Wake Up and Smell the Cake

 I love these! It's like a blondie but to make me feel less guilty, there's oatmeal. Was supposed to make these and freeze for easy morning breakfasts, but seems like they ran out pretty quickly that it didn't require that much freezing. Original recipe here . I made these almost three months ago and I still think about making these again and again. White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Bars 2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats 2 cups flour 1 1/2 cups brown sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon vanilla 2 large eggs 1 1/4 cups butter melted 1 cups white chocolate chips 1 cup dried cranberries This is like one bowl mix so anything goes. Spread batter in two 8x8 square tins, bake for 22 min at 180 degrees Celsius. 

We were each given 2kg worth of dates that I know will go to waste cos we don't eat dates unless it's made into something else.  It also looks gross packed like that. Tried two recipes, one is a date cake and another is an energy bar of sorts. Many said try sticky date pudding but I am lazy to make the toffee sauce. The energy bar was basically dates, oats and nuts packed together and baked and I froze them for quick breakfasts. Not something I'd repeat, but the date cake is worth making over and over! Original recipe from here , but as usual I don't measure properly. Date Cake 2 cups pitted dates (original calls for 1 1/2 cups) 1 1/2 cups water 1 tsp baking soda 113g butter, softened 1 tsp vanilla essence 120g sugar (original calls for 150g) 2 large eggs 1 1/2 cup flour 2 tsp baking powder Boil the pitted dates in water until the dates are mush and forms a thick paste, about 5 minutes. Add baking soda, mix well (it'll bubble!) and set aside. Cream butter and sugar

Volunteered to make tiramisu for department lunch but haven't made tiramisu before. Very clever. The recipe I followed was good but was still doubting myself along the way. How much coffee to make, how to even make coffee?! and how much cream to put! How many layers! This is a no-egg version, less sinful I suppose? Also easier to make. Safe to say now I have nailed it after trying this twice! Haha. Pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Tiramisu 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream (35% fat) 8 oz mascarpone cream (that 1 container) 1/3 cup caster sugar 1 tsp vanilla essence 1 1/2 cups cold espresso (no sugar) 1 packet lady fingers, Savoiardi brand Cocoa powder for dusting Whip cold whipping cream with a whisk attachment on high for a few minutes until volume increases. Slowly add vanilla and sugar. Whisk further until stiff peaks form.  Add mascarpone cream and whisk for a while only until combined. Make coffee! I used espresso powder. Didn't realise need to filter still. Just ma

Made the fluffiest marble cake ever, with the help of ovalette. Didn't know it's such an amazing leavener! Got the recipe from here , which uses 8 eggs too for the normal use of butter, sugar and flour. The result is a fluffy, not too sweet cake. Marble Cake 250g butter, melted 250g caster sugar 250g flour 1 tbsp ovalette 8 eggs 4 tbsp cocoa powder Vanilla essence Sift flour into a mixing bowl.  Add sugar, eggs and ovalette. Using a whisk attachment, mix till incorporated on low, then for about 3 min on medium speed till volume increases. Slowly pour in melted butter with mixer speed on low. Split batter in half for the chocolate version with the cocoa powder. I baked in a 10 inch circle pan for 35 min at 170°C. Out of the oven with minimal cracks! My marbling effect needs improving.

Once again, making something out of items that have gone past 'best before' dates! Goes to show I stock up yet never stocktake. HAHA.  Trying another recipe where the cheese is double (or quadruple, for some) the amount than previous attempts, cos cheesecake layer is equally important as brownies. This makes two 8x8 pans even though the recipe said one 9x9. Must be a thick 9x9 then, but then it won't be brownies eh? Recipe from here .  226g unsalted butter, melted 1 1/3 cups semi sweet chocolate chips (I used Valrhona choc so I eyeballed instead of measuring) 3/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder 1 cup caster sugar 1 cup light brown sugar 2 eggs (recipe added 1 more yolk but I didn't) 1 cup flour 1 tsp salt Splash of milk 16oz cream cheese (two blocks), room temperature 2 eggs 1/2 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla essence A pinch of salt Melt the butter, salt, then chocolate, cocoa powder, sugar. Add in the eggs and flour and milk. You need to use a mixer cos I used a whisk by han

I know I've tried oatmeal cookies before, but I wanted one with the most oatmeal used and that's it. Cos I: (a) have oatmeal that should be wayyy past the best before date (haha but still edible though!); (b) am in need of cookies; and (c) should be making healthier alternatives. This is a no frills oatmeal cookie, no raisins, no chocolate chips, no fancy chips, no nuts. Just oatmeal. And that was sufficient. I made large ones, since it was just me eating them (but later my family wanted too). Recipe from here .  190g butter  1/2 tsp salt 1 cup caster sugar 1/4 light brown sugar 1 large egg 1 tsp vanilla essence 1 cup flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 3/4 tsp baking powder 2 1/2 cups quick cooking oats (recipe calls for rolled oats) Recipe calls for 226g butter but I had 190g so 190g it is. Cream it with the vanilla, salt and sugars. Add the egg and cream. Mix in the flour and leavening agents, and finally the oats.  Drop tablespoonfuls on baking paper, flatten it to about a cm thick,

This is the most decadent dessert EVER. So many egg yolks, so much cream, and then there's Mao Shang Wang durian. It's perfect. So perfect that it will definitely lift your mood, especially with the torching and all. I got the recipe from Singapore's Masterchef contestant, @sharmeee .  This was for a special occasion, and I went all out to get the flesh and blowtorch too. Really had fun doing this, and glad that it made many happy. Made two batches but still have some flesh left, might just repeat this again! Tried thinking of other combinations of durian desserts but this seems the best.  Mao Shang Wang durian flesh at Phoon Huat is not cheap! Or maybe it's not cheap anywhere , but wellsss special occasion so why not :) 6 egg yolks 240g durian puree 70g caster sugar 460g heavy cream Brown sugar for sprinkling Mix the egg yolks and durian puree in a big bowl.  In a saucepan, add sugar and cream. Heat till bubbles form at the side and sugar is all melted.  Let it cool fo

My second attempt at biscotti, and this is a much better recipe than before and it uses up egg whites! Double win! Recipe from here . And since it doesn't have egg yolks, this is lighter than my first attempt. This will be my go-to recipe from now on. I really need to buy a good knife. Cutting this is quite laborious.  6 egg whites 150g sugar Pinch of salt 225g flour, sifted 250g pistachios + 100g dried cranberries (Could be more, I didn't measure properly) Whisk egg whites till soft peak.  Gradually add sugar and salt and whisk till stiff peak.  Fold in flour, then nuts and cranberries.  Pour into a greased and lined baking tin, makes 3 logs. Bake for 40 minutes at 180°C. When cooled, slice thinly and bake for 15 min at 150°C. Biscotti logs after the first bake, before slicing.

I've been on a cookie baking spree for a few weeks now, from huge soft cookies to crunchy cookies.  Below are two recipes which are worth trying, I made the first one twice already, and the close-to-Famous-Amos cookie yesterday. I've attempted another recipe a few years ago, with coffee oil, almond and oatmeal, and this version here uses malted milk powder instead. The second attempt seems closer, or maybe I can combine the two and get a better result? In any case, here's recipe #1, from Rasa Malaysia . Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies 250g butter, softened 110g brown sugar 120g caster sugar 2 eggs 1/4 tsp baking soda 80g cornstarch 320g flour 50g cocoa powder (actually it's less but I accidentally added more and it's better) 250g chocolate chips (this is the minimum) The recipe said bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes, but that won't give crunchy cookies. I baked at 14 to 16 minutes instead, depending on the size. But the chocolate chips won't be melt

I've done this  a few times , but today I tried with different chocolate combo: dark chocolate chunks, salted caramel chips and milk chocolate centre. For ease of reference, here's the recipe again! I dare say these are better than the original combo I used. Ben's Triple Chocolate Cookies 200g butter 300g caster sugar 1 egg 265g flour + 10g baking powder 50g cocoa powder 150g 70% dark cocoa chunks 150g salted caramel chips Galaxy milk chocolate bars for the melted surprise

Googled for Lotus Biscoff Cheesecake, but turns out I didn't have much Lotus biscuits left so this is now a normal cheesecake. HAHA. Also replaced the sour cream with mascarpone cheese, cos that's what I have (exactly 240g of it!) and somehow the cake turned out looking like a burnt basque cheesecake instead. But it still has a wobbly centre and so it should be awesome. Can't wait to cut it but well it needs a few hours to rest so I just kopek some edges instead. I think my previous attempts at cheesecake were a little dense save for the mascarpone cheesecake , and now I know that should be the way cheesecakes are baked! Recipe is originally from here . Cheesecake Layer (i.e. what I used) 900g cream cheese 240g mascarpone cheese 4 eggs 3/4 cup milk 300g sugar 32g flour 1 tsp vanilla essence Using a mixer, cream the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add in milk and vanilla and mix well, then eggs one at a time. Finally, add in the flour. For the base

My snack stash finished, but there's still work from home. So yesterday night I made some cookies. Oatmeal with sunflower seeds, to make use of ingredients in the pantry and also those stuff makes it kinda healthy. Although 2 cups of sugar AND flour aren't very healthy but hey, there needs to be a balance right? Haha. Recipe from allrecipes.com Ingredients 250g butter (I used salted) 1 cup caster sugar 1 cup brown sugar, packed 2 eggs 2 cups flour 2 cups oats (I used quick cook) 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp vanilla essence 1 cup sunflower seeds 1 cup mini chocolate chips Mix the batter using the normal creaming method i.e. butter with sugar, then with eggs (one at a time), then flour, then oats and finally the seeds and chocolate chips. Drop the dough by teaspoonfuls, on a baking sheet and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 12 minutes. The cookies will flatten out, won't look pretty but it is still crunchy and yummy! Snacks done. Now I

Tub of mascarpone waiting to be used sits in my fridge and was contemplating if I should do another batch of kunefe, or try out a cheesecake since I have cream cheese too which is expiring soon. Also have kids' leftover biscuits to clear. These kids will say I love this snack! And keep asking for more and you need to go find them cos you didn't know they'd finish them so fast, and when you actually do stock up at home, they moved on to another snack. So. I'm left with a packet of opened, unfinished Zoo biscuits. Googled and found this recipe , so cheesecake it is! I did half the recipe and was more than enough still. This is a keeper recipe, the cheesecake is not heavy, not cheesy and the crust is oh so GOOD. Lotus biscuits, even though only 2, made a difference and almonds too! Love the nutty flavour it gives to crusts.  In you go, zoo biscuits. No need for Graham crackers. Cheesecake 250g cream cheese 250g mascarpone cheese (1 tub) 2 eggs

Came across this recipe in my Instagram feed and it's perfect for using up egg whites. I end up with 3 egg whites after making pineapple or nutella tarts, and this recipe calls for exactly that! Bookmarked it, and since I did nutella tarts last Friday, I decided to make this even though there's so many sweet treats I've made these past few days of circuit breaker. Flourless Fudge Cookies 3 egg whites (105g) 1/4 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla essence 225 confectioners' sugar (I didn't have enough so I topped up with caster sugar + 1 tsp cornflour) 85g Dutch processed cocoa 2 cups of nuts/chocolate chips Mix the wet ingredients together. Put the dry ingredients in the processor and blend to get them into fine powder (because I'm lazy to sieve). Add the wet ingredients and mix well. Line baking tin with baking paper. Scoop 1 tbspful and spread onto the baking paper, it won't spread much so can put more. Cookies of 2 inches in diameter bakes at 8 minutes

Also another request from a friend. I love baking so if there's requests, I'd gladly do so, I get the joy of baking, taste a bit then offload the calories to someone else hahahah. Win-win! This cake isn't sweet, it can be a base for cakes with frosting. But since I wasn't gonna eat it, I didn't bother. HAHA. Chocolate Keto Cake 1 1/2 cups fine almond flour 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp cocoa (I used Dutch processed) 2 1/4 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/3 cup milk 3 eggs 1/3 cup sugar 1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence Bake at 170 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes in an 8x8 inch pan or longer until the centre is cooked. I think it took 20 min? Can't rememeber and no picture!

Pandan seems to go with coconut milk for everything. I made a different version of bread pudding at a friend's request. The custard before baking tastes awesome but somehow the coconut cream has the slight tengik smell after baking, but it's tolerable lah. I'm sensitive to such tastes. Tried the recipe from here , and the ingredients are: 1 small loaf of bread 1/2 cup sugar 3 eggs 2 cups of (200ml coconut cream + water) 7 blades of pandan leaves blended with 1 cup water Easy peasy, mix all the ingredients except bread (duh) and pout into baking tray, steam for 1/2 hour.

The boy wanted this and helped make them too. By far the best Milo tasting cake ever, I think I've added Milo before but didn't get the same effect. It is also not easy to get a Milo recipe since it's only famous in this region and Australia. Milo Cupcake with Frosting Cupcakes  40g unsalted butter ,softened 140g caster sugar 1 egg 115g plain flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 pinch salt 2 teaspoons cocoa powder 120ml milk 3 tbsp Milo Milo Buttercream Frosting 200g cing sugar 120g unsalted butter, softened 50g cocoa powder, sifted 50g Milo powder 100ml milk (add bit by bit, may not need all) He helped me to frost the cupcake. There was shouting on my part, of course. HAHAHA.

This was a challenge by a friend, and since I haven't done biscotti before, why not! I used the recipe here and followed per the instructions, but some of the biscotti wasn't crunchy. Was kinda disappointed but friend said it's good enough. Ingredients 1 cup dried cranberries  2 3/4 cups flour pinch salt zest of 1 orange 5 eggs separated 1 cup caster sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla essence 1 1/2 cups pistachio nuts Soak the cranberries for about 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. In a separate bowl, beat the yolks and gradually add the sugar and vanilla. Add flour, salt and orange zest to egg mixture and incorporate. Mixture will look like bread crumbs. Incorporate the pistachios and cranberries. Set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, with whisk attachment beat the egg whites until they reach the stiff peak stage.  Fold the egg whites in the flour and nut mixture.  Divide dough into thirds. Place each third on a lined baking sheet; with damp h

Okay. I think I can stop my search for the go-to brownie recipe. I've made this before at my sister's house, but somehow it didn't bake long enough and was too gooey to cut and I had to leave before I could see it set, but I made it again without the peanut butter chips and it is amazing! I added walnuts and chocolate chips for this. Me being last minute and all, this was done for teacher's day haha. I added a bit more flour this time round, so here's the recipe with the tweaks: (original from Sally's Baking Addiction ) 145g butter 1/4 tsp salt 250g caster sugar 75g Dutch processed cocoa powder 75g plain flour 2 eggs (normal ones) Melt the sugar, salt and butter together. Add in the cocoa powder and flour, and lastly the eggs when the batter is cooled down. Bake for 30 minutes at 170 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes in an 8 inch square pan. The result is a decadent chocolaty gooey inside, with melted chocolate chips, and a crinkle top! Anddd now

I've tried a few times to perfect this, and I think I'm getting close! The trick is to use more santan, more flour, less liquid. Also, I cooked it over the stove first before putting it in the oven.  Kuih Bakar Pandan 2/3 cup + 1 tbsp flour 2/3 cup sugar 2/3 cup coconut cream 2/3 cup pandan juice + coconut milk 2 eggs Heat the pan over the stove. Pour batter in and cover the top. Cook for a few minutes until the sides are cooked and doesn't stick to the pan. Put it in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for about 45 minutes, depending on how thick the batter.