Asia's flavours this Lunar New Year

There are a few occasions in a year that deserve my stomach's full attention.

Birthdays, Christmas and the Lunar New Year.

These are eating festivals, as far as my family and friends are concerned. People gathering round, sharing meals, swapping stories, indulging in festive snacks.

The stuff of good times.

Food plays such a big part bringing people together, and any excuse to break bread and clink glasses is wildly welcomed.

> But don't throw out your Outside Glow!

And this year, Petite Pops is embracing Asia's flavours in our Chinese New Year goodies.

Matcha and Wolfberry, both native to Asia, are packed with age-old health beliefs, perfect for turning festive feasting into good-for-you snacking. Osmanthus adds a delicate, subtle fragrance for barely-there flavour layers. Just the kind of natural sweetness I like in my snacks.

Share the Lunar New Year love with double goodies in the Twin Baskets, or go solo with the Osmanthus Honey Loaf.
> Details in image above

A wonderfully prosperous and blissful Year of the Monkey to everyone!

What do you get with Petite Pops desserts?

• Small batch baking      The only good way to do quality control.

• Good ingredients          Real and delicious, no further preservatives added.

• Fresh                              Made only when orders come in.

• Balanced                       A little naughty and a whole lot nice. Less sugar & fats,                                            while balancing the yum.

Edible Christmas gifts: devour, digest, gone!

Christmas is pretty much my favourite time of the year. 

I could go on, but I think I've narrowed it down to three main reasons: 

1) It's Jesus' birthday

Granted - it's an arbitrary date, but dates are really just numbers. What rocks is that we welcomed a pretty big rockstar light years back, in a dingy manger. That little tot came to save our little hinnies, I'm forever grateful.

Plus, I love birthdays. Winner winner.

2) Everyone is so much more relaxed

It's the end of the year. Work winds down, what can be done has pretty much been done, no one really wants to fix 7am conference calls anymore. 

In other words, everyone is so much less crabby, so much more cheery.

I like that.

3) Much ado about gathering

There's a legit reason to feast fantastically, with the people in our life, near and far - all in the name of Christmas. Oh and of course, with plenty of dessert. 

> Decadent Chocolate Cake

> Show me some chocolatey love!

It's a paaarttty!!

There's always a fine line between over-doing this special holiday with excessive fuss, and showing a little love to people dear to us. 

But I think it's a blessing to be able to pass on some smiles and let folks know we care - not just at Christmas, but every other chance we can. But heck, since we're talking Christmas, it's just about the right time now.

> Eating with family: Lazy-day bread

> Whimsical partner yoga come with treats

Edible gifts are perfect for minimising clutter (devour, digest, gone!), and bear so much warmth and spirit. 

It's a holly jolly Christmas with the privilege of festive treats, share that Petite Pops cheer all round!

> Details in mailer above

What do you get with Petite Pops desserts?

• Small batch baking      The only good way to do quality control.

• Good ingredients          Real and delicious, no further preservatives added.

• Fresh                              Made only when orders come in.

• Balanced                       A little naughty and a whole lot nice. Less sugar & fats,                                            while balancing the yum.

A pop of green... or four - St. Paddy's Day!

Time to Wear the Green, it's St. Patrick's Day!

Hong Kong had its first St. Patrick's festival over the weekend, and it's inspired me to share the love for green - an oddly strange choice of color that actually works on desserts.

What's St. Paddy's day without some chocolate and beer?
> Guinness Chocolate Cake
> Death by Chocolate
> Chocolate Pistachio Torte
> Deep Chocolate Ganache Cake
> Darkside Chocolate Cupcake

Reds, pinks, yellows, browns and oranges are naturals with cakes, they bring cheer and brighten desserts immediately.

Blues and peaches fall into my "hmm" category. Blue has been officially named the worst color to have in foods (not my words, it's those tests out there they've carried out!) - off-putting and not quite appealing. Peach is just kinda ho-hum to me, not much personality.

Greens and blacks are in that sweet spot: done right, they'll add pizzaz. Done wrong - and they'll look radioactive or depressed.

Color your treats:
> Color me happy!
> The colorful Robin Williams
> A summer carousel

So let's hustle up some green - good for the eyes, good for nutrition - just like veggies are ;) and get our green on!

Green Tea & White Chocolate Cookies

Green tea's a natural when you're talking green in desserts. They're more predominant in Asian desserts like chiffon cakes, and I used mine in bite-sized cookie poppers. The great thing about green tea bakes is they tend not to be overly sweet because of their natural bitter edge from the tea flavors, and have so much character so you don't want to drown them in sugar.

> Get the recipe here

> More Asia-inspired treats:

   - Gula Melaka Granola

   - Chai Spice Honey Granola 

   - Chai Spice Cookies

Minecraft Cake

Making cakes for kids often makes me the 'hip one' because they want their cakes in all the latest game and toys characters, and I rely on them to bring me up to speed on the hottest. I can say with 'authority' (ahem!) that Minecraft is in with the kids now, and I had so much fun building this cake for an 8 year old's birthday. 

I made the mistake of using the paint technique for the mosaic tiles - making long slabs of fondant, scoring them and hand-painting each square a different shade of green. It seemed a good idea when I researched the techniques, but this only works for much, much smaller cakes when just a couple of squares are painted. It takes all day to paint a cake this big, takes ages to dry and the long fondant panels break easily. So I was really better off making each individual mosaic square in different shades greens. 

You learn, and you learn to laugh about it - about many deranged hours ;)

Cartoons, characters and toys:

> Invasion of the Minions

> Who's Henry Hugglemonster?

> Elmo cake pops

> Rilakkuma cake pops

Lime Top Cupcake

I like contrasting colors so they don't all scream for attention, and this red velvet cupcake goes just beautifully with the pale green buttercream frosting. The colors were perfect for the Christmas season when I made them, and you should get creative and experiment with different flavors for the buttercream. We eat with our eyes as much as our tongue, so go with flavors associated with green - like mint, lime, basil, green tea - and they'll match visually.

> A pretty darn good buttercream recipe

Kermit-toned Cake Pops

Cake Pops are a ton of fun, you can pretty much do anything you want with swirls and designs, and something about little desserts on sticks makes them just irresistible. My cake pop idol Bakerella does an amazing job creating the most unexpected itty bitty balls of fun perched precariously on rainbow hued straws and sticks, she's da bomb.

Cake pop fun:

> Bicycle pops, challenge accepted!

> Hello kitties

> Fairytale dessert table

Happy St. Patrick's day, remember to load up on 'em greens!

Surviving the lunar new year - have your cookies and eat them!

The year of the Sheep / Goat / Ram - somewhat confusing, but all applicable for the lunar new year - is just two weeks off, time to get snacking!
> Treats for the arduous journey, happy 2015
> Color me happy, it's 2014!

Cookies and traditional desserts are a staple at every Chinese home - a way of welcoming visiting well-wishers, and feed festive once-a-year-gamblers that get hungrier as the stakes go up and coins change hands.

As a new generation (I would like to think!) Asian household, we've tried to do away with clutter.

Keeping things simple, cherishing the space.

There are however, a few very delectable (yes, all edible once again, a running theme I realise) key elements of the lunar new year that you just can't dispense with. The convivial spirit is never the same.

Add caption

1) Bak Kwa: barbecued sweet pork slices
No one understands the insane phenomenon of queuing for hours at the most popular stalls, paying double the usual prices - when bak kwa is there for the taking any other day of the year. But the craze continues, and the chinese new year festivity is all the rowdier and happier for it.

> Which bak kwa to get in Singapore?
> Not too many options in Hong Kong, but there's always good 'ol Bee Cheng Hiang

Image from Gallery Funny Game

2) Mandarin oranges
Like bak kwa, the mad scramble for mandarins takes some strategic planning (not too early, they'll rot before you get to give them out; not too late - none left for you!), and hefty muscles. Be smart and know what you're grabbing at the markets, not all oranges are created equal.
> Meet the oranges that wink

Image from Infographics.sg

3) Lo Hei
Insanely messy, ridiculously rowdy and superbly delicious - tossing yu sheng is mandatory during the luar new year. Do you want to be the shmuck who misses out tossing in some good fortune? And be honest - no one actually knows the right phrases for each stage in spite of the collective brave shouting of unintelligible gibberish, as you try to outdo your neighbour tossing higher with each round. Here's an awesome guide to doing lo hei like a boss.

4) New Year cookies
Hands up anyone who's managed to NOT put on weight during the chinese new year. Yep, pretty much zero. I've always advocated balance - food, life, work, sports - everything. So balance is the way we're gonna take on the new year feasting, you can have your cookies and eat them! Toasted oats and nuts are the healthy way to go. Coupled with reduced sugar and butter, you've got yourself some pretty scrummy treats that taste fab and keep you fitting the same pair of pants you walked in with pre-cookies.

Make smart choices this lunar new year, gong xi fa cai everyone!

I'm joining Best Recipes for Everyone Jan & Feb 2015 Event Theme: My Homemake Cookies by Fion of XuanHom's Mom and co-hosted by Victoria Baking Into The Ether.

Link to "My Treasured Recipes #5 - Chinese New Year Goodies (Jan / Feb 2015)" hosted by Miss B of Everybody Eats Well in Flanders and co-hosted by Charmaine of Mimi Bakery House.


Also linking this post to "Cook & Celebrate: CNY 2015" event organized by Yen from Eat Your Heart Out, Diana from Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids.

Treats for the arduous journey, happy 2015!

Happy 2015!

If you're anything like me, you're probably running behind on your to-do errands, and that resolution list should definitely be retitled '2016' - by the time I get to it.

But that's ok.

It's alright to take some time to catch your breath, to relish the threshold of crossing into a brand new year.
> Ringing in the year with cake pops

I've been catching up on some reading over the holidays, and reminded that the essence of anything we do is really to be in the moment.

Each step is there for a reason, to make a difference.
Savor it. And then move on.

Starting a whole new set of 365 days is a big deal, so let's take a little time out to let that sink in. It'll refresh and refocus us, and we'll get to what we need to do in just the right time.

I'm still working on my 2015 Inspiration List for now.

This is by no means a rattling of resolutions, but really things that I want to remind myself to do as I barrel into the year.

I'd probably fail at half of them, and forget the other half.

But I do find myself needing inspiration and reminders, especially as the year chugs along.

It's easy to get swept up in things we're doing, work, obligations and even fun.

I've learnt over the years, that it helps to have a couple of little lights to point us back to path along the way, remind us of what it is we WANT our year to be like.

5 things on my Inspiration List:
1) Be grateful
2) Live healthily
3) Make a difference
4) Enjoy what I'm doing/baking
5) Feel joy about something - everyday

It's still a work in progress, but this is where I'm at for now.

I'll continue refining it along the next 358 days.

And as you work on your lists and resolutions, I know you're gonna be needing a bit of encouragement.

Here are 5 little treats to keep on hand for the arduous journey ;)

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

These little bites are crunchy and light, perfect with some milk or cocoa. And the best part? The dough can be made ahead, so you're never left without.  

And they're just perfect for packing into little bags to share with a fellow resolution-maker.

> Recipe from Martha Stewart

> More cookie capers:

- Customized sugar cookies

- Ombre swirl cookies


HERB SESAME SHORTBREAD

Mix it up with any sort of herbs you like, this recipe from Bon Appetit brings out a nice savory fragrance balanced by a barely-weighty shortbread. And if you don't have caraway seeds, toasted black sesame seeds work perfectly well too, adding a pinch of earthiness.

More shortbread recipes:
> Chocolate chip shortbread
> Chocolate-almond sables - shortbread cookies

CHOCOLATE ALMOND SABLES

One of my fave snacks, just can't get enough of these. Swap the almonds out for any other nuts you prefer. These sables have such a chocolately fragrance, I make them jumbo for indulgence, but they work just as well in teeny bites.

> How to make these delectable beauties
> Double chocolate cookies - equally irresistible!

CHAI SPICE COOKIES

I love making cookies either extra large for giant yumness, or bite-sized poppers - so easy to eat, no crumbs, no fuss. These (recipe here) go wonderfully with a hot cup of tea, or if you have milky chai on hand - even better!

> Make some Chai Granola to go along

GULA MELAKA GRANOLA

These are dangerous. They carry a hint of the Asian palm sugar (gula melaka), settling subtly and making merry with its bowl mates. You could eat a whole jarful of this without feeling anything close to sick. So addictive. Good thing they're packed with oats, nuts and coconut - so it's good for us!

> Make your own gula melaka granola

> More granola recipes:
   - Chai Honey
   - Deep Chocolate


These are all bites that keep well so have them handy in a jar, and good luck with your list-making and inspiration in the new year ahead!

The season for delicious - Chocolate Almond Sables

It's 6 days to the birth of Christ (the mankind date, at least), and it doesn't just look like Christmas, but sounds and smells a lot like it too.

There are 2 camps of Christmast-ers.

The Gifters - natural-born Martha Stewarts who adore the shopping and wrapping. And then there are the Diss-ers - people who scorn gifting as the commercial witchcraft of the season.

I actually appreciate the act of Christmas gifting, as long as we don't get too carried away.

Giving someone a gift is telling the person they matter to us, and we've put in effort to think about them in the tizzy of festivities.

Of course there are many gift nightmares, things you have no idea what to do with, things that shouldn't have been invented in the first place. But take it in the right spirit - someone thought of you,  and you're lucky enough for someone to care.

I love food gifts.

And when I say Christmas smells, it's really kitchen baking that I'm thinking of.

Make some amazing kitchen gifts of your own:
> Gula Melaka Granola

> Chai Spice Granola

> Deep Chocolate Crunchy Granola
> Boozy Rum Balls 

One of my favorite bakes this Christmas is Bon Appetit's Chocolate-Pistachio Sables - so scrummy.

I've adapted it into Chocolate-Almond Sables because I love a good crunch, and the almonds give a much stronger crackle.

Other cookie recipes to try:
> Double Chocolate Fudgy Cookies
> Ombré Swirl Cookies
> Chocolate Chip Shortbread
> Lemon Poppy Cookies

Strictly speaking, these are not your traditional French-style sables (shortbread cookies). But they carry the butter-cookie base that makes them so sabley rich and tender, generously enveloped with rich dark chocolate.

It screams of Christmas!

I've made mine into jumbo logs and sliced them thickly for extra festive indulgence.

So gorgeous for gifting.

They bake into a lovely semi-crunchy exterior, with a mottled crumbly interior that makes them quite addictive.

You can use any sort of nuts you like, just remember to chop them up coarsely so they mix easily into the dough.

Chilling the logs is also essential for a crunchy bake, and when you make jumbos like mine (about 7-8cm), use a big sturdy knife to slice your cold dough - or a big ol' cleaver, much better grip!



Remember friends, think of family and even strangers this Christmas season. Remember to show some love.
> Remembering Robbie Williams

Everyone deserves to be happy at Christmas.

More Christmas goodies for the season:
> Edible Christmas Wreaths
> Red Santa Hats
> Christmas Cake Pops

Aian't gonna let Christmas sneak away!

Christmas has a way of sneaking up on us.

When the lights and sparkles go up in the streets, we're suddenly startled into the realization that we're almost at the end of another year.

Sudden panic sets in for some of us - where did all that time go??
Are we really done for the year?

Others are a bit more sanguine, resigned to the next month or so of scrambling and racing to accomplish the ambitious tower of job tasks and personal errands we crazily set ourselves.

Whichever the case, let's remember to take a breath and absorb a bit of that Christmas happiness.

Don't let that Christmas spirit sneak away without us paying any attention to it.
Such a waste of the most wonderful time of the year.

Looking to ease a bit of that Christmas shopping crunch?

Chocolate-Almond Sables with Sea Salt, Gula Melaka Christmas Granola or Toasted Herb and Sesame Shortbread make for some pretty nifty scrumptious gifts.

Or bring a Tipsy Bailey's Tart or Rocky Road Christmas Wreath to a party.
Spread the Christmas yum!
> details in image above

More Christmas desserts:
> Death by Chocolate Cake
> Salted Bailey's Mint Chocolate Pie
> Decadent Chocolate Pistachio Torte
> Guinness Beer Chocolate Cake
> Deep Chocolate Ganache Cake with Summer Fruits
> Rich Red Velvet Cake

Halloween companions

Most people enjoy a good hair-raising scare.

Which is why Halloween is so popular, and heart-splitting horror movies get more freaky each year.

There are a few however, who like hanging out with humans more than with ghouls. Those who get chills when the window shutters flap about for no reason.

Like me.

So instead of disguising myself as Frozen's Anna or a sexy vamp bunny wannabe, and getting my wits scared out in a devil's mansion, I've rounded up a couple of desserts to snuggle up to on Halloween night, when the clock strikes 12.

Till Death Do Us Part

Adios and Ciao Ciao, part of the cultishly popular Tokidoki series, are condemned to wander the earth after 500 years in hell. Could there be a more perfect Halloween dessert??

> Get the recipe for Martha Stewart's perfect chocolate cake.

More night-friendly cakes:

> Death by Chocolate

> Guinness Beer Chocolate

> Deep Chocolate Ganache

Darkside Chocolate

Chocolate works really well for a night snack. Maybe cuz it's forbidden (says all the healthy folks!), or maybe it's the midnight darkness of the cacao that lures. Either way, this chocolate cupcake topped with dark chocolate ganache, is a definite walk on the dark side. 

Death by chocolate, anyone?

More darkside desserts:

> Salted Bailey's Mint Chocolate Pie

> Deep Chocolate Crunchy Granola

Nighttime Ice-Cream

I-C-E  C-R-E-A-M cravings. They hit at midnight, and they hit hard. If like me, you're not about to venture out into the darkness of Halloween night even for ice cream, you gotta do the next best thing - ice cream cake pops.

You could do ice-cream cone style, like Bakerella's. I had ice cream sticks lying around, so I did the popsicle version. Pretty much the same way you make all your other cake pops - just make sure the cake pop adheres well to the ice cream stick when inserting, press the pop around the base in a little if you need to.

> What are cake pops?
> Making basic cake pops
> So-darn-good Rum Balls
> Ride away Bicycle Pops

Deep Dark Double Chocolate Trouble

Wash them down with milk. Or good coffee. Or a smoothie. That's how you need to eat these little devils. This soft-baked cookie is so decadently good, you'll be fighting demons to stop at one. Their cracked tops erupt into soft chocolately chews, and these are made extra large - for double the evil indulgence. 

Get Martha Stewart's recipe here.

Not enough cookies?

> Ombre Swirl Cookies

> Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

Embrace your midnight companions and eat up, welcome to the dark side!

Home is where Mom is...

Supermoms, happy moms, working moms, crazy busy moms, just plain crazy moms, absent-minded moms, moms-who-need-36hours-in-their-day, glorious moms.

They're all part of our lives, and Home truly is where Mom is. 

Celebrate your mom/grandmom with a bit of cake happiness (it's May 11 for those who've lost track of time!), everyone loves a bit of love. 

> Click image above for bigger popup 

More sweet treats Mom might like:

> Fruity chiffon cake

> Sweet, sweet strawberries

> Ombre swirl cookies

> Fairy tales with cake and dessert

Color me happy, it's 2014!

I always think it's nice to start something with colors.

Bright, bold, zany.

Pastel, shades, hues.

Greys and darks, too.

Just a really awesome welcome, a nifty way to start and say 'we can rock this'.

So in honor of a big bright 2014, I'd like to share a couple of color-popping desserts we'd whipped up:

1) My Little Pony Party
Since we're nearly into the Lunar New Year ushering the year of the Horse, I thought we'd start with a galloping party of My Little Ponies for a food-adoring little girl (yes, her biggest wish for birthday pressie was... wait for it... a mountain of Kinder Bueno ;).

     Other cartoon characters: 
     > Hello there, kitty
     > Bee-do bee-do, Minion-alert!
     > The very hungry caterpillar
     > Never too much red with Elmo
     > A Rilakkuma birthday
     > Curious George... or is he?

    Love dessert tables?
    > A very lovely elephant party
    > Weddings... such fairy tales!

Gorgeous manes, luscious tails, plumes in all sorts of cheery.  
These ponies have updated (since my time at least!), and gone all fashionable.

Top: Chocolate-dipped marshmallow pops dressed in festive colors,
They keep well - perfect for kids' parties.
Bottom: Pink popcorn, ready to head home with the little guests.

It's a good idea to make desserts at a kid's party
bite-sized. Individual portions keep the mess
down, and it's so much easier to serve.

From top left clockwise: Mini Chocolate Chip Shortbread,
Baby Chocolate Tarts, Pink Popcorn bags, Rainbow Marshmallow Pops.

No birthday party is complete till the cake comes out,
'pony-fied' and rainbow-strewn (inside and out)! 

2) Ever heard of a Marble Race Track?
So we had a birthday boy's daddy, a friend of mine, who went 'let's do a marble racing track cake for Elliot's party'.

I said," Sure, sounds like fun!"

Of course at that point, I had absolutely no idea what marble racing was.
Not a clue.

I ran to my Mac and checked with The All-Knowing Oracle (some call it 'Google').

Ohhhh... there was a whole universe out there with tracks made just for racing marbles, kids had been playing with these for ages.

Learnt something new.
And like I always say, baking makes me smarter. Lol.

    Read more on little boys' birthdays:
    > Busy day at the construction site
    > Dinosaur roarrrr!

Always a good idea to start with the easier elements
like molding names, we all need a confidence-booster.

So that you're still somewhat sane by the time you move onto the
killer parts - in this case, the rainbow that had to stand on the cake.

Top left: I tried piping royal icing, it was a terrible idea. It stuck
to the baking paper and broke into a million pieces when I peeled it off.

So I experimented with fondant on a cardboard base arch, and it worked
beautifully (top right). Attach the arch (with base support) to cake board
with royal icing, and pipe over top to conceal arch with clouds.

Tada - another rainbow cake full color and cheer, inside and out
(yep, underneath all that white is a happy rainbow cake!)

3) Time to... Say Goodbye

This little project took quite a bit of time, and by the end my fingers had curved into a witch-like grip from piping countless names and little messages onto the personalized sugar cookies (recipe for cookies here too).

Not my most bewitching look.

But the zing-zang cheeriness of the cookies went great with the happy-colored cake pops, and was just what Iris wanted to say goodbye to her colleagues with as she left our sunny island for Hong Kong.

It was worth all the unglamorous hand-cramping. 

Customised cookies: trickiest part was getting the royal icing
consistency just right, so it pipes nicely and the words stay in place.

Cake Pops doing what they were meant to do - putting a smile on.

    Check out more cake pops:
    > Bicycle pops
    > Hole-in-one

Have a glorious 2014 everyone, fill the year with color and life!