♥ Baking Friday

it’s the self-declared baking day for me
and I am super excited! (; hehe
and because it’s baking day.
i baked something for dinner as well.
and I must say. both turned out pretty good for the first time!
cos i’ve been wanting to try these recipes for a long long time
and tonight. I got to make them!

Mac and Cheese

I saw this recipe on Not Quite Nigella
and it looks super good! haha
and I’ve been wanting to make mac and cheese from scratch for the longest time
so tonight was the night! hehe

and it turned out really well!
really yummy
and I’m glad the boys enjoyed it. hehe
it was creamy
and the bacon just really flavoured the dish
and i added chicken breast to increase the protein of the dish
of else baby won’t have enough hehe

absolutely love how it turned out.
and I really enjoyed cooking it.
it was easy and only needed 10 mins in the oven
after everything was prepared and done.

together with this
baby made butter prawns and it was super good! hehe
something with prawns and butter
just went super well. hehe

after dinner.
I just had to make something sweet
and I made cupcakes! hehe

Recipe :

500g macaroni (use any kind u like)
3 rashers of bacon, cut into cubes
200g chicken breast, diced
2 small brown onions
1 1/2 cup of cream
1 1/4 cup of milk (i use light milk)
2 cups of cheddar (and extra to top it)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Steps :

1. Preheat oven at 180 degrees celcius.
Cook the macaroni according to the instructions with plenty of salted-water
until al-dente. Careful not to cook till it gets too soft, or it will turn mushy after.
Place it into the baking dish

2. Fry the onion till it’s soft, not brown.
Add the bacon and cook for about 5 mins and add the chicken breast.

3. Add the cream, milk and nutmeg and wait till it comes to a boil.
Reduce the heat till it simmers, add the cheese.
Stir till all the cheese has melted.

4. Pour the cream mixture over the macaroni
and sprinkle it with extra cheese.

5. Put it into the oven and bake it for 10 mins.
Then turn it to the top grill
to brown the top of the dish.

6. Serve when it’s HOT! (:



i made not one but two haha.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Icing
(From Sprinkles)

was really quite excited to try this recipe
cause it’s fro the famous Sprinkles
and they went on a program and baked their famous Strawberry Cupcakes.

it wasn’t too complicated
but using a handheld mixer wasn’t easy haha.
wish i had a proper mixer.
i miss my kenwood. (:

anyways. this is how it went!

out of the oven
a nice pinkish tinge
cause of the strawberry puree hehe

hehe baby caught a few shots of me putting the icing on the cupcake

haha that’s Cheok’s hand! haha

tadah! hehe
after icing them. hehe
too bad I didn’t have anything nice to put on it
to make it look prettier.
well. i tried though. haha

i put rainbow rice on them. hehe
just a little.
just to add colour hehe (:

all 12 of the cupcakes! (:
im a happy girl.

Recipe :

(makes 1 dozen cupcakes)

1 1/2 cups of plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4tsp kosher salt
4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup caster sugar
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup pureed strawberries
1 tsp vanilla essence

Steps :

1. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together, set it aside.

2. Add vanilla and strawberry to milk and set it aside.

3. In a standing mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Slowly add egg and egg whites until blended.

4. Add half of the mixture and when blended well,
add the milk mixture then add the rest of the flour.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl
and make sure entire mixture is smooth.

5. Divide the batter between 12 cupcake cups
and bake for about 20 mins or until the tops are dry to the touch.

Recipe :
(for icing, 12 cupcakes)

2 sticks unsalted butter, firm but not cold
1/8 kosher salt
3 1/2 cups of icing sugar, sifted
1/2 tso vanilla essence
2 tbsp pureed strawberries

Steps :

1. Beat butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Reduce speed and gradually add the icing sugar until incorporated.

2. Add vanilla and strawberry puree and mix until blended.
Do not overmix, or the frosting will incorporate too much air.
The consistency should be dense and creamy
like ice-cream.

♥

anyone wants one? hehe
I would like the cupcake to have more strawberry flavour though
but the buttery-ness of it was awesome none-the-less!