Happy Eid Mubarak and. Maaf Zahir dan Batin

Dear all,

One year has gone by in a flash and I count myself blessed to have found so many new friends through this blog... It started simple with some posts on baking and has now become a passion, and so has blogging about it and the challenges in taking nice pictures. The people I have "met" thru this blog are encouraging, patient and kind :op.. Thank you all for the wonderful comments you leave...you are all true "blogger friends"...

I look forward to many more years of baking and challenging myself.. Insya'Allah . I guess we will all be very busy for the next few days and most of us will not be spending much time online... I am taking this opportunity to menyusun sepuluh jari memohon kemaafan sekiranye ade terkasar bahasa and gurau senda yg terover hehehe.. If you are planning to "balik kampung".. pls drive and travel safely ok!

Finally, I wish all of you Selamat Hari Raya, maaf zahir dan batin.

Finally its over....

My oven is officially closed for the next few days.. ended my day by baking lapis moscovis again and guess what happened?? I forgot to add sunquick!! arghhhhh

Chocolate Marble cake recipe u can get it fm Yat Maria blog.. tks babe.. I loike!! Mocca steamed chocolate cake and Trio Marble Cake recipes u can get it fm my previous post..

Lapis Mandarin Orange Moscovis

Busy everyone?? I know I am! Sorry for not being able to update my blog as regularly as I want to.. cleaning is like a never ending story.. tks to hb.. he managed to help me clean all our windows and doors last weekend.. Sonia helped me to scrub our stairs railing hahaha and for the past couple of days I hv been baking layer cakes non stop.. its like I am baking and the same time been out and abt to get a few things too and finally today I was able to finish up baking all my layer cakes.. I also managed to sew my curtains today and come tomorrow I will start to bake a simpler cake and hopefully by thursday I will be able to go to moms place early to help her to cook for Eid.. eh wait.. I still hv to make agar agar for her!! eeekkk

Every year this is how it works.. if hb plans to invite his friends over on the first day of Eid.. I will be busy cooking at home.. but if he says that he will invite them some other day.. I will hv to help mom to cook instead.. sooo really no matter what.. I cant run away fm it muahahah

Anyway for the past couple days.. this is what I hv been looking at.. cans of Golden Churn butter and WIJSMAN brand butter (i dont think u can find wijsman here in Sg) and also trays and trays of eggs.. not just an ordinary egg mind ya.. these eggs that u see here weigh 75g each without shells.. I love it!!

And yes this cake uses abt 34 - 36 egg yolks in total.. I know its crazy but hey u wud hv the urge to bake it too if u think ur up for the challenge.. the only thing that makes me feel a little frustrated was when i forgot to change the setting for the last method.. dangggg... always the case when ur too careful lol.. anyway I am planning to bake it again tomorrow cos u know what??? this is the top.. and I mean the top in my list for the best lapis cake ever!! super melt in ur mouth and the taste is so so indescribable.. heavennnnnn

I am posting the recipe now even tho i am kaput.. so hopefully u guys can try and bake it for Eid too..

Ingredients:
(A)
200g egg yolk (12 eggs)
75g caster sugar
160g butter - cubed and keep in fridge (I used WIJSMAN)
25g sugar
30g flour
15g milk powder


75g of mix fruits - soak rhum (or water .. I used orange juice) for abt an hour or so, drain, sprinkle with flour to prevent sticking.
1 tsp rhum (I didnt use)


(B)
350g egg yolks (abt 20 to 24 egg yolk)
60g egg whites
150g caster sugar
160g butter - cold - cubed (I used WIJSMAN)
50g sugar
60g Flour
20g cornstarch
20g milk powder
2 tbsp Mandarine Orange consentrate (Sunquick)
1 tbsp orange essense (I used paste)

Filling
4 tbsp lemon or orange jam (I used orange marmalade)

3 - 8x8x3 baking trays


Method:
Ingredients A:
Beat egg yolks with 75 grams of sugar until thickened and white
Meanwhile, beat cold butter with sugar with a speed of medium, for 10 minutes
Mix the dry ingredients to the beaten eggs, mix well
Mix the butter and stir well.
Weigh as much as 75g for each layer and pour in 8x8 baking pan, spread them evenly.
Bake using grill mode (Upper heat) for about 7 minutes.
Every second layer.. sprinkle with Fruit mix.
Bake until the last layer.

Ingredients B:
Beat eggs with sugar until thickened and white
Meanwhile, beat cold butter with sugar with a speed of medium, for 10 minutes
Mix the dry ingredients to the beaten eggs, mix well
Mix butter, and orange essense consentrate, stir well.
Divide batter into two portion and pour it into two 8x8 pan
Bake it at 175C using upper and lower heat for 20 minutes. (remember to change the setting.. I had forgotten and only realised 10 mins into it!!)


Completion:
Brush the cake with lemon jam, stacked with a layer cake.. spread lemon jam again.. top it with another cake.






Note: Remember to change the setting for the second part of this recipe.. heat ur jam for easier spreading..

..... more Lapis

The second layer cake that I've baked.. have been wanting to bake this cake eversince I first saw it in KG's blog.. just like any other lapis cake that uses fruits.. this one tastes slightly different than my banana and durian lapis cake.. it has that sweet thang taste and I think mom wud love the taste of this chempedak lapis cake as much as the other two!

Ingredients
500g butter ( I used Golden Churn)
1 tbsp vanilla extract (I added a tsp vanilla powder)

(B)
14 yolks
6 eggs
275g caster sugar
2 tbsp ovalette

(C) sift together:
100g HK flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

(D) blend together:
500g cempedak flesh
150g condensed milk


Method
1. Preheat oven.. 175C.. prepare a greased 8x8x3.
2.Beat A for about 3 minutes, set aside.
3. Beat B until light and fluffy, about 10 mins
4.Fold A into B until well incorporated.
5.Fold C into the AB mixture, mixing well.
6.Start layering batter.. I weigh 75g for each layer and bake using upper fire (grill).
7. Once bake.. take 2 tbsp of chempedak paste and spread it evenly and bake again for abt 3 mins or till chempedak layer is well dried!
8. Continue to do so till ur done with ur batter... batter-chempedak-batter-chempedak.. lol i think all in all i had to take in and out my baking pan more than 40 times!!
9. Bake last layer using upper and lower heat.. 150C for abt 20mins.



I also baked four other lapis cake.. lapis prune, lapis rempah, lapis nutella strawberry and lapis nutella.






Recipe of lapis prune and lapis rempah u can get fm my previous post... recipe of both lapis nutella u can get fm abg Rozzan blog.

Sorry but u guys hv to do ur own google translate for now cos I need to sleep early as tomorrow i hv a few more cakes to bake.. nite peeps!

Almond London

Is it just me or is it the weather that makes me feel really really tired during day time.. I dont feel like doing anything but always end up cleaning.. today i did Sonia's room.. putting aside her old clothing that she can no longer wear.. placing it in a box to be given away.. some she didnt even get to wear cos her mama simply loves to shop for her.. tsk tsk

Looking at all her clothing makes me think of the time I had her.. she was such a beautiful tiny little baby and only weighed 2.4kg.. eventho she was tiny.. I still had to undergo emergency c section cos her heartbeat was getting slower and slower.. I never thought that I would go thru that after taking the epidural but.. oh well.. she was out within a couple of hours and papa didnt get to go in the operating theater.

Sonia is two and half years old now.. she has two wardrobes full of clothing and I dont think I can ever stop buying clothing for her as long as I get to travel with hb (cos thats the only time I shop for clothing and cos we're both girls...) :o)

So anyway.. I baked this cookie last night and after I was done covering all the almond london with chocolate I had abt 1/4 of melted chocolate left.. so what did i do?? I added cornflakes to it and now I hv another type of cookie.. hehehe

Ingredients
125g butter
225g flour*
1 tsp emplex* (*sieve)
70g icing sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
150 seeds shelled almonds (i get abt 100pcs out of this recipe)

Topping
300g of cooking chocolate (I used valrhona 55%)
1/3 tsp vegetable fat - shortening (I used cocoa butter- 80g)
Adequately chopped almonds, roasted (i didnt use)





Method
Preheat oven 175C.. bake almonds for abt 15 mins.. Let cool.
Whisk butter, icing sugar and vanilla essence until well combined. Add in egg yolk and beat until well mix. Turn mixer to low speed, add flour a little at a time till it form a soft dough.
I used measuring spoon to scoop out dough to get an even size (1 tsp).. roll dough and press toasted almond in the middle and cover it back n shape it oval.. arrange in a baking tray.
Bake at 175C for 20 minutes or golden. Cool completely. (mine was done within 12mins)
Using double boiler method.. Melt the cooking chocolate.. once melt add vegetable fat (cocoa butter), stir well.
Take a piece of almond london, put in a small paper cup, Spoon 3/4 tsp melted chocolate and pour it over almond london. Arrange almond london close to one another. Sprinkle some chopped almonds while the chocolate is still soft. Let chocolate harden and store in airtight container. (I dipped each almond london into melted chocolate and placed it into a paper cup)



Note: Chocolate was too runny after i added 80g of cocoa butter.. next time I will only use 30g..

Source: CMG

Sonia MTV

And now...may I present...the long awaited...

Ms SONIA!

Geylang si paku Geylang

I had planned to post this one after my puding post but didnt do it cos i was like a zombie lol.. trying very hard to type properly and at the same time creates a lot of typo error ha!

Remember when i said last night we were out and abt on our own - very precious time for us since we dont get to do that as often as we want- well I managed to get a few stuff for my two boys.. "butang baju aku mana pahhhhhh" hehehe .. baju kurung melayu for both (usually i will get one but this year hb decided to wear one too.. woahhhh) and kain samping.. (woaaahhhh again hahahha)

There is a simple explaination as to why this year he decided to wear em.. for the past few years.. come what may.. we will make an effort to drive to KL to get his baju datok datok aka batik sutera shirt fm Noor Arfa but this year it doesnt look like we are able to do that.. sooo it was either he used whatever he has in his wardrobe, drive in to JB this weekend to find a nice batik sutera shirt and get stuck in a massive traffic or buy something that doesnt make him feel warm while visiting on the 2nd day of Eid..

All the pic abv was taken last night after Iftar.. very crowded and there is no way I am able to take pics like this on weekend cos u simply cant even walk.. too many ppl and what u saw is just on one side of the road.. they have another super big bazaar on the other side of Geylang.. ppl auctioning carpets.. ppl selling all sort of stuff for upcoming Eid.. ppl selling all kinds of yummy food.. and best of all u get to bump into old friends and relatives.. and to be honest.. both hb and I wouldnt want to miss out on this once a year affair ... especially going there on the eve of Eid.. its super crowded and at the same time its fun to do ppl watching hehehe..