Pineapple tarts/balls for Chinese New Year

This is a must have snack for Chinese New Year. I was looking for a recipe that doesnt not contain corn flour to avoid the dough sticking in my mouth. I like the melt in mouth tupe of texture and I think I am pretty happy with this RECIPE I used 1.5 recipes and generated about 117 pieces in total. I used 6g of pineapple paste and 12g of dough for each tart/ball. Of course you can adjust it to the way you like. I used 4 pineapples to make the laste this time and it gave me 1.4Kg of pineapple paste.

Indonesian Layer Cake/Lapis Legit/Kuih Lapis/千层蛋糕

This is a very popular cake in South East Asia and its not easy to find one that I really like. The authentic recipe calls for Wijsman butter and only use egg yolks to produce a more dense and aromatic flavor. Since I can't get Wisjman butter here, I tried making one with Kerrygold butter and it turned out just as rich and nice. I was told that there are many variartions of the layer cake depending on the region you are from (Riub, Sumatra, Jakarta, Kalimantan...etc). The best way to consumed this cake is couple days after the cake is baked. You do need to preheat the oven and the baking tray the same time before baking. This cake requires the boiler heat setting to bake each later (except for first layer). P/S: Yes, I used 30 eggs for this 8" cake. Don't be intimidated by the number of eggs as this is turn out to be a very aromatic cake and also a great gift for special occasions like Chinese New Year/Christmas. You may find the RECIPE and let me know how you like it if you have decided to make one.

Totoro In The House

My nephew grew up watching quite a bit of Totoro anime. I bet he would want these Totoro pastry with pineapple fillings inside. You may use the pineapple tart receipe in my previous ppost to make this Totoro design pastry. I used Wilton color to for my Totoro pastries and baked at lower temperature to prevent the cracks and dark color. Nothing too complicated, just need some patience making each and everyone. Here is one of the sountracks of Totoro I simple enjoy - "Summer" by Joe Hisaishi.

French Macarons

I signed up for macaron classes twice many years ago and I still couldn't do it at all. Such a simple recipe but it gets tricky if the weather is too humid or...god know for whatever reasons they were that failed me. After few attempts at home, I gave this up for years until I saw a gorgeous macaron shells made by Sugar Bean on Youtube. The pic you are seeing are the result of my 1st attempt after watching her video. Aren't they cute? Its not that hard and if I could do it, so can you!

Crispy Almond Shortbread for Anyday!

No mixer is not a problem! Here is a great RECIPE for you to make a nice and yummy shortbread that will impress everyone. The original baker shows a very detailed step-by-step fo this recipe and its fool proof if you followed exact steps.

Pineapple balls/tarts I simple love

I am crazy about pineapple tarts and willing to spend hours cooking the pineapple paste and handmade the pineapple tarts by myself. Its definiyely more fun to do it with friends but I understand everyone is busy these days. Over the years I have learned that each ingredient that you pick determines the texture and flavor of the results. Its ashame that the French butters are rare and so expensive at where I live now (the Midwest). The decent butter I can find easily here is Kerrygold. The type of flour used is also crucial if you are picky about the texture. For those who prefer delicate texture can go for cake flour. All Purpose flour is selling at most grocery stores so I always have that ready in my pantry. I have tried iding both tupes of flour and I like both actually. Everything is homemade and nothing beats that afterall！P/S: Bake them at lower temperature to prevent it from cracking. Also it requires a little patient for the egg brush (OCD I am!) Here is the RECIPE I followed and its good for one tray of pineapple balls.

Rainbow dumplings for The Winter Solstice Dec 2021

I came across this colorful dumpling RECIPE and decided to give it a shot. Mixing the colors could be a little cumbersome but thank god I only need to make a small batch for myself and the dumplings turned out beautifully. its all worth the effort if you can be patient along the way.

Sable Breton aka Butter Cookie

Here is a new recipe I adopted from Anncoojournal. Its not overly sweet and the nutty flavor is just right to my personal liking. Can't stress it enough that a good quality of butter will always make a huge difference. I have shared the cookies with friends around and its definitely a keeper!