Quick Tiramisu

You would have read and probably tried many versions of Tiramisu, the Italian dessert...the Classic, the Traditional, the Authentic...if you like coffee, chilled creamy dessert with a hint liquer...you'll like Tiramisu. 


(For those who may know about Tiramisu, you can check it out in the Wikipedia about its origin, history and the actual preparation).


I actually hesitated posting Tiramisu (not another one!), though I've made it a number of times over the years. This is my easy and quick version, without raw-eggs and can be prepared ahead and kept chilled in the fridge, till ready to serve.

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Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all my friends.

I dedicate this Tiramisu to all of you.and I hope you have a wonderful day with your family and loved ones. Moms these days, juggle a career and family successfully, have time with their friends, blogging to stay in touch with the friends far and wide...and still be beautiful inside and out. I salute all women & supermoms.

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Coffee Hazelnut Bites

I found Malaysians and some Asians are tempted by the aroma of coffee in their drinks, chilled dessert and baked goods. Probably that's why you see many Cafes mushrooming in addition to the traditional kopitiams.  And, I too began to include this flavor in some of my stuff and found it somewhat pleasing. I admit that coffee is growing on me… hmmm, am I turning to be a coffee person? J

Perhaps I shall experiment more…

I made some Coffee Hazelnut Bites last year for Chinese New Year and received favorable comments. Here’s the recipe, which I have made some adjustments.

Coffee Hazelnut Bites

(Coffee Hazelnut Cookies, original recipe by Chef William Tan)

175g butter

100g caster sugar

1 egg yolk

2/3 tbsp instant coffee powder dissolved in 1½ tbsp of boiling water (I use Nescafe classic)

45g ground hazelnut

225g + 2 tbsp self-rising flour

15g chocolate chips

1.      Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy.

2.      Beat in egg yolk, coffee mixture.

3.      Stir in ground hazelnut

4.      Mix in flour till combined.

5.       Using a teaspoon, spoon dough, press and insert in 3 pcs of chocolate chips. Arrange on a greased baking sheet.

6.      Bake at 170C for 15 minutes. (I usually remove the tray after giving it 5 minutes once I the aromatic smell of coffee started reaching me). Do not overbake.

7.      Cool on wire tray and store in air-tight container.

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Coffee Cake

I enjoyed this Christmas very much probably because I baked more than I did the previous year. I injured my arm in late 2008 but have since recovered, somewhat. Hehehe...I enjoyed probably because I ate a lot too the past few weeks. Oh my, it's going to be tough with Chinese New Year barely 5 weeks away... how can I resist the festive food?

Here's some of the Xmas stuff... mouth-watering stuff! I made 2 small 6” cakes and presented 1 to my friend for Christmas this year. A white cream cake with chocolate & strawberries are normally kids favourite. I think I didn’t do too good a job on the decoration but we love the chunky & tart strawberries and chocolate combined with coffee sponge cake.

(This Coffee Cake decorated with chocolate shavings was given to a friend)

Sponge Cake

1 packet sponge-cake mix 250g

Eggs, water and melted butter, please follow instruction per packet

1 tsp of mocha or coffee paste

Topping & Cream filling

350g Rich’s Gold Label Whip Topping

2-3 tbsp of ice-cold water

100g strawberries, hulled and cut into small chunks

75g dark chocolate

2 tbsp double cream

2 tsp of butter

1-2 tsp fresh milk

1.      Prepare sponge cake as per instruction. Beat all ingredients in a mixing bowl till soft and fluffy. Add in mocha paste and continue beating till well combined.

2.      Pour in (2 x 6” round pans) or 1 pan of 9”. Lined bottom with baking paper and lightly grease the sides.

3.      Bake at 180C for 35-40 minutes till golden brown and when the cake has pulled slightly away from the sides of pan.

4.      Remove from oven, gently remove from pan and set to cool on wire tray.

5.       Once cooled, chill in the fridge while we set to prepare the whipped topping and chocolate fillings

6.      In a double boiler method, melt chocolate, cream and butter, stir till combined, add milk little by little. Let cool, thicken slightly but enough for spreading & piping but not harden at all.

7.      Whip Topping : Beat whip topping and iced water, in a chilled mixing bowl and beater, till lines start appearing. (Do not overbeat)

8.      Remove the cake from the fridge and slice across into 2 layers.

9.      Decorate with cream, add strawberry chunks and melted chocolate, as desired. Or, you can add chocolate shavings too.

I hope you have enjoyed eating as much as I did during the holidays. :-D

By the way, this is my present from my Hubby... nope, not the Estee Lauder... but I was also eyeing this CUPCAKE by Joanna Farrow when we visited the bookstore the last 2 times. :-)

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Mocha Cupcakes

I have this ‘thing’ to try coffee-something… hahaha, no, I’m not pregnant! Just a yearning to make some stuff with coffee or coffee-flavoured something-something. It’s not a stress thing, it’s the year-end, Christmas is coming, New Year is coming and my “Bosses” are also in holiday mood, as I am… J

While browsing the net, this gorgeous looking cupcake from MyBakingAddiction.com caught my eyes and I just knew I gotta try. If you check up Jamie’s site, you’ll know what I mean…all the cupcakes are just so yummilicious-looking. Thanks Jamie - your pics got me craving for more...hahaha!

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A nostalgic trip to Central Market and Petaling Street

After a failed trip to Hibiscus Garden (Taman Bunga Raya) in Taman Tasik Perdana which was closed for 2 days, 20-21 Sept for Hari Raya. We decided to head over to Central Market, the local centre for handicrafts, batiks and souvenirs, which is just about 1 km away. Driving in the city is relaxing on public holiday morning, when there were merely a handful of cars on the road.

It was still early, barely 10am, the centre has not fully woken up yet. As Max complained he was hungry, despite having oats and milk for breakfast this morning at 8am, we stopped by Old Town Central Market for breakfast part 2.

We ordered a Double Oldtown Toast with butter & kaya (4 pcs) for Max and thought of trying out Nan Yang Kopi ‘O’ and Rendang Chicken Rice.

The toast is crispy, toast crunch with real buttery (Old Town has partnered with pure butter, SCS) and sweet kaya spread. Max finished 2 slices and was starting on his 3^rd when he spied the Rendang Chicken rice his Dad was just tucking in. Sweetly, he said, “Dad, can I try your rice?” … and that’s it! He happily finished the spicy rendang and sambal, leaving red lips but no moanings of too spicy hot. So, Dad and Mom finished his toasts instead.

In the next couple of hours, we could hear roller-shutters rolling up signaling a busy business day ahead with more tourists coming in. Some could be seen selecting souvenirs, trying out beautiful & colorful batik outfits, Chinese cheongsams, silver trinkets and ladies accessories, wooden handicrafts & traditional musical instruments, hand-made kites, local delicacies & tid-bits.

Being Hari Raya weekend, some stalls are not opened. I bought an interesting interlocking wooden puzzle egg toy for Max to unravel. I love browsing thru’ the stall in search of some gifts and home decorative items.

I re-visited the bookstore that I used to frequent many years ago during my college days. The proprietor told me they have been around for 20 over years. I got to read Tom Clancy's, John Grisham's and Sydney Sheldon's book here to name a few. They sell new magazines too. You can buy these 2^nd hand books for a certain price and re-sell back to them within 1 month for a lower price after reading or you can choose to keep these 2^nd hand books. Being an avid reader especially novels, I find this an excellent arrangement without my bookshelves groaning and books littering everywhere in the house.

Next, we walked over to Petaling Street, the Chinatown bazaar with lots of bargains and yummilicious food. There were fresh fruits stalls, fresh roasted chestnuts, apparels, bags, watches, traditional cookies & biscuits, tid-bits, fresh flowers, roasted duck & goose, curry puffs, dried meat & meat floss, Nike & Adidas shoes…and so much more. There’s a charm about this place that draws the crowd, both local and foreign, not just the bargain items and mooncakes or lanterns as it’s nearing Mid-Autumn (or Mooncake) Festival...

We stopped by for a must-have at Chee-Cheong-Kai, the local Chinese called it (Petaling Street), Koon Kee’s Wantan Noodle. We finished the noodle before remembering to take pictures. The springy noodle with special thick dark soy sauce accompanied by the char-siew is our favourite and right in front of the partially hidden shop is an old man selling fresh-made Chinese pancake, some called it “Apam balik”, a flat 16” (diameter) large hot plate cooked batter liberally sprinkled with sugar and coarsely chopped peanuts, folded and cut in to smaller pieces, sold for RM0.70 each. He has been there for as long as I can remember.

A couple of stalls down, we bought our favorite “Shat-ke-ma”, which is basically crispy fried bits of batter, coated with thick maltose, cooled and cut in blocks. These were my grand-mother's favorite too.

We bought a lantern in the shape of Spiderman (RM8.00) for Max and a “Choo-chai paeng” (Basket piglet) for RM1.00 from Loong Kee, all in the spirit of the coming Mid-Autmn festival. We just couldn’t resist the variety of mouth-watering pastries from Foong Wong, and bought some egg-tarts, siew-paus and plain lotus-seed mooncakes.

We left mid-afternoon when the sun was just too hot, for the cool interiors of Central Market again, then drove home, the parking came to RM9.00 for the few hours. We snacked on the yummy & very satisfying pastries we bought, on the way home.

It’s been an enjoyable family day though we couldn’t visit Hibiscus Garden but we’ll try that again another day.

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