Another steamed version - The moist killer!

This is soooo good. LOL. N easy too. No need mixer. No need oven. Just a pair of hands, and a nice steaming pot.

I saw this recipe and immediately knew i need to try it out. After the last steamed cake, i was still craving for sth more chocolatey, like a perfect moist chocolate cake but sumhow, to bake a cake like tat, i can't use my mini oven (too small) and hesitantly must ON that big oven. Not to mention, two mouths can't finish an 8" cake. Too fattening, no no!

This cake is lovely and moist. Especially when served warm. Personally i feel chocolate cake tastes better when warm.

Packed a few slices for frens' gathering tmr. Can't savour all those calories by ourselves. :-P

Try it out. Like what i said, no need skills!

On the venture to satisfy a chocoholic

That's wat they said, all you need is to love chocolates!

Kim came with a long list of 'must-try' cafes/restaurants, and one of them is none other than the famous Max Brenner a.k.a chocolate by the bald man. Their slogan makes me wonder if the founder was a bald man who lost his hair due to the result of eating too much chocolates, and subsequently i was reminded of what a chinese medicine man once warned me, 'cut down your sugar intake or you'll soon lose all your hair. 'LOL. Yeah, that sure works for a chocoholic like me!

I nearly bought sth like this, a chocolate fondue set. I promised myself to come back to it one day.



The parades of chocolate on display. Each piece looks so delectable, i don't even know where to start!

So,back to my dear adorable sister, she had been mentioning this particular chocolate cafe since she arrived, so being a 'nice' sister, i brought her to try out one of their outlets in Glen Waverly last Saturday. My sister has this coolness, which is indescribable. When she's happy, she'll just put on a big smile, but never really show how happy she is, still i believe she was extravagantly very joyful that particular afternoon as we walked into the bald guy's cafe. (yeah, who cares about losing hair when you are surrounded by scents and displays of chocolate?)  And a slogan advocating you to eat more ..

Well, these were what we ordered,

A tutti frutti Belgium waffle. Kim claimed the chocolate sauce was soooo good, she licked every corner of the plate till spotless clean.

A hugful mug of dark chocolat. Super refreshing, not sweet slightly bitter.

Can you comprehend the joy in her?  LOL.



So finally Kim got her share of Max Brenner. She is now bugging me to take her to KoKo Black (Mel's proudly owned), Lindt and Brunetti cafes. Yeah, Thanks to my big mouth.

I'll be busy for the next couple of days preparing for two major events, and pls, i do appreciate your prayers. Have a great blessed day!

Yes, i am that bad.

I am very bad. Really Really Really REALLY that bad. All of a sudden i miss baking, know why? My auntie brought back some homemade portugese tarts n curry puffs last Saturday from a cell group meeting, made by the hostess of the event. But after looking at them, i tot to myself, oh gosh, i think mine looks better. They were a bit dark, looked like as if burnt, n if not, like one with a little tint of black charcoal powder. Not sure why the color was so, i asked naively, but apparently i was told it wasn't made out of eggs. I am still trying to figure out the logic of not having eggs as the main ingredient in egg tarts, but nevertheless maybe i had misunderstood, they are custard after all!! Ok, the second part was the cake i tried in a tea fellowship served after church, n ohh..i dun wish to elaborate further. LOL, sorry, forgive me, just tat i didn't expect the worst cake i have tasted to be in this part of the world. Ok, no judgement ok?!? they are homemade, who expect homemades to be perfect anyway?!?! **Slap myself three times. **I have made the worst looking and tasting cakes also. N dun mention those failed cookies which wen to the bin numerous times.

OK forget abt bad cakes. Just a week ago, me and dearest hub managed to try a goood lickin big long chocolate caramel cake. Wow, it was sooooooooo sinfully, guilty delicious! Makes me miss baking even even more. I am gonna try this cake once i get hold of my baking items. Sure will do!

 The cake comes with a complimentary cup of hot tea. I ordered the Zero Coke, coz i happened to like the glass bottle n it had been a loooooong time since i last had coke in a glass bottle LOL.

I dun have to elaborate further. The cake is as long as hub's hand. But we managed to finish. Good job! Turning into an Ozzie soon??

Queen Victoria market. Like food paradise for an uptown girl like me. LOL. This french stall sells macarons, twice the size of one in Singapore. n double the price also. :-S, maybe i shd try after i earn some AUD.

It's a must visit in Melbourne. I heard there is another one in somewhere not far from this market called sth Prahna, which sells more exquisite and posher food goods. It's on top on my must visit list now.

Looking at the availability of such lovely ingredients n utensils makes my hand itchier n itchier..i even saw a bread machine at AUD 99 N a shop selling good quality baking wares for as low as AUD 1.50 each..., ohhhhh Lord, when can i have all these?. 

When you thought it is turning 'bad'..

This blog title sounds interesting to me because it reflects my current situation. I know the above picture somehow does not correlate to the title, but i'll explain further on so that you can see how baking is related to this.

Ya, it seems like everything is turning upside down. To be perfect honest, i'm starting to hate my job, and for a starter to hate his/her job, it must be really bad. Seems like there are so many disadvantages over the advantages, e.g. the four hours travelling time etc etc. Nevertheless, the job is pretty challenging and exciting, very new, and something that i must go through in order to be a complete environmental engineer. Which means, from feasibility studies to design to installation to commissioning to operation and handover of a certain plant, every single step, i'll be well capable of.

Somehow i believe (due to previous experiences), whenever i thought something just wasn't right anymore, it always turned out to be something fruitful in the end. Yes it's true, just like these chocolate balls, if it wasn't for that failed brownie, they wouldn't have come up on my agenda and in the end became a favourite among the kids and even adults. Not to mention, they helped me clear off certain ingredients in the cupboard. :-P

Yup, due to my current job, I finally got the dream/purpose that God has put in me. The whole picture of the dream. I never realised what my goals are in life, because i'm this kind of person who just act and live according to current situation or by what comes. For example, people asked why i did Chemical Engineering. I said because my dad wants me to be an engineer (which is true) and because during that time, i only get to choose either mechanical, e&e or chemical, so i did chemical because it seems like the best choice to me. Deep inside me i never intended to do chemical engineering, and if it didn't come to me at that point, i don't think i'll ever think of it forever. Only after doing it that i began to like the subject and the works involved. (But i regretted for not choosing Civil).

Same goes with environmental. People asked again why i go into the Environmental line when Chemical is so broad and you can earn more in Oil and Gas/ Chemical industry. I said it was due to my second employment, which also comes by the grace of God (i can tell you a long story about this), because i never, again intended to go into the environmental line at the first place. I took it merely because 1) the office is near my house (i decided it's best not to go KL then), 2) consultancy line sounds very good, and 3) i love travelling. As i engaged further into this line, i began to love my work (very much) and yes, this is what i wanted to do!

And then now i'm here. Very deep rooted in the environment field. 'Seeing things happen', if that's the best phrase to describe. I didn't realise it until last week, when i was in the car on the way to visit an under construction STP with my boss, that ya, this was what God has put in me in my youth days during mission trips. I used to dream of going into kampongs or rural areas where there are no utilities/ proper STP etc, to build and provide them with these basic amenities. This dream became so real as i was sitting in the car (and it was raining heavily), like a scene just flashed through inside my head. Then i realised, i'm here to learn all the designs, and the construction, so that i can achieve this dream one day. Only by going thru all technical details can i make things happen.

I think God is really amazing, because this dream used to be a fantasy,but by His grace, He has been and is leading me along the right path to achieve the intended dream that He has put in me.

Happy Labour's Day: Take a break, have a puff and truffle

Hehe, i didn't make the durian puff. Just came back from a luxurious, glorious and my poshest and most expensive lunch filled with Australian abalone, creamy orangy shark fin soup, beef steak, and many more including the above durian puff (regretting now for not snapping photos of the food). Being rich is indeed a blessing huh? Many thanks to Hub's uncle and aunt for the RMBXXXXX.XX treat! And to my Lord for creating so many wonderful food in this world!

Happy Labour's Day to all who are working!!! Take a break today, you deserve it. To mark this occasion, i specially made these chocolate truffles for you guys...so enjoy! :-P



Plain Truffles, anybody?

Don't judge the look of these snow balls. I know they don't look appetising nor yummy to you (thanks to my shaping and rolling skills! :-P) but i can assure you that they are as chocolatey and peanutey as any chocolate truffles u can find. What makes the difference between my version and typical ones is that i had used chocolate cake crumble, instead of ganache rolled into ground almond, so i guess mine is healthier or lower in fat??? With the absence of heavy cream i believe it makes a LOT of difference, but then again, i just added that 1 tbsp of Skippy peanut butter :-P.

The recipe is fairly simple. Get a whole piece of chocolate cake and squash it up to as crumbly as you can, add melted dark/milk chocolate (enough to combine), 1-2 tbsp of peanut butter, raisins or chopped nuts or choc chips or cornflakes and roll them round round before dusting with cocoa powder/ground nuts/ shaved chocolate. Infact you may add anything you wish, but i was trying to maintain a low fat profile so peanut butter and chocolate was all i could afford.

Try it out, it's super scrumptuous and deletable (good for choco addicts like me!) but do make sure you use good quality chocolate!

Chocolate Mud Cake and BAGELs, again ...

Was feeling a bit 'laidback' when comes to baking nowadays. Well, apart from bread making though. Seems like my passion had ran away, and to be honest, i'd rather not bake as the end results would just be normal, and normal does not mean anything when comes to judging homebaked goods. Unless it's for a special someone or occasion.

However, with some ingredients sitting on the fridge waiting to be used up, i've got no choice but to wipe them out. And this is how this chocolate cake came about.

As you can see, the frosting was obviously lazily done. Haha, and the cake is far from average to my tastebud. Despite, i'm loving it, as i had baked it to fulfill that sovereign craving of mine for chocolate since many weeks ago. I was too lazy to bake for myself, that's why. As long as it's chocolate, as in 'pure chocolate without that cream', i'm fine.

However when comes to bread, it's a different story altogether. No reason, i just loving the art of bread making, the smell of yeast working and that lovely 'bready' scent from the oven. And for this, i shall persevere to master the skill (though still a very long way to go).

Remade bagels again yesterday, as Hubby loves them. This time i followed closely to a different recipe, and end results weren't as good as the first. Hubby claimed they were a bit 'soft' which is unlikely of a bagel (due to addition of oil), and their shapes weren't as purfect as initially.

Sandwiched them this morning for breakfast, and here's my version of bacon, egg and tomatoes bagel. Enjoy!

The Accidental Choco-Almoni Balls

Another unsuccessful baking today, a supposedly chocolate swiss roll suddenly turned into choco-almoni balls!

Boy, i'm so disappointed with myself, yet proud that i've finally learnt the skill of 'recycling', instead of being wasteful like how i used to once a upon a time.

What happened was i overbaked the thin chocolate sponge cake, and it turned out a bit harder than normal. Because of this, the cake became unsuitable for rolling as a swiss roll (as cake may crack or tear apart once rolled). Initially, i thought of reusing it to make a blueberry torte (with whipping cream and blueberry), but pity, the cake wasn't enough for this 3-layer thingy.

Just few days ago, i had came across something on cheese pops, or cheesecake scooped as balls and rolled onto chocolate, nuts, coconut etc. I thought they look like chocolate truffles (apart from the stick part), and that was how i got the idea: choco balls!

Of course me being me, i started searching around the house for goodies that would be suitable with the cake crumbs while Hubby busily jogged around the living room with his indoor Nike shoes and his four eyes focusing on the tv (just wondering how much calorie can he burn by doing that :-S).

Finally got some almonds, cheerios, milk chocolate, and blueberry sweetened milk, i quickly rolled them into cupcake size balls and decorated as shown before refrigerating.

Just in case you are wondering why i call them choco-almoni, i actually thought this name sounds cute for a combination of chocolate and almond.

To be perfect honest, I'm not sure if they actually taste good (not to mention my super low confidence level towards them), so i got mom in law to give out to her friends' kids since children being children wouldn't know the difference between delicious and yucky when comes to sweet and very chocolatey desserts...agreeable?