Toolbox Birthday Cake

it's tool time!

Here's a cake I never expected to be asked to make! A Toolbox Birthday cake for Sunday School kids to celebrate June birthdays! The reason why a toolbox cake was requested was because the theme of the month is tools. In line with the theme, the kids have been divided into 4 teams - Screwdriver, Spanner, Hammer and Plier. So the cake had to feature these four tools. I had to google images of the tools to get a closer look,which was a whole heap easier than digging out hubby's toolbox... I was so relieved that the sugarpaste 'behaved' and took about four days to dry out and harden completely. It was fun!



the view from above

C & L's lovely May Wedding

the wedding cake with the cheeky cake topper

This was what I was busy with for the better part of April up till the beginning of May! I was so stoked to have been asked by C and L to bake their wedding cake and cookie favors. The wedding was beautiful and refreshingly different from the colour theme (olive green) to the dinner celebration at Passion Road.



up close

The couple opted for three different flavors for the three tiers - the bottom tier was chocolate fudge, the middle tier was vanilla and the topmost tier was a fruitcake.


the cake table


monogrammed double-hearts sugar cookie favors



I managed to take some photos of Passion Road where the wedding dinner was held before everyone arrived as I had to be there really early with the cake. It's a bungalow in Lorong Yap Kwan Seng converted into a romantic function venue with lavish use of teak, drapery and lush greens.


the entrance




chairs and tables set up in the front yard



entrance to the main dining area


a very creative arrangement of lamps

My recent creation

Sorry folks for the longish silence...Easter came and went in a haze of trying to get hot cross buns right but alas...this was not to be...For a change, I restrained myself from going into a baking-cooking frenzy for our Easter picnic! Got the hubby to get some supersized Homi curry puffs (a meal in themselves!) to bring to the picnic.

Anyway, back to the cake... The top-tier is vanilla and bottom is chocolate fudge. The cake is covered in fondant (sugarpaste) and decorated with sugarpaste cutouts. I was using my new Wilton fondant rolling pin for this project which did the job perfectly!

Organic Soft Tofu

This organic soft tofu that I started buying is just absolutely delicious. It is the most tofu tasting tofu that I have eaten!lol. I would, describe it as tofu 'kau' meaning it has a concentrated soy flavour, like homemade soy milk. This brand of organic tofu is made by Anzen and I found it at Village Grocer, Bangsar Village.




Here's an easy tofu recipe:




Steamed Soft Tofu with Bonito Flakes

1 tub of organic soft tofu
1 tsp of dark soy sauce
3 tsp of light soy sauce
1 tbspn of bonito flakes

1) Prepare wok for steaming and place on heat.
2) Remove tofu from tub and place in dish for steaming.
3) Drizzle the dark and light soy sauces over the tofu.
4) Lastly sprinkle the bonito flakes over the seasoned tofu.
5) Steam briefly for 3 minutes.
Serve immediately.

Chewy Oatmeal Cranberry-Raisin Walnut Cookies

chewy goodness down to the last crumb...

This Chewy Oatmeal Cranberry Raisin Cookie has just become the latest addition to my list of comfort foods. Some of you may be thinking, have you been under a rock all this time?? Well, being Malaysian Chinese, our after-school snacks were not a glass of milk with a cookie at all. In fact for most of us, it was just come home and have a lunch of either rice or noodles! But I did ocassionally have 'afternoon tea' (part of our British Colonial heritage)- a glass of Milo with some cream crackers... When we went over to visit in the evenings, my maternal grandma would brew this fragrant local coffee (Stag brand) mix in some powdered milk ('Everyday' Milk) for the kids and give us some cream crackers to dip in. Yummy. Heh, those were the 'unenlightened' days when it was acceptable to let kids drink coffee.

But I digress. This cookie is, obviously, chewy on first bite, the butter in it gives it a wonderful flavour and aroma. Then, as you slowly munch, the molasses in the brown sugar gives the cookie this indescribably satisfying taste that leaves you wanting more. Then there will be the bursts of fruitiness from the dried fruit and the walnut just adds more oomph.

I came across this recipe in Joy of Cooking. Upon reading it, there appeared nothing particularly special about the recipe - just your average oatmeal raisn cookie recipe... I've seen more 'complicated' recipes calling for a mix of shortening and butter or even shortening alone (to create a crispier cookie) for the fat portion of the recipe and some asking for a mix of white sugar and brown sugar. But there is just something about this cookie! I used Country Farm Organics Organic Regular Rolled Oats as I had some on hand.

Chewy Oatmeal Cranberry-Raisin Walnut Cookies
(adapted from Joy of Cooking's Oatmeal Raisin Monsters recipe)

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup cranberries
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit.
2) Beat the butter and sugar till light-coloured.
3) Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well each time.
4) Add the vanilla.
5) Mix in till just combined, the oats, flour, baking soda and salt.
6) Stir in the raisins, cranberries and walnuts.
7) Using a 1/4 cup for each cookie, drop dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown. Cool on racks.

Makes about 15 3-inch cookies.

Where to find Specialty Flours, Mixes and gluten-free products in KL

Ever since I became a happy owner of a bread maker, I've been lingering at the organic/health food aisles in supermarkets and shops. It's really been fun learning about the different flours and new (to me) ingredients (Triticale! Spelt! Psyllium Husks!). I'm still on my journey of discovery, but would like to share the little that I've discovered over the past month.

Where to find:

Bob's Red Mill Specialty flours
like rye flour, unbleached pastry flour, Vital Wheat Gluten*, gluten free flour, muffin mixes, waffle mixes, gluten-free waffle mixes etc.
Leda Minton's Gluten-free, Casein-free Biscuits (like Tim Tams) and Choculence biscuits.
- Village Grocer, Bangsar Village.
* I've found that Vital Wheat Gluten is supposed to be the natural alternative to the bread improver.(the chemically derived bread improver is said to be carcinogenic and may exarcerbate ADD symptoms in kids). Vital Wheat Gluten helps to trap more gas within baking breads to achieve softer bread texture. Bob's Red Mill site has got useful product information and recipes!

Giusto's unbleached organic all-purpose and pastry flour (packaged under CFO's packaging with the words "Processed by Giusto's"), CFO brand organic flours, brans,
-Country Farm Organics, Bangsar Village.
CFO's gluten-free range available at the Bangsar Village outlet is quite disappointing. They only had a muffin mix and some cookie mix if my memory serves me right.

Orgran's Gluten-free bread, muffin and cake mixes, gluten-free dried pastas, (Oz company Orgran also offer health bars). Body Basics seem to stock the most variety of Orgran products. They also stock GfG which is what I understand to be the gluten-free equivalent of Vital Wheat gluten.
- Body Basics, Grd Floor, Bangsar Shopping Complex.

That's all the stuff I have for now... Would anyone care to add to the my 'findings'? I'd be happy to hear from you in my comments box...Thanks!

Hot New Potatoes!

My ever-generous sister-in-law lugged these beautiful new potatoes all the way back from London (Sainsbury's to be exact). I'll never forget the time she brought back Krispy Kremes from London, long before any of us in KL had even got hooked on donuts. Imagine my chagrin (to put it mildly) when my never-heard-of-Krispy-Kremes-then husband told me that he had turned down her offer to bring one home for me to try.



These potatoes are of the waxy variety, meaning that they hold their form well when boiled and roasted unlike Russet potatoes (which are floury) which literally dissolve into the boiling water over time. So they needed very little fussing over being tasty and fun to eat (each small one being almost thumb-sized or abit larger). Just boil them up in mildly salted water for about 10 minutes, drain, a good splash of olive oil and a sprinkling of seasalt then bung em into a hot oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. The crispy skins are a right treat to eat and the insides are soft and mealy.


We had them with Double-dipped Panko Fried Fish and a salad.
The only time double-dipping is socially acceptable : )



Double-dipped Panko Fried Fish

About 400g sole (cut into 4 pieces)
Salt and pepper
1 cup or slightly more Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
2 eggs, beaten

oil for deep frying

1) Pat dry washed sole pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
2) Heat pan with oil for deep frying.
3) Dip the fish pieces one at a time in the beaten egg. Then coat the fish with the panko. Dip the panko coated fish pieces in the egg again and then the panko one more time before lowering gently into the hot oil to fry.
4) Fry till the underside is golden, then turn and fry briefly before removing from the oil. Repeat till all fish pieces have been cooked.
5) Drain on kitchen towels before serving.

Serves 4.