Bake & Celebrate : Cookies and Treats

It's here! I'm back from my holidays and received my very own copy of "Bake & Celebrate : Cookies and Treats" in my mail.

This book is a collection of 42 mouthwatering and irresistible cookies and treats lovingly contributed by selected top food and lifestyle bloggers and instagrammers from Singapore and the region. It is now in stores and will be a definite wonderful gift for family and friends during this festive season!

I would like to thank Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Pte Ltd for giving me this opportunity to be part of this cookbook. 

Not only am I elated to be able to share recipes that I love, I also want to take this opportunity to motivate my girl when she sees her mommy's bake published in a book! She was very inspired to write and even talked about wanting to be an author and have her works published when two authors went to her school earlier on this year. This is a very heartwarming gift for my family and I, and I'm sure you will be able to find many recipes that you'll love in this cookbook for this festive season's bakes!

Cheers!

Christmas Pandan French Toast

Since it's Christmas soon and my girl had just requested to have French Toast for breakfast, I decided to satisfy her cravings with a local yet Christmasy twist with .... Christmas Pandan French Toast!

Pandan Sponge Cake (Cooked Dough Method)

I recently bought a bottle of Koepoe Koepoe Pandan Paste from Sheng Siong supermarket and wasted no time to make this Pandan Sponge Cake using the cooked dough method.

Snow White Chocolate Rice Cake

I had some leftover egg whites after making my Easy Kaya Portuguese Egg Tarts so I came up with this super light cake to enjoy on a lazy weekend. 

It's like making chiffon cake, just that I did not add any egg yolks and oil. This cake basically relied on the beaten egg whites to rise. I added a teeny bit of baking powder as an 'insurance' but I think it can be omitted.

As only egg whites were used, the cake was super white if not for the chocolate rice I've added. My girl named this cake 'Snow White Chocolate Rice Cake'.

Easy Kaya Portuguese Egg Tarts

I've always enjoyed eating Portuguese egg tarts. Fell totally in love with it especially when I first tried the Lord Stow's Portuguese egg tart in Macau. Every bite into those rich and creamy egg custard paired with the tart pastry is just HEAVENLY!

I'm experimenting with the Koepe Koepe pandan paste bought from Sheng Siong to make my cheater's version of easy Easy Kaya Portuguese Egg Tarts.

Orange Chiffon Cake

I had a bag of oranges at home and decided to bake something using them. The first thought that came to my mind...Orange Chiffon Cake!

Chocolate Salted Caramel Tart

This is simply indulgence to the max!  

Chocolate + Salted Caramel in a tart...I'M ON CLOUD 9! 

A sin? Never! Just pure indulgence. :)

Salted Caramel Ice-Cream

Now that I've made myself some Salted Caramel Sauce, what better way to use it than to make some Salted Caramel Ice-Cream!!

Salted Caramel Sauce

Salted caramel....they seem to be everywhere....and anything that has this luscious, smooth, buttery, sweet and salty ingredient incorporated is just simply heavenly awesome! 

This has been in my to-do list for the longest time. Glad that I've finally set aside some time to make this homemade salted caramel sauce. This will definitely be perfect to be used to make a host of other salted caramel desserts. 

Choco Toffee Iced Lollies

My girl was asking for more popsicles for snack over the weekend as the 'stock' made during the previous batch was running low. So I made some popsicles with the Gippsland Dairy's Toffee & Honeycomb Twist Yogurt that I have in my refrigerator to replenish and ensure a ready stock so that my family can just enjoy them anytime.

Easy One-pot Braised Soy Bean Paste Chicken

I learnt this easy one-pot dish from MediaCorp's Channel 8 variety show "What's In the Fridge - Ep 5" recently. This is another easy and fuss-free one-pot dish that I so love, and I'm sure many busy mothers will love as well.

Steam Orange (Cough & Phlegm Remedy)

Steam Orange - this is a cough and phlegm remedy that's recommended by my colleague. Before I had known about this, whenever anyone in the family is down with cough, I would normally brew Luo Han Guo with Chrysanthemum and American Ginseng Fiber Tea (罗汉果洋参菊花茶). 

Adzuki Fruit Cocktail Agar Agar

On a special day in the month of July every year, I turn a year older and wiser. In the younger days, such a day would usually be celebrated with friends. Those were days before we started settling down and having our own family commitments. 

Now, this day is spent with my family, and I have a really precious and wonderful time with my darlings.

Fried Tang Hoon (Fried Glass Noodles)

Many of my friends would know how much I love making easy one-pot meals. Not only do they allow busy working moms like myself to prepare home-cooked and fuss-free meals in a jiffy with minimal washing up, it also takes away the guilt of my family having to eat outside food all the time. 

Fried Tang Hoon (Fried Glass Noodles) is a one-pot dish that I've been whipping up these days, often upon special request from my girl as she enjoys eating this dish.

Toffee Choco Crunch Cheesecake (Non-baked)

I've been scratching my head over what cake to prepare for my hubby's birthday. I had wanted to make something with custard but time was not on my side to make anything too time-consuming or elaborate. Since cheesecake is something he enjoys, I decided to make a non-baked cheesecake.

I've recently bought a packet of toffee chocolate and my family really enjoyed it. So I decided to use this and some coco crunch to make a Toffee Choco Crunch Cheesecake to surprise my dear hubby on his special day!

Blueberry Yogurt Ice Lollies

The weather of late has been punishingly hot and humid. Try stepping out of the house and you will be greeted by the hot and scorching sun. Even when we stay indoors, we have to be equipped with fans or better still, air conditioning!

I made some popsicles with the Gippsland Dairy's Blueberry Twist Yogurt that I have in my refrigerator so that my family can just enjoy a ready stock of them anytime in this hot weather.

Toffee & Honeycomb Yogurt Muesli Parfait

I have a few friends over my place and since I have some Gippsland Dairy Yogurt and Arnold's Farm Muesli on hand, I made some parfaits for snacks.

Hearty Brekkie Indulgence

Julie of Frosts Food & Beverage gave me some Gippsland Dairy yogurt and Arnold's Farm Muesli to try. These are what they look like.

Steamed Pandan Red Bean Cuppies

Taking a small break from baking yet still want to have home-made snacks...so I tried steaming instead. Presenting Steamed Pandan Red Bean Cuppies for snack time!

Yam Paste With Gingko Nuts (Orh Nee 银杏芋泥）

Orh Nee is a Teochew dessert that I enjoy since young. Whenever I attend any chinese wedding dinner, this would be a dish that I would look forward to if served for desserts.

Kueh Kodok (Deep Fried Banana Balls) 炸香蕉丸

Kueh Kodok (Deep Fried Banana Balls) 炸香蕉丸 is a popular snack commonly sold at Malay stalls. My aunt used to make these yummy snacks for tea-break whenever I stayed over at their house during the school holidays in my younger days. 

Baked Cheese Tarts

I've heard these cheese tarts are very popular especially in Japan and some Asian countries and have seen snaking queues for these delectable tarts at the stores. An outlet has just opened recently in sunny Singapore's Ion Orchard and we've seen crowds queuing for 2 hours for these Baked Cheese Tarts!

Purple Sweet Potato in Brown Sugar Ginger Broth

I was so elated to find purple sweet potato at the supermarket that I quickly bought a pack home. I knew exactly what I wanted to make - a sweet dessert that can be served either hot or cold with the packet of Brown Sugar and Ginger Tea cubes from Taiwan!

Taro & Purple Sweet Potato Sago Dessert 芋头紫薯西米露

This really caught my eye. A refreshing bowl of Taro & Sweet Potato Sago dessert with a beautiful purple hue served chilled....simply heaven!

Banana Walnut Cake

Banana and nuts are one of the perfect match when it comes to cakes. I baked a batch of Banana Walnut Cake using Chobani's greek yogurt that has less than 0.5% fat and Medella's Organic Premium Coconut Cooking Oil over the weekend and it was well received by the family.

Grass Jelly Soya

It is a super hot day and what a good way to cool down and quench our thirst than to have a cup of cooling and refreshing Grass Jelly Soya.

Braised Pork Rice (卤肉饭)

Last December, my family and 3 of my besties' families went for a holiday trip to Taiwan. It was a super duper enjoyable trip for all, especially the children! It was loads of merry making wherever we went and the nights would always end with gathering sessions for the children (and adults) in one of our rooms before we finally hit the sack. 

One of the popular meals among the group would be Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice (卤肉饭). My girl loved it so much she would ask for 2 bowls of rice most of the time!! Our guide shared that this is a very simple dish and there are only 2 reasons why it is so tasty...it all boils down to Taiwanese short grain rice and Taiwanese soy sauce. He even recommended us some Taiwanese brands that we could get in Singapore supermarkets so that we didn't have to lug back packets of rice and soy sauce from Taiwan. Lol!

Easy Greek Yogurt Scones

I made some scones for a perfect breakfast and tea-break fix over the weekend using Chobani's Greek yogurt that has only less than 0.5% fat.

Coconut Nutty Granola

Granola is a staple in my household. I regularly make a batch of these handy go-to snacks for my 'breakfast table' and 'snack bar'.

Peanut-Butter Banana Smoothie

After making the Nutella Peanut-Butter Banana Smoothie previously, I decided to try making another smoothie without adding nutella as I was curious how it would taste. 

Korean Army Stew (Budae Jjigae)

I've seen many sharing photos of their Korean Army Stew (Budae Jjigae) and I've finally made a pot for a simple family meal after training my girl to take a little spicy food over the past months.

Blueberry Oat Cookies

Would you like to have blueberries in a cookie? I would, anytime!

Guilt-free Swirled Ribena Cheesecake (Non-baked)

This is a late post. We celebrated my girl's 8th birthday early this month and I made a cheesecake...in fact I made two as my brother's birthday was a day after hers. I made a mini one to surprise her on her actual day and a bigger one for the two 'birthday boy and girl'. Everyone enjoyed the cake and I especially enjoyed the time spent together. Though it was only a mini family get-together, I truly treasured every moment.

Nutella Swirl Peanut Butter Muffins

I was staring at my bottle of peanut butter and wondering what I could 'transform' it into for a yummy tea-break. Ta-da!! Decided to marry it with the other ingredients in my pantry to have a lovey Nutella Swirl Peanut Butter Muffins for afternoon snack.

Cranberries Cheese Loaf with Greek Yogurt

I've convinced myself yet again that I've made the right decision to start this blog to document my bakes. I've recently experimented with using Chobani greek yogurt that has less than 0.5% fat in my Zoji breamaker to make a soft and yummy loaf of cranberries bread topped with cheese.

Pineapple Rice

Pineapple Rice is a very simple and easy rice cooker one-pot meal that I will always make when I have pineapple premix, cashew nuts and pork floss on hand.

Chrysanthemum Wolfberry Buns

I've brewed some chrysanthemum herbal drink for the family and thought why not use chrysanthemum to bake some bread? I adapted my usual bread recipe to make these healthy, soft and fluffy buns. 

Black Beauty Kaya Bun

I've been making charcoal buns with kaya after making Black Beauty Chocolate Chip Bun here. I've been asked if the recipe needs to be tweaked. The answer is no. I used the same bread recipe and wrapped kaya in the buns.

It's soft, moist and yummy!!  

Matcha Adzuki Greek Yogurt Chiffon Cupcakes

I was scratching my head over what to bring to a friend's Chinese New Year pot luck gathering session. I rummaged through my fridge and decided to use the Chobani greek yogurt sitting there to bake a batch of wonderfully soft and moist Matcha Adzuki Greek Yogurt Chiffon Cupcakes.

What's in a pouch?

Have you ever experienced waking up wee hours in the morning only to realize to your horror you have run out of bread when preparing for your child's breakfast before they rush off for school? Well, that happened to me once and I'm ever so thankful for the life-saving 'pouches' in my refrigerator!

Curious to know what these 'pouches' are?

Almond Crisps

Almond Crips...these are one of the hot favorites in my household during Chinese New Year. It is super nutty fragrant and crispy and you can't stop eating at one piece. Trust me, you'll love these!

Snow White Fritters (using Coconut Oil)

I'm making this unstoppable mouth-popping snack like what I did last year here that has many loving it. You can never imagine how easy it is to make this super addictive snack!

Coconut Almond Cookies

Almond cookies are another of my favourite goodies that I will have in my household during Chinese New Year. 

Hang on!! This is not the usual Almond Cookies I normally make for the CNY festive season, because this time I've made some experiment in my kitchen and voila!...here's presenting my Coconut Almond Cookies!!

Nutella Butter Cookies

The melt-in-the-mouth butter cookies I baked recently was very well received. My hands got 'itchy' over the weekend and since I want to finish up the bottle of my favourite NUTELLA, I decided to make another batch of butter cookies but this time, added with nutella! 

Rice Cooker Laksa Fried Rice

For me, laksa has always been served with thick noodles. When I saw this laska fried rice sauce selling at the supermarket, I was super excited at the thought of having another addition to my one-pot fuss-free meals, this time using my rice-cooker!

Greek Yogurt Banana Walnut Bread - Chobani Greek Yogurt

This super healthy Greek Yogurt Banana Bread is made without any addition of butter or oil. 

Yes, you heard me right...No butter or oil.

Wait a minute! Wouldn't the cake be dry? On the contrary, it is not.

This is yet another loaf cake I've made adding Chobani Greek yogurt to give it the moistness and softness I love like the cake here and here, sans the butter .