Let's talk sour....

Sour cream that is.
The addition of sour cream in any of my baked goodies is something I have never tried before today.
Probably the word "sour" scares me off, let alone add it in my ingredients.

So before I proceeded trying out this recipe I stumbled upon, I read a bit about sour cream.
For me, its enough to know that it is a product of fermenting regular cream with lactic acid bacteria - parang Yakult lang.=)

I'm getting into my cookie baking phase.
If you love chocolate chip cookies, you will love sour cream chocolate cookies even more.
These are darn good.=)

Nice, soft, and moist and with a little bit of tang ( which I like ).

The recipe calls for only a few ingredients.

But these I think made all the difference : Sour cream of course, Vanilla extract ( The Vanilla Company works well for me ) and pecans.

And the usual  :   butter, sugar, egg, and all purpose flour.

I'll let you in on a few observations I noted in making them.

First, I found them a bit cake-y ( maybe because of the sour cream ) and not really cookie-y.

I wonder if it would turn out great too baked in a muffin tin? 

Next, unlike the dough of cookies I made way back, this one has a paste-like dough which is kinda hard to work with.
But hey, where's the fun in baking if you can't lick the spoon right?=)
Uh huh, I tasted the dough and I must admit the texture and flavor was appealing to me.

CAVEAT.  These are not cookies you could eat right away!
Don't be like me grabbing a piece right after it came out of the oven.
They need to set for a few minutes otherwise you will end up with bits and pieces like what happened to the first batch I made.
It does'nt matter how good the cookies look coming out of the oven if you can't get them out of the baking sheet.
Next to KitchenAid, I think I better get myself a Silpat non-stick baking mat.

It's supposed to look chubby and rounded but mine came out thin.
But what the heck.

This is not your average chocolate cookie!

Grab a big glass of milk or in my case I want it with tea.

Try making some, you will never know just how good a chocolate cookie can be.
Let me know how yours turned out.

And since I had such a success with this, I am now on the look out for new ways to use sour cream.


SOUR CREAM CHOCOLATE COOKIES
Yield    :  20 cookies ( Mine were not of consistent sizes )

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup nuts ( optional )

This is how I made it   :

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
Add in egg and vanilla extract and mix well.
Pour in sour cream and mix until incorporated.
In a separate bowl sift flour, baking soda and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture.
Fold in chocolate chips and nuts.

Scoop batter to parchment paper lined baking tray. Space at least 2 inches apart.
Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the sides brown a little.
Let cool on rack.

Enjoy.

The Third Party

I admit.
Yes, there's a third party in our marriage.
Prompts me to look good & always be my best.

Like that night......

EXCITED albeit tired from 2 consecutive parties I delivered cakes to.

Who would'nt be? It's the night of our JS prom.

Sshhh.....the third party will be there.....DEFINITELY.

How many of us have been with our high school sweethearts and ended up together?

We were'nt and this would be our first prom as a couple.

Woot.=)

My dashing husband.

Time to face the third party.
The worship hall will be our rendezvous.

The Star of the Night.

The THIRD PARTY I love having around.=)
A night worth remembering.

Sour Cream Banana Cake

Bananas looking like these are often found disgusting by Ian and eventually find its way to the trash bin....fast.
Uggh....blackish brown dots on a once smooth yellow peel.

But these overly ripe bananas are the main ingredient to a super yummy banana BREAD...or CAKE...whatever you want to call it.
And since I have'nt purchased a loaf pan and would have to settle with my cake pans, I choose the latter.
Who cares....

See?  I get to bake this moist sour cream banana cake and practice my ruffle technique piping as well.

I guess I still need practice on the piping.......a LOT more PRACTICE.

SOUR CREAM BANANA CAKE

I used the following ingredients    :

1 stick of salted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 overly ripe bananas (mashed),  I think I put in 3.
1 tsp vanilla extract 
1 cup cake flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder ( I used Bensdorp )
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream ( I used Nestle Sour Cream )
3/4 cup mini chocolate drops ( I used Callebaut )

At the last minute before putting in the oven, I decided to add Pecans.

DIRECTIONS     :

 Butter 6" cake pans.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mash the banana using a fork.  ( I left a few chunks and not totally mashed everything to a baby food like consistency )

Cream butter and sugar together.  Stir in egg, mashed banana, vanilla, and sour cream. Mix until well blended.

Add in cake flour, cocoa powder and baking soda.  Mix until just incorporated.  ( I am always careful not to overmix my batter )

Fold in chocolate chips and nuts.  Pour the batter into prepared pans and bake for 45 mins.

You can have it straight from the oven, enjoy it warm or cold.

Or..... smother with cream cheese frosting. Yummy.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING 

Beat 1 bar Philadelphia Cream cheese with 1 stick butter until smooth and creamy.  Add 3 cups sifted confectioners sugar gradually.  Beat until smooth.  You may add more sugar until you get the right piping consistency or thin it out with a tsp of milk.

Enjoy.

Sinfully Cinnamon

Oh, I miss my friends at work.

I miss hanging out together and sharing hearty laugh over coffee and cinnamon buns.

Since I have a little time to spare before I hit the oven again with orders for next week, why not try my hand at making amazingly yummy cinnamon buns.

I don't know how it differs from the Sticky Bun I saw on Food Network but I want it to be as ooey, gooey and buttery as that.

Forgive me for the pictures, they may not look enticing but they are seriously delish.
In fact, I totally forgot to take enough pictures in my excitement to get it out of the pan and straight to my stomach.

This is my first attempt and am hoping the taste comes close to the Cinnabon version as possible.

I never realized how fast and easy they are to make.
Prepared all the ingredients needed for the filling, dough, and glaze.

I used packed brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon powder, and a dash of salt. Combined them all together in one bowl.

And just added the melted butter to the dry ingredients, stirred till it looked like wet sand.

To make the dough, I simply combined all the dry ingredients ( to save from washing too many bowls...hahaha ).

In went the all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt

Mix this all in with your dry ingredients

Buttermilk is something I don't have on hand.  It sure is hard to find at the supermarket too.
Don't despair.
Make your own.
Simply mix one teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar ( I used Heinz distilled white vinegar ) to a cup of milk, stir and let stand for 10-15 minutes.
In this case, I used only 1/2 cup of buttermilk.

Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and free from lumps.

Place dough in lightly floured bowl.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.

At this point, preheat oven to 220 C and butter pan ( used my 6" pan ) generously.

Flatten to a rectangle and pour melted butter and the prepared filling over the dough.

Uhmm, I got butter happy and poured some more.=)  I said buttery, remember?
Roll dough ( pressing the sides ) into a log and cut into six even pieces.

Place in buttered pan and bake for 25 minutes.

Glaze with mixture of butter, syrup, milk and confectioners sugar.
Yup, I hand whisked everything.
Go ahead and use your mixer.
I like to grow muscles in my arms.=)  ( I gotta love my mixer from now on, I hate this hideous arms. )

TING!  Bun's ready.
Let sit for 5 minutes then go ahead and pour glaze all over.

See?  I got one out right away.=)

Mmmmm........best served warm.


SINFULLY CINNAMON BUNS
Recipe yields 6.

For the Filling :

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/8 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon powder ( I used McCormick )
a dash of salt
1/2 tbsp melted unsalted butter ( I used Anchor )

For the Dough :

1  1/2 all purpose flour
1  1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup maple syrup

For the Glaze :

2 tbsp butter, softened to room temperature
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp milk
1 cup confectioners sugar

Make the filling by combining all the ingredients together.  Stir in the melted butter till its like a wet sand in consistency.

Prepare the dough by mixing all dry ingredients, pour the buttermilk, syrup and the melted butter.  Stir until combined.  Flour a small surface where you will knead your dough.  It will be soft and sticky but will come together after kneading.  If its already smooth and free from any lump, place in a lightly floured bowl, cover and chill for 25 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 220 C.  Pour melted butter to the pan you will be using.

Get your dough and spread into a rectangle shape.  Pour the melted butter and the filling on top.  Press filling down to pack it in.  Roll into a log making sure you press the ends or tuck the ends in as you go along.  Cut into 6 even pieces.

Place in the pan and bake for 25 minutes.
Let cool for 5 minutes and pour the glaze on top.

You can try putting in pecans or raisins.

This was on a whim so I had to bake using whatever is in my pantry.

Husband gave it an 8 out of 10.

For me, -- , that's how close they could get to the real thing.

All in all, they were downright incredible.

Enjoy.

When a door closes....

It's one of those days.
Do you ever have moments when you just stare at something for what seem like the longest time and your life just flashes back right before your eyes?

I look back at my life - the lessons I learned from mistakes of the past and how close I am to my life dreams today.
And I feel so grateful for the countless blessings I have and am still receiving.=)

One of which is this passion of mine for baking.
Some would think that it was crazy to ditch my corporate job to bake cupcakes and decorate cakes.
But it's never too late to pursue a dream - no matter what age or circumstance.

10 years service award, but I left on my 11th year

But I've no REGRETS.=)
Imagine having the time to still fulfill the desire of my heart.
Something I enjoy doing and adds meaning to my life......

........and others too.=)

Yes, I walked away from a lucrative career.
Moved out of my comfort zone.

But I found my passion.
And what's great about it?

I am doing what I love and still make a living!=)  

Enjoy.

My first fondant figures

Last year, my good friend Gina asked me to do a baptismal cake for her sister.

Gina & I

Though I made a couple of cupcakes with the same theme for an office mate, I haven't made a cake with a baby topper yet.
I was thrilled to do something for the first time.

Got the idea from a photo I found in Flickr........a baby and a teddy bear.

I guess in my excitement, I molded the bear slightly bigger than the baby.=)
Uhmm.....we have life size cuddly teddy bears for kids, don't we?

Nevertheless, I deserve a pat on the back for a job well done. **wink** ( Love your own, Dianne )

Come November, Gina asked me once more to make the cake for the baptismal of my goddaughter.

Hagi Neona

Is'nt she cute?=)
Her sister Hana is just as adorable.

Hanabene Gray

So I'm cool with the baby figure, I've made it before.
But I wanted to place a little fondant figure to resemble Hana too.
Another first for me.....again.

Here's the final outcome.

It came out nice but I could have done better. ( That's me being too hard on myself. )
Oh well, there's always a first time for everything.
Every cake is a lesson.

**Gina never knew....but i bet she does....now.=)

Enjoy.

Narnia : the Trees, the Snow and the Lamp post.

I have'nt really watched the movie Narnia.
Uhmm........maybe I did.
Once.  Or twice.

The thing is, I never really watched it from the beginning till the end.
I remember catching it when it was about to start then I got busy with mundane chores.
Then there was this one time but it was halfway thru the movie and never got to understand.

So when I was commissioned to do a Narnia theme cake, I was quite hesitant.
Of course I searched the net for similar theme cakes and found quite a few.

Good thing, I was saved from the task of conceptualizing as the design idea was provided.
Trees, snow, and a lamp post.
How easy could that be?=)   Wrong.

Hey, I'm a novice baker.

Research # 1     : the Tree.
                             Thank God for Google.  Found Judy's Cakes blog.  Head on over to her blog and you'll be amazed at the many tutorial on trees she has.  You'll definitely find one that fits your need.=)  Awesome!  Tree # 2 and Tree # 10 works for me.  Thank you Judy.

Research # 2     : the Lamp post.
                             I did'nt find any tutorial.  All I have is the picture the client sent me.

My husband, Ian, offered ( after much prodding from me...haha ) to make the lamp post.

Research # 3     : Snow effect.
                             The easiest part.  Supposed to be.
                             CONFECTIONERS' SUGAR.  ( How could I not have thought about it at the start? )
                             Go easy on me, I'm just a greenhorn lacking the experience professional bakers have.
                             But the idea struck me......after a day of thinking.=)
                      
I love how it turned out.
A simple lamp post but a great marker between an ordinary world to a world more enchanting.
Had I not been pressed for time, I could have tried my hand at making the little girl - Lucy.

I'm happy I was able to deliver.
And I was most glad that they LOVE it.



Enjoy.