Blame it on the weather man....

The weather's been fine in Teluk Cempedak, Kuantan, Pahang- last two weeks....

 

I've been dreaming of doing something sweet with fresh strawberries- but somehow, rather- ended up buying a pack of strawberries and found them rotten in the fridge after  two weeks...



Missing the moments when I could do nice frosting with cupcakes... Now, time is spent doing house chores.



I really need fresh vegetables in my diet- my immune system is very low due to stress and work commitments



I dream of something like this in the future- a bake shop full of baking delights and sweets- This is my cousin's small quaint  gift shop in Putrajaya. You should see the decor inside- will rave about it in my next post.

 

Missing macarons or French macaroons- these little sweet pleasures as found in Whisk, Empire Gallery, Subang Jaya.. Since the catastrophe/explosion in Empire Gallery, Subang Jaya, on 28 September 2011- I couldn't go to Whisk to unstress my ever wandering tired mind .I am too lazy to attempt doing macaroons, as I know there is always Whisk to cater to my sugar rush for macaroons. Now, I have to do macaroonage any way, any how...



I've been caught sick for these few weeks...and today  I have been down with a very bad cold or flu or influenza. What with the weather- it's raining one day, then hot and sunny the next day.When ever I am sick, I think about those pleasurable moments, I think about baking sweet things or even a trip to the mall to cure my boredom. But, I am so tired and sick  to do all the activities....I've been wanting to eat macaroons in Whisk, but that seemed impossible nowadays. When was the last time I had a good, healthy meal with lots of vegetables, greens and fruits? I am totally at my wit's end. Maybe, I am stupefied for these past few weeks. I needed the rest, but I resisted it, thinking that rest could wait, work couldn't. Now, I am paying the price for not listening to the call. The call to take a rest and have a break. Last two weeks, I had been to Kuantan, Pahang and attended a friend's wedding, before that  there were two mornings when I woke up at 3.30  so that I could bake cakes. Yesterday, was spent tripping the mall, to cure my stress  and today I found myself not really feeling vivacious and lively usual. So, I needed a break. I am no superhuman, those work loads could wait- now, when was the last time, I had a holiday? I wonder... yes, holidays should be the cure, not work or the never ending paper chase... hmmmm... 

Carrot and Walnut Cake

 Carrot and Walnut Cake

- frosted with cream cheese icing, topped with roasted walnuts, silver beads, chopped roasted walnuts and maraschino cherries.



I went rustic this time..... Again, it's a 3.30 in the morning- baking mission



Carrots are said to have beneficial effects to our health- eating carrots will reduce the risk of CVD (cardiovascular diseases)



This is definitely a postponed entry. I have baked this cake two weeks ago, as requested by my elder sister, N- who wanted to bring this to her potluck party. She asked me to bake Carrot Cake, it meant specifically THE Carrot Cake...from the recipe that I had given her before. I had given her the recipe, taken from my book CAKE, as she was failing in her attempt to bake an ideal  carrot cake, by following a recipe from the net. She almost gave up, until I searched for the recipe in my book. Well, truthfully, I have so many baking and cake books in my book shelves, that sometimes I do not realise some hidden gems right in front of my eyes. I had baked this cake before, and it received very warm reviews from friends, that is why when ever I think of carrot cakes, I always think about this cake. This cake does not use vege oil/ corn oil as usually found in any normal carrot cake- it uses butter. I do not know how to describe the texture of this wonderful baking joy, as I seldom having the last piece,  it's always a hit with everybody including my sister's friends in the office. Up until today, one particular friend kept saying all the good things  about this cake when ever she mentions Carrot Cake to me... Since, it's a winning, fail-proof cake, what better way to share this recipe, so that everybody could whip this any time they  want to have a melt-in the mouth sweet experience.... Here goes :-

Cake

2 1/3 cups (350g) all-purpose flour (plain)

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp  baking powder

1 tsp baking soda ( bicarb. of soda)

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cloves ( I omitted this- there's no ready made ground cloves, too lazy to ground it on my own)

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2  cups( 375g) butter, softened ( I have used SCS unsalted butter - if you use the normal salted butter, please omit salt in this recipe)

2 cups (400g) caster sugar  ( I have used 1 cup of soft brown sugar, and 1/2 cup of white caster sugar)

2 tsp vanilla essence

4 large eggs

2 cups ( 200gs) finely grated carrots

1 1/2 cups (200g) fairly finely chopped walnuts ( I have roasted the walnuts in the oven before chopping them) - {You can use pecans as well- they are definitely the bests}

1/3 cup (40g) raisins

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 ( 8 ounce/250g) package cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup ( 90g) butter. softened

2 1/2  cups (375g) icing sugar

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Walnut halves, to decorate

How

1) Preheat oven to 150C (electric oven, conventional), for about 8-10 mins.... {I have lowered the temperature. Originally it was 350F (180C/ gas 4)}.

2) Lightly grease and flour a 9 inch ( 23cm ) springform pan. {I have greased and lined the baking pan with baking parchment}.

3) Batter- Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, (preferably stainless steel baking bowl), beat butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and creamy.

3) Add eggs one at a time, into the butter and sugar batter- beating until just combined after each addition. With mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the dry ingredients. Stir in carrots, walnuts and raisins.Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.

4) Bake for 45- 55 mins. or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 mins. Loosen and remove the pan sides. Invert the cake onto the a rack. Loosen and remove the pan bottom and let cool completely.

5. To prepare the frosting, beat the cream cheese, butter, icing sugar and lemon zest and juice in a large bowl until creamy and smooth. Spread the cake with the frosting. Decorate as you please...

I have used Sultana raisins in this recipe

  

Walnuts and shells

On a final note, what a better way to celebrate happy moments rather than baking your own carrot cake... Well, "Happy days ahead, every one."... May cakes rule your heart, and carrots and walnuts make you happy and healthy....

Easy Moist Lemon Cake

 Easy Moist Lemon Cake

 I baked this at 3.30 in the morning..

Close up of the cake

I have baked this Easy Moist Lemon Cake for a pot luck party at my work place. Initially, I have wanted to bake Carrot Cake, but since, I ran out of time, I decided then to bake an easy cake, that required minimum ingredients and maintenance. As you could see, it seemed to be a flat cake. Yes, it was a flat cake and it took me about an hour and a half to do all the preparations and baking. This cake is full of lemon zests and is quite moist as well. For this cake, I have doubled the recipe, so that I could cut into several pieces. At the party, some friends complained that they did not even have a bite, as the cake was a sold-out towards the end of the day. Now, here goes the recipe... as adapted from my  recipe book aptly named "CAKES" by Rachel Lane and Carla Bardi.

Cake

1 1/2 cup s (225g) all purpose (plain) flour

3/4 cup (150g) sugar - you can use 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 3 tbsp of fine sugar (to reduce the sweetness of the cake)

3 large eggs

1/2 cup (125g) butter, softened

1/3 cup (90ml) milk

1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tsp of lemon juice

Lemon Frosting

1 1/2 cups (225g) icing sugar

2 tbsp butter, melted

2 tbsp freshly squeezed  lemon juice

1 tbsp of fresh milk

2 tbsp shredded (dessicated) coconut

Lemon zest - 2tbsp

1) Preheat the oven 350F (180C/ Gas 4). { I used 150C-electric oven- for about 7-8 mins}.Lightly grease a 9 inch (23cm) square pan.

2) For the cake- beat the flour, sugar, eggs, butter, milk, lemon zest, baking powder, salt and lemon juice in a large bowl with an electric mixer at low speed until well blended. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until pale and thick, 3-4 mins. Spoon the batter into prepared pan.

3) Bake for 40-45 mins, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool the cake completely in the pan on a rack.

4) To prepare the frosting, beat the icing sugar and butter in a medium bowl. Beat in milk, lemon zest and enough lemon juice to make a spreadable frosting. Spread the cake with the frosting, and sprinkle with the coconut.

Happy baking every one...

Fruity Sensation - Raspberry and Peach Cake

Raspberries are "wonderlicious" berries

Raspberry and peach cake

Side way of the cake

I always have a soft spot on fruits, especially raspberries and peaches. Both of them are definitely top of my list. I like the unique features of raspberries, as summarised by whfoods.com "they are delicately structured with a hollow core, with almost melt-in-your mouth texture". There are certainly many benefits of consuming Raspberries . I presume that raspberries are understated fruits compared to the other berries such as strawberries and blue berries. I wonder why we couldn't plant raspberries commercially in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia as they do with strawberries. Perhaps the Malaysian Agriculture Ministry should do something on this matter.

   On the other hand, the stone fruits- peaches are said to be native to Persia (now known as Iran), even though they have been cultivated in the early days of China. Sometimes, we tend to have confusion between peaches and nectarines. Apparently, peaches have fuzzy skin, where else nectarines are smaller and sweeter with reddish, smooth skin. It is said that a peach tree could bore nectarines as well.

    All right, back to this cake - I have decided to bake this cake due to its two ingredients- my favourite fruits of raspberries and peaches. I wanted to bring something different for my department's pot-luck party, and this cake fitted the bill. When I brought this cake this morning, my colleagues kept asking me what it was actually. They thought it was a pudding, as they kept guessing the actual ingredients, much to my own amusement. Well, I told them that it was all berries and peaches- fresh produce of USA (the raspberries) and CHINA ( the white peaches that I had used). The fresh produce were definitely worth the price, as opposed to canned goods. The use of the fruits in the cake, made the texture felt airy and light with a tinge of natural sweetness and a little bit of sourish taste, thanks to presence of raspberries. I definitely think that if you do not have the luxury of having raspberries in your local grocer, you could always replace them with strawberries with a little bit of lemon juice. Thus, I am sharing the recipe of this "wonderlicious" cake, so that everybody could try at home . To have a big cake as seen from the pictures, please double the amount of ingredients used.

The recipe ( originally from the Good Housekeeping book)

Ingredients

200g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease
250g self-raising flour, sifted
100g soft brown sugar
4 medium eggs, beaten
125g raspberries ( you can put half of this amount)
2 large, almost-ripe peaches/ nectarines, halved, stoned and sliced ( I used peaches)
4 tbsp apricot jam/ conserve
juice of 1/2 lemon

How

Preheat oven 150c for about 8-9 mins- I did this.(The book stated -preheat oven 190c {170c fan oven} mark 5). Grease a 8 inch (20.5cm) cake tin (you can use springform cake tin) and baseline with baking parchment ( baking paper). Put flour, sugar in a large stainless steel bowl. Make a well in the centre. Add the melted butter and eggs. Mix well. (Please use the hand mixer to mix them well, so that you wouldn't have any curdles in your cake mixture). Spread half the mixture over the base of the cake tin, add half the raspberries and sliced peaches. Spoon the remaining cake mixture, smooth over, then add the remaining raspberries and peaches, pressing them down in the mixture slightly. Bake for 1-1/4 hours until risen and skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave in the tin to cool for about 10 mins. Warm the jam and lemon juice together in a small pan and brush over the cake to glaze. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The cake is glazed with warm apricot jam and lemon juice

Happy baking everyone, now it's the time to have some "fruits" in our cakes...

A Hummingbird For Two Little Girls

I became a kid when decorating cakes for the young ones

Words as written in Malay literally translated as Happy Birthday Wafaa and Hanis... Hummingbird cake topped frosted with cream cheese, topped with fresh cherries, colourful drizzles,sugar flowers, roasted pecans and red jelly.

My handwriting looked like a 4 year old, though (hahah .. funny)
I stick to my clientele's way of handscript...

I have started baking cakes again after a break of 3 months. Work has totally got into my nerves, and to find time just to bake something is just like a luxury. So, when my friend, Ms S asked me to bake  a Hummingbird for the birthday celebration of her two girls, I happily obliged-just to get away from my over-looming paper chase work commitment. For this time, I have put extra bananas and pineapple to get the nice-extra taste with lots of chopped roasted pecans. Cream cheese was not Phillys as it was out of stock, so I had used another brand -Elle and Vire of France.This brand was less soury than Phillys but it did not have the consistency of Phillys. But, since I was in desperation, I had decided to use it any way. Overall, it took me three hours to bake the cake and another two hours just to frost the cake. I went "naive" with the total outlook of the cake, just to cater to my "client's" age. Both girls were definitely two lucky girls as not many people had the chance to share the same birthday cake like they did. Well, a happy baker definitely baked a "happy cake"...

Of Syawal and Memories

"Beef rendang"- beef cooked in coconut milk, lemon grass,chilli and spices - A Malay delicacy for Eid

Deserted roads in Shah Alam on the first day of Eid- that's why Eid is best celebrated in "kampungs" or villages.

Grandma's china- Teapot set

My grandmother's heritage- vintage crockery

I have postponed this entry for quite some time. I needed time to settle some things, to do house chores and be prepared for work commitments. Now, we are in the middle of Syawal- the holy month when Muslims celebrate Eid. I always remember Syawal with a childlike fondness- and during the recent Eid- I have finally got to fulfill my longing to go back to my grandmother's house in Negeri Sembilan, even spending a few nights there. What a difference to me just to go back to my "kampung" - I feel happy just like the old times. Even if my grandmother has passed away for 20 years, I have always feel her presence. From the china that she had painstakingly collected during her life time, to her beef "rendang" recipe that I still made and her clothes still being kept in the wardrobe. I definitely feel my grandma's love. That's why I love Syawal in the "kampung", it reminded me of a lovely lady, who taught me that materials do not matter in terms of happiness. It is love that matters.. Well, at least when times are tough, we could always go back to our "kampung" and find our roots and ancestry lines, and feel the inner peace in our hearts....

When Eid Is Nearing....

Eid is most treasured when you are being surrounded by family My siblings, mum and cousins - grandma's house in Rembau, Negeri Sembilan. Life was simpler then, my sisters and I had our own happy memories of Eid.

My traditional, wooden, "grandeur" grandma's house in Rembau, Negeri Sembilan - I had memorable childhood Eid celebrations when grandma was around.

Eid is nearing. Ramadhan is leaving in a few days. I am still here. Stuck in the city. Eid preparation is nil for this year. That's why at this stage, I have only posted one recipe of Eid biscuit. For the whole month of Ramadhan, I was tired with work. Things did not go smoothly. I totally forgot about celebrating Eid. I bought flours and ingredients for baking cookies, but I was so lethargic during the day, that I ended up not baking anything. Prices of food stuffs have risen so much that I don't have the mood to celebrate Eid. Money for the day is a just a piece of paper, it has no value at all- as prices of every day's provisions have gone up to the ceiling (for me, as far as I am concerned). Sometimes, I feel that we have gone "material" these modern days. Whatever happens to simplistic values, the days when we don't really judge people for their materials and wealth but their own virtues and behaviour. When we can have a simple Eid, without splurging our money. To me, Eid is better spent when you are surrounded with your beloved family members. I remembered when I was small, having two elder sisters was really fun. We would have squabbles whenever we were baking Eid's biscuits, and it was really a team work. One would look after the oven, one would roll the cookie dough and I would do all the garnishings. Now, I would only bake alone in the kitchen, there's no one to share my story of the day, and I ended up being bored at times. Some of the days, I would transport myself back to my childhood Eid's celebrations - when my grandma was around- the days when she cooked beef rendang and lemang to perfection, when she would baked her melt- in- the- mouth marble cake. When she would be all smiles seeing us, the grandchildren spending the first day of Eid with her. My sisters and I would arrange the cookies in the cookies' tray and set up all the cutleries needed. My late maternal grandma stayed in the kampung (village) and she did not have all the fine chinas such as Noritake , Doultons or Albert. There were just simple china made in CHINA. But what I treasured most was the love that she had for her many grandchildren, the intense preparations that she did to celebrate Eid. The idea of her being all zest and active to bake cakes and cooked rendang, so that her grandchildren would have food to eat. That's the best memory of her that I could treasure, it showed from the way she cooked her food. They were definitely dishes of love. As for me, I would never have that kind of Eid anymore. I have learnt to spend Eid in someone's city or someone's kampung (village), but it would definitely not be the same. I am a proud kampung/ village girl, even if some of my students thought that I am from the city of Kuala Lumpur.(chuckles).... My kampung would always be in my heart and my childhood Eid celebrations with my siblings and late maternal grandmother would always be etched in my mind. The best Eid was definitely when I was small and young, having my siblings and beloved grandma around. Remembering you with love, grandma. Alfatihah....