C'est la vie~

ok.
I wanted to take photos of some steps in between the baking, but the situation was too hectic and hush-hush that I couldn't even breathe! I had to whip up a dessert for family within 30 minutes and having two little nieces preying on my chocolate batter! that wasn't easy! so by the time i had the chance to take my camera, the chocolate moltens were already in the oven and.... Rachel was already licking chocolate off my spatula!! sometimes I wonder will baking with my own children be like that?

this recipe is one that I will only bake if my guests can savour the hot dessert immediately from the oven. keeping these moltens won't do justice to them.
the baking time is also very crucial, as the idea is just like boiling half-boiled eggs. if you bake it over its time, it will be cooked through. but u do not want that to happen because then it wouldn't be MOLTEN anymore! If you underbake them, it's fine, you won't get food poisoning. Just that you have more melted chocolate to lick off the plate.

This is definitely a recipe to keep and to impress!

try this out!! a short break from those usual shopping and movie-watching dates! painting can be very entertaining! Luckily, the shop had this 2 moulds for $10 promo. if not, this clay is quite expensive.

i painted the christmas girl haha!

wendy's pink colour horse!

all done! the xmas tree and girl is a pair! the horse is Wendy's favourite.
my sexy santa claus girl quite nice yea? except for that hole in the head, looks as if she got shot in her head!

we decided to go for KTV session after watching Channel 8 terrible version of Wo Yao Chang Xia Qu!! Rented a room at Kallang Leisure Park, that place is nice! they have a reasonable food spread, although most of the food are quite instant like fried nuggets and junk as such. For $28++ (weekend), we sang for 4 hours and had free flow of drinks and food! i think that's a really good deal!
Rachel was still sleeping amidst the "noise"

they kept eating.. almost forgot that they were there for KTV not FOOD!!

didn't know Derrick can sing too? hehehe

Wendy singing "heal the world" by MJ. surprisingly, she got all the lyrics correct!!!

Rachel's somber.. just woke up

got this recipe from the Hummingbird recipe book. it's a no-fail-ever-good-results baking book! so glad i bought it on Amazon!!

my Brownie tin
i love the random shines on top of the brownie.. the shiny crisp top. but. some parts, cakey and moist. it shows that the brownie isn't over-baked. the shine and crisp show i didn't underbake it. the texture is almost perfect -- for it can never be perfect without a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

the recipe (after modifying) :

200g dark chocolate. I use Cadbury Gold Roast 70% cocoa chocolate

175g unsalted butter

230g caster sugar

130g plain flour

3 eggs. room temperature

a medium size rectangular tin

~~~~~

1. steam the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. leave until it's melted and smooth.

2. remove from the heat. add sugar and stir until well incorporated.

3. add flour and stir until it is just well done.

4. stir in the eggs and mix until thick and smooth. But do not over mix.

5. pour the mixture into a prepared tin (with baking paper and buttering) and bake in a preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until the top starts to turn flaky and crisp.

Be careful not to over bake it if not the sides will be too hard. also, it will not be a real brownie brownie. Usually, 35 minutes would be fine. But if your oven temperature isn't accurate like mine, it's better to keep it inside for another 5 minutes.

Wait for the brownie to cool completely. and i mean. REALLY completely cooled. turn it onto a plate and slice it into squares. whatever sizes you like. for me, smaller is always better. so for a medium size rectangular tin, I can cut 24 cubes. Then, dust it lightly with icing sugar, or, melt dark/white chocolate and glaze the top. To make presentation even nicer, I will put them into individual cupcake casing and serve. that's when i'm feeling more dressy for my brownies that day!

just in 5 simple steps, a delicious chewy chocolatey and dense brownie can be made. why buy from bakeries?? moreover, this is less sweet and thus, less fattening!

BUT ...

with a twist of modernity to the recipe.
a layer of dark chocolate on top. shortbread is buttery - sweet but with a little tint of salt. adding the taste of chocolate above~ hmm.. i like the combination. i thought this is almost a perfect gift for Chrismas!

this recipe is actually a plain simple pie-shape shortbread. I amended it here and there, making it into some more fanciful, with just additional 10 minutes of work. I think it's worth it.

the recipe:

115g salted butter. room temperature

175g plain flour

50g brown sugar/golden caster sugar/dark brown sugar

1. ok, this is tooooo simple to make. I doubt I even need to number it into steps!

Just mix everything together until it begins to bind together. Do not over mix as the butter would melt too much. You can use your fingers. I do, because I hate to wash. Or you can use an electric mixer at low speed. Once the dough is formed, meaning you can't see the sugar or butter as a seperate entity, press the ready dough into a rectangular tin. Make it as level as possible, keeping in mind to apply the same pressure everywhere. Once done, bake it in a preheated oven of 180 degrees C for 25 minutes or slightly longer. When it's ready, it should be firm and golden.

As for the chocolate layer on top, simply melt 100g of dark chocolate. I always and only use Cadbury Gold Roast 70% cocoa chocolate. Break the chocolate into pieces and then steam it. Do not cover the lid as the water will drip down onto the chocolate and DESTROY the smooth texture. Once the chocolate is melted, pour it over the cooled shortbread! shake it gently, tilt it here and there, and it's done! Refrigerate it, cut into cubes or fingers, and then serve.

second attempt making doughnuts! this time i improved on the frying coating and kneading. so much better this time round!

making small little heart shape donuts. dislike it too big, makes the person eating it too full and bloated. smaller, cuter, nicer to munch on

left over dough to make the conventional donut shape - looks like the canned pineapples

fried hearts---

melted dark chocolate to coat the top

the second batch