Blueberry Jam Wholesome Loaf (Breadmaker recipe)

My Kenwood breadmaker has been serving me well for the past half year and it is one of my best investment so far. Ever since I started using  it, I have stopped buying 'Gar....." or "Sun....." brands loaf bread off the shelf. I prefer homemade bread these days as it is healthier and without any preservatives. I am also happy that after I have introduced the breadmaker in my baking, more than a dozen of friends have bought the bread machine and started baking healthy bread at home. 

Souffle style Chocolate Cupcake 软嫩可可小蛋糕 (中英食谱）



Last Thursday was my son's kindergarten class farewell party. Two days before the celebration, his form teacher said he had told her that mummy's oven has broken down and he didn't know what he would be bringing to school as mummy usually would bake something for any events or occasions. I assured his teacher that with no oven, I can still bake with my Airfryer. :)

Non-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake 免烤蓝莓芝士蛋糕 (中英食谱）

It is almost two weeks since my built-in oven has broken down. The oven has been with me since I moved into my marital home fourteen years ago. It has been a white elephant in the kitchen for many many years until I picked up baking two years ago.

Taiwanese Pineapple Tarts 台湾凤梨酥 (中英食谱）

 

I recently returned from a great vacation in Taiwan, a country with warm and friendly people and great food too! Barely a week from returning, my kids are already missing it and so do I. This morning, I decided to bake something that would bring back the nice memories we had during our holidays.

Non-Bake White Chocolate Square Cookies 免烤白巧克力方块饼干（中英食谱）

 

Today is Children's Day and I made these easy non-bake cookies for my two darlings. It is a sweet treat from mummy here who saw this recipe from a book -孟老师的100多道手工饼干  which she got recently. It is an easy and no-fuss recipe using only three ingredients.

Farm Truck Chocolate Fudge Cake

Last Saturday was my son's six years old birthday. I decided to attempt this 3-Dimentional cake at the last minute. I didn't have time to plan it earlier as the month of September is a busy and stressful one for me.

Rainbow snowskin mooncakes 彩虹冰皮月饼 （中英食谱）

Last week we had rainbow cake and cupcakes to celebrate my daughter's birthday. This week we are welcoming the mid-autumn festival with rainbow snowskin mooncakes.

Rainbow Cupcake & Cake 彩虹蛋糕 (中英食谱）

This week my elder child turns twelve years old. She has requested for a rainbow cake for her birthday. I was not very keen to bake this cake initially as it is quite tedious and time consuming.

Shanghai Mooncake 上海月饼 (中英食谱)

  

The mid-autumn festival is just around the corner. Last week, I made my first trip to Kwong Cheong Thye and was awe to see so many types of lotus paste for making mooncakes. This place is highly recommended as the lotus paste is not so sweet compared to those which I have bought in the past from other baking supplier shops.

Matcha Nutella Zebra Cake by Airfryer

I bought my Philips Airfyer two years ago when it was newly launched. I was intrigued by this new revolution in home cooking which enables one to fry food up to 80% less fat than a conventional fryer due to it's patented Rapid Air technology.

抹茶魔术卡士达蛋糕 Matcha Magic Custard Cake (中英食谱)

Few weeks ago, when my good friend Joyce posted her bake of this magic custard cake in her facebook, I was curious and wonder why it is called a magic cake. She explained to me that three different layers were formed when the cake is baked. I thought, "Wow, what an interesting recipe, I gotta try it!"

Baking Taitai's Hokkaido Milk Matcha loaf with Azuki Paste fillings (Breadmaker recipe) 烘培太太的北海道牛奶抹茶小麵包加红豆馅 (面包机食谱）

Those who follow me on Facebook would have seen me posting matcha bakes for the past week in my facebook page. Tis the season of Matcha for me as I have got a big pack of Matcha powder (bought in Japan recently) in my fridge.

Matcha Chiffon Cake 抹茶戚风蛋糕 （中英食谱）

I have never baked a chiffon cake in a tube pan before. (other than the Hokkaido chiffon cupcakes) I was told that the failure rate of baking a chiffon cake is rather high so I was a little nervous but delighted that it turned out alright on my first attempt. :)

A chiffon cake is a very light cake made using vegetable oil instead of butter and it is so versatile that you can come up with many variations of it.

Baking Taitai's Hokkaido Milk Buns with Cream Cheese & Dried Cranberries fillings (Breadmaker recipe) 烘培太太的北海道牛奶小麵包加奶油乳酪与蔓越莓干 (面包机食谱）

  

My breadmaker is my current favourite 'toy'. There is definitely no regret buying it as it has served my family well and we are enjoying homemade bread with my various creations using my basic loaf recipe here.  I wanted the breadmaker to do more than just baking loaf bread so I did an experiment recently and baked buns in it. I was not disappointed, the buns turned out to be soft and fluffy!

My birthday cake - Tutorial on how to do a dartboard or checkered cake

Today is my birthday and I feel really special as this year my 5-year-old son helps in baking my birthday cake. Few days ago, he came to me and said, "Mummy, I have no money to buy you a present. Can I bake a cake for you? Ok?" I was very touched by his sweet thoughts and agreed that we shall bake the cake together. So I asked him if he has any cake in mind that he would like to bake and he said, "Let's do something that you have not baked before." So, we looked through my long list of to-do bakes and settled for a 'dartboard' layered cake. Not sure what is the correct name for this type of cake, each layer does resembles a dartboard though.☺

Tapioca Sesame Buns 树薯面包

 

Tapioca Sesame Buns is the first recipe which I tried in 周淑玲老师 's latest recipe book. What attracted me to this recipe is, it does not use any yeast at all in this bread making. With the right technique in making the dough, the buns will rise and expand during baking. The dough is really sticky and seems impossible to handle by hands thus using a stand mixer with the flat beater attachment is the best. I am happy to bake it successfully on my first attempt by following the instructions to a T. The result is a tasty bun with a crispy outer layer and QQ texture inside. Black sesame seeds also contributed to the fragrance of the buns.

Homemade Nama Chocolate

Royce Nama Chocolate Versus my homemade ones!

   

Royce Nama Chocolate is well known in Japan and it's overseas outlets in Singapore, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Taiwan and South Korea. This Japanese delicacy is so rich, moist, delicious and addictive that you can't stop at one! I love it's melt in the mouth texture and the secret ingredient is Hokkaido fresh cream. 

Pineapple buns, Bo Luo Bao, 菠萝包

The pineapple buns, more well known as the Bo Luo Bao (菠萝包) does not contain any pineapple at all. This popular Cantonese bun has a golden, sweet, crunchy topping which resembles the pineapple due to the crackling patterns on the topping caused during baking when ammonia powder is used. As I prefer not to use the ammonia powder, I scored the top pastry with a knife to make crisscross pattern instead. This bun is one of the Hongkongers favourite breakfast bun and I believe most of us would not give this tim sum a miss when we go for Yum Cha (饮茶) too .

Light Cotton Yogurt Cake

We have often heard of the Japanese light cotton cheesecake but this is the first time that I have come across a light cotton yogurt cake. So I baked it out of curiosity, the result indeed is like the more well known cake, soft and light. If you want to try something different, I would recommend this recipe to you.
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Cantonese Egg Tarts 港式蛋塔

Don't they look like Sunflowers?

Egg Tarts is one dish which you will find on the menu or on the push-carts at any Chinese restaurant serving Tim Sum. I grew up eating these tarts that look like Sunflower which can cheer one up instantly.  My mum used to buy it often from the Tong Heng confectionery in Chinatown in my younger days and I always look forward to it. Biting into each mouthful of smooth, wobbly custard with flaky pastry crust is a pure enjoyment for me. :)