breaking dawn part 1

something that i've been looking forward to!! i went to see the movie on the first day they show it in malaysia. tq so much to my better half for being such wonderful and sporting company. sighhhh... at last they got married, got a baby girl and bella became vampire... the movie ended so fast lah! can hardly wait for part 2. hmmmm... *berangan mode*

apam gebu

salam ma'alhijrah semua.. long weekend for me. i really enjoyed the break. i went outing with the family to catch some movies. and besides that, i get to spend some quality time in my kitchen to try new recipes i got from the internet. this time i googled for apam. cerita dia macam ni.. weekend haritu pergi orang kawin, rumah jiran kat depan rumah. dalam barkat dia bagi apam. very nicely coloured, gebu, halus texture dia. so i googled to find out how to make those irresistibly yummilicious apam.. ada orang panggil 'apam gebu', ada orang panggil 'apam mekar' & ada jugak orang yang panggil 'apam halus gebu'. macam-macam.... but i prefer to call it 'apam gebu'.

apam gebu

here's the tested recipe. texture apam ni halus, gebu & lembut.

the ingredients:

250g caster sugar (kalau tak suka manis sgt, cut down to 180g-200g)
2 biji telur
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp ovalette
300g superfine flour (i used 'blue key superfine flour')
200ml fresh milk
Food colouring

1) Panaskan kukus
2) Beat telur + gula sampai kembang (approx 8-10 mins)
3) Beat in vanilla
4) Beat in ovalette
5) Beat in tepung & fresh milk selang seli
6) Devide batter into 2 or 3 & letak colourings
7) Kukus 10-15 mins

my kids love it. i love it!

tartlets, from my kitchen with love

as i mentioned in my earlier post, i am so into pastries now. last weekend i tried to make cheese tarts. googled for the recipe at myresipi.com and i managed to produce these cute little tartlets.

aww... ain't it cute??

the process is not that hard. i enjoyed myself making these little cuties. the cheese filling is not that sweet. i used strawberry jam instead of blueberry bcoz i didn't have blueberry filling at home.

here's the recipe..

Bahan untuk Pastri:

• 125g butter (salted) - bagi lembut sikit sebelum guna
• 63g gula icing
• 250g tepung gandum
• 1 kuning telur (saiz B)
• 1/2 sudu teh esen vanila
• 1 sudu besar air sejuk
  

Bahan untuk Filling:

• 250g cream cheese - bagi lembut sikit sebelum pukul
• 20g butter (salted) - bagi lembut sikit sebelum pukul
• 60g gula halus/gula castor
• 1 biji telur (saiz B)
• Blueberry filling, strawberry filling atau apa2 filling yg digemari secukupnya

Cara-caranya buat pastri:

• Tepung dan gula campur sekali dan ayak.
• Masukkan butter dalam tepung dan gula tadi, gaul rata hingga jadi seperti pasir/crumb.
• Kemudian masukkan kuning telur, esen vanila dan air, gaul sebati hingga jadi doh.
• Cover dan rehatkan pada suhu bilik selama ~15min sebelum dimasukkan kedalam acuan tart/cupcakes pan.
• Tidak perlu guna sebarang gris untuk acuan. Pastikan acuan kering untuk elak adunan melekat pada acuan selepas bakar.
• Bakar pada suhu 180C selama ~20-25min atau hingga sedikit perang shj.

Cara-cara buat filling:

• Pukul cream cheese, butter dan gula hingga kembang.
• Masukkan telur, pukul sekejap sahaja ~1-2min bagi telur sebati dgn cheese tadi.
• Pipekan filling dalam pasteri yang telah dibakar. Bakar lagi pada suhu 180C ~ 6-10min.
  

Jika saiz besar, lebihkan masa membakar bagi pasteri dan filling.

selamat mencuba!!

sedapnya nyonya tarts!

one of the latest recipes i tried, nyonya pineapple tarts.. yummmehh!

i'm so into pastries lately.. i got this recipe from the internet. credits to kak gee and tq for sharing this recipe. it is super yummeh! the texture of the pastry is not too soft and not too hard. the taste is buttery and it's like melting in your mouth. the pineapple jam is store bought. i got it from a local ingredient shop in melaka called King Hin. it tastes good.. wet & not that sweet. here's the recipe:

BAHAN2NYA:

50 gm tepung gandum

2 sudu besar tepung jagung

secubit garam

1½ sudu besar gula icing

100 gms butter (pure unsalted butter dipotong dadu)

1 kuning telor

air sejuk (berais)

JEM NENAS:

250gm nenas yg telah disagat

150 gm gula pasir

1 sudu besar jus lemon

cara membuatnya:

masak nenas sampai agak2 pekat baru bubuh gula...masak lagi sampai pekat. kalau suka boleh buh tepung jagung sikit.

CARA MEMBUAT PASTRI:

Ayak tepung, tepung jagung,garam dan gula ising ke dalam mangkuk besar.

Masukkan butter, ramas perlahan2 guna hujung jari (rub in method).

Bila dah berderai, masukkan kuning telor dan uli.

Kalau perlu, bubuh sedikit air sejuk hingga menjadi doh.

Rehatkan doh dalam fridge kira-kira 25 minit.

Turap kira-kira suku inci dan gunakan acuan tart.

Cepit guna penyepit keliling doh itu dan letakkan kira2 satu sudu jam nenas.

Bakar 10 hingga 15 minit, kepanasan 180 c.

enjoy baking!! :)

kisah petang semalam

kelakar & kesian. semalam haziq merajuk besar dgn aku. sebab? hahaha... begini kisahnya...

semalam around 6pm when i was still at office, mukhriz called.
mukhriz: mama! i got a surprise for you..
mama: what3x?
mukhriz: my teacher told me that i will be pengawas pss next year.
mama: whats pss?
mukhriz: entah?!
mama: (in my head.. agaknya pusat sumber sekolah kot. ok lah tu librarian..) wow! congrats mukhriz. i'm so proud of u.

so lepas tu i took a piece of paper & scribbled some motivational quotes to congratulate him, and i insert 5 bucks in the so-called card.

balik rumah..
mama: mukhriz, this is for you.
mukhriz: (thrilled, excited, happy) YES!! 5 bucks!! tq mama. tq papa.
haziq: why u get money, abang?
mukhriz: bcoz i become pengawas.

aku pun terus masuk bilik for shower. *knock knock knock* on my door..
aku nampak kelibat haziq lari dari living room ke entah mana entah.
mukhriz: mama, haziq said he doesn't love u anymore and he wants a new mama.
mama: (huh?? what the? *blur mode*) Tell him, whatever. go la look foe another mother. (kengkonon nak merajuk kat haziq)
papa: pegi lah pujuk dia. entah2 dia merajuk tu.
mama: merajuk pasal apa pulak?

so aku pun keluar bilik & tanya mukhriz mana haziq. mukhriz kata haziq dalam bilik bibik.
true enough, muka dia masam gila & once dia nampak my face, dia tekap muka dia kat bantal (bantal bibik!) and he cried. pujuk bagai nak rak! dia juz geleng2 kepala bila aku tanya kenapa dia nangis. so aku menggagahkan diri aku, mengangkat haziq si tembamku dengan segala kedrat yang aku ada, bawak dia masuk dalam bilik aku. tanya punya tanya, soal punya soal, dia juz diam tak nak bgtau kenapa dia merajuk besar sampai menangis segala bagai.

mama: (ambik wallet & keluarkan 3 inggit) nah, haziq, this is for you.
*haziq ambik duit tu but still masam muka..
mama: haziq merajuk sebab haziq tak dapat duit eh?
haziq: (nod2x & terus bukak pintu nak keluar bilik)
mama: so haziq nak carik mama lain jugak ke?
haziq: (geleng kepala)
mama: (**!!?/,::*%@#!)

i want you!

kitchenAid stand mixer
u see that machine up there?
how i wish i can have one...

baking-unlimited.com

takde koje betul aku ni. asik dok try resipi itu dan ini. pantang weekend or public holiday, mesti meroyan nak buat something kat dapor. last saturday i tried to make chicken pie, dapat recipe ni dari kak ngah. sungguh aku tak percaya aku telah berjaya membuat my own homemade pie! dulu juz tau makan pie yang mak buat. best sgt bila kita buat apa2, the kids makan & kata sedap. sometimes siap exaggerate dgn pujian yang melambong2. :) thx for the recipe kak ngah ku sayang..

baking moms out there, here's the recipe..

-chicken pie-

ingredients:
2 3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup cold water

Flour+salt+butter buat dgn hujung jari. campurkan air& uli. kalau lembek, tambah tepung. then canai tapi tak payah tebal sgt.

inti :

burger ayam ramly 1/2 pack

potatoes abt 2-3 biji

mushroom 1/2 can

1) letak burger on pan, keluarkan minyak & dishout minyak

2) squeeze limau nipis, then onions, serbuk rempah kari sikit, then potatoes n mushroom.

3) bila da masak tutup api

4) before put in to pastry, gaul telur n tabur flour into the inti so that dia melekat.

Makes abt 10 pies of 3x3 inch aluminium box.

Bake in preheat 200c (15-20 min)

polkadots

people call it 'apam polka dot' or 'apam dot dot'. i prefer the polka dots bcoz dot dot sounds kinky. i've been eying on the little tiny cuties and been wanting to make them. and finally, i made them! the process is not so easy. the batter is thick and sticky. making the dots was quite challenging due to it's mini size and the batter's texture. but i really enjoyed making the apams. got the recipe from myresipi.com, upon recommendation from a good friend of mine.

the batter, the piping bags and the colorful outcome

awwww... ain't it cute?

if any of you baking moms out there feels like trying, here's the recipe :)

apam polka dots

bahan-bahan ( 45 biji Cup Sederhana Besar )

* 3 biji telur

* 200 gm (1 cup) gula halus (boleh kurangkan jika tak suka manis)

* 150gm (< 2/3 cup) fresh milk. Boleh juga ganti dgn susu sejat/evaporated.

* 275 gm (2 3/4 cup) tepung gandum*

* 3 sudu teh baking powder* (diayak bersama tepung gandum)

* 1 sudu teh ovallete

* 1 sudu teh esen vanilla

* Pewarna

* Filling : blueberry, sekaya, strawberry, jem, peanut butter, coklat, orange filling atau apa2 je

secukupnya (masukkan ke dalam piping bag)

cara-cara:

1. Pukul telur dan gula hingga kembang dgn kelajuan maxima selama 10 minit.

Masukkan susu BERSELANGSELI dengan tepung sedikit demi sedikit sambil pukul perlahan

dengan mixer.

Tambah esen vanilla & Ovallette, pukul lagi sehingga sebati dan nampak adunan akan berubah

texture menjadi gebu.

Bahagikan adunan kepada beberapa bahagian, titiskan pewarna mengikut citarasa.

2. Masukkan setiap warna ke dalam piping bag (atau beg plastik yang bersih).

3. Picitkan sedikit adunan ke dalam mangkuk kertas yang telah disusun didalam acuan lompang.

4. Picitkan filling secukupnya.

5. Picitkan lagi adunan sehingga ¾ penuh. Kemudian dot dot kan dengan warna pilihan.

6. Kukus didalam kukusan yang telah dipanaskan selama 10-15 minit

7. Jangan buka api besar semasa mengukus. Nanti merekah. Bungkus tutup kukus dgn kain biar air tak jatuh pd apam.

feeling velvety

i've tried a few recipes i got from the internet but in my opinion, Laura's recipe is the best. the cake texture is so soft & velvety. simply simply irresistible! i made some rv cupcakes for my mak yesterday, and she loves them!

here's the recipe..

red velvet cupcakes

ingredients:
1 1/4 all purpose flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
60 g unsalted butter (room temp)
3/4 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk (3/4 fresh milk + 3/4 tbsp apple cider)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp red food colouring

1. preheat oven to 180c.
2. in a small bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda & salt. put aside.
3. in a mixer bowl, cream together butter & sugar. add egg & vanilla & mix until creamy.
4. slow the mixer speed, add 1/2 of the dry ingredients. then add the buttermilk. mix until well combined. then add the remaining 1/2 of both dry ingredients. DON'T overmix.
5. use rubber spatula to mix the red food colouring into the batter.
6. use ice cream scoop to scoop the batter evenly in your baking pan/cupcake cups.
bake for 18-22 minutes.
let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

creamcheese frosting:
4 oz creamcheese
4 oz butter (room temp)
1 oz icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. mix all ingredients and beat until smooth & creamy.
2. frost the cupcakes with little spatula or using a piping bag.
let cool in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes to set a little before serving.

kesyukuran

bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

betapa aku bersyukur kepadaMu ya Allah di atas segala ujianMu yang memberikan aku keinsafan. aku panjatkan segala puji-pujian ke atasMu dan aku bersyukur kepadaMu ya Allah di atas segala rahmat dan rezeki yang Kau turunkan, menjawab segala doaku, memberikan aku kebahagiaan, kesihatan dan ketenangan. Kau turunkan cahaya, Kau turunkan hujan dan Kau turunkan keberkatan di muka bumi ini untuk semua hambaMu mendapat manfaat.

.....syukur alhamdulillah

deewali 2011

nope, i didn't celebrate deewali but it was a public holiday and my mode button for baking and cooking turned on again. boy! i'm crazy. i spent a lot of time in the kitchen yesterday. i made pancakes for breakfast. the recipe that i tried was so good! my kids loved them. we had them with maple syrup, strawberry jam and chocolate syrup. my kids sprayed some whipped cream on their pancakes, they love whipped cream up to an extent where they will spray it straight into their mouths!

i love pancakes!!

i cooked lunch. i'm in process of improving my skills of cooking malay dish. masak asam a.k.a asam pedas is our old time favorite lauk. so yesterday was my 2nd trial of making masam asam. almost there... with a little bit of improvising, i think i'll make the best masak asam in my taman perumahan (cewah!! perasan!).

jenak masak asam, sweet sour chicken & fried spinach.

a meal is never complete without desserts. well, that's what i think because i can't resist desserts. i love them (and that explains why fat keeps on piling up inside of me, gulp!). anyway, i made oreo ice cream cake for dessert. thx for the recipe, laura.. this is a good and simple recipe. the taste, out of this world!! ok lah, maybe i'm a little bit exaggerating here. the taste is good and i want to share the recipe with all of you baking moms out there.

smooth texture. milky and sweet. irresistible.

oreo ice cream cake recipe:

ingredients
1 pint vanilla ice cream (i prefer nestle's bcoz of the milkiness)
1/2 cup caramel sauce (i omit this bcoz it's too sweet. u can half the quantity if u want)
1/2 cup chocolate syrup
1 large pack oreo cookies
1/2 cup walnut syrup (optional)

preparation
1. take ice cream out of freezer and leave at room temp for 10-15 minutes
2. line a pan with parchment paper.
3. line the inner edge & the bottom of the pan with oreo halves.
4. place the rest of the oreo in a zip lock bag & smash them with a rolling pin until the oreo
become coarse crumbs.
5. in a large bowl, mix together ice cream, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, walnuts and oreo
crumbs (reserve 1/4 of the crumbs for the topping). mix everything together well to combine
and pour the mixture to the pan. top the cake with the reserved crumbs.
6. place the cake in the freezer for 6 hours (i freeze my cake overnight to make sure it sets well).

ten years

21st october 2001

that day... the day that brought an ultimate joy into my life. the day that made me become a brand new person. the day when my better half & i were united as one. that day was a happy ending of my own fairytale..

...and that day was the beginning of my journey in life. the journey with many happiness, laughter and joy. challenges, tears and pain are never being borne alone since that day. i am always being accompanied, being loved, and being taken care of. and the journey keeps on continuing for as long as we shall live, together..

21st october 2011

thank you my love for giving me you

pressure pressure pressure!!

stress mode is so ON rite now! i feel like punching someone's face!!

16 october 2011

happy birthday, me!! thank you so much to all family, relatives and friends that wished me. thanx mak for baking the most yummilicious moist chocolate cake. thanx to my siblings; kak long, k.ila @ blossom, jerd for singing 'happy bday to you' at Sri Tanjong last sunday. kak long, thx so much for the unexpected at all bday gift! you're so sweet!! thanx jerd, andy, and my staffs; nana, irwan, & othman for celebrating my belated b'day yesterday.. hugss!!

i made pretzels

wow! unbelievable but true. my 1st attempt of making homemade pretzels and caramel sauce sort of succeeded. sort of... because the pretzels texture & taste can't beat auntie anne's pretzels (my favourite!) but i think with a few more attempts and some modifications and alterations here & there to the recipe, i think it's soon (entah bila agaknya??) gonna be perfect (ye la tu... perasan lebih..). want the recipe? try it, impress yourself and your kids (ni kes syok sendiri la ni...).

ingredients:

1 ½ cups of Water (warm)
1 Tbsp of Sugar
1 ½ tsp of Salt
1 package of Dry Yeast
2 Tbsp of melted Butter
4 ½ to 5 cups of All Purpose Flour

6 cups of Water
½ cup of Baking Soda

Egg Wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp of water)
Kosher Salt or sugar for topping

1) In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the water, sugar and salt, stir to mix and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let it sit for about 5 minutes or until the yeast begins to foam.

2) Add the flour and butter and turn the mixer to low and mix until everything is combined. Turn the speed up to medium and mix for about 5 to 7 minutes or until you have a smooth dough.

3) Brush the bottom and sides of a bowl with some vegetable oil and put the dough in the oiled bowl. Cover with wet towel or cling wrapper and let it rise in a warm spot (in your microwave pun boleh) for about 1 hour.

4) Preheat your oven to 230c, lay 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and brush some vegetable oil on the parchment paper.

5) Add the water and baking soda to a roasting pan and set the roasting pan over a burner and turn the heat on to medium and let the water come to a rolling boil, meanwhile form the pretzels.

6) Once the dough has risen, cut it into 12 equal pieces, roll each piece into a rope and make a U shape, then press the ends of the rope at the bottom of the U shape and pinch the ends. Place your shaped pretzels onto the oiled parchment paper line baking sheets.

7) Carefully place the pretzels into the boiling water for 30 seconds one at a time, remove from the boiling water using a flat spatula and put them back on the oiled parchment paper lined baking sheets. Continue to cook all of them and then brush them with the egg wash and sprinkle each one with a little kosher salt or sugar.

8) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until deeply golden brown.

well, yeah looks like it needs a lot of effort. uneasy steps i should admit but i had fun making those pretzels.

sunday @home

my little dimples, weef weef is not well. his mood swings from left to right, top to bottom. so we've decided to spend our sunday at home. i love spending my weekends at home now. and i love to spend loads of time in my kitchen doing one experiment after another.. *i used to hate stepping foot into my kitchen bcoz of very poor housekeeping by my ex-maid. but my new maid, a very clean lady takes good care and maintain my kitchen very well now.. so i enjoy cooking and baking in a clean, non sticky and hygiene kitchen*

for breakfast, i made serabai. can u believe it? i dare myself to try make it. well, it was my 1st attempt & the experiment didn't turn out well. u r supposed to eat serabai with its own kuah serawa (like pengat durian/pisang) but i didn't have durian/pisang at home so i substitute them with butter, jam & chocolate spread. (entah apa2 entah! lebih baik buat pancake je kan lebih senang & sesuai. pfffttt!!). so as a conclusion, i prefer the normal pancake. haziq didn't like the serabai i made as well. he juz had 1 (unfinished) and said, "mama, apesal this pancake tak sedap eh?" sheeesh!!!

look at that rascal's face! the 'hmmm-tak-sedap-aaaa' face!

anyway.. for lunch i cooked ayam masak merah, steamed siakap & fried vege. i bought the chicken from the chicken processing shop so it was so fresh & tastes gooooood! the siakap was ok lah, juz got it from the market but not that fresh. want the steamed siakap recipe? easy peasy..


thai style steamed siakap

ingredients:
1 ekor siakap - basuh & lumur dengan air asam utk buang hanyir
2" halia - hiris halus
5 ulas bawang putih - hiris halus
1 btg serai - hiris2
1-2 biji tomato - potong dadu
1 sdB oyster sos - campur air & gula sikit
1-2 biji limau nipis - perah jus dia
daun sup

1. gaul ikan dengan garam. tabur2 kan halia, bawang putih & serai. steam for 25 minutes.
2. taburkan tomato & curah oyster sos mix. continue to steam for 5 minutes.
3. curah jus limau. cuba rasa masam manis masin. tambah apa yg patut. continue to steam for 3 minutes.
4. tutup api & tabur2 kan daun sup.

try it. it's lazat & healthy.

for dinner we just had bread & finish off lunch leftovers. haziq asked for red velvet cupcakes but it was nite time already when he asked & we had to go out to shop for some groceries. *if u notice, haziq ni memang kuat makan. very demanding & choosy. a die hard fan of desserts, like me..*
ok lah, the next time i make red velvet cupcakes for haziq, i'll post an entry about it and share with u the recipe. traaaa...