Agar-agar mangga

Dah lama teringin nak cuba buat agar-agar. Rasanya dah lama sangat x buat agar-agar ni. Dulu masa kecil2 selalu la juga tolong mama buat agar2 santan. But that was years ago. Sejak dah besar nih, memang x pernah buat agar2 rasanya.

Memang ada stok 1 paket agar2 kat rumah, sebab niat memang nak cuba buat. Hari ni baru berkesempatan nak buat. Resepi pun main agak2 je.

Hasilnya....

Ni resepi agar-agar mangga yang saya buat:

1 paket agar2

4 biji buah mangga

Air

6 sudu besar gula pasir, atau secukup rasa

Cara-caranya:

• Potong buah mangga (dalam 3 biji) dan blend (boleh campur air)
• Kemudian, tapis mangga yang di blend tadi - sukat hasilnya (saya dapat dalam 350 ml)
• Rebus 1 paket agar2 dengan air (air campur air mangga mestilah dalam 1300 ml, sebab air mangga tadi saya dapat dalam 350 ml, rebus agar2 dengan 950 ml air)
• Bila agar2 dah hancur, masukkan air mangga tadi dan campur lebih kurang 6 sudu gula, atau secukup rasa - kena buat manis sikit, kalau tak agar2 akan tawar bila dah sejuk
• Bila semua gula dah larut, dan campuran agar2 dah hampir mendidih, tutup api
• Potong dadu baki mangga tadi (1 biji) dan letak dalam bekas/acuan agar2 (saya pakai 6 biji gelas)
• Tuang campuran agar2 dalam acuan, dan biar sejuk. Bila dah agak suam, bolehlah disimpan di dalam peti sejuk

Mangga yang dipotong dadu

Tuang campuran agar2 kedalam gelas

Letak dalam peti sejuk lebih kurang 1 hingga 2 jam, dah siap! 

*Update  - cara buat agar-agar berbeza-beza, bergantung kepada jenis agar-agar yang dibeli. Konsep untuk buat agar-agar ni sama, tapi, untuk banyak air dan gula, ikut arahan seperti yang tertera pada pek agar-agar.

Mum's birthday cake

Made this cake for my mum's birthday. 

It took me about 2 hours to bake and decorate the cake. I reached home at about 7.30 p.m. after work and straightaway started working on the cake batter. I then started on the buttercream icing. Had a break to perform my prayers, and had a quick dinner before continuing with the cake. 

Decorated the cake with easy swirls. And then hurried off to my mum's place.

Happy birthday mama!

Scones for breakfast :)

We had a lot of scones when we went to Cameron Highland last month, and we especially love the one we had at the Cameron Valley Tea Farm.

Since the kids were up early this morning, I decided to make some scones for breakfast.

Scone with whipped cream & strawberry jam

Recipe adapted from Olive Magazine:


225g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
55g caster sugar
55g raisins
1 egg
2 tbsp milk




Heat the oven to 200C.
Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl and add the sugar.
Rub the butter into the flour mixture, then add the raisins.
Add in the egg and mix together.
Gradually mix in the milk, until you have a firm dough.

Roll out the dough to about 1.5 cm thick, then cut into rounds.

Put the rounds of dough onto a buttered baking tray and bake for 8 minutes, or until risen & golden.

Overall, the it took me about 10 minutes or so from the time I weight the flour to the time I put the baking tray into the oven, and another 8 minutes for the scones to cook & for me to do some cleaning up and load all the dishes into the dishwasher.

This recipe is definitely a keeper!

Cupcakes for aqiqah

Made about approximately 1300 mini cupcakes for the ceremony, and packed it (8 mini cupcakes - 4 choc and 4 vanilla) in each individual pack. 


The most cupcakes I've ever baked so far, thanks to my mum, my hubby and my 2 boys for helping.


I didn't snap any picture though. Tak teringat pun nak snap any picture of the gift packs.

---

Since the first 2 rounds of cupcakes making doesn't yield perfect result, I tried cupcakes recipe from 'The Whimsical Bakehouse' cookbook. I made both the chocolate and vanilla cupcakes based from the book. Too much efforts required though, as the recipe requires the chocolate to be melted, or the milk to be warmed and things like that. As such, a lot of time required to prepare the batter, and since time is something that I don't really have much, I can't afford to continue doing so. 


After the initial stage of baking the two recipes above, I looked through my cookbooks again and decided on a simpler recipe. I prepared the cake batter based from Dede Wilson's book. I love her recipes as there are all easy to prepare, and doesn't require much preparation. 


I made the 'essential yellow cake' and 'essential chocolate cake' from her book, and the process of making the cupcakes had become much faster and easier from thereon.

Cupcakes - practice #2

Since the last cupcakes were made using a cake recipe and not a cupcake recipe, I tried these using a cupcake recipe.

Made the Chocolate Butter Cupcakes - recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum's book, Rose's Heavenly Cakes.

Same thing happened. The cupcakes doesn't stick that well to the cupcake liners. But the cupcakes tasted good though.

My quest for a perfect cupcakes, that will stick perfectly to its liner is still on.

Cupcakes - practice #1

Remember this chocolate cupcakes? Tried the recipe again, but this time, I made mini cupcakes instead.

I'm actually preparing myself to baking more than 1 thousand cupcakes for my kids' aqiqah ceremony, to be given as door gift.

I found the cupcake pan (hold 24 mini cupcakes) for only RM12.50 at Bake With Yen. It's a real bargain, and the quality of the pan is also really good.

The recipe was originally a cake recipe, and not a cupcake recipe. It tasted so good and (another plus point) really easy to prepare.

However, since this is a cake recipe, the cupcake doesn't stick that well to the cupcake liner. It's good to be eaten the day that it is baked, however, not the next day as most of the cupcakes will most probably detached from its liner the following day.

This is in contrary to the popular belief (or is it just my own belief?) that all cake recipe will work for cupcakes (or is it just this recipe?). Will practice with a cupcake recipe next and see whether it yields the same result.

Amirul's birthday

Made this 10" cake for Amirul's birthday last month, yellow vanilla cake with choc ganache frosting:

Cake recipe from Dede Wilson's book - Wedding Cakes You Can Make, and choc ganache recipe from Rose Levy's book - The Cake Bible.


Cake from a different angle:

Gambar Amirul tiup lilin:

Nuha pun nak tiup jugak, Cik Nah yang buat cupcake ni:

Bahagian dalam kek: