Finally!

When I saw a picture of the Lemon Meringue Pie a few years ago, I was so utterly fascinated by it that I told myself I just had to make THAT one day.

Well I certainly took my time and got down to doing it today after a few days of 'research'. Spent the whole morning slaving and fretting over it and managed to get it out in one piece. I was supposed to do up my timetable today but...guess there are better ways to waste time away.

Didn't really know what to expect - this being the first attempt and all...but I think it turned out OK. Loads of room for improvement and modifications but at the end of the day, nothing blew up in the kitchen...so I guess its SUCCESS! =D

Kinda liked the look of it before it went into the oven actually(compared to the finished one above):

 Pardon the newspapers underneath hehe...

After waiting almost an hour for it to cool...I finally get to see what it looks like on the inside:

Gentlemen...Start Your Ovens!

It had been months and I was seriously itching to bake again...so I jumped at the first chance I had to throw something into the ol' oven!

Presenting......the very humble and traditional Chocolate Cake! Only this time, its eggless and according to the recipe, was supposed to be a very moist cake. Well it was...only that its hard to tell whether the cake is moist or not when each slice is smothered by scoops of heavenly ice-cream! 1 scoop each of Haagen-Daz's Strawberry and Macadamia Nut(awesome stuff) ice-creams. Hee hee...

The recipe was taken off the Net by my mom and she was looking for the right time to try it...I was more than happy to step in and do it! Extremely simple steps and pretty basic ingredients that are easily available anywhere. If you want to give it a go, get clickety-click on the link -> Eggless Chocolate Cake

The Cupcake Lineup

Cupcakes have been on my mum's mind for seemingly ages and she finally made a couple yesterday. It wasn't so much about eating them but rather, decorating them. I was amazed at how a simple forlorn looking cupcake could be almost unrecognizable after decorating it! Most of these(except for two) were decorated by my mum and sis. I was just so devoid of ideas that I just sat there staring before finally doing 2. =X

I present you now...the Cupcake Lineup.

These were the 2 that I came up with! Well 1 1/2 actually 'coz I only did the rose(I hope it looks like one!) design while my mum did the green bordering hehe.

A Sinful Slice...

Deciding on a cake for my sister's birthday was pretty easy. She loves chocolate and cheesecakes so I think it was QUITE obvious that a chocolate cheesecake was the way to go...but it was going to be very very RICH(think tons of melted chocolate and cream cheese mixed together) and BOY WAS IT RICH..!!

The innocent chocolate cake...

Cheese, cream and sliced-up cake...

After the 'grand' unmoulding...not the best looking cake you've seen though...

I really liked the decoration and the best part is that its extremely easy to do! Very fuss-free.

It took about 2 days to turn it out but it would have been alot longer had my mum not helped me all along the way, that's for sure. Decorating a cake always leaves me clutching at straws but my mum is always full of ideas so that wasn't a problem this time.

Couldn't resist grabbing a picture of the table...my mum has a real good eye for presentation!

The morning after...hehehe =D

If this isn't sinful, I don't know what else is!

Jolly Green Thing

Success!! Look out your window RIGHT NOW! You might just see celebratory fireworks in the sky sprouting from my room!!!

Well not exactly...but its the most decent looking chiffon cake I've turned out in 4 attempts. Not sure why but chiffon cakes are the hardest for me to make - so I absolutely hate them. I think they might have come up in my nightmares once or twice...deflating dramatically when taken out of the oven (if for some reason I 'm having a nightmare and I'm making cakes in it?!)

But my sister loves these little slices of air (its so light and airy, it feels like eating a mouthful of COTTON WOOL.) so I think it wouldn't be a waste to try and get it right.

Getting presents for birthdays are never easy for me - I just don't know what to buy! It's going to be my sister's birthday in a few days time and I'm still racking my brains.

Boy wouldn't it be GREAT if I could read minds??

Then again...maybe not.

Gooey Goodness

Blueberry Pie! Blueberry Pie! Get your Blueberry Pie here!!


Cake that went between the bottom layer of the pie crust and the gooey blueberry filling.


After slathering on the blueberry filling!


And the top goes on...


Fresh out of the oven. All done!







1)Slice 2)Serve 3)*gobble gobble* 4) Repeat.


Hehehe...

English Tea (The Making Of)

Wasn't exactly having the best of weeks with some bad news in on Monday of all days, and coming down with flu on the same day! Thankfully both have been cleared up since, so at least a better end to the week beckons.

Well, I decided on Wednesday that since baking makes me happy, what better way was there to ease a downer than to get busy in the kitchen with the oven? I thought so too and set to work on making some of my favourite scones! Made a batch studded with raisins and scented lightly with a little lemon peel for that refreshing citrus zziinngg.

I've always wanted to sit down for a proper English Tea with a wide spread of pastries and cake and whatnot...I think scones are a good start in the right direction, don't you think? =)

Approaching The End

My dad really loved the mango mousse cake that I brought home after my lesson last week so I decided to 'recreate' the experience for him this Father's Day. Glad that it turned out well because I was initially quite apprehensive as it was my first attempt since learning it. And I'm always not very happy with the cakes that I make at home; something just wouldn't 'feel right' for me.

3rd lesson today was great. The cakes were quite fuss free and didn't really require much slaving over. Just wasn't in the mood today and had no patience for a cake that required too much of attention. I was feeling very drained and restless all through the day...felt like a piece of dried prune or something...all shrivelled up inside. Quite sad that next week is going to be m last lesson. Sigh...=(


Pistachio Slices!


Nanachoco Cake! (It has bananas in between and its slathered in sour cream chocolate..hence the name =D)

I was sitting on my bed reflecting on things so far when it hit me that there was only about 2 months of holidays left. But for the first time in my schooling life, I wasn't sad. I was happy that school would be starting soon but not because of the daily grind it tends to drown you in like it or not, but for the fact that it means I'm closer to getting out of there. So many people have told me that life in the University is like no other, but I've never ever felt that way during my first year.

Maybe its premature to say this, but I really don't like it there.

Stuffed!

Its always nice when you finally get to meet up and spend a night out with friends with whom you shared 2 gruelling years of your life with, all through thick and thin, come hell or high water.

So I was extremely grateful that I had the opportunity to catch up with some of my buddies from army yesterday for a 'boy's night out'. Nothing too spectacular, just a crazy dinner at Marche where I was so stuffed that I think my stomach cramped!

It was my first time at Marche, and I was really intrigued and at the same time quite confused at their unique ordering system. Luckily some of my friends were 'veterans' and so I received a short crash course in ordering. Pretty soon I was stuffing my face!


Crepe of the Week with Blackforest ham!


Grilled Chicken with Baked Potato!
Bread and Butter Pudding!!

The dessert counter left me quite speechless...such was the spread available. From puddings to tarts to cakes to breads. It was like heaven set up a counter selling desserts. I could go back just for the desserts! Only had space for the Bread and Butter Pudding after the main courses, though I wish I had tasted a slice of the Strawberry Tart. Sigh...next time maybe...

Had my second baking lesson today, and it was all about mousse cakes! It's been one of my favourite desserts ever since I was 13 when I had a slice of chocolate mousse on holiday at some hotel. The rich creamy texture still lingers at the back of my mind till today...AHHHHH!

Made a couple of blunders during the lesson today but in the end I think it was quite alright. Thankfully!

We made Strawberry and Mango Mousse cakes, and I was especially happy of the Strawberry one because I had to do the decoration by myself! My partner unfortunately had to run off so I was stuck with 2 whole cakes to bring home...not that I'm complaining...

The mango one was abit screwed and there was not enough space in the cake ring to pour the topping over the mango slices top of the cake. It was abit messy looking in the end!


Strawberry Take 1!


Strawberry Take 2!


Mango Take 1!


Mango Take 2!

The 2nd Time Around

Attended the first lesson of my 2nd stint of baking lessons today. I was feeling very apprehensive as I was making the super long journey there by bus...with all the what ifs and buts running riot in my mind.

But I managed to calm myself down with some music along the way and basically telling myself that there was no real way back, the money had been paid, so just GET ON WITH IT.

It wasn't that bad as I was expecting it to be, seemed to have a good mix of novices and experts. Most importantly, the class had about 2 other guys, so at least I wasn't left feeling awkward. Was very fortunate to get a good partner who was a pleasure to talk to and work with. At least she was pretty experienced...she bakes at least twice a week! She can be my teacher then =D

Messed up the egg whites twice...sigh. Didn't have any real effect on the outcomes on both occasions but it was just frustrating anyway.

We made two cakes today: 1) German Chocolate Cake 2) Pecan Loaf Cake

Both were not bad, though the chocolate one was wayyyyy too rich for me. Picked up some new ideas for decoration too...all in all, quite a good, easy paced first lesson. But the chef did warn us that next week would be quite hectic. Very well then...

Managed to grab some pictures before packing them up. The pair opposite me had much better creativity and decorated their cake better...snagged a photo of their cake too!


Ours


Theirs


The Other One

Sigh I really suck at keeping in touch with my friends. Felt pretty very awkward just now as I was sitting on the chair staring at the computer screen. Just didn't know what to say. Hope it didn't get through the wrong way though. That would be a real shame. =(