Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Baked Peach Cheesecake

On the first day of raya, I only managed to bake one cake. One. A total disapoinment. I know I could have baked more if I can managed my time efficiently. But I had a lot of cleaning ups to do. I was working half-day that day. And I really wanted to go home before iftar. Even if its mean I had to breakfasting in the car. Which I did. And Mom was the one who called me all the way from JB to tell me 'dalam TV dah azan so you can buka puasa now'.

I had few blocks of cream cheese so I thought of making a cheesecake (and left few blocks in the fridge which in a real bad condition when I get back after raya due to fridge rosak :( ). I think this recipe I copied from Kuali or something. I forgot. You can google it if you want.

Yes I know my cheesecake turned out not as beautiful as they should be. I brought back to JB rightaway, still hot and warm when I arrived. So I had to left the inner lining of baking paper on the side of the cake. Takut deformity berlaku. Hehe.

And the cake? Biasa-biasa je lah. Its either me or the recipe. I think it was me haha.



Shortcrust pastry:
  • 200g plain flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 125g very cold butter
  • 3 tbsp ice-cold water

    Filling:
  • 300g cream cheese(leave at room temperature)
  • 2 eggs, separated
  • 75g castor sugar
  • 1 tbsp grated orange rind
  • 2 tbsp orange juice
  • 1 1/2 tbsp corn flour
  • 175g canned peaches

    Method
    Sift flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Dip the whole piece of butter into the flour. Place a grater above the flour, take the butter out and grate it into the flour. Mix grated butter into the flour. Rub in using your fingertips until butter is well distributed and the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Do not overwork the mixture.

    Add ice-cold water gradually, stirring the flour and butter mixture with a palette knife. When mixture starts to bind well, stop adding water.

    Knead the pastry lightly for a short while until smooth. Wrap pastry with plastic food wrap and chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

    Roll out pastry between two sheets of plastic wrap. Peel top layer of plastic from pastry. Roll pastry round a rolling pin. Bring rolling pin over a 21 cm flan tin.ease pastry carefully into the tin. Trim edges.

    Prick the base with a fork and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Bake blind in preheated oven at 190°C for 10 minutes then remove beans and paper and bake for a further 20 minutes or until lightly browned. *cough* FYI saya pakai green beans :p

    To make filling: Preheat oven to 180°C. Drain peaches well then slice thinly. Arrange slices evenly over the base of baked pastry case.

    Beat cheese until light then add in sugar and continue to beat until creamy. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each one is added. Stir in orange juice and rind. Sift in corn flour and blend well.

    In a medium bowl, beat egg white and add a pinch of salt. Sprinkle 1 tbsp castor sugar gradually when egg white is almost firm. Go on beating until egg white turns stiff. Fold egg white mixture into creamed cheese mixture.

    Carefully pour filling over the peaches. Bake in preheated oven for one to one and a quarter hours or until cake is firm. Leave cake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes with oven door ajar. Remove the pie and cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate cake overnight then turn out. Sift icing sugar over and slice into eight pieces and serve.

    For the topping, I arranged the sliced peaches on top of the cake the next day, and strawberry then I pour instant jelly on top of it ;)

  • Monday, September 27, 2010

    Banana Cake

    Again, bananas left ripen on the counter so I baked banana cake! I left the bare cake for a day before I made the filling and ganache. When I sent Lana to the airport, I managed to grab one bag of Daim from the store so I decided to chop it and toss(?) it on my ganache. The filling was a different story. I had all the ingredients on hand but I had no idea which recipe to be followed. I stood there then I sat. Then I decided to make something different. Rather than using all the creams I used, CUSTARD! Yes damn freaking custard powder! I didn't know where did the idea came from but I was pretty sure I had to make it fast.

    Obe loved it. So much. He said that was the best cake I ever made. Which was a lie. I know I baked some pretty good stuff before. And it were all good! Hahaha. But seriously, I think if you have all the patience and rajin, spare some time and prepare a good filling. Seriously.


    And I don't know why did I choose this recipe although the original recipe was called for an upside down walnut cake. But yes, the cake was dense, moist and the best for a banana cake. Be experimental and try adding some fun to it ;)

    Banana Cake
    Adapted from SmittenKitchen

    1 3/4 cups flour
    1 teaspoon baking powder
    3/4 teaspoon baking soda
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1/2 cup butter, room temperature
    1/2 cup sugar
    1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
    2 large eggs
    1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 to 3 large)
    3 tablespoons sour cream
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Sift first 4 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in large bowl until blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then mashed bananas, sour cream, rum, and vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients in 2 additions just until combined. Spoon batter into pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

    For the filling, I don't exactly remember the measurement of all the ingredients. Its in my head naturally, abundance and engraved on one of my lobes I guess. But I won't let you down. Saya cuba.

    1/2 tin susu cair IDEAL
    3 full tbsp custard powder

    Boil the milk together with the custard powder until dissolve on a low heat. When it starts to boil, continue stir until it thickens. Turn off the heat and spread on the cooled cake (after you cut it to layers of course ;) ).

    For the ganache, erm ini memang aku tak ingat. My own recipe and techniques differ from time to time :p


    Wednesday, September 22, 2010

    Oreo Cupcakes






    Oreo Cupcakes

    Cupcakes
    1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
    1 cup milk
    2 tsp vanilla extract
    2 1/4 cups flour, plus 2 Tbsp for the Oreo chunks
    1 tsp baking powder
    1/2 tsp salt
    1 2/3 cup sugar
    3 large egg whites, at room temperature
    1 pkg Oreo Cookies (~45 cookies)

    Preheat over to 350F. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.

    Twist apart 24 Oreos. Place the wafer with filling on it, filling side up, in the bottom of each paper liner. Cut other wafers in half. Save 24 halves to place in the frosting. Crush the other wafer halves, also for garnishing.

    Cut the remaining Oreo cookies into quarters with a sharp knife. Toss with 2 Tbsp flour and set aside.

    In a large bowl cream the butter until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the milk and vanilla and mix to combine.

    In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

    Add the dry ingredients to butter mixture. Mix until integrated. Stir in sugar. With an electric mixer on low speed, beat for 30 seconds. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes. Add the egg whites. Beat for 2 more minutes. Stir in the quartered cookies.

    Fill the cupcake lines three-quarters full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.

    Frosting
    8 oz cream cheese at room temp
    1 stick butter at room temp
    1 Tbsp vanilla extract
    3-4 cups powdered sugar

    Cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy.

    Add vanilla extract. Slowly add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.

    Prune Cake

    I am never a big fan of prunes. I don't even know what prunes should taste like. Sweet or sour? I walked along one of the aisle at Giant and my eyes just couldn't stop looking at this.

    Gold label? So whats the difference between this and the usual purple tub? My hand got itchy and I just had to buy it. And I did. I got back home and search for a recipe and found one.

    So what about the taste? The prunes I mean. Hurm... Sama je kot.

    The recipe is from Thepioneerwoman. If you readers thought me as your sifu now this is my sifu. Haha macam lah dia acknowledge aku kan.

    But don't be like me. I don't have any cake tester and too lazy to make one (my mom taught me how to improvised by using stem) so I used a knife hence cake ku berlubang nipis macam tu hihi.


    Ok. Here's the recipe:

    Grandma Iny's Prune Cake
    Adapted from Thepioneerwoman

    Ingredients

    For cake:

    15 dried pitted prunes
    1 cup brown sugar
    3 eggs
    1 cup vegetable oil
    1 1/2 cup flour
    1 tsp baking soda
    1 tsp cinnamon powder
    1 cup buttermilk
    1 tsp vanilla essence

    For icing:

    1 cup brown sugar
    1/2 cup buttermilk
    1/2 tsp baking soda
    1/4 cup butter
    1/2 tsp vanilla essence

    Preheat oven to 150 degrees (or somewhere no more than 170 degrees celcius).

    Start by mashing all the prunes. You don't have to soaked the prunes in water but if you find it is not squishy enough then add some. Set aside.

    Sift together flour, cinnamon powder and baking soda. In a bigger bowl, mix together oil, sugar and eggs and beat well. Stir in the dry ingredients and add in buttermilk, vanilla essence and prunes. As what Ree said, do not overmix!

    Pour into your cake pan (I used 9" square pan) and bake for 40 minutes.

    5 minutes before the cake is done, start preparing the icing. Mix all the ingredients together in a saucepan and heat it for 5 to 7 minutes. Do not stir. It will start to bubbles then turn off the heat when the sugar has reach to almost caramel-consistency but make sure it is not too thick. Immediately pour on top of your cake.

    Semolina Cake

    I baked like what most of you did. I am no baking goddess. Sometimes I do forgot to put eggs on the batter. Yes I did, once :p And there were many times where I *cough* accidentally overbeat my batter and you know how my heart sinks just like how the cake sinks in? The feeling, my God nak menangis.

    I am not perfect. I am still learning. But I am not that virgin with a whisker, or a spatula.

    Like last week, I baked this. You know how did it turn out? Half of it were ok and half of it hampeh. I don't know what went wrong but maybe it was the temperature. Halfway through the baking, I raised the temperature a bit only then it is ok. And I ate all alone. Tsk tsk.

    My temptation in baking the perfect cupcakes did not end there. The next few days I baked a simple raspberry vanilla cupcakes from one of the recipe book I have and tralalala, I threw away all of it. Don't ask why memang sangat remuk hati luluh lah.

    In between of those two I baked this. Awesome powsome! I liked it! Butter cake texture with suji flavour. But I must remind you, suji flour might be too coarse for your liking. I don't mind it at all. Of course I was a bit disturbed with the sandy feeling of the cake at first but take some time to let it melts itself in your mouth *drools*.

    Here just for the sake of you guys, I copied the recipe.

    Semolina Cake
    Adapted from A Nyonya's Kitchen

    140g cake flour
    1/2 tsp baking powder (I used 1 tsp)
    100g semolina
    1/4 tsp salt
    4 eggs
    100ml milk
    2 tsp vanilla extract/essence
    250g butter, at room temperature
    200g sugar (I used only 170g)
    2 tbsp honey

    1. Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl and stir in semolina and salt. Mix well.
    2. Beat eggs, milk and vanilla essence together in a bowl.
    3. Cream butter, sugar and honey till light and fluffy. Gradually trickle in egg mixture, beating constantly. Mix in flour mixture on low speed and stir till well combined.
    4. Spoon the batter into an 8-inch cake tray lined with baking paper.
    5. Bake for 45 minutes at 150 deg C or until an inserted cake tester comes out clean.
    6. Cool cake for 15 minutes, then unmould and let cool.

    Orange Almond Cake

    Of course, Shaleen and baking cannot be separated even when the mixer is broken :p Last Friday I took out the last block of butter from the fridge and the last four eggs and start counting. 4 eggs, what can I bake with four? I searched for a recipe from my hard drive then I stumbled upon this one recipe, Orange Almond Cake. Great! I have some oranges left in the fridge.

    When I came home from work, I start to measuring everything. But the ingredients were in fecking grams! Mana pulak aku nak carik scale nih. Then luckily, from years of baking with a lot of failures, I can just close one eye and measure everything. Haha.

    Working with lack of utensils is another things. I don't even have orange squeezer. Five minutes later, with splashes of juice everywhere...

    I was sweeping the house and the house filled with sweet citrus aroma and I loveeeeeeeeeee it! Brought it home to JB when it was still hot but only to realized they don't really fancy orange cake :(


    But this cake never failed me. The perfect combination of orange, almond and sweetness. Perfect and moist. Sampai sekarang craving lagi. Rugi tak bawak Nilai.

    Orange Almond Cake
    Adapted from My Kitchen Snippets

    226 grm butter (1 block)
    180 grm sugar (almost 1 cup)
    180 grm ground almond
    150 grm flour (1 1/2 cups)
    ½ tsp baking powder
    1/4 tsp salt
    4 eggs
    Zest and juice of 2 oranges (I used 4 ;) )

    1. Preheat the oven to 325 degree F. Grease and line a baking pan with parchment paper. Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt together. Mix in the ground almond and set aside.
    2. Beat butter and sugar with high speed until creamy and smooth. Add in the eggs, one at a time and beat well until well combined.
    3. Reduce the speed to low and add in the fry ingredients in 3 badges alternating with the orange juice and zest. Mix until just incorporated.
    4. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake for 50 minutes or until the cake is golden and pulls away from the sides of the pan.

    Billy's Vanilla Cupcakes

    I'd always amused by how the combination of butter and sugar become white and fluffy. I'd always mesmerized by the beauty of a well rise cake. I don't know when it start but I know I got it from my mom, our own baker.

    Day by day I found that I always fell for beautiful cake/cupcakes. I searched for the best recipes relentlessly. Contrary with the time I have for all my baking projects. The minute I stumbled upon the perfect recipe, my hands would get very itchy and I started to conquered the whole kitchen.

    My cakes/cupcakes were all good. Well, that was what people said. And yes, because of my almost perfect taste buds on all these to die for dessert, I know how to define a good and superb cake ;)

    Enough said. I thought I should give something to my friends back in SWA**** at where I worked as a dancer before I quit. All my baking utensils were in JB so I just bought the very basic thing.

    I browsed through Martha Stewart's and found this. I just had to try! Good, a perfect reason for baking!

    So here;

    Billy's Vanilla Cupcakes
    Adapted from MarthaStewart's

    1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising
    1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
    2 cups sugar
    1 tablespoon baking powder
    3/4 teaspoon salt
    1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
    4 large eggs
    1 cup whole milk
    1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.
    2. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.
    3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.
    4. I made two batches. The first one I frosted it with the usual vanilla buttercream frosting and the other one I frosted with Oreo Buttercream. Sumpah sedap! All I did was crushed the cookies and mix it in.

    And the best of all, they love it!

    ps: the cupcakes are moist, dense and dome-d! The best ever!

    Red Velvet Cupcakes

    Adapted from JoyOfBaking

    Nothing can beat the smile of the well rise cake with a perfect dome :)


    2 1/2 cups cake flour (sifted) (I used superfine flour)
    1/2 tsp salt
    2 tbsp cocoa powder (I used more)
    1/2 cup butter (omit the salt if you use salted butter)
    1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
    2 large eggs
    1 tsp vanilla extract
    1 cup buttermilk (1 cup milk + 2 tbsp white vinegar and let stand for 10 mins)
    2 tsp red colour (or more depending on how deep you want the colour would be)
    1 tsp white vinegar
    1 tsp baking soda

    Preheat oven to 175 degrees. In a large bowl sift together the flour, salt and cocoa powder. In a medium bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until white and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and beat until just combined.

    Whisk buttermilk with red colour and pour the flour mixture and buttermilk into the wet ingredients alternately starting and ending with buttermilk using a low speed mixer.

    In a small cup combine vinegar and baking soda and allow the mixture to fizz before quickly fold in to the batter.

    Divide the batter to cupcakes and bake for20-25 minutes.

    You can use any cream cheese frosting that you like. Saya malas nak type lagi :p

    Mix Fruit Cheese Cake


    Adapted from HomeSweetHome originally from MatGebu
    I am not really a big fan of mix fruits cake. I hate how it taste with the dried fruits whatsoever. But this cake is to die for! Rasa fruits tak kuat, rasa cheese pun mild aje. Fruits pun tak mendap ke bawah. And sangat soft and gebu! Until now asyik teringat nak baking lagi tapi cream cheese takda. Hehe.

    240g flour (sifted)
    1 1/2 tsp baking powder
    250 gm sugar
    250 gm butter
    230 g cream cheese
    4 large eggs
    1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
    140 g flour
    300 gm mix fruits

    Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Prepare a 10x10x3 inch pan.

    Sifted together the flour and baking powder. In another bowl beat together the butter and cream cheese. Mix in the sugar and vanilla essence and beat until white and fluffy.

    Beat in eggs adding one at a time until combine. With mixer in low speed, pour in the flour gradually until finish. Mix the fruits with the remaining flour and slowly fold into the batter until combine.

    Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until tester inserted to the cake comes out clean.

    Vanilla Cupcakes


    Vanilla Cupcakes
    Adapted from Joy of Baking

    1/2 cup butter
    2/3 cup white sugar
    3 eggs
    1 tsp vanilla essence
    1 1/2 cups flour
    1 1/2 tsp baking powder
    1/4 cup milk

    Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well. Mix in vanilla essence.

    Whisk together the flour and baking powder in another bowl. Beat in well into the butter mixture alternately with milk beginning and ending with the flour.

    Bake for 18-20mins at 177 degrees.

    I think I have posted somewhere the recipe for buttercream. Oh but now I just pour in everything, I don't weight it because I am a pro! Hahahaha. No lah. You'll learn the more you make it.

    Apple Cheddar Coffee Cake

    Found this recipe from Baking Obesession my heart straight away said have to bake this! Have to!

    But the cake (the one that I baked actually pfft!) was very messy! No way I can serve the guests like that but still I cut and put it in a plate nicely anyway ;) And its gone in a minute! It is at it best when its warm, seriously. When you can feel the cheese melts, speechless.

    Here are some tips that might be useful;
    • the apple filling might be a little bit watery. Do not pour together the fluid onto the batter if you can. I'd few drops like terjatuh and it spilled from the pan (I use a loose bottom) and buat satu dapur panik bau hangus.
    • make sure you cover the top of the cake with streusel thick enough so the batter won't suck up all your streusel. Aku punya dah macam volcano cis.
    • you can get buttermilk by mixing half cup of milk with 2 tbsp of white vinegar.

    Apple Chedar Coffee Cake
    Adapted from Baking Obsession

    For streusel topping:

    1/2 cup all purpose flour
    2tbsp granulated sugar
    2tbsp brown sugar
    1/8tsp salt
    4tbsp unsalted butter, cubed, cold
    1 oz cheddar, grated finely

    For the filling:

    2 tbsp unsalted butter
    1/4 cup brown sugar
    4-5 apples, peeled, cored, sliced thinly
    2 oz cheddar, coarsely grated

    For the cake batter:

    2 cups all purpose flour
    1 1/2 tsp baking powder
    1/2 tsp baking soda
    3/4 tsp salt
    1/2 cup buttermilk
    1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
    1/2 cup unsalted butter
    1/2 cup granulated sugar
    1/2 cup brown sugar
    2 eggs

    Streusel topping:

    Combine the flour, sugar, salt in a medium bowl. Add the butter cubes and use your finger and start crumbling them (better if you have a pastry blender). Mix in the cheese and refrigerate until use.

    Filling:

    Melt the butter oer a medium heat. Add the brown sugar and cook for 1 minute. Add in the apples and make sure the sugar cover it completely and continue heating until it become glaze-like sauce. Remember to continue stirring. It is easy for your filling to get burn okeh. Remove from the heat and miz in the cheddar.

    Batter:

    Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a small cup, combine the buttermilk with vanilla and set aside. In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk beginning and ending with flour in three batches.

    Transfer about half of the batter into the pan. Arrange the filling on top of it make sure that the filling fills the centre part of the cake without touching the edge of the cake. Pour in the other half on top of it and cover it nicely. Sprinkle the streusel topping.

    Bake the cake at 170 degrees for 45mins - 1hr 15mins depending on the type of pan you use and the oven. Or until wooden skewer comes out clean.
    I would try again baking this cake just because I have some cheddar's leftovers ;)

    Blueberry Crumb Bars

    Adapted from Smitten Kitchen originally from Allrecipes

    1 cup white sugar
    1 teaspoon baking powder
    3 cups all-purpose flour
    1 cup cold unsalted butter
    1 egg
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    Zest and juice of one lemon
    4 cups fresh blueberries (Or a can)
    1/2 cup white sugar
    4 teaspoons cornstarch

    Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.

    In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

    In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

    Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

    Cheesecake Marbled Brownies





    Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

    Brownie batter
    1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
    3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
    1 cup sugar
    2 large eggs
    1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    2/3 cup all-purpose flour

    Cheesecake batter
    8 ounces cream cheese, well softened
    1/3 cup sugar
    1 large egg yolk
    1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

    Plus
    1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

    Make brownie batter: Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Heat butter and chocolate in a 3-quart heavy saucepan — though I did mine double-boiler style, placing the mixing bowl I was using over simmering water, thereby creating one less dirty dish and melting the chocolate more gently — over moderately low heat, whisking occasionally, just until melted. Remove from heat and whisk in sugar, eggs, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until well combined. Whisk in flour until just combined and spread in baking pan.

    Make cheesecake batter: Whisk together cheesecake batter ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Dollop over brownie batter, then swirl in with a knife or spatula.

    Bake brownies: Bake until edges are slightly puffed and center is just set, about 35 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.



    Lamington-Top Cupcakes

    3 eggs
    1 cup butter, softened
    1 cup superfine sugar
    1/2 cup milk
    1 1/2 cups plain flour
    1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    1 tablespoon cocoa powder

    Preheat oven to 160 degree C.

    In a medium sized bowl, lightly beat the eggs, add butter and sugar then mix until light and fluffy. Add milk, flour, baking powder and vanilla and stir to combine. Add cocoa powder. Beat with electric mixer for 2 minutes until light and creamy.

    Divide evenly to papercups and bake for 18-20 minutes.

    100g dark choc
    1 tablespoon butter, softened
    1/3 cup thickened cream
    1/2 cup butter, softened
    1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
    200g shredded coconut

    Combine the chocolate and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. As the mixture begin to melt add cream slowly then reduce heat to low, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and cool.

    Combined the remaining butter and sugar, mix with a wooden spoon then beat until light and fluffy. Add melted choc and spoon icing onto cupcakes. Place coconut onto a small plate and roll each cupcake on it to coat the icing.

    Note: topping paling simple ;)

    Strawberry Banana Muffin (the old time favourite)

    113g unsalted butter
    160g light brown sugar
    2 large eggs, lightly beaten
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    2 large ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
    1 cup frozen blueberries or strawberries (cut into pieces)
    315g all purpose flour
    1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    1/2 teaspoon salt

    Preheat oven to 177 degree C. Grease the muffin cups.

    In a small saucepan, melt butter and set aside.

    Whisk together brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and mashed banana in a medium sized bowl. Add the melted butter to the brown sugar mixture and stir to combined.

    In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Gently fold in the berries and make sure they are fully coated with the flour. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are just combined.

    Fill batter to each of the muffin cups. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

    Note: This is my favourite. And also Obe's and family. And also few of my friends. I baked this many times and it always yummy! I used strawberry extract instead of the real one pasal berries mahal okay. Hahahaha. Oh, few tips;

    • Do not overmix the batter. Kacau sampai nampak die dah mix jek terus stop. Kalau tak muffin keras nanti. Usually people use the 12 beats rule ;)
    • We had to coat the berries with flour before mixing in the wet ingredients to prevent the berries sinking in during baking.
    • And over-kacau the berries will result in your muffin jadik blue or pink.
    • If there were few cups empty on the tray fill in with water so that your muffin tak terlampau hangus nanti.

    Black Bottom Cupcakes

    Cream cheese filling:

    227g cream cheese, room temperature
    1/3 cups (65g) granulated white sugar
    1 large egg
    1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

    Chocolate cupcakes:

    1 1/2 cups (210g) all purpose flour
    1 cup (210g) light brown sugar
    1/3 cup (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1 cup (240ml) water
    1/3 cup (80ml) vegie oil
    1 tablespoon white vinegar
    1 tablespoon vanilla extract

    Preheat oven to 177 degree C and lightly butter or spray 12 muffins cup.

    Cream cheese filling: Beat cream cheese until smooth using electric mixer. Add in sugar, egg, vanilla extract and beat until creamy and smooth. Set aside.

    Chocolate cupcakes: In a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the water, vinegar, oil and vanilla extract. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients until nice and smooth. Evenly divide the batter to 12 muffins cups.

    Then spoon a few tablespoons of cream cheese filling to the centre of each cupcake.

    Bake for 25 minutes or until the cream cheese filling is a little bit brown and the cupcakes feel springy to touch.

    ps: no picture. maybe I'll bake some and upload it. but later. hurm or not.

    Wednesday, September 15, 2010

    *dust off*

    Hello there :)

    It is time. This blog has been here for so long and finally I can make use of it. After much procrastination, when blogger revealed to me the new design template where you can easily customize everything with some cool graphic, I rolled up my sleeves and decided it is time to get serious with this. I mean, I don't want to spam my own personal blog anymore. Haha.

    This blog was first made to help me sorting out all orders for my famous cookies (boleh? haha). But then I'd became lazy and more lazy and more lazy and I left it there, collecting dust.

    Anyway, time to time you would surely be reading all of my baking posts from my blog. Those recipes should be somewhere I assumed. You can click whatever labels you want, I have sort it out everything for you. Don't I love you that much already? Hehe. At the moment I don't sell my cakes/cupcakes but you can inquire if you want. I would be more than happy to bake for someone who enjoys it ;)

    The cookies sale are ongoing all year around! Buy it for any occasions or if you just feels like eating something to fat urself up, then do drop your order through email. We're going old school here, I don't have any forms or whatever because I don't think my email would get hectic with the orders. I mean, I rarely get order. Ok I don't know what I am trying to say here.

    Happy baking :)