Basic Chocolate Sponge 巧克力海绵蛋糕

Baking sponge cake is my nemesis. More often than not, I would get a cracked top or a shrunken middle. I always marveled at those who could get that perfect crease-free puffed up top. No matter how hard I tried, somehow the recipe would fail me. Oh well, maybe I failed the recipe. After rounds of trying, I have finally found something that worked for me. To cut the story short, I managed to come out with a decent chocolate sponge this time and I am utterly ecstatic about it.

Pandan Layer Cake 香兰层蛋糕

UPDATE: 5/9/2015
Did another cake today for own consumption. This time I am able to show you the full shape of the cake. As this cake is done to satisfy my cravings, I just coat the cake with desiccated coconut for added flavour, no artsy farty decoration.

Do you have that feeling of bliss when you tried out a recipe and it came out beyond your expectations? This is one of it. This recipe is truly good.

Initially what was supposed to be an ordinary baking day soon evolved into a Mother's Day surprise. A perfect idea really. The only thing is I did not get to surprise her. The aroma of the baking pandan chiffon that engulfed the whole kitchen was so tempting that she actually pulled off bits of the cake top to nibble right after it was baked...without my knowledge. So, what was supposed to be her surprise became mine! Since this cake was for my mother, I have taylor-made it to her requirements. No creams because she finds it yucky. Less oil because she is trying to control her weight. She likes her cakes plain like the normal chiffon. This cake fits it all.

My First Birthday Teddy Bear Cake 泰迪熊蛋糕

It all started with my son. He loves teddy bear. Somebody suggested that I buy him a teddy bear cake to celebrate his coming second birthday. My initial response was, "Great idea!". But something inside me was dying to do something different than just paying for a cake. Call it a mother's guilt or pure stupidity. Somehow just paying for a cake is not good enough. It must be one of a kind. Then this crazy idea of making my own cake began to form subtlely in my mind, like an irritating fly that wouldn't go away. The next few days was madness as the lunatic in me researched and purchased almost everything needed to make a mere cake.

Asian-Inspired Canape

Hey, it is the festive season. Why not serve up something different to your party guests? In this second instalment, I am introducing something different. Who would have imagined canape could be Asian? Well, make it the talk of your guests with these Asian inspired recipes! The fact is I got inspiration from the nearby kuih (malay dessert) stall! Isn't it charming?

Easy Party Canapes

I love everything small and dainty. It is no wonder that I adore canapes. Remember what they said about good things coming in small packages? This is exactly that. These bite-sized goodies are absolutely pleasing to the eyes and simply delicious.

My basic requirements for easy party canape are simple. Use ingredients that are easily available with minimal cooking. It also has to be time-saving with minimal wastage (very important to me). I am not a fan of skewering multiple components. Imagine you are organising a party and have million and one things to take care of. You do not want to spend hours poking at your food. I am also not a fan of cutting odd shapes that leaves two third of the ingredients to the trash.

Winter Solstice Festival 冬至

As a Christian, Christmas is huge. Christmas is where we celebrate the birth of our beloved Jesus Christ, our Lord God and our Saviour. Even in a muslim country like Malaysia, Christmas is celebrated with much splendour and merryment amongst the non-muslims on every 25th of the year. Unbeknownst to many, there is another day of celebration, a few days prior, that is also of much importance to the Chinese....

Asian Style Roast Chicken for Christmas?

I have never roasted a whole chicken before. Since, it is almost Christmas, I thought it would be good to practice roasting a chicken. I know, I know, traditionally a turkey is used. But turkey is just too huge for our small family of non-turkey eating members. Besides, Turkey Inn  does not come cheap in this part of the world. So, practicality outbeats tradition. Chicken is god given. It is so much easier to prepare, especially in its small size.


Now, let's just talk about my roast chicken. It is not your usual western roast chicken with simple ingredients like salt, pepper and thyme. Somehow, living in this part of the world, everything gets more complicated, even the marinade. If you look at the marinade, its primarily ingredients are easily obtainable here. Yes, quite a few things are added I'd admit, but the result is awesome! You can actually smell the roasting chicken half a mile away (metaphorically saying of course!). But it does smell strongly good, that I guarantee. Aesthetically, I feel it is still lacking but I'll let you be the judge.

Crunchy and Light Butter Cookies

Christmas is around the corner. I was thinking of baking some cookies as gifts for my son's playmates in church. So I randomly googled for an original Danish butter cookies recipe. I stumbled upon this site with lengthy explanation on how to make this simple five-ingredient cookie, together with the dos and don'ts meticulously listed. And I told myself, this is it. How else would a normal person knows so much about just butter cookies?

Birthday cake with meaning - Longevity Bao (sau bao) 寿桃包

My mother's birthday is coming. This is a first year we are giving her a surprise party. And I am hoping to surprise her with some longevity baos. Longevity bun or bao is an old chinese tradition that symbolises long life. It is normally presented to elders on their birthday just as a cake is presented on our birthdays. As my mom does not really fancy cakes, making this bao for her would be a great idea.