No Guts, No Glory!

No guts, no glory! The exact motto I had to keep telling myself in order to 'master' this recipe...You see, this particular recipe is somehow so, so 'far fetched' for me ;-) For years I've been hearing stories on how getting a perfect outcome from this recipe is nearly impossible! It even stated that the way to judge a good cook is by how he/she makes this recipe. So, it's no mystery on why I keep delaying doing it...Just reading the technique of getting the dough right is enuff to discourage me!!

You might be wondering what recipe am I talking about ehh?....What could it be that I actually need to pep myself up into doing it...Scones, my favorite snack and to those who knows me well, they will tell you that it sits way up in my ranking of good food!!! The mere mention of scones is enuff to make me daydream of the idyllic sidewalk cafes in the midst of London town....Imagine sitting in one of those cafes, basking in the scenery while sipping on a cup of tea & snacking on some scones with jam & butter...What a perfect, perfect day that will be for me...Sigh!

Back to reality, let me tell you it is not easy to get the perfect scone...A good scone should be crumbly and light...I had always loved scones and yesterday, or shall I say this morning (?!!), I decided that I've succumbed to my fears long enuff already...Like an army heading for battle, I 'geared' up & knead my very 1st batch of scones - at 1:30am!!...I was unsure if my techniques are correct but heck, 'no guts, no glory', rite?...

I knead, cut my dough, brush it with milk & bake it...Que sera sera, what will be, will be....And 15 minutes later, here's the outcome...Owh! Thanks to my great friend, RYSC, now I get to share all my cooking photos instantly with all of you as I was given the greatest gift for my birthday - my own DSLR!! Thanks so much RYSC!! 

As for my scones, in my own personal opinion, the taste is good but I think I've over kneaded it as the texture is not as fluffy and crumbly as what I would like it to be...Another good excuse for me to try it the next time ;-)

As usual, I love to put my own twist in every recipe that I've tried and I already have tonnes of ideas for this particular recipe...For now, my newly baked scones is yummy enuff for me to have it with butter and jam at 3am!!!!

By the way, on another note, to those who would like to try one of the best scones, please head up to Cameron Highland and try the scones at Bala's Chalet (http://www.balaschalet.com/). It's a bit pricey but I guess the price is inclusive of the wonderful experience that you are going to enjoy  there - a quiet and cool little nook surrounded by beautiful trees & flowers...I've tried scones mostly everywhere & Bala's is my personal favorite!

Bon appetite!

Ritz Comfort Food

After years of baking & cooking for friends, I recently received a non-stop urging from family members & friends about posting details and photos of food that is available for them to purchase...I have to admit this request is a bit so nail-biting for me as I've only been baking & cooking for my own consumption all these while...These days, each time I meet up with my friends, they keep asking me the same old question - "when will I post the details?!!!" I simply can't run away from their 'chanting' any longer and so, to fulfill their request, here it is, an introduction to "Ritz Comfort Food"...

Carrot Cake With Walnut & Cream Cheese Toppings

As everyone who knows me, I HATE VEGETABLES!!!! When I first heard about carrot cakes, I simply rolled my eyes!! It was my late mum who practically insisted ( several...several times!! ) that I try it & since then I'm hooked!!! But the one I tried didn't have the frosting that I like, so over the years, I have created my own version of carrot cake & cream cheese toppings...And here it is - a dedication to my mum ;-)

Almond Brownies With Chocolate Toppings

To those who is as crazy about chocolate as I am, this is the food that I crave for especially during rainy days...Imagine having a very chocolaty & nutty brownies with a hot cup of coffee...Yummy!!!

Orange Poppy Seed Cupcakes With Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

I'm crazyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy over cupcakes but honestly, the one I usually purchase, somehow is always so plain...As usual, I decided to try make my own twist & I came up with this...It's something orangy & the frosting is a bit lemonish...I love having this when I'm feeling down...A real booster for me!

Moist Chocolate Chip Cupcakes With Chocolate Ganache & White Chocs Toppings

A real treat to those chocolate lovers - very very chocolaty indeed!!

Vanilla Corn Muffins

A light snack which I love to have while watching tv @ dvds...A light vanilla flavor muffin with corn pieces inside.

Rock Cookies

A crunchy chocolate base cookies. I baked this for my last Hari Raya & was a hit among family & friends...

Honey & Nuts Cornflake Cookies

My version of the normal honey cornflakes biscuit...

Chocolate Chip Cookies

My family's favorite...A crunchy chocolaty cookies packed with lots of chocolate chips & pecan nuts.

Chocolate Cornflake Cookies

Another one of my family's favorite & a 'must have' EACH Hari Raya!!

Apart from the above, I do other kinds of food such like fried @ frozen popia, unfortunately I do not have the photo of it :-(

Well, to those interested to know more, please feel free to drop me a note at the 'comment box' or you can contact me at 012-9251292...If I do not pick up your call, please leave a message @ sms me as I might be in the kitchen - baking :-)

Baking Madness!!

Dear oh dear! To those who's wondering where the heck I've been, my apologies for not updating my blog for quite some time...

Yup! I was 'attacked' & 'possessed' by the BAKING VIRUS!!! You just wouldn't believe the hours I practically spend with my one & only loyal oven...Luv it! Luv it!!!

I practically had to tear myself away from my oven today as I have been receiving lots of 'complaints' from friends & family for not updating my blog...Sorry guys for being off radar...

Well, to make it up to you ( actually as proof that I WAS really attacked by the baking virus!! Ha..ha..ha.. ), here are some photos for your pleasure...

Remember I told you about the birthday cake that I made for my dad?...I went for a 'child' concept thus the free-hand childish kind of writing on the cake...Ha...ha...ha...

Then I got into this own 'home-schooling' thingy on how to decorate cakes...So, seriously, those 'off radar' moment, I actually was bz practicing decorating cakes...Remember that basket-weave pattern I tried to learn? Here's the result after several batches of wasting icing...Ha..ha..ha...

Come to think of it, you should really thank your lucky stars for not seeing me during those time! What a sight!!! Me with my hands full of icing, trying to figure out which tip does what pattern...The mess I did on the table!! Thank god my house wasn't attacked by antssssssssssssssssss!! Here's the latest photo of my carrot cake...Believe it or not, I actually received orders for it ;-)

As for my latest project - cupcakes ( I call it cuppies )...My, I had lots of fun doing this!! Would you believe it if I tell you that I was soooooooooooooooo into doing this I didn't even realized that I actually burnt the night away 'playing' with my cuppies...Imagine, at 2:00 am I got the urge to make cuppies & by the time I finish 'playing', the sun was already up!!! I wanted to try something new, so I did this orange poppy seed with lemon cheese frosting on it...Since the cake are orangie, I opt for something lemonish for the toping...Result? I think the cuppies turns out yummy - a good combination between orange & lemon I might say.

And as I love to have varieties when it comes to food, I even made myself moist choc chip cuppies with choc ganache & white choc toppings....Ha...ha...ha...Sounds so fancy ehhh?!!

A funny story though, I actually gave some of my cuppies to this Aunty who sells the bakery items...She had been so helpful to me all this years & I thought what better way to say thank you than to give her something that I baked...Guess what I received in the end?....A non-stop thank you, a smile that just warms my heart & 2 bags of Oreo cookies!!! I was practically on cloud nine yesterday...

My boxful of cuppies...

Recently I was invited to one of my close friend's house. It was her hubby's birthday & since I do not know what to get for a birthday gift, I made brownies...Unfortunately, I totally forgot to snap a photo of it :-P I hope they like my gift...

Well, time to start another project - Oreo Cheesecake...Yup! Gonna use that 2 bags of Oreo to good use ;-)

I do have tonnes of stories which I saved in my draft box...Lots of things to update yet so little time to edit it! Hope to be able to post it soon...

Oppss!! My oven is calling me...Gotta go!