New Year 2012

Happy New Year to all my blogger friends ! Happy wishing you a fabulous new year

*foto taken at : Creve Coeur Lake - St.Louis*

Say Cheese

My fellow blogger, Ira from Cooking Tackle is a great food photographer, she knows how to make your jaw drop with her beautiful pictures, She posted this recipe about month ago and since than I can't stop thinking to make my own. A very easy loaf recipe, a perfect cake for a rainy afternoon

Butter Cream Cheese
Source : Ira Rodrigues - http://beelittlefood.blogspot.com/

Yields one 9×5 x 3-inch loaf

Ingredients A:
250 gr unsalted butter
220 gr granulated sugar
150 gr cream cheese

Ingredients B:
4 large eggs

Ingredients C:
80 gr sharp Cheddar cheese, grated, set aside 1/4 cup to sprinkle on top

Ingredients D:
50 gr whole milk

Ingredients E:
220 gr all-purpose flour
50 gr cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder


Cream (A) until light and fluffy. Add (B) and cream until light and smooth.

Add (C) and mix until well combined.

Sieve (E) ingredients together. Add part of (D) and then part of sieved (E) ingredients alternately while stirring in between each addition. Mix until well incorporated.

Pour it onto greased and lined loaf tin. Sprinkle some grated sharp Cheddar cheese that was put aside on top. Bake at 180 degree C for 50 minutes or until done. Do a skewer test, the skewer should come out clean from the middle of the loaf. Cool in rack for 10 minutes. Release from the pan and let cool in rack.

Celebrate 42nd Birthday

Inside every older person is a younger person – wondering what the hell happened yeah.. right ! Anyway, I feel blessed and lucky at 42 ; with a great families I have, with many nice people around me ..

 

Pecan Chocolate Cake

Ingredients :
7 oz. dark chocolate
1/2 lb. salted butter
2/3 c. plus 1 Tsp. sugar
1/2 c. half and half
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs

Directions :
Preheat oven to 350.
Using butter or shortening, grease a 10" spring form pan.
In a heavy saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and dark chocolate.
Once melted and combined, remove from heat and add sugar, stirring to dissolve.
Stir in the half and half, vanilla and salt.
Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl.
Slowly pour and mix the chocolate mixture into the eggs, mixing completely until very well blended.
Pour the batter into the spring form pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cake is just set.
And be sure the ring is properly attached to the base of the spring form pan before pouring the batter in or you are in trouble!
Remove cake to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before removing the ring.
Remove the ring and refrigerate the cake until chilled, leaving the cake on the spring form base.

Decorate your cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache

Dark Chocolate Ganache

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 pound bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped

Directions

1.In a large saucepan, bring 2 cups heavy cream, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt to a boil. Remove from heat; add 1 pound bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped, and let stand, without stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk just until combined. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until spreadable, about 1 hour.

NO BAKING TODAY : Apron & Kitchen Towel

Some people try to get a perfect gift for friends and family during this month, I know must be giving you a little bit headache ^_^  . So why don't you try to make your own gift for someone you love ? An apron and matching kitchen towel, maybe is a good gift for them ? What you need is to buy a lovely fabric  like this . I called 'From Tokyo with Love Theme'.

Just a yard or less cotton fabric for an apron (I got from Jo-Ann Store ; about $8/yard) and half yard linen fabric for kitchen towel. I add a coffee pot hand stitches. Believe me, your friends or mom , will loves it. No pattern necessary , just using your imagination and 2 hours working with your sewing machine :)

And if you still lazy to make your own, send me message, I will love to do for you (and not expensive at all, just let me know your fav.colors or pattern) . A Custome made, is always makes me happy.

NOTE : both, an apron and kitchen towel are SOLD ! new collections will coming soon and I will put on my shop .. come back again, latter..  :)

Pandan Chiffon Cake

it's so uncommon for American to add cheese as a topping for the cake, but we are Indonesian has a very popular cake you will love *and we do love it*   First time I bake Pandan Chiffon Cake for my husband , oh wow, surprise how my husband and daughter like the cake.  The recipe i got from my beloved friend, Mrs.Estherlita - we don't put oil for this cake, and I tell you the taste is great !!

I chose English Cheddar Cheese which the taste is more closer with Indonesian Kraft Cheddar -

Pandan Chiffon Cake

Recipe : Estherlita 'dez kitchen'

Ingredients :

100 gr plain flour

115 gr caster sugar + 56 gr sugar

3/4 tsp baking powder

6 eggs

3 tbsp water

1/4 tsp cream of tartar or lemon juice

salt

1 tbsp pandan paste

Sifted together : flour, 115 caster sugar and baking powder , set aside

Whisk or mix until smooth: 6 eggs yolks, water , a pinch of salt, pandan paste

Whisk together 6 egg whites, 1/4 tsp cream of tartar and 56g caster sugar until stiff peak
Mix together egg yolks mixture with flour mixture, and then fold in egg white mixture (which is already whisked until stiff peak). Pour into a chiffon cake tin without greasing or lining. Bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Turn the cake upside-down as soon as it is removed from the oven and let cool that way. When it is cool enough, loosen it up with thin spatula around the edges or it will just come out easily. Decorate or garnish as you wish.

Icing/Frosting:

Mix all the ingredients until smooth and spread on the cake:

100gr vegetable shortening

100gr butter

300gr icing sugar

3 Tbs sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping : grated English Cheddar cheese

NO BAKING TODAY : Jumper Linen

Oh NO !! Why I put this dress in cooking blog ? LOL .. oh well ; I tough is fun to put some of my activities beside baking and cooking too, after all this is RUMAH MANIS mean is everything happen at RUMAH MANIS (Sweet Home) is belong to this blog *silly explanation :P*

Anyway, I'm little bit busy to manage my time between, husband, kid, home, baking, cooking (thanks GOD, no garden now since fall season) , PTO, and sewing machine. NO..NO , I'm not a wonder woman ; but I Love to do many things. I always adore all creative people around me, how they can create a beautiful stuff from a piece of fabrics.

OK back to business, I made several dresses for my daughter ; surprising me that some of my friends love too .. so they start to order from me.

The first order came from friend who lives in Germany. Oh wow.. I'm so honor. I sew 4 collections first, and she loves all of them.. so this is one of my collection already SOLD !!

I didn't have chance to put on my online store yet, but I didn't mind.. I will make another one

This is an adorable, one of a kind, 100% linen fabric decorate with some handmade applique. A simple design can also be layered for colder weather with sweater, a shirt & pants or tights underneath. It will grow with your child & can be worn as a cute, swing shirt once the child outgrows it as a dress.

100% of my creations are completely handmade in a smoke-free home. So, don't hesitate to send me message if you like to get one too . :) I will be back with baking and cooking stuff tomorrow .. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.