Spruce: lights will guide you home
Pie Face: Australian pie chain now on our local shores
drinking out: @ Penny University
Breakfast came in the form of Prawn noodles. Originating from the pioneer stall at Beach Road, this brunch clearly has acquired a steady fan base with the entire coffeeshop filled with patrons tucking into their steaming hot bowls of mee. Located next to the stall is a Ngor Hiang stall apparently operated by a relative. Despite the heat, I braved the impending doom of an inherently unglamorous look after the meal, armed with a pack of tissue paper and a cup of lime juice. Pardon me but acclimatization I reckon is still a bitch.
I went for the $5.50 option. Portion wise, it was thoroughly disappointing with two mediocre sized prawns slit into halves parting the brown seas of rich broth and yellow noodles. For that price, I would have expected much more. As a result, raised my expectation for the broth. That turned out to be alright, not as va-va-voom as I would have liked. I shrugged it off with the alluring sight of coffee land beckoning from a distant.
From there, we trudged down the street to the new kids on the block. Penny University. A term that was derived out of poetical sense, from a coffee house where even the poorest of university students could pay a mere dollar for a coffee to linger in a place with immense prospects for enlightenment since these places were known to house many people from different levels of society. If you ask me, the concept of the name itself embodies the spirit of the business, a casual place where social interaction was the main focus and key factor in pulling in the crowds. Brilliant.
At Penny University, Oriole's Raven Blend and Nylon's el Primero seasonal espresso blend are deployed for action. Being a big fan of Oriole, I had no qualms about the final product. The espresso with 5oz milk was absolutely perfect. Sinister and deceivingly warm to taste with an edge at the end. A possible citric note. The pie we ordered on a whim to keep the lonely cup of joe accompany was surprisingly dazzling on its own. From windowsill pies , the morello cherry pie was exactly like it should be. With every forkful, the crisp puff pastry crust, tanned from it's arduous hours in the oven, crushed under the pressure of the crimson red sour cherry filling. The large sugar crystals littered on the crowns adding to the tenacity of it's structural integrity. If the crust were only a little bit more fresh, I would have pulled out a 10 on this one.
Penny University calls a long shot by opening on the far side of singapore. A smart move considering that its the first of its kind, appealing to the true coffee addicts to be stationed in the far east. But a little deranged given it's positioning within a part of singapore teeming full of famous food stalls and local food. I sincerely hope it does well given that it feeds my buzzing addiction on my repeated visits.
Note to oneself, that same stretch of east coast road seems to be laden with many "undiscovered" eateries, still undeniably foreign to a cross country traveller like me. Al Forno, Two fat man and many more... another trip awaits..
370 East Coast Road
S428981 63457196
8am-4pm daily
Closed on Tuesdays
402 East Coast Road
Tue - Fri, 0830 - 2130
Sat - Sun, 0830 - 2230
Closed on Mondays
Apple of my eye
Being the drama queen that I usually am, our non-existant meeting on our 2nd yr anniversary blew up into a tragedy of epic proportions beginning with me bursting into tears of frustration as I trudged home from my workplace in the middle of orchard. I told you that I was unable to love in the generosity and enormity in the likes of God's love, I was human after all. Your work commitments and full time dedication to the job left me feeling lonelier than ever. Empty inside, I turn to the alluring comfort of food to fill the deep well inside of me. In the end, I was left feeling satiated but with a struggling heart feeling more neglected than ever. Apparently, there was nowhere else my heart could turn to. I'm still yours.
Happy 2nd year anniversary babe. Guess you can't have things sweet everytime yes?
Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie
Sour Cream Pumpkin PieArt you Eat #5 (Autumn Edition)
It was after the episode of the pumpkin cupcakes from TWD that I was hooked on using pumpkin as an ingredient in my bakes. Pumpkin, once roasted and pureed existed in such a wonderful form. Both rich and insanely moist. Combined with all the spice that usually accompanies it, it was destined for greatness. At least under my palate, given that I had such a knack for sugar and spice.
Also since I had a little bit of sour cream left in the fridge. I thought to myself why not? Pumpkin = moisture, combined with sour cream, it should yield the most beautiful product with a lucious texture. And holding that thought in mind, I scanned through my books for an apt recipe. And viola! oh no!!! not another Dorie Greenspan recipe again? I shouldn't have... oh.. whatever...
Good for Almost Everything Pie Dough
- makes enough for a 9-inch single crust -
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 sticks very cold (frozen is fine) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces
2 1/2 tablespoons very cold (frozen is even better) vegetable shortening (non-trans fat), cut into 2 pieces
About 1/4 cup ice water
Procedure
Put the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade; pulse just to combine the ingredients. Drop in the butter and shortening and pulse only until the butter and shortening are cut into the flour. Don't overdo the mixing—what you're aiming for is to have pieces the size of fat green peas and others the size of barley. Pulsing the machine on and off, add 3 tablespoons of the water—add a little water and pulse once; add some more water and pulse again; and keep going that way. Then use a few long pulses to get the water into the flour. If after a dozen or so pulses, the dough doesn't look evenly moistened or form soft curds, pulse in as much of the remaining water, or even a few drops more, to get a dough that will stick together when pinched. If you've got big pieces of butter, that's fine. The dough is ready and should be scraped out of the work bowl and on to a smooth work surface.
Shape the dough into a disk and wrap it. Refrigerate the dough at least 1 hour before rolling. (If the ingredients were very cold and you worked very quickly, you might be able to roll the dough immediately—you'll know: the dough will be as cold as if it had just come out of the fridge.) The dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
Once the dough is fitted into the pie plate, refrigerate it again. If you don't have time for a longish chill, just keep the pie plate in the fridge while you preheat the oven.
To Partially Bake a Single Crust: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil (or use nonstick foil), fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust and fill with dried beans or rice. Put the pie plate on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and weights and, if the crust has puffed, press it down with the side of a spoon (or lightly prick the crust). Return the pie to the oven and bake for about 8 minutes more, or until the crust is very lightly colored. Transfer the pie plate to a rack and cool to room temperature before filling.
- makes 6 to 8 servings -Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours
Ingredients
1 9-inch single crust made with Good for Almost Everything Pie Dough (see recipe below), partially baked and cooled, or one 9-inch tart shell made with Sweet Tart Dough, partially baked and cooled
2 cups (canned) unsweetened pumpkin puree ( i used 1 cup homemade pumpkin puree)
3 large eggs, at room temperature (i used 2)
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar (i used 1/4 cup white sugar and 1/2 cup light brown sugar)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups heavy cream ( i used 3/4 cups heavy cream)
1/3 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons dark rum
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Lightly sweetened lightly whipped cream, for topping
Procedure
Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat and put the pie plate (or tart pan) on it.
Put all of the filling ingredients in a food processor and process for 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Alternatively, you can whisk the ingredients together vigorously in a mixing bowl. Rap either the work bowl or mixing bowl against the counter to burst any surface bubbles, and pour the filling into the crust.
Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 300°F and continue to bake for 35 to 45 minutes longer (20 to 25 minutes for a tart), or until a knife inserted close to the center comes out clean. (If you don't want to create a slash in your masterpiece, tap the pan gently—if the custard doesn't jiggle, or only jiggles a teensy bit in the very center, it's done.) Transfer the pie (or tart) to a rack and cool to room temperature.
Serving: Pumpkin pie and whipped cream are naturals and, if you've tested the pie's doneness with a knife, you might want to serve the whipped cream as a cover-up. I like this pie chilled, but others are fans of it at room temperature – decide for yourself.
Storing: Like most pies, this one is best served the day it is made. However, you can make the pie early in the day and keep it refrigerated until needed.
Verdict: I love the warmth of the pie combined with the crispy and flaky pie crust. The pumpkin and sour cream melded together to form a rich and velvety texture that I loved. Kudos! By the way, this is my entry for Art You Eat #5 : Autumn! Please stay tuned for the round-up to!
TWD Challenge: Summer Fruit Galette
Summer Fruit Galette
Yes everyone, i'm back from my long winter hibernation break from TWD! not that i've been intentionally hiding or anything, but my trip to Australia has prevented me from revisiting my dearest book for the last 6 weeks. Now its time to return to weekly bakings with Dorie!
so first up, the summer fruit galette (pages 366-367) as chosen by Michelle from Michelle in Colorado Springs. With the liberty to throw in any fruits depending on the season, i decided to go with whatever i could most easily get my hands on.
and ta-da a sweet creation was born under the wraps of the cutest doughnut peaches I found from my local mart as well as mangosteens (queen of fruit) that i had purchased earlier from the wet market. It was a rather strange combination and did not appear to succeed in the colors department as well. But still, they were good, the peaches providing a subtle soft texture to the freshly baked pie and the mangosteens an explosion of sweetness hidden beneath the huge cuts of peaches.
The Black and White Banana Loaf on page 232.
For August 12, Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity chose:
Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream on page 434.*
this is an add on to the last TWD posting. Apparently, it has come to my attention that many do not know what mangosteens are! my gosh.. hence here is a simple introduction to the 'queen of fruits' 
mangosteens with purplish rind and white pulp.
Taken from Wikipedia: "Botanically an aril, the fragrant edible flesh can be described as sweet and tangy, citrusy with peach flavor and texture. "
An ultra-tropical tree, the mangosteen must be grown in consistently warm conditions, as exposure to temperatures below 40°F (4°C) will generally kill a mature plant.
Due to ongoing restrictions on imports, mangosteen is not commonly available to the public. Following export from its natural growing regions in Southeast Asia, the fresh fruit is available seasonally in some local markets like those of Chinatowns and rarely in produce sections of grocery stores in North America and Europe. Mangosteen and its related products, such as juices and nutritional supplements, are legally imported into the United States which had an import ban until 2007.
Mangosteen is typically advertised and marketed as part of an emerging category of novel functional foods sometimes called "superfruits"[6][7][8] presumed to have a combination of 1) appealing subjective characteristics, such as taste, fragrance and visual qualities, 2) nutrient richness, 3) antioxidant strength and 4) potential impact for lowering risk against human diseases.
so there you go.. some brain juice amd facts about the humble fruit. If you reside in a western country then it would be rather hard to get your hands on one of this exotic fruits. But do pls try if you see one. You won't regret it!
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.
a sour affair
Citrusy in taste, lemons, the sour tangy feel at the back of your throat, the vibrant yellow colours tt literally jump at you, and the lovely smell that your hand inherits from squeezing the lemons; these are the reasons why i love baking lemon tart. The next best thing to eating fresh lemons in its raw form *gulp*..if u ever do that tt is... ( must be one hell of a strange habit)Having to deal with the 5 lemons left lingering in my fridge from a previous baking assignment. I contended to either set about making a jar of the usual lemon curd and risk getting a sore throat from being unable to resist the temptation of sticking a spoon into the jar and savouring every dropful. Hence i settled for the lemon tart which my mum was eye-ing in a recipe book of mine. Trust me..this baby wasn't any easier on the throat. At first bite, the tartness of the lemon juice added stung like a bee. But gently, it gave way to a slurry of taste and flavors as it sloshed around the cavity. The crisp tart shell a perfect accompaniment to the flavorful filling. What i loved most was the tangy feel at the back of your throat after it is swallowed. A flavor tt reminded me of the season spring and the lightness of it. Strange...
Recipe for Lemon Tart
adapted from Donna Hay's Modern Classics 2
ingredients
sweet tart dough
2 cups a/p flour
150g Cold Butter( chopped into cubes)
3 tblspoon Sugar
2-3 tblspoon water
lemon filling
3/4 cup Lemon Juice
3/4 cup Sugar(granulated)
3/4 cup Pouring Cream
3 eggs, lightly beaten
Method
- Prepare the tart dough. Place the flour, butter and sugar in a food processor and process till the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Add the water till the dough forms a lump.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30mins
- Blind bake the Crust with weights for 10mins at 180 degrees celcius.
- Remove the weights and bake for another 15mins till pastry turns golden brown
- Lower the temperature of the oven to 140 degrees celsius
- Over a pot of simmering water, place the sugar and lemon juice in a heatproof bowl and stir till the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Add the eggs and cream.
- Continue stirring for the next 5 mins.
- Pour the lemon filling into the ready tart-shell through a sieve
- Bake for 20-25 mins at 140 degrees celsuis till the filling is just set.
- Remove from the oven and cool thoroughly.
- TUCK IN! *ssss (sour)..AHHHh*
just some points to note, the lemon filling was tolerable in fact mighty good for me and my mum (coz we're such big fans of sourness) but if i wld advise tt a little more sugar be added into the tart for all those who wld lyke to try out the recipe. *=)* Bon Appetit!
argh..i reallie need to get a nice removable tart tray soon! rawr...
lemon meringue pie
