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I must be so bloody tired that i tend to doze off each time i try to read something.. not just that... i will doze off even while updating my blog... i think i can no longer blog at night... its just not happening huhu


Like right now.. my eyes dont even look like eyes anymore... imagine this... in my pjs.. with my reading glasses on and lappy on my lap... dozing off once or twice and trying to look like as tho she can stay up all night infront of hubs lol.. the worst part... hubs told me that i am starting to snore.. grrr i think i need to start taking my magic pills again... i've not taken it for almost a month now... thats how long i hv been sniffing and coughing... i am ok now... no more sniffing... no more coughing tho


Next week i am predicting another busy week.. i hv a few orders to fulfil.. hubs will be in Jakarta again and we are driving up to KL on the weekend.. yahoooo... its been 4 months since i last got to chill there... i need a break... i need to get out and do something and meet ppl and i need my massage... good stuff!

Arghhh i will update this post with recipe tmrw yah... i am so bloody tired .. been a loooongggg day today.. eyes are shutting on me and my hand and bum is very painful cos i fell down while in the shower like half an hr ago :o(


As promised... this wonderful recipe is fm non other then David Lebovitz - Ready for Dessert!

Pâte à Choux Puffs

David's tips first:

The batter for these french puffs is made on the stove top, then shaped and baked until the eggy mounds balloon into airy, hollow spheres. The puffs take to all sorts of fillings, fm simple whipped cream to scoops of ice cream, as for the anise-orange ice cream profiteroles with chocolate sauce. No special equipment is required to make them, and they come together with ingredients u probably already hv on hand.

A few things to keep in mind. Measure the ingredients carefully - too much liquid results in flat puffs. Dump in the flour just when the butter is melted. If u wait too long, too much of the water will cook off. The finished batter shud be thick and shiny and should stick to the spatula when u lift it. Finally, be sure to bake the puffs until they're golden brown all the way around. If they're underbaked. they may collapse colling, the darker colour means the puffs will stay crisper too..

Ingredients
Makes abt 25 to 30 pastries

Puff
1 cup (250ml) water
1/2 cup (4 oz/115g) unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
4 large eggs

Glaze (optional)
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp whole milk

Method
Preheat oven to 425F (220C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

In a medium saucepan, bring water, butter, sugar, and salt to a boil over med high heat, stirring gently to encourage the butter to melt. As soon as the mixture begins to boil, add the flour all at once and stir rapidly with a spatula until the mixture forms a thick paste and pulls away fm the sides of the pan.

Remove fm the heat. Wait for 2 mins, stirring the paste a couple of times to cool it slightly, then vigorously beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure each one is completely incorporated bef adding the next. (i do this by using my KA fitted with the paddle attachment.. beat till coolish bef u add ur egg one at a time ok)

Using a pastry bag fitted with a plain 1/2" tip, pipe the choux paste into mounds 1 1/2 inches (4cm) high on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 3" (8cm) apart. Or use a 2 tsp to drop the paste into mounds.

If u want puffs with a shiny glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and milk and brush the tops of the puffs without letting the glaze drip down the sides, which will inhibit rising.

Bake until the puffs are golden brown on the tops and sides, 25 to 30mins. Turn off the oven and let them rest in the oven for 5 mins. Remove fm the oven and poke each puff in the side with a paring knife so that it releases its steam. Let cool completely.

Storage:
Pete a choux puffs can be stored at room temp for several house. I prefer not to freeze them bec there is a noticeable diff in quality between fresh and frozen puffs, but if u hv leftovers, u can freeze them for up to 1 month and recrisp them in a low oven bef serving

Source: Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz
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Am being productive this week but i cant stay long.. baked this cuppies yesterday and thought id share the recipe with my beloved readers... now i cant recall how many Devil Food Chocolate Cake recipes i hv baked but any cake recipe fm Tish Boyle sure is a keeper!


Devil’s Food Chocolate Cupcakes
Adapted from “Deeply Dark Devil’s Food Cake” from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle

Ingredients (Makes 24 cupcakes)
1 3/4 cups (212g) flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
11 Tbsp (156g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (300g) sugar
2/3 cup (61g) cocoa powder - i used valrhona
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups (320ml) warm water - i used warm milk


Method
Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two cupcake tins with muffin holders and set aside.

Beat the butter at medium speed until it’s very creamy – about a minute or so. Add the sugar and mix until it’s well blended, slightly fluffy and a pale yellow colour – about three minutes or so. Add the cocoa powder and beat at med speed– about one minute or so (the batter should look dark and smooth like melted chocolate). Beat the eggs in one at a time... beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.

In a small bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt. Blend 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter mixture and mix until it is almost combined. Add 1/2 the milk and mix well. Repeat with another 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by the rest of the milk and a final addition of flour. Even though the mixture at this point will be nicely blended, take a spatula and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, just to be sure all of the flour/butter/sugar has been incorporated.

Pour an equal amount into each of the cupcake liners, leaving a space about the thickness of your pinky finger between the top of the liner and the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let them cool completely and top with vanilla bean buttercream or do like me... pipe chocolate ganache!



This is the 2nd recipe that i will be posting together with my cuppies... baked it simply bec Sonia requested for it... i thought id try something fm NCC only to realize that i actually had baked using the same recipe in 2010 lol... here is the recipe once again...

Pandan Marble Chiffon Cake

Ingredients
Egg Mixture
In this mixture, the recipe calls only to pour the egg yolks into a well of dry ingredients. I whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar, firsthand, and then mix it to the dry ingredients, oil and coconut milk.

50g caster sugar
20g milk powder
20g cornflour
140g flour
1 tsp baking powder
100ml vegetable oil (I used corn oil)
100ml coconut milk
140g egg yolks (abt 8 eggs)

Egg Whites Mixture
300ml egg whites (abt 9 eggs)
150g caster sugar
1/2 tsp table salt
1 tsp cream of tartar (optional)

Rainbow Paste
1/2 tsp pandan paste
1/2 tsp chocolate paste - i used black forest paste

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C. Prepare a 24cm chiffon pan.. Do not grease or line the tin.

Combine sugar, milk powder, cornflour, flour, and baking powder . Make a well in the centre. Pour the egg yolks  in the middle, mix well, while adding the oil and coconut milk. Work from the middle to the edge, combine well until you have a smooth egg mixture.

Meanwhile, whisk egg whites, caster sugar, salt and cream of tartar until soft peak. (i whisk egg white till foamy .. add in cream of tartar and salt.. then add sugar in 3 addition) Mix this mixture into the egg mixture. Work lightly but thoroughly, to avoid any lumps.

Divide the mixture into 2 portions and put each portion into a bowl. Work each paste into each bowl, so you will have one bowl of pandan paste mixture n a bowl of chocolate paste mixture.

(I divide the egg yolk mixture into 2 portion and added pandan n chocolate paste in each bowl.. once ur done whisking egg white mixture.. divide it into 2 portion and fold in egg white mixture gently into each bowl)

Pour these mixture into the tin, and bake for 60 minutes, or until it becomes springy to the touch. Remove the cake from the oven and immediately turn the cake upside-down, using the tin's feet (if you have a chiffon cake with feet). Otherwise, use a strong bottle, like your vinegar bottle, to hold the cake by sliding the bottle into the tin hole in the middle. Leave it to cool.

When it is already cool, remove the cake from the tin by using a long thin knife, loosening from the sides and bottom of the tin. Slice and serve..



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I am addicted to Pinterest.. i used to just browse thru Pinterest but now ever since i hv an acct there.. i have became an addict.. am addicted to pinning lol...

Happy midweek peeps... hope all is good .. ty to all who have emailed me regarding the Sacher Torte recipe... am still not done emailing to some as the only time where i can sit down and check my email is bef i go to bed... unlike bef... nowadays the moment i switch on my lappy... my eyes seem to switch off hehehe... so pls bear with me yah...


On a lighter note.. Sonia has been busy practising her school performance thingy... its all a hush hush thingy and shes not leaking anything out to us... every single time i try to dig something out fm her... she will say "no no no mama... its a seeeecret!" grrr.. oh well bottom line is... we are all pretty excited to watch her on stage again... it was only a year ago that she performed as the funky ballerina... remember? hehe


Alrighty.. last weekend i decided to bake a batch of macs for my family.. hubs had requested Ispahan for dessert which i gladly obliged and since i am already on it.. i decided to bake another batch of macs and colour em gold... yes yes... gold... why gold? hehe simply bec i saw it on Pinterest lol.. told ya i am addicted to it.. u can find just abt anything there... fm home decor to recipes to fashion to travel.. u name it... people pin it ahaks

So ok.. bef i go... once again... ty to all my readers who hv taken the time to write in... muchos gracias... am touched and Insyallah... i will keep my blog running "in the open".. as for the mac sheets... pre order will be closed in a week time... so to those that wud love to make a purchase... u can do so yah.. tks!

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From the bottom my heart... ty for all the lovely comments here or in my fb or like page... just so u know.. i read each and every single one of em... i chose to hide it here simply bec i think its personal and close to my heart... 

When i let out whats in my heart.. i am letting it out simply bec this is the tiny space which i hv created since 2009.. this month i am celebrating my 4th year of blogging... i started blogging April 2009 and two days ago i dropped the news that i am planning to privatise my blog... i didnt realise all that until someone mentioned - i hope this is not an april's fool thingy hehe... to the someone who "reminded" me that no matter what... i will get more credits fm up Above.. Alhamdullilah... that woke me up and made me realise that my blog is all abt sharing... most important thing.. many hv benefited out of it.. be it baking for the family or baking for business... thank you... i managed to put aside all the negative vibes and managed to bake this wonderful cake for my family...


This is the second time that i've baked hubs a Sacher Torte.. the first time i baked it was in 2010.. i remember clearly that i baked it to take along to a small gathering at Sandra's place... oh how time flies... sometimes things happen for a reason and if it was not bec of how i felt for the past couple of months.. i dont think i will remember why i started blogging in the first place..

Sacher Torte... a famous Viennese dessert.. a cake which i was dying to get my hands on when we went to Austria in 2010.. omg this entry takes me back to my old post (do have a look at it)... brings back sweet memories that we are blessed to have experienced.. i miss Austria.. i know hubs misses being there too... we had a wonderful time there.. getting to know hubs side for the first time.. err well thats not true... the first time i met hubs side was when we went to Argentina.. opppssy here we go again... memories... sweet sweet memories.. u shud look at Sonia's pics back then hehe



"The Original Sacher-Torte

A little piece of history

The story of the world-famous Original Sacher-Torte began in 1832, when the all-mighty "coachman of Europe", Wenzel Clemens Prince Metternich, ordered the creation of a particularly palatable dessert for spoiled high-ranking guests.

"Take care that you do NOT make me look a fool tonight", he warned. That very day, however, the chef was unavailable! The order was reassigned to a 16-year-old apprentice in his second year, the quick-witted chap Franz Sacher...

One thing was certain; the speciality which was finally presented to the masters and mistresses was a resounding success: a soft and fluffy chocolate cake with the tasty apricot jam under the icing. Franz certainly never forgot the great success of his ingenious idea within this exclusive circle. He spent his apprenticeship working for the Count of Esterhazy, first in Bratislava and then in Budapest.

When, as a fully qualified cook, he started to work on his own account, he offered his successful composition once again, this time on a large scale. He was successful and soon the "cake by this man named Sacher" was in great demand, and the victorious career of the probably most famous of all cakes began." taken fm here


So ok peeps... i will not publish this recipe online... write to me if u want it yah.. by far... for sure... this is the first time in a long time that i ate a full slice of cake... the texture this time is definitely denser than my previous recipe and isnt as dry... the apricot preserve really comes through and in no way does this cake require the "smoothing" of whipped cream... for chocolate glazing.. i used the couverture chocolate that i bought while in Colmar and also Marmer couverture chocolate that hubs family friend got me fm Vienna during their last visit here.. super yummeh.. recipe is a real keeper!!! oh oh do u agree when i say that the edible gold leaf is just ohhhhh so stunning on a cake ahaks... and so damn expensive! But good things go into and onto good cakes :)


... a slice of heaven
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Am not in my best mood .. i am seriously thinking of either privatizing my blog OR only share selective recipes... I mean there are ways for me to share the recipes that i've tried... all there is to do is that u  write to me and i will gladly share certain recipes with u..

Can? ty for ur understanding ... unfortunately sharing recipes doesnt pay off when others are unable to gv credit :o( 


So ok i will keep this short.. this blueberry muffin was baked on easter sunday.. i didnt wanna cook up a storm on that day as we had a wedding to attend to so the best way to go is to bake something simple... something that u dont need much to think abt except to not overmix ur batter... original recipe is fm Cook Illustrated and i saw it fm feastie

Ultimate Blueberry Muffins with Lemon Sugar Crunch
yields 12 muffins

Ingredients:
1/3 cup granulated sugar (2 1/3 oz)
1 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest from 1 lemon
2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, washed, dried, and picked over (about 11 oz)
1 1/8 cups (8 oz) + 1 tsp granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour (12 oz)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp table salt
2 large eggs
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/4 cup Canola oil
1 cup 2% buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions:

For the topping:
Combine the sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl and set aside.

For the muffins:
Adjust rack to upper-middle part of oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
In a small saucepan set over medium heat, combine 1 cup blueberries with 1 tsp granulated sugar. Allow to simmer and cook, smashing the berries with the back of a spoon until they're smushed. Stir frequently and cook until mixture is thickened and reduced to about 1/4 cup, about 6 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool while you make the rest of the muffins (about 15 minutes).
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In another large bowl, whisk together 1 1/8 cups granulated sugar and eggs until thick, about 45 seconds. Whisk in the butter and oil slowly until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla.
Using a rubber spatula, fold in buttermilk mixture and remaining 1 1/2 cups blueberries into flour mixture just until moistened. Don't overmix! The batter will be lumpy.
Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups - they will be very full. Spoon 1 tsp of the cooked blueberry mixture onto the top of each muffin, and swirl into the batter with a skewer.
Divide the lemon sugar mixture evenly among the muffin cups - just sprinkle on top of each muffin.
Bake the muffins until they are just golden on top, about 16-19 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for about 3 minutes. Using an offset spatula (or a butter knife), remove the muffins from the tin and allow them to rest at an angle in their cups. Cool for another 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.



How abt baking it huge... just like how u wud get in Starbucks lol.. 

Alrighty.. thats is for now... i prefer to type something positive.. i dont want my finger to do the talking right now... cheers and hv a productive week peeps :o)

Oh by the way, I've opened up my mac sheets pre order again... here is the LINK.. to those that hv inquire abt it... u can go ahead to order it.. tks a bunch for the continuous support :o)

PS: I've had people ask me what the difference is between silicone bakeware and why there is such a big price difference... hubs says that pure silicone isnt cheap... to bring down cost, some manufacturers use fillers instead of silicone... the fillers are poisonous... so the next time you buy some silicone bakeware, twist it first. If you see white stuff shimmering through, its using filler.

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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..