Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Steam Honey Sponge Cake

At first, i thought of making Ma Lai Kou (chinese sponge cake) but.....after flipping my through my i-can't-live-without-book, hehe...i quickly change my mind to make this steam honey sponge cake.

I remember extracting this recipe from somebody else's blog...but i really cannot remember whose blog i extracted from...so, anyway...this is truly a delicious easy sponge cake to make! It's steamed and no messy utensils to clean after.

Ingredients :
  • 250g of butter
  • 230g of brown sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • 1.5 tsp of vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp of honey
  • 300g plain flour
  • 1.5 tsp of baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp of baking soda
  • Baby pinch of salt
Method:
  1. Cream butter and sugar till mixture appear yellowish brown and smooth in texture.
  2. Beat in the eggs, one at a time and mix till well combined.
  3. Add in vanilla extract and honey. Continue mixing until well combined.
  4. Add in the rest of the sifted dry ingredients to the mixture and beat till well combined (smooth thick mixture).
  5. Pour mixture into baking pan and steam over rapid boiling water for 45-50 minutes.

Verdict : Look at how moist and soft of the cake...that is how yummylicious the cake is...muahahaha...okay...i'm boasting a lil here...but hey...the cake truly taste as good as the pic displayed~ no play play oooo!

Friday, May 23, 2008

Moist Chocolate Cake

Feeling a little blue lately? No worries la....chocolate to the rescue!!!

It's Friday today....obviously happiest day of the week for me...heheh....automatically i'll bake something...and dessert for today iiiiiisssssssssssssss......

Moisty Chocolatey Cakey....that makes u go ooo la la

I adapted the recipe from Aunty Yochana...alright people....picture says a thousand words...



Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Maple Oatmeal Cranberry cookie


Warning! Dangerous cookie ahead.

Ha? Why dangerous wor?

Cuz i have just gulped down one of the two jars containing the freshly baked maple oatmeal cranberry cookies. This is not just another oatmeal cookies...with a hint of cranberry flavor followed by the sweetness of the maple syrup...mmmm yummy!!

Another thing that made this cookie special is that it's not exactly a 'dough' like you usually dropped / shaped on to the parchment paper before you put them in the oven. This cookie 'dough' contains more liquid...hence you gotta scoop (preferable using a round bottom spoon) and drop them on the parchment paper with 2 inches apart from each other....this is give ample room for the cookie to spread.

Oh ya...be sure not to over bake these cookies...as it will turn out hard as rock...hahaha....okla...i had a batch of my cookies over baked...that's why i know that it will turn out hard as rock lor!

Waste no time...come join me to explore the website managed by two great chefs...Sunny & Sid:)

Pssst...they do bake for sale!! I've tried their durian mousse cake...one word...BEST!!!!!


Friday, May 16, 2008

A Moment of Silence

Just when you thought that the whole world is collapsing on you, or everyone around you seems to be treating you unfairly….take a moment of silence and imagine living the life of Elizabeth Fritzl.

The case of Elizabeth, an abused victim by the man she trusted, was highlighted in late April 2008. She has been living in a dungeon dug by her evil dad for 24 years…minus sunlight. She was practically facing walls for 24 years. Ceiling built no higher than 5’6, Elizabeth and her three other children (whom her own father fathered all of them) had cramped themselves in the dungeon which is poorly air ventilated. Limited mobility, limited space for stretching, limited air, no outside world exposure, no communication, etc…such life has taken a great toll on Elizabeth and her children’s health.

Weak bones, badly decayed teeth, weak muscles, pale skin, poor vision…

Few days ago, I was feeling low. Depressed. This carried on for a few days until today, when I stumble across an article online describing Elizabeth’s life for the past 24 years.

I cried as I learnt the life of Elizabeth for the past 24 years. In a split second, deep in my mind, I knew I am extremely lucky and should be grateful that I have a set of parents who showers me with endless love. I can confide my problems to them, I can seek their advice and help, I can put my 100% trust on them.

But life was hell for Elizabeth. She had no one to confide, she can no longer trust people. All she can do was to obey her evil dad’s command (be it rape or threat) in order to live. If it wasn’t for the love she has for her children, I believe (this is strictly my own opinion), she would have ended her life.

At any moment you feel that your life sucks, put yourself in Elizabeth’s situation. You will eventually learn that life is actually beautiful.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Kukus Banana Muffin



First of all, sorry for the lack of updates! Hehe.

I've been transferred to another department in my office and my workload is double now! I know...lame excuse rite? But anyhow, i will try my best to 2 - 3 recipes per week, or at least two recipes per week. TO all my friends out there who are keen to try out the recipes I've posted here, please bear with me ya...hope you guys understand:) Hopefully in 3 months time I'll have more time for myself rather than my yucky office work...hehe..

As for now, please enjoy this healthy steamed Banana Muffin. It's super soft and best consumed hot!!!!! Ya...that's when you go...oooo...mmmm....ahhh....kekeke!

Ingredients:


  • 3 eggs
  • 110g of sugar
  • 220g of plain flour
  • 1.5 tsp of baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp of soda bicarbonate
  • 100g of melted butter
  • 300g of mashed banana (preferably over riped type)
Optional : Handful of chocolate chips or any kind of nuts

Method:


  1. Beat eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl for about 2 minutes.
  2. Sift in the plain flour, baking powder and soda bicarbonate into the egg mixture. Using a hand whisk, whisk the mixture well.
  3. Pour in melted butter and mashed banana and whisk till well combined. At this moment, you may leave the batter as it is or you may add in chocolates chips and nuts :)
  4. Scoop the muffin batter into the muffin pan lined with paper cups. Steam over rapid boiling water for 12-15 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the muffin comes out clean. Serve hot!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Aiyer....

Aiyer...why liddat 1???

Yesterday someone cursed me. I'm positive. I don't know who but i know SOMEONE cursed me. *roll eyes*

As usual, after work i went straight home and ready to bake my first chiffon cake. Everything was in order and everything looks good! SO, after putting my chiffon cake batter into the oven, i cleaned the counter top...messy messy with all the flour and juice..

And then i picked up my recipe book to place it back to the cabinet. Somehow, i just need to re-read everything again in the recipe...ingredients and method. For your information, i was making an orange chiffon cake.

As i read, to my horror, i am supposed to substitute 5 tbsp of water to 5 tbsp of orange juice to turn a basic chiffon cake to orange chiffon cake. Guess what i did? Haha!! I put BOTH....5 tbsp of water + 5 tbsp of orange juice!!!!! OKay...cool down cool down...think and pray...i prayed hard that my chiffon cake will eventually turn out alright....i mean 5 tbsp juice..no big deal right? I hope.

So i checked the cake batter in the oven...ei...not bad wor...rose beautifully...no cracks...smooth...and so...the method in the recipe book said that after baking the cake at 150DC for 30 minutes i should increase the temperature to 180DC and continue baking until cooked. So after 30 minutes i increased the oven temperature to 180DC. While waiting, i placed my saggy butt on a chair and read newspaper. 5 minutes passed.....suddenly...i smelled something burnt! MY GOD!!!!!!

RUshed to the oven...found the top part of the cake burnt!!!! I quickly grabbed the heat proof gloves and took out the cake pan.....either the gloves are not working or i did not put on the gloves properly...because of my exaggerated reflex action (palms touched the surface of the freaking hot cake pan) I DROPPED THE HALF COOKED CAKE ON THE FLOOR!!!!!! YIKES!!!!!!!!!

As best as i could, i used my impromptu kung fu act to 'save' the cake pan and *crack*.....ouch! I twisted my poor back. I tell u, even neighbors living a few doors away could hear my soprano voice! I screamed like hell and my mom was like What Happened What Happened??!??!

I sat down...stiff....like a robot...couldn't move. Tears were welling up my eyes....i was excruciating in pain!!!! Mom quickly applied Counter Pain ointment to my back and i sat down in the kitchen for 20 minutes before i can move freely again.

Needless to say, my first attempt to bake chiffon cake was a disaster!!!! EVen today, in office, i had to stick on 3 patches of Salon Pas to my poor back.

Sigh....

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

100% Whole Wheat Bread

Oh my god....I guess i didn't buy bread that often (i always pester my mom to buy...hehe) until a few days ago, i went to our famous convenient store, 7 Eleven, to buy a loaf of Gardenia Wholemeal Bread. I remembered only paying RM2.70 the last time i bought the loaf of bread but guess what's the amount showed on the cash register?

FREAKING RM 3!! What!!!!! I didn't know the bread price has risen!

Okay....i guess i'm a little overacted...but come on la....for a frequent bread consumer like me (2 loafs per week on average basis), i will need to pay RM6 per week....which means RM24 per month...which mean RM288 per year...just for bread!

Yikes!! So people...why not start baking your own healthy bread? You can make your own bread as healthy as you want, as grainy as you want, as low fat as you want..sounds interesting? Hehe!

I found this recipe in the manual that comes with the bread machine i have at home. End result? Superb! However the bread turned tough the next day....my dear cousin advised me to include bread improver in my next bread making attempt...this way, the bread will become softer and much yummier i guess? Nevertheless, this recipe is yummy! Enjoy!

Ingredients :
  • 1 cup of water
  • 2 3/4 cups of whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp of salt (DB omitted this)
  • 3 tbsp of light brown sugar, firmly packed (DB used molasses)
  • 1 tbsp of shortening
  • 2 tbsp of dry milk (DB used organic soy milk powder)
  • 1 1/4 tsp of yeast
  • 1 cup of Organic mixed grains (optional...not suggested in the manual)
Method:

Put all ingredients into the bread machine in accordance to the steps as suggested in the manual. Select 'Rye' setting. Sit back and relax for 2.50 hrs. Enjoy the freshly baked healthy bread

Mmmm....my slice of freshly baked hot healthy bread...

Monday, May 5, 2008

I signed up for PPP!

It never comes across my mind that I would sign up for a paid post. This is because initially I take blogging as leisure, for I knew I will only blog if I can afford the time. However, as time goes by, I find myself addicted to blogging! I found myself uploading new post every other day.

My cousin, SueSue-The CookingMomster, who encouraged me to start my own blog, advised me to sign up for paid post. Hence, I went to her blog page and saw the PPP (PayPerPost), a blog network advertisement. Without much hesitation, I clicked on the ad to check out further information regarding PPP. As I read on about PPP, I became more interested. Think about this, you blog about something and PPP reward you for the post! How cool is that!

I also understand that you may even earn up to USD500 a month by writing a sponsored post. So tell me, how on earth one is not tempted to sign up for PPP and enjoy a lavish extra income to support your shopping splurge! Furthermore, you’ll enjoy the publicity of your humble blog page just by becoming an advertiser!

Wait no more and sign up for PPP right away! Trust me, no regrets! For further information, click the following link. Opportunities are always there waiting for you to grab!



Presenting.....POtatoCream

Attention to all beautiful, spiritual & lovely ladies out there....!!!

Few weeks ago, i was introduced to this colorful website by my bestie. What is this website about? POtatocream....sounds interesting eh? NOpe...nothing about potato salad, nothing about tater tots (fried potato balls), nothing about food....but it's all about APPARELS & BAGS!

Now why am i blogging about this colorful wesbite? Nope, i don't do it for rewards and nope, this is not a part time job. To all visitors that have been following my blog posts, you may know i'm a food-junkie freak. SUdden change of wind, i'm blogging about an online boutique. WHy?

This is why. I have recently purchased a bag from them. It was a fast and efficient service. Best of all, i received what i expected and interpreted from the wordy description of the bag by PotatoCream. I AM TRULY SUPERBLY EXTREMELY SATISFIED!!!!! :P

Payment was easy too! Often when we wish to purchase something online, it'll be a hassle when it comes to make payment (at least for me)....i'll always need to deal with USD. It's problematic! Why? Because different seller quote different exchange rates...thus you will need to put in extra effort to google for the best priced item. That's putting me off!

POtatocream is different! For the benefits of us living in Malaysia, we can easily make a payment transaction over our local bank counter. And did i mention that the banks they used are Public Bank and Maybank? You can easily locate these two banks at any corner of any place. Pretty convenient aye???!

Plus, they are really efficient in shipping out the product. The moment i paid for my bag, POtatocream shipped out my bag the very same day....thus guaranteeing you to receive your lovely parcel within few days period....at latest...a week! How cool eh??!

I know i know...be patient la...let me talk more about this website before i reveal the address k? hehe...

Potatocream has a wide selection of apparels and bags but limited in quantities. This way, you can avoid bumping into another woman who may wear the same apparel as you....yaya...saves you from further embarrassment if the outfit looks better on her rather than you...hahaha...just kidding...but seriously, no kidding...their apparels and bags are rather unique and lovely!!!

My bestie who introduced me to this colorful website has bought a massive amount of tops from them. She was bragging non stop in her blog page about how satisfied she is with POtatocream and how lovely the apparels were on her. POtatocream was wow-ed and awe-ed by her...they decided to name my bestie as PotatoQueen....hahaha! Drop by POtatocream, and you'll know what i mean...

WHATCHA WAITING FOR?? HERE IT IS

http://www.potatocream.com/

Enjoy splurging....be sure to get hold of your hubbie's bank account....hehehe...trust me, you will not be able to resist clicking 'buy me'.......hmm, did i just misplace my bb's account?? kekekeke!! Shhhh!

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Kuih Serimuka

Okla....looks very ugly la...:P

Hello everybody!


How was labour day? Good? Best? or bad + worst?????? Good or bad...i hope you all enjoy most of it as it's our day! The day that marks the appreciation of our hard efforts, sweat and blood......by holidaying...kekekekek! Agree?

So, to rejoice this memorable day...i opted to make this sweet and salty kuih...this kuih is actually the 'twin' of Kuih Talam...both had a salty bottom layer and topped with sweet layer. The only difference is that one has glutinous rice as the bottom layer.

A tasty and yummy kuih is greatly complimented by the coconut milk....coconut milk plays an important role in making kuih....thus, it's best to use fresh coconut milk from the local sundry shop or wet market:)

Let's not waste time blablabla-ing anymore...enjoy the recipe below and be sure to share out the kuih with as many people as possible...as this is rather fattening and unhealthy (high cholesterol oooooo) but very yummylicious...sigh....how leh??? hehe!

Ingredients & method:
Bottom Layer
  • 350g of glutinous rice (soaked overnight)
  • 150ml coconut milk
  • pinch of salt
Drain the soaked glutinous rice and combine together with coconut milk and salt in a pan. Steam over high heat for 20 minutes. Fluff the rice after steaming. When it's rather cool to room temperature, use the aluminium foil to press the glutinous rice down and firmly packed to the steam pan.

Top Layer
  • 3 medium eggs
  • 220ml coconut milk
  • 100g castor sugar
  • 2 tbsp custard powder
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
Combine all ingredients together and strain over the steamed glutinous rice. Steam on high heat for 35 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave it in the steamer for 10 minutes before taking it out and cool to room temperature. Do not attempt to cut the kuih if it's not cooled....otherwise it'll look ugly and messy.