Let Your Life Be Filled With Colours!

I didn't realise that I have been making this coluorful morsels until i put them all up here! They have indeed added some colours to my weekly routines! ....and despite the kecohness at home especially dealing with my children, am happy to whisk the meringue, sift the ground almond and powdered sugar, add the colours and do the macaronage while counting........42, 43, 45.....sometime up to 50, sometimes slightly overfolded, haha...anyway.....here's my tqs!

Almond Macarons in Salty Peanut Butter (new and yummeh...my new fav!), Passion Fruit White Choc Ganache (new, and using the passionfruits frm Uda's garden in Muor!) and Lychee and Rose Tea Infused White Choc Ganache (new...and oh so romantic, this one!)(...tqs Rima for this inspiration in new fillings!), and tqs Aunty Buntat and Oni for this orders!

I decided to split the batter into 2 portions and coloured them yellow and peach and made this marbled effect Macarons, Passionfruit White Choc Ganache and Mango Cheese (new) fillings, tqs Sham!

The weekend was also filled with all time favs...Congo Bars, and one was with Butterscotch morsels! Tqs Yong, tqs Lyana!

hmmmmm...after turning down her orders several times, I have 'no more face' to hide, 50 Raspberry Shortbread Tartlets for sweet Aein! Tqs Aein!

A last minute order from a diva from ALevels days...Devils Food Choc Cake with Cream Cheese and Berries...somehow I couldn't find fresh strwberries last weekend! Tqs Ely!

Macarons add colour to my life, I also met old friends because of thee....Salty Peanut Butter and Salted Caramel Macarons for Shida, tqs Shida! Batch 3 KPP ITM Alevels geng!

...she had waited a while for this, Ely and Intan were my classmates during Alevels...they were the colours of my KPP life them, we had so much fun together, with the lecturers...the world belonged to us then , haha! tqs Intan KZ! 

Made these for my primary school classmate Vickie Liew who's back for a holiday from Sydney!

...and this are for Lya, Double Choc Macarons and Almond Macarons in Mixed Berries White Choc Ganache, Salted Caramel, Salty Peanut Butter, and Passionfruit White Choc Ganache, tqs Lya!

I have not been able to try any new recipes, but I'll put up a post on the essential tools to have to get satrted at baking next week...am excited! Hope you are too! Happy and healthy weekend beautiful peeps...err...I really have to check my glucose level, been mucnhing macarons ever since I got holf of Rima's macarons, yikes...but I love it!

Hajar Is 4!

Notice the figure candle...it was supposed to be no 4, and i was in a haste yesterday that I bought a no 2 candle instead...yikes!

....so it was Hajar's birthday yesterday, and it was also the last night of Syawal. Hubs decided that we throw a small party aka makan-makan only to 4 families! My inlaws, my new neighbours whom I have not met (hubs went to their tahlil housewarming party before Ramadhan...I was busy with my household chores, that I missed the event!), Shila SW and family and BadLiza and their family of three going to be four kids soon (hubs actually asked if we want to have a new addition when he learnt that Liza is 8 weeks preggers, yikes...where am I going to shove my stilettos...nah!

I didn't have time to cook, I was busy baking till the night before...hubs wanted a Pink Rainbow Cake and a mini macarons' tower...so, we decided to tapau from Saba some Chicken and Lamb Kabsya, with side dishes and some Lebanese bread, ordered pizzas from Dominos (yeay from the kids!), SW brought KFC's fried chicken (and another yeay from the kids!), some grapes, cotton candies (well devoured by everyone including the orang tuas!) and some fruit juices!

It was great, stress free and everyone ate and chatted....and the whole thing was a pink theme! Hajar was delighted when she saw me made the pink cake and tying pink ribbons for her macaron tower! So...here goes.....

pink balloons...

always finger licking good!

You can see the kakak and the abang are more excited!

A glimpse of the tower...more of a bunga and ribbon tower, I just made extra macarons to do this...and I made only 3 layers of the rainbow cake...I was so sleepy that I didnt think to make 5 layers, it was close to 12 am when I made the cake...another yikes!

Kids' shots...I like....

...some more kids shots and Yusof and Sara....

....and if you want to give a hand at baking the cake...

Dorie Greenspan's Best Party Cake...indeed it is!

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk, made buttermilk using lemon juice
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar, I used 1 cup only
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tbsp or about 113g) unsalted butter, I used salted Tatura
1/2 tsp lemon extract, I used lemon juice! I added 1/2 tsp vanilla....just loved vanilla!
I used Americolor's fuschia gel colour

Method
Prepare cake tins, I used 4, 5 inches cake rings. This batter will make a nice pair of 8 inches cakes.Preheat oven at 170C.
Sift together cake flour, baking powder, salt. In another bowl whisk together egg white and buttermilk.
Cream butter, sugar, zest, vanilla until light and fluffy.
Beat in half the eggwhite buttermilk mixture, add the flour mixture. Repeat this with the remaining eggwhite buttermilk mixture and flour mixture. Give a final 2 minutes blitz to ensure all are incorporated.
Divide the batter amongst the cake tins. Bake for about 30 minutes.

I topped with Swiss Meringue Buttercream and layered the cakes with Maman's Strawberry jam...full of fruits and so not sweet...lovely lovely finish to the whole cake!

Okay...enjoy, and please bake this cake!....more bake stories later tra!

It's The Macaron Fever!

Hmmmmm....I have been baking nightly since after Raya till last Tuesday! Took a night break on Tuesday and I'm back on the groove....inshaallah this will continue till December. I have planned to space out my orders...yeah I planned, haha...let's see how they will turn out!

Rima was in town, and I had a short lunch with her and Shida Dairimama....nowadays the topics range from baking, macarons (of course! what did we do wrong haha!!) and life...it was so good, so refreshing talking to them! Of course the part about sharing lunch, tqs Rima peghabih my kacang and soup and me pegahbih Shida's sandwiches and the neighbouring table asking us to hush down our voices was da bomb, haha! And Rima's macarons.....I just can't get enough of them!

Anyway...here's my tqs to the lovely peeps who had supported me....

2 Red Velvet Cakes for Dr Hafizah, tqs doc! Red Velvet cuppies for Sya, who had a few years back ordered my Beryani Udang and Profiteroles. Tqs Sya! And some red Velvet cuppies for Yong, too. Tqs Yong!

Macarons for Aqiqah for Ust Harun Din's Daughter, tq Yong...Almond Macarons with Peanut Butter in Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Passionfruit Curd

Macarons for Hantaran, ordered by Dik Ween, we last met when I was in Std one, tqs Dik Ween!

Hazelnut Macarons with Salted Caramel and Peanut Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream, and Double Choc using Valrhona....and...

Almond Macarons with Lemon White Choc Ganache and Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream...for Hantaran...and...

Mini Cakes...all ordred by Fuzana for her sweet niece Suraya for an Engagement Hantaran...Tqs Fuzana, Tqs Suraya!

Almond Macarons with Salted Caramel, Lemon White Choc GAnache, Homemade Raspberry Jam and Double Choc...ordered by Fina, my whizzy Whiz's cousin...tqs Fina, tq Whiz....

My attitude towarsd macaron making nowadays is 'just do it'....cant wait for the sun to shine, cant wait for the weekened to come before I whip some meringue...so far Alhamdulillah, Allah has been kind to me, despite the damp and gloomy weather, the macarons turned out fine, but yes, I dry the shells in the oven....

See you next week, have a lovely weekend, I will! Tra!

Chocolate Meringues (Pavlova) with Strawberries and Blackberries!

It was going to be a long weekend with Friday off last week for Hari Malaysia celebration, so hubs decided we went back to Ayer Baloi! I sorted out my supposedly free weekday to fulfill all orders to be collected on Friday, from Khadijah....she was still in the midst of SPM Trial Exams and stayed back with Yusof accompanied by my mak and ayah.

I had about 2 hours sleep the night before, I was darn sleepy, but I decided to make this anyway, in between filling my macarons, topping my red velvet cakes and packing! haha! Afterall I still have egg whites from about 45 eggs, left over from the kek lapis that I made during raya....I figured that I wouldn't use this egg whites for macarons, I busted 2 batches, they had feet but were gritty....I didn't store the egg whites properly ie in the freezer beyond the 5 day mark in the fridge!.....but they are still good for meringues, pavlova....didn't have time time why the ozzie calls this meringues, and the english and most of us calls this pavlova! why ah!!???

....and the other thing is that I must confess that the pavlova maker at home has always been my hubs until last Friday, muahaha! The whisk and the egg whites are mine! Officially...I conquered pavlova...choc pavlova....it was supa easy, the way to whip the meringue is almost like making macarons, except that there was no macaronnage to follow after that! ....but unless you wish to have bisceps, I suggest  you use a stand mixer to whip the meringue! It has to be stiff, shiny with a bird's beak before you fold the vinegar, cocoa powder and cornflour and vanilla!

So...here goes.....

Ingredients

4 egg whites, at room temperature, I used 130g egg whites

1 1/2 cups caster sugar, about 330g

1 tbsp cocoa powder, I used Valrhona

1 tsp white vinegar

1 tsp cornflour

1 tsp vanilla extract

250ml whipping cream, 35% fat content

Strawberries and blackberries

Method

1. Preheat the oven at 150C. Prepare baking sheets with baking paper.

2. Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt, until foamy and soft peaks.

3. Add caster sugar 1 tbsp at a time. Whisk until thick, dense and glossy.

4. Using a spatula, fold in the sifted cocoa powder and corn flour, vinegar and vanilla extract.

5. I used my spatula to dollop small rounds of the mixture onto the lined baking sheets.

6. Using a spoon or your spatula, make a slight indent in the top of the mixture.

7. Place in the oven, immediately reduce the temperature to 120C. Bake for 45 minutes, then turn off the oven off leaving the meringues to cool completely.

Recipe was adpted from Chocolate Meringues with Raspberries and Caramel Sauce from Australia's Delicious magazine September 2011 issue.

I served them with whipped whipping cream and some starwberries and blackberries. You could drizzle some caramel, but I didn't have time to make some caramel sauce! Was busy entertaining guests in Ayer Baloi! 

The pavlovas had a crspy texture outside and chewy in the middle...errr I had 2 in a go, hehe!

A Wedding and An Engagement!

I was completely pooped last night....but I was darn happy! Lega at the same time!This projects that I decided to take on a few months for two special people were executed on Saturday...phew! Kak Puteri, whom I met through this blogsphere and Aunty Jude, a lovely, lovely lady! Let's see!

A Four Tier Cake, 3 layers of dummy cakes, thank you Kak Puteri for that, I prepared the dummies on Thursday and finished the rest on Friday wee hours of the morning! The base was a Victoria Sandwich Cake layered with Maman's Blackberry Conserve! It ws time consuming, but enjoyed doing this!

The beautiful bride Nawwar and her husband...and Kak Ollie and Kak Teh, who's back for raya from London!

About 40 pieces of two shades of green Macarons, Peanut Butter in Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Passion Fruit Curd Filling!

All this to top two macaron towers on the Meja Pengantin!

Two Macaron Towers! There were about 45 macarons on each tower...loved looking at this!

In the tv room...the coldest part of the house!

...but this was the moment that I had waited for....meeting my fellow makcik bloggers....the real reason that made me smile! Thank you Kak Puteri for the trust on me tobe part of this joyous occasion!

A Hummingbird Cake as Hantaran Cake (3 layers of 7 inches cakes), Red Velvet Cuppies and Devil's Food Chocolate Cake with Choc Ganache, Cream Cheese and Strawberries for the bertunang reception! Thank you Aunty Jude, but sorry I couldn't attend the Tunang Ceremony...I was pacaking mac towers!

I had Kak Zai, a fellow baker who inspired me to bake and my adik Farrish came for raya zirah after I came back from Kak Puteri's...I made Nasi Daging, got some Lemang and Farrrish brought some satay. Made some macarons...all were gone when they left...and I slept soundly smilingly last nite :p...what a great weekend!

Sana Sini Raya Part 2

...so Raya continues! On the 3rd Syawal we left Muor for Ayer Baloi! The new kitchen is still in progress, so there is no open house, yet! I cleaned and scrubbed whatever that needed scrubbing and cleaning and chilled! Didn't even visit my neighbout Fuad and Ani...they were not around most times....beraya!

 

The abode at night!

Kids played bunga api....whilst I tried my hand with varying shutters and speed...hancurs! Without reading the manual...I definitely need to beef up my photography skills on this!

This linen, duvet covers have been used since Khadijah was 2!

Hajar and her games!

A bug in the house!

Muhammad helping me to kemas rumah!

The sliding door linking the guest room behind the main house and the new kitchen...the guest room will be my new den, provided the open air bathroom is covered! hehe...takuuut!

Passion fruits from Pagoh on the island top!

...and we went to JB, Pak Ngah's house on Friday.....vintage china for Mak Ngah during hantaran nikah, woo hoo!

Pak Ngah will make sure enough stock of this during raya, amongst the cookies and cakes....sotong kering and dried plums...sedaap!

Mak Ngah's collecctions of vintage porcelains! I loike!

Bee Hoon Singapura!...Wendy's way!

Ingredients

Bawang Putih, Bawang Merah, Cili Boh, Blend and tumis. Masukkan beehoon yang telah direndam, masukkan daun kucai, garam secukup rasa. Makan dengan kuah taucu! Tumis bawang poutih, bawang merah, udang kering, taucu, cili boh yang telah diblend. Masukkan air, biar sehingga mendidih, masukkan hirisan tomato dan sedikit udang hidup...garam dan gula secukup rasa!

After the Bee Hoon Singapura, we leapks, while waiting for Wendy and Mak Ngah prepared lunch!...makan lagi!

Ikan Kembung Masak Tempoyak! I had to tahan my breath while looking at Wendy cooking this! Tak suka durian!

Ingredients

4 ekor ikan kembung, dikerat dua. 5 ulas bawang merah, 3 ulas bawang putih, 3 biji cili hidup...all this ditumbuk. Rebus dengan 2 mangkuk air, biar mendidih, masukkan, daun kesum, assam keping, 3 sudu besar tempoyak (urgghhhh)...can put more if you wish, serai dititk, garam and gula secukup rasa!

Hubs siap hirup the kuah you!

....and back at home in KL on Saturday...evening!

Love this.....

...and this!

....and made this on Sunday to deliver on Tuesday, while waiting for my mak and ayah to come beraya!

Hub's vintage ceramic tray!

Mak Ayah, Boy, Su, we boraked and makan...I made Vegetable Biryani and Tandoori Chicken using the masal that I got from Colombo!