crustz!

Family Birthdays and Such =)

2012-02-22T16:19:00.000+08:00

Well I know it has been eons ago since I blogged. To be honest I'm probably not very good at keeping track of blogging eh? I don't know how some full time bloggers do it. Constantly finding interesting things to say and updates to the world about their life and work. It's amazing actually."Salutes to them"

Anyway a little aside from my work, as I do more picture updates for my Facebook page xiaobycrustz. Here's a little update on what has been happening the pass few months! With Christmas, New Years and Chinese New Years that had came and gone, many things has been happening work wise and also personal wise =) There's been late nights, no breaks, speed bums and not to mention sleep deprivation! But there were also happy moments where we celebrated the festivities and I had a wonderful holiday in between =)

Well during this time, most of my family members celebrated our birthdays! woots~ Lets start of with me =) NOV 14th! Yes I was turning 21. The number which brings you into adulthood, which I'm not excited about =(. Lets just say I rather stay young as long as I can! HAHA don't we all? No, there's was no big party, no drinking the night a way ( probably not too much my style too) But my sister was being her 'awesomeness' queen has treated me, 'the PA with an attitude" to an wonderful italian dinner with the rest of the family at NERO TECA. Here are some of the pictures of what we had..And NO I DID NOT MAKE A CAKE FOR MYSELF lol! in case you were wondering =)

Great ambiance. Where the infamous 'aud and tim' proposal was.

Virgin olive oil and balsamic. I like the bottles eh.

The MENU. Could barely pronounce most of the dish names

MA SISTA! =D

yay! dinner!!

Started with good bread and roasted garlic with rock salt. yums!

You know it's a good bread when you seen this!

Here comes the food!!

Best cabonara I EVER had! I could remember this the most compared to the rest.

Ya don't waste time on salads LOL!

We also had a huge mix grill plate, which was OKLA. I would soooooo trade it for the pasta! Still not too bad.

Then came my dad's birthday which was on the 27th DEC. A few days after christmas =) This time we has JAPANESE =D FUKU HARU @ ampang

Arriving to the place

Looking attentively at the menu

Snapping pictures away! =)

First thing that came! Sashimi =)

Unfortunately for my very pregnant sister she can't have any haha!

Then came the salmon combo thingy. I've forgotten what each was.

But it's GOOD SALMON!

Ahi breaded tuna, good stuff! =)

Soft shell maki..sorry for the blur effect

ready to eat!

Tempura!

My dad's ramen? soba? udon? I've forgotten

My sister's cold soba, since she couldn't have raw stuff

Then came the scallop claypot rice which was pretty good!

Yum! but it wasn't that great the second time..hrmmmmmm =(

Of course I made the cake =) Chocolate mousse infuse with earl grey creme brulee

Yay! excuse our 'home mode' clothing. I was still in between work that time haha!

Will update soon with the rest of the birthdays! stay tune! =)

Homemade experiments =)

2011-11-16T15:09:00.001+08:00

Hello everyone! =) It must be EONS ago that I've post something eh? But nothing really exciting has been happen in my personal life. Of course same ol', making cake at home for some of my favourite clients and some new faces as well =) as you can see in the FB page https://www.facebook.com/xiaobycrustz. Nevertheless I still experiment at home for my family and some of my lucky friend who drop by at the 'right' time haha. It's quite sad that they get the cake trimmings and ends but not a fully finished product, well most of the time, minimise wastage eh? =D So I decided so whip up something from time to time eh. Gives me a chance to try new stuff for the menu =).

The ever favourite fruit tarts =) Colourful, nice textures and supposedly 'a healthier' choice if you go for dessert eh? Look at all the fruits, how can it be bad for you =D haahaha! It consisted of strawberries,mango,kiwi....and grape.

More updates soon =) Thanks for visiting!

Dinosaur Invasion!!!!!!!!!!

2011-10-21T09:23:00.002+08:00

Say Hi! to this lil' cutie =) Isn't quite adorable ? I have the opportunity to create a few dinosaurs for lucky kids with wonderful parents to celebrate their birthdays or just a 'cheer up' present =). This was my favourite lil' guy, who will be yours?.

Check put the story behind these cupcakes @ our Facebook page. Hehe!

A lucky little girls had 2 dinosaurs for her birthday!

Barney is not the only dinosaur around eh? haha

Super star dino!

A lil baby dinosaur with bucktooth baby teeth holding a balloon =)

Definitely a DINOSAUR INVASION!!! more to come soon!

Sweet Gifts For Someone Special =)

2011-10-11T10:45:00.000+08:00

It's been a quiet week at work this week, so just a little update on what's been happening lately! I had a wonderful opportunity to put together sweet gift boxes for sweet foodies for their birthdays. First up, was from a best friend to another who weren't able to celebrate the special occasion together but the friend was thoughtful enough to get her a sweet treat to commemorate her birthday! Awwwwwww how sweet, right? It was a very important mission, personally for me, as I wanted to make it a memorable gift for them =) Well the second box was from my dear friend to his all so sweet girlfriend for her 21st birthday! This was like an 'extra' gift from what he originally prepared, man he'll probably get 'best bf award' or something after this.hahahahaha! Anyhoo here's a sneak preview on both the boxes.

Consist of all baked goodies from customised butter cookies, giant muffins, brownies and etc.

A little note from us =)

At Xiao's we customise each gift box with any baked goodies you would like to include, but of course to fit your budget as well =)

It was great that I was able to help create the gift boxes and especially delivering them =) The smiles and joy on the recipients faces are priceless! Reminds me why I'm doing this as my job. Well hopefully more happy foodies to come =) That's all for now..more updates soon!

FHM 2011 !! No, not the MAGAZINE!

2011-09-28T09:51:00.001+08:00

FHM 2011! Yes I looking forward to this since the beginning of the year! Very exciting week for the Academy of course as our chefs were going to compete in the competition! Those above were there 'masterpieces'! Amazing isn't it?! Sugar was Chef Tan and Chocolate was Chef Fred Well for some who are not so familiar with FHM, it's a Food & Hotel Malaysia Exhibition, where anything and everything about the F&B is there. But most of us were there to see the competition mostly, but sadly it wasn't what I expected it to be and most of the chefs were thinking the same way. Hopefully the next one would be better but still it was a good first experience. Next up FHA in Singapore! That should be more exciting =)!

I had the pleasure of escorting the chefs on their 'BIG DAY'! yes at 2 am in the morning we were already all at the Academy preparing to go to KLCC! Here are some of the pre-preparation work =)

Well at the Hall we weren't allowed to take any pictures =( and there was a very annoying man chasing us away! So, Sheila and I had to wait patiently for the chefs to finish and went it when it was almost done =). Then during the day Chef Tan had his all so exciting live competition for sugar! We were all there to support him of course! Poor guys doing all preparation 48 hours straight! Believe me there was some funny stories and dramas in between due to everyone's lack of sleep haha.At 10 am, finally the Hall was open for everyone to visit! Here are some of the showpieces other contestants prepared. Of course I was mainly on the pastry side.

Oh this angry bird one had a good story! Apparently it traveled all to way to KLCC by FOOT, with an army of chefs! haha

Here are the wedding cake category! Everything was skillful but colour wise was pretty.....'yawn'

Paper thin! omg

Man this bridge is super fragile..must took forever to pipe it out!

Chef Tan during his LIVE competition. Stress but 'focus' haha!

Cake tasting time!

His cake layering

At the LAST hour!

haha them helping him clear stuff at his station when it was ALL OVER! HAHA notice so much difference in the facial expressions

His Sugar showpiece

His opponents

Everyone made him take a proper picture

Before we left, just in case it doesn't survive the next day

Look At the amount of PEOPLE

The winning chefs =)

Prize presentation

HAHA our OUTSTANDING PASTRY Chef OF THE YEAR! Congrats!

Well that's all for this FHM. Can't wait for the next big pastry event! More pictures on my facebook =)

XIAO by crustz!!!!!!!!!!!! it's FINALLY HERE!

2011-09-19T14:37:00.000+08:00

Yes's it's finally here!! As some of you might know that I've been keeping this under wraps for a while now. Since I've graduated from the academy, I've been working on it and now it's finally ready to see the world!!!! =)

What is it you may ask? Well.....It's my version of an online based pastry shop called xiao by crustz! You maybe a little confuse with the name yes? Why isn't it crustz by xiao? The story goes like this....when we were thinking of the logo, my sister came up with this awesome one! but then......no one could really figure it out at the first glance, so........we decide to add in 'by crustz' since most of you know me by the blog! Hence XIAO by crustz is born! LOGO = XIAO lol hope you can see it! =)

So please come visit the site!!! =)

XIAO by crustz

http://www.wix.com/xiaoly/crustz

or just give me a 'thumbs up' LIKE on my facebook page!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Xiao-by-crustz/233186050059635

We offer cakes, chocolate and all sweet stuff to make you feel happy! =)

Thanks for your support and tell me what you think!

More to come!! =)

My 'Last' Chocolate Showpiece at Academy!

2011-09-09T17:55:00.001+08:00

Well most of you know I've been out of school for quite a while now, but I've been stirring up something of my own at home! Haha well you shall find out soon enough. For now, just a little reminiscing the good ol' days in academy! One of the few things I don't think I'll have any chance to encounter again, is making showpieces for pastry! It's sad but true these thing are just pretty to see, edible...but.......I don't think you would eat 2 feet of sugar or chocolate yes? haha!

For my last 3 months of my course we learnt to design and made the whole showpiece ourselves but of course with chef's supervision. Out of all the edible showpieces, CHOCOLATE is obviously my FAVOURITE!! =) Not because I get to eat it in the end, which I don't, but how amazing chocolate can be! You could practically make anything from it!As long as the room is cool enough for the chocolate to survive it's pretty stable and quite easy to handle. I love the fact that if you want to make changes you can just melt the chocolate back in the pot and make it again! But of course I know some people who just HATES this! From the tempering to the whole mess at the end of the day! Believe me A LOT of chefs wear black when the work with chocolate hahaha!!! no explanation needed. What makes it interesting is that the skill you use making the showpieces can actually be applied to regular chocolate deco and bonbons! Pictures for now!

Shiny Chocolate Spheres =)

I was quite happy with the outcome of the whole showpiece =) More to come! Hopefully ONE DAY I'll be given a chance to do this again =)

HELLO SINGAPORE!!!!!!!!!! =)

2011-08-23T11:49:00.002+08:00

Oh yes, I was in the land of the cool and hip and ANTI chewing gun, SINGAPORE! haha! After more than a decade of not being there, mind you for my age a decade is nearly forever, I was there last week to visit some of my relatives and also to kick start my mini food/ pastry adventure. I must say I was pretty impressed..not which the local food scene though..Malaysia, still is my favourite! I was really happy to meet some of my friends who I haven't seen in AGES! and of course to see some familiar face =) We'll let's just start with the gazillion pictures I took. "tourist mode on"!

The urban jungle.

Went to ION Orchard.Visited MUJI! Pretty pretty shop with a very 'pretty' price.

There were TOO MANY wonderful looking food stall all around, I was just going crazy taking pictures, but a lot were western/ japanese influence, which is awesome for me! hehe =)

Sandwhich waffle?

Diana!!! She was awesome taking me around the first day! haha yes she was excited to try new stuff with me too! =)

TWG super posh tea shop.

something familiar for chef! Fauchon.

Japanese sweets..I'm sure liyin will LOVE THIS.

A german 'layer' cake..I forgot what's the name, but it was cool to see the japanese chef at work =)

Oh there were chocolate everywhere!!

And of course amazing looking pastries

Then we went for tea at a cute cafe

Diana looking awesome!

We had a kind of lemon bar with tea.

Diana's tea, I thought it was pretty cool =)

Something familiar no? The famous CANELE

Hehe!!! Kiat and Jinni!!! Meeting them was so exciting after I'm not sure how long! and there was still one missing...

There she is! Our pretty air hostess! We had some skinny pizza...

Had some drinks first..

Kiat looking scared hearing Honey's stories LOL!!!

Pizza we had

Hehe! Million dollar smiles =)!!! good picture!

How can we forget dessert..chocolate tart

Group picture!

Kiat excited to try his FIRST GARETT POPCORN!!

lol Jinni

Yes you notice the height difference too..haha

yums!

It was great seeing them!!! especially in another country lol!

I took the MRT ALOT! it was really convenient! and I was about to meet EUNICE!!!

We went to this beautiful pastry shop

Everything just looks awesome! I wanted to have it all!! sadly I couldn't =(

Interior of the shop was nice..

Eunice!!

We had...Mont Blanc..I've never had one before so this was a first

We also had Exotique..Which really really good!

My Latte nicely done by a cute barista I must say hehe..

and of course how can leave out yuzu macaron and violet chocolate

Then we moved on to the all so famous Marina BAY! Getting there..

Almost there..

The inside was really really BIG

walked pass the casino..sadly still not old enough !!!

we visited darcis..

well let's just say it wasn't AMAZING!

so we hopped to another shop..yes it was desserts allll the way!!!

Really classy pastry shop

It's even called High Society

we had the isphan..this was SOOOOOOO GOOOD!

and another cake which wasn't really memorable..kinda reminds me of tiramisu..

Eunice looking good! =) haha

Of Course I visited Orchard Road too! We went to a lot of places in just one day! lol

I had to have this sausage it was AWESOME!!!!

Oh I went like 0.0 when I saw the amount of people at the interchange during peak hour! It was like a very organised tsunami of people! I had to take a picture!!

Oh OH this was so exciting when I saw it!

OH so pretty and colourful!!!

Thanks Eunice and Eric for bringing me around!!!

Next day I even took the bus around! =)

We went to Holland Village!

It's kinda like our Changkat..Oh notice the familiar name of the shop ? lol

We went all the wayyyyyyy to 2AM Dessert Bar but we were still too early, it wasn't opened yet =(..But we managed to go in a took a look see..Really nice must come at the right time next time..

So we had everything with fries! If you really really really like fries this is the place for you...

The shop look pretty cool..nice menu board..

We also tried their dessert that I heard people were crazy about..It was pretty ok..very american..So I went to a few more places here and there, did more stuff with my aunts and relatives. I'd say it was a good visit but it hasn't changed my perception about SG but I would definitely go there to check out the pastry scene!

Thanks all my friends and family who took me on my little pastry adventure!!!That's all for now..visit soon!!

A Cool REtreat! Awan Mulan =)

2011-08-07T22:24:00.002+08:00

Hi everyone! I just went to this cool retreat with my sister, bro-in law and their friends recently. It's located up in the hill, in our beautiful tropical forest not too far from the city. It's really cool and a great place to escape from your daily life and just runaway from your problems. I definitely needed one, just to forget everything that just happened in my life. I'm getting better but the process it's just too slow. Family, friends and work have been a great help and I do feel very blessed sometimes =) Thank you!!! You know who you are! But this time my sister whisked me away to this beautiful place that's run my her friend and his family.. Super cool house! This was where I stayed!!

On the way there! See the yellow car? =)

Small and winding roads lol! My sister was a little stressed out.

We're here!!

Don't you wish that was your house? lol!!! I did!!! =)

The view around us was AMAZING!

View from the deck

The open air deck =) love this spot!

Cool cool kitchen and lounging area

The entrance

BBQ area

Right next to the pool..

LOL the open concept toilet which was 'certified' cool by everyone =)

Walk way to the room

The alcohol i drank! lol I wish..

So much stuff for BBQ

Working hard for the food!

Good stuff!

HAhaha couple who think a like!

Done with their EYES CLOSED!

The board game quite fun..Many funny moments! We did many other stuff that night lol but not too many pictures..I guess everyone was 'happy' lol!

The morning MIST was the BEST! super cool! as in temperature

Our Mr Tai Chow!!! hahaha this was breakfast!

After breakfast we chilled out a bit more and packed up and had to go back to the bustling city =( It was a fun experience! and I discovered a new type of alcohol, which was 'interesting' Met some really cool people..and someone who knew Chef Treand which was pretty cool..such a small world =) Thanks to my sister's friend and family who built this amazing place! Oh of course I made some thing sweet for everyone who were all fun people!and I did some photo shooting! Might as well no? Such a nice place...hehehe =) Over all I had a great time and I would visit again! Hopefully soon! I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Life Besides Pastry...

2011-08-01T11:12:00.001+08:00

Hello!!! "Que Charlie Brown waves" Yes I have been away for a while now...After graduating I hit a MAJOR SPEED BUMP on my, what I thought to be all going well and perfect, life...Well some of you might know me to be quite a private person so I shall not share my sob stories here. But I'm feeling better now, I hope, but it's still pretty hard. On a little brighter note, I would like to share something more recent that has been happening...beside doing some work here and there at home, I went on a little trip with my family to PENANG, the wonderful island city. I haven't been there for a number of years now, from every promised trip delayed, I finally made it there with my family. It was great to see my aunts and uncle, who welcomed us with warm arms and I remembered why I love going back there =). Penang has changed a little but also at the same time not really. Food was still good and lucky us the weather was too! Well I'll just visually show you what I did through pictures.

highway view from kl to penang

A familiar sight of marble mountains when we were about to reach Ipoh

Poor skinny trees next to the highway

Reaching Ipoh for more yummies! I haven't really toured the whole place before though.

Family yellow car

My FAVOURITE salted chicken!!! That's why I'm stopping in IPOH lol!

Dinner in Penang, it started like this and ended up.......

LIKE THIS!

View from the balcony in the morning

Waking up to this is quite awesome

Busy breakfast in the morning market

Hawkers running around, that's MR GHEE CHEONG FUN

My morning milo ais! omg I DO miss drinking this in the morning, Best thing for KIDS!

Curry noodles

Ghee cheong fun

Char Kuey Teow, Haha sorry I keep forgetting to take pictures and start eating first..

Crispy APOM but nothing beats my favourite banchang kuih!

Exploring the new Straits Quay, It was quite cool

With nice places to sit next to the sea

MY 'BOAT' hahahhaa!

Oh have you seen 'MY YACHT' LOL!!

And how could I miss seeing some of the local pastry scene

This place was huge!

Connecting to some VERY PRETTY houses

Life of the 'posh'

Saw a very cute shop that reminded me of KL

Christine would like this shop..

This was THE BEST shop there I think! I took like a gazillion pictures! How could you not LOVE Charlie Brown and Snoopy!!!

So cute!!!

HAHAHA my sam yee is not as tall as CHARLIE

My mom and I..LOL I'm the same height as the characters

Yeah I don't like going to SCHOOL too! lol

We felt quite adventurous, so we went to the BOTANICAL GARDEN

Nice shaddy walk, reminds me of the cycling place in Shah Alam

Aunts getting excited seeing some plants..LOL

Mini juggle track

They liked the tree for some reason lol and had to take a picture.

I love this tree too..Must get one when I have a nice house

More eating, penang lobak! and chicken rice..I ate finish the chicken rice and realise i forgotten to take a picture..haha

At the 'END OF THE WORLD' technically the end of the island lol!

Pretty cool, but the boat was sinking. Quite dramatic, firemen and all had to come and rescue

Walking all the way out

And this was DINNER! I only had one picture because I was busy stuffing my face. Went home and ate more stuff, fruits and etc. Local fruits season! Screams seeing cempedak and manggis!

Next morning, the long awaited banchang kuih! OMG this was THE BEST!!!! Must have when I'm back there.Lunch we had asam laksa, cendol and even more food. No pictures sadly..I was too slow and they ended up in my tummy already =(. So I had an eating spree..was so fully I could explode! But it was pretty fun and after lunch we headed home to KL =)

BYE BYE Penang! So I do have a life besides pastry lol! and I did feel a bit better after this nice trip.And hopefully I will have more fun the next time I visit! =)

It's All About Bread Again! =) The LAST TIME! and with NATURAL YEAST, LEVAIN!

2011-07-10T23:19:00.000+08:00

Yes it's was the beginning of my last 3 months in the academy..It was very exciting at first but now that it's coming to the end soon, my classmate and I are feeling quite sadden that we had to say goodbye to the academy, to our beloved chefs, academy members and of course our wonderful friends we made through the whole 9 months while we were there. From the first day with just the 3 of us and 2 chefs and one office staff to now the growing academy! Yes it has been a long way =)!

Well now on a less sadder note I shall recall my last bread class experience..We made sooooooooooooooooooo many breads this time around and it was just the two of us..Nearly the whole bakery was fileed with our products everyday and we were happily giving out bread to whoever we know! Of course our friends and family benefit the most but I felt great that we can share our wonderful bread with everyone! =) We experimented with many different shapes of breads even though using the familiar bread dough, sadly we did not have as many variety of flours =(. Never the less most of them turn out looking great but some had to be 'hidden' lol! There were so many we can't remember some of the names of it. The top is one of them I can't recall the name..haha I call it the 'curry' bread cause Sheila, one of our best classmates, bought us curry and we all ate it together for lunch! YUMS! =) The first picture was the puff brioche, which somehow peels like potato chips when you remove it layer by layer. Quite interesting and it was really good for a first attempt for us and chef =).

These are some of the more familiar bread you've seen on my blog =) New methods were used for the same products but the result were better! We were indeed very happy at the end of everyday =)!

Flower 'power' Buns! haha!

Pesto bread! This was pretty GOOD =)

Turkey WING! lol funny name

I forgot what this was..I'm sure it has something to do with snails lol!

'n' number bread hehe!

Beautiful Ciabatta

DELICIOUS but fattening KOUIGNAMAN

Pretty braided bun and LOTS MORE! Look at the background!haha!

OHOH! The most exciting part this round was we got to grow our very own yeast! If you recall, my classmates and I tried to grow it for the first time during my first 3 months but we FAILED terribly. We named it 'small IT' but sadly it we couldn't keep it alive and it died quite a number of times. SO I was REALLY hoping I could keep one alive this time around. We made 4 this time but only 2 survived =( Fortunately we were still able to make bread with the other 2 natural yeast. I kept hearing stories about how wonderful this natural yeast is, it give you what instant yeast can't, especially the FLAVOUR. So I couldn't wait to make some bread with it! But it just takes SOOOOOOOOOOOO LONG for it to be ready, so me and LY were very patient. We never forget to feed it and 'took good care' of it lol! till the day it was READY! Both of us were really excited to try them out but it wasn't as easy are the regular dough. It was WAYYYYYYYYY longer for each process and but the end of the whole day we finally got bread! =) Above is the picture of the bread made with natural yeast. The flavour was very presence not like regular yeast and it was so flavourful, even though we still had a few tweaks here and there but we finally knew was REAL BREAD tasted like =). At the end of our two weeks we had to say goodbye to out 'pet' yeast it was quite sad but we were happy that we could keep it alive for so long. Haha Liyin had a hard time saying 'goodbye' to her yeast so I had to do it for her. Quite hilarious though. Anyway it was a great last bread class with Chef G! He was always very adventures to let us try new stuff during the class and he never really gives up until we get it RIGHT! Thanks again chef!! =) well that's all for now! come back soon!

The FIRST ASSESSMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 0.0!

2011-07-03T22:23:00.001+08:00

Sorry I have been away for over a month!!! 'bows bows' =) Been REALLY busy at school!!! and YES I can finally graduate from school!!!!!! =) hahaha I recently completed my FINAL assessment!!! 'jumps for joy' I never had this kinda assessment/examination etc in my life before. AND LET IT TELL YOU IT'S NOT AN EASY TASK!!! I can say now I have a whole new level of understanding for the professionalism of PASTRY CHEFS, especially after watching KING OF PASTRY (a documentary about pastry chefs in France) 'thumbs up for the movie', if you are looking for drama it's definitely it! haha! Well since I'm soooooooo far behind in blogging I shall just show you what I did for my 1st assessment! =)

Well let me just give you a short intro to how it works! =) One whole week is dedicated to this 'WONDERFUL' assessment where our skills are tested based on what we have learn during the we weeks before. Oh yes the fun and joys oh 'lalalalaa' let's make this for fun and make that just to eat STOPS RIGHT THERE! haahaha! Use to be ' awww it's ok it didn't turn out, just try again' or like ' nah! it's ok that it doesn't look perfect, still taste good no?' Well this is the time where you try to show your best! from all aspects, from texture, flavour, taste, to appearance and finishing, omg! you have to be CLEAN and ORGANISE at all times, well at least try! This is when your chef will find out whether what they have been stuffing into our heads the last few weeks are actually going in. Mind you, the time constrained is not like the usual! haha when it's regular time you can ' never I can finish tomorrow' the invisible deadline. BUT now it's like you HAVE TO FINISH! NO MATTER WHAT! Oh yes it was really stressful for my fellow classmate, LiYin and I. We nearly pass out hahahahaha! probably we were never exposed to this kinda 'live' exam before but never the less we did survive it! well for every level we go its kinda a different way of assessing. But we were tested from head to toe from bread to chocolate nearly everything!haha but still it was a good yet interesting experience..we do improve more during this hard process!

Haha as you can see that I took these pictures from home.There was no chance to pictures nor the mood at that moment. So sadly only the ones that made it home got to be documented. By the way the top was a classic opera cake and this a modern chocolate raspberry tart. Sounds yum no? But still there is room for improvement according to comments from chefs, many many many manyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy things could be better =) anyho back to the assessment..oh yes we are given scores for different different aspect of the dessert and it would be totaled up to a final one =). Stress levels were high and we were running like....' according to chef' like chickens lol!!! Especially when you see the clock ticking and ticking and in your head you are screaming 'OMG STOP TICKING!!!' And one of my friends was saying, quotes SABREENA! usually when I'm stressed out I bake last time, but now I'm stress about baking lol! 'what do I DO!?lol!!!! quite funny actually..and of course the CHEFS are enjoying this week the most! seeing their students in ACTION! hahahaha!!!

Pretty galette! =) Yes now I'm proud to say that LiYin and I have survived THE ASSESSMENT! =) we tried our best I think we were slightly less panic-y this time around =)!! YAY!!! haha! and THANK YOU EVERYONE who supported me during this 'difficult' time lol!! you know who you are 'winks'! hehe that's all for now! =) visit soon!

Lets Eat TART!!! =)

2011-06-03T17:54:00.001+08:00

It's time for some tarts again =). One of my favourite pastry. It's just gives you so many textures in one serving. Can be served hot or cold, of course depending what type it is. And the variety in textures from smooth mousses and cream to the crisp or the tart itself and the freshness of the fruit. Delicious yes!? I, myself gets excited when I see tarts in a cafe or a cake shop. It's quite sad that there aren't many varieties around not like the overseas but I'm motivated to make that change!! haha =) 'wait for my future shop ok?'

Anyway back to these tarts =) This time we made some classic tarts that everyone is familiar with and some modern ones too, which I'm crazy over with!! This baby up here is the apple tart tartin. I'm sure some of you have heard of it before, if your were a apple tart fan. Golden caramel apple on top of flaky puff pastry. It isn't your regular sweet pastry dough but still as yummy and of course more flaky =) the caramel is so tempting no?

I'm sure your are wondering what's that!? I have that same question when I first it..Well it's rhubarb! "some heads filled with ????????????" haha anyway it's a type of veggie that is used for desserts. I'm not exactly sure if it's categorized as a vegetable cause I've never seen it fresh myself, indeed a RARE thing in Malaysia. But luckily we still get them frozen which is still pretty good. It has a tangy flavour, which makes it a very appetizing ingredient to add into dessert, balances out the sweetness =)

Looks kinda like a white hedgehog no? Haha quite cool, it's the torched meringue topping for the rhubarb tart. But personally I prefer it without. Of course there are still meringue fans out there....The finishing is really nice though.

Oh oh!!! this is for the biggest nut fan out there I'm SUREEEEEEEEEEEE they'll love it! Pack loaded with variety of nuts from walnuts to pecans to hazelnuts it's sound all so nutty already! And the drench in sweet sticky caramel and the crisp of the sweet dough base. OMG brings me joy just recalling it! THumbs up for this tart! =)

And of course the tart from the first picture, this was my first choice! It's a berry tart topped with chiboust cream. I'm a BIG fan of berries so it explains why I liked this one so much. hehe =) A mix berry filling inside and fresh berries on the top just makes you drool....Unfortunately some of the fresh berries ran out so we only had strawberries for deco =(. But I'm sure we can upgrade the finishing the next round.

This was the bakewell tart. WELL........it was ok...but a little too sweet for my tastebuds. I'm sure adjustment can be made =) haha!

OH this was DELICIOUS TOO!!! The vanilla tart! Also know as the 'Pierre Herme' tart lol! We did a little adaptation to the original tart that is sold in Paris. I hope it's close to the original stuff but even though it's still GOODDDDDDDD! Vanilla mousse on the top and milk chocolate ganache filling in the center and a chocolate sweet pastry to hold it all together =) Clean finishing the BEST haha 'thinks to self, less deco work"..

Last but not least it's pineapple tart. Definately for tropical fruit fans. WHO SAID you can't use tropical fruits for desserts! =) heh heh in your face! TADAA!!! Roasted pineapple and sable breton (kinda like a dried biscuit) and filled with pastry cream center. Oh yums!!!

That's all for this round! =) More to come soon! COme Visit!!!!

Classic Cake yo!

2011-05-22T20:20:00.001+08:00

Hi everyone! I'm back with more cakes!!! This round is about classic cakes. I'm sure everyone recognize the cake about..OH YES it is the all so famous Fraiser, for the french and STRAWBERRY SHORT CAKE! for the rest of us! For all those strawberry lovers out there, this is definitely your favourite!.

We did a little twist to this one by adding a layer of fruit jelly in the middle to give it a little contrast in texture and also add more strawberry-ness to it! yum! We also experimented with adding some spice to the syrup itself..lol but I must say it's not everyone's cup of tea...And of course a try at decorating the cake ourselves..but chef did help us with the spraying =)...hehehe 'cheating'..

You must be wondering what's this odd looking one? Hahaha believe me I had the same impression when I heard about it! It's actually a SORBET cake, also known as Vacherin ! Can you imagine!!!!??? LOL I never thought it's a classic cake but apparently it is =) I've never done it or even heard about it before..and now I understand why! This baby isn't that easy to make!It requires some precision and of course the perfect condition, in other word the FREEZER it is after all a sorbet cake, like an ice-cream cake =)

Due to the fact that sometime school's condition isn't at all times 'ideal' so it made it a little more challenging to make..But never the less, chef came up with 'ideas' to make it POSSIBLE! LOL! dramatic much..In case you were wondering the white stuff is actually meringue, kinda like Pavlova for some of you who are more familiar with that and it is layered with 3 different types of sorbet in the center and deco all around with meringue deco. I tend to make the sorbet more sour for this cake due to the fact that the meringue is prrrrrrrrreeeeetttttyyy sweet! And look at the amount of it 0.0 so sour was a good thing..so it stays light and refreshing! =) I had lemon, blackberry and strawberry as my sorbet. Some said it was a yay but for some it's a nay cause it's extremely sour and sweet at the same time???? lol..but of course we can always change the flavours...

So this is what happened after we 'attacked' it..and surprisingly it survived the trip home! lol and I didn't even have an ice box with me, not even dry ice or anything..hehehe! anyway that's all for now..visit soon! =)

Shooters! MiNI Dessert with a BANG!

2011-05-06T00:58:00.000+08:00

Looks like a mini buffet line no? Haha Chef was trying to show us how shots of dessert can be nice and not just mousse and jelly and cream all the time. Well technically many buffet lines use these things just to fill up the buffet line and make it look attractive. I had my shares of bad dessert nightmares at buffets, Especially now, after learning so much about sweets, it's pretty hard to find something that is REALLY GOOD compared to the old times where EVERYTHING was good haha!

Anyhooooo, when Chef said we were going to do this, I was a bit skeptical??????? Haha but he convinced me that there are very nice shooters around, just seldom people do it here. It's actually pretty complicated! I describe it as like 'a dessert plating in a cup' HAHAHa! It some what applies the same rules too. You see those layers in the cup? Each is a different flavour or even texture. So imagine how many separate item you need to make for just one cup? YOR! hehe Not your average glass dessert eh? The above is Cherry confit with pistachio. =) It's ok but I'm not a big fan of rose, but the cherry was great!

This one is pretty interesting...Pineapple Vanilla Savarin..LOL trust me you'll get a surprise on your taste buds!"jumps" very refreshing =) hehe the savarin absorbs all the sauce or' juice' as some may say and burst into your mouth when you take a bite! That's when the flavours go all out!

Next up! Mint Chocolate...A common flavour we hear..But the textures were very new, a kind of brule on the bottom and chocolate sponges on the top to give a contrast on the smooth texture below. Plus a little surprise in the middle too! Apricots! haha..I find it pretty good but not my favourite...But out look is nice =)

This one is wayyyyyyyyy cute, one of my favourites.

One of my classmates mentioned that it looked like the Gatsby Advert LOL, if some of you have seen it..It kinda resemble it I guess hahaha..But taste wise, far from Gatsby OK? Coffee orange ShooteR! Familiar flavours with a little upgrade here and there. The orange was very refreshing and the coffee and chocolate gave it depth.Thumbs up for this one =)

Then there is Apricot Praline, this was simple to make, doesn't required too much. Simple and Nice =) The best layer I must say is the orange panna cotta. Best served nice and coolz! ohhhhhhh yums! hehe

Last but not least! Berry rose shooters! Appearance and attractiveness is 10 points!!!! DING DING DING! =) Doesn't it just stand out and say 'EAT ME' plus it's not too heavy and very refreshing in fact. Imagine it in a buffet where you are tons of stuff and you see this, I'm sure there's still some space for it hehe =) The square topping is caramelised sponge and the jelly is actually 'mat salleh' herbal jelly. No bitter after taste I promise 'giggles'.

Mini Pavlova! Something familiar that Malaysian now know and come to love =) It's also one of my favourites but just not too much of it.hehe. It's actually part of our classic cake that week and it looks great in our mini line, so we included it! other cakes will be featured later! Sorry! Anyway, it's a meringue based filled with chantily and topped with fresh fruits! CUTE no!? POPPED it goes into your mouth! hehe well anyway that's all I have for now..will be back very soon! hv a great friday! =) something is stirring up for the weekend and monday!!!

Oooooohhh Pretty cakes! ^^

2011-05-03T22:40:00.002+08:00

I'm back today! Omg I'm feeling so lazy tonight, it's like sluggish mode hit me and the switch mode button is stuck! Every time I want to start doing something, I end up eating a snack? watching tv? or even just staring blankly at FB homepage lol! wondering what is everyone else is doing (I'm sure that happened to lotsa people). First actual working day after the long weekend.We Malaysian do love our long holidays even though we sometimes are not very productive. All I just want to do is lay down and spend some time with my white mouse, who is now half way around the world =(. But never the less, thank god for technology, white mouse gets to use the internet too!

Anyway, I thought why not just write something. Doesn't requires too much effort no? Plenty of material to write about, since I'm so FAR behind! lol! So I'm starting with cakes!

This cake was pretty good. Seriously for chocolate lover no kidding. One bite is like WOW! lol Chocolate hitting you in the face. But of course there we still essence of pistachio and roasted pistachio bits to keep it a little nutty =). Brownie layer on the bottom, pistachio layer in the center and creamy chocolate mousse on the top.

Haha a picture of me working on the cake, courtesy of warmer =) Just in case everyone wonders if I actually make these stuff most of the time..hehe

And here's a cake I made for assessment =) This is a lot lighter compared to the other one on top. Financier base with yogurt mousse and mango jelly. Doesn't it sound appetizing already =) I really like the colours though, very attractive, the bright yellow. It's easy on the tummy too! hehe! Thumbs up for Symphonie Cake!

Topped with caramelised almond.

My dear sister and Bro-in Law just came home from Japan recently, just before the disaster happened, lucky them =) and they came home with many goodie for me! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (little yellow minion screams, Despicable ME) HAHA! The above were a souvenir from Robuchon! (a very famous pastry chef) Coincidentally they went to his shop in Tokyo and bought me a little brownie to try! And I must say that little brownie cost a bomb! lol tasted great =) and it came with such pretty packaging.

Cutest french fries ever! And they were YUMMY! Muahahahha!

And of course there were potato farm! BEST french fries ever! If you've been to Japan I'm sure you've seen the line for this infamous Hokkaido French Fries.Oooooo just so GOOD!

And of course more cookies =) All very unique in flavour =)

Tadaa! And wonderful silicon molds! really good quality =) YAY! more to help me expand my kitchen collection lol! hehe that's all I have to share this time =) More to come soon! Thanks for reading!

Mountains Of Breads! And Yummy Sandwiches too! =)

2011-05-02T13:49:00.000+08:00

Oh yes we are back to bread this time =). With more varieties and different finish..This maybe a while ago but it was still much fun! Especially making the sandwiches with my dear friend Christine! hahaha and feeding it to 'people who don't cook dinner' hahaha, you know who you are =). Well back to some description of the breads coming up! The above was a healthy hearty sandwich filled with greens as you can see and red red cherry tomatoes plus some cheese slices! And of course for our meat lover, we added some tuna filling but apparently it was still wasn't up to his 'meaty' standards! hahahahahah! But the rest of us still thinks it was yummy no?

This was focacia bread with pan fried sides filled with roasted chicken and brown sauce (not from a packet) and a soft boiled egg with the yolk jusssssssssst right =) and how can we forget the vegetable. Thanks to our personal hot kitchen chef ! haha It does give another edge rather plain old loaf.

We also made some improvised bruschetta..Hahaha..Sorry Italy if it's not suppose to look like this lol! WE use whatever we could FIND haha!

Just some tomatoes with olive oil and mixed herbs. We were lucky to find some feta cheessssssseeeeeee! =)

Update more soon! hehe =) Enjoy your weekend!

Onto Something More Recent LOL! Dessert Plating =)

2011-04-11T22:25:00.000+08:00

Hello everyone =). Due to the fact I'm tooooooooooo far behind on my blogging, I've decided to post something more recent to keep me and everyone else more up to date =). Yes recently I've learn more about plated dessert from my dear Chef Frederic. It's his favourite topic! He patiently explains the true meaning of a plated dessert from his perspective, from the visual, the composition, texture and of course FLAVOUR which is all so important! "emphasize by him" With his guidance, my classmates and I were able to produce all these beautiful plates like what you see in regular fine dining experiences =)

Some of you might have seen this before and might be wondering where...hrmmm? It's one of our production for a chinese newspaper article. But here are more detailed pictures compared to the ones in the newspaper I think =). Above is a apricot mint couli with creme brule and topped with tuile and lime sorbet. And for deco it's edible flowers and caramel almonds..Sounds yum no?

This one required more work. It has five components, chocolate mille feulle, pear tartin, chill chocolate fondant,saffron chocolate raviolli and chocolate macaroon with creme fraiche sorbet =). Just saying it it's a mouthful. The preparation work was quite a bit but the outcome was WOW!

On to the next plate it's a mini fruit basket with vanilla bavarois 'I forgot the term called in french lol'. Paired with raspberry couli , fresh raspberry and apple crumble sponge. This is one of my favourite plate too =). Big berry fan!!!!

This one is a cherry rose bavarois together with a lime chiboust mille feulle and white chocolate mousse hat =)

Well I'm just gonna show u most of our work during that week for your visual enjoyment =). "virtual waves" bye! =)

Enjoy!

Modern Cakes! OH WOW! =) Part 2

2011-03-13T20:25:00.000+08:00

Yes I am back with more cake for everyone's indulgence =). Here I explored more varieties of cakes, which we call modern cakes. What's makes a cake modern I once asked my chef..It's very subjective I think..But I think I got the idea clearer now I hope ^^. Well a modern cake is some what more 'clean' than the classic ones..with simple and few decorative items that's already sufficient to make the cake look nice. More 'zen' I say..Less is more =) clean cuts. But I always believe the eating part may not be as 'clean' as it should be...hehehe!

Haha as you can see what happens after to the cake above =)..my classmates and I had special coloured tongue after that too..such a magical cake lol..no Alice in Wonderland thing happened don't worry..

Oh yes it's very nice when you get a smooth and clean cake when you un-mold a cake. Not to mention no air bubbles in between and NOT MELTING in your hands. The only trouble I seem to have is glazing the cake and placing them perfectly onto a cake board =(. Unfortunately I haven't perfected that skill yet and sometimes my cakes may have some 'accidents' hehe. Well more practice needed I guess!

When you slice the cake and see those beautiful layering in the cake does make you think..wah so nice! haha. clear layering =).

And one of our beloved classmates making his move. Making sure getting a straight clean cut of the cake =). A torch on his side and spatula. And now for some examples of our 'minimal decoration'. Yes we tried our best but I'm sure you can tell which is done by me and which is by chef =). haha

More to come soon! Don't forget to visit! =)

Going Cake Crazy =) Part 1 Classic Cakes...

2011-03-02T11:09:00.000+08:00

Yes my life now revolves a lot around these things...sweets, chocolate, cakes, cookies and all sorts..I do admit sometimes I do get bored eating them..but there's this usual force that says eat me! eat me! when I'm craving for something to eat..Of course I do have to refrain myself for gobbling up the whole thing..now,small bites are satisfying enough =) If not I'll a balloon by the time I finish school!haha Well in today's post it's all about the classic french cakes we can find in most cake shops..

First up we have the classic opera cake, I bet everyone knows this one, coffee ganache cake..it's everywhere! =) It was my first attempt so as you can see it's a little messy and the layers aren't that clean but practice makes perfect yeah? =) but I do love cakes with dark chocolate glaze on the top..makes the cake looks all so clean with beautiful layers on the edges..clean finishing..with a little deco and it's ready to go =)

And how can we forget the swiss roll..or rolling sponge as some call it..Don't this just bring back childhood memories..well in the Malaysian society this is a super classic cake..you can literally find it everywhere..thick sponge rolled in cream oh and sometimes in kaya..000ooo0o0oo0o0 =) It's what every mommy will feed their child when they were young..comfort food for little children I guess..But I realised it's not that easy making these babies perfectly round when you roll them up..still we did manage to make them and upgraded them a little =)..

Tadaa! An upgraded chocolate swiss roll =) with yummy caramelised hazelnut inside with chocolate chantily and chocolate ganache as glaze..It so screams CHOCOLATE in your face =) Definitely for chocolate lovers...

OH oh! this is one of my favourite one, LeSucess! Not too complicated to make, especially when you need a last minute cake =)hehe...It's a hazelnut jaconde layered with honey chocolate ganache..It's not amazing in the 'I want to impress someone' cake department but still after all a cake which still taste good =)

Last but not least, Apricot Sacher..I must say the taste isn't that great for me..still need some twinks here and there..Looks nice though..you will like it if you were a major fan of apricots =) Well more to come with part 2 and post about ASSESMENT! lol visit soon! =)

Tarts! Pies! and Quiches! OMG and FLAMBE!? HAHAHA!

2011-02-21T00:28:00.001+08:00

OMG it's been sooooooooooo long..My apologies =) alot has happen the past month plus...with me having a short break after graduating my first 3 months at the academy (even though I went back a lot 'winks')...and little surprises during the holidays =)..to starting classes again with new chef..clap clap..to the Chinese New Year preparation..and then the passing of my dearest grandma =)..I shall make a post for her and the cakes she loves =)...to friends farewells and so on....finally having a little motivation to continue to blog again =)..

Yes yes I know I'm far behind in blogging, with mountains of materials but not posting fast enough..well less talking now and more about the tittle =) So! in school we made all kinda tarts..I always thought tarts were with furly sides like what I use to see in recipe books..I've seen more modern ones but I can never find those darn molds! Finally at school I have the chance !

Smooth clean sides, perfectly circular, it looks like a perfect tart!..learning how to line the tart properly, baking it at the right temperature, avoiding shrinking and puffing of the tart at the wrong places, helped create the perfect tart shell..But of course working with sweet dough in our humid and HOT HOT weather is a pain in the butt, with lotsa practice we managed to handle it fast enough before it melts in our hands..

And of course it would be any tart you want by just changing the filling but still using the same base..with some deco it could a special dessert all by itself =) and of course when you cut into the center of the tart it has all different layers and texture which you can see..make it all so interesting!

We also made pies and quiches (FINALLY something savory)..with a sweet and savory royale mix, that holds all the ingredients together..these two were different from tart dough because the texture is more flaky compared to the sweet dough which is more crumbly..you can choose to blind bake the dough first or just dump everything in together..it's entirely up to you depending what result you are going for =)

The one with the apple filling is obviously sweet,,the normade and the other is the quiche =)..all fillings are of your choice but due to the limited ingredients available at school we just used whatever savory item we can find! hahaha..

Lastly......I wanted to post this since the day I got these pictures =) CHEF showed us the FLAMBE! lol yes yes it's what you see on tv...the fella cooking in front of you..pouring some alcohol on top and lighting fire! hahaha and VUSH!!!!!!!!!! FIRE! FLAME! haha so we were all very excited to see chef do the demo and with cameras ready we took pictures as he was doing it =) I was standing right beside him..due to some TECHNICAL difficulties..the fan...lol the fire went a little out of hand and was right in front of my face..HHAHAHAHAHA everyone was stunted for a moment..but I was ALRIGHT don't worry..maybe lost some fine hair in the process lol! but at least I got a good picture =).

Hahaha it was an interesting experience...chef was explaining to us that this was one of the reasons he wanted to be bald..lol to avoid accidents lol!..well more fun stories about school soon! =) come back soon!

Time For Some Cakes =)

2011-01-09T15:57:00.000+08:00

Oh yes it's that time again..=) hehe..and this time it's finally about cakes! Some of you might have been wondering..hrmmm why doesn't she make any cakes..after all it is the first thing that comes up when you think of desserts..Well truth to be told..cakes aren't the only sweet desserts available but it is the most loved and used in all occasion item..from birthday, weddings, gatherings and all sorts of celebration..which is one of the best used to sweeten up your happy moments ^^.

When I was young, like all Malaysian kids.. I've always thought a pretty chocolate cake with plastic cartoons on it..full of cream and chocolate and filled with those pink and white candles that symbolise my age was the BEST thing ever! Especially when mommy makes it =)...As the years went by and I got older, my perception on cakes has also evolved..from the time that you can serve me anything that's just filled with cream, sponge and chocolate to now looking at the number of layers, decoration, what's the ingredients used..going to work and school has definitely changed my world on cakes =) I'm nearly to a point that I would not want cake for my birthday..unless it's something I've never tried before or just damn good..and of course the numbers of candles has also increased..but mommy's cakes are still good..childhood nostalgia...^^

But I have to say birthday children are so much more lucky these days..they are spoiled for choice and so are those who are children by heart..You can get anything from all american style cake to any cartoon character made of sugar..how lucky eh? But ever since 3 months ago I've discovered a new style of cake that was new to me at least..the french style cakes =)..It's very sophisticated, elegant and still sooooooo delicious on the taste buds..It's kinda like cake engineering..seeing layers and layers of different textures and taste that some how match when ate all together..yum yum!!! From mousses to ganache to fruit jellies and all sorts of biscuits..possibilities are endless!

Of course since everything's so nice and sophisticated, keeping the layers clean and straight plays a very important role..not the same as the american style which is a delicious mess of goodness =)..Yes it may consume more time but the end result is very satisfying =) Just look at these examples..vanilla mousse with forest fruit jelly..

And of course like all cakes decoration plays a very important role =) It's the first that attracts us..to me I call it the visual tasting before actually eating it...Someone once to me when your cake looks nice, you've already won half the battle but still taste and texture are still number one on the list..Well let's just continue with more 'visual tasting' and please do come visit soon! =) oh yes the chocolate decorations are more advanced from the chocolate rice..haha!

YES! Chef Stephen Treand!!!!!! CELEBRITY in the pastry world =).."fans screamssss"

2010-12-27T14:42:00.000+08:00

Chef Treand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Yes a majorly famous chef in the pastry world..a MOF..one of the highest honors in the industry..He's such an amazing chef and a very fun person too!!! He came to the academy months ago for a special class on sugar and he showed us his amazing skill, especially his all so famous air-brushing! I was very excited to meet him after reading all about him on the internet =)..lol the power of the internet..but at the same time too nervous..because he was our actual first visiting chef and we weren't very familiar with him..would he be the usual chefs we see on tv? hrmmmmm..haha well believe me he was a very nice chef and was very generous sharing his techniques and experience he had overseas, competitions and of course his funny jokes =) I really enjoyed his 4 days class..it opened up a whole new genre in the pastry world for me and I can't wait for his next visit next year!!!COME BACK SOON CHEF! =)

I took hundreds of photo! literally! lol I had to charge my camera everyday after school too! Well for this post let the pictures do the talking eh =)

Chef's 'practice trial' OMG its already good enough for me!! =)

Cool no!?

And also tiger art =) Awesome!

Different pouring techniques ^^ this was the coolest Sphere! look like crystal no?

We told chef if he quit pastry he could do make-up for women! hehe..any girl would look pretty after he's done..LOL

One of my highlights of the class =) Chef's first cartoon! on our request lol JACK JACK!

I was helping him out with the cutting lol..need good eye eh?

Showing us the shading ..jack jack coming alive..

Chef did some pulling sugar too! it was HOT HOT HOT!

The LONG anticipated AVATAR =)

Jack Jack was done! I helped with the pajamas =)

haha he's like the avatar too! =)

Building up a showpiece..also jack jack's house =)

Pei Minn made one mini too! =)

See you soon chef! =)

Yummy Cookies I Secretly Snack On =)

2010-12-22T21:37:00.000+08:00

It's everyone's favourite snack when you are craving something sweet and simple..Easy to get your hands on with zero effort..and of course less guilt when you are having just one piece of cookie =) right? Personally I don't see much of cookies around unless it's during the all so festive Chinese New Year!!!Sometimes I wonder where do they hide all year long? Lol in hibernation? Probably my mom keeps it away from us, cause it's 'bad for health' but never the less it does gives us the heads up that the new year is here!! For me, all things sweet are a daily routine now, never can escape it =) We had a whole week of these yummies..everyone kept snacking on them in between recipes it's ridiculous! Yes, we are never hungry at the academy..hehe!

Florentine one of my favourites..it's similar to what we usually see during the Chinese New Year season..the crispy sweet almond flake cookie..which I have no idea what is it called but we only see it during this festive season..think of this as the western version..a layer of sweet pastry on the bottom to whole it together then caramel almond flakes..crispy and yet a little chewy at the same time..yums!

Oh Oh! this is my other 'favourite' cookie..the shortbread..my classmates would know why..I have such a hard time piping them and getting them the right shape!!!it's crazy..everyone was done before I could even get one right..But after many frustrating tries and practices again I finally got it..Of course with support from my team mate and chef who were great helps! =) YES I CAN MAKE THEM NOW! WITHOUT FEAR!

This is the linzer =)..kinda like a tart/pie? it has raspberry filling in it..and would make good friends with raspberry lovers..haha..before this, all the cookies I knew were the ones you see during the celebrations or more commercial ones..but of course this has open a new perspective to cookies for me =)

Ice-cream scoop and cookie batter! You thinking what I'm thinking? The all so classic Chocolate Chip Cookie =) How can we miss the one out..no matter old or young, girl or boy everyone loves these babies..especially if you can smell them fresh from the oven! oh the sweet aroma of chocolate cookies just bring you joy! To some they are like a 'drug' ubber addictive..once you start you might be able to stop! which is scary sometime..hehe

But at these sizes? one is more than enough sometimes yeah? but some people are a little greedy yeah? brings out the little cookie monster in them..haha!

Back to something more french..this cute little thing is call..Rochers COCO chef? or something like that..More for the coconut fanatic..blek not me =) but it taste good still..and looks really nice..kinda like white penguins no? love the shape..

Amarettis! Grandfather of all modern macaroons..can you believe this is what they use to look like before turning into colourful, smooth and not forget pretty macaroons that is taking the whole by storm now..apparently, according to chef, this is made with the same ingredients but the result is so different..and VERY STRONG in almond flavour..more for the coffee people..

love =)

And there is also tuilles which is usually made for dessert plating and decoration purposes..it's not too bad on the taste department too..kinda like wafers..but it's cool when you can get it paper thin..hehe!

Of course how can we miss out biscottis..an italian favourite..and now mine too! really crispy and flavourful..best served with a drink..dipped into coffee!!but it requires a little more time to make them but it's really easy..bake, slice and dry..viola!but cutting then paper thin requires some skill and a really good knife !

Last but not least is the Chocolate Toffee Bar..more the american style now..kinda like the cousin of the florentine from the top..chocolate coated and sprinkle with toasted nut! big hit with the children..and great for snack or teatime..yes this ends the cookie special post..there are millions of cookies out there waiting to be discovered and this is just like a sneak peak..more yummy-ness to come!

Croissants!!! Yummy breakfast food no? ohoh! and for sandwiches too!

2010-12-16T22:38:00.001+08:00

Croissants! One of my favourite breakfast food =)..minus the amount of butter used to make it...the wonderful smell of fresh baked croissants fresh out of the oven fills the whole kitchen can make your mouth water..slurps..most of us couldn't even wait till it's a little cooled down before popped them into our mouth..with caution of course..we won't want burn tongues now don't we =) but they are all so delicious both savory and sweet..you can either eat it with any jam filling,with toasted almond flakes on the top and icing sugar or make them into sandwiches!! My all time favourite..slice them, place some vegetables,tomato slices,tuna or egg salad..oh yums! It does brighten up your morning =)

But of course, making these babies are not as easy smeasy lemon squeezy as I thought it would be =(..it takes quite some effort..from making the yeast-ed dough to the laminating and of course the FOLDING!! OH and BELIEVE me that my classmates and I have encountered countless failures before to be able to produce a croissant that pass the test...especially during the assessment we had..major stress when they were on the menu..they had to be the same size,weight and of course visible layers!!!

The laminating and folding part was pretty difficult..both the dough and butter has to be cold and but still flexible enough to be stretched out to get the butter evenly inside the dough..Next would be the folding..3 times each fold and after each fold it has to be rested for at least 20 minutes in the chiller..OMG it was time consuming and hard! Oh oh if your butter starts to crack..you can say goodbye to those layers =( Initially I had no idea why my croissant kept dying, but after many practices I've realised there were many details to pay attention to during the process..Next would be getting all of them the same size..In the beginning we didn't take account that part because we were all quite frustrated with the layers already..but in actually fact when we got used to it, we took out the ruler or the weighing scale and measured them accurately..this provides us some consistency =)

As you can see there is a major difference from ones made here in this picture from the ones from the top..haha these were our initial ones but we were getting there =)..let's just say I've hidden some of the major failed ones somewhere deep within my album..hehe..understanding the method of baking played a big part into the end product too..so every step counts!

But the annoying part is when you realised that you've done something wrong during the folding process, there's no turning back! cries..you can't unfold and fold again!!how I wish it was like origami..folded wrong and unfold and fold again..sadly you have to see your mistake and move on..but once you get it right it does bring you this feeling of victorious! YES I DID IT! IN YOUR FACE CROISSANT! hehe..'jumps and shouts in happiness =) and when you cut out the cross-section and see those beautiful layers..just makes you wanna pop them right in your mouth..yum all so buttery =)

=) and with the help of the dough sheet-er we were able to get very even layers and same use major rolling effort and time..Oh how I miss that machine when I'm rolling something by hand..I want one too!! It's only bad when something gets stuck and we have to clean the WHOLE machine..well more pastries to come! =) stay tune!

Chef Abu!!! Our Visiting Baker Chef..Who We LOVE! =)

2010-12-16T00:04:00.001+08:00

First of all I would like to announced that I've GRADUATED! together with my dear first batch mates, Megan and Pei Minn! We have officially completed our 3 months certificate course!! We were all very happy that we've did it! but at the same time sad when we had so say our farewells =(..but it has been a great 3 months and I will always remember the times we had =) I shall be continuing my course at the academy, where my other classmates will be going out into the REAL WORLD! lol! well more details on our last day later..for now I have more new classmates which I have mega fun with them too! =)

As for now I shall blog the memories that I've obtained from these wonderful 3 months =)..Back to something more related to the tittle..YES! we did have a baker Chef Abu who came to teach us all about bread for a few days! =) It was quite awkward at first since we didn't know much about him, but before you know it we all were very close to him already =) He wowed us with his various method on baking...and it was all about the feel of the dough..and not to follow the recipe exactly all the time..but to able to tell that bread is saying yes please bake me now or no!! I'm not ready yet! rather to just follow blindly the minutes written on the recipe page.

I personally was quite impressed, especially the hard rolls and the dark breads.OH oh!!! my all favorite was the soft roll!! It was amazing =) soft and fluffy..it's kinda like the sponge too! If you took one and flatten it, it would just bounce back!..I was like...wahhhh...It stayed soft till the next day too =) Best for sausage bun..hmmmm almost everyone's favorite..

We made so much bread in those few days I swear we could had open a bakery! All of us enjoyed his class very much and had lotsa fun too! all the jokes and 'incidents' that happened during class...haha I'm sure my classmates know what I'm taking about...hehehe! And we hope to see him soon too and hopeful have more classes with him in the future =) TERIMA KASIH CHEF!

LOL these were the amount we made in a day or 2! can you imagine!? and I think we had like 3/4 days of class? it was quite impressive..even chef took some pictures =) haha..the group picture is somewhere....

HAHA! Our chef style photo =) JUMPA LAGI CHEF! =) more to come...hehe

This Is Considered Bread !!!??!!

2010-12-15T00:15:00.000+08:00

Yes I know this looks very familiar..if you were chinese =) Kinda looks like those pan fried 'paos' no? Take a closer look and it's actually what we all have eaten before..if you ever had McDonald's Breakfast..still don't know what it is? It's actually English Muffins! The 'bun' layer in the breakfast special =) And in fact the British do eat them from breakfast =) I think you can make it both savory or sweet depending what you feel like on that day! But anyway, I bet you are wondering why it's called english muffin but when in fact it's actually a bread? Well to tell you the truth I have no idea but I can tell you that it's one tasty muffin! Imagine bacon or ham with a slice or lettuce and tomato, mayonnaise and poached egg with benedict's sauce..sounds good for breakfast no? It takes quite some time to make them..first pan fried and then baked again to fully cook it.

Next up! You guessed it =) donuts! the all time favourite..with the explosion of Big Apple and J.Co donuts and also the all so famous Krispy Kreme, made all Malaysians going crazy over them for a period of time. It's actually a yeast based product..I bet many didn't know..I imagined it as 'fried bread' ..swimming happily in a hot pot of oil =) then sugar coated and when eaten, melts in your mouth kinda feeling =)

Apparently this dough is pretty versatile too! the french have names for every type but sadly I only can remember half of what chef told us..sorry chef =)..the one with the hole is donuts in general..sugar coated or cinnamon sugar if you are fan of cinnamon..haha inside joke..megan =)..

The ones without the holes are Berliners if I'm not mistaken..right chef? And we had a great time playing with the decoration! isn't the smiley face one cute? =) yummy shiny chocolate for the top and any filling you like for the center!

And these mini round ones..Churrox? or something like that..I will check it!!! but it's the same basic idea =) and let me tell you they are addictive..by the time you know it, it's nearly half gone! so hide it from anyone you know that's gonna finish them all! hehe

We also tried out a new bread..Cocoa bread..turned out pretty good..the taste and out look of it..you can taste a little acidity from the cocoa..recommended for cocoa lovers =)..More bread to come! believe me! =)

Pâte à choux!..All so French ^^ wee chef?

2010-12-13T00:42:00.019+08:00

Pâte à choux, choux pastry also known to many as cream puff..But actually cream puff is one of the many things that can be evolved from this pastry. Some of you who've read my blog from months before might have seen me made this before =) I was no stranger to this pastry..in fact I've made it many many time at home..but even though with much practice some how I haven't master it yet..there were still some flops from time to time =( Without know why, which is the worst part. After experiencing some of the same deja vu at school, I've finally realised my mistake..which I think many have had the same problem..which is the baking process..I find this pastry quite amazing..it's first pre-cooked before then you add more eggs into it and then this liquid-y batter suddenly poofs up in the up like spring daisy! it's quite an interesting sight in the oven..this gives it a light, and hollow pastry filled with aroma =)

The other best part of this pastry is that it's all so versatile! depending on the shape, size and pattern you piped, you can practically make at least 5 different types with the same batter =) It's one of the best representative of the french pastry..We know that the french love and are very proud of their pastries and who could blame them? they are just so GOOD at making them!

My first good looking eclair...after many trials of piping the right shape and dipping it with fondant and etc for deco, I've finally made one that I personally think looks quite attractive..not to toot my own horn..'beep beep'..but still chef said it was a tad small..oh well, try and try again =)..the other plus point is that you are able to fill you choux pastry with whatever you like..but of course something that matches..hehe not just anything..any cream in general =)

Choux Chantily

Paris-brest

ST. Honour

Don't you feel it's like the transformer? hehe it's quite cool I think =) and the most challenging one out of all was...'drum rolls'

croquembouche!

See! even the spelling is hard..don't even talk about the assembling part! It's a traditional dessert and quite significant to the french culture..It's usually made for weddings..all filled and then drizzled with caramel to hold it all together =) You may search online to look for a more professionally made one..they are quite amazing, not just the deco but the sear size of the ones made in France 0.0 as tall as a person! chef made a mini one just to demo to us..and so did we! =)

Haha you can see chef secretly laughing at ours..LOL! and of course I made some cream puff too! filled with hazelnut pastry cream which I've never tried in the past and it was all GOOD! =)

before

after! =) yummy!

More delicious dessert to come!

First Chocolate Experience "jumps over joy!"

2010-12-12T23:40:00.001+08:00

YES! I'm back! After 2 months of computer and internet problems, I've finally got it all sorted out =). My apologies to my blog readers...if I have any =)..I recently got my new internet line and it's suppose to be a lot faster, which is enabling me to update more photos! Very happy to once again be reunited with the digital world!..Anyway back to more of my pastry adventures! SADLY my days in school will be ending soon for a short holiday and I have missed out all the chances to update what I've been doing on the daily basis on my blog..But luckily for technology, the digital camera has been my great companion on capturing all the great memories in school and all the delicious things we made =)

Long long ago.....I had my first experience on CHOCOLATE! Many didn't know..at least I think they didn't...that I am a big biG BIG fan of chocolate! So this was a very exciting experience for me..especially the tasting part..As you all might realise that chocolate is a uber big part of the pastry world..there are even competitions held just on chocolates can you imagine? It open a whole new chocolaty world that I never knew existed!

Before this all I knew was..this chocolate tasted nice and the other tasted yucky...but now...from what it's made of, to what temperature it's suppose to be, to the quality, various types and the list goes on and on..There is more to chocolate than just taste! To get a perfect chocolate the quality of chocolate you use and the temperature you temper it plays a very important role, to give you goooooooood chocolate that melts in your mouth and give the perfect shine "bling bling"

And of course the possibilities with chocolate are endless..from choco truffles we all love to the delicious centered-filled pralines..can you say CHOCOLATE PARADISE!? After a few practices and I grown to love chocolate making more...the only downside to it is the mess I create and have to clean up at the end..I'm getting better at the part..I hope..Let's just say that everyone knows that I'm playing with chocolate that day when they see my uniform..hehe! =)

Tempering chocolate wasn't as easy as I thought it would be in the beginning..but I'm getting the hang of it..unless I cheat and use compound chocolate instead of coverture..opps! hehe..but it does take a little more time and effort..the right room temperature, environment and tools does make the process a lot more easier..

Casting was one of the messier bit..but I've realised that there were many different ways to make chocolate with various methods depending what finally result you wish to have. And always try to KEEP CLEAN and the chocolate at the RIGHT temperature =)..that's what chef always says =)

I hope all chocolate lovers enjoyed my post! more to come soon! =) thanks for visiting..

First week! Bread madness =)

2010-10-24T01:15:00.000+08:00

Oh so exciting first week at school was bakery class..Imagine the smell of fresh breads everyday..=)..It was an eye opener even though I've done some bread in the pass..I didn't know there were so many methods to making bread and how to readjust you're ingredients so that you produce you own style of bread..This gave me a chance to try out things that I always wanted to attempt at home but did not dare to or have badly failed at it..And yes with the guidance of chef we were able to make successful breads, even though there were some failures (hehe). It made me discover that there weren't only one way to make bread and different method different results.the varieties to bread are endless!.Of course all method works, just that what final produce is your preference.

Oh yes and one of the most anticipated one was croissant!! It was easy watching chef doing it but it took my classmates and I few times to get it right (and also due to some 'technical difficulties')..But we were still able to produce a decent one(without chefs help)..Still have much improvement can be done..On the way!!! haha..we are still perfecting it and practice makes perfect =).Due to the fact that I only started shooting pictures after a week or two school started, I don't have as many pictures as the rest of what we are doing now..Believe me, we were able to open a mini bakery but the end of the day when we were done baking..So many varieties and the amount we had...But of course we all smelled 'nice' after the end of the day =). Our families and friends we very happy too! hehe

We learned a lot of new terms and skills in bakery,(checking gluten every few minutes haha..always thinking is it done? is it done yet?) and we did some kneading by hand too!!! OH it's so not for the weak, if you are doing a large amount..good arm exercise I guess? =)..Of course we had our helpful machine to help..Baking bread involves a long process sometimes..from preparing the dough, to shaping, to proofing and finally baking..takes a pretty long time..and it's a specialised work on it's own..not all pastry chefs are great baker and vice versa..

Even though bakery is not everyone's thing but it's a must basic things we must learn. And who knows, one of us might be a master baker one day,hehe! Anyway more deliciousness coming soon! thanks for visiting =)

I'm Back in School!!! (Academy of Pastry Arts) "jumps in excitement!"

2010-10-21T23:51:00.000+08:00

Sorry for abandoning you(my blog) for almost a month but..... I'm back in school!!!!!!!!!! after almost a little over a year putting my education to a halt, I've finally decided to do pastry as a profession! The working experience helped me a lot to understand the industry more and ensured my choice =). As some of you might not know that I've done an A-Levels pre-university course before this and has chose to do pastry even though I had to give up entering university and doing a "real" degree! Even in those college days, as I was drowned in assignments, books, tutorials, I always find the time to run into the library and look at all the wonderful pastry books that I could get my hands on! I borrowed most of them even though I barely had the time to actually read any of them =(. And mind you, you might think that I must be a slacker, non-studious type, but nooooooooooooooooo I did 4 subjects, including further mathematics! HAHahaha! imagine that! I did pretty well in my examinations too and could have went to any course I wanted and at any where I wanted, (not to boast winks hehe) but some how I found my way back to those sweet desserts that secretly brings me joy and to those around me =). So there begins my journey, from working in a regular bakery (meeting great people there, one of those unforgettable memories, learnt a lot!!!!) and to working for the most wonderful cake shop around! Delectable by SU! Having a great boss and meeting more nice people..I have to say everyone were very supporting of my choice and have brought me many guidance! THANK YOU! especially my family, my white mice and friends! =)

Anyway back to my new school =) academy! After considering many many schools I've nearly given up on doing it in Malaysia until I found them! I was quite spectacle at first because it was soooooooooo new. But yeah being new has it's benefit "winks!" Ever since I started, I've never had a single boring day! (ever since my white my said 'bye-bye' TT I have a lot of spare time). But anyway, I really enjoy my time there and I most of the time I look forward going to school =), I guess my classmates thinks so too! (I think haha).Even though, I quote "lifeless" after joining the academy because we spent all our spare time hang out there, my classmates and I really enjoy being there!Plus my chefs are reallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy nice, like super!, they really take time to explains things to us, which requires a lot of patience due to we were all 3 girls in the beginning and we tend to be more talkative. WE have MAJOR FUN together!

Our first class picture! Batch 1/2010..I still remember when chef was asking us to write it on our files, we all had giggles! Well as time goes by more and more people are getting to know about the school, which is good =). But everyday going to the academy we learn more new things and discover new delicious sweets that we never knew existed. Of course our chefs wants us to have a good basic, so he makes us practice, practice and practice =)..right chefs? My two wonderful classmates also play very important role! we have become fast close friends and we do almost everything together =)..They bring me joy, smiles and of course 'entertainment'.Megan and Pei Minn! =)

I now have a few more classmates who are very fun people too! Shall introduce them in the next post =)..The pictures above are just a little preview of what we've actually made (out of the hundreds..a little exaggeration) hehe..more to come! so please do visit soon! I promise I will update more often since I have plenty of materials now...just need MORE time!!!

Strawberry Madness!

2010-09-13T22:19:00.000+08:00

Hi all!!!!!! I'm back with more deliciousness hehe =). This time it's all about strawberries! As you all know that this fruit is almost everyone's favorite for dessert..from strawberry cake, Pavlova, fruit tart, you'll never see miss it in a shelf of your favorite dessert sanctuary. It's definitely my all time favorite and also the white mice's too! Yes we all know they do cause a little hole in our pockets but they do look all so beautiful. Lucius red, juicy, plum and provides great contrast for photos! Soooooo eye catching..kinda of a seductive fruit I think LOL!

Anyway back to the dessert, doesn't it just SCREAMS EAT ME! Thanks to Kent for the providing his pro photography skill this time too! It has become a little joint venture between us for the last 2 projects =). You cannot imagine the lengths we took to take these pictures..Lets just say I've never done so much for picture of a tart and a couple of cake haha! ...MANY many locations we had for this little photo shoot. But never the less the pictures were AMAZING! kudos to the photographer =).

So let me tell what these yummy looking things are! First off we have a Strawberry Milk Tart made from buttery but not soggy tart shell, filled with white chocolate cream and for garnish of course strawberries =) with a little sprinkle of crunchy streusel made of oats! I can hear stomach growling already hehe! And the other star of our photo shoot was a mini version of strawberry short cake. Strawberries sandwiched in between sweet vanilla cake with a hint of pastry cream in the center. I dusted it with some icing sugar to give it the snowy feel. So much joy just looking at it! White mice was in strawberry paradise too!hehe I'm just going to post more pictures to show you guys!

OoOOooOooo 0.0

wahhhhhhhhh! jealous anot? haha!

Come back soon! =)