Orange Mocha Cakey

It was a really last minute decision when I decided that I would bake this for a friend of mine this evening and am glad I managed this simple deco at the very last minute.

Although I'd admit that it does look a tad bit too simple, but I personally loved how the cake turned out, especially when topped on with chocolate cream cheese topping. Yummm! Sorry didn't manage to take a picture of the inner cake because some had to rush off so I had to cut and distribute the cake.

Next time when I bake this again, I pinky promise I'll take more picts! Although I know he appreciates the sweet gesture, but I just hope the birthday boy likes the taste of my cakey. :)

Apple Strudel

When I was a very little girl, my uncle who stayed in Aussie then, often bought home loaves and loaves of Apple Strudel. It has been years since I fell head over heels on this particular dessert.

I can say this pastry dessert which hailed from Perth, is one of my favourite desserts. I was over the moon when it was brought in to Malaysia in a few cafes namely Gardini, Fruity and Strudels.

It has been a dream of mine to be able to make one. And today, I finally achieved it with great success! :D

Well, it might not taste as yummy as the one from Corica's apple strudel in Perth, but it's not too bad for a first timer. The Bakeanista is very proud and happy today! :D

I've been on a long hiatus since Bittersweet Cupid because I've been doing in depth research for the Apple Strudel recipe.

I found a few different recipes from the Net, then I combined, edited and did the mix & match, tried it out and voila!

My brudder who loves Apple Strudels said that mine was AWESOME, just a tad too sweet. I cut down on the sugar already, yet it's still sweet. It must have been the custard filling.

I'll cut down more on my next batch. When my parents come over, I'll make them my newly found recipe.

Not only we siblings love this pastry dessert, my parents are also big fans, which is also one of the reasons why I aim to learning this.

It is indeed yummy, but there are still rooms for improvement. I'll strive to make a better one in the future. The process is a little messy and arduous, but it is all wayyyyy worth it. :D

Do you want a bite too? ;)

Bittersweet Cupid Cuppies

Love, in my opinion, is a bittersweet relationship, with the exact right mix of ups and downs; laughters and tears; heartache and romance. As this cuppie also has it's own proportion of bitterness and sweetness put together in one, Bittersweet Cupid suits this cuppie perfectly right.

Aren't cuppies meant to be sweet? Why bitter, you may ask? Indeed, the cuppies are sweet and lovely. But the reason why I say that the cuppies have a proportion of bitterness is because it's main ingredient is this:

White Chocolate. Of course I'm aware that white chocolate is much sweeter if compared to milk and dark chocolate, and that white choc is actually not classified as "chocolate" at all as it contains no cocoa solids.

Indeed, unquestionably, white chocolate originates from cocoa plant, but it lacks the "chocolate flavour" due to the absense of the chocolate liquor which is what that gives the milk and dark chocolate their intense, bitter flavour and colour.

It's just the ingredients that is different, but white chocolate is made the same way as both the milk and dark chocolate. So, I'm going to consider White Chocolate as a chocolate still. And chocolates are a mix of both the sweet and bitter element. ;)

Strawberries! :) I haven't been eating strawberries for quite some time already now, as I haven't been frequenting Victoria Market of late. I've been terribly lazy. Tsk tsk tsk. *shakes head*

Oh, and I love how this picture turns out so temptatious-looking! So reddish. *giggles* I've been a big sucker for the colour red recently, and I've got no idea why. 

The batter before they go into the oven - they smelt really good!

I was so excited, I took a peep inside the oven every 10-12 minutes when the cuppies were in the baking. And the 2nd time I checked on my cuppies, voila, I see mountains of my Bittersweet Cupid cuppies all rising. I was so happy, I had to take a photo of it to share. :D

Quote the brudder, "Cuppies don't like taking photos!"

But they still turn out looking all gorgeous, no? Teehee. 

How about a cuppie for tasting? :P

Royal Sultana Cakey

What do you think The Bakeanista would do if there's a whole packet of sultanas lying around in her kitchen? She would obviously seek for nice recipes then get her hands all floury and in action! :)

The recipe I used was really nice, but I cut down on the sugar though. By almost half actually, since sultanas are sweet by themselves already. Here's the result of my cakey:

It cracked quite a lot on the top part as you can see in the first picture, and I wondered if it was meant to be so? I guess it was because the heat was a little too high. Although I cut down the sugar, but it was still sweet and lovely.

The crack bit aside, the inside of the cake was soft and moist, and I'm already planning the next time to bake this Royal Sultana Cakey again!

Orangey Marmalade Cuppies

"The pictures are making me drool and I'm getting hungry," PGL said in one of our MSN conversations. Yes, they look really tempting (The Bakeanista is blowing her own trumpet again!), and the pictures did real justice to the cuppies I would say. They not only look good, but they taste fabulously delicious too! :)

The Orangey Marmalade are my favourite cuppies among the whole list of cuppies that I've baked so far. For this particular session, I baked double to ingredients because I wanted to give some to my friends. I decided to give it a try by putting the batter into a cake mould and see how it'll turn out to be. And my experiment turned out all good. It was as awesome as the cuppies. Yippie! *giggles*

My ex-college mate saw these Orangey Marmalade pictures on my personal blog, and guess what? She ordered a dozen of them from me. This is the first ever business I got and I'm so excited. I'm going to make sure she gets the best batch of Orangey Marmalade cuppies, made with passion and love. :)

Milo Fanatic Cuppies

How many of you are Milo fans? I bet not many really adore the drink. But I do. Alot indeed. I drink a cup of Milo daily, sometimes 2 cups even.

I eat plain bread with Milo, by either dipping it into the hot drink or spread the Milo powder onto my bread like jam. I make Milo Shake too - absolutely adores it, but it's really fattening so I've got to cut down. *boohoo!* And then, my wacky mind led me to the idea of making Milo cuppies!

Am I Milo Fanatic enough for you, cuppie toothies out there?

I was standing by to oven, anxiously waiting for the cuppies to bake when my brother popped over to have a peek. He said they look like boobies with the chocolate chip button as a nipple. That's a very notti boy of him! *smacks brudders buttocks*

I was playing with my camera focus, trying to improve my photography skills. But it didn't work, did it? The background is still very clear to me and the cuppie in front is not very much focused I would say. I'll try better next time, pinky promise! :)

A closer shot, to make you drool and wet your tee! Oppsie, that came out pretty wrong! *giggles* Thanks to Picasa tools, I managed to blur the background and put the focus on the cuppie. Hippie hurray! Alrightey, I'm off to get my daily dose of Milo drink! Toodles! :)