Double Choc Cake

This is one of my long overdued post on the double choc cake that I baked on 14 Nov 10. Trying to play catch up you see. I really enjoyed making this cake, the process may be a tad long but just methodically go through the steps and you will get there. Best of all, the resutls are fantabulous! My frens and family simply loved it. Plus it keeps well for about 1 week in the fridge so no worries about baking in advance! *wink*

The recipe is gotten from my beloved Rose's Heavenly Cakes.

Recipe
A
42g Unsweetened (alkanized) cocoa powder - I used Varlhona
118g boiling water

B
74g large egg yolks, at room temperature
3 tbsp water
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

C
156g cake flour or unbleached all-purpose flour - I used plain flour
200g superfine sugar - I used 180g caster sugar from SIS
2.5tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

128g unsalted butter softened at room temperature

Heart shaped pan was stipulated. But I substituted with a 21cm round aluminium pan. Butter, cover with parchment paper cut to shape, butter and flour it.

1. At the start, preheat the oven at 175 deg C.
2. Mix A till smooth. Cover with cling wrap (I bought mine, bulk volume from Phoon Huat which comes with a great cutting edge) and put in fridge for about half hour. I find that using a pot is helpful as it is easier to pour and scrap into the batter later. To bring to room temperature before using.
3. In a bowl, whisk B till combined.
4. Using your mixer fitted with K beater, mix dry ingredients, i.e. C at low speed for 30 seconds. Add the butter and A. Continue to mix at low speed till incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 1.5 minutes. Scrap down.
5. Add in egg mixture B in 2 parts to item 4 mixing well after each addition for about 30 seconds each time on medium-low speed. For steps 4 and 5, I mixed by hand using a whisk so it was a good workout!
6. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Mine was smelling lovely from 25 minutes and I took it out at the 30th minute so test to make sure your skewer comes out cleanly and watch carefully.
7. While baking, prepare the ganache glaze.

Ganache Glaze
85g dark chocolate,chopped - I used Varlhona 58% cocoa and serrated  knife to chop
174g heavy cream - I used 200ml President's Whipping Cream

1. Over low heat, heat the whipping cream in a saucepan will bubbling at the sides. Off the heat and sprinkle the dark chocolate over. Cover and wait for 5 minutes before mixing thoroughly.
2. Poke holes with cake in the mould with wooden skewer. Patiently (and I mean it to have optimal results.), using a pastry brush, paint about half the ganache over the surface till absorbed into the holes. Turn the cake over and unmould the cake onto a plate covered with cling wrap and poke holes all over with. Be careful that it does not break! Mine broke as you can see from the photos below. But still delicious! Repeat and paint for the other side. Set aside 10 to 15 minutes per side. I know, I know, it sounds like a lot of work. But trust me, the results are worth it!
3. Chuck the whole thing into the fridge overnight and when the next day comes, you will have a delicous cake waiting!
4. Enjoy!

New Manicure & Pedicure

Well, being a true blue gu-niang, though a feisty one at that, haha, I jumped at the chance to go for mani pedi, short for manicure and pedicure with my gal fren S yesterday at Far East Plaza. The colour chosen is the colour to be seen in, well at least from the magazines I have browsed through so far - turquoise and such a lovely shade too! :) The only thing is my feet as I felt that the effect of black tips are less contrasting compared to white tips. In any case, I had a good, break last night so no major complaints! :)

My First Standard Chartered Run!

It had been a long, ling wait for the marathon which finally occurred on Sun, 5 Dec 10. I woke up early in the morning and ventured to the site with trepidation. My surer and gal friend are with me so there's commadarie in groups, I must say. Still, the nervousness of going for a 10km remains and I console myself that it is human to feel fear for things that are new and when I am unprepared for it! Haha. Somehow my training plans got derailed when I came down with bouts of flu, holiday in between and getting sick again (!) after my trip. Anyhow, us gals had an implicit agreement to just try our best. We support each other and look out or each other whenever one of us felt unwell or had aches. So kudos to sisterhood! I love you both! :)

The experience of completing a race is always great and funnily, I felt that things ain't that bad after all, though I would baulk at upgrading to half marathon. 10km is ok for me, thank you very much folks! So medal in my hand, cold drink on the other, it was off to a sumptuous breakfast at Macdonalds thereafter. This experience taught me a lot an I feel thankful and blessed to have had the chance yo go through it. Thanks too to all the well wishes from friends. You are the best!

Till the next FUN activity then! ;)

Oh Europe! Part 1

It had been a good 2 weeks or so since my last post; I could not find a free Wi-Fi connection in Eastern Europe after that provided in Krakow, Poland's hotel at Best Western.  For pacing, I will be dividing into several parts.  

The short of it is a 14-day trip consisting of 5 countries for the period of 3rd to 4th week of Oct 2010 with:

1. Warsaw, Poland
2. Krakow, Poland
3. Budapest, Hungary
4. Prague, Czech Republic
5. Vienna, Austria; and finally
6. Berlin, Germany

I enjoyed this trip as it was leisurely, allowing for a 2-day stay per city, except for Warsaw where it was an overnight trip, and fabulous scenery. Shopping was minimal but window shopping of the pastry shops over there is a total inspiration for me.

My favourite city or make that cities? Budapest,Vienna and Prague in that descending order. Given a chance, I would love to visit them again.

This trip had been fruitful for me emotionally, mentally and physically.

I found myself taxed emotionally as I missed the familiar in Singapore, especially the weather. I greatly appreciated the warm and sunny weather here. You cannot imagine how dreary and sombre autumn is over there until you face grey clouds and shadowed cities on most mornings or late afternoons. The sun when it appears is welcomed with much fanfare and I can see this view is shared with me with the crowds of locals seated in the open in cafes.

Mentally, I found myself taking on new insights as I drank in the way of life of people, how their system is run and the challenges their countries faced. Most had been involved in WWII and are in the process of rebuilding their homelands. It takes time but the optimism I see around me is uplifting and certainly inspiring!

My tummy took a tumble for the worst possible way when I vomited en route from Krakow to Budapest during the 1st week of my trip. My family rallied around me (thank you and I love you all!) and yes this is the physical taxation I was mentioning about. For the rest of the trip, I understood the scarcity of simple, old soupy food as there is none at all! I had to muscle in all my ingenuity (read: desperateness) by having only rice with soup when there are Chinese meals and soup with bread when local meals were offered. Anything that is with fibre i.e. vegetables or fruits or hard to digest like meat or oily like deep fried cutlet or french fries were out. Such a meagre diet is hardly sustaining and I had to supplement with frequent snacking with plain crackers. Argh! The memory of it still gives me shudders. Now, I am still nursing a recovering tummy even after 2 weeks. Hopefully I will get well soon.

Here are the pictures I took including the lovely pastry shops I visited.

Day 1 - On plane from Singapore > Munich > Warsaw

 Chopin Garden, Warsaw, Poland, Day 2
2010 marked the 200th year of the birth of Frederic Chopin, a Warsaw native and piano composer who lived from 1810 to 1849. Here in this garden, the locals will gather to sit in benches to watch Chopin recitals during the summer season. See link for more details.

 Auschwitz I Concentration Camp, Warsaw, Poland (Pic 1), Day 3

Read this link for details.

 Auschwitz II-Birkenau Concentration Camp, Warsaw, Poland (Pic 2), Day 3

Wawel Castle in Krakow

See link for details.

Krakow Old Town, Poland, Day 4

At the market square surrounded with cafes, book shops and pasar malam selling amber.

We bought dark chocolates, pizza and goulash for dinner. Yummy!

Counting My Blessings

It is when I am now tucked in nice and warm with some time to spare
that I start to go over the day and the lessons I had learnt so far. I
am not perfect and had accepted me for me, well mostly. There are
definitely some aspects of me in the works for improvement. I digress
though as the topic is counting my blessings and here are those that I
glean for today:

1. A tropical climate for my homeland - where once countries with four
seasons are held in awe, now summer season, preferably year round is
the choice for me.

2. Having my family with me - something as basic as this is a luxury
for those in war torn areas.

3. Having God with me - spirituality is a huge, huge saviour of me
especially in times when situations call for faith, strength and doing
the right thing. I am fundamentally a rational and grounded person and
seek to fulfil the highest thoughts I have about me. Life however is
never straightforward, hence the bitter, sweet, sad and happy. So when
I am being called forth to make decisons, I will usually take the
route that is morally and ethically correct. For I do not seek nor
agree with having pleasures at the expense of another being. I do
accept the imperfectness of the situation and seek to choose decisons
that reflect who I am.

4. Able to recognise that I can choose to be happy - happiness is a
state of mine and influenced by perceptions. Literally how you think
will affect how you feel. So I am blessed to be able to recognise the
fact that I can and am capable to be happy just by how I think. So
think positive, happy thoughts and problems will seemed less daunting.

5. To be able to love and give love - love is free and yet it is in a
sense limited by the bearer of this beautiful gift.

Thus far are some of the blessings I hold close to my heart.

Sentosa - Passe?

To me, the image of Sentosa had been a place where going there demands tremendous effort; since it is mighty far from my home (at least to me) and thereafter expends my cash like nobody's business. Reason
being, the entrance fees are expensive and food are priced a notch higher.

However, in recent years, I have observed numerous changes to Sentosa with the biggest in these 2 years with the arrival of the Resorts World integrated resort. The landscape and skyline at Siloso beach is a lot more interesting now. Hotels, beach bars and other complimentary facilities are present to fight for a slice of action there.

Siloso beach is close to my heart as it is the more populated and develped sector compared to the other beaches at Sentosa. There are beach cafes like cafe del mar and a slew of other fun activities like beach volleyball. But I do go to Tanjong beach if I crave more me time. Tanjong beach is also the place to go if you wanna see dogs having fun with the owners.

If not the beach, Spa Botanica is another of my fave place where I chill out there for spa treatments twice annually. Getting there is convenient as there is a shuttle bus that brings you right at the door step from Vivocity. The spa package I usually take includes a healthy lunch, massage, body scrub and body wrap. This alone will take about 2 to 2.5 hours. Thereafter, it is off to enjoying the mud pool, jacuzzi and swimming pools. Such fun as I recall the last time I went there! :) Oh, I also squeeze in some reading time by the pool; there are 2 by the way. If you find the need to break a sweat, venture on to the nearly gym. I usually don't as by the time I'm done with all these activities, it's already sun down time.

Now with Resorts World and Universal Studios open, Sentosa has become a lot more interesting. I visited Resorts World with my family a few months back and really liked the landscape and the buildings. Universal Studios, I may try at another time.

Overall, I must say that Sentosa had made tremendous strides these past years to attract local and foreign visitors. I will still visit as a visitor, albeit an occasional one. So there! :)

Baked Goods and Such

It had been a good 3 weeks since I logged into my blog. Had baked brownie, pizza and most recently cinnamon raisin bread yesterday. The bread was rather dense and did not have the desired mouthfeel in my opinion. I have gotten another recipe and trying it out now. Onto its second rising, it looks like I will be done only when nearing midnight though The Emmy Awards will be accompanying me.

Brownie

Super easy and from Rose Levy's Christmas Cookie Book

 

Pizza

From Rose Levy's The Bread Bible whose pizza recipe requires minimal kneading. The tomato sauce recipe that came with it was yummy though I substituted with dried basil instead of dried oregano. For the topping, I used spicy sausage. You could use chorizo who would have a smoky taste due to paprika, which I absolutely love. Try sprinkling some on ham and cheese, slathered over wholemeal bread and microwave for 20 seconds. Pure heaven! Rocket leaves is an inspiration taken from pizza parlours one of which I love is in Greenwood Avenue. The name slipped my mind but it was started by the group behind Les Amis. The salad leaves cuts through the rich taste of the sausages and mozzarella cheese.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread (1st Attempt)

Also from Rose Levy's The Bread Bible! As you would already guess by now, I am a huge, huge fan of Rose. It is disappointing that the recipe did not quite out the way I wanted though all her other recipes that I have tried had been completed without much glitches.  

I took time to attend a cupcake and layer cake class in Aug 2010 at Shermay Lee's Cooking School and it was real fun! The pictures I took were fabulous and I can't wait to bake them! As usual the recipe pack is super comprehensive and together with the Christmas cookie class I attended 3 years ago, I am sure my attempts will turn out okay. The silver foil cupcake cases look absolutely festive as is the topping and dried lemon slices on top.

Me Time
With age, I have come to appreciate me time. Case in point running by myself 2 weeks ago. I found that I relish the experience of spending time with me. It is like slowing down my heart beat to hear what my soul is saying. Often, its whispers gets forgotten and lost among the noise of everyday life. So now, I make the effort to meditate and do yoga prior to bed every day. Such activities allow me to wind down for the day and be thankful for each day that God had bestowed onto me. Thank god for each sunrise and sunset and the possibility for me to enjoy what I can within the 24 hours.

Garden Festival

This is the second time I had gone to the garden festival organised by NParks and boy oh boy was I excited.  My dear fren Lily went with me and yes, we took lots of pictures. My only grouse is that the themed gardens seemed to be monotones in shades of green, brown, red and yellow.  I found the orchid exhibits more exciting and vibrant though.  Do bring along your Passion or Safra card as 10% discount will be given. 

No words can fully describe the beauty of these pictures. Just enjoy them.

Sentosa

It had been about a year since I went to Sentosa and I had an enjoyable time with my gal frens last Sat, 3 Jul 2010 when we went there. 

We chose the package of $46.90 with activities of Desperado (balancing on artificial horses and gunning at targets on the projected screen in front; I came in second!), Megazip i.e. flying fox cruising down from the top of Imbiah till the flying fox outpost past the lagoon and having 2 attempts at surfing at the Wavehouse. Oh yes, we also tried the Luge which came with a chairlift ride.

 
I love the Megazip the best and find a real pity I was not able to take photos.  No matter, I did managed to get my buddy to record my second attempt at surfing, though you can see I can barely last 5 seconds.  Argh!

Tiramisu

What is tiramisu? It is the elusive dessert that will determine at least to me if an Italian restaurant is up to its mark.  Sadly this is not so and even for those where I find the main pasta courses scrumptious, this classic dessert fail to titillate my tastebuds.  It is with much fanfare thus when my gal fren Lily introduced this homemade recipe that is guaranteed to trounce any commercial quality.  Try it and see why! 

This is the 2nd time I am doing this recipe and am happy to finish it tonight!  *happy*

Rose Cakelets

There is this beautifiul rosebud mini cakes that I have always wanted to try after reading it from my Rose's Heavenly Cakes book.  The only problem is I do not have any Nordic Ware Sweetheart Rose pan.  So, it is a happy surprise when I found that Phoon Huat, a local baking supply store, do sell rose pan though in silicon only.  They only had stock for the mini cakelets pan which goes for $15 while the larger cake pans at about 6 nos. per pan is sold out at $19/pan.  Needless to say, I spring on this purchase plus top up my unsalted butter supply.

The pan looks like this and is real pretty! *SMILE*

Couple of things - though the recipe is chocolate cake, I left out the cocoa mixture and the ganache centers for the sake of my family's throats.  The weather is getting warmer and chocolate is extremly heaty.  My mum had made chrysanthemum tea for all of us to cool down.  Oh, the sugar is also reduced by 50%.  Do add more for those of you with sweet tooth.  As the single recipe only yields about 20 mini cakelets and this quantity is way too little for sharing with my family and friends, seeing how pop-in-the-mouth-friendly it is, I doubled it to get 40 cakelets.  Up to date I still cannot find my Kitchenaid K-beater so the mixing had been manual for the last few cakes including this.  If anyone knows where I could buy the K-beater, do let me know.

Recipe (makes approx 20 mini cakelets)
2 large yolks weighing 37g
1 1/2 tbsp water
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
78g plain flour
50g caster sugar
1 tsp double acting baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
71g unsalted butter at room temperature

1.  Preheat the oven at 170 deg with the tray at the lower third position.

2.  In a bowl, mix slightly the egg yolks, 1 1/2 tbsp water and vanilla essence.

3.  In another larger bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking power and salt.  Add the butter and mix till well combined.

4.  Add the egg mixture in 2 batches to the dry ingredients, ensuring that the batter is well mixed each time. 

5.  Spoon the batter, filling the pans half full.

6.  Bake for 12 to 13 minutes or when the cakes spring back when you touch them with a fingertips.

7.  Remove from the pan and cool on wire rack.

Troubleshooting

Now, I would not proclaim to be an expert in baking; just someone who enjoys it and wants to share my passion with the people I love.  With this cakelets, this is the 2nd time I have encountered dome or cracked surface with tunnels.  My dear pal, Lily had commented that my oven is too hot and rightly so I agree.  The only puzzling thing is both of our ovens are the same - Rowenta and hers at 175 deg gave perfect chocolate cupcakes. 

Anyhow, my take is my oven is too hot and will reduce to 160 deg the next time.  I could have overmixed the batter a tad more too.  Taste wise, they passed and I loved them still!  Hee. 

For other troubleshooting tips, refer to Joy of Baking. 

Chocolate Cupcakes

After weeks of baking full sized cakes, I was roused to try cupcakes when my gal fren raved about the success she had with a recipe in Rose Levy's latest book, "Rose's Heavenly Cakes".  You see, each of us had the same book so it is easy to exchange tips. 

During last sun, I tried it and yes, it was super easy, soft, very chocolately and proved to be popular too.  I used Varlhona's cocoa powder, available from 360 deg Marketplace at ION or Shermay Lee's Cooking School.  For quick warming of the eggs, immerse them in hot water for about 10 mins. 

Here's the recipe with reduction in sugar and butter.

Recipe
43g unsweetened (alkalized) cocoa powder
118g boiling water
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3 tbsp water
1.5 tsp pure vanilla essence (mine is from Nielman Massey)
166g cake flour (or bleached all-purpose flour)
150g caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
150g unsalted SCS butter at room temperature
paper cupcases

1.  Mix boiling water with cocoa powder till smooth.  Cover with cling wrap and allow to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.  Cool in the refrigerator for faster cooling.

2.  While waiting for the cocoa mixture to cool, prepare the wet ingredients. Mix together eggs, 3 tbsp water and vanilla till lightly combined.

3. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another bowl to form the dry ingredients.

4.  When the cocoa mixture is cooled, preheat the oven at 175 deg with the rack at the lower third.

5.  Add the butter and cocoa mixture to the dry ingredients and beat till moistened at low speed.  Increase the speed to medium and beat for 1.5 minutes. Scrape down.

6.  In 2 phases, add in the egg mixture incorporating well after each time.

7.  Using a porcelain soup spoon, scoop the batter onto the cup cases till 3/4 full.

8.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or till a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cupcake.

9.  Leave to cool in the pan on the wire rack for about 10 mins.  Thereafter transfer the cupcakes to cool on the wire rack.  Store in room temperature up to 2 days when cooled completely.  Thereafter, store in the refrigerator. 

No Bake Cheesecake

Did my first no bake cheesecake and twittered about it.  Man was I excited when I first tried it on Mon evening.  Yup.  It was a weekday no doubt but I simply had the craving to do it!  It is really simple I discovered and super relaxed as the cake is done in 2 stages.  One thing I realised is the cake doubled as a ice cream when you freeze it overnight.  Try it! Your family and friends will love you for it. 

For this recipe, I adapted it from Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food. 

Recipe

130g SCS unsalted butter, softened at room temperature and cut into cubes

200g digestive biscuits

100g museli with oats
1 tsp vanilla essence
600g Philadelphia cream cheese, softened at room temperature and cut into cubes
120g caster sugar
1 lemon (separately zested and juiced)
1 orange (zested)
300ml whipping cream

Topping
Store bought raspberry & pomergranate jam

Stage 1 - Cake Base
1.  Grease 23cm springform cake tin with butter. 

2.  Crumble digestive biscuits in a plastic bag using a rolling pin till fine bits.  Food processor can be used
too.

3.  Toast museli over low heat in a non-stick pan till it is slightly darker in colour and you can detect the fragrance. 

4.  Toss the digestive biscuits and cubed butter into the pan and fold till thoroughly mixed.  Off the heat and smooth the mixture over the cake tin base.  Spread over evenly using a spatula and refrigerate for about an hour.  Do lower the refrigerator's setting if you need to quicken this step.

Stage 2 - Cake
1.  Mix cubed cream cheese with vanilla essence, lemon zest, lemon jucie, orange zest and sugar till they are nice and smooth. 

2.  In another bowl, whisk the whipping cream till 'soft' peaks are obtained.  The peaks should hold their shapes when you stop whipping.

3.  Add half of the whipping cream to the cream cheese mixture and fold in gently till well blended.  Repeat with the other half of the whipping cream.

4.  Remove the cake tin from the refrigerator and pour the cake mixture over it.

5.  Refrigerate or freeze overnight. 

6.  The following morning, run a knife around the sides of the cake, release the catch of the springform and spread the jam over the top.  Cut and enjoy!

Super Hydrating Toner

The thing about maintaining ties with your gal frens is that whenever

we meet we get to exhange tips about life when we are in a

philosophical mood or fashion and skincare tips otherwise. My friend,

L had totally peaches and cream complexion and remarked that the

hydrating toner she uses twice a day from Hada Loda really works. What

are the bunch of us to do when faced with such affirmative

declaration? Succumb to it of course! And the timing is just perfect

as this product had just been launched here. L bought hers in Hong

Kong so she is way ahead of us! *smile*

The brand is sold exclusively at Watsons so kudos to them. It is a
drugstore item back in Japan and apparently it is super popular. In
every 4 seconds, 1 bottle is sold. I bought mine during Vesak Day and
had tried out for 3 days. So far, my skin had stayed matt longer and
does not shine as frequently. I will try it out for the rest of this
week to see how it holds up to airconditoned environment.

It is Sat and my verdict is, *drum roll* please, it really works! My skin is softer and does not become oily so frequently.  Needless to say, I was blessed like heaven!

Here is the pic.  Check it out people! 

Sweet Potato Pound Cake

After a delay of 2 weeks, I finally got down to baking my sweet potato pound cake.  And it is a resounding success!  My family enjoyed it and my collegues/ friends had no major complaints.  Here's  the recipe I got from "All Cakes Considered" and I tweaked as usual on the butter/ sugar amount, substituted the milk and pecan nuts.

Sweet Potato Pound Cake
4 medium sweet potatoes (baked for 75mins, centre rack at 160 deg C, cooled, scraped and mashed)
224g (1 block) unsalted SCS butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

4 large eggs

31/2 cups plain flour

2 tsp double action bakng powder

1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup rice milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp maple syrup

1 peeled and diced Granny Smith green apple

For the Topping

1 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pats

1 tbsp brown sugar

3/4 cup walnuts

1.  Position rack at middle of oven and preheat at 160 deg C.  Line the bottom of 10-cup tube pan with parchment paper and spread the pan with oil and cover finely with plain flour.  Remember to remove excess flour.

2.  Cream butter at medium speed.

3.  Combine the 2 sugars and add to the creamed butter, 1/2 cup at a time, for 1 minute each round.

4.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating at medium speed for 1 minute each time.

5.  Reduce the speed to low and add mashed potatoes, 1/2 cup at a time.

6.  In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.

7. Similarly, mix together rice milk, vanilla and maple syrup.

8.  Alternate the mixing of 1/2 cup of flour mixture with 1/2 of the milk mixture. Beat well till properly mixed for every addition. 

9.  Scrap down with spatula and blend for 2 minutes till the batter is well mixed.

10.  Lower speed to the lowest and add in the green apples.  Stop once well mixed.

11.  Pour into prepared pan and smooth out batter with spatula.

12.  Sprinkle the topping (blended into crumbs using wooden spoon).  Bake till set for 75 minutes.

Batter Just Before Baking

Cake Done, Cut Up and Ready for Eating! Yum!

Fear

What exactly is fear? And how does it manifest in us? Is a person
inborn to be shy and retiring or does nurture plays a part? Both, in
my opinion. The human being is a wondrous creature. We actually have
the sixth sense with the ability to detect fear. That is when you have
the goosebumps and your hair starts to stand. Your throat goes dry and
you palpitate madly.


Our sixth sense guides us as a precursor of things to come. It warns
us to prep ourselves to "fight" or "flight" using the classic phrase.
Humans also scare themselves for fun and this comes in haunted houses
or thrill rides like roller coasters. About 14 years ago I enjoyed
such activities, very much on fact. But, a ride which I was not
prepared for; yes, that's freaking what happened to me. And
henceforth, sweaty palms become de rigueur when I approach any signs
that goes "xxxx ride - queue 20 mins".


This year, this is one of the items I intend to overcome and with the
upcoming family trip being planned and which possibly involve theme
parks, I will venture on bravely.


Fear is also that feeling one feels when doing something that one has
failed before. Chiffon cake is my bane due to an egg white-overbeaten
case. It is the next cake I will do as greedy me really love this
confectionery. Swimming is something I had successfully overcome as I
increased the frequency of its activity. So, hurray for that!


Fear is also that feeling that drives you to try new things and
prevent you from resting on your laurels. Just like climbing. I have
a fear of heights but after passing level one, I find that things are
not too bad or scary after all. And that is when I realized the
familiar feeling of fear is real but often overestimated. What you
fear and what you actually encounter is often not as bad as one
thought. It is a constant reminder to me to bite the bullet and face
the music even when things seemed tough and insurmountable. And with
that my growth in character and maturity is assured.

Thank god!

Cake Adventures Continues

I had talked about starting my cake project a while back and had done
the second one - brown sugar pound cake with nuts. Now I am embarking
onto the 3rd one and am excited to do it this weekend. It will have
the special ingredient, sweet potato, which will need roasting in the
oven. And I bet my dad will dig it as he is partial to this root
vegetable.

Here is my take on the project so far. It is tiring, an
unflinching-feedback-process and absolutely FUN, FUN, FUN! I cannot
emphasize enough the joy and passion one feels when doing something
you absolutely adore and love.  My recordings on my journal had been
diligent and up to date so this helps with looking back on the lessons
learnt.

I also realized the tremendous amount of support friends are wiling to
give to me. Whether in terms of a store that sells better priced
ingredients or giving honest feedback after trying my stuff, these
little things help me on my journey as I delve deeper and deeper into
the world of cakes, pastries and bread.

All these serve to embolden me and increase the thickness of my 'hide'
which made me less vulnerable to failures. Good overall character
devlopment I must say! Haha.

CHICAGO

After waiting for nearly 3 months, Chicago was finally here! Back in the past, all I knew about the story was gleaned from watching the movie musical version starring Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones. 

It was with much fanfare that my sister went with me to the show that was to be put up on Esplanade.  We made a point to dress up for fun and took loads of pictures along the way. 

Anyhow, the theatre was full house and it was the 2nd last performance with the last ending today 9 May 2010.

What is my verdict? Strong performances from the 2 leads.  Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart were fleshed out adequately and the dance choreography is expertly executed.  The cast was well supported by the slinky Lawyer Billy Flynn and Amos.  Sufficient interaction with the audience was weaved in and music by a 'live' orchestra contributed to an overall good experience.  There were fun, funny, sexy and bittersweet scenes accompanied with whoops & claps for every set of performance. 

All in all, I had witnessed a world class act right in the comfort of my home city.  It helped too that Chicago is one of my favourite musical and the movie musicals had been watched countless times to death by me!

Essence of Baking

So, there I was reading this new cookbook I bought, when an idea hit
me. I, like the author also indulge in baking every weekend where
possible. The only difference is that I keep my goods largely to my
family and a few close friends. In this wondeful bible called "All
Cakes Considered", author Melissa Gray engaged in a year of project,
bringing cakes to her colleagues every Monday. Her writing is totally
reassuring as she walks you through the fundamentals of creaming,
preparing a pan and the baking process - essentially all the basics.

You may wonder, me, Jean, with all my cookbook stash should not need
another back-to-basics read right? That's where you are dead wrong.
Once in a while, there comes a gem which fits what u need at that
moment. This, fulfills all the fundamentals that I want to rehash and
run through now.

29 Apr 10 was an apt timing to embark on the first recipe - sour
cream pound cake. Other than substituting yogurt with the sour cream
and leaving out the orange essence, I followed the recipe down to the
T. My verdict - fragrant with sugar crusting and simply delicious!

Recipe
1 block SCS unsalted butter (224g) at room temperature such that it yields slightly when you press it with your finger (allow at least 1 hour for it to come to room temperature)
3 cups sugar
5 large eggs (also at room temperature)
3 cups plain flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extracrt
1 tsp lemon extract

1.  Center your rack in your oven.  Make sure your 10-inch tube pan is in the middle of the oven.  Preheat to 160 deg C.

2.  Using K beater on your standmixer, beat softened butter till there are no lumps using medium speed.  Add in sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating well for 2 mins after each addition.

3.  Prepare your tube pan while the creaming is ongoing.  Butter, flour and place a parchment paper, cut out to fit the base of the pan.  Thereafter butter and flour the parchment paper.

4.  Mix together flour, baking soda and salt in other bowl.

5.  Eggs are to be added thereafter, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. 

6.  In 1/2 cup portions and with the standmixer speed at low, mix in the flour mixture alternately with the yogurt into the mixer. Beat the batter for 2 mins for each portion.

7.  Add in vanilla essence and lemon essence, giving a brief spin between each item.  Thereafter, to make sure everything is nicely incorporated, give a final run on the standmixer for 2 mins.

8. Pour out the batter using spatula to coax it along into the tube and allow it to flow lava style from one end to the other.  Smoothen out and tap the pan at the sides to ensure any excess air bubbles are eliminated.  Allow a minumum of 1 1/2 inchspace from the brim of the pan to the top of the batter to prevent overflow. 

9.  Bake for 90 mins and no peeking by opening the pan in between till you detect the aroma which should happen around 1 hour.  Mine is an electric oven and the heavenly smells starting permeating from 55 mins and is done when a skewer came out clean after inserting in the middle of the pan at 75 mins.  It is important to know your oven and the hot sponts so that you do not overbake.

10. Allow pan to cool for 10 to 15 mins. Remove cake from pan, allow to cool before cutting and enjoy!

Presence of God

Okay, I wont and am definitely not an authority on the topic of god.
Heck, I can't even say I'm an expert on Him. Nonetheless, I love God
with a relentlessness that ebb and flow depending on the setbacks I
encounter each day.

I can't abandon Her and he is so intrinsically linked to me that I do
feel its comforting presence. And what assurance and groundedness
that is. Immediately, the burden just eases from your chest and the
future u see in front of u is clear. Nothing is scary anymore or less
scary as you make your way forward.

It's a warmth that radiates from the core of my soul and just keeps me
very, very happy! It does ebb still like what I mentioned but like the
advancing and receding tides, it never quite goes away. Thus is my
relationship with God.

Sleeping Beauty

Life in the city is so hectic that one often suffers from lack of
sleep and care of the body. I for one am apt to fall into this trap
until moi decided 3 weeks ago not to be caught up by the system. Here
are a couple of stuff I embarked on:

1.  Regular exercising
I started with thrice a week brisk walking and running gradually going
up to 5km only once! And that's 3 weeks ago! With my JP Morgan run
coming up next week and me still nursing a cold, I am getting all hot
and bothered. BUT and this is a HUGE BUT, I have learnt to take life
with its curve balls.  As Murphy's Law goes, when it rains, it pours!
So, I am just gonna take things in my stride!  Real looking forward to
the event still.

2. Eat right and happy
Well, I figured that to be healthy, one needs to eat right but to be
absolutely sated and happy, one needs indulgences of the vices now and
then. I for one live to eat and the constant challenge had been to
balance food I love aka sinful with soul food to keep my weight in
check. This is the conclusion I arrive at - I will never be supermodel
thin nor skinny but I am happy and satisfied with the way I look now.
It's a coming of age really where once body image issues will bother
me , I take them with a pinch of salt nowadays.

3. Stringent use of masks
Where once I could get away with minimal exfoliation and masking, my
aging could well do with some interventions these days. That's how I
discovered this glorious sleeping mask from The Face Shop. It had been
a best seller and together with this green tea blackhead remover, are
the loves of many gals I discovered.

The sleeping mask is infused with raspberry goodness that will hydrate
your face as you snooze and walah (!) you wake up with plump, fresh
looking face the following morning. Blemishes tend to recover faster
due to the higher moisture level and get this, this gel mask can
prevent them too especially when u use them intensively for a
couple of days after sun exposure. I for one had been reaping the
benefits by daily masking since sun evening. My makeup stays longer
too during the day and my face stays matt longer.

As I rave about my first love, let's not forget the green tea
blackhead remover. It is mineral oil based with green tea extract and
smells super calming. Apply a few drops on cleansed skin at the areas
where there are blackheads and massage with your fingertips (GENTLY)
for 2 to 3 mins. Thereafter wash off with warm water and cleanse
again. Typically I will extend the coverage to my T zone which is
great as my pores seemed to get smaller!

Both products are to be used once per week and after testing for 3
weeks, I'm happy to declare, they work! Goofing around does not pay
especially when you have oily skin like mine in a hot and humid
climate no less!

4. Activity bound weekends
Ah the weekend! A time to sleep in and just relax. Or so I thought. My
soul beckons ith promises of nourishment by undertaking activities of
the physical, intellectual and fun kind. So I had been involved in checking
out the recently concluded Maritime Amazing Race, joined the upcoming
JP Morgsn race, having leisure weekend lunches with my family,
visiting the museums, church or just meditating. I want to live my
life to the fullest and do not want to slow down one bit. The future
though unknown to me is full of hope and my strong faith in God keeps
me going. I believe that constant activity moves the mind, body and
soul. And constantly on the move keeps me alive too.

5. Dare to try the Different or New
I'm not born courageous and used to baulk at anything that seemed a
tad risky. To me being safe is the best bet. What changed my mind? When I
realized everything and anything will depend entirely for me to make
it happen, inaction included. That's when life embarked on a greater
meaning due to the meaning I give it. What could be more wondrous than
that? And the wheel of change and creation of happiness once started
cannot be stopped as new beginnings brings new happiness and more and
more happiness. Life still comes with its requisite bittersweet. But
the aftertaste is so much more well earned when I can say with a
smile, I did something different!

Madeleines

I first came across madeleines when I dined at Delifrance. It looked different and rather expensive to me at $3.60 for 6 small shell-like pieces. Even when I tried them, the taste was't exactly memorable. Too
dry was my first response. And the size is insufficient to gain a good mouthfeel.

That was when I did not know better. Now, ironically, it's one of my favourite cakes and I enjoy seeing the "bump" rise inside the oven. The bump is a classic sign of success of madeleines and much chased after, at least by me!  Such is my fascination with it! Success wasn't immediate though. I researched cookbooks and recipes online and found that the steps given vary somewhat.

1.  The main difference was the resting of the batter or dough which can vary from no resting, i.e immediate baking after mixing to resting for 2 hours to overnight.

2.  Oven temperatures play a part too especially in raising the distinctive bump at the back of the shell biscuits. After 3 to 4 tries, I found that it is best to rest the batter overnight and to set the oven at a higher initial temperature of 220 deg C. Once the characteristic bump appears, lower the temperature down to 180 deg C to complete the baking. The entire baking process should take about 6 to 16 mins (depending on your oven and the size of your madeleines in tray) with transfer and rotation of pans up and down the upper and lower trays every 2-4 mins. This 2-temperature process is taken from La Tartine Gourmande website, which I love immensely!

Do note that each oven has its personality too; either slow or fast to warm-up or just with hot spots here and there. Know yours intimately to adjust it accordingly. Mine has hot spots near to where the convection fan is and I must cover the pan with aluminium foil from the 40th minute or else the product will be too brown for my liking. Just experiment brave souls!

Baking is to me the best philosophical lesson of life - you get immediate uncompromising feedback, you decide how long you need to recover (I once took about 1 month to before re-testing) and once you
decide to return to the game (hurray!) confidence renewed, you are much better poised to take more fun tumbles along the way. I say fun as the situations of despair and forlonless when a baked good fails does
give way to hope and resilence as I determined to conquer the recipe!

Recipe (makes 25 pieces) - adapted from Chez Pim website.

4 eggs + 1 yolk
120g granulated sugar
50g honey (can reduce if you find it too sweet)
160g melted butter, cooled for 5 mins
200g plain flour

Soft butter, for greasing

The Day Before
1.  Beat the eggs and sugar on top of a bain-marie (water bath) until the egg mixture is warm to the touch.
2.  Add the honey and beat with your stand mixer till triple in volume.
3.  Stop the mixer.  Take a cup of the mixture and fold into the melted butter. Pour this mixture back into item 2.
4.  Fold in the flour with a spoon, GENTLY in 3 portions.
5.  Cling wrap the mixing bowl and store overnight, preferably in the fridge.

Prior to Baking
1.  Pre-heat oven at 220 deg C at least 20 mins prior to baking. Place the tray such that the pan on it will be at the centre of the oven.
2.  Butter madeleine pans (available from Phoon Huat stores).
3.  Remove mixing bowl from the fridge and using 2 small spoons, make medium-sized scoops to plonk onto the madeleine pan.
4.  Bake for 2-4 mins, all the while watching like a hawk.
5.  Once you see the bump rising, lower the oven temperature to 180 deg C. Should the cake start to brown, rotate the tray 180 deg before that.
6.  Transfer the tray up and down, remembering to rotate every 2 to 4 mins thereafter to allow even browning.  
7.  Once you see the edges of the madeleines pull away from the edges, the cakes are done. 
8.  Slide it out, remove and enjoy while warm.  Otherwise, store cooled at room temperature in air tight containers for about 3-4 days.

Wrath of the Weather

The weather here is a simple but potent combination of either hot and
humid or cool and humid. Case in point my flu. I had been nursing it
for about a week before it became full blown last Sat. And this is
despite my arduous efforts to minimise it. It does not help that I get
heaty easily and being greedy relish spicy and deep fried food as part
of my meals off and on. What is one to fight when food is just round
the corner everywhere.

Ok, I digress. Yes, the weather is cranky and had been alternating
mercilessly hot days with intermittent showers. Which brings to
another point - baking. For the longest time my friends and I had
groused about how making truffles always end up a mess as the ganache
melts so quickly once it is out of the freezer. yes, the freezer. Even
stuff like high fat cookie dough or pie pastry cannot escape this fate.

Coping methiods abound as we tried to have ice baths ready to chill
the ganache tray. But... The weather will not be beaten! Right now I'm
thinking if I have to set up air conditioners at my kitchen just like
what Lana Cake Shop at Greenwood Avenue did. Sigh!

7 Sensations

The human species is endowed with 5 senses; sight, taste, hearing, smell & touch. Our tongue can detect sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and unami, the taste revolutionised by Japanese through the simple sprinkling of Ajinomoto or monsodium glutamate on our food. It is the glutamate that heightens the taste buds and the sensory experience so much that some of us can get allergic to it! I for one will suffer from thirst that can only be quenched with copious amounts of water downed within an hour. Such is the price, or rather small price we pay for our enjoyment.

For 7 Sensations, it is a quaint little organic vegetarian shop that sits pretty between 2 shophouses at Madras Lane at Little India. It is a favourite haunt of mine notwithstanding the fact that it used to be very near to where I used to work! Avocado and mango salad, tofu squares, korean rice, petai rice and its recent addition, pumpkin tofu cake are stuff that dreams are made of and which fortunately can be enjoyed in reality. Me, being the greedy one will be apt to order one too many dishes and look forlonly as the unfinished dishes are taken away all because I wanted more space for dessert! It is a happy place to me and it had brought beautiful memories of the great company I went with and the food, simply made.

7 Sensations - a place that invokes my senses and more.

Cookbook Rampage

So there I was walking through Kinokuniya at Ngee Ann some 2 weeks back when 2 books just caught my fancy. I know, we can better purchase these books at Amazon right. But at the moment I held the books on my hands, all sense went out of the window...literally...trust me...Within half an hour, with my wallet lighter by $100+ and my shoulder aching with the weight of 2 new cookbooks, I went home with a broad smile.

These 2 books are gems of a lifetime, written by accomplished authors, namely The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard (executive chef of the Spago where the rich and famous hob nob with each other at LA) and of course, Rose's Heavenly Cakes, written by my favourite chef Rose Levy Beranbaum who wrote the bible worthy - The Cake Bible, The Bread Bible and The Pie and Pastry Bible.

Rose maintains a blog which you can access here. It's chock full of tips and mmmm...mouthwatering pictures... :)