Rose Lychee Cake with Cream Cheese

The kids and I are obsessed with Rose Lychee cake recently.  We first had it in Dreamz Bakery, a popular bakery and cafe in Kota Damansara and we were hooked since.

Xin and I tried to bake it on our own last weekend.  Here is the recipe :


Cake :

1 cup + 2 tbsp    flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
56g butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg + 1 egg white
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp rose essence
2 tbsp lychee syrup (from canned lychee)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp pink coloring (optional)


Method :

1)  Cream butter and sugar
2)  Add egg and egg white, vanilla essence, rose essence and pink coloring (if using)
3)  Beat in lychee syrup
4) Add sifted flour, alternate with milk
5) Pour batter into 2 x 6 inch baking pan
6) Bake in pre heated oven at 175 deg C for 20 minutes



Cream cheese :

125g  cream cheese
1 tbsp icing sugar
7-10  lychee (from canned lychee)

1) Whip cream cheese with sugar
2) Beat in chopped lychee
3) Frost cake with the cream cheese  + lychee

The rose aroma filled the kitchen as the cake was baking.  It is delightfully moist and not sweet.  May I add that this recipe uses less sugar than usual as we do not have sweet tooth.

Do give it a try and happy baking!

DIY Advent Calendar

There are many household stuff lying around that can be re purposed as decorative items.  I for one, believe in buying less.  It also teaches the kids to be more resourceful, creative and to use things responsibly.

Our craft today is to make an advent calendar out of muffin pan and used Christmas decor. 


Things needed are :

Muffin pan
Wrapping papers
Permanent marker
Double sided tape
Old / used Christmas decorative items
Treats

Muffin pan filled with little treats

Decorated with used Christmas decorative items

The end result is quite nice, don't you think?  

Happy 8th Birthday Princesses!!

Like a blink of the eyes, eight years have passed.  Just like that.

This year, the kids had their friends over for a party and mummy got to bake the cake.  The 2 girls did not request for any particular type of cake so I chose to make a red velvet cake in carousel theme. 

So here are the cake at different setting : home and party venue.

The girls were happy and excited to see the cake.  They were all smiles upon receiving admiration from their friends and parents. As for me, I still can't believe I managed to pull it off.

Homemade Cream for Eczema

Little X has mild eczema since young. I call it mild as it is not as severe as other cases that I have seen and that it doesnt attack that often. But nevertheless, I can see that the itchiness drives X crazy everytime it flares up.

I have read that a combination of shea butter, coconut  oil and essential oil does help. Since I have the ingredients in hand, there is no harm in whipping some cream for a trial.

So here goes the recipe :

1/2 cup shea butter (~90g)
1/2 cup liquid coconut oil (~90g)
1/4 cup beeswax
20 drops lavendar essential oil
15 drops tea tree essential oil
10 drops rosemary essential oil



Method :

Heat the shea butter and beeswax till melted. Add in coconut oil. Mix well. Let cool. Add in the essential oils. As the mixture cools and thickens, but still liquid, give it a good whip every 5 mins. You can put the mixture in fridge to let it cool faster. Continue whipping every 5mins until soft white peaks are formed and the mixture thickens. Pour into sterilised containers and let set.

The cream is ready to used once it has set.

It is important to note that beeswax is needed when liquid coconut oil is used. If using solid coconut oil, beeswax can be omitted.  The beeswax hardens the cream but be careful to not add too much as it results in a balm that is hard to apply. The amount of beeswax in this recipe is just nice for a soft, and yet not too soft cream.

After using for 2 weeks, I am happy to report that little X did not have any eczema flares at all.

Hokkaido Milk Buns

My children love when I bake.  They love everything that I made for them.

Here is a soft and delicious Hokkaido Milk Bun recipe that I stumbled in the internet. Its fragrance penetrated the whole house and the texture is just oh so soft.  It is a sure winner with my kids.  Every. Time.


Ingredients :

470g bread flour
63g   plain flour
250g low fat milk
200g whipping cream
1 egg
2tbsp milk powder
4tbsp sugar
3tsp yeast
1/2 tsp salt


Instructions:

Mix all ingredients and knead till the dough is no longer sticky.  Let proof for 1 hour.  Divide the dough into balls of 70g each.  Shape into rounds.  Let rest for another 1 hour.

Egg wash and bake in preheated oven at 190 degree Celcius for 20-30 mins.

I have made this several times, tweaking the recipe every now and then.  I would say that the amount of milk and whipping cream can be adjusted as long as the total amount of these two is 450g.  However, I always make it a habit to use less whipping cream as it would be healthier, but then, the choice is yours.

Happy baking!

Christmas Wreath

It is December. We have got back from a lovely trip to Japan and kids are starting to be bored.  Since it is Christmas soon and we have plenty used cardboards at home, I taught them to make Christmas wreaths out of the cardboard boxes and recycled ornaments.

Truth be told, I got the idea from Pinterest but the result is still stunning.  The kids learnt a lot through the process too.

DIY Robot Coin Bank

Today is a day for my little boy.  He must have felt left out with all the girly things that we made all these while.

Recycled a used mouth rinse bottle into a little robot coin bank.  This is a fairly easy craft to do.  

First, cut an opening at the back of a clean and dried bottle to insert the coins.  Then, glue strips of felt,  both at the front and back of the bottle.  Since it is a robot, decorate it with metal stuff such as jump ring, grommet or aluminium foil.

The final product sure put a smile on my little boy's face.  

 

Crafts from Used Eggs Carton

Eggs is a must in my house, and I believe, every household.  We buy eggs by the cartons.  Sometimes feel that it is a waste to throw those used cartons away.


There are many uses for the egg cartons actually.  I read somewhere that it can be used to plant small plants or herbs.  We can turn them into crafts too, which was exactly what we did.  We made lobsters, pirate ship as well as little chickens with the used egg cartons.  The cartons were not exactly that easy to paint on due to their 'lumpy' texture but the kids did them alright although far from perfect.  

Little chickens

Pirate Ships

Lobsters

DIY Christmas Door Hanger

Another long overdue post.

The kids have been invited to play at their friends' house quite often during the school holidays.  Good for them to spend time together as much as they can now as they will be attending different schools when school reopens.  There was this one particular evening where I had to pull them back home earlier.  Needless to say, they were disappointed with the 'short' stay at their friend's house. Taught them to make this door hanger in order to 'pacify' them.

 

Materials needed :

Cardboard (cut into round shape)

Ribbons 

Paper cups

Bells

Yarn / string

I like making things from recycled items.   It teaches the kids to turn waste into something nice / useful as well as saving cost on materials.

DIY Christmas Cards

Christmas is long over and only now I have the time to put this up.

Taught the kids to handmade some Christmas cards for sale.  Initially, the idea was just to teach the kids to make greeting cards.  Saw that the outcome was good and thus sparked the idea of making handmade cards for sale. 

It was fun making the cards.  So much fun that we invited the girls' friends over to join in the cards making 'workshop'.  We made a snowman advent calendar too!  All the kids had fun and I was told that some of them sold their cards too. 

All in, we made 60 cards of different designs.  The girls went around shopping malls to sell their wares.  Each card were priced at RM3.  Was told that the selling price was too low.  In actual, they were.  The material cost was already more than that.  But it is ok. Our intention was not to make profit, but to let the kids to learn speaking up, buying / selling as well as change.  

People were generally very responsive and supportive.  Perhaps they just couldn't say no to two cute little girls who timidly approach them.  Some took out their wallets even before the girls reached their tables.  Others were confused when being approached by two girls who looked alike (twins).  All 60 cards were sold in less than an hour.  All money from the sale was donated to Trinity Children Home in Petaling Jaya.   Mommy got to fork out the money for the materials though.  Anyway, it was good that the kids get to do something for the less fortunate even though it was just a small contribution.

We will be doing this again in the years to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easy Sun Catcher

It is Easter today.

The kids have been asking to decorate Easter eggs but upon checking, there were only two eggs left in the fridge.  Since I wouldn't be going to the grocery store anytime soon, I will just have to think of something else.  Remembered that there are some leftover transparent plastic sheets from another project that I made sometime ago, thus, decided to let the kids to make a sun catcher instead.

This is a really easy project.  Materials needed :

Transparent plastic sheet

Sharpie

Hole puncher

String / ribbons

Duct tape

First, draw some lines on the transparent plastic sheet and then let the kids color the shapes within using Sharpies.  The sharper the color, the more beautiful the effect would be.  Then, tape the borders of the sheet using duct tape.  Punch a hole (or two) at the top, thread the ribbon over and that's it!

Wear Your Creation

Was browsing in the stationery shop and came across the Fabric Crayons.  An idea suddenly struck :  let the kids doodle on cloth and make a dress out of it.  Or rather, sew the dress first before letting the kids doodle.  It would be a pity if I will have to cut off some of their drawings when cutting the dress pattern.

Made a very simple skirt out of the grey bridal satin that I bought some time ago.  Beats me why I bought the satin in the first place.  But the skirts turned out nice as the satin gave it a 'pom pom' feel.  

The girls doodled on the plain skirts excitedly and before long, they get to wear their own creations.  Just remember to follow the instructions of the fabric crayons, that is, to wash the fabric beforehand and to fix the crayons by heat setting.

 

 

Grapefruit Marmalade Jam

A tried and tested grapefruit marmalade recipe that a friend gave me and which I have tweaked a bit.


Ingredients :

3 grapefruits (~800g)
850g sugar
juices from 2 lemons


Method :

1)  Put the grapefruits in a pot, add in enough water so that the grapefruits are able to float freely.   Bring to a boil till for 2 hours. 
 Note : Water need to be replenished every now and then.

2) Remove the grapefruits from the pot and let cool.
3) Chop the grapefruits thinly, remove the pith and put the chopped grapefruits back into a clean pot.
4) Add in the lemon juice and sugar.
5) Let the sugar dissolve and stir constantly.
6) Bring the mixture to a boil till it reaches the setting point of 110 deg C.

Note :  If you do not have any thermometer, drop a little of the mixture onto a plate that has been put in the freezer beforehand.  Let chill for 1 - 2 mins. Push the mixture with your finger.  If the surface wrinkles, it means the setting point has been reached. Otherwise keep heating and repeat the testing procedure.


7) Ladle into mason jars, cover and leave to cool completely.


The jam sets perfectly.  It is not too sweet and leave a little bitter after taste, which is not unpleasant.

Christmas Treasure Hunt

Christmas is almost everyone's favourite holidays.  Although it is hot and humid throughout the year here, Christmas brings with it a 'white' cheer and feel.  I wish that we have a white Christmas here, but having a white Christmas in this part of the world is actually an environment disaster, rather than it being welcomed.

Kids like Christmas because of the gifts that never failed to appear at the foot of the Christmas tree.  This year, we did something different.  Rather than putting the presents under the tree, the kids have to hunt for them through a series of clues.  A Christmas Treasure Hunt.  It sounds exciting!

The kids 'reported' early for the hunt.  Since this is the first time we have such treasure hunt, I made the clues simpler and more straight forward.  Nevertheless, it made the kids ran up and down to search for the next clues.  The kids were excited to finally found their treasures.  Perhaps next year, I'll do a la 'Amazing Race', or make the kids do a bit of chores before we surrender the next clue to them.

Clue Card

Clue Card

Clue Card Peeking from Its Hiding Place

Clue Card Nestled Among the Tree

Found the Clue Card!

The Final Clue

Play Cafe

Learning about money from books is boring and only invites yawn and daydream, and also frustrations to both parent and kids.  So we are going on the learning through playing approach. 

Printed some 'money' for the kids to put in their toy cashier and also made a menu for the 'customer' to select their food from.  It was fun taking pictures of the toy food and making the menu.  I had no idea we have so much varieties of food available.

These are some of our menu :

Breakfast set.  A set of this cost you RM12.

Tea and Coffee

Whole cake costs RM35.  A slice is RM12.



The menu



The kids and I took turn to be the cashier, waitress and customers.  It was fun and they were very serious in their work.  The maths and concept about money become much easier to grasp.    Most importantly, we are spending quality time together.

Getting serious at work

Waiting on customers

Our table