salam aidiladha

these past few days

has been one of the most dramatic chapters of my life really. a lot of things happened, some stuffs went on in my head, i did some thinking, and i came to a conclusion. no, i am not going to tell you what the conclusion is here, but it should be fair to say that it got me thinking more rationally and i could finally stand up once again and face my faults with... with... dignity, yet along with some regrets. and get over it. start anew, a lesson learnt. good for me.

i've also been wanting to make lots and lots of desserts lately. truffles, trifles, icecream cakes, cupcakes, you name it i bake it, or rather... freeze it perhaps? lol. but unfortunately, due to some... something?? the ingredients bought were left untouched and i just happen to only sit in the kitchen, and stare at those many packets of icing sugar on the shelf. i don't know why. inspiration? yes, inspiration did strike what with me watching the adorable chocolat movie, i should be more than eager to start making batches after batches of chocolate truffles. but noooo, i have made...errr...ZERO batches?!!

maybe it's just that i'm too worn out now. i just wanna go home...

oh by the way, today we made pizzas, cupcakes, and farah made mi kari earlier this morning for the eid al-adha celebration. but we didn't really celebrate much no we didn't. no mood for celebration. we just stayed in and spent the whole day together, baking, and stuffing ourselves up. it has been a really nice day, all warm, and cozy despite the chilly breeze blowing in through the back door as it rained really heavily. but i liked that feeling though. it's like, we are all safe and warm inside, safely tucked away from the cold rain outside.

i like that feeling :)

i think i'm gonna make a batch of truffles tonight. maybe, perhaps.

maybe i just need some time to sort my mind out. or maybe, myself... or my life perhaps.

baker at heart,

chikabaker ♥

a chocolate cake perhaps?

the not so moist moist chocolate cake :)

i had a terrible headache earlier this evening, i suspect it was due to stress. diagnosis : tension headache. so, something had to be done. a moist chocolate cake had to be done.

and it turned out that the moist chocolate cake was not that moist! so i guess it really is not a moist chocolate cake. instead, it's just a... a chocolate cake perhaps?

well, i looked up for some moist chocolate cake recipes on the net and tried to come up with my own recipe, considering the fact that i didn't have much ingredients on hand.

that should explain the not so moist moist chocolate cake. haha.

as for the toppings, initially i had it in my mind to pour chocolate ganache all over the top of the cake, letting it spill over the edges looking all yummy and... yummy. scrumptious. delectable. seducing. chocolatey. okay enough vocabularies. back to the topic. okay i wanted to use chocolate ganache as the topping but, BUT. i didn't have any thickened cream in my stash which i reckon is a major element in the making of a chocolate ganache. so, i tried to just use cooking chocolate and butter... and i got... CHOCOLATE! only that it's softer and had a more mousse-like texture.

okay wutever, so i said.

anyways, i had GREAT FUN at decorating the cake. haha. at least it made me happier :)

i spread the not so ganache chocolate ganache (???) over the top of the cake (which i had flipped upside down so that it would have a more even surface) and sprinkled some (err. a LOT) drinking chocolate powder over the not so ganache chocolate ganache. oh, not to mention that it's actually acap's (yang kacak itttu!) and haha i'm so sorry for having 'accidentally' used your cadbury drinking chocolate powder :D

and yeah, the chocolate curls too!

oh the cake is scrumptious. i LOVE it.

chocolate cake perhaps?

ingredients

cake

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup dark cooking chocolate (melted)
• 1/2 cup milk (3 tbsp milk powder + 1/2 cup water)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder

topping

• 1/2 cup milk cooking chocolate
• 2 tbsp butter

how to

cake

• beat butter and sugar until fluffy and add eggs into batter one at a time, beating well after each addition. add flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into mixture and mix well.
• add melted chocolate into batter and lastly, pour milk into batter and mix well.
• pour batter into a well greased (preferably lined also) pan, tap the bottom of the pan and bake in preheated oven at 175 C for 35-40 minutes.
• let cool.

topping

• using the double boiler method, melt chocolate with butter and stir until well mixed.

i really actually wanted to gobble up on some really moist chocolate cake but oh well. though it's not as moist, but this cake sure is a winner!

baker at heart,

chikabaker ♥

cool summer treat :)

THE icecreamcake ♥

as requested by mayam, i finally made the icecream cake from coles magazine. it is scrumptious i tell you and the recipe is really simple.

thanks to the extreme heatwave yesterday, i went like "oh i HAVE to make this cake" and so i ended up in the kitchen, back to my baking mode. but due to some minor glitches, i had to get new ingredients as i had spoilt the batter and i had no extra ingredients in my stash. so off we went to coles in the search for thickened creams and condensed milk. mayam and i cycled there :)

and a reminder for all, please use an electric mixer. this is for your own good. it's to preserve your sanity. i myself was not a big fan of using these electrical appliances whatsoever (not anymore obviously) but well, trust me. use an electric mixer. thanks to syue-heart's flawless skill at handling an electric mixer, the creaming process went effortless (with me sitting next to her and doing nothing, yeah). mayam also helped me alot with the beating process, manually. haha. then syue took over and got it over and done with.

unfortunately though, today is not that hot a day. that is a good thing but i was fantasizing on digging into this scrumptious dessert on an EXTREMELY HOT day and feeling all bliss and heaven. but oh well.

believe me, it's a bliss. okay now for the recipe.

THE icecreamcake

ingredients

icecreamcake

• 600 ml thickened cream (2 cups)
• 395 g condensed milk (1 cup)

puree

• mixed berries in syrup (you can use any type of berries. the actual recipe called for raspberries)
• 5 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp cornflour mixed with a little water

how to

• heat approximately 1/4 can of berries with sugar on low heat. bring to a simmer. add cornflour into puree and stir until you get a thick consistency. leave to cold (or you can just keep it in the fridge)
• using an electric mixer, beat thickened cream and condensed milk together until soft peaks form. pour batter into a pan lined with plastic (for easy removal, but it's up to you though).
• dollop berry puree over cream. gently swirl over top with skewer.
• cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight.

and that's it! very simple! effortless! even a 5 year err... no, a 10 year old? could do it!!

GAHAHAHA.

now i should get back to physiology. wish me luck for tomorrow's paper >___<

oh, eat some desserts first :">

baker at heart,

chikabaker ♥

coffee cheesecake

fulfilling my crave for coffee :)

earlier this evening i made a cheesecake. a coffee cheesecake.

the cake turned out well and i was glad. as for the topping, i sprinkled some drinking chocolate over the top of the cake and as i had a tub of sour cream in my stash of which i needed to finish off before it goes bad, i used the sour cream as well.

okay, i really think that it looks a bit cheesy don't you think? cheesy as in, large-heart-in-the-middle-of-cake kind of cheesy. and oh, the tiny white flakes all over the edge of the heart is something i did on purpose NOT the sour cream gone all messy oke. but though, it does look a bit messy... right?? >___<

oh wutever. well, i had actually intended to just leave the heart at the centre as it is without filling it up with anything but, BUT while i was happily drizzling the drinking chocolate all over the cake, i didn't notice that the cheesecake had gone sticky and the heart-shaped-A4 paper i placed at the centre (for tracing) was stuck onto it. so when i pulled the paper out, there were torn bits on the cake and i couldn't just leave it like that now could i?

so i spread some sour cream into the heart :)

initially, i had it in my mind to whip the sour cream up and use it for piping decorations. but i guess sour creams just would never whip up. it didn't, even after i've added some beaten egg whites into the cream! it's just not meant to be. lol.

oh the messy white flakes around the heart are actually icing sugar. i just felt like being extra-creative in all of a sudden and yeah, it proved that art could sometimes be a bit messy :P

oh and this time, i didn't use any cookie crumbs for the crust. i made it myself :)

but it's a bit bitter though. i was hoping that it could complement the sweet taste of the cheese filling. but after refrigeration the taste got better. happy me :)

let's just move on to the recipes now shall we? it's getting really late and i'm all sleepy 0.o

coffee cheesecake

ingredients

crust

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup butter (melted)

cheese filling

• 2 cream cheese (2 x 250g)
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/4 cup liquid coffee (2 tbsp coffee powder)

topping

• drinking chocolate
• sour cream + 5 tbsp icing sugar + 1 egg white

how to

crust

• combine flour, cocoa powder, and melted butter and mix well. press in a well greased spring-form pan and bake in preheated oven at 160 C for 10 minutes.
• leave to cool.

cheese filling

• beat cream cheese until smooth. gradually add sugar and beat well. add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. mix until well-blended. add cornflour, flour, vanilla essence and stir well. add liquid coffee, beating until smooth.
• pour filling into well-greased springform pan and using the waterbath method, bake in preheated oven at 160 C for 50 minutes or until firm around the edges. you would notice that the centre of the cake would be a bit jiggly when it has just baked but that is normal. let it cool in the oven for about 2 hours to prevent cracking. when it has cooled, keep it in the fridge so to make it firmer.

topping

• cut some shapes into an A4 paper and use it for tracing over the top of the cheesecake. drizzle drinking chocolate over the tracing paper.
• as for the sour cream, mix icing sugar into the cream and beat well. fold beaten egg white into the mixture so that the cream would have a thicker consistency (?). spread it over the cake.

i was kinda hoping that i could make something really cool and refreshing so that i could indulge myself on these really hot days of summer, eh spring is it? haihh. it's getting really HOT these days. i was imagining that it could somehow turn out to be some venetta ice-cream, or a cool, creamy, tiramisu dessert... i could have had that (maybe, perhaps) with an unbaked cheesecake but all the recipes call for thick cream (of which i didn't have) for whipping and i wanted to have the cheesecake today. like, yeah, today. err. or should i call it yesterday?

ah, wutever. i'll go to sleep and dream of yummy, scrumptious trifles :">

baker at heart,

chikabaker ♥

when just trees won't do

in desperate need to bake

i've been in quite a sober mood lately and i don't blame the capricious weather for it. nor the finals. it's just me. i don't really know why but i'm sure it's just me.

i'm just back from an evening walk around the neighborhood and i think my mood hasn't really improved. just now i sat on a swing at the playground and i thought hard. well, not that hard but hard enough. i just needed to clear my head up and get my focus back on track. however, it was to no avail.

what really did pop into my head while i was thinking hard was a cake from the big book of baking. i saw it when i flipped through the book yesterday and i just knew that i have to bake this. just the description of the cake made my mouth water and oh, the picture. in short, it was another sudden crave of mine that i just have to fulfill.

it's a two-layered walnut-coffee cake with a rich, strong-coffee buttercream in between, and spread over the top of the cake. swoons~

i'm short of just one more ingredient, which is the muscovado sugar (if i'm not mistaken) and that aside, i'm all set. maybe i'll try to find the muscovado sugar on monday, that is if i even go to uni. i bet i will because i really am eager to try my hands at something out of the big book of baking. and of course, once i've tried something from the book i would surely post an entry of it here but the only problem is... i'm not really sure if i can put the recipes up because it's from a book and what's the point of selling a book when you find other people posting your recipes (that you sold) up on the net? then other people won't bother buying your book will they?

i don't know =_="

when i was on the swing, i found myself thinking. i really love to bake. yes, i do. but just now, when i was cooking, it was all a mess. and it didn't really go well. and what more, my hands smelt really... ugh. they smelt of oil, cumin, more oil... in short, they didn't smell good.

but when i bake on the other hand, my hands smell really nice. they smell all buttery, sugary, and just... sweet. i love it. i love how my hands smell after i bake and it just makes me smile if nothing else. it's another one of my life's simple pleasures. just like how i smile and feel the relieve of letting out the urge to just jump whenever i jump up, trying to reach for some leaves hanging on branches of trees by the road.

maybe cooking and baking just don't go hand in hand at times i guess.

ugh, i'm such a bad cook ;(

life is beautiful, i know. but sometimes i forget just how beautiful life is. maybe i need someone to always be there and remind me of it. maybe. perhaps.

oh by the way, i've just watched julie and julia and i think it's a great movie. pray that i'll get a husband as great as theirs, they're so sweet.

baker at heart,

chikabaker ♥