Apple Tart

   I made two of this two days ago. Absolutely yum. My family loves it.

   It's a new favourite and even my brothers can't say no to it, though they say they are sick of apples!

   I used this recipe Stephanie at JoyofBaking. I love her recipes, they always work for me.

   I also made this lovely Strawberry Buttermilk Cake, using a recipe from my all time cake-hero, the Caked Crusader. It was lovely, though the strawberries were extremely tart. Next time I might roll them in a bit of sugar before mixing them into the cake. The strawberries collapsed like nobody's business but it tasted lovely all the same. It didn't quite have the texture of a cake- more like  bread pudding. I'm not sure if that's how it was supposed to turn out or if I hadn't baked it enough. Whatever it is, it's all gone now (and yes, I forgot to take a photo. Duh).

   I still haven't used the oven Dad gave me. Baked the tarts and cake at home, using Mum's oven.

   Going back to GM tomorrow. I might make something else before I go. Take care everyone! I really do miss blogging about baking.

Soon... soon!

  Somebody poked me in the wee hours of the morning and I struggled to open my eyes. I managed to squint it open a little and saw Dad staring at me, a mysterious and somewhat rather mischievous look on his face.

   "Which is more important to you now, an oven or an electric mixer?"


   "What...?" I rasped, barely managing to get my voice out. 


   "I think an oven is much more important, don't you think? Your Mum said she doesn't bake anymore these days, so you can borrow her mixer for now and get one later."


   I struggled to open my eyes a little wider but didn't quite manage.


   "There's a pretty good oven at the store, it's large and costs around RM300. I'll get one for you, shall I? That way you don't have to come home every weekend in order to bake some order for your friends. Keep this a secret from Mum though, for now." He winked at me, patted my head and left.

   And that's how I came to have my very own oven. It's 1 week old and I haven't had the chance to use it yet.

   Aren't Dads simply wonderful?

   p.s. Little Brothers, Little Sister and Big Sister, if you're reading this remember it's a secret from Mum. At least for now. Gulp. I feel guilty.

Lense-less

   The thing about having a food blog is that you need a camera.

   And at the moment, I don't have one.

   My phone camera? Let's not go there.

   Conclusion: I need to get a camera or this blog will perish!!! (though maybe that's too dramatic a word.)

Short Update- Busy With School

   I'm sorry I haven't posted anything. Writing takes a long time, and I've more than enough to do at the moment.

   I have posted a few things about my new school though, on my other blog.

   If you'd like to know what I've been up to, and give some words of encouragement, do head over! I'd love to hear from you.

   I miss baking. I live at the school hostel, and there isn't really any opportunities for making cakes. I'm thinking of looking around for recipes for sweet treats that do not need to be baked. I know I can make cheesecake. Any ideas?

   I promise to go around and leave comments on your blogs this weekend. I miss reading and 'meeting' you. Take care and have a good week everybody!

 

Devil's Food Cake & Some News!

   Why do people have to name such wonderful sweet treats with such weird names?


   I shall speak no more on the matter or I'll never stop.

   I decided that I'd try a different version of the DFCC that I usually make, and went for this recipe by David Lebovitz (who is apparently a famous food writer. Forgive me for my ignorance).


   As usual, I used what ingredients I could afford and had. So this is what I put in and did, and it turned out well. You should visit the link provided for the original recipe.


   Chocolate Cake a.k.a. the DFC
   Source: David Lebovitz


   9 tablespoons cocoa powder
   1 1/2 cups cake flour (I used all-purpose flour & replaced (amoun) with cornflour
   1 teaspoon baking soda
   1/4 teaspoon baking power
   4 ounces margarine
   1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
   2 large eggs at room temperature
   1/2 cup water
   1/2 cup whole milk


   Preheat oven to 180C.


   Grease and line two 7-inch cake pans with baking paper.


   Sift cocoa powder, flour, baking soda and baking powder into a bowl.


   Beat margarine and sugar (for about  5 minutes if using an electric beater) until smooth and creamy. Add eggs one by one, and mix until well incorporated. 


   Mix water and milk. Alternately add flour mixture and milk mixture  into the margarine+sugar+egg mixture (F-M-F-M). Mix until incorporated.


   Divide into the pans prepared. Bake for 25 minutes. Test doneness by inserting a toothpick. Leave for 5 seconds and pull out, if there are no crumbs, the cakes are baked.


   Frost using your preferred frosting or follow the original recipe. I used the cream cheese frosting and ganache recipe that I usually use. However, this time I followed a tip I read somewhere and whipped the ganche until it was stiff. This sort of thickened the ganache and made it easier to spread and it wasn't as messy, but the result was a much thicker layer of ganache than usual. Some might like this, but I prefer what I usually do.

See how thick the ganache is?

   Anyway, I have some news! I've got my posting results! Insya-Allah I will report to the State Education Department (or JPN) on Monday. I'm going to start my life as a teacher! I can't quite believe it.


   Pray for me, and wish me all the best! I may be a bit occupied after this to have time to bake, but I shall try my best to post something. Meanwhile, if you're interested, I also write a blog dedicated to teaching in Life as a Teacher. I'll probably post there a bit more often than here. For one, I'll probably be moving away from home, and I won't have an oven Maybe I'll take photos of my cooking instead? Blergh. Do I even know how to cook? Oh well we'll see.


   Take care, everyone ;)