrot cakes (1st pic)! What made it worse was the fact that I have succeeded before (2nd pic)... So what made me fail this time? and TWICE! seriously, I don't have the answer... Every step was done exactly the same as the last one... So what went wrong? Guess there are just some days that I am really jinxed... haha... Just can't get it right...

Anyway, I made one in the afternoon... failed... decided it give it another go in the evening... better than the earlier one.. but still... I consider it fail... coz it just wasn't the texture that I had hoped for... Grrr...

Gosh... Maybe I should stop complaining and start meditating... set my mind at ease... relax... and maybe I will make a successful one... tomorrow? Hmm....

Apple Upside-Down Cake

OK

I'm really crazy about "upside-down" cakes these days... haha... You can use just about every fruit you can think of and bake it into a cake... Today, I tried apple... beautifuuuuul.... nice and light... perfect as a tea cake... I can imagine sitting in a garden.. with a cool breeze... sipping on hot tea and eating the cake... Oh no, I'm dreaming again... or rather, it's just wishful thinking on my part... haha...

Have been feeling uphappy these days.... but I realised that baking can make me happy... it can boost my confidence... and the look on everyone's face after eating my cake... priceless...

i just wana be happy... happy.... happy... lalala.....

Pineapple Upside Down Cake... Finally a decent one

Yeah! Encouraged by the successful peach cake i did this afternoon, I decided to continue with this "lucky streak" and try the pineapple upside down cake... Ok not too bad... as long as it is edible.. I will consider it a success... haha... Time for my guinea pigs to try it...

Peach Upside-Down Cake

As mentioned in my earlier post, I tried baking the pineapple upside-down cake and it was DISASTROUS! Today, I plucked up my courage to try 'upside-down cake' again... and used leftover peaches from the fridge... it took double the time to bake and I thought this was it again... disaster... But surprisingly... it came out beautifully... however, I found the top abit too 'pale'... so i popped it into the microwave for a few minutes and viola... it turned a little brownish... Would like to be slightly more brownish... but the microwave oven died on me! Sighz...

Anyway, I just cut the cake as it is... Took me awhile to pluck up my courage to try it... haha... sounds terrible... but the taste of the disastrous pineapple upside-down cake kept coming to mind... and I am just afraid of tasting the same thing again... the first bite was filled with reluctance but once it was in the mouth... everything was great! the cake was moist but not too sticky... cooked just nicely... sweetness was just right... just peach-fect... perfect i mean...

Yummy! Will try pineapple upside-down with the same recipe...

Mango Peach Yoghurt Cake

Boring Saturday + Extra mangoes & peach & strawberries = Mango Peach Yoghurt Cake

Bought too many mangoes for a cake order yesterday... and gosh, there were 6 mangoes left sitting in the fridge... and based on previous experience... these mangoes will just rot in the fridge if un-used... hmm... decided to make them "die" with dignity.. use it on a cake... Had a few cans of fruits in syrup... Guess peach will be a good choice...

The 1st part of it was uneventful... everything went well... the cake was "destroyed" at the last part... grrr!!!! after arranging the mangoes and peaches on top of some cream... I poured agar agar on it... UNFORTUNATELY, there was some holes between the cake tin and the cake.. so part of the agar agar mixture flowed out onto the cake base... Noooooooooo!!! and like before, the table top and stove was a mess with overflowed agar agar... sighz.... so upset with myself... Nevertheless, the cake is still edible... just that it is maybe not "picture-perfect"....

Let's see the final product... will cut after the agar agar has set...

Happy Birthday, Bro mel!

My cousins came over to my house to celebrate the birthday of one of our cousins, Melvin... As I was pressed for time (had to prepare the steamboat lunch)... I needed a fast and delicious birthday cake... Chocolate cake came to mind... Guess this is an "all-time favourite" for everyone...

Really happy to know that everyone loved the cake... Abit too sweet and chocolatey to my liking... BUT eventually, it is the feedbacks and positive comments from the tasters that counts... and this is what motivates me to provide yummy cakes to my customers...

Whether or not I can continue with this passionate hobby will be decided by an unforeseen circumstance, unexpected opportunity and unknown outcome... DILEMMA...