Easy Banana Muffins

I am back again! Life has been very busy lately that whenever I get home from class, I am just too tired to even update the blog. There are quite a number of recipes that I would love to share but some of them have no photos. So, I shall put the recipes up once I've photographed the outcomes.

Besides that, the weather now is getting much nicer than before, with more sunshine and less rainfall. I went to Roath Park last Monday and it was beautiful! There's not much flowers yet but I did spot some daffodils by the roadside. Spring is almost here! Yeay! Can't wait for the flowers to bloom so that we can have a picnic at the park. :)

Today, I am just going to post this recipe up (while waiting for my class which starts at 2pm) because this is definitely one of the easiest recipes I've ever made! Fluffy, moist and flavourful banana muffins that can be made from scratch and served on the table in under an hour.

Recipe (Banana muffins) :

• 3 to 4 large bananas, mashed (I used 3 1/2 and ate the other 1/2)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/175C. 

2. Combine mashed bananas, white sugar, egg, vanilla and vegetable oil in a bowl.

3. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into the bowl with wet ingredients. Mix just to combine. 

4. Fold in walnuts and chocolate chips. Do not overmix!

5. Pour into a lined or greased muffin tin and bake for about 20 minutes. 

Recipe adapted from Catcancook.

Banana Pancakes

Banana, in my opinion, is best eaten on its own. But there are times when you have way too much bananas at home that you could not swallow any of it anymore. These are the times when you can get very creative, by either making pancakes, muffins, pies etc.

Every week I would have at least one banana per day, unless I decide to take an apple as part of my meal plan. And today I ended up with two bananas waiting to be turned into something tasty, forcing me to look up on the internet for uncomplicated recipes that could be easily whipped up once I got out of bed.

After browsing through endless food websites, I finally decided to gave this recipe a try. Frankly speaking, I would prefer it with a little bit more banana than it called for. However, it certainly makes a delicious breakfast or brunch, especially if you're getting tired of the old plain pancake.

I served these fluffy pancakes with sliced bananas and strawberries (not in photograph). Since I do not really enjoy my pancake with maple syrup, I heated up a tablespoonful of strawberry jam and some water to make up for the missing syrup. I always freeze half of my pancakes for later use because I certainly cannot finish the whole thing all by myself in one go. So, whenever I feel like having them on weekdays, I would just pop them in the oven or microwave and they would still be as good! 

Recipe (Banana pancake):

Ingredients:

• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup mashed banana, plus extra for slicing to be put on top (I'd add more banana next time)
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tbsp melted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup plain flour
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Mix buttermilk, mashed banana, egg and vanilla extract in a bowl.

2. Sift plain flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the bowl and mix to combine. 

3. Add in the sugar and lastly, the melted butter.

4. Let the batter rest on the kitchen top for 5 minutes.

5. Heat the griddle to 325F or frying pan over medium heat. Use a 1/3 cup measure to scoop the batter and pour onto the griddle or frying pan.

6. Flip over once they start to form little bubbles. (about 1 minute) 

7. When both sides are cooked, serve the pancake with some sliced banana, butter and syrup.

Makes 6 - 8 pancakes.

Adapted from: Kitchen Treaty

Brownies

About a week ago marked my first month being away from home. There's another 8 long months to go before I can fly back to Malaysia. But.. Let's not dwell on that.

In all honesty, I find it hard to believe that I am finally here, all alone, far away from home, doing the most demanding course ever, Medicine. Okay, I know.. Other people might say that their courses are challenging as well but this is going to be from my perspective and my own point of view. And the best part is.. I have yet to shed a single tear. Is it not amazing? Most of my family members thought that I'd be really homesick and I would want to go home. It's not that I don't feel homesick at all but I'm feeling much better as time passes by.

Inside Cardiff Castle (The great keep)

So.. Every where I go, one of the first few questions that they will ask is "How do you find Cardiff?" (Oh, just in case you don't know.. I'm in Cardiff right now, reading a 5 year Medicine course at Cardiff University) To me, Cardiff is one of the best places to study in and I'd like to believe that this is the reason why Allah has placed me here and not anywhere else in other parts of the world. It isn't as big or busy as London and Paris but it has everything that you'll ever need. There are not that many shopping malls, but then, let's not forget that you're not here to shop but to study. *sigh*

My love

The one thing that I really miss about home, apart from my family of course, is the kitchen.. and all the gadgets/utensils I have. I wish I could bring them all here. I don't bake as often as I used to; in fact I've only made apple crumble once, to be brought to a housewarming party. :( I really want to bake, but who's going to eat all of the food? Definitely not me.

This means that I can only bake when there is a special occasion or a gathering. And.. That is why I made this brownie. Everyone has their own favourite recipe. So this is mine. It's dense, fudgy, very chocolatey and insanely delicious! What more could you ask for? Oh by the way, if you're not a big fan of dark chocolate, you might not like it.

I accidentally over baked the brownies due to several reasons: 1) I'm not used to this oven. 2) I had a 9 am - 5 pm class before baking and I was very tired. 3) I was simply lazy to hang around in the kitchen, to keep an eye on it. There you go. But they aren't that dry, so they should be fine.

Recipe (Best-ever brownies):

Ingredients:

• 185g good quality dark chocolate (this time around I used cheaper ones, 50% cocoa)
• 150g butter
• 85g plain flour
• 40g cocoa powder
• 50g dark chocolate chip* (I'd put more next time)
• 3 eggs
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 180C or 160C (fan).

2. Melt dark chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pot of simmering water. (bain-marie)

3. Using a hand-mixer, beat the eggs and caster sugar until it thickens and almost double in volume.

4. Slowly, fold in the chocolate mixture into the eggs mixture. 

5. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into chocolate-egg mixture. And stir gently, just to combine.

6. Lastly, add in the dark chocolate chips and vanilla.

7. Pour into a greased 20cm square pan and bake for about 35-50 minutes until the top has a papery crust and the sides are just about to come away from the tin.

8. Let cool before slicing.

Note:

*In the original recipe, it calls for 50g milk chocolate chips and 50g white chocolate chips. They can be replaced with nuts, dried fruit etc.

Adapted from: Best ever brownie by BBC

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

I don't know what's got into me. Even before the holiday started, I had a list of things that I want to do but now, almost two months have passed by and nothing has been crossed off the list yet. I am EXTREMELY lazy. Sigh.

There's only over a week left of Ramadhan, I can't believe it went by so fast. As always, I am not that looking forward to Syawal as I used to be when I was small. It's a grown-up thing I guess. I remembered how excited I was when Umi started making her deliciously-sweet-and-chocolatey chocolate chip cookies because it acted as an indication that Eid was nearing. Then, she would hide the cookies in a 'safe' place that she thought we wouldn't know, so as not to let us finish them. Oh, sweet childhood memories.

Now that she doesn't bake them anymore, I've been trying to find the recipe which she kept in one of the pile-high old recipe books for years. :( Once I found that recipe, I will surely share it here but in the mean time, let's enjoy a slice of this lemony cake which I made quite a while ago. I think this is a great and easy recipe that would be loved by many.

Recipe (Lemon blueberry cheesecake bars):

Crust:

• 18-20 pieces of digestive biscuits
• A pinch of ground cinnamon
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Grease a 9x9-inch baking tray with butter and line it with a parchment paper.

2. In a food processor, process the biscuits and ground cinnamon until you have the texture of fine bread crumbs. 

2. Add the butter and process again until everything is thoroughly mixed.

3. Press the mixture onto the lined baking tray and bake for 12 minutes before letting it cool.

Cheesecake filling:

• 500g cream cheese
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• zest and juice of 1 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

1. Put everything, except for the blueberries, into the food processor and process until well combined. 

2. Pour the mixture over the cooled crust and sprinkle the blueberries over the top. The blueberries would sink slightly, but should still be half exposed.

3. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until the center only slightly jiggles.

4. Remove from the oven and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

Adapted from: Brown Eyed Baker

Cranberry and white chocolate scones with chantilly cream

My family enjoys eating scones and the first recipe that I tried was Rachel Allen's recipe. It is a great basic scone recipe, which can be added with many other flavours such as fruits and nuts to suit your taste palette.

However, there are times when you feel like you want to try something new; new ingredients, new recipes. This is my first time baking with fresh cranberries. Fresh cranberries are hard to find, I've been looking all over for them. But I managed to find some while we did our grocery shopping at Citta Mall in Ara Damansara.

The scones taste pretty much like the raspberry scones I made while we were in Paris last year. I wanted to share that recipe with you but I don't have the pictures to post along with it. So I hope this recipe will do, for now.

These scones are light, flaky and flavourful - tart and sweet with a hint of orange, best served with clotted cream or chantilly cream. Since clotted cream can be quite expensive, almost RM 30 for a small jar, if I'm not mistaken, I simply served them with homemade chantilly cream, which is sweetened whipped cream with vanilla.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup buttermilk or yogurt
• 1 egg
• 2 3/4 cup flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup of coarsely chopped cranberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 orange, rind of

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Mix the buttermilk and egg in a bowl.

3. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles small peas.

4. Mix in cranberries, white chocolate chips, sugar and the rind of orange.

5. Pour in the buttermilk mixture and mix until just combine. Do not knead or it'll become stone hard.

6. Once combined, transfer onto a lightly floured working surface. Pat into 2 balls about 1 inch thick. 

7. Cut into 6 - 8 wedges each and place them onto a lined baking tray.

8. Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes until golden brown.

Adapted from: Food.com

Dark chocolate and orange cake

Chocolate and orange - a match made in heaven. The sweet-scented orange compliments the slight bitterness of the chocolate.. Ahhh.. They are just perfect together. I can never have enough of them. That's why I can eat Lindt - Orange Intense chocolate bar all by myself, despite the fact that they don't do any good to my waistline.

Well, so is this cake.. or any other food if not taken in moderation. However, I always feel that if the food is not delicious, then it is not worth the calorie. I don't know the calories for a slice of this cake, but I can assure you that it would totally be worth it.

It was my youngest sister who first made this cake a few months ago and to her disappointment, it didn't turn out quite right. I'm sorry to say this, Hani, but the cake looked horrible. As not to waste the cake, she still made the ganache to be poured on top. Surprisingly, everyone loved this dense yet moist cake and it left us craving for more. Well, everyone except my cousin who hates dark chocolate.

If you're not a fan of dark chocolate, you may not like it as much as we do. But you can still substitute the dark chocolate with milk chocolate and you might have to reduce the sugar, or else it would be a little bit too sweet.

Ingredients:

• 1 Seville orange
• 100 g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 3 eggs
• 270 g caster sugar
• 240 ml sunflower oil
• 25 g cocoa powder
• 250 g plain flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1. Pierce the orange with a skewer (right through). Boil it in a pot of water for 30 minutes, until soft. Blend the orange to form a smooth puree and let it cool.

2. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 9 inch cake pan. 

3. Melt the chocolate over a pot of simmering water, or in a microwave for 2 minutes on high, stirring after 1 minute. Let cool. 

4. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and oil. Gradually beat in the pureed orange and melted chocolate. 

5. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Pour into the cake tin.

6. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes, until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Let cool.

• 120 g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 90 g semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

1. Bring the cream to a simmer, then pour over the chocolate.

2. Leave for 2 minutes, then stir until smooth.

3. Set aside until it is firm enough to spread over the cake.

Source and adapted from : BBC Good Food

Chocolate Spiced Cupcake with a surprise center

I would come home every weekend and there would be people asking me, how do I control myself from falling into temptations? There's tv to be watched, fast wi-fi to go online and cars to be driven out.. How do I contain myself?

The truth is, I don't really watch tv, I surf the internet everyday does not matter where I am and I basically hate driving. So.. that's how I do it. I don't feel tempted to watch tv even though I sleep in the AV room almost every night and no matter how many cars are there at home, I only go out when there's people who is willing to drive me around. I guess I only get the driving license, immediately after my 17th birthday, just for the sake of having it. It's not like I really want to drive. And for that, I'm quite grateful that Abah decided not to buy me the car that he promised to, or else.. it would only be a waste of money.

But then again, I do watch tv, I do get online and I like going out.. If it involves cooking, baking and basically, food! I love watching cooking shows, I find recipes online (and my favourite websites would be tastespotting and foodgawker) and I enjoy doing grocery shopping and visiting the shops that sell baking supplies.

So now you know my weakness - food. I just can't help it. I have to bake something, at least once a week, that's how I release my tension. However, I do have to say here that I do not enjoy eating as much as I love making it. So.. yes, everyone else would have to finish up whatever I make. :P

One of my favourite cooking shows would be bake with Anna Olson. I've only watched it twice, because apparently it is shown on weekdays, making it impossible for me to follow the show religiously. I just love the kitchen that she's working in, I don't care if it is just a studio (or not), I'm in love with it! I wish I could have a kitchen like that. :( Anyways, I just want to share this cupcake recipe that I've tried from her show.

I like it, my family likes it and I hope you like it too. :)

Buttermilk Dinner Rolls

It's finally November! A few months have passed and exam is just around the corner, my final semester exam before sitting for the IB exam in May 2013. The third semester has almost come to an end. Time sure flies. Anyways, school was hectic. With lots of IAs, ToK, tests and placement stuffs, life just could not get any busier. Sometimes I feel very motivated, sometimes I'm not. Sometimes I know that I can do this, sometimes I doubt myself. Sometimes I'm up, sometimes I'm at the bottom of the wheel. I guess what keeps me going is my family.. and not to forget, my friends.

I sure miss taking photos of the food I baked, blogging about recipes and life in general. So here goes another recipe that I think I should have shared it much earlier, considering that this is my family's favourite. However, I believe that it is better late than never. I first tried making this bread in 2009. And from that on, I have been making these rolls whenever we needed some. I can assure you that this recipe is worth trying and it will leave you craving for more!

These buns are very versatile, you can have it with just about anything, at anytime of the day. We've had it with sausages, sauteed mushrooms, soups, sardines etc. Since I've ran out of buttermilk, I just substituted it with a cup of milk mixed with a tablespoon of vinegar. And at times, when I'm in the mood of making it,  I'll put in a couple tablespoons of water roux. But then again, it is not really necessary. This dough can be made ahead of time and be refrigerated, so that you can have fresh bread anytime you want. But I only make a third of the recipe, since that is more than enough to serve my family.

Amazing Buttermilk Rolls (makes about 3 dozens):

• 3 cups of buttermilk, at room temperature
• 3 cups of flour
• 1 tbsp of instant yeast

Combine the three ingredients in a bowl, cover and let it sit for about 2 hours, until it has doubled in size.

• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup of oil
• 5 cups of flour (add more if the dough is too sticky)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda

Mix all the ingredients above into the same bowl as the previous one. Knead for about 7 to 10 minutes (more if using hands) until the dough becomes soft and elastic. Shape into buns and place them onto baking trays. Let them sit for an hour, until they double in size. Then, brush with some egg wash. Bake in a preheated oven at 175C for 10 - 12 minutes. Cover with aluminium foil, halfway through, if they brown too much.

Source: The Sisters Cafe

Chocolate Beet Cupcake

One more week to go before all the Year 1 students need to pass up their Extended Essay first draft. I am only done with the introduction and the body of the essay. Oh God, help me to get through IB! :( This semester is going to be a very important one, as it will determine our placement. I am hoping and praying that I could go to UK. :(

As usual, I would still go home on weekends even though exams are just around the corner. I just can't study if I were to stay in hostel. It is very depressing and I'll end up sleeping instead. At least, when you are at home, you get to see the faces of your loved ones which makes your days a lot brighter and your life a little stress free. And only then will I be able to study calmly. Or else I couldn't even focus on what I study, I might have to reread a sentence millions of times before I am able to understand. Well you know what they say, home is where the heart is. <3

Today, I've baked something really simple, chocolate beet cupcakes with beet cream cheese frosting. To me, it tasted pretty much like red velvet cupcakes but without all those scary red colouring. I guess that's why mom didn't like, she never liked red velvet cupcakes. It is not chocolatey enough for her. Even though I, too, don't find it chocolatey enough but I guess that's how red velvet cupcakes should taste like, just a hint of chocolate.

The recipe can be found here.

Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes

Guess what? I have finally found my favourite chocolate cupcakes recipe. It is so easy to make and you could certainly whip this up at the very last hour if you have unexpected guests coming, except for of course, you might need to let the cupcakes cool down for a little while before you put on the ganache.

I've over-whipped the ganache, so it looked quite grainy and not very appetizing. But hey! Who cares what it looks like as long as it's delicious! :D

Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes - Makes 20
from Bisousatoi

Ingredients

• 5 eggs
• 125g caster sugar
• 75g flour
• 40g cocoa powder
• 50g dark chocolate
• 65g butter
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Ganache topping

• 250g whipping cream/heavy cream
• 250g dark chocolate
• 30g unsalted butter

Method

1. Preheat the oven at 180C.

2. Melt dark chocolate with butter using a double boiler. 

3. Beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add in the sifted flour, cocoa powder and bicarb.

4. Next add in the melted chocolate. Stir well and scoop into cupcake liners. 

5. Bake for 13-15 minutes. Once baked, let it cool.

6. Prepare the ganache by heating the whipping cream using a double boiler. Then add in the chocolate and butter. Once melted, take off from heat.

7. Let the ganache chill in the refrigerator. After it has been chilled, whip the ganache until fluffy and it is ready to be piped. 

I halved the recipe and got 8 cupcakes out of it.

Lasagna

When I was small, I used to hate lasagna as I find it being too rich and cheesy. However, as I grow up, I begin to fall in love with this Italian dish. I still remember, it would always be my eldest sister who would make this. Now that I have developed an intense passion towards baking, I too, can make the dish. :)

I used the recipe provided behind the lasagna sheets box but have made several adjustments to suit our taste buds. I used combinations of cheddar and mozzarella cheese this time but you could use any other types of cheese if you wish to. The vegetables that I would normally put in lasagna are tomatoes and carrot but I also included a medium-sized green zucchini this time around.

Lasagna


For the meat sauce :

• 800g minced beef
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 3 tbsp of oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 green zucchini, diced
• 3 large tomatoes, diced
• 5 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 tbsp tomato sauce
• 1 tsp chili sauce
• 1 cube of chicken stock.
• salt
• pepper

1. Heat a pot with some oil in it over medium heat. Once hot, put in the onions and cook until they wilt or become translucent.

2. Next put in the garlic and meat. The meat will releases its juices.

3. Put all the other ingredients in, and let it simmer away.

4. Season to taste and turn off the heat once the sauce is dry (no more pools of water).

For the bechamel sauce :

• 4 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp flour
• 1 litre milk (4 cups)
• 250g cheddar or mozzarella cheese
• salt, pepper to taste

1. Melt the butter over medium heat and put in the flour. Cook the flour for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. Quickly whisk in the milk to avoid lumps. Put the saucepan back on the heat.

3. Stir continuously until the sauce thickens. 

4. Put in the cheese and season it. 

5. Once it boils, turn off the heat.

Assembling :

• Grated parmesan or mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.

2. Start with a layer of meat sauce, followed by lasagna sheets and then bechamel sauce. It would be nice if you could have at least 4 layers.

3.  Finish off with the bechamel sauce and topped with grated cheese.

4. Bake for about 40 minutes or until it browns a little.

Homegrown tomato plant.

Dark Chocolate Tart

Few more days to go before holiday starts! I seriously can't wait for holidays, I've been aching for it long enough. My body is tired, my mind is exhausted. I'm in a serious need of a break. Oh Wednesday, do come fast!

I had a very packed schedule last week, with the Minggu Bahasa Antarabangsa going on, in which our class had to join 3 competitions. To our disappointment, we didn't win anything. But it's alright, at least we had fun and we got to eat Big Apple doughnuts in the end. :P

So today I made dark chocolate tart which I adapted from this website. It's weird that my sister didn't like it so much because it would always be her who loves and finishes what I cook or bake. But she still ate 2 slices of it. Guess it wasn't that bad huh? :D *Update : It tasted even better (my sister agreed on this) after it has been sitting in the fridge for a night* My mom likes it though. Only chocoholic would appreciate this rich and chocolatey tart! :)

Dark Chocolate Tart - 9 inch

For the crust :

• 1 cup digestive biscuit crumbs
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp caster sugar

1. Preheat oven at 180C.
2. Process everything in a food processor and press it onto a 9-inch tart pan.
3. Bake for 10 minutes until slightly puffed up and let it cool for 15-20 minutes.

For the filling :

• 227g dark chocolate, chopped (not more than 65% cocoa)
• 1 1/4 cup of heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Heat the milk in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil.

2. Pour over the chopped chocolate and whisk gently. Then, let it cool slightly.

3. Add the vanilla, eggs and salt to the chocolate mixture.

4. Pour over the slightly cooled crust and bake for 22-28 minutes. I baked for 28 minutes and it burnt a little bit, so I would reduce the cooking time in another try. But remember, it all depends on the oven. 

5. After it has baked, let it cool for at least an hour.

For the glaze :

• 50g dark chocolate, chopped
• 2 tbsp of heavy cream
• 1 tbsp of water
• 1 tsp of golden syrup

1. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil.

2. Pour over the chopped chocolate and stir.

3. Mix in the water and golden syrup.

4. Pour over the tart, tilt around to even out the glaze.

5. Let it set for another hour or refrigerate for at least 4 hours and remove at least 2 hours before serving.

Pick Me Up

Last week seemed like a very long week. I've been waiting for weekends to come since Monday. And now we have actually come to a new Monday. Time just flies..

I really want to update my blog as often as I could. However, I just can't seem to put my words right when constructing a sentence. Then I would simply hit the red button at the left corner of the window and start doing something else instead. I'm not sure when will I be able to write a good post, a very descriptive explanation on whatever I baked or cooked. I guess one can only dream.

Yesterday, I made some tiramisu which my youngest sister have been requested since last month! I have got everything in the fridge, ready to be turned into tiramisu. But oh well, I will always be me. I'm quite a procrastinator, everybody knows that.

Since there are two days of chinese new year holiday, which makes up to four days free of school, I decided to make the tiramisu with the help of my sister. She only helped me with the assembling part but hey, at least she helped! :)

This is a non-alcoholic version, which is hard to find if you were to look for it in restaurants. And since I'm using coffee that has been sweetened up a little bit, I reduced the sugar in the custard. One is never enough for my sister and a second helping is a must.

Recipe (tiramisu) :

• 4 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 250g mascarpone
• 220g cream cheese
• 180 ml coffee
• Ladyfingers/ savoiardi biscuits

Method :

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together egg, sugar and milk over medium heat until it boils. Let it boil for 1 minute, remove from heat and refrigerate for one hour once it has cooled down a little.

2. In a medium bowl, whip heavy cream with vanilla until stiff.

3. Combine mascarpone, cream cheese with the custard (egg yolk mixture).

4. Carefully fold in the whipped cream.

5. Soak the ladyfingers in the coffee and start layering.

6. Dust with some cocoa powder and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Serves 8.

Sweet Buns

In these past few days, I've been cruising through some food blogs that I stumble upon on foodgawker and tastespotting. They have tons of amazing photos of their food on the blog. How I wish one day I could take equally good photos. I guess I need to learn from the experts and just practice more. For now, I'm just going to share this recipe I got from jintanmanis.com.

Half of the dough, I put some chocolate bits in the buns when I shape them and then put some granulated sugar and grated cheddar cheese on the other half of the dough. I like the cheese buns even more but overall, the sweet buns are great, with fluffy and soft texture. Am submitting this to Yeastspotting.

Ingredients :

• 350g bread flour
• 3 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg (leave 1/3 + some milk to make eggwash)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 180ml warm milk
• 2 tsp yeast
• 2 tbsp water roux

Method :

1. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and knead until a soft and elastic dough is formed. 

2. Leave it to proof for about an hour.

3. After it has doubled in size, punch down the dough. And shape into 16 buns. You can put the chocolate chips/ bits when shaping.

4. Leave the dough to rest again for about an hour until it has double in size.

5. Brush the buns with the egg and milk mixture. Put the toppings now if needed. 

6. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 18-20 minutes.

Caramel Cheesecake

 Semester 1 in KMB has officially ended and I have a month break now. I was really looking forward to the holiday because this semester exam has made me feel mentally and physically exhausted. I just need some good rest.

What are my plans for the break? Nothing much really. My family and I will be going to Paris next week. And guess what are the things that I've planned to do in Paris?? Going to Disneyland and shop for baking supplies and such. :D Then, after coming back from Paris, I'll be having my hospital attachment, along with my three other friends. I hope I get to learn something valuable from it.

Anyways, another thing that I'd sure be doing is baking, and some cooking (I guess). There are so many things that I want to do and I hope I have enough time to do all of them including posting it here on my blog. In the meantime, I'm just going to share this yummy cheesecake recipe, adapted from myresipi.com.

The cheesecake has a light texture, not dense, perhaps due to the amount of cream cheese used as well as the method of baking it. However, I think I'm going to reduce the amount of sugar in the batter by half (or less) and double the amount of caramel instead. I think it'll taste much better that way.

Ingredients :

        Cream :

• 400g cream cheese
• 3 eggs
• 210ml sour cream
• 200ml whipping cream
• 120g sugar - might reduce this next time
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• few drops of vanilla essence

        Base :

• 250g digestive biscuits
• 90g melted butter

        Caramel : 

• 50ml low fat milk
• 80g granulated sugar

Method :

1. Put the biscuits into food processor and process them until fine. Mix with melted butter. Then press the butter-biscuits mixture onto the base of your pan.

2. Prepare the caramel by cooking/melting the sugar with 1 tbsp of water. Once it has changed colour, turn off the heat and pour in the milk. Set aside.

3. Cream the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy, add the sour cream and vanilla essence. Add in the eggs, one at time and mix it well.

4. Mix in the cornstarch and the whipping/fresh cream. 

5. Pour the batter into the pan. Then, pour the caramel over the batter.

6. Bake (in a bain-marie) in a preheated oven at 200C for 30 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 160C and bake for another 30 minutes. Cool the cheesecake for several hours before serving.

Scones

During my childhood years, my parents would always take us to Cameron Highlands for a short holiday even though it might take us four to five hours to reach there. Once all of us have grown up, going to Cameron Highlands has only been an annual day trip. To me, Cameron Highlands back then was much better that what it is now. Yes, lots of hotels have been built, better facilities (maybe), but the weather is not as cool as it was before. Pollutions here and there, and everywhere. We've changed, the weather has changed and so does Cameron Highlands.

One thing that has never changed is the fact that we all love scones! Eating flaky, buttery scones with some sweet strawberry jam and soft cream, taking a sip of the masala tea while enjoying the breathtaking scenery is definitely our cup of tea. Ahhhh, we're on cloud nine! 

We have never failed to get our hands on the scones and tea whenever we are in Cameron. But there's another thing that has changed ever since I started baking, which is, we enjoy homemade scones more than the store bought ones. I admit, my first time making scones, few years back, was not much of a success. Instead of making scones, I made stones. The scones were stone hard. Something definitely went wrong but I did not know what it was. 

I have not been making scones for quite some time after that incident, until I saw Rachel Allen on television, two years ago, making this light sweet scones. I was intrigued by how easy it was and without any hesitation, I gave the recipe a try. And it was an ultimate success! From that day on, her recipe has always been my favourite.

Light Sweet Scones by Rachel Allen.

Ingredients :

• 500g of light Italian or plain flour
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 2 tsp of cream of tartar
• 1 tsp of salt
• 125g of chilled unsalted butter, cubed
• 25g of caster sugar
• 1 egg beaten
• 275ml buttermilk
• 50g of caster sugar (optional)

Method :

1. Preheat the oven to 220C.

2. Sift the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt into a large bowl. Using your fingertips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add in the caster sugar and mix well.

3. Set aside about a third of the beaten egg and combine the rest with the buttermilk, then add to the flour mixture. Mix briefly to combine into a moist dough. 

4. Place on a lightly floured surface, and knead ever so lightly just to bring them together. (Do not knead like you knead your bread or the scones will be hard) 

5. Press to a thickness of 2cm and using a round cutter, cut out approximately 12-18 scones (depending on the size) and place on a floured baking tray.

6. Add about a teaspoon of buttermilk to the remainder of the beaten egg to make the egg wash. Brush the scones with the egg wash and dip the scones into the sugar, if you want to.

7. Bake in the oven for about 12-13 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve with some clotted cream.

Macarons with Passionfruit Curd

I remember my very first macarons which I made a few months ago, they were gorgeous! Well, maybe not perfect for the experts but I think they're perfect enough for a first timer. I was just thrilled to see the feet. :D

Thanks to Tartelette for the amazing macaron recipe. I made passionfruit curd in place of dark chocolate ganache to go with the macarons because of the Mactweet Attack challenge which was to include fruits in your macarons. The curd was amazing on its own - tart and sweet. However, when eaten with macarons, they were just a tad too sweet for me and my family. I guess those who have sweet tooth and like passionfruit would love these macarons. 

So here goes my macarons for Mac Attack #20.

Recipe (Macarons) 

Ingredients :

• 90g aged egg whites at room temperature (use egg whites that have been left in the fridge for 3-5 days)
• 25g granulated sugar
• 180g powdered sugar sifted
• 130g almond powder/flour sifted 

Method : 

1. In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam and gradually add the granulated sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue which doesn't fall when you invert the mixing bowl. (think shaving cream)

2. Fold in carefully the powdered sugar, almond powder and powdered food colouring until you obtain the batter which falls back onto itself after counting to 10. The process should not take more than 50 strokes.

3. Test a small amount on a plate : if the top flattens on its own, you are good to go. If it forms a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns. 

4. Fill the batter into a pastry bag fitted plain tip and pipe small rounds (1.5inch in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mat lined baking sheets. Then, tap the baking sheets a couple of time to remove the air bubbles.

5. Let the macarons sit out for about 30 minutes to an hour to harden the shells a little bit. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 280F.

6. When ready, bake for about 18-20 minutes, depending on their sizes. Let it cool. Once baked and if you're not using them straight away, store in an airtight container out of the fridge. 

7. If you have filled the macarons with the filling, let the macarons mature for at least 24 hours in the fridge. 

Recipe (Passionfruit Curd) - makes about 1 cup

Ingredients :

• 2 egg yolks
• 1 whole egg
• 1/2 cup passionfruit pulp
• 2 tbsp caster sugar - use less if the passionfruit is sweet and more if it is sour
• 42g butter

Method : 

1. Put the egg yolks, whole egg and sugar into a bowl and stir to combine. Put in the passionfruit pulp and stir again. Put in the butter.

2. Place the bowl over a simmering water and stir until the butter has melted and the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon which takes about 6 minutes.

3. Let it cool, transfer into a sterilized container and refrigerate. 

Adapted from Taste.com.au.