I am learning to perfect my blogging skills so I will try my best to write more posts and learn more blogging. I have another blog talking about beauty recipes. To those people who are not only keen in food but also take some of your time to take a look at the other of my newborn baby blog (http://weightlossgreentea.blogspot.com). There is always a saying going around for women. ” There is no ugly women in the world but only lazy women.” So ladies, we must learn to be a woman who can cook, bake and ALSO BEAUTIFUL.
Awfully Chocolate Cake (YUMMY)
August 26 was my birthday. This birthday cake was given by my lovely darling and the cake was from Awfully Chocolate Pte Ltd(www.awfullychocolate.com). I really love their chocolate cake. You even have to order their cake in advance just to avoid disappointment. Their variety are limited and they sell only one type of cake. Simple dark chocolate cake between layers of dark and rich chocolate fudge. YUMMY….. 😛
Best of all, they provide QUALITY, DARK CHOCOLATE. I would rate them Number 1 in chocolate cakes. Another favourite chocolate cake is Lana Cakeshop. I have tried their chocolate cake but I still prefer Awfully Chocolate. So which one do you prefer? Awfully Chocolate or Lana Cake? I guessed this is up to individual.
Make your own pizza November 9, 2007
One of my best creation is pizza. My first attempt was a success. My family simply love the pizza I made. YUMMY.
PIZZA DOUGH
- 1 cup of warm water (take note, not hot water)
- 3 1/2 cup of plain flour
- 2 teaspoon of olive oil
- 2 teaspoon of honey (I use New Zealand Munuka Honey)
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of dry baker’s yeast
Instruction:
Step 1:
Mix the salt and honey into the warm water. Add the yeast and mix it. Let it sit for 10 mins.
Step 2:
Gradually add the flour and olive oil and start mixing.
Step 3:
The dough will start to become heavy as you mix, knead the dough once it is too heavy to mix.
Step 4:
Knead the dough until it form a smooth ball. Add the water bit by bit. If the dough is too sticky to feel, add the flour bit by bit until it feel smooth. If the dough is too dry and does not form into a ball, add the water bit by bit.
Step 5:
Coat the dough with olive oil. Place it in large bowl and use a kitchen wrap/ plastic bag to cover. The dough will rise after an hour. Push to deflat it after an hour and let it sit for another hour.
Step 6:
After 2 hours, put the dough on lightly floured board. Pull out some of the dough(about the size of your palm). Roll it with a rolling pin until it is about 1/4 inch thick( thickness of the dough is up to individual, if you like thin, crispy base, roll it thinner.) Place it in a rounded pizza pan.
Step 7:
Punch some holes using the fork/toothpick in the dough. This is to allow the air escape while you bake the pizza.
Step 8:
Put ready made tomato sauce / pizza sauce (sauce can be bought from dept store). After that, put your favourite toppings such as ham, mushrooms, pineapples, capsicum etc. (toppings is up to you to put 🙂 )
Step 9:
Place the grated cheese all over the pizza ( Buy pizza cheese from supermarket). If you love cheesy pizza, you can put more.
Step 10:
Place the pizza into the oven and bake at 400-450 F for about 20 mins or until the crust is light brown.
***I also stuffed some cheese into the crust. (Stuff crust Pizza) hahaha.
Frequently Asked Questions on Muffins
Below are some of the frequently asked questions on muffins by Betty Crocker. Just hope that it could help those people who are ready to make muffins. Their website www.bettycrocker.com provide very good information on different recipes and ready answers to problem you are facing.
Q. What causes the muffins to be tough, heavy or rubbery?
A. Two things: too much egg and using a dark, nonstick pan. A large-size egg, about 1/4 cup, will give you the best results.
Q. What causes muffins to be coarse in texture with large holes and peaked on top instead of rounded?
A. You’ll get these results if you mix the batter too much. Remember, you need to stir the ingredients together just until they’re moist. If the oven temp’s too high, you’ll have the same problem. Double-check the setting, or you may have to experiment a bit with baking time, especially if you think your oven temp isn’t quite accurate. Using a dark, nonstick pan will give you these results, too.
Q. What makes the muffins too moist?
A. Too much milk, especially if you’re using paper-lined baking cups, and not baking them long enough will give you muffins that are too moist. Be sure to measure ingredients carefully. To measure milk, place a liquid measuring cup on your counter, pour in the milk, bend down and check the amount at eye level. Bake the muffins for at least the minimum time given in the directions. If they’re not golden brown, continue baking, checking on them every minute to see if they’re done. You may have to experiment a bit with the baking time, especially if you think your oven temp isn’t quite accurate.
Q. What’s the problem when muffins don’t rise?
A. Three things will keep muffins from rising fully: not having the oven temp hot enough, not mixing the batter enough and using muffin cups that are too large. Start by heating your oven for 10 to 15 minutes before baking to bring it up to the temperature called for in the recipe. You may have to experiment a bit with the baking time, especially if you think your oven temp isn’t quite accurate. Be sure to mix the batter until all the ingredients are moist. And finally, use the size of muffin cup called for in the directions.
Q. Why are the sides and bottoms of my muffins dark when I use a dark or nonstick muffin pan?
A. Dark pans absorb heat better than shiny ones. To compensate for this, try reducing the oven temp by 25ºF when you use dark pans.
Q. How can I fill muffin cups evenly and be sure to get the number of servings specified on the package?
A. To fill medium-size muffin cups, use an ice-cream scoop or a 1/4-cup measuring cup. Fill them 2/3 to 3/4 full. This will give you muffins that are all a similar size and the number indicated on the package.
Q. Can I make jumbo muffins in medium muffin cups?
A. You’ll have to use a pan with jumbo muffin cups to make jumbo muffins. But you can make extra-large muffins in a medium muffin cup pan.
Q. Why do some muffin mixes call for vegetable oil?
A. Vegetable oil helps make muffins tender and moist.
Q. What can I substitute for the vegetable oil?
A. Instead of vegetable oil, you can use melted margarine, butter or shortening.
Q. In a muffin mix that calls for water, can I substitute milk?
A. We don’t recommend using milk instead of water because the milk can make holes in the paper liners or the sides of the muffins.
Q. Why are the muffins slightly sweet?
A. Muffins need a little bit of sugar to add flavor and tenderness and to keep them moist and fresh, even when they’re reheated. The sugar also makes them more tolerant to overmixing.”
Q. When preparing blueberry muffin mixes, why should I drain and rinse the blueberries?
A. If you don’t drain them, you’ll end up with blue-colored muffins! Also, draining helps keep excess liquid out of the batter.
All About Flour
Here to all, these are some of the knowledge on flour.
Plain Flour– All purposed Flour
Self Raising Flour – Plain Flour + Baking Powder added
Cake Flour – Lower Protein than Plain Flour
Cake Flour, Get 80% of Plain Flour + 20% of Cornstarch (Eg: 80g of Plain Flour + 20g of Cornstarch Flour = 100% of Cake Flour)
Wheat Flour is the only flour and grain to form a strong, cohesive dough that will retain gas and produce light baked goods
Tips: Cake Flour give Muffins/Cakes a finer texture
Chocolate Chips Muffins
I loves chocolate hence my first attempt on baking is Chocolate Muffins. The first time turns out to be too hard after the muffins turn cold. Muffins is always best eaten when it is hot, fresh from the oven. Overnight muffins always don’t taste as good but i have tried fantastic muffins that bought from stalls and it still taste soft even after a night. Mmmm…. i guess that is their secret recipes. I am still finding a way to figure out.
Chocolate Chips Muffins ( Make about 6)
1) 1 Cup of Flour
2) 1/2 cup of sugar
3) 1/2 cup of Milk
4) 1/2 teaspoon of salt
5) 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
6) 1/4 cup of butter
7) 1 egg
8) 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
9) 1 1/2 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder
10) 1/4 cup of choc chips.
Method:
1) Preheat oven to 190 degree c
2) Sieve flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder together.
3) Cream butter & sugar until smooth. Beat in vanilla and eggs one at a time.
4) Stir in the combined flour into (3)
5) Mix chocolate chips into the sugar mixture until combined.
6) Lay the muffin cups into the muffin tray and fill it until 3/4 full. (You may sprinkle more choc chips on the top if you love more choc chips)
7) Bake for 20-25 mins. Use a toothpick and poke the centre until it come out clean.
About Myself
This is my first blog on wordpress. I am a newbie in blogging. I decided to blog about my passion here. Half year ago, i bought an oven which started my new hobby, baking. I am a beginner in baking and have been borrowing recipe books from the library or searching recipes online. Through this blog, i just want to share my recipes with passion bakers like myself and learn the art of baking from experts. Please give comments too. Thank you.
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