Lion Birthday Cake

I made this lion birthday cake for a friend's son's birthday. I used Wilton's Stand-Up Cuddly Bear Pan. To make this cake, I combined 2 recipes - a yellow pound cake recipe and a yellow butter cake recipe. It took me quite some time to make both recipes and even more time to decorate the whole cake. But I loved the end result and I'm glad the birthday boy was happy too. :)

Here's the Yellow Pound Cake recipe.

And here's the Yellow Butter Cake recipe.

Single Rose Cake

This was a chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream. I tried decorating it with a single rose which I piped directly onto the cake. It was my first try, so I guess I did okay. I'm glad my friend enjoyed the cake. :)

Coconut and Pandan Agar-Agar

This is a simple yet yummy dessert. And yes, it's Malaysian, of course. As with most of Malaysian desserts, it's a blend of coconut and pandan. Agar-agar desserts are usually made using square pans and then cut into smaller diamond or square shapes, but I had Williams Sonoma's tea cake pan at my disposal and ready to use. I love this pan! I've even tried this recipe using different colors and fresh fruit which also turned out to be a great hit.

Check out this Coconut & Pandan Agar-agar recipe. Happy trying!

Coconut Cream and Pandan Agar-Agar

Ingredients:

400 ml coconut milk (preferably coconut cream)
400 ml water
100 gm sugar
4 tsp agar-agar powder
Pinch of salt
Pandan

Method:
1. Combine all ingredients in a pot & bring to a slow boil.
2. Remove from heat; add a little coloring & pour into mold. Chill before serving.

Cake Ispahan - Rose Water & Raspberry Cake

If you love baking, then you will definitely love Pierre Herme. Well, love his recipes, at least. ;) I've a list of recipes that I have yet to try and Cake Ispahan was one that I could not miss. It's a rose water and raspberry loaf cake. Separately, you wouldn't know it that when these two flavors are combined, they're amazing. And beautiful too! Your kitchen will smell so sweet ;)

Check out Pierre Herme's Cake Ispahan recipe.

Sacher Torte (minus the Kirschwasser syrup)

My sister was vacationing in Austria and since I couldn't join her, I decided to try baking the famous Austrian cake, the Sacher Torte. This is a layered chocolate cake with apricot jam coated with chocolate ganache and chocolate glaze. I'm not really a fan of apricot jam, but I love chocolate. And chocolate ganache. And chocolate glaze. How decadent! The recipe calls for some alcohol, but my version was made without it. 

Check out the Sacher Torte recipe.

Kuih Bahulu

M loves kuih bahulu. Its a Malaysian dessert similar to mini tea cakes. They're a bit crunchy on the outside, but soft and puffy on the inside. Simple yet wonderful. And the beautiful designs of the kuih bahulu pan make this 'cake' even more appealing. I had to make this a few times because M kept asking for more!

Here's the Kuih Bahulu recipe for all of you to try. Yummy-licious definitely!

Recipe: Kuih Bahulu

Ingredients:

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup flour (sifted)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 tablespoons cooking oil/butter (optional)

Method:
Beat the eggs with an electric hand-mixer until frothy and then add sugar. Continue to beat until the sugar is well dissolved and the mixture becomes sticky.

Add in the vanilla essence and fold in the flour gradually and then add in the cooking oil/butter. Continue to beat the batter with the hand-mixer until well-blended. Grease the kuih bahulu moulds and fill up to the surface level.

Bake in preheated oven at 375 degree Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove bahulu from the moulds and cool on wire racks. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

Cook’s Note:

The traditional kuih bahulu recipe doesn’t call for cooking oil or butter, but I find them a tad too dry. Adding the cooking oil/butter makes the kuih bahulu comes off the mould easily. Also, as you can see, my kuih bahulu are over baked because I lost track of time. They should be light brown in color.

Roti Canai

If you're from Malaysia, you definitely must love food! Malaysia has a wonderful variety of different foods because of our diverse cultural backgrounds. And when you're living abroad, you'll miss all those delicious dishes. So, what other choice did I have then to make them myself (or rather have hubby help out too ;)). I never made roti canai when I was living in Malaysia, so this was my first try.

Really loved the outcome and so here's the Roti Canai recipe for all of you to try (there's even a video tutorial). Here's the detailed recipe. Happy eating!