Mandarin Orange Agar Agar Cheesecake

First time using canned mandarin oranges for this recipe. The oranges added a tinge of sourness to the otherwise sweet cake. Worth doing it again. Moreover, the cake looks pretty with the mandarin oranges laid out on top..

Steamed Cupcakes

Clockwise from top left: Minno no Tabo, random smiley face, pacman, cheers

after steaming, the cupcakes pooFed and can't really see the outline of pacman.. hehe..

this time round, i used flavoured yoghurt instead of plain yoghurt.. also added a little bit of mango essence.. and the final product had a very slight tinge of fruity taste to it..

Yam Cake

made 2 lots of yam cake over the weekend cos bought too much yam... (-_-)"

Pop-up Star Agar Agar

Chocolate Cake

when i shared my red velvet cupcakes with my colleagues the other day, everyone was in awe of how pretty the cupcakes were.. they accepted it with open palms.. but when i brought this chocolate cake to office the other day.. it was a different feel altogether.. and well, i rarely get comments on the stuff i bring to office to share.. but for this chocolate cake.. my colleagues came up to me and said it tasted really nice.. it's a sad reality that looks count.. this applies to cakes and (most) humans.. :(

let me speak for the cake: i'm ugly but i'm yummy ;)

original recipe from here.

Ingredients:
120 gm unsweetened chocolate chips
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 cup boiling water
2 1/4 cup plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
226 gm unsalted butter
2 cups/400 gm sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup/240 ml milk

Method:
1) Combine the chocolate chips and cocoa powder in a bowl.
2) Pour in the boiling water and stir well till the chips and powder have melted. Set aside to cool.
3) In a separate bowl, whisk to combine, the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4) In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is fluffy.
5) Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
6) Add the vanilla extract and melted chocolate mixture and beat to combine.
7) Add the milk and flour mixtures in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat only until the ingredients are incorporated.
8) Pour the batter into a large mould. I usually use a 9" x 9" square mould.
9) Bake for at least 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
10) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

The baking time I've stated differs from the original recipe as I baked the batter in one large mould.. when i use 5 rectangular corrugated paper moulds measuring 3.5" x 7" each, the baking time reduces to less than an hour.

I like to serve this cake chilled.. either that or you can serve it warm with a scoop of ice-cream.

p/s: i have not tried the frosting recipe.