Goodies from Paris !

Hohoho ~ ! My brother just got back from Paris and he brought something delicious, from a shop call Poilane, back with him. This is something that I would recommend everyone to get when they are in Paris - as a snack, as a dessert, great for souvenirs and gifts. What is it? What are the French famous for besides their fine dinning and Eiffel Tower? Correct ! It's their fresh bread and pastry.

The pastry featured above are apple tarts and apricot jam pastry (the one on the right bottom corner). Even though they were not hot anymore, you can still taste the freshness of the tart and the sweetness of the apple. It is great for anytime of the day because it is not too sweet - for breakfast, snack, afternoon tea time, dessert or even supper !

For those who are interested and would like to know more about the whereabouts of the shop, here is the website: http://www.poilane.fr/

Bon Appetit !

Pasta Bake !

Pasta bake~ Sounds fancy doesn't it :P but it is actually not all that hard to make. This is one of my favorite since it is so easy and quick to make (take around 30 - 40 minutes in total from prep-ing to after the baking).

Well, the baking part is only for melting the cheese to make a sort of crust (As you can see from the top). I think I used two cheeses there for this one - mozzarella and parmesan. Chaddar will give a harder crust i believe.. can't remember =.= but gonna try that next time on its own and see how it goes. As for the pasta, it was a mushroom and beacon pasta with a cream sauce (plus tomato paste). I will try to show you all other variations as well, if I remember to take a picture of it :P

Pocky Paradise - !

- The Pocky line-up -

New York Baked Cheesecake

Finally !! I made my first cheesecake ! (Well.. with the help of my mum or I helped my mum.. anyway.. :P ) I was very excited, like a little boy waiting to open his X'mas present, because I think cheesecakes are a whole new level compared to butter cakes and muffins - Not in terms of taste, but in terms of skill and time involved. Cheesecakes can be very delicate and time consuming to make, but the result is worth every bit of sweat and energy put into it. Here is what it looks like:

It doesn't really look like I have baked it for 35 minutes, since the top is not brown. I did expect it to be quite browner at the top, but I must have put too much soured cream (I have misread the recipe which made this happened). Need to remind myself to study the recipe more carefully next time. I think the most difficult part would be the timing and temperature control as like any other cake. This one required a change in temperature during the baking and I think I turned the temperature down too early. Oh well.. there is always next time ! :P



It tasted great! But it was softer than I thought - felt like I was eating mousse :P Need to make the base thicker as well and remember to not press it too much ! Definitely going to try this recipe again ^o^

Banana Chocolate Cupcake

Another banana recipe that I have been longing to try. This was my first time trying this recipe which I found on the net (www.taste.com.au) - great site loaded with recipes from publications.

As you can see from the picture above, it didn't rise much. There are 2 possibilities that I can think of:
1. I didn't mix it well enough, or
2. The chocolate chucks were too big which prevented the cupcake from rising
=.= So I will try again and see if I can solve the problem, but other than that it was delicious - rich with banana and chocolate. It was simple to make and great for breakfast or snack or even dessert ^o^.

Banana Cake !

Finally got the chance to make one of my favorite cake. My mum and aunt used to make this for me when I was little. When I was in high school, my mum made this cake for me to bring back to school for sell to raise money for charity. It was always a big hit then. It's so simple to make and it taste delicious. My mum was teaching all the basics that she herself learned back in the days when she was just a teenager! So I will try to learn all I can from her =P

This is my first attempt, but it turned out pretty well. I still need to work on the temperature and timing of the baking, but other than that everything is very simple. See if I can make it better next time =)

Pineapple Tart (HK)

People say that they are a really big hit here Hong Kong; people line up to get hold of a box of this. There is no reservation for even a box, you will have to get it at the bakery shop. I think you can only get one if you are lucky because there isn't a fix day or date that the tart is sold. The shop only sells it when they get stock from the people who made it. These are actually baked by a private household, so I personally think that they are pretty good, even for someone like me who is from Malaysia, where it is the origin of pineapple tarts. =)