Strawberry Sponge Layer Cake

I haven’t been to this page for ages. I have other things to do and it really is taking most of my time. Even now, suppose to be a public holiday, I need to get ready and go to work in 5 minutes time. It really is depressing. But Anyway, in less than 4 hours, I manage to made this cake, Strawberry Sponge Layer Cake.

It does look good, and it is pretty simple to make too.

Ingredient:

• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp milk
• 2 cups of fresh straberries
• 1 cup mascarpone cheese
• icing sugar

How to make:

1. preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
2. mix the butter and caster sugar, then eggs, milk and vanilla extract
3. mix the flour and baking powder.
4. bake for 15 to 20 minutes in a 9×13 inch pan
5. when the cake is cold, cut the cake into 3
6. chop the strawberries and mix it with the mascarpone cheese
7. then sandwich them all together
8. dust the cake with icing sugar on top and decorate it with fresh chop strawberries

Hope you all like it! It sure does look pretty and sweet~

Love,

Aby

Poppy Seed Slice

I was in a mood for pastry and slices and I never done something like this before. I am used to sponge cake and mud cake but not when it comes to making a pastry dough and all that. Therefore it was a new experience for me and all I can say is that I did it!!! Yatta! (the Japanese expression of “YES, I did it!).

Therefore the outside is crunchy but the inside is a sponge cake with poppy seeds lemon flavour and lemon icing on the top. My mum’s favourite now

For some reason the photo failed to bring that goodness on display need to learn photography.

Recipe were taken from a book called “Cakes & Slices – reliable recipes from the Murdoch Books Test Kitchen” by Murdoch Books. This book is my Christmas gift from my little brother so cute! And so I am excited that I can use this book now properly.

Ingredient

• 135g plain flour and 90g plain flour extra
• 75g butter and 125g butter for extra
• 60g caster sugar and 90g caster sugar for extra
• 1 egg yolk
• 40g poppy seeds
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest and 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest extra
• 1 egg
• 125g icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

How to make:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degree C
2. Lightly grease an 11×35 cm pan
3. sift the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs
4. add in the sugar
5. make a well in the centre and add 2-3 teaspoons water and the egg yolk
6. mix until it comes together in beads
7. press into a ball and flatten slightly
8. cover in plastic wrap and chill for 15 minutes
9. roll out the dough to ft the base and sides of the pan
10. trim the edges
11. cover the base with baking paper and fill with baking beads or uncooked rice
12. bake for 10 minutes
13. remove the paper and the beads and bake for 5 minutes
14. soak the poppy seeds in the milk for 10 minutes
15. beat the extra sugar and butter together with the zest
16. add in the egg and the poppy seeds and extra flour
17. mix well
18. spread over the pastry, bake for 25 minutes
19. combine the icing sugar, zest and enough juice to form a paste
20. spread over and cool

Happy Baking guys!

XoXo

Aby

Caramel Apple Upside-Down

Still in the spirit of summer and apple is the “it” fruit! Apparently it’s the magic fruit of the year. So I bought heaps of apples thinking I should make something with apple. So I did!

It was different from the pineapple upside-down. This one is with caramel, so it was kinda sticky in the process of making it. But I enjoyed making it. In the end I shared it with many different people and they loved it! Even the cake itself was soft. So everything was good!

Recipe were taken from a book called “1 mix, 100 cakes – Take 1 basic recipe and make 100 kinds of cake”, by Cristine France.

Ingredient:

cake:

• Butter for greasing
• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 butter
• 3/4 caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 tablespoon of lemon zest

Caramel apple topping:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 4 apples
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice

How to make:

1. preheat the oven to 180 degree C
2. grease the cake pan
3. for the caramel topping, but the butter and sugar into a heavy pan with the water and heat gently until melted
4. bring to a boil
5. reduce the heat n, stirring, until it turns to a deep golden caramel colour
6. pour quickly into the cake pan, tilting to cover the bottom evenly
7. peel, core and thickly slice the apples, toss in the lemon juice and spread evenly over the bottom of the cake pan
8. mix the flour and baking powder together into a large bowl
9. in another bowl, mix butter and sugar together
10. add eggs and vanilla extract into the butter and sugar mix
11. then add the flour and baking powder mix into it
12. add in the lemon zest
13. spoon in the mixture over the apples and smooth the surface
14. bake for 40-45 minutes
15. let it cool for 2-3 minutes in the pan, then turn carefully onto a warmed serving plate.
16. serve with cream if you want

Happy baking guys~

XoXo,

Aby

Lemon Cake with Crunchy Topping

Hello world!

Today was hot hot and sticky… feeling very yucky from the sweat and all that…. and one of our neighbour was having a family gathering earlier this afternoon. So mum wanted to give them a cake and I had to come up with something quick, simple and easy. I really didn’t have any fancy ingredient except a few lemon from yesterday’s bbq. So in the end, why not using the lemon and make lemon flavour cake!

Looks so good even the kid’s neighbour fell in love with it at first sight, awww~~~

Recipe were taken from a book called “Ready, Steady, Bake – cooking for kids and with kids” by Lucy Broadhurst”

I know, I have been using this book a lot now… really liking the book. simple and easy!

Ingredient:

cake:

• 250g butter
• 200g caster sugar
• 2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 4 eggs
• 250g self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice

Crunchy topping:

• 110g sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

How to make:

1. preheat the oven to 170 degree C
2. lightly grease the tin
3. mix the butter and sugar together
4. add the lemon zest
5. gradually add the eggs one by one
6. add the flour, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt, mix well
7. add the lemon juice, mix well
8. spoon the mixture into the tin
9. bake for 1 hour 20 minutes
10. remove from the tin and turn out onto a wire rack
11. make the topping by mixing the sugar and lemon juice together but do not dissolve the sugar
12. then quickly with brush, brush over the top of the warm cake
13. the juice will sink into the cake while the sugar will form a crunchy topping

Happy Trying guys~

XoXo,

Aby

Angel Food Cake with Chocolate Sauce

First day of the year, why not trying something different to make.  cake without butter! I know right, it sounds very doubting. But guess what? many people love love love this cake and it is a perfect chocolate desert to start a new year with

I never actually tried making this kind of cake before. To be honest, I was a bit skeptical when I was making it. Why? Cos of the butter policy! All I know we need butter to make a cake glossy, easier to turn and many more. And I had that problem when I tried to turn it up side down onto the wire rack. But in the end, it still good.

the cake, when you sliced it, it was a bit hard, like cutting a marshmallow kinda feeling. And to my surprise, it was fluffy inside and the sauce just add a nice touch. I made it for my new year lunch BBQ gathering today and everyone loves it! they even bring home the leftover! It was that good indeed

The recipe was inspired from a book called “Ready, Steady, Bake – cooking for kids and with kids” by Lucy Broadhurst

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 126g plain flour
• 250g caster sugar
• 10 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sauce:

• 250g dark chocolate
• 185ml thick cream
• 50g butter
• silver cachous (balls) to decorate

How to make:

1. preheat the oven to 180 degree C
2. have an UNGREASED tin ready (the tin needs to be very clean and not greased otherwise the cake wont rise and will slip down the side of the tin)
3. add the flour and 126g of caster sugar together
4. beat the white eggs, cream of tartar and 1/4 teaspoon of salt in a bowl until soft peaks form
5. gradually add the remaining sugar and beat until thick and glossy
6. add the vanilla extract
7. add the mixture of the flour and the sugar slowly over the meringue, mix
8. spoon the mixture into the cake tin
9. bake for 45 minutes
10. gently loosen around the side of the cake with a spatula then turn the cake out onto a wire rack
11. make the sauce by mixing the cream, butter and chocolate in a saucepan
12. stir over low heat until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth
13. drizzle over the cake and sprinkle with cachous

Happy Trying guys~

XoXo,

Aby

Pineapple Upside Down~

First of all, Happy New Year 2010 guys!

The last hour before midnight, it was raining here in Brisbane. I can’t help but to think that it cries with me. I miss him a lot and it is sucks when you feeling lonely. But that’s okay, cos new year means new life, and that is what I am going to do with my life. enough about my crappy love life.

My last creation before the year ended was this, Pineapple upside down. it looks so glacey, so pretty! I had fun making it and the taste was super!

The recipe were based on a book called “Ready, Steady, Bake – cooking for kids and with kids” by Lucy Broadhurst. However, I’ve changed one of the ingredient

Ingredient:

Base:

• 60g butter
• 96g brown sugar
• 4 slices canned pineapple, drained and halves (but in my case, it was fresh pineapple)
• 12 glace cherries

Cake:

• 126g butter
• 116g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 186g self-raising flour
• 125ml thicken cream (or milk)

How to make:

1. To prepare the base: beat the butter and sugar
2. spread over the base of a 20cm spring form cake tin lined with baking paper
3. arrange the pineapples and cherries over base, set aside
4. preheat the oven to 180 degree C
5. prepare the cake: beat the butter and sugar
6. add the eggs one by one
7. add in the vanilla extract
8. add the cream in it
9. then the flour, mix well
10. spread the cake mixture carefully over the base.
11. bake for 45-50 minutes
12. cool in tin for 15 minutes then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely

Happy trying guys~

Xoxo,

Aby