Cracked Sponge Cake and a Recovery Plan.

I baked a sponge cake today.

And it cracked.

It’s not even a cheesecake,

yet it had the cheek to split so deep right down its middle.

 

The cake looked as if an earthquake went through it.

 

Then i remember my pack of strawberries, frozen in time in my freezer.  

And an idea hit me like a tornado.

Of course!

Making a strawberry jam out of  strawberries.

Then flooding it over the cake.

A disaster recovered,

And a cake survived.

PS: I wont be posting the cracked cake recipe today as i don’t quite think that it is a recipe i would recommend to anyone.

 

 

 

 

Asian Buns With Mayo Spam

Today’s breakfast came in the form of Asian buns

Plaited and folded upon itself into a circle.

Topped with a mixture of

mayonnaise,

 spam,

cheddar

and scallion.

 🙂

Asian bun dough Recipe HERE

 

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

Just when you think life cannot get any better than chocolate chip cookies,

Someone came up with NUTELLA Chocolate Chip Cookies.

That’s chocolate chip cookies with Nutella swirls.

I know. Epic right?

The trick for these cookies is to not overmix the Nutella into the dough.

That way, you are able to see and taste the Nutella swirls.

And i wouldn’t recommend overbaking these cookies.

They are most perfect when they are soft, and chewy.

And also because soft cookies are perfect for growing little teeth.

Meet my little cookie monster.

My bubbly, singing niece of 3.

Isn’t she the most precious?

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies from JustJENN recipes

Yet another Chicken Pie

Seems like i can’t think of anything savoury to bake aside from chicken pies.

In fact, this is the third chicken pie within a month of each, the first one HERE, and the second one HERE.

Well, at least this one uses a different crust.

This crust uses sour cream.

And that’s epic.

At least for me.

Because i honestly wasn’t expecting the result i got.

Using sour cream creates a softer, wetter dough. It’s trickier than most of the dough i’ve handled.

But it is also more delicious than most of the dough i’ve handled.

It’s a trade-off.

And i am willing to trade.

The sour cream imparts a fancy twang of .. erm.. sourness into the dough (duh).

I can’t really describe it, but i would say, it made the crust taste somewhat more savoury.

And definitely more appetizing.

It also made me just want to pluck at the crispy, crimped edges around the pie. The edges which tasted really rich, and was light and flaky at the same time.

I almost wanted to run back into the kitchen and make another batch of chicken pie with the same crust.

But i really shouldnt. Cause that would be my FOURTH chicken pie between June and July.

Perhaps some of you can help me think up of savoury ideas other than pies to bake with ?

Thanks in advance!

Chicken, Leek and Pea Pie taken from Christine’s Recipes

Mottling Bananas and Frozen Fruits

I had a pack of strawberries in my refrigerator a few days ago. They were firm and fresh.

Besides eating them fresh alongside breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the occassional few i popped into my mouth each time i opened the fridge (That’s A LOT of strawberries judging at how often i visit the fridge btw), i had no other agendas planned for my strawberries.

I knew the window to use up these fresh strawberries was closing in on me. And before i know it, I would be feeding my trashcan with white, mossed strawberries in total remorse.

So i searched online for a strawberry recipe that would knock the socks off everyone while knocking out the chances of the impending fleece attack. But nothing screamed out at me. Nothing even whispered to me.

I chucked the strawberries into the freezer in resignation.

A few days later, i had the exact same problem.

This time, with another fruit.

Mottling bananas complete with its army of fruit flies.

Like the strawberries, i threw the bananas into the freezer, feeling incredibly grateful of this magical box where i was able to put aside my problems.

A couple days later, I bought another bunch of bananas and was faced with more of that mottling banana problem. Geez, when will i ever learn?

I yanked open the freezer door, and felt deeply unsettled with my growing frozen fruit forest AND the black speckled bananas in my hands.

I had to do something fast.

In fact, i had to do a COUPLE of things fast.

First I tackled the problem in my hands (literally).

A banana cake for my fully ripened bananas,

In case you havent already known, a banana cake is like the perfect docking place for all aging bananas.

A banana cake wouldn’t discriminate against how far along your bananas have gone.

In fact, the more spotty, freckled, and speckled your bananas are, the more precious your banana cake is because it will only get sweeter.

I’ve topped my banana cake with a bit of leftover chocolate fudge from a chocolate fudge cake i made earlier.

I dont think anyone minded. 🙂

Next up, i tackled the jungle of fruits i had in my freezer.

I heard that using frozen fruits, bananas especially, create the thickest shakes as you dispense with putting in ice cubes.

I decided to give it a whirl. In my food processor. Because i dont quite yet own a blender.

And you don’t really need a recipe for this.

I just went by feel.

A frozen banana, a handful of strawberries, and a splash of yoghurt.

PS: Pls ignore the advertorial texts on my cup. It’s a free cup from a local milk company.I havent gotten down to unpacking my usual props of plates and cups.

PPS: The strawberries at the sides are frozebitten, not fleeced with white moss. 🙂

Best Banana Cake from Dorie Greenspan Taken from Sugar and Spice

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

1  large frozen Banana

a handful of frozen strawberries

A splash of strawberry yoghurt

Icing sugar, to taste

1. Chop up the frozen bananas, strawberries.

2. Add sugar to taste

3. Add a splash of yoghurt

4. Whirl in your food processor till smooth and smoothie like

Bes

Chocolate Fudge Cake

I needed to thank my dressmaker today.

The lady who designed my gown.

She put up with every of my whims and fancy,

and tailored with the most lovely and beautiful gown.

Photo courtesy of Edward Suhadi

See the beads on the chest?

I painstakingly chose each and everyone of them. Because somehow, i have developed this super- visual abilities. I was able to spot how some beads are larger than the others. Or how some beads have more shine to them.

I didn’t even care that the beads come from the same box

or that they are from same manufacturer.

Thank God, the patient lady designer put up with me.

She even put out her palms to collect my chosen beads, and incorporated it to the gown.

She really really deserves a cake.

If you read my previous post, you probably knew that i am still getting to know my new kitchen. Without the familiarity, i was almost afraid to bake something sensitive.

With all the beaten eggs, a sponge cake is sensitive in this point in time. I decided to forgo that and opted for the more stable chocolate butter cake.

I also knew that i wouldnt be able to refrigerate this before passing it to Patient Lady Designer. Because with the newer, smaller kitchen, was the new, even smaller refrigerator.

So unless i wanna excavate my refrigerator from its everyday residents of eggs, milk, fruits, and Reese’s PB cups just to make room for it, i needed a plan B.

Plan B was chocolate fudge, which is most perfectly malleable at room temperature.

Here’s what i did:

Dollop.

Drop another layer of cake, and dollop some more!

Smooth and frost,

Arrange a few decorational strawberries

Oh, and unless you are planning to keep this for more than a couple of days, i wouldnt really recommend refrigerating it as the fudge will harden up.

I am really hoping that Patient Lady Designer polishes this off before it had the chance to make that trip to the chiller!

Recipe:

Moist Devil’s Foodcake w Mrs Milman’s Chocolate Frosting

Garlic Baguette

As mentioned in my previous post, i am desperately trying to adapt to the new house while still keep things looking normal around here.

In case any of you are wondering, i am moving to an apartment unit.

Now, don’t get me wrong, i am no stranger when it comes to living in apartments. In fact, all my 16 years of education life in Singapore, I’ve lived in nothing but apartments.

But that was before i started this blog.

That was before i couldn’t give two hoots about the size of my kitchen,

 or how large my refrigerator was,

or how freely the sunlight reaches our outdoor yard, making it the most perfect studio to take photos in.

But really, i shouldn’t be complaining. I am happy in our new little house.

Sure, i might need to make some major adjustments. But they are not impossible.

To kickstart things off, i made my first bake of the house.

The Garlic Baguette.

They are looking quite ashen and pale. That’s because i brushed the dough with milk instead of egg yolk before going into the oven.

You might also notice the difference in lighting in my pictures. These are taken with artificial light. I can no longer push the door open and walk to our yard the way i usually did.

Because the apartment is in midair. And because we have no yard.

And as for the lack of props?

Well, lesser living space means lesser storage space. I couldnt bring my gigantic trunk of coloured bowls and plates with me. I’ve selected a few of my faves of course. But they are still packed in some boxes…. somewhere.

So till i get to them, these would have to do.

Despite all the setbacks, these are still good breads.

Using an overnight sponge dough, these breads have that that deep, complex flavour that is only attained when the yeast are allowed a slow rising. I can’t really describe it. It’s slightly sour, and maybe salty. but it’s definitely flavourful and aromatic. Just the way good breads are supposed to be!

And how to settle the garlic into the baguette?

Well, after their final proofing, i’ve sliced the middle of the unbaked baguette with a knife (Do not slice it till the ends, or the bottom of the baguette, just a slight tear on the surface is good enough). And in that tear, i’ve pipped in the garlic butter, before they go straight into the oven. 

Now, doesnt that sound super easy? 🙂

Moving house!

I know i haven’t been updating lots recently. But i have a  totally legit reason for that.

I am in the process of moving out.

And you know how it is moving…

First you pack things up in your old house, then you bring them over to the new house and unpack.

Sounds easy right?

Except that u realize that the oven doesn’t fit into the sedan. Not the boot, not the front seat, not even the back seat.

Then you call up for a truck company. And arrange for the transport. But wait, they are not available till next week.

Right.

How about the new house then?

Whoops, seems like there is an electricity limit of 2000 watts.

That’s not quite enough to power up your oven at 2200 watts isnt it?

I wonder whether the electric man ( is that how you call them?) is free this week to help me with that…

 

And that unlimited supply of bright and natural sun rays you use as lighting for your photography?

Hmm, that’s quite hard to replicate when your windows had permanent grills on them and whatever food you put under your windows had grill shadows on them.

Despite all these, i am working hard to rectify the matters so i could continue baking and blogging… So till then, wish me luck!

 

Boston Cream Pie

Just a short post on Boston Cream pie.

It’s not a pie, its more of a cake.

With pastry cream filling and chocolate frosting 🙂

Salted Pretzels Chocolate Buttons

I’ve had my eyes on these chocolate buttons for the longest time. It must have been a couple of Christmases ago when i first saw them at First look, then cook.

Yup. Not even last christmas, which was almost 8 months ago. The christmas of 2009. Thats 20 months ago. Talk about proscratinating.

And all u need is some pretzels and M&M’s, and some Hershey Kisses. I used Cadbury’s Candy Chocolate though. It still works beautifully.

And you won’t believe how easy it is! Just place the chocolate onto the pretzel, bake it a bit to get the chocolate melting, and push your M&M’s in!

yuumm!!

Salted pretzels and chocolate. Can we ever go wrong with those?

Salted Pretzels with Chocolate

 

Apple Cherry Butter Cake

You can put a cherry on pretty much everything.

On a sundae,

on a milkshake,

in your cocktail,

in your cookies,

or for this instance, on a cake.

Don’t they just prettify ?

I have apple juice in this cake. And cherries both ON the cake and IN the cake.

Well, at least that was the intention. To have bits of cherries throughout the cake. But it seems like the Maraschinos had other plans. They all decided to go south to the bottom of the cake.

I patted the cherries dry before folding it into the batter. I sprinkled them with flour too. But neither seemed to work. I guess it must have been the batter which wasnt thick enough.

Anyways no point beating yourself about for sunken cherries. It just means you gotta dig deeper to get the good stuffs.

Or you can distract people by cutting the cake into fancy shapes, and of course, top it off with yet another cherry!

Lemon Cherry Cake

200 gr butter

125 gr caster sugar

4 eggs

200 gr AP flour

30 gr cornflour

15 gr milk powder

2 tsp baking powder

75 ml apple juice

100 gr maraschino cherries

1. Sift the AP, cornflour, milk powder and baking powder into a bowl.

2. Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add the eggs gradually, making sure that each is incorporated before adding the next one.

3. Add the flour mixture alternately with the apple juice.

4. Fold in the diced cherries.

5. Pour into a pregreased and prelined 22 x 22 x4 cm baking tin.

6. Bake at 180 degree celcius for 30 minutes or till it gets cooked.