Kjeldson Butter Cookies

I baked these last week as a pre-Christmas gifts for colleagues. It was my fave Danish butter cookies! Yeap.. Those that came in blue round tin. This biscuit has been going round the blogging scene recently so I Googled it as well.

Alan's website came out and I like the way pictures were taken and explanation seems easy. Why not??

I only need flour, icing sugar, good quality butter & vanilla paste which I substituted with vanilla extract. The steps are easy for novices like me. Do not over-mix the dough.

Piped the dough on baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.


Try it.. you will not regret it.

Strawberry Shortcake

It was a dear colleague's birthday on 12 Nov so few of us decided to do a mini celebration in the office. The unofficial baker that is me took up the challenge to bake her a cake.
I always wanted to bake a strawberry shortcake Japanese style. The sponge layer must be cottony soft with the right amount of whipped cream in between. From Monday I was Google-ing a few recipes and saw the recipe from Rima's blog that look super duper awesome. It was simple and quick too. Right..this is the one


Strawberry Shortcake
145g cake flour
15g cornflour
1 egg
5 egg yolks
150g butter
65g fresh milk

Meringue
5 egg whites
100g castor sugar
1/4 tsp salt

How?
- Preheat oven to 160C. Prepare a 9"square pan and wrapped the bottom layer with aluminum foil.
- Heat milk and butter in a small pot until warm. Do not let it boil. The butter will be melted by then.
- Remove pot from heat and add in sifted flour and cornflour. Mix. It will be lumpy at this stage.
- Transfer mixture to a bigger bowl and add in lighted whisked egg and egg yolks.
- Mix the batter until smooth.


- This is how the batter should look like.
- In another clean bowl, beat egg white until frothy.
- Add in salt and sugar in 3 addition.
- Beat the egg white till soft peak.
- Add 1/3 of the egg white mixture into the egg batter and mix well. Add the remaining egg whites and fold gently.
- Pour cake batter into prepared tin.
- Bake it using bain marie method for 45 minutes.


I am using another larger square pan and fill it with water to steam bake the sponge cake.

Whipped Cream
2 tsp gelatine powder
8 tsp cold water
2 cup whipping cream, keep cold
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

How?
- In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatine on the surface of the cold water. Let rest for 5 minutes.
- Place pan over low heat and stir constantly until gelatine dissolves. Remove pan from fire and set aside to cool.
- Using a clean bowl and chilled beaters, beat whipping cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract till it thickens.
- At low speed, gradually pour in gelatine mixture and beat till stiff peak.


To assemble the cake
- Cut the cake horizontally. It is easier to cut with less cake crumbs if the cake is chilled. I chilled the cake for about 3 hours but 30 minutes is suffice.
- Brush some syrup (mixture of sugar and water) on the cut layer cake.
- Spread some whipped cream on the cake followed by cubed strawberries. Cover with another thin layer of whipped cream.
- Place the other layer of cake on top and brush with syrup.
- Spread a thin layer of whipped cream and chill the cake (this steap is known as crumb coating).
- After 30 minutes - 1 hour, cover with another layer of whipped cream, smoothen it or piped with design.
- Decorate as you wish.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY SERENE!

Nutella Swirl Rolls

Inspired from cinnamon roll I made these Nutella Swirl Rolls. I'm not a fan of cinnamon. Hah..
I've actually attempted the Hokkaido Milk loaf recipe countless times but I've only succeeded once! *sad*
This time round I was very very careful with the ingredients measurement and steps. Followed them to the T!
I'm glad I had the courage to try again because the bread went very well.



First time able to shape into nice balls. ^_^



I think I've overloaded my pan. After 20mins it's too tight for the bread. Oops..
Nutella Swirl Roll (dough adapted from Christine Ho - *I halved the recipe because we can't finish such big loaf)
540g bread flour
86 g caster sugar
8 g salt
9 g full cream milk power
11 g instant dried yeast
86 g whisked egg (about 2 eggs)
59 g whipping cream (*I omitted this and replace it with milk instead)
54 g milk
184 g tangzhong (50g of bread flour + 250g of water/milk and cook over low fire)
49 g unsalted butter, melted (* I used salted butter and reduce the amount of salt above. Agaration method)
How?
- Put all wet ingredients (milk, cream and tangzhong) into bread maker follow by dry ingredients (salt, sugar, bread flour and yeast).
- Set bread maker to Dough function (I am using Kenwood so it is Function 8).
- At 1:23 minutes, add in melted butter.
- At the end of the dough function (dough should rise to double or even triple in size), remove and place on cleaned floured surface.
- Deflate the dough by giving it a few kneads or punch. Do not over-knead or the bread will turn out hard.
- Divide into 3 equal portion, cover with clingwrap and rest for 15 minutes.
- Then shape the bread - at this juncture, you may add any ingredients you want. I rolled them up into rectangular shape and spread nutella on them and roll it.
- Let the dough rise for 1 hour. During the last 10 minutes, pre-heat oven to 170degree.
- Before putting it into oven, brush with whisked egg yolk.



I must say this is a very aromatic bread..the smell of Nutella with
freshly baked bread makes me hungry! I can't wait for it to cool down before chomping 4 pieces..haha
Note:
When placing dry ingredients, be sure that the salt and yeast is placed far apart from each other and yeast not to touch the wet ingredients.

Pandan Chiffon Cake

Lately I have been reading a lot of blogs about making pandan chiffon cake. Almost all of them bake them using home-made pandan essence.
I googled and saw Wendy's blog on how to make pandan essence in step by step. I went to the provision shop immediately and bought 3 packet of pandan leaves. As I do not have a food processor at home, I depended on the Braun handheld blender to blend the pandan leaves. Haha.. wrong move! My wall tiles and floor tiles were covered with splatters of pandan juices..haha. I have a helluva time cleaning up after that.



I made the above pandan essence 2 days in advance so that the extract may settle down nicely. Look at how thick and nice the color of the pandan juice are.

Pandan Extract
30 leaves of pandan / screwpine leaves
1/2 cup of water

How?
- Wash and cut the pandan leaves into small pieces
- Add 1/2 cup of water.
- Using a food processor, blend the pandan leaves till fine.
- Using a food strainer or muslin cloth, squeeze out the pandan juice till dry.
- I place them in a clear glass and covered with clingwrap and place them in the fridge to settle.
- The dark green section at the bottom of the glass is the essence. To get that, pour away the top part (I kept the middle section of the juice for my pandan cake).
- The above will yield 2 tbsp of pandan essence.

Pandan Chiffon Cake
(recipe adapted from Kevin Chai basic chiffon recipe)

Cake batter

4 egg yolk (egg without shell should weigh approximately 60g each)
45g castor sugar (I reduce to 40g)
70ml coconut milk
70ml oil
45ml pandan juice (including 2 tbsp pandan essence)
150g cake flour/plain flour
1tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

Meringue

4 egg white
80g castor sugar (I reduce to 70g)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

How?
- Preheat oven to 175 degree.
- Prepare a 20-cm tube pan
- Whisk egg yolk and sugar until it dissolves.
- Add in coconut milk, oil, pandan juice and pandan essence.
- Mix well
- Sift in flour and baking powder. Add salt
- Whisk the cake batter until well mixed.
- In a clean bowl, beat egg white until it is frothy (about 30s)
- Add cream of tartar and 1/3 of castor sugar. Continue to beat until soft peak.
- Add in remaining sugar gradually and beat until just before stiff peak.
- Taking 1/3 of the meringue, add into the cake batter and mix well.
- Pour the cake batter into the remaining egg white and fold gently (I fold for about 20 times until no more streak of egg whites can be seen).
- Pour the mixture into the tube pan. Knock the pan several times on your kitchen counter.
- Bake for 40 - 45 minutes.

Look at the natural hue of green on my finished cake. Taste awesome..as I am typing this I am contemplating should I bake one next week. :)


Topo Map Cake

Topo or topography is related to Geography - a subject I hated most in school. Haha.. Saw this cake a few times when I was surfing and it really interest me how a simple butter cake can be made into such nice formation.

I checked out Wendy's blog and some recipe found on Munch Ministry. Being the kiasu me, I of course went with an experienced food blogger's recipe..keke

Frankly this cake is fairly easy to do and it taste really good and moist.

Topo Map Cake
(source: Table for 2..or more)

250g butter
250g sugar *
5 eggs (the eggs I used weigh about 57g each)
300g cake flour
1tsp baking powder
125ml evaporated milk
1tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp pandan extract
Some cocoa powder for the topo lines

How?
- Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy
- Add in eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each additon
- Sift half of flour and baking powder. Beat on low speed until combined
- Pour in evaporated milk and beat on low speed until combined
- Add in remaining flour and beat on low speed until combined.
- The batter is now ready. Pour half of the batter into a separate bowl and mix in pandan extract in one part and another with vanilla extract.
- Spread 1/2 of the pandan batter into lined and greased pan. Level it.
- Carefully, sift a layer of cocoa powder on the batter.
- Gently, scoop a dollop of alternate batter (if pandan was used as base, put vanilla batter next or vice versa). Level the batter, becareful not to scrape off the cocoa powder.
- Repeat with a layer of sifted cocoa powder and pandan batter.
- Repeat layering until all batter has been used it.
- Bake for 45 minutes or when toothpick comes out clean. Oven temperature is 180C.

Hokkaido Chiffon Cupcakes

I have been wanting to try this cupcakes long time ago but did not get about doing it - procrastinating as usual!
It was when alot of Hokkaido Chiffon cupcakes were baked by members of Munch Ministry that I got my arse moving.. bought the square cupcake liners from Phoon Huat and there is no return.
I am surprised by how simple this recipe is and it only took me less than 30 minutes to get everything done and place them in the oven to bake. Without the cream, this cupcake taste too egg-y to my liking but after piping in the cream it was kinda refreshing.


Hokkaido Chiffon Cupcakes
(source: Nasi Lemak Lover)

3 eggs, separate yolk with white

20g sugar
30g corn oil
60g milk
70g cake flour

25g sugar

Filling
60g whipping cream
10g sugar
1tsp custard powder (I omit this but replace with 1/2 tsp of vanilla essence)

How?
- Pre-heat oven to 170 degree
- Prepare 9 - 10 cupcake liners on baking sheets
- Hand whisk egg yolk with sugar till pale in color
- Add in corn oil and milk. Mix well.
- Sift in cake flour. Stir till combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk egg white till foamy. This will take about 1 minute
- Add in 25g of sugar gradually. Beat till soft peak forms. I estimated that this will take 2 minutes after pouring in all the sugar.
- Using a spatula, take 1/3 of the egg white mixture and mix into the egg yolk batter. Combine well.
- FOLD in the remaining egg white gently, becareful not to deflate them.
- Scoop batter into cupcake liners till 3/4 full.
- Bake in oven for 20 - 25 minutes. I checked my cupcakes at the 23rd minute mark.

For filling
- Beat whipping cream with sugar till firm and stiff (I place my beater in the freezer prior to beating the cream)
- Add in vanilla essence and mix well.

Pipe cream into cupcakes (after they have cooled). Dust with icing sugar and I place heart-shaped sprinkler :)

Kieran is ONE!

13 June - Kieran turned one!! The day I've been waiting for.. to me turning one is a big one-derful day that need big celebration..
We (hb and I) brought the boys for a photoshoot at The Studio Loft. Love love love their shots. Though Kieran was cranky throughout cos he missed his morning nap, he was still game for some good smile. Of course not all shots were of him smiling. There are some that showed the cranky and tirednes side of him and US! @_@









Being a mom to 2 boys, I have to be mindful of the older sibling's feeling especially on special day like this. So I booked tickets to watch Madagascar 3 and it was extra fun cos one of his classmate, Shermaine decided to watch the same movie at the same time. Boy, did they both had fun before the movie start. It was supposed to be followed by play at Petite Park but we were all tired out.
For this special day, I made Kieran his own birthday cake - I did a trial a week earlier but ambitious me (as usual) went ahead and tried another recipe, Rich Chocolate Cake which was a tad too dry for my liking. Learnt my lesson? I must stick to tried and tested and tasted. Haha...

17 June - Kieran's big bash held at the function room of our condo.. It was extra special cos my family flew down from KL just to attend his bash and we had a family shoot after that. :) I am still waiting for the photos to be sent to me.
List of vendors that I engaged for this party:
Cake - Paisley & Cream (thumbs up!)
Jelly - Mr & Mrs James Chan (will never go wrong!)
Buffet - Water Rise (okay..not overly good especially on their portion and after sales service)
Balloons - Balloons n Kids (Will not engage them again as I felt that their balloons don't last as the one I bought for Zach's big bash)
Photographer - Lumiere (they have plenty of photographer and maybe it is just my luck that the one I got is not very enthusiastic. Probably a junior?!?)
Entertainment - Farid the Magician (recommended by a friend. He was okay.. maybe the kids age do play a part)



Chocolate Banana Cake ala Awfully Chocolate

Baby Kieran will be turning 1 on 13 June 2012. Being the youngest son to a busy working parents is no fun at all. He didn't get as many toys as his older brother, nor he get many new clothings. Bad mummy..

Feeling bad, I tried to make amends by giving him more perks for his birthday bash - hiring entertainers. Hahaha.. On actual day, I decided to bake him a birthday cake instead of getting it from bakery. Personalised.

I did a trial over the weekend, following Aunty Yochana's recipe from her blog. I am glad the sponge cake turn out good but lazy mummy decided to skip the mousse part and place the banana directly on the cake batter. WRONG! The cake was overly moist and damp at the bottom.. sigh. I shall follow every recipe to the dot and not try to be smarty to change or amend unless I am very very confident of it.

Chocolate cake that is not frosted yet

Decorated cake with chocolate ganache and Zach helped with the M&M deco

I will start baking the actual cake on Monday and decorate it on Tuesday night so that we can give him a birthday 'mini' party on Wednesday! Wish me luck...

Dream

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.








Chocolate Chips Muffins

This recipe is a keeper! I was blog-hopping yesterday and chanced upon this particular recipe from Chunky Cooky.
As from the header of her recipe, it states Fuss-Free and indeed she is right! All I need is 10 minutes of preparation and 15 minutes of baking. No mess on my kitchen counter since only 2 bowls are needed for this muffins.

Chocolate Chips Muffins
(recipe adapted from Chunky Cooky and I've made some slight modifications)

112g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp cocoa powder (I used Valhorna cocoa powder which explains the color of my cuppies)
84g sugar (I reduced to 70g since I am not a fan of overly sweet cakes)
70g chocolate chips
120ml chocolate milk
45ml vegetable oil (I used corn oil)
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

How?
- Pre-heat oven to 200 degree. Line your muffin pan.
- Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl (plain flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda)
- In a separate bowl, mix milk, oil, egg and vanilla extract together. Add in sugar and chocolate chips.
- Sieve in the dry ingredients on top. Mix quickly and lightly.
- Using an ice cream scoop, put a scoop of batter into prepared cups up till 3/4 full. Sprinkle the top generously with chocolate chips
- Bake for 15 minutes or until well-risen. Mine formed a very nice dome. Cool in wire racks.

Hiatus

Taking a short break from blogging and cooking for a short while..

Work load is taking a toll on me and I am getting tired easily too.

Will be back definitely!

Char Siew

My family saw from my Facebook posting that I made char siew on one weekday and requested for one during my last trip back to Klang! How can I say no?? Haha
It's different from the usual 'reddish' char-grilled meat because I did not add any food coloring.
It was delicious - the gravy was thick and gooey because of the honey. If there are maltose, maybe it will taste better?

Char Siew

1kg pork muscle (you can substitute with pork belly if you love a little bit of fats but remember to get the butcher uncle to remove the skin)
2 tbsp Hoisin sauce
1 tbsp Rose wine (I can't find this at supermarket so I substiuted with Chinese cooking wine)
1 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 1/2 tbsp honey
4 tbsp sugar (I use brown sugar)
1 tsp sesame oil

How?
- Marinade the pork with all the ingredients for at least an hour; preferably overnight
- Heat up Happycall pan - I did not use any oil at all
- Place meat in the pan and close the lid for 2 minutes. Flip the meat over and close the pan again to cook for 2 minutes.
- Repeat the above at least 3 times until meat is cook.
- Leave the pan cover slightly ajar so that the meat will be charred when the sauce is drying up. Ensure that the fire from your stove is kept to the minimum.
- When you have achieved desire 'charred' char siew, dish it to a plate.
- Serve with steamed white rice!

Bon Appetit!!




Sweet & Sour Pork

My favorite dish and a must have if I eat have zhi char for dinner!
My own opinion? It's a dish that requires alot of effort in preparation but the end result? Worth it..

I adapted this recipe from RasaMalaysia but as usual I will modify here and there according to my own taste bud. :)

Sweet & Sour Pork

500g pork (I used pork muscle with a little bit of fats) - cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 yellow capsicum - cut into small pieces
1 tomato - cut into small pieces, preferably same size as the capsicum
1/2 cucumber - optional
1/2 onion - optional
1 clove of garlic
Oil for frying

A
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 tsp corn flour
1/2 tsp rice wine (I used Hua Tiao wine)

B
1/2 egg
Corn flour

C
1 1/2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp plum sauce
1/8 tsp Chinese rice vinegar
1/2 tsp Lea & Perrins Worchestire sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp corn flour
1 tsp sugar
Water

How?
- Marinade pork with A for at least 30 minutes but longer will taste better
- Mix C together. This is the sweet & sour sauce. Set aside
- Heat oil using HC pan. I use enough oil for frying
- Take a piece of the marindated pork, dip in egg mixture and then coat with corn flour.
- Deep fry until pork turn golden-brown and is cooked.
- Dish out & drain the oil completely using paper towels
- Leaving a tablespoon of oil on the pan, add in chopped garlic and stir-fry until light brown.
- Throw in capsicums, onions and cucumbers. Continue stir-frying until you smell the peppery aroma.
- Pour in C. Bring to boil. The sauce will thicken
- Once it is thicken, transfer deep-fried pork back to the pan and give it a quick toss so that all the pork pieces are well covered.
- Garnish with chopped scallions.
- Serve hot with rice

Verdict?
It was good, the pork was crispy but I would want to scald it with hot water first in future because I can still taste the porky smell.
Would I do this dish again? Maybe but not so soon cos deep frying is really not my option and I had to clean up the kitchen big time after that.







Hong Kong Apr 2012

Another holiday booked for end April!

I need a shopping trip badly and of course with the kids in tow, I can't conquer Europe yet and leaving them behind for a 3D2N trip to BKK is out of question. We are going HONG KONG!!

I was there last March heavily pregnant so I couldn't shop much especially at H&M and I've missed visiting Prada and other outlets so this time round, no exception!! Hahaha

LOST!

Too free on a Saturday night?? I went and tried jailbreaking my iPhone and what happened?

I lost all my photos and contacts!!! All 6000 photos fr the day Zach was born till I had Kieran... Heartache!!

I shall not dwell on it cos I can refer to my Facebook for the pix! I'll just restart on my collection again.


Love the Superman top I got from Old Navy!! Ãœber cute..
Every 3 to 4 weeks I'll make sn appointment for my luxurious indulgent, facial.
I used to enjoy these moments on weekends but when both boys came weekend is more important so I made appointments on Friday when my organization announced 5 @ 5 (Knock off at 5pm every Friday!)
~ I digress..
Back to facial, my therapist was going through my packages and mentioned one which I signed in 2008!! Wow.. And I only utilized that facial program once @_@
I casually mentioned was I with them for 10 years? I wasn't surprised when it was a YES!


This was after facial.. I really thanked them for helping me to maintain my skin. Alot of positive comments from friends, relatives and even strangers that I have good skin and can be seen from my minimal powder usage. *grin*
I'll continue going for facials diligently and hopefully can maintain a supple youthful skin for as long as I can.

I shop...

when I can't sleep in the middle of the night..it is a really really bad habit!!

My recent purchase from Asos.com. Lace seems to be making a comeback or should I say, it is always a safe choice.

Besides Asos.com, I did a purchase from Gmarket as well, a roll-away thingy for the sink..
I need a new habit whenever I have sleepless nights..haha else my purse will suffer!

H.O.L.I.D.A.Y.

**** UPDATED ****
As I am typing this, I have mixed feelings.. felt sad I couldn't go for this trip, felt somehow relieved because I know I couldn't enjoy much with my current situation and condition..
So, we have no choice but to postpone this trip until April 2012!!

I can't wait to get out of Singapore this coming Saturday for my long long long overdue break!


Pangkor Laut Resort.. a privately owned resort that promises privacy and tranquility and a good escape from the hustling and bustling of city life!
Just what we needed.. a breather from hectic work, rejuvenate and me to recharge back after 2 back to back op.. and for the kids? Well, for them to soak in the pool and play on the sandy beaches all day long till Zach will say "Mummy, I have old man's hand" haha

CNY Outfits

I started my buying frenzy for CNY outfits from October onwards!!?! Some of them are from Asos.com - a very affordable and good quality site for wide array of brands of dresses.
Top from Traffic People

Asos Bandeau Jumpsuit
Of course, I do get a few pieces from my regular place - Chinatown where I shopped mostly for my work dresses. I bought about 5 pieces the last time I went and so far wore 2 of them to work and left few pieces for me to wear when I start work on the 10th day of CNY.. keke
Of late, Robinsons also carry some pretty decent looking clothes that don't look too aunty-ish esp brands like Oasis, Core and Collette. I bought a few pieces during their member's preview sale..
In total, I have about 10 outfits to last me throughout the 10 days of leave..hahaha

HUAT AH!

Kieran is 7 month old




How far this cheeky boy has grown!! From 3.2kg at birth till date he's 9kg or more.. Haha
Summarizing Kieran..
- a happy baby
- slept through the night after 2.5 mth old
- loves pacifier
- loves putting things in his mouth be it food or non-food. Haha
- will wail if he finds his paci missing during sleeping time
- loves Zachary very much!!
- sticks to me like elephant glue! Even if he's sleeping once a while he'll need to place his hand on my face or pull my hair towards him. Lol..I'm not complaining cos I love him too much.




Chinese New Year

Final week to CNY 2012! Cleaning & washing are on-going coupled with we just move in hence loads to wash n clean. The room is in a mess!! I better get my act together n tidy it up.
I found some time over the past weekend to bake some cookies. Nothing fanciful, just bak kwa cube. It's pretty easy - cutting bak kwa into bite size and mixed into any pastry - I used pineapple tart pastry for it's melt-in the mouth experience.


This was so much easier to shape compared to my first attempt.


Haha.. The above turn out to be like Texas Chicken's biscuit. It's still nice because I used cream cheese and cream as part of the ingredients - FAT!
I'm looking forward to flying back on 1st day of CNY! Will be home till the 9th day of CNY.. Yahoo!!
Till next update..
HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR