21+1

Hello! It sure takes a lot of 'bored moments' to get me to blog nowadays. I mean, why bother blogging when you can twitter? It's more straightforward yet everyone can almost get the whole picture. By the way, I do not have a twitter account and I don't intend to have one =D
Anyway, while things get postponed, and I have free time now, let's not postpone another post.
Actually, I don't feel like telling a whole fairytale story right now because life sure isn't a fairytale. However, I DO want to share pictures of my 22nd birthday because it was one of those pleasant moments in life kind of thing...so, enjoy! =P

My awesome-looking Berrylicious Cake!

Thank you for the lovely presents! =D
My favourite lemon-cheesecake!

Food! (Left-right): 1st row- meatloaf, baked veggies, beef slices

2nd row- garden salad, quiche, fruit platter
3rd row- pecan sauce, walnut bread, buttered veggies

All together now...

Colour-BLAST Unbirthday!

Hello! This is an overdue post but...I'll usually update when the mood kicks in. So, this year, for my sister's "Unbirthday"...*sings to the Madhatter's Happy Unbirthday song!*

"A very happy unbirthday to you!
Who me?
Yes you!"

Hehe! Well well...a Happy Unbirthday indeed! Since the 29th of February is non-existant this year. But for fun's sake..we celebrated on the 28th and I made a fun-CoLouR-BLAST chocolate cake! The cake's awesomely chewy! I used a special cocoa purchased from the Hershey's shop at Resorts World Sentosa! That's why the cake's so dark. By the way, you've GOT to check out Universal Studios Singapore! I went for the preview twice and I'm going again on the 23rd to check out the rides! Whooshes! If I am to compare USS Singapore to the major themeparks in L.A. (Disneyland, Universal Studios, Knotts Berry Farm) and Tokyo (Disneyland, Disneysea)...since I've only been to those..USS Singapore is not better nor worse...but definitely on par! Let's just say, it'll give you a whole new experience with the tropical weather and all. Plus...now you tell me, which other Universal Studios sells sunblock lotion in their pushcarts?? Haha! Only here in Singapore! Alright enough with the diversion, back to the cake. Since the credits for this cake goes to Hersheys...I'm going to be a tad generous...so here's the recipe!

Hersheys Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

1 3/4 cups flour
1 3/4 cups sugar 3/4 cup Hersheys cocoa 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup butter (softened)
1 container (16 oz) dairy sour cream
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Hershey's Chocolate Fudge Frosting (3 cups)
6 oz melted butter
1 cup Hersheys cocoa
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk (add more if necessary)
2 tsp vanilla extract/essence

Before (Left), After (Right)

The FooD (left to right)
1st row (Potato au Gratin, Peach Apple Salad, Ribs)
2nd row (Baked Harvest Veggies, Corn, Homemade meatballs with bellpepper sauce)
3rd row (Spicy Chicken, Fruit Platter, Potato Smileys)
4th row (Pasta Casserole, Jello-cake, Hersheys Chocolates)

Blueberry Yoghurt Cake and Beef Stew

My Mum turned a year older 2 days ago...so to Mummy, Happy Birthday!
I made Mum a moist cake that was just bursting with juicy blueberries. Yoghurt was
also added into the batter to give the cake a very very moist texture.

Blueberry Yoghurt Cake (Before)

Blueberry Yoghurt Cake
(After)

I also cooked-up a Disney Chefs inspired Beef Stew!

Happy 22nd D.S.

I love to bake, and so....for someone I really Love and Adore...I decided to do just that to make his day a special one (I hope =)

Simple Butter Cake with Dark Chocolate Frosting

A hearty Shephard's Pie...highly distorted by Denden! =p
But, it's a whole lot better now right Denden? Right? ;)

The Key to Adulthood....

On my 21st birthday...I...

....made my own Carrot Cake! It was scrumpdilliumptious, if I may say
so myself =p Haha, yea...I insisted on making my own birthday cake.

Raspberry and Vanilla Cupcakes

My version of Greek Salad (Olives, cherry tomatoes, zucchini,
capsicum, goat cheese, seasoning and dressing)

Beef/Chicken Satays(skewered meat) and Peanut sauce,
Mackerel Otah-Otah (Mackerel Patties barbequed in banana leaves)

20th Birthday hors D'oeuvres

I have to admit that my 20th birthday had one of the most awesome spread ever...=) I simply love the colourful array of hors D'oeuvres. But the best thing is, all the food was homemade!

Carrot Cake and Cupcakes

Grilled Chicken

Left to right: Stawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream, Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream, Mocha Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream

Mini bites

Puff Pastries

I made my own dimsum =D

Caviar on crackers

Beef Lasagna

My first attempt on Garfield's all time favourite dish...Lasagna!

A cup of Turkish Tea

This was taken during my 19th birthday a few years back. Nope, I didn't make the awesome fudgy cake...all credits go to "Royals Cake." However, I love how the tea-time spread with traditional glasses of Turkish Apple Tea and of course the awesome company of my 2 gals made me feel....warm and cozy. =)

Beach Themed Birthday

Ah...leap year babies. When you're four you're sixteen. And when you're sixteen you're actually..four? Hehe. Well my sister had her "real" birthday in 2008. We had a Hawaiian themed beach gazebo party which was so much fun! The cake was homemade...beach themed with a custom made guitar..yup...my sissy's a great guitarist...well, good enough for me that is. We also had a self-made cupcake stand with colour power cupcakes...and balloons.

Butter Cake with Strawberry and Kiwi

A friend had his 21st birthday on the ice-skating rink. We had a pot-luck celebration and so..this was my treat...the birthday cake! Butter cake with strawberry and kiwi filling...

Lady Bug Cupcakes

My baby cousin had her first birthday, August last year...and she loovess lady bugs! Well, at least "bugs" was listed in her baby vocabulary and she goes "OooOO!" whenever she sees them...=) So here's some pretty lady bugs for baby...

Mickey Mouse Chocolate Cookies

Well, needless to say, I'm a super fan of Disney! Whee! These are made using my Mickey Mouse shaped cookie cutter. Got it from Tokyo Disneyland! =) =)

Mixed Berry Cupcakes

I used a slightly pinkish, raspberry flavoured cupcake. As for the topping, I had some homemade strawberry and mixed berry jam from my New Zealand trip. The end-product...magical berrylicious cupcakes!

Savoury twists

Buns

Left to right: Pandan, Cheese, Sambal ikan bilis (Chillied anchovies)

Bread and more Bread...!!

Old bread is not hard, no bread...now that is hard...=)

Japanese Black Sesame Buns

Milk Loaf

Hmm...cake buns?

Baguettes!

i love the smell of fresh bread...don't you?

Brownie Competition <3

A little competition can be healthy...well for me and Denden that is... ;) This competition took place when we just got acquainted. It was an incident whereby our egos were just too huge that we decided to have a brownie-making competition!...so yea, best brownie wins! haha, it's pointless actually but it sure brought us at least a step closer..=) So the left one's mine (Chewy chocolate Brownie with Chocolate Ganache) and the other one is Denden's (Chewy Brownie? Tastes abit like caramel?)

Crazy Pink Cupcakes

Made these crazy designs on chocolate cupcake using royal icing. At that time, it was the start of the cupcake craze. The good thing about royal icing is that, if you conjure up a good mix, the icing will harden! The end-product...mess-free cupcakes great on a stand as decorative elements or gifts...(I think =p)

Kek Lapis Assortment

Referring to the previous post on Kek Lapis Ice Cream, these are other Kek Lapis varieties made during Eid, 2 years back. From top-left clockwise: Aftereight( Chocolate and Peppermint), Prune, Mocha, Ice-cream, Mango, Milo and Durian.

Kek Lapis Ice Cream

"Kek Lapis" is Malay for "Layered Cake." Therefore you should know what "Kek Lapis Ice Cream" means.....that's right! Ice-cream layered cake! Traditionally, Kek Lapis originated from Sarawak, Malaysia and is now a popular favourite even in Singapore. It is commonly seen during the Malay festive season and comes in all kinds of colours and flavours unimaginable; Blueberry, Durian, Mango, Vanilla, Chocolate..etc. =) Making Kek Lapis requires alot of skill, accuracy and most importantly patience. This is because, the different layers are baked one at a time! My first attempt in layering was on the Kek Lapis Ice Cream. This layered cake has strawberry, vanilla and chocolate ice-cream in it. Delicious!