Rose glazed Pistachio Cake

Life has been busy, in a good way. In a very exciting way.

For the past 2 months that I have (regrettably) neglected this space, I started an online baking business – Dealt with an oven that failed on me 3 days before I had to make 200+ cupcakes, several failed batches of cupcakes, lack of ingredients etc. But to see it all come together and to have 386 cupcakes sitting in their boxes, it made it very worthwhile. Doing something like that looks a whole lot easier than it actually is, and I’m still trying to work my way around but people have been very supportive and I am honestly very thankful for all of them x. anyway, in case you want to check it out, it’s Spoonfuls 🙂

I typed this post way back in January and I am finally done with procrastinating!

 

Happy 2013

A few days into the new year and I can only say that 2012 was a year of firsts for many things.

Left this sunny island for a good 5 months to Rotterdam, where it was freezing, snowing and where the winds could literally blow you off your feet. Possibly a mark of independence, having to survive on my own cooking, cleaning up and basically no longer able to say “Mummy, where’s this… can you help me…”. Had a few hiccups here and there like how my fridge, freezer and induction cooker broke down for a week and so left me scurrying to my neighbour’s everytime I needed to fix a meal, or like how the bank messed up a 1000 euro transfer to the wrong account. But it was good in so many ways. I travelled around Europe, visited beautiful places, enjoyed the feeling of anonymity in foreign land, made a bunch of international friends, just taking in the beauty and awe of Europe. It was good time away  from home, but I am definitely glad to be back.

2012 was also the year I started lemonandpie. Finally, after years of procrastination, this is taking shape! My pictures are not top grade, neither are my words, but thank you to whoever has been reading since June. I hope to be able to try out new recipes, take more pictures and give a little more of myself to this space. Baking isn’t just a hobby anymore, it’s something that I want to share with people and hopefully inspire a few of you out there to pick up your aprons and bake yourself a cake out of the oven 🙂

In terms of opportunities, last year gave me something valuable. I found a job that makes me even more passionate about baking, which I already love. Little House of Dreams has taught me a lot so far – getting my first feel of fondant, making roses/santa hats/reindeer marshmallow pops, dealing with a crazy tea crowd, whipping out batches of cupcakes… I can only say that it has been such an experience.

and lastly, 21 December 2012 is such a precious date because a beautiful baby girl was born. The best Christmas gift for my cousin (yes, macaron cousin) and cousin-in-law because there is probably no greater joy than becoming a parent and embarking on your journey together as a family. and yay, I have become a godmother so hopefully in the years to come, Michaela Braeckevelt will find within her, the desire to bake.

2012 was a year to remember, and yes, we all survived the so called apocalypse.

2013 is a new start, and a new beginning. I wish you love, happiness, and the courage to chase the dreams that you always had. Never be afraid to make mistakes because you never know until you try. and this just sums it all up:

“I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you’ll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you’ll make something that didn’t exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.”

– Neil Gaiman

Pandan Gula Melaka Cake

You know the feeling of eating something phenomenally good, and then in your head you go “damn how come I wasn’t the genius who created this”. Yes, that’s the exact way I felt when that forkful of Liberty Coffee’s Pandan Gula Melaka cake entered my mouth. A perfect balance of aromatic panda in the light cake batter, accompanied by that nutty, very indescribable smell of gula melaka smothered coconut. Obviously after I had it, I wanted to recreate it.

Chicken Vegetable Soup

It has been pouring almost every afternoon, sometimes even stretching into the night. I actually love the rain (except for the times when I’m caught without an umbrella). There is something about the rain which is very comforting. The sound of the rain drowns out every other sound, and it almost breaks into this silence. My rainy afternoons are usually spent in my room, with minimal light, and a mixtape of mellow tunes in the background. I call it my Mellow playlist, but my friend calls it the Sleepy playlist. Something about the rain that makes things extra magical and beautiful.

The best way to accompany the rain, is a mug of hot frothy chocolate, or when you want something really classic, chicken vegetable soup. Chicken vegetable soup… I can’t even begin to describe it. Suitable for almost any occasion, but is usually the best cure for a cold or when in need of great comfort. So simple, but yet there is beauty in all its simplicity. and best still, it doesn’t require an entire pantry worth of ingredients! What could be more perfect than that.

I feel like I’m almost glorifying the humble chicken vegetable soup. I guess it’s the sort of dish you just want to have a big bowl of when you’re snuggled up in bed, letting the warmth run through your entire body. A feeling of home and love.

There really isn’t any hard and fast rule to cooking a pot of chicken soup. Feel free to jazz it up with other vegetables you like, pop in some peppercorns for a touch of heat at the back of your throat, throw in some macaroni for more substance and just really enjoy this bowl of simple home cooked comfort.

Recipe: Serves 2

1 litre of water
1 chicken stock cube, or vegetable stock if you’d prefer
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 small chicken breasts, or 1 large
Salt and pepper to taste

• Bring the water to a boil
• Throw all the ingredients in and let the soup boil before bringing it down to a simmer
• Simmer over a small flame for 1 – 1.5 hours
• Add salt and pepper to taste (I didn’t need any salt)

Ah, what bliss. Sometimes, simplicity is best.

Chocolate fudge cookies

EXAMS ARE OVER, HURRAY.

Feels good to be able to wake up not worrying if i have enough time to cover the syllabus, or randomly trying to remember what I’ve studied throughout the day. I managed to keep off those mittens for the past 3 weeks but I’m working them again! Anyway, the past week has been such a  joy. My post-exam celebration coincided with my 21st which made it double the happiness. and I cannot be anymore thankful for the people who made it that amazingly special. You know  how people say that turning 21 marks a new phase in your life – more freedom, but greater responsibilities. Honestly, I still feel the same haha. but maybe when I’m 30/40/50 I will look back and tell myself, “damn, if only I appreciated being 21”.

December is my favourite month, for many reasons and everyone has been counting down to christmas! All the beautiful christmas lights, the mandatory christmas tree (which has yet to be put up in my home), the gifts, celebratory spirit and of course, the food. How can anyone forget about the turkey, ham, lots of cake and christmas cookies.Over the past month, I have possibly bookmarked 50 recipes that I want to try out, and I am  not kidding. but I had a special request for an extraordinarily chocolatey cookie. I feel that with all its richness and decadence, it is going to be a hit for christmas. and if you ever gift away bottles of these, your friends and family are going to be begging for more.

Homemade Granola

It’s time for lemonandpie to have a guest blogger! (and hopefully from now on, she will become a regular  guest blogger) There are 4 women in my family who love to bake – Mom, Godma, my cousin Mel and myself. Mel and I have had countless of baking adventures together, which most recently includes spilling an entire cupcake in the oven which left us with a whole clump of wet, sticky batter on the over door. It was quite hilarious. So, obviously, Mel has those few top secret recipes which are to die for, to the extent that I constantly request for these bakes. First, her oatmeal raisin cookies specked with cinnamon. I have no idea what goes into them although she says, “it’s really easy! just butter then cinnamon, oats, raisins, flour, roll and then bake.” Yeah, but you know, since she does it so well, I’m not even going to try. She knows best. Then comes her homemade granola. The first time I tried it, I was hooked. She has given me 3 batches of this wholesome goodness that I pair with almost anything – yogurt, soy milk, and I’m even planning to make a granola streusel out of it. She is going to very kindly share this awesomeness with you guys so here goes.

Lemon Yogurt Cake

Hello November.

Ridiculous how time can pass so quickly. I know how we all say “time flies”, but really. I think back on the past 11 months and all that comes to my mind is “how did we get to november already”. The end of the year usually marks good times. My favourite month is approaching!

That aside, throughout the month of October, I was dealing with baking catastrophes. Basically, they can be summed up in the following lines:

1) Spiced Apple Bundt that was half stuck to the pan

2) Lemon cake layers that did not rise in the oven

3) Root Beer cupcakes that turned out lumpy because the recipe cleverly said “there is no need to whisk” (when all else fails, blame the recipe)

4) Earl Grey Yogurt Cake that turned out more like a really, really dense kueh

Life through Instagram II

It’s time I kicked in some life into this space. First of all, 

Dear lemonandpie,

I’m sorry for the neglect over the past… 3 weeks or so. School beckons and once this semester is over, I promise to devote every fibre of my being to you. 

Love, Charmaine

Moving on, I’ve been baking, and cooking. Which is good. But I barely have the time to really sit down and write, and by write I don’t mean just giving you guys a recipe, but I’ve been trying to make an effort to put a  little bit of Me into every entry that I post, and when I can’t do that, I’d rather not write. But just so I don’t get completely disconnected from this virtual world and from you lovely people who still bother to read this (I really hope some of you have stayed despite my absence…), I’ve decided to post snippets of my life. of course, via instagram.

My definition of early morning exercise

Who doesn’t love a cupcake. what more, a cupcake with a surprise center

Ready to combat another week of school!

sugar + butter + cream + sea salt = Salted Caramel

Hello Gorgeous

So much love from Ely

Brunch date x

My new favourite way of cooking salmon: En Papillote!

Ah, a huge bowl of comfort

Soon, I will be starting work at a lovely shop, where I will get the opportunity to bake and share a little bit of love with people out there. Really looking forward to it, will keep everyone updated x.

Pandan Coconut Cupcakes

TIME FOR AN ASIAN INVASION.

So you know how people always say that you only miss something when you don’t have it, well, it’s true. I was never one of those hardcore I’m-so-proud-to-be-asian #azn #aznpride #ilovetobeazn kind of person. (sorry for the hashtags, just trying them out and trying to understand the hype). I mean, being asian is in my roots and I have never once complained about that. But I guess I never learnt to embrace this part of me until I was planted in a completely foreign country where I became the minority, and people look at you knowing that you are… different. Everything changes, like how instead of rice, you end up having to face bread for most of your meals, how instead of telling the chatty coffeshop auntie “加面” (extra noodles), you see yourself telling the man behind the counter “less potatoes on the side please” etc.

During my time in Europe for the first part of the year, I savoured every moment of my little café visits – delicately laced tarts, intricate macarons, buttery crisp fruit tarts -, but what I really missed was asian confectioneries like kueh (I swear when my mum brought me some kueh lapis when she came up to visit, my stomach growled in excitement) and anything pandan related.

When I think of pandan, I think of chiffon cakes. That fluffy (artificial or not) green slice of heaven, so delicately light that you find yourself unconsciously grabbing morsels and morsels of it. I really wanted to make something asian after all the chocolate that I had been baking with, and what better way than to create a pandan infused cupcake with flaky coconut on top.

For the batter, I used the trusty sponge cake recipe from Rachel Allen, and added in 1/4 tsp of pandan extract. Bake them for 18-20 minutes and you’ve got yourself some pandan fever. As for the frosting, I was in the mood for experimenting so I pretty much just played around with proportions of cream cheese, icing sugar, coconut powder and dessicated coconut.

Hands down, proud to be Asian.

Life through instagram

Hi!

I apologise for the halt in my writing. School has been keeping me up to my neck, and apart from my weekly Monday bakes, I pretty much drown myself in work and the woes of school. Might be starting something exciting in my life soon though, so I will keep you guys updated.

Anyway, I must confess that I am hopeless with technology, and so, I don’t really fiddle much with cameras. While I was away, I captured my daily life and travels via the amazing square filtered pictures = Instagram. Though, I am seriously considering getting a camera so that I can do justice to my bakes and give them their kodak moments. But that shall wait, and in the mean time, this has been my past two weeks:

Banana Oatmeal Bars

Earl Grey x Lavender

Inv(asian): Pandan meets Coconut

 

Morning light

Pumpkin Loaf

Rain Stained Windows

I promise to be back soon with recipes of new cakes/cookies/brownies as long as I get the next two weeks out of the way and then it’s HOLIDAY (one week is still better than nothing) *throws confetti and whips out my apron*

Have a brilliant week x