a piece of peace

Photo

Sat, 18 May 2013 23:30:34 -0400

The minimalist storefront of Plain Vanilla Bakery at1D Yong Siak...

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:49:24 -0400

The minimalist storefront of Plain Vanilla Bakery at1D Yong Siak Street says “I’ve nothing fancy to offer, just simple, good cupcakes”. This place has the best salted caramel frosting I’ve tasted so far!

Sometimes I bake just to feel productive.

Sun, 05 May 2013 04:53:00 -0400

Sometimes I bake just to feel productive.

Caramel Macarons

Wed, 01 May 2013 05:22:50 -0400

Caramel Macarons

Savour 2013 Highlights!

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 08:08:00 -0400

Butter croissants and Kouign Amann from Tiong Bahru Bakery I was sold on truffle oil after trying...

Happy birthday Mum and Aunty Betty! Strawberry shortcake recipe...

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 03:34:00 -0400

Happy birthday Mum and Aunty Betty! Strawberry shortcake recipe from YouTube.

Cosy little place for a hot drink on a rainy Saturday afternoon

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 08:40:00 -0400

Cosy little place for a hot drink on a rainy Saturday afternoon

Homemade Bagels Recipe from Cooking Light 2 cups warm water...

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 04:14:00 -0400

Homemade Bagels
Recipe from Cooking Light

2 cups warm water (100° to 110°)
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
28.5 ounces bread flour, divided (about 6 1/2 cups)
1 tablespoon barley malt syrup
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Cooking spray
12 cups water
3/4 cup sugar

1. Combine 2 cups warm water and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with dough hook; let stand 5 minutes or until bubbles form on the surface. Weigh or lightly spoon 28.13 ounces flour (about 6 1/4 cups) into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add flour, syrup, and salt to yeast mixture. Mix dough at low speed 6 minutes. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead 2 minutes or until smooth and elastic; add enough of remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 30 minutes.

2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 12 equal portions. Working with one portion at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), shape each portion into a ball. Make a hole in the center of each ball using your index finger. Using fingers of both hands, gently pull dough away from center to make a 1 1/2-inch hole. Place bagels on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat bagels with cooking spray; cover with plastic wrap. Let rise 10 minutes (bagels will rise only slightly).

3. Preheat oven to 450°.

4. Combine 12 cups water and 3/4 cup sugar in a Dutch oven, and bring to a boil. Gently lower 3 bagels into pan. Cook for 30 seconds. Transfer the bagels to a wire rack lightly coated with cooking spray. Repeat the procedure with remaining bagels, working in batches of 3. Divide the bagels between two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 450° for 7 minutes. Rotate pans, and bake for 7 minutes or until golden. Cool on wire racks.

Sickeningly sweet

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 06:46:43 -0500

Sickeningly sweet

CNY Almond Cookies

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 10:42:00 -0500

Chinese New Year is always associated with visiting parents’ friends, and snacking on CNY...

Apple Strudel Apple Filling 2 apples, peeled and diced 15g...

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 21:23:00 -0500

Apple Strudel

Apple Filling

2 apples, peeled and diced
15g butter
45g sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
25g raisins
juice and zest from 1/4 lemon
1 tsp cornflour

1. Melt butter in saucepan, stir in apples and cook thoroughly, abt 10 min. Stir in sugar and cook till melted. Add in raisins and cinnamon.

2. Mix cornflour, lemon juice and zest in small bowl. Add to cooked apples and allow sauce to thicken and cool. Chill before using.

Pastry Cream

1 1/4c whole milk
3 egg yolks
1/4c sugar
1/8c flour
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract/ 1 vanilla pod

1. Warm the milk in saucepan till just hot enough to steam. If using vanilla bean, scrape pod and add to milk.

2. Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, flour, and cornstarch until mixture is completely smooth. Temper into hot milk mixture.

3. Continue cooking till thick, stirring constantly. If using vanilla extract, add here. Strain and chill before using.

Assembling

Puff pastry sheets
Apple filling
Pastry cream
150ml whipped cream, whipped
Melted butter
2tbsp sugar + 1 tsp cinnamon powder, mixed

1. Cut puff pastry into long strips of equal width. Brush top side with melted butter and sprinkle sugar and cinnamon mixture on top. Bake at 200’C till puffed up and golden brown. Leave to cool.

2. To assemble, pipe or spread pastry cream over one piece of baked puff pastry. Top with apple filling and pipe on layer of whipped cream. Cover with second sheet of baked puff pastry. Repeat with the remaining puff pastry sheets, or add on to make triple layer strudel.

Hung out with a couple of old friends over tapas at Sabio Tapas...

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 11:06:00 -0500

Hung out with a couple of old friends over tapas at Sabio Tapas Bar & Restaurant this evening (@ 5 Duxton Hill). The ambiance is pretty relaxed, better for small groups or pairs cus you can sit at the bar. There’s quite a large selection of tapas items, would recommend the sea scallops in white wine sauce as well as the cod fish with red peppers. Sangria was quite disappointing as it tasted rather watered down, without any strong wine or fruit flavor. Quite a pricey place too, the bill came up to $130 for 6 tapas dishes and 2 drinks. Would recommend Sabio as a place for continuing the dinner conversation, rather than for dinner itself.

Little durian tarts are easy to make and easy to eat! Much...

Sun, 30 Dec 2012 11:41:00 -0500

Little durian tarts are easy to make and easy to eat! Much better than durian puffs I think. They don’t require as much durian filling but are equally satisfying, and if you make the pastry beforehand, they don’t require too much effort to make!

Step 1: Google Pie Crust Pastry or Sweet Shortcrust Pastry for any respectable recipe with good reviews and bake the tart shells. You’ll need to buy the metal tart casings for this. Also nice to have mini cupcake liners to place the baked shells in cus they’re pretty crumbly and delicate. Step 2: Buy some nice pungent/fragrant durians and remove the pulp from the seeds. If not using immediately you can freeze the durian in the fridge. I defrosted mine in the microwave after 2 weeks and they still tasted good. Mash up the pulp with a fork or blitz it a little bit in a blender or food processor. Step 3: If you are cheapo or don’t have enough durian, whip up some whipping cream and mix it together with the durian pulp. If you have enough durian pulp to fill all your shells then this is optional. Step 4: Fill the durian pulp + whipping cream into a piping bag with a large star tip. Pipe swirls in the cooled tart shells. Step 5: Sprinkle some dried mint on top! Or whatever you like for the garnish. Step 6: Share with all your friends before you eat too many and get a sore throat.

Christmas Pavlova Roll

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 05:30:00 -0500

Christmas Pavlova Roll

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Sat, 22 Dec 2012 10:58:16 -0500

Photo

Sat, 22 Dec 2012 06:01:43 -0500

Photo

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 20:49:00 -0500

Cranberry & Pistachio Biscotti

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 01:40:00 -0500

Cranberry & Pistachio Biscotti

http://inhabitat.com/nyc/photos-woman-bakes-entire-block-of-brooklyn-brownstone-homes-out-of-gingerbread/

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 05:00:57 -0500

http://inhabitat.com/nyc/photos-woman-bakes-entire-block-of-brooklyn-brownstone-homes-out-of-gingerbr...

Pho 99

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 00:24:38 -0500

Pho 99