Surprise Birthday Party

Surprise Birthday Party

My friend Sham had planned a surprise birthday party for his wife about a month ago. He didnt even tell his mum or sister in Msia about it as he wasnt sure they could keep mum. Apart from us his invited guests, the other person he told was his eldest daughter!

On the day of the birthday, he went to work as usual and then went home to pick his wife and 2 other girls up and said they were going out to dinner. All along the way, he keep teasing his wife saying that he did not manage to get a present for her and she had to make do with dinner.

We were all told to be there (Hotel Villa in Leinster Gardens) by 630 pm and they would then get there for about 7pm. While we all gathered in the room to await her arrival, her eldest daughter went out to wait for them and she would text us to let us know that they were on the way to the room. We turned the lights out and when she walked in through the door, we all shouted Suprise and sung her a Happy Birthday song. She was so shocked and very, very pleasantly pleased!

This was what we were served.





Made her a birthday cake and a cupcake bouquet as well.

Cupcake Bouquet

Cupcake Bouquet

In tomorrow's post, I will tell you about a party for a friend. This is a cupcake bouquet that I baked in addtion to the birthday cake.

Cupcakes
Ingredients
125gm Castor sugar
125 butter
125 self raising flour
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
2-3 tbsp milk (optional, just in case mixture is too stiff)

Method:
Preheat oven to 200 deg C
Cream butter and sugar till creamy, then add eggs and finally flour and vanilla essence.
If mixture is too stiff, add a tbsp of milk or 2.
Spoon into cup cake cases and place in oven for around 12 minutes depending on size of cup cake, turning the cake trays halfway through and bake for another 8 - 12 mins.

Vanilla butter cream
125 gm butter
250 gm icing sugar
5 ml vanilla essence
1 tbsp of water as required

Method:
Cream the butter and then slowly add in the icing sugar and vanilla essence and mix till it is light and fluffy.

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Chocolate Fudge Cake

This is the cake that I made for a friend's birthday party to be held on Friday.

This recipe is from Lindy Smith. I made previous cakes also using her recipe but it was the mud cake recipe. So this time as I was making a cake for a colleague and she wanted a chocolate, I thought I would try this and yes, this is good too and moist and it is heavy enough to be covered with fondant.

Ingredients
225g (8oz) unsalted butter
225g (8oz) good quality chocolate
1 (15ml) tablespoon instant coffee
450g (1lb) caster sugar or soft brown sugar
150ml (5 fl oz) water

4 large eggs
35ml (1.1fl oz) vegetable oil
100ml (3.4 fl oz) sour cream or you can use natural yoghurt or Crème fraiche

125g (4 .5 oz) self raising flour
125g (4 .5 oz) plain flour
50g (2oz) cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) bicarbonate of soda

Method:
1.Preheat your oven to 160 degrees C (315 degrees F, gas mark 2-3)
2.Line the 20cm (8in) deep cake tin with baking parchment
3.Slowly melt the butter, chocolate, coffee, sugar and water in a pan, once melted allow to cool.
4.Add the eggs, oil and sour cream to the chocolate mix and stir well
5.Sift all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre
6.Pour the chocolate mixture into well and mix until thoroughly combined.
7.Pour the batter into the lined tin and bake for 1 hour 45mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean
8.Leave the cake to cool in the tin

Chee Pao Gai

Chee Pao Gai (Paper wrapped chicken) - Healthy Version (Halal)

Saw this recipe on the makansutra website. But instead of deep frying, I baked it in the oven. Does not have the burnt bits as the deep fried version but I like the taste of this.

For my method, just follow the recipe till 1, then place in a preheated oven of 200 degs for about 20 mins.

Chee Pao Kai recipe (for four diners)
16 pcs of chicken:
Preferably small chunks like breast meat, chicken wings minus the tips, half a drumstick, or half-sized thighs.
-
Marinade: (one tbsp is about 15 to 18 ml)
3 tbsp Hua tiao wine
3 tbsp Oyster sauce
3 tbsp Sugar
3 tbsp Old ginger juice
3 tbsp Sesame oil
1 tbsp White pepper powder
3 tbsp Light soy sauce
Condiments:
16 two inch long spring onions(scallions)
16 two inch long thin ginger shreds
16 pcs grease paper (7 inch square each)
One beaten raw egg yolk to seal the packs
(note: this recipe yields a heavier marinate flavour, you can reduce the marinate portions by 25% – or one tbsp less, if you wish)
Method:
Put all the ingredients together in a huge bowl and marinate the chicken and rest it in the fridge for 3 hours at least.

1. Marinate the chicken for at least 3 hours, best to do it overnight in the fridge
-
Next, place the paper, in a diamond shape format (with a tip pointing towards you) and set a piece of chicken at the bottom third of the paper and place a strip of ginger and scallion over it. Then wrap – fold bottom up just over the chicken, fold the left and right tip over it and finally fold the top tip and tuck it into the fold created.

2. Ensure you wrap the chee pao kai parcels snuggly so if does not come apart when frying
-
Be sure to dab the top tip with egg yolk so it sticks while frying.
-
Heat up the wok of vegetable oil to about 180-200 degrees. Then gently lower the chicken parcels in with the thicker paper side facing down first. Fry for 4-5 mins and turn the parcels every minute. When done, drain oil, cool and serve.

3. The packs do not score much on the visual scale, but it explodes with flavour when you open it

4. It should be all juicy and fragrantly sweet

1st Birthday cake

1st Birthday Cake

Another colleague requested me to make a 1 year old birthday cake as she wanted to share it with the other toddlers at her daughter's nursery.

As I had always wanted to make a pull apart cake and never had the chance to do it, I thought, hey, here's my chance to make one now! So here it is, tada!

Pull apart cakes are just cupcakes held together by frosting.

A very simple but yummy vanilla cupcake cake!

Singaporean lunch for friends

Lunch request

When I invited my SG friends over to lunch and asked them what they would like to have. Their answer was:

Popiah
Soon Kueh
Chwee Kueh
Otak
Kuih Kosui and I added
Glutinous Rice

But in as much as Pat loves his Oriental food, he does not really like our snacks and desserts, so I had to cater for him as well, so I added a Curry Chicken to the lot!

Normally when I invite friends over, it is easier to do casserole dishes as I can prepare them ahead of time, and then just warm them up when it is time to dish them out. But for today's lunch, it was not possible!









My gf made this dessert - melon with sago and coconut milk




Lastly, teh halia tarik!

Oyako Don

Oyako Don (Halal)


This is another easy one pot Japanese rice dish. Oyako means mother and child, so it is chicken and egg and a donburi dish is where the food is piled onto rice.

Note: For the halal version, please omit the mirin which is sweet rice wine.
Ingredients: (for 2 persons)
2 Chicken thigh - cut into cubes
1/2 small leek - cut on the diagonal
1 onion - sliced
2 dried shitake mushrooms - soaked and sliced
1 tsp dashi
2 tbsp soya sauce )
2 tbsp mirin ) A
1/2 tsp sugar )
2 eggs - beaten

Method:
1. Heat oil, fry onions and leek for a couple of mins till translucent.


2. Add chicken, dried mushrooms and dashi and stir till mixed.





3. Add water from soaked mushroom and A. Simmer for about 10 mins till chicken is cooked.
4. Pour beaten eggs on top of chicken mixture. Cover pan till egg is set.



5. Top chicken mixture over rice.