I'm a little behind on my blogging and I have at least 7 or 8 posts in my archive! I'll try to blog more diligently from now on, and hopefully I won't be distracted by other activities such as watching dramas and picking up new hobbies again! The first item to be ticked off from my archive list is a Japanese strawberry shortcake that was made back in March, when strawberries were still in season. I picked this recipe to try out because just like the roll cakes that I blogged about a while back, I've never been able to make a decent sponge cake before. But after my successful roll cake attempts, I plucked up my courage and tried my hand at sponge cake again. I'm glad that my Japanese strawberry shortcake was a success!

I was so happy with the strawberry shortcake that I made the cake again but in the form of cupcakes.


Strawberry Shortcake with Yogurt Cream Frosting Recipe
Recipe from 12カ月の季節の果物をうんと楽しむ タルトとケーキ

Ingredients:

Cake
3 eggs
75g caster sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon milk
85g cake flour, sifted twice
30g butter, melted

Frosting
500g plain yogurt
2 1/2 tablespoons caster sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons strawberry powder
300ml whipping cream

300g strawberries

Method:

To make the cake
1) Lightly grease a 18-cm round cake pan, line with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 170 deg C.
2) Add the eggs, sugar and honey into a bowl. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and then beat with an electric mixer until the mixture reaches 36-38 degree C.
3) Remove the bowl from heat. Continue to beat at high speed until the batter turns pale and thick, and it leaves a ribbon like trail when the whisk is lifted up.
4) Add milk, beat until well combined.
5) Add flour, gently with a hand whisk until the flour disappears into the batter.
6) Add melted butter, fold until well combined.
7) Pour the batter into the prepared pan, drop the pan on the counter 1-2 times to release air bubbles.
8) Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake turns out clean. Unmold and invert onto cooling rack, cool completely.

To make frosting
1) Prepare a large bowl of iced water. Put all ingredients in a medium bowl and then place it into the large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the mixture until 90% peak forms.

To assemble
1) Reserve 5 or 6 whole strawberries for decorating the cake, cut the rest into thin slices.
2) Slice the cake horizontally into 3 parts.
3) Spread a thin layer of frosting on the first layer. Arrange sliced strawberries on it, spread with another thin layer on top of strawberries. Repeat with second layer of cake.
4) Place the third piece of cake on top. Frost the side and top of the cake.
5) Fit a pastry bag with a star-shaped tip and then fill the bag with frosting. Pipe out star shape frosting on top of the cake. Garnish with reserved strawberries.

The hosts of TWD have chosen an interesting recipe this week - Hungarian shortbread. I love shortbread, so I was very eager to make the cookies. Preparing the shortbread dough is easy and straightforward but this recipe comes with a twist. The dough needs to be frozen for at least 30 minutes, or until firm. When ready to bake, grate one layer of the dough into a baking pan, spread rhubarb jam (I used my homemade strawberry jam instead) on it, and then grate another layer of dough over the jam. Interesting, isn't it?

This is by far the best shortbread I've ever made! I guess part of the deliciousness comes from the fact that a large amount of butter is used in this recipe, but I'm not complaining. ;-) To prevent my waistline from expanding any further, I will bring the cookies to class tomorrow and share the fats with my classmates!

If you want to give the recipe a try, hop over to Lynette's and Cher's blogs!

A friend who has just started to learn baking asked me recently - How do I decide which recipe to try out and how do I know if it will turn out ok? My answer to her is, for a baking fanatic like myself, I don't mind experimenting with different recipes of the same dish, as I enjoy spending time in the kitchen. But as I ponder over her questions further, I realised that most of the time, I tend to be intrigued by recipes with ingredients or preparation method that I've not use before.

One such example is latest version of chocolate chip cookies that I baked this afternoon. I've made countless versions of the cookies, and I'm still on the hunt for the perfect recipes. So when I chanced upon a blogger's post reminiscing about her stay at the DoubleTree Hotel many years ago and the chocolate chip cookies that she received upon checking in, I was curious and wonder how the cookies taste like. I looked for recipe online and managed to find it via Foodgeeks. When I looked through the ingredients list, I knew that I have to give the recipe a try as it calls for ground rolled oats which is new to me. I made some slight adjustments to the recipe by reducing the amount of sugar and chocolate chips, and I also made the cookies smaller. The cookies are delicious indeed and I've been unable to stop myself from eating them at all!

DoubleTree Hotel's Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Recipe adapted from Foodgeeks

Ingredients:
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups semi-sweet, chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups walnuts, toasted and chopped

Method:
1) Grind rolled oats with a blender until fine.
2) Mix flour, ground oats, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3) In a medium bowl, mix butter, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract with an electric mixer until well combined.
4) Add the eggs one at a time, mix until smooth.
5) Add flour mixture, using a rubber spatula, mix until combined.
6) Stir chocolate chips and walnuts into the mixture.
7) Chill the dough in the fridge overnight.
8) Preheat the oven to 350 deg C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
9) Using a 4cm ice-cream scoop, drop spoonful of dough onto the lined baking tray.
10) Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven, and let the cookies cool on a wire rack.

For TWD this week, the hosts have chosen lemon loaf cake. Before I started baking, I went through the comments from the "P&Q" page and it seems that some of the TWD-ers are not so crazy over this recipe, with the main gripe being, the cake is too dense. To avoid having a huge loaf of cake which I might end up not liking it, I chose to cut the recipe into 1/3 portion and I got a small 2.5" X 6" loaf of lemon cake. I took a bite and the cake is dense indeed, and I think it would taste better with some whipped cream or glazing.

If you want to give the recipe a try, hop over to Truc's or Michelle's blogs!

My hubby loves fried rice. When we first moved to Taipei, he discovered an eatery which serves fried rice that is cooked to perfection - flavourful and full of breath of wok. For the next few months, he went to the same eatery (unfortunately I had to go with him) and ordered the same dish every Saturday until I had to plead with him to go somewhere else.

Anyway, I cooked fried rice with XO sauce for lunch today, knowing that my hubby would love it. As expected, he had two big servings and gobbled it up in mere minutes. He even asked if I could make some for him to bring to work tomorrow. So right after lunch, I cooked some rice, kept it in the fridge for a few hours and prepared the same dish again at night.

Fried Rice with XO Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:
Overnight rice for two
2 eggs
1/4 onion, chopped finely
1/2 red capsicum, chopped finely
100g minced pork
2 tablespoons XO sauce (or more)
1 stalk spring onion, chopped finely
Salt and pepper, to taste

Marinade for minced pork:
1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
a few drops of sesame oil
Pepper, to taste

Method:
1) Marinate pork for at least 15 minutes, set aside.
2) Heat up wok, and when the wok is hot enough, add 2 tablespoons of oil. Pour egg into the wok, stir quickly to scramble the egg. When the egg is almost cooked through, dish out and set aside.
3) In the same wok, add onion, saute until fragrant. Add minced pork, continue to stir until the pork is almost cooked.
4) Add capsicum, make a few quick stirs, follow by rice and XO sauce. Stir quickly and make sure that all ingredients are mixed well.
5) Add egg, spring onions, salt and pepper, and make a few more stirs. Dish up and serve hot.

Roll cake, or Swiss Roll has always been my favourite since I was a kid. I tried making my own roll cake making times before but I always ended up with a sponge base that was either too dry to roll or cracked after rolling and because of that, for the past few years, I've not been making anything that involves sponge cake.

However, recently I've rekindled my interest in making roll cake again. Perhaps it's the cooler weather that makes me want to spend more time experimenting in the kitchen, or I'm already sick of making muffins and pound cakes. But anyway I thought it's about time to overcome my fear and I should try to make my roll cake a success. I tried several recipes from different cookbooks but the cakes were still a tad too dry. Rolling the cake up was not a problem but I was disappointed with the texture of the cake.

Few weeks ago, I chanced upon a cookbook in a book store that features lots of beautifully made roll cakes. I immediately grabbed a copy and right after I reached home, I made a matcha and azuki bean roll cake. Much to my delight, the cake turned out to be exactly what I was hoping for - soft, moist and it was very easy to roll the cake up too. I brought the cake to class the next day and I received rave reviews from my classmates. It definitely helped to boost my confidence and I went on to make a few more roll cakes using the same recipe but with different flavour combos.

Matcha and azuki bean roll cake

Strawberry and kiwi roll cake with white chocolate frosting

Yujacha (Korean citron tea) roll cake

Over the past two months, I've been making at least 10 roll cakes and as the saying goes, practice makes perfect, so I'm no longer intimidated by roll cake now. If you've never been successful in making roll cake, give this recipe a try, it might work for you too!

Matcha and azuki bean roll cake Recipe
Recipe adapted from ふんわりロールケーキ

Ingredients:
Sponge base
6 egg yolks
5 egg white
100g caster sugar
50g cake flour
6g matcha powder
50g butter, melted and cooled

Filling
200ml whipping cream
2 tablespoons icing sugar
A handful of sugar coated azuki bean (If this is not available, you can use about 100g of canned azuki bean instead)

Method:
To prepare the sponge base:
1) Preheat oven to 200 deg C. Line a 30X35 tray with parchment paper. Mix cake flour and matcha powder in a bowl, set aside.
2) Put egg yolks and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat at high speed until the yolk mixture is thick, pale and when the whisk is lifted, the batter should fall slowly back into the bowl with a ribbon-like pattern. Set aside.
3) In another bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until it is slightly foamy. Add the remaining sugar at one go and continue to beat until firm peak forms.
(Note: Here's a guide showing how to beat egg white into different stages, click!)
4) Pour yolk mixture into the meringue. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the mixture until just combined.
5) Sift flour and matcha over the batter and then fold the mixture lightly but rapidly until the flour has disappeared.
6) Pour melted butter down side of bowl, and gently fold until completely incorporated.
7) Pour the batter into the prepared tray, spread the batter evenly with a scraper.
8) Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes.
9) Lift cake from baking tray onto a wire rack. Let it cool slightly, cover the cake with a piece of cling wrap to cool completely.

To prepare the filling:
1) Add cream and sugar in a medium bowl, put it into a bigger bowl filled with iced water. Whisk the mixture until stiff peak forms.

To assemble the cake:
1) Remove liner from the cake. Transfer the cake onto a piece of parchment paper with the baked side facing upwards.
2) Spread the filling evenly on the sponge base. Place the azuki bean (sugar-coated or canned) on top of the filling. Roll the cake up and with then tuck in both ends of the parchment paper. Put the roll into the fridge to chill and set. Slice and serve.

Carla and Cathleen are the hosts for TWD this week and the recipe they have chosen is Irish soda bread. Even though this is a bread recipe, it doesn't require long proofing process or kneading at all. In fact, all you need to do is to prepare four ingredients (flour, buttermilk, salt and baking soda), stir and form a dough with a spatula and it is ready to go into the oven. It is unbelievably easy! You can also add some dried fruits to the dough, just like I did and the bread tastes so good. I'm sure that Irish soda bread will be a regular item on our dining table!

If you want to give the recipe a try, hop over to Carla or Cathleen's blogs!

Rugelach was a recipe that I chose for TWD when I was a host back in 2008 (See my old post here). It was delicious and it has always held a top spot in my "favourite pastries" list. However, that was also the last time I bake Rugelach, as I always have new recipes to try out and it hasn't cross my mind at all that I should try my hand on rugelach again.

I'm glad that the hosts for TWD: BwJ this week picked Rugelach recipe from the book, Baking with Julia, as I get to enjoy making and eating my favourite pastry again. This recipe is different from the one that I baked before, as it involves more steps and the cookies are shaped into pinwheels instead of crescents. To fully understand the preparation steps, I even have to read the recipe a few times, just to make sure that I got everything right. Preparing the dough, making the lekvar and the nuts & dried fruits filling was not difficult at all but I had problem rolling the dough up. The dough tore as I rolled and the fillings were falling apart. After much hair pulling and cursing, I managed to make a somewhat decent looking roll and so for the remaining dough, I decided to make my life easier by shaping them into crescents instead.

The rugelach was really yummy and my classmates love it too! If you want to give the recipe a try, hop over to Margaret's and Jessica's blogs!

My doggie's birthday falls on the 29th February, so she only gets to celebrate her birthday once every four years. ;-)


For her 4th birthday, I made some cupcakes using a recipe from Allrecipes site. I tweaked the recipe slightly by substituting grated apple for carrot, and I also reduced the amount of honey as I feel that the cakes should be sweetened by the grated apple already. Soft, moist and fluffly, I was pleasantly surprised that these cupcakes actually taste good! I don't mind making the cupcakes again for my own consumption, LOL!

Doggie Birthday Cake Recipe
Recipe adapted from here

Ingredients:
1 egg
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup honey
1 cup grated apple
1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

Method:
1) Preheat oven to 175 deg C. Line a 6-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners.
2) In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except flour and baking soda. Whisk until smooth.
3) Sift flour and baking soda together and fold into the batter, mix thoroughly.
4) Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
5) Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake turns out clean.

For TWD: Baking with Julia challenge this week, Steph, Spike, Jaime, and Jessica have chosen chocolate truffle tartlets for all TWDers to try out.

After reading through the recipe, I knew that the tartlets would be too rich and chocolatey for my liking. So I decided to made only a quarter batch, and I got a 4 1/2-inch and a 2-inch tartlets. My version of chocolate truffle tartlets comes with three components - crusts made with cocoa powder, chocolate mousse filling, and chopped chocolate. I have to omit biscotti from the recipe as I do not have it on hand. The texture of the filling is fudgy and brownie-like, but not as dense as I had expected. I'm surprised that I actually enjoyed eating the tartlets even though I'm not a chocolate dessert fan!

If you want to give the recipe a try, hop over to the hosts' blogs!