Small Baking Project

Hello again

The subject I am about to write is so small and insignificant matter. It really is nothing important. It doesn't deserve to be in the blogosphere. But then what deserves. . . sigh . . .

I have no specific subject that I write in depth.  Ah they say I have not found my niche. (What? Write on health and wellness? Mammogram? Menopause) I am in a wilderness. Nevermind  me think, as long as I enjoy writing and you enjoy reading.

Its going to always be light, easy happy reading for you . . .

And so I write . . .

A relative invited us for a casual makan makan last weekend at her house. It is usual for me to bring buah tangan to give to the hostess . By doing so I think we can create warmth and goodwill. Give her something which I can make myself is more meaningful. At the same time I can jolt myself out of the lazy mode.

So I made for her a tray of cupcakes. Sedap punyer! And I hoped she and her children would like it.

When I arrived at her place the first thing I saw in her living hall was the dessert table, elegantly set up and right in the centre was a very big cake all beautifully decorated  . . . aaahh . . .  my simple humble miniscule no glamour cupcakes . . . but did it matter?

Here is the recipe which I got from the internet and which I often use. As usual I will tweak it to suit my palate. If I am going to ice it with the sugar buttercream I have to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe so that the sweetness don't overkill. If I want to frost it with the less sweet Swiss merengue buttercream then I use the recipe in its originality.

Vanilla Cupcakes

175 gm butter salted ( I let the butter go soft first)
175 sugar( I used 165 gm)
175 gm self raising flour ( I used about 190gm)
3 eggs ( I used 4 eggs)
Vanilla essence (I used pure vanilla powder which makes the cake taste nicer)
Milk about 2 tablespoon ( I added lemon juice to the milk.)

Vanilla powder comes in a tube

My method of doing it is easy. Dump everything into the mixing bowl. Start slow the mixer. Then hey go full speed one to two minutes. Don't over mix.

Line the cupcake holes/pan scoop the batter into them. Bake.

Icing

Seive 4 cups of icing sugar ready. Add about 1 dessertspoon meringue powder.

Keeps longer in the fridge

Mix well about 1/4 cup shortening and less than 1/4 cup butter.

Mix in the powdered sugar. Mix well.

Add lemon juice and milk to get the right consistency. Mix.

I wanted to use the russian icing tips to pipe the flower and not the usual swirls with the star tip. So I was careful when adjusting the consistency of the icing. I made a wee bit stiff.

I mixed blue colour gel to some and green to a small amout of icing. The rest I left it in original colour.

The end product?

The cake was soft and not so sweet. The icing flowers keep its shape after travelling,

A small icing flower and three small leaves on the cake did not make it doubly sweet. One cupcake can be finished in two bites. No harm to dieting.

So here's the picture of the end product.

Flowers piped with the Russian icing tips

From the picture you can see that some paper liners peeled away. Why this problem.          

Trouble shooting:

• Low quality cupcake liner. (Throw away the unused liners. Buy better ones)

• Baked cake left too long in the baking pan after being taken out from the oven. The heat cannot escape causing the paper to be wet. (Or should I say the cake perspired). Do not dilly dally to remove cake from the pan.

• Cake under bake. Some. The oven temperature not even. ( My built in oven was installed about 15 years ago. High time to get a new one hehe)

• To make it more presentable put the cake in decorative cupcake wrapper.

So there my small baking project . 

Do try making it yourself.

Enjoy baking.

Bye . . .

Shopping

Hello everybody

I have been living in this semi rural area for many years already and I still like this place and won't trade it for any other. It is scenic quiet and peaceful  . . . and the living cost is affordable if the little money you have is wisely spent because things are really not cheap either. The basics, the everyday ordinary things are readily available but not the upmarket branded items like sports shoes. If you want them you got to go find in other places.

My man needed a pair of running shoes to replace the one that he was using. It was me who was fussing over the matter. For him it didn't matter though he complained that he could feel the ground underneath when walking or jogging especially when he went off road . So before him getting more bodily pain it was better to change the shoes.

Worn out shoes increase your risk of falling. The thinning undersole can make you slip. The lost of cushioning effect in the soles can cause heel pain or joint pain and it can influence the stability of your posture. At this age the layer of fat on the sole of your feet is thinning and badly worn out shoes can give you cranky feet. A calcaneum spur can make you go meroyan .

So last weekend we went to a big shopping mall. After a 15-minute drive from our transit home we were already there. It was still quite early so we  had the luxury of choosing the parking lot. Very seldom you can park right there nearest to the entrance. The early bird catches the worms, I saw our 'chauffeur' smiling.

Inside the mall I felt we were like country bumpkins. If left on our own we could get lost. It was huge to our standard to us the rural folks. At the same time we were a little scared the place looked expensive . . . do you have enough money?

Our purpose was to buy a pair of running/walking shoes.

Our girl brought us to a sports outlet.

We gawked at the rows and rows of shoes. Good stuff. So smart looking. So stylish.

I think our eyes pop out at the price tags.

Why wouldn't we opt for the ordinary shoes which can be bought in the small shoe shop back in our small town. So much cheaper. Thinking about it I nearly wanted to retreat. But then . . .

We old people also have eyes for all things stylish and up to date . And so this hebat looking shoes was a must buy. Don't think too much about the price doesn't good quality come with expensive tags?

The process of buying shoes is not exciting at all. You got to try so many pairs to find one which gives the the perfect fit. You do not want blisters or joint pain later. So try and try until you are satisfied. Then when you found one you feel you don't like the colour. You ask for another pair to try in the end you still don't feel right. The salesman will suggest a different brand. You try again . . . and after fighting with yourself over which to choose finally you make the purchase. I thought I heard the salesman let go a sigh . . .

Walking in the mall such as this you got to have a strong will not to let yourself succumb to temptations. Temptations to buy.There were so many things you thought you want to buy. You can get crazy looking at the array of things displayed. They can easily make you part with your money.

But then why go to the shopping mall if you don't want to spend. Just for window shopping?

It is a place for a shopping spree. Look at those young people. They look so wealthy and stylish, buying and spending like nobody's bussiness. Look at their shopping bags. They are full of expensive items which they bought confidently with the swipe of their plastic cards. See how busy the cashiers were at the counter processing the payment.. The cashier has no time to wait for you to count your coins. Nevertheless they have to entertain us old people who prefer to pay with cold hard cash.

Just a half day outing at the mall the amount of  money spent made me feel guilty even though most of it was paid by our girl. The next time I want to get things I think I just need to go to the old rundown shophouse in our small town.

Or if you sayang your money and don't want to spend at all then just sit back and watch the world passes you by . . .

Here they come with trailing colours

Passes over us 

And off they go 

As we watch . . .

Happy shopping.

Till the next entry , bye . . .