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A small gathering at Sandra's...





















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What did i bake yesterday to take to Sandra's (hb's ex classmate) place?

My MIL would know cos she gave me this recipe.. its an old recipe fm her old cookbook... a recipe that anyone will never say no to hehehee.. ever heard of Sachertorte??

I have never heard nor tasted Sachertorte.. even hb who is by the way Austrian and not Australiannnn hahahha (he always gets this fm ppl.. "What is ur nationality?" "Oh.. Austrian" .. "Australian?" "No Austriannnn") didnt know how it tastes like.. all he knows was the history behind the ever so famous Sachertorte..

It all started in 1832... read all about it here.

"Sachertorte is a timeless composition of the most important and finest ingredients from the confectioner's kitchen with no additives: pure chocolate, butter, eggs, sugar, flour, and apricot jam. What makes them into a Sachertorte is the quality of the individual ingredients and the way they harmonize perfectly with each other. Anything else is just an ordinary chocolate torte with ordinary chocolate icing and often looks nothing like the real thing. It is important to remember that, above all, the Sachertorte must be served correctly. It must be served fresh with freshly beaten, lightly sweetened cream, which the Austrians call "Schlagobers." without this cool, smooth, elegant finishing touch, the pleasure is incomplete. It would be a sin, a crime even, if the waiter did not recommend it. The sweet velvety coating is a cooked chocolate icing."
Global Gourmet


Ingredients
130g butter (room temp)
110g icing sugar
130g cooking chocolate
130g flour
6 egg whites
6 egg yolks
150g Apricot jam (heated for easy spreading)

Chocolate Icing
300g icing sugar
250g cooking chocolate
120g water



Method




Preheat the oven to 180C. To make the batter, melt cooking chocolate in a double boiler over hot water. Cream the soft butter and confectioners' sugar with the chocolate tempered at 32C 





On low speed beat in the egg yolks one at a time. In a clean bowl, whip the egg whites and sugar until stiff. Combine the two mixtures and fold in the sifted flour. Line the base of a springform pan with parchment paper. Spoon in the batter and smooth the top. Bake for 55 minutes. Allow to cool. Invert the pan onto parchment paper dusted lightly with sugar. Use a small knife to ease the torte from the sides, and remove from the pan. Cut the base in half horizontally. Heat and strain the jam, and use half to sandwich the two layers together. Place the torte on a piece of cardboard cut to the same size.





Coat the torte thinly with the remainder of the hot jam. Gently emphasize the rounded edges of the top. The apricot masking is a base for the icing. It also helps to keep the cake moist and the chocolate glossy.





Place the sugar and water in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil.
Stir in 3/4 of the chocolate, which has been cut into pieces or melted, into the sugar solution.
Boil to the thick thread stage (104C). Use a damp brush to keep washing down the edges of the pan so that crystals do not form.





When it hits 104C remove from fire and throw in the remaining chocolate. This will cause the temperature to fall quickly. To aid the dropping of the temperature, stir to chocolate against the wall of the pot using the back of a wooden spoon. Do this until the temperature drops to 70C. Then reheat the chocolate again to 84C stirring constantly.
Again remove from fire and cool chocolate by spreading it against the wall of the pot. This procedure is called tempering. During the whole process make sure you keep brushing down the sugar crystals from the side of the pot.

You will know when the right time has come when the chocolate is thick but still runny enough to pour. 
 





Place the torte on a wire rack over a baking sheet and pour the chocolate directly from the pot onto the top of the torte.
Spread the icing over the top with one or two strokes of the palette knife and then spread evenly around the sides.






The end product....






"Sachertorte MUST be served with whipped cream. Just plain whipped cream no sugar." MIL

Wanna know how it taste like?? Bake it and try or fly to Austria and go to the famous Hotel Sacher in Vienna!

Enjoy.

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Friday is almost over... heres what i know... time flies too fast when ur busy and having fun... well the busy part is nothing new... but fun?? I am having fun looking after Sonia on a daily basis.. shes growing too fast...shes super cute and she talks a lot... these few rounds shes been singing non stop... be it when shes watching telly... while having a shower... while in the car... she sings just abt anywhere.. bottom line is.....  my girl loves to sing lol








Anyway yesterday I had to send Hairi to hospital cos he fractured his finger a few months ago while training in the army... Doc said he doesnt need to go thru an operation since his bone is slowly healing but my son wants to go ahead with the operation since thats the only way for him to hv his knuckle back in place... honestly?? I think hes just finding excuses so that he will be granted light duty after the operation... but again if he doesnt do it now.. he will never hv his knuckle back in place ever again... sigh... what ever it is.. i just wish he wud just forget abt his super duper idea of going thru the operation... the thought of him going for an operation is just too much!!








So ok enought abt my kiddoes... today i baked a simple desert for mom.. she lovessss bread and butter pudding.. well her all time favorite is still creme caramel but give her bread and butter pudding and she will gv u the same smile and will tell u the same  story abt my late grandmama who loves her bread and butter pudding soaked in coconut milk instead of fresh milk! Oh did i ever tell u guys that my late grandmama is an actress during the P Ramlee era?? heheh well she was and so was her late brother..  Yusof Latiff ..  :o)







Ingredients
10 pcs white bread
500ml fresh milk (I used 300ml fresh milk and 200ml evaporated milk) 
300ml whipping cream or evaporated milk (I used whipping cream) 
100g sugar
5 eggs (grade A)
50g raisins
1 granny smith apple (peel and slice thinly)
Butter (spread on bread bef cutting into small cubes)
1tsp vanilla essence (I used vanilla pod)







Method
Simmer fresh milk with vanilla pod for a few mins .. stir and let it cool (if ur using vanilla essence u dont hv to simmer the milk)
Hand whisk eggs and sugar till the sugar dissolves.. add in the rest of the ingredients except raisins and sliced apple
Greased pan and place half of the bread cubes and top it with raisins and sliced apples.. place another half of the bread cube and pour milk and egg mixture onto bread and let it sit for abt 15mins
Bake using bain marie method for abt 45 to 50mins on 175C
Let it cool bef serving
Enjoy!!






Source: SueJoshua blogspot
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Lets talk abt the egg white saga.. what to do with all those poor egg whites left from the almost insane baking going on in my kitchen? I did bake a batch of macarons, but they ended up in the garbage can... why?? those tiny feet were too shy to come out and play! grrrrr  sometimes u see em' sometime u dont... and when they do decide to come out and play... I would be like screaming and running up and down the stairs like one crazy woman hahahha.. oh if u guys do wanna try and bake macaron.. u can get the recipe fm  here







Ok back to Friand.. It is of French origin and may be related to the Parisian "financier" cake... I hv seen it while we were in France but didnt even bother to taste it.. dang!!!! and of cos I hv seen it in Aussie land too... I read somewhere that it has become a popular treat in the Australian cafe too... one of cafe where u can get friand is Coffee Club (free advert) hehehe.. bake it and u will know how soft and moist these little babies are!









Ingredients (makes 6) 
100g butter (i use unsalted butter and add a pinch of salt) 
4 large egg whites (abt 120g) 
45g (1/4 cup plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) plain flour
140g (1 cup) pure icing sugar
85g (2/3 cup, lightly pressed into the cup with the back of a spoon) almond meal
About 40g (about 30 large) blueberries
1 tsp vanilla extract (I added)
Extra icing sugar, for dusting






Method
Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius (170 degrees Celsius fan-forced). If you are not using a fan-forced oven, adjust the oven rack to the middle position so the friands brown evenly.

Grease a six hole (1/3 cup capacity holes) non-stick oval friand pan, or six individual 1/3 cup capacity friand pans. If you don't have a friand pan, you could use a muffin pan with 1/3 cup capacity holes. (I used 1/4 cup of batter on each and get 9 friands) 

Melt butter and set aside to cool to lukewarm.

In a medium bowl, beat egg whites with a fork or whisk until foamy (about 30 seconds)

Sift flour, icing sugar and almond meal into the bowl with the egg whites

Stir ingredients together until just combined.

Add the melted butter to the bowl and stir until just combined.

Divide mixture evenly among the holes of the prepared pan. Place about five blueberries in a cluster in the centre of each friand.

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the friands are a light golden colour and spring back when lightly pressed. A thin-bladed knife or wooden skewer inserted into the centre of a friand should come out without any raw-looking batter attached.

Remove friands from the oven and allow to stand in the pan for five minutes.

Run a knife around the outside of each friand to loosen before turning them out. Serve warm, dusted with icing sugar, or place on a wire rack to cool.

Store cooled friands in an airtight container at cool room temperature or in the refrigerator. To serve, bring to room temperature or warm in the microwave, and then dust liberally with icing sugar







Source: Exclusively Food
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I made a batch of these chocolate chip cookies today... recipe was taken from All recipes. The texture of the cookies is indeed chewy and fudgy as described....(so ok after a few hrs in an air tight container.. my cookies werent as chewy and fudgy anymore.. they became slightly crunchy!)  However, I find that it's too sweet for my liking. I'm sure that my sensitive teeth will not be able to take it! 







Oh talking abt sensitive teeth... remember I had toothache the other day? I did went to see my dentist and she told me that my molar tooth needs root canal treatment and crowning.. long story short.. I bailed out lol.. well its gonna be a 2hrs treatment mind ya!! yikes!! call me chicken... I dont really care! for now its all good.. touch wood!!.. I'll wait till when I hv the "mood" to go to the dentist again hahahah.. Anyway heres the recipe...



Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted (180g)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used dark and white chocolate chip and added 1/2 cup of toasted hazelnut)







Method
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes (mine was done within 10mins) in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.





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When I am online.. I am either blog hopping or looking for new recipe (which of cos takes up 85% of my time online) or on tumblr... reading quotes.. I also love reading abt food photography and photoshop.. lol I really like some of their work and right now I'm thinking of doing scrapebooking... hmmm where do i start and do i really hv the time for a new hobby?? hehhhe


While I ponder.. here are some of the quotes that I would love to share.. :o)



















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Yawnnnnn... I just cant stop yawning.. very very sleepy and I dont think i hv the mood to even write anything...








Felt hasitant if i shud be baking today.. why? I dont even know lol.. probably not in the mood... so after an hour of sitting and surfing I finally felt the need to try out another kind of layer cake.. looked at the time and figured that if i wanna start baking layer cake .. i better do it fast..









I decided to bake Mango cream cheese layer cake.. (thank goodness I hv 2 sweet darlin' mangoes 'standing' in my fridge!) .. glad i chose this recipe cos...









besides being moist, buttery, soft and yummy.. this cake is so so rich in flavour and err fattening too hahhaha... hb ate 7pcs at one go and complained of a bloated tummy cos he ate too fast!! geeeshhhh...









Ingredients
450gm butter ( I used golden churn)
1 can condense milk (397g)
250gm cream cheese, room temp
10 eggs (grade A)
150gm sugar
200gm Hong Kong flour
1 tbsp ovalette
100gm Horlick
120 gm preserved mango (slice and cut into smaller chunks and mix it with mango puree.. i used 3tbsp of puree )
2 tbsp mango puree (I used 4 tbsp)
Mango essence (I didnt use)
Orange or yellow colouring (I used both)







Method
Preheat oven 180C.. greased and layer a 10x7" pan... (u can use 9x9 if u want a higher cake.. I am using 10x10" this time round)

1. Cream butter, cream cheese and condense milk till white and fluffy.. put it aside.

2. In another bowl.. whisk egg, sugar, hongkong flour, horlick and ovalette till thick and double in size.

3. Mix both batter and stir till well combined. (I used rubber spatula to mix and later whisk it on low speed for a few sec)

4. Divide batter into two portion.. add orange/yellow colour and mango paste in one and leave the other one plain.

5. Grill layer by layer starting with orange batter at 180C for 7mins.. grill plain batter and add in mango preserve.. grill again for another 7mins.. repeat process till batter finish.. once done bake cake using upper and lower heat for 10mins.. oh dont forget to use a cake presser on every layer to get that even layer..

Good Luck and Enjoy!!  





Source: Bro Rozzan

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I started this blog to record and share recipes that I have tried. Most turn out pretty good and are successful. Some not many, fail me. And I will try to "fix" it as best as I can. But as you all know, a bad recipe sometimes can't be fixed.







U see, I hv a husband who is very particular abt the taste of Serimuka (Putri Salat) . So much so that my "long-term" recipe from my "so called" bfriend was untouchable. Until today....

I decided to try out another Serimuka recipe... at first I was worried that it wouldn't turn out well.. I was wrong ... my Hb loves it more than the old recipe!! so ty Gert fm My Kitchen Snippets for  sharing this wonderful recipe.. :o) 







Ingredients

Bottom layer
400 grm of glutinous rice - wash and soak for at least 4 hours or overnight
230 ml of coconut milk
2 pandan/screwpine leaves
1 tsp of salt (next time i will use 1/2tsp)
1 tsp sugar (I added)

Top layers
4 large eggs
6 tbsp rice flour
5 tbsp custard powder/cornstarch
500 ml of coconut milk
200 grms of sugar
1 tsp of salt
Few drop of red and yellow coloring
Few drop of pandan paste
Few drop of vanilla essence (I added)


Method
1. Prepare the steamer. Combine glutinous rice, salt and coconut in a square or round cake pan. Mix well. Place the screwpine/pandan leaves on top of the rice and steam over rapidly boiling water for about 30–35 minutes or until cooked through.
2. Discard pandan leaves. Fluff up the rice, and then press rice firmly down with a banana leaf or aluminum foil until it is compact. Return it to the steamer.
3. For the topping, stir eggs and sugar until well combined. Add the coconut milk and the rest of the ingredients. Strain the batter to remove any lumps.
4. Divide the batter into 3 equal portions. One portion adds a few drop of red coloring, another one with yellow and the last one with green or pandan paste.
5. Scratch the surface of the steam rice lightly with a fork. Pour in the first (red) layer of the batter on top of the rice. Steam over a low heat for 5-7 minutes or until set.
6. Before pouring the second (yellow) layer scratch the surface lightly with a fork. Steam until set and followed by the last (green) layer. Steam for another 7 minutes.
7. Set it aside to cool completely before cutting into serving pieces.






So ok.. I'm gonna make this quick as we are going to bed in a few minutes and my hubby is glaring at me right now... *I get the hint.* kwang kwang kwang hahahah..   

You need instant puff pastry.. a couple of chicken sausages and egg yolk for brushing





Cut puff pastry into 4 parts... cut sausage into two... roll em' up... brush with egg yolk and bake it at 175C for 20mins




Had prepared it for our kite/picnic session.. quick and easy!

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About Me

My photo
Hi.. I am a SAHM to 2 kiddoes..19yr old boy n 2 year old girl.. met my Austrian hubby here in Singapore and hv been living here all my life... my love for baking started when i was 6mths preggie to my daughter, Sonia... my addiction to baking has not stop eversince.. I hope to learn as much as i can abt baking and decorating and then share it with u along the way..