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Hows the wkend so far?? hope its as productive as mine... been busy this week... orders started coming in and with the long wkend hols... i hv kids and hubs to entertain lol... so whats new with us.. the Aues... first of.. last week we attended hubs co dinner and dance... we had a fun night.. dressing and munching on food that didnt fill our tummy lol.. how to when theres much entertaining around... my hubs dress as a satay man  and me... i borrowed mom's 50yrs old baju kurung songket (a malay traditional hand woven type of material) the dress instantly made me look like an oldie hehehe .. this yr's D&D was a good one cos hubs won a Mont Blanc pen and a shopping voucher... he also won a microwave oven - good stuff!


So anyway.. this week went by so so quickly... my days are filled with baking ... if i am not baking for others.. i will be baking for the family.. hubs got himself a new car which up to today.. i hv not driven yet.. after 5yrs of driving a tall car... i am not too sure if i hv the confidence to drive a stationwagon... err well i hv no choice but to get used to it for i will hv to drive him to the airport on Monday.. huhu

Yesterday we drove to JB and spend the whole day there... sis Wati and family came along and we took mom and dad too... we had fun of cos... its always nice to hang out with family members.. we went for a short drive to Desaru and also spent an hr at the factory outlet... we did our typical groceries shopping and had dinner at our fav seafood place... the traffic was really bad bec of the easter long hols but it was all worth it :o)


So ok back to this RVC... this recipe was intro to me by Yani of Kitchen Guardian while having coffee in KLCC a few months ago.. she had mentioned briefly that i shud gv this recipe a try... i didnt think much of it until i had to bake it for Sonia's school Easter party a few days ago... cuppies turned out really well.. the taste was just superb... texture is moist and best of all... u can also eat it on its own.. no need for the cream cheese topping lol.. Sonia ate a couple of naked RVC bef i even managed to pipe the frosting lol... describing the taste of this RVC right now makes me wanna go to my kitchen and munch on the only RVC that is left for me to munch hehehe... bake it dearies... bake it for ur family... bake it for ur baking business... i am pretty sure u will get good raves on this RVC .. ty Yani and good luck on ur new venture... am pretty sure u will ace it!

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 bottle (1 ounce) McCormick® Red Food Color - i used wilton no taste red colour
2 teaspoons McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 teaspoons McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract
1 box (16 ounces) confectioners' sugar - i used 400g snow white icing sugar

Directions
Cake
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.
Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in sour cream, milk, food color and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until just blended. Do not overbeat. Spoon batter into 30 paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full.
Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely. Frost with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
Beat 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened, 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened, 2 tablespoons sour cream and 2 teaspoons McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract in large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in 1 box (16 ounces) confectioners' sugar until smooth.

Source: Mc Cormick

Note: u will get abt 30 odd cuppies and if u wanna bake it as a cake.. use two 9" cake pan and bake it for abt 35 - 45mins



Mom wore this costume when she was in her teens... hubs songkok was fm dads and to complete his satay man attire.. he got himself the swan brand singlet and the satay fan hehe

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Why is it every time i watch an episode of Sehangat Asmara i will end up smiling fm ear to ear lol.. geesshhh someone has a crush on AP muahaha.. ok ok just like when i watched Adam and Hawa.. i always ended up smiling after looking at AA... ishhhh both Singaporean boys are living their dream.. well done! anywho... back to reality... i hv been a little under the weather.. the weather has been so hot that it makes my body lazy.. all day long i wud end up in an air-conditioned room and watch telly... Sonia didnt wanna go anywhere either and she preferred to just laze around...

So hubs got home late last night.. sonia had so many stories to tell her papa that hubs keep on smiling each time she continued on to another story of her life lol.. i can tell she missed her papa so much :o)

Alrighty.. heres the recipe that i hv baked twice so far... i had planned to bake opera cake for hubs but due to my headache and also flu and at the same time.. the talk i had with Shidah.. i decided to bake this cake one more time.. we all love the taste and the texture of this victoria sponge cake.. mom had it right fm the fridge and said that the filling tastes like ice cream lol... hubs loves it and so does Hairi... the only diff is that this time around, i followed what was instructed.. to bake it in a 9" baking pan... it makes a lot of diff ok..

Recipe is fm Weave thousand flavors. I have taken her recipe word-for-word as she has many good tips which I have highlighted in italics.


A Good and Proper Victoria Sponge Cake for this warm weather
Preparation time - 30 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes

Shopping list
Cake - (Butter, sugar & flour in equal quantities by weight)
340g unsalted softened butter
340g all-purpose flour
340g sugar
3 large eggs
1-1/2 tsp baking powder

Filling:
20 ripe, fresh strawberries
2 tbs confectioners or icing sugar

Cream:
1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
56g cream cheese (optional) - i added
2 tbs lemon curd (optional) - i added
2 tbs icing or confectioners sugar & more for dusting on top of cake.

Method:
Line 2 qty 9" cake pans with parchment paper. Use some non-stick baking spray to adhere the sheets to the bottom of the pans.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl or electric stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until you get a pale, fluffy mixture that drops off the spoon easily.
Then in a separate jug beat the eggs thoroughly with a whisk.
Add the eggs 2 tbs at a time into the creamed butter & sugar mixture, thoroughly combining before adding the next bit.
Why not dump the whole lot of eggs in? Adding the eggs in a little at a time won't allow the mixture to curdle. And the reason this is important in a sponge cake is because some of the hidden air that by now has been beaten into the mixture will escape if the mixture 'breaks' and as air is what makes a cake light, curdling will make the cake heavier.
When the eggs have been incorporated, keep a metal tablespoon or a rubber spatula handy. Have the measured flour & baking powder in a sieve resting on a plate, then lift the sieve high above the bowl and sift about a quarter of it on to the mixture - then replace the sieve on the plate and lightly and gently fold the flour into the mixture (if you beat the flour in, you'll lose some of the precious air).
Then repeat this until all the flour is incorporated: lifting the sieve up high above the bowl will ensure the flour gets a good airing before it reaches the mixture.
Now that the flour has been added you should have a mixture that will drop off the spoon easily when you tap it on the side of the bowl. If not, add some hot water, 1-2 tsp as needed.
Divide the mixture equally between the cake pans. You don't need to weigh the cake mixtures because as long as one is fractionally larger than the other, it shouldn't matter.
Place them on the centre shelf of your preheated oven @ 180deg C, and they'll take about 25-30 minutes to cook. Good to know: Under no circumstances open the oven door and steal a peek or that'll be the end of your sponge cakes for they simply won't rise once you let the cold outside air into the oven.
When they are cooked, the centres will feel springy when lightly touched with a little fingertip and no imprint remain. Remove the cakes from then oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Then turn them out on to a wire cooling tray, loosening them around the edges with a palette knife first. Then carefully peel off the parchment papers and leave the cakes to cool completely.

Good to know: Once the cakes have been allowed to cool for a few hours, they can be stored in airtight cake tins till needed for up to 2-3 days on the counter top. They can also be wrapped in wax papers and a zip loc bag and stored on the counter top. They should not be refrigerated. Once the cakes have been assembled with cream and filling, they need to be refrigerated immediately and consumed in a day or two.

Strawberries: Wash and pat dry. Cut away the tops and slice lengthwise into slices. Place in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle with 2 tbs icing or confectioners sugar. Slowly stir with spoon and set aside till ready to use.


Cream filling: In a food processor, whip the cream (the cream must be cold and straight out of the refrigerator) & sugar for a few minutes till soft peaks are formed. Add the cream cheese and lemon curd (if using) and whip to stiff peaks.
Place both baked cakes on a clean work surface or cutting boards. Using a clean bread knife, choose the cake with the smallest dome and slice a little of the top off to give it a flat top. Invert the cake on the final platter or cake plate or cake stand so the cut side is down and bottom is facing up.
Smear all but 2 tbs of cream in a thick layer of cream especially going right up to the edges. Arrange the strawberry slices, pointed ends facing in along the entire surface of the cake. I used 2 layers of strawberries. Turn the second cake upside down and smear the final 2 tbs of the cream on the bottom of the cake to give it a thing veneer of cream. This will act as a glue as it sits on top of the strawberries.
Place the cake over the strawberries sandwiching the cakes together with cream and strawberries. Make sure the cakes are aligned one on top of the other and gently press down.
Place some icing or confectioners sugar in a sieve and sprinkle some sugar all over the surface of the cake. Refrigerate till ready to use.
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Two entries in a day... woahhh when was the last time u see that lol.. must be the weather hehe.. ok here is the recipe which i promised some of my readers... take out ur butter and start baking it cos the taste is just oh... so good.. cheers!


Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (2 1/4 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably natural - i used valrhona
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons finely ground espresso roast coffee beans*
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) butter, softened but still cool
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (7 1/4 ounces) firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (4 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/3 cups (8 ounces) chocolate chips (I used Tollhouse big chunk chocolate chips)

Instructions
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and ground coffee beans in a medium bowl.
With an electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars together for about 1-2 minutes, or until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and beat in the egg, vanilla, and salt, and beat on medium low until just combined.
With the mixer on low, add the sifted flour mixture to the butter mixture in 2 additions. Mix just until the dry ingredients disappear into the wet ingredients. Do not overmix.
Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a small cookie scoop to place 1/2 inch balls of cookie dough 1 inch apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies look puffy but still slightly wet in the center. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.


Got to run... i hv to take medication.. cud feel the flu bug is coming huhu.. recipe is fm Cake Merchant

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Been ages since i last shared some family pics... well these pics were taken last sat ... the day mom and dad got married 45yrs ago... looking at them and how long they been together.. makes me wanna work even harder for my marriage... we all hv our flaws and u cant change ppl ahaks

Alrighty lets get on with the pics... i cant really stay long cos Sonia and I are planning to go out and hv our brekkie.. once again... its mother and daughter bonding time cos hubs flew to Surabaya early this morning and will only be back late wed.. enjoy!


Our day started early.. the Marhaban ppl came at 11am and as expected i wasnt even ready when they came... not that i woke up late.. i only had two hrs sleep cos i only managed to start covering my cake after midnight.. it took longer than what i expected doing the ruffles.. anyway we finally fell asleep at 4am and woke up again at half past six.. quickly baked lemon tart and also apple crumble tart for my guest...


My grandmother ... admire her strength n determination...


Sonia playing with kakak Dafinah


Sonia in her baju kurung... she wanted to wear it hehe


Marhaban ppl munching on kuihs while the caterer was preparing the buffet... oh goodness talking abt buffet table... at first it was set out at our usual spot but bec the weather was so so scorching hot we decided to move our buffet table inside our wet kitchen.. it was hilarious to see them moving it... more hilarious when we noticed that our wadeh turned crispy and warmish under the sun lol


We had so much food and many different kinds of dessert.. fm tradisional kuihs to pastries.. my guests were spoilt on that day lol



I told ya the weather was super hot! hehe - lemon tart and apple crumble tart


It was indeed a joyous event... nyai and her younger sister, Nek Piut


.... and also an "introduction" event for some muahaha


We decided to move our buffet inside our wet kitchen.. hubs switched on the portable aircon and everyone stopped complaining lol


Cake cutting ceremony... the look on everyones faces - priceless! well done mom and dad!


Then it was time for Sonia to cut her bday cake... her Wall E cake lol


A full hse - everyone watching a video clip made by my BIL .. we all had to do a video clip wishing my parents happy anniversary... i must say that he did a good job.. touched everyones heart including mine lol


Thank you all for coming and for making it happen... we had a blast and i am pretty sure my parents had a great time... to both my sisters... ty for making it happen and helping out!


Okies... bef i go... pics of my cake.. (taken using Iphone) - Wall E and Eve... just as what my lill princess wish for - One happy girl there!


Details were done by my dear hubs.. he did the Wall E boots with plants a few days earlier bef sticking em on my cake :o) thank u babe!


Mom and dad 45th anniversary cake...


See u soon!
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An eyesore lol... first pic was taken at 6:40pm right after the rain stopped.. the second pic was taken at 7pm.. blahhh... pls excuse my bad pic.. i shud hv snapped it earlier but i was too busy baking the base cake for moms anniversary cake and also for Sonia's bday cake... i hv so many ideas on the design of their cake but when Sonia came to me and told me that she wanted a Wall-E character on her cake.. i was like.. errr... so there goes my ivory white... pinkish or purplish colour for her cake lol.. i think i wud probably end up doing a simple cake for both... afterall simplicity is my middle name hahaha

Anyway.. yesterday we went to the interview for Parent Volunteer at one of the local schools.. hubs felt it would be good to give some volunteering time and at the same time benefit by having a better chance to send Sonia to that school... But right from the beginning we both felt like leaving.. A) An "interview" to be a parent volunteer... geez must they make such a big hoo haa out of it... B) when we were waiting for our turn the staff said: "once you are done, please don't 'loiter' around the 'school yard' or exchange interview questions with other parents"... hellooooo?!?! who do you think we are?? some 8 year old kid?! Anyway, we got through our interview, hubs was his usual sarcastic self - so much so that we think our chances now are ZERO... but lets see...


Enough said... this cake was baked simply bec i was craving for one.. i was in a hurry.. i knew that my parents would be coming to look after Sonia so what quicker way than to whip up pandan chiffon... hmmm maybe i shud bake one or two chiffon cake for this wkend.. my grandma wud love that hehe

Ingredients
A
6 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
115ml corn oil
140ml coconut milk
200g cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp pandan juice - i used 4tbsp hehe
2 tsp pandan essence - i used 1/2 tsp pandan paste
1 tsp vanilla essence

B
9 egg whites
100g caster sugar
1 tsp cream of tartar

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 170C.

Sift cake flour and baking powder, mix evenly. Set aside.

Beat egg yolks and sugar until light and lemon-coloured. Add in the oil, coconut cream, pandan juice, pandan essence, vanilla essence and salt. Sift flour and baking powder over the mixture. Mix well until smooth.

Beat egg whites with wire whisk attachment until slightly foamy. Add cream of tartar, and beat until soft peaks. Add in sugar tablespoon by tablespoon and beat until stiff peaks form and mixture does not slide out of mixing bowl when upturned.

Add in 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the egg yolk mixture and mix gently with whisk, to 'lighten' the mixture. Using a spatula, fold in the rest of the beaten egg whites into egg yolk mixture, gently, to prevent batter from deflating. Do not overfold.

Pour batter into 25cm ungreased tube pan. Run a spatula through the batter to eliminate large bubbles in the batter.

Bake at 170C in preheated oven, for about 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean (or with few dry crumbs adhering)

Remove cake from oven, prop it up on a bottle to cool, upside-down so as to prevent the cake from sinking.

Once cool, remove from tube pan by sliding a knife along the sides, and bottom.

To serve, cut with a serrated knife (so as not to flatten the cake).

Source: A spoonful of sugah.. original recipe n tips fm here
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Happy Sunday peeps... i know i hv been very quiet in the blogger world .. each time i wanna update something my body just gives up.. i still bake on a daily basis but hardly have the time to try out any new recipes.. which means.. no new recipes to share.. and when i hv nothing to share.. the urge to update my blog is not there..  anyway last wed Sonia turned 5.. this year we tried to keep it simple as we are planning to throw her a bday party but when mom told us that shes planning to do kenduri and Maulud on her 45th wedding anniversary .. we decided to do the kenduri at our place and just hv a cutting cake session for her bday...


So whats new with me... err not much actually... i am taking a week off fm taking any orders simply bec i wanna bake something for the upcoming event...  its not a biggie actually but the fact that i am able to try out new recipes got me all excited... its been awhile since i get to bake leisurely.. ya know.. its a totally diff feeling when u bake leisurely and when u bake for an order.. ahaks..

As for the family.... we are doing good... Hairi is busy with his work and hes been doing lots of overtime.. dont ask me why hes doing all that lol.. err perhaps he wants to... ishhhhh better not.... too early for him to be thinking abt settling down lol... as for Sonia... shes growing up far too fast... shes learning how to read and we are happy with her progress... next week both hubs and I will hv to go for an interview at a school where we are planning to put her when she turns 7... hubs thought maybe by doing some school volunteer the chances of us to get into that school is higher... so we shall see...  wish us luck!


Alrighty... the cuppies u see abv was baked last tues for Sonia's school mates.. she had requested me to bake rainbow cuppies and also chocolate cuppies to take to school... i also managed to bake some push pop cakes for her and her besties... 

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

Cupcake ingredients
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ cup hot water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1¼ tsp. coarse salt
1½ cups unsalted butter
2¼ cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature

Chocolate ganache ingredients
1 cup bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. heavy cream
4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature

Chocolate frosting ingredients
1¾ cups bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
270ml cream cheese, at room temperature
9 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
6 tbsp unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup plus 2 tbsp sour cream

Directions
For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 175˚ C. Line your cupcake pans with cupcake liners. In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth and set aside. In a separate medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter and the sugar. Stir occasionally to combine until the butter is melted. Turn off the heat, remove the butter mixture from the stove and transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the butter and sugar mixture on medium-low speed for about 4-5 minutes until the mixture is cooled. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat well after each addition. Add in the vanilla and cocoa mixture and mix until well incorporated. Turn the mixer to low and alternately add the dry ingredients and sour cream in two batches, starting with the dry ingredients. Beat just until combined.

Distribute the batter evenly among the prepared cupcake liners and fill them about ¾ of the way full. Bake for 9-10 minutes and rotate the pans. Then bake for another 9-10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the ganache: Put the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Once the cream boils, immediately remove it from the heat and pour over the chopped chocolate. Let it stand for about 1 minute. With a whisk or spatula, gently stir the chocolate and cream together. After the ganache becomes smooth and silky looking, whisk in the butter 1 piece at a time until fully incorporated. Transfer the bowl to the freezer or refrigerator to chill. Whisk the mixture every 5-10 minutes in order to help it cool evenly. Once the mixture is slightly thickened and no longer runny, you can use the ganache to fill the cupcakes.

To assemble the cupcakes: Using a small paring knife, cut a cone out of the center of each cupcake. You can either remove these extra cake bits completely (and save them for a snack) or throw them out. Alternately, you can cut off the pointed end of the cone and keep the "caps" to cover the ganache filling. Using a spoon, drop the ganache into the center of each cupcake and cover the hole with the cap.

To make the frosting: Melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water (I heated mine up in the microwave in 30 second increments). Let it cool until the chocolate is barely warm to the touch. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Slowly add in the powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Add in the melted but cooled chocolate and the sour cream. Keep beating until the mixture is smooth and free from lumps.



Pic taken yesterday while on Sentosa... we were invited to the Breitling Asian Jet Tour... at first the weather was super hot and right after the air show ended... rain started pouring heavily... we were lucky to hv driven out of Sentosa on time bef it started to rain.. Sonia had a blast of cos! The Asian Jet Tour  will be at Subang next week :)

Source: Eva Bakes; cupcakes originally from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes and ganache from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan


Its true what Eva describes in her post abt these cupcakes... Chocoholics Unite!!!

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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..