Bailey's chocolate chip cheesecake

Happy Birthday, Chubby! ^^

Bailey's choc chip cheesecake (recipe adapted from here)
~ fits a 9 or 10-inch square tin
Crust
200-220g oreos, crushed (or use crushed graham crackers+2tbsps cocoa powder+2tbsps icing sugar)
80g unsalted butter, melted

Filling
500g cream cheese
100g sugar
200ml sour cream
3 egg yolks
125ml/10 tbsps bailey's irish cream
2 tbsps flour, sifted

100g chopped dark chocolate/choc chips

3 egg whites
70g sugar

Chocolate frosting
100g dark chocolate
100ml cream
3-4 tbsps bailey's chocolate luxe, optional

1. Mix crushed oreos and melted butter together. Press crushed cookies evenly into a lined baking tin, till nice and firm. Bake in a preheated oven of 170C for 10-15 minutes. Remove and leave to cool. If lazy, omit the baking part and just stuff the crust into the fridge and chill for a bit..

2. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese till light and fluffy. Then add sugar till well blended.

3. Fold in the sour cream into the cheese batter.

4. Gently mix in the egg yolks one at a time till well combined. Next add bailey's irish cream.

5. Fold in the flour and the chopped chocolates.

6. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites till foamy, and add the sugar bit by bit. Beat till soft peaks form (no need to beat till stiff unlike for chiffon cake).

7. Mix 1/3 egg whites mixture into cheese batter till well combined. Fold the rest in gently.

8. Place batter over crust and bake bain marie in a preheated oven of 150C for 50-55 minutes (the center should still be a wee bit jiggly ^^). Leave to cool in the oven with the door slightly ajar for about 1 hour.

9. In a clean bowl, melt chocolate and cream over a pot of simmering water. Add bailey's chocolate luxe, optional.

10. Spread chocolate frosting over warm cheesecake. Chill in the fridge overnight before serving.

Hehe.. so I drizzled a bit of salted caramel over Chubby's cake. But let me assure you, it's creamy, dreamy, melt-in-the-mouth, and just as delish, without the liquid gold ^^

Nothing salted caramel can't fix ^^

This should be one of my last post for the year. 

It's been a slow year in terms of blogging and baking for me. I've seem to lost my mojo for a bit. And when I do bake, it's always the same old things. 

Though lately, I've been exploring (made it thrice!) a "cooked-dough" chocolate sponge cake recipe shared by jeannietay, This recipe is perfect for those who are "heavy-handed" and can never get sponge cakes right. Interestingly, I noticed the recipe is pretty much like that of an ogura cake..  

Anyway, my cakes turned out absolutely gorgeous, moist and cottony soft every time! It's the perfect foil for my salted caramel. banana and peanut buttercream combo. However, I felt there was a slight aftertaste (which no one noticed! ^^||).. possibly due to my use of greek yogurt in replacement of milk.. or my burning the oil! So I'm still working on getting it right. ^^

Well, for a change, I decided to switch up the recipe and made a plain sponge cake with some lemon zest and juice today. Not the best idea I'm afraid.. I forgot to save up the lemon juice to make lemon glaze! So the cake was rather plain, and I could taste a slight aftertaste (greek yogurt, perhaps??? sorry, I'm going through a greek yogurt phase! ^^||). Of course, I couldn't just leave it at that! And just to put it on record, there's really few things that salted caramel cannot make right ^^ I drizzled loads! And voila, a yummy cake is reborn! ^^ 

soft, fluffy plain  jane

Chubby pig who was visiting, pronounced the cake as "not bad", happily took a loaf home. Now what did I tell 'ya, there's nothing that salted caramel can't fix! ^^ ^^ ^^

Merry christmas and happy holidays! ^^

Caramel frankenstein cake ^^

I made this messy, frankenstein-ish cake for Baby pig who turned 14 yesterday ^^

His eyes were exceptionally bright and sparkling when he saw the caramel overload, haha! And when I heard his tell-tale soft humming after he had a slice of cake, I knew he was extremely happy! la-da-da-da... ^^ ^^ ^^

In case you fail to recognise the cake due to the mess, it's actually a decadently indulgent treat made up of tish boyle's deep chocolate sour cream pound cake, smothered with peanut butter buttercream frosting, layered with sliced bananas and drowned in oodles of salted caramel sauce ^^ oooooohhh, so so yums!!!

Tish Boyle's Deep chocolate sour cream pound cake (recipe from rima@bisouatoi)
90g all purpose flour
29g cake flour
21g dutch processed cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
170g unsalted butter
200-210g granulated sugar
2 large eggs (I used the egg separation method, for a bouncier cake) 
1 tsp vanilla extract
120g sour cream

This is 1/2 the original recipe, which I baked in a 7" round cake tin at 170C for 60-65 minutes. For the step by step to making this cake, please head on to bisouatoi.. hehe, am too lazy to write it out, 'cos it's the usual way of cake making ie. butter cakes ^^
* I sliced the cake into 2 layers, and piled on the frosting, bananas and caramel sauce to make this birthday treat!
* I also tried the DIY wet cloth/towel wrapped around the cake tin method for even baking and to prevent a cracked domed top.. and it WORKS!!! No cracks at all, and the top was nicely flat and evenly baked ^^
* note to self: cake was soft and had a nice texture on day it was baked, but turned a touch dense after being refrigerated.. maybe a chocolate sponge cake would've been better as a cake base? 
* question to self: wonder if using a dutch-processed cocoa powder makes a difference? Answer: Yes, there's a difference.. stick to dutch processed cocoa if the recipe says so!!!

Peanut butter buttercream 
100g creamy peanut butter
30g unsalted butter, softened
80-100g icing sugar, sifted
30g-60g heavy or whipping cream, add to own desired consistency
* make more if planning to ice the whole cake

Beat peanut butter and butter together till soft and fluffy. Add sifted icing sugar and beat till well combined. Slowly mix in the whipping cream to your desired consistency. Do not make frosting overly runny/soft like I did (I even did it on purpose because I wanted a soft, runny frosting.. bad idea! this is what happens to amateurs who don't know much about frosting, haha!), or you'll end up with a frankenstein-y mess! ^^||

Bananas, sliced

Salted caramel sauce (recipe from sallysbakingaddiction or check here)
200g granulated sugar
6 tbsp butter (salted or unsalted is fine)
1/2 cup / 120ml heavy or whipping cream
1 tsp sea salt, or add to taste
* keep leftovers in the fridge, drizzle over ice cream etc.. yums yums! ^^
For best step by step to making caramel, see my favorite guy, david lebovitz's post. That's where I learned how to make caramel.. no thermometer needed!

An epic, frankenstein-caramelly-good birthday cake for an epic, caramel-toothed boy! Love you caramel-loads, Baby pig ^^

taken with phone under slightly better lighting ^^

** p.s I've actually played around with this combo of flavors before.. it was last year (see here), and it was for the same caramel-toothed person. But I didn't manage to make it then. 'Cos last year, we made an amateur Dr Who Bow Ties Are Cool cake, which almost ended up on Cake Wrecks, haha!   

Happiness is..

Chubby pig was here for a sleepover recently. And spent the ENTIRE time playing BFME and goodness-knows-what-other comp games with Baby pig!

Now what has that to do with me? Well, it just means I got to bake.. LOTS ^^. And finally the chance to use my new enamel pie plate, a gift from one of my favorite people.. you know who you are! ^^

My babies were well fed. I'm happy ^^ ^^ ^^

Super moist carrot cake with bailey's cream cheese frosting

My piggies especially Big, loves carrot cake. And Baby, he just can't get enough of bailey's cream cheese frosting!

So I decided to combine both. ^^

Super moist carrot cake (recipe from sallysbakingaddiction with modifications)

~ makes a 9x9 inch square cake
100g brown sugar
3/4 cup / 180ml neutral tasting oil
1/4 cup / 60g sour cream (original recipe calls for yogurt)
4 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups / 250-280g cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg powder (a pinch is good enough for me)
1/2 tsp salt
3-4 carrots /300g finely grated carrots
3/4 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
3/4 cup raisins
4 egg whites
65 - 80g brown sugar

1. In a bowl, whisk 100g brown sugar and oil together. Mix in sour cream. Add egg yolks one at a time to the batter till well combined. Fold in vanilla extract.

2. In another bowl, sift cake flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together.

3. Place the dry ingredients, grated carrots, walnuts and raisins into the wet batter, and fold till just combined. Do not overmix.

4. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites till frothy, and slowly add in the 65-80g brown sugar. Beat till medium stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes.

5. Take 1/3 meringue and mix into the wet batter. Gently fold in the rest of the meringue till just combined. Do not overmix.

6. Bake in a preheated oven of 175-180C for about 35-38 minutes till cake is golden brown, or till skewer comes out clean.

Bailey's cream cheese frosting
125g cream cheese
2 tbsps / 30g butter
3/4 cup / 150g icing sugar, sifted
2 tbsps bailey's irish cream

Beat cream cheese, butter and icing sugar till light and fluffy. Fold in bailey's irish cream till well combined.

You know, I've always been wary of using vegetable oil in my bakes. I'm butter-girl! But I've to admit, this is one AWESOME cake! And I think I've figured it out ~ it's SOUR CREAM!!! ^^

If I didn't make this myself, I wouldn't even know this cake is made with vegetable oil! I'd think it was made with butter, using creaming and egg separation method. The texture and bite is exactly my kind of perfect cake! It's oh-so moist and springy plump "boing-boing". Gosh, you must think me mad for saying this.. well, it's almost succulent (as you would describe good ribs!), in a way. None of the flat, wet, sticky after taste texture you get from some veggie oil based cakes. PERFECT.

I've come to realize my post intros are getting shorter and shorter.. and there will probably come a time when I'll probably zip right to the recipe. After all, this blog is mainly to document recipes I've tried and liked.. and not ^^ But the post mortem and (over-)analyzing of my bakes is here to stay. Helps me to remember how I liked it and all ^^.

So for the record, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this carrot cake. A perfect carrot cake ~ just the way I like it. For once, it doesn't matter what piggies think (I didn't bother checking), "I" just think this is the best carrot cake I've made and had.. yet. ^^ A keeper!

Millionaire's shortbread

What could possibly go wrong when there's chocolate, caramel and sweet crust? ^^

You never know......

Millionaire's shortbread (recipe from deliciousmagazine)
~ use a 20x30cm / 9x13inch baking tray
175 g unsalted butter
75g caster sugar (50g is good enough for me)
250g plain flour

Caramel
100g unsalted butter
50g muscovado sugar (used raw sugar instead)
50g golden syrup
2x397g condensed milk

200g bittersweet chocolate
50-80ml heavy/whipping cream, own preference 

* Get the instructions at deliciousmagazine.

So, what went wrong...

1. I did not check out other recipes, and just followed this recipe on blind faith because it looks so easy and doable. Mistake.

2. I had decided to just make half the caramel recipe. Wise decision. 'Cos I later messed up the caramel.. twice! Note: KEEP STIRRING THE CARAMEL AT ALL TIMES!!! This is not mentioned in the original instructions. Lucky for me, I had some leftover caramel from a previous bake, so I used that. I recommend using your own favorite caramel recipe, lest you waste 2 good cans of condensed milk like I did ^^||

3. Melting the chocolate.. The minute I put the chocolate over the pot of simmering water. I realize it was not going to work. How do you spread such a thick paste? So I recommend adding some heavy/whipping cream for a more spreadable ganache. It's also a whole lot yummier when the chocolate is a bit ooey-gooey (even after it's set from chilling).

4. BTW, don't be a duh like me. "Leave to set" means chilling in the fridge, unless you live in the artic.

Ok, the shortbread did make it to the Sultan, in time for supper last night. And it's delicious, even with all the modifications! Phew! ^^

Ya, ya, how could one not love chocolate, caramel and sweet crust? Well, when you mess up big time, there is that moment when you don't!

p.s. Here's a shout out to you, mel (@melspantrykitchen)! Thank you! Spot one of your "thoughtfulness" in this post ^^

An end just means new beginnings

This has been one of the longest, yet also the shortest month ever. Finally, a long series of heartbreaking events has come to an end. Even though the damage's done, I'm still grateful. For better or worse, I'm looking forward to new beginnings for all the people I care deeply about.. and for myself too. Time is a great healer, and we grow wiser from mistakes. And having the chance to make things right is the best thing one could ever have.

My dearest titi pig, I hope you'll forever remember this past year and more. In time, I hope you'll prove yourself worthy again of the trust we place in you. We may be skeptical right now, but we haven't given up on you, so you too don't ever give up on us. We are all worth your every effort and time to win over again. There's nothing more important than family in this world. And the best thing is, you have the opportunity to make things right. So do right.

To my ah chek, I will always remember you for being the uncle who took us to all the fast food restaurants that ever opened on our shore! Thanks for being the most encouraging uncle to us kids. I have and will always remember and treasure the good memories. And know, I loved you too.. even though it's minute compared to the love you have for us when we were kids. I hope you are at peace. Praying you are in a better place and is well loved wherever you are.

Yesterday, while going through uncle's things, I found some old pictures of great grandma's funeral. And I found some pictures of me at probably 3 or 4 years of age, and I'm suddenly reminded of how I was once a precious daughter too. I guess I have kinda forgotten I was ever this small. But it sure felt great to be reminded.. hey, I am/was somebody(-ies)'s "precious" too! ^^ Mum even called me her diamond! Haha!

uncle, dad and precious

Sun-dried tomatoes and sausage quiche

Big's back!!! ^^ ^^ ^^

Sun-dried tomatoes and sausage quiche
Pastry (recipe from Dean Brettschneider's Sausage, Sun-dried Tomato & Potato Tart)
160g flour
120g butter, diced
a pinch of salt
2-3 tbsp fresh milk

Filling
5 sausages, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
6 sun-dried tomatoes, sliced thinly
250g (or more, or lots!) of grated tasty cheese! ^^
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup fresh milk I used skinny
some japanese mayo ^^ I added for fun ^^, optional
salt and pepper, to season

1. Prepare pastry. Blitz flour, butter and salt together with an electric mixer or processor, till they resemble breadcrumbs. Add fresh milk and mix till a dough is formed. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 mins or overnight. Or shortcut by rolling out pastry immediately and place on greased 22-cm round or rectangular tart tin, prick the base and then cover and refrigerate ^^.

2. Bake-blind pastry shell at 200C for 15-20 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake for another 5 mins. Or just use as it is, straight from the refrigerator, no baking required.. that's how I do it! ^^

3. In a non-stick pan, saute onions till slightly soft and fragrant. Add sausages and cook for a bit. Remove from pan and leave to cool.

4. In a bowl, mix eggs, fresh milk, japanese mayo, salt and pepper till well blended.

5. To assemble, place onions, sausages and sun-dried tomatoes evenly on the pastry shell. Then generously place grated cheese all over.

6. Gently pour the egg mixture over. And top generously with more grated cheese.

7. Bake in a preheated oven of 200C for 40 minutes, or 220C for 30 minutes, till golden.

Big pig says it's been a while since he had good quiche! Aaaaawwwwww... Isn't he the sweetest?! And this quiche didn't even have bacon in it!!! ^^

Big's back! Big's back! La-la-la-la.... ^^ ^^ ^^

Irish cream chocolate cake with irish cream cheese frosting

We're going through an irish cream phase.

I had baked an irish cream butter cake over the weekend, but the mini cake didn't make it to print, 'cos they were already demolished off before I could get hold of my camera! Yup, they were that good. ^^

So good that Baby pig suggested we make a fancier cake next.. with frosting, and more bailey's irish cream!

Irish cream chocolate cake with irish cream frosting
~ makes 2 mini loaves or 1 6-inch cake
115g unsalted butter
85g sugar
2 eggs
85g self-raising flour
2 tbsps (15g) cocoa powder (*may add extra 1 tbsp for a more chocolatey flavor)
a pinch of salt
4 tbsps (60ml) bailey's irish cream + 4 tbsps (60ml) milk

1. Beat butter and sugar together till light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time and mix till well combined.

2. Sift self-raising flour and cocoa powder together. Fold in 1/2 the flour, cocoa powder and salt into the cake batter. Add irish cream + milk, and mix till well blended. Fold in the rest of the dry ingredients.

3. Pour mixture into greased cake tin/s. Bake in a preheated oven of 170C for 30-35minutes, or till skewer comes out clean.

Irish cream cheese frosting
125g cream cheese
2 tbsps / 30g butter
3/4 cup / 150g icing sugar, sifted
2 tbsps bailey's irish cream
  
Beat cream cheese, butter and icing sugar till light and fluffy. Fold in bailey's irish cream till well combined.

I'm glad to report this cake experiment's a success! It's absolutely super duper yummy! I gave a whole mini loaf to Baby pig, and he asked why am I giving him so little??!!! ^^ ^^ ^^ He devoured half the cake before I could say, "What??!!!!". Yup, it's that GOOD!

I think what makes this cake awesome was the addition of irish cream in the cream cheese frosting. And the chocolate cake was the perfect foil for the frosting. The cake itself was nicely fragrant but the frosting made it outstanding. ^^

For the record, Fatty hubby really enjoyed this cake. And between us, we finished our mini loaf in record time! Hey, it's that GOOD!

This would make a wonderful celebration cake with layers of frosting, or as frosted cupcakes ^^. I'm so making these again this week for Chubby pig.. I think he'll love it. And for Big too, when he comes back in 4 months time! ^^ ^^ ^^

Bow ties are cool!

My Big and Baby pig are big fans of Dr Who. And they both think bow ties are cool! ^^

Hence my first attempt at fondant.. and a Dr Who bow tie cake for Baby pig's 13th birthday party. Ok, I can hear you. Don't laugh too hard, and cut me some slack. ^^

I just want to say that the shiny, glossy, sticky, wet look in the picture above, is really all due to the fondant sweating.. because of temperature change from cold to hot, humid (even with the air-con switched on! maybe not cold enough???). And remember, covering a COLD cake with room-temp fondant is also a NO-NO! Fondants are really temperamental! No sudden temperature change, please.. or you'll have sweating, sticky fondants! I learned this the hard way. Youtube didn't quite have this information, and the post on handling fondants in humid weather doesn't sink in till you experience it for yourself! ^^||

this is the fondant cake I was trying to copy.. and if mine didn't sweat, it would have been.. close, haha ^^

You know, I was feeling pretty upbeat when I had the white shirt collar, bow tie, jacket lapels fondant cut out. I had assembled them on a piece of parchment paper and they looked so perfect ^^.. exactly how I wanted them to be.. nice, dry and neat (!!!). However, the minute I covered the cold cake (red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting) with fondant (white shirt and dark grey jacket), it started to sweat and turned wet and sticky! Holy moly, yikes! ^^|| ^^|| ^^||

Of course, I've read that the fondant sweating will dry out eventually if you leave it at room temperature. But I could't do that! My cream cheese frosting could melt! What a Catch 22 situation, right? ^^||

Well, I'm trying not to be too harsh on myself. It's a pretty decent 1st attempt for someone who has never touched/used fondants.. and depended on youtube videos, some how-to fondant posts and one write up on handling fondants in humid weather by faitmaisonblog (too bad she didn't mention about fondant on cold cakes ^^||). Maybe I shouldn't be such a cheapo and maybe attend some classes.. nawwwwwhhh, I'm not doing this again for a long, long, long time!

Despite how it looks, the kids loved the fondant (eeeks!) and the red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. No pics of the cake I'm afraid, but I'm definitely going to make this red velvet recipe again.. it uses butter ~ my kind of cake ^^

Anyways, take away the shine and gloss, it's pretty ok. ^^ More importantly, Baby pig was very happy with his surprise cake! And I got 2 big hugs from him! And that's all that really matters! ^^ ^^ ^^

Happiness is...

An unexpected gift from a dear friend. Thanks, friend ^^ I love it!

A bit of this, and a bit of that bread and butter pudding - made to satisfy a late night sweet craving ^^!

~ serves 2-3 

bread, preferably stale bread

some softened butter

1 egg

milk, enough to cover bread

sugar, to taste 

a handful of raisins

a pinch of cinnamon powder, or two

1. Butter bread slices.

2. In a bowl, beat egg, milk and sugar together,

3. Place bread into a greased baking mould, and slice/tear bread into smaller pieces to fit. Scatter raisins all over.

4. Pour egg/milk mixture and make sure the liquid covers the bread. Spread cinnamon powder evenly over the bread mixture, and leave bread to soak for 15 minutes. Don't bother soaking if you don't have the time.

5. Bake in a preheated oven of 180C for 25 minutes, or till the crust is nicely golden brown. Serve warm ^^

A tea towel personally chosen and paid for by my dearest 12-year old Chubby pig ~ you had me at "aunts are special".. aaawwwwww ^^ and a little something from chubby momma and papa ~ a vintage kettle in grey-tones olive green and mocha, my kinda colors

A long awaited (2 years!) recognition from the almost-thirteen Baby pig ^^ dated wrongly, to keep up with tradition 

And sweet, sweet roses and gerberas from Baby pig and his momma ^^ that brightened my day! 

HAPPINESS IS.. KNOWING I'M LOVED

I am fairly certain that given a cape and a nice tiara, I could save the world ^^

I didn't plan on decadence or indulgence.. or world peace.. but it happened.

It all started with leftovers. One lone egg. A tub of sour cream. Plus it's close to that time of the year, and I'm again researching cakes for a special someone's birthday. And I saw this recipe.. using sour cream, no butter (?!)! 

Seriously, I just wanted to make chocolate cake.

Chocolate cake (recipe by amanda rettke, found in delish.com)

40g cocoa powder (I forgot to half the recipe and used 80g instead ^^||)

105g cake flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

150g caster sugar (I used 115g)

pinch of salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup or 120ml sour cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup coffee

1/2 cup or 100g milk chocolate, finely chopped

1. Sift cocoa powder, cake flour and baking soda in a bowl. Add sugar and salt. Mix till well blended.

2. Mix in egg, sour cream, vanilla and coffee. Mix till well combined and fold in chopped chocolates.

3. Pour into a greased 8" square tin.

4. Bake in a preheated oven of 170C for 30 minutes, or till skewer comes out clean.

I usually never taste the batter, but I did this time. Oh my, it was so very, very chocolatey and not sweet at all.. and that's when I realized I may have forgotten to halve the quantity of cocoa powder! Uh-oh..

So..... I set out to sweeten the cake.. with what else? More leftovers, of course! ^^

Let's see, a banana on the counter, salted caramel and "vintage" peanut butter in the fridge. And that's how DECADENCE HAPPENED.

Salted caramel

use your favorite, or see here and here

Peanut butter buttercream frosting

some peanut butter (100g)

some butter (50g)

some icing sugar (40g)

some cream (add to the consistency you like ^^)

Sometimes I feel really clever when I'm able to make use of leftovers, la-la-la days like this! Big pig once gave me a pack of pretty serviettes (which he "lugged" all the way from the US ^^), that he thinks totally says me.. "I am fairly certain that given a cape and a nice tiara, I can save the world"! 

Yes, that's him saying I'm somewhat delusional, haha! ^^ Hey, if I wasn't a little looney, we'd just be having chocolate cake! Instead, we're feasting on a lusciously indulgent chocolate cake laced with salted caramel, peanut butter buttercream frosting and bananas! 

And in case you missed it.. chocolate cake with salted caramel, peanut butter buttercream frosting and bananas could just be the answer to world peace ^^

A cake made with gula melaka and coconut milk.. and butter ^^

I have been craving cakes for about a week plus or so.

Baby pig is not helping as he told me he doesn't want any homey (@ unfrosted, un-fancy ^^||) cakes! Aaaaaarrrggghhhhhhh... oh, how I miss my dumpster, Big!

So what led to this happy ending? A pack of opened, barely used coconut milk, of course! Woo-hoo! I was attempting to cook indian asam curry fish head for the 1st time last night, and the taste wasn't quite right till I added some coconut milk (as advised, but didn't quite want to heed as I don't like coconut milk in my dishes).. so I had a 3/4 pack full of coconut milk which I didn't quite know what to do with.

And then I remembered mel@melspantrykitchen's palm sugar chiffon cake. And I found palm sugar@gula melaka in the fridge.. And the rest, as they say, is history! ^^

Gula melaka and coconut milk butter cake
~ fills an 8" baking tin
250g salted butter
180g gula melaka, grated or chopped
4 egg yolks
1-2 tbsps rum
150ml coconut milk
250g cake flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder, sifted
4 egg whites
40g sugar

1. Cream butter and gula melaka till light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Don't worry about the gula melaka bits.

2. Add egg yolks one at a time till well combined. Mix in rum.

3. Fold in sifted flours and alternate with coconut milk.

4. In another bowl, whisk egg whites till fluffy, and add in sugar bit by bit. Beat egg whites till it forms stiff peaks.

5. Fold in 1/3 egg egg whites into cake batter and mix well. Fold in the rest of the egg whites gently till well combined.

6. Pour into a greased 8" square baking tin (or any mould you like) and bake in a preheated oven of 170C for about 40-45 minutes, or till skewer comes out clean.

Whoa!!! This is one of the bestest, softest, moistest, perfect textured cake I have ever made! And it tastes amazing even fresh out of the oven! Even the picky, I-don't-want-cake Baby pig thinks it is wonderful! And went, mmmmmm... mmmmmmmm... mmmmmmmmm ^^

This OMG fragrant, nicely sweet cake is perfect eaten on its own. It goes very well with coffee and tea too, but I reckon the pairing would be even better if the cake was a touch sweeter.. since I don't put sugar in my coffee ^^.

Well, I'm really happy with how the cake turned out. This cake is so very enticing due to the gula melaka fragrance, and it's luscious as well, because of the addition of coconut milk making the texture soft-silken and moist. And I know I made the right choice using SALTED butter (my favorite salted butter, of course, Golden Churn ^^), 'cos the cake turned out really well-rounded.

I'm really happy.. oops, I said that already, haven't I? ^^ ^^ ^^

The Hedgehog Factory

Woo-hoo! The Hedgehog Factory is fully operational!

We participated in our 1st event, the home schoolers' sports day on friday! I'm so proud of Baby pig @ the littlest hedgehog @ CEO of The Hedgehog Factory!

We had a good outing. It was an eye-opener, and we gained valuable experience. Though we had a slow start, the outcome was beyond our wildest dreams. I do hope Baby remembers this season! And the learning that came with it! I, for one, will treasure all the time we spent working over the event! ^^

I have also come to realize my Baby is growing up, no longer the baby in my mind ^^. Despite never baking on his own before (only assisting sometimes), he could actually make the popcorn, brownies and choc chip cookies almost all by himself, minimum help from us. Guess, turning 13 this november does mean something. I'm not too sure if I want him growing up this fast!

Well, the loot from the bake-sale has gone into The Hedgehog Factory's coffers for Baby's college fund and his europe road trip with his kor-kor, Big. I really do hope they manage to make the trip together in 4 years time. ^^

A little side-track.. because I'm really shy and all ^^, I don't ever share/brag how very proud I am of all my piggies to my friends (I mustn't get started 'cos I wouldn't know where to stop! haha!). I can only do this here, where I'm incognito and can share some of my deepest and silliest thoughts. So here goes, Baby was placed 1st among 20 edison ttdi students in this year's poetry slam! Woo-hoo! He sure had big shoes to fill (Big was tops too a few years back!), and he worked so hard for it. And boy, was he in a class of his own! Way to go, baby! Kor-kor, Big, may be the poet, but you're the man! ^^

Well, it's been a wonderful kick-start to baby pig's entrepreneur voyage. I'm really, really happy ^^ ^^ ^^

Bon voyage, big!

My Big pig has left.

It's exactly 2 weeks today that he left for college far away in the States. I cried buckets when he left. And I cried every day for almost a week, before my tears finally dried up. I'm good now. And I'm happy he's all settled in nicely and liking the college he picked. And he's making new friends. What exciting times for him! ^^

Anyways, before he left, we had a big farewell party for him. I can tell you, Big pig was a HAPPY boy! Great company, beautiful home/venue by the lake (generously hosted by his aunt Chet) and lots of yummylicious food! What more can a boy ask for, rite! And I think we outdid ourselves with the food! But I'm sure kicking myself for forgetting to charge my camera battery and not taking pics of the mains and desserts.

As always, I volunteered to do the desserts. I made red velvet cuppies, hokkaido chiffon cuppies, apple crumble, peach crumble, banoffee slabs and key lime squares. Big made brownies ^^. I also made mini caramelized onions bacon quiches, mini caramelized onions chicken quiches and of course, macarons, for appetizers, at Big and Baby's request. ^^

my 1st successful macs!

Yup, you heard right. Macarons. The dreaded macarons. Which I've not had any success and had given up on 2 years ago, after 3-4 failed attempts! That one! Aaaaaaaargh! But what to do, my piggies want it.. so I gave it another shot. And finally.. success, at last! But macarons are still "iffy" for me.. sometimes I get them right, but not always! Anyways, I'm soooooo DONE with macarons! No more! Not for a long, long time! ^^  

leftover not-so-nice-looking macs ^^

To my dearest Big, I'm the one who's blessed to have had you to love, and to have you love me back too. So, till you come back in 9 months time.. blinkers on, and kick ass in college! Love you sooooooo sooooooo much! ^^ 

Banana chocolate chip petit cakes

My Chubby piggy loves the combination of banana and chocolate chip. I think it's a winning combo amongst kids.. probably because of the choc chips! ^^

When it comes to banana cakes, I love using Agnes Chang's recipe.. of course, with a few tweaks here and there ^^. Her recipes are easy to follow and pretty fail-proof for amateur bakers like me, and they're yummy too.

Banana cake (adapted from Agnes Chang's I Can Bake book)
~ makes an 8-inch cake, or 14 cupcakes and a small loaf cake
227g unsalted butter
170g sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas
1/2 cup or 120ml milk
240g cake or plain flour, sifted
1 scant tsp baking powder, sifted
1 scant tsp baking soda, sifted
150g chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 170C.

2. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes on an electric mixer.

3. Add eggs one at a time till well mixed, on low speed.

4. Fold in mashed bananas.

5. Sift flours together and mix into the cake batter alternating with milk in 2 or 3 batches. Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips.

6. Pour into lined cupcake tins or greased cake tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes for cupcakes, and about 50 minutes for a whole cake.

When I first started baking cakes, there's always a 50-50 chance they turned out dense and kuih-like ^^||. That's when I tried all methods, and re-discovered the egg separation method (a method favored by my aunt who fanned my taste for such cakes).. and also the use of self-raising flour.

Recipes using flour, baking powder and baking soda, stumped and eluded me. So I resorted to replacing them with self-raising flour. Of course by now, after many misses and trials, I know what I did wrong.. AND now, I SIFT my FLOUR/S TOGETHER for at least 3 times!!! Yup, so simple, right??! Also so simple for lazy people like me to miss and skip, haha!

This is the outcome of the direct, easy method of mixing in eggs. Texture is as beautiful, soft and moist as the eggs separation method. A minor, almost unnoticeable difference is that this cake has a slightly sandy-crumbs look. And though both are soft, the egg separation method gives a slightly spongey, wee QQ@boing-boing effect. Seriously, most people can't tell the difference.. not even my piggies who have been fed cakes using eggs separation method. Only the nit-picky.. like me, haha! ^^

Well, it has been good babysitting Chubby. We managed to cook instant noodles, fried rice and french toast together. I'm so proud of my Chubby, he made french toast for his parents after learning it. I think he's a natural ^^

Abso-licious apple pie!

My piggies' all time favorite treat ~ revisited! ^^

Can't believe it's been 2 years since I last made apple pie! Well, that's 'cos big and baby pig's mom makes the best apple pie.. so I steer clear of this bake. But since chubby pig is visiting and he doesn't get apple pie very much, I decided to make some for him. ^^

I've always wanted to make a latticed top crust, but I've never gotten it right ^^ll.. this time I used a ruler to make the strips after getting the idea from a baking show on tv. And success at last! Er, I know it's not exatly pretty and it's far from perfect, but at least, I'm half way there!  ^^

I used the same easy peasy apple pie recipe from martha stewart and smitten kitchen for the crust and used fuji apples for the filling because of its crunch. I don't care for green apples as I prefer a naturally sweetish pie which we usually eat as it is, sans vanilla ice cream most times! ^^

Well, there's nothing like having freshly baked, warm apple pie! Chubby was in seventh-heaven! He loves the flaky buttery crust and the gorgeous simple filling! ^^ "This is the best apple pie I've had!".. so chubby said. Er, well, he's not had that many to compare with, of course, haha! ^^

Now if the ultimate apple pie connoisseurs (big and baby), say it is.. then you'd better believe it! They have after all, been fed only the best apple pies! And they love this apple pie!

Poor fatty hubby.. there was none left for him. And boy, was he miffed. Sorry fatty, I'll make sure to make more next time! ^^

Orange chiffon cake ~ I love!

Oranges are so fragrant and sweet lately, they make exceptionally good cakes!

And that's why I made orange chiffon cake twice last week, despite the heat! They taste so refreshing and light.. absolutely perfect for the scorching conditions we have been experiencing lately.

This is my to-go recipe for all my chiffon bakes, a recipe shared by sonia@nasilemaklover. I have been using her fail-proof recipe as base, and I've had success every time. I hope whoever reads this, will give her recipe a shot, especially those who have trouble with chiffon cakes, like I used to. ^^

Along the way, I've learned a few things:

1. Beating egg whites till stiff means beating on medium speed (electric handheld mixer speed 3) for 4-5 minutes, no less than that, nor any longer.

2. Using grapeseed oil (a more neutral oil) gives a better fragrance and produces a lighter cake than using corn oil.

3. You CAN unmould chiffon cakes using your hands instead of cutting or sawing (^^||!) your cake out! Check out this link. You CAN have a beautifully unmoulded cake! ^^

4. Use cake flour. And sift them at least twice!

5. If baking cake using a single baking tin, cake can be baked in a preheated oven of 170C  (WITHOUT fan -forced) for 40-45 minutes. Set or use fan -forced oven only when baking using multiple baking tins.

6. There's no need to grease the tins! EVER!!! ^^

Sonia has mentioned "unmoulding chiffon cake using bare hands" method before in her posts, and I've been looking out for it ever since (I may have even missed it without realizing ^^||!!!). And of course, lazy me, just kept on waiting and waiting... Last week, after cutting and sawing a big chunk off and making a mess out of one of my bakes, it finally occurred to me I could just easily google the method up (duh??!!!)..oops, haha! ^^

Orange chiffon cake (recipe adapted from nasilemaklover)
5 egg yolks
20g sugar
zest of 1 orange
90g orange juice (not enough? just top up with water ^^)
70g grapeseed oil (this is a lighter and more neutral tasting oil compared to corn oil)
125g cake / low protein flour, SIFTED
5 egg whites
90g sugar
1 tsp lemon juice / 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1. Whisk egg yolks and sugar till light (from yellow to pale yellow).

2. Add in orange juice and zest, and mix well.

3. Add oil and mix till combined.

4. Fold in sifted flour till well mixed.

5. In another bowl, beat egg whites and lemon juice/cream of tartar till foamy. Add sugar bit by bit, and continue beating the egg whites till STIFF, ABOUT 4-5 MINUTES on an electric hand mixer at speed 3!!!

6. Take 1/3 of the meringue and add to the cake mixture. Mix well by using a SPATULA. Gently fold in the rest of the meringue into the cake mixture. It's ok if there's still some swirls or small bubbles of meringue left in the cake mixture.

7. Pour mixture into a clean (NON-greased!!) 20-cm chiffon tin. Tap the cake tin on the counter once to remove air trapped in the batter.

8. Bake in a preheated oven of 170C for 40-45 minutes. If baking in mutiple baking tins, use FAN-FORCED oven at 160C for 40-45 minutes

9. Remove from oven and turn the cake tin upside down and leave to cool completely. Unmould cake by running a sharp knife against the sides, or by bare-hands method ^^.

For an easy, light and refreshing cake to counter the heat, look no further! An orange chiffon cake fits the bill perfectly! ^^

* updated on 11th july 2014

World's best cake ^^

Seriously? Can you hear "make me, make me, make me..!"? ^^ That's what I immediately wanted to do!

But after "rationally" thinking it over.. er, the sugar content was kind of a wake up call (!), I decided this cake needed the right occasion and person to justify making it! And it's my sweet lovin' chubby pig who gets to be my guinea pig this time round, hehe! He turns 12 today! ^^

World's best cake (recipe by sweet paul)
~ serves 8
10 1/2 tbsp (150g) butter, softened
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar (I reduced to 3/4 recipe ^^)
1 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
5 large eggs, separated
1/3 cup whole milk (greedy me used  1/2 cup)
1/4 cup sliced almonds (a little more won't hurt)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean or 1/ tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350F / 180C. Line an 8x12-inch baking tin with parchment paper. Since I did not have a baking tin of that size, I made do with a 7x10 inch tin and a medium loaf tin.. maybe using a 9x13 tin would be better?

2. Beat butter and 2/3 (or 1/2) cup sugar till light and creamy, about 3 minutes.

3. Add sifted flour and baking powder, and mix well on low speed.

4. Mix in the egg yolks and milk.

5. Place the batter into the baking tin/s.

6. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites (if using pasteurised egg whites, do add some lemon juice or cream of tartar!) and the remaining sugar (3/4 cup) to soft peaks. Spread on top of cake batter and sprinkle almond slices over.

7. Bake for 30 minutes. When the meringue is golden brown and puffed, remove from oven and leave to cool.

8. When the cake is cool, prepare to whip the cream with the scraped vanilla seeds (discard pod). Beat to soft peaks, about 3 minutes.

9. To assemble the cake, cut the cake into half crosswise with a serrated knife. Place one half of the cake on a serving tray and cover with whipped cream. Place the other half, meringue side up, on top of it.

10. Leave to cool in the fridge/chiller for at least 1 hour before serving.

Yeah, yeah.. the cake should be in 2 layers, I know ^^|| But for chubby, I decided that a layer is good enough. I'm quite afraid a 2 layer cake won't withstand the drive to chubby's. I'm only sending it later in the evening when I can bear to go out. I do hope he likes it! ^^

And no, I haven't had any yet.. the weather's so unbelievably hot! hot! hot!, I want my cakes properly chilled and cold!!! ^^||||| I will give my verdict and update once I've had some.. just look out for it right at the end of this post! ^^

Happy birthday, chubby! xoxo world's best kuku ^^ ^^ ^^


Updated 24th June 2014:
Ho ho! This is a delicious cake! World's best? Definitely one of the best ^^ it's like having really good yellow cake with light fluffy frosting ~ the combination of cake, fluffy meringue, light whipped cream and toasted almond slices is totally perfect in the mouth! Yums! ^^

The only gripe I have with this cake is the meringue ~ i dislike the eggy taste/smell.. however, it's totally unnoticeable when you eat it with the cake, whipped cream and toasted almonds! I should have persisted with my pasteurized egg whites that wouldn't whip! I now know it's not impossible to do it, just have to add some lemon juice or cream of tartar, and continue beating madly, haha!

Well, this cake befits its title. Certainly one of the best tasting ^^ Perfect eaten chilled on a hot day!

Chocolate cupcake with nutella swiss meringue buttercream ^^

This is a little surprise for my piggies. Mainly to celebrate Big pig finishing his AP exams.

My Big will be off to college in August.. and I'm still coming to terms with him leaving the coop so soon. He is, after all, my first love.. pure and unconditional.. and at first sight too. I'm a little sad.. a little.. Someone just told me not to cry when he leaves.. I will try my best. I have a pretty loose crying duct.

Moist chocolate cake (adapted from Agnes Chang, let's eat)
~ makes 12 cupcakes & a 6-inch round cake
220g sugar (it's perfect for me at 180g ^^) 
250ml milk
1 tsp instant coffee
250g unsalted butter
3 eggs
135g plain flour
60g cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
some nutella, optional

1. Place sugar, milk and instant coffee in a saucepan and heat till sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat. Add butter and stir till melted. Leave to cool.

2. Fold in eggs one at a time into the cooled milk mixture. Or use egg separation method for bouncy light cakes!

3. Sift flours and cocoa powder together and mix into the egg mixture.

4. Pour into cupcake liners and bake at 170C for 25 minutes. Or a greased cake tin for 40-45 minutes, or till skewer comes out clean.

5. When the cupcakes are cool, fill cake with nutella (place in piping bag with nozzle) by pushing the piping nozzle into the centre of the cake and pipe in filling.. this is optional ^^ Spread leftover nutella jam on cake if you like ^^

Nutella swiss meringue buttercream (adapted from the cakemerchant)

~ frosts 12 cupcakes

3 egg whites

75g sugar

227g unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup nutella

1. Put egg whites and sugar in a heat-proof bowl over a pan/pot of simmering water (without bottom of bowl touching the water). Whisk egg whites and sugar till sugar melts (rub mixture between fingers, if mixture is no longer grainy (smooth) to the touch, it's ready ^^). Remove from heat.

2. Whisk egg whites mixture till white, fluffy and glossy for about 10 minutes.

3. Add diced butter bit by bit into the mixture. If mixture curdles, just continue whisking till it all comes together again. It always does, just be patient ^^.

4. Add vanilla extract and nutella till well combined. Place in the fridge if buttercream is too soft, and beat for a bit if it's too stiff straight out from chilling.

These cupcakes are inspired by rima@bisouatoi ~ I saw her gorgeous chocolate cupcakes with nutella swiss meringue buttercream and a piece of ferrero rocher chocolate on facebook ~ and I knew these would be perfect for piggies! Never mind that all my piggies are not that big on chocolate desserts.. they are sure to fall for the ferrero rocher trick! Haha!

I haven't made anything fancy or frosting for some time.. I hope piggies will like this treat ^^