My First 3D Cake

I decided to try making 3D Cake as I was inspired by a good friend's colleague's blog which I saw online. The cake didn't came out well ... but I tried my best . Should I perservere in this interest ? It was so tiring to do the entire cake! What was worse, was the washing up! It was so much tougher than baking other stuff. It was especially tougher after the colourful fondant stained all my baking equipments and the buttercream was  too oily for one round of washing water to be clean !!!! Arggg ...

Anyway, take a look at my first 3D cake , which I made for my brother's birthday on the 31st Dec ! He wanted a fruit cake, but I didn't know how to make it . So presenting to him a 3D Chocolate cake instead !!!

Hey the water (blue part), grass patch ( dull green part) and the house all have cakes hidden in them !! I wonder how they will taste with the OVERSWEET Fondant!

Thanks to the invention of internet, I have gotten my recipes for the fondant and buttercream from Wilton !


Recipe for Rolled Fondant from Wilton

Ingredients:


•1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin

•1/4 cup cold water

•1/2 cup Glucose

•2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening

•1 tablespoon Glycerin

•8 cups (about 2 lbs.) confectioners' sugar, sifted

•Icing color as desired

•flavoring as desired


Method

1. Combine gelatin and cold water; let stand until thick, about 3 minutes. Place gelatin mixture in top of double boiler and heat and stir until dissolved. Add glucose, mix well. Stir in shortening; just before completely melted remove from heat. Add glycerin, flavoring and color. Cool until lukewarm.



2. In large bowl, place 4 cups confectioners' sugar; make a well. Pour the lukewarm gelatin mixture into the well and stir with a wooden spoon, mixing in sugar and adding more, a little at a time, until stickiness disappears. Knead in remaining sugar. Knead until the fondant is smooth, pliable and does not stick to your hands. If fondant is too soft, add more sugar; if too stiff, add water (a drop at a time). Use fondant immediately or store in airtight container in a cool, dry place.

Use fondant immediately or store in airtight container at room temperature until needed. If storing longer than 1 week, refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before kneading. Do not freeze. When ready to use, knead again until soft.



Recipe for Buttercream Icing Recipe from Wilton:


Ingredients

•1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening


•1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened

•1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

•4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)

•2 tablespoons milk

Makes: About 3 cups of icing.


Methods

(Medium Consistency)


In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.


For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

For thin (spreading) consistency icing, add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk.

For Pure White Icing (stiff consistency), omit butter; substitute an additional 1/2 cup shortening for butter and add 1/2 teaspoon No-Color Butter Flavor. Add up to 4 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk to thin for icing cakes

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Xmas Ice Cream Cakes

I made 2 Xmas ice cream cakes !! One for hubby's family Xmas party and one for our own party on 25th ! Hubby knowing that I couldn't go out, organised a small Xmas party at home for some close friends !

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Creme Brulee

I tried making some creme brulee today, using the recipe from Noobcook again ! Again I did some modification to the recipe according to my own oven and microwave.

Ingredients


•250 ml (1 cup) thickened cream

•½ tsp pure vanilla essence

•2 large egg yolks

•2 tbsp caster sugar (adjust to your liking)

•brown sugar

•boiling water


Garnish

•berries

•mint leaves


Methods:
1. Put the thickened cream and vanilla essence in a microwave-safe cup or bowl. Microwave for 1.5 minutes until the cream is warmed through but not boiling.
2. Add egg yolks and caster sugar into a large bowl and mix until they are just combined with an egg whisk.
3. Add one ladle of the warmed cream and mix well with the egg whisk. Then, add the rest of the cream and continue whisking.
4. Run the custard mixture through a sieve.
5. Pour the custard mixture into containers. If air bubbles form, flatten them out with the back of a wooden spoon.
6. Place the containers inside a roasting dish. Pour boiling water into the dish till it reaches about halfway up the containers. Be very careful not to spill any water into the containers.
7. Sit the roasting dish on the low rack. Cook at Convection 160°C for about 40 minutes. The custard should be wobbly like jelly when shaken. Let the containers cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least an hour or even overnight for the custard to firm up.
8. Before serving, sprinkle a thin layer of brown sugar on top. Preheat ‘Grill’ for 3 minutes at 220°C. Place containers on high rack and grill on turntable for about 2 minutes, or until the sugar browns. Garnish with berries and mint leaves.

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Steamed Pandan Cupcakes

I stumbled upon this website when I joined a Samsung Contest. The judge was Noobcook and I realised she is someone who always provide easy to make recipe. She was helping Samsung with some Microwave recipes. I saw one that really interest me - Steamed Pandan Cupcakes and making them seem really easy ! I did some modification to the recipe as I didn't have sufficient ingredients but the cupcakes still taste good !

Ingredients

•100g of cake flour

•2 tsp of baking powder

•2 tsp of sponge gel

•100g of caster sugar (adjust to your liking)

•pandan paste

•sea salt

•40ml of coconut milk (I didn't add this as I have forgotten to buy this !)

•40ml of canola oil (I used vegetables oil instead)

•4 large eggs at room temperature


Pandan Juice

•10g of pandan leaves

•100ml of water


Methods (I modified this recipe to my own methods):
1. Using a pair of kitchen scissors, cut up the pandan leaves into smaller pieces. Place the pandan leaves in a blender with 100ml water. Blend the mixture until the water turns dark green and the pandan leaves have been reduced to pulp.
2. n the blended mixture through a sieve and use your fingers to gently compress the pulp to squeeze out its juices. The first round of extract is the most concentrated and is what we are using for the recipe. Set aside the concentrated pandan juice.
3. In a large bowl, add caster sugar, eggs, sea salt and sponge gel.
4. Using a hand-held electric mixer or cake mixer, beat the mixture until it becomes pale and frothy.
5. Add 2 tbsp of the concentrated pandan juice you prepared in step 3 with about 8 drops of pandan paste. If you are not making pandan juice, add a few more drops of pandan paste. Adjust the amount based on the colour you like. For accuracy, use a dropper or a snipped straw for the pandan paste and a teaspoon for the pandan juice.
6. Blend the mixture again for a few seconds till the colour is well mixed.
7. Add sifted flour and baking powder into the batter, then blend till they are well mixed in the batter. After mixing, your batter will take on a thicker consistency.
8. Add the canola oil and coconut milk into the batter and mix well.

9. Pour the batter into the disposable cupcake cases . Put some water into a Microwave-safe Casserole, before putting the cupcake cases in. Make sure that the cupcakes are covered with a lid before setting the microwave on high power (900 watts) for 5 minutes.

10. Poke a skewer into the middle of the cupcake. If it comes out clear, the cupake is cooked.

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Oven baked cheese steak & Clam Soup

I didn't have a good appetite for lunch today. When hubby called me up and asked me what I wanted for dinner, I begged him not to cook any Chinese food. He said okay and he would decide what I would eat tonight. By dinner time, he impressed me with oven baked cheese steak, with salad and baked potato. He also tried to make a clam soup which I think taste better than the one at Pizza Hut !! Yummy ! Enjoy the pictures ! 

Oven Cheese Steak

Ingredients:

1. Beef Steak

2. Cheddar Cheese

Seasoning:

1. Salt

2. Black Pepper

3. Parsley

4. Olive Oil

5. Butter

Method:

1. Wash steak thoroughly and pat dry 

2. Cut slits across steak for better heat penetration

3. Season steak with salt, pepper and parsley

4. Sit for 30 mins

5. Sear steak with olive oil and butter on frying pan

6. Put cheese on top of steak

7. Bake steak in oven at 200 Celsius for 15 mins

Clam Soup

Ingredients:

1. Clams

2. Ginger

3. Tomato

4. Chinese Celery

5. Onion

6. Red Chilli

7. Minced Garlic

Seasoning:

1. Salt

2. Pepper

3. Sherry/Mirin

4. Butter

Method:

1. Clean Clams

2. Boil water and add in butter, ginger, garlic, onion, tomato, chilli and boil for 10 mins.

3. Add sherry/mirin and chinese celery

4. Add in clams

5. Add salt and pepper to taste

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