Mini Barbie on Cake

 

This is my very first Barbie Cake.. A friend ordered two for his girls, so I didn't charge him the Barbie Doll.

I used the money to buy Wilton pan which costs me RM49.90. I used buttercream using the recipe i got from the internet.

The buttercream is a bit too soft. When i deliver, I had to put both cakes in a box. I turned on the air con high so that it won't melt. I have a recipe using icing sugar.. it will not melt during journey but i just can't enjoy the cream...

this recipe uses 175gm creamwell, 25gm butter and 120gm golden syrup. I think i'll add a little bit of icing sugar so that it will set nicely..

Barbie Cake

 

This is my very first Barbie Cake.. A friend ordered two for his girls, so I didn't charge him the Barbie Doll.

I used the money to buy Wilton pan which costs me RM49.90. I used buttercream using the recipe i got from the internet.

The buttercream is a bit too soft. When i deliver, I had to put both cakes in a box. I turned on the air con high so that it won't melt. I have a recipe using icing sugar.. it will not melt during journey but i just can't enjoy the cream...

this recipe uses 175gm creamwell, 25gm butter and 120gm golden syrup. I think i'll add a little bit of icing sugar so that it will set nicely..

Simple Icing for Writing - Step by Step

 

Ganache - Step by Step

 

10 Reasons why You should Cook Yourself

1. Cheaper
2. Cleaner
3. Tastes better
4. It's easy... all you have to do is try
5. Nothing is more satisfying that feeding your family yourself
6. You don't have to get dressed to cook
7. You can control your salt and forget about MSG altogether. (MSG makes you thirsty everytime you eat out)
8. You don't spend that much on drinks!
9. You get to choose the freshest ingredient!
10. You can sedeqah to your neighbours!

Melting Choc

Melting Chocolate


Basically there are two ways:

Double Boil

Simply put you chopped chocolate into a glass or stainless steel bowl which is bigger that a pot with boiling water. Switch off the stove so that it will not be too hot. This will ensure that there will be no water vapour or water getting into the chocolate. If that happens, the chocolate will split and will not set. (Set means it will not harden). Stir until melted.

Microwave

Simply put choc into a bowl. Set microwave to 340w, (medium kot) The time depends on how much choc u r melting. It takes 2.5 mins to melt 800gm. Don't worry if you see the choc remains the same. You have to stir once it's out of the microwave because it looks as though it's not melted.

Donut

Donut

Ingredients:

A
500 gm Tepung roti (high protein)
11 gm Instant yeast (1 paket mauripan)
40 gm Butter
70 gm Castor sugar
2 gm Garam

B
320 gm Susu (carnation)
1 Telur (A)


Method:

1. Gaul rata A, masukkan B, uli sampai lembut (tak payah elastic macam uli roti). Kalau pakai mixer, speed 2 10-15 minit.

Kalau uli tangan boleh uli, rehat sekejap, uli lagi, rehat lagi sampai cantik. Tak teruk uli kalau rehatkan sekejap.

3. Rehatkan 5-10 minit.

4. Letakkan sikit tepung untuk mencanai. Tekan doh dengan tangan, tekan dengan rolling pin (satu hala sahaja). Angkat-angkatkan doh (macam sidai kain, kalau tak buat macam tu, bila pakai acu donat, dia mengecut, donat tak cantik).

5. Rehatkan lagi, kalau tak rehat masa dah canai, donat keras sebab dia tak sempat nak naik dah goring. Goreng sekejap je.. Bubuh castor sugar.


*Nina selalu goreng dalam periuk non stick yang kecil, sekali goreng 5 biji (acuan kecil). Azly n co suma suka acuan kecil, sekali ngap je, tak comot rumah. He He..

Hiaskan donut… senang sahaja, cairkan coklat masakan dalam microwave 340w (medium)– 2 minit. Celup donat dalam coklat, bubuh sprinkle. Yum yum

My Big Little Kitchen Helper

These are the things that make my day... Total lost without them!

1. Digital scale - without it, i don't even want to bake
2. My beloved Butterfly Oven (RM900)and Berjaya Oven (RM850)
3. Phillip Handmixer (without stand)
4. Prochef Scraper (from Giant - small enough to clear the sticky mixing bowl)
5. Digital Timer (RM5 at carrefour, now the price is RM25.90) LUCKY ME
6. RM1 yellow plastic knife (to scrape the sides of my pan for easy cleaning)
7. IKEA plate brush (given by Linda) to clean my pans
8. My 2 stainless steel big mixing bowls (RM9.90 each at Carrefour Melaka - from China)
9. My cake tester. Really helpful because you can easily see it (not the ordinary lidi, mind you!)and it's long enough to slip into the oven!
10. My big wok for my ganache, really helpful when order is a lot!
11. GLO Liquid Dishwasher! Nothing beats Glo! Cleaning will be magical!

Honey Corn Flakes - doesn't stick to the cup

Honey Corn Flakes Cookies – 180°C, 10 mins, makes a lot..

Ingredients:
A
50 gm Butter
50 gm Honey
20 gm Castor Sugar

B
200 gm Corn Flakes

Method:
1. Arrange paper cups on a baking tray.
2. Melt butter, honey and sugar in a large pot.
3. Turn off the stove, quickly add the corn flakes and mix until incorporated.
4. Quickly spoon the corn flakes in the paper cups (if not the honey will stick to the bottom of the container.
5. Bake for 10 mins at 160°C or until brown.
6. Let cool, it'll stick together once they are cool.

*I know you guys didn’t ask for this recipe but this recipe is a hit among my kids, nieces and nephews (and Azly mostly). This is the best as it doesn’t take that much effort. Naufal, Nurul and Haziq normally help me to spoon them in the cups (and eat almost half of it while doing that). I’ve tried other recipe like this but they are either too sticky, too sweet or break when you are eating it.

You can add peanuts or chopped cherry or even sesame (to add colour). This recipe is perfect as they are not too sweet. The corn flakes stick together without sticking to the paper cups. Try it!!

Ganache (Topping)

Ganache (Topping)

80 gm IDEAL milk (I’ve tried other brands but this tastes the best kot)
250 gm cooking chocolate (chopped) (KC)
50 gm butter

1. Warm the milk in a pot and turn off the stove just before the milk is about to boil. You can see tiny bubble at the edge, that shows that it's warm enough.

2. Add the chopped cooking chocolate and butter. Stir until the chocolate and butter melt. Turn off the stove. Don't wait until everything is melt to turn off, you'll burn the choc.

3. Wait until both cake and the topping are cool before spreading the topping on the cake. (it’ll really be messy if you don’t)

* If you are not used to topping the cake, just put the cake on a wired rack (on a plate) and pour the ganache. Transfer the cake on a cake board using a spatula. (really good for amateurs).

* jangan risau kalau kek tu comot, boleh hias dengan garfu, corakkan bersilang, jangan cakar kek dengan garfu tau, lembut je sentuh topping. Karang nampak pulak kek tu…

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*Resepi ni kalau pakai chocolate brand KC, kalau chocolate yang mahal, kena kurangkan susu, takut tak boleh nak “spread” atas kek.
*Ganache ni, memang nampak cair bila panas, tapi kena tunggu betul-betul sejuk, baru cantik. Selalu nina masak pakai kuali je, tapi terus masuk dalam Tupperware bertutup, tahan 2-3 hari, lembut dan cantik. Kalau dibiarkan di luar dalam kuali, ganache akan keras, mungkin sebab kuali tu sejuk.

Lebihan ganache boleh dimakan dengan roti, pisang, lagi sedap kalau dimakan dengan biskut digestive. Naufal kata “Ibu ni pandai la masak yang sedap-sedap” bila dia makan digestive dengan ganache. He he…

Simple Cake Baking Tips

Baking is easy if you know the short cuts. I learnt the hard way and there's no such thing as common sense when it comes to new recipes. Try these cake baking tips. They work wonders!

1. Do buy proper equipment as encouragement.

I heard a lot of husbands complaining that the wifes never really bake. The truth is, they need encouragement, not complaints! My husband bought me a very small oven and he knew that i had never baked anything in my life. He trusted me and believe that i'm gonna a great cook. It started with a RM99 Pensonic oven, a handmixer (gicen by friends for my wedding), a digital scale and a pan. The rest is history!

2. If you don't have a digital scale, just buy a metric cup.
I insisted on buying a digital scale that costed me RM150 for 1kg. Now, the scales are much cheaper. I bought my second one for RM69 at e-bay and weighs 5kg. One of my major encouragement is the digital scale. It makes my life easier and if you have a very good recipe, it'll turn out great! Just get one with 5kg scale and can weigh both gram and ounce. My traditional sampret cookies is learnt from my mother in law, i make sure i use metric cups, so the taste remains the same everytime i bake.

3. Weigh and sift your ingredients in advance and seal them in plastic bags.
Don't forget to label them, though! You don't want to make tarts with sponge cake recipe!

4. Always preheat your oven with the correct temperature.

If the oven is not hot enough, your cake will not rise but if it's too hot, your cake is forced to rise and crack in the middle. Don't just assume the temperature because the temperature changes with different recipes. Cheese cake uses 160C while choc cake uses 180C. Carrot cake, on the other hand, uses 150c only.

5. Never trust the time given by the recipe book.

When baking with my best friend, she didn't realise that her cake burnt right under her nose, The recipe says 1 1/2 hours. The reason is simple. Your ovens differ. When my friends ask me about the time, i told them to remember, smaller oven is hotter because there's no space for air to circulate. My cakes is baked 40 minutes in my small oven and cracks in the middle, but with my bigger oven it takes 1 hour 10 minutes. Just get to know your oven! You'll be an expert in no time!

6. Use greese paper to line your pans.

Using greese paper at the bottom of your pan will difinitely give a very smooth top (your cake will be upside down). Just peel carefully when the cake is already cool and i mean peel literally

7. Never open the oven within the first 40 - 50 minutes!

While admiring your cake, please remember that opening your oven will let cold air in, the pressure will cause your cake to fall. (And your confidence fall with the cake too. hu hu)