quirky cupcake: Cloves
Blame it on my procastination and lousy ethics tt i took until the date of the deadline to submit my post for this month's quirky cupcake entry with Cloves as the theme.
When i first recieved the theme ingredient for this round, i was delighted. Cloves = spices and oh! how i adore spices. However this delight to slight dumbfoundness when i purchased a packet of cloves from the chinese spice section of my the local supermart. It was pungent and reeked of a certain familiarity. OH YESH! the lovely pineapple tarts baked by my aunt during the chinese new year periods; everything was good about tt EXCEPT for the little clove tt pierced the flaky pastry off the top. Often i wld find myself digging out this little hideous piece of treasure only to find tt that one little monster had managed to infuse its overwhelming flavor into the surrounding pastry. Wasn't too good in my impression.
I pondered hard over how i cld use this ingredient in a cupcake and yet not allow the flavor to overwhelm or intimidate the taster. Hence I stumbled upon the idea of steeping fresh pears in a mixture of sugar syrup, a tinge of rum, cloves and cinammon. Inspired by the making of peach snapps, i was determined tt this wld work. Spiced pear was the way to go.
Hence about 2 weeks back, i gathered my ingredients, cut up fresh bartley pears, cooked up a nice sugar syrup, and prepare my lovely mixture of raw cloves and cinammon sticks. Putting it into a heatproof glass jar, i mixed the sugar syrup, rum, cloves, cinammon and pears together, tightened the lid and gave it a good shake. After which i put it in a simmering water bath for 40mins to allow the flavor to seep into the pears. tt seemed to go down pretty well, the pears sooned turned light brown as it soaked in the goodness of all tt flavor. After cooling, i capped the jars and retire it to a cool part of the kitchen to lay until i was ready to make my cupcakes.
The recipe i used was a rather simple one adapted from 500 Cupcakes. In this recipe, no butter is needed. Sour cream is used to maintain the moisture within the finished cupcake. and tt indeed worked out beautifully. After the taste test, my tongue was tingly and a litle numb from all the spices used. But tts what it counts for doesn't it?Recipe for Spiced Sour Cream Poached Pear Cupcakes
95g Flour
3/4 tsp Baking Powder
85g Brown Sugar
90ml Sour Cream
1 Egg
A dash of cinnammon
3 tblspoon poached pear syrup
pear chunks (both attained from the poached pear syrup attained beforehand)
- Sift all the dry ingredient in one bowl
- Beat the Egg and Sour Cream together with an electric whisk
- Add the Brown Sugar and beat till incorporated
- Add the Pear Syrup
- Add the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl and stir
- Pour in the pear chunks and stir in.
- Line the muffin Trays and bake them in a pre-heated oven at 175 degrees celsius for 20mins
- Serve it with a poached pear, some pear syrup drizzled over the top and perhaps a dallop of cinammon ice-cream wld be good garnished with a mint leaf. DIG IN!
Recipe makes 8 Cupcakes
so small
knoe i shldn't be blogging now but i just cldn't resist the nagging urge and the splendid conditions given the light chilly rain outside and the sombre atmosphere. Peace admist the turmoil and trouble lurking.
Pertaining to the recent comments on my tagboard regarding the unhappiness and existant void. I have stated my stand.. somewhat of a negative one coz tts who i reallie am. After all the moulding and weathering all these time, its inevitable and seemingly natural process. Shouldn't be but has been this way...
Just thought it wld be a lovely deed to share a song from one my favourite artiste. Carrie Underwood singing 'so small'. I gurantee u tt after hearing this song, ur spirits shld be enlightened at least a teenie weenie bit and the lyrics will then make perfect sense to u.. a beautiful number by my standards. Perfect for a rainy night. Enjoy...
You wanna shut the world out and just be left alone
And when you figure out love is all that matters after all
So small
It's like a river that's so wide it swallows you whole
And worrying about all the wrong things
reflections
Guess i've been doing a million things wrong nowadays. my conscience nags at me, and even my little angels are driven round the bend trying to keep up with the mad action and chaos existant in my mind and soul. Its a circus in there. Yet, i can't resolve these issues... Meanwhile, exams are round the corner as well. I've come to terms with my lack of motivation and will to press on with mugging therefore i'm gonna have to take it one step at a time this round. No pressure, no stress, just go have fun (or wat not). Also, a shoutout going to my 2 'O' level students Cecilia and Yamunah. All the best gurls... I'm sure gurls are more than well prepared le. Yep. Gosh.. i just can't wait for holidays to arrive... Spain and Portugal + freezing temps.. here i come!
fyi, above is a strawberry cheesecake a.k.a sweet fantasy meant for order. Freshly pureed strawberries swirled through the best cheesecake batter topped with fresh strawberries and more puree. specially for those who adore strawberries. Relish urself in strawberry haven.
date with mummy
let me in on a naughty little fact. i lurve shopping with mum!!! gosh.. i mean who wld resent the company of a perpetual walking, talking and breathing atm machine when the shopping cravings hit full force (and it rarely does for me.) *tee hee*.. so after a half day of tuitions, mummy and I went down to Sim Lim with the sole purpose of getting a new camera for mummy. Finally! after using the old folkie for 5 yrs. its time to retire yar. So we got a brand new one at a reallie good price (i think..figured out tt its functions were worth its price especially for a new cam; think the new advert with the pple submerged head first in water kinda lyke ducks with clicking away on their silly cameras, gosh...thought tt was silly at first, now i'm even contemplating giving tt brilliant function a test!.. so watch out for the next 'cakes overboard!' photo spread.. haha)
our sleek new camera... Oops.. i mean Mummy's sleek new camera.. *bleah*
somehow, we landed up at Taka where we had an early dinner( breakfast, lunch and dinner all in one meal for me.. Bah). a rather decent meal.. then again, anything is delicious when u're hungry. then we landed up browsing at shoes just to use the remaining 100 dollar vouchers from isetan. Got 2 pairs for myself, both flats of course.. find them to be more practical ard school. think about it, running wldn't be such a hazard when u're on flats, plus it makes kicking an enemy a much easier task. so cheers to practical flats! then the damage continued as we went along to purchase some clothes, 2 more pairs of shoes (for mummy of course!) and 2 bags! gosh.. tts crazy.. bumped into Cheryl at the show shop. Wat a small world ain't it. Glad to see her again... still awaiting out B&J's date...
Finally after all the chaos and maniac, we settled down to a nice cup of coffee at coffee bean. Give our poor tortured feet a break as well. Hey, dun look at me, lugging all those bags ard w/o the help of mummy ain't no easy task ok? yep. had a pretty nice chat with mummy dear. its been ages since we had out dates lyke this. our conversations mostly touched on family and the future. Somehow, mummy just can't grasp the fact tt i'm still under 21. And she wld go on and on about marriage and houses and children and career. I mean!!! HELLO!!! *waving*.. gosh..i haven't even gotten down to planning my 21st bdae yet and u're toking about my wedding?!?!! mayday mayday! we've got a situation here... Oops, which reminds i have to do so quickly... BAh.. wat a bother.
oh yesh, collected my linkin park tickets too! WOO HOO! we're gonna watch LINKIN PARK LIVE IN CONCERT!!! eat tt... MUAHAHA.
participated in this month's blog event hosted by Jennifer at BakeorBreak! Does My Blog Look Good in This? PLs check out the entries here. Totally love the photography featured.. makes me drool. haha. enjoy peeps... now tts screen-lick worthy food for u guys. haha. kk.. back to baking orders. *=)*
on the sidenote, i love my teddy... very much.
silly boi
Secondly, and most importantly, i've learnt thru the hard way tt whats urs is meant to be yours and whats not meant to be yours will never be yours. No matter how hard u try. Its no point trying to keep a heart tt doesn't have u in it close by, becoz despite the physical proximity, deep inside of u, there is still there lingering distance. And however hard u try to escape the issue, somehow, some logical part of you will reason its non-sensical nature to you. The distance, like a gap so huge and empty tt can only be filled with genuine love, faith and trust. If that doesn't exist then wat good is a 'love'?
Butterfly...
thus paying patronage to my reminder of life's facts, engraved on my neck...
runny nose
Woke up to a stiffling runny nose this morning. Thank goodness for the lovely stash of songs tt i found while browsing online, spared me from certain mood swing tragedy. Looks lyke chocolate only does short favors for the lifting of ones soul, though i must say tt the chocolate fondue last night at max brenners was divine! (they changed the tray of dips from chocolate chip bread to some sorta banana cake i think, but tt was good as well! i mean hell yeh, anything goes with a warm luscious coat of chocolate! no denying tt... *slurps*.so getting down to the point, the featured artists for this week are Dewi the very lovely singer and Anthony the amazing guitarist on the song Private Party by India Arie. a amazingly bubbly and lively song tt will be sure to wake u up from the deep slumbers of slp. Give it a listen yar?
also, i'm a crazy fanatic about the original cover of onerepublic's song apologise (not the timberland one tt they feature on the advert of some tv commercial showing now, can't quite recall. my short term memory is reallie getting to me. Rats...) a reallie haunting song, though i wldn't advice watching the video cause it induces giddiness especially after watching the numerous objects spinning round and round the room. but nonetheless its a fantabulous track tt i've gotta share! i'll feature the timbaland version her coz its easier on the eyes. But check out the original version here.
Oh yesh, btw, Lisa Lavie, whom i've featured last week has made guest appearance on et (entertainment tonight) and has been touted as the new Mariah Carey! yay! congrats going to out to her. tt gurl has some real talent!
Orite, tts about all for now peeps, gotta swim thru my pile of books soon... or maybe i cld spare a little for baking. WAHAHA...
happie 25th anniversary to the old couple
thanks babe for the fantabulous company! we're the only ones tt are alone in this babylon...art house brownies
"ORD lor!!!" Jingwei cries. Nope..not the real ord but i somewat informal way of celebrating our last lab session for the entire semester. Dreadful periods during which i have to lug my half-awaken body to school to perform some crap experiements just for the sake of curriculum. I doubt putting in effort to understand the whole experiment set-up would pay off very much as well since most labs involved deep concepts. Oh well, even the lab techs assist us in our quick get aways by making explanations straight to the point. Tts a good thing.
So after lab, i spent a little time with babe having lunch at botak jones. Cajun chicken was good. And warning, do not order ur steak medium rare unless u're a fan of raw meat! it was seriously undone and the jelly lyke texture of the uncooked meat was repulsive and not anywhere near edible. Tried my first doughnut of the season at munchy doughnuts. I knoe i'm slow! ..but must admit tt the white chocolate with cinnammon was divine! and aptly named as well, silly mon... haha.
Came home to an itchy hands mode. it was lyke some sort of silly mantra being chanted in my head. lyke some sorta raging circus. Oh well, i had to appease tt dun i. So i sat down and did this...
my very first art piece.. a mad splash of colours on an empty chocolate brown canvas. Nothing lyke this to soothe my soul. AHHh.. and it looks quite impressionistic in my opinion. haha.
Pulling out a recipe from my ancient dusty cupboards.. or rather favourite lists tt i have stored away for way to long. I decided to try my hand at the best brownie recipe adapted from alice medrich. Of course, with a little touch of Sihan in the midst. So with tt i decided to do a swirl method on this brownie batter as i thought the slight tang from the cream cheese would play up the contrast btw the richness of the chocolate. Hence the white and green swirls being the lemon flavored cheese and matcha flavored cheese respectively. Not only do the colours work well together, the flavors sang in harmony. Gorgeous i must say. An art work literally...
Wats interesting about the recipe was the use of cocoa powder and absolutely zilch melted chocolate in this brownie. I was apprehensive at first but when the lovely brownie emerged from the oven, i was taken aback by the moistness and the fudge lyke texture of the brownie. Gosh... wld have been better if i had taken the time to buy some valrhona cocoa powder. wld be divine..*swoons*Now who wants a slice of edible art?..
brain dead
When I, thought I knew you
Thinking, that you were true
I guess I, I couldn't trust
'Cause your bluff time is up
'Cause I've had enough
You were, there by my side
Always, down for the ride
But your, joy ride just came down in flames
'Cause your greed sold me out of shame, mmhmm
After all of the stealing and cheating
You probably think that I hold resentment for you
But, uh uh, oh no, you're wrong
'Cause if it wasn't for all that you tried to do
I wouldn't know just how capable I am to pull through
So I wanna say thank you
'Cause it makes me that much stronger
Makes me work a little bit harder
It makes me that much wiser
So thanks for making me a fighter
Made me learn a little bit faster
Made my skin a little bit thicker
Makes me that much smarter
So thanks for making me a fighter
gimme more!!!
had a fa-bu-lous day out with teddy ytd. he was such an amazing companion... thanks for bearing with my slouching tiredness at the end of the long date. haha. *thank goodness i managed to catch the ending of the movie the brave one.* hehe.
Pictures from top left (clockwise) : Vanilla Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake, Garden of Eden (my own creation!!!), The Star-struck Blues.
so tts tt. Baking comes by much easier nowadays apart from the panic mania days where all ur most horrible nightmares come alive. Its days lyke this which u shld just bury the hatchet, get rid of the damages done and just head out for a jog. Its practically pointless to continue in the kitchen. However, on the contrary, i wld admit tt my results are very much dependent on my mood. If i'm baking on a pissed-off mood, then needless to say, the products would somehow carry a bit of the rage, perhaps over the top sweetness, or perhaps a weak attempt at rising. But i'm not saying tt my quality is compromised coz on the whole, having the opportunity to bake wld just natually raise the levels of saccharine in my blood levels. So to all those who have ordered from me, u can heave a sigh of relief. Ur cakes are going to turn out fine. haha.
here's a shoutout to my aero classmates as well. Happie birthday Paul and Kaiqi! *waves*
future plans
the talk was regarding pursuing an education in LE CORDON BLEU (academie d'art culinaire de paris). Done by marketing manager Mark Leslie, it gave me a rare insight into the school and its education programs offered. I am thrilled by the prospects of perhaps achieveing a diplome de patisserie in this prestigious school and maybe getting an internship at the pastry department of a hotel. tt wld be a dream come true for me... but for now, only time will tell whether this dream will come alive. still have to slog the remaining yrs of my dreadful education by.. Drats...
cupcakes for my sweetheart
she seeked desperately for attention, for someone who she could fall into the comforting arms of in her times of destitute. In a crowded room full of people, she turned her head. Stares greeted her followed by an onslaught of harsh whispers. It dawned upon her that she was different. Very much unlike the rest, it was hard to fit in, much less to find the perfect one. her hopes were dashed and a slight droop marked the ends of her lips as she swore herself to a life of solitude. Suddenly, a friendly glance caught her eye. A wink and a smile tt light up the whole room. it all made perfect sense now. she had found her soulmate. How was she so sure?
becoz he was different too...
and guess what? she knew he would love her for a long time to come... The End
had a cupcake order today for 23 cupcakes meant for a bf's 23rd bdae. Since there was no theme apart from the small requests of having two heart themed cupcake designs and the fact tt he loved bicycles. i got up and about to baking these little goodies.. havin in mind a psychedelic concept full of loud and vibrant colours.
so finally i came up with this. after several mishaps and i must mention tears. Guess today wasn't exactly my baking day. buttercream didn't turn out the way i wanted it. Nonetheless i got myself thru the task not without the help of my babe who was always there for me...
thanks babe... happie bdae aaron!!!
(just got news, they loved the cupcakes. *woots*.
topsy turvy
at this point in my life, seems as though everything in my life is going topsy turvy. Not tt i'm complaining either since i do fancy a bit of a rollercoaster ride here and there. But not entirely of course. i just might have gotten myself into some messy situation. well, wish me luck...
to the booblicious babe in my life: thanks for standing by me.. thru my odd tempers and hurricane like mood-swings. Guess it takes nerves of steel to handle my ridicolous behaviour. dodge that punch, block that incoming slap; gosh, i'm one hell of a violent gf *sniggers*. It's not normal is it? Kudos to u babe...
and another artist featured for the week wld be lisa lavie. She has such wonderful vocals, strong yet rough round the edges. Plus she's a singer songwriter, uber talented. love this song to bits as well..
the baking frenzy is scheduled for tmr... can't wait...
liberty
*Sihan pumps her fist into the air*.. the hse is quiet for once. Parents have left for China togther for a week to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. sweet... for them, and for me too! hehe. Now there's a whole new sense to the word liberty! i feel free...
Meanwhile, looking forward to the gazillion bake jobs i have the upcoming week. Blog events too! in fact my spiked spiced pear concocction is still sitting in the corner of the kitchen waiting to be used. *yay*.. super duper excited.
stressed
Its strange tt i dun derive the same spiritual uplift from running anymore. Perhaps time does change a person. Though i yearn for the same feel-good rush as in the past, somehow, it doesn't come to me any longer. the sad truth...
Three birthdays this week. Had the honor of baking the cakes. Experimented with an inspiration i had encountered for Vic and Raj's bdae cake. the end product was one of luscious texture (too soft by my bestie's ideals. *sobz*) and strong aroma (derieved from the deadly mixture of coffee and light rumfor which my bestie AGAIN thought i went too heavy on the rum *boo hoo*). I was delighted at the outcome though, despite someone's negative comments. There were others who thought it was good, and in the end, i landed another order meant for a fren's mother's birthday. Delightful....
meanwhile, i've decided to sign up for talks held for le cordon bleu the next week. wat is installed for me? perhaps a future career? 
Cocktail Cupcakes
Cake + Liquor = ??what happens when these two worlds collide? *drum roll* u get the ultimate threat... ladies and gentleman..presenting to u the...
Cocktail Cupcake!
For a long time, I've been immensely interested in creating a recipe that merged the two secret powers together. One which would unite the two in sweet symphony, deadly intoxicating yet still retaining its sweet image all the same. I've toyed with the idea of perhaps opening a bar one day which would offer an exlcusive selection of cupcakes and cocktails of course, the cupcakes would entail an air of sophistication, every one of them mimicking popular cocktails. Tantalizing to the sweet tooth yet hiding behind a mysterious cover. Every bite allowing the taster to be caught in a swirl of intricate flavors, bitterness from the dash of alcohol added, highlighted by the soft texture of the rich cake.
being reallie excited about this, i would like to conduct a poll to determine my first cocktail cupcake to be baked. Here are the nominees...
- White Russian: features a light coffee flavored cake base, dressed up to the nines with a lovely dash of vodka. Topped off with light cream and a devilish coffee liquer drizzle.
- Strawberry Daiquiri: a sweet innocent strawberry cake filled with rum soaked strawbery chunks and a dash of lime juice for that extra kick up a notch. A sprinkling of powdered sugar adds the finishing touch to this rebel.
- Cosmopolitan: features a simple cake dripping with the intensity of vodka added to the recipe. a little lime juice added for the extra tang. Cranberry flavored buttercream coloured in the most intense purple crowns the cake and a pretty little umbrella will be added just for keeps sake.
- Sex on the Beach: A true blue tropical cocktail. as naughty as its name sounds, this cake would be dripping with sex appeal. the cake, filled with the enchanting flavors of cranberry and orange, would have vodka infused peaches strewned throughout. To increase that orgasmic experience. Pineapple buttercream tops off the cake completed with a dried pineapple flower to enhance its tropical outlook.
- Blow Job: An intensely rich cupcake, this would feature a layered cupcake with hazelnut flavor replacing the amaretto and the top layer featuring a aromatic coffee liquer cake. Topped off with lovely swirls of fresh whipped cream and a fairy dusting of cocoa powder. This is sure to be a crowd pleaser.
okie..so there are the nominees and their descriptions. the poll will only last till end of this week before i embark on my baking venture. So guys..pls do poll for ur fav cupcake flavor. the link btw is at the side! will be hoping to see a least a little response! *=)*
p.s. i'm sorrie for not putting flaming cocktails on the list due to the threats it poses to the baker. *tee hee*
lyrics
of all things pink
absolutely love the different shades of pink in all the photos above. Seems as if i've been surrounded in pink.
Bumped into my kindergarden classmate along the corridor in NTU last tues. hit it off immediately and we jumped onto the bandwagon and booked each other for a date on Friday.
Cheryl and I chilling out over drinks, Strawberry Margarita and Lychee Martiniafter dinner, we headed down to Sentosa where we had free entry to the show Songs of the Sea compliments of Jonathan who was working there. The show, which basically had a rather lame storyline, featured reallie cool waterworks and laser displays. I was rather impressed to say the least. haha. but as usual, Singaporeans, try to hard to make use of every earning opportunity. the marketing of this show was almost as if they were trying to steal a lolly from a baby. haha. But then again, commendable effort by the staff working there who reallie try to be enthusiastic.
btw..i heard tt britney's gimme more mtv is out! i wanna watch tt!!! *hoots*a few thoughts and a slice of cake
after several little mishaps and trips... our trip is finalised! *cheers*. all thanks to er-yi who went all the way to look for available spaces for us at a lot of tour agencies i presume. So ladies and gentlemen... i'll be off to spain and portugal from the 18th Dec to the 1st Jan! which in fact means tt i'll not be missing my bdae here in Singapore. haha. (initially thought tt i was though, tt wld have spared me certain headaches. oh well, tts another story.) So, yesh! it will be a long get away to the lovely countries of spain and portugal before the horrors of IA unleashes itself upon the pitiful students.
i knoe its very random... but just to depict the violent behaviour of my bunny.Someone call a doctor!!!
oh yesh, i forgot to mention tt the round-up of the previous event tt i took part in Cupcake Hero is finally published. So do go take a look at the link! looking forward to more quirky themes next month! bring it on! just found out that the new theme for this month is Cloves! how quirky! spices turn me on! *giggles*
now i await the glorius arrival of dawn...
fancy a baked apple?
the thought of this lovely dessert, a perfect ending to a heavy meal sends my taste buds running on high energy. Served with a shot glass (actually improvised with a candle holder tt i had bought earlier but not used) of home-made creme anglaise on the side. I couldn't have asked for anything better to end of the meal tt i had prepared for babe last friday night. Entree was white wine, proscetti, chicken and mushroom stew served on a bed of parmesan mash. but then again... nothing beats the apple!
Ingredients
1 tbl spoon Brown Sugar
1 tbl spoon Flour
3 tbl spoon almond meal (toasted till slightly brown)
10g butter
A generous pinch of cinammon powder
Steps
- Mix the brown sugar, flour, almond meal, cinnamon powder and butter together.
- Core 2 apples
- Stuff in the mixture into the cored apple centres
- Stick a cinnamon stick into the apple centre
- Take it in the oven at 160 degrees for 25mins or until soft
- Serve with ice-cream or creme anglaise.
Voila... so easy. anyone can produce this picture perfect dessert tt is divine on the taste buds as well in just mins! Enjoy! (oh yesh, million thanks to my dinner partner for his lovely compliments. *cheers*
