Category: Dessert

Brooklyn Blackout Cake

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Since Peggy was going to be away for her birthday.
and she invited us over for dinner at their place.
I decided to bake a birthday cake for her.
and also a gesture to thank the both of them
cause they always invite us to join them for dinners or day adventures! hehe
so it was a must to bake her a cake.
was a bit worried. cause i decided to bake something I’ve never tried before.
seriously daring.
and maybe seriously OUT OF MY MIND. hahaha.
but yes. it turned out pretty well!
and hopefully she enjoyed it (:

it was my first three layer cake! (:
i kinda suck at baking big cakes.
more of a cupcake person.
but i think it doesnt look half bad! right? haha

i was quite happy with how it looks after we cut out a piece! (:

success! (:

im a happy girl. hehe

Recipe:
(From The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook)

ingredients:

100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
260g caster sugar
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
45g cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
a pinch of salt
170g plain flour
160 ml whole milk

chocolate custard:

500g caster sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
125g cocoa powder
200g cornflour
85g unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

also need:
3 20cm cake tins, base-lined with greaseproof paper

Steps :

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees celcius (Gas 3)

2. Put the butter and sugar in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or a handheld electric whisk)
and cream until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl
with a rubber spatula after each addition.
Turn the mixer down down to slow speed and beat in the vanilla extract, cocoa powder,
baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt until well mixed.
Add half the flour, then all the milk, and finish with the remaining flour.
Mix well until everything is well combined.

3. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tins and smooth over with a palette knife.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 mins.
Leave the cakes to cool slightly in the tins
before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

4. For the chocolate custard: Put the sugar, golden syrup, cocoa powder and 600ml of water
into a large saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat, whisking occasionally.

5. Mix in the cornflour with 120ml of water, then whisk into the cocoa mixture in the saucepan.
Bring back to boil , whisking constantly.
Cook until very thick, about 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract.
Pour the custard into a bowl, cover with clingfilm and chill until very firm.

6. When the cakes are cold, using a serrated knife, slice a thin layer off one of the cakes.
Put this layer into a food processor and process to make fine crumbs.
Put one cake on a cake stand and spread about one-quarter of the chocolate custard over it with a palette knife.
Place a second cake on top and spread another quarter of the custard over it.
Top with the last cake and spread the remaining custard over the top and sides.
Cover with the cake crumbs and chill for about 2 hours.

crazy about puffs.

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well a few weeks back I’ve tried baking durian puffs back home.
now that I’m back.
and it’s just the start of uni.
I’ve got a bit of time to do some baking!
and I’m still in this cream puff stage. haha
so i decided to make some cream puffs filled with home-made vanilla custard! (:
and they were super yum! hehe
baby enjoyed them alot. hehe
and they were super shiok when it’s chilled.

made one batch of choux pastry and initially one batch of custard.
but the choux pastry was taken from one recipe
and the custard another.
so I didn’t quite know how many puffs I would get
and how much the custard would be able to fill.
so I ended up making another 2 batches of custard. haha
yes. custard crazy!
but worth the hard work.
really enjoy making them. (:
though I think the puffs I made back home were a bit better. hehe
this one didn’t lose out much!

ps: if you have the ingredients from the baking mum website for the choux pastry
give that one a try.
the pastry is a little better in texture.
I didn’t have the different flours so I used the recipe from masterchef instead.

YUMI-NESS! (:


Ingredients :

Choux Pastry
(Adapted from Masterchef)

212g water
265g milk
10g sugar
10g salt
200g butter
265g flour
8 eggs

Pastry cream
(Adapted from Baking Mum)

720ml skim milk
15 tbsp caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
3 egg + 6 yolks
6 tbsp cornstarch

Steps :

For the Pastry Cream

1. Mix 180ml of milk with the cornstarch till smooth.
2. Add the beaten egg and yolks into the cornstarch mixture.
3. Boil the remaining milk with sugar and vanilla essence in a saucepan till bubbling hot.
Pour 1/3 of this hot milk into the egg cornstarch mixture. Stirring all the time.
4. Now pour the egg cornstarch mixture through a strainer into the rest of the boiling milk.
Stirring constantly till mixture thicken. Do not burn the custard.
5. Cling wrap custard with glad wrap with the wrap touching the surface of the custard
(this is to prevent a hard film forming on surface of the custard) and chill till ready to use.

For the Choux Pastry

1. Preheat the oven to 210°c convection. Lightly grease 4 oven trays and set aside. Combine
the butter with water, sugar, milk & salt in a large heavy-based saucepan and bring to the
boil. Remove from the heat and using a wooden spoon quickly beat in the flour. Return to the
heat and continue beating until the mixture comes together and leaves the side of the pan.
Cook, beating over low heat for 1-2 minutes to cook flour. Remove from heat and allow to
cool slightly.

2. Transfer to a large bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat the mixture to release any more heat.
Gradually add the eggs, one at a time. Beat well between each addition until all the eggs
have been added and the mixture is thick and glossy. Beat for a few more minutes, or until
thickened.

3. Spoon the mixture, in batches, into a piping bag fitted with a 1.25-1.5cm nozzle. Cover
remaining pastry with cling film. Pipe mixture onto trays about 3cm x 2cm high leaving room
for spreading.
Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 180°c and bake for another 10 mins,
in batches, or until firm and hollow when tapped.
Transfer puffs to wire racks.

4.Put custard into a piping bag with a nozzle less than 1cm. Poke a small hole in the base of
each puff and fill with custard.

DONE! (:

Sounds like alot of work.
but I promise you the effort is worth it!
cause it’s super duper yummy! hehe

ENJOY!

Durian Puffs

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Mummy told me there were leftover durians in the fridge
which she already took the flesh out.
so I decided to make durian puffs! hehe
for the first time!
and it was a HUGE success! hehe
everyone loved it.
which made me happy. cos I dun eat durian
and I wouldn’t know how it tasted. haha
took a huge risk! (: but was a good one to take. hehe

how yummy do they look? hehe
i was super happy! hehe

everyone had a lot of creamed durian in it. haha
my grandma loved it! hehe
wheeee! (:

and cheok came over that night.
and he had to try some as well haha

hopefully that expression meant he liked it. haha.

Ingredients:

Choux Pastry:
(I doubled this recipe)
85ml water
50g butter
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
50g bread flour
20g cake flour
2 eggs (lightly beaten)

Durian Fillings:
200 or 250 ml of non-diary whipping cream
equivalent amount of durian pulps
10 gm of gelatine powder
3 tbsp of hot water to dissolve gelatine powder

Steps:

Choux Pastry:
1. Cook water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan till bubbling hot. Turn the heat to low.

2. Add in the flour mixture in one go and mix with a wooden spoon till a dough is formed.

3. Still on low heat, cook the dough for 1 – 2 minutes till a thin white film is formed at the bottom of the saucepan.

4. Transfer dough to a mixing bowl and beat till it is lukewarm.

5. Add in egg by thirds and mix till well blended and smooth.

6. Place batter into piping bag and pipe it onto a lined pan in rounds of about 5cm in diameter.
Spray some water on it.

7. Bake at 200C for 25 minutes then 180C for 8 – 10 minutes or till dry and golden brown in color.
Turn off the oven and let it cool in the oven for 30 minutes.

8. For the durian filling, whip up whipping cream to a soft peak.
Add in durian pulps and melted gelatine powder and mix well.
Put fillings in a piping bag and pipe it out into the baked choux pastry.
If you like, you can just spoon the fillings into the pastry too.
Dust the top of the pastry with some snow powder and leave it in fridge to chill before serving.

YUMSSSS! (:
I’m a happy girl!
Super good to be home. hehe

Plum Tatin with Ice cream

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Ingredients :
(from The F Word)

4 large ripe but firm plums
60g cold butter
60g caster sugar
300g puff pastry (one sheet of ready made puff pastry)
Ice cream to serve

Steps :

1. Preheat oven to 200°C/Gas 6.

2. Make sure the plums aren’t too ripe or they’ll fall apart when you try to cook them.
Halve the plums and remove the stones.
Cut into quarters and arrange, cut side down, on a tray lined with kitchen paper.
If you have time, refrigerate the plums overnight to dry them out a little
(this will help prevent the plums from releasing too much juice during cooking).

3. Cut the butter into thin slices and use to cover the base of a 21cm ovenproof pan
(or four small separate pans if you’re making individual tarts), no deeper than 6cm.
Sprinkle over the sugar evenly, then arrange the plum quarters in a circle around the pan,
cut side down, adding one or two quarters in the centre.

4. Place the pan over a medium heat and let the butter and sugar melt,
gently shaking the pan once in a while to encourage the caramel to form.
When the syrup has caramelised to a terracotta colour, after about 10 minutes, take the pan off the heat.
Set aside.

5. If you’re using your own puff pastry,
roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured board to a 24cm round
(or into four 6cm rounds if you wish to make individual tarts),
using a cake tin as a template.
if you’re using the ready made puff pastry sheet,
using a plate as a template, cut out the 24cm round.
Prick the pastry all over with a fork, then lift it up using a rolling pin and lay over the plums.
Carefully tuck the pastry edges down the side of the pan. Prick a hole in the top of the pastry.

6. Bake for 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 180˚C
and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and crisp.

7. Leave the tart to cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto a large serving plate.
Slice into individual portions and serve warm with dollops of clotted cream.

before I flipped it over. nice and crisp and golden!

our individual portions (:

we were happy and so were our tummys!

sticky date pudding

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I got to make the Sticky Date pudding that was shown on Masterchef Australia a couple of weeks ago.
at long last. haha.
had the mind and heart to give it a try! hehe
and i must say.
I am super happy with how it turned out! hehe
from the pudding, to the praline to the butterscotch sauce.
absolutely loved it!

Baby holding up the whole piece of almond praline! hehe
nice colour aye? hehe
baby helped me with it. (:

the puddings coming out of the oven.
i didn’t have the metal holders.
so I just used the ramekins
and it came out nicely as well. hehe
almost like a souffle right? haha.
but really moist and spongy on the inside.

served with the butterscotch sauce and whipped cream with vanilla seeds.
AWESOME! (:
super happy hehe.

Recipe by Kirsten Jenkins – Masterchef Australia

Ingredients :
(Makes 8)

180g dates, pitted and roughly chopped
1¼ cups (310ml) water
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
¾ cup (165g) firmly packed brown sugar
60g butter, softened chopped
2 eggs
1 cup (150g) self-raising flour

Almond praline
½ cup (110g) caster sugar
¼ cup (35g) slivered almonds

Butterscotch sauce
50g butter
1 cup (220g) brown sugar
1 cup (250ml) cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Steps :

1. Preheat oven to 180˚C (160˚C fan-forced).
Lightly grease eight (½ cup capacity) metal dariole moulds.
(I used ramekins! turned out good too!)

2. Place dates and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil over a high heat.
Remove from the heat.
Add bicarbonate of soda, stir until dates start to break down, set aside to cool, stirring occasionally.

3. Beat butter and sugar in a bowl using a hand beater,
gradually add eggs one at a time, beat until light and fluffy.

4. Add date mixture, stir to combine.
Carefully fold through sifted flour, divide mixture evenly between the eight moulds, until 2/3 full.

5. Place moulds in a baking tray,
carefully pour water in tray until it comes up 1/3 of the side of the moulds.
Bake in oven for 40 minutes or until golden and skewer comes out clean.

6. Meanwhile, for the almond praline, combine sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a saucepan over medium heat
and cook caramel without stirring, swirling pan, until deep golden.
Scatter almonds onto a baking paper-lined oven tray, pour over caramel and cool until set.
Break praline into pieces.

Enjoy! (:

bloomin’ easy vanilla cheesecake

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sorry about the super poor quality photos
i think it’s time to change my camera. haha
but yes.
it sure has satisfied our cheesecake cravings
and though I was a bit anxious to have it when it’s not cold enough.
it was still quite good!
the best result was when you chill it over night in my opinion.
YUMS!

and it’s pretty easy to make as well.
so give it a shot! (:
can last you for ages! haha
(we still have half in the fridge, awesome for exam preparations!)

so here is the recipe :

Bloomin’ Easy Vanilla Cheesecake
(Adapted from Jamie Oliver)

Ingredients :

150g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
250g digestive biscuits, crushed
115g caster sugar
3 tablespoons of corn flour
900g cream cheese, at room temperature
2 large eggs
115ml double cream
1 vanilla pod (I used 1 tsp of vanilla extract with vanilla beans)
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 orange

Steps :

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4, and grease and line the bottom and sides of a 24cm springform cake tin.
Mix the biscuits and butter in a bowl, press into the base of the prepared tin and cook for 10 minutes.
Then remove from the oven and allow to cool.

2. Turn the oven up to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6.
Combine the sugar and cornflour in a bowl.
Add the cream cheese and beat, ideally with an electric whisk, until creamy.
Add the eggs and beat well.
Gradually add the cream, beating until smooth,
then beat in the vanilla seeds or extract and lemon and orange zest.

3. Scrape the mixture on to the biscuit base, and gently shake it to level out the surface.
Put the cheesecake in the centre of the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes
until the top is golden brown and the filling has set around the edges.
(A piece of foil over the top will stop it browning too much.)
Let it cool at room temperature and serve after 2 or 3 hours, or,
for a slightly firmer texture, put it in the fridge until it’s nice and cold.
(Overnight is best or at least for 3 hours)

DONE! (:

Enjoy!

chocolate souffle : second night in a row !

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I watched Masterchef and they made a chocolate and jaffa souffle
Not a big fan of jaffa.
I left it out.
so it’s just chocolate Souffle. for the second night in a row! haha

because I never had my souffle rise perfectly on the sides.
I was hoping this one would be it.
and IT WAS IT! hehe

it rose. perfectly.
i was super happy! hehe
and it was still nice and gooey in the center.
the way baby likes it. hehe

poke it in the middle and add a scoop of ice cream
match-made in heaven  hehe

guess who’s the happiest girl on Earth?
*jumps*
awesome. and super easy as well! hehe

Ingredients :

120g of 70% dark chocolate
4 eggs, seperated
50g sugar, and extra to coat the ramekins
butter to coat the ramekins

Steps :

1. Preheat the oven at 200 degrees celcious.

2. Boil a pot of water and put a heat proof bowl over to melt the chocolate.
Make sure you don’t get any water in the chocolate, or it will be ruined.
Butter the ramekins with a brush and with upward strokes on the sides.
Coat the buttered ramekins with caster sugar.

3. Cool the melted chocolate and beat in the egg yolks.
IN another bowl, beat the egg whites with a bit of the sugar to get the meringue started.
Slowly add the rest of the sugar till you get stiff peaks.

4. Add 1/3 of the meringue mixture into the chocolate mixture until incorporated.
Then slowly stir in the rest of the meringue mixture gently.

5. Scoop the mixture into the ramekins slowly and carefully, not to get any on the sides.
Then bake it in the over for 10 mins.

6. Sift icing sugar over the top immediately after you’ve taken it out of the oven
and put a scoop of ice cream in the middle of the souffle.

7. INDULGE.

Chocolate Souffle. DONE!

Bon Appetit everyone (:

two for you ; two for me ♥

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so what do I do when I don’t feel like studying or reading journals?
I bake.
for me. it is therapeutic.
and a form of a stress-reliever for me.
so I always look through recipes that I’m interested in.
and wish I have the ingredients
and get the baking started!

So a few weeks ago I tried the chocolate souffle recipe from The F Word.
but felt like making it again
but this time using another recipe to see if it works better.
and it did! hehe (:



I signed up for a membership with Epicurious.com
and it’s free to look at the recipes they put up! hehe
and the recipes are from the food magazines like Gourmet and Bon Appetit.
so the recipes are pretty darn yums! hehe

I hoped and prayed that it rose nicely
and not overflow.
and it rose pretty nicely in my opinion haha
but I’ve yet to make one that rises perfectly vertical.
well. will keep trying! haha

i think it looks quite pretty!
especially with the icing sugar on top. hehe

a close up shot of the souffle (:

DIG IN. haha
literally! I attacked the middle of the souffle first.
if only we had ice cream!

i couldn’t stop myself from snapping away! hehe

Give this a try! it’s really easy and foolproof!
and u can whip it up in less than 30mins!

Chocolate Souffles
(Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, Epicurious)

Ingredients :

1/4 cup granulated sugar plus additional for dusting the dishes
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
1 large egg yolk
2 large egg whites
confectioners’ sugar for dusting the soufflés

Steps :

Butter 2 shallow 3/4-cup gratin dishes and dust them with the additional granulated sugar,
shaking out the excess.

In a bowl blend together 2 tablespoons of the remaining granulated sugar,
the flour, the cocoa powder, the butter, and a pinch of salt until the mixture resembles meal.
(I rubbed in the butter into the flour and cocoa mixture using my hands)

In a saucepan bring the milk to a boil.
Whisk the cocoa mixture into the milk with the chocolate, cook the mixture over moderate heat,
whisking, for 1 minute, or until it is thickened, and let it cool.

In a bowl beat the egg yolk slightly and beat in the chocolate mixture.
In another bowl beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks,
add the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, a little at a time, beating,
and beat the meringue until it holds stiff glossy peaks.

Stir one fourth of the meringue into the chocolate pastry cream to lighten it
and fold in the remaining meringue gently but thoroughly.

Divide the mixture between the prepared dishes
and bake the soufflés in a shallow baking pan in the middle of a preheated 400°F. oven for 15 minutes,
or until they are puffed.

Dust the soufflés decoratively with the confectioners’ sugar and serve them immediately.

Chocolate Souffle. DONE!

I dunno how I did it and I didn’t do it on purpose
but i ate it half way and realise that it was in a shape ♥.

absolutely. AWESOME. (:

Creme brulee

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I bought the blow torch and ramekins set
and been wanting to try making creme brulee for the longest time yet
and so I did! (:

and im really glad that I did. hehe
cause I got to use the blow torch for the very first time!

and i must say. they are super yummy!

when the idea struck me yesterday
what I didn’t know is that creme brulee needs to set in the fridge overnight. haha
so my over-excitement of having it last night died haha.
but when I got home today in the afternoon
Baby tempted me to have it to “clear the fridge” haha
and being me.
I gave in! hehe happily i must add. hehe


cooled and ready for the fridge! hehe

me using the blow torch caramelizing the sugar hehe

really enjoying myself haha. a bit too much i think. oopsie. (:

nicely coloured. hehe. DIG IN!

and check out the black specks of vanilla seeds! hehe

It was really YUM for the first time making it (:
im quite happy with how it turned out
besides it still being a bit more wobbly than I would have liked. hehe

AND!!!! haha
this is super exciting.

we splurge on a bottle of vanilla bean paste with vanilla seeds! hehe
SO HAPPY!
cause I don’t have to use the fake vanilla essence anymore.
not that there is anything wrong with it.
but I’ve gotten use to using this back home.
so without it, I feel like my cakes and everything won’t taste as good!

going to have another after dinner tonight. haha
and after gym of course. (:

just so you wanna try it yourself
here’s the recipe! hehe
(and remember you need to set it for a whole night before u serve!)

Ingredients :

600ml thickened cream
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
6 egg yolks
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar

Steps :

1. Preheat oven to 120°C.

2. Place the cream in a saucepan and add the vanilla seeds and pod.
Place over medium heat and bring to scalding point, then remove from heat.
Set aside to infuse for 5 minutes.

3. Place egg yolks and caster sugar in a bowl
and beat immediately with electric hand beaters for 2-3 minutes or until pale.

4. Remove vanilla pod from saucepan and discard,
then pour the hot cream over the yolk mixture and whisk to combine.
The beating process will have created a foam on the top of the mixture.
Use a large spoon to scoop off and discard the foam.
Strain mixture into a large jug,
then carefully pour mixture into 4 x 150ml ovenproof ramekins.

5. Place ramekins in a deep roasting pan.
Pour boiling water into pan to come halfway up the sides of ramekins.
Cover pan loosely with foil, allowing some air to enter in the sides.

6. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes – the custards should still have a slight wobble when done.
Carefully remove ramekins from oven and water bath, and set aside to cool.

7. Place brown sugar on a baking tray,
turn oven off and place in oven for 15 minutes or until sugar is completely dried out.
Allow to cool, then place in a processor and process to a powder.
Store in an airtight container.

8. Once the custards have cooled, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill overnight.
When ready to serve, sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the brown sugar on top of each custard,
and use the back of a teaspoon to spread it evenly.
Use a domestic blow torch to caramelise.

9. Creme Brulee. DONE!

Hot Chocolate Fondant

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(Recipe adapted from The F Word Series)

Ingredients :
50g unsalted butter, plus extra to grease
2 tsp cocoa powder, to dust
50g good quality bitter chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids), in pieces
1 free range egg
1 free range egg yolk
60g caster sugar
50g plain flour
Icing sugar to dust
Vanilla ice cream to serve
Steps :

1. Preheat oven to 160˚C/Gas 2.

2. Butter two large ramekins, about 7.5cm in diameter,
then dust liberally with cocoa, shaking out any excess.

3. Slowly melt the chocolate and butter in a small bowl set over a pan of hot water,
then take off the heat and stir until smooth.
Leave to cool for 10 minutes.

4. Using an electric whisk, whisk the whole egg, egg yolk and sugar together until pale and thick,
then incorporate the chocolate mixture.
Sift the flour over the mixture and gently fold in, using a large metal spoon.
Divide between the ramekins and bake for 12 minutes.

5. Turn the chocolate fondants out on to warmed plates.
Dust the tops with icing sugar and serve with a spoonful of vanilla ice cream.

6. Hot chocolate fondant. DONE.