Dumb-Baker Close Down

Dear all,

THANK YOU. Big Thank You for all the supports given for this humble blog of mine. I am regret to announce that dumb-baker will not longer be active from now on. To all avid bakers out there, i'm wishing you all the best and hope that all the humble information which i shared here in my blog did not disappoint you :) TO all other bloggers, thank you for all the kind words given here. Though i'm no longer blogging actively, but i'll be visiting your blogs very often.

Last but not least, I wish all of you nothing but the best coming days ahead ;)

Cheers,
Dumb-Baker

Thank You

It's superbly amazing that one can experience a low moment of her life, but it can be a total opposite experience with just a lil booster from someone. Someone who can put a smile on her face though she's going through a hard time. Someone who never fail to listen to her when she needed to rant. Someone who she'll appreciate from now on. Thank you so much and you know who you are ;)

Untitled

My heart broke. My dreams shattered. I'm looking forward to a new begining. Will you help me?

Steam Moist Cake

Don't throw rotten eggs at me...sorry sorry...i know i did not update my blog that often. I was telling my cousin the other day, should i shut my blog as i can't afford to bake every weekend and blog about it. Well, she said "You can always blog about your family and friends...not necessary only your cakes and cookies"

But i won't live up to my blog name rite? DUmb Baker....suddenly DUmb Life...hahahahahha....ok folks...rest assured...I'm not going to shut my blog. No Worries, Be Happy :)

Happy Labour Day Everybody!

My family and relatives will be having a gathering makan tomorrow. Here's what I'm going to contribute. A Steam Chocolate Moist Cake. The recipe is adapted from http://cookingcrave.blogspot.com/2009/03/chocolate-moist-cake.html. The cake looks so yummy that you can eat it right from the screen. This website was actually recommended by my cousin Sue Sue.

Well, i have just finished steaming the cake, yet to top it with chocolate fudge topping. I shall post up the photo tomorrow and shall blog about the feedback from my family members tomorrow. Stay tune!

Bitching Post

WARNING.....INTENSE USAGE OF VULGAR WORDS AHEAD!!

Fark! That's all i can say. Why are some idiots farking stubborn and practically low in EQ wanted to rule the earth with only piles of shitty thoughts in their mind? FARK!

THINK BEFORE YOU ACT STUPIDLY K! GOD CREATED BRAIN FOR YOU TO THINK!!!

YOU idiotic incorrigible bitch...fark off. I'm neither your punching bag nor your slave. DOn't spit your unsatisfactory to me as if i'm your saliva potty just because you got screwed by someone else. Screw me once, watch out. Screw me twice, i'll cut your tongue. Screw me thrice, you're dead.

Watch your back bitch...i keep my silence doesn't mean i am defeated by you. My tanker is on the way to crush your freaking body into pieces. I can be twice meaner than you. Period.

Pak Thong Kou

The weekend was hot hot hot!!!!! I have never sweat this much in my entire life (well...except for the PE classes during primary and secondary school).

It's a good thing that the weather is warm...perfect condition for proofing the bread dough or whatever dough you wanna proof. I chose to make the authentic Chinese sweet dessert (or breakfast for me...hehe!)....the "PAK THONG KOU"

I remember vividly that my grandma used to buy this sweet cake for me every Sunday morning for breakfast. There used to be a van packed with all sorts of homemade Chinese sweet cake that goes around the neighborhood where i used to live. I never fail to shout for the driver to stop so that i can buy my favourite sweet cakes and fill up my little stomach...mmmm...yum yum....well..those were the days! Kids now don't get to experience the good old times we had been through....oh well...thanks to the ever rising crime rates!

Anyway, enuf said....here's the recipe...enjoy folks!

Ingredients:

• 220g rice flour
• 160g caster sugar
• 380-400ml of water
• 1 tsp of yeast
• 1 tbsp of warm water

Method

Mix the yeast and warm water and set aside. In a pot, mix the rice flour and sugar. Pour the water over the sugar and flour and stir continuously. Bring the pot over low fire and continue stirring for about 3 minutes. (DO NOT BOIL THE MIXTURE!!!!) Strain the mixture into a baking/steaming tray. Let the mixture cool down for a while. Stir in the earlier prepared yeast mixture. Cover the tray with cling wrap and keep the tray in a warm place (a microwave oven is a good place) for proofing process (about an hour for a hot weather like Malaysia....). When the mixture has bubbles surface, the mixture is ready for steaming. Steam the mixture over rapid boiling water for about 25 minutes. Leave the cake till completely cool before slicing it. Enjoy the sweet cake with a cup of hot green tea....yummmz!

Lemon Cream Cheese Cake

Have you tried the Lemon Pound cake from Starbucks? It's absolutely delicious! It's just me again craving for rich cakes but with the current economic situation going downhill, i just can't bring myself to spend $$$ on cakes anymore. It's cheaper if you just bake them yourself. For anticipated bakers, this recipe is the one for you if you're looking for a rich lemoney cake.

Ingredients:

• 6 oz. of cream cheese, softened
• 150g of butter, softened
• 1 cup of sugar
• Rinds of a lemon
• Juice of a lemon
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/3 cup of flour
• 1.5 tsp of baking powder

Method:

Preheat the oven to 175 DC. Beat the cream cheese, butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time and mix well. Scrap the sides of the mixing bowl from time to time. Add in lemon rinds and juice. Mix well. Lastly, add in flour and baking powder. Bake in oven for 45 minutes or until the skewer inserted comes out clean.

* I sprinkled some chopped almonds on the cake batter before baking it. It's yummy....crunchy on the surface and soft inside* =^=

Ha ha ha ha....

....staying alive staying alive.....<-----adapted from Bee Gees Classic

Hi People....suhhhhhpliceee!!!!!! Flied Lice!!!

Okay not funny.....i'll be back tomorrow with some baked food photos....ya...i know...after the long hiatus rite? My bad...i'm busy + lazy + half dead......going down with the current economic flow.

So people...come back come back come back.....i'm back!!!! Stay tune for updates ya!

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies (modified)

Last Christmas, i had a surprise from my aunt who resides in Los Angeles. She handed me a rectangular box nicely wrapped with a Christmas Gift Wrapping paper. After saying thank you to her, the inner child personality in me urged me to quickly unwrap the gift. After the tearing and shredding of the wrapping paper, aha! This was what greeted me and left me smiling the whole night! OMG! Thank you so much auntie!!!

Last Monday was a public holiday for KL and Selangor. However i woke up extra early that day and thinking, hmm...bb is not picking me up for at least the next 5 hrs...why not bake a batch of cookies and offer some to next door neighbor (felt guilty coz they gave us some homemade CNY goodies but i remained lazy and did not bake anything for anybody). After 2 hours of enjoying my breakfast, i started baking the cookies.

I wanted some chocolate and something oaty. Found this recipe from the book that my aunt gave me. It was easy and ingredients were kept simple: butter, brown sugar, sugar, eggs, flour, melted chocolate, rolled oats and chocolate chips.

I do not have any cooking chocolate, hence i used the cocoa powder instead and i also replaced the chocolate chips with chopped Hershey chocolates. I also added a packet of almond nibbles into the cookie dough. 12 minutes after dropping the teaspoon size cookie doughs on the baking tray, i had my first batch of freshly baked chocolate oatmeal cookies. After cooling them down, i popped one of the cookies into my mouth. My my my....it was heavenly tasty. I'm sure my neighbors will luv it. True enough, the next day, my neighbor was commenting how tasty the cookies were and jokingly suggested that i can even sell a small container of the cookies for RM28 during CNY. Hmmm....probably that would be my side income for year 2010???? Oh well....if only i have the time.

I managed to get 4 full small tubs of chocolate oatmeal cookies that day. I gave a tub to my neighbor, a tub to my bb, a tub for my colleagues and a tub for myself and family.

Anyway, if you guys are interested, do check out the Amazon website for the recipe book. Meanwhile, i will try out a few more recipes and will randomly post some of the recipe which i think it's too good to just keep it to myself in this blog soon. So stay tune!!!

Marble Cheese Chocolate Cake

I was confused. How am going I to name the product? Marble Cake? nope coz it contains cheese. Marble Cheese Cake? nope, coz it's not entirely a cheesecake per say. How about Marble Cheese Chocolate Cake? Ha! Yes..it gotta be this because it's a chocolate cake base but with some cheese for the marble effect.

My cousin and cousin sis in law invited my family for CNY open house party on Chor Mm (30th January 2009). They were way too generous as they invited all of my other relatives as well and food was solely sponsored by them. I felt shy..because i was not only eating, but i was taking money (ang pows) from them too. So i offered to bake a Cheese Brownie for them initially. My plan turned sour as at the very last minute, when i checked my kitchen's cabinet, i had only about 20 grams of cocoa powder left!!! Mom was suggesting me to replace cocoa powder with Milo instead...=.=

Mom....Cocoa powder is unsweetened....and Milo is too 'milky' for my recipe. SO i ransacked my recipe books....hoping to find something with cheese and something that can utilize the 20grams of cocoa powder. Ha! Found it! Anges Chang's Baking Made Easy book!

Verdict: Oh well...no one really gave me a comment...i did not eat a single slice of the cake because of my irritated throat...but i guess it was a good catch on that night because the cake was pretty much whacked by the entire Wei clan.

CNY Goodies

GONG HEI FATT CHOI! CHOI YUN KWAN KWAN LOI! TAI KAT TAI LEI! SUN TAI KIN HONG!

Happy Chinese Moo Moo Year everybody! Did you guys have a yummylicious reunion dinner? An ultimate celebration on the 1st and 2nd day of new year? You guys sure did!

As for me, *sob sob*....I had watery porridge from Chor Yat till Chor Mm. How about that? It all started on the night of CNY eve. I felt a lump in my throat...but didn't give much thoughts to it. So after reunion dinner, i went over to my grandpa's house and continue munching on cookies. Half an hour later, my bb came and took me to his cousin's house to gamble. Heaty food + non stop yelling and shouting during gambling made me a sick dog for the next 5 days. I had throat infection, fever and voiceless.....! So lessons learnt, go slow on CNY cookies before the festive begins....don't greedily gobble down the food like me.

Anyway...sad stories finished....let's share what have i contributed for CNY. My fellow blogger friend, JenJen, has been writing a lot of CNY food posts. The minute i saw her homemade MOMO (melting moments), I just couldn't take it anymore. To the hell with my painful throat, i took out my 'ka chang' (ingredients & utensils) and start baking. You won't believe how easy it was to make the MOMOs. It took me slightly over an hour to make 2 containers of the MOMOs. And believed it or not, the MOMOs were gone in just a snap. It was so good and so addictive! Even better than those pineapple cookies! For avid fan of melt in mouth cookies, please click the link above...100% no regrets.

Next, please join to welcome the ultimate labour of pain but damn worth trying Horlick Layer cake. I've been longing to try out this recipe (courtesy of Jen Jen also) a year ago. However, lame excuses got in my way (weather too hot...will sweat a lot if i stand too long in front of the stove; i'm too fat now...maybe later;....bla bla bla bla) and so the day of making the layer cake postponed till this year's Chinese New Year. It wasn't hard to prepare...and it wasn't hard to make it either....it's the long steaming process that is making me go cuckoo....Hahaha....but like Jen said, the 4-5 hours labour of pain will not fail you. It's yummy, moist, no words to describe. The cake smells like coffee, taste like Horlick on the first bite, coffee on the second bite and gone into your stomach....it's so delicious that you just can't wait to dig in the next piece again and again.

Peppercorn Soup

The ultimate thing i wanna experience in Pennsylvania during winter time is able to sweat. It's just too cold here and i hate it. I just luv being all hot and steamy and umm...no...it's not what you think...gotcha!

I was just craving for a hot soup one night....so i crept up into the kitchen and i found peppercorn!!!!!!! My bro has peppercorn in his kitchen!!!!!! Yay!!!!! * jumping up and down*

Without any hesitation, i defrosted 4 chicken drumsticks in the microwave oven, cleaned them and put them in a pot of boiling water. I added like 2 soup spoonful of peppercorn, 4 carrots (chop them in big chunks) half of a big onion and some chinese mushroom. Bring the soup to boil for like 10 minutes and lower the fire and let the soup continue bubbles for 2.5 hours. Add salt to taste....and tadaa....help yourself to a flaming hot bowl of peppercorn soup! Yummz....

New Year Breakfast

I woke up one fine white morning...rubbed my eyes...and dang....it's snowing again here in Pennsylvania. And i have to give Mc Donald a miss. *silent for a minute*....okay...waking up on the first day of 2009 to a Mc Donald...?? Maybe not.

I actually took down a bag of beef from the freezer on New Year's day eve...you know...the weather here is so unpredictable...you just can't say...Oh...i'm going out for a meal tomorrow and ding ding ding...snow is on its way to ambush your plan. So i'm s.m.a.r.t. Okay i'm not. But i am. At least this time...keke!

I cut the beef in long thin strips....marinated with whatever i can get from my bro's apartment's kitchen's drawer...oh...i never know his kitchen's drawer is fully loaded with sauces!! I mean...a guy.....okay...let's not veer. So i marinated the beef with dark soy sauce, black pepper, Shiao Xing wine, lil light soy sauce and honey...lotsa them...mmmm..oh ya....i also added a dollop of butter...

An hour later, i lay the strips of beef on the baking tray...ungreased....and pop them in the oven at 350F for 20 minutes..don't over bake them...you don't wanna eat some tensed strips of beef...mm hmmm...

Tadaa!!!!!! See.....my first meal of year 2009. The beef was...mama mia! Luv them. I had them sandwiched between buttered toast topped with potato egg salad and some blanched french beans....first bite...oh gawd....just let me gulp all these without putting on a pound k...please will you??

Happy new year everybody! Mwahhh!

Bye bye 2008...Hello 2009

The year of rat is coming to an end soon....well say hello to fellow cows!

How was my 2008....let's see:

1. I started a blog...unplanned...yeap. It was just this random day when i told my bb, "Eh b...i wanna share recipes with everybody...so i need a blog." This is what bb answered "Oh ya blog? good good good...keep you occupied and i don't need to worry so much about you feeling bored during weekends while i;m working..." =.=....gee....ya...he's my bb...

2. I had the opportunity to work travel. I had an awesome working experience...tenkiu boss!!!

3. I lost weight...and gained...and lost and gained....a typical woman in vain!

Yea that's it.....no wait....my bb!!! Die die oso must cerita a bit about us...hu hu hu!!!

2008 was a tough year for us. Why? Bb had spent an enormous amount of time on work. "Bb what's for dinner tonight ar?" "Err....u think la...i busy at work now"=.=
"Bb...wanna go watch this movie on saturday?" "Err....i might need to work wor...we confirm on the night before k gg?"

See what i mean. Aside from work, he, is a truly honestly....bestest guy in the world! He remembers every little random things that i like, he's the one who always waves the white flag whenever we argue (hehe...though 99% i'm at fault), he's the one who wipes off the chocolate fudge on the corner of my mouth, he's the only one who gives me tender hugs and kisses....and most importantly, my knees go weak and my heart skips a beat each time he says "I love you gg" up till today.

So here's my 2009 resolution:

1. Learn the 'give and take' philosophy and lessen the quick temper behaviour towards bb

2. Stop forcing bb to say "gg u r fatter and eat lesser"....(i know...i'm that sot sot dei)

3. Learn to make xiu long pao for bb!

4. Stop eating junkies and start eating proper meals (....oh god...please help me....make me hate cookies and chips...)

5. Work smart....yeap...tackle the idiots!

6. Change my kiddo wardrobe to a 25 year old woman's wardrobe....i really need to do this...i've been super kiam siap on my clothes and have been wearing the same old boring clothes for the last 3 years....i can spend Rm20 for a tiny box of cookies and but i am very reluctant to spend RM20 for a decent piece of cloth...haiz....

7. My ultimate 2009 resolution is to be able to achive a fat salary and start a family of my own soon!!! Yippie yay yay yippie yippie yay!

What's urs?

Sweet Potato Donuts

Y’all know what….Krispy Kreme closed its business in most of the California areas….sux rite? They are doing so well when I was still studying here in the states in year 2003…but hmm…I guess the economy depression made a great impact to them.

I’m not sure what the next leading donut store is around and I won’t even bother trying them out…because Krispy Kreme is still the best!!!!!! Oh well, perhaps I should make some of our famous Malaysia’s donut for my aunty and cousins here in LA ya? Yeap…Kuih Keria it is!

Ingredients:

• 2 medium size sweet potatoes
• About ¾ cup of flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• Some oil for frying

Method:
Steam the sweet potatoes till soft. Peel off the skin and mash them using a fork. Mix in flour and baking soda into the mashed sweet potatoes. Using your hand, mix them thoroughly till it forms a ball. Take a pinch of the dough and roll it between your palms. Flatten a little and make a hole in the middle of the dough with your index finger. Set the dough aside and continue with the remaining dough. Heat up a non stick pan with enough oil for frying. Fry the donuts till golden brown. Blot the excess oil with kitchen’s towel. Dust the surface of the donuts with castor sugar when it cools a little. Serve warm.

Low Fat Mango Cake

Hi folks….

Welcome to dumb-baker’s 2008 first ever baked cake in LA. Guess what? Since I have put on a lil weight in just mere 6 days….which is total nightmare to me…but still craving for dessert (omg…I just gotta cease this stupid crave right now….otherwise I’ll be putting like what…20 pounds in a month?)…I cleverly came up with this low fat moist mango cake.

Why mango by the way? Coz it was on promotion in the food mart…99cents per piece. So I picked up the bright red piece (the juicy & ripe one)…and I’m all set to go home and begin the baking journey.

Here’s what you need:
¾ cup of apple sauce (no sugar added)
½ cup of brown sugar
3 eggs
1 ½ cup all purpose flour
1 tsp of baking powder
½ cup of mango puree
1/3 cup of cube mangoes

Method:
Mix apple sauce and sugar till dissolve. Add in the eggs, one at a time, into the apple sauce mixture. Blend in mango puree till well mixed. Sift in flour and baking powder into the wet mixture. Using a wooden spatula, mix the dry n wet ingredients till just well combined (do not over mix or risk having a flat damp cake). Stir in mango cubes and pour the batter into a non stick baking pan. Bake the cake in preheated oven of 325 F or 170 DC for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Serve the cake warm with a scoop of frozen yoghurt of your choice!

Hello....

folks....! I'm right now holidaying in USA. Oh well...it's pretty cold here and I'm wrapping myself up like an Eskimo....

My post(s) here will be limited from now on till like mid of January 2009....I'll try to find some time to bake here and will post an entry if I have the chance...but stay tune till next month....coz I'll be back for sure!!

Adios and Dumb Baker wishes everyone a great Christmas & Happy New Year!!!

I'm right now in....

Quang Ngai, Vietnam. A secluded up north area of Vietnam. A rural area where people sells food in those red basin/basket on surface of the tar road. A place where you the best way to communicate with locals here is by sign language. A place where there's hardly any menu in English. Nuff said.

My First Bento Breakfast

Me : Miiii, how come you never make any bento meals for me to bring to school when i was young ar? Those days the bento boxes are available already ma......why ar why ar (bugged my mom non stop with 'why ar why ar' question)

Mom : *face red, fuming mad, staring at me* Enough of why ar or not?!!??!

Me : *shaddup immediately and managed to giggle a bit* He he he!

Mom : You think i so free ar? I have to make breakfast for you and fei chai, then have to clean up both of you and have to clean the dining table and kitchen area...you think i still got time to cut your bread and insert the foodpick one by one ar? Do you know how horrendous you and fei chai could be? Both of you were so mischievous....

Me : *immediately* Well that's not me mom....it's fei chai ok...not me...remember....it's fei chai ok ok ??

Mom : *continues her grandma story* Bla bla bla bla bla @&UI&*&^G&&*UO%$#^

Me: Okay mom...nevermind...just want to show you i made my first bento meal!!!! Ta daaa!!!!

Remember my post about this website that sells all sorts of bento boxes, cutters, food picks etc??? Well, i bought two Bento Boxes (one with Thermal Insulated bag), a pack of food picks and a Bento Box strap about a month ago. Initially i bought only the thermal insulated Bento Box so that i can prepare food for my bb to bring to work....but afraid it may look too 'soft' for him. So i emailed the seller and asked if she could help me find an all black Bento Box...black looks macho ma! Yeap!!!!! She found it for me....super duper thanks for the efficient service!!! As for the food picks, it was initially sold out, but i wanted to buy it so badly and asked the seller if she could restock it for me (because all the items are very limited in quantities), she gladly said yes!! Oh my god...double happiness for me!!!! NOw i have those cute cute food picks to hold the food together.

Verdict : My bb did not comment much on the bento breakfast i made for him...but he gladly chomped down all the food which i prepared...(what is it with man's ego + cute stuff?? luckily i'm cute enuf for my bb to have him chomp down the food...muahahahaha...bet u guys feeling sick now :P)

As for the Thermal Insulated Bento Box...bet you guys are waiting for this verdict....Yes!!!!! It DOES KEEP YOUR FOOD WARM!!! I baked this banana cake bread and cut a portion of the freshly baked bread for bb, the bread stayed warm for the next 4 hours...amazing isn't it???? Oooo...i'm so in love with the box now...

Anyway...let the pictures do the talking!

Presenting the Thermal Insulated Box......

Presenting Bb's Black Box......

Banana Cake Bread - Vegan Style

Have i ever confessed that i have soft spot for local fruits? I can polish off 2 medium size of papayas, half watermelon and 4 bananas at one go. I just don't know why but i LOVE these fruits to bits! It's a must have weekly intake for me.

Mom brought back a big comb of banana one day....and most of the bananas are becoming overly riped. Ha...perfect timing for a banana cake. As usual, i google for a new banana cake recipe...but then...i stumble across this website. This vegetarian blogger is actually a dancer who has a big heart for baking. Her peanut-butter-banana-cake-bread photo drove me nuts because it was soooo tempting and it's eggless!!!!! Without hesitation, i copied down all the ingredients needed and hurried to the kitchen.

I altered the recipe a lil as i did not have a bottle of peanut butter at home and my house has only peanut cooking oil. What i did was, i melted the butter and replaced 1/8 cup of canola oil called in the recipe with 1/4 cup of melted butter. I added pure unsweetened thick soy milk to get the correct consistency of the cake-bread batter prior baking.

Verdict : Awesome!!!!! So moist and so healthy! This is a superbly easy & fail proof recipe. Definitely a keeper!