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

Homemade Char Siu Buns (BBQ Pork Buns)

I'm not sure if most of you felt the same, but I often feel "lazier" after a long weekend. @_@ I managed to travel up to a bigger city nearby for a weekend getaway and got some of my food cravings fixed. There were bubble tea, Korean BBQ and Dim Sum which quite replicate the authentic taste. And speaking of Dim Sum, it reminded me that I've this recipe that I need to share with everyone. ^_^ 

Homemade Char Siu Buns (BBQ Pork Buns)

What could be better than to combine a successful bread dough recipe with a homemade Char Siu recipe? You know you just can't keep anyone's hands off these homemade Char Siu Buns although they may still be very hot from the oven. *_*

I am sharing these Homemade Char Siu Buns (BBQ Pork Buns) with Tea Time Treats (May 2015: Sandwiches, Wraps & Rolls!) hosted by Janie of The Hedgecombers and Karen of Lavender and Lovage.

I am also sharing this recipe with Bake of the Week organised by Helen & gang of Casa Costello; CookBlogShare organised by Lucy of Supergolden Bakes and guest hosted by Angela of Patisserie Makes Perfect; and Family Bakes and Makes hosted by Jenny of Modern Family Baking.

     

Sausage (Hotdog) Buns

Happy (belated) Mother's Day to all mothers out there! ^_^

Being raised in a traditional Asian Chinese family, (my siblings and) I were never used to saying "I love you" to our parents or heartfelt words of gratification to them for their selfless love and care that they have showered upon us. Until I was older, I came to realise that certain things just have to be said out loud although deep down in our hearts, we are truly appreciative of what they have done for us over the years. As a little warm-up exercise, those heartfelt words made their way through text messages on such special occasions. While we ought to show our gratifications everyday and not just on this day, I see it as a day for a grand sum-up of everything a mother has done over the past year since everyone across the globe celebrates the wonder of all mothers on this very day together.

This is the second year I am missing out on mother's day celebration for being away from home. Although it may seem like every other day, the mark of Mother's Day somehow just makes me think of my mother more than any other day. Perhaps this is its significance. And I suppose this is how I decided to share this recipe.

Back in the past when I was still living with my parents, my siblings and I used to have different variety of buns and bread for breakfast before school, and even later when we started working. My mother would make a trip to the nearby bakery to pick up the buns for each of us, and she makes an effort to pick up different flavours and variety on different days. Having said that, sausage bun, or otherwise called hotdog bun is the most common one that she would pick up since there aren't much selections to our liking. This naturally became a staple and I have no problem eating the same up to 4 times a week.

So when my bread-making turned out to be a success, sausage buns or hotdog buns naturally came up to my mind. And for a twist, I am using Chipotle hotdogs instead of the usual hotdogs. Is this one of your favourite buns too?

Sausage (Hotdog) Buns

I am sharing these Sausage (Hotdog) Buns with Tea Time Treats (May 2015: Sandwiches, Wraps & Rolls!) hosted by Janie of The Hedgecombers and Karen of Lavender and Lovage. Buns or rolls, they all belong to the bread family, right? 

I am also sharing this recipe with Bake of the Week organised by Helen & gang of Casa Costello; CookBlogShare hosted by Lucy of Supergolden Bakes; and Family Bakes hosted by Jenny of Modern Family Baking.

          

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). ^_^

Chicken Curry Buns

I have always been intimidated by bread making as most bread making calls for yeast - a "formidable" ingredient that could very much determine the success or failure of bread making. @_@ Although I have attempted bakes using yeast for my Rainbow Flower Buns and Cinnamon Rolls in my past baking experiments, I still wasn't confident in dealing with yeast until after a considerable amount of time spent on researching and understanding about yeast and how it works. After plucking up my courage to attempt these Chicken Curry Buns, I guess I'm not "scared" (of working with yeast) anymore. ^_^

Chicken Curry Buns

And I realised that the happiest moment in bread making isn't when I could finally sink my teeth into these buns, but it is when I know that the yeast is working and I see my dough rising well. Hahaha!

Triple Chocolate Swiss Roll

The rainy weather over the past few days has made me lethargic and lazy. I was sitting in front of my laptop aimlessly going through my blog materials when I found this draft post amongst my few other long overdue drafts. I'm not sure how other bakers do, but I often find myself saving my draft recipes when I couldn't think of what to write. Somehow, I feel "obligated" to share something meaningful in my blog post, or at least the reasons behind each bake before I publish a recipe. Not that my other published blog posts are all that meaningfully or wonderfully written, but I find my mind blocked especially when my bake is kind of impromptu for no special occasions or planned intentions. And this is one of the times...

Triple Chocolate Swiss Roll

So amongst my few draft blogposts, I have decided to share this Triple Chocolate Swiss Roll which I have baked sometime back. Triple because it's a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream coated with chocolate rice! *Grin* Anyway, it seems like my mood has been pretty much affected by the gloomy weather of late, and looking at this swiss roll just seems to bring back those good old memories of family and friends in younger days as this used to be my childhood sweets.

How does this Triple Chocolate Swiss Roll remind you of your good old memories?

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!