Bubur Hitam / Black Glutinous Rice Dessert

Bubur Hitam has always been something I have loved since I was a little child. It's one of the rare hot dessert that I fancy. When several friends around me started cooking them, I decided to try it with my thermal cooker too. 

I adapted the recipe from Kenneth but the quantity of water in his recipe did not work for me so I made adjustments. It was tasty though! I gave some to my neighbours and brought the rest to my mum's to share after dinner. 

The dessert is best drizzled with some coconut milk! 

I took some bread I baked today along with my entire thermal cooker to keep the bubur hitam warm. 

UNA Summer Series Sunday Brunch

Last Sunday, I was invited to Brunch at UNA. The UNA Summer Series Sunday Brunch features a good range of Spanish food and tapas. It was a really lovely brunch to wrap up the June holidays and to prepare for Term 3. 

Such a lovely venue!

The menu! 

I love how comfy and cosy the venue was (:

Desserts at STELLAR @ 1-Altitude

2 weeks ago, I had the honour of visiting STELLAR @ 1-Altitude for a dessert session with Chef Jasmin. First of all, the view was spectacular. I  had a bird's eye view of the city while we learned how to plate desserts. 

This would indeed be a lovely place to dine.. (I should visit soon!)

This made me somewhat really happy! heh! 

The ingredients and gadgets were set up for us.

Cynthia's Mango Mousse Cake with a twist

After the Durian Cake I did for my dad on Sunday, I made a Mango Mousse Cake for my fil, but with a twist. I used a chocolate sponge in place of the plain sponge and I also did a matcha wall, my first attempt at such a cake.

I love the cross section of the cake very very much! It was much prettier than I thought it would be (: 

  

The matcha wall is a swiss roll made of sponge cake and I had a simple design piped for it.. It was pretty tricky working on it but I love every bit of it. 

This cake is tricky and I'd rate it a difficulty level 4 out of 5.. It took about 3 hours all in all to complete. 

Belgian Waffles

I've been itching to buy a waffle/sandwich/grill/donut machine for a while now and I finally settled for a grill and waffle one today. The hubby "complained" that he'll have A LOT of waffles to eat from now on.. especially since I have the machine now.. just like how I was crazy over macarons for a period of time (I still am okay!)... 

So I seasoned my pan and made waffles for the hubby and I for dessert after dinner! I used the recipe from Taste Of Home and halved it.. It yielded about 6 waffles with half the recipe. It took about 30 minutes to whip up 6 waffles and I'd rate it a difficulty level 3 out of 5. 

Cynthia's Durian Cake

Yesterday was father's day and I was gonna have dinner with my family. I wanted to bake something my dad really likes. He loves durians.. and so does my family.. but the hubby really hates it.. I baked a durian cake anyway cos the durians I found in NTUC were really good! And I got a good deal, 5 boxes for 15 dollars! *poor hubby!*

I did the cake when the hubby was out at work.. I did air the house and place charcoal everywhere to absorb the smell.. We had the cake after dinner and dad was pleased.. He enjoyed the cake and it sure made it all worthwhile :) I was really generous with the durian.. YUMS! 

The cross section of the cake! (: 

I also did a batch of Ribena Vitagen Cheesecakes for a friend.. Taking 2 boxes of heavy cakes out was insane.. >.< 

I wanted to decorate the cake with durian but it wouldn't be pretty unless I did it durian-in-shell style.. so I decorated it with some fresh strawberries, mangoes and strawberry sticks.

This recipe yields a 9" cake and takes about 2.5 hours to bake. I'd rate it a difficulty level 3 out of 5. 

Earl Grey Macarons (Chocolate Ganache variety)

My love for baking macarons is still raging. I was inspired to bake some Earl Grey Macarons last night and even though I was 'free' only at 9pm after cleaning the house (Boy do I love clean floors!), I decided to get baking! 

These darlings were great to eat.. love the little bit of Earl Grey flavour in each bite.. 

This recipe takes about 2 hours in all to bake and I'd rate it a difficulty level 4 out of 5. 

Cheesy Baked Rice (Campbell sauce)

My mil (ma) came over yesterday morning.. I invited her to stay for lunch (: 

I baked a Cheesy Baked Rice as inspired by Mrs Minty Cream. She has an easy way of baking a baked rice with Campbell's cream sauce! (: I love the rice when it was piping hot and oozing with cheese.. I also had fun playing with my new individual portioned baking dish.. 

This recipe took about 1.5 hours in all to prepare and I'd rate it a difficulty level 3 out of 5.