Black Bottom Cupcakes 黑底杯子蛋糕 (中英食谱教程）

Two days ago was my son's 7th birthday. He had requested for an Oreo Cheesecake to celebrate with our church friends during our cell group meeting the night before his birthday. I did a 9 inch non-baked one as requested. As I was rushing for time, plus the fatigue in me had caused me to accidentally drop the whole cake before I could even take any photo of it!!! /OMG

My New Tovolo Baking/Kitchen Tools 我的新Tovolo 烘焙与厨房用具

Yippee!!! My new Tovolo Baking/Kitchen Tools has arrived! 

Have you ever seen such colourful kitchen tools which will brighten up one's kitchen? I haven't seen it locally until two weeks ago at Jems Robinsons shop front. I was so excited to see many lovely and well designed kitchen tools which are not only useful for my baking needs but also put a smile and cheer me up with its colourful element of fun added to it! I immediately fell in LOVE with it! Wouldn't you love to own such premium quality and functional kitchen tools and add fun to your baking and cooking?

Steam Moist Chocolate Cupcake 蒸湿润巧克力杯子蛋糕 （中英食谱教程）

I have been trying out my electric steam oven to steam cupcakes but have failed several times as the cupcakes simply did not rise and collapsed instead. Finally, after trying out this steam moist chocolate cake recipe which I found online last week, it worked on my Brandt steam oven, not only did it rise, it exploded somehow and had a cute mushroom head. :D I love its unique look, quite unusual from the neat looking cupcake.  The cupcakes are chocolatey rich, super moist and not too sweet. Great for chocolate lovers like me! :)

Gula Melaka Magic Custard Cake 马六甲椰糖魔术卡士达蛋糕 (中英食谱教程）

I hosted my third guest blogger Magic Custard Cake (MCC) and German Butter Cookies workshop two days ago. As usual, I will bake the original and one other flavoured magic custard cake for my participants to sample to have an appreciation of the finished product before they attempt to bake one. I was adventurous and wanted to try a new flavour which no one has tried before, hence the birth of the Gula Melaka magic custard cake. Gula Melaka is dark palm sugar made from the sap of a Palmyra palm and has its own distinct taste. It is mainly used in the local desserts and cakes of the Southeast Asian region.

In this recipe, I have replaced all the icing sugar with gula melaka and the method is slightly different from the original recipe. The result is a flavourful and fragrance cake. My hubby commented that it is the best flavour among all the magic custard cakes I have made so far. I am on cloud nine as I could achieved the three magical layers after trying my own ways of incorporating the gula melaka into the cake batter. My least favourite dense kueh bottom is also just a thin layer, hooray!!! :D =D>

很荣幸第三次被LessonsGoWhere邀请担任部落格嘉宾厨师。我在上课时，都会先让我的学生们尝试原味和另一种口味的魔术卡士达蛋糕。 前两课，我做了抹茶和巧克力口味的。这次，我选择没人做过的马六甲椰糖口味，老公说这是我做过以来最好吃的口味。来上课的姐妹们也说比原味的好吃多了！很高兴用了自己的做法加入马六甲椰糖，还能成功做出三层不同质感的魔术卡士达蛋糕，连我不是很喜欢的粿底层还是薄薄的喔！ :p

Here's sharing some photos taken during the workshop. 

上课时拍的一些照片。 

Thanks to E-Fei of LessonsGoWhere and Lena of the The Baking Loft who have been great assistants to me and my dear hubby for capturing pictures of these special moments during the workshop. Not forgetting to thank Brandt who has sponsored the recipe books - 'Simple Pleasures from the Kitchen' which I had given each participant a copy to bring home. 

Fruity Chocolate Cake 鲜果巧克力蛋糕 （中英食谱教程）

In support of my blogger friend, Fion of XuanHom's Mom Kitchen Diary, who is hosting the Chocolate Wonderland theme this month, you will see more chocolate recipe from me. Those who have been following me will know that besides a matcha lover, I am also a great chocolate lover especially dark ones, I love dark chocolate to the extend that I must have at least a bite a day or I will feel that something is missing or not right! :))

Quick & Easy 30 minutes Oreo Marshmallow Fudge Cake 简易三十分钟奥利奥棉花糖蛋糕 （中英食谱教程）

Yesterday was my darling daughter's 13th birthday. She has requested for a non-cream, simple chocolatey cake with Oreo cookies and marshmallow. I found one recipe on the web which fits her description but has modified greatly to come up with a healthier and low sugar version.  The result is a chocolatey, fudgy and not so sweet cake which I like. It is a quick and easy, fuss free cake with minimal washing as you only need a hand whisk and spatula to do the mixing. Here's the cake which I have assembled for her and glad she likes it.

Baked Custard Mooncakes 酥皮奶黄月饼（中英食谱教程）

When I first saw this recipe at Zoe's blog, I thought it's really interesting as it differs from the usual mooncakes which use lotus paste as fillings and I bookmarked it right away! :) When I saw it at Karen's blog few days ago, I was even more determined to try it out! 

This baked custard mooncakes are really popular in Hong Kong and are selling like hot cakes! Thanks to Master Chef Ye ( 葉潤發師傅) who is the creator of this delectable pastry mooncake. He was inspired by the Fried Custard Bun (炸奶黃包) which was so well received in the hotel restaurant where he used to work and successfully created the mooncake version after his tenth attempt. 

The mid-autumn festival is just around the corner, here's wishing everyone 中秋节快乐！

Fish Doll Mooncake 简易鱼儿公仔饼 (中英食谱教程）

Photo updated on 15 September 2018

I have never like GongZaiPeng 公仔饼  (meaning picture or doll biscuit in Cantonese) since young . My impression of them is a type of mooncake biscuit without lotus paste and shaped usually like a piggy and sold in a small basket. When I saw this special Peach Doll Mooncake at Kimmy's blog, I immediately bookmarked it. This recipe is different from the normal ones as lotus paste is mixed together with other ingredients to form the dough. I knew it's gonna be different with the addition of lotus paste, it will surely be tastier! 

Baked Chocolate Mooncakes 巧克力烤皮月饼 (中英食谱教程）

After making a batch of healthy Snowskin mooncake (without shortening) last week,  I have set aside time to bake these chocolate mooncakes yesterday. I love especially the heart shape ones which says, "I love you" in mandarin. These of course are meant for my the other half. :)

Healthy All Natural Snow-skin Mooncake 健康全天然材料冰皮月饼 （中英食谱教程）

Made these healthy snow-skin mooncakes two days ago. The tri-colour skin was inspired by my Cute Caterpillar Cookies recipe. I have adapted this recipe from my Rainbow Snow-skin mooncakes which do not use any shortening at all. As one who advocates healthy eating, I avoid using unhealthy ingredients like shortening if possible. I have replaced the shortening with extra virgin olive oil and it did not compromise on the skin texture as it is still soft and chewy. For this recipe, I have used HK Black sesame paste from Kwong Cheong Thye. ($12 for a 1 kg pack). I love the great selection of mooncake paste there!

前两天做了这些健康的冰皮月饼。三色冰皮的灵感是来自我的可爱毛毛虫饼干食谱。这个配方是取自我的彩虹冰皮月饼，也是免用白油的。我觉得白油不健康，所以从来都不用它。在这个食谱，我用特级初榨橄榄油来取代，完全没影响冰皮嚼劲和柔软的质感。包裹的馅料是在广祥泰买的香港黑芝麻蓉。（一公斤包装 $12）。

Guest Blogger Workshop with LGW on 16 August 2014 - Magic Custard Cake & German Butter Cookies (2)

8 lovely ladies (L to R) Gladys, June, Cecilia, Cerenna, Serene, Nanz, Ai Ru and Cebim joined me for an afternoon of fun bake-along session on 16 August 2014

I have the opportunity to conduct my second guest blogger Magic Custard Cake (MCC) and German Butter Cookies workshop two days ago due to demand after conducting my first blogger MCC baking workshop last month. 

I started the session by introducing the MCC and explaining how the magic took place during baking. As most would not have heard of or eaten this cake before as it is not sold in any bakery, I baked the original and chocolate flavoured ones this round for my participants to sample so that they have an appreciation of the finished product before they attempt to bake one.  

After the introduction and tasting of the mcc, I gave a detailed demonstration before the participants proceeded to do a hands-on. 

As you can see, we all had a fun filled afternoon baking together... 

   .....in a relax and cosy environment. :)

Anticipating for the magical moment while we examined the MCC that I did as part of the demonstration. Wow... THREE distinct layers of a souffle top, custard middle and kueh base!!! (love that top right hand photo below! :)) )..... tasting of cake and cookies freshly out of the oven over a cup of fruit tea while waiting for the bakes to be done.

 Checking the sides of the cake for the magical 3 layers....see the happy smiles? Hooray!!! =D>

I would like to thank Ethan of LessonsGoWhere and Lena of the The Baking Loft who have been great assistants to me and my dear hubby for capturing pictures of these special moments during the workshop. I also want to thank Brandt for sponsoring the recipe books - 'Simple Pleasures from the Kitchen' which I had given each participant a copy to bring home. 

I will be hosting my third MCC workshop in September. If you would like to join, you may indicate your interest by clicking on this link here so that you will be given priority when the workshop opens for registration.

 © Copyright 2014 bakingtaitai.blogspot.sg

Quick and Easy Blueberry Yogurt Muffins 简易蓝莓优格马芬 （中英食谱教程）

Blueberries are in season and abundance this month. I used to pay $4.95 for a punnet of 125 grams. It has been on special promotion at supermarkets for the past weeks and cost about $2.50 per punnet. I bought 12 punnets at one go and half of it went into our stomachs (2 adults and 2 kids) in one day! You see, the blueberries we get here in Singapore are imported from the United States, thus they do not have a long shelf life and turn mouldy easily. So, we have to consume it as soon as possible. 

Key Lime Classic Cheesecake Tutorial Video Recipe 青柠经典芝士蛋糕 (中英食谱视频教程 )

Last Wednesday was my birthday. I didn't plan to bake a cake for myself initially as I wanted to chill and relax on that special day. However there was a sudden urge to bake that morning as I was craving for baked cheesecake! I immediately took out Carol's baking book and adpated her Lemon cheesecake (which I had bookmarked and on my to-bake list) to bake myself a Key Lime Cheesecake since I still had some Key Limes left after baking the Key Lime Meringue Tart  for my blog's 1st anniversary the week before.

Guest Blogger Workshop with LGW - Magic Custard Cake & German Butter Cookies (2)

I am pleased to announce my second blogger chef workshop conducting the Magic Custard Cake and German Butter Cookies due to popular demand. 

Chicken & Potato Pies 鸡肉马铃薯派 （中英食谱教程 ）

This is my favourite chicken and potato pie recipe which uses yoghurt to make the pastry dough. Yoghurt is one of my favourite baking ingredients as it has probiotics (good bacteria that can crowd out the harmful micro-organisms in our digestive tract which can cause intestinal infections), loaded with vitamins, power boosting proteins, bone-building calcium and many other benefits. Do click here to see my blog recipes which I have used yoghurt as an ingredient in my breads and cakes.  

Key Lime Meringue Tart - Blog 1st anniversary 青柠蛋白霜塔 - 落格一周年 (中英食谱教程）

Today, my blog turns 1 year old. I started this blog with the encouragement of my friends to share my baking experiences and recipes. Though I started baking three years ago, I only started blogging two years later as I was hesitant to start one due to my busy schedule. Being a stay home mum without any helper, my daily schedule is packed with activities like household chores, preparing meals, coaching kids, kids enrichment classes etc. I have to multi-task and run around fast to complete as many tasks as I can. (that has helped to keep me slim as well..haha! ) Thus, I can't bake as often as I would love to but am contented with the limited time I have and try to bake at least once a week.   

Healthy Non-Bake Mango Cheesecake 免烤芒果芝士蛋糕健康食谱 （中英食谱教程）

Wordless Wednesday......

Pierre Herme's Sable Viennois (Danish Butter Cookies) 丹麦牛油饼干 （中英食谱）

This is one of my favourite butter cookie recipe which I would like to recommend to you. This recipe is adapted from Pierre Herme's pastry cookbook from Shirley's blog. Pierre Hermé is a French pastry chef most famous for his macarons (click here for his macaron recipe), many of which have unusual flavor combinations. French Vogue magazine dubbed him "The Picasso of Pastry." 

Guest Blogger Workshop with LGW on 5 July 2014 - Magic Custard Cake & German Butter Cookies (1)

8 lovely ladies, (L to R) Emily, Patricia, Cecilia, Joane, Phoebii, Pamela, Yenn Theng and Cheryl joined me for an afternoon of fun bake-along session on 5 July 2014

It has always been my dream to conduct a baking class one day since I picked up baking three years ago. Teaching is not new to me as I used to be a music teacher. This dream is fulfilled much earlier by LessonsGoWhere (LGW) when they approached me about a month ago and invited me to be a blogger chef to conduct my own baking lesson. I am truly thankful to LGW for giving me this opportunity to host my first baking workshop and also the first Magic Custard Cake baking class ever conducted! I also want to give thanks and glory to God who has blessed me and guided me along my baking journey with great support from family and friends. 

Crisp Chocolate Bites (William Sonoma) 外脆内软的巧克力饼干（中英食谱教程）

I almost forgot that I have a copy of The William Sonoma baking book until I saw Zoe's post on the crisp chocolate bites. You see, the problem with me is I am attracted to recipe books since I started baking 3 years ago. I did a recent count and realised that my collection has almost hit 100! I have to refrain myself from buying any more as I haven't even finish a quarter of the collection and many are still new and shrinkwrapped!