HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR

I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Chinese New Year .. May the year of Dragon bring good luck and fortune to everyone. I will be away for a week for CNY and shall be back by early Feb. With this I would to share my latest bake with all my fellow bloggers .... My 10th Cake Order

I am starting to really love Baileys ..... This is a very rich chocolate cake flooded with rich chocolate Baileys Ganache ... ;)

Bake Along #16 : Brownies with Salted Caramel Topping

Gosh ... believe this. Its my first time baking brownies . Heehee... I was like a dumb ass tying to figure out how I should bake this sticky batter into the nicely cut brownies like the others. Well, I gotta admit that I am not really satisfy with my bake this time. No worries tho, I am sure I will improve when I bake this again .

I am honestly not very satisfy with the look of this brownies. I knew I could have make it looks better . Practice makes perfect. I will sure be baking this again . Heehee.....I have never like brownies . Its either too sweet or too hard. LOL. Maybe I didn't find the right place to taste it . 

I am happy to be able to join this round of Bake Along #16 . Hope I will be able to make it for the next around again ;) 

Brownies with Salted Caramel Topping 

Brownies : 
3/4 cup    All Purpose Flour
3/4 cup   Unsweetened Cocoa Powder ( I might reduce this to 1/2 cup the next time I bake this )
1/4 cup   Packed Brown Sugar  ( original recipe calls for 1/2 cup packed brown sugar )
1/3 cup   Granulated Sugar ( original recipe calls for 1 cup )
1/2 tsp    Baking Powder
6 tbsp     Butter , melted
2 large eggs
1 tsp       Vanilla Extract
Cooking Spray  [ I lined my pan with aluminium foil instead ]

Topping : 
1/4 cup   Butter
1/4 cup   Packed Brown Sugar
1 1/2 tbsp Evaporated Fat-free Milk, Divided
1/4 tsp    Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup   Powdered Sugar

Method : 
1/    Preheat oven to 350F or 180C
2/    Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cup . Level with a knife
3/    Combine flour, Cocoa powder , brown sugar , granulated sugar and baking powder in a large bowl,
       Stir well with a whisk to make sure its well combine
4/   Combine butter, eggs and vanilla extract in another bowl. Add mixture to flour mixture and stir to combine
5/   Scrap batter into a 9" square pan and tap it on the counter a few times to level it.
6/   Bake at preheated oven 19 minutes or until skewer inserted in the centre comes out with moist crumbs
      clinging . Cool in pan on wire rack

for the Topping : 
1/    Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
2/    Add brown sugar and milk, cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat
3/    Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar . Stir with a whisk until smooth .
4/    Spread evenly on cooled brownies. Let stand until set

Recipe adapted from myrecipes

This turn out to be a tasty brownies, altho we find it to be still a bit too sweet . I will sure to bake this again . Enjoy your brownies  !!!!

I am joining Bake Along No. 16 which is organise by Frozen Wings , Kitchen Flavours and Bake for Happy Kids. Hop over to their blogs to view the list of participants . Enjoy !

ABC # Nut-Crusted Chocolate-Banana Swirl Cake

I was visiting my some of my favourite blog, jotting down dates ( LOL, if I have any ) and planning for my orders when I stumble upon this not very nice looking cake , but it sure sound yummy. I have to agree with the others, this is not one of the gorgeous looking cake, but it sure taste yummy . Thank you kitchen flavours for posting the pic of the cake which tempted me to try it. Well, I really love bananas and no one is gonna stop me from baking this. Heehee.............. Believe it or not , I am baking it right now and mom is waiting ....

This is my first time joining Avid Baker's Challenge ( ABC )  and I feel kind of excited and nervous at the same time.In 2012, the ABC Bakers will be baking from The Weekend Baker by Abby Dodge I do not own any bundt pan. I was rushing to the bakery supply store to look for the pan , but was disappointed to be told that they have sold out the pan. I was a bit on the down side when I heard this. Well maybe god heard me .. Heehee.. The lady boss was so kind and generous to lend me her own bundt pan. That really make my day . ;)

I really can't wait to taste the cake. The moment I remove the cake from the oven , it smells so good . My daughter Natalie nearly can't wait to spoon the cake out of the pan. Gosh. I was fast enough to stop her from doing so .

I have made a few changes to the original recipe to suit my taste bud. First I have reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup as the original recipe calls for 1 1/4 cup of sugar . Using an electric mixer, I cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy before adding in the vanilla extract and banana. Check out the colour of my Nut-Crusted Chocolate-Banana Swirl Cake . I prefer the not so "tanned " version of this cake ( thats how I describe dark colour cake , LOL) . As so I did not swirl the chocolate till the bottom , after pouring half the batter into the pan, I scoop the melted chocolate into the pan and swirl lightly before adding the balance of the batter . The results : A Fair Looking Nut-Crusted Chocolate-Banana Swirl Cake .. Yummy !!!

Please don't underestimate this piece of bake goodies . This is really one of the yummiest banana cake I ever tasted. I can't resist eating even when its still warm. Heehee.......

This cake texture is real fluffy, even Ryan can't resist it ......

Ryan's Tuesday morning 7.30 am breakfast . Yummylicious Nut-Crusted Chocolate-Banana Swirl Cake

This cake is just a perfect combination of all . Even a 1 year old baby can't resist it .

This recipe can be found in The Weekend Baker or from Fine Cooking Magazine website. Go here if you wish to visit other baker's post on this cake. Till then ..............

CHRISTMAS BAKE : MY 6th , 7th , 8th and 9th ORDER

Well, I have to sincerely apologize for my not been able to update my blog recently as I was really busy with Christmas baking orders and Justin is going to attend school for the very first time, I have to prepare all his uniforms and etc before 4th January. Thank god for Ryan being a very good baby, he basically plays and entertain himself when I was busy baking and cleaning up the house . HAPPY 2012 to all member and bloggers . May 2012 bring bundle of Wealth , Happiness and Joy to you and your family.

6th Order for Christmas Eve : Chocolate , Peanut Butter and Banana Layer Cake

6th Order for Christmas Eve : Chocolate , Peanut Butter and Banana Layer Cake

6th Order for Christmas Eve : Chocolate , Peanut Butter and Banana Layer Cake

I regretted for not being able to join Bake Along #15. I have my dried apricot sitting in my fridge till now. Gosh, really make me feel so sad for missing this event . Well , anyway I managed to submit 2 post to Aspiring Bakers#14 . If you would like to view the round up please feel free to visit Hankerie . That was the best I can do for month of December as it was really a truly hectic month for me . I was cracking my head as to " How should I win the heart of a 6 year old birthday girl ?" as I was really kind of out of idea sometime ... You know what I mean when you are working and need to take care of 3 kids after work not to mention cooking dinner for them ;) ...... This was what I cake up with .. Tara ............

7th Order :  Vanilla and Peach Layer Cake with Vanilla Frosting 

7th Order :  Vanilla and Peach Layer Cake with Vanilla Frosting 

7th Order :  Vanilla and Peach Layer Cake with Vanilla Frosting 

Even tougher was given to me by my beloved friend Tracy as she sms at 1.00 am in the morning, when I was busy baking and frosting the vanilla cake for this cute little 6 year old birthday girl.I was glad that she actually wanted me to bake a cake for her friends birthday for the same day to be collected at 9.00 pm that day. I was pretty excited to test my own skill on taking last minute orders so I have agree bake a cake for her . :) . Don't you think its kind of sweet of me ? LOL... just kidding eh .... So for a last minute order , this was what I have presented to her ;)

8th Order : Vanilla Peach Layer Cake 

I am proud to say , this is my first time baking a cake in a square pan. Heehee . I like it so much tho . ;)

I was happy as this cake was a hit among the birthday girls guest . Thanks to Tracy for choosing me to bake this cake for the birthday girl . Please browse thru some of the photos posted on FB for this birthday bash on Christmas Eve.

I was unable to take any photos of my 9th order as I was really rushing to deliver the cake to my friends house . We did have a good time together playing with baby Ryan at her house. I guess I really should do that more often . Gatherings that I missed so badly . Till then .............. HAPPY 2012 again fellow.