No sugar added fruitcake.

Fruitcake for X'mas. Do you notice that Santa gets slimmer this year? Do you know why?Santa has been eating fruitcake.

If we can't turn away on cakes, we'd better make it healthier.
I make this fruitcake only once a year,so I prefer to have it my way.If there are certain fruits you don't like, you can always include more of another. I usually add some applesauce to my fruitcake recipe to make a healthier and moister fruitcake.

This fruitcake is made of cranberries, dried apricots,prunes, dried kiwis, figs and almonds. All dried fruits were placed in an enclosed container and were soaked with rum for 1 week. Of course, it would be nicer if we leave them longer.

In order to prevent over browning, I usually line the bottom and sides of the pan with foil. To prevent burning around the edges,set the fruitcake pan in a bigger pan half-filled with water or place a pan of water on the oven floor below the baking cake

To serve, slice cake in a sawing motion with sharp thin blade of knife or a serrated knife. I usually use a warm apricot jam to brush on the cakes for a shine. It just doesn't only taste good, but it's also healthy.

Green tea swiss roll

It is specially created for green tea lover .

One of my friend is a green tea lover...yes, me too. She will drop by my place this evening and she requested a green tea cake.

I know that her daughter loves chocolate, my friend loves green tea and all kinds of bean. I think this roll will be able to satisfy both of them. Yes, greentea is perfect when it comes together with red bean , but kidney bean is also good. I couldn't get Japanese red bean paste here, so I used kidney beans instead.

I used green tea powder that one of my Japanese friend gave me. It produces such a nice aroma on the final cake. I normally don't add any color to my cakes, but this tea makes a very nice color, I think.

I chose non-diary whipped cream for fillings. The kidney beans add beautiful colors to this roll. To add a final touch , I grated bittersweet chocolate and sprikle on top. Chocolate and greentea....very nice.

Cottonsoft mamon cupcake

We can eat it plain just like this or we can dress it up with some grated cheese. I prefer to eat them plain with a cup of hot tea.

If you are in the mood for something light, I would reccommend this cake. It's a perfect treat for high tea or even a light breakfast in the morning.

For some reasons, I love to beat egg whites. I think it's an exciting moment to see the clear egg white change its state and finally becomes foamy. Making this cake is not a difficult process at all, we just need to handle the batter gently.

This time I filled the batter until almost full cup, but I will fill it unitl full next time. That way I can see the final cupcake that reveal its' own texture to please our eyes. It's really a cottonsoft cake.

Enjoy.

Chocolate brownie

Wish you could smell and take a bite of this brownie?

It’s the time of the year for gathering,picture-taking, drinking and eating. The party wouldn’t be perfect without desserts at the end of the meal. There is never any left whenever I make brownie at home.

Brownie is recommended for the beginner baker to start with. If I can do it, you can do it. It’s a simple and easy way to dazzle your guests. For the best flavor, invest in good chocolate. The luscious aroma of this brownie will surely heighten the pleasure of your holiday experience.

To make us feel less guilty to have more than one piece, I added loads of almonds which is one of the super food in there.

It doesn't only look good, but also tastes awesome.

I'm in love...

My friends told me to blog.
I'm just a person who loves to bake.. .... there are ups and downs during my baking journey. I only know how to press the shutter......don't know how to take nice photos. I'm not neither a good baker nor a good photographer but it's always fun to spend time doing both activities.

Special thanks to all my friends who encouraged me to have this blog. I lost some of my stock photos when I brought my computer for service last week,so I though it's the time to record some of my baking stories on a little space on internet.
I never realized how happy I was when I spent time with baking until recently. It’s a miracle that I still have enough energy to do my baking after a long day at work. Maybe I’m in love, I wonder???

Back in college, my “baking” definition was merely popping frozen dough of either cookies or bread bought from into the oven. After I got a cake mixer as a gift, definition of “baking” in my dictionary gets longer. It now includes sifting, whisking , beating, folding, but not yet decorating.

Swiss roll seems to fit my current definition perfectly. Yes, it requires almost no decorating skills.

It’s not only simple to do but also easy to clean up. Different kinds of fillings can make a different in your every day roll. It also requires a small space in the fridge to stay fresh.

To have fun making swiss roll, I love to add some patterns on it. In order to do so, just takes about 3 tps of the batter, add your desired color and 1 tsp of the flour and then mix them until well blended. I used plain tip to pipe some small dots on the batter before pouring all the batter on it. The idea is just to use a thicker batter for pattern, so they won't spread. You may chill it for a while, but I never did it and it comes out perfect every time.

This is one of my favorite flavour--vanilla chiffon and fresh strawberry, an alternative for strawberry shortcake.

Enjoy.