How to Decorate Cake Using Fondant

Hi again. I've been really busy these past few days. My sister, is getting engaged today! And despite by months and months of preparation, we still get busy and exhausted. My mom and I decided to clear up the living room by ourselves so imagine the workload!

Before things got busy, I thought of writing down traditional recipe. But now I had something else in my mind. Yup you read it, decorating your cake using fondant.

All you need is cake, frosting and fondant.

This is a recipe for a good fondant and it is call Marshmallow(MM) Fondant. I usually use this recipe but yesterday, I used the store-bought one to save time and energy however the taste is awful! It tasted like sirap (as in air sirap). Don't get me wrong air sirap is good but air sirap-tasting-fondant is a bit unusual. And it is expensive too! I usually use fondant to make letters on cupcakes ONLY but yesterday I decided to go a bit extreme and make my own fondant cake for the hantaran!

So, if you don't want to waste money and want something that tasted good, use MM Fondant.

Ingredients:

Marshmallows (depends on usage, For letters 2-3 is enough)

Icing sugar

Method:

Put the marshmallow in microwave for 20 seconds, take it out and stir and put is back. Until the mm has melted.

Then knead the mm with marshmallow. For this, you really need an ample working table. And if the fondant get really sticky on your hands, grease your hands using shortening beforehand (I don't grease btw)

You know you're done when the fondant is mouldable and yet it doesnt stick.

Now, here are some pictures to show my way of fondant-ing the cake. In cake-decorating world, you may want to use specific tools for decorating so the result is perfect! But being me I just like to use what ever I have in the kitchen.

Soak the decorating knife in hot water and wipe the excessive water. My mom thought me this technique she learnt at a bakery during her school trip ages ago.

Smoothen the cake surface

Spread icing sugar before rolling the fondant..and guess what people?I don't have picture of me rolling it! Grrr and that is the most important part! Anyhow, the trick is that, u keep on moving the fondant while you roll. Let say you roll two time on the upper left, move the fondant a bit before you roll in on other side so that it wont stick. Add icing sugar from time to time so the fondant becomes smooth. And again, I forgot to snap the rose-making part! Grrr sorry..sorry..

So here's the sad part..at about 6pm, one of the roses fall and out of all the roses, the one at the centre fall! Because this is a hantaran, I don't want to present the patch-work cake. It is terrible! even other parts are still nice but this is a hantaran so a 'hantaran-cake' it should be! So, guess what? I bake a new cake and made another one! I was so tired luckily my relatives and my big sis, Jaja came home to the rescue. So here's the result:

Have a fun weekend ahead everyone! And since today and tomorrow will be a busy day, I want to wish ya'll Happy Fasting in advance! Fulfill this coming Ramadhan al-Mubarak with good deeds and I pray for this Ramadhan will be better than last year's for everyone!InsyaAllah..

Praises to the Almighty

This time, instead of sharing a recipe, I'm gonna share with ya'll my experience. Why? U'll figure it out at the end of the post *I hope so*

I was blessed with a very patient mom. My mom never scold us for ruining her kitchen despite by her "clean reputation". And as a kid, I think kitchen is the best spot in the house! There are tons of cool stuffs like the knife, the blender, the grater etc etc. However every time I wanted to get my hands on the knife, my mom will give me table knife instead T_T. Oh, and I have a confession to make

"mummy, I used the blender when I was about 8 to make orange juice because I saw the mamak at Section 4 did that when I ordered orange juice. It tasted bitter because I blendered the seed as well *good thing the mamak made it clear to peel off the skin* so instead of finishing it up I saved it in the fridge. To my surprise, it disappeared the next day. no, no I don't mean to brag mummy but I'm just saying if I had been a nice follow-what-ever-mummy-said type of girl I wouldn't have discovered how to use the blender!okay okay i know u will eventually make me use it. but for the sake of love and affection, i hope mummy will forgive me"

And I remembered 'helping' mummy with the pizza dough. Baking project with my sister, Bila. We made simple simple cookies and cakes like cornflakes biscuit, kek batik, chocolate cake, box chip chocolate cookies what else? All of which slowly ruining mummy's kitchen and the best part is, when the cookies are ready there's a pile of dishes waiting to be washed at the sink and we just leave it like that. Sorry mummy.. :'(

I hope you're not reading my intention wrongly. I'm not bragging about my accomplishment during my childhood years but I want to tell you how grateful I am that Allah has given my mom patience to cope with all the "creativity" going up and down the kitchen. Had Allah not given His mercy and left us all with a very tidy mum with zero patience and negative toleration, none of this will happen. None!

I know for sure because my mom always told us that she never had the chance like what we had. So, all of this will not happen if Allah doesn't arrange my journey of life this way,all praises to Allah.

Then, cooking becomes a hobby. I cook every time I'm bored or should I say We cook every time We're bored *yes it is always us duo, me n my sis, Bila* until I cook alone for the first time and that was 14 years back. The story begins when my mom promised that we will make my favourite caramel pudding together but she has to cancel as she has something else to do. Being me, I'm so determine to eat it so I decided to make it alone. At that time, I can't even reach the stove! But a strong will is all it takes. When my mum was back, she was surprised but she didn't get mad. She said something like "way to go" instead. Someone else finished the mess I left by the way..hehe..

When I was in standard five, my class teacher asked for my chip choc cookies and caramel pudding recipe because I wrote "cooking chip chocolate cookies and caramel pudding" as a hobby when we were told to write an essay about ourselves. Since then she always claim cookies from me. But I never did have the chance to give it to her because my family are all cookie monsters. The cookies didn't even make its way to the jar!Oh, and my class teacher's name is Cikgu Zarazilah.

Growing up in Terengganu, Allah with his plans and arrangements like no other, blessed me with friends that loves to cook! We exchange recipes and did quite a number of cooking date especially in Cikgu Raina's house. She is one cool teacher I have to say!Thanks to her I know how to clean a fish!

Then the serious part of cooking comes when I had to cook for the whole family every day after I finish my SPM. I was given a maid+driver task with the sallary of RM500 (only) and weekends off. Life was cruel at that moment but I little did I know that the task was the most valuable task my parents had given me. Now, that I'm big, I was grateful for having that moment that speeded up my maturity level. It teaches me responsibility and family affairs like no other! I begin to look up to every single maid and homemaker. And when people say there's no job unless it is hardwork, I couldn't agree more.

Before moving to Nilai, I felt like cooking for my friends whom I never had the chance to cook for. I wanted to invite all of them but my mom said u can only invite 20. I figured that I once had a baking project with my primary school friends at my house. So this time, I'm inviting high school friends. and that was when I'm 19 I guess. And then, I felt good about it. I love people coming to my house and stuff their tummy. The feeling is just inexplicable!

And now, I'm still learning and learning and gaining skills and experience, from people, from the net, from observations, from tv, from radio, from books, from you! yes you!

And if you have been reading what I wrote from the start *I hope you had*, you will know that I am not talented. at all T_T

I come from a long journey of cooking where the start is blurry and the possibility is endless *talking about boring and confusing taglines..eyew* I take all of these as Allah's arrangment. *My friend Izan said, there's no such thing as coincidence there is only destiny*

Thank you for friends and families saying I'm a good cook. But truth to be told, I am not. Not because I don't know how to accept your compliments but because I really do feel that I don't deserve it. Even a tiny dot of it. Because as I said, this is all Allah's arrangement.

Allah has arrangements for all of us. And the good thing is, Allah's arrangement is the best! I can train myself to be a doctor, train myself to be a businesswoman or tv personality. But is that what Allah wants for me? So, what I'm trying to say here is, brush up your ability because we don't know what is Allah's arrangement for us. All that we know is we must work hard and sincerely. *erkk okayyy i'm confused*

*I think I may have strayed a lil, sorry..hehe* But the point is, I'm here sharing with you guys recipes not because I'm trying to reach out to everyone in the world telling how a good cook I am.I never thought of it that way. I believe there are a lot of you that can cook better than me. But for those who feel threatened, I'm not here to intimidate, I am not here to tell you I am better than you, I don't want you to feel how good I am that you think you're not, don't see me as someone to compete with, please don't. I'm not good. at all. *I wanted to join masterchef but my mom was sooo skeptical about my cooking skills* there. I said it. I'm not good T_T

And I would like to assert here that there is no particular reason why I wrote this but suddenly I feel like writing it. When I cook and it came out well, it is Allah's consent, if I cook and it comes out badly, Allah does not allow it to be. Remember, we can do what ever we want to but it's up to the Almighty to decide. However, we can improve and Allah is so merciful that He will give you the best. If delicious result is the best for you, then delicious it is. But if it is lacking something somewhere then try again and again. I hope this piece is useful for us and thank you for reading!

Kimbap

Yesterday Izan left mi casa to go back to Terengganu and Aina went back to work..*sobs* So here I am again continuing where I last stopped. So today I'm going to share with you how to make Kimbap.*Youtube tone ;p* Gazillion thanks to dearest Izan and Eli. Without which I couldn't have imagine making korean food.

Kimbap is really fun to make. And if u notice, I haven't been using any word as close as "cook" because kimbap is really fun it doesn't requires anything near to cooking. And the best part is, you can use just about anything in your kitchen to roll into your kimbap.

So here's the basic ingredient:

Seaweed

Rice

Yup, you're not reading it wrong. Seaweed and rice. Seaweed and rice. seaweed and rice. *ok u can stop now*

I bought the seaweed at Tesco for RM2.69 (less than Rp 10,000!) and the rice, you just cook it as you usually cook your rice. It will be perfect if you have leftover rice! (Then it will make the idea of no cooking at all more reliable ;p )

To season the rice, you can use olive oil or sesame oil and vinegar or just neglect both but but but, there's a but there..where??? *if people misheard it as butt..erkk..ok lame..continue..* but you have to mix it with salt! salt is not optional it is pivotal *means compulsory, a must,essential,vital,important-choose one*

So, when you're done mixing it with any seasoning that you like, (Owh I used about 2 tablespoon sesame oil and salt. Eli used 2 tablespoon olive oil) u can now pick the filling. I chose light mayonnaise tuna and cucumber (remove seed and julienne it about 15cm long) and omelette* telur dadaq*.

Method:

1. With your mat ready, lay down a piece of seaweed.

2. Spread about 2-3 table spoon of seasoned (or not seasoned) rice evenly. *Pressed it using the same spoon u use to scoop the rice*

3. Arrange all the filling lengthwise

4. Roll

5. With a sharp knife, cut it! *My knife wasn't sharp enough at first and the kimbap shattered!*

So, there you go. A nice and tasty kimbap ready to eat! You can eat ten kimbaps and feel full as if you've eaten one plate of rice! *Ok ok, not ten kimbaps..maybe 20 or 35 T_T now will you stop judging my tummy ??!!*

Vanilla custard

Just like choux pastry, custard can be use in many dessert. I use this particular recipe for cream puffs but u can also use this for trifle, eat-alone custard etc. This recipe will make one bowl of custard. And the good thing is that it doesn't call for custard powder!(Is it?)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c milk

1 1/2tbs corn starch

1/4 tsp salt

5 tbs sugar

2 egg yolks

1 tsp vanila essence

Method:

1. Beat all ingredients well (with a whisker @ electric mixer) and pour in pan.

2. Turn on slow heat and whisk until it is thick and shiny.

Tips and tricks:

Don't over cook or stop whisking or the custard will be curdled!But if you do come to this stage, don't throw it away. Save it for trifle! *I did..hehe*

Today I'm going to make kimbap! My friend Isan (Izan in malay) will teach me how to after she has been thought by her friend, Eli. I hope it will turn out well. But regardless the result I will still be sharing the recipe here. So, all you korean food sucker, get your kimbap-mat ready!

choux pastry

The good thing about knowing how to make choux pastry is that afterwards, u can vary them into cream puffs ( the one at Beard Papa), profiteroles, eclairs etc. And having to utter choux pastry itself makes u feel sophisticated, don't u think so? It's like whispering *so everyone can hear u* in perfume ad *shuuuuu pastryyyy~~~* It is also very easy to make! U just cannot believe how a simple recipe like this will turn out sexilicious! wuhuuuu~

Ingredients:

100 ml water

45 g butter@margerine (i use margerine because at that moment we're out of butter)

60 g sifted flour

2 eggs (100 ml)-whisk

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200 C

2. In a pan, put in water and margerine(@butter) till boil.

3. Off the heat and put in flour and whisk vigorously until the batter doesn't stick to pan.

4. Put in whisked eggs and whisk until combine *i use electric mixer for this step*

5. Spoon the batter into a piping bag.

6. Pipe on greased tray.

7. Tap your RIGHT index finger in a bowl of water (or directly from the sink) and smoothen the tip of the pastry so it becomes round and shiny to avoid burning.

Tips and tricks:

1. Make sure you have all the ingredients prepared before hand.

2. make sure everything is in room tempt.

3. Don't you dare open the oven doors.

4. As common as it sound, the preheat step is crucial in making choux pastry so preheat at least 10 minutes! A waste of electricity I know *sobs*

P/s: I'm going to Jakarta so I will post the filling recipe (vanilla custrad) after I get home. Stay tune~

Butter Rice and Potato Salad (ala Wawa :P)

Neda, this one is for u!

I should say this is a butter rice with a twist. I was inspired by Kenny Rogers Roasters rice so one day I added red and green capsicum, Bombay onion and carrots in my butter rice recipe. So basically, if u don't have all the above ingredients, it will still be a fine flavoured rice. U can also add raisins, almonds, cashews or anything that u think will have the ability to make people drool to the look of ur butter rice!

Butter Rice ala Wawa

3 cups of rice (3 pot)

2 cloves of garlic

1 medium size shallot

1/2 cup butter

1 cube of chicken stock

1. melt butter and saute (tumis) garlic and shallot in a pan.

2. place washed rice into the rice cooker and put in the sauted ingredients.

3. add some twist! so u can create butter rice ala ...... (ur name please) hehe..

4. put in some water until the water line is slightly nearing number 4.

5. Mix it a lil and press cook!

Potato salad

Potatoes *potato tomato tomato*

Mayonnaise

red capsicum

green capsicum

big onion

1.boil potatoes until soft and let cool.

2. Once it is cool, peel the skin off and cut into 4 wedges

3. Pour generous amount of mayonnaise gracefully *don't ruin the potatoes!and i mean it!*

4. and garnish it with cut capsicum and onion. no no not just garnish it.again, mix it a lil but be extra careful!

Cake Man Raven Red Velvet Cake and Cream Cheese

Now, this recipe here is requested by yummy yum yum! I remembered the first time I baked rvc using butter and 1/2 cup of cocoa powder. It was good *according to my relatives* but I personally doesn't really see the point of making rvc when u can make it by making choc cake and pouring half bottle of red coloring instead.

So my journey of searching for the purrrrrrrrfect rvc began. I finally settled with this recipe by cake man raven. It is a Southern Red Velvet Cake. Very moist and the best part is, u don't have to run to the nearest store to buy ButterCup u can just use palm oil which I believe is available in every kitchen in Malaysia. Not only it's tasty, it's healthy! And the good side of using oil is that u don't have to worry about your cake. I will guarantee u that it will turn out beautifully!*Thank you cake man Raven! We owe u one!May God bless u!*

Ingredients:

(I recommend you to measure dry ingredients first)

• 2 1/2 cups cake flour (i use Nona brand but if u cant find it just substitute by using 2tbs corn flour and put over wheat flour until the measurement shows 1 cup)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine salt (optional I often forgot to put it)
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups oil (My mum often buy Seri Murni but she once bought Giant brand and it works just as well)
• 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring (1 ounce)
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional too. no sweat if u forgot to put it)

Method:

1. Preheat oven 180 C

2. Beat wet ingredients until well-mixed.

3. Fold in SIFTED dry ingredients (don't forget to sift after u measure!)

4. Pour onto greased baking tray.

5. Bake for 30-40 minutes (test by poking a skewer and when it come out clean, then it's done!)

Tips and tricks:

1. If u dun have buttermilk, substitute by using 1 tbs vinegar and pour milk until it's 1 cup and leave for about ten minutes. If using this method, make sure u prepared it before u start doing anything.

2. When folding the dry ingredient, put the ingredient bit by bit maybe 5 tbs at a time. Don't beat!Fold, fold and fold using spatula.

3. You can grease by using oil

4. If u're using the normal round-shape baking tray, use two. But I strictly advice u to get one of those big square pan. Because u have to bake the batter right after u r done mixing it, or else, it will deflate and will not cook thoroughly.

5. Don't open the oven door and peek!again, it will deflate.

Cream cheese frosting

1cup of cream cheese (250g)

1/2 c unsalted butter

3/4 c icing sugar

Method:

Beat all ingredients until fluffy.

Tips and tricks:

Forget about the measurement! everytime ur putting in icing sugar, taste and if it is not sweat enough, add 1 tbs at a time until u get what u think as the purrrrfect cream cheese frosting!

To Yummy and Wani, post some to me once u r done! *just kidding*

By Yaya for her daddy's birthday. Salivating? Now do it!

Roasted Chicken ala Wawa

Okay what a bad name for a roasted chicken recipe. The name wawa matches a legendary skyscraper or a 1000 cc maserati or something :P

So this recipe here is dedicated to hottie wani zati for her undying concern of my blog and being me, weak, fragile, vulnerable and easily open to any hint of care, I decided to re-blog. Owh and that is just the imaginary part of me using my ultimate mind power to exaggerate a story that is in reality just a boring one *sigh*. The real story was she posted "what's ur blog?" on my facebook wall T_T

Ingredients:

3 inches of Ginger, ginger and ginger!

2 cloves of Garlic

3 tbs Soy Sauce preferably shrimp fan brand *cap kipas udang hahaha hahaha erk*

3 tbs oyster sauce

3 tbs honey

black pepper and salt to taste oh and oregano too and rosemary if u happen to have it in ur ktchen or any other spices that u think will look sexy on roasted chicken

sheeshh!a whole naked chicken!*How can I forgot chicken when I'm going to roast a chicken?haha!*

Method:

Mix well *I use the traditional mortar but I wish I have a food processor :'(* and marinate the chicken for an hour. Then roast at 180 c for another hour.

Tips + tricks:

Make sure the chicken is not too big. If it's too big cut them in half. Don't cut them in pieces no matter what happens!(or else u will be left with a very 'roasted' chicken) Make sure u don't cut all the fat, the more, the juicier!What else? Okay that's all for today. Enjoy cooking everyone! Don't forget to mention the name when u serve it~ and what is the name again??? Roasted Chicken ala Wawa~

P/s: My mom said pour every drop of the marinate onto the chicken! * woooowww..I already got a stalker there man..wuhuu*