Tira-Miss-YOU

Testing ... Testing 1 ... 2 ... 3 ...

July is here ... like finally ... hee hee ... planned with some fwens at work to potluck during lunch ... We decided on Italian theme lunch. 

I've borrowed some books from the library for us to get motivated hee hee ...

So before I do I bring to work ... I test at home first ...

Preparation time:

20mins

Cooking time:

5mins + 6hrs refrigeration 

Serve 6

Hint: A little care needed.

4 egg yolks

1/3 cup (64g) caster sugar

1/4 cup milk

250g mascarpone

250g packet savoiardi or sponge fingers

1 1/2 cups cold coffee

1tbsp cocoa

1. Beat egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl until light and creamy.  Add milk and beat until combined.
2. Place bowl over a pan of simmering water.  Stir over heat until thickened; allow to cool.
3. Add mascarpone to mixture; stir until combined.  Beat egg whites until soft peaks form; fold into mixture.
4. Dip savoiardi biscuits quickly into coffee - they should be moist but not soggy.  Place a quarter of the biscuits over base of a 1.5L serving dish or a paper-lined loaf pan.  Spread with one-third of the mascarpone mixture.  Repeat layering with remaining biscuits and mascarpone.
5. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.  Sift cocoa over top to serve.

Man Muffin

Is this muffin man enough?

Aside from cheering myself up ... I would like to bake for my dear boss a cake ... not just any creamy ... sweet ... elegant cake ... nope ... not that kind of cake ... i wan to make him a 'man' cake ... no cream ... no chocolate ... and definitely no cutesy mutesy ... hee hee ... since i borrowed some recipe books from the library ... i decided on the ...... *drumroll* ... Pizza Muffin!!!

Why Pizza? ... cos there pepperonis in it ... nice strong character for my manly cake ... hee hee ... =D

Pizza Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

• Preheat oven to 190C
• Muffin tin, greased

375ml chopped pepperoni sausage
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped (i omit)
1 can (284ml) sliced mushrooms
1 onion, finely chopped
300ml shredded cheese (such as Monterey Jack) i use mozzarella + cheddar squares
125ml pizza sauce
10ml garlic powder
5 eggs
50ml vegetable oil
300ml all-purpose flour
15ml baking power

In a large bowl, combine pepperoni, green pepper, mushrooms, onion, cheese, pizza sauce and garlic powder.
In another bowl, beat eggs,. Blend in oil, then flour and baking power. Beat until smooth. Stir in the pepperoni mixture and mix until well blended.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin. Bake in preheated oven from 20 to 25 mins or until lightly browned.

ps: I did not use all-purpose flour, I used self raising flour ... with self raising you can omit the baking power.

Recipe taken from: 1500 Best Bars, Cookies, Muffins, Cakes & More - Esther Brody

Almost Famous Cookies

Ingredients
250g salted butter,softened (i used SCS)
200g light brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt 
1/2 tsp coffee oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup oats,processed to bits in a chopper (i put nestum instead)
1/4 cup ground almonds (i omit this)
1/2 cup of your favourite nuts,chopped finely (optional)(i put in chopped hazelnut)
1 pack of Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chips OR chocolate chunks 
300g self-raising flour 

Method
This is the most important step,at least 2 hours before,or the night before,beat the egg with the vanilla and the coffee oil to infuse or you can do this the night before,refrigerate it then bring it to room temperature before baking.

Preheat oven to 160C.

To the softened butter,beat in the sugar and the salt to combine. Beat in the egg and stir in the processed oats,ground almonds,optional chopped nuts and the chocolate chunks. Sift the flour and fold it in,this dough will not be too stiff but not too wet either.

For small cookies,place half-tsp of the dough,spaced slightly apart on the cookie sheet and bake for 9 to 10 minutes.

For large cookies, place rounded tbsp of the dough spaced apart on the cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 22 minutes.

Cool completely and let it sit overnight in an airtight container,this is for the flavour and fragrance to develop further.

Baking is therapeutic

It's so good to know someone special, who shares,,
My secrets, my laughter, my dreams and my cares,,
Someone through good times and bad, when there's tears,,
It's so good to know you (Helen), my friend through the years,

~ Jessica Browne

I've decided to try Kak Rima's Chocolate Bottom Banana Square cos the person who's going to receive it likes banana and chocolate. What a good combo! I was abit stressed up so I decided to take a nap before I start baking. 

I read the recipe a couple of times. Prepare all the ingredients before hand and take my time, look at the recipe point by point ... hee hee !!! ... it turned out ok and I keep calmed through out ... Steady pom pee pee...

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter - 113g
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 3 medium bananas)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt - I used 1 tsp since i used unsalted butter
1/4 cup baking cocoa 
1 cup chocolate chips 


Method
1. In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg, vanilla, and bananas, beating thoroughly.
2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to creamed mixture and mix well.
3. Divide batter in half. Add the cocoa to one portion of the batter. Spread that portion in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13-inch (I used 9x9) baking dish. Spoon remaining batter on top, swirling gently with butter knife if desired, and sprinkle with chocolate chips.
4. Bake at 170C for 30 minutes or until batter tests done with a toothpick or fork. Cool and cut into 24 squares

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Since I was on duty over the weekend, I decided to take leave today. I browsed through Red Velvet Cuppies online ... stumble upon joyofbaking.com. Looks quite simple so I look at the video too.  Oklar doable hee hee ... so this morning .... er i mean afternoon i when to Phoon Huat  @ Aljunied to get my ingredients ... 

The outcome ... YAHHOOOOOOO!!!!! success!! =D

Red Velvet Cupcakes:

1 1/4 cups (125 grams) sifted cakeflour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoons (10 grams) regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder (I used hershey cocoa)

1/4 cup (57 grams) unsaltedbutter, at room temperature

3/4 cups (150 grams) granulated whitesugar

1 largeegg

1/2 teaspoon purevanillaextract

1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk

1 tablespoon liquid red food coloring

1/2 teaspoon white distilled vinegar (I used apple cider tips from DC cupcakes)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

 Red Velvet Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and line 12 muffin tins with paper cupcake liners.
In a large bowlsifttogether the flour, salt, and cocoa powder.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the egg and beat until incorporated. Scrape downthe sides of the bowl.Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter. 

Working quickly, divide the batter evenly among the 12  muffin cups and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 18 -23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.

Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes and them remove from pan. Let cool completely before frosting. Either spread the frosting with a knife or offset spatula, or use a large 1M Wilton open star decorating tip to pipe the frosting.

 Cream Cheese Frosting:

4 ounces (113 grams) cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup (30 grams) confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted

1/3 cup (80 ml) cold heavy whipping cream(double cream) (35-40% butterfat)

Cream Cheese Frosting:In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat until smooth. Using the whisk attachment, gradually add the heavy cream and whip until the frosting is thick enough to pipe. Add more sugar or cream as needed to get the right consistency.