A "Healthy" Solution At Last!

For the longest time, I've been searching for a snack that would tide me over from "lunch" to my breakfast and stave off my hunger pangs. I didn't want it to be empty calories that would just leave me high on sugar and reaching out for more nosh after some time. It had to be substantial, relatively guilt-free and interesting enough to make me wait eagerly in anticipation for snack time!

Here's what my nightly schedule is like:

7.15 pm: Drag myself off the transport and into the pantry to leave my "lunch" in the fridge. Head to the labs to check for stuff that needs handing over and join colleagues in the cafeteria.

8.00 pm: Begin work proper.

11.30 pm: If I'm lucky, I get to have my "lunch" before midnight. If not, it'll be at about 1am which is a pretty agonizingly long wait...

3 am: Head to the pantry to "forage" for food in the cupboard and fridge - often unsuccessfully. Bang in a sweet potato if I brought one. Or cross my fingers and head over to another building to see if they have anything nice in stock at the cafeteria.

6.30 am: Run down to the cafeteria for breakfast!

So if I can't get anything to eat at 3, it's quite a nightmare trying to quiet a rumbling stomach!

Those dark days look to be over though, after my first batch of Whole Wheat Banana Muffins came out of the oven looking all golden brown and irresistible...they're not *exactly* guilt-free with the butter and sugar in them but I'll be glad to have one of these in my bag when the gnawing hunger pangs start.

The whole wheat flour (much better than plain flour) is chock full of fibre and really gives these muffins a pretty chewy but soft interior which tricks your mind into thinking its full before you're even halfway through one! And the banana...well it's amazing how the smell of this fruit in the oven just seems so comforting and homely. Like a warm blanket around a freezing you. The yoghurt also adds a nice full flavour to these muffins!

Anyway, this muffin is pretty much a blank slate and is versatile enough to take on a couple of extra ingredients like a handful of chopped roasted walnuts, or chocolate chips if you're not too concerned about the calorie count, or fresh blueberries for a tangy zing.

Just let your imagination take over!  Probably should take more photos next time though...

A Childhood Favourite!

Sometimes I get struck by sudden bouts of inspiration which, more often than not, are brought on by my cravings...

Custard Creams were a childhood favourite of mine and still are after all these years. It's like having warm a bowl of chicken soup after a long day - its comfort food in cookie form! And its pretty simple to make from scratch so it seemed ridiculous to not at least make an attempt at a batch.

After rummaging through my (growing) collection of cookbooks, I chanced upon the recipe and was amazed at how simple it was! Getting the cookies done were another matter all together though as the super soft dough kept giving me odd shaped circles after cutting them out as even the slightest handling tended to pull the little dough circles out of shape.

Once baked, all that was left was to prepare the custardy buttercream, slather it on, sandwich and eat! Awesome when you're finally able to bake for yourself after a long time!

Baking for Cupid!

It's that time of year again! Where roses become more expensive than gold overnight, chocolates fly off the shelves...and bakers get down to making tons of heart shaped stuff!

I kinda missed the boat for Valentine's last year as I was in the midst of an internship and didn't have too many ideas anyway! I thought this year would be different as I had the ideas swirling around in my mind and with another year of baking under my belt, I was a little more confident as well.

But little did I know that I'd be working night shifts and that it'd throw a huge spanner in my grand plans...I hate turning down orders from friends, especially my close ones but I've unfortunately had to turn some down as there simply was no way my shift schedule would allow me to get their orders done before V-day!

The good thing about working night shifts is the accompanying sleepless nights on my days off where I'll have already slept the entire day. Baking at 2 in the morning is starting to become something of a norm for me these days!

I saw a photo of the Rose Meringue Cookies sometime back and decided on the spot that these were definitely going to be part of the Valentine's menu this year...they were quite easy to make and had endless creative space as well. Only drawback was the insanely long baking time of almost 2 hours in a slow slow slow oven.

The Pink Velvet Cupcakes weren't really a planned thing..I just felt like I hadn't updated my cupcake menu in quite some time and had a few ideas in mind for a new one. So the Pink Velvet was born at 4 in the morning!

Sugar cookies have always been on my mind for such a long time but after having tons of problems with getting the right consistency for the cookie glazing, I had abandoned the idea of having sugar cookies on my menu. That is, until a quick rifle through my mum's files gleaned a new glazing recipe which finally worked! It dried shiny, hard and in no time at all!

Mum's cute "ice cream" sugar cookies!

Decorating them was kinda fun though I was running low on ideas after some time..

Pineapple Tarts Ahoy!

I've been on pineapple tart duty for quite some time now and I'm absolutely grateful for the orders from my new colleagues! It always was a dream of mine since picking up baking, to be making stuff and handing them out to people in a hope that it would brighten someone's day...it wasn't possible back in school but it's going on fine now!

Getting mum's advice on the type of pineapples to buy, their ripeness, tips on the jam making process and pastry making has been nothing but eye opening and fun..I wouldn't have had the confidence to take on the orders if not for her massive help. It really helps to have an experienced hand to steady the ship from time to time!

Making these little tasty treats after a long day at work wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, as the stress and fatigue that hangs over me at work like a stormy rain cloud magically disappears when I get stuck in with the whole process of kneading, rolling and cutting the dough up. Not to mention the help I've gotten from my mum, who makes it her duty to help out with the menial work like prepping the bottles for the tarts and such!

Nothing quite beats the satisfaction of arranging the tarts in the bottle and sealing off another order!

It's A Wrap!

It's raining orders! 

I was pretty much tied down for the entire Christmas/New Year stretch but I'm not complaining one bit!

Right on the heels of the largest order ever, was another for 40 cream puffs for a dear old friend. The great thing about making cream puffs is that they're pretty relatively fuss free. Get the consistency of the batter right and pipe those mounds away. Bang them into the oven and you're pretty much guaranteed little puff balls!

20 each of mango and durian cream puffs were ready in no time!

Next up was 50 Pistachio Macarons for a neighbor! Macarons have always caused heart palpitations here and 50 was really really huge an order...I was pretty sure I'd be stuck in the kitchen the entire day, throwing failed macarons in the bin and tearing my hair out at that. Luckily, it worked like clockwork this time round and all 100 shells were placed on the cooling rack as I stood watch over them like a dad whose kids have just won...something. All that was left was filling them up the day before and popping them into the fridge for a day of maturation before collection!

My sister also sneaked in a request for 30 cream puffs and I just couldn't say no! After completing the wedding order, boy, I was up for anything! 20 durian cream puffs (which seems to be a pretty hot seller!) and 10 hazelnut chocolate ones were filled and packed up just in time for her to pick them up!

With that, the kitchen/oven closes for 2013! I never thought when I began this that I'd have pretty much any orders. But friends and family have really surprised me with their support and willingness to give my creations a try..and that meant the world to me!

A whole new year of bakes and hopefully new creations and opportunities awaits! 

First Wedding Order!

When I was asked to make desserts for a wedding reception, I was pretty hesitant as it would probably be the biggest order I've ever taken. And weddings are no pushovers - everything has to be prim and proper as for some reason, people always seem to remember the stuff that goes wrong at a wedding!

Anyway, I took the order as it seemed pretty manageable and it would be quite an experience to cater for an event like this. By a stroke of good fortune, I didn't even have to take days off work as I - thankfully - already had a week off for the Christmas and New Year holidays! After weeks of giving samples of the stuff that were ordered and waiting for comments and tweaking the recipes accordingly, the time had come to get down to it for real.

D-day was Christmas itself, and I had the television tuned to Home Alone to keep me company as I set about working on the Red Velvet cupcakes...it was good that I had a tried and tested recipe so I was done quite quickly. The frosting went on only the night before the reception as I didn't want to risk the cream cheese frosting tasting stale in the guests' mouths!

My Mum had so graciously volunteered to make 40 Almond London cookies so that was a huge load off my mind and hands! Thanks a million Mum!! She was already done with those by Christmas morning..all that was left was to dip them in chocolate and finish them off!

Boxing Day was set aside for the macarons and I had my fingers and toes crossed for a good consistent batch. As luck would have it, the weather turned for the worst a couple of hours in, and the humidity began to skyrocket, resulting in macarons that just wouldn't dry. Somehow, they turned out alright after extended periods of drying and the unfilled shells went into a jar for filling and maturation on the next day!

The eve was a hectic day indeed. With a failed Lapis (which is really no fun at all), the whole schedule I had planned went straight out of the window. I was just thankful that I had a good looking Lapis cake and 30 Choux buns at the end of the day! But I wasn't done yet...up ahead lay the filling of 20 Lemon macarons and another 20 Pistachio ones...not to mention frosting the cupcakes!! To cut things short, I hit the pillow at 1 in the morning...

On the day itself, all that was left to do was fill the Choux buns with custard and complete the packing for everything else and I was all but done at long last!

What an experience!

All Hail The Queen!

So here I sit, on Christmas Eve, with a stuffed nose and burning eyes, wondering where I should pick up from!

Such a long time since the last post and so many bakes in between...I don't know where to start.

Against my better judgement (and a growing hole in my wallet) I've been experimenting with macarons...there're just so many factors that can contribute to having either a failed batch or a successful one that it seems necessary to offer a prayer to the Macaron Gods before starting on them! What a fuss pot.

Italian macarons aren't the favourite of the purists but I don't care...it works for me and is a lot more practical for the home baker with limited resources. Leaving the French macaron batter lying around waiting for its turn in the oven isn't exactly advisable...

It was a crazy long journey from macaron Frisbees to decent looking ones worth taking pictures of, but there's still loads of room for improvement. Would be awesome to take some classes if only I had the time now!

Ganache fillings seem the best for macarons that need longer storage as cream based or worse still - custard ones - will completely soak through them and leave you with a soggy, sorry batch of macarons after a couple of hours of maturing in the fridge.

Three flavours have passed the cut after being in production for some time. Lemon seems to go awesomely well with a creamy white chocolate ganache with the sour, tartness of the lemon cutting through the cloyingly sweet white chocolate.

Pistachio's oily nature lends itself well to being combined with white chocolate after being made into a paste. It doesn't overwhelm the milkiness of the chocolate but complements it with its nutty aroma. There's a reason why the pistachio macaron is a staple in every bakery these days!

And lastly, the dark chocolate macaron. Sweetness, and bitterness all in the same bite! Nothing makes you feel less guilty about chomping down on a calorie laden macaron than a dark chocolate one. The bitterness from the chocolate immediately mutes the extreme sweetness of the macaron shell and leaves the palate free for another bite!