Walk down memory lane

was craving for good old traditional sponge laden with rich creamy butter with unpretentious decoration i used to have during my childhood days. You know, those classic 60's buttercream cakes found in those old confectionaries where the smell of butter waft in the air the minute you stepped in? Those cakes were used as gifts for wedding 过大礼 or for baby full-month celebration with vibrant colours buttercream frosting, topped with fruity jam or coarse peanuts.Well, i was too lazy to head out  hunting down for that bites of memory, so instead i decided to make my very own to satisfy my crave as i flipped through albums of tattered yellowish photos. Tho i can't replicate every bit but for every slice, i'm absolutely satisfied as i walked down the memory lane...

 

evenly sliced, topped with blueberry jam and chocolate rice.

Love the contrast! Simple yet a crowd-pleaser!

Months have gone by in a flash, i have since make many friends here whom share the similar passion *bow* Thank you for dropping by and leave your comments. It was such sweet encouragement that kept me going at any junction with the thought of giving up linger in my mind.of giving up blogging. I hope to find back my mojo in one of my Christmas pressies and unwrap many great years of blogging ahead with Santa granting my wish. Hope to see ya around! Will you?

Till then, guess all of us will be busy with all the cooking, baking and feasting for the upcoming Christmas and New Year. Wishing all my friends and readers,

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

♥     ♥    ♥



Basic traditional sponge cake

Ingredients:

4 eggs
100g caster sugar
120g plain flour (sifted)
3tbsp melted butter

toppings:
some blueberry jam
some chocolate rice

Note from Hearty Bakes:
i make one recipe of vanilla sponge and one recipe of chocolate sponge by substituting 1 tbsp plain flour with 1tbsp cocoa powder to make the chocolate sponge.

Coffee Butter Cream Frosting:
Butter 120g
Icing Sugar 45g
Milk 75g
3tsp Instant coffee granules (dissolved with 1tbsp hot water)

Method:

put eggs into a mixing bowl. Use high speed to whisk until frothy. add in sugar slowly. whisk mixture until very light and fluffy. You may test by dripping batter into a "O" shape and it can keep the shape for 10 seconds.

continue to beat for 3-5minutes until batter is very fine and smooth.

divide flour into 3 portions and sift flour onto the egg mixture.

fold flour lightly into egg mixture in one direction follow by 3 tbsp of melted butter. Do not over-fold.

pour into a lined and greased baking tin and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180deg C for 30-35 minutes until cooked and golden brown.

Remove and leave to cool.

Next, prepare the coffee butter cream frosting. beat butter and sugar till fluffy and pale in colour. Gradually add in the milk continue beat and add in the coffee mixture
sandwich the slices of sponge with spread of coffee butter cream and decorate cake as you wish.


Recipe reference for sponge: Agnes Chang I can Bake
                   

Fast and Easy Nutella Cake

I have a kind of nostalgia with my love for Nutella. I grew up having Nutella for snacks in school, you know the little snack sized with the little plastic spoon? It's oh soooo finger-licking good! My comfort food then. Whenever i have it now, it reminds me of school days. My household is totally a Nutella fanatics! We have it on toast, pancakes, waffles, crackers and at times, we would dig into the jar and enjoy spoonful after spoonful of it! Yes, naughty us!
This cake is very delicious, best still, that SIMPLE to make! The lazy me usually don't give a miss with anything that fast and easy to whip up. The no-frills cake yet taste so yummy! You can bake it into a big cake or small cupcakes for easy serving.

Fast and Easy Nutella Cake

Ingredients:

(A)

250g butter (softened)

200g soft brown sugar

4 eggs (lightly beaten)

300g self-raising flour (sifted)

5tbsp milk

6tbsp or more Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread

60g hazelnuts (i used walnuts. chopped coarsely)

Method:

Put all the ingredients in (A) for cake into a mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy



Pour 2/3 portion of the cake mixture into a greased and lined 22cm/9" round baking tin and spread
evenly to level. Spoon the Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread in six blobs (sorry but i'm not gonna just settle with six blobs! MORE please shouting out loud in me!)

Top with the remaining 1/3 portion of the cake mixture, swirl a few times with a skewer, then smooth the top.

Sprinkle coarsely chopped walnuts on top of batter and bake in a preheated oven at 180deg C for about 45minutes to 1 hour or until cooked and golden brown.

During baking, cover the cake with a piece of aluminium foil if it starts to brown too quickly.

Remove, leave to cool before cutting into slices to serve.

Now, go get your jar of Nutella and have fun baking this cake! Enjoy!

Recipe reference: Agnes Chang I CAN BAKE

My boy is 12!

Mango cake specially requested from my boy.

Happy Birthday son!

Blueberry Cheese Tartlets

a short entry before we head off to the mall for some Christmas shopping.
Christmas carols, Christmas lightings, Christmas parties, oh so exciting!!!
This is our favourite tartlets! One the must-have treat for party.
Now, let the countdown begins...



Blueberry Cheese Tartlets

Tartlets dough:

250g flour

15g milk powder

60g caster sugar

170g butter

40g egg (lightly beaten)

1/2tsp vanilla essence

Cream Cheese
250g Cream Cheese
80g Sugar
3 Yolks
50g Whipping cream
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
2tbsp Corn Flour
*some blueberry for filling & topping

Method:

to make tart crust, combine flour, milk powder and caster sugar. Rub in butter until mixture resemble bread crumbs. Add in beaten egg gradually, follow by vanilla essence. Knead to form dough.

Wrap the dough with plastic wrap, refrigerate for about half an hour until ready to use.

roll out enough dough, place into tart mould.Touch some flour on both thumbs, press the dough onto tart mould. Trim off the edges for excess.

Half bake the tartlets in preheated oven at 180deg C for about 10-15 minutes.

 

To make cream cheese filling, beat cream cheese and caster sugar until soft and smooth. Add in the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Stir in the remaining ingredients.

Spoon some blueberry into half-baked tartlets. Top with some cream cheese.

Top a little blueberry on cream cheese and use a toothpick to draw marble pattern on it. Bake in oven at 180deg C for another 10-15minutes.

Enjoy~

Recipe reference: Tarts my Heart

Deck the Hall

Apart from the spirit of giving and sharing, Christmas is also a time for feast and celebration, a time for the family to get together decorating and adds gaiety to the festiveYuletide spirit.  A great way to bring alive the joyful spirit right at home is to inject some bejeweled colours to liven up our cosy nest. Not forgetting some home-bakes to go along with a cuppa with Christmas Jazz in the air. If, if only there's a fire place, that will be simply perfect!

Sweet & savoury coconut tarts.
The crimson cherries crystallize as red ruby brimming for attention.

Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa la la la la, la la la la...

Christmas town building in progress...

this authentic wooden hand-crafted cuckoo clock was bought during our Chritmas trip to Germany Titisee, in the heart of Black Forest. Every Christmas is made special with our ornaments collection displayed around the house. Wanna see more around my place? Stay around!



Coconut Tarts

Ingredients:

250g flour

15g milk powder

60g caster sugar

170g butter

40g egg (lightly beaten)

1/2tsp vanilla essence

*some cherries for topping

Filling:

40g Butter

80ml water

80g dessicated coconut (i used Fresh grated coconut)

160g caster sugar (reduced to 100g)

2 eggs

1tsp baking powder

1tsp flour

1/2tsp vanilla essense

150-200ml evaporated milk (i used low-fat milk)

Method:

to make tart crust, combine flour, milk powder and caster sugar. Rub in butter until mixture resemble bread crumbs. Add in beaten egg gradually, follow by vanilla essence. Knead to form dough.

Wrap the dough with plastic wrap, refrigerate for about half an hour until ready to use.

roll out enough dough, place into tart mould.Touch some flour on both thumbs, press the dough onto tart mould. Trim off the edges for excess.

Half bake the tartlets in preheated oven at 180deg C for aout 10-15 minutes.

Next, to make filling, melt butter with water, pour into mixing bowl. Combine with the remaining ingredients, mix until blended.

Spoon filling into tart cases and decorate with cherry. Bake in preheated oven at 175deg C for about 25-30 minutes.

Cook tarts. Remove tarts from mould.

Recipe adapted from Tarts my heart

                                 Heart of romance



tiS tHe SeaSoN!

Soak in christmas spirit this festive right at the comfort of home. Magically!
I have started decorated my home as Christmas approaching. Twinkling lightings, wreaths & garlands, falling snowflakes off ceiling create the winter feel, this best time of the year i truly love. Sparkles & glitters, every corner not spare!
Done that! Now... how can i miss out some christmas feel right here, my second home!
Enjoy your stay as i share more bakes churning out for upcoming Christmas party.

Deck the hall! Time to bring out all my X'mas ornaments for that Christmassy ambience!
More pictures coming up...

How could i not gave in to such a rich and luscious cake metamorphose in the blogosphere?

I'm sure you will be tempted just as much looking at these Bee Bee, Jess, Wen, Jane



Chocolate Chips Yoghurt Marble Cake

*i used yoghurt instead of sour cream which the original recipe called for.

adapted from Honey Bee Sweet

Chocolate Chips Sour Cream Marble Cake

Chocolate Paste:

3 tbsp Varlhona Cocoa powder

3 tbsp hot water

* mix cocoa powder with hot water, stir till powder dissolved into chocolate paste.

Cake Batter:

250g Unsalted Butter (room temperature)

300g Sugar

4 Eggs

2 1/2tsp Vanilla Extract

210g Plain Yoghurt

420g Plain Flour

2 3/4tsp Baking Powder

1/4tsp Baking Soda

1/2tsp Salt

100g Dark Varlhona Chocolate Chips

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180deg C.

2. Grease a 10" non-stick bundt pan

3. Cream butter with sugar untill light and fluffy, pale in colour

4. Add in eggs gradually, follow by vanilla extract

5. Add in yoghurt, continue beat till combined. Do scrap the bottom of the mixing bowl to make sure batter well combined.

6. Sieve in the Plain flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and fold well.

7. Lastly, mix in the chocolate chips into the batter and mix well.

8. Take out 1/3 of the batter and mix with the chocolate paste mixture and set aside.

9. Scoop in vanilla batter into the bundt pan alternating with scoops of chocolate batter to create the marbling effect till batter finish up.

10. Bake till golden brown and test cake using a skewer about 45-50 minutes. 

11. Once skewer comes out clean, remove cake from oven and cool on rack for about 15 minutes. 

12. Remove cake from bundt pan and let it cool completely.

Thanks BeeBee for sharing this recipe keeper! Pop over for her recipe.

Fruity Birthday Cake

Mixed fruity cake for my god-daughter's birthday.

Vanilla Chiffon for cake base

adapted from 福田淳子好吃戚风蛋糕轻松上手

Ingredients:

5 Yolks

110g castor sugar

55ml Corn oil

95ml Water

130g Cake flour

7 Whites
1tsp Vanilla Extract

*whipping cream

*Fruits for decoration

Method:

1. Preheat oven 175deg C

2. In a bowl, whisk yolks with 1/3 of the sugar till pale in colour

3. add corn oil follow by water stir till combined

4.next, sieve in cake flour, fold till combined.

5. whisk white till foamy, slowly add in remainder 2/3 sugar till peak.

6. fold in 1/3 whites into yolk mixture

7. pour the above step 6 mixture to the remainder whites and fold in till combined. DO NOT over-fold as it will deflate the whites.

8. pour batter into 20" pan

9. Baking time 45mins

10. over-turn pan to cool

11. dress up chiffon with whipping cream and topped with fruits for decoration

Hearty Bakes