Apple and Coffee Scrolls

Apple and coffee scrolls....some will call it apple and coffee rolls, apple and coffee buns or even apple and coffee swirls.  Whatever name its known as, this is a sweet yeast-leavened dough which has custard spread on it. If you want to make coffee scrolls, you just have to sprinkle some coffee paste on top of the custard and then you start rolling it like how you would a swiss roll.  And if you want to make apple scrolls, you just have to sprinkle some cooked cubed apples on top of the custard and then you roll it.  Once you have rolled it and cut into individual portions, it has to be proved till it double in size. Then, you will bake it in a hot oven at 220 degrees C for 10- 15 mins.  Once its baked, you will then bunwash it with sugar syrup.  Lastly, you will glaze it with white fondant (apple scrolls) or coffee fondant (coffee scrolls) before serving it to your guests and customers.  Here's some photos of my scrolls.

Before being placed into the prover box.

After it comes out from the oven and bunwashed with sugar syrup.

This is a delicious breakfast item indeed...yummy!!!

Katsutera Cake

Katsutera cake is a very popular cake in Japan and it has been a very popular cake on the "must bake" list for a lot of bakers.  I have read stories on how Katsutera cake came about in Japan. Some mentioned that its from the Portuguese who ventured to Japan in the 16th century. Katsutera cake is a sponge cake made from bread flour, sugar, honey and eggs.

This cake has been in my "must bake" listt for ages and finally I managed to make it one fine day.  It does not look as fantastic as those I have seen in Japan but I am happy to say that the taste is pretty alike.  My hubby and my 2 kiddos loved it too. To me, that's the most important thing... :)

Here's a photo of my humble katsutera cake.

Now that I know how to bake this delicious cake, I will bake it again and again and again.

Hokkien Mee

When Malaysians and Singaporeans talk about "hokkien mee", they are actually talking about different kinds of noodles. In Singapore, when someone mentions "hokkien mee", is actually hokkien noddles cooked in prawn stock. However, when a Malaysian mentions "hokkien mee", its fried noodles in dark sauce. In this household, we love both types of "hokkien mee".

We were yearning for some local food from our childhood days and my hubby decided that we should whip-up some Singapore style "Hokkien Mee".  We made our prawn stock with prawns and pork bones. We even made "chee yau char" (deep fried pork lard). Here's our humble "hokkien mee"...it was gone before we could even count to 10....haha!!!

Hokkien Mee is really sedap with freshly cut red chilli with soy sauce.  Some people prefers sambal belacan.  No matter what, its just delicious!!!

Tarts, Tarts and More Tarts...

Tarts, tartlets....this is one dessert which one can easily made.  Its much easier these days when one can buy pre-baked tarts or tartlets shells from the supermarts. In my workplace, we make our own lemon curd tarts, chocolate tarts and custard tarts.

The tart shells are mostly made from shortcrust pastry and its blind baked.  Next, comes the fillings. For us, we made our own lemon curd filling, delicious rich chocolate filling and creamy yummylicious custard filling. Lastly, we can decorate the top layer with lemon  (for the lemon curd tarts), chocolate (for the chocolate tarts) and sprinkle nutmeg or cinnamon powder (for the custard tarts).

Here's some photos of my tarts...

Lemon Curd Tarts

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Chocolate Tarts

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Custard Tarts

Tarts or tartlets are plain delicious..

Japanese Curry

I just love curry especially peranakan style. However, ever since my group of buddies have been patronizing a Japanese restaurant quite regularly, I have fallen in love with their Japanese curry rice. This got me thinking as I am paying about $10 for my lunch and I also found out that the pre-mixes have lots of palm oil, MSG and such.  So, what about making it from scratch? Then I can control what ingredients to use. We did some reading online and in the library plus bookstores and here's what we came out with.  Here's a photo of our homemade Japanese Curry Chicken with Rice!  Verdict - Yummy!!!

Oishii!!!

Danish Pastry, Mango Cheesecake & Cupcakes

Danish pastry....this is one pastry which I can eat time and time again...I love it more when its straight out from the oven..yummy!  Where is it from? Denmark, one may think. However, its from Vienna, Austria. Over here, we will have custard and jam in the middle or inside of the danish, and we will decorate it with fruits. I often bake these babies, however, it seems that not many people likes it here though....maybe I am not getting the local flavours right...hmmm??!!??

Mangoes are pretty cheap now and its goes nicely with cheesecake. Its also full of Vitamin A and C. Hence, I decided to whip-up mango cheesecake at my workplace and wanted to see if its a hit.  I am happy to say that its has been selling pretty well....I am indeed delighted.  Here's a photo of my mango cheesecake.

And lastly...here's something for the children...cupcakes or patty cakes.  From the stories I heard from my Chef, cupcakes were already in existance since the 19th century, believe it or not.  I have been using a basic cupcake recipe but I found out that the children prefers it when I use the chocolate cake recipe.  Hence, I decided to make chocolate cupcakes and am pleased to say that its pretty popular...wohoo! Here's a photo of my cupcakes.

That's all for now...till next time...happy baking!!!

A Family Gathering...

It has been an exciting week in this household...firstly, my other half secretly baked a cake with our 2 kids and decorated it for my birthday.  I was so impressed and so proud of them...its one of my best birthday ever.  Secondly, we had a family gathering where our love ones came all the way from the city to visit us. We decided to cook some chinese food to tickle their taste buds. My little prince and little princess were so excited to welcome them.

Here's a photo of my birthday cake. My 2 kids were so proud to tell me all about how the baked the cake and decorated it with Dad.  I am so VERY proud of my other half and my two precious....*tears of joy*

Here's some photos of our family gathering.  This is a photo of the prawn crackers (keropok).  Keropok is a deep fried cracker made from prawns and flour. My little prince always call it "chinese magic" and he loves deep frying the keropok with me.

Here's a photo of the fried rice which we made. Fried rice is a very popular dish in SEA. We used plain white rice and stir-fry it in the wok, adding in eggs, peas, ham, onions and garlic.

Here's a photo of our finger food...sotong balls with sweet chilli sauce. This little babies are delicious. Once you take the first bite, you will want more...haha! Sotong balls are like meat balls, but instead of meat, its made with sotong (squid).

We also made sweet and sour chicken and mongolian beef.  Sweet and sour chicken or pork is a very popular Cantonese dish. This is a dish which is loved my adults and children alike. We have to deep fry the meat first. Then, we have to make the sweet and sour sauce. Once the sauce is prepared, we will add in the deep fried meat into the sauce, add in the green pepper, pineapple, etc. Here's a photo of our sweet and sour chicken.

Next the mongolian beef dish. This is a very popular dish in America and over here too. This dish consists of sliced beef and its stir-fried with veggies and a spicy sauce.  Here's a photo of our mongolian beef.

We had roll cake for dessert with tea.  When we finished our dessert, all of us couldn't move...haha!!!....too full...haha!!!  We also 'ta-pau' some so that they can bring it home for dinner...

It was an awesome week.... :)

Japanese Roll Cake - 2nd Attempt

I am the joke in this household at the moment...sigh!!! How can I call myself a baker if I can't even bake a simple swiss roll / roll cake perfectly. *Embarrassing siah!!!*  I was telling my Chef about it and he said, no one is perfect, girl. Even he himself who has 40 years of experience still cannot do some items. But, he told me not to give up ever...yes-siree...am NOT going to give up.

This time around, am going to make a simple roll cake...just with cream. My little prince complained that the jam which I spread on the roll cake the first time wasn't his "favourite".  He would prefer to have roll cake with cream only.  So, this time around, its roll cake with cream only for my little prince.  I tried a new recipe for my 2nd attempt. Since its hard to get cake flour here, I used plain flour and cornflour.

Here's a photo of my roll cake, rolled and ready to be placed in the refrigerator. This will be chilled for at least 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, I kept my fingers crossed, opened it up and cut the roll....took a deep breath and "phew!!!"....I finally able to say, I did it.  Not as perfect as I would like it to be, but, its good enough for me. My other half and my little prince and little princess ate it happily.

Till next time....ta-daa

Beef Hor Fun

Beef hor fun is a hawker delight which is a favourite to all beef lovers.  However, my Grandma often said that even though it looks easy, it isn't really that easy to cook. For example, the hor fun must be loose, like one piece by one piece and not in clumps. Also, the hor fun must be brownish with a hint of burnt on it. Even though one can pass this stage, the beef itself may be a problem...too tough, no taste, etc. Lastly, the gravy...it must have the oomph!!! Aiyoh...its pretty leceh but whenever I cook this, my family seems to love it.  So..here's a photo of my humble beef hor fun.

That's it for now...till next time...happy wok-ing!

Basic Japanese Roll Cake

My little prince wanted to have swiss roll for his morning tea and I am one person who is just pretty hopeless in rolling up a swiss roll / roll cake. However, since my little prince asked for it, what can a mother do but to bake it for him.  Since its only for my little prince, I decided to make a small roll with 2 eggs, sugar, cake flour and milk. He also wanted jam and whipped cream as filling.

I was really hoping that my roll cake will be a success this time, however.....haiz!!!....it wasn't.  Alas, my little prince still ate it and said ...."Mummy, its still yummy!!!"  I will try harder the next time.  Here's a photo of my failed roll cake.

Till nex time....happy baking!!!

Budae Jjigae - Korean Army Stew

Budae Jjigae or Korean Army Stew is a one dish meal which is loved by my other half and myself. Since I have 2 kiddos and they are not into hot chilli pepper, I often cook this is a claypot without kimchi and gochujang.  Once I have taken out their portion, then only will I add in the kimchi and the gochujang.  From the stories which I have heard personally and which I have read in the internet, it seems that this dish was created after the Korean war when food was scarce and limited. The can food which the US Army left, the local made use of the cans of spams and hotdogs and incorporated it into their soup which consists of kimchi, gochujang, etc and the locals will boil it in a huge pot and place it at the centre of the table and share it with everyone in the family.  Till today, budae jjigae is still very popular.

Here's some photos of my budae jjigae.

Once can really get creative when you whip-up the budae jjigae.  Sometimes, I even add in all the ingredients which I use for steamboat when I do this one-dish meal.  Seriously...this is awesome!!!

Japanese Cheese Cake

I have always been interested in learning how to do the soft and fluffy cheese cake which I often bought in a japanese cake shop near my house when I was young.  When I went to Japan, I love the soft and fluffy cheese cakes which I could find everywhere. However, back here, I don't seems to be able to find anything similiar to it even though I venture out to chinatown.

When I was in university, one of my friends (she is from Japan) gave me the recipe as a birthday present and when I made it the first time, I failed big time and I told myself that maybe I am just not good at baking. However, after graduating and started working, I finally managed to bake this delicious soft and fluffy cheese cake.  Even though it doesn't look like the store bought ones, the taste is just awesome.

Since I found some cream cheese in the fridge, I decided to make the cheese cake which I love and I kept my fingers crossed the whole time...just in case, I fail again.  After taking some photos, we couldn't help ourselves and ate it with delight.  Here's a photo of my humble japanese cheese cake.

Till next time...happy baking!!!

Mango & Peaches Creamed Sponge Cake

Spring is here and fruits are plentiful. So, I have been decorating my cakes with fruits and my customers are loving it. As my other half kept saying..... "so Asian..."

Here's another cake which I made for one of my customers. Its a sponge cake, filled with strawberry jam, creamed and decorated with fruits.  Here's a photo of my mango & peaches creamed sponge cake.

And, here's a slab cake which I made a month ago (didn't take a photo of it but my colleague who took it was kind enough to SMS me a copy).  I am really happy when my customers love my creations.

Since I am off today, I decided to make some pizzas and let my 2 precious "make" the pizzas.  Here's a photo of their creations.  I am very happy when my kids share my passion in creating magic in the kitchen.

Besides that, my little princess have been asking for raisin bread and I informed her that I will make her some during my off day. So, when I woke-up this morning, the first thing I did with her was to bake her the raisin bread. I am so happy to see her eating her first bun and finished it within a few minutes...haha! Here's a photo of the raisin bread which we made.

And right now, am going to bake a souffle cheese cake as I found some cream cheese in the fridge and its going to expire soon.  Better bake something before I have to throw the cheese into the bin.  Will take a photo later...till then...have a wonderful weekend.

Edible Chocolate Transfer - Transfer A Picture onto A Cake

Edible chocolate transfer is similiar to frozen buttercream transfer.  This is a simple way to get an image onto your cake without buying a printer with edible ink, etc, etc, etc.  When one of our customers came in and asked if we could do a "Hoot The Owl" cake for her daugther's 1st birthday, I was all for it as I would like to try my hands on doing a chocolate transfer of Hoot.

Here's the outcome of my cake and I really hope that they will like it tomorrow.

Here's some photos of the buns which I made at work. Thank goodness it turned out soft and fluffy.

That's all for now...till next time...happy baking!!!

Longan & Lor Hong Kor Drink (Asian Cooling Drink)

When I was a little girl, my Grandma will brew this delicious drink to cool our bodies down during the hot summer season. When one of us gets a sore throat or cough out yellowish phlegm, she will say that we need to cool down our bodies. So, off she will go into the kitchen and brew this delicious drink.

So, what is lor hong kor? The scientific name is siraitia grosvenori and its grown in China and it has been used by Asians centuries ago as it has medicinal properties as it helps with colds, sore throats, cough, etc. As  for longans, its quite a common fruit found in Asian markets. Its scientific name is dimocarpus longan. In SEA, longan is also known as "mata kucing".  Another ingredient which my Grandma will use in this drink is "pong tai hai" fruit. This is a magical fruit as once its soaked in water, it will expand and you will just use the flesh. This little fruit cools down the body too. To sweeten the drink, we use rock sugar. However, I have heard of others who use brown or palm sugar.

The season is changing and my precious family are all falling sick, from the oldest to the youngest. So, since western medicine is not working much, I decided to whip up this simple cooling drink. Thank goodness we always stock-up these ingredients for the "just in-case".

Here's a photo of the ingredients which I used to make the logan & lor hong kor drink.

Check out the pong tai hai....the 1st photo are the fruits. Its like dried buah kana (dried carissa carandas)

After soaking the pong tai hai in water, it expanded and the inside of the fruit is jelly-like. You only eat the inside.

Here's my cup of longan & lor hong kor drink. I prefer to have mine with ice.

Till next time....kam peh (cheers!!!)

Chee Cheong Fun (Rice Noodle Rolls)

We have been yearning for some chee cheong fun and I was searching for a way to make it as quick as possible and opted for the MV version.  I didn't have any wheat / tapioca flour...so, I used cornflour instead.  After mixing the ingredients (rice flour, cornflour, sesame oil, canola oil and salt) together, I spooned it into a MV plastic container and MV for 2 mins. I am not too sure what I did wrong but I find that the sides crust a little ( a little hard). However, beggars can't be choosers. Will it was still hot, we makan kau-kau. As for the sauce, we just used rojak paste, soya sauce, sweet sauce and sugar. Here's a photo of our MV chee cheong fun.

The MV chee cheong fun must be eaten ASAP.  If you let it sit, it will become hard.  Will try the steam version next time....

Homemade Salted Egg

I am so excited to see if my homemade salted egg worked or NOT.....
When I opened the cabinet this morning, I saw the bottle of my homemade salted eggs and realised that I can finally have a taste of my very first homemade salted eggs.  It has been 1 month since I soaked it in the brine.  My other half was so anxious that he took out the 1st egg to test...it wasn't hard boiled yet though. Its kind of like the half-boiled which we may use for mooncakes. We even made some porridge to go along with these yummy salted eggs.

Here's a photo of the half-boiled salted egg.

Here's a photo of one fully boiled salted eggs.

Time to have some Asian porridge...wohoo!!!

Busy, Busy Weekend...

It has been a very busy weekend at my workplace as there was a huge event in town. We have been so busy making cakes, pies, sausage rolls, pasties, etc. One of our regulars order his usual cake for his club and even though I know we are going to be busy, I still took the order as he is our regular customer.  Once the event is over, business will be back to normal and our regulars are the ones who will stick to us and support us. We made more than 200 pies, 200 sausage rolls, 150 pasties....etc,etc,etc.  I worked more than 11 hours on Saturday and Sunday. Besides this, had to make some slices for my boy's school fete. It has been a busy, busy week for me.

Anyway, as I was saying, I made a sponge cake with fruits for our regular customer and I was pretty happy with the results.  Here's a photo of my humble cake. Didn't even had time to display it properly..just place it into the cake box, snap a photo and pass it to the counter girls...haha!

Here's another mudcake which I made for one of our regular customers.  According to science, chocolate is a girl's best friend and it makes her smile. I am so happy to hear that the birthday girl loved the cake. That really made my day. :) Here's a photo of my humble mudcake.

Till next time...happy baking.

Strawberries & Blueberries Fruits Sponge Cake

Sponge cake is a very versatile cake and its a good celebration cake.  Sponge cake is soft and fully and its suitable for all ages.  Over here, lots of people love to sandwich the sponge cake with a layer of their favourite jam and whipped cream. Then, we will coat with it another layer of whipped cream and decorate it with fruits and such.  Since its beginning of spring, I decided to give our customer a touch of spring but colouring the whipped cream light green. I also decided to lavish it with strawberries and blueberries.  Here's a photo or two of my fruits sponge cake.

I showed these photos to a friend of mine and she said...its so Asian...you can find these cakes in most Asian bakeries....

Oh well....as long as it looks nice and taste heavenly....it doesn't matter.... yummylicious!!!

Jelly Cakes, Cream & Jam Matchsticks...is it Aussie?

Jelly cake is pretty similar to lamingtons, I guess. So, is it Australian? What's the history of this little cake? Hmm...am still finding for the story behind this though. I have heard about the history about lamingtons though...pretty interesting.  And what about matchsticks...is it another Aussie made dessert? I have no answers for you guys but in my humble opinion, YES!!!  So, what's jelly cakes? Its a sponge cake baked in a cupcake mould, rolled into a jelly dip (I prefer raspberry or strawberry) and then coat with shredded coconut.  Here's a photo of my jelly cakes.

Cream and jam matchsticks...I really wonder why to call it matchsticks? Does it look like matchsticks? Oh well, its delicious and its easy to do too. All you have to do is to bake the puff pastry which you have cut into ractangular shapes. Once its cool, halve it and fill it with jam and whipped cream. Sandwich it together and sprinkle icing sugar on top. That's how easy it is.  Here's a photo of it.

All these goodies is just awesome for afternoon tea with a cup of brewed coffee or tea.

Enjoy!!!

Vanilla Slice

Vanilla slices....its the Australian version of the French "mille-feuille". So, what is mille-feuille? It means a thousands layers. Some people also call the mille-feuille, the Napoleon. I remember when I was a student, my Austrian lecturer told us that mille-feuille has 3 layers of puff pastry and 2 layers of custard.  The vanilla slices which I make every day consists of 2 layers of butter puff pastry and its sandwiched with custard, covered with a layer of fondat and lastly, sprinkle with snow sugar and its one of the best seller at work. Here's a photo of my vanilla slices.

Did you know that there's an annual competition which is held in Australia when bakers will come from far and near to compete for the BEST Vanilla Slice Baker? Awesome, isn't it?!

I also made a mud cake birthday cake for one of my customers. I really hope they will love it.  Here's a photo of it.

Till next time...

Batu Lesung (Stone Motar)

We saw the batu lesung in one of our local supermart and we just had to buy it. This batu lesung brings back lots of fond memories of my childhood. I always hear the pounding of the batu lesung each morning when I wake-up. My Grandma and Grandaunt will be busy in the kitchen pounding rempah for the day's menu (lunch and dinner) and not forgetting the sambal belacan. If I run into the kitchen, I will see either my Grandma or Grandaunt sitting on a small stool on the floor and tumbuk (pound) away. I was taught to use the batu lesung when I was 5 years old and was often reminded that girls who know how to use a lesung properly will make a good wife...alamak!!!

I remembered when my Ma brought home a Philip food blender and tried to teach my Grandma and Grandaunt to use it instead of the batu lesung. Alamak...they sweared that only the batu lesung is the only tool which will produce the best sambal, the best paste, etc. However, I also remember that you need to know what pressure to use and how long you are required to grind the item.

And...lastly, it is very important to wash and dry the batu lesung properly after each use. My Grandma and Grandaunt will wash it with warm water and dishwashing detergent using a sponge. After that, they will dry it with a clean dry cloth. They will then cover it with another cloth and put it away.

Here's a photo of our batu lesung.

Rocky Road Slice & Lemon Coconut Slice

Slices are very popular here. Its a portable baked item which one will find in any bakery here. The ever so popular vanilla slice, hedgehog slice, jelly slice...the list goes on and on.  One will never get enough of slices, it seems. Slices can be easily made up without an oven.  My Grandaunt once said that a baker is not a baker if there's no slice recipes in her cookbook.

Did you know that Rocky Road was an Australian invention?  From the stories I have heard, really horrible bad hearted businessmen mixed the spoilt confectionary with milk chocolate and other sweet items ( to musk the taste and smell) and sold it to gold miners. So sad, isn't it?

These days, rocky road is very popular here, in the USA, UK and other countries.  Of course, we use the fresh items to make this beautiful slice. Here's a photo of my rocky road slice.

Besides the rocky road slice, I also made the lemon coconut slice. Here's a photo of it.

Till next time...bye!!!