Honey corn flakes!

Easy peasy lemon squeezy! It is good for a last minute yummy Chinese New Year goodies. It only takes 3 ingredients and maybe 45min for everything to be done? Tehee!
HONEY CORNFLAKES
Yield: 70 mini cases (3 bottles) | Pre-heat oven: 150 °C | Total bake time: 45 mins

INGREDIENTS
5 tsb honey
50g unsalted butter
150g cornflakes (gently crushed in smaller pieces)
Sprinkles!

DIRECTIONS
1. Melt butter and honey in a saucepan over small fire, stir until its frothy.
2. Add in the crushed cornflakes and stir until all combined. Remove from fire.
3. Use a teaspoon and spoon them out into mini-cup cases. Put on some sprinkles.
4. Bake in a preheated oven 150 °C for 10-12 mins until its crispy/ golden brown.
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Home-made Chicken Rice is easy peasy!

I got to learn how to cook this chicken rice with my maid. Bahah! It was when I was baking something else, she was cooking chicken rice. Manage to steal the recipe from her! Hhaha! It's surprising easy! It's really very fragrant! Not too bad for a home-cooked chicken rice! The standard was not tooooo bad.

Chicken Rice
- 1 Steamed chicken
- Stir fry 30g butter and chicken fats till its golden and cooked
- Add the 5 cloves of chopped garlic and fry till half golden brown
- Add on 1 tbsp ginger from 'Soup Restaurant'
- Mix and stir the washed rice
- Pour the oil-water you got from the steam chicken into the rice mixture
- Add chicken stock cube and stir till dissolve

Pour into rice cooker, add hot water accordingly
SERVE!
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Ombre 2D & 3D roses flower cake

Baking class @ mysistersbake the other time was so fun and tiring! So much work on the piping and scraping and wiping and swirling. Lots of techniques learnt from them! From baking the cake from scratch, to beating the egg to swiss meringue butter cream, to assembling the cake, crumb coating, and piping them into 2D and 3D roses!
So we get to practice for a few times, making 2D rosettes and 3D flowers. There's a practice board for us to pipe onto it. Whenever we're not happy with it, scrap it and re-do again. We just gotta practice practice and practice a few more times to get a "better looking" rosettes. Then we were asked to choose the colors that we wanted for our cakes. It was very stressful when it comes to the real thing. The real roses that you make will be topped onto your cake. Its real business now. Haha! Just use a parchment paper, and gotta freeze that little cream roses till it hardens and transferable onto the cake itself. *STRESS*

She told us that swiss meringue butter cream its more challenging in making the roses because it is so so soft. If we were to master this, we will be able to make roses with other different types of cream, i.e. american buttercream and icings? Hah, we did it!


So the cakes were ready-made (frozen cake). We just have to assemble the cakes one by one. Spreading the vanilla buttercream onto each layers without touching the crumbs. (this is so that the whole cake will not be filled with crumbs). Lastly we then did the "crumb coating" thingy by spreading a thin layer of frosting all over the cake before putting on the "final" cream layer. This will prevent any crumbs from ending up on the surface of your finished cake. (perfecto!) Just do it by holding the offset spatula at 45degree angle and turning the turntables to smoothen the cake.
After crumb coating and settling everything, we gotta make that classic ombre effect for the cake. Who knows it was this easy? *flipshair* Just gotta make sure that every single inch of the cake is covered with cream before sweeping it smooth. This is ensure that the finishing cake is well covered and pretty with zero holes. Things to note: do piped more colored cream than plain white for prettier effect.
So that's the end product! Its fugly as compared to the rest. )': I need more practice! Practice practice practice! Oh, here's the recipe for swiss meringue butter cream in case I lost the recipe again! Hah! With additional notes taken during the class!

Swiss meringue butter cream 

Yield: enough to frost 8" cake | serves: 20 people
INGREDIENTS
9-10 egg whites (approx. 300ml)
300g caster sugar (super fine sugar so it is easier to melt)
454g butter (soft but still cold)
flavouring to taste (1 tbsp extract/juice*)

*i.e. vanilla, peppermint, strawberry. Juice are more common for citric flavours like lemon or oranges. Just add bit by bit to taste.

DIRECTIONS
1. Wipe the bowl of an electric mixer clean and leave no residue. Combine egg white and sugar in a bowl (using hand whisk).
2. Over a simmering pot of water, NOT BOILING, make sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the hot water. Whisk the egg white mixture constantly until temperature reaches 60-70 degree.
3. With whisk attachment of standing mixer, whisk the egg white mixture till think and glossy. *Cool to touch- approx 10-15min*
4. When mixture is cooled, add softened butter in chunks, bit by bit, to the meringue until incorporated. It should reach a smooth a silky texture rather than eggy omelette texture.
5. Add the flavouring & coloring in.

TIPS
Why do we need to put it over a simmer of hot water? 
1. This is so that sugar is melted.
2. The meringue would not be grainy
and 3. To kill all the bacteria in the egg white (for safe consumption).

Use what type of bowl? 
Use a deeper bowl instead of wider bowl, as it has lesser chance of getting cooked egg white

How do we know when to stop hand whisking?
1. Touch & feel till there's no more grainy sugar
2. Use a food thermometer showing 60 degree.
3. Or sometime you can smell cooked egg white, its time to stop!

Storage?
1. Freezer: last for about 2 months
2. Fridge: last for about 1 week
Just leave out at room temperature when needed and re-whip in mixer for 5 minutes.
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Graduation time!


So then it's our time to graduate! We have finally made it. *gallops around*. So grateful to have  these little angels with me throughout these super tough uni days. Sleeping at 4 5am just to meet the deadlines. Often we tell ourselves to not procrastinate for the next semester, but we still did. Haha, bunch of losers! but who cares! we made it beetches (:

Still remember last year we tour Europe together :D heh so much gossips so much fun together! Having the chance to live with each other for whole 1.5 month. All the way to Manchester, London, Paris, Florence, Venice and Rome! Those were the care-free days! ): So now we're all grown up and that more or less marked the end of our 22 years of education life. Hopefully in what so ever individual path that we chose, just hope that everything we do, it will go on smoothly as it always did. May success be with us forevaaaa. #workinglife #workingadult #workhardplayhard

Photo by: Thecamerabank
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Red velvet cupcake


Omg, have been searching through the net up and down, left and right for a good red velvet cupcakes recipe. I remembered baking Humming's bird but I don't think its that fantastic ): Oops sorry. Then I chance upon Georgetown's recipe. It said to be one of their all-time favorite and most popular flavor. However, after looking deeper into it, I notice some baker tested the recipe and was disappointed with it too.  Boo hoo. Anyway I got this recipe from my fav baker, Sally. She never disappoints me! Its so fluffy and soft! The sweetness is just right when you topped it with the cream cheese! This cream cheese recipe won't be able to hold, cause there isn't too much sugar! It's like cream cheese bomb! Hah! Real taste of great flavour! It's really sooo yummy! :D



RED VELVET CUPCAKES 

Yield: 14 cupcakes | Pre-heat oven: 177 | total bake time: 18-20minutes
INGREDIENTS
Red velvet cake:
2 large eggs (I used 3 small eggs)
1 and 2/3 cups (192g) cake flour/ replaced with: all purpose 160g & corn starch 32g
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp apple vineger
4 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
1 tsb red food coloring
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk/ replaced with: milk 120ml & 1 tsp vinegar
    Cream cheese frosting:
    224g of cream cheese
    1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, softened to room tempature
    2 cups (240g) confectioners sugar
    1/2 tsb milk/ cream
    1 tsb vanilla extract
      DIRECTIONS
      1. With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat 2 egg whites on high speed in a medium bowl until soft peaks form, about 2-3 minutes.
      2. Sift the flour and cornstarch together to make sure it is evenly combined. Whisk this, along with baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
      3. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy - about 1 minute.
      4. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together fairly well. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the oil and beat on high for 2 minutes.
      5. Add 2 egg yolks and the vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Beat in the vinegar and the food coloring until you reach your desired color.
      6. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Do not overmix.
      7. Fold whipped egg whites into cupcake batter with a rubber spatula. The batter will be silky and slightly thick.
      8. Spoon batter into cupcake liners filling 1/2 - 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20-21 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when gently touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don't overbake; your cupcakes will dry out.

       FOR THE FROSTING 
      Place all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer filled with the paddle attachment; beat until well combined. Be sure to beat on high speed at the very end for at least 2 minutes to ensure that the frosting is light and fluffy.
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      Lots of topping because its home-made pizza with love ♥


      Well, my boyfriend and I tried baking together pizza crust from scratch! Omg! We all loved it! Its so yummy and filling! Definitely worth the time baking them rather than ordering out. We can put as much topping as we want, as much cheeese as we like and of course its made with love! ♥ Of course we're not like pros with bbq sauce and funny olives, peppers and stuff. We just go simple and made use of the most basic ingredients such as tomato sauce, ham, sausage and cheese. Bake and viola! So here's the recipe from my favorite baker!

      Home-made pizza

      Make: 2 pizzas | Rising time: 1-2 hours | Pre-heat oven: 220 °C | Bake time: 12-15 minutes

      INGREDIENTS:
           2 and 1/4 teaspoons of instant yeast
           1 and 1/3 cups (320ml) warm water
           3 and 1/2 cups (440g) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
           2 Tablespoons (30ml) olive oil
           3/4 teaspoon salt
           1 Tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
           oil, for coating pizza pan

      + I added pepper & oregano spices to the dough to add even more flavor! :D

      DIRECTIONS: 
      1. Combine the yeast and warm water. Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes of until the yeast is foamy and dissolved. This is called "proofing" the yeast. If the yeast doesn't dissolve, your yeast is dead. Start again.
      2. With hook attachment, combine, add flour, olive oil, salt, and sugar on low speed for 1 minute.
      3. Once all of the ingredients are mixed, knead for 7 minutes low-medium speed. If your dough is too wet, add up to 1/4 cup more flour. After kneading, your dough should be smooth and elastic. Poke it with your finger - if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading (by hand or mixer).
      4. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a large mixing bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil. Turn it over to coat all sides. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm environment.
      5. Depending on your type of yeast, your dough will have doubled in size in about 1 - 2 hours.
      6. Punch the dough down to release the air.
      9. Preheat oven to 220°C. Allow to heat for at least 30 full minutes. Every inch of your oven needs to be very, very hot. Grease and dust 2 pizza pans with nonstick spray or with olive oil.
      10. Divide dough into 2 and flatten each ball of dough 1 at a time on a lightly floured surface in your lined pizza pan. Flatten into a 12-inch round circle, flattening and stretching the dough.
      10. Lift the edge of the dough up to create a lip around the edges. I simply pinched the edges up to create the rim like this. To prevent the filling from making your pizza crust soggy, brush the top lightly with olive oil. Using your fingers, push dents into the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. Let rest for 15 minutes before topping.
      11. Top with your favorite toppings and bake for 12-15 minutes.

      Slice hot pizza and serve immediately. Store leftover pizza covered tightly in the refrigerator and reheat as you prefer. Baked pizza slices may be frozen up to 1 month.

      NOTE:
      - Not to be too greedy like me and over top the cheese to the sides of the pizza dough! It will dry up and sticks to pan.
      - Feel free to put more pizza sauce! It is what makes it tasty! Nobody wants to eat a dry and empty pizza ):
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      The yummiest chocolate chip cookie!


      I chance upon this recipe at Sally's blog. I was so glad that I tried her recipe! It is by far the best chocolate chip recipe I've encountered. I used to hate baking cookies because of the long hours of chilling, rolling and oily hands. (yuck!) This recipe is really good that actually made four or five batches for my whole group of friends. They loved it too :D Gonna try out with other chocolates, sprinkles and toppings! Stay tune guys!

      CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE

      Yield: 16 large cookies | Pre-heat oven: 160 | chill time: 2 hrs | bake time: 11-12 minutes

      INGREDIENTS:
          2 and 1/4 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
          1 teaspoon baking soda
          1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
          1/2 teaspoon salt
          3/4 cup (170 grams) unsalted butter, melted
          3/4 cup (135 grams) light brown sugar, loosely packed
          1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
          1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
          2 teaspoons vanilla extract
          1 cup (180 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks

      DIRECTIONS:
      1. Toss together the flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
      2. In a medium size bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the egg, then the egg yolk. Finally, whisk in the vanilla.
      3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft, yet thick. Fold in the chocolate chips evenly.
      4. Cover the dough and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory

      5. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and allow to slightly soften at room temperature for 10 minutes.
      6. Preheat the oven to 160 degree C. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
      7. Roll the dough into balls, about 3 Tablespoons of dough each. The dough will be crumbly, but the warmth of your hands will allow the balls to stay intact.
      8. Roll the cookie dough balls to be taller rather than wide, to ensure the cookies will bake up to be thick.
      9. Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes. The cookies will look very soft and underbaked. They will continue to bake on the cookie sheet. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

      Make ahead tip: Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Allow to come to room temperature and continue with step 3. Baked cookies freeze well - up to three months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well - up to three months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw.
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