Hokkaido Cake - RT Pastry House

I've been munching on yummy cakes made by my sis-in-law, (she makes lovely layer cakes - original, black sesame and even green tea ones!).  Yup, I'll be the one who is layered alright ... help!  And just when things are looking so good and yet so dangerous at the same time, sis-in-law gave me these to try ... and now I'm living my life dangerously one day at a time, hahaha...

The Hokkaido Cake

Typica Cafe, Shaw Parade Kuala Lumpur

OL, Soo and I went on a food journey not too long ago and Typica Cafe was our last stop for the day. However, this little and simple looking cafe won my heart over with its coffee and dessert. OL drove into the heart of town one weekday and we stopped here for a tea(coffee)time treat. We knew exactly what to order for dessert but we had to deliberate over the selection of coffee. However, once we told the staff what we wanted for dessert, the staff gave us some recommendations as to which coffee would pair well with it.

We followed her recommendations and I ended up with the Guatemala Ice Drip Coffee. A frozen coffee ice cube is served in an empty glass. The staff then pours the coffee from a mixer into the glass before you.

The Guatemala Ice Drip Coffee (RM16) - Drank black, the aroma and flavour of the roasted beans were wonderful. It was full bodied and had a pleasant aftertaste with a bitterness that was just spot on without being too overwhelming. While I'm not a coffee aficionado or one who can analyse in detail, I do know that this was indeed a great glass of coffee.

And exactly what dessert did we order (this came highly recommended by OL who had tried it earlier and loved it!)?

Ipoh Food Frenzy In 4.5 Hours, JJ Cakes - Part 2

After having the earlier much needed meal (we were famish at that time!) at Dai Shu Geok aka Big Tree Foot, we went off in search of JJ Cakes, in particular the swiss rolls that Motormouth had blogged about. With Motormouth directing us, we found out it was nearby Pasir Pinji. Reaching the place, the "shop" was actually a counter with a chiller located at the back corner of De' Mouth, a Chinese restaurant.

Though I had read about the many varieties available, I was still pretty much stumped when I was faced with the decision of picking out what I wanted. Just how many are there to choose from (just the swiss rolls alone)? Let me run it by you ...

(RM15/roll)
Carrot Cream Cheese
Banana Cream Cheese
Pumpkin Cream Cheese
Spinach Cream Cheese
Green Tea Cream Cheese
Chestnut Puree

(RM12/roll)
Chocolate Hazelnut
Coffee Walnut
Fresh Chempedak
Fresh Durian
Fresh Strawberry
Fresh Mango
Fresh Yam
Fresh Sweet Potato
Juicy Corn
Chocolate Mint
Dragon Fruit
Wolfberry
Black Sesame
Green Bean
Prune

(RM10/roll)
Pandan Custard
Blueberry Filling

(RM8/roll)
Butter Cream (Pandan/Vanilla)

You see what I mean? Decisions, decisions, decisions! Luckily bro was with me and together we picked out 5. And when one buys 5, you get one FREE! Yay!

Sans Rival - Goldilocks

Remember the post I did on Mamon cakes and the Cassava Bibingka from Goldilocks that Cindy gave me? Well, Cindy gave me another treat from Goldilocks, something new that I've not tried before. Sans Rival cake. Err...when Mrs Pitt told me that she was bringing back the cake for me, she said "Sans Suval". I went, "Huh? Sans Suval?" Then she said "Sans Rival" and I still went "Huh? Sans Rival? Cindy has just told me that Sans Rival means No Rival. Hahaha....I haven't heard of a Sans Rival cake before but I guess I was going to find out how one looks and tastes like that night, thanks to Cindy again :o)

So, exactly what is a Sans Rival? It's made of layers of cashew wafers, frosted with buttercream and topped with ground cashew nuts. So sinful, yet so good (as it usually is with such things!). I can hear the health conscious folks recoil in horror, hahaha! If buttercream and nuts are your kinda thing, then THIS IS IT! My only gripe is that one can't seem to cut a perfect slice without breaking the wafers into several parts! But I think somehow that turn out to be better in the end, as several of us shared a slice, eating it bit by bit with our hands - thus dividing the sin(e). Well, pardon me now - I think I need to go for confession :p

Goldilocks
4516 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94112

Tel : (415) 333 6963

Check out Goldilocks website for other locations

Goodies from Goldilocks!

Whenever I drop by San Francisco, Cindy never fails to get me another one of my US favourite.

These wonderful French Sponge Cake - Mamon from Goldilocks

It's an eggy sponge cake except that's it more buttery and has a moist base. Why I like it that much? It's really the moist base that makes it one of the things that make me go "Mmmmm...." hahaha...

This time round, she got me something new - Cassava Bibingka. There was no ingredients breakdown on the container it came in. It's similar to the tapioca kuih we have back in Malaysia but this seem to have some condensed milk on it, making it a rather sweet but delightful sticky treat. Google it and one will find several versions.

Goldilocks started in Philippines back in 1966. Fast forward to today, it has 18 stores in US and Canada selling not only pastries but also Filipino cuisine....will they ever come to Malaysia??? I can only hope :o) Meanwhile I can only get these whenever I come over to San Francisco. Thanks Cindy!

Goldilocks
4516 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94112

Tel : (415) 333 6963

Check out Goldilocks website for other locations


USA - To Be Continued ...

The Day I Baked ... Dutch Apple Cake

Sometime back when I had a bit more time on my hands, I would be at Ash's or Glorious Jade's place watching them bake cakes and I would also join in the fun. After assisting Glorious Jade with the Dutch Apple Cake, I went ahead and baked one all by myself at her house and it was a success. I really like this cake and it has become one of my favourites. Thanks Glorious Jade for the recipe (and thanks to Ingrid too for teaching and passing her this recipe).

*****

As per Glorious Jade's email to me : -

DUTCH APPLE CAKE (as taught to me by Ingrid, a true blue Dutch lady)

The What :

4oz butter

4oz castor sugar

1 egg

8oz flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla essence

3 green apples

Handful of raisins

Sprinkling of cinnamon powder and castor sugar

The How :

Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy

In the meantime peel, core and slice apples evenly

Add in egg to creamed butter and sugar and beat well

Sieve flour and baking powder together and fold into cake mixture

Add in vanilla essence

Pour cake mixture into lined cake pan (about 9" x9")

Spread mixture evenly and arrange apple slices on top, lightly pressing into mixture

Good Food Hunting in Ipoh, Part 2

After resting in the hotel for awhile, we were soon out the door again. This time, heading off to Indulgence (14 Jalan Raja Dihilir, formerly Tambun Road -Tel : 605-255 7051) for a coffee break. After reading in the blogosphere that their desserts fare better than mains, we decided to do dinner later at an old favourite haunt instead.

Stepping into the big white mansion, the interior of Indulgence was vibrant with colours. Indulgence is also a boutique hotel with different themed rooms on the upper floors of the restaurant. We were ushered to our table as soon as we entered; we found the service to be prompt and friendly though we were just there for coffee (thought I should mention this as I had read that service was rather bad). It was a quiet late afternoon weekday with about 4 other tables being occupied.

Of course, apart from ordering coffee like The Fluffy (espresso with milk and lots of foam!)...

Japanese Goodies

Seem to be clearing my archives nowadays! The Japanese are such creative people. Check out my old post where I bought some rice crackers and they were packed into shapes of little people! Sis-in-law went to Japan for work sometime late last year and came back with lots of goodies. Sorry, not able to furnish details of where to get these cakes but they are such a wonderful sight. Here are some of them!

The only non food related photo in today's post - some cute accessories and lots of origami paper! I just love the colours and the motifs.

The Japanese are really good at "packaging" marketing. I love this bright orange box. What's inside??? Cakes from Patisserie Dojima, Dojima Hotel

The famous Dojima Roll Cakes, Original and Green Tea Flavour. Looks like two rolls of some double sided tape, eh? Hahaha....Its texture is nice but somehow it doesn't score on the flavouring. Pretty normal but visually appealing!

Another package to be opened!

Ahhh...this time, lovely assorted rice crackers! Have always loved "sembei" - Japanese rice crackers as I like the combination of soy sauce, nori (seaweed) and other ingredients that makes this such a tasty snack!

And here we have assorted shapes of dorayaki - red bean paste cake. They taste better when eaten warm, heat them up a bit before eating.

Another type of well known cake from Japan though its origins is from Spain - the Castilla Kasutera Japanese Sponge Cake.

Just looked at how fine the cake texture is! It's another visually appealing cake but again, lacking in flavour for me. Maybe some of you reading this would like to try the recipe out and see how it turns out. Let me know of your success stories!


If you understand everything, you must be misinformed
- Japanese Proverb

The day I baked...Cream Cheese Brownies

Owen was free since it was school holidays and he asked me whether I wanted to bake anything as his hands were itching to "create" something. I had remembered Teckiee and her post on baking Cream Cheese Brownies which she said was an easy task. I even had the opportunity to taste some of Teckiee's brownies and it was really yummy! Teckiee used the recipe she got from Joy Of Baking but she had cut down the sugar by half and still found it sweet. So, I cut down the sugar slightly more than half but apparently after checking in with Nigel, that could be the reason why the brownies turned out more dense and fudgy than Teckiee's or the one pictured in Joy Of Baking. Nigel said that sugar also plays a role in the cake texture and when I lessened it, I made it more dense...well, at least that was one of the possibility. He said that I could substitute same amount with eggs or milk (eggs more preferable as milk could make the brownie turn out to be more moist than it needs to be). By the way, for those who are keen, do take note that Just Heavenly will be conducting their first session of baking class soon. Click HERE for more details.

The ingredients - bought an hour before we started baking!


Owen cutting the choc block smaller


Melting the coarse choc and butter over hot water


After putting slightly half of the brownie part (leaving the rest for later), put in the cream cheese layer evenly.


Then put in the remainder brownie part over it in dollops and I did the marbling effect with a toothpick.


After 30 minutes in the oven, this beauty appeared!


Cream cheese with dense fudgy brownies!

Owen and I worked together on it, and he was my hand model for the photographs. Check out Ethan's post on this (he took nicer photos than me...I was rushing to go off and didn't spend enough time on the brownie shots after it was ready).Well, I must say that after about a good 2 decades or so of not baking, these Cream Cheese Brownies were easy to make. And even if the brownie part turned out more dense and fudgy, the overall taste was great and I loved how they turned out! So, to those who want the recipe, here is the link from Joy Of Baking again (but remember to take note of the sugar part, do adjust according to your sweet tooth or not so sweet tooth).

Doing this was indeed a "piece of cake"! - wmw