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! 

Chocolate Cream-filled Profiteroles (Chocolate Cream Puffs)

"No, egg yolks are bad and we should only eat the whites". This is what my husband always insist whenever I fry him an egg. All these years, I have long given up proving to him with health articles about the benefits of egg yolks, or at least the harmless of eating egg yolks and "coaxing" him into eating the yolks. I know very well that it's just his plain excuse for not eating the yolks, which he claimed has a funny taste, when he refuses to accept that egg yolk has its beneficial contents. That's also his way of refuting my claim that he behaves just like a big kid picking on his food. And for that reason, we always have leftover egg yolks which I sometimes have to throw away if he is eating eggs too often. >,<

But fortunately or unfortunately, the leftover egg yolks prompted this bake when I decided to turn the yolks into pastry cream. And my immediate association with pastry cream are these delicious cream puffs, a French dessert otherwise known as Profiteroles.

Chocolate Cream-filled Profiteroles (Chocolate Cream Puffs)

This French dessert may be delicate, but they are definitely not difficult to make. I have adopted the same pastry dough recipe that I'd used for my mini Chocolate Eclairs since it was an easy and successful recipe. Looking back at my post archives, I then realised that those were made almost a year ago. *Gosh~ how time flies! Anyway, I find it really interesting how two different desserts could be formed from the same recipe when they just appear in different shapes (and sizes). ^_^

Mini Cheesecakes with Blueberry Compote

I always felt intimidated by the thought of making cheesecake. But I guess not anymore, at least not by these cute little and delicious mini cheesecakes which I have decided to top off with the blueberry compote. This is a variation compared to the original source recipe which is served with fruit jam and whipped cream. And what I liked about this recipe is that it is quick and easy. In addition, there's no need to worry about having ugly cheesecakes when they sink in the middle after they have cooled, an inevitable fear that had kept me away from baking cheesecakes, because the blueberry compote not only helps "beautify" the appearance, but also add a touch of sweetness to these cheesecakes.

Mini Cheesecakes with Blueberry Compote

This is yet another one of the recipes that cannot go wrong! These mini cheesecakes with blueberry compote are just so pretty for tea parties, after meal desserts, coffee breaks and more... You just can't have enough!

Easter Cupcakes

It's Good Friday everyone! And Good Friday is a day I used to look forward to in the past (when I was schooling and then working) because it means a public holiday (at least it is in my home country)! But now that I'm neither schooling nor working, I'm kind of indifferent since every Friday (or rather every day) is a "public holiday". Haha!

Although I'm not a Christian, I have been quite overwhelmed with Easter, which is the Sunday following Good Friday since (almost) every places put out sales, decorations, food and themes associated with it. So this year I've long decided to execute a bake which I'd kept in my head for a year! How long is that, uh?! Despite having it "planned", I didn't think I would bake ahead of the weekend and I found myself lacking a couple of ingredients in my pantry based on the initial idea I had. >,<

But it may well be a "blessing in disguise" or a chance to think out of the box and come up with a creative combination. So to make do with all that's available, I decided on these lemon chiffon cupcakes with chocolate cream cheese frosting! You may think the combination tastes weird, just as I had initially thought too. Surprisingly not! The soft and fluffy lemony cupcake so refreshing cuts the sweetness from the chocolate cream cheese frosting which makes it a heavenly pair! Lemon and chocolate, simply the best of both worlds! Now that I come to think about it again, my original intention of a vanilla-based cupcake (with the same chocolate cream cheese frosting since I needed that to build my cupcake design) would have been "boring"! Haha!

Easter Cupcakes 
(Lemon Chiffon Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting)

Unlike most of my other blog posts, I've enlarged this photo of my cupcakes purposely. I mean, they are just too pretty not to be admired, right?! Haha! And this lemony cupcake recipe that yield such refreshing, soft and fluffy is definitely a keeper! The same goes for the chocolate cream cheese frosting, rich but not too heavy and sweet. Well, actually this whole recipe combination is a keeper! And since they were made for a purpose, I have named them Easter cupcakes! Yum~~

Peanut Cookies

It was the second day of Chinese New Year and I made some peanut cookies - a fail-proof and really quick and easy recipe which even a non-peanut lover me loves it. In fact I first made these cookies last CNY and I guess I wouldn't have tried this recipe and realised how delicious they are if not for my husband, a "nut" lover. He is a non-dairy person and it cracks my head to think of the different CNY goodies that I could make at home for him so that he gets the feel of CNY. And these peanut cookies definitely add to the homely CNY feel which we would have otherwise felt if we were back in our own homeland. But it's not a pity that we can't celebrate CNY back at home anymore with the companion of these homemade CNY goodies (and not forgetting our friends here)... ^_^
I'm sure you will love it too!

Peanut Cookies

I am sharing these delicious melt-in-your-mouth Peanut Cookies with the following blog events:

Cook and Celebrate: CNY 2015 organised by Yen of Eat Your Heart Out, Diana of Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids;

Treat Petite (Feb 2015 theme: Love is in the air) hosted by Stuart of Cakeyboi and Kat of The Baking Explorer;

The Biscuit Barrel Challenge (Feb 2015 theme: Loved Ones) organised by Laura of I'd Much Rather Bake Than… and hosted by Alexandra of The Lass in the Apron;

CookBlogShare hosted by Lucy of Supergolden Bakes;

  

Bake of the Week organised by Helen & gang of Casa Costello; and

last but not least, for the first time, I am also sharing this Peanut Cookies recipe with event, My Treasured Recipes #5 (Jan & Feb 2015 theme: Chinese New Year Goodies) hosted by Miss B of Everybody Eats Well in Flanders and co-hosted by Charmaine of Mimi Bakery House.

Pineapple Cookies (Dairy-free)

Gong Xi Fa Cai! (To my non-Chinese/Asian readers, this literally means, "Wishing you a prosperous year!")

Can't help it, but oh my it's yet another year! I was reading the news and came across an article titled, "Is it the Year of Goat or the Year of Sheep"? While it didn't bother me slightly, I wonder if it really mattered since goat or sheep, they both belong to the same family. Haha! Anyway, it's the second year my husband and I are celebrating our Chinese New Year abroad. That meaning, it's time for some home-baked Chinese New Year goodies again. *_*

I have been in search for a pineapple tart/cookie recipe that I could substitute easily with non-dairy ingredients since my husband doesn't take butter, cheese, milk or anything that comes from the cow. Haha! Well, perhaps I should have come to terms after more than 12 years (or maybe I have), but I'm still puzzled with my husband's weird taste bud. All the while, I have been insisting that he is being lactose-intolerant in psychological sense rather than being lactose-intolerant in health, if you know what I mean. It is strange how dark chocolates, peanut M&M's® chocolate candies, Nutella® and all other food that possibly contains dairy which he decides he can eat are in his "lactose-tolerant" list of edible dairy products while milk chocolate, milk, all buttery pastries and etc that he decides he cannot eat by way of "smell" are in his "lactose-intolerant" list of non-edible dairy products. Anyway, I have given up on asking him to try on those he-feels-he-cannot-eat-but-I-feel-he-can-eat food after so many years. Guess this would all the more be better since I can have all the goodies to myself. Hee!

Back to my recipe search, so I've finally found and experimented one pineapple cookie recipe that allowed me to substitute the dairy ingredients and still yield equally crumbly and soft pineapple cookies. Although without that buttery aroma from traditional pineapple cookies, these pineapple cookies are still amazing delicious! I hope with this recipe, more people get to enjoy yummy pineapple tarts/cookies during this festive occasion!

Soft and crumbly Pineapple Cookies

Here's wishing all a Happy & Prosperous Year of Goat/Sheep! May the new zodiac year brings you and your loved ones lots of happiness and good health! Cheers!

French Macarons with Mint Chocolate Ganache (Sucre Cuit / Italian Method)

It’s Christmas Eve! I bet everyone or at least majority of you are feeling as excited as I am. And I am extremely thrilled because I will be hitting the road up north of Florida in a couple of hours for my 10-day road trip to various cities in the sunshine state. I’m sure it’s going to be a well-deserved break after days of baking some homemade sweet treats for this festive season.

It was a bold attempt I would say since it was a first-time for me, or rather, the first time I am trying out a new recipe – the baking of French macarons! Bold because I would end up with no gifts for giving in the event my baking experiment fails. Haha! Well, I suppose you guessed it right that my experiment pulled off successfully since I am blogging about it now. Oh wait, does anyone blogs a failed recipe? Not that I have come across so far. *Grin!

Strictly speaking it’s not my first time making French macarons. In the past, I have relied on the French method – a more commonly used method of creating the meringue by whipping together cool egg whites with granulated sugar until they form a stiff consistency which is said to yield lighter, tastier with a more delicate, cookie-like texture of authentic French macarons. Unfortunately the results of my macaronage were not quite consistent each time I tried. Until much research and read-up, I discovered the Italian (also known as Sucre Cuit or Sugar-baked) method of making macarons – a method that relies on a hot sugar syrup slowly whipped into egg whites to achieve its meringue which is regarded as more complicated than the French method. Despite so, many who have tried the Italian method said it actually yields a more stable meringue consistency. And I have witnessed that for myself indeed.

French Macarons with Mint Chocolate Ganache

For those who still have “fear” of trying to bake macarons at home, stop hesitating! If I can do it, you can do it too. ^_^

Reindeer Cupcakes

Can't believe it's already mid-December. My last baking post seems like yesterday. My apologies to those who have been checking back this space but find no updates. I have been pretty tied up with all the crafts-making for Christmas and itineraries planning for the holiday trips that I hardly had the time to bake these days. >,<

Fortunately or unfortunately, it was a stay-at-home over the last weekend since my husband was still recovering from his flu. Hence, I'm turning weekend shopping time to weekend baking time! This reindeer cupcake idea triggered by my non-stop-pretzels-snacking of late (a good snack find recommended by a friend during my Washington D.C. trip over the last Thanksgiving holiday) which very much resembled the horns of a reindeer has been in my head for awhile (although a quick search online found that it's nothing new actually). However, I'm glad it pulled off well and tasty as imagined after putting all my flavour ideas into one cupcake. ^_^ 

Reindeer Cupcakes

But wait, perhaps they look more like bears? Haha! Well, up to your imagination then...

Mini Orange Chiffon Cakes

Hello! I'm finally back to this space and sorry if I've kept you waiting! As mentioned in my previous post in August, I was back at home and I actually managed to stay for two good months. Those two months past pretty quickly since I had a great time catching up with my family and friends, minus about two weeks when I fell ill, which I suspect was due to the humidity and bad haze. Strangely, I kind of missed the lifestyle in this small city in the west of Florida which I'd spent little time compared to a familiar place where I'd grown up in for years. I guess I wouldn't mind leaving the place I used to feel proud as a citizen if not for my loved ones. Anyway, it was a short time back at home and I didn't have time (or rather I didn't want to spend my time) to get down to work in the kitchen, which explains the lack of my blog post. I hope you don't feel neglected! ^_^ Now that I'm back and "free", I'll try to compensate for my absence and get back to "work", literally. *Grin!

The recipe for these cute lil' orange chiffon cakes was one which I didn't manage to share in time for Little Thumbs Up July's theme event on Chiffon Cakes. And to kick start my blogging, I've decided to make them again since there was a request from a friend who had the lingering taste of these cakes which he said were really delicious. Wow! I bet this is one achievement for a humble self-taught home-baker like me when I get such compliment. Well, I'm just easily contented. And what's a better way  of saying "Thank you" to those who appreciates other than "feeding" them with what they crave?! =)

Mini Orange Chiffon Cakes

I am sharing these Mini Orange Chiffon Cakes with Treat Petite November 2014 theme, Thank You, hosted by Stuart of Cakeyboi and Kat of The Baking Explorer. This can't be more appropriate. At the same time, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have been taking time to visit and to read my blog. =)

And I would also like to share this post with CookBlogShare event hosted by Lucy of Supergolden Bakes, a wonderful channel that allows sharing without boundaries.

Tiramisu

"How difficult can making tiramisu be?"
I thought to myself after I was successful in baking my Homemade Ladyfingers, one of the key ingredients in the popular italian dessert. And I was all confused after I began my recipe research, the foremost step which I would spend a great amount of time before I decide on a comfortable and "reliable" recipe to work on. Amongst the search results generated, many recipes "claimed" to be that of an authentic italian tiramisu or otherwise termed by some as the classic tiramisu. In the list of ingredients specified in the recipes I've shortlisted, the biggest "headache" lies with the type of spirit used since I'm not familiar (or rather I've not worked) with alcohol in baking. Majority suggested rum or dark rum, some recommended kahlua, while few others used Masala in their recipes. That aside, the rest of the ingredients and its respective proportions differ greatly from one recipe to another which made it harder to compare. When I was finally down to three recipes - the Classic Tiramisu, Tiramisu II and Easy Tiramisu after eliminating the rest, I decided to work out my own list of ingredients and its proportions through a "mix and match" after assessing what's available in my pantry. Since this is a no-bake recipe (typically if you're using store-bought ladyfingers or have already pre-made the homemade ladyfingers), I felt the key to a delicious tiramisu lies with the overall taste and texture from the combined layers.

Tiramisu

Verdict? It just makes me crave for more! ^_^ Years of feeling intimidated by the difficulty in making tiramisu (from what I've been told by many) have been uncalled for after pulling off this experiment successfully. I totally agree with the quote of saying, "you'll never know until you try it".

And this is definitely a dessert that requires patience before you could sink your teeth in because the tiramisu has to be set in the fridge for at least 4 to 6 hours, or better if chilled overnight. So I did this at night instead, just when I was still feeling full from dinner. *Grin! Although it was already 11 p.m. by the time I put away the tiramisu in the fridge and was done clearing up the mess, the time and effort spent was totally worth it! And strangely, I find myself enjoying the tiramisu so much despite the evident taste of coffee since I'm a non-coffee drinker. *_* I hope you like it too!

Homemade Ladyfingers (Sponge Biscuits)

Whenever I come across recipes calling for ladyfingers, the first that would appear in my mind is the image of an okra, the edible green plant, otherwise correctly known as lady's fingers. Haha! Then what exactly are ladyfingers? According to Wikipedia's explanation, "ladyfingers are light and sweet sponge cakes roughly shaped like a large finger". If you are familiar with making charlottes and tiramisu, I'm sure you'd know what they are. But honestly, I didn't know they are called ladyfingers except knowing them as sponge biscuits, or cakes maybe. *Oops! Many recipes mentioned using store-bought ladyfingers which I don't remember seeing at the supermarkets. After some recipe research, I realised that ladyfingers are actually made of few simple ingredients and I presume most people (especially those who bakes) would have in their pantry, and that's including me! So I have decided to give it a shot since it doesn't look quite complicated to bake. I bet you'll agree with me after you've tried it. ^_^

Homemade Ladyfingers (Sponge Biscuits)

Chocolate-coated Shortbread Cookies

The talk topics lately have been surrounding the 2014 FIFA World Cup™. Fortunately this year, I was able to catch the matches without having to wake (or stay up) in the wee hours since we're in the Central Time zone. Though I'm not really a football fan, it's somehow the only sports tournament I enjoy (or perhaps love) watching, and that would make me sacrifice my sleep (in the past) especially since it's only held every four years.

And for the same reason, I haven't been blogging lately since there were matches almost everyday during the past weeks. *Oops! So here's a quick recipe that I've made as my snack companion for my chilled diet soda or iced tea which I haven't been able to live without since Summer kicked in. Though I would prefer such seasonal Summer heat over the almost all-year "summer" weather experienced in Singapore (because it's not just hot but humid), I'm still very much overwhelmed by the scorching July sun. And yes, it has been a chilled beverage with snack during tea-time instead of my usual hot floral or green tea. ^_^ But be it a chilled or hot beverage, these cookies are a great treat for sure as you can simply grab and bite into it without taking your eyes off the "ball" on the screen, if you know what I mean. Hee~

Chocolate-coated Shortbread Cookies

I am sharing these Chocolate-coated Shortbread Cookies, one of my Summer tea-time snack companions with Treat Petite July 2014 theme, Summer hosted by Kat of The Baking Explorer and Stuart of Cakeyboi.

Cinnamon Baked Doughnut Holes

I was reminded of the National Doughnut Day that fell on 6 June 2014 when I was clearing my email inbox as I came across a mailer which I have subscribed from this famous doughnut brand, which created a craze (and was there an overnight queuing?!) when it first launched in Singapore last October. I was astonished when I was told of the prices of the doughnuts sold there compared with the prices of the doughnuts sold here in United States. @_@

During my childhood days, I remember my Mum would often buy us the "traditional" sugar-coated doughnut rings and doughnut holes on a skewer from our neighbourhood bakery for our tea-time snacks. Unlike these days, the assortment of doughnuts I could recall came only in chocolate coated, chocolate coated sprinkles and chocolate coated nuts back then. And if I wasn't wrong, each assorted doughnut cost only a dollar or slightly over. It is unbelievable how the prices of the fancy doughnuts these days have sky-rocketed (let alone the cause of inflation) just with its novelty transformation and branding. But well, it has been proven that there are still people who are willing to queue and pay for it. 

I've never thought of making doughnuts at home because of the dough proofing and oil frying involved until I pullout this recipe which I have bookmarked sometime ago from what I've watched on my all-time favourite food channel. 

Cinnamon Baked Doughnut Holes

The addition of the cinnamon spice to the doughnut and coating creates an elegant touch and taste to the plain sugar coated version I had during childhood which was already tasty. Unfortunately I ran out of skewers, or else savouring these doughnut holes from a skewer would have resembled much like every bite taken during the childhood days. ^_^

Danish Butter Cookies

Danish Butter Cookies

One of my favourite childhood snacks is the danish butter cookies that come in assorted shapes and flavours packed in a round blue tin, which I'm sure many are familiar with. I recalled my brother, sisters and I would always snatched up those coated with sugar while leaving the ones that contains raisins, which are the least favourite to the last. Although I have been eating these cookies for years, I have little clue as to why they are called the danish butter cookies, except that the association is probably due to the famous butter cookies brand originating from Denmark. 

Ever since I got into baking, I have always like to try out recipes of every favourites that I enjoy, or as many as possible, in my home-made ways. While not every recipes could replicate the taste of store-bought ones, these danish butter cookies recipe which I've found is definitely a must-try recipe. It is simple yet versatile. It takes almost just one step or at most two to combine all the ingredients together to form the batter before turning them into yummy cookies. And it is versatile because the batter can be pressed (piped) out into shapes for baking immediately without first chilling the batter. At the same time, the batter can also be chilled to harden, before rolling out and cutting up into shapes for baking. This is definitely a must-try recipe for all danish butter cookies lover and beginner bakers.

I am sharing this post with the event, Little Thumbs Up (June 2014: Butter) organised by Bake For Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY hosted by Jozelyn of Spice Up My Kitchen.

I am also sharing this post to the event, AlphaBakes (June 2014: Letter "D") hosted by Caroline of Caroline Makes and Ros of The More than Occasional Baker. The name of this recipe says it all. The letter "D" represents Danish Butter Cookies. ^_^

Last but not least, I am submitting this post to Treat Petite June 2014 theme, Childhood Memories hosted by Stuart of Cakeyboi and Kat of The Baking Explorer.

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. =)