Homemade Pretzel,Soft and Chewy

I am indeed addicted to Auntie Anne's pretzels. I especially love the buttery glazed,almond crusted pretzel and the crispy,a bit salty,delicious turkey pretzel. The plain,regular pretzels are so good,I can eat it on its own,or for extra kick,with a cheesy mustard dip.Their dipping sauce is never disappointing and after endless research with my friend, Google, I found out that the sauce is easy peasy lemon squeezy to make,you just have to have the right and good ingredients at hand. I also learned that making pretzels is not so hard after all. Despite the fact that you have to let the dough rises before you can bake them,but hey,it gives you plenty of time to make your sauces and also to do some cleaning too. Whether or not if its the same taste and texture of Auntie Anne's baked goods is entirely up to which recipe that you will use.

The mini ones for the little one.

I got mine here, only because the title is enticing,and the thousands of reviews especially positive ones are hard to missed. Whenever you read recipe,always remember to read the reviews,if any,just to be certain of the recipes outcome,and also there's some tips and tricks from people who has made the recipe before. Some reviewers opt to use less flour but I did follow the recipe exactly as it is and never change a thing and it still turn out great! Now lets see the making of the easy buttery,soft,chewy pretzels that lived up to its name.

Dissolve the yeast by mixing it with sugar and water. Wait 10 minutes.

Prepare dry ingredients and make a well in the center. No sifting required.

Pour yeast mixture into the flour and mix until it forms a dough. 

If its too dry add a couple more tablespoons of water.

Cover, and let dough rises at least one hour.

Meanwhile,preheat oven to 450 degrees F(230 degrees C) and stir in baking soda into a large pot of hot water.

In a floured surface,shape dough into 12 balls. Doesn't have to be perfect.

Roll into a rope and shape into a pretzel shape, and dip into baking soda mixture.

Now you can sprinkle the pretzels with salt,or maybe sugar,thyme,paprika,whatever you have in mind.

Bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown. Once baked dip the hot pretzels in sweet butter,or regular butter. Afterwards,dip it into cinnamon sugar mixture or crushed almonds. Or just serve plain.

Best of all,no mixer or bread maker is required to make this soft pretzels
Note: Mine turned out a little bit out of shape.

I did make my own caramel sauce without cream,sugar or water. Just peel off the wrapper on the condensed milk,boil hot water until it reaches simmering stage,put in the condensed milk in on their sides,make sure the can is covered completely in the water or else it will explode. Yes it can explode. Read here. Not that I have any experience with it but it has happened to other people. Simmer for 3 to 4 hours,or better yet,5 hours for thicker consistency. Let the can cool before you open it. And there it is,caramel sauce in a few hours. It may not taste the same as the true homemade caramel sauce,but since I don't have any cream left,this will do! Perhaps a honey mustard dip would be perfect to complement the plain ones!

Quick and Easy : Homemade Scones

Never in life it would occur to me that I would make scones,in less than one hour too! I was never interested in making them until one day,I ran out of ideas on what to make for breakfast. Heavy and oily breakfast such as fried rice,nasi lemak,and roti canai, just won't cut it for me anymore,and wanting to make healthy irresistible food to my little toddler is always my top priorities. Seeing the butter and flours and eggs,someway,somehow,the image of scones popped in my head and will not go away. Thanks to the whipped cream that I made the day earlier,scones is a perfect complement to finish up those lovely cream. And homemade whipped cream is 20 times better than store bought whipping cream! Take my word,and other bakers word on this! Its so divine,I licked off any traces of cream on the spatula,and scrape any cream left in the bowl.

With step by step pictures,you will know what a cinch it would be to bake your own scones.

Recipe courtesy of All Recipes : my favorite recipes online teacher.


Ingredients: 
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup dried currants or raisins (omitted)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 200 Celcius.

Sift and whisk all dry ingredients in one clean,dry bowl.

Cut cold but softened butter into cubes into the flour.

Using a food processor,blend flour and butter together until it resembles 

small peas. I just use my hands for this.

 Add eggs,milk and sour cream.

Use a spatula and mix until just combine,do not over mix.

 Mine is a bit sticky and wet because I accidentally added 

more milk than I should. It can be fixed. 

 Spread flour on your working table,I add flours to the dough 

until I have a perfect consistency,soft,but not sticky.

Roll out to about 2 inch thickness. 

 Cut using a 2 inch circle cookie cutter,or a scalloped square cutter.

Circle,square or triangle shape is perfect for scones.

Brush with milk,scattered with sugar or flour. I did all three.

 Bake until risen and golden at 195'Celsius.

About 18-20 minutes depending on your oven.

Makes about 16-20 scones.

Cut a slit in the middle to release steams. 

I forgot to do so.

 I still want to devour it with blueberry jams and whipped cream 

and a cup of hot tea no matter how not impeccable it looks.

I am now in love with scones because this recipe is so good,

I will make these again. You should too!

The scones are so fresh,so good,soft and moist,not too sweet,the jam and the cream just gives it an extra flavor and texture,I never knew scones would taste this delicious. A good breakfast staple and great for tea time of course. I feel like making one now!

Quick and Easy : Banana Crumb Muffin

This is going to be a quick,super fast,easy recipe that you can whip up in less than 20 minutes. Baking time is 20-22 minutes. And then you're off to some banana goodness. Oh I just love bananas. Devour it for breakfast or can be eaten as a healthy snack. This one is sprinkled with a streusel topping,which is crunchy and absolutely divine. I hope that is not too much just to describe a muffin?

Recipe courtesy of All Recipes

Whisk all dry ingredients. I didn't sift. 

Mix everything in one bowl.

Mashed bananas and everything together,

leave some chunks of bananas.

Add to to the dry mixture.

Make the streusel topping

Fold flour into the wet buttery,banana-ish mixture,

don't overmix or batter will become tough.

Scoop the batter into the muffin pan,

I add some chocolate chip in the next 6 muffin.

Sprinkle with streusel topping.

I bake them for 20 minutes,it really depends on your oven.

Muffins are so easy and yummy,the step by step photos are

just the streusel on the muffin.

I love step by step photos because its so much to take pictures of what you bake,and so you can get a clearer picture too. Happy Muffin!

Petite Pink Velvet Cake with Fluffy Pink Buttercream

I am quite embarrassed to do a post on this cake because by looking at it,its not much of a delicate and gentle hands work,it tastes lovely by the way. Hence a little bit happy about that. Still want to add something cake like to my baking blog repertoire,so here comes some messy cake.

Toddlers love frosting too much to not give it a go.

It was meant to be a Sprinkle Bakes Heritage Red Velvet Cake. Much to my dismay,it turns into one accidentally gorgeous pink cake. This is all due to the cocoa powder and red food coloring mixture paste is too dry(my fault,just want to have more cocoa powder and the red food coloring is almost out,no time to go shop for a new one),resulting in a pink batter and the cocoa powder is not distributed evenly throughout the cake. I tried mixing the batter ever so slightly but patiently,waiting for the cocoa powder to just disperse into the butter sugar egg flour mixture. It just wouldn't and it couldn't. So I just proceed with the baking disaster and bake it into cupcakes and into a square 7" cake tin. My heart just dropped when it did not become a true deep red color, however when I tasted the raw batter,it was so good,not too sweet,the Callebaut cocoa powder shines through,and buttermilk just rounds it up perfectly,sweet mellow vanilla is a winner too. I knew the cake is going to taste yummy if not licious. I did not take any picture of the pink batter,I just despise the specks of cocoa powder all over it. It was pretty pink color though,and this recipe is a keeper. The cake is still moist after 3 to 4 days!

When the cake was done baking itself in the oven,I touch the top and it springs back lightly,and I can feel in my heart that this cake is one moist,soft cake. I don't want to think about the cupcakes which was rising way too quickly when it was baked,and out of the paranoid me,I turn the oven down to 173' Celsius and the cupcakes just flopped. Its dead. The cupcakes is so over. Its history. The cake managed to be cooked nicely even after I took the dead cupcakes out.

It was a velvet cake with buttermilk and apple cider vinegar,which calls for a creamy cheese frosting,but I refuse to pair it with the cheese,the reason being; I am disappointed with the cake color and decided not to serve it to anybody,sad with the cocoa powder not mixing well with the batter,therefore,do not want to waste my time and energy making a lovely cream cheese frosting to cover and complement the imperfect cake. The cake is solely for experimental purpose now and will only be dressed in a light,fluffy,pink butter cream,just because the cake is pink and why not pink frosting.

My hands are still not steady. Need-to-bake-more-cake to get a steady good obedient hands. Thank you for stopping by!

Back to Basic: Chocolate Chip Muffin

Do you know the muffin man,the muffin man,the muffin man...

Oh do you know the muffin man,who lives in Drury Lane...

Oh yes I know the muffin man........

We will sing this song together whenever The Muffin Man songs comes out on Baby TV. And it seems like I am digging this song more than her. Its sooo..... Relaxing.

There's more than meets the muffin......... ; muffin quote

I love muffin. Not like cupcakes,it can stand on its own,proud and a bit cracked on top without the need to cover it with swirls of buttercream. Muffin is my kinda breakfast and as I was writing this I am munching away on my cute fat muffin. With a tall glass of milk. That is as simplest and as delicious as you can get. That is,if your muffin is tasty.. But hey its not hard to bake muffins! This muffin recipe received rave reviews about how good they were. So I will see just how good it really is.

This post is rather simple,quick and easy,just like these muffins! I am obviously having less and less time to blog due to the demanding task that I do everyday,which is babysitting also plenty of house chores awaits,which I just adore and wouldn't trade anything for it! And she loves eating this cuties,she can't stop nibbling on them! I still have many recipes to bake,I am not planning to stop now!

Line muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners and prepare dry ingredients

Melt butter,stir with buttermilk,eggs and vanilla and pour into the flour mixture

Coat the chocolate chips with flour to prevent it from sinking and fold it into the batter

Bake at 180'c for 17 to 20 minutes or until it turns golden brown

Recipe courtesy of Food.com

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1⁄3; cup light-brown sugar , packed

1⁄3; cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2⁄3; cup milk

½ cup butter , melted and cooled

2 eggs , lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 (11 ½ ounce) package milk chocolate chips

½ cup walnuts or ½ cup pecans , chopped

Apart from these lovely easy muffins, I am loving the Wiltshire silicone muffin pan, which I found to be amazing and oh so convenient,I don't need to do any washing! I now am eager to collect more pans like this,though I know not everybody digs this kind of pans,but why not add more to your collection? Check out this silicone bake ware and you will not be disappointed. ;)

Fuss free,just wipe away!

How to: Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Buttercream,frostings,icings,glaze,ganache,whipped cream,edible sprinkles and decorations fondant,is not something that I take pleasure in when I want something sweet to nibble on. There is something about too much sugar in my food intake,it just turns me off and I am until today,have successfully manage to not take too many sugar or eating too many sweets. Although I adore baking,I won't be eating all the delectable's alone,there will always be families around to finish it and friends to devour it. However it can look really pretty and scrumptious,therefore I enjoy making them. It is like,someone's who cook cook fish and seafood,but are either don't like eating it or is allergic to it. That is my case here with frosting's and such. But swirling sweet swirls, drizzling cupcakes with ganache,glazing cakes with icing,dusting it with confectioners sugar in a flower pattern,layering cakes with buttercream and playing with fondant,the end result should be rewarding and oh so calming. Its like being a little girl all over again,playing with sugars and colors,because that is what being joyful means to you.

I have recently found an interest in making swiss meringue buttercream. From the reviews I have read on so many blogs,many concurred that the meringue buttercream is smooth,silky,satiny and not too sweet. But will take a while to make,it is not the average buttercream with butter and confectioners sugar. It taste better too. Well,if that is so,I am hooked! Although I have not try eating it before. There are two kinds of meringue buttercream,Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Italian Meringue Buttercream. The Swiss's is a method of heating the egg whites and sugar in a bain marie,or in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. The latter calls for whipping the egg whites until smooth,glossy and reaches high peak,before adding hot syrup of sugar and water into it little at a time. Both recipes uses a lot of butter. And lots of egg whites. I am more keen on the Swiss's,because I just find it easy not to have a pan of hot syrup on my hand to pour in,and could possibly ruin the buttercream altogether. And heating the egg whites,almost like cooking it and kills any bacteria,is a better option for me.

I stumbled upon this Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe,and I could not find the blog again to provide the links. I like how she uses only 2 large egg whites.(But I use three because my eggs are all small) A perfect simple recipe to begin with.

Ingredients:

2 large egg whites

3/4 cup granulated sugar/caster sugar

A pinch of salt

A lot of patience

1 1/2 stick or 12 tbsp unsalted butter

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract or almond,orange,strawberry extracts or any flavoring you want

A few tint of color if you'd like

A happy face

Put the egg whites,sugar and a pinch of salt in a metal or glass bowl.

Whisk on a pan of simmering water until foamy,frothy,and sugar is dissolved. About 3-5 minutes.

Beat on medium high speed,until it forms medium to high stiff peaks.

About 7-10 minutes.

Add butter one by one,waiting for each one to almost blend in with the egg whites. It will be curdled after half of the butter is added. Don't throw! Continue to beat on high speed until it becomes smooth again. Add vanilla or any flavorings you want.

(Forgot to snap the butter bits. Sigh. Too excited I must say)

Smooth isn't? Not so clear here,but it really is!

(Still curious over that blue tints)

Now tint with any color you want,I tint it with pink,to complement my vanilla cupcakes.

Loving the fluffiness.

And goodness.

Vanilla Cupcake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Keep decorations simple and sweet.

Fluffy,moist,simple. Lovely.

Every good bakers must have that one vanilla cake or cupcake recipe that is almost sacred to them,magical,delicioso and simply a favorite recipe for them to use over and over again. I will say that I have found mine too. Thanks for my never-ending research in many food and baking blogs. ;) Beacuse I don't trust myself enough to come up with my own recipe, maybe one day I will,however for now, I am itching to try the many awesome recipes out there.
I always seems to painstakingly fail whenever I try to bake with butter. It either collapsed,or too buttery and the texture is not something that I will go crazy about. Though there are recipes that calls for butter,and baked to perfection,maybe I haven't found a vanilla cupcake with butter-base and creaming method that will be a success just yet. But when I bake using oil,tadaa! It worked almost everytime.. Wonder why...

The recipe is the Perfect Vanilla Cupcake by Glorious Treats
The name says it all. Check out her beautiful cupcake in that stunning purple cupcake liners. And just drool..

Ingredients;

1 1/4 cups cake flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup oil (vegetable, canola or extra light olive oil)

1/2 cup buttermilk

(or 1/2 cup milk plus 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice- add acid to the milk then set aside for 5 minutes before using)

Directions-

* Preheat oven to 350*F.

* In a medium bowl, add cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together with whisk, and set aside.

* In the bowl of an electric mixer, add eggs and beat 10-20 seconds. Add sugar and continue to beat on medium speed about 30 seconds. Add vanilla and oil, beat.

* Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add about half of the flour mixture. Add half of the milk, then the rest of the flour and the rest of the milk. Beat until just combined. Scrap down the side of the bowl.

* The batter will be thin. Pour batter into a muffin pan prepared with paper liners. Fill liners about 2/3 full.

* Bake cupcakes in pre-heated oven for 12-14 minutes.

* Cool in pan 1-2 minutes, then remove cupcakes from pan (carefully) and finish cooling on a wire rack.

* Frost as desired when fully cool. I love to use my favorite Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting recipe.

* Feel free to use this recipe for a cake as well. The recipe above will work for a 6" cake. Double the recipe for an 8" or 9" cake.

* A note about Cake Flour- Cake Flour has a lower protein content than traditional all-purpose flour, which results in a more tender, delicate crumb in the finished product. If you can not find or access cake flour, feel free to substitute as necessary, but your results will vary from the original recipe.

I didn't do any changes except for the buttermilk,I use milk with lemon juice in it,which worked just fine. Fluffy,moist,not too rich,not buttery,and impeccable cupcake with the swiss meringue buttercream. What more could a baker ask for?

The recipe for the pink Swiss Meringue Buttercream coming up on my next post! I have a thing for pink cupcakes or cakes. Its inviting and is such a sweet view. But I don't have a lot of pink clothes or pink things. Hemmm..