desaru

Post-Exam Weekend

and so spunned a whole mass of activities after the cruel examinations. The weekend had finally drew to a close and i breathed a sigh of relief. Though i did wish for freedom, my idea of it was just lazing around the house, stepping into the kitchen for some lazy bakes, yet this weekend was more like a crazy nonstop adventure leading to one casulty.. me.. *groanz*. the runny nose and throbbing headache is such an ass.

the weekend began with some baking a orders to fulfill. Little cupcake faces that put a smile to my face of course. Then there was the rushed delivery and lunch before collecting our tickets for the play 'the office party' at the DBS arts centre. Firstly, i must say that the chairs were really uncomfortable. But with an adoring cast starring the likes of Jason Chan, Wendy Kweh and Cynthia Lee MacQuarrie; the play was absolutely engaging with naughty lines, absolutely saucey scenes and heartfelt emotions. Definitely a play suitable for the christmas season.

Then it was back home with the church members for youth fellowship. That went pretty well of course under the leadership of my cousin Velda. next, swoosh.. we were off to Da-yi-ma's residence for some early christmas carolling and 'inspection' of the in-in-laws. haha. All in good will of course, Though i must admit we were a little bit too kay-po. haha.

The following day, it was off to Malaysia with babe and his family plus cousins. mostly a road trip to Desaru, we stopped over for some fantastic seafood. Yumz.. the lobsters were gorgeously succulent, its no wonder people would actually travel up just for a meal. A huge THANK YOU going out to Babe and his family for their hospitality and the gifts!

With 3 pills swimming around my system now, I'm just praying that I'll wake up feeling all better the next morning. Signing out...

looking forward to more HGW food tastings and cake sessions with the usual suspects this coming week. Not to mention all the weddings.. yikes...

face cupcakes

So many faces...

I recall that when I was much younger I used to exhibit at least a little artistic streak to all my works. Whether it be a childlike drawing, a murry of colors and shadings, or flouncing about on my imaginary stage pretending to be superstar belting out song after song. Whether it was a hit or painful tune, I don't know now.

But somewhere down the line, all these little 'artistic expressions' just vanished into thin air... Perhaps you could attribute it to the regiments of the Singapore education system. Or perhaps it was my single bad experience (read: major flop!) with my acquaintance with the piano. It wasn't long before reaching age of adolescence that it was clear that there wasn't an ounce of artistic spirit left in me; in fact, with all traces wiped out, it appeared as if they weren't ever there from the start. Life went on, and with my new embracement of the sciences and math, I left the past in the dirt. Satisfied with the thought that I would never have to return to it again.

However, life with its many twists and awakward turns somehow lead me through a whole junkyard of battles in the jungle, conflicts with flight mechanics and then back into the arms of art once more. Baking with its uncomplexed beauty rose to a high status. And there you were, I was once again doing things I had never done again for a long time. My artistic soul rusty but rearing to go...

Had an order for some customised face cupcakes for a bunch of her frens. Best of all, I felt very involved trying to piece together a potrait of their faces thru a string of descriptive words; braces, thick eyeliner, botak, red cheeks, small eyes, braids, pouty lips. You name it and tried to recreate it. A fun experience thoroughly.

Hope that they will like it.

local play: the office party beckons and trip to malaysia! Woots!

one republic - come home

One Republic - Come home

thought that I might share this song with you guys...

just remember to turn off the music on the sidebar first before taking a listen!

Hello world
Hope you're listening
Forgive me if I’m young
For speaking out of turn
There’s someone I’ve been missing
I think that they could be
The better half of me
They’re in the wrong place trying to make it right
But I’m tired of justifying

Come home
Come home
Cause I’ve been waiting for you
For so long
For so long
And right now there's a war between the vanities
But all i see is you and me
The fight for you is all I’ve ever known
So come home
So i say you’ll..

cookie carnival:

The Ultimate Chewy and Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Cookie Carnival: November Issue

After a incredibly long hiatus from this baking event. I'm glad to be right on track with the November's recipe for the ultimate chewy and soft chocolate chunk cookies! If the title hasn't captured you yet, I'm not sure what might. This recipe comes from Regan Daley from her absolutely fabulous MUST-HAVE book, In The Sweet Kitchen . Thank you Kate for the wonderful selection. The cookies were gorgeous with just the right amount of crispness and the right degree of chewiness involved. Guess I'll be putting these down on my 'to bake again' list! Cheers!

cookies packed and ready to be sent off by special delivery to babe.

Hope that these managed to chase away the exam blues!

The Ultimate Chewy and Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies
INGREDIENTS

1 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsps. pure vanilla extract
3 cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
16 oz. flavorful bitter or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or lightly butter them, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or a large bowl if mixing by hand, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

2. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture, and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

3. Using your hands, shape knobs of dough about the size of a large walnut and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Stagger the rows of cookies to ensure even baking. Bake 12-15 for smaller cookies, 14-17 for larger ones or until the tops are a light golden brown. If the cookies are neither firm nor dark when they are removed from the oven, they will cool chewy and soft. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. If somehow they don't get inhaled immediately, they may be stored airtight at room temperature for up to one week.

More chocolate

The Chocolate Review: Askinosie Chocolate

After reading an article about gourmet chocolates and the higher demand now present here in Singapore. I decided to pay the promotional booth at Taka basement a visit to probably get myself a bar of Askinosie Chocolate. Also since I've heard of this brand ever since a fellow baker of mine used Askinosie cocoa powder in her bakes, I was intrigued by the rarity and novelty of the product.

In the end, after circling the booth like a vulture trying to come to a decision on its catch. I got the white chocolate with cocoa nibs which rattled me off at $18.90 for a 75g bar. haha. *groanz* I sampled the white chocolate with pistachio bits and that was excellent as well with the salty roasted pistachios providing excellent contrast to the sweet white chocolate. But i finally stuck with the cocoa nibbed version as the bits of cocoa nibs swimming around within the bar was indeed a breathe of fresh air, giving a tiny crunch with every bite and imparting an all to familiar bittersweet note to the entire package. A terrific investment too.

Soconusco White Chocolate Nibble with added roasted cocoa beans.

34% Cocoa Butter made from Soconusco, Mexico beans.

The main ingredient in our white chocolate is 34% natural, non-deodorized cocoa butter. The cocoa butter is pressed in our factory and we are the first small-batch chocolate maker to do this. After pressing our Soconusco, Mexico beans to create the cocoa butter, we combine it with goat's milk powder and organic cane juice, and then craft it for days in our 85-year old German melanguer, making ours one of the only single origin white chocolates in the world. We add in Soconusco Roasted Cocoa Nibs to make this bar crunchy and good.It is also available in an original bar and a bar with organic roasted and salted pistachios.

The white chocolate bar surprised me with its au-natural color, a very faded milky brown, almost akin to diluted milo drink. I was surprised as I had never expected white chocolate to be not white. Upon enquiry, i was told by the sales representative that the slight tinge of brown was due to the lack of additives added during manufacture. Even more surprising was the fact that even the cocoa butter was pressed within the factory itself. Wow!

In case you were wondering, Askinosie are single estate chocolates as well, originating from either Mexico or Ecuador. Why of course.. u wldn't think i would settle for less huh? *diva attitude*.. haha.

I've been such a bad girl recently, with the 3 bars of chocolate still lazing around in its container in the fridge, I can't believed I'm buying more. argh.. I'm officially a gourmet chocolate hunter.

For more information on Askinosie Chocolates, head over to their website. I must admit a very lovely one too! Take time to read the story of the founders.. very charming indeed...

Motivation

Motivation

Motivation is hearing...

"Just tried your cake and its nice! Thanks for it. And of course I'll definitely get your cakes again. My Family likes it too. Keep up the good work." - Iris

Looking forward to the weekend with a glass of riesling...

for those interested in grabbing a slice, visit here

sweet potato cake

The Cake Slice: Sweet Potato Cake

and finally my post for the cake slice is out! yipee. This time round, a sweet potato cake covered with orange cream cheese (which i chose in favor over chocolate cream cheese). Laden with orange rind and spiked with a little orange liquer. I loved the icing till the max. And the addition of the pureed sweet potato ( i used japanese sweet potato) into the cake gave it such a moist and lovely texture. Though I have to admit that it's name ain't all that appealing at all, at least i gathered so judging from the strange looks i recieved from my relatives around the table.

Served up over a Thanksgiving dinner at my auntie's place. (how apt!), everyone cast one look at the cake and it's rival, the chocolate fudge lana cake and decidingly choose the chocolate one. DUH! ain't such a hard decision of course. Thanks to the few who politely had a slice of the cake despite bursting at the seams from the delightful satisfying dinner.

Really glad that I made this cake, though I probably wouldn't make this again since most people aren't open to the idea of having sweet potato in their cakes. oh well.. still it was a fine choice!

Visit the blogroll for the cake slice bakers to get a look in at the action!

Sweet Potato Cake
Cake:2 medium or 1 large sweet potato (12 ounces)
3 cups of cake flour**
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1 and 1/2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of cloves
5 eggs, separated
2 and 1/4 cups of sugar
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons of butter, at room temperature
1 and 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla
1 and 1/4 cups of milk
(**The recipe calls for cake flour and if you only have all-purpose flour on hand, you can substitute 3/4 cup (105 grams) all purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons (30 grams) cornstarch.)
(*If fresh sweet potato is not available where you live you may use canned sweet potato, yams, and pumpkin puree)

Makes a 9-inch triple layer cake, serves 16-20 people

1. Preheat the oven to 400F degrees. Prick the sweet potatoes in 2-3 places, place on a small baking dish and bake for 1 hour or until the potatoes are very soft. Remove from the oven and cool slightly.
2. Reduce the oven temperature to 350F degrees. Butter the bottoms and the sides of the pans and line with parchment paper. Butter the parchment paper also.
3. When the sweet potatoes are cool peel off the skin and remove any dark spots. Cut the potatoes into chunks and puree in a food processors. Puree until smooth. Measure out one cup of potato puree and set aside.
4. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves. Set aside.
5. In the bowl of electric mixer add the egg whites and attach whip attachment. Beat on medium speed until egg whites are frothy. raise the speed to high and gradually beat in 1/4 cup of sugar. Continue to beat until the egg whites are moderately stiff.
6. In another large bowl with the paddle attachment, combine the sweet potato, butter, vanilla, and remaining sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl after each egg yolk is added. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients and milk in alternately in 2-3 additions. making sure to begin and end with the dry ingredients.
7. With a large spatula, fold in one fourth of the egg whites into the batter to lighten. Then fold in the remaining egg whites until no streaks remain. Making sure to not over mix or this will deflate the batter. Divide the batter among of the three pans.
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake layers cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then turn out the cake layers onto a wire rack and cool completely at least 1 hour.
9. To assemble the cake, place one layer flat side up on to a cake stand. With a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch round tip and filled with chocolate cream cheese icing, pipe border around the edge of the cake. Fill the center with the orange cream filling smoothing it to the edge of the border. Place the second layer on top and repeat the process.Place the third layer on top and use all the chocolate cream cheese frosting to cover the top and sides of the cake.

Chocolate Cream Frosting:
makes 3 cups

10 ounces cream cheese*** at room temperature
1 stick of butter at room temperature
16 ounces of powdered sugar; sifted
1 and 1/2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate melted and slightly cooled

(***1 cup of cream cheese maybe substituted with 1 cup pureed cottage cheese OR 1 cup plain yogurt, strained overnight in a cheesecloth OR equal amounts of neufatel cheese)

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar to cream cheese butter mixture. Making sure to scrape down the sides the sides of the bowl. Then beat until light fluffy 2-3 minutes.
2. Measure out 1 cup of frosting and set aside.
3. Add the melted chocolate to the remaining icing in the bowl and beat until well combined.

Orange Cream Filling:
1 cup of reserved cream cheese icing from above.
2 tablespoons of frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed1/4 teaspoon of orange extract

1. Stir together all the ingredients until well mixed.

let my hair loose

My Haze of Comfort

a picture speaks a thousand words... So what is it you do when you're stressed out?

Whether it be staring out the window at the crippled cricket performing hippy dance moves, or listening to re-runs of melancholics songs on my computer, it all serves it's purpose, all in will, to create a vacuum of space in time for me to indulge in empty thoughts and a little tinge of self-pity. Don't we all? Yes, but the most satisfying of all activites would have to be spontaneous late night baking. The need to fill in the empty wicker bread basket at home just made it more compelling.

So between the piles of hand-written notes and hot mugs of coffee, there was a little dosage of dough-loving action and patient waiting. At the end of the long night, all that stood in the end (pun intended) was the lovely loaf of fresh wholemeal bread ready for prep-ing up to the office in a crown of rich butter and splotching of purple jam for mummy. A very aromatic and extremely soft loaf might i add. Must say that those lessons paid off well. haha. Mum was delighted of course..

To add to my list. My latest loot of single origin chocolate again from Xotique Chocolatier consisted of 5 tiny bars of gourmet chocolate that ripped $50 from my wallet. Money that I was glad to spend of course... This time, I recieved information from Boss, Phyllis that the latest shipment of Amedei's Porcelana had finally reached the stores! F.y.i Porcelana is a single-estate dark chocolate that is made in such rarity that every single bar produced is marked single-handedly by a serial code! I've got mine! hehe. The rest of the collection consisted of mainly Valrhona; Grand Couva originating from cocoa beans from Trinadad (hence i'm expecting it to be a little acidic) , Manjari and Araguani. The last mentioned has probably been the only one I've tasted so far. A dark chocolate consisting of 72% cocoa has a slight note of liquorice due to the use of brown sugar in the making, there is also a slight tinge of raisins and a rich fruity taste behind the bitter chocolate notes. And i might say, I really enjoyed this one. Still waiting to sample the others soon!

What can i say.. a little bit of chocolate a day sure keeps the system loaded and happy!

So what makes you happy?

can't believe after all that typing, the cricket is still doing its hippy dance moves in front of my window...

I will rest in you

Lord, I'm in the dark,
Seems to me the line is dead when I come calling.
No one there, the sky is falling;

Lord, I need to know.
My mind is playing games again,
You're right where you have always been.

Take me back to you,
The place that I once knew as a little child;
Constantly the eyes of God watched over me.

Oh, I want to be
In the place that I once knew as a little child,
Fall into the bed of faith prepared for me.

I will rest in you,
I will rest in you,
I will rest in you.

Tell me Im a fool,
Tell me that you love me for the fool I am,
[and*] comfort me like only you can,

And tell me theres a place
Where I can feel your breath
Like sweet caresses on my face again.

Take me back to you,
The place that I once knew as a little child;
Constantly the eyes of God watched over me.

Oh, I want to be
In the place that I once knew as a little child,
Fall into the bed of faith prepared for me.

I will rest in you,
I will rest in you,
I will rest in you.

I will rest in you,
I will rest in you,
I will rest in you.

In a dire state of mind now. Some explosion of thoughts. Perhaps it ain't too bad to have been William Kemmler after all.

Soon to update on the food tasting, dessert outing and calendar's carrot cake. Meanwhile, do tune in to this lovely song on my jukebox.

so far

So Far

Just lugged my heavy-ass car back into the carpark after a roundtrip drive to Babe's house to pass him back his handphone that he left at my house. It was mostly a silent drive, despite the blasting music in the background to keep whatever that's left of my live brain matter circulating, I was empty inside. Emotionally and mentally drained. Isn't there someone to rescue me from my dire state of mind?

Had the pleasure of speaking to a few individuals these past days who had aspirations and dreams of setting up their cafes some day. Some of them with the intentions of throwing me part of the web. These small talks all happened in a single day. One of them being a very satisfied customer of mine who was interested in the prospects of a future business. I was in awe to think that so many were holding the same thought as me. Perhaps it ain't such a good thing after all seeing that they might become potential rivals. But then again, a part of my interest that had been slightly stagnant in the recent months was stirred up again. Like a flurry of emotions and explosion of goose feathers from a torn pillow case..i was suddenly set thinking about what I really wanted in life. Suddenly, some aspects that i held highly were reduced to dust. I think i'm lost again...

With an exam looming ahead tmr and a food tasting(courtesy of hungrygowhere again) session at curry favor on thurs and the dessert hunts the next 2 fridays with my beloved foodies. I'm excited, yet pretty worn out from it all.

Right now, I've got to focus. Meanwhile, here's a song, written and sang originally by Chelsea Lee. a beautiful number called 'so far'. Enjoy...

alternate state of mind

An Alternate State of Mind

Trying to get in that study mode ain't all that easy. At least not to me... right now, I can only nudge the button to ignition repetitively to no avail. No spark, no start, no detonation. Gawd.. I'm certainly heading for a cliff if we continue this way.

Sorry TWD, you won't be seeing much action in this department for the next 3 weeks or so cause I'm rather 'wrapped' up in school matters. Promise I'll be back to conquer more recipes soon!

If you do the math, it's only 2 days and 13 hours to my first paper... dreading that very moment. Things I want to do after exams, .. *hmph* too many to list. Right now, I'm staring at a darn beautiful beach on my computer screen and dreaming of a holiday trip. Sun, sweat, sea.. give me some of that man. I so want a tan badly, been feeling that my face has been getting fairer. Don't quite fancy the idea of that. haha. Strange..

Alright, I admit, this entry is going nowhere. My brain reduced to mush with nothing close to constructive remarks to make. Gotta make a move and head back to the books for now. Hearing your Dad exclaiming online about your mum and younger brother's ongoing trip in Taiwan and the good cheap Japanese fare they indulged in ain't exactly a very enlightening experience...

Ciao...

state of mind: Dreaming of carrot cake and pastries on Fri...

of songs and awards

a tale of songs and awards...

For those who enter this blog (hopefully with you sound system on); I'm sure you'll be greeted with music of some sorts. Irritating to some, melodious to some. If you belong to the latter, then do please feel free to shutoff the music whilst you read on.

For me, laying these songs on my site is just a way of expressing my feelings at the moment. An outlet for me to share some of my favourite songs with my readers. And presently, we've got several new songs added to the ever-changing collection. One of my favourites, is 1,2,3,4 sung by the Plain White T's; a song introduced to me by Charles (psss.. THANKS!) Though suffering from a slight cheesiness when it comes to song lyrics, it still passes off as sweet and innocent after while. And definitely make for easy listening. Another song that I love is John Mayer's Gravity. Again another song that is perfect for those sleepless nights. With beautiful lyrics that seem to amplify every part of my life at present. So I hope you guys enjoy the music! Do leave your comments if you do or if you have any favorite songs for those sleepless nights.

Meanwhile, I've recieved another blog award! *woots*..

given to me by my dearest friend and fellow TWD blogger Michelle of Flourchild. Thanks dear! and to play along.. guess I've got no choice but to answer these questions.

Darn.. and i never knew these could stump me!

7 things I say most Often

1. I'm tired
2. Cool Bengs!
3. I love you
4. I want to bake!
5. I can't find my...
6. Stop it!
7. Where are we going?
   

7 things I did before

1. Scaled the highest peak in Peninsula Malaysia and got struck by lightning
2. Played hockey for my school team
3. Participated in 2 bake sales
4. sleep walked to my brother's room and pee-ed on the chair (thinking that it was a toilet bowl)
5. Fired a GPMG and threw a grenade (no..i'm not terrorist..)
6. Ran for money (my dad paid me when i was 11 yrs old to run 1.6km under 8mins)
7. Toured the Great Ocean Road (Australia)

7 things I do now

1. Get into a frenzy over upcoming exams
2. Bake some more despite the exams. order..bah!
3. Go for food tasting sessions and search for the best dessert places
4. Dream about a better future
5. Blog
6. Bitch about school to my boyfriend
7. Sing aloud to songs on the radio

7 things I want to do

1. Take up photography and get a better camera
2. Plan for Xmas desserts
3. Attend Le Cordin Bleu
4. Sky dive
5. Go for a makeover
6. Be with him
7. Be happy

7 things that attract me about the opposite sex

1. Kindness
2. A beautiful pair of eyes
3. Behavior whilst amongst friends
4. Love God, God fearing
5. Honesty
6. Sincerity
7. A big strong chest

7 favorite foods

1. Brinjal
2. Cai poh with egg
3. Green and Black's White Chocolate
4. Preserved Olive Vegetables
5. Carrot Cake (both american style and fried singaporean style)
6. Japanese food!!!
7. Butterscotch Peacn Ice Cream

7 4 people I want to pass this award to: (could only come up with 4.. gulp)

1. Laura of She's Cookin Now!
2. Jo of Sugar and Everything Nice
3. Rachel of Sweet tarte
4. Carlo and Carmella of The Food Duo

I just love reading their blogs! With all those recipes and delightful photographs. Betcha be hooked.

So to those I have tagged. Feel free to play along by copying and answering all the qns on your blog as well and Passing on the award to 7 more bloggers that you appreciate!