Soft and Moist Banana Muffins

I was surprised when my sister came home from work last week with a bunch of overripe bananas. There's no way I would eat bananas with black spots but I would feel guilty if they go to waste. I wanted to get rid of them before they go bad. My sister suggested  banana bread so she could eat it for breakfast. I searched for a quick and easy banana bread recipe on the web. I found one that required an hour to bake. I wanted to reduce the baking time to save energy so I baked them in muffin tins. My sister and I couldn't resist  when I took them out of the oven so we both ate one piece after dinner. We ate them again the next day and sis brought the rest to her school to share.

Carrot Cake

Last week had been pretty hectic for me. I ran errands for my sister. I went Christmas shopping with friends. I made three orders of carrot cake. One for a friend's friend who recently turned 30ish, one for a belated Thanksgiving dinner with family friends, and another one for a friend's son's birthday.

I have tried a few carrot cake recipes in the past and this is my favorite.  I followed the recipe for the carrot cake but made a little modification on the frosting. If you want a moist and delicious carrot cake which will wow the crowd, try this.

Chocolate Overload - A bribe to see more of the Azkals

Two weeks ago, I had this chance to see a qualifying match between Thailand and Philippines for Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup 2012.  I'm not a crazy sports fanatic but when I found out that the AZKALS were playing, I bought a ticket. The team's soaring popularity got me intrigued. Is their good physique the reason for them being famous? Well, they're in Bangkok to play. I would not miss it for the world.

Fast forward to the night I watched the game.When the AZKALS came out for the first time to do some warm up, I was standing one hop away from them.Yeah boys! I got starstruck  but I made sure I click my camera as they walk past me. I was not able to take good pictures of some and I didn't want to go home without getting a better shot. I made a promise to  the girls  (sister, cousin and friends) that  if they  let me stay a bit longer to meet the AZKALS "backstage" I  would make them a nice dinner. Well, they did but imagine how I felt when I found out that the "backstage" was off-limits to fans. Bummer!

Anyway, a promise is a promise. I cooked an awesome dinner on Friday. I baked brownies loaded with dark chocolate chips. I served it with double dutch ice cream and drizzled them with chocolate syrup. Yum Yum!

Thanksgiving's Pumpkin Pie

Thanksgiving dinner is incomplete without pumpkin pie. This dessert is considered by many to be the most important dish on the table during Thanksgiving. I brought this to a Thanksgiving potluck a friend hosted this weekend. Although the traditional pumpkin pie is round, mine is rectangular. I was told a lot of people were attending so I doubled the recipe to make sure there's enough for everyone.

Because commuting is such a hassle in Bangkok, it's inconvenient to take two smaller pie pans. I combined the recipes and baked them in a bigger rectangular pan. The same flavor, same color, same taste in  a rectangular or square-shaped pie.

In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar and process until combined. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal (about 15 seconds). Add 1/8 cup (about 2 tablespoons) water and process just until the dough holds together when pinched. If necessary, add the remaining water.

Read more: http://joyofbaking.com/pumpkinpie.html#ixzz2DJX6Nsts

Carrot-Wheat Germ Muffins

A great way to start a day is to have a delicious and healthy breakfast. And nothing beats eating freshly baked muffins in the morning. I made these for my sister to take to work and none of her colleagues rejected them. Who would say no to such a delicious treat?

The recipe was adapted from allrecipes.com but I made a slight tweak here and there.

Delicious Cake Pudding

If you have so much bad cake, one of the many ways to use them all up is to make them as cake pudding. I have loads of them. I got orders for cake but I was not satisfied with the result of the little modification I did in the original recipe so I baked another cake. I don't feel good tossing them away. When big sis informed me about the children's potluck at church I thought of bringing cake pudding. It was a right decision as it was a big hit not just with kids but with adults as well.

Tuna-Cheese Pizza Rolls

A few weeks back,  I happened to find a good bakingbook at 30 percent off at Asia Books. I skimmed through the book and when I saw the lovely recipes it contained, I  decided it was worth purchasing. I had been meaning to try the recipes at home but due to my hectic life (well, compared to my life before as a university instructor) I was unable to.

Cupcakes for Marthina's Birthday Celebration

These vanilla cupcakes frosted with vanilla butter cream were for our birthday celebrant. Blue butterfly cupcakes were for boys, pink flower for girls. Each kid was given one. A candle was put on each cupcake and the kids got to blow their own candle.

Fudgy Brownies

The Children's Ministry Department at church will be having a potluck after the service on Saturday. My sister , one of the few Sabbath School teachers, is bringing carbonara and as one of the Primary kids' "sponsor" I made this fudgy brownies especially for them. I know kids love chocolate and this is the closest I can do to show them my support.

Sinful chocolate cake

This is by far second to the most delicious and sinful chocolate I have ever made and eaten. Why sinful? The answer lies in the things it consists of. Same amount of butter and chocolate, 1 cup of sugar, 4 eggs and a heaping tablespoon of flour. No kidding!

Chocolaty Brownies

My family and relatives spent the day after Christmas at a park close to home. Each family brought their own share of food. I brought dessert!

I discovered this brownie recipe while browsing online. I modified the recipe a little. The chocolate and butter were melted together. Eggs, sugar and honey mixture, and vanilla were beaten at hi-speed for about 10 minutes until light and fluffy. The chocolate mixture, flour and salt were blended in to the egg mixture. Chocolate chips were stirred in to the batter and then baked for 30 minutes at 160 degrees Celcius. It was cooled completely before frosting. Melted white chocolate was used to decorate the top.

As soon as I removed the plastic lid, everyone gathered round me to ask for their portion.

Seung Jay's Birthday Cupcakes

Every year Sueng Jay celebrates his birthday at NIVA International Kindergarten in a unique style. This year Mc Donalds catered. To make the party more entertaining to kids, his mother, a good friend of ours, came up with an idea to give each student a cupcake to decorate. Since a friend and classmate at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School was already making his birthday cake, I was asked to do the fifty cupcakes. Thirty with blue frosting for the boys and 20 with pink frosting for the girls.

Bread and Butter

One night a few weeks back, I was browsing the net looking for a good whole wheat bread recipe when I chanced upon this video on youtube. The show was all about healthy bread. I went to the main website and hurriedly searched for whole wheat bread and found it in a snap. The demo was done by this guy who has been baking for 35 years. I watched the baker in awe. My tummy growled as the flour began to take shape. For each procedure , he gave a thorough explanation. And that made every step easier for me.I am not a bread baker but a pastry chef who wants to develop and refine my skills in baking bread so all minute details are essential to my learning process. I had this itch to try it right away but I couldn't as I didn't have the ingredients needed. I took the trip to a nearby supermarket as soon as I had my breakfast the next day.


Here's what you need for the recipe. Olive oil, sea salt, dry yeast, whole wheat flour , warm water and syrup.