This is the photo I could think of about lines and patterns.
An awesome sight from the cable car at Shin-hotaka when we travelled to one of the station.
Do drop by the weekly photo challenge for more sharing.
Enjoy.
Weekly Photo Challenge : From Lines to Patterns
Posted in Travel, Weekly Photos
Tagged lines, postaday, shin hotaka, weekly photo challenge, winter
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Mango Mousse Cake
Mango is one of the comforting food in my household. Whenever we are tired, be it the young or the old, we will just turn to mangoes.
Mango sorbet, Mango juice, iced Mango cubes and Mango mousse cakes.
This cake was baked few weeks before the mango seasons, thus the mangoes were not in full sweetness.
Anyway, the craving for this dessert overwrites everything else.
Chocolate Sponge Cake for a 7 by 7 inch baking tin
70g all-purpose flour
7g unsweetened cocoa powder
50g caster sugar
20ml whipping cream, warm
2 eggs
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180 degree C.
- Grease the cake tin of 7 inch by 7 inch and line the base with parchment paper and set aside.
- Sift the flour and cocoa together three more times and set the sifter on a plate and return the dry ingredients to the sifter. Keep at close hand.
- Whisk the egg until lighten add the sugar gradually until thick and lighten (Thick ribbon stage).
- Take 1/4 cup of batter and mix with the warm whipping cream and fold to combine.
- Sprinkle the flour mixture over the egg batter and fold to combine.
- Pour the whipping cream back and fold to combine.
- The batter will be smooth and thick.
- Pour the batter into the pan and bake the cake for 14-16 minutes.Let the cake cool and slice horizontally 2 slices and trim them into 6 x 6 inch square.
- Transfer to a rack and let cool.
Mango Mousse
8g gelatine sheets
25g hot water
150g whipping cream
1.5 tbsp icing sugar
200g mango puree (if refrigerated, bring to room temperature)
140g diced mango (depends on individual preference)
Method
- In a small bowl, dissolve gelatine sheets in hot water. When the gelatine is fully dissolved, add to mango puree. Optional : Add rum to the mixture. Mix well.
- In a mixing bowl, whip whipping cream with icing sugar to soft peak state. Refrigerate to chill.
- Add the mango puree to whipped cream. Mix well until incorporated.
Simple Syrup
100g gelatine sheets
80g sugar
1 tsp rum [optional]
Method
Put the water, corn syrup and sugar into small saucepan and bring to boil, until all the sugar dissolved, take off the heat and let the syrup cool.
Assemble the order is as above
- Use a 6 x 6 inch cake ring, place a layer of cake and sprinkle the syrup over the cake
- Pour in mango mousse, or use a large piping tip to pipe the mixture. Do take note of the corners. Add mango cubes and cover them with some mousse. Let it slighty set for about 20 minutes in the fridge.
- Lay another cake layer, sprinkle the simple syrup and pour the remaining mousse. Let it set for 30 to 45 minutes in the fridge.
Mango Glaze
150g mango puree
3g gelatin sheets
3 tbsp boiling water
200g diced mangoes (for decoration)
Method
- Dissolve gelatine in hot water. Mix in mango puree.
- Wait till the mousse is set and the topping is cooled, arrange the diced mangoes, if using, pour in the topping carefully.
- Let the cake chill for at least 3 hours before removing the cake ring.
And yes, we end up a a pretty 6-by-6 inch square cake.
Travel Theme : Play
Play, a term we usually associate with children, fun, laughter, happy, action … and many more.
As residents in an equatorial region, we simply love SNOW! Not to mention, my little one just love sledding down the icy slope.
The Grinpa Amusement, at the foot of Mt. Fuji, has been one of our favourite places to visit in winter. And the layers powdery snow simply serve as nice cushion on slopes.
She was really enjoying herself gliding through the chilly breeze with the help of the gravity.
And my little one went up and sledded down the slope tirelessly for Nth times…
Do check out Ailsa’s play for this week for interesting posts shared by other bloggers.
Enjoy.
Posted in Travel, Weekly Photos
Tagged Grinpa Amusement Park, Japan, play, postaday, postaweek, Travel, travel theme
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Travel Theme : Big
Big – an interesting theme.
We visited the beautiful Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. And the main tank is really magnificent, especially with the three whale sharks swimming in harmony with many other fishes.
Big is the word I could only associate when I saw this creature in a different section.
And not to forget about the stingrays.
My little one was really awed by their graceful movement.
Do drop by Ailsa’s Where’s my backpack for beautiful pictures shared by other bloggers.
Enjoy.
Posted in Travel, Weekly Photos
Tagged aquarium, Churaumi Aquarium, Japan, Okinawa, postaday, Travel, travel theme, weekly photos
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Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting and Raspberries
Raspberries are the perfect match for chocolaty yummies. And definitely one of the best partner in crime for chocolate cakes.
I Baked this layered cake for a friend whom I really respect and appreciate. An ex-colleague who is my pillar of strength, teaches me a lot about life and how to be a better person.
A rather last minute bake and thankfully it turned out rather well.
The Dark Chocolate Cakes makes two 8-inch cakes
140g sugar
140 g all-purpose flour
60 g Dutch-processed cocoa powder (I used Hershley’s)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup hot coffee
Method
-
Preheat oven to 160° C. Prepare the 2 cake pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
-
In a mixer bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix well.
-
In a separate bowl, combine the beaten egg, vegetable oil, and milk. Stir well till mix.
-
With the mixer on low, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix on low until evenly distributed.
-
Pour the hot coffee into the batter gradually and mix on medium low until smooth.
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Divide the batter between 2 cake pans. Bake for 20 minutes. When a toothpick inserted at the centre of the cupcake comes out cleanly, the cakes are baked.
-
Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Chocolate Ganache Frosting enough for a two-tier six-inch cake
227 g bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
180 ml heavy cream
28 g unsalted butter
1 tbsp rum or other liqueur
Method
- Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized heatproof bowl. Set aside.
- Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. (The cream and butter can also be heated in the microwave.)
- Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand, without stirring, for a few minutes.
- Stir gently (as you do not want to incorporate air into the ganache) with a spoon or whisk until smooth
- Add the liqueur and stir till well-mixed.
- Place in the fridge for 45 minutes to allow it to set.
Assemble
- If the cake you are covering needs to be refrigerated, first chill the cake. (This will ensure that the ganache will not lose its shine when the cake is stored in the refrigerator. Make sure each cake is levelled.
- Crumb Coat – First, pour the ganache in between the two cakes and brush any loose crumbs from the cakes. Using a cake spatula or knife, cover the sides and top of the cakes with a thin layer of ganache.
- Refrigerate the cake for about 15 minutes or until the crumb coat has set. Then pour the ganache in the centre of the cake on top.
- Working quickly, spread the ganache with a large metal spatula or knife, using big strokes to push the ganache over the sides of the cake.
- If there are any bare spots on the sides of the cake, cover with ganache.
- Let the ganache set in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Decorate the cake with raspberries
Before setting in the fridge. Simply love the shine of the ganache.
Was really glad that my mentor like the cake.
Love how the end product looked. The contrasting colours and the flavours.
A suitable cake for celebrations.
Posted in Baking, Cake
Tagged chocolate cake, chocolate ganache frosting, chocolate layered cake, Raspberry
2 Comments
Weekly Photo Challenge : Foreshadow
An interesting sight I saw while travelling on a roadtrip from Nagoya to Kyoto in Central Japan. 
A sign for me, perhaps. Anyway, I enjoyed this scene and appreciated the beauty of nature. Do drop by the wordpress site and be awed by the beautiful posts shared by other bloggers. Enjoy.
Posted in Travel, Weekly Photos
Tagged foreshadow, nature, postaday, weekly photo challenge
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Travel Theme : Wild
Interesting theme Alisa has come up with.
We visited the Snow Monkey Park (Jigokudani Yaenkoen) again in March.
This place and the native residents never fail to make us awe in wonder whenever we visited.
Such beautiful creatures.
These are a few of my takes on wildlife.
Do visit Ailsa’s Where’s my backpack? for more beautiful sharing on wildlife by other bloggers. Enjoy,
Posted in Travel, Weekly Photos
Tagged Japan, Jigokudani Yaenkoen, nature, postaday, snow monkey, Travel, wild, winter
2 Comments
Purple Sweet Potato Bun
Yes. I have not gotten over with my purple sweet potato craze. This is my .. fifth post on bakes using purple sweet potato. (Previous recipes : here, here, here and here)
The weather was rather warm, still hovering at around 32°C. Needless to say, the best condition for baking bread.
Purple Sweet Potato Filling
250 g purple sweet potato
1 – 1.5 tspn fresh milk
Method
1. Wash the sweet potato thoroughly. Peel the skin off and steam with the skin till cooked.
2. Mash the sweet potato. Combine the mashed sweet potato and milk. Cool completely.
3. Divide equally into 8 portions. Set aside.
The Bun Dough
200 g all-purpose flour
20 g caster sugar
100 ml warm milk
4 g instant dried yeast
20g butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg (as egg wash)
Method
1. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk. Stir to dissolve the yeast. Leave for 15 minutes.
2. Put the flour, salt, sugar, butter in a large bowl. Pour the foamed yeast into the dry mixture. Bring the ingredients together to form a sticky mass.
3. Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading (or mixing on medium speed with the dough hook). Knead the dough for about 10 minutes (or mix for about 8 minutes), sprinkling in more flour if needed to make a tacky, but not sticky dough.
Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
4. First proofing – Leave to rise for 60 – 90 minutes, or until 2.5 times in size.
* Note : The finger test : Press a finger into the dough. If indentation remains, the dough has properly risen.
5. Preheat oven to 180°C.
6. Once ready, knock back the dough by punching it gently. Turn out the dough. Fold the dough into thirds. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions
7. Shape each piece into a ball lightly.
8. Flatten the dough. Place the filling 30g into the centre. Gather the dough up around the filling.
9. Flatten each ball and roll into a 15 cm strip. Make 3 cuts lengthwise. Roll it lengthwise (approximately 15 cm).
10. Now make a simple knot with the roll dough, so that each bun will look like this…
11. Leave to rise for 40-50 minutes, or until 2 times in size.
12. Brush the surface with beaten egg and add some black sesame seeds in the centre.
13. Bake at 160°C for 1o minutes or until turn brown.
And my Mr requested for a simple bun.
Wish granted.
A healthy snack and breakfast for my family.
Weekly Photo Challenge : Masterpiece
“My Gingerbread man was angry because I put a flower on his head.”
This was the story behind the masterpiece of my little one. We had a great time baking the cutting out the gingerbread man from the dough and piping icing sugar.
I was quite amazed that she could do the piping well.
Steady hands. I was really impressed.
“Mummy, look at what I have made !”
Besides the masterpieces she created, I was awed by the level of concentration and the passion of learning new things.
Something I have to learn from her.
Do check out other beautiful posts shared by other bloggers from the weekly photo challenge. Enjoy!
Weekly Photo Challenge : Fresh
What is fresher than those beautiful ocean catches seen in the market?
Awed by the sight of this beautiful harvest from the Japan sea.
These were what we saw at the Makishi Public Market, Okinawa in Japan.
Not only these, we saw some beautiful harvest from the fertile land too.
These are bitter gourd, Goya (in Japanese). And in face, one of the secrets that contribute to the long life span of the residents in Okinawa. Fresh from the farm.
Check out the blog on the other fresh products by other bloggers.
Posted in Travel, Weekly Photos
Tagged Makishi Public market, Okinawa, postaday, Travel, weekly photo challenge
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