One Sunday in Ramadhan..

It was a hectic weekend...when has it not been anyway? I had to finish baking all the cookies...the orders...but thank god for hubby, he decided to take the little ones, Ibraheem, Umar, Hajar and Muhammad to Muar and then they adjouned to Ayer Baloi. Hubby wanted to clean the house in time for Raya...

So, I was left with Yusof and Khadijah and the tepungs, telorq, butter and the oven.....Saturday I did a bit of cleaning up...cleaned the maid's room, the kitchen and the bathrooms...lega! And Sunday, it was baking session from after Sahur, breather for Zohor and Bagus, sent Khadijah and Yusof to KLCC, continued after Asar until Maghrib, adjounred for Iftar at Bad's and continued until about 1 this morning....I hope I have covered them all....NOT, Nora just texted me wanting 15 bottles of Samprit....I have to turn down, time is not on my side.....

I have friends asking for recipes of  Samprit and Butter Cookies and Kek Buah....tak sempat for now...I am also scrambling my energy for documents to be released before Raya...so it's chaotic here in the office and at home...but I like...when the goings get tough...I become tougher....

A few pics...... 

KL view from Bad's apartment....

Muhammad Anwar Hasyim aka as Hansem...Bad's and Liza's new baby boy, 32 days old...

And back in Ayer Baloi, our first Passion Fruit, Markisa, hopefully it would be ripe and still there next week when we go back for Raya! We got the seeds from the Gerai Nenas that we usually got our pineapples.....Ayer Baloi is pure bliss....

Notes on a Friday morning.....

I sent my maid back to the agent yesterday morning....another drama that's all that I can sum up....don't want to share what the drama was....it's Ramadhan, so, let's just keep it here.....somehow I didnt feel anything yesterday, I was numb and not affected at all by her departure...life will be as normal except that I will have to do the dishes and a bit of the laundry.....the kids were least affected, too! And my baking for Raya will continue as planned, inshaallah.....

On the way to work this morning I put on a cd by Shaz, my nephew, my husband's nephew. You see, my husband's family are all singers. they usually show their talents during weddings amongst the family members! Shaz only managed to pull through the preliminary rounds of AF, but now has cut his own album and does a lot of private functions.....so, a bit of promo for Shaz....if you need someone to entertain you for whatever functions, give me a tinkle! He has a manager, but contacting me is good enough.... I know one day this boy will go big folks!

I will now have to adjourn to my documents.....this weekened will be a baking frenzy one...I will have to finish all the cookies, and from mid next week start baking my fruit cake! Happy weekend and feel the raya vibes.......

Layering the Lapis...Kek Lapis Cempedak

It has been a sombre Ramadhan...while I think that should be the way, but the feeling inside is very hollow, not complete...losing Azura has impacted us all. I can see sadness in my MIL especially, and my elder ones...Yusof reads Yaassin almost every night for his aunt in Ramadhan. And, my intense baking lately has left me feeling her presence around me...Azura makes the best Tart Nenas, period! Just before Ramadhan, my MIL offered arwah's oven to replace my broken one. I refused for now, bukan tak sudi....but tak boleh...I'll be crying and not baking if I took her oven...and I decided that I would not even attempt making Tart Nenas this year...I'm still mourning.........

Let's just leave me and my feelings that way...the scar will always be there, time can only soothe...a bit...

And, now back to my attempts at kek lapis.....you know, being a Kedahan, kek lapis is very alien to me ...using loads of eggs, yolks are only present in Kueh Bahulu! My encountered with kek lapis was when I married my hubby....about a few years back, we went beraya to his uncle's in JB, and we were served with kek Lapis Prune and this Kek Lapis Cempedak...I fell in love immediately with Lapis Prune, and my husband Lapis Cempedak! And guess what? Hubby has been pestering me to attempt baking kek lapis after I sort of successfully baked the many many Vanilla Cakes! This intensified when I made Lapis Prune and now that cempedak is in season! Dah tak larat dah dengar him asking bila? Bila? Bila? So, last night, I decided to try this recipe from MamaLeza .

This time the layering took longer as the batter was more, I slept at 1! But it was all worth it! Sedap giler was the remark I had during sahur! So, here goes.....

Kek Lapis Cempedak

(A)

500g butter ( I used canned Golden Churn)

1 tbsp vanilla extract (I added a tsp vanilla powder)

(B)

14 yolks

6 eggs

275g caster sugar

2 tbsp ovalette

(C) sift together:

100g APF or HK flour (I used HK flour, yezza!)

1/2 tsp baking powder

(D) blend together:

500g cempedak flesh

150g condensed milk

Method

1. Prepare your oven with top and bottom heat. prepare your cake tin, I used 8x8x3.

2.Beat A for about 3 minutes, set aside.

3. Beat B until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes.....I loved my Kmix for this!

4.Fold A into B until well incorporated.

5.Fold C into the AB mixture, mixing well.

6.Start layering using the flour mixture, use about 90g for each layer, bake using grill heat only.

7.The next layer will be the cempedak paste layer using 2 tablespoon, and spread evenly. Bake this cempedak layer until well dried!

8. And don't forget to press each layer before the next layer to release any air bubble trapped in between the layers! I did mine this time diligently, ha ha!

9. And once all the layers are done....that is about 2 hours later......cover the top of the cake and set your oven to top bottom heat at 150C, bake for another 20 minutes....and the result voila! A house full of the smell of Golden Churn and Cempedak!

Folks,if I (a kaki bangku in baking!) can do this, so do you! Happy trying!

Layering the Lapis....Kek Lapis Prune!

Hmmm...after I stumbled upon Rima's blog....she bakes beautiful and gorgeous cakes, my eyes and heart were set on baking kek lapis. So after I studied (almost everyday!) her post on Kek Lapis Prune at here( http://www.bisousatoi.com/2010/05/prune-layer-cake.html ), I made a quick dash to Cold Storage yesterday during lunch to get eggs, mixed spice, ovalette...couldn't find HK flour, so I opted for superfine flour. And the rest of the ingredients were already available at home. Why I chose this recipe? It is my husband's favourite, we order this cake from my baking sifu Safura almost every year! Also, having golden syrup, using Golden Churn butter and condense milk in the ingredients....this cake must taste like the ones that I got from Kuching that day!

And so, the quest to layer began after hubby and children left for terawikh prayers....

Ingredients

(A)
250g butter (I used canned Golden Churn...yummeh!)
80g condense milk
1 tsp mix spice
1/2 tsp vanilla powder (I also added another 1 tsp vanilla extract)
80g golden syrup

(B)
15 egg yolk (my!)
3 egg whites
120g castor sugar
80g superfine or HK flour
1 tbsp ovalette
20ml cold water

(C)
a few drops of yellow colouring
150g pitted prunes (I used 220g...also yummeh!)
melted butter (sinful!)

Method

1.Grease a 8x8x4 pan, preheat oven at 180C
2.Whisk A on high speed until thick and creamy, set aside.
3.In another bowl, whisk B on medium speed until thick and fluffy.
4.Add butter mixture (A) into egg mixture (B) and continue to whisk until well incorporated, do not overbeat!
5.Add in yellow colouring.
6.Separate batter into 10 portions, about 90g each...I didn't, but ensured that I weighed a 90g batter (sometimes terlebi 100g tee hee...) for each layer!
7.Spread a portion evenly into pan, grill for about 7 minutes or until golden.
8.Remove from oven and press cake layer to remove excess air...I didn't press enough, so there were air bubbles in the layers....dang! Brush layer with melted butter and spread another portion of batter over the cooked layer, titlt pan to level batter and arrange flattened prunes onto batter. Grill for 5 minutes or until golden.
9.Repeat process 7 and 8 until batter is finished.
10.Bake last layer using upper and lower heat for a further 10 minutes, and use aluminium fli top cover the top so as to prevent the top from turning too dark.

Husband wanted to ngap the cake after it was ready, ie after he returned from his solat....he he tak boleh....I had to let it cool .....so, this morning during sahur......wah! It was a treat for him and me...the taste of the cake, the moist, the rempah, the sweetness....all just perfect! The only eye sore that I got was due to the air bubbles and the uneven layers....yelah, ada yang 90g ada yang 100g....but anyway, it was an attempt all worth baking for....will make this again for Eid, woo hoo! Thank you Rima for sharing this recipe!

Bakes and Cakes For Hari Raya 2010

Salam all! As promised much earlier during my ramblings about cakes and bakes for Hari Raya 2010 (please go to http://kitchenguardian.blogspot.com/2010/07/bakes-cookies-and-all-for-aidul-fitri.html), here are the cookies and kek buah, the recipes that I have tried again recently! The cookies Choc Chip, Samprit and Butter Cookie will be sold at RM18 for 50 pieces and the Steamed Fruit Cake will be at RM75 whole cake, also available for RM25 per loaf .

Here are the list of confirmed orders...err , please indicate otherwise ya! Thank you!

Nooriza 1 Choc Chip, 1 Samprit, 1 Butter Cookies, 1 Fruit Cake

Edi        1 Choc Chip, 1 Samprit, 1 Butter Cookies, I Fruit Cake

Zura      2 Choc Chip, 2 Butter Cookies

Gina      3 Fruit Cakes

Marina  2 Choc Chip, 3 Samprit, 3 Fruit Cakes

Muzal   1 Choc Chip, 1 Samprit, 1 Butter Cookies, 1 Fruit Cake

I will not be taking orders anymore, but will offer if I baked extras!  

Pesan MIL from an Ustaz....buat persiapan raya sebelum Ramadhan agar boleh beri tumpuan sepenuhnya untuk amal ibadat...inshaallah.....            

Embracing Ramadhan Al-Mubarak!

Time is really short and it feels exceptionally so this year, with so many events that have taken place this past eight months...and Ramadhan is here again for all of us to embrace! Ramadhan is a very special month for me, and it will be a real test for a foodie like me, I can wake up in the middle of the night for solat...but to miss a meal...it's God's real test! But I'm embracing it with all my heart and open arms! Hari Raya...it will be just another one day of celebration, that's all!

And, following Arwah's Dalilah reminder....I wish to ask for forgiveness from all of you for whatever said and done unintentionally...and that includes those cakes and bakes that didn't meet your taste buds ya!

SELAMAT BERPUASA AND HAPPY RAMADHAN!!

Unforgettable....that's what you are....

Yes...I have been reading your comments and blogs...but I have been so so busy, to even leave a note...I have been baking ever since I came back from Colombo, but I have not been able to post any pics....so enjoy these hydrangeas and roses that husband sent to perk me up on Wednesday, Biskut Sampret that I baked last night and this mesmerizing song.....loved their voices Natalie Cole and her dad Nat King Cole.....

Just A Bit More of Colombo!

After the saree soire the evening after my conference and the Sri Lankan Crab galore, the next day we went to.......jalan-jalan, supposedly...but ended up buying more goodies for friends and family! I bought some cotton fabrics like the above! U just love the pinkish hues, some of the materials were printed linens which cost dearly here! Got them at a fraction of the price!

Tuk Tuks are normal sights in Colombo, but I must say that you have to bargain for the fee before getting into one, as you might be "ketuk-ed"!

After getting the cotton fabrics, we decided to go to Barefoot, which is like our British India, but a lot lot cheaper. I didn't get anything except for a hand-painted box for Khadijah and had lunch and coffee at the cafe'. The above is a painting hung on the wall of the cafe'. 

Tired and sleepy looking me!

Lunch was Cheese and Tomato Sandwich...reminds me of the days in Southbank Uni....the cheapest lunch then!

Hmmmm....hajat di hati was just to browse here....even though I had been pre-warned that one would not be able to resist a box or two of these fine porcelaines from Noritake....he he, moi bought half a dozen of this mugs.....

.....22 pieces dinner set of my Sweet Leilani.....and...

....eight pieces of this for daily use at home...all for less than RM600....good bargain huh!

And, my last meal was some more doses of curry...cuttlefish curry, brinjal, mushroom and basmati rice....we drove to the airport, but were stopped twice by the army....this is normal occurrence if you drive at night...otherwise Colombo is like Penang, except you see a lot of Tuk Tuks insteadd of Protons or Beemers or Mercs....planning a trip to Maldives and Colombo next with hubby!