I PASSED!

5.9.14 (Fri)

It's Spring! I have survived through the three months of winter and it wasn't too bad, except that some days were really cold and freezing.

Last Friday (29/8) was my driving test (failed the first time one month ago). For the past one week, I practiced about 30mins for the manoeuvres, ie hill start, U-turn at intersection, U-turn at T-junction, reverse in a straight line, parallel parking and 3 point turn. The examiner will test you on 2-3 manoeuvres as part of the test and of course, the main part will be driving on the road and be cautious on the important road signs for eg STOP, GIVE WAY etc.

On that morning, Hubby and the kids followed me to the test centre. Hubby led a prayer and asked God to grant me wisdom and blessings so that I can be alert and calm during the test.

This round, I had an elderly man as the examiner and guessed what!? He was the same examiner that Hubby had during his driving test and this was how God answered our prayer, coz earlier as I mentioned, God sent an angel, ie the examiner that PASSED Hubby on his test. His name was Paul and he was really a chatty man. Unlike the first examiner I had before, Paul gave me a relaxing feeling while driving and he didn't really write down much notes on his paper. He was chatting with me about his family life and oversea trips.

 

We left the centre at 9.30am and came back around 9.50am. I was a bit worried as the test ended quite early. I waited patiently while Paul was writing on his paper, at the same time, thinking hard did I make any mistakes! Finally when Paul ticked on the SUCCESSFUL box, I smiled and thanked him. There were minor mistakes and he also pointed out that I was quite slow in some corners. But all in all, I PASSED! That's the most important thing! Hubby was relieved.

 

Then, when we came home, I went to open the gate and suddenly, I felt something was moving on the tree branch. I turned left and was shocked to see a green snake on the branch! I dropped the bag and quickly ran to the car. We called the landlord and he asked us to try asking help from the neighbours. Luckily, one of our neighbours came to help. He took a look at the snake and commented it was a tree snake and was harmless. We used a stick to give it a push and the snake ran away to the gutter. The neighbour also mentioned that it was quite normal to see snakes around the neighbourhood. Some snakes are harmless for eg the tree snakes but if we see any brown snakes and they are very defensive, then we should go away from them or call the council for help. Thanked God for is protection that we are not harmed and also through this incident, we got to know our neighbours after moving here for one month. However, after this incident, I had phobia when walking past any trees in our garden, fear that I will see another snake again!

 

Because I passed my driving test, Hubby gave me some rewards which I really thankful of.
1. Cupcake carrier

2. Cake carrier

3. Sumptuous dinner

4. A smartphone

 

 

 

最好的礼物 - 我为什么要生两个？

 

 

As I was reading this article, I can totally relate with what the author was trying to convey. Should I go for no.3?? :P

作者／小布麻

 

還記得4年前那在醫院裡煎熬的一整天，第一次經歷分娩的痛苦和折磨，出了產房我跟先生說的第一句話是：

“痛成這樣，怎麼會有人想生第二個？！”

 

轉眼4年過去了，我也成為了兩個男孩的媽媽，自己在家照顧兩個小小孩，常常被人問起，你怎麼會想生兩個的？其實每天面對兩個打打鬧鬧的娃兒，當他們一起生病，一起吵著要我陪睡，一個哭一個鬧的時候，我也常常自問，為什麼要兩個呢？

 

下面這個漫畫，是我在忙完孩子和家務的空餘時間畫的，畫得很慢，甚至在被倆孩子惹的生氣的時候都畫不下去了，可是，我知道，我要回答自己這個“為什麼，”所以就有了這個答案....

兒女是耶和華所賜的產業；所懷的胎是祂所給的賞賜。少年時所生的兒女，好象勇士手中的箭。箭袋充滿的人便為有福。（詩篇127章3-5節）

Strawberry Mousse Cake 草莓慕斯蛋糕

27.8.14

Yesterday was my one and only nephew's 1st birthday. Though we were unable to celebrate with him (My sister and family stay in Singapore), but I baked a cake for him, and both Abby and Ian sang a birthday song to wish him. Then, we finished the cake on his behalf..haha.

 

 

Few days ago, I saw this post from one of the blog that I followed. She baked a blueberry mousse cake and it was really nice. I wanted to bake the same but blueberry was kinda expensive here. So I used strawberries instead. Then, I cut the strawberry into a love shape and decorated the cake. I was very happy with my masterpiece and of course, the most happiest were the kids..they couldn't wait to eat the cake!

 

Ingredients

Sponge cake

3 egg yolks

3 egg whites

50g caster sugar

35g canola oil

60ml fresh milk

70g self raising flour

1 tsp cream of tartar

 

Strawberry mousse

200g strawberries (15-20 strawberries), chopped into smaller size

150g strawberry yoghurt

2 tsp gelatine powder

50ml water

150g whipped cream

50g caster sugar

 

Method

Sponge cake

1. Whisk egg whites in high speed. Add in 20g caster sugar and cream of tartar and continue to whisk till stiff peak. Set aside.

 

2. Whisk egg yolks and remaining sugar till pale yellow. Add in oil and milk and mix well. Sift in flour and combine well with a spatula. Fold in the egg whites and combine well. Pour into a 8" cake mould. Bake at 180C for 30mins or until golden brown and skewer comes out clean.

 

3. Set cool on the wire rack.

 

Strawberry mousse

1. Blend the strawberries, sugar and yoghurt.

 

2. Dissolve the gelatine powder over hot water at medium heat. Pour into the strawberries puree and fold in whipped cream.

 

Assembly

1. Place the cake back to the cake mould. Pour the strawberry mousse into the mould and chill in the fridge for 3-4 hours or overnight.

 

2. Decorate as desired.

 

 

 

 

Pandan Chiffon Cake 班丹戚风蛋糕

Ingredients

6 egg whites

60g caster sugar

1 tsp cream of tartar

80g cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp pandan essence

6 egg yolks

30g caster sugar

50g extra light olive oil/canola oil

80ml milk

 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170C / 335F.

 

2. Use a large clean mixing bowl, without any trace of oil or water, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until bubbles form. Add the cream of tartar. After mixing well, add the 60 grams of sugar in three batches, about one-third at a time, and beat well between additions. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form. (I just poured in the sugar and cream of tartar together)

 

 

3. Sift the cake flour and baking powder, mix well.

 

4. Whisk the egg yolks with the 30 grams of caster sugar, until the sugar completely dissolves. Stir in the oil, bit by bit, until completely combined. Add the milk and stir well.

 

 

5. Sift the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture, in three batches. Combine well. Add in the pandan essence.

 

6. Fold-in the beaten egg whites with a spatula and gently combined well.

 

7. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 35 to 40 minutes. After baking the first 15 minutes, if you find the cake surface gets browning, reduce heat to 160C / 320F. Continue to bake until cooked through. A needle comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

8. Remove the cake from the oven. Invert the pan immediately on a wire rack. Let it cool completely.

 

Napoleon Cheese Cake

15.8.14 (Fri)

Few months ago, a friend of mine posted her baking on Facebook and I thought it was interesting. She baked Napoleon Cheese Cake. So, by looking at the name itself, I bet you will think of the Napoleon ice cream where you have 3 flavours - vanilla, strawberry and chocolate! I wanted to bake the same cake too, since I already have my cheese cake recipe (I prefer non-baked cheese cake), just need to modify a bit.

Recipe:-
The base
McVities Digestive Biscuits (about 4-5pcs, depending on how thick you want the base to be)
Oreo biscuits (without the cream)
80g Unsalted butter (if you find that the biscuits are too dry, then add more butter)
30g icing sugar

1. Crush all the biscuits till it become almost like sand texture (crumbs) and mix it with the icing sugar.
2.  Melt the butter. Pour the butter into a tray together with biscuits crumbs. Mix it well.
3.  Compress it evenly on the base of the tray. Put in the fridge for at least 1hour or till it is hardened.
4.   Make some small holes all over the base using a fork (this is to ensure the cheese sticks to the base).

The Cheese content
500g cream cheese (I preferred Philadelphia brand)
150g vanilla flavour yoghurt
150g strawberry flavour yoghurt
280g (or 2/3 of a small tin) of sweetened condensed milk
Fresh strawberries
8 teaspoon of gelatin powder, with 200ml water

Strawberry layer
1.  Let the cheese (250g) cool down to room temperature.
2. Pour the water into a small pot and heat up under low heat. Then, pour the gelatin powder (4 tsp with 100ml water) into the pot and stir it thoroughly until melted. The end product is a very thick and sticky gelatin mixture. Set aside for use. 
3. Using an electric hand mixer, blend the cheese well to make it soft.
4. Next pour in the sweetened condensed milk (140g) and mix it well. Then pour the strawberry smoothies (blend the fresh strawberries with strawberry yoghurt together) in as well. Blend it well and thoroughly.
5. Quickly pour the gelatin mixture into the earlier cheese content and then mix it well with a spatula.
6. Finally, pour the final cheese content into the earlier prepared base tray.
7. Put in the fridge for 1 hour or until the cheese has set.

Vanilla layer
1.  Let the cheese (250g) cool down to room temperature.
2. Pour the water into a small pot and heat up under low heat. Then, pour the gelatin powder (4 tsp with 100ml water) into the pot and stir it thoroughly until melted. The end product is a very thick and sticky gelatin mixture. Set aside for use. 
3. Using an electric hand mixer, blend the cheese well to make it soft.
4. Next pour in the sweetened condensed milk (140g) and mix it well. Then pour the vanilla yoghurt in as well. Blend it well and thoroughly.
5. Quickly pour the gelatin mixture into the earlier cheese content and then mix it well with a spatula.
6.  Take out the cheese cake from the fridge and pour the vanilla cheese cake mixture into the cake mould.7.  The cheese cake should remain in the fridge for at least 2 hours before consuming (taste better if overnight). Enjoy!

For my first attempt, I used only 250g of cream cheese, and divided the cheese batter into half. Hence, the result was not really good as the texture of the cheese cake was a bit soft. Will try again next round with 500g of cream cheese.