Mini Hokkaido Chiffon Cupcakes

I was flipping through my recipes file when I found this Hokkaido Chiffon Cupcakes recipe from the one and only baking class I'd attended with my sister a couple of years ago! I recalled we attempted this recipe for a second time at our home's kitchen which didn't turn out quite well. Haha! I didn't know I would have the patience to bake then, and yet now, baking seems to be part of me. Hokkaido Chiffon Cupcakes are very delicate, and they are definitely ones that will not make you sulk when you see them shrink after they cool. In fact, these cupcakes are supposed to shrink so that they will puff up nicely after being filled with cream frosting piped into the cakes.  

Mini Hokkaido Chiffon Cupcakes

After almost two years of self-taught baking and experimenting, I decided to attempt this recipe again and I'm glad they turn out pretty well. These cupcakes certainly bring back beautiful memories....

I'm sharing this recipe with Best Recipes for Everyone (June 2015: BREE #10 Secret of Chiffon & Roll Cakes) organized and hosted by Fion of XuanHom's Mom; and

Tea Time Treats (June 2015: Muffins, Fairy Cakes and Cupcakes) hosted by Karen of Lavender and Lovage and Janie of The Hedgecombers.

Homemade Croissants (A 3-day affair)

Who can't get enough of croissants? Because I can't! Sorry if I'm boring you with another croissant recipe! But this is definitely worth it. Finally succeeded in baking these flaky crispy croissants. Yay! Subsequent to the success of my Pain au Chocolat, I've decided to make some classic croissants out of the same dough recipe so as to be convinced that the recipe is a keeper. And indeed! In fact, I made these classic croissants concurrently with my Pain au Chocolat. I mean, it's a three-days wait before the actual baking after all...

Homemade Croissants

I am sharing this recipe with blog events Recipe of the Week hosted by Emily of A Mummy Too; CookBlogShare hosted by Lucy of Supergolden Bakes; and Bake of the Week organised by Helen & gang of Casa Costello.

          

Pain au Chocolat (Chocolate Croissants)

I am so into making croissants this week! Right after the unintentional creation of Brioche-Croissants in my previous post, I immediately google and work on another croissant dough recipe which I couldn't wait to share the results! I must say the time spent and efforts really paid off. And I have come to terms that croissants-making is definitely one that cannot be rushed. This 3-day baking affair was certainly worth the wait. The flaky Pain au Chocolat were soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. Until now I still couldn't believe I actually did it! Yay!

Well, and the reason why I'd decided to try out another recipe (instead of the same recipe in my earlier post) is because I've noticed that most croissant dough recipes add butter to the making of the dough. However, the previous recipe I'd worked on (plainly due to the small quantity) didn't (although I might not have succeeded because I did not follow the instructions, and not because of the butter @_@). Not too sure if the addition of butter has any impact on the croissant dough until I re-make the previous recipe. But until then, I must say I am happily satisfied with the results from this recipe that I'm sharing below. Woohooo!

Pain au Chocolat

They might not be the prettiest looking Pain au Chocolat, but they are definitely a delicious one. Guess I have to work on wrapping the chocolates between the dough. But I'm glad that the decision to turn the classic croissant dough recipe into these Pain au Chocolat version worked just as I have hoped for. For those of you who have been intimidated by the making of these delicate pastry and still contemplating if you should give it a shot, hesitate no more! If I can do it, you can too! ^_^

Brioche Croissants

Croissants, as defined by Wikipedia, "is a buttery, flaky, viennoiserie or Vienna-style pastry named for its well-known crescent shape. Croissants and other viennoiserie are made of a layered yeast-leavened dough. The dough is layered with butter, rolled and folded several times in succession, then rolled into a sheet, in a technique called laminating. The process results in a layered, flaky texture, similar to a puff pastry.". Even before knowing its descriptions, I was already intimidated by the making of this delicate pastry from eating one bought from a decent bakery. And that's just why I've put off the idea of trying to make croissants at home until now. 

I went through many recipes online before settling with this particular recipe given the small quantity which I thought would be more manageable. But I was caught in a dilemma at the results of my final baked pastry because a recipe meant to be homemade croissants turned out more like brioches. And Brioches, according to Wikipedia, "is a pastry of French origin that is similar to a highly enriched bread, and whose high egg and butter content give it a rich and tender crumb. It is light and slightly puffy, more or less fine, according to the proportion of butter and eggs.". 

Given the soft bready texture made out of a laminated croissant dough which doesn't contain eggs,  I'm not sure if they may well be a brioche alike or a failed croissant recipe. Or perhaps these could probably be the integration of brioches and croissants. I mean, Chef Dominique Ansel invented Cronuts, a croissant-doughnut pastry, then how about a new invention of brioche-croissant pastry? Haha! Anyway, I must admit that I did not follow the instructions of the recipe which I'd referenced. The impatient me tried to combine all the different methods of croissant-making that I read online using the specified ingredients, and reduced the originally 3-day making affair into a 1-day affair, twisting the steps here and there. Seemingly a smart-aleck right, I know. Haha! I never like to follow proper rules anyway, but I guess it's just a lesson learnt. Perhaps there's just no short-cut when it comes to croissant making. In any case, this may well be a blessing in disguise since the final baked product turned out edible (haha!), and in fact they were incredibly soft! So here's my Brioche Croissants...

And I'm not giving up, just yet. I'm going to experiment this recipe again, following the exact same steps and I'll share the results then. In case any of you have tried the same original recipe, do drop me a note in the comments section as I would love to share your results!

Mini Mango Charlotte

In my previous post, I shared the making of my Mango Charlotte Cake and I am thrilled to receive much likes and compliments from some of you! It was definitely encouraging. Thanks so much! And as mentioned previously, I would like to share with you in this subsequent post on how I'd transformed my leftover ingredients after decorating my whole cake. ^_^

I got to admit that on a few occasions of my whole cakes-making, I ended up discarding those leftover cream frosting I'd kept in the fridge for days. For the other leftover ingredients such as fruits if I'm using, and in this case there were also my homemade ladyfingers (sponge biscuits), I would have simply stuff them down my stomach without much thought. 

But the thought of making cute little versions of my mango charlotte cake came into picture, and the idea of using those extra sponge biscuits as the cake layers quickly came up as I was snacking them away. So here's my Mini Mango Charlotte made out of those leftover homemade ladyfingers, cream frosting and fruits!

Mini Mango Charlotte

With that, I got myself an extra serving of this pretty little dessert to savour, and the best of all, no ingredients were wasted! And in fact for those of you who dread making whole cakes or baking cakes in general, this may be one brilliant idea of a homemade dessert to serve to your guests! 

Mango Charlotte Cake

Is it just me or is everyone feeling the same? The Summer's heat is getting unbearable. Although the humidity is low and it doesn't really makes one sweaty and sticky, the scorching heat makes me feel as though I will ignite anytime. @_@

To comfort and ease the grumpiness from the heat, I've decided to share this Mango Charlotte Cake to brighten everyone's day! This is my second charlotte cake after my first Vanilla Chiffon Mango Charlotte was a success. This time, I decided to have the entire cake mango-related and so I did a mango chiffon cake with mango whipped cream frosting stuff and topped with lots of fresh mangoes. I mean, who doesn't like mangoes? I love love love mangoes! In fact, I think it runs in the family. ^_^ 

Mango Charlotte Cake

Looks like this pretty and yummy cake has helped ease the discomfort I'm feeling from the Summer's heat to a great extend. Who wants a slice? :p