Old Cucumber Soup 老黄瓜汤

I am introducing a simple soup today. Every Chinese home cook, especially those from the older generation, knows how to cook a good pot of soup. But I am going ahead anyway as I feel this culture of soup cooking should be preserved. Please excuse me if you find this post too mundane for your palate. I was hoping perhaps, just perhaps, I might be able to impart something to those who are in the dark about boiling a good bowl of soup.

Mango Tartlet 芒果挞

These dainty little tartlets look so pretty and cute I almost don't want to eat it. But food is food. It is supposed to go into your stomach and I am happy to say that these little tarts were polished off in no time, right after the shoot.

Mango is still in season here and I took this opportunity to use mango in every recipe that I could think of. You do not have to buy very expensive mangoes for this recipe. All you need are mangoes that tasted sweet sourish and has strong mango smell. Of course, if you want to splurge, by all means do so.

Cassava Cake/ Getuk Ubi 木薯糕

UPDATE: 13/7/2017

Made this Getuk Ubi (some call it getuk-getuk) again because I just harvested a lot of cassava from my garden. This time, I made a whole tray of it. Recipe has been updated as I find the previous recipe a bit soft. This recipe turned out to be of my liking. If you notice, the cassava used here is of another species and is yellow in colour making the cake looked all the more beautiful. Loving the darker hues of both top and bottom.

Easy Cream Puffs 卡士达泡芙

Not my best work but I will use it in situ. It is not bad per se. The choux pastry or pâte à choux did not fail me. It rose up perfectly, leaving a large cavity, which is a pre-requisite for all good choux pastries. The problem is with my piping. It was hideous. I unashamely blame it on my lack of experience in this area. After all but one piped puffs, I finally figured out what was wrong. Whilst everybody fill the cream from within, I smartly filled mine from outside inching in. Therefore, it does not have that straight regal look but a sloppy cream splatter. Well, I rectified that with my last piece. Isn't it a beauty?

Easy Pastry Cream/Crème Pâtissière 卡士达奶油

This classic French recipe is so versatile. You could use it in about anything that requires cream such as cream puffs, eclairs, base for tarts and danishes. It is basically just a custard, rather easy to whip up, but tasted heavenly. In fact, if you are venturing into pastry arts, a good pastry cream recipe in hands is essential.

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.

Coconut Tartlets 椰挞

If you ask me to choose between an egg tart or a coconut tart, I would most probably choose the later. Maybe it is the texture but I do find coconut tartlets to have more bite and chew to it. And when it is cooked correctly, the smell of the baked coconut plus the sweetened taste of the filling will keep me satiate for a very long time. Simply put, eating a coconut tart would make me a very happy woman.