Japanese Deco Roll Cake

well, aside from the cake i posted here, i have never really telling you what i've been busy doing lately in my life since i'm back to blogging so let me tell you now. i am currently prepping my thesis due in August whilst i'm planning on creating some business lines. i hope everything goes well and i wish all of you would wish me luck for those serious stuffs i'm doing. i really anticipate the outcome of those and hopefully i could tell all of you some great news soon!

i made this roll cake on KBB's challenge last year. i am completely in love with this cake, the texture and the lightness of it is just blowing me away. the making process couldn't be simpler and what i love the most is that you can add any of your favorite filling into this cake and decorate it any way you like, sky is clearly the limit.

my friend yesterday told me that most of the places she went to eat now serving some kind of roll cake for dessert, the japanese roll cake. no wonder about it though as it has the cloud like texture and not overly sweet, the signature style of japanese dessert. everything is just cuter and lighter in japanese dessert recipes. oh, and by the way, this is probably everyone's favorite Junko roll cakes recipes.

Hot Cross Nutella Filled Bao

it's Easter all over again. i never really bake a lot during easter unlike the super hectic Christmas, but i have been knowing the Hot Cross Buns for quite a while and i knew that it is supposed to be the type of special occasion food (what exactly the word for that? ceremonial?). Hot Cross Buns meant to be baked during easter because of what else other than the 'cross', oh well also long ago it is made without yeast to complete the tradition of advent fasting. knowing all those reasons and the festivities of the buns itself, i decided to make one this year.

it is technically not the standard hot crossed buns, i had some special bao flour that was supposed to be used asap or else it will expire soon so i decided to use it for this hot cross 'bao'. i love making and eating bao, especially when it's still warm. i don't have any fancy filling to stuff the bao, so i used the already-so-fancy nutella spread and give some cocoa powder in the bao dough. i know i will never go wrong with nutella and chocolate.

the bao is then steamed and not baked like the way a hot crossed bun should be, because duh it is a bao. just before i steamed them, i made the flour paste used on the traditional hot crossed buns, and piped it onto the risen bao. i love how it turns out!

auntie anne's pretzel

what a relief to finally be able making this pretzel successfully! this is my third attempt and the first two attempts didn't end up so well. it was some years ago where i was still so green on baking etc.. it's kinda stupid to reminisce those times, why? because i don't even aware that pretzel is just another friend of bread. and what to do with bread? knead! that's why my beginner-pretzel couldn't be chewed at all. lol. it was extremely tough.

but todaaay, yaaaayyy, i finally nailed it! this is just the pretzel i always love, chewy - not too tough - a little crisp outside - right amount of tenderness inside, just like Auntie Anne's. auntie anne's pretzel was my frequent childhood snack, momma used to buy it for me every time she went to the shopping mall. can you guess my all time favorite? definitely the cinnamon sugar with caramel dipping, LOVELY! the most satisfying part is when i eat my own home-made pretzel dipped in my own home-made caramel sauce, it tastes completely the same with Auntie Anne's. i couldn't be prouder, hahaha.

so, if you ask me what's the key to those texture, knead people knead until your arm hurts. okay, that's an exaggeration. but seriously, knead! haha. if you can produce a really smooth and elastic dough, then you're really good to go. key number two, the water-soda solution. dip the pretzel in the water-soda solution for ten second before baking. wanna try and challenge yourself? please try this and you'll never regret :D

callum's chocolate croissant pudding

i still remember those euphoria i was feeling when i first watched Junior Masterchef Australia, i frequently visited its website and rewriting all the interesting recipes in my favorite recipe book. however, i didn't really have that much time to try and taste all those delectable recipes. i've been so curious with this one recipe though, chocolate croissant pudding. it did look so mouthwatering and yummy when the judges tasted it way back then. so after almost a year keeping this recipe, i finally made it last week.

i tweaked this recipe a bit much because i just want to and i love it this way. hahaha. what i love from its original recipe is it only serves 2 ramekins, less fuss and less leftover if i wasn't so lucky. hoho. this croissant pudding is a pleasure for me and bf, we're both fans of bread pudding! we love eating it warm straight from the oven and without any other cream or jams. just as it is, but extra chocolate is never a mistake ;) however, even though we love this croissant pudding, 1 ramekins for 1 person still feels too much to eat at one time. i think it's better for me to divide the batter into 4 ramekins next time i make it, which is obviously soon.

the super fun part from my additional modification to this recipe is those chocolate ganache in the center, see the picture, it's like a burning lava from a volcanooo~.. hahaha. i have ready-to-use chocolate ganache in my kitchen now, it was part of a goodie-bag i got from baking demo last month. so practical to use, but making your own chocolate ganache is also quite simple though (1 part chocolate : 1 part cream). the first reason i added chocolate ganache is because my croissant was plain one and to do this recipe some justice, i certainly need to put some chocolate in it. so i added that ready-to-use chocolate ganache and just like i've stated above 'extra chocolate is never a mistake'. and also to make it more delicious and addictive, i add some more croissant and a lot of vanilla extract in the custard. ready to try the recipe?

KBB#26: panettone

hello everyone, it feels great to be back from my unofficial hiatus last month. let's start this month with last month's KBB challenge. we were expected to make a traditional italian christmas bread. yay! panettone! feel so satisfied making this bread. it is surprisingly good for my taste because usually i didn't like fruit cake or raisin bread but this one is an exception.

at first, i really wanted to excuse my self from joining this panettone challenge. but deep inside my heart i still wanted to make it so much. so until the day before the last day (yeah it sounds confusing..) of November, i decided to make this beautiful panettone by skipping my Wednesday class. hahaha. i did it for the sake of panettone! i made it half a day and i wouldn't be able to do it if i didn't skip class. i hope nobody would punish me for this ;)

fortunately, the result is soo great.. that is why i feel so satisfied with it, at least my sacrifice for skipping class was worth it. i heard some of other's panettone didn't rise in the oven or even when it was being proofed because this bread is not the usual kind of white bread, this is called the rich bread dough which contains so many fat in it. let me share my experience below.. promise you that today i will give you more details on the directions. i didn't think my bread would rise as well when i proofed it, but suddenly when i baked them, they were like poof rising to the top and cracked on the center. they were so beautiful i can't even believe my self made it. so, any of you tempted to make it, let's wait no more and read the recipe below.. :D

floss bread

hello everyone! i am now presenting my floss bread, as i promised you. this is the mini version of the real floss bread actually. i love floss bread but to be honest, i love the store-bought more than mine. haha.

this is my first time making real bread. i think i have to knead them longer because my bread isn't soft enough. you know what? this is one tiring job but i think if you can do this everyday it will be a very good exercise for your biceps. next time i make another breads, i'll definitely knead them longer.

my recipe doesn't actually call for floss bread, i got it from DailyDelicious (a really mouthwatering blog, isn't it?). it's actually a milk bread recipe and i reduce the sugar make the topping from another recipe (i really forgot where it comes from, really sorry). i love the topping. the texture of the bread is somehow like the texture of hot dog buns. overall performance, this floss bread is quite a satisfaction for me, not huge satisfaction but just enough to make me eat it over and over again. 

cinnamon rolls

yayy! finally finally.. i can proudly present you my cinnamon rolls! :)
look at this picture below, the top's color is more yellowish than the other pictures. you know why? i bake them in the oven for about 15 minutes, unfortunately the top hasn't browned yet. i'm afraid of the bottom scorching just like before so i took them out, took this picture below and then i put them in the oven again and broil them for about 2 minutes.

this time, i cut them wider than my second before and i just bought one new package of dry active yeast! i thought my last mistakes were because of my yeast and the cutting so i recreate them again today. and yes, it turns out well.

for today's cinnamon roll i made them for 2 servings instead of 1 for i think if i want to cut them wide then i have to prepare more dough. i still couldn't make the icing though, but even without the icing these cinnamon rolls are already so delicious. i bake them in a muffin tin and some in a springform pan, just like bakerella and pioneer woman did. they're as cute as roses aren't they?

well, okay guys.. i have to go soon, i have my exams waiting for me tomorrow and i've got to study..
thanks for reading!

almost cinnamon rolls

this time i made cinnamon rolls, honestly this is my 2nd time making cinnamon rolls. the first and the second attempt is not quite different. both of them are so hard to eat since the first one i killed all of the yeast in a hot milk (i didn't even realize i killed them until they refused to rise) and the second one i overbaked them. haha. disaster..

yes, i overbaked my cinnamon rolls today and i also keep questioning why i couldn't produce a huge risen cinnamon rolls like the store-bought one. is that because of the cuts or the rolling process or is it the yeast (again)? but i quite believe that this time i did better than the first, i did half the process pretty satisfying. ah, if only i baked it in the right time and not misread the recipe i am quite sure they would turn out good. and if you notice the picture below, it has some liquid under the cirolls, it's my (also) faux icing by the way.. haha.

i got this recipe from The Pioneer Woman through Bakerella. but i cut down the recipe for one serving only, thank God (i couldn't imagine if i made lots of them and none of them succeed). if you see the original recipe, they look very yummy aren't they? they're huge and i believe they have a soft texture just like Cinnabon's and don't forget the frosting, oh my it's so sinful yet mouthwatering. okay, i guess enough for the blabbering..


i hope you enjoying the almost cinnamon rolls i made, thanks for reading..
HAPPY BAKING! :D