poppy seed cupcakes with lemon drizzle

 

okay, okay...why come this poppy seed cupcake looks like a mini bundt, yes? wondering of this you must. yes? *motif tetiba nak jadi yoda?*

 

well, i bought this mini bundt pan yonks ago and haven't gotten around to using it. today, i decided to be a tad adventurous...ooooo....adventurous ler sesangat. haha!

 

i've been wanting to bake santing with lemon and poppy seed for the longest time. especially lemon poppy seed muffins, but i am too lazy to google the recipe. so, i went to my best friend, this book by fergal connolly, 500 cupcakes and muffins . this is a fantastic book and has yet to fail me. aiyork! i might just jinx the whole thing now that i've announced my love for this book. *crossing fingers*

 





aneehoo, as with all the recipes in this book it starts off with the basic cupcake recipe (the vanilla cupcake) and then you add on a few other stuff to make it different and in this case, you add on the poppy seed and some lemon zest. one thing i like about the recipes from this book is, you get to pop everything into the mixing bowl and beat away!

 

 

taste wise, i think this is the perfect cupcake you would want to have for tea on a hot day. the addition of the lemon zest somehow gives the cupcakes, or mini bundts in my case, a very refreshing twist compared to the normal vanilla ones. i also made the drizzle. the drizzle in my opinion compliments the cupcake. the tang from the lemon juice sort of balances the taste of the cupcake, which has a more mild lemon taste. i halved the drizzle recipe though because i don't think i would want to have each cupcake with the drizzle.

 

so, are we ready for the recipe? yes? let's go!!

 

you will need:

225g (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened

225g (8 oz) caster sugar

225g (8 oz) self-raising flour

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tbsp poppy seeds

1 tbsp grated lemon zest

 

the how to:

1)  preheat oven to 175°C (350°F/gas mark 4)

2)  line your muffin pans, or don't line them, or just use a mini bundt pan, like yours truly.

3)  *this is the best part* combine the butter, sugar, flour and eggs in your mixing bowl and whisk with an electric whisk until smooth and pale, say for about 2-3 minutes

4)  stir in the vanilla, lemon zest and poppy seeds until well combined.

5)  spoon the batter into the cases.

6)  bake for 20 minutes. (baking time may vary, so be sure to check once in a while)

7)  once done, remove the baking tin from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes, or if you can't wait that long, just take a bite already!!

for the drizzle:

125g (4 ½ oz) icing sugar
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp poppy seed *oopsie, i forgot to put this for the drizzle* :-p

the how to:
1)  sieve icing sugar into a bowl and stir in the lemon juice until it resembles the consistency of double cream.

2)  stir in the poppy seeds and drizzle over the cupcakes.

 

you can also freeze these cupcakes or mini bundts for up to 3 months...but why would you wanna do that?? they are delicious and should be eaten immediately!! IMMEDIATELY!!

well, what are you waiting for? go get some lemons and poppy seeds!!

luck luck!!

recipe taken from: 500 cupcakes and muffins by fergal connolly
book image taken from: sella.co.nz via every one's best friend, mr. google

 

wordless wednesday: blurry

ada apa dengan pink stacks?

 

 

i met a friend today. we had tea for brunch at this quaint little cafe called Whisk at Empire Subang. this is not my first time here. everytime i come here there seems to be this one particular cake called the whisk pink stacks, and it's ALWAYS sold out. there's a sign outside the cafe that says it's their bestselling cake. *please correct me if i didn't get the sign right*

 

aneehoo, imagine my excitement when i saw the cake. so, naturally i went for the cake...

only

to

find

that

it's

actually

stacks

of

cakes

colored

in

shades

of

pink

that

has

been

soaked

in

sirap.

 

yup! you read right. it tastes like sirap. period. i was, and still am a bit disappointed. i had high hopes for the 'best selling' cake. seriously. i did. and i think charging RM14.90 for this was a bit too steep. *double whammy*

 

my friend had the carrot pecan cake. it was sweet, too sweet for us.

 

 

 

like i said, it wasn't my first time here. i had the hummingbird cake, and THAT was super nice. i might go there again just for that.

 

i ended up not being able to finish the cake. and there was a couple who sat next to our table who also had the same cake, who did not (berapa banyak 'who' yang aku nak letak ni???) finish the cake as well. i even saw the lady pointing to the sign outside the shop. the sign about the bestselling whatever thingamajig.

 

 

would i go there again? yes. for the hummingbird cake. and i would also like to give their pecan pie a try. pecan pie a try. pecan pie a try. well, whaddaya know i'm rhyming! pecan pie a try. pecan pie a try. okay, okay....i'll stop.

 

oh and by the way, i was charged by mr.cashier guy 3 drinks instead of 2. i only noticed once i got back home.

 

mr. cashier guy, is there a chance that i could get my money back? :-p

 

oh well...

 

12.12.12.

 

 

 

i'm baaaaaackkkkk!!! miss me? no? never mind. I MISS ME!!

 

look at the date. it's such a beautiful date, and just the kind of date one would use to make a come back *bajet retis...siap nak buat come back tuuuu* and that even this late at night (late kah?) i cannot not blog or at least write something here. anything.

 

i haven't been blogging for the longest time. life took over. and i was travelling here and there and here and there. i was in LALA twice with only about a few weeks' of interval in between, to visit the wife, among other things. sampai pompuan tu dah muak ler gamaknya jumpa aku.

 

 

 

apart from that i have also been knitting. i made a scarf for my cousin who was recently bitten by the travel bug. i don't usually knit two scarves with the same pattern, but i decided to knit one for the wife. the pattern is quite easy and i think it suits them. it's called the Cotton Twirl Faggot Stitch Scarf. if you are interested, you can get the pattern from here.

 

 

i made the grey one for my cousin.

 

 

and this colorful one, for the wife.

 

 

 

i hope both of them will like their scarves.

 

what else? what else?? ahhh! i made brownies!!! cappuccino brownies. why isn't the recipe here? well, i was soooo happy to be baking again after such a long time, that out of excitement, i might have over did it with the batter and the batch turned into cake! and i was sooo upset that it gave me migraine. hahahaha!! i kid you not! but, i will attempt the recipe again and will let you know.

 

what else? what else? ohhh! i lost about 500+ of photos that i kept in this micro SD card thingamajig, one day it was there, and the next, the card went amnesiac and couldn't remember what happened to all the photos. alllll those shots....gone. just like that. one tip, when in akihabara, don't buy micro SD cards.

 

well, i guess this is it then. i can't believe that it's already december and in a few weeks' time, we'll be greeting a brand new year. wow...

 

have a nice night and i'll be seeing you soon.

 

photo of cousin, robbed from his facebook account. thank you your majesty.

knitting pattern taken from www.straw.com  thank you!!

 

hannah is FIVE! Alhamdulillah...

five years ago, i made this entry. this little bundle of joy made her bestfriend (read: akemi) and i very very happy. i fell in love immediately. this little thing is my niece and i get to spoil her whenever i want. haha!

and now, today, she turns five. FIVE! cepat betul masa berlalu.

my darling hannah kamilla, you bring joy into our lives. each and every day, you surprise us with new things about you, i see a lot of me in you (sorry hannah's mummy...like aunty, like niece, perhaps? :-p) and i know that you will be a wonderful person when you grow up.

antidott and akemi, sentiasa mendoakan hannah kamilla menjadi anak yang solehah, yang cerdik pandai, yang menghormati orang tua, yang pretty and yang princess and also supaya you dipanjangkan lagi umur, dimurahkan rezeki sentiasa, dilindungi dan diberkati Allah, and most importantly supaya you menjadi ahli syurga. Amin. we wish nothing but the best for you, our special niece. have a blast today, kamiyya. we LOVE you!! muah!!

p/s: don't forget to practise your spanish. nanti you call i and we practise kay. LOVE YOU baby!!

wordless wednesday: all you need is love

 

crunchy peanut cookies

hello!!! long time no hear!!! how be you? i am feeling much better, thank you.  was i unwell? hell yeah!! i was miserable for the past few days. miserable with a capital 'M'. why? because, my beloved oven, decided to have a cardiac arrest right in the middle of my baking a batch of melting moments. tripped the whole house, and to top it all off...i was just about to scoop these onto the baking sheet. there i was thinking that i could bake some of these, when it all happened. the thing is, in the recipe, it says that the dough for this particular cookie, needs to be refrigerated. while i was preparing, i was saying to myself, 'yeah right. like i'm going to go through the trouble of refrigerating these. i am so NOT going to do that and just get right on with baking them.' guess, someone else had other plans for me. i ended up refrigerating these babies. cheh!

anyways, the oven's all better now and this morning i took out the dough and started to bake these. what do i think about it? well, for one, i didn't like the texture of the dough while i was scooping them. they were crumbly. me no likey. next time i'll try to do it MY way, no fridge. *yeay!!*

as for the taste, well, i immediately know as soon as i popped one of these into my mouth that they will be MrG's favorite. he loves anything with peanuts and i know what will happen to these as soon as he gets home. haha!

okay, if you noticed, the name of these cookies is CRUNCHY peanut cookies. but mine wasn't. it is more semi-crunchy, if there's such a thing. i think i might have something to do with it. i might need too leave in the oven for a few more minutes. tulah...nak sangat bake, tak sesabor...plus i had a date with someone today and i wanted to bring her these, and you know, time was also a factor...okay, lame excuse. time WAS NOT the factor, i was just impatient. haha!! so, next time, add more minutes.

taste wise, these are delish. they are not too sweet and i like the nutty taste. d-uh...nama pun PEANUT cookies, hoccaayyyy...

alright homies, what are we waiting for? ready for recipe? let's go!!

you will need:

125g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing*

150g chunky peanut butter

225g granulated sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

150g plain flour

½ tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
75g unsalted natural peanuts, chopped**

the how to:
1)  place the butter and peanut butter in a large bowl and beat together. gradually add the sugar and beat well.

2)  in goes the egg, a little at a time, until it is combined.

3)  sift in the flour, baking powder and salt.

4)  add in the peanuts and bring all of the ingredients together to form a soft dough.

5)  wrap dough in clingfilm and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.***

6)  preheat the oven to 190°C. ****

7)  lightly grease two large baking sheets. (see '*') :-p

8)  form the dough into balls and place them on the prepared baking sheets, spaced well apart. flatten them slightly with your hand. (i used a 3cm ice cream scoop, sonang kojo mak temah, senaaaahhh)

9)  bake in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

10) leave to cool for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

*phew* banyak giler instructions. haha!

*i use silicone sheets to like my baking tray, so i didn't need the extra for greasing.

**because i'm all about making things easy for me when i bake, i used store bought pre-murdered (chopped) peanuts. they work just fine for me.

***AAAAAARGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! :-p

****i had to play around with the baking temperature and time combo, because at 190°C, my cookies were burnt at the 8th minute. so...

hoccay! this is one heck of a loooong entry. i hope you guys would give this a try. the hard work is totally worth. no, wait. hard work? part mananya?? alahhh...you get what i mean. yes?

okay, luck luck!!!

recipe source: Home Baking, published by LOVE FOOD of Parragon Books Ltd.

peanut butter cupcakes

there is something about peanut butter that you cannot resist. i don't know, maybe i am the only one who has this 'thing' about peanut butter, be it smooth or crunchy. even my  ex robot likes her 'dose' of peanut butter. hehehe...

i made these today. simply because it's friday, and since every friday is 'experimental (more on the mental side) friday' i thought why not give this recipe a go.

again, i took this recipe from my favorite 'kitab' the 500 series. a really, REALLY easy recipe (my kinda recipe) where you just dump everything in the mixer bowl and whisk away. you'd be crazy to not give this a try. believe you me.

the cupcake itself has a very mild peanut butter taste, and it is complimented by the frosting. i think without the frosting it will be a tad on the bland side. i added crushed (more like beaten to death, HAHA) toasted peanuts on top. just for fun!

ready for the recipe? let's go!

you will need:

for the cupcake,

225g (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened

225g (8 oz) caster sugar

225g (8 oz) self-raising flour

4 eggs

115g (4 oz) crunchy peanut butter

for the frosting,

60g (2½ oz) crunchy peanut butter

50g (2 oz) unsalted butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla essence

115g (4 oz) icing sugar, sieved

2 tbsp milk

the how to:

for the cupcakes,

1)  preheat oven to 175°C (350°F/Gas mark 4).

2)  line your muffin tins with cupcake liners.

3)  combine the butter, sugar, flour and eggs your mixing bowl and whisk until smooth, about 2-3 minutes.

4)  stir in the peanut butter until well combined.

5)  spoon the batter into the cupcake liners. *i used a 4cm ice-cream scoop

6)  bake for 20 minutes. **this really depends on your oven, i baked mine for 15 minutes.

7)  remove muffin tin from oven and cool for 5 minutes, then cool on cooling rack.

for the frosting,

1)  combine the peanut butter, butter and vanilla in a medium bowl, beat till light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.

2)  add the icing sugar along with the milk, and beat till well combined.

3)  swirl the icing onto the cooled cupcakes.

You can store these, sans icing, in airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

***if you use a 4cm ice-cream scoop, you'll get about 28 cupcakes.

try them homies!!! :-))) 

wordless wednesday: from my kitchen, to you.

coconut & cranberry cookies

there were many reasons why i had to think a million times before baking these cookies. A MILLION!! (i am using CAPS and you know i don't like to use CAPS)...okaylah, maybe NOT a million, but close to a million. okaylah, maybe not even close to a million, but there were a lot of reasons. okaylah...maybe not that many of a reason, maybe just three. haha!

one, i have never, NEVER (my my...aren't we generous with our CAPS today...) NEVER baked anything with coconuts because...i don't know...coconuts....cookies...somehow i feel that they don't mix well, you know? when i think of coconuts, i'll think of santan. there.

two, i have never tried anything, NEVER tried anything with cranberries. the only other time i had anything with cranberries were the time i had the cranberry scones at CBTL. that was the only time and it was just a so-so experience. i liked it...but i didn't like it enough to repeat, you know?

three, i DON'T LIKE separating eggs. seriously, i HATE (again with the CAPS) separating eggs. while i was prepping the ingredients for these, i was actually seriously contemplating of using a whole egg in this recipe. who would know, right? but then again, in the name of experimenting, i decided to just separate the dayum egg already, just for that ONE yolk. and...because i'm not that good at separating eggs...i ended up cracking three eggs instead of the only one yolk required. so, guess who'll be having omelette for lunch? :-p

okay, okay...fine. i'm sure you'll want to know what i think of the cookies, right? well, to me it is something definitely new. the texture is semi chewy and semi crunchy, i think the desiccated coconut had something to do with it. it's a taste that i'm going to have to acquire, i think. BUT, one change that i will make, should i decide to bake these again, is that i will definitely increase the amount of cranberries. as i was scooping the cookie dough onto the baking sheet, i could see a few sorry pieces of cookies lacking the cranberries, you know. so, i had to do what any (in)sane baker would do, i went to the fridge, got more cranberries out and just sorta stuck 'em into the dough. sad...but true.

will i be making these again?...mmm...only if i can find egg yolks sold separately in the market...or, what the heck, i'll just use a whole egg and see if there are any difference in the  taste and texture. hey, all in the name of experimenting, right? ;-)

alrighty folks, here be the recipe:

you will need:

225g butter, softened

140g caster sugar

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

2 tsp vanilla extract

280g plain flour

pinch of salt

40g desiccated coconut

60g dried cranberries

the how to:

1)  pre-heat the oven to 190C° (i set mine at 175°C) and line two baking sheets with baking paper, or parchment paper.

2)  put the butter and sugar into a bowl and mix well with a wooden spoon. (i used my Giant because hand no work no more), then beat in the egg yolk and vanilla extract.

3)  next in goes the flour that has been sifted with a pinch of salt into the butter, sugar and egg yolk mixture.

4)  after that mix in the coconut and cranberries and stir until thoroughly combined.

5)  scoop up tablespoons of the dough and place in mounds (i don't know why in mounds) on the prepared baking sheets, spaced well apart.

6)  bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.*

7)  leave to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then, using a palette knife, carefully transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

*i baked mine for only 9 minutes and they were done.

**if you use a 3" ice-cream scoop you will get around 40 cookies.

luck-luck guys and lemme know how these turn out!

recipe source:  Cookie Jar by Parragon Books Ltd.

wordless wednesdays: of cookies, jasmine tea and friends, of course!

abang punya...

he arrived when i was 12. i became an aunt that day. i didn't know what it meant until i saw this cute little baby and was immediately in love!

today, he will become someone's husband and soon i will become someone's grandmother...s**t! i mean, YEAY!!! got to drill into head or etch in laser that one is no longer THAT young anymore. haha!

to the boy who changed my whole view on kids (gosh, i used to HATE kids waaaay back when) who is now a man, congratulations abang. i'm sorry i cannot be there for you today, but my prayers are with you. good luck aaaand...harap-harap, sekali lafaz jelah iyerrrrrrrr miahahahaha!!!!!

i lebiu, muah!!!

melting moments

what an appropriate cookie to bake at my current state of mind. maybe i really should rename this cookie the melting point melting moments. hahaha!! not making any sense? oh well... :-p

so, what does one do when one's robot abandons one at the very last minute? especially since one has a VERY important procedure to go through? ooh-ooh-oohhhh!!! i have the answer! me! me! pick me!!! come on!! okay, the answer is...one bakes!!! ta-dahhhh...

a friend of mine gave me this recipe book recently and this particular recipe caught my eye. mainly because it looked really nice aaaaandddd...it did not require any eggs. None. Na-da. Zilch. Zero. Nan ado...okay, okay, you got my drift.

i had everything in the kitchen and thought, why not.

my take on these though is that it tastes more like butter cookies but the texture is really to die for. the name, i guess, explains it all. the moment it goes into your mouth, it disappears. i kid you not. the next time i make these though, i would love to add a little bit more icing sugar to see if the taste would be exactly as how i imagined it to be.

SO! ready for the recipe? let's go homies!!!

you will need:

350g unsalted butter, softened

85g icing sugar

½ vanilla extract
300g plain flour
50g cornflour

the how to:
1)  preheat oven to 180°C.

2)  line to baking sheets with baking paper.

3)  place butter and icing sugar in a large bowl and beat until light and fluffy, then add in the vanilla extract. 

4)  sift in the flour and cornflour and mix thoroughly.
'
5)  spoon the dough into a piping bag with with a large star nozzle and pipe cookies onto the prepared baking sheets, spaced well apart.

6)  bake in the pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. leave to cool on the baking sheets.*

*i baked my first tray of cookies for 15 minutes at the recommended temperature and they burnt. so, i adjusted my baking time to 10 minutes.

give it a go and lemme know, okay?

recipe source: Home Baking, A fantastic collection of 80 recipes for delicious home-baked goodies - Paragon Books Ltd.

goodbye

we both cried at the airport. she for her own personal reason and i, for mine.

there's nothing much that i can say, but i always find solace in these few surahs. let me share them with you guys.

"And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to As-Sabirin (the patient ones, etc.)"

~Surah Al-Baqarah 2:155

"And seek help in patience and As-Salah and truly it is extremely heavy and hard except for humbly submissive to Allah."

~ Surah Al-Bawarah 2:45

"For indeed, with hardship (will be) ease. Indeed, with hardship (will be) ease."

~ Surah Ash-Sharh 94: 5-6

InsyaAllah. :-)

chocolate madeleines

i made madeleines. yesterday. chocolate ones. i didn't make the original ones because i didn't have any of those zesty fruit things to zest and mix in the batter plus i just bought this book by donna hay and saw the recipe and thought that since it looked easy enough, why don't i just give it a try, right?

and plus, the wife was coming over and i had nothing to whip up at the very last minute, so...

i was a bit scared, of course, since it was my first time baking these tiny cakes. i always had the impression that they would be the french version of our 'kuih bahulu' you know?

you can read more about the madeleine, here.

as for what i think about this particular version of the madeleine is that this one is a bit too dry to my liking, but then again, it could be my fault entirely what with this being my first time and all. but, fear not, i will attempt this again, but this time with the original recipe, complete with them zesty fruit things in the batter. hehehehe...

so, anyone interested in this chocolate madeleine recipe? yes?

let's go!!

 

 

you will need:

2 eggs
75g caster sugar
50g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoon cocoa powder
60g butter, melted

the how to:

1)  preheat the oven to 180°C

2) in a medium sized bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar till combined.

3) sift in the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder over the egg mixture.

4) then in goes the melted butter and proceed to fold the ingredients till everything is mixed.

5)  spoon the mixture into a pre-greased madeleine tin, about two-thirds full.

6)  bake for 10 minutes or till the madeleines are set.

* i used a mini madeleine pan, so i got about 29 madeleines.

psst, guess what? they taste vanderful with a dollop of cream cheese frosting. hehehehe...you can get the recipe here. ;-)

luck luck you guys!!

recipe taken from Donna Hay's Simple Essentials - Chocolate.
madeleine information courtesy of wikipedia, thank you!
image of donna hay's book, taken from amazon.com, thank you!

wordless wednesday: shower curtain

so, i knitted a scarf

behold, the Woven Cable Scarf.

i knit for a few reasons. most of the time it's either because i am travelling or because i have a certain someone on my mind. hehehe...the scarf is already on its way and i hope the recipient of the scarf will like it. kalau tak...simpan jelah...hehehahaha!!!

i usually get my patterns from this wonderful site called www.knittingpatterncentral.com it's a very useful site for beginners or experts, tak kisahlah. i took this pattern from this website www.straw.com. would you like me to repeat the pattern here? takyahlah kot, kan? for those who are interested, i used the 141g Red Heart yarn in Camo.

okay then, enjoy your weekend and i must get back to the other scarf i am working on and this time it will be in a pair for a wonderful mom and her cute lil daughter...sapalah agaknya ek? ;-)))

wordless wednesday: for my brother

triple chocolate oreo chunk cookies

oh my. oh my. oh my. oh my. oh my.

i can go on and on and on and on and on...and on... :-p

i haven't been able to think about anything else ever since i saw the cookies here which then led me here. seriously folks...i have been thinking about this recipe for the past 3 days. but because i've been a bit *ehem* occupied, i had to put it on hold till today. TODAY, of all days...today when the day and weather was actually really conducive for vegging out and napping and just doing nothing else...i was watching tv....and knitting (yes, i've started knitting again, and you know what that means, right? eh, you know ke? i oso don't know...aiyer...i'm straying from the topic at hand.) where was i? oh yes, i was watching tv and knitting and all i could think of was the recipe...and so, i cannot tahan already, had to go and say hello to the oven.

preparation was easy peasy because i had everything at hand.

i'm sure you guys would want to know what the taste is like, right? well, it's blardy (hehehe...pardon my french) delicious!!!! the cookie seriously reminds me of a store bought (i tamau mention which storelah...bukan dia bayar i buat endorsement pun, kaaaan???) cookie. haaaaa...only....*jengjengjengggg* (ada je 'only'nyaaa) it's a tad too schweeeeet for my liking. i've already reduced the amount of sugar, but looks like i'm going to have to reduce them some more.

so? anyone interested with the recipe? you want? here goes. as usual, since i'm such a nice girl, i've taken the effort to change everything into metric. kenapalah they all ni tak suka metric? seme orang dah start pakai metric kot???

okay, okay, mak temah tak membebel dah. time for the recipe.

oh, by the way, if you use an ice cream scoop with a 4cm (about 1 ½") diameter you will get 68 cookies. so, what are you waiting for homies? get on with it!!!

you will need:

312.5g all purpose flour (2 ½ cups)
1tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt

50g dutch processed cocoa (¾ cup), i used nestle toll house cocoa
227g unsalted butter at room temperature (1 cup)
225g granulated sugar (1 cup)
200g light brown sugar (1 cup)
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
150g chopped white chocolate (1 cup)
150g chopped semi-sweet chocolate (1 cup), i used dark chocolate
100g oreos, or about 10 pieces of oreos, or 1 cup of chopped oreos

the how to:

1)  pre-heat the oven to 190°C.

2)  sift all dry ingredients together, set aside.

3)  cream the butter, both sugars till smooth and then add the eggs one by one.

4)  next in goes the vanilla and mix till blended.

5)  slowly add in the flour mixture. mix till the flour disappear.

6)  then stir in the chopped ingredients. (i didn't use Giant for this)

7)  drop by rounded tablespoons. (i used my ice cream scoop - smallest size)

8)  bake for 8-10 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE, capische???

9)  remove from oven and let sit for 3-5 minutes.



i totally blame technology for my ugly handwriting. :-p


recipe source:  www.twopeasandtheirpod.com , thank you!!!

i thought i

taw a puddy tat.. i did! i did!!! remember that line? okay if you guys remember that line then you and i are from the same *ehem* era...BUT! if you don't know what i'm talking about, then...errr...then, there's always mr.google. hoccay?

i received a special request to make these with white chocolate. so being one always up to any kind of challenge (we are still talking about me, right? miahahaha) i accepted the challenge. *macamler susah sangat senah oiiii....tukar jelah cengklatnya* but instead of spongebob, she wanted tweety bird edible image to be on top of the chocolate. little did i know that the challenge would be to look for these edible images of the (once) famous tweety bird. dah pupus dah. i went to five bake shops but none had them, luckily there are people online that can print them on edible sheets. hah!

so, dearest orel, i hope that special someone love these and that you guys will have a blast celebrating her birthday. :-) eh, you want me to sing ah? :-p



wordless wednesday: sambal setan - amek ko!!!

rich marble chocolate cake

okay, what do you do when it's raining and you don't feel like getting up from the bed and all you want to do is to just veg out and not do anything? huh? huh? huh?

you...bake!! not one, not two...nope, not three either...but...you guys ready for this? FIVE, yes, you read right, FIVE, f-i-v-e cakes!! *chicken dance* (lepas tu pengsan sebab penat) five cakes and...(there's more) two batches of these. i know, i know, insanity has no cure...but, it has its rewards, i'm telling you, in the form of wonderful desserts!

  

o-kaaaaylah, in all fairness, i didn't plan on baking five cakes and 2 batches of cookies. i wanted to bring something to a friend's house tomorrow because we have a lunch something-something there, and off i went to my favorite blog, www.bisousatoi.com and cari cari cari...and found this recipe. i had all the ingredients and the first cake turned out wonderful, so why not bake an extra cake for my mum, right? and then, since my SIL will be going back to her mum's place tomorrow, why not bake another one, for HER mum, right? and thennnn, a friend of mine who has recently been caught with the baking bug, is making her trip to this bake shop near my place and since she's coming over, why not bake one for her? yes? yes!! so, all in all i have one cake for me, one cake for my lunch date tomorrow, one for my mum, one for my SIL's mum and one for my friend.

one thing i like about marble cakes or marbled anything is that you never know what the design will be on the inside, there's always a wonderful surprise with each slice. so i hope the recipients of the cakes will have as much fun slicing into their cakes and looking into the pretty marbled patterns. jangan ko tak pattern dah, cake. buat malu mak temah je.

the cookies? aiyer...no need to talk about the cookieslah...because this entry is about the cake. okay? hihihi...

are you guys ready for the recipe?

  

let's go!!

  

you will need:

125g butter, you can also add in 1/8tsp of salt

125g sugar, i used brown sugar

125g dark chocolate, melted

155g self raising flour*

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

80ml evaporated milk or fresh milk

the how to:

1)  pre-heat the oven to 170°C

2)  in your mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and salt, until creamy

3)  add the eggs one at a time and continue to beat till they are well mixed

4)  in goes the vanilla extract

5)  add in the flour and alternate with milk

6)  divide the batter into two and stir in the melted chocolate into one part

7)  pour the batter alternately and use a chopstick/butter knife or even a toothpick to marble

8)  bake for 45 minutes


*okay, i really need to get me some self raising flour. initially i didn't have any so, i made some. you can learn how to make some from here.

once again i would like to thank madam rima from www.bisousatoi.com for sharing this wonderful recipe. this one is also a keeper. i LOVE it!!

recipe source: www.bisousatoi.com thanks rima!!!

the how to on making your own self raising flour: http://allrecipes.com

carrot cake

i made carrot cake. not because i had extra carrots in the fridge. in fact, i went out of my way to go and get me some carrots for this particular project. i made carrot cake, because...i had extra cream cheese frosting from the other day's red velvet cupcakes. i didn't want to bake more red velvet cupcakes and was thinking about what would be the perfect something-something for the frosting when i thought of a carrot cake.

i made one once, aeons ago, but i think it was just a so-so kinda carrot cake, you know? because i never did attempt to make it again. but this one...aiyo!! this recipe is a keeper. definitely. it made my trip to tesco, braving all the cars and the challenge of getting a parking spot, all worthwhile.

the best part of this recipe is that, i just googled and found it. well, not exactly like that laaaahhh...but something like that. most of the recipes i found required pineapples lah, walnuts lah...i had walnuts, but was just too lazy to get them involved with the cake. i just wanted a recipe with carrots...and maybe raisins. and... i found it! here!

i've been a silent reader of david lebovitz's blog for quite some time now and when i found the recipe there, i immediately wanted to give it a try. plus, the ingredients were pretty basic and the method super simple.

i made the cake. i loved it. EVERYONE (i don't normally use CAPS, but i just HAD to emphasize. haha!) loved it. it's really moist, not too sweet. all the ingredients seem to compliment each other. now, i didn't prepare the frosting as per the one that came with the recipe because i had leftovers from mine, remember. but i can tell you this, my frosting rocks, as well! :-p

ready for the recipe?

let's go!!

you will need:

4 large eggs, at room temperature

60ml vegetable oil 

180ml melted brown butter, or more oil (me lazy to brown butter, me more oil)

1 tsp vanilla essence

280g flour

400g sugar, i used brown sugar

2 tsps baking soda

1 tbs cinnamon

generous pinch each of nutmeg and cloves (me no have cloves, me omitted)

1 tsp salt

375g loosely packed grated carrots

60g raisins, preferably golden raisins or sultanas (me no have, me used normal, but me soak in water to plump 'em up)

frosting:

450g cream cheese at room temperature

110g unsalted butter at room temperature

240-g-360g powdered sugar

a few drops of vanilla

the how to:

1)  preheat oven to 180°C and prepare your baking tins. i used two 9" tins.

2)  sift together all the dry ingredients and set aside.

3)  in a mixer with paddle attachment, beat the eggs until they are pale and frothy, then drizzle in the oil, melted butter and vanilla.

4)  in goes the dry ingredients, mix carefully till just combined.

5)  then add in the shredded carrots and raisins.

6)  divide the batter between two baking tins and bake for 30-45 minutes.

7)  to make the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter till smooth, slowly add in the powdered sugar till the mixture is light and silky. add in the vanilla.

8)  cool the cakes before you frost them or you'll end up with melted frosting. *aint purrty*

super easy. super yummy. go ahead, give it a go!!

you can learn how to brown butter, here.

recipe source: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/