Long Weekend Bakeover: The Hummingbird Bakery's Matcha Cupcakes

Well, I've been too busy (and too lazy) lately that I've neglected this blog for quite a while. Things have been quite crazy at work and it's gonna get crazier over the next few months, up til November. But in between, I try to squeeze in as much time as possible to play around in the kitchen -as a way to stay sane. Meanwhile, lots of pictures of baking projects and culinary adventures are abandoned, waiting to be edited and posted. 

'Alice in Wonderland' series #2: Lavender Cupcakes

I have never really liked the smell of lavender flowers. But an infatuation soon started after I read Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence. Rather metaphorically of course, since I'm still not too keen on the scent. But the thought of living amongst lavender fields are just too dreamy to resist.

So when I flipped over my current cupcake bible (500 Cupcakes & Muffins by Fergal Connolly) and found a recipe for Lavender & Honey Cupcakes, I thought it would be nice to use the box of dried lavenders, which has been sitting in my fridge forever, as part of my 'Alice in Wonderland' cupcake series. Evan was very excited about it too.

'Alice in Wonderland' series #1: Rosewater Cupcakes

When I first read about recipes featuring rosewater as an ingredient, I thought of it as very girly, romantic, and somewhat seductive. Rosewater is a byproduct of rose oil and is a widely popular ingredient in Middle Eastern sweets. I purchased my bottle from Jones The Grocer, Singapore, during my last visit there in January. The bottle stood in my kitchen cupboard for months until I finally put it into good use last Sunday to bake some rosewater cupcakes.

Introducing: Evan

 Eye-ing the strawberries 'n cream cupcake

Hi, All!

Meet Evan. He's a sweet but (rather) shy sweet toothed polar bear cub that I adopted from a gift hamper a few months ago. He lightens up at the sight of cookies, cupcakes, or any other sugary confectionaries. Though he's a bit reserved, at times he could be giddy -mostly because of the sugar rush.

A Lil' Sip of French (and Nespresso) at Bistro Baron

This new place looks very lovely on the outside with its tres chic French bistro design and romantic accordion music. You'll feel like you're in one of those scenes in 'Ratatouille' ;P But frankly the service was rather a disappointment -it took (almost) forever for our orders to come out.

One of the main attraction of this place, for me, is the fact that they serve Nespresso. So my partner and I, both a self-professed coffee enthusiasts, specifically went there for it. We are very keen to taste this it coffee. So far, on the menu, they only serve 4 types of pods out of the available 16. At Rp. 45.000 per cup (excluding the 21% tax of course), this cuppa is no doubt an expensive indulgence.

Nespresso Roma cappuccino (front) & Livanto long black (back)

The Lure of Ladurée

Well, this is what I would call a sweet start to the year.

It is quite obvious that by now, some people would have noticed my silly obsession with macarons. Not that it's hard to miss, really, I ranted about the sweet confectioneries in my blog and even on my facebook status for some time.

So when a friend who happens to live and work in Paris (yes, the capital of Macarons) came back to spend the new year here, he made a sweet gesture of bringing back a box of assorted Macarons from one of the legendary patisserie there, Ladurée.

 

indeed, sin tastes sweet

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

As my mom was away during the holiday and the maid went back to her hometown to celebrate Idul Fitri, I was left in charge of the house -meaning, I was forced to stay at home to 'guard' it. I'd go out and about all day, and went back home at night.. to an empty house.

Thus began the midnight baking session(s) which were meant to kill time.

The Domestic Goddes (Wannabe) Strikes Again

It's been a long long while since I last stepped in to the kitchen to whip up some magical stuffs (well, they're hardly magical, but I just like to think of it that way).

I stopped experimenting when I started working full time and moved out of my parents' house to live in a small rented space (called kos room) -which is similar to a dorm room and is not equipped with proper kitchen whatsoever.

That was around 3 years ago.

In Search of The Perfect...

Ever since I've stumbled upon Ms. Joycelyn's amazingly beautiful (and scrumptious) foodblog, Kuidaore, just a few days ago, I found myself to be immensely absorbed in her impeccable writings and highly art-directed tantalizing pictures. I also found out later that she's not just good with desserts but also very good with other meals too (like hosting a multi-course dinner party) -- she's an object of admiration and jealousy to me.

I kept on reading and every post seemed to be very inspiring if not encouraging me to pursue my now-forgotten passion for cooking and (especially) baking.

After too much ohh-ing and ahh-ing over her over the top cooking (and art) skills -- if you look at her creations, such as like these christmas joys, these snowflake cookies, these Marie Antoinette-sque cakes, and these super girlie sweets, I believe you'll react the same (and to think that she's entirely self-taught makes me even giddier) -- I stumbled upon one post last night that made me have a sudden huge craving.

A craving for that sweet fluffy French bread called brioche.

Macarons Dream

I'm curently wondering..

What Pierre Hermé's macarons taste like.

I'm never a macaron girl. I dislike meringues (which are basically made from the same main ingredients: egg whites and lots of sugar) and I've tasted macarons here from Bakerzin -and hated it because they were overly sweet, sticky, and yucky. But I've heard some people say that yes, the ones from Bakerzin are awful. You don't compare them with the real macarons such as the ones from Pierre Hermé or Ladurée.

Perhaps it's like comparing McDonald's beef burger to, say, Social House's wagyu burger (okay, that's probably a lame comparison -but you get the point).