Fathers' day

On fathers' day, I baked 2 cakes. One for L and one for our neighbour. Our neigbour was pleasantly surprised and was very pleased though it wasnt the best looking piece I have presented to them due to time constraint. I had to produce 2 cakes in 1 hour 15mins. After the cake cutting ceremony, we headed for our dinner (without the kids). :)

The food was lovely and we wouldnt mind going back again :)

Weekend getaway

While my parents were still in town, we decided to have a short break (without the kids) over the weekend. We checked into St. Regis on Saturday and we had a great seafood buffet dinner & a bottle of red at Raffles Hotel. If not for my backache, I would have enjoyed the dinner even more. The pain really spoilt the getaway :( I had to take a painkiller just to watch Hangover II.

The excruciating pain dragged on. If I had spotted the pillow menu earlier, I guess it could have alleviated it a little, somewhat.

We had continental breakfast in the morning and when we got back to our room, we were pleasantly surprised by the good gesture of the hotel management. - They delivered a cake to our room.

That ended our stay and when we got to the basement car park, we were welcomed by a mini flood :(. We had to walk over piles of towels just to get to the dry land. We didnt know the rain actually flooded St Regis Residence car park and Tangling Mall as well.

Tiramisu recipe

For the sponge, please see here

Cake fillings:

Coffee mixture
1 1/2 tbsp instant coffee powder
2 tbsp hot water
1 tbsp rum/ kahlua

Dissolve coffee powder in hot water. Add rum.
Brush onto cake layers

Cheese mixture
1 tbsp gelatin powder + 1 1/2 tbsp hot water
150g cream cheese/mascorpone cheese
120g whipping cream
1 tbsp rum

1. Dissolve gelatin powder in hot water. Set aside
2. Cream Cheese till soft and smooth. Set aside
3. Whip cream till thick (not stiff). Set aside
4. Mix 1,2,3 and add rum

5. Spread onto inside cake layer first. Keep in freezer for 15min.
6. Place top cake layer over and scoop remaining cheese mixture over.
7. Keep the cake in fridge for at least 3 hours to set.
8. When cake is ready, sprinkle cocoa powder.

For the final product, see here

Counting and counting

Every Friday evening, E would have the same old conversation with me.

E" Mummy, what day is today?"
Me " Friday"
E" So, tomorrow is Saturday right?"
Me " yes"
E" Saturday and Sunday are my favourite. I dont have to go to school and I can watch Ben10! yeh! "

This little one is counting everyday towards the weekend....just to watch Ben10.

We have a no TV policy on weekdays and no one gets to turn on the TV (Well ,Nic still does during the day when E is in school). This is targetted at E who is not able to let go of the the TV once it is on.

3D Barbie Princess Cake

My first attempt in a 3D cake.

The piping could have been better but I ran out of whipped cream and so I had to pipe the flowers further apart.

The process was not difficult, just tedious. I baked 2 round sponge cakes - vanilla and chocolate. Shaved off the top layer to make a rounded shape. Cut a hole in the middle to insert the Barbie. Wrapped the lower body of Barbie with gladwrap so that she would not come into direct contact with the cake. Creamed the cake and piped the flowers. No artificial colouring was used in the cake, except for the store bought marshmallows. The pink piped flowers were created using beetroot juice and whipping cream.

Baked this as a surprise for Nic, probably just another pre-birthday cake for her. We invited our neighbours over for the cake cutting ceremony, just for fun. There were plenty to go around and the kids were certainly impressed :)

Well, I would attempt to use fondant to create the gown soon. Stay tuned. :)

Bitter gourd

My home grown bitter gourd :)

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Poker dot peach swiss roll

Some very yummy poker dot peach swiss roll :) See recipe here

Raspberry swiss roll

The poker dot peach swiss roll was so good that it was all gone within an hour and I gotta make another roll. - Raspberry mousse swiss roll :). Delicious, made from fresh raspberry!

For recipe, see here.

Enjoy!

Nic and I

I took Nic for Kungfu Panda II 2011. Just the 2 of us while E was in school. It was a good bonding time for us. We took a bus (instead of the usual car ride). We observed the people and the surroundings.

Soon, we arrived. We went straight to the cinema as it was about to start anytime. Half way through, Nic complained by hunger and stomach cramp. I had no choice but to get her something to bite. Well. what could i get from the cinema food counter, which was not junky? I couldnt find any and I ended up getting her a cheese hotdog...which I would not get close to under normal circumstances. Nic was in for a pleasant surprise when I handed her the super junk!

As soon as the show was over, we dashed to the nearest restarant as Nic was famished. It has been such a long time since we both spent time alone. I absolutely enjoyed her company.

Thereafter, she insisted on shopping with me after I got her a story book. She assumed the role of my fashion consultant. I literally paraded in front of her.

" Mummy, this one is no good...too loose. You need to get a size smaller"
" You look like a zebra in this...."
" This is great...now, let's see the other one too"
" You look sexy in this. Can you keep it for me too?"
"This is just right."

....on and on and on....

If I had listened to every comment she made, I would have brought back half the collection on display :). I just picked 2 out the short-listed load :)

On the way home, the fashion consultant fell asleep in the bus. I guess she was too tired after making so many comments :)

Sponge Cake Recipe

I have been using this recipe for most of my sponge cakes and I find it very good. See here too. You can use this sponge cake as the base for almost anything (e.g Mousse cakes, Tiramisu, elaborate birthday cakes etc). Oh yes, I did a 3D barbie princess cake for Nic, just for fun. It turned out pretty well, despite being a first timer in such elaborate cakes. I will upload it soon, stay tuned :)

My baking motto really is " going back to basics". Very rarely would I use, even baking powder or baking soda, unless absolutely necessary (e.g. carrot cake). Hence, I am selective in my bakes.

Here goes:

A.
4 egg yolk
35g sugar
80g plain four (sifted)
60g corn flour (sifted)
30ml milk
30ml oil
a pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract ( optional)

B.
4 egg white
30g sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)

1. Beat egg yolk and sugar till pale yellow.
2. Sift in flour, and salt and vanilla
3. Add milk follow by oil.
4. Set aside

5. Beat egg white (add lemon juce and sugar) till stiff peak.
6. Fold in 1/3 of Egg white mixture into A.
7. Pour (6) into remaining egg white mixture and fold.
8. Bake at preheated oven at 150C for about 30min or until cooked.

Raspberry Mousse Cake

An oil free sponge to go with some lemony raspberry mousse.

This is not exactly the best looking Mousse Cake but the taste and texture were just right. :)

Preemptive measures

My parents are here for a visit and the kids just couldnt get enough of them. They insist on sleeping with them. Frankly, with 4 in a bedroom, it won't be so comfortable. I tried my tricks with E but he was smarter than I thought.

Me " E, do you love me?"
E " Popo loves me too"
Me " yes, I know. Do you love me?"
E"I am tired, I want to sleep now"

Me" I know it is bedtime. Do you love me? You have not answered me"
E" I am going to sleep"
Me" Ethan, you have not answered me. Do you love me?"
E " Ok...ya"
Me" Great. Then you come down and sleep with me. It is too squeezy here"
E " NO! I want to sleep with popo...uh...uh,,,,uh..." ( started crying)

He knew where I was getting at and he simply refused to answer that trick question :) Cheeky little boy!

Prawn Mousse Rivoli

Homemade Prawn Mousse Rivoli in cream sauce. Yum :) It would have been perfect if I had figured out how to adjust the pasta maker to roll it thinner earlier. Well, now I have. I will try it again :)

Finishing the meal with some big fresh strawberries was absolutely satisfying :)

Flaxseed Loaf

Soft and chewy cheese loaf and wholemeal flaxseed loaf.

Rolled up cake

A personal serving of rolled up cake sandwiched with fresh cream and raspberry! N had 3 servings at one go! I liked it too :) Cottony and with the right sweetness!

Wholemeal cheese buns

Healthy wholemeal cheese buns glazed with some raspberry jam, just to entice the kids :)

Mini egg tarts

My mini egg tarts. Just the right bite size. One pop for each serving.

The crust could have been more flaky if Ihad been more diligent in the folding and rolling process :)