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Petit Beurre - Finding my way back to childhood :)

dessertsyum — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 20:18:55 +0800

Ever since work started for me, I find myself leading a quieter but (probably) better lifestyle. Working honestly isn't tiring, but oddly, there's this part of me feeling 'mentally-tired' to go out. I'm too tired to catch a movie, too tired to meet my friends, and too tired to leave my home (to the extent that I've been cooking instant noodles for lunch). It's a first kind of experience..

True enough, the long hours of standing was never an issue for me, it's the stress I put on myself that made me mentally-drained. I fear acts of carelessness, making blunders and most of all, doing the things that I've done before wrongly.

It's been a few weeks at the restaurant, so this makes me feel that underperforming is not accepted anymore. Plus when the service time gets crazy, when all the dessert orders 'fire' together, when the two timers next to the oven start counting, or sometimes when the head chef walks over, the competition between time and me (us) unknowingly makes me stress.

That's life out there. Being in school rarely give me such reflections, but I have to say I really treasure this a lot.

In fact it's not something I notice until now, as I write this. Because all of a sudden, I realise I stopped catching up with my friends as frequently, going for movies once a week..... all I want to do after/before work is bake.

It was the same for Saturday too... I woke up a few times in the morning, convincing myself to sleep a little longer until I finally gave up. It was 9.30am. I wanted to bake biscuits, by that I do not mean Irish Buttermilk Scones (although I wouldn't mind too ^^). I want to make my childhood biscuits, something that can bring me away :)

I took quite a long time finding the recipe because I only knew them as "biscuits" at home. Their actual name is "Petit Beurre" which means little butter in French. I'd still prefer to call them biscuits though. It sounds so simple, child-like and its afterall what I grew up calling them! I work on the dough immediately, roll them, chill them, cut them and kept it away into the freezer.

I baked them this morning and tray after tray of biscuits that went into the oven looked promising. When the first batch finally cool down, I took my first bite excitedly (and anxiously).

It was really the biscuit I was looking for. The biscuit I used to eat every afternoon after kindergarten and dipping them into a cup of hot Milo. It sure brings back a lot of fond memories =)Although many things have changed over the years, I still have to say that I went through a really happy childhood. It was simple, playing cookery, hide&seek, and eating Ribena Ice-pops with my brothers!

On a pretty random note, my brother was actually asking me

"why are you taking pictures of something not even made by you"

Omg, I felt super flattered. The biscuits look identical so my brother thought I bought them LOL! :D

I'm providing step-by-step pictures of my entire baking process, I truly hope that you'll bake it someday and find your childhood happiness again too =))

David Lebovitz's Cheesecake Brownie (oh-so-good!)

dessertsyum — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 18:45:09 +0800

Truly, I am a brownie-girl and a cheesecake-girl.

Whenever I dine at restaurant, as long as their desserts menu has the word "cheesecake" or/and "brownie", I'm likely to be caught in between this two choices! Other cakes like Opera, Chocolate Fudge, Waffle, Molten cake wouldn't even be considered. It simply has to be a brownie, or a cheesecake, or BOTH!

Last night I was looking for a cheesecake brownie when I decided on David Lebovitz's. I'm sure he is not stranger to food bloggers! His recipes never fail us and I really admire his knowledge towards food (-desserts!). I wanted a brownie base that is moist and fudgy, yet a little cake-like. Not the heavy and dense kind that I usually seek for, because I didn't think I would be able to appreciate a cheesecake brownie that has both its layer so rich!

As planned, I bake it on an empty stomach this morning! (Ok.... the secret is also that I knew all cheesecakes have to be thoroughly chilled for at least 4hours, or better overnight before they can be eaten. BUT that isn't the case for a cheesecake brownie =P In fact I personally find them better when eaten warm)

I made the baking process short and sweet. I was really looking forward to the end results & once it came out of the oven, I let it rest impatiently for 5minutes, lift it up and let cool on a marble table for another 20minutes. Inevitably, I pinched the sides of the entire cake to eat. It was so incredibly satisfying.

Later, I gave away half of the cake to my Aunty and my cousins because I knew that if I were to keep all of them at home, I'd probably gain a kg tomorrow. LOL. I kept two for my mum, two for my brothers and I hid in the kitchen finishing the rest (hee)

I'd describe the cheesecake brownie to be perfectly sweet, very chocolatey and seriously delicious. The brownie is moist and tender while the cheesecake batter seems to make the bars a little salty, giving a very unique taste to it. This also balance the overall sweetness of the bars which makes it extra enjoyable.

However, if you are looking for a really dense, fudgy, chocolatey and rich brownie, you might want to try my Peanut Butter Brownies. It is the most popular post in my blog! :)

Very moist and crumbly Orange Cake

dessertsyum — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 12:57:58 +0800

Orange cake is the first citrus sweet cake I'm posting and I must say I was really excited to use my new loaf pan.

Pound cakes, yogurt cakes, bundt cakes... I'll surely give them a try since I love such treats! I enjoy how moist and slightly dense they are, and if served warm, it really taste homely.

Also, I have to rave about this recipe as the cake's texture was perfect, it had a nicely formed crust and is extremely flavourful. I was so glad that I could still taste (& even smell) the orange while the cake was baking! Plus it was my chance to clear the ONE orange in my refrigerator :D The recipe is from Technicolor Kitchen, a foodblog i recently discover. Her recipes are so unique I find myself opening several links in new tabs!

Anyway, this Orange Cake was baked past midnight after I returned home from work. I actually considered giving it a miss because I felt very tired - mainly because my eyes were dry (yes you know what I mean if you wear contact lenses). However, my older brother, whom is currently studying for his double Masters, was burning the midnight oil. He'd be taking his exam today (and like brother, like sister), we all do last minute studying. LOL. Thus I decided to bake a simple comfort cake for him :D

I prefer the cake warm and plain. It is sweet enough to go without jam, but if you like, you can always drizzle lemon glaze over them to make the cake a little more acidic :)

What do you call a bar combination of S'mores & Granola w Chicken Floss?

dessertsyum — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:51:46 +0800

I declared my love for S'mores bars since my first attempt at it. It is one of the very few things that I'd bake and bake again, and also my favourite bars to prepare when I'll be traveling for a long time. I'd even bring them to my class outing, confident that my classmates are going to love it :)

& I honestly DISLIKE granola bars. Even for such a small amount of calories, I'd rather be eating something else fatter, and better. I'm quite health conscious, but I just can't appreciate it. My girl friend told me she thinks oat/muesli are bird's food LOL. I couldn't deny, cause they really look alike!

In short I don't have the best impression of ingredients like rolled oats, and if you didn't know, this is my first ever post on an OAT-containing recipe.

However, I'm still very fascinated by all the Oat bars and cookies in food galleries. It appeared to me that OATS, they do contribute a lot of baking and cooking! It took a long consideration before I finally decides to embark on my first Oat-bar.

I mean my S'mores + Granola bar.

S'mores + Granola bar topped with chicken floss. That's like an American-Asian fusion bar. LOL. Anyway this is a really good. I was thinking you might even consider it to be a S'mores + Granola + Hello Dolly bar with an Asian touch.

My ingredients can explain its name! S'mores base (graham cracker) + cashew nuts + melted marshmallows + rolled oats + raisins + chicken floss + condensed milk. Perhaps it is the most delicious yet most unhealthy granola bar LOL. (at least I warn you!)

& when so many bars so obediently sits in front of you....

you keep eating and telling yourself, "Oats are good. They are not fat, so I can eat more." *Zzz*

Anyway, I hope you try it for yourself and be impressed by the entire combination which I have truly enjoyed :) The most important ingredient here, I believe is the chicken floss. Substitute the cashew nuts with walnuts or pecans, whichever that please you but promise me the only change you'd do to the chicken floss is perhaps double it!!

& if you do make this someday, tell me =D I'd really love to know how did yours turn out, and if you liked it too!!

NUTELLA MARS BAR OREO CHEESECAKE. Don't count the calories.

dessertsyum — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:29:15 +0800

I made this cheesecake twice for 2 consecutive days. & for the first time in my kitchen I used a 9-inch springform pan! I don't know if this convince you, but I did it again (&doubled the recipe) simply because my first attempt at it was excellent.

I just love how I find myself chewing on those melty caramel and nougats. Even my brother agree that this's an interesting approach! Thick oreo crust, mars bar, and even the nutella swirl which was only slightly noticeable.

I shot some pictures of my first one but were unfortunately, rejected by the food galleries. I was really upset because I had never felt like there was such a NEED to share something so good with you before. I even proudly proclaimed that it can win the Nobel prize award on facebook! I mean ...

just kidding...... HAHA.

But the rejections were good lessons, because it made me realised that I'd been compromising the kind of pictures I shoot recently as a result of my enthusiasm to update my food blog. That's why I've decided that from now on, I'd take greater pride in food photography! We all eat with our eyes first and I want what I make to appeal to you, especially when it is something this good. I deleted my previous post and the pictures to do a new one :)

I'll submitting my pictures later and I cross my fingers that Foodgawker & Tastespotting will both bring you here. I even planned my table with a little props before shooting the pictures.. Plus I got a MacBook Pro for my 17th birthday 2 weeks ago, this's the first batch of pictures I'm editing using iPhoto! ('d love to get photoshop one of these days) I don't think these photos are very impressive, but I will keep practicing until I produce better and better pictures.

Anyway, I'd like to apologise to any readers who have been constantly supporting this space but have problems commenting on my posts. I regret to say I really like my blog host and will not consider to move. I have a question though, if you can comment, please tell me your opinion.

When a recipe instructs you to cream butter and sugar (in a KitchenAid mixer), do you use the whisk or paddle?

(I personally prefer to use whisk if its a cake recipe and a paddle if its a cookie/brownie recipe. Is that right?)

A very very sinful but irresistible cheesecake recipe to keep! I cut into many slices, put them in some pretty boxes before giving away to my friends! I'm looking forward to their feedbacks :D

Peanut Butter Brownies - bet your ingredients on it!!

dessertsyum — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:01:00 +0800

When I think of butter, I think of brownies.

I love brownies with a REALLY HIGH ratio of butter to flour because I've the assumption that this makes them really dense and chocolatey (rather than cakey) :D Of course, I love a brownie even more when it has its surface cracked!

And ever since I started comparing various recipes of cookies with regards to their proportion of ingredients (YES I'M IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT COOKIE TOO!), I decided to do the same for brownies. The two must-bake things in every bakers' list. RIGHT? Right! Lots of butter. Little flour! *Mmm..

The brownie recipe I've adapted from BeckyBakes was a success! Her recipe, compared to Rick Katz's from Chocolatechic and Sue Lawrence's from Ovenhaven had lesser butter to flour ratio. I chose to baked hers first in the end because Becky's recipe had mr. Butter's blessings for the marriage of mr. CHOCOLATE & miss PEANUT BUTTER!

YUP :) It was not a mistake, which also brings me to my conclusion that no matter what brownie (&cheesecake) recipe is used, it is most important to take care that they are NOT over baked!

Becky's brownies baked in a 8x8 pan took 30-35minutes while mine, baked in a 7x10 pan took exactly 23minutes. I had too many repeated failures on brownies so I decided that I had to be really really careful this time! Everyone can make nice brownies, so watch the time and check your brownies frequently once you notice they've set & just a little runny when a cake tester is push through it :)

I left out the Reese peanut butter cups as I did not have it when I wanted to make this, so I left that out. It's still fantastic anyway!

When life gives you stale breads .....

dessertsyum — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:13:41 +0800

... make a hearty Apple Bread Pudding w Chocolate Chips out of it! :D I declare it one of my favourite recipes in this foodblog!!!

My first encounter with bread pudding was at Fullerton Hotel's chocolate buffet few years ago. (YES CHOCOLATE BUFFET LOL) I fell in love with it immediately, helping myself to portion after portion of bread pudding. I later baked one myself at home which was barely satisfying.. But there came my second baking encounter with it - the restaurant I previously worked at.

We served White chocolate bread pudding which was soooo good! BUT STILL, I liked the Fullerton's one more. The overall taste was balanced, it had the perfect amount of sweetness for me.

Today, I made my Apple Bread Pudding w Chocolate chips after studying many different recipes online that claimed to be make the "Best" bread pudding. I adapted the recipe from Food&Wine's Raisin-Studded Apple Bread Pudding. I was exceptionally sure to try it because in this recipe, the yolks and whites are whipped separately to their maximum volume.

Other recipes (including the one I used in my restaurant), only require the eggs to be whisked together without incorporating maximum amount of air into it, I felt that this is likely to be the lighter version of bread pudding I was looking for! Many people may enjoy the denser bread pudding, but definetely not me. I like them firm, yet soft like how a pudding is :) If you like this kind of bread pudding, try this recipe, I am very sure that you will like it. Serving them warm with a scoop of chocolate icecream would be a bonus!

Blueberry Crumb Cake. Or is it PIE?!

dessertsyum — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:25:18 +0800

GOOOOOD DAY BAKERS!

I made a dessert using the recipe I bookmarked very recently, Blueberry Crumb Cake, at FoodNetwork.com! I was simply craving for something sweet and fruity but I didn't want to play with strawberries because the supermarket does not have the reddest and prettiest strawberries at this time of the year. I will be waiting for summer to arrive in the North patiently :)

Anyhow, the Blueberry Crumb Cake I baked today was really fantastic. Soft, tender cake topped with browned crumbly streusel. Exactly what I was looking for in a g-r-e-a-t crumb cake! It is so delicious, I'm sure I have to make this again :)

Now, watch me make the most satisfying Blueberry Crumb Cake, step-by-step!!

Lollipop Garden Cake - Moist Chocolate cake frosted w pink Lemon Buttercream

dessertsyum — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 18:19:32 +0800

Hello Bakers, it's New Year! Happy 2010 and here wishing you guys a great year filled with fun and happiness ahead :)

As much as I'm enjoying every moment of my holidays, I still have to face the anxiety most 16-years-old are experiencing now: O'levels results will be releasing in another 10 days. Gosh..... There's this huge part of me really afraid that I've screwed my results, especially English. Because.. I wrote a crap essay that was incomplete and I usually depend on my essay to do moderately well for this subject. (By saying moderately well, I already mean a low B!)

But of course I don't intend to live in fear and worries every day till the very second I hold my results slip..! So, here I baked a cake for. ermm.. nobody? HAHAHA. It is cute anyway, right? It is certainly one of the funniest cake I've baked. Not that it is funny, but what I've done stupidly that are funny. Especially when my brother saw the mess I made.............

I was really embarrassed. and trying to control my laughters (which I failed. which WE both failed)..... I started slapping his arms - for being there to witness all my stupidity!! AND for laughing at me!

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins - butter or oil? I don't have the answer!

dessertsyum — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 11:29:56 +0800

The entire Decemeber had been one super enjoyable month with all the parties, work and my prom night going on (reaching home as late as 4am!). Great time with my dearly missed schoolmates, but I also managed to bake Cuppucino Cheesecake, Torta Caprese, Brownies, Apple Crumble & Jelly Cheesecake (5times!!! My all-time favourite). I love baking :D (didn't update because my DSLR was brokened)

This morning I made these Banana Muffins w chocolate chips. Awesome, I say! I love them because they are so homey and fragrantly sweet. In fact, Banana Muffins were memories of my first baking experience! I was only 14years old then. You might want to know more about it here. It is seriously funny and interesting :P

RIGHT. So.... Does muffins taste better using butter or oil? My hypothesis was that oil would be a better option and this morning, I divided the same muffin batter into two, half using butter and the other half using oil!

The results wasn't apparent so I could barely tell the difference! (the picture below: those w topped chocolate chips are baked using oil. those without topped chocolate chips are baked using butter) The 'oil' muffins are just really SLIGHTLY lighter than the 'butter' muffins. Besides this, they are equally moist and soft. Very tender and light! Not oily at all!! But if I have to make a decision, I think I'd still use oil in the future which I believe is only a personal preference :D