Orange Poppy Buttermilk Scones

Over the past week, I have been toying around with several ideas to share with you on what we could do to celebrate this Valentines Day. I started with a Breakfast Coffee Doughnut post, for those who still want to stay in bed with a cup of coffee or just wonder around the house in their PJs, 

Personally I am a gal who loves to cook and bake and if my other half cooks or bakes for me, that would literally make my heart skips a beat. Yes, I have always been that kind of person that admires a man who is brave enough to put on an apron and experiment in the kitchen. There is just something sexy about a guy who is not afraid to try new flavours and work with fresh ingredients. To add on, he may even style his own food and snap a photo of it. For today's post, it all about spending a little quality time outdoors. Here's another great idea if you like to get some fresh air, and after a light hike, you could always sink in to a simple and fresh meal. Bring a long a picnic basket and enjoy the moment. First item in my picnic basket are these moist ORANGE POPPY BUTTERMILK SCONES.

Breakfast Coffee Doughnuts

Happy New Year 2015 folks! It's now beginning of February. Can you believe that? Boy! time seems to be slipping through my fingers daily. One moment, I was busy prepping for Christmas, New Years and now my family started talking about Chinese New Year preparations too. Not to mention, Valentines Day seems to be just round the corner. To me, every day is Valentines Day, depending how you see it of course. If you're like me, who may not be keen on paying for overpriced food on a fixed menu, couldn't tolerate a rude waiter or waitress, couldn't get a reservation or better yet would just like to spend simple quality time, fret not. I got you covered with 5 ideas, that I think it not only pleases both you, and your man and for parents alike, you can spend the day with your kids. After all, it's about showing what love is.

First stop, have a coffee or milk with these Breakfast Coffee Doughnuts. Be in your PJ's, have them in bed, or not, the idea is to be casual, grab a semi-light bite to wake up those senses.

Classic Vanilla Bean Cake

It's birthday season, and with Christmas around the corner, there has just been so much on my mind to do. Lots and lots of treats to bake plus an entire long to-do list is in place. However, it sure feels like there isn't much time for me to check them off my list. Apart from trying to get myself back to food blogging full time, there has been 2 exciting projects that I am working on on the side too. I am certainly eager to share them with you here on my blog. More details to come on the next coming posts once everything has been finalized.

Moving along.. Recently, I had a chance to surprised one of my mother's very close schoolmate, with my very own baked treat. Since, I wasn't sure if anyone had any allergy, but was certain they were not allergic to wheat, I decided to serve them a CLASSIC VANILLA BEAN CAKE.

Almond Cinnamon Rolls wtih Maple Glaze

HAPPY FRIDAY y'all! As the week starts to whine down, I am in the mood of something warm, satisfying and full of flavour. To start off, the smell of blooming yeast, in the fluffy dough, while waiting for it to rise and double up in volume is truly intoxicating. You just know that the end result is going to be something so comforting and delicious. Enough to satisfy any crave. Oh! I truly love the smell of freshly baked bread out of the oven. Plus the hint of cinnamon, almond and butter mixed together just makes it a little special.

To many of you, this may just be a simple recipe, and may have baked rolls over the years but honestly, every single time when I yearned for a classic treat, I always go to my ALMOND CINNAMON ROLLS with MAPLE GLAZE.

Dark Chocolate Mousse & Hazelnut Rice Krispy Cake

Before we move deeper into the recipe, I contemplated a long time whether this should go onto my post. A simple reason really as I don't think I did enough justice to this decadent treat. You will understand better later. This is almost like 2 desserts in 1. A cake and a bar? No clue really, but I went ahead and called it a cake; although it didn't require any baking, and mixing any cake batter. As a child, I had always love those dainty chic looking cakes where they are usually paired with a genoise or hazelnut praline crunch which are then topped with fluffy flavoured mousse. So there I was in the kitchen, toying around with the idea of making a thick luscious layer of dark chocolate mousse paired with a crunchy base coated in hazelnut spread. Alas came DARK CHOCOLATE MOUSSE & HAZELNUT RICE KRISPY CAKE; certainly a watering mouthful treat. You will definitely love the layer of the Chocolate Mousse.

Orange & Lime Bitters Rosette Cookie

I know what you are thinking. Yeah, suddenly I have evolved into a mind reader. You must be thinking, what's with both of the combination of these citrus; orange and lime bitters. Let me tell you, it was a pure innocent mistake. Or is it? Well, we will never really know anyway. However, boy! this "mistake" made me wanted to reach not one or two but three or four of these ORANGE & LIME BITTERS ROSETTE COOKIES.

Pear & Bourbon Vanilla Bean Custard Tart + Happy New Year 2013!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013 y'all!

Birthday, Christmas & New Years was a quiet affair where it felt good to unwind, taking a deep breath to think calmly reflecting all that has happened throughout the year. It was great to be able to catch up with close friends for my Birthday, planned 2 hearty lunches for the family; one on Christmas and the other on New Year's Day where I placed my camera aside and enjoyed a meal, had heartfelt conversations which was much needed.

Orange Yogurt Cupcake + Chocolate-Butterscotch Ganache Frosting

Rain, rain go away.. come again another day? Rain, rain go away... so that I could go out and play! Damp air, gloomy grey skies, cold wind gushing, has left me spending most weekends buried under a pile of baking books, trying to get some inspiration. But all I could think of was not wanting to change out of my PJs, staying under my sheets of comforter, cuddling a fluffy pillow and go off to Neverland to dream. I recently realised that my blog and passion for food & desserts has been slightly neglected. Forgive me if I had gone MIA. I told myself that I needed to stay focus at work, and that's what I did. So there are a few back dated posts that will be coming right up real soon.

Was it only last week, that we celebrated Halloween? Anyways, I am starting this lovely month of November with early baked Christmas goodies. This is the easiest, tastiest and good looking ORANGE YOGURT CUPCAKE with CHOCOLATE-BUTTERSCOTCH GANACHE FROSTING with easy to make coral blush fondant toppers.

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip & Hazelnut Cookies

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee, rich buttery cookies lingered in the kitchen today gradually making its' way to the dining and living area making it harder to resist. I could feel my mouth watering up, drools making its' way down and while I swallowed and lick my lips, focusing on drafting this post; never once thought that it could be so hard. Okay, so I gave in to my weakness, grab 2 cookies, munching, devouring and enjoying every single bite, while still trying hard to stay focus to type every single word, conjuring up a sentence in my head. Boy! This PEANUT BUTTER-CHOCOLATE CHIP N' HAZELNUT COOKIE is irresistible. Crunchy on the edges, chunky, slightly chewy in the middle with a combination of semi-sweet chocolate chips, peanut butter-chocolate morsels, and chopped hazelnuts in a cookie. Perfect breakfast, tea-time or anytime of a day snack or maybe an excuse for a mid-week snack. So maybe 2 cookies isn't enough?

Strawberry Vodka Coulis + Creamy Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta

As I am kicking my heels off, feeling really exhausted after a long day; the thought of just plopping myself down on the couch, sipping a glass of Strawberry Daiquiri, made with vodka and catching some shut eye sounded very much like heaven. Then all this reading and talks about cocktails over at The Boys' Club since their blog officially launched got me thirsty. Instead, of a drink, I suddenly was left craving for something creamy and satisfying, with minimal cleaning up, fresh, and easy to make. Join me and party this weekend with delicious STRAWBERRY VODKA COULIS topped with more fresh Strawberries over a light creamy VANILLA BEAN PANNA COTTA. A versatile recipe. If you could dream it, you will be able to make it.

Apple, Cranberry & Walnut Pie with Apple Crisps

It's beginning to 'smell' a lot like Christmas [humming the tune in my head] in early September in my kitchen. Ahh! the aroma of cinnamon, vanilla bean, apple, cranberry and walnut lingered throughout the day as I prepared my APPLE, CRANBERRY & WALNUT PIE with homemade APPLE CRISPS. Don't you just love the classics? Rich classic flavours with a twist. Not only these pies are made to individual portions shaping like individual gifts, they are served freshly baked out of the oven; each topped with good ole' fashion vanilla ice-cream, caramel syrup and apple crisps.

Devil's Food Bourbon Cupcakes + Hazelnut Cream

Maltezers, Pink Sprinkles and luscious Hazelnut Cream is my kind of heaven. Decadent, sinful, slightly girly and not overly macho that could still tempt any grown man to take a bite and your girlfriends going mMMmm! Go on, do take a bite of my DEVIL'S FOOD BOURBON CUPCAKES with HAZELNUT CREAM. Sounded very much like "Yeah! I had you eating out of my hand.. muahahaha". Fret not, these cupcakes are "angels" ahem.. under disguise. Or maybe I had that intention. Whatever the intention maybe, it's pure indulgence. Psssst..Let me let you in a tiny secret. There is "bourbon whiskey" added somewhere. Aren't these the little devil?

Lemon, Elderflower & White Chocolate Trifle

Another week went by and lets kick start this week with LEMON-ELDERFLOWER & WHITE CHOCOLATE TRIFLE. Not your average trifle and it's purely for food lovers who wants a quick fix and be out of the kitchen in a jiffy say approximately less than 30 minutes (includes prepping, and washing up). Are your eyes sparkling up and brain screaming " Hell yeah!".

Blood Orange & Peach Frozen Yogurt Cream

Hello there Monday! Can you believe that last week just flew by? To kick start this week, I thought we start off on a lighter scale with my ultra simple BLOOD ORANGE & PEACHES FROZEN YOGURT CREAM. Then maybe, just maybe ending this week on a heavier note that I think would work perfectly to kick back, rest and relax over the weekend by having an indulgence. Nothing beats home made and to treat yourself to a yummilicious dessert, to sweep those blues away. I have always wondered what is FROYO and then suddenly it hit me; realizing that it actually stands for Frozen Yogurt..LOL. Talk about being oblivious to terms like these. As much I am a huge fan of ice-cream, I found that my love for FROYO is equally the same. The best part? FROYO is so much lighter and you could still indulge without the guilt.

{NEW} Printable Recipe Card or Page

Hi peeps!

As mentioned, things are going to change gradually in Chic & Gorgeous Treats. Time to take my food blog a lot more seriously, and although I do not make any income out of this right now..since it's purely passion. Who knows maybe one day I may have an opportunity?

After much feedback from other bloggers, I realised that it is quite difficult to follow the recipe cards thus decided to make printable recipes for you. Yep, all for you at no cost. All you got to do is click on the "PRINT BUTTON". So please bear with me while I will slowly update all the recipe cards to the new format.

Having said that, I discovered that some bloggers are slightly unethical. While I don't mind sharing the recipe and photos with you, I would deeply appreciate that my photos or recipe cards in my blog is NOT taken directly and treated as your own. Please have the courtesy, to link back and credit the blogger accordingly.

Lets inspire one another with a courteous heart.

Cheers~

Cookies N' Cream Blueberry Shake & TGIF

Did your jaw just drop? You must think.. it must be her crazy Friday talk.. I  thought I will leave you all to a nice weekend with this crazy milkshake that I concocted. For a change really, I had been baking or making some kind of dessert, that I thought, why not a drink? But not just any drink.. it has to be MILKSHAKE.

Baking Recipe: Amanda's Pink Rainbow Cake

I am so happy to introduce my sweet little niece to you. It was her big day, her Full Moon. Being an aunt [I felt older for a moment.. still young at heart nevertheless ;)] to her means I have the privilege to prepare her lots of good healthy meals and also to share with her my passion. I am recording this day for her and hopefully when she's older she will look back to know that she's a fortunate little girl who have lots of love from her family, where by her arriving in to this world has touched my heart.

For Recipe: click on image + zoom

Disclaimer: Picture courtesy from Pei Li's Miniature, please do not copy and reproduce, TQ.

For sweet Amanda, it has to be something special. The theme has to be pink for the cutest little girl, however I didn't want it to just be in plain pink. It has to be unique. The Pink Rainbow Cake is deeply inspired from another talented dessert blogger, Linda from Call-Me-Cupcake and also from Pei Li's Miniature. Pei Li has created a 1:12 scale miniature Pink Rainbow Cake and I thought this would be the perfect cake for my niece. We have been secretly planning on this, and this is my own version of Pink Rainbow Cake; plus it's edible. The cake has some what a chic flare to it. It's a classy simple vanilla cake frosted with vanilla butter cream. The design is simple with a surprise on the inside. It's a gradient of colour all related to the pink theme. The challenge to this little 6-inches, 5 layered cake was tinting the colour, as it's really tricky. Too much or too little will end up with a different colour once baked. To finish off the cake, instead of writing, I decided to make little flags with her name spelt on them and I feel this was the cherry on top of the cake. Enjoy!!

xx

Cooking Recipe: Momsie Shepard's Pie

For recipe: Click on image + zoom

To me, my mom makes the BEST Shepard's pie ever. Why? That's because she cooks without a recipe. I think it runs in the family as I tend to cook without a recipe and trust my own instincts and taste.

Momsie Shepard's pie is what I had growing up. It was always once in a blue moon meal, and depends on what we had in the pantry and fridge. That is why till this day the flavours are locked in my head. I do not tell my mom enough; but I adore my mom's cooking to bits; I idolised her.. and in my eyes she is the celebrity chef. However, these days she has handed over her hat to me in preparing certain type of cuisine. Apparently I'm now the master chef of western cuisine. Talk about pressure. I like to think I'm still growing and there will always be room for improvement.

Okay I will try to break down the recipe as much I could, however the balance of flavours in this one pot meal is crucial in my opinion. The key elements in a Shepard's pie is the gravy cooked together with the meat. The tomato puree must not be overly sour and if there are carrots involved, it should not be over cooked and turns mushy when baked in the oven and if possible no lumps in the mashed potato. Also herbs, really gives you an aromatic tomato puree.

The balance of texture should give you a delicious moist cooked meat [not dry] drenched in the right amount of gravy, some bite and crunch to the carrot and to bind them all together, a rich mashed potato top with some mozzarella baked in the oven till melted and golden brown. Serve warm and enjoy!!

Baking Recipe: Lemon Curd Pavlova Tart

Okay, I think it's time for the lemon meringue tart to have a make over, not that I don't like the classic version. Whenever I host cookouts or dinner parties, my friends would always have 1 similar request." Jo, when can you make your lemon tart, or lemon meringue tart?" Sadly all these were not captured, recorded and blog about. After all, I only started my blog last year August ;).

For Recipe: Click on image to enlarge + Zoom

This time round, I thought of making the tart a little more interesting. I will fill it with soft velvety lemony lemon curd with lots of zing, and balance it of with the sweetness of pavlova. Not to mention it adds a whole new dimension and texture. Buttery soft crunchy crust, with zesty and zingy smooth lemon curd filling which is topped off with light fluffy mid-crunchy pavlova. I think it works, after all the elements are still a base of a lemon meringue tart. Instead or torching the meringue or baking it in the oven, you get a ready baked pavlova...Very much like 2 desserts in 1.

A new twist to my very own all time favourite tart. Have a great weekend!!

xx

Cooking Recipe: Malaysian Prawn Noodle (Har Mee)

While most of you will have cereals, sandwiches, yogurt with fruit or granola bars for breakfast, here in Malaysia; the locals will turn to our array of local dishes like Har Mee/ Prawn Noodle, Wan Tan Mee or Nasi Lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk served with some fried anchovies, hard boil egg and spicy sambal). Of course over the generations and period of years, we too have become more health conscious and turn to simpler breakfast. However, the beauty of our local cuisine is that you can have them anytime of the day. Be it breakfast, lunch or even dinner.

Usually I will just pop by a hawker stall and order a bowl of prawn noodle soup. But these days, it's getting a little tougher in getting a decent 'Prawn Noodle/ Har Mee' . The broth or the soup seems to be lacking in some flavour. Well let me tell you this, the key to have a wonderful delicious 'har mee' lies in the soup. There's not much art in making the soup, but patience and having good ingredient is key. The slices of pork, prawns, fried shallots will be the garnish which compliments the dish. As one will only remember the soup and not so much of the rest.

Some parts of the recipe is referenced from Rasa Malaysia; a famous Malaysian food blogger residing in the States who is constantly missing good food back home in Malaysia. However, the recipe suggested below has been tweaked slightly to make it simpler; I hope.

With our melting pot of culture, and races, one would agree that Malaysia is truly a land of magical colours with warm friendly people. So, this post is dedicated to my Malaysian roots, and I would like to share it with you a tiny glimpse of our culture. For the prawn noodle soup, do try out the recipe, as there is a perfect balance of the sweet broth and hint of spiciness. Enjoy!!

Recipe
referenced from Rasa Malaysia
yields 4-6 bowls depending on portion served

For the Broth/ Soup
1 Ziploc bag of shrimp or prawn heads and shells (I used Ziplock Easy Zipper Bag)
3- lbs pork bones (try getting them from the Asian market, tell the butcher you need it to boil soup)
15 cups of water or more depending on the amount of shrimp head and shells and pork bones (reduced to about 12-13 cups of water after hours of boiling and simmering)
2-3 pieces of rock sugar (about the size of a small ping pong ball) or to taste
Salt to taste

For Chili Paste:
30 dried chilies (seeded and soaked to soften)
10 shallots (peeled)
5 cloves garlic (peeled)
2 tablespoons of water
6 tablespoons of cooking oil

OR
**Refer no.2 & 3 to prepare chili paste. Toss in garlic first into the oil, then the chili paste.

6-8 tbsp ground chili paste (store-bought or ready made found in Asian market)
4 garlic cloves, diced
3 tablespoons of cooking oil

For Noodle:
1 pound of yellow noodles (scalded)
1 pack of rice vermicelli (scalded)
Some kangkong or water convolvulus (scalded)

For Toppings:
1/2 pound of lean pork meat (boiled and sliced thinly)
1/2 pound shrimp or prawns (shelled and deveined)
Some fried shallot crisps (store-bought)

To prepare chili paste:

1. Using a food processor, pulverise the chili paste ingredients until finely ground and well blended.

2. Next, heat up the wok and add cooking oil. Then stir fry the chili paste for 5 minutes. (Cautious: Be careful as the oil might splatter at this point). Dish up and set aside.

3. Using the same wok (unwashed), add a little oil and cook the shrimp topping. Add in a little chili paste, sugar and salt. Pan-fry the shrimp until they are slightly cooked and turned coral blush in colour. Dish up, and set a side to cool.

To prepare broth or soup:

1. Using a frying pan, with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, fry shrimp heads and shells until they are cooked.

2. Transfer into a deep pot, and add in the pork bones and water. Simmer on low heat for about 2 hours or longer until stock becomes cloudy and tastes quite prawn-ish and pork-ish.

3. Using a ladle, carefully scoop out and discard as much of orange and brown foam as possible. Then using a sieve, strain the soup into another clean pot and discard the shells and pork bones. Otherwise, strain into a big bowl, then wash the pot and strain the broth one more time back into the pot.

4. This time, add in rock sugar and salt to taste, and simmer until rock sugar has completely melted.

5. Add in lean pork meat into soup and boil until it's cooked. Take it out and let it rest before slicing thinly.

To assemble prawn noodle or har mee:

1. Place a portion of noodle, vermicelli, and kangkong in a bowl. Ladle hot stock or soup over. Top with meat, prawn or shrimp and garnish with some friend shallots. Serve immediately and enjoy!

xx