pineapple tarts and almond crisps

im back to blogging after busy baking. im so going to participate in aspiring baker #4. trying to update and upload photos to comp and i can blog plus submit (:
my record of more than 70 bottles of sweet treats! mainly pineapple tarts, almond cookies and nutty cookies. i love those pineapple tarts! it comes with 3 different design which is rose, pillow and round flower shape (: is tiring but at the same time full of satisfaction! psst, i dislike half way not having enough pineapple. so i kiasu, make more and ended up having say 2 container of pineapple filling in the fridge! faints. next week i shall bake pineapple tart again and pass to dear blogger. hopefully im not too late and it dont taste awful . .

my favourite pink casing (:

egg white goes into baking of almond crisps. saw this from Allie blog. is really fast and easy to make! pls spread it REAL THIN to enjoy the crispiness of it. it should disappear in no time fresh from oven. storing it reduce the crispy factor. if you store it, try to put it into the oven before serving (:

Almond Crisps

Ingredients:

120g egg white (around 4 egg whites)

120g castor sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

80g plain flour (sifted)

1/2 tsp baking powder

Preparation:

1. Whisk together the egg whites, sugar and vanilla extract until all the sugar is dissolved.

2. Add in sifted flour and baking powder and mix till well-incorporated.

3. Spread a very thin layer on a parchment lined baking sheet and top with almond flakes. (Use parchment or silicon paper as far as possible as this cookie does not contain oil and sticks easily.)

4. Bake at 170 degrees Celsius for 8 minutes or until the edges turn brown.

5. Allow cookies to cool for a few minutes before storing in an airtight container. (Letting the cookies out in the open for too long will cause them to turn soft and soggy. Hence, store immediately after they are cooled.)

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR 兔 dear friends (: hope im not 兔 late. wish you 兔年行大运。 may wealth and health stay with you and your family (:

Aspiring Bakers #3: My Favorite CNY Cookie (Jan 2011)

am submitting this kueh bangkit to Aspiring Bakers #3: My Favorite CNY Cookie (Jan 2011) hosted by jess (:
sorry for not taking more photos. you can hop over to my post and check it out (: JOIN THE FUN and PARTICIPATE (:

this recipe is from baking mum (: it yields really YUMMY and melt-in-the-mouth kueh bangkit!

RECIPE

300g tapioca flour
3-4 pandan leaves
20 gm margarine or soften butter
1 egg yolk
120g icing sugar
120 ml coconut milk
1/4 tsp vanilla powder

1. Fry tapioca with the pandan leaves over low flame until fragrant and light. Set aside to cool. Best to leave it to cool overnight or 1 to 2 days.
2. Sift tapioca flour and combine with sifted icing sugar and vanilla powder. Add margarine or butter. Beat egg yolk with the coconut milk lightly to combine yolk into the milk. Add the mixture into the flour. Knead until dough is pilable. If you find dough too dry and crumbly, add more coconut milk, a tbsp at a time and knead until it is workable.
3. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/2 cm thick. Cut with cookie cutters and pinch patterns with tweezer (optional on the pinching of patterns). Arrange them on a lined baking tray (best to use the non-stick parchment paper).
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 170C for 15 mins or until it is lightly brown (not too brown). Cool it on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.

crunchy choc chip cookies with macadamia nuts and choc cupcakes with "ice cream"

did not post for a while coz i was really busy helping out with new family member at home (: my second sis-in-law gave birth to my nephew (: my house have an army of boys! now i have 3 nephews at home EVERYDAY! one is 5 years old, another is turning 1. imagine? hahah.

enough said, let's come back to baking! (: baked crunchy choc chip cookies that i saw on rei's blog. like i mentioned, my house always have different nuts at home and i like macadamia so, i added it in (: (: i must say, this cookies are really really nice! not only nice taste, nice smell too!! you got to try it!

Ingredients :

190g plain flour
30g cornflour (original recipe use all plain flour instead)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (I use 1/4 tsp)
125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
125g granulated sugar (I reduced to 80g)
105g packed light brown sugar (I reduced to 70g)
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
185g semi-sweet chocolate chips
125g walnuts, toasted and chopped [optional] (i replace it with macadamia nuts)

Methods:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degree and have ready 2 ungreased baking sheets.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper, set aside.
3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, cream the butter till fluffy and pale yellow.
4. Add the sugars and continue beating till mixture is no longer gritty.
5. Add egg and vanilla and beat on low speed until blended.
6. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed or stir with a wooden spoon until just blended.
7. Add the chocolate chips and the walnuts, if using, mixing or stirring until just blended.
8. With dampened hands, shape the dough into small balls and place on the baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
9. Bake the cookies until golden brown around the edges, about 12 minutes.
10 Let the cookies cool briefly on the sheets before transferring them to the racks to cool completely.

next is chocolate cupcakes "ice cream" that i saw on little teochew's blog (: her's look soooo nice!!! (: i did a little modification coz my mum dont really like buttercream ): and my nephew INSIST that he want rainbow rice sprinkles! so this is it. hahah



For the chocolate cupcakes

- 125g butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (125ml) milk
- 3/4 cup (165g) caster (superfine) sugar
- 100g dark chocolate, melted
- 2 eggs
- 16 storebought flat base ice-cream cones*
- 1 1/4 cups (190g) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 80g dark chocolate, extra, chopped
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

For the chocolate cream icing
- 200g whipping cream
- 15g icing (confectioner's) sugar, sifted
- 1/2 tsp cocoa powder, sifted

1. Preheat oven to 160°C (320°F). Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Gradually add the eggs and beat well after each addition. Sift over the flour, baking powder and cocoa and beat until combined. Fold through the milk and stir in the chocolate. Place the ice-cream cones on a baking tray and place a piece of the extra chocolate in the base of each cone. Spoon the cupcake mixture into the cones* and bake for 20–25 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool.
* You need to fill the cones up quite a bit. Leave about 1cm to 1.5cm gap from the rim. Be careful not to have any batter drip onto the outside or it will burn.

2. To make the chocolate butter cream icing, place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 6–8 minutes or until pale and creamy. Add the icing sugar mixture, cocoa powder and milk and beat for a further 6 minutes or until light and creamy. Pipe the icing onto the cupcakes using a star-shaped nozzle.

Makes 16.

homemade ferrero rocher and macadamia snowball

baked cookies! is macadamia snowball. i have lots of macadamia nuts available (: is really YUMMY and smells great too! (:

next is HOMEMADE FERRERO ROCHER! i saw it on zurin's blog and was attracted to it! *thumbs up* and i put it in my favourite colour (pink) cup (:
only thing is, hers look much nicer! hahah. and i have a hard time hunting for hazelnuts!

Ingredients100 g hazelnut wafer biscuits, crushed
150 g hazelnuts
200 g Nutella
250 g semi-sweet dark chocolate (or milk chocolate)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Spread out the hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and roast them in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until they are warmed through and aromatic. Remove from the oven and let cool and rub their skins off with a tea towel. Finely chop the hazelnuts.
2. Combine the wafer biscuits, chopped hazelnuts. Add Nutella and mix them with hands.
3. Roll approximately 1 heap teaspoon of the mixture into ball. Repeat and you should get around 30-40 balls depending on the size. (If the mixture is not firm enough to roll, put it in the refrigerate for 15-30 minutes until it's firm enough to roll into balls.)
4. Put them in the refrigerator for 45 minutes to firm up.
5. Melt the dark chocolate and let it cool.
6. Remove the balls from the refrigerator and dip them into the melted chocolate until well coated

kueh bangkit

baked kueh bangkit yesterday. it turned out fine (: YUMMY! thank you baking mum for your wonderful recipe! (: however, mine is not as white and nice looking as hers. i have the fear that the cookies may not be completely baked so i give it a while more.

you may hop over to her blog to check out the wonderful recipe (:



FIRST POST (:

HELLO (: is my first post and is my bloggy to learn and at the same time, make new and nice friends (:


my first post would be ALMOND COOKIE (:

Ingredients:
125g butter
55g sugar
150g flour
10g almond
2 tbsp almond flakes

1. Preheat oven to 170 degree C
2. Beat butter and sugar in small bowl until smooth
3. Stir in sifted flour and almond
4. Roll level tbsp mixture into balls. place 5cm apart. sprinkle with almond flakes
5. Bake for 10 mins.

recipe source : U weekly magazine

my sis insist she wants a mickey mouse cookie so i made it though after baking is not so obvious. the taste is yummy! (: let me know after you try it (:

thank you for visiting my humble blog (: so, as my welcome gift to you plus christmas season is coming, i'll be giving away one/two $20 3 inch sin vouchers *depending on the response (: CHOCOHOLIC will love it! you may participate by leaving a comment for me.


participation ends on 19 dec. have fun (: