Nobody is perfect either

Life is a journey.... the road is narrow and winding,

outlined with trees of hopes

(picture; Google)

Everybody is definitely not perfect

(picture; Google)

Nobody is perfect. I agree on that. Sometimes we make mistakes, sometimes we think that we can't do everything that we want. But perfection is often underestimated. We dream for something big, but we do not have any means for that. We think that we are good, that sometimes we forget little things that should matter to us such as rest, leisure and happiness. We work like there is no tomorrow, we have paper chase and yet we forget humanistic values. We forget that life is indeed short, where are we heading after tomorrow? I remember when I was young, at the age of 17, I told my my best friend at that time, that I have my life all mapped out, planned nicely, to whom I've wanted to marry, even the number of children to have. Yet, God has other plans for me, there were bumpy rides along the way, failed relationships, challenging work experiences and life heart aches. Then, I realise that I need to stop planning my life. There is definitely no more plans at all, I just need to go with the flow. I am not perfect, and things sometimes do not turn out as what I've wanted. It's all right if people say you are not good, well .... nobody is perfect either!

Melted Butter Flat Pineapple Cake

Close-up view- it's not that thick, though.

I loved the natural yellow colour from egg yellow, butter and pineapple- Pineapple Cake.

Pineapple is nature's best gift to us. It's a versatile fruit. It could be cheap and expensive as well, depending on the variety. You can eat it fresh, cooked it in gravy or turned it into mouth-watering desserts. It could be sweet, sour or even a cross between these two tastes. This entry is a long-postponed piece of writing. I kept delaying the post and did something else, or maybe I was so - into brownies lately. I love this pineapple cake- I've got this recipe from a Malay magazine aptly named SAJI (vaguely translated as SERVE). This cake is just what you need to kill off the blues, it's sweet, soft, milky and buttery. Just the right type of cake for everybody. Using melted butter and condensed milk, you will get a flat, fragrant and delicious cake. This cake will not rise high due to the melted butter added at the end of the mixing process. I brought this cake to work, and colleagues couldn't get enough of it. My friends say this is like bingka ( a type of kueh in Malaysia). Whatever it is, I definitely loved this cake very much and would bake it again, some other time. Here goes the recipe after several modifications.

The ingredients

1) 3/4 cup of condensed milk

2) 1/2 cup of brown sugar

3) 3 tbs of caster sugar

4) 1 tsp of baking powder

5) 1 can of pineapple- drain well

6) 2 tbs pineapple juice (from the can)

7) 3/4 cup salted butter ( I have used Australian Golden Churn butter- good aroma)

8) 1 1/2 cup of plain flour

9) 2 tsp of vanilla

10) 4 egg yellow (large eggs)

How

** Preheat oven- 150c for about 10 mins

1) Using blender -blend condensed milk and drained pineapple.

2) Sift flour together with baking powder.

3) Melt butter- low heat. Remove from heat.

4) Using electric mixer- in a bowl, beat egg yellow with sugar. Mix well, fully- incorporated for about 5 mins. Do not overbeat. Add in vanilla. Add in pineapple mixture. Add in pineapple juice.

5) Using spatula, fold in sifted flour in the egg mixture.

6) Add in melted butter. Mix well.

7) Transfer batter into well-greased baking pan - advisable to use a square 8 to 9 inch baking pan.

8) Put the baking pan in a pre-heated oven. Make sure after 5-6 minutes, you have lowered the oven temperature to 120C.

9) Bake the cake for about 30-35 mins. Check if the cake is ready by inserting a skewer. If it comes out clean, your cake is ready.

10) Cut into squares, serve them with a cup of black coffee, lay back and dream of nice things ahead. ;)

Happy baking, everyone.... have a nice weekend!

Chocolate Cheese Brownies

Ingredients - as you can see: plain flour, cocoa powder, salted butter, vanilla essence, cream cheese , chocolate and sugar.


The batter

Half of choc mixture- transfer to baking pan



Put slices/chunks of cream cheese

Cover with choc mixture

The baked product

Now, this is what we call indulgence

Chunks of cream cheese


And finally
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Chocolate Cheese Brownies

Brownies are heaven. They are simply divine. I loved the idea of having brownies with hot chocolate. Sometimes I think brownies could be mistaken as chocolates. Chewable, delicious- eating chocolates. Who could argue on that? Everybody who is close to me, seemed to love brownies too. Afer the ever fabulous choc fudge brownies, my friends loved this Chocolate Cheese Brownies. This recipe is actually from the cook book The Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson. Yes, Nigella Lawson gives good and reliable recipes, and that is something that we could not deny. And here I am, sharing this recipe, after several adaptations to suit my taste bud.

Ingredients

1)5 tbs of salted butter

2)1/2 cup of brown sugar

3)1/2 cup of caster sugar

4)125g of bitter sweet chocolate ( you can use semi-sweet choc)

5)50g of unsweetened chocolate ( you can use normal baking chocolate -add another extra

3 tbs of cocoa powder)

6)2-3 tbsp of cocoa powder

7) 3-4 thin slices of cold cream cheese-from the fridge

8) 2 tsp of vanilla essence

9) 1/2 cup of plain flour (**plus 6 tbsp of plain flour too- optional)

10) 4 large eggs

How

1) Beat eggs, first - in a bowl. Add sugar bit by bit- until triple in volume. Add vanilla.

2) Melt butter, chocolates and cocoa powder in a heavy saucepan- medium heat.

3) Remove saucepan from the heat.

4) Sift flour.

5) Fold in flour into egg mixture. Whisk well. Lastly, put in chocolate mixture. Mix well.

Pre heat oven - 150C.

6) Put in half of the chocolate mixture into baking pan. Cut cream cheese in thin slices. You will end up with chunks of cream cheese.

7) Arrange chunks/ slices of cream cheese on the choc mixture.

8)Cover the cream cheese with half of the chocolate mixture.

9) Bake the brownies mixture for about 25-30 mins. Lower the temperature to 100c

once the baking pan is inside- so that your brownies will not crack.

Happy Saturday, everyone.

Love Is ~ Having Hot Chocolate On A Rainy Night

What do we have here- chocolate,

fresh milk, water and sugar.

Whisk vigorously

Now, we have-- 4 mugs of hot chocolate- just nice on a cold, rainy night

I love hot chocolate- especially on a cold, rainy night. I have this memory of having the best hot chocolate way back in 1999 - in a small, quaint, family-run cafe in the outskirt of Dublin, Ireland. Up until today, I have never come across a good, reliable recipe. Not until I have discovered a good, not-going to fail hot chocolate recipe adapted from the famous tea salon --Laduree, Paris, France. Originally a bakery found in 1862 by Louis Ernest Laduree, a miller from South Western of France, Laduree is famous for its desserts especially macaroons. The famous macaroons eclipsed other good things about Laduree. Now, I am going to share the recipe of one of the best-kept secrets of Laduree- not macaroons, but hot chocolate.

Ingredients

1) 3 cups of fresh milk (750g)

2) 1/3 cup of water (80g)

3) 1/3 cup of brown sugar (65g)

4) 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (175g) -you can also use semi-sweet

chocolate

5) A pinch of salt

How

1) Put milk, water and sugar in a saucepan. Boil medium heat.

2) Put chocolate and salt. Boil for another 4-5 minutes.

3) Remove pan from the heat.

4) Whisk vigorously or use hand-held (immersion) blender or transfer the hot chocolate to a

traditional blender and blend on a high speed for 1 minute.

5) There you have it, hot chocolate served hot and frothy.

For further "sweets" please visit -http://www.laduree.fr/

Happy Monday, everyone

A Hummingbird Over A Red Velvet ......

Hummingbird with vanilla beans and Cream Cheese frosting, topped with roasted pecan nuts, maraschino cherries and pale pink sugar flowers

Sideway- Hummingbird

Red Velvet- with cream cheese and mascarpone frosting, topped with sugar hearts, maraschino cherries, with fresh strawberries and blue berries

I just got the urge to design this red velvet in such a way

I have baked these two cakes in a marathon baking since Ms Zetty, a friend of my friend has requested these two cakes. In an actual fact, she wanted the cakes for the upcoming holidays back in her hometown. Ms Zetty had sampled my Red Velvet before and this time, she wanted a taste of my Hummingbird ever since she spotted a picture of the former in her friend's FB. So, my ever humble oven was working hard since Thursday evening up to Friday morning. I have baked the Red Velvet first since it took longer time for the baking process and then, proceed to the Hummingbird. Phew, with a few hours to prepare and frost the cake, I did a mental picture on how to organize the baking process. I needed to plan my baking procedures since the cakes needed to be delivered on time. For these two cakes, I have used unsalted butter, simply because I like the taste of it. Even though, the original recipe of Hummingbird required the use of vegetable oil- I still think that butter gives a different kind of pleasure to the Hummingbird. Whenever, I bake cakes, I have always imagined that these cakes are mine, and I would like the touch of home-baking designs. Sometimes, it is hard to give away cakes which are nicely decorated- it is like separating from your loved ones. The feelings are not to be described here...(he he he). My long-time friend recently asked me, how did I get involved in this baking vocation? I told her baking unstress my mind. Well, at times, when ever I feel that the world moves in another direction, or my world turns upside down- only baking seemed to save my day. Back to these cakes, after seeing the final designs- I couldn't help but felt happy. Really happy. Probably, I should have ventured into baking seriously one day.... Yes, one fine day.

Book Shopping

Kino- @KLCC, books' heaven, my heaven too

I gave up- I bought books and magazines anyway

A sneak preview of my shopping bag

No Chanel today- it's all about books

I have this weakness. I go nuts for book stores. To me, books are treasures. That is why when I don't want to buy books, I will stay away from book stores. I couldn't help it- whenever I spot a book store, I would always wanted to go in. Sometimes, it is hard not to buy a single book. There would always an excuse to buy a book- especially the one which contained a rare-different kind of recipe. So, last Saturday- I went to KLCC and guess what, I ended buying a couple books and magazines. Of course, there were definitely some recipe books and not forgetting work-related materials. By then, after spending some amount of money, (which I don't really like to reveal..hehe), I had discovered that Chanel cosmetics was having some kind of promotions on the concourse level. Well oh well, no time to browse around make -up counters that day, since my money had been spent on books. Thus, the reason to try the recipes and get the oven working full scale. Thank God for Kinokuniya, books are abound for bookaholics like me- especially in Malaysia ... ;)

Eating Out-@Delicious

Spaghetti Carbonara

Apple Pie and Vanilla Ice Cream

Red Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Sometimes it is nice to go around and sample food in fancy eateries. Two weeks ago, I went to Bangsar Village and hopped to Delicious. There was a wide variety of food and desserts. I was spoilt with choices, and finally chose two types of desserts- the Red Velvet Cupcake and Apple Pie. My sister has chosen the Carbonara and it tasted very light, not that so cheesy. The desserts? I would say that I really liked the apple pie, it was a sure winner to me. The apple pie was lip-smacking good with a hint of cinnamon, not overly done. Together with vanilla ice cream- it gave you a little bit of balance, one was earthy, one was sweet and milky. However, the red velvet was okay if you went really easy with it. That's red velvet- you must taste it bit by bit, savouring every little bite. Well, if you really want to be pampered with desserts- head to Delicious, where you can just pick and choose your kind of "sweets".