Gâteau à la madeleines

My first instalment with these exquisite little shell-like french teacakes were a pleasant surprise! These full almond flavoured with hint of lemon, made perfect complement for teatime treats! Savor these moist and lightly crisp edges little elegance anyway you like.  I love mine dunking in my earl grey which elicits great enjoyment. Of the french macarons and madeleines, i opted for the latter as all you need is a madeleine pan, couldn't be easier to make!

Love the almond aroma wafting round the house while baking. My boys absolutely adore these deceptively light sponge while i enjoyed mine over a cup of tea watching the madeleine monsters finished up the whole lot! 

Distinctive humpbacked madeleine characterized the quintessential French sweet. Best achieved by preparing the batter hours ahead.

  

Gâteau à la madeleines

2 Eggs

100g Icing Sugar

1 Grated Lemon Zest

100g Cake Flour
30g Ground Almond

3g Baking Powder

100g Unsalted Butter (Melted)

1tsp Vanilla Essence

Preparation:

1. Sieve cake flour and baking powder

2. Whisk eggs with icing sugar

3. Add lemon zest and ground almond,whisk till soft peak

4. Fold in cake flour and baking powder

5. Stir in the melted butter ladle by ladle

6. Mix in vanilla essence

7. Refrigerate batter for about 12 hours

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200deg C

2. Brush extra melted butter on madeline mould and sprinkle over extra flour 

3. Remove batter from fridge. Spoon battter into moulds

4. Bake in oven for about 3min. Reduce to 180deg C and bake for another 10-15 mins

5. Unmould and cool on rack

Recipe reference & adaption: My sweetie, gift for you!

                             Angel Wong

Jessie

It's all about LOVE

My eldest dear son will be taking the nerve-wrecking Primary School Leaving Examination which is just around the corner, 7 days to be exact! During this period of time, other than being there for him, my other way of showing my support and love will be serving him a slice of my bakes during those nights of him burning oil. To kick start for the D-day and a little celebration for him obtaining 3rd in position for his Prelim, i prepared an ice-cream cake specially for him.
To melt his heart and to shower my LOVE for him...

♥      ♥      ♥     ♥     ♥     ♥     ♥      ♥   

Cookies & Cream ice-cream sandwiched between chocolate sponge with oreo cookies base.

Will share the recipe & pictorial the next round when i made adaption to perfect the cake.

To all the parents and children embarking this journey, lets hold their hands & embrace the race with LOVE.

All the best! 加油!

now, Let the countdown begin...



♥     ♥     ♥    ♥    ♥

Thanks Kristy for passing on the award to me! My great honour!

Mooncakes Galore

home-made snow skin mooncakes specially for family and friends...

Strawberry Snow Skin

Mango Snow Skin

Chocolate Truffle Snow Skin with halzernut & crunchy choc pearls

Green Tea Snow Skin

Mango & Chocolate Snow Skin

Orange Snow Skin

Strawberry Snow Skin

My favourite Pandan Snow Skin

~  月圆花好, 中秋节快乐! ~



Mango Tango Squares

I can't resist any bakes with lemon!
Not long ago, i was fasinated by some tangy squares with lemony topping set on a cookie crust from my blogging pals, Jane & Min. The original recipe comes from a beautiful blog, dailydelicious. Take a look at her luscious lemon squares, inviting to made you crave for more!
I did a little adjustment to suit my children's liking tho by replacing the lemon juice to mango juice. I shall made some lemon ones just for myself the next time.
The refreshing taste of mango makes it tantalyzing & addictive, a great dessert perfect for our weather!

Mango Tango Squares
Recipe inspired & adapted from dailydelicious-lemon squares

Cookie Crust:
85g Unsalted Butter (cold)
110g Plain Flour
45g Icing Sugar
¼ tsp salt

Filling:
2 Eggs(lightly beaten)
110g Castor sugar
1½ tbsp Plain Flour
⅛ tsp salt
85ml mango juice
2tbsp Whipping cream
Icing sugar (dusting)
½ tsp Mango essence (optional)

Method:
1.  Preheat oven to 180°C.
2.  Grease a 7" loose base square pan and line bottom with baking paper.
3.  Grate butter using a grater and set aside.
4.  Sift flour, icing sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add grated butter.
5.  Stir with a wooden spoon until combined and crumbly.
6.  Press mixture evenly onto the bottom of baking pan. Freeze it for 15mins.
7.  Bake in preheated oven till slightly golden about 15-20mins
8.  Take out and meantime prepare filling and reduce oven temp to 175°C
9.  Whisk eggs, castor sugar, flour and salt until smooth.
10.Add in mango juice and whipping cream, stir till combined.
11. Pour the mixture over the hot crust and bake filling until set, proximately 18-20mins.
12. Cool on a wire rack.
13. Lift out from pan to cool completely before cutting into squares or any desired shapes you prefer.
14. Dust with icing sugar before serve (serve nice slightly chilled)
15. Enjoy!

For illustrations & original lemon squares recipe, please refer here
Thank you Pook for this wonderful recipe!

Jessie

Zebra Cotton Cheese Cake

You will notice that i bake cheese cake rather often as my children simply adores the cotton ones. However,  i will try to made variation to the recipe every time i bake. This time, i bake it by giving it a zebra swirl effect. The line wasn't as neat as i din't spoon equally the mixture as i was running short of time in between revision with my boy but good enough to amaze my children how it turned out to be ;)
I will snap pictures for the steps the next time i bake this again given more time. Meanwhile, i hope my instructions are clear enough for you to achieve the zebra effect. Happy Baking!

Some slices in between our study breaks.

Original Cotton Cheese Cake recipe:              

*Zebra Cotton Cheese Cake (instruction in red)

                              

Ingredients:

250g Cream Cheese                                                                                    

25g Butter

Sugar 75g

4 Yolks

1/4cup Milk

1/4tsp Vanilla Extract

Plain Flour 25g

*10g Cocoa Powder

4 Whites

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 150deg

2. Line a 7" square baking tin with baking paper

3. Beat cream cheese, butter and 50g sugar until creamy.

4. Mix in yolks, milk and vanilla.

5. Sift in flour and fold gently into the mixture

6. *divide batter into two equal portion.

7.* Sift in cocoa powder into one portion and fold in gently

8.* Set aside both batter

9. Whisk whites with the remaining sugar until stiff;

10.* fold half gently into the cheese mixture & the other half to the cocoa mixture

11.*Spoon cheese mixture into cake tin starting with the cheese mixture first in the center of cake tin.

12.*Next, spoon cocoa mixture into the center of the cheese mixture(step above)

13.*Following the sequence steps above until both batter runs up.

14.Bake in water bath for about an hour, let cool & serve.

Recipe reference: The temptation of Cheescakes

Jessie

Lemon Heart Melts

Do you like...?

melt-in-the-mouth cookies √

Buttery with hind of lemony fragrance √

if you do as much as i do, try these cookies...

These lemon heart melts are an easy variation for Vanilla Melts.

Ingredients:

180g Butter (softened) 

160g Icing sugar

1 1/2tbsp lemon juice

260g Plain Flour

2tbsp Corn Flour

1 lemon grated rind

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160deg
2. Grease oven-tray or line with baking paper
3. Beat butter,  1/3 cup sieved icing sugar in small bowl with electric mixer until light & fluffy.
4. Add lemon juice & rind, beat until combined
5. Add sieved flour and cornflour, beat on slow speed until combined
6. Refrigerate biscuit dough about 10mins or until firm enough to roll
7. Roll dough flat between baking paper
8. use cookie cutter to cut out shape & place on greased tray
9. bake about 10mins or until just golden.
10. Cool biscuits on trays for 5mins before transferring to wire racks to cool slightly
11. Dust biscuits with remaining sieved icing sugar
12. Cool completely on wire racks.
13. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week


Recipe reference & modification: Vanilla Melts
                                                     Women's Weekly Cupcakes & Cookies


Jessie

Light Cheese Cake Stick

While i was spring cleaning my wardrobe the other day, i have to clear all my jacket suits i wore for work years back before i became a SAHM to make space for my casual comfy tops & jeans i'm always in now. Practicality gets into the way with doll up and heels! Imagine, SPEED is the word when chasing looking after three boys! In between my heels boxes, i noticed a pretty box. Cake box, to be exact! It was rather well-kept till date. The minute i saw that, it walked me down the memory lane. Those were the days as a white collar worker...
It was the favourite cheesecake sticks i used to buy from Beard Papa when my office was situated at Parco Bugis Junction then which packed in such a pretty box. The next thing came to my mind was to bake my version of cheese cake sticks! Kinda funny right, i found inspiration in between spring cleaning lol! Yes, please bear with me, what to bake for ta day always on my mind!
These bite size sticks are scaled-down versions of my favourite light cheese cake that makes a delight dessert after meal. I make do without the cookie base and it tastes every bit as luscious as any full-size cheese cake yet on a lighter side. After a few sticks of these little indulgence, i'm all energetic to continue my never-ending spring-cleaning! *can someone lend me your magic wand?*

Light and refreshing with peach chunkies

Light Cheese Cake stick with Peach

Ingredients:

100g Cream Cheese (softened)
3 yolks

70g whipping cream

1tbsp lemon juice

15g Corn Flour
2 whites
50g sugar
*some cube can peach




Method:
1.  Preheat oven to 200deg
2.  Line baking paper on a 14cm cake tin
3.  Whisk cream cheese and yolks until smooth.
4.  Stir in whipping cream
5.  Add lemon juice & cube peaches, mix briefly.
6.  Mix in cornstarch
7.  Whisk whites until foamy. Add sugar and whisk until soft peak.
8.  Fold into cheese mixture by three times.
9.  Pour batter into cake mould. Place in a tray of hot water. Bake together in oven for 10 to 15 mins  until yellowish on the surface. Reduce to 160deg and bake for 40 mins or until golden brown, baked.
10. Remove and set aside to cool. Unmould.



Recipe reference & modification: My sweetie gift for you


Jessie

Classic Vanilla Cupcakes

Vanilla cupcakes

Ingredients:

225g Unsalted Butter (softened)

*225g caster sugar (reduced to 200g)

225g Self-raising flour

1 tsp Baking powder (omitted)

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

*If you have vanillar sugar, use half caster and half vanilla caster.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 175deg.

2. Place paper baking cases in muffin tins.

3. Place all ingredients in mixing bowl and whisk until smooth & pale.

4. Spoon mixture into the cases.

5. Bake about 20mins

6. Remove cakes from oven and let it cool on rack.

7. Decorate cupcakes as per preference.

Recipe reference: 500 cupcakes & muffins

Jessie

Little indulgence

A bonbon accented with splash of rum. Coated in rich & velvety, melt-in-the-mouth creamy dark chocolate, tossled with unsweetened cocoa powder. Best of all, they are easy to make!

Box of decadent chocolate truffles using recycled egg cases with ruffle strings, environmental friendly wrapping ideas as sweet as the little gems in it.

Succomb to your craving and indulge in these sinfully truffles!

Classic chocolate truffles with rum

Ingredients:

225g semisweet chocolate

½ cup heavy cream

1½ tbsp dark rum
5 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Method:

1. Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt it with cream and rum over hot water.

2. Whisk gently until the mixture is smooth.

3. Let it cool in the refrigerator overnight covered by plastic wrap.

4. Scoop a small tablespoon of chocolate mixture and roll the truffle balls in your hands. Be careful  to avoid melting the balls. The size (diameter) should be about 1 inch (2.5 cm). Alternatively, shape truffles by using a melon baller.

5. Roll the balls in cocoa powder.

6.Store the truffle balls tightly covered in a refrigerator.

Recipe reference: cacaoweb