Last update for 2009

The year just zoomed past like that... looking back, I have had a good year and I am so grateful. Apart from recovering from the leg injury (almost), I have also started practising and teaching yoga again. Also moving into this new house and having so much space to bake, ain't that wonderful? Not forgetting, I had vacation in Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Singapore this year! Wow...

However there have been more baking activities than yoga. My yoga classes - both as a student and a teacher, are currently in hiatus. Not something I want really, but I just can't seem to find a good teacher with good classes and timing (and reasonable fees!) that I want to follow. But then any yoga is better than no yoga. This should be a top priority in my 2010 resolution ;)

And my students have been really bogged down with work and we decided to cancel all December (and probably January & February?) classes till the dust settles down. It's all within expectations - people do drop out from classes. Just take it in stride and see if the interest is rekindled.

My resolution for 2010 - I want to be a better person. In every way. I believe in continuous improvement (thanks to my profession haha...).

More baking posts coming up in 2010. Happy New Year to you and me! :)

Fondant just for fun

Some expired, mouldy fondant that deserved a last chance to serve its purpose, before being dumped into the bin ;p

Brownies - Yes I made it!

Not willing to give up so easily in my search for the best brownie recipe, I decided to try again one day after all the failed attempts.

This time, I tried two Chewy Brownies recipes - one from a newspaper cutting yonks ago, another one from Martha Stewart.

I had to reduce the sugar by nearly half in each recipe, yet they still turned out a bit too sweet for my liking. But - they were successful! Finally :)

At least they look like brownies hahaha... with a crusty and shiny top.

And only today I saw a fine line in a recipe book that one shall never use self-raising flour in brownies. Darn, it was my own boo-boo that spoilt my cakes yesterday ;p

The one on the left, some no name recipe which requires the brownies to be refrigerated straight from the oven (I was really cynical), and the one on the right by Martha Stewart, just had to go through the normal cooling process.

The verdict: Both were equally tasty and chocolaty, BUT the quick-cooling process somehow made the brownie on the left very moist and chewy! So, that is the best-kept secret :)

And I also learned by accident today that brownies are so nice to be eaten refrigerated. What a pleasant discovery :)

I am so going to put on another 5 lbs this weekend ;p

Brownies

These days when I bake, I make sure I try at least 2 recipes. A kiasu attempt to minimise energy usage. Nah, I'm just being friendly to the environment ;p

Suddenly I have this interest in baking brownies. All my attempts in the past have not been memorable. Somehow I decided to give KAF another chance, and from my previous "success" of substituting KAF all purpose flour with self-raising flour in the vanilla cake recipe, I thought I could do the same again.

Unfortunately, the batter already felt wrong before it went into the oven . It was very thick, so thick that it wouldn't even melt into a smooth top in the oven at high heat! The results:

Using all purpose flour. While it has the right look for brownies (shiny top), it failed to rise. Wasted my Varlhona cocoa powder :( It was tough, not at all chewy, like how I like my brownies to be.

Using self-raising flour. It was all crumbly while warm, and gosh, it became as dry as cookie crumbs after it was cool. So disappointing. I think I should really give up on KAF recipes from now on. We just don't have the right flour in this part of the world! I'm going to make my dog very happy with these failed brownies ;p

Another recipe that uses chocolate and no cocoa powder. The colour was not right, and the texture was too cake-like - not chewy, no glossy top. In my definition - FAILED too. But still edible, at least not dry. Put some chocolate fudge on top for my niece :)

As I was looking through my recipe collection, gosh, I have like 10 brownie recipes!! Will try some of them again when I'm in the mood. This is too much failure to bear in a day :(

There are so many recipes that I want to try (red velvet, mango mochi, ang ku kueh, MORE vanilla cupcakes and brownies) but I really should stop for a while. I'm fattening myself and my parents...