Wednesday, July 14, 2010Y
Let there be a serious amount of alcohol!
Oh so you think one comment is going to tie me down forever and let my homepage start off with a nasty post? No way! Pfff, that's not even pinching a single tiny bent to my food blogging force. The force of the kitchen is strooooong =)
Still the alcoholic streak continues but not the bling part. I figured I should tone down that bling tone cause I'm turning into a kitchen whore very soon. On the day I bought the spatulas and discovered the $7 baby whisk that I bought over amazon for $20, I saw something very very precious on the counter... a huge ass bottle of Madagascar vanilla pod. I think the lady boss of Pantry Magic was kindda amused by my reaction that day cause I literally screamed with excitement.
I've done extensive research online and discovered that you can actually make your own vanilla extract at home. I doubt I am one of those first few to try in Singapore but seriously, I kindda give up buying whatever extracts from outside. They are expensive and I literally have to depend on their stock availability. Just when you think you found something really special and natural from Madagascar, everywhere and everyone is using it like soap and shampoo everyday. Pfff. I'll make my own. Plus, continuous flow of good vanilla extract for eternity!
It's very simple. Just get a couple of good vanilla pods (Don't bother about the Indonesia ones) slit into half and drop into a bottle of cheap vodka. Ratio wise, you can choose to look up the net but I just go by eye. If the vanilla pods are too little (There's no such thing as too much pods) for my bottle, I'll just get more pods and add on. They said it's fine to do that anyway.
But still that's not all. For the first week, you gotta shake the bottle well every single day. Then subsequently you can shake it whenever possible, up till 3 months. But of course, the longer you steep the bottle, the better it gets. I intend to leave mine till Christmas.
Again, very simple. Grab a bottle of average vodka, pour out about a cup (use that cup to make the vanilla extract if you like, in my case I drank everything with Ribena and coke) Drop the blueberries into the bottle one at a time and when you are done, give the bottle a real good shake everyday for the first week. Then you leave the bottle in somewhere cool and dry for 3 months to a year, shaking it every now and then and let the magic begin....
So what I did? Grab one and rush to the supermarket, grab a small bottle of cheap vodka and Home made Vanilla extract here I come!!!
I've done extensive research online and discovered that you can actually make your own vanilla extract at home. I doubt I am one of those first few to try in Singapore but seriously, I kindda give up buying whatever extracts from outside. They are expensive and I literally have to depend on their stock availability. Just when you think you found something really special and natural from Madagascar, everywhere and everyone is using it like soap and shampoo everyday. Pfff. I'll make my own. Plus, continuous flow of good vanilla extract for eternity!
It's very simple. Just get a couple of good vanilla pods (Don't bother about the Indonesia ones) slit into half and drop into a bottle of cheap vodka. Ratio wise, you can choose to look up the net but I just go by eye. If the vanilla pods are too little (There's no such thing as too much pods) for my bottle, I'll just get more pods and add on. They said it's fine to do that anyway.
But still that's not all. For the first week, you gotta shake the bottle well every single day. Then subsequently you can shake it whenever possible, up till 3 months. But of course, the longer you steep the bottle, the better it gets. I intend to leave mine till Christmas.
Besides the vanilla extract, blueberries were on sale too and I bought another big bottle of vodka to make blueberry Beauregard for my ex boss at the pub. It's just basically soaking fruits (usually berries) in a bottle of vodka and let the flavor and color fused together for months.
Again, very simple. Grab a bottle of average vodka, pour out about a cup (use that cup to make the vanilla extract if you like, in my case I drank everything with Ribena and coke) Drop the blueberries into the bottle one at a time and when you are done, give the bottle a real good shake everyday for the first week. Then you leave the bottle in somewhere cool and dry for 3 months to a year, shaking it every now and then and let the magic begin....
This, is the bottle just after 3 days. This little project was done on 25th March and I have already given the bottle to my boss like 1 month ago. Man you should have see that deep dark magenta color. He was quite fascinated by this gift as no one would actually steep their own vodka. So basically, this makes a very good gift!
Oh my god just think bout the amount of cookies I can bake with that bottle of vanilla extract during Christmas!!! I did keep a small bottle of Beauregard and can't wait to taste it in August. Next one, Strawberry vodka! Doesn't take a genius to think up with that but keep watching!
Oh my god just think bout the amount of cookies I can bake with that bottle of vanilla extract during Christmas!!! I did keep a small bottle of Beauregard and can't wait to taste it in August. Next one, Strawberry vodka! Doesn't take a genius to think up with that but keep watching!
Labels: alcohol
Katherine blogged@ 6:04 PM
4 comments
Thursday, July 30, 2009Y
TCM Cheesecake sale!
actually i had been wanting to post this for a long long time... but kept on postponing because i really thought i should venture out to any possible flavors. but oh well. itchy fingers never wait. i think up till today, i've done more than 100 cheesecakes. damn they are SO EASY!!!! gah i hate to say this but they are SO MUCH MORE EASIER THAN COOKIES. bunk everything in and whip up and leave to set in fridge. done within 20 mins considering the washing. how easy!
now i have to clarify this first. i swear i went through lots of hardships, many tubs of cream cheese and gelatin to make this work and claim it my very own recipe. there are thousands of cheesecake recipes out there and i have to say that many of them yield wonderful results, but i am looking for something not like jelly, not like slime and lastly, not soft and sticky like jello. neither do i want anything that calls for bombastic ingredients and amount that screams hell in the ears. these are real hardcore cheesecake, you understand?
Very Ribena Cheesecake : totally inspired by Happy Home Baker when she first did her's last year. now i have not tried her recipe yet, but i came up with this when i came up with my own vanilla cheesecake. simple lah.. just substitude the ribena in lor.
definitely one of my bestsellers among the health driven girls and happy mummies. if you like ribena, i swear you will like this.
Ferreroche & Nutella Cheesecake : i agree it looks very shitty in terms of image but greed outwins everything. i brought it to class and someone immediately recognised the smell as ferreroche once i opened up the box. they even scream as they saw chunks of nutella blob inside the cake. but still please do not get this for a birthday but rather as something to hit the spot.
Whatever Oreo Cheesecake : seriously... whatever. its like one of the most basic cheesecake of the 21st century. somehow in modern baking, adding crushed or chopped oreo cookies has became one of the unspoken law. oreo cupcakes... oreo ice creams... oreo cakes... oreo milkshake... Oreo cake. but whoever's idea was that, it certainly worked.
but for me, it only seriously work when one whole packet of Oreo happening in one single cheesecake. or else, really whatever.
lastly... my very proud Bailey's & Nutella Cheesecake. i think the name explained a lot already man. probably because i am an alcoholic junkie and worked as bartender once, this cake is like a total common sense to me. but of the best loved cheesecake around those who know me and i even helped a friend to successfully win his girl. it's definitely not the alcohol okay.
currently i am experimenting on something that i hope no one has thought bout it. Pear & Vodka cheesecake. yes yes the thought of vodka in a cheesecake might turn some off but TRUST ME. ITS NEVER ABOUT WHAT IS RIGHT AND WHAT IS WRONG WHEN IT COMES TO CREATIVITY!!!!!!
anyway. base are made with the usual digestive biscuits but oreo can be done if you really love oreo. Gelatin i used are fish gelatin so definitely halal. price wise? email me lah. forizon@hotmail.com is your friend =)
now i have to clarify this first. i swear i went through lots of hardships, many tubs of cream cheese and gelatin to make this work and claim it my very own recipe. there are thousands of cheesecake recipes out there and i have to say that many of them yield wonderful results, but i am looking for something not like jelly, not like slime and lastly, not soft and sticky like jello. neither do i want anything that calls for bombastic ingredients and amount that screams hell in the ears. these are real hardcore cheesecake, you understand?
Very Ribena Cheesecake : totally inspired by Happy Home Baker when she first did her's last year. now i have not tried her recipe yet, but i came up with this when i came up with my own vanilla cheesecake. simple lah.. just substitude the ribena in lor.
definitely one of my bestsellers among the health driven girls and happy mummies. if you like ribena, i swear you will like this.
Ferreroche & Nutella Cheesecake : i agree it looks very shitty in terms of image but greed outwins everything. i brought it to class and someone immediately recognised the smell as ferreroche once i opened up the box. they even scream as they saw chunks of nutella blob inside the cake. but still please do not get this for a birthday but rather as something to hit the spot.
Whatever Oreo Cheesecake : seriously... whatever. its like one of the most basic cheesecake of the 21st century. somehow in modern baking, adding crushed or chopped oreo cookies has became one of the unspoken law. oreo cupcakes... oreo ice creams... oreo cakes... oreo milkshake... Oreo cake. but whoever's idea was that, it certainly worked.
but for me, it only seriously work when one whole packet of Oreo happening in one single cheesecake. or else, really whatever.
lastly... my very proud Bailey's & Nutella Cheesecake. i think the name explained a lot already man. probably because i am an alcoholic junkie and worked as bartender once, this cake is like a total common sense to me. but of the best loved cheesecake around those who know me and i even helped a friend to successfully win his girl. it's definitely not the alcohol okay.
currently i am experimenting on something that i hope no one has thought bout it. Pear & Vodka cheesecake. yes yes the thought of vodka in a cheesecake might turn some off but TRUST ME. ITS NEVER ABOUT WHAT IS RIGHT AND WHAT IS WRONG WHEN IT COMES TO CREATIVITY!!!!!!
anyway. base are made with the usual digestive biscuits but oreo can be done if you really love oreo. Gelatin i used are fish gelatin so definitely halal. price wise? email me lah. forizon@hotmail.com is your friend =)
Labels: alcohol, Baileys. Cheesecake
Katherine blogged@ 10:15 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, May 6, 2009Y
baileys and nutella cheesecake
i love baileys. i've always thought baileys would make a great deal in cakes and ice creams and been thinking of fusing it with my bakes. since i'm newly in fond of making cheesecake, it doesnt take me long before i decided to try out baileys cheesecake =D
friend who tried it said it was really good and that kick of nutella with baileys was good. so far i've tried the recipe 2 times but find the amount of gelatin use was too much. guess i'll just add on more baileys next time! =D
hmm i guess i won't be sharing recipe for this coz its still on an experimental stage. so wait till i get it better yea? haha guess its time for a cheesecake bake sale!!! =D
Labels: alcohol, Baileys. Cheesecake
Katherine blogged@ 5:21 AM
0 comments
