Tag: baking

Easter Holidays : Hot Cross Buns

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Being crazy over making bread/buns now (yes I know, this is only my second attempt, but it’s becoming addictive) and Easter just around the corner, I had to bake some Hot Cross Buns! (one a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns! haha) I have the song in my head now, and I am very sure it is going to last throughout this Easter weekend.

Let me explain how my Hot Cross Buns have a slight tinge of pink. As I didn’t have any apricot jam, I used Ms Marples’ berry jam instead. I am glad I used the berry jam, cause I feel the pink made the buns prettier! hehe (: so I did a search on hot cross buns recipes and found the one posted by Citrus and Candy! And I’m so glad I did, cos they turned out well! A bit dense, but when it’s warm, SO GOOD! (: and you know what? Have it with a slice of butter, even better! hehe

i made both big and mini ones. hehe big ones for breakfast, and smaller ones for tea! haha (: What a good idea (I just thought of it like 2 seconds ago!) Actually I made smaller ones cause my baking pan was a 20X20cm baking tray so I couldn’t fit all 12 rounds! hehe

so here’s the recipe adapted from Citrus and Candy, have a very good Easter everyone! (:

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Cinnamon and Pecan Swirl Buns

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There is no doubt that I have a sweet tooth. And what I have been craving are the caramelised, nutty, cinnamon-y bread like yummers for the longest time! But instead of paying heaps for just one cinnabon, I decided to make some for myself! (: and boy am I happy I did. Cause the process of making it was so much fun! I wanna make more like tomorrow! haha.

the only sad thing was that the oven I have in this new place is fan forced and I think the oven is hotter than what it specifies to be even though I did the conversion of temperatures. I so need to get a thermometer for this oven. haha. BUT! the cinnabons still came out super yummy besides the burnt sides. But the few burnt sides will not put me down! hehe I’m still happy I got the courage to try making buns for the first time! hehe

I bought myself a new rolling pin from Myers today. hehe I’m a happy camper! (:

Bread or buns has been very foreign to me, and I always thought I need a bread maker to make awesome bread. Yeast is also something I am not use to working with, but I conquered that fear! (: Absolutely love the sight of seeing my dough double in size and have crazy fun of punching the air out! haha.

haha. the print of my fist! super cute! (:

so I urge you not to wait as long as I have to try making buns or bread for the matter! I waited far too long! These were easy, not as time consuming as it sounds and just absolutely divine! hehe

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Pavlova : Revisited

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I’ve always likes a good pavlova. Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

I must admit, I try not to order it outside for a few reasons : it tends to turn out too sweet and the portions are TOO HUGE! haha. so I have been loooking for the best pavlova recipe, but failed to do it the first time. haha well. I didn’t fail just didnt turn out as well as I hoped it would. So I went on looking for another recipe and asked around for people’s opinions. I found a Donna Hay one, and as Laureen nicely puts it, nothing really goes wrong with a Donna Hay recipe (:

So while thinking what to bake on this nice and windy Sunday afternoon, my dearest baby requested that I made his favourite dessert, the pavlova of course. And how can I say no? hehe luckily, I have a stocked up pantry and I have eevrything I need for the Pavlova. hehe

I was thrilled to see how it turned out! It didn’t collapse until I put the knife through it and sliced it into pieces! Boy was I a happy girl (: *doing the same dance as when my Macarons had ‘feet’!*

so here’s the recipe and I followed it to the tee, except for the fruits I topped it with! (:

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Triple Kahlua Surprise !

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a while back, I made tiramisu for a mini housewarming that we had at our place. Of course, I bought I big bottle of Kahlua just in case for times like these! I am a bit fan of Kahlua and have always been wanting to try how it would be in cupcakes. Boy did I give it a good shot. I didn’t only have it in my cupcake, I had it in my filling and in my frosting! haha. Now it’s no wonder I named this the triple kahlua surprise yes?

I sourced around for recipes that people have tried and tweaked it a little, came up with my own ganache filling and buttercream frosting so I’m a happy girl (: I think it turned out really well and for once my frosting looks like those you can find in cupcake shops! Well definitely not perfect, but I’m just super happy that it kinda looks similar! haha

so the texture of the cupcakes were soft and when it is in your mouth it has the texture of a chewie brownie! So it is a little dense and quite similar to the texture of a souffle, a dense souffle. Possible due to folding in the stiff egg whites into the mixture at the end. The ganache really compliments the cupcake and the buttercream frosting makes it less rich so I think it’s a perfect match! (: Top it off with shaved chocolate and you have a yummy little dessert on a plate.

When you see the recipe, you might think it’s way too much Kahlua, but you barely taste any in the cupcake itself. The only thing that has the taste of it is the icing (which you can alter the amount you want) so really the amount I used in this recipe is just nice! So if you’re a big fan of Kahlua, try giving this little cupcake a shot! I’m very sure you won’t regret it!

Triple Kahlua Surprise

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Pasteis de Nata

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in other words. Portuguese custard tarts. (: Yes! I tried making them again using another recipe (: hehe This time I had to cook the custard to make it thicker before filling the tarts up. I prefer this one as compared to the other. But this one doesn’t seem to caramelise the top as much so I cheated and used a blow torch! haha

The only thing I wasn’t able to do is to keep the pastry crispy long enough. After a few days in an air tight container, the tart goes all soft! So the only solution : finish all of them up within 2 days! haha

This recipe used puff pastry like I did before, and I still do prefer using puff pastry. I think it makes the tarts taste nicer. All the buttery goodness (:

so here’s the recipe! Let me know which you prefer!

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Chocolate Macarons with Chilli Chocolate Ganache ♥

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Macarons has always been my down fall. haha I’ve tried twice but failed twice, miserably. I didn’t have the courage to try it again. But after talking to Clara and Felicia, I decided to give it one more shot! (:

SUCCESS!

I got the “feet” that I’ve been waiting for! (: WHEEEEE! I was super happy and even happier that I got it though I baked it at 9pm at night! haha. Thanks again Clara for sharing with me your recipe! (:

But as it’s Clara’s recipe, I won’t be posting the recipe but will let you feast on some photos!

I bought myself a new present : an Silpat mat! (: I was a happy girl hehe

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Portuguese Egg Tarts ; Baby’s Favourite

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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!

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Tiramisu

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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