My Cooking Experiments

Wrapped Pineapple Tarts

2012-02-03T21:55:00.004+08:00

I love this recipe. This year I managed to bake 3 different tart pastries for my pineapple tarts and I have to say I like this best thus far. The pastry is buttery, creamy and it melts in the mouth. I was quite unsure when I first made the dough. It looked so soft & gooey; I really had doubts wrapping the pineapple fillings but thankfully it all turned out fine. Although it was still soft after chilling in the fridge, the dough was oily and didn't stick to my hands. It helped when I rubbed a little butter on to my palms and I also noticed that it was easier to work when the dough is chilled. So I worked in small batches while leaving the balance in the fridge to chill. The initial tarts were huge like golf balls but gradually I got the hang of it and managed to make dainty little balls. I would also like to add that I rolled all my pineapple fillings into balls before wrapping them. It's much speedier that way. Anyways, huge or not, they finished in a flash. Daddy ate like 5 to 10 balls in a go. As for Fat cheeks, I had to ration her portion as we're both very prone to throat infections and pineapple tarts definitely don't help. =)

Ingredients:
- 250gm butter (salted)

- 75gm caster sugar

- 170gm cream (It's exactly 1 can of Nestle cream)

- 50gm cream cheese
- 3 egg yolks
- 400gm cake flour
- 30gm corn starch

For glazing:
- 1 egg yolk

Method:
- Cream butter, cream cheese & sugar till well combined
- Add Nestle cream and continue to cream for 5 mins
- Gradually add in egg yolks till well incorporated
- Add flour in 2 portions and mix over low speed till dough comes together (do not over mix)
- Cover & chill dough in fridge for 30 mins
- Preheat oven to 180 deg c
- Roll pineapple fillings into balls
- Wrap fillings with dough
- Glaze with egg wash
- Bake for 20 mins or till golden brown

Homemade Goodies

2012-01-28T21:32:00.006+08:00

Pretty flowers blooming in my living room with fishes from a friend. =)

I haven't had much time to bake this year but managed to squeeze all my baking in 2 days on top of spring cleaning, my daily chores, studies and coaching my darling baby. I baked cornflake cookies, suji vanilla bean cookies and 4 batches of pineapple tarts. After 4 batches of pineapple tarts, I think I finally found the one! The melt in the mouth, buttery pastry that complements the pineapple filling so well. Will share the recipe in the next post. First to share photos of my handiwork. =)

Emo and Ramblings

2012-01-08T00:30:00.003+08:00

Sorry this is another non-food post. Feeling emo today and have this urge to rant. Suddenly feeling very friendless tonight. I looked up the definition of friend and this is what I found.

1.a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.

2.a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter

3.a person who is on good terms with another

So do I really have any friends? At times I'm not so sure. I am not a sociable person by nature. I am reserved and quiet when I meet new people but not because I am proud or standoffish, it's just simply that I am shy. But friends I do make, I treat them sincerely and do treasure their friendship. But again, I'm not the clingy kind, I don't call nor go on social outings every other weekend or sms every other minute. But I will be there when a friend needs me. Does this make me a bad friend? Or is it that I'm such a boring wall paper that I am always forgotten when the party is going on and only remembered when the party is over and the wallpaper needs to be repaired?

Bleh, this is all too emo and too early in the year to get upset. I am going to sleep.

Snowflake Cookies

2012-01-06T19:25:00.002+08:00

Happy 2012! It's a brand new year with new hopes and new beginnings. Lots to do and lots to look forward to this year. 2011 has ended well for me. We had much quality family time and I really enjoyed the time spent together. The 3 of us lazing in front of the TV, 3 of us bickering over TV programmes to watch, 3 of us fighting over the cookies and the 2 of us messing up the kitchen =). As from my previous posts we've made several batches of Christmas cookies and also experimented with different ways of decorating it. This was the last batch we made. It was tricky to do as it involves different methods of decoration with royal icing. It was hard work but I loved the results. I got my reference from here: http://cakejournal.com/archives/how-to-flood-cookies-with-royal-icing. They make such pretty cookies, maybe one day...maybe... I can produce cookies as pretty as theirs. =)

"Stained Glass" Cookies

2011-12-28T23:06:00.001+08:00

Here's our 2nd batch of cookies we made on Christmas Day itself. It's made with the same sugar cookie recipe that I have been using only that I've used a smaller cookie cutter to cut the middle portion and filled it with a hard candy for the stained glass effect. For the cookies here, I used Fox candy. I simply unwrapped candy from the wrapper and placed it whole in the cut-out then baked it as usual. For the smaller cut-out cookies, I outlined them with royal icing then dipped it with coloured caster sugar. I quite like the effects. =)

To make coloured sugar for decoration, you'll need:
- a small container with a tight lid
- a few tbsps of caster/fine grain sugar
- a few drops of food colouring of your choice

Method:
- place sugar in container, add food colouring
- place lid on, make sure it's secure, then shake vigorously till sugar is coated with colour

Mini Xmas House

2011-12-25T22:37:00.001+08:00

This year as part of our Christmas activity, I thought it'll be fun to build a gingerbread house with my darling Fat cheeks. I remember that IKEA used to sell the ready-made DIY kits so I was really disappointed when I couldn't find it. Perhaps I was too late in my shopping. Anyways not wanting to disappoint my baby, I thought we could build our "gingerbread house" with regular crackers instead. We had a gooey messy but very fun giggle-ly time building our houses. We were suppose to build a house each but Fat cheeks was over ambitious and her mini house collapsed coz it was just too heavy with candies. =)

Here's the recipe for the royal icing which I used to glue the house and the candies with. You may wish to half the recipe if not building many small houses.

Ingredients:
- 1.5 tbsp meringue powder
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tbs water

Method:
- Mix all ingredients and use electric mixer beat for 5 mins.

Christmas Cookies

2011-12-25T09:39:00.000+08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! I finally cleared some of my housework (after months of neglect) enough to start baking in the kitchen. This is a rule I set myself, no work = no play, housework not done = no baking. So here's our 1st batch of Christmas cookies. I baked the cookies while my sous chef fat cheeks did most of the designing and decorations. I really liked how it turned out and I think the cookies are adorable. Hubby is really proud of us too. =) Fat cheeks my sweetest asked me "Mummy, do you know why these cookies are special? It's because it's made with Love." I can't agree more. Here's wishing everyone Love, Peace & Joy.

Exams and Ramblings

2011-12-07T13:15:00.000+08:00

Today is the last day of exam. Exam will be happening in 2.5 hours time. I am ill prepared and I'm so going to fail today's paper. I'm not being pessimistic, it's the sad truth. =( The past few weeks of revision have been horrendous and pure torture for me. There were full day classes over the weekends and night classes that stretch up till 10pm at night. Hubby had to cover my mummy duties and at the same time be my driver to chauffeur me to and fro from classes. But the thing that pained me most is not having time with my darling Fat Cheeks. At home she would come up to me to try to get my attention but most of the time only to be told "Mummy needs to study, you go play on your own ok?". She would sigh and say "Mummy, I don't like exams. Why do you have to take exams? I am going to talk to your teacher." And now after all these and knowing that I will surely fail today's exam is really making me depressed. I guess I was over confident thinking that I can revise 4 months worth of classes in 2 weeks. Lessons learnt: Time management is essential. It's really never too early to start doing past year exam questions and lastly practice practice practice! I will work harder next term and make my hubby & baby proud of me.

Cupcakes - Part 2

2011-10-29T12:41:00.001+08:00

Made these for my friends. It's been a while since we've met. Had a great time catching up and especially excited for them as 3 of the lovely ladies are expecting! One is even carrying twins! How exciting. =) I'm really happy for them and will be anticipating the arrival of the cutie babies!

I had fun decorating the cupcakes. The bear and bunny are made from marshmallow fondant which I have shared in my earlier post here. I wish I have more time to indulge in my baking but for now, my studies come first. Exams are coming soon, I better buck up!!!

Trying very hard to concentrate. =(

Strawberry Buttercream Cupcakes

2011-10-13T22:10:00.000+08:00

We made this last week as part of Fat cheeks birthday celebration. Each and everyone of them is prettily decorated by my darling baby herself. We had loads of fun & the buttercream was delicious. Unfortunately over the weekend, baby caught a flu bug & has been sick since. The infection was bad with persistent fever; I spent the last few nights sponging her. Today finally her fever is under control much to my relief. Nothing makes me happier then to see her up and about with her non-stop chatter. Already she's asking me when our next cupcake session will be. =)

For the cupcakes, I used the same recipe as my steamed cakes but instead of steaming, I baked them in the oven at 180 deg c for 10mins till golden brown. I personally like the texture very much. It's light, fluffy and it complemented the buttercream very well without making it heavy. As for the buttercream, I reduced the icing sugar as I didn't like it too sweet. We will definitely be doing this again very soon.

Ingredients:
- 110g butter (I used salted ones)
- 3/4 cup icing sugar
- 2 tbsp of starwberry preserve (or jam)

Method:
- sift icing sugar to get rid of lumps
- cream butter till fluffy
- add sugar & continue creaming till light & fluffy
- fold strawberry preserve
- spoon or pipe on to cake

My pretty Fat cheeks in her princess costume celebrating her birthday in school

Mini Steamed Sponge Cakes with Cranberries.

2011-10-08T14:35:00.001+08:00

I did this a couple weeks ago; My 1st attempt at making steamed cakes and I'm quite happy with the results. I've been wanting to try this for quite some time but just never got to it. The steamed cake is really spongy and tastes just like the Ma Lai kou they sell at dim sum places. The texture is slightly denser than baked ones and have a more "eggy" taste. It's a nice change from the usual baked ones. Fat cheeks likes it much and it was the perfect snack for her to bring to school. =)

Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 80g caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 100g self raising flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 50ml milk
- 1/4 cup cranberries or raisins (soaked in water till soften)

Method:
- prepare steamer & bring water in steamer to a rolling boil
- grease and lightly flour mould, set aside
- sift flour & baking powder
- whisk the eggs, sugar & vanilla essence till pale & fluffy
- fold in flour then milk in alternating batches
- fold in cranberries
- spoon into moulds and steam for 5 - 7 mins

Walnut Mooncakes

2011-09-26T22:33:00.001+08:00

This is the 2nd type of mooncake I managed to make this Mid Autumn festival. It has a buttery crumbly pastry which I thought complemented the lotus paste filling well. I'm not a walnut fan, but here the walnut not only makes the mooncake look pretty, it also give the mooncake an extra crunch which is very nice. Hubby likes this one while I prefer the flaky flower mooncake. Fat cheeks? She loves them all. =)

Ingredients:
(I managed to get 20pcs)
- 360g plain flour
- 25g custard powder
- 50g icing sugar
- 220g butter (I used salted ones)
- 50g shortening
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp sodium bicarboate
- 1/2 tsp ammonium bicarbonate (can get this at Phoon Huat)
- 1 egg for glazing
- handful of walnuts

Method:
- cream sugar, shortening, butter, vanilla & ammonium bicarbonate till slightly white
- slowly add eggs, incorporate well
- add flour & mix well till soft dough is formed
- cover with cling wrap & chill overnight
- divide dough into 20 portions
- roll filling into balls & wrap with dough
- decorate with walnut
- brush with egg wash
- bake at 160 deg c for 10 mins
- remove tray from oven & let it cool for 10 mins
- brush with egg wash again & bake further for another 10 to 15 mins till golden

Flaky Flower Mooncakes

2011-09-22T18:25:00.006+08:00

My poor blog has been neglected! =( I've been busy lately coz I've actually gone back to hitting the books. I'm probably a generation older than most of my classmates. But I guess late is better than never ya? Truth be told, I was really reluctant when I resumed my studies. Lectures, homework and exams just didn't equate to happiness for me. But in a surprisingly turn of events, I actually very much enjoy it now and I look forward to my classes but impending exams still stresses me. So anyhow, in between my work, studies and mummying, I manage to make time to bake 2 types of mooncakes with my darling Fat cheeks. The Flaky Flower Mooncake recipe can be found in my previous post here. I will be posting the other Walnut Mooncake soon...I hope. =)

I bought ready made lotus paste this year. Fat cheeks rolling them into balls.

She looks so cheeky coz she wants to eat the filling. =)

Inari Sushi

2011-09-20T18:11:00.000+08:00

Meatballs in Marinara Sauce with Vegie Brown Rice

2011-07-31T12:03:00.008+08:00

Made this for dinner last night. Prego's Marinara sauce was on offer, so I bought a bottle for days when I'm too lazy to make the sauce. This time I served the meatballs with vegie brown rice. Just simply brown rice cooked in chicken stock with chopped onion, celery and french beans. I wanted to add carrots too but I didn't realize I ran out it it. The vegie rice complement the meatballs & sauce very well. Fat cheeks gave me the thumbs up & requested that I cook this again. I like it very much too coz not only it's yummy, I actually feel healthy eating it. It was also a great way to make hubby & Fat cheeks eat up their vegies and brown rice without any complains. =) The meatballs are from my earlier recipe here.

Our 1st Sushi Attmept

2011-07-23T18:31:00.001+08:00

No baking today coz my baby Fat Cheeks is complaining of itchy throat. All heaty stuff is off the list for a while then. Instead we made sushi! It's our 1st attempt so nothing too complicated. Just some eggs, imitation crab meat, tuna & cucumber. I like it very much coz it's healthy, fast & yummy. Baby & hubby loves it much too. Will be making more of these during the weekends. =)

Ingredients:
- 2 cups sushi rice
- 2 cups of water
- 1 tbsp Mirin
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar ( I got mine from Daiso)
- 2 tbsp of sugar
- 1 tsp salt

Method:
- rinse rice several times until water runs clear
- add rice & 2 cups water into rice cooker to cook
- when done, fluff lightly with spoon
- mix rice vinegar, sugar & salt in a cup
- sprinkle evenly over rice & toss to mix well
- cool rice before making sushi

Hot Dog Mushroom Bento

2011-07-19T22:59:00.001+08:00

Much has happened recently & I need my kitchen therapy pronto!! I hardly have any time for baking so for a quick fix, I found bento making! It gives me my much needed space & peace in the sanctuary of my kitchen & mostly...it makes my princess smile. I can't wait to see the twinkle in her eye when she takes a peep at her breakfast tomorrow morning. =)

Blueberry Yogurt Muffin

2011-06-12T15:46:00.001+08:00

Holidays are here! My darling fat cheeks is excited and can't wait to get started in the kitchen. First on the list... blueberry muffins. Blueberries must be in season coz 2 punnets of blueberries only cost $3.99 at NTUC. Muffins are much easier to make compared to cakes. All we had to do was to mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. The catch is not to over mix the batter. I instructed fat cheeks to pour the wet ingredients into the dry, then mix them together in no more than 10 strokes. She did just that and we get a lumpy batter with bits of flour here & there which was perfectly fine. Fold in the blueberries with another 2-3 strokes, spoon into muffin pan & we're done. =) The muffin was moist, soft with juicy bites of blueberries. Very nice, it also kept well and was still soft & moist when we had it for breakfast the next day. Will try to add some nuts in our next batch. =)

Ingredients:
- 350g cake flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1/2 cup of vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
- 1 egg
- 1 cup yogurt
- 1 punnet of blueberries
- zest of 1 orange

Method:
- preheat oven to 190 deg c
- in a large bowl, sift dry ingredients except sugar together
- reserve 1 tbsp of flour mixture & dust/coat blueberries with it
- whisk sugar, oil, egg, yogurt and orange zest till well blended
- add wet ingredients into flour mixture, mix with no more than 10 strokes
- add dusted blueberries, stir with another 2-3 strokes
- spoon into muffin pan
- bake until golden brown, about 20-25 mins
- cool in pan, serve warm

Apple Custard Crumble

2011-06-09T22:02:00.004+08:00

Last weekend I made this very yummy Apple Custard Crumble for hubby. Hubby loves all things apple and orange. This is one of his comfort food when he is stressed. He's been working really hard recently, so I thought I'll make his day by baking one of his favorites. I really like this pastry coz it's a combination of apples and custard. Fragrant crunchy topping with fruity apples and velvety custard. Very nice. The sweetness is just nice to me but hubby who has a real sweet tooth prefers it sweeter. Fat cheeks loves it much too and I think she would have finish all of it if she could have it her way. =)

Ingredients:

Pastry
- 155g plain flour
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 80g salted butter, melted & cooled
- 1 egg yolk

Apple Custard
- 3 apples, peeled, cored & diced
- 20g butter
- 4 tbsp caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 185ml whipping cream (I used evaporated milk instead)
- 1 tsp vanilla ( I added vanilla beans fm 1 vanilla bean pod for extra oommp!)

Crumble topping
- 60g plain flour (I used about 8pcs of wholewheat crackers & crushed them up finely)
- 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
- 40g walnut (I replace this with instant oats)
- 60g salted butter, melted

Method:
- preheat oven to 180 deg c
- Lightly grease & line a 28 x 18cm baking tin
- to make pastry, sift flour and sugar, add butter, egg yolk & 2-3 tbsp of water till dough comes together
- rest dough in fridge for 20mins
- roll out dough & fit into baking tin, prick dough all over with fork, bake 15 mins, leave to cool
- for apple custard, place apple in saucepan with butter, half the sugar & 2 tbsp of water
- cover & cook over low heat till soft
- uncover and cook till all liquid is almost dried up, leave to cool
- to make custard, whisk eggs, cream, remaining sugar & vanilla
- spread apple mixture over cooled pastry then pour over cream mixture
- bake 20 mins or till custard is half set
- to make crumble topping, mix the cracker crumbs, brown sugar & oats
- stir in butter & mix well
- sprinkle over custard top & bake for another 15 mins
- cool in tin before slicing

Chocolate Ice Cream with Maraschino Cherries and Oreo Biscuits

2011-05-21T19:57:00.002+08:00

Last week hubby & I celebrated our 11th year anniversary. Times files, 11 years of wedded bliss in just an blink of an eye. =) Instead of the usual gifts of jewelry, watches and handbags he got me a ice cream maker! I cannot tell you how happy & excited I was. I just love my cooking toys like men love their gadgets I suppose. I've made ice cream without the ice cream maker before; It takes quite a bit of time and it's less smooth. Now with my new toy not only I can make ice cream like a professional, I can also try making frozen yoghurt, granitas and sorberts! I can try all sorts of flavor and add whatever we fancy! This time I made chocolate ice cream with maraschino cherries and oreo biscuits...all of our favorite things. Fat cheeks loved it so much, we fought for the last spoonful in the tub. =)

Ingredients:

- 4 egg yolks

- 100g castor sugar

- 300ml milk ( I used low fat milk)

- 300ml double cream

- half cup of dark chocolate buttons

- maraschino cherries & oreo biscuits chopped up

Method:

- beat egg yolk & sugar with hand whisk in a heat proof bowl

- bring milk to boil, then pour bit by bit into egg yolk mixture while whisking constantly

- return milk & egg mixture into pot and stir constantly till mixtures thickens and can coat the back of the spoon when spoon is dipped into mixture

- remove from heat & let it cool a little

- add chocolate buttons while mixture is still warm & stir till all buttons are melted

- leave to cool & chill in fridge

- when chilled, add double cream & pour into ice cream maker & allow to freeze until desired consistency

* if making without an ice cream maker, whip double cream till soft peaks form. Fold whipped cream into chilled mixture. Pour into container and freeze in freezer. Bring container out every 3-4hrs to break up ice crystals with a fork. Repeat 3-4 times till you get smooth consistency.

Melbourne Trip

2011-05-17T18:05:00.002+08:00

It's been such a long while since I've last blogged. Much has happened. Firstly I was busy at work trying to clear as much as I could before going on our holiday to Melbourne. Then when we came back, I'm busy trying to clear my work backlog, all the housework & the dreaded laundry we accumulated while away. I am glad to say now we're almost back to our normal routine. The trip to Melbourne was fantastic. Fat cheeks enjoyed herself tremendously. Even the 7 hours of flight there didn't bother her. She was such a trouper. She munched on her peanuts, enjoyed her on flight meal, watched cartoon then slept. This was a free & easy trip. So there was no hurrying, no rushing; It was all done at our own pace & at our convenience. Very enjoyable. Pictures speaks a thousand words, so here are some of our lovely memories to share. =)

Jaffa Swiss Roll

2011-04-03T20:03:00.001+08:00

It's been a long time since I've made swissroll. Thus far I never seem to be able to get my swissrolls right. Nevertheless, just for the fun of it I decided to give it a try again. And coz I had tons of oranges in my fridge, I added the zest of 1 orange into the batter & filled the swissroll with chocolate. Orange & chocolate never go wrong. =) The recipe I've attempted is from my previous post here. The mixed peel was replaced with 1 orange zest. Doesn't look too bad ya? =)

Hawaiian Pizza and Pepperoni Pizza

2011-04-02T22:20:00.001+08:00

We made these pizzas sometime ago and honestly I can't wait to make them again. I know I know...with all the cheese the fats and calories are astounding but it's sooo very yummy & we had so much fun making them. Daddy claims it's as good as Pizza Hut's ones leh! =) The ingredients I used are very simple and I didn't even buy the pizza sauce. I simply covered the pizza with can tomato paste, then sprinkled dried oregano & basil before piling toppings & cheese. I like thin crust pizza, so I stretched it as thinly as I could. Hawaiian pizza was topped with ham & pineapple chunks while the pepperoni one is topped with pepperoni, onion slices, tomatoes & fresh button mushrooms. Thank you Happy Home Baker for sharing the pizza dough recipe. Please view recipe here.

Hot Dog Buns and Ham Buns

2011-03-19T11:03:00.001+08:00

Buns!! There's nothing like a freshly baked bun; It's nice & crusty outside while soft & fluffy inside. It's been so long since I've baked buns, kneading them sure gave me a good workout. Hubby and Fat cheeks enjoyed the buns much, so I should try baking them more often. The ones baked at home is different from store bought ones. Homemade ones are more substantial, are hardier and more chewy. I like them this way. Yumz. =) The recipe can be found here.

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

2011-03-16T22:16:00.006+08:00

This is another baking session for Fat Cheeks. I prepared the main ingredients for her & let her pick up from there. This time round even I let her try measuring out the vanilla essence and pouring it into the eggs using a small teaspoon. At 4, it's quite a challenge for her but she did well. ^^ She had a blast and the cookies were great. It's a little sweet for my liking, probably due to the white chocolate but the tartness of the cranberries gives it a nice balance.

Ingredients:
(I used half the ingredients to make a smaller batch)

- 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour

- 1/4 tsp baking powder

- 1/2 salt

- 180g butter

- 1 1/2 cup of brown sugar

- 3 large eggs (I used 2 small eggs)

- 1 1/2 vanilla essence

- 3/4 white chocolate chips

- 1 cup cranberries

Method:

- preheat oven to 180 deg c & line cookie tray

- combine flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl

- in separate bowl, cream butter and sugar till fluffy

- in a small bowl add vanilla to eggs, then slowly beat into butter and sugar mixture
- fold in flour then stir in chocolate chips & cranberries, mix well

- drop spoonful of batter on to tray

- bake for 12-15mins till golden brown

- allow to cool & store in air-tight container

Here's how my darling Fat Cheeks did it:

Waffles with Chocolate Ganache Sauce and Fresh Berries

2011-03-12T18:27:00.001+08:00

Wow I can't believe it's been that long since I've last blogged. Poor Fat Cheeks caught this terrible cold on Chinese New Year eve and we've been taking turns falling ill since. Well I'm very happy to declare now we're all fit & well. =) To boost our immunity, I'm now trying harder to include more fresh fruits and veggies into our diet. Today, we're having fresh berries with waffles. The recipe can be found here. Totally yummy although a little messy coz Fat cheeks had chocolate all over her fingers, cheeks and nose. =)

Cornflakes Cookies

2011-01-22T17:10:00.004+08:00

This is my second bake of the day! I did mention that I was stressed ya? Hahaha. I still have one more bake on my list for today. Wonder if I can manage it. This cornflake cookie is one of my favorites simply coz it's easy, fast, yummy & additively crunchy. I made some last year with a little colorful fruity cornflakes. This year, I kept it simple; Just plain cornflakes, almond slivers and a festive cranberry "hat". For the recipe, please see my post last year here. Fat cheeks loves cranberries and kept picking the hats off the cornflakes even though I gave her some on a separate plate. Cheeky little girl. =)

Custard Flower Cookies

2011-01-22T14:58:00.001+08:00

Today we were up bright and early and feeling good having finally recovered from another bout of viral infection. I'm still on antibiotics but gone are the headaches and body aches. It's also been a little stressful at work with audit coming up and all. To destress, what better therapy than to bake! First up, we made Custard Flower Cookies. I found the recipe from Hong's Kitchen. Great post with step by step photos. Fat cheeks likes it much coz it looks so pretty. Hubby on the other hand feels that the cookie is a little "powdery", this could be due to the high corn flour content. Anyways, was a fun cookie to try.

Pineapple Tarts

2011-01-16T17:09:00.002+08:00

My 1st batch of pineapple tarts this year. They look pretty decent don't they? My little kitchen helper was fantastic. She helped me roll the filling into little balls and even tried her hand at cutting out the tarts. =) The pineapple filling were store bought, I just make the pastry. The pastry is really nice; It is fragrant, soft and melts in your mouth. I adapted the recipe from The Little Teochew's blog here.

Ingredients:
- 400gm plain flour
- 50g corn flour
- 6 tbsp of icing sugar
- 300g unsalted butter
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 tbsp of milk
- 1tsp of vanilla essence
- 1/4 tsp salt

Method:
- sieve plain flour, corn flour, salt & icing sugar into big bowl
- rub in butter till it resembles breadcrumbs
- add yolk, milk and vanilla
- combine to form dough, wrap with cling-wrap
- chill dough in fridge for half an hour
- using cutter, cut out tarts & place pineapple filling in middle
- preheat oven to 160 deg c
- glaze with egg yolk and bake at 160 deg c for 20 mins (I didn't glaze my tarts, I like them this way)

Sugee Almond Cookies

2011-01-15T17:03:00.002+08:00

Chinese New Year is coming! Time to start baking goodies! To start off, I've decided to make one of hubby's favorite; Sugee Cookies. Sugee cookies are unbelievably easy to make with simple ingredients. While I was looking through the recipes on the net, I realise that there are many variations now. I remember the 1st time I made Sugee biscuit many eons ago back when I was a teenager, the main ingredients in my recipe where ghee and semolina flour. Now in many recipes, ghee is replace by canola oil or butter and semolina flour is completely replaced by plain flour. It probably gives a more "melt in the mouth" texture but being the traditional gal that I am, I've decided to stick to my old school recipe. The cookies are really fragrant and light. Fat cheeks loves it much. As for Hubby? Well he's happy napping away now. Will see how he rate my cookies later. =)

Ingredients:
(I managed to get about 60 small biscuits)
- 120g ghee
- 100gm plain flour
- 100gm semolina flour
- 50gm ground almond
- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 tsp bicarbonate soda
- 85gm icing sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt

Method:
- melt ghee over low fire, set aside to cool
- add vanilla to cooled ghee
- sift all flours, bicarbonate of soda, icing sugar and salt into a big bowl
- pour ghee mixture into flour
- mix and knead to form a dough
- preheat oven to 180deg c
- roll dough into small balls
- bake 25-30minutes
- cool and store

Bacon Cheese Corn Muffin

2011-01-08T14:21:00.001+08:00

Hubby is once again away travelling for work. So what do we girls do when we're home alone? Mess up the kitchen of course! =) Today we decided to try something a little different. Instead of making sweet stuff, we made savory muffins. I measured out the ingredients and let chef Fat cheeks do everything else. I have to say she's really getting quite good. The muffins turned out perfect! It has a lovely cheesy crusty top while inside is soft and moist. The bacon bits adds much flavor while the corn gave the muffin texture. The secret ingredient which give these muffins the oomph is the onion powder and garlic salt. This recipe is a keeper! Within minutes out of the oven, while still piping hot, Fat cheeks & myself polished off 1 muffin each. She even asked me to save one for Daddy. So sweet right? =)

Ingredients:
(makes 9 muffins)
- 3 to 4 rashers of bacon (I bought pre-packed bacon bits from Cold Storage. It weighed 190g & I used it all)
- 1 small white onion
- 60ml milk
- 1 large egg
- 30g melted butter
- 100g cream corn
- 150g Self Rising flour, sifted
- Grated Cheddar Cheese (I used one good handful)
- 1 tsp of onion powder & a dash of garlic salt

Method:
- preheat oven at 200 deg C
- grease muffin pan
- fry bacon and onion till lightly browned, set aside to cool
- whisk milk, eggs, melted butter, cream corn till well combined
- add bacon and most of the cheese (reserve balance for topping), mix well
- add in flour and mix till just combined (do not over mix, batter should be lumpy)
- spoon into muffin pan, top with balance cheese
- baked for 20mins
- stand for 5mins before serving

The ingredients

Chef Fat cheeks all ready to start

Chef Fat Cheeks in deep concentration

Yes, that's her cracking the eggs all by herself. =)

Now to add the flour

Mix mix mix

Chef Fat Cheeks having so much fun.

Back in deep concentration.

It's really good!

My ancient muffin pan ready to go into oven.

The final product! =)

Marshmallow Coco Pops Bar

2011-01-02T16:12:00.000+08:00

Happy 2011!! It's the new year, new beginning with new challenges. Fat cheeks will be attending K1 this year. It's so exciting. Hope she'll make more friends and enjoy school like she always did. =)

I was down with a pretty bad viral infection since boxing day hence been missing in action. Today finally feeling human again I've decided to make this treat with my darling Fat Cheeks. It's a super simple with few ingredients. I never liked working with marshmallows before, just the thought of scrubbing them off the pots really puts me off. Then I found the solution; All I had to do was to soak the pot in hot water, give it a couple of minutes and it melts right off!

The treat was done in a matter of minutes. Fat cheeks helped by cutting the marshmallow into little pieces (for easy melting), mixing the cereals and pressing the mixed ingredients into the pan. Once again, she did a wonderful job. The treats are sweet, crispy, creamy and gooey. Very nice, may make this for Chinese New Year. =)

Ingredients:
- 55g butter
- 200g marshmallow
- 2.5 tsp milk
- 140g rice cereal (I used Coco Pops)
- a handful of dried fruits/nuts (this is optional. I used cranberries and Hershey's Peanut Butter Candy)

Method:
- Melt butter in saucepan over low fire
- add marshmallow, stir till marshmallow melts and is well blended
- add milk and mix well
- remove from heat, add cereals and mix well
- add dried fruit/nuts of your choice
- mix well and pour into grease pan (I used 13 x 9 inch pan)
- using a greased spatula, press cereal evenly into pan
- cool and cut into bars

Christmas Cookies

2010-12-24T01:34:00.001+08:00

Blessed Christmas everyone! =)

This year I've finally managed to make a batch of pretty decent looking cookies and they were given out to my colleagues as Christmas gifts. Nothing expensive or fancy, but I hope they liked them. Thus far the cookies were well received. In all, I took 3 evenings to make it. One evening to bake, the next to make the fondant and the final and most interesting evening is when I finally got to decorate the cookies by hand one by one. Altogether I made about 30 pieces of cookies. I'm very pleased with this batch and I can't wait to start the next. The cookies recipe can be found here. Decorating the cookies is hard work but it's also so much fun!

Christmas Cupcakes with Marshmallow Fondant

2010-12-18T21:57:00.003+08:00

It's the season for shopping, feasting and presents! Christmas is just round the corner! So much to eat! So much to shop and so much presents to buy! =)

Last week, Fat Cheeks and myself attended a baking workshop for mummy & child at the Community Centre. We made cupcakes with marshmallow fondant. Everything was made from scratch and we had a really fun time. A while ago, I tried doing marshmallow fondant myself. It was so sticky, gooey & messy I gave up. This time round, I've finally learnt the right technique to do it and I have say, it does take a lot of patience and hard work but you will be rewarded with soft pliable play dough. Still it was not easy doing the figurines. The ones I made were ok and I like my snowman best. =)

Here's the marshmallow fondant recipe:

Ingredients:

Shortening - 15g

Marshmallow - 100g

Icing sugar, sifted - 200g

Water - 8g

colouring

Method

- Grease a stainless steel bowl with a thin layer of shortening.

- Put marshmellow into bowl, let it melt over a pot of shimmering water, sprinkle water (8g) occasionally.

- Pour melted marshmellow on a greased tabletop, then slowly knead icing sugar into marshmellow over 4-5 times, until it becomes smooth (not sticking to fingers) and pliable.

- Add desired colouring, if fondant becomes sticky, add a little icing sugar.

- Cling wrap and keep in container until ready to use.

Fresh Blueberry Cupcakes

2010-11-21T15:01:00.005+08:00

We've been under the weather lately. Runny nose, cough, headaches and backaches have been plaguing us. Poor Fat cheeks is the most affected of us all. We've all been taking medication faithfully and I am keep our fingers crossed that after this weekend, all will be well. To cheer up Fat cheeks, I decided to let her do some simple baking. This time we're doing Blueberry cupcakes. Seems they are in season and a punnet of blueberries cost less than $3. I measured out the ingredients and had her do the rest with me giving instructions at the side. I adapted the recipe from my Nutella cupcakes here. I replaced the white sugar with brown sugar and folded in the punnet of fresh blueberries in the end. The cupcakes turned out really well, very light & fluffy. The brown sugar tastes less sweet & I love how the fresh blueberries explode when you bite into them. Yummy! Fat cheeks followed instructions well & did a fantastic job!! =)

I've got presents! =)

2010-11-17T12:00:00.005+08:00

I've got presents all the way from Sweden. =)

Thank you Sylvia for your lovely handmade key chains, we love them! Just looking at them makes me smile.

It's really wonderful to have friends. As I grow older, I realise genuine friends are hard to come by especially for me. I'm quiet, boring and don't socialise much. I don't like attention and am actually happy to be part of the flower vase in the background observing things going on around me. I also enjoy doing things alone. I find it much less complicated that way. Hence it's no surprise my group of friends is small. But the few I have, I treasure them much. We may not go out often and we hardly meet up, but I know they are there for me like I will be there for them. I use to work with this small group of friends and I do miss them much. Pai seh, the key chains is making me mushy!! =)

Hot Dog with Tomato Salsa

2010-11-13T20:09:00.008+08:00

Hot dogs!! I love hot dogs. They are salty, juicy and bursting with flavors. They are not the healthiest food but I just cannot resist them. I try my very best not to eat them too often but when I do, I try to buy the better quality ones & they don't come cheap. After a tough work week, today I thought we indulge ourselves. I simply pan fry my hot dogs over low fire till done and served it with my self-made tomato salsa. For my tomato salsa, I diced up 1 tomato, add a small portion of chopped onion, a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, a few dashes of tobasco sauce, a few tbsp of ketchup, a sprinkling of dried parsley leaves and a pinch of salt to taste. A dash of lemon juice would brighten it up but I didn't have any. Nevertheless, it still went well with the hot dogs. This is like the perfect brunch for me. =)

Teddy Bear Cookies

2010-10-30T22:37:00.004+08:00

Rushed home from work and managed to make this in record time for a dear friend. Hope she liked it. =)

Shredded Pork (Pulled Pork)

2010-10-25T21:25:00.006+08:00

I saw this recipe on Food Network Asia and I knew I had to try it coz it's so interesting! Basically it's like braising pork with Root Beer! Yes...Root beer! Rub down the pork with spices, put them into the slow cooker, fill with root beer & let it cook overnight. After an hour or so, the whole house was filled with lovely aroma. Hubby kept telling me that it smells so good and that it was keeping him awake. By the morning, the pork was soft & tender. All I had to do was shred them, stuff them into pita bread, drizzle a little gravy & start munching. Fat Cheeks loved it so much, she couldn't stop to talk but gave me the thumbs up sign as she munched. =) I think it will go very well with pasta too. Yumz.

Ingredients:

- 1kg pork shoulder

- 4 oz root beer

- 1.5 tbsp brown sugar

- 1/2 tbsp salt

- 1/2 tbsp cumin

- 1/2 tbsp paprika

- 1/2 tbsp pepper

- 1 tbsp garlic powder

- 1/2 tsp oregano

- 1 med onion, diced

Method:

- wash pork and pat dry

- mix spices & herb, rub all over pork

- place diced onion at bottom on slow cooker, followed by the pork on top

- add root beer

- cover & cook over high for an hour or 2, then turn to low heat & cook for another 4-5 hours

- remove pork & shred

- drizzle with gravy & serve warm

- Note: you can make the gravy thicker by adding some flour to the gravy & boiling it.

Mango Sago

2010-10-24T14:58:00.005+08:00

Inspired by my favorite dessert from Hong Kong. I made a simple version with cubed mango, evaporated milk, sago & sugar syrup. I think coconut milk works best as it gives a more fragrant, creamer dessert but I didn't want to get addicted hence risking all the extra calories. This is good enough for me for now. =)

Waffles

2010-10-23T12:48:00.003+08:00

I have a new toy! Hubby got me a waffle maker! Yay! I've always wanted it so when hubby saw one on sale, he grabbed it for me. How sweet! =) It's been sitting in its box for a couple of weeks coz I've been real busy & stressed at work. Didn't have the time or mood to do much. Today however, I've decided to try my new toy out. Once again my kitchen helper, little Miss Fat cheeks helped me whipped up the batter. =) I'm quite sure she'll be a better cook when she grows up. I'm just so proud of her. The waffles turned out really nice. It's the way I like it. Crisp on the outside, light & fluffy inside. Honestly, I was quite surprised. I didn't expect a simple no fuss recipe like this to turn out this nice. It's a keeper. Fat cheeks had her waffles with vanilla ice cream while I had mine with Nutella. I wanted to have another with honey & butter but just didn't have the space in my tummy. Next week perhaps. =)

Ingredients:

(makes 6 pcs)

- 125g self rising flour

- 5g baking powder

- 20g sugar

- 30g melted butter (I used salted butter)

- 125g milk

- 1/2 tsp vanilla

- 1 egg

Method:

- preheat waffle maker

- mix all dry ingredients in a big bowl

- in separate bowl, beat egg, milk, butter & vanilla till frothy

- pour into dry ingredients, mix till well blended (but do not over mix)

- ladle into hot waffle maker

- cook till golden & crisp

- serve warm

Nutella Cupcakes

2010-10-16T15:26:00.006+08:00

It's been a while! I miss my baking so much! =) So glad I managed to squeeze in some time to meddle in my kitchen today. My kitchen helper, little miss Fat Cheeks did a fantastic job. She helped me cream the butter & sugar, added eggs & spooned the batter into the cups. So proud of her! The cupcakes turned out really wonderful. It had a nice crusty top, light fluffy insides with creamy Nutella swirled in. We couldn't stop eating eat. Totally yumz!!

Update:

Hubby took a bite & went "OOOO...this is so good you can sell it!". Happiness. =)

Ingredients:

(makes 12 cupcakes)

- 13/4 cup Self rising flour

- 3/4 tsp baking powder

- 140g salted butter

- 3/4 cup sugar

- 4 small eggs

- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract

- 12 tsp Nutella

Method:

- preheat oven to 160 deg c

- line muffin tray

- sift flour & baking powder

- cream butter & sugar till it is pale & fluffy

- add eggs one at a time

- add vanilla extract

- add dry ingredients & beat on low speed till flour is incorporated

- fill cups 3/4 full

- top with a tsp of Nutella on top

- use toothpick to swirl Nutella into batter

- bake 20mins

- remove cupcakes from tray & cool

Crispy Spiral White Bean Mooncake

2010-09-20T22:16:00.006+08:00

This is my very 1st attempt at making Crispy Spiral Mooncake. I love these and never fail to get them every year. I didn't have very high expectations when I decided to make them. I knew it was difficult to make but I just wanted to try it anyway even if it was going to be ugly =p. I tried not to fret too much and actually enjoyed experimenting with the pastry. The white bean paste was really nice. It tasted much like yam paste which I love. All in all, I'm quite pleased with it. Not very pretty but the pastry was very crispy and fragrant, the bean paste soft & yummy.

Makes 12pcs.

White Bean Paste:

- 300gm black eyed beans

- 200g castor sugar

- 100gm cooking oil

- 1/2 tsp alkaline water

Method:

- soak beans with water & alkaline water overnight

- wash well

- cover beans in water & cook till soft

- blend beans with just enough water till it becomes a fine paste

- add paste & sugar into wok and cook till slightly dry then add in oil, mix well

- cook till paste is quite dry and comes away from the wok

Pastry:

Water dough

- 200g plain flour

- 50g cooking oil

- 100ml water

Oil dough

- 150gm plain flour

- 75gm shortening

Method:

- water dough: rub flour & oil, gradually add water & knead into dough. rest for 15mins

- oil dough: mix all ingredients & rest for 15 mins as well

- divide both doughs into 12 pcs

- take water dough & wrap oil dough

- flatten & roll out to resemble a long stick

- roll up like swissroll, turn dough facing up (round shape up)

- flatten & wrap filling

- fry till golden brown

Shanghai Moon Cake

2010-09-12T13:12:00.007+08:00

So exciting! Mooncake Festival is coming soon! Time to bring out my moulds & start messing around. =) Unlike last year, this year I won't be able to make my own paste. It's too time consuming. Ah...how I miss my tai tai days. Anyways, first up; Shanghai Moon Cake. I found this recipe in U magazine and decided to give it a try. It's pretty straight forward and with the ready made paste, the mooncakes were done fairly fast without much fuss. The pastry tasted like a cross between the traditional baked skin & shortcrust pastry. I made 2 fillings, lotus & red bean. Everyone at home liked the mooncake & we also thought that the red bean filling tasted better with the crust. Not bad at all. =)

Filling:

- 240g lotus paste

- 240g red bean paste

Ingredients A:

- 85g fine sugar

- 50g egg (about 1 med egg)

- 25g evaporated milk

- 75g corn oil

Ingredients B:

- 200g plain flour

- 25g custard powder

- 15g milk powder

- 5g baking powder

Decorations:

- egg wash

- almond slices / white sesame seeds

Method:

- divide fillings into 60g portion each & roll into balls. Set aside

- mix ingredients A together & stir till sugar dissolve

- sieve ingredients B into separate bowl, make a well in centre and pour in A

- mix to form a soft dough

- cover with damp cloth & let it rest for 30mins

- after resting, divide into 8 portions

- preheat oven to 180 deg c

- take 1 portion of dough & wrap filling, shape into balls

- arrange on baking tray

- brush with egg wash & decorate as desired

- bake 10-15mins till golden brown

Glaced Cherry Chiffon Roll with Buttercream

2010-09-06T20:55:00.006+08:00

Here's another swissroll attempt. Finally it looks fairly decent. I even made the buttercream filling. The cake recipe is from my Mixed Peel and Chiffon roll here. Before baking, I placed thin slices of glaced cherry on top of the batter before it went into the oven. I love how it adds colour to the cake, quite pretty like little jewels. =) The cake is very soft and it melts in your mouth. Hubby says the buttercream is really nice and it reminds him of the cakes he had during his childhood days. Very nostalgic. =)

Rich Creamy Chocolate Pudding

2010-09-04T11:19:00.003+08:00

This chocolate pudding is rich, creamy and luscious. Chocolate makes me drool...yumz. I haven't been eating well lately coz I have this terrible ulcer in my mouth. This cool, smooth chocolate dessert is just perfect. It's fast and easy to do. Without a doubt, Fat cheeks loved it too licking the cup and spoon clean. =)

Ingredients:

- 1 egg

- 2 yolks

- 1.5 cup of milk

- 2 tbsp flour

- pinch of salt

- 1/4 cup of chocolate chips

- 1 tbsp butter (I just cut a small chunk of butter)

Method:

- add milk, sugar, flour, salt in a heavy base saucepan and cook over medium heat till it comes to a boil, stirring all the time

- lightly whisk egg in a separate bowl and slowly add hot milk mixture and whisking at the same time

- return egg and milk mixture into saucepan over med heat, continue to whisk

- cook till thickens

- remove from heat, add butter and chocolate

- whisk till well combined and cool

- spoon into container, chill for at least 3 hours

Sugar Cookies

2010-08-31T20:43:00.006+08:00

Fat cheeks celebrated Teacher's Day at school today. She wanted to give her teachers presents and was so disappointed when she found out that I forgot to help her get any. To make up, I thought I'll bake her teachers some cookies. These decorated cookies have been on my waiting list ever since time in memorial. So I quickly prepared all the ingredients and started creaming away. The dough was done relatively quickly, it was then chucked it into the fridge to chill. In the mean time, I prepared the royal icing for decoration. The dough was suppose rest and set in the fridge for an hour to 2 but being pressed for time, I thought I'll try cutting them anyway. BIG mistake. I only managed to cut about 3 pieces before it started to melt & fall apart. I kept trying & it went from sticky dough to gooey mess. I was so frustrated that I almost threw everything away. Fed up, I threw everything back into the fridge and went on to make cards with Fat Cheeks. Fortunately by the time the cards were completed, the dough firmed up nicely and I was able to cut them finally. It also helped that I've divided the dough into 3 parts, leaving the unused parts in the fridge & only taking it out just before cutting them. By the time I was done with baking, cooling & decorating, it was 1am. ZZZzzzz. So what have I learnt? Planning & patience!! But after all said and done, I have to say the cookies were crispy, butter and delicious. I had tremendous fun decorating the cookies. They weren't as pretty as I had hoped for but they were ok. Lots more practice needed! =)

Ingredients:

- 1.5cups flour
- 1/2tsp baking powder

- 1/4tsp salt

- 115g butter

- 1/2cup sugar

- 1 large egg

- 1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

- preheat oven to 180 deg c

- mix flour and baking soda

- beat sugar and butter till light & fluffy

- add eggs and vanilla essence

- beat in flour till soft dough is formed

- wrap in cling wrap and chill in fridge for an hour or 2 till firm

- cut into desired shapes

- bake 8-10 mins till cookies a lightly browned

- cool completely before decorating or storing

Royal Icing:

- 2 cups of icing sugar

- 1.5 tbsp meringue powder

- 1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)

- 1/4 to 1/2 cup warm water

Method:

- mix all ingredients in a bowl except water

- add water gradually while whisking mixture till desired consistency is reached

- continue whisking till icing is glossy

- add colour, mix well and decorate

French Madeleines

2010-08-28T15:00:00.005+08:00

The weekends are here! Hubby was away for a week and is finally making his way home this late afternoon. My darling energetic Fat cheeks will be stuck at home with me for almost a whole day. So before we both go nuts, I decide to distract her a little by doing some baking together. I found this really simple uncomplicated recipe that is just perfect; French Madeleines! No need to cream butter and sugar, no need to whip egg whites; just mix everything together, chill then throw into oven & tadah....yummy madeleines. This is the 2nd time I'm making madeleines. The last recipe uses lemon zest, this one uses orange zest and ground almond. Very buttery, fragrant and a little denser than the last recipe. It also has the signature "hump" that Madeleines are suppose to have. We both love the taste and enjoyed making it very much. Fat cheeks can't wait to show it off to her Daddy. =)

Ingredients:

- 1 cup self rising flour

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 125g butter, melted & cooled

- 3 large eggs

- 1/2 cup ground almonds

- zest of 1 orange

- 1/4 tsp of orange essence

- 1/4 tsp of vanilla essence

- pinch of salt

Method:

- mix zest & sugar

- in separate bowl, sift flour and add sugar zest mixture

- beat eggs lightly & add to flour mixture

- add melted butter, salt, almond, orange & vanilla essence

- mix with wooden spoon till well combined

- chill in fridge for an hour

- preheat oven to 200 deg c

- grease moulds

- half fill moulds and bake for 10-15mins till golden

Egg Tarts

2010-08-25T17:57:00.007+08:00

My love for egg tarts was rekindled recently after a lovely dim sum breakfast in a restaurant. Flakey pastry with smooth creamy custard, totally yummy! Fat cheeks enjoyed it very much and kept asking for more. So last weekend I thought I'll try to make them for her. My recipe was complied from bits here & there. I'm quite pleased with it. It didn't look very pretty but the tart's pastry was crispy, fragrant and the custard was thick and creamy. If you prefer a smoother filling, reduce the amount of cream and add more milk instead.

Ingredients:

(I managed to get 12 egg tarts)
Filling:

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1/4 milk

- 1/2 cup cream

- 4 yolks

- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

- combine ingredients together, mix till well combined (try not to beat too much bubbles into mixture)

Pastry:

(a) Water dough
- 120gm plain flour
- 30gm icing sugar
- 30gm shortening
- 60gm water

(b) Oil dough
- 120gm flour
- 60gm shortening

Method:

- preheat oven to 200 deg c
- mix (a) till smooth, rest for 10mins, divide into 12pcs
- in separate bowl, mix (b) till smooth, rest for 10mins, divide into 12pcs
- (a) wrap (b), roll into long strip then roll up like swissroll
- rest 5 mins, repeat above step
- shape dough into circles, then press into cups

- fill with egg mixture, bake for 20mins till pastry is nicely browned.

Bow Pasta with Mince Beef & Beans

2010-08-21T14:19:00.005+08:00

It's another pasta dish! We simply love pasta at home and it's easy to prepare. This time I've made pretty bow pasta with mince beef and kidney beans. This dish is inspired by beef chilli which hubby loves. I can't add the "chilli" to it else Fat Cheeks won't be able to eat it. Hence it's basically beef chilli without the chilli =). I made the sauce from a scratch, left it in my thermal pot overnight and the result is a very flavorful, gratifying sauce. Very yummy. Fat cheeks finished every morsel on her plate; the carrots, celery including the beans and that makes me a very happy mummy. =)

Ingredients:

- mince beef 300g

- 1 onion, chopped

- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped

- 1 can of diced tomato

- 3 tbsp tomato paste

- 1 can kidney beans, drained

- 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

- 1 bay leave

- 1/8 tsp grounded cinnamon

- 1/8 tsp all spice

- 1 tsp cummin powder

- 2 tbsp dried basil

- 1/2 tsp oregano

- 1 tbsp parsley

- 1/2 cup of water

Method:

- fry onion in olive oil till lightly brown

- add mince beef, let it brown stirring every now & then

- when beef is nicely browned, add cumin, cinnamon, all spice, dried basil, oregano & parsley, mix well

- add dice tomato and its juice, tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, water and bay leave, stir well again

- lastly, add kidney beans and bring to boil

- leave it in thermal cooker or simmer for a couple of hours.

- serve hot with pasta, bread or rice.

Fat Cheeks finish all her veggies & beans! =)

Carbonara

2010-08-08T12:11:00.005+08:00

It's a long weekend, unfortunately Fat Cheeks is under the weather so we can't really head out for fun. To comfort ourselves & to cheer my darling Fat Cheeks, I made Carbonara. Both hubby & Fat Cheeks loves it but I try not to make it often...our waistlines really cannot afford too much it! The rich, creamy & cheesey pasta with smokey bacon is really delicious and comforting. This round, I added a bunch of small white beech mushrooms and also used swiss cheese instead of the usual parmesan. Yummy! =)

Brown Butter Chiffon Cake

2010-08-07T22:00:00.006+08:00

I love the taste of brown nutty flavor. Like chocolate, I find it very difficult to resist toffee, butterscotch & caramel flavours. I first came across brown butter while watching a cookery program on tv. It fascinated me & so I googled it to look for more recipes. I found cookies, pound cake and ice cream recipes. How interesting! They are all on my "to make list" for sure. However for today I'm craving for chiffon cake (after spying a very yummy looking coconut chiffon cake from friend's photo). This recipe is adapted from my previous post, Gula Melaka Chiffon cake. Glad it turned out not bad. It's very light, moist with a fragrant nutty after taste. It was well received by hubby & fat cheeks. =)

Brown Butter:

- butter 100g

- heat butter in heavy skillet over medium heat until milk solids on bottom are dark brown

- transfer to shallow bowl, allow to cool

Ingredients:

(I used my 21cm tube pan)

- 4 eggs yolks

- 2tbsp corn oil

- 1/8 tsp salt

- 95g cake flour

- 1/4 tsp baking powder

- 100g brown butter (from above)

- 60g milk

- 4 egg whites

- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

- 60g brown sugar

Method:

- preheat oven to 175 deg c

- sift flour, salt & baking powder

- mix egg yolks, corn oil, brown butter, milk & flour till well combined

- in separate bowl, whisk egg whites & cream of tartar till foamy

- add brown sugar gradually & whisk till stiff peaks are formed

- fold egg whites into batter in 3 stages

- pour into tin and bake for 40-45mins

- invert cake pan & allow to cool

Marble Cake

2010-08-01T10:24:00.005+08:00

Wow time flies, I didn't realise my last entry was almost a month ago. I had a wonderful short break and my hands have been itching to bake since then. If only I had more time!! This week, I've decided to bake marble cake. It was one of my favourite cake when I was a child, the combination of butter & chocolate is just heavenly. This recipe I found has a secret ingredient...rum! The original recipe calls for 2-3 drops of rum essence but I used a tsp of the real thing. The cake turn out to be really light and fragrant. You can't really taste the rum, but it give a very pleasant aftertaste. Very very nice, another addition to my to "make again" list. =)

Ingredients:

- 170g butter, soften at room temperature

- 110g sugar

- 210g cake flour

- 2 large eggs

- 2 tsp baking powder

- 2-3 drops of vanilla essence

- 1 tsp rum

- a pinch of salt

- 3tbsp of milk

- 3tbsp of cocoa powder

Method:

- preheat oven to 180deg c

- grease loaf pan ( I used my 8" x 4" pan)

- beat butter & sugar till pale & fluffy

- add vanilla essence and rum

- add one egg at a time while beating at high speed

- sift flour and fold into batter in 2 stages

- fold in milk

- take out 1/3 of the batter, fold in cocoa powder

- pour batter into tin while dropping cocoa batter randomly then use chopsticks to create marble pattern

- bake for about 45 mins then test with skewer

- cool for 5mins then remove from pan

Handmade Rum and Raisin Ice Cream

2010-07-04T12:09:00.004+08:00

This ice cream is unbelievable. It's so smooth, creamy, rich and fragrant! It's so good I can't stop licking the utensils while making it. It's nothing like those bought in a tub. I've used real rum not the artificial flavor and it tastes way superior! Poor Fat cheeks can't have any of these as it contains alcohol. Hubby loves it too, especially the plump raisins soaked full of rum. =)

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup raisins

- 1/3 cup dark rum

- 4 egg yolks

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 11/2 cup milk

-3/4 cup whipping cream

Method:

- soak raisins in rum over night

- drain raisins & set aside rum

- whisk yolks with sugar in a bowl

- bring milk to a boil

- once milk starts to bubble, remove from heat

- add to yolk mixture gradually, whisking all the time

- add rum (I added rum here hoping to cook away some alcohol)

- return milk & yolk mixture to pan over medium heat

- cook till thickens, stirring all the while

- leave to cool

- add raisins and mix well

- whip cream till soft peaks form

- fold into mixture

- pour into container, freeze

- beat with fork twice every four hours then leave to freeze till set

Potato Patties and Ham Bun

2010-07-03T14:04:00.005+08:00

Fat Cheeks loves the Hash Brown from McDs. This weekend, I thought we'll make our own. The ingredients are simple and after doing some reading I found out tat the secret to good crispy hash brown is to drain & squeeze the water from the potato after grating it. Add a small egg, salt, a dash of pepper,mix, shape & pan fry it! That's all to it. While mixing the mixture, more moisture surface so before I place the patties into the pan, I squeeze it again. It is indeed crisp on the outside, soft in the inside. Fat cheeks loves it much. We had honey baked ham bun with our potato patty. Lovely!

Brownie Cupcakes

2010-06-28T21:12:00.003+08:00

I've been craving for chocolate lately & the best way to satisfy it? Brownies of course!! This recipe is really sweet, rich and luscious. It's crusty outside, soft, gooey & oozing with chocolate inside. Definitely not for the faint-hearted! You've been warned. Do not try this recipe if you're on a diet or trying to lose weight. It's so addictive it's almost impossible to stop a one. And why brownies in the form of cupcakes? Simply coz I didn't have an 8inch square pan. =)

Ingredients:

(makes 9 cupcakes)

- 110gm butter

- 110gm chocolate

- 2 eggs

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar

- 1/4 cup sugar

- 1tsp vanilla

- 1/2 cup all purpose flour

- 1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Method:

- preheat oven to 180 deg c

- melt butter & chocolate over hot water, stir well

- remove from heat, stir in salt, sugar & canilla

- in separate bowl, lightly whisk eggs

- add eggs to chocolate mixture

- stir in nuts & flour

- pour batter into cupcake mold, filling 3/4 of the cup

- bake 30mins till top is shiny

- cool on a rack

Fluffy Pancakes

2010-06-27T09:53:00.006+08:00

It's a lazy Sunday morn and I thought I'll cook up something simple for breakfast before heading out to church. I still have caramel sauce left over from my ice cream making last week. So I've decided to make pancakes to go with it. I found this slightly different recipe where you whisk up the egg whites then fold it into the main batter. It gives a really light & fluffy pancake. I also made some whipped butter to go with the pancakes. I'm not sure why but the whipped butter has a stronger favor but yet it feels very light at the same time. Totally yummy!! =) Fat cheeks alone ate 3 pancakes! Hubby enjoyed it too, he says no need to order Hotcakes from McD le! =)

Ingredients:

(Makes about 10 small pcs)
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup milk
- 4 tbsp melted butter
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tbsp sugar

Method:

- sift dry ingredients
- in separate bowl mix yolks, milk, melted butter till smooth
- make well in dry ingredients, add wet ingredients all at once
- stir till just combined
- whisk egg whites & gradually add in sugar till soft peaks form
- fold egg whites in to batter, add more milk if too thick
- heat pan, smear with a little butter then cook pancakes

Whipped butter:

- 110g butter, soften to room temperature
- 2 tbsp milk

Method:
- add milk to butter, whisk at slow speed
- when it's well combined, whisk at high speed
- store in fridge when not in use

Vanilla Ice Cream Charlotte Cake

2010-06-20T13:09:00.006+08:00

Happy Father's Day! To celebrate today, I've attempted to make a Vanilla Ice Cream Charlotte Cake using the ice cream I've made yesterday. I baked basic sponge cake for the base & the sides. I then pipe hazelnut cream, which is just mixing Nutella & whipping cream on top & finishing it off with assortment of nuts in the middle which I've stir fried in butter with a sprinkling of brown sugar. I'm quite pleased with it and am keeping my fingers crossed that it will taste good. We'll be enjoying the cake with my in-law's this evening. My concern is that the ice cream melts pretty quickly. Let's hope it get there in one piece.

*Update:
The cake turned out fantastic! Everyone was impressed. =) The sweet crunchy nuts complemented the cake very well. Should have added more. Next round I'll try something fruity. Forgot to add that the ice cream was pretty smooth & creamy. Probably not as velvety as a machine churned one but nevertheless it tasted great.

Handmade Vanilla Ice Cream

2010-06-19T21:05:00.006+08:00

I'm proud to present my very 1st handmade ice cream! I've been longing to make ice cream for ages but didn't think I could have done it without an ice cream maker till I came across this recipe book "Making Ice Cream & Iced Desserts". I actually bought this book some time ago during a book sale but didn't do any serious reading till recently. Only then I discovered the recipes actually gave instructions for making ice cream by hand as well. So eagerly I tried the most basic recipe today. The recipe uses vanilla pods which I'm sure will give the ice cream a superior taste. I didn't have any so I used pure vanilla essence. It still tasted great

. I served my 1st scoop to hubby with a drizzle of caramel sauce & a small heart shaped sponge cake. A prelude to tomorrow's surprise! =)

Ingredients:

- 1 vanilla pod

- 300ml milk

- 4 egg yolks

- 6 tbsp sugar

- 1 tsp corn flour

- 300ml whipping cream

Method:

- slit vanilla pod into half, lengthways

- pour milk into pot, add vanilla pod & bring to a boil

- remove fm heat & allow pod to sit in milk for 15 mins

- scrape vanilla seeds into milk, set pod aside & bring milk to a boil again

- whisk egg yolks till thick & foamy

- pour milk into eggs, whisking constantly

- return mixture into pan, cook over low heat, stirring all the time

- when custard thickens & is smooth, allow to cool & chill

- whip cream until thicken

- fold into custard & pour into freezeproof container

- freeze for at least 6 hours or till firm enough to scope

- in between the 6 hours, beat ice cream with a fork to break up ice crystals at least twice.

Custard Puffs

2010-06-12T17:49:00.008+08:00

The weekends are here and I'm so eager to start baking! This time I've decided to try my hand at custard puffs. This is the 1st time I've made choux pastry and I have to say I'm pleased with the results. They puffed up nicely and are light & airy. The custard is also good; rich and velvety. Hubby likes it much. I'm still waiting for my precious Fat Cheeks to wake up from her nap to try the puffs & give me her verdict. I'm already thinking of cream cheese filling for my next batch of puffs. =)

Custard Cream:

Ingredients
- 150ml of milk
- 150ml of double cream
- 1tsp of vanilla essence
- 4 egg yolks
- 45g sugar
- 25g flour
- a big dollop of butter

Method:
- beat egg, sugar & flour till well combined
- bring milk & cream to a boil
- remove from heat
- slowly pour milk into egg mixture, whisking the mixture all the time

- return to low heat stirring till it thickens,
- add vanilla essence and butter, mix well & leave to cool

Choux Pastry:

Ingredients
- 50g flour
- 50g unsalted butter
- 150ml water
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- icing sugar for dusting

Method:
- preheat oven to 200 deg c, line tray with baking sheet
- combine water & butter and bring to a boil in saucepan
- turn to low heat, shift in flour
- mix well with a wooden spoon until mixture forms a ball that comes away from the sides of the pan
- turn off heat, gradually beat in eggs till smooth & glossy
- add vanilla extract
- pipe batter on to baking sheet, spaced well apart
- bake for 25mins or until well risen & golden
- make a slit in the middle & return to oven to dry out for another 3 mins
- remove & cool on wire rack
- when cool, fill with custard & dust with icing sugar

Blueberry Butter Cake

2010-06-06T14:26:00.004+08:00

It's a lovely Sunday today and I managed to sneak some time to bake this Blueberry butter cake! So happy =). Blueberries were on sale when I went grocery shopping on Friday. I went ahead to get them keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to do some baking with them during the weekend. I browsed through my library of recipes and found this. It's a simple recipe and Fat cheeks enjoyed creaming the butter & sugar. The end product is not bad but I thought it tasted a little eggy. Next round, I will try adding a tsp of vanilla essence and maybe a little lemon zest.

Ingredients:

- 225g butter, soften

- 160g castor sugar

- 5 eggs

- 200g cake flour, sieved

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 125g fresh blueberries

Method:

- grease an 8inch round pan

- preheat oven to 180 deg c

- cream butter & sugar till pale & fluffy

- add eggs one at a time (ensure the egg is properly incorporated into batter before adding next egg)

- fold in flour

- pour half the batter into pan, arrange half of the blue berries on batter

- pour rest of the batter over blue berries then top with balance of blue berries

- bake on lower rack for 40mins

- cool cake then remove from cake pan

Chicken Mayo Sandwiches

2010-06-05T20:46:00.004+08:00

We decided to visit the zoo today. Knowing that there are not much choices not to mention pricey food at the zoo, I decided to make a simple fare to bring along with us. On the menu: Egg mayo and chicken mayo sandwiches, smiley potato, baked karaage, fried rice and a big tub of water melon. Simple but great for a picnic. I especially like the chicken mayo.

Here's my version of it:

Ingredients:

- 1 chicken breast

- 3 stalks of celery

- 1 clove of garlic

- 1 cup of chicken stock

- 3 tbsp of mayo

- 1 tbsp of sour cream

- 1 small white onion, diced

- salt & pepper to taste

Method:

- poach chicken in stock with celery and garlic

- when chicken is cooked, cool & shred

- brown onion with a little oil, cool

- mix chicken, browned onion, mayo & sour cream well

- season with salt & pepper

Light Blueberry Cheesecake

2010-05-07T21:32:00.005+08:00

It's been quite a long while since I've done any cooking. I'm missing it a whole ton! Why? Coz I'm back working. Yups...end of freedom and back into the world of work. Once again I've joined a voluntary welfare organisation and it's a psychiatric rehab centre. A shelter cum day care for persons with mild mental illness. I received quite a few looks of horror when I tell people where I'm working now. Honestly, it was a little daunting when I first started but then I realised that they are actually very warm and innocent, in fact they behave just like little kids. They greet me in the morn, open doors for me when my hands are full, help me clear the table after lunch...basically they are really sweet people. Unfortunately, many of them are marginalized and misunderstood. Most also have very sad stories. My heart goes out to them. Seeing how hard life is for them made me realise that I have so much to be thankful for. So as long as I'm working there, I hope to be a blessing to them. =)

Ok, back to food. For the past 2 weeks I've only managed to baked this light blueberry cheesecake. I adapted the recipe from my previous Japanese Light Cheesecake. I halved the sugar and added 2 tbsps of blueberry jam. It's not bad, but the blueberry masked the taste of cheese. The original is still the best.

Sponge Cake

2010-04-25T20:57:00.005+08:00

I saw these really cute cake moulds at Daiso & I knew I had to get them! So adorable right?! I also used the sponge cake mix from Daiso. It's fuss free & easy to use. The result is a light, fluffy and spongy cake. The cake is also not sweet, just nice for my icing frosting. =)

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin

2010-04-05T15:37:00.007+08:00

We had a wonderful Easter with activities packed for the long weekend. We were out quite often so didn't get the chance to finish a bunch of bananas I bought last Fri. The last time I baked a banana cake, so this time I've decided to make muffins out of them before they spoil. The banana muffins were very aromatic when baking in the oven. They tasted lovely but the texture was a bit weird. It's not hard but it's quite dense, sticky and chewy. Nevertheless, my darling Fat cheeks gobbled hers down and licked her fingers after. She's the sweeting thing.

Hiaz, I guess I just don't seem to have much luck when it comes to muffins. =(

Crepes with Caramel Sauce

2010-04-03T20:14:00.005+08:00

This is wonderful for weekend breakfast. The sauce is so very delicious I can't stop dipping my fingers into it. It's thick, rich and luscious. The soft crepes soaks up the sauce making every bite heavenly. Hubby & Fat cheeks loved it and mopped their plate squeaky clean. Infact hubby loves the sauce so much he drizzles the sauce over the apples for a quick snack. =) Never knew making caramel sauce was this easy this scrumptious. Now the only thing I'm missing is a tub of vanilla ice cream to drizzle my sauce on. Yumz.

Ingredients for Caramel Sauce:
(makes about 2 cups)
- 50g butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 80ml corn syrup
- half a can of condense milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
- a pinch of cinnamon

Method:
- Melt butter on low heat
- add sugar, syrup and milk, stir well (use wooden spoon as it can get very hot)
- increase to med low heat & bring to boil, all the while stiring to prevent burning
- once starts to boil, remove from heat & stir in vanilla essence & cinnamon
(for thicker sauce, allow to boil longer)
- serve warm

Ingredients for Crepes:
(I made 12 pcs)
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 cups milk (I used evaporated milk)
- 2 eggs
- 20g butter, melted

Method:
- shift flour into a bowl & stir in sugar
- in a seperate bowl, whisk together milk & eggs till well combined
- make a well in the centre of dry ingredients, gradually whisk in milk & egg mixture till smooth
- rest for 30mins
- brush pan with butter (repeat this step before cooking every pc crepe)
- pour 1/4 cup of batter into pan & try to spread the batter thin by tilting pan
- cook for 1-2 mins, when crepe starts to bubble, flip over for another minute
- remove from pan, fold half then quarters
- serve warm with fresh fruits & drizzle with caramel sauce

Pan Fried Salmon with Cream Sauce

2010-03-31T20:00:00.009+08:00

I was having such a headache trying to decide what to eat tonight. A friend suggested salmon & so salmon it was. Enough brain cells sacrificed over dinner tonight. I usually cook salmon with teriyaki sauce but today I decided to try it with cream sauce. It was nice! Hubby told me he actually prefer cream sauce over teriyaki sauce.

What I did was to rub the salmon with salt & pepper and let it marinate for a couple of minutes. I then cut a few cloves of garlic into thin slices & fried it in a few tbsp of oil till crisp. Set garlic crips aside for later use. Using the garlic oil, I pan fried my Salmon till golden brown. Set aside Salmon & drain oil from wok. Add cream to the wok, add a tsp of chicken powder and a good dash of parsley flakes. Stir till it thickens, pour over salmon & top with garlic crisps. Yumz.

Strawberry Milk Pudding

2010-03-30T19:27:00.009+08:00

This is a really simple dessert and was done in a matter of minutes. This recipes uses only 3 ingredients: milk, gelatin powder & water. Some recipe uses agar agar powder; It gives a firmer texture. For me I like the gelatin version, soft and wobbly =). Fat cheeks likes it very much. Next time I'll make the chocolate version. I didn't add any sugar to the pudding at all so I topped my pudding with a tsp of Jam for more flavour.

Ingredients:
(I made 3 small cups)
- 200ml strawberry milk
- 3tsp gelatin powder
- 30ml hot water
- 1tsp strawberry jam (I used blueberry jam)

Method:
- dissolve the gelatin powder in hot water & allow to stand for a few minutes till powder is fully dissolved
- pour gelatin solution into milk & mix well
- spoon into cups & chill, it should set in about 2hrs
- serve chilled & top with a tsp of strawberry or blueberry jam

Baked Meatballs with brown sauce

2010-03-27T13:21:00.012+08:00

Once again it's the weekends. I had a peaceful morning coz Fat cheeks was downstairs with her Daddy at the playground. For lunch today, I've decided to make meatballs. Fat cheeks loves it and we usually have our fill at Ikea. Ikea's Swedish Meatball recipe can be found here but since I didn't have all the ingredients, I modified it a little. To make it healthier, I've choosen to bake it instead of frying it. The baked meatballs were tender, moist and delicious. I served my meatballs with fresh Focaccia bread I baked this morning and edamade. Fat cheeks can't have enough of it, she finished every single crumb on her plate and kept asking for more =). This will be another frequent dish in our home.

This is what I did:

Ingredients for meatballs:
- 250g mince beef
- 250g mince pork
- 1 egg
- 2 chopped onion
- 3 tbsp wholemeal flour
- 3 tbsp instant oats
- 5oml of milk
- a good dash of dried parsely
- 1tbsp of oyster sauce
- salt & pepper

Method:
- stir fry onion in a little olive oil till brown, set aside to cool
- mix wholemeal flour, oats & milk till it forms a thick paste
- mix browned onion, flour paste and rest of ingredients
- shape into balls & placed on lined baking tray
- drizzle a little olive oil over meatballs
- bake at 190 deg for 20-25mins or till golden brown
- serve warm with brown sauce

Ingredients for sauce:
(these made alot of sauce, next time I'll half it)
- 4-5tbsp butter
- 2-3tbsp plain flour
- 100ml milk
- 200ml beef stock
- salt & pepper

Method:
- melt & brown butter slightly over low heat
- add flour & mix well (at this point, it will thicken & be slightly lumpy)
- add milk then beef stock, use hand whisk & mix well
- season with salt & pepper
- serve warm & drizzle over meatballs

Kueh Dadar

2010-03-22T16:18:00.006+08:00

Hubby loves kueh dadar and this is made specially for him. =) This recipe is from Zarina's Home Cooking & once again I scored success with her wonderful recipes. The pancake skin is soft, tender & pliable. The filling is sweet & fragrant. Very yummy, hubby loves it much.

Ingredients for coconut filling:
-250g brown sugar
- 200ml water
- 300g grated coconut with skin removed
- 2 pandan leaves

Method:
- boil water with sugar, when sugar dissolves, add coconut & pandan leaves
- cook till thick & slighty moist
- leave aside to cool

Ingredients for pancake skin:
- 200g flour
- pinch of salt
- 1 large egg
- 250ml fresh milk
- 250ml water
- 2-3 pandan leaves, pound to extract juice
- 1 small drop of pandan paste (optional)

Method:
- brush small pan with oil
- when pan is hot, pour a ladleful of batter in to pan & spread batter thinly
- when bubbles appear on surface, flip pancake over & cook for a while
- to fold pancake, place pancake on a flat plate
- put a large tbsp of coconut mixture on the edge, fold edge over filling, fold sides inwards then roll
- Note: put filling in immediately after each pancake is made

Muah Chee

2010-03-16T22:03:00.005+08:00

I saw this Muah Chee recipe from one of the cookbooks I borrowed from the library. Have always wanted to try to make this. Since I'm in the mood today, I gave it a go. The ingredients and method is fairly simple but do not try this recipe if you hate washing up. Cooking the muah chee is a sticky gooey affair. Be prepared to scrub your pots with some elbow grease. Overall, my muah chee turned out not bad, I was pretty pleased. I roasted the peanuts & sesame seeds myself, so it was really fresh & fragrant.

Ingredients:
- 240g glutinous rice flour
- 50g castor sugar
- 2tbsp cooking oil
- 350ml water

For dusting:
- 1 cup peanuts (roasted, skinned & milled till fine)
- 1/3 cup sesame seeds (toasted & milled till fine)
- 3tbs cooked glutinous rice flour or koh fun
- 41/2 tbsps caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt

Method:
- Bring water to a boil, add sugar, oil & glutinous rice four
- use a pair of chopsticks to mix them together
- place dough in steamer & steam for 25mins
- remove from steamer, using a pair of chopsticks again, stir in one direction (this will help dough become Q)
- combine dusting ingredients, place dough in dusting ingredients, cut into small pieces, serve

Cheese Buns

2010-03-14T15:29:00.011+08:00

Hubby is outstationed so it's only me & fat cheeks at home over the weekend. For a simple & stress free breakfast, I decided to make these buns. They are simple & fat cheeks love them especially when it's served with her favourite soft boiled eggs. It's very soft & fluffy, yummy enough to be eaten on it's on. The recipe is adapted from Happy Home Baking's Sweet Buns recipe.

Ingrediens:
- 150g bread flour
- 150g cake flour
- 5g instant yeast
- 3g salt
- 125g milk
- 1 egg
- 60g caster sugar
- 50g butter

- grated parmesan cheese
- 1 beaten egg for glazing

Method:
- mix dry ingredients
- add milk, egg, sugar knead for 5-10 mins
- add butter & knead for another 20 mins till dough is shiny & does not stick
- proof for 1 hr or till double in size
- punch out gas & divide into 60g portions
- shape dough into balls
- arrange in a greased or pan lined with baking sheet
- rest 15mins
- glaze buns with egg wash
- sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese
- bake at 190 deg c for 15-20mins
(*Note: the cheese burns easily, so check buns frequently & when it's browned nicely, cover buns with aluminin foil & con't cooking)

Mee Soto

2010-03-07T13:38:00.006+08:00

After the success of Mee Rebus, I've decided to try another of my fave malay dish Mee Soto. It was surprisingly easy. Just grind up ingredients, throw them into the pot with chicken & tadah...Mee Soto! Once again the recipe is from Zarina's Easy Home Cooking. I love that cookbook. Very authentic, very delicious.

Ingredients:

(enough to serve 3-4)

- 1 chicken

- 6 cups of water

- salt to taste

- 600g fresh noodles

- 300g bean sprouts

* To grind into paste:

- 1.5 tbsp of coriander seeds

- 1 tsp cumin seeds

- 1 tsp fennel seeds

- 1 stalk lemongrass

- 1 thick slice lengkuas

- 4 candlenuts

- 8-10 shallots

- 1 tsp white peppercorns

** For garnishing:

- spring onion & local celery, chopped finely

- potato cutlets (I was lazy, I simply added cubed potato into the soup & let it cook till soft)

- shredded chicken

*** Chilli Padi sauce

- 1/4 birds eye chilli

- wash, remove stalks, grind fine & add dark soya sauce over it

Method:

- Put whole chicken, ground paste, water & salt in a large pot

- when boiling, remove chicken & keep stock

- put chicken on tray & roast for 20mins at 190 deg c, untill light brown

- shred chicken when cool

- to serve, blanch noodles & bean sprouts in hot water, place in a bowl

- sprinkle shredded chicken & garnish then add soup

- serve hot

Note:

- I didn't roast my chicken, I simply left my chicken in the stock let it simmer for half an hour

- then I took out chicken to let it cool before shredding it

- after shredding, I returned the chicken bones to the stock & let it con't to cook in my thermal cooker.

Japanese Light Cheesecake

2010-03-05T11:45:00.010+08:00

I was in the mood for cheesecake yesterday & I baked 2 cakes at one go! One for my precious darling fat cheeks & one for my dear friends. Fat cheeks loved the cake much and kept asking for more. Hope my friends will enjoy it as much as she did. The cake texture was soft, creamy & fluffy. It's not too sweet and the lemon juice adds a little tang to it. Next time I shall try the vanilla version.

Here's the recipe from The Ultimate Indulgence Cheesecake:

Ingredients:

(makes an 8" cake)

- 400g fresh milk

- 250g cream cheese

- 60g plain flour, sieved

- 5 egg yolks

- 20g lemon juice

- 5 egg whites

- 100g caster sugar

Method:

- preheat oven to 180deg c

- line cake tin with grease proof paper

- double boil milk & cream cheese till cheese dissolves

- add flour, stir & cook till smooth & thick

- remove from heat & leave to cool

- add egg yolks & lemon juice, stir well

- in a seperate bowl, whisk egg whites till foamy

- add sugar a little at a time & whisk till soft peak is formed

- slowly mix egg whites into cheese mixture

- pour into cake tin & steam bake at 180 deg c for 20mins

- after 20mins, reduce heat to 140 deg c & bake for 1hr 45 mins

- leave to cool in oven with door ajar for 1 hr then chill in fridge for 4 hrs

- remove cake fm tin, cut & serve chilled

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

2010-03-03T13:43:00.007+08:00

I made these for brunch last weekend. We love nuggets but instead of indulging ourselves in the unhealthy fried ones, I decided to try this. Turned out not bad. Fat cheeks says it's yummy & gave me thumbs up. Honestly, dunno if she's just trying to make me happy coz initially she took a bite and made a face. When she saw my disappointment, she quickly ate up and tells me it's yummy. Isn't she the sweetest thing?! It can't be compared to the fried ones ofcourse, but for a healthy alternative it tasted pretty ok to me. I also made some into burger patties for hubby & he had no complaints. If you would like to try, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

( I managed to shape 2 burger patties & about 10 small nuggets)

- 1 tube soft tofu, mashed

- 200g mince chicken

- 1 boiled potato, mashed

- 1 samll onion, minced finely

- 1 clove garlic, minced finely

- a pinch of dried parsley

- salt to taste

- pepper

Method:

- mixed all ingredients & shape

(I oiled my cookie cutters & place them on baking tray, then shape a tbsp of mixture into a ball & pushed it into my cutter. Press down mixture with fingers, then lift cutter)

- bake at 200deg c, at least 10mins on each side till golden brown

- serve warm

Caramel Popcorn

2010-02-27T19:31:00.008+08:00

I had no idea popping popcorns is so easy! I love popcorns & never miss the opportunity to munch on them whenever I go to the movies. Silly me actually tought popcorns can only be made by popcorn machines. At one point I contemplated buying a mini one which cost about $80, no kidding! Thank goodness I didn't get it in the end coz I didn't think it's worth the while since it can only pop popcorns. Then a few days ago while surfing the net, I accidentaly came across this recipe. I tired it almost immediately. The homemade popcorns was really delicious and additive. The caramel coating is very fragrant and not too sweet or coying. I already made 2 batches of this & both batches didn't last 24 hrs. Fat cheeks was exhilarated to find the tubs of popcorn. She like me cannot resist popcorns. Got to go, fat cheeks & me got lots of munching to do. =)

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup dried corn kernels

(can be easily found in the dried goods section)

- 110g butter

- 1/2 cup brown sugar

- 2 tbsp golden syrup

- 2 tbsp water

- 1/4 tsp baking soda

- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

1) Popping popcorns:

- coat wok or pan with thin layer of oil

- heat pan till hot, add corn kernels & cover pan

(note: if you have a med size pan, divide corn kernels into 2 batches & pop twice)

- move pan to & fro constantly over fire as corn kernels start to pop

- off fire when popping stops but leave lid on for a couple more seconds

- when aIl popping stops, remove lid & transfer popcorns to a big deep oven tray

(I lined my tray with aluminin foil & coated it with a thin layer of oil. I tot of this so tat I didn't have to wash a sticky tray later. Just peel off foil & dump)

2) Caramel coating:

- preheat oven to 200deg c

- combine butter, sugar, corn syrup, water & a pinch of salt in a saucepan

- heat gently till sugar is dissolved

- bring to a boil & let it boil for a couple of minutes while stirring at the same time

- then add baking soda & vanilla essence, stir well

- remove from heat & drizzle sauce over popcorns (soak saucepan immediately with water for easy wash)

- stir popcorns gently to coat evenly

- bake popcorn in oven for approximately 10mins, stir twice inbetween (watch popcorns closely as they burn easily at this stage)

- once they turn golden brown, remove from oven & cool

- store cooled popcorns in air tight containers

Mee Rebus

2010-02-25T19:12:00.005+08:00

Woke up early today and was feeling adventurous. Hubby's been working really hard lately. So I decided to surprise him with one of his fave dish for dinner; Mee Rebus! And this time I made it from a scratch. I was happy to learn that the ingredients weren't too difficuilt to gather & infact the gravy only took me an hour to make. The only thing I didn't like was preparing the beancurd coz have to fry. That would mean cleaning an oil splattered stove.

Nevertheless after all said & done, the labour was well worth it. Hubby was very impressed with the Mee Rebus. I thought it tasted pretty good too, even better than some I've tasted outside. Hehehe so shameless. =)

Here's the recipe from Zarina's Easy Cooking:

Ingredients:

(enough to serve 3-4)

- 500g yellow noodles

- 200g bean sprouts

For gravy:

- 12 dried chillies (boil to soften)

- 8 shallots, chopped

- 2cm pc of galangal, chopped

- 2 stalks of lemongrass, slice root end

- 2 tbsp dried silver fish or tiny shrimps

* Grind all above ingredients into a fine paste

- 2 tbsp tauceo, grind coarsely

- 1 tbsp meat curry powder

- 150g sweet potatoes, boil till soft, peel then mash

- 2tbsp sugar

- salt to taste

- 500g shrimp, washed & peel (keep heads & shells for stock)

(Note: I didn't use fresh shrimp coz hubby don't like it. I replaced it with 40g dried tiny prawns, the smaller thinner kind with its head still intact)

- 4tbsp oil

**For stock, boil 1 litre water with shrimp and shell (or like me boil it with tiny prawns)

Garnishing:

- hardboil eggs, sliced

- green chilli (I used red chilli), sliced

- chinese celery, chopped

- beancurd, deep fried & cut into cubes

- fried shallots

- lime

Method:

- Heat oil, add grounded ingredients* & taucheo

- fry till fragrant then add curry powder, sugar & salt

- continue frying till sugar dissolves

- add stock** (I added my stock including the tiny prawns)

- bring to boil & cook for 10mins

- add mashed sweet potato

- keep stirring till gravy thickens

- add shrimp & cook for 5 mins (I skipped this)

To serve:

- blanch noodles & bean sprouts

- pour gravy over & garnish

Potato and Leek Soup

2010-02-23T20:52:00.007+08:00

I went to IMM today. Hubby was going to Jurong for a meeting & I tong pang his car to IMM. Why IMM? coz it has the biggest Daiso there! Call me an aunty if you like, but it's like heaven there for me. I can spend hours without realising it. The Japanese are just so innovative; their products pretty & clever...all for just $2. Brings out all the auntyness in me. =)

We had heavy lunch, so for dinner I made this one meal soup & served it with toasts. It's really easy and delicious. Leeks are so sweet. Yumz.

Ingredients:

(enough to serve 4)

- 3 big potatos, skinned & grated

- 3 stalks of leeks, minced

- 3 tsbp butter

- 2 tbsp of all purpose flour

- 4 cups of chicken stock (I have a batch I made, if not canned stock is fine but taste before adding salt)

- 3 tbsp of cream (I used Nestle canned cream)

- salt & pepper to taste

Method:

- melt butter in stock pot over low fire

- add leeks, stir & cook till soft over medium fire

- sprinkle flour over leeks & stir well for about a minute

- add stock then grated potato

- simmer over low fire for half an hour (once again I used my nifty thermal cooker & left it for a couple of hours)

- add cream, season with salt & pepper before serving.

- Note: if you like your soup smooth, you can blend it in the blender & reheat before serving. I like mine with little chunks here & there for texture.

Mee Siam

2010-02-22T19:58:00.004+08:00

I had craving for mee siam today...must eat mee siam! There are no hawker selling mee siam near my place so I have to make my own. I went to the supermaket & found this ready made spice. Looks easy, so I decided to try it out. Turns out it's really not bad, quite yummy infact. Hubby polished off 2 big plates. =)

Here's what I did:

Ingredients as per packaging:

- 1 packet of mee siam spice

- 250g vermicelli (I used brown rice vermicelli) soak in water till soft

- 100g tamarind mixed with 300ml of water & strained

- 100g sugar (I used one big lump of rock sugar)

- 700ml water

- handful each of chives & beansprouts

Optional (Ingredients I added on my own)

- handful of dried shrimps (washed & soaked in water for a couple of hours then drain)

- 3 cloves of garlic, minced

- 4-5 bulbs of shallots, sliced thinly

- cooked fishcakes, sliced
- hardboiled egg, cut into wedges

Method:

- in wok, heat 2 tbsp of oil, fry soaked dried shrimps over small fire till fragrant

- add shallots, let them brown a little then add garlic

- add whole packet of spice & fry over low fire

- once spice is fragrant, spoon out half of spice into bowl for later use in gravy

- add vermicelli, beansprouts & chives into wok

- if too dry, add a few tbsp of water & stir well

- keep vermicelli warm

- in another pot, boil 700ml of water

- add the spice, tamarind water & rock sugar

- bring to boil, mix well

- to serve, place vermicelli onto plate, pour gravy over, garnish with fishcakes & hard boiled eggs.

Sweet Papaya with White Fungus Dessert

2010-02-19T14:55:00.004+08:00

The weather is so hot these days. Hubby & fat cheeks is nursing a cough; me sore throat. Partly due to the weather and more probably coz we've been shoving yummy not to mention heaty treats down our throats since cny. To smooth our throat & lungs, I made this simple and very refreshing dessert. No need to say...ofcourse I used my new toy the thermal cooker. I made it last night before I slept & left it in the thermal cooker. It was still smoking hot when I lifted the lid this morn! =)

Ingredients:

(for my 5 litre pot)

- 1 not so ripe papaya (approx 1kg), de-seeded & cut into cubes

- 10 stoned red dates

- 4tbsp sweet almonds

- 2 handful of white fungus, soaked till soft

- rock sugar to taste

Method:

- put all ingredients into the pot & fill up to 3/4 full

- boil for 10mins

- leave in thermal cooker for a couple of hours

- can be served hot or cold

- Note: if using normal pot, simmer for 1-2hrs

Chicken Porridge

2010-02-18T22:44:00.004+08:00

Happy Lunar New Year everyone! 祝大家新年快乐在新的一年大吉大利!

It's been a pretty busy new year with me trying my hand at some cny goodies. They turned out ok but there's lots of room for improvement. I wanted to make more to share with my friends but time is just too scarce. Sorry girls I couldn't make them in time!

So after a few days of stuffing my face with rich food, something simple would be nice. I decided to make chicken porridge today with my new toy. I bought a thermal pot! It's the same as berryfood's except mine is the smaller 5 liter one. It is indeed very easy to use. Just add ingredients, boil & leave it in the thermal pot. A couple of hours later, perfectly cooked piping hot porridge. =)

For my stock, I used half a chicken, a handful of dried white bait, 2 garlic cloves & 2 carrots. I let the stock boil for about 10mins then I added my rice grains. Bring it to boil again then remove from stove & put into thermal pot. I left it for a couple of hours while I went about doing my stuff. Then just before serving, I season with salt, pepper & added a handful of edamame into the pot.

Cornflake Cookies

2010-02-09T21:46:00.007+08:00

It's been a fullfilling weekend. My bro, sis in law as well as my nieces & nephew were here from Melbourne. It's so wonderful to spend time with them. Family bonding is so special...we probably see eachother only once every few years, but the closeness is always there. They left yesterday and I am missing them much already. My heart tugged & tears threatened as we waved our goodbyes at the airport. Anyways, I'm quite determined to visit them especially now I know fat cheeks travels pretty well. I will plan & see them at Melbourne soon!!! =)

Today, I'm back at baking. Something really simple, fast & yummy. While shopping for the ingredients, Fat cheeks actually suggested I use the colourful fruity cornflakes. I normally use the plain ones only, now with the addition of the colourful fruity conflakes, the cookies look so festive! However, do note that the fruity conflakes are sugar coated, so must be careful when adding honey, too much will make it too sweet.

Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

- 50g butter, melted

- 2tbsp honey (please taste honey 1st & add according to your liking)

- 2 cups plain cornflakes

- 1 cup fruity colourful cornflakes

- 100g almond slices

- 1 tbsp of flour (this helps to bind the cornflakes)

Method:

- preheat oven to 170 deg c

- mix honey to melted butter

- add flour & beat gently with hand whisk till well combined

- in a big bowl, mix all cornflakes & almond slices

- pour melted butter & honey mixture bit by bit over cornflakes & mix gently

- the cornflakes should be lighty coated with honey butter

- Note: avoid pouring too much honey butter, if not it will be too oily

- spoon coated cornflakes into paper cups

- bake for 5-8mins, once they turn light golden brown, remove fm oven too cool

- when competely cooled, the cornflakes will bind together & is ready for storing

Kueh Bangkit

2010-02-04T15:49:00.006+08:00

I've gathered up the courage to try this. Been doing a bit of reading up on Kueh Bangkit. The ingredients & method looks easy but apprently not so. Firstly, the flour must be "dry fried" over the wok with pandan leaves. This proves to be messy coz the flour gets lighter as it gets drier & can potentially turn the kitchen into "winter wonderland". Secondly, the liquid to flour measurement is very important. Too little liquid, u'll get crumbly dough which is very difficuilt to handle. Too much, the dough will turn into a watery goo. So to overcome these probs, I baked my flour with pandan leaves while stiring them every few mins. Still a bit of mess but at least confined to my oven. As for the liquid, I added it bit by bit, kneading my dough throughly each time before adding more. The final product is not too bad being my 1st try. It's crisp when you bite into it but melts in your mouth once it crumbles. However, it wasn't as fragrant as I would like it to be. Maybe next time can add Santan/coconut powder to up the fragrance factor. Still, I'm happy with the results.

Ingredients:
- 450g tapioca flour
- 8pcs pandan leaves
- 60g butter
- 110g icing sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 150-180ml coconut milk
- 1-2 drops of pandan paste (optional: I added this to give it a little green colouring)

Method:
- bake flour with pandan leaves at 160deg c for half an hr, stiring every few mins
- remove leaves & allow to cool
- cream butter, sugar & yolk
- add coconut milk & pandan paste, mix well
- add coconut mixture to flour
- mix till well combined & knead with hands
- roll out dough on surface dusted with tapioca flour & cut out cookies
- baked on tray lined with baking sheet at 170deg c for 20-25mins
- cool competely before storing in jar

Pineapple Tarts

2010-02-03T18:21:00.003+08:00

Pineapple tarts! A CNY must have! I came across this recipe on Little Teochew's blog here. They look so pretty, must try. =) The pineapple jam is store bought...too much effort to make from a scratch. I used to make these tarts with my mum in law. Now, it's too tiring for her so I'm trying to make them on my own. Unfortunately, it never tastes as nice as the ones my mum in law makes. My mum in law does not have a fixed recipe. She just eyeballs her ingredients & tadah...delicious tarts. I'm still far from that level. Hopefully, these will met her standards.

Kueh Makmur (Peanut Ghee Ball Cookies)

2010-02-01T23:13:00.005+08:00

Can't believe CNY is just round the corner!! We just returned from a wonderful holiday & I'm still too lazy to start any serious spring cleaning. I'll start with baking 1st. =) I've always wanted to try my hand at cny goodies & now's the best time to have fun! Kueh Makmur is one of my favourites. I remember loading on these in my younger days. Now I've got to watch it...just can't afford the calories (especially now that I know goes into these). I made the effort to fry & de-skin the peanuts myself. It really does make a difference. The cookies are very fragrant & it melts in your mouth. Hope my In-laws will like them too.

Ingredients:

- 500g cake flour

- 350g peanuts

- 250g ghee, melted & cooled

- 100g sugar

- 1tsp salt

- 2 eggs, lightly beaten

- approx 1 cup of icing sugar for coating

Method:

- fry flour over slow fire till its dry, light & does not stick to the side of wok, leave aside to cool

- fry peanuts over slow fire till fragrant, de-skin, cool then grind into fine powder

- combine flours, peanuts, salt & sugar, mix well

- add eggs & ghee

- combine till dough forms

- shape into balls

- bake at 180 deg c for 10-15mins

- leave to cool on tray for another 15-20mins

- lastly, coat with icing sugar

Apple Crumble Pie

2010-01-17T14:49:00.004+08:00

I had a couple of apples that has been left in the fridge for a little too long and it's no longer fresh & crisp to eat. Instead of throwing them away, I decided to make them into apple pie. I was toooo lazy to look up any recipe & measure the ingredients properly. I just used my intuition and threw the ingredients together. It turned out not bad. Hubby liked it much. Next time must serve it with vanilla ice cream. =)

Floss Buns...Take 2

2010-01-13T19:30:00.008+08:00

I just can't resist making these again. This time I rolled them up so that I can cram more mayo & floss into the buns. Kekeke...I'm just so greedy. =p

Fat & fluffy buns waiting to go into the oven.

The final product fresh & hot from the oven...irresistible!

Apple Lemon Yoghurt Cake

2010-01-07T19:51:00.008+08:00

Apple Lemon Yoghurt Cake...sounds like a mouthful doesn't it? The original recipe comes without the "apple". I added apples coz I had some in the fridge & I thought it makes a great combination. And?? It tasted fabulous! The apples adds texture & tartness to the very light & fragrant cake. Very nice! Great for afternoon tea. =)

Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

(makes 8 cupcakes)

- 75g butter

- 90g castor sugar
- 1 egg
- zest of 1 lemon

- 3tbsp of ground almond

- 100g self raising flour

- 100ml plain yoghurt (I used low fat ones)

- 1 apple, cubed (I used green apple)

- small amount of brown sugar

Method:

- Preheat oven to 190deg c

- Beat butter & sugar till pale & fluffy

- Gradually beat in egg, bit by bit

- Add lemon zest, sieve in flour & ground almond. Stir well.

- Fold in yoghurt till well combined

- fill half of cupcake mould, add apple cubes then fill with batter up to 3/4 full

- to make the cupcakes look pretty, I used cookie cutter to cut a few pcs of apples & placed it on top of the cupcake.

- sprinkle brown sugar on the top

- bake for 20mins

- serve warm or at room temperature

Floss Buns

2010-01-03T21:23:00.003+08:00

I was so excited when I came across this recipe, I knew I had to try it right away! It's fat cheeks favourite after all. I just had to make it for her =). What's making me so excited? The recipe for the transparent mayo on the floss buns very similar to Bread Talk's!!! I've tried making floss bun with the normal mayo that can be purchased from supermarkets, but it just didn't taste as nice. This mayo is the real mccoy! What's surprising is that the ingredients is really simple & it's actually mostly sugar! Thank you Mrs Kwok for sharing this transparent mayo recipe.

Ingredients A:
- 100g sugar
- 5g salt
- 50g butter
- 450g water

Ingredients B:
- 200g sugar
- 50g corn starch
- 200ml water

Method:
- Combine A & cook over low heat stiring constantly
- when it starts to boil, combine B into A, continue to cook over low heat
- keep stiring as mixture thickens & turns transparent
- cool before use
(Note: when cooled competely, seems it will harden a bit. Just warm up over hot water to turn back into spreadable consistency)

Chocolate Chip Orange Cheesecake

2010-01-02T21:03:00.005+08:00

Happy 2010 everyone! It's a new year, new start, new goals. It's scary how time flies. In an blink of an eye, I've stayed home for half a year now. Time to sit down & reflect on the past year and plan what I want to do.

We had a gathering on new year's eve at a friends place and I made Chocolate Chip Cheesecake. I'm glad it was well received, I like it very much myself. Rich cream cheese with a hint of orange over crunchy oreo crust & smatterings of chocolate chips. Yumz.

Here's what I did:

Ingredients:-

(makes an 9" cake)

Crust:

- 11/2 cup oreo cookies, finely crushed

- 2 tbsp butter, melted

Filling:

- 2 packets of cream cheese

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1 tbsp vanilla essence

- 2 large eggs

- 2 tbsp all purpose flour

- 3/4 cup evaporated milk

- 1/2 cup sour cream

- zest of 1 orange

- 2 tbsp of orange juice

- 1 cup chocolate chip

Method:

- Mix melted butter into crushed cookies & spread on top of 9" cake pan

- Cream cheese, sugar well then add eggs & flour, continue to cream

- Add milk & sour cream, orange juice & zest, cream till well incorporated

- Pour over crust, sprinkle choco chips over the top

- bake in water bath at 160deg c for 50 to 60 mins

- cool in oven with door slightly opened for another hour

- chill in fridge for at least 4 hrs or overnight

- serve chilled

Pepperoni Pasta with Tomatoes & Basil

2009-12-31T10:14:00.004+08:00

Time files!! I can't believe Christmas is over & we're now welcoming year 2010! The past week was busy busy busy; Busy buying presents, busy cooking, busy celebrating, busy entertaining Fat Cheeks. =) Last week I made Light Chocolate Cheesecake & also Roasted Chicken. Unfortunately with all the flurry going around, I didn't have time to take any pictures. Anyways, after stuffing up ourselves with all the good food, we wanted something simple for dinner last night. Pepperoni was on sale, I coupled it with basil, tomato & pasta. Simple yummy savoury pasta! Taste even better if you throw in a few dashes of Tobasco sauce.

Here's what I did:

Ingredients

- Pepperoni (I think I used about 100g)

- 1 bunch of fresh basil, torn into pieces

- 2 tomatoes, cubed

- 1 med onion, diced

- 3 cloves of garlic, minced

- pasta of your choice

- 1 chicken cube

- a few dash of black pepper

Method:

- Heat a few tbsp of oil & stir fry onion

- add pepperoni, tomatoes then garlic

- throw in basil

- cover & allow basil to wilt

(once basil has wilted, off fire & cook pasta)

- boil water, add 1 chicken cube & a few dashes of salt

- cook pasta as per instructions

- when pasta is cooked, reserve a few tbsps of stock & drain pasta

- add pasta & stock to pepperoni

- add a few good dash of black pepper

- mix well & serve hot

Banana Cake

2009-12-18T16:51:00.007+08:00

Every week when we return to our in-laws place, we always come home with bags full of fruits & food. This week Dad in law gave us a bunch of bananas. Hubby was going to Manila for work for a few days so I knew we wouldn't be able to finish it. With that in mind, I went to dig up any recipes that had to do with banana & I found this Banana Cake recipe from Baking Mum.

The cake turned out really fragrant & yummy. I always had the impression that banana cakes are dense & heavy but not this one. It was light & crumbly with a hint of buttery fragrance. I totally love it. I visited my friend Debbie at the hospital today & brought some over for her to try. Am so glad she loved it too.

Here's the recipe to share:

Ingredients:

- 180gm butter

- 150gm sugar

- 2 large egg lightly beaten

- 250gm cake flour

- 1tsp baking powder

- 220gm banana mashed (I added a tbsp of orange juice to the mashed banana)

- 50gm evaporated milk

- 1 tsp vanilla essence

- 2 banana sliced

Method:

- preheat oven to 175deg c

- cream butter & sugar till light & fluffy

- add eggs gradually

- add milk, mashed banana & vanilla essence

- add shifed flour & baking power

- mix well

- pour into 8inch cake pan

- arrange sliced bananas on top

- bake at 175deg c for 50 to 60mins

Tuna Potato Salad

2009-12-15T15:17:00.005+08:00

Finally I'm back to cooking! I was very occupied with my driving lessons the past few weeks & guess what?! I passed my driving test on my 1st attempt! Yes! I've earned my Class 3 licence! The test was nerve wrecking...in fact the week before my test I was already tense & agitated all the time. Woohoo! It's a great accomplishment for me! Close friends will know that I'm terrified of driving & in fact I never had the interest to learn at all. Now however with Fat Cheeks, I do see the convenience. This is the best birthday present ever! Now I have to build up confidence to drive hubby's car.

OK, back to food. Today I made Tuna Potato Salad. Very simple & pretty yummy too. I steamed potatos, added a small white onion (chopped finely) , cherry tomatoes, a can of tuna, 2 tbsp of mayonnaise, salt & pepper to taste. Mix well. Serve with plain or buttered toast...tada, simple lunch. Next time can add hard boil egg too. Oh ya, this salad tastes better chilled. Yumz. =)

Chocolate Chip Oat Cookies

2009-11-24T22:42:00.007+08:00

It's the holidays. There's so much fun stuff to do with Fat Cheeks. Today I brought her to Compass Pt coz they brought in Seaseme Street with a special 10min musical show 3 times daily till end of this week. Fat cheeks was all excited to meet Elmo & Cookie monster. It was pretty crowded at ground level, so we watched from the 2nd floor. She enjoyed it tremendously & was actually sad when the show was over. I will be bringing her back again & this time probably try to que for the show early so that we'll be able to sit infront of the stage & take pics with the characters. Anyways, to cheer her up a bit, I made her chocolate chip oat cookies. It's a slightly healthier version with oats added into the cookie & it's less sweet. She was all smiles by the time she was munching into her cookies. =)

Ingredients:

- 115g butter

- 115g soft dark brown sugar

- 2 eggs, lightly beaten

- 60ml milk

- 1tsp vanilla essence

- 150g plain flour

- 1tsp baking powder

- pinch of salt

- 115g oats (I used Quakers instant oats)

- 175g choco chips

Method:

- cream butter & sugar till fluffy

- add beaten eggs, milk & vanilla essence

- shift in flour, baking powder & salt

- stir till well mixed

- fold in oats & chocolate chips

- chill mixture for an hr

- preheat oven to 180deg c

- grease trays

- place mounds of cookie dough on tray & flatten with fork

- bake for 10 to 12mins till edges are just colouring

- cool on wire racks

Baked Potato Pumpkin & Cod Fish Croquettes

2009-11-21T20:13:00.005+08:00

The title alone sounds complicated but it's not at all. Hubby is away at work in Taiwan. This weekend, it's just me & Fat cheeks. I wanted to make her something she likes but yet nutritious. So I came out with this croquette which encompasses all the above ingredients. It turned out to be pretty yummy. Nice & crisp on the outside with savoury softness inside. We had it for lunch & when dinner came, she asked for more & both of us fought over the last morsels of it. =) Next time I'll try substituting cod fish with mince chicken, tuna or ham.

Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

(I manage to make 10 med sz patties)

- 4 med potatoes (steamed till soft)

- 1 small wedge pumpkin (steamed till soft)

- 1 small white onion, chopped finely

- 1 tsbsp mayonnaise

- 3tbsp of grated cheddar cheese

- 1 small pc of cod fish, steamed & flaked (about size of my plam)

- salt & pepper to taste

- 1 egg for coating

- Japanese breadcrumbs

Method:

- Mash potato & pumpkin with fork

- Add all other ingredients except eggs & breadcrumbs

- shape potato mixture, coat with eggs, then with breadcrumbs

- place on tray lined with baking sheet, bake at 200deg c till light brown

- serve warm

Cheese Cupcakes

2009-11-19T19:10:00.005+08:00

Today I'm visiting a friend & her son with Fat Cheeks so I thought I'll bake something simple for all to enjoy during tea time. I came across this recipe from Berryfood. & I think it's just ideal. Great for adults & children. I had some fondant leftovers, so I decorated the cupcakes a bit. =)

Ingredients:

(Makes 8 cupcakes)

- 2 eggs

- 65g sugar

- 90g cake flour

- 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 20g grated parmesan cheese

- 1 tbsp milk

- 90g melted butter

Method:

- pre-heat oven to 190deg c

- shift flour & baking powder

- use hand whisk, beat eggs & sugar till sugar dissolves

- add cheese, milk & flour, stir till smooth

- add melted butter & stir till well blended

- pour into greased cupcake mould till 70% full

- bake for 15mins

Fish Cutlet with Japanese Curry

2009-11-18T20:21:00.003+08:00

This is really yummy. I love japanese curry & decided to try this out. The curry seasoning is easily available at NTUCs. All I did was fry some onion, added potato, carrot, oyster mushrooms (just coz i happen to have some leftovers), water then lastly the curry seasoning. It comes in a block, so just chop it up into small pieces and add to the pot. I chose mild curry & it was mild enough for fat cheeks to enjoy. You can choose to add meat into the curry but I complimented my curry with fish cutlet. Delicious. =)

Almond Peach Tart

2009-11-17T22:43:00.005+08:00

It's been quite some time since I've baked something. Today I happen to crave for tarts and so I decided to try this. Thus far, I've never done any tarts since I've started this blog. I have to say, it's really not bad. A nice change from cakes. I've also added wholemeal flour to the base & that gives it a really nice nutty flavour. Yummlicious. I should have sliced the peaches to make it look prettier but was too lazy. =)

Ingedients:

(Makes a 7 inch pan)

Pastry:

- 70g plain flour

- 30g wholemeal flour

- 50g unsalted butter

- 30g sugar

- pinch of salt

- a few tbsps of cold water

Almond cream:

- 25g powdered almonds

- 1 egg

- 40g sugar

- 1/4 cup whipping cream

- 30g unsalted butter, melted

- few drops of vanilla extract

- 1 small can of peaches

Method:

- mix both flour in a bowl, rub butter into flour with fingers till resemble breadcrumbs

- add a few tbsp of cold water till dough comes together (do not over work dough, just mix till it comes together, wrap in cling wrap)

- rest dough in fridge for 1/2 hr

- mix powdered almond, egg, sugar

- add cream, melted butter & vanilla, set aside

- roll dough out & fill pan

- prick holes & bake at 180deg c till light brown (approx 10mins)

- fill half the tart with almond cream, arrange peaches in tart

- fill with remaindng almond cream

- bake at 180deg c for 20-25mins, till almond cream sets

Chocolate Banana Cake

2009-10-31T17:45:00.003+08:00

Since I've been feeling down these days, I thought I'll cheer myself up with something really sinful. Presenting my chocolate banana cake! Yumz. I adapted the recipe from one of my cut outs from Woman's Weekly years ago. It's really simple & easy to clean up coz it only involves 1 mixing bowl. Such a breeze to make & delicious too. I slice the cake into 2 and sandwich it with banana slices & chocolate ganache. Unfortunately being the ken cheong spider I am, I didn't wait for it to cool sufficiently before removing it from the mould. As a result, huge cracks appreared. Bah!! Nevermind la, didn't intend to share it anyways. As long as it's yummy. =)

Ingredients:
(makes a 20cm cake)
- 125g butter, soften at room temp
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1.5 cups self-raising flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp soda bicarbonate
- 1 cup milk
- 2-3 bananas

Chocolate ganache:
- 100g dark chocolate
- 1 cup whipping cream

Method:
- grease 20cm cake tin, sprinke base with baking powder
- combine butter, sugar, eggs, flour, cocoa, soda bicarbonate & milk with an electric mixer on low until just combined
- then beat on medium speed till smooth
- pour into pan & bake at 180deg c for 45 mins
- cool before unmoulding cake
- heat up whipping cream over hot water, stir in chocolate
- stir till smooth
- slice cool cake into 2
- arrange banana slices then top with chocolate ganache then replace cake layer
- spread balance of chocolate ganche on top
- serve cold

A dedication to my friend Debbie.

2009-10-29T22:03:00.006+08:00

I've been feeling rather down lately hence the lack of baking & blogging. I have been receiving bad news one after another the past weeks. Firstly, hubby's godma fell and broke her hips and injured her shoulders, then my uncle met with an serious traffic accident, followed by nanny's relative who is only in her 40s passing on, leaving her 2 young sons (who are fat cheeks holiday playmates) age 9 & 10 behind and lastly, the one that affected me most is that my dear friend Debbie has been diagnosed with myeloid leukemia.

Debbie now going through chemotherapy treatment in SGH and I pray that all will go well. She loves oranges so when I went down to visit her last week, I made her orange chiffon cake. I knew she wouldn't be able to eat much but I do hope the lovely citrus aroma will brighten her day just a little.

Life is really too short & unpredictable. Seeing the pain & loss that others go through reminds me how blessed I am, how sometimes we take the simpliest things which mean so much to others for granted. It reminds me to love and appreciate all the ones around me. Thinking back, I'm really glad I took this few months off to spend time with hubby, fat cheeks and messing around the house. These months have been truely priceless. There were so many times when I was unsure...

Sorry for the major emo entry. I just had to get it off my chest. =)

I'm not very good with words but found this get well poem for Debbie.

A Get Well Prayer by Elizabeth Ann Biggs from Poems from my Heart.

This get well prayer is sent with love

A special request to Father God above

That His healing touch, soon be on the way

bringing you well and brighter days.

May your loving heart once again

there flow with happiness a joyous song.

May all the days ahead for you be kind

blessing you with a healthy body, soul and mind.

Please know my dear friend

That for you with love, always I am here

God bless you abundantly, is my prayer

Always safelty to be kept, in His loving care.

I will be praying for you Debbie. Be strong. =)