Sweet Treats for the New Year

The good ol’ Biscotti and Layer Cake are back for the festive season!

Didn’t have time to try anything new this year. So its back to  basics!

Happy CNY, folks!

Food Therapy

So, I've finally gotten enough sleep and (I think so) recovered from exam stress. Or maybe not. Consider the occasional 'laughing non-stop about something that's not really at all that funny' syndrome.

Anyways, a little recap about my after-exam shopping trip (food shopping???). Didn't do anything much, really. Had lunch at Manhattan KLCC with a friend, and the meal cost me like 35 bucks (ouch, my bank account!). But enjoyed it a lot though, especially the tender calamari rings and oh-so-juicy fried mushrooms. Then headed off to Kino and spent about an hour there.

And here's the best part...I visited J. Co's again! Yes, I know I'm bragging about them again...but I can't help it...and for a few good reasons too:

1. They're super tasty.
2. They're from J. Co.
3. They're a good after-exam-stress reliever.
4. They're awesome! (Steph, if you're reading this...don't be too upset k? I tried saving you one, but...)

I've been dying to visit J. Co's after I first tasted them about a month ago (and regretted big time for not buying a dozen home) so traveled all the way to Pavillion and bought half a dozen (only) home. And regretting it again cause there wasn't enough! The Glazzys were, as usual, awesome:

Glazzy...

Judging by how plain and simple they look (FYI, Glazzys are just sugar and honey glazed plain doughnuts), my mom actually doubted that it'll taste THIS good. So I said: "Okay, we share one." And then she took a bite. I never got it back! I'm going crazy over them. Yes, I'm going crazy over the plainest piece of donut. Not the chocolate ones, and not the Al Capone (though I did pretty much enjoy them; refer to my previous post for the pic). I LOVE the good old Glazzy cause I can taste the nice, fragrant dough just the way it is. Which gives me another reason NOT to like Big Apple doughnuts (the dough there is way to dense!).

[Comment added 10th May 2008: Re-tasted Big Apple donuts and still think they are lousy. Or did they get worse since the last time I tasted them? No offense to fans of Big Apple doughnuts, this is just MPOV...]

Anyway, there wasn't much of a queue at J. Co(since it was perfect weekday), so lined up for only about 15 minutes for the donuts this time. Then headed off to Starbucks and tried the all new Dulce de Leche Frapp. Had a good bit of milk caramel in it (which made it better than their usual caramel frapp) but was hoping to taste more coffee. Maybe I'll customize it to have a double shot the next time.

So, you see, I think I spent about...more than 50 bucks on, erm, food alone in just ONE afternoon after exams. Muahaha. Never imagined I could do such things. Enjoyed myself alot, though. Biotech must really be driving me up the wall...

Okay...gotta go bake a batch of biscotti now. Mom is pestering me to make them since its hols now. Looking forward to how fragrant the kitchen will be soon! (Hopefully I'll be able to save some for Steph this time...I know she misses them alot...)

Till next time!

Baked Twice...To Perfection!

Once again this little blog of mine has been abandoned for about 2 weeks. And it felt like just a couple of days had passed by! A blink of an eye and we’re now stepping into the month of December…which also means…Christmas is on the way!!! Think December…and Christmas always comes into mind…but it also means we’ve come to the end of another year. I’ll have to say this year have been a really exciting one for me.

I’ve always enjoyed doing a little Christmas baking and this year proves to be no different. But first lets do a little update since I haven’t blogged at all in two weeks…first...there was my birthday…unfortunately no pictures…but dad treated me (and family, of course) to delicious seafood dinner (with mouth watering cheese crab, yum!) and there was also my mom’s birthday where her little girl (me larr) baked her a batch of cupcakes:

Green Tea Cupcakes with Honey Frosting

And then there was the birthday cake proper later that night (cuz she was really busy that day, how unlucky…)

Owh…and mom also signed me up for a coffee seminar at Starbucks Great Eastern Mall. Thought it would be boring, but turns out not! Well…it was, a little, at the beginning when they gave a little history about coffee and the establishment of Starbucks itself but I thought it was pretty informational as well. But the best part was coffee tasting! I got to try about 6 types of coffee…ranging from the mild tasting to the bolder ones…purely black without milk or sugar. I especially liked this year’s Christmas blend…which is kinda surprising because I never really appreciated black coffee at all…even though both my parents are avid “Kopi ‘O’ Kao” drinkers. And of course there were freebies given out after the seminar…and did I mention I also enjoyed Toffee Nut Frappucino on the house? Hehe…exclusively for seminar participants only. Some pictures…

Coffee Seminar Freebies!

Luv Da X'mas Blend!

Delicious Toffee Nut Frappuccino...close up!

I’d wanted to try the Almond Biscotti (which are sold at all Starbucks outlets) but at 4 bucks a pack (with only 2 pieces inside) it was pretty costly. Lucky me, they were included in the freebie pack that I got from the seminar. And boy, did they taste pretty good. Fragrant and crisp, with a generous amount of almonds and just a hint of lemon at the end of a bite. But still too costly for me to indulge on another pack, so I decided to make my own (ok, ok…I filled the box with my own biscotti…but I can’t be taking a picture with the empty box, right?). And since it’s near Christmas, I decided to add in a little cinnamon (I tend to always associate Christmas baking with cinnamon, dunno why), and came up with this:

Almond Raisin Biscotti with a hint of cinnamon

For those of you who are unfamiliar to the term biscotti, they are are crisp Italian cookies often containing nuts or flavored with anise. The term biscotti is the plural of the Italian word biscotto, which roughly means “twice baked”. The traditional way of making biscotti is by baking cookie dough in two long slabs, cutting these into slices, and reheating them to dry them out. Biscotti come in many variants and are prepared and flavoured differently in various regions of Italy, but they are mostly served to be dipped in coffee, tea, hot chocolate or wine (Extracted from: Wikepedia, the free encyclopedia)

And along with that I also came up with this: (which in my opinion is the best cupcake I’ve baked so far)

'Cinnamon Roll' Cupcakes

Named ‘Cinnamon Roll’ Cupcakes because they contained most of the ingredients in a cinnamon roll: raisins, rich glaze icing (which I mixed with a little lime, for a twist) and cinnamon, of course! And I topped them each with a small square of crystallized ginger and a dusting of ground cinnamon. Totally delish! And full of Christmas flavor…

As promised, my review on the Tea Lime Cupcakes with Lime Glaze Icing (which I made for a friend’s Deepavali open house). Honestly, I think this is a really strong tasting cupcake packed full of lime zest (I used the zest of 3 large limes for a batch), concentrated earl gray and topped with a really sharp refreshing lime glaze. Attempt only if you are a big fan of zesty citrus fruits. Otherwise, your first reaction will probably be: “The icing is so damn sour!” But being a citrus lover myself, I truly enjoyed this cupcake.

Tea Lime Cupcakes with Lime Glaze Icing

Well…this post is getting really long…and I should keep the other delicious treats for next time. And before I leave, here’s what’s coming up:

??? Cupcake?

Signing off! Till next time...