D-2 to Ethan's Birthday

OH MY LEGS!!! My aching legs......after this party...i'm gonna just sit around and not do anything for awhile.....

so my friend was saying how she's interested in making cake pops and bought a cake pop machine......and i tot...wat a brilliant idea for a little "door gift" for the party....so i started researching on bakeralla(goddess of cake pop) as well as other websites and bugging friends, who have actually manage to do it successfully.

researching on the internet doesn't really give u much confidence...it's full of people crying...swearing and cursing at cake pops.....so i started to worry....i really hate to do something and have to give it up halfway because i can't do it...it'll just annoy the heck out of me.....so here goes...

Had two packets of Ghirardelli Brownie Premix left..so that's what i used....once they were done...i basically let it cool just a little....cut off the four crusty sides and mashed the brownie together....then i rolled them into balls and sort of press them to flatten them a little....using brownie as pop, u really don't need added frosting..the trick here is to roll while they're still warm.....

I know...at this point..they really look like droppings

Once they have been rolled,  leave them to cool. instead of using candy melts, i use cadbury chocolate melts....i think they're great to work with. i followed their microwave instructions...no problems at all......dip the lollipop sticks in the melted choc and stick them into the balls...not too far up...the balls will break....for the ears...oh...did i mention tat they're Hello Kitty brownie pops....i used mini choc chips...just use a little melted chocolate to stick them to the balls.

yes..they looked kind of devilish...

Into the fridge they go....10 mins...just for the choc to set....take them out and now dip them into the melted choc....give them a little tap to remove excess choc and stand them to set...

TA-DA....the worst is sort of over....

Now that the pops are sort of done.....i have to get my cake boards ready....fondant covered cakeboards looks soooo pretty....i reckon.... roll the fondant out on icing/cornflour dusted work are...to transfer the rolled fondant onto the cake board....just life them onto the rolling pin and onto the cake board....trim the sides with a butter knife....i use edible glue to sort of hold them in place.....see that little indentation on the pink board...i wonder if it's because of the glue...hmmmm...cake boards should be covered at least a day ahead...to sort of let it harden before u put the cake on it.....it will decrease the chances of damaging the fondant on the board....

Pops and cake boards....

Tips from the Internet:

• If pops are too cold while dipping in choc, the choc will crack when it sets
• Do not overheat melts
• If using frosting in pops, add a little at a time....too much frosting and the pops will slide off the sticks
• If pops have bubbles (mine does...sigh)....oil might leak as a "weak" spot is created

D-5 to Ethan's Birthday

Finally got my marshmallow fondant and my Dear Daniel caps done...i know...the caps don't really look like caps...boo hoo...am hoping that with an addition of a letter on it, it can be salvaged....

so why marshmallow fondant? firstly, i had a few packets of marshmallow sitting around and secondly, i heard that they are yummier than fondant fondant....so here's the recipe. oh...and fondant is always easier to handle a day after....so prepare ahead!!

My supposedly Dear Daniel caps....

Marshmallow fondant...can't wait for the taste test on DD

Useful Tips from the Internet:

• Never keep marshmallow fondant in the fridge
• Shortening helps prevent fondant from sticking to hands and work surface
• Always prepare more. It's hard to get the same colour if you need more
• Wrap in cling wrap and store in air-tight container or bag in a cool dry place
• If it hardens too much, zap in microwave for 5 secs

D-8 to Ethan's Birthday

Was suppose to make the marshmellow fondant today but it was sooooo hot...there was no way I was going to knead and roll something that might just dissolve in this sweltering heat....argh...decided to do the easy stuff...heee...hello kitty bow and the letters...

The plastic cutters were a little hard to work with but i'm riding on confidence remember...heee...rolling out the white gum paste was easy enough...cutting them using the cutters wasn't....the letters were a little too fiddly and the gum paste was a little too soft....so rather than using the cutters to cut the letters...i sort of did a deeeeeeeeeep emboss on the gum paste, then let the gum paste harden just a teeny bit...not too much...else the letters will crack....then using a modelling tool...peel and cut the unwanted parts away...TADA....perfect...

I was so happy with myself that i forgot to make extra...sigh.....it would serve me right if they decided to break into pieces at the very last minute....

Happy to say..the bow was much easier.....roll the red gum paste into a long tube...use a rolling pin to flatten to the desired width....trim the edges to make it even...emboss the edging with modelling tool. Of course doing all tat will still be a long flat piece and no ribbon...heee...so wat do u do? Making sure that the "inside" is facing up, gather both ends to meet in the middle and overlap one end slightly onto the other end....use a little water as "glue"....crunch the middle slightly and flip the ribbon over(pretty side is facing up now).......make a round gum paste piece and attach it to the crunched middle part of the ribbon....

Wanted to make the ribbon a little prettier...so I stuffed kitchen towel while making the ends meet so tat the sides are a bit puffed up....leave it to dry with the kitchen towel inside.....DONE!

D-9 to Ethan's Birthday

I've started on the second cake. It's made using Ghirardelli Brownie Premix bought from Costco. I've used 2 packets and baked it into a slightly bigger than A4 size tray. I found the picture, which I wanted, printed it to A4 size and cut it out to use as a stencil.

I placed the "stencil" onto the brownie and using a serrated knife, shaped the brownie.

Brownie is now sitting in the freezer wrapped in both cling wrap and aluminium foil.

YEAH! One cake done and since brownie freezes really well, I thought this will be great to cut down on some last minute rushing.

Shaped brownie using stencil

Useful Tips from the Internet:

• Make sure cake is cool before cutting, it's much easier
• Cake must be completely cooled before wrapping tightly and putting in the freezer to prevent it from sweating when defrosting. 

D-17 to Ethan's Birthday

So this year I've decided to embark on a massive mission. Riding on my new found confidence (or over-confidence..depending on the success of the party) of having done one collaborative project - Banana in Pjs cake, I'll be making 2...yes...not one but TWO cakes. One for Ethan and another for a friend's daughter, Jaelyn, whose birthday we'll be celebrating together.

I get sweaty palms just thinking about it.....firstly, I'm not a baker. Not even pre-mix cakes can save me. They always turn out too dry, overcooked or just bad. SO WHAT WAS I THINKING ABOUT....I figured if I started early enough and failed, there's always time to rush out to get a store bought one and there really isn't anything that can compare to that sense of achievement if it works according to plan.

Between looking after 2 kids, surfing the net and the occasional housework, there really isn't much time for fondant rolling, cake baking etc..so I've decided to start this project wayyyy before the D-date.

This was what I made for the past week since you really need to let the figurines dry for a couple of days. Figurines are made of Satin Ice gum paste.

Prototype made with Playdoh

Purple Sheep

Purple, Yellow, Orange, Green Sheep and a Bush

I used a straw to "emboss" the sheep's body for a fleece-like look.

To attach heads, arms and legs to the body, I've stuck a piece of spaghetti in them and added a bit of edible glue.

To attach eyes, I've just brushed a bit of water.

As I want the figurines to be upright on the cake, I have inserted a lollipop stick through one of the legs, hoping that it will be sufficient for the figurine to stay upright on the cake.

Useful Tips from the Internet:

• Always keep gum paste wrapped. They dry out really quickly
• Keep leftover gum paste tightly wrapped and place in air-tight container in a cool dark place
• Never put gum paste in the fridge
• Gel paste is really the best to use for colouring gum paste
• If it gets too sticky while kneading gum paste, coat hands with melted shortening
• Too much sun will change the colour of the coloured gum paste

Bananas in Pajamas Cake

so a few of us gals got together to embark on this delightful mission....bananas in pajamas cake...first attempt for all of us...i've got to say...i'm quite happy with the results...figurines made with gum paste and the cake is covered with fondant....if u take a closer look, it's abit cracked...i mite attempt to use 50/50 (WOW...baker talk for half gum paste...half fondant - i think) for the figurines....TADA...cute ma??

Candy Sushi Making Kit

You know how u surf youtube and see people making stuff and think...OH GOSH..SO CUTE...i soooo wanna make it too?? this was one of those times....saw this selling at asian grocery and tot i so NEED to make it...heee...this is a vid of how it was made by the youtube person
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr-qewC-4gY

and this was the final product, which was produced by yours truly and a couple of friends, who was just as fascinated...heee...altho i must say...the candy itself wasnt tat fab...it's all in the process...fun fun fun

Yubo Lunchboxes

So now that J has started kinder...he has to bring his lunches and snacks on fri...and you know how i go mental at the chance of shopping with the excuse of...WE REALLY DO NEED IT...i found this lunchbox...ordered it from amazon (cheaper including shipping) and have been using it since the start of kinder...lurve lurve lurve it...everything can go into the dishwasher...yes everything including the whole lunchbox..handle and all..although it's not hard to wash 3 containers by hand....i lurve that everything fits wonderfully including the ice pack and tat nothing wobbles or knocks against each other..if u know wat i mean...

http://www.getyubo.com/

and here's presenting Jayden's first lunch in his pirate yubo lunchbox!!

Banana Choc Muffins

So....with Jayden now having to bring lunches and snacks for kinder... I have decided that i need to make his snacks...u know..reduced sugar muffins...hidden veg..etc......so i got all enthuse when i found the eurolab mini cupcake maker on sale from dealsdirect at 14 bucks ...AUD of course....maker was small...easy to use...effortless to clean....

TADA!! my first batch of mini muffins..recipe from http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipe/Easy-Banana-Cake-L1581.html ...which  i amended since J really likes choc...tip..dont add choc chip to hot mixture because it will melt...yes...DUH...but on hindsight..not a bad idea since now the whole muffin is marbled and J can't just pick out all the choc chip to eat....

Banana Choc Mini Muffins...My revised recipe (makes 21)
Ingredients:
125g butter
1/2 cup sugar (i reckon could go lesser depending on type of choc chip)
1tsp vanilla essence
1 egg
2 ripe bananas, mashed
11/2 cup self-raising flour
1/4 cup milk
Choc chip (i used dark, as many or little as u like)

Method:
1. Melt butter, sugar and vanilla essence (let cool else egg will scramble)
2. Add everything else in and mix lightly
3. Put in mini muffin maker for 5 - 7 mins

Muffin came out surprisingly yummy ....Would lurve to put walnuts ...but kinder is nut free....

Verdict:
For keeps...J lurves the muffins...daddy too!

Pickled Cucumbers

Made these cucumbers with Not Quite Nigella's recipe http://www.notquitenigella.com/2009/05/16/cucumber-pickles-nqns-mums-recipe/  very very yum...

An original recipe by Not Quite Nigella

• 4 Lebanese cucumbers
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 4 teaspoons vinegar
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• a dash of pepper
• a dash of sesame oil (optional)
• chili, finely sliced

Well...i roughly cut up the chilli so i could pick them out...and instead of 2 steps...i just mixed everything together...hee hee..lazy

~Happy New Year 2012~

Wishing everyone a happy new year, good health and much wealth...

CNY dinner...heee

Stew Pork

Prawn roll

YuSheng...the advantages of homemade..LOADS of SALMON

CNY Cupcakes!

heeee...made cupcakes CNY theme..heee..so happy with myself....choc cupcakes(from pre mix pack...cant be bothered to make from scratch)...marshmallow fondant(marshmallow, water....zap in micro...add icing sugar and colouring-natural of course)....to make the fondant stick to the cupcakes...i used nutella because i couldn't be fussed with frosting..hee heeee...lazee....basically had an afternoon of "play dough" session....starting to see the appeal of play dough to kids.....

4 designs...ingot, oranges, cherry blossoms and dragon/tiger(ripped off from the internet)

Qiao Guo

Since MIL is here...I have some time to indulge in baking and making some stuff, which I have always wanted to try from the internet...found this recipe for Qiao Guo(http://www.8fan.com/jiachang/qita/2010/1766.html)....very flavorsome although I have to admit I prob deep fried them a wee bit too long...but what is interesting about this recipe is that it has tofu in it..yes TOFU...so not sure how well it will keep...

My Qiao Guo

Sweet Potato Mantou

Found this recipe on the following website http://cookingcrave.blogspot.com/2009/05/sweet-potato-steamed-buns.html and thought I should try it....YUM!! Very soft and not very sweet...could be because of my sweet potato..heee...still have half a potato left...shall make more tomorrow...YUM YUM YUM!!

Here's pics of my mantou..

Before steaming

After Steaming

Taiwan Day 4 - Part 2

After departing from Hualien station, we made our way to Ruifang and got a taxi to our accommodation in Jiufen....Winsor B&B.... it's one of those old style houses that has been refurbished but still retained alot of it's charm...

Outdoor sitting area with a really pretty view

After getting settled, we decided to explore Jiufen Old Street, which was just behind our B&B....

This I like..yum..it's like popiah skin with peanuts and ice-cream
and of course some yucky herb..which I told them to omit..
...coriander I believe it was

Vegetarian Rou Yuan...

Snails...soso..not much taste

Deep-Fried Mushrooms...yum

Rou Yuan again...except non vegetarian this time..

Abit like steam carrot cake...but served cold

Abit like ang ku kueh..the preserve radish one best...

Famous Yam Balls...

Famous flight of steps from
the movie Spirited Away

Black but yummy...taiwan's tie jing gang

Freshly ground almond powder...
YUM!!! Used it to make
almond drink...