Awesome bakes!

I am so honoured to be the recipient of EeLin's (the batter baker) fantastic bakes!

1) Cornflakes cookies were chewy & healthy,
2) Almond butter cookies were crispy & fragrant
3) Pineapple tarts were soft & melty.

Gosh, I simply love her cookies. *thumbs up* for the bakes *^_^*

Crunchy Melty Almond Cookies

I baked another batch of almond cookies. Noticed that my cookies were 'whitish' this round compared to my previous attempt? Yup, I lowered my oven temperature slightly & here I present you my batch of 'snow whites'. *chuckles*

Melt in mouth German Cookies 德式酥饼

Melt in mouth German Cookies 德式酥饼 (Recipe adapted from Small Small Baker)

Ingredients
125 butter
125 potato starch
80g plain flour
40g icing sugar

Method
1. Beat butter & icing sugar till fluffy & lighter in colour.

2. Sift in potato starch & plain flour, mix to form a soft dough.

3. Roll into small balls & arrange on lined baking tray.

4. Bake in preheated oven at 170 deg C for 15 mins.

Crunchy Melty Almond Cookies

Almond Cookies (Adapted from modified from j3ss kitch3n)

Ingredients

75g self raising flour
30g icing sugar
40g ground almond
40g diced peanuts
50g corn oil
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Egg yolk for brushing


Method

1. Sift together flour & icing sugar, add in ground almond & diced peanuts, mix well.

2. Add in vanilla essence & corn oil. Mix them together to form a soft dough.

4. Shape into small round balls and place on a tray lined with parchment paper.

5. Brush with egg yolk & bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 15mins or until slightly brown.

6. Cool completely on wire rack before storing into airtight containers.

Butter cookies

Butter Cookies
(adapted & modified from 'The First Book of Baking for Beginners' by Carol)

Ingredients
100g butter
50g icing sugar
2 egg yolks
1tsp Vanilla essence
120g Plain flour
30g Cornflour
10g Milk powder

Method
1. Beat butter & icing sugar until slightly white in colour.

2. Add in egg yolks one at a time. Add in essence.

3. Add in sifted flour, cornflour & milk powder. Mix till combined.

4. Pipe the cookies & bake @ 180°C for 15mins.


Verdict: Buttery cookie which melts in your mouth. The original recipe calls for jam to be placed at the centre of the cookies. Silly me should have increase the amount of sugar since I am not using any jam~

I'm submitting this to the Aspiring Bakers #3 My Favorite CNY Cookie (Jan 2011) hosted by Jess

Apple Crumbled Cheesecake

Apple Crumbled Cheesecake
(adapted & modified from 'Lingzie's Tummy Treats')

Base - mix together & pressed onto a 7" pan

125g digestive biscuits (blended)

60g melted butter

Apple Filling - cook over saucepan till it thickens

2 apples – peeled, cored & diced

brown sugar

Cinnamon powder

Cornflour

Cheesecake Filling:

250g cream cheese

40g castor sugar

15g corn flour

100ml whipping cream

2 eggs

Crumble topping -mix together till mixture resembles breadcrumbs

60g plain flour

15g castor sugar

40g butter (diced)

Method
1. Beat cream cheese till smooth. Add sugar & cornflour. Beat till creamy. Add cream & eggs till combined.

2. Pour half the cheese mixture into base. Spread apple filling & top with remaining cheese mixture.

3. Sprinkle topping over surface of the cheese filling. Steam bake for 45mins. Remove cake from oven and leave to cool. Refrigerate till set before serving.

Verdict: Very soft cheesecake with crunchy toppings & biscuit base. I love the apple cinnamon fillings. I bet it will be perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I got some left over egg whites in fridge & used them to make some macarons. My macarons shells were much thinner compared to my previous bakes.



Oh yes, allow me to introduce a new member in my family ~ 'Miew Miew'. Isn't she cute & innocent with her big eyes? *^_^*

Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Peanut Butter Cheesecake
(adapted & modified from Yochana's chilled cream-O cheesecake)

Ingredients

Biscuit Base: Mix them together and press into an 7" tin. Chill it.

150 gm. Digestive Biscuits (Blended)
80 gm. melted butter

Cream Cheese filling:

260g Cream cheese
50g Icing sugar
1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
60 ml milk
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
3-4 big spoonfuls Peanut butter
Chopped peanuts
260ml whipped cream
1 Tbsp gelatine powder + 70g water (mix together & microwave)

Some extra chopped peanuts for sprinkling on top

Method:

1) Beat cream cheese with icing sugar till well combined.
2) Add in fresh milk & mix till well combined. Add in gelatine mixture & mix well.
3) Fold in whipped cream & divide mixture into 2 portions.
4) Fold in peanut butter & chopped peanuts into 1 portion & maple syrup & vanilla essence into the other portion.
5) Pour in the white portion into the chilled biscuit base. Level the cream cheese filling and put it into the fridge to let it set.
6) Pour the Peanut butter cream cheese filling onto the set white cream cheese. Level it & then sprinkle some chopped peanuts on top.
7) Put into the fridge to let it set.
8) Slice & serve chilled.

Lemon Squares

Lemon squares (adapted & modified from Martha Stewart's recipe)

Ingredients
Cookie crust
85g cold butter
110g plain flour
45g icing sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Filling
2 eggs
110g sugar
1.5 Tbsp Plain flour
1/8 tsp salt
85ml lemon juice
2 Tbsp whipping cream

Method
1. Cookie crust: Grate butter & set aside. Sift flour, icing sugar & salt in a large bowl. Add grated butter. Stir until it combined & crumbly.

2. Press mixture onto the bottom of pan. Chill for 15mins & bake in oven @ 180°C for 20mins.

3.Filling: Whisk eggs, sugar, flour & salt until smooth. Add in lemon juice & whipping cream. Pour them over the hot crust.

4. Bake @ 170°C for 20mins or until filling is set. Cool to room temperature & chill for 1hr.

5. Cut into squares & sift icing sugar over the top. Best serve chill.

Cheese Chiffon

Cheese Chiffon (adapted & modified from Alex Goh's Fantastic Cheesecake)

Ingredients:
(A)
60g milk
60g cream cheese
25g butter
(B)
65g flour (sifted)
(C)
4 egg yolks
(D)
4 egg whites
75g sugar
Pinch of salt

Method:
1) Cook (A) over double-boiler until well blended & thickens.
2) Remove from double-boiler. Add (B) & mix until smooth.
3) Add (C) & mix until well combined.
4) Whip the egg whites in (D) until foamy. Add the rest of the (D) ingredients in (D). Whip until stiff. Add it into the cheese mixture from step (3). Fold in until well incorporated.
5) Pour it into a 7-inch chiffon pan. Do not grease the pan. Bake in preheated oven at 180C for 30mins. Remove it from the oven. Invert the pan and let it cool upside down.

Sesame macarons

If you are baking macarons for the 1st time, do hop over this website for basic technique and simple macaron recipe

Take a look at how I did my macarons:






TADA! I shall present you my sesame macarons filled with peanut butter!

1st Bloggers Meetup

I had my 1st meet up with Jess & Hanushi at J8 today. I started MSN with Jess recently & I find her very friendly & approachable. We can talk everything under the sun. Thanks ah Jess for 'entertaining' me in the afternoon in MSN when most people are not online.

Jess suggested this meet up as she wanted to pass us her latest CNY bakes. Wow, the three of us got so much to talk about baking & of course we side track to other topics as well *wink wink at Jess* kekeke...

Take a look at our little 'gift exchange'.

Grand Marnier Vanilla Bean Sugi Cookies & Banana Cake by Jess
Both thumbs & foot up for your great bakes!

Pastry bags & Cake Film by Hanushi
The cake film is so pretty & sweet. I love it!

As for me, I made some peanut butter cookies for them (opps, I had forgotten to take pics, LOL. Do hop over to Hanushi's blog for pics). Hope my cookies stay crunchy when they eat them.

I am so glad to know these two wonderful ladies & is looking forward to our next meet up.

Chocolate Marshmallow Fingers

Chocolate Marshmallow Fingers (adapted & modified from Cakes & Bakes)

Ingredients
350g digestive biscuits
125g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
225g butter
25g castor sugar
2 Tbsp Cocoa powder
2 Tbsp Maple syrup
55g mini marshmallows
100g white chocolate chips

Method
1) Crush digestive biscuits into small pieces.

2) Put chocolate, butter, sugar, cocoa powder & maple syrup in a saucepan & heat gently until melted. Remove from the heat & leave to cool slightly.

3) Stir the crushed biscuits into the chocolate mixture until well mixed. Add the marshmallows & white chocolate chips & mix well.

4) Pour the mixture into a 8" square cake tin & chill in fridge for 2-3hrs until set. Cut into pieces before serving.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies (adapted & modified from Cakes & Bakes)

Ingredients
125g butter
150g chunky peanut butter
190g sugar
1 beaten egg
150g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
75g chopped peanuts

Method:
1) Beat butter & peanut butter together in a large mixing bowl. Add in sugar gradually & beat well. Add the beaten egg a little at a time until thoroughly blended.

2) Sift the flour, baking powder & salt into the creamed peanut butter mixture.

3) Add the chopped peanuts & bring the mixture together to form a dough. Chill the dough in fridge for about 30mins.

4) Roll the dough into small balls & placed them on baking tray. Flattened the balls with the back of the fork.

5) Preheat oven to 190°C. Bake the cookies for abou 15mins or until golden brown.

Verdict: Crunchy cookies. I love the peanut butter taste with small chunks of peanuts.

I'm submitting this to the Aspiring Bakers #3 My Favorite CNY Cookie (Jan 2011)

Banana Butter Sponge

These banana butter sponge are indeed very light & moist. All thanks to Jess (from j3ss kitchen) for sharing the recipe.


Banana Butter Sponge
(adapted from Alex Goh Fruity Cakes)

Ingredients
90g sugar
4 eggs
120g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
200g mashed bananas mix with 1/4 tsp baking soda
85g melted butter

Method

1. Using a electric beater whisk sugar and eggs until light and fluffy, add in plain flour and baking powder and whisk till combined.
2. Add in banana mixture and mix till combined.
3. Stir in melted butter in the above mixture until well blended
4. Spoon mixture into paper cups and baked in a preheated oven at 180 deg Celsius for 20-30mins or till golden brown.
5. Cool and serve.

Macarons & Cinnamon rolls