These cupcakes were baked for my cousin, nephew and niece birthday. Their birthday fall on the same month. The celebration is somewhere in August’09 and only now I have the time to upload it and blog about it. So can you imagine how busy and I nowadays.  A set of caterpillar cupcakes to make three of them a happy birthday kids one that day. I wonder whether they are amazed with the cupcakes I present it to them?

I am bored at home during the long weekend of holidays. Thought of bringing the kids for outing but the the rains kept pouring heavily during the afternoon for the past few days. Suddenly think of the nyonya kuih lapis or in Hokkien dialect we called it ” Kau Theng Keh ” which means 9 layer kuih. I am really not a kuih person but then I just did it just for the fun of it, although I can easily purchase it over at the night market stall which is far more nicer than mine. Hahaha…

Anyway, after browsing through the net for the recipe, finally I used my MSN buddy, Constance’s  recipe for the nyonya kuih lapis. The outcome of my kuih lapis is… it only has 7 layers instead of 9 layers. Maybe the round cake tin I used it a bit too big. Perhaps I should use a smaller one so that I can get a nice colourful 9 layers of kuih lapis.  

Ingredients : 
160g rice flour
20g green bean flour (hoen kwe flour)
150ml water

For the Syrup:
150g castor sugar
300ml water
2–3 screwpine leaves/pandan leaves, knotted
250ml thick coconut milk, squeezed from 1 grated coconut
1/4 tsp salt
A few drops red colouring

Method:
1. Combine sugar, water and screwpine leaves in a saucepan. Bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Strain and set aside to cool. Put rice flour and green bean flour into a large mixing bowl. Pour in water gradually and leave aside to soak for 40–45 minutes.
2. Add coconut milk and salt to the rice flour and mix well. Stir in syrup. Strain the batter to ensure it is free from lumps. Divide batter into two. Leave half a portion white and add colouring to the other half.
3. Place a greased 20cm tray in the steamer and heat up for 4–5 minutes. Pour half cup of the white batter on the heated tray. Cover and steam over medium heat for 5–6 minutes or until set. Pour half cup of the pink batter over the white layer and steam covered for 5 minutes.
4. Repeat the procedure, alternating white and pink batter until all the batter is used up.
5. To the very last layer add a little more colour to make it a deeper shade of pink. After the final layer is set, steam the kuih for a further 12–15 minutes. Halfway through open the lid to release the steam, then cover again until the end of the steaming process.
6. Cool the kuih thoroughly before cutting into small diamond-shaped pieces.

Baked this batch of Brownies Choco Cupcakes for my SIL’s birthday. The recipe is shared by my home economist, CK that I used to work with. The cupcakes turned out perfectly and guess what? It has a flat top! I am so happy with the outcome and this one is definitely a recipe keeper.

After frosting the cupcakes with buttercream, I packed it nicely in a cupcakes box and get the kids to send it to her on her birthday. I hope she like it. The balance of the cupcakes I piped out a simple star icing using the star nozzle and we gave that for Faye and the siblings at home.

I am not a chocolate lover actually but the kids at home is a big fan for chocolate including both my kids.

The Ramadhan bazaar is just right outside my house. I tried looking for this mini green pandan chiffon cakes from the stalls but couldn’t find it. None of the Malay Mak Cik sell this kuih this year and it is one of my favourite. The name of this kuih is called Kuih Putri Ayu. Every year without missed I will tend to buy this kuih whenever I visit the stalls. But this year it is very much dissapointed, perhaps I should go to other Ramadhan bazaar near UPM.

Since I couldn’t find it, I googled for it and get the recipe and try out last weekend.

Ingredients :
2 eggs
100 gm castor sugar
125 gm self raising flour,sieved
150ml coconut milk
5 pieces pandan leaves
1 tsp ovallete
Few drops of green colouring
Some grated coconut
1 tsp tapioca flour
Some salt
Some oil for greasing the mold

Method:
1. Mix together salt, tapioca flour and grated coconut. Add about 1 tsp into the greased jelly mold and press hard on it. Leave the mold in the steamer.
2. In a mixer, beat eggs and sugar till white and fluffy. Then add in ovallette and continue beating till creamy.
3. In a blender, blend the pandan leaves with some water ( approximately about 50ml water ). Strained to get the juice only. Mixed it with coconut milk.
4. Stir in flour and alternate it with coconut milk. Add a few drops of green colouring.
5. Fill the mold till almost full or you can fill up till 3/4 full.
6. Steam over high heat for about 15 - 20 mins.

Note:
1. Make sure to greased the mold with some oil. Due to my laziness, I didn’t greased it and I had difficulty removing it from the mold.

I love cheesecake and so does the bunch of people at home. My favourite one would be Mango Cheesecake and will never get bored with it. I did this mango cheesecake for Vonne about 2 months ago. This is my third time doing this cheesecake and it is just so easy and simple because there is no baking involve.

Love the mango because it is just so refreshing and chilling. Good for hot weather and we had this cheesecake right after the BBQ party to welcome Vonne back here in KL. The kids really miss her a lot. Hahaha…

The recipe of this mango cheesecake is taken from Florence’s blog- Do What I Like. Try this out today.

Ingredients:
Base:
50gm digestive biscuit crumbs
50gm oreo biscuit crumbs
40gm melted butter

Filling:
200gm cream cheese
1 tbsp rum
1 tbsp lemon juice
55gm sugar

200gmmango puree
1 tbsp gelatin
3 tbsp boiling water

200ml whipping cream (whipped)
2 tbsp icing sugar

1 mango (cubed)

Mango puree topping:
100gm mango puree
2 tsp gelatin
3 tbsp boiling water

Method:
1. Toss cake base ingredients into melted butter and press firmly on to base of cake pan. Chill in the fridge for use later.
2. Whip whipping cream with 2 tbsp icing sugar till about 70% stiff or mousse state, keep chilled.
3. Dissolve gelatine powder in 3 tbsp boiling water. Keep warm but not hot for use later.
4. Cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and rum together till smooth and creamy.
5. Add the warm gelatin solution to mango puree and blend well.
6. Stir mango mixture into cheese mixture and combine till well mixed. Blend in the whipped cream. Stir in the cube mango pieces (optional).
7. Pour cheese mixture onto cake base and chill for at least an hour.
9. Dissolve gelatin powder with 2 tbsp boiling water and stir this into mango puree. Pour topping gently onto chilled cheesecake. Chill for at least 3 hours before serving.

Notes:
To obtain a smooth mirror like mango puree topping, please strain the mango puree mixture.

Baked 2 batches of butter cupcakes for Le-Ann’s 5th birthday celebration in school. Time flies and she celebrated her 5th birthday on 30th June. While doing the frosting, we asked her what she want on her cupcakes and she told me she wanted rainbow and princess. Wah… me and Dearie Suki was looking at each other that she wanted a princess. How to do ah? Ended up the cupcakes become like above designed with rainbow, the princess tiara and flower.

Bake some cupcakes and decorated with clown for Phatboy Joe’s birthday. This picture is grab from Aunty SH’s Facebook. I totally forgot to snap a picture of it and I was rushing back to Ah Mah’s house. Furthermore, I forgot to grab my camera along. Its a butter cupcakes decorated with clown. Well, the clown is much more easier to pipe out compared to the others design. Maybe I shall consider this design again for Ee-Thern’s birthday.

I haven’t been baking for quite sometime. Life has been getting pretty busy lately. Busy with kids especially taking care of their homework. Try to find some time to bake and finally did one Lemon Poppy Seed Cake.  The recipe are from CK, the home economist which I have been working with her for the past few years. She is a great cook and a great baker too. I wonder whether I still have the chance to work with her or not when I join the new company next week.

Anyone have any idea where to get Poppy seed in Malaysia? I don’t think I have seen any of it in the baking supply shop. This McCormick Organic Poppy Seed are given by my ex-colleague, TCH. I love McCormick products but too bad this particular range is not selling here. The recipe shared by CK is definately a recipe keeper. I am going to bake one again when I can find the time again.

Ingredients:
200g butter, at room temperature
140g caster sugar
280g self-raising flour, sifted 
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla essence
2 tsp lemon essence

Buttermilk Mixture: ( combine together )
Juice of 1 lemon & rind
100ml milk or evaporated milk
30g poppy seeds

Method:
1. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.Add in vanilla and lemon essence.
2. Separately, whisk egg till light and fluffy.
3. Then alternately add in sifted flour and eggs into the butter mixture .
4. Pre-heat oven at 180 DC and grease and line a 20 cm square pan.
5. Bake for 50 mins or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Thanks Constance for sharing this lovely Japanese Cotton Soft Cheesecake. The whole cheesecake turned out so lovely and I am so happy seeing it. Never thot that this cheesecake is so easy to bake. I cut quarter for my neighbour and the rest brought back to Ah Mah’s house. Comments from the cousins.. AK, Faye, Phatboy Joe are good. They love it except for Sis, she prefer the one with the biscuit base. Ooohhh… I don’t quite like those cos it is a heavy type of cheesecake. I still prefer to stick with this recipe … light and soft.

The whole cheesecake is a bit too big unless you want to bake it for a big party. I used a 9 inch spring form pan for this cheesecake. The next round I do I will half the recipe because this is just too big for me.

Ingredients:
140gm icing sugar
6 egg whites
6 egg yolks
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
50gm butter
250gm cream cheese
100mlfresh milk
1 tbsp lemon juice ( I also add in 1/2 lemon rind )
60gm cake flour ( I used self raising flour )
20gm cornflour
1/4 tsp. salt

Method :
1. Melt cream cheese, butter and milk over a double boiler. Cool the mixture. Fold in the flour, cornflour, egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon rind and mix well.
2. Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add in the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form.
3. Add the cream cheese mixture to the egg white mixture and mix well. Pour into a 9-inch round springform pan (Lightly grease and line the bottom and sides of the pan with greaseproof baking paper or parchment paper).
4. Bake cheesecake in a water bath for 1 hours 10 minutes or until set and golden brown at 160 DC.

A request from the aunties at home. They asked me to bake a Carrot & Walnuts cake for Mother’s Day celebration at home. I really got no idea how to bake this cake. Googled for the recipe and also searched thru all my recipe books at home and finally found it in Alex Goh’s fruity cakes recipe book. I personally don’t quite like this cake because I hate Cinnamon. I just can’t take it the smell of Cinnamon. Hence, I never appreciate carrot cake but surprisingly the aunties at home love it. Though we are very full that day after eating the porridge steamboat, the whole cake we only ate 1/4 of it. The left over the aunties and cousins tapau back. Aunty SH told me if want to eat just put the cake in the microwave and warm it for a minute, then it will taste like the one sell at Secret Receipe. Hahaha… si bor, so hor chiak meh! Anyway they enjoyed it.

Ingredients :
(A)
3 eggs
150gm milk
300gm sugar ( I only used 250gm )
1/2 tsp salt

(B)
180gm vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla essence

(C)
280gm plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon

(D)
200gm carrot, shredded
12-gm walnuts, chopped

Topping :
250gm cream cheese
60gm butter
120gm icing sugar
1/2 lemon zest, grated
2 tbsps lemon juice

Method :
Cake :
1. Whip (A) until creamy. Add (B) and whip until well blended.
2. Sieve in (C) and mix until well blended.
3. Add (D) and mix well.
4. Pour the batter into greased and lined baking tray. Bake at 180 DC for 35 - 40 minutes.

Topping:
1. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add butter and beat until well blended. Add sugar and beat until well combined.
2. Add lemon zest and juice. Mix well.

To Assemble : Spread the topping over the carrot cake and decorate with extra walnuts and carrot make from fondant.