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Busy day today! well since yesterday actually! we went to JB in the evening to do our typical monthly grocery shopping and also took Alberto (hb's Argentinian consultant) to dinner in one of the seafood places there... when we got home it was almost midnight and my plans to do ironing early this morning didnt happen cos i was too tired..(excuses excuses hehhe)... i hate ironing! i wish i had another pair of hands to help me but unfortunately both hb and i... we dont really like the idea of having a live in maid...too much hassle...



Well ok.. this is a quick cake that u can prepare on any occasion...hb loves this cake cos of the hawflakes hehhe...oh u can also replace hawflakes with prunes, raisins or even dates... i'm taking this cake to mom's later.. recipe fm KFida..

Ingredients
5 large eggs (cold)
225g sugar
220g flour
1tsp baking powder
1tbsp ovalette
150ml evaporate milk
1/2 tsp salt
100ml corn oil
1tsp essence vanilla
colour of ur choice

enough Hawflakes

Method
Prepare steamer... let water boil
Sieve flour and baking powder in a big bowl. Add in all other ingredients except oil, colouring and hawflakes
Whisk on high speed for abt 8mins or till its fluffy and thick
Using a rubber spatula add in oil... mix till well blended
Divide batter into 5 portions (i weigh abt 200g for each portion).. add in desire colour in each portion



Pour first layer of batter into a greased 8x8 square pan.. place hawflakes and steam for 5-7mins
Followed by the 2nd till the 5th layer. Steam a further 20mins on the last layer (so as to make sure ur cake is fully cook)
Once done... let it cool for 10mins before taking it out of the pan...

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Time for more hols pics?? Paris... oh how i wish i were in Paris right now hehhe... they say its one romantic place to be... errr not in our case lol... we had a blast there of cos but didnt feel romantic at all hahah... too busy walking fm one end to another... i was pissed off cos hb kept on wanting to see Paris city on foot! eeekkk there are buses for gods sake! u can still see Paris by bus!! hahahh.. anyway because of Paris... i learned that u can actually see all sorts of stuff by walking lol... and that includes finding secluded shopping alleys :op





I loveeee Disneyland but not the one in Paris... hmmm come to think of it.. i hv not been to the one in Anaheim for like 11 long years! welp.. i seriously dont even know how to persuade hb to go to the US... hes ur typical european guy who has that square thinking that "theres nothing to see in the US... no old building to see... no history" errr errr... but but... "who cares abt old buildings.. there are lots and lots of factory outlet there!!" hahahahha





La Tour Eiffel est superbe!



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Bau or Pau?? err.. In the past 240 days I have had this pau recipe bookmarked, not a single one has passed that I haven’t considered when I’d find an excuse to make it. I’d angled for a holiday get together, but didn’t get my act together in time. Ditto for our yearly bbq party, and our typical family gathering a few weekends ago... still it didnt happened.. Thus I decided it has to be now or never, and since i bought all sort of flour last weekend, also double acting baking powder, i made this savoury buns and voila... i got a fluffy, supersoft pau, just like the one that u can get at the night market... and to be honest... for a first timer in pau making, i think i did alright err...what cud go wrong when i'm using my ever trusted breadmachine to do the job hehehhe.. (hb bought it for me like 4yrs ago without my knowledge.. wasnt pleased cos back then i wasnt into baking.. had told him that its useless cos i hv my ever trusted kenwood mixer... and now? i used my breadmachine like every week! in fact i dont know what i will do w/o it hahahahha) 

I decided on black pepper chicken pau simply cos i feel like eating savoury today... also made kaya pau for my little princess...



Ingredients
500g Hong Kong flour
50g sugar
250ml lukewarm water
2tsp instant yeast
2tsp double acting baking powder
1tsp salt
40g Crisco/ shortening
Fillings of ur choice

Filling
300g chicken meat
Enough mix vegetable
Black pepper sauce
2 garlic (crush)
1 small onion (diced)
Ginger
Salt to taste
1tbsp cornflour mix with a little water

Method

Fillings
1. Heat oil in pan, sauté onion for 1 to 2 minutes and add in garlic and ginger. Add in chicken meat and mix vegetables.. let it simmer
2. Mix in black pepper sauce and salt.
2. Mix together water with corn flour, add mixture into the pan and stir well. Simmer until gravy is thickened.
3. Transfer to plate and allow to cool.
4. Divide filling into 24 portions if desired, set aside for later use.

Buns
1. Sift together flours, salt, baking powder and sugar. Place sifted flour mixture in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the middle.
2. Fill well with lukewarm water and yeast. Use a spatula, gently stir the water to dissolve the yeast then slowly bring together flour mixture.
3. Add in shortening or oil and knead for 10-15 minutes until soft dough is formed. It should be smooth on the surface.
4. Cover dough with damp cloth and let it rise for 30 minutes or until it is doubled in size. I used bread maker’s dough mode to prepare my dough up to this step.



5. Divide dough into 24 equal portions (i weigh 40g each) and flatten with a rolling pin to make a 3” circle. Then place a heap teaspoon of filling in the middle, wrap and pleat the dough to seal. Place it on a 1.5” square parchment paper, seal side up.
6. Arrange buns into a steamer, leave about 1” gab in between buns. Let it rest for like 15mins or so.
7. Spray water mist over buns, and steam in a preheated steamer on high heat for 12 minutes. Remove buns from steamer and cool on rack to prevent soggy bottom.



Notes:
1. If bigger bun is desired, divide dough into 12 equal portions in step 5.
2. Adding a few drops of vinegar into steaming water will produce whiter buns, but this is optional.
3. Steamer must be preheated otherwise bun would not rise to the volume as it should be.
4. Spray the surface of bun with water mist helps to produce buns with smooth surface after steamed.
5. DO NOT open the lid during the steaming process.
6. If there are yellowish spots on the steamed buns, it means the baking powder is not fully dissolved.

Source: K.Fida of MR and Lydia
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Sometimes i really dont understand teenagers  nowadays... well been there done that but i dont remember being so straight forward when i talk to my mom when i was 18... kids nowadays dont think what they wanna say before blurting it out... sigh... i get agitated with Hairi nowadays... not that hes a super pain in a butt kinda of boy but the way he answer to every single thing i say pissed me off! grrr...its like he knows better? as bad as it sounds... both hb and i cant wait for him to be enlisted... well not too long to go.. hes gonna be in the Army in 6 wks time... its gonna be a 2yrs thingy.. finally he will learn some responsibility.. finally hes gonna be a MAN.. surprisingly hes been waiting to go to the Army since last year... i guess he just wanna get it over and done since its a compulsory thingy here in Singapore to serve the nation..  which i seriously think its a good way for ur boy to learn how to be independent, responsible and hardwork.. yep yep.. its time for my boy to grown up!

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My my... finally i am able to post what i've baked today... took longer then usual to prepare this cheesecake! its not difficult but it has a few steps and the cooling and chilling process is long so by the time i get to take a bite it was almost 7pm.. so u ask.. is it worth it?? hehhehe... these dulce de leche cheesecake squares are exactly as good as you would expect from milk caramel, and cheesecake, and the crust..oh..and also.. the chocolate.



If ur looking for a strong dulce de leche flavor in a baked good, this unfortunately isn’t it. Oh, it’s there, but it’s not front and center. It has to share the spotlight with cream cheese...but honestly, if there was ever a way to make cheesecake more heavenly, this would have to be it. I'm so so glad that hb had requested for this cheesecake last night or i wud hv bake my typical cream cheese pound cake instead hehhe...Recipe adapted fm Gourmet, Dec 2003




Ingredients
For crust
3 1/2 oz graham crackers, crumbled (1cup) (i used digestive)
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

For filling
1 tsp unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup whole milk
8 oz cream cheese, softened (250g)
2 large eggs (abt 120g)
3/8 tsp salt
1 cup dulce de leche (store bought or recipe follows)

For glaze
3 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), coarsely chopped (100g)
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces (56g)
2 tsp light corn syrup (i didnt use)

Method
Make crust: Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 160C. Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with 2 sheets of foil (crisscrossed), leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.

Finely grind crackers with sugar and a pinch of salt in a food processor. With motor running, add butter, blending until combined. Press mixture evenly onto bottom of baking pan. Bake 10 minutes, then cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes. (u can also crush digestive biscuit in ziplock, place it into a big bowl together with sugar and salt. Pour melted butter over it and mix using ur finger)



Make filling:
Sprinkle gelatin over milk in a small bowl and let stand 2 minutes to soften. Beat together cream cheese, eggs, salt, and gelatin mixture in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until well combined, about 2 minutes, (dont panic if batter is too thin!) then stir in dulce de leche gently but thoroughly. Pour filling over crust, smoothing top, then bake in a hot water bath (I was able to fit mine in a 9×9-inch baking pan) in oven until center is just set, about 45 minutes. Cool cheesecake completely in pan on rack, about 2 hours. Chill, covered, at least 6 hours.



Glaze cake within 2 hours of serving:
Heat all glaze ingredients in a double boiler or a small metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth, then pour over cheesecake, tilting baking pan to coat top evenly. Chill, uncovered, 30 minutes.



Lift cheesecake from pan using foil overhang and cut into 1-inch (i cut mine 2" hehe) squares with a thin knife, wiping off knife after each cut. (Don’t skip this step! A clean knife is essential for uber-neat squares.)

Note: Cheesecake (without glaze) can be chilled up to 3 days.

Dulce de Leche (Milk Caramel)
Pour one can (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk into top of double-boiler pan; cover. Place over boiling water. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 40 to 50 minutes, or until thick and light caramel-colored.

Remove from heat. Whisk until smooth.

Note: I think u can get store bought dulce de leche in some specialist supermarket... mine are fm Argentina hehhe (thank u Alberto for buying us bottles and bottles of it) Also, I’m sure you notice that there is some gelatin in this recipe, and think it’s odd. But, if you think about it, it makes sense? The reason why most cheesecake recipes don’t fare well as squares is that they’re too soft to easily pick up, the gelatin fixes this perfectly!
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Ohhh what will i do without my breadmachine heheh.. today i feel like having sandwiches for dinner.. am thinking maybe i will prepare sourdough 49ers.. just like what swenson has.. but first i hv to google on how to prepare the beef hahahha..

Ingredients
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup sour cream, room temperature
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/8 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup barley flour
2 tbsp dry potato flakes
2 tbsp white sugar
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast



Method
Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select White Bread setting, and Start.




Note: if u dont hv barley flour or potato flakes, u may used all bread flour..i set mine to dough function.. after an hr, gv it a bit of punch. Roll dough like swiss roll and place into a greased loaf pan. Let it rise double in size and bake at preheated oven 200C for 30mins..
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Oh, I'm such a wild girl!

NOT.

I've been a pretty boring chica lately. Sometimes, I think my excitement for the day is driving 10km/h over the speed limit with two hands on the steering wheel...hahah sooo NOT!! err well thats how i feel lately... really... are u that boring Rima?? i get excited over nothing when i go to supermarket.. like a child in some toy shop OR i get excited when its time for me to stock up my baking pantry... how is that so?? i wonder?? what happened to the old Rima? the one that kept a look out at whats new with LV, Gucci and Tiffany :o(

I guess my priority has changed... mellowed down lots... well not that i am no longer buying any... but every single time i go out i ended up buying stuff for Sonia... girls stuff... they are wayyyyy too cuteeeee!! hehhee



So ok... why is it called blueberry boy bait?? it was told that like any recipe with a great name, this also has a great story... which was that in 1954, a 15-year-old girl stole the show (but only won second prize) in the junior division of an early Pillbury Bake-Off with a variation of this recipe, named, she said... after the effect it had on boys... well i can imagine.. this cake is delicioussss, butteryyyyy, rich single-layer cake studded with fresh blueberries and swaddled in a sheet of cinnamon sugar...the boys in my house reached for a second serving... Thus, I guess the truthfulness on the story behind this cake..



Ingredients
2 cups plus 1 tsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp table salt
16 tbsp unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened (226g)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs (abt 60g each)
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, do not defrost first as it tends to muddle in the batter)

Topping
1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (do not defrost)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Method
For the cake:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 180C. Grease and flour 13 by 9-inch baking pan (i used 9x9)

Whisk two cups flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. With electric mixer, beat butter and sugars on medium-high speed until fluffy, about two minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated and scraping down bowl. Reduce speed to medium and beat in one-third of flour mixture until incorporated; beat in half of milk. Beat in half of remaining flour mixture, then remaining milk, and finally remaining flour mixture. Toss blueberries with remaining one teaspoon flour. Using rubber spatula, gently fold in blueberries. Spread batter into prepared pan.



For the topping:
Scatter blue-berries over top of batter. Stir sugar and cinnamon together in small bowl and sprinkle over batter. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 min.. cool in pan 20 mins, then turn out and serve on serving platter (top side up).. serve warm or at room temp

NOTE: Cake can be stored in airtight container, room temp for up to 3 days (lol 3 days? mine almost done.. hb and hairi kept on eating!)



Source: Cook's Country
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A super simple kuih that u can prepare anytime of the day... i did it an hr before we went to moms place today.. wish i cud get a better pic tho.. was late and cud only slice and take pics there... oh well.. its better than nothing..

Ingredients
300g rice flour
300g tapioca flour
550-600g sugar
1100ml thin coconut milk
740ml thick coconut milk
1 tsp salt
3 pandan leaves
red, yellow, green colouring (i used all sorts heheh)

** For thick coconut, i used 200ml KARA with 540ml water
** For thin coconut milk, i used 100ml KARA with 1000ml water

Method
1. Heat steamer, place 11 x 11 square pan (i used 8 x 8) in steamer (oiled it)
2. In a big bowl, add both rice and tapioca flour and add thick coconut milk into it, stir well and put it aside
3. In cooking pot, bring to boil, sugar, salt, thin coconut milk and pandan leaves. Mix well and pour into flour mixture.
4. Sieve and divide mixture into several bowl and add colour. (i didnt divide, just scoop 1 1/2 cup of mixture in a small bowl and add whatever colour i like, that way i dont hv to do lots of washing)
5. Steam each layer for 5mins... last layer for 20mins. (no need to keep on taking pan out of steamer when layering)


Source: MR
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I reaaalllyyy need to go to Sun Lik to get my baking essential.. running out of all sort of flour... plus with no butter in hand, i feel incomplete!

Soo today i hv no choice but to bake something that uses corn oil.. i know i know i can always bake muffin, sponge cake or even swiss roll with oil but thought i shud practice baking chiffon instead.. u see i hardly get to bake chiffon cos hb is not a big fan of spongy cake.. so my chiffon baking skill is still  not that good?  well today's chiffon turns out much much better than i expected.. i decided to bake mocha chiffon this time round simply cos i hv been baking pandan chiffon all this while... 

Tho i love the texture, airy and fluffyness of this recipe .. i dont really like how the marbling effect turns out... maybe next time i shud try to marble it like how i did when i bake zebra cake...

Ingredients:
4 egg yolks
1/2 tsp salt
40g sugar
40g corn oil
50ml fresh milk (room temp)
1/2 tsp vanilla paste / essence
75g sieved cake flour (sieve)

5 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
40g sugar

Chocolate paste
30ml milk
20g sugar
5g flour
10g cocoa powder
5g butter

OR

1/2 tsp mocha paste

This is the type (brand) of paste that i hv been using all this while... alot more concentrated... dont know if u can get it here tho cos i got mine fm Indonesia..



Method:
1. Mix all ingredients in the chocolate paste together and double boil till sugar dissolved and you get a homogeneous chocolate mixture. Sieve chocolate mixture if lumpy. Leave aside for use later.
2. Cream egg yolks, vanilla, salt and sugar till creamy.
3. Add in the oil, milk and mix till well-combined.
4. Sieve in the flour and mix till batter is lump-free.



5. Beat egg white with electric beater until big bubbles formed. Sprinkle in cream of tartar and beat until it is white in colour. Add in 40g sugar 3 times (a little at a time) and beat till stiff perks formed.
6. Pour 1/2 egg white into flour mixture in (4) and blend well.
7. Pour flour mixture into the rest of the egg white and fold till just blended. Remove 1/4 of the batter and mix it with the chocolate paste, blend well.



8. Pour the 2 batters into ungreased tube pan using your imagination and create your own marble effect. Bake at 170 - 180C for 35 - 45 minutes or till cooked.



9. Invert the cooked cake during cooling process.

NOTE: I used a 22cm tube pan... if ur using anything below 18cm tube pan, use 3 egg yolks and 4 egg whites... viel glueck!



Sources: my home cooking blog and all that matters
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Today i feel like baking something with coffee... cant bake anything buttery since i am only left with 120g of butter so decided to do Coffee Bun aka Mexican Bun... Hairi goes like "woooaaahhhhhh nice mama" after taking a bite... i will hv to wait till later cos i am fasting today... yeehhhhaaa finally i am done with fasting... tomorrow can celebrate Eid hahahha



Here i attached 2 recipe which i hv tried... i've always been using aunty yo recipe but today i thought i gv Lilydvalley recipe a try... the topping recipe is fm Cikwan



Ingredients
500 gm bread flour (i used 250g bread flour and 250g all purpose flour)
2 tsp bread improver
20 gm milk powder
75 gm sugar
3 tsp dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1 egg (mix with fork)
250 ml water or milk (if ur using milk u dont hv to add milk powder)
60g butter (i used unsalted)



Topping
60gm butter (soften)
50gm sugar (I used icing sugar) 
1 egg
pinch of salt
85gm flour
1 tbsp nescafe mix with 1tbsp hot water
1 tsp coffee essence (i used mocha coffee paste)

Filling
cream cheese (cut into small cubes - 10g each)

Method
Below...



Heres the recipe fm Aunty Yo blogs

Ingredients
Bread Dough:
500 gm. Bread flour
30 gm. Milk Powder
11 gm. Instant Yeast
50 gm. Sugar
2 eggs
220 ml. water
70 gm. unsalted butter
1 tsp. salt

Filling:
160 gm. Salted butter - diced into 16 pieces (about 10 gm. each) - chilled

Topping:
70 gm. Butter
100 gm. icing sugar
1 Tbsp. Instant Coffee (Nescafe) dissolved in 1 Tbsp. Hot Water
1 beaten egg
85 gm. Plain flour
20 gm. Milk Powder
1 tsp. coffee Paste



Method
(1) Put all the bread dough ingredients (except butter) into a mixer or bread machine and beat for about 10 mins till a dough is formed.
(2) Add in Butter and continue kneading till a smooth pliable dough is formed.
(3) Roll into a ball , cover and rest for 1 hour.
(4) For topping: Stir the butter and icing sugar till creamy. Gradually pour in beaten egg and stir till smooth. Pour in the rest of the ingredients and stir till smooth. Fill into a piping bag.
(5) Weigh and scale the proved dough into 60 gm. each. Roll into balls and let it rest for 10 mins.
(6) Wrap dough with the chilled butter and seal the ends tightly because the butter will cause it to split open during proving.
(7) Prove for 45 mins. till doubled in size.
(8) Pipe topping on top of each buns in a coiling motion.
(9) Bake at 180C for about 12 mins. till buns are crispy on top.
(10) Cool on cooling rack.
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Sonia's daily routine... "helping" mama with housework... :op

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Err well this is what i've been up to... i think the last time i prepare lopes on my own was like 20 odd yrs ago... eeekkkksss 20 odd yrs ago?? hhahhaaa ur getting there Rima... the golden age group... hahhaa well let me just explain... i learnt how to cook at a tender age of 12.. as far as i cud remember... chicken rice was the first dish that was taught by mom... by 16 i know how to cook all sort of dishes.. well i had to since i hv to look after both my sisters while mom is out running a food stall.. which means i learn how to prepare kuih when i was a teenager... so there u go... now i feel better... i feel younger and ALIVE! muahhahahaha



Ok ok back to lopes, i dont know why i decided on lopes... the fact that i had to soak glutinous rice for 3hrs... the fact that i had to "fold" it... and the fact that i had to boiled it for 2hrs or so... makes me wonder... is it worth it?? i cud hv just ask dad or hb to buy me a few slices... but i didnt... oh well... i get 30pcs out of it and get to share it with mom... sooo its worth it then...



Ingredients
1kg glutinous rice
50g abuchang (lye or lye water)
Banana leaves
Enough rafia strings

Sugar syrup
500g palm sugar
300ml water
4tbsp sugar

Fresh grated coconut
pandan leaves
1/4 tsp salt



Method
Soak glutinous rice for 3hrs with abu chang
Discard water and wait till rice slightly dry
Cut banana leaves into 30cm x 15cm strips and dip in hot water for a few mins so as to make it soft.. wipe clean
Fold banana leaves like how u prepare samosa... fill in 2 3tbsp of glutinous rice and continue to fold (tightly)to form triangle shape
Stack 3 lopes and tie it with rafia string tightly
Once done place lopes into a big pot, pour water to slightly abv lopes and boil it for 2 to 3hrs...cover pot making sure of the water level

Sugar syrup
Boil palm sugar, water and sugar till slightly thicken

Coconut
Steam fresh grated coconuts with pandan leaves
Add salt to it


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Another long day... i had just put Sonia to bed... for the 2nd time actually!... usually i wont put her to bed twice but because she only slept for like half an hour earlier on, i had to put her to bed again... so when Sonia is fussy... mama gets frustrated... and when mama gets frustrated... shes not in mood to bake or shud i say... too afraid to even whip up something...

Well today desert is sweet potato soup.. simple and yet so so goodddd...

Ingredients
Sweet potato
Palm sugar
Castor sugar
Water
Coconut milk
pinch of salt
Pandan leaves
2tbsp sago (soak and wash)

Method
Sweet potato has to be cut into cubes
Boil water, sweet potato and pandan leaves
Once sweet potato soften, add palm sugar and also sugar
Add coconut milk and salt
Add sago
Gv it a quick stir and let it boil for 5 mins or so...
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About Me

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Hi.. I am a SAHM to 2 kiddoes..19yr old boy n 2 year old girl.. met my Austrian hubby here in Singapore and hv been living here all my life... my love for baking started when i was 6mths preggie to my daughter, Sonia... my addiction to baking has not stop eversince.. I hope to learn as much as i can abt baking and decorating and then share it with u along the way..