For Desmond's wedding

I made these for a beautiful occasion.

This was meant to be a surprise for the bride. The groom gave me the freedom to prepare a small desserts table for his wife-to-be. I worked with some of my favorite colors - and I was told that she likes violet too.

Made some vanilla cupcakes with violet cream cheese frosting. Cream cheese frosting never fails me. (:

Violet and peachy pink go together - my idea of matchy-matchy.

There must be some chocolate on a desserts table; here's some krispies topped with dark and white chocolate, prettified with heart sprinkles.

Mini bite-sized krispies. I personally like the white chocolate ones best. (: Sweet sweet sweeeeet.

Once in a while,

Right in the middle of an ordinary life,

Love gives us a fairy tale.

Wishing you both the best of life on your wedding day, and in the days to come.

Chocolate tarts

I lost my sense of weekends from weekdays. It's funny how the busy period is making it more difficult to keep the mind off things, completely going against the nature of how the mind is supposed to work. Just like how when you are so drained out and lethargic to the point of being almost lifeless, and you lie in bed unable to fall asleep, and the more you try, the harder it gets. Desperately sickening.

Maybe it's due to the lack of sleep, or maybe the massive amount of junk food, the throat is starting to feel a tad sore. And so for those of you who like me are victims of the "heatiness", I give you my best unconventional cure - chocolate. Yes go ahead and have copious amount of water, but in my opinion, chocolate is the best medicine. 

Chocolate is a good source of antioxidants - the antioxidant content of chocolate is actually four times that in tea! The fat in chocolate can help the immune system and outwit cytokines by reducing your susceptibility to infections and inflammation. With a quick search, I found out that chocolate can actually reduce coughing as it contains theobromine which suppresses activity in the vagus nerve. This same chemical substance triggers the release of endorphins that act like a natural antidepressant, relieving us of the blues. Plus it's so yummy, you're bound to feel better after consuming some.

I decided to make some chocolate tarts. I assure you I felt better instantly after my first bite. The crust was intentionally made super thin so I could pour more of that chocolate ganache into the tart cavity. I was in chocolate heaven. Yep, all the sore gone, all gone. (:

Vanilla violet cupcakes

It's been quite a while. I used to believe that I don't need a reason to bake, a reason to make or create some sweets. But I've come to learn that that isn't entirely true. Ich liebe backen. Aber ich liebte ihn mehr.

Nevertheless, time seemed to have just flown by. To compensate for the lack of activity in the oven, I managed to satisfy my cravings scouring this small island for brunch food and delightful desserts. Honestly, I think I can do desserts pre-meals, for meals, and after meals. There was nothing more relieving than a moist and fudgey good ol' chocolate cake - I never knew I loved chocolate so much. Just like how I never knew beef could actually taste good, or that I would actually ingest raw seafood. In the midst of my food-search and checking the to-visit-cafés/restaurants list, I found myself starting to love this place for its bevy of dining options - especially those tucked in quiet corners and ulu places. It was easy to indulge in cakes and cream, seeking solace in the overwhelming sweetness that often resulted a diabetic coma, or perhaps a glucose hyperactivity. Believe me, they are a much more effective solution to insomnia than chamomile tea.

I missed the kitchen, the baking, the mess. There are times when you know you want to do something, but you procrastinate cos' you think you can't do it, and you find all sorts of silly excuses to avoid it - as if deprivation would give you an answer to whatever you thought was missing. It doesn't. Thankfully, I found a reason to re-enter my baking realm days ago. For a special friend, I started mixing, creaming and whipping. With each step, I found that simple joy again.

I attempted these vanilla cupcakes on a saturday morning. I was happy with the way the cupcakes turned out, light and fluffy. I contemplated infusing it with buttercream but decided against it as I know I tend to have an exceptionally high tolerance to sugar compared to many others I know. These cupcakes were topped with violet vanilla buttercream, and then prettified with silver dragées and sugar flowers. 

And here's a special THANK YOU to my sister and her friends for their kind encouragement. Totally made my day! (:

I will be back soon. The only thing that keeps me away would be work and other commitments. Not myself anymore. So silly. (:

The avocado

I was grocery-shopping with my mom one day when we came across Haas avocados. We have never bought avocados before and hence did not know how to pick ripen ones - I had to google it. Apparently, the nice firm green ones are not ripe; ripen ones are of a dark-purplish color to an almost black hue - perfect for our avocado milkshake.

Avocados are known to provide health and beauty benefits, from being a naturally nutrient dense fruit to being part of a hair and beauty regimen. They have high vitamin content and each of the vitamins are important in their own ways i.e. for blood clotting, for healthy eyes, skin and hair, as antioxidants, as antibodies. However, those were not the reason I got them. Who needs a reason to have a good milkshake? :D

We had avocados left over which could be made into another jug of milkshake. Or some sweets.

These chocolate macarons with avocado fillings were made from a new silicon mat and piping tips my mom got me as a gift. <3 Thank you, I love it.

Mom and Dad and my trusty taster gave the thumbs up. I like the avocado filling. It's not at all hard to make, just have to replace the milk in the milk shake with icing sugar. Kinda like trial and error actually, but it turned out pretty well anyway. (:

Red velvet cupcakes

I've been itching to be in my kitchen again, to work the mixer, heat the oven and smell like a cookie. Other commitments may have kept me away from my kitchen (ok, my mom's), but that doesn't stop me from thinking about what I should create next. I've a list of things I would like to bake, actually I always have a list. This time I decided to make some red velveties.

Working in the kitchen is somewhat similar to working in the laboratory. We are precise with our measurements, but yet we know when we can give some leeway for a little more or a little less of this or that. In the making of this red velveties, I witnessed an acid-base reaction and a decomposition reaction. During the process, I added baking soda with white vinegar which resulted in the formation of carbonic acid from the reaction of bicarbonate ions and hydrogen ions. Carbonic acid then decomposes into carbon dioxide and water, which resulted in the effervescence observed. I was laughing to myself diabolically like a mad scientist when I saw those bubbles.

Anyhooo, I made these red velvet cupcakes and topped them with my favorite cream cheese frosting. Plus a bit of heart sprinkles on some and pink flowers on others. Prettify them well for the pretty people in cosmo. :)

I've seen red velveties that are a whole lot more red. Like bright red. Hmm, I think I prefer them less intense - I feel a slight bit uncomfy with so much red coloring. However, I think my red velveties aren't red enough. Maybe next time I'll add a wee bit more red, if I'm comfy with that then.

Buns

My favorite carbo comes from bread. Bread and buns are the best for mornings, or maybe a snack for tea break. I like them soft and tender, and best if warmed. Sometimes I go for sweet raisins or red bean fillings, sometimes I like it salty (yummy sardine please!!! - I've been on a sardine/mackerel craze since a few months ago...). So one day I decided I want to make my own buns (though I still think it is easier to get them from bread shops...). Anyhooo, here they are!

Though it may be more convenient to just get buns from the local bakery, nothing beats the satisfaction of witnessing the proofing and being surrounded by the aroma of hot baking buns. Moreover, I choose for myself what I want to put into my buns (no preservatives or whatsoever!) and how I want them to taste. I made ham and cheese, sausage, red bean, tuna, sugar-butter and seaweed this time. I already know what fillings I'm gonna make next! :) I honestly don't know why there aren't sardines in these...

This is my first attempt at baking bread, and I have to say it really isn't as hard as I thought it would be. In fact, I enjoyed it very much. Loved the process and how the buns turned out. And yay, now we have homemade bread for breakfast tomorrow! :)

Coffee baileys macarons

I made these for german class on a friday evening.

Coffee shells and baileys buttercream - this is my favorite combination so far.  I have always loved coffee, and the blend of coffee with an alcoholic twist is einfach himmlisch. I have a friend who frequently mixes his coffee with a little liquor. I guess I understand why that can be addictive now.

German friends liked it. Really glad they did. :)

Mom likes this combination too. Or maybe she likes the baileys buttercream. After we tried the macarons we poured ourselves some baileys on the rocks...

Raisin scones

So I asked Dad, "why don't you eat my macarons? You don't like them? Mom eats them..."

"No, they are too sweet for me. I don't enjoy these sweet stuff." Cupcakes and frosting included.

Yes, that's true. Dad only drinks black coffee. Seriously.

"So, why don't you make something with raisin or fruit? I like raisins and fruit cake."

True too. I swear my dad was a bird in his previous life. He loves ALL fruits and ALL nuts. And he sometimes communicate with the birds at the balcony...

So I made these for my dear ol' Dad. These raisin scones are best served warm. They aren't dry and the insides are uber soft with a delicate buttery taste. Nope, not sweet at all. Even my grandparents ate and enjoyed these. The raisins added just the right amount of sweetness. 

I had to sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on the top...

Dad came back from his overseas business trip and asked for more of these. But there were none left! It was one of the rare times he ever asked for more of my bakes. I was sorry there was no more left for him, but secretly happy that it left him lingering for more. :D

Green tea macarons

This is my first attempt at tweaking the basic macaron recipe to incorporate a different taste. This time I didnt deflat the batter enough, giving me a thicker consistency than desired. These aren't as pretty as I hoped they would be, but nevertheless, I love the green tea flavored macarons. Actually I like them more than the chocolate ones. Mom agrees. :)

These green tea flavored macarons are paired with green tea-white chocolate ganache. Somehow it reminds me of my favorite green tea latte. I think it's the only tea I deem drinkable; I'm very much a coffee person. Hmm, I guess maybe I'll attempt coffee flavored macarons next? ;)

Chocolate macarons

To make these macarons, I had to think of ways to make use of the egg yolks. I didn't like the idea of throwing them away - that's wasteful. Egg tarts seem to be a pretty good idea; my mom loves egg tarts. So now I got my whites to make these chocolate macarons.

I love how overwhelmingly sweet macarons are, how the shells are slightly crisp and the insides soft. It's amazing that the extremely sweet shells pair so well with the chocolate ganache. Yep, overwhelming. But good. I made some pink plain shells too. I love pink and I think they are pretty. Makes me happy. :)

I would like to attempt making different flavors of macarons too. Meanwhile I'll think of other ways to use my egg yolks. Or maybe my mom would want egg tarts again... :p

My first post!

I have been wanting to do this for a long time, and I'm glad I finally got down to it! This blog is dedicated to my bakes: what I love to do but sometimes hardly have time for. For me, it is therapeutic and gratifying, especially when I bake for my loved ones and when they give the thumbs up. Sometimes I bake for a reason, but honestly, there's no need for a reason to start baking. I derive a special kind of joy in this hobby and I hope that it shows as this blog brings you on this journey with me.