Black Forest Cake with Pavlova

Yesterday, a friend requested for me to bake a special cake for her. It was a combination of Black Forest Cake (naked style) and a pavlova! It was my first attempt and I'm glad it turned out well! 

I had no intention to write the recipe initially but since it was requested by many, here I am writing it. I did not photograph the process of the cake but I'll try to be as detailed in the instructions as I can!

This cake is rather easy but yet difficult at the same time so I'd rate it a difficulty level 3 out of 5. It took me 2 hours on the night before assembly and another 1 on the day of assembly. 

Agedashi Tofu

As I had oil left over from frying food for our lunch, it was such a waste to toss it away. I decided to fry some Agedashi Tofu for tea! This is by no means the authentic way it is prepared in Japan. This is my easy version of it and the hubby and I love it very much! Most of the ingredients here can be found in Daiso! (: 

This recipe merely takes 15 minutes to put together and I'd rate it a difficulty level 2 out of 5. 

Your almost complete guide to Taobao Shopping (Updated 16 Oct 2016)

So Taobao is like really AMAZING. Ever since I started about 3-4 years back, I've been addicted to it on and off.. I've gotten many things from Taobao, ranging from stuff for our wedding (like artificial flowers for our bridesmaid to hair accessories), to baking stuff... to clothes.. and even furniture. More often than not, Taobao offers items that are cheaper than what's sold in Singapore. Also, Taobao offers things that cannot be found in Singapore, like pretty cake boxes. 

Taobao has pretty much everything one can imagine. So with what I've gathered through my experience, here's a Taobao Tutorial teaching you how to get started, right down to every detail! (: 

[Do check out the Taobao Directory I've gathered based on what I've purchased..]

What I'm sharing is what I'd call direct shipping.. This applies to using Taobao's appointed forwarders to bring items in by air. This bypasses the need for an agent. This is generally applicable to items you need soon (as opposed to sea shipping which can take weeks) or items that are light and those that do not exceed the limit for length.. For bulky items, I'd recommend agents (which I'll explain down the road).. 

So you'd first need to get started by setting up an account! Generally, you'd more or less need to be able to read a little mandarin or use Google Translate to play around a bit.. 

As this blog post is INSANELY long, click on to read more! 

313 Food Trail & Tring 313 App

2 Saturdays ago, I was invited to 313 for a food trail! I'm so behind time with my blog posts XD (That's what work has been doing to me! I barely have the strength to bake too! ):)

In any case, I had so much fun with 9 other food bloggers and we were so well fed! We visited many food eateries in 313 and I was pretty surprised at the number of good eateries there were in 313.. to think I only ate from the quick eateries at the basement whenever I pass by and need a quick bite.. I'm also gonna introduce the Tring 313 apps that brings you many promotions by the mall! 

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.