Edible gardening

I've been wanting to make an edible potplant for the past year. I'm not sure where it came from, but I recall seeing photos of potplant desserts popping up. Perhaps it started from Heston Blumenthal and his amazing edible garden? I'm not really sure. I just really wanted one..

Instagram is a wonderful thing. It's one of the things I use as a "to do", "to go", "to eat" wishlist. Okay.. call me Asian (well actually, I think it started off being an "Asian thing" to do, but now it's just a "foodie thing"), but I love taking photos of food. Food is meant to be seen by the eyes, smelt by the nose and tasted by the tastebuds. For me it's smell, see and then taste. And because you can't preserve smell and taste, you can at least capture how it looks. Hehe :P

When I was in Sydney this year, I wanted to get a potplant dessert from Blackflower Patisserie. Thanks to Instagram, I saw a photo of it whilst I was in Sydney and decided to go find it. (I love how Instagram tells me where to go.. instantly. It also happened in Tokyo when I saw a photo of a really cute cafe with the cutest matcha latte art. So I went there on my last day of my holiday). But when I got to Blackflower Patisserie, I found out that it was only served during the evening. I was quite disappointed because I had to fly back that evening.

But... as I was browsing Instagram for any cute (I really am a sucker for cute things..) or interesting things in Seoul before I went again, I found out about Banana Tree. They served potplant desserts and potplant bingsoo! I saw it. I wanted it.. and I got it! Hehe. They didn't serve the bingsoo during winter though, so I was a tad disappointed.

The potplant looked great! I think I was more in love with the shovel spoons though. The dessert itself was just a small patty case of cream and cake. A tad disappointing for the price, but definitely cute! I eventually decided that I had to find those shovel spoons for myself and found them on ebay. :)

I decided that I'd make my own pot plant desserts. I tried looking for mini terracotta pots but couldn't find any. So I ended up with plastic ones.

Edible potplants
Makes about 10

Matcha genoise (see recipe below)
Matcha mousse (see recipe below)
Black sesame crumble (I made mine with blacksesame, butter, sugar and a little flour)
Matcha cookie crumble (I made mine, but I don't have a recipe for you)
Chocolate mushrooms (I made mine)
Chocolate rocks (I bought a packet)

This was how I imagined it:

Matcha genoise

2 eggs
40g sugar
40g plain flour
8g matcha
20g butter, melted and cooled

Cream the eggs and sugar. Add in sifted flour and matcha.
Fold in melted butter.
Pour into a lined slice tray.
Bake in a preheated 180C oven for about 15mins.

Matcha mousse

100ml milk
10g matcha
1 egg, separated
40g sugar
80ml cream
1 tsp gelatin powder

Beat egg yolks and 20g sugar until pale.
Heat up milk and matcha on low heat. Take off from heat.
Gradually pour the eggs into milk, constantly mixing.
Add the gelatin.
Sieve the mixture if needed.
Add the cream.
Whip egg whites with 20g of sugar until stiff peaks.
Gently fold into matcha mix.

To assemble:

Make sure your pots are clean firstly.
I double lined mine with some IKEA cupcake patty casings as they're taller than the average patty case. Stickytape it at the bottom so it stays.

Cut rounds of cake out. I used the back of a piping nozzle.
Layer one round of cake. Half fill with mousse. Add another piece of cake. Fill with mousse to the top.
Refrigerate overnight.

Sprinkle black sesame crumble.
Gently twist a toothpick into the mushroom chocolate stalk (This will keep it steady). Stick the mushroom into the cake.
Sprinkle some matcha cookie crumbs. Add a few chocolate rocks.
Refrigerate when not consuming.

Great for gifting ;)

I love my shovel spoon! It also came with a shovel fork. Hehe.

I'm still here

It's been a while since I've blogged. I haven't really been doing much baking/cooking lately.. I've been busy. As per usual, working, traveling, eating. :P

I'm getting back into fattening my workmates up again. :P

This was the last thing I made, which didn't work out the way I wanted it to because I wasn't in the right frame of mind. Haha.. It was supposed to be for N, but it was incomplete and I was too ashamed of it. I'm sorry! :( It's a mini lychee cake with coconut custard and jackfruit.

I should really get back into my baking and blogging. But I've been preoccupying myself with other things when I'm not working. I've been sewing biscuit cushions, painting babushka dolls, trying to interior decorate my house etc.

I made the rectangular cushion a year ago. The round ones are unfinished as I've yet to sandwich them with jam. :P (And no. I didn't make Gingy)



Testing out 3D latte art. Hehe~ Ever since finding cute latte art in Japan, I've been trying to find more. Unfortunately there isn't really anywhere that does it. :( I'm going to attempt a bunny next time!

I painted these babushkas, my style. :P
Behind is my origami bakery and a sushi cushion that I made a few years ago. I was supposed to make a whole bento box with chopsticks, but I only ever ended up making 4 sushi cushions because I ran out of material and could no longer be bothered. Haha

I guess the main reason I haven't been baking is because I have too many things I want to make, that I just get confused about what I really want to do. Or if I'm in a bad mood, I generally can't bake because I know things will just get worse. I do believe that your mood affects your baking.

Hopefully I can attempt a pandan chiffon cake sometime soon. I've been wanting to make one for a while now. I bought a chiffon pan a few months back and still haven't used it. Haha... I really do have too much bakeware.

Stay tuned. It'll happen.

In the mean time, I bought more cookbooks to salivate over.

(I shouldn't even be awake at the moment. Haha.. It's nearly 5am. I did sleep, but I woke up an hour ago..)

Christmas

I'm... done with Christmas baking for this year. I'm a bit over it now.

I've made my coconutty snowmen, cinnamonbread and gingerbread houses. I've also made peppermint bark and spiced chocolates.

I've made too much, and I don't want to bombard people with food. I don't want to make people fat. I don't want to make myself gain weight either. I think I've just lost the spirit. I want to bake and make and give... but who is there to give to? My joy in making these things then just goes to waste. Which makes me sad. So I'll stop it here. I don't want to force people with food. I want to give to those that want and will appreciate it.

I'm sorry for ranting. Perhaps I'm just tired. I feel deflated.

I had fun making these things, and I always will. But I think you (especially my workmates) have had enough.

If you're wondering, I used the same recipes from previously for the cinnamonbread and gingerbread. I actually bought a gingerbread house cutter set this year, but unfortunately, I didn't have enough gingerbread dough so I just downsized it and made 3 mini houses. :( I used the second cutter on the left in the picture below, and just remodelled my pieces with my architectural imagination. :P

I'm actually quite happy about these gingerbread houses. The last time I made cinnamonbread houses back in 2009, it wasn't so successful. But then again, I didn't have any cutters to use. It was much simpler this time! :D

Anyway, I wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas! :)

Mr Panda ❤

I finally made Mr Panda. But I made too much cake. First shot at it, my red velvet mixture was too delicate, and Mr Panda #1... unfortunately.. died. :( Second batter worked, but I had too much batter so I ended up baking an extra cake too. Haha.. :/

Fatty panda :P Hehe~

Red velvet cake

250g butter
600g caster sugar
6 eggs
40g cocoa
8tsp red food colouring
4 tsp vanilla extract
550ml milk
600g self raising flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and mix.
Combine red dye, cocoa, vanilla and a bit of milk together to form a smooth paste.
Add to butter mixture.
Mix and add flour alternating with milk until well combined.

Pour into a greased Wilton Cuddly Bear Pan.

Bake for 50mins in a preheated 170C oven.

Remove and allow to cool before frosting. I used the new Philly frosting in chocolate and lemon. You'll need 1 tub of chocolate and 1.5 tubs of lemon.

I also made some panda chocolate using a chocolate mould I got in HK earlier this year.  Gotta love pandas!

Reunited again

There comes a time.. when you're feeling your age. Or older, in my situation. At the moment, I've woken up and gotten ready for work an hour too early. -___-

My memory is failing me too.

Back in July, I went to Spotlight, and found a Wilton 3D bear pan set that I wanted. The price tag read $74.95. 'Oh wow. That's a bit pricey. I'll get it next time.. or if the price goes down?'

So I hopped online to find one. There were heaps on ebay, but still a bit pricey when you add shipping costs (it works out just about the same). But then I found a mini version. And I purchased one. It ....... never came. Complete devastation. I'm still waiting for it. The seller seemed nice at first, communicating to my queries. But now they've just completely disappeared. The item no longer appears in my history. Ebay says the item no longer exists and that I can't even leave feedback. Great. Just. Great. There goes my trust for buying off ebay!

FYI. This is the item and it's seller. Click here.

Two months onto the present, Spotlight had half price an item for VIP members. I'm a member, but from long long ago. In fact, my membership card no longer worked so I had to sign up again. Haha.

I thought this was a good chance to finally get the cake pan! But...... I forgot which Spotlight I saw it in. -__-

When I first stepped into Spotlight #1, it didn't feel right. The layout of the store didn't seem right, and I couldn't find it anyway. I asked a staff member and she said they never sold such a thing. And so I left to go to Spotlight #2. Again, when I stepped inside this store, it didn't feel right. I couldn't find it. So I asked a staff member in that isle, and he was the greatest in customer service ever! I showed him a photo I took of the product when I first saw it in Spotlight (as I did with the other lady), and he said it was definitely a Spotlight product. He proceeded to search and called Spotlight #3 if they had it. He even offered to order it in for me!

And YES! They had it! My memory had failed me. It was Spotlight #3 all along!!

It was price tagged as $74.95 still. But it scanned up as $60. Thus, I got it for $30! Yay! Extremely happy with that! :D I can't wait to make Mr Panda! OH, and attempt Mr Teddy Bear too. (Although I need to buy a Wilton #233 grass tip to make Teddy Bear's fur.. I'll hit the shops before I ever attempt to purchase online again).

I'll still wait in hopes for my mini cake pan. Then I can make a baby for the bigger bear. *fingers crossed*


---- update 7pm
I went to Matchbox on my lunch break. Bought 4 Wilton icing tips. A pack with #233 (grass tip) and #47 (basket weave tip), and a pack with #5 (small round tip) and #18 (star tip). $5.95 each pack. Or $3.95 each tip. It was the last pack with #233. Hehe :D.

Well, I actually didn't really need #5 or #47, but thought it was more worth it if I did. Man, I'm such a sucker when buying things like this..
Oh. I also stopped by House on my way back to work.. and their #233 tip itself was ~$4.99...  o_o. I'm glad I stopped by Matchbox first! :) Sigh. I wish I were in the United States. The tips are about $1-2 each. -__-

'Sexy cookie'

Everytime I think of madeleines, I think of 'sexy cookie'. Haha. If you've watched the Kdrama 'My name is Kim Samsoon', then you'll understand where I'm coming from. :P It's one of my favourite Korean dramas. :)

Well, what are madeleines, you ask? They're basically a French shell shaped cake cookie. I've never actually eaten one before this.. :/


I've been meaning to make madeleines since the past 2 years. I've bought the madeleine pans a long time ago but have just never used them. So I finally decided to make them the other day!

Lemon madeleines
Makes about 17

4 eggs, separated
180g plain flour
2tsp baking powder
120g butter melted, cooled
100g caster sugar
zest of 1 large lemon
lemon juice, for brushing
icing, for dusting

Sift flour and baking powder in a bowl.

In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks, lemon zest and 50g of sugar.

In yet another bowl, whisk egg whites until soft peaks, then gradually add the other 50g of sugar, whisking until smooth and glossy.

Fold in one third of the egg whites into the yolk mixture.
Then fold in half of the flour mixture.
Add another third of the egg whites.
Then fold in the remaining flour until just combined.
Finally, fold in the rest of the egg whites and when just combined, fold in the melted butter. (Careful not to overmix)

Allow to rest for 30mins.

Preheat oven to 180C.

Pipe mixture into greased madeleine pans.


Bake for 8-10mins until golden brown. Watch them growww! :D


Allow to cool slightly before removing from pans and allowing to cool on a cooling rack.


Brush with lemon juice and dust with icing sugar.


Serve immediately, or on the day.

Coconutty snowmen

Christmas is 2 weeks away!


There are so many things I plan on baking. Fruitcake. Gingerbread men/houses. Chocolate chip cookies*. (*Not festive, but I've been meaning to make them for over half a year now..)

Anyway, I have these snowmen baking trays that I bought last year. So I decided to try them out!


The cakes turned out pretty good! :)


Ah.. my little snowmen! :D I love you!

Coconut cupcakes
Makes 12 mini snowmen cakes

200g self raising flour
85g sugar
70g desiccated coconut
1 tsp baking powder

250ml milk
1 egg (55g), lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g butter, melted

extra coconut
icing for decoration

Grease baking tray.


Preheat oven to 160C.

Mix dry ingredients together.
Add in milk and melted butter and mix.
Add in egg and vanilla extract.
Mix until just combined.


Spoon into baking trays.
Bake for 10-12 mins or until cooked.


Allow to cool before decorating.


Dip cake in runny icing and roll into desiccated coconut.


Decorate as desired.


I love snowmen! + sandmen! Sigh. I want a white Christmas.. :(