Bisous À Toi

Weekend Pix

My husband has a new found hobby... playing kites ... We hv been going to different fields for the past 2wks... Sonia loves watching kites and would always ask me.. "Mama... where is it??" hahahha

So anyway... here are some photos that were taken today... The weather was nice enough to let us enjoy a few good hours of kite playing.. so enjoy!

By the way, kite playing continues into the night - with clip-on LED lights! The picture above shows the kites with lights flickering... cool eh!

my family

Black Forest and Orange Mecan Swiss Roll

Dont you just love it when u hv a simple weekend... I love love love to just chill on weekends... ya know... take a breather... just relax... we did go out for a wee bit of time... did our typical grocery shopping and also went to my fav bakery supplies shop to get my baking stuff... soooo I am now ALONE at home... yipppiiieeee... Sonia and papa have gone out to look at kites... bless them.. love them to bits but sometimes its nice to be alone at home for a change! heheh

Last night I baked two types of swiss rolls... both are so easy to make and most importantly.. you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry. It's light and airy. So light and airy that I ate 3 pcs of these in one sitting... oppsss

BLACK FOREST SWISS ROLL

Ingredients
6 eggs (grade A)
4 oz sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbs ovalette
3 oz flour
* 1/2 oz cocoa powder
* 2 tbsp fresh milk (I used 2tbsp of milk powder)
* 1 tsp chocolate emulco/paste
1/4 tsp salt
4 oz melted butter (I used unsalted butter)

Fillings
100gm whipping cream (whip till creamy)
Pitted blueberry or blueberry filling (i didnt hv .. used cherry filling instead)
Chocolate Rice

Method
Sieve cocoa powder and flour into mixing bowl. Add in the rest of the ingredients except melted butter. Beat at high speed for abt 7 mins or till fluffy.
Pour in melted butter and stir lightly.
Pour into a 10" x 10" tray and bake at 175C for about 15 mins. (i used 2 trays of 9x9")
Remove from oven and leave to cool.
Mix the pitted cherries syrup and brush on top of the swiss roll.
Spread a layer of fresh cream on top of the swiss roll.
Lay a row of pitted cherries at the edge of the swiss roll and add chocolate rice on top.. roll up. Refrigerate till the swiss roll is set.
Slice & Serve chilled.

ORANGE MECAN ROLL

Ingredients:
120 gm. melted butter
8 nos. egg yolks
4 nos. egg white
80 gm. fine sugar
75 gm. plain flour
30 gm. milk powder
1 tsp. Ovalette
1/2 tsp. chocolate emulco
1/2 tsp. coffee oil (I used coffee emulco)
1/2 tsp. orange emulco
A drop of orange colouring (optional)
Butter cream or Jam for spreading (I used Nutella)

Method:
(1) Beat egg yolks, egg white, sugar, flour, ovalette and milk powder together until thick and fluffy.
(2) Pour in melted butter and mix till thorouly mixed.
(3) Scoop out 2 ladle spoonful of batter into a bowl. Add in chocolate paste and coffe oil and stir till well mixed. Place into a piping bag.
(4) Add in orange emulco and orange colouring into the balance batter and divide into 2 portions. Pour into 2 - 10" x 10" square trays.
(5) Pipe patterns onto the orange batter, write the letter "C" on top.
(6) Bake at 190C for about 12 mins.
(7) Leave it to cool.
(8) Spread Butter cream or jam on top and roll tightly. Leave it in the fridge to set and then slice.

Sources: Aunty Yochana and Rinnchan Fotopages

cake

Wordless Thursday

my family

Sicilian Orange Cake

By far this is the best orange cake that I have tasted.. bake it and I'm pretty sure u will agree with me :o)

I saw this recipe at The little Teowchew and Almost Bourdain blog.. she adapted it fm Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escape Cookbook.

Ingredients
250 g lightly salted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
250 g caster sugar
4 medium eggs
1 1/2 tsp finely grated orange zest
250 g self raising flour (i used plain flour and add 1 tsp of baking powder)
85 ml freshly squeezed orange juice

For the icing:
125 g icing sugar
5 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice

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 orange zest. Add the flour all at once and mix in well, then slowly mix in the orange juice.

Spoon the mixture 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.

For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in the orange juice until you have a spreadable consistency. Spread it over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides, and leave to set. Serve cut into slices, and store any leftovers in an airtight container.

According to Almost Bourdain... This Sicilian Orange Cake is the famous orange cake from the once popular Café Agostini (this cafe was closed on 22 July, 2005) owned by Margie Agostini, in the heart of Sydney ’s suburb for the rich and famous, Woollahra. Customers have often been heard to say that “Margie’s orange cake is to die for”

Rick Stein:
"To be accurate, I suppose this cake should be known as Margie Agostini's orange cake. It was her signature dish at her greatly missed Caffe Agostini in Woollahra in Sydney. It seemed to me to be just made for Sicilian oranges. The recipe came from an article in the Times by Jill Dupleix, although I had eaten the cake at the cafe a few years earlier and I thought it was amazing. As Jill says, it has to be the richest, moistest, butteriest and yet lightest orange cake in the world."

cake

Oven Baked Donuts

The first time i ate baked donuts was at Chatchuchak (JJ) market in Bangkok.. got addicted to it and used to bake it all the time when i was pregnant... two years on and today I decided to bake it again... (welp.. tooth aching and still baking Rima? hahha) simple recipe... healthier (ahem ahem) and guilt free even if u eat 24 of em' :op

Ingredients (makes 24 donuts)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
150g plain yogurt
1 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients
Combine the egg, yogurt, oil, lemon juice and vanilla.. mix well (handwhisk)
Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened
Coat the tube pans with nonstick cooking spray and dust with 1 tsp confectioners' sugar. divide batter among pans
Bake at 180C for 13mins or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean

I am not too sure if this recipe belongs to Pink or Js Mum...however i do remember that i got it fm a site called singapore motherhood (where all the preggie moms hang out online)

Donuts

Toothache oh toothacheeeee

The worst pain I’ve ever experienced is a toothache.... well except giving birth of cos!

It started hurting last week and I tried to ignore it. Took some pain killers and prayed to God that it would go away.. honestly.. I don’t have the time to deal with it... err well its more abt... being afraid to go to the dentist?? You see one of those lovely things that my dear hb benefits fm working at his present office was that both Sonia and I are covered by the German office insurance and hence i get to go and see the dentist any time i feel like it.. of cos being the stubborn Rima... I dont go and see my dentist often enough...

Well my ignorance didn’t work. By Sunday night I was in so much pain I couldn’t even do anything. I tried to go to sleep.... I couldn’t. It hurt so bad I thought my brain was abt to explode. Seriously... I don’t know if it’s possible. But that’s what it felt like, as if any moment the throbbing would become too much and my brain would just explode from the pressure.

So... after a few minutes of listening to my whinning... my dear hb forced me to take painkillers.

I HATE taking medicine. It’s like admitting defeat? It’s admitting that it hurts so much that I can’t reason my way out of it. But it hurt so bad I didn’t care what I was admitting... I couldn’t handle the pain.. This morning I couldn't do anything but lay in bed and tried to sleep but I just couldnt... took another painkiller and now feel a little better...

My appointment to have the tooth checked and hopefully not removed is first thing tomorrow morning. Hopefully this pain will dull or die after that. Otherwise.. my head may explode!

Anyway.. for some reason I cant load any photos on here... weird..... my head is starting to spin again... and i cant be bothered to keep on trying to load it again... i think the pain is coming... arghhhhhhh

My thoughts

Banana Chocolate Muffins

We had a pretty long day today and I am gonna keep this short... had baked these twelve sweet smelling, beautifully domed muffins for our afternoon tea err more like to go along with our espresso hahha and let me tell u abt these muffins... not only are they easy to prepare.. The muffins tasted really delicious when they were fresh out of the oven... so do serve it warm! The texture was all moist and fluffy and the sweetness was just right. This recipe is definitely going to be a keeper!!

Ingredients:
(makes 10 ~ 12 muffins)

275g plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large bananas, about 450g
125g brown caster sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
50ml semi-skimmed milk (I used low fat fresh milk)
75g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
50g chocolate chips

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 180degC (350 degF). Line muffin pans with paper muffin cases.
Sieve together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl. Mix in the chocolate chips. Set aside.
Peel the bananas and mash with a fork in a bowl. Add in brown sugar, egg, milk and melted butter. Mix until well combined.
Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients. With a wooden spoon or a spatula, gently fold all the ingredients to form a wet batter. Stir gently, using only a few strokes and mix until the flour are incorporate into the batter. DO NOT Over mix. The batter should appear lumpy.
Spoon batter into paper muffin cases. Bake for 20mins until muffins turn golden brown or a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Let cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or cold.

Source: Good Housekeeping - Easy to Make! Cakes & Bakes.

Muffin

Pandan Chiffon Cake

Chiffon Pandan cake is Hairi's fav cake... so in a way this cake was baked for him cos as u guys already know... my dear hb is not a big fan of any spongy cake... well my mom is not a big fan of spongy cake too.. as she wud always say... "eating sponge cake aka baulu aka chiffon cake chokes my throat" hahahaaa

Anyway this recipe was taken fm Prima's website... I like the soft texture of this chiffon cake recipe which explained why I hv been using the same recipe over the years :o)

Ingredients
100 g PrimaFlour Top Flour ( I used cake flour)
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tbsp Pandan Juice (I used 1 tsp of pandan paste)
100 ml Coconut Milk
4 Egg Yolks
50 ml Corn Oil
1/4 tsp Green Colouring
5 Egg Whites
1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar
100 g Castor Sugar
Pinch of Salt

Method
Preheat oven to 170°.

Extract pandan juice from finely pounded pandan leaves and add to coconut milk.

Add egg yolk, 50 g sugar, oil, colouring and salt to the coconut mixture. Mix well using hand whisk.

Sift PrimaFlour Top Flour and baking powder and fold into mixture. Mix until smooth. Set aside.

Beat egg whites and tartar at high speed until foamy. Add remaining 50 g sugar and
beat until stiff.

Add 1/3 beaten egg white to the yolk mixture and mix using a hand whisk.

Slowly fold in this mixture to the remaining 2/3 of beaten egg whites.

Pour mixture into an ungreased 18cm chiffon tin and bake for about 50mins.

Turn tin over on a cake rack to cool before loosening cake.

Note: I hv tried using HongKong flour, all purpose flour, Top flour and cake flour for this recipe... I think irregardless of what flour u choose.. it will come out good..

cake

Fruit Pastry

Baked fruit pastry last night after putting Sonia to bed - with success - in her room.. on her own bed... phewww... touch wood yah but i do hope that tonight and many more nights to come shes able to sleep in her own bed without any probs..

You see.. all of a sudden a few weeks ago, she hasn't been going to sleep at night...She has no problem when its nap time, but when bedtime rolls around, she starts to scream, cry and even throw a fit.. I've tried bringing her into my bed, and wait until she falls asleep and then puts her back in her bed, but that woke her up, and she will starts to scream all over again!! We ended up giving in and let her sleep in between us which was not a good idea since she kicks and moves far too much in her sleep.. :o(

Anyway.. enough abt that... back to my fruit pastry... I've posted this recipe bef and as what i said in my previous post... we love love love love this simple yet full of flavor cake/pastry... not only its easy to prepare.. its a pretty cake and taste delicious too! I will post the recipe again..

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup of flour
1 cup of sugar + 2 tbsp (for sprinkling on the fruits)
3/4 stick of butter - 100g
2 tbsp of sour cream
1 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of vanilla
1 tsp of lemon or orange peel
3 eggs

500 grms of fruits chunks (apricots, pears, cherries, strawberries, kiwi, orange, peaches etc)

Method
* Place cuts fruits in a strainer and sprinkle with 2 tbsp of sugar
* Pre-heat oven to 350 degree F. Butter a baking pan.
* Cream butter, sugar and sour cream together until creamy.
* Add eggs one at a time and beat well.
* Add vanilla, flour, baking powder and zest until everything combined
* Pour batter into a baking pan and smooth the top. Place fruits on top
* Bake for 50-60 minutes or until cake is done.
* Cool and serve

pastries

Burger Malaysia

For some reason.. Hb loves anchovies cooked in chilli paste.. he loves it in his bread buns... he loves it on his sandwiches... he loves it whenever i cook it to go along with coconut rice... in fact he loves it on his pizza too... isnt that weird for a Caucasian guy to like anchovies in chilli paste so much?? err not really especially since hb was born and bred here... so anyway.. today I decided to gv this kuih a try and knew at the same time that he will definitely ask me to make it again and again and again and again after this hehe

Dough is easy to handle and remains soft after frying... an easy snack/breakfast to prepare.. try it and u will love it... recipe fm Yani of MyResipi

Ingredients
200g flour
140ml milk/water
2 tbsp butter/margarine
21/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp dry yeast

Method
Place all ingredients in BM and select dough
Take dough out after an hour or so and gv it a light punch
Divide dough into 8 to 10 balls
Let it rest till double in size
Deep fry and let it cool
Slice each ball and add in anchovy cook in chilli paste and a thin slice of cucumber
Serve!