Happy Birthday, Andy!

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

Haaapy birthday dear Andy,

Haaaapy birthday to you!!

It's my dear husband's birthday today. Happy birthday, Andy ;D xxx

Last Saturday we had Andy's birthday lunch, and I made this "Ultimate cream slice" as Andy requested.

It's made of three layers of puff pastry, a mixture of vanilla cream and custard cream and strawberries in between each layer, then topped with a layer of icing, pistachio meringues, sugar coated strawberries, and roasted mixed nuts brittle,... yes, now you know why it's called "Ultimate" cream slice!


Cream slice may sound an unusual cake for a birthday (I initially thought that too...), but it's one of Andy's favourite cakes, so I thought why not treat him with a very special cream slice.

The cake was a serious cream and sugar heaven. I probably enjoyed it as much as or more than the birthday boy...

Happy Birthday, Andy! xxxxx

Strawberry yeast bread - 2.

Strawberry Yeast Bread - 1.

How to make Strawberry Yeast.

Two weeks ago I posted about my strawberry yeast bread, which I made by using the straight method. Last weekend, I made a lovely crusty loaf with my strawberry yeast again but by using a different method.

This time, I made a starter from strawberry yeast liquid, which obviously took more time to prepare, but watching my starter grow is one of the things I love about bread making (of course, eating is the best!). I honesty believe 'patience' is the key to a good baker. ;) Anyway, to bake this loaf, it took me about one week from start to finish.

I baked the loaf in a cast iron pot in order to get a crusty outside. It worked pretty well. The out side was nice and crusty but inside was still soft and springy thanks to the milk I added to the dough.

I baked the bread in the morning, went off to work, came back after a whole day in the kitchen, went straight to my loaf, and quite literally destroyed the whole thing. I was that hungry and the loaf was that nice...

I had some with cheese... Simple is the best. ;)

Fish in the middle for Andy. :)

Here, I shared on BON APPETIT. how to make Strawberry yeast starter.

and

Recipe for Strawberry Yeast Bread.

Enjoy watching your starter grow!

Strawberry yeast bread

For me there is no doubt that home baked bread is the best, and specially, the one baked with your own starter is better than best...

As some of you might already know, I'm very passionate about sourdough starters and naturally occurred yeast. I've so far tried making starters with raisins, bananas, lemons, coconuts, pineapples, apples, whatever is available at the time...

Currently I'm currently looking after (yes, I care them like pets...;D) strawberry yeast. And it's probably one of the most successful starters ever! To start the yeast, I cut the top bits of the strawberries (eat the actual fruits, of course!) and do the same way as the raisin yeast.

Although I don't put the fruits in the bread dough, there is still a hint of strawberry flavour and sweetness in the bread. And also unlike many sourdough breads, this bread doesn't taste sour and is nice and soft, which is great for my daughter. ;)

A strawberry on top to make it look like a cake.

Strawberry & Peanut butter cupcake

As well as Andy's 32nd Birthday cake, I made strawberry and peanut butter cupcakes for Andy's birthday for him to take to the office.

I asked Andy what he wanted in the middle of the cake, and he said 'strawberry jam and peanut butter'. Since I'd already planed to put fruits and cream in the big cake, we decided to make cupcakes with strawberry and peanut butter for the office.

I made strawberry jam cupcakes (I used the same recipe as the Raspberry jam cake, but replaced the raspberry jam to strawberry jam.). With an apple corer I made a hole in the middle, then filled it with strawberry jam and covered the top with peanut butter icing.

It was like "America in a cupcake!",  I think...
I guess Andy got what he wanted on his birthday. :D

Baby shower

It is REALLY not too long to go until we meet our baby girl!!! I am super excited and can't wait to see her! :D

Yesterday, we had a baby shower which our dear friend, Nneka organised for us. Thanks to her, we had great fun with baby games, music and even some Karaoke games...;)

Nneka also brought us her delicious strawberry cake! As a baker, I'm normally that one who makes a cake, so it was really nice to receive such a treat! (Oh and not only was it yummy, but also it had two of my favourite things on a cake, Cream! and Strawberries!) Thanks Nneka, mini me must have enjoyed it too:)

Although being heavily pregnant and knowing that Nekka would bring a cake for us, I couldn't help baking something myself too... So, I made a strawberry tart. (What a coincident that Nneka made a strawberry cake too!) Making a tart base by hands is actually quite therapeutic especially when I'm feeling "heavy" with my mossive belly and also a good exercise for a pregnant baker. :D

So, two treats with strawberry and cream went down heavenly, and of course I went for another slice each for the little person in my belly... hehehe, excellent excuse to eat more cakes...

Thanks to everyone who came to the baby shower and for the lovely gifts! She is almost there to meet you guys!

Strawberry cheesecake cookies

Yesterday, I made the Polish jam filled cookies, Rogaliki. That gave me an idea for this cookie... Strawberry cheesecake cookie...

I love cheesecakes.., and when I tasted the cream cheese in Rogaliki, I immediately thought "I've got to try strawberry cheesecake...!!" So I kept some dough to try it.

It's almost the same as Rogaliki but in a different shape and bit more sweeter. I've cut the dough into a pretty little circles, sandwich strawberry jam, and sprinkle icing sugar on top... done... ;D With a mouthful, you get the taste of strawberry cheesecake and the texture of light and flaky cookie at the same time... Hummm, it is two in one... :)

Red Nose Day

It's "Red Nose Day" today in the UK. The whole country, especially lots of comedians, get together and are doing something funny to raise money for those poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged people in the UK and Africa.

Red red red red... nose... red nose... I couldn't make an actual red nose, but I did make red Ichigo Daifuku and put that on my nose.... and ate it.. no, not from my nose... had I done that, that would have be quality.., damn it..I should have... anyway, it looked pretty, tasted juicy, sweet..., simply delicious.

Comic relief really has inspired me, and made me want to do something for people in Japan who are in the disaster zone. There is so little I can do, but I'll bake cakes, make desserts, try sweets, and tell everyone that Japan needs support.

The World of Sweets website added a link to "Japan earthquake and tsunami relief fund".
Please tell your friends and get as much support as possible.

Strawberry ice cream sandwich

It's an ice cream day today, is it not?! While I was busy with my Mango kulfi, Andy made cute strawberry ice cream... Somehow, ice cream making seems to be a bit addictive activity to hungry monkeys.

Steve got me this train ice cream sandwich mould from America, and you know what I'm like..., "I want to try it immediately!" That's how Andy's lovely ice cream has turned into an ice cream sandwich.

And of course, I made the cake too! Normally ice cream is sandwiched between two cookies, but I decided to go for something different...., cake, yes... pink cake to go with pink ice cream;) The moist buttery cake has absorbed ice cream, it feels heavier than the cookie ones...

Verdict... Great for a main course, a little too big for a dessert... All in all it'll fill a hungry monkey's cake hole;D

いちご大福 (Ichigo daifuku)

As I promised yesterday, I turned those azuki bean paste into pretty little mochi dessert called "Ichigo daifuku". Ichigo means strawberry in Japanese and Daifuku is a kind of mochi sweet. But also, daifuku means "a big luck" from the way it's written, so...everyone, feels lucky today, huh?

It's got Azuki bean paste and strawberry inside. When you bite it, the juicy strawberry and sweet azuki bean meet the unique mochi texture... it's simply gorgeous...

When you make the mochi, it's quite sticky so make sure that you've got plenty of corn starch ready.

Visit The World of Sweet Recipes, Japan to see the recipe.

Valentine's Day Heart Icecream

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Whomever we're sending love to, it's nice to have a day when we can express our feeling a little bit more.

I don't normally do girly girly stuff, but today I did.
I made heart shaped ice cream. The ingredients is very simple. Single cream, strawberry and home-made cherry compote... I added a little twist with a biscuit base on the bottom of the ice cream.

These look great for a dinner in on a special occasion (and of course, for everyday....). Ice cream also won't be as filling as cakes, so good for a romantic night, huh?

Chocolate mountains & Strawberry rings!

It seems that people are getting more and more crazy about Valentine's day every year. A big heart , a little ball..., whatever their size and shape are,  chocolate is sure to be the most popular gift.  And So..., I'm too preparing for Valentine's day with my cakes.

I made two types. One is chocolate cake. Because the middle of the cake has risen a lot and looked like a mountain, I decided to name it "Chocolate mountain". :D The other cake is baked strawberry doughnut. No need to explain, I'm calling it "Strawberry ring". I personally love the colour combination of chocolate and pink. It feels really bitter and sweet, just like love... ah, cheesy me...

Those mountains and rings will be sent to those who deserve a bit of love and sweet tomorrow:)

I'm making a Valentine's day dinner dessert tomorrow too. Stay tuned!