madeira cake

madeira cake. why did i bake this cake? and what is the madeira that this cake is talking about? what?? why??? *hihihi*

 

well, according to the book from where i got the recipe from, this cake is traditionally served with a glass of madeira wine in the nineteenth century. so, there is nothing madeira IN the cake. it is madeira because of the accompaniment of it. am i makin' any sense? *when have i ever made any sense??* HAHA!!

 

why did i bake this cake? well, first off, i had lemons in the fridge and i was itching to bake something that is really easy with really basic ingredients. so, there. plus, mrG was studying for his base check and i wanted to make a little santing2 for him to eat while studying. *baiknyaaaa tetiba...*

 

 

the cake itself, once out of the oven and after having it cooled in the tin for about 10 minutes or so, has the texture and softness of a japanese cheesecake. heck, i broke the dayum loaf in half while trying ton transfer the cake onto the cutting board...but, with some magic, hehehe....it somehow did not show in all of my photos. ngeeeeeeee...

 

taste wise, sans the madeira, it's just like a softer version of a lemon pound cake. and...i missed the last step of the recipe. prior to baking the cake, i was supposed to sprinkle the top of the cake batter with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar, but i forgot. i don't know if it makes any difference...but if anyone gives this a go and do sprinkle the top with sugar, please share okay? okay!

 

ready for the recipe?

 

let's go!!

 

you will need:

220g (8 oz) butter, at room temperature

140g (5 oz) caster sugar, plus 1-2 tbsp for sprinkling

3 large eggs

170g (6 oz) cups self-raising flour

30g (1 oz) plain flour

finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

 

the how to:

1)  preheat oven to 160°C (325°F/Gas mark 3).

2)  grease a 22 x 12cm (8½ x 4½ in) loaf tin, and line the bottom with greaseproof paper.

3)  beat together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy, then beat in the eggs one at a time.

4)  sift the flour over the mixture, then fold it in.

5)  fold in the lemon zest and juice.

6)  spoon the batter into the prepared tin, smoothing the top with the back of the spoon.

7)  sprinkle the top with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar (!!!!)

8)  bake for about 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean

9)  leave the cake to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

 

i like this cake because of its simplicity. the taste is just direct to the point (if you can call it that) and there's nothing complicated about it. better with a cuppa joe to go along with this cake. so...why don't you guys give it a go...and in the meantime, i'll cut myself a(nother) slice and enjoy it with my cup of kwafi.

have a wonderful weekend folks!!

recipe source:  500 cakes by susannah blake



banana cranberry loaf

 

what do you do when you have like 1kg of cranberries in the fridge, waiting...wailing...crying...begging...(okay, okay...a little too much of drama)..to be used? what do you do? huh? huh? huh? what? what??? (more drama???)

 

well, what you do is, you take 'em out of the fridge and then send them to the naughty corner  bake something!!

 

i made the banana cranberry loaf yesterday and by the end of the day, i was left with only 3 slices. Now, now....before you start to roll your eyes in disgust because maybe you thought i gobbled up the whole thing..think again. i did notlah! i shared. really. honestly. we had a get together with mr.G's family yesterday and i brought some. before that, mr.G came back from work and had some with tea and waaaaaaaayyyy before that, i might've had a slice or two...okay, okay...i had 2.5 slices of this. hey, you can't blame me. who can resist a loaf of anything warm and fresh out of the oven, right?

 

 



this is a pretty straightforward recipe. really easy. REALLY, REALLY easy. you know, combining the wet and the dry...bla bla bla...into the baking tin...okay, okay...maybe not that easylah. you need to chop the cranberries. aaaand also make some buttermilk first, because i don't have buttermilk all the time in the fridge. d-uh. who does? unless if you bake everyday...

 

so, apart from chopping the cranberries and making the buttermilk...everything else was easy. EASY. so? are you ready for the recipe? let's go!!

 

you will need:

75g (3 oz) unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

125g (4 oz) caster sugar

175g (6 oz) plain flour

25g (1 oz) wholewheat flour

½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 medium size bananas (2 very ripe)
50ml (2fl.oz) buttermilk
2 large eggs, beaten
75g (3 oz) chopped dried cranberries

the how to:
1)  preheat oven to 175° C (350°F/gas mark 4).

2)  grease a 450g (1lb) loaf tin and dust with flour.

3)  beat the butter and sugar till creamy.

4)  combine all the dry ingredients.

5)  in another bowl, mash the 2 ripe bananas with the buttermilk.

6)  gradually add the beaten eggs gradually to the creamed butter and sugar.

7)  in goes the mashed bananas and the dry ingredients. mix lightly until combined. do not overmix.

8)  slice the third banana and add it to the batter with the cranberries, just stir til combined

9)  pour the batter into the loaf tin and bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean

10) leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool on a wire rack.

taste wise this banana cranberry loaf is just so-so on the sweetness level, because you get the sweetness from the ripe bananas and also from the dried cranberries. the texture is more like densed cake. and, believe you me, it tastes REALLY good with a dollop of butter on it. especially while it's still warm...or, you can even toast the slice and then butter it.

i think it's perfect for tea...or even breakfast!

well? go on...go get your cranberries out of the fridge and start!!

luck luck!!

recipe taken from '500 Breakfast & Brunch Dishes' by Carol Beckerman.

scarf cap ibu dan anak

i knitted these for a friend and her wonderful daughter. they both make the perfect mother-daughter combo. best friends, they are inseparable. so, when i got the yarn, i immediately thought of them and started on this project.

for my friend, the mom, i chose this pattern called the falling water lace by bonnie sennott. i purposely did not block the scarf because i wanted the cable-like wavy thinggie to stand out aaaand..i kind like the part when the scarf curls up and it goes all tube-like...okay, maybe that's just me...but, if my friend wants...MAYBE she can block the scarf nanti-nanti. hehehe.... :-)

 

 

as for her cute little daughter, i used one of my favorite stitches theraspberry stitch. i got the tutorial from every one's favorite online anything-and-everything guru, Encik YouTube. terima kasih cikgu!!

 

 

well, everything's wrapped and packaged nicely just waiting to go on their journey. i hope they will both enjoy the scarves...and if ada senget2 somewhere and or anywhere...please forgive me horrr....i only beginner, but i will improve.

 

tata readers *ada readers kewwww???*

 

see you guys again soon-ish! :-)

 

thank you bonnie sennott for the beautiful lace pattern. i had fun knitting the scarf! :-)

thank you iknitwithcatfur for the very clear tutorial on raspberry stitch!



chocolate chip muffins

my cooker hob died on me yesterday. apo lak kono mengono cooker hob dying with this post, kan? ni apasal lak cakap nogori ni?? haha!! i need to tell you about the cooker hob because it is (somewhat) connected to this post. anyway, i was making dinner yesterday and the hob just died. the fire went out just like that. it wasn't the gas, because we just bought one tong about 2 weeks ago. maybeeeee...it was trying to tell me santing. hmmm... i think it might be telling me that:

 

a) i need to cook more, or

b) i need to cook less.

 

....i choose (b) !!! yeslah!!

 

okay, okay, enough rambling...i don't know what came over me today. i baked a batch of biscottis for mr.G to take to the office and then decided to bake some muffins.

 

i know, i know...it's the new year (HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! not too late, right?) and i should be challenging myself to bake something different..but, i believe we should start small, you know baby steps? (entah dah berapa lama ko baby steps senah, 'baby' ko dah nak masuk darjah satu dah. baby steps kunun) hihihi...worry not. i will find the strength to challenge me. in the meantime, i bakelah anything that i like.

 

 

as you know, each year people would try to make changes...well, so far, i've made two. one being, item 'b' above, thanks to my cooker hob (hahahaha!! thank you cooker hob, i love youlah!) and the second one is, i've decided to change my baking experimenting days. i used to have experimental fridays, but now, i've decided to have it moved up to thursday. the reason is pretty simple, if i bake on thursdays at least mr.G can take the baked good to the office the next day. if i bake on a friday, then i'd be left with all these baked stuff and God knows i don't want them here because i would want to eat them rather share them. :-p

 

okaylah, are you guys ready for the recipe? i got this recipe from this book called the williams-sonoma baking book. i bought the book at the recent big bad wolf sale. the recipe, or rather the method itself is a no-brainer...but i had some concerns (chewah, macam serious nor problemnya) with the measurement of the ingredients. you'll see...

 

ready? let's go!!

 

you will need:

 

½ cup (4 oz/125g) unsalted butter, melted*
¾ cup (12 fl oz/375ml) buttermilk**
2 large eggs
1tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups (10 oz/315g) all-purpose flour, or plain flour
¾ cup (6 oz/185g) sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
½ tsp salt
2 cups (12 oz/375g) semisweet (plain) chocolate chips***

the how to:
1)  pre-heat oven to 180°C (350°F)****

2)  grease 12 standard muffin cups with butter or butter-flavored nonstick cooking spray. (i just line my muffin tin with paper liners.)

3)  in a bowl, whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla till smooth.

4)  in another bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients, EXCEPT for the chocolate chips.

5)  make a well in the center of the flour mixture and in goes the buttermilk mixture and beat the crap out of it until smooth and well mixed..the book says for about 1-2 minutes...(i think this applies if you are a robot)...it took me more than that. :-p

6)  fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed. do not over mix.

7)  spoon the batter into each muffin cup, filling it level with the rim. i used a 2" (5cm) ice cream scoop.

8)  bake the muffins until golden, dry and springy to the touch, for about 20-25 minutes. once done, insert a toothpick at the center of the muffin and it should come out clean.

9)  transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes.

*remember the story above about my hob dying on me? well, in order to get the melted butter that is required by the recipe, i nuked (read: microwaved) the butter for about 1 minute. voila! melted butter. :-)))

** i was going through the recipe and i had a feeling that something was wrong with the prescribed quantity of the buttermilk. i cupped (read: i poured my buttermilk in the measuring cup) and 1 cup of buttermilk is about 250ml and i did some research (okay...okay....i goggled. happy??) and it says the same thing over here. so...

***i used only 1 cup of chocolate chips...because i think it was a bit too much. and again with the quantity...ada lari sikit, throughout the recipe. what gives?? you donch believe? see here.

****i pre-heated my oven to 150°C.

according to the book, you will get 12 muffins from this recipe. i used the 2" ice cream scoop and got 21 muffins. lalalalalaaaa....

whoa...this is one heck of a looongggg entry. you guys bored yet? hehehe...okay, taste wise, to me, these muffins are delicious, very simple it's nothing complicated, you know? what i would change about them, i would reduce the amount of sugar prolly to 150g?

 

okaylah, better not keep you guys. because i am sure you guys are DYING to give this a go, kan? kan? kan?

 

luck luck...and come back soon!!

 

thank you wiki.answers.com for all the answers

thank you www.williams-sonoma.com for the book image.

 

thank you guys for comin' over!! :-)



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.