apple crumble.

July 31th, 2011.

This is one hell of a messy job. Got the recipe from a dear friend, Kyra. You can also see it here, as she always got gorgeous pics. I almost failed when making the crumble. Note to self 9an to you, of course), when rubbing the dry ingredients with butter to make the crumble, make sure you rub it gently so it doesn't turn out to be a dough.

Ingredients:

For the filling

• 450 g apples (peeled, cored, cut into dices)
• 50 g brown sugar
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 pinch of ground cinnamon

For the crumble

• 300 g flour
• 175 g brown sugar
• 200 g unsalted butter
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar (additional)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C
2. Place the flour and sugar in a large bowl and mix well. Taking a few cubes of butter a time, rub into the dry mixture. Keep rubbing until the mixture resembles some kind of breadcrumbs.
3. Place apples in a large bowl and sprinkle over the sugar, flour, and ground cinnamon. Stir well, being careful not to break the apple.
4. Butter an ovenproof dish. Spoon the apple mixture into the bottom, and then sprinkle the crumble on top.
5. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the crumble is browned and the fruit mixture is bubbling.
6. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

lemon orange cake with cheese cream.

July 31th, 2011.

I've got some cheese cream frosting leftovers, so i decided to get a bit creative by making a lemon orange cake. Too lazy to search for new recipe, i'm using my lemon cupcake recipe and add a little bit this and that :D I promise next time i'll make lemon cake using the proper recipe. But hey, everybody in the house likes the cake. So,.. yeay!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/3 plain flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 5 tbsp orange juice
  
• 1/2 cup lemon zest
• 1/3 cup full cream milk

For the filling:

• 2 tbsp orange preserves
• 2 tsp lemon juice

For the frosting:

• 5 tbsp cream cheese
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 tbsp Betty Crocker's Rich & Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting (too add more flavour)

After the cake is baked for about 25 minutes in the oven, cool it on the cooling rack for 30 minutes or more. Cut the cake in half with serrated knife and then spread the orange preserve that has been mixed with 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and a pinch of lemon zests. Assemble the cake so the lemon orange preserves is in the middle. Decorate the top side of the cake with cream cheese frosting. Serve it on a Sunday afternoon, accompanied by tea or milk, and of course... a good laugh with friends :) Happy Sunday!

red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing.

July 23rd, 2011.

This batch is the second attempt i decided to try, bcause the last time i made this recipe, it was quite awful (as you can see it here). I'll write the recipe for you again. Oh wait, actually i don't remember where i got this recipe from. But the result is a bunch of delicious, moist, red velvet cupcakes. An of course, one is never enough :)

What you need:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 salt
• 1 1/4 cup oil
• 1 cup buttermilk (can be substituted with sour cream or plain yogurt)
  
• 2 tbsp red coloring
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Icing:

• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 cup icing sugar
  

Directions:

1. In a mixer bowl, combine oil, buttermilk, and eggs
2. Mix in vinegar, red coloring, and vanilla extract. Beat at low speed until mixed well.
3. Add salt, flour, baking soda, sugar and cocoa in another bowl.
4. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes in the pre-heated oven (at 170 degrees C)
   

lemon cupcakes.

July 18th, 2011.

Still ecstatic about last Saturday's cooking playdate, this week is all about lemon. Yesterday i bought so many lemons and made Kyra's lemon mint drink for my parents, to accompany them enjoy the afternoon rain. And so i made another attempt in making cupcakes, this time i'm making lemon cupcakes. And you have to be proud of me, take a bow, or clap your hands for me, because i've finally succeeded in making cheese cream frosting :D Turns out it's all about the brand. I'm using President butter for the frosting, so it taste more delish.

You will need:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/3 plain flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup lemon zest
• 1/2 cup lemon juice (or juice of 1 lemon)

For the frosting:

• 7 tbsp cream cheese
• 1/2 stick butter
• lemon juice
• yellow food coloring
  

saturday afternoon cooking playdate.

July 14th, 2011.

After loads of rescheduling, me and Kyra have finally set the date for a Saturday afternoon cooking playdate. Such a good combination because she lovesto eat everything healthy, and i love everything fattening and sweet. LOL. She cooks healthy food, and i cook sugary dessert, we collaborate to produce our Saturday night menu for the dinner with our other friend Agie, and Kyra's sister and niece. More pics and recipe soon.

Here's the menu:

• Entree : Salad with mint leaves and deviled eggs (made by me)
• Main : Chicken breast with sweet potato, asparagus, and white sauce (by Kyra)
• Dessert: Lemon Pudding with lemon zests (by me)
• Drinks : Lemon mint drink (by Kyra)

the salad.
main course.
lemon pudding for dessert.

vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting.

July 10th, 2011.

Today, me and my family will be having lunch at Grandma's. Never stop practicing, i'm making vanilla, coffee, and green tea flavored cupcakes. Here are the vanilla cupcakes. Happy Sunday :)

green tea cupcakes.

July 6th, 2011.

Another batch of cupcakes. This time i'm using green tea powder to the cupcake batter and to the buttercream frosting. To make green tea buttercream frosting, basically it's the same thing when you are making the coffee flavour, vanilla flavour, chocolate flavour, etc. Here's what you need for the frosting:

• 1 cup of confectioners sugar
• 1 stick of butter
• 1-2 tsp green tea powder
• yellow and blue food coloring
  

red velvet cupcakes (without cream cheese icing)

July 4th is my father's birthday. He loves my cupcakes, so i made him red velvet cupcakes from Laura Vitale. I failed again in making the cheese cream frosting, so i drizzled them with sugar icing instead. I think this recipe produces a super moist red velvet cupcakes, i think they are too moist. But still they taste good. Have a bite :) Oh,.. and Happy Birthday, Dad! Love u.