Addiction

I don't think my dad has been too pleased with my new addiction to buying gorgeous bundt moulds. But, can you really bear to put a halt to this? When normalcy (banana chocolate chip teacake) gets an instant face-lift and comes out looking completely new and refreshed, it can be pretty hard.

So I say cool stuff, and bring on more moulds pretty please!

Onehelluvacake

So, I'm pretty sure that it's no secret that I wasn't the best student back in school. When everyone had their noses buried in books, camping in the infamous school library, I was at home looking at books.

Yes, looking, not reading. When friends were turning to Amazon as a last resort for finding that all critical text that some other desperate soul had on a permanent loan from the library, my searches inadvertently veered off-course to the land of baking books.

My mum definitely freaked out when I excitedly showed-off my random new found baking books via skype two weeks before finals.

But, something good did come out of all my random purchases. Flipping through the book earlier this morning left me convinced that a chocolate merlot cake would be just the thing I needed to complete the weekend.

And let me share with you the best kept secret ever:
Chocolate+Merlot = Unadulterated Bliss.

'Nuff Said. I'm going to have another slice.

Homecoming

Sometimes, we get so caught up with getting by day to day that we forget. We forget the dreams we once used to have, forget the love and passion that bred creativity and experimentation. And more importantly, we forget that sometimes, it is this very dream that completes you, that gives you the very energy you need to get by.

I have neglected my buttersugarflour for an inexcusable length of time. For some strange reason, perhaps due the successive triumph of my weekend lazybones, it didn't feel like it was that big a deal. But I guess withdrawal symptoms surface at different points with different people- some go into cold turkey right away and some succeed for a while before really hitting you hard. I was, of course, the latter.

It finally hit me, after spending two hours being surrounded by terribly gorgeous cake moulds, that really, I've truly missed my long lost friends. And that really, placing me in the middle of cake mould land is as detrimental as placing me in a shop filled with gorgeous prêt-à-porter! Needless to say, I couldn't have gone home empty handed could I?

Buidling the cake's body was itself such an indulgence! Liquid, dry ingredients, liquid. Adding complexity with every humble ingredient, folding everything till it became one cohesive velvety smooth layer and finally tumbling the contents into the gorgeous moulds. Everything just seemed so in sync and exactly how it should have been.

I guess we all have bad days (or weeks). Perhaps then, the only way to get yourself out of a rut and start embracing whatever life has to offer- good or bad, is to go back to what truly makes you happy.

Everything will fall into place. Somehow.

Shots to start the day.

I know, I know, this is perhaps the one thousandth time I'm talking about Ann Siang. But let's face it, if there's any place to get your latte on a Sunday morning, this is the best place to be.

It is particularly awesome on weekends, with the slow buzz that makes the lazy Sunday morning perfect. What I love about it really, is that old guildhalls (we actually have a Dried Goods Guildhall!) complete with the low rumble of mahjong tiles emanating behind closed shutters and refurnished shophouses stocked with merchandise carefully sourced from around the world can sit side by side and still look perfectly in sync.

A little bit of old magic never fails to make my day (:

♥ to the best friend who has to constantly put up with my crazy random exploration habits.

Surprise ♥

Look who decided that I needed a smile to start my morning?

Straws and My Tart Craze

The one thing I missed out 3 years in ol'London was strawberry picking. The season of straws always coincided with the dreaded examinations or post-exams when exploring Europe was more in vogue. Last year was no exception, with my examinations stretching way longer than everyone.

So while the flatmate and his visiting brother happily trooped out to pick/eat/both straws, I was stuck at home with my nose plastered to my books in a desperate bid to reverse my fate. T'was a real bummer to say the least, but of course, the said flatmate did come back with a huge box of straws for us and made a really yummy traditional Eton Mess out of his yummy picks.

With my last tart crust turning out into a joke (see mango tart post), I was quite adament on making a successful tart - both process and end product. And yay! finally managed to beat the heat (with flour) and rolled out my tart crust the way it should have been done (: Chef G would've been proud.

And then I found out that my sis finished the milk. Imagine my horror! To have a tart shell and gorgeous red straws lying around and NO milk to make the pastry cream. I think I must make an awful chef- no maison en plus whatsoever and always finding out that I'm lacking some ingredient or another at the very last minute. But, I decided to substitute it with whipping cream instead. Not as smooth as desired, but still, a fuller bodied (in terms of fat percentage) denser creme patissier made its debut.

Don't straws just make you want to smile?

Sunday Brunch Out

Picnic plans on Saturday had to be shelved last minute due to certain last minute responses to the exigencies of a biannual event. But, when you've been looking forward to it for the past two weeks, shelving plans can be a real let-down. Sooo, thanks to my wonderful, amazing, darling girls, we re-arranged it for Sunday instead!

Yes, we had none of the whole chicken on foccacia jazz that was planned, and really, all that we got were kinda junk food. But in between stuffing our face with kettle chips, trading latest on-goings and hiding under umbrellas (them, not me), we had a whale of a time.

No elaborate planning needed, just great company and great weather.

That's how Sundays are meant to be.

Insanity.

The rate at which the weeks have been flying by really freaks me out. Every week, I feel like I'm split into a million, billion pieces dealing with ongoing/pending issues and only on Fridays do I gain some semblance of sanity. But I guess that's probably how everyone feels at work and we all have our own ways to get it out of our system.

The God of Alchies wasn't on my side last night, and some other method was definitely much needed for me to keep that semblance of sanity for the weekend. So, when I saw the fresh ripen mangoes at the Wet Market this morning, I decided that I was going to bake a Mango Tart.

I realised, a little too late (and after I've made my Pate Sucree) that we had no rice at home. Uncooked rice (in case you think I've gone mad), is the poor man's alternative to the posher baking beans that are available in any baking specialty stores. They help in the process of blind baking to keep the tart shell looking the way they should. But of course, there is always a poorer man's alternative out there and I had to resort to repeated docking of the pastry whilst the tart was baking in the oven to prevent air bubbles. Crisis resolved!

Thank goodness my creme patisserie came out looking the way it should, providing my mangos with a nice blanket of creamy goodness.

With insantity kept at bay for the weekend, maybe, just maybe, next week could be a better one.

Come picnic with me (:

You know how sometimes, just sometimes, getting takeaways just doesn't cut it? On those days, the dad, sis and I will drive down to our friendly neighbourhood butchers' to get ourselves a ready roasted chicken. Throw some campbell soup into the pot (mushroom only please), mash up some potato and voila. Easy peasy, no?

But when you start doing this on a weekly basis, things can start to get a little boring. So instead of just attacking the chicken fingers and all, I decided that I wanted my chicken on foccacia AND on a blanket of gouda. And that's what I did! Of course, sans all the lettuce and tomatoes and everything the mom tried to convince me necessary.

The only thing that was missing was a picnic mat, but of course the parents would hear nothing of that sort (only because our garden is really just a patch of grass and of course with the crazy heat we've been experiencing, the mom just goes into a well-rehearsed the-sun-is-terrible mode).

SOooo, I've managed to psych my darling bestfriends into a picnic in a fortnight! Can't wait!

London- the ex lover.

So after months of hard work, non existent weekends and pure exhaustion, alcohol was definitely in order last night. Sure it's temporary relief, but I'll say any relief is better than none.

Our little party of four started talking about the crazy days in London and soon realised that we were sitting on two different sides of the fence. You see, we started personifying London as the lover- the dashing dark and handsome stranger that you'd wish to have flings with over and over again. And of course, Singapore was the dependable archetypal Mr.Right that girls tend to marry and end up with even if the constant yearning for the darker side remains. Because dependable and safe (and boring) is always good, no?

Well, that's how the other girls saw it. But K and I stood on the opposite side of the fence. Sure, London was the lover that taught us so many things, allowed us to breathe freedom, lured us to see the world proper with our own eyes. London was sexy and seductive, but London wasn't exactly the ideal perfect lover. In fact, London was pretty nasty and cold to us at times, and many a time we'd wonder why the hell were we there.

Sure, Singapore's dependable and safe and undeniably my Mr Right. But whoever said being in the comfort zone isn't a good thing (or boring?!)? We've gone out and explored options. We've had dalliances and decided that it wasn't for us. And I've decided that being able to have my favourite Roasted Pork Noodles in the morning with loved ones is something that I cannot do without.

Besides, I live with the faith that my new lover will throw me fantastic surprises when I least expect it.

When the kids go out to play

Spent Sunday with the nieces and nephews/Dimsum/Cracking Eggs can actually look like a whole lot of fun/Off to Botanics to feed the fishes/Running after 4 kids can be a full workout/Enough exercise done for April methinks//

Ah, what I'd give to be a kid again.

Why I live for weekends

I know, I know, the photo above is overexposed and (insert photography-junkie jargon) whatnot, but I couldn't help but choose it. Life's all about imperfections, not a perfections right?

Spent the weekend with the family as usual, and headed over to MinJiang for dimsum. Because it was decided a little last minute, all the indoor sitting were already reserved and we had to go for alfresco dining. But, seriously, I don't think I would have wanted it any other way! Yes, we had the insane heat beating down our backs, yet somehow, everything felt less stifling and a whole lot more relaxed. And although I do think dimsum really is how-to-present-prawns-in-1million-different-ways in disguise, the food was excellent and quite the perfect way to start a lazy Sunday.

All I need now is coffee from Palheta.

Let's bake away our friday night, shall we?

I stayed home on Friday night to bake 2 brownie cakes, 1 strawberry shortcake, 6 mini strawberry short(cup)cakes, 1 cheesecake and 1 oreocheesecake all in the name for charity. Not bad huh? And I did all of the above in 4 hours! I think, I've officially reached cake superstardom.

To be honest, I actually wanted to finish up the baking this morning, but I was on a roll last night. And when you're on a roll, you just don't stop, do you? Nothing, and I do mean nothing, beats seeing the butter+sugar+flour in their various proportions combine to form morsels of yumness. And of course, seeing your brownie falling out perfect from your (crisco-ed really well) William Sonoma pan really, is as good as having strawberries with champagne.

Okay, I think what was truly gratifying was that my tiny nuclear family wouldn't have to bear with eating the same thing for a few days straight. Which then meant that I could actually go CRAZY baking, without feeling guilty (which is a truly amazing feeling).

And in case you're still wondering, the huge cake with 'Cookie' emblazoned across it is my brownie which I'm damn proud of thankyouverymuch! Such a misnomer really, but don't the prints look amazing?


























I do need to make a special mention that doing all of the above within 4 hours wouldn't have been possible without the darling sister's help. My little commis de barrière's invaluable contributions really made cake superstardom achievable. (No, she didn't force me to do this)

So, till the next bake sale then (:

When life gives you strawberries..

you make a strawberry shortcake. Decided to bake a cake for a colleague's farewell over the weekend, and because Korean strawberries are all the rage at the moment- I thought the Strawberry shortcake would make a yummier alternative to any chocolate cake I could whip up.

Unfortunately - I did have a cake emergency! Imagine going back from your friendly neighbourhood supermarket only to find out that half your straws are rotten! Okay, that still wasnt as bad as finding out that I was on my way to finishing the second (and last) box of straws, double eeps!

Still, it did turn out pretty okay i'll say :) could have been better save for a few factors but yayness! looks better than the last one I did.

Mint

Meet my new-ish pot of mint! It has wilted and revived itself twice (after a dose of water) within the two weeks that I've had it. Not bad huh?

Don't get me wrong, I haven't been deliberately ill-treating my mints- its just the mercurial weather that we've been having that's causing all these freakish behavioural patterns. Plus, I've been conscientiously watering it- once in the day and once at night. Yay me!

Now I sound like I'm suffering from pre-mature aging (with me being proud of my plant and all). Or maybe, I'm just really looking forward to retirement.

Marbled.

'When I ORD-ed, you guys were still playing marbles!', said the dad randomly in the car one day while sharing another anecdote from his army days.

While I'll never get the chance to go through the war paint, sweat and mud (thank god), my life has been a pretty marbled mess. And all that talk about marbles resulted in inspiration for the rainy Sunday so I went back to basics with the marble cake. Yes yes yes, its all incongrous and all too random but you know what, I couldn't care less. After all, it is probably the cake unanimous with my childhood days where things were simpler and a whole lot less complicated.

Decided to attempt two different looks- one with the marbling done on the surface and the other not so much marbled but layered. Both turned out pretty good, I'll say.

And I'm just hoping my marbled mess turns out sweet.

Flippancy

Zero commitment. Proclamations of those three words are said way too much.

Neat resolutions and proper endings are just fabrications of the media, non?

So let's just sod all the expectations society has imposed, forget the world. And breathe.

Maybe decisions made will be better ones. And even if they aren't, at least a chance was taken.

Push the (shortbread) buttons

Seriously, where do my weekends go too? I've begun to feel that somehow, two days never ever seem enough. On top of that, I've gone as far even to decide that maybe somehow, a lack of a social life and spending more time spacing out and doing my own things doesn't seem half as bad.

D-I-Y Sunday involved the sister and me furiously shaping shortbread into buttons before the merciless heatwave our country is currently facing softened everything to nothingness. But external factors can always prove to be useful excuses when things don't usually go your way. Attempt Martha Stewart in a non air conditioned kitchen was really not the wisest move.

And yes! the cookies are PINK! I think the heat finally got to me.

of Yogurt Cakes and The Invasion of the Monkeys

I've been in a bit of a yogurt renaissance at the moment. I used to go crazy thinking up crazy variations of yogurt cakes back in London (and despite that, usually almost always ending up with the lemon poppyseed yogurt cake). But being in SG where poppyseeds are almost non-existent and where mommies are going eww to the idea of yogurt cake, I've dismissed any inclination or desire to even suggest, let alone attempt to embrace it.

Seriously, it is different living with 3 guys who would eat almost everything I bake with extremely supportive attitudes and living with the mom and sis and the dad who doesn't eat anything with fruits in it. The idea of a much lower average consumption and too much wastage (and eating the same thing for breakfast 3 days in a row) has constantly weighed on my mind.

So thank goodness for the lunar new year holiday break - where an abundance on food is actually encouraged! Baked up a mandarin orange version of it on the eve (for our visitors as a change from the usual bakgua snacking) and a blueberry version on the 7th day (since it was 人日). Blueberries, unfortunately, were a tad sour, so thank goodness the sweetness from the yogurt cake helped to counterbalance a little. Is it too much to ask for sweet blueberries? ):

On a separate note, the monkeys from the forest nearby have once again restated their claim over my neighbourhood. But this time, they've actually taken to walking into more kitchens (mine included) and stealing the lollipops we bought for the nieces.

Looks like a huge scrub down and dettol-ing is in order. Sure hope the invasion is only temporary.

The Weekend Brigade

Weekend Woohoos:
Self-declared abstinence from anything excel related.
Finally got my Melissas in a proper pair and in the right size.
Dim Sum with the loved ones at Crystal Jade Golden Palace.
Caught Legion with the cousins.
Pre-CNY traditions:
Rolling cookiedough in cornflakes after dinner.


And so, I ended January with joy, food and love.
(Hopefully enough to fuel me through the predicted rough February)

Breathe. And all will be well.