Devil's Food Cake with chocolate frosting

Post exams also means more time for baking!!! wheee~
this time is chocolate cupcakes for Father's Day :D

Ingredients:
3 1/2 tablespoon soft margarine (i used butter, cos no margarine in the fridge)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup sour cream (i substituted it with plain yogurt)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 Celsius. Line with paper cups or grease a muffin tray
2. Put margarine, sugar. eggs, flour, baking soda and cocoa powder in a bowl
3. mix well with an electric mixer until smooth
4. fold in sour cream/ yogurt
5. Spoon batter into muffin tray
6. bake at 180 Celsius for 20 minutes

Frosting
4 ounce cooking chocolate
2/3 cup sour cream/ yogurt

1. double boil/ microwave the chocolate until melted
2. add in sour cream/ yogurt

to assemble:
1. let the cupcakes cool
2. spread frosting and let it set.
3. top with almond nibs/ hundreds thousands or chocolate shavings, whatever you want :)

Enjoy!!

the simple ingredients. use good quality chocolate for a yummy frosting!

smooth glossy topping!!

the end product! :D

my birthday came early this year :D

yay! Obstetric posting is over. exam (long case) is OVER!

i got a relatively easy case but made a HUGE blunder. sigh, just hope to pass.

weekend is here and time to rejuvenate before starting psychiatry and preparation for EOS 7!

and even though my birthday is not till a months time (25th July *hint hint*) i already have gifts! *evil laugh*

a huge tote bag from Padini, thanks to big sis ^_^ *muaxx*

definitely have space to dump all my stuff in here, plus my baby blue xoxo bag is starting to give way :(

a nice visit from miss bubu a.k.a alicia chu who brought me home made pancakes, strawberries and blueberry+maple syrup! a big achievement coming from someone who did not know how to break eggs properly last time! (big secret is out! muahahha)

it was really yummy. thanks BOO!

and along with it was a collection of pretty THORTONS dessert gallery chocolates all the way from UK :D

and since its so so so pretty, almost like a work of art, they deserve and individual shot. and i have no heart to eat any of them yet but i'm sure it will taste as good as it looks!

double chocolate mousse

lemon meringue

Toffee mousse

Tiramisu

Creme brulee

and the prettiest one of all, kirsch torte. topped with pretty pink sugar crystals. *melts*

and a nice birthday card with a sweet message

and a pretty, huge bangle.

thanks boo :D

Mastermind (MM) Cafe

Its been awhile since i last blogged...too caught up with work ever since i started obstetrics posting..

here is a quick foodie update

MM CAFE
AG-1 Ground Floor Block A
Happy Mansion
Jalan 17/13
46400 Petaling Jaya Selangor
11am to 11 pm daily
(tel no: 03-79588728)




came to know about this place through a The Star's Eating Out column (Wednesday, 27 May 2009) Happy Mansion seem to have many good eating places ^_^

This cafe is modern and simple yet has some coziness. The outside has several potted plants providing nice greenery. There are also several sofa to relax.
The menu was divided to several sections; Small bites, soups, salad, pasta, main meals, asian delights, cakes and desserts. prices ranging from RM10-20

From the "Asian menu" this is the Kam Heong Chicken Fried Rice. a little lacking in terms of presentation, but otherwise no complains :D
it is very yummy and spicy, with generous chunks of well marinated chicken.

and from the main meals, this is the MM Mushroom Chicken. Perfect for all mushroom lovers, even though i wished they has more mushroom in it. Its actually two pieces of fried breaded chicken fillet with fresh mushroom slices sandwiched in between. and the most amazing part was the creamy white sauce that was cheesy and absolutely delicious!!! it it served with fries and a serving of coleslaw.

and you will be SPOILT for choices when it comes to dessert. there is chocolate brownies with ice cream, bread butter pudding, tiramisu, carrot cake, chocolate mousse, Classic swiss apple pie with ice cream and pumpkin pie, all home made :)

as we had a tough time selecting ONE, we decided two have to instead.

the chocolate brownie was quite good but too sweet for my liking. top marks for presentation though :D

the swiss apple pie with vanilla ice cream was good also, something like my apple crumble. should attempt an apple pie next!

all in all, MM cafe is a nice place to dine, with good food and yummy desserts. service is fast and friendly, definitely worth a second visit :D

*up next will be another post on Haikara Cafe..with reviews on more food items :D*

Krispy Kreme is in Malaysia

Yep! the first KRISPY KREME store is located in Berjaya Times Square, which created a BIG HYPE!!! my dad who just could not sit still at home went all the way there and came back with a huge box of a dozen doughnuts. two weeks back. apparently they were having promotion (buy 8 free 4) and were even giving away doughnuts (the original one) to the customers who were lining up~!

the verdict?

it was quite good but i didn't really fancy it cos it was TOO SWEET!! seriously sweet stuff. honestly i prefer big apples/J Co.

but their toppings are pretty good as they use Hershey's chocolate. had to gulp down a whole cup of water after eating the doughnut!

click here for the Malaysia Krispy Kreme website (with a full description of all flavours!)

IMU Music Nite 2009

beautiful backdrop by kee and juejing:D

music nite was held on 29th april 2009. just one of the events us SRC had to organize to inject some fun.
glad that many people helped out and relieved that students actualy participate! hurrah~
I was in charge of invitations (again) and was coaxed to be emcee with dejun ONE day before the event. OMG!!!!

just some snapshots of the nite...


i brought musmus for amusement (and support! LOL) and musmus got violin lessons from wen leong. hahahahh. and he was supposed to put musmus in his pocket when performing on stage!! but he chickened out last minute :P

part of the ensemble
(thanks crissy for the correct spelling. hehe)

mike on the drums. Look closely for the flower on his hair, courtesy of meiann :P

with two good girl friends, suesuegamushi and eley.

Dejun and I, the emcees of the nite.

it was OK, except that embarssing beginning. eek >.<

can't believe i actually made it through the night! haha

david and I. one of our hobbies is calling each other "kiasu" :p

It was a great night, good first (and last! i hope) being an emcee.

chocolate lava cupcakes for mother's day

since is Mother's day today, i asked my mummy what she wants to eat so i can bake something for her. she said..
something new...
with chocolate!
very easy :D
let me share a recipe...chocolate lava cupcakes. rich chocolate cupcakes with a creamy chocolate centre. I've cut down sugar and chocolate cos mummy doesn't like it too sweet. use good quality dark chocolate ( i would recommend carefour dark chocolate, which is quite cheap and of good quality too)

Chocolate lava cupcakes

Chocolate ganache
100ml whipping cream
100g cooking chocolate
1. Boil the whipping cream. Remove from heat
2. Break the chocolate into pieces and stir in it the whipping cream until melted. Leave to cool and refrigerate it until semi-solid
*can actually make as much ganache as desired. This is just about enough for the filling for 12+2 muffins. Just use 1:1 portion of chocolate to whipping cream*

Cupcakes
(A)
250 all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
30 g cocoa powder
½ teaspoon sodium bicarbonate
(B)
10g chocolate emulco
40g brown sugar (I halved the original value=80g)
1 egg
150g cooking/dark chocolate (original value= 250g, I thought it was too much, so I cut 100g off)
180ml fresh milk
(C)
90g melted butter
(D)
Chocolate ganache (as above)

1. Prepare muffin tray ( I used a 12-hole muffin tray and 2 ramekins)
2. sieve (A) into mixing bowl
3. Stir (B) and combine with (A) lightly using a hand whisk. Do not overbeat!
4. add (C) to the batter and mix well
5. Spoon some batter into the tray (half full) add a spoonful of choch ganache and top up with more cupcake batter. Fill it to about ¾ full
6. bake at 180°C for 20 minutes.
7. decorate as desired.


the chocolate ganache
sifted dry ingredients

this is how the batter looks like

had extra batter so i used two ramekins (used for making souffle!) it looks rather nice in it :D

decided to give decorations a pass this time, cos its sweet enough and it was snapped up within minutes after i took it out the oven :P

happy baking!

and Happy Mother's Day :D

dinner @ my elephant, happy mansion section 17

time to clear all the back dated food posts.heheh
we finally got the chance to try out this restaurant that was making a buzzz in the food bloggers community a very long time ago, lol. its still very popular

My Elephant
Block C-G4 Happy Mansion
Jalan 17/13,
Section 1746400
Petaling Jaya
Business Hours: Tuesday to Sunday (except Saturday & Sunday lunch)
Lunch: 12.00 p.m. - 2.30 p.m.
Dinner: 6.00 p.m. - 10.00 p.m.
click here for their website

my dad tried to make reservations for 830pm but the person said no need, just walk in. so we decided to just try our luck. and as usual the place was super packed >.<
and then when the person asked if we made reservation, my dad just told the guy off. i mean they did not even allow us to make reservation in the first place!!! so we decided to wait awhile for a seat. it was quite frustrating really. thankfully they gave us a seat in 10 minutes time.

there was another family who apparently made reservations but the people did not have a seat for them. and they were pretty angry. i think cos there are 3 numbers on the card, 3 different ppl taking reservations. so if there is no co-ordination..then everything will be messed up. this is the only major flaw this restaurant has.

Pandan cooler rm3. Refreshing, sweet and has a nice pandan tinge, the biji selasih adds a nice bite. something i can replicate at home. hehehe

anyway...this place is simple and very stylish. a bit cramped but very cozy. sorry its abit devoid of photos and the photos are of bad quality but its the best i've got (long story) but you can check out other blogs for photos that will definitely make you drool. lol

menu is quite extensive, chicken, soups, appetizers like salad and mix platter, duck, yummy curries and much more. they also have set lunches on weekdays that i think is very good value

they place banana leaf on each rice platter. the rice (brown rice + jasmine rice) rm2.50 per person (free flow) is healthy and yummy, something like the glutinous rice texture but less filling.

my elephant platter (rm22) comes with assorted finger food like fresh popiah, fired wanton, spring rolls, fish cake etc. so we can sample everything. served with yummy thai chili sauce

jungle vegetable (rm12) belacan style. this is very yummy.

best dish of the day goes to.....GREEN CURRY CHICKEN! (rm 15)

absolutely delicious!!! smooth creamy and fragrant. excellent with rice, i've never eaten so much rice for a long time. with generous amounts of boneless chicken chunks. highly recommended!!

last but not least, the tom som seafood soup (rm 20) one of the house speciality. slightly different
from tom yum soup cos its not so rich. Packed with a variety of seafood, this dish is superb. soup is spicy and sour and very authentic!

sadly they don't serve desserts. dunno if they ran out of stock or they just don't have it anymore. what a pity :(

well, it was definitely worth the wait although it would be fantastic if they could smooth out this problem as I'm sure they had to turn away many hopeful patrons. hmmm..not to good for business rite. but overall, a nice place for yummy authentic affordable Thai food!

check out these blogs for more reviews (and better photos!)

precious pea

lots of cravings
a whiff a lemongrass