Hello Peeps!

Greetings all! :) It has been about 10 months since I last blogged! *Clears cobwebs* Cough2...Dusty indeed! I have been busy, nevertheless I am still doing what I love to do that is baking! I am also been busy with forex trading and learning how to to it right! Check out www.chartingtoday.com If you are keen! Awesome side for both Forex education and signals.

I will try to update whenever I get have some time in hand. In the meantime, let me just share some pics....


Bonia Handbag...

Barbie Cake...

Minnie!

Kate Spade...

Minnie's Bf aka Mickey! :P

Meoooooooow....

Chanel Handbag

Tinkerbell...

More laters. Till then! xoxoxo!

Love,

Maya

As much as I love Nigella, at the end of the day...my grandmothers, momsie and aunts are the ultimate Domestic Goddesses to me. :)

My maternal family is a good example of "Rojak" Although majority are Indians, there are also E Arabs, Malay, Indonesian and chinese. The beauty of it is that, I get to learn and understand more about other cultures and tradition and most importantly, cuisines. This is a food blog after all! :D As a kid, I was particularly found of Aunty Fauziah cook awesome chinese cuisines. Her soups, stir fry veges and noodles were unbeatable :) Her sweet and sour fish is a favourite in my family. I had to learn it. That was 8 years ago...but this dish still continue to be up there. There isn't really much of a recipe. You don't have to follow the recipe to a "T" but merely use it as a rough guide. Such is the flexibility of home-cooking....don't you agree? :)

Sweet Sour dishes are fairly ubiquitous and you can find it in almost all Chinese restaurant, though as usual it varies from place to place. My aunt's version is different but crazily good. It is so so so simple yet surprisingly delish. and the dish is very versatile. Needless to say, I really, really, enjoyed this dish. It was delightfully delicious and refreshing, and delicious. Errr did I mention delicious? :p

Ingredients:

500g fresh fish fillets. (snapper/dory would be perfect)

3 garlic -pounded

1/2 c rice floor

Dash of black pepper

1/4tsp salt

2tbsp lemon juice

Method:

Cut fish into bite-size pieces. Rub with lemon juice and salt. Place in a mixing bowl and combine with garlic, flour, pepper. Meanwhile, heat oil in deep-fryer or heavy saucepan.

Deep fry fillets pieces until golden brown. Drain on paper towels; set aside.

Sauce:

3tbsp light soy sauce

3tbsp white vinegar

2-3tbsp sugar

1 bowl water

2 onion - cut into rings

3 chillies - sliced.

2tsp cornflour mix with 2tsp water - for thickening

A good pinch of salt (this is only required if your soy sauce has less salt content)

Method:

In a frying pan, heat 2 tbsp of oil. Saute onion and chillies.

Add soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and water.

Once it boils, mix in cornflour. There isn't a need to add all of the cornstarch.

It should be slightly thick only.

Pour sauce over fish and serve hot.

*This sauce goes well with prawns and scallops too.

Backdated post.

Just sharing some pics for recent orders....

Doll cake - Totally in love with this 1. Especially the hair. I can consider hairstyling as a career. :p

Cupcakes - Hollywood themed

Baby Shower Cupcakes

Ordered by a bride, for the bridegrooms

For the grooms

An order from a Thai discotheque - Club Nana

More handbags...

More laterz :)

I love lemony smells... So citrus-y and fresh!

I gave myself a break this week. I needed it. Started to feel a little under the weather. I needed to de-stress a bit today and what can be better than baking for leisure? I don't really eat cakes much but I love the process of making it. Totally therapeutic :) I had a couple of lovely lemon in the fridge and yes, if not for this sore-throat, I would have made lemonade and then toast to better days :p

Nee'ways, this is really an easy recipe. I kept it rustic yet feminine. With a cup of tea, I think it is quintessentially English...no? ;)

Ingredients for cupcakes:
3 1/2 cups srf flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
8 oz fresh milk
8 oz cartons dairy sour cream
2 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degree F (180 C). Line thirty 2 1/2-inch muffin cups with paper bake cups; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar and vanilla; beat until well mixed.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture, sour cream and milk alternately to beaten mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.
Stir in lemon peel.
Spoon about 1/4 cup of the batter into each prepared muffin cup.
Bake in preheated oven about 18 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Lemon Frosting:
50g butter, softened
1c sifted icing-sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Milk (2 to 3 teaspoons if necessary)
1 teaspoon shredded lemon peel

To Make Lemon Frosting:
In a medium bowl, beat butter with 1 cup powdered sugar, beating well. Gradually beat in lemon juice and vanilla. Gradually beat additional milk (2 to 3 teaspoons) to make of spreading consistency. Stir in shredded lemon peel.

Assemble-
Cool cupcakes completely and cool as desired.

Pancakes With Blueberry filling and Cream Cheese.

*Wipes cobwebs* It's really getting dusty in here! I am sorry for not updating my blog. I have been kinda busy...here...there and everywhere! And yes, that is partly an excuse :p

Almost every other day, I would get an emails from readers and I'm touched. I am also embarrass by my inconsistency to update this blog! So specially for those of you who are still very much around, this awesome yet simple recipe is for you. Try it....it's SUPER delicious! :)

Among all the other berries, I personally think that blueberries has the least flavour; on it's own. I love munching on almost all kinds of berries, but I am not particularly fond of blueberries It's funny as to how everyone around you is busy snapping up a few punnets at one go, and you tend to go grab some too. Talk about herd mentality, huh? Not a bad thing anyways, It works like a charm in bakes and desserts...and oh jam!

Back to these lovelies over here. Actually these are called Atayef. It is the equivalent of American pancakes. In Beirut, there are shops where people order these; you can get the clotted cream or ashta and the syrup as well. There's 3 components for this but don't be daunted. They are all very easy. :)

Blueberry Filling:

2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 cup blueberries
1 tbsp lemon juice

Method:
Cook all these ingredients in a saucepan over a low flame, stirring constantly. Cook for as long as you want, if you like your blueberries to be mushy. I allowed mine to soften up a bit, but still retain their shape.
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Cream Cheese Mixture
200g Philadelphia Cream Cheese (softened)
50g unsalted butter (softened)
2-3 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
A splash of milk (if too dry)
*You can adjust the proportions here and there ... it's up to you.

Method:
Cream all the above ingredients till smooth and creamy
----------------------------------------------------

Atayef (Pancakes) - from Taste of Beirut
1 cup self raising flour (original recipe uses 1 cup of flour plus 1tbsp of baking powder)
1 1/4 cup milk
1.5 tbsp sugar

Method:

In a small bowl, sift the flour, sugar and mix with a wire whisk.
Pour the milk in a bowl; gradually add the flour and sugar mix.Mix with the wire whisk; the consistency should be a little thicker than a crepe batter. If the batter is too thick, add a little milk.Heat a crepe or pancake nonstick skillet till very hot; grease it with a half teaspoon of oil or spray it; place the equivalent of 1/4 cup of batter in the skillet to form a circle. Let it cook for a few minutes on one side; when it has formed little bubbles and it looks dry, take it out onto a plate. Do not flip it.I did not grease my non-stick pan at all, and the Atayef still turned out perfect. As soon as all the Atayef are cooked, pinch 1 end to form a spoon shape. Once cool, serve it with some cream cheese and blueberry filling.

Have your bag and eat it too!

There are soooo many pictures of orders that I didn't get to upload. I guess I will just share a couple of 'em. This was my 1st attempt with a Chanel Cake.



2nd attempt

Nigella's Crustless Pizza.

I saw an episode of Nigella's Kitchen and I knew I had to lay my hands on the book.

This is so incredibly simple! It would take even more time for you to call for pizza!You start with a simple batter (like Yorkshire pudding - just flour, egg, milk and salt), add some grated cheese and cook it in the oven for 20 minutes.

Ingredients:
1 egg
2/3 cup all-purpose flour

Salt
1 cup whole milk
Butter, for pie dish
1 cup grated Cheddar
Chorizo or pepperoni slices

I also added cherry tomatoes, chili flakes and mozzarella for the topping.

Method:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a small bowl, beat the egg with the flour, salt, to taste, and milk to make a smooth batter.
Butter a 9 inch round ovenproof pie dish, then stir half the grated cheese into the batter, before pouring it into the dish.

Bake for 20-30 minutes. Take the dish out of the oven, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, and add the chorizo or pepperoni and anything else. Return the dish to the oven and cook for another 2 or 3 minutes to make sure it's heated through and the cheese melts.


This is not your typical pizza. Nevertheless, it's still lovely! Even my mother enjoyed eating a couple of slices of this. I am gonna try with different toppings next. Infact i am gonna add a thin layer of tomato sauce! Makes it more traditional, no? :)

A first with Pierre Herme.

I bought Pierre Herme's book and was totally in love with that guy. Olive oil in macarons, black pepper in desserts and there is his "Emotion Fragola", a dessert made with spaghetti cooked in strawberry juice. This guy is a genius! He is nicknamed the "Picasso of cakes" and I think the nickname is befitting indeed. :)

He started at the age of 14. Come to think of it, I started baking around that age too! Look at where he is and look at me? He's a pastry guru who has been awarded countless prizes of the world of patisseries and I'm a ....err nothing as yet :p Oh well, he is 49 and I ONLY 21 :p There's still years for me I guess. *Trying to console myself* :p

Anyways most of his cakes have different components. The cake, E syrup, E filling, E glaze...etc. I started with E most simple recipe from the book!

LEMON LOAF CAKE

Ingredients:
Zest of 3 lemons

6 eggs

2 cups sugar
1 stick + 1 tbsp. melted butter
pinch of salt
3 1/2 tbsp rum (I omitted this)
2 2/3 cup of cake flour (not self rising flour)
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup heavy cream or creme fraiche(I used creme fraiche)

Method:

Melt butter. Rub the zest into the sugar till it resembles wet sand. The eggs were then added to the mixing bowl along with the lemon sugars, mixed until pale and fluffy. Sift cake flour and baking powder. Once the eggs are pale and fluffy, add the rum, pinch of salt and creme fraiche. When all the wet mixture are incorporated, on low speed gently add the dry ingredients in 3 intervals, avoid over mixing. Gently scrap down the sides of the bowl and folded in the few remaining specks of flour. The butter now at room temperature is gently folded in the fluffy mixture, in 3 intervals. At first it looks separated but as you continue folding it the mixture homogenize.

Butter and line 2 loaf pans and divide the batter evenly. Bake this in a preheated 350 degrees oven for 55 to 60 minutes. Check after 30 minutes, because oven varies.

To make it more lemony, while the cakes are baking make the LEMON SIMPLE SYRUP .

1/3 cup water
3 1/2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. lemon juice
Dissolve the sugar in the water in a saucepan and cool until room temperature. Add the lemon juice.

Original recipe said that when the cakes are done quickly pour in the lemon simple syrup into each cakes and cool till room temperature. I just brushed the cake lightly with this syrup.

Verdict: The cake is so full of lemon flavour and is delicious indeed. Got the thumbs up from mom. Infact, it keeps really well too!

Gorgeous little baskets

Had an order for fruit tarts last week. I made extra Creme Anglaise/Pastry cream coz I was planning to make these little baskets. E pastry cream is really gorgeous. Thick yet light on the palate. This is Dorie's recipe which I believe was adapted from Pierre Herme. It yields more than 700g of pastry cream so you might want to half the recipe if you are only making 12-16 tarts.

Pastry Cream
1 cup whole milk
6 egg yolks
1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
1 plump, moist vanilla bean, split and scraped OR 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 tbsp butter, cut into bits at room temperature

Method:

Bring the milk and vanilla bean to a boil in a small saucepan.
Meanwhile, in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the egg yolks together with the sugar and cornstarch until thick and well blended. Still whisking, drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk– this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won’t curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the milk. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking vigorously, constantly and thoroughly (making sure to get the edges of the pot), bring the mixture to a boil. Keep at a boil, still whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.

Whisk in the vanilla extract(if using). Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bits of butter, stirring until they are full incorporated and the pastry cream is smooth and silky. Scrape the cream into a bowl. You can press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the cream to create an airtight seal and refrigerate the pastry cream until cold.

Phyllo Cups/Basket:

6 sheets phyllo pastry
1/4 cup cup/50ml butter, melted

Preparation:
Lightly grease a 24 muffin/tart tins and set aside.
Place 1 sheet of phyllo on work surface, keeping remaining phyllo covered with plastic wrap then damp towel. Brush sheet lightly with butter. Top with second sheet; brush with butter. Top with third sheet; brush with butter. Cut lengthwise into 4 strips and crosswise into 6 strips to make 24 squares.

Press each square into prepared cup. Bake in centre of 180°C oven for about 5-8 minutes or until golden. Let cool in pan on rack. Repeat with remaining phyllo.
Once cool,top with pastry cream and fruits. Glaze the fruits with some melted apricot jam.
Alternatively, you can keep the cups in an airtight container for later use.

My First Ravioli.

E title is cute aye? :p So, I have been wanting to try my hands at Ravioli for Donkey years now. Saw Giada De Laurentiis making it and it looked simple enough.

I wanna squash those tomatoes too! Can I have a picture taken just like that? Minus E cleavage! :P

Anyways, I gave E recipe a try with some tweaks here and there and it was good aye! For a first time attempt, I am quite impress with myself. Don't mind E self appraisal please! :P Well, I am a die hard fan of tomato based pasta compared to creamy ones. I am gonna try a tomato based sauce E next time! It bet it would be more yumz!


Ingredients for pasta
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 eggs

Filling:
200g fresh spinach
1 tsp salt (Ps taste accordingly)
200g ricotta
1/2 egg
1 tbsp heavy cream
2 tbsp grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus 2 tbsp more for garnish
a big pinch of nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper


Sauce:
50g butter
Pinch of nutmeg
1/2 tbsp chopped sage

Directions:
Place the flour on a board or in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and crack the eggs into it. Beat the eggs with a fork until smooth. Using the tips of your fingers, mix the eggs with the flour, incorporating a little at a time, until everything is combined. Knead the pieces of dough to form a dough. Knead until the dough is thoroughly worked together, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Reserve until the raviolis are ready to be assembled.

In a pot of boiling water, cook the spinach with half of the salt until tender. Remove the spinach from the boiling water and let cool for 2 to 3 minutes. Squeeze out the water from the spinach and chop it up roughly. In a mixing bowl, combine chopped spinach, ricotta, egg, heavy cream, and 2 tbsp of Parmigiano Reggiano.
Season with the nutmeg, remaining salt, and black pepper.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a sauce-pot. Simmer the nutmeg and sage in the butter for 1 minute. Reserve until the raviolis are cooked.

To assemble the raviolis, cut the dough into 4 pieces. Roll out each piece to form a thin layer (about 1/8 inch) of dough. Place 1 spoonful of filling onto 1 sheet of dough 1/2 inch from the edge. Continue to place spoonfuls of filling along the dough 1-inch from each other.
Place 1 of the other pieces of rolled out dough on top of the piece with the filling on it. Pinch the dough around the filling to form the ravioli. Use a cookie cutter or a knife to cut out the raviolis. Pinch the edges of each ravioli with the tines of a fork. Set aside each ravioli on a plate lightly dusted with flour. Do not stack the raviolis, because they will stick together.

When you are ready to cook the raviolis, add them to boiling water. When the raviolis float, about 2 to 3 minutes, they are finished cooking. Serve each portion with the sage butter and sprinkle grated Parmigiano-Reggiano over each serving.

Eid 2010

It is too late to wish my readers and fella blogger Happy Hari Raya now, but I sure hope that you had an enjoyable and memorable Raya. :) Mine flew by without me really realising it thus I'm looking forward to Diwali!

Anyways, as normal I don't have much pics to share as I was too busy. I am just sharing some pictures that I somehow managed to snap. :)

E food....

E cousins. Okay, I spot my uncle and aunty too. :p

E little ones..all smiles!

This sums up my Raya post! Lol! :p

A simple and delicious soup

Bak Kut Teh is a popular soup among chinese. Infact it is now popular among non Chinese too! I have seen a few stalls selling the Halal version of this soup. They used beef and chicken instead. Using chicken, its known as Chi Kut Teh...wat if its using beef? Niu Rou Kut Teh perhaps? Too long, I've decided to call it Beef Kut Teh instead! :p

This herbal soup is actually quite similar to the Indian mutton/beef soup minus the thickener. I believe its due to the presence of spices like star anise, cinnamon, cloves, fennel, garlic...etc2.

I bought a packet of E ready made spice. It contains a packet of spice and a packet of herbs. I spotted a couple of the ingredients to make Cheng Teng among the herbs. This A1 brand is suitable for vegetarians and It is Halal. :)


Anyways, this soup would be best with a mix of bones and meat. The bones would add a certain sweetness to the soup. Overall, its a lovely, lovely soup. We totally enjoyed this! Serve with hot rice, it is definitely a perfect treat for Iftar. Try it! :)


Ingredients:
1.5 kg beef ribs/oxtail or which ever part of the beef/chicken you prefer.
3L water
5 cloves whole garlic
2 onion - chopped
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
Salt to taste
5 pc dried shitake (Optional)
1 small knob of ginger - Crushed
Pepper and salt to taste

Method:
Place the premix (both E spices and herbs) and all of the other ingredients in a big pot. Simmer for about 2-3 hours or cook in a pressure cooker for 30 mins.
Garnish with spring onion/coriander leaves and some fried shallots.

Kuih Jonkong.

Kuih Jongkong is delicious but those authentic ones wrapped in banana leaves ain't easy to find. I have been craving for this but I was lazy to make some just to satisfy my cravings :p
Sum-how a few days back, mom's good friend came over to Iftar. While talking to her on the phone a day before the meet up, she was saying that she bought some kuih jongkong which tasted really off and its so difficult to find good kuih jongkong nowadays. So I decided to make some for her.

She was full of praises for the kuih and she said that I was very good with the banana leaves as I could fold it nicely. She obviously didn't know that I struggled while wrapping this! I almost curse those leaves! Haha. She added that, it takes some skills to wrap with just 1 sheet of leaf coz most people would use 2. Ah...the nice things that people say when you give them delicious food! ;)


Ingredients:
100g rice flour
200 ml thick coconut cream (I used kara)
4 screw-pine leaves (Daun pandan)
800ml water
1/4 tsp salt

Method:
Blend screw-pine leaves with some water (From the 800ml)
Stain and combine all the ingredients and cook over slow fire for about 15-20 mins till mixture thickens.

Topping:
200 ml coconut cream mixed with 1/4 tsp salt ( I used kara)
2 palm sugar - chopped

Banana leaves - Clean and warm the leaves over the fire so that it is more pliable.

Method:

Place 1 heap tbsp of cooked mixture in the middle of a banana leaf.
Drizzle with 1.5 tbsp - 2tbsp of coconut milk and top with some chopped palm sugar.
Fold the leaves and secure with a toothpick.
Steam for 15 minutes.
So sedap!! :)

Love this effect. Vintage :)

Perfect for Ramadan. Dates Milkshake - Susu Kurma

Ramadan and Dates are almost inseparable.

Dates are rich in calcium, iron, several vitamins and minerals. It is also full of fiber. I believe all the above are enough reasons as to why we are encourage to consume dates during fasting.

Every Ramadan, I would prepare Dates milkshake often. We drink a lot of milk during this month; I always joked to mom that we should consider purchasing a cow just for Ramadan! :p
Anyways, this milkshake is simply delicious.Decadent and loaded with the goodness of dates! The recipe is really versatile and there is so many variations. You can either

- Just blend a couple of dates with a glass of milk and 1/4 cup of water. (For soft dates)

- Boil/soak a couple of dates in 1/3 cup of water, blend with a cup of milk (Perfect for harder, drier dates)

I usually do it this way...

Ingredients:
15-20 soft dates
1L fresh milk/low fat milk (Use full cream or skimmed milk by all means)
3/4 cup to 1 cup water

Method:
Soak dates in water for about 20 minutes.
In a blender, add dates along with the water plus milk.
Blend till fine.
If you prefer a smoother milkshake, strain the milkshake.
I personally prefer the milkshake with the bits of dates. So full of Fiber! :)

Notes:

*If you prefer a sweeter milkshake, just add some sugar or honey while blending.
*Alternatively, if you do not have a blender, just soak the dates 1st, mash it up and add the milk. Strain.

Reason as to why I am missing ever so often...

I need to fill 250 bottles with 20,000 cookies.

A super easy dessert for Ramadan

Ramadan Mubarak too all Muslims all over E world :)May this year brings us more fulfillment and strengthen our Iman.

So today was E first day of fasting. All went on well. 3rd sister in law was so sweet as to send some food for Iftar ( E meal where we break our fast) She cooked Kuah Rawan, Sotong Sambal and potato patties. She also made curry puffs.
I made something simple to reciprocate. My 3rd bro is not into cakes and stuffs. He loves cold desserts though. 3 days ago, he came over and I made this pudding and he absolutely loved it, thus I decided to make a couple of cups for him to eat over the next few days.

This pudding is actually an agar2 but the amount of agar2 used is little, thus it has a smooth and wobbly texture. It literally glides through your throat and this is really suitable for Ramadan. Easy, delicious and cooling. I served this with canned longans.

Ingredients:

1 Litre Soya Milk

250ml Fresh Milk

2-4tbsp Sugar

2 tsp agar2 powder

Method:

Bring Soya milk, milk and agar2 to boil. Add sugar and keep stirring. Pour in Individual cups or moulds and leave to set for a few hours or overnight.

Top with a couple of longans just before serving.

Computer themed, cute animals and a guitar

Chocolate Cake - Order from a gf to her bf.

Brownie

My bro was saying "where got cow sit like that one?!" Haha.

Love E sheep!

Quack2! :D

Doorgifts orders from MINDS - Triple chocolate chips n oatmeal cookies.

Brownie