lemon yogurt ring

mak's friend ask to bake something
no. i am not taking orders
just helping her out..

the week old lemon is still untouched
the yogurt is past due date

any other good reason to hit this recipe??

1st time baking in fluted tube pan..
which i bought to make chiffon/ sponge cake

it didnt turn out well
the base is not as crusty as the top



i suppose i shouldve prolong the baking time

but i just proceed with the glazing..
the 1st recipe from this book

materials:

• 1cup butter (225g)
• 1.5cup caster sugar
• 4 eggs separated
• 2tsp grated lemon rind
• 85ml lemon juice
• 1cup plain yogurt
• 2cup plain flour
• 2tsp baking powder
• 1tsp baking soda
• 1/2tsp salt

method:

1. grate 1 lemon skin and press the juice out <-- i love the smell...
2. preheat oven: 180Celcius. grease fluted or bundt pan & dust with flour
3. cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy <-- medium speed, about 5min.
4. add egg yolks one at a time
5. add lemon rind, lemon juice and yogurt
6. sift flour, baking powder and baking soda
7. in another bowl, whisk egg whites and salt until stiff peaks are formed
8. fold dry ingredients into butter mixture
9. fold in a dollop of egg whites. fold in the remaining until well blended
10. pour in the prepared tin. bake for 50mins

glazing:

• 1cup icing sugar
• 2tbs lemon juice
• 3-4tbs plain yogurt

1. sift icing sugar into bowl.
2. stir in lemon juice
3. stir in yogurt just enough to make glaze
4. pour the glaze over the cake

verdict:
love lemon. love yogurt. love the cake!

i am greedy. the cake is mine!!

i'll bake something else for mak's friend

chocolate almond biscotti

it goes as planned..
making biscotti @mak's home

but mak's oven is a total stranger to me

i use ms. jaworski's recipe
as usual..
it never failed me

but the oven is not being friendly with me :(

the 8min's almond toast
looks like it has been toasted forever!

and i regret using grinder to chop the almonds
silly me! or should i say.. how dumb??
grinder is for grinding!
you chop with chopper or knife.
ok. lesson learnt.

i suppose making biscotti is easy
except for the sticky batter
which could be tricky!

and the credit should go to mr.joe as well
for his step-by-step photos


verdict:
i suppose this is the only recipe
i would prefer no-chocolate
apart from the mistakes made
apart from the unfriendly oven
i think my biscotti can sell
hah!
:p

sour cream chocholate cake

i made this cake because of 2 reasons:

1. my sour cream is over due
2. all 5reviews are positive!

but i halved the recipe
since my sour cream is less than 240g

my bil came just in time..
just after i took out the cake from the oven

i offered some to him..
i had to cut while its still hot..



verdict:
so soft! so tender! so chocolate-y!
i didnt make the chocolate frosting
not in the mood for extra chocolate

marble bread

its been hectic at the office
ive been busy + tired

but my mind keep on chanting
bake.. bake.. bake..
cake.. cake.. cake..
bread.. bread.. bread..

i am going nuts over baking!

after 3 sleep-less days
i just couldn't take it anymore

after a short nap after dinner
i gathered my energy

hello? yes??
owh! the oven called me!!!

i made this marble bread
specially for my 1.2yo baby
yes. i fed her with cakes & bread
she is my true fan. one & only fan.




now only i know..
the english ppl call it teacake
to me and to us, malaysian
it is kek mamak
another kind of kek mamak is this pound cake

the mamaks used to sell it
at their shop
and on their bike ~ mamak roti
in slices.. sealed in plastic
but i think they use margarine
coz their cakes are very oily :(
definitely not my fav.

verdict:
soft. fluffy. irresistible!

it has become one of my fav :p

question:
why does this so called teacake is always lebelled as quickbread??

red velvet cake

my sister, who live faraway up north

is coming down for a meeting

she saw this cake in CPK menu

i made a promise.. moons ago..

to make this cake specially for her

the night before

i flipped through betty crocker cookbook

i came across whipping cream beating method

it has pictures of:

1. underbeat

2. normal

3. overbeat

with the recipe from my favorite reference

i was so determined on making it right!

i was this (an inch) close to get it right!

no. it was just not my day :(

but i just proceed..

with the over-beaten whipping cream..

what do you expect?

its expensive!

yes. i live in malaysia.

all things imported are da*n expensive

sorry. just can't help cursing :(

but i love my country. full stop.

and the humidity does not help either

am making it in the middle of noon

hence the runny frosting

yes. i skipped lunch. my kids have to eat-out

just because of this bloody-cake

but hey! i enjoy making it!

the kids also love the batter

yes. they prefer the batter to the cake

i think i've mentioned that before

to the kids.. its a delicious blood (the batter. that is)

to me.. its the best cake i ever made

the most delicious cake i ever tasted

the aroma.. the color.. the taste..

everything in red velvet is special..

everything about red velvet is special..

note:

i need to buy long serrated knife..

so that i can have more layers..

verdict:

i'll bake this again

only for special occasion

cause its a special cake!!

baking encyclopedia

i almost jumped up&down

while flipping through this book in MPH

its an encyclopedia of baking!

this is what really caught my attention:


the word step-by-step ;)


verdict:
a must have for baking-dummies like me :p

now.. which recipe should i try 1st :-?

kenny rogers vanilla muffins

enough.

i just had enough of muffins.

for now.

3days in a row

the last-est was kenny-rogers muffins

i got the recipe from here

materials:

• 120gm butter
• 2eggs
• 4cups flour
• 2cups sugar
• 4tbs baking powder
• 2cups milk
• 1tsp salt
• 1tbs vanilla essence

method:

1. preheat oven to 175Celcius.
2. beat butter & sugar.
3. add eggs one by one. add vanilla.
4. sift flour, baking powder & salt into the batter.
5. add milk. mix till combined.
6. pour into muffin cups.
7. bake at 175Celcius for 20mins.

note:

* the above recipe yield 24muffin cups!!

* ensure that milk and butter is at room temperature

verdict:

soft & fluffy!

but not 100% kenny rogers :(

conclusion:

no-fail muffins

is a success

after 3 trials

next please!

the tools

when i want to start baking
i knew i had to have these:

1. measuring spoon
2. measuring cup for liquid
3. kitchen scale
4. mixer
5. cake pan
6. whisker
7. wooden laddle

as i go on..
i bought these as well:

8. rubber spatula
9. measuring cups for dry ingredient
10. single-handed stainless steel flour sifter
11. springform pan
12. muffin pan
13. rolling pin
14. cooling rack

i suppose all the above is essential baking tools..
for baking cakes & muffins. that is.

just found this and this useful link on essential baking tools

and now..
i want to take my journey further

i suppose i need more than the above
or.. am i being greedy??

p/s: just finished watching julie&julia. am totally inspired!

banana-walnut-chocolate-chip muffins

wow! what a mouthful name for a muffins

i should create a shorter name for this muffins:

a. BWCC muffins

b. CCWB muffins

c. ba-nut-cc muffins

my choice would be c!

:p

i actually made this twice

the first time had to be turned into trifle

the second time is a success

yay!

materials:

• 10oz self-raising flour
• 2tsp baking powder
• 3/4cup sugar
• 4oz butter
• 1 egg
• 2 bananas
• 1/2cup chocolate chip
• 2cups walnut
• 1/2cup buttermilk

method:

1. mash banana. chop walnut
2. preheat oven to 175Celcius. line muffin tin with 15cups <-- i made 20!
3. whip sugar, butter and egg together. add mashed bananas. stir well.
4. mix dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, chocolate chip and walnut
5. add dry ingredients into wet ingredients mixture. stir well.
6. add buttermilk and stir well.
7. pour into muffin cups
8. bake 175Celcius for 25-30minutes.

additional:

i substituted self-raising flour with plain flour + baking powder which makes my baking powder qty = 5tsp!

i am full of suspense!

verdict:

it turn out nice!

it tasted even better!

the 1st success of the muffins!

happiness is blissful..

double chocolate chunk muffins

finally!

no-fail muffin!

it looks good

as good as no-fail muffin :)

the recipe is from here

yes. i am her fan

but i was skeptical

can chocolate & cinnamon be friend?

and what is a golden caster sugar???

i proceeded with a hunch

its a success that comes with a failure

sad.. so sad..

and i'm almost grieving..

verdict:

say no more

i'm grieving!

(by the way my friend gave 3/10 for the taste)

lesson learnt:

1. do not bake with negative thought. the negative aura will flow into your creation. and failure will be born!

2. take time to study the ingredients.

3. never give up! no. am not giving up but i won't do this muffin again. definitely!

bread pudding

i used to make it differently

with custard sauce

but the recipe from joyofbaking is really beckoning

materials:

(i made half of the recipe below)

• 10cups of cubed breads <-- i use french loaf that was sitting idle for 2weeks!
• 4 eggs
• 1cup sugar
• 1.5 tsp vanilla
• 1/2tsp ground cinnamon
• 4tbs butter melted and cooled
• 4cups full cream milk

method:

1. preheat oven to 150Celcius. grease baking dish with butter
2. beat sugar and eggs till creamy & falls like ribbon-like texture when the batter is raised
3. beat in vanilla & ground cinnamon
4. pour butter and milk (butter & milk must be in same temperature)
5. pour the cubed bread into baking dish
6. pour the batter over the bread
7. bake for 1hour with water bath method
8. enjoy it with vanilla ice-cream

verdict:

creamy. dreamy. yummy!

will do again with some mod:

less sugar

add chocolate chip

add raisins

carrot cake

the simplest & healthiest(minus the frosting) carrot cake

materials:

• 1cup olive oil
• 1cup brown sugar
• 3eggs
• 1.5cup plain flour
• 1.5tsp baking powder
• 1tsp baking soda
• 2tsp ground cinnamon
• 2cups grated carrot
• 1cup chopped walnut

method:

1. grate carrot & chop walnut.
2. preheat oven to 180Celcius. grease cake pan with butter and flour.
3. in bowl1: whisk oil, sugar & eggs (larger bowl please).
4. in bowl2: sift all dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.
5. pour bowl2 into bowl1 mixture. mix well.
6. add carrot and walnut into the mixture. stir until combined.
7. pour into your cake pan. bake 45mins.

frosting:

• 250gm cream cheese
• 1cup icing sugar
• 1tsp vanilla

1. combine all ingredients in mixer. mix well.
2. spread on top of cooled carrot cake.

verdict:

yummeh!

just cant stop biting into it.

low-fat banana bread

1st trial - a failure (different recipe though)
2nd trial - a success

why it is low-fat?
because it has low-fat yogurt!

the recipe from joyofbaking
is never disappointing

materials:

• 1cup banana
• 1/2cup low-fat plain yogurt
• 1tsp baking soda
• 1/4cup canola oil
• 3/4cup brown sugar
• 2egg whites
• 1cup plain flour
• 1/2cup wheat flour
• 1/2tsp ground cinnamon
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1/4tsp salt

method:

1. preheat oven to 180Celcius. prepare loaf pan: butter & flour the pan.
2. you need 3 bowls.
3. in smallest bowl, mashed banana. add in yogurt and baking soda. let it sit.
4. in medium bowl, whisk together oil, sugar and eggs.
5. in largest bowl, combine flours, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
6. combine banana mixture (small bowl) into oil mixture (medium bowl).
7. add the batter to flour mixture (largest bowl). stir just until moistened.
8. pour into prepared pan.
9. bake for about 50mins.

verdict:

outlook like a bread. taste like a cake. soft & fulfilling cake.

dear hubby suggest to include nuts & raisin for more flavor

great for banana lovers.

easy chocolate cake

no mixer needed (at least for the cake itself)
no bowl required

just your cake pan

this mix-in-the-pan chocolate cake
takes less than 15minutes to prepare
in 1hour time
your cake is ready for savoury



my ganache didnt turn out fluffy
another reason to own the sexy-beauty!


verdict:
cake is nice & soft. hence the crack :(
but the soda taste is a bit strong for me
what if i reduce it to half?
will my cake raise as nice?
will do again with less soda

chocolate torte

chocolate is my middle name
dense cake is my favorite

simple reasoning
why i fall in lurrrve

with chocolate torte

a torte is a cake made primarily
with eggs, sugar and ground nuts
instead of flour

the most well-known typical tortes:
sachertorte
linzertorte

i will try them out
i must make them
to satisfy my cravings

but i need this sexy-beauty first



i can cut the time to whip the white eggs
tell me one more reason
why i have to own this beauty
just one more..

muffin-failure-trifle

i failed..
i failed again..
and again.


yes.
THREE times!


the easiest thing to make
the easiest recipe to bake


1. chocolate muffin
2. banana choc chip muffin
3. kiwi yogurt muffin

all of you guys turn out hard. and crusty.

i know. blame the temperature setting.

but three times??


now please pity me.
pity me please..
please........


no.
i didn't throw them away
even tho they wont crumble when they hit the wall

i love leftovers
i love to upcycle leftovers

yes.
they are categorized as leftovers
since nobody want to eat them
since nobody can eat them

i upcycled them into a dessert:


can you see the cut-out of the muffins down there?


ingredients:

• failed & hard-to-break muffins
• 4tbs custard powder
• 1/2cup warm water
• 4tbs sugar (the sweetness is up to your tastebud)
• 1cup fresh milk
• 1/2cup chocolate kisses

method:

1. heat milk and sugar in saucepan
2. dissolve custard in 1/2cup water
3. once the milk come to boil, pour custard into the milk mixture
4. add in chocolate kisses
5. stir to boil again
6. if you like thicker consistency, add more custard powder
7. pour the mixture into layers of hard-knock muffins
8. cool it off in fridge
9. pour whipping cream before you dig into them

verdict:

tasty!
delisioso!
i will purposely make a failed muffin again
so that i can make more muffin-failure-trifle

panettone

i've seen lots and loads of panettone bread

in beautiful red or blue boxes

in cold storage supermarket
during previous christmas season

1st time i came across the panettone word
was during european bread class
and its one of my favorite bread!

but to my surprise
when i peek into here and here and here

the recipes totally differs from what i've learned
all of them had dried fruits

whereas the one i made was so simple


so vain..
so plain..

ingredients:

• 500gm bread flour
• 100gm salted butter (room temperature)
• 2tsp dry yeast
• 1 egg
• 50g sugar
• 300ml milk (room temperature)

method:

1. combine and mix all dry ingredients in large bowl
2. add in milk. mix well. leave to rest for 30mins. cover with tea towel.
3. after 30mins, knead and punch the dough slowly
4. i divide into 8 small ball (easier to knead & punch)
5. leave to rest for another 30mins
6. the dough will rise twice the size
7. bake at 180Celcius for 20mins

verdict:

its soft. its fluffy. its fullfilling.

tear it apart. spread butter & jem. worth the effort!

little girl also love it :)

macaroni au gratin

this recipe is from ms.rinnchan's fp
i just love her fp..
as much as i love my other REFERENCES


this is a hit with the kiddos!
and dear hubby (who is on diet) can't resist smiling when he tasted it :)


Ingredients:

• 200gm macaroni - boil till softened
• 70gm parmesan cheese

Fillings:

• 200gm chicken - cubed/ sliced/ cut small - any style
• 50gm minced meat
• 1 potato - thinly sliced
• 1 pc white onion
• salt & pepper to taste

White Sauce:

• 4tbs butter
• 5tbs flour
• 2.5cup fresh milk
• 1/2cube chicken stock - melt with 1/2cup of warm water
• salt to taste

Method:

1. Boil the macaroni till softened.
2. Fry the mixture for filling. I used olive oil to saute the onion.
3. Pour in other filling ingredients and add water to soften the potato. Set aside.
4. White sauce: melt butter. add flour. add milk. add chicken stock. Stir well.
5. Pour filling mixture into white sauce. Stir well.
6. Mix together sauce and macaroni in baking dish.
7. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.
8. Bake at 220Celcius for 15-20mins.

Additional:
this recipe is very versatile
add on capsicum or cauliflower or broccoli or mushroom
anything...
anything your heart desire


verdict:
whole family love it to the max!
feels like love is in the air...
:)

the popovers

no. its not my 1st baking effort.
but this popovers excite us
one whole family. including makcik!
its so fun to watch them grow (in the oven-lah!)


found the recipe from felicia's blog (its a great site!)
you can read & see from her pictures
and understand what all the excitement is about :))

easy peasy to make

a blender or food processor will do.

1. blend all the ingredients: 1C flour. 1C milk. 3eggs. 2tbs butter
2. the batter might be sticky so make sure butter and milk is in the same room temperature
3. you can sieve the batter if its lumpy. i just continued to whisk (lazy me!)
4. pour the batter into muffin cup or muffin tray (without the cup also can do)
5. bake at 220Celcius for 25mins
6. reduce the temperature to 175Celcius and continue bake for another 15mins
7. enjoy it with strawberry jem or honey or anything

my grumpy-froggy looking popovers

its lite.

its airy.

its wonderful!

verdict:
kiddos like it. mummy like it more than kiddos.
definitely will make it again.
maybe for breakfast??
will try the recipe from here

the intro - oven

i begin to bake at the age of 30+
november2009
pity me huh?

i have no idea how to begin baking
i knew i just wanted to bake
anything
everything
especially pasta

i have no idea what equipment i need
except for oven

for the equipment i know..
i have no idea of the specification

pity me again?

no. don't do that

at least i started
at least i found my passion!

let's not get emotional

my oven is purchased unintentionally
since it comes PWP with other items
and its my FIRST oven!

boy. i'm glad i bought this sleek beauty



it is ECO-range!!
we saves our bills tremendously!

thank you mr.E :)