cookie carnival: Snickerdoodles!
The Magic of Spice!
The cookie dough was pretty much a gist to mix up. I had all the required ingredients in the pantry hence stirring up the magic was a breeze. I enjoyed the mixing of the sugar and cinammon stage the most. The smell whiffing from the powdered mixture was etheral. Like a brief moment in heaven. And the smell was later amplified ten fold after i opened up the oven doors.
Makes 4 dozen.
* 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
* 1/2 cup pure vegetable shortening
* 1 3/4 cups sugar, plus more if needed
* 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, plus more if needed
* 2 large eggs
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, with one rack in top third and one rack in bottom third of oven. Line baking sheets with Silpat baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.
2. Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter, shortening, and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs, and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients, and beat to combine.
3. In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the ground cinnamon. Use a small (1 1/4-ounce) ice-cream scoop to form balls of the dough, and roll in cinnamon sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are set in center and begin to crack (they will not brown), about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets after 5 minutes. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool about 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.
After that, kick back and relax with a cup of milk on a hot summers day and enjoy...
a little bit of everything
Alright off to the movies again today! Have caught the movie fever as of late and now the theatres are probably my second home. Considering the ticket prices now these days, catching the movies have perhaps become more of a burden on the wallets more than anything else. So here are my thoughts on the movies i've watched and whether they are worth the extra dollar.
- Chronicles of Naria: Prince Caspian
i recall reading the collection of books in my younger days hence I am more than thrilled to see this screened. With much biasness, I advice everyone to watch this movie. Not only for it intriguing plot; one with a fair mix of magic, fairytale and dark nature; but also for its talented cast whose excellent acting skills allow viewers to sink into the reality of the situation with ease.
to watch or not?: Yes please!
- Sex and the City
I enjoyed this film a whole lot. I wouldn't quite categorise it as a chick flick. Neither is it very intellectual but in some way or another, it carries with it a little weightage in terms of values. A film that takes you into the undies shoes of the characters and sends you on a whirlwind journey of emotions. Surely a good film for a girlfriends get together especially with the featured high end fashion that would send you ooh-ing and ah-ing. Not forgetting the humongous walk in wardrobe! *sigh*
to watch or not?: Watch! u surely cannot miss this one! a pity its highly sensored here in Singapore. *oops*
- Kungfu Panda
Desperately in need of some laughs? Then you won't go wrong with this animation film. Trust me, i almost gagged laughing on this one.
to watch or not: A MUST WATCH!!! one of the best animation films I've ever caught...
- The Incredible Hulk
a much better spin-off of the ang lee version; the incredible hulk offers mostly action pack sequences and high adrenaline scenes. Love the Tony Starks (a.k.a iron man) cameo at the end. now that was the pivotal moment for me.. hehe.. he's awfully manly gorgeous. *slurps*. Otherwise, a rather good show for easy digestion.
to watch or not: Yesh.. with the testerone driven boyfriend
Oh well, from the looks of it, there ain't escaping the movie season then. Pardon me for my lack of assistance in this department. hehe.Went out to afternoon tea with my dearest Evangeline at pan pacific hotel this afternoon. What followed after; endless chatter, platters of cakes and a mouthful of godiva chocolixir. *swoons*. I had an enjoyable time Evan! meet up again soon yar! Don't worry, I'll remember to get some goodies back from Australia for you! *smilez*
A tiny glimpse into the delightful afternoon treats we enjoyed. I loved the signature passion fruit cheese. With its almost silky texture heightened by the taste of citron and a surprise passion fruit centre. This certainly proved to be a light and refreshing treat for the taste buds. I couldn't say the same for the raspberry sacher though. Very disappointing...
and finally, a slice of the cake which caused me all the trouble last night. Had a nibble today.. *yummy*.. peanut butter and chocolate cake, brown butter chocolate frosting with the addition of salted peanuts down the sides. Almost suffered a cardiac arrest just slapping the dallops of creamy peanut butter into the batter! Chocolate and peanut butter... my vice...
irrational thoughts
let this be a page for my imploding thoughts. My crazy idiosyncrasies. Sometimes i just want to burst.
I just had the most terrible time driving home from babe's house. The nagging images from wrestling in the warm sheets (no please don't think anything bad. i was just trying to catch a nap before i went off after delivering cake to babe's house); waking up to the grim face of babe telling me to answer the witches call. Like wat?!?! I'm tired... you're tired. Its evident. I shouldn't even be there in the first place. No more will i ride over late at night, its a outrageously stupid plan that always results in dire situations there after.
Like bloody hell, look at my poor cake cover. Upon transporting home, the darn thing fell on the carpark floor like twice. F***! i just stood there looking like a goofball, all helpless and idiot like picking up the pieces. Now, I've acquired nothing more frm this night then a few ugly stares and a badly scarred cake cover.
I swear I'm never doing that again. I hate your incessant nagging, i hate the way your room isn't cold enough to want to cuddle and I hate my rawness. Dammit.
signing off though i'm too pissed to go to sleep now.
La Palette's Mango Tart?
TWD: La Palette's Mango Tart?
so voila! i bring to you the mango tart! A pity though since i've heard rave reviews about the overall recipe. But then again i didn't think i deviated much not too yield excellent results as well... so.. we'll see. here are the changes i made.. I made a pistachio nut studded crust instead of the plain one thinking the subtle hint of the frangrance would be a winning formula in the combination of mango and tart. and trust me, i was sold immediately after sniffing upon the sweet hint coming from the grounded pistachios using my new food processor! (sss.. i'm sooo in love with this machine.. so glad its now mine.. Sigh..).
Also, i took out the strawberries entirely from the formula and used a mango spread that i chanced upon whilst shopping at mustafa center located within our city's little india. Then for the final crowning, i tossed my diced mango cubes in a tablespoon of malibu rum and topped off with freshly grated nutmeg to re-create the spicy feel as the pepper does in the original recipe.
finally! layering with the beautiful mango cubes tossed in coconut rum with freshly shaved nutmeg to up the spicyness level. simply divine...
in need of some strawberry tart fixes? please head on down to the TWD bakers blogroll on my sidelink! i'm sure u'll get to see much more red as compared to here. *wink*.
apart from that, it rather saddening but this annoucement is neccessary. I have to bid farewell to next month's TWD experiences as I will be away in Sydney and Melbourne touring. a BIG MEGA Hi to all there!!! I'll be dropping by soon!
A slice of Pie!
A slice of 
!
What lengths would i go to capture that look on this lady's face?
I know! bake her a blueberry pie! Knowing that the gesture was the least i could do to please her everlasting craving for food from her distant childhood memories. Memoirs of sweets, warm buttery pies and gorgeous cakes that my grandma would whip up from her kitchen just about every other day for her children. My grandma was a true goddess in the kitchen. Back in her old days, she was a cook for an expatraite family putting up in Singapore. Being the innovative cook that she was, she tweaked many local cuisines and hainanese fares to suit the taste of the westerners. In turn, they taught her to bake. A fair exchange of course... Then again, grandma was quick to pick up the skills and soon surpassed her teachers in the art of baking. Soon, she was bringing home many of these lovely confections home to her little ones at home. That's probably where the habit of sitting down for afternoon tea was derieved from within my family. Scones, pies and a lovely cup of tea, just the normal for my mum and her siblings to enjoy on a slow dwelling weekend.
I reckon, thats where the cravings arrived from as well. Mum talks about memories of blueberry pies all the time. Giving in to her relentless chanting as well as making use of the blueberry season. I finally decided to bake her one!
and so here it was, a blueberry pie in all its glory. Bursting berries underneath a browned crust, exuding a thick warm glaze, it gives such a warm comforting feeling with every mouthful. Coupled with the crisp buttery crust and coarse sanding sugar adorned before baking, it was all good. guess the combination of textures worked well throughout the dessert. The smooth blueberries complimenting the crispy crust. Thank goodness I chose to bake these...
so to all you curious folks out there. here is the recipe to the delish pie crust (a.k.a Pate Brisee) adapted from Martha Stewert's Baking Handbook. If you are looking for a good pie recipe, sturdy, buttery and oh so good! trust me, try this and you'll not regret it! 
Pate brisee is the French version of classic pie or tart pastry. Pressing the dough into a disc rather than shaping it into a ball allows it to chill faster. This will also make the dough easier to roll out, and if you freeze it, it will thaw more quickly.
Ingredients
Makes 1 double-crust or 2 single-crust 9- to 10-inch pies (I halved the recipe to get 3 mini pies)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
Directions
In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar.
Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube.
Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic.
Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour.
Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.
gifts and birthdays
Brother has came back! Intact, safe and sound; from the land of drugs in abundancy and where whores line the street. you know where I'm talking about don't you.
That's beside the point.. because, most importantly, he got me a gift!!!
Macarons dragged all the way from a quaint little shop in the french provinces all the way to my door step! Gosh! i'm so happy! Now i get to taste authentic french macarons!
Hailing from a modest little shop called Maison Richard, the macarons were.. hmph.. how do i describe this.. different. Yes, indeed they were incomparable to any confections I had taken to at bakerzin, obolo, canele and even my good friend Evan's home made ones. I'm no expert in this field however the two are worlds apart. The french ones.. crunchy with little ounce of the chewy texture you find in the 'norm' ones. I highly suspect that they somehow dried out over the few days of travel. but still I have my doubts. Now i'm confused.. what are the real macarons supposed to taste like? *hmph*... i reckon I'll probably have to head down to France one day to check out the real deal. No cheating this time...
and again from the oven. here are some peeks into my week filled to the brim with baking! Somehow I can't imagine life w/o baking for the next month. Perhaps I could beg someone to lend me baking equipment during my stay in melbourne. *pleads*... I won't want to resort to stealing.. hehe.
Can't wait till the next posting. Something magical brewing out of the oven soon!Meanwhile, here's a little video to occupy yourself.. just for laughs!
last words
Friday marked the end of my journey with Embraer. The internship which i had dread and also the period with which i came to love in the end.
Though work was hectic, the remenants of the people's lives who have touched mine and vice verse, digs deep. Here I would like to sincerly thank my boss, Andre Opt Hof; my colleagues, Jaryl Tan, Danny Woo (uncle danny) and Michelle Camacho for being such wonderful team mates. As to the rest of the company; my dining buddies, Felix and Yongren; and the jovial bunch and those whom i ran into the pantry ever so often (must be the frequent runs for water and tea top-ups); thank you for making my experience in Embraer such a memorable one.
With that I leave the company with pretty much nothing to say, yet a headful of thoughts and embraces (mostly from the hearty Brazilian men in the company *sniggers*) Praying that perhaps someday, I will find my place again.
(thanks boss for the treat at indochine!)
And now the purple dusk of twilight time
Steals across the meadow of my heart
High up in the sky the little stars climb
Always reminding me that we're apart
You wandered down the lane and far away
Leaving me a song that will not die
Love is now a stardust of yesterday
The music of the years gone by
French chocolate brownies
In this installment of Tuesdays With Dorie, i repeat, TUESDAYS with Dorie and not Thurs and Fridays. I apologise profusely for my procratinating approach to TWD lately. But sometimes it really can't be helped. Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook selected French Chocolate Brownies on pages 92-93 of the beloved book as the newest bake task for all TWD bakers.
I omitted the raisins in the recipe and threw in white chocolate chips into the mixture instead. Well, that probably removed the whole 'french' element to it. But oh well, it was still delish anyway. The brownie huffed and puffed whilst in the oven. Building a rather thick crackly crust on the top which was way gorgeous. It looked odd but on the contrary, tasted divine. Definitely be making this again! plus probably a little experimenting with additional stuff i can throw into the batter. hehe. Meanwhile, bounce over to the
TWD home page to check out the other brownies from the TWD bakers!
pass it on!
I have been tagged by Tommi of Brown Interior for this round of meme. Great for me, i figured since I've been caught up in a whirlwind of baking posts that I rarely talk about myself now these days. Don't wanna risk the chance of people forgotting me underneath the facade of cakes and bakes!
The rules: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.
[Simple enough]so here goes nothing...
What was I doing ten years ago?
[gosh.. lets see. ten years ago.. that would be when i'm 12 years old.. hmph]
at 12, i was nothing more then an insolent brat of a child. hehe. Just kidding. Lets just say things were much simpler back then. I would say I was rather caught up in studies. Preparing for the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) . But then again there was a flip side to it, besides studying hard, play was of prime importance too. Speaking of which, most of my play mates were boys. Strange but true, i just couldn't understand why the girls were developing into such irritating, giggly, gossipy (sometimes pain-in-the-ass) characters all of a sudden. Must have been a late bloomer. that explains it. But primary school days were fun indeed...
What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today:
[hmph, its 11 30pm now.. what left besides sleep?]
alright, lets just pretend its the next day. I plan to...
- teach tuition after work (thats my sub-job so its not counted. SCORE)
- Bake French Brownies for this week's TWD
- Pay up my credit card bills
- burn down a shop and threaten to kill its manager (i kid you not.. I'm so pissed. but please do not report me as an arsonist!)
- Watch Sex and the City with Babe. (can't believe he actually asked me to watch the movie with him?!?!)
5 Snacks I enjoy:
[ 5 only?!?! thats a toughy]
- Cup corn
- White chocolate
- Kit Kat chunky
- Chiffon Cake
- Fruits in general, mostly papaya, honey dew, dragon fruit and apples!
Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Let see.. I would probably go around the world in a bid to attend all the famous pastry courses in every city in every country. Tour a whole lot more since I've got the money and indulge in the lap of luxuries. Get a few man whores to wait on me? STOP! just kidding over there. hehe. Get myself a new kitchen.. perhaps a new house even with every single piece of equipment i want. YESH! I AM GREEDY!
Places I have lived:
Singapore.. and only singapore. THis is my home. Did a slight move from Bukit Batok to the jungle side at hume avenue. Never turned back since.
Jobs I have had:
never did work much either. Part time tuition teacher with a backlog of at least 3 years experience, worked a short while at ST AEROSPACE. then did my internship in 3rd year of college at a Brazilian private jet company at Embraer. Lovely place with lovely people. And I've gained so much knowledge with their help. Will indeed miss them after I leave. a week more to go... *boo hoo*
now for the fun part.
i tag
- Tiffany of lattes and life
- Megan of meganscooking
- Vicki of herlittleblackdress
- Kathleen of Patty's Patisserie
- Christine of BlendersGalore
Cashew Honey Sticky Buns
So I know you're probably thinking these are little over due. Been procrastinating this round round of TWD because of the influx of orders that came over the last two days of the working week. Besides, I was rather appalled by the outcome of the dough as it churned out from my kenwood mixer with my dough hook attachment. Gosh.. I must have a mistake. This batter was so soft and gooey, nothing like I've ever dealt with before; not that I've got a lot of experience with bread and buns but to have a dough with a consistency of a sticky cookie batter instead. That left much to doubt.
I reckon it was a mistake I made whilst adjusting the measurements to quarter the brioche recipe as i attempted to quarter the entire quantity to minimize wastage.
argh. stupid idea.
leading to some disastrous results. the only consolation would have to be the lovely honey brown sugar glaze topping. Now that was the bomb! and I"m sure it would go well paired with a simple roasted fruit dessert of a plain cupcake. *smilez* lesson learnt, just stick to the entire recipe next time round. The other half can be used to make a brioche loaf anyway. *Sigh*
still, for better results please see the works of the other TWD bakers on the blog roll. It leaves me in pain just oogling at those yummy photos.
To leave on a sweeter note; here's a few photos of baking in progress. With much better success of course.
