Carrot Cupcake

I have tried baking carrot cakes using different recipes and this is one very simple and yet delicious. The recipe uses butter and not oil. Some that I have tried are very oily but this particular one is not oily and yet moist and smell good.  As usual , I will reduce the sugar by 15 percent because I cannot stand carrot cake that is overly sweet for I know the cheese topping will be sweet too. The most important thing in a carrot cake is the frosting. It must be lemony and cheesy sweet !  Out of boredom and wanting to have some fun , I try making a few cuppies just for some cute shots for my blog. The rest I poured into a 10" square tin and baked in a preheated oven of 160 deg C for 40 minutes :)

Apple Strudels

I have not been baking lately....been busy entertaining relatives from Singapore the whole of last week. Lots of catching up with them:)  This morning , I baked apple strudels with store bought puff pastry. Made two for Claire and one for Piggy Cuz and one for Piggy Josh. We love this light dessert especially Piggy gal...she will eat this with ice cream....yum yumm :)  This is the easiest to make dessert if you have guests over for dinner.  With some green cooking apples , sultanas, lemon zest, brown sugar , cinnamon powder and with sheets of store bought pastry , you are ready to make this delectable apple strudel :)

Lavender Flavored Konnyaku Jelly

Konnyaku is made from the konnyaku potato with calcium hydroxide or oxide calcium extracted  from the eggshells , added to it and has lots of nutritious value in it. Konnyaku is a traditional Japanese jelly-like health food .  97 percent of Konnyaku is water and 3 percent is glucomannan or dietary fibre. Rich in minerals and very low in calories. It is extremely difficult for us to digest, so it goes through our body and sweeps our intestines and at the same time cleans toxins in the intestine. 

Lemon Poppy Seeds Muffins

I have not been baking for the last one week :p but the moment I saw this lemony loaf from Gertrude's blog - My Kitchen Snippets , she just triggered the baking craze in me and I knew I had to use up all the lemons in the fridge. I have a bad habit of stocking lemons and I buy them in packs of 6 :p  the greedy nature in me perhaps, I stocked them up for cheesecakes and for making lemon tea. And before the blue poppy seeds expired on me ,I better use them to make delicious and refreshing Lemon Poppy Seeds Muffins . This moist and tangy goodness just have to be good and true to its name , for  its' fragrance is enough to make you go for a second helping :))

Mandarin Layered Cake - By Jo

This cake was made by Jo for her friend's dad's birthday and I was indeed surprised that she wanted to bake  a cake when she was already so tired after all the packing for her UK trip. She told me that she wanted to make something special and delicious and which is not hard to make. I suggested she make this cake for it is not rich and is good for older people. Light and easy cake and full of mandarin sandwiched between two layers of sponge cake...with non-dairy whipped cream. Do not be alarmed by the whipped cream frosting for it is non-dairy!  Of course, under the tutelage of this dragon Momsie, she did a good job. For me, it is the best moment a mother and daughter could have and I could see she really enjoyed baking and decorating the cake. And I enjoyed teaching her for she really put her heart to making a near perfect cake for the friend's dad.  I told her anything made with love will surely turned out well :)