sistabrownie

Chocolate Peanut Butter & Chcocolate Cream Cheese

2011-10-02T08:51:00.001+08:00

And so there were additional requests for Red Velvets this week. They were for Eli, Sarah & my gf Naz.

By the time I was done with the Red Velvets, I think it was rather too late in the afternoon for me to intro 2 other new flavours, the Chocolate Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cream Cheese.

Chocolate Peanut Butter

Chocolate Cake with smooth Peanut Butter frosting & drizzled with Chocolate Fudge

Chocolate Cream Cheese

Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting & drizzled with Chocolate Fudge

For those who didn't get to taste these two new flavours, you're welcome to pre-order for collection this Wednesday. But only if the response is good.

Email me at sistabrownie@gmail.com

Red Velvet

2011-09-25T10:35:00.000+08:00

I was still wondering how I was going to introduce my cupcake flavours when I have to juggle between baking & a full-time job, which made it almost impossible due to shift work.

And without me planning ahead, I went on to bake the first flavour in my don't-know-how-many-types-I-will-come-up-with range - the Red Velvet.

As this was an impromptu decision, because I felt like having some Red Velvets & thought I'd bake extra for others to try, I was glad I didn't overbake & had too much in my hand.

I hope those who snapped up the Thursday offer enjoyed them freshly-baked.

So should I bake these again or come up with something different next week?

Thank You

2011-09-01T10:09:00.000+08:00

It had been a very busy August since I was taking requests to bake cookies for friends. I've to say that the Cornflakes Snow is still the favourite as I had to bake over 3000pcs of them. (ok maybe that didn't seem too much to you, but it was to me).

So I had to work & stick to the same routine everyday, in order to finish my bakings. Alhamdulillah, I had 2.5 bake-free days & I used one of the days just to bake CinnaCran Cake for my mum & a friend, who has been very supportive since I started out.

Not forgetting a very loyal friend too, Naz, who never fail to order my Brownie every year for Hari Raya.

Although it had been a tiring Ramadhan, everything went on smoothly.

To the people who had placed your cookies requests from me, Thank You!

Requests before Ramadhan

2011-07-27T18:00:00.000+08:00

Besides the 'big project' of Mickey Mouse cake, I've received a few requests from friends to bake some goodies before Ramadhan (fasting month) kicked in.

Brownie Platter topped with mini marshmallows for Azilah

A 10" engagement Brownie for Farizah

Brownie Platter topped with mini marshmallows for Hana

Up next, cookies requests & bakes for Shawal.

What exactly I've been up to

2011-07-25T09:07:00.000+08:00

With so much stress going on, I finally managed to pull through my very first birthday cake. Call me ambitious but I didn't expect that it would be so much work, really.

The cake that I was assigned looked pretty easy at first, until I got down into the details. It was a Mickey Mouse cake for little Aiden's first birthday.

I tried looking for the cake pan (I was wishing very hard that it'd make my life so much easier if I find the pan) but luck was definitely not on my side. So what I had to do was to bake a 10" cake for the face & two 6" cake for the ears.

My only favourite part was to cut out the greeting & the features = /. Putting on the fondant icing was very challenging indeed.

So I finally used the Mickey Mouse cookie cutter I got from Hong Kong years ago, to cut out the mini Mickey fondant & 'paste' at the sides.

You have no idea how relieved I was to be able to complete this Devil's Food Cake with nutella buttercream on time for the delivery, after not getting enough sleep for so many days.

Not only was I assigned to make the main cake, there were 100pcs of vanilla cupcakes to be completed as well.

So after the birthday party, I'm sure you know what I did..... Sleep of course!

P.S: Thanks to Nancy for giving me the opportunity to do these for her son Aiden's first birthday party.

So much to do...

2011-07-13T21:35:00.000+08:00

While I'm busy planning & taking in requests for cookies this Eid, I'm also preparing for a very big order for next weekend.

From this week on, these are my companions...

Just today, I finally get to draft out the image that I'm supposed to work on for next week's party...

Can you guess what I'm working on? ; )

By the way, I still remember that I'm supposed to launch the new cupcake flavours in July. I've them ready. But now I'm just not too sure is the right time to launch them. Afterall, it's Ramadhan (fasting month) soon. People are focusing more on cookies & cakes for Eid.

So I guess I should wait? Here's a sneak peek....

Requests for the week

2011-07-11T14:28:00.000+08:00

Here's an update of what I've been up to for the past week.

Ros had requested for a Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake on 5th Jul '11, to be decorated with chocolates and strawberries. This was for her brother's birthday, who is also a father-to-be very very soon! Guess what? Ros will be giving birth in a couple of months' time as well. Grandma must be very busy then : )

Ann, had requested for Blueberry CheeseCups on 9th Jul '11.

Syarifah had put in her request about a month ago for a heart-shaped Brownie, decorated with chocolates and strawberries. It's for a double birthday celebration for herself and dearest hubby (10th & 11th Jul '11 respectively).

Thanks dearies for these requests.

P.S: Loading these pics, I noticed they were all taken at the same angle. Is it me or because the light is better that way? Hhhmmmmm *ponders*

Cookies, cookies & more cookies

2011-07-07T14:06:00.000+08:00

As I've mentioned in my earlier post, there would be some new cookies for Eid this year. Not as much as I'd wanted to do but I could only afford (the time) to make these four types:

Chewy & Crunchy Chocolate Crinkles

Chocolate Chip Cookies & Gingersnaps

I don't think I'd be taking in many requests, considering that only yours truly will be baking them. So I'd only notified the regulars ; ).

Plus, I could be expecting a call for a job interview any time. Yes, I'll be going back to work. I think I've 'enjoyed' myself being a WAHM (work-at-home-mum) for nearly a year. Not that I don't enjoy it anymore. But inflation is making me go back into the workforce. I'm just not sure how I'm going to put my mind to it.

Anyways, back to the cookies (enjoy the moment while I still can). One of my favourite cookies had gone for a 'facelift'. It's the Chocolate Cranberry Cookies. Managed to modify the recipe & I've to admit, it tasted so much better now.

Then

Now

And of course the 'usual suspects', besides the Chocolate Cranberry, would be offered too.

Cornflakes Snow

Fruits & Nuts Biscotti and Cornflakes Crunchies

Just one that I won't offer. You'd have to come over to eat these...... = D

Custard Fruit Tartlets

2011-07-04T13:07:00.001+08:00

I've been MIA (missing in action) again. Not that I intended to, but there were just so many things to do & complete that I felt a tad guilty sitting down tapping away on my lappy.

Anyway after the Father's Day experiment, I received a request from Manissah for 100pcs of Custard Fruit Tartlets.

I think this was my first attempt at doing these much all by myself. I underestimated the time taken to complete these & started panicking. A huge relief though when I'd completed them just 10-15 minutes before Manissah came to collect. Phew!

After that, I focused all my time on dear daughter's school fund raising event. This year I didn't manage to prepare any Brownie or Cupcakes because we had to leave for the weekend. So I decided to bake some cookies this year.

It was also in conjunction with the introduction of some new cookies for Eid 2011. So if anyone of you went to the fund raising event on 2nd July '11, I'm pretty sure you get to taste the new cookies at a very good price & at the same time contribute to the school. *winks*

Vanilla (Cupcake) Cones for Father's Day

2011-06-21T19:58:00.000+08:00

So my daughter was in charge of 'organizing' the menu for Father's Day, which fell on 19th June '11. Two weeks prior she had already started planning on a very big breakfast for the big man. Her menu was beef bacon, hotdogs, sunny-side-up eggs, hashbrowns, toasts & apple juice. I added scrambled eggs with beef bacon bits. Just before serving, I told her that I'd take a picture of the breakfast set for her to blog but as usual, our excitement at seeing so much food made me forget to snap. Nevertheless everyone enjoyed the brunch & had our tummy full, that our next meal was dinner.

Besides the big breakfast, my daughter & I had planned to bake Vanilla (Cupcakes) Cone, topped with vanilla buttercream. So I used this opportunity to try out a new & easy vanilla cake recipe for her project. I ended up baking on my own; my daughter came into the kitchen only to choose the colour of the vanilla icing. Yes, she insisted to use pink for vanilla.

What really fascinated her was piping her own icing. She found so much joy in piping the 'perfect' swirl.

Dear daughter's swirl

We, or rather I, had never tried baking a cupcake cone. Again using this opportunity, I tried using some wafer cones to bake the cake batter. It was a fun experience seeing that the batter baked in a wafer cone just like any other cake in paper casings. One downside though - wafers can't retain their crispiness in the open. So I ended up with soft cones after a while. Well crispy or not, the kids still enjoyed them.

Vanilla Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups self raising flour

1 1/4 cups plain flour

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla essence

Directions:

1) Cream butter untill smooth. Add sugar gradually & beat until fluffy.

2) Add eggs, one at a time

3) Add sifted dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk+vanilla. Beat until all ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.

4) Fill the cones / cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake at preheated oven of 170C (depending on your oven) for about 20 minutes.

5) Cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream

1/2 cup vegetable shortening (I used Crisco)

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 tsp vanilla essence

4 cups sifted icing sugar

2 tblsp milk

Directions:

1) Cream shortening & butter until smooth.

2) Add vanilla.

3) Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time beating well on medium speed.

4) When all sugar has been mixed, add milk. Beat at medium speed until light & fluffy.

Have fun trying these simple recipes with your kids!

Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

2011-06-19T17:31:00.001+08:00

Frankly, I don't eat bread pudding. I had before but found little 'interest' in it. A friend ever requested that I try out a fellow blogger's Nutella Bread Pudding, but I have yet to give that recipe a try. Sorry Yani, perhaps soon ok?

Then while I was watching Nigella's "Rags to Riches" episode a couple of weeks back, Nigella 'showed' the Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding recipe. Since I had my notebook next to me, I just jot the recipe down. I thought maybe this would change my mind. So I tried...

Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding
(from Nigella's Rags to Riches episode)

250g bread (chopped into chunks)
100g chocolate chips
500ml full-cream milk
125ml double cream
40g soft brown sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tblsp vanilla essence (in the episode, she used rum. I substituted this with vanilla essence)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 170C. Grease a 9" baking dish. Place the chopped bread in the baking dish.

2) Scatter the chocolate chips into the dish.

3) In a bowl or measuring cup, whisk milk, double cream, sugar, eggs & vanilla together. Pour the mixture into your baking dish. Let the whole mixture stand for 20 minutes.

4) Sprinkle some demerera sugar on top just before you put the bread mixture into the oven. Bake for 40 minutes (depends on your own oven).

So how do I find this pudding after baking it myself? I don't know. But with so much ado about 'the' Bread Pudding from Royal at Scotts' Carousel, perhaps I should try that first & see if THAT will make me have a change of heart (or rather, taste).

My much overdue entry

2011-06-18T16:28:00.000+08:00

Didn't realize another month had just zoomed by and my blog hadn't been updated at all. Besides busy baking & re-stocking the pantry, I've been on a new project - Revamping my Cupcakes. More on that later.

So what have I done lately? More Brownies, Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake & Red Velvet Cupcakes...

21st May '11: Heart-shaped Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake & Mango CheeseCups for Sarah Longue

25th May '11: Red Velvet Cupcakes for Azilah for her 2-yr-old twins' birthday

28th May '11: Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake for Marni

29th May'11: Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake requested by Ain for her uncle's birthday celebration

29th May '11: Red Velvet Cupcakes for Ros, along with some sweet buns

30th May '11: 8x5" Brownie, cut into minis for Arni

30th May '11: Red Velvet Cupcakes for Haslinda

1st June '11: Brownies for Ayu

3rd June '11: Red Velvet Cupcakes for Manisah

6th June '11: Brownie Cups with mini marshmallows for Arni

10th June '11: Request from Ros' mum for 3 sets of Red Velvet Cupcakes

10th & 12th June '11: Requests from Ayu for a whole & 8x5" Brownie

15th June '11: Wanee requested for 2 dozen Mango CheeseCups & 2 sets of Red Velvet Cupcakes

15th June '11: 8x5" Brownie with white chocolate chips for Elyn

Apart from all the goodies requests, I've been using my free time to experiment on 'fresher' cupcakes concoctions. It took a lot of work though. I have the flavours in my mind, but to put everything together was a whole different thing. I kept thinking, will this recipe work? how will this & this taste together? Is it too sweet? Is it too rich? The list goes on...

Besides rolling out the Red Velvet Cupcakes first, I have 3 other flavours which are ready. My target - to get at least 2 more flavours ready by 1st July (fingers crossed).

Talking about Red Velvet Cupcakes, I've been having that since a year ago but then there was no demand. I've stopped baking that & it seemed now that it has made a comeback. Whatever sparked the re-appearance of the Red Velvet?

My long weekend

2011-05-18T16:57:00.000+08:00

There wasn't a public holiday but it was a long weekend for me as I started out my bakes from Friday morning right up to Saturday night.

Started out with a quick errand to the baking store as I need to get more ingredients for Saturday's orders. As soon as I got back, I started with Ifah's request for a 8x5" Brownie, to be cut into minis. She had also requested for Nutella & Fruit Custard Buns.

My most nervous moment was to prepare for Saturday's orders - Ros' 45pcs buns & 3 Brownie for Ayu. Time was very crucial because if I didn't plan it right, I definitely would not be able to complete the goodies by 2pm & 3pm respectively. Because of the anxiety, I couldn't sleep although it was already 12am.

I started as early as 4am to make 4 recipes of the buns dough. Bearing in mind that proofing of the dough itself would take 2hrs per recipe. Aside to that, the Brownie needs to be done. So you can imagine that my kitchen was a carnival on that day = D.

After all the baking frenzy, I was so glad & relieved that I managed to pack Ros' buns, 3 Nutella & 3 Fruit Custard in boxes of 7, in time. Of course due to time constraint, I didn't snap any pictures.

After the collection, only then I started to deco Ayu's Brownie. Although she'd mentioned she'd pick them up at 3pm, I was secretly glad (sorry Ayu) that she came later. Because I didn't want to be in such a hurry to decorate & pack the goodies.

My blog should have ended here but just as I was about to breathe, I received a very last minute request for a set of buns. Well, it was somehow due to my own fault. I'd called my aunt up to ask if she could offer some ideas on what I could do with the balance fruit custard filling (I'd purposely make extra recipes in case it wasn't enough for the 21 buns). After talking through, she came up with the idea that maybe I could just make another batch of buns & offer them to her for tasting - _ -.

Although I'm longing for my bed, I didn't want to keep the fruit custard filling overnight. So I continued in the kitchen. It was going to be another 4hrs before I could finally snore. It's a wonder what 4hrs of sleep could do to one. Finally everything was done, Brownie Cups included, and collection of the final goodies was at 9pm. (So altogether I'd been up for almost 19 hours).

I was so tired but was glad to find that I could actually complete these much goodies. I'd better start planning for the event in July and goodies to offer for Eid. I may just need some assistance ; )

Molten Lava Cake

2011-05-10T15:10:00.001+08:00

I've always wanted to try this recipe but have no guts to do so. I remembered years back, Mum bought this dessert from Johor (because it's Halal) & packed it back for me to taste. Of course when it finally reached me, it didn't taste as good. This dessert has to be eaten warm, almost immediately.

Since I was feeling a little downcast for a few days, I hope to lift my spirits up a bit by trying to bake the Molten Lava Cake. Come to think of it now, how more depressed I would be if this dessert wasn't successful for my first try.

I experimented with the oven temperature to see what I would get after each try. It was just right at the third attempt.

So I'd better bake this again when mum come to visit, so she doesn't have to specifically go 'overseas' just to eat Molten Lava Cake.

Weekend update

2011-05-09T10:06:00.001+08:00

This weekend I made some sweet buns for Ros. She had initially requested for Red Bean buns. But since I've run out of red bean paste, I offered if she'd like to have Fruit Custard instead. She agreed, and I made half a dozen each of Nutella-filled & Fruit Custard buns for her & her family to munch on their road trip.

Despite me complaining about the heat, I was grateful that the heat helped the bread dough to proof rather cooperatively. Just as I came back from the polling station (it was Polling Day on Saturday), the buns had risen & was ready for the oven.

On Sunday (Mother's Day), I made a whole brownie for Ayu, who requested it to be cut in half so she could share it with her mum. She had twitpic-ed me the Brownie she wanted & so here it was. Topped with cocoa & white chocolate chips.

For this past week, I'd been thinking often about the first Brownie I baked. It was a cakey brownie, which had been well-received but some confused it with chocolate cake, probably because of the cakey texture. So over the years I'd slowly switched my cakey brownie to a fudgy type.

Between the two, I'm not sure which is better. It all boils down to individual tastebud, I'd say. So today, I've indicated in the Brownie album in my Facebook page that cakey brownie will be made available upon request. Otherwise fudgy brownie will be baked as usual.

Hope to get some cakey brownie requests soon, as that was my first successful brownie baked back in 2006.

My daughter's eigth

2011-05-07T08:51:00.001+08:00

It was my dear daughter's birthday this week. I've prepared some goodie bags for her classmates, as requested by the birthday girl. However this year would be the last time we're giving away goodie bags, just because she's all grown up now.

Besides the goodie bags, I thought of baking some mini cakes or cupcakes (without too much frosting) for her teachers. It was between Cranberry and Cinnamon Cranberries cake. You might be thinking "What's the difference?" The Cranberry Cake is spiceless & contain just fruit oil to enhance the fruity taste, while Cinnamon Cranberries, as the name suggests, contains cinnamon powder. I decided to go with the latter and drizzle them with cream cheese frosting.

Some of her favourite teachers received individually-packed Cinnamon Craanberries Cupcakes for themselves.

Then later, we had a small celebration of cake-cutting at home. The Strawberry Shortcake image cake was bought from Prima Deli. I just found out that the edible image was mounted on top of a piece of white chocolate (to prevent the image from 'shrinking') but that also made it slightly difficult to cut. It's made of vanilla sponge cake with vanilla cream. A little too creamy for me although I really love the very soft sponge cake.

Another cheesy weekend

2011-04-30T07:49:00.000+08:00

After Ifah's Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake was shown in my page, I received a similar request, from Aiza, for the coming week. This time the customization was to include strawberries.

I've also made the minis of the Chocolate Hazelnut, for Azilah. Including another dozen of Mango Cheesecups, Brownie Platter & Cornflakes Snow.

Birthday Dinner

2011-04-23T20:31:00.001+08:00

We had an early dinner at Chai Chee Seafood Restaurant, located at Changi Road, in celebration of my mum's birthday. Glad to meet up with my brothers. Though I didn't say it, I've been missing them.

Scanning the menu & discussing what to order......

Still scanning the menu & deciding what to order......

Finally the food came....

Salted Fish Fried Rice & Fried Kangkong

Spicy Baby Squid & Lemon Chicken (we also ordered the Oyster Sauce Baby Squid, which was delish as well)

Sweet & Sour Garoupa

Bandung & Longan Drink (love the big mug!)

We were very satisfied with the delicious food

My Hanie bunny niece

It was my first experience at Chai Chee Seafood Restaurant. My brother had been there before, so he suggested the place to Mum. I must say that I wasn't disappointed.

The service, serving & food were very satisfying indeed. They have indoor area (not air-conditioned though, I think), a wash-hand area for those who would be more comfortable eating using their hand, place was clean & a trip to the washroom was not miserable at all. I was definitely impressed and would be going there again when there's another family dinner outing in future.

So when Mum offered the Mee Hoon HongKong for takeaway, I didn't refuse ; ). Although it was a short meet-up, it was great to see everyone.

Cheesy Weekend

2011-04-23T19:45:00.002+08:00

It's a cheesy weekend with request for Cookies & Cream and Mango Cheesecups for Ros and Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake for Ifah.

Cookies & Cream and Mango Cheesecups for Ros

Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake deco customized by Ifah, of Trendy Clipettes, herself

Hectic Friday

2011-04-17T15:44:00.000+08:00

It didn't look like a lot of work, until I started in the kitchen with 200pcs of Cornflakes Snow, 2 sets of Brownie Platter with black & white theme and about 50 cups of Chocolate Mousse.

It'd been a while since I juggle so much at one time. I planned to start as early as 6am. But that plan got the better of me & I didn't actually got down to business until 10am. Even then, there were a lot of interruption & I was having sudden mood swing = /. Yidi yada & a lot of bla bla bla, I think I started my mixer at 12 noon. By late afternoon (after about 5hrs), I was struggling to keep my eyes open & my back started to ache. Could age be catching up? I beg to differ ; )

After a total of 12hrs in the kitchen, I decided to leave the black & white deco for the Brownie Platter to the next morning. Too tired = lack of ideas.

These were what I came up with - piped white chocolate on the top & deco with dark & white chocolate buttons. The brownies were also accompanied by these decorated Chocolate Mousse cups.

Made more Chocolate Mousse to be brought over to a birthday party, which I topped with mini marshmallows for the kids.

It definitely was a hectic Friday. I was so looking forward the weekend. And I really hope the coming week will be a better one for me.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday people!

Honey Lemon Madeleines

2011-04-13T13:56:00.001+08:00

The last time I made Madeleines was ........... errrr...... gosh I couldn't even remember! I remembered it was Chocolate Madeleines though. Not sure if I still have that recipe hhmmm....

Anyways, since I was still in the midst of deciding which goodie/s to prepare for a nephew's birthday party this Saturday, I thought I'd give this recipe another try before making a decision. (Well now I've actually decided to make these Madeleines & Chocolate Mousse. What about Brownies eh?) I would love to make a few goodies for the party but time may not be on my side as I have 2 Brownie Platter requests.

Here's a little info on Madeleines (adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home To Yours):

Madeleines are among the most recognizable pastries in the French repertoire because of their look - they are made in scallop-shaped molds from which they emerge ridged on one side, plump and full-bellied on the other and golden. That they are among the best known is thanks to Marcel Proust, who immortalized them in his novel "Remembrance of Things Past". Everyone seems to know the story of Proust's narrator dipping the cookie into his tea and having the first taste bring back a flood of childhood memories. With that short entry, Proust and the madeleine gained such celebrity that even people who've never tasted the cookie refer to it with confidence as a touchstone. Yet when you take away the literary allusions and all the romance, what you're left with is a tea cake that deserves to be famous for its deliciousness alone.

The madeleine is a beautiful, if somewhat plain, cookie made from the kind of batter you'd use for a sponge cake. What distinguishes it is its lightness; its texture - the tiny bubbled crumb is tres raffine; and its flavor, a delicate mix of lemon, vanilla & butter.

Just to set the record straight, while it's Proust who gets all the credit for making madeleines a household name, the honor realy belongs to King Stanislas Leszcynski of Poland, who, in the eighteenth century, tasted a tea cake made by a local woman in Commercy, France. He was so delighted with the cookie that he named it after the baker, Madeleine.

Honey Lemon Madeleines

2/3 cup plain flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tblsp honey (this is my own addition to the recipe)
6 tblsp unsalted butter (melted & cooled)

1. Sift flour, baking powder & salt. Set aside.

2. In a mixer bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist & fragrant. Add eggs to the bowl. Beat the eggs & sugar together on medium-high speed until pale, thick & light for 2-3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla & honey.

3. With a rubber spatula, very gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter.

4. Cover bowl and refrigerate between 3 to 12 hours or up to 2 days. This long chill period will help the batter form the hump that is characteristic of madeleines.

5. To bake, preheat oven to 170C (depending on your oven). Brush some butter into your madeleine mold. Depending on the type of mold you're using, dust the insides with flour & tap out the excess.

6. Spoon the batter into the molds, filling each one almost to the top. Don't worry about spreading the batter or if they are filled up too full, the oven's heat will take care of that. Bake for about 13-15 mins or until they are golden and tops spring back when touched.

7. Remove pan from the oven and release the madeleines by rapping the pan using your fingers or a butter knife. Transfer to a rack to cool. Best eaten as soon as they are made or at least on the same day they were made.

Next up, I'd want to try them with bananas and in strawberry flavour.

My Brownie treat

2011-04-11T13:26:00.000+08:00

Treating myself to a simple Brownie...... Need I say more? *winks*

Desserts for Eva's birthday

2011-04-10T18:01:00.000+08:00

My other great supporter of my bakes made a request for some desserts for her darling daughter's 2nd birthday on 9th April '11. Of course I was more than delighted to make some desserts for her, although I was challenged by time & ingredients. While liaising with Effa (@mypurpleyes) my mind was generating my on-hand pantry stocks as well as ideas on the deco for the Brownie Platter.

Here were the goodies I prepared. I hope little girl Eva had a great birthday celebration and a big thank you to Effa for placing her homemade desserts request from me, despite her staying at the other end of this tiny island : )

Cornflakes Snow (sistabrownie's file picture)

Strawberry Cotton Cheesecake

Brownie Platter

Simply Cupcakes

2011-04-07T11:07:00.001+08:00

I accepted a 24-hr dateline request from a very supportive friend, Kyn, who needed these cuppies on her last day of work for her colleagues & students.

Due to time constraint, I managed to come up with a simple deco for the Double Chocolate Cupcakes. Much as I'd like to dash off to the baking supplies store, I could not afford to waste any time in getting these completed.

Thank you again Kyn...

Chocolate Marshmallow

2011-04-03T09:47:00.000+08:00

Kyn (aka sueetchic) had requested for a cake for her cutiepie, Elisya, second birthday. As I don't make typical birthday cake, I've to think of 'converting' one of my desserts as one.

So what came into mind was the Chocolate Marshmallow. Accompanied with Red Velvet & Double Chocolate Cupcakes around the Chocolate Marshmallow, this was what Elisya would look at.

Not forgetting, some colourful Cake Pops to go along....

I hope Elisya had a sweet & colourful 2nd birthday celebration! Thank you sueetchic!

Thank you

2011-03-31T09:31:00.023+08:00

I held a 3-day Exclusive Promotion on FB & Twitter on 25th-27th March for sistabrownie's Cornflakes Snow. I am thankful that the response had been very good.

Promotion for the Cornflakes Snow will not end here though. I will definitely have another round of Cornflakes Snow promotion soon, if time permits, before Eid in case there's any one interested to try them before placing an order for Eid.

Meantime, I would like to convey my thanks to those who have supported this promotion. Thank you!

Blueberry CheeseCups

2011-03-30T09:30:00.000+08:00

I was taken by surprise when an old friend contacted me on FB. I have wondered how she had been doing because I haven't heard from her for a while. Glad that she found & added me as friend on FB so now we'd be able to stay in touch.

Because she missed having my Blueberry CheeseCups, she had requested for them this time. Prepared them for her but unfortunately didn't get the chance to meet her when she came for collection.

Anyways I hope she enjoyed these dessert. Thank you Nano Sam for your continued support!

Exclusively for you

2011-03-26T16:40:00.001+08:00

For all my FB fans & Twitter followers, I'm having an exclusive "3-Day Special" promotion on one of my best-selling cookies - Cornflakes Snow.

Not sure how the term Cornflakes Snow came about but some call them Macaroons. Either way, they're basically cornflakes covered in meringue (egg whites), filled with chocolate chips. So what you get at the end of a very long baking time, are light, crispy, chewy cookies.

So if you'd like to have a taste of these Cornflakes Snow by sistabrownie, take advantage of our promotion which runs from 25th - 27th Mar '11. Email me, Sherri, for details - sistabrownie@gmail.com

Birthday goodies for Nadia

2011-03-08T18:52:00.002+08:00

Well they were not actually for her, they were for her kids' birthday celebration in school.

Nadia had requested for 2 sets of Brownie Platters - one with colourful candies & chocolate chip and another with marshmallows with chocolate drizzle. These were what I came up with.

She had also requested for 400pcs of my best-selling Cornflakes Snow to go along with the brownies.

I hope everyone, especially her kids & their friends, enjoyed the goodies!

P.S: I forgot to mention that these were for Nadia as well.

Brownie Cups with Chocolate Fudge (left) & Hazelnut Cream (right)

My cousin's wedding

2011-02-28T17:34:00.031+08:00

I was so excited about my cousin's wedding & had actually planned to bake a lot more goodies for her and my aunt. But plans didn't go my way, when I something else came up unexpectedly. Nevertheless, I managed to bake a tray of Brownie Platter for my aunt & a simple gubahan (deco) of Chocolate Mousse.

Although it was a bit tiring, cos we stayed till late on Saturday & till the end of the event on Sunday, it was a joyous occasion. Especially since all the cousins were there (except @zalisthedj on Sunday).

Rainbow Cake

2011-02-15T10:13:00.002+08:00

I couldn't recall the source of this recipe but I've had it for some time now. Never tried it before until yesterday when I discovered that I had a can of evaporated milk in the pantry, waiting to be used before the expiry date.

I didn't tell DH that I wanted to bake this cake & asked him for 3 of his favourite colours. He told me black, deep black & deeper black (that's helpful wasn't it?) So I decided to colour the batter symbolizing my 3 kids instead - blue, green & pink.

This cake has soft texture & crumbly. The only downside was the cocoa powder which was used to 'separate' the colours. Wasn't a great ingredient to use, as it so happened, because the cocoa powder I used has more of the bitter taste.

So what I would do next time is to use some of brownie batter or even cream cheese batter as the separator. I think that would work better. Otherwise, omit the cocoa powder altogether & use this recipe to bake Marble Cake. You can also use this as a base for your cupcake too ; ).

Rainbow Cake

250g unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 tblsp vanilla essence
Cocoa powder
Food colouring

1) Preheat oven to 160C & grease a 8x8" pan

2) Whisk butter & sugar until fluffy.

3) Add 1 egg at a time & be sure to mix thoroughly before adding another.

4) Add vanilla essence & evaporated milk.

5) Add the sifted flour, baking powder & salt in 3 additions.

6) Divide batter into 3 portions and add colour.

7) Pour 1st portion into the greased pan. Dredge enough cocoa powder to cover the batter. Pour second portion into the greased pan & dredge another layer of cocoa powder. Then pour the last portion.

8) Tap the pan before baking it for about 40mins (depending on your oven). Transfer to cooling rack & let cool.

Goodies by dear daughter

2011-02-13T14:02:00.001+08:00

My dear daughter made some goodies for the family this week. Last Sunday she made a Chocolate & Mandarin Pudding, which she copied the recipe from the "I Can Cook" show on the CBeeBies channel.

Then yesterday, she made breakfast for all of us - Sausage Rolls. This time, she used bread instead of scone dough to roll the sausages.

So what's next on your menu, 'Ufairah? : )

What anxiety did to me - Custard Puffs

2011-02-10T17:03:00.006+08:00

I received a very important call this week. Ever since then, my heart beat faster and I was so full of anxiety that I needed to do / make something.

Usually, I'd avoid doing / making something challenging before a 'big' event so I could calm myself & relax the mind. But anxiety got the better of me and I went on to make some Custard Puffs. I was craving for them a few days before; the call I received just 'pushed' me to bake the pastries.

I thought of making Chantilly Cream for the filling, something which I haven't done before, but I think I was more craving for custard than anything else. So custard filling it was.

It felt good having my craving satisfied. But I wasn't too sure the puffs drove my anxieties away ; P

Pastry (Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's "Baking")

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup whole milk

8 tblsp unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

1 tblsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup plain flour

4 large eggs

1) Preheat oven to 220C (425F). Bring the water, milk, butter, sugar & salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.

2) Add the flour all at once & mix it in with a wooden spoon, then keep stirring energetically until the dough comes together in a shiny mass. Turn off the heat. Cook the dough for another 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, then transfer the hot dough to a bowl of a stand mixer.

3) Using a paddle attachment, beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat the egg until fully incorporated before adding the next one. The dough should be thick, shiny & silky.

4) Spoon / pipe the dough onto the lined baking sheet, leaving some space apart. Bake for 10-15mins; the pastries will start to puff. Then reduce the temp to 190C (375F). Rotate the tray. Bake for another 15mins or until the pastries are brown & firm.

5) Transfer the baking sheet to a rack & let them cool completely before piping the filling in.

Custard filling

2 tblsp custard powder

2 tblsp caster sugar

570ml fresh milk

1) Using a balloon whisk, mix custard powder, caster sugar & 2 tblsp of fresh milk in a saucepan.

2) Pour the rest of the milk & put on fire. Keep stirring the mixture to prevent curdling.

3) Cook until the mixture is thick. Cover custard mixture with clingfilm & cool before using.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-02-06T20:39:00.000+08:00

I knew I was looking for an entirely different recipe when I browsed the web yesterday (now I couldn't even remember what I was actually looking for in the first place), but I was fortunate to stumble upon a reliable site, which I could test the recipes.

Quite honestly, my quest for 'the' Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe had almost died (except I might try asking my old neighbour for her recipe because I almost finished the whole bottle during last Eid hee!). After several attempts of CCC recipes I could find, I wonder why I didn't give up sooner and still kept on trying failed recipes & wasted precious ingredients.

Going by a strong hunch on my latest find, I decided to try this one. Silly me I didn't think of halving the recipe, in case it didn't work out. Well too late to do anything since I'd started mixing my ingredients.

I was so relieved when I took these cookies out & they turned out crispy and not flat at all. The kids keep coming back into the kitchen for more and I couldn't stop eating them too.

So for now, I could say that these would be almost 'the' Chocolate Chip Cookies I was looking for. *big grin*

Lemon Cheesecake & Cups

2011-02-01T20:09:00.001+08:00

I'd just bought a pack of cream cheese the other day, just in case I 'need' to use it (yeah right!). I also had a pack of digestive biscuits to use before they expire. So what else - cheesecake was in my mind.

Decided to let my son choose his "flavour of the day" cheesecake. He spontaneously said, "Lemon". So lemon it was. But after I made the Lemon Cheesecake, he didn't like the lemon rinds. - _-

Anyways, DH enjoyed them except that he mentioned these were better off with chocolate biscuit base. I thought so too.

Fried Spaghetti

2011-01-25T18:20:00.000+08:00

Another dish that I really liked to share is the Fried Spaghetti. This dish uses canned tomatoes because of it's convenience - diced tomatoes which has already been seasoned with basil, garlic & oregano. That's why stocking up on these canned tomatoes and a pack of spaghetti is a must when I do my groceries shopping. You can simply cook this up in a jiff when expecting guests.

Pre-requisite:

1/2 pack of pasta (I use spaghetti) & cook until al dente

A can of diced tomatoes

Chopped onions

Chopped garlic

Ginger (About 1cm chopped)

Cumin (pounded)

Black pepper

1/2 (small) can of tomato puree
Minced beef
Coriander leaves (chopped)
Cooking oil

1) Fry onions, garlic, ginger and cumin until fragrant.

2) Pour in the can of diced tomatoes and tomato puree. Add in the minced beef & leave to cook.

3) Put in the pasta & mix well with the cooked sauce. Season with black pepper (add more if you like spicy) and salt (if required).

4) Mix in the coriander leaves and turn off the fire.

5) Serve with fried chicken wings or nuggets.

Cinnacran Cake / Bars

2011-01-24T15:49:00.000+08:00

I was compelled to try this dessert bars when I scanned through the recipe. There's cinnamon and cranberries - the two combination I can't resist, whether they're in breads, cakes or cookies.

With the availability of ingredients in my pantry (thank God for essentials), I whipped this up immediately making different versions of it - mini cupcakes, normal-sized cupcakes and a 7 inch cake.

The original recipe calls for two types of icing, which I thought would be too much. So I spread a layer of cream cheese to complement this spiced cake.

Although they went well with each other, I thought it was still a tad too sweet for my tastebud probably because there were already white chocolates in the cake.

My conclusion - bake this cake as a whole, without any frosting (recipe is perfect for one whole 8x8"). And I'd probably omit the white chocolates too. That's just what I would be doing for this year's Eid.

My experience with the Jeneket / Jenny Cake

2011-01-22T10:39:00.001+08:00

It was a coincidence that when DH bought our favourite banana fritters at the nearby coffee-shop that he chanced upon Jeneket / Jenny Cake, which we haven't had for a long time. The last time I had this tea snack was when a colleague brought it to work to share when I was still working (which was months back).

These Jeneket / Jenny Cake brought back fond memories of my late grandma making them for my aunts & uncles, including me (I was brought up by my grandma). So I got all excited when DH bought two pieces of these, along with our banana fritters, two weeks ago. Then he suggested that I start learning making the Jeneket / Jenny Cake. Dooosh!!

I tried giving excuses that it was more economical to buy rather than making them, and told him that the dough would yield too much for us. Excuses, excuses, excuses... He knew I was bull****ting. So I secretly called my mum up to ask for the recipe to see for myself if this snack was an easy task. I was a bit stunned when mum began to explain about the consistency, the texture, proofing the dough etc.

Okay, maybe I should not have been too adventurous to try. I haven't seen any of my aunts or even my mum, attempting the Jeneket / Jenny Cake. And here I was, an amateur home-baker trying to make something, which my grandma probably took years to do it right.

To be honest, ever since I got the recipe, I'd been scrutinizing it daily. I was apprehensive about a particular ingredient - potas - which I was totally clueless. I initial thought, "what the heck is this?" And this ingredient was the key ingredient to make the snack right. Neither my aunt nor mum knew the translation in English.

Summing up my courage after the Macarons project the other day, I went to the baking store and asked the staff (who were already familiar with this face of mine) what "potas" is. With so much hype about the "potas" between my aunt, my mum & myself over the past few days, I came to realize that "potas" was nothing more than................ Bicarbonate Soda aka Baking Soda. There on the label was written "Potash" (duh!). -__-. To thhink I had the ingredient in my pantry all along. (Double Dooosh!!)

As soon as I came back from the store (no, I did not buy another bottle of baking soda aka potash, as we all know now), I prepared the dough for Jeneket / Jenny Cake. As it needed to proof, I've to start early.

Left it to proof for 4hrs (some recommended overnight proofing) then I tested the dough to fry. It didn't turn out as I expected. I thought I might have put too much flour and too little time to proof. Texture was thick and hard after frying.

I decided to proof the dough again for another 4hrs. This time I used a round cutter to cut the dough and flatten it slightly. Walla! This time it was just right, although I reminded myself to lessen the flour just a teeny-bit next time. (What? Did I say next time?)

Macarons

2011-01-20T17:27:00.000+08:00

I actually had another cooking mission to do, which I deliberately put on hold. Firstly because I need to look for a key ingredient, which would require me to move about a bit; secondly I need a second (or maybe third) opinion on the recipe. Anyways, I shall get to that when I'd done & completed the 'mission'.

So I needed to get 'rid' of my egg whites. Since there was no response on the Cornflakes Snow order, I was bothered by the possibility of the egg whites turning bad soon. Hubby suggested Lemon Meringue Pie, but the mood was just not there for me to make anything citrus right now ; ).

Moving on to another 'technique-al' recipe, I took another chance to try my hands on Macarons. This time I reminded myself to use more drops of colours so they will stand out after baking. The last time I did these, I was so afraid to use a little more pink & the Macarons turned out nude colour thereafter. So no mercy on the colours this time.

Blue for boys.... Pink for girls....

I made blueberry blue & strawberry pink. There was another colour / flavour that I made but somehow some of them cracked; coffee cream. Wonder what went wrong, but my guess was the oven temperature. Still, I managed to save some...

And this little guy never stopped munching on these sweet treats...

Chocolate Marshmallow Dessert

2011-01-16T17:29:00.000+08:00

When Zu first posted a picture of the Chocolate Marshmallow Dessert in FB, which she made for her mother-in-law's birthday, I went "ooooooh la la!". What's more she mentioned that it was a no-bake dessert. So this must be one of Zu's "quick & easy treats". I waited for the recipe.

Just yesterday as I was browsing through my blogroll, I noticed that Zu had updated her blog with the recipe for this chocolate decadence. As I have all the ingredients, I thought I'd try to make this dessert today, specially for the kids as I was sure they would love it.

I kept this as a surprise while I was making the preparations although each one of them asked what I was up to when they saw the marshmallows (hee!)

So after two hours of working mysteriously in the kitchen, it was time for their treat.

For recipe, please click on this link.

Fried Spring Roll

2011-01-15T21:54:00.002+08:00

I was given the opportunity to try these tasty spring rolls by a very generous friend, Kyn and I am so thankful! Not that it's hard to find spring rolls here in this sunny island; it's hard to find very tasty spring rolls as a package - filling & sauce together. So I appreciate that I was being introduced to these frozen homemade spring rolls.

The popiah skin (usually store-bought) is generously stuffed & rolled with well-seasoned, pre-cooked filling - shreds of turnip, carrot, egg & crabmeat. Then there's the delicious pre-cooked sauce - sweet and spicy with a tinge of shrimp paste, which came in the pack too.

I couldn't wait to fry the spring rolls and the cooling weather just perfected the idea for me to snack. As the filling was well-seasoned, it tasted just as good eaten on its own. So when dipped in the sweet spicy sauce, it just tasted even better.

Perfect!

Peanut Butter Brownie

2011-01-14T17:39:00.000+08:00

I felt like having a brownie & thought of macadamia. But since I've tried putting in macadamia nuts into my brownie, I thought why not make full use of this free time to try something I'd not done before. I have, after all, a jar of creamy peanut butter in my fridge (I discovered that the kids preferred crunchy to creamy : P)

Using my basic brownie recipe, I sloshed quite a 'few' spoonfuls of peanut butter all over the brownie mixture. Little did I realize that I'd actually used up the half-full jar; everything went into the brownie mixture. Oh well... I'd really hoped the taste combination would complement one another other - sweet, chocolatey, salty, nutty, creamy. I had never tried sweet & salty brownie before so I was a little sceptical about this experiment.

I couldn't resist the temptation to see what it's like inside that after 15 minutes of cooling, I cut it up. Well, what could I say? I love it! What a way to enjoy these warm bites on a cooling day with a cup of hot coffee.

Chinese New Year Cookies Platter

2011-01-10T17:58:00.002+08:00

Our Chinese New Year Cookies Platter is not your typical traditional cookies set. Well, except for our Pineapple Tarts. It would be an injustice not to include at least one traditional cookie.

So we've come up with five other 'today' cookies in this platter - Cornflakes Crunchies, Green Tea Pistachios, Apricot Orange, our signature Chocolate Cranberry and our bestseller Cornflakes Snow.

Our cookies

Well even if you're not celebrating Chinese New Year, you could definitely present this to your friends or get this set as cookies sampler!

Chinese New Year Cookies Platter

Email me sistabrownie@gmail.com for details.

Pineapple Tarts

2011-01-06T11:50:00.000+08:00

The two people, who had always pushed me into trying making my own Pineapple Tarts, are my mum and my husband. After much hesitation and deliberation, I finally gave in. I wasn't sure what came over me but despite being very tired yesterday, I proceeded with my plan.

The reasons for me not to give it a go much earlier when I started sistabrownie was that, I didn't know and want to make my own pineapple jam. It's just so troublesome & time-consuming! But of course you'd get more satisfaction making your own. No matter how I hated it, I still wanted to try making the tart dough with that 'melt-in-your-mouth' effect. So I bought the pineapple jam (hee!)

Following the family (well not actually family, rather my mum's) recipe intently, the dough was a success. Now, the dough was so delicate I was stressed about rolling & cutting it. But I gotta do what I gotta do, get it over and done with. It took about 3-4 times of rolling before I got the hang of it.

I switched between two mould cutters because the first one didn't make deep patten impression, plus the centre was not deep enough for me to fill the pineapple jam.

The second one had deep centre, which was perfect for me to put 'reasonable amount' of filling. The only downside was that there's no patter whatsoever. So the hardworking-but-tired me decided to crimp the sides, which took me a loonngg time to finish.

But I guessed the effort paid off. Although I took from lunchtime right up to dinnertime to complete my bakes, DH was very impressed with the taste.

Mission accomplished!

Almond Scones

2011-01-03T18:28:00.003+08:00

I was so keen on trying another scone recipe from the "Scones" book. This time I tried the Almond Scone, which was great eaten warm & fresh from the oven, with strawberry jam for afternoon tea.

Almond Scones (adapted from "Scones" by Genevieve Knights)

200g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
50g soft brown sugar
70g ground almonds
70g sliced almonds
200ml double cream
water

Preheat oven to 220C. Sift together into a medium-sized mixing bowl the flour, baking powder, salt & sugar. Add the ground and sliced almonds. With a fork, minimally work in the cream. Add a little water, just enough to bring the mix together into a dough. Knead 2 or 3 times then place dough on a lightly floured surface.

Roll out to a rectangle 30cm x 15cm. Slice off any uneven edges then slice into 4cm squares. Place on a lightly floured baking tray then bake 4-6 minutes until lightly browned and cooked through.

Makes 25.

Twenty Ten in retrospect

2011-01-01T09:29:00.000+08:00

Twenty Ten - good year or not-so-good year? It's a fine line actually. It wasn't good but not so bad either.

Good because I celebrated my 10th wedding anniversary; it wasn't so good because a similar incident happened to me around the same time it happened in 2009.

Well taking things into lighter random notes, these were some of my thoughts I'd like to share:

I value family time; I miss my mum's cooking and being & talking to my two brothers. Although I'd always been sceptical about friends' sincerity, I learn to let go slowly & cautiously. I discover friendship once again. There were those whom I thought were friends all this while but turned out they were just acquaintances. I reconciled with old friends, recalled good memories with close ones & gained new ones as well...

I continuously attempted some new things but decided to give some of them a miss, either because it was just not worth it or taking too much of my precious time...

I love baby girls. I miss cuddling a baby girl in my arms. Although the timing hadn't been right, at least I still have my cute niece to adore...

A bold decision after 11 years (like finally!)... Didn't realize what I'd been missing. This decision had, subconsciously, made me wiser & a happier person. No regrets...

Enjoying family breakfast on weekends. I began doing things at a slower pace, something I hadn't been accustomed to do for a long time. My previous job was the culprit...

Life's a test... Though it's hard to accept certain challenges, I was constantly learning to appreciate what I had, have & been given... As quoted by Oprah Winfrey: "If you look at what you have in life, you'll always have more. If you look at what you don't have in your life, you'll never have enough."

Facing more & new challenges ahead, I should overcome some of my fears & jitters. I wasn't sure what was holding me back. Whatever it was, I prayed for strength to face it. For what I'd missed, I could never take it back. I was going to use whatever time, strength and patience I have to go through life's challenges and make things right. My kids needed my attention and sometimes I tend to overlook that. I'd also overlooked that my kids were different. People always say, "all kids are different". How different? Saying it & to have actually witness & going through it, were two different things altogether.

Some people were blessed with all the good things that life has to offer (good for them). Others went through s**t to learn what life has to offer. For what life has in store for each of us, accept it.

May the new year be a better one for all of us. May we all be bless with good health.

Happy New Year everyone!

Sausage Scones

2010-12-31T10:00:00.022+08:00

I went to the library the other day to return some due books, which the kids borrowed earlier. I told myself that I was not going to borrow any more just because I hate the inconvenience of having to return them (very lazy me).

But the urge was just so great that yes, I went in & borrowed fairy books for my daughter and Dr Seuss for my son. Since the library was having a double quota borrowing promotion I went to the cookery books section to see what else I could borrow. I wasn't looking for anything particular but somehow the "Scones" book caught my attention.

So I was browsing through my newly-borrowed book at home and same thing, my dear daughter would flick the pages as well. Now something interests her - Sausage Scones. And she told me she'd like to make them.

I had this morning free and a quick check of ingredients showed that we had everything we needed. We proceeded with 'Ufairah's first project. It turned out successful, with me helping her to gather & knead the dough, she rolled it with sausage & sealed it. Most importantly she liked what she prepared.

Here's sharing a mother-daughter project:

Sausage Scones (adapted from "Scones" by Genevieve Knights)

200g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

50g butter (cold)

1 tblsp mild or hot English mustard

100-120ml milk

4 small frankfurters (we used chicken sausage)

Preheat the oven to 220C. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Place the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Rub in the butter until the texture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Separately whisk together the mustard and milk. Add most of the milk & mustard mixture to the dry mix. With a fork, stir to combine. If mixture is too dry to come together, add the remaining milk.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough together. Roll the dough out to a 30cm x 20cm rectangle. Place the dough on the workbench so the 20cm width is in front of you. Slice dough into 4 even pieces across the width. Place a frankfurter at the edge of a dough rectangle and brush the farthest edge with a little water. Roll up tightly then press lightly to secure. Repeat the process with the other frankfurters. Slice the rolls into 5 even pieces each and place them onto the baking tray. Bake about 6-8 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm.

Makes 20.

Chocolate Crinkles

2010-12-26T18:32:00.000+08:00

As mentioned last week, another chewy cookie recipe would be posted after Christmas. So here I am, with a recipe at hand.

I was browsing through my recipe book for a Christmas giveaway and almost couldn't decide on a dessert as a "Thank You" gift for a repeat customer. Again, I decided to pack some cookies (I gave away Fruits & Nuts Biscotti for Aidilfitri).

There were a few which I've shortlisted - Thumbprints, Vanilla Biscuits and Shortbread. In the end I decided to go with Chocolate Crinkles, simply because they are unique. Balls of dough are to be fully-coated into icing sugar just before they were baked. With cracked tops, the icing sugar are spread out and you'll get cookies that have a crunchy exterior and a moist centre.

Chocolate Crinkles

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups sugar (I used 1 cup which worked just fine)
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla essence
2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup icing sugar

1. Using an electric mixer, combine oil and sugar.

2. Mix in the eggs and vanilla essence.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. Gradually add to the liquid mixture and mix until just combined.

4. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour or until firm (a must-do).

5. Preheat oven to 170C-180C and line baking sheets with greaseproof paper.

6. Shape the dough into balls (I used 2 teaspoons to shape the dough). Roll them in the icing sugar, coating them completely.

7. Place the balls on the lined baking sheets, spacing them apart (cookies will spread out).

8. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed and cracked on top. The cookies should look undone and be soft in the centre. The internal heat will cook them while they cool down. This will keep them crisp on the outside and moist & chewy on the inside.

9. Leave cookies in baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them onto wire rack to cool completely.

Yields about 80 pieces (small / medium size).

Goodies for Christmas

2010-12-25T18:44:00.001+08:00

The days before Christmas were pretty packed with preparations for goodies ordered from my ex-colleagues and ex-schoolmate.

As I'd be working alone and juggling between appointments, I had started planning my baking schedule as soon as I received the requests.

These were the goodies I did for Christmas eve:

3 sets of Brownie Cups for Dilah & Charis

Chocolate Hazelnut CheeseCups & Tiramisu for Azra

Strawberry Cheese Tart & Quiche for Azra

When you have lots of blueberries, you make.....

2010-12-21T23:30:00.001+08:00

Blueberry Pie, of course!

Since I'd bought two punnets of fresh blueberries from Giant's a couple of days ago, I was pressured by DH to make something different from my usual range of desserts & goodies. (I was thinking of making scones, really).

So the very first thing that he came up with was baked Blueberry Pie. He had been asking me to bake this a few times before and I kept putting it off. I'd always felt intimidated making a full pie (with the shell) because making pie pastry wasn't my best at all. I've tried different recipes but it was always the technique that failed me.

Well since the fresh blueberries were bought at such a good deal, I felt it would be an injustice to leave the berries in the fridge (to dry up) without giving this recipe a shot. So I was subconsciously pushed to try making the pastry again.

I wouldn't say that it turned out perfectly this time, but it was slightly better. There is still room for improvement, though.

What mattered was DH loved it!

sistabrownie's homemade Blueberry Pie

Casual weekend

2010-12-19T22:00:00.003+08:00

It was a 'family-errand' Saturday, as we went from one place to another to get some things done before school reopens. Starting in Tampines, we went to Funan and then finally Bras Basah Popular store for some stationery. I've grown to like that branch as they have complete stationery for everything. Plus lots of other stationery stores too.

With a 20% discount coupon in hand, I browsed through the fiction section to check on my latest novel collection - Sophie Kinsella's "Mini Shopaholic". And yes, it's already in stock! I almost missed it at the shelf.

As I was still busy planning my bakes for this upcoming Christmas orders, I hadn't start on my new book much as I wanted to. Sunday afternoon was spent at the supermarket getting more stuff for my orders too. And I chanced upon a really great deal, an irresistible deal.

Fresh blueberries going for only $1.95 per punnet of 125g! How great a deal was that? But I didn't need blueberries for any of my orders. Well just because they were on offer, I bought them. So I'd better make something with them.

For dinner we went to 89.7 Supper Club @ Changi Village again. This time we ordered one-dish meal for everyone - Fish & Chips, Mee Goreng, Seafood Fried Rice, Kampung Fried Rice, Sweet & Sour Chicken wz rice, Beef Hor Fun and Satay.

I would say they didn't have the best of everything under one roof. Some of the dishes we ordered were tasty while others were not so. For instance, the peanut sauce for satay. It was tasty & flavourful but a bit runny & a tad too oily.

I was so tempted to try their Dim Sum, but it wouldn't be a good idea. Especially since we were already so full. So next time I shall.

Chewy Chocolate Cookies

2010-12-17T14:56:00.000+08:00

After a week of delay, here's the Chewy Chocolate Cookies recipe.

A rather easy recipe for anyone to follow, this recipe does not use butter but vegetable oil instead. So what you get at the end of your bakes would be cookies with crunchy edges and chewy and cake-like texture in the centre.

For these cookies I did not use the usual chocolate chips but coarsely-chopped + button chocolates, as I anticipated that the chips would 'disappear' in the dough.

So here it is:

Chewy Chocolate Cookies

2 eggs
1 1/3 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla essence (slightly more would still be fine)
1 cup plain flour
3/4 cup self-raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts (any of your favourite)
3/4 cup raisins (I prefer to put slightly more)
1 cup coarsely chopped chocolates (semisweet / white)

1. Beat eggs, sugar and essence with electric mixer until mixture becomes lighter in colour.

2. Stir in sifted dry ingredients until well-mixed.

3. Pour in the vegetable oil & continue to mix (by this time mixture will look sticky and soft). Cover the mixing bowl & refrigerate for at least 1 hr or more.

4. Preheat oven to 170C (depends on your oven). Grease oven trays.

5. Roll heaped tablespoons of mixture into balls, place on trays 6cm apart, flatten into rounds. (Don't worry if you flatten it through as the dough will puff up during baking).

6. Bake about 10 mins or until browned lightly (mine took 10mins per tray). Stand cookies on trays 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool.

Yields about 36 cookies.
Tip: You may like to add some orange rind for that extra aroma & taste.

Votes are in

2010-12-10T08:46:00.001+08:00

So the votes are in - 66% prefers Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies; 44% Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Thanks for those who voted. I'd expected the result will be vice versa. Anyways, the Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe will be posted soon, when I return from my short trip.

Enjoy the weekend!

My favourite food haunt - Bedok Corner

2010-12-08T09:34:00.000+08:00

I've been wanting to blog about this place for a long time but every time I was there, I forgot about everything else and gorged on my food as soon as they arrived. See, I even imply the food as "they" and not "it". So you guessed, whenever I was there, I'd start ordering quite a spread. Surprisingly, we always ended up finishing our food. Bedok Corner - the first time I was there it was pre-renovation during my dating days (ehem!). Hubby introduced me to the place which wasn't any close to what it is today.

I was there again yesterday. Before we even left the house I'd started salivating about the, by far, tastiest Halal Carrot Cake (black sauce). Why do I rave so much about Bedok Corner's Carrot Cake? Because the taste is consistent each time I ordered. Unlike other food joints, where the taste of the Carrot Cake differed when different cook prepared the dish, this one never disappoints me. But alas, the stall was closed! (Big sigh!) Anyway, the Carrot Cake stall is No.2, just next to the soya bean stall, which by the way serves good soya milk; not too sweet.

Next is the Tahu Telur at stall No. 5. I haven't tasted a lot of other Tahu Telur so I shall not compare. But do try this Tahu Telur when you're there. You wouldn't be disappointed. It's served with black shrimp paste sauce, which was not too spicy. Even my son loves it. (Don't mind the pic. Again I attacked it before remembering to snap a pic).

We ordered Sup Kambing from stall No.26 and Mee Hongkong from stall No.28. Unfortunately the latter was a disappointment. Although the serving was a lot, it tasted too much of garlic. That totally put me off because of the pungent smell. I also ordered Nasi Goreng Ayam from the same stall. Apart from the generous chicken portion, the rice was almost tasteless. Even hubby commented that the cook might have forgotten to add salt. This might be a one-off case, because I've seen quite a number of people ordering from this same stall on other days. But for me, I wouldn't come back. There's another stall selling good Nasi Ayam / Nasi Ayam Penyet but I didn't take note of the stall number. It's near to the restroom exit. I noticed it was quite popular with patrons.

Since it was a weekday, it wasn't crowded. So I managed to list some of the food stalls I'd go to at Bedok Corner:

Stall No.1 - Soya Bean Milk (Variety, not too sweet)
Stall No.2 - Carrot Cake (@ $3/plate. Go for the black sauce)
Stall No.5 - Tahu Telur
Stall No.12 - Pisang & Cempedak Goreng (Variety, all kinds of banana. The lopes is nice too)
Stall No.13 - Juice (I get my Avocado Juice here)
Stall No.25 - Mee Kuah Upeh (this is their specialty probably because it is served in upeh. Spicy. Sup Kambing is not bad too)
Stall No.31 - Hot / Cold Chng Tng (Die Die Must Try! Generously served)

Since I didn't get my Carrot Cake fix, I'd be sure to make a comeback soon!

Crunchy or Chewy? poll

2010-12-03T10:14:00.000+08:00

I am currently running an online poll - "Crunchy or Chewy?" to find out people's preference on cookies, especially Chocolate Chip ones.

I have scanned through some chocolate chip cookie recipes and 'shortlisted' the good ones to try. In fact some chewy chocolate chip cookies are really tasty. But I guess the majority have always been 'fed' with crunchy ones that they might classify chewy ones as cookies-that-have become-soft-over time.

Anyways, the final result of this poll will determine which Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe I will be sharing here. Of course before I post the recipe, be assured that it had been tested and tasted. The criteria that I always look for in a recipe are whether the ingredients are readily available and that it does not require much time in preparation.

So I shall be updating the result in 1 weeks' time. Stay tuned.

Homemade pizza

2010-12-02T19:00:00.001+08:00

Since I was out and about, I bought the necessary stuff to make homemade pizza for the kids. This would be my 'virgin' project.

I didn't use store-bought pasta sauce for the base, instead it was Mum's recipe. She called it the "sweet-sour sauce". I recalled in my youth (I still am at heart heh!), my mum would make at least three or four big pizzas just for us (me & brothers) to indulge. Her sauce, to me, was a good homemade one. So for me to accomplish that same taste, based on my childhood, was tricky. I hope I nailed it anyway.

Among the three kids, of course it was my daughter who never fail to step into the kitchen to see what I was up to and would try to 'help' in just any way. So I prepared all the ingredients & toppings for her to do her business.

I didn't bother much with the topping like mushrooms, onions, olives & fresh tomatoes because I know the kids would start segregating the vege even before they started eating. This was simplicity at its best.

About to go into the oven

I did the honour of putting the mozzarella (which I bought at an offer at Sheng Shiong - 2 packs in 1).

Fresh & hot

And it's good to eat, especially since the pizza came out at the right time when it was just starting to rain. I cut one pizza into 4 pieces and was taking one after another before I realized that I'd actually eaten a whole pizza. Goodness me haha!

Baking with the kids

2010-11-29T09:10:00.001+08:00

I have two free days to spare but have no ideas what to do with the children. Wanted to go to Marina Square to watch Hi-5 live but I anticipated that there would be a large crowd and that would make me dizzy. I was also a teeny bit inconfident about tagging all 3 kids along, taking public transport. It had been a while since I did that, I guess I just lost my 'mojo' in handling the kids by myself, without relying on my husband. I must really start to put myself into practice again.

So I prepared the Butter Cookies dough for the kids. This time I tinted half of the dough in red & used strawberry essence while the other half in its natural colour & vanilla essence. Thing was my daughter and I watched Rachel Ray's show the day before and in that episode, one of the celebrities contributed the idea of using the cookie dough to make candy cane cookies.

It's using your own favourite butter cookie recipe, tint half in red, make 2 small balls (1 red, 1 natural) and roll the dough out into thin strips separately. Then twist the two strips together and make the shape of a candy cane and arrange them in your baking tin.

We did just that. But the cookies came out fat. The kids didn't mind. They're just happy to eat them.

In the Rachel Ray's show after the cookies were baked, they were sprinkled with crushed candy cane and caster sugar just before serving.

Dinner at The Supper Club 89.7

2010-11-28T11:13:00.006+08:00

On Saturday, hub decided to try out a seafood place in Changi Village. We drove past the restaurant a few times before and we got curious when we saw that the place is actually Halal certified. It's called the Supper Club 89.7 (no affiliation with the radio station).

As we were there on a Saturday, the place was quite crowded with families having their seafood dinner. This place not only serve seafood, they have a whole range of food like Indian, Mediterranean (kebabs), Western, Chinese-style one-dish meal like Seafood Fried Rice, Hor Fun and the likes.

This time we decided to go for the seafood. It's tasty, service was quick and they are reasonably-priced too.

The Supper Club have quite a lot in their menu. So we are going to make another trip there to try the others.

The Air Force Museum

2010-11-27T10:54:00.001+08:00

When I first thought that my fever was not that bad, we managed to step out a while and brought the kids to the Air Force Museum. The kids really enjoyed looking at the jets and helicopters displayed there, especially the outdoor gallery.

For those who are interested, here's the link. Admission is free.

Honey Baked Chix

2010-11-26T10:21:00.001+08:00

I haven't been in the best of health for the past week. This was the worst-hit flu I've ever gotten in don't-know-how-many-years. Fortunately this flu came during a time I wasn't booked for any orders. So I guess it was a call for my body to rest after a long time.

I was definitely offline for the past week. Everything else didn't matter except for me to get myself better. Easier said than done. I didn't have an appetite to start with, I was dehydrated and all I could do was just lay in bed. I lost weight - something I hadn't wished for. After almost a week, the fever was gone, so now I'm only dealing with the cold.

So before I got sick, I managed to try out a chicken recipe which was shared by a fellow online buddy. And coincidentally I have a whole chicken in the freezer, which was given by my aunt for Aidiladha. Didn't use it for the occassion so when I decided to cook Chicken Rice on Friday, I made Honey Baked Chix to go with it.

It was easy to do and very well-received by the family, especially the kids. Will definitely do this again. Thanks Kyn!

*Recipe courtesy of Kyn - http://www.budscomealive.blogspot.com/

Honey Baked Chix

Grilled Fish in Sweet Soya Sauce

2010-11-18T17:03:00.003+08:00

This dish is a favourite with hubby. I can easily serve this dish with hot white rice & he's a happy man. And thankfully it's so easy to do. I believe you have all the essential ingredients in your fridge. But of course the main star is the fish. I like to use black pomfret.

Before grilling

Grilled Fish in Sweet Soya Sauce

Black Pomfret

Salt

Tumeric powder

1) Marinate fish with salt & tumeric powder.

2) Fry till cooked & crispy.

Sauce:

Sweet soya sauce

Butter (room temperature)

Sliced onions

Sliced garlic

Sliced red chillies

Sliced bird's eye chilles (cili padi)
Kaffir lime leaves - sliced thinly
Lime juice
Ginger flower / Torch ginger bud (Bunga kantan) - sliced thinly

1) Mix the above in a bowl. Line your grilling pan with aluminium paper to prevent fish from sticking to your pan.

2) Using a spoon, spread the soya sauce mixture all over the fried fish.

3) Put the fish to the grill. To know if the fish is ready, the soya sauce should be caramelized or dried up a little bit.

When it's done

The trick to doing this is to have lots of soya sauce & onions. The combination of onions & soya sauce will caramelize & make the whole dish tasty. Of course if you prefer this dish to be spicy, add on more chillies.

I haven't tried the sauce with chicken. If you have, please share how it turned out : D

Updated on 19th Nov'10:

You may also like to use this old skool grill. But warning - it will be messy business in the kitchen.

Desserts for Aidiladha

2010-11-17T19:58:00.000+08:00

It's Aidiladha and I hope all my Muslim friends had a great day spent with family today.

I was occupied for two days making preparations for quite a big order for Aidiladha. It's for Nor, who's having a celebration for her 2 year old son's birthday.

Preparations started on Sunday, when I went to look for suitable fruits for the tartlets. As the birthday celebration will only be held today, collection of goodies was a day before. Therefore I had to take into consideration of the fruits used to top the tartlets. Kiwi, strawberries, peaches are all out as they emit a lot of moisture, which in turn will make the goodies soggy when chilled overnight. Fortunately, Nor was understanding and agreeable before confirmation of orders that different fruits will be used to sustain the quality of the goodies.

Custard Fruit Tartlets

Chocolate Fruit Tartlets

For the custard-filled tartlets, I decided to go with dragonfruit and grapes. Dragonfruit does emit a lot of moisture too but hey, what other fruits can I use? Grapes are great, as the store was having a promotion on seedless ones and I love that I got tiny ones, which was just right for my tartlets. Plus, I didn't have to cut them up (moisture intact). Raspberries went on top of the chocolate-filled ones.

There were also 50pcs of Profiteroles. I filled them up with custard. (Note to self: Must learn to make smaller ones, like Mum said. Should I? I thought the size was just right for my box : D)

Custard-filled Profiteroles

Last but not least, the cuppies for the birthday boy who turned two. Nor mentioned that her son loves balls, so she'd asked if I could put a lot of balls for the deco. I decided to go for a little football-themed decoration. Notice the only one cuppy without any deco? That's for Nor to put on the football candles for Harith.

Two-year-old Harith is such a cutie. When I showed Nor the deco for the cuppies, he pointed out to the balls. I thought he's going to say "ball", but instead he shouted "goal". I'm glad I nailed on the deco for him. I hope he had an enjoyable celebration with his family today.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake

2010-11-15T19:23:00.000+08:00

The Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake is one of my personal favourites. And I was definitely delighted to make it, especially when it was requested by one of my early supporters of sistabrownie's - Effa.

Some have asked if it tastes like Nutella because of its combination of chocolates & hazelnuts. Well, it doesn't. For those who are curious, you can place an order or wait for me to launch a samples promotion.

This is a chilled dessert and it's better served when it has chilled overnight.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake

Brownie Platter for Aiza

2010-11-13T21:02:00.000+08:00

I was very tensed on doing this Brownie Platter. It was for two very important occassions - her husband's birthday as well as their wedding anniversary.

She had specifically asked for this design, complete with a sample picture, but with minor alterations. I hope I've met her requests with the outcome of this Brownie Platter (50pcs).

Brownie Cups for Aefa

2010-11-07T20:44:00.000+08:00

Received a special request from a very sweet-looking mum, Aefa, to bake her some brownies. The only difference was that they were to be in medium cuppies. I believe I haven't done this before for anyone. So it was a great opportunity to try this out.

At a glance they looked like cupcakes, but they weren't. I had two options on the choc fudge topping - level it or swirl like a sundae. I chose the latter.

Thanks to Aefa of Trendy Clipettes for this great idea!

Punked-by-Mel Cuppies

2010-11-06T20:27:00.001+08:00

Someone just had to spoil the entire week for me. (I hadn't had the best week on my second week of work). I received an order through email from Mel, who requested for 20 medium Double Chocolate Cupcakes for her boyfriend's 27th birthday in a black & white theme. Everything went as per requested & cuppies were finished just one hour before the scheduled collection time. I SMS-ed her for the collection. To my consternation, she said that she hadn't confirm on the order as she hadn't make the payment. I replied that she didn't cancel her request either. So what was I supposed to do? Just don't make the cuppies, with the risk of her turning up at my doorstep, asked for the cuppies & pay in cash?

I almost had a heart attack when she blatantly replied, "No I don't want the cuppies". Flat in my face. Damn I spent so much time on those cuppies. Some people are just so uncivilized. They don't understand what valuable time and basic courtesy mean to someone else. It may be convenient for her to reject flatly but it was definitely inconvenient for me in many sense.

I didn't know how to feel that day. I felt like crying, I was angry; it was just unbelievable. People do take my kindness for granted. There was Nur, who still owe me for those one-month celebration cuppies for her baby boy. There was also another time when someone alleged that my cuppies were tossed all over the cake box when I arranged for delivery for that person, and I ended up making a second set for her for free. Sigh! The world of business.

Back to the story of the 'punked' cuppies. Hub suggested that we slash the price and put for sale. I wasn't in the mood already so he worked it out for me - updating my status in FB, calculating the costs & contacting his friend if he's interested in the 'punked' cuppies. Great online friends like Annie & Yani too gave me their support. I was truly grateful.

After this incident, hub insisted that upfront payment is a must especially for new customers' orders. To Mel, I can only wish you good luck in your relationship with your boyfriend with an attitude like that.

P.S: Oh yeah, I just remembered something when I was updating this: SHE DID NOT EVEN APOLOGIZE! To think she's currently studying in a local university. Where are your manners lady?!

Macadamia Brownie

2010-11-01T19:54:00.000+08:00

I've lost track after 2 weeks of neglecting my blog. Can I just summariza everything now? Hee!

I've just started on a new job and I discovered that I've hardly the time for anything else after coming home, except just following-up on the kids' activities. It's really tiring for me. Up to the point that I've started taking chicken essence to rev myself up for the day everyday. Tsk tsk tsk!

Anyways, after a tiring 1 week on the job, I felt like having some of my own Brownie. The macadamia nuts in my fridge (plus the pistachios too) were tempting me to bake something. I could always choose to snack on them, but hub would make me feel guilty for not sharing. So in they went to the Brownie.

I made them topless without the fudge, the way I like. And of course shared them with my mum, who came over to check on how her only daughter had been coping with the new job. I'm sure my youngest brother would enjoy these too. I was happy to know from mum that he packed the buns I gave her the last time, to work. I suddenly missed both my brothers.

Brownie Platter for Shasha

2010-10-30T23:42:00.000+08:00

This Brownie Platter was made for Shasha. She had requested for coloured candies as the topper.

Pending recipes

2010-10-29T23:36:00.000+08:00

I have 2 recipes pending to be uploaded here - Creamy Mushroom Pasta (Sauce) & Grilled Garoupa in Soy Sauce.

Will update soon!

Brownie sample

2010-10-26T23:12:00.001+08:00

A customer requested for Brownie sample before she decides and confirm on her Brownie order. So it was arranged that the sample be collected today.

Since there are two boxes left, I thought it would be an opportunity for others to have a test-tasting too before they decide to order the whole pack from me.

Brownie sample comes in a box of 4pcs. But you can request for more. They still come in 4pcs per sample set.

Contact me to arrange for Brownie Sample!

My boy turns 3!

2010-10-18T21:42:00.000+08:00

We continue the birthday celebration for Ghazi today, when he officially turned three.

Three years ago, I was having the most excruciating backache ever before I found out that I was already 3cm dilated when I arrived at my gynae's clinic. It was so painful that I was crying in bed because I couldn't even get up to shower. We decided not to go straight to the hospital as I was afraid it might be a false alarm. It's amazing how a mother with her 3rd child still wouldn't be able to tell if she's ready to give birth or not.

After the confirmation we went straight for the delivery suite, which was just 5mins drive away from the clinic (phew!). At that time, it was only the 3rd day of Raya & I had actually cooked a big pot of Mee Betawi the day before.

It was about 6hrs later that my youngest boy was born (with my gynae wearing a Man U jersey under his robe. Chet!) It wasn't exactly a smooth process as I was losing a lot of blood, Ghazi suddenly turned blue & I had a high fever after that. I could only cradle him for just a moment before the doctor decided to put Ghazi in an incubator to warm him up. I saw him again only the next day. Thankfully everything went well.

Ghazi, 3 years ago

The just-recovered-from-fever me

So it was cake-cutting time for the boy after an early dinner today. Fortunately I managed to get an off-the-shelf boyish-looking cake from Polar.

Birthday boy is in high spirits the whole day. Even while I'm updating this, he's still singing at the top of his voice.

Avocado Milk Shake

2010-10-17T19:10:00.000+08:00

So much about the birthday boy, did I mention about my homemade Avocado Milk Shake? Made it using my new blender, which was presented by my mum for our wedding anniversary.

I used ripe avocadoes, low fat milk & some ice cubes to blend. And when it's ready to be served, pour in some gula melaka to taste. Add more ice cubes if you like.

This is by the way my favourite drink. I'd always look out for it in the menu whenever I'm having a meal outside.

I love the one especially from Bedok Corner Food Centre. The particular stall, which is next to the Goreng Pisang stall (which is also one of my favourite stalls), makes the best Avocado Milk Shake. And if you're there, please also try the Black Carrot Cake. It's cooked & run by Chinese but definitely certified Halal. That is my must-have. Other favourites form Bedok Corner Food Centre - the ice Cheng Teng & Tahu Telor.

Anyone wants to date me out for dinner there?

Birthday treat

2010-10-17T19:00:00.000+08:00

Mum's not cooking today... Cos we'd been invited to MIL's place for lunch. This was also in conjunction with my youngest son's birthday celebration (he's turning three!).

After lunch, we thought of giving the kids an ice-cream treat. So where else, if not Swensen's! (Let the pictures do the talking....

On top having one ice-cream treat each for all of us, we received two complimentary ice-cream too, just because the kids are members of the Kid's Club. Yay!!

Now, what is his real birthday present????

Snack on Buns

2010-10-15T18:03:00.001+08:00

This week, besides the Cornflakes Snow for Sue, I also had another batch of those cookies to complete for Annie. Since I was finishing up on the last batch, I had a conversation with my mum if I should try my hands in making Pineapple Tarts today. I was checking if using half a kilo of flour would yield so much, as I didn't want to end up stuffing myself with Pineapple Tarts in the end. She assured me that I wouldn't. So I held on to that idea.

After that, I called my eldest aunt to ask her if I should tweak my eggwash on my buns. After talking so much about buns & breads & cinnamon rolls, I made up my mind to make buns instead.

Centre Cheese Bun is mine, surrounded by Red Bean Buns

So as soon as my last trays of Cornflakes Snow came out of the oven, I proceeded quickly onto the bread. Proofing the dough is tricky & sensitive and it takes a lot of time too. But as they say "Patience is a virtue", thus you shall yield a lot from it (oh yes indeed, in the form of buns).

(Four left) Cheese Buns & (four right) Raisins & Cinnamon Buns

I finally got to work on the buns at 2pm, rolling the dough & filling them up. This time I had Red Bean, Cheese, Raisins & Cinnamons, Blueberry Cheese & Nutella. And I tried most of them without the paper casings too.

Top clockwise: Nutella, Red Bean, Raisin & Cinnamon, Cheese & Blueberry Cheese

I also tried making them half the actual size. Surprisingly, my kids were a lot quicker in their subsequent helpings. Well probably because by the time the buns were ready, it was just time for afternoon snack.

If you're interested to get your hands on these fresh buns, whether in their actual size or minis, email me for the details.

Hectic week

2010-10-14T08:35:00.000+08:00

Last week after making the heart-shaped Brownie, I was called up to make more Fruits & Nuts Biscotti for Nina & family. It was short notice for me cos she asked if they could be ready the next day. Sometimes I'd feel so guilty about stocking up full in my pantry, but when the call for short notice requests came up, full stock actually helped me. So since she's coming over to collect her goodies, she made a personal delivery too for the items we *ehem me & daughter* bought from her.

I had another request of pies & fruit tarts. Fortunately I haven't bought the fruits yet cos at the very last minute (and I mean really really last minute), something unforeseen happened (from the requestor) and the order was cancelled. Although some of the items had already been bought, I was glad that I haven't started anything yet. Phew!

Early this week was a hectic one for me. On Monday, I thought I had the whole day to spend on my own buying essential baking items for this week's orders. Was taking my time & thought I could nap when I got home, until I received a call from my agent that she'd fixed me with an interview on Wednesday. But she'd need me to come by her office that same Monday afternoon. There goes my power nap time...

I was so occupied on Monday & Tuesday (fetching son from school & then send him to his enrichment class which ended at 5pm. Then we had to put up with the peak hour crowd taking the bus home) and I realized how hard it is being an unemployed mum, despite having a helper or even a full-time SAHM without a helper. Gosh! It's tough.

Yesterday I went for an interview, which I felt so nervous about & felt a little heavy heart but went through it after all. Then it was meeting up with mum for a little shopping at JL Expo sale (it wasn't that great, so no worries if you don't go).

And on top of the very hectic early week, fortunately I managed to complete a set of these for Sue Tariq, who's ordering them for her husband's birthday today.

Birthday Brownie

2010-10-09T12:58:00.001+08:00

This week I made a birthday Brownie for a very nice lady, Yani, who happened to celebrate her birthday in the same week as her husband's. She had requested for it to be in the shape of a heart, decorated with strawberries.

I hope they both enjoyed themselves & the cake too!

I also managed to squeeze in a little bit of time for my kids' favourite - Cotton Cheesecake.

Next time it'll be in my daughter's favourite flavour - Strawberry. Anyone interested in Matcha?

Minis

2010-10-05T11:36:00.000+08:00

I was browsing through all food pictures I've taken so far & I came across the'minis', which I love to bake & would bring along with me to family gatherings.

Chocolate Chips Minis

When I'm in doubt (or "indecisive" would be more appropriate) of what to bake for my family's gatherings, this would be the answer.

Cranberries Minis

I would always start asking myself if I should bake the Brownie Platter. Then decided not to because my aunts wouldn't be able to resist the temptation & would keep the brownie for themselves. There's also the Chocolate Mousse cups; no space to keep them chilled in their fridge. Cheese Cups; not everyone loves cheese.

Rainbows Minis

Minis variations

So it boils down to the Minis. Anyone of any age would munch on mini cakes for dessert right?

A'bun'dance

2010-09-30T11:19:00.000+08:00

Do you believe that good things sometimes do come in great a'bun'dance? I definitely do. Because it comes in the form of - Buns!

Fruit Custard Buns

Lately I have the sudden interest in learning how to make bread. I've learnt it before & still have the recipe with me. But I just couldn't point out where I went wrong that my bread turned out to be as hard as a rock! Driven by determination, I finally signed up for a workshop, where I get to learn from an expert.

Assorted Buns with sweet filling

The instructor was so helpful & answered all my key questions. Good thing that the class was not full so that made it all more fun to learn. When I stepped in into the class, it's like walking down memory lane - it felt like just as I was in school. The 'teacher' told us to get the mixing bowls, measuring spoons, towels, get your own ingredients & follow the recipe (of course, he guided us along). I was actually smiling inside. Reminded me so much of my teacher!

Fruit Custard Buns for Nina

Now that I have keen interest in baking, I am actually very grateful & thankful that I learned the basics in school. I used to be so ashamed to be in Home Economics class : p. And since my mum & aunts are avid bakers themselves, I know where I can turn to for more helpful tips ; ).

Dinner at Botak's Favorites - Changi Village

2010-09-26T16:01:00.001+08:00

My husband & I had been salivating to try the American style food from Botak Jones. But we were disppointed that it isn't Halal certified. More & more Botak Jones outlets kept springing up but none was Halal. But not to fret.

Just about this year, the owners have finally set up the Halal brand of the same American style food called Botak's Favourites. (Food preparation is done by Great Big Food Catering Services, which is also certified Halal by MUIS). This move has obviously bring a lot of cheers from the Muslim community, us included.

So we went to the latest Halal outlet in the East located at Changi Village (just because it's nearer to our house than the one at Simpang Bedok). As it was on a Thursday, it wasn't crowded at all. Our first food - the Cheese Fries - arrived about 10-15mins after placing the orders and subsequently at 5 mins interval.

Cheese Fries

We ordered the "L" portion of the Cheese Fries, which we regretted later as we were unable to finish them.

Next was hubby's U-Crazy-What?! burger, which comprises of 3 minced beef patties. Yep, 3 beef patties! He couldn't even get it into his mouth. So much for being adventurous eh.... *raise eyebrow*

U-Crazy-What?! Burger

Mine was the ladies' cut Ribeye Steak, which I asked to be cooked medium well. Very tender indeed. For this set, I get to choose 2 sides.

Ladies' cut Ribeye Steak

We enjoyed our dinner. The next time we're going to Botak's Favorites, we need to bring friends. Just because we will most likely order different stuff from the menu & then we'll all get to taste everything.

Mee Bandung

2010-09-20T16:55:00.000+08:00

I had 2 packs of yellow Hokkien Mee in the fridge which will be expiring soon. The plan was to fry them when we receive guests during this festive period. But I fried the Satay yesterday instead for my aunt's family.

So I have to cook the Hokkien Mee either today or tomorrow. But what dish? There were a few options - Mee Soto, Mee Rebus, Mee Goreng, Mee Sup & Mee Betawi. Then I decided to try something I've never cooked before.

It's been a while since I try something new. I took my recipe book out, scanned through twice & decided it shall be Mee Bandung, since I have all the ingredients in my fridge. Next, I am so going to try the Mee Ayam Cendawan (Shredded Chicken Noodle). Reminds me of Tong Seng Coffeeshop, which me & ex-colleagues used to frequent for lunch.

What I've put into my Mee Bandung:

Mee Bandung

500g yellow Hokkien Mee*
200g bean sprouts*
*Blanched

Blended ingredients:
2 tblsp dried chillies
3 cloves garlic
5 red onions

About 1.5l chicken stock
4 tblsp tomato sauce
2 tblsp chilli sauce
1 tblsp oyster sauce
300g beef (cut into small cubes)
300g prawns
*Cornflour mixed wz water (thickening agent)
Oil for cooking

Garnish:
Eggs (poaching method, upon serving)
Limes (halved)
Red chillies
Green chillies
Fried shallots
Chopped parsley & spring onion

Directions:
1) Heat oil. Fry the blended ingredients until fragrant.

2) Once fragrant, pour in the chicken stock & the beef cubes. Add the tomato sauce, chilli sauce & oyster sauce. Let it boil.

3) Add in the thickening agent (according to your preference) & continue to stir to prevent any lumps.

4) When the gravy begins to thicken & boil, add in the prawns. Let it cook for about 2 minutes & switch off the heat. *If you are serving immediately, poach the egg in the boiling gravy & serve.

5) To serve, put a small portion of the blanced Hokkien noodles & bean sprouts in a bowl. Pour the gravy with beef & prawns. Place the poached egg on top centre of the noodles. Garnish with lime, chillies, fried shallots, chopped parsley & spring onion.

I hope the above directions are easy to follow. Otherwise you can always give me a tweet at @sistabrownie or drop me an email.

Breakfast at Chomp Chomp

2010-09-19T15:38:00.001+08:00

As usual, weekend mornings were spent at a breakfast joint while we wait for dear daughter to finish her tuition. We would, by routine, be at our favourite hangout for our weekly dosage of prata or nasi lemak & definitely teh tarik. So since we've had our pratas on Saturday, I thought we should 'venture' to other breakfast joint, which is in the vicinity. There wasn't much choice so I thought of Serangoon Way Garden, also known to many as Chomp Chomp.

We tried to get a lot, which is by the way same scenario as when we were at Adam Road Food Centre, and was fortunate we only waited for 5 minutes (parking is free on weekend & Public Holiday). Once parked, hubby popped a prized question - is there a Malay stall here? I was stunned for a moment but decided we should check it out anyway.

It had been more than a decade since I was here & the place had been renovated & looks more spacious. Although there are about 4 Malay stalls there, I was quite disappointed with the choice of food available. Two of the stalls were still closed when we got there at around 8.45am. One stall which was opened had Lontong, Mee Rebus, Mee Siam & Nasi Lemak; the other selling kuih. We opted for Nasi Lemak since there's no other choices.

I was not impressed with the Nasi Lemak as the rice is quite dry & lack of coconut milk taste. The sambal was good though.

Then I had Tau Huay. The initial plan was for me to get another drink of soya milk ($1) for the kids, but I ended up with a bowl of old skool Tau Huay at only 50 cents! The Tau Huay is so silky & smooth, not too sweet.

I had this to myself hehehe...... and regretted that I didn't buy a pack home. So where to next weekend?

New addition to Cookies & Such

2010-09-19T00:01:00.000+08:00

I've done a little bit of 'cleaning up' of my goodies in FB, particularly in Cookies & Such category. Since the requests for cookies come only during Eid (so far), I realized that there hasn't been strong response for Matcha & Tropicana cookies. Therefore decided to take these off the list.

Since I love eating cookies that contain fruits especially, I have not taken Tropicana away totally. I decided to give it a little bit of revamp. Not actually a new type of cookie, I've tasted this way back during my school days & didn't give it much attention then. Even Mum remembers this recipe when I described it to her. It's the Cornflakes Crunchies.

Cornflakes Crunchies

After only one week of Eid, proposals for next year package already come up for me to consider. I hope He will grant me the health & strength for me to carry it out, InsyaAllah. I'm looking forward to it.

Meanwhile, more experiments & concoctions to be made in my kitchen.

Brownies for Eid

2010-09-09T22:56:00.001+08:00

After the delivery of the cookies, I had to make sure that all the cakes are packed properly for collection on Wednesday. This year, requests were only for Brownie - Chocolate Cheese Brownie, a whole Brownie & Brownie Platter (100 mini pieces).

Baking would not be complete without bits of hiccups. Mine, when I had hoped for things to go smoothly after completing 95% of my tasks, was that the chocolate fudge cracked when I had over-estimated the chilling time. I guess I was too tired to bring out the Brownie of the fridge for the cutting, that I had left it more than the required time. And so, a second batch had to be baked to ensure a smooth top.

I was grateful for the ample time I had to complete everything, in time for the cakes collection.

Chocolatey Brownie for Naz

Brownie Platter for Naz

Brownie Platter wz drizzled Choc for Az

With this entry, I would like to wish all fellow Muslims ~ Eid Mubarak!

Ramadhan coming to an end

2010-09-08T08:59:00.000+08:00

It had been a very quick month of Ramadhan passing by. Was it because it was Ramadhan, that's why time moved so quickly? In just a few days, we'll be celebrating Eid already.

Despite the busy schedule, I'm grateful that I managed to get DD 2 pairs of clothes & a pair of new shoes. As for the boys, I'll get them something soon hehe ; ).

So I managed to complete all bakings by Tuesday (cakes inclusive) and delivery of the cookies was done yesterday. For those who have placed your orders, I'm thankful for the trust. I hope you and guests will enjoy the goodies.

Talking about goodies, I offered a free gift for every order placed. Here's what my friends received in their bundle:

Fruit & Nut Biscotti

Enjoy the goodies... Thank you!

Cheese Cups

2010-09-04T08:46:00.000+08:00

Since I anticipated that my bakings will be finished soon, I decided to take in Kyn's request for Choclate Hazelnut & Blueberry Cheese Cups.

It was in celebration of her 6th wedding anniversary. I hope it was an enjoyable celebration.... And thanks for this request, Kyn!

Chocolate Hazelnut & Blueberry Cheese Cups

Deviation from my baking schedule

2010-08-30T08:38:00.001+08:00

Much as I'd like to complete my festive cookies baking as soon as possible, I had to make a little deviation. I had to bake something for DD & DS's teachers for Teacher's Day. Not that I was forced to, but because I had no time to go out & shop for things and since I'm already in the kichen baking, I thought might as well.

I had wanted to give Chocolate Cranberry Cookies, but DD wanted Double Chocolate Chip Cookies instead.

Iftar @ Fika's

2010-08-25T08:18:00.001+08:00

I've always been apprehensive about meeting my ex secondary schoolmates, especially after more than 10 years of not seeing them. Although we got in touch via FB, that was virtual. Meeting up was another matter.

But of cos, there are some favourite people that I'd really love to meet - the first batch of friends when we were in secondary one. When we don't know who is who but we somehow stuck together cos we were from the same class, sit near to each other & started making friends.

So when an ex classmate from Sec 1 contacted me asking if we all (there were 5 or 6 of us) can meet up, I jumped at the idea. Of all people, this guy was the most difficult to get in touch with. Since he's here in S'pore, I was not going to let the chance slip.

I immediately activated a girl friend, whom I've always kept in touch with, to get the numbers of the rest of the 'gang'. Fortunately, all of us were available for dinner. Venue wise, they left it to me to decide.

Since I have never been Fika, I decided we meet up there. Although a little inconvenient for people (like me) who was vehicle-less, I was starting to sweat when I reached the restaurant. Ambience was great & cosy, I was greeted by the friendly owner, Tasneem.

We started placing our orders as soon as everyone was there. Here's what all of us ordered for that day:

Pear Cider

(The famous) Swedish Meatballs - mine & Weeni's

Salad - Mel's

Salmon - Az's

Crayfish Pasta - another Az's

If only it was a quieter evening, we would have stayed longer at the place to catch up. Instead we moved on to another place where we can actually laughed ourselves out remembering the good ol' times.

Till the next meet up!

Festive cookies at the confectionery

2010-08-24T08:03:00.000+08:00

With a tight schedule juggling between work & baking, I finally mnaged to complete the baking madness. This was because I had agreed to send my cookies - Chocolate Cranberry Cookies, Double Chocolate Chip Cookies & Cornflakes Snow, to a local shop.

It was a huge relief when the orders were completed, especially on time. But this was not the end of it, as I still have orders requests from friends as well. Pressure pressure....

Jerseys

2010-08-17T07:57:00.000+08:00

This has been the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) every year since 10 years ago - buying Liverpool jersey for hubby for his birthday which is also within our wedding anniversary week. So instead of getting one, he gets 2 jerseys every year. One home, another one away.

So you can imagine how many pieces he has in our wardrobe... Much as I dread having to fork out that amount of money each year, I made sure he keeps all his collection intact. They will make him rich one day muahahaha!!

Guess I'll take this as an investment....??

Quiche for iftar

2010-08-17T07:51:00.007+08:00

I've promised my aunt that I'll make her a quiche one day. That "one day" was supposed to be before Ramadhan. Somehow or rather, it got dragged on till Ramadhan itself. So I told myself that if I don't start gettin' busy on that quiche now, it'll drag till Raya.... or even next year!

Promises has to be kept, and I made her one for her fam to enjoy for iftar.

Food bazaar in Ramadhan

2010-08-15T07:01:00.002+08:00

The month of Ramadhan came & we start our fasting month for 30 days.

During this time also, most people would check what the heartland food bazaar has to offer. These food would only then be served at the break of dusk after having at least a piece of date (kurma).

After the first week of Ramadhan, I decided to check what our nearby bazaar is selling. Usually these neighbourhood bazaars are not big; they occupy only a part of the void deck (unless you staying in Woodlands), usually about between 10 and 20 stalls. This one is located at Drive 6, Pasir Ris.

As there was a recommendation from a fellow friend on a particular stall, hubby & I decided to try out the food. It specializes in Nasi Ambeng - white rice with beef rendang, pickled cucumber, bean sprouts vege and begedil (potato ball). This stall also serves other special rice too, which we initially have difficulty deciding which one to buy (I was torn between Nasi Ambeng & Lontong Kering). Then we finally decided to buy what the cook do best - Nasi Ambeng. Price & the serving was very reasonable. Most importantly, it was delicious! Hubby, who is very particular, was very impressed too. These good food comes from Julaiha Kitchen & Catering Services, which operates daily at Changi Airport Terminal 2 staff canteen.

I actually took a picture of what I had but because the food was packed in paper lined with banana leaf, the look would do a disservice to the goodness of the food. So I'll take a pic in future when we visit the stall, as hubby said we'll make a comeback for this one.

We also bought otak-otak (spicy fish paste wrapped in banana leaf & barbequed). The kids could never get tired of eating this. They would continously have one after another. So we usually buy extra like up to $5 or more for these.

Otak-otak ikan *Some call it Fish Otah

I've tasted from one stall in Woodlands, which is broader in size & thinner spread, and thought it was good. This one is in its normal sized strip, but it's thicker. Which is even better. Normally stall vendors would not put that much paste. Lucky for us then, plus there was no queue when we ordered & waited.

So good food in one place. We were very contented at the end of the day.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-08-12T20:51:00.001+08:00

For this year's Hari Raya, I've introduced a c'rookie in town - Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (DCCC).

As the DCCC was only tested & tasted at the last minute last year, I didn't have time to take a pic and introduce to my fellow friends. In the end, the kids finished them all in less than a week during Raya.

This year I decided to take in requests for the DCCC and initially informed my requestors that no pic was available. But I felt that it wasn't right.

So I made some just before Ramadhan. Those who have placed a request for these DCCC, here they are:

I'm available!

2010-08-12T20:38:00.001+08:00

Here's an update: I've given up my job of 11 years.

I finally took the plunge. It wasn't an easy decision. But I feel that this is just the right time. Why? I asked myself the same question over & over again and I'm sure a lot more friends will ask me the same thing too. I described my situation as being a "product which has matured its shelf life". Therefore I need to make a change. I feel that this time is the right time. Although dear hubby is a little stressed that I'm gonna be jobless after Raya, I'm thankful that he'll make certain 'adjustments' for the time-being.

It's going to be awkward waking up one day & realize that I don't have to start putting my make-up on 1hr before stepping out, rushing to the bus-stop to catch that bus and travelling 45mins by train to town. I just hope that I won't be too comfortable with the new routine, though.

In the meantime, I'd try to get my youngest to have more interest in books. You see, having the maid to care for your kids also means that they'd sit the kid in front of the telly than sitting them down with books (although time-table was set for the maid to follow, who'd really know she's abiding by it??) So while waiting for appointment calls to come in, I'm going to try to make up for lost time with the kids.

This will be the first break I've had in many years. I look forward to new challenges.

Wish me luck!

Breakfast at Changi Village

2010-08-09T23:19:00.001+08:00

It's Singapore's 45th birthday today & what great way to spend the day OFF by spending with the kids & relax.

We decided to have breakfast at Changi Village, where I was told that there was a good Mee Rebus stall.

The Mee Rebus was bought from Hassan's stall. Serving was plentiful, with thick gravy and little chunks of peanuts. Cost is $2.50. My rating for this is 3/5. *Please note that this is just my personal rating. Other foodies may have a different opinion.*

So far the 'wak' stall at Tekka Market is still the best, although I couldn't give the stall's name right now. No secrecy or rights issues, just that whenever me & my friends were there, the latter always did the ordering. So I didn't get to see the stall's name. Will update the stall name after Ramadhan. And this same stall also serves great Satay too.

Besides the Mee Rebus, the kids had Nasi Lemak from Mizzy's Corner.

Serving is just nice; served with crispy chicken wing, egg, ikan bilis, cucumber & not forgetting the most important component - sambal. Everything served in this plate is very tasty. Cost is $3. My rating: 4.5/5. *Please note that this is just my personal rating. Other foodies may have a different opinion.*

As Ramadhan is drawing closer, I would like to wish all Muslim foodies - Ramadhan Mubarak.

Until my next update.

Rainbows & Tiaras Cuppies

2010-08-09T22:50:00.000+08:00

My Saturday evening was spent baking a set of 30 pcs Double Chocolate Cuppies for a friend's daughter, Nurul, whose having a belated birthday celebration on 8th Aug '10.

While I've prepared part of the decos earlier, there were some last minute details which needed to be added. So it took a some time to complete the whole set, while I timed myself not to get too carried away.

In the end I managed these...... The birthday girl requested for a "Rainbows & Tiaras" theme.

Before the cuppies were shown to the birthday girl, the 'mak pengantin' was already happy with how it all turned out. I'm grateful for the trust given to me. It made my day although I had to be at work : )).

Dinner @ Straits Kitchen

2010-08-05T06:19:00.049+08:00

OK... I'm a little left behind (well not so little if my last blog is dated 14th Aug right?) so I'm a little lost. Lucky thing I have all my blogging pics saved in my mobile. Phew!

A week before Ramadhan (wonder why this was not updated before. Sorry folks!), we were invited by hubby's cousin to Hyatt Hotel's Straits Kitchen for a dinner gathering to celebrate his wedding anniversary & their eldest daughter's birthday. Knowing that we will be there in the evening, I actually ate tiny nibblets of food at work during the day.

There was just so much food that I missed taking pics of the Satay, Carrot Cake, Chicken Rice... Well, it's not so much about so much food there, it's more of me getting excited to eat, I forgot heh!

The food served is local buffet-style, where the 'outlets' / 'stall' are set-up by cuisine. So if you want to have some local Chinese-style food like Prawn Noodles, Carrot Cake, Hokkien Mee etc, you go to the Chinese 'stall'. Likewise for Kampong-style (they serve Nasi Goreng, Rendang, Satay, different sambal & the likes) & Indian food (prata, naan, tandoori chicken & so much others).

For the desserts corner, local desserts like different bubur, ang ku kueh, ondeh-ondeh, pisang & cempedak goreng can be found there. At the side, they can make you popiah as well. Kids would also love that they have ice-cream of local favourites too like mango, durian & yam, with their choice of a topping : ). My kids love making a couple of trips especially to that outlet.

It was an enjoyable evening as we were secluded from the main crowd & only have family & extended family around.

Unfinished Business

2010-08-02T15:38:00.001+08:00

I have started to consolidate the requests for Raya bakes & bought the necessary ingredients last weekend. But somehow, I have a feeling that I may have to make another trip to the supplies store in the midst of my baking frenzy, in Ramadhan. Although I really hope not. Well, we'll see how the promotion goes.

The promotion I'm having for this upcoming Hari Raya is the "Earlybird Promotion", whereby all (new) fans / first-timer will get a 10% discount on their total orders if they place an order before the 10th August '10. Why I mentioned "new fans"? Because for repeat customers, I'm offering a different promotion altogether ; ). It's just one small way of saying "Thank You" to all. In summary, everyone gets a discount at sistabrownie!

Oh did I mention the free gift pack? This comes together with the Earlybird Promotion, as well as for repeat customers. What is it that I'm giving away? It's a surprise...

While making sure that all my ingredients are in stock, I've busied myself with the preparation of decos for a nine-year-old birthday celebration cuppies. There were so many designs that she'd like to have, that she finally decided to have a similar one like the Rainbows & Tiaras, which I did for Nur last year.

Yes, I've mentioned that I'd stopped baking cupcakes officially from 1st April '10 (it wasn't an April Fool's Day joke 'aite). But as this came from a very close friend of more than 10 years, I simply couldn't turn down this request for her only daughter. I relented.

This is just part of the deco that I've started to prepare & store. Still playing with my ideas for the complete decorations. I hope the birthday girl will be pleased.

Wazzup sista?

2010-07-31T17:23:00.000+08:00

I'm in the midst of:

1) Looking for & trying to place a recipe book order online;
~ Have checked at my favourite bookstore & the very friendly assistant have advised me to order online as it'll be cheaper, since they do not have 'that' book ; ).

2) Contemplating on whether I should stay on in my current full-time career;
~ This thought seems to be playin' in my mind; at least until I finally make a decision (ain't that right?). Which is not very easy to do considering I've been doing what I'm doing for far too long. *Continue contemplating*

3) Set up a 'proposal' & checking with myself if I can actually do / handle it if it goes through;
~ Had been very (very) excited when it was first mentioned to me. I didn't think about it until a friend suggested it. Although I was grateful, I'm not sure if I can do this - all by myself. But if it's God's will, I'm sure I'll be fine.

4) Planning promotions for sistabrownie's Cookies & Such for the upcoming Hari Raya in September;
~ This is one way for me to say "Thank You" to all my supporters. I'm giving great discounts, free gift & free delivery (*terms apply) to the people who have known me since I started out. Email me: sistabrownie@gmail.com to find out more!

5) Full of anxiety
~ Let the words speak for itself : D

It's a great Saturday peeps; full of shine. May you continue to enjoy the great weekend.

'Til my next update next week!

Cheerios!

Churros

2010-07-14T18:31:00.001+08:00

Now how or why did I end up frying Churros in my kitchen....?

It all started when I ended up watching a new cable TV show, which had recently become one of my favourite channels (alongside Universal & WarnerTV) : )) It showcases all the different snacks available in the US from sweet treats to what-have-you under the sun.

In one of the episodes, Churros came up. And I suddenly remembered that I've kept this recipe for a while without having tried it yet, although it is an easy recipe.

So here it is. Coincidentally a friend asked for the recipe too, when I uploaded a picture of it in my FB.

Churros

1 cup plain flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

2 tsp caster sugar

1 cup water

1 tblsp vegetable oil (I use canola)

Enough cooking oil for frying

Caster sugar or Cinnamon sugar for tossing fried Churros

1) Sift flour, baking powder & salt into a mixing bowl. Add the caster sugar.

2) In a heavy-based pan boil water & vegetable oil.

3) Once the liquid is boiling pour in the flour mixture into the pan & mix vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together into a ball. The dough should leave the sides of the pan.

4) Let dough cool for a while before transferring it into a piping bag or a cookie press.

Cookie press *Picture courtesy of the web*

5) Heat oil in the frying pan. Press the dough into the frying pan & cut according to your desired length. ( Another way to do this is to pipe the dough in spiral motion. You can cut them in the desired length after you remove from the pan & drain it).

6) Fry until golden brown & remove from pan. Drain.

7) Toss them in caster sugar or cinnamon sugar & serve hot.

P.S: Alternatively you may like to melt some chocolates & dip the churros for serving.

Turtle Pie

2010-07-07T21:25:00.000+08:00

Part two from my previous entry, when I announced that there will be another pie coming up, I managed to make just that today. It's the Turtle Pie.

It's an all-chilled pie, different from my other pies which are baked pastries. So I really find this refreshing. What better way to enjoy this with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream on a hot afternoon. Mmmm.... Yum!

Now if you're asking why this is called Turtle, I don't have the answer. But I think it is what it is because there are 2 layers of chocolate in the pie - chocolate cream, and the top layer acts as a shell to cover the whole pie. Well don't quote me as this is just my version ; p.

Now that my two pies have been accomplished, I'm excited to try just one more - another chocolate pie which is baked instead.

Will post an update when it's done.