Bakes and Cakes

I've been seeing red lately.....since the craze for Red Velvet Cakes! So much so that I'm thinking of getting a Crimson Red lipstick for myself...which is kind of weird as I usually go for muted and earth colours...hahaha!...So, it's Dior Serum de Rouge Lip Treatment no 630 that has been playing in my head...haish!Anyway, here's the cakes and bakes of last week!

16 pieces Red Velvet cuppies, thank you Sherry

This order came from my orang kampung...neighbour almost...in Ayer Baloi..will be getting burasak frm her this Eid, thank you Anom.

Anom also ordered half a recipe of this!

Half a recipe of Devil's Food Choc Cake with Fresh Raspberry French Buttercream and Choc Ganache for Mia Amie, thank you!

Marble Nutella Cake will complete your Sunday tea time! Thank you dear Suhaila and Zira!

Red Velvet Whole Cake, yums! Thank you Nita and Awin!

Of course there were these also...probably the last batch of the Milkadeal redemption...thank you beautiful people!

Catch up with you again, soon!xox

Tiger Prawn Fried With Fresh Turmeric

It has been a while since I last posted  a recipe of what I cooked! I have discovered a new territory...baking that is. But I still cook, yes I do! And due to the time constraint, usually the dishes that I prepared were very basic, fuss free, with all ingrediants that are avialable and as easy as ABC to prepare! Can't fret, I haven't got time for that!

I am really behind time to send in an article for an online magazine, but I will do that and post the recipe here. It would be something easy to prepare, healthy and kids will enjoy. Well! They have approached me on that basis that I have 6 children and I fed my children well! Ha! Ha! Yes, but of course there were times that we settled for McDonalds or take away pizzas or Lebanese rice or Hainanese Chicken Rice! You can't have all!

Anyway, here's what I prepared last Sunday to go along my Fish (Jenahak, looks and taste like Red Snapper but it is greyish blue in colour) )Curry..... 

Ingredients

500g tiger prawn, cleaned

2 inches fresh turmeric, it is an antioxident, anticancer

1 tsp salt

1 inch fresh ginger

4 cloves garlic

1 medium onion....never used shallots for a long time, they are way too expensive!

2 cili padi (birds eye chili)

2 tbsp cooking oil

2 stalks spring onion

2 medium tomatoes, of course they are natural food enhancers!

Method

Using a mortar and pestle (cewah! batu tumbuklah!) pound ginger, garlic, chili and salt to form a fine paste. Coat prawns with this paste. Heat oil and fry onions, until fragrant. Add the marinated prawns, fry until the prawn is almost cooked, you don't want to let it dry. Sprinkle spring onions and sliced tomatoes, turn off heat. Serve with rice and fish curry ...of course!

And I had my earl grey tea, while playing with Muhammad and Hajar that afternoon!

Tra!

Let's Begin A Macaron Journey!

I have already started having butterfiles in my tummy, jitters well, yes...but this have to go on! Yup, and along the way, I learnt another method, a true French method and how to dry the macarons the unconventional way, but hey it worked, so what! So, here's a list of the participants and the dates...inshaalllah.....

We want to get this kind of skirt!

I usually prepare this almond flour and icing sugar mix beforehand and store in the freezer (saves a lot of hassle especially for moi who is always on the go)...but will explain how to do this....storing this mix in the freezer also wards off the almond flour from turning rancid!

And, we hope to get this, yeah!

3.4.2011

Wiz

Maizura

Maizatul

Lyein

Shida

Edi

10.4.2011

Nik Zalina

Cilantro

Immey Amat

Mimie

June

17.4.2011

Sharmin

Razleena

Lili Ghazali

Rashidah

Intan

Please please let me know if I had missed out anyone in the slots, which I think I have replied to all your emails. There are peeps still waiting, yes, but let's get going with this first and we'll sort out other classes ya! If anything, just email me ya!

Choc Bottom Banana Squares...again, but....

Phew...what a week! The contracts have finally closed, but of course there are still others queueing! And the Milkadeal cakes' redemption is also coming to a close on 31.3.2011! That means I have more time to explore other recipes....I hope! So far April looks like a breather, even though orders have started to come in...and I have those classes to conduct.....sending chills to my bones...but we'll do it together successfully ya! I'll put up the schedules either this weekend or early next week!

In the mean time...I had to settle for this....there were very ripe bananas in my fridge, and considering my schedule, this is a super quick snack that you can prepare, in a jiffy! I promise you! So, here's the recipe again...to save you from flipping the pages of my old post.....

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter about 113g, I used Tatura salted

1 cup sugar, I reduced to 3/4 cup

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla essence

 1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 6 ripe Pisang Emas or 3 medium Pisang Berangan)

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt, I added

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 cup choc chips

Method

1.In a mixing bowl, crfeam butter and sugar...this time I creamed using my hands, decided to forgo the electric beater, mixer. Add egg, vanilla, bananas, mix well.

2.In a separate bowl combine flour, soda, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add this to the creamed mixture, and mix well.

3.Divide batter into two eaqual portions, add cocoa powder to one portion of the batter.

4.Using a 9x9x2 inches baking tin, spread the cocoa portion on the base. Top off with the vanilla mix. Sprinkle choc chips.

5.Bake at 170C for about 30 mins.

The house will smell of bananas..definitely!  

I took some to the office, and they loved them...and so do my family! Give this a shot, and have a brilliant weekend you alls!xox

and thx Anie for this recipe!

Drying Macarons...What The Textbook Didn't Tell You!

Well, well.....I must say that making macarons involve a lot of drama, haha! It has been raining in KL lately and the weather has been pretty wet and damp...and I had to make Macarons! I thought after making them successfully for quite a while, there wouldn't be anymore glitches...and NOT!

The past few batches (since last weekend) had seen me dumping all cracked macarons, yup they have their pretty feet and all but they cracked like the eruptions of the volcanoes...grrrr...I hated the site of them! They were suppoed to be dainty and sweet and pretty...like Audrey Hepburn...not some kind of tsunami aftermath...urgh.....

And, I have scheduled all those classes in April....what am I to do if the weather continues to challenge me!? Cancel the classes...nah, I haven't the heart to turn them lovely ladies down.....

So, I decided to google and find out some solutions....yup I read in some blogs that by letting the shells sit near your oven, will help to dry the shells....you can pop the shells in the oven and warm them at a low temperature....done that, and the 'eruption' still took place...so how, how, how......

Then, I stumbled on Kak Nomie's site about making Macarons on a wet day....well, after the Milkadeal deal, I have been in contact with Kak Nomie, asking about Kek Lapis classes, this and that, itu ini.....

I read the post and rang her yesterday! She advised me to follow the method that she wrote about in her blog...and it had worked for her! So, last night, after all the kids had been tucked in bed ie around 10pm, I decided to whip 2 batches of Macarons...they are for my friend who now resides in Doha!

The shells were drying, but I wanted to fast forward things...it was almost 11 pm after I cleaned up my kitchen, I needed my beauty sleep (I must confess that I lurve to sleep and eat...nevermind the tv!)....

So, I decided to give the method that Kak Nomie taught me a go! Here's how....

Turn on your oven at 160C and let it to heat well, then turn off the oven, and leave the piped shell and the baking tray on the oven door, like this...I did this for 10 minutes, rotating the the tray after 5 minutes....and then, I aired the shells a bit more to ensure they are dry....indeed the shells were dry, in about 15 minutes...woot! Then, bake your Macarons like you use to...I did mine at 150C! And...the results were this....

Loved the feet...Vanilla Bean and Hazelnut Macarons.....after I did this and while I lulled myself to lala land...I remember what my sugarpaste teacher Wiz always remind me of our weather...this hot and humid or wet and dry might not be suitable for readymade storebought fondant and....the normal ways of making Macarons...afterall!

Well, I'm not saying that the textbooks are not accurate or can't be followed, but hey, I think a first hand's experience and your blog storiers and experiences tell more stories, right! And, yup, sharing is caring....now I owe Kak Nomie Red Velvet cuppies! Serious!!I can't thank Kak Nomie enough!

So...go on you alls...what's stopping you from making Macarons, now! Though I must put a disclaimer here that in order to achieve the pretty nice feet and pied Macarons, all the other things in making Macarons must also be present and are essential...the mixing of the ingredients, ageing the egg whites (to some this is a myth)...but I notice that aged egg whites give nicer frills, skirt...the macaronner and macaronnage...aprt from the drying process...this all have their pertinent roles to play! And having said all those.... 

....I haven't stopped purchasing books about making Macarons either! Here's my latest collection that I got hold from Kinokuniya...I wanted to order another book on Macarons, but saw this! Grabbed this and another copy for another Macaron making "maniac" like me, hehe!

See you in the classes soon, lovely ladies!

Bakes and Cakes

Time for thank yous!

9 pieces Hantaran(engagement gift) cupcakes. It was rather a last minute order, so I decided to do this robbon roses (picit-picit and roll, roll) that I learnt in my first sugarpaste class with Wiz!

The theme was gold and pink...and I loved the daisies and sugarpaste ribbon as well...and how can we live without these blossoms...thank you Rini!

Some Macarons for Mastura and Rabia...Green tea, Chcocolate, Vanilla Bean and Strawberry Nesquik with assorted fillings! Thank you Rabia, Mastura!

Rabia also ordered this Marble Nutella cake....

....and this Red Velvet Cake. Thank you, too, to Nita for ordering this Red Velvet Cake!

16 pieces Red Velvet Cuppies! Thank you Mastura!

Khadijah's Journey of Faith...

At the check in counter...Khadijah was leaving for her journey of faith...to perform Umrah ie a mini pilgrimage in Mecca....she left on Friday with my inlaws.....

I was late, managed to see her about 15 minutes before she checked in to the satelite building, I was on leave on Friday, only to be held up with cfo...I drove hurriedly to the airport, almost flying my father's Atos...hmmm...

FIL, Khadijah and MIL...they'll be back next week...in the mean time it feels lonely and quiet without Khadijah at home even though she holes up a lot in her room!

Bye bye...hope she finds hidayah....

I have been left gazing at this late afternoon light.....

...to play with my baking tools...my much loved cake tins...

...and Muhammad to roll and soothe....

Coffee Walnut Cake with Coffee Walnut Cream Cheese

Hmmm...what a week! It was nego nego nego, amend documents, signing ceremony and further nego and then ....finally got to close all those contracts....I hope! Anyway, with a bit of breather during early of the week, I decided to make this wonderful Coffee Cake....

Coffee Cake is one those cakes in my to do list....and for this, I have decided to try Ms Greenspan's recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Coffee-Walnut-Cake-with-Coffee-Mascarpone-Cream-236891!

This recipe is special as it has nutmeg powder in the batter and in the cream cheese topping...even though in the end I decided to omit from the topping. And why did I choose this recipe! Well! It has buttermilk and some of the walnuts were processed with the coffee powder!...So here goes....

Ingredients

Cake

1 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped and divided

1 cup sugar, divided

1 tbsp espresso powder, I used 1.5 tbsp instant coffee powder, Nescafe

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

 2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

1/4 tsp salt

10 tbsp butter, about 142g

3 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup buttermilk

Method

1.Prepare 2 cake tins, I used 2 8 inches tins. Heat oven at 170C.

2.Blend 1/2 cups walnuts, 1 tbsp sugar and espresso in a food processor, set aside.

3.Sift Flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and set aside.

4. Beat butter until smooth, gradually add sugar, beat until fluffy.

5.Beat eggs one at a time, last, add egg yolk.

6.Fold in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternately add buttermilk in 2 additions.

7.Fold in remaining walnuts, divide batter between the 2 cake tins.

8.Bake the cake for about 30 minutes.

Coffee mascarpone cream

4 1/2 tsp espresso powder, I used 1 tsp coffee oil

1 tbsp water, I didnt use

1 cup chilled heavy cream, I used 1/2 a cup of cream

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, I used 250g cream cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar, I used 1/4 cup

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Beat the cream cheese until light, fold in double cream, continue beating. Add in powdered sugar, coffee oil and vanilla extract. I also sprinkle additional walnuts on top of the cheese topping....

I would consider this a manly cake...but of course if you were o coffee lover, you'd love this. I brought the cake to office and everyone loved it...so you dont have to be a coffee lover afterall, hehe! The cake was very moist, and you could taste a tiny hint of nutmeg which actually enhanced the coffee flavour....voila! Go whip one for yourself!Muahs!

Bakes and Cakes

It's been a while since I said my thank yous here.....I said thank you to those lovely peeps who collected their orders, yeah! I have misplaced my other memory card, so, there were some pics that I couldn't put up here, sorry!...so, before such thing were to happen again, choi, god forbid...here are my thank yous.....

Almond Macarons with Raspberry or Lemon Curd Filling and Hazelnut Macarons with Chocolate Ganache...made some 150 pieces for wedding favours...thank you Elyana!

This had gained much popularity since the Milkadeal deal....thank you Suria Hani, Norsiah!

Almond Macarons with French Pastry Cream, Strawberry Sunquik Macarons with Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Blueberry Ganache, thank you Siti! 

Happay Birthday Nana, thank you Vida!

A deal that has now made us friends...Shida ordered this Red Velvet cake for her nephew, the chatty Izz!

Shida also ordered this Macarons....Razlyn and her colleague also got some of this, thank you Shida, thank you Razlyn!

Well! It will be another two weeks and the redemption period for Red Velvet Milkadeal would be over....the whole deal had definitely changed my life...but am looking forward to quieter weekends and concentrate on classes and new recipes and clicking away my camera...woot! thanks for reading peeps!

Lavender Camomile Macarons with Blueberry Filling

I was very excited when I saw this: mac-attack-17-sugar-spice ! And why shouldn't I!!! I have always loved lavender and camomile, but for the tropical climate here, I wish I could grow them here! And, of course, blueberries, who can resist them...yums!

You know...I have fond memories of lavenders...they remind me of my summer days in London, whilst my stay during my Bar Finals...the thought of the exams were daunting...but, having a small pacth of miniature lavenders in my garden...with the fresh crisp smell of spring, that was heavenly...almost bliss! I got the seeds from Woolworths, and followed instructions on how to sow them in winter...and, like I almost couldn't believe they actually grew and blooms in spring and lasted till summer, voila! 

And...blueberries....in spring they were abundance and sold by fruit peddlars almost in every corners in my little town near my rented house in Walpole Road, South Woodford. ....and the English, also the Welshmen and Women (I studied my Law degree in Aberystwyth, Wales) had also taught me to drink tea! And I learnt how to savour camomile tea, then....even though I'm an Earl Grey or Lady Grey convert now!

Putting this flavours together for my macarons, well! It was a moment that I was waiting for! I made this on Saturday, and served and enjoyed this with my primary school friend who came visiting over the weekend....hmmmm....the subtle taste of lavender and camomile (I coulnd't find dried lavenders so I used London's Tea Company's organic Lavender and Camomile Tea) coupled with the divine white chocolate ganache (I used Lindt white chocolate!) infused with fresh bluberries...my weekend was complete!

Rich Chocolate Cake

Rozlina has been ordering this type of cake twice, and if it was for her son's birthday, it had to be an edible image of Ultraman...and they all loved Chocolate Cake! She has tried Moist Chocolate Cake and Devil's Food Chocolate Cake....and for this year's Ultraman Cake I thought I'd let her try a Rich Chocolate Cake.

You see, my quest to look for a perfect Chcocolate Cake is still ongoing, even though the recipes that I use here all are my favourites...and this one I particularly like because it has butter (yeah, butter!) So...here goes....

# source thelittleteochew.com

Thank you Rozlina for this order!

Ingredients

200g good quality dark chocolate, chopped

200g butter, at room temperature

1 cup dark brwon sugar...thank god for this, I use brwon sugar at home!

1 tsp vanilla

3 eggs, I usually use size A

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder...gonna get my Callebaut soon!

1/2 cup milk

Method

1.Preheat oven at 170C, prepare 2 cake tins, I used 2 7x10 inches cake tins.

2.Using a double boiler method, melt chocolate, set aside.

3.Beat butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the melted chocolate.

4.Add eggs one at a time, beat until well incorporated.

5.Sift flour and cocoa together, I also added a pinch of salt!

6.Fold half the flour mixture and alternate with milk into the butter, sugar and egg mixture. 

7.Divide the mixture into the cake tins and bake for about half an hour.

Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients

250g good dark chocolate, chopped.

250g double or whipping cream, I used one that was 30% fat content

30g butter...hoollallla....

Method

1.Using double boiling method, heat the cream until they are bubbly, add a pinch of salt.

2.Pour in the dark chocolate, stir and stop the heat...stir until all are mixed well.

3.Chill for about 1 hour to thicken the ganache, spread using a spatula or pipe.

....please make this for your family this weekend, you'd be more loved, peeps :p

Bakes and Cakes

I was on leave yesterday....to smell the roses! I have been very busy, but I thought I needed a breather before this madness (good madness, though!) continues.....so, yesterday I had my leisurely breakfast at Thurkah's before I continued making Macaron shells to deliver on Saturday....and dropped by Sri Munawwarah for Khadijah's preparation for Umrah next week. Of course I grabbed a few head covers for myself...been a long time since I last visited Munawwarah....

And so, here are the bakes and cakes for this week....I have not been able to put the rest previously as I had misplaced my memory card....but I will put them pictures later next week when I sort all this out :p

Almond Macarons with Lemon Curd and Hazelnut Macarons with Strawberry French Pastry Cream for a Hantaran (engagement gift), thank you Aina!

A simple white fondant cake with violet roses for Wedding Hantaran (wedding gift), thank you Idrina! A lot of people asked me if I made my own fondant.....yes I do, it's one of the things that I learnt from my sugarpaste sifu Wiz! 

I hope for a quieter weekend this week, but we'll see, have a nice weekend peeps!

Triple Cocoa Caramel Cake

This was a very last minute order...from non other than my all time favourite Ms Peens...Vida, the soft spoken , demure...almost Audrey Hepburn in this era....she called me on Wednesday, wanting a Chugginton cake for his son's birthday do on Saturday...nah...an edible image was too short a notice to order.....a 3D train fondant cake....nah...my hands are just too full with Macarons and Red Velvet cakes to make....so we decided that we took Kiran's toy trains (Chugginton's)...and tra....this was the result!.....

....and the cake...I decided on this Triple Cocoa (without) Caramel cake, I had baked this earlier for my nephew's birthday (photos later)...and the cake was gone instantly...well almost, after it was cut! And the reason why I didn't use homemade caramel...simple....I was really in the nick of time, so I turned to Smucker's Caramel sauce....but the outcome of the cake was to brag the whole entire week...hehe....

Thanks Rima for putting this wonderful recipe...yeah Rima, my other half cacing kepanasan....we just couldn't sit still or we'd catch the temperature.....

Cake

Ingredients

10 eggs

150g sugar

1 tbsp emulsifier

140g flour

60g cocoa powder

80g dark chocolate

100g butter- melted, I used Tatura...always!

Method

1.Preheat oven at 170C. Prepare 2 cake tins, I used 7x10 cake tins.

2.Melt butter, add in cooking chocolate, stir until both butter and chocolate are melted, let cool, set aside.

3.Whisk eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy, should leave a trail on the whisk.

4.Add emulsifier.

5.Add in sifted flour and cocoa powder into egg sugar emulsifier mixture, mix well.

6.Lastly add in the melted butter cocoa mix, and mix well.

7.Divide the batter into the 2 cake tins, bake for about 30 minutes. While waiting for the cake to cook and cool, prepare the ganache and caramel...well I dodged this...clever me!

Choc Ganache

250m whipping  cream, or double cream, I used double cream with 30% fat content.holalala...

250g dark chocolate

30g butter

Method

1.Using double boil method, heat the cream until bubbly, and add in chopped dark chocolate. Turn off heat and stir until both chcocolate and cream are well combined.

2.Cover with a cling wrap, and chill in the fridge for about an hour so the mixture thickens.

Caramel Syrup....or if you are clever (to take short-cuts muawahaha....use Smuckers caramel sauce!)

Ingredients

50g sugar

25ml water

50 ml water 

Method

1.Heat sugar with 25ml water to caramelise it.

2.Add 50ml water to dilute the caramel and turn it into sauce. Let cool!

To assemble the cake

I removed the cakes from the cake tins, and spread caramel sauce in between and sandwich one on top of the other. Then, I spread the ganache all over the cake, before finishing with the tpys, marsmallows.....

hmmm.....I know with all this, making this cake could be daunting....but trust me you just have to study (hehe) the ingredients and do the steps one by one and you'll get a lovely very moist and chcocolatey cake! Voila! Thanks Vida for this order!

Peach Macarons and a Wedding.....

I didn't know...well maybe it was better that way, otherwise I 'd be panicking......and maybe won't be able to produce these macarons! But most of all, my heartfelt thanks to Fiza...for ordering these Peach Macarons with Lemon Curd for the wedding, last Saturday! I have only known Fiza through her blog, and has always been admiring her gorgeous swirl roses in buttercream or fondant, of course I was esctatic when she ordered these macarons...but....to have my humble macarons alongside her beautiful cakes and lovely cookies together with Delectable's wedding cake....I'm flying off the roof now! You can see the post and setting of the wedding reception at here :http://chiquecakes.blogspot.com/2011/03/peach-roses-cupcakes-wedding-cookies.html . Thank you Fiza! Let's do it again...muahs!!!

Almond Macarons with Lemon Curd filling...refreshing!

Fiza's gorgeous wedding cookie, mine as a keepsake....only for a few moment...it was gone almost afterwards, eaten by Hajar! "Chantik mom!", exclaimed Hajar!