spain and portugal here i come
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to babe: enjoy ur bachelorhood! remember wat u told me, party like a rockstar! as long as u're happie.. anything goes...
cupcake hero: mint
Labels:
berries,
Cupcake Hero,
cupcakes,
desserts
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when the theme was announced.. lets just say i didn't flinch a muscle.. hmph.. guess mint was never one of my favourite flavors unless you're talking about mentos the sweet. then peppermint would be it for me. Other than the occasional sweet treats, mint never really appeared much in my lists of to-do bakes... up till now at least.Mint is to me much of a christmas flavor. During christmas, festive flavors in the most vibrant reds and greens pop out even in the commercial markets. Like coffees and lattes that suddenly see a surge of flavors such as mint and cranberry. Don't mean to be a wet blanket but i never acquired the art of appreciating these flavors. funnie thing is tt i knoe a fren who does! Chiang Lihui!! hehe.. therefore i', dedicating these cupcakes to her! i'll always remember the time we went out for coffee and she called for a mint frappe of some sort at Gloria Jeans.. i gave her a weird look. mint? in ur coffee? i rather eat colgate! Oops.
however, with the xmas season around, i thought that it would be an excellent opportunity to experiment with the forbidden flavor. and wala, immediately a recipe and a plausible ingredient hopped into mind.. i decided to make a twist on one of my favourite recipes to create something totally different.
So here it is! ta-da! Mint Bailey Chocolate Cupcakes with stuffed strawberries topped with whipped Mint mascarpone cream. hehe. and trust me.. these were good! i cld so leak the entire bowl of cream had i not have a photoshoot to conduct. haha.. tsk tsk..
well, i kinda played it safe this time round and attempted the classic pairing of chocolate and mint. well, safe is good sometimes orite? and this lovely delicious beauty is here to testify it. Made using the new Baileys chocolate mint flavor, this gave the whole cake a very rich and luscious texture which served complimentary to the mint infused mascarpone cream on top. and of course.. wat goes better together then chocolate and strawberries? another classic combination at work here... If attempting this recipe, pls make preparations at least the day before for the best results!
RecipeIngredients
80g Butter
1 cup sugar (i used 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup white granulated sugar)
1 1/2 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/8 cup cocoa powder (i used valrhona!)
1 tbsp espresso powder
120ml bailey's mint chocolate
60ml milk
1 tsp vanilla powder
2 tbsp sour cream
1 cup whipping cream
2 cups mascarpone cheese
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
Steps
- On the night before baking, toss an leave the strawberries in a bowl with plain sugar syrup and a dash of cointreau to infuse the flavor. Also, heat the 1 cup of cream and throw in a bunch of mint leaves. Stir till mixture bubbles and leave to cool before refrigerating, allow to steep for the night, till time for use.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and line the muffin trays with paper cups
- Beat Butter with sugar till smooth
- Add in vanilla essence and sour cream
- Add in eggs and beat till light and fluffy
- Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl
- Stir Baileys and milk together
- Stir in the baileys mixture and dry ingredients into the butter mixture alternatively by hand
- Drain the strawberries and pat dry
- Scoop the batter into the individual cups and stuff a strawberry in the centre of the cup
- Bake for 18mins in the oven
- Allow the ready cupcakes to sit and cool in the pan for 5 mins before removing them and placing them on the rack to cool completely
- Whip the cream till soft peaks, add in the mascarpone cheese and vanilla extract and sugar and whip till stiff and frosting is able to hold its shape.
- Frost the top of the cooled cupcakes and garnish with mint leaves and chocolate coated coffee beans (as i did!)
- ENJOY!
oh, trust me, i would be making these again soon! these were fabulous! the mascarpone was such an excellent match to the moist chocolate cupcake and the mint flavor was just about right in bringing out the festive mood in me! hehe.
since there was left over batter, i also made this in my mini crown cake pans.. and they turned out gorgeous! Filled in the little gap with cream and it was good to go!
orite.. now tt i'm finally done with the cupcake hero post.. its time to retire! gotta get myself for Spain and Portugal! here i come! its gonna be a rather long time till u enxt hear from me. hope u guys will miss me.. *wink*..
i turn 21
the party was held on Saturday evening at Olive resturant contrary to the intial plan at Moonladder Bar and Bistro as stated on the invite. had to deal with the copious amounts of rain tt poured from the grey skies all afternoon, leading to the inexplicable closing of Moonladder. the party was then moved to the Olive Resturant in the last minute just a little across the park. to all my guests, sorry for the last minute movement. Caused u guys to walk quite a bit. *bleah* hey.. and of course i was a bunch of nerves from all the last min changes. I never did lyke crowds.. wat more a bdae party.. hmph...
the party came off to a very slow start as guests arrived slightly later than anticipated. But what thrilled me the most was the lovely spread of desserts on the table. Laying out the table was uber fun. finally i can put my tiers on display! so after all tt countless baking of bdae cakes, i finally get to do my own! wat a blessing!!!
a million thanks going out to Evangeline who was present at the party as well. Just in case u guys didn't knoe, this lovely lady made those divine macarons and green tea cupcakes at the party! mangue, pistachio, sesame noir, fraise, lemon, green tea and many many more! it was an explosion of colors!!! once i tried them the last time i ordered months back, i knew i had to let everyone at the party have a taste of these delectable little beauties. thanks again Evan for the wonderful treats tt u brought to me and my guests... we shld hang out again soon!
also, thanks to Claire for baking those Swan cream puffs. uber cute! i did the bare minimal and baked some simple chocolate cupcakes, breadstix and my own bdae party just to make the table look complete. the rest of the exquisite desserts came from Obolo. playing with the theme, i only brought in my favourites from them. mango-passion cheesecake, noisette, summer-berry tiramisu and dark chocolate tartlets! *yumz*.. guess thats sufficient sweet notes to last quite a while.
lookie!!! i can't get enough of the dessert table!!!
the clock ticked slowly and night enveloped the patio... as guests slowly streamed in, the food and drinks flowed smoothly as well. With pizzas from olive resturant themselves circulating the tables and pints of erdinger(again my fav beer.. guess only one person shld knoe why.. hehe *wink* pity he cldn't be there at the party tt night) and glasses of hand-picked wines been served up. well, sad to say tt out of the 10 bottles i brought along, only a meagre 4 bottles were finished. haha. Brown brothers muscato was an excellent, sweet dessert wine tt matched the cakes and macarons perfectly. Irony on the hand was well balanced and a slight kick to it. Glad tt everyone enjoyed the drinks.. though i expected better. well at least the entire barrel of beer 30 litres were guzzled up by the aero pple in the end. Bravo!!! do pls watch the clip of Yanru vs. Tim in a beer drinking competition below! its crazy.. having aero pple ard only means one thing. noise, noise and MORE NOISE! haha.
some time in the middle of the party, Kor stood up and called for everyone's attention as he began his presentation with a slideshow of photos collated all the way from when i was born to my present age. tt was extremely touching and not to mention EMBARASSING for me. but nonetheless i want to thank Mummy and Kor for all the hardwork put in. at least the efforts and slpless nights spent scanning the photos paid off. everyone loved it! i loved it MORE!! hehe. *hugz*
some photos from the slideshow... my kor loves me!!! haha..
wat made the party kick-ass were the speeches made by friends and family! i appreciated the spontaneity and genuine feelings put into these speeches. Thank you mummy, kor, uncle Jo, Velda, Janan and Claire for taking the plunge. u guys are great!then it was time for cake cutting and blowing out the candles! now its my turn to shout... hey! i baked tt cake! (not tt i ever done tt before but i get to bake my own bdae cake!!! mummy thought i was insane when i told her i was going to do tt. haha) Rum soaked chocolate cake filled with a vanilla mascarpone centre layer and strawberries topped with a generous layer of chocolate ganache. only the best ingredients were used in this cake. hoped it was good coz i didn't get to sample a piece. heh. benefits of baking a small cake = no remainders left! *tee hee*
so after the mini programme, it was back to more photo taking sessions. aero peeps rockz! my mum in fact was shocked to see how enthusiastic u guys were when it came down to photo-taking! haha. cool bengs! and then moving on to church people! Ruth, Abigail, Junneng, Weiyi, Cheryl, Jonathan, Kor, Velda, Trevor, Gabriel! then to the scattered few plus the baking gang! hehe. Sorrie Evan for forcing u into the photo. *sticks out tongue*
after all these, it was back to more beer-guzzling action! we had a barrel of beer to finish up and mountains of left-over pizzas still lying around. so most of the aero peeps just stayed back to chill, catch up with one another. Guess such gatherings are hard to come by... Yep. I enjoyed myself thoroughly with the dudes and babes.. thanks guys for coming and making my party an extra special one. even to the people not present. thx for all the gifts and surprises and well wishes! special thx going out to my students Yamunah for the handmade card and Azah for the chocolates. oh yesh, Velda, i lurve the Giraffe Printed Aldo heels u give me! deadly at 4 inches but uber sexy! to everyone else, lurve all the pressies! but i adore all ur company even more!
Well, the only dismayed members present were the staff of Olive Restaurant of course as the party dragged on way beyond closing time. here, i would like to thank Midsean for all the help him and his staff have provided as thoughout the party. the place was wonderful and the ambience perfect for the party. At least from feedback, quite a number of people thought the location was unique and special. *phew*. the party cldn't have been possible without the efficient and friendly stuff at olive restaurant. thank you very much!
and of course, how cld i miss out on thanking babe! the Best Floor Manager Award goes out to u! thanks for running ard and settling all the stuff for me. the blur me cldn't have throwned the party w/o u! *muackz*. xie xie ni for being ard with me when i needed you.
wait till i tok about the treat babe gave me ytd. u gals out there are going to die of jealousy. *evil laughter*
till then... thank you everyone for making this day extra special for me. Love you all! just as the magical night came to an end, i didn't knoe whether it was the alcohol kicking in but just at the moment, i felt like the happiest girl in the world...
xmas cookies
it just takes some cookie decorating to calm those pre-birthday party nerves. haha. Not tt i was very nervous or anything about the party. Rather i was more anxious about how the weather wld be.. i prayed tt it wldn't play me out. But in the end, i guess God had other plans for me. i i guess they worked out just as fine as well. thank you God.
i had made the batter a few days before and only had the time to bake it the day before the party. and let me tell you, cookie decorating is one of the most fun activities to do. especially with a very artistic babe around to help. hehe.. and clean up of course *gulp*.. so, we did giant snowflakes, gingerbread man and butterflies! lurve the gorgeous shapes... however, had a slight issue with the dough batter as it was a tad soft and didn't hold its shape too well. Guess i didn't follow the recipe religiously.. resulting in not so good results as well. But wat the heck, at least we both had fun despite the fatigue tt the late night lured in.
note the details btw.. the little scar on babe's right eye.. hehe.. he reallie has one and i think its cute. haha. oh well...
we were so tired when we wrapped up the entire deal. it was 4 am in the morning mind u. thinking back, i have no idea why we stayed up so late especially on the night before my party. terrible!!!
and dun worrie, i'll be posting an entry of my bdae party soon! at least before i leave for spain tmr tt is! *woots*.. i can't wait.. terribly excited!
its party time!
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Joyeux anniversaire
now tts one of my favourite phrases from the movie priceless. sends shudders down my spine when audrey tatou serenades herself with the song. *grrr..* haha.
been rather busy for the past few days, thus explaining the severe decrease in rate of posting. Caught up in an onslaught of meetings, outings and dates lately. Went to JB on monday with babe to eat our fill of secret recipes cakes, as well as venture out to jalan permas to go-kart! apparently, its only after i'm back in singapore tt i heard that the go-kart centre has been touted with cases of fraud. owners have accused customers of damaging the go-kart after the driving session and forced them to pay up for the damages down. *phew*.. thank goodness i'm not one of the victims. But to all u pple meaning to try out the go-karts at JB, erm.. just be wary yar. At best, bring a fren who's reallie good at arguing. hehe.
met up with Cheryl on wednesday to shop, eat dinner and after that chill at dempsey's ben and jerry's. oh gosh.. if u guys haven't been to demspey's yet. u reallie shld! culina and jones the grocer carry such exquisite stuff! worth the drive in reallie. on the whole it was a wonderful date. shld do it more often! hehe..rememeber our deal to try all flavors at the daily scoop! hehe.
meeting up with jiemin kor later to rot ard.. plus dinner and dessert at eden cafe! woots. hehe. hmph.. kinda tired though. lets just hope i can pull thru the date w/o falling asleep first. hehe. tt wldn't be too nice..
finally the bdae party is tmr. I dun ask for much actually just wish tt everyone be present have a good time there. tt wld make it the most special bdae alr. thanks kor, mummy and babe for all the help put in. u guys are the best!
像两首节拍不同的歌
却又同时被爱情合奏
Breeching the Old Ages
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Breeching the Old Ages... 21...it seems like yesterday when i thought the age of 21 was something far away. Escape, all i wanted to do was to escape from the reaches of adulthood, to run from the reality of the truth. Yes, we all do grow up... we all do accquire heavier responsibilties, and we all do have to outgrow the phase of immaturity... No more toys, no more scubbles with siblings, no more caning, no more tantrums. Hmph.. maybe just a little. hehe.
As it seems, we can never defy the laws of time, and as every day passes, you know you've only got one shot at it. And time is never rewindable, each passing day becomes a part of history. something part of distant memory. Hence, it is with such a reason that we should adopt a uncanny zest and motivation for living. This I am working on.. coz i never want to wind up sitting on my couch 50 yrs down the row wondering whether I am happy with the way i had lived my life.
Given the joyous nature of the occasion, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to give thanks for my lovely family members for whom I thank God everyday for bestowing on to me. Though every family has its flaws and quirks, it is these imperfections that mould me to be what I am today.
I've had somewhat an ugly past... I wouldn't deny that I've stumbled upon several periods of darkness. Times where I got lost in an onslaught of monstrous thoughts and trickery of the mind. But with the help of my very supportive parents, family members, Auntie Nora and God, i have pulled through. And for that I am grateful...
Lets sidetrack a little, so to get some facts straight in case u guys are wondering, its not my REAl bdae today. I and my family had a wonderful dinner at Corduroy and Finch situated at Bukit Timah Road to celebrate my bdae which was to be 1 week later since my daddy and brother are going overseas later this week. So yep... so returning back to the dinner. Everything was scrumptious... the food was done to perfection, the wine was lengthy and crisp. and needless to say, the company was priceless.
Halfway through the dinner, mum made everyone make a mini speech about me. there was freedom of speech of course, meaning that everyone was free to shoot me down. haha. Despite that, the session turned out to be uber touching. I was on the brink of tears on several occasions as family members recalled the past and their most dear memories with me. to my family: I love all you guys and i couldn't ask for more in a family. you guys have given me so much to live for and I pray to God that we would have many more beautiful memories to build together.
the chandelier hanging from the high ceiling provided a beautiful and almostly intoxicating highlight to the entire place. Enchanting and drawing people into its supple glow.
Together with the effects of the two bottles of wine kicking in slowly yet steadily.. i was drawn into a world where harsh reality stood beyond the borders of presents thoughts. everything was sweet... i was numb. strangely, though i was aware of the onset of such a parallel universe, i embraced it and basked in its strange presence.
and must i add, the dessert platter made me smile the widest. the assortment of sweet endings ranged from the humble, warm apple crumble to the downright haughty, macarons. compliments going out to the pastry chef at c&f. *smilez* a perfect ending to a perfect dinner with the family. Perhaps tts how bdaes should be spent after all...
i enjoyed myself a lot more than i ever did in a long time...
wonderful weekend
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and might i say that these lips look swell. slightly opened with hazelnut dripping its lovely essences out. Gawd.. *shudders*well, if you think i reallie do have a big fetish for lips.. then u're right. haha. BUT.. in this case, lets more on to the bigger picture.
now tts a real beauty... *sniggers*. ladies and gentlemen, presenting to you my exclusive bottle of Frangelico, hazelnut liquer! Now, i've been on a mad hunt for this for ages. turns out tt this exclusive liquer is made only in Italy and very rarely imported to Singapore. and even if it were, it came with a very exhorbitant price tag. So... think.. what would Sihan do? DUH! exploit her bdae wishes and get her brother to ask his friends who were coming back from aussie for the holidays to lug this treasure home for his darling little sister. wahaha.. clever me. *rubs her hands in glee*.Now, with my hazelnuts on hand and my prized possesion in my keeps, i cldn't be more happy...
on a side note, Saturday was a rather enjoyable day. Relatives came over for a lovely rainy day lunch of western fare. Fish and chips and baked beans on the side. Simple and easy. and yesh, i and my brother had to add to the mess. experimenting with oven baked fish instead. Well, at least our efforts didn't go to waste. And the fish came out succulent and tender, oozing with aroma of chilli, garlic, rosemary and peppercorns. YUmz.. haha. and how cld we forgo dessert? so i woke up early in the morning to prepare my lemon tart which added a lovely finish to the whole meal. What better to cleanse the greasy palate then with a tangy dessert? ahhh... the lemon tart certainly did the trick. (didn't have time to take a photo of the entire finished tart but managed to take an uber ugly shot of the one piece of tart tt i had )
After lunch, I met up with Babe and we went down to Changi T3 for the second last day of the openhouse. I thought i cldn't miss out on it since its not everyday tt you get to walk in the departure hall and sit in the holding gallery area. haha. I knoe it sounds silly but to me, it was a trip well spent as I got to appreciate the architecture and layout of the place.
all in all, it was beautiful by my standards. Stepping thru the glass panels seperating the main area and the departure halls, it was like being transported to another country instantly. they have reallie outdo themselves this time around. Every single entity present looked like they were placed there for a purpose. wonderful... plus.. the new terminal saw the addition of several happening pubs and eating joints in the departure zone. Brewerkz and Harry's! cool bengs.. now we can chill out to a pint of beer before boarding the plane. Perfecto...
well, the place was pretty crowded with groups of people being lead around in guided tours. We opted out though due to the inconvenience. the holding gallery area was packed full of people sitting on the chairs to rest their weary legs. Babe stumbled upon something reallie farnie in the toilet and even took a shot of it to illustrate it humor.
apparently, having a picture of a fly at the base of the urinal would help improve accuracy? hmph. interesting...
babe has forehead wrinkles in this shot.. ahha
there...much better. *hehe*moving on, we ventured into the arrival area where passengers collect their luggage. this place is beautiful! with greenery trailing down the walls and water cascading down the concrete panels, it resembled some sort of lost amazonian world amidst the concrete world. i sure would be happie to return to such a beautiful arrival hall!
finally ended off with dinner at changi point. at a place called hanamco multi taps bar restaurant. cool place to chill out at with a couple of frens over beer. And a lovely selection of imported beers too! Absolutely love the white beer I ordered. Yum... Babe loved his pear cider loads too! 
Now tts one helluva good afternoon. reallie enjoyed myself just being out there and bumming ard. Holidays are getting off to a good start... well at least it is becoz i've got you. *wink*
p.s. reminder for Sihan's 21st bdae party coming up soon! pls check your emails for invites and do rsvp as soon as possible. PLs guys.. make it easy for me.. hehe
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