dessert in a glass

If you are a parent of a P6 student in a local school here, you would probably know why I have been missing in actions for the past weeks ;)

Today marks the beginning of the much anticipated (with stress and agony on my part) primary school leaving examination or better known by the 4 letter 'word', psle ;) This national examination also marks the last leg of my younger child's 6 year primary school education. After crossing this huge hurdle, it is not the end, but a beginning of a new chapter for his next phase of education.

I have refrained from baking or indulge in photography or blogging for the past few weeks...just so that I won't feel guilty about not spending quality time with my child. I am blessed with a boy who has his own initiatives to do his own revisions without much guidance or coaching. He has certainly put in a lot of effort to prepare for this exam. I am truly blessed as I didn't have a hard time too when my elder child took his psle a couple of years back.

History repeats itself while I read through my older post about how my elder child prepared for this much dreaded (by parents) national examination. Just like his brother, my younger son went through the same phase. I would think he is in a much better position than his brother since his mother is 'wiser' and less stressed up and has since learned to be more relax after having gone through the cycle once ;)

Ok, enough of my ranting, and I would like to end this post with a simple, easy to put together yet delicious dessert...No bake cheesecakes in pots!

I bought these tiny pudding bottles when I was in Beijing a few years back. I didn't really have much chance to use them until now. Don't be misled by the photographs, these bottles are really tiny, it can only hold 180ml of water!

Instead of making a big no bake cheesecake, I have used the bottles to make individual portions. The steps are pretty much the same as a no bake cheesecake. First layer the bottom with a biscuit base, followed by the cream cheese filling and topped off with some homemade blueberry sauce. The sauce can be made within a few minutes just by cooking blueberries with some caster sugar.

It is quite a 'light' dessert as I have used non fat plain yoghurt instead of heavy cream. I wouldn't say it is a healthy dessert as cream cheese is really fattening ;) However, since one single portion is really quite small, as long as we eat in moderation, I would think it is still a nice sweet treat to serve your family or friends.

I have also made another version using small glasses and topped it with homemade strawberries sauce. Unlike the blueberries version, the strawberries I bought were a bit too tangy. If you were to follow my recipe and would like to use strawberries instead, do adjust/increase the amount of sugar so that the sauce will be sweeter especially if your have got sweet tooth.


Here's wishing all P6 students, all the best for the psle!

and best wishes to all Mummies,

endure, endure, and it will be over very soon ;)



No Bake Blueberry Cheesecake Pots

Ingredients:
(makes 6)

125g blueberries (about 1 punnet)
2 tablespoons caster sugar

75g digestive biscuits (about 5)
25g unsalted butter

250g cream cheese, soften at room temperature
50g icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
140g non fat plain natural yoghurt (I used one 140g tub marigold non fat yoghurt)


Method:

• Heat about 1/3 of the blueberries and caster sugar in a small pan over medium to low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the berries have broken down. Add the rest of the blueberries, cook for another 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
• Melt butter in a small pan over low heat. Crumb the digestive biscuits with the blender attachment of the Bosch MUM5 home professional kitchen machine until they resemble breadcrumbs. Mix the crumbs and the melted butter with a spoon until the crumbs are moistened. Spoon equal portion of the mixture (about 2 tablespoons) into the bottom of 6 dessert pudding bottles or shot glasses (size: 180ml/3 oz). Lightly press down the mixture into the bottom of the bottles or shot glasses. Leave to chill in fridge.
• Place cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla extract in the mixing bowl of the Bosch MUM5 kitchen machine. Mix on speed 4 with the silicone flexible whisk attachment for 3 minutes, or until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy. Add in yoghurt and continue to beat for about 1 minute till the mixture is thoroughly blended.
• Spoon cream cheese mixture into the prepared pudding bottles or shot glasses (about 3 tablespoons per glass). Leave to chill in the fridge.
• Top with the blueberry sauce before serving.

More about → dessert in a glass

首尔的cafe时光

我把首尔的cafe时光带回家了。。。

一向来安排自助旅行都非常贪心，总是把行程排得满满，搞得自己像导游，带着鸭子从一个景点赶到下一个景点，势必要 cover as much as possible, 这种怕输的心态不是一朝一日可以培养出来的，呵呵！

去年的首尔～釜山～庆州自由行，虽然行程有点像行军（我穿着球鞋脚都会被磨破，其中一个脚指甲回来后还脱落了！），不过这次终于有机会在首尔的江南区，新沙洞林荫大道附近的一个好小好小的cafe，喝下午茶，la kopi！

这家Banana Tree cafe是我无意中在某个网站发现的。一看到那宛如盆栽的甜点和可爱的小‘铁铲’汤匙，立刻把它列入我的‘die die must go’ list！

有了GPS， Google map，这间躲在一个好不起眼的街边小店，并不是很难找。

那天下午，小小的cafe就我们三人，感觉好像包下整个咖啡馆！其实咖啡馆就只有那三，四张小桌子。。。

看，这个被店主命名为paap的甜点，其实是把布丁盛在花盆里，上面的‘土壤’是oreo粉末，再加上巧克力石子和假花作点缀，就变成一盆可爱的小盆栽。

有闲情喝咖啡，吃甜点，对我们来说真的很难得。。。

在冷冷的冬天，坐在小小的，温馨的露台，來杯热热的latte，甜甜的香蕉布丁，幻想着有朝一日能开一间这样的小cafe，感觉非常非常好。

我特地向店员买了小花盆回来，只可惜小铁铲汤匙不卖，要不然买来当手信也不错。

小花盆带回来就一直搁着，直到有一天心血来潮，在网站上找一找，发现原来这种盆栽甜点除了布丁也可以用雪糕来代替。做法很简单，只虽放一个纸杯(马芬纸杯）在花盆里，填入雪糕，再插入一段吸管（用来插花）放入冰箱冷冻。要吃之前，撒上捣碎的oreo cookies，再插上鲜花或假花，以巧克力石子点缀，我的DIY花盆甜点就完成了！饼干里面的馅要不要拿掉可以随意，不拿掉的话，‘土壤’会很像好多天没浇水，变干硬，结块的泥土 ;)




我的花盆甜点：Oreo加雪糕，好像变成oreo mcFlowery了啦！

没有小花盆？ 没关系，小花也可以‘种’在小玻璃杯里， 一样能在家享受拥有视觉, 味觉，来自人气cafe的甜点！


This post is about my last trip to Seoul...the relaxing time we spent at this little cafe, Banana Tree, at Shinsha dong, near Garosu-gil. I was drawn to this cafe simply because of their cute flower pot dessert! We had a great time sipping latte and enjoying the .banana pudding (paap) on a cold wintry afternoon.

I had wanted to recreate this lovely dessert when I got back home, but as usual, I procrastinated. A couple of weeks ago, I was so inspired by The Pioneer Woman's springy flower pot dessert that I wasted no time to get my hands 'dirty' creating my own flower pot dessert. I made a simplified version, that is, I didn't use any pound cake as base. Instead, I lined my flower pots with a paper muffin cup (which happened to fit in nicely into the flower pot) and filled it up with ice cream. I topped the ice cream with crushed oreo cookies and colourful chocolate stones. If you do not own any flower pots, this adorable dessert can be made in small glasses too. These are great after dinner dessert and I am sure they will surprise any guests young or old.

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apple and blueberry crumble

As mentioned in my last post, my digital to-do list is quite effective. My next new bake of the year is Apple Crumble. I tend to shy away with anything that requires cooking over the stove. But at the start of this year, I told myself that I should really really get out of my comfort zone. While going through the recipe, I had envisioned that cooking sugar with just 1 tablespoon of water would definitely cause the mixture to stick to the pot, and to make it worst, you are not suppose to stir the mixture before it caramelized.

My initially fear of ending up with a pot of burnt apples was rather unfounded. The sugar mixture didn't even stick to the stainless steel pot I used. I have added in lemon zest to cook with the apple fillings even though it is not called for in the recipe I followed. My heart was skipping with joy when the filling was done ;) The cooked apples, lightly accented by the lemon zest, tasted just right...tender but not too soft; sweet but not too sweet. Half the challenge was completed!

As it was the first time I was baking apple crumbles, not knowing what to expect, I filled the ramekins with the crumble toppings almost to the brim. Imagine my shock when I saw the toppings rised well over the rim upon baking. There was nothing wrong with it, but I needed 'space' for the scoop of ice cream to serve along with the apple crumble. So, once I took the ramekins out of the oven, I pressed the crumble toppings down with the back of a spoon. I would have press it down further, but the toppings started to fall off and I thought it was best to leave it alone. I left it to cool but when I went back to check after 5 mins, I was taken aback by another interesting sight...the crumble toppings sank further down the rim. I felt a little sheepish...I should have left it alone and let nature takes its course?

photo credit: photo taken with help from my sous chef cum ad-hoc photographic assistant holding the spoon as steadily as he could.

Believe it or not, this is the first time I have ever tasted apple crumble. What a delicious combo of warm apple fillings, bursting blueberries, light buttery crumbs that was full of flavour and fragrance from the almond powder and nutty walnuts! Needless to say, apple crumble with vanilla ice cream is a perfect match. Another discovery I made...the tangy blueberries became sweet even though it was not cooked with the apple fillings, I wonder what went on under those crumble mix when it was baking in the oven?

This is a certainly a crowd pleaser, great as after dinner desserts when you have guests coming over since the fillings and crumble toppings can be prepared in advance. I am sure you will have guests going gaga over your homemade desserts :)



Apple and Blueberry Crumble

Ingredients
(serves 4)

for the filling:
4 apples (I used 3 large China fuji apples)
60g caster sugar (original recipe calls for 80g)
1 tablespoon water
zest from 1 lemon (not called for in original recipe)

*some fresh blueberries

for the crumble:
60g cake flour
60g almond powder (grounded almond)
60g unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
40g caster sugar (original recipe calls for 60g)
35g walnuts, coarsely chopped

(*the blueberries are not cooked with the apple fillings)

Method:

for the filling

1. Core the apples, cut into chunks.
2. Place sugar and 1 tablespoon water into a pot. Leave it to boil on Medium-to-High heat. DO NOT stir the mixture. (Stirring will cause the mixture to thin out.)
3. Leave the mixture to boil undisturbed (takes about a couple of minutes). Once it starts to brown or caramelize, swirl the pot a little to allow the mixture to brown evenly. Immediately add in the apples, stir to coat the apples with the syrup. (Note: the syrup mixture will be very hot, it will splatter when the apples are added especially if the apple chunks are not well drained. This is speaking from experience.)
4. Allow the apples to cook on Medium-to-Low heat for about 5 mins, stir occasionally.
5. Add in the lemon zest, continue to cook for another 5 mins or until the apples become fork tender and the mixture dries out. Remove from heat and leave to cool completely.

for the crumble

1. Place flour, almond powder, sugar in a mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
2. Add the cold butter. With a fork, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs (or use fingertips to rub in the butter).
3. Add in the chopped walnuts, toss to combine. (Note: leave to chill in fridge if not used immediately.)

to assemble

1. Preheat oven to 190degC.
2. Fill ramekin or ovenproof dish to 3/4 full (portion is enough for 4 ramekins, size of ramekin: 3.5"). Add in a few fresh blueberries to each ramekin. Top with crumble mixture (I used about 2 tablespoons for each ramekins and there is still some leftover crumbles).
3. Bake for 30mins or until the crumble is golden. (Note: the crumble toppings will expand upon baking)
4. Leave to cool and serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. (Note: the apple fillings could still be piping, take care when serving to young children.)

Recipe Source: adapted from Smile! 幸福小点心, 山王丸由利绘

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Everyday Dessert

Ever since I learned how to cook this simple Chinese dessert...known as Tau Suan, I will make sure my better half gets to eat his favourite dessert whenever he is back home.

If you are living on the other side of the earth from this little red dot, Tau Suan is a warm, sweet dessert made with split, skinned mung beans. The mung beans is usually steamed still it is cooked before it is boiled in a pot of water. Not just plain water, but water that has been simmering away with a few bundles of pandan leaves or screw pine leaves. The soup is then sweetened with sugar and thickened with starch such as sweet potato flour or water chestnut flour. This dessert is always served with fried you tiao or fried dough fritters, a bowl of tau suan will never taste the same if there is no you tiao to go with it.

This cheap and simple dessert is easily available at most dessert stalls here...and if I am not wrong, there is at least one dessert stall in every single food centre or what we known as hawker centres. However, nowadays, it is not easy to find good tau suan. I either get a bowl of watery mung beans with a lot more water than mung beans, or the consistency of the dessert is so thick that it was no different from swallowing a bowl of gummy glue.

Although it is a simple dessert to prepare, it never occurred to me that I could actually make it at home...not until I first saw it at Esther's blog, Bits and Pieces of Life. She has followed the recipe from Makansutra, and thanks to Seetoh's video, I've since learned how to cook tua suan! I noted his unique way of stir frying the mung beans till it caramelised. This is definitely something different from the usual method of steaming the mung beans. By stir frying them, not only it shortens the preparation time; ensures the beans remain 'whole'; it also gives the dessert a nice golden hue. I have later tried another recipe using the steam method (just to compare), but the colour of the tau suan looks so pale and unappetising despite replacing white sugar with brown ones.

The other thing to note is the right type of starch to use as thickening agent. Water chestnut flour will give the best moulthfeel, without being too sticky, followed by sweet potato flour. Hope over to this interesting article to learn about the 'power' of the various thickening agents. For his recipe, Seetoh uses a combination of water chestnut and sweet potato flour. However, I used only sweet potato flour, yet I don't find the consistency or taste of the tau suan being compromised. My homemade tau suan tastes better than what I could get from most dessert stalls. Someday, when I find suitable recipes to use up water chestnut flour, I will certainly use it to thicken the dessert.

With the right knowledge of the ingredients, and following the recipe closely, anyone can make a nice bowl of tau suan. Do give this simple dessert a try, I am sure you won't regret it :)



Tau Suan with You Tiao

Ingredients:
(serves 4)

1.5 ltr water
2 ~ 3 bundles of pandan leaves
250g split mung beans
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
50g sweet potato flour (original recipe calls for 30g water chestnut flour and 20g sweet potato flour)
50ml water
2 ~ 3 tablespoons granulated sugar (adjust according to taste)
1 stick of you tiao

Method:

• Soak mung beans for about 5mins. Drain and set aside. 
• Wash pandan leaves and tie into bundles.
• Place water and pandan leaves in a pot. Leave to simmer for about 10mins.
• In the mean time, place mung beans in a frying pan. Add 3 tablespoons of sugar and stir fry continuously over low heat till the mung beans caramelised (about 8~10 mins).
• Discard the pandan leaves from the pot of water.
• Transfer mung beans into the pot of water. Bring it back to boil. Leave to boil for another 5~10 mins. Taste the beans for the prefered texture. Cook a couple of mins longer if prefer softer texture. Add in 2 ~ 3 tablespoons of sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
• Dissolve sweet potato flour with 50ml of water. Stir in gradually. Turn off the heat once it comes to a boil. 
• Serve with you tiao or dough fritters

(note: in order to get a nice consistency, do follow the ingredient amount closely, especially amount of water, amount of water chestnut/sweet potato flour.)

Recipe source: adapted from Makansutra Cooking

More about → Everyday Dessert

a prelude

I know, there are still six days to go before the lunar eighth month...or another three weeks before the mid-autumn festival. I am not in the hurry to make any mooncakes before the end of next week.

What you see here are not traditional mooncakes which we are familiar with...

rather, they are steamed purple sweet potatoes...moulded with a mooncake mould...

and served with maple syrup and chopped nuts. I got this recipe from a magazine, and it is actually a recommended dish to serve to guests during the Chinese New Year festive season.

Visual wise, the clever use of a mooncake mould does make it a very presentable and stylish dish. However, what is important to me is, I've found an interesting way to eat steamed sweet potatoes ;) The maple syrup helps to moisten the sweet potatoes...which tends to get dry especially when it is left cold. The pairing of chopped nuts lends a sharp contrast to the soft texture of the mashed sweet potatoes. My younger child who doesn't care for sweet potatoes or pumpkins, helped himself to as many sweet potatoes 'mooncakes' he could stuff inside his stomach. Overall, it is a simple, healthy and delicious 小吃 (snacks), something to reach out for in between meals instead of unhealthy snacks or junk food :)



Sweet Potatoes 'Mooncakes'

Ingredients:

300g purple sweet potatoes
50g chopped cashew nuts (or walnuts, pistachios, hazel nuts, peanuts etc)
20ml maple syrup or honey (adjust according to preference)

Method:

• Roast nuts (of your choice) with a small frying pan over low heat until lightly browned, stir constantly. Leave to cool and coarsely chop the roasted nuts, set aside.


• Wash, peel sweet potatoes. Cut into small chunks.


• Steam under high heat for 15-20mins until soft.


• Mash sweet potatoes with fork. Mould into small round balls about 30g each, (my mooncake mould is for 50-60g mooncake). Place inside the mould (comes with a plunger), push the plunger to release the sweet potatoes.


• Drizzle over maple syrup or honey and serve with roasted nuts.

Recipe source: adapted from 贝太厨房

More about → a prelude

1st bake of the year

I thought I have lost it....

but it came back...


I have taken a long break from blogging. It has been months since I last baked something. Even a brand new oven failed to tempt me. It was left cold, seating in the cabinet for 2 months since it was installed. It was left untouched most of the time, except for the occasional visitors...without fail, anyone who came to visit my newly renovated kitchen would open the oven door to take a peep ;)

Baking is the last thing I had in mind for the past few months. I was left alone to tackle the humongous task of packing, unpacking, shifting...not forgetting the endless 'cleaning sessions'. The entire process, has reunited me with every single corner of my house! I have also been taking my own sweet time to unpack the 30 over boxes of stuff. It could take me one whole morning to find the 'right home' for each single item in just one box. I spent quiet moments, looking through all the keepsakes which I have been keeping over the years. I am also suffering from the 'new house syndrome'...being over zealous in trying to keep the house pristine clean. I hope I am able to get over it really really soon!

All the cleaning, scrubbing, and endless chores has taken its toll on me. I was in no mood to bake anything and nothing seems to inspire me. I even harboured the idea of giving up blogging altogether. Leaving the blogosphere as quietly as I have entered it four years ago.

It was one of those spur-of-the-moment thingy when I gave the new comer a thorough clean up.  Once I turned on the oven for the first time, the 'sparks' that I have been waiting for has finally ignited my passion for baking.

My first bake of the year is this Strawberry Galette. It is nothing new to me. I tried making it when I first saw it over at Laurreen's blog, Eat and Be Happy, except that mine is a far cry from hers ;)

This strawberry galette(French free form tart) is the right choice for a first bake from a new oven. It is very simple to put together and I would say it is not that sensitive to the oven temperature as compared to a chiffon cake. I adapted the recipe from joyofbaking and replaced some of the plain flour with wholemeal ones. It is a delightful dessert, best served freshly baked over a cup of tea. You also get to enjoy the wonderful aroma when it is baking in the oven. My clueless kid came to ask me what our neighbour was cooking when he smelt something really nice from the living room. It has been so long that he has already forgotten the familiar buttery fragrance that used to fill our kitchen :')

The next time I were to make this again, I would use more strawberries, I only used slightly half a punnet, stingy me! See, there is always a 'next time'. I believe it is this exact 'next time' mentality that keeps me going. There is always something I could improve upon and done better the next time.




Strawberry Galette

Ingredients:

pastry:
125g plain flour
50g wholemeal flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
113g unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes
2 tablespoons ice water

filling:
1 punnet (250g) strawberries
2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch

1 egg plus1 tablespoon water, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon granulated white sugar


Method:
1. Mix plain flour, wholemeal flour, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. With finger tips rub the cold butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (It is important that the butter be cold so when it is cut into the flour mixture it becomes small, flour-coated crumbs. I use a fork to work the butter into the dry ingredients. If the butter starts to melt away during this process, stop and place the mixture in the freezer for 10-15 mins to prevent the butter from melting further. Continue the process when the mixture is well chilled.)

2. Add the ice water and mix until the mixture comes together to form a dough. Pat the dough into a round disc, place in a plastic bag or cover with cling wrap and leave it in the fridge for at least 1 hour to chill the butter and allow the gluten in the flour to relax.

3. Wash the strawberries, remove the stems and cut into halves or thick slices. Toss the sliced strawberries with the sugar and cornstarch.

4. To prevent the dough from sticking to work surface, roll out the chilled dough in between 2 plastic sheets or parchment papers to a 11" round. Transfer the pastry to a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

5. Layer the strawberries, overlapping each other in a circle on the dough, leaving a 1"~2" border. Fold the edges over the strawberries. Brush the dough with egg wash. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of sugar. Bake in preheated oven at 200degC for 20 to 25 minutes or until the crust is golden browned.

Recipe source: adapted from joyofbaking.com and very inspired by Eat and Be Happy.

More about → 1st bake of the year

dessert in a toast box

十月六日...对很多人来说，只是一个普通的日子。不过今天对我的老大来说却是个大日子。今天是小六会考的第一天！真相希望他在考场能够有所发挥 :)

It's the start of the PSLE today. In a week's time, the examination will be over, and it also means that my elder child would have completed his 6 years of primary school education. How time flies! While I was packing up our old photo albums, I couldn't help but laughed at how cute he looked when he was in primary one ;)

As the examination drew closer, I found myself more relaxed. I believe I have finally reached the S4 level as a 'leader' based on the Situational Leadership model (by Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey) and my child as a 'follower' has moved to the D4 level (someone with high competence, high commitment – experienced at the job, and comfortable with their own ability to do it well, may even be more skilled than the leader.)

Two months ago, I noticed my elder child began to pick up momentum in his preparation for the exam. He demonstrated a zealous attitude in wanting to do well...he planned out his revision schedule and time tables, and even set his own targets for each subject. I didn't even have to sit down side by side with him to go through his work. He did his revision mostly by himself. Whenever I felt guilty, I would spend a few moments of my time just to check that he was doing ok on his own. When it was down to 4 weeks before the D-day, I was too preoccupied with the planning of my home renovation. I am glad that without my close supervision, he was still able to study hard, real hard, I must say, for he is still a child. Sometimes, I even joked that it was as though he was preparing for some university entrance exams...you will be amazed with the piles and stacks of files, assessment books, etc, lying all over our house. As the day drew even closer, I found myself giving him lots of hugs everyday...I am so pleased with his learning attitude. My role as a 'coach' now, is to keep encouraging and assuring him that he will be fine. Very often, he worries that he won't pass with good grades...he lacks self-confidence. So I have to tell him, with the effort he has put in, I am sure even if the end result is not as expected, he won't live with regrets. I hope he understand what I meant when I told him..."The process is more important than the results. Some other people may think otherwise, but to mama, your learning attitude is more important than anything else, and I want you to hold these values with you all the way to your adulthood." I know very well his limits and potential. I don't expect him to pass with flying colours (it will be a miracle), but I am assured that he won't do too badly either. What more can I ask for?

On a lighter note, I will like to share with you this sweet treat...Dessert in a Toast Box! I happened to chance upon a video clip when I was looking for recipes on how to make Korean mochi buns. This is something so interested that I wasted no time to try it once I managed to bake a decent homemade pullman loaf.

It is basically a bread 'box' topped with fruits and scoops of ice cream. Inside the 'box' are layers of toasted bread 'cubes' drizzled with honey. I also topped it with some homemade breakfast granola. Sounds delicious isn't it?! I have tried with both a plain white loaf and a wholemeal bread...both are equally good. I hope the instructions I have posted below is clear enough...and if you happen to try it, I am sure you will have fun both preparing and eating it!


Dessert in a Box

Cut a 11cmx11cmx20cm pullman loaf into half, you will get two bread 'cuboids'. With a serrated knife, make a cut on each of of the 4 sides of a bread cuboid, leaving a gap of around 1cm from the edges. Make a slit along the base of the box (see illustration below, refer red line at the base).  Carefully remove the bread.

Slice the bread into 3 layers. Cut into 4s for each layer to get a total of 12 small cubes. Spread all the 6 surfaces of each cube with butter. Spread the insides of the bread 'box' with butter.

Place the bread box in the oven (preheated to 180 degC) for around 10mins or until the surfaces turn golden brown. Heat up a non-stick pan. Over medium to low heat, toast the bread cubes until they turn golden brown. Note: You can also toast the cubes together with the bread box in the oven, turn the cubes around so that all the surfaces are golden browned. Leave to cool off a little.

Place the toasted cubes into the bread box, layer by layer. Drizzle with honey on each layer. Press the bread cubes down a little to provide room for the toppings.

Place cut fruits (strawberries, blueberries, peaches, banana, kiwi fruits, grapes, etc) in the box.

Top with scoops of ice cream, a sprinkle of nuts (I topped it with my homemade breakfast granola) and a drizzle of melted chocolate. Serve immediately.

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Sweet Treat

Dear Reader,

Here's wishing you a Happy Children's Day :)

Children's Day is a good time to remind ourselves that we were once kids, and we should take this opportunity to recapture our childhood innocence, shouldn't we?

This year, it will be the last day we are celebrating Children’s Day on 1st October. Starting from 2011, Children’s Day will be celebrated on the first Friday of October instead. The rationale is to offer an extended weekend to students and to give parents more time to spend with their children :)

After a fun-filled day in school, my kids were still in a merry-making mood...and upon their request, I made them some caramel popcorns for their afternoon treat.

This is not the first time I am making popcorn at home. I used to think that popcorn can only be made with a microwave oven...using those microwave popcorn packs. After stumbling upon some video clips sometime back, I realised that popcorn can be easily prepared with a pot over a stove. After watching the video and looking at some online recipes, I jumped head-on to pop my first bowl of popcorn. My first attempt failed miserably, there were far too many unpopped kernels left in the pot and the popcorn didn't taste as light and crispy. On my second attempt, I burnt most of the popcorn (^^'). It was only after spending 15 minutes watching a free demo session by a lady who was promoting some anodised woks in a departmental store, that I learned the correct method of popping popcorn. By following her method, almost every kernel pops, and I have not burnt any popcorn since!

The caramel for the popcorn is very simple to prepare...you use need to melt some sugar in the wok before tossing in the popcorn with some grounded peanuts and sesame seeds. This is a delicious treat both children and adults would enjoy. If you ever happen to try this, I hope you will enjoy making the popcorn as much as eating it. Once again, Happy Children's Day!!! 



Caramel Popcorn

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons popcorn kernels (I use organic ones)
3 tablespoons cooking oil (I use canola oil)

4 tablespoons sugar (use 6 tbs for a sweeter taste)
2 tablespoons coarsely grounded peanuts
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Method:
Heat up a wok (use a heavy-base wok to prevent the popcorn kernels from burning) over high heat. When the wok is very hot, add in the oil. Turn heat to medium-high and add in popcorn kernels. Stir with a wok spatula until the popcorn kernels are evenly coated with oil. Keep stirring until the first kernel pops (takes only a few seconds). Cover the wok immediately with a lid. The popcorn kernels will start to pop all at once. As the popping continues, gently swirl the wok back and forth over the burner. Do this once or twice in between the popping. Wait for the popping to slow to a few seconds between pops. Turn off the heat, remove lid and transfer popcorn into a wide bowl. (Note, the inside of the lid will be covered with the cooking oil.)

Return wok to burner and turn heat to medium-low. Place sugar in the wok and let it melt. Do not stir, it will take a few minutes for the sugar to melt/caramelise. Turn off the heat when the sugar has completely melted. Return the popcorn into the wok and sprinkle over the grounded peanuts and sesame seeds. Toss with spatula to combine.

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