Berry Pudding Cake

I think the thing that motivates me most when it comes to baking goodies is when I get to make them for other people and share my love of food with them. If it were just up to cooking for myself, I'd probably just be living off of canned soup and sandwiches... actually, scratch that. It'd probably just be tinned soup and bread... sandwiches would take too much effort :P But anyways, it was because I was scheduled to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (night shifts... so, I still had celebratory time with the family, don't worry) that I was lured back into the kitchen to make treats to share at our staff potluck! So, I decided on something semi-healthy... a berry pudding cake. Nom nom nom.

Berry Pudding Cake

Ingredients:
- 4 cups of mixed berries
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp orange peel
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar
- Powdered sugar to decorate

Method:
1. In a 9-by-3inch dish, add in the berries in an even layer. Sprinkle evenly with 1/4 cup sugar
2. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and add in the olive oil, orange peel, vanilla and 1 cup of sugar.
3. Add in the flour, baking powder and salt. Continue to mix until well encorporated.
4. Pour batter evenly over the berries and bake in a 350degree oven for 35-40minutes.
5. Cool and sprinkle with confectioner's sugar. Slice into squares and serve warm or cold.

This was a big hit! I loved it! It was actually really easy and the presentation was simple, yet a real stunner. Definitely a recipe I'll be keeping in my good-books ^^

Red Velvet Cupcakes

It seems like I'm just always apologizing for stepping away from my food blog for months at a time. I've actually noticed that a lot of the blogs I follow have done the same... I guess it's just that life has taken hold of all of us and we've not had the opportunity to spend as much time in the kitchen as we once did. I'm hoping that soon enough I'll make the kitchen my nesting quarters again, but for now I really have no idea when I'll be posting my baking creations. It's just a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing for me at this point in time. Don't ask me why I decided to wake up this morning and make Red Velvet Cupcakes. Perhaps it was the thought of a future wedding that got me thinking... "I've always wanted Red Velvet Cake for my wedding cake. It's simple, none of that fancy-schmancy custard filling, with multiple layers of cake + fruit preserve + frosting all with a fondant exterior." I just like the plain, the ordinary, the non-showy... that's me. And then I thought to myself how I'd always wanted to bake my own wedding cake or make a cupcake-tree display (as it saves on the messy and awkward hacking up of the cake with a knife). Call me crazy... all my friends have; stating, "You're going to have enough to worry about in terms of the wedding; taking on the task of making the cake... girl, you're insane!" Maybe I am, but I think it'd be cool to say that I made my own wedding cake... either it says "Hey, this girl's really talented" or "Hey, this girl's ridiculously frugal"; honestly, I could live with either remark. Ain't nowt wrong with being frugal.

Anyways... enough with the rambling banter. I'm sure you all just want the recipe. So here it is!

Red Velvet Cupcakes
Yields 8 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Red food coloring (I use Wilton's concentrated coloring paste, as you get a nice deep color without needing to use loads of coloring)
1 egg
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp white vinegar

Method:
1. Set the oven to 350degrees. Sift together the flour, salt and cocoa powder.
2. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla, beating until smooth. Add in enough red food coloring to make a deep red color.
3. Alternately, add in the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to the butter mixture (In thirds, starting with the milk and ending with the flour). Stir until just combined.
4. Pour batter into prepared muffin tins and bake for ~25minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Remove from oven, place on cooling rack and then ice with your favorite cream cheese frosting.

My Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup cream cheese
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 cups of confectioner's sugar

Method:
1. Cream the butter and cream cheese together.
2. 1/2 cup at a time, add in the sugar.
3. Place in piping bag and use to decorate.

It actually felt really good to get back into the kitchen after such a long hiatus. Well, I have actually been "in the kitchen" a lot but y'know what I mean... I haven't ventured to make anything new lately, or gotten around to blogging about my cooking adventures. I'll try and amend that problem though. Bye for now, peeps!

Caramel-filled Crunchie Cupcakes

So, I realize it's been far too long since I last posted a quality recipe post on my blog. I apologize deeply for this... not only to my followers, but to myself. I don't know what's come over me... I really don't. I'd like to blame everything else that's been going on in my life for interrupting my passion for baking and cooking, but that'd just be a cop-out. Sure, work's been stressful (since I have to make up for all of the shifts I swapped to go on my holidays) but who hasn't had to deal with hectic work schedules every now and then. Yes, maybe I've been having some relationship issues on my mind but again, I'm not the only one. So, today I decided to kick myself in the butt and actually make something.

This recipe's for my friend James. It's his birthday tomorrow and he's all sad about being somewhere where he knows very few people, but mostly he's all down about being a year older. I say, "Heck to that! You're only as old as you feel!" And he has got to be the most fun-loving, energetic and just plain wonderful person I have the pleasure of knowing :D

For this recipe, I decided to use one of my favourite chocolate bars and turn it into a cupcake. I dunno, cupcakes seem to be all the rage nowadays. What with all these gourmet bakeries specializing in just cupcakes, and shows like Cupcake Wars on the Food Network getting so much attention. So, I thought I'd join in with the crowd.

Caramel-filled Crunchie Cupcake

Cupcake Ingredients:

- 2 cups flour

- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 1/4 tsp each baking soda and salt

- 1/2 cup butter

- 3/4 cup sugar

- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

- 3 eggs

- 1 tbsp molasses (or corn syrup if unavailable)

- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

- 1/2 cup buttermilk

- 1/4 cup whole milk

Caramel Drizzle Ingredients:

- 1 cup sugar

- 2 tbsp corn syrup

- 1 cup heavy cream

Caramel Filling:

- 1/2 cup butter

- 1 cup sugar

- 1 tbsp corn syrup

- 1/2 cup whipping cream

Whipped Cream Ingredients:

- 1 1/2 cup whipping cream

- 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Garnish/Other Ingredients:

- 6 Crunchie Chocolate Bars (cut 18 big-chunks for topping the cupcakes; and then roughly chop the remaining bars)

Cupcake Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350degrees, and prepare the cupcake tins (grease tins well, or use liners)

2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3. Beat butter until fluffy, add in the sugars and when combined, slowly add in one egg at a time. Add in molasses/corn syrup and vanilla.

4. Alternately, add the flour mixture and the buttermilk + milk into the butter mixture. Continue to mix until well combined.

5. Add in the roughly chopped pieces of Crunchie, and pour batter into the prepared tins (~2/3 full) and bake for 15-20minutes.

6. Remove cakes from oven, cool and slice in half.

Caramel Drizzle Method:

1. Place sugar in a heavy bottomed sauce pan with the corn syrup. Heat pan on medium-high and wait for sugar to melt. Once sugar mixture has turned a dark amber, remove from heat and add in the cream. Allow to cool and use for drizzling the cupcakes when ready.

Caramel Filling Method:

1. Melt butter in a saucepan, add in the sugar and corn syrup. Stir continuously over medium heat for 6-8minutes, or until mixture turns a deep amber.

2. Pour in the cream, and continue to cook for 1-2minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to a spreadable consistency.

Whipped Cream Frosting/filling:

1. In a metal bowl, whip the whipping cream until fluffy and firm. Add in the powdered sugar and mix well. Set aside for cupcake assembly.

Assembly:

1. Take top off of a halved cupcake.

2. Spread on a thin layer of whipped cream frosting, followed by a layer of caramel filling.

3. Place top of cupcake back on.

4. Top cupcake with a heaping tbsp of whipped cream frosting. Drizzle on the caramel sauce, sparingly; and top with a chunky piece of Crunchie.

It actually felt really good going back into the kitchen to make something more than a packet of noodles, tea, a sandwich or some sort of frozen dinner. I missed the feeling of being creative and getting my hands dirty; putting effort and love into making dishes is a lot of fun... but I think for a while there, it was becoming more of a chore to up-keep this blog than it was a joy. Hopefully, I'll get back into the groove... and if ever you're worried about whether or not I'm actually still around, check out my tumblr :P I'll probably be on that.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (more vacation stuffs)

Yes, I am a Harry Potter fan... but not so much of a fan that I'm enraged that I did not get my Pottermore welcome email yet (I'm just a little bit disappointed). But all that aside, The Wizard World of Harry Potter was ridiculously amazing. When I first heard that we would be visiting Islands of Adventure while in Florida, I knew that TWWoHP was the first place I wanted to visit...
What can I say about it? Words do little to describe the atmosphere. They played HP music as you walked through Hogsmeade, and Hogwarts Castle (which was a ride) was beautifully crafted... so much so that it only felt like we waited 30minutes (and not 1hour and 20minutes) to enjoy the ride. The Hogwarts express was very majestic, and I just wanted to hop on and have it take me away to wizarding school :P

What I found hilarious was how they revamped the old unicorn ride to make it the "Flight of the Hippogriff" and the Dueling Dragons ride was redesigned to be the "Dragon Challenge" between the Chinese Fireball and a Hungarian Horntail... oh Universal Studios, way to use existing rides to save money on having to build new Harry Potter themed ones.

One of the things I knew I had to try while at TWWoHP was the Butterbeer. I've come across so many recipes for it online that I really wanted to try the real thing before I ever attempted to make my own. I bought it at the Three Broomsticks, and chose the frozen one of the cold. It was amazing! Sort of like a slightly fizzy, caramel, ginger ale-y slushy with a creamy foam on top... the description makes it sound awful I know, but it was heavenly (and just typing about it is making me want one right now!)

And of course no trip to TWWoHP is complete without buying some sweets. I have terrible sweet-tooth and that coupled with my love for Harry Potter meant that of course I would have to buy a chocolate frog (even though they were $10!!!). I really bought it for the wizard card that was inside and then when I opened it and found Helga Hufflepuff I was rather disappointed and started eating the solid hunk of frog-shaped chocolate because I really wanted Godric Gryffindor. Somehow my sister convinced my dad to buy her one too... but she got Rowena Ravenclaw :( Anywho... I'll leave you to drool over pictures of sweets :P If I have time I'll probably finish up my vacation-related posts with some pictures of the cruise!!

Wow... it's been far too long.

I'm awful, I know... things have just been happening and I haven't had the time to bake or cook anything new as of late. It's just been the same old, same old stuff I've been whipping up... I guess that's the trouble with living on your own. The whole "loving to cook for others" drive just isn't there T^T. And no, it's not a pity party so don't feel bad for me :P Good things have been happening!

I recently returned from a 2 week trip to Florida, which included a cruise from Miami to Key West and then to Cozumel, and let me tell you... it was a BLAST!

Florida's weather was decent (and since my family had been there before, we knew what to expect) and by decent, I mean that it was the same as always... hot, humid and with the expected thunder-shower every afternoon. We spent one day park-hopping between the Magic Kingdom and Disney's Hollywood Studios... enjoyed the Tower of Terror (as always) and the Rocking Rollercoaster, and a lot of other great shows. Food was pretty much your standard theme-park grub, nothing out of this world except for this Banana pudding I bought from the Main Street Bakery... it was perfect. Not too sweet, not too dry or sticky and it had a nice crunchy crystallized sugar-layer on the top as well as powdered sugar.

Banana Bread-pudding

Chili-dog from Casey's Corner in Disney's Magic Kingdom

We rounded out the day by having dinner at Steak 'n Shake, because they're supposedly well known for their steak-burgers and milk-shakes. The burgers were okay (there's very little that can be done to a beef burger to make it "outstanding")... but their variety of milk-shake flavors was impressive. We tried the cookie dough milk-shake, which was more of a crushed-cookie shake... and didn't actually have real pieces of cookie dough (which disappointed me). But it tasted good, and had a nice consistency (not triple-thick like a McD's shake, but nice a smooth).

Cookie Dough Milk-shake

Mac & Cheese Pizza!? ... only in the US of A :P

I don't know if I (or anyone) could survive living off of the foods that are served in the touristy area of Florida... everything's so grande in size and everything is covered in cheese O_O.

The following day involved a lot of outlet shopping (and a lot of money spending), finished off with a "buffet" of pizza at Cici's. I don't recommend the buffet, as their "salad bar" looked more like a bowl of lettuce with 6 options for garnish and 3 options for dressing... and while their pizza is good, there's really only so much pizza you can eat before you feel gross. However, if you're just order a pizza then Cici's is pretty good.

The following day we visited The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!! More to come...

White Chocolate and Whopper Blondies

Mmmm.... my sweet tooth kicked in this afternoon and since I had some white chocolate and some Robin's Egg candies from Easter I decided to use them up to make a tasty blondie treat. I'm sure you could use macadamia nuts too and make a yummy white-chocolate + macadamia nut bar, but since my sis is allergic to tree nuts I opted against it. The blondies were really good; not too sweet and not too cakey. Although I would probably have baked them a little less, so they'd be a bit more moist... but I had gotten distracted from my baking because my sister's needed to be picked up from school. Oh well, I'll probably whip these up again soon.


White Chocolate Whopper Blondies

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 bar of your favorite white chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup Whopper candies (I used Robin's Egg Whoppers), crushed

Method:
1. Cream together the butter and brown sugar
2. Add eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture and continue mixing.
3. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together in a separate bowl.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix until just combined.
5. Fold in the chopped chocolate and the Whopper candies.
6. Pour mixture into a 9x9 baking pan and bake at 350degrees for 30-35minutes, until just set and still moist.
7. Slice and serve!

Spiced Steak

For lack of a better title for this recipe I've just decided to call it spiced steak. The fusion of flavors in this dish make it impossible for me to pinpoint what type of cuisine it is; some-what Indian inspired, some-what Mediterranean, and somewhat Szechuan inspired... well, whatever it is... it's sure tasty.

Spiced Steak (for one)

Ingredients:
- 1 piece of outside round steak
- 2 gloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp of your favorite chili paste (I used a hot-pot soup chili paste)
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp red cooking wine
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp canola oil

Method:
1. Create marinating sauce by combining the garlic, chili paste, cumin, coriander, soy sauce, cooking wine and vinegar.
2. Rub the steak with salt and pepper and then place in a bowl with the marinade. Coat the steak with the sauce and allow to sit for at least 1 hour; or overnight is possible.
3. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
4. Heat the oil in an oven-proof pan. Once oil has reached appropriate temperature, place steak in the pan and sear on either side for about 30 seconds.
4. Pour in the remaining marinade and place pan in the oven to finish cooking the steak (~10minutes for a nice medium). Just before serving, slice the meat on an angle and against the grain.
5. Serve with rice, salad, potatoes, fries or whatever else you enjoy!

Since I did most of the prep for this the night before, it was really simple to finish off this dish for a nice and easy lunch. I served mine with a simple salad and some oven-baked fries, and the dish was perfect. I might try this recipe with another cut of beef next time; while the outside round was relatively flavorful, the lack of marbling within the meat made it slightly tough to carve (hence the reason I pre-cut the meat before serving)... well, maybe next time when I can afford a prime-cut of beef I'll whip up this recipe once more ^__^