Rosette Cake

I can't believe we are almost towards the end of 2012 .. today is 12.12.12, what a wonderful date.  Here, many couples are getting married today just because of the number.  Sweet huh :)

 

So I have  been busy lately that I didn't have the time to update my blog.  I know it has been collecting dust and I feel soo guilty.  So today I am putting up something I did for my youngest daughter who turned 6 last November.  Initially there was no plan to bake anything as her birthday was a day after we got home from our very short vacation.  But as usual, mommy got a bit guilty and did last minute shopping for her goody bags and made this simple chocolate sponge with whipped cream cake to share with friends at the childcare centre.

 

No time for elaborate looking piece, so I decided on a simple rosette cake.  It is so girlish just like the birthday girl :)

The side view of the cake.

It is not a big cake, just a  9 inch but enough to feed about 20+ kids :)   Chocolate sponge was a recipe from Rose's Heavenly Cake, german chocolate cake.  Easy and good.  Do try it if you have her book.

 

Fresh Fruit Tart

I love anything with fresh fruits especially tarts.  I just had to make one for myself eversince I saw those tarts from Fruit Paradise.  So I finally gather my mojo and made this which was a couple of months back :-P   I have not personally tried any of the tarts yet as the branches are simply out of my way.  So after talking to my colleagues about it, checking with them the texture, the filling and surfing the net for details, I decided to make a vanilla custard filling with layers of sponge cake and fresh whipped cream.  Here is the final product which did not look like those at Fruit Paradise at all *LOL*

I choose easy fruits; peaches and kiwis.  I actually wanted to pile more fruits but I messed up the whipped cream and could not risk the fruits sliding off the tart.  Anyways, it was a very delicious and refreshing dessert.  Everyone loved it.

This is how it looks like.  You see the crust, custard filling, a layer of vanilla sponge, whipped cream and peaches, another layer of vanilla sponge, whipped cream and the fruit toppings.   It is not difficult to make but can be bit tedious.  Better to prepare the sponge and crust a day earlier so you won't get so stressed up and mess up the tart.  Let me know if you are interested in the recipe :D

 

Ayam masak kicap or Chicken in soya sauce malay style ala Zu

One of my kids favourite is chicken in soya sauce gravy.  There are many version of chicken in soya sauce, some are more savoury with spices like cinnamon, cloves etc, some are very simple no spices at all and some like what my late mom used to cook is added with tomato ketchup/puree for added flavour like this one.

Dark Chocolate Dessert Cake

My least creative cake that I baked for my colleagues in the office yesterday night :-D  It is a very simple recipe and is taken off the back of a cadbury dark cooking chocolate wrapper.  I would say that not only it is easy, it tastes real good too.   I used dark ghana whittakers chocolate but you can use any good quality dark chocolate for this.  However, I would recommend that you add maybe 2T of sourcream/buttermilk or yogurt for extra moist texture.  

Flour famous banana bread

I made this lovely banana bread a few weeks ago for my sister who was going back to Shanghai.  We usually have this deal, I got her to buy some stuffs for me from Shanghai and I in turn will bake for her some cakes or stuffs to bring back.  Good thing was that my dad bought some bananas which I used for this banana bread.

I kind of like the idea of taking a photo of the baked good with the book.  It gives you an idea how the end result will look in comparison with the photo from the book.  So here it is.  Unlike most banana bread that only requires you to mix the wet & dry ingredients, this one needs you to whip the eggs and sugar till fluffy hence the texture of this bread is more cake like and light.  The recipe as follows:

Work Lunch #1

I have been bringing lunch to office quite often now as I am trying to eat healthy :-D  I usually share my lunch photo with my friends at FB and decided maybe I should share them in this blog.  So this post is my first lunch photo and here it is :D



This is chicken in soya sauce and steamed broccoli.  I was just too lazy to do a stir-fry this morning hence the simple steamed vege.  The soya sauce chicken is a simple malay style, I will be sharing the recipe in my next post.  Keep a lookout !

Tomato Sauce Noodles

This is actually inspired by Sarawak Kway Teow. Since my kids and husband are not a great fan of kway teow, I substitute it with udon instead. You can use any noodles that you like as the method is pretty much like hor fun.

Moist, Chewy, Fudgy Brownie

I am not  a great fan of brownies.  But I was looking out for a chewy , fudgy brownie for another friend and thought of giving this recipe a try.  An online friend shared this recipe a few years ago and it has always been in my to do list but it got shifted down as months passed.  Honestly I am glad that made it.  It is really that fudgy, chewy and dense, good for those who love fudgy brownies :-)

Caramel Peanut topped Brownie Cake

I was in a mood to bake last weekend and was thinking of baking something 'different'.  After going through heaps of baking books, I decided to try this and was truly delighted with my choice :-D 

Fish with chinese mushroom, scallions & chinese celery

Non-fried fish was not one of my kids favourite dish until recently.  Now, having one steamed or braised/poached fish is a must especially during the weekends.