To be honest, I love rice a lot. In the past, i used to ask the school's canteen aunty to add more rice for me whenever i order caifan from her. I can't imagine my meals without rice seriously. But now, I am avoiding it as much as possible. Not because I don't like them anymore, but the fact that they are...carbohydrates. If you cut down on carbo, you can rly slim down a lot. Trust me on this. Now you know why I avoid rice. Hee. I can rly go on and on about diet n exercise. But I shan't bore you any further with that. Haha. So i turned to other alternatives, salad. I spammed salad for the past two years and it isn't that bad after all. It was tough at the start when I switched to a no rice diet. As time passed, I got more used to it and kinda like it eventually. But I still love rice. To enjoy rice with lesser guilt, consider rice salad. I got this idea from Laura Vitale. Made some minor changes to her recipe with whatever ingredients i have on hand. This is definitely a healthier choice compared to your ordinary weekday chicken rice or Seafood horfun pack home dinner. I used canned food as it's more convenient. To make the dish healthier, you could use fresh ingredients  from the market. Although this looks as if it contains a lot of rice, it doesn't. They can be stored for a couple of days in the fridge. You cld prepare these for tmr's lunch at work or dinner for your kids if you are working OT!!



Ingredients: (Servings: 2-3, Serve cold. )

3/4 cup of rice- cooked*
1 can Corn Kernels ( Can/fresh)
1 can Tuna chunks in light Olive Oil ( You cld substitute with other alternatives like Shredded Steamed Salmon etc...)
1 cup Cherry tomatoes
Cranberries
3-4 tbsp of extra virgin Olive Oil. ( ensure rice stays moist)

Steps:

1. In a large bowl, Add corn and tuna to the rice. Mix well.
2. Toss in cherry tomatoes and cranberries.
3. Add olive oil.

Ice Cream palours are on the rise now. In the past, there's only the popular few; Haagen Daz, Anderson's etc... A couple of years later, Island Creamery and Udders were trending within my circle of friends. Before i realize, there are so many palours everywhere right now. Competition is fierce and the icecream( ie: Teh Tarik, horlicks, Bandung, caramel, etc...) they offer are more or less  similar in every palour. Despite so many unique flavours coming up, my favourites are still Rum n Raisin from Haagen Daaz and Strawberry Cheesecake from BnJ. I like the rest too!! So, this is my 1st home-made icecream: Tobelrone icercream from Small Small Baker. At first, i was pretty doubtful about making icecream without a maker. But after seeing so many fantastic reviews i decided to give it a go. Get the original recipe from Small small baker! The  color of the pics i saw was light brown. Unfortunately, this toblerone icecream melts very easily. Does anybody know why? I am trying to figure it out too. I thinkcchocolate chips doesnt really work well here. The chocolate chips are too hard. :< Ohya, I just bought an icecream maker on groupon last week for 29.90 instead of 79.90. Good deal? It will only be available for collection in a month's time. Cant wait to collect and make more icecream. :>



Ingredients

3 egg yolks
40g sugar
1 tsp corn flour
170g fresh milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
100g toblerone chocolate (or cooking chocolate)
220g non-dairy whipping cream
50g chocolate chips
Method
1. Beat egg yolks, sugar and corn flour until sugar has dissolved and pale.
2. Add in fresh milk, vanilla essence and toblerone chocolate. Double boil the mixture and stir and cook at low heat until chocolate has melted and slightly thicken. Remove from heat and leave to cool.
3. Whisk non-dairy whipping cream until stiff and fold into the cooled milk mixture.
4. Stir in chocolate chips and mix well.
5. Pour into a container and freeze overnight. Whisk the mixture again until smooth and freeze until set

These are my Scottish Almond Shortbread. (Apart from the calories,) Shortbread is definitely one of my favourite snack. I love the buttery and a slight pinch of milky taste of this almond shortbread. Next time, I'll up the almond so it'll be more crunchy! If you prefer a strong almond flavour,you may want to add more ground almond. I was so excited to see my Almond Scottish Shortbread that I did not refrigerate the dough until firm before sending them into the oven. Refrigerating the dough until firm enables you to cut them into interesting shapes with a cookie cutter. I merely baked them in an 8inch square tin and cut them into little cubes for easy distribution and to fit my containers!!



Ingredients:

A:
125g butter
125g butter cup canola gold butter
85g icing sugar

B:
190g plain flour
75g corn flour
60g ground almond
1/2 tbsp milk powder

C:
Chopped Toasted whole almond. ( I used sliced almond)

Steps:
- Preheat oven to 170 degree C
- Mix A until well blended
- Add in B until well blended
- Toss in C until well incorporated.
- Line yr 8 inch square tin w parchment paper and lightly grease it.
- Pour yr batter into the tin and use a knife to slice the batter into yr desired shapes that you intend to divide later. - Pop them into the preheated oven and bake them for 25-30 mins/ until slightly golden brown.
- Run your knife along the lines you have sliced previously.
- Leave it to cool for about 15-30 mins before removing them from the tin. (if not, they will fall apart! )

Alternatively, click here for my plain traditional shortbread recipe!

Specially baked these for my friend. Happy birthday, Clarence!! ^^ i love cupcakes/muffins that have fillings inside. It's like a little surprise. However, I was a little hesitant about baking these filling cupcakes because I find it challenging to fill the cupcakes. I looked up the Internet and they are practically so many ways to fill the cupcakes. While I was browsing recipes by other bloggers, I stumbled upon Foodismylife's recipe n decided to give it a go. So... this is my 1st cupcake with filling!! Oh well, it is not that hard to fill these fillings after all. I shall bake more cupcakes with fillings from now on!! One of the best thing about this cupcake is that it uses my favourite "everyday's chocolate cake" batter. Nothing can go wrong with this cake as the "base". This is my third recipe with "everyday chocolate cake". Check out my 1st n 2nd recipe w everyday chocolate cake.

For the Cake:



Look at how soft and moist the cake is. It's chocolatey and rich!!

Ingredients: ( Makes 6 medium cupcakes)
45 grams all purpose flour
10 grams good quality Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder ( As this is a really low cake, I added slightly more baking powder )
Pinch of salt
55 grams good quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped
100 grams unsalted butter, can be cold or at room temperature
90 grams caster sugar
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.

Measure the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Use a wire whisk and whisk the dry ingredients together until they are all well-mixed and evenly distributed.

Measure the dark chocolate and unsalted butter in a large heatproof bowl and melt them over a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally. Alternatively, you can microwave them under medium high heat at 15-25s interval. Stirring during each interval.

Remove the heatproof bowl from the pot/microwave. Add in the caster sugar and whisk gently – not all of the sugar will dissolve. Mixture'll be a little grainy Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes to cool down slightly (the eggs will scramble if added to a hot mixture).

Crack in one egg into the chocolate mixture. Whisk the mixture (yes, same wire whisk!) for 30 seconds until it is fully incorporated. Whisk in the second egg, and then whisk in the vanilla extract.

Sift a third of flour mixture into the chocolate batter and folding gently using a large metal spoon or rubber spatula. until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated – Note [2].

Transfer the cake batter into the lined muffin tin. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the top bounces back when touched lightly and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Peanut Butter Filling

Ingredients:

20 grams cream cheese 45 grams creamy peanut butter
45 grams icing sugar, sifted
1/8 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 to 1 tablespoon milk Handful of chopped peanuts (optional)

Place the cream cheese, peanut butter, icing sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl. Beat the mixture using an electric mixer until the sugar has dissolved and the frosting is light and fluffy. Add in a little bit of milk to thin the consistency (makes it easier to scoop). Stir in the chopped peanuts if using

Chocolate Ganache



Ingredients:
90 grams good quality dark chocolate
finely chopped 85 grams / ml heavy cream (3/8 cup)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 tablespoon salted butter
90 grams icing sugar, sifted

Steps:
Place the heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl (glass or ceramic). Microwave the cream on medium for 30 seconds until the cream is hot. Add in the chopped chocolate and stir – the chocolate will start to melt. Place the bowl back into the microwave and microwave for 10 seconds. Stir the mixture and if there’s any remaining un-melted chocolate, repeat the process (do not microwave for too long at one go unless you want to burn your ganache). Once all the chocolate has melted, add in the vanilla and butter and let the mixture cool to room temperature.

Refrigerate the ganache for 5 to 10 minutes. Using a hand-held electric mixer, beat the chocolate ganache on medium speed, adding in the sifted icing sugar in 3 batches. Continue to beat, turning the speed up to high until the ganache becomes light in colour and creamy.

Note: My chocolate Ganache is too liquidfied. I did not beat the ganache until it becomes light in color and creamy. The more i beat, the more creamy it gets and harder to frost. But it did "harden" slightly after i leave them at room temperature for some time. What happened!!



Assembly: (learned from foodismylife)
Using a small knife to cut out a cone in the cupcake. The trick is to insert the knife about 3/4 into the cupcake – not straight down, but at an angle towards the centre of the cupcake. Hold the knife in place and turn the cupcake, so that you will cut out a cone.

Cut off 3/4 off the cone, keeping the small round disks and snacking on the extra cones.
Scoop about a teaspoon (depending on your preferred amount of filling) the peanut butter filling into the middle of the cupcakes. Replace the chocolate cake disks and press it down gently.

[Note*: Next time I cut a bigger hole and discard a portion of the pointed part of the cone and just replace the chocolate cake with the base of the cone so my filling wouldnt be "squashed". ]

Spread a thick layer of chocolate ganache over the top of the cupcakes and decorate as you like.

Storage: These cupcakes can be kept for up to a week – in an air-tight container in the fridge. Let the cupcakes sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving. The cupcakes will still be slightly chilled but the ganache has softened. Mine were finished in a day!!

Peanut butter lovers like me basically love anything with peanut butter. However, my family and friends just found it strange to put peanut butter and chocolate together. I guess it's up to individual preference!! Good day.

I met my cousins for dinner today. Yesterday night, I was all hyped up and prepared a batch of three different flavours of madeleines for my cousins. However, i was so careless that i left them at my workplace. I only realised it while i was already halfway through the journey. How can i be so careless right. Thankfully some of my colleagues are working OT tonight. So, they helped to finish the madeleines. If not, they'll end up in the dustbin on Monday morning. I have been wanting to experiment different flavours of madeleines after my previous attempt baking lemon madeleines. I really adore these little french cakes.

1. Pandan Madeleines


Soft & Moist Pandan Madeleines.

Ingredients: makes about 16

2 Large Eggs
1/2 cup of Granulated Sugar (100g)
1 tsp of Vanilla Extrac
t 1 cup of All Purpose Flour (120g)
¼ tsp of Salt
¼ tsp of Baking Powder
½ cup of Unsalted Butter, melted
1 tbsp coconut milk
A handful of Pandan Leaves ( about 5)

Steps:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, spray 2 Madeleine pans with non stick cooking spray and set aside.

2) Pound the pandan leave and add 1/2-1 tbsp of water s and squeeze them through a strainer. Dispose the residue.

2) In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, cream together the eggs and sugar for 3 to 4 minutes on high speed or until the mixture thickens and develops a light pale color.

3) Add the vanilla,coconut milk pandan extract,, flour, salt and baking powder and turn mixer down to low and slowly stream in the melted butter. Mix until everything is well incorporated but don’t over mix.

4) Divide the batter evenly in the pan (do not over fill) and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly golden and brown around the edges.

5) Let them cool for about 2 minutes in the pan, then invert them on a cooling rack and let them finish cooling. Sprinkle with confectioner sugar if desired

NOTE: Pandan Madeleines. Overall, they are pretty fragant but i guess the pandan flavour can be further intensified. I'll pound more pandan leaves and extract more juice. This is too sweet for my liking. I'll reduce the sugar level in future.

2. Japanese Milky Madeleines ( Adapted from frozenwings )


I know they look kinda oily but they are not! They are just shinny?!? which i have no idea how they became like this. As compared to the  pandan madeleines, they are chewier and rounder despite filling each madeleine pan with the same amount of batter. Does anybody knows why? Is it due to beating of the egg whites?Hmm..
Ingredients ( makes 18small cakes)

120gm Cake flour
20gm corn flour( cornstarch)
15gm milk powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
15gm honey
1 tbsp hot water
100gm unsalted butter
50gm double ( heavy) cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs (140gm)
a pinch of salt 150gm Japanese sugar( jo haku tou) or caster sugar
Method:

1.Preheat oven to 170C. Sift together flours, milk powder and baking powder. Combine honey and hot water in a bowl.

2. Place butter, cream and vanilla in a heatproof bowl. Place over a pot of simmering water and heat, stirring until butter has melted. Set aside.

3. In another heatproof bowl, beat eggs and salt with a whisk until yolks break. Add sugar and place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and mix well. When egg mixture is warm, use an electric mixer to beat on high speed unti light and fluffy, about 5 mins. Reduce speed to medium and continue beating for abt 1 minute. Add honey and mix well.

4.Gently fold in flour mixture with a spatula. Add cream and butter mixture and fold until just incorporated.

5.Spoon batter into a piping bag and pipe into paper cups or greased madeleine pans. Bake for about 25mins until madeleines are light golden in colour . Cool on a wire rack . Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Note*: They do have a strong taste of honey. Milk taste isnt too strong. You probably could adjust it according to your liking.

3) Orange Madelienes.

Recipe is the same as the prvious batch of madeleines i baked except that i replaced lemon with Orange. Orange Flavour could further be enhanced. Prolly add more peel and orange juice into the batter.

Ingredients: Makes About 16

2 Large Eggs
1/2 cup of Granulated Sugar (100g) 1
tsp of Vanilla Extract 1 cup of All Purpose Flour (120g)
¼ tsp of Salt
¼ tsp of Baking Powder
½ cup of Unsalted Butter, melted ½ tsp of Grated Orange Zest Powder Sugar (for dusting)

Steps:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, spray 2 Madeleine pans with non stick cooking spray and set aside.

2) In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, cream together the eggs and sugar for 3 to 4 minutes on high speed or until the mixture thickens and develops a light pale color.

3) Add the vanilla, lemon zest, flour, salt and baking powder and turn mixer down to low and slowly stream in the melted butter. Mix until everything is well incorporated but don’t over mix.

4) Divide the batter evenly in the pan (do not over fill) and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly golden and brown around the edges.

5) Let them cool for about 2 minutes in the pan, then invert them on a cooling rack and let them finish cooling. Sprinkle with confectioner sugar if desired

I’ve been to this place twice and both times were pretty satisfactory. My family settled for weekend dinner on both occasions. We went in the evening to avoid the crowd. Whatsmore, early dinner is better too. More time to digest your food. Hahaha. The shop looks pretty rundown and there aren’t many tables around. However, the staff is rly friendly. The food is cheap and the servings are big. You get a big plate of stir fried vegetables for $8. Other zi char probably sells that good amount of veg for $10-$12? I realized there are quite a handful of regular customers because the Uncle who takes orders seems to know many of the customers!!


Signature dish: Ba Kut Teh (BKT): $6 (Smallest size. 1 serving) Looks dull but I really like their BKT. Very flavorful and they are very generous with their meat. There’s 4 big pieces of meat!!


Signature Dish: Curry Fish Head. Although this is their signature dish, i don’t really like it. Theirs is the salty version of Curry Fish Head. I am not sure if you get what I mean but I personally prefer the sweeter version. Nevertheless, I see it on many tables!

Steam Fish. We ordered the tail of “Ngor fish” (in Hokkien). I think its called threadfin. I prefer this to the Curry Fish Head. The fish is very fresh.


Toufu with minced meat. The uncle who takes order recommended this dish to us. If I am not wrong, they make their own toufu. This is really yummy!!

We ordered other dishes like Heng Cai etc.. I like their omelet. Pretty thick and delicious!

Address: 328 Joo Chiat Road #01-02
Opening Hours: 8:30am-4pm, 5pm-1am. Closed on Thursdays
Tel: +65 6440 4928a

For the past few days, I've been working on a blueberry chocolate layered cake. It was love at first sight when i saw the " Chocolate, Mousse, meringue and Blueberry Curd Layered Cake" by foodismylife. The cake looks so beautiful. What can be better than a combination of my favourite chocolate and blueberries? Inspired by her cake, I was motivated to make this. It was a bold move because i have never baked a layered cake before. I have 0 knowledge about layered cakes (ie: how should they be sliced.., everything about mousse, ganache...). Although i forgo the meringue and the chocolate borders, it still tasted really delicious. I love the richness of the chocolate cake. Absolutely Chocolatey. You'll be amazed with yourself. Well, at least I was! HA. Since this was my virgin attempt, i decided to make in smaller amount in case it doeant turn out well. It was WAY btr that what i expected. So, to all that hasnt baked a single layered cake, give it a go! You'll be impressed, trust me.



They are in fact very tiny. Just about the size of your thumb. I cut into eight slices per ramekin cake.

Ingredients & Steps: ( bakes 2 ramekins ) [ For the full recipe on 8 inch Round cake, please click here]

1. BLUEBERRY CURD (adapted from ...

1/2 lemon juice
1 lemon zest
62.5 grams blueberries
3/8 tablespoons water
37.5 grams sugar
21.25g butter ( Room Temperature)
3/4 egg

-Peel the lemon zest and juice the lemons.

-Place the zest, juice, blueberries, water and sugar in a pot over low heat. Stir the berries constantly until the berries have softened and are releasing juices, about 10 minutes.

-Strain the blueberries into a clean pot to remove the lemon zest and blueberry skins (I skipped this).

-Add in the butter and stir until all the butter has melted. Stir in the eggs gradually. Cook the blueberry mixture over low heat, stirring constantly until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, which will take about 10 to 15 minutes.

-Transfer the curd into a clean container, let cool completely, cover and refrigerate overnight to let it set

Note* Make the curd up to one week in advance and store it in the refrigerator

2. Simple Boozy Syrup

20 grams sugar
50 ml water

- Place the sugar and water in a small pot.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, swirling the pot to dissolve the sugar crystals. Boil for 2 – 3 minutes on high heat then remove the pot from heat.
- Let cool to room temperature.

Make ahead: Make the syrup ahead and store up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

3. Chocolate Cake (Everyday Chocolate Cake)

22.5 grams all purpose flour
5 grams good quality Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
27.5 grams good quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped
50 grams unsalted butter, can be cold or at room temperature
grams caster sugar
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Grease ramekins and line the bottom with greaseproof paper.

Measure the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Use a wire whisk and whisk the dry ingredients together until they are all well-mixed and evenly distributed.

Measure the dark chocolate and unsalted butter in a large heatproof bowl and melt them over a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally

Remove the heatproof bowl from the pot. Add in the caster sugar and whisk gently – not all of the sugar will dissolve, it’s ok if the mixture is grainy. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes to cool down slightly (the eggs will scramble if added to a hot mixture).

Crack in egg into the chocolate mixture. Whisk the mixture (yes, same wire whisk!) for 30 seconds until it is fully incorporated.

Sift a third of flour mixture into the chocolate batter and folding gently using a large metal spoon or rubber spatula. until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated

Transfer the cake batter into the lined cake tin. Bake for 15-25 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Cool the cake in the tin for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely.

Making ahead: Make the cake 2 – 3 days in advance and keep in an air-tight container at room temperature.

4. Easy Chocolate Mousse

28.75g semi sweet chocolate, chopped
31.25 ml Whipping Cream

-Melt the chocolate and let it cool to lukewarm. Whip the cream to soft peaks formed and fold in the melted chocolate.

-The mousse should be made just before assembling the cake so that it will be soft and liquid-y enough to pour it into the mould.

5. Dark Chocolate Ganache Glaze

62.5ml heavy cream
75g dark chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp golden syrup

Heat the cream in a microwave for 30 seconds on medium high. Add in the chocolate and microwave at 15 seconds interval, checking the mixture and stirring it at each interval until all the chocolate has melted. Stir in the golden syrup and let cool for 30 minutes.

Refrigerate the cake while you prepare the final assembly.

STEPS:
1. Make the Blueberry Curd, Simple syrup and Chocolate Cake. Slice the cake horizontally and ensure it is level. ( These can be made a few days in advance. Blueberry Curd and Simple Syrup have to be stored in the fridge. Chocolate Cake can be stored in an air tight container at room temperature)
2. Make the Chocolate mousse and assemble the cake. Line the base of the ramekins with parchment paper. Place a piece of chocolate cake, apply a layer of simple syrup on the side that is facing the ceiling. Spoon the mousse onto the cake, add blueberry curd, cover with mousse again. Apply simple syrup on another piece of cake and put it on the mousse. Give a slight press so that everything is compressed together.
3. Cover with a plastic sheet and freeze it for about 2-3 hours.
4. 30 mins before the cakes are done, make the dark chocolate ganache glaze.
5. Take the ramekins out from the freezer. Dip a knife in hot water and wipe it with paper towels. Run the knife along the sides of ramekins. Turn the ramekins upside down and use yr hand to catch the cake.
6. Pour the chocolate ganache over. Spread out with a spatula and leave it till it stops dripping. Pop them in the fridge. Serve in a couple of hours/next day.

My blueberry curd failed. I guessed i overheated it until it became v dry and sticky. :/ Although they dont look beautiful but i think this attempt enabled me to overcome my initial mental barrier to bake layered cakes. It unravelled a new level of the baking world. Right now, I am so excited to bake layered cakes. ^^

Was anyone at Jurong Point 1 Centre Stage from 3pm-5pm today? Joining the other grandparents and housewives, i was among the crowd, watching a live tutorial of Putien chefs whipping 2 of their top 10 dishes, namely Braised Beancurd with Chinese Cabbage and Fried Heng Hwa Bee Hoon. I managed to try their sample for Fried Heng Hwa Bee Hoon. I am not a fan of bee hoon all along. But this dish really captures my attention. The bee hoon is translucent and chewy. The flavour of the beehoon comes from their own rich stock. The beehoon has absorbed all the fragrance of all the ingredients.Yumz. I bought their homemade Beehoon and dried seaweed for $10. Original price was $8, $12+ respectively. Good Bargain right?!! Hahaha i know, mothers are usually the ones doing these. How often do you see a 19 yr old doing these. Anyway, I am going to try to cook for my family on one of the weekends and i'll update more on that! I am excited to try this recipe!

I finally headed to temple street on Monday. If you're looking for cookware / bakeware for commercial or household purposes, temple street is the right place for you. Both Sia huat and lau choy seng are located along temple street. Both are bustling with customers and you could easily compare their prices since they are located v close to each other. I have so many things to buy.I wish I cld buy the entire shop back. The products are relatively cheaper than the other shops. I bought ramekins for $1.84 each!!! Of course, the more you buy, the cheaper it is. Eager to try my new silicon Madeleine baking tray from lau choy seng, I baked some madeleines that night. Do hop down to temple street and take a look!

These wobbly egg custards that cld be identified on almost every table in a Japanese restaurant-I hated them when I was a kid. I didn't dare to eat them for a long period of time. But now, (foridkwhatreason) they are my favourite. ^^ Eating homemade chawanmushi is a total different experience. This recipe is v simple to follows. You can serve these hot and delicious chawanmushi within 20 mins.

Ingredients: [Recipe adapted from ieatishootipost ]
2eggs
1 cup of dashi
1 1/3Tbsp soy sauce
2/3 Tbsp mirin

Steps
1. Prepare the dashi stock. You can buy the instant stock from super market or make it on your own. I bought Ajinomoto's "Hon dashi" granules and make it to stock. Approx 1tsp of granules per cup of water.
2. Break 2 eggs and lightly beat them. Add dashi stock to the eggs and mix well.
3. Sieve the egg mixture. ( vital in obtaining a smooth egg custard as this removes small lumps of egg whites)
4. Add soy sauce and mirin. Stir lightly
5. Spoon the fillings ( ie: chicken, crab meat, mushrooms, ginko nuts, etc...) into the bowl and add the egg mixture.
6. Steam the chawanmushi for 15 mins under low heat. Do not cover the lid fully, Use a chopstick to create an opening. The temperature is too high in the pan which may create air bubbles.
7. Garnish with some spring onions. (optional)

Madeleines. I had my very first madeleine from Delifrance while I was still a kid. Since then, I love the sweet and buttery taste of madelines. Although they are my favourite, I seldom eat them as they are pretty sinful. Why must most good food be so sinful! Tmr is labour day and my poor sister got to work. She has been working till the wee hours in the morng for four consecutive days. That's insane man. Hence, I decided to bake some madelines for her to bring to work! Hopefully these madeleines can encourage her on! I got my recipe from my favourite youtube chef, Laura Vitale!



Ingredients: Makes About 16

Ingredients:
2 Large Eggs
1/2 cup of Granulated Sugar (100g)
1 tsp of Vanilla Extract
1 cup of All Purpose Flour (120g)
¼ tsp of Salt
¼ tsp of Baking Powder
½ cup of Unsalted Butter, melted
½ tsp of Grated Lemon Zest
Powder Sugar (for dusting)

Steps:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, spray 2 Madeleine pans with non stick cooking spray and set aside.

2) In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, cream together the eggs and sugar for 3 to 4 minutes on high speed or until the mixture thickens and develops a light pale color.

3) Add the vanilla, lemon zest, flour, salt and baking powder and turn mixer down to low and slowly stream in the melted butter. Mix until everything is well incorporated but don’t over mix.

4) Divide the batter evenly in the pan (do not over fill) and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly golden and brown around the edges.

5) Let them cool for about 2 minutes in the pan, then invert them on a cooling rack and let them finish cooling. Sprinkle with confectioner sugar if desired

 

My cheddar Cheese loaf. This dough is pretty hard to work with. I dont have a kitchen aid. So i hand knead all my bread. I took probably more than an hour to knead this dough. I should have drizzled more melted cheddar Cheese on the top. It will look so beautiful.

Ingredients:

125g bread flour
3g flour improver
4g yeast
2.5g salt ( Go easy on salt because cheddar cheese cubes are salty too)
90g water

40g Walnuts ( I didnt add as i do not have)
1/2 Handful of Cheddar Cheese

beaten egg ( for brushing)
Grated Cheese n Melted Cheese

1. Combine the flour, flour improver yeast, salt and water. Knead to smooth and elastic. Put in a lightly oiled tray and ferment for about 45 mins

2. Take out fermented dough. Divide into teo equal portions. 225g each

3. Wrap loaf around the walnts and cheddar cheese cubes. Knead and punch to Oval shape. Put in a lightly oiled 6 inch mould. Proof until doubled ( 45mins-1hr)

4. Gently brush with egg glaze. Sprinkle with Grated Cheese. Place in a preheated 200 degrees celcius oven. Bake for about 20 mins. Remove from the oven.

*Wait for it to cool then cut. If not it"ll turn out like mine. kind of squashed*

I got this recipe from Abbygail's Kitchen.  It was supposed to be a really rich and moist cake. I had lots of expectations for this cake because it's a combination of mt two favourite flavours, Chocolate and Cheese!!! The recipe's awesome but i made several mistakes somewhere which ruined the entire cake.Please go to Abbygail's Kitchen for the original recipe. The recipe called for chocolate emulco paste. For those that do not have it at home, you can replace with 40g cocoa powder per tbsp of chocolate emulco paste. I added about 3 tbsp of rum to the cheese but i can't really taste the rum.

The multiple liquid ingredients (ie: yoghurt, milk & oil) are certainly gonna make the chocolate cake rich and moist. However, my cake turned out to be pretty hard. and... Why is that so?! Firstly, I overbaked. The recipe calls for approx 55 mins but i baked for approx 1hr10 mins because my cake wasnt evenly baked. 5/6 of my cake was alr done but 1/4 wasnt when i inserted a skewer to check the progress at the 1hr mark. I have no choice but to continue baking.

Secondly, I feel that there's insufficient cream cheese (subjective). After i mixed my batter, the volume of chocolate batter seemed to have reduced. Dont be fooled by it! Initially, I thought there wasnt enough Chocolate cake batter but hey, look at the proportion of Chocolate to Cheese cake?! I filled my bundt tin with the chocolate batter then the cheese batter. However, That was an extremely wrong move. Since the cake is going to stay in the oven for a long time( approx 1hr), the high temperature will burn the cheese and leave behind a thick crust. Can you imagine so much cheese will be waste! At the same time, the chocolate batter beneath the cheese batter will rise ( because of the baking soda.). On the other hand, my cheesecake batter is so smooth that i feel that some has seeped into the chocolate batter. Do you think if i add a small amount of baking soda into the cheesecake batter, the cheesecake will seep less into the chocolate batter?Idk if i am making sense but that's just how i concluded because i am really curious about the reason behind the pathetic amount of cheesecake in the final cake. Please correct me if i am wrong!



I guess the next time when i bake this, I will probably bake them in cupcakes than full cake so that i can better control the temperature.Nevertheless, this is a really great recipe. If you are looking for a rich and moist chocolate and cheese cake, this is def the one and dont repeat my mistakes!! If not you'll feel as heart broken as me. :/

I am so motivated to bake after looking at the pictures of apricot-pistachio-lemon cake baked by the other bakers. They are so beautiful and the cake looks so great. I don't have the book, so I can't join The Home Bakers.I had a long day at work yesterday but it def did not extinguish my excitement to bake. Oh and right now, I think Singapore is running a shortage of lemons?! Sounds insane but apparently there were no stock for lemons at all 4 ntuc branches, shopnsave and random fruit stalls in the neighbourhood. I got mine at the market. Many thanks to Cynthia for helping to get my lemons!! My cake wouldn't be awesome without you.



It was 2am in the morning and I was too tired to take a proper picture. Check out the original recipe from yummy bakes .
I baked half the recipe. This is my edited version:
Ingredients
115g unsalted butter at room temperature
175g sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
100g cup plain yogurt
180g cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt (omitted since I used salted pistachios and salted butter)
90g chopped dried apricots
40g unsalted pistachios (roughly chopped)

1. Soak the chopped apricots in hot water to soften it and retain its moisture for 30 mine ant drain them.
2. Sieve the flour.
3.Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius
4. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well. Mix in the lemon zest, lemon juice and yoghurt.
5. In a medium bowl, combine the sieved flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir to blend. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing just until blended. Stir in the apricots and nuts. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.
4. Bake for 50-50 mins or until the cake is golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Let the cake cool in the pan 15 minutes, then unmold right side up on a wire rack and let cool completely. Cut into slices to serve.

After reading the tips provided by fellow bakers, I refrigerate the cake before cutting. There are still pieces of apricots dropping here and there. But I believe it's less crumbly compared to cutting straight away. I am going to soak the apricots in rum the next time I bake this!! It should be v delicious!! ^^



 

I made these easy brazilian cheese pops over the weekend and they were a hit. I got this recipe from simply recipes. They are so easy to make. All you need are the basic ingredients and a whisk!! They were so good that I didn't have time to take a good pictures. Ha. I couldn't resist the temptation.




ingredients
1 egg*
1/3 cup olive oil ( I used veg oil)
2/3 cup milk
Scant 1 1/2 cups (170 grams) tapioca flour
1/2 cup (packed, about 66 grams) grated cheese, your preference) ( I used mix of mozzarella and Parmesan)
1 teaspoon of salt (or more to taste)
steps
1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius
2. Grease your mini sized muffin tin**
3. Mix all ingredients together and pour them into the muffin tin until the brim. ( I sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top)
4. Send them into the oven for about 15-20 mins and they are ready when it's golden brown.

Note:
*Batter can be kept up to a week.
* Watch them rise beautifully.
* Best serve hot.

I'll def make again! Will put up a clearer picture the next time.

Pancakes pancakes. Who doesn't love pancakes! Pancakes are one of my all time favourites! We've decided on strictly pancakes for Yan's 19th! It was full house when we arrived. So we settled outdoors instead.

Maple syrup and garlic flavoured butter.



Happy birthday Yanny!




One of their most popular dish. Indeed really savoury. it's my first time eating prawns with pancakes. ^^



Stack your own pancakes. We get to choose the add ons!
However, I feel that their pancakes are a little too thick for my liking. I guess I still prefer my hot cakes from macs. Well, just personal preference. But the next time, I'll try their "sweet collection". ^^

Shortbread is a classic Scottish dessert that consists of three basic ingredients. Really easy to bake. A desert for any occasion. Be it Christmas or any ordinary day. Perfect for a snack in the late afternoon, accompanied by a cup of freshly brewed coffee. Of course, you could also bake them in squares or any other shapes you want. I drizzled some melted chocolate onto my shortbread and it's delicious. Alternatively, they are ideal for Apple Crumble's crust too!




Ingredients:
3/4 cup of unsalted butter.
1 ¾ cup of All Purpose Flour
¾ cup of Confectioner Sugar
½ tsp of Salt
1 tsp of Vanilla Extract

1)Preheat the oven to 350 degrees; line an baking tin with parchment paper coming up the sides of the pan, spray with non stick cooking spray and set aside.
2)Using an electric mixer, mix together the confectionary sugar and butter until very creamy.
3) Add the flour and salt and mix for 1 minute.
4) Press the dough into the parchment paper lined pan and press it all to make sure it’s even. Using a butter knife or a bench knife, cut the dough.
5) Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly golden. As soon as you take them out of the oven, run your knife through all the cuts and let them cool completely.

*Remove from the pan and dip them in melted chocolate if you chose or sprinkle some granulated sugar while it is still hot.

Those who love Avocado'll adore this dish.I think this is too strong to be a main dish itself. But it is perfect as a side dish. You can serve it at room tempt or put it into the fridge for a while before serving. It tastes pretty refreshing because of the lime. I like to have it chilled!

Ingredients:
3 Tomatoes
2 Avocados
1 red onion
1-1.5 lime juice
1 bunch/handful of cilantro leaves
Salt n Pepper
Olive Oil

Procedure
1. Prepare the dresssing: Chop the cilantro and add them to lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Cut the Avocados into cubes.
3. Drizzle the dressing onto Avocado. ( The acid in the lime juice prevents Avocados from turning brown)
4. Chop tomatoes into chunks and Onions into strips.
5. Add both tomatoes and onions to Avocado.
6. Drizzle a little olive oil.
7. Serve it immediately or chilled.

* Do not add too much Olive oil as Avocado has high fat content.

I've been making custard bread twice and i still haven perfect it. Nevertheless, both failed attempts enabled me to learn more about baking bread! So it's not too bad after all. Got this recipe from small small baker .
1st attempt:


This was my first attempt baking custard bread. My bread was overflowing! Indeed my baking tin was too small for the dough. I bought my tin from daiso and so far, I guess daiso only has that standard small size rectangle tin. I was trying to squeeze all the dough into that rly small tin. It was alr 80% full before proofing. By the end of 2nd proofing, the dough rose a lot higher than the tin. The bread turned out to be rly soft. I rly like the softness. However, it's too compact. So, I figured that the problem lies with the size of my baking tin.
Okay now 2nd attempt.
I told myself I gotta make this right time round. Bought a bigger aluminium foiled tin from the supermarket. This time round, i hand kneaded my dough diligently for about an hour. Checked and passed both tests, I set it to ferment it in the microwave for two hours. Meanwhile, I headed to the gym n did my usual workout. I was rly excited about my custard bread that I cut short my usual routine. To my extreme horror and disappointment, the dough DID NOT rise and double in volume at all. Only then, I realised that I missed out the most important ingredient of all. The yeast. Imagine my feelings then. So much hopes and anticipation about my painfully kneaded bread and it turned out that... I couldn't bear to throw away the dough. It wasn't about the cost but the time and effort taken to knead the f-dough. I googled ways to salvage the dough. One of the ways I tried was to add 1tablespoon of instant yeast and a small amount of warm water and knead the dough again until smooth. I left it to proof for another 80 mins. It did rise. Just not as much. Oh well, btr than nothing right. So I went ahead to bake. Yes, it was still too compact. We all know where the problem lies. I guess the yeast wasn't incorporated well enough into the dough.





I m definitely gna try this again for the third time! Wish me luck!!

I've been baking bread these days.
#Reason 1: less sinful than other deserts.
#Reason2 : my electric handmixer just Died after I tried to mix my dough using the freaking small dough hooks.
#Reason 3: I love bread.
After several attempts, I realise that baking a good bread really isn't easy. Unlike cakes n cookies, bread is more tacky to deal with. The time taken is alot longer. You need time to knead , ferment and proof. I usually take half a day to bake my bread. Prolly is because I m Pretty new to this. I hand knead my dough every occasion and it is rly tiring. Each time taking about an hour. By the end, I'll be sweating like a mad horse. Definitely a good workout. After these attempts, I feel that we've been taking bread for granted. I mean bread is easily available cheaply from bakeries everywhere. Similar to rice, it frequently appears in our diet and it's a necessity. Despite the more tedious process, bread is not as appreciated as muffins, cakes etc... Right now, I m more appreciative of bread. Behind the pretty looking buns siting comfortably in the bakeries, are actually slogging their lungs out kneading the dough. Okay, that's quite exaggerating. I know tech is advance and there's bread machines now. -__-" But hey, in the past, they dont right!! I rly salute those bakers who hand kneaded their brea in the bakeries. You have my respect man. Okay back to now, I am still far far from average. But I'll keep doing it!
My very first attempt baking bread was sweet bread dough, taken from "magic bread" by Alex Goh. It is a wonderful recipe but I ruined it. I did not knead my dough enough. It was elastic but it failed the window pane test. But I was so excited that I went ahead with the next step. Wrong move. Next, my first proofing was nicely done. But my second proofing was horrible. I just shaped the dough and left them on a plate for abt 30 mins. In fact, second proofing, also known as the final rise is v crucial to give you a light and fluffy bread. Unfortunately, I ruined it.
I tried making some Kaya buns with my grandma's homemade kaya. I didn't know
how to wrap the kaya properly and it oozed out of the buns even before sending them into the oven. The other bread was almond raisins rolls. I sliced them too thinly and the fillings were overflowing. In all, I made a mess. The buns were too compact. Best eaten when it's hot because there were like rocks when they had cooled. Nevertheless, I had a great time!! It's a good start of my bread baking journey.