I say, I am becoming quite good at this! This is my third Lapis and all three times, they have turned out deliciously successful. The first two cakes were baked during Chinese New Year. The strangest compliment I’ve received was when a friend told me that my Lapis was really good because her dog had … [Read more…]

This one is for the serious aromatic lovers – garlic, leek and parsley- this recipe has it all in generous portions.I am thankful that I am not allergic to to any of the aromatic vegetables. I have a colleague in Italy who is allergic to garlic and I don’t know how he overcome meal time … [Read more…]

When I was growing up, cakes did not look anything like what we see today – we almost never saw anything with fresh cream and one can totally forget about intricate entremets. What we had then were rustic, simple and predictable. I recall that we would always look forward to marriage celebrations among family friends, … [Read more…]

If the Genoise Sponge is Lesson 1 in a Culinary Baking Course, then Pate A Choux is possibly either a pre-cursor of Lesson 1 or a more achievable Lesson 1 itself…. Like the genoise sponge, it is plain and non fancy but it serves as the foundation of so many classic and new creations that we have … [Read more…]

The swiss roll, I believe, is one cake that will never cease to intimidate me. At one point, I used to bake this everyday, just so that I could get enough practice to get it right. There are 3 components to the process of baking a Swiss Roll- getting the sponge base to behave; preparing … [Read more…]

This is my second attempt to deplete the egg whites left over from my Lapis cake. Baking 6 Pistachio Dacquoise cookies did not quite help to make a dent in my bowl of egg whites and I desperately want to move away from sweets and butter for a short while.This is a very handy recipe for seafood preparation … [Read more…]

Left with half a quart of Buttermilk from the last buttermilk pound cake, I had to quickly identify another recipe to deplete the not so cheap diary ingredient before it turns rancid. Also with the extended Christmas to Chinese New Year holiday mood over, it is time for me to dive into my full time job … [Read more…]

Thanks to the water roux technique, I am now feeling quite comfortable baking bread. For some reason, I find that the sense of accomplishment in churning out a soft, well formed bread is immensely greater than for example, turning out a batch of macarons. I have never quite feared the macarons but for the longest time, … [Read more…]

I can hear you YAWN….. yes, yet another one of Tish Boyle’s pound cake. Pound cakes are hopelessly boring to bake (translated to mean EASY!) achingly uninspiring to photograph… but always satisfying to eat…. After trying out her Luxe Pound Cake and Plainly Perfect Pound Cake, Tish Boyle beckons once more with her claim that this is a … [Read more…]

As much as I love to play with flour and butter in the kitchen, there are still a couple of very simple and basic items which I have not yet tried. Among them are scones and donuts and one of the more trivial resolutions I have actually set myself in December is to try both … [Read more…]