Cynthia's Hazelnut Layers

I've always loved Four Leaves' Coco Exotic but it's so mightily costly at $3.60 a slice! I love the crunchy fellutine base as well as the hazelnut flavours. I've been putting this project off for a while due to the haze. But as the skies cleared a little and I'm gaining freedom for weekday nights once again, I embarked on this rendition of Cynthia's Hazelnut Layers. It's inspired by Coco Exotic but I added my own twist to it.

It's relatively manageable as it's generally a mousse cake with little cake layers. It took me about 2 hours in all to complete it and I'd rate it a difficulty level 3 out of 5. 

Cheesy Hotdog Rolls (Baked)

The weather in Singapore has been really bad of late thanks to the slash-and-burn forest fires taking place in neighbouring Indonesia. The PSI levels have rocketed to a sky high of 400+, one of the first in Singapore history. It's moments like this where people go into frenzy and snap masks of ANY kind and air purifiers off the shelves. With some mean people even snapping up stocks and then reselling for sky high prices. 

The haze hasn't been too friendly to me as my respiratory track's sensitive. My eyes would water and I'd get dizzy from inhaling all that 'smoky air'.. I couldn't put on my contact lenses this morning and it stung my eyes to do so.. my plans to bake have also been pushed away as my kitchen is barely 'protected' from the harmful air. It's been a little better today. The PSI levels and PM 2.5 levels are lower but I know it's only temporal. Sooner or later, it'll come back soon and there's pretty much no signs of it letting down as yet as the hotspots burning in Indonesia show no signs of decrease. Doesn't help that it's one of the driest months around too. 

Nevertheless, inspired by a friend in the facebook cooking & baking group I'm in, I whipped up this simple snack for my sis and I. A almost guiltless treat. Baked instead of deep-fried, these Cheesy Hotdog Rolls are the perfect treat for any day when you're kinda hungry and craving for something good! 

These are so simple and almost effortless they I'd rate them a difficulty level 1 out of 5 and it takes merely 15 minutes or so to complete them!

Hello Kitty Giveaway! (Ends 27 June 2014)

So, these little darlings from Mcdonalds Singapore have been the rave! They're a little like the millennium rage altogether.. just that they're smaller, flatter and a whole lot cuter!

These were those that caused congestion, overnight queues, food wastage and even fights outside McDonalds!

Well, I got my set from Hong Kong last year when I was there with the fav boy and his family. 

This owl is my prized possession and coincidentally my favourite of the lot!

Singapore launched them this year and the Witch and Singing Bones were what I did not get from Hong Kong. I'm totally looking forward to purchase the Singing Bones since I've already gotten the Witch!

So as you've known.. I've been blogging for quite a bit and since I have an extra box of LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD Kitty, I've decided to do a giveaway!

1 lucky winner will 'walk'away with 1 Singapore version of the Little Red Riding Hood Hello Kitty!

So the steps to participate in this giveaway are really simple. 

1) Like The Baking Biatch on Facebook

2) Share this picture on Facebook

2) Leave a comment on this blog entry completing this sentence.. "I would love to win this Hello Kitty because...." and leave your name and country!

Of course, share it with your friends so everyone may have a chance to win!

Giveaway is open to ALL readers of ALL countries. I will bear the cost of the postage. 

Giveaway ends 23:59. 27 June 2013 (Singapore Time)

Result of giveaway will be announced on The Baking Biatch's facebook page on 29 June 2013 so keep a look out to see if you've won! (: 

Have fun! (: 

Nyonya Rice Dumpling (with tutorial)

Nyonya Dumplings.. or any sorts of rice dumplings  are my absolute favourite. They're the kinda thing I can eat just about every day.. (I think I've too many favourite food!) I had the luxury to learn them last year and I'm glad that I've tried wrapping them and cooking them from scratch this year all by myself. 

I took reference from Annie's recipe from Annielicious. 

These rice dumplings aren't the easiest of thing to cook and make due to the work that goes into the cooking of meat... the boiling of leaves.. the cleaning of leaves (each and every one of it!), the wrapping of the rice dumplings  and the long hours taken to boil it. But trust me.. these are worth every bit of the 2 day process. 

I took about 2 hours to cut & cook the filling.. Another 1 hour to boil the leaves.. Overnight soaking of rice.. 2 hours to wipe the leaves, 1 hour to wrap the rice dumplings.. 2 hours to boil them and an hour to cool them. Well, you get the idea (: I'd rate it a difficulty level 4 out of 5. 

Panda Loaf Tutorial

This Panda Loaf is so adorable that it's almost irresistible. This recipe and tutorial will show you how to shape the panda loaf. A word of caution though... such sculpted loafs' design is dependent on how you shape your bread. Even if you were to follow this recipe and tutorial, you may not get the exact same size of eyes/ears etc for your bread. But then again, that's the fun of such loaf breads!

So this recipe takes about 4 hours in all to prepare. I used a Kenwood BM 250 bread machine to mix my dough but you can use the same recipe for your bread machine or stand mixer. I'd rate it a difficulty level 4 out of 5. 

Time with Cynthia: Colouring whipping cream

So here's a video tutorial to show you how you can colour whipping cream to your desired colour.

I'd love to see the bakes or stuff you've cooked using the blog's recipe! Do share photos of stuff you've baked or cooked using the blog's recipe with me either via FB message to http://facebook.com/limcynthia OR http://facebook.com/thebakingbiatch OR via email at cynthia.lim.hl@gmail.com! I look forward to hearing from you! (: 

Time with Cynthia: Wrapping Rice Dumplings

Here's a video tutorial to show you how you can wrap a rice dumpling!

*Please forgive the 'slantedness' of the video! 

I'd love to see the bakes or stuff you've cooked using the blog's recipe! Do share photos of stuff you've baked or cooked using the blog's recipe with me either via FB message to http://facebook.com/limcynthia OR http://facebook.com/thebakingbiatch OR via email at cynthia.lim.hl@gmail.com! I look forward to hearing from you! (: 

Time with Cynthia: Whisking non-dairy whipping cream

Here's a video tutorial to show you what to look out for when whisking non-dairy whipping cream to stiff peaks.

I'd love to see the bakes or stuff you've cooked using the blog's recipe! Do share photos of stuff you've baked or cooked using the blog's recipe with me either via FB message to http://facebook.com/limcynthia OR http://facebook.com/thebakingbiatch OR via email at cynthia.lim.hl@gmail.com! I look forward to hearing from you! (: 

Time with Cynthia: Slicing Cake Layers

Here's a video tutorial to show you how you can slice sponge cake into layers (:

*Please forgive the chipped nail colours!

I'd love to see the bakes or stuff you've cooked using the blog's recipe! Do share photos of stuff you've baked or cooked using the blog's recipe with me either via FB message to http://facebook.com/limcynthia OR http://facebook.com/thebakingbiatch OR via email at cynthia.lim.hl@gmail.com! I look forward to hearing from you! (: 

Time with Cynthia: Poaching an egg

Love runny poached eggs? Then you're bound to love this method of poaching eggs that gets you a beautifully poached egg in under 5 minutes.

You'll only need fresh eggs, vinegar & hot water. It's that simple!

Here are the simple steps: 

1) Boil the water or use hot water from a kettle.

2) Bring the water to a simmering boil (small fire).

3) Crack your FRESH egg into a clean bowl. (Use fresh eggs as they poach better)

4) To the small pot of water, add a tablespoon of vinegar and stir well. 

5) Create a gentle whirlpool by stirring the water in the pot in one direction. 

6) Gently pour the egg into the pot. 

7) Allow egg to cook for 3 minutes.

8) Remove using a slotted spoon/sieve to drain away most of the water.

9) Place egg into a basin/bowl of iced water (This is optional. I did not do this step)

10) Drain egg on pieces of kitchen towel.

11) Pat dry with kitchen towel gently before serving.

Here's a video to help you visualise it better! (:

Enjoy your poached egg! (:

I'd love to see the bakes or stuff you've cooked using the blog's recipe! Do share photos of stuff you've baked or cooked using the blog's recipe with me either via FB message to http://facebook.com/limcynthia OR http://facebook.com/thebakingbiatch OR via email at cynthia.lim.hl@gmail.com! I look forward to hearing from you! (: 

Eggless Tiramisu

This is a simple yet great-tasting recipe for an Eggless Tiramisu. It omits the raw eggs but uses mascarpone cheese. Pretty smart move I must say! Having made this many times, I feel that canned Nescafe coffee works better than home-made coffee (: The recipe calls for Baileys but feel free to replace it with any liquor of your choice! (: 

*Updated 20 Nov 2013

The EGGLESS in this recipe refers to the omission of raw eggs unlike what most recipes call for. If you're looking at a totally egg free version for someone who's allergic to eggs or a vegetarian, may I suggest baking your own ladies' fingers. I have yet to try baking them so I shan't recommend any recipes. But do a quick google search, you'd be able to find a couple of them like I did! Alternatively, you may replace it with an eggless sponge cake. So there you go, a solution if you'd like to have a totally eggless rendition of a lovely Tiramisu!

Updated 31 December 2013

Check out this link for the video tutorial!

The quantity for the Tiramisu shown in this video tutorial is the same as what you see in this image tutorial, just that it is being made in a 5.5" square cake 'ring'.

This is a hit to those many friends and family I've shared this with! 

ppppst... here's another tub I made in early September 2013!

And another in Nov 2013...

It sure looks good packed in the container!

This recipe is really simple so I'm rating it a 2 out of 5 stars in terms of difficulty. It takes about 15 minutes to whip up the entire dish.

Chocolat Surprise

A rich Secret Recipe-alike Ganache covering a cake with luxurious chocolate cream and chocolate sponge cake. Within it hides fresh seasonal mango cubes. What's there not to like? This was baked for Adrian as a secret surprise birthday gift which I delivered to his office in church. 

This recipe takes about 3 hours in all to put together and I'd rate it a 3 out of 5 in terms of difficulty. 

Rainbow Cake II

This weekend marks the end of my first week in school. Its been great so far being back to where I feel I belong: being a teacher. It has been challenging in terms of time management as I struggle to sleep early and wake up at 5am to get ready for school. Being a night owl (with a family of owls who don't sleep early), I struggle to sleep early. Anything before 12 midnight is not the norm in my household! But no such late nights for me any more as it would mean very few hours of sleep every night! Adjusting is indeed tough.

Nevertheless, I'm thankful that God has granted me with a great working environment that is coincidentally that fav boy's primary school that he used to attend! God has indeed a great sense of humour! 

In any case, I baked a cake for Rui En's first birthday party which was held at Downtown East Resort. This place sure brings back loads of memories. It's like the place for 'birthdays and celebrations', Singapore style. The favourite boy and I attended the party and the place sure brings back loads of memories. Anyway, this is the second rendition of the Rainbow Cake with a different recipe from the first one. 

I made a Hello Kitty cake with this 10" square rainbow cake as a base with a 7" carved Hello Kitty cake on top. This tutorial & recipe will be for the rainbow cake layer below (: I did a total of 7 layers for this cake..

This cake will take about 2 - 3 hours to bake depending on your speed and I'd rate it a difficulty level 4 out of 5.