Cakes of Year End 2011

It feels awkward to write here again after such a long absence. For the missing time here I was instead near, tucked away in my house mostly jamming in my kitchen with whisks and spatulas in my hands drumming to the beat and rhythm of the noisy kids during their school holidays.

Before Yanie calls me for the 6thth time asking me the same question why I haven't updated my blog, I better fill these pages with some cake pictures. So this post is for Yanie and also Aida.

I would like to thank those who have ordered whose names I have misplaced. Thank you all so so much. It was a pleasure making these cakes. There were many cakes that didn't make it here due to my forgetfulness, for that I am so sorry.




















There are many tales to regale about all the cakes done, especially the last one featured here. But after much consideration, I have settled with the thought that life is more than all the harsh words received from a person. I thank you for the experience and believe that things happened for a reason.

Jules, thank you so much for coming to my rescue. Get well soon.

Welcome 2011. You are now complete.

It's Here!

You know it's here ...

when food in the fridge disappears before noon,
when the television is switched on way too soon,

Thanks so much Hariz' mum!

when many cushions fly across the hall,
when you trip over little things and fall.

Thank you so much Adam Izz' mum!

when night takes too long to start,
when fights are launched due to a single fart,

Thank you so much Zara's mum!

when you can't seem to hear yourself speak,
when you have to give chase with that familiar stick.

Thank you so much Adriana's mum!

when whines and cries end up in stares,
when "No" only means you are not being fair,

Thank you so much Althea's mum!

when taking sides means you love the other more,
when your feet, hand, nose, elbow ache and sore.

Thank you so much Ali's mum!

You know it's here...

when hugs and kisses are the preferred currency,
when the faces you grow to love are all you see,

Thank you so much Maryam's mum!

when lonely moments leave you at their sight,
when you are theirs exclusively day and night.

wiz

It's here! The school break is here!
Have fun with the kiddos folks!

My Loaf Story

My love story, as many a time written and expressed here in words only decorous to me, is only one. However my loaf stories are aplenty to talk about. I am as I would like to think myself as, a good baker, not excellent but good enough to pull a few tricks here and there to make the baked goods look presentable if not pretty. I have baked quite a storm in my oven, ranging from cakes to pies to pastries, but nothing will satisfy me enough until I bake my own fluffy shop like bread. My attempts to making my own bread started before I baked cakes. I set my own standard as a woman and to me a wholesome woman should be able to pull out a homebaked bread from the oven to be served to the family every morning. Ini adalah influence daripada cerita Heidi bercampur Little House on The Prairie bersama Waltons. Ya, saya bayangkan diri saya memakai gown kembang bersama apron putih sambil membunyikan loceng triangle tu untuk memanggil suami yang bekerja keras dan anak2 yang bermain dengan lembu dan kuda untuk santapan pagi bersama keluarga.

My loaf affair isn't a bready tale. It can be categorized a a horror film, too disturbing to be shared in this space and time. The many loafs that didn't get to reach my table were not thrown away but were fed to the fish and crows at the nearby lake. There were times I could swear to you, I thought I saw the fish and the crows turned away from the pieces of my hard bread dispersed to them. errrrkkkk.

Amongst the many unsuccessful affairs, one loaf story shall be told with great delight and the recipe of this relationship shall be shared. This is a recipe for those who have never baked, who have little time and who like me dislike complicated steps and procedures to baking anything. This is something your husband can do, second only to boiling a pot of water. Super easy!

Hokkaido Milky Loaf
original recipe taken from Angie

1. 540gm Bread flour
2. 60gm cake flour
3. 10gm Instant yeast( I used 1 packet of mauripan yeast)
4. 30gm Milk Powder
5. 80gm sugar
6. 9gm salt
7. 1 large egg
8. 250gm fresh milk( I used Low fat Milk)
9. 150gm whipping cream.

The method is very straight forward. You need to put in your mixing bowl in the sequence of the number above. Put in the flour first, then the yeast and so on and so forth. Mix one after another and use the bread hook, like captain hook punya tangan tu, to start kneading the dough. it will be sticky at first but keep kneading until it forms an elastic ball. If you have a bread machine just set it to sweet bread function.

Knead until it forms into a ball and doesn't stick to the side of the bowl.

Once that's done, leave the dough in the mixing bowl and let it rise for an hour. After the dough has risen, place it on a lightly floured surface and give it a punch! Dushum! to deflate it. Divide into 6 balls and put them aside for 20 minutes.

After that, take each ball and roll out and do the folding method as seen in this link. and place the dough in a loaf tin. Wait for another 30 minutes till the dough has risen double its size and brush them with egg and milk wash. It is 2 tablespoon of milk and 1 egg yolk mixed together and brush the mixture on top of the dough.

Once ready bake at 180 degrees Celsius around 30 minutes or till golden brown.

The before and after. Wooohooooo I got bread, I got bread!

The verdict is supposed to be cottony soft and deliciously addictive. Mine turned out to be not so cottony soft. It is on the heavy dangdut side, which I love and the taste is similar to potato bread sold at Tesco and Carrefour tu. Nice. I had two loaves last night, now I only have crumbs stuck at the side of the pan. Siapa habiskan mama punya share ni!!!!!??????!!!!!!

Must make again.

Before the end of this Loaf Story, these were the last few slices.

You Know You're Old ...

Thanks so much Ita!

...when

1. ...you find dressing up is a chore.

2. ...you think the mirror is being mean to you.

3. ...you take longer to rest than to get tired.

4. ...you only watch the beginning and the ending of a tv show.

5. ...you find your children the same height as you.

6. ...you ask your 8 year old child how to work an electronic gadget.

7. ...you can't live without your glasses.

8. ...you answer your kids with "because I said so!"

9. ...you only ask for a back and foot massage as your birthday and anniversary presents.

10. ..you begin to sound exactly like your mother!

I am all that and more!!!!!!

Thanks so much Min. Hope he felt like your rock star!

That Rainbow, Somewhere.

I never once looked at a rainbow and thought of the prism theory. The scientific explanations do not do justice to the brief appearance of a rainbow. To me, it's there for a reason, it's there for us to see and to experience the short stance of happiness it brings.

Rainbow influences everyone in a beautiful way. It calms the crying soul, it remedies the blemished aura, it nurses the wounded heart and it balms the bruises of any falls. It's those seven colours we seek after the rain, be it in our heart or outside our window pane. It is also a present we wished we could bring and give to someone whose life is a little bit troubling.

I did a rainbow cake wrapped in a Van Gogh piece of artwork. It's a gift from a dear to her dearest. The colours of the rainbow present in the cake were supposed to ease his sorrows and I do so hope the taste would mend his broken heart too.

Thanks so much Natasha!

It's a far cry from the original work of Van Gogh. I was indeed crying when I did this! To achieve the same palette of colours was almost impossible with buttercream.

Another rainbow cake I did was for a one year old. At that age, everything is a rainbow :o)

Thanks so much Ita!

Rainbows are not difficult to find, it's that pot of gold that's been luring us away from the true beauty of the sky tapestry is! ;o)

U Want Anything?

Thanks so so much Emy!

He texted me the other day asking if I needed anything. I was at home preparing dinner and chasing the kids to take their baths after school. He was at Mydin's getting things he didn't tell me about. He likes to buy things right after he gets his salary. It is his way of celebrating his family, I can feel it sans so many words.

I texted back "...no thanks, saya dah masak dah. What I want, you can't give, so I shall not ask.;o)"

I knew he would call me back to decipher my message, and so I waited all ready with my answers.

"...What things that you said, you shall not ask from me?" he sounded bemused with my answer.

Impossible things, I said, like a tree house, a trip around the world, an island in my kitchen and my impossible list went on and on. I wasn't trying to be a spoilt one or the ungrateful one, I was just being silly for the sake of initiating a response from him other than the usual greetings and everyday predictable conversations.

There was an eclipse of thoughts in his silence and just before I wanted to say "gotcha! saya main2 je la" he breathed out "...if I can afford it, I would give the world to you, your tree house your trip around the world, anything,you know I would kan?" I know he knows that I know. And I said "...just come home already!"

But he got me better things. Better than the tree house, better than the trip around the world or any of those silly stuff I wished for. He came back with a tub of Walls double dutch ice-cream, which he carefully hid from the children's view, and a plastic bag of mangoes which I love. The mangoes we all shared after dinner, the ice-cream, we had to wait for the kids to hit the hay before we took the tub out and just spent some quality ice-cream time together, kekekeke.

As we were about to enjoy our ice-cream, him with the spoon and me with my index finger, just the way I take my nutella, I said to him, you know what sayang?

"what?"

"...I am sooooo into this Groupon thing and they help little people like us enjoy cool things we know we would never consider of buying on any normal day. I think I have sent you a couple of emails regarding all the deals, some of them that I like very very much." hinting mode on.

"I'd buy you the tree house if they ever have discounts on it at Groupon!"

Set! I said affirmatively.
ermmmm.... If only he knew the things I have already bought or plan to buy via Groupon!

To know all about Groupon do visit their facebook page here.

Thanks so so much Marissa!

Super Something

Thank you so so much Zurina!

You see, I haven't been feeling super lately. It's like I was sitting in the midst of something, when everything just seemed to pass me by. Just like the song, I was watching my dream only from a distance with little allowance of guilt. I spared some time and waited but nothing came out of it. Perhaps, I didn't know what I was waiting for. Perhaps, I missed it when I wasn't looking.

For right now, I feel the need to be a Super Something so I could go on feeling super in need. I need an agenda, a new wardrobe, and maybe a whole new world to save.

And whilst I am at it, better pack an extra cape and some disposable masks, just in case. ;o)

Up up and away!

Yuna, striking a "super something" pose after her performance at Petronas Philharmonic Hall. Great voice, wonderful personality.

In One Breath

I have never been on a hiatus before but this sudden discontinuity attack was the result of my inconsistent internet connection. It gets disconnected for no reasons at all and most of the time when I am trying to update my pages here. I am still here folks, alhamdulillah, baking and chasing after the sun rays. There were also times when I felt the sun was chasing after me, I got heated up several times, ;o).


Raya this year was all about receiving and meeting special people. Close friends, long lost ones, present and past all came together beautifully. The people who planted smiles on your face and cared to see them grow. I felt blessed when far away friends came for a visit despite their tight schedule. Having Fasha and her kids at my house was indescribable really. We spent the whole day laughing insanely and enjoying the little spread I had prepared. My sis came over too and with her kids, mine and Fasha's, the house was filled with Raya atmosphere. Seronok sangat. Thanks so much Fasha for making time to visit us here. Tahun depan harus datang lagi!

My absence here was made up with my presence elsewhere. I spent a lot of time with my cousins in preparation of our Family Reunion Event which successfully took place from the 23rd to the 25th of September. The things we did were simply unbelievable. I enjoyed those late nights of jamming sessions with them trying to sound as presentable as we possibly could. We were not born as performers, hence our baking endeavour. The Reunion was a time and place to be together as well as to let our kids mingle and know each other better. We managed to accomplish what we set out to do and that has sowed a big garden in our hearts, hopefully we will make time to harvest it annually.

At the Reunion with dearest uncles and aunties and cousins.

All smiles! Thank you for the most wonderful time everyone. Love you guys to bits and pieces.

A Drive

Thank you so so much Alia!

The house is still in disarray. Rooms are messy, kitchen Topsy turvy, the front lawn bushy and the heart weary. I will not make haste this time even though Eid is a couple of days away. The floor to my kids' bedroom cracked terribly with broken pieces of tiles all over the place. It was a mini earthquake that one day and looking at the condition, it requires immediate attention. And so we will have the flooring people to do the fixing for us tomorrow and hopefully the kids' room will be ready a day before raya. There goes our duit raya this year.

The duit raya also goes to the servicing of the car. I hope everyone has done the same before going back for Eid. The maintenance of everything just sucks the life out of you kan? For a family who has a meager combined income like us, life can be expensive. I can't imagine the poor who struggle to feed and to school their kids. Even for us, it's a battle. I also hope we have contributed in sharing the little that we have with the poor. There are many pertubuhan kebajikan yang memerlukan. One is listed on my right column, another is Pertubuhan Kebajikan dan Perlindungan Nur Qaseh Malaysia. The orphanage was started around 5 months ago and depends solely on public donations. There are 27 kids under this roof from babies to young teens. To donate please contact Pn Roslida at 0197614992 Akaun BSN : 1410041000160444. Mudah-mudahan beban mereka dapat dikurangkan. Kita tolong sama2 k. Terima kasih kawan2.

A note to my husband and also to everyone else who is driving during this festive season, please drive with extra care. You are not driving in a race behind a Subaru Impreza. You are driving with kids and lots of raya goodies bound for kampung halaman. So do take extra care of yourself and everyone else in the car.

Alright folks, my family and I would like to wish everyone a beautiful Hari Raya with good company and love all around. Have a safe journey home and back. See you soon.

Ps. If you are interested to buy last minute hari raya cookies, I have several extra bottles of Tart Nenas, chocolate chip cookies, bittersweet, Vanilla buttons and cornflakes. Choc fudge cake is also available. Interested please email me at wizcakes@gmail.com

Heartfelt thanks.

Kuih Raya Buat Mak Final Part

If you have followed me and have been baking together, you would have yourself a container of egg whites from the tart recipe. I have been making a lot of tarts lately and have gathered a basin full of egg whites. No, I am not going to whip macarons, it is a feat frivolous to attempt on my part. However, I will do something much simpler and more delicious than any macarons tower put together mwahahahahaha...yer saya ialah pemusnah impian macaron anda sebab saya tak reti2 nak buat.

I adapted the recipe from Allrecipe, reduced lots of sugar, sebab ini kuih untuk mak saya, put lots of almond sebab ini juga kuih untuk ayah saya and chuck cups of chocolate chips sebab ini kuih untuk anak-anak saya juger. Below is the easy peasy recipe, click on the link for the original one.

Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies
adapted from here


4 egg whites
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 cup cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup of crushed sliced almond
1 cup of dessicated coconut

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 150 degrees C.
2.In a medium bowl, whip egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add the sugar, vinegar and vanilla while whipping to stiff peaks. Fold in chocolate chips.

This is how a stiff peak looks like.

Drop by spoonfuls onto the prepared moulds.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until cookies are brown dry.

The texture is crunchy outside and a little bit chewy inside. I love the light texture and the many surprises inside. You will be munching on the melted chips, the crunchy almond and the flavourful coconut. I had 20+++ of these last night and at that point I am sure I would gain all my weight back. shrug. Inilah pengorbanan seorang pembuat kuih, kami terpaksa lupakan bentuk badan yg menarik semata2 untuk menghasilkan kuih2 yang menarik lagi sedap kehkehkeh.

Feelings

Thank you so so much Nik Ja!

A friend of mine Anita, asked openly one day why she wasn't feeling the raya mood this year. She is thousands of miles away from her hometown and millions of steps away from the embrace of her mother and I think that is largely the reason why. But for some, perhaps it is just too easy to get melancholic when you are older and amazingly at times it creeps in for no reasons at all. It isn't exactly melancholy but more of "syahdu" and unfortunately there is no English word equivalent to it.

I think when you get to that certain age, like my age, you become more reflective and pensive of practically everything. It bothers you and teases you at times you need it least. Just imagine, nak masak nasi...syahdu, nak bawak kereta tetiba syahdu, nak lipat kain pun syahdu, nak basuh bilik air harus syahdu juger lol! Sangat mengada, especially syahdu ni wujud terlebih extra time Raya! And please stay away from the radio with all the syahdu lagu Raya, pengsan!;o)

Just thought of putting up a soothing picture of my cypcakes to ease the syahdu period.

ps. Nik Ja, I was syahdu when I relinquished the cupcakes to you the other day. Syahdu sebab dah almost 15 tahun tak jumpa.

Next: Final part of Kuih Raya Buat Mak.

Kuih Raya Buat Mak Part IV

I was feeling a bit like the Incredibles family the other day. The resemblance is simply uncanny to describe. I felt I was suppressing my super powers, using it only to control my anger towards my super hero kids. I didn't want to create collateral damage from doing a good deed by spanking them, but sometimes this pear shaped super hero mum is forced to do what she hates to do.

The baking supply shop was brimming with people. I brought along my two super heroes to help me carry some of the heavy load. Adnin aka Dash is fast on his feet and is able to run from one end to another to grab as many bags of flour needed for the job. Iman aka Violet is most of the time invisible. She can tune herself out simultaneously generate spherical force fields to protect me when I am making my dangerous rounds at the busy shop. Errr, those were my thoughts when I saw these two characters and the way they were behaving then. Grrrr. As I was walking along the flour isle, my son dashed next to me knocking 2 bags of flour. Believe me, I so wished I had the power of Elastigirl and be able to stretch my hand to pinch the tush of my son! But he was too quick for his own good.

I picked them up hoping they would be the type of flour I wanted, semestinya tidak. One was tepung kentang and the other was tepung sagu. Argggghh.

I paid for them still, even though I didn't know what I should do with those two types I have never used. The thought of just pushing the two bags under the shelf did enter my mind for a split second though, ish ish ish. I know, saya rasa sungguh bersalah walaupun hanya berfikiran begitu untuk seketika.

Anyway, the tepung kentang or potato starch has been made to good use just now. I found a biscuit recipe which uses a lot of it in one mix.

It is a simple biscuit recipe, one which you can whip up in 2 minutes, I promise you, provided that you have the potato starch.

Here is the recipe folks! I changed some of the measurements to fit my liking. The original recipe can be obtained from the link below.

Swedish Potato Cookies
Taken from here

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups Potato Starch
250gm butter
1/2 cup Castor sugar
1 1/2 cups All-purpose Flour
A pinch of Salt
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract


Directions

1. Soften the butter
2. Add a pinch of salt and vanilla.
4. Add the sugar, stirring until thoroughly mixed.
5. Slowly add the flours while stirring.
6. Gently but thoroughly mix the ingredients by kneading or mixing.
7. Preheat the oven to 170 Celcius.
8. Pipe the dough onto a lined baking tray.
9. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden.

I used this nozzle to pipe the soft dough. You can also roll it and refrigerate it and later slice the dough just like the original recipe indicated.

The piped dough.

These cookies are buttery and crunchy and yet simple enough to make. You can turn them into colourful morsels or sprinkle some sugars on them but I like them just the way they are.

The tepung sagu? Saya masih ragu-ragu. ;o)