All Roll Into One

Salam and good morning..

It seems that I keep forgetting that this place here existed. Shame on me. For a long while updates were slow and almost non-existent, but that doesn't mean the place is dead. I will put a refresher once in a while, when I have the whim that is..

Speaking of which, we had a wonderful time devouring this piece of cake. I made it for an anniversary/birthdays celebration. A wedding anniversary plus three birthdays all combined into one. It was well worth the effort. It was difficult to stop demolishing the whole cake in one sitting. The cake was THAT good. 

I think it fits to call the cake; THE celebration cake.

First in 2014 : A Belated Birthday Cake

Specially for my sister.

Her birthday was on the second week of 2014, but we had to held off the cake until few days later when my sister got home from college. She likes soft fluffy cake and I like to make something other than chocolate as focal point so I settled on this. 

What's Inside That Counts : Neapolitan Birthday Cake

Salam folks! First and foremost, I want to shout out again to my sis; Happy birthday girl! Yes, that was her birthday cake. I kinda impressed myself with the outcome. To tell the truth, I was a little disappointed when it first came out of oven. I thought it will puff up more (it only came out at one inch high) since I wanted to do a layer cake for my sister. But, I'm really not good at dividing a cake.

Still. I. Want. Layers.

Pretty Hard to Mess With

Do you have any idea how good it is to eat a piece of freshly baked bread? 

I'm pretty sure you know this. But in case you don't, let me tell you. 

It's good. It's EASY and very satisfying. I know it is. Now my sister knew too. She got me to teach her late one evening. So we got down to business. Step by step, I let her do it all herself. The measuring and everything. Getting all the ingredients ready before you start is the key to success. Besides reducing the risk of forgetting to add an ingredient, it also helps you organised. 

This recipe should be fool proof. If I haven't fell in love with it already, I'll do so now. The sweetness is just right. The chewiness is just right. As corny as it may sound, this is THE BREAD. Yeah, okay. That statement is open for debate.

A Slice of Wonder

Hi there everyone!

Seems like my posting has been very far and between. Life happens. So to make sure your visits here are worthwhile, I'll try to post something that will stimulate your senses... ^__^

Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first. - Ernestine Ulmer

Who can argue with that. We may not always have dessert around; while we have the opportunity, why not? In line with the quote, I did this.

A simple sponge cake can has it's BIG MOMENT when we use it to make this dessert. How I wish I can share it online right now...*sigh* The sponge was a perfect canvas. The slight tartness of cranberries over it complementing the sweetened cream cheese whipped cream topping. The real pleasure here is to have a slice of this chilled cake on a particular hot day like today... Bliss!

Pi or Pie

Hey folks!

Good to be back.. Now, who's in for a pie?

It was a to-die-for chocolate filled pie. So rich and fudgy it could be mistaken as brownie! But, encased with a crispy shell left no doubt what it actually was. Duh! I used a leftover (karipap) pastry shell for the pie, which results in a chewy crust at the bottom but crispy sides.

Each slice of pie was *need I remind you* very RICH and fulfilling. Thus I'm so recommending this pie for a chocolate party or if you need to fix a chocolate craving. Make no mistake though, by all means this pie is so full of calorie and addictive! A small slice per serving 'kay folks! *At least that way you can have two. Wink*

First in the Blessed Month

Salam and good morning! ^_^ 

We've made it to the second week of Ramadan. Praise to Allah for this blessed month, hopefully we are able to make the most out of it. 

Though it's still too early to be thinking about food, it doesn't hurt to get some ideas. Bread pudding can come either sweet or savory. I've done the savory one not too long ago. And here I'll be presenting the sweet one. It was no hassle to prepare, pretty quick to cook and the most time it took was during the soaking part. Be sure to start at least four hours in advance before the serving time.

The Brownie Point

Morning folks!

I believe all soccer fans have caught the EURO 2012 fever by now. The kick-off started on 8 June 2012 with the first match between Poland and Greece (1-1). Being a true fan means that you're able to sacrifice your sleep (it's 12 a.m and 2.45 a.m in Malaysia during the live telecasts) just to watch your favorite team. Well, I've tried. And...failed. I only watched the early 15 minutes then drifted off to sleep until the end of the game. 

So forget about the tactical part of the game. And focus on the sideline for a moment shall we?

I just noticed that it's imperative to have munchies while watching these soccer games. The main reason I believe that it MUST be something to munch on is that the snacks will keep us awake during the not-so intriguing moments. There are so many munchies available : Chips. Chicken wings. Late night pizza. Pretzel bites. Salted nuts. Roasted nuts...  So what's your favorite? Or perhaps something more decadent like this?

Same Different

Lets pretend that today is 11 April instead of 15th. 

First of all, you need to know that I'm not forgetting the date. Merely because I haven't bake anything special on THAT day and wish to redeem it by making SOMETHING yesterday. Yeah, a little too late but still...

Anyhow, for the first time ever I get out of my comfort zone and do a little labor of love. Which result in something so rich and moist! Though the layers weren't exactly picture perfect, it tasted AMAZING. Just so you know, this slice of heaven is not for the faint of heart. And please, DO NOT count the calories... ^___^

I've Done It, Finally

We can't always have sweets all the time. Bad for health. Bad for teeth. That was always drummed into me when I was little. Okay, I get it. We should change course every now and then, just to broaden our mind (in this case our taste?)!

But I seem to have a problem straying from bread. Really, it has a thing to do with bread again. Can't stay away from it. Only this time it won't be sweet. I promise.

Rainy Day Project

When the weather gets cold and grey, what's best is to stay at home and bake cookies! Nothing so fancy... The baking project is to while away the time, so don't make yourselves sweat over it. The cookies will be simple enough to do and surely delicious for snacking around. Now let get started! 

For The Boy

It's that time of the year again. Happy birthday lil bro!

5 Rencah 5 Rasa : Will The Bunny Approve?

Both my dad and brother can't stand any vegetable in a cake. Particularly carrot. Thus the abhorring look on their face when I said I was going to make a carrot cake was priceless! ^__^

The cake was practically easy to make, even if you don't have an electric mixer you can always do it by hand. And the cake itself was purely simple in taste that just perfect if you're having tea with a company or two. 

It was moist with fine crumbs though a little greasy for my liking. Just sweet enough without making you cringe of it's sweetness. If you like a traditional and uncomplicated taste of a cake, you could try this one.

Full of Starch

Following the previous post, I've mentioned the superb crusty dinner rolls that we've had on the AJL 26 night. Warm from the oven, the crispy crust and and chewy inside made perfect for soaking up broth or soup *goes so well with potato soup!*. I even dip the rolls alone in tomato sauce! Wickedly good!! ^__^

The dough doesn't need to be knead. Can't believe that right? Me too. I was a bit skeptical with this no-knead bread thing. But the oh-so-good picture from this foodie blog encouraged me. Since the only step was mixing all the ingredients then leave it to rise, why not give it a try? This bread is FOOL-PROOF! You won't be disappointed. ;)

Cookie Disaster: Part 2

There are some things that not all people can do. Some people are gifted with certain talents. While others are not-so-gifted. Like me. I just found out that detail works which requires extra attention and time are really not my forte. I was lousy at detailing. O_o

Remember the first icing cookies I made? Seriously, I envied those who can make the beautiful icing-decorated cookies. They all make it look so easy! I tried to be patient. Yeah, it lasted for at least ten cookies. Then I just, what-the-heck-it-just-cookies and let go of my control. Hence the terrible handiwork... 

The First to Celebrate

I was looking for a reason to bake some cupcakes last week. And just nicely, last Friday was one of my sisters' birthday. Too bad that her college break was only until 4th January. But she still gets her birthday cupcakes even though it was two days early. *I doubted that the cupcakes could last until the actual birthday!* ^_^

The cupcakes were family favorite. Just a simple chocolate cake. It was moist and delicious on its own. And even more so when filled with chocolate ganache. I wanted the cupcakes to be a bit festive for the occasion, though butter cream was totally out of question since she'll be carrying those all the way to college by train. The safest choice I managed was the ganache. Even that was not visible. Hopefully it gave a pleasant surprise to whomever she shared the cupcakes with. 

With the ganache filling, the cupcakes tasted like chocolate fudge cake. It got really rich after left overnight in the fridge... Just the thought of it already makes my mouth water!

The day was hotter than usual when I decided that a scoop of ice cream to go along with the cupcake was like a match made-in-heaven. It truly was, except for the ice cream melting too much quickly due to the hot weather. Not that it was unpleasant. The melted ice cream tasted like cold strawberry milk! Chocolate fudge cake plus cold strawberry milk equals to bliss... And constant craving of both after that!

Kitchen Invaders 3: Peace, No War

Misunderstood

Mistakes

Missing

Too much wrong and hurt that one can stomach in a day 

Staying strong despite dire circumstances

Upholding strength, when everything else is crumbling

Battling demons

Inside and out

World peace

Is it so elusive?

Coddling a Cookie Monster

I had this situation often. Cookie craving. 

No, scratch that. Make it chocolate chips cookie craving. 

The thing is, making chocolate chip cookies requires a large pan (in my house) plus tremendous (if you're not in the mood or just lazy) labor to scoop up the cookie dough onto the baking sheet. For once, I'm not up to it. 

So how to fix that? Easy as a pea! 

Just dump the whole thing in the pan and bake them all together! 

^_^ And to make it a lot more EASIER, ask someone else to do the whole thing for you a.k.a your sister. Now hit on for the rest of it! 

Down On Luck

It's a wonder how a game could unite or divide people. We might have different views over everything. But when it comes to soccer, most Malaysian are collectively supportive of the national team. It's like a plague.

The team spirit is so contagious that even if you are not a fan, you'll still got sucked-in right into it. Too bad that the high spirit was not enough for the team to stay on top. The loss against Syria wasn't so overwhelming. Somehow, it was justifiable compared to the loss against Bahrain.

It was like watching a disaster where you're helpless to do anything about it. The bad moves were made one by one, and Bahrain was taking full advantage of it. They scored three goals within few minutes interval when the game was less than 15 minutes left. It was so devastating to watch after that. But I had to give two thumbs up for Ultras Malaya - the national cheerleaders - for staying put until the end. They are truly the supporters the team needs.

Despite the defeated feeling the team and fans felt - me included - I've got something to lessen the ache. The cake was baked in hope to be eaten in a celebratory mood. Nonetheless, it works in soothing the sour mood... T_T

Don't Go Green On Me!

Herbs are not just essential for adding flavor into food but also given their medicinal properties are good for our body too. For that, I've been trying to include more herbs into everything I made these days. 

Starting the campaign, I tried a pretty simple pesto recipe from Simply Recipes. It used the least favorite herb in our home. So I wanted see how this will fare with the picky-eater in the house. Can they handle it?