Sweet Treats for Christmas! :D

Hohoho... Merry Christmas!! Spent a lot of time baking during this festive period... baking for sale and baking for friends. Apart from my usual Cranberry cornflake cookies, I baked these:

1. Macarons

Another successful attempt in making macarons! Nicely packaged for my dear friends! :)

2. Meringue Cookies

My very 1st time baking and eating meringue cookies. Someone told me there is a magical feel when she ate my cookies and she liked the melt in the mouth texture. Haha... found it quite amusing but glad they were quite well-liked. I am actually not a fan of meringue cookies as they are too sweet for my liking but there were simply too much leftover egg whites from making cranberry cornflake cookies. Since there are supporters, it might be worth baking them again soon!

 

3. Last minute Log Cake

With whatever ingredients I had, I started making this log cake at 12 midnight for my family Xmas lunch gathering the next day. Glad it turned out presentable and quite good tasting! :)

4. Reindeer Cupcakes

Don't you agree that these cupcakes look too cute to be eaten? Made these with my friends and 3 little kids over a Xmas bake & cook session. Feels happy just looking at them.

 

Looking forward to more baking adventures in 2015! Till then! :)

 

Xmas Cookies for Sale!

My very first sale of bakes - Cranberry Cornflake Cookies for Christmas!

 

This would never have happened without the support and encouragement of my dear friends who loved these cookies and gave me the opportunity to bake for sale. Thank you gals! :)

 

The excitement built up when I sourced for suitable packaging for the cookies. But baking 21 boxes of cookies was no joke at all... from the cutting of cranberries to the moulding of the dough to all the washing up and the packaging. It was definitely hard work. But it was heartening when I hear all the positive feedbacks from my friends and their recipients... Glad they enjoyed the cookies!

 

Macarons for Birthday :)

My 2nd attempt making macarons and I made it! :)

Happiness was seeing their feets grow in the oven! :D

These were made on the request of my dear friend for her birthday cake! A very last minute change from a fruit tart cake to macarons cake. Another stressful but satisfying challenge!

My previous attempt on macarons was on a rainy day. The skin never formed even after standing for almost an hour. I gave up and decided to just bake them. As expected, it was a failure batch. I read online that the weather might have contributed to it.

After doing some research this time round, I decided to do the Italian meringue method instead of the easier method which I tried previously... since Italian meringue is generally more stable... and I suppose it helped because I managed to bake these beautiful macaron shells! I used the pierre hermes macaron recipe which I found online.

It was a rainy day again when I baked these and I immediately shoved them into my air-con room after piping, in the hope that the dry air will help the skin form... and it did. In fact,  the skin appeared to be forming even before it went into the room... perhaps it was due to the Italian meringue. I was so happy when I saw the feets grow and  when I took my first bite into a baked macaron shell. My 1st taste of success with macarons. :P And this was my 1st time eating so many macarons in my whole life... haha... I had to  keep trying them to make sure that they were alright since my oven's temperature was not very stable.

I sandwiched dark chocolate ganache, rose lychee ganache and salted butter caramel in between these beautiful looking and great tasting macarons. All the fillings had their supporters! But I would definitely use a better quality white chocolate the next time I make rose lychee ganache.

This successful bake made me overconfident and I attempted a next batch a week later, using half ground almond and half ground hazelnut since I did not have enough ground almond on hand... I even did the more challenging chocolate version. And I failed terribly. The insides of the macarons were too sticky. Haha...

Fortunately, I baked these macarons successfully again for my Xmas gifts! :)

Happy Birthday Mummy!! :)

Not a perfect looking cake but it was the best I could do with what I had... initially planned to do some mousse cake but was too tied down a few days prior to my mum's birthday and could only come up with this, using whatever energy and time I had left.

A light cheesecake texture wannabe which was not too light and not too heavy... the texture was a little weird to me but taste was still good. I thought it was because I overwhipped the egg white but my 2nd attempt at this cake was still quite same... hmm... shall solve the mystery on my next cheesecake attempt!

My Frequent Bakes

I have been trying to perfect this bread because I like the combination of cranberry and walnut in a bread... In my 1st few attempts, the dough was always too wet so I switched to another bread recipe with a lower water content and it was much better. My 1st time using a loaf tin to bake this bread... it was a little stuck to the tin but overall, still not too bad... more butter on the tin the next time! :P

It has been a long while since I baked these Tollhouse cookies. Filled with hazelnut and chocolate chip goodness, they are usually very addictive for me... but not so much this time round because I did not use my usual chocolate chips. This version still has quite a number of fans though! Sinfully good!

My sister's favourite cinnamon rolls. Everytime I am baking, she will bug at me to bake these rolls. I would say these are not the perfect cinnamon rolls but they do smell so nice when freshly out from the oven and taste great when piping hot! There is another recipe which I have been wanting to try but have not gotten myself down to it. Too much recipes and too little time... till then! :)

I miss making Chiffon cakes!

This is a recipe which I copied down in my notebook years ago... and I finally got down to baking it! Happy to see my chiffon cake fluff up nicely. My first time using yoghurt to make a chiffon cake. Something interesting but too bland for my liking. Taste so healthy... maybe I should have used flavoured yogurt to add some taste to it...

A different kind of Birthday cake :P

A special birthday request by my friend... Char Siew Buo Luo bun. I made these for my baking exams before this attempt... not very successful. And this time round, it was still not very successful. :( Mine has a too thick pastry layer outside... and my char siew is too sweet! I guess it really takes some skills to make those delicious one which I like. Maybe another attempt after doing more research online.

Another satisfying Birthday cake creation :)

Another apple torte made using Professional Bakery class recipe but in heart shape! Simple and pretty I feel. Love my ingenious idea of using sponge cake to do the chocolate writing... was suppose to make a white chocolate board but my white chocolate seemed to have 'spoilt'... luckily I had leftover sponge. Taste was good but still not light enough for my liking. Maybe I should really invest in vanilla pods the next time I make them. Nevertheless, it was well-liked by the cake-eaters. Happy Birthday to my dear friend... :)

Time for Tea-break!

These egg tarts look so good that I couldn't resist taking multiple shots when I baked them... Ha... They taste good too but I find that the crust is not crispy enough... something which I will work on. Maybe I shall attempt the normal egg tarts another time as well. :)

Cheese Earthquake Loaf Bread

An attempt to replicate the Cheese Earthquake Loaf bread at Breadtalk which I used to like a lot. I used a recipe found in my Professional Bakery Course materials and have attempted it twice so far. The 1st time I made the loaf, it had a considerably big lobang in the middle, suspect I sprinkled too much cheese (I increased the amount of cheese in the recipe :P) and did not roll tight enough. The 2nd time was better... Taste is good and its a simple recipe worth keeping... :)

*The Secret of Cookies*

A dear friend bought me the book "The Secret of Cookies" by Gu Huixue which has many different variety of cookies recipe. To show my gratitude, I made her one of the cookies from the book!

Nice cookies but like what my friend says, it would be better if it is cut thinner. I would prefer it smaller too... Looking forward to try another cookie recipe from the book again. :)
 

Cranberry Cornflake cookies

I can't believe I have never blogged about these addictive Cranberry Cornflake cookies. They are one of my favourite cookies! I love baking these for my friends and I can't resist having them for a snack anytime of the day... so it can be pretty 'dangerous' for me to bake them too often! :P

 

I replaced the cranberries in the recipe and made the chocolate chip version recently. They are pretty good too! But Cranberry is still my favourite! :) 

Happy Birthday to you!!! :)

I spent a crazy week baking 3 Birthday cakes for my lovely friends! A great opportunity for me to practise my baking skills... & I am pretty satisfied. :)

 

2 Strawberry Shortcakes made a day apart. They were not flawless but I still love them all the same. Both had a similar problem. I left out Cointreau for the filling cream but forgot to add in an equivalent amount of liquid content to replace it. Haha... only realised it after I did my 2nd cake. I guess that was what contributed to a slightly thicker filling cream. Other than that, my sponges were not perfect. My 1st cake had a dense layer at the bottom which I did not remove & my 2nd cake was slightly overbaked. I also overwhipped the creams for both the filling and topping cream for my 1st cake. I whipped the creams perfectly for the 2nd cake though... coz I was watching it ALL the time...

 

I felt so proud of the cakes when I completed them! Love the topping cream with mascarpone & grand marnier. Despite the imperfections, I am glad the cakes were finished with some compliments from all my dear friends...

 

Next up was a refreshing fresh apple torte. The cream was not light enough compared to the one I made in class. One of the difference made when making it at home was that I used vanilla extract instead of vanilla pod. Quantity of apples & pastry cream was different as well as I did not take proper notes during class and just did an estimation. Too creamy for me and not chilled enough when served. But at least it was still good enough when eaten with the delicious crumb topping. Heh... improvement needed. Anyway, I love the simple presentation of the cake! :)

 

Looking forward to more opportunities to bake birthday cakes for people around me... it can be stressful but it will be satisfying... :D

Bread for Breakfast!

Another attempt at Cranberry & Walnut bread. This time round I decided not to improvise from my previous raisin bread recipe which always turn out too wet. I decided to improvise from the soft bread bun recipe from my recent Course. Actually it wasn't too much of improvisation... just adding in the cranberry & walnuts... heh...

 

This bread was much better than my previous attempts but it was still a little on the wet side. The yeast was also over-excited after my kneading process... Hence, shaping them was a little challenge. More practise needed but I am glad it turned out good enough for breakfast. :P

 

Perfecting my Sponges

Baking sponges at home has always been a challenge to me. Sponges baked in school are always much better! I guess having a good oven makes a difference.

 

My recent sponges baked at home always come out with a dense layer at the bottom, especially when I bake sponge cakes with a higher height. I often get sponge cakes with a cracked and over-brownish top when I do sponges with higher height as well. After a few trials, I can only attribute the problem to my dear oven. My oven comes with a fan and no bottom heat. Hence, I am guessing the temperature is uneven.

 

To get around this problem, I am trying on the following:

1. Bake sponge cakes with lesser height (bake in 2 tins instead of 1 or bake in a rectangular tray)

2. Bake cakes at a lower rack so that the top will not be burnt when the inside is not baked

 

The picture on top shows a rather successful sponge cake with no dense layer and cracked top. However, the specific gravity of the cake was a little high... more practise with my sponges & experiments with my oven needed. :)
 

Finding back my confidence in baking :)

After my disappointing exam bakes & a few failed sponges in a day... I started to doubt my baking skills... until I made these chocolate pear cakes...

Chocolae Poire Torte

 

Chocolae Poire Domes

 

These were nothing near to perfect but they made me feel good and motivated once again! The torte was supposed to be covered in chocolate glacage but once again, they were not frozen enough for me to do it... a re-enactment of my fateful exam day. Haha... The small ones were frozen enough to be covered with glacage though. However, in view of the non-aircon environment, I think the temperature for pouring glacage will have to be lower so that it will cover better... Anyway, I overwhipped the cream and the chocolate mousse for the cakes was a little on the heavy side but I would say the overall taste was still good!

 

On the very same day, I made my usual cinnamon rolls... these were delicious but I think I would want to try a different recipe the next time. I want more fluffy cinnamon rolls....

 

 

Continuing on my baking journey... Happy bakers = Yummy bakes


Not just another Baking Course...

It is the Professional Bakery Course! :) I have finally taken the time, money & courage to attend it... The 14-days course was very enriching, with loads of information and life experience sharings from a wonderful teacher! Although the course was hectic, it was made enjoyable with an extremely engaging teacher, my wonderful classmates and the lovely staff team at the school...

 

I had a practical exam during the course & I made disappointing bakes which left me discouraged for quite a while. I might still not be able to bake that extremely perfect cake, pastry or bread but I know I love baking...  I might not eventually sell any bakes but I will continue baking for the lovely people around me. My simple enjoyment in life - To bake & to share my bakes :)

Here are some of my course bakes which I managed to get a shot (amidst the madness of the busy classes :P):

Cake Decoration: Using whipped cream & chocolate cartoon characters

Delicious Chocolate Banana Roll

 

Refreshing Fresh Apple Torte & Claire Fontaine

 

Chocolae Poire Domes: Never thought I could do such lovely cakes! :)

 

 Chocolae Poire Torte

 

Fruit Mousse Cakes with Jaconde sponge at the side

 

Assorted Puff Pastries

 

My exam bakes

 

All in a year of Baking & Cooking... :)

More than a year since I last updated this blog. No, I have not stopped baking and cooking... But, of course I have not spent as much time as I wished...

Here are some of my baking & cooking updates for the past 1 year, before I attended the exciting and enriching Professional Bakery Course in May 2014 (more on this in a separate post):

Whole Wheat Bread

A practise session after attending my foundation breadmaking class. Not a successful attempt with the bread structure losing its strength after proofing, resulting in a flatter bread. But... they still taste quite good.:P

Butter Cookies

I'm not really a fan of butter cookies but I love creating these cute butter cookies. Feels happy just looking at them and giving them away to bring more smiles!

 

Risotto with Teriyaki Chicken

I remember the teriyaki chicken was good but the mushroom risotto was way too saltish. I think more than half a packet of risotto rice still sits in my cupboard... probably time to try my hands at cooking risotto again soon.

 

My Favourite CNY Tarts

Another attempt at pineapple tarts... I can't remember how they taste but I'm pretty sure they are still not the melt-in mouth type that I am looking for... Slowly losing my interest in this sweet pastry...

 

Back to Cake Basics

I signed up for the Professional Bakery course and this was my 1st attempt to practise my basics in cake baking before the course starts in May 2014. I would say it is quite a success except for the less than perfect appearance.

 

Cookies for Gifts

Finally, I ended my 7 years of work in my previous company. Made a variety of cookies for the wonderful people at my workplace. Small boxes of cookies for each department and small packets of cookies for each of my own department colleagues. Worked through the night to get everything together, from the baking to the writing of cards to the packaging. A little disappointed with the chocolate chip cookies as they were way too sweet and I forgot to buy hazelnuts to add in. But I guess it's the thought that counts... :)

 

Bread Practise

This looks presentable but they were so moist and simply not like a bread. Haha... Failure practise attempt for breadmaking. But still, my sister & mum gave some support and ate quite a bit.

 

This pretty sums up all my bakes & cooking before I courageously attended the 'killer' course in May 2014... heh... :P