Christmas Baking - Log Cake

Christmas baking part 3 - Log cake!

This was slightly better than last year, in fact, I think it is rather delicious.

However, a couple of things went wrong. The mousse didn't harden. WHY? I hate it when this happens, but it wasn't so bad after I put it in the freezer. The cake was a little undermixed, which doesn't make sense because I'm pretty sure I mixed it well. But it tasted alright, and the texture was fine. Except the fact that it is rather dotted, the cake is tasty.

I think the ganache was a little too much. It became a very very chocolatey cake.

Now the problem is... the cake is too small!! Ahhhhhhh..... I'm limited by my very small oven and I'm really quite worried about the party later. Which has 35 people attending. I need a bigger oven actually.



Nonetheless, it went much smoother than last year's attempts and hopefully tonight's gonna be a good night!

Christmas Cookies (2) - Butterman

Christmas cookies part 2 for X'mas Kind of Wonderful!

Each cookie is a classmate attending the party tomorrow. Hopefully they wouldn't mind eating themselves! And yes, this is adapted from Eden's birthday party cookies.

3I in all its glory:



I think I took tedious to a whole new level. Wrapping each cookie individually and writing all their names really tire me out. But I think the smiles and laughter will be worth all the work. However, I think I'm too tired for a log cake. HOW.



Okay I need to start eating 3 meals a day. THREE.

Christmas Cookies (1) - Swedish Gingersnaps

Part 1 of christmas baking:

Swedish gingersnaps. I didn't have treacle, so I substituted it with maple syrup instead. And it tasted just as good. This is my favourite biscuit/cookie. In fact, I love it more than my chocolate chips cookies.

It's a lot of effort though, the dough has to be made the day before and then it has to be rolled into 3mm thickness and shaped with a cookie cutter. But I was really glad I did it, thanks to an sms that reminded me that time can be "made"!

Cheryl is really cute, she loves it so much too, I shall make her a packet after christmas.



There's still part 2, 3, and 4 of christmas baking!

I'm getting quite worried though, today I cannot fit into my jeans anymore. I can't fit into my shorts which I got from Malaysia. That shirt I bought became a loose fit. I don't want to live in belts. Meat is becoming a struggle again.

What happened to my appetite?

Hokkien Mee

I finally learnt how to do some real cooking! It was so spontaneous, even though I've been wanting to do it for a long time. Around 9 plus last night, I decided that today would be the day I would scoot over to Boon Keng and cook at my aunt's place. So I did it and I'm quite glad that I can now make a plate, I mean wok, of delicious hokkien mee!

Anyway, the main gist of it is just to cook all the ingredients first, i.e. prawns, sotong, chicken, fishcake or whatever you want to put in. Then scoop them up and cook first the vegetables, then the noodles, then add in some black soya sauce and finally add in the ingredients. But you've got to boil some chicken bones to use as broth and obviously some seasoning thrown in throughout the process.

I was offered this cake there, and like always, I can no longer look at cakes without dissecting it mentally. So I took a picture and this is a mango mousse cake if I'm not wrong. A layer of biscuit, a layer of cake and mainly a layer of mango mousse. Topped with mango cubes and brushed with mirror gel. It was quite nicely put together, but the biscuits were a bit too sweet. The mousse was great when eaten with the other layers but having it alone was quite overwhelming. Feels like something I can make, but a good recipe for mousse is hard to come by.

My mum said, " Why the sudden interest? Getting married soon is it?" Haha, it's never too soon to start preparing! In any case, I'm exhausted after half a day in the kitchen. Peeling garlic skin, crushing garlic, removing prawn shit, and eating non-stop really does tire a girl out.

On a more serious note, I need to stop using the kitchen as my escapism from reality. Time to face life.

Green tea egg tarts

When I was in Malaysia just a couple of weeks ago, we came across this stall selling egg tarts. Apart from the normal egg tarts, they had different flavours, such as coffee, durian, green tea and some others that I can't remember.

I got excited over the durian egg tarts, and it tasted quite nice, just a strong durian taste. Wasn't extraordinary, but it was alright, nonetheless. Jodee got REALLY excited over the green tea egg tarts. Just as she is over all green tea products. See picture below.

So I promised her I'll attempt to recreate the green tea egg tart because you don't see it here Singapore! Hm, but sadly, it didn't look as good as the one in Malaysia. Haha, well but at least it tastes pretty alright! I hope Jodee will like it later.

I guess the matcha powder didn't really dissolve. Anyway, I really improvised for this. First I took an egg tart recipe and mixed in some green tea powder and increased the amount of milk for the egg custard. I was glad I had enough experience to bake the tarts first before adding the custard, or else it would probably not come out edible. Oh and I used soya milk powder for the tarts because there wasn't any milk powder, but hey, there was no difference in taste!

I'll let you people know if Jodee thinks it's nice. So if she doesn't, then you people wouldn't know. XP

Tiramisu

Did you know that the literal meaning of Tiramisu is ‘pick-me-up’ and that Venetian courtesans used to eat it before their gentlemen arrived for the evening because they believed it would give them the energy to make love all night?

On making this dessert whose roots goes all the way back to Italy, I got intrigued into its origins and significance and googled it. It is rumoured to have been invented in the 1600s, but some believe that its birth came about only in the 1900s.

Tiramisu contains raw eggs and whipped cream. This is an impossible combination in the past without the invention of the refrigerator. But I shall not dwell into the war of the history of Tiramisu.

The alcohol and caffaine in this dessert makes it an energy booster, hence its name Tiramisu, which translate into "pick-me-up". It is also said to have been named as it tastes so heavenly it feels as if the person eating it is being picked up into heaven.

To me, Tiramisu has always been a dessert associated with love and romance. There's just something intriguing and addictive about a good tiramisu that makes you want more. Even though it can be sinful, but there's no stopping once you've started. It's bitter and sweet at the same time, and leaves a lingering taste after each bite.



I made a very careless mistake with this tiramisu. I arranged the spongefingers in different directions! Hence it looked like this. Horrible presentation!



Made this for a night picnic tomorrow at the botanic gardens with my seniors. Hopefully it'll fit in with the atmosphere!



I didn't know Bacardi was Rum. With 35% alcohol content. I feel very boosted with a few bites of this dessert already. Caffaine and alcohol makes a dangerous combination!

Reflections

Feedback for Eden's birthday party is in!
"Eden and the kids love the cake and cookies. Many ask for 2nd serving and few lick the plates! Many kids from other class ask for the cookies..."

Gosh, I felt really happy seeing that message. And even though I had a really bad day, with training being relatively screwed up, just knowing that I did a good job made me feel so satisfied.

Jodee was asking me about how to make a cake that people would want more of it after eating. And I realised that that's what defines a good cake. It's got to be beautiful on the inside as well as on the outside.

In any case, I feel like I'm going somewhere with baking. There's been more opportunities for me to do my work and I'm getting really carried away by it all. Perhaps I'm stretching myself too much?

But then, life is short! So here's the agenda for this holidays, just in case I forget:
- Tiramisu
- Green Tea Egg Tarts
- Oreo Cheesecake
- Christmas Cookies/ Log Cake
- HOKKIEN MEE and ASAM FISH and CURRY CHICKEN (I'm so going to book a date with my aunt)

This was lunch on a sunday when it was just my brother and me. I'm really proud of my fried rice, cause it tasted quite nice and it was kinda my first try at it. The steamed fish too, haha. Cooking is basically imagination and a lot of confidence and courage.

A quote from 'No Reservations':

"If only life was a recipe, telling me what to do next..."

"But you'll realise that the best recipes are the ones you make yourself."

Eden's 3rd Birthday

A cake for dearest Eden who turns 3 tomorrow!

This is the awesomest cake I've ever done. It's an oreo cake and inside, the cake is a layer of oreo crumbs with whipped cream sandwiched between two slices of chocolate sponge cake. It's meant to look like an oreo biscuit, with black biscuits and white cream. This is then engulfed in cream and the sides are covered with oreo crumbs. And it's a happy face for Eden!

Then, as take home stuff for the kids, I became an artist and using my "paint", created...

cute little boys and girls! These butter cookies are quite tasty too!

All wrapped up and ready to go!

And finally, this is the happy birthday girl. Hopefully everything tastes great tomorrow and everyone will have a whole load of fun!

Does Eden look like the cake?

Candice in the kitchen!

I realised the power of baking today when candice says how these cupcakes would make her mum happy again! And I really hope it did. It's my strongest belief that food is the best way to pass on joy and it is such an honour that I am given a chance to do so.

My friend is such a creative girl. Her mind works in such complicated ways that I can only wonder at the things that she ponders and muse over. It's a myraid of beautiful designs!

Then all the baking got me hungry and I scrambled some eggs. Eggs are such happy little round objects. Can't live without them.

Side-tracking a little, before baking, we went to catch 2012 at Lido. So much memories at Lido. In any case, 2012 got me thinking a lot. The most important thing in life actually, is letting the people you love, know how much you love them. Because at the end, regrets are something you could really do without.

And it occurred to me that for the past 17 years, I haven't been much of a daughter to my parents. I let a lot of friends slip through my fingers. I forgot some people who cared. And even when I've finally found a way to express myself, I didn't do it.

There are many different kinds of love in this world, but none of them should be left out in the cold. The greatest gift in life after all, is to love and be loved.

Banana Cake at midnight

Banana Cake at midnight. I've got to be crazy. But a deal's a deal and a promise is a promise. The only thing that fionainthekitchen breaks are eggs, definitely not promises.

In any case, I did one at 4am as well and that one sucks. CAUTION: Do not be fooled, there is a difference between banana ESSENCE and banana FLAVOUR. Learnt it the hard way though.

I hope this taste alright, dont want to let the person waiting for it down. He seems to have very high expectations of it. But there is a reason why I don't put my banana cake on sale right?

Durian Cake Bakesale COMPLETED

Here's to another successful completion of the Durian Cake sales! This time round was much easier and the time taken also went down by a little. I've got better packaging, but silly me forgot to get plastic ones for the medium size cakes and had to resort to using paper boxes again which will absorb all the butter making the whole box oily and greasy. SIGH.

In any case, thanks for all the support friends! And for those who ordered again, thank you very very much!

To:
JiaJie, Jodee, Candice, Simin, Cheryl, Ivan, Mingzhe, Ching Sien, Amos - Hope yall enjoy the cake!



And this marks the end of the durian season. Byebye King of fruits.

Just a corny line:
If you were a durian, I'd want to be a mangosteen so that we'll make the perfect pair.

Durian Cake Bakesale

Durian cakes are on sale again!

This time, they are new and improved, with durian bits throughout the cake for a more immersive experience of the King of fruits. So, grab them now before the durian season ends!

They are going at $4/ $8/ $15 with sizes 4 by 4/ 4 by 8/ 8 by 8 inches respectively.

Please place your orders by tagging on this blog/ emailing me/ messaging me/ talking to me.

HURRY, WHILE DURIAN LASTS!

Durian Puffs

I'm quite proud of this, it looks quite professional right?

It's amazing how it can morph from some viscous liquid into an airy puff. I got such a huge shock when I gazed into the oven!

Anyway I love these choux pastry as they call it. It's simple, cheap and very very interesting. I can think of a million fillings to put into them. But I think I need a better durian filling recipe. The current one doesn't taste that good.

In any case, I think fiona is going back to the kitchen once more.

Kueh Bahulu 2

Second attempt! Much better than the first but I think it would be best if I could get a new mould. Apparently why it keeps sticking to the mould is due to the lousy mould. But otherwise, it's pretty yummy!

Jodee's Birthday

She's 17 on 4/9/09!!

I made her a cheesecake, it was my first attempt and 3I said it was GOOD!

It could be a potential selling cake too, for those who just wants something simple and who absolutely adores cheese. In any case, I hope Jodee will continue to have many many more wonderful birthdays and now that she has got hooked onto baking too, we can open up our shop if we can't make it past promos.

It's our secret backup plan.

Happy birthday my dear friend! You know I love you, even though you can't remember the words on the cake. XD

Ming Jie's Teachers' Day present

Because tomorrow is a day for teachers, an old friend of mine decided to show them her love. So she came over this rainy sunday and together we baked chocolate cupcakes. I think she got inspired by my happycakes!

They are very soft and delicious. It's a very good cupcake recipe. But I wonder why it erupts like a volcano. Probably due to the chocolate rice inside?

Err the words screwed up a bit, but aiya whatever right.

Finished product! Those in the container are for her class, the lucky people.

So because it's a really good recipe, I'm going to post it! How exciting.

Chocolate cupcakes:

-50g cocoa powder

-240ml hot water

-175g plain flour

-2 tsp baking powder

-1/2 tsp salt

-113g butter

-200g sugar

-2 eggs

-1.5 tsp vanilla

1) Stir cocoa powder with water until smooth.

2) Sift flour, baking powder and salt and mix well.

3) Cream sugar and butter, adding eggs and vanilla essence slowly until smooth.

4) Mix flour into mixture till incorporated and add the cocoa mixture. Stir until smooth.

5) Bake at 180C for about 15 minutes.

Impulses

You know how sometimes, we get certain impulses. It's like a craving that wouldn't go away. That stupid itch that you just have to scratch off.

Anyway, this was lunch on a certain sunny afternoon. I have decided to post pictures of my "cooking skills" on this blog, so that in the future, should I ever become a great cook, just like my grandma and all other grandmas, I can look back and marvel at how far I have went.

This really looks quite gross, but it was quite an alright meal. Potatoes and Bittergourd and Salted egg.

This is another tin of cookies. I made it in 2 hours, including all cleanup and all that. Then I brought it to the beach so that we could all eat it while we play volleyball. Cookies and ball, that just pretty much sums up my life. If you exclude school that is.

10 things I feel like saying:

1. I haven't met any grandma who cannot cook now that I think about it. Pretty amazing, wonder where all those skills went!

2. I STILL want to learn how to cook hokkien mee.

3. My mum says it's her fate she'll never be rich, because all I want to do is bake.

4. Actually, all I want to do is bake and get married.

5. After all, what's the use of knowing how to cook if you don't have people to cook for?

6. I feel very happy that I'm building brand loyalty. There are already orders for next year's pineapple tarts!

7. Durian cakes will be on sale again in October yea, after my promotional exams.

8. I've decided to withdraw 1K from my bank and invest in a mixer. Ouch.

9. I love my friends, everyone who volunteered to be my guinea pig and everyone who eats what I make. Can't live without them. I'm such a corny piece of junk but I really don't care.

10. If I have time, I'll learn how to make mooncakes. Eventually I will.

11. I get this distinct feeling that my blog is a little dying away.

12. I get another distinct feeling that I overshot the 10 things I want to say.

Durian Cake SOLD

Who knew the durian cake would generate such rave reviews? I finally did midnight baking, and I think that even though I made so little, I was very happy making it. Just seeing people enjoy my food makes me feel so...useful again!

Baking is medicine for the heart.

I am a blessed girl, with much supportive friends. Many thanks to: Candice, Limei, Emelyn, Jingxian, Cheryl, Jodee, JiaJie and Ms Heng.

After promos, the second wave of durian will come again. October is the month to look forward to. But I think, I may raise the price. Just a little. =)

Durian Cake

A durian cake to mark the blossoming durian season. Looks like a plain ordinary butter cake, but the fragrance travels far. Dedicated to all durian lovers out there!



To get to the fruit within, one has to first get past the thorns. Most of the time, others remove the fruit for you, but you'll be suprised to find out how much sweeter the fruit tastes when the thorns are removed by your own hands.

A parallel to life.

*Thanks to yeewon for the recipe!

Chocolate Chips Walnut Muffins

No breakfast for the morning, so mother goes:
"Eh, go and make a cake for tomorrow's breakfast."
And wheels start turning in my head and my fingers start to get itchy.
Wanted to make Chiffon cake but there weren't any fresh eggs. Without fresh eggs, the chiffon cake will not rise and it becomes chiffon kueh.
So Swiss roll or Muffin?

MUFFINS.



745pm to 820pm. I think I might try midnight/overnight baking eventually. As the world sleeps and awake to the smell of freshly baked.

Marble Cake

In an attempt to save money, I baked my own breakfast and recess. It was a great cake, but it can be improved. Wonder why the top cracked though, making the whole cake look so messy.

In any case, it's an amazing feeling to be able to make food to feed yourself. I feel so self-sufficient.



Had a talk today and was reminded that one should never give up on a passion. Because when the going gets tough and you feel like there's nothing left in this world to smile for, your passion will pull you through.

So I bake when there's joy and when there's misery, and of course when the body screams for me to. Which happens at least once a few weeks.

I will save for my thousand dollar mixer. Even if it takes a few years. Never give up.

Lunch

Sometimes the happiest things one can do is to cook for the ones we love.



Simple joys in a complicated life.

Chocolate Marshmallow Cake 3

What better way to make the end of the common tests with a cake? So, Jeremy comes over to make a cake at 830pm on saturday, and then left finally at 1230am. Hope his friend will be touched and hope it turned out well.

I had to redo the sponge cake because I undermixed the mixture. Guess Im getting a little rusty. =/ Ran out of butter and had to use corn oil instead. Didn't like the taste though. In any case, we had much fun after that and fun includes:

Fried Calamari Rings for supper.

Roasting marshmellows over the stove. (What else to do with the leftover marshmellows?)

And cleaning up our MESS.

At the end, an extra 12 bucks added to my wallet.

Fun is primary, Taste is secondary, Money is tertiary. But somehow, without money, there wouldnt be taste and there wouldn't be fun. So how?