Mango Sago Pudding

I was highly tempted by this recipe for Mango Sago Pudding shared by dearest Vanessa on the Culinary Kitchenette Facebook group's blog that I co-manage with my 4 dear girls. Do feel free to join us on this Facebook group (Culinary Kitchenette) if you're into baking and cooking and would love to share the joy with us! In any case, I managed to get 5 really fragrant mangoes from NTUC at just $4.20! With that, I was itching to cook some of this since the weather was kinda annoyingly warm and humid. 

It was a really fruitful day as I had a few items baked/cooked altogether!

1) Mango Sago Pudding (Cooked, not baked) 

These were some of the Mango Sago Pudding I had in ramekins!

2) Chantilly Chocolat

3) Mango Temptation

4) A whole load of Puteri Ayus

It was the very day I had my first of two examination papers completed and I need a rest. And what better way can I rest than to bake?  (:

This Mango Sago Pudding didn't appeal to the fav boy as he didn't like how thick it was. Guess having come from Hong Kong where desserts are pretty much the hype, this didn't meet his expectations. Then again, I pretty liked it when I had it as it was bursting with flavour! So, here's the recipe for Mango Sago Pudding.. give it a try and let me know if you like it! 

This recipe is pretty manageable.. just that it requires quite a fair bit of your attention next to the stove. I'd rate it a 2 out of 5 in terms of difficulty. Also, I took about an hour to prepare everything and another hour to chill it before enjoying it.

Mango Temptation

I was working on the Chantilly Chocolat when I decided to experiment with something new. Inspired from many of the cookbooks I have, I decided to do a mousse-type cake combined with a soft fluffy sponge and a tangy mango topping. So with some experimentation, I present to you my Mango Temptation! 

This cake is so much fun to bake and of course, being the mango addict I am, how am I to pass up on a lovely cake like this? 

This takes about 2 hours to bake and assemble, excluding time for the mango topping to set towards the end. I'd rate it a difficulty level 3 out of 5. 

Chantilly Chocolat

This Chantilly Chocolat was baked for a friend of a friend's birthday. Am really glad that the cake was well received. This cake combines the best of a soft fluffy sponge cake, chocolate ganache and Chantily Cream.

This cake takes bout 2 hours in all to bake and assemble and I'd rate it at a difficulty of 3 out of 5.

This is how the cake is when it's cut. Beautiful isn't it? Click on to find out how you can bake this cake. 

No Machine Whisk Earl Grey Chiffon Cake

So instead of the usual Fluffy Pandan Chiffon Cake that I usually bake, I decided to try an Earl Grey Chiffon Cake. Being lazy to bring out the machine whisk, I decided to use this tool that I've had for some time that I to bake this No Machine Whisk Earl Grey Chiffon Cake. 

Yes, you got me right. NO MACHINE WHISK. This recipe and method uses a special tool. Click on to read more! 

This recipe is relatively manageable and I'd rate it a 3 out of 5 for difficulty and it should take about 1 h 15 mins in all to prepare and bake. 

Rainbow Pushpops

Pushpops. These totally remind me of pushup ice-cream from my younger days. These have been the hype of late and since I was baking some Red Velvet ones, I baked these Rainbow Pushpops since they were on my list too. These are really fun to bake and assemble simply cos' colours are just my thing. Colours just make everything, well, almost everything so much better.

In addition, this cake tastes really good. It's a Vanilla bean butter cake which allows colour to 'catch on' pretty well. This took me about 2 hours in all to complete and I'd rate it a 3 out of 5 for difficulty. 

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cupcakes. Where should I begin? This cupcake has been so highly requested by many. So here's a tutorial for a really simple Red Velvet Cupcake that doesn't require much effort. You don't even need an electronic mixer for this! This recipe is totally manageable without it. A sturdy spatula is all you need. I adapted this recipe from one that Karen Yee shared.  

This recipe will take you about 1h 15 minutes to 1 h 30 minutes to prepare and I'm rating it a 2 out of 5 for difficulty level.

Red Velvet Pushpops

I've always been very fascinated by these pushpops I've seen in many websites online and I've been dying to try them out for myself. Since I was baking some Red Velvet Cupcakes and had some of these containers, I decided to give it a try. These pushpop containers remind me of these push up ice creams I used to have as a kid! 

Indeed, these ice creams were awesome even though they were messy. I doubt they're being sold anymore now though. Maybe I should do a ice-cream pushpop tutorial too! In any case, this tutorial will show you how to assemble the awesomest Red Velvet Pushpops.

This recipe will take about 1.5 to 2 hours in all to bake and assemble and I rate it a 3/5 for difficulty level. (: 

Strawberry Roll 草莓卷

I was having this huge urge to bake but I had no eggs at home as I've used up my entire supply this week! I was brainstorming for all sorts of stuff that didn't quite need eggs. Just then, I received a text from dearest Sharron! She asked if I could help her bake a Swiss Roll for her girls.. and so I thought, why not? She delivered the eggs to me and I started baking the cake. 

This cake is similar to the Ribbon Swiss Roll I did but just slightly thinner. This cake is so fluffy and soft that it's kinda unimaginable that it was baked without any of those cake stabalisers/improvers that I dread and will not use. So this cake is relatively simple to bake and it takes slightly less than an hour in all to bake. 

Meringue Roses

I had this craving for meringue droplets for the longest time ever. It's just this craving for something sweet that's light but yet crunchy! I got home pretty late from our Happily Ever After pre-marriage prep course from church so I decided to bake some and let them cook as I work on some stuff before bed. So here they are, my Meringue Roses! (:

Lemon Chocolate Tart

So I've FINALLY completed my last classes and assignments in school and I'm just left with 2 examinations before I graduate. This is just about the moment I've been waiting for. After all, 4 years of teaching training is tough and I can't wait to complete my training. It has been really tough and filled with challenges and I'm pretty glad that I'm almost done.

On a lighter note, Billy and I were featured in NTUC's NEXT Magazine, April 2013 issue! It's been about 1.5 years since I've started blogging and indeed, this is like a huge milestone to me. It's little things like this (Okay, maybe more than little) that keeps me going. The many emails and comments I get from those who love reading this blog too keeps me going! (:

So, back to the topic, this Lemon Chocolate Tart was baked to commemorate my 'partial' graduation. This tart is just firm and crunchy while the lemon curd is tangy and the chocolate mousse is all rich. And this tart is just so pretty to boot! This project took me about 2 hours and I'd grade it a level 3 out of 5 for difficulty.