Month: March 2010

Portuguese Egg Tarts ; Baby’s Favourite

4 Comments

Been watching the Gem of Life, a Hong Kong tv serial and they started talking about egg tarts. Although what they had are birds’ nest egg tarts, and of course I can’t afford getting birds’ nest here. haha I decided to do baby’s favourite – Portuguese egg tarts ! (:

who could resist this hot custard tart with a caramelised top ? I have been wanting to make these for the longest time. The last time I had a really good tart was at KFC in Guangzhou. hehe Sadly, mine didn’t turn out the same way. But I will be doing alot of trail and error to try and get it as close as possible! hehe

When I decided to make these tarts, I went around looking for a recipe and found one on Rasa Malaysia. They used pie crust as their tart base, but I decided to use puff pastry instead cause I wanted the buttery and flaky texture of the tart. It’s a pity my aluminium tart mould is too shallow, the amount of custard that could fill the tarts wasn’t enough! hehe so will try and find moulds that are slightly deeper (:

alrightie. Enough talking! Here’s the recipe of the egg tarts I’ve made! Hope you will enjoy it as much we did!

Continue reading →

Tiramisu

4 Comments

at a house warming, what kind of dessert would you serve a whole group of very good friends?

of course something everyone would enjoy and something you know your guest would enjoy.

at my own mini house warming. I decided to make tiramisu.

not a sophisticated dessert, but what’s better than the combination of coffee, kahlua and mascarpone?

NOTHING!

haha no I kid. I’m sure there are other combinations that might just be better than this. but for that night, I think that would be a perfect combination for a after burger dessert. (: Not just any burger. It’s baby’s special burger stuffed with cheese!

I learnt this yummy dessert from Vanessa (thanks for the recipe though I know you’ve got to attend to something more urgent, hope you’re doing okay) at a cooking class I attended a couple of years ago. and to me, this recipe is simple and the result is better than those store bought ones! But because it’s her recipe, I won’t be posting the recipe on my blog. Sorry about that!

I’m glad that everyone enjoyed the dessert as well as the burgers! (: Thanks for coming everyone! It’s a pity we didn’t take pictures of that night as well as more food pictures. I shall attempt to steal some photos from Queenie haha.

and just for Cheok and my baby at home, I made a secret second one in the fridge! haha Just in case we have those sugar cravings through the week!

want a bite ? hehe

Butter Crumb Coffee Cupcake

4 Comments

so how do you like your coffee? Strong or light? Decaf? Well this cake would please all! (: Unless you are the kind that only drinks espresso. haha Then well, you can add more coffee to this recipe and you will also be happy!

Thanks to Eat and Be Happy, I got to come across this recipe and being a big fan of both coffee and streusel. I tweaked the recipe a little but the texture of the cake with the combination of the crumble – it’s SOO GOOD! (:

Have this with a cup of tea or coffee, make a perfect tea snack. (:

so here’s the recipe.

Continue reading →

Guest Post : My Baby !

10 Comments

One of the people who inspires me to cook and bake is no doubt my baby

and of course he himself is a chef! hehe and when he cooks, the food is just awesome! hehe

some of his famous dishes are his crispy skin pork that my family adores, his chicken rice, and of course during chinese new year, his big treasure pot! (: There are alot more, so stay tuned for more in the future! hehe

so a week ago, while walking and shopping for groceries at Woolworths, we saw yam selling cheap! so baby decided to get a relatively big one and make steamed yam cake!

so what is steamed yam cake? it’s a local delicacy back home in sunny Singapore and is usually enjoyed as morning snacks or even for breakfast with rice rolls and a special sweet sauce. This savoury snack is always enjoyed in my house as well as in baby’s household and his grandma makes the best ones I heard (: It’s made of cubed yam and rice flour and is denser than the steamed carrot cake (and my mummy makes a mean carrot cake which I miss so much), and is topped with spring onions, fried shallots, chilli and dried shrimps! I had it for breakfast this morning and it’s super yummy!

So try and make it and hope you will enjoy it as much we did! (:

Continue reading →

Easy Pork Chops with Apple Sauce

2 Comments

Sorry about the recent fascination with pork chops. haha Baby and I got it pretty cheap at Footscray market and we just couldn’t resist buying! We ended up buying almost 3kg of pork chops. haha

so that’s why I’m experimenting on different recipes that I can get my hands on! (:

Tonight. I decided to go all western! and what goes better with pork than apple sauce? it’s like a match-made in heaven!

The apple sauce could be done in less than 10 mins or you could even do it the day before and make it hot just before you serve your pork chops! (: and it’s not difficult at all!

Recipe (Adapted by Heat Beads)

Apple Sauce

2 Grannysmith apples, cut into small pieces

25g butter

2 tsp caster sugar (or alter to your liking)

Steps :

1. Peel and chop the apples into small pieces. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a moderate heat.

2. Add the apples, cover the pan and cook down until the apples have softened. Sweeten with sugar to taste.

3. Using an electric stick blender, process the apples until smooth. Alternatively, push the apples through a sieve. If necessary, add a dash of water to thin down the apple sauce. Leave on one side while you fry the chops.

Pork Chops

3 Pork Chops

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Olive oil (for frying)

Salt and Pepper to season

A dash (or more) Tabasco sauce

Steps :

1. Make light incisions in a criss-cross pattern on one side of the pork chops.

2. Brush the chops with olive oil and place on a plate scored side upwards.

3. Squeeze over the lemon juice and push the  garlic into the incisions. Leave for about twenty minutes.

4. Just before you fry it (or on the barbecue), add the tabasco and season well.

5. Cook the chops, scored side upwards for about 5-7 minutes on one side – until slightly charred and crisp. Flip the chops over and cook for a further minute or two. By this time, the chops should be tender and cooked through. The shorter cooking time helps stop the garlic from burning. (Don’t worry about cooking it longer than this time especially if your chops are on the bone, it will stop it from over-cooking!)

Bon Appetite!

Melting Moments with Lemon Buttercream

Leave a comment

ever wanted to make something that takes really little time and yet tastes so good that you would squeeze in time just to make them?

Having more time on my hands now, all I want to do is bake. haha so cupcake one day, today cookies!

to be honest, I was never a cookie person (baby is!) normally my cookies don’t come out good. but this one is simple enough to taste yumms!

so give it a try! (: Then you won’t have to pay $2 (or more) for one at a cafe! haha

Continue reading →

A Cupcake That Brings Back Memories

Leave a comment

What is your favourite snack when you were little?

I had many : sweets, chocolates, cookies, ice cream, jellies, chocolate, sweets, cookies. haha

but one of my favourites and also one that I still love now (but keeping it in control) is the oreo cookie! (:

so how do you eat your oreo?

Do you…

1) Twist it gently, lick off the cream and enjoy the chocolate cookie after

2) Dip into cold milk and allow it to soften 9doesnt take long!) and put it in your mouth, allowing it to dissolve slowly.

3) Just throw it in whole!

Well. I’m a number two! haha my favourite is dipping it in cold milk. Absolutely divine. hehe

the only way I will have my oreo whole. haha (: love it!

but I decided to do something else with the oreo cookie today

Decided to use it to make cupcakes!

I searched and searched and chance upon this blog that had the most yummy looking cupcake so I decided to use her recipe. Thanks Lucy!

just so happen I broke it and left the whole word there! (: love it!

I had alot of fun crushing the oreos. it was kinda therapeutic! hehe and I used more than what the recipe asked for. Just cause. (:

so here’s the recipe!

Continue reading →