Wedding contest

Two more days, and our marital status will be different. :) I'd definitely not be used to becoming a Mrs or Mdm. so I'll still remain my salutation as a Ms. :P Friends and colleagues have been asking whether I'm excited or anxious or not... Hehe... to be frank, I'm still not too anxious yet, but I don't know what will be on that day. :P

My team of colleagues gave me a card and gift vouchers to congratulate me on my wedding. Really appreciate their thoughtfulness, especially my boss, who has been very nice and concerned about my preparations for my ROM, and even helped me find out how to apply for marriage leave and get the vouchers for newly weds from the HR department, which i wasn't aware of she had not told me. Her gestures allow me to see another side of her, a good boss who not only leads the team well, but also cares about the welfare of her subordinates. Whenever she asked me about my wedding, she would be reminiscing about the days when she got married...:D

As you know all, I'm taking part in the "I do" wedding at Sentosa and they actually came out with a contest - "The Most Celebrated Couple" Contest! Prizes include:

Champion: 3D2N stay at Resort World Sentosa & Universal Studios tickets
1st Runner-up: 2 pairs of Universal Studio tickets
2nd Runner-up: 1 pair of Universal Studio tickets

My eyes blinked when I saw the prizes. But to be the most celebrated couple that's prominent enough to stand out, we need to create an identity, through:
Team members (i.e our family or friends) need to have a cheer or jingle for us;

Create a strong couple identity with unique attire and dress code; Haha that's definitely out for us. I'm not the adventurous one and would want just to wear my traditional white wedding dress. In fact there was this option of opting to have an underwater solemnisation but we opted out of it. :D

Props such as banners or ply-cards.

Looks like we'll have to give the contest a miss because what we wanted is to have a relax, outdoor wedding with our family and close friends (although there'll be more than a hundred couples!) If only the contest is opened for voting online, I'll definitely ask all my friends, family and readers to vote for me. ;)

Roll, roll, roll away...

I was on a swiss roll baking fenzy few months back after I bought this chinese book 孟老師的美味蛋糕卷 by Elyn. When I received the book from my mail box, I was so thrilled and really love the book so much that I began reading right from the beginning on the introductory and tips on swiss roll making, and flipped through the pages over and over again, just to drool at the beautiful pictures of the swiss rolls. The book wasn't light, but I did not mind bringing the book to work so that I could read it while I'm travelling to work on the train, after which I would complain that my bag was too heavy and why on earth am I bringing such heavy book to work.

The funny thing was, despite I love this book, I only tried one of its chocolate swiss roll recipe, and it was superb! However, that was not what I am blogging about for this post. I'd wanted to go according to date to blog about the earlier two swiss rolls again from "Okashi Treats" by keiko ishida. I think this was one of a cookbook which I had attempted most of the recipes, due to the well written recipes with clear instruction and pretty pictures. I have to admit I'm very visual when it comes to cook books and food.

This was a basic sponge swiss roll. The ingredients are so simple that I doubt it would turn out anything fabulous. But I attempted this because on that day, I was tempted to bake a swiss roll, but was lazy or press of time (I couldn't remember) that I just wanted to find a simple recipe that would not require beating twice in separate bowls (if using the chiffon cake method). I contemplated for quite a while before finally decided to give it a try. I have confidence in her recipes, so I thought I should be able to churn out a swiss roll, the only thing was the texture. Without oil, butter, milk or any cornstarch but just three basic ingredients - 3 eggs, 60g castor sugar and 50g of pastry flour (sifted twice), and beating as you would for a genoise - beating eggs and sugar over a double boiler until light before folding in the flour. Wouldn't the roll turn out dry? So I believe you would now know why i hesitated.

So how did it turn out? Well, it was dry, but was quite soft and roll-friendly. Haha.. As you can see from the texture, the texture is quite coarse, due to the lack of oil/butter and milk as a tenderiser. This recipe, as used in Keiko's book, is for a banana swiss roll, where the roll is wrapped over a banana, and can be used for cake base or cake layers. In fact this recipe exist as one of the basic recipes at the front pages. So, I shouldn't have used it purely for a swiss roll. It would be better used as a base such that the sponge itself doesn't take centerstage of a piece of cake. :)

Alright the other swiss roll that I made was this dark brown sugar swiss roll with white chocolate cream. Using dark brown sugar, this swiss roll has an interesting taste that doesn't feel too sugarly sweet. The texture was soft and fine and just one bite into it, my friends' comment was nice! :) What I like about this recipe is that althought it separates the egg whites and yolks, it doesn’t require you to make the egg yolk batter and meringue separately as you would for a chiffon cake. You make the meringue, fold in beaten egg yolk, followed by the flour and melted butter, all in one bowl. This method is new to me as it is not introduced in any one of the 5 method introduced in 孟老師的美味蛋糕卷, yet the texture was really soft, moist and easily rolled without cracks even though I rolled it with the baked surface on the outside.

The sad thing was I didn’t allow the white chocolate cream to chill overnight, causing the cream to melt soon after it was out of the fridge. :(

I'd recommend this recipe for those who have been making a swiss roll but have yet to try a method like this. :)

Recipe for white chocolate cream

150g whipping cream
50g white chocolate

Recipe for sponge cake

40g pastry flour
15g rice flour
40g unsalted butter
70g dark brown sugar
4 egg whites (about 140g)
20g castor sugar
5 egg yolks (about 90g), beaten

Method

1. Prepare white chocolate cream one day in advance. In a saucepan, bring whipping cream to a boil. Place whie chocolate to a boil and pour hot cream over. Wait for 30 seconds, then stir the mixture with a spatula until smooth. Set aside to cool, then chill in the refrigerator to overnight.
2. On day of baking, preheat oven to 200°C. Line a sheet of swiss roll pan with parchment paper. Sift both flours twice.
3. Melt butter in a double boiler or microwave. Set aside.
4. Make meringue. Place egg whites into a clean bowl and beat until foamy. Add castor sugar and 1/3 of the brown sugar and continue beating for a few minutes, then add remaining brown sugar and beat until egg whites are glossy and stiff peaks form.
5. Add beaten egg yolks and fold lightly. Add flour and fold gently with a spatula, then add hot melted butter and fold through.
6. Pour batter into a prepared pan and spread evenly with a scraper. Bake for 10-13 minutes.
7. When done, unmould the cake from pan and place into a plastic bag to cool. (The recipe says it can be kept in the plastic bag until the next day if you do not intend to roll it that day).
8. To assemble, whip white chocolate cream until light and fluffy using an electric handheld mixer. Turn cooled sponge onto a clean work surface. Peel off the parchment paper and spread the whipped cream evenly.
9. Gently roll up the sponge to make a swiss roll. Chill in the freezer to allow the swiss roll to set before slicing into pieces.

Recipe adapted from: "Okashi Treats" by keiko ishida

Japanese Strawberry Shortcake

Baking a strawberry shortcake for one of my sisters, Kexian had been on my plan way before her birthday. When I saw the recipe from "Okashi Treats" by keiko ishida, I knew that would be the one I gonna make for her. See the strawberry cake below that I'd made for her years ago before I started baking intensively. Haha I don't think anyone of you (my sisters) remember this?? I can't remember which year was that also! One thing for sure is, despite my lousy baking and decorating skills, you all were always so supportive. :)

I don't know was it a fortunate thing that I got a little helper this time - my nephew. :P I was worried that he would mess things up cos' I knew he just wanted to play and I also have to give him instructions which I thought, things would move faster with me doing it alone. ;) Nonetheless, he's a great help to me in double sifting of the flour and I could see him enjoying himself as he mixed the batter for me and weighed the ingredients. But he soon got bored after a while and I caught him pouring some remaining flour intothe bowl without sifting! Children are indeed so clever nowadays!

I used to call him "my little nephew" but he is not now. He is going to primary one next year and he is a big brother to his younger brother, who is more playful than him!

He was imitating me by also flipping through the recipe book. :)

The recipe was beautiful. I hardly had a sponge cake that came out perfect with no cracks.

...and the sponge cake texture was extremely soft and crumbly. I don't think for this recipe, you can slice the cake into three layers otherwise the layers would break apart. As stated in the recipe, I sliced into two layers. As the texture was very soft and spongy, it absorbed the syrup very well, just like an absorbant sponge. After chilling, the sponge cake taste very refreshing, and remains moist and soft.

The two layers was sandwiched with vanilla cream and fresh strawberries, frosted with freshly whipped ream.

The cake was being transported the entire night, from Demsey Hill's Dome Cafe, to Ben and Jerry's, who didnt allow us to celebrate birthdays by bring homemade cakes. It finally settled at Marina Barrage. Luckily it survived and remained chilled. ;)

This cake was a success! Birthday gal loves it. :D :D

Japanese-style Strawberry Cake

Ingredients for Sponge Cake:

• 115g pastry flour (I used cake flour)
• 170g eggs
• 130g castor sugar
• 15g glucose
• 30g unsalted butter
• 45g fresh whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients for vanilla cream:

• 150g whipping cream
• 15g castor sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4g gelatine sheets, soaked in ice water to soften
• 20g fresh milk

Ingredients for whipped cream:

• 200g fresh cream
• 15g castor sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Line cake pan with parchment paper. Sift flour twice.
2. Beat eggs with a whisk, then add sugar and glucose. Place bowl over a double boiler and mix well.
3. When egg mixture is warm, use an electric mixer to beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and continue beating for about 1 minute.
4. Place butter, milk and vanilla in a bowl and place over a double boiler until the butter has melted, stir through to mix.
5. Add 1/6 of egg batter to butter mixture and mix well. Then add butter mixture to remaining egg batter and fold through evenly. Sift flour into bowl and fold using a spatula until batter is glossy.
6. Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake for about 40 minutes or until cake has a bouncy texture at the surface. Remove from pan and place on a wire rack to cool.
7. When cooled completely, trimmed off the top crust, and slice the cake horizontally into two layers.
8. Place one layer on a flat tray and brush evenly on both sides with 1/3 of the sugar syrup (to make syrup, use 25g castor sugar and 50g water). Set aside.
9. Make vanilla cream. Whip cream in a chilled bowl until stiff peaks form. Place milk, sugar and vanilla in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add softened gelatine and mix well. Let milk mixture cool to about 30°C. Add milk mixture to whipped cream and fold until just incorporated.
10. Slice strawberries (about 300g) lengthwise. Spread vanilla cream onto the layer that was brushed with the sugar syrup, then topped with strawberries. Place the other cake layer over and press down lightly. Chill in the fridge for a few minutes to set.
11. Make whipped cream. Whip cream, sugar and vanilla in a chilled bowl until stiff peaks form. Cover cake with whipped cream and garnish as desired.

Recipe adapted from: "Okashi Treats" by keiko ishida

ENJOY! ;)

One month Countdown

In exactly one months time, dd and I will be saying our vows in the presence of the Justice of Peace and our parents as the witnesses and be declared husband and wife lawfully. :) When we met our solemnizer last week as he briefed us about what is going to happen on that day and as he mentioned the word 'husband and wife', I still can't believe this is true. These two words may sound so significant but I guess to us as a Chinese who still have to follow the Chinese traditions of going through customary rituals such as choosing an auspicious date and paying respect to our ancestor, we would feel that we are married only when we have gone through the Chinese customary wedding. I wonder whether I should introduce him as my hubby or.... I seriously don't know cos' it feels weird! Haha... I think same goes for him.. well we shall see ;)

Not sure if anyone of you had came across the above advertisement about this "I do" Wedding at Sentosa on 10.10.2010. This is an event collaborated by People's Association, Singapore Press Holdings and Sentosa whereby they organised a mass wedding solemnisation for couples on the 10 Oct 2010. Last year, they raganised a similar mass wedding event at Singapore Botanic Gardens on the 29 Sep 2009 (20092009) - "I do" garden wedding at Botanic Garden.

Yeah, we are one of the participants this year, with about 100 other couples at Sentosa! Some of you may be thinking what actually made us want to sign up for this event, to be getting married with other couples, all around Sentosa. Well for us, we felt it was special, because 10.10.10 is a perfect, memorable date for us.

It was one of our initial plans to get married on a special date like this, or we have also considered 20 Oct 2010 (20102010), but we kind of just pushed that plan aside cos' we thought it's a little to soon for us *lol* but when this advertisement came out, dd immediately called me and we discussed about it, and decided to sign up for it. I had always wanted to have an outdoor wedding, such as a garden or beach wedding, however dd and I decided to do away with this plan as we were worried about the unforseen weather conditions in Singapore. Now, I'm so happy that I'm able to fulfil my outdoor dream wedding planned for us :D Let's just keep our fingers crossed that it will be a good weather on that day. Anyhow, the event would still go ahead, be it rain or shine. :) Don't be surprised if you happened to see us on TV. *lol*

Last Sunday (5 Sep 2010), we went for a marriage preparation seminar which was included in the package. It covered basic essential elements on starting a marriage life comprising communication, fertility and financial planning. It was interesting and I'm surprised that the speakers were so forthcoming in sharing their tips and those embarrassing stories on couple intimacy and arguments with us.

After the talk, we went to shop for my heels. I finally found the pair of heels that I like. I love it so much because of the ribbons that can be tied around the ankle in two different ways. I'd wanted to buy a 3.5 inch but decided to just go for a 2.5 inch cos' I knew I would not be used to it and I wouldn't want to carry myself badly just because of a pretty looking heels that do not suit me.

This pair cost me a damage of S$88 but I think it's all worth it. :)

Yesterday (10.9.10) was a well-spent day as dd had a shirt tailor-made, ready for collection next week and we also confirmed our reservation for Ban Heng Pavillion Restaurant on 10 Oct 2010. We would be inviting our family and close friends for a dinner after our solemnisation. Although the wedding package includes a high-tea buffet, we did not opt for that as that buffet is mass catered for every couples and guests on that day and we are expecting the place to be crowded without a personal space for our guests.

Today, I'm putting off my work and doing what I've not done for ages on a Saturday - Baking Bread. I'd just give myself a long weekend break this week and work hard on Monday. :) It's the first time I'm trying out a Tangzhong method. Hope to share with all soon!

Homemade Peanut Butter

Lately I'm taking like almost a few days to a week just to get a blog post up. I don't have the luxury of a good few hours to write, or maybe I'm just slow :P Well, I tend to multi-task - blog hopping, checking of emails, and surfing for information or reading forums for my wedding preparation. :D

I wanted to do a decent post on a strawberry shortcake that I baked for one of my sisters but I'm still halfway there, sorting and editing the photos.

I thought it would be interesting to post this random post of my 'innovation' in churning out peanut butter out of soon to expire ground peanuts which I do not know and / or do not feel like making any food out of it.

That was how I turned a packet of ground peanuts that was due to expire in two months time into some chunky peanut butter. I love peanut butter with bread regularly and one fine day this thought of turning the ground peanuts into my favourite peanut butter came to my mind. If you had been to Carrefour at the Plaza Singapura, they sell a small bottle of freshly ground peanut butter on the spot and it's as if you are really having fresh pure ingredients without any preservative. I bought it twice and thought it tasted good, natural without any sugar added as they used a grinder machine to grind peanuts into a paste on the spot although I'm not sure if they added any oil or sugar after the grinding. They even have three grades - smooth, chunky and super chunky.

I have no recipe here. I simply blend the peanuts and some sugar to taste into finer texture and added some canola oil to make it smooth and there, I have a new bottle of chunky peanut butter to go with my bread. :)

The downside of freshly grounded peanut is they dried up quite fast and it would be unspreadable after that. But you can still eat on its own if you want. :P

ROM Dress/Suit fitting

If you notice, I had added a page on 'Happy Future Planning', with sub-pages about my wedding planning. I've decided to delete the wedding blog that I've created at www.mywedding.com because I find that it wasn't very user-friendly and reader-friendly. I was comtemplating whether to create a new wedding blog using blogspot but I do not wish to see it being a white elephant or looking so plain and empty since I know I'd be quite busy to update it. I'm So, here I am, integrating my wedding preparation to my baking cottage. I'd update my wedding preparation whenever I can so that my friends and readers can have a 'one-stop' update of what I'd been doing / baking. :D Meanwhile, I had posted my previous wedding updates in this blog and back-dated to when I'd posted it. :)

I had my ROM dress fitting on a Monday (16 Aug 2010). I was rather disappointed because there weren't many varieties. I thought I could choose one that matches a beach wedding theme, something flowy and light but most were more suited for indoor/ballroom. Some were too simple while some were more elaborate but somehow I just don't look nice wearing those cos' I'm more petite and wearing those longer dresses that falls below the knee just makes my legs appear short, haha. Finally, I shortlisted the above. It's a simple short dress in pure white. As I'm more tanned, off-white or ivory white don't suit me. I've also requested them to add a flower corsage at the waist and some sequins on the bottom of the dress. I do hope they fulfill the promise and I'm gonna check on them again. I'm a picky customer. :P

I'm not allowed to take photos so I begged them to allow me to capture a section of the dress so I could post it online! :P

Alright, I still need to shop for a pair of shoes, and perhaps some accessories, while dd needs to buy a shirt and probably pants and shoes. I'll update let in more details of my solemnisation which falls in Oct 2010 when date draw nearer... ;)

Mango Pomelo Sago Dessert

After I had Jess of Bakericious's mango pomelo dessert during the food blogger's gathering, I made a mental note that I shall make it some day because that was one of the best sago dessert that I've tried. The usual honeydew sago dessert that was served at buffets were either too rich or sweet. Her mango pomelo dessert was very refreshing and makes me want to have more without feeling sinful of eating dessert. I wished i wasn't too full that day to have extra helpings of the dessert. ;)


I didn't have to wait too long to try my hands at this dessert. :) Last Saturday, my family had a barbeque at our neighbourhood to celebrate my dad and mum's birthday. Their birthday was only three days apart so every year, we would celebrate for them together. Instead of the usual family dinners at restaurants, my brother organised a bbq session this year and it has been ages since I had a BBQ, not to mention my parents. I could see that my parents were pretty excited though they did not say so. *lol*

Just when everyone was getting ready to go to the park, we were hit with a really gloomy weather that we did not know whether to proceed with the barbeque, or to have a change of plans. After a slight drizzle for a short while, the sky was still grey. We were at the park, but hesitated whether to start the fire. We waited and waited.... for another half an hour or so, eventually the rain stopped completely and the weather was cool. :) Heaven was on our side!

Besides the barbeque food items, we also prepared some potluck items such as fried bee hoon, fried noodles, curry, fruits salad, etc. I brought along the mango pomelo sago dessert. It was a rather last minute decision, as I only thought about it in the morning while I was at work. So by the time I finished with the dessert, I still need a good 3 hours (accordingly to the recipe) to chill it but I only chill it for about 1 hour and had to remove from the fridge. I put one big cube of ice, but was worried that it would make the dessert bland. The mangoes I bought was a little sourish and I almost wanted to give up the idea of making the dessert. Still I went ahead with it. Jess used mango juice in place of water in the recipe while I used mango yoghurt drink and blend in with the mango puree, hoping to make it sweeter. Luckily all family doesn't have a really sweet tooth so they felt that it was just right.

It was rather a challenge making this dessert for the first time because my mom couldn't guide me as she had never cooked sago before. The sago was so starchy and murky after cooked that I do not know whether I had cooked it correctly. I patiently drained and run the cooked sago pearls in cold running water, and hey in the end I managed to get a big bowl of clear mini sago pearls! I didn't added in the whole of sago pearls as they seemed quite alot but when added to the big pot of mango milk, it was just the right amount. Happy Birthday my dear Dad and Mum! I'm sure you had enjoyed yourselves as all of us did. ;)