Chocolate Mud Cake and Opera Cake

Chocolate Gateau Cake and Strawberry Lightweigh Cake

Chocolate Chip Cookies and Raisins Oatmeal Cookies

Apple Strudel

Richard taught us apple strudel today and as he only taught 1 item, class ended quite early today which is good since attending class after work on Monday can be rather tiring. Here's the pastry that were baked, crispy and flaky.

Custard cream and apple filling are added.

Here's the end product. I will try making mango strudel since there is no cooking involved.

Vegetarian and BBQ Chicken Pizza

Attended Valerie's class today on pizza. She taught us vegetarian and BBQ chicken pizza. I find the BBQ chicken pizza too saltish. Maybe because too much BBQ sauce is added. But the dough is soft and nice.

The vegetarian pizza is more blend compared to the BBQ chicken pizza. The tomato sauce taste is stronger and more sour.

I may try making hawaiin pizza using this pizza base.

Almond Tarts and Peach Truffle

In today's lesson, Richard taught almond tarts and peach truffle. The almond tarts are crispy and fragrant, and not too sweet too, which is what I like.

The fillings are piped into the half-baked tart shells.

Don't they look nice?

The base for the peach truffle is actually made of cake crumbs, and I find the taste too eggy.  I may try making with other fruits since my mum do not fancy canned peach.

Crunchy Milo Nougat Chocolate Cake and Peanut Twisted Chocolate Bread

Went Phoon Huat yesteday with much anticipation for the Crunchy Milo Nougat Chocolate Cake but end up I am more pleased with the Peanut Twisted Chocolate Bread!  The cake is quite nice actually as a layer of crunchy wafer is added in between the layer of mousse and sponge cake. But I can still taste the gelatine which I hate most as it reminds me of rubber.

I was expecting the bread to be nothing unusual but turn out the peanut twisted chocolate bread is so yummy! The fragrant of the peanut and the chocolate chips and the softness of the bread are such perfect match. I can't wait to get my mixer to make this bread.

Fresh Fruit Tarts and Cream Cheese Torte Cake

Today Richard taught us fresh fruit tarts and cream cheese torte cake. This is the pastry base of the cream cheese torte cake.

I find the cream cheese too sour and the lemon juice has covered cheese taste completely. Nevertheless, this is a pretty cake due to the colourful fruits.

As for the fresh fruit tarts, he added a layer of sponge cake to fill up so that the custard is not too much since this is a big tart. We can skip this if we are making small tarts.

The tarts filled with custard. I like this custard as it is very fragrant and tasty.

There is an extra piece of sponge so he made into a cake sandwiched by the custard. It is actually quite tasty although I find it too sweet.

Serembang Siew Pau and Char Siew Soh

Went to Mrs Fong's place to learn the Serembang Siew Pau and Char Siew Soh the day before and luckily, its quite nice.

The round ones are the siew pau and the rectangular ones are char siew soh. Personally I prefer the char siew soh as I find the filling tastier. The pastry is also nicer. I will try making the char siew, even if not making into pastry, it can still be served as a dish on its own.

Rum Ball and Fruit Cake

Attended Valerie's rum ball and fruit cake class last week and as expected, although I am not a huge fan of fruit cake, her recipes did not disappoint me. The fruits are not too dry and the taste is just nice.See the fruit bits?

As for rum ball, she uses Sara Lee chocolate pound cake to make. Not only is it chocolatey, it is also crunchy due to the added almond.

Quiche and Chocolate Peach Torte

Today Richard taught us Quiche and Chocolate Peach Torte. He uses mushroom, ham and cheese for the filling but I find the base too thick. I have to pretend there is a layer of potato at the base so that I can convince myself I am not chewing on the dough.

As for the Chocolate Peach Torte, it looks for delicious coz it is very chocolatey. It's a chocolate cake layered with chocolate mousse and canned peach and top with another layer of chocolate ganache. 

The orange pieces are canned peach. If I make, I will make it plain, nothing but chocolate. Ha!

Cookie Decorating Class

Attended a class on cookie decorating class using fondant and royal icing over the weekend. Although I do not fancy eating the already sweet cookie loaded with more sugar on the top, but I can't deny they are so fun to make and pretty to look at.

Initially I thought of making them as gifts, but am having second thought now due to the amount of sugar in it. Nevertheless, it was a fun experience.

Lotus Paste Pastry (again), Zhu Zai and Sesame Wheat Cookies

I still can't get over the lotus paste pastry Richard taught us during the last lesson as it's simply nice! Even my mum and neighbour likes it. So I made some yesterday using the lotus paste and pandan paste filling meant for the mooncakes. Aren't they pretty?

My mum is getting sick of mooncakes so I guess it's enough for now. So I use up the remaining dough meant for my mooncakes to make "zhu zai". I did not get the traditional piggy mould but I I bought the fish instead coz I find this cuter. However, after baking the print is less distinctive.

Since there are excess sesame seeds after sprinkling on the lotus paste pastry, I use them to make this sesame wheat cookies from Lucy's blog. I am suppose to cut out the inner part as well so the cookie is in a "ring" form but I am simply too tired so I did not cut the centre out. Nevertheless, it is still tasty as the sesame seeds are very fragrant and this cookie is not sweet at all.