It's all about Cakes!

I love to bake, my favorites are always the choux pastries like eclairs or profiteroles. Cakes are something that I am really not good at, the cakes that I baked are either out of shape or still gooey in the center or its blackened at the top, I never had any luck with cakes... With a box of fresh strawberries from the Los Angeles. I couldn't help but want to overcome my bad streak with cakes, hopefully will the help of my boyfriend and boy, was I surprised. The cakes turned out quite well, was it me or was it him? But he really made the difference, there was someone to help me clean up the major mess I made! I can't describe how much I hate washing all the stuff I used, washing just simply dampens my spirit to bake or cook, so I am soooo lucky to have someone who is all right with the detergent and bubbles *giggles*.

Tarty-Tart

this is my first... first time baking a tart, i was a little worried but very excited as i love tarts especially strawberry tarts! i remember when i was a small little girl, my 'little' aunt, no, i don't mean physically little but we called her that as she was the youngest aunt we had, it's a direct translation to english on how we address her in teo-chew, she loves buying me tarts, especially the strawberry and fruit tarts from deli-france and i never get tired of them, so it's a challenge to bake something i enjoy, i wouldn't want to leave any bad memories with my beloved tarts =)

well, i have to say it turn out quite decent, though the tart crust was not as soft as i would like to be, but it was good on the first attempt. i brought the tarts to my brother's place and totally forgotten about the delicious cream which i did spent quite some time on until i was on my way in a cab... so i had to make do with another cream that i whipped up at their place, it was okay but not as good i have to say.

i was glad that they enjoyed the tarts although the 'tempura-frying' part of the evening was like a war-zone, trying to shield ourselves with the saucepan cover from all the splattering oil, i was the one and only wounded soldier, with 2-cm long burn scar smacked right in the middle of my wrist, i wish it would go away soon, i hate scars...

till the next 'bake-me-a-tart' day, i am gonna try to bake something new almost everyday!

berry crumble

after sooo many depressing posts, it was time for some perking up =)

since my brother and sis-in-law is here, i thought of a delicious dessert that was and easy to make, BERRY CRUMBLE!

crumble recipe:

100g flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

50g cold butter, cut into cubes

3 tbsp demerara sugar

1. combine cold butter, baking powder and flour, rubbing the cold butter into the flour using only the top part of your fingers.

2. mix in the sugar and we have the crumble.

this crumble can be stored in your freezer for ages and used immediately whenever you need it.

for my berry crumble, i used blackberries, blueberries and strawberries that was randomly cut, mix in around a teaspoon of corn flour (depends on how much berries you are using) to thicken the mixture when it is being baked, a couple teaspoon of vanilla sugar, for me, i love to sprinkle some cinnamon powder on the mix before i cover the berries with the crumble toppings. Bake at 190 degree celsius for around half an hour or when you see the crumble top turning golden brown.

Serve it with some fresh cream or a scoop of vanilla ice-cream when it is piping hot. The coldness of the ice-cream soften the hotness of the berry crumble, it was sooo juicy, all the flavors of the berries fills your mouth, i am definitely making another one now! of course, with double scoops of vanilla ice-cream!

PAVLOVA

Pavlova is a meringue dessert named after a Russian ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova. It is a cake of meringue with a crispy crust and soft, light inner. The photo above shows a chocolate pavlova with cream and strawberries that I have baked today. It is awfully simple to make yet delicious and of course... sinful like all desserts.

All you need are egg whites beaten to silky peaks, add in the sugar by spoonfuls and beaten till white soft peaks appear. This is followed by adding sifted cocoa powder to prevent lumps, a little vinegar and chocolate shaves. I use chocolate chips, saves me the trouble of chopping up the chocolate block. Bake the mixture, it is fine to see cracks, it is supposed to appear this way as the center of the mixture has sunken in. Removing it from the oven, you should be able to see the gooey mixture among the cracks. The crust is awfully crispy yet the inner is soft and chewy, the chocolate shaves melts in your mouth with every bite. Wait for the pavlova to cool before piling the cream on it, add any kind of fruits that you love.

Personally, I feel summer fruits goes the best with it especially strawberries or raspberries, the tinge of sourness with the cool cream match perfectly with the bittersweet pavlova.

C.H.O.C.O.L.A.T.E

Chocolate cake... delicious, warm and moist chocolate cake. I woke up from my nap and decided to bake something with loads of chocolate in it. Definitely too lazy to head out for any ingredients since I just returned this morning and have to head out again tomorrow night. Decided on a simple chocolate cake, something like 'Gateau au Chocolat', nothing fancy but it will do its job as a dessert. I am quite sure my sis-in-law and bro will enjoy that.

It's really simple, to get it going, I melted butter with dark chocolate using the bain-marie technique. Mix the eggs, egg yolk, sugar and vanilla extract. What I like about this cake - it contains minimal flour and sugar, you get most of the sweetness from the dark chocolate itself. Fold in the smooth chocolate mixture and flour into the eggy mix and it's ready for the oven.

I baked two mini ones with a piece of additional chocolate in it, and two small ones for my sis-in-law and bro. Well, I can't help but finish the two mini ones before dinner.

Finished the one above in less than ten minutes and I had to stop the urge of reaching out for the rest...

Well, my bro likes it with loads of ice cream, that explains the start of the bump at his waist, wonder when will it become full-blown.. *giggles*. Sis-in-law likes it the way it is, next time, she have to try it warm, just out of the oven!