Saying goodbye yet to another year

I'm writing (typing) this on the 30th because I'm pretty sure I'll be sleeping at this time tomorrow.

To recap my 2014, which I think ends on similar notes as last year.

Real Life:
1) Completed my degree, had my second convocation
2) Secured quite a good job, although the first few months was a struggle
3) Giving back to my parents, though still haven't managed to convince them to let me pay their food
4) Meeting my long lost best friend, after 14 years. No words to describe, she's my first bestfriend ever.
5) Reunion with lovely dorm mates, after 6 years.
6) Fate stumbles upon us, we met again after 6 years lost of contact, my dear Maryam
7) 10th anniversary of my lovely friend, whom I regret not appreciate her enough, I miss you kiddo

KPOP Life:
1) Uh.. still no new music from BIGBANG
2) Oh and WINNER debuts!

On the day I'm writing (typing) this, I haven't bake anything since I started working. I whipped up some cream puff last two weeks just because my whipping cream is due soon. And I'm also coming down with flu and mild fever.

What to look forward to in 2015?
1) Masters application process
2) Mom and Dad trip to France (lucky them)
3) Possible short trip to Kuching
4) Korea (?)

I might end up going to Korea, if and only if BIGBANG announce their upcoming comeback is the last before they enlists. I hope I can watch them once again, this time at their homeground.

Ah, yes, I am planning to further my studies soon. Although some of my batchmates may already halfway done with their masters, but if I leave for my masters in Feb 2015, my mom will kill me. Since my sister just flew to France in June, you think she will let another daughter leave them just like that? I took months to convince them about this masters thingy. Phew.

January 2016, insyaAllah.
Ameen.

Goodbye 2014.
You've been awesome albeit arsehole sometimes.

Hello 2015.
Be good.
May Allah bless.

BAKE! : Cream Puff (or just the choux pastry)

Choux Pastry
(for cream puff, eclairs etc.)

Recipe taken from dayotskitchen @ instagram (please check out her insta, very helpful simplified recipes, thanks sis!)

125g water
80g flour
70g butter
3 eggs
2 tsp canola oil (I sub with olive oil)

1. Sift flour, beat eggs slightly, preheat oven at 190 C.
2. Boil water, butter and oil until its foamy and literally bubbling over.
3. Remove from heat, and immediately stir in the flour.
4. Place back the flour mixture on low heat for approx 30 secs.
5. Slowly stir in beaten eggs, little by little, until formed a thick paste that will slowly drop off the spoon on the count of 5.
6. Pipe into baking trays. Smooth tops with water, and mist with water before popping into oven.
7. Bake at 190 C for 20 minutes, and 180 C for 15 minutes. Let cool in oven for 10 minutes.
8. Fill with whipped cream, custard cream or any cream of your choice.

My notes:
1. I overpiped it, thus my jumbo choux shells.
2. Jumbo shells = overload fillings. Luckily, I've got enough whipped cream to fill these shells.

BAKE!: Victoria Sponge Cake

Victoria Sponge Cake
Cake Recipe: The KitchenGuardian
Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe: the batter baker
Strawberry Compote: mytinycorner1969

Cake
250g butter, leave soft

220g caster sugar5 large eggs @ 250g eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp golden syrup
3 tbsp milk
280g self-raising flour

1) Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy
2) Drizzle in vanilla and golden syrup, mix well
3) Add eggs that has been slightly beaten, in three (3) additions
4) Sift flour, and add in three (3) additions
5) Fold in milk, to reach the consistency where the dough drop easily from the spoon
6) Bake at 170 C for 30 minutes

*I used two (2) 7-inch pans, greased with cooking spray and bake at 35 minutes as my oven is cranky like that. The temperature can be fixed but the timing of baking should be adjusted according to your oven's temperamental

Swiss Meringue Buttercream
/I featured one recipe of this SMBC here, but it is way too sweet and way too many for this cake, therefore I had stumbled upon this version, and voila!

2 egg whites
90g sugar2 tsp vanilla extract
150g butter, soft but still cold

1) Combine egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl, and place on top of a pot of simmering (NOT BOILING) water
2) Whisk continuously, we're not trying to air it, just gentle whisking, to dissolve the sugar
3) Test the mixture between your fingers, it supposed to be smooth, not grainy
4) When the sugar has dissolved completely, remove from the double boiler and start whisking at high speed until soft peak formed
5) Cut butter into small cubes, and drop in one by one, mixing well after each addition
6) When the mixture is smooth and shiny, thats when you can add flovouring

*Btw, for extra information, click here, complete with pictures and explanation and troubleshooting.

Strawberry Compote
8 fresh strawberries, diced
2 tbsp granulated sugar

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1) Place all the ingredients in small pot

2) Bring to boil, and ensure that all sugar has dissolved

3) If you want a thicker compote, boil it a bit longer. But if you like runny compote, just boil it until the sugar has dissolved

4) Remove from heat and let cool, store in fridge for longer shell life 

the cross section *_*

10.06.2014 0.00 A.M

Salam.

Hello readers. Its that time of the year again. Its been 3 years since I started this annual post. And to be quite honest, things has changed drastically.

Looking back at 3 years ago, I was being immature and selfish. However, I still stand on those reasons I laid out. At that time, I need to be selfish in order to help me overcome all those insecurities I felt.

If people found this blog today, they might find there's lack of updates to this blog since 2 years ago. I revert some posts to draft as I am regretting my 21-22 years old self. I was being immature and self-centered, to the point that I cringed reading back all those posts.

Entering the age of 23, it opens my eyes wide about certain facts that previously I chose to ignore, however in current situation I do not have privilege to be ignorant of such matters. Firstly, I realized I can't trust anyone, although I've known these humans for several years. Secondly, I acknowledged that some people just can't stand me being me. Thirdly, I realized I can't be friend with people who don't even consider me as a friend.

Being me, I am wondering why people are curious about my previous lovelines. To be very honest, its ugly. My past relationships were nothing but a bad experience. So far I never had a good relationship to be content about. And being me, I am terribly annoyed that people are very very inquisitive about who I am dating or who I am in relationship with. Frankly, since I hardly ask about your lovelife, would you please stop being so curious of who I am dating as of late? And for real though, I don't even care who you are seeing or who is your scandal, cuz its not my business and I don't even interested to know.

And as I turn 23, I also realized I had different views in life, far different from typical Malay and Muslim. Some might think I had strayed far away from Islam, and to be quite honest I might have strayed but not too far. I just wanted people to open their mind open their eyes wide that there's so much more than what they see. May Allah guide me to the right path whilst trying to put some light towards what matters.

And as I turn 23, I still dont get it why people are so obsessed with politics and all its drama. That's that.

And turning 23 helps me to make some important decisions in my life, for the future me. All I can do right now is planning and praying everything went well.

And finally, happy birthday dear self.

6 more months till UK.

Ameen.

BAKE! : Moist Chocolate Cupcake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Salted Caramel

Moist Chocolate Cupcake
Original Recipe: Chef Zubaidah
Source 1:  Along@myresipi
Source 2: HaSue

100g cocoa powder*
200g sugar* (me: reduce it to 100g)
1 can evaporated milk (Ideal)*
200g vegetable oil*
250g condensed milk*
4 eggs
150g all-purpose flour 
1tsp bicarbonate soda
1ts baking powder
/optional/ vanilla essence

1. Mix all ingredients marked (*) in a pot, and cook on medium heat until sugar has dissolved (be careful not to burn your condensed milk). Once done, take off heat and let it cool.
2. Beat eggs until foamy, drizzle in vanilla essence
3. Pour in chocolate mixture and mix until combined
4. Combine all dry ingredients and fold into wet mixture until well combined (its a runny batter so dont panic)
5. To make it easier to pour into cups, transfer the batter into small container and pour into cupcake liner about 1/2 full.
6. Bake at 177 C for about 15 minutes, just when the top has dried its done, dont overbake. (my oven is cranky so I placed my racks at the bottom of the oven, this prevents my cupcakes from cracking)


Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Source: Nasi Lemak Lover

100g egg whites (about 3 eggs medium-sized)
135g sugar (FOR REAL cut this up to 100g, I followed the original measurement and boy so sweet!!)
227g butter, unsalted (cut to cubes) - soft but cool to touch OR straight out from the fridge!

1. Combine egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl
2. Place ontop of simmering hot water, whisk and whisk until all of the sugar has dissolved. Feel it with your hand, if smooth then its done!
3. Transfer to your mixer bowl (if using stand mixer), or if using hand mixer, start whisking the egg whites until it turns silky smooth and looks as white as snow, its liquid so its not gonna firm up like meringue usually would so dont panic!
4. When your bowl is completely cool to touch, start adding the butter little by little. Yes it will curdle at first, but just keep whisking away until soft pillowy buttercream is formed.
5. Alternatively, after all the butter has mixed in, just scrape the sides of the bowl and fold gently with spatula until its smooth and silky.
6. For Chocolate SMBC as per picture, mix in 1/2 cup of chilled chocolate ganache and fold until well combined


Salted Caramel Sauce
Source: Sally's Baking Addiction

/visit her page, it has complete step-by-step pictures which is a good reference/

200g granulated sugar
90g butter - salted, cut to cubes
120ml heavy cream (at least 36% milk fat - but I uses 35% milk fat)
1 tsp salt

1. Heat up sugar in a saucepan, until it turns amber colour (just like typical caramel would)
2. Add in butter, carefully since it will bubble up, and stir until all the butter has melted
3. Slowly pour heavy cream, again carefully it will start bubble up, stir to combine and let it boil for 1-2 minutes (it will rises up and looks foamy)
4. Take off heat and stir in salt, and left to cool
5. Transfer into container and refrigerate!


Enjoy!
Goodluck!

BAKE! : Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Source: Pink Parsley

Red Velvet Cupcakes

adapted from Saveur magazine, via Annie's Eats and Apple a Day
makes about 24 cupcakes

I've tried several recipes for red velvet cake, and this one is my favorite - both for flavor and ease of preparation.  It has the perfect balance of sweetness, richness, and tang.  And the color is so pretty!

• 2½ cups cake flour all-purpose flour
• 1½ cups castor sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 Tbs cocoa powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1½ cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk (1 cup milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice/vinegar)
• 2 Tbs (1 oz.) 3-4 Tsp liquid red food coloring
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp distilled white vinegar

Preheat the oven to 177 C  and line two cupcake pans with paper liners.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar until well combined, about 1-2 minutes.  With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined and smooth.

Divide the batter evenly among the liners.  Bake 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.  Cool for about 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Tips:

To get a pretty red colour, I mixed two different red hues, first is cherry red and another is bright red, cherry red makes it pinkish and adding bright red turns it into really bright red, which will darken when you add dry mixture.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 250g cream cheese, cold (I use Tatura)
• 100g butter, softened but still cool to touch
• 1-1 1/2 cup of icing sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine everything in a stand mixer and beat until well combined, turn up until maximum speed and beat for 405 minutes until fluffy. Chill for 30 minutes or up to an hour.

Another great recipe for Cream Cheese that I adore but haven't yet able to adapt is from Georgetown Cupcakes which I always feel a bit jealous over their frosting cuz it is just fluffyyy~~

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (for the frosting)
• 4 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted (for the frosting)
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (for the frosting)
• 6 ounces cream cheese (for the frosting)

1. For the frosting, place all frosting ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat until well combined. Be sure to beat on high speed at the very end for at least two minutes to ensure that the frosting is light and fluffy.

To Assemble

Cut holes into the cupcakes and fill in with chocolate ganache and strawberry filling, and frost the cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. The cakes that were cut out can be use to sprinkle over the cupcakes, just blitz it in the food processor and sprinkle away!

BAKE! : Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Filling and Chocolate Ganache

Rich Chocolate Cake

Source: thelittleteochew.com

Via: TheKitchenGuardian

By: Meeeee

200g good quality dark chocolate, chopped
200g butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk

1. Preheat oven at 170C, prepare 2 cake tins, I used 2 7x10 inches cake tins.

2. Using a double boiler method, melt chocolate, set aside.

3. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the melted chocolate.

4. Add eggs one at a time, beat until well incorporated.

5. Sift flour and cocoa together, I also added a pinch of salt!

6. Fold half the flour mixture and alternate with milk into the butter, sugar and egg mixture, mixture will look thick and fudgy

7. Divide the mixture into the cake tins and bake for about half an hour.

Done!
Slices of bread will keep it moist especially
if you plan to cool it overnight and frost the next day!

Chocolate Ganache

250g good chocolate, chopped.

250g double or whipping cream, I used one that was 30% fat content

30g butter...hoollallla....

1. Using double boiling method, heat the cream until they are bubbly, add a pinch of salt.

2. Pour onto the dark chocolate and butter, stir and stop the heat...stir until all are mixed well.

3. Chill for about 1 hour to thicken the ganache, spread using a spatula or pipe.

THE VERDICT!
Cake is super moist, I know it looks dry through the pictures but trust me, its moist and it tasted as if buttermilk was used, a lil bit sourness which I am wondering where the hell it comes from, but it is so good, and the ganache is fingerlickinggood!! Oh and I sandwiched this cake with strawberry filling and lil bit of ganache!

BAKE! : Banana Cupcake with Ganache Filling and Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Original source: HERE

By: Me

Yield: 18-24 pieces

Cupcakes

• ½ cup (1 stick or 115 grams) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• ½ cup (100 grams) light or dark brown sugar
• ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 and ½ cups mashed/coarsely chopped banana (about 3 large very ripe bananas)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (120 ml) buttermilk (homemade = 2 tsp lemon juice + enough milk to fill 1/2 cup)

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.  Line two 12-count muffin pans with 18 cupcake liners. Set aside.

Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together in a large bowl on medium speed until creamed. About 2-3 minutes. With the mixer running on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the mashed bananas and vanilla, beating on low speed for about 1 minute.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 additions, stirring by hand after each addition.  Add the milk and stir until combined.  The batter will be lumpy.  Fold in the chocolate chips.

Spoon the batter evenly into 18 cupcake liners. Fill the unused cups one-third full with water to prevent warping. Bake each batch for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.  Allow to cool completely before frosting.

For both of the frosting and ganache, I used the leftover from previous baking project as posted here. 

BAKE! : Kek Karamel (Attempt #6 - Finally!)

Hello. Been trying to scored the perfect "kek karamel" is tiring, I'm a perfectionist although this attempt is not "perfect" but its perfect enough to my eyes, lmao despite an accident occured due to my impatient, nothing related to the recipe, trust me. This is the second recipe, whereby I always refer to my first one which have mixed results, so I found this recipe and decided to try it and me a happy happy girl :)

Here's the recipe, sorry malas nak taip, so copy paste je, janji faham.

KEK PUDING KARAMEL
Sumber Asal: Puan Munira, Puan Shasha Rahmat & Puan Sha Hafizi (KR)
Sumber: Anna Qawina
Via: HaSue
By: ME /lulz/

Bahan-bahan : Loyang 22cm/25cm (me: I used 9-inch round cakepan, but please find TALL cake mold trust me)

(A)-Gula Hangus
2 sudu besar gula (utk gula hangus)
*tabur gula dlm loyang n masak atas api perlahan..biar gula hancur dan warna tukar jadi perang)
Ketepikan dulu (gula tersebut akan mengeras & berbunyi macam kaca pecah gitu)

(B) - Bahagian Atas
1 cawan susu cair (alternatif: 1 1/2 cawan)
1 cawan susu pekat manis (alternatif: 1/2 cawan)
1 sudu teh esen vanila
3 bj kuning telur
2 biji telur (putih & kuning)

(C) - Lapisan Kek
140 gm tepung gandum *Ayak bersama baking powder
70 gm gula kastor (alternatif: 50g shj)
3 bj kuning telur
135 ml air biasa
1 sudu teh baking powder*
45 ml minyak masak
2 sudu besar susu pekat manis

(D) Meringue
6 bj putih telur
70 gm gula kastor
1 sudu teh krim of tartar

Cara-cara :

1. Sediakan bahan (A) dahulu, ketepikan.
2. Kacau semua bhn (B) perlahan2...jgn bg berbuih2...nanti tak jadi pudingnya..
3. Tapis bahan (B) td dlm loyang gula hangus (A) tadi..ketepikan.
4. Pukul bahan (C) *Campurkan semua sekali & pukul guna senduk je..ketepikan
5. Pukul sampai bhn (D) smpai jd kembang & bila kita angkat ia tak jatuh...(meringue)
6. Campurkan adunan (C) + (D) dan gaul ngan senduk hingga sebati..jangan terlebih kacau, agak-agak bercampur sebati je.
7. Bahagikan kepada beberapa bahagian & letak pewarna n paste kalau suka..
8. Masukkan ke dlm loyang yg ada gula hangus & keremel tadi (A + B)..selang seli warna, letak ditengah2 loyang, adunan kek akan terapung.
9. Bakar cara double boiling/waterbath (Loyang kek berada di dalam loyang berisi air panas) - selama 1 jam 10 minit dengan suhu 175'C, menggunakan api bawah dahulu selama 40 minit, kemudian api atas bawah sehingga masak *Boleh juga menggunakan api atas bawah tetapi guna suhu 160'C / 170'C sahaja, (bergantung kpd oven masing-masing juga ya) my way: 160C api bawah sahaja 1 jam 30 minit +/-
10. <MY TIPS> After finish baking, please leave the cake in the oven with the door slightly ajar, until the cake is loose from the sides, then only flip the cake and refrigerate or eat it, but seriously this cake is THE BEST when its cold!! (this tip is referring to Azlita Masam Manis BlogPost)

Please refer to the Anna Qawina's and Azlita Masam Manis's blogposts regarding this cake, to see pictures and so much more, this is because I'm not that rajin to snap pictures for everysinglesteps sorry ><

The feels when this is perfectly done is undescribable <3

#edit: after tasting it, i might gonna tweak the recipe a little bit, cuz to me the flan is waaaay to sweet, so i might suggest to with 1.5 cup of evaporated milk (susu cair) and 0.5 cup of condensed milk (susu pekat), this is bcs I can taste the condensed milk, like thats the only thing I taste, and maybe I reduce the sugar to 50g for the cake batter, not the meringue. ^_^ if I do this again, I'm surely gonna be tweaking the recipe. so nonetheless give it a try!!!

Next, I'm gonna try this recipe, wish me luck!