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Do us a favour and use the best ingredients there are if u want to get that deep chocolaty cake that u dream of cos this recipe is surely a keeper in my little heart... i heart this recipe to bits!! theres no words that i can describe how delish this cake is.. the moistness... the richness.. the darkness... the ohhhs and ahhhs that i got fm my family especially fm little Sonia was just superb.. Sonia ate two slices in one sitting.. i added a small dollop of chocolate glaze on the side and it tastes even better! chocolate overload lol


Recipe I got fm none other than The Cake Book fm Tish Boyle... her recipes have never failed me! Bake it lovelies.. bake it for ur friends... for ur loved ones ok.. better still.. go to ur nearest bookstore and get her book.. Go to the nearest bakery supply shop to get ur Valrhona or Cocoa Berry cocoa powder and welcome urself to the dark side of my life hahaha

I had a slice of this cake this morning! - I always believe that having a slice of cake for brekkie is much better than having a bowl of Lontong.. right? pls say yes hahaha


Deep Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake
from Tish Boyle’s The Cake Book

1.5 cups (181g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (57g) cake flour
1 cup (92g) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2.25 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.5 cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened
2.5 cups (500g) granulated sugar - i used 430g
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (242g) sour cream

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan. Dust with flour. - I baked it on the lowest rack for 150C

Sift the flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until very creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is well-blended and light, about 4 minutes. At medium speed, beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

In a small bowl, stir the vanilla extract into the sour cream. If your mixer has a splatter shield attachment, attach it now. At the low speed, add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream mixture in 2 additions and mixing just until blended. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake the cake for 65 to 75 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Then invert the cake onto the rack and let it cool completely.
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Lets go for a lil' walk... as u already know... almost 80% of my travel consists of me on hols and hubs working.. i dont consider that as a proper holiday but am thankful that at least i get to see the world this way.. so when hubs told me that he will take a week off so that he can take us  somewhere... i was super excited.. lets face it... going somewhere without him checking on his blackberry 24/7 can be a blessing lol..

So mom and dad came along... its been awhile since my parents flew somewhere with us... i think the last time we flew together was to Jakarta.. back then dad was still strong... he could walk fast and didnt fall tired easily.. when i was a teenager .. cheeehhh hahaha.. i remember what dad used to say to his three daughters whenever we went on trips... "If u girls want to sleep.. u are better off staying in Singapore".


.... errrr look whos talking hahaha


Alrighty lets get back to our HK trip.. We were greated by a cloudy HK the moment our plane landed.. took a cab fm the airport to Kowloon .. hubs had booked us into one of the Accor hotels and since theres no Pullman or Sofitel there... we decided to stay at the Novotel Nathan Rd.. Hotel was situated in the middle of everything... u can find Halal restaurants everywhere.. night markets and also cafes.. the shopping streets have lots of smaller lanes which lead u to diff alleys..


We bumped into this orange building while walking towards Shanghai street.. we decided to explore a lil' while waiting for our room to be ready.


Shanghai street is where u can find all things related to kitchen ware... its one of Hong Kong’s oldest thoroughfares and still has a number of preserved old Chinese shop-house buildings.. u can find inexpensive kitchenware on sale here,  such as traditional thick chopping boards and bamboo steaming baskets used for dim sum... if u hv lots of excess luggage like ahem me.. u can even take home a couple of stand mixers or even an industrial oven for a fraction of a price!


Unlike on all my other trips.. this was one trip where u could see me eating rice practically every single day lol.. with mom and dad around... there was no way we cud go to some restaurant and order salad or hv sushi for dinner lol - Jordon Curry House



As the night gets darker... u see more and more seafood places open for business... almost like as tho u are walking thru the old bugis street except its a zillion times bigger :op


There are several night markets that we managed to go to on this trip.. Temple street night market was the nearest to our hotel... hubs said Hong Kong is well known for its night markets... Petaling Street on steroids hahaha


On the second day.. hubs decided to take us to Hong Kong island.. took a bus to the other side of the island where we then too a 'ding-ding' tram fm one end to another lol... i think if it was not bec of dad... hubs wud hv forced me to walk lol


I think we must hv taken 4 trams in total... the fastest way to see the city.. not seen so many trams in my life.. not even in Melbourne hehe


The one person that was super excited abt this ride was Sonia hehehe.. theres no way she cud remember the first time she took a tram in Melbourne!


The many lanes and wide roads in Hong Kong... most of their buses are double decker and they are brand new... each time a double decker passed by.. my heart jumped cos they were driving soo fast! grrr


Sending tong gas to his customer perhaps? :op


Hubs and his fascination of trams... i think he took like 20 odd pics of trams!


Lugging an industrial aircon under the hot sun across the street?


I swear the next time i catch him taking pics of trams with my camera... i will take it away fm him hahaha - another shot of trams


By the time we got to Masjid Ammar... it was lunch time.. hubs took us to the Islamic centre canteen to try their famous dim sum bef performing Zohor prayer..


You can read more abt it here...


By the time we were done with our lunch it was almost 3pm... we knew we couldnt stay out any longer... dad was beginning to feel tired and since we dont think they wud wanna go again on this side of the island.. hubs decided to take the ferry back to Kowloon.. - ya know.. for the sake of experience :o)


... ahhh... just like when we took a ferry to Penang :o)


The very same night... we went to Ladies market.. was there for only an hr cos it was too crowded plus we had to get up early for Hong Kong Disney which was waiting for our arrival hehehe - we took our first MTR to Disney!


Sorry peeps... most of the pics of disney was taken using my phone... the day we were in Disney was the only day it rained heavily :o(


Honeymoon couple? hehehe - their first time in Disneyland .. Alhamdullilah


Wet... wet... wet... the wet weather didnt stop us fm having fun...


Unlike in Euro Disney... we only bumped into Alice in Wonderland and also Mickey and Minnie mouse..


Mom couldnt take it when Sonia started to spin the wheel hahaha


Jungle Safari ride was among the only two rides that my parents took... they took "its a small world" too


Raining non stop...


 ... 15 mins wet parade huhu


... sea of umbrellas 


Sonia with her mickey waffle - yums!


On the 4th day of our stay... hubs decided to visit  Citygate factory outlet... knew that my parents werent keen on it so we decided to go there ourselves... hubs is so into factory outlets that it has become like a must see whenever we travel lol... we took MTR there and within 45mins we were already trying out on shoes 


We got back pretty late that day and since we were to fly back to sg the next day.. we decided to hv an early night so that we cud take my parents to their morning market aka our Pasar Tani :o)


With a couple of hrs left on our last day in Kowloon... i decided to adopt another baby hehe... been wanting to buy the father of Mr Aid but didnt wanna pay so much and since the price is a lot more cheaper in HK... hubs gave me the green light to adopt it.. yahoooo


Oh bef i go... while in HK... I met up with another  baker.. the lovely Anita Shaik... the first time we met was in KL and ever since then we have been keeping in touch thru fb and also whatsapp.. ty for taking the time to meet us babe... the next time we meet.. dinner will be on me ok 

So thats it peeps... my eyes are abt to shut right now... this wkend we will be taking Sonia to the Aquarium on Sentosa and come Monday we will be flying off again.. running away fm the bad haze lol

Woot bef i forget... we are proud parents this week... Hairi received his long awaited diploma in Engineering and Sonia had two of her baby tooth pulled out last Thursday.. she didnt cry... she wasnt afraid... one brave girl .. come July she will be in big girls class - the K2s :o)
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Anyone misses me? sorry lovelies.. i know i hv been neglecting this space of mine... i hv been travelling and when i am back i hv orders to fulfill.. i did however manage to try a few new recipes but havent had the mood to take pics of what i bake.. huhu what hv i turned into!

Anyway lets see.. whats new... we are back fm both KL and HK trips.. it was a full on thingy and i hope come next monday my body will be well rested for we will be flying to somewhere again.. am not complaining cos i work and play hard too.. both Sonia and I enjoy travelling.. not so much abt the shopping cos we are so over it... its more abt being able to see the world and learn more abt the culture of the places that we hv been to.. Sonia now has this habit of asking me .. "Are we going to take a small plane or big plane" or "are we staying at the hotel that has the [fill in anything that makes a hotel unique to 5yo].." lol

So our one week in KL went smoothly.. i got to hang out with my baker friends and also got to know a few new ones (like Adi Putra.. oh sorry.. wrong subject).. its a pleasure to know that there are so many talented bakers out there who are willing to share their knowledge, (and some who are not).. our world of baking is no longer abt "my recipe is a big secret"... its more abt.. "sharing is caring" :o) am glad i got to learn lots thru this cos i believe that the more u share... the more u get out of it.. Insyallah


Alrighty.. i am in the process of uploading my HK pics.. once its up i will update my so called travelog hahaha.. hopefully within one or two days (not that we took lots lol).. oh i also met another fellow baker in HK but will talk abt HK in my next post :oP

INGREDIENTS:
For the Cupcakes:
4 tablespoons (60g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons red food coloring
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk
1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons distilled white vinegar

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
4oz (110g) butter, at room temperature
4oz (110g) cream cheese, at room temperature
2½ cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of sour cream - i added

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees C. Line a standard muffin/cupcake pan with liners.

2. On medium-high speed, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to high and add the egg. Scrape down the bowl and beat until well incorporated.

3. In a separate small bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, vanilla extract and red food coloring to make a thick paste. Add to the batter and mix on medium speed until completely combined. You may need to stop the mixer to scrape the bottom of the bowl, making sure that all the batter gets color.

4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add half of the buttermilk. Add half of the flour and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining milk and flour. Beat on high until smooth.

5. Again, reduce the mixer speed to low and add the salt, baking soda and vinegar. Turn to high and beat for another couple of minutes until completely combined and smooth.

6. Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a thin knife or skewer inserted into the center of the largest cupcake comes out clean.

7. Cool for 10 minutes and then remove cupcakes from the pan and place them on a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

8. To make the frosting: Using the whisk attachment, whip the butter and cream cheese on high speed for about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl down as necessary. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the powdered sugar until all is incorporated. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Increase the speed to medium high and whip for a few minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as necessary.

*Note: This recipe can be doubled to make an 8 or 9-inch layer cake. - i baked it in a 7" pan

(Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker, originally from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook)

Bake it ok cos the recipe that i share of Red Velvet gets better! Recipe is fm Brown Eyed Baker and to Shidah.. ty for recommending me this recipe.. u were right!! this cake is super moist and super yummy!!

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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..