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

Raisins and Lemon Scones

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I have been back in Singapore for the last 2 weeks.
Can’t post it public cause I had a few surprises planned (:
one failed. and one was a super good success! hehe
happiness. hehe

when i came back.
I stayed home for 5 days
just to make sure I wasn’t infected by the H1N1 nonsense. haha
so what could I do during the time back home?
BAKE OF COURSE! hehe
with my beloved mixer. hehe
oh. how i miss you so! hahaha.



in Melbourne.
all I have is a hand held mixer. haha
and I am seriously not a big fan
cause everything flies all over the place! haha
but yes. was good to be able to use my mixer again! (:

since my mummy is a HUGE fan of scones
I decided to make the scones they made during MasterClass.
and it was goood! hehe
loved it.
cos normally i make scones in weird shapes. haha
they dough tend to be a tad bit sticky
but this one. is pretty! (:

before it went into the oven

AFTER! hehe nice and golden brown hehe (:
LOVE MY OVEN! haha

the lemony taste of the scones made it kinda refreshing.
besides the usual plain or just raisins scones. hehe

Ingredients:

150ml-175ml milk
150ml cream
1 egg
3 cups self-raising flour
2 tbs caster sugar
1 cup chopped, dried dates
Finely grated rind 1 lemon
Cream & jam, to serve

Steps:

1. Preheat oven 200°C fan forced. Line large flat oven tray with baking paper.

2. Whisk 150ml milk, cream and egg together until well combined. Combine
flour, sugar, dates and lemon rind in a large bowl. Add milk mixture and stir
gently to a soft dough, adding remaining milk if necessary. Turn onto a lightly
floured surface and knead gently until dough comes together.

3. Press dough out to 2cm-thick. Cut scones from dough and place onto tray
flat-side up. Press dough together gently and repeat using the remaining
dough. Brush the tops with milk and sprinkle with a little sugar. Bake 12-15
minutes until golden and well risen. Serve hot with jam and cream.

Honey soy Salmon with ginger dressing

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coming back to Melbourne.
Zhenghan was still at our place.
so we decided to cook for him. hehe
for the first time I think (:
and i must say
I am super happy with how it turned out! (:

we decided to splurge and got salmon
to try Gordan Ramsay’s dish that he demonstrated during the Food and Wine Show! hehe

suppose to use smoked salmon fillets.
but we just used the normal one.
and it turned out yummy as well! hehe

it was easy to cook
and quick as well! (: everyone should give it a try!
hoped Zhenghan enjoyed it. hehe
we sure did haha

it was our first time having radish this way
and it was really good.
and refreshing as well.
absolutely love it!

the ginger dressing complimented the dish so well.
i can’t wait to go back home and cook this for my family
cos I’m so sure they would love it! hehe

so give it a try! hehe

Ingredients :

3 skinless salmon fillets
100g baby spinach, washed and dried
8-10 radishes, washed, trimmed and finely sliced

honey soy marinade

1/4 cup honey
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 ts grated ginger

Ginger dressing

1 tbsp grated ginger
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp tahini

Steps :

1. Check salmon for pin-bones, using tweezers to remove if necessary.
Place in a shallow dish or a tupperware

2. To make marinade,  mix ingredients together in a bowl.
Pour over salmon to coat.
Cover with plastic wrap or with the cover of the tupperware and marinate in the fridge for 30 mins,
allowing the flavours to permeate.

3. Preheat oven to 230C or 210C fan. To make dressing, whisk together ingredients.

4. Lift salmon from marinade and place on a lightly greased baking tray.
Discard marinade.
Bake for 4-6mins, basting after 2 mins, until medium rare and slightly springy to touch.

5. Meanwhile, arrange spinach on plates and top with radish.
Place a salmon fillet in centre of each plate.
Drizzle over dressing to serve.

6. Glazed Salmon with spinach and radish. DONE! (:

Porcini and Salami Risotto

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been having a risotto craving
but can’t find any that sells really good and creamy risotto.
if you have recommendations,
please feel free to let me know!
whether it’s here in Melbourne, Sydney or in Singapore! hehe

so here’s the recipe to this super yums dish.
the flavour of the procini mushrooms are just awesome.
soaking them in hot water
just gave me a chance to use the water as part of the stock
and trust me.
it was a good move! (:

Recipe from Delicious Magazine

Ingredients :

100g piece salami, roughly chopped ( I used hot pepperoni instead)
1 tsp of olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
25g dried porcini mushrooms, soaked and drained after
125g arborio risotto rice
500-600ml chicken or vegetable stock, hot (and the water from the porcini mushrooms)
40g Parmesan, grated, plus shavings to serve

Steps :

1. Heat a large, deep saucepan over a high heat.
Add the salami and cook for 2-3 minutes, until turning golden and the oil has been released from the meat.
Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the oil and then the onion to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, to soften.
Add the mushrooms, cook for 2 minutes, then stir in the rice and make sure the rice is coated with the oil.

3. Add two big ladles of the hot stock and cook, stirring, until absorbed.
Continue to add the stock (1 ladle at the time), stirring occasionally, until the rice is cooked but still al dente.
This should take about 20 minutes.

4. Stir the salami and Parmesan into the risotto and season to taste.
Divide between bowls and top with Parmesan shavings and extra parsley to serve.

DONE! (:

Home-made pork dumplings

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all wrapped up before they were put into boiling soup! hehe

individual portions. hehe YUMMYY!

we made a while big pot! haha.
over enthusiastic you may say. hehe
but we were super happy!

wantons with mince meat noodles.
perfect match!

so give it a try! hehe

Ingredients :

350g of mince pork
10 chestnuts, cut into small pieces
4 huge dried mushrooms, soaked and cut into small pieces
3 stalks of spring onion
1 tsp corn flour
soy sauce, salt and pepper for seasoning
wanton skins

Steps :

1. Mix all the ingredients together well.

2. Place a portion on the wanton skin
wet the two sides of the skin and fold it into half.
Press all the air out and stick two of the ends together to form a wanton!

Wantons. DONE!

not too difficult yes? hehe
give it a try!

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!

Gordan’s Classic Lasagne

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i thought the top was a bit too charred.
but Cheok described it as an equivalent to roast pork! haha
so I guess. it’s not too bad.
no charred taste. so im happy (:

My first go at cooking lasagne.
the cheese sauce and the meat just went really well!

absolutely love it.

though I didn’t have a shot with it in nice layers.
cos it topples once it’s lifted up.
but it was still quite yums!

Ingredients :
(Recipe from Gordan Ramsay’s Cookalong Live)

2 tbsp olive oil
½ large onion, peeled
1 large carrot, peeled
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 pinches dried oregano
300g minced beef
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
30ml (2 tbsp) red wine
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
50ml milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

for the cheese sauce :
25g butter
25g flour
300ml milk
Pinch of ground nutmeg
60g Cheddar cheese, grated
30g Parmesan cheese, grated
6 sheets of ‘non-cook’ lasagne sheets

Steps :

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.

2. Heat the olive oil in a hot pan.
Grate the onion and carrot and crush the garlic before frying together.
Season with the bay leaf, a pinch of oregano, Worcestershire sauce and a little salt and pepper.
Allow the onion to soften before making a well in the centre of the pan.
Place the mince in the middle of the pan and stir to break it up.
Add the tomato puree and allow to cook out for 30 seconds.
Continue until all the meat has browned nicely.
Add the wine and cook off the alcohol before adding the tomatoes.
Leave to simmer for a further 2-3 minutes.
Finally add the milk, turn off the heat and set aside.

3. To make the cheese sauce, first melt the butter in a saucepan.
Add the flour and using a wooden spoon, stir to form a paste.
Over a gentle heat add a third of the milk, whisking to prevent any lumps forming.
Add the rest of the milk a third at a time, whisking as you go.
Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of ground nutmeg.
Allow the sauce to cook out for another minute before adding the Cheddar cheese.
Stir and remove from the heat.

4. Spoon half of the meat sauce into the bottom of the baking dish
and place pasta sheets on top (break the sheets if necessary to avoid any overlapping).
Next, pour in just under half of the cheese sauce,
and spread evenly using a spatula before spooning the remaining meat on top.
Add the final layer of pasta and use the spatula to pour over the remaining cheese sauce.

5. Finish with the grated Parmesan and sprinkle with another pinch of oregano.
Add a light seasoning of salt and pepper before cleaning the edges of the dish
and placing in the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown.

Stuffed Chicken Legs with Pea and Broad-bean Risotto

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Friday nights are always fabulous dinner nights.
Baby and I try new recipes to cook and bake.
just so to take the stress off that is induced from Uni or work.
and it always works! (:

So this week. Baby decided to make one of the dishes that I have been wanting to try :

It had alot of preparation before you actually get to sink your teeth into the yums.
So thank you for the effort sweets!


so yes. this is what you do to make the stuffed chicken legs

take slices of streaky bacon and lay them side by side
on an oiled big sheet of aluminium foil.

the chicken legs were stuffed with sausage meat, pistachios, parsley and thyme.
wrap the leg to form this round beauty
place it on the slices of bacon
and wrap it into a roll

very carefully twist the sides.
careful not to tear the aluminium foil.

Baby did it in cling wrap first
just so you get to see how it should look like inside! (:

you boil it for 25mins and take it out onto a plate
and chill it in the fridge for 30mins.

take out the foil and you should get something like this!
it should stay in the rolled up shape

pan fry the rolls to crisp up the bacon
till it’s nice and brown

then slice it into thick medallions to show off the inside (:

the pistachios just gives this nice colour to the dish

serve them on a plate of risotto.
YUMS!