Chocolate Éclairs (Minis)

It was a lazy week for me after a long weekend as the federal holiday, Memorial Day happened to fall on the recent Monday. After cracking my brain on what to bake to fit the respective themes of the baking events I have been participating over the past weeks of the month, I was inspired by a store-bought dessert, Chocolate Éclairs, which a friend had brought along to our recent potluck dinner. And that's definitely one of my favourite pastry desserts!

Chocolate Éclairs (Minis)

Just like my past bakes, I would do a fair bit of research by comparing the various recipes, reading the reviews and comments of others who have attempted, including watching online videos on the making process, if available before I embark on my own baking experiment. Honestly, I felt a little intimidated after doing my homework because it seems like the challenge faced by many is in the making of the choux pastry, otherwise called pâte à choux, or simply known as the "shells" of the éclairs. Finally, I decided and settled on Paula Deen's Chocolate Stuffed Eclairs recipe found on FoodNetwork.com, but guess what? My choux pastry, that is the shells of the éclairs turned out to be a success on my first attempt and I actually failed on the chocolate cream filling. @_@! I suppose I'm one of the fewer minority for that matter. The chocolate cream filling felt like the texture of red bean paste, if you know what I am referring. Somehow somewhere, I couldn't figure how and where it went wrong. So I quickly turned to the crème pâtissière of the alternative recipe by Gale Gand's Chocolate Eclairs which I've kept from my research and made a vanilla cream filling for my éclairs instead. And there goes my original plan of finishing up the last two episodes of my Taiwanese drama after my bake when a half day baking affair took almost the entire of my day. Thought I could enjoy these éclairs for my tea-break which I didn't get to have one today, and ended having these éclairs as an after-dinner dessert. Still, this is definitely worth it!

I am sharing this post with the event, Little Thumbs Up (May 2014: Milk) organised by Bake For Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY hosted by Tze of Awayofmind Bakery House.

(P.S. And I realised I have past the submission deadlines for the respective baking events, namely The Biscuit Barrel Challenge (May 2014: Favourites) organised by Laura of I'd Much Rather Bake Than…, AlphaBakes (May 2014: Letter "E") hosted by Ros of The More than Occasional Baker & Caroline of Caroline Makes, and Treat Petite May 2014 theme, World Baking Day hosted by Kat of The Baking Explorer & Stuart of Cakeyboi, which I had intended to share this baking post with when I was ready to publish this post. @_@!)

Cinnamon Rolls

After pushing back this recipe for sometime, I finally attempted my first trial in making these Cinnamon Rolls. My sister pretty much loves cinnamon rolls and she was the one who gave me the idea of making them. Oh wait, did I mention before I have two sisters? Since my previous baking post on Lemon Glazed Vanilla Pound Cupcakes was inspired by the elder of my two younger sisters, I shall dedicate these Cinnamon Rolls to my youngest sister. *_*

Cinnamon Rolls

Many of the recipes online involves double-proofing of the dough. Thankfully my diligent research paid off and I found this easy recipe that required only one time proofing. Though I have not tried one made from a double-proofing method, the cinnamon rolls made from this one rise method were just as tasty and definitely a must-try recipe, especially suitable for first-time bakers. While these rolls were slightly over-baked by me, I consider my first attempt an above average pass with rooms for improvement in terms of the fluffy texture (keep in mind not to roll out the dough too thinly). Meanwhile, I have also discovered an interesting guide about kneading which is worth reading. Now, wait no longer and get your hands dirty by trying out these yummy cinnamon rolls at home today. ^_^

I am sharing this post with the event, Little Thumbs Up (May 2014: Milk) organised by Bake For Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY hosted by Tze of Awayofmind Bakery House.

I am also sharing this post with The Biscuit Barrel Challenge (May 2014: Favourites) organised by Laura of I'd Much Rather Bake Than… because this is my youngest sister's favourite!

Lemon Glazed Vanilla Pound Cupcakes

I was going through the photos stored in my mobile phone when I recalled a snapshot of this recipe which my sister had sent me months ago that she had kept from a Chinese magazine cut-out (unfortunately we could not track back the original source of this recipe and the Chinese magazine since it was many years ago). Back to the time when I was still staying at my parents' place before I got married, my sister used to be the one baking at home. Then, I didn't have much time (and interests) for baking since I was seldom at home during my non-working weekends. *Oops!

Lemon Glazed Vanilla Pound Cupcakes

I remember there was once when I tried to help her with the preparation of the cupcake batter and made a mess since I wasn't quite good at handling the electric mixer. Back then, she would nag at my ears repeatedly to caution me not to over-mix the batter since I was having much fun with the electric mixer after having a grasp of it. It was not until I started my own baking experiments that I realised the importance of each and every steps in baking (and the reasons for her anxious screams at me). Haha~ Those were the days…

In conjunction with the World Baking Day (and instead of baking a whole cake), I have made these vanilla pound cupcakes with my own twist as a reminiscence of the good "young" memories. My sister is a fan of most lemon-flavoured products and the "marriage" of the vanilla pound cupcakes and lemon glaze definitely makes a great combination to commemorate our sisterhood. This vanilla pound cupcake batter itself is a very good cake base. Instead of this lemon glaze, mix in some chocolate chips, cranberries, raisins or nuts and you will be surprised how yummy they still taste.

I am sharing this post with the event, Little Thumbs Up (May 2014: Milk) organised by Bake For Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY hosted by Tze of Awayofmind Bakery House.

I am also submitting this post to Treat Petite May 2014 theme, World Baking Day hosted by Kat of The Baking Explorer and Stuart of Cakeyboi because this is a bake for my sister as a commemoration of our sisterhood. *_*

Lastly, I am also sharing this post with The Biscuit Barrel Challenge (May 2014: Favourites) organised by Laura of I'd Much Rather Bake Than… because this is my sister's all-time favourite!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

The weather in this small city in the west of Florida is getting unbearably hot in the day as summer approaches. And I wonder if the bananas in the kitchen are ripening at an accelerated speed due to the heat. Personally, I'm not a fan of banana baked goods. I seldom explore baking with bananas except for these banana chocolate chip muffins which is everyone's favourite and my recent attempt in making my husband's favourite Awfully Chocolate Banana Cake. If I'm not wrong, this is the fifth time I am making these banana chocolate chip muffins. However, what's worth mentioning is that the recipe which I had referenced for my previous four bakes (which were all successful) was from my sister's best friend's sister and her friends' blog, Forget Those Calories (Umm by the way, this is not a paid advertisement for their blog). *Grin*

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I tend to settle with one recipe for each of my bakes as long as the end product turns out well for me. But this time, I resorted to looking for an alternative recipe because I'm out of plain yogurt and sour cream (and its equivalent substitutes) called for in the usual source recipe I'd referred, and the bananas sitting at the kitchen table doesn't look like they could "survive" another day! Ok alright, I am over exaggerating here. *Lol! Anyway, this alternative recipe turned out to be a successful one too. In both recipes, the ingredients used were almost similar except for the difference in quantity which I have no intentions of doing a comparison analysis. @_@ Instead of using plain yogurt or sour cream, I could make do with milk for these muffins. This was also in a way helping me "kill two birds with one stone" as I realised that the bottle of milk sitting in my fridge is nearing its expiry too. *Oops~

Conclusion? There were no significant difference in taste and texture from those made from plain yogurt, sour cream or milk! The muffins were just as moist but not dense on the inside. The trick in this taste and texture test comes from balancing the ratio of the ingredients which is always so in baking. After all, baking is a science! So here's sharing the banana chocolate chip muffins made out of milk which were gobbled up by my friends in a wink.

I am sharing this post with the event, Little Thumbs Up (May 2014: Milk) organised by Bake For Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY hosted by Tze of Awayofmind Bakery House.

I am also submitting this post to Treat Petite May 2014 theme, World Baking Day hosted by Kat of The Baking Explorer and Stuart of Cakeyboi because sharing is caring. =)

Glazed Fruit Tarts

If you have tried making these angel food cakes, then save the egg yolks for this must-try and mouth-watering recipe! Without further ado, here's presenting the prettiest and yummiest fruit tarts filled with silky smooth and delicious custard filling. Simply irresistible! ^_^

Glazed Fruit Tarts

I am sharing this post with the event, Little Thumbs Up (May 2014: Milk) organised by Bake For Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY hosted by Tze of Awayofmind Bakery House.

I am also sharing this post with the event, Tea Time Treats (May 2014: Open Top Tarts, Pies and Quiches) hosted by Jane of The Hedge Combers and Karen of Lavender and Lovage.

Custard Pudding

It wasn't until recently that I felt my efforts put into setting up this blog and sharing my baking experiments have been worthwhile. It's very heart-warming to know that there are serious people reading my posts especially after my recent participations in the baking events (refer to the sidebar) organised by other bloggers. Thanks to all who have left me very encouraging comments and kind compliments. I really appreciate it. And to the organisers/founders/hosts of the respective baking events, I really salute all of you because you have certainly created a meaningful cause for people (bloggers) with passion in baking, on top and above of your time spent and efforts put into garnering those recipes from people in different places.

Coming to know these baking events sort of motivated me to carry out (at least one of) my experiments rather than immersing my time in countless drama series (my plain excuse for being lazy actually). To have the best of both worlds, I have been marking out recipes from my list that are quick and easy and here's definitely one not to be missed! ^_^

Custard Pudding

I am sharing this post to the event, Little Thumbs Up (May 2014: Milk) organised by Bake For Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY hosted by Tze of Awayofmind Bakery House.

I am also sharing this post to the event, AlphaBakes (May 2014: Letter "E") hosted by Ros of The More than Occasional Baker and Caroline of Caroline Makes. The letter "E" represents one of the star ingredients, Eggs!

Awfully Dark Chocolate Banana Cake

I caught the making of a chocolate birthday cake on TV sometime ago and thought I could twist the recipe and challenge myself in making my very own version of my husband's favourite dark chocolate cake with banana filling. Although the taste is not exactly like the one from the famous shop in Singapore which he always have on his birthdays, this cake is just as yummy and satisfying. Anyway, I  still have months until November to practice this bake before my husband's next birthday. *Grin* Meanwhile, I shall dedicate this cake to Bake-Along's 3rd Anniversary, wishing every success to its current and future baking themes.

Awfully Dark Chocolate Banana Cake

I am sharing this post with Bake-Along #60: Theme - Chocolate Cakes organised by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours, Lena of Frozen Wings and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids in celebration of Bake-Along's 3rd Anniversary.