Strawberry Tart

Happy New Year everyone!!!

A new year has just began. Looking back, 2013 has been a year of adventures and experiences. A year filled with lot's of laughter but also tears. Friendship means alot to me. Friends are beautiful as they sincere, as they care & as they remember. Forgive and forget, memory last even if contact is lost. It is better to have an enemy who honestly say they hate you than to have a friend who's putting you down secretly.

 I do hope the New Year brings all of you New Expectations, New Opportunities, New Challenges and a whole new way of delighting people related with you. I am hoping that 2014 will be a better year for me, spending more time with my mum and love ones in my family. Staying healthy and losing some weight are always in my wishing list and hope to improve in my baking too. There are so much things that I want to do but time is limited. I am greatful to bloggers who shared their tips and recipes unconditionally. I don't write well and bake often but enjoyed reading other people's blog and learn from them.

It was my niece birthday on the last day of the year 2013 and I have baked this yummy strawberry tart for her. She has requested that she only want strawberry so I thought of baking tart instead of cake as we just had x'mas log cake a week ago.

HAPPY 2014 TO ALL

Christmas Tree Condensed Milk Pound Cake (圣诞树炼乳磅蛋糕)

When I saw Esther from Copycake Kitchen posted this Christmas Tree Condensed Milk Pound Cake, I was attracted by the tiny christmas tree in the middle of the cake and it looked so cute & christmasy too. So I decided to give it a try too since Christmas is around the corner. I remembered when I was still very young, my mum used to buy condensed milk for us to spread on biscuits and drink with Milo. It sounds very fattening but I do like the taste very much. Using Condensed Milk to bake pound cake is my first very attempt and I find the texture is not too bad and my mum quite like it too. Though the christmas tree is not perfectly done but overall I still like the effect.

Christmas Tree Condensed Milk Pound Cake (圣诞树炼乳磅蛋糕)

Recipe Source: Esther @ Copycake Kitchen

Ingredients :

70g low protein plain flour

30g green tea powder

1/4tsp baking powder

100g butter, room temperature

200g condensed milk

100g egg (about 2 eggs), room temperature

Method :

1. Beat butter until fluffy, gradually add condensed milk and continue to beat until well incorporated. 
2. Gradually add eggs, beat until well combined.
3. Add sifted flour, green tea powder, baking powder, mixed well.
4. Pour the batter into paper lined loaf pan.
5. Preheated oven at 160C, bake for 50-60 minutes.
6. Remove the cake to wire rack, let it cool down completely.
7. Cut the cake in large slices. Cut Christmas tree shapes from slices.
8. Arrange them down the center of a paper-lined loaf pan.

Original Condensed Milk Pound Cake (Loaf size : 17.5cm x 8cm x 6cm)

Ingredients :

100g low protein plain flour

1/4tsp baking powder

100g butter

200g condensed milk 

100g egg (about 2 eggs)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method :

1. Beat butter until fluffy, gradually add condensed milk, vanilla extract and continue to beat until well incorporated. 
2. Gradually add eggs, beat until well combined.
3. Add sifted flour, baking powder, mixed well.
4. Pour batter over the Christmas tree cutouts in the pan (refer above - method 8)
5. Preheated oven at 160C, bake for 50-60 minutes.
6. Remove the cake to wire rack, let it cool down completely.

Hokkaido Chiffon Cupcakes 北海道牛奶蛋糕

I had wanted to bake this Hokkaido Chiffon Cupcakes for quite sometime back. So when I saw the supermarket selling strawberry from Korea, immediately I grabbed a bunnet and start baking this wonderful spongy cupcakes. 

Hokkaido Chiffon Cupcakes

Recipe Source:  Sonia

Chiffon Cake

3 Egg Yolks

20g sugar

35g Corn Oil

60g Milk

70g Cake Flour

3 Egg Whites

25g Sugar

Filling 

60g  Dairy Whipping Cream

10g Sugar

1tsp Instant Custard Powder ( I did not add this)

Icing Sugar, for dusting

Method
1. Pre-heat oven to 170C.
2. Arrange paper liners on baking tray.
3. Hand whisk egg yolk and sugar till pale in colour.
4. Add in corn oil and milk, mix well.
5. Sift in cake flour, stir to combine.
6. Beat egg white until foamy, gradually add sugar, and continue beat till soft peak form.
7. Take 1/3 of egg white and use a hand whisk to mix into egg yolk batter.
8. Fold in the balance egg white with a spatula till well combine.
9. Scoop batter into pre-arranged paper liners to about ¾ full.
10. Bake for 20-25 mins at middle rack.
11. Beat whipping cream with sugar till firm and stiff (over a bowl of iced water).
12. Add in custard powder, mix well.
13. Pipe custard cream into cupcake and dust with icing sugar. Refrigerated before consume.

Chinese Steamed Cake

This recipe is fairly simple and quick to make even if you are a novice in baking. The wet ingredients are combined with the dry ingredients to form a batter and then is spooned into the cupcake liners and steamed. My mother-in-law is very supersticious when doing this and she always will tell us to keep quiet when she do this or else the cake will not "open mouth". My steam cake is a success and I do hope this month of December will be a smooth sailing month for me.

Recipe Source:  Sonia

Ingredients:

250g Self-raising flour
1/2 tsp Baking powder
150g Caster sugar
1 egg (large), lightly beaten
200ml water ( original recipe used pandan water - blend 6 pcs pandan leaves with water)
45g Corn Oil

Method:

1. Mix self-raising flour and baking powder, set aside.
2. Whisk sugar and water till sugar dissolved.
3. Add in egg and corn oil, stir to mix well.
4. Add in flour and stir to combine.
5. Pour into prepared cupcaked liners.
3/ Steam over high heat for 20mins.

Baked Tapioca Cake

I had wanted to bake this for quite sometimes back when I saw it in Lishuan & Mayck-law blog. When I told my mum I wanted to bake this, the next day she bought the Tapioca from the market. That was very efficient of my mum  and she not only buy tapioca, she also buy bananas for me too. So I told her I will bake the Banana cake first then followed by the Tapioca Cake. I liked the texture when applied a layer of honey on top and it smells good too. I did not wait till fully cool when I sliced as I was too eager to try and it was kind of difficult to slice then. So is better to wait till it is cool before slicing.

Baked Tapioca Cake

Recipe Source: Li Shuan  mayck-law

500g刨粹木薯

1 粒蛋

120ml 椰浆

130g 糖

50g 融化牛油

1 小匙vanilla 香精

一片香蕉叶

蜜糖少许

做法：

1. 将香蕉叶垫在一个( 7“ x 2” x 2。5“)寸方形的蒸盘里.

2. 将所有的材料（除了蜜糖外）搅拌均匀， 倒入烘盘里,

3. 放入预热180C的烤箱里， 烘40分钟至熟。 拿出烘好的糕点，在表面涂上一层蜜糖， 再放入烤箱。 烘炉转200C上火（或Grill 功能),烤多5－10分钟，让糕表面呈现深金黄色。

4. 取出， 冷却切片享用。 

Banana Cake

I have wanted to bake this banana cake for quite sometimes back but only get to do it this week. This cake is moist and flavourful with the sweetness of mashed bananas. I had actually make one with the walnuts sprinkled on top and the other one plain, Overall, I still prefer the one with walnuts.

Banana Cake

Recipe Source:  Bakericious

Ingredients:

250g Salted Butter
1 1/2 cups castor sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 tbsp milk
1 1/2 cups mashed banana ( about 3 Delmonte bananas)
2 cups plain flour (220g sift together with 1 tsp bicarbonate of soad and 1 tsp baking powder)

Method:

1. Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.
2. Add in eggs, vanilla essence and milk and mix well.
3. Add mashed banana into the mixture and mix well.
4. Finally add in sifted flour and mix well and pour into a cake tin.
5. Bake in preheated oven at 160 deg C for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. If the top layer turns brown after 15 minutes, cover it with a piece of aluminium foil.
6. Cool cakes in the pan then remove. Use a sharp knife to slice and serve

Old Fashioned Butter Cake

When I saw this old fashioned butter cake recipe in Sonia blog, they looked simply delicious. This butter cake is very rich and had a very nice buttery fragrant. I was very tempted to give it a try.

Old Fashioned Butter Cake

Recipe Source: Sonia

Ingredients:
250g Butter
100g Sugar
5 Egg Yolks
230g Cake Flour
1 tsp Double action baking powder
4 tbsp Milk
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence

5 Egg Whites
90g Sugar

Methods
1. Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla till light and creamy.
2. Add the eff yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour and baking powder and beat well to combine. Fold through the milk and combine well.
3. Beat egg whites till soft foam. Gradually add in sugarm and beat till soft peak.
4. Take one portion of the egg white mixture, and use a hand whisk to stir well with egg yolk mixture till combine and thick paste.
5. Slowly fold in the balance egg white with a spatula till well combine.
6. Spoon the batter in a lightly grease pan.
7. Bake at preheated oven at 180 degrees for 55 mins or till cooked.