How I came to realize that my Chinese isn't so good anymore

I guess I can't say that my Chinese is ever good, nor can I say the same with my English.
I'm in the middle. I don't have perfect English but I don't have perfect Chinese either.

It was not until I went back to Taiwan last summer, and took up a job at my dad's office that I realized how bad my Chinese really was.

My cousin was preparing for the meeting and asked me to write some of the topics onto the board.
He was sitting and reading off from his list. And I couldn't write out the characters.
I don't remember how to write them anymore. And I would ask him how to write a certain word so often that he decided to just write it himself.(perhaps one every other word)

I haven't been using Chinese for a while, I chat to my friends in Taiwan using Chinese.
But when I have to write it, I don't remember how . I just don't. I have to think hard.
Then I wirte it out , and it could still be wrong.

Hopefully it'll come back to me after I move back to Taiwan..

Macarons - Tartelette's recipe

I've been intentionally wanting to move my dessert blog to www.abaysse.blogspot.com
but I thought I should also up date over here and tell people that the dessert posts are going to move to abaysse.
so people won't stop visiting.

Yes, I'm all over macarons, so whenever I see a new recipe for macarons , I would try it.
In this month's Dessert magazine, featured Tarlette's recipe.
And as I saw the wonderful macarons she made, so beautiful and with very tall feet,
I decided to give it a try . I had forgot to order for the proper blanched almond flour from on line, and
instead I just used the almond meal I already have in my pantry .

I must honest say that I was a bit worried in the process of making these because
I usually put in some cream of tar tar when I whip up egg whites,
and although the recipe did not call for cream of tar tar,
I put 1/8 tsp of it in , and I guess the result turn out fine.

These are Opera flavored macarons, filled with a ring of coffee buttercream and 65% chocolate in the center.
As for the ones that are baked longer are for decorations.

DB's March challenge - The Perfect Party Cake

It's late, but it's here!!!!

I made this cake in early March, right after a day of macaron making, I was exhausted and all the wrappers and ingredients were all over the place . So this is also the first time that I had used the photo editing features on my iPhoto, you see how I'm trying to hide all the stuff surrounded by the cake w/ that blur feature? I was too tired to clean them up right away, and the photo taking was my break.

However, the cake was really just a breeze to make, I didn't have to go to multiple places to search for the proper ingredients, and the procedure was also very simple and obstacle free. But some how I didn't like the texture / taste of it.
It tasted powdery to me...it's like the consistency of a finer coffee cake. Yep...still I wanna say that it tastes powdery.
But I'm sure that the cake came out right , because the look matches w/ other DB's cakes.
I did make it a layered cake, but the anatomy of the cake was locked in my mom's iphone, because she was the one that took the cake to her friend's dinner party, and she took the pictures w/ her iphone, but sadly her iphone got locked up so I couldn't access to the photos.

I really don't know why, but I have the tendency of wanting to finish whatever that I had started in the same day.
I don't like to bake the cake, and ice it tomorrow, if I make the cake today, I ice it today.
And leaving out the whites for macaron making is also a painful thing for me , because I just can't stand having the whites out and not doing anything to it.
So it was around 1 in the morning when I was done baking this cake, I was trying to , for once just break my stupid habit and was trying to just throw it in to the fridge then decorate it the next day. But no, I guess habit is one hard ass to kick, so after leaving the cake in the fridge for like 5 seconds..........I took them out, and started whipping up cream....and started cooking jam. (I like everything made from scratch, so I made the blueberry jam)

I filled the cake with my home made blueberry jam, and iced it w/ some rum infused cream, fenced it w/ my macarons and on top is a cream puff that I made earlier..
I really had no idea what I was doing, but I was just trying to decorate it and finish it before I go to bed or I'll just kept thinking about it while in bed.



Now , here's the recipe of the perfect party cake



Perfect Party Cake

Words From Dorie
Stick a bright-coloured Post-it to this page, so you’ll always know where to turn for a just-right cake for any celebration. The original recipe was given to me by my great dear friend Nick Malgieri, of baking fame, and since getting it, I’ve found endless opportunities to make it – you will too. The cake is snow white, with an elegant tight crumb and an easygoing nature: it always bakes up perfectly; it is delicate on the tongue but sturdy in the kitchen – no fussing when it comes to slicing the layers in half or cutting tall, beautiful wedges for serving; and, it tastes just as you’d want a party cake to taste – special. The base recipe is for a cake flavoured with lemon, layered with a little raspberry jam and filled and frosted with a classic (and so simple) pure white lemony hot-meringue buttercream but, because the elements are so fundamental, they lend themselves to variation (see Playing Around), making the cake not just perfect, but also versatile.


Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract


Buttercream:
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For Finishing:
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut


Directions:
Getting Ready: Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.
To Make the Cake: Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl. Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean
Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).


To Make the Buttercream:
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream. Remove the bowl from the heat. Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.
On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla. You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.


To Assemble the Cake:
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.
Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. Spread it with one third of the preserves. Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream. Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover). Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top. Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.
Serving: The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.


Storing: The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.


Playing Around:
Since lemon is such a friendly flavour, feel free to make changes in the preserves: other red preserves – cherry or strawberry – look especially nice, but you can even use plum or blueberry jam.


Fresh Berry Cake:
If you will be serving the cake the day it is made, cover each layer of buttercream with fresh berries – use whole raspberries, sliced or halved strawberries or whole blackberries, and match the preserves to the fruit. You can replace the coconut on top of the cake with a crown of berries, or use both coconut and berries. You can also replace the buttercream between the layers with fairly firmly whipped sweetened cream and then either frost the cake with buttercream (the contrast between the lighter whipped cream and the firmer buttercream is nice) or finish it with more whipped cream. If you use whipped cream, you’ll have to store the cake the in the refrigerator – let it sit for about 20 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Cakes for all sorts of occasions

I've been baking a lot ever since I came back to TW...
wait...........I've been baking a lot since whenever...
and these days I'm making a lot of cakes....

This is a cake roll


And this is just a cake I put together for a new born baby boy


These are the cakes I put together for my neighbors

My first Daring Bakers challenge~ French batards

As a new member of the daring bakers, I present to you, my first challenge~~ The French batards
I must admit that I got a bit frustrated when I saw the recipe for this particular bread, because it was like a thousand pages long and also because that I've never made bread before. So I was really pushing myself out of my comfort zone.

The dough ready to go in to the oven

The expected holes which also represents the rightness of the properly made batard.
I think mine is not there yet, maybe it's because I didn't abuse the dough long enough..but my arm was so tired and sore

Pierre Herme's Blueberry & Mascarpone Cake , my first time making mousse, lady fingers, and meringue

I have finally received my Desserts By Pierre Herme book on Friday, I think I've waited too long to get the book.
I've wanted to get this book since August, 2007, and ever since then, I've been watching it on Amazon.


The price was around $45.00 at the time I was looking at it, I kept waiting, believing that a better deal would come up.
But then I got busy with school and forgot to keep track , then it was after a month when I realized that the prices had gone up to hundreds. Some are for around a hundred and some are up to two hundreds.
Then my journey for Pierre Herme books spying had begun, it went on for about three month and I'm glad that I've finally found a person selling the Dessert book and the Chocolate one together.
Although I've already have the Chocolate book, but I could always sell it on Ebay to get rid off it.
(or if any of you are looking to add this book into your recipe collection?)

So Friday night, I was so excited as I flipped through the book. I asked friend A : pick something and I'll make it!! It's just too fascinating that I can't even decide what I wanna make.
And later that night , friend A stated that he'll be fine with anything "mousse".

Pierre Herme's got a few mousse in the book, but a lot of them requires the ingredients or the techniques that I've not yet have a chance to practice. And that reason had made the Blueberry & Mascarpone cake seem the best thing for me to do at the moment. So yes, that's why I made the cake. And I made two , so me and my friends can eat one and I'm gifting the other cake to the vocal coach who helped me play on my Peabody audition.


First of all, I first thought that this cake is the easiest and less complicate compare to the other cakes in PH's book.
But I was wrong. Dead WRONG!!!
It was far more scaring then I have imagined.
(Advice: read the recipe very very carefully, don't just glance, lol)
I had to make a blueberry filling, a lemon syrup and the heated hard sugar for the meringue.
Then after I'm done making the filling and the syrup, I whipped up the whites and made the meringue.
The process for making the Meringue is rather scary, because the sugar was heated to a very high temperature , then you have to pour it in to the whites slowly in a thin stream WHILLE the mixer is ON.
But the meringue came out perfect, despite the heart attacking process, the experience for making the meringue as a first timer wasn't so bad.
(yada yada yada , hehe, yeah..I never used meringue to make my macarons, but I think I'll start trying that)


So basically after I've done making the syrups , jam, filling and the mouse, I realized that I didn't have mouse rings.
Jajajajajajajajaja , sometimes, you just have to laugh about it , then you'll be fine.
I end up using two of my 6" cake pans w/ lined parchment paper, and it turn out "fine"



Another scary process in making this cake is to brown the meringue .
Basically what you do is freeze your cake for an hour and then pre-heat your oven to 275F, and throw the cake in for like 5 minutes and take it out immediately as the top of the cake (the meringue part) should be slightly brown.
Yes, this was another scary moment because the mousse had started to melt when it's only 4 minutes, so I took it out from the oven , since I'm happy with the browness already.


OK, so seriously, speaking of planning things ahead.
I knew that the recipe called for lady fingers , so I bought two bags of it from Whole food.
But what I realized was that the cake was not as tall , so I would have to "saw" the lady fingers shorter, it was really late when I get to this stage, so I thought I might just keep the cakes in the freezer and proceed the next day.
This morning I got up , I look at the cake and I was in shock that it has no lady fingers on it, so I started.........................
making lady fingers..................
(this is why sometimes life is better kept messy, if I weren't to store my lady fingers so well at such a covert place , I would have not wasted the time and ingredients )
I made them chubbier and shorter, and I piped them the wrong way, the longer sides are the sides that are suppose to be touching. But the only reason to do that is just so it is easier for you to use when you are using it to decorate your cake.


I used the ribbon because I like ribbon and it's in the trend to use ribbons to decorate the cake.
I like the idea of it, but ribbons are just so pricey in the States. My mom used to have this entire drawer of good quality ribbons and they cost like half the price we're paying in the States.(according to my mom, yes)



因為我英文版不小心打太多了
中文的大意是:這是我做的蛋糕 其中有許多精心膽跳的時刻 因為這是我第一次做幕斯 第一次做lady finger 跟meringue , 幕斯混好了才發現沒有幕斯模 於是硬着頭皮用烤蛋糕的模子 XD
但是最後來還是出來了

耶......就先這樣 = =

My Fondant cake , watch out, a first timer here

Seems like the fondant was really thick, but what you see is actually the layers of fondant and icing.
看起來好像fondant狠厚 但是其實他是兩層 一層icing一層fondant


OK,so I baked a cake earlier this evening(finally am done w/ my first very scary audition and found time to bake), and yall know that I suck @ icing cakes.
(if yall still remember the cake I made a while ago...it was no bueno)
I always get the crumbs into the icing and it ends up looking all ugly.
So I ran to Michael's and bought some fondant, thinking that , if I'm not gonna ice this cake nice, then I could probably "fondant" it nice. HAHAHAHA
So here is the fondant cake, it start out looking like a very nice wedding cake, all white , w/ an elegant bow on the top.
And yeah, I made the bow too, everything that you see on the cake is made by me!! *proud*
話說今天Millie烤了一顆蛋糕 這是在恐怖的最近 終於考完唱之後找到時間做的
不過 做完之後 想到我實在是狠不會塗icing 每次都會把蛋糕屑給塗進icing去
(如果你們還記得我之前做的蛋糕 就知道有多糟糕了= =)
所以 竟然異想天開的跑去Michael's買了fondant!! (fondant中文是啥母啊?)

M style wedding cake, w/ my sticker on the board.
dang...it looks like a store bought cake because of the sticker...like my own bakery or something..
(the sticker is what I use on my books so I have a bigger chance to get it back when I lost it, and of course, that is if the person who found it is nice enough to do so , however, the printing company print my e-mail address wrong, so they're re-sending me another one)
一開始放上fondant跟比想像中簡單很多的蝴蝶結, 看起來 活就是個結婚蛋糕啊
加上我貼上我的三八貼紙 "Please Return to Mxxxxxxxxxx" 看起來 很像店裡賣的吧
(這個貼紙是Millie用來貼在他的擁有物品上面的 這樣人家撿到才知道還給他 不過印刷的人把e-mail印錯了 所以他們還要重新寄正確的給我哩)

Some nice details
一些小細節

Made a piggy, haha, Miss piggy, WAHAHAHA
now it has turn in to a baby shower cake, LOL
bb girl of course = = ah ahaha
做了一顆粉紅豬
現在他變成嬰兒蛋糕了 哈哈

Miss piggy on the field
豬小姐在草原上

Notice what's different here?
有發現甚麼不一樣了嘛?

Polka dots..haha
what can this be...a sweet 16 cake? hehe
加上圓點之後可以當sweet 16主題的蛋糕了

Starting to mess up the cake, just playing w/ it , trying to be creative
開始亂做了 亂加東西

A cake for your valentine , you're more than welcome to place an order since the Valentine's day is just around the corner.
Just leave a comment with your contact information . Thank you
LOL..I'm so random..
現在他變成一個情人節蛋糕了!!
歡迎訂購 我會算便宜的 哈哈

putting on a cute skirt for the cake
幫蛋糕加上華麗的裙子

The final product ..I guess this isn't too bad for a first timer and a person who's never received any training/education on baking and pastry...
and if it is not because of the tiredness that's growing on me, I might just keep on playing w/ it, but I'm just so exhausted..so I guess I'll call it a day.

oh... forgot to mention that it is plain sponge cake with raspberry jam filling = )
這就是他最後演化的樣子了 其實我還可以玩更久 但是實在是狠狠狠累了= =
所以就這樣吧~~對一個第一次接觸fondant跟沒有學過烘培的人 這樣的結果應該是沒有狠差吧我想
然後 這個蛋糕是海綿蛋糕夾心覆盆子醬口味的

whew~~~ 說要搞bilingual blog是沒錯 但是要打兩種語言還真累人 = 9

About my new header 有關我新的header

I was trying to put my tarts on the header, but they were sitting in the Styrofoam box and I thought that it'll probably turn out looking cheap.
But I guess it looks just fine!!
The reason why it was in the styrofoam box was because I was forcing my mom to carry them home so my dad can eat it too. (she was traveling back to Taiwan)
So yeah, I made her hand carry the tart on to the flight. HAHA
At the bottom right corner is the puff pastry I made over the Christmas break.

原本 要放這個塔上header
我心裡還很擔心會看起來很簡陋
因為他是被放在保力龍盒子裡面
為甚麼他會被放在保力龍盒裡頭勒
因為我逼我媽要幫我帶他們回台灣給爸子吃
所以就成為這樣的局面了
右下角是聖誕假期間做的puff pastry




We're apple turn overs!!!


Tart w/ Framboise Framboise Framboise!!


These are the first batch~

有一點點長進的Macaron...(應該吧....)

hmm...I guess my macaron making are getting better and better.
I'm planning on turning all my posts billingual.
so that both my friends in TW and here can read it.
Then I guess I'll start doing it for my next post, hahahaa

首先 我不知道為甚麼我拍不出好照片 再來 我真的就是不知道為甚麼 結論 就是我不會拍照 period


吃Macaron配茶(其實這是要讓姊子明天帶去學校的)
最近我很少做Macaron
因為做了之後 就需要試吃
但是他裡面的甜份高到一個極致了
我甚至可以不諱言 他跟本是糖

為甚麼連試吃都不想呢??
因為最近一吃到甜的 頸椎就會很不舒服
不斷的轉轉頭也沒有用 (邊轉還會發出嘎嘎的聲音)
今天為了試吃這一小口
我現在頸椎就很不舒服 然後 原本感冒有好一點點
又開始覺得我的nasal被丟進水裡去了

我只能說

糖

是壞東西

要是Macaron可以不要加糖那該有多好 (因為我只是單純喜歡他的長相 and the idea that it's a very challenging pastry)



用罪惡的塑膠袋子包裝好
因為我沒有緞帶
一梱都沒有阿!!!!!
太不專業了
記得小時候看Martha Stewart的節目
曾經幻想自己有一天可以跟他一樣

所以 現在我決定要多一個開銷
那就是蒐集緞帶!!!
優呴呴

一包賣20塊美金就可以了 謝謝 (伸)
杏仁粉很貴的啊....

Viennese Chocolate Sables

Viennese Chocolate Sables
Took me over 40 minutes on squeezing out the dough into that W shape.
It is the recipe from the Famous Pierre Herme.
And it is indeed very very tasty.
I like it tons.
這也是一個超級難做的餅乾...
他是出自Pierre Herme大師的書
我有幾位我固定會去看得amateur bakers也做過
大家也都說超級難的

難在哪裡呢??
難在他的麵團很硬很硬
卻一定要用擠花袋 擠成W形

吃起來很香很酥
很像是台灣喜餅有些會有的
但是Pierre Herme的是紮實的酥

姊說我光是擠出那些餅乾
就擠了四十分鐘有 = =