Sacher Torte - simply awesome!

From the bottom my heart... ty for all the lovely comments here or in my fb or like page... just so u know.. i read each and every single one of em... i chose to hide it here simply bec i think its personal and close to my heart... 

When i let out whats in my heart.. i am letting it out simply bec this is the tiny space which i hv created since 2009.. this month i am celebrating my 4th year of blogging... i started blogging April 2009 and two days ago i dropped the news that i am planning to privatise my blog... i didnt realise all that until someone mentioned - i hope this is not an april's fool thingy hehe... to the someone who "reminded" me that no matter what... i will get more credits fm up Above.. Alhamdullilah... that woke me up and made me realise that my blog is all abt sharing... most important thing.. many hv benefited out of it.. be it baking for the family or baking for business... thank you... i managed to put aside all the negative vibes and managed to bake this wonderful cake for my family...

This is the second time that i've baked hubs a Sacher Torte.. the first time i baked it was in 2010.. i remember clearly that i baked it to take along to a small gathering at Sandra's place... oh how time flies... sometimes things happen for a reason and if it was not bec of how i felt for the past couple of months.. i dont think i will remember why i started blogging in the first place..

Sacher Torte... a famous Viennese dessert.. a cake which i was dying to get my hands on when we went to Austria in 2010.. omg this entry takes me back to my old post (do have a look at it)... brings back sweet memories that we are blessed to have experienced.. i miss Austria.. i know hubs misses being there too... we had a wonderful time there.. getting to know hubs side for the first time.. err well thats not true... the first time i met hubs side was when we went to Argentina.. opppssy here we go again... memories... sweet sweet memories.. u shud look at Sonia's pics back then hehe

"The Original Sacher-Torte

A little piece of history

The story of the world-famous Original Sacher-Torte began in 1832, when the all-mighty "coachman of Europe", Wenzel Clemens Prince Metternich, ordered the creation of a particularly palatable dessert for spoiled high-ranking guests.

"Take care that you do NOT make me look a fool tonight", he warned. That very day, however, the chef was unavailable! The order was reassigned to a 16-year-old apprentice in his second year, the quick-witted chap Franz Sacher...

One thing was certain; the speciality which was finally presented to the masters and mistresses was a resounding success: a soft and fluffy chocolate cake with the tasty apricot jam under the icing. Franz certainly never forgot the great success of his ingenious idea within this exclusive circle. He spent his apprenticeship working for the Count of Esterhazy, first in Bratislava and then in Budapest.

When, as a fully qualified cook, he started to work on his own account, he offered his successful composition once again, this time on a large scale. He was successful and soon the "cake by this man named Sacher" was in great demand, and the victorious career of the probably most famous of all cakes began." taken fm here

So ok peeps... i will not publish this recipe online... write to me if u want it yah.. by far... for sure... this is the first time in a long time that i ate a full slice of cake... the texture this time is definitely denser than my previous recipe and isnt as dry... the apricot preserve really comes through and in no way does this cake require the "smoothing" of whipped cream... for chocolate glazing.. i used the couverture chocolate that i bought while in Colmar and also Marmer couverture chocolate that hubs family friend got me fm Vienna during their last visit here.. super yummeh.. recipe is a real keeper!!! oh oh do u agree when i say that the edible gold leaf is just ohhhhh so stunning on a cake ahaks... and so damn expensive! But good things go into and onto good cakes :)

... a slice of heaven

My thoughts

45

Addicted to Tiramisu!

I miss blogging.. i miss this space and i miss interacting with my readers.. am taking a break fm baking till next week to spend quality time with my family.. i thought that would be the best thing to do after i hit 44yrs old yesterday ahaks.. To all that sent me greetings via Email, FB. phone... thank you so much!

Yes yes.. I turned a year older yesterday and i spent it with my loved ones.. invited everyone over and it was a blast.. now.. now.. i know i shouldnt promise anything but i hv tons and tons of pics to share.. Penang pics, my cousin Nadia's engagement pics and of cos my bday celebration pics.. time is really not on my side for now and for the past 10 days i hv not been well twice.. so i hope to keep on blogging next year and wishing everyone a wonderful year ahead.. May 2013 bring happiness to everyone...

So ok this is the last recipe that i will be sharing this year.. its a recipe which i had created impromptu  hehe.. its delish and am not ashamed to admit that i can eat two slices in one go... ishhh Rima Rima.. no wonder u cant stop coughing!

Ingredients

250ml cold heavy whipping cream

227g mascarpone cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 tbsp powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp espresso extract

1 tsp tiramisu essence

120-140g semi-sweet chocolate shavings

Cocoa powder, for dusting

a pack of ladyfingers (homemade and store-bought work equally well)

2 cups of strong coffee

Method

In a large bowl, whip heavy cream and 2 tbsp of powdered sugar until it forms stiff peaks... place it in ur fridge

In another bowl, whisk together mascarpone, powdered sugar, vanilla essence. Whisk in espresso extract and tiramisu essence. Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture.

To Assemble

Slice ladyfingers into 3/4 high.. place it around ur pan..

One at a time, very gently dip both sides of each ladyfinger into the coffee mixture, lining bottom of a 8" inch Springform pan. Dip and line as you go. The ladyfingers can break apart, so don’t dip them too long. About a 2-second dip on each side. Trim any ladyfingers as needed so that it fits comfortably in pan. Split mascarpone filling in half. Spread half of the filling on top of ladyfingers. Dust with cocoa powder and chocolate shaving. Repeat dipping and lining for second layer of ladyfingers. Spread remaining mascarpone filling on top. Dust with cocoa. Sprinkle with chocolate shavings. Chill overnight in springform pan to set.

Enjoy!

My thoughts

13

Sweet Potato Donut

Salam Maal Hijrah to all my muslim readers... been a year already ey... how time flies... it seems like yesterday that I was wishing the same to my readers.. soon our kids will start their school hols and bef we know it... we as parents will be busy preparing our kids to go back to school... this is our cycle of life.. it is like a wheel... it goes round and round.. of cos while its spinning u will hv a few obstacles and of cos u will try ur best to go thru it and keep the cycle going.. sigh.. soon i will be 44yrs old... what hv i achieved so far? i wud hv say... Alhamdullilah... I hv my family with me... my parents are in good health... both my sisters are well..

Its not even the end of the year and I am having flashbacks... this year has seen better days than the year bef eventho there were times when i wished i didnt hv to go thru it - nevertheless i am happy... am happy that i wake up every morning to see my family in good health :o)

So ok.. bef i go on and on abt life.. i just wanna thank every single person that has ordered thru my online store and my bakes... i enjoy what i am doing right now and Insyallah will try to bring in new things into my store.. am hoping that i will get to source diff things while in Europe... so do keep a lookout yah..

In the meantime.. lets feast our eyes on this donut hehe.. The first time i saw this chubby donut was when Nor loaded it up on her FB wall.. her donut looks so chubby that on the very next day.. i had to get myself a bag of sweet potatoes.. knew that it would best to share it among my sisters.. doubled the recipe and got myself close to 40pcs... took it to moms place during Deepavali and got a hundred likes fm everyone ahaks.. ty Nor for sharing it with us... Donut was chubby and stayed soft even on the next day :o)

Ingredients
320g flour
2 tsp instant yeast
60g sugar
180g sweet potato - boiled and mashed
1 egg
90ml water
1 tbsp condense milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter

Method
I used my breadmaker to do the job.. u can of cos do it manually.. once its done its course.. u take ur dough out.. gv it a light punch and start to divide ur dough into balls.. each ball at 40g.. roll ur ball.. press it a little and take ur round cutter to cut a hole in the middle.. place ur donut on ur tray.. cover it with a cloth and let it rise for the second time.. once it has doubled in size.. prepare ur oil.. heat it up and start to fry..

Below is the recipe in Bahasa fm Nor of Secubit Garam... Original recipe is fm KWan.

Bahan:
320 gm tepung gandum
2 sudu kecil yis segera ~ k.nor guna mauripan
60 gm gula castor
180 gm keledek rebus ~ k.nor guna keledek oren
1 biji telur A
90 ml air
1 sudu besar susu pekat manis
1/2 sudu kecil garam
1 sudu besar butter
~
minyak
gula castor secukupnya

Cara-cara :
Lecek/lenyek keledek yg direbus tadi hingga halus. Ketepikan.
Masukkan tepung, yis, gula dan keledek. Gaul sebati.
Masukkan pula telur, garam dan air (air perlu dimasukkan sedikit demi sedikit), gaul hingga membentuk sebiji doh.
Kemudian masukkan butter dan uli hingga menjadi doh yg lembut dan tak melekat pada mangkuk.
Tutup mangkuk dgn tuala lembab atau plastik cling dan biarkan adunan naik sekali ganda.
Bila adunan dah naik, ambil sedikit adunan (lebih kurang35 - 40gm) dan bulatkan.
Letak atas papan pencanai yg ditabur sedikit tepung dan tekan2 hingga sedikit leper (lebih kurang 1 1/2 cm)
Tekap bahagian atas doh tadi dgn menggunakan mulut botol air mineral/minuman utk membentuk lubang pada tengah2 doh.
Keluarkan doh yg dibahagian tengah tadi dan ulang sehingga habis adunan.
Rehatkan doh yg dah dibentuk lebih kurang 20 - 30 min (atau sehingga doh naik/mengembang kembali - doh akan lebih cepat naik kalau cuaca panas)
Panaskan minyak dengan api yg sederhana dan goreng donut hingga masak.
Angkat dan toskan.
Biarkan seketika kemudian barulah disalutkan dgn gula castor.

Last but not least.. pics of Sonia doing what she does best.. playing with batter hehehe... i will try to do this Angry Bird steamed cake again when we get back fm our trip .. wanna share this recipe.. cheers!

My thoughts

0

Banana Brownie Mini Cakes

My eyes are shutting on me every single time i start to type something.. urghhh... am super kaput and i cant think of a better way to say it except.. i need my long awaited hols already! blahhh... our Europe tickets have been booked and am counting the days down... still a long way to go but hey.. a woman needs to look forward to something.. right? hehe.. hubs will also take us to Penang for a short hols with my parents after our Europe trip sooo again... a woman needs to look forward to something for her to keep on going .. right? :opp

I hv been baking for orders non stop and have baked like 500 odd macarons over the last two days.. there were a few hiccups along the way but hey thats the best way for me to learn something new.... so far i hv found out that this oven bakes evenly and i even use it to dry my mac shells.. for some reason out of habit.. i will still use my aircon to dry my mac shells and honestly? it didnt dry my shells properly as its been raining non stop here.. i managed to try different methods and the best one for me is french method..

Anywho.. lets not talk abt me and my macs and my oven.. so far it has done its job and am glad that "we" are getting along just fine..

This steamed banana brownie was the fastest that i had prepared.. didnt take long to get it done and once u get ur ganache ready.. all u need to do is to pour it over ur mini cakes.. u can of cos omit the ganache thingy and enjoy the banana brownie on its own but if u cud only see how my hubs and Sonia ate it.. u wud wanna go the extra mile of covering ur mini cakes with pouring ganache..

Ok folks... enjoy the recipe abv.. i hv to start baking lapis legit for my Eid orders.. oh recipe was taken fm Sedap khusus pemula magazine..

Last but not least.. pics of my little princess.. she got her school progress report last Friday and we are very pleased with it.. :o)

My thoughts

14

Still here...

I dont know where my mojo has gone to but yeah.. my daily mundane life is back on track..  i hv been baking every single day..  new recipes, repeat recipes.. bottom line is.. i hv been baking.. definitely . the only thing that i hv not been doing.. is to blog abt it.. i dont know why or where my mojo has gone to and i hope its not gonna be a permanent one..

Life has been good.. Alhamdullilah.. i received a couple of orders this week and am touched by the trust that has been given to me eventho i've just started baking again last week.. next week is gonna be a crazy week for me with a couple of Eid orders and also with my upcoming house warming.. i decided to only concentrate on my dessert table and had bought a couple of candy jars to compliment my already many cake stands lol.. the best part abt moving hse is that u will never get questions for buying new things hehe.. my new name card and stickers arrived the same day my mac sheets arrived.. i've also sent them all to those that ordered on my online store.. so thank u all for ur understanding.. 

Ok kiddoes.. thats it.. i hv to go and bake more mac shells for this sat orders.. Ty Dewi n Fadzila for ordering.. to Dewi.. am glad to be given the trust to bake macs for ur wedding.. Congrats dear! am pretty sure ur super excited by now.. start counting the days down ok! hehehe

Oh and bef i forget.. u can get this muffin recipe fm my previous post.. these muffins were ordered by none other than my mom hehehe

My thoughts

18

2012 Eid pics...

Tell me: When was the last time that i sat down and pinned my thoughts?? ohh myyy .. i miss my "me" time in the afternoon.. I miss my "me" time in the kitchen and most of all.. i miss my "me" time with my thoughts... hows everyone doing?? hope u guys had a wonderful long weekend and to my muslim friends fm all over.. hope u guys ate lots! I lost like 8kg in total and am hoping to lose another 5kg.. once i've hit home run i will let u girls know muahaha

We got home fm Vietnam to a flooded home.. it was raining so so heavily while we were in Vietnam and with Hairi working full time.. there was no one at home to monitor the situation.. he only found out that the house was flooded after iftar and called us immediately to let us know.. when we got home the second and third level of our house was all wet.. carpets were soaked and we had to throw away two carpets cos they were damaged.. we later had to clean the walls cos the water seems to have seeped into the walls too.. sighh.. hubs helped me clean our place and on the very next day out of the blue my life got busier and busier.. i didnt hv much time on hand.. i had to clean our place.. wash the curtains.. wash floor mats.. toilet mats etc etc etc.. once done i had to start baking Eid cookies for mom.. to me nothing was much more important than to make sure she has all the goodies that i had planned to bake.. Alhamdullilah.. i managed to bake all of em..

I also managed to bake 30 lapis legit for my customers within one and half weeks and am so so blessed to be given the strength and health during that period of time.. hubs took a few days leave to keep Sonia occupied.. they went to watch a movie and went to the indoor playground.. i was focused and hardly had any time to do anything else except to view a few houses (since we are moving end Sept).. for a change i also couldnt be bothered to do Eid shopping and only went to the ramadhan bazaar once.. it was a one and half crazy weeks but I DID IT..

Dont ask me how i am getting on right now cos i am super kaput hahaha... its taking a toll on me and am resting well... of cos each time i see butter and eggs i feel like baking but i keep on telling myself that i shud rest and hopefully in a few days time i am able to share a few new recipes that i have wanted to bake since last month..

So ok.. am sharing a few pics that were taken during the first and second day of Eid.. we had a blast and to see everyone smiling and talking to one another is a blessing..

My little Sonia with her fav purple baju kurung..

Arghhhh the face of a tired woman :o(

Love this shot! ty hubs for capturing this moment..

Right after sholat, Hairi went back to sleep and we had taken pics without him... the moment he woke up.. we managed to take a family pic in our blue attire..

They look kinda similar.. eyes, nose and mouth.. hmmm

"Hehehe u shud use this mustache to school Brian so that ur students will run as soon as u enter the school hahaha" - Moms first guest.. my cousin.. sis Nasyita and family..

Eid goodies... yes i baked 98% of em! she had lapis cempedak, lapis legit spekkeok, lapis mandarin mascovis, kek kukus, marble nutella and also caramel cake.. for cookies she had nastar, sugi, congo bars, brownie cookies, almost famous amos, rainbow cats tongue, cappuccino sticks, almond london, cashew nuts makmur and of cos macs.. she also had double chocolate whoopie pie and also red velvet whoopie pie which was a big hit :op

Full house .. i was there all day since i dont hv any MIL to go to ahaks

Cousin Nadia munching on whoop whoop whoopie pie! Gotcha!

3 anak daras and one mak dara hehe

Family pics!

Dad (R) with his younger bro (L).. now u know how we get away with our age muahaha

My Nyai who has not been well lately.. she no longer can do the things that she used to do.. hang in there Nyai... am praying for ur health..

2nd day of Eid.. munch munch munch.. gulp!

The three sistas!

Muahaha whats with the peace sign kahkahkah... my dear aunties... seee i told ya we get away with our age! hehehe

Pic of my kids, nieces and nephew

Sis Lyn and family..

Cousins pic!

Ohhhh i love these pics... mom and dad at their best!

Hehe the bros in law!

I cant recall when was the last time we managed to take our family photo :o)

Cousin and BIL

Pic of me and hubs.. looking at this pic reminds me of when i took a pic with hubs in blue baju kurung bef we got married auwwww ahahaha

Selamat Hari Raya peeps..

My thoughts

35

Saigon

Time: 8:11am

Weather: Breezy... Raining

Venue: New World Hotel - HCMC

Mood: So so.. mind is racing like a thousand miles an hr .. thinking abt my orders.. thinking abt life.. thinking abt hubs yadda yadda yadda

Peak Agenda: We got into HCMC three days ago.. every single morning without fail i get to hear loud music fm the park nearby.. these women do their exercise every morning.. makes me kinda feel blahhh cos i dont know how to take care of my body.. i hv not been exercising n thats not good for my health.

As expected .. both Sonia and I hv been out everyday.. not that we did all the touristy thingy here.. its more abt shopping for Eid traditional dresses.. yes.. we bought baju kurung in HCMC.. just like u.. i was surprised too.. it wasnt like this a decade ago when i first came here.. lots has changed and to see many shops selling our traditional baju kurung is something am proud of... the woman that works in the shop where i got most of my baju kurung can even speak fluent malay.. u see our baju kurung being displayed even at their night market.. totally awesome!

Anyway i managed to get 4pcs of dresses for Sonia.. got her two baju kurung and two Ao Dai (traditional Vietnamese dress).. she chose the colour and pattern herself.. i dont really mind .. as long as we are wearing sort of the same colour during Eid.. am not fussy.. i got myself 4 pcs too.. ahem hehe.. got for mom 2pcs and got for Hairi baju kurung too... today am planning to go back to this shop where i got the ao dai for both Sonia and me.. she overcharged our dresses and also needs to get our ao dai altered.. i wanna check out the shop that sells baking pans too..

I hv yet to go thru the Ben Thanh market properly cos every time i try to walk thru the lanes.. Sonia wasnt in the mood..(i mention every time cos our hotel is only 200m walk fm the market).. she was ok at first but when ppl, mostly women of cos, start to touch her cheeks and touch her hand or sometimes pull her cos she attracts them with her looks and hair colour.. she got scared.. well i dont blame her tho.. if its one or two ppl its ok.. but if every stall that she walks past and theres always someone touching her.. wudnt u as a 4yrs old get scared and agitated?

So ok.. here are the only pics that i manage to take so far.. i will take my camera everywhere i go but i didnt even manage to get good shots.. its difficult to take pics when i am out with Sonia.. i cannot afford to loose sight of her while taking pics; so pics of places will hv to wait till saturday when hubs is not working..

Talking abt hubs.. sigh.. yesterday something happened at the conference.. sometimes we wonder.. has all the etiquette of businessmen changed?. sadly to say.. we live in a world where basically ppl resign and join competitors.. it happened to hubs too when his sales person joined his competitor .. u feel sour of cos but theres not much that u can do except to be wary abt ur competitors.. anyway long story short.. hubs had employed a new sales person in KL.. the ex boss of this new guy flew in fm kl.. went to the conference.. confronted and then slapped hubs in front of many.. hauled abusive language at hubs and was later kicked out of the conference hall by the organizer and hotel security.. hubs was caught off guard of cos as he was attacked from behind and when he told me abt it.. i knew at that instance that what i was afraid of all this while.. happened.. this guy has been harassing hubs for "pinching" his technician - where the real story was.. his ex technician had wanted to resign all this while cos he wasnt happy there .. poor hubs.. i hope and pray that hubs will be in good hands .. that nothing bad will happen to him cos u never know what others are capable of.. :o(

On another note.. I too got an email fm someone..someone that stole Sonia's ipad just to get back to me.. most important.. we are tight as a family..  i feel blessed that i am given the chance to see Ramadhan again and to be able to experience fasting in different parts of the world every year is something that i will treasure my whole life..
Will try to update again bef we fly back.. i still need to upload pics of the halal restaurant that we went to for iftar and also abt Sonia experiencing riding on a motorbike for the first time on a busy road of HCMC... be safe peeps!

Can u see ketupat and lepat? hahahaha

You see a lot more street food vendors here than in Thailand...

Street vendors selling everything - fm food to fruits to flowers..

The French restaurant that we were taken to by the Director of the Vietnam office.. really nice place with view and ambiance that was perfect...

Love the white walls and French doors!

The inside setting... was cooling and windy as the restaurant was just besides the Saigon river..

Sonia being her normal self .. super friendly .. next to her was her bff in HCMC lol.. shes the wife of hubs supplier fm Canada..

Very dark but I managed to get some decent photos..

Our sahur meal is delivered to our room every morning at 4am.. not normal for them but the hotel was kind enough to do it for us FOC since their lounge only opens at 6am.. dont u just love good hotel service?

My trips

31