Call it a Banana muffin? It's a failure. Call it a Chocolate Chip Muffin? Its an absolute success because it's so chcolatey. So, Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin? Uhhh... Not quite. More like Chocolate Chip muffin this time. I guess i added too much Chocolate Chips into the batter. I like Banana Chocolate Chip muffin to havechunksof banana and some small amount of chocolate chips scattered around. I thought my bananas werent too mashed at first. I was expecting some chunks of bananas in the muffins but i guessed they were still too "mashed??' Next time, I am going to up the bananas and throw in some additional sliced and unmashed bananas into the batter. I dont know if i'll achieve my chunky bananas texture but i guess i'll jst give it a go. If anybody knows, please let me know! The muffins were pretty moist even though there's no sourcream/yoghurt/milk in the recipe. The Chocolate chip taste was too overpowering. But the good thing about it was that the chocolate chips were uniformly scattered in the muffin instead of sinking to the bottom. I mix the chocolate chips with a good amount of flour and folded the chocolate chips together with the flour into the rest of batter. I guess this trick works almost everytime.



Ingredients: [ Recipe taken from Laura Vitale] Makes 12 Muffins

½ Cup of Vegetable Oil
2 Eggs
100g of Sugar
3 Mashed Bananas
¼ tsp of Vanilla Extract
200g Cake flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp of Baking Soda
¼ tsp of Salt
¼ tsp of Cinnamon
1 Cup of Chocolate Chips

Steps:

1) Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12 piece muffin tin with muffin liners and set aside.
2) In a small bowl add the chocolate chips and 3 tbsp of flour and mix until all the chocolate chips are coated in the flour. Set aside.
3) In a large bowl add the first 5 ingredients and mix until all combined.
4) Add the flour and baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon, whisk until all combined.
5) Fold in the chocolate chip and flour mixture.
6) Using a large ice cream scoop divide the batter into your muffin pan and bake for about 18 minutes.



I tried to make some streusel toppings on 3 of the muffins. Hmmm i wld say i have to try it again... Nevertheless, you can check out the recipe for the streusel toppings here.

Ever since I came across the Baked egg toast on fooodismylife, I promised myself I m gna make this one day. This pretty egg toast definitely starts anybody's day. The best thing is they are really simple to make. I scooped a few spoons of baked beans to make a complete meal. They taste as good as they look.  Ingredients:2 slices of bread ( i use wholemeal)
1 egg
Herbs ( any kind of herbs you have on hand)
Pepper
Cheese ( Slice cheese/ Cheese spread) ( Optional)
Butter ( Optional)

Steps:-Use a cookie cutter ( I got mine from Daiso) to cut the shape out.
-For a darker shade of bread toast, apply some butter onto both sides of bread.
-Divide cheese slice into 4 pieces and align them along the sides of the bread and stick the bread together.
-Break an egg into the hole you have cut out using a cookie cutter.
-Sprinkle some pepper and herbs onto the egg and bake in the oven until the desired cookness of your egg at 180 degreesC

It's Friday to everyone else. Yet, it feels like Monday to me. I had a super long break (to be exact:6days) from work. But it was far from a pleasant break. It was a torture. Everyday, I felt like a living corpse rotting helplessly on the bed, if not the sofa. I finally went to work today. Still feeling weak in my bones but I guess staying at home further would only make me feel worst. There's so many things I m craving for: Roti prata; pizza; bertolli spaghetti made by sis; chicken wings; wanton mee... I was even craving for veg noodles from the hawker stall... Guess I was really deprived of food . I m gg home to eat dad's century egg porridge with pork n caixin. Can't wait for it. Best comfort food right now.

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 just baked these scones before dinner time and they were part of my dinner. This recipe is amazing. I got this recipe from BBC books. It's simple and really delicious. Crisp on the outside, soft, light and fluffy on the inside. This is my first attempt and they turned out to be really terrific. This is definitely a keeper and I am surely going to bake these again. Whipped cream and Jam will definitely be a bonus to them. You got to make these. They made my day. (:



Ingredients: 

175g Self-raising flour
50g Caster Sugar
42.5 Butter
87.5 ml Buttermilk
3 tbsp Cranberries
Beaten egg ( for glaze)

1. Heat oven to 180 degree C. Mix together the flour n sugar. Rb the butter in with your fingertips until the mucture resembkes fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre of the ingredients and tip in the buttermilk all in one go then mix lightly to form a sofy dough. add cranberries and lightly mix.

2. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly. Press the dough to a 2.5 cm/ your own desired thickness then stamp out 5 cm rounds with a cookie cutter. ( I simply just pluck the dough and roll them into balls then flatten them into  about 2 cm thickness)

3. Transfer the scones to a baking sheet. Lightly brush them with beaten egg and bake them for 12-15 mins until risen and lightly golden. Serve with whipped cream and Jam while it's fresh and hot from  the oven.

Baking at night is a dangerous move. Esp to your waist line. There is poor lighting. Your pics wouldn't appear nice. The most fatal move is to eat yr bakes at NIGHT. Yr bakes are screaming for you,"eat me! Eat me!!" how cld you resist the temptation and excitement to try your new recipe. But it's a MEGAKILL To your waist.. I just baked my rum n raisin cakes. I have been eyeing on that since I saw them at mykitchensnippets. Her rum and raisin cakes are so lovely. But the top of my cake cracked into a volcano while baking. Can someone pls tell me how to achieve a smooth and even texture? I halved the recipe. I converted mine into metric units. For the original recipe, pls click here.
Ingredients ( This is halved the original recipe. I made some slight changes to it) ^^

1/2 cup raisins
90ml rum
113g butter – room temperature
100 gram sugar
2 large eggs
140 gram flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp grated orange zest
30ml cup milk.



1. Pre-heat the oven to 180degree C.Line and butter a loaf pan. Sieve together the flour, baking powder and salt and set it aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the orange zest and vanilla. Mix well.
3. Add in the flour mixture in 3 batches alternately with the rum and milk until well combined. Fold in the raisins. Mix well.
4. Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for abt 30mins until golden brown skewer inserted into cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let it cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto the rack and allow it to cool completely before cutting into it.

The lunch i prepared for Cynthia and I on a random Monday. Chawanmushi + Terriyaki Salmon ^^

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