Mango Coconut Loaf

Loaf cakes are one of the easiest things to bake. The most common loaf-type of cake would probably be banana cake (although it's normally called banana bread - I prefer calling it banana cake because it is not really a bread). When I chanced upon a recipe for a mango loaf cake, I was intrigued because I have yet to encounter a fruit-type loaf recipe which was not banana-based.

Mango Coconut Loaf

Five-Bananas Banana Blueberry Bread

You might find me updating the blog every other day for the next few days. No reason other than I finally decided to kick (some of the) dust off my idle hands and stop being the master procrastinator I am by editing some of the photos I have on hand. You have no idea how it scared me when I slotted my camera memory card into the laptop recently and found that it had over 2000 new photos. And that's so not including my travels 2014 photos  and various other photos  which I've already transfered onto my laptop. -insert awestruck face- That's like bringing procrastination to a whole new level by itself hey.

Banana Blueberry Bread

Biscoff Oreo Banana Bread

I swear I'm the sort that simply gain weight just by looking at pictures of food. I mean, I look at food all da time (via Instagram, via the Internet, via magazines, via everyday life). Haha. It's a terrifying thought if our weight is based on what we look at.

Biscoff Oreo Banana Bread

Matcha Vanilla Swirled Pound Cake

My favourite bakes for the past few months have been easy bakes. Stuff such as pound cakes, banana loafs or breads that I used to pass over for the more complicated entremets. Speaking of which, it's been like a year (?!?!?!) or so since my last entremet. I really need to make one like soon before I forget how to.

Not too sure why the direction of my cravings have turned around so. But I'm certainly not complaining when I have a loaf of this dense, tightly crumbed, moist matcha vanilla swirled pound cake in front of me.

Matcha Vanilla Swirled Pound Cake

Blueberry Streusel Cake

I've been meaning to make these for the longest time ever since I saw the post. My freezer always has a long-standing box of fresh blueberries that I've prepped and froze for future uses. I decided to make this finally and all I can think is - Why did I wait so long?

Blueberry Streusel Cake

Nutella Swirled Banana Loaf

A hot topic in Singapore lately - the bad weather. The weather lately has been quite bad due to the haze. In fact, the Pollutants Standard Index (PSI) in Singapore hit a record high of 401 on Friday. Never before has it been that bad during the annual haze period, the last highest record was 226 in 1997. So for the past week, we had been breathing in "unhealthy", "very unhealthy" and "hazardous" air.

Thankfully, we had a respite this weekend, with clear blue skies shining through. Friends and family were all delighted, us having once taken something simple and basic such as clean air for granted. Let's hope that the initial prediction that this haze will last for months is not true, and we can all bear through this temporary phase. Stay healthy and hydrated people!

 Nutella Swirled Banana Loaf

Earl Grey Pound Cake

It is inevitable that if you have an older sibling, some of the characteristics from the older sibling will rub off on you. Such is the case with earl grey. The Sis enjoys earl grey tea, and while I don't take it as it is, I must say I do love a cuppa earl grey milk tea.

My stash of my favourite brand of earl grey tea bags had ran out, and I was lazy to pop into town just to grab a box of it, thus I tried out a new brand of boxed earl grey tea leaves. I brewed a cuppa earl grey milk tea to test it out, and it was not as fragrant as my regular cup. Thus I decided to use it in baking rather than drinking. The first thing I chose to make was this earl grey pound cake.

Earl Grey Pound Cake

Cherry chocolate cognac teacakes

I made the cherry preserves with something else in mind. These below were exactly what was on my mind. ;)

Cherry chocolate cognac teacakes

Kumquat citrus blackberry tea cakes

For the picnic that I mentioned in my previous post, besides making a scrumptious apple crisp, I also made some citrus tea cakes. As I had a pack of dried kumquats that I have no idea what to do with, I decided to try making something I saw some time back from Tartelette's website.

Kumquat citrus blackberry tea cakes

Banana Date Chocolate Loaf

There was a bunch of bananas in the house. Though we tried our best to finish them up as quickly as possible, bananas ripen really quick. And soon, the skin turned really really black (okays, yellow base still but with LARGE patches of black covering the yellow everywhere...). I decided to use the remaining sad looking trio all at one go by making a banana loaf. Googling recipes for banana loaf, I found a recipe that sounds promising. Dates (I bought some Medjool dates a while back!), chocolate (licks mouth in anticipation), and holey moley, it requires three ripe bananas! Now. If that isn't fate calling, what is?

Banana date chocolate loaf

Family weekend. And small tea cakes and financiers.

It's been a great and unusual weekend. Family weekend. Went shopping at Ion with Sista on Saturday. We didn't manage to walk alot cos it was nearing lunch time and we were starving. Yet, in that short span of time we were walking around, I got a pair of shoes from Rubi (Sis got 2 pairs!) and she also got 2 dresses. Bah.

The original plan was to lunch at Ion, but the queues during lunch time at the dining places were atrocious, so we walked over to Wheelock for good ole Sun & Moon. Since it's the weekend, everyone in Singapore must have been in town, cos everywhere was crowded. Gah. Our wait for a table took twenty minutes. Over lunch, Daddy and I made a date to watch Overheard together later on at night (Sis had plans), just the two of us. haha. So rare can. Anyway, the dessert we ordered was really interesting, I like - some Japanese sweet potato cream cream atop a bed of almond cream tart? Japanese food love.

Overheard was not bad I suppose, I mean, there's eyecandy - Daniel Wu, whose mere presence makes any movie a more enjoyable experience. ;) Interesting plot, which literally relates back to the movie's title.

Popo came over to teach me how to bake pandan cake today, and I must say it was seriously a hilarious affair. Popo, being popo, was being her typical amusing popo self. If you get what I mean. (: And, I must say, I used to read about food bloggers who spoke about it - getting hand-me-down recipes, but never understood the real meaning, until I actually experienced it first hand. When you are used to measuring everything out clearly down to the very gram required, learning baking from your elders can be exasperating when they actually do not use a measuring scale! Haha. It was really an eye opening experience to see Popo teaching me how to make a pandan chiffon using a traditional chinese bowl (the blue kind with little designs around it) as a measuring "cup". Amazing. The end result was a little sinky chiffon (but still yummy), I think I underbeat the egg whites :( It's okay, I can try again another day. (:

Then I went Ion again with Sis to continue part 2 of our shopping trip there. I got myself really nice shoes from Mitju (in fact I wished I could buy half the shop back with me, they have this series of shoes that scream "GIRLY", "FEMININE" and "CUTE".) and a pair of formal knee shorts. Happy.

After dinner, Dad, Sis and I went to NTUC for groceries shopping. I am one happy happy girl. Blueberries have been on sale for $3.95 for 2 punnets for the past few days. We had 2 and a half packets at home. We bought another 4 punnets. I may snap a photo of the 7 punnets of blueberries currently waiting to be eaten in our fridge tomorrow just for the sake of it. I mean, who knows when else can you find so many punnets of these babies in my fridge again? And I found black sesame paste in the Japanese section of the NTUC! (WOONLI!!!!!!!!!!!! Smiles.)

I think this has been a great weekend. Although we don't normally spend a lot of time together as a family. I reckon within this short three days period, we probably used up a month's worth of family time together or something. snigger.

Anyway, I made apricot tea cakes and raspberry brown butter coconut financiers for our last picnic, and here they are. I must say I rather prefer the raspberry financiers more to the apricot tea cakes. They were much moister and softer to nibble on than the tea cakes. ;)














I love the new camera Canon EOS 500D I'm using now. I have the normal lens and a macro lens and I just love using the macro for my food photos. It is so fun playing around with the focus. Love the comparisons between the two in the shot above. (: And the macro is superb for taking textures upclose. Flours, fruits and what nots, you can totally see everything clearly. Have I already mentioned how much I love the macro lens? ;)