I had wanted to write this post earlier for Cook Like a Star - Curtis Stone organized by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids. But the desire to rest was more appealing than writing. Nonetheless, as the saying goes "It's better late than never!", so here's my experience making souffle.

See how it puffed up when cooking. I just love that smile' on my souffle. Like all things made with a high percentage of egg whites, it tended to sink after coming out of the oven.

It was also my first time trying out a good quality chocolate. I used Callebaut 70%, and it was so good that I kept popping the chocolate bits into my mouth. The only thing I would modify for the recipe is to increase the quantity of sugar used.

(Modified for 2 person)
To check out the video, click here

Ingredients:
15ml unsalted butter, melted, cooled
25g sugar, plus more for coating the dishes (would increase to 40g next time)
2 egg whites
35g high-quality chocolates (62 to 70% cocoa)
40ml cold water
25g cocoa powder

Method:
Coat the inside of the souffle dish with melted butter. To use upward strokes when brushing as this would help the egg white to rise.

Refrigerate the souffle dish for a few minutes and coat on another layer of melted butter. Immediately, pour some sugar into the dish and shake around to coat the interiors evenly. Set aside.

Melt the chocolate in water bath. Remove from heat, and add in the water and cocoa powder.

Using an electric beater, beat the egg whites till frothy. Add in the sugar and beat till stiff peaks are formed. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate batter, and mix till even. Pour into the souffle dish.

Using a large knife/spatula, push the filling to the side of the dish and level off the filling. Wipe off the excess batter that fell onto the side of the dish. Bake for about 12 minutes.

I just got back from a 2 weeks holiday from Germany. It's full-fledged summer over there, meaning it's as hot as Singapore, except there's no haze. In countries where there's four seasons, I noticed the people are appreciative of sunshine and the warmth it brings - a good reminder for myself not to take clear skies for granted too!

Church Batholomas (Frankfurt)

Most beautiful church I ever saw - Dom Berliner

My fav pic of Berlin Wall - are you able to make sense of the pic?

Sausage!!

Nutcracker

Love the clouds - really look like those seen in Euporean paintings

Rumour has it - guys who rub her right breast would get good  luck with women!

The famous 'Disney' castle - Neuschwantein

Cute traffic men who wore hat - only found in East Berlin

Found this on the breakfast table -  it made me smile!

Beyond the beautiful sights, the trip really opened up my eyes to how Germans lead their life. I drew inspiration, in the hope of developing some of these values and habits they have. In gist, these are the lessons I've learnt from the trip:

- Be Patient
My husband and I were surprised to find that there's no "door close" buttons in the lift. We were told not to hurry, for the door would automatically close after you press the floor level you wanted to go. It was an uncomfortable feeling. I was tempted to keep pressing the button. But after a while, I kind of like the feeling of not rushing, and just allowing the lift door to close on its own.

- Re-defining how I work
 I've always heard how efficient the Germans are. They would start work early, and are allowed to knock off once the had finished their work. A relative of mine was working in Germany for 6 months, and he was given a warning letter for working overtime. That really says much - spending MORE time at work doesn't mean you are being more productive. I believe the Germans take pride in doing their job, well, but never at the expense of one's health or time with the family. I would love to end work on time, and I'm thinking how I can be more productive at work. 

- Joy of reading
I've noticed how the Germans/ Europeans love to read. Many of them would bring along a book to read while commuting on the train. That's a refreshing change from the sights I see on the MRT with most people either using their Ipad or mobile phones. It got me thinking when was the last time I read a book. does travelling books or fashion magazine count? I would love to pick up my books again, to enrich myself.

- Curiosity about own's heritage
I have learnt much about the rich history behind Berlin and Munich through the guided walks. It left me feeling intrigued and I even went to do my own research about King Ludwig II after visiting his famous castle (Neuschwantein). At the same time, it got me thinking how much do I know about my own country and what it has gone through.

I think it's a good idea to combine all I want to do - to read and learn about the stories of Singapore, and to make meaningful sense for self. That would be my new project!

There's been so much raves about the Ogura cake "Xiang Si Dan Gao" that I decided to try it too.

When I told my husband about it, he asked why is it called "Xiang Si", and so I did a little search on how it got its name. Supposedly the texture is so soft and light that you will miss it, and think of wanting to have it again. Sounds like people getting love-sick over.. er hmm a piece of cake.

But I do think it's romantic name, and a great way for couple to profess their love, or that meaning of "I miss you!" to each other.  I did a green tea flavour using the recipe from Min. However, when out from the oven, it tended to sink a bit, and crinkle up. 

See... the height seemed to have sunken. Hmm my egg white was beaten to soft peaks. Could that be the reason why? My baked japanese cheesecake also has this problem too. Can anyone enlighten me what had gone wrong? 

Recipe:
From Min's blog

Part A
Green tea powder (1tbsp mixed with 20ml hot water, set aside to cool before using)
Canola oil - 45g
Milk - 60ml
Salt - 1/4tsp
Egg yolk - 100g
Whole egg - 1
Cake flour - 65g

Part B
Egg white - 200g
Caster sugar - 65g (prefers a sweeter cake, and would increase to 85g)
Cream of tartar - 1/2tsp

For A:
Beat together the egg yolks, whole egg, green tea mixture, oil, milk, and salt till frothy. Add in the cake flour and mix well. Put aside.

For B:
Using an electric beater, beat egg whites till frothy. Add in sugar and cream of tartar. Beat till stiff peaks.

Mix in the beaten egg whites to (A). Pour into a 7 inch square pan, and steam bake in oven at 160C for 60 mins (Peng suggested baking at 180C so that it browns better). Remember to wrap the bottom of the pan with aluminium foil to prevent the water from seeping in.

As I found the cake not sweet enough, I sandwiched it with a layer of sweetened azuki beans.  I recently got a set of bento cutter and decided to play with it too. Voila.. amazing how it helped make the cake so cute. Haha.. this is my way to trick my husband to eat my cake.

Who can resist it now?

It's been a long while since I had a post. I have been wanting to write and to bake... but somehow it was difficult to summon energy for it. 

I began to wonder how I want my life to be - to fill it with work,  or at times allow myself to be idle and dream of cupcakes, cookies and the many things I want to bake in my kitchen.

And it was timely that I came to read this article by Tim Kreider. He talked about people who are afraid of having nothing to do, and therefore they try to fill their time with many things, and making sure they always have SOMETHING to do. These are the people whom you want to invite for lunch, and they would say "I'm busy" or "I'm sorry. I have too much work to do." Tim described this sense of busyness as being being imposed onto the person by themselves. I must admit that article got me a bit uncomfortable, and to question the way I use my time. 

He then went on to talk about the beauty of being idle, and I'll share with you my favourite part:

"The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration." - Tim Kreider

This is but a simple reminder that when one has nothing to do, one may achieve a lot more.

Guess I'm not so bad afterall. I did manage to bake occassionally *gives a guilty face*, and I fulfilled my wish to bake this cute panda bread too.

Learning from my previous experience, which I felt the amount stated by the original recipe for the dough was too little, I decided to fall back on my milk loaf recipe. Hmm... but I encountered the same problem when trying to mix in the colors for my dough. What I got was a marbled colour, and I almost wanted to give up and just go to the Singapore Zoo to get some panda buns instead. 

Fortunately, once baked, the color still looked alright! 

Recipe

Bread dough - from milk loaf recipe

Coloring of the Panda Bread
1 tbsp green tea powder mixed with 2 tsp hot water
31/2 tsp of cocoa powder mixed with 11/2 tsp of hot water

Method
I followed the steps from lilmizlynn

It's been too long since I made bread using a pullman bread tin - thus overcooked the bottom a bit. Notes for self: To place the bread tin on the wire-like rack, instead of the black colored baking tray! 

Though I followed the guide by lilmizlynn, it does take a while to get the proportion right, and to build the shape. I may make the white portion smaller, and the green portion bigger. 

Have fun experimenting with the recipe, and enjoy the results of your hard work - a peering panda face!

New year, new beginnings! There are many things I can look forward to in 2013. I believe it would be good, and so it would be. Haha... That's me and my optimism! But if I were to add on for what I really want out of life, it would be purpose and fulfillment. And in the new year, I also hope to continue staying active - to exercise, and to take better care of self.

But I do have a few indulges. For one, I'm a fan of shepherd's pie. Think cheese, potatoes and more cheese! It's a great comfort food and this is a fantastic recipe shared by my friend. Most are made using minced beef, but mine is made using minced pork and chicken.

Preparing the Meat Sauce:
Ingredients
1kg of minced pork
200g of minced chicken
2 yellow onions, diced
1 bottle of tomato sauce
White cooking wine

Methods
Marinate the meat with herbs (i like rosemary), pepper, light soy sauce, sesame oil and cornstarch. Leave it in the fridge for at least 2 hours for the flavors to develop.

When ready to cook, heat up a large pan with oil. Cook the diced onions till it's softened (ie. translucent-looking). Add in the minced chicken and pork. Keep stirring till it's cooked.

Pour in the bottle of tomato sauce, followed by some water. Make sure there's enough liquid (like the picture below). At this point, you can add in more herbs if you like. Lastly, add in some white cooking wine. This helps to impart a nice subtle flavor.  Cook for a few minutes to let the alcohol evaporate. Turn off the fire and you should have a nice meat sauce now!

Preparing the Mashed Potatoes:
Ingredients
8 russet potatoes 
50g salted butter, melted
100g cooking cream, heated up

I happened to have cream on hand, thus decided to use this instead of milk. One can also play around with flavors and make it creamy with the addition of sour cream / mayonnaise.

Methods
Boil the potatoes with skin on till it's cooked and very soft.
Peel the skin off and mash the potatoes up.
Add in the melted butter and cream, and stir till it's well combined with the potatoes. For a stronger taste, you can add in more salt, black pepper and herbs (i add oregano) to the mixture.

Layering the Food:
In a large oven-proof dish, place the food in the following order:
- Mashed potatoes, Cheese, Meat sauce, Mashed potatoes, Cheese

I use a mix of mozzarella cheese and red cheddar for the middle layer.

As for the mashed potatoes, I like to spread it out thinly... Why? So that I can put in more meat sauce hee...

Finally, top off with mozarella cheese.

Bake in pre-heated oven at 200C for 20 mins till the sides are browned.

In all, the above portion can fill two rectangular baking dish. That's really a lot, which I served over 2 different Christmas parties. Though it requires a bit of effort to prepare, it's so yummy I'll probably do it again in smaller quantity for my family's consumption =)