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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!
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Weekend came and went so so quickly and bef u know it.. 2012 will end soon.. am counting the days down to our trips.. woot!! cant wait to put my apron away :op

Last weekend was my first borns' bday.. hes 22yrs old now and we did it in a small way.. took both my kids to watch the International 7s Rugby tournament and to an Indonesian restaurant.. oh and if i hv the time i will load some pics of the tournament yah..


I on the other hand hv been busy ever since i started baking.. this week is no exception.. i baked hudreds of mac shells and also threw away three batches of em.. i dont know if it was bec of my egg white.. or maybe my almond powder .. or cos of the wet weather.. it cud also be bec of me .. shrugs.. bottom line is... i never gave up and i managed to bake it for my customers.. I've also steamed a couple of steamed fruit cakes for a wedding this weekend..

The only cake that i managed to bake last wkend for my family was this cake... i hv bookmarked it like many months back and only got to bake it now.. Ty Hesti for sharing a wonderful recipe.. the cake itself was rich .. moist and fulfilling.. i added salted caramel chocolate ganache for topping.. yumms!


Rich and Moist: Sour Cream Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe

from: Savory Sweet Life

Ingredients
1 stick of salted butter, softened to room temp.
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 large ripened bananas mashed ( or 2.5 small bananas)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup of sour cream
1 cup of mini chocolate chips (regular chocolate chips work too)
optional 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts - i didnt use

Instructions
Preheat over to 350 degrees - 175C
Lightly grease a 9×5 loaf pan, or 2 mini pans with non-stick spray.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Stir in egg, mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla until well blended.
Add baking soda, cocoa, and flour.
Mix everything until well incorporated (about 3 minutes in a Kitchenaid mixer).
Add chocolate chips and nuts (if applicable).
Pour batter into loaf pan(s) and bake for 50 minutes – 1 hr.
Insert a tooth pick into the center of the loaf and check to see if it comes out clean when you pull it out.
Remove from heat and allow bread to rest in the loaf pan for 10 minutes.
Invert the loaf pans onto a cooling rack. Enjoy warm or cold.

PS: I did one and half recipe to fit my bundt pan and baked it 15mins longer

Original recipe is fm here
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Boooooo!!! hehehe I am not into all this spooky thing.. i dont even know when the last time was that I watched a horror movie... i think i stopped watching ever since i got to know hubs... he once said this to me... "I dont see any reason why we shud watch a horror/thriller movie and feel scared after that.. might as well not watch it" - Err muahaha .. the truth is i think some ppl are "allergic" to horror movies ahaks

..


Once upon a time I loved horror/thriller movies... each time theres a new movie.. mom and dad wud take us to the cinema... i remember watching Jaws at Rex cinema .. i was young and i felt traumatic after watching all the blood thingy... nevertheless it didnt deter me fm watching the following sequels.. Then it was Piranha.. The Evil and so forth.. The Exorcist.. my my... i think that was the best horror movie of all time.. I remember i got nightmares after watching it... up to now.. i still cannot watch that movie without turning away my face each time the camera focuses on Regan (Linda Blair).


During the 80's saw producers making more and more horror/thriller movies... Friday the 13th, nightmare on elms street, City of the living dead, Boogeyman, Canibbal and so forth.. during the 80's my fav was Poltergeist .. did u guys ever watch it?? hahaha now i feel old :op

Anyway enough abt all this horror thingy.. we dont want someone to get nightmares .. right?? I decided to do this entry bec of Sonia.. she had her school Halloween Party two days ago and i decided to bake spooky cuppies for her school mates.. recipe is pretty straight forward and cuppies turned out fab.. the texture was nice.. the cuppies rose well and they didnt crack or even become lopsided .. the liners that i used was fantastic and i am definitely gonna go and get myself the same liner and use the same recipe for my chocolate cuppies.. Awesome recipe!


Prettier view?? muahahah Recipe i got fm Ambrosia and she got it fm Epicurious.. frosting is fm Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook.. i also frosted half of my cuppies using swiss meringue buttercream.. in total i got 30 cuppies..


Devilish Devil's Food Cupcakes
cupcakes from Epicurious, frosting from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

 Ingredients

For the Cupcakes

1 cup boiling water
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature

For the Frosting

4 cups confectioner's sugar
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 tablespoons whole milk
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract (to taste)
Wilton gel colors


Directions

To make the cupcakes, begin by preheating the oven to 175 degrees C, and position a rack in the middle of the oven. Line cupcake tins with paper liners.

In a bowl, whisk together the boiling water and cocoa powder until smooth. Whisk in the milk and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of a standard electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Begin to add in the flour mixture and the cocoa mixture to the creamed butter, alternating between the dry and wet ingredients, and making sure to begin and end with the flour mixture. The batter may look slightly curdled, but don't worry, this is what you want! Mix together only until just combined.

Divide the cake batter evenly among the cupcake tins. Bake the cupcakes in the oven until a tooth pick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Set the cupcake tins on wire racks, and allow the cupcakes to cool in the tins for about five minutes, before removing them and allowing them to cool completely on the racks.

While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the frosting. In the bowl of a standard electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the confectioner's sugar and butter until the mixture begins to come together. Lower the mixer speed, and add in the milk and vanilla extract. Increase the mixer speed to high, and beat the frosting until it is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.


For swiss meringue buttercream recipe u can get fm my previous post.. I did a two toned frosting and piped frills on my cuppies..


My little Sonia as Hawaii Hula Girl..


Her spooky spider cuppies without legs lol.. grrr why is it so so difficult to find the strap licorice here! blaahhh

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I cannot believe that it took me this long to write this post... shrug.. am a lazy blogger... yes.. i call myself a lazy blogger simply bec i hv been neglecting my space here.. If i am not careful.. my camera that i once swore upon will  start to collect dust :o(

As salam and good morning everyone.. Last weekend was our house warming .. i decided to have catered the main meal and concentrate on my dessert table.. now.. i must admit that it was a lot of work to put this dessert table together but I have to say I think it was the most satisfying.. I also decided to match the colour of the day which was pink, white and purple and planned ahead of what to bake for my guest..


We invited a bunch of friends and a whole lot of relatives over for some get-together cum karaoke session.. with the entertainment room being in the basement.. all we needed to do was to close the entertainment room door and voila we managed to tone down the volume.. It was a fun night of eating and munching and I just wanna thank everyone for making it happen...


Mom came early to help me out.. i dont know what i would do if she hadnt turned up early... Danke vielmals mom!


So ok.. here are the only few photos that i managed to snap.. i was too busy entertaining my guests that i kinda regret not having taken more.. anyway... a dessert table fm Bisousatoi will not be complete without macarons ey... we had coffee macs, chocolate ganache and also raspberry french buttercream.. i think i had like 100pcs of macs in total and am happy that everything got snapped up.. we also had apple crumble, durian puff, lapis prune and steamed fruit cake which for some reason was a little dry for my liking.. hmmm... i also baked fruit pastry in cuppies and salted chocolate cookies...


In order for me to brighten up my dessert table... i had bought M&M candies and also jelly beans..I also bought those oldies biscuits that has a meringue/sugar like topping..  at first i had wanted to prepare salted popcorn but was too afraid that it will get soggy.. for my center piece.. i decided to bake Devils Food Chocolate Cake... i dont know how many times i have baked it and its one of my top sellers.. Ty Yani of The Kitchen Guardian and also Edi who intro me to this cake and for sharing such a wonderful recipe.. Danke!

As for the main meal.. we had ordered Briyani rice with ayam masak merah and rendang (yums!).. we also had bubur pulut hitam, curry puff and also wadeh hehe..



Each time i look at these pics.. it makes me smile... my grandmother.. shes a fighter.. when her health seems to take a toll on her.. she always manages to pull thru.. Alhamdullilah... am super happy to see her in my new place... i pray for ur good health nyayi..


So here is the recipe of DFCC once again and if u have not baked it yet... BAKE IT! (i did 3 times of this recipe and baked it using 3x 7" round pan)

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder (i used cocoa berry)
3/4 tsp bicarbonate soda
1/4 tsp salt (i used 1/2 tsp)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (i used light brown sugar)
65 gram butter ( i used unsalted butter)
1 large egg - size A
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk (i used fresh milk and added distilled vinegar)
1/2 cup warm water

Methods
Preheat oven at 170C .. greased cake tin
Sieve flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate soda, salt, and set aside.
Beat butter with sugars until light and fluffy, add egg.
Add dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder etc) alternately with liquid ingredients (buttermilk + warm water) in three portions
Add vanilla extract and continue to mix till well blended
Bake for about 30 minutes or until just cooked


Cream Cheese Frosting
250 g cream cheese (room temp)
125 g butter (room temp)
1 cup icing sugar - sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
juice of a squeezed slice of lemon, to rid the cheese taste

Beat cream cheese and butter, just until creamy, add the icing sugar, vanilla and lemon juice.

Chocolate Ganache
200 ml double cream with at least 30% fat content (i used Millac - 38% fat)
250 g dark chocolate, chopped finely (i used valrhona - 70%)
a pinch of salt

In a double boiler, warm double cream until just at boiling point, add chopped chocolate and salt and stir, when all chocolate is melted, remove from the heat and continue stirring until all well mixed.

Cool cake completely, spread the cream cheese frosting and pour cool ganache on top.

Ok folks.. got to go.. tmrw there will be a Halloween party in Sonia's school and am thinking of baking something.. see how.. am pretty lazy to do anything since hubs is in Myanmar right now.. hv a fruitful week kids!
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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)

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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
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Yahooo.. its friday and u know whos coming home to mama?? oh yesss.. none other than my partner in crime ahaks.. honestly? i am super tired.. my body is taking a toll on me and its been a long week for me..yesterday i took Sonia to the indoor playground and while playing she suddenly felt sick..  she came running to me and told me that she felt like vomitting.. i think she must hv vomitted like four times and her face was as pale as a sheet! i quickly took her home.. let her sleep and shes feeling better now.. i think her head must hv felt dizzy while playing "spinning wheel".. she later told me that she had spinned herself so fast that she felt like vomitting..  ishhh Sonia.. Sonia


Ever heard of butterfinger candy? i dont know if i shud call it candy or chocolate.. the bottom line is .. this is the first time i came across it.. i didnt even know of their existance lol.. shame on u Rima! hahaha..

I came across this recipe while googling for a new cookie recipe.. hubs had taken home 3 empty bottles fm his office - (Rima pls bake me cookies).. the very same day.. Hairi came home fm work and was asking if there was any cookie that he cud munch.. when i pointed out to the store bought ones.. he said.. err.. later lah mama - (Mama pls bake me cookie).. the next day Sonia came home fm school wanting to bake something - (Mama i want to help u bake cookies)

So with all that.. i decided to bake cookies... doubled the recipe and got three bottles for my three gremlins lol.. so ladies.. go to the supermarket and get urself a packet of fun pack Butterfingers .. bake these cookies cos its chewy, sticky and to die for! Yums!


Butterfinger Cookies
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1 large egg
8 fun-sized Butterfinger candy bars, chopped

Preheat oven to 375.
Combine flour,baking soda, and salt in a small bowl
Beat sugar and butter using an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in egg.
Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Stir in Butterfinger pieces by hand. Dough will be very thick.
Drop using slightly rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes and let cool several minutes on baking sheets before transferring to baking racks. (I baked mine for 10mins to get those chewy cookies)

Yield: 2 dozen

Source: Fort Mill SC Living
Recipe fm: Sallys baking addiction

Bef i go.. to the Lions X11.. u hv done us proud!! - and to the the ref: KAYU! Muaahahaha


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By the time u read this .. i am on my way to send hubs to the airport.. hes flying off to Macao for a couple of days and my hopes and dreams to go to HK vanished just like that.. the plan was for us to go to Macao first and stay in HK for the weekend.. that didnt happen obviously.. tickets were not booked early enough and with the moving and all that.. hubs decided that i shud just stay home..on the one hand i'm exhausted but on the other hand..  am not that happy especially when i had already made plans to visit Anita. "babe it looks like we hv to put our get-together session to some other time :o(


Anyway.. this cake was baked last weekend.. had this constant craving for lemon marble cake since last Ramadhan and finally after two months i managed to bake a loaf of it... i didnt even bother to look up for a new recipe since hubs is still trying to rectify the probs with our internet connection in our living room ..

Ingredients
250g lightly salted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
250g caster sugar
4 medium eggs
1 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
250g self raising flour
85 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
20g cocoa powder

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C. Grease and line a 22-cm clip-sided round cake with non-stick baking paper.

Using an electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar together for 4-5 minutes until very pale. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating very well between each one, if necessary adding a spoonful of flour with the last egg to prevent the mixture from curdling. Beat in the lemon zest. Add the flour all at once and mix in well, then slowly mix in the lemon juice.

Take 1/3 batter and add cocoa powder to it.. Spoon plain and chocolate batter alternately into the prepared tin and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer, inserted into the centre of the cake, comes out clean. If it starts to brown too quickly, cover loosely with a sheet of lightly buttered foil.

Leave the cake, in its tin, to cool on a wire rack, then carefully remove the sides and base of the tin and peel off the paper. Put it onto a serving plate.



Recipe sound familiar? muahaha.. its actually my all time fav sicilian orange cake recipe which i have converted into lemon marble cake ahaks

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I must apologize for the lack of posts.. been a week since we moved to our new place.. been one busy week i must add... hubs was home all of last week... he was sick and so was my little princess.. took both to docs and they are fine now.. has the whole exercise of moving been more hectic than bef or has it always been a tiring experience? ahaks.. sometimes u tend to forget how tiring it can be until u have to go thru the whole moving procedure again.. we took with us like 35 boxes in total and managed to get rid some of the furniture that didnt "fit" into our new concept.. am slowly buying new stuff to decorate my place and knowing me.. i will probably end up buying more when we go to Europe next month..


So anyway .. we are settling in nicely.. I managed to do the unpacking within 3 days which i am proud of.. i never thought that i will get it done this quick.. i also managed to play around with my new found love which is my oven hehe.. at first I was a little worried but when my first cake turned out well.. i knew that i hv made the right choice when it comes to oven..


Salted caramel chocolate cake was the first cake that i had baked in my new oven... last week was moms bday and since everyone would be at moms.. i decided to bake a chocolate cake.. the cake itself was easy to prepare... didnt take that long to get it done and while waiting for it to cool down.. i quickly prepared salted caramel ganache and also the stablized whipping cream.. now.. one thing that i will change is the recipe for the stablized whipping cream.. i found out later that it melts pretty easily.. everything else was just ...oh so perfect :o)

Ingredients
For the Cake
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup hot coffee, or 1 cup boiling water and 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
1/2 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract




For the Salted Caramel Ganache
9 oz. semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used 66% valrhona)
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2 big pinches sea salt, preferably fleur de sel
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Vanilla Bean Filling
2 tablespoons cold water
1 1/4 teaspoons unflavoured gelatin
1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
Sea salt for finishing

Instructions
For the Cake
Adjust oven rack to the middle position. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and line 2, 9-inch baking pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add in the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until well combined.
Add in the buttermilk, hot coffee, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Mix on medium speed until well combined. About 1 to 2 minutes.
Divide batter among cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out almost clean, about 35 to 40 minutes. Let cake cool in pans about 10 minutes then remove from pans and cool on a cooling rack until completely cooled.

For the Salted Caramel Ganache
Place the chocolate in a medium bowl.
In a medium heavy bottomed pot, combine the sugar and water, and stir to combine. Heat the mixture over medium high heat, without stirring, but swirling occasionally if the sugar is colouring unevenly. Heat until the sugar turns amber in colour. Remove from heat immediately and slowly add the heavy cream while whisking. If there are any clumps of sugar, return the pot to low heat and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and fleur-de-sel (or other coarse salt). Pour the caramel over the chocolate. Allow the mixture to sit for about 5 minutes, then gently stir until the ganache is well combined. Set aside to thicken, about 1 to 2 hours. *If the ganache becomes to thick, warm it over a double boiler until more workable to in the microwave for 10 second intervals.

For the Vanilla Bean Filling
Add the cold water to a small bowl, then sprinkle the gelatin over it. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes, until it has set.
In a small skillet, add about 1/2-inch of water, and heat over medium-high heat. Place the small bowl with the gelatin directly inside the skillet. Stir the gelatin until it is melted, about 2 minutes. Remove the bowl from the skillet.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla bean seeds, and beat on high speed until soft peaks have formed. Slowly add in the melted gelatin mixture and continue to beat until stiff peaks have formed.

Assembly
Take the first cake layer and place it on a cake board or cardboard round slightly smaller than the cake layers. Spread a layer of ganache (a spreadable consistency) over the cake, about 1 cup. Top with the vanilla bean whipped cream. Top with the second cake layer. Refrigerate the cake for about 2 hours until the filling has set.
Heat the remaining ganache over a double boiler until it is a pourable consistency.
Set a cooling rack over a clean baking sheet. Remove the cake from the fridge and set it on top of the cooling rack. Pour the ganache over the cake so that it covers the tops and sides of the cake. Pour any ganache that has gone onto the baking sheet back into the bowl. If you have enough ganache, give the cake a second coating. Sprinkle the top of the cake with additional fleur-de-sel, or coarse sea salt. Refrigerate cake.

Note: i doubled the recipe of salted caramel ganache and used three 7" baking pan.. i let my ganache thicken bef frosting my cake..




It was a simple affair.. we talked.. we hung out and we laughed.. (pardon me for the pics in this post.. was too lazy to take pics using my DSLR) - Happy bday to mom, Shiela, sis Lyn and also Dafinah!


Last but not least... i thought i'd let u peep into my wet kitchen.. this is where i do my heavy cooking.. my dry kitchen is only meant for baking and today i managed to bake my first batch of macs.. Alhamdullilah..

My unfilled macs


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About Me

My photo
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..